#will prob glance over this again but eviction it is

[zuihuojoui]

reflection eternal

Thursday December 10 2020; Evening. 

There is a stillness in the air when the sun sets. A silence just before the night truly comes alive. There the hues of amber meet and melt into deep purples. Those that enjoy the cover of darkness for what it offers, prepare in this time, waiting for the moon to take its peak and to let their revelry begin. Joui too at this time would be preparing for some merriment at his favorite haunts. Bathing and scenting himself, adorning in perfectly created attire for his frame. And then off to lounging with a beautiful courtesan with music playing and laughter filling the space. 

But his evenings had been filled with more focus than pleasure since the veil had opened and closed. His own self awareness had been revived. Genun had raised a mirror before him, showing Joui all his shortcomings. His faults were so plainly obvious then. How he had not seen it and needed another to point such flaws, the sign of another. 

A weakness, and one he could not afford. 

Since then reflection had kept the Ace away from the gatherings he so frequented and adored. Nights passing the threshold into the home nestling one warm fox, alone broke this reflection. Nari’s smile and embrace turned his nights into mornings, then noon, and back to nights again. Days had been spent in front of the fireplace, idly reading old tales with her fur and curiosity accompanying him. Even when she had been wrought with complaint of his turning from her on the Blue Moon’s rise, he had taken it in spoons, answering where his temper would let him, his countenance warning after further indulgence. Even with the revelations that night brought for both, her company had offered him peace.

Now, within the confines of his own palace on the estate of his clan, the peace she gifted lingered like cashmere draped around him to edge the chill of cooling air. Yet that peace could not change the image he saw in the mirror Genun left before him. And that kept the doors to his palace closed, his staff keeping all his clan away. 

His aunt had come through the portal to stay, a close sister of Genun. Her eyes felt like his, though lacking his restraint. This Zuihuo took much pleasure in torture and had perfected her mental cages far earlier than her older siblings. A prodigy with a wicked smile. With her tutelage Joui had mastered his illusionary webs and come to understand other usages, beyond the fatality of its complete form. He cared deeply for Ayao but could not be in her presence as he was. She despised weakness and he could see nothing but its stench on him.

Locked within, he weighed himself and found himself lacking, all while seeing the path he needed to take. How he hated being forced to act. How he hated influence on his actions. But he loved the woman with this influence. And that love was his weakness. 

He sat at his table, dinner having been removed and tea before him. The golden set chosen was delicate with embossed butterflies along its front. As he let the aroma flood his nostrils, his eyes closed, falling into the calm it provided. When his eyes opened the creature with strong illusion magic from his birthday was before him, matching golden cup in hand, the black gnarled remnant of what would be a hand. He looked ahead at the skull of a head and wondered how this thing would consume the expertly brewed tea. 

Again, he sensed no malice from this creature so he stayed calm, drinking from his own cup. Eyes passing the features he still did not comprehend, his questions pilling. And then it speaks. The voice a beautiful melody, enchanting and alluring. He recalls the illusion this being wore at their first meet. Such a voice would pair nicely with that crafted deception, but this, this robed creature with its branch like antlers extending a span wider than his table, this visage did not suit such a sweet voice. The combination forced his focus, even with calm, keeping watch over all its movements. 

“Ace of Hearts Zuihuo Joui of the Zuihuo Clan.” There is a pregnant pause here, almost as though she’s drinking though the small cup in her hand doesn’t move. “You didn’t tell anyone about us.” This last is said as statement, and you tell by her tone she’s amused. “I would like to know why.”

Joui’s eyes set upon the swirl of meshing grey that he supposed still was this creature’s eyes and smiled as it spoke. That was what it wanted to know? 

“I am rather good with secrets”, he breathed, cup at his lips. “And this one is the best I’ve come across in centuries. Why would I let those who couldn’t enjoy it as I, know of it?” he posed then looked to the staff in the other hand of this being. “Worry not, just my clan know of it, and none else will ever”, he vowed in all sincerity. Lying to a being he suspected could quite easily see the end of his days, was not a wise thing to do. And even as Joui felt quite diminished in his self reflection, he was still much about his senses. 

