#( i don't know their colours so it's just black and white this time sorry! )

[my-archived-blog]

rules: tag nine people you want to get to know better

(I always badly overthink these kinds of things but I'll do my best to just answer as well as I can!)

Tagged by @strohller27 (thanks and I greatly enjoyed reading about you! 💖)

Favourite Colour: I adore them all but I'm partial to the blue-green spectrum and also love black/white

(I see that "u" you snuck in there! Love it!)

Currently Reading: Pornland by Gail Dines, but I've been too distracted by other things lately to spend much time reading!

Last Song: I can't remember exactly as I've been listening on shuffle to a huge playlist of songs that remind me of Poirot and Hastings, but I think it might have been For Me... Formidable by Charles Aznavour (lyrics) !

(Математика was very fun to discover!)

Last Movie: Rewatch of Mamma Mia and its sequel! I'm a sucker for musicals and have so many great memories attached to those two movies

Last Series: Last newly-discovered series would be Poirot (and still fairly obsessed with it as you can see), but I've also been rewatching a few episodes of Glee with my partner for a bit of unhinged-but-fun nostalgia

Sweet, Savoury, Spicy: Tough choice! I'd say I can live without spicy, but I need to have a balance of sweet and savoury every day!

Craving: Vegan tuna, I love mixing it into a nice tasty ramen — but I can only consistently find the packed-in-oil kind which I never liked! Still holding out hope for the packed-in-water brands to become more accessible here...

Tea/Coffee: I never drink coffee but I occasionally enjoy all kinds of light teas or tisanes!

Currently working on: Two writing projects, including a Poirot fanfic — very excited! I'm also trying to improve my art, keep up on physical therapy, and finish up an important translation contract.

(Congrats on the new job!!)

With no pressure, I will tag: @sherlockshawklikenose , @statrosapristinanomine , @tinta11e , @darthlenaplant , @rknchan , @pflanzidiezimmerpflanze , @marymcdivan , @lostinamazon , @chicaqueenvixenstyle

(Very sorry about any repeat tagging, I don't know many people yet!)

rules: tag nine people you want to get to know better

Tagged by @indrid-hot - thanks a bunch!

Favorite Color: A nice, warm, sunny orange - but also honestly most other colors of the rainbow and then some.

Currently Reading: The Tevinter Nights Dragon Age short story collection.

Last Song: L'appuntamento - Ornella Vanoni

Last Movie: Ah, gosh. HM. I haven't watched anything that's not a TV show in a while. I semi-voluntarily caught the last fifteen minutes of Scrooged over the winter holidays I guess?

Last Series: Last series I watched any part of is, as always, "Emergency!" because I will never not be stuck in 70's paramedic hell. If we're talking new-to-me shows, a friend's making me watch Grey's Anatomy (early seasons) once a week, probably because observing my growing despair about the characters' poor life choices is fun. I don't even normally watch medical shows, and yet here we are lol

Sweet, Savoury, Spicy: Savory if I had to pick

Craving: Some good spaghetti with olive oil and obscene amounts of lightly toasted garlic.

Tea/Coffee: Yes please, lol

Currently working on: OH BOY WHAT A QUESTION.

Spinning: Gotland on my spindles (4-ply, one single per spindle, for funsies - except I accidentally mixed up which bits of fiber go with which single on which spindle, so that'll be fun to sort out...), 7oz/200g of red Merino on the wheel (for a crochet hat, followed by 9.5 oz of red and black Merino for a woven scarf). But also 24.5oz/700g of grey Merino. And cotton on the supported spindle. And I've got some laceweight viscose on the mini turkish spindle that I should really work on...

Crocheting: Half a dozen things, including a lacy collar that needs buttons and blocking, a gigantic star-shaped wrap-around shawl, an incredibly boring granny square top for my little sister, and too many others to count.

Art: The Emergency! tarot as the eternal never-ending WIP; I also have some Dragon Age Veilguard related plans revolving around the Grand Necropolis and irl Catacomb Saints and I'd love to get some DA-style tarot cards done for all my player characters.

