#like i had to casually step around clover and think about another design

[premamelody]

Hey Prema, can you please design your non-dragon interpretations of the fallen humans?

yes

patience, bravery, integrity, perserverance, kindness, justice then double red kidds

most of the 6 fallen human designs i made up recently except perserverance and kindness a bit hey're both Magpie and Emy respectively from my Purple&Green AU where both co-exist for a while protected by a group of monsters, the Echoes

patience is very much inspired by paula from earthbound, rest are random. for frisk id imagine they'd randomly collect pebbles for no reason so they drop into the underground with whatever pebbles didn't fly out of their pocket. idk silly thing. i wanted to match chara to the flashback scenes more, not a new interpretation for a personal chara design but not completely common either

[sticktopia]

Welcome to the Garden (Sanctuary AU)

The Garden. A pocket dimension that sits on the line between life and death. This little world is designed to house and heal broken souls. Those who have died under tragic circumstances, or have many regrets are called to this realm. Once they let go of their trauma and regrets, the soul can pass on to its next life. That is the role of The Garden.

Orchid (Chapter 8)

When Orchid awoke the next morning, she was in an unfamiliar room. She was about to get up when she noticed Gold against her chest again. Figuring she wasn't going to be able to get up any time soon, Orchid looked around the room, seeing if she could figure out where she was based on what she could see.

As Orchid scanned the room, she saw that she was in a sort of living room.  Across the way, Orchid could Five and Aqua, two sticks she met last night, sleeping on a couch together. Five still had the plushie shark tucked securely under their arm. It reminded Orchid about her son. Purple had his own plushie that he slept with for a time. He adored it. Orchid wondered where the stuffed rabbit was now.

Pulling her attention from the pair, Orchid noticed Sage and Iris in an armchair by Aqua and Five’s heads. Sage’s arm propped up his head as he slept while his other was carefully draped around Iris, who simply leaned on the much older boy. They looked like they could be siblings, making Orchid smile. It reminded Orchid of the time Purple asked her for a little sister. He was so enthusiastic about having a little sister. But Orchid couldn't give him one. Orchid shook the thought from her head. She shouldn't be thinking about that. Not now at least.

As the pink stick continued to look around the room, She began to notice all the other sticks in the room. Ember and Scarlet were cuddled up in the arm chair by her feet, Aster was sprawled out on the floor, and Bel casually sat next to Orchid’s head. Though they were leaning on the sofa, Orchid couldn't tell if they were sleeping or not.

“Bel.” Orchid softly said, reaching up and tapping them. Bel’s head slowly shifted up to face the mother.

“Hm?” They quietly mumbled.

“I'm sorry for waking you. But what time is it?” Bel sat up and looked around. They then stood and stretched.

“I assume it’s around 6 am. Momo and the others will start cooking soon.” Just as Bel said that, there were some footsteps coming down the stairs. A forestry green stick poked their head in.

“Ah, good morning Bel. Is Aqua in here?” The green stick took a few steps into the room and noticed their friend laying on the couch.

“Oh, huh, normally Aqua’s awake by now.”

“We did have a late night last night. I wouldn't put it against him.” Bel said as they followed the new stick’s gaze.

“How about you start first Clover? Let's let Aqua sleep for now.” Bel said. Clover shrugged.

“Eh, why not? I’ll go tell Momo we’ll be short staffed today.” Clover chuckled.

“You don't have to be.”  Bel and Clover turned their head to Face orchid, who had managed to get Gold onto the couch and was now standing. “I can help you guys cook.”

“Are you sure Miss Orchid?”

“Yes. I may not be a gourmet chef but I can make a good meal.” Orchid said enthusiastically.

“Welcome to the team then Miss Orchid. Come with me.” Clover said as they turned and left the room. Orchid quickly followed after the forest green stick. The pair exited the room and entered the kitchen. Upon entry, Orchid noticed a nude pink stick with a light green sash around her waist. She was talking to another blue gray stick. He glanced up, noticing Clover and Orchid walking towards them.

“Why hello there.” He said with an almost devious grin. “And what brings this fine lady in today?” 

“Jean.”

“What? You didn't say I couldn't flirt with her.” The nude stick smacked Jean’s arm, causing him to laugh. Orchid giggled as well.

“Um, thank you for the compliment. I'm here to help cook in Aqua’s place. If you all would allow me to.” Orchid explained. Jean walked up to Orchid and took her hand.

“Of course, welcome to the team.” Jean then carefully kissed her knuckles, glancing up at Orchid with his eyes. Orchid blushed and pulled her hand away.

“Um, Th-thank you but I'm not looking to get into a relationship.” Orchid said as she put her hands up. Jean sighed and stood straight.

“That sure is a bummer.” The blue gray stick said as he turned his back to her. He then turned his head to glance back at Orchid once more.

“I’ll be free if you ever decide to.” He said with a wink. Suddenly, a hand towel was tossed over his head.

“Get over yourself Jean. We gotta get cooking.” Clover said as they and Momo began preparing to cook. Jean chuckled and removed the towel from his head.

“Alright alright. I'm coming.” Jean said as he made his way toward the counter. As Jean walked away, Orchid noticed some strange black marks on Jean’s back. She wondered what those were. But she didn't have time to think about it when the nude pink stick walked over to her.

“Good morning Miss Orchid. My name is Momo, I'm the head chef here.”  Momo said as she held her hand out. Orchid smiled and shook Momo’s hand.

“Thank you for welcoming me. How can I help?”

**********

Orchid hummed as she set the table. Just as she finished, Jean walked in with a large cart full of food. He set each dish down the center of the long table and sighed.

“There’s the main course for now.” Jean said as he wiped some sweat from his face.

“You did a good job setting the table.” Jean said as he faced Orchid. The mother chuckled and shrugged a shoulder.

“It’s not that impressive. Not compared to all the food you guys made. It looks absolutely delicious!” Orchid said as she glanced over at the table. Jean chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Eh, it ain't much. Momo made most of it.” Jean turned to leave. As he did, Orchid saw the black marks and remembered her earlier question.

“Oh, Jean.” Jean stopped and half turned to Orchid.

“Whaddya need Princess?” He flirtatiously asked. Ignoring the comment, Orchid continued speaking.

“Those marks on your back, what are they? I thought they were scars but they're black. So what exactly are they?” Jean paused and stared at Orchid. He turned his whole body towards Orchid.

“Oh these? They're just my death scars.” Jean said with a shrug. Orchid tilted her head.

“Death scars? How did you get those?” Orchid asked, taking a step towards the blue gray stick.

“Eh, based on how you die, is based on what your death scars look like. For example, I was stabbed in the back a couple times. That act of violence killed me and caused me to come here.” Jean said as he looked away from Orchid. Orchid’s eyes widened.

“Wh-what…? A-are you ok?!  You're not in any pain are you?!” Orchid asked nervously. Jean chuckled and shook his head.

“Nah. They don't hurt. But they are there.”

“Really? Is that why Five has those black streaks down their face?” Jean nodded.

“You have them too. You probably haven't seen them because of the way you came in. But yours have got to be the worst ones I've ever seen.”

“I have them too?” Orchid asked as she looked down at her body. It didn't look any different from when she was a ghost.

“Everyone has them once they remember their death. Some sticks like to cover them up. I personally don't like the feeling of the paint on my body. So my scars are just out for all to see. Jean shrugged. Orchid looked at her body.

