#under them when you view them. you can only add photo descriptions (which is more about literally describing

[icewindandboringhorror]

misc. daily life photos again .. for the every once in a while that I collect enough over a few months to actually make a photo set out of them lol

[waterbridge2]

Why Do Manufacturers Favor Instagram Over Other Social Media Platforms?

Typically, the vendor or marketer will give a special discount code just for the influencer’s audience to find a way to track how efficient the campaign is. The last thing I want to add is that you must track your influencer ROI with particular coupon codes. That method you'll have the ability to monitor the effectiveness of any given marketing campaign from any given influencer. What makes Instagram a fantastic platform is that many are finding that they can implement influencer advertising to help them attain a wider audience. As the only locations to speak about your self, your Instagram bio and description are important. In addition to your website URL, you must embody a slogan and temporary elevator pitch, as well as your most related hashtags. Don’t shy away from utilizing your brand as your profile photograph, either. What was once a easy photo-sharing app has reworked into an immersive social experience that enables users to explore a company’s visible id. When you switch to a Business Account, you do acquire entry to some limited analytics, corresponding to follower growth, impressions, reach, and engagement. Access these by clicking on the View Insights option under your uploaded images and videos. Double Your App Conversion Price With App A If your test took 5 months to run—and wasn’t a winner—you wasted a lot of money. Of course, you have to run your exams for no less than two weeks anyway. (My private minimal is four weeks, since two weeks is usually inaccurate.) Then, apply the seven-day rule if you want to prolong it. In any case, you’ll want to enhance your speculation and run a brand new take a look at. Any seasoned tester has had plenty of experiences in which a “winning” variation at 80% confidence finally ends up losing badly after getting pushed reside to a web site and uncovered to extra traffic. The management situation outperformed variant B by 7% and carried out equally with variant C. Also, few customers interacted with the new TOC module or the CTA inside the module. You can even try conducting an A/B take a look at on one other feature of the same internet web page or e mail you just did a check on. Prior to working your check you should establish what targets you hope to attain. Meeting your client’s or stakeholder’s expectations is more likely if you make clear upfront what you anticipate the result to be. If your metrics fall brief, the flaws within the marketing method will be more apparent and subsequently simpler to repair. Naturally, as you modify and take a look at design elements, pictures, and even the template or structure, it’s crucial to ensure accurate rendering occur across well-liked cellular devices. Your A/B checks must replicate the alterations you've deliberately selected, not some glitch in your mobile display. Versions (e.g., your control and variations) you need to take a look at and then cut up the obtainable traffic that your web page currently receives evenly among them. It may not appear intuitive, however adjustments in the greatest way you gather data out of your prospects can change the way they reply. Changing one field can enhance or lower the proportion of sign-ups by 5%-25%. This might embody colours, factor placement, general type and themes, ease of flow , and kinds of engagement parts. Well, the identical factor occurs with your web site guests. Every line of copy ought to encourage the customer to proceed reading it or take the Call-to-action you assigned. Consumer Sales Promotion Strategies But now, each offer you make, marketing marketing campaign you launch and promotional low cost you run might be accessible, recalled and distributed to clients. Unless you have a solid gross sales promotion technique that builds in a data-driven method to segmentation and personalization. Sales increase as a end result of providing discounts on new products and even giving price-off offers . It gave away free beers to its Twitter followers based on a contest the place followers needed to tag someone who they felt deserved a beer through the pandemic. The distinction being that coupons are given in a piece of paper or in a digital type. This provides the prospects a way of exclusivity and drives them to your store or web site. Fear of missing out or FOMO, is an attention-grabbing psychological phenomenon the place your customers at all times want to be in the know. According to a current survey, over 40 percent of social media users have encountered discount codes on Instagram. As promotional exercise follows client trends, cellular shoppers can also choose from a wide range of coupon apps. In 2019, gross sales and promotions have been among the many hottest kinds of in-app notifications amongst U.S. smartphone customers and the primary purpose for downloading retail apps. In addition, they fail to offer detailed tracking that comes with digital incentives, unless they are generated utilizing a digital system behind. You can encourage your clients to add extra objects to their basket to get the desired discount or free delivery. The greatest approach to do it's to show how much is missing to a selected deal straight within the basket. 6 Steps To Conduct Deep Fb Analysis However, if you’re a enterprise seeking to establish your presence on the social network, you’ll need to create a Page as a substitute. Below you’ll find every thing you should know to become a grasp Facebook marketer. No matter if your corporation has had a Page for years or you’re just getting started, this complete guide is for you. To get began, let’s have a look at the main People reviews out there in Insights to see how they differ and what they give you. You’ll wish to click on the Insights option above the quilt photo for a page you handle to view this information. So if you increase out your window, the primary merchandise there above the marketing campaign plan and artistic hub is you will find audience insights. If you have a decent amount of curiosity in your web page, this is a good place to go first. We’ve additionally proven you how to use advanced options to grasp your audience on a deeper level. With the following tips, you can hone your campaigns, reduce both your ad spend and social media budget, and in the end boost your ROI. It helps you measure the efficiency of your page and do many other issues. Steps To Customized & Pushed B2b Buyer Experience Again, this is a excessive value content piece which is great for lead era. Research stories and new data in your trade can even work for the notice stage though, as they're typically picked-up by the media or business press. With this sort of sponsored content material, a brand sponsors an influencer in its business to publish posts or videos related to the company on social media. Native advertising refers to ads which would possibly be primarily content-led and featured on a platform alongside different, non-paid content material. BuzzFeed-sponsored posts are a good instance, but many individuals additionally contemplate social media advertising to be "native" — Facebook advertising and Instagram advertising, for example. Manually drawing applicable intelligence from this data onslaught is inconceivable. Start with your small business targets and then give you campaign ideas that can help you in attaining these enterprise objectives. For a foolproof advertising strategy, it is essential to understand your target market and have a content strategy for every contact point. On the face of it, the worth of marketing automation is in time savings and business efficiencies. But if your interest is primarily in slicing your employees overheads, you’re lacking the primary opportunity. B2B consumers now anticipate a a lot more sophisticated, related and responsive digital-first, self-led expertise. What's Display Advertising? A Display Advertisements A Hundred And One According to Google, these ads offer advertisers twice the peak of their commonplace "cellular leaderboard". To save time in helping you get started, and once more, as a end result of we're a Google Premier Partner, we pulled the listing below of the show advert dimensions that Google says work finest. If you’re on the lookout for a complete list, Single Grain put together this awesome record of other ad networks to take a look at. Our associates at Wordstream put together a complete listing that we’ve put below of what you'll be able to anticipate to pay based in your industry’s average CPC in Google Display Network. The average value per click of an advert on the Google Display Network is under $0.fifty eight. The trick is to evoke totally different emotions similar to curiosity, urgency, or pleasure with each variant. This way, you’ll get the essence of what works greatest in your viewers. Due to space limitations, you’ll have to stick to at least one robust value proposition and put it together in fewer phrases. Avoid linking to your house web page as this is usually not particular enough. Instead, your audience ought to land on a page where they can e-book services or purchase the products advertised. Our brains are geared towards taking in visual data first before we learn text. Ad content material with attention-grabbing visuals is more engaging and will increase the probability of a click. Make positive your show ads additionally tie in with your overall brand identity to provide your prospects a consistent expertise that results in brand recognition. Display targeting lets you serve ads based mostly on what customers enter in search engines like google and yahoo, and subject targeting includes selecting websites that fit within a certain subject. What Is Seo Seo? For novices, though, the thought of studying about web optimization could be daunting. If these questions are operating via your thoughts right now, pause here and bookmark this beginner’s information for additional learning. As a newbie, it's also necessary to avoid crucial mistakes in e-mail advertising methods. We can tell you how – Common Email Mistakes and How to Avoid Making These in Your Email Campaigns. But the emphasis here must be on qualified traffic, or guests who are more probably to make some sort of conversion after they arrive. One of the most obvious benefits of an e mail campaign is that it might possibly drive site visitors to your website. With a monthly search engine optimization plan like the one above, plus a tracking doc like a search insights report, you'll be able to build out and execute on an efficient SEO technique. You also can determine and leverage low-hanging-fruit matters to discuss related to your trade. However, it’s most likely best to grasp the fundamentals of SEO (if it’s your main strategy) before getting slowed down in learning one other type of advertising. First, it’s necessary to know that not all backlinks are created equal. Examples of high web page rank sites embrace Wikipedia, the BBC, The New York Times, Mashable, and so forth. 8 Confirmed Inside Marketing Strategies You may even incorporate an internet component or use one thing like top-of-the-line QR code generatorsto your offline ad to encourage individuals to go to your web site or obtain your app. Paid social media advertising is amongst the least expensive kinds of advertising obtainable in the traditional and digital market. seo -to-play mannequin for these channels makes them versatile sufficient to focus on only the people your business wants to draw, subsequently you solely should pay for those you have the ability to reach. On Instagram, your ad campaign runs during the period of time you pay for. Since Facebook owns Instagram, you’ll be operating advertisements concurrently on both platforms and they're all managed on Facebook. Well, Twitter reports having 192 million monetizable daily customers , and when using their Ad software program, you can target your ad to a selected demographic. Get began right now and show your opponents what actual social media promoting appears like. The space of marketing planning includes forging a plan for a agency's advertising activities. A advertising plan can also pertain to a specific product, as nicely as to a corporation's overall marketing technique. An group's advertising planning process is derived from its overall business strategy. Pay-per-click advertising, branded or influencer-generated content, and display ads are all examples of paid social media. You’ll know a paid social media advertisement when you see one primarily based on the “sponsored” or “promoted” tag near the submit. This sort of paid media is likely the most acknowledged, as pop-ups, wallpaper advertisements, banners, and video adverts can be found on almost each net web page on the web. They are normally pretty affordable on a cost-per-click basis and are an excellent method to increase brand awareness and recognition. The problem with show ads is that as a end result of they're so prolific, customers tend to ignore them or even block them completely.

[antimonarchy]

How to Create Image Descriptions

So I’ve been creating image descriptions on tumblr for about a month, and I wanted to share some helpful guides I’ve found on how to create them as well as my own tips that I’ve picked up. Video descriptions and transcripts are also necessary, but since I mostly focus on image descriptions that’s what this guide is about. This might get a bit long, so fair warning. 

What are image descriptions?

Image descriptions are a textual depiction of what is going on in an image, as shown with the image below. 

[Image ID: A picture of a person with short black hair working on a computer. They are sitting at a wooden table with a large blue pot of pink flowers in front of a grey brick wall. A guitar is propped up against the wall in the background, and there is a string of lights near the ceiling. /.End ID]

Why create image descriptions?

The primary reason for creating image descriptions is to allow people who are blind/have limited vision to experience visual content. Many people who are blind/have low vision use screenreaders, which read text out loud when it is clicked or hovered over with a mouse. A large amount of online content, such as pictures, graphics, or drawings, is visual and so possibly cannot be experienced by someone with vision problems. As a general rule of thumb, anything that can be dragged or dropped most probably requires a description. In addition, if someone has partial vision and attempts to zoom in on an image, sometimes it can become pixelated and impossible to understand. 

Some neurodivergent people might need a description to understand the tone of an image, such as the meaning of facial expressions of a person to understand what emotion the artist is trying to depict

Some people might not have high speed internet or have low computer memory, meaning that they turn off images in order to save space. This means that they as well might require descriptions of visual content

Are image descriptions the same as alt text?

no, alt text and image descriptions serve the same purpose, but they are different in how they are presented. Alt text, short for alternative text, is included in the html of an image and can be read by a screen reader. However, there are many reasons why many prefer image descriptions over alt text. 

There is a limit of 200 words in alt text on tumblr specifically (and not in other contexts, which makes this information only applicable here), which means that detailed images or graphics are unable to be described fully without possibly cutting out important information. 

People who require descriptions, but who do not use a screenreader, must right-click and search through the html of an image in order to find alt text, but with an image description they are saved that work. 

Who should create image descriptions?

Everyone who is able to should create image descriptions. A content creator is best able to communicate the message of their work through text, as they are the one who created it and thus understand its message the best. While of course it takes practice when starting out, over time image descriptions become second nature when posting visual content. Always check the notes of a tumblr post for an ID rather than reblogging without one. 

What should be included in image descriptions?

There is no simple answer to this question, there are a variety of resources and guides on how to create one, and you should not accept my advice as the ultimate authority, as I am by no means a professional, and only create descriptions in my spare time as part of the effort to make Tumblr more accessible. However, here is my information for those starting out. 

First, consider what type of visual content it is. Is it fanart of a tv show, a screenshot of a tweet, or an informational graphic meant to educate people on a particular issue? 

Then, consider what information is most important in the image. If the visual content is an image of a famous building, then in writing the description the focus should be on the building, rather than describing for instance the color of the sky, surrounding buildings, or the clothing of the people walking by, as they are not the information that is being presented. 

Perkins ELearning has an excellent list of things that should generally be included, which I will include here. In my experience, these are the most important elements to describe

The people and animals in an image

The background or setting of an image

Elements that relate to the context specifically, so if it was an image of a congested highway on a news website, the description would mention the packed cars

The colors of an image (don’t overdo it however, a simple ‘light blue’ will suffice, no need to say something like ‘a color blue that is similar to the color of a robin’s egg’ unless it is crucial to the viewer’s comprehension of an image)

Context for an image. For instance, imagine if someone had drawn a version of the Bernie Sanders ‘I am once again asking’ meme, with Eleanor Shellstrop from the Good Place saying “I am once again asking for there to be a Medium Place.” Rather than provide a description to the example such as:                                          [Image ID: A drawing of Eleanor Shellstrop saying “I am once again asking for there to be a Medium Place.” /.End ID] you would instead say                                                                                                [Image ID: A redraw of the Bernie Sanders ‘I am once again asking’ meme with Eleanor Shellstrop from The Good Place saying “I am once again asking for there to be a Medium Place. /.End ID]

If the image is of a social media post, include the username/handle of the creator as well as the reactions (likes/reblogs) if they are visible in the image, as they may be cut off by the original screenshotter. 

If it is a drawing or piece of art, always look for the artist’s signature when writing a description

How do I write an image description?

To start off, here is an example description written for a piece of art I made myself. 

[Image ID: A digital drawing of Suki from Avatar: The Last Airbender over a gold background.  She is shown from the shoulders up facing the viewer, and has a neutral expression. She is wearing metal armor over a light green tunic, and is wearing her Kyoshi Warriors facepaint and headdress. The artist’s signature ‘Astra’ is written in the lower right of the image. /.End ID]

In this description:

I made clear where the description begins and ends, so that someone with a screenreader is not confused. I usually use brackets ([ ]), write the words ‘Image ID’ (or video/gif/other) and finish with a slash, period, and the words End ID. (/.End ID)

I emphasized the type of image, in this case a digital drawing

I said the character’s name (obviously this may not be known if describing a photo or something you are not familiar with)

I described the background and the character’s clothing

I described her expression

I included the description of my signature.

This is my basic process for writing a description

I first say what the content is, such as a drawing, photo, or screenshot of a tweet.

I then use what is called Object-Action-Context for the most part, which UXDesign has a long article on https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-write-an-image-description-2f30d3bf5546. For example, [Image ID: A photo of a person standing in a crowd waving to someone out of view in front of a river. /.End ID] While obviously I would usually provide more information than that, Person = object, standing + waving to someone out of view = action, and ‘in a crowd’ = context. 

I describe the clothing that might be worn

I talk about the position that people in an image might be in, such as leaning against one another on a couch, or standing with their fingers intertwined

I talk about the expressions on their faces, if shown

I talk about their general appearance (if important to the description) such as hair color/length

As said before, I talk about the context of an image if necessary

If the background is a simple color, I usually include it in the first sentence of the description. However if it is more complicated, such as a river winding through a dense forest, I include that at the end of the description after describing the important elements. 

Typically if I am reblogging an image, I do not add on any commentary after creating an image description, as this allows others to reblog my description without my personal reaction. If I want to add on to an image, I usually reblog my description post. 

In general, it is best to remain objective when writing a description, meaning not including your opinion of the content. However especially in an informal setting, say for instance you were describing an adorable cow, I would see it as fine to say [Image ID: A small drawing of an adorable cow. /.End ID] because the emphasis is on the appearance. There isn’t a clearcut answer, and it really depends on the context. 

What are some tips for writing descriptions/common pitfalls?

If there is an element of an image like a line that represents an emotion, or a sound effect like ‘clang’ if something falls, include that in the description. For instance, [Image ID: ...beside the mug that has fallen on the floor, there are the words ‘sploosh’ indicating the sound of the water that has spilled out. /.End ID]

Put image descriptions first. Don’t hide them under readmores or any other text. If you have something with multiple images and you are the creator, place the description under each image in succession rather than all at the end. Readmores are ableist, as they require someone who has vision problems/one of the conditions described above to do more work to access the message of visual content. 

If you are mentioning the skin color and/or race of someone in an image, make sure you describe it for anyone else who might be in an image. Don’t just describe the race of someone who appears to not be white. This doesn’t mean that you have to describe race, such as if the character is one whose race is commonly known, just that if you do, make sure you do it for all characters/people in an image. 

In order to write IDs effectively, I’ve found it useful to download a screen reader. I use NVDA, which is entirely free and easy to use and can be downloaded here: https://www.nvaccess.org/download/. 

Insert + Q turns it off

While my guide has focused mostly on image descriptions, video descriptions are also necessary. However they are not my area of expertise, and differ slightly, so I would recommend anyone interested in them to check out this website https://www.washington.edu/accessibility/videos/

Transcripts, for those who are d/Deaf/Hard of Hearing, are also necessary for making content accessible, and might be required for content that also has a visual format, such as a Tiktok. I would recommend this website https://www.w3.org/WAI/media/av/transcripts/ for anyone interested in writing transcripts

What are some more resources I can check out?

Here are a series of websites that I have found while researching how to write descriptions

UX Design -  I mentioned UX Design earlier when talking about Object - Action - Context, this article is very useful and examines how to structure a description and provides very useful examples for beginners

Perkins E-Learning - This article is very useful in helping someone what to include in a description, such as clothing or background information, as well as providing some additional information on alt text if you are interested

Meloukhianet - This blog post by s. e. smith goes into detail on the elements of an image to emphasize depending on its context, using the example of a picture of their cat sunning himself. 

SOAP - This article by the Stanford Online Accessibility Program (SOAP) provides a large amount of information on the purpose of image descriptions and what content requires them

HubPages - This article by SOTD and Zera discusses the difference between sparse, lush, and overdone descriptions, which is the amount of information included, and if/when each should be used. 

I hope you found this information helpful, I encourage everyone to check out these websites, and my inbox is always open for questions!

[doublerainebow]

Artist Resources (Part 1?)

This is basically just going to be a bunch of resources I have found to be useful. I can’t say that I’ve used all of them, but I’m sure they’re all worth checking out.

I’m also gonna try to put a detailed description for most of the links so you have a better idea of what you’re getting. I apologize in advance if some of them are redundant lol

(I put “Part 1″ if in the case I make another one)

~Links to Tutorials, Tips, Resources, etc~

Another Resource List -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Apparently, the post isn’t mobile-friendly, so it’s suggested to view this on Tumblr browser. Has a bunch of other links. I’ve checked out a few of them (mainly the copyright stuff lol), and it seems that some of the links may be a bit outdated. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check out the links.

Arms and Legs -- Leads to another Tumblr post. A handy tutorial on elbow and knee placement.

Art & Game Dev -- This leads to my personal playlist of a bunch of YouTube videos. Has a bunch of tutorials and interesting videos that I’ve collected over the course of a few years lol.

Blamblot -- A website that contains resources and tutorials on comic lettering. This is primarily in reference to western comics, but it doesn’t help to take a looksie.

Commission Calculator -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps artists to stop selling themselves short.

Comparing Heights (hikaku-sitatter) -- A height comparer for centimeters.

Comparing Heights -- A height comparer for feet and inches.

Mouth Shapes and Lip-Syncing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Useful for... drawing mouth shapes.

Reference Angle -- Useful for when you’re trying to map out a face from an odd angle.

Soft Proofing for Printing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps when you’re trying to make prints of your artwork.

Textures -- A website full of different and mostly free textures. While this website is made for 3D texturing, it can also be useful for 2D drawings. Signing up gives you 15 free credits everyday, and you can use those credits to download some textures for free.

The Models Resource -- A website of models ripped from a wide array of games.

The Spriters Resource -- A website of sprites ripped from a wide array of games.

The Textures Resource -- A websites of textures ripped from a wide array of games. 

~Links to Stock Images~

Please check out whatever policies they may have for their images before using them!

(not sure if any of them are active anymore as I followed some of these accounts a long time ago when I used to be more active on Deviant Art lol)

adorkastock (formerly senshistock)

anatoref -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Has a bunch of hand photo references

charligal-stock

HumanAnatomy4Artist -- Does contain nudity

null-entity

PhelanDavion

RobynRose

~Links to Other Artists~

Akihito Yoshitomi -- Yoshitomi is a mangaka who has tutorials on manga making. He also has an insightful series in which he drafts and draws a 30-page manga in 18 days. Remember that every artist works differently and his process may be different from another’s.

Drawfee -- Drawfee is an improv drawing show of four artists: Nathan Yaffe, Jacob Andrews, Julia Lepetit, and Karina Farek. While they don’t have tutorials in a sense, their videos explain the different processes they go through as they draw. They also occasionally provide tips, tricks, and resources in their videos. They do have another channel and a Twitch channel where they host drawing classes in addition to other fun shenanigans.

EtheringtonBrothers -- Has a bunch of useful and eye-catching tutorials called “How to Think When You Draw”.

Mark Crilley -- Mark is a comic artist, specializing in manga, who has a bunch of tutorials about anatomy, perspective, comic making, and other things.

Miyuli -- Miyuli is an artist who posts tutorials on their Twitter. Their tutorials range from anatomy to clothing to other things. They even have a few books of art tips. Currently (as of the time of posting this), their 2018 version is free for download, so I highly recommend you download that. Some tips may be outdated, but they should still be helpful.

Whyt Manga (Twitter/YouTube) -- Odunze is a comic artist, specializing in manga, that has a bunch of tutorials on manga making and drawing characters of color.

~Links to Free Programs~

Blender -- A free 3D program if you’re into 3D modeling and such. I also personally haven’t used Blender (I use Maya lol), but I know it’s a respectable program.

Krita -- A free painting program if you can’t afford Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint. I personally haven’t used Krita, but I have recommended it to a few friends and they have positive reviews about it.

Paint Tool SAI -- Okay, this one isn’t free, but it’s a significantly cheaper painting program where you don’t have to pay a subscription. It’s 5,500JPY (~50 USD). I’m not sure how well it still works on modern computers (the last update was 2016), but I still use it here and there because I love the pen tool feature it has, and it still works like a charm for me.

~General Tips From Raine~

Raine admits that she’s guilty of not following her own advice, but Raine hopes that the tips that she does know will be beneficial to someone who will follow them. She’s also going to keep all her tips under the cut so as to not make this post a huge wall of text (even though it technically already is lol)

Also, if you have some resources, tutorials, tips yourself, please feel free to send them to me and maybe I’ll make a part 2 to this post!

ALWAYS LOOK FOR REFERENCE. This should really go without saying. You can’t draw from life if you refuse to observe life itself.

If you can’t find the exact thing you need, MAKE YOUR OWN REFERENCE. Time and time again, I can’t find something exactly that I need. So instead, what I do is that I take pictures of my own reference. Sometimes I even grab a friend and take pictures of them doing whatever it is I need.

Have a mirror handy when you’re drawing. Sometimes what you need is actually right there in front of you.

Having trouble drawing something? Do some studies. Take the time to understand what it is you’re drawing. I can’t remember the exact story, but I heard that the people who were working on Tarzan were having a hard time drawing his hands. So, what they did was spend a few hours looking at hands to try and understand how they work.

IT’S OKAY TO STUDY THE ART OF OTHER ARTISTS. Just as we look to the old masters as a reference, it’s definitely okay to look at modern-day artists for reference. Just don’t go copying exactly everything that they do, or worse, trace what they do. Just don’t do it... at all.

Not every line needs to be realized. The viewer of your work will automatically connect the dots.

DO NOT TRASH YOUR OLD DRAWINGS. Please, never ever do this. Your old drawings have value to them, even if they look terrible to you. Old drawings may hold ideas for things you could do for the future. They also serve as a way to see how far you’ve come as an artist.

GETTING BETTER AT DRAWING TAKES TIME AND EFFORT. You’re not gonna get better overnight. It’ll take months, or even years, to feel like you’re a competent artist, and even then, you’ll still have room for improvement.

DON’T LOOK DOWN ON YOURSELF IF YOU’RE TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET BETTER. It’ll be better for your mental health in the long run.

Alternatively, DON'T LOOK DOWN ON OTHER ARTISTS EITHER, ESPECIALLY TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER. You know the struggles it took for you to get where you are, so don’t go putting down other people when you’ve been in their shoes once.

