#what can I say actually I am not fashion expert so for all I know this IS ugly

[inkskinned]

the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.

capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.

now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.

and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.

and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.

and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".

it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"

#this was much longer i had to cut it down for legibility #but i do want to say i am aware this post doesnt touch on human rights violations as a result of fast fashion #that is because it deserves its own post with a completely different tone #i am an environmental educator #so that's what i know the most about. it wouldn't be appropriate of me to mention off-hand the real and legitimate suffering #that people are going through #without doing my research and providing real ways to help #this is a vent post about a thing i'm watching happen; not a call to action. it would be INCREDIBLY demeaning #to all those affected by the fast fashion industry to pretend that a post like this could speak to their suffering #unfortunately one of the horrible things about latestage capitalism as an activist is that SO many things are linked to this #and i WANT to talk about all of them but it would be a book in its own right. in fact there ARE books about each level of this #and i encourage you to seek them out and read them!!! i am not an expert on that i am just a person on tumblr doing my favorite activity #(complaining) #and it's like - this is the individual versus the industry problem again right because im blaming myself #for being an expert on environmental disaster (which is fucking important) but not knowing EVERYTHING about fast fashion #i'm blaming myself for not covering the many layers of this incredibly complicated problem im pointing out #rather than being like. yeah so actually the fault here lies with the billion dollar industries actually. #my failure to be able to condense an incredibly immense problem that is BOOK-LENGTH into a single text post that i post for free #is not in ANY fucking way the same amount of harm as. you know. the ACTUAL COMPANIES doing this ACTUAL THING for ACTUAL MONEY. #anyway im gonna go donate money while i'm thinking about it. maybe you can too. we can both just agree - well i fuckin tried didn't i #which is more than their CEOs can say

[leatherbookmark]

hopping around different blogs is fun.

a post on blog 1: i find it a little weird that -- don't get me wrong, the barbie movie looks great with all the doll-like details, i bet the actors had great fun and i'd like to see it myself, but -- people are getting excited about marketing of this movie. they're acting as though mattel's 3985* deals with 837* different companies are something new, exciting and creative instead of... 3985 deals with 837 companies spanning many different areas! this movie is a commercial for a doll! isn't this kinda weird?

*numbers made up

a post on blog 2: i don't think any sane adult doesn't realize that this is a toy commercial! it's rather obvious.

a post on blog 3: boo hoo 'the barbie movie is capitalist propaganda' i don't give a SHIT marx won't fuck you. did you do this for transformers too? do you think only stupid girls who like pink need the reminder?

like, oooooh! things are happening!

#shrimp thoughts #earlier today i got into a bit of an essay reading spree (as much as my brain allowed me lol) #and it got me thinking about like... associating oneself with products/aesthetics/companies as a way of self-creation #this is me. i love [fashion brand] you won't catch me without my k*nken and here is my room in which you can see posters of [movies] #it's very... human to get excited about things and feel it more the more others get excited because. community building #at the same time i've noticed it myself that it's so much easier to label yourself a [thing] girl than to like... Look Into Yourself #who am i? what defines me? these questions are difficult because how do i know that? with what means do i obtain this knowledge? #should i create myself as i want or should i observe myself with the eyes of others instead? ...let me just say i like plants and overalls #and i feel like when someone says something you perceive as a critique of the identity slash community you associate yourself with #it's... hurtful? but at the same time. hm. i don't know actually #like chances are these posts are talking about completely different things and not vaguing each other or even similar posts #maybe posts that blog 3 vagues really were obnoxiously condescending! who knows! that being said DESPITE being a small-brained #shrimp who would honestly love to win soooo many moneys and just do whatever i want all day instead of being an Independant and Competent #Expert In My Field (this sounds scary and stressing). i still would like to avoid falling into the 'just let me ENJOY things and don't try #to make me hate femininity because it's not working! pink and shopping can be empowering' hole. #idk!! i listen to k/pop and am part magpie. i can't quite pose myself as like anti-capitalist intellectual #but i do want to achieve at least a small brain! someday!! and boy do i hope my brain energy days don't end before the books arrive;; #2am thoughts. wonder if my mother goes to sleep earlier than at 4am today because its getting annoying

[haystarlight]

What if mlp characters had Tumblr

🌟 smartypants Follow

I have a princess conference in the morning but that won't stop me from staying up till 3 am on AO3. Mama needs her bedtime stories

🐉 ogres&oubliettesenthusiast Follow

OP go to sleep or I will eat your crown

2,008 notes

🎈 smilesmilesmile Follow

All of you are like "would you fuck your clone?" hypothetically but, in practice, clones are too dumb to give consent and that's the real reason why I didn't sleep with any of my clones when I had the chance

🎈 totally-not-a-clone Follow

OP you still have a chance

10,000 notes

✨ great&powerful Follow

It's always "take off the evil amulet! it's corrupting your mind!" and never "oh! you look so pretty in your new amulet!"

✨ great&powerful Follow

Celestia forbid ladies do anything

102 notes

😏 sexiestvillaintournament Follow

🦋 Id-like-to-be-a-tree Follow

Um, would you guys please stop voting for my boyfriend?

🌪️ whatfunisthereinmakingsense Follow

I take it as a compliment

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

I am offended

500,467 notes

🍎 cmc-omc Follow

Y'all know how some families got a gay cousin and all 'em other cousins are straight? Well mah family's the opposite. Ah don't even think we got a straight cousin!

🍎 cmc-omc Follow

Mah sister says we have to assimilate other ponies into our family so the family name don't die out. She would do numbers here

5,667 notes

🌈 20%cooler Follow

GUYS I'M SO SORRY FOR THE DELAYS

I've just been on the hospital (again) cause I got zapped by lightning (again)

But I promise I'll update my Daring Do/Reader fic as soon as I can! Thanks for the patience, love you guys!

🌟 smartypants Follow

It's okay, take your time! I'll just reread the old chapters in the meantime

🐉 ogre&oubliettesenthusiast Follow

NO!!! YOU WILL GO TO SLEEP!!!

120 notes

💎 chicunique&maginifique Follow

"how are you so good at fashion" well you'd be an expert in fashion too if you'd spent 20 years in the closet

🔔 professional-theatre-filly Follow

My sister in Celestia that closet was made of glass

20,354 notes

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

Nothing like coming back from exhile just to find your bedroom was replaced by a whole ass forest

Some people have no respect for others belongings

☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow

I don't control the growing of the magical forest, bitch

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

Rude

☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow

Don't think I forgot about that time in 500 B.E. that you stole my ice cream

200 notes

🛴 the-agender-acrobat Follow

You can't hurt me I have mommy AND daddy issues I'm unstoppable

🌈 20%cooler Follow

OP do you need me to adopt you

🛴 the-agender-acrobat Follow

I would love that actually

1,554 notes

💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow

*levitates my cat out of the way so I can use the sewing machine, which I need for my job*

my cat: YOU LIFT OPALESCENCE?!?!???! YOU LIFT HER WITH YOUR WICKED SORCERY?!??!!!! YOU ASSERT CONTROL OVER HER WITH YOUR MAGIC?!?!??! OHHHHH!!! MOTHER IS EVIL!!!!!

🔔 professional-theatre-filly Follow

I agree with the cat

1,827,654 notes

🥕 Carrot-TOPING Follow

Girlfriend is out of town all week so I'm gonna dye my mane and tail green

💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow

WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING

🥕 Carrot-TOPING Follow

She's all my self control

364, 245 notes

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

Back in my day we tagged our fanfiction properly. There's a difference between / and & you rufians

☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow

Shut up old lady

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

YOU'RE OLDER THAN ME

30,150 notes

🩵 girlboss Follow

Sure, sex is great but does *your* husband help you check all your shipping fanfiction for grammar errors? Didn't think so

💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow

She's everything, he's just Ken

🛡️ malewife Follow

Happy to be of service 🫡

2,035 notes

#unreality #fake dashboard #dashboard simulator #tumblr dashboard #mlp fim #mlp g4 #mlp #my little pony #my litte pony friendship is magic #mlp headcanons #my little pony fim #my little pony friendship is magic #fluttercord #mlp shipping #fake tumblr post #fake tumblr dash #headcanon

[marsosims]

hi, hello! hope you have a wonderful day and lots of fun with the new pack! i was wondering how to decorate/build in the new world to make it realistic bc i want to lean into the whole SEA flair without making too sterotypical i hope you know what i mean lol so some help from someone who's filipino like yourself would mean lots for me!!

Before I answer this question, I'd just like to preface that I am NOT an expert and I'm just sharing my personal thoughts and ideas :)

-

marsosims' tips to decorating tomarang builds

Use references. I think this is probably the most important tip that I can tell you. Use references, you won't regret it! Whether it's from google earth, Pinterest, or even drawings - you have a TON of reference materials!

Here are some illustrations: Top image is a still from the movie, "Hayop Ka!", Bottom left from Arlo Jhan Bayot, Right from Albert Tan

Here are some pictures - these ones are more or less middle class, but some shared characteristics between most of them are bright walls (usually cement, wood, and the occasional fake brick wall), fenced in yards (if you could call them that), wrought iron, and most importantly, plants.

PLANTS. GO CRAZY. SEA countries are located in the tropics, which means that they have very diverse foliage... SO like go wild if you want to (especially if building in the more rural part of Tomarang). People will also have a lot of potted plants, like:

(Bougainvilleas are usually a favorite - idk if the sims has any like it?)

OPEN LAYOUT FLOORPLANS. Most houses are open concept, and hallways for residential buildings are pretty rare in my opinion.

Another thing to note are dirty kitchens, which are basically outside kitchens that you do all of your cooking so that the smell doesn't stick to your things (this is important because as I said - most houses are open concept). Cooking inside is also pretty unpleasant because SEA COUNTRIES ARE HOTTTT.

Use tiles. With interiors, I'd say that it usually varies but a staple in most homes are tiled floors, because they are cool (not in a fashion way and more a literal way) and are resistant to floods.

I almost never see people have wooden floors unless the house was an ancestral house or the house is on the cheaper side (but even then, I usually see cement or tiled floors). If you do see some wooden floors, my bet is that they're one of those cheap linoleum / vinyl ones (idk what they are exactly)

I also never see people use carpets or rugs - probably a bit too much of a hassle to deal with (but they do exist!).

As for walls, they're usually just left as cement or wood. Wallpapers weren't all that popular until recently during the pandemic when people got bored and started putting up wallpapers ksdhbfsd

Use wooden furniture where possible! Plus points if you use glass somehow. Most things are wooden, and usually do not match with each other. It actually drives me crazy at home because none of the wood tones match, but it's comforting in a way. You can see an example of this on the image above. If things weren't made of wood, they were usually plastic :)

Display those trophies / certificates! Filipinos are VERY proud of their achievements. Feel free to display those trophies, certificates, etc. front and center of your homes, where guests can see them.

-

These are all the things I can think of! I'm sorry it's a little rambly kscfksdfh I tried my best o7

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot them my way. ALSOO I'd just like to reiterate that these are just based on my personal experiences and thoughts and not everything I say may not necessarily be true for every SEA person (or even Filipino). OK BYE

#marso #a #asks #building tips? #decorating tips? #idk

[goddessofmischief]

      WHITE VEIL OCCASION - BUGGY X READER

A/N: This is part of this series, which requests are open for! These fics are all one-shots, so they can be read separately. Also, I highly recommend listening to the song linked in the title while you read.

"I need your help," you told Buggy, standing outside of his cabin door during an afternoon in the summertime.

"Okay," said Buggy immediately, then, a moment later - "Did you ask Shanks?"

You shake your head. Whatever it is, whatever you wanted, Buggy is now in.

"No," you said. "...I didn't think he would understand."

Now Buggy is definitely in.

...

"Really?" Buggy asked skeptically, adjusting to find comfort on the satin chair he sat in. "Why am I the guy for this?"

"Because I don't have any other friends," you said, carrying armfuls of wedding dresses back to the dressing room where he sat.

"You have Shanks."

"He's different."

"Why is he different?"

"You're vainer than he is," you said, admiring yourself in the mirror.

"Please, that pretty boy? Are you kidding me?"

"You know colors, fabrics. Face it, Buggy, you're the resident fashion expert. And don't you wanna help me?"

Damn it, he did.

"Fine," he said, waving his hand. "Show me the first."

You pushed the curtain back, revealing yourself in a puffy pink dress. You gave a little twirl. Buggy burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's terrible. I think you should get that one."

You turned red, closing the curtain again. Buggy groaned.

"Okay, I'm sorry, that was a little mean-"

"A little?"

"A lot - show me the next one, I promise I'll be nice."

Some two-hundred dresses later, you tried on a smaller one - short, pure white.

"It's not bad," said Buggy, not wanting to admit to you or himself that it was the best you'd ever looked. "It's not terrible at all."

"You think so?" you said. "But - I can't twirl in it."

"Oh, right. Not that one, then."

"What would Mihawk want, you think?"

"Geez, I dunno. Black?"

"Black," you repeated, contemplatively. "I don't think I want black."