“Consider us honored”, he continued. “In awe really. This play at deity would entertain us for lifetimes”, he said looking from the creatures eyes to its antlers to his cup within its grasp. “No doubt it has entertained you,” He paused, head tilting to the side, strands falling off his shoulder as his thoughts formed words.

Us.  You didn’t tell anyone about us.

Multiple of these beings, far removed from this realm, yet deeply engrained in both. There was admiration there and a sense of similarity between his clan and these beings, Joui felt. 

“You - do grant me a name to call you as I hope I will be afforded more of these visits, I do appreciate them so. Perhaps even your preference in teas. Does this one suit your palette? I find the oranges and chrysanthemum blended so, comforting, with the climate shifting”, Joui said, musing with this horned creature as a new friend than a superior being . He then took a sip from his glass before resting it down.

The creature made no moves to answer him outright but Joui wasn’t sure what he expected in return to his request. He was testing just how much this creature cared to give and what his limitations would be in asking.

“Though I did not speak of you, and yours, and certainly will not, I do wonder. The lessers walk from interactions with your kind blessed, and while I do feel more informed, I too would like such a gift. But spare me a gift of your mischief, no matter how amusing. Knowledge is what I crave”, he spoke watching tea be removed from the cup but showing no path, simply removed. This creature was consuming it, just not in any manner Joui could see. He wondered what other skill beyond illusion magic it possessed. 

It pleased him, even in its outrageous form, lacking no real beauty. Joui was deeply enthused by the possibilities unknown and the unknowns held in this being. How he desired to converse further and ask of it things beyond this world. It pushed his reflection aside, minimizing it. 

“Your stalwart silence about what you've seen is appreciated. In return for it's continuation, Joui of the Zuihuo Clan, I will give you a gift that will ease your path in the future. Something you've long wanted. “

Joui looked up as the door opened and attendants stepped into the room, heads lowering to him once their eyes met. He looked back to the creature but it was gone, his cup too. Joui chuckled to himself as he rose from the chair, easing from the table. He walked from the dinning room out into the hall, sending a servant to fetch something warm. Returned with a velvet cape, secured around his shoulders, Joui walked down to see his growing dragon.

Syuusen had been taken through the portal into the realm, nourished in its magics while the veil was open, then returned to this world before it closed. The dragon had doubled its size, its fires hotter, and more capable of caring for itself. The difference in how time moved between this realm and their home was a gift in times like this. Joui watched the golden creature uncoil from the trees above him, his golden eyes, tinted with a touch of mahogany connecting with Joui’s own golden glare.

“Hello my beautiful friend”, he spoke as the dragon coiled around him. His head leaned into meet the dragon’s, whiskers passing his cheek. His hand passed his underbelly, earning a hum of appreciation. “Have you ever seen a creature drink with no sign of drinking, my Syuusen?” he asked countenance lifted much after his meet with the foreign being. He smiled, hand passing over the creature happily receiving Joui’s focus and care. “To do without being seen, but the goal well accomplished. Indeed”, he mused taking meaning far deeper than the simple act of tea drinking. “To act”, he breathed as two cages were wheeled into the space, two large uncorrupted manabeasts shaking the cages at sight of the dragon and fae. He stood still, his eyes holding their glow as the cages were open and creatures let their calls go out into the night air.

Syuusen freed himself from Joui’s frame and lunged at the horned beast, whipping past it, its tail lashing at it while flames roared from its mouth to the other. The enflamed creature wailed under the flames for a moment before a secondary burst ended its suffering. The other ran from the blaze, Joui paying no attention to his dragon and its play with its food, too caught within his own thoughts. Wind lifted his cape as the dragon flew past Joui to catch the escaping prey. 

“To act”, he mused again, “regardless of sight”, he continued, eyes looking up to the star filled skies. “Even love cannot hold me prisoner’, he spoke with a soft smile. “For action is demanded of me and I cannot fail.” Syuusen roared on capture of his prey, pulling Joui to look as he encircled the beast with its body, sound rising in the night like laughter from the dragon. And then the blaze took to the prey, ending its existence. The dragon clamped its mouth around the cooked beast, flying back to where Joui stood. There he pulled both burned manabeasts, slowly devouring their flesh.

