#but I do think the outfit also stands out by itself quite nicely :)

[strawberrydracos]

Strawberry Cutie (#2176687)

#Another outfit for a game! #this one was made for someone's dragon #I tried my best to make something fitting for that dragon specifically #but I do think the outfit also stands out by itself quite nicely :) #flight rising #fr #flight rising dressing room #fr dressing room #flight rising outfit #fr outfit

[aballadforbarbatos]

a gift for satan, the master tutor

btw this one is like. 80 points long so gl with that. i had fun with it though! hopefully you do too ^.^

“listen. satan. let’s go out.”

his brain totally stops at that. nobody else seems to notice- did you whisper it? he can’t quite remember! he needs to reboot his brain, hold on a second MC

“hellooo? satan? i asked if you wanted to go out with me to town? on a shopping trip?”

so not a date then. WELL NO WONDER NOBODY LOOKED OVER AT THEM BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T ASKING IN THE FIRST PLACE

there also wasn’t a single question there, so he can’t help but suspect you were trying to tease him with the possibility of reciprocated love…

you smile at him. he thinks about saying no in retaliation. but then… what if asmo goes with you instead… or mammon… can he really risk that? no.

great day in town too btw. nice and warm and peaceful. you say something about how lucifer would give you his credit card if you got 100% on all your exams, and you did! satan thinks about how lucifer is such a goddamn sap when it comes to you. grow a backbone, loser

“so where are we going?”

“clothes shopping!”

ugh. he hates clothes shopping. it’s so boring, and he has enough in his wardrobe. so do you actually, why are you choosing to go CLOTHES shopping with lucifer’s credit card?? you already have enough?!

he voices this. but nicely. you shake your head and laugh.

“no, silly! we are going clothes shopping for YOU.”

we what now

“no offence, and i mean this with my whole heart, but your clothes are so incredibly ugly. it always looks like you got dressed in the dark. this belt looks like the one i had when i was 11.”

ok, rude

“it’s a good thing you’re a demon bc your closet is a sin in itself”

:( he thinks it looks nice!

“tbh i am embarrassed to be out with you looking like that, but for today it's fine because it’s for the greater good”

apparently it does not look as nice as he originally thought. ok

well, it’s lucifer’s credit card, and he gets to spend the day with you, so it COULD be worse

majolish is up first

he does a lot of standing around while you play around with clothes

“it’s kinda hard to see how this would look on you because your jacket is so goddamn ugly. can you take off your shirt for a second”

TOTALLY misses the flirtatious tone in that sentence and is just offended instead

then it clicks what you asked him. but he still doesn’t get what you were talking about and just gets nervous

“mc we are in public?????????”

you give him a Look.

he doesn’t understand why (he will hours later) (he will burst into your room while there’s another brother in there and say “i’ll take my shirt off for you mc!” and pull it off and the brother will punch him in the stomach. i’m thinking of mammon when i write this)

you find a sales attendant

“hey so i’m gonna burn all his current clothes because they’re awful”

you gesture at his outfit

YOU’RE GOING TO BURN ALL HIS CLOTHES??

WHY IS THE ATTENDANT NODDING LIKE SHE UNDERSTANDS??

“the jacket is distracting me because it’s ugly. can you help me out here?”

“have you tried taking it off?”

“i asked but he whined”

YOU DIDN’T ASK DON’T LIE AND DON’T LIE ABOUT HIM?

the attendant purses her lips but keeps her mouth shut. probably because he’s the avatar of wrath

“it’s so terrible because when you look at his face he’s hot, but then you look at the rest of his outfit and realise you value your dignity more. imagine how much of a heartthrob he could be if he didn’t permanently look like he was getting dressed in the dark!”

mc. what the fuck? HE’S NEVER HEARD SUCH A BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT

“i see. this could cost a lot of money…”

“it’s okay. we have his dad’s credit card.”

he’s going to strangle you. he starts thinking about how to kill you. au revoir mc. it is the end of your life. you will not get a gravestone.

then he remembers how much he’ll miss you. FUCK.

satan settles for a very strong glare. scowl and everything

“um. what size is he?”

“great question. satan take off your shirt so we can find out”

he does not. he still doesn’t get it. he does know his size though so he lets the demon know and then she does her thing.

then it’s trying on clothes. DAMN he hates this. this is terrible and SO BORING. how tf does asmo do it

it takes forever too :(

the demon whispers in your ear.

“hey satan have you tried wearing pants that fit you so we don’t have to suffer through the ugly belts you choose”

at least asmo isn’t here with you???

he finishes shopping with you at SEVEN O’CLOCK. HE SPENT NINE HOURS SUFFERING THROUGH THIS

you even asked if he could wear one of his new outfits out of the store and fold up the other one, and that’s how he ended up wearing something more “stylish”

you pay for them to deliver his new clothes to the house of lamentation via truck because you decide you can’t be bothered carrying the boxes.

not that it would be possible there’s like 20 there and they’re NOT small

“i feel like we’ve hit the spending limit on lucifer’s card even though it doesn’t have a limit”

honestly he feels like that too. but he’s a lot less remorseful about it than you apparently are

you grab his hand and squeeze it and look at him with such a lovely warm smile that it makes this whole day worth it.

you really wipe away all his suffering with a smile. this is really bad for him, satan is in for a whole world of trouble with you

you squeeze his hand

augh he’s so in love with you this is terrible. but so GOOD at the same time it’s a complicated thing don’t ask him to explain it

“now we get to go home and have fun!”

have fun…?

OH RIGHT YOU’RE GOING TO BURN ALL HIS CLOTHES HE TOTALLY FORGOT

“we don’t have to go that far”

“no we do. we can get belphie and asmo in on it too!”

so that’s how he’s spending his saturday night. burning all his clothes.

asmo says this is a celebration and brings music

belphie brings gasoline

asmo says that it’s fabric so there’s no need for gasoline

belphie pours more on the clothes like he’s making a point. satan has no idea what the point is

you bring out the rest of his clothes and tell him to kiss them goodbye

“can i at least keep the jacket?”

loud sigh from you! whY??

“ok sure whatever. now lets light these things on fire!”

asmo and you are having a great time. belphie is watching them all go up in flames from his spot on the ground

lucifer comes out and yells at you both but you’re too busy dancing in front of the fire to pay attention

“dance with me?”

satan feels a smile tug at his lips as he takes your hand.

he’s in love with you.

he’s so in love with you.

his heart will beat for you forever, taken in by your evil doings and gentle ways.

and tonight he’ll dance with you until the flames subside and you tell him to stop.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me satan #obey me mc #obey me satan x reader #kind of #obey me crack #do these count. as headcanons. i'll put them up anyway and then someone can complain if not #obey me headcanons #majolish #fashion disaster catboy kid #the son. satan #bullying #satan headcanons

[toomuchracket]

Adding to the flatmate picnic ask, I think it’s pre condom gate so he bursts into her bedroom in the morning like ‘wake up! It’s picnic day!’

Fluff request! A picnic with flatmate. I bet he even insists you guys bake a cake to bring with you. And he defo makes chocolate covered strawberries the night before, putting them in the fridge to set.

this is so so sweet!! i think this is early spring, just after easter, and you both have a free couple of days and the weather is nice, and so you quite tentatively poke your head round the door of matty's room to be like "do you fancy... going for a picnic with me tomorrow? thought it might be fun". and matty's face just softens into a really sweet smile like "yeah!" and he jumps up like "wait can we make cake to bring with us?" and you're like "YES great idea let's do it"; the two of you go to the kitchen and make some little chocolate cupcakes (you have to intervene before matty adds all the cocoa powder to the already-moving stand mixer at once and makes a mess), then melt down your remaining easter eggs to make cornflake krispie cakes and - at matty's request - chocolate-covered strawberries. he kinda takes charge on those, and he lets you eat one before they go in the fridge; he has to distract himself with the dishes right after, though, because you get a little bit of chocolate on the side of your mouth and all he can think about is kissing it off. but yeah, the next morning matty's so so excited to have the cutest day with you and pretend he's your boyfriend - he's awake early, he takes his time picking out an outfit (because he knows you'll have some gorgeous little dress or something on) and making sure his hair looks cute before he bursts into your room at 8am like "morning sweetheart! come on, time to get up, it's picnic day". and he's trying so hard not to melt at how cutely grumpy you look, bleary-eyed and wild-haired and adorable in your cute pyjamas; you also take note of how cute matty looks, which softens the blow of being abruptly awoken. you're like "is there coffee?" and matty's like "duh who tf do you think i am?", and you grin and give him a little hug as you slide past him to get to the caffeine like "you look very handsome today, by the way. that t-shirt makes your eyes look really pretty", which naturally makes matty blush like a teenage girl lol. he takes charge of making sandwiches and assembling all the picnic snacks while you get ready, and tries so hard not to straight-up swoon when you reappear in a cap-sleeve sundress - naturally, it's your turn to blush when matty calls you beautiful. and the picnic itself is so cute! you wander down to a nearby park and settle yourselves on the grass near the pond (you get very excited when you see the ducks, and subsequently throw a napkin at matty's head when he likens you to tony soprano because of it), and probably take some cute pics of the other with all the cakes and strawberries and sandwiches lol. and you chat and joke as you work your way through the contents of the cool bag, sharing cigs when you feel like it; when it comes to the strawberries matty made yesterday, you're insistent on feeding him the first one, which both of you are internally like "this is relationship behaviour but who gives a shit" about. that is, until matty moans at the taste and you realise you're practically sitting on his lap, at which point you scooch back and busy yourself by trying a strawberry too - fine for you, but the little content noise you make and the way your lips wrap around the berry has a ridiculous effect on matty lmao. but within a couple of minutes you're back chatting as normal, you repeatedly refusing matty's requests to "race to that tree there and back" and the two of you petting a dog that bounds over to you happily, just enjoying the lovely day together <3

#mads muses #mads answers asks #matty asks #fluff asks #flatmate!matty

[spacerangersam]

Hello! Could you give me your personal thoughts/criticisms of each of the Button House ghosts' (from BBC Ghosts) costumes/outfits in detail please? Thanks!!

I feel like I should say, I don’t have a problem with most of the ghosts’ costumes. 

Julian’s is fine, I like the garters and the the fact that he’s wearing a striped pale blue shirt and a patterned tie rather than a plain white shirt and a plain red tie. I don’t like what happened to his hair over the course of the series, but I mean, the outfit itself is good.

Pat’s is great - I like his concept/piolet design just a little bit more just because of the green shorts and the rope thing he has around him which is an interesting little accessory - but otherwise, no notes, it’s a scoutmaster uniform, and the aviators are nice. Captain is also fine, I mean, they couldn’t really have mucked up his costume if they’d tried since he’s in a ww2 captains uniform, but point still stands. Robin is fine, it’s fur, it works, Mary’s is also quite nice, I like that’s it’s bright and colourful, and Humphrey's outfit is great, it really stands out against the other costumes because of how bright and bulky it is, and I'm glad they committed to the ruffle.

I legitimately love Annie’s outfit, the cap with the frills, the big fancy collar with the little details - it’s fairly simple but it looks great - Sophie knocks it out of the park with every outfit she wears, they’re all so beautiful, and Isabelle/Francis/Thomas’ outfits are all amazing (I have a soft spot for regency fashion tbh, and for Isabelle’s dress in particularly as a lover of green). The only thing I wish was that Thomas had kept the riding boots (I’m pretty sure he’s wearing them to the party) and the coat he wore to the party. But I also understand why both came off, I just thought they looked nice.

Really, my problem is just with Fanny and Kitty’s outfits.

I don’t know why, but Kitty’s outfit looks a bit cheap to me? I can’t explain it, maybe it’s the material used or something, but it does, and I really don’t like the dark colour scheme. A lot of the dresses I’ve seen from that era have a bit of a lighter colour scheme (though obviously not all of them do), and I really think a lighter colour scheme would really make her pop.  I mean, the other dresses she wears in flashbacks, while still a bit cheap looking, are so much prettier and do suit her so much better. The pink one, the blue one - she looks so lovely in them, and it’s a shame she didn’t get to have one of those as her death outfit. 