Writing: I still have a couple unfinished fanfics that need another chapter, as well as two deeply self-indulgent OC/Emergency! crossovers that friends are making me write, and I also have some Dragon Age stuff in the works - though if anyone will ever see that is another question entirely.

Music: Practicing various stuff for LARP; also slowly chipping away at Hozier's Work Song because my partner asked nicely.

With no pressure, I will tag: @geminyde, @caseyscraftycorner, @swords-n-spindles, @alpacazappa, @rosesonneptune, @rose-of-pollux, @zooarchaeologyatdinner, @kalikatze aaaaand I can't decide on a 9th person to tag so whoever wants to do this: You're It!

[sskk-manifesto]

!

[arc-misadventures]

I don't know why, but I'm enjoying the thought of Coco and Jaune being bros.

99% Lesbian

Blake: Coco!

Yang: Hey, Coco!

Coco: Yes?

Blake: We need your help

Coco: My help? Well, first off: Stop wearing all black. Add more colour to you apparel; I recommend purples, golds, and perhaps some deep blues. I think those colours would really make you 'pop!' Otherwise you look like a poorly dressed goth girl hipster. And no, you do not look like a goth girl the way you are dressed, and most certainly a sexy goth girl.

Blake: That's not 1hat...

Yang: No. No, take notes you could use a make over.

Blake: Hey!

Yang: But, no this isn't fashion related!

Coco: It isn't? Then what the hell do you two want help with me, you utter fashion slobs!

Blake: Hey!

Yang: I know it's true that, Blake dresses like a slob!

Blake: Hey?!

Yang: But, does that include me too?

Coco: Only two people in this entire school have any sense of woman's fashion, and neither of them are you.

Yang: Who?!

Blake: Yeah, who?!

Coco: Jaune Arc.

Blake: Jaune?

Yang: Him, really?

Coco: He has seven sisters, he knows plenty about woman's fashion.

Blake: So you say...

Yang: Who's the other person?

Coco: Glynda Goodwitch.

BY: ...

Blake: I'm not going to argue against that.

Yang: She's drop dead gorgeous, what else do we need to say?

Coco: So, what do you need help with?

Yang: We need to help settle a bet.

Coco: A bet?

Yang: Yeah, Ruby said you weren't gay, and that you were in fact, bisexual. We called bullshit, she said it was true, so we made a bet on whether or, not you are actually gay.

Blake: So, are you bisexual?

Coco: No I'm not bisexual.

Blake: Ha!

Yang: I knew it!

Coco: But, I'm not... 100% a lesbian.

Blake: Eh?

Yang: Beg pardon?

Coco: I'm 99% lesbian, but I am 1%... straight...

Blake: You're 1% straight...?

Yang: So... you are bisexual?

Coco: No... I love woman 99% of the time. But, 1% of the time... I'm straight... exclusively for, Jaune...

BY: For, Jaune?!

Coco: For, Jaune.

Yang: How are you attracted to, Jaune? He's... he's...

Blake: He's, Jaune!

Yang: I was going to say a guy, but that's true.

Coco: Gods, does everyone have to pick on my, 'If I had to pick a dude?' He's a great guy, a bit of a goofball sure, and a dunce. But, he is a really nice guy once you get to know him.

Blake: And, because you know, Jaune so well he becomes the 1%?

Coco: Well, there's also the fact that he is the only person I can discuss fashion with; he has great taste, and has even convinced me to wear a helmet as part of my fashion assemble. I just started to enjoy being around with him. So the intrusive thought of us... 'mingling' just popped up. So, I'm 99% a lesbian, and 1% straight for, Jaune.

Blake: Oh, that makes sense. Somehow...?

Yang: So... did we win the bet?

Blake: We didn't bet anything, so we could call it a draw if we wanted to. Right?

Coco: I'd call it a dra...

Jaune: Coco!

Coco: Hey, Bunny Boy, what's up?

Blake: Bunny boy?

Jaune: I found another helmet you could wear! Only this time if completely covers your head, which of course would make it that it doesn't go with your current outfits design. But, that does mean you have to choreograph an entire wardrobe to fit the helmet. Of which, honestly sounds fun to do on it's on.