KEEP DRAWING. If you’re not making an effort to get better, then you’re not going to be better. I get that it’s hard to find the inspiration to draw (I’m very guilty of this), but just keep trying. It doesn’t have to be big or spectacular. You don’t even have to post it if you’re the type who likes to post their art stuff.

Try to find references from real-life. It’ll help you better understand form, lighting, shadows, etc., especially if you’re going for a more realistic kind of art style. Otherwise, finding reference from things like cartoons, anime, comics, etc. are just as good.

Try new things. Try new art mediums. Try a different art style. Switch up the way you do things. Maybe you’ll hate it, maybe you’ll like it. Who knows if you don’t try.

Watch time-lapses (or speed draws/speed paints) of other artists!

Pinterest and Google are your friends if you need tutorials or references or whatever.

If you’re offering commissions, DO NOT WORK UNDER YOUR LOCAL MINIMUM WAGE. You are literally devaluing the work you actually put into a piece.

I like to think I’m an aficionado of Photoshop, so feel free to ask me questions on how to achieve something! I’ve used Photoshop for about 11 years now and know my way around the program. On another note, I do recommend setting custom keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop because the default shortcuts are terrible (in my opinion), and because having custom shortcuts increases the speed of your workflow.

Because I’ve been seeing this a lot lately in Twitter, you’re never too old to start in art. Art is just one of those things that anyone can pick up at any age because the only thing you really need to get good in art is time, diligence, and patience.

Try not to post hi-res images of your artwork to prevent art stealers from selling your artwork in high resolution.

Always, always, always add your signature and watermark on your artwork. I like to add my signatures and watermarks in places that’ll be hard to erase or crop out. I’ve also seen people add their signatures and watermarks in creative ways (ex. on a character’s shirt). You need to protect your work in an era where people will just blatantly steal it and make profit off your work.

Tag List

@reality-is-often-disappointing

[melismaticmadness]

INTERVIEW

Request: “Something in the lines of reader playing reggies gf on the shows s2 and she becomes bffs with charlie but people keep shipping them. Something in like interview style or so....”

Description: FLUFF

1811 Words

Warnings: one curse word!

Charlie x Reader, Featuring Jeremy

Hope you like it!!

Press was always an exciting time as an actor, but even more so with this cast because of what happened before press events for season one. Their virtual press was great, but you can tell how excited they all were to experience it together this time around. Julie and the Phantoms was the best job I had gotten since moving out to LA. Honestly, it could be my big break. I was playing opposite Jeremy as his love interest, but our off-screen relationship was strictly platonic. Obviously, he and Carolynn are married and she is the sweetest. Jeremy is more of a mentor to me.

I sat in between Charlie and Jeremy for our first interview of the day when a production assistant came in and prepped us for the topics for this interview. Each interview has a slightly different focus, so it’s helpful that we know before we get started. The soft-spoken man raddled off some talking points: Charlie’s sleeves, Jeremy’s new character arc, my relationships/experience joining the cast, and then all of us would have time to add in stories of our choice if there was time. Easy. This cast makes it really easy to connect and bond. They are a family and I am so lucky to be a member of it now.

What I didn’t expect was to get so close to Charlie during rehearsals and filming in Vancouver. The two of us were instantly inseparable. He came to watch my film on set, I came to watch him. We rehearsed our lines together almost every night after long days, and Owen even considered me his other roommate because of all the nights I was asleep on their couch. Hanging out with Charlie felt like we had known each other our entire lives, but it had only been about a year.

Interviewer: “So, y/n, you seem really well connected to this cast, even though you’re sort of the new kid in the group. Would you mind telling me how you felt about joining this project?”

Y/N: “Oh I definitely felt welcomed right into the group. I remember my first night in Vancouver, Charlie came to check out my apartment, Owen came too, and I remember Charlie and I trying to prank Owen when he fell asleep on the couch but it was an epic fail. We had water and shaving cream all over the floor and ourselves, oh my god it was a mess, but that’s kinda the proof of how fast I became part of the group. Night one and they were already including me in their fun. The same goes with the girls, Jadah, Madi, Sav, Tori- we immediately were meeting for breakfast before filming together and having movie nights. It was the best welcome I could have imagined, knowing how close they all were from last season.”

Interviewer: “Jeremy, what was it like having this new energy come in, especially to shake things up for your character Reggie, who really was much of the comedic relief last season, but now has this mutually flirty relationship with y/n’s character?”

Jeremy: “Well, it was great having y/n come in and it allowed us all to explore Reggie outside of his quirky one-liners. It’s not that hard acting opposite, y/n, the talent they bring in was insane and we got along really well so it made it a lot of fun exploring Reggie as somewhat of a ‘ladies man’.”

Interviewer: “Yes it was fun getting to see more of who Reggie is, or was? Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen season one, Reggie is dead. All the boys are dead. Anyway, speaking of seeing more of something- Charlie, I noticed the sleeves on all your shirts this season were barely there. Is this a Charlie characteristic that just carried over to show off or was this specifically written for Luke?”

Charlie: “Oh gosh, haha. I think it’s a little bit of both. I definitely bring a lot of myself to Luke, but even in season one, Soyon, our amazing costume and wardrobe supervisor, was cutting the sleeves off Luke’s shirts. I think it played into his 1995 bad boy persona, and now it’s just him.”

Y/N: “and you just like showing off...hahaha!”

Charlie: “If you got it, flaunt it!” With that, all three of us and the interviewer were cracking up laughing and Charlie was flexing which kept us going a minute longer.

Interviewer: “AH,” they sighed, “Y/N, the internet is freaking out about you, truly, because of some photos of you with Mr. Gillespie over here. Let me read some things for you - ‘my heart is broken because I can’t have Charlie, but at least y/n can. I ship it,’ under an Instagram photo of you two the caption reads ‘ship it so hard it’s like the Titanic,’ which is my favorite. It’s too funny. So my question is, what is going on here? Is there a secret showmance that you’re hiding behind Reggie?”

Charlie and I are now laughing hysterically again. I don’t think the interviewer realizes how nervous our laughing sounds compared to before, but hopefully, it’s not noticeable to fans or the rest of the cast. I wasn’t expecting to get questions about Charlie and my relationship when I was supposed to be talking about my character, the whole experience, and all my scenes with Jeremy.

Y/N: “Oh no, no, no. We are friends! Nothing is going on,” I looked over at Charlie who had his eyes locked on me most admiringly. He was going to let me handle this however I wanted. “Charlie and I just happened to click right away during rehearsals and now I feel like he’s the older brother I never had!”

Charlie looked a little hurt at that ‘brother’ comment, but he jumped in to echo what I had said.

Charlie: “Ya know, the fans are so great. They love to keep up with our lives and find little hidden clues in the show about the backstory, and I think that’s just what happened with our friendship. We’re best friends, we have so many inside jokes, we hang out a LOT. But, Nah, nothing is going on here. It’s cute though that they ship us! Look out, Jere! I’m stealing your girl!.”

Interviewer: “You heard it here first everyone, Mr. Gillespie isn’t off the market! Thank you all for your time today. Everyone make sure to check out season two of Julie and the Phantoms, now on Netflix!”

*****************************

After a long first day of press, I was finally walking back into my hotel room in New York when my phone went off.

I tossed my stuff on the couch and plopped down to see what I had missed all day. Charlie had just texted me asking to meet him on the roof.

“The roof?!” I grunted, “How did he even get on the roof?” Back out the door, I followed signs to the roof. Swinging the door open once I got up there, my breath was taken away. New York City right at dusk, with the cool breeze hitting me, was so beautiful.

“Gillespie, are we allowed to be up here?”

“Kenny said we’re less likely to be followed or have our picture taken together if we were up here and came up separately. So, if we get in trouble, it’s on Kenny...”

“The view is amazing. Not surprised Kenny knew about it.” I said as I went to look out over the glass barrier at the edge of the building. We looked out in silence for a minute or so when I heard Charlie exhale.

“Y/n, what was that today?” he said running his hands through his hair.

“What was what today?”

“That whole ‘Charlie is my brother’ thing,” he made his voice go up in pitch to mimic my voice when he said it and I could tell it was bugging him, but I didn’t know why.

“I was caught off guard...I mean we’re friends.. but I figured no one would believe that if I didn’t squash the rumors right there. Sorry if it was like, emasculating, or made it seem like you don’t have any game, lol.” I playfully hip bumped him to get him to laugh a little and it worked but there was still something on his mind.

“Char, is your manager upset with what I said? I can fix it tomorrow, I’ll figure something out-” I said tilting my head in front of his so he was looking at me instead of the view.

“No, y/n, no, it’s okay..” he hesitated, “but is that really what’s going on?”

It felt like the wind was knocked out of me at that moment and all I could do was slide my back down the glass and sit on the roof. My head was in my hands and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing next.

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry if I caught you off guard,” Charlie said squatting down to my level. “I just thought..maybe you felt something, anything, telling you this was more than a friend to friend relationship..” Now he was rubbing my back. Damn, this boy is my best friend.

“Charlie, I- I don’t want to lose my job. I love working with you and with everyone,” I took a deep breath, “but I can’t say I never thought about it. I have definitely thought about it.”

“Okay, so what are you thinking in that head of yours?”

“I’m thinking that I care about you and that I have for a while but didn’t want to admit it to myself until now,” looking up at Charlie I could tell he was fighting to hold back a smile.

“Kenny, won’t fire you. I talked to him in LA before we went up to Vancouver because I didn’t want him to be disappointed in me because of how I felt.”

“You told him in LA?! He’s probably been watching us and laughing at us for MONTHS. Oh my god.”

“No, it’s cool. He just warned me to make sure I wanted to be more than friends because he didn’t want to lose you.”

“Wow. Okay.” The weight I didn’t even know I was holding, had been lifted off my shoulders. “The fans really do know us better than we know ourselves.”

We both laughed and Charlie finally settled down right next to me.

“Look, I’m not saying we rush into anything. I knew I had to say something before the opportunity was gone. Now that the show’s out, you’re going to have guys banging down your door for a date.”

“I guess it’s a good thing the only guy I am looking for is you then, hmm?”

“Thank god for that interview…” Charlie said under his breath.

[alyblacklist]

Hey!!

I am new to your tumblr but I read your fics all the time (and reread them more often than I should admit lol)

I think you’re really amazing!

I’m so relieved that you answer asks and discuss speculation because I really need someone to talk this through.

So, I have watched a couple of other thriller series along the same lines where the makers don’t have any issues killing off major characters off the show.

There are a couple of things that are happening in this show which I think (and I honest to god hope I’m wrong) are building up to them killing off Ressler.

They get together, they partially admit their feelings (which we’ve been waiting for too Damn long) - so they get closure. Ressler is in the hospital, they show him deteriorating, he goes into v-fib.

And all of this is not that much of a game changer but hear me out. The task force is being dismantled and they need to give the viewers sth that they won’t expect. And bring some new spice in s9. With Liz going full time into crime, it seems a lot easier for them to kill off Ressler.

My only counter debate to my point is that they would have killed him off the moment he got shot (like they did with Meera) rather than show him being treated.

I really need to know what you think. Please tell me he’s not gonna die cause honestly who on earth will watch the show then?

Hi there! I have to say a special thank you to you, @alrightygirl, and to my anon (above) who I have lumped in, for the shoutouts on my stories. I came to Tumblr in the first place during the hiatus between S2/S3 in part because I realized some of my fav fanfic authors (@aussieokie !) were here so I am especially happy to read this.

I'm not sure people realize how much we fanfic writers thrive on feedback, and especially on the multi chapter works we invested so much time into. So thank you, and I have to say I really am looking forward to the end of the season so I can step away from the BTS hunt and my inbox and get back to just creating. Hopefully the writers will leave things in a good place in 8.22 so there's plenty to work with. Ok, on to the substance of your ask and I'll put in a jump because I can already tell this is getting long.

I really do NOT think Ressler will die. I didn't think so before 8x19 and I still don't think so after the "medical drama" of 8x20. Because that's what I think they're doing - they're creating drama because it's the end of the season and they want people freaking out and guessing over who will survive. Call it the curse of cable, or thrillers or whatever, but we as audiences have been conditioned to believe that major characters have to die every year, even if it's pointless.

The thing is, The Blacklist has never been that show. They have killed three "main characters" in the life of the show. Meera in S1 (and I later read Parminder only had a one-year deal), Tom in S5 (with huge fanfare and foreshadowing and an entire "hero" arc following a failed spinoff with a new series eagerly awaiting him at NBC), and Samar in S6 after the actress specifically requested to be released from her contract after S5 and gave them time to write her character an appropriate conclusion arc which also had huge foreshadowing.

Could they go a different route this year? Sure. We're late in the life of the show and twists and cliffhangers and budgets all come into play but the thing is - I just still really don't see it when it comes to Ressler.

For me, the characters' perspective is always paramount. What purpose would Ressler's death serve? It would make Liz more upset (because, you know, Sam, Tom, Katarina, her sister, her whole team weren't enough?). And other than that......?

The audience already knows the gravity of the stakes. So does Liz. So does every other character. The only purpose Ressler's death would serve that I see (and to be clear, I am focusing only on the characters in the show not the irrational fandom hate for his character) is to "punish" Liz more, to make her feel worse about what she's done, to deal another body blow on top of all that she's suffered already.

I don't think Liz needs that. (I'm positive nearly all of Reddit disagrees).

She turned herself in to Cooper because she recognized the bloodshed needed to end after she FEARED losing him. She stayed by Ressler's side and spoke her entire speech in the hearse and by his unconscious side because she can't handle losing him too. This is exactly the scenario the writers teased when Eisendrath teased all those months ago that maybe he would use her feelings for him to get her to come back.

Source (X)

He didn't overtly "use" her feelings in the end because that is not Ressler. He is not that guy. But in the end, her feelings for him were EXACTLY why she turned herself in.

I don't think Liz doesn't need to be punished further or suffer more in anyone's eyes except those who still can't come to terms with her war against Red. I don't think the writers feel that way about her character. To the contrary, they introduced a hallucinated Kaplan to try to give her a pass and also had her give lengthy explanations to both Ressler and Aram defending her behavior. I think from all I have read and seen that the writers view Liz as a victim of circumstances caused by Red - something Cooper has also articulated to Panabaker along the way in defending why Liz has done what she's done under extraordinary circumstances. We can all agree or disagree on the why and the method and the extremes but the bottom line is that I think the writers still view Liz as more "victim" or "forced criminal" than diabolical villain so killing Ressler, on top of everyone else Liz has lost, is just another deep blow on top of all the blows that have turned her into who she is. I think we're past the point that that is necessary and we'll be even further past that point after 8.21/8.22 when Liz learns some truths.

This has gotten crazy long so I'll just add these final thoughts which I have also articulated in prior posts:

- I think if the writers were going to write out Ressler - an original character from the Pilot - they would do so with more hype and fanfare and story than what he's gotten this season. Sure he was present in 8x19 a lot but it was really Liz's story. She was the heroine saving him and moving them from place to place while he suffered. I think the writers have enough respect for Diego to give him at least as much substantial story as Tom and Samar got in their sendoffs if this was really the end. He's a good guy and a good character and he deserves more than for his final moments to be a quiet fade to black in Vfib in a hospital with only Park present (or even Liz present for a final, vague, goodbye). A show that can't do that isn't a show I'm interested in watching, you know?

- his agents congratulated him on the S9 renewal back when it was announced. Hardly an indicator that a major character is getting jettisoned.

-You'd also think, if he was leaving this season, that he'd be doing more to elevate his profile on social media like he did at the end of Homeland to gear up for a new gig. He's done NOTHING.

-Finally, there has been literally nothing in JB's recent interview with The Blacklist Exposed, any of the BTS, the press, the episode descriptions, the crew photos, or anything else to date to indicate that a major actor/character is leaving. I know people can hide the ball but usually in this show, something slips through. So far - nothing. (No, I don't take Megan's thank you's or wrap party photos that way).

Anyway, hopefully we'll all be here at this time next year (or a few weeks earlier if things are back to normal), analyzing S9 and all that has happened. Thanks for the ask!

[vfdarkness]

AVFD Script - S2EP03 The Forgotten Man

[[Intro]]

You’re at a bus stop and your bus is late.

Finally, it pulls up, you step aboard, and for a brief moment… 

the driver’s facial features - their eyes, nose, mouth are in all the wrong places. 

As you stare, their face quickly rearranges itself to appear more normal. More human.

The door closes. There’s no one else in the vehicle.

You need my help.

[[AVFD intro music kicks in]]

This is A Voice From Darkness.

[[AVFD intro music fades out]]

Hello, this is Dr. Malcolm Ryder, parapsychologist, here to help you with all problems paranormal, supernatural, and otherworldly. And we have a wonderful show planned for tonight. There’s two national alerts for the state of Florida - one for the panhandle, and another for the everglades. After we go over these we’ll explore one of the strangest roadside attractions in American history. And of course we’ll finish our show with the phone lines open so you, our listeners, can call-in. But first, let's get to our national alerts

[[National Alerts music starts]]

A sinkhole has appeared in the middle of Kelson Ave in Marianna, Florida. The hole’s depth is currently unknown however twenty feet down, stone carvings of faces appear. The carvings continue for as far down as anyone can tell. Each is unique yet is made to grotesquely express either the emotion of fear or that of delight. A spelunker descended into the hole to gather information about its depth. Two hours into his descent contact was lost and he was pulled out. When he resurfaced he was said to be in a daze. He removed his harness and immediately jumped back into the hole. Please be careful while driving on Kelson, Ave in Marianna, Florida. 

Our second national alert is for the Florida Everglades. The Singing has returned to the wetlands. All those in the area are advised to wear hearing protection for at least the next 72 hours or until otherwise instructed. The source of The Singing is unknown but is said to compel all who hear it to walk into the wetlands and be devoured by the creatures there-in. Again, please wear hearing protection if you’re within earshot of the Florida Everglades.

And that’s all we have for national alerts this evening. 

[[NA music fades out]]

Next up we have Today In Odd America, where we’ll discuss a manifestation that once haunted every corner of this land. And afterwards we’ll open the phone-lines.

[[Today In Odd America]]

Today in Odd America we find ourselves across the highways of our country. Forty four years ago today marks the last known visit to a roadside attraction commonly called The House of Narcissus. No physical evidence of this place exists. It was never found in the same location twice - yet hundreds of oral testimonies swear to its existence. Tonight I will cobble together disparate accounts from those who claim to have toured the fabled roadside museum. My hope is this will paint you a picture of what the experience was like for those who wound up touring a space dedicated completely to themselves. 

“I was driving down Route 8,” Maise Bridges stated to the Columbus Dispatch in 1955. “It was late and dark. No other cars were on the road. Then I saw it - a billboard illuminated by a single dim light that read: Know Thyself, Next Exit. No other words. But next to them, taking up the entirety of the right side was a painted picture - of me. Unmistakably me. Done in a sort of… Norman Rockwell style I suppose. I just… What was I supposed to do? Of course I took the next exit.” 

All descriptions of The House of Narcissus begin this way. A strange billboard on a lonely road, mere seconds to decide to take the exit or not. Oddly, there are few confirmed cases of those who saw the billboard and kept driving. It’s impossible to say if that says something overall about human nature or merely the people The House chose to manifest for.

“I was overwhelmed when I first drove up to the house,” Curtis Johnson said to the Louisville Times in 1948. “I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I might have cried a bit. I mean the place was just, just magnificent. Out there, in the middle of this grassy field, in the middle of nowhere there’s this small piece of heaven, you know? I didn’t feel like I was about to tour some cheap-o roadside scam where they show you a mannequin in a five dollar gorilla suit and tell you it’s Bigfoot. I felt like I was home. Of course I rushed right outta my car up to the door. Why wouldn’t I? I was home.”

Descriptions of the museum are typically left vague. Abstract. At least when describing the exterior. Visitors will speak of the joy they felt upon seeing the house. Often they’ll say a sense of nostalgia or homecoming overwhelmed them. However no one was ever able to give a single concrete detail of what The House looked like. How many stories were there? What color was the siding? What the house looks like remains a mystery to this day. But there’s much agreement about its interior. At least in some respects.

“There’re no employees, no turnstyle to go through, nothing like a museum or roadside attraction typically has. You just go in the front door, and you’re suddenly there - in the first room. It’s filled with photographs along the walls. They were all of my family, friends, neighbors, teachers, former classmates, folks from my church, employers, co-workers. People I might have talked to only once in passing. None of these were photos I took or remember anyone else ever taking. None are in any photo album I own,” said Judge Michael Harvester in 1972, when he called into the KIRT radio station of Olympia, Washington. 

The Photo Gallery is always the first room visitors find themselves in. Under each photo is a brass plaque, on which a single sentence is etched: the last words said by whomever is touring the house to the person featured in the photograph.

Even this first room can be disarming to a visitor. As Judge Harvester said: “You don’t realize how many people you speak to, thinking you’ll do so again, but then never do. It adds up over a life. It really does. I didn’t look at all the pictures, or read all the plaques. I had to stop after awhile. I saw one in particular… the last words I said to an old neighbor of mine, lived a few houses away from the place I bought right after law school. Me, him, and some of the guys down the block would get together to play poker twice a month. Last thing I said to him, ‘I’ll see you in a few weeks.’ I don’t remember what happened after that. I guess the poker game fell apart. I don’t think either of us moved, I don’t remember us getting into any fights. But I never spoke to him again. And that’s just one example. People like to call that first room the photo gallery, and that makes sense, I guess. But that’s not what it is. It’s a monument. A monument to lost relationships.”

Most visitors to The House expressed regret coming there at all after visiting this first room. Unfortunately, the way they entered disappears after entry - replaced by a wall filled with photographs. Once you enter, The House forces you to continue through the rooms. That is, if you wish to leave.

“The second room was a full scale replica of my childhood home,” said Sara Lopez to the San Diego Tribune in 1966. “All five rooms of our house back on Balboa Avenue. “I went through the cabinets in the kitchen. The dishes… they were identical to ones we had. There were these little hand drawn designs on them. They’re abstract, hard to describe, but the plates in that museum. They matched perfectly how I remembered them. It was impossible.” Most statements regarding the second room share similar amazement at the level of detail on even the most insignificant items - stains on the carpet, entryways scuffed and dirty from children’s shoes. “What really got me about the second room, “Sara Lopez said, “were the smells. The kitchen had this overwhelming odor of garlic and cumin, spices my mother put in everything. The carpet near the entryway smelled like wet dog. Our lab, Daisy, would run through our neighbors sprinkler then come inside, right to that patch of carpet, and roll around. Little things like that, I’d forgotten about completely. Hadn’t thought of in years, but suddenly a million memories came rushing back to me.”

The average visitor reported spending somewhere between four to five hours in The House of Narcissus. There were outliers of course, in both directions. Some, after seeing the photo gallery, ran through the other rooms without lingering. Others claimed to have spent days and only left when they were near dehydration.

There are dozens of other rooms in The House. Too many to go over tonight. But I’ll end by stating what’s in the only obligatory room, the last room. The room with the only way out.

At the very end of a long hallway is a plain wooden door with a small sign above that reads: What if…

Inside is a small movie theatre. There’s a single red cushioned seat in the room with the perfect view of a small screen. To the right of the screen is a door with an exit sign above. The door will not open unless the visitor sits down in the chair and watches, truly watches and listens, to the film that plays in that small theatre.

“On the day of what was supposed to be my wedding I called my best friend - my bridesmaid. I cried and I gave her the awful job of telling my husband-to-be I’d changed my mind,” said Tonya Blanton to the Sante Fe Dispatch in 1958. “I was living in Minneapolis at the time. Born there, was to be married there, figured I’d die there eventually too. I don’t know what overcame me. But I got in my car and drove. Found myself in New Mexico and started a new life. My parents were furious. And I never spoke to the man who was to be my husband ever again. He sent me a letter when I’d settled in Santa Fe. I wasn’t brave enough to open it. But in that last room. In that last room of that awful house - a film played. It showed what my life would have been had I stayed in Minneapolis. I won’t… I won’t say what all I saw. What all I missed out on. All I’ll say is I know I made the wrong choice. I’ve thought about that every single day since visiting that terrible place.”

Tonya Blanton is not a unique case. Chicago journalist Studs Terkel in his book The American Road: An Oral History devoted a chapter to The House of Narcissus. He conducted over twenty interviews with those who'd toured the roadside wonder. When asked if they could change places and live the life they saw in that last room - would they? Every person he interviewed said they would.

The House of Narcissus only existed for some sixty odd years. The last known visit occurred in 1977, outside of Spring Green, Wisconsin. “People say I must’ve burned the place down or something,” Buddy Palmer, the last recognized visitor, said to the Madison Gazette in 1980. “I didn’t, I swear,” he went on, “but if I had some matches and kerosene on me, would I of? Sure thing. No one should ever be forced to watch the movie that plays in that last room. I’ll think of that picture the rest of my life. I’ll know I messed up early on and I’m not living my best, happiest life. You know how hard it is to get out of the bed in the morning with that hanging over you? Sometimes that movie plays in my dreams. I usually gotta call in sick to work the next day when it does. I just can’t stop thinking about it. The rest of the place too… it’s just... Just too much.”