Buggy was suddenly reminded of the pink dress from earlier, and how happy you'd looked in it. Sure, it wasn't precisely to his taste, but that didn't matter. The color was still ghastly, though. Damn it - maybe he did know as much about fashion as you'd suggested.

"Say, doll - did they have that puffy one in another color?"

"Yeah," you said, thoughtfully. "White."

...

"Thanks for coming with me today," you mumbled, legs swinging off the side of the cliff. You and Buggy liked to sit there sometimes, whenever you were docked at this particular island, it was 'your spot.' It was the place you two talked about things that Shanks, Mihawk, Rayleigh and Roger couldn't understand (which was a lot.)

"It wasn't as bad as I thought, I guess," Buggy said, refusing to admit to you that it had been actually kind of fun. "But, uh - you seem kinda sad, doll. If I'm not - if I'm not overstepping."

"You're not," you assured him, with a sad smile. "You're not. I'm just... scared."

"What do you have to be scared of? I mean, c'mon, you're engaged to the best swordsman in the East Blue, you live with the king of the pirates, and then there's Shanks, who's no slouch, and then there's, um, me. You got me."

"It's not that kind of fear."

Buggy thought he might understand what you were saying. Maybe. He'd secretly suspected that there had been doubt in you for some time, but had thought maybe he was unable to separate what was really going on with you from what he wished were the case. He wanted you to doubt. He wanted you to walk away from Mihawk.

"...I don't want things to change."

Ah, so that's what it was.

"Neither do I. I mean, it sure would be great if we could just live together and sail together forever, huh? But that's not really how it works. People grow up. People... die," Buggy said, thinking about Roger with a pang. He knew he didn't have long. There was little doubt in his mind that some time after your wedding, Roger would allow himself to succumb to his illness, and Shanks would take everything that was left, and Buggy would be alone.

Your eyes welled up with tears, and you rested your head on Buggy's shoulder, staring out at the waves. You threaded your fingers through his gloved ones, as if you wanted something physical to tether you to the moment.

"I don't want to lose you, Bug," you whispered.

"You're not gonna lose me. We'll still be best friends, same as ever. I'll come visit you all the time. And if Mihawk ever gives you trouble - well, I'll just kill him."

You laughed.

"Come on, stop crying, okay? I hate it when you cry."

"Okay."

"Okay," said Buggy, almost mimicking your exact soft voice. He squeezed your hand. You raised your face up to fix your gaze on him, as if an essential thought had only just occurred to you.

"Swear we'll always be best friends, Buggy."

Buggy laughed. You stared at him, bottom lip trembling.

"Oh, you're serious?"

"Buggy," you scolded.

"I mean, I'd like to - I really would - but I really can't promise such a thing-"

"Swear to me," you repeated. "Swear to me."

Buggy searched your eyes - you were dead serious.

You couldn't lose him. You refused to do that. You could sacrifice everything else but you refused to lose Buggy.

"Okay," he agreed, hoarsely. "Okay."

You nodded, satisfied, and tucked your head into his shoulder again.

...He needed to stop this wedding.

taglist: @sawendel @twinklesnake @literaturewithliz @sordidmusings @foggyturtleknightangel @toertchen @96jnie @lunanight1021

#buggy #buggy x reader #it was rare i was there #buggy the clown #opla #opla buggy

[stardestroyer81]

My first post of 2024 may have been cited to be the first look at Star Tower, my arcade-centric Pizza Tower AU, though consider this post to be your first real look at both the AU! This is a post I've been wanting to make for quite some time, and I am simply overjoyed to finally reveal the first set of characters for Star Tower!!! ⭐👾✨

This is a long post packed to the brim with art— some of which aren't featured in the above image— so if you're interested, I highly suggest you read on underneath the cut! 💙✨

As an AU, Star Tower dates back to March 3rd of 2023, which is when I first drew the logo for it. A sprite of myself drawn in the Pizza Tower artstyle predates Star Tower as an AU by about a month, so I think it goes without question that the stand-in for Peppino is Star Tower is a representation of myself!

It's just another day for Star Splitscreen at the local arcade, when all of a sudden, the multicade cabinet bugs out and sucks her inside! It's within the cabinet's confines where she meets the omnipotent Sinistar, who claims it'll set her free if she can best its '20-in-1 Supercade Challenge'.

What follows is an arduous adventure that sees Star venturing through arcade games familiar and obscure, and learning Sinistar's secret identity as well as escaping back into the real world all depends on her success... it's a good thing a seasoned arcade expert like her has what it takes!

I knew going into designing for Star Tower that I wanted each floor boss (I.E. Pepperman, The Noise, etc.) to be represented with an actual character from an established arcade game (With one exception...) and trust me when I say that I spent a fair amount of time carefully going through every arcade game I knew of and selecting a character appropriate for each boss's role.

Ultimately, I'm quite proud of the selection of characters I settled with, so let's jump right in and discuss Pepperman's stand-in...

Goro from 1983's Mappy! I find that, in terms of appearance, Goro was a perfect fit to replace Pepperman. Both are predominantly large red characters who are often depicted with wide, toothy grins— it was the perfect match!

Unlike both his canon personality and his personality in the animated ShiftyLook series, Goro in Star Tower is a lot more nefarious and self-centered, and sends out the Meowkies to do his dirty work when his own efforts don't cut it. I wanted to include sprites of the three Meowkies for this post originally, but I decided to save them for a future post (That's tech talk for 'I'm still trying to figure out how to stylize them').

I think of the four main bosses, Goro was the hardest to sprite in the Pizza Tower artstyle solely for the way his head is drawn. There's something about his face that was extremely difficult to draw at such a small scale, but after drawing pretty much every other sprite featured in this post, he was the final character in this lineup that I drew a sprite for, and I'm quite happy with it!

While Goro is certainly an iconic character, the same can't be said for The Vigilante's stand-in who, in spite of starring in one of the earliest known arcade games, is all the more obscure. Enter...

Mr. Jack from 1979's Sheriff! The Vigilante is the only boss of the main four who originally was going to be represented by an entirely different character, that being Kinzo from 1996's Pac-Man Arrangement.

It was when I remembered about Sheriff that I realized that Mr. Jack was the perfect candidate to replace The Vigilante. I mean, both are represented as mostly yellow cowboys armed with guns and a fashionable cowboy hat. How much closer could you get than that?

The real challenge was finding a good image of Mr. Jack to base his appearance in Star Tower off of. For those who don't know, Mr. Jack only has three known images of him that exist despite the fact that the game he hails from is over forty years old, so it wasn't exactly the easiest task.

I decided to base his appearance off of how he looks on Sheriff's bezel as that's the only full-body look we've ever gotten of him. The guy already looks like a Pizza Tower character as it is (A long lost cousin of Burton, perhaps?), and I find that his sprite looks the most like something you would actually see in Pizza Tower!

On the topic of arcade characters that are perfect fits for stand-ins of certain Pizza Tower characters...

Charley Chuck from 1983's Food Fight was, without question, the ideal choice to replace The Noise. One look at this flyer for Food Fight should perfectly encapsulate as to why. He's a little brat who's primary objective is to make the lives of the local chefs miserable. Sound familiar? It should!

Charley has had numerous different designs drawn for him around the time his game debuted, and it was pretty difficult settling on just the right one. I decided to give him a white and red striped shirt which he wears on the Food Fight arcade cabinet, and draw him as similar to the Noise as I could— I even sized him so that he stands smaller than Star, which took a lot more time than I'm willing to admit.

What's particularly interesting is that, fairly recently, Atari announced a Splatoon-like game for their VCS console, and you'll never believe who's the poster boy and what the game is a sequel to. I'm fairly certain that just before the announcement of Food Fight: Culinary Combat, I was the only person who was doing anything with Charley Chuck, and here he is starring in a brand new game some forty years after his initial debut. Not bad, kid!

One must wonder if I was the one who manifested Charley's return into existence...

With Charley Chuck properly introduced, I can move onto who may just be my favorite of this post's lineup...

Crazy Star.

With the success of 1981's Donkey Kong, an officially licensed clone was created for use in Japan only, though found its way outside of the country without the license to do so from Nintendo. This clone's name is Crazy Kong, and to say it's uncanny wouldn't be doing it justice.

Originally, I was a bit hesitant on just designing a 'fake Star' and calling it a day. I wanted there to be some arcade theming to it, and when the idea of a 'bootleg Star' came to mind, I quickly turned to Crazy Kong as a point of reference and Crazy Star is what came out of it (I should also mention that Crazy Kong released in 1981... now that's what I call meant to be)!

Out of everyone featured in this post, I've definitely drawn Crazy Star the absolute most because, as I mentioned before, it's just about my favorite of the Star Tower bunch! My favorite detail about it is that its color palette is made up of colors hand-picked from Crazy Kong itself!

Originally, I had screen-picked its colors from a YouTube video of the clone, resulting in a slightly different color scheme, but once I found a sprite sheet for Crazy Kong, it resulted in the Crazy Star you see in this post! Crazy Star may look unsettling, but in reality it's just as welcoming as Star, and all it wants is to be just like her.

Just like her... just like her... just like her...

Beware... Sinistar from the 1983 arcade game of the same name lives! Yet another instance of the perfect replacement, both Pizzaface and Sinistar are giant evil floating circles, and it was clear to me from the get-go that Sinistar would make a perfect stand-in for the former, especially since half of its name is 'Star'!

Drawing a sprite for Sinistar was both a cakewalk and a challenge. For one, seeing as its sprite is on the larger side, that meant I had a lot more detail to work with. On the other hand, however, I struggled for a while to get a good design drawn for Sinistar. Eventually, my good friend @panurei-derogatory suggested that it would be funny if Sinistar was hyper-realistically detailed compared to the other sprites, and that was something I had a lot of fun with when drawing its sprite!

Anyone who's played Pizza Tower knows that Pizzaface himself is merely a facade, as the true mastermind behind Peppino's misery has been hidden in plain sight since the very start— the comically villainous Pizzahead! I think out of every 'arcade stand-in' I chose for Star Tower, coming up with one for Pizzahead was the absolute hardest, because none of my ideas really seemed to stick the landing.

But then, I thought "What if it was a completely original character?"

And that's where Richard Benito Townsend (More commonly known by his alias 'Richie T.'), the self-proclaimed 'king of video games', enters the scene!

Richie T., who is absolutely not based off of any notorious cheaters in the arcade world record scene, is a washed-up video game master has-been, once highly regarded in his heyday for being an icon in the world of video games before his supposed 'unbeatable world records' were discovered to be fraudulent.

Shunned to a life of seclusion, the ever boisterous Richie T. now pilots Sinistar within a multicade cabinet where he's free to call the shots, daring to go toe-to-toe with Star once she proves herself worthy of being a Supercade Superstar. After all, she's just some girl— she can't possibly trounce the Richie T., can she?

Spoilers: He has no idea.

And with that out of the way, that's just about everything I wanted to touch base on in pertains to this first set of Star Tower characters! As I said before, this post has been a long time coming, and it's ever so wonderful to finally get this out onto tumblr!

You can expect a part two of sorts to this post sometime in the coming months, as there are still more stand-ins I've yet to post... this time, replacements of the supporting characters, such as Gustavo, Mr. Stick, and a couple of others! For now, I hope that you've enjoyed your first real look at the world of Star Tower! 💙✨

#⭐ Star's Art ⭐ #Star Tower #Pizza Tower #Pizza Tower AU #Arcade Games #Star Splitscreen #Goro Mappy #Mr. Jack #Charley Chuck #Crazy Star #Sinistar #Richie T. #Aseprite #Sprite Art #Coolness #STAR TOWER WILL BE REAL IN ZERO SECONDS!!! #I spent a solid two or three hours writing everything for this post from the write-ups to the image IDs #I was simply THAT determined to get this post up as soon as I had finished every sprite featured in this post. #For those who have read the entire post I realize I keep repeating how nice it feels to have these sprites out there now... #And I truly mean it! Now I can post all the miscellaneous stuff I've made for Star Tower I wouldn't have been able to post before! #Such as the OODLES of Crazy Star content I've drawn XD #I'm considering on drawing a render for some of the other bosses like I did with Richie T. and Crazy Star #I think it would look particularly cool to have full-sized renders of Goro and Charley Chuck in particular! #Hopefully this post properly illustrates just how big of a love letter Star Tower is to arcade game fans the world over #My best friend Kintsu knows full well of just how many arcade references I've packed into ideas for Star Tower #I again want to give her a shout-out for encouraging me to go all in on this AU— it wouldn't be where it is now without her 💛

[soft-persephone]

A Guide to Proper Communication/Best He Could Do: (Totally Intentional)

Nick Miller x Black!Fem!Reader // Nick Miller x Fem!Reader

WC: 3.8k! // MDNI // More Nicky Nick // Masterlist

Warning: Sex. Explicit themes. Maybe not the best communication skills.

Again, I wrote this with a black women in mind, but everyone is welcome to read it! I hope you enjoy! (Gif from @clintbartons )

Nick smiled a little once he made his way into the hotel. He didn’t have the best type of phone for you to text him the address with a link or web-something like that. He didn’t know much about “smart phones”.