And Fanny’s outfit… God, I have a soft spot for Edwardian fashion too, and Fanny’s outfit is just so bad. Ignoring the fact that she dies at night so should be in her pyjamas, she has the wrong silhouette, her hair isn’t quite right either, not exactly the Gibson do it should be, I hate the colour, and putting aside historical accuracy, I just hate the dress, I think it’s fucking ugly  asdfgh. When I think of the Edwardian era, I think of those beautifully intricate white blouses and long white dresses, and I wish they’d put Fanny in one of those. She would have looked so much nicer, and not as if she (or one of her servants more like) accidentally put in a black sock with her washing and fucked up the colour.  

Like, I know they call her The Grey Lady, but I wish they’d let her wear white. They could’ve called her the lady in white, or the white lady, it would’ve been fine. If they wanted her to looked stuffy and old-fashioned, there were other ways to do it than giving her an ugly outfit that does not look like it should be worn by a Lady of the house. They could have given her a more Victorian-style dress or something, one that’s a bit outdated and shows how she’s still stuck in her ways. Just anything but that dress. Hell, they could’ve kept some of the grey by giving her a white blouse and a long grey skirt, that would’ve worked fine.

I wish I could like, show some examples but my internet is playing up and any time i try to click on a website it just reloads the page so...

[princess-of-the-corner]

So, how do you think the other supporting characters' (who have pony counterparts that is) outfits on Equestria Girls were with Celestia, Luna, the CMC, Cadance, Trixie, Starlight Glimmer, Big Mac, Lyra, Bon Bon, DJ Pon 3, Maud Pie, Zephyr Breeze, Cranky Doodle, Snips, Snails, Shining Armor, Photo Finish, Bulk Biceps, Granny Smith, Miss Cheerilee, Octavia Melody, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Derpy?

Okay let's go down the line!

Celestia - I like this! It fits her tbh. I do laugh a little at how they tried to make the crown in her hair by giving her these little cowlicks.

Luna - I'm like 90% fine with Luna's outfit but I just. Why??? Why did they change her skin tone?? She's so light!! What happened??? Like I know some characters got a touch lighter compared to the pony's coats, but Luna's one of the ones who got it the worst

CMC - putting them together because honestly I like all their default outfits. I think maybe Applebloom's is a touch plain, but if that's my biggest criticism...

Cadence - Hers is.... alright. Like it looks good on her, but it's also a work uniform designed to match-but-stand-out from the Crystal Prep looks, so we don't see as much of Cadence herself in the design. I'm not sure what I'd put her in for something more casual.

Trixie - She is perfect 10/10. I love her main outfit, but I also 100% ADORE her look in Rainbow Rocks.

Starlight - I don't like this look. Don't get me wrong, it's a great outfit! Just not for Starlight. Like she's an ex-cult leader learning how to actually make friends why does she look like she's about to chill at a skatepark?

Big Mac - Almost perfect but why??? With the skintone again???? Like some people argue that they changed it to avoid a racism thing because 'red sk*n' is a slur against Native Americans but that's a stretch and doesn't make sense for many reasons.

Lyra - I do not like this one. The pink is a bit too clashing for a main color(I'd allow it for an accent/accessory but not the main shirt and boots) and wtf are those shorts?

Bon Bon - This one's cute! The white might be a touch too overwhelming, but it's still cute!

DJ Pon-3 - Perfection! I love her!

Maud - tbh they literally just took her pony counterpart's dress and it 100% vibes with her. Perfect no notes.

Zephyr - he looks absolutely awful but in a good way because it fits his character's vibes oh my GOD he's a loser. Like if you showed me him with no context, ofc my first guess would be 'couch-surfing stoner who eventually became a hairdresser'.

Cranky - his actual /face/ looks so weird because they're trying hard to bring in the donkey look, but his clothing choices match him well.

Snips - very generic but he looks like a typical kid of that age

Snails - a bit more personality compared to Snips, making him a touch more awkward, but still quite generic.

Shining Armor - no. Just. Idk. I feel like Cadence probably dressed him so he'd look nice for that meeting with Principal Cinch but she did it by raiding his dad's closet. I don't think he'd look too messy ofc, considering the Pony is a Guard Captain the Human is probably military or police, but what they gave him doesn't quite work and it shouldn't be something he wears casually.

Photo Finish - Like Maud, they just took her Pony Counterpart's dress and put it on a Human. So it 100% works and is designed to vibe with her.

Bulk - Absolutely on brand

Granny Smith - Her design itself is a bit off to me because her pony self is very thin but her human self is fat? It's weird. But the outfit itself is nice. Very 'granny' vibes.

Cheerilee - The design itself is weird because it's another one where they fucked with the colors, this time switching her hair and skintone? But the outfit is very cute and good to convey 'teacher' vibes. I think my biggest complaint (other than the color switch) is that there's not much to differentiate her as being a teacher instead of another student. (then again.... considering Big Mac is apparently still a student, maybe she is too?)

Octavia - See here's a character where 'nerd prep' works! Great design!

Diamond Tiara - yellow is not the right color for her. It's. It doesn't look right. It's too much. I like the outfit otherwise, just switch the yellow for maybe a blue or purple.

Silver Spoon - absolutely adorable no notes!

Derpy - Adorable. The colors seem a touch off, but it kinda vibes with her personality. Unfortunately she commits the penultimate sin of socks and sandals.

[genz420]

The Fire That Burns With Us - Chapter 24: Toasts And Betrothments.

Pervious Part - Next Part 

135 - Red Keep

Visenya grips the chair in front of her as Ben laces the backing of her dress.  Otto had informed Visenya of the dinner that would be tonight, and Visenya thanked Alysanne for the dress she had made for her.  The dress is a deep scarlet red, made of a soft, lushes fabric, with a boat neckline. Visenya's shoulders are exposed as well as her neck.  The top of the dress is fitting and pushes Visenya's chest out the tighter Ben makes the dress, black detailing resembling swirls of fire line the neckline and bottom of her sleeves.  The dress hugs her hips before following the width of them down to the floor.  Ben has braided her hair into a bun with the front pieces framing her face. He ties together the lacing and takes a step back to admire his work.  Visenya stands straight and puts her hands on her hips; the lacing is tight.  

Like always, the two matched; Ben wears the same shade of scarlet as a shirt with black pants.  Visenya had braided part of his back and tied it with a red string.  Ben can’t help but think that Visenya's outfit is missing something.  Visenya turns around to face Ben, and he bits back a laugh at her uncomfortable face. Visenya looks down towards her chest and blushes at how tight the dress shows them off.   

“I must say that you look quite ravishing in this dress,” Ben jokes as he moves towards his bag in the room.  

“It has gotten smaller,” Visenya complains as she leans onto the chair's backing.   Visenya loves this dress and almost cried when Alysanne gifted it to her.  She loves how the dress covers the things she is insecure about, the burned skin of her arms, and shows off the things she loves.  Also, having a dress that comfortably fits her arms is nice; she doesn’t have to worry about ripping the fabric as she reaches for things.

“Or your tits have gotten bigger,” Ben says as he pulls out a small pouch from his bag.  Visenya shoots him a look of annoyance, she doesn’t mind the comment, but she does worry that someone might overhear it.  The people of the court and her family would not understand that the statement is harmless.  

Ben tosses the pouch to Visenya, and she catches it, she can hear something rattling around inside the bag, and when she spills the contents into her hand, it is cold.   

“I meant to give it to you after we arrived in King’s landing,” Ben tells her as she examines what exactly she is holding. It is blackened metal, and Visenya can see small connecting shapes. “It is a gift from Alysanne and Cregan,”

Visenya takes hold of two different parts of the chain and lets it unravel itself.  Ben grabs it from her hands and gestures for her to turn around so that he can put it on her.  Visenya thought it was a necklace, but she is proven wrong as Ben wraps the chain around her waist.  Once Ben clasped together the backing of the belt chain Visenya looks down to see the details. A dragon connects the two sides at the front of the chain.  Visenya looks down to her right hip, and a raven charm rests on it and on her left hip the fish of House Tully.  Visenya can’t see it, but the back clasp is also a dragon.  Ben rests his chin on Visenya's shoulder, and she leans into his front.

“I will have to thank them the next we go north,” Visenya tells Ben as she fiddles with the chain.   

“Or maybe if they come south,” Ben puts the idea out.  

“And why would they do that?  You might forget, but It is a long journey when you do not have a dragon,” Visenya tells him; she has spoiled Ben with the fast transportation of dragon.  

“There are a lot of opportunities that might arise for them to ride south,” Ben says, taking his chin off Visenya's shoulder.   He hopes this dinner will be calmer than the petitions, but he knows it will not.  

Ben offers his arm out to Visenya, and she smiles at him and rests one of her arms around his.   The other hand lifts the front of her dress as they leave the room.  Visenya hopes her family can put aside any differences they might have for the night for the King.  

– –  

Visenya had been hoping she would arrive early so that she and Ben could sneak a few glasses of wine before the evening started.  But as she and Ben walk into the room, Visenya sighs. 

Everyone has already arrived except the King. Again the two sides of the family split into two different sides.  Visenya unwraps her arm from Ben, and he makes his way over to the Black side.  He knows that this time around, he will not have a seat at the table, but he should be there just in case things get heated between everyone.  

Visenya's sword is attached to his belt, and Daemon notices the lack of weaponry on his daughter and Ben having her sword.  

“Forgive me for being late. I seemed to have forgotten how long it takes to get ready,” Visenya says as she walks towards the table, she truly did mean to arrive on time, but she doesn’t think that the green would believe her.  Visenya stands behind the chair she assumes is for her; Jace sits on one side while the other chair beside hers is empty.  

“It is alright, Princess.  We are happy that you have chosen to join us instead of leaving for the North,” Alicent tells Visenya.  She will be as polite and friendly to the Blacks for tonight. 

Visenya keeps her eyes away from him, she can feel the stares of her parents, and she will not allow them to form any ideas about her and Aemonds relationship.  Instead, Visenya turns her head towards Baela and smiles at her.  

“Brother,” Visenya greets Jace as she walks behind him and towards Baela.  

“Sister,”  Jace greets back.  The first words spoken between the brother and sister in years, Jace wants to hug his little sister and tell her how much he has missed her.  Visenya leans between Baela and Jace and turns her attention toward her cousin.  

“I must wish you a happy marriage Baela.  I look forward to the festivities that will be your wedding,” Visenya whispers to her.  Visenya is truly happy about the betrothments of her brothers and cousins, and she hopes the wedding festivities will be better than her mothers and father's.  

“Thank you, Princess,” Baela thanks her; the two have never been close, but Baela is happy that Visenya is not against the betrothments.  Baela used to think that Rhaenyra would betroth Jace and Visenya together, but she is happy that she was wrong.  

“I hope that this time around, the marriage between a Velaryon and Targyan is a happy one,” Visenya whispers again, and the smile on her face now frightens Baela. 

Visenya stands tall and moves back to her chair, taking her seat and pouring herself a glass of wine.    Aemond watches her movements, and he thinks that her dress suits her perfectly, but he doesn’t like her hair being tied up in a bun. Aemond keeps his facial expression cold as he watches her, but Aegon can see the most minor curves at the end of his lips.   Aegon follows Aemond's eye line and nudges Aemond arm with his glass of wine.  

“Doesn’t she just look ravishing, brother?” Aegon whispers to his brother, and he wonders if he has been successful in putting a wedge between Aemond and Visenya.  If he has been, then maybe he could convince Visenya to be his bedmate.   “How lucky I am to be seated next to her,”

Aegon smiles at his brother but does not get the reaction he wants from him.  Aemond hums and takes his seat at the end of the table. Maybe Aegon has been successful.  Aegon makes his way to his chair; once seated, Aegon leans towards Visenya, close enough where he can smell her, and he almost regrets his actions once Visenya turns her head towards him.

“I must say you do look ravishing tonight, dear niece.  Red truly suits you,” Aegon whispers to her, letting his fingers run along the soft fabric of her sleeve.   Visenya pulls her arm away from him and holds her hands together in her lap.   

Aemond watches Aegon's actions intently; his hand that is not on the table grips the handle of his chair.  He should cut off Aegon's fingers for touching her, but he will not give him the satisfaction of knowing that he has gotten under his skin.  Visenya looks at Aegon with annoyance written on her face.  