For those of you listening to this while driving alone, rest assured, you’re unlikely to see a billboard with your own face staring back at you and the words: Know Thyself, Next Exit. But in the rare chance such an event occurs, please consider my advice: don’t take that exit. Just keep driving. There are some truths about ourselves perhaps better left unexplored.

And now back to our main show.

[[TIOA music fades out]]

​​ACT II

RYDER

And we're back and we already have a caller on the line. Why don't you tell us your name and the nature of your supernatural problem.

RENE

Hello, Malcolm. I was wondering if we'd ever get the chance to speak again.

RYDER

(uncertain)

I don't recognize your voice. Have you called into the show before?

RENE

A few times, yes. And we met once or twice in person.

A beat.

RYDER

Who is this?

RENE

My name is Rene Dupont. And though I've explained this to you before, I will kindly do so again. I exist with a peculiar condition. People can rarely retain memories of me. Not in any form. As this conversation gets to a certain point, I'll begin to vanish from your mind as well as most of your listeners. If you try to write down anything about me during this call, you'll likely only produce gibberish or the vaguest of details.

RYDER

I've read case studies of similar situations. There was a man in Utah-

RENE

(interrupts)

Yes, yes.

Nathaniel Cotwell who lived in a small town that couldn't create new memories of him past the age of eight. And so as an adult they'd still treat him as if he were a young boy. You studied him and Sarah Pullman of Butte, Montana who went missing one night in the woods. When she found her way home again, her family had completely forgotten her.

A beat.

RENE

The few times we've spoken, you've wished to demonstrate knowledge of people who've existed with Memory-related ailments and those are your two most common examples.

RYDER

It seems we have spoken before. Mr. Dupont-

RENE

Please, call me Rene. No need for formalities. We're old acquaintances after all.

RYDER

Yes. Of course. And why have you called into the show tonight, Rene?

RENE

There's been a man following me. Repeatedly.

A beat.

RYDER

(realizing what he means)

And of course that's a difficult task to accomplish, as it's so hard to remember you.

RENE

You're correct. I am Anonymity Incarnate. But there's a man in a grey suit who seems to have found my scent. A further detail about him: he's missing one of his fingers. I'll let you guess which.

RYDER

Why is The Traveling Salesman after you?

RENE

I called you in search of an answer to that very question.

RYDER

In all likelihood he wishes to strike a deal with you. That's why he seeks anyone out. That, or to kill them.

RENE

Let's assume the former for the moment: what sort of deal would he want to make with me?

RYDER

I have no idea. Perhaps he needs information from someone. But he doesn't want this person to know they've given their secrets up. I imagine with your talent that's something you'd be good at.

RENE

Before the wall was destroyed in '89 I was employed on both sides doing something akin to what you just suggested.

A beat.

RYDER

Then that might be what he wants. Or perhaps something more... metaphysical.

RENE

Such as?

RYDER

Your ability to be forgotten. Julian already has some power over memory, but not that.

RENE

Could he really take that from me?

RYDER

Not take. Trade. The Salesman doesn't steal, Rene, but his deals are often one-sided, exploitive, as he'll neglect to tell you pertent information before you agree.

RENE

So he wouldn't really be taking something from me so much as he'd be giving me the gift of being able to be remembered.

A beat.

RYDER

That's a dangerous way of viewing such a deal.

RENE

Dangerous for you, perhaps, but of great advantage to me.

RYDER

It would be dangerous for the whole country for The Traveling Salesman to be easily forgotten. One of the few weapons we have against him are the memories of devastation he's brought about by the deals he's made. The only reason anyone ever turns him down is because his reputation precedes him. Take that away-

RENE

(interrupts)

I have the means and resources to go to many other countries. Julian Holloway can have this one.

RYDER

You'd potentially sacrifice hundreds of millions of people to-

RENE

(interrupts)

To be remembered. And yes, I would. This "talent" of mine came to me when I was young. For most my life I've been unable to have a meaningful relationship with another human being.

To even have an extended conversation. What's my name?

RYDER

Rene...

Malcolm searches his mind for the surname.

RYDER

Rene Dupont.

RENE

You're close to forgetting already, Malcolm Ryder.

A beat.

RENE

If I made a deal with your friend for him to take this power away, you'd never even know.

RYDER

The Traveling Salesman is not my friend.

RENE

If your former friend might help me where no one else could before, including yourself, then I would take him up on his offer.

RYDER

That is if he even wants to help you. He could be searching for you, as I already said, to kill you.

RENE

And why would that be his objective?

RYDER

There are limitations to his power. I don't fully know what they are, but I know they exist.

RENE

Again I ask, why would this necessitate him wanting me dead?

RYDER

Because you possess power in one of his realms - Memory and Dream. And if you have more power than he does, and if he can't use you, or your power, towards his own ends, he'll want you dead. You're a liability otherwise.

A beat.

RENE

You're bluffing. Trying to stoke fear in me so I stay away from him. So I can't make a deal. If what you said was true, your friend Charlotte Price would be dead.

RYDER

Charlotte has found ways to take care of herself. She's forged alliances with things even Julian fears. Have you done the same?

A beat.

RENE

What you're telling me is that I need leverage before I allow Julian Holloway to try and offer a deal to me.

RYDER

That's not what I'm saying at all. Under no circumstances should you attempt to make any deal with him.

RENE

That's not what I took away from this conversation. Thank you so much, Malcolm. As always, you've been helpful.

RYDER

No, wait-

Dial tone.

A long pause.

RYDER

There was someone on the line just now. I swear there was.

I have notes I made, most are illegible which isn't like me. Of what I can read: Shadow, Mirror, Flesh, Spirit, and Dream. I tried to write Memory but it seems my hand was unable to. Odd...

A beat.

RYDER

I think we'll end the show there tonight. I'd like to play back the recording of the past several minutes. See if I can see what I'm missing.

A beat.

RYDER

But if you're experiencing anything supernatural, paranormal, or otherworldly, please feel free to call in next time on A Voice From Darkness.

[[AVFD outro music fades in and out.]]

[writingfortoomanyfandoms]

Fifteen Years Later

Pairing: Calum Hood x Reader

Summary: Set fifteen years after the twins from “I Need You” were born, the Hood children discover just how outlandish some fan theories are

Warnings: Swearing, fan theories

Requested: Nope

A/N: Yeah so this is inspired by discovering some of the theories people had about louis’ son after he was born and I missed this universe so thought it would be fun to add a little more to it. It is technically a Calum x reader fic but it’s mainly just about the kids, but I hope you guys enjoy! As always please remember to let me know what you think - send me asks, reblog and comment, hearing your responses always makes my day a little better and makes me want to keep writing :) and also please don’t take this too seriously, this fic is just a bit of fun, please don’t attack me for it or somethin

“Hey, can I come in?” Maia didn’t wait for Leo to respond before she sauntered into his room and flopped down onto his bed.

“Please, make yourself at home,” Leo said, rolling his eyes a little, making another edit to his essay. “What’s up?”

“I’m bored,” Maia shrugged, pulling out her phone.

“And it’s up to me to entertain you?” Leo questioned, swivelling his chair around to look at his twin with raised eyebrows.

“That’s your job as my dear older brother,” Maia confirmed with a cheesy grin directed towards him.

“I thought twenty seven minutes didn’t count as being older than you?” Leo mused, turning his chair back around so that he could return to work on his homework.

“It does when it’s convenient to me.”

“Nowhere in my job description does it say that I have to entertain you.”

“Arsehole.”

“Bitch.”

Silence fell between the twins as the two of them went about their separate activities - Leo doing his best to finish his homework, Maia scrolling aimlessly on her phone.

The two of them hadn’t shared a room in years. They had moved back to Australia when their mother found out that she was pregnant with their younger sister, Sophie, their parents having wanted to be nearer their own families for the birth of their fourth child.

Leo and Maia had been five when Sophie was born, and they had spent so much of their lives up until that moment being practically attached to the hip that they resented their parents a little for splitting them up.

So it was logical when their parents had their fifth child, Kara, two years later, that Maia and Leo would room together again.

The Hoods moved again when the twins were thirteen, Theodore was eleven, Sophie eight and Kara six, into the house that they still lived in now, with each child having their own room at last.

Calum had taken a lot of time away from the band in recent years, choosing to spend more time with his family.

It had been his idea to move house, understanding that as much as the twins were still still rather inseparable, they did need their own space as they grew into their teenage years. So he had spent months working on the house for them, setting up all of the children’s rooms exactly as they wished, with much help from his best friends, who had also moved back to Australia a few years prior.

And yet it was hardly uncommon to find Maia in Leo’s room - he had gotten first pick of the bedrooms on account of being the eldest, much to Maia’s distaste. It wasn’t that Leo’s room was the biggest of the childrens - no, he had allowed Maia to have the largest room, but it was the placing of it that sparked so much jealousy between the twins.

It was the room that had the best view, overlooking both the garden, which, since moving in, Y/N had spent so long tending to and making it look beautiful.

“Oh my God!” 

“What’s happened?” Leo asked in alarm, not expecting Maia’s outcry. His twin began to laugh.

“Come look at this!”

“What is it?” Leo asked again, rolling his chair across the room, away from his desk and towards the bed to have a look at Maia’s phone screen.

“Fan theories.”

“Fan theories?” Leo repeated, furrowing his brow. “Why’s that so amazing?” 

“Because they’re about Dad!”

“What?” Leo gasped, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Can I borrow your computer?” She asked, already leaping off of his bed towards the laptop on Leo’s desk and opening it, copying the web address that she had been scrolling through on her phone.

“You’ve found some 5sos fan theories?” Leo cackled, moving his chair back in front of his desk as they waited for the website to load.

“They’re insane, as well.”

The twins lapsed into silence as they began to read through the blog posts together, occasionally laughing at some of the more outlandish proposals being made.

Finally, Leo spoke, leaning back a little in his chair with a slight frown on his face.

“So… they think that Dad is actually with Uncle Ash, and that Mum and Aunt Kaykay are just, what - beards?” Leo shot a questioning look to Maia, whose expression remained gleeful as she nodded.

���That seems to be the case, yeah.”

“So… what’s their theory about us?”

“Us?”

“Well… do they think that we’re actually adopted by Dad and Uncle Ash or what? Because there are definitely plenty of photos released of Mum pregnant - especially when she was having Kara,” Leo pointed out.

There was a knock on Leo’s door.

“Yeah?” He called, the door opening to reveal Theodore, his head still buried in a book.

“Tea’s ready,” he mumbled, eyes still intently focused on the pages in front of him.

“Theo - come look at this.”

“I’m busy,” he denied, already beginning to walk away.

“You’ll find it funny!” Maia insisted, grinning over at Leo who rolled his eyes affectionately at their brother’s actions. 

“Doubtful - your sense of humour sucks,” Theodore countered, already halfway down the hallway and about to go downstairs.

“Hey!”

“It’s food time,” Theodore repeated, at last looking up from his book, back down the hallway at his siblings, his expression looking as though he was attempting not to burst into laughter at the look of indignation on Maia’s face.

He didn’t wait for more of a response from her, however, before turning and walking downstairs to where the twins could now hear the sounds of their other family members clattering around in the kitchen and their father singing along to the music playing.

“Hey!” Leo protested when Maia huffed in response to Theodore’s attitude and grabbed her twin’s laptop, slamming it closed and taking it with her downstairs.

Leo gave an exhausted sigh and shook his head before slowly standing up and stretching, following his younger siblings.

The usual chaos greeted Leo as he entered into the kitchen.

Sophie was skipping around laying the table for food, with Kara following her, gripping the knives and forks tightly and looking rather serious as she did so. Theodore still had his head buried in his book but was, at the same time, reaching up into the cabinet nearby the fridge and getting out enough glasses for everyone.

Maia still had Leo’s laptop in hand and was attempting to get the attention of their parents who were stood by the stove, Y/N cooking and Calum leaning against the counter next to it, a grin on his face as he said something to make his wife laugh. 

“Hey - you know the rules, Maia, no gadgets at the table,” Y/N said, finally catching sight of Maia, who had given up her attempts and had slouched into a seat, placing Leo’s laptop on the plate in front of her and pouting.

“That’s not even your laptop,” Calum pointed out, laughing as he crossed the room to place a kiss on the top of his eldest daughters head. “How was your day - you okay?” He added gently.

“Fine - I wanted to ask you two something,” she explained.

“Is it what you were trying to show me?” Theodore piped up from the other side of the room, where Kara was now attempting to help him sort out the drinks for everyone.

“Now you’re interested,” Maia huffed, opening up the laptop.

Calum sat in the chair beside her, looking attentively at the screen, always willing to take time to involve himself in his children’s lives when they gave him the opportunity, eager to listen to whatever it was that they were currently interested in.

“Can’t it wait, sweetheart - food’s ready.” Y/N said, bringing over the food and placing it in the centre of the table, fixing Calum with a look that had him smiling guiltily at her.

“No, this is important!” Maia insisted, ever stubborn and determined to get her way.

“Alright,” Y/N sighed, though it was clear to everyone in the room that she was trying her hardest to suppress her laughter. “What is it?” 

“When were you going to tell us that you’re a beard to hide Uncle Ashton and Dad being together?” Maia questioned shortly, her lips twitching at the edges in her best attempt to maintain a poker face.

Calum choked on the water he had just taken a drink of.

“What’s a beard?” Kara asked, tilting her head to the side and looking at her parents curiously. 

Neither of them answered, Y/N too busy laughing and Calum attempting to collect himself.

There was a smirk on Maia’s face as she, too, looked between her parents.

Sophie was looking equally confused by Maia’s term and even Theodore had looked up from his book to watch the exchange, mild interest on his face.

“What is it?” Kara repeated, looking over to Leo instead, desperate to understand the conversation.

“Maia’s just being silly, K, don’t worry,” Leo assured his youngest sister, sitting down at the table and Kara immediately climbed up onto the chair beside her.

“But what does it mean?”

“Maia’s suggesting that I’m only with Dad to cover up that Dad’s actually with Uncle Ash,” Y/N explained, still grinning to herself at the sheer absurdity of the suggestion. Calum had also begun to chuckle along, his eyes crinkled as he focused on the screen of Leo’s laptop.

“Why would you do that?” Sophie asked, taking the chair beside Kara, swinging her legs under the table as she waited for everyone else to join them sitting down so that food could be served.

“Are you?” Kara questioned in confusion.

“No, sweetheart,” Y/N said and met Calum’s eyes, the two of them grinning at each other. “Just some of Dad’s fans like the idea of him dating Uncle Ash-”

“Or Uncle Mike or Luke,” Calum interrupted knowledgeably.

“Yeah exactly - a lot of it was just about the idea of them being together or just their friendship but there are some occasions where the theories… go beyond that,” Y/N explained, evidently picking her words carefully.

“So you didn’t just have us all for PR?” Leo asked, feigning surprise.

“Of course we didn’t,” Y/N said, rolling her eyes.

“It’s been a while since I’ve looked at fan theories,” Calum said, a certain kind of affection in his voice. “Were you looking at the extreme theories?” He asked, looking interestedly at his daughter.

“They seemed pretty serious that you and Uncle Ash were secretly together - they reckon that you and Mum staged all the photos from when you were kids to make it seem like you had been together for that long.”

“And apparently your management forced you to marry Mum, even though you didn’t want to - something about a morse code pattern that you tapped during an interview once asking for help,” Leo inputted.

“Yeah - I think I read that one as well. I remember being tweeted about it,” Calum confirmed reminiscently.

“You used to read fan theories?”

“Yeah - out of curiosity more than anything,” Calum shrugged.

“I used to get tweeted them a lot,” Y/N added. “Put the laptop away, Maia? Food’s going to go cold.”

“And I’m hungry!” Sophie added, but her cheerful grin was still present.

“Tell Theodore to put his book away,” Maia huffed, annoyance in her voice and looking at Theodore who was sitting opposite her.

“Don’t call me that,” Theodore snapped in response, his eyes immediately flared with anger.

It wasn’t uncommon for Maia and Theodore to butt heads, especially over trivial things.

“Theo, put your book away - Maia, put Leo’s laptop away,” Calum sighed after catching Y/N’s eye.

“But you said you’d look!”

“I will - but after tea, alright?” Calum soothed his eldest daughter.

“Besides - we already know a lot of the more… absurd ones.” 

“Like what?” Sophie asked eagerly, beginning to dish out the food now that everyone was present and ready to eat.

“He’s still reading!” Maia cut her sister off, pointing accusingly at Theodore, who did indeed still have his book laying open on his lap under the table, eyes trained on it.

“Snitch,” he muttered, but closed the book after receiving stern looks from both of his parents.

There was a satisfied smirk on Maia’s face as she relaxed in her chair again. 

Leo caught her eye and rolled his own after catching the expression on his twin’s face.

“I’m confused,” Kara stated after a moment, her young face scrunched up as she stared down at her plate, looking as though she was trying to comprehend ideas way past the understanding that her eight years of age allowed her.

“About what?” Calum asked through a mouthful of food, rewarding him with a scolding look from Y/N that he responded to with a sheepish smile. Kara pointed at Maia, still frowning. “The theories?” Calum suggested before Maia could make some sort of snarky remark and Kara nodded.

“Why would you lie?”

“And why would you have ended up with five kids?” Theodore inputted.

“I read a theory that I got pregnant with someone else to force Calum to stay with me,” Y/N stated casually.

“What?” It was a communal cry of shock from all five children, staring at their mother in complete surprise, while Calum lapsed back into laughter.

“Yeah, some people thought that I got pregnant by someone else, told Calum that the twins were his and so he stayed with me out of duty.” Y/N said, a wry smile on her face, glancing over at her husband. “But that was from people who didn’t like me rather than anything else,” she added.

“What about the people who think Dad and Uncle Ash are together?” Theodore asked curiously, and Leo saw triumph cross Maia’s face at having piqued their brother’s interest.

“Well there are a lot of theories,” Calum said slowly.

“Some think that you guys are actually all adopted by the two of them,” Y/N said. “And that I must live in a shed outside or something to account for why I’m always here.”

“A shed!” Sophie shrieked, laughing and Kara joined in, though looking a little uncertain, just wanting to fit in with her older sister.

“Maybe not a shed precisely, Soph,” Calum laughed. 

“But that’s the gist of it, yeah,” Y/N confirmed. “Oh my God!”

“What?”

“Cal - do you remember when Leo broke his arm?” Her eyes were sparkling with amusement and Calum’s eyes widened, his mouth splitting once again into a wide grin, throwing his head back.

“That was probably one of the most far fetched ones,” he agreed after having recovered a little.

“What about when I broke my arm?” Leo frowned, thinking back to when he was eight years old and had fallen funny during a football match, breaking his arm.

Calum had missed that match - having been called into the studio with Michael to get some recordings straightened out. When Y/N had called him in hysterics in the hospital waiting room, he had rushed straight there. Ashton, Luke and Michael had come along a little while afterwards with the other kids in tow - Ashton and Luke having been babysitting at the time.

“I don’t know if you guys remember - I don’t know why you would - but Ash caught the flu a few days after Leo broke his arm and I remember that there was a theory that I actually rushed off to the hospital to visit him and then management faked Leo’s broken arm to cover up that I was really there to see Ash.”

“They thought I faked having a broken arm?” Leo asked, blinking at his father and frowning.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“When the twins were first born, the same fans thought you two were dolls.”

“Dolls?” Maia repeated.

“Yep - obviously those nine months that I was pregnant with you had to be fake as I was supposedly ‘over-doing’ the pregnancy symptoms-” Y/N was cut off by Calum’s snort of laughter.

“I forgot that people said that.”

“Lucky you,” Y/N said drily. “And so when you were born there was no way that either of you two could be real - therefore you had to be dolls, made specifically to look like us two and made to look properly human.”

“But… we’re not dolls,” Leo pointed out.

“Maia’s got the personality of one,” Theodore mused.

Maia’s protests were lost under the sounds of Sophie and Kara’s giggles and Leo tried to stifle his own laughter, not wanting to aggravate his twin further.

“That’s enough, Theo,” Calum said, but he, too, looked like he was holding back chuckles. “It was something to do how you always looked the same in every photo, you were always positioned the same or something?” He looked to his wife for conformation who gave a shrug before nodding.

“Something like that.”

“We were babies - what were they expecting from us? Backflips or something?”

“I would’ve been so proud of you if you’d done backflips as a child,” Calum sighed. “As it stands, though…”

“Rude,” Maia huffed, but gave in and smiled at her father’s teasing jab.

“I can do a cartwheel!” Kara inputted, puffing up her chest proudly. “Sophie taught me!” She added, after looking over to find that Sophie was looking at her.

“And that’s why you’re my favourite,” Calum assured her.

This caused an outbreak of protests and grumbling from the other four children, all of whom looked greatly offended despite none of them really taking him at all seriously.

“I’m the eldest, surely I hold some form of special affection in your heart,” Leo complained.

“Eldest by twenty-seven minutes!”

“Those twenty-seven minutes are what hold me in higher standing!”

“You two were researching theories that you’re not really our children,” Calum pointed out. “Kara doesn’t know how the computers work.”

“I do!”

“That’s true - she can get onto Minecraft,” Theodore agreed. “Though it’s understandable you resent Maia and Leo, they are rather annoying at all times.”

“Hey, you weren’t the favourite either so don’t get all high and mighty on us.”

“Why aren’t I the favourite?” Sophie asked, looking genuinely distraught.

“Tell you what - whoever cleans up after tea will rise the ranks of favourite child.”

The effect of Calum’s words were immediate, Sophie, Maia and Leo springing to their feet to help out. Kara giggled as she watched her older siblings playfully fighting over who got to clear away Calum’s empty plate and Theodore rolled his eyes to himself, letting out a long-suffering sigh and picked up his book again.

“You know manipulating your children like this makes you a bad person, right?” Y/N asked as she watched the chaos in the room.

“Well of course it makes me sound like a bad person when you put it like that.”

The sounds of clattering dishes had attracted the attention of the dogs, two of which came bounding into the room, the youngest - a spaniel named Milo -still a puppy, who jumped around yapping at the children. The other dog - also a spaniel, named Bowie - instead came over to the table, licking the hand Kara stretched out for him before walking over to Theodore’s chair, silently begging for attention.

Theodore had always been the child that animals gravitated towards.

Almost absent-mindedly, he dropped a hand down to stroke Bowie’s head and a small smile appeared on his face, though his eyes remained fixedly on his book.

Duke entered the kitchen, age waring him down and making his movements slow. He attempted to bark but seemed a little too tired as he ambled his way over to the table, flopping down next to Calum’s chair.

Calum scooped up the small dog and placed him on his lap.

“Hey, old man.” 

Y/N reached over to pet the elderly dog, a sad smile on her face.

“We’ve done alright, haven’t we?” She asked Calum quietly.

“Theo?” Kara’s voice was quiet from across the table.

“Yeah?”

“Will you read with me again tonight?” She sounded shy asking her brother. Y/N was momentarily distracted from Calum and looked at her two children, Kara looking at her older brother imploringly.

“Of course I will,” Theodore agreed, his voice low but kind and gentle in a way that it only sounded when speaking to his youngest sister or the dogs.

“Yeah - I think we did just fine - maybe not as interesting if half of those theories were true,” Calum said, moving one of his own hands off of Duke’s fur and cupping Y/N’s face gently.

She laughed a little at that.

“Maybe we’d be a little more interesting if they were true,” she agreed, smiling prettily up at him in the way that even now still brought a flutter to his chest.

“But I think we’ve done just fine, Nib.”

[dizzydancingdreamer]

Sweater | The Mikaelson Boys

Hey Lovelies! Hope you're all doing well in this time of uncertainty, I know it can be tough. Never fear though, as always the Mikaelson boys are here to the rescue. I almost wrote another smut, like I had to put my laptop down and walk away, but alas I kept the tale on track. Kind of. None of my stories ever stay on track. Oh well, here you go loves, happy April 1st! Also, stay tuned for a master list that I will be posting sometime in the coming days!

Description: The Mikaelson household is a household that shares everything, something that Y/n finds out when she unassumingly picks up a sweater and puts in on without a care.

Pairing: The Mikaelson boys x Fem!Reader, definitely leaned this in Elijah's favour though

Warnings: None? Sharing? Is that a warning? They share Y/n there, I said it, you've been "warned"

Word count: 3798

Tags: FLUFF, very light smut, like not even just a heavy make-out scene,

(Photos do not belong to me but the mood bard does :) )

Life at the Mikaelson compound is, by no means, an ordinary one. It’s a lot of loud conversations, a lot of even louder fights, and a delirious amount of laughter. The kind of laughter that immobilizes people. It’s a life of never being alone, even when you want to be. Someone’s always around; chewing loudly when you want to read, sitting on your bed while you pick your clothes in the morning, hell even hanging outside the bathroom while you shower. It’s a life of love, the kind that fully consumes you.