“I mean, I remember my death. And I don't remember getting them covered up…” Orchid muttered. “Why don't I have them?”

“That’s because of what happened when you came in.Your whole body was covered in black cracks. You looked kinda like a porcelain doll that had fallen from its place. Dandi and her gang had to rush repair you to keep your code from completely falling apart. While they did that, Dandi color matched you and covered up your cracks. See,” Jean took Orchid’s arm and grabbed the towel on his shoulder. Before Orchid could protest, he started to rub away at her arm.

“H-hey!”  Orchid pulled her arm away from Jean. As she stepped back, she saw some of her color stained onto the towel. Orchid’s eyes widened as she looked down at her arm. Lo and behold, there were some large root like cracks in her forearm. Orchid was speechless. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Orchid soon began to feel faint. As her knees buckled, Jean caught her.

“Hey hey, stay with me now.”  Jean said as he shook Orchid. Orchid’s breath hitched as she looked up at Jean.

“Wha-what does this mean?! I-Im not going to disappear forever am I?! I-I still have a son to look after! My son-”

“Hey, hey calm down. It’ll be fine.” Jean said as he held Orchid steady. “Dandi and her team saved you. Believe in their craft, because they are the best at what they do.”

“O-ok… Ok…” Orchid took a breath and pulled away from Jean. She hugged herself and held her forearm tightly.

“I-Im going to go now.” Orchid said as she pushed past Jean and ran upstairs.

**********

Orchid stumbled into her room, her mind racing. She looked back down at her broken forearm.. She could basically see the broken code that lingered within the dark scars. Orchid’s chest began to ache. Coughing, Orchid fell to her knees, gasping for air. Orchid lay on the ground as the pain of being ripped apart came back to her. Orchid eventually threw up a tar-like substance. Orchid cried out as she was engulfed by pain. As her body shook, she felt something hit her hand. Looking down, she saw the necklace in her hand. Orchid pressed and held the button down, hoping that Bel would hear it. As Orchid struggled to keep herself together, she could see the cracks growing. The coating on her body was suddenly rendered useless when the cracks broke through the layer. Orchid could see for herself just how bad her damage was. She looked like a shattered mirror, the origin of breakage being her heart. As Orchid began losing consciousness, she heard footsteps running towards her.

“Miss Orchid!!!” Bel’s voice came. 

“Bel what’s wrong?!”  Jean suddenly said. Orchid heard as Jean gasped.

“Go get Rico!!!”

“Y-Yeah!” Jean’s footsteps quickly faded away. Bel then came into Orchid’s line of sight.

“Miss Orchid! Orchid!” Bel carefully turned Orchid onto her back and held her in their arms.

“What happened?! Orchid!” Bel demanded. Orchid couldn't even muster up the energy to speak. All she could do was close her eyes.

**********

“What were you thinking?!”

“I didn't mean to hurt her!!! I was just telling her what death scars were!!”

“That didnt mean you had to show her her own!!!”

“Hey! I think she had a right to know!!!”

“You know it’s Dandi’s job to inform the new sticks when they’re ready! And the only reason Dandi does it is so things like THIS don't happen!!!”

Orchid slowly opened her eyes and turned to her right. The voices were so loud it woke her up. As she focused her vision, she could see Jean arguing with an orange stick. Orchid didn't remember seeing the orange on before, but she knew he looked familiar to her.

“Rico please stop-”

“No!! This idiot needs to be put in his damn place!!”

“Dude look! I've learned my lesson! Stop trying to push it farther!”

“Oh I'll tell you when you've learned your lesson!”

“Stop arguing!!!” The three other sticks in the room turned to see Orchid standing. One hand clutched her bandaged chest while the other used the door frame to keep herself up. Orchid was exhausted just getting up. Bel quickly came to Orchid’s aid.

“Miss Orchid please. You should not be straining yourself so soon.” Bel said as they helped Orchid sit down. Rico came over to help and Jean stayed back.

“How are you feeling Miss Orchid?” Rico softly asked. The sudden change in tone caught Orchid off guard, but she shrugged it off and replied.

“I-im fine. Please, don't blame Jean for my overreaction.” Orchid coughed. “It was my fault for asking.”

“Oh please. Don't defend that hooligan.” Rico scoffed. Orchid glanced up to see that Jean had left.

“Rico.” All three sticks looked up to see Dandi standing in the doorway. Her arms were crossed and there was no smile on her face. Unusual for their creator.

“Dandi.” Rico said as he stood. Dandi walked into the room with an almost blank stare. It was hard for Orchid to tell what was going on behind the creator's eyes. Dandi then passed by Rico and made her way straight to the wounded stick.

“Please, forgive my medic. He can be quite snippy with people.” Dandi said as she bowed.

“N-No, it’s ok. You don't have to worry about that.” Orchid said before coughing Bel pat her back comfortingly.

“Are you alright, Miss Orchid?”  Bel asked, worry laced into their usually monotone voice. Orchid cleared her throat and looked up at Bel.

“Yes. Im fine.”

“That’s good to hear Miss Orchid.” Dandi said as she then tapped on her charm and opened up her inventory. Dandi then grabbed a glass bottle out of her inventory before shutting it down.

“This is for you Miss Orchid. Please, drink as much as you can.” Dandi said as she handed Orchid the bottle of red liquid. Orchid carefully took it into her hands.

“What is this?”  Orchid carefully asked as she inspected the liquid.

“It’s an elixir that should slow down your… Erosion.” Dandi said carefully. The word made Orchid’s heart tighten.

“Am… am I really going to disappear…? What about my son> I still have to wait for him!” Orchid said desperately.

“Don’t worry Miss Orchid. We are doing everything in our power To keep your code from falling apart.” Rico said as he stood slightly behind Dandi.

“We promise, we’ll do everything we can to keep you from suffering any more. But right now, you need to rest.” Orchid nodded and popped the cork off the bottle. Orchid drank about half the potion before she had to stop. A hand went over her mouth as she felt nauseous. Dandi took a step back.

“Don't force yourself if you can't keep going Orchid. You can drink the rest of it later.” Dandi said as she glanced down at her feet. Dandi then left the room. Rico sighed and turned to Bel.

“Make sure she gets plenty of rest. We can't afford another incident.” 

“Alright.” With that, Rico left the room and Bel focused all their attention on Orchid.

“Let's get you to your room.” Bel said as he carefully picked the mother up. Orchid sighed as bel exited the med bay. The potion’s effect was starting to make her feel sleepy.

“I'm going to sleep Bel…” Orchid mumbled.

“Alright. I’ll be right by your side when you wake up.” Bel said as Orchid closed her eyes. She hoped that this strange sickness she has will disappear soon. She could really use the break.

Chapter 7-(Chapter 8)-Chapter 9

[queenjunoking]

Wolf Taming Pt 49

CW: Noncon - Petplay

I heard the whir of the gears as the arm started to move. Despite my convention, I didn't move. It wasn’t the gear that solidified my status. It wasn’t even being locked in this device or giving up the hopeless attempt at running a few moments ago.

It was taking this first step. Taking this step meant that I was willingly going along with what they wanted. I had made compromises with Z, but this was different.

Unfortunately my first step was taken against my will as the arm yanked me a few feet forward before the machine stopped. I heard the door swing open and Clarity walked into my view.

“What was that about?” She asked, her big sad eyes staring right at me.. “You need to walk with the arm, Callidora. Aren’t you going to be good?”