“Thank you, Prince Aegon,” She says as politely as possible.   She will not be the one to cause conflict tonight.   

The opening of the doors makes everyone stand up; Visenya flattens out the front of her dress as she looks toward the king.  It seems he is still in pain, and his health is quickly declining.  As the king is set down across from Visenya, everyone sits back down, and Visenya relaxes into her chair.   The King wheezes out his breaths, but having his family sitting around him warms his heart and makes the pain he is feeling go away.  

“How good it is to see you all tonight.  Together,” Viserys wheezes out.  He looks around the table, stops once his gaze reaches Visenya, and taps his cane against the ground.   “Visenya, I think the empty spot next to Prince Aemond will be better suited for you,”

Visenya nods her head, and the servants in the room quickly move her placement beside Aemond.  Visenya stands from her chair and waits for it to be moved, she walks to Aemond side, and he stands up from his spot.  They stand before one another before Aemond moves to pull the chair out for Visenya, she sits down, and Aemond pushes her chair in.  Aemond brushes his knuckles against Visenya's bare shoulders as he pushes her in. He allows himself the second of physical contact before returning to his chair.  

From across the table, Daemon watches the interaction between the two. No aggression is present in Visenya; she seems content in Aemond's presence.   Daemon is not a stupid man.  He knows there is more to their relationship than they are letting on, and if Daemon finds out that Aemond had been the one to touch his daughter, then he will have his hands.  

Once Visenya is seated Alicent looks to the King.  He had requested they talk before the dinner, and Alicent is nervous about the news that the king plans to share tonight.  

“Prayer before we begin?” Alicent asks the King, who weakly nods his head.  

“Yes,” Viserys breaths out as he leans back into his chair.  

Most of the Greens close their eyes and clasp their hands together for the prayer.  Luke follows the actions of his mother.  Visenya keeps her eyes open and looks around the table, and she catches Daemon's eyes. They both hold the eye content, their egos too big to allow themselves to be the first ones to look away.  

“May the mother smile down on this gathering with love. May the smith mend the bonds that have been broken for far too long,” Alicent says, and Daemon moves his gaze back to Aemond, who has his eye closed and one arm resting on the table.  Visenya leans back in her chair and smiles across the table at Luke, who still has his eyes open.  He gives her a small smile back. “And to Vaemond Velaryon, may the gods give him rest,” 

Daemon quietly scoffs at Alicents words; a stern look from Rhaenyra makes him shut up.  Viserys raises himself slightly in his chair and taps his cane against the floor to gain the table's attention.   

“This is an occasion of celebration, it seems,” Viserys weakly says.   “My grandsons, Jace and Luke, will marry their cousins Baela and Rhaena, further strengthening the bond between our houses.  A toast to the young princes and their betrothed,”

“Hear, Hear!” Daemon toasts, and everyone grabs their cups and takes a sip of wine. 

Aemond looks towards Visenya; her right-hand holds her wine glass while the one closest to him rests in her lap.  Aemond turns his attention away from Visenya, but he moves his hand away from his glass and down beneath the table, keeping his facial expression neutral and an eye trained forward so that no one at the table will suspect that he is doing anything.  Aemond reaches through the arm of Visenyas chair and lightly taps on her hand.  Visenya slightly turns her head to him but moves back towards the king once she realises what he is doing.  Visenya opens her hand for him, and Aemond laces their fingers together. He rubs his thumb over the top of her hand.  Both of them stop the smiles that are forming on their faces.  

“Let us toast to Prince Lucerys, the future Lord of the Tides,” Viserys toasts, and everyone raises their glasses again. Aemond uses his free hand to raise his.  Viserys looks towards Visenya.  “To my granddaughter, Visenya, who has finally made her way back home.  I hope that you will stay longer this time around,”

Everyone takes a sip of their wine, and smaller conversations form among everyone, with Aegon getting out of his chair and walking between Jace and Baela.  Aemond leans towards Visenya, his nose almost touching the back of her ear.  

“I must say you do look beautiful tonight,” Aemond whispers to Visenya and her neck and cheeks turn red as she feels his hot breath hit her skin.  If anyone were to look over at them at this moment, then Visenya knew chaos would ensue.   “The shade of red suits you,” 

“Thank you, My Prince,” Visenya turns her head slightly towards him and the smile she was suppressing finally spreads across her face.   “Look handsome tonight as well,” 

Aemond smirks at her words and leans back in his chair.  Not only does the red dress suit her, but the blush she is now wearing does as well. Aemond feels a sense of pride at making her so easily fold.  Aemond gives Visenya's hand a soft squeeze, and Visenya relaxes back into her chair.  

Viserys taps his cane against the ground, and all the attention goes back to him.  He slowly starts to stand out of his chair, and Alicent rests her hand on his back, trying to give him support.  Viserys puts his hands down on the table, and the sound of the dishes clanking together makes Visenya tense up.  Viserys breathes heavily as he looks around the table.   

“It both gladdens my heart and fills me with sorrow to see these faces around the table,” Viserys tells the table, and many heads turn down in shame.   “The faces most dear to me in all the world yet grown so distanced from each other in the years past,” 

Silence fills the room as the King speaks.  Aemond taps his free fingers against the table, and Visenya takes her turn, making gentle movements with her thumb against his hand.  Viserys reaches up towards his gold face mask and fumbles with the clasp keeping it together. Once undone, he pulls it away from his face, and Visenya takes a deep breath.  She has seen many horrific things, people being melted with wildfire, men with their heads smashed in, Ser Cristion, people, men being cut in half, and much more gut-turning things, but Viserys' face makes her feel sick.  

“My own face is no longer a handsome one if it ever was,” Viserys jokes as he tries to lighten the tense room.   “But tonight, I wish you to see me as I am.  Not just a King but your father, your brother, your husband, and your grandsire.  Who may not, it seems, walk much longer among you,”

Viserys throws the mask onto the table, letting it clatter against the dishes, and he looks around the table.  All of the people he loves most in the world, the people he would burn the world down for, yet many of them have faces he does not recognize now.  All because of grudges and hateful words being spoken.  

“Let us no longer hold ill feelings in our hearts.  The crown can not stand strong if the House of the Dragon remains divided.  But set aside your grievances if not for the sake of the crown, then for the sake of this old man, who loves you all so dearly,” Viserys tells the table.  He will die soon and will not allow his family to remain divided. Viserys looks at Visenya and Aemond at the end of the table.   “The house of the Dragon will not remain divided.  A marriage between Visenya and Aemond will happen, and it will bring our family back together and strengthen us.  I demand it as King,”  

Visenya feels all the air leave her lungs.  The room goes even quieter at the King's word.  Viserys wasn’t giving them an option; he was telling everyone at the table that the two would be wed. He has not forgotten that Aemond had asked for Visenya's hand in marriage, and he might be an old man, but he can see the feeling the two share for one another.  Visenya looks away from the King and towards Aemond.  Aemond turns his head towards her, and they smile at one another, and any anger they feel towards one another melts like flesh to Dragonfire.  Visenya looks to her mother, who is already looking at her, Visenya gives her a slight nod, and Rhaenyra relaxes in her chair.  Rhaenyra had promised Visenya when she was a child that she would be allowed to choose who she married, and it seems that Visenya had made her choice.  

Aemond and Visenya keep their composer together, neither wanting to break the persona they have made of themselves in front of their family.  But inside, both of them feel giddy with excitement and happiness.  Both of them squeeze their hands together, and Visenya bits her lip to try and stop the obvious smile on her face.  Aemond feels like he can’t breathe; no one can challenge or take Visenya away from him now.  Oh, how he wishes to take her away now and make her his wife.   

Rhaenyra stands up from her chair, one hand on her stomach and the other raising her glass.  

“I wish to raise my cup to Her Grace, The Queen,” Rhaenyra says and looks to Alicent, how the years have split them apart.  “I love my father.  But I must admit that no one has stood more loyally by his side than his good wife.  She has tended to him with unfailing devotion, love, and honour.  And for that, she has my gratitude and my apology,”

Rhaenyra sits back down, and everyone takes another sip of their wine.  Visenya thinks that she will be rather drunk by the end of the night if they keep at the pace of the toasts they are making.  

“Your graciousness moves me deeply, Princess.  We are both mothers, and we love our children.  We have more in common than we sometimes allow,” Alicent tells Rhaenyra, and she stands. “I raise my cup to you and your house.  You will make a fine queen,”

Alicent has, for the first time, spoken of her support for Rhaenyra as queen.   Rhaenyra smiles at Alicent, and she smiles back.  Maybe they could be friends once again.  

The food starts to be placed on the table, and Aegon stands from his seat. Visenya thinks he, too, will make a toast, but he leaves his spot and makes his way between Baela and Jace.  Visenya moves her attention towards Ben, who is already looking at her. The two are close enough to speak without words.  Visenya nods that she is happy with the engagement, and Ben nods back with a smile.   

Jace suddenly stands from his chair and slams his hands onto the table; Aegon moves away from him and back into his chair.  Aemond removes his hand from Visenya and stands up, challenging Jace to speak ill words.  Jace and Aemond stare one another down, and Jace is the one to back down. He picks up his cup and raises it into the air.  

 “To Prince Aegon and Prince Aemond.  We have not seen each other in years, but I have fond memories of our shared youth.  And as men, I hope we yet be friends and allies.  To you and your family’s good health, dear uncles,” Jace toasts and sips his wine, and then he punches Aegon's shoulder before looking to Aemond.  “And congratulations on your engagement to my sister, Prince Aemond,”

“To you as well,” Aegon mumbles, and Jace sits back down.   The words he wants to say burn in his throat, but he does not want to face the fury of his sister or Aemond.  

“Beware the beast beneath the boards,” Helaena speaks quietly. “Dragon Shall Fall From The Sky.  Blood Will Fall Down The Dragon,” 

“Well done, my boy,” Viserys tells Jace with a proud smile.  

Helaena is the next to rise from her chair, glass raised towards Baela and Rhaena, and she looks towards VIsenya.  

“I would like to toast to Baela, Rhaena, and Visenya,” Helaena starts, leaning somewhat on the table.  “They’ll be married soon.  It isn’t so bad.  Mostly he just ignores you, except sometimes when he’s drunk,”

Daemon snuffles out some laughter, and Visenya smiles at Helaena as she sits back down.  Aemond looks to his sister and then to Visenya.  

“Let us have some music,” Viserys says, and the small band plays a folk tune.  

Visenya looks at Aemond and is surprised to see him looking at her.  His face is cold, and his lips are tightly shut, but Visenya can see the softness in his eye.  She leans closer to him and smiles at him, Aemond almost breaks and smiles back, but he doesn’t let himself do so.  

“Tell me, do you intend to ignore me once we are married?” Visenya whispers to him; the playful smile on her lips makes Aemond's stomach flutter.  Aemond leans closer to Visenya, happy that the blush on her cheeks returns at their closeness.  

“Once we are married, I intend to keep you locked in our room and not leave your side until you command me otherwise,” Aemond whispers back to Visenya, and it is her turn for her stomach to flutter at his words.  

“I don’t think I will ever command you away,” Visenya tells him, and she moves away from him and back into her chair.  

For the first time, everyone in the room is happy and not trying to get at one another's throats.  The sound of laughter and banter between everyone makes Viserys happy, and he could die happy at this moment.  

Ben makes his way around the table towards Visenya and Aemond.  As he stands behind Visenya, he leans down to the side farthest away from Aemond.   Jace stands from his chair and makes his way to ask Helaena to dance; Aemond and Aegon make eye contact with one another, judging if they should stop it.  Aemond's attention is pulled away as he notices Ben leaning down to Visenya's side.  

“Þat seems at okkarr vinar knáttmunur Suðri eptir all,” Ben taunts Visenya.  Aemond looks between the two, wondering what is being said.  

It seems that our friends might be coming south after all. 

“þú komtilr mik til segðatr þú vóro rit?” Visenya asks him, looking towards her closest friend, and Ben laughs softly at her question.  

You come to me to say that you were right?

“Já ok til germunur þessi er hvat þú viljr,” Ben answers, and Aemond pulls his attention away from the conversation.  