He also didn’t trust it.

And he was not going to GPS himself there either. He had a brain and maps still worked, so why would he ever need a voice in a box to replace something that already exists! 

It’s that exact human laziness that got humanity to where it is now. No more hard working, adaptable, and resourceful people. No more basic human decency or connection. 

Just convenience and technology.

Needless to say, they had their first fight. 

Studpid? Yes.

But somehow he found it in him to give her an email. . . It was for emergencies. A last minute resort, only to be used when needed.

He wasn’t that stupid.

“Hello, sir?” The nice lady at the front desk  smiled brightly, “are you checking in? Visiting someone perhaps?”

“I’m here for the uh, the law or business conference thing.” He fought the urge to cross his shoulders or look as uncomfortable as he felt. “It should have started maybe half an hour ago.”

“Oh, yes sir! It’s right this way!”

Nick followed her from a polite distance until he knew for sure he had the right place.

It was done up to the nines. Probably the fifth fanciest place he’d ever been. He’s seen hotels like this in so many cities but never dared to dream he'd even think about actually being inside of one.

“Nick!” 

You were as gorgeous as ever. Even more than the last time he saw you. 

He was not an expert in the ups and downs and trends of female fashion, but he’d say you looked amazing. As sexy as someone could get at a work function with mostly men. That maybe you're wearing something to push the boundaries as far as you can before someone could label you inappropriate or pull you to the side and say you were making the rest of the men uncomfortable. 

“Excuse me miss,” he smiled, “but I came here for the business event this evening and not for a celebrity party or gala. Could you point me in the right direction?”

You laughed with your whole body, turning away from him and covering your mouth. He'd say he loved the way it sounded, but when you laughed he only heard bells ringing.

“You're too much.”

You cupped both sides of his face and looked into his eyes, making his heart drop and his chest swell. Just being close to you overwhelmed him with emotions he couldn't even begin to explain. 

“What are you doing?” he chuckled through his nose with a huff, “You just gonna stand there and hold my face  like a weirdo or are we gonna go inside?” He chuckled before licking his lips. “I mean, either way, I don’t mind. . . We’ve just been here for quite a while.”

“I- I’m just so happy to see you,” you averted your eyes for a second and looked away momentarily before looking him in the eye again, “in person.”

You were gazing into him so deeply, eyes searching and exposing every naked part of him for who he is and what he could be. He wasn’t sure what you'd find after looking at him for so long, but he was scared of all the possible things that might be.  

Would you want to be with him once you've seen it all?

He settled on a, “it's good to see you too.” he chuckled lowly. “In person.”

He’d be damn if he’d tripped over his own feet to get to  you. He couldn't do that to himself. . or you. Not this time.

Some serious looking man pops up and calls your name.

“I'll be there in a sec!”

You smiled at him again, instead of holding his face you chose to clasp both of his hands into yours.

“I am so excited for tonight!”

“So am I.” He gave you a few finger guns. Why? He's not sure, but he's rocking with it. At this point he has no choice but to act like it's normal.

“They aren't going to let significant others of any kind into the business side of things because of the incident that happened last year, so you’ll have to stay in this specific area.”

Nick’s mind was blank. He didn't wait so long for this night just to be shoved off into a corner.

“Yeah, no,” he shrugged it off. What's a few more days compared to a few more hours? If that, even! It's a work thing, right? Go work! Ole Nicky will be just fine!”

One more blessed smile and you were gone. 

The night was hell. . .

The drinks were as decent as a business function could manage, but what really grated his nerves were the women he was surrounded by. At first he thought about it in a practical manner.

You worked in a male dominated field, so of course he’d be surrounded by a bunch of women in the significant other –and ‘others’ section. 

These women were as ditsy as they come. . . or the most elaborately decorated pieces of cardboard. Pretty, but they were bored and disinterested. However, it was clear why they were here.

“Oh my God,” some not genuine red hed practically screamed in his ear, “so are you like an escort for the one woman here?”

“Don't be stupid,” her friend chided, “He's clearly her LA Bae!” 

He gave his best forced fake smile and took a sip of his beer, leaving them to a hissy fit of their giggles.

The annoying questions, the alcohol, and the lingering boredom were all adding to the slow simmering fire of the rage building up inside of him.

Is this what you thought of him? Was your relationship even real or was he just someone you met up with anytime you were in LA because otherwise you’d be lonely and bored. He wasn't against anything casual or fun, but the longer he stays in this stupid corner, the more it becomes clear to him what he wants you to be in his life.

He wants something real with you.

All the times you both spent video chatting, him asking  you what you wanted. . .

The way you never gave an answer, or changed the subject in a way where you  started to answer, but ultimately never really answered the question. . . 

He hated that the most.

Whatever it may be, he wanted you to say it. You owed him that much. 

“Nick!” You called again that night, not for the last time. 

“Hey.” He tried his best to not look upset, but he’s known for having a pretty sucky best effort. He  tried to make his tight-lipped smile as polite as possible, but that only did so much when his arms were crossed tightly against his chest. The beer in his hand dangling idle at his side.

You paused but only for a split second, blinking past the tension before smiling up at him.

“Hey!” You placed both hands on his shoulders before moving them up and down his arms. 

“It’s finally over! We are free to do anything we want now!”

Nick watched a blonde walk arm and arm with a considerably older man, giggling in his ear as they made their way into an elevator where the man not so subtly slid his hand up her considerably short dress. 

Is this it?

This can’t be it.

Fuck it.

“I was thinking we could go get a late dinner” you started, “or we could keep it lowkey and get a drink at a bar somewhere? Maybe head back to the hotel I'm staying at?” your hands glided across his chest before meeting at his back as you took a step closer. 

“No.”

Your brows furrowed

“What do you mean no? Nick what’s–”

“Is what we have real?”

“Of course what we have is real!” you scoffed, “Where is this–”

“--no!” Nick shouted and slammed his beer on the nearest surface. 

“No.” he said again more firmly, taking a step closer to you. “Why did you invite me here? Why invite me to something if we aren’t actually going to get to talk or spend real time together?”

“Ni–”

“--are you embarrassed by me?” he yelled. “Is that it?”

“Why the fuck would I be embaressed of you Nick?” you yelled back, waving your hands around with as much fervor as he was. You both had to be looking like complete fucking asholes. “If I'm embarrassed to be seen around anyone, it would be Derik!” you huffed.

 “I like you. . . because you aren’t him! Y- you're nothing like him. . . nothing.” your voice broke a little at the end and Nick couldn’t help but feel a little bad. But the little voice in his head told him to be selfish, and all he wanted to do at the moment was listen to it.

“It's not enough.” he crossed his arms and pursed his lips. 

“It's not enough?” you said incredulously. “When is it going to be enough Nick? What the fuck else do you even want me to do? I–”

“--prove it.”

He licked his lips and cursed under his breath. “Prove it to me by coming back to my place. Come into my world. No fancy ubers, no five star restaurants, no shopping, no elaborate gifts. Just you and me with my terrible friends and roommates.’

You shook your head, but you didn’t look mad at him or like you were going to cry.

At least he knows he didn’t completely fuck this up. 

This was good. He told himself. It was good because he was communicating. He was being honest and somewhat talking about his feelings. A complaint he’s gotten so many times in the past. This was different. 

This was progress.  

-

Nick had you on his lap. Nowhere you hadn’t been before. Except you were out of your dress. 

The only thing covering you was a thin champagne colored lingerie set, and a thin sheen of sweat. Nick’s right hand lay on your side as his left held another cold beer. 

You slowly ground on his lap. A small whine slipped out of your mouth at the feeling. He was still in his suit. Jacket gone, shirt unbuttoned, shoes thrown somewhere. His tie was loose on his neck. 

“Shh, none of that now,” he muttered sweetly in your ear. “You're doing such a good job.”

You shifted your weight once more, pushing yourself closer to him so that your legs dangled on the other side of the chair and your faces rested flat against him. Perched perfectly between the meat of his chest. Normally it was a place you revealed to be. You loved burning your face against his chest during sex, sometimes chancing a bite on one of his pecs, or toying with his nipples, but tonight all you could spare was desperate pants as he edged and toyed with you as the night went on and on. Never ending his little game of payback. 

 The room was hot and stuffy. All you could do was hope he would do something to relieve any of the frustration you felt. Nick brushed his hand past your core once more, making sure each bump of his knuckles brushed against your clit. 

“Your making a such a mess,” he mumbled against your ear. The warmth of his breath wasn’t helping how hot you felt. “Schmidt’s gonna be so mad once he sees how bad you've ruined his suit. You're dripping everywhere.” 

It shouldn’t be so hot to hear him say that. It made you whine as you grind your hips once more across his lap. You were aching. This slow game of arousal was driving you mad. 

“Nick,” you panted, “please. . .I need more.

Nick hummed in response, but otherwise did nothing.

After another torturous moment. Where time was fast, slow, and non existent, he finally did something.

“Get on the bed.”

This was it! Finally!  Something was going to happen!

You moved to get in the bed normally, but he stopped you.

“Nuh-uh,” he shook his head before yanking the tie off his shoulders and throwing it, “lay facing the foot of the bed.”

You slowly did as you were told, not sure how to feel about it. 

This was. . .new.

Nick got into the bed and  shifted under you.

He let his hands roam on your legs, taking his time. He smoothed them gently across your calves, slowly feathering his fingers along your thighs, just barely touching you.

You yelped. In a quick motion before you could even blink, he was yanking you closer to his face, spreading your legs wide.

Your pussy was already hot and weeping from the way he had you earlier. The sudden warmth of his breath against you only made you wetter. It made the inside of you ache and a fire within your coil and furl hotter than before.

You shuddered, and he kissed the inside of your thigh in response. 

“Don’t worry. I'm gonna be taking care of you real soon.” He talked into you, every breath of his word fluttered straight onto your clit.”

You clutched the sheets on each side of his legs. 

“Nick, I'm sorry,” you moaned, “please, please. . .I can’t take it anymore.”

“I know, I know” he chided sweetly before mouthing at your thigh, biting and sucking on it until his teeth left an indention in your skin, making you howl. He kissed the marks before circling them with his tongue, making a wet popping noise, “I know how sorry you are, and I know just how good your going to be making it up to me.”

Done with his teasing, he placed his mouth on all of you, kissing you, undoing you. He was breaking you. He lathed at you relentlessly, licking against your walls, swirling his tongue against your clit in a never ending pattern. 

His large expansive hands grab each side of your ass, rubbing your skin softly and grabbing you firmly, his fingers leaving more marks into your skin. You were finding that his frustration of not leaving noticeable bruises or hickeys on your skin was frustrating for him which he soon started becoming more and more creative. He started biting into you harder than he normally would, letting his nails stay slightly longer than normal just so he’d have a chance to scratch you with them. Squeezing you tightly just as he was doing now, so he could later watch the little moons stretch taught on your skin until they slowly faded away for him to replace them with more. 

The thought of marking you was turning him on more and more, the taste of you dripping around his face overwhelming, he had to do something. He had to let you know how he felt. He sucked your clit, hard.

You felt your moan but you couldn’t hear it. You couldn’t focus. 

You could only hear the sloppy wet sounds of Nick eating you out. You could only smell and feel the evidence of your arousal all over his borrowed slacks, and the budding pre cum spreading inside of them. You could only feel the bulge of his cock grind against your face as you held onto his thighs for balance, squeezing his legs as tight as he was squeezing yours. 

It was too much. 

You couldn’t move. You couldn’t think.

But you could open your mouth, so you did. 

You mouthed at his clothed erection, making his thrusts harder and harder onto your face. 

The feeling of your hot mouth through his pants made him growl into you which made you respond with a moan, frustrating him further.

Taking two thick fingers, he took a break from using his tongue and thrust them inside of you, curling them until he found just the right spot. After doing so, he took one more suck on your clit, moaning at how wetter you were.

Your mouth made a sound but you couldn’t hear it with his thighs clapping over his ears. 

You both came hard and fast.

He let your legs go, and you only laid there limply, not able to move a finger. You could only lay there,making small weak gasps for breath as you came down.

Nick moved from under you with a groan. 

You silently watch him strip out the rest of his clothes. 

You wanted to hate the little smug smile that graced his face as he kept looking back at you on the bed, but you couldn;t help but to  somehow find it endearing. He didn’t look so confident and accomplished when it came to other things.

You watched him sigh in relief as he undid the belt buckle and kick off his pants, leaving him only in his boxers. He rubbed his hand over his chest in large mesmerizing circles. Up, down, side to side. His chest was hairy, wel. . . a lot of him was hairy, and you loved it perhaps more than you should.

You hummed in appreciation and he threw a pillow at you with an amused huff. 

“Your such a pervert.”

He bent down and slid his hand to the nape of your neck, entrapping you in a long hard kiss. His tongue chasing and licking into you at a pce you could hardly keep up with. The firmness of his jaw as he kissed into you over and over made your head spin. The tickle of his stubble, making your legs weaker than they already were. 