Above all, though, life at the Mikaelson compound is a life of sharing. Food, books, beds, you name it. This house coined the phrase “what’s mine is yours”, literally. After two centuries of life with the Mikaelson siblings nothing surprises you anymore. Clothes are the main culprit. You don’t bat an eye these days when Rebekah strolls out of your room in a newly purchased dress or pair of pumps. You simply couldn’t care less. That’s just how things are.

That’s why it doesn’t cross your mind when you pick up a hoodie that someone had lazily draped over the back of a dining room chair. You were freezing and it was there. It’s probably Kol’s. Holding it up, it’s massive. You shake your head. Definitely not Kol’s. There’s a chance it’s Bekah’s but it doesn’t strike you as something she would wear. It's a cream white color with a Cambridge logo. Someone must be feeling sentimental. You settle on it being Klaus, the temperamental artist, pulling the hoodie over your head without a second thought.

You continue on your way to the den, padding barefoot in a pair of lounge shorts and your newly aquired hoodie. It has a familiar scent, one that riles your senses in the most delicious way, but you still can’t place it. Pine and nutmeg. You would think that a surplus of two hundred years with the same people would make you better at this but it hasn’t.

It’s unusually quiet. Considering you didn’t wake up cuddled next to Bekah, you’re already a little off centred. You haven’t woken up alone in years. By now you should have encountered at least two of the brothers and maybe a sister. Kol is usually up early. It’s kind of suspicious. You hear the slightest hum of noise as you get closer to your destination. Nothing crazy, but it’s there.

Entering the den, your questions are answered. Almost everyone is piled in, draped across the couches, sprawled on the floor, curled in armchairs. That’s more like it. Only one person is missing. Elijah. He’s been gone for a few days now. Your heart hammers at the thought of him. His smile flashes through your mind. Your veins sing. Every nerve in your body feels like it’s calling out to him. You seriously need to get that in check.

“Something on your mind, love?” Kol’s voice breaks you from your thoughts.

Of course he heard your heartbeat pick up, he’s a millennium of trained vampire hearing, “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

You walk over to the couch he’s stretched over, tucking yourself under the book he’s holding and into his chest. Cuddles are a big part of the Mikaelson household, just as much as sharing. He smells heavenly too, but different from the sweater. Sweeter, not as earthy. It’s just as lovely. Your mind falls from Eli as Kol places a kiss to your forehead. His arms are cool and you try and keep your pulse in check this time. This whole family has had you enamoured from the moment you first met them.

He nuzzles his chin against your hair, “that’s what we do, hun.”

“I know,” you murmur, your heart slowing back to normal as you pull a comforter from the back of the couch onto your legs. You’re still chilly, he’s not helping much with that.

“Hey, no fair,” Rebekah whines from the floor, “I want cuddles.”

You giggle from Kol’s hold, “guess you should have waited for me this morning then, huh?”

She pouts from her own pile of blankets, giving you puppy eyes. Bekah has perfected that look for centuries. Her blonde hair is piled in a messy bun on the top of her head, a few strands trickling down around her face. She’s wearing one of your t-shirts, the blue one you got at the New York Zoo a few years back. She makes it look like a ballgown.

“Don’t pout, sister, it's not becoming,” Klaus calls from the armchair he’s sat in, his bare chest on display for your viewing pleasure, “besides, I do believe that it’s my turn.”

Klaus is no exception to the Mikaelson charm. He's mischievous and playful. Yes, he can be ruthless and, yes, he did have a reputation for boxing his family members when you first met him, but now he’s different. He cares recklessly, a page he must have taken from Rebekah’s playbook.

Not to mention he’s undeniably gorgeous and he makes your chest flutter every time his blue eyes sear into yours. You are in way too deep.

Kol grumbles, tightening his arms around you before whispering, “can’t I ever have you for five minutes before the wolves descend?”

Naturally, everyone hears his complaints.

“Vampires, Kol, vampires,” Klaus chimes in, a devilish smirk on his lips, “now hand over the girl, brother.”

“Y/n, babes, cuddles please,” Bekah intensifies her pouting and you giggle again.

They’re in an all out war for your attention, but what else is new. Your eyes dart between Bekah and her pile of blankets and Klaus’ outstretched arms. You hate to say it, but the choice is a pretty obvious one.

You rest your head against Kol’s chest, breathing his intoxicating scent one last time, “I promise I’m all yours next time.”

He gives you a tight squeeze in return, “whatever you say, love.”

You wobble slightly as you stand up, readjusting your sweater and pulling it down where it had ridden up. The chilly air nips at your exposed legs as you stumble over to Rebekah, whose arms are now open and waiting. There's a blanket around her shoulders ready to engulf you. You’re more than ready to jump into her little nest.

Klaus’ words stop you though, “that’s a nice sweater, doll, where'd you get it?”

Wait, what?

“It was in the dining room, I figured it was yours,” you more than figured; you had been certain.

His laugh sends tingles flying up your spine, “unfortunately no, love, but I’ll never turn down the opportunity to get you in my clothes.”

“Or out of them,” Kol chirps from the couch, his nose turned into his book without a care in the world about who heard him.

Your cheeks flush at his suggestive words. Not because you aren't used to them, though. Comments like these were quite usual in the Mikaelson household. It wasn’t a normal day if at least one of them didn’t make you want to squeeze your thighs together and jump one, or maybe all, of them. No, you blush because it's been two hundred years of not one of them having actually followed through on anything and it pushes you closer to doing it for them everyday. Especially lately.

His words made your legs tremble but you continued with the topic at hand, “Kol, is it yours?”

He pulls his head from his book, his eyes dark with something you can’t say you haven’t seen before, “I wish.”

The sigh that leaves your lips is not of your own volition. His brown eyes burn into yours, daring you to turn away. You do. Sorry Kol, now is not the time for a staring competition. You cross your legs desperately and put your hands on your hips, looking to Rebekah for relief.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but that’s not my sweater.”

You run a frustrated hand through your hair. You don’t know why this is bugging you so much. Your whole body feels like it's being pulled in every direction by every Mikaelson. Except Elijah, who’s not here. His name in your mind alone, though, is enough to add him to the rest. He doesn’t need to be here for you to feel his pull. Everyone of your senses is on fire right now. The earthy scent hits your nose again and you close your eyes, trying to soak up every last drop. It's driving you mad and you can swear it’s getting stronger, but it’s probably just your sanity wearing thin.

You can hear the flimsy distress in your voice, “then who, pray tell, does it belong to?”

“Me, love,” your head goes fuzzy at the sound of his voice.

You spin around on clumsy legs, practically falling into Elijah, “Eli!”

He catches you easily, pulling you against his hard chest. You don’t hesitate to throw your arms around him, standing on your toes to get closer to him. Even through his suit jacket you can feel how strong he is. You hadn’t heard him come in, too distracted by the other three Mikaelsons in the room. He smells exactly like the sweater, which makes sense now.

He laughs into your hair, squeezing his arms tighter around you, “I missed you too, baby.”

His words make you breathless. They’re so unlike Elijah. Well, not the ‘I miss you’ part. It would be unusual if he didn’t say that. But baby? That’s very much not a word he frequents often.

“Elijah,” his name is a whisper coming from your lips.

Your heart pounds furiously in your chest. Being so close to him makes you delirious. You struggle to keep from pressing your legs together. You know he can read it all over you, they all can, his lazy smirk giving it away. Your face flushes again for what feels like the millionth time today. His eyes darken, the same way Kol’s had, and drag all the way down and back up your body.

He takes your face in one of his hands keeping the other arm hooked around your back, drawing his words out slowly, “you look ravishing in my clothes, baby.”

“Eli, what-”

You’re cut off by a pair of warm lips colliding with your own. His arms wrap once more around you fully, pulling you closer to his hungry mouth. You kiss him back like you haven't been kissed in years, and you haven’t, lacing your fingers through his hair and feverishly pulling his lips harder against yours. It takes everything in you not to moan against his mouth in the middle of the den.

“Awe, no fair Elijah,” you pull back, shocked and breathless, at the sound of Kol’s whiny voice, “I wanted to be the first one.”

He glances over your shoulder, past your wide eyes, at his brother, “too bad, little brother. I gave you two hundred years. You had plenty of time.”

“Well, I’ll be damned if I’m not the second.”

In the blink of an eye you’re in Kol’s arms, being dipped theatrically as he places his own lips where Elijah’s had just been. He tastes different, like berries and honey, whereas Elijah’s lips were peppermint. You kiss him back just as strongly, twisting your fists in his tee and pulling him as close to you as possible. All your senses are consumed by Kol, just as they were Elijah.

When he pulls away, your head is swimming, “I’ve been waiting for that for an eternity, hun.”

His eyes are shining, a huge grin on his pink lips. You haven’t been kissed this much in as long as you can remember. You feel lightheaded, like you’re walking on a cloud. When you peer up at Elijah, he doesn’t look upset. He probably should. You feel guilty for reeling at the new kind of attention.

You feel a hand on your shoulder and you're pulled into a new pair of arms that scoops you into a firm chest.

“My turn, love.”

Klaus’ lips taste like chocolate. Kissing him is, again, different than both his brothers. Playful. He pulls your bottom lip between his teeth, tugging gently. You sigh into his mouth, your hands on his face. He spins you around, laughing against your lips. Your heart soars once more. All you can see is Klaus.

When he sets you down, you break away from the three of them, at a loss for both words and air. Your whole body is on fire. Somehow, you can taste all three of them on your lips at once. You can hear your heartbeat furious in your ears. Your eyes dart between them, like a deer in the headlights. Your hand finds your lips. Swollen. But what did you expect? Your legs start shaking again but less out of pleasure and more out of shame. The room feels like it’s shrinking. You wish it would just swallow you already.

You whip your head around to meet Rebekah’s eyes, who looks as shocked as you feel. She sends you a small smile, though, nodding her head. She doesn't seem disappointed, but, then again, you could go on a killing spree and she would still look at you with kind eyes. You grasp at your chest, trying to slow your pulse even slightly. You can’t breathe. Your eyes dart to the door and then back to her eyes. She nods again. Then you bolt.

The Mikaelson boys are fast, they're a thousand years old after all, but you’re determined, and that makes you faster. You just barely close your bedroom door before there's a knock.

“Y/n, it’s Elijah,” his accent flows like honey through the door right to your ears, sending traitorous warmth to your core, “please open the door baby.”

“Why, are you all going to kiss me again?” Your voice is shakey.

You can hear him try to stifle a laugh, “I can if you want me too.”

You huff, frustrated, “I am serious, Eli.”

“It’s just me, love. Let me in?”

That makes you feel the slightest bit better. At least you only have to face one right now. You debate just leaving him out there but he’d probably bust the door down. Elijah is a gentleman but when he wants to talk nothing can get in his way. You run a hand through your hair, trying to make yourself look more presentable, less wanton. You pull the sleeves of the sweater over your hands, trying to hide the shaking.

Opening the door, you come face to face with a half worried Elijah. There’s a small smile on his lips but also a tinge of hesitance in his eyes. You step aside, letting him in before shutting it once more. He grabs your hand leading you towards your bed where he sits on the edge, drawing you to stand between his legs. His hands move to settle on your hips, settling under the hoodie and tracing small circles with his fingers.

“What are you thinking about?”

Your laugh is humourless. What are you thinking about? He can’t be serious. Each of the Mikaelson boys just kissed you, one after the other, all in front of each other, and he wants to know what you're thinking about. The weather Elijah, you’re thinking about the weather. God, you feel so dirty, which you know wasn't their intention but you can’t help it. You feel something for each of them. Something you definitely shouldn't feel. Something you had pushed down for a very long time. It’s hot and throbbing and you don’t think you could bear it if you had to choose between them.

You can’t look him in the eyes, “what do you think I'm thinking about?”

You don’t realize that you’re crying until you open your mouth, your words choppy and broken. As soon as you do, though, it’s like the floodgates have opened. You start sobbing heart wrenching cries, hands over your face, blocking out the now very concerned man. At the thought of losing any of them your lungs constrict. For someone who’s pretty indestructible, you feel like you’re suffocating. You barely register the curse that flies from his mouth before he has you tucked into his arms, his hands sliding over your hair and rubbing your back. Really, doing anything he can to get you to calm down even a little bit.

“Baby, shhh,” he’s frantic, trying to calm you down, “it’s okay love. You’re ok. We’re ok.”

“Eli,” you hiccup into his chest, “what happened out there?”

He holds you tighter against him, “you happened, Y/n. From the moment you walked through our door that’s been it.”

You pull back slightly, finally looking into his eyes, “what are you talking about?”

“We want you. All of us. Kol, Klaus, myself. Hell, even Rebekah is enamoured by you,” he picks you up before sitting back down, still holding you, “Am I too forward in assuming you feel the same?”

Your cheeks flame, the familiar heat returning to your thighs, which are straddling Elijah’s lap, a position you weren’t aware of until now. You wish you were still clueless, though. You positively ache for him, let alone the rest of his brothers.

“I shouldn’t Elijah, it’s not normal,” your hands rest on his shoulders, bringing you to his eye level for once.

He laughs quietly, leaning in close to your face, his breath hot on your lips, “baby, we aren’t normal.”

“How are you okay with this? You should think I’m easy. A tramp,” you cast your eyes downward, landing on his red tie.

He grabs your chin with his hand, forcing you to look at him again, “I would never, could never, see you that way. Love, you’ve been with us for two centuries and haven’t touched us once. You are anything but easy. I have loved you for two hundred years. So have they. If sharing you means I finally get to have you then I am ok with that.”

Your lips are on him the instant the last syllable leaves his lips, your hands curled around his tie pulling his mouth to yours for the second time today. It’s not like you to make any sort of move but if ever there was a time it’s now. He groans into your mouth sending electricity dancing down your spine. You squeeze your thighs hard around him, reveling in the feeling of his hips bucking up to meet your own. His hands slide up underneath his sweater, grasping at your skin desperately. He pulls it up and over your head, tossing it on the floor without a care before attaching his lips to your neck.

“That's what made me cave, baby, seeing you in my clothes,” he mumbles into your skin, hands under your tank top, roaming up your sides.

“Mmph, Elijah,” you can’t stop the moans from flowing freely from your mouth, you don’t want to. You’ve waited for this moment for what feels like an eternity.

Your hands tug on his tie, practically ripping it off his neck before starting on his shirt, pulling it open without a care for the buttons popping off around you. He leans back on his elbows, looking up at you with dark eyes. His hair is a mess, falling into his face in a very un-Elijah fashion. His shirt is wide open, putting his toned stomach on display for you. His breathing is heavy, his chest rising and falling harshly with the air. He looks positively disheveled. Undone just for you. Sexy.

You slam your lips to his once more, pulling the shirt off his body before dropping it on the steadily growing pile of clothes. You wrap your arms around his bare shoulders, trying to get as close to him as you possibly can. Your fingers claw at the bulging muscles of his back, pulling a moan from him. The sound is music to your ears. You wish you could listen to it on a loop all day, every day.

His hands pull at your tank top, bringing it over your head and leaving you in nothing but a pink bralette and your shorts. His eyes devour every inch of bare skin, soaking up every curve and dip of your body on his. He looks exquisite. He looks hungry, his eyes pitch black and wanting. Elijah looks like a god.

His mouth attacks your collarbone, sucking harshly at the skin at the base of your throat. Your hands land in his hair, tugging at the soft strands. You never knew he had this side to him. This dominant, hungry side. It makes the ache between your thighs grow. Two hundred years of pent up energy threatens to spill over now and you don’t want to stop it.

So, of course, now is when someone decides to knock on the door, “Surrender the girl, Elijah, you already got the first kiss. Time to share, brother.”

Make that ‘someones’; Kol chuckles at his brother’s antics from behind the door. Klaus’ voice is playful but you can hear the serious note at the end. It makes your already lust-clouded mind even foggier. You know you have to go out there.

You pull Elijah in for one last kiss, sighing into his parted lips, “that’s my cue I think.”

He presses a kiss to your lips reluctantly, “I suppose it is.”

You stand, separating from him for the first time since he walked into your room. You dig his hoodie from the pile of clothes, reveling in the way his eyes, which had only recently gone back to their usual brown, turn black again when you pull it over your head. That will never get old. You toss him a knowing wink before reaching for the door. When your hand hits the knob he spins you back into his arms in a dizzying kiss. Your head twirls from all the times his lips have been on yours today.

With a slight growl, he pushes you out the door, “hurry back.”

You stumble into the hallway, giddy and full of life, right into Klaus’ waiting arms. He doesn’t waste any time throwing you over his shoulder, giving you the perfect view of his gloriously sculpted backside. You can't help the giggles that fall freely from your lips.

“Finally,” he starts jogging down the hall, towards his room, “now, about that sweater, Love.”

You look over his shoulder at Kol who shakes his head but smiles nonetheless. You barely make out the ‘me next’ he mouths at you before Klaus kicks the door closed and tosses you on his bed. The last thing you think before his mouth descends on yours is that you should have picked up that sweater one hundred years ago.

[mizoreyukii]

How to Make CAS CC Knittable

Note: There is currently a bug with custom CAS knittables where they duplicate in CAS upon unlocking them (excluding adding to existing knit swatches). I have posted a bug report on the AHQ and the Guru’s are aware of the problem and are looking into it. Feel free to post your experiences on there and Me Too the thread after you’ve made your items.

Just so everyone knows ahead of time, baby onesies are not covered in this tutorial but will be covered in my next set of tutorials, as the baby onesies have a different process and require a new script. Another is that this tutorial does require minimal tuning/modding, but I promise it’s not going to be scary or difficult, and I’ll explain all the steps! I’m only covering the basics in this tutorial to get your CC in the game and functioning.

Before I begin, when writing this tutorial I realized EA gave us limited interactions (or categories as I like to call them) and specific interaction names (like beanies), so I took the time to make a few more and rename some of the existing interactions so we could have more options, and made it available as a download. The new ones have their own unique level requirements, but the renamed EA interactions are the same. If you used one of the new interactions I made then you will need to make sure to tell people download my custom categories .package and XML Injector.

For this tutorial you will need:

Sims4Studio

A photo editing program

Andrew’s Crafting Enabler

My example .package

If you are adding your CC to my custom knitting interactions you will also need XML Injector and my custom categories .package for testing and linking.

Note: Some images may be hard to see. I've posted an Imgur link for each one for you to click on and open in a separate tab to view in case it is.

To start make your CAS CC first as you normally would, but don’t do each swatch yet to save yourself some work. Cloning an existing knitting CAS item eliminates the next step, but otherwise is not required. If you are adding a new swatch to an existing knittable, you want to use “Add CAS Part Swatch” and skip this next step as your CC item already has what it needs.

Step 1: Once that is done (and if you didn’t clone a knitting item), go to the Warehouse section of your CAS item and select the CAS Part file. Look (or use the search function up above) for the section called “Buff” inside the CAS Part, and once you find it add 00000026 to the Group section, 000000000003AC8E to the Instance, and 6017E896 to the Type. This assigns the “WearingKnittedClothing” invisible buff that is required for a knitted item to be shown for the Knitted Aspiration objective.

https://imgur.com/QC1AfLe

https://imgur.com/O57RXb9

 Step 2: Scroll down a little further (it’s not far) and look for GamePlayLockedDescription and GamePlayLockedDescriptionKey. They might be slightly cutoff where it says description. Here under GamePlayLockedDescriptionKey you need to enter the description key (I made a list below) that explains what level your item will be available for knitting. It doesn’t affect if it unlocks at this level, it only let’s people know when they can access it with your custom knitting recipe.

 Here are the available level descriptions, the first being EA’s and the second being available with my custom category .package. Decide which category your CC falls under (so a hat, or a sweater, etc.) and then copy the italicized number of your chosen category and paste it in the GamePlayLockedDescriptionKey box. And that’s all you need to do for the description section.

EA’s Level Descriptions:

(Beanies/Hats) FE4B8009 - Requires Knitting Skill Level 1 to craft

(Socks) 27C1F576 - Requires Knitting Skill Level 2 to craft

(Sweaters/Tops) 021FEAE5 - Requires Knitting Skill Level 5 to craft

(Onesies) C15C92E5 - Requires Knitting Skill Level 8 to craft

(Sweater Scarfs) B6C28AFE - Requires Knitting Skill Level 9 to craft

(The Forbidden Sweater/Level 10) B9EA8E02 - Requires the Sacred Knitting Knowledge Reward Trait to craft

 My Custom Category Level Descriptions

(Gloves) 62FBB6BA - Requires Knitting Skill Level 3 to craft

(Accessories) 62FBB6BD - Requires Knitting Skill Level 4 to craft

(Bottoms) 62FBB6BF - Requires Knitting Skill Level 6 to craft

(Outfits) 62FBB6BE - Requires Knitting Skill Level 7 to craft

https://imgur.com/RlJrjts

 Step 3: Now look or search for “PartFlags2”, this one is very close to the bottom. Once found check the “CreatedInGame” box as this locks the item from being used in CAS. You’re now finished, so go ahead and make all of your swatches now or repeat these steps for each CAS Part Resource in your file (aka the swatches).

Edit: Someone let me know a workaround to hide the duplicates until EA has fixed the issue. Under the first "PartFlags" there is a "ShowInUI" check box that is already checked. This determines if the item shows up in CAS or not, but for some reason when CAS items are unlocked they show again despite having this box unchecked. So if you don't mind the locked item not being viewable in CAS, go ahead and uncheck that box to avoid the duplicates.

 https://imgur.com/uan3WSH

Step 4: Before you move on, go through each CAS Part Resource and copy the Instance under Key and paste in a safe place (don’t forget to label which swatch it is). You’re going to need these for later, so don’t lose them.

https://imgur.com/KwrGZvT

 Step 5: Now that we’re done fixing the CAS item, it’s time to make the placeholder object. Regardless of what you call it, the placeholder object is what appears in your inventory after you’re done knitting. It’s what allows you to unlock the CAS item, or sell it on Plopsy, etc. It doesn’t have a mesh though, just an icon, so you don’t need to worry about making a second mesh. All you’re doing is recoloring or replacing the icon and renaming the object. To start go to Create 3D Mesh under Object on the main menu of S4S. When it loads select the Nifty Knitting pack from the Game Pack dropdown box, check the “Show Debug Items”, and now search for a placeholder to clone. You’ll want to choose one of the ones shown in the second image that fits with what you are making.

https://imgur.com/xfIX4fx

https://imgur.com/TtYIArc

Step 6: Once you’ve named your .package and it has loaded, the first thing to do is rename the object. This will be important for later, and it’s easiest to do so now. Don’t mind the empty studio space, that’s normal.

https://imgur.com/AAg37E4

 Step 7: When done, go to the Warehouse and export and edit the icon like you would a CC thumbnail to make it match your CC item. Import it back in when you’re done, making sure to keep it PNG and the same size and transparency. Now go to the Data tab on the right above the image you just imported back in and copy the Instance under Key. Paste somewhere safe, label, and save for later.

https://imgur.com/mWKfk6D

https://imgur.com/K7utKpF

Step 8: Still in the object Warehouse, go down and select the Object Definition, and under Key again you need to copy the instance, label, and save for later.

https://imgur.com/pp47qtt

 Step 9: Select the Object Catalog next and look for the “NameHash” under Common. Copy this number, label and save it for later. Save your object .package now if you hadn’t already, and you’re now welcome to close it. (Note: You may need to repeat these object steps depending on what you decide in Step 11.)

https://imgur.com/T5roMT2

 Step 10: Rename and open my example .package you downloaded. Inside should be a file type called Snippet with a long custom name. This Snippet file is what Andrew’s Crafting Enabler reads, it adds your recipe to the knitting interactions through the script. Let’s ignore it for now and instead go to the top and click Tools > Extract Tuning. Wait, eventually the popup will load.

https://imgur.com/o5O3IVH

 Step 11: Once it does, type recipe_knitting into the search box. It will filter to just the knitting recipes. Now before we add anything you need to decide. Do you want people to knit once to unlock all the swatches of one CAS item, or do you want people to knit each swatch like EA has it? If you only want people to knit once to get all the swatches find a recipe that has a similar theme, select and click “Add to current package”. If you want people to knit for each swatch, add the same amount of recipes as your swatches (so shift + left click and select all the same recipes that you need). If you have more swatches than the available recipe, then wait till I cover what to do below and then repeat this step to re-add the same ones.

https://imgur.com/LhU02On

 Step 12: When your recipe(s) have been added you need to save, close, and re-open the package. This prevents a bug that reverts your changes. Now it’s time to give these new files a unique name, otherwise they will conflict with the original EA files. Select your Recipe Tuning file and go to the Data tab.

https://imgur.com/xexgrbw

Step 13: On the Data tab go to where it says Name and delete what’s there, now type in YourCreatorName: and make sure you include the : after your creator name otherwise this won’t work (please use your actual creator name). Continue adding specific words, like YourCreatorName:custom_MyKnittingOutfitRecipe_SwatchOne or something like that. The longer and more unique, the better. When you’re done click away, usually down below in the empty space works. You should see the Tuning ID and Instance change automatically. Your file is now unique and won’t conflict.