Coco: Oh-ho-ho~! Really now? Okay, show me this helmet you're so confident about?

Jaune: Tada~!

Coco: ...

Coco: Holy shit...

Jaune: You like it?

Coco: This is a old helmet, so I would have a more detailed lion head, and mane. The colours would definitely involve more gold, maroon, and crimsons.

Jaune: Red, and caramel browns, with complementary cream whites?

Coco: Oh that sounds perfect! Colours aside, what would this outfit entail?

Jaune: Boot's that are at least knee height...

Coco: High heels?

Jaune: Oh, but of course. Next should... Hmmm... Oh no...

Coco: What is it?

Jaune: Nora pulled a, Nora again. I'm sorry I gotta go. Shall we continued this discussion later?

Coco: No problem, Love. Have fun~!

Jaune: See you later, Mocha!

Coco: Hmmm... Should the face mask be a copy of my face, or should it be a generic face?

BY: ...

Coco: ...

Coco: What?

Yang: 'No problem, Love?'

Blake: You sure it's just 1%?

Coco: ...

Coco: Maybe... 10%...?

Yang: Coco's bisexual, but only for, Jaune.

Blake: Agreed.

Coco: ...

Coco: That's fair...

[iwrite-sinsandtragedies]

Day 1 — Soulmates ₊˚✧ ﾟ

Submission for @goldengroovy's @olnfweek2024

MC: Micha

Long ass ramble under the cut 😂

Okayokayokay SO-

I love soulmate au's. I cannot tell you how many fics I've read or how many prompts I've played with or media I've consumed or how many bullshit ideas I've come up with in my own head for them, I CANNOT.

It's just - hhhhhhhhhhhh- Soulmate au's and Time Travel au's are just the shit that gets me out of bed some days 😩💖my world weary soul drinks that shit like medicine, okay?

That all being said, it's probably a little ambiguous which au I picked to some, so let me explain: There are two au's I'm mashing up here really, both are from fics I've read back in the day. One being a Clack fic and the other a Thilbo one 🤷‍♂️kind of calling myself out here but w/e, they were good fics.

The Thilbo one is easier to explain - the concept is "Heartsong" which is, literally what it says on the tin. You find out who your soulmate is the first time you hear them sing (and no, that does not mean everyone is just a naturally good singer - they can be ass at music but, the point is, when you hear them their song is the perfect song for you and your heart knows that). There's a lot of little nuances to this one - things like you hearing your heartsong when you dream so you always know the moment you find them. Also people who have quiet dreams because their heartsong died, sometimes before ever even meeting them. etc etc. The heartsong also seems to expand, in some respect, to instruments (as Thorin plays his harp one night and Bilbo starts to hum without thinking about it because it sounds wonderful to him and that's how Thorin finds out).

Overall, it's a very soft and sweet concept to me and as someone who has a deep love of music, it's also one of my very favourites.

The Clack one is a little less easy to explain? I think. Maybe because it's nuances are so round about but I'll do my best. The concept for this one is "I Only See Colour When I'm With You" - anyone who knows how Clack fics usually go knows where this is probably headed 😂 and I am sorry to have hurt you but, overall, the idea is: You live in a noir-esqu world where everything is black and white. This only changes when you find your soulmate, of course, who brings the world into full saturation and lets you see colour for - possibly - the first time in your life (I say possibly because I genuinely can't remember if you start out colourblind or if it's an age cap thing).

Unfortunately, for as much as I adore this concept, it's been a long damn time since I read the fic and I don't even know if it still exists somewhere. So I can't actually recall if it was a 'you have to touch them' or 'you have to hear them' thing but the fic takes place with Zack on the cliff right before Midgar where he holds Cloud and looks at the sky - so I'm willing to bet it's a touch thing.

I also really loved this fic because it was the first one I'd read that brought in the concept of multiple soulmates to me - As Cloud later sits with Aerith and sees the colour he couldn't see with Zack, meanwhile Aerith only sees black and white, because she was only able to see colour with Zack (who was never able to see colour with her, because he needed Cloud for that).

Essentially, they all needed each other to see the world in colour. As a polyam person who didn't quite realise I was poly back then, it was a very comforting (and now dearly cherished) fic.