He pulled away with a dark look in his eyes. His pupils drowning out the dark brown pools of his irises. 

“Im not done with you.” he whispered lowly. 

He kissed you once more, much rougher than before. His jaw squeezing your chin a tad too tight before he climbed on top of you.

It was a long night. 

The evidence of it was sticky between your thighs. 

Bright light was seeping into your eyes. 

You tried to close them tighter and shifted closer into the bed. Nick was on top of you. His firm weight was better than any blanket. When you moved your head to bury in further into the sheets, his head followed yours, burying itself closer into the crook of your neck. 

“Hungry.” he mumbled into your shoulder.

You bit his arm, and he bit your ear in response. 

‘You should be, dufus.” you halfheartedly insulted. 

“Is that anyway to treat your old man after satisfying you all night?”

“I think you mean after indulging in your boyfriend's secret sex fantasy.”

“Ok, there was nothing wild or secret sex fantasy worthy about last night.” he scoffed. ‘I just wanted to know how you really felt about me.” he mumbled out.

“I'm not gonna lie.” you started, “I think you're making up problems that don't exist.” How does having sex in your apartment make our relationship feel more real or let you know that i love you ina deeper way?” you shook your head. “It just feels fake to me. I think you just wanted to play a powertrip fantasy of telling me what to do and make me feel bad.”

“So making you come to my shitty apartment fro sex when my annoying roommates are home so you can scream my name and moan all night is just a regular sex experience for you? You like being humiliated?” 

You bit his arm again, and he laughed.

“Yeah, okay. I can admit humiliate is too extreme of a word.” he turned on his side and pulled you against his chest. 

“I just. . . i just wanted you in my world for once. On my terms.’ he paused and licked his lips, searching for the right words, “Not in a power trip sex fantasy way, but in a serious relationship way.”

You tried to turn and face him, but he firmly held you against his chest so you couldn’t.

For someone who pretended to be emotionally constipated, he sure was good at explaining and talking about his emotions, but you relented. Clearly, you looking at him while he said this was somehow not possible. Hopefully, you will understand why someday. 

“I wanted to know you weren;t embarrassed of how I live  and who I am. I needed it to be this way.”

“Well I hope one day you could simply ask me and we can talk about it, instead of letting all your fucking roomates know what i soundlike when i cum.”

“You’ll get over it. We’ve all heard what each other sound like, and it's best we keep the peace by pretending nothing happened.”

You rolled your eyes. 

“I'm not asking.”

“Thank you for that,” he laughed, “it means the world to me.”

The process of sneaking out of Nick’s room to get the shower without anyone seeing was an ordeal to say the least. But you both made it through. 

You ran into Winston on the way out, but it was not as horrible as you were imagining. 

You had on one of Nick’s very worn out and stretched Henlys and a pair of socks, and him a fresh pear of plaid cotton pants and the cleanest t-shirt he could find. Which disturbed you how hard it was for him to finally find one. 

He avoided eye contact with both of you and quickly bolted to the kitchen.

Nick gave you a weak smile, and you inwardly screamed. 

“Can we just eat in your room?”

‘Is that really something you want to do? You were just in there!” he whisper-screamed at you. “You saw what a disaster it is! Its not safe in there!”

You nodded. Too nervous to actually say anything. 

Nick’s roommates were a particular bunch you heard so much about but never spent a whole lot of time with them. It was clear he considered them his best friends. He was definitely a bit embarrassed by  them, so you never pushed for more time around them. In fact, you don;t make it a big deal because he never made it a big deal. You always chalked it up to, that's just how guys are, and left it at that. 

However, at some point, which was starting to become clearer and clearer the more time you spend with Nick, he would need to know. He wanted to know if what he thinks of as his world could ever be compatible with you and your world. 

This was the moment of truth, and honestly, you were a little scared too. 

You are from a different world, and you don't know if you're compatible with his. 

He sighed, and you gave him a nod. 

You both walked into the kitchen to face what would come, and it was terrible. 

Breakfast was so awful. It was perhaps one of your most embarrassing experiences. 

No one would look you or Nick in the eye or say anything, so you all ate in silence.

The only person undisturbed with a smile, being Nick.

You were definitely planning to wipe that fucking look off his face.

#nick miller x balck reader #nick miller x reader #jake johnson x reader #new girl #new girl fanfiction #jake johnson x black reader #x black fem reader #jake johnson

[anneapocalypse]

DAI Companion Styles: Josephine

Dragon Age Companion Styles Series

Next up by special request from @magneticmage is the lovely, the gracious, the refined, the stunning Josephine Montilyet, Ambassador to the Inquisition. (And yes, Josephine is an advisor, not a companion; yes this series is called “Companion Styles”; yes I’ve decided to just lump the advisors in with them and not change the name, and we’re all just going to have to live with it. 😉)

Disclaimer: I am not a fashion expert, dress historian, or professional designer! I'm just a gamer who likes to sew and has a casual interest in historical fashion, and a great interest in fantasy worldbuilding and the implications thereof, and that's where I'm coming from on these posts. I'd also love to hear thoughts from fans who have a more in-depth background in historical dress, textiles, and armor.

Also, we’re going to be talking about gendered clothing, so let me state for the record that I don’t believe clothing has any inherent gender. However we’re going to be talking about fashion in a cultural context here, and in the context of Thedas (and specifically Orlais), fashion is heavily gendered, and how characters engage with those gendered expectations can be personally and socially interesting.

As with Sera, I’m going to be focusing mostly on Josephine’s style from an in-universe perspective because that’s what I think is most interesting!

Much appreciation to @dragonagegallery, whose posts have made the canon review for this post much easier! The Art of Dragon Age Inquisition was also a great reference.

(Look at her. She even looks good in the Haven Chantry lighting. Nobody looks good in that. Iconic.)

Josephine is an Antivan-born noblewoman educated in Orlais, who trained and briefly worked as a bard before becoming disillusioned with that life and turning to a career as a diplomat instead. She has been working as the Antivan Ambassador to Orlais up until the point she joins the Inquisition as its Ambassador. Josephine is well-versed in the Grand Game and the culture of the Imperial Court and the upper class. If I were to say that Josephine is fashionable, I don’t think most people would disagree with me.

Yet her signature outfit is quite different from what we see on the fashionable upper class ladies of Orlais. There is a fair amount of Renaissance influence in Orlesian high fashion, but as others have pointed out, there's actually quite a lot of variation in sleeves, collar, and understructures (things like crinolines or panniers that give a skirt a certain volume and shape), drawing inspiration from centuries of European historical dress. Yet Josephine still stands apart from the fashions for Orlesian noblewomen, in some very interesting ways.

I should note at the start here that I am working at a bit of disadvantage with Josephine because we've never been to her country of origin in the games, and basically every Antivan character we've met so far has either been wearing armor, or the same styles as the country they're in at the time. (Also, most of them have been Crows, which Josephine is not.) So I can't comment on how Josie's look compares to what is fashionable in Antiva at the moment, because we don't know. Instead, I'll be talking about her style in the context of Orlais, which I think is fair since she went to school in Orlais and has been living and working there for quite a while now. Just bear in mind going forward that there is a whole sphere of potential influence that we can't really examine here.

But I do think there's also good reason to assume that Josephine takes inspiration from Orlesian fashion, starting with her color scheme. One of the first things that strikes me (and I think many viewers) about Josephine's outfit is "Wow, that's very gold." And it is! It's very gold and blue—colors directly associated with Orlais and with the nobility especially. We see gold and blue all over Orlais, from the capital to the countryside, and Josephine has deliberately chosen to dress herself in the colors that signify power and influence in this nation.

So let's take a look at the specific pieces she wears.

Josephine is wearing what appears to me to be a blouse of gold-colored silk satin with puffed sleeves and a tie-neck or possibly a matching scarf, dark-colored breeches ending just below the knee, a heavier sleeveless overdress or vest in blue brocade or damask (possibly even fine tooled leather; it's really hard to say) that ends at the knee, gold stockings, and black flat shoes. She wears a wide leather belt at the waist, with a gold satin sash tied over it. You can see some better images of Josephine's outfit in concept art and her character model in detail on @dragonagegallery.

This outfit is fascinating to me, and if you've read my post on Sera's style, you might have already guessed a few reasons why.

Given Josephine's basic silhouette, it's easy to look at her and assume she's wearing a dress, but she actually isn't. Even if she was, it would be a break from the Orlesian high fashions of the day, which favor floor-length skirts. But this isn't a dress at all. I would actually compare the blue vest to the leather vests we see in some of the Inquisitor armor variants, for mages and for rogues. The detailing on Josephine's makes it look finer, but it's a similar style, with a similar utility: it's easy to move in. Josephine's vest even has large visible pockets on the sides! And this goes all the way back to her concept art.

I think it's easy to get distracted by the big shiny gold sleeves and miss the fact that Josephine's outfit is actually very practical. In fact, you know what else it reminds me a little of?

Variants of this outfit appear in both Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition, and it's always been a non-gendered look. Note the knee breeches, the vest, and the puffed sleeves (though with much less extravagant gathers than Josephine's).

Josephine wears flat shoes, easy to walk in, comfortable for all-day wear. The wide leather belt echoes but does not exactly mirror the popular underbust corsetry seen on gowns; it is of a more practical style and material, and I'd imagine it could be good for back support for those long hours she spends at a desk. And in fact, the way Josephine wears it over her vest with the sash tied over the belt is not unlike the way a rogue Inquisitor wears their armor:

Though Josephine has left behind the life of a bard, I feel it's undeniable that that life has influenced her style. This is rogue fashion—practical but still stylish, easy to move in, easy to carry items you might need. Josephine is dressed as a rogue, but adapted to her current profession and personal tastes.

It’s all an intriguing choice for a diplomat! Because despite the clear Orlesian influence, Josephine’s look does not very much resemble any of what is fashionable for Orlesian noblewoman at the moment. No long full skirts, no outer underbust corsetry (though her belt does offer a cinched at the waist look), no deep V neckline (though her blue vest does create a similar shape over her blouse). When we compare Josephine to these looks, it’s a very different silhouette with mostly very different shapes. Even her puffed sleeves are puffed in different places than the fashions of high noblewomen (which seem to have the most volume at the elbow or lower right now).

But you know what we do see in Josephine’s outfit?

Breeches ending just below the knee. An outer garment that ends at the knee. Knee-high stockings. A flat black shoe. A shirt with sleeves puffed at the shoulders.

While Josephine’s look is ungendered in the context of a rogue, in the context of a noble this look is undeniably gendered, in a way that might not immediately register to our modern eye.

In the context of Orlesian culture, this is a Menswear-Inspired Look.

Now, unlike Sera, I do not believe Josephine to actually be wearing clothing designed for a man; given her station, this was all likely custom made for her. But in the context of Orlesian high fashion, there is some undeniably masculine styling going on here! And this isn’t about “women don’t wear pants”; many women in Dragon Age do, in fact, wear pants, all the time or in certain contexts; see above about rogue looks. Cassandra and Vivienne both have a skinny pants/leggings thing going on, and they both read more feminine in their styles to me, but they’ll get their own posts! With Josephine, it’s the specific styles of the pieces she’s wearing that bear similarities to men’s high fashion in Orlais. In a modern context, think a woman with long hair in a deliberately feminine style, wearing makeup, some statement jewelry, with a custom-tailored suit. Maybe with a few feminine accents on the suit itself; still definitely a suit. Josephine’s sleeves, for example, are not simply a copy of the male sleeve style; they’re taking inspiration but kind of doing their own thing. And of course, her hair is worn in a style that is practical, but still very elegant and feminine. It’s a Menswear-Inspired Look.

And I just love the fact that both of our F/F romance options in this game are kind of playing with gendered clothing in their personal style, but each very much in their own way.

I'm also fascinated by this one set of concept art called "Displaced Pilgrims" in The Art of Dragon Age: Inquisition, meant to represent "Fereldan and Orlesian refugees who arrived in Haven on a pilgrimage and were unable to leave following the disaster" (p. 75). One piece depicts an Orlesian woman dressed in what is from the hips up the same silhouette we see at the Winter Palace: exaggerated underbust corsetry that emphasizes the hips, a plunging V neckline with scalloped embellishment, a slightly puffed half-sleeve. But below the corset, the skirt has been cropped to mid-thigh and the woman wears a pair of breeches, stockings, and flat shoes with a rounded toe—strikingly similar to Josephine's lower silhouette. I can't recall ever actually seeing any NPCs wandering around Haven looking like this, which is a shame, because I love the concept of an Orlesian noblewoman blending masculine and feminine fashions in order to dress more practically for a journey into the mountains, while still appearing fashionable. I think this may be what Josephine is doing.

Josephine’s necklace is of interest to me as well, as it doesn’t bear a particular resemblance to anything I’ve found in Orlesian fashion; while we see a lot of necklines trimmed in gold, and a few necklaces, there’s nothing that looks like this piece. After a bit of research, I don’t think this is just a flashy piece of jewelry. Given the size of the chain and the way Josephine wears it draped over her shoulders, I think this might actually be a livery collar, also called a chain of office, that denotes her position as an ambassador!