https://imgur.com/8LuCtLq

Step 14: Now you need to edit the SimData because they are a pair and need to always match, otherwise you can run into errors. Copy the Instance from your Recipe Tuning and click the SimData file, then paste the new number in the Instance box. Clicking away should make the file update.

https://imgur.com/4mzvFC8

 Step 15: Go back to your Recipe Tuning. Copy the name you entered before, then go back to the SimData. Click on the XML tab this time. On line 4, which is near the top, there should be a name= and the original recipe name surrounded by quote marks. Carefully delete that name, but keep the quote marks, and paste yours instead in-between them. Your files should now match in both name and instance.

https://imgur.com/fO4YzOm

 Step 16: Now to edit our Recipe so it knows how to reference our item and object. Go to Tools > Hash Generator and a popup will appear. Locate your Object Definition key you saved earlier and copy/paste it under Convert Number where it says Hexadecimal. The area above it called Decimal will now have a new number appear. This is the tuning ID of your object and is how the game references it. Copy the Decimal/tuning ID and leave the window open as we have another conversion to do.

https://imgur.com/nZLyMRE

 Step 17: Go back to your main Recipe Tuning file. Either search (using Ctrl + F) or scroll down to around line 74 (line numbers are on the left) and look for “definition”. Once you find it, replace the number there with yours. Don’t worry about the length difference, this is normal for mods/CC. The green text next to it can be altered to whatever you want as green text has no effect on the game and is for human eyes only (don’t mess with the arrows, lines, and exclamation though <--! -->).

https://imgur.com/iTQUWEh

 Step 18: Bring the hash generator back up and grab your first CAS Part Resource/swatch number. Convert it as explained before and copy it. Go back to the Recipe Tuning file and look for "stored_cas_parts" which is near the bottom, around line 171. Replace the number here with yours. Depending on the file you copied there are probably multiple, which for this recipe I copied are the different age swatches for the panda beanie recipe (so adult black/white swatch, kid black/white  swatch, toddler black/white swatch). If you want people to knit once to unlock all of your swatches then this is where you would paste them, following EA’s format that you can see in the example and making sure to put each number on a new line in-between <T> and </T>. If you want people to knit each swatch individually then delete any extras you don’t need and only do one converted number per Recipe Tuning.

https://imgur.com/CDk4I3q

 Step 19: The next thing to do is an icon_override. Unfortunately, a current bug that may or may not be fixed in the future, is that the game refuses to recognize our placeholder object icon and appears as a white box with a red X. So, until this is fixed we have to force the game to use it, but be aware this makes the failure/poor quality object keep your icon instead of appearing as the failure icon, so it may cause some confusion. Another thing to note is that the thought bubble that appears when completing a knit still appears as the red X. Anyhow, copy this: <T n="icon_override" p="InGame\UI\Icons\Headlines\Final\headline_microphone.png">2f7d0004:00000000:BA38D7CD09BA53A3</T>

And right above mood_list (around line 179 or so, not far from stored_cas_parts), hit enter to create a new space and then paste that code.

https://imgur.com/SRpeCOF

 Step 20: Now grab your icons instance that you saved earlier when making your object. Where it says BA38D7CD09BA53A3 you need to replace it with your icons instance, be careful to not delete anything else. Ignore the rest of it, including the weird location, as you don’t need to change them.

https://imgur.com/t6RpGrA

 Step 21: Go to the SimData file next. Look for icon_override on line 7. Change the long set of zeros (it’s the last one) to your icons instance. Copy this 00B2D882 and replace the first set of zero’s with it. Your icon_override in the SimData should now look similar to the image on the right.

https://imgur.com/xuu13fF

 Step 22: While you’re still here, grab the NameHash you saved earlier from your object and go to the line under the icon_override (line 8) and replace the number after 0x with yours, so it should be 0xNumber.

https://imgur.com/sM0kB93

 Step 23: Go back to your Recipe Tuning and down to the bottom of the file again. Around line 182 is the name you just changed in the SimData. Replace it here as well, same format of 0xNumber, and you can alter the green text too.

https://imgur.com/66sS0kd

Step 24: Now, one thing I’m not covering is how to change the description shown in the image. This is what you see when you hover over a recipe in the selection menu in-game. EA themselves only used these 4 (or 5 if you count the typo description, lol):

0x1D523B6F<!--For Children, Teens, Young Adults, Adults, & Elders-->

0x470DFB4E<!--For Children, Teens, Young Adults, Adults, Elders-->

0x580AF9C6<!--Female Sweater with Dress for Teens, Young Adults, Adults, & Elders--><

0x867DC08F<!--Men's Sweater for Teens, Young Adults, Adults, & Elders--><

>0x86E6636<!--Unisex Children's Sweater--></T>

 So I say just choose one of the above and use that, or delete that section. But if you must know how to make your own, I refer you to this timestamped Youtube tutorial. You have a string table in your placeholder object that you can use (and where your object’s name and description is stored), so open the object again when following the tutorial. You’re now done with the recipe file!

https://imgur.com/iBIblNx

 Step 25: And finally, the snippet file. Go back to it and give the file a new name just like you did with the Recipe Tuning, remembering to use the Name: feature. Once that is done you need to change the interactions your recipe will appear in. Here are the available interactions, if you’re doing beanies/hats then you’re in luck since my snippet already has them listed. When you replace the listed interactions make sure to leave the Knitting_CraftingAutonomously alone since there’s only one of it, you only need to replace the two beneath it.

EA Interactions:

239529<!--Knitting_StartCrafting_Beanies-->

243582<!--knitting_StartCrafting_Beanies_Inventory-->

240543<!--knitting_StartCrafting_Onesies-->

243590<!--knitting_StartCrafting_Onesies_Inventory-->

239797<!--knitting_StartCrafting_Socks-->

243596<!--knitting_StartCrafting_Socks_Inventory-->

243771<!--knitting_StartCrafting_SuperFail-->

243773<!--knitting_StartCrafting_SuperFail_Inventory-->

240540<!--knitting_StartCrafting_Sweaters-->

243598<!--knitting_StartCrafting_Sweaters_Inventory-->

240544<!--knitting_StartCrafting_SweaterScarfs-->

243600<!--knitting_StartCrafting_SweaterScarfs_Inventory-->

 My Custom Category Interactions:

12751948177743051010<!--MizoreYukii:custom_knitting_StartCrafting_Accessories-->

11850600313437246103<!--MizoreYukii:custom_knitting_StartCrafting_Accessories_Inventory-->

14816278048160049100<!--MizoreYukii:custom_knitting_StartCrafting_Bottoms-->

11070495415336857809<!--MizoreYukii:custom_knitting_StartCrafting_Bottoms_Inventory-->

15276631422878947078<!--MizoreYukii:custom_knitting_StartCrafting_Gloves-->

15655922009140949763<!--MizoreYukii:custom_knitting_StartCrafting_Gloves_Inventory-->

14836215576183933108<!--MizoreYukii:custom_knitting_StartCrafting_Outfits-->

17547687201202144473<!--MizoreYukii:custom_knitting_StartCrafting_Outfits_Inventory-->

https://imgur.com/ifgVhvw

 Step 26: The last step is to add all of your recipe tunings to the snippet’s recipe list. Just like the stored_cas_parts if you have more than one you need to copy the format and put them on a new line. To quickly get the tuning ID and the name of your recipe at the same time, look at the bottom of your snippet. You should see something called “Local Tunings”, go ahead and click on it. This should bring up a list of all your recipe names and ID’s. Now input these into your recipe list and make sure they begin with <T> and end with </T>.

https://imgur.com/g0I6mVr

 Step 27: If you chose the “knit each swatch” path, then just repeat the object and recipe steps I listed since each swatch needs it’s own recipe and placeholder object. If you have a lot of swatches and want to avoid a lot of copy/pasting, I really do recommend the “knit once” approach and putting everything into one recipe and object (or split between a few recipes). And now you’re done, just make sure to merge your CAS, object, and snippet .packages so they don’t get lost in people’s folders, and make sure to test before release.

Note: If you are doing different categories (i.e hats and socks) at the same time make sure to make a new snippet with a new name, don’t put them in the same order and file, otherwise your hats and socks will appear in both categories at the same time.

https://imgur.com/9rVJnRx

[wexhappyxfew]

HELLO LIL BEAN 💛 you already know who I’m here for eheh Death please!

LINDA AHHHH HELLO!!! :D Sorry that I’ve just been able to FINALLY get to this! My schoolwork load today was absolutely insane if I’m being quite honest and I already get distracted so easily, so the snow outside and just the everyday distractions of life aren’t that great either LOL!! But I AM FINISHED AND THE NIGHT IS MINE SO -- let’s get into it! In this post, we’ll be digging into Natia + Death’s relationship, and everything essentially surrounding their connection which, out of everyone and everything in the book remains ENTICING and one of the strongest - quite strange for someone like Natia and this personified being like Death right? ;) 

I really liked the way this moodboard turned out, because just about every aspect encompasses a bit of Natia + Death’s relationship with one another AND SO - I will be going through each photo to discuss their relationship and bring it to life a bit! I thought this would be a fun way, to not only have a reference image, but also a description as to WHY I decided on the images for the moodboard that depicts their relationship so vividly! But let’s get a few things hit right off the bat first!

(1) Not once do Natia and Death communicate through words - one of the most powerful things about their connection with one another is simply that. They never speak one word to each other yet, they have one of the strongest relationships throughout the entire book because of simply the deep-seeded connection they hold with one another.

(2) This deep-seeded connection is really rooted in Day 1 after Natia witnesses the death of her parents - though not a scene in the book, it is referenced a various amount of times and is a moment Natia tends to think about more often than not in her time. It’s sort of my play on when Death comes to her and begins to pity her. Oh yes....there is a whole lot of pitying - and Natia HATES pitying...we know this ;)

(3) Agent Mortem is literally Agent ‘Death’ or the Agent of Death. I specifically chose Mortem as Agent Mortem’s codename simply because he really is this perceived Agent of Death in Natia’s eyes. I’m also a Latin Nerd and well, Latin nerds like this stuff HAHA! But truly, weaving that in and showing that not only is Death extremely important to Natia, but so is Agent Mortem (quite literally Death in his own way) has been super fun for me to craft and explore!

AND (4) I want to bring up Death’s connection with War. War is not a very prominent figure I decided to personify within the story, though he is basically the main center of attention lurking in the foreground as this is based in simply WAR! But War makes important appearances and almost in ways you maybe would’t quite expect him to. Number 1, War and Death dislike each other from the start and that’s just my own personal view on this entirely in my own story telling way. Number 2, Death says plenty of times how War makes all these decisions without second though and he has to clean up the mess yet he can’t pull himself away from someone (ahem...Natia) who essentially does much of the same. It’s a load of dramatic irony twisted with wordplay and phrases with double meanings that I LOVE! 

(can you tell I’m such a nerd with this LMAOOO!!)

OKAY! Now that those are out of the way, let’s jump under the cut I have inserted to dissect the 9 pictures above - they won’t be super detailed (okay they kinda are lmao), just some reasons why those pictures are important, just for time’s sake! Let’s get into it!

PICTURE 1: “ can we act like we never broke each other’s hearts...” I really, really loved this aesthetic quote photo for many reasons as - not in a romantic sense - but more in it that 2 broken-hearted people are trying to mend one another and obviously fail at it....that sort of thing, and it’s quite interesting to craft. Natia can’t help but feel attached to Death, yet she is so immersed and surrounded by it and it has brought such an immense amount of pain to her being - but she can’t help but let His feeling remain, only letting her heart break further and His the same - he can’t pull away either. 

PICTURE 2: “ two people, male and female, standing on the edges of cliffs, with an abyss in the center - darkness coming from the male’s side and light on the female’s “ WOW WOW WOW can I just say this is literally one of my favorites?! Before the war, Natia was not the Natia all the readers know and love currently - she was happy, she played PIANO, she was a CHILD, she was simply a little girl. There was light. Death always was darkness - darkness and sadness and grief and pain. And so, this picture really shows the beginning of their relationship - he brings he darkness and she lets him, she doesn’t fight it - BUT WAIT WHAT’S THAT??? AN ABYSS BETWEEN THEM??? Oohhh yet - you didn’t think I’d leave that one out now would ya? BUT THAT COMES FOR MUCH LATER - to a time in Bastogne particularly that is a spoiler - time will tell though!

PICTURE 3: ‘ I’m not even a whisper in your thoughts yet you’re the screaming in mine.’ All I gotta say is one word - Bastogne. Shit goes down in Bastogne and let’s just say a good portion is between Death and Natia - good or bad who knows, but it goes DOWN. I can’t elaborate much as it is spoiler-filled, but come back again once we hit Bastogne, we can chat again on this picture - I got a whole LOAD of info on it!

PICTURE 4: ‘ Cloaked figure ‘ I am actually delving deeper into Krysta’s ask with this picture, BUT when creating Death, I actually created a picture in my mind - from the beginning I wanted to make it a man, just for the dynamic that would be between Natia and Him and to show Him in a different light! But let’s just say (you’ll find more on the ask I answer for Krysta when I post it) cloaks are a MUST for Death - why might you ask? Why must he be portrayed in a cloak AHAHAH - you’ll see! 

PICTURE 5: “Courage meets Death” I LOVE this entire picture aesthetic so so much for Landslide. In a way, Natia, in my eyes is Courage and Death is well Death. It relates back to picture 2 big time with the whole light v dark contrast that I discussed, but it’s not an overpowering of the other quite here - more of an agreement like you can vibe with me and I’ll vibe with you and we’ll leave it to that for the moment. Like Natia fighting Death - connections perhaps?! ;) They’re equals here and equals is what they’ll always be - never more, never less - Death and Natia or in this sense Death and Courage remain equals.

PICTURE 6: “black, grey and white female + crying image” This is more of a representation of Natia - showing the world she sort of sees - not exactly color, but not entirely black and white - more grey, sort of like her character in a sense OR IF WE LIKE TO VIEW IT THIS WAY - the morally grey character that controls her....ahem Agent Mortem....who quite literally sees the world in grey. Just a little play on an idea like that, which is super fun! 

PICTURE 7: ‘I broke my rules for you.” OH BOY THIS ONE JUST SCREAMS DEATH TO ME! I reference quite a few times for Death this sort of rule book he has for himself, a bit later on in the book and he says quite a few times as well that even He broke his rules for Natia - he kept her from Death more than once and kept her safe. He is simply DEATH, yet he goes and protects another from it? From HIMSELF? Yet he drifts so near? .....yep that’s exactly how it is. He broke her rules for her - nearly everyone - to protect her from Him.

PICTURE 8: ‘Death’s hand holding a mortals clenched’ So I really played around with perspective on the moodboard here and purposely made the strip down the center show Death’s side as the left and Natia’s as the right and meeting in the center! This image portrays the control Death seems to hold on Natia at times - her mind consumed and intoxicated by him and in the most recent chapter (Weapons Don’t Weep - *26) we seen right at the end, that admist the chaos, there stands Death, the shutting of his eyes as a way to attempt to silence the chaos for her - yet he is the reason for her having to bear all this chaos. It’s quite an intense dynamic, but very true their relationship!

PICTURE 9: ‘flirting with Death’ Okay, we all know Natia is confident in her own capabilities and who she is and let’s just say, she brushes a little too close to Death’s touch for many of her friends and family’s liking. In no way is this portrayed in a romantic sense, but more of in the sense that Natia’s ‘flirting’ with Death is almost a clear want from it, no matter how much Death tries his best to protect her from him. Yet they draw so close to one another which complicates things. It only adds more to the complexity of their connection with one another but is truthful in so many ways! 

[frostmarris]

notes: an update for a fic in the same month it was posted? blasphemy

enjoy!

Chapter Two

Sai sits on the corner of the desk as he watches Sakura add the finishing touches of the brooch’s drawing, a red-inked pen in her hand and a collection of other pens and pencils laid out to her right. The brooch itself sits nearby as she glances to it for reference, clean and finally finished with its two day soak in moon water. She's added four drawings in total to the brooch's entry in the record book, the large tome laid open in front of her as she leans over it. 

One drawing is inked and colored and the largest of the bunch, perfectly shaded and every detail meticulously copied down as it depicts the front view of the brooch. The two under it, a side view and a drawing of the back of the brooch, are inked but not colored or shaded, yet just as detailed. Sketched out in the margins of Sakura's description of the events of the curse-breaking is a picture of the brooch with the cameo woman attempting to crawl out of her frame, a clawed hand outstretched and her expression furious. 

Sai isn't sure how long she's been drawing but she must be nearing a stopping point as there's little left to add and she'd already completed the drawing on the parchment attached to the amber vial. She hasn't spoken since she'd started and he'd been content to quietly watch her and resist his innate urge to knock one of the pens off the desk, but he finds himself wanting to fill the silence now.

"How long have you been doing this, Sakura?"

"Doing what?" She asks in return, swapping the red pen for one with white ink to add highlights to the rubies.

He is pleasantly surprised that she’d even responded and he moves to lay down on his corner of the desk, his tail draped over the edge and swaying slowly.

"Breaking curses."

She lets out a small hum and waits a moment before she replies, still not looking up from the record book.

"A while."

Sai frowns to himself at the vague answer, having hoped to learn more about her. She'd barely spoken about herself the past two days (granted, she hadn't asked much about him either) and he knew very little about her life outside of her home.

"How long have you been practicing magic?" He asks, trying again.

"A while longer," Is her response and he sighs, feeling a little annoyed.

Quiet for a couple minutes, Sai crosses his paws and turns his gaze from her drawing to her face, still determined to learn more about her.

"Are you self-taught or did you have an instructor?"

That makes her pause and, as he watches her, he can tell when she stops truly looking at her work and her gaze seems to become far-off for a moment, as if she were lost in her thoughts. Sai leans forward ever so slightly, hoping to have made a breakthrough.

But Sakura seems to pull herself out of it after a moment and reaches for one of the black-ink pens.

"A bit of both."

His frown deepens and he sits up again, watching her pen a date onto the top right corner of the page. She leaves the record book open to allow the ink to dry and leans back on her stool, reaching her arms up as she stretches. As Sakura slips off the stool and heads out of her workshop, Sai hops down and follows after her, not quite finished with his questions.

"Did you attend an academy?"

Sakura stops and sighs tiredly, turning around to face the cat and planting her fists on her hips.

"Alright, what's with the round of 20 Questions?" She asks, watching Sai approach the couch and hop up onto the arm rest, obviously unperturbed by her reaction. 

"I know very little about you, Sakura." He says, green eyes that match her own staring back at her. "You've barely told me anything about your life - I don't even know your surname."

"You don't need to know," She turns to head into the kitchen, grumbling to herself. Having already made the mistake of giving the damned cat her first name - and he just kept rubbing it in and repeating it, the ass - she wasn't about to just hand over anything else. "We'll get along fine just as things are."

"But I want to learn more about you," Sai insists, appearing on the island counter. He still had every intention in becoming her familiar and getting to know her was the first step in creating a bond.

Sai, of course, doesn't voice his intentions. 

(If only she wasn't so stubborn.)

Sakura groans and is about to speak again when there's a sudden knock at the door, startling both of them. The cat looks to the front door just next to the living room curiously while Sakura glances at her phone with a frown, double-checking the date.

She hadn't had any visitors since he'd been released - she hadn't even left the house, actually - and he couldn't deny his curiosity, eager to see what sort of company she kept.

But, much to his chagrin, Sakura turns to the fridge and shouts a dismissing, "I'm closed! Come back tomorrow!"

They both pause, however at the shouted reply from the other side of the door.

“Aw, not even for a visit from your best bud in the whole world?”

The smile that appears on Sakura’s face was unlike any expression he’d seen from her yet and Sai finds himself following her to the door, immensely intrigued. She steels her face into one of nonchalance before opening the door, cocking her hip and crossing her arms as she greets her guest.

“Alright, what did you do this time?”

Sai peeks around her legs to peer up at the brown-haired, grinning man on Sakura’s doorstep, backlit by the lit street lamps of the late evening, but quickly finds himself hissing at the sight of a large white dog at his side and scurrying back towards the couch. Sakura and the man watch in surprise as the black cat makes his way up on top of a bookcase, crouches low, flicks his tail in agitation, and stares down at them with disapproval.

“I didn’t do nothin’,” The man says, his curious gaze on Sai as Sakura steps aside to let him and the dog in. “When’d you get a cat?”

“Not technically a cat,” Sakura mumbles, closing the door and moving on towards the kitchen. “Want something to drink?”

He sends her a surprised look, head tilting as he drops down on the couch and the dog lays across his feet.

“I thought you didn’t want a familiar?” A pause, his expression thoughtful. “Just some water, thanks.”

“I don’t,” She says, her matter-of-fact tone making Sai frown and straighten up. “He’s just a cursed soul that I’m helping out.”

“Sakura,” Sai finally speaks, a little miffed by her dismissal of him. “Who is this?”

She returns with a glass and a bowl, both filled with water, in hand and passes the former to the man and places the latter next to the dog. She gives the beast an affectionate pat on the head, much to Sai’s annoyance, before answering his question.

“Sai,” Sakura addresses, looking up at him from his place on top of the bookcase. “This is Kiba and Akamaru.”

She turns to the other two and gestures up at Sai before moving to sit on the couch’s armrest, sipping from a coffee mug. “Kiba and Akamaru, this is Sai.”

‘Kiba’, who’d been looking up at Sai with a mix of surprise and amusement ever since he’d spoken, nods up at the cat with a grin and reaches down to pat the dog’s head.

“Don’t worry about Akamaru here,” He says, the dog's tail thumping happily on the floor as Sakura reaches down to pet him as well. “He looks big and scary, but he’s actually a huge softie and he’s super chill with cats.”

Sai doesn’t reply and simply stares down at them all, not budging from his spot.

Kiba shrugs and sips his water as his gaze drifts over the living room, soon landing on Sakura. "How ya been, Sak? You look good - get a haircut?"

She sends him an unimpressed look over the rim of her mug and crosses a leg over her knee, sighing but unable to hold back a small smirk. 

"We both know you never stop by unannounced just to chat," Turning more towards him, she sends her mug floating over to the coffee table. "What have you brought me, Kiba?"

He laughs weakly but nods and reaches into an interior pocket of his coat to remove a small manilla envelope and a wooden box tied off with caraway oil-soaked twine.

"A body was found five days ago," Kiba explains, setting the box in her hand and opening up the envelope to pull out several photographs. He nods towards the small case, which Sakura waits to open.

"They pulled that off the corpse."

"Five days?" She asks, placing the wooden box on her thigh and flipping through the photos when he hands them over as well. "Why'd you wait so long to bring it to me?"

From his spot on top of the bookcase, Sai can see the pictures captured in the photos and finds himself shuffling a little closer to the edge. They depict images of the crime scene - of a body shriveled and drained of both color and life. At first glance it looks like it must have been leftover from the remains of a fire but, as Sai hops down to perch on the back of the sofa, he realizes everything is still intact - from hair, long and chestnut brown, to the bony fingers, curled and clawing in pain. The skin is tight and leathery, a solid dark ashen color rather than the mottled yellows, reds, and purples of a decomposing body, that show off every bone and joint.

It looks similar to mummified remains, but there are no other signs of decay. With the skin so tight and dry, the lips and eyelids are drawn back to reveal perfect teeth and missing eyes, the sockets empty and dark. 

The strangest part of it all is that it's dressed in perfectly normal clothes - unstained, unmarred, and unassuming. Around the corpse's thin throat is a necklace, the gold chain splayed out and the small bell charm resting in the grass.

"They're supposed to contact me the moment there's any suspicion of magic," Kiba answers, looking both frustrated and tired, "And this reeks of it. But those damned human cops didn't call me in until yesterday."

Sakura quirks an eyebrow, frowning to herself and flipping through the rest of the pictures. "They're still giving you trouble? I thought the installment of the Department was supposed to make things all... 'official'."

She makes air quotes with one hand when she says the word and Kiba sighs and crosses his arms, Akamaru sitting up to rest his head on his knee. "They're either too stubborn to get outside help when it's obviously needed or just grossly incompetent."

"Incompetent," She mutters in affirmation, her frown deepening at the pictures.

"Either way," Kiba continues, groaning and leaning back with a stretch, "They hate having to call me in and listen to me talk about magic. The only reason they finally did was because someone realized the horrible feeling of foreboding and dread that had fallen over the entire precinct was strongest in the evidence vault."

"What have they been able to find out about the victim?"

Here, Kiba's lip curls in anger and Akamaru lets out a huff, prodding his stomach with his nose.

"That's just it," He says with the barest growl, his eyes flashing golden. "They went the complete opposite direction with it. Assumed it was just a corpse that had been dug up out of a cemetery and dressed up as a prank."

Sakura lets out a derisive snort, setting the photos aside finally and reaching for the box again. Sai continues to watch and listen quietly, edging closer to Sakura and keeping a safe distance from the man and dog.