Yes, and to make sure this is what you want.

“Ek gera,” Visenya tells him. 

 I do.

“þá ek em bliðr fyrir þú ok ek eigtellr robert til leggjlotsr meað til weddeningrinn,” Ben teases and Visenya lets out a soft laugh.  

Then I am happy for you, and I must tell Robert to bring lots of mead to the wedding.

The two platonic soulmates smile at one another, and Ben moves to stand behind Visenya.  Choosing to lean on the pillar closer to her rather than her family.  Visenya looks down at her plate, which is now full of food, thanks to Aemond. It also seems that her wine glass has been refilled.  

Viserys starts to groan in pain, and Alicent calls the guards to take him away.  As the Blacks move to stand, Alicent tells them to sit as the King gets taken out of the room, Visenya follows with her eyes as he is carried out.  A small part of her is nervous that someone might exchange hurtful words now that he has left.  

The servants place a roasted pig in front of Aemond and Visenya.  Aemond looks towards the pig with so much hatred that if it were still alive, it would drop dead.  Luke can’t help but chuckle at the pig in front of Aemond, reminding him of the funniest prank the boys played on Aemond when they were younger.   Aemond snaps his eye from the pig and towards Luke; any softness in it beforehand while looking at Visenya is gone and replaced with a look Luke has never seen before.  Luke brings his cup to his lips and chuckles again. 

That is all that Aemond needs. 

Aemond punches his hand into the table and stands up; the sudden action makes Visenya jump in her chair, and she looks up towards Aemond.  The music stops, and everyone's attention goes to Aemond.   Aemond takes the Visenya cup out of her hand and raises it into the air, a sinister smile on his lips as he readies his words.   

“Final tribute,” Aemond says, and Visenya's stomach drops.  She prays to all the gods that Aemond doesn’t say something stupid.   “To the health of my nephews: Jace, Luke, and Joffrey.  Each of them handsome, wise, hm.  Strong.”

“Aemond,” Alicent tries to stop him, and Visenya looks down into her lap as the word is spoken.  Aemond looks at his mother before going back to his nephews.  

“Come, let us drain our cups to these three Strong boys,” Aemond toasts, and Jace steps towards him.  

“Dare you to say it again,” Jace dares, and Aemond can help but think how sad it is that Jace thinks that Aemond won’t repeat the word.  

“Why? ‘Twas only a compliment,” Aemond says, and both boys make their way toward each other.  Ben moves off of the pillar and to Visenya's side.  Waiting to get involved.    “Do you not think yourself strong?”

Jace punches Aemond, but it doesn’t phase him.  As much as Visenya wants to be mad at Aemond, she can’t help but think how attractive that was.  Visenya's attention is pulled away from Aemond, and her brother as Luke stands up from his chair.  Aegon quickly does the same, and once the two boys get close enough to one another, Aegon slams Luke into the table and holds his head and neck down.   

Visenya is quick enough to stand up and move towards her little brother and uncle; Ben follows her actions and gets between Aemond and Jace.  Visenya pulls Aegon off of Luke and slams him into the table; Visenya pushes down onto Aegon's throat and waits till he starts to run purple before letting up the pressure.  

Aemond looks to Ben and chuckles at the knight before stepping away.  Ben puts one of his hands against Jace's chest to keep him from going after Aemond.   Visenya leans down towards Aegon's ear, and at this moment, Aegon thinks that Visenya might actually kill him. 

“Lay a hand on my brother again, and I will cut off your fingers and make you eat them,” Visenya whispers into Aegon's ear; there is no doubt in the man that thinks Visenya will not follow through with the threat. 

Ben looks at Visenya and sees that she is not letting go of Aegon; he leaves Jace and moves to Visenya.  He grabs both of Visenya's arms and pulls her off of Aegon, and the prince starts to cough as he can finally breathe again.  Ben pulls Visenya to the far side of the Black side, but Visenya stares at Aegon. Ben whispers words in the old tongue to Visenya to try to calm her down, but it is useless.  

Alicent grabs hold of Aemond and makes him look her in the eye.  

“Why would you say such a thing before these people?” Alicent asks.  They could have had a peaceful evening, but Aemond has ruined any peace between the two families. 

“I was merely expressing how proud I am of my family, Mother,” Aemond tells his mother.  A smile that scars Alicent on his face.   “Mm, though it seems my nephews aren't quite as proud of theirs,”

Jace makes another go at Aemond, but Daemon steps in front of him and holds out his hand.  

“Wait. Wait!” Daemon tells Jace, and the boy stops.   Daemon takes a stand in front of his family and looks toward Aemond.  

“Go to your quarters.  All of you go, now,” Rhaenyra tells her children, looking at Visenya, who still has a crazed look in her eyes as she stares down Aegon.   

Daemon and Aemond stare each other down.  Both think they have the upper hand in this situation. Aemond breaks eye contact and looks toward Visenya.  Ben has one arm wrapped around her waist to hold her back while he holds down one of her arms; Aemond doesn’t like that Ben is touching Visenya, and as Visenya looks at Aemond, he knows that the words he has spoken have angered her.  Visenya taps Ben's arm that is wrapped around her waist, and he lets go. Visenya turns her head away from Aemond and walks out of the room, with Ben following her.  

Aemond watches her leave, hoping to any god that he has not messed their relationship up.  

#aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x oc #aemond Targaryen x velaryon oc #daughter of Rhaenyra #daughter of daemon #house of the dragon #The Fire That Burns With Us

[ehlnofay]

The travellers arrive at the lake earlier than they expected, a good few hours before sundown.

“I think we have time to find an inn after all,” Veezara says, his shifting feet treading boot-prints into the pebbly sand. “There’s certain to be one somewhere on the shore.” Or not too far from it, at least; Lake Ilinalta may be bad luck, or said to be, but travellers still need rooms and innkeepers still need coin.

Torr, who is already leaning his knapsack against the trunk of a tree, shrugs. “Eh. I like it here just fine.”

He sits down in the dirt to punctuate the statement.

Veezara remarks, “You have managed to avoid going to inns for a remarkable amount of this journey. You know you can afford it, yes? You have the money?”

Torr scrunches up their face. “Don’t use observations you made while shadowing me across the country against me,” they complain. “And yeah, I know. But I’d rather send it back to Windhelm.”

“Of course you would,” Veezara mutters, half-fondly; Torr sticks his tongue out.

“’Sides,” he says, after a moment’s silence, “it’s nice out here. I’m learning so much about the land, Veezara, about nature. You wouldn’t deprive a poor city kid the chance to learn about nature, would you?”

Veezara laughs at him; but he acquiesces, so Torr counts it as a win. They start undoing the ties of their knapsack. They’ve both been walking for ages now, and Torr’s hungry. (He’s not as good at dealing with hunger as he used to be, either – which is probably a good thing, but also means the food in his pack is disappearing at an alarming rate.)

His friend does not have the same idea.

“If we’re going to spend the afternoon resting,” he says cheerfully, “then we should at least make the most of it. Let’s go swimming. The water is beautiful.”

Torr digs a half-stale hunk of bread out of the pocket of the knapsack. “You go,” they reply. (Do they still have that crock of jam they nicked from the wedding in Solitude? The bread looks a bit too tough to eat on its own.) “I can’t swim.”

When they glance up, rock-hard bread in one hand and the other feeling for a jam jar in the bag, Veezara is staring as though they have two heads. “What?”

“You can’t swim?” he asks, incredulous, and Torr snorts.

“Veezara,” they say patiently, “I grew up in Windhelm. Where would I have learned to swim?”

“There’s a harbour, isn’t there?”

Torr cackles. “You’d get battered by one of the boats in five minutes flat, if you managed to last the cold that long. Not even the Argonians down the docks ever swam in there. Nah, never learned. You have fun, though! It does look nice.”

It really does, the sun slowly beginning its descent into the mountains and valleys to the west, glittering bright and merry off the water. The Lake Ilinalta itself is almost luridly colourful, reflecting the blue of the sky with picturebook vehemence. Torr hadn’t known water could look so bright – back home the harbour was always just grey.

Veezara nudges their leg with his toe and they look up. “What?”

“Unacceptable,” he says firmly. “Do you have a clean change of clothes?”

Torr’s been switching between the same three outfits since they started this job (‘cept the duds they stole to blend in at the wedding.) “Clean enough.”

“Good,” Veezara says, and leans down, grabbing Torr’s arm and hauling him up. “I am teaching you to swim.”

 By the time the sun touches the distant mountaintops, Veezara seems well on his way to making good on his promise.

They’re standing in the not-quite-shallows but not far from the shore, Torr in his undertunic (which he figured could use the wash) and Veezara in his grey linen trousers, and after ages of gruelling work Torr seems to have at last got the hang of kicking.

Gruelling is a bit exaggerated; Torr can think of many things worse than spending an afternoon splashing ineptly around under the warm sun. Even if they’re not sure that water activity is quite to their taste – the first ten minutes were spent inching into the lake and yelping at the mushy squelch of the dirt between their toes. Then when Veezara coaxed them into dunking their head in the water (most important part of swimming is holding your breath, apparently) it went right up their nose and then the next five minutes were spent trying to get their dripping hair out of their eyes and refusing to go get a hair tie out of principle. Veezara laughed at them again, and said they looked like a half-drowned skeever; but that’s easy for him to say, he’s been swimming long as he can remember and he doesn’t even have hair.

But Torr’s mostly got the hang of it now, he thinks; even if it took him a long time to get used to the odd sensation of water lapping against his chest, and even if he was worrying about slaughterfish for so long and bringing it up so much that Veezara stopped finding it funny. (Excuse him for being worried about stories of fish that can take a chunk out of you afore you catch a glimpse of them! Torr’s heard they like more temperate waters like the ones down Falkreath, and as a human that can’t swim he’ll be at a disadvantage if any do show up. This is their home turf.) He’s actually kicking now, instead of just slapping his feet noisily on the surface of the water, and he’s able to stick his head underwater without immediately choking down half the lake, which Veezara says is about as much as can be hoped for in a few hours.

“You’re doing wonderfully,” he keeps saying, which Torr is pretty sure is a load of shit but appreciates anyway. “Try to roll your head to the side, you look like you’ll snap your neck in half bending it backwards like that – there you go.”

Torr sucks in a breath and douses their head underwater again.

“This sucks,” they complain when they shift their head to get air again. “I’ve been doing this for ages and I’m not even moving.”

Veezara says placidly, “You’re more than welcome to let go of my hands if you want to try a few strokes on your own.”

Torr only tightens his grip. “No thanks,” he replies. Water gets a bit in his mouth. Veezara grins.

(It really does suck. But Veezara is so enthusiastic about the whole thing, and they don’t want to disappoint.)

(Besides, it’s nice, in a terrible sort of way.)

“Actually,” Veezara says, and he doesn’t finish the sentence.

The thing about the lake is that it moves, the waters ever gently pushing and pulling, and Torr’s pretty focused on trying to manage the kicking and the moving to breathe and the not getting muddy lake water in his eyes at once – so it isn’t until Torr notices Veezara’s knees gently knocking against his chest that he realises he’s tipped onto his back and is moving them slowly and steadily away from the shore.

Torr startles, takes in a mouthful of lake water, chokes. It dribbles unpleasantly down their chin as they gasp, “Veezara!”

Unruffled, he says, “Now we’re moving.”

Torr swallows some more water and starts coughing. (It’s foul-tasting stuff.)

Veezara looks concerned, then. He tries to reach down to brush the wet hair out of Torr’s eyes, murmuring, “Hey, hey,” like they’re an agitated animal, but their grip on his hands clamps in a way that implies they’d rather rip off his fingers than be detached from them.

“I’ve got you,” he tries. “You’re fine, yes? I’m not letting go.”

Torr spits out a mouthful of water. “Can’t just start swimming me across the bloody lake with no warning!”

“I recognise that.” He’s still swimming unceasingly backwards while Torr coughs and kicks. “I’ll keep it in mind for next time.”

“No next time,” Torr says. “Never getting in the water with you again, you’re a menace.”

Veezara laughs at that. “Nonsense. It’s an important skill to have. You never know when you may need it.”

Torr manages to catch enough breath to blow a raspberry.

