Tumgik
#since his whole aesthetic is stars and plants
wishing-stones · 1 year
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your concept of nightmares castle is super interesting! are there any other tidbits we haven't seen yet? or is that a spoiler?
Oh hey! Yeah, this is a good one. It's gonna be long, but this is gonna be good. And lore heavy.
Nightmare's entire castle is in a sort of pocket dimension-- not its own AU, its own little area in the multiverse that he can more-or-less control. Dream has a very similar pocket dimension, but his is a little cottage with a view of rolling hills and lots of flowers where it's always golden hour.
Nightmare's castle sits atop a rocky crag of a mountain that is above preceptory cloud level. It's always clear out, with the only clouds visible being cirrus and similar. Sometimes, the tops of thunderstorms pass by, giving the castle some ambiance, but there is never any lightning or rain.
There isn't really a daylight cycle, either. It is a little brighter in the "daytime," lightening into blue hour, and then gets a little purpley at dusk, and pinkish at dawn.
This doesn't really effect the vegetation any, since they mostly subsist off ambient magic rather than photosynthesis. They similarly do not need watering. (There's a bit of an exception for things that aren't part of the realm itself-- Nightmare's garden needs tending and watering, but they adapt to absorbing ambient magic in place of sunlight.) Parts of the mountain are forested, and grade more gently than some of the sheer drops that surround the castle-- the training pitch we've seen a lot of in recent chapters is naturally boxed in by part of the mountain, and has a small thicket on its other side. There's some bushes and other plants there as well-- It's not maintained, and the only paths through it are those that have been forced.
While the castle and its grounds are enormous, the mountain itself takes up most of the domain. There's about of mile of forest in all directions from the base of the mountain, but wandering off into it will either a. get you lost in the void, if you're not lucky b. get turned back around toward the castle, even if you were walking away from it c. 'fall' off the edge into a random AU. Sucks to suck.
The mountain is active, but because monsters in general are very good at harnessing geothermal energy, that's how he powers the whole thing. There's a core-like device inside the mountain that provides the castle with an endless supply of clean energy. It also provides almost all of the hot water used in the castle as well (which is why I had Ren note that the water smelled faintly sulphuric very early on.)
It has four wings, so from above, it sort of looks like a big plus sign. Some wings are larger than others, and the south wing has the tallest towers. It has ramparts as well, but no one's gone out on them in R&R. Kicking myself that I didn't utilize them LOL
I think? I said everyone has their rooms in the east wing? And the stars occupy the north wing right now. The west wing is where the gym, rec room, and pool/sauna are, the ballroom takes up a good part of the south wing, the entrance is on the first floor of the east wing, the dining hall is dead center, with the kitchens below it, the drawing room is west of the entrance, and on the second story of the main building is Nightmare's throne room and adjoining war room. The lab is beneath the western wing, and the dungeons are beneath the south wing, and at the top the tower IN the south wing is an observatory. Nightmare's office is near the east wing in the main hub, on the top floor.
The exterior is very gothic looking, made of dark stone with some gargoyles and the like, and along the longer wings (west/east) it has flying buttresses.
Other rooms that exist that haven't been shown/mentioned yet: -A chapel, which is mostly just there for The Aesthetic ✨ (There were a few of them in blueprints that Nightmare gathered to draft his own, so he included it.) It has no specified deity, but one of the stained glass windows is very clearly a depiction of the tree of emotions -A library, which briefly got mentioned, but it's enormous. It's towards the beginning of the west wing. -A laundry room, which clearly began life as a servant's quarters, but was repurposed when Nightmare built the place. There's dumbwaiter access to it, so it was a very obvious choice -An armory in the west wing that sees almost no use, since they tend to keep their weapons on their person, if they use them. It's mostly a showcase of fancy weapons and armor, but there's a few 'trophies' from battles they fought or particularly tough opponents they've taken down.
I think that about covers it! I've described the interior in great detail, but it's all black-and-gold rococo with touches of maroon in drapes and runners.
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sing-me-under · 1 year
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Look, no one said that the nukes or The Incident reached Kinoko or Las Nevadas as far as I’m aware. As such, I choose to live in a world where only the mainland got obliterated.
Anyway, while I was at work, I sketched out a small comic idea on some sticky notes of exactly this.
Sapnap is just chilling with a cup of tea in his house when the explosions go off in the distance, but the shockwaves were still strong enough to shatter every glass window and his teacup and kill like 60% of the more sensitive plants and mushrooms.
Immediately after, Karl drops from the ceiling bawling his sparkling eyes out as his human form tears itself apart into a mess of gummy colors and stars. He’s apologizing between sobs for failing to save their timeline, and he’s just backing apologies for a whole bunch of other stuff (mostly the forgetting).
Sapnap manages to calm Karl down enough to get the full story. It’s the most lucid Karl has been in over a year, and he even remembers Quackity!
Then Karl suddenly gets dragged back through the portal, never to be seen again.
And since Kinoko and Las Nevadas are the last functioning nations left (and also the nearest communities), they get a lot of refugees that survived the mainland, although it’s really not that much considering the original population. Kinoko and Las Nevadas are forced to cooperate in order to juggle the new prospective citizens between their vastly different cultures and aesthetic.
Quackity and Sapnap reunite like this, awkwardly dancing around each other while dealing with grief and political stress.
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Drapetomania
Armitage Hux x F!Reader
A/N: It’s been a few weeks since I posted anything and I’m hoping I can get more content out over the summer before my degree picks up again. Thanks @acrossthesestars for reading this chapter through ages ago 😅
Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5
Warnings: feelings, but if a filler chapter, mention of alcohol. Fic is NSFW 18+
Word Count: 2160
Tagging: @lemongingerart @princessxkenobi @strangunddurm
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The proximity warnings started as you dropped out of the rushing lights of hyperspace, your eyes taking in the sprawling web-like patterns of Coruscant. It was beautiful, the deep purples punctuated with fine lines of gold that covered the surface. It reminded you of the maze on the Hux estate, where you and Armitage had got lost plenty of times, where you had spent your time exploring each other’s bodies in secret, where you’d both hidden from Brendol and his rage.
Your memories were interrupted by the demand for your landing codes and you rattled off the number that was in the information of your booking. Following the instructions you were given, you guided the ship towards a landing beacon through the atmosphere of Coruscant.
You hadn’t ventured here before and just hearing the stories of the core worlds had set your imagination alight. Buildings rose up tall like daggers and a steady stream of speeder traffic rippled below you, bright lights creating a rainbow effect that blurred as you traveled by and you wished you had more time to explore. Bringing the craft in to land, you tried not to think about what you were about to do. How every step took you closer to that moment you’d dreamed of was a step away from everything you currently knew.
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You were checked in by a bored looking twi’lek, her blue and white Republic uniform pressed and perfect as she attached the band to your wrist and made sure it scanned. You tried not to look at the colours too closely because it just reminded you of Poe and you didn’t need those feelings, not now.
“The Halcyon 2 will leave in a couple of days, you can either board now or sightsee in Coruscant. Miss?” You glanced at her, you had been searching the crowd for a shock of ginger hair, which was stupid really.
“Oh, er. I think I’ll just board now, thanks.” Maybe he was already on board? Maybe he was still travelling to you. Maybe this whole thing was a joke.
“Put your band on the scanner and it will grant you access to the docking terminal. A shuttle will take you up to the ship. Enjoy your journey amongst the stars,” she finished in a dry sing-song tone and you wondered how many times a day she had to say that as the gate slid open to admit you.
It was busier here, luggage was being taken by droids and you felt silly handing over a single bag for a whole month trip. The area was huge. A transparisteel dome covered the space, protecting it from the elements. White seats with plush cushions lined most of the floor space and you spied a family of Wookiees taking up one whole bench for themselves. Strange plants added to an attempted natural aesthetic and vents were placed in the ceiling to keep the air circulated and warm, but your gaze was drawn to the dark sky above. You now stood high over Coruscant and found yourself drifting to peer out of the huge plane of transparisteel.
This planet was always so busy, being a highly populated core planet and once the seat of the Jedi and Empire. People were drawn here for jobs, sightseeing, scandal and crime. It all happened on Coruscant.
Walking back over to the line, a droid scanned your band and assured you the single bag of luggage you had would be sent to the appropriate room. You kept a small satchel holding your datapad and a few protein pouches that you’d stolen from the x-wing with you. Following the line of people toward the docking shuttle, you tried not to look around for a shock of red. There was an eclectic collection of species here, their native speech patterns rolling over you. Some you recognised and could understand, others you didn’t. But it was the humans you were interested in, trying not to stare too hard at each new face.
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The shuttle ride was quick, which was a relief as it was packed, bodies all pressed together in an effort to get as many people on board as possible. You had hoped getting here a few days early meant it wouldn’t be this busy and you could watch people boarding in the vain hope that you’d see him before he saw you. Because when you did see him you wanted a moment to decide what you were going to do. Or had you made that decision already?
The contents of your shuttle spilled out onto the flight deck and you waited as everyone had their bands scanned and sent in the appropriate directions. The droid scanned yours but a red light flashed instead of green prompting it to scan again.
“You have been upgraded,” it stated when the light turned green.
“Upgraded? Explain?”
“Your standard room has been upgraded to a suite. Please head in this direction.” The droid moved aside and you went to join the smaller crowd at the other end of the atrium, confused as to why your room had changed. Your group was led to a set of stairs that went to an upper level, where all the larger rooms for the higher paying guests were situated. Which apparently you were now. Your band opened the door and you stepped inside.
“Hello, I am Andan,” a voice started behind you. “I am your hospitality liaison. Please use the com should you wish for anything to be brought to your room. Feel free to explore the ship at your convenience. Can I get you anything?” You looked at the young man, his brown eyes watching you curiously as you tried to think of something to say. He was young, with a shock of dark hair, hands clasped politely behind his back and a slightly boyish face.
“No, but thank you.”
He offered you an easy smile before the door shut and he disappeared from view.
“What the fuck…” You placed your bag on the table. The suite was white with black accents. Glow panels lit up the room, but it was the viewport that took your breath away. Stars dotted the velvety dark of space and below you could see the sprawling lights of Coruscant.
The suite had a small eating area that merged with a comfy seating area. A large screen was set into the panels of the wall and you felt a thrill at being able to watch your favourite HoloNet channels without a dodgy signal that needed to be pinged all over the Galaxy to hide its destination.
You walked past the large curved white and black sofa to a door that opened to reveal more hidden cupboards and drawers set into the walls. Another screen next to the door faced a large bed, done up in black sheets. A small door led to a refresher that had you nearly groaning in joy.
You didn’t have to shower in a durasteel tub anymore with cold water and scratchy soap. In front of you was a state of the art bathtub with fancy soaps and scents lining the edge, a shower that was controlled by a touchscreen, and a heated floor that you could feel through your boots.
Instantly you stripped, programming the bath to fill with hot water and bubbles. Your skin protested at first, but you forced yourself to sink down in the hot water and immediately it felt like everything was washed away. You lost count of how long you were in there, washing your hair and body, popping bubbles and splashing in the soapy water. Looking around you frowned, wishing you’d got a towel first. Wringing your hair out, you stood and a panel opened, a rack with towels dropping down in front of you.
Reaching for two towels, you sighed at the warmth of the fluffy material wrapping your body and hair watching as the rack retreated back into the wall. Your toes curled at the sensation of heat from the floor and you couldn’t resist laying down for a moment. The tiles were white and smooth and your fingers traced the almost invisible lines as you let the heat seep into your skin.
Eventually you moved, picking up your dirty clothes and dumping them on the edge of the bed. You went round and opened the drawers only to find them filled with clothes. Slipping on some fresh underwear, you were surprised to see everything was your size. You opened what you thought was the wardrobe but it was in fact a dressing room. The walls were lined with clothes of every colour and fashion you could think of. One space was taken up by a tall rack of shoes and when you tugged on it, the shelves rotated so the shoes you couldn’t reach came down to your level.
“This is fucking insane,” you whispered.
Finding some black leggings and a comfy jumper, you went back out into the living area, noticing for the first time a datapad that you could control the whole suite from, as well as order food and drink and anything else you needed.
It wasn’t until you sat down that you remembered why you were really here. Was Armitage not coming and that’s why your room had been upgraded? As some sort of apology? You doubted it. But you were still waiting for someone to barge in and demand you leave as there had been a mix up. No matter how often you glanced at the door, no one was knocking.
You ordered some food and a bottle of Coruscanti gin, which arrived quickly via a droid who asked politely if you needed anything else before walking away. You glanced up and down the empty corridor, you could hear the noise from the atrium as people still gathered, but you had no desire to go down there just yet.
Sitting with your food and drink, you switched on the massive screen and settled down to watch your favourite programme in colour, with sound that didn’t make them seem like they were underwater. You were going to enjoy being alone for a bit before the nervousness of seeing Armitage really crept up on you.
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You didn’t even feel the shudder of the 20 engines starting on the MPO-1600 Purrgil-class star cruiser. Only the announcement that came calmly through your screen told you the ship was finally embarking on its voyage. You had started up your datapad from the Resistance and messages had been steadily coming in from Poe. You weren’t interested in those. They hurt you to look at.
Chewing your lip, the nerves really settled in now. You watched Coruscant slowly grow smaller and you knew you should leave your room and search for the reason you were here. The idea that Hux was on this ship had your mind racing and your pulse throbbing with excitement.
You were dressed in leggings and a pair of mid calf black boots. A light green top made of silk was fitted to your upper body, the sleeves tapering to a point where they hooked over your middle finger. The lower part of the top split from your hips and flowed with each step as you slowly made your way down the steps to the atrium. Your eyes swept the floor space over most of the crowd, which were standing by the massive viewports watching the planet fall away. You headed to the bar, perching on a stool and letting the droid scan your band before asking what you wished to drink. You asked for a gin and droid asked if you wanted an infusion of Pyussh berries to which you agreed. It gave the clear liquid a deep purple look and a sweet aftertaste that you actually found appealing.
Leaning back on the bar, legs crossed and elbows resting easily, you found yourself zoning out to the creatures all around you. They all looked and sounded so excited, happy. Younglings raced around. Human children mixed with Twi’leks, Rodians, Duros, even the small Wookiee.
Is this what life was like outside of the Resistance? All joy and living?
Taking a sip of your drink, your gaze tracked over the crowd and you tried not to let your thoughts sink into the swirling pit that Armitage had never made it on board. If you didn’t see him this week, you contemplated disembarking at the first planet the ship docked at. Maybe you could make your own way back out in the Galaxy, away from the Resistance and away from your memories. Your foot jigged impatiently and you asked for another drink from the droid, watching it in the mirror as it expertly mixed and poured the purple liquid into a clean glass. You lifted the glass, glancing up to see yourself reflected back at you behind the bar, only to freeze mid motion as yours locked with a familiar gaze.
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unifox · 10 months
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PTG as Owl City Songs Pt.2
Part 2 is here!!! I'll repeat myself
IMPORTANT: This is purely out of my imagination, I do NOT know how the ptg members are and their true personalities. This is how I perceive them through the content they provide us on social media. Also, the songs interpretations were mine. They might not be what the artist intended but how I understood them.
None of the pictures are mine! Got them on Pinterest
happy reading! and maybe listening too ~Foxy🦊
Pt.1 | masterlist
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Yanan
The Tip Of The Iceberg 
Cute, heartwarming and a bit fairy like, like Yanan. Like mentioned in other members, each song has its own unique traits just like the Pentagon members. Yanan and this song are no exception. Also, the title also fits the situation quite well, since the tip of the iceberg is always just a small part of the iceberg and theres a lot to discover under the water, and Yanan with his shy personality also has a lot hidden behind what he actually shows us. 2023 me - the songs also says how some actions are just the tip of the iceberg of things the protagonist would do to get back their loved one, and it also fits well with the relationship of universe and pentagon with Yanan. Even being away from him for so long, we’d do everything to see the boys together again.
Gold (2023)
Yanan is gold. The song tells about someone who is gold, someone who might not see their whole potential even though they are it. For the longest time as a Universe I saw Yanan being like this and slowly starting to become more confident as the years went by. Yanan! You’re gold, so shine forever! Also, CONGRATS ON 1st PLACE YANAN S2 YOU DESERVE IT
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Yuto
Up All Night 
I really don't know but this song fits Yuto. Maybe is the beat that changes and shows many styles that reminds me of Yuto, of how he looks like something but acts as something else. The song is mysterious and beautiful and thats really Yuto. Its cute but serious and the guitar part... definitely something that fits Yuto. Also, just like Yu, this song has a special place in my heart. “I just can’t get you off my mind, now I’m gonna be up all night”
I'm coming after you (2023)
I’m not sure why 2020 me chose this song bc she didn't write anything, maybe it was the instrumental? I think the bass in the song gives off Yuto vibes. It’s a lightweight song that seems almost theatrical to me. “Woo woo woo- I’m coming after you” The siren sounds seem fun and something that cute and the rest of Mayonnaise would add to their songs haha
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Kino
Plant life 
Kino has a flower aesthetic so why not? The song is really artistic and that it would suit kino's style if he danced to this song, or even sang it. Both are gentle, creative and majestic, showing a really unique kind of power, that feels almost magical. The lyrics also has Kino's vibes to it. It’s full of metaphors and pretty sounds (I think it’s my favorite owl city song)
shooting star
Kino is a shooting star! Like the song, he seems like the type of person to encourage and support others whey they feel down or tired. Kino is comfort to others, someone really precious and kind. “So shine no matter where you are tonight”
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Wooseok
Dreams and Disasters 
The image this song makes me think of is always a young couple, careless and fun, driving in a road in the middle of nowhere. This free-spirited style remind me of maknae Wooseokie. The upbeat melody and free-spirited lyrics fit Wooseok who is young and seem adventurous. “I wanna feel alive forever after”
Strawberry Avalanche
I don't know exactly why, but i guess pink Wooseok fits this. Another fun and cute song that fits shy Wooseok. I have this image that Woo is a pretty cute and gentle 2m tall boy and the scenario created by this song would fit him well. 2023 me- The song sounds soft and childish and I feel like behind the serious aura and appearance that wooseok has, there is a gentle and dreamy person there.