"If I'd been called to the scene right away, I could have told them how fucking wrong they were and a proper investigation could have actually happened," Kiba adds, finally sighing and seeming to relax as he pats Akamaru’s head.

"Where was it found anyways?" She asks, waving a hand over the box to lull anything active into a temporary sleep before finally untying the twine.

"A manor estate just outside the city," Scratching at his cheek, just below the red tattoos, Kiba watches as well. "I'm gonna head over there in the morning to meet with the guy who found the body and see if I can sniff anything else out."

Sakura nods and opens the lid, simply inspecting the golden necklace inside visually for a moment before making it float into the air. She eyes the charm curiously and makes it shake, but no sound comes from the bell and her frown returns. It's small but looks weighty - she won't touch it with herself just yet, there's no telling what sort of curses may be lingering - and the upper cap and flared bottom are etched with tiny patterns, the clapper attached to the inside hanging freely. A visual charm rather than a ringing jingle bell, it seems.

The necklace lowers back into the box and she snaps it shut, looking up at Kiba.

"I'll find out what I can and give you a call in a couple days."

He smiles tiredly and nods, moving to stand. “Sorry for droppin’ by just to dump more work on you, Sak.”

She waves offhandedly and gives Akamaru’s ear a few affection skritches when the dog moves his head into her lap.

“You can make it up to me over drinks when I’m not busy,” Sakura answers, smirking at Kiba’s laugh and slipping off the arm of the couch. She walks them both to the front door, Sai following at her heels, and, as she opens the door, the porchlight comes to life. Sai is tempted to step outside and explore, curious to see the outside of her home, but he stays at her side and holds his questions.

“Invoice me when you’re done,” Kiba says, holding up a hand when she frowns and starts to reply. “Like you said, Sak - this is all ‘official’ now. I’m not just some PI comin’ to my pal for help anymore.”

Akamaru gives a woof of agreement and Kiba leans in to give her a one-armed hug, a wet nose pressing against the back of her hand.

“You’re gonna get paid.” He says matter of factly when he pulls away, grin widening when she rolls her eyes. “Whether you like it or not.”

“Fine, fine,” A small smile appears at Sakura’s lips and she waves them off. “Let me know what you find tomorrow.”

Kiba nods and waves back and the pair head out into the darkness, Sakura watching their backs for a few moments before she turns to head back inside, the door closing behind her. Tail flicking behind him, Sai looks from her to the door before finally following, watching Sakura collect the glass, bowl, and her mug.

“What was that all about, Sakura?” He asks after a moment, appearing on the kitchen counter as she heads towards the sink to deposit the dishes. She glances down at him and seems to think something over for a moment before shrugging and refilling her coffee.

“Kiba is one of the only magic and supernatural investigators in the city,” She answers, adding cream and sugar to her coffee, “When he finds cursed items causing trouble on the streets, he brings them to me to get them cleansed.”

Turning, she heads back into the living room and grabs her cellphone, the photos, and the wooden box, sipping her coffee before she continues. 

“Sometimes, like with this case, he partners with the local human police and outsources the examination of magical evidence to me.” 

Sai continues to follow after her, frowning to himself and hopping up onto the desk in her workshop as she enters. Sakura sets her mug on a coaster and closes her record book, swapping it for the manilla envelope before returning it to its spot on her bookshelf. Opening the box, she grabs her obsidian seeing stone and examines the necklace again before encasing it in a sphere of blue energy and making it lift out of the wooden case, the orb hovering just an inch over her open palm.

“So long as the police weren’t wholly incompetent, it should have already been checked over for fingerprints and physical evidence,” Sakura continues, unlocking her phone to open up a playlist of ambient nature sounds before moving to stand in the center of the workshop. “So, now I do my part and determine what sort of curse or spell had been cast - if any - and find out its purpose and origins.”

She glances to Sai, who sits crouched on the desk’s corner, and holds the floating necklace up a little higher. 

“It’s nearly impossible to erase a caster’s signature, but it takes some digging to find it.” A pause, a thoughtful frown on her face before she looks to him again. “Behave and don’t touch anything in the workshop while I’m out.”

Sai sits up in confusion and opens his mouth to question her but, before he can, she places her second hand over the blue orb of magic, hovering just another inch above it, and closes her eyes.

Sakura is completely still for a moment before her eyes snap open - only they’re completely white and unseeing, just barely glowing in the soft light of the room. There’s a low hum of magic in the air of the workshop and, as Sai watches, her long hair begins to lift into the air with an unseen and unfelt breeze.

It floats languidly around her, as if she were suspended in water. The only other movement from Sakura is the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathes and Sai hops down from the desk, taking his human form as he circles her curiously.

He waves a hand in front of her eyes, careful not to touch her, and frowns when there’s no reaction. Tempted as he is to catch a lock of her pink hair around a finger, Sai pulls away and steps back.

Unsure how long she would be ‘out’, he takes a seat on the stool and waits, watching Sakura intently.

: :

The minutes tick by into hours and there's no change from Sakura. Sai watches dutifully all the while, his concern growing as he stays sat on the stool, his elbows resting on his thighs and his fingers laced together under his chin. He considers moving to the kitchen to prepare a meal for when she 'returns', but the thought of leaving Sakura's side and something happening while he's gone makes him anxious, so he stays put.

There's a sudden fuller hum of magic in the shop that pushes past the white noise it had eventually melted into and Sai startles when Sakura suddenly gasps and moves.

She blinks, those familiar green eyes returning, and her hair falls, a few locks draped over her shoulders and the rest reaching down to her waist against her spine. Her back straightens and she rolls her shoulders before her body relaxes and she reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut. The necklace is still floating in her sphere of magic as she moves towards the desk and Sai slips off of the stool, catching her arm when she stumbles slightly.

Once he’s sure she's stable, he transforms back into a cat and watches her crack an eye open to deposit the necklace back in the box before slapping the lid shut. Eyes watering, Sakura reaches up towards one of the shelves above the desk and grabs a bottle of eye drops.

Even with her magic, five hours was an awfully long time to go without blinking.

Sai's still watching her with concern as she tilts her head back to apply the drops, his voice making her turn towards him slightly.

“Sakura? What happened?”

She gives an annoyed huff and, once she seems to have collected herself, grabs her cellphone to check the time before pausing the ambient playlist and slipping it into her back pocket. Looking irritated, she begins to start searching through the various cupboards and drawers and shelves of her workshop to gather ingredients.

“Whoever hexed that,” She jabs a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the necklace, a bundle of dried herbs in her hand, “Did not want anyone to go snooping.”

“What did you find out?” Sai follows her around the room, his head tilting when she digs through a rack of smaller drawers only to step away empty-handed and frustrated.

“The chain is made of copper and was enchanted separately,” Sakura answers, searching through another set of drawers, these labeled with names he recognizes as various crystals. “It has nowhere near the same amount of safety measures and tampering wards placed over it, so I at least know what spell was used.”

She gives another irritated huff when she doesn’t seem to find what she’s looking for and deposits everything on her desk before turning, Sai following her out of the workshop and towards the kitchen. He's surprised when she opens a door next to the fridge that leads outside, having yet to see her use that exit.

“The spell simply influenced the wearer into never taking off the necklace. Typical stuff,” Sakura continues, following a path that leads from the kitchen door into the darkness of her backyard. Torn between wanting to explore the exterior of her home and wanting to find out what she’d discovered, Sai follows a few paces behind her and perks up when the path seems to lead into a garden. 

Even in the dark, he can tell its lush and well-tended, divided into different sections for herbs, edible plants and vegetables, and sweet-smelling florals. It takes up almost the entirety of the backyard, reaching out to touch the brick wall fence that surrounds her property, and four trellis archways - covered in different climbing plants - stand over the main stepping stone path. Two trellis' each are set up on either side of the large tree in the center of the garden, the path circling around its base and continuing onto the other side with the other pair of arches.

She veers off the path onto a smaller one, the earth raised up three levels like a set of stairs on either side of her, and crouches down between the rows of vegetation to collect a few fresh plants, still speaking aloud.

“It’s inactive now, but it wasn’t a particularly strong spell anyways,” Sakura picks a few sprigs of what he can identify as rosemary before moving on towards the vegetable patch and collecting a few thin, feathery tops of a rooted plant.

“And the bell?”

Sakura grimaces and stands, heading back towards the house. Her voice is short and her posture stiff when she answers.

“It’s made of brass and coated in a lead-based gold paint.”

“And..?” Sai asks, rather unsurely, as she closes the door behind him once they're both back inside.

Her lip curls in distaste and she takes her gathered herbs and plant tops back into the workshop, setting them down with the other ingredients she’d grabbed.

“That’s all I was able to discover,” She holds back her additional hiss of ‘After five damn hours’ and moves to a different cabinet, this one containing various spellcasting instruments and tools. “I’ll need to do some more serious scrying to break through the layers and layers of barriers the original caster set up.”

Sai hops up onto the desk and sniffs at the various herbs - some dried, some fresh, and a few roots - and resists the urge to paw at the crystals.

“Shit,” Sakura hisses in frustration, pulling his gaze back towards her. She’s knelt in front of the cabinet, the lowest drawer pulled open and a small stack of what look like mirrors - all various sizes and shapes - next to her. The topmost one is shattered and, considering the look on her face, he’s fairly certain the rest are as well.

“I thought I still had a few good ones left,” Grumbling to herself as she returns the broken mirrors to their drawer, Sakura stands and grabs a book off the wall of shelves before heading towards her desk. She nudges Sai aside and grabs a scrap of paper as she quickly opens the book to the spell she’s looking for, jotting down the list of ingredients and marking off the ones she has on hand.

Sai watches and realizes the book must be one of her own grimoires as he recognizes her handwriting. She finishes up her list before he can take a good look at the spell entry - he for sure saw the word Scrying in the title - and heads out of her workshop, gesturing for Sai to follow and closing the door once he's out.

“I need to go do a little shopping to get the rest of these ingredients.”

He frowns in confusion. "At 3 in the morning?"

"The market is always open," She says aloud, tucking the list into a purse hanging by the front door before heading upstairs to her bedroom to get changed.

“Should I accompany you in this form or my human one?” Sai calls after her, waiting at the base of the staircase. Sakura pauses, halfway up, and turns to send him a stern look over her shoulder.

“You’re not coming.”

“But, Sakura-”

“No.”

He sits and his tail gives an upset flick behind him. Sighing, Sakura faces forward and continues upstairs, missing the moment Sai suddenly had an idea and turns back towards the workshop door.

: :

Out of her loungewear and dressed in a fresh all-black outfit - high-waisted pants and a high-collared shirt with long sleeves; did she even have anything colorful in her closet anymore? - Sakura heads back downstairs to find no sign of Sai.

She grimaces and glances around the living room briefly before guessing he must be sulking. Truthfully, she felt kind of bad for saying he couldn’t come to the market with her, but she really wanted to make it a quick trip and didn't have time to look after a curious spirit.

Deciding to make it up to him and take him shopping after she's finished with this necklace, Sakura grabs her purse and one of the pieces of green chalk in the key bowl on the foyer table. She looks over the living room again for Sai before heading to the kitchen and out the door into the garden once more.

Probably not best to fly when she was still tired.

Following the stepping stones of the path, Sakura approaches the large red maple tree in the heart of her garden and tosses and catches the chalk in her hand. The leaves of the tree are already scarlet with the early fall and a few have fallen, scattered over her path as she walks forward. Stopping at the base of the old tree, she looks up at the wide trunk for a moment before leaning down to start at the bottom.

Drawing a line straight across in the green chalk, she makes a 90 degree turn when it's just wide enough for herself and continues upwards with a practiced ease before arching over and back down to where she'd started. With the outline of her door marked out, Sakura draws a handle and two sigils towards the curved top, one for Travel and one for Doorway. She wraps the chalk in a scrap of cloth before slipping it into her purse and then places her hand against the bark of the tree, palm flat over the sigils and her fingers stretched out.

Sending a burst of her magic through the chalk and tree alike, she watches as the green markings glow brightly for a moment before the door properly takes shape. She waits a moment until she pulls her hand away and tugs on her black gloves as the door finishes its manifestation, finally reaching for the now very-real silver handle and pulling it open.

Sakura steps through and onto the market street, the shops and stalls all open and bustling with activity despite the current time. The magical shopping district is lit up with different lights, some electric and some flame but all bright enough to drive away the dark of the night, and she pulls the door closed behind her.

The doorway melts and morphs back into the brick wall - one of several brick walls designated for traveling methods such as Sakura’s - and she walks forward, already knowing which shop to stop at first. She passes the pop-up stalls to get to the more permanent storefronts and turns onto a right branch of the main street to continue on for a little further, where the shops were bigger and more spaced out.

She finally finds the one she’s looking for and heads into the Yamanaka Nursery, the sight of the druid owner greeting her as she enters.

Ino, as blonde and beautiful as ever, glances up from behind the checkout counter and grins as she spots Sakura, quickly handing her satyr customer their change and purchase before waving her over. The satyr practically disappears behind the potted peace lily in their arms and Sakura holds the door open as they pass, waving back at Ino. Once she makes it to the counter, Sakura leans forward to let the blonde gently cup her face and kiss both of her cheeks, chuckling under her breath as her face tingles.

“Forehead!” Ino says as she pulls away, resting her elbows on the countertop and settling her chin on the back of her hand. “What brings you in at this hour? Out of my miracle fertilizer already?”

Shaking her head, Sakura leans against the counter as well and opens her purse. “No, I’m out of a few ingredients that I need to grab for a spell. Think you can help me out, Pig?”

“Of course! Whatcha need?” The druid looks to the door to greet a new guest and Sakura reaches into her purse for her shopping list, frowning when she doesn’t immediately feel it. She sits the bag on the counter to have a proper look inside, spotting the paper folded up on the bottom. But when she grabs it, she finds herself pausing at the sight of a familiar locket charm hiding underneath, her frown deepening.

“What the-”

“That’s strange, how did that get in there?”

Sakura’s head snaps up and to the left to see Sai standing just behind her in his human form, his eyes closed and his head tilted as he sends her an insufferable yet unnervingly empty smile. She turns to face him and crosses her arms, aware of Ino watching them behind her.

“I thought I told you to stay at the house.”

He folds his arms behind his back to stand in a very respectful position, one wrist clasped in the other hand and his black eyes on her.

“Wherever the locket goes, I must follow,” Sai says simply, acting as if it was completely out of his control despite the fact that he'd been the one to slip it into her purse. She’s about to start chastising him when Ino interrupts, the blonde’s expression amused and curious.

“Oh, who is your handsome friend?” She says with a grin, eyeing Sai in approval. “A new beau?”

“A stowaway,” Sakura corrects, shooting him one last annoyed look before turning back to Ino and holding out the list. “Nevermind him. Here’s what I’m looking for.”

Ino chuckles and takes the paper, pausing in the middle of unfolding it as, in one blink, Sakura’s black-haired companion suddenly disappears. She’s about to question her friend when a black cat hops up onto the counter, eyeing Sakura even as it brushes against Ino’s arm.

“I’m not a stowaway,” The cat says, not outwardly reacting despite how startled he is when the druid gasps in delight and scoops him up. He continues to stare at Sakura even as Ino holds and fawns over him, a satisfied purr thrumming in his chest. “I’m bound to the locket, after all.”

Sakura leans forward to rest an arm on the counter, reaching out to poke Sai’s pink nose. 

“I distinctly remember putting that charm away.” She replies, sighing when he simply blinks at her. 

“Oh, he’s just adorable, Forehead!” Ino says, giving the cat a quick smooch between his ears before setting him back down on the counter. “When did you get a familiar?”

Groaning, Sakura rubs her temples and straightens up.

“He’s not my familiar,” She insists before she glances to Ino in consideration, missing Sai’s frown. “Do you want him?”

Sai’s ears lay flat against his head and his tail flicks, but Ino lets out a laugh and waves the offer off, opening up Sakura’s list. 

“Tempting, but Dad’s allergic and too many things in this shop can kill a cat.” Ino tosses her ponytail over her shoulder and reads over the ingredients she’s looking for, humming under her breath.

“Good point,” Sakura mutters before looking down at Sai and pointing a finger at him.

“You. Human form until we get back. I don’t need you testing whether a soul can get poisoned or not.”

He sends her a curious look edged with surprise but gives a dutiful nod and hops off the counter, landing in a crouch as a human and standing upright.

“As you wish, Mistress.”

Sakura sends him a sharp look but turns her attention to Ino, listening to her continue to read aloud.

“-statice, pansy, daffodil, bittersweet, hollyhock, pink topaz, and lapis lazuli.” Ino quirks an eyebrow and looks up at Sakura, her expression curious. “What color chrysanthemums?”

“White.”

Nodding, Ino steps out from behind the counter, grabs one of the wicker baskets hanging on a wall of hooks and guides Sakura out of the shop front and into the greenhouse. Neither of them notice Sai’s small frown - had she mentioned crystals? Wasn’t this a plant shop? - but he doesn’t voice his confusion.

“Scrying spell?” The druid asks as she glances back at her, amused by how Sai was following just a few paces behind the pink-haired woman.

“How’d you know?” There’s a small smirk on Sakura’s lip as she asks back, wondering which of the four additional sections of the greenhouse they’d head for first. The frontmost area was for the year-round and non-flowering plants while the four rooms towards the back, two on either side of the center path that runs the length of the greenhouse, have their own mini-climates for each of the seasons, so that the shop could provide a wide variety of flowers all year long.

“All of these either mean truth, honesty, or memory,” Ino answers as she holds the door open for the Spring room, eyeing Sakura. “Not so sure about the crystals, but I’m sure they’re the same too.”

“The hollyhocks are for ambition,” Sakura answers cheekily, earning herself a kick to the back of the calf as the blonde laughs. 

Golden lights come to life as they enter, glowing and floating around the previously-dark room and bright enough to mimic daytime, and they’re met with the sight of the incredibly organized greenhouse. Though it looks like they’ve walked into a botanical garden, complete with a dirt path and a small pond, each plant species is organized into equally-sized sections with no one type overreaching or fighting for territory. They’re all readily accessible and just a sample of what the Yamanaka family is capable of growing. 

The plants are all still asleep but Ino seems to know exactly which to stop in front of, the blue forget-me-nots blooming awake when the druid turns towards them. Pulling a pair of gardening shears out of a pocket in her apron, Ino gathers several clippings before tying the stems together with a bit of twine and placing them in the shallow basket, which she then hands to Sakura. She moves onto the pansies next and the flowers open to reveal different shades of purple, blue, and yellow.

At Sakura’s direction, she collects just purple pansies and places them in the basket once they’re tied together as well. Ino makes quick work of gathering the daffodils and guides the pair out and into the Summer room, the spring flowers bathed in darkness as they step out. Once she’s collected the purple statice, white hollyhock, and gladiolus in both colors, they head into Fall to get the white chrysanthemums.

Sai stops short at the sight of a pair of tall blobs of flowing water, slowly making their way through the greenery with care and leaving an obvious trail of moisture behind. Their arms reach out and up to dip under the leaves of a few hanging plants, their movements languid and graceful, and an active current runs through their bodies and limbs despite their mostly solid shapes.

“Oh, don’t mind those!” Ino says when she notices his reaction. “They’re just giving the plants a little late-night care!”

“They’re water elementals,” Sakura adds, a little amused by how that doesn’t seem to comfort Sai.

With the chrysanthemum blooms added to the basket, Sakura is surprised when Ino leads them into Winter.

“I just want to get you some primrose pansies too,” The druid hums, answering her question before she can even ask it. “Then we’ll get the rest.”

Sakura sends her a fond smile and, with the white variety added to her basket, Ino guides them out of the greenhouse entirely and to a door marked for employees only. Inside is another garden, but Sakura knows that all of these plants are poisonous and toxic and she grabs the back of Sai’s shirt when he starts to follow Ino inside. A stern look from her is all he needs to stay put and they watch Ino pull on a pair of disposable gloves and gather Sakura’s bittersweet nightshade.

These blooms she wraps up in a bit of fabric before adding them to the basket and she’s sure to lock the door behind her when she steps out.

“I can’t get you the nettle, unfortunately,” Ino says as she moves through the store towards an open doorway at the back. It’s dim even though the shop proper is lit up and bright and seems to lead to a set of stairs going downwards, a faint, colorful glow coming from the darkness. 

“We stopped carrying it. Despite the big ass sign, too many employees were getting handsy with it and would come complaining when they got stung.” Her voice echoed slightly as they headed downstairs, the air becoming cooler and those floating lights coming to life to help guide her. “Because, apparently, if it's not belladonna or foxglove, it can’t be that dangerous.”

Sakura gives a small chuckle and they enter the lower chamber, switching her hold on the basket. “No problem, it's for the cleansing part, so I don't technically need it for what I'm casting tonight.”

"More work right after shopping?" Ino asks, glancing back at her. "Don't you ever take a break?"

The source of the colorful glow becomes apparent as they’re met with the sight of a cavern-like room filled with sparkling crystals and gemstones. There’s dozens of different types, some varieties with multiple colors even, and all organized fairly similarly to the flowers and plants upstairs. At first glance, it looks like a collector's bounty styled like a garden but, upon closer inspection, Sakura can tell that it is a garden.

The clusters of gems sprout from green crystal stems, growing like actual flowers. They climb the walls in their little groups and cover the ceiling in places as well. Some grow from single stems, others in bunches among their own crystalline leaves, sharp-edged and glittering. The ones lining the walls sprout from vines and moss-like patches and the odd faux mushroom geode clings to the rock here and there, leaving only scattered spots of bare stone. The patches of sparkling gems and crystals glow brightly in their own colors while the more opaque and rough stones are only backlit by their stems and foliage. 

Everything in the room is made of crystal or stone, including the short earth elementals that are tending to the gem garden. The stout creatures are made of rock and clumps of hardened dirt, tiny gemstone eyes glowing like their crystal crop set into their earthen faces. Their touch is gentle, despite their blocky stone hands, as they care for the clusters and shards and their steps are relatively quick as they trudge dutifully around the room, the occasional lone stone rolling across the winding path. 

One of the five hobbles towards Ino and her guests when it spots her, giving a short bow before looking up. Ino glances at Sakura’s list once more before addressing the elemental, two more of the creatures pausing to listen.

“My friend needs three each of pink topaz and lapis lazuli,” The druid commands, smiling as the earth elemental nods and shuffles away into the garden. One of the other workers nods as well and turns to gather a few crystal blooms from a blue patch of opaque stones, plucking them from their stems and soon bringing the lapis to Ino.

It opens its mouth and tilts its head questioningly and Ino understands a moment later, turning to look at Sakura.

“Did you want anything tumbled or cut?” She asks, smiling proudly. “They’re the best little craftsmen I’ve ever seen.”

The elemental’s eyes glow brighter at the druid’s compliment, almost as if it were blushing.

“No, raw is perfect. Thank you though.” Chuckling under her breath, Sakura crouches down to let the stone creature place the lapis in her basket, the other elemental soon approaching with the topaz. She thanks the elementals and turns as Ino leads them back upstairs, thoroughly satisfied with her haul.

“Don’t be afraid to stop by for something other than ingredient shopping,” The druid says as she rings up her flowers and gemstones, stealing a glance at Sai as he stands just a few steps away.

“Would you like me to invite you along next time we go out for drinks?” Sakura asks with a smirk, opening up her wallet. She gives no indication of who she means by ‘we’, but Ino obviously seems to know as she grimaces and waves off the offer.

“Dog-breath can’t hold his alcohol and he’s disgustingly sentimental when he’s drunk.”

Sai is fairly certain they’re talking about that Kiba man and he frowns slightly, wondering just how close Sakura was to these two.

The two chat and laugh for a few minutes more as Ino packages everything up until, finally, Sakura is ready to go. She snatches up her purchase when she notices Sai reaching to carry them himself and she shoots him a frown, obviously still unhappy about him tagging along. Refusing to let him take the bags, she sends Ino a wave in farewell and heads for the door, sighing when he moves to open and hold the door for her.

Sakura can still hear the druid’s laughter as they walk out onto the street and she immediately turns back the way she’d come, recalling a shop in the main district that would likely have mirrors for her scrying. That should be the last thing she needs for the spell and, though she’d had every intention of getting everything over with tonight, a yawn catches her by surprise and she grumbles under her breath. Maybe Ino had a point.

She can tell the moment Sai transforms behind her by the sound of his footsteps on the cobblestone abruptly stopping, but she pays him no mind, only slightly concerned with him getting trampled. If he did, it was his own damn fault.

She’s surprised, however, as she feels something hop up onto her shoulder, a soft tail wrapping around the back of her neck and tickling her jaw, and the cat barely has a moment to get comfortable before he’s encased in a familiar sphere of magic.

He hovers above her shoulder by a few inches before Sakura deposits him on the ground and narrows her eyes, her voice particularly icy.

“Do that again and you’ll be sleeping outside until further notice.”

“A soul doesn’t particularly need to sleep,” Sai counters and her eyes narrow further, annoyed by the slight amusement in his tone.