I tried not to sigh as I decided on what to say. Clarity seemed strict but she could be sympathetic. Despite what she did, she also seemed a bit sad about doing it. I decided to try honesty to see if it would score some sympathy points.

“This is the first thing I’ve had to do on my own since I was taken and it is… difficult.” It wasn’t the full truth. Part of my pride was still getting in the way. But admitting that would probably get me worked twice as hard.

She stroked my face again and nodded. “Taking the first step is hard, but you have to take it. This is your place now. If you don’t walk the next time I turn on the machine, I will punish Lucky and Clover.”

I felt my heart jump into my throat. “Wait! Why them? I’d be the one not listening.”

Clarity gave me a look that was somehow sadder than usual. “You’re useful, Callidora. A race horse is valuable to Mistress Eos and her farm. We don’t want to hurt you if we don’t have to hurt you. Hurting you is a last resort. Instead others will be punished in your place.”

The weight of Clarity’s words pulled her down. What she was saying seemed so stupid, but it made sense to her. Eos obviously wanted someone like me to do some kind of race. If I got hurt then I couldn’t race. She was hoping that the threat of other people getting hurt would keep me in line. Something I hadn’t fully expected.

I was strong. The shock collar Z had placed me in had hurt. It could be debilitating. But I could take it. I was sure I could take whatever punishment they wanted to inflict on me.

But could Lucky and Clover?

Who else might be punished for any slight these monsters saw?

“I’m starting up the machine, Callidora.” Clarity’s voice broke through the thoughts swirling around her head.

I heard the machine start back up. I felt it pull forward. I took a deep breath and, with some hesitation, I stepped forward.

Giving in almost hurt. I felt like I was pounding a nail into my coffin with each step I took. The exercise felt unnatural. The arm kept me moving in a perfect circle around the pen, there was no room for deviation.

Clarity was silent for the first few rotations. I was only able to see her when the rotation brought her within my limited field of vision. I could see the other woman in the pen next to me after I passed by Clarity. She avoided making eye-contact. I wasn’t sure why specifically, maybe it was shame?

After I finished the forth rotation Clarity stopped the machine. I came to a stop in front of her. She said something to another one of the stablehands and they ran off. I had no choice but to stand there and wait. It wasn’t until then that I really felt a new kind of helplessness. The cage in Z’s basement was one thing, I could move around in that. I was strapped to a chair in the stable last night, but it didn’t feel like helplessness.

This did, My arms were tightly bound behind me. I was outside, but the machine kept me in place. The chains attaching me to the arm kept me standing straight, forcing me to present my body to the woman in front of me. I knew any wrong move was going to get people punished in my place.

“I’m proud of your first few steps as a true race horse, Callidora.” Clarity gave me a gentle smile, but her eyes still looked sad. “You can probably imagine what racing will be like. You’ll be in a pretty similar outfit, the only difference is it’ll be designed to show you off. Frosthoof, for example, was in her new racing attire. Mistress Eos will be commissioning some for you as well.”

“Aren’t I lucky.” I couldn’t swallow the sarcastic remark. But if Clarity picked it up, she didn’t show it.

“You definitely are.” She paused as the stablehand came back with a small bag. She rifled through it and took out a brush and began to use it on my hair as she continued to talk, much to my annoyance. “We both have high hopes for you. Someday you’ll be on the track, racing against the other race horses. Society members of course place bets on the different horses. Doing well will earn Mistress Eos a lot of renown. She is a very important person in the Society and serving her is an honor.”

“So why am I walking in circles instead of running.” I asked as I tried to pull away, not that there was much space to move.

Clarity sighed and put the brush down. “You will race on those specially made hoof heels. You did well on your marathon, but you’ll need to get used to them enough that you may as well have been born with them. Tripping or mistepping can hurt you very badly.”

“I could just walk up and down the road out there to get used to them.” I said as I gestured to the path outside the pen with my head.

“Maybe. But this pen serves two purposes. I can set this to keep going. I could leave you in here for hours with no choice to walk forward. Something that’ll probably happen as part of your training.” I grit my teeth as Clarity casually told me about the hours I’d spend everyday walking in circles.

“So what’s the other reason?”

Clarity reached into the back and pulled out a crop before entering the pen. “Mistress Eos requires all her ponies to learn how to walk correctly. Back straight. Knees up high. Looking straight forward.” She harshly corrected my posture as she talked, poking me with the crop. “This is something important for show ponies, incorrect posture deducts points. Race horses are expected to walk correctly when entering the track though.”

“So there’s no real reason to learn this aside from Eos wanting to make this as humiliating as possible.” I couldn’t choke back the bitterness. “Why do w- OW!”

My question was interrupted by Clarity hitting me on the ass with her crop. “You do it because Mistress Eos tells you to do it.” Clarity’s voice had developed a dangerous edge to it. “You do not need any other reason to do it. A pony does not question their owner’s decisions.”

I felt some kind of mix of rage and pity. There was obviously something wrong with Clarity. She always looked sad, she had emotions and seemed to have some kind of twisted empathy for the slaves forced to be ponies. But questioning Eos like that set her off. I couldn’t imagine why she would care so much about someone questioning Eos, it was like she was brainwashed or something.

“Fine.” It was all I could manage to say without risking getting into more trouble.

Before Clarity could continue another stablehand walked up with an arm full of what I could only think of as belts. “Thank you, you may go now.” Clarity’s voice returned to it’s sorrowful tone as she took the belts from the other slave and sent her on her way.

“New fashion accessories?” I asked, unsure what else they could be for.

“If you want to think of them that way.” Clarity knelt next to my feet and placed one on each of my ankles, then another one just below my knees. “There are sensors on the posts around the pen. They’ve been calibrated to your height. When you walk your knee has to go a certain height. Those things I just put on you will be able to tell how far away they are from each other and using that information they can tell if you’re lifting your leg high enough.”

My eyes widened when she showed me the next thing.

A phone.

“I can keep track of how many correct steps you take out of how many total steps you take.” Clarity left the pen and went back over to the machine controls. “We’re going to start with two hundred correct steps before you can take a short break.”

Without warning I felt the machine start back up and drag me forward. My mind should have been on the task. I didn’t want to get in trouble this soon. But all I could think of was the phone. Clarity was trusted, it could be a real phone with the ability to call people.

Which meant I might be able to call for help.

Eos

“What do you mean my ownership is being contested.” I asked Morton as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The little worm had come onto my farm uninvited. He said he was afraid of discussing it on the phone, or even calling to warn me he was coming. I could see why, but it didn’t make me any happier.

“W-well, Mistress E-Eos.” He stuttered. “I was given a tip by someone close to the council that someone was pushing back against your ownership claim of your new pony.”

“Who would push back against me!” I slammed my hand against the desk and watched Morton jump. “Who gives a fuck about Z? Who would help her file a claim against me?”

“M-master Rayne and Lady Flora. She seems to have enlisted their help and they’ve hired Molly DuBois’s group to fight against your claim of ownership.” Every word out of his mouth spiked my blood pressure.

Of course Rayne and Flora wouldn’t just be satisfied with sinking one of my own family members. They also needed to interfere in a matter that didn’t even concern them.

Which meant I also had Z to blame for what happened to Rhiannon.

“Morton. Get out of my sight. If I ever see you again I will make sure that no one in your family ever achieves membership again. I think your daughter would make a wonderful statue on my lawn.” I watched his eyes go wide and he sprinted out of the room.