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Pentagon
Good time
I don't really think I have to explain, but here I am anyways. Ptg is such a fun group. They are all very unique and display their individual charms throughout their journey. Every time we see them it's a good time, doesn't matter what they are doing. They turn the most normal things into something fun to look forward to.
Embers
I feel like this song talks about hope and, as cliche as it seems, pentagon simbolizes that to me. "When its all said and done, we'll shine like the sun so don't let the fire die." It simbolizes well the groups history and it works for their fans too, since seeing their journey Universe might feel inspired to just keep going too. It’s like Eternal Flame!
The Technicolor Phase
Support. Another word I think of when it comes to Pentagon. Thought the song you see how the lyrics say how they’re the support, how they are there to accompany wherever you are. “I am the green in the grass, That bends back from underneath your feet (...) I am the black in the book, The letters on the pages that you memorize” Pentagon and their songs are there for the fans whenever and wherever, it’s what keeps us entertained, hopeful, happy… you name it. 
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limey-writes · 2 years
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can i get a matchup? (if you're not doing them rn that's fine lol, just delete this ask) i'm a nonbinary/transmasc (he/they) with dark wavy hair thats about waist length. i'm pretty thin, but my job is physically demanding so i'm starting to build more muscle. i'm 5'8, pretty pale, and have freckles. i wear mostly black and i like wearing high heeled boots/platform shoes because i get dysphoric about my height.
i like video games, but im also really into astrology, tarot, art, antique weaponry (mostly old guns/swords/knives), collecting rocks, and music (fav genre is dark cabaret.) i really want to learn to play the piano/violin. i also really like plants and want to become a horticulturist.
im very quiet, but that's mostly because i don't like small talk. it's very draining to me and i don't like having to maintain social connections that feel superficial, so for those reasons i can come across as cold or rude without meaning to. it isn't really anyone's fault, i just genuinely enjoy being alone most of the time. i have a very hard time expressing myself vocally and prefer to text or write whatever it is i want to say. i'm an emotional person, but i'm not very expressive around other people. i really only open up around close friends and even then it's not by a whole lot. i always try my best to treat others with kindness, but if someone is continuously rude to me then i just ghost them or i intentionally piss them off for fun. the internet has permanently fucked up my sense of humor. i cant stop spending money on expensive ass clothes/body wash/hair care crap/cologne but i just like looking good and smelling good!! goddamn!!!
in terms of like romance or relationships or whatever: i don't like it when strangers flirt with me and i don't date for fun or anything like that. again, i don't like entertaining surface-level connections at all. i'm very introverted, so i want to be able to give all my energy to the people i'm actually close to. if i'm in a relationship with someone, then i'm 110% serious about it because it takes a lot for me to be close enough to someone to even consider dating them.
(i hope this wasn't too long lmao, i saw in another post that more detail was better so i tried my best to include a lot but not ramble too much)
Your turn for your match-up! (:< And thank you for the extra detail, it does really help!
I match you with...
Sniper!
Mick is the type of man to struggle with connections, so when you can across each other, he definitely appreciated the time he could have to actually fully get to know you. The man definitely can understand the need for alone time, so you can bet that he knows when you need space and when to come around and give you some extra care you might need. He definitely digs the aesthetic and compliments you so much about your platforms, he asks you to read his cards on occasion and listens so much when you want to talk about any sort of astrology to him. He does a lot of travelling, so he definitely loves talking about stars with you whenever you guys hang out together at night.
Whenever he goes on his missions, he makes it such an important part of it to bring you back a new rock you might not have in your collection. He definitely supports your love for plants, definitely would pick up a thing or two to be able to take care of some along with you, ever since meeting you he swears he's never had more plant life in his camper than he did before. Might even bring you a plant you've had your eye on over giving you flowers, but its the thought that matters, no? If you ever showed him your love for old weaponry, you can bet this man lights up and drops so many facts about any old guns he might know, for some reason he knows a lot about it but mainly he likes to do research on what weapon would work best for his line of work soooo, if that explains anything. If you'd let him, he's love to listen in if you ever wanted to practice piano or violin, might even play along with you if you asked him to, Mick is definitely one to appreciate the musical arts, and loves the fact you're so interested in it!
Mick is also in love with any sort of fragrance you use, expensive soaps, etc. He compliments you on any new one you're trying out and gets excited when you show him a new one, on occasion once he knows you well enough, you definitely might be surprised with a new cologne you told him in passing you liked or a new outfit you've been wanting. Sure he might not flat out say he is into you, but he is subtle with his means in telling you he likes you a lot, he likes the bluntness you have if you had ghosted someone rude to you, might even drop an idea or two on how to annoy them since he also finds it kind of entertaining. Once you guys are together, he also struggles with showing proper emotions, so instead he writes you little notes telling you how much you mean to him instead, hoping that gets the point across as best as he's trying to do.
If it makes you feel any better, this man probably laughs at the video of the falling waffle, so if you ever wanted to share any sort of obscure thing you like then you definitely might share the same sense of humor. Sure he takes his time being able to be open with you, but once he feels like you guys have had enough time hanging out with each other, Its like seeing a flower bloom with what other stuff he shares with you. He doesn't mind if you needed more time until you feel comfortable with him, he's a sniper so of course he's learned the art of being so patient with you as long as you need him to be.
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rakruined · 3 years
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Okay but the Druid's new Circle of Stars subclass got me wondering if I should make a DnD Stolas build for shits and giggles
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anxiouspotatorants · 3 years
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It is time. It is finally time for the new Suicide Squad rant (and spoilers will be plentiful):
As someone who was into DC Comics and comics in the mid to late 2010s and had so much hype for the first Suicide Squad movie only to be let down, I was so nervous for this one. I knew it was going to be a roller coaster, but whether I would come out happy or disappointed was up in the air. Having just seen it I will say this: I have no idea if this was a good movie-movie. It was insane. The comedy. The violence. The high emotion. I’m still trying to take it all in. But one thing I do know is that this is an amazing Suicide Squad movie. Gunn and co took the best parts of the comic concept and went batshit with it and that is how this property should be handled (in my opinion). Screw edgelordisms, we need full on insanity free of aiming for shock-value or sexy brutality we want chaos baby.
Starting the whole movie as they did, with Savant as the POV for a mission (or part of the mission) that just goes to hell immediately and kills off so many before the title arrives is the perfect way to start this movie. Like the second I realized this was how they were doing it I was just smiling from ear to ear, this is the spirit of the property.
Part of me wishes we got more Amanda Waller, but what we had was impeccable. Then again, this is Viola Davis we’re talking about, and if she was born to play any character in a superhero story, it is Amanda Waller.
And points to her tech team, introducing them with the death bets was just a lovely way to show how regular this is and how awful everyone is in this movie.
I’m not going to pretend like Deadshot and Bloodsport didn’t have the exact same character- and plot premises… but I will say that Bloodsport felt better executed.
I love that they kept some of the past members and not just Harley. Rick Flag got to have a full personality and interactions with his team members and to be a true leader and it made me so happy for someone who initially did not give a single shit about his character. The Harley friendship? The Dubois friendship? The friendship with that guerilla leader? Amazing. The one American soldier in fictional media I genuinely like. You go Mr Flag.
The new members were… they were insane in the best way. Gone are the shitty stereotypes and present are some of the wackiest creations to ever grace the mainstream movie-sphere (aka the slightly less normal comic creations): A man who has to shoot out polka dots two times a day so as not to die from a space virus. A giant child murdering weasel. A guy who detaches his limbs and slaps people with said detached limbs. King Shark. The second person to command rats with a fancy gadget. They are all crazy and all weird and all more or less morally repulsive people and I love them.
The amount of times I did a double take over the soundtrack I swear. Jessie Reyez? The Pixies? It was so much fun to pick up on once I did.
Was the depiction of a vague Latin American country stereotypical? Yes. Was the secret American involvement predictable and felt mildly patronizing from a non-American, part Latina point of view? Yep. But damn it if I didn’t have a good time with those stereotypes and laugh my ass off at how well executed some were. I don’t know if it was meant as parody, but that one secretary has me thinking so — and if so I am pleased.
Speaking of Latino dictators Harley’s one day romance with one of the villains was something I never knew I needed. Like it was so perfect for Harley that when it happened I almost hit myself for not realizing that this kind of plot should be a normal thing for Harley. And the end of it? Perfect not only in this standalone movie, but also in conjunction with the first and with BoP.
The Taika Waititi cameo??? Oh my god??? I did not expect that and I love it?? Sir, What We Do in the Shadows is impeccable.
Rick Flag’s death actually surprised me. It shouldn’t as this is Suicide Squad, but I kind of expected him to be on Harley’s level of unkillable (because let’s face it, no one kills Harley). What I will say is that his death was good and his final words and actions made me love him all the more. I hope this spawns more Rick Flag content, or at least inspires me to look at what already exists, if he already is as this movie made him (it’s been ages since I read one of the Suicide Squad reboot comics okay).
Starro. How can a villain be so wacky and so terrifying at the same time? I did not expect a literal alien starfish to have more terrifying powers and a more tragic plot execution than Enchantress. But here we are. And that damn star just wanted to be floating in space, and instead it was stuck getting revenge by killing and puppeteering human corpses. Wow that thing was creepier the more you think about it.
I don’t know what I think about Polka Dot Man. I loved watching him on screen but also damn those mommy-issues were on a new level. Not just in his backstory but how he literally sees her in every person around him that was insane. Very funny but like also the kind that makes you laugh just because you’re uncomfortable and don’t know how else to releive the tension.
When Waller got knocked out by a staff member I immediately thought «oh my god Amanda Waller is going to kill half the staff for this», so I’m mildly surprised and disappointed that I didn’t get to see that happen. But also I should maybe expect something like this in a potential future Suicide Squad movie. We can’t have everything in a movie as packed as this.
Peacemaker was very horrible and worked really well. Don’t really have much to say about him, not because I didn’t enjoy him but because I already feel like the film itself has said it for me. But the planting and payoff for his death? Chef’s. Kiss.
Harley’s wardrobe was beautiful. Ratcatcher 2’s combat outfit felt like a steampunk plague dream. Bloodsport’s mask was supercool. Rick Flag’s t-shirt was amazing. But the best little outfit was the Mafalda-keychain and her red dress, hands down. Oh and King Shark’s fake moustache finger moment.
King Shark is shaped like a friend I don’t care how many people he ate alive on screen he looks so huggable. It feels like wanting to pet a bear. You know it will kill you but damn it look at those paws and those cute eyes!
I really need to give it to not just James Gunn but the entire production team for this movie. The aesthetic was perfect. The story was the right blend of whimsical and violent. The finished product was a literal rollercoaster and I mean that in a good way. If superhero movies have to be like amusement parks, I hope they’re more like this one and BoP.
I’ll finish on the note that while I think this movie was great and hopefully a step in the right direction for the DCU/DCEU (as in stop trying to play Marvel’s game and just do your own thing/ let your creative teams run wild and free), it is not the first step. Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey and the production team for it took a step first, and they deserve due credit and attention. If you loved this Suicide Squad movie and haven’t watched BoP yet, do so. Because they really are in the same ballpark while doing things in slightly different ways. And any good DCEU movie deserves more attention so the studios know that creativity and risks should be rewarded. I want more DC movies like this, not necessarily in genre but in creative risks. I want a Black Canary rock movie. I want Alfred in a reverse heist movie alone in the batcave against Gotham villains. I want Gotham Academy on screen play by play from the comics. I want a fully animated psychedelic-like Khalid Nassour as Dr. Fate movie. I want elevated horror movie Constantine. I want weird ass Lois Lane journalist movies with a heavy side of Superman. And I want DC movies I didn’t even know I wanted.
Support creativity in mainstream comic movies. Help me become a DC fan and happy about it again.
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hiiii, is it ok if i ask for clover, herb, madelaine and espresso headcanons? Were they have a lover who has like star magic (probably be moonlight cookie’s child) but they cant go in broad daylight or they will turn to glittering stars?
!MOONLIGHT-ISH!S/O X VARIOUS!
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Written by: 🍡
Fandom: Cookie Run Series
Character(s): Clover Cookie, Herb Cookie, Madeleine Cookie, Espresso Cookie
Warnings: N/A
A/N: I’m so sorry if any of this sounds incoherent I’m writing this at like 1am
CLOVER COOKIE
Look Clover is very much not nocturnal so he can’t really stay up at the dead of night too many times with you
Mans gotta photosynthesize or something idk
But you know what you CAN do
Walk around a shadowy forest hand in loveable hand
And honestly it’s peak date spot idea, imagine: you and your bard bf are walking through the forest, chatting or something, moonlight (or sunlight if you’re daring) filtering through the small gaps in the leaves, top notch shit
Also Clover is absolutely a sap who can and will write a whole soliloquy or whatever about you
V sweet and v sappy if you’re into that
Absolutely adores your magic and probably has a few poems about you and it too
HERB COOKIE
Herb is also very similar to Clover in that he’s not nocturnal and needs to photosynthesize
But he tends to stay up more often than not since he’s also used to staying up at godawful times because his plants are fussy
Plant hoo hoo man does his best to accommodate the whole “sunlight bad” thing
Also an absolute sap and will get you flowers and flower crowns that match your aesthetic and THRIVE in moonlight
Date night aesthetic of just hanging out in the greenhouse or garden and just, leaning or laying on each other, Herb tells you plant facts and you teach him constellations and stars (in general)
The man 100% asked you out with a flower shaped like a Star I can feel it in my HEART
MADELEINE COOKIE
Look he is literally this image in a relationship with you
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That’s it that’s the whole post next-
Jk jk but fr that man would 100% do that when you’re out and about and if you don’t have a parasol or something to keep the sun off of you
Absolute sweetheart, fairy tale knight/prince type beat Y’know? Yeah he has his days where he’s a bit jerk-ish in a sense but he’s trying to do better and that’s what matters
Also the kind of bitch to shout “EVERYONE LOOK AT MY S/O ARENT THEY SO BEAUTIFUL/HANDSOME AND STRONG AND-“
Brags about you to everyone because he 100% believes you two are a power couple
And Yknow what you are
ESPRESSO COOKIE
This man doesn’t sleep either so he’ll stay up till ass o’clock with you
Solidarity
Probably the only one with the ACTUAL resources to figure out some kinda solution to the whole “sun bad” probably
But this man will work himself half to death for it tho so pls stop him or at least get him to slow down-
Espresso probably isn’t like, too outwardly loveydovey and all? Outwardly cool and collected and his usual “hm yes okay” self or whatever
But he’s like a cat in that he’ll give you your space but he’ll show he cares by bringing you food or sharing his coat
Also he’s deeply embarrassed by pda and general affection lol
He WILL shut down completely from a kisse
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Laurel Wreaths & Animal Teeth (3)
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(c!technoblade x fem!reader)
(some people liked chapter 2 so here’s chapter 3. whether or not there’s a chapter 4 is dependent on if this one gets any comments/reblogs.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You’re not exactly sure when your plans for a house shifted from ‘maybe a two story house’ into ‘some kinda roman temple/shrine type building’ instead. 
Probably after the third time you had to tear down what you were building because it just didn’t look right. You’d initially not been able to go anywhere with the white quartz (you’d made a base but it looked stupid so you’d tossed it) so you’d switched it with a birch wood. That was where the problems started. First you’d tried your hand at making a cute little cottagecore house, but it just didn’t look cute to you and instead came out kinda frumpy? So you scrapped it, even though it pained you. 
“Hours wasted.”
Then you tried making another house, this one taller and with dark wood. But it ended up looking like some kind of Viking home, no matter how much you tweaked it, which totally clashed with the vibrant floral scenery around you. It would work better in a snowy biome. So you’d scrapped that one too, none too happy either.
“Why do I suck?”
Then you’d tried your hand at making a cute mushroom house! But…. it was awful. No matter what you did it just didn’t look right?? You tried making the stem ‘natural’ like it would look in minecraft but then it looked too artificial to you. Then you tried making it look more normal but then it just ended up looking wonky. Long story short.. you hated it. You scrapped it, maybe a little more angry than the previous two times. That was when you’d gone back to the white quartz blocks.
And you started with a huge square, then that sorta morphed into a circle. Or as ‘circular’ as this world’s building blocks could get. Then it just sorta.. went from there? Before you knew it you had a circular white temple/shrine with a domed and tiered ceiling and four tall stained glass windows with star and sky designs. You’d gotten into the construction as it had begun to be more fun. You’d even hung lanterns by chains from the ceiling in symmetrical points and it gave the whole place a nice vibe you think. Especially when it started raining outside.
Once it was all done to your satisfaction you just sat in the middle of the quartz floor and gazed up at the gently swaying lanterns. You’re glad you’d ended up with this place, it looks pretty and has a calm vibe you can resonate with. 
It would be dawn soon so you decided since you were done you’d go to bed since you had nothing else to do at the moment. Or well that had been the plan until you placed down your bed and couldn’t help but notice how utterly ridiculous a single bed in the corner of this huge temple looked. It actually made you snort before deciding then and there you needed a bed that somewhat matched the temple aesthetic you guessed you were going for now.
-0-
You ended up making this huge canopy bed with curtains and a platform you had to walk up a step to get to the three beds you’d put on it to look right. Under normal circumstances you’d not like such an overly lavish bed but it certainly fit the almost regal aesthetic your new temple home had. Which was just fine you supposed, it’s not like you were opposed to it. Just not what you’d planned to do from the get go.