They keep moving – Torr keeping up his steady if ineffectual kicking, Veezara effortlessly swimming for the both of them – for a while, until Torr is soothed enough to stop coughing and gagging and to just barely loosen their grip on their friend’s hands. Not enough to stop worrying about whatever could be lurking in the depths (mostly slaughterfish, maybe one of the huge crabs, although the lake is supposed to be haunted so he thinks a bit about ghosts too) but at least enough to stop vocalising those worries.

It really is nice if he calms down a bit. Nice colours. The movement of the water is unnerving but nice once you get used to it. The fact that Veezara’s going to the trouble is nice, too. Torr honestly never gave swimming a thought before today (he was in Windhelm, after all, what kind of madman would think about swimming there) but it’s clearly something that Veezara values, that he wants to share with him. Torr’s never quite gotten used to this in all the time he’s been in the Brotherhood; other people being the ones to go to the bother. Other people teaching and showing and explaining things. Weird – but nice.

“Keep kicking,” Veezara prompts, and Torr does.

They reach a rock jutting from the lake, its surface warm from the sun, and grainy. It’s too smooth at the sides to climb but Veezara gives Torr a boost. Torr turns to help him up – and sees how far they are from the banks, and feels a little sick. (They could maybe swim a stroke or two, if they were lucky, and the bank is… definitely further than that.)

Veezara denies the offered hand. “I’d rather get a proper swim in while you’re getting some shut-eye,” he says teasingly, and Torr thinks about falling asleep on the rounded top of the rock surrounded by water who knows how deep and feels sicker.

“Suit yourself,” he replies, and curls up a bit, because he is cold in his still-dirty now-dripping undertunic, and the sun is nice. (Falkreath and its ridiculously mild weather.)

The rock is actually quite nice too. Not too cold. No jagged edges. In a nice quiet place, where the water laps gently against the stone. As far as places to sleep go, Torr definitely could do worse – no, tell a lie, they have done worse. Under a posh house’s porch comes first to mind, though in their defence, they’re pretty sure they had mild hypothermia at the time. Weren’t thinking quite straight. At least no owners of the rock would likely burst onto the scene and start screaming bloody murder to get off the property while they’re trying to have a kip.

“Hey Veezara,” Torr calls, the movement of his jaw feeling funny against the coarse stone, “you’d haul me out if I fell into the water, right?”

“No, I’d let you drown,” he says. His voice, floating on the water from somewhere past Torr’s head, is flat enough to indicate exactly what he thinks of that query. “Of course I would, Torr, what kind of question is that?”

“The kind of question asked by someone who’s tired. Thinking of taking you up on your suggestion.” (He isn’t really. He’s not actually going to sleep on the rock. But he is tired – been walking all bloody day, and almost every day before that since Solitude.)

Veezara’s voice comes again, fainter. “Scream if you need me.”

“Will do.”

Torr tilts his head back, face to the dimming watery-blue sky, and shuts his eyes.

He likes times like this – slow-paced, no fuss. He’s never quite sure how to manage in them, but he likes them. (That’s why it’s best when they coincide with travelling like this – he gets to relax while also having a distinct spot to work towards. Still something to do, there’s just no drastic rush.) It’s luxury to get to lie down on a silly rock in the fading warmth of an afternoon on the lake.

Would be nice if the others could be here, too – though that’s an image which makes Torr laugh as soon as they conjure it. They can practically see it – Gabriella sitting cross-legged and stately on the banks, Arnbjorn grumbling about the weather and the water and the pointless break in routine, Festus huddled up under a tree with a notebook. Astrid and Babette at least would probably be good sports about it – and Cicero might like it, if he could be persuaded to leave the coffin.

But Torr’s never actually seen Arnbjorn and Cicero in a room together except for meals, and not even then half the time. So maybe a lake day would not be nice. Torr can see it going sour quickly.

Oh well. Still a funny image. (Maybe one day – after the stress and the glory of this job is over in full, and everyone’s had time and space to get used to each other – it would be possible.)

“Veezara?” Torr calls. “What are the odds we could do something like this with everyone?”

The lake is silent. Torr opens his eyes. “Veezara?”

The lake is silent.

They sit up.

Maybe he’s playing a joke on them, they think uneasily. Maybe he’s hiding somewhere to get a rise out of them. But that’s not his way, and anyway, there’s nowhere to hide; the water all around the rock is smooth and undisturbed, and there’s nothing else to hide behind.

“Veezara,” they shout again. There’s no ripples, nothing.

He’s a good swimmer, right? He said. Surely a strong swimmer can’t drown in a calm lake.

(Except with outside influence. Veezara never denied that there were slaughterfish in the lake, and Torr’s heard they can drag you down.)

(That’s probably not happening.)

(Veezara’s been under the water, presumably, for an awfully long time now…)

“Veezara,” Torr says again, though he highly doubts there’s much use.

He’s crouching on the little rounded rock, trying not to think about how much of it is submerged in the depths, how deep the water here might be, how far below his friend might be. There’s a ripple to the side of it, suddenly, and he leans over to try to see what it is (Friend? Fish?) except –

Except he dripped water all over the stone and made it slippery, and he pitches over the edge and into the water.

Torr’s not ready when he goes under, hasn’t taken a breath. He scrabbles at the side of the rock for purchase, scraping his hip and knee painfully, but it’s too smooth and too steep and his hands won’t grip. He can’t tell how deep he’s fallen – tries to look up, reaching as though there’s something to grasp – but he can only murkily see how the sunlight breaks on the surface and he doesn’t know how far he is. Shit.

Shit shit shit. This is why Veezara shouldn’t have dragged him out onto the rock!

They hadn’t had time to take a breath, so now they really need to – only that’s an absolutely awful idea, so they’re just floundering, trying to break the surface and grab onto the rock all at once. Their lungs are aching, and they’re scraping their whole body against the stone in their efforts to climb it, and it’s really, really not working, and shit. This is so stupid. They’re a bloody assassin, on their way home after killing the Emperor’s cousin at her own wedding, having spent years on the streets in Windhelm where getting caught outside in the wrong weather could freeze your fucking face off, and they’re going to die because they fell off a rock.

Torr can’t help but exhale, now. He manages to clamp his lips shut before he breathes in again, but his chest is burning and he can’t breathe in and he can’t get a grip on anything and he really needs air and he gasps and it hurts like hell and there’s nothing but the weak sunlight to hold onto –

And then there is something to hold onto. Torr clutches at it, his hands scraping and grasping, and then he’s rising, and then he’s above the surface and he’s trying to exhale and inhale at once and it doesn’t work and he’s coughing and retching over the water, still scrambling for height, and they’re moving.

It feels like Torr’s coughing up a lung. But eventually it soothes enough that they can shift their head to look – and it’s Veezara, dragging them towards shore with a set look on his face.

It turns out he can swim a lot faster when he’s not catering to Torr’s fear. Even when he’s practically carrying their spasming dead weight, he’s still going at a speed that would leave any may-or-may-not-be-there slaughterfish nowhere.

He hauls them out of the lake, onto the bank, and lets them cling limpet-like to his arm as they continue to cough and splutter and generally have a bad time. There’s air enough to breathe – but their chest still aches, exhausted, and they think they might have bashed most of their body against the rock in their efforts to climb it. They can see blood beading, thin and watery, thin and watery, on their grazed wrist. There’s a little blood on Veezara’s head too, in the creases between the scales. Torr hopes they didn’t do that.

Veezara lowers him onto the dirt of the bank. Torr spits something – lake-water and phlegm, maybe – onto the ground and rasps, “Sorry.”

“What? No.” Veezara flicks hair out of their face. “Don’t apologise, you almost drowned. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

“Thought –” But Torr’s chest aches as soon as he starts talking, so he presses a fist to his chest and quiets. Veezara goes to their packs and finds a threadbare blanket in Torr’s knapsack. It’s a sweet gesture (even though Torr fruitlessly tries to stop him draping it around his shoulders – now his sopping hair will drip water all over it!)

“What happened?” Veezara asks, after a time. “I was only out swimming for a few minutes – I shouldn’t have left you when you can’t swim, but how did you even manage it?”

Torr pulls the drenched blanket tighter round their shoulders. “Couldn’t see you. I was looking and then I fell in.” They look up at him accusingly, then. “Thought you drowned! Where were you?”

Veezara stares at them incredulously.

“What?”

“Torr,” he says, and gestures at the side of his neck –

To the shape of the gills, standing out against the scales. Torr blushes painfully red. “Forgot,” he mumbles, and tips his head back. “Nine, I’m such a dope.”

Veezara laughs.

“I’m sorry I worried you,” he says, much too sweet and earnest for such a stupid mistake. “Really, I shouldn’t have left you alone when I knew you can’t swim. It’s entirely my fault.”

“At least partly my fault for being an oaf,” Torr argues. He snuggles further into the sodden blanket. “Least you kept your promise.”

Veezara looks blank a moment – then he smiles. “I did say I’d get you out of the water, didn’t I? I seem to be making quite the habit of rescuing you.”

“Oi. I could have managed Solitude on my own.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Torr balls up the dripping blanket and throws it at him; he laughs.

#fun fact: I first wrote this like. ages ago. year and a half or so perhaps. I liked it so I rewrote it since the old one was not very good #I love torr he's my baby. this is the best time to write him... post-windhelm and pre-the horrors #oc tag #torr #my writing #fay writes #skyrim #dark brotherhood #veezara #the elder scrolls #tes

[yunwooz]

OK THANK U SOMEONE ELSE ALSO DOESNT LIKE ATEEZ TEASER PHOTOS. Like don’t get me wrong the guys themselves are serving, esp love Sans hair. But can we just talk abt the fcking clothing and background colours??? Hongjoongs hair literally melting into the bg?? Le sigh. And how overly photoshopped the pics are😭😭😭😭

oh wait i really do like the concept pics LOL 😭 i really love the clothes and outfits as a whole esp, as far as the background, it sorta looks like they went in after the fact and changed the color of the background and it maybe wasn't that color originally 😭 i don't quite get what you mean about hongjoong's hair, in the og concept pic it stands out quite a bit from the bg imo? the way i personally edited it, it def melts into the bg but that was a personal choice bc i prefer darker tones and deeper contrast TT black red and gold are one of my fav color combinations i really love that, and i do think a grey bg was a smart decision considering the detailing and embellishments on the outfits themselves but the bg itself looks a bit odd to me?? esp in this photo you can really see where they did some weird weird things in editing

like these portions of the background look very heavily edited in a bad way and from what i saw of the other photos it seems that grey grainy looking thing is indeed part of the set and it's a hanging banner but i think overall they should not have included that in the trio pic bc it leads the eye there in a bad way

and personally to me it looks like they overedited seonghwa's face in this photo or maybe its how they did the makeup bc the saturation of his eye makeup is not the same on both sides and the way they styled the mullet looks like they just attached a triangle of hair onto the back of his head rather than something more natural TT

if i were an editor for kq i personally would've done something like this to the pics, but this is also a preferred personal style of editing. i think higher contrast in the background would keep it from looking muddled, and more saturation to the skin and bright reds and golds would keep the photo from looking so greyed out and muddy as well as provide some nice contrast to look at ^^ i always do some sort of noise filter on pics i edit but i think that would look esp good with this concept since it's a royal concept and since it's harkening back to wonderland, even a sepia filter might look nice to mimic the gold tones of wonderland pics! but again that's all just personal opinion and what my eye would have preferred seeing.

#luna.answers

[fourseasonsfigs]

Hemisphere (Huan Rao)

This fig was inspired by Zhehan's performance of his song Huan Rao on his Viya Livestream appearance on May 21, 2021.

Here's the link of his performance on Youtube:

The moment at 2:32 is the moment that this fig captures!

Here's also a photos of this:

And then another one of him looking beautiful so you can see his full outfit:

Zhehan's True Heart performance of Huan Rao is my favorite (for obvious Gong Jun singing related reasons!) but I absolutely love Huan Rao in whatever version. I have several different copies of it on my phone, and I love to drive around running errands with it playing. It's super catchy and a ton of fun!

The fig maker sold this fig individually and with the mirror as an optional add on. No add on is actually optional in the Figthusiast household, so of course I bought it.