“I see my love enjoys playing with his prey”, he said watching the dragon snap into the bones and toss them aside for meat. “As do I, my Syuusen, as do I. To play is amusement, to kill is the finality of that act.” He worded, watching the creature eat its fill. 

“To act.”

#kadeu: plot drop #sp: reflection eternal. plot drop 7 #will prob glance over this again but eviction it is

[phoebtcnkin]

ABOUT ME.

NAME/ALIAS: Kayla / Satan 

TIMEZONE: PST (for now, but don’t ask me where we’re moving next LOL)

RANDOM FACT: I was adopted when I was three, am 11wks pregnant with our newest and long awaited wee one, and shamefully have over 10,000 likes on this blog with zero chance of ever fully clearing them out lmfao

CHARACTER ONE.

NAME: Lauren “Ren” Victoria Livingston (29)

FACECLAIM: Phoebe Tonkin, my queen.

in COCONUT GROVE you’ll find LAUREN LIVINGSTON who’s lived there for FOUR YEARS and they spend their days working as THE MANAGER OF NATALIA ESCABIAS LUXURY SPA AND A FREELANCE WRITER. They’ve been described as ROUGE STAINED MARLBOROS STUBBED OUT IN ANTIQUE CAVIAR BOWLS, POSTCARDS SENT FROM PLACES SHE’S NEVER BEEN, CHAMPAGNE IN SOLO CUPS, AND UNMET DEADLINES by the people that know them. Which makes sense when you consider that they can be ENGAGING + ADVENTUROUS but also IRRESPONSIBLE + IN DENIAL  

BACKGROUND.

grew up with a single mom who could never weave the same story twice about the origins and subsequent disappearance of her father.

lived on the cusp of wealth but didn’t actually have it… her mother, jane, was presumably from old money, but either the family lost it ages ago or she’d been cut off for reasons unknown.

they were ‘adopted’ by an older wealthy couple without children of their own when ren’s mother was pregnant with her aka given permission to live out of the guesthouse on their property for basically free

went all over when she was younger to “soul search” and sort out her life. basically just bummed around with a bunch of other barely legal adults who ate gas station food and drank expensive champagne and just a whole bunch of other nonsense

is approaching that age / stage of life where she’s meant to have her shit together but really doesn’t.

is still spending her money and maxing out credit cards on stupid things she can’t afford and doesn’t need. skips rent to go to fancy clubs. probably abuses something bc she can and she’s #lostandbroke inside

claims she’s an aspiring writer, and she’s trying she really is (sometimes), but doesn’t have anything to show for it if ppl asked

basically put together and #fine on the outside but a disaster on the inside

HEADCANONS.

HOMETOWN: Newport, Rhode Island

BIRTHDAY: tbd

NICKNAMES: almost exclusively goes by ‘Ren’, but a small few may call her L.V.

ORIENTATION: bisexual

MUSE SONGS: Girls Like You by The Naked and Famous, rock bottom by Caro, tba

CHARACTER TAG: can be found here.

PINTEREST BOARD: can be found here.

on any given day the only things you’re likely to find inside of ren’s fridge are a bottle of something alcoholic, a gel eye mask, and one of many credit cards frozen in the freezer.

in a similar vein, her oven is absolutely full of half clothes, half books.

is literally always on the verge of eviction bc, as mentioned above, she prioritizes p. much anything over responsibilities.

will 1000% justify buying five pairs of shoes she can’t afford bc she got them at a sample sale for the price of one at full retail

once upon a time she excused bad habits and terrible choices under the premise that they were hands on experience for the sake of her writing... except all these years later she’s still on her bullshit and hasn’t written anything of quality in ???

can’t be trusted to keep a pet rock alive let alone anything else

has never, not once, been able to say no to anything made of silk or velvet

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

this is already crazy long so i’m going to be making a sep. post for these and will add the link as soon as it’s finished, but you can expect to see things like: neighbors, coworkers, friends she’s met since moving to miami, the people she hung around during her years of travel and shenanigans, messy exes, drug dealer, former (kinda) sugar daddy lmfao, secret family, etc.