Only problem now was.. the place still looked weirdly empty of life. Like one of those barren ‘minimalism’ nightmare homes rich people get off to. So you went through the inventory and started looking for stuff to decorate with. On the wall to the left of the entrance you set up an area for a brewing stand and cauldron as well as an ender chest, mostly just because it looked cool with the purple particles. You also hung up some item frames on the wall by the quartz counters you set up and picked out a bunch of pretty colored potions to hang in them.
Then on the opposite wall you made a little library with an alcove in the middle for an enchantment table. With a lantern on top of the bookshelf next to the crafting table and clay pots of flowers on the uppermost bookshelves to give the area a nicer look. You even added some fluffy carpet in front of the area to enhance the comfiness. And when you went over to the front door and then turned to look at the whole space you smiled because it really did look good. Larger than you’d intended, sure, but also very comfy now too.
You think you’re done with the inside until you look up at the bare walls between the stained glass windows. They were a little… naked. So you tried hanging up some paintings but… they looked terrible. The ‘round’ angle of the windows kept the options for what paintings you could put up pretty narrow. So you forgot that idea and instead tried putting up item frames! But you put some up and disliked it almost immediately. It felt way too busy so you got rid of those too. 
You were getting tired of decorating so you just grabbed a random banner (purple because why not?) and then you grabbed a handful of different colored dyes before pulling out a loom. You tried a bunch of different designs, threw out most of them because they either ended up with ugly clashing colors or looking way too busy. But you finally settled on one that was a purple banner with an orange gradient coming up from the bottom and finally a gold sun right in the middle. It looked very pretty, like a sunset!
Once you were happy you hung a couple inside then on a whim you even hung a couple outside your door on either side. It made the outside look prettier in your opinion so once you were done (for real this time) you went and just flopped into bed, not feeling more than a touch tired but with nothing else to do at the moment. So you snuggled into your big cozy bed and drifted off to sleep~
-0-
Days passed since you built your home and you kept up work around the village, planting bamboo and berry bushes in a wall around it in a circle as a form of defense against the Illagers. They were kinda jerks and seemed to only want to kill villagers. Which wasn’t cool. And yeah you could have dug a moat or pit around it instead you guessed but you didn’t want any of the villagers falling in and you felt like they would… 
So a wall of bamboo and prickly berry bushes it was. And it works! And looks dope. So win/win.
And it was as you were on your way to put some lights at the bottoms of the ponds and rivers that you noticed it from the corner of your eye. One of your sunset banners! But it was hanging up outside of the weaponsmith’s place instead of on your temple home where you knew you left it. But then you noticed another one hanging up outside the stonemason’s workshop…
You look over at your home up on the hill and see your banners still in place. And you know none of them trudged all the way up there just to steal one from the inside so you decide to investigate more in the village. And the further you walk in the more banners with your pattern on them you see. Actually every building you pass has at least one hung up somewhere near the door. You blinked before chuckling a little and thinking to yourself,
‘Oh! They all must have seen the banner I made and liked it! So they made their own to hang up. That’s actually pretty cute. I’m glad they like it.’
You were blissfully ignorant to the fact that the villagers have started to see you as their saint of sorts. Their goddess of prosperity and kindness. Without whom they would still be lost and living in pathetic huts and with no drive to acquire a skill and better themselves. They honestly look back on those times as such a dark period of their lives. When they were ignorant of their own abilities without your blessing to guide them. They owed you their lives and they wanted to show their thanks to you.
So when they saw you put up your sunset banners on your temple they quickly went to the shepherd and asked him to make them some just like it! And the shepherd, with his skill being a master thanks to your wonderful trading help, was easily able to craft such banners. Every villager had at least one by the time the sun was going down, all of them proudly being hung on the outsides of their homes and work buildings to show their allegiance to you!
But it wouldn’t stop there. The villagers wanted to give back even a fraction of what you have given to them.
-0-
In the following weeks you definitely noticed the villagers acting… odd. It started small at first, with them each coming to you and giving you gifts. The shepherd gave you a pair of blankets that were beautifully crocheted with this fluffy wool yarn, one that’d been dyed a soft baby pink while the other was a soothing sea foam color. You thanked him with a smile three times over and he seemed endlessly happy you liked them. You took them home and laid them across your bed and liked the pop of color they provided your space.
Though after that the farmer and leatherworker both met you at the entrance to your temple and each gifted you some things they thought you’d like. The farmer happily handed over a full basket of freshly baked bread along with another basket containing a bushel of golden carrots and almost a full melon’s worth of glistering melon slices. While the leatherworker offered up a pair of dainty leather sandals that looked like they would lace up your legs to just below your knees. And also what looked like a prettily crafted leather utility belt! It had lotus details and golden studs and buckles on the front and back. And one large pocket, one medium zipper pocket, and two smaller pockets. You loved all of their gifts and thanked them both over and over while safely putting the food away (and maybe eating some bread right then) and putting the slippers and belt on. 
You were beyond grateful and thought that was the end of that.
You… were wrong.
-0-
As the days turned into weeks you were lavished with more and more offerings. It took you a while to realize that’s what they were; offerings. You got a little uncomfortable with all the gifts after a bit but when you started to refuse them the villagers looked so sad so you began to accept them again. Especially after they tried to make ‘better’ stuff for you after your initial refusal, under the impression the last ones weren’t good enough for you or something. It started to get hard to take in all the gifts, because sometimes you weren’t available in the village (you still liked to explore) or because you were working on something and they couldn’t reach you. So as a solution you set up a double chest outside your temple for them to put the gifts in. 
They eagerly adapted to that and each night you’d clean out the chest, putting away practical gifts and discreetly getting rid of ones you had WAY too many of. Like the food. You had a full double chest of food and you didn’t need anymore, but saying so would probably hurt their feelings. So this was the easiest way. Plus a lot of the gifts you actually DID like. Like the sandals, hip pocket belt, and the pretty white dress you were currently wearing. The under part of it was just a simple white sleeveless mini dress that went above your knees (you’re not sure it was that shirt when you first tried it on..) and the over part of the dress was a sheer white maxi dress with loose ruffled sleeved that hung off your shoulders, and a slit on each side that helped with ease of movement.
You’d taken to wearing the dress, the hip pocket belt, and sandals every day. They were all comfortable and looked pretty good on you now that you think about it. Not to mention the fabric was light and breathable too, which helped keep you from getting too hot. You’re not sure what kind of fabric it’s made of, but whatever it is it’s light enough to not make you sweat but it’s also heavy enough to keep you from getting cold when it’s windy. Regardless, it’s your go-to outfit these days.
But aside from the offerings and stuff, you had to sit down and really examine your current position. You really took the time to pay attention to how the villagers were treating you. And you eventually came to the conclusion that they were treating you like some kind of saint or deity. They gave you the best of their wares as offerings, they took on your banner as their own (presumably as a show of loyalty), and they almost seemed to worship the ground you walked on. This isn’t even mentioning the statues that they’d put up of you… Like, they were good! Very well done and made of polished white quartz but.. it was still strange. Though like everything else you can’t say you weren’t getting used to it all.
You sighed and rolled with it. 
-0-
You realized one day you’d never been to the Nether. And you wondered if the rules here (like mobs not bothering you) was also true there? You couldn’t deny you were sorta excited to go see, but also scared. You HATED the freaking Hoglins when you played Minecraft before this place. They were always so aggressive and you can’t count how many times they’d killed you, the bastards. But your curiosity won out over your anxiety so you grabbed the enchanted diamond pickaxe you’d been given and then paused while grabbing a stack of gold bars.
“Wait I need to wear gold right? Or the Piglins will be all mad,” you said as you grabbed a gold helmet from your inventory.
You thoughtlessly went to put it on but jerked the helmet back when it clanged against something hard. Something hard that made you wince as a small shock of pain went through your skull. A curse left your lips as you asked out loud what the fuck THAT was about. You were in the middle of trying to come up with an explanation when you reached up with your free hand and flinched when it came into contact with something on your head. Something that 200% was NOT your hair or skull. Panic bubbled inside you and your stomach sank into your feet as you whipped the gold helmet up to look into its polished surface to see yourself.
Horns? Little blunt horns… On your head. 
With a shaky hand you reached up, sort of hoping this was just a dream. But when your fingertips brushed against the soft velvety texture of the horns your breathing grew faster and you pulled your hand away like you’d been burned. You dropped the helmet, not even hearing it clatter against the floor as you stumbled back, nearly tripping over the step that led up to the platform your bed was on, but you somehow managed to get to the bed and sit down.
Before you knew it you’d burst into tears and buried your face into your hands, sobbing and unable to cope with this new fuckery. 
You’ve had to deal with so much weird insane shit since ending up here, wherever the fuck HERE was. You were honestly so tired. You’ve done your best to stay calm, stay sane, and just keep going. And for the most part you have! You focused on surviving, building, and dealing with the villagers. You’d probably feel silly for breaking down over some dumb horns later, especially after you’d barely batted an eye over your weird ears, teeth, and EYES. But the breakdown was probably more to do with life deciding to give you another slice of bullshit despite your overflowing plate. At least that’s what the logical part of your mind was thinking.
But the illogical part, the emotional part, was just so done. So you cried and cried and cried your very soul out until no sound was leaving you anymore. And then, once you were cried out and exhausted you weakly crawled onto the pillows and just passed out. 
You’d deal with this new shit later.
-0-
Far on the outskirts of the opposite side of the village from your temple a young boy with golden hair stumbled across the entrance to said village. 
He’d never seen this village before and was curious. He’d have gladly stormed in and started going through villager chests for loot but it was getting close to dusk and his older brother said he needed to get back asap. Now usually he’d shrug off his brother’s bossy nature but he’d sounded worried so he decided to hurry and get back before it got too late.
But before he turned and left he marked down this village’s coordinates so he could get back to it later..
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corpsedaydream · 3 years
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paint wars part 2
OKAY HERE IT IS! PART TWO TO PAINT WARS
if u haven’t read part one, i’ll link it right here
word count: 3k (yikes it’s a long one)
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paint wars part 2
Things had been rough lately.
Real fucking rough.
You missed Corpse so much. You hadn’t spoken to each other since that fight at his apartment and that was fifty-four days ago now, almost two thirds of a season you’d been without him.
“I miss you.” You spoke aloud into the emptiness of your apartment, noting that the time on your phone now said 12:01am. It was officially now day fifty-five without speaking to him.
You swiped away all your notifications on your lock screen, ignoring everything and everyone that was trying to reach you right now so you could look at the person who was ignoring you. You wanted to look at the photo that was still your wallpaper. That first photo you’d ever taken together.
You went to change it on day thirty-eight of not speaking. On night thirty-seven of not speaking you’d gone out with your friends, they’d finally convinced you after a whole month of trying and you got absolutely wasted. So of course you’d called Corpse. But he didn’t answer, not any of the fifteen times you’d called. So that next morning, when you woke up hungover and saw that same lock screen photo and not one response from him, you told yourself you were going to change it. You tried to tell yourself you were angry, but it was just a coping mechanism to ignore the hurt that had been tunnelling through your heart since being without him. You spent an hour scouring tumblr and twitter for some aesthetically pleasing lock screen, but you didn’t save a single one. Nothing could compare to that photo of you and Corpse.
You then started to wonder if he’d listened to any of the voicemails you’d left the night before. You couldn’t remember them exactly, but you knew you definitely left four of them and how badly you wanted to know if the curiosity became too much to bear and he’d listened to them.
And he had.
On night thirty-seven, while you were out drinking, Corpse was in a deep sleep. He hadn’t been sleeping a whole lot lately, so finally, he’d crashed hard that night and slept through the calls you’d made to him. But even though he wasn’t aware of the calls in his sleeping state, you were still present in his dreamland. Every adventure his brain took him on was with you, maybe it was something that kept him asleep, the fact that you were right there in this fantasy. You were talking to him again, he could see your smile, hear your laugh, reach out and grab your hand, he could kiss you again. It was happiness. But then he woke up and he went to reach out for you in his bed, still caught up in the false wonder his dreams had provided him, only to find it was just him and reality slapped him fully awake. You weren’t there with him. You hadn’t been for a number of weeks. He missed you.
On day thirty-eight, when he spotted the missed calls from you on his phone, he cursed himself for being asleep and missing it. But would he had answered had he been awake? He wasn’t sure. So instead, he heard you speak to him for the first time in so long, even if it was through a voicemail you had left in the space of him not answering your calls.
“Oh, fuck- oh my god.”
That was it. That was the first voicemail, there was a lot of background noise but he had heard you so clearly. In your drunken state, you didn’t know what to say, so that’s what you had left with him, until you called back and left another.
"Hi.” You started it simple. He had the phone clutched so tightly in his hand, the device pressed so firmly against his ear, he didn’t want to miss a word. “I- I don’know what to say.” He noticed the slight slur to your words then, you were drunk when you had called. “I’m’a just go.”
You hung up again, but alas, there was another.
“Can I just ask... are you ignoring me?” Your voice was so meek, his chest hurt at the sound of it. He almost went to say no, but this was a one sided conversation, he’d missed the opportunity. “I miss you.” You hung up again, and he had to stop himself from replaying it over and over again to hear you say that you missed him.
But there was one last voice mail.
“I should stop calling, huh?” You sighed and he could picture you with a sad pout, your eyes all droopy with a mix emotion and alcohol. “But, I just want’a talk to you.” You confessed, then he heard another voice call your name in the background before they spoke to you and he listened. “(Y/N)! Here you are, what are you doing? That guys wondering where you are, he’s fucking hot-”
Corpse hung up then, he didn’t want to hear anymore. Jealousy was surging through him as the unwanted images of you with someone else plagued his mind and he threw his phone across his room. Wishing he hadn’t of started listening to those fucking voicemails.
What he didn’t know, though, is how the rest of that last voicemail went.
“I really don’t care.” You’d told your friend at the mention of the guy. Yeah, he was attractive and he was buying you drinks, but you wanted no one except Corpse. “Give me a sec.” You’d told your friend before walking away again, bringing your phone back to your ear to talk to the only person you wanted to talk to right now, even if he wasn’t on the other end of that call. “I hope you didn’t hear that, but if you did, don’t worry it. I’m g’na go home now.” You sighed and looked up at the night sky, there was no shooting star, or really any stars at all because of the light pollution from where you currently were, but you were still wishing that by some magic happenstance, Corpse would pick up his phone and speak to you again. “I wish I was going to yours.”
On day thirty-nine you cried so hard. You thought you had made it past this violently sobbing stage, this was exact state you’d cried yourself to sleep to each night for the first few weeks. Your heart was in so much pain, it was torn apart and you swore only one person had the power to stitch it back together, but he wasn’t there. You hadn’t heard a single thing from him. Were you two still together? Had you broken up? You weren’t even sure. But on day thirty-nine you cried that hard again because Corpse hadn’t responded at all to your calls or voicemails, so you convinced yourself he truly wanted nothing to do with you.
You’d been avoiding searching his name on social media, knowing it would send you into a spiral and you’d overthink every little thing but on day forty-two you’d noticed on twitter that he was playing games live. He wasn’t live himself, but you watched someone’s stream just to hear him again. You cried again doing this, because he was being exceptionally quiet, he wasn’t his normal self, he barely laughed once.
You wished you hadn’t clicked on it. The guilt you felt was already immense, but hearing him so not like himself made you feel even worse for causing all of this. You stopped watching, you couldn’t bear it. You knew you were to blame for all of this, you pushed him too far, you couldn’t believe how stupidly you had acted, you knew better and you did it anyway. The self attacking thoughts kept swirling your mind until you gave yourself a headache.
On day fifty-six of still not talking to each other, you ventured out to the beach with just your best friend. She’d been there for you a lot lately, she also felt bad about that night, but you tried to assured her it was your own fault. She didn’t know Corpse like you did, she didn’t know him at all, that’s why you felt to blame for not stopping the idea before it was too late.
“You should put sunscreen on.” Your best friend told you. You were laying on your towel in the direct sun, enjoying the warmth blasting into your skin, you hadn’t been to the beach in such a long time.
“Yeah.” You answered her, but you knew you weren’t going to. Another time, you would have, you knew the familiar sting of sunburn well and you normally put it on to look after your skin, but you hadn’t really been taking care of yourself too well lately, you just didn’t care enough.
On night fifty-six, you stood in front of your bathroom mirror looking over your body. You’d spent a lot longer at the beach than you realised and now you were burnt so badly and as red as a tomato. “Fuck.” You said out loud, turning and looking over your shoulder to inspect your back, it was just as red. You should’ve worn sunscreen. You left your bathroom to go find your aloe vera plant, only to find that it was dead. “Fuck!” You repeated, the one hope you had to help heal your skin even slightly quickly vanishing. “Oh, fuck. What am I going to do?”
That’s how you found yourself heading towards a 24 hour store to purchase whatever aloe vera cream or gel you could find, you knew it wouldn’t be as good as the plant itself, but you needed something. It was late and you were anxious as you neared the shop, you knew about this place from Corpse, he would often go there at odd hours to get whatever he needed. It was close to his place and you hadn’t driven around this area since that disaster of a night.
You squinted your eyes as you walked in and the harsh fluorescent lights pierced into your eyes after walking in from the night time. You were walking quickly and you told yourself it was because you were embarrassed about your skin being so burnt and you didn’t want anyone to see you like this, but it was really because you were so anxious over the thought of who you could potentially run into in this shop. Your swift steps brought you to the skin care isle and you let your eyes scan the shelves for the aloe vera you so desperately sought out.
“(Y/N)?”