Josephine’s whole look is very distinctive, and very put-together. In my opinion, this is a Choice. This is the kind of outfit that says, “I look like this on purpose,” and this from a woman who knows that a first impression may decide the course of a conversation that will affect the fate of nations. She is wearing a chain of office that immediately announces her station. She’s wearing expensive fabrics—again, I am interpreting that shiny gold fabric as silk and that is not cheap. Her vest shows fine detailing. Her clothing immediately says that she is both a person of means and holds a position of respect. Her color scheme speaks to her Orlesian connections. Her clothing conveys power and status. Yet her divergence from the styles of an Orlesian noblewoman also sets her apart. The practical elements of her look say, “I am no idle lady of leisure; I am capable; I am prepared for every occasion, even the unexpected.” And the roguish elements hearken back to her bard training, saying, “I know how the Game is played; I can be dangerous if I must be.”

Above all, I think this outfit speaks to Josephine’s self-assurance. She knows and understands social trends, but she is not beholden to them; she bends them to her tastes, rather than being bent by them. She acknowledges her past and what she has learned from it. She knows herself, and is in control of her own image.

I think this outfit does some pretty brilliant and inspired visual storytelling about Josephine Montilyet. I wouldn’t change a thing.

#josephine montilyet #dragon age inquisition #dragon age companion styles #thedas fashion #dragon age meta #blunders of thedas

[max13l]

My Astrology Based Maxiel Thesis Thingy

Some thoughts/analysis of Max and Daniel's birth charts and of how they manifest for them and their relationship: (Take with a grain of salt as this is for fun and I am not an expert, also there's more of Max because unfortunately we don't know Daniel's birth time. Enjoy!)

Daniel's Leo Venus:

Since Leo is a fixed sign, Daniel likes when things are consistent. Max is consistent. "Max is Max. You know what to expect." Daniel loves that he can go to Max and know eaxctly what he'll get. There's no scary uncertainty, he knows before even seeing Max what he'll be getting. Max is like an anchor that Daniel can hold on to when everything else is changing all around him. Also, Daniel definitely loves how true to himself and authentic Max is. He's said it himself. Another thing is how Max loves Daniel unapologetically (calling him beautiful, gorgeous, a beauty, gushing about him as a teammate and friend any chance he gets, the smile saga, the 2016 Sepang 1-2 no hesitation shoey, etc.) and Daniel thrives with his attention. But in true Leo Venus fashion, Daniel also shows Max off. Always praising Max in terms of driving, picking him as his favorite driver, rooting for him and saying Max has what it takes to win in 2021, the Cape Incident, picking Max over Seb in terms of raw speed on Nico Rosberg's podcast. He finds pride in having been Max's teammate.

Daniel's Leo Mars and Max's Sagittarius Mars:

Both are fire signs so when they're passionate about something it shows. Max is more quick to anger but it also fades just as quick (Sag is mutable), while Daniel's lasts longer and simmers (Leo is fixed). Daniel's anger is also connected to his ego so when his ego is bruised it may hurt more and linger, so if you did something to anger him that would also hurt his pride like let's say Max taking him out of the race in Hungary in 2017, to patch it up you'd have to mend his ego too, think Max did well enough with that even back then considering they did get over it when Max voluntarily sought Daniel out to talk and it showed Daniel he was willing to put in effort to mend their relationship and that he cared beyond just offering him a beer and a "sorry".

Max's 12th House Sagittarius Mars:

Think this is the placement that makes Max so misunderstood (his words) because it places the planet of passion and anger in the house of secrets, the house of hidden things, of dreams. Seems familiar with people somehow thinking Max doesn't care about racing when in actuality it's an indispensable and crucial part of who he is and his whole existence. People fail to see all the passion he holds for it and how intrinsic it is to him because he only shows as much as he feels he has to and people who don't want to look deeper may miss it. Also the misconception that he likes conflict or is an aggressive person when its the complete opposite. He avoids conflict as much as possible (also influenced by his Libra Sun), but he will stand up for what he believes and will not back down when he genuinely thinks he's right.

Think he also holds more shame than people realize or a sense of duty to be what people around him want him to be. He needs to be a winner and a champion because so many people sacrificed so much for him to get where he is, anything less is him failing. He's a people pleaser in terms of delivering the results wanted and expected of him.

His Sagittarius Mars (is ruled by Jupiter which also is said to be the planet of luck) makes him naturally in tune with what he does, Daniel said it too that he thinks Max drives on instinct a lot.

His Pluto is also conjunct his Mars which could add to him being antagonized. Could be why he "can't win a championship in a normal way" too. Pluto is also known for transformations and transitions and we can think of how Max changed F1 by coming into it so young and having a bunch of rules added/altered because of him.

Max's Scorpio Venus:

The Stares™. We all know them, like with Daniel when he's just staring at him unblinking like he's observing every little thing about him. That's a love language. Wanting to be possesed and wanted, the Cartier bracelets he always wears and the way he seeks out if people are laughing at his jokes. Fixed sign, he wants what he wants and it will be obvious even if he may think he's being sleek sometimes. (He's not.)

Max's 7th House in Gemini:

The sign in your 7th is sometimes said to determine what traits you look for in a partner. Guess who has a Gemini Moon and Mercury (and Jupiter but less important here)? Ofc, Daniel does. Max loves Daniel's jokes, even the stupid ones, he loves the way he talks and how he expresses himself. Max never finds Daniel annoying, even when other people would, because he enjoys Daniel's "obnoxious", for lack of a better word, energy and wouldn't have it any other way.

This combined with Max's Scorpio Venus also makes him devoted and absolutely averse to ever being full on negative about something Daniel does or is. We've seen it with him being the only one to defend doing a shoey with Daniel, or the pure insanity of him defending Daniel saying (about himself) that he farts too much when asked about an annoying habit, which Max said that it is of course not right after (on a sofa ep).

Max's Libra Sun in the 10th:

He is one with his career, with racing. He is supposed to be doing exactly what he's doing and he couldn't have seen himself doing anything else, if not racing himself he said he would've still been involved with the racing world one way or another. His results also may feel like they define him, are like an extension of him so he needs to always deliver and takes it very hard when he can't. He's decisive and diplomatic but will make it known when he thinks he's not being treated fairly.

Max is a Libra Sun, Daniel is a Cancer Sun:

Both are cardinal signs, it translates in how they say they're both very competitive and how they both can recognize that in each other and respect it.

Thanks for reading! I will add more if/when I think of other stuff. Feel free to ask me things (no guarantee I'll have an answer but I'll try my best), I would love to discuss further, or add your own stuff to this. :)

#i love astrology and maxiel so i had to make this #also definitely more that could be said so if there's anything specific in their charts you wanna know about pls ask :) #maxiel #max verstappen #daniel ricciardo #my post #astro maxiel

[dadonbabysworld]

Skz Reactions: You want to play fight

Author's Note: This is my first post ever and writing, so I hope you enjoy it. Please be my skz moot if you like it lol I'm 21 so not a minor. Please point out any mistakes if you find them.

Word Count: 1,453

Chan

You were always play fighting with the other members. As Chan’s partner, they challenged you often. Chan hated it because they never challenged his authority, but you didn’t mind it. Play fighting was fun right? 

No. Not to Chan. Even if you took it too far he wouldn’t play back. You were pushing him as you argued over ice cream. “Don’t push me because your opinion is wrong”, he says. 

“Mint chocolate chip is superior”, you confidently say before pushing him again. He was getting aggravated, but he tried not to show it. 

“Stop pushing me babygirl”, but that just made you pout “I wanna play.” 

“I’m not putting my hands on a woman. We can play something else”, he says putting a hand on your stomach making you have butterflies. 

Lee Know

You were playing with Soonie, Doongie, and Dori with a laser. They were all scurrying quickly after it, fighting each other, and chirping loudly. Minho who was in the kitchen getting out stuff for dinner came to see what the commotion was. 

“You guys are so loud. I thought it was actual trouble”, he says sighing in relief. You just laughed and shook your head. “Am I not good enough for your babies?”

He looks at you and deadpanned, “no.” You gasped in shock. You ran over to him and started hitting him. He had tried to pin you, but you slipped away. Not before he grabbed your wrist a little too tight. 

“Minho!”, you yell. You try to pull away, but he tightens his grip. “Apologize for hitting me.”, he demanded. You were in pain, so you kept trying to fight. Eventually you gave in “I apologize for hitting you. I’m in pain here”, you say nearly crying. He apologizes as well, “I’m sorry too but don’t be starting fights you can’t finish. Fight and win”, he said walking away. He was dead serious about this. 

Changbin

Changbin was a gentle giant not really knowing his strength when it came to gentle and soft things, so he never really used his strength when handling you. You had decided to go on a morning jog with him. It was very nice outside, so it was a good idea.

You had on your matching camo outfits. It was obvious you were a couple and lots of older people lived in your neighborhood who awed at you both running past. They would comment on how they miss those days of their relationship. It was a sweet sentiment ultimately.

However, right now you stopped to get water at the connivence store before going home. You suggested a race home as he caught his breath. 

“Damn Y/N, we already ran here.” You just started running taking yes as the answer anyways. Changbin rushed to catch up, but he wasn’t that fast. Until you teases started to go to his head.

“Hurry up Binnie! At this rate, I’ll beat you by ten minutes!”

He had passed you on the corner of your block. He beat you home because you slowed down, and he knew it. As you arrived slowing down to not him, he hit you on the shoulder.

“Yah! Don’t let me win because you feel sympathy for me”, he lectured sitting on your porch. You hit him back as you begin to shove each other lightly.

“I didn’t want you to feel bad Bin.”

Your voice so soft he almost missed it. Your play fighting stopped for a second as you both smiled. He held you close before you both went inside to shower.

Hyunjin

Hyunjin was dramatic naturally. He could not hide his facial expressions at all which got him into a lot of trouble sometimes. Just like right now.

You were trying on outfits for your date, and he was suddenly a fashion expert. You had on a blue dress, and you liked it very much. You had approached him as he was drawing.

“Hyunjin-ah do you like this dress?”

He side-eyed you meaning probably not. “Umm...”, he mumbled.

You sighed, “Hyunjin this is the fifth dress!” He winced at you yelling. “Sorry but it’s not that pretty...”

You hit his arm before turning to walk away. He hit your butt causing a fight he didn’t want. You both began to throw hits back and forth.

Eventually you pulled his ponytail causing him to gasp, “low blow Y/N…low blow.”

You laughed until he pushed you to the ground stomping on you. You can say confidently you lost that fight. 

Han:

You were doing a math assignment for university in the living room. You were sitting at the table listening to music and singing.

Jisung was watching spyxfamily. You recognized it from TikTok. Yor was your favorite, but Anya was Jisung’s. He was so dead for watching it without you when you finished this.

As a distraction to him, you were singing loudly. You could not sing for anything in the world. Jisung was getting visibly irritated constantly looking at you.

He got up and your heart began to race. He walks directly towards you. He pulled out one of your Air Pods. 

“Y/N do you have to sing so loudly?”

You laughed and nodded. “Why is that?” He genuinely looked confused.

You hit him “you’re watch it without me!” He blushed embarrassed. He hoped you wouldn’t notice. He had gone to hit you back, but you slipped out the chair causing him to lean forward more to hit you hitting his knee on the chair.

“Ahhh-wanna swing from the chandler”, he sung holding his knee. You laughed almost peeing your pants at his scream turned song. He was upset with you and just went to your room.

Felix

You and Felix were having an at home movie night with your friends. Felix never bothered them just watching then going to bed in your room alone at night when sleepovers like this take place.

You didn’t want to make your single friends lonely by sleeping with Felix at night, and he understood that you’re just being kind to them. Right now, a pillow fight was taking place.

Pillows and some light jabs were being thrown all over. You had hit Felix for fun a few times, but he wasn’t interested in fighting back. A true gentleman. He just watched you in anticipation. 

“No play fighting?”, you ask pouting. He chuckled lightly before shaking his head.

“No, I’m not gon hit you. I’ll never lay a hand on you.” You believed him and appreciated him being so kind. 

Seungmin

Seungmin was laying on the bed, and you were cuddling with him. You were getting to be antsy while he was on his phone watching a show. You kept moving your head to be in the way of his phone on purpose.

“Pup move your head”, he says pushing you. This gets your engine going. You pushed him back “Don’t start. I was trying to get comfortable.”

You and he knew that was a lie, so he just pushed you off the bed. You winced as you hit the ground groaning. He laughed at you a little before asking “are you okay?” You just laid there, and he looked over the edge of the bed. “Earth to Y/N... you okay?”

You pulled him off the bed to the ground as well. He grunted hitting the ground next to you. You grinned satisfied with your revenge. “I guess I deserved that.” He said looking over at you. You nodded and kissed his cheek.

Minho walked pass and looked at you both weird. “Fucking weirdos... the floor is not that comfortable”, he mumbled causing you both to laugh.