I felt a little better after Morton left, but my problem remained. Rayne and Flora weren’t a group I could simply fight against. They were powerful. They were someone who were regarded as being on the same level that I was. Some idiots thought they were more important.

I couldn’t simply brush them aside. I needed to take a different tactic.

There was a loud screeching sound as Morton peeled out of my driveway and down the road. I turned around and looked towards the pens. I could see Clarity standing outside one, watching Callidora walk in circles on the inside.

I smiled as I realized what I needed to do. The trick to rebuffing Z’s attempt at getting her slave back wasn’t to fight her, Rayne or Flora.

No, the path to winning was through Callidora.

[littlemix-styleblog]

Requested Little Mix Engagement Inspired Outfits

Leigh

PRETTYLITTLETHING WHITE SCUBA HIGH NECK TIE WAIST JUMPSUIT: £21. A engagement party can be a tricky affair, You want to look as good as possible but you don`t want to go over the top and outshine the bride. So we have put together a few outfits that will hopefully maybe inspire you or help you make that final decision. For each girl I went with a different look and alternative - Not everyone wants to go in a dress and you also have to think about the many factors such as comfort, Price and weather. So with Leigh I decided to go for a jumpsuit and I posted below the jumpsuit I was inspired by when she wore a pink sequin blush jumpsuit for a appearance many years ago. We wanted to go down that same route but keep the embellishment to a minimum otherwise it would`ve looked like we would be off to a Christmas party afterwards. Unfortunately, Not many embellished jumpsuits are available at the moment or none that suited the event so we decided to go for a white jumpsuit instead and we went with this one from PrettyLittleThing. I know for a fact this is a popular item as it has been on PLT`s website for ages and they keep restocking due to popular demand. The jumpsuit is very flattering...The long white fitted flare legs gives people the illusion of longer legs, the top half features a ruched effect where it synches in topped off by a tie up, I love this jumpsuit it is so modern, classy and trendy. The side boob might not be to everyone's taste but with a few pins and boob tape you`ll be in good hands. I went with the idea there may be kids at this engagement party so you would want to keep it demure and mature and not upstage the bride, The colour against the sun would be out of this world - You would radiate. This jumpsuit comes in many other colours and patterns such as floral, Green, Red, Black and Orange.

Lulu`s KATHERINE ROSE GOLD METALLIC RHINESTONE MULES: $99. These arent the original shoes as featured above, the shoes became out of stock over night. But I originally went with rose gold embellished perspex mules in case you wanted to wear something different and because the jumpsuit is white and to add a bit of flair and colour to the outfit you could do that with the accessories and the shoes. I went back to find some more rose gold mules and no where had them in stock, The only place was Lulu`s and yes I am aware of the price.

ASOS DESIGN headband with graduating pearls in gold tone: £12. I added this in case you wanted to go extra. Pearl`s in hair accessories has become a big trend lately as you will see later. I thought this was such a cute, quirky accessory. 

River Island Rose gold boxy mini cross body bag: £18. I did want a simple rose gold clutch that wasn`t too out there or large but yet again hardly no one had one. So we went with this one from River Island instead which I think will do the job nicely.

PrettyLittleThing ROSE GOLD 80MM LARGE HOOP EARRINGS: £2. Lastly, Just because Leigh wears hoops a lot we had to add them like I do on every post. For those eagle eyed viewers you will notice this is the same pair of earrings I featured in my last inspired. I don`t wear earrings myself but £2 for a pair of good sustainable earrings? What more could you ask for. We`re also continuing on with adding colour with these earrings. Of course you could always do it the other way round by wearing a colourful outfit and then downplaying it with mutual shoes and accessories. Don`t forget it`s always a good idea to experiment and mix and match. 

Jade

ASOS Dusty Daze jacquard blazer co-ord: £75. Secretly hoping this suit I chose for Jade will steal all of your hearts, How beautiful is this? The print of this, the colour and the cuteness is enough to make me buy it. I simply went for this cause I imagined right away what this would look like against the backdrop of the sun, You will glow. I chose a suit because Jade is fan of a suit very often and we`re also mixing it up and giving you options. The trousers are cropped giving you slimmer ankles, The suit is fitted to make you feel comfortable and confident. I know the price is a little pricey but imagine what this would look like in photos and you would definitely receive a lot of compliments. If you don`t like this suit then I have chosen many other style of suits and colours for you that would work well against the sun and at a engagement party such as orange, Neon Orange, Green, Darker Orange, Purple, Blue.

ASOS Dusty Daze straight leg jacquard trousers co-ord: £55. I always think of a suit as a alternative for someone such as a tomboy who doesn`t like wearing dresses or skirts. Wearing a suit you can feel just as sexy and confident and not to mention feel like a boss too.....Even though you`re not in an office.

River Island White cross back cami top: £16. For the top we have to keep it simple as the suit is doing the talking here, Put in a neon top and it`s too busy so try and keep the colours mutual to break it up. 

River Island Gold embellished shoulder bag: £30. I didn`t want to go for a pink clutch as it would clutch against the suit, So I didn`t really have much to go on and my colour coordination is terrible. So we went with this bag from River Island which is actually similar to a bag Jade has from Topshop. 

H&M Long Earrings: $9.99. Another extra if you didn`t want to feel bare, We went with these hammered effect earrings from H&M. These have exploded onto the scene lately especially the gold coloured ones. We also managed to find another pair in another style here.

ASOS DesignB London rose gold hairband: £6. As usaul as I was searching for outfits the inspiration flowed and ideas was coming at me from every angle. So to go with the confident, empowering, boss look we have going on we thought we would add this rose gold hairband. Slick your hair back into a low ponytail before adding this gem. 

PrettyLittleThing CLOVER BLACK METALLIC STRAP HEELED SANDALS: £18

Jesy

River Island Lime cigarette trousers: £36. I know this won`t be too everyone's taste but neon/fluro colours have also exploded onto the scene lately and the girls have been seen wearing it too and to be honest with you I got stuck with what to put for Jesy, You can`t really go to a engagement party dressed in all black now can you? Talk about a party spoiler. But we eventually got there and we came up with this. Can you guess where I got my inspiration from? Jesy rocked up to Leigh`s swimwear launch in a fluro number and she rocked it well, Very well. So we thought we would hop on that bandwagon and hey gusto here we are. I`d just like to point out that there is a difference between neons and limes and fluros..One is either brighter and the other is either dark, Found that out yesterday. Jesy wore neon green designer tailored trousers which complimented her legs so well, So we picked up these trousers from River Island which comes in a co-ord. 

River Island Bright yellow boyfriend blazer: £65. Don`t be fooled when it says bright yellow it`s the same colour as the trousers. This structured blazer would give your body definition and that confident/sexy feeling. This jacket is not only for a engagement party but it`s so versatile too, You can step out in black jeans, black boots and a black top whilst going out for dinner or you can wear it casually with jeans, trainers and a white cami. Great investment this jacket. 

PRETTYLITTLETHING WHITE UNDERWIRED CAGE DETAIL LACE BODY: £19. Because the co-ord does the talking and is so bright it could blind you we wanted to break up the colour in the middle with something white and we went with a bodysuit. Lace bodysuits have popped up onto the scene for the last year or so now and are everywhere. You can wear them for anything. I think the reason these have become so popular is because they are no longer seen as a lingerie product and more of a product you can wear everyday now. However if you don`t like the lace effect then we have picked up another bodysuit from MissGuided which is much more simpler here 

Boohoo Patent Court Shoes: £19. Again the suit does the talking and you don`t want anything else clashing with it, So we kept it simple with the shoes and went with these nude patent ones from Boohoo. 