“I can banish you from the house entirely, if you’d prefer that?”

Sakura smirks when his relaxed posture stiffens and his ears lay flat, obviously not fond of the idea. She continues on down the street and the cat follows close behind her, his small paws tap-tapping almost silently against the stone.

She finds the store she was looking for easily enough and is pleased with their selection of mirrors, picking out five once she’s verified that they’re fresh and unused. These Sakura does, begrudgingly, allow Sai to carry when he shifts into his human form and takes the wrapped packages from the shopkeep, but only because she knows she’ll need a hand free to draw her doorway.

The pair head back onto the street and through the pop-up market, only for Sakura to pause as she spots a stall selling different types of jewelry chains. She regards the stand thoughtfully for a moment before heading towards it, Sai following curiously behind her.

The lengths of chain are sold either by inches, the full pieces wrapped around a spool for the seller to pull and collect from, or in preset sizes, clasps and locks already attached. It’s a pretty wide array of metals - silver, gold, copper, brass, iron, and so on - and, while some are already enchanted (a few select pieces of the pre-sized necklaces and bracelets), most are normal, simple chains ready for crafting.

Sakura speaks to the stall owner for a few moments and walks away with 40 inches of a thin, perfectly normal, gold chain, packaged up and slipped into her purse. She ignores Sai’s questioning look in favor of continuing her walk down the market street to the familiar brick wall, soon shifting her hold on the flowers to retrieve the cloth holding the piece of chalk.

Feeling Sai’s eyes on her as he watches curiously, Sakura draws her door once more and puts the chalk away again once she’d drawn her sigils. With her hand against the brick and a pulse of magic sent through the traveling chalk, she grabs the handle once it's formed and pushes the door open. On the other side is her garden and Sai peers through the doorway, having missed this part earlier when he’d stowed away in the locket.

Gesturing for him to go through first, Sakura waits until he’s standing on the fallen red maple leaves before joining him and shutting the door behind her, the handle turning to bark and the edges melting back into the tree. Sai rests a hand against the trunk for a moment, feeling for where the door had been, before he realizes that Sakura is already heading towards the kitchen door.

“Take the mirrors to the workshop and set them on the table with the lamp,” Sakura orders as they enter the house. She heads to a cabinet to grab a vase for the flowers and Sai nods, pausing when she speaks again.

“Leave your locket with me.”

He has to admit, he’s a little nervous about her intentions and hesitates before he gives another quick nod and leaves the kitchen. Leaving the wrappings on, he puts the mirrors into tidy stacks, the two larger ones together and the other three just next to them, before stepping back into the living room. Sakura approaches with all of her flowers set up in a vase, a few inches of fresh water at the bottom, and the paper bag containing the gemstones and wrapped bittersweet tucked under her arm.

She brushes past him and into the workshop and, as Sai turns to follow her, the door abruptly shuts in his face.

Sai stares at it for a moment, wondering if she was really that upset with him for tagging along, before hesitantly giving it a polite knock.

“Sakura? May I join you?”

“No.”

He frowns and considers questioning her further, but decides it would probably be best to just not bother her right now. Sighing, Sai turns away and shifts forms before hopping onto the couch and curling up, the tip of his tail flicking every so often as he rests his chin on his crossed paws and watches the door.

It finally opens and Sakura emerges about an hour later, her long hair pulled up in a bun and her black gloves tucked into her pants’ pocket. Sai quickly sits up and, from his spot, he can see that the mirrors have been moved to her desk but are all still wrapped.

He sends her a confused look and Sakura stretches as she approaches the couch, rubbing the back of her neck as she yawns.

“Alright,” She says when she looks at him. “Human form for a minute.”

Sai hesitates a moment before he shifts forms again, startling slightly when Sakura suddenly tosses something to him. He catches it easily and opens his hand to find his locket, a new gold jump ring connecting it to the chain she’d bought earlier. 

It's only about 18 inches of the chain and has a clasp on one end and another jump ring on the other. He can feel a bit of her magic still thrumming through the metal and a quick glance through the still-open door to see jewelers tools and pliers on her worktable confirms his suspicions.

“This way you don’t have to smuggle the locket into my bags to follow me,” Sakura says as she crosses her arms and leans against the sofa. Sai thinks for a moment that she means to wear his locket herself and he hopes that she’s finally taken his offer to be her familiar, but then she continues.

“Try it on and make sure it fits right.” She nods down at the necklace, dashing his hopes. “If it’s too tight I can add more links, but it needs to be short enough to not slip over your head.”

His disappointment doesn’t make it to his face and Sai simply sends her an empty smile and nods. But he struggles with the small clasp for a few moments and Sakura sighs, taking the necklace and tapping his back to make him scoot forward as she moves behind him.

“It’s nothing too special,” She explains as she places the chain around his neck and holds open the clasp with her thumb nail. “Just a charm to keep the locket from falling off, something to match your transformations, and an anti-tampering ward.”

Sakura steps back once it's connected properly, the metal feeling comfortably warm against his pale skin rather than cold like he’d been expecting.

“Only you or myself can remove it,” Her green gaze looks over the chain as she stops in front of him again before her expression softens just slightly. “How's it feel, Sai?”

He’s certain she can’t hear his purr even as it thrums softly in his chest at the sound of her saying his name and he feels at the necklace for a moment, centering the locket before he looks up at her with a slightly more genuine smile.

“It fits perfectly. Thank you, Sakura.”

She waves his thanks off and nods, gesturing with her chin. “Go on, cat form again. Gotta make sure the spell works right.”

Sai hums before he shifts, expecting to feel the chain links catch on the fur of his neck, but is surprised when it doesn’t. The necklace shrinks to match his smaller size and, while it still holds the same weight, it doesn’t move like a chain. Had he been able to see his reflection, he would have seen that the necklace had taken the form of a normal cat collar, the locket charm the only unchanged part.

“A cat wearing a chain would look odd,” Sakura explains before yawning again. She checks the time on her phone while Sai bats a curious paw at the charm before she sighs and starts to head upstairs.

“I’m going to take a nap before I do my scrying,” She mutters, knowing the flowers would stay open and fresh for several days thanks to Ino’s touch. “Try not to wake me.”

Sai hops up onto the top of the back of the couch and watches her as he sits, wanting to follow her but deciding to give Sakura some space as thanks. Perhaps he’d take this time to finally do some exploring.

“Rest well,” He calls, a pleased purr settling in his chest when she returns the sentiment and leaves his line of sight. Sai listens to her footsteps as she wanders around on the second floor for a few minutes before she finally crawls into bed and the house falls silent.

[darisu-chan]

whatever our souls are made of (his and mine are the same), pt. 15

Welcome back to yet another one-shot!

Hope you guys enjoy it!

You can also read it here.

See ya!

inkwell

Prompt: social media

Summary: Each photo they upload becomes a puzzle piece which tells a story. Their story.

Ichigo, Rukia realizes, is not a fan of social media.

 Not that she had known what that was beforehand.

 She hadn’t realized there were more uses for a cellphone besides calling, receiving texts, listening to music and maybe taking a few pictures.

 She had had a more pragmatic view of technology.

 And it is not until she overhears Inoue and Arizawa talking about the newest photograph the former had taken and posted to Instagram, that she takes an interest on all the other uses one can give to a phone.

 “Ichigo, what is Instagram?” She asks the following day.

 She had hardly been able to sleep as she thought about that mysterious Instagram thing.

 Ichigo blinks and puts away the manga he had been reading.

 It is obvious he hadn’t seen this question coming.

 “It is a cellphone app.” He vaguely explains.

 “I see.”

 (Spoiler alert: she hadn’t)

 “What is an app?”

 She asks again.

 Then he goes on a lengthy explanation about the many apps and their uses.

 Turns out, Instagram is just one of the many apps you can use.

 You can even watch movies on your phone!

 Who would’ve thought?

 And Rukia gets the gist of it.

 Well sorta.

 She just knows that you can use a phone for almost anything nowadays.

 But he hadn’t really answered what Instagram was, so she asks again.

 “It’s an app in which people post pictures, sometimes with messages, other times not.” Ichigo tells her.

 “So people use it to share their photos with other people?”

 That sounded simple enough.

 “That’s the idea. Though attractive people use it for attention.” He adds.

 “Is that why Inoue has an Instagram?” Rukia asks out loud.

 (That makes him crack up)

 “So, to sum up, it is essentially a virtual album?”

 “Yeah, I guess.”

 It then occurs to Rukia that if Ichigo knows so much about it, maybe he has one.

 So she questions him about it.

 As it turns out, Ichigo does have an Instagram account.

 But he rarely uses it.

 It’s private, to begin with.

 There are just a few people that Ichigo had accepted, including his sisters and his few high school friends.

 He also doesn’t follow a lot of people.

 Besides that, he has only posted two photos.

 The first one is a snap of the river bank as the sun sets.

 There’s no description below and it seems unasuming, but Rukia knows the significance of it once she looks at the date it was posted on.

 The second one is just a picture of two very thick books by English authors.

 Again, there is no description, but she guesses those are a few of his favorite books.

 Other than that, there’s not much on his Instagram.

 Keigo did tag him on a picture with their other friends at someone’s house about a year ago.

 And that’s pretty much it.

 Yet, despite Ichigo’s lack of enthusiasm, Rukia is intrigued.

 She uses his account to browse through Instagram and realizes that he’s right, many attractive people, from celebrities to ordinary teens, post pictures of themselves, some in very suggestive poses.

 Then, there are other people who just share many things.

 Their pets, the places they’ve visited, their significant others, their children and other family members, things they bought, their food, concerts, and so much more.

 Rukia likes that.

 It feels as if they were sharing an intimate glimpse into their lives.

 She feels like she wants to share that too.

 She expresses as much, and Ichigo ends up installing the app into her own human cellphone and tells her how to use it.

 First things first, she needs a handle name.

 Rukia decides that doesn’t want to use her own name.

 Ichigo had told her that she could use a pseudonym in social media.

 She likes the anonymity of it.

 So she chooses a very simple handle.

 It is @krchappy14 and instead of her name, she just writes her initials.

 K. R.

 She becomes just a random Instagram user.

 And her first post is a snap of a drawing she had made, of a single white bunny waving hello with the hashtags #new, #hello and #bunny.

 That is just the beginning.

 Before long, her Instagram is filled with pictures.

 Rukia takes photos of anything she likes and posts them on the app.

 ─ Of sunsets, scattered leaves, the river.

 A stray snail, the white bunny she saw at a pet store, a hummingbird.

 Rain drops on windows, clouds, rainbows.

 A picture of her boots as she stands over a puddle.

 The highest tree in Karakura Town. ─

 There is not a single description in any of them.

 But Rukia uses different emoji under them and hashtags relating to what they are and what she feels about them.

 Soon, she gains a small following.

 At first just Ichigo follows her, and then Yuzu and Karin.

 Ishida, Chad, Mizuiro and Keigo end up following her too.

 Then there are two accounts that seem too suspicious to be just random users.

 (@greenhats4laifu and @_real_black_cat)

 Yet there are other people ─ strangers ─ who follow her for the photographs she posts.

 They like their simplicity.

 How Rukia lets them speak for themselves.

 There are, of course, more intimate ones.

 Ones most people wouldn’t be able to guess their true meaning.

 ─ Two coffee mugs sitting side by side ─ one light blue with a white bunny on it, another black with red accents.

 Two videogame controllers.

 A horror manga next to a copy of Shakespeare’s selected works.

 Pictures of a rainy day with sad face emoji underneath.

 Board games on a table.

 A plate of curry.

 A festival.

 Fireworks.

 A rooftop overseeing the town.

 The silhouette of a young man reading. ─

 Her pictures are not only about things she likes.

 Each one tells a different story.

 And as time passes by, they multiply.

 Eventually Ichigo takes notice and asks her about it.

 “Why do you take so many pictures each time you visit?”

 “Because I don’t want to forget.”

 She simply admits.

 And suddenly she feels raw as Ichigo stares at her.

 “I… I never got to live as a human, so now that I get the chance, there are many things, many moments I just don’t want to ever forget.”

 For Rukia Instagram is more than just an app and photos.

 She uses it as her personal journal.

 But instead of words, it is filled with glimpses of life.

 Each photograph is a brief moment frozen in time that she wants to remember for the rest of her days.

 Everything she gets to experience, everything that she gets to be, is there.

 It is a testimony of her own existence.

 “I just figured that if there comes a time I can’t come here anymore, at least there’d be proof I was here, you know?”

 That I lived, she wants to say.

 Ichigo smiles softly at her.

 “I understand.”

 On her next visit, she is surprised to discover that Ichigo has been uploading more photos on his account.

 It’s not just a few.

 His account is still private, and the same people still follow him, but now there are more than just two lone pictures.

 ─ There’s a snap of his university.

 Pictures of Karin’s recent games.

 A photo of the Kurosakis all eating dinner together.

 A picture of Yuzu focused on her cooking.

 Birds flying through the window.

 A stack of new manga.

 Just a simple picture of his closet.

 A photo of the new CDs he bought.

 A snap of forget-me-nots. ─

 And Rukia soon realizes why he’s taking so many pictures.

 They are not for himself or for other people.

 They are for her.

 Each picture is about something she had missed while she was away.

 Events and anecdotes she gets to hear from her favorite people.

 And that now she gets to see.

 So she smiles at each them as she sees them.

 She treasures them deep in her heart.

 (Now she doesn’t have to miss anything)

 Eventually, their Instagram accounts get filled with photographs that you’d need to see together to get the full picture.

 Each photo becomes a puzzle piece which tells a story.

 Their story.

 ─ Movie tickets.

 Two pairs of ice skates.

 Starbucks orders.

 Pink dresses and leather jackets.

 Drawings and crayons.

 Books and college essays.

 A sunrise.

 Black bracelets.

 Silver rings.

 A field covered in flowers.

 Bunnies everywhere.

 A kitchen.

 Chocolate cake.

 Two pairs of legs covered in blankets.

 Sakura trees in full bloom.

 Dandelions. ─

 And one winter day, they post their best pictures.

 Rukia’s is a simple one.

 She hadn’t taken it, though.

 It had been Yuzu who had snapped it when they hadn’t been looking.

 It has a black and white filter.

 And in the picture, you can see the backs of a man and a woman wearing winter coats.

 They are surrounded by a snowy landscape.

 And the girl has her head on the guy’s shoulder as he holds her close.

 The caption is just a heart emoji.

 Ichigo, for his part, posts two pictures.

 His are more straightforward.

 The first is a snap of Rukia grinning as she throws snow in the air.

 In the second one, they are sitting next to each other.

 As Rukia smiles and blushes, Ichigo is seen pecking her cheek.

 The description simply reads,

 “I’m still not used to the cold, but since she loves snow so much, I gotta learn how to enjoy it too. It’s worth it, though. Just to see her smile.”

 Rukia gets a lot of comments saying she and her boyfriend look cute, even though you cannot see their faces.

 Ichigo, meanwhile, is bombarded by comments from his friends.

 He ignores them, though, as now he is more focused on the girl next to him.

 “Guess this means we’re now Instagram official, nee?”

 She jests as he rolls his eyes.

 “Rukia, please don’t ruin the moment.”

 “You know you love it.”

 “Damn right I do.”

[sanoiro]

Lucifer 5x07 - Our Mojo - Spoilers & Speculation

Warning! There is always the possibility that certain scenes might have been mixed up under their non-respective episodes.

Written By: Julia Fontana

Directed By: Nathan Hope

Julia Fontana has written/co-written the episodes:

2x10 - Quid Pro Ho

2x15 - Deceptive Little Parasite

3x08 - Chloe Does Lucifer

3x16 - Infernal Guinea Pig

5x07 - Our Mojo

Cast: Tom Ellis as Lucifer, Lauren German as Chloe, DB Woodside as Amenadiel, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze, Kevin Alejandro as Dan, Scarlett Estevez as Trixie, Rachael Harris as Linda Martin and Aimee Garcia as Ella.

Season 5 Recurring Characters: None Officially Announced Guest Cast:

Giovanni Bejarano...Mario Canales

Nancy De Mayo...Nina

Glenn Fernandez...Danilo

David Figlioli...Les Klumpsky

Cara Koh...Madison Evans

Behind The Scenes

As we get close to the Midseason Finale S&S do remember the past seasons Midseason and Season Finales. There were never standalone. You see there is always a pattern to be followed and this will happen with 5x07 and 5x08. The two episodes 5x07 and 5x08 act both as a Finale but also as a medium to the story to move forward and for P2 to bring elements from P1.

Going back we should remember how the following episodes intertwined thus a recap is needed. 

1x12 - #TeamLucifer  & 1x13 - Take Me Back to Hell were based on three elements. One Lucifer’s vulnerability, Malcolm and the Pentecostal Coin. A bargain was made there which moved us to S2 and the introduction of Mum.

2x11 - Stewardess Interruptus, 2x12-  Love Handles and 2x13 - A Good Day to Die built up to the point of where the supernatural aspects of Lucifer’s mythos are explored with Chloe being revealed to be a Miracle while Dr Carlisle acted as a serial killer poisoning his victims and Chloe. What we also tend to forget here is that early in S2 Uriel’s threat was almost materialized as Chloe would have died if Lucifer had not gone to Hell and thus broke the balance of time and effect  Dr Carlisle had started. It is also why in that season we had to focus on Mum and the blade.

2x17 - Sympathy for the Goddess and 2x18 The Good, the Bad and the Crispy used the blade and Mum was set as yet another problem while Lucifer regained his wings. Again we needed two to three episodes if you add 2x16 - God Johnson into this, to build up the story.

In S3 3x09 - Sinnerman and 3x10 - The Sin Bin led to the Mid Season finale which foretold Marcus way of dying by a blade which Lucifer had struck. The end of S3 actually started from 3x19 and was led to the very end but again episodes 3x23 - Quintessential Deckerstar and 3x24 - A Devil of my Word delivered the conclusion of S3 and led to the issues of S4.

Now S4 actually help us structure S5. There were Kinley and the vial, in 4x04 - All About Eve we get Eve and the conclusion happens between the episodes 4x09 - Save Lucifer and 4x10 - Who’s Da New King of Hell. Also, certain episodes were connected like 4x06 - Orgy Pants To Work and 4x07 - Devil Is As Devil Does where Julian becomes the connection between the story as it involves

With all the above in mind, we see what the writers like to use but also how they pace their seasons and what is included.

In S5 up to 5x10 you will see this as far as I understand.

First 5x01 will set in motion an issue that needs to be resolved so Lucifer ascends but a new factor is introduced and that way the episode will end with a question of how things will move from there while the promise of Lucifer staying on Earth will not be that clear.

In 5x02 we get the realization that something is amiss and that action needs to be taken but that connects us to 5x03 so 5x02 and 5x03 connect through the lingering issue from 5x01, Lucifer’s desire to stay on earth or perhaps the insistence of others to keep him away from Hell. Hell you see is like a drug and it acts slowly so at some point we will get a cold turkey Lucifer in 5x02 with 5x03 acting as his re-introduction to society and his old life.

Amidst all that we get the consequence of Lucifer’s actions probably from 5x01 which I suspect will affect Dan and a more permanent solution will be sought which leads us to 5x04. 5x04 offers us a lot of answers but also questions and that is why it is tied so well with 5x05. Lucifer is not the same nothing is but a solution has been found as maintenance does not fix a hole in a sinking ship.

Along with all the above, we also have Deckerstar and revelations which are bound to be set in these episodes and which will lead to the rocky episode of 5x06. Fear not though as 5x06 opens the door to the last two episodes of P1. In these two episodes actions will be made that will turn the tables first to how our characters act but also what they expect from the future. It is also where we will understand why in 5x04 the title was “It never ends well for the Chicken”.

Divine solutions do not come without collateral and thus a sacrifice will be made yet to what extent and what that will mean for our leads it remains to be seen as we only have scattered pieces which hint that Chloe will take the blow but not in the conventional sense the fandom loves to lament over. Chloe dying is overplayed and in my opinion to fan fiction like to be put forward in the mid-season finale. No here we are talking about more revelations on Lucifer’s past but also Chloe’s which may date back to the Pre-Fall era.

So let’s try to go through 5x07 episode first as we connect it lightly to 5x08.

First of all, we know that we have a Serial Killer played by David Figlioli* in these two episodes so I would expect to see a plot similar to Dr Carlisle’s. That means that in one of the two episodes either the effect of the character will set in motion an unavoidable plot that will affect all the leads pr that past actions are bound to fade the immediate future.

*If you do not want to know who that is please do not look him up and think twice before spoiling that element to people who do not like spoilers or like the procedural subplot of the series. I do not add his bts here for that reason. 

Now our Serial Killer has been described as “Nerdy and Creepy” which fits the description from the locations they were used. 

At this point please remember that we usually LOVE to speculate only on Lucifer and Chloe but in reality their story is supported and the plot moves forward through the events on every single character’s life. So certain points might be considered from all angles meaning from every character’s point of view on 5x07 and 5x08. That is practically impossible as we have no idea what has happened to most of them during S5P1, we can only guess so let’s see.

Dan - We expect him to have a health issue that ties him to Lucifer for the most part of the season. As we have said Dan’s arc is very similar to Charlotte’s and also after 5x08 the bracelet disappears but that’s for the S&S of 5x08. So notice that Kevin Alejandro did not appear in the bts of 5x07 and 5x08 while the actor had some other engagement during the shooting of 5x07 and he directed 5x08. Of course, bts are not reliable on how much screen time a character has but is nonetheless suspicious. 

Amenadiel - It seems that Amenadiel according to his garments has decided run LUX early in S5 but in some bts there were some hints of boxing yet I cannot tie them to an episode so I’m just mentioning that here. We also know from the photos at Linda’s fridge is you look closely that he has a calm domestic life but here is the twist we do not know if he is romantically involved with Linda or if in S5 the usual working pair Maze and Amenadiel move from where they left things in S1-S2. Whatever happens, what we know is that Amenadiel is deeply involved in this seasons plot so keep an eye on him.

Maze - You have seen her in different clothes and it does not seem like she has left her demonic character attitudes and choice of wardrobe behind in S5. On the contrary, her relationship with humans like Ella and Linda seem to now be better and I do not think she will be bitter towards Lucifer although who knows, as he left her when he went back to Hell. In short, she seems to be coping well but there are a lot of fights which I’m not sure whether she acts out in S5 towards Lucifer and Amenadiel or tries to fend off whatever attacks them. Do not go to oh the demons have ascended scenario just yet…

Linda - Linda seems to be in a very good place we know she has her son, Charlie is growing and all the baby proof wrapper is still on so you never know when wings or powers might come forward in her life. We do know that she continues to have a close relationship with Chloe and Maze and also an amicable one with Amenadiel. Finally, we know that she resumes her sessions with Lucifer.

Charlie - Charlie is a bit of an enigma and he may be one of the contributing factors of these two episodes. For all, we know the kid finally gets some powers and do expect him to surprise you.

Ella - You just don’t know with this character as all of Aimee’s bts are vague at best yet I do not believe she has found out yet about Lucifer but P2 might be her time to do so. She does not seem to occupy much of S5’s plot but I would keep an eye on her on the second part of the season and especially on 5x10.

Trixie - Trixie’s role is doubtful to be elevated to something more in this part but she has some great moments with Lucifer. At the moment I cannot really speculate about her as whatever happens in the stages rarely gets out so we have very few appearances of Scarlet at the lot…

Lucifer - Lucifer seems to be getting a bit different, you see a different side of him one that the perhaps wanted to forget as his past comes knocking throughout the season. His evolution through the series is interesting but the supernatural elements worrisome. Again the fact alone he is willing to help Dan says a lot.

Chloe - As you saw I was very brief with Lucifer as I wanted to focus a bit more on Chloe. Aside from her relationship to Lucifer in S5 we get to see that every person has two sides even if for some they were unaware it existed. That’s not a good and bad side kind scenario but I’m talking more about Chloe being more than a miracle. Before you speculate and ask I would just say that her being a Miracle is not where S5 will step on so look for clues while you watch because all lead to 5x08. I may be right I may be wrong but I’ll spend some more time explaining this in the S&S of 5x08.

So let’s start with 5x07’s case. It’s the easy way to figure out what is going on or at least put in order the scenes. Here we have two plots and we do not know if the Serial Killer’s victim/s is the case of the week. We do know that the Serial Killer, for the most part, was in the lot so I do not think he was on location much. The reason for this is because we have two locations at the backlot where 5x07 was mainly shot.

The first one is a flower shop which if I can guess is connected to the Serial Killer perhaps. He might be this kind of peaceful guys who run a flower shop and who you would never suspect on killing people in their free time. It adds up a bit but I cannot be sure.

The second one is a house that was used as a crime scene location. In the heart of the WB lot they setup a house that exhibited a lot of wealth and eclectic taste. It’s only normal as this case is also connected to an opera?** performer or at least someone who is seen to be performing at the Los Angeles Theater a wonderful old Cinema and grand landmark in DTLA.