Jeongin

Jeongin doesn’t typically play around. He is the youngest in skz, but he is very mature.

You were both sitting in the living room watching YouTube as he decided to check Instagram. Being the center of his universe, you deserved all his attention, so you decided to take his phone and leave.

As you were exiting the room, Jeongin called out to you, “If I have to get up, you won’t like it!” 

You began to run in order to hopefully escape him. You ran down the hall, but you heard his foot steps coming louder and quicker than yours.

You were almost able to close his bedroom door, but he grabbed you pinning you against the wall looking at his phone in your hand. 

“Fucking brat. I was just about to post something”, he says. You giggled and stuck out your tongue mocking him. 

He looked down at you, “get on the bed and don’t make this difficult.” You climbed in the bed slowly as he closed and locked the door. I'm in danger.

If you like this post, consider reading my other works listed here. I, also, accept requests here. Thank you!

#skz reactions #stray kids #skz #skz x reader #skz x y/n #skz fluff #skz imagines #stray kids reactions #skz drabbles #stray kids drabbles #bang chan #lee know #changbin #hyunjin #han jisung #skz felix #seungmin #jeongin #skz i.n #minho x reader #chan x reader #changbin x reader #hyunjin x reader #han x reader #felix x reader #seungmin x reader #jeongin x reader #Angelwroteit

[simplysnaps]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but as someone who's kinda dreading the career they went to school for (I went for art) and kinda just wants a stable desk job with benefits now: do you have any advice on how someone looks for them? Like, what even IS a desk job? (Again sorry if this is stupid but I have deadass no clue how or where to get a job that's not retail 🥹)

I've gotten a few asks like this, so I figured I'd answer one for everyone. The short answer is: No, I don't have a magic bullet that will land you a desk job making $50k/year with a 401k and benefits. I wish I had an answer, I wish there were safeguards in place that protected everyone from asking a highly unqualified 24-year-old girl for career decisions. I wish you all could get/have what you need. But since y'all asked for my advice, here's what I have to offer. Once again, I am just some girl, I'm not a business-god:

#1: The website I found my job on is https://otta.com/. It's a great place to find jobs in the tech field. It's where I found the job I'm currently working at!

#2: It's easier to find a job when you have a job. I know this seems like old-fashioned advice your racist uncle gives you at Thanksgiving, so lemme reiterate it as a socialist trans girl you follow. This advice is TRUE. You are less desperate and less inclined to make silly decisions/concessions if you're currently employed. Our existing system is literally designed from the ground up to exploit desperate workers who are given the decision to either work or DIE, so yes... In our current system, being employed PERIOD is preferable to not being employed. There will always be someone to work harder for less compensation, so you have to make yourself "worth something" by having additional options. This is fucked, and I wish it weren't the case, but the way to gain "capital" as an employee is to have mobility and options. Be in a position where you're able to tell someone "No, I'm better than that. I'll find something else." If you're not in that position, I'm truly sorry. I wish I had more advice for you. Like I said, I'm not an expert at job-matching, I'm just a girl who's been asked by dozens of people at this point for direction.

#3: Be kind to yourself. If there's anything I've learned in the last year+ of therapy, it's that we have to be kinder to ourselves. None of us are "where we want to be." Trust me, I know. I was in a terribly abusive situation far too recently, but now it feels like such a distant dream. So if you're currently in that position, I have a few things to say to you: Firstly, it gets better. I know that feels like something better-off-people say to us just to make themselves feel better, but I can personally confirm this. Unless you're literally dead, there is the possibility that things get better than they currently are. It can happen. I was once hopeless, thinking life could never get better. Now I'm financially independent with savings and a nice apartment. It's POSSIBLE. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you. Just try to believe it can. Secondly: Be willing to endure the shit jobs until you find a job that you can actually tolerate. Endure/tolerate are two entirely different things. I once endured my job. Now I tolerate it. Do you think I love working customer support? No! But I'm fine with it! I like it some days! That's what's important! Just... not wanting to unalive yourself at the end of the day!

#4 is for the folks who can MOVE: I can't relate to this one as an asthma disabled gal, but I have heard that it's quite simple to "sell your body" for money. This isn't sex work, it's actually factory/shipping work. If you're able-bodied and can work exhausting hours, maybe consider a job at a FedEx joint, or an Amazon warehouse. Like I said, this isn't advice for getting a great job, it's advice for getting enough money to survive. If you are physically able to lift/move stuff without collapsing/dying, maybe consider this option! It is grueling and draining, but it pays a fat check for the damages. This isn't ideal for the long-term, but can serve you well for a hot minute if you have the physical health to survive it.

#5: Just hang in there. You're beautiful, and I know everything feels like hell at the moment, but please trust me as someone who's been there that it can get better. It did get better. Someday, everything you're enduring will be a story you tell your loved ones, a tale of what you used to endure. It will show them where you came from, but it won't be where you are. You can beat this. You will beat this. I know you can, because I truly believed I was doomed to my place in the world. I hope you understand that I'm not a grifter, I'm not trying to sell you a magic solution to your problems. I'm openly admitting that I cannot help you. But what I can offer is a promise that it can get better. Not that it will, but that it can. And that's worth pushing through, right? I know it can, and I know it will. The alternative is death, which is oblivion anyway. That means, statistically, it must get better! Otherwise it'll be "nothing," which is null and void!

So get out there, champs! Or hang in there! Either, or! Try to focus on #1, it's the most important! I love you all.

[izzyspussy]

so i watched the french slasher girls with balls and. hm. i didn't hate it but i didn't like it either. but anyway, premise is that a college? pro? women's volleyball team gets their bus sabotaged by a local cult they pissed off and are held hostage-ish in the wilderness of the cult's property and hunted for sport. and there's one teammate who is like a huge cunt and very arrogant and not a team player etc etc and i'm sure at this point you must all know where i'm going to take this.

toward the climax, the cult has several of the players bound in a circle and they're deciding which one of their heads to drill first or whatever, and the bitchy teammate volunteers someone else and then becomes evil or whatever. boring.

so instead. how about richmond afc, or perhaps select members of them, circa season one, get kidnapped somehow and idk maybe they're being held for ransom or something (which is infinitely less stupid than the villains in the movie were tbh). anyway, the captors are not getting what they want in a timely fashion so they're gonna have to escalate things, but they're also football fans and like Respect The Sport or whatever, so they want to have a sort of hierarchy of players to harm in an order so the best players are left able to play once they get their money.

so they ask the team, "who's the worst player?" and everyone is quiet, they're not gonna betray each other, but then jamie clears his throat or something and everyone is like ah shit. this fucking huge cunt is gonna pick someone. knew he was a fucking prick, but jesus.

but! instead, my beloved son season one jamie says, "i am."

but like, the guys are football fans, so they obviously fucking know who jamie tartt is. so they laugh, they express their doubt, be so serious for real. and jamie just goes off and rapid fire lists every single note he's ever gotten on his play in his fucking life, including this most recent shit about how he's not a team player and he prevents cohesion in play and brings down morale and- and the bad guy in charge backhands him or whatever to shut him up.

and then mr. head honcho gets real close and repeats he knows who jamie is and he knows he's actually the best player, and if jamie lies to him again he'll cut out his tongue. he asks again, "who's the worst player?" and jamie leans forward as far as he can with his hands bound to his chair bound to the chairs on either side so he can get in this guy's face, and repeats, "i am." and then, for good measure, he sticks his tongue out. if this guy wants to cut it off, there it is baby!

so head honcho is like alright fine, we tried to be nice and all but if this is how you want it this is how you'll get it. so they grab jamie up and relocate him to the torture zone across the room or whatever, and he is such an absolute expert at being so annoying and pissed them off so much that they forget to re-secure the guy he was tied to (obviously this is a completely fucking stupid way to tie people up, but just go with it okay). and he's so good allll the bad guys want a damn piece of him, they're not looking at the rest. head honcho makes more threats...

and jamie says, "aw, should i pretend to be scared? maybe i could win an oscar. or an espy."

#jack facts #ted lasso #hc #ask to tag

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #48

I did it!!! I finally did the thing!! I did it with help!!

Look!!!

I took a broken Dance Dance Revolution (DDR for short!) pad, which wasn't a very good pad to begin with for a variety of reasons, and turned it into a DDR pad that actually works!!

There were a lot of steps involved with this, but obviously, the very first step was to take the broken DDR pad apart and figure out how it works:

As it turns out, on the inside there are two sheets of plastic with conductive paint on the inside. When the conductive paint on the top sheet touches the conductive paint on the bottom sheet, a button press is recorded! A thin foam sheet with holes perforated in specific spots is put in between the two sheets of plastic, such that the conductive paint only touches if you step on certain parts of the pad.

The pad was broken because the plastic sheeting with the conductive paint ended up being crunched up in certain spots, which made it more difficult for the paint to conduct properly. After taking the pad apart, my husband and I used packing tape on the sides of the sheets without conductive paint to smooth out the wrinkles and reinforce it.

When the crunched-up sections were able to lie flat in a satisfactory fashion, I then used a staple gun to affix the bottom plastic sheet to a very sturdy piece of board. From there, it was time to reapply the foam in the correct orientation. That was also stapled down. Then finally, I aligned the top sheet of plastic with the bottom sheet (the foam was slightly translucent even in the parts without holes, so this was relatively easy), and stapled that down, too. Here was the result:

After that, you have to protect it with the sturdy plastic cover. I wanted a pad where the arrows were slightly raised, and I wasn't going to use the foam bottom of the pad for anything, so I cut little squares in the shape of the arrow buttons and applied them to the bottom of the plastic cover, like so:

And then I flipped it over, aligned it with the plastic sheeting, and stapled it down!

And do you want to know what??? IT WORKS!!! So far, it works better than any other pad I've ever owned, and that includes my old RedOctane that gave out after 10 years of heavy use (RIP, my trusty RedOctane; I miss you dearly).

DDR is a very old game at this point, so they don't make high quality pads like the ones RedOctane used to make anymore. RedOctane as a company no longer even exists. It's a real shame.

Anyhoot!! I went and played one of my favorite DDR songs on Stepmania, on Expert level difficulty! The timing of this pad couldn't be better (though I wish I could say the same for my stamina at this point, hahaha!), and despite the fact that I am very much not used to this kind of exercise anymore, I still managed to get an A!

And the best part about it is that it's HEAVY. The wood that the pad is stapled to is fairly weighty!! This means it doesn't slide around on the floor all crazy when I am using it, and that's a HUGE bonus!! I've sprained ankles in the past from mis-stepping on a thick foam pad that moved without me realizing it while I used it, and goodness me, such an occurrence is NOT a fun time!!

Now that I have a pad that works properly and a funky green half-oval that can stick my ribs back together after the fact, I'm hoping to be able to play more DDR in the very near future! Maybe if I can get my stamina back and start playing on Expert mode all the time again, I'll even record a little video for you of me derping around on my Frankenpad! It'll look ridiculous, but it'll be fun!! Hahaha!

I'm really pleased with how this turned out; it works a lot better than I expected for a first attempt at trying anything like this! I'm hoping to make another one! If I do this again in the near future, I should do a better job, because next time I'll have a better understanding of what to do and what to expect! Then I can play with multiple people at the same time!! And that would be amazing!

Have you ever built anything cool? Heck, have you built anything that you think is uncool? If you have, then I wish you could tell me about it! I suppose I'll have to settle just for asking without ever receiving any answer, hahaha... Oh well.

I think I'll end this letter here for now. As you might expect, my grip flexors are VERY angry with me right now because repetitive uses of the staple gun is not something that squishy noodle-arms like mine are accustomed to, hahaha! Also, I moved around a lot, both for the construction of this and for testing it, and so my ribs are pretty angry at me, too... Sheesh...

I'll work at getting my stamina back so that I can send you a neat video. Count on it, okay?

Please stay safe until then. Remember you are loved. Remember that you are human. Make good and kind choices. Take nice care of yourself. And if you can spare the time, maybe try to see what sorts of things you can build, even if it's something silly like a little person made of sticks and twine. Building things is good for humans; it doesn't have to have a use.

I gotta rest now. I promise I'll have a bunch of amazing pictures to share with you tomorrow (but I'm not gonna tell you what they are gonna be pictures of!! I'm gonna leave you in suspense!!! NEENER NEENER NEENER!!! Hahahaha!), so just you wait...

I'll write to you again tomorrow. So don't disappear anywhere, okay? Promise me.

Your friend, Lumine

#sephiroth #ThankYouFFVIIDevs #ThankYouFF7Devs #ThankYouSephiroth #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy vii crisis core #final fantasy 7 crisis core #final fantasy crisis core #ffvii crisis core #ff7 crisis core #crisis core #ff7r #final fantasy vii remake #final fantasy 7 remake #ffvii remake #ff7 remake #final fantasy vii rebirth #final fantasy 7 rebirth #ffvii rebirth #ff7 rebirth #final fantasy 7 ever crisis #ffvii ever crisis #ff7 ever crisis #ffvii first soldier #diy ddr pad #dance dance revolution #wholesome

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

OKAY I SAW YOU DON'T MIND REQUESTS FOR TF2 sooooo

Sniper with a short s/o who's not necessarily a gremlin, but might as well be?? They can hide in tight places, spook folks by accident, and is constantly following Sniper around because s/o is comfortable with him? They don't care that he's awkward as all hell, and as soon as he gives them the okay s/o is using him as their personal pillow everywhere

Sorry lol just love him and have a nice day pleasee

"A perfect pair" Snipers x Reader

YESSSS I get to write for the stinky aussies! I need to get better distinctions for all the classes and not just sniper but here's the gist: red is more goofy and blu is more hard-core/intense.