Anyways! Now that you have the background on the two concepts, you can kind of get what I'm going for with this piece.

Tamarack, Micha and Qiu are all soulmates in a fuzzy, desaturated world (I'm sorry, I'm not cruel enough to but them in complete greyscale LOL) and the way you find your soulmate is by hearing them sing and, when they do, your world is suddenly vivid and bright and beautiful. Suddenly, you can see things as they were meant to be seen and it's a permanent change (unlike the Clack fic) but things are always clearest and brightest when your soulmate speaks or sings 💖

I get a real kick out of the idea that Micha's known for fucking months that Tamarack is his soulmate (if not years) because he's always listening to her play but never says jack shit about it because he's emotionally constipated that way 😂Though genuinely, it's probably because he just doesn't think he's her soulmate and he's a bit against finding out he's right honestly.

Joke is on him, he's Qiu's and Tamaracks soulmate! And he couldn't have picked a better moment to grow a pair an take the risk 🥰

[always-just-red]

@irandial and @micasosa34 requested a Rafayel version of this fic, so here it is!! This is a loose sequel, but mostly a spin-off? Also an emotional rollercoaster, sorry! (I fear I put too much of myself in this one, guys... there will be no beating the 'oh you are ACTUALLY in love with this man' allegations after this.....)

Fourth Wall (Rafayel Ver.)

Rafayel x Player!Reader 🔥

(Previous part/Sylus version here!)

Summary: You didn't think Rafayel would let you walk around an art gallery all by yourself, did you?

Genre: Angst! This is my revenge for the claw machine debacle (Checkmate, Rafayel!!! But also I'm sorry and I love you)

Warnings/Additional tags: player!reader, gender neutral, fourth-wall breaking, non-canon, one instance of swearing

| Word count: 2.4k | Masterlist | Opt-in to my taglist here!

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Love and Deepspace. All work is my own, so please don't repost or plagiarise!

You made it through about two rooms of the gallery before thinking about Rafayel.

You stand in front of a dark seascape: a night sky and a symmetrically black ocean framing the plight of a small fishing boat, adrift in the centre. The moon casts a pale, faraway light, and an orange lantern glows, drawing colour from the oppressive darkness— deep blues, and rich, shimmering turquoise, crested with white.

It should evoke some feeling of smallness, some respect for the vast indifference of the natural world, but no— your mind is set on the fictional artist who lives in your phone.

What would he think about it? What would he have to say?

At the moment, you suspect it would be some remark about how you should get your own opinion, rather than piggybacking his.

Still, it gives you an idea. You glance around self-consciously as you draw out your phone and earphones— tucking the latter into your ears as you offer a curt smile to the nearby gallery attendant. You’re not breaking any rules by loading up Love and Deepspace, but it feels slightly ridiculous in a place like this: full of real and honest things where you’re somehow lonely.

You log-in with a tap. “Let’s go to the beach,” Rafayel greets, his voice as warm as sunshine that melts a cold morning haze. “I never get tired of seeing the sunset there.”

You smile more sincerely, tousling his hair, but then it’s straight to business. You drag him into the AR Photobooth, directing him through a few poses until you find one you like: a duo pose. His fingers are meant to be around your chin, but without you, he seems to be pointing. Perfect, you shift— tilting your phone until the painting sits behind him.

He’s winking at you as he gestures to it, his face and body as still as marble.

You’re about to take the picture when a not-so-distant conversation strikes up, making you glance backwards. Another visitor is asking the attendant about a painting, and you lower your phone’s volume a notch so you can eavesdrop on them.

“This is one of Turner’s earliest paintings, y’know? He was young when he painted it. Like, super young.”

You freeze. The attendant and the visitor aren’t standing by a Turner painting; you are. Your gaze snaps back to your phone, drawn by the familiarity of the voice.

Rafayel’s turned away from you. He’s staring at the painting, one hand on his hip and the other up by his face, stroking his chin. He’s swaying on his feet gently, his head tilting as he takes in different parts of the seascape.

“You gonna take the picture, cutie?” he asks, glancing back at you with a knowing grin.