CHARACTER TWO.

NAME: 👑 Alicia Josefine Palmeiro (30)

FACECLAIM: Ana de Armas

in CORAL GABLES, you’ll find ALICIA PALMEIRO who’s lived there for ONE WEEK and they spend their days working as A (CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED) LAWYER. They’ve been described as SHARP GLANCES, RUNNING IN HEELS, AND THE SCENT OF ACRYLIC PAINT FAINTLY LINGERING BENEATH ARMANI PERFUME by the people that know them. Which makes sense when you consider that they can be ELOQUENT + AMBITIOUS but also MATERIALISTIC + INDIFFERENT.

BACKGROUND.

comes from one of those richer than god families that have a library named after them somewhere and flaunt it. grandfather was the former governor of NC and her father is the current state attorney there

basically grew up with anything she wanted under the sun aside from attention and love. she was more of a business/brand investment than a beloved child in their eyes. rafael and gabriella (true monsters, lemme tell u) had her entire life mapped out and signed in blood before she was even conceived.

thought it would be really fun once to get a boyfriend in HS and hasn’t been able to get rid of him since. pls don’t call the cops if she threatens to light jaxon on fire bc she’s not serious. except for the one time she prob almost did.

speaking of things she almost did... she almost ran away with him after hs graduation in the pursuit of true love and following her dreams

daddy blackmailed jax into leaving her without a word, though. he listened (with good reason). instead of being happy and painting to pay rent, ali sucked up her tears before her mascara could run and went off to duke.... u guessed it.... exactly as her parents planned.

years later ran into jax again and they had an affair while she was engaged to another man. it ultimately led to their birth of their now 1.5 year old son

wyatt is probably the only thing she cares about more in this world than birkin bags and lingerie and shoes. on wednesdays she’ll let jaxon grace the list, but only if he leaves his muddy boots and potato chips at the door.

they’ve just moved to miami in a panic bc she found evidence against her father that proved they weren’t safe around him anymore (can share deets, but it’s chalk full of triggers so i won’t add it here)

HEADCANONS.

HOMETOWN: Wilmington, North Carolina

BIRTHDAY: August 16th, 1989

NICKNAMES: Ali, Princess, Queen Alicia P.

ORIENTATION: attention and diamonds (no but really she heterosexual)

PERMANENT PAIN IN THE ASS: Jaxon Martins

CHILDREN: Wyatt Martins, 1.5 years

MUSE SONGS: Me Too by Meghan Trainor, tba

CHARACTER TAG: can be found here.

PINTEREST BOARD: can be found here.

currently living in the penthouse suite at the biltmore hotel while they house shop for a mini mansion up to ali’s standards

is the stomping parrot when jax refuses to give her the attention she wants. or when she’s giving him the silent treatment but wants him to know she’s still mad.

thinks $20 t-shirts are just the result of misprinted tickets.

might cry if you try to take her inside of a dollar store or walmart.

couldn’t cook a meal to save her life and will absolutely get something catered and then take the credit when you tell her how delish it is.

has extreme trouble expressing her verbal emotions, so her displays of affection typically manifest in the form of gifts. ali will secretly obsess for weeks over finding the perfect present to fit the recipient 

not saying she’d throw u in front of a bus but…. if she doesn’t like u she prob wouldn’t hold out a hand to save you either.

is actually a warmhearted arsenic laced cupcake with a painter’s soul beneath her icy shield and devil blood. she does care. stg. mommy and daddy just never taught her how to show it.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

just like before, i’m going to be making a sep. post for these and add the link as soon as it’s finished, but you can expect to see things like: neighbors, family local to the area (depending on from which side, would also need to be discussed with @fcntastical​), new friends, artsy friends she can be herself around, mom friends (gimme a real housewives of miami club pls), people connected to her father and all his maniacal ways, fr/enemies, etc.

#miamiintro #this is basically a hot ass mess but i'm not gonna be around for a bit so i wanted to make sure i got SOMETHING up #i'll finish certain bits on here after the holiday <3 #but i'm exciiiiiited