TW: Suggestive

Lawrence (red)

- Let's be real, he let's you "scare" him and junk because he likes you. He's trained to know a hider. When you suddenly pop up behind him, he'll give a little shrug with his shoulders like you got him and says, "'ello, my little shadow. What am I doin' today?"

- He gives a little smile if you say something cheeky, "Nah, I don't think that was it." Before carrying on. He's so awkward but it's dreadfully endearing.

- He likes joking that you're compact. He reckons he could fit you in his pocket and sneak you places if you want!

- Will allow body as pillow usage sooner than one might think. He's not starved for physical affection or anything, but it's nice. Once he knows you're someone he can trust, he'll lean his weight on you jokingly to see if you fall over.

- Just know he doesn't have a lot of comfy fat for laying about! But he is an expert on good old-fashioned spooning. Not really, but he tries with those gangly limbs of his. You'll always feel secure with him, that's for certain.

- At some point or another, he's going to teach you self defense if you don't know any already- he says the two of you together are a one-two punch. They'll never see you coming.

Mick (blu)

- At very first he was annoyed before the dating happened because he doesn't like mucking about and having someone tail him. A little paranoid, you might say. Its how you survive, he says. Yet as he learns more about you and realizes it's because you feel comfortable with him, he let's up.

- once dating you'll get a quiet chuckle from him with your antics. Yet you can't seem to startle him, even when you try. He always knows where you are and, unlike Lawrence, makes sure you know it. But it's alright if you give the other lads a scare. He'd shoot them straight on if they had any complaints.

- It's a good thing, though. If you ever actually startled him, you'd end up with a bowie knife to the neck while he checks you out. Granted, he'd probably kiss you and congratulate you after, so pro's and con's.

- Will only allow you to use him as a pillow if he gets to pet your hair and crack wise about how you need him. He likes having the upper hand in a relationship dynamic. It's cute you want to lay on him. Like a little pet!

- If you ask him about fighting or self defense, he gets way too into it and has you using the ability to squeeze into tight spaces to your advantage. Sometimes, it's in the same space as him where every movement has you pressing closer together...

#foxwriting #tf2 sniper #sniper tf2 x reader

[villain-enthusiast]

Could you do a snippet with a dignified supervillain and a sarcastic civilian? Idk I just feel like it would make for a fun little short story lol

tw: captivity, restraints, mild death threats, suggestive dialogue

Civilian had to admit, Supervillain was less intimidating than they had initially imagined.

They were larger, taller in person, dressed in a sleek black costume with a billowing cape that seemed rather excessive. But as the infamous criminal shuffled through the contents of something near the back of the room, Civilian couldn’t help but think that they looked like a rip-off Batman.

“Hey, uh, don’t you think this whole ‘tied to a chair in a cell room’ shenanigan is rather cliché?” Civilian blurted out, shifting uncomfortably in their bonds. “I’m not really gonna go anywhere.”

Supervillain stopped their movement abruptly. Their head raised slowly.

Keep talking. Civilian cleared their throat, maintaining their composure. “I mean, really, I know it seems like I’m an expert escape artist, but the gods decided to trade out my smarts for a boatload of good looks.”

Supervillain turned around, one brow arched, arms folded across their chest. Their dry stare raked over Civilian, from head to toe.

Then they scoffed.

Civilian gasped in an artfully exaggerated fashion, taken aback. “You just don’t understand the meaning of true beauty.” They leaned their head back into their seat, fluttering their eyes.

“You’re a bold one,” Supervillain mused, approaching Civilian. “I’ve never caught a bold one before.”

“What am I, a fish?” Civilian smirked, but went still as Supervillain stopped in front of them.

A frown crossed Supervillain’s face. “You really don’t seem to understand your place of power here.”

Some kind of hysterical laughter bubbled up in Civilian’s throat, but they held it down. “Honey, I’m not your average-looking civilian. You’re a notorious outlaw who resembles the look of an emo teenager. I’d say we’re on even playing field here.”

Supervillain’s icy expression didn’t falter. They stepped closer, bearing over the bound Civilian.

Civilian, although intimidated, smirked up at Supervillain. “That’s right, take it all in. I’m just too good to be true.”

“I’ve seen better.”

“Liar,” Civilian huffed. “You must have bad taste. What’re you into, furries?“

“I really am getting fed up with you.” Supervillain fingered the knife at their belt. “I don’t need you alive for bait.”

Civilian ignored the shudder that raced down their spines “What is it with you and the fish analogies? Oh my gods, do you have a fish kink? Is that an actual thing—,”

They stopped talking at the cold bite of blade at their throat.

“Say one more dumbass thing and I’ll cut you,” Supervillain growled. “You think you can just stomp over my dignity like you’re not testing death? You’re like a damn mosquito. Annoying and unyielding until they’re squashed.”

Civilian swallowed around the knife. They were quiet for a moment, then they took a breath. “Hero’s gonna come find me.”

Supervillain removed the weapon from their skin, and Civilian slumped back down into the chair.

“I sure hope they do,” their captor muttered, re-sheathing the dagger.

“Aw, you don’t want me around?” Civilian cocked their head in mocking disbelief. “I think you’ll grow to like me.”

Supervillain, who had begun to stalk back to the corner of the cell, stopped in their tracks. They turned back around. “So you plan on staying a while?”

“Well that’s a rather stupid question.” Civilian tugged feebly on the ropes binding them to the chair. “One could say that I’m a bit tied up at the moment.” They smiled proudly at their own pun. “I’m not going anywhere until Hero swoops in and sweeps me off my feet like a dashing savior.”

Supervillain sighed. “It’s taking everything in me not to strangle you right now.”

Civilian winked. “Ah, choking kink. I’ll write it down.”

The flash of a smile ghosted over Supervillain’s face, but it was so brief Civilian could’ve sworn they just imagined it.

Walking to the cell door, Supervillain jangled the keys in their hand. “Make yourself comfortable…” they trailed off, raising their eyebrows expectantly at Civilian.

“The name’s Civilian.” Civilian grinned.

Supervillain nodded once. “Have fun talking to yourself for a couple of hours. I’ve got a Hero to take of.”

Civilian furrowed their brow. “Wait, I thought you said you wanted—,”

The cell door slammed shut, cutting Civilian off before they could finish their sentence.

Damn.

#hero #villain #civilian #hero and villain #villain and hero #villain/hero #hero/villain #villain/civilian #civilian/villain #flirty civilian #my writing #writing snippet #ask #villain-enthusiast #let’s play a game of #does supervillain like civilian or not?

[vibratingskull]

Unwanted visitor

Part1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Tags : alcohol consomption, brawl, bit of blood

FemaleReader x Thrawn

You're at a soiree in your boyfriend's apartment, and you receive a visit late at night...

You tug your dress to smooth and flatten it. You turn in front of the mirror, observing through every angle. You let Nath…Arzel  choose it for you, trusting his sense of fashion and what a woman of the upper crust should look like. He even convinced you to redo your entire wardrobe and brought you shopping at his expense. The clothes are not really your style, but they are feminine and adult, you’ll get used to it eventually. But for now you’re not, and you swear this dress makes you look like a fool. You take a glimpse of him in the corridor.

“Arzel! Does this dress make me look like a badly stuffed sausage?”

He holds your hand as your spin on yourself to show him off.

“Roween… You are absolutely sublime. You’re a living apparition…” He holds your side tenderly and kisses your forehead. “You’ll blind them all, do not worry about anything.”

You breath, calmed down. Your confidence comes back, and you smile at him. He gently guides you to the dining room of his million credit apartment. Far more spacious than your medium size apartment that he generously pays for you, this place makes you feel small. You watch as the droïds dress the table with experts hands, you envelop yourself in a modest shawl, not knowing what to do. 

"Demat my friends. Welcome !" The clear voice or Arzel rose behind your back.

You turn to see his friends arriving with big bright smiles. You stay in the backgrounds, not knowing them really well. You can name them but not much else. That doesn’t stop them from embracing you like life long friends. You gladly embrace them back, appreciating this sensation of belonging and love. A lady even kisses you on both cheeks. You let her do it with a patient smile, you get used to familiarity as time goes by.

Arzel places himself next to you and seizes your side delicately.

“To anyone who might not know her already, this is my pearl : Roween.”

Your face heats up, being suddenly the center of attention, you bow your head respectively to your guests, welcoming them properly into the penthouse. 

“So it’s her? The pearl?” Say a ginger woman who you recognize being the one talking with Admiral Wiskovis back when you entered the church.

Arzel nods with a confident grin. They all look at you with kindness and actual respect in their gaze, and another thing… Envy. Like they would like to devour you and take your place. You would lie if you said you didn’t like that, to be at the arm of Arzel as so many advantages and perks, authority and respectability is just one of them. If only your subordinates looked at you more like that, you’d have less problems at work. You shake your head, thinking of work will just bring headaches, now is the time to enjoy yourself. You mix with your guests, talking of everything and nothing. The ginger woman gestures to you to join her and her little circle.

“So it is you, The pearl? I knew I saw you somewhere, you’re the little impertinent person who eavesdrops on people's conversation.”

You feel the fire on your cheeks instantly. 

“I was only trying to find a good angle to approach a superior and build my network.” You defend yourself.

She chuckles.

“And you came a long way! You are now a lieutenant commander of the Navy, not a nobody of a junior lieutenant. I congratulate you, from the depth of my heart.” She bows her head a little. 

You thank her for her praise and accept a glass from her hand.

“But I realize we’ve never been properly presented ! I am Divi, Brigadier General of the Imperial Army. We should stick together as women of the Empire.” She clinks your glasses together, you’re impressed, acceding to her rank is not an easy feat . “Smile! This is Arzel’s dinner but this is as much a celebration of your success in your honor.” 

“Thank you, I’m pleased to meet you all.” You say, trying to maintain your composure in front of such high ranked people. The rest of the women nod at your words, welcoming you warmly in the group.

“I have to say, you made yourself desired. Arzel is really pleased to have found you and talks a lot about you. He has great plans for you and the church.” Say one of them.

This warms your heart, Arzel hasn’t been really demonstrative with his love lately, knowing he talks like that about you is a reassurance.

“Well, I do too. I hope to be able to dedicate even more time to it and convince some of my friends to join.” You exclaim excited. “This is such a great cause, we must spread it as much as we can!”

“My! My! What an energetic recruit. Arzel has the eyes for those people.” Divi laughs with you. 

And suddenly her demeanor change.

“Well even if you don’t participate in the church influence, you still be part of its… pleasure.”  She licks her lips ever so slightly but you see it. 

You froze for a second. She looks at you like a prey, and for a split second the rest of the group too. Encircled by lionesses, you can’t walk back to retreat. You gulp.

“What did you say?”

“Hmmmm?” She asks innocently. “I tend to ramble when I have drinks.” She laughs heartily.

You’re taken aback by the shifting attitude.

She puts her arm around your shoulder and pushes you close.

“But we have to warn you. You’re not the first to swagger at the arms of our Arzel. Know this : there have been a lot of called for this position but few have the guts to endure what comes with being with him.”

You frown and snarl. You’re not an innocent little kid, but a ranked warrior of the Empire.

“I think I can handle some boring dinners and insipid discussions with politicians, thank you.”

She shakes her head, chuckling. She lowers her voice to a tone of confidence.

“You are cute, Roween, but you have no idea what you set your foot into. It’s been 6 years since you are with us but you don’t know everything, of it’s inner circle. But it will soon end, soon you’ll play a big part in what this church has to offer. And it will be grandiose.” She squeezes your shoulder tenderly, almost encouragingly. “But your role will require sacrifice.”

You raise an eyebrow, what is she on about? Is she already drunk?  You look at her incredulous, and a bit lost. To say she confuses you would be an understatement. Your mind works at full speed to connect all the dots.

“When you say a lot have been called for this position, you’re talking about Ashcorah?” You demand, remembering the frail disoriented woman that approached you when you exited the church the first day.

Her eyes sparkles.

“Shhh. Keep your voice down, you won’t make friends talking about this traitor.” She warns. “Yes, I’m referring to her, among other things… Poor creature, we haven’t been nice to her.” She sounds remorseful and her gaze get lost in the void.

“What happened? Why did she have to leave?” You whisper.

She shruggs.

“She had the bad habit of putting her nose everywhere, and later she stopped believing in our shared goal to reunite all the races. She started spewing lies about our community and talked against it. She left on her own accord as much as we dismissed her.”

She looks at you with a little grin, readjusting your dress’s shoulders.