Speaking of add ons, the matching Lao Gong Hemisphere version also exists and was released later, so please stay tuned for that (when it arrives at my doorstep)!

Our swaying little man here arrived with his mirror and...something else. I originally thought that little wishbone clip in the bag was to fix him to the mirror, but as you'll see in a bit, it's not necessary, and there's also no place to use it (that I can tell). I kept it, so if any of you clever folks out there know, do tell!

Here's the pieces, unpacked. The shiny blue and the kind of dull film on the black base are protective film that I peeled off.

And here they are! Along with the same unknown little wishbone clip. You can see how there isn't any holes in the base or the mirror to insert it.

And here it is assembled from the back. You can see how the mirror surface kind of curves at the top where the mirror bends to go into the slots on the base.

We'll start with the fig itself. This fig, quite literally by design, cannot stand on it's own, so I tried to do my best to take pics of him lying down.

This outfit, I have to admit, is not one of my favorite ones of his (you could see that coming, couldn't you?) It is, however, quite striking in fig form, and also really super complicated. The plaid pattern alone! Not to mention that truly wild polka-dotted shirt. I particularly like the rings on his left hand, especially since they figure so heavily in the last scene of the song.

The plaid pattern of course is not just complicated, it's shiny! Zhehan's metallic suit does gleam in the lights on his stage, so it's only right the fig maker rendered that into the outfit.

I think the patterning here is just fantastic. Look at that crisp, sharp, clean detail.

What a cute fig with his leg up in the air! I like the pop of blue of his shoes - that's also nice and sharp with the logo and also the decoration over the laces.

He's singing his little heart out! His expression is so cute.

The bright blue soles are so great. I had to scroll back up to the video and re-watch it just to pay attention to his shoes. Usually when I watch his videos I'm so focused on his face I don't notice little details like this. But yep, bright electric blue!

The amount of hours fig makers have put into lovingly crafting Zhehan's butt...

The mind is simply too small to comprehend. Not that a single minute of that has been wasted, mind you!

Alright, on that high note, let's switch over to the fig with the mirror!

I put Zhehan on the base and leaned him back slightly, and he had absolutely no problem standing up like this. I walked him around on the base to carry him to my cabinets, and he never budged.

You can see that the mirror surface kind of bends a bit at the top, but that's necessary to angle the mirror appropriately.

From a higher up angle so you can see a bit more how the fig stands in between the mirrors.

I haven't historically had a ton of luck shooting reflective surfaces in my past blogging life, so I was relieved that this wasn't difficult at all!

I really like the inclusion of the coin toss on the box artwork, and how the fig maker designed it to look like the coin was coming toward us. Just delightful!

Material: PVC (for the fig) and acrylic (for the mirror stand)

Fig Count: 266

Scene Count: 20

Rating: I just need one smile from you and I’ll be fine

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

#zhang zhehan #junzhe #huan rao #surround #woh cast #word of honor cast #shl cast #figthusiast #Youtube

[dreamingdragonscion]

"What the...?"

That thing is... Small. Really small--smaller than Larcei, in fact, who--despite the beating you'll get for pointing this out to her--stands shorter than most. But besides being small, she is reminiscent of something. A vague memory claws at the back of her mind, like she had seen this child before, just in a different place, in a different time.

So she feels compelled to walk up to her during meal time, seeing as how she is all alone--and that itself as another cause for worry, having walked in those shoes herself.

"Hey," she greets, simple but sincere. Larcei helps herself to the free spot across from the manakete, letting her fingers drum against the table as she speaks, "Name's Larcei. You look... Sorta young, so here," she fishes through her outfit until her fingers settle on her belt, and then from a spot tucked beneath her uniform she produces a dagger, sharp as it is ornate, "not sure you're even old enough to use one, but where we're going, you... Could get hurt. I was gonna use this in a pinch, but I think it's best if you hold onto it. Defend yourself if you ever need to, alright?"

A tilt of the little manakete’s head accompanied by the big pure smile that lit up her face as Tiki stared back at Larcei with shining emerald eyes brimming with intrigue. “Hello big sister!” Tik gave her a wide smile, her little white fangs showing behind her lips, rocking her legs back and forth under the chair as she listened intently to Larcei’s introduction. “My name is Tiki! Nice to meet you big sister Larcei! I am quite young, at least I think so, I don’t look like Ban-Ban so I think I am quite young at 1000 years old!” She spoke with a chime in her voice, blinking when Larcei produced a dagger seemingly out of nowhere.

A gasp and a clap of hands from Tiki. “How did you do that?” She squealed looking over Larcei and then the dagger and then at Larcei again. “Was that a magic trick? Does big sister Larcei know magic?” Those wide jade eyes sparkling with curiosity and she shuffled closer to Larcei, ever the most innocent little girl. “For me? Thank you big sister!” She held the dagger daintily in her hands, being very careful with it after Ban-Ban scolded her before when she started playing with daggers that Xane was trying to teach her to hold. 

“Ban-Ban says as long as I am careful not to cut myself and someone is here to watch me, I can hold a knife! But usually I don’t hold a knife, big sister!” She placed the dagger on the table and quickly dug through the little leather satchel slung across her shoulder, ruffling through the contents of the bag filled with trinkets until she pulled out a bright blue stone, sparkling like the water of the ocean they sailed upon. “I have my dragonstone!” And a puff as two fluffy yellow wings popped out behind Tiki in a flurry of feathers. 

“Don’t worry big sister! I will be very very careful, because big sister told me to! I want to make sure big sister will not worry so I will be a good girl!” She insisted and then grabbing Larcei’s hand to shake it with a coo, face blushing with her joy. “And I will also make sure that I will protect big sister Larcei as well because big sister cares for me!”

#~ic: tiki's turn #toasabbamvitatham2023 #swiftscion #~ooc: bolt speaks #~ooc: when the dragon child has no concept of human age #~ooc: oh you sweet summer child #~ooc: I have a nickname prepared for Larcei but Tiki isn't close enough with her to use it yet #~ooc: soon though! I promise!

[yayforocs]

sorry i dont have a particular question but is it ok to ask abt code: click (the splatoon ocs) and what the characters are about? I saw bennet a while ago and thought he was pretty neat but figured id ask abt the team itself

yES IT IS ABSOLUTELY OK \o7o/

yEAH OK SO!!! so!!!! so bennet was an oc originally made for a big group rp run in a splatoon rp discord i'm in; it was in a similar vein to octo expansion except it was like a whole group of cephalopods were abducted to do group testing and instead of kamabo co it was nabemo co! they all woke up without any memories and, in octo expansion fashion, would have to progress through various tests to earn their memories back :V it was a very interesting rp and you can actually read it here! or at least you can read as far as we made it before replies started spacing out too much that we just couldn't keep the rp going ^^;

i didn't actually have his team designed when i originally made him, just knew that he had one

wasn't til a few months later when the rp started to wind down (i think it was around then anyway?) that i began coming up with other team members. nyla was the first, because i wanted a white-inked 'hacker' character! not only a hacker, but also a very big risk-taker, or at least usually. she's got octo armor that she definitely stole from the canyon, but now that her team captain has been kidnapped, she's kinda freaked out about taking risks again- til bennet assures her that whoever kidnapped him and whatever situation that was (he's yet to elaborate on it to anyone) was taken care of and nobody needs to worry about it happening again. she's very self-confident and loves seeing how much she can bend rules before they break, and is a tad of an adrenaline junkie. she's been on bennet's team since day one.

i don't honestly remember if anything in particular led to me making theodore and tobias; it was honestly likely just me throwing together outfits and seeing what looked nice and also if they happened to work with a weapon lksdgjs bUT

theodore is a very quiet inkling that can tend to let himself be a bit of a doormat ^^; he's workin on it tho! with nyla especially, who's not afraid to mince words when letting him know that hey, you need to stand up for yourself more. he's fairly self-conscious and people-pleasing and often puts himself down without even meaning to. i didn't get to develop him in the splatoon 2 rp arc as much as i wanted to, so he's gonna get his development in 3 \o/

speaking of characters who didn't get their development i wanted, tobias! he's. depressed. he and his siblings moved up to the surface a little while ago (they're octolings), and he just didn't deal with the change very well. everything was way too different, and yeah he had his siblings, but his sister was always out and about exploring the place and his brother was too phlegmatic to really get him out of his shell much. he tried, to his credit, and he ended up actually helping by getting him to sign up for a team, which turned out to be code:click! tobias is the newest addition to the team, and while he's very good, he's yet to really open up to his team and actually let himself enjoy what he does. he kinda feels like it all might change again soon anyway, so why bother getting attached? give him some time, he'll settle in eventually and learn that it's ok to grieve the loss of where you came from, but you can't let it affect new opportunities to live your life in an enjoyable way and that it's ok to let yourself enjoy new things, even if they don't last a while. so he's kinda like. dead just a little bit and going with the flow most of the time since he's also quite the phlegmatic :0

there's also a couple other teammates i made as well in the vein of what-gear-and-weapon-combo-looks-nice-and-also-somewhat-works-in-game ocs :y i don't think i've posted any pics of these guys anywhere yet

wade and jerome i don't really have much on yet, but i know wade would get a tad too competitive and his anger at losing battles was getting to a point that the team just wasn't able to deal with it anymore. he caught onto it though, and bowed out gracefully instead of it blowing up into a huge argument. he keeps in touch with the team and is on good terms with them!

jerome is also an adrenaline junkie, but splatsports wasn't filling that spot for him well enough, so he just simply moved on to traveling around and seeing what thrills he could get himself up to.

holly is my tentative new agent 3 actually!!! she was the most recent teammate that left bennet's team because she was originally sent up to the surface on a mission to gather intel and so was integrating herself into inkling society to better fit in. what she didn't count on was actually getting attached to her team, and when she realized she was and could no longer really commit herself to going against them, she ran off after spouting some excuse about moving to do some school studies. her goal changed at that point to go back to the canyon not to rejoin the army, but to try to convince the rest of her octo squad to go up to the surface with her- the squad members that were left, anyway. her squad lead had poofed after the first dj octavio fight (he's a friend's oc named matt), and his right-hand was declared MIA after a mission to investigate an old outpost went awry once the squidbeak splatoon showed up (right-hand is lotus, my agent 8!). anyways she doesn't keep in communication at all with bennet and co, and she currently is unaware if any of her squad is even still in the canyon or not, but she's gonna try her best to 'save' them if she can.

the angle i've for her possibly being new 3 is that the junker vibe fits bc she's trying to find parts to make something to combat hypnoshades, which, while not everyone wears them, she's now paranoid that with three squad members having possibly run away, the rest of her squad might be under suspicion of treason and be given their own pairs. or if she's caught trying to cause soldiers to defect, she might be given her own pair. so she's doing all the planning and building and collecting she can think of to get ready for her own journey down into the canyon.

but the old creep in the sewer muttering something about octolings caught her suspicions and she followed him only to get a title slapped on her she didn't really want and an... actually decent set of armor. maybe she could play along for a bit and use this for her own purposes. well, then dj octavio showed up and. he's missing his soldiers. and now holly doesn't even know if the rest of her squad is ok or not, so now she's determined to find the dj, find out what happened with the soldiers, and find out if the zapfish disappearance is connected to it bc if it is then hey maybe she could help both her old squad and her old team, and that'd be Pretty Darn Neat.

anyways lksgjs this turned into a wAY longer post than i thought it would oops buT YEAH TYSM!!! defo lemme know if u want me to elaborate on anything/anyone 👀 i love bennet's team sm like his and nyla's friendship is something that can and will make me emotional Immediately they're great

#splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #splatoon oc #inkling oc #octoling oc #ask answered #oc ask #bennet #nyla #theodore #tobias #wade #jerome #holly

[phoenixrising0308]

Wacky Drabbles: Love favors

Books: The Royal Romance all of them...

Rating: M (18+) Sexual situation and adult themes.