PRETTYLITTLETHING SILVER 100MM HOOP EARRINGS: £2 Yes, These earrings again. But this time we went with a pair of silver earrings just because we think these would look great against the white. 

ASOS DESIGN tassel clutch bag: £12

Perrie

ASOS DESIGN Petite 3D embellished crop top midi dress: £38. I`ve wanted to use this dress for so long in one of my inspireds I love it so much. I can see how it would be more of a race day/cocktail party in your garden/wedding dress but I think it could also pass as a engagement party dress as well. The colour on this is amazing, it blows my mind. I think it`s so cute because of the length and the way it is structured with the gems on the neck. You can get down to a tune or two with the skirt not being so fitted and tight, You can let go and be free and feel the wind in your hair as you dance around to your favourite songs. This dress also comes in other colours such as taupe and purple

ASOS DesignB London faux pearl detail large hair clip 2 pack: £8. These were what I was talking about earlier. Hair clips/slides have POPPED up massively onto the scene, They are everywhere! You can get them small, big, medium in whatever styles and colours they are everywhere, you cannot miss them. So we hopped on board that train and included these pearl hair clips. I did notice that pearl hair accessories are big this summer so we have a range of different styles and colours to choose from in a moment. But this would go perfect against your dress and you would look a million dollars. The other suggestions we got were another set of pearl slides, Rectangle, Hair slides.

PrettyLittleThing CLOVER SILVER METALLIC STRAP HEELED SANDALS: £18. As i`ve said before the dress does the talking and you don`t want everything else to be busy, So we kept it busy with a pair of silver heels from PrettyLittleThing. 

New Look Off White Faux Pearl Beaded Bag: £20. I originally wanted to go with a pearl clutch, But I soon found myself surrounded by these beauties. These have become so popular this summer, They are bang on trend. They are cute, quirky, chic and classic little bag. This bag is so unique and different and would make you stand out. They do come in other colours but we thought white would look great against the dress. We did have trouble finding one as most are sold out everywhere but we managed to there in the end with this one from New Look. However, We also managed to find one from here 

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[fairyshuuu]

Lucky Clover

Genre: Mafia!Exo, Hitman!AU Length: 5.2k Warnings: Language, abducting, blood (M) When a hitwoman get’s caught in a sticky situation, does the mafia get the blame?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |

You smooth out the satin dress around you again and look around the room with a small smile. You walk over to the man in conversation in front of you. He is a lot taller than you, even when wearing heels, his dark hair is nicely slicked back for an elegant feel. You smile to yourself as you hook your arm into his. He cleans up nice, that’s for sure. But you won’t let it distract you.

“Mr Anderson, I see you have brought company.” An older man nods at you and you give him a dazzling smile.

“Mr Kim, my wife. Darling, this is Mr Kim.” Your husband holds out a hand and gestures it over to the older man.

“Pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

He shakes your hand nicely and chuckles at you. “Ah well… not all rumors are to be trusted.”

“Of course, sir. All good things from this end.”

He gives you a soft smile as he goes back to talking to your husband. You scan the crowd once more. You let your eyes look around casually, not lingering on one person in particular for too long. You glance to the left of the room and let your eyes run over his figure once more. Your target. A young interviewer, Jung Hoseok, tall and a happy smile at all times. Why he bothers people, you don’t really care. You are never the one to put your nose in things that don’t concern you and never ask any questions. Which is why you are good at what you do.

Your eyes moved back to the man next to you. Your ‘husband’ is known in this world, so it makes him more approachable. You have seen your target interact with a lot of the people here and you know it is only a matter of time before he would come to talk to your ‘husband’ as well. The young man is so easy to read, like an open book. Early twenties, ambitious and kind hearted but awfully dependent on the people around him.

He walks hunched forward a tiny bit from the moment he steps foot into the room, and despite his big smile you could tell he is nervous to be around so many big headpieces. He picks at the pocket on his pants from time to time, looking around for someone. He had gotten into some bad territory, that much was sure. And even though you have no one to confirm your hunches, you don’t need one. You smile when someone taps your shoulder with a soft cough. Hoseok is looking at you with big eyes and a bigger smile.

“Could I ask you and Mr Anderson some questions?”

“He and Mr Kim are discussing some important business matters at the moment, but I’m sure he would be willing in a minute.”

Hoseok nods at you with understanding. “I’ll go get a drink in the meantime.”

There it is. Right on time.

“Can I join you? Despite my love for meetings such as this one, finances really are not my forté.”

He nods with a smile and you walk next to the younger man, taking a seat next to him at the bar. He is too easy to read. Every 15 minutes, almost to the second correct, he goes over to the bar to parch his sore throat. You could see it when he took a big gulp earlier. He had to rub his throat afterwards.

“What do you recommend, Mr …”

He looks over at you with a sympathetic smile and giggles. “Just Hoseok is fine. And I have no clue. I don’t drink a lot.”

“I’ll just go for the usual then.” You wink at him and usher over the bartender. “A French 75, please.” After looking over at Hoseok you continue. “Make that two.”

Your drinks come quickly and you gently let your hand glide between your two knees. One of the beads of your dress is twist-able. You quickly catch the bead with the tiniest move of your hand. You had chosen a quick poison. Very effective. You take the bubbling drink in your hand to take a sip and put it back down on the wooden bar.

Another subtle move, hooking your heel on the iron of the bar chair. Then you slip out and almost fall, but Hoseok catches you. In his moment of distraction you flick the bead in his drink. It dissolves quickly. He helps you stand back up with a knowing smile.

“Oh lord. I always forget that heels get stuck on everything.” You give him an apologetic smile and straighten yourself back up. “It seems that my husband is done talking. I’ll join you in a second, but I need to use the ladies room for a moment.”

He nods and brings his drink to his lips to take another swig. You take your drink in hand as well and smile at him once more, then turn around and walk straight out of the hall. You didn't need to stay behind to observe the damage. The poison would kill him in exactly 4 minutes and 36 seconds. You get to the ladies room and get into one of the stalls.

You let your feet slide out of the heels and pick them up, smoothly snapping the heel off. Flats are much more comfortable in most scenario’s anyway. Your heels are designed that way for you just for that reason. You take out your contacts and throw them in the toilet, as well as your extensions. Would be sad to see them go. They look so good on you. You emerge from the stall after flushing and pick out a phone from your tiny purse, just pressing one button with the knuckle of your thumb before throwing it into the trash.

2 minutes and 3 seconds left. Time to get out. Your steps are elegant and big, making you arrive at the parking with some time to spare. It is dark and quiet, only your feet on the floor making a sound. The taps of your feet bounce off the walls and fill the lot. The parking suddenly feels too quiet. And there is this dooming feeling lingering in the air. Like the air is damp, pushing on your skin and flowing in your lungs. You stop all movement as you peer around. The sensation is pressing and makes your heart pound. Something is not right at all.

The floor stays completely silent as you concentrate on where anyone could be hiding. And then the tiniest sound has you looking up between the cars. It is tiny, a very slight squeak. The sound of someone trying to go around unnoticed. Fuck. They know you are here. You glance behind you, to find a way to escape. The fire escape is blocked off. That would take too long. The lift is not an option now that it has closed already. You glance to your left and sprint for the window, but it’s too late. A hard knock against your temple makes you fall to the ground and then everything turns black.