“I like you Roween. I’ll pray for you for what is to come.”

She winks at you but you sense no friendliness behind it. 

She let you here, confused. You rehash this whole scene in your head. She said I will take part in… pleasure of the inner circle? A terrific question flashes in your mind. What if… what if the church has some… freaky, pervert sex circle ? That sounded idiotic but the question makes its way through your mind.

“Everyone! It is time to dine!” Arzel calls everyone.

He takes your hand and gently guides you to your chair, next to his, obviously. You try to smile the best you could, but feel it deformed as a grimace as the question still haunts you. He’s enough of a gentleman to not formalize himself. Everyone takes place and the droïd start bringing the dishes, you try to calm down and smell the delicious scent of food and spices. You’re particularly drawn to a plate of meat.

Arzel waits for everyone to take what they wanted and is served a glass of alcohol to stand up from his seat and raises his glass.

“I thank you all for coming to one of my famous dinners! I regret to not receive you at my mansion on Tyrahnn, we would have more space than this miserable shack!”

Everyone chuckles.

“I would like to dedicate this dinner to the wonderful woman who shares my life, my pearl...” He takes your hand and kisses your knuckles. You blush instantly. “And our great Beleg that can’t be with us tonight. But he’s working for the peace between the races, so he’ll be forgiven.” He winks. “I also regret that our friend the Admiral Wiskovis cannot be with us because of an attempted murder on his person.” You turn your head and realize a seat is indeed unoccupied. “We will pray for him tonight. I have great news for you tonight! With the Beleg we’ve decided to bless our friend Vez with an honorable name.” Your eyes open wide. Vez will finally get his name? What great news. “After debate, we visited him and decided to grant him the honor by seeing his new pieces of art inspired by his life with the church. Such devotion couldn’t go unrewarded.”

He raises his glasses high, and everyone imitates him.

“I declare Vez one of us!”

“One of us!” You all recite and take a sip of the drink.

This reminds you about the moment you too received your name. All this ceremonial startled you a bit, but it is much funnier when you get to do it. You seize your cutlery and cut through your meat. You take a large bite. It’s strong and fondant, immediately melting on the tongue and deliciously spiced. You notice Arzel’s looking at you with a little smile.

“It is absolutely delicious. What is it?” You ask.

He winks.

“That’s my little secret.”

_______________________________________________

You’re completely and utterly…

drunk.

You look at the city blurred by the speed of the limo as your head drums. You squeeze the hands of Arzel that gently caresses it with his thumb. You sigh, regretting all those glasses of wine. And most importantly, you have a question turning obsessively in your head.

“Everything is alright, my pearl?” He asks

“No, I mean yes! It’s just… I drunk too much.” 

He chuckles.

“It happens.”

“Nather ? Can… Can I ask you something ?”

“Sure, Roween. Ask away.”

“Does the church have a … a private circle?”

He seems to think a little.

“I won’t go as far as calling it a private circle, but in a way I would say yes. Unfortunately, even with benevolent organizations an upper crust appears organically.”

“And does this circle… Does weird stuff?”

 He looks at you dead in the eyes.

“What are you trying to say, exactly?”

Your mind is only white noise at this point and you have difficulty articulating a correct sentence. You spurt out nonsense.

“Does the circle use sex slaves for perverted stuff?!”

He looks at you with eyes wide open…

And burst out laughing.

“Where did you get that idea?” He tries to ask, shaked by the spasm of his laugh.

“Divi insinuated… things. That I would participate in the pleasure the church will provide…” You feel ashamed to ask such a thing, but with the alcohol it was eating you alive.

He holds his sides, trying to calm down. He coughs and retrieves a contained composure.

“Divi… Always spoiling the fun.” He wipes a tear off his cheek. 

You look at him frowning, not taking kindly that your anxiety is laughed at.

“Nather, I’m serious.”

He clears his throat a last time.

“Well, we got a special ceremony arranged.”

“A ceremony?”

“A feast.” He reluctantly admits. “And I planned for you to be the main attraction.”

You eyeball him.

“That’s all?”

“Yes!” He chuckles “I don’t know how you could believe I was running a sex circle…”

You pout. It’s true in insight it sounds terribly stupid. That the man you love run a sex dungeon would be the height of irony.

Because…

Since the 6 years of you together…

Nothing happened.

Nada.

And you’re quite tired of taking care of that alone. A bit of help could be amusing. You take back his hand and squeeze it. You gulp. You terribly need some action tonight. Maybe it’s the alcohol, but your feeling bold and a well known fire start spreading deep down your core. You breathe deeply.

You finally arrive at your place, and Azrel, ever the gentlemen leave the limo to open you the door. You step up the car and press yourself against him. He pepperes kisses on your cheeks.

“Do you want to take a last drink at my apartment?” You ask lascive.

“Didn’t you drink enough?” He smiles.

“You know what I mean…” You open your coat to reveal your low necked robe he chose for you.

He chuckles, shaking his head.

“That is not happening, my pearl. Not tonight.”

“Are you sure?” You trace the low cut with your fingers, giving him bedroom eyes, licking your plump lips.

He closes back your coat in one swift movement.

“Roween, you’re drunk. And I refuse to take advantage of that.” He kisses your forehead “Go home. Sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

He shushes you away and you comply, shuffling along.

You start to climb the stairs, and glance back at him. He waves you goodbye, wrapped up his expensive black fur. You sigh and enter the building.

You’re so miffed you go to your bed without removing makeup and just put on an oversize t-shirt. You collapse on your bed, tired and unnerved, you roll inside your corvers like a cocoon and wait for sleep to come. You turn and yourself several times. You hear a shuffling sound and put a pillow on your face to muffle any other sound. It would work except for the next sound you hear is much closer.

You open your eyes wide open, instantly sober.

That shuffling sound… 

Was your door. 

Someone is inside your apartment.

You didn't give the code to anyone except Arzel, but why would he enter your apartment like a burglar?

You slowly rise from your bed, stress making you shake all over the place. You curse yourself, your weapon disappeared with the crash of the Zephyr, you didn't come and claim another one yet. You search your comlink.

Nothing. 

You must have let it in the living room.

Where the intruder is. 

You try to get back control over your breathing, but it is difficult. You slip into the corridor with an idea. You press yourself against the wall to the electrical panel of your apartment, you turn your head towards the living room and see the light ar on and a shadow moving. You switch the lever and the lights are out. You hear a distinct curse coming from the living room. 

You walk towards the room on tiptoes, and lean to observe it. With the rays of the moon you can distinguish your table and chairs, your sofa and télévision and a humanoid form that has nothing to do here. You focus and hear another respiration. 

"(y/n)?" The woman knows your name but you don't remember this voice. 

You see the form move, like it's searching something and as such slowly approaching your direction.

A little more… 

A little more…

"(y/n), I'm here to talk…" 

Like hell we're gonna talk, you think. You feel all your senses screaming and a cold sweat behind your neck. 

She takes three other steps and you dive, grasping what you suspect to be her side and an arm. She yelps in surprise, losing her balance she grips you, you seize the occasion to throw your knees in her stomach. She bends forward with a groan of pain, but manages to pull out from your grip. She throws her fist that that you receive in the face. You totter holding your jaw. She throws it again but you manage to avoid it and seize her whole arm to make her roll over your shoulder. Like in training you, you think. She crashes on the floor, cutting her breath. You seize what you think is a chair, and crash it down on her. 

She stops moving. 

You kneel to find a breath. She's still alive. You reactivate the lights and come back to see your assailant. 

It's Ashcorah. Ashcorah. 

You look at the limp body laying on the floor, unsure what to do. You’re panting excessively because of the adrenaline and you feel yourself shaking all over. You have to sit down and breathe deeply in and out, focusing on your breath to not hyperventilate. In shock, you extend your hand towards your comlink on the table and try to join the only peoples that come to your mind. 

________________________________________________________________________

You hear a gentle knock on the door. 

You go open with wobbly legs. You open to see Thrawn, as well put as ever standing out in your landing.

“Greetings.”

Still shocked, you just nod to him. He enters your apartment and assesses the situation. You notice his chest moving up and down rapidly like he is out of breath. 

“Did you run?” You ask with a shaky voice.

“You said you had a problem.”

You slowly nod again, biting your nail. He kneels next to the unmoving body. 

“Do you know her?”

“Very little…” You said, sitting back, looking at him investigating. 

“Do you have a rope?”

“I… I have some stockings…” You blabbed.

“It will do.” 

You hand him the piece of clothing and he ties her hands in her back before rolling her on her back and searching her vest. He pulls out a blaster pistol.

“Looks like she came accompanied.”

You see the weapon and immediately burst into tears. That is the last straw. This is too much for you. The alcohol, the intrusion, your violated intimacy and now that! You bury your face into your hands, and cry your heart out. You feel a hand on your shoulder. You raise up your head, your vision blurred by your tears.

“I am sorry, (y/n).” He says softly.

You don’t think and dive, pressing yourself against him. You wrap your arm around his chest, bury your face in his neck and cry. You feel him stiffened under your touch but doesn’t say anything, he lets you soak his perfectly clean uniform. You ugly cry like there is no tomorrow, digging your nails into the fabric, you feel him caressing your back, slowly, gently…

“Everything is gonna be alright.”

He cradles you delicately. You hug him tighter.

“I am here…”

He moves away, holding your face with both hands he gently strokes your cheek with his thumb wiping away a tear.

“I will not let anyone hurt you.”

You sniff, locking eyes with him. You find comfort in his red glowing pupils, a familiar sensation. You feel his breath on your lips.

“Thank you sir.” You manage to pronounce between sobs. 

He rests his forehead against yours, caressing your cheek. You inhale his scent and start to calm down. Your conscience starts yelling at you, too close, too familiar, unprofessional…

But it is so reassuring to have a friend’s shoulder to cry on. Like it was at the academy. You miss those simpler times.

“I can’t sleep alone tonight…” You say, sniffing between each word.

“This is understandable. This house is not the safe place it used to be for you.” He breathes deeply. “Maybe you could come to my place and-”

“I’m here my pear!!” Arzel yells.

You part immediately like one man. Arzel shows up at the door, panting with some friends of the church behind him. You both raise on your feet, Thrawn moves away from you at a respectable distance. Arzel runs to you, seizes your face and starts inspecting you at every angle.

“You’re not hurt?” he demands

“No, I’m okay…”

“Thanks Maker!” He pulls you into a hug, and notices Thrawn. “What are you doing here, you ?” He pulls you closer, putting himself between you two.

“(Y/n) called me in a panic, saying someone creeped into her home.” Thrawn politely responds.

Arzel gazes descend on Ashcorah, still laying but slowly coming back to her senses. He snaps his fingers and your friends seize her, forcing her on her feet and escorting her outside.

“Did you call the police?” Thrawn asks.

“No need to bother them.” Azrel answer at your place

Thrawn frowns.

“It is very unsafe if I can permit myself, Governor.”

“No you cannot. It is a private matter of the church  and we can handle it ourself.” You press yourself against Azrel, watching the feet of Ascorah trying to prevent being taken away by your friends. “As  for you, thank you for your help but you’re not needed anymore. You can leave.”

Thrawn looks at you and nods, heading toward the exit.

“Well, it is out of the question you sleep alone tonight, my pearl. I’ll stay with you.” He murmurs caressing your hair.

But you don’t really listen, your mind wandering elsewhere. You push him away and run into the staircase.

“Sir!” You yell.

Lower, Thrawn raises his head to you, frowning. You descend the stairs to meet him.

“Hum… I have a friend who showcases in a small gallery. I thought we could go there… As a thank you for helping me tonight.” you fidget your hands.

Thrawn nods lightly.

“This is a delicious idea.”

You nod back enthusiastically like a child being congratulated.

“Well, goodnight.” He greets you moving away.

“Goodnight, sir…” you respond, looking at him walking away.

____________________________________________________________________

You hiss, feeling pins and needles spread in your cheeks. Arzel continues dabbing the cotton wool on your cut.

“Stop moving, or it will go bad.”

“It stings” you snarl.

“I’m sure you can support it.” He chuckles, taking the medicine away.

You sigh, rubbing your wound.

“Tell me… What’s gonna happen to Ashcora?” you ask

“I told you, we’re gonna take care of her. You don’t need to worry about anything. You can sleep safe and sound.” He answers.

You look down, shoulders low. This answer doesn’t satisfy you. You hug yourself, trembling. the image of this blaster pistol flash in your mind and you shudder. You feel a hand slide under your chin, forcing you to raise your head. You look at Arzel's inquisitive gray eyes.

“Come on. It wasn’t so terrible. Can you smile for me?”

You muster all your courage to offer a half convincing grimace mimicking a smile. He grins.

“That will do, my pearl.”

He kisses your forehead. His scent spreads to your nose and you breathe it deep. 

You can’t meet his eyes, because at this moment,you’re longing for another man. 

You bury your face into your hands, but all you can see in the dark is red floating eyes. 

@Bluechiss @justanothersadperson93 @al-astakbar @thrawnspetgoose @readinglistfics