Your lips have parted slightly in surprise, but your finger manages to find the photo button. Rafayel returns to his candid observations just in time for your screen to flicker, mimicking a camera flash. 

“Ok, one more.” He turns around and settles into a new pose. You take another photo. “Nice,” he beams, “you’ll send those to me later, yeah?”

But you can’t—

“Relax, ok? I’m kidding. Now come on,” he pokes at the edge of your screen like a mime trapped by an invisible box. “Move this thing! I wanna see what else they’ve got here.”

You do move, but not to show him around. He gets a blurry view of the floor as you hurry over to a nearby bench, sinking down with a sigh because you can’t believe this is happening— again. With a few taps of your finger, you draw the curtains on Rafayel’s view to your world and return him to his.

“No, no, no! What?” he groans in disbelief, suddenly back in the Destiny Café. He throws himself into the armchair with reckless abandon— limbs sprawled— one hand over his face as though it would pain him to look on anything at all. “You find out I’m self-aware and the first thing you do is drag me back here? Where’s your heart? Your empathy? Your soul?”

You poke at his hand and he swats at the air like you’re bothering him.

“Leave me alone. Can’t you see I’m busy, like, contemplating the futility of my existence?”

So dramatic! You consider closing the app out of spite, but this is Rafayel. You know Rafayel; look past the theatrics. It’s been, what— just over a month since Sylus first told you he’d seen through all of this? He said the others were lagging behind, but maybe…

Maybe they weren’t.

Shit. Maybe they weren’t.

You watch Rafayel, sunken down in one of two places you’ve seen him inhabit every day, every night, for almost a year. This café isn’t different from the old in any way that matters. Sylus is new but Rafayel has been here from the very beginning. So many more days. So many more nights.

How long has he known?

He lifts his hand, just enough to peer in your direction. You’ve not closed the app. You’re not poking at him anymore. He sits up straighter in the chair, both hands in his lap, and he looks at them pensively. Maybe even remorsefully.

“You’re thinking about what it all means, huh? Don’t.” It’s a command, but it’s soft. Then softer, a: “Please?”

Your breath catches— oh— he’s known for a long time, hasn’t he? You lean back against the gallery wall, grounding yourself as you text him an emoji: a chick bursting out of its shell with question marks over its head.

He pulls out his phone. Sees it. “Why?” he translates with a melancholic chuckle.

Yeah. You tickle his head. Why?

He runs a hand through his hair. “I guess… I didn’t want you to feel bad?”

You text another emoji and he glances down at it, then laughs more loudly: “I’m a dummy? Check a mirror, cutie— isn’t it you who’s been walking around thinking Mister Wannabe Vampire is the only one smart enough to figure this all out? Puh-lease.”

He laughs even more at his own joke— maybe to fill the quiet and the fact that he can’t hear you laughing with him. It peters out like it inevitably must, and like it always does. He goes still.

“Can’t you show me around, even a little?” he asks.

No.

You feel bad, you do, but you can’t start living for him. This is your world; if you invite him in now, when does it stop? You already spend too much time with your head down, lost in your phone. You were walking through a gallery and thinking about him, remember? Art is supposed to make you think about something real.

No, you text him: a crow holding a sign with a big, red cross. It’s too abrupt, but there’s not an emoji for “I can’t. You know I can’t.”

Rafayel’s face falls further as he checks his phone, his eyes like the ocean in the painting across the room: lit by a weak, failing little light. He looks to you, even though he can’t see you. “Please?”

You don’t move.

“Please,” he tries again, “just this once— this once. Is that so much to ask?”

You’ve used up your three means of answering him.

He scoffs in dismay, alone in the silence of everything you can’t say— you couldn’t say— even if you were really with him and the distance between you was merely invented. How could you go to him, hold his face in your hands and tell him the truth: that you care, but not enough?

Here, now: the quiet confesses it for you.

Rafayel stands from his seat, taking a step closer, his gaze dark. You can see his eyes more clearly; that lantern is at the bottom of the sea, with the rest of the ship and everyone on board. “Do you know what my life is?” he asks, and the silence has become his ally, punctuating his every word so it can cut more deeply. “My life’s an empty café, a book with blank pages and a phone that won’t ring.”