Trigger Warnings in this chapter: None

Pairing: Liam x Jessica Garcia (MC)

Wacky Drabble A/U: This story exists on its own and may or may not be a part of their journey together. Traits, personalities, and characters are all the same. Some canon characters may appear but in a different manifestation and by no means exist in that form in Agent Phoenix A/U this is not meant to be anything other than an A/U onto itself. Catch up with wacky drabbles here

Disclaimer

The Wacky Drabbles from @emceesynonymroll​ prompt  - None

Chapter Summary: Thought this would be fun to write little one-shot when Jessica gets caught owing people in high places favors. Thanks to a crazy glitter, confetti, chalk powder, and slime bomb and a seriously damaged 3 million dollar car.

Song inspiration: Take it off - K$sha

Word count: 2,000 according to google. As always forgive my typos and grammatical errors.

Average reading time: 8 minutes

Bastien Quarters

Jessica was standing in front of Bastien tie rack with a navy-blue dress and taupe high heel stilettos with her shoulder gun holster on.

Jessica said, “So Bas this is it! This tie goes well with this look and color will bring out your eyes. We are going to go with an Eldredge knot. This is one of my favorite ways to tie Liam’s tie.”

Jessica walked over to Bastien and began to tie the complicated knot.

Bastien said, “Good call. ”

Jessica said, “Pretty neat right! I spent many mornings perfecting this knot on Liam. ”

Bastien said, “Lady Jessica, I really like these wingtips. You sure can pick out an outfit. ”

Jessica said, “Bas wingtips are sexy! It’s why Liam wears them. He lets me pick out his clothes kinda sweet.”

Bastien said, “I’m, so nervous my hands are shaking.”

Jessica said, “First date jitters.”

Bastien said, “What do I do with all these feelings.”

Jessica said, “Simple live in the moment. Take it slow ask awkward icebreaker questions.”

Bastien said, “Did you read my email about how to escort Liam?”

Jessica said, “You requested an email receipt and sent me a calendar invite. You also jumped out at me in the hallway to test my hand-to-hand combat skills I’m ready.”

Bastien said, “Lady Jessica when you pick up Liam make sure to be careful with corners or other blind spots.”

Bastien took his gun from his holster pointed it downrange and said, “It loaded.”

Jessica gently to the gun inspected engaged the safety and said, “Holstering weapon.” Then made sure it was properly aligned with her holster.

Jessica said, “Now your romantic dinner is being served in the hedge maze.“

Bastien said, “What’s is it?”

Jessica said, “A simple homemade tomato pasta.”

Jessica Timex watched beeped. Jessica then said, “See you at the head maze got to run.”

Mara’s Quarters

Jessica ran across the grounds to Mara's quarters and knocked on the door and entered to see a nervous Mara looking in the mirror.

Jessica said, “Alright Mara you look gorgeous. Can I do your makeup?”

Mara said, “Please my hands are shaking.”

Jessica laughed and said, “Geez everyone’s hands are shaking. Glad I’m the one with the gun tonight. Let’s go with a nice smoky not too heavy.”

Mara said, “Thank you fledgling. Thank you for picking out this dress.”

Jessica said, “Mara look at how the dress plays up your shape.”

Mara said, “I’m sure I’m going to be looking at Bastien gray eyes all night. I can look at them all day.”

Jessica said, “I never get tired of looking at Liam’s eyes. I know the feeling.”

Mara said, “You think he will be upset you’re his detail tonight ?”

Jessica said, “Well Liam is on a bit of a learning curve with me, but he knows to cut the shit with me telling me to quit my job is not an option.”

Jessica handed Mara a mirror and Mara said, “Wow I look hot.”

Jessica kissed Mara on the cheek “Look at my Mara all grown up and ready to date the head of the King's Guard!”

Mara said, “I have these butterflies in my stomach. I’m haven’t felt this way in such a long time about a date.”

Jessica said, “Alright so I guess I have to give you a little pep talk. Mara let yourself go. Kiss and be kissed and be excited and if you want to go further go for it. I kinda want a text to see how it went and if you scored.”

Jessica’s Timex watched beeped and she said, “Showtime!”

In the hedge maze

Jessica and Mara linked arms and she walked her into the hedge maze Bastien stood up and pulled out her chair and walked over to Mara.”

Jessica said, “ Before I leave I’m putting on a little music for you guys.”

Jessica turned on a small speaker with preprogrammed music for their date.

Mara looked back at Jessica as Bastien grabbed her hand. She gave her a slight smile. Jessica winked. Her Timex watch beeped. Jessica said, “Got to run on the clock!”

Bastien said, “Mara you look beautiful tonight.”

Mara said, “Bastien thank you. I love your tie and how you tied it.”

15 mins later…

Bastien asked, “Do you believe in aliens?”

Mara responded, “Uh yeah.”

Bastien said, “I do too.”

Bastien asked, “Are you a coffee or tea person?”

Mara responded, “Coffee.”

15 mins later…

Bastien asked, “If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Mara responded, “Apple Danish.”

Bastien said, “Are you more of a cat or a dog person?”

Mara said, “Dog.”

Bastien reached for Mara and held it.

Jessica watching the whole interaction from a discreet place in the garden and smiled at her handy work. Then made her way to pick up her 6’5, blonde hair, and blue eye charge in his study as she walked, she said, “My job is done no more favors sweet freedom.”

In Liam’s study

Jessica made her way to Liam’s study and peaked in. Liam’s study was nearly empty the furniture was also a victim of the party in the box bomb and delivery from Italy was expected to arrive the following day.

Liam said, “Hey Love what brings you here? I’m almost done.”

Jessica said, “I’m your Royal detail. Bas is on a date with Mara tonight.”

Liam took a deep breath threw his pen on the desk and said, “I would tell you to sit but clearly isn’t a possibility right now, but you can sit on my lap come here.”

Jessica sat on Liam lap.

Liam said, “So you know how I feel about your job and I have been curt with you and I’m sorry.  I am having a hard time adjusting to all this but I will try harder. I won’t lie to you I will be so excited the day tell me you are done with your job and I will gladly help you figure out your next move.”

Jessica said, “Thank you.”

Liam said, “I love you.

Jessica said, “I love you too.”

Liam said, “ Now Leo’s prank game was a solid 6 out 10 and there was something interesting about this last prank that was more sophisticated and more detailed orientated not really Leo’s style. However, Love you are all those things and more. So I really don’t want another party in a box bomb in my study or any other place. Jess, I am still sparkling and I don’t ever want to get in a prank war with you because I will surely lose. I washed my hair like fifteen times to get the slime out. I know about the car too and the reason I was mad at Leo  that you could have gotten hurt and he should have been the voice of reason. Leo and I are both tall.. I’m taller and the mirror was adjusted for someone that was probably a foot and a couple of inches shorter than me.  You are not the only one that can conduct an investigation, my Love. I can replace a car but I can never replace you.”

Jessica said, “Okay that settles we are in a good place it's great lovely awesome fantastic honeymoon phase all is forgiven no grudges. I love you you love me yay!” Jessica tried to jump off Liam’s lap but he held her waist.

Liam laughed and said, “ Nope. Not so fast Ms. Garcia! Just because I love you doesn’t mean you are off the hook. You owe me two favors.”

Jessica said, “Fuck man! I’m never going to be free with these favors. I was so close!

Liam laughed and rubbed her thighs then said “Let’s go to my quarters. I have favors to call in. I think you will like them too.”

[bexstevie]

NEXT GEN EPISODE 5 - LIVE FINALE

STEVIE PARK performing starry dream. featuring: jueun, hyunki, touma, hangyeol. special mentors: sarang, seojun ( visual inspiration, line distribution, song + demo choreography )

it feels like he’s standing on the edge of a cliff and awaiting a free fall.

stevie’s not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing though. probably good– because he’s going to find out if all this work was for naught or not. the weeks leading up to the finale feel bittersweet. he’s going to miss the grind, especially if he doesn’t make the final placements. but also…it’ll be nice to see how far he improved. stevie’s proud of himself for making it this far. this is more than he could ever hope and ask for, really. it’s crazy. his redemption era– who would have thought!

the song choice is nice. stevie doesn’t mind it– even if it makes him think a lot more. they go back and forth on ideas, things to better make it them. there’s an intro that they decide whether or not to scrap. it’s a bit corny of an idea, one that gets him thinking far too deeply about everything. the song itself is something that makes his mind wander– but having to have a heart to heart with himself to figure it out feels too daunting to him. it takes him forever to write out something comprehensible– only to have the production team reject it. to the scrap it went. decided for him– thank god for that! 

afterwards, he spends a lot of his time not thinking. simply using his time practicing. the dance he knocks out first– simple as it is, memorable enough that stevie catches onto the choreo rather quickly. added time with hangyeol and touma also make it easier to perfect. and once the dance isn’t at the forefront of his mind, stevie moves onto singing. jueun’s help and reassurance makes him push a bit more. more of his allotted free time is focused on fine-tuning his voice. it’s go big or go home this time around (quite literally!). 

as the days tick closer and closer to the finale, stevie finds himself growing not as nervous. practice seems to be going well, not that they’ve settled into just personifying the song themselves. group practice goes as smooth as it can– coaches easily approachable. sarang talks him down a bit about overthinking those first few days, seojun offers familiar comfort. 

he’s all smiles the day of. greets the staff and other contestants he sees with a happy wave or a clap to the shoulder. in the meantime, he glances around– suddenly feeling nostalgic. “the last hurrah,” he says to himself, absentmindedly. “let’s do this.” he reaches out to pat himself on the shoulder once– and follows through with the staff’s instructions. not much longer until they perform, and stevie’s ready to give it his all.

as they gear up for the stage, stevie fiddles with his outfit absentmindedly. he follows his team, smiling easily at everyone. there might even be a skip to his step he won’t admit. he’s pretty happy, all things considered. he’d even say excited! worries are there, for sure– but stevie means it when he says he’s satisfied. he’ll give it his all here, and be happy no matter the outcome. 

the music is dreamy as it starts, stevie relaxing into his position. he’s up right after jueun, so he fluidly moves into position. “even if I reach out, i can’t touch it, they ask–’where are you going like this?’” he lifts his arm gracefully into the air and then down, easily sliding out of the way for touma. 

it’s a song that builds a bit for the chorus to drop– and he lets muscle memory take him through the parts. stevie uses everything he’s learned thus far; eases the expressions on his face when the music turns light and airy, and then the beat kicks in, sharpen it. from smooth to quick and sharp, then back to fluid and easy. 

in these intensifying waves thoughts that will stop me, no way

his arm moves with the motion of a wave unable to help the curve to his smile at the thought. it’s fitting of a line, given to him– the resident surfer. it makes him nostalgic for a whole other thing. reminds him of dreams and the whole focus of their song. their song. stevie’s dreams and how to reach them– even if overall, his dream is to achieve happiness. 

and this makes him happy. at least for now. 

when everything started? is not important

to think, as well– this is only the stepping stone to everything else. a taste of the future, of a whole different level of grind that stevie is growing used to. but that’s progress– before, he couldn’t stand it. but he’s here again! trying! with a whole different mindset. and soon– dreams will come true. he’s sure of it. 

a brilliant picture, i want to meet your eyes.

and for once, stevie doesn’t want to wince at the sound of his voice. and maybe his senses have just become numb, having to hear it over and over again until he couldn’t anymore. and he can’t help but feel better after that, more at ease. his movements more fluid and focus more on his expressions. the bridge is steadily approaching, and stevie fixes himself for quick movements and decisions. 

the lift is exciting. stevie steps up with the others not at the forefront to do the lift, focusing on not dropping and keeping his weight even until they’re safely back down. he steadily moves into his brief part, preparing himself for his next part. 

if I reach out my hand a little more somehow I think I can reach it

his hand lifts a bit with the reaching line, before dropping and he moves back into next position so jueun can come forward. 

it feels like smooth sailing after that.

#wc: 928 #solo. #be:ngs2p5

[babulejka]

matchup trade with @lady-of-endless

i match you up with Diavolo!

♰ his life is full of darkness, he himself is rotten to the core. your playful side lets him warm himself in your loving light. he enjoys your teasing and he definitely will tease you back. you often catch him smirking affectionately at you, when he thinks you won't notice.  but your more cold side... he respects that. he admires that you keep your temper balanced, intimidate people and successfully get what you want. you are such a dangerous woman, he loves it.

♰ you have two sides, he has two sides/souls, this fact is quite fascinating to him. he often thinks about that.