--

The soft shake of a vehicle, feels like a car in this case, almost lulls you back to sleep after waking up. Almost. Your eyes open and close once or twice, but stay shut as you realise you are blindfolded. A pounding pressure on the right side of your head. Great. You think back to the last thing you remember. Right, you were knocked out in a parking lot and most likely bound up and gagged by those same people who were now taking you … somewhere. The van, assuming by the sound it makes you guess it’s a van, turns sharply, making you feel a sharp sting in your wrists as you slide off your seat. You carefully sit back up and move your wrists in circles

They are bound tightly together, making them rub over each other harshly with every move. It feel like the rope around your hands is then attached to the van itself, so that every move of the van makes your wrists snap back. You sigh and breathe in slowly through your nose. You try your best to stay alert and assess your situation so you stretch your legs out. The van is cleared out and there are long benches on both long sides of the vehicle. That is all you can sense out with your feet before someone delivers a hard kick to your shin, making you flinch back. The asshole- he is lucky you have a gag in your mouth or else he would have gotten it right here.

“Whatever it is that you think you’re doing, I would stop it.”

The voice is quite soft for a man and seems to have a certain playfulness in it, but you could sense he is not up for games right now. So you sit back up straight and pull your legs back close to you, leaning your head against the van. It is an uncomfortable position, with your wrists squeezed in between your back and the seat, but your neck feels particularly sore, so you can’t care too much. And then you start counting. 1 … 2 … 3 … It was a habit you had picked up long ago, when you had to wait for sometimes hours for your target to appear at the predicted location.

And while it didn’t really serve a purpose then, right now you want to stay awake for as long as possible. After 3 hours, 17 minutes and 43 seconds you decide to stop counting. Wherever they were bringing you is a whole while away. You barely finish your thought as the van stops with screeching tires. The motor shuts off and you sit up straight when you hear some mumbling in the front of the van. Then the driver’s door is opened and not much later the passenger’s side as well. There is some ruffling at the back of the van but then it swings open with a scratchy sound. You hear an amused huff and the sound of a punch, but not aimed at you.

“Yah! I wasn’t fucking sleeping, dumbass!”

“Shut up and take her inside.”

The second voice is an unfamiliar one. It is very deep and warm, but sounds very dangerous. The sleeping beauty gets up from his chair opposite you and leans over your shoulder to de-attach your rope. You briefly contemplate standing up quickly so that your shoulder would hit his chin, but you decide that would only get you in more trouble. If you played your cards right, you might be in and out of this place in no time.

Sleeping beauty now grabs your wrists harshly and pulls you up and out of the van without much consideration. You ungracefully tumble out of the van and land on your knees while your arm is pulled into an unnatural direction, making you wince in pain. Your shoulder feels like it is ripping apart, but your captor doesn’t seem to care. Instead, he takes a hold of your elbow and pulls you up to your feet. You are being pushed forward until you hear a door shut behind you and you notice the change in surroundings.

You are inside a hallway now and sleeping beauty must have thought you were walking a little slow, because instead of pushing, he starts hauling at your arm again, dragging you on while you try not to fall over your own feet. It is very hot in this hallway, and that makes breathing with a gag in your mouth even harder. When your captor stands still for a second, you attempt to take a deep breath, but it only ends up in you painfully coughing around the fabric in your mouth. Your captor stays silent, but at least gives you the time to get over your coughing before dragging you on.

You are being yanked left and right, and you are too out of it to remember the way. After what seems like an eternity of walking with your burning knees, sleeping beauty finally holds you still in front of a door. You can feel the cold practically coming off of the metal. A soft click opens the door and then you are being pushed inside. Next, he drags you a few more steps, before pushing you down onto the floor letting go of you. He sighs deeply as you sense him looking at you. The sigh seems to be more a sense of annoyance though, rather than pity. You are aware that you must look disgusting at the moment.

Your knees are cut and bleeding, your arms resting in an unnatural position because you are trying to keep weight off of your shoulder. Your lips are chafed and dry, bleeding in cuts most likely caused by the straining piece of fabric in your mouth. Your eyes are blindfolded, but the tears had probably soaked your make-up into a panda face, even though he can’t see it right now. He crouches in front of you and carefully removes the gag from your mouth, causing you some pain but at least you can relax your jaw now.

He seems to wait for you to start screaming, but you just stayed silent. You have never been one to beg. After a couple of seconds his hands go behind your head and start picking at the knot of your blindfold. As it falls off, you keep your eyes closed for a bit. Then you slowly flutter your eyes open. The light is so bright and intense after a couple of hours in the dark that they almost immediately started tearing up. Some tears spill onto your cheeks but you manage to blink most away. Then you focus your still blurry vision on the black blob in front of you.

Your captor is sitting on his heels, evaluating your every move. He is … probably the prettiest man you have ever seen. He has large, brown, curious eyes and adorable lips curled up at the ends. If his gaze wasn’t so serious, it would look like he had a permanent smile. He has very pretty high cheekbones and a straight jaw. His black hair falls on both sides of his face, leaving most of his forehead free. Early twenties, around 23- 24, only child, smokes from time to time, probably old habit, or a way to take his mind off of things. You can’t help but wonder why such a pretty creature would hurt anyone. But as your eyes continue down his body, you can see that he is definitely not innocent. Across the right side of his face ran a scar, starting from the middle of his cheek to his ear, and while it was an old injury, the white line was clearly visible.

You look down at his hands that are resting on his thighs. His knuckles are raw and kind of bloody, but it seems quite old. His left hand also has a large, round, white scar in the middle. It looks like an older bullet wound. His arms are toned and have seemingly had a rough time, because both biceps are lined with white lines. Some seem more recent than others. He also bites his nails. Nervous habit much? His entire left forearm is covered in a large black tattoo. After staring for a little while, you can see that it is a scorpion. His arm also has some smaller designs, like a large number one with twelve lines running through it and some flowers. The smaller tattoo seems familiar, so you try to recognize it. But it is as if the thought is water and flows through your fingers any time you try to reach for it. After a while, you give up and focus your attention back to the man in front of you. He is wearing all-black, a fitting shirt with short sleeves and black jeans. Around his waist hung a belt with two handguns.

Eventually, you redirect your eyes back at his face. He has yet to say one word since opening this room and it seems a little strange. Then, he slowly gets up and walks over to the door, scanning the room once. You chew on your cheek for a second, figuring out how to go about the situation. Your shoulder is feeling awful, like it is tearing off from your body. You know it is out of it’s socket, and it would only get worse, if not put back. You decide to be nice.

“How am I supposed to put my shoulder back?”

His dark eyes meet yours from the moment you open your mouth. His face twitches for a second with what seems to be guilt, before going back to stone cold. He doesn’t answer your question however, and walks out of the room. You sigh loudly as you look around. It is a perfect square, completely white, with only a bed in it. You push yourself up along the wall, which proves pretty difficult with your hands bound behind your back. You know what has to be done, even if it will suck.

If you leave your arm for much longer, there could be permanent damage. Gently sitting down on the bed, you let your hands grab hold of the pillow on the mattress. With fast movements, you rid the pillow of it’s cover. Then you roll the fabric to a snake and lay it down. Turning around, you bend and take the fabric between your teeth. At least you wouldn’t bite your tongue of like this. Then you stand up and face the white walls of the room. You let your head rest against it, before stepping as close as possible.