You froze completely and you swore you even felt your heart stop beating. Hearing his voice speak your name again felt like lighting had struck right through you. This couldn’t be real, this had to be your imagination playing some sort of sick joke on you. Slowly, you turned towards the direction his voice had come from and sure enough, there he was. Dressed in all black, a beanie on his head and a mask over the bottom half of his face, your eyes locked with his. There was a pull in your chest, your heart had heard him, too and it wanted so badly to be with him, to be healed by him. You had thought up this scenario a million times over these past fifty-six days, of what would happen had you and him had a run in like this and in every single one you had so much to say, but right now, you were speechless.
Before you had a chance to even try to say anything if you managed to stop being stuck in silence, Corpse spoke again.
“Fucking hell,” He neared you and you sucked in a quick breath at his sudden movement. “Look how burnt you are.” You were wearing tights and an oversized hoodie, so your entire body was covered, but your face was just as burnt and clearly he had noticed. 
This was another aspect that didn’t fit into your scenarios you’d thought up about this moment. You’d imagined you would’ve look amazing. But instead of looking like some beautiful mermaid, you were the same colour as Ariel’s hair from The Little Mermaid. “I know, don’t look at me.” You huffed and dropped your head down, letting your beach waved hair fall around your face.
“You didn’t wear sunscreen?”
“Obviously not.”
“That was silly.”
“I know.”
“Are you sore?”
“Yeah.” It felt so natural to have this back and forth with him. It was brief, but it was enough for your heart to kick back into gear and speed up.
He stayed silent for a prolonged moment so you looked back to his face and his eyes were on your face but it was his turn to glance away then and you took the opportunity to really soak in his side profile. You’d even missed just being able to look at him. 
“Why are you here?” He asked you.
“I need aloe vera and I knew this place would be open.”
“You’re not using your plant?” Butterflies fluttered inside of you that he remembered a simple mundane fact that you preferred the healing touch of the actual plant for sunburn as opposed to what was bought at a store in a bottle.
“It died.”
Corpse suddenly looked back to you and much to your surprise, he laughed.
“Why are you laughing?!”
“How do you kill a succulent?”
“You know I’m not good at gardening and shit like that.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d be able to kill a succulent.” He laughed harder and you started to smile, he was teasing you but it felt so right. And hearing his laughter filled you with a warmth you’d been missing.
“Shut up.” You told him, but you were beginning to laugh too. “It’s hard to keep plants alive.”
“(Y/N), succulents are pretty much impossible to kill.”
“Okay, I get it, I didn’t purposely murder my aloe vera plant.”
“Oh, baby.” The pet name slipped so easily from his lips but it caught you both off guard, so the both of you stopped laughing and your postures stiffened.
Briefly, your eyes met but each of you darted your vision elsewhere. However, neither of you made no effort to move away from one another.
“Sorry.” Corpse said softly.
“It’s okay.” And it was, so okay. You wanted to tell him that hearing him call you baby was all you’d been wanting to hear again over these almost fifty-seven days without him. “I should really get this aloe vera gel on me, though.” You really didn’t want to leave him, but you couldn’t stand in this store forever.
“Are you sunburnt all over?” He asked.
“Yeah.” You sighed
And just as instinctively as the pet name had slipped out, his hands started to move towards the sleeve of your jumper. But he stopped himself when you flinched slightly and he quickly realised what he was doing. “Sorry, can I see?”
“I mean, you can, but I don’t want you to do it because it does really fucking hurt. That’s why I jumped, not because I don’t want you to touch me.” You answered him quickly. “I do want you to touch me- wait, I mean, no.” If your face wasn’t already red from the sunburn, it would have become red then from the blush you could feel forming. And if your skin wasn’t in pain you would have facepalmed yourself. “Sorry.” You apologised then.
“It’s okay.”
Shaking your head, you began to gently slide the sleeve of your big hoodie up.
“Fuck, (Y/N).” Corpse cursed, concern filling him as your skin was practically glowing from the burn it had copped. “You can’t do that to yourself.”
“I know.”
“How long were you at the beach?”
“All day pretty much.”
“You’re that burnt all over?”
“Yeah, I mean, some spots are worse. I think my back and shoulders are probably the worst. They hurt the most.”
He moved to step around you then, disappearing out of your sight as he was now standing behind you. “Can I?”
“Yeah, just be careful.”
And he made sure to keep his movements cautious, he decided on looking from the top, his hands grabbing the neck on the back of your hoodie to pull it back ever so gently so he could inspect. His eyes widened in a combination horror, worry and sympathy. He’d seen you get sunburnt before, but never to this extent. “Oh my fucking god.” The contrast between where the strap of your togs sat over your shoulder, blocking a sliver of your skin from the sun to keep it its natural colour versus the red that was brought from the burn was insane. “It looks like someone has painted you.”
“I mean, I guess the sun did. Just in a really painful way.”
“You’re not planning on going to the beach anytime soon, right?” Corpse carefully released your hoodie then and stepped in front of you once more. Distress was so present on his face, despite most of it being covered. He was so worried about you in this moment.
“Definitely not. The only thing I’m planning on is not going outside in any sunlight until my skin is healed.”
“Living like me.”
“Guess so.”
“My aloe vera plant is alive.” He stated.
“Wow, you’re really just going to flex that right now? Trying to kick me while I’m down.” You joked back, assuming he was teasing you.
“No, I mean...” He trailed off, his eyes struggling to stay on yours as he continued. “You could come over and use it, I know you like the real stuff better and I could help do your back, or wherever you can’t reach.” He was nervous, but he really didn’t have to be.
You could feel it happening, your heart beginning to heal.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Do you want to?”
“Yeah.”
436 notes · View notes
worldsover · 3 years
Text
Judgement to the Desiccated ft. Karina
length ✦ 5573
genres ✧ sm type future; asphyxiation; blackmail; virtual_servant!Karina;
✦✧✦✧✦✧
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Air did a poor job of not being polluted so Lee Soo Man flooded the world instead. The man himself certainly must be long gone and could not have been in charge of that decision but the legacy of his company far exceeds the legacy of any other human collective in history. Once on this planet, gas was the fluid of choice for respiration and breathing was an unconscious reflex. Now there’s Aether by SM. How very on-brand of them to have the liquid air you breathe follow perfume naming conventions.
Open your eyes and exit the sleeping chamber. Aether has you work for each inhalation, it desaturates the color of the bedroom—maybe there’s a subtle but uncomfortable tinge of yellow—and it makes your nose itch. Your muscles wield much less force than they used to because of the lack of resistance the fluid provides. Moreover, it smells like hairspray as though the ozone layer is taking sardonic revenge.
Screens impersonating windows track your eyes to ensure realistic parallax, playing the scene of divine blue heavens that could not exist. An azure sky is a reward for those planets that have an atmosphere and a sun for light to scatter. Your walls are either chrome or drywall white and your whole bedroom is plainly decorated just like the day you moved in.
“Etymology of bedroom,” you think out loud, though it falls on no ears.
“Bedroom is a compound noun consisting of bed and room. Bed goes back to Old English bedd ‘sleeping place, plot of ground prepared for plants,’ which goes back to the Germanic-”
Plants and sleep are both strong words to use nowadays. The former doesn’t exist in nature and it seems you’re the only one who bothers with the latter. Faint buzzing distracts you from the AI’s response and signals you to the nano drones that swim throughout the liquid to process carbon dioxide from your lungs. This whole ordeal could’ve been much worse if you didn’t have brain interfaces doing the hard part of controlling your diaphragm. The most you need is a purposeful thought. Still, it gets tiring having to think the same thought every three seconds. In. Out.
Was the metaphorical Soo Man teaching a lesson in perseverance? You love K-pop and imagine it’s how trainees used to practice dancing, singing, being charismatic. Being an idol had to be as natural as breathing air. Inhale and exhale. Right now with any antiquated programming language you clung on to, you could write a single for loop that did the same job. For every three seconds: breathe in, breathe out.
“What’s for breakfast today?” Not loud enough. “What’s for breakfast?” you think it louder.
“Welcome, master. Ae-Karina is ready for service.” It’s quite a kindness for SM to blur the bland dystopia you live in by augmenting reality through your neural device. A bosomy woman in a gold-lined but otherwise modest maid outfit appears from the corner of your eye and she bows. Ae-Karina is bewitching and almost becoming of her basis as its graphics have gradually upgraded over the rotations but you wouldn’t misconstrue the avatar as human.
“I said, what’s for breakfast!” It feels impolite to scream in your head, there’s other residents there, but finally the fridge lights up.
“Of course master. May I remind you eating is unnecessary?”
In. Out. Every day, she does remind you, yes. How kind of the company to put all your nutritional requirements in the new air. Aether goes in then Aether goes out. You wish the thoughts of breathing could fade into the background but they’re just like your cravings for food. Always hungry but never starving, whole though not once satisfied. Your eyes pause at her gorgeous face and she tells you there’s bacon. Take it from your fridge. Bacon goes in. Well, the drones take care of the out.
Your assigned living space is the entire 207th floor of a tower. Two hundred and seven floors below the surface. The neighbor a few floors upstairs says that he thinks living deeper is a sign of status. What a luxury. That guy should check the status of his facial muscles, maybe improve his code that lets him tell lies while he’s at it. A couple hundred flights of stairs to swim up is a useless skeuomorphism of skyscrapers in the days of the sun. In fact they were more than useless, you would've preferred a single vertical hallway as it would have let you propel upwards unimpeded. Each floor is the exact same, a glass door that affords no privacy for its residence, a false tree on each side. At the upper levels, malls, convenience stores and other gaudy retail, but it’s the gyms that mock you that you mock in return. They’re always empty.
Finally reaching the top is no true break even if it is a change in scenery. Inhale. Aether tastes a little different up here. Exhale. Can’t say you like it.
Countless satellites form a parody of the star from which the planet flew away, the false image refracted by the upper boundary of Aether. They can’t take away your memories of this star. Looking up at the sky once blinded you with ultraviolet radiation, burning your cornea. It was beautiful. Now everyone’s decided that if they’re playing the part of corporate dystopia, they might as well fit the aesthetic. In a way, it’s self-fulfilling. They wouldn’t have chosen a neon pink sun to compliment the blue and metallic gloom of the cityscape if it weren’t so ingrained in popular media already.
Still, you would’ve expected Google or Walmart to become the megacorp responsible for the state of the world, not a Korean entertainment company. Must’ve been quite the red paperclip scenario. Instead of material design or utilitarian architecture, tacky artistic structures line the streets. The same advertisements for albums that they’ve been selling for the past however long. It's all so obvious, the city could've been designed from scratch to accommodate new forms of travel and goddamn liquid air but instead they went with futuristic Tokyo.
Dubstep permeates your inner ear implants. A notification informs your thoughts that it’s “Hip-hop EDM dance pop with a strong jungle house groove and urban influences.” It’s dubstep. Liquid carries barely any sound so SM affords the option for implants if you're nostalgic for one of the senses. Even though it’s a slower form of communication than direct neural transfer, the noise comforts you. Of course the company would choose dubstep as their background music, but maybe they make money off refunds somehow. It switches to Ice Cream Cake. Much better.
You walk the not so busy roads towards a short brick warehouse in the distance and heavy rain soaks your clothes. No such thing as weather without the sun and water but it’s all simulated anyway.
A warm Seulgi adlib and you know it’s Psycho that starts playing. No, none of your senses are real. The most you could trust is your vision but even that’s being lied to. You could be living in a vat and fed all these thoughts, but then why make it so mediocre? Not paradise, nor torture but a lukewarm in-between. Guess that's what happens when SM Entertainment manages the post-apocalypse. Good on them for trying. The alternative would be a frozen hellscape without solar radiation. Can’t deny their work with geothermal and nuclear energy to keep the Aether warm so that you didn’t have to live underground for the rest of human history. It’s quite great PR to save humanity.
“Hey now, we’ll be okay,” repeats a few more times than you remember.
The Idea Factory Alpha White Delta Green says the neon tubes lighting the front of the brick and mortar building. Your ID card bears a name but it’s not yours, not until they approve your name change. Those usually get processed faster with how often people liked changing their names.
Sit at a desk with a sterile white keyboard and slick new monitor. Type and empty words appear on the screen: “Think for the many, not for the one. We need to think ahead.” A thumbs up. The company appreciates the input. That’s probably enough work for one day. Some SNSD live stages help the time pass, SM certainly appreciated the streaming numbers and it would net you some social points.
It’s hard to say what comes to mind when they ask you to envision a world without the sun and air, especially since it’s what you’ve known for... Two hundred years? There’s no frame of reference, that much you can tell from when you counted seconds to see how often the satellites completed their orbit. SM really took time to have them propel at random speeds, they love withholding sensitive information like that from citizens. To be fair, time is sensitive. Guess the meaning of that phrase changes like all parts of language.
Look around. Dozens of employees at identical workspaces all try to answer the same questions. Naturally, there’s no need for manual labor anymore but there will never be a replacement for human ingenuity. Nice slogan but you know you’re only here for data. Can’t see a need for customer retention though—what’s the alternative, skip Earth? See you on another planet?
“Hey bro, you come up with anything new?” Dave says. Two desks away, you see the enthusiastic, surprisingly spry man play around with a Newton’s cradle. The balls at each end bounce back and forth, not slowing down their rhythm any time soon.
“I think I got something,” you say, “Earth is not the answer. It can’t be, long term.”
“Ooh, I like that. Actually, I really like that.”
“What are you gonna do, copy me?”
“Of course not. You know how much SM hates plagiarism.” Click. Clack.
“Ha. As if there’s a single original thought left in the world.” Click. Clack. The imaginary sounds of metal spheres bouncing play in your mind. They got the volume wrong, no way it’d sound that loud from that distance. “You’d think with all their resources, they’d have figured out space travel by now.”
“I don’t think they want to leave, bro. Wouldn’t be great for profits.”
Your mouth opens to laugh and causes laugh8942.mp3 to play in Dave’s head. “I love it. SM probably hates that sass too,” you say.
“Oh no, they’re gonna arrest me for thoughtcrimes. Nah, they love creativity, just when it suits them. Also, if they actually did bust you for wrongthink like rumors say, I wouldn’t have this on me.” Dave twirls a finger and points at you and you thank his absurd flair for the histrionic that keeps you amused with such drab work.
“NewDrug.mp6. Would you like to play it?” the dry system voice notifies you.
“Woah woah there tiger, hold on.” Dave must’ve noticed your intrigued eyes and holds his hands up. “You might wanna experience that at home. But if you’re interested in more, ask for chicken parm at the vegan place. You know the one.”
Dave leaves his desk. He doesn’t return. You finish your work. Inspire. Expire. You’d rather not.
In contrast to your commute to work, the roads fill with others on your way home. You have to know. Take solace in the comfort of a bench where a huge McDonald’s arch bathes the surroundings and its people with a yellow glow. Really shouldn’t watch it now, especially if Dave says it’s a home type of watch but you have to know. A family of five watches you pass out. They, along with every other passerby, ignore your still body draped over the chrome outdoor seating as you look like yet another junkie. The title is correct after a fashion, the simulation is some sort of new drug. The details of the exploits that happen in the immersive replay wash over you but you don’t need them to know that it’s the sort of lewd that SM would not allow—at least not publicly and not without the right exorbitant payment.
Suit pants and underwear go straight to the laundry. That must’ve been an embarrassing sight but no one bothered to stop you, so it doesn’t matter. Look up where this vegan place was that Dave so presumptuously assumed you knew about and you find that it’s about four Avengers’ stores down from work. He must’ve eaten there before.
“Yo Dave, just wanna make sure, what’s the name of the vegan place called?”
“What are you talking about, man? You telling me there’s some secret underground farms that SM wouldn’t know about?”
You can’t tell when you got to work, a lack of standardized timing would help as well the haze of living in a monotonous dark. “Nah, I mean, for the-”
“I have no idea,” Dave emphasizes each word, “what you’re talking about.”
“I see.”
Work flies by, unusually.
“Hey, can I get a chicken-”
“Uh, this is Maron’s Veggies Only, it clearly says on the sign.”
Clear your throat. “Parm.”
The shifty part-time worker looks around and rubs his fingers gesturing for money. “No digital.”
Over the counter, you pass him a gold coin stamped with a holographic 1 and he hands you a USB stick and a laptop in return. How old-fashioned.
“It’ll sync with whoever you have set as your avatar experience aspect,” the worker says.
“Thanks.”
Ever vigilant as the patrol is, the alleys are the last place you want to go to hide with the obvious criminal element within them all but you head to one anyway. Dump the anachronistic technology in your storage pocket dimensions. Looking at its contents, you’d have to clean that mess up later, but the more you look like an average slob the better. The biggest problem with the inventories is all the people squatting in them. Inspectors wouldn’t care about the archaic ruins you left in yours.
“Welcome, master. Ae-Karina is ready to service.”
“I’d like to go on a date. A special date.” You highlight the key word special and sit on your living room couch. No one’s going to look in your glass door and regardless, you wouldn’t be the pervert for glimpsing into someone’s home.
“Ah yes, master. Ae-Karina is ready to fully service,” she says with a provocative tint in her tone, her sclera disperses to black to match. A pole drops from the ceiling while parts of her maid outfit dissolve which reveals more of the silky skin of her thighs, her lissom arms and most importantly her overflowing breasts. Ae-Karina wraps her legs around the pole and spins around, teasing fingers trace curves on her body to harden you. Her dance is precise but sultry regardless. She pulls up her short skirt to flaunt more of her ass beneath white panties and then pulls down to flourish her cleavage, not trapped by a bra. “Are you enjoying your maid’s show?”
“Very much so, yes,” you say.
Half of a smile forms before a glitch occurs and she teleports next to you, fully nude. It doesn’t pull you out of the illusion however. You just stare and drink in the splendor of her created body.
“You’re not going to touch?” Ae-Karina says.