♰ he really appreciates your listening skills. he may not always open himself, but when he do, he never regrets that. diavolo is reserved man, he closed himself, so long ago that he no longer remembers when he allowed himself to express his emotions, he no longer even remembers whether he was ever able to do so. i also think that he doesn't want to remember, after all, what he would like most is to erase his past. you give him space, time and possibility to understand what he's feeling. he's forever thankful for that.

♰ he likes observing you, studying your pretty face, your expressions, analyzing your reactions, but not in creepy way. he just likes to learn about you. diavolo thinks that you are intelligent person, he's fascinated by your amount of knowledge about neuroscience and psychiatry. he could listen to you for hours. the same thing goes with you playing on guitar.

♰ he is not affectionate, at least not at first. years he had spent alone, hiding and not letting anyone come close had an effect on him. first hugs were awkward, he was just standing and trying to process what is happening. but he got used to physical affection and now he c r a v e s  it. when you first started sleeping with him in one bed, he was laying there as if paralyzed, but now he is cuddle monster, wraping his arms tightly around you and not letting you go anywhere.

♰ deep existential conversations. what else do you talk about with your beloved partner besides the meaning of life and why the mistakes of the past or simply the past itself is something to be defeated and destroyed in order for human beings to grow, while cuddling?

♰ because he's very observant he knows then something is wrong. so whenever you're overworking yourself he would drag you off whatever you're doing. he'll be damned if he lets you work more than you can handle. if you'd refuse, he’ll force you to take breaks. he knows that even if you might not feel overwhelmed or burnt out yet, but if you carry on like this, it will happen sooner or later and he’s not letting this happen.

♰ your elegant clothing style matches his so well! you'd definitely wear matching outfits, you cannot tell me otherwise. also i think you'd look wonderful in his clothes. he's taller than you and his clothes are slightly too big for you, but he thinks you in look even more wonderful then always while wearing them. he also buys you tons of expensive jewellery, he thinks it emphasize your unique beauty. besides, he loves to spoil you.

♰ elegant home dates. he rarely, if ever, shows in public places. but it really isn't a problem, he's got the money. he'll arrange romantic atmosphere, candles, flower petals and all, get dressed up nicely, turn on some atmospheric music, order delicious food from the best of the restaurants and greet you with big bouqet of red roses. and some time after finishing the meal he'll take your hand, give it a kiss and pull you to slow dance.

#matchup trade #jjba matchup #matchup

[anonarat]

I've spent the last week or so in London doing a number of things, so I figured I'd do a quick rundown on here:

Saturday I went to see Dune part 2. Honestly, it was quite disappointing in that it was a 7/10 film where I hoped for a 9/10. It didn't really pay off the promises of part 1, and the changes from the book were far more noticeable.

I then went to the Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds Experience. This was another 7/10 where I hoped for a 9/10. It actually reminded me a lot of what York Dungeon is currently like, albeit with some VR bits (Thunderchild being a particular highlight). To my suprise it wasn't the VR that set off my motion sickness, but a sort of planetarium thing they did for Brave New World.

Sunday was spent with my parents, brother, sister-in-law and my nieces for Mothers Day. It was a nice get together.

Monday I went to the Natural History Museum. Thanks to the advice of a friend, I went in through the side entrance and there was no queuing at all. I was surprised to discover (to my delight), that about 1/3 was geology, and I spent about 2/3 of my time in the geology section. Land of the Lustrous has definitely warped my perception of such things. Speaking of, I did manage to see one piece of phosphophyllite, as well as many other major characters.

I also went to see Operation Mincemeat. This was a time when I was expecting a 9/10 show and it delivered. I'm pretty sure I laughed more in that 3 hour period than I had in the previous 6 months.

Tuesday I lay around and read in preparation for Wednesday.

Wednesday was why I was even down in London in the first place. Ado's world tour playing in Troxy. I arrived an hour before the merch line was due to open and it took about 3 1/2 hours, but I got the merch I wanted, so a win I guess. Rather than immediately queuing for entry, I went to a nice Turkish restaurant nearby. My back then reminded me that I'm no longer young and I'd just been standing outside in the cool for a while.

Next was (more) queuing for the concert. At least I'd sprung for a VIP ticket, so it was comparatively painless; plenty of other people have commented on the GA queue. The cloakroom was also pretty straightforward.

My feelings on the concert itself are complicated. Now I'll admit it was partly my fault as I later learned, but without earplugs, the audio wasn't the best. It was crowded and loud.

And yet it was the most overall positively memorable experience out of everything. Some highlights included:

I was in the 3rd row, so you can spot me in at least one of the promotional videos. I'm pretty sure I'm in the other as well, but it moves too fast to be sure.

Ado's outfit. While you could only make out the general shape, it looked sharp.

Tot Musica - it normally goes hard, but with an entire audience singing along, it was phenomenal

While Ado does sing in silhoutte, you can occaisionally catch a glimpse of her, not enough to make out her face, but... at the end of Kura Kura I think I saw a big smile (in profile). It was less than a second, but it was a reminder that Ado was enjoying this just as much as we were.

Ado's MC in English.

Odo.

The other fans. Even with all the queuing and waiting they brought some great energy and helped each other out.

Going forward, I'm not really sure concerts are for me. But perhaps now armed with further knowledge, I might consider it. At least I'd be sorely tempted to see Ado again.

When I left, my everything hurt, including getting a ringing in my right ear for about 24 hours. There was a moment on the DLR where I was facing another fan, and we nodded at each other in acknowledgement of how we were both wiped, but happy.

Thursday was scheduled for recovery, and I spent most of the morning lounging about, but I decided to go and do some London shopping. I basically walked up through Soho and ended at Forbidden Planet. During this time I managed to snag The Moon on a Rainy Night volume 2, which had been rather elusive.

Kuzushiro is probably my favourite yuri mangaka at present.

Friday I went to the Tate Britain, as I don't think I'd visited it before. It was fine. My personal preference was for the Turners where he did architectural scenes. Then I went to see the Frozen musical.

It was good. It painted Elsa's parents in a better light than the movie did, and I appreciated that they gave Kristoff more songs. However, they cut For the First Time in Forever (Reprise) and replaced it with a different song. Considering that's my favourite song on the soundtrack, I was disappointed. The replacement was fine.

Saturday I visited a friend who lives down South. It was really good to see her again. That evening I went up to Camden Town and had some good street food.

Sunday, I returned to my home.

#Personal

[lilybachmann]

The setting of the whole scene; The backdrop will be divided that one side is showing gray bricks, a side of a castle, and another is presenting a beautiful garden with a bench.

The outfits:

Desdemona

Iago

Othello

Othello’s old jacket, which is put on him by Iago

CASSIO

That policy may either last so long,

Or feed itself upon such nice and waterish diet,

Or breed itself so out of (circumstance,)

That, I being absent and my place supplied,

My general will forget my love and service.

This line embodies the epitome of Cassio’s fears. He feels as though he betrayed Othello so terribly that it will be impossible to ever regain his trust. Despite Desdemona’s persistent consolation, Cassio cannot help but think that Othello will soon forget him and his loyalty. In order to reflect the contrast of Desdemona’s calm and soothing demeanor with Cassio’s anxious rambling, the music transitions swiftly from a lulling melody to loud, sharp notes, respectively. As for the lighting, the general atmosphere is warm and pleasant, but, as Cassio grows increasingly agitated, a cool-toned spotlight focuses on him as he speaks. He is frantic and fidgets with his clothing and hair, his head lowered. The set is simple, with one side decorated with bricks to represent Cyprian castle, and the other the flourishing gardens of the castle grounds.

DESDEMONA

Why then tomorrow night, (or) Tuesday morn,

On Tuesday noon or night; on Wednesday morn.

I prithee name thy time, but let it not

Exceed three days. In faith, he’s penitant;

And yet his trespass, in our common reason–

Save that, they say, the wars must make example

Out of her best–is not almost a fault

T’incur a private check. When shall he come?

Tell me, Othello. I wonder in my soul

What you would ask me that I should deny,

Or stand so, mammr’ng on? What? Michael Cassio,

That came a-wooing with you, and so many a time,

When I have spoke of you dispraisingly,

Hath ta’en your part–to have so much to do

To bring him in! (By’r Lady,) I could do much–

Desdemona’s air is a stark contrast compared to that of the previous scene, where she was consoling Cassio. Now, as opposed to calm and collected, she is urgent and hasty, adamant that Othello see Cassio and decide whether to forgive him fairly, with proper consideration. The music, which quiets during the transition between the scene with Desdemona and Cassio and when Othello enters, once again gains volume. The volume gradually grows as Desdemona speaks, conveying her determination to the audience.( The song “To The Sky” by Dirk Massen will begin when Desdemona is talking with Cassio. However, the middle, climax part will be played during this statement). The lighting is focused on both Othello and Desdemona, though Iago stands to the side with a look of satisfaction on his face. Desdemona walks back and forth impatiently, gesticulating emphatically with her hands in an attempt to appeal to Othello. Othello stands quietly and solemnly listening to her speech.

Through those 2 statements and the overall dialogue between Cassio and Desdemona, there will be playing “Zahada” by Nyle Downs. In the beginning, it is quite sad but then it slowly becomes more enthusiastic and hopeful.

IAGO

I do beseech you,

Though I perchance am vicious in my guess—

As, I confess, it is my nature’s plague

To spy into abuses, and (oft) my jealousy

Shapes faults that are not—that your wisdom

From one that so imperfectly conceits

Would take no notice, nor build yourself a trouble

Out of his scattering and unsure observance.

It were not for your quiet nor your good,

Nor for my manhood, honesty, and wisdom,

To let you know my thoughts.

Iago, though seeking to build suspense and tease Othello’s curiosity, is also using this moment as an opportunity to build Othello’s trust in him. His aim is to make Othello angry and impatient by hinting at and withholding a secret from him. However, in order for Iago’s malicious plan to work, he needs Othello to take his words seriously. So, he assures Othello that his secret is not to be taken seriously, since he tends to let his judgment be clouded by his emotions. The actor will be cautious in his manner, doing his best to avoid turning Othello’s anger on himself.

Although the light is warm it is creating a fog, which indicates the mixed emotions. Moreover, there will be playing “Wind Song” by Ludovico Einaudi

IAGO

I do not like the office,

But sith I am entered in this cause so far,

Pricked to ’t by foolish honesty and love,

I will go on. I lay with Cassio lately,

And being troubled with a raging tooth

I could not sleep. There are a kind of men

So loose of soul that in their sleeps will mutter

Their affairs. One of this kind is Cassio.

In sleep I heard him say “Sweet Desdemona,

Let us be wary, let us hide our loves.”

And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand,

Cry “O sweet creature!” then kiss me hard,

As if he plucked up kisses by the roots

That grew upon my lips; ⟨then⟩ laid his leg

O’er my thigh, and ⟨sighed,⟩ and ⟨kissed,⟩ and then

⟨Cried⟩ “Cursèd fate that gave thee to the Moor!”

Here Iago convinces Othello that Cassio is in love with Desdemona and that she is cheating with him. Thus Othello will be placed in the centre of the scene and Iago will walk around him. Moreover, the cold and hard light will follow him. Through this statement and a few next, Iago will slowly gather and put the military jacket onto Othello.

During this scene the music “The Sacrifice” by Michael Nyman will be played seeing as it is dramatic and has a lot of tension.

OTHELLO

Never, [Iago. Like to the Pontic Sea,

Whose icy current and compulsive course

Ne’er ⌜feels⌝ retiring ebb, but keeps due on

To the Propontic and the Hellespont,

Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace

Shall ne’er look back, ne’er ebb to humble love,

Till that a capable and wide revenge

Swallow them up. ⟨He kneels.⟩ Now by yond marble

heaven,]

In the due reverence of a sacred vow,

I here engage my words.

This statement and the following part of Othello’s dialouge with Iago expresses the plan for revenge. The main character is blinded by the rage and thinks only about executing his punishment of Desdemona. Therefore, this moment is a demonstration of a build up tension.

The music played will be “Winter - Lux Aeterna” by The London Ensamble, the middle, climax part. Furthermore, the lightsz will be divided, the strongest one’s on Othello and a bit weaker one’s on Iago.