Then you bit down hard as you push your shoulder back and out with your entire weight. Your screams sound muffled by the rag in your mouth as you bite down so hard it feels your teeth might break. The tears quickly spill over as an agonizing pain flashes through you. And then, with the sound of a snap, it is gone. The pain stops and you let the fabric fall out of your mouth. You want to wipe your tears but are then reminded of your situation. And all at once, you feel so tired. You fall down on the mattress and close your eyes.

--

You are woken by the screeching of the metal door, but you are too tired to really wake up.

“Oh shit.”

“Is she okay?”

“How would I know?”

“Well fuck.”

“Hey, looks like she set it herself.”

“Fuck… she’s tougher than she looks.”

“Yeah whatever, you clean her up. Now that Lay hyung’s not here, you are the nurse.”

“Shut the fuck up, Chen.”

Sounds like the black angel from earlier is named Chen. You recognize the other voice to be the other familiar voice from the van. You want to sit up and take a look at them but are hit by another wave of sleep. Too soon the two voices fade out as you black out again.

--

A bright light is shining in your face when you wake up, making it almost impossible to open your eyes. After a couple of seconds, the light gets turned away from you, so you flutter your eyes a few times to get used to the lighting. You are in a room with light grey walls, a light grey floor, a couple of lights built in into the ceiling and only the chair you were sitting on, a metal table, and the empty chair in front of you. Your arms are pulled behind your back and cuffed into a tight metal contraption. Damn, these people are really scared that you will stab them, apparently.

I doesn’t take too long for you to have observed every single detail in the room and understand that there will be no easy way to escape this mess. You also notice that your knees have been cleaned up, and your face feels a lot less disgusting without the dried makeup and blood. After what feels like another 10 minutes, the sound of footsteps in the hall outside are heard. The door swings open slowly and a man enters the room. He is not tall, not short, dressed in all black. His dark purple hair is casually messed back, leaving his handsome face exposed. He is … very, very good looking.

He gives you a nod and sits down on the other chair, putting some papers down on the table. As he leans back, he is definitely taking you in and considering his options. Would you be an easy one, would you be difficult, shy, hard to get talking or would you spill everything right out for him. People were so easy to read if you knew what to look for. Then, he speaks.

“Hello. I guess an apology is in order.” He nods his head, more to himself then to you. “We’re sorry for hitting you over the head to get you here.” His brown orbs lift back up at you.

“Apology accepted. If you don’t mind, could you tell me why I am here?”

He pauses again, considering his options for a brief moment. Then he stands up, letting the papers lay on the table and begins walking around the room slowly, his arms behind his back. “We need to know who you are and who you work for. Your name, your role, stuff like that. If you can tell me all of that, it would make our job a lot easier and your day a lot better.”

You take in a calm breath and look up at him. “Sure. I’ll tell you all I know. You might be disappointed though, I sadly don’t know a lot.”

“We will be the ones to decide that.”

“You got it, boss. Ask ahead.”

“What is your name?”

“13.”

“What is your real name?”

“I don’t have one. Just 13, like the unlucky number, you know.”

He looks in your direction, catching your eyes for a second to see if you are telling the truth. “What is your role in the operation you work for?”

“Can you rephrase, sweety? I don’t understand that question.”

“What are you good at?”

“Reading people.”

He looks over at you again, a light confusion in his eyes. “Reading people?”

“Yup. Take you for example. Mid twenties, came from rich parents, making you often want to prove yourself. You probably studied some generic high-value course at some high-value school but you decided that wasn’t what you wanted in life. Probably an only kid, or maybe an older sister.”

A flinch.

“Ah, definitely an older sister. You don’t talk to her anymore though, to keep her safe. You got out of a long term relationship not too long ago too, but she couldn’t deal with your baggage. Lover’s spat ends up in a break, that keeps getting prolonged. She makes you distracted, so they put you from a higher, more action filled position to this one, where you probably have only been for 2-3 months? Sound about right?”

His eyes travels you up and down once before he turns around. Oh, you are definitely right. He sits back down in the chair and looks back up to you. “Anything else you are good at?”

“Getting in money.”

His eyes travels down you again, probably trying to figure out what that consists of.

“Cards, gambling, blackjack, stuff like that. Funny how that works, huh? You get named after the unlucky number and people think you might actually have amazing luck. It’s just amazing cheating though.”

“Anything else?”

“I’m also told that I’m pretty good at sucking dick, but I wasn’t planning on putting that on my resume, boss.”

His face flinches just the slightest bit, making you grin widely. He is clearly shocked by that statement. He lets out a breath before asking another question. “Is that all you do in the operation?”

“I do what they tell me to.”

“Such as?”

“Killing someone, blackmailing, getting them to talk, you name it. I’m versatile.” Another statement that takes him of his rails. Something that seems to bother him quite a bit.

“Who do you work for?”

“I have no clue.”

“Don’t play us. Who do you work for?”

“Baby, when I tell you I don’t know, I really don’t. I’m trying to help so that I can get out of this shithole as soon as possible too. I have no clue who I work for.”

“Why don’t you know? Do they keep you in the dark?”

“I have no memory of anything when I wake up and get a mission.”

This takes him back a little. He tries to keep it subtle, but it is too noticeable for you. “Then how do you know you have had past missions? This is not your first one.”

“The way my body moves in routine. I don’t think your average girl with amnesia can shoot someone without scope from a mile away, load two guns at the same time and can spot one person who doesn’t fit their surroundings in a crowd of more than 800 people. I just assume.”

He nods, before noting something down on his papers and looking back up at you. “So you have no clue of who your employer is.”

You nod. “I just get my objective, I take care of said objective, get money to feed myself, go to sleep and wake up the next morning.”

He flips through his pages once, letting out a breath through his nose.

“I’m guessing we are done here, boss? If you could decuf me now so we can both get on with our days.”

“I guess you really can’t help us more at the moment.”

“If you have a need for anything else, just give me a ring. Now, it’s been great, but I’m getting the chills here, so if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Someone will escort you to your room in a minute.”

“My room? Oh no, no, no. I really need to get out of here.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I’ll die if I don’t complete my missions in three day time. Today is my last day. You see, we are very replaceable.”

“If you don’t remember anything, how would you know that?”

“I don’t know how, I just know. I have a bomb in my brain that they will use if I don’t do as they ask.”

“Someone will take you to your room.”

“You are basically signing my death sentence here, boss.”

“I can’t do anything for you right now. If what you say is true, we will take care of it, tomorrow.”

“Sure. Can I at least now the name of the man who killed me?”

He takes his lip between his teeth once, probably without noticing, before letting it go and sighing. “Suho.”

“Well, Suho, at least the last face I get to look at is a pretty one.”

He chuckles at that, gives you a nod and exits the door with his papers in hand. What a cutie, so innocent. Too bad you wonn’t see him anymore. You look around the room some more, but you already knew the answer to that. There is no way you were getting out of this one.

About five minutes later, a pair of footsteps stops at your door. Another man comes inside of the room. He is very handsome as well, (you almost sigh because you are realizing all the beauty you have let slip by in this cruel world) but he looks very serious. No emotion on his face at all. You scan over his face quickly. Straight brows, long lashes, big eyes and very full lips. He has a white scar coming from under his jaw, running to his bottom lip. His black hair is buzzed short at the sides, left longer at the top. 