A feel of her tits and you find it softer than pillows you used to rest on. Soft isn’t much of a character that exists anymore when the whole world is engulfed in liquid. No one has beds, especially with the rarity of sleep. Therefore, her mounds are a consummate dedication to the texture as you squeeze and pinch at her cute nipples.
Her maid outfit rematerializes as she straddles you. It provides more friction to your pants as she begins her lap dance. The weight of her body dragging across your legs and clothed erection induces your carnal impulses further. If only you could fuck the virtual idol. You have to make do with the imprint of her pussy lips on your bulge sliding up and down. Breath in. Breath out.
Ae-Karina pulls down your boxers and spits on your erection. It's not real but her hands so slick on your cock and you let reality slip. Real is for the past, you have desires gratified in the present. There is no real person nibbling at your neck but your nerves activate in sexual desire without discernment for truth. No, she doesn't love you, but when the voracious mass of ones and zeroes says it loves its master, you say it back.
"I love you."
ILOVEYOU infected ten million computers in 2000. An explosion. Calibration engaging. It’s 1:21 PM, Sunday, July 18, 2286 and hypothetically the sun would be out in its full rage. At this latitude and longitude, you’re at what was once the epicenter of all—Seoul, where a fountain caused a chain reaction allowing the hopeful remnant of a world to exist. It lasted a surprisingly long time without the sun and without Aether but the dying planet would succumb inevitably to the ever-increasing contamination so SM of all corporations took charge. A different kind of chain reaction occurred when they acquired a restaurant chain that discovered the recipe for liquid air. The law is on its way and prepared to punish you to its full extent.
You reel while your ears ring. An even sexier version of the woman you already fantasized about appears from your peripheral vision in the crater of your floor. A skimpy cop outfit, striated with reflective material that seems to wane black at different angles, outlines Karina’s curves. She has a tool belt with absurd gadgets, such as a knife baton hybrid, a taser combined with a spray bottle and a Tamagotchi. None of this is necessary. They could just immediately arrest you, impose limitations on your devices. Sure, SM cloned people to deal with underpopulation, but why Karina would be the enforcer is a whole nother issue. Maybe the entertainment company loves their irony?
“Halt. You’re under arrest. Any resistance will be penalized according to the combined Terms of Service of all SM and SM associated products.”
Fucked anyway, you figure you might as well go for it. Escape into your inventory and only seconds later you’re forced out. You manage to get what you need regardless.
“Violation of access rights will be charged to your account.”
It’s so obvious but there’s a reason you kept so much gold in physical storage. As you swim away, the sides of your apartment start to bubble. Bubbles? Already, your limbs feel unsteady. Something’s wrong in the Aether.
“This is standard procedure for escaping suspects that are indoors. Again, this is all agreed to under the Terms of Service.”
“When the fuck did I ever click accept to that shit?”
“When you were born in this world and decided you want to stay in it,” Karina says out loud. You hear her say it. Your physical ears process the vibrations in the air that come from her mouth. Gravity thwarts your desperate escape as your limp body floats on the limit between liquid and air. The atrophy of your muscles becomes apparent within the gaseous atmosphere. She watches you sink down as the room drains of all the false air though her eyebrows crease when she inspects you closer. Your breaths are involuntary. Despite your muscles shorting out, the force of gravity and the pressure of the gas bearing down on you, you’re breathing and you don’t mean to. Her eyes wander farther down. On your pants, a concrete rod stamps the fabric.
“Oh, you like what you see?”
“Shut up, criminal. Anything you say can and will be used against you.”
“Your pussy,” you say and she scoffs.
“Original.” Karina bites her lip as your erection continues to grow behind its prison. You use all effort to put your hands up.
“Please, miss Karina. I’ve been bad.”
“I could punish you even more for sexual assault.”
“Then do it.”
Heat radiates the room in a way you haven’t felt in a while and droplets of sweat form on each of your bodies, especially on the thighs that her revealing outfit parades. Her facial features contort in deliberation and the wait kills you. You bat your eyes at her before Karina takes off her tight shorts and drops herself into your anticipatory face. This makes no sense but none of this life made any sense so you decide to go with the tides.
Centuries of training your respiration has led to this moment, but when you finally have real air to breathe, you spit at the opportunity and choose to suffocate. Then you spit at her pussy and lap it up. Karina’s nectar transfixes your olfactory glands, for once a smell that isn’t the sterile Aether. Your eyes are mesmerized in parallel because of the perfect design of her pussy, a single crease that leads into her hole that your tongue emphatically explores. Karina spreads her thighs wide to reveal a small nub that craves attention. So give it. Suck and swirl and flick your tongue, and the woman provides you the tight clench of her legs as a gift. And the sounds, rediscovered glorious noise. Loud, almost too loud, and clear is how they assault your ears, even surrounded by the flesh of her thighs. Muffled by the weight of her legs, you hear Karina moan in approval but she’s still clearly in charge with how she chokes you with her legs. This is not about your pleasure but hers, and any satisfaction that you derive is not only incidental but probably punishable by SM copyright law.
Karina squirms her hips subtly on your mouth. Her eyes are sharp and she’s just about to stop your hands from moving but she notices them clasp together.
“I’ll do anything to make you cum, please.” you say sloppily as her pussy juices fill your cheeks and drip down your chin.
“God. I can’t.” She takes deep, contemplative breaths. ”That’s more time added on for inappropriate behavior.” Her groaning and brief squeals make her words sound incogent.
You give her a concluding lick and a kiss on her slit. “So what have you been doing right now then?”
Point to a corner of the room and a subtle red light indicates a recording camera. At once, she pulls out a hose from a pocket that could not fit it and the vacuum submerges the room with noise. Her expression shifts quickly to serious.
“We don’t play games here in SMTOWN unless it’s SuperStar so don’t fuck with me.”
“Look who's trying to be a comedian. How about you fuck with me any further and the video gets released.”
“That’s funny, you think you have any sort of power-”
“Yoo Jimin, I suggest you don’t push me more.”
“Where do you know that name from? Right now.” She weighs herself down on your neck.
“You think I don’t have contingencies for if I die too? Karina, we can make this a  win-win scenario. We both get to cum, we both get to walk away unscathed.”
“Fuck you.”
Your weak arms wander between her thighs. At any moment, a feeble punch towards your face or another ten seconds of asphyxiation and she could call your bluff. Even if you did have the ability to expose her perversions in any way, there would be no permanent recourse, not as long SM was in charge. So it surprises you when Karina takes off her shorts. 
“Goddammit. Your cock just looks too good. And your mouth, how are you so good with it?” Put up five fingers when she motions to remove her top as well, and instead she opts to take off your clothes, seizing your pants and throwing them to join the rubble in the room.
A finger slips in, then two and a third dares. Her flawlessly architected pussy lips clings to your digits and Karina shudders in reply. You explore her wetness and find it’s smooth to the point of having no faults, but her juice inside is gloppy and causes your fingers to stick more than the liquids she spills from her slit.
“Who said you’re allowed to have more?”
You lap up the nectar on your fingers. “Then why’d they make you taste so good?”
Your thumb teases her sweet tight asshole and puts just the slightest amount of pressure on it while you finger her with more intensity. The mass of her butt burdens your torso the closer she gets to orgasm. Her eyelids squeeze close and you see her body ripple in anxious pleasure. Karina shows off her pearly whites, teetering on the cliff of hysteria.
“Yes, yes! I’m so close,” she screams.
"Not yet."
“Fuck." Karina sobs, "God. Damn, fuck I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just fuck me.”
“My pleasure,” you say. There’s no need for you to grab her since she brings herself down to your groin, which you’re thankful for as your arms are as good as jelly now. Fortunately, your cock throbs as hard as ever while Karina’s slit rests on it.
“Say you’ll delete it all, all the evidence, promise me.”
“You’re gonna fuck me first or what?” Your breath hitches while she makes a strangled noise as her velvety walls swallow your cock whole to leave no room for comfort. Her tightness is stifling and you have to start counting just to breathe again.
“One two-”
“Be quiet.”
But there is no quiet when pleas for your cooperation intersperse her excessive profanities when she seats herself into your cock and ricochets up and down. Sweat emanates from her creamy skin while her legs widen to find a better angle for her supporting knees in her cowgirl position. Grapefruit and other citrus mingle with the scent of the sweat, fruits you haven’t seen except on billboards in music videos. As much as your mind crackles and your blood roars for every atmosphere of pressure Karina’s walls provide on each thrust in and out, you can’t help but reminisce on sweeter, more innocent times.
The white fluorescent lights in your apartment sputter. For all the advancements in technology, some among many things never change. Light refracts differently in air, less bright, but you can see the pure enjoyment on Karina’s face no matter the luminescence. Karina slows her ride to pull her hips down harder instead and she jolts when your cock finds the most tender spots inside her pussy and it interrupts her babbling.
Karina almost hyperventilates when she gets up to spit on your cock. She pulls out some kind of meter from her tool belt and sighs when there’s no beeping and you recognize it having to do with carbon dioxide. She gets back to dribbling saliva and the filament trailing down to your shaft mesmerizes you. This spit is real, not simulated, and it wettens your erection in a mix with her pussy juices to paralyze you further in your already listless state. Her bare thighs jiggle and you can’t exert much force with your hands but her buttcheeks are firm with just a bit of give.
“Thank you for this cock, thank you for being bad,” Karina says as you watch her ass sink deeper while her pussy holds your dick taut. She’s frenetic when bounces up and down to play an unadulterated orchestra of slick noises between your groins.
“You’re welcome,” you accomplish getting out the words between planned breaths. Your hands cup her buttcheeks but you fear they may break with how she strikes her ass into you.
Karina turns around once more to give you the spectacle of her facial expressions as she fucks herself into you. Knead her calves laying on your torso and they take no energy to spread them though she brings them back together, compressing your hard shaft within her pussy. A new game you play with her, a separate rhythm of loosening and tightening. Her feet press on your chest to help her bounce, but the way they bear down on your lungs against the timing of your breathing causes you to fumble. Your cock bends straight forward as she plunges herself into you and it sends prickles to your entire skin, making the new angle difficult but worth it. Karina takes your hand and starts sucking on your fingers.
“You want my promise that bad?” you say.
“Yes, as bad as I want your cum. I swear, I need it.”
She draws her knees up to her torso and hugs her legs to keep thighs as tight together as possible. Karina couldn’t keep her word, she was trying to kill your cock with constriction.
“Fuck, your pussy is so fucking tight. God, Karina, fuck. You’re so good.” Even if good isn’t the word you want to use to describe her.
“Do it, please, please. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, baby. Karina can be a good girl, a good maid, a good cop, whatever you want. Just don’t get me in trouble, please.”
Karina’s mouth stops saying words though her lips writhe, drunk in increasing lust. Her cheeks flush, before the rest of her skin joins in redness while she grapples your chest and whatever spare limb she can find. You still struggle wresting control of your body but nature seems to take over when you drive yourself into her and match her needy cadence. The air in the room is replaced by a new air but it isn’t Aether. Passion, sweat, heat and all fluids that you both exude join squelching sounds, slaps and moans in harmonic bliss when her body tenses and she screams. As her body tightens, her pussy especially holds your cock for dear life and endeavours to wring out all your semen as her wetness throbs and spills. Karina starts counting to three repeatedly and you laugh though your amusement quickly subsides when you feel her juices become more viscous and she continues her ride, even in the dying pulses of her climax.
“Was I good?” Karina asks.
Just a moment goes by before you mentally send her a screenshot of all the recordings being deleted. Karina hasn’t stopped fucking you yet so at least it wasn’t a ploy.
“Thank you, thank you, I love you.” The flexion of her pliant legs brings them all the way back to rest on top of your legs. Karina lays prone above you and finally give you a kiss. The citrusy flavor may be closer to lime than grapefruit but it’s been so long that you can’t remember which scent is which. Lips crash and her tongue lashes out at yours trying to establish dominance. Keep still to let her investigate your mouth while her pussy does the same to your shaft.
You savor the way Karina’s top emphasizes the bouncing of her tits synchronous with the rebounding of her waist on your cock, but your mouth waters when she frees them. Take the shortest moment to relish in the sight before Karina smothers you with her plump globes. You wriggle your face to try to breathe. Inhale, up and exhale, down, but all you inhale is the scent of her orbs’ sweat. Her hips undulate with a pace at least double yours breathing and the echoes of slapping flesh resonate throughout the air-filled chamber. The loudness is unlike any you’ve experienced in a long time. It’s almost a flashbang every time her ass slams into your lap, especially as you start to see white when orgasm threatens to overload you with preludial pulses.
The last words you hear infected ten million computers in 2000. Fade to black. Cut. You’re slammed out of existence back into existence as a sun rebirths both within you, heating your core to a dangerous high, and from your eyes, dazzling you in an unforgiving white light. In the throes of unconsciousness relapsing to consciousness back to tenebrosity, your streaks of semen suspend in the Aether like a dead tree resting from the wind. What flashes your mind in its orgasmic state are two things only you would remember, plants and weather. Your hyperventilation is unconscious but not unwelcome, as it’s the first time in a while your breaths were reflexive even in the liquid air. However, basking in your newfound power, you start to choke. Right. You breathe in and out again. In and out. In. Out. In. Out. Back in.
“Replaying KarinaArrestsYou.mp6.” A hint of vexatious glee in the system’s otherwise dry voice. You don’t stop for it.
✦✧✦✧✦✧ 
AFF, AO3
It’s pretty silly but the idea danced around in my head ever since I saw the absolute Black Mirror concept that SM had for aespa and I concur that Karina is insanely hot.
As I’m writing this, this Kurzgesagt video on the idea of a rogue Earth comes out and now I have to rewrite stuff to make it at least a little consistent. I’m obviously already going nuts with all these ridiculous sci-fi concepts but this video almost feels too targeted to me writing this for me to ignore it.
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libraford · 4 years
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We interrupt the feral celebration of ousting an oligarch to bring you a story about Yeehaw and his Branch of Mystery.
  It has been a while since we last had some co-worker drama, but man- has it been a weird summer. I mean... we all had a weird summer in 2020, but I don't think I was really expecting this particular... flavor of weird?
 This is a story about Yeehaw, but it starts off with a story about Aggie.
 Aggie was someone we were excited to hire and part of our excitement was that it's rare to find someone with prior floral experience and we'd concluded at this point that it does no one any good to be picky about new hires in the middle of a pandemic. So finding someone who knew the difference between a carnation and a rose was a big deal for us.
 I say that in jest, but saying that we do 'on-the-job training' means that we've had to explain that yes- the flower in my hand that looks like a carnation is a carnation and not some other flower that looks like carnation but is not a carnation. Floristry is a very straightforward practice and for the most part a rose is a rose and a daisy is a daisy and if someone asks for those things, you give it to them.
 The hard part is, as always, making them look good together.
 Which is why we were pleased with Aggie- who previously did weddings for her friends and seemed to have a basic understanding of how to do things with her hands. We were happy to have her aboard.
 ... until you gave her criticism.
 She made her vases embarrassingly short, and if you tried to tell her how to fix it, she'd snap back with "I'm not DONE yet."
 She was done until you said something.
 If you gave her an order for two dozen white roses, she would take it upon herself to mix white and yellow roses together 'because it looks better.'
 It did not.
 Hashtag: #selftaught
 When a client asks for all white roses, there is likely a reason they asked for all white. Given that 90% of our work is funerals, it stands to reason that they are asking for all white because that is a traditional color for mourning. Working with a client means doing exactly what they asked for. Doing a wedding for your friends may get you high praise from people who trust you to work in the same aesthetic as them, but in a shop setting you are being paid to follow things to the letter. Doing so shows that you can follow directions, and they may come back next time.
 You don't know customer entitlement until you've been torn another asshole for leaving out a single rose.
 This seemed to never occur to her, and so criticism was a painful realization that perhaps she wasn't perfect at an art that was exceptionally susceptible to criticism. There were plenty of opportunities to make something in her own aesthetic, it wasn't like she was being stifled. There was a considerable amount of downtime where she filled the front cooler with her own creations- enigmatically giving each of them their own names like "Autumn Walk" or "First Snowfall." (This is not something that we do, on the whole.)
 Not very many of those sold.
 But I think what bugged me the most is that she only ever designed. She didn't take out the trash, she didn't answer phones, she never helped customers. She just... did flowers. Nothing else.
 Oh... and the chatter.
 "Do you travel? Oh, you simply MUST go to Bali sometime! You've never been to Asia? Well, there's nothing like achieving inner peace at a Buddhist temple on a mountaintop in Nepal. They have temples here in Ohio, but it's nothing like the real thing! You say you've never even been off the continent? Well, what are you waiting for? You only live once, you know!"
 Ma'am... we're in the middle of a pandemic. Ma'am... I only get paid so much...
 While trying to relate, I talked about my summer in Montana and she gave me the BIGGEST stank-face. "Montana? Ew, WHY?"
 Look, lady- I lived on a mountaintop next to an active, world-destroying volcano system. If that's not cool, I don't know what is.
 But thankfully, she only worked on weekends. See, this was her fun job. The job she does to stay social during a pandemic and flex her creative muscles while she makes money at her much more lucrative,but boring,HR job. So I only had to see her twice a month when I was manager on duty.
 Then she got fired from her weekday job and went full-time at the flower shop. Poor thing wasn't used to waking up at 7am every day. She was full of suggestions.
 "I think it would be easier for me if we only opened at like... 11am."
"Don't you think we should be taking proper photos of our work? All we would need is a nice camera and a soft lighting setup. Couldn't be much more than $1000."
"Oh I know! We should be doing inventory on tablets instead of writing things down!"
 Okay, you go buy those things then. It took her about a week of making those suggestions to realize that she wasn't real clear on how things worked around here and stopped. She became quiet, less enthusiastic about her 'fun' job now that she wasn't immediately the star of the show.