The curtains behind him move softly with a superficial breeze, lit by a superficial sun.

“The only thing that’s real,” he says, “is you.”

You feel like the breath’s been knocked from your lungs.

You can’t resent him for it. He could have drowned you from the start, could have dragged you under a weight of responsibility, but he didn’t, and that’s Rafayel: always tempering himself into something less lethal. He’s been so still for you. So silent for you.

Your mind is wrapped in a vow you made him— one you’ve been unconsciously breaking— and you’re going to break it again, knowingly, wilfully this time, because you want him like this: angry.

You promised, didn’t you? I will never make Rafayel wait for me.

He’s always been waiting, and you want him to stop.

You close the app, muting your phone when notifications start coming through: a squall of frustration, pleading, and frantic apologies. You tuck all of it into your pocket and stand, wandering back to the painting that started it all so you can look at it differently.

Something real to think about. Something real.

You stare at a black ocean and think about him.

…

Rafayel isn’t talking to you.

It’s been a week since your ‘breakup’— dubbed gleefully as such by Sylus— and you load up the game to find your artist slumped back in his armchair, his book over his face. A week of him sitting down, cross-legged and armed, during the Deepspace Trials you’d set out to clear with him. A week of him hogging the Claw Machine, and missing every rare plushie with a sarcastic ‘oops’.

The worst part is that you’ve missed him. You’d tried replaying the kindled moments from his five-star memories, but he’d made you regret it. In Sparkling Traces, he’d summed up his feelings in a very… colourful drawing. Omnipotent Perception: he’d slipped deeper into the bathwater, a blush on his face as he avoided your gaze and murmured something about you ‘having some nerve.’

Now, you can’t even call him over to you. You poke at the book on his face, once, twice, then repeatedly until it slips, but his hands shoot up to catch it. He holds it in place.

Ugh. If he would just—

You drum away at the book more vivaciously, but his grip is solid. Plan B, then: you open your in-game messages and send an emoji instead. Rafayel stirs, one hand moving to his pocket and the other lifting the book so he can peek down at his phone. “What— you tryna bribe me now?”

He’s looking at grumpy crow holding out a present: a bundle of shiny, red gems. His translation is spot-on, as per usual, and you reward it by poking at his chest. He frowns down at the contact, then sits up, rolling his eyes as he tosses the book over his shoulder.

“This better be good,” he yawns, standing up and stretching with a listlessness that could only be described as cat-like, however much he’d whine about the comparison.

Having won his attention— and begrudging consent— you navigate your way to the AR Photobooth. Rafayel stares at you from within the frame: an unwitting subject of a portrait he doesn’t yet understand, but he soon will. You smile as he turns cautiously to regard his backdrop.

Behind him, the ocean laps at a shore of pale sand and stretches into the horizon, where the sun lazily dips. There’s about half of it left, turning the sky a blurred palette of orange and pink that’s spilled over the water. Clouds are few and dark purple, their linings aglow.

Rafayel’s folded arms have dropped to his sides. After a few, long seconds, he gazes back in your direction, eyes wide with surprise before they soften with a radiant smile.

“You—” he starts, and it could be something as light as a joke or as deep as a soliloquy. You’ll never know, because he doesn’t put it to words. He glances at the ocean again. Then at you. “Thanks,” he settles for.

You chuckle. There’s not many ways you can answer without tearing him away from the sunset and trapping him back in the café, so you stay sitting still. It’s a different silence than a week ago. There are things unsaid, but that’s ok— they’re the sort you don’t need to speak aloud, anyway.

Your shoes are set aside by your feet so you can feel the sand, still warm beneath your toes. You wiggle them into it, gazing out over the ocean as the evening breeze catches and plays with your hair, and the last of the sun trails over your skin. You stare out at where it’s sinking.

Rafayel moves, and your focus meanders back to your phone. He’s walking away from you, gradually— retreating further into the composition you’ve created, just for him. He looks as though he’s nearing the shore, but it’s cosmetic: there are no footprints in the sand. His hair isn’t moved by the same breeze, and his face isn’t gilded by the same light.