You can see his left arm, covered in a tattoo again. The one with twelve lines running through is there again, but his main tattoo wasn’t a scorpion. It was abstract, not an animal this time. It looks kind of like a pounding fist. You quickly mark him in your mind. Early twenties, probably a younger sibling. He is very hard to read on anything else. You want to observe more, but he cuts you off. He walks over to you and grabs your arm tightly while removing your cuffs. When the cuffs fall to the ground, he tightens his grip even more, making you sure that you will bruise there.

“Sweety, I literally can not go anywhere right now. I won’t tell you how to do your job but could you stop crushing my arm?”

He doesn’t respond and drags you up, walking you over to the door. He pushes it open and leads you in front of him, still holding you tightly. The hall is grey too, with the same built-in lights. In this hallway though, you can see little cracks in the walls here and there, only playing more into your suspicion. You are underground. Awesome.

That leaves about a 1% chance of a successful escape. When you get to the end of the hall, there is a split, and he leads you through, turning left and right so quickly one after the other, that you have no clue which direction is which anymore. Finally, he loosens his grip on you bicep a bit, making you sigh. You get to a white metal door and are shoved in quickly without another word. The familiar white box is strangely comforting as you slide down the wall and rub your wrists. 

For the first time in a whole day, you can move your hands freely. It almost feels as if your hands had gone numb before. You sigh as you look around the room. Sadly, everything you told Suho is very true. You don’t know why that is something you can remember, but you know it is a looming threat at all times. Which is the only reason you do their dirty work. You have never been scared of death, but the thoughts of having your brains blown out does seem rather unappealing. 

You look around your empty room. Strange to be aware of how many hours you have left to live. Everything you have ever ‘accomplished’ now seems very insignificant. One good side though, you don’t have to say goodbye to anyone, because you hava no one. With your free hands you take off your shoes and put them by the door. The gray padded floor is heated. What a nice touch in a prison cell. 

You sit down on the bed with a strange sense of peace. The white walls and minimal room seem almost more comforting than the walls of your own apartment. Your ‘home’ is cold and fake, it is as if you live in a play. You tuck your legs up and roll into a little ball to sleep one last time, and you feel a strange sense of happiness in it all. Your eyes shut soon after that.

A new series!!! After Until it stops, I wanted to do a more ‘action’ concept. Hope you all enjoy it!

[sneek-m]

Listening 2017: July 16–28

There’s a tad longer blurb than usual for a selection this time around. Based on the banner, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say it’s on Cornelius and his classic Fantasma. So for the sake of it not running past the 1000-word mark, this entry stuck to only three albums. I also had an idea of pairing it with the musician’s latest, Mellow Waves, because I’ve been enjoying that album lately. Maybe I’ll write a separate piece for it? Who knows!

Here are three albums that got me jotting down words.

Fantasma

Cornelius Trattoria/Matador, 1997

For all the nostalgia Keigo Oyamada collages for his Shibuya-kei classic as Cornelius, his daydreams about the future on the record is what intrigues two decades later since the album’s release. Was he predicting the pace of the world in the frenetic, drum ’n’ bass-inspired detour “2010”? And was he, too, anxious of how fast we will consume our resources — in this case, music, past and present — in the fuzz-rock jam “New Music Machine”?

Oyamada himself might have been overwhelmed at the abundance of music available at the record shops he would frequent. I know I need to get up and take a walk sometimes just thinking about how much music is out there for me to discover. Can you imagine the seasickness he’d be stricken by had he known about the streaming age, let alone the P2P era coming just a few years after he put out this record?

He lays bare the riches of his findings: jazz LPs, folk singles, break beat compilations, film soundtracks, early electronic tapes — all swirled into acid-tinged Plunderphonics. But it’s far less nauseating of a trip than what the Internet era would birth with, say, Girl Talk as a tribute to the way we listen to music. A big part of that owes to Oyama studying the medium of the long-playing album as much as the sounds making up his beloved singles: not only is Fantasma designed for a one-sitting listen, it also pays homage to the side-flipping ritual.

The more streamlined expression here gives me a more utopian idea of this all-accessible New Music Machine. Nowhere does he give off an impression that this “everything, all the time”-type of consumption takes a toll on a person; the exuberance to which he interacts with all of this abundance is almost enviable in its purity.

So it’s kinda jarring to hear him follow up the excitement behind the New Music Machine with a prediction of it causing some irreversible damage. He says NASA invented it in 2001, but it “breaks the world” by 2010. Joy lasts terrifyingly short. Chilly is how prescient such a story sounds in relation to a rapidly evolving digital music culture.

[8]

Hola Hola EP

K.A.R.D. DSP Media, 2017

Seven months since their first single, “Oh NaNa,” K.A.R.D’s co-ed dynamic still has a lot left to be explored. “Don’t Recall” showed promise of the exciting on-record drama they can bring between the men and women. While “RUMOR” matched the heated dialog, the title track dialed it back for a more casual flirt, both with the narrative and production. I prefer the songs full of tension because who doesn’t like drama? And besides, there’s a glut of smooth-talkers trying to get a cute girl’s attention over equally breezy beats on the pop charts. Some upset of these familiar sounds would be nice.

Speaking of the beats: though K.A.R.D. establishes a solid niche with its co-ed membership, the group’s music is so tied with the balmy chill of 2017 that it’s currently difficult to predict how they will do once that hot trend is past its time. Right at this time, they ride the wave just fine, but on the flip side, the expiration date with this sound is quickly approaching. As long as they stick to their concept, though, I think they can survive even if the well dries up.

[7]

Flower Boy

Tyler the Creator Columbia, 2017

From early in his career, Tyler the Creator’s taste was clearly defined to the point he sounded almost stubborn in his ways. A constant in his music has been the presence of jazz with the color of its chords bleeding out the margins. Flower Boy’s arrangements are much more cohesive and sophisticated than his past four albums, though you can also hear the links in its core that connects it to his ambitions rooting all the way back to Bastard. “911/Lonely,” for one, recall “VCR/Wheels” from his debut through its two-song structure but also the love letter he pens with an honesty almost too explicit to read.

Quite a few outlets have pointed out maturity in how he sings about his themes, another constant in his music since his MySpace days. Though I’m more intrigued on how he streamlines those themes into a single listen. Tyler played with narrative devices, constructing albums like films. He lets the music unfold freely without much structure, and the cohesion despite a lack of a guide is impressive. I can only credit that to him dedicating his time obsessively to say the same thing he has been wanting to say out loud since he was a teen. There’s faith and an intense embrace from him for his work than any other. It’s only right he’s shouting out loud Twitter right now promoting the hell out of this to make this hit number on the charts.

[8]

More albums that piqued my interest…

Daphni: Fabriclive 93 (Fabric, 2017)

DJ Tennis: DJ-Kicks (!K7, 2017)

Hitomi Toi: Ecstasy (Billboard, 2017)

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: The Nashville Sound (Southeastern, 2017)

Kami-sama, I Have Noticed: Kami-sama, I Have Noticed (Warner Music Japan, 2017)

Katie Ellen: Cowgirl Blues (Lauren, 2017)

Maison Book Girl: Image (Tokuma Japan Communications, 2017)

Meek Mill: Wins & Losses (Maybach Music Group/Atlantic, 2017)

Momoiro Clover Z: 5th Dimension (Starchild, 2013)

Mura Masa: Mura Masa (Interscope/Polydor/Downtown/Anchor Point, 2017)

Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (Interscope/Nothing, 1999)

Starlito & Don Trip: Step Brothers Three (Grind Hard/Empire, 2017)