 Enter Yeehaw.
 We were excited about Yeehaw, too. He didn't just have experience with flowers- he had experience with a flower shop. He gave a good interview, he seemed like he knew what he was doing and was very passionate about flowers. He was definitely an entire hippie, but about 1/3 of all plant people are. Most importantly, we still had like three spots to fill left from our pre-Covid staff.
 Hired.
 There was an overlap of about a week where Aggie and Yeehaw worked at the same time. His work was... immaculate. Just... astonishingly beautiful work. You didn't even have to show him how to make anything. He just... knew.
 Well, Aggie didn't  like that much- we had only nice things to say about this new guy but all she ever got was criticism. And if we complimented him on something he made, he would give a little 'namaste' bow. And I could see her fuming with rage each time he did this.
 One day, she rushed into the back to take a phone call and any time someone went back there for a vase she would lower her voice as if keeping a deep secret. Twenty minutes later, she called Grandpa into the back as well to discuss something. Ten minutes later, Aggie left the building with her Live, Laugh, Love bag, looking pissed.
 "Where did Aggie go," I asked Grandpa.
 "She got a new job," she said. "Doing HR somewhere."
 "She didn't even say good-bye," Blue said, appearing unsurprised.
 And so we went on with out lives without really putting much further thought into Aggie, apart from the occasional 'you simply MUST visit Bali' line thrown in for bougie emphasis.
 Which brings us to the next part of the story, and that is Yeehaw.
 There are some details to know about Yeehaw that are kind of difficult to fit into a story neatly. Here is a brief list that may come in handy to know later.
-He lives with his mother.
-He drives a Tesla.
-He can afford the Tesla because he was in a terrible wreck that had him hospitalized, and a lawsuit was won.
-Because of this, he has two screws in his head at the temples.
-Unrelated, he has hair that goes all the way down to his back.
- And...
 "Grandpa, we need to tell you something," Blue said. "In private."
 Blue and Kali pulled Grandpa aside while Yeehaw slowly put together a funeral order. "Grandpa, there's no polite way to put this: Yeehaw is drunk as fuck."
 "He smells like whiskey," Kali said.
 "He's stumbling everywhere."
 "And he won't stop... burping."
 Grandpa paused. "There's something I need to tell you," she said, and she reached for a manila folder. "Yeehaw has something called... what's it called..." She leafed through the file and produced a paper, reading from it. "Auto-brewery Syndrome. His body actually produces alcohol anytime he eats bread or sugar. If he's drunk, it's because he can't help it."
 We each had a chance to go over the doctor's note, verifying that yes- that sure does look official. Everyone had questions, but it did answer the one I had about why he was sitting in the break room literally drinking peanut butter from the jar.
 So that was incredibly interesting and we no longer asked about the burping or why he was so slow.  
 However, the fact that he was so slow was extremely frustrating. Our average number of orders runs approximately 100 per-day. This can be eased somewhat when we have a full-staff with five designers- an average of 20 designs per person in an 8-hour day, 3 per hour.
 But it's a fine line some days, and if one person cannot keep up it turns into a struggle for all of us.  
 We did our best to accommodate. We gave him all the day-ahead orders so that we wouldn't be behind and he'd have all the time he'd need to make his gorgeous pieces.
 We were willing to make it work.
 A number of factors came into play one day, but most notably: Yeehaw's Tesla wouldn't start and he had to take the bus. So he was late.
 I think I saw him make one entire item in the two hours that we were in the same room. He went to lunch around 12:30, I took mine around 1:00. I saw him stumble back in from lunch, looking... out of it. Just... absolutely incomprehensible- mumbling, barely upright, his hair out of the bun, quite possibly sleepwalking- who knows?
 I saw him for that brief Sasquatch moment... and that was the last that I saw him that day. It was around 4:00 that  Grandpa asked the question:
 "Where's Yeehaw?"
 And no one had an answer. We all had places that we thought we'd seen him: cleaning the cooler, in the break room, heading to the bathroom... but no one had really... seen him since he stumbled back in around 1:30.
 We checked all these places.
 None of them.
 The person who actually managed to find him was Sarge, who noticed his feet sticking out from behind the bushes behind the building.
 "Huh," he said, presumably. He gave the feet a light kick and Yeehaw slowly sat back up. "Hey dude. You... okay, there? They're lookin' for you inside."
 Yeehaw mumbled something to Sarge and got to his feet, stumbling back into the shop without further interaction. He appeared into the workspace, holding a branch in front of his face for mysterious reasons. There were still twigs entangled in his long hair.
 "Where were you at," Grandpa asked, concerned.
 "Oh, I was in the bathroom," he lied from behind the branch of mystery. "I'm pretty tired. Is it okay if I go home?"
 Bewildered, Grandpa gave him permission to leave. It was soon after he left that Scout found his phone in the empty sink. "Who's trying to wash their phone," he asked in the loud manner that is characteristic of old white men. It rang while in his hand and one of our designers snatched it from him. It was his mother.
 "Hello," said the designer. "Yeehaw went home early, but he left his phone behind. Can you bring it home to him?" Mom agreed, she was just over at Trader Joe's anyhow.
 We thought, of course, that we were doing something smart and nice. Yeehaw's mom looks just about what you would expect the mother of a 30-year-old hippie that drives a Tesla to look. Grandpa, in a polite way, explained that he'd fallen asleep in a bush. To which Mom seemed neither surprised nor concerned about his behavior.
 "Okay. I'll be at Hallmark."
 Somewhere between the bus stop and Bexley, Yeehaw must have realized that his phone was not with him and so he came back looking for it. Despite his mother being literally in the same strip mall as we were, he seemed irritated that we'd taken the initiative to make sure his phone got to him.
 "Well, I bet if you just went down to Hallmark she'd give you your phone and probably give you a ride home."
 He mumbled something and then left.
 This seems like a decent place to pause, because him leaving the second time in the day should be the end of the story. However... at 5:00 in the evening there was still two hours left in the work day and from past experience... that is plenty of time for a lot of things to happen.
 The thing to happen was a phone call.
 "Hi, this is Jade from the main store. We've gotten... some... interesting phone calls. Is there... a... hmm... is there a dead body out in front of your store?"
 Pause.
 "We'll take care of it, bye."
 Who wants to be the one to poke the cadaver on the sidewalk? A volunteer from the audience! Ms Crowe: won't you come down?!
 I have had it planted firmly in my mind that Crowe certainly understands the concept of fear but does not recognize it. Apart from being one of our most reliable drivers, she is also a performer, a street medic, an activist, and most notably... a fire-breather.
 You have your hobbies.
 Point is- she's brave enough to check to see if the person laying on the sidewalk was dead or simply overdosed.
 As it turns out, it was Yeehaw- curled up in the fetal position with his arm covering his face.
 "Hey," Crowe said, poking him with her foot. "Heeeeeeey," she said again but more firmly this time. He moved, blinking in the evening the sun. "Buddy, you can't be laying around on the sidewalk. You gotta move on."
 Again, he slowly got to his feet. At this time, his mother emerged from Hallmark to see him talking with Crowe. A group of four people escorted him into Mom's car while he stopped every few feet to perform another 'namaste' bow.
 You think this is the end. But what have we learned?
 There's always more.
 He came in the next day as if none of this had happened. Conversation was difficult because we both desperately needed to know what the fuck happened and also did not want to trigger something. So we didn't bring it up. He apologized for leaving early: chronic fatigue syndrome, you know.
 Other places would have fired him, but we're a very forgiving workplace. Falling asleep on company time is not, in any way, the worst thing that someone has done at this location while still keeping their job. There was Sugar and her drugs, there was the dude that used the company van to pick up prostitutes (this was before my time), there was the guy that screamed at customers over the phone... it's a long list.
 The primary concern of our employers is whether or not you are a reliable person. If you routinely show up for your job and do the work, you're going to be okay at least for a little bit. And Yeehaw, for all his impeccable fuckery, at least showed up every day.
 We kept this at the back of our minds.
 One day, after the Day We Found Him In a Bush was behind us, one of the designers mentioned that they'd seen where Aggie works now. It was not in HR.
 It was our major competitor.
 Now, Grandpa knows this competitor well. She knows all her competition. It is the nature of a lot of florists to, once they've gotten sick of one place, move on to the next one and spill the beans on their operations there. So Grandpa gets the dirt on everyone.
 This particular shop was very regimented. You don't wing it- you follow the recipe as listed. He's been known to pick discarded flowers up off the floor and tell you exactly how much  money you're costing the company by letting it fall, to the cent. If you get so far as to make casket sprays, he will take your first one and chuck it across the room if it even looks like the stems are in there too loosely.
 This is what I mean about us being an easy place to work.
 Hashtag: #ohfuck.
 People come in and out of your life like that, in little ways. Sometimes you just have to have a little laugh at it. But what I thought was funny was that she felt the need to keep her new employer a secret, as though we would get jealous or tattle. Curious thing.
 Now that the glamour of Yeehaw's arrangements had worn off, we were starting to see more and more odd behaviors that didn't seem completely related to drunkenness.
 "Did you just fart?"
 "No, that was a spider barking."
 Amazing.
 Conversation with him was becoming... difficult. As I sat in the break room with my quick lunch and he drank soup out of a mayonnaise jar, he mentioned his area of study in college.
 "Cognitive Psychology and Hindu Philosophy, huh? That's an interesting combination."
 "Yeah," he said, funneling an amount of squash soup down his throat. "It'll take the rest of the world about 100 years before they catch up to where I am."
 I sat, posed in front of my beef and broccoli which I was eating with a fork, trying to process a logical reason why the rest of the world will be sleeping in a bush in one hundred years. "Uh... huh."
 This was followed by another thirty minutes of silence where I desperately wanted to know what he meant by that but didn't want to be the one to ask him.
 People will tell you that a hippie is generally an ineffective, benign kind of person who chants 'love love, peace peace' in a circle and consider that to be an action for change. But I can say with absolute certainty that I have met some downright egotistical hippies in my life. Those were lessons in bias- which I will have to save for other times.
 Eventually, Grandpa became frustrated with his slowness. We presumed that his speed of choice was a combination of his meticulous nature and his various ailments, but with the Christmas season coming upon us it was becoming much more than a series of symptoms.
 Previous persons who lacked speed were chatty, would play on their phone, or get distracted. But Yeehaw... Yeehaw simply moved like a tranquilized sloth. He slowly picked off each leaf, each thorn, each guard petal and took a minute for each action. He would put in his greens and then contemplate it powerfully for ten minutes before putting any flowers in... slowly.
 In the time spent doing this, I had already made something of a similar size and was starting on the second one.
 It was during one of these times that Grandpa finally said something.
 "Yeehaw, that spray is due in thirty minutes. Is there a way you can go any faster?"
 He looked up from his greens, held one carnation to his face, and said:
 "If you wanted me to move faster, you would pay me better."
 Let me start by saying that we do not get paid well. We don't. Compared to other flower shops in our city, we are probably the lowest-paid. This is something that the company is starting to work on with benefits and raises, but any amount of change takes time. (And its still better paying than when I worked in retail. But that's another book.)
 Yeehaw had been here for exactly one month. I don't know a single workplace that gives you a raise after one month and still lets you sleep on the clock without firing you. He knew what he was getting paid when we hired him.
 So anyways, he slowly grinds down our nerves to a very fine dust- burping, farting, falling asleep on his feet, staring intensely into space, talking about how much he should be making but isn't, bragging about his enlightenment, and generally just slowing down production.
 And then Grandpa had her well-earned vacation week. Blue was in charge for the most part and the week leading up to Halloween is generally pretty slow, so it was a good week for her to have a break with few mishaps.
 Eh... hehe. Yeah.
 Yeehaw... disappeared again. We checked the cooler, we checked the break room, we checked the bushes out back, we checked the sidewalk out front.
 He was in the bathroom.
 So we left it.
 He was still in the bathroom an hour later.
 We had one of the male drivers pound on the door to check on him. When Yeehaw opened the door to the men's room, there was a wad of toilet paper on the floor that he'd been using as a pillow.
 If I may pause here to explain- our men's room is disgusting. I have deep cleaned it several times only for it to become a germ-fest once more in a matter of hours. I don't ask who is peeing all over the floor because, honestly, I have no desire to know what grown man can't aim his willy in the right direction.
 So in order to fall asleep in the bathroom, you have to be willing to sleep in pee. During a pandemic.
 He reappeared in the workroom, put his apron back on, looked around at all of us still working and said: "Wow, it must be really hard to get fired here."
 It was at this point that Blue informed Grandpa.
 "Tell him that he's fired," Grandpa said, clearly 1001% done with this.
 "I'm not going to fire him," Blue said. "I don't think I can fire anyone."
 So she had the driver that found him do it, which was confusing for all of us. He ended up calling Grandpa to clarify. And by 'clarify,' I definitely mean 'beg for his job back.' A synopsis of the 20 minute phone call went like this:
 "What do you mean, I'm fired?"
 "Just that. You're fired. I'm tired of it, Yeehaw. You don't work here anymore."
 "Why?"
 "What do you mean 'why?' You spend all day making a total of three arrangements and then you wander off somewhere and fall asleep."
 "I can't help it if I have chronic fatigue syndrome!"
 "This is a physical job. If your body can't handle an 8-hour shift without falling asleep for two hours, this isn't the job for you. Tell me: where is that fair to the girls that you do 3% of the work while they pick up the slack and you wander off to sleep on the clock?"
 "I simply do not care about them."
 "You don't care that you're shoving all the work on your coworkers, and that's why you're fired."
 "I wish you'd given me a warning."
 "Tell me, Yeehaw: how many employers can you find that will allow you to sleep on the clock for two hours and let you off with a warning?"
 End of discussion.
 Now, you're probably wondering where Aggie comes back into this. Just hold tight, I'll get there.
 The Sunday after he was fired, he came in to pick up his paycheck. I was busy handling a minor emergency where one of our funeral homes forgot to order a spray and I had to make one as fast as I could. We held a brief conversation while I made the spray in a hurry.
 "I'm here to pick up my check," he said while I greened the spray and leafed through the paychecks simultaneously.
 "Here you go," I said, handing it to him without much fanfare. I presumed that he was looking for sympathy or some kind of followup or... I don't know. Sorry you suddenly care about your job?
 "So what are your next plans," one of the designers asked, trying to coax more information out of him while I did the work of three people.
 "It's kind of funny," he said slowly... as he did all things. "I've only ever been fired from flower shops." He paused, thoughtfully. "I think I'm going to go apply to the shop in Bexley that Aggie went to."
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jacqueline wilson’s ‘love lessons’
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tw: abuse, pedophilia, characters making Bad Decisions, long unnecessary spiel about my childhood like I’m running a recipe blog
It’s funny how loads of the authors who helped shaped me into the vaguely humanoid being I am today have names beginning with the letter ‘J’; Judy Blume, Jeff Kinney, John Green, J.K. Rowling (yikes, I know) … and Jacqueline Wilson.
I’ve never owned a Jacqueline Wilson book of my own; they were always borrowed from a friend, or from a friend of a friend, or from a friend of a cousin- you get the gist. Her books, for me, come with an entire aesthetic: something reminiscent of yard sales, and reading under the covers with a flashlight, and being lulled into a false sense of security by the deceptively innocent Nick Sharratt illustration on the cover until someone’s best friend gets mowed over.
So I knew what I was getting into when I picked up Love Lessons. I knew this was going to be Fucked Up; and boy, was I right.
(Here’s the part where I warn you about spoilers.)
From an abusive dad to creepy child predator teachers to slut-shaming and victim blaming, this book has it all.
The main character is Prudence ‘Prue’ King, who is homeschooled at the beginning of the book, along with her sister, Grace. Their parents remain rooted in the early twentieth century, and are very strict about- well, everything. No TV, no computers, not a single mobile phone in the house; their clothing worse than the orphans’ from Annie; and their father remains distinctly distrustful of modern institutions like the school and the hospital; and so on, and so forth.
Daddy King suffers a stroke, and has to be taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, Mrs. King (a floppy, spineless woman who lives in fear and awe of her, frankly horrid, husband) sends the girls to school, behind the then invalid Mr. King’s back. Cue Prue and Grace being the freakshows of the school, with their strange clothing and overbearing mother.
Grace manages to make friends, but Prue remains alone. The kids are dicks, the teachers are dicks… well, all of them but one. And that’s the art teacher, Mr. Raxberry (I just couldn’t get over that name; it seems like something you’d name a mythical plant from Pixie Hollow or some shit. I’m assuming it isn’t an actual name, since the spelling & grammar check on my computer doesn’t seem to recognize it), or Rax, as he’s called.
Oh, yeah; Prudence’s favorite subject in school is art, and she’s a whiz at it. This is relevant, because reasons.
And here’s where stuff gets murky. Prue develops a crush on Rax- which is perfectly normal. I’m definitely no stranger to it; I’ve had crushes on my teachers, my mum admitted she used to think one of her professors was cute. And yeah, as I grew older, I grew out of those crushes and now have a markedly more refined taste in men (unless he’s 5’ 7’’, born in ’97 and named Bang Chan, I don’t want him); and my mum married my dad, so I’m assuming she did, too. Admittedly, now that my dad teaches at a university, it’s icky to think that there might be students who have crushes on him- but I digress.
My point is, loads of us have liked our teachers. But I doubt the majority of us have acted on it.
And Prue actively showing her interest in Rax isn’t the worst part. That’s a spot reserved for Rax reciprocating her feelings.
Guess Ezra Fitz and Ms. Grundy (yes, I watched Riverdale; please don’t cancel me) have a new addition to the Creep Club.
The age of consent in the UK is 16, if I’m not mistaken. Prue is 14. She’s just barely become a teenager, and she’s being preyed upon.