**We cannot know for sure of the genre he performs but the taste of his house shows he is into classical pieces so... 

(See the BTS video there I always include bts that I have not posted before and are all Lucifer related)

^The police car and the coronary’s car outside the lot house location. 

First, we need to remember that during a quick ext the cast and crew had to do from the Stages there was also an actress that played a human body. She wore a lot of grey and blue makeup and we can assume she was part of this story. I cannot tell if in 5x07 a body of that kind will make it to our screens but a cemetery will.

The cemetery most probably is though related to the season’s supernatural plot. They filmed at the Rosedale cemetery with several stunts and from the videos you can see that Lesley Ann had a lot of action scenes in this episode. At the same time, DB had twitted to have a lot of scenes with her in that episode. According to what DB revealed the two characters are working together. I would predict that this has to do with whatever Amenadiel is searching for since 5x05.

^In general D.B. has been thrilled with the final season and that pleases me a lot! 

The Rosedale cemetery has several wonderful tombs and crypts which some of them could be used to a similar theme that was used early in the season. Confusing I know but let’s say that in P1 it seems like they are trying to find something, an object perhaps and I wouldn't be surprised if it was either hidden in a cemetery or simply that the object that they are looking for is connected to the serial killer somehow… I mean remember Azrael’s blade… I doubt they will use the same scenario but the divine influence on mortals never ends well.

Now the second location which I mentioned before is the Los Angeles Theater. I do not know if Ellis and German were also in the cemetery but they will be at the Theater along with the opera? singer. There is also some stunts involved so I would keep an eye on someone escaping or at least putting a fight. For all we know this case might also be a bit similar to 3x17 one with Axara.

^The stand-ins taking notes for the scene

^We expect some to happen to that grand staircase oh and there were again a lot of stunts there so :D 

As you can tell the majority of 5x07 as an episode eludes us and there are bts we cannot really explain but we can only speculate about.

For example why Lucifer wears a budge and has a gun? Why now? Is he threatened or Chloe has decided that enough is enough. Perhaps even in order to not endanger her Lucifer might have taken her badge and gun. The possibilities are so many yet a definite answer cannot be given. If we take into account that the title is Our Mojo it can be a million different things. Like the opera? singer has the same captivating effect as Lucifer’s mojo for some reason but not a divine gift. It might have to do something with Charlie or it can be taken completely out of context. All we know is that Lucifer has to be armed so I would speculate this.

I admit I was not the one to notice that but my dear Amy was :P I just did the visuals a bit clearer. 

Let’s assume that Lucifer’s connection to Dan is weakened him and it goes both ways hence why we do not see Dan as much in 5x07 and a permanent solution becomes more urgent. His strength, mojo and overall his capacity to protect himself. Or perhaps he has to pose as Dan but that wouldn’t explain the protection of authority and a gun full of bullets. So we know things are dangerous when Chloe? caves in and hands Lucifer a gun to protect himself or if Lucifer has decided that in order to keep himself safe he has to play with human toys.

What we also cannot totally explain is the green screen *around* the penthouse. After discussing this with some friends we have agreed that it should be a large scale event or something. We do not know when or if Lucifer and Chloe get intimate, if that’s why that green screen is there or if there is a divine consequence that has to be shown through VFX. All we know is that there is something big coming. The last time they had used such a big screen well it was smaller actually was for the Fall nightmare scene of 3x15.

Additional Info

The stunts were rehearsing a fight at the stages but that’s normal for when they have to perform on location. 

Something seems to happen at the precinct and mainly in episode 5x08. Something like a fight 

^Naughty Woman? Perhaps I’m wrong...

The director posted this as a lucifer bts but here is the thing little Charlie as far as the babies used go cannot operate that but with CGI everything is possible. Also, the babies used were shooting for a different show at that time. 

[shareighphippsart]

P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8 FMP Final Film

I decided to create a film to show my audio clips and my painting. This is because I can no longer have an exhibition so I made this to exhibit my work. I used Adobe PremierPro to do this. I had previously used this software when doing my Animation Workshop earlier this year. This provided me with the basic knowledge on how to use this software. I recorded the film footage of my painting the same day I took photos of my painting. This was so I could use the same backdrop. I recorded my painting in landscape as it’s mostly going to be viewed on computers of some kind. I also used my phone (IPhone XR) to record it. I recorded lots of videos, showing off the different areas, having close ups as well as showing the whole painting. I took roughly 25 videos. I didn’t use all of the videos in my film. 

I started off the process of making the film by adding and ordering all of the footage. I made notes in my sketchbook of the order that I wanted to achieve. I also then started editing and cutting down some of the footage. Then adding some video transitions such as “cross dissolve” and “fade to black”. I tried out lots of different transitions and then chose the ones that I thought were suitable for that particular transition. This process was time consuming as there was a lot of transitions to go through. I also then slowed down some of the film (pan of the whole painting) so that the viewer could really see the painting before going into closeups. 

I then started adding the audio clips. All but two audio clip was my own recording. I went out and about and around my home creating the sounds for this film. The only sounds I didn’t do myself was the sound of a “space beam” and “distortion” which I got from BBC free sfx sounds. This allows me to download sounds free from copyright. I tried to add the appropriate sound clips (including the voice memos of the dreams) that corresponded to that part of the painting. I didn’t use all of the sound clips that I recorded as I recorded multiple of the same sound e.g running or it didn’t correspond to the painting. I had to cut a lot of the audio down to make it fit with the timing of the film clips. So I used the key parts of the audios. This was hard to do as I was trying to match the audio to the visual of the painting. In the end I couldn’t get them all to fully match exactly but I was very close. What I did do worked well as a whole. Once I got the audio in place I then looked into audio effects and transitions. I used “exponential fade” for the majority of the audio transitions. For the close up of the monster I distorted the voice and used a distortion sound. I also added some delay to the voice. This made it seem very supernatural and eery which combined similar aspects of a few dreams. Some of the audio clips were much louder than the rest so I also changed the volume of the audio to make it along the same lines. When watching my video over and over again it felt like there was something missing. So I decided to add an underlying sound throughout the entire film. For this I used the sound of ticking from a clock. I chose a clock because clocks are often associated with falling asleep, entering a dream like world, very similar to the themes of Alice In Wonderland. The ticking is in loops, so that it fades in out throughout the video. The volume was lower than the rest of the audio as it’s meant to be underlying.

Once I had the film and audio clips mostly done, I decided to add in the intro and outro to the video as it’s going to be published onto YouTube. To do this I used PremierPro’s graphics section as they have templates already on there. In the intro, I wanted to summarise my fmp to give it context and for people to understand what I was trying to achieve in my work. I added in the same transitions as I did for the other film clips. To make it somewhat interactive like I had planned in my exhibition, I added in a photo of my smaller paintings with the question “Can you find these in the painting?”. I decided to include those paintings as I still wanted the element of interaction between the work and the viewer. 

Once I finished the film, I then asked my family to view it to see if it was ok, if they could understand it and follow what was happening. After this I then uploaded it onto YouTube under the account “Shareigh Phipps Art”. The video is 2 minutes 12 seconds long. Once I posted it, I then sent a link to some other people to see if they could view it and if it was ok. One of my friends pointed a spelling mistake which is very annoying. I added to the description that I was aware of the mistake. The link worked through multiple platforms: snapchat, instagram and messenger. They all also said that it was really good and great concept. However, some said to maybe explain some things a bit more thorough such as surrealism and the unconscious. I could’ve also made the video a bit longer so I could add in the extra information. 

link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_uTTSHVPv8&t=1s 

[resetmypatientviolence]

Whatever Comes Next (Drake x MC) [M]

Pairing: Drake x Jaela (canon)

Word Count: 3,596

Rating: M

Warnings: Language, Smut

Song Accompaniment: Love Me Right-- Rendezvous At Two

Description: Surely Drake can’t be the only one to pose for a sexy photo on the final night of their honeymoon?

Author Note: Anddddd I’m back. Well, at least for this. We’ll see how much TRH inspires me for smut on shots. That said, this might be a Drake and Jaela you’re not used to seeing in my fic: canon. No past traumas of STB or nothing, This fic follows along the canon versions of them, which, in my opinion, are fucking adorable. Enjoy! Masterlist is found on my blog bio.

And the moment is captured on the final night of their honeymoon. Jaela admires the muscles he provides for her viewing pleasure… but she can’t help but giggle at the sight, her new husband clearly out of his comfort zone in posing for a photo in the cozy and, ahem, very well used bedroom.

Drake cocks an eyebrow up and sits up, a smirk still on his lips. “That bad, huh, Abdi?”

Jaela snorts, scooting closer and turning her phone to him. Drake sets a hand on her thigh, nails gently raking across her skin and he flushes, snatching it away. “Hey!” Forgoing romance, Jaela dives for the phone, stretching her nearly nude body across Drake’s bare chest, reaching for the phone in a desperate sort of way. He cannot delete it. “You are NOT deleting that!” She gasps, hand around his wrist.

There’s a playful smile on his lips and sparkling in his chestnut eyes that makes Jaela return the same expression in their battle for her phone. His hand rests on the middle of her back, fingers splayed. Skin on skin sizzles. “You laughed!”

She knows he’s not hurt by the way he grins, wrapping a leg around her thigh, holding her in place. “Because it’s a cute and silly and kinda sexy picture of my husband,” … the man she didn’t know she could love any more than she has during this entire time escaping reality, lost to only each other on this island. “I want it forever. I want to remember you when I’m away, or when you’re away doing whatever we’re supposed to do as big fancy nobles.”

Drake cringes at the world noble—not unexpected—but slowly lowers the phone and hands it to her. “Ah-ha!”

Jaela sits up and knowingly straddles his waist, shutting off the screen and smirking at the twitch from his dick against her. It’s never taken long, let alone on this perfect honeymoon, Drake—and her—always at the ready, even if one if sleepy or still worn from the other. Drake smirks, hands sliding along her smooth thighs. “I love the view…” His eyes darken and they flick from her breasts to face twice. Jaela tosses her phone aside and wiggles her hips, meeting his hands with hers.

“Is that so, Walker?”

“I do, Mrs. Wal—”

“Abdi-Walker—”

“Mrs. Abdi-Walker…” Drake finishes, low, eyes roving over the curves of her breasts, hard nipples barely contained in the black lace bralette. “You know… I think it’s a little unfair that you get a ‘sexy’ picture of me for when we’re apart and I get…” She shivers at his touch, finger touching her over her black lace thong. She really doesn’t know why she put it on, honestly, after their latest romp an hour or so ago. “Nothing but my mind…”

Drake sits up and pulls her close to him. Their skin touches and it’s like into a million little fireworks bursting. Jaela shuts up his slow, tempting drawl with a deep kiss, inhaling his scent. It’s mixed of the ocean salt, sand, and her—and it’s been driving her crazy this entire time. Drake smiles against her lips, letting their tongues explore each other’s mouths with a languid pace—then he parts, eyes now nearly black with desire. “I think I could use some visuals for when I need to think of my wife sucking my…”

“You just want to see if I can do any better than you posing, huh?” Jaela cuts him off, grinning. He won’t get it that quickly.

Hair falls over his eyes when he shakes his head, pretending to be thoughtful. “Oh, I know you’re going to beat me. I also just happen know that my incredible sexy wife would love to pose for me too… and would also get off on the idea of what I do when we’re apart and in different beds.”

Biting her lower lip, a flush of warmth diving low in her belly, Jaela nods. She can’t deny that idea, even if she doesn’t need a photo of him to get going. Or the idea what he’s doing, thinking of her. “Think you can handle this?” Jaela purrs, removing herself from his lap, messing with her hair. Drake steals another appreciative look at her body. It’s taunt, firm, and curvy in all the right places, glowing from the sun, salt, and his endless kisses in their newly wedded bliss.

“I know I can’t,” Drake says, the rise in his boxers’ evidence of this. “But I’ll certainly enjoy the view…” He settles back against the pillows holding up his phone, the lust clear on his features. He glances between the phone and real life before him.

Posed on her knees, gives her best smolder to Drake, needing no instruction on how to pose for the camera… let alone with her husband behind the lenses, cock twitching each time she moves. A little shoulder pop, a pointed smirk at his hardening dick, a bite of her lip, a peek at her ass… everything to get him going, over and over and when they only have a screen to view.

Flipping her hair back, Jaela lets a bra strap slip down her arm, the second it falls lasting an eternity by the way his eyes follow, jaw dropped. His reaction is all she needs to keep the tease going, slowly sliding it back up her arm shimmering under the soft lights of the bedroom that made everything warm and simply perfect every night… and morning… and afternoon.

Jaela switches positions, hands on the bed to give him perfect access to view her chest. Smirking, she crawls forward and comes between his legs. Drake sits up a bit more, cheeks flush heat, phone still taking photos. The soft clicks only make her wetter between her thighs, knowing what they’ll be used for. “And… do you think one more will do?”

“Uhh…”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Hair falls over her shoulders, but she knows this adds to his arousal. He loves to pull on it or run his fingers through it when they make love or fuck, depending on the mood. She reaches behind her and unhooks her bra, letting it fall off her body, merely a soft tumble on the sheets when it lands.

Drake makes a sound somewhere between a gasp and choke, eyes locked on her chest, nipples stiff-- ready. Jaela chuckles and weaves her fingers in her hair, holding it up, posing topless before him, giving him the sultriest look she can manage, light hitting her cheekbones perfectly, nearly glowing for him. There’s fire in her eyes and the rush of warmth between her thighs. The thong won’t be far behind the bra. That was known the moment she reached behind herself. In fact, why did she even pack a bra, in all honesty?

“Got it?”

Drake takes a moment to answer, jaw dropped and slack, as if he’s under a spell. Finally, he seems to come to, gulping hard. “Uh-huh…”

They look brown eyes—and suddenly, Drake’s kissing her, hard, phone tossed to the side. They fall together on the luxurious silk sheets, hands feverishly touching every inch of skin they can manage, the hunger to satisfy their lust and need for each other too much to bear. It’s the last night—Jaela intends to make the most of it, to take a final night of escape before reality rushes in without relent.

She lets out a little cry of a pleasure mixed with pain when Drake nips her lip hard, rolling her to her back. She willingly sinks into the soft mattress, hips rising to meet his. “Abdi…” He breathes against her neck, a finger slipping down her side, following the curve of her hips. His lips find purchase as he lifts her thighs, pressing his covered manhood against her sex, teasing her just like she likes.

Jaela moans quietly, enjoying the sensation, the buildup before the release. The tease. The game. The cat and mouse. The desire. “D… Drake…”

“You certainly put on a little show for me…” Jaela gasps when he pulls away and flips her over on all fours, bringing her hips to him. The fireplace crackles low in the bedroom, glasses of whiskey still abandoned after their first round. Jaela adjusts herself on her elbows, looking back at him with a grin. Drake removes his boxers and his eyes sparkle as he looks down at her on all fours for him. Waiting. Wanting.

“I always will. Besides…” She moves her hips in a figure eight, the heat somehow travelling even lower in her body, to the apex of her thighs. Music plays in the background, but it’s long forgotten in the moment, Drake pushing her hair over her shoulders and letting his calloused hands travel down her back and sides, coming to the curve of her ass, memorizing the feel of her body. “I know I’ll be well-rewarded for giving you some bonus shots…”

Drake agrees with a growl low in his throat, kneading his palms against her ass, nails digging the skin. “Oh… very…” While one finger loops under the thin band of her thong, lifting it, he lowers himself to kiss down her spine, speaking quietly. Only the music and soft sound of the waves are barely louder than his words coated with desire and pure, unadulterated lust. She knows exactly what she’s in for.

And she can’t wait.

His lips press against her, taking his sweet time as he kisses down, teasing her by moving his fingers along the band, causing the fabric to rub against her clit in a pleasant—yet frustrating—way. “Very…” he continues, breath hot against her skin. Jaela shivers, gripping the sheets. She’s about to pounce him if he doesn’t hurry up. “Very…” His tongue comes to her thong. “Well…”

She gasps, tensing, then relaxing, when he draws a line along the band of her thong with his tongue, the salvia an all too brief moment of cool before her skin burns with tension, Drake savoring the moment. He comes back to the middle after drifting to the right, then takes the thong between two fingers, lowering it.

There’s no time to talk back to him, offering a witty or sexy quip, Jaela didn’t decide, before he kisses down where the lace is removed, pussy exposed to him. Drake wastes no time to press his mouth to it, fingers digging into the flesh of her ass, eating her out with vigor. He’s done this… Jaela’s lost count of how many times he went down on her… yet each time, Jaela feels like it’s just like the first time all over again, back in the palace at the Homecoming Ball, unbelieving that this is happening.

His fingers offer a grand, rough contrast compared to how delicately his tongue slips between her folds, twisting and flicking in all the right ways. Her forehead touches the sheets and she attempts to steady her breathing as Drake does his work, just like he has every night of this honeymoon. She rocks her hips as his tongue slips between her walls, just for a moment, Drake lifts his head, lips and chin slick with her juices.

“God… if only I could taste you when I look at those pictures…”

Jaela giggles, lifting her head up. Drake gets the rest of her thong off, throwing it somewhere within the expansive room. They lock eyes, the carnal desire in Drake’s expression disappearing when he smiles wide, holding her hips, tip of his cock brushing against her. “You do know that we won’t be separated for a while… there’s no way we’re getting sent on trips alone this soo—oh!”

Drake smirks at her reaction to him entering her, thick shaft stretching her in every way Jaela loved. Her eyes flutter shut while Drake presses his hips flush to hers, letting her adjust… then pulls out to the tip before sliding back in with ease. She’s dripping, really, the posing and anticipation for their final night too much to bear any longer. She wants him—all of him in every way possible. “… There’s no way when we’ve got an heir to make…”

Jaela gulps hard at his words but lets the feeling of him overtake her. Him, in every form. Him, in every way. Him in every… thing she desired from him.

Was she nervous about children? Absolutely. Drake’s fingers twine in her hair, a gentle pull as they meet, feeling every inch of each other. But… somehow, it felt natural to want this, to want to urge on the next chapter of their lives as a couple. After all, isn’t this what the honeymoon of nobles was for? The next chapter?

She throws her hips back to meet his as he thrusts forward, gritting his teeth as he enters her again and again, both building a smooth, familiar rhythm. No words are needed as they connect, their moans and breathy gasps peppering the room. Drake reaches down with one hand and squeezes her breast, tweaking the nipple.

Jaela shudders, coming from the combination of his dick, her own hand, and how he handles her breast, walls squeezing around him. “Fuck—Drake—”

“Good girl,” he gasps. He loves saying that now that he knows how wild it drives her…. Just like how she’s learned exactly what he loves.

There’s a sparkle in her eye when she pulls far enough away that he can’t enter her again. He seems to come out of his stupor, savoring how she feels around his cock, how freeing it is to be with her completely. Drake reaches out, saying, “Huh?” before Jaela turns and backs him against the pillows and headboard, straddling his lap. The confusion is replaced with a smirk, looking her up and down. His hands come around her back, nails raking the sweaty yet smooth skin there. Jaela brushes herself against his tip, hovering—teasing—their stomachs and chests touching in the quiet, tense embrace, waiting for the next move.

Jaela only arches an eyebrow while the cooling sea breeze blows past them, ruffling white the curtains draped around the canopy. Drake, tired of waiting, tries to buck his hips up to connect with her, but Jaela moves faster, rising up. “Not yet…” she purrs, tracing his lips, then dragging her nimble fingers down his chest. “I want to savor the moment. This. Us.”

Drake’s head falls back as Jaela slowly—so, so slowly—lowers herself against him, feeling every inch that enters and stretches in the most delicious ways. They shudder together, drawing in a sharp breath when they fully meet as one. But Jaela doesn’t move, hands on his cheeks, drawing his face to hers. Drake opens his eyes slowly, lazily, holding her thigh. “Mm… Abdi… you make me…”

“Drunk?” she laughs, kissing him hard, circling her hips. Jolts of electricity course through her, starting low, deep in her core then bursting forth through every vein, big and small, setting her alight with so much more than desire. It’s need. It’s want. It’s… the future. She now throws her head back and Drake’s lips don’t leave her, following down her throat to her collarbone, lavishing the skin over and over with his tongue and teeth.

“Always,” he breathes against her, hands sliding to her ass. “You’re everything, Abdi, and these weeks… I’ll never forget them. Us.” Using his teeth on her lower lip, he gently drags her head forward, nose to nose, staring into each other’s dark eyes.

Slowly, Jaela moves her hips, rising. She squeezes him slightly, loving how he groans low against her lips. “Me either, Drake…. I love you,” she whispers, drawing him out till the tip, then, with the same painstaking slowness as before, she lowers herself again, allowing them both to feel every sensation that will send them cresting over the edge in no time. But, Jaela wants to make this moment last as long as it can.

After all, if things go as planned, there won’t be time to savor a world that exists with the two of them. Before long, she knows, there’s going to be more to worry about. To think about. To love with everything they have. But for now? Now, it’s just her. It’s just Drake. And it’s just this bed, Jaela rolling her hips with expert moves, giving Drake just what he likes with her on top.

His lips connect with her breasts, moving between each, lightly sucking then blowing on her nipples as she rides him, time lost to them. Time doesn’t matter as they move together in this moment. She braces her hands on his knees to give him full access and better handling as she moves, eyes hooded, watching him work against her chest. Can he feel how hard her heart is beating for him? How much she loves him? How much she long for these magical weeks—to be one with him over and over without fear of getting caught—for so long?

Does he know that she doesn’t want this moment to end?

Judging by his groaning, how he shakes, hands opening and closing against her back and ass, he knows. And he won’t last too much longer. All good moments must come to an end… but they can only lead to something greater, can’t it? Jaela smiles at the thought of what’ll come next—soon, if this honeymoon was any indicator-- capturing his lips in a hurried kiss, pushing him back against pillows, increasing her pace.

“J—Jaela—”

“Not yet,” she breathes, moving faster. Drake groans in disagreement, but settles, touching her clit with one hand. Jaela tenses herself, but she keeps the pace bouncing on his dick, the sound of her juices and the slapping of slick flesh on slick flesh meeting over and over filling the room to the fullest. “Say my name. Loud— fuck—”

She’s coming from his fingers making quick work of her, combined with how he moves his own hips with hers—and god, the look in his eyes. He wants the same thing as her, perhaps even more. But, all the same. “As you wish, Your Grace—” But he’s cut off with his own moans and groan. Both hands come to her back, hitting hard and leaving a brief sting as Drake holds her closer.

Each other’s names spill and fall from the other’s lips, louder than the squeaking bed and the headboard tapping against the wall. Their bodies, completely entwined and every inch pressed against the other, are on fire—a burning hot fire that’s ready to explode until the end of eternity, both lost to the passion of the other—and the possibility of the future, something that only love can create.

Drake’s cock hits her in the just the right spot, and she bites down hard on Drake’s earlobe. And that’s it—

With a hard, erratic thrust up, lifting their bodies up from the mattress, Drake cries out her name, “—Ja-Jaela!” as he comes, holding her hips down to his, spilling his seed within her. They tremble together, lips finding the other as Jaela circles her hips while Drake weakly moves his hips here and there. His hands, gentler than before, come up to her sides rubbing them while they come down together. Another amazing night in the books. One that certainly won’t be soon forgotten.

Heart pounding, body pulsing, they separate from their kiss, breaking into the grins they always did when the moment was over and all that was left was the afterglow of passion: soft, tender love.

Carefully, as they did every time since they decided three days in that it was worth it to start trying, Jaela removes herself and lays back on the bed. Chest rising and falling, Drake groans but joins her side, snuggling up against her shoulder hand flat across her stomach. He peppers kisses along her shoulder and Jaela shuts her eyes in pleasure, enjoying the feeling. “Mm…”

Drake smiles against her skin and moves closer to her, kissing her temple. “It’s a shame we can’t stay here any longer, Abdi.”

“I know…” She bites her lip, opening her eyes to look into his. She’ll never get tired of how he looks at her with that wonder, that wonder like he can’t believe she’s real. “But… I think…” She glances down to her stomach and sets a hand over Drake’s there. “I… I think I’m ready for what’s next.”

Drake smiles the biggest she’s ever seen before, even bigger than their wedding day. He lights up like a kid at Christmas, giddy with excitement to open his presents. “Really?”

She nods, matching his infectious grin. With a look like that, how can she not be ready for what comes next? “Of course,” she replies, the answer spilling out of her and into the world with ease and confidence. “I’m ready for whatever comes next with you, Walker. Haven’t we always conquered anything that’s come our way? Surely a little baby…” Jaela pauses, looking thoughtfully up at the canopy. “Well, if they have your personality, there might be a few road bumps, but I think we’ll survive. I did marry you, after all. If I can handle you…”

“Then certainly you can handle a clone of me,” he laughs, rolling over her, sealing the moment with a final kiss, their minds wandering away from the island for the first time in two weeks… excited for whatever—whoever—comes next.

Disclaimer: All characters and rights belong to Pixelberry Studios.

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