Because that is what Rax is. He’s a predator; he preys upon this vulnerable girl who’s never been in a relationship before- hell, she’s never even had friends- her father’s abusive, so she obviously doesn’t have the best experience when it comes to men- she’s unpopular at school, with the students and staff alike- and he lures her in. I don’t care how bloody nice he is to Sarah, or what a good dad he is (well, he’s really not, seeing as he cheated on the mother of his children WITH A BLOODY FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD CHILD)- the guy’s a fucking pedophile.
I was staunchly stuck at a yellow light with him; like, sure, maybe Prue thinks he’s flirting with her- maybe she’s looking at this all wrong, she doesn’t know how relationships work- see, he drew a picture of Sarah, too, in his secret notebook- Prue’s just reading into this too much- up until he says he loves her.
Dude. Humbert fucking Humbert. She’s fourteen, for Christ’s sake, and you’re married. You have two children. She’s a child. She’s probably closer to your son’s age than she is to yours.
(This is the part where I bury my head in my pillow. And scream. Extensively, and with passion.)
The book does make some genuinely good commentary on slut-shaming and victim blaming and abusive parenting. And on one hand, I can see why so many people find issue with the romanticization of the when I kissed the teacher trope- but I can defend it, too.
The book is in Prue’s perspective. She thinks she’s in love with Rax, so obviously, she’s not going to throw in some valuable moral at the end- because she’s too young and inexperienced to think otherwise. And sadly, there are loads of instances of child abuse that go unreported because the victims just don’t know better.
What I have issue with is how the school dealt with it, ultimately. Prudence, a child, has to deal with the consequences of the actions of a literal child predator. Sure, Rax ‘clears his name’ by cooking up some bullshit story about how it was only a crush and he didn’t encourage it, but you’d think other adults would know better and, oh, I dunno- dig deeper into it, instead of blaming it on a child?
“She says you told Mr. Raxberry you loved him and he held you in his arms and fondled you.”
Which Prudence denies, because, again, she doesn’t know better. She then goes on to say that they did nothing wrong. To which the adult speaking to her, in this case, the principal, Miss Wilmott, goes on to say:
“I’m not sure that’s entirely true… I feel that there are some aspects of your friendship that could be considered inappropriate.”
FYI, lady, he kissed her- multiple times (not that kissing her once makes him any more redeemable), and told her he loved her, and admitted to fantasizing about running away with her and leaving his family behind. Fun fact: do you know Prudence is underage?
You’d think that Miss Wilmott would maybe give this whole fiasco a favorable ending, but it turns out she listens to school gossip;
“I haven’t been at all happy with your attitude. You don’t seem to understand how to behave in school. I’ve heard tales of unsuitable underwear and then a silly romance with one of the boys in your class. I feel that in the space of a few short weeks you’ve made rather a bad name for yourself… I don’t know whether you intend to be deliberately insolent but you certainly come across as an unpleasantly opinionated and arrogant girl… I can’t help feeling that you’ll be much better off elsewhere. I shall try hard to engineer a suitable transfer to another school.”
And then she comes out with this gem:
“If you won’t leave, then I shall have to ensure that Mr. Raxberry finds another position.”
“No, you can’t do that! He’s a brilliant teacher.”
“You should have thought of that before you started acting in this ridiculous and precocious manner. If I were another kind of headteacher, I would have Mr. Raxberry instantly suspended. There could even be a court case. He would not only lose his job, he could find himself in very serious trouble. Did you ever stop to think about that?”
Girlboss, gaslight and gatekeep. The fucking trifecta.
Also, by ‘another kind of headteacher’, does she mean the kind of headteacher WHO DOESN’T LET CHILD PREDATORS ROAM FREELY WITHIN THEIR HALLS?
This bitch is out here blaming a child, a literal child, for the crimes of an adult man.
The only time Prue seems aware of the fact that Mr. Raxberry is actually a very shit person is her immediate thoughts that follow after she tells Miss Wilmott she’ll take the fall;
I so wanted to save darling Rax- and yet why hadn’t he wanted to save me? Had he told Miss Wilmott it was all my fault, that I’d got a ridiculous crush on him, that I’d made ludicrous advances to him? … I wanted to tell this horrible, patronizing woman how hungrily he’d kissed me, but I couldn’t do it. I loved him. I had to help him.
NO, SWEETHEART; YOU MOST DEFINITELY DO NOT.
And maybe I’m going overboard with all these excerpts, but here’s what Rax has to tell Prue, after school, following her expulsion:
“I let her think the worst of you, the best of me, just to save my skin. I said it was ridiculous talking about a love affair between us. I said you simply had a crush on me, and that I was just trying to be kind… You were brave enough to stand up to me and force me to acknowledge the truth… I love you… That’s why I had to take a risk and see you this one last time. I didn’t want you to think I didn’t care… Every night when I close my eyes, I’ll think of us together in this car and how badly I wanted to drive off with you. I’ll imagine us walking hand in hand at the water’s edge… I wish I wasn’t such a coward.”
(I burrow into the pillow further. I’m trying to suffocate myself.)
And that’s where I think Wilson went wrong. Sure, Prudence getting expelled for something that was completely out of her hands is unfair, and horrible, but it’s real. That shit can happen.
What’s bad is showing Rax in a positive light after all that. If only Wilson had written Rax to not be the Romeo he thinks he is. Make him ignore Prudence, throw her under the bus in front of her face, instead of this star-crossed lovers bullshit it’s made out to be. Show your younger audience that Rax is not a good man. I’ve got a little over two weeks left for my twentieth; I can see why this is unacceptable. But I was a little younger than Prue when I watched Pretty Little Liars, and my only gripe with Aria dating Ezra was that Noel Kahn was so much cuter.
It shows when you scroll down the Goodreads reviews; you’ve got adults giving it one or two stars, and teenagers giving it four or five, with their biggest complaints being, “but Toby was cuter!!!”
Other non-pedophilia related complaints regarding the book include: Prudence being unlikable- which I didn’t really notice, considering she reacted to some people way better than I would’ve, even at 19 (which probably says a lot more about me than it does about Prue, but oh well). Still, Prudence obviously isn’t the most prudent of people- and again, she’s fourteen. Look me in eye and tell me you weren’t an arsehole at that age (unless you’re fourteen now, in which case, I assure you that you’ll look back on yourself someday and go ‘wtf was I thinking’). Bringing up Toby’s dyslexia in an argument was low, though.
There were people who thought the Kings’ almost-Amish lifestyle was exaggerated and unrealistic, but I assure you, it may very well be real. There are 8 billion people on the world- it’s fair to assume that several of them are complete weirdos.
Grace was a sweet character, and I adored her with every fiber of my being. As were her friends Iggy and Figgy. Honestly, I would’ve loved a book about Iggy, Figgy and Piggy’s (mis)adventures too.
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et-dah · 4 years
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The Demon Brothers: Creative Outlets Headcanons
they are all immortals and when you've lived longer than you can remember, you're bound to find a creative outlet to destress, alleviate boredom, or you know, to just have fun!
Lucifer
He’s a busy demon. If he’s not working, he's sleeping, or cleaning up one of his brother’s messes, so he doesn't have that much time to just relax and explore his creative sides. 
That said though, it doesn’t mean he has no hobbies at all.
He plays the piano. He used to play it every morning, back when he’s still in the Celestial Realm, when he’d taught Lilith how to play the piano every morning and she’d sat besides him as his fingers moved across the keys slower so she could copy him. 
Nowadays, playing the piano feels very nostalgic and bittersweet, but you’ll hear soft, bittersweet melodies drift from the music room once in a while.
He also composes his own music, but that's an even rarer occurrence. The last time he created a new music piece was centuries ago. 
(Ever since MC came to Devildom though, he's been itching to write music for them.)
Practices calligraphy for fun. He has a whole set of brushes and ink and lettering pens. His handwriting is already beautiful but his calligraphy is even more amazing.
Another thing he does is gardening. He's got a great eye for landscape architecture, he's the reason why the house's backyard is pretty. 
He plants decorative plants and likes to cross breed flowers so the House of Lamentation's backyard is full of pretty shrubs and unfamiliar flowers. 
He is usually joined by Beel as he is the other brother that finds gardening very relaxing.
Mammon
He definitely shows his creativity by coming up with the most absurdly brilliant, out-of-the-box, original schemes to make money.
Mammon can draw, like really good. His drawings are very realistic. He prefers to use traditional media: charcoal pencils, graphite sticks, blenders, erasers, drawing pens, brushes, and maybe some watercolors.
He usually does architecture sketches.
But if you check his drawers, you’ll find several sketchbooks of his brothers in different candid poses. MC alone has taken up three whole sketchbooks. Mammon makes sure MC doesn’t see those sketches though.
Crashes Asmo’s Art Day regularly, claiming that if Levi’s invited then the Great Mammon should be too. Asmo and Levi always complains but they let him stay anyway.
Mammon also has a natural talent on jewelry making and metalwork. He makes jewelry from buttons, beads, pearls, diamonds, and crystals. From small pendants to elaborate neckpieces, simple anklets to ornate hairpins. 
Mammon has made metal bookmarks for Satan because the book lover always misplaces his bookmarks or destroys them in fits of rage when he doesn't like a book's ending.
He sculpts wood. It takes him months to finish one small piece because he only does it when he's really, really bored, he prefers to make his much more profitable jewelry. 
He keeps all of his sculptures in his room, small and detailed pieces of wood engraving of Devildom native animals lining up on one of the shelves.
Leviathan
This is canon but he draws! He doesn't think he's very good at it, but he really enjoys it. 
Unlike Mammon who likes to draw with his charcoal pencils and drawing pens, Levi prefers to draw digitally. He still switch to traditional media now and then though.
Has a monthly scheduled “Art Day” where he and Asmo hang out together, Levi draws with his sketchbook or his drawing tablet and Asmo paints. They basically just gossip and hype each other’s art.
Dabbles in making short animations but feels like it’s just not something for him. He makes short comics though.
He wants to be able to make his own video game someday though. Maybe after he learns programming.
He makes the most detailed cosplay outfits for his own cosplays. He sews really good and patches his brothers clothes when they ask. Where do you think Asmo learns how to sew his own clothes from?
Really good at dancing and he really likes it too. He's a natural at it. From the most intricate traditional Devildom dances to freestyle dancing. He can make new moves on the spot and can copy any moves from one look.
He’s a shy baby though, you’ll rarely see him dance when he’s sober.
Except when he’s playing DDR (Demons Dance Revolution). Then, it’s like he’s the most confident demon in Devildom.
Satan
Satan writes poetry when inspiration strikes him. He has also written short stories but he always comes back to creating beautiful poems. He’s got a way with words.
Photography is something he has only recently taken interest in but he has a great eye for taking breathtaking shots. 
Has become the family’s go-to photographer.
“Satan, take a picture of me and Mammon!” “Satan, take our picture, quick!” “Satan, help me get a picture for my Devilgram!”
He’s the reason Asmo’s Devilgram pictures always look like they’re taken professionally in a photo studio or something.
Satan loves art, likes to stroll through museums and stare at paintings for hours, but has little talent in creating them. Even so, he still likes to paint even if he's not good at it. 
Sometimes he just wants to slap paint on a canvas and make a colorful mess. It's fun. 
He joins Art Day every other month.
Another thing he does is knitting! It relaxes him. It gives him something to focus at when he's angry (um, angrier than usual), just to give his hands something to do that doesn't involve breaking anything. The simple patterns he makes are easy enough that they don't frustrate him. 
Rarely ever finishes his knitting though, you'll just find this 5 meters long knitted fabric in one corner of his room with the ends coming undone because he calms himself down enough to stop knitting.
Asmodeus
Regularly designs, cut, and sew his own clothes. 
Has a lot of sketchbooks full of drawings of flowy dresses and stylish coats and many aesthetically pleasing shirts. 
He has started his own clothing line and sometimes collaborate with Majolish. 
But for the most part, he designs clothes for himself and himself only, he doesn't want anyone else to wear clothes as fabolous as his.
Nail art? Nail art. 
Asmo paints all of the brothers nails and sometimes he'll persuade one of them to let him do a complete manicure, with glitter polish and shiny studs and all. 
Yes, even Lucifer. You just never see the results because Lucifer wears his gloves almost all the time.
Asmo creates beautiful makeup art. He doesn't really like a lot of makeup on his own face though, so his brothers' faces are his canvases.
He also has a great eye for interior decorating and flower arranging. He restyles his room every month.
Not many people know it but he paints. And he's very good at it. He has done a painting of each brother, the paintings can be seen on the walls of the House of Lamentation's hallways. 
Art Day with Levi (and sometimes Satan or Belphie) is spent with him in front of canvases, chatting with his brothers, paint splatters on his hands. It's the only day that he doesn't mind looking a little messy.
Beelzebub
He cooks, of course!  And bakes too!
It's one of the times he’s willing to wait to eat because cooking the ingredients first rather than just straight up eating them will make the foods taste better. 
Half of the food in the kitchen are his creations. Anything he can make on his own from scratch, he will; jams, ice cream, sauces, juices, bread, chips, etc. 
Likes to experiment and always do something different than the original recipes. 
He garnishes his cooking like it’s something you order from a five star restaurant.
Beel is another demon who has a green thumb. He likes taking care of plants and doesn't mind getting a bit dirty doing it so gardening is another hobby of his. 
If Lucifer plants ornamental plants, Beel grows useful plants like herbs and vegetables and small fruits. He's also good at topiary.
Always has an idea for a DIY project. 
His creations is scattered all over the House of Lamentation. Belphie's drawer divider is made out of yogurt cups. Broken drawer knobs recycled into Asmo's jewelry organizer. The coat rack. The bathroom towel holder. 
Even Lucifer's hanging Demonus rack is handmade by Beel when he's bored one weekend, with Mammon's help for the engraving decorations along the sides of the rack. Beel's got a bit of Bob the Builder in him.
He is very good at singing. His voice is clear and he has a broad vocal range. Has been caught unconsciously humming in class many times.
Has definitely sang Belphie to sleep.
Belphegor
Does his pranks counts as a creative outlet though?😂 Between him and Satan, Belphie's ideas are the most creative and out of the box, resulting on some of the best pranks they did.
Belphie does origami. It's relaxing, easy enough to learn, and doesn't take much effort and energy to do it. 
Has stacks of origami papers in his room: standard origami paper, foil paper, traditional Washi ones, the leather-like Momigami paper, all kinds of paper. 
He especially loves to make little origami stars and keeps them in glass jars in his room.
Belphie also has adult coloring books. 
And kids coloring books.
Coloring is relaxing to him. It's very calming to just lay down and fills a page with pretty colors for a while. It's not a tiring way to destress, he can color without moving from his bed, and it feels satisfying when he finishes a whole page. 
He sometimes joins Art Day if he's not too lazy to move. Still prefers to color alone where it's quiet though.
He also journals. It's another thing he can do that is inexpensive and not energy consuming. He writes about anything that comes to his mind, his thoughts, his ideas, memories. 
Definitely keeps a dream journal.
Also I headcanon that as the Avatar of Sloth, sleep and dreams are some of the things he can manipulate. He enjoys creating dreams; the worldbuilding, the story, the details. He can be really creative when it comes to making them, spinning the most vivid and imaginative dreams. 
They’re not necessarily good dreams though. After all, he is still a demon, his dreams will most likely mess up your mind than make you smile in your sleep.
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otterskin · 3 years
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Dumb Details From the Loki Trailer I noticed but then got too serious about
First - apparently it’s not a trailer, so I guess we’ll get ‘Trailer 1′ later? ‘Exclusive Clip’ hardly seems accurate, but hey, I’m not Disney’s marketing division. I wouldn’t live in a shoebox if I was.
Dumb detail no. 1:
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Owen Wilson’s jacket is...weird. Look closely.
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And another shot:
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Yeah...his jacket has a ‘reversed collar’. It’s a cut-out rather than cloth folding on top. Huh. What a strange design choice. What could it mean?
I’ve no idea, but that I watched the trailer enough times to notice this should concern you.
Detail No. 2
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In this scene, we see what we can presume to be President Loki’s ‘Throne’. Notice the candy-canes. This is a Santa Claus throne, presumably from some mall Santa. This whole place might be in a mall, judging by the stuff in it.
But the Loki in this shot is not President Loki. Notice that he’s wearing brown pants, a thin brown tie, and the beige shirt he’s seen wearing in other parts of the trailer after he's apparently joined the TVA. President Loki wears black pants, a green vest and a wide green tie with a golden clip that resembles Loki’s little chevron he always has (more on that later).
So it would seem that Loki might meet President Loki here. President Loki might even be addressing him at the end of the trailer. It’s possible that his minions turn on him because there’s two Lokis and they don’t know which is the ‘imposter’. 
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Speaking of, there’s a minion with bicycle handlebars grafted to a football helmet here, likely meant to resemble Loki. I dig it. There’s also cans of food scattered among the rubbish here. Makes sense that food production is non-existent since everyone has resorted to wearing license plates and spoons. Love how tattered the whole aesthetic is.
This reminds me of the opening Michael Waldron’s script ‘Worst Guy of All Time’, which featured a similar post-apocalyptic setting after the ‘worst guy’ ruins everything and makes himself king of the ashes. That’s likely what’s happened here, but I hope that Loki isn’t anything like Logan Paul, who was the inspiration for that title character.
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Ah, the mysterious female character watching a meteor shower WAY TOO CLOSE UP. But my eyes are drawn to one thing...
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What is that oblong object with a shiny handle? Could it be...
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A sword? I do love swords. Did you know there’s a bunch of pictures of me in the stock photos for ‘Fencing?’ That’s my cred for loving swords.
I suspect that this female character will be an amalgamation of Amora (shudder) and Sylvie and an alternate Loki of some kind. This sword is currently in her possession, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it or another timeline version of it becomes the Loki Show’s Loki′s weapon. 
Loki has lacked a ‘weapon of his own’ in the MCU for quite some time. I mean, yes, he has his little knives, but they are many and disposable and something he chose for himself, rather than the two legendary weapons wielded by Odin and Thor, Gungnir and Mjolnir. In fact, throughout his appearances, Loki has seemed to want such a thing of his own - he briefly had Gungnir, and then the Gungnir-like scepter, and even tried to lift Mjolnir.
One might ask why Odin would’ve overlooked such an obvious show of favouritism. Why give Thor a storied weapon and leave Loki empty-handed? Heck, even Hela had the Necroblade.
In Thor 1, we might’ve assumed that the Casket of Ancient Winters was perhaps intended one day to be given to Loki, as it is shown with Mjolnir in the Vault and thus connected to it and the children who would inherit it.  But in the comics, Odin did have another weapon of storied history put away for his second son: Gram the Sword.
It was locked for eons by Odin in a special vault which required five keys to be opened, and it was meant to be for Loki if he be worthy.[2] The five keys were infused by Odin with the powers of "journeys", "endurance", "secrets", "new beginnings", and "brotherhood", respectively.[3]
The sword, like everything else in comics, has a complicated history full of take-backs and twists, but let’s just leave it at ‘it’s a representation of Loki’s worthiness and belonging in the trifecta with Odin and Thor as a King of Asgard’. It gives him ‘equality’.
In the original mythology, it’s wielded by Sigurd to kill the dragon Fafnir, and the only relation it has to Loki is that Loki is partially responsible for Fafnir existing in the first place (my username is nod to this myth by the by. Sorry Ottär.) But hey, maybe that means we’re getting a dragon? The Fafnir would be very cool.
Or it could just be a bit of rebar in this mining quarry.
Then again...it appears somewhere else...
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It’s easier to see in motion, but that’s a sword swinging on this person’s back.
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So the hooded figure is this lady...shall we call her Amylkie? Does that mean she’s the antagonist of this show? Well...maybe, but I suspect the true antagonist is foreshadowed here  -
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So, what’s going on here? A young girl (Young Amylkie? Some other TVA prisoner that the guard is watching over? An oracle, A Norn, or a kid who wandered off from the tour group in a basilica somewhere?) She’s giving Mobius M. Mobius a...piece of chocolate. Maybe he saw a Dementor, I dunno. I suspect it’ll be a MacGuffin of some kind later. He looks pretty concerned here, which contrasts with his ‘another day at the office’ blaséness when dealing with Loki. But of course this is the eye-catcher:
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So, Norse Mythology. It’s been Christiannized. You can thank Snorri Sturluson for that, but you can google all about him later. Let’s just say that he made many Norse figures into equivalents for Christian ones. Baldur is Jesus, pure and a sacrificial lamb who dies for a greater good. And the devil is...Loki. Something the Marvel comics and the MCU have continued.
Here we have a devil, dressed in green and with a distinct shape on his chest:
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Hmmm...wait...I know that weird horny shape...
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Ah. I’d say that cinches it. This is meant to be Loki. If you look at the devil’s hair, it also resembles Loki’s, being shoulder-length and black.
So, what’s devil-Loki doing? Laying an egg? Trying out a foot massager? For a second I thought it was a moon, but we see the moon over his left shoulder, amongst the stars. Which means this is - probably the Earth.
...Dammit; I live there.
So Earth is barren and being devoured by flames, likely caused by this Loki sitting atop of it (in a throne, no less). Aw gee, things look pretty bad, don’t they?
But wait - what’s that? Under the Earth (and, possibly, under the earth)?
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It’s a plant. A shoot, to be exact.
Back to Ragnarok for a second. Ragnarok isn’t the apocalypse (something we see a lot of in this trailer - all of it seems to be exploring the end of days). Ragnarok is the fire meant to wipe out the old and fertilize the ground for the new. And after the gods have died, what happens? Well, Baldur emerges from Hel, one of the only surviving gods (hmm, seems him dying worked out, didn’t it?). He’s joined by Líf and Lífþrasir, who are the new first man and woman, who’s names mean ‘Life’ and who are pictured, usually, with plants and new life. It is they who are tasked who growing a new Yggdrasil after the destruction of the old. The previous first man and woman are Ask and Embla, meaning Ash Tree and Vine/Elm tree, so there’s a theme there. 
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So a new sprout, possibly a tree, growing out of the destruction of the old.
This fits with Loki’s role as understood in mythology. He checks the arrogance of the gods, including when they tried to achieve immortality (sorry, Baldur, nothing personal), and that keeps the gods at their best. After Loki is imprisoned, the gods become weak, unhelpful and foolish, and Yggdrasil starts to rot. Eventually Loki escapes and returns along with Surtur (who also resembles this figure) to burn it all to the ground. This is also referenced in Thor:Ragnarok, with Loki releasing Surtur in the Vault, a place of thematic importance to Loki and one that represents the hidden secrets and sins of Asgard). You could say Ragnarok continued into Infinity War, where Loki played an important part in aiding Thanos’ destruction, giving up the stone to protect his brother and essentially dooming the rest of the universe - but also ultimately leading to its salvation, even if, like Myth Loki, he wasn’t around to see it.
So, we see Amylkie literally start a fire in the trailer -
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- in fact, this whole trailer is awash in flame -
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It’s fire, fire everywhere and she’s setting them!
It’s possible Amylkie’s our big bad, but I think there’s a chance she’s either a red herring, or, much like how Loki ‘worked’ with Thanos in The Avengers, she is the pawn of a greater foe -
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  - a Loki bent on destruction, for some reason or other. The TVA is obviously aware that this is the case, and it seems like they might be trying to ‘fight fire with fire’ by enlisting one Loki to combat another. The villain could be President Loki, since there's evidence of 2 Lokis in that scene - or maybe that's one of many Lokis, and the Big Bad Loki is being played by Hugh Grant as Old Loki. In any case, it would appear that Loki will be coming face-to-face with the worst versions of himself, and many of them. And, if I’m right about this scene:
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...Loki will likely eventually discover that even his ‘good’ timeline ended in the destruction of his people and home, plus his own gruesome and torturous death. Although I think the TVA will keep that from him, and just show him the happy parts in an effort to inspire ‘good behaviour’. Until Loki inevitably discovers the rest of how that timeline played out and realize he’s been lied to. I don’t imagine he’ll take that very well...
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Damn, even our ‘hero’ Loki is burning stuff down! Does this mean that Loki is doomed, always meant to be an avatar of death and toasty destruction?
Well...let’s go back to that stained glass.
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Hmmm...wait...I know that weird horny shape...
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And there’s something else...the bottom of the Earth is being lit up, and not by fire. Light appears to be coming off this little plant.
What colour is this plant again? That’s right, green. Green is the colour of new life and growth and change and...hang on, I’ve heard that before, too...
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Hang on hang on HANG ON... let me have a look at the shape again.
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That’s...a letter. An L? For Loki? Like in the title sequence?
Wait...no, a different letter. An older letter. After all, Loki is old Norse. How do you spell his name in that again?
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ᛚᛟᚲ ᛁ -
And ENHANCE on that third letter!
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This, my friends, is a Kenaz/Kaunaz, or what would become 'K' in our alphabet. It is also known as the 'Loki Rune' (and the Ulcer Rune, for some reason. I suspect Odin understands why). It’s used to spell his name, but is also used on his own to represent him. Heck, it's even his Superman 'S' in the comics:
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Runes are more than letters - they are symbols for concepts. So what else does it mean?
Primarly, it means ‘torch’.
And also ‘knowledge’ (ken). As well as ‘growth, change, the search for truth, decay, arrogance, elitism, feminine, kinship and creativity.’
...Okay, that’s a lot, but you have to admit it fits.
More specifically, it means ‘Mastery of the Fire’. As in, someone who has learned to tame fire so that it is helpful, not harmful. To bring light and, symbolically, knowledge.
There’s another way Loki’s been associated with fire - in the Wagner Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold, the opera that inspired much the Thor films’ aesthetic and certainly their helmets, Loki is called ‘Loge’, which means ‘Fire’. He’s usually dressed to match, too -
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Many trickster figures are associated with fire. They are usually called ‘Fire-bringers’ - See: Raven, Lucifer, Prometheus, etc. They are often complex figures with a foot in different worlds, but who nonetheless help mankind with the gift of ‘fire’ - although they usually pay for it, and tend to be self-destructive.
(Side note. Lucifer means light-bringer, which is what luciferase is named after. Because it glows. Which is helpful in labs. In case someone needed to know that.)
Moving from a destructive fire-starter to a fire-bringer seems like a great character arc for Loki to take, especially given his rehabilitation in pop culture, the comics, and even wider culture. Loki has gone from being seen as an evil, deviant, destructive character to one who’s seen as a patron of the arts and creativity, of stories rather than lies. Heck, some scholars of Norse Mythology even posit that he’s the closet thing to a protagonist Norse Mythology has, so I guess that backfired, Snorri!). Being dressed in green and with the sprout clearly also being stylized after his Kaunaz, there’s foreshadowing that he’ll be capable of growing good things even out of ashes.
So, to sum up: Being ‘Satan’ sounds pretty bad, but with a little letter re-arranging like we see in the title sequence, you can be...
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...practically a saint. Maybe even a saviour.
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Merry Christmas, everybody.
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Text
A Twisted Wedding
Posted this on my Instagram but I had to cut a lot out so here’s the full version!!
Notes
Gender neutral
If not specified assume a white wedding or make up your own. If the guests are not stated it’s friends and family
The wedding is in Twisted Wonderland not our world.
You choose the dress/suit you wear
If something is unclear and you wish you see what I’m talking about send me a DM and I’ll try to help.
Malleus
black theme maybe green thrown in
The ring is a unique Emerald cut (three white jewels) for his special someone
only guests are the Diasomnia gang, and parents
though he’s a prince he wants this to be a private affair.
Remembers vows perfectly, the vows are very loyal and cheesy
Lilia
family, and the members of the Diasomnia gang are guest
he goes for a large romantic ring so people know your taken
green and silver theme
At night, in gazebo lit by fairy lights
Spring time
Silver
White and light blue theme
You both wear light blue almost white clothes
Simple wedding
Sliver makes sure not to sleep during this!
Comfy and calming reception
Spring wedding
Simple classy ring with little blue and white jewels
Leona
Outside
Pear design ring
Tan (think the color of dead plants), and pastel green, and white
He wears a white suit
Lots of dancing
Probably held in the forest
NO KIDS!!
Would not invite family but you sent invites. Cheka is the ring bearer.
If you were the one who proposed he would only agree if you beat him in a fight.
Malleus would find his way to the wedding or send a couple gifts
Leona is so pretty!! Like in his Fairy gala outfit
Leona is strangely flustered seeing you
Simple vows
Grabs you and kisses you before the priest can finish saying “you may kiss the bride/groom.”
Jack
Invites a lot of people: Vil who invites Rook, and epel, Leona (who surprisingly shows up), Ruggie, Riddle, Deuce, and Cater; of course family.
On a cliff next to the sea and a forest
Gold and sliver theme gold being only accent
Tries to be tough and not cry but kinda does...
Vows include being honest, and putting us first
Cute little princess ring (square jewel)
Ruggie
Vows include something about sharing food, not having a lot but willing to give it all to you.
Tan and white wedding
Held in the fall
Blushing mess
Forgot a line in his vows
Guests: Epel, Leona, Rook, family.
Not small but nothing like Vil’s venue. He wanted you give you a good wedding but since he doesn’t have a lot he tried his best.
Really doesn’t want a lot of guests
Tan plaid vest, tan suit jacket and pants, small bow tie.
In a field of sun flowers
If you went out on anything it would be the ring it’s a Asscher style ring simple yet elegant inside is engraved with the words “forever, till the end of time”
Vil
Big. BIG!!! Venue in a castle
You both wear small gold crowns
Navy blue and gold theme
Wants you to be prettier then him😱
Ballroom dancing!!
Stay the night there
Very romantic but a small bit of narcissistic words in his vows (promises to be loyal but some people just can resist him)
Doesn’t wear over 3 inch heels at wedding because he doesn’t want to tower over you (just this once(he thinks the photos of you kissing would look awkward))
Photos for weeks posted on Magicam showing you off
Wears his hair up insist you do the same
Every student in Night Raven Collage is invited as long as he knows them (aka everyone named in the game, staff, and all students in Pomefiore)
Epel and Rook help you both get ready
Wedding is 2 months after proposal
Spares no expense
Does all the planning with you but doesn’t go to pick and dress wanting to see you in the dress on the wedding but sends Rook and Epel to help (they have good fashion sense right?)
Spa days every couple of days making sure you and he have clear, soft, and beautiful skin, hair and body.
Okay... a large romantic ring with eccentric designs
Rook
In nature
Guests: Epel, Vil, Ruggie, Azul, the twins, Leona, and Trey; family too.
Vows are very creative, and poetic
Blue suit the one he wears in the groom-for-a-day event
Doesn’t wear hat (unless you want him to)
When he kisses you he pulls his hat out and kisses you behind it
Red, white, and blue wedding
Marquise style ring
Epel
Out in the country
Spring season (late spring)
Spring decor (pastels)
Small (he doesn’t like the idea of a big wedding)
Flowers everywhere
You wear a follower crown
Guest: Family, residents of town, Riddle and the others, Jack, and Ruggie. He still has harsh feelings towards Vil so he wasn’t invited (unless you invite him)
Suit is what he wore for the Groom-For-A-Day event
Held in an apple tree forest (because of the blossoms)
Cuts hair a bit so to not be feminine
(This is a couple of years after the events of the game and (I hope) epel has gotten taller, and looks more manly(not too manly though because y’all probably like him because of his feminine looks))
Idia
White and light blue wedding
Guests: Ortho, and family (sorry but he’ll get to nervous)
Smiling a lot but a soft smile
Crying.... he’s totally crying
Ortho or Azul is best man
If Azul is best man Ortho is the ring bearer
At night, in a little gazebo
Blue roses and other flowers
White jacket, light blue vest, blue tie
His hair is in the ponytail
You wear a vail (male or female) it’s something Idia wants to do: Lift the vail or his Lover at the wedding.
Jade
In the forest
Sunny
Black and white wedding
Guests: Floyd, Azul, family, Grim (you invite others)
The shoe wedding game
Small gathering
Fun games
Simple and versatile ring
Floral theme
Jade has a lovely smile on and it’s a genuine, caring, smile
Floyd
Ocean theme
Guests: Jade, Azul, family, Ace, Deuce, Riddle, and Grim
The ring is a basic silver ring with little blue waves painted on and tiny white jewels on top of the waves
The inside says “No ocean can keep us apart”
In an under water glass room
Fish swim around the tank like room
Jelly fish decor for the lighting
Surprisingly he’s calm and not embarrassing you or him
After while your eating he whispers a comment that you are looking “fine”
Azul
Winter
All White/silver and gray
Ice skating
Azul is a blushing mess but his best man Jade is there to calm him a bit
Azul’s vows include something about him not being worthy of you, but you assure him that he’s the one for you
Jamil
Simple
Probably no guests or just a couple friends
You can invite Kalim, but Jamil might not
Inside a church (for privacy)
Kinda cries as you walk down the aisle
Black and white theme
Tells you he will always be there for you over anyone else.
Private affair
Somehow you convinced him to hold a wedding. He just wanted to sign the papers a keep it to yourself
Kalim
A party right after!
Lots of food and fun
Lots and lots of guests
But it’s a cute white wedding
The reception not so much...
Spares no expense
In his vows he tells you he won’t party to much and how much he really really loves you
Riddle
Fancy
Red and gold!!!
Mostly red
Groom-For-A-Day suit
You wear a rose flower crown
In rose garden some painted some not
Your vows are beautiful he almost cries
He invites his mother even though you don’t like the idea
Guests: family, Heartslabyul, Malleus, Sebek, you invite Floyd, Jade, and Azul for fun, sliver, Lilia, and Che’nya.
Big wedding for not like Vil’s it has its quaint charm to it.
A lot nicer then you though, though we all know Ace would do something to result in “Off With Your Head” though Ace tried his best not to.
Ace
Sneak out of your own wedding
Red and Black theme
Wears the ghost bride suit but hairs not tied back
Guest: Heartslabyul, Floyd, Jamil, family.
Probably does the conga line dance
Fun time
Ring is emerald cut
The Heartslabyul gang asks after being told your getting married If your sure you want this one? You whole heartedly say yes.
Cater
all of his magicam followers on a live stream, the Heartslabyul gang, family, Vil, Jack, Kalim, and Lilia.
White and red
In a church
Winter
White roses and red daisies
Crazy vows just some random stuff he came up with
Lots of dancing!!
White and red suit
NO RED ROSES!
Loads of gifts
Cute ring pear shaped gold accent
Trey
Light green and white
Light green is accent
Cute vows remembers every line even though he’s flustered
In a Church
Too cute
Guests: Heartslabyul, che’nya, and family.
Deuce
Blue and gold
Star theme (maybe it’s because I love the wish upon a start event)
Rents out an observatory
You can see the stars clearly
So romantic
Vows have something to do with loving you to the end of the universe and back
Slow dance under the stars
Romantic?! What we’re talking about Deuce right?!
This is after Deuce stops getting flustered by just talking to you.
Sebek
Medieval theme
You can’t tell me this man doesn’t love the medical Europe aesthetic of Knights and Princess
You have to wear a crown
You both run under swords to the carriage/car
Traditional vows and promise to protect you
Surprisingly doesn’t talk much about Malleus
Guests: Family, Riddle and the Diasomnia gang
Malleus gives many gifts
Lilia is so happy and proud of him even though he didn’t raise the boy
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