He stops by the ocean’s edge and crouches gently, mesmerised by the push and pull of the tide. Slowly, humbly, he reaches out a hand and lowers his fingers towards the water; they never slip beneath the surface, and they don’t stir a ripple.  

Rafayel laughs, masking an undertow of sadness, but not disappointment. “It’s funny,” he says, still sketching invisible, ineffectual shapes. “Loving the ocean as much as I do, and knowing… knowing I’ll never touch it.”

He’s all the way over there, but his voice is in your ears, so intimately close. You swallow an ache.

He looks up at you. Smiles: “Y’know what I mean?”

You’re using memories to complete the picture: His hair, mussed by the summer breeze that day you stood amongst the cherry blossoms. His face, painted by the sunset of a different life, where you’d roamed a desert together. In each and every moment, his eyes are the same, just as they are now: kindled by a tender, tentative fire.

“Yeah, Raf,” you say to yourself— just yourself. “I know what you mean.”

[dunmeshistash]

Fav detail about elves I didn't fully register until I saw that one summer colour page - elves look rosy when they're light-skinned, but get slightly greyer as their skin darkens.

It looks like a creative decision that was made a little later, though, around the time of introducing the black-skinned elves, which makes sense - in order for them to be pure black, something other than melanin had to be happening there.

Idk if that's really an active choice or just bad coloring on Kui's part ngl.... unfortunately making darker skin ashy is a common mistake by artists, especially if they tend to draw light skinned characters more often, they might pick a light skin tone and just make it darker which turns them ashy. Dark skin is often neglected when people study painting skin color (you know how it is with racism and colorism being ingrained in society and the reflections of it showing up where you wouldn't expect)

Kui also wildly changes the colors she uses so it's hard to take any of it meaningfully in small details, If you look at art of Thistle or Kabru you can see their skin colors change both hue and darkness between art. Even his hair keeps changing how intense the yellow is and sometimes is fully white.

In this case there's also the scan differences but you can see how much Cithis skin changes art to art too

It really doesn't have much consistency in undertones, I imagine some of it might be traditional art (copic markers or watercolor?) but even between her digital art the undertones keep changing, sometimes she's greyish sometimes yellowish sometimes more redish and in the swimsuit one she even looks kinda purple to me

Kui is a great artist but based on how she has also painted Kabru and the twins greyish (the worst one under this paragraph) I can't say the greyish tone of the darker elves is any sort of intentional choice but rather mistakes.

She does it to some extent to her lighter skinned characters too, but I think it's especially obvious in the darker skinned ones (here's Senshi getting slightly paler/grayer between different art)

At least now we have the anime with more set on stone colors/darkness, and I'm overall happy that the dark skinned characters got officially darker overall (although some of the skin tones still look a little off to me)

Anyway, other than the obsidian skin elves I don't think there's any indication the greyish tone was intentional.

Sorry for the long winded response, it's just something I wanted to acknowledge since sometimes I see people discussing skin colors in my notes

[19burstraat]

Random SOC Trivia I Gathered On My Reread

I'll be using this for fics, but it's fun just to read!

Jesper does not hold alcohol well (though this is according to Kaz, who is not exactly impartial)

Wijnstraat, Nemstraat, Havenstraat, Ammberstraat are all street names if you want em

Van Eck has been involved in trying to clean up the Barrel; pious. (Allegedly pious, I doubt he really is)

1/5 Van Eck (or general Kerch trading?) vessels are lost at sea

Kaz arrested three times at ten, twice at eleven, once at fourteen. Does stints in jail but it does not say prison (ppl assume he's been to Hellgate / another prison but I don't think so. He'd never have shut the fuck up about it if he had; I assume the Stadhall Jail)

Kaz's cane is lead-lined. I wasn't sure if this was canon or fanon

Kaz runs book on prize fights, horses, and chance games. Floor boss at crow club since fifteen-ish. Youngest to run a betting shop and has doubled the profits.

Gambling halls: Treasure Chest, Golden Bend, Weddell's Riverboat, Silver Garter

West Stave brothels: The Blue Iris, The Forge, The Obscura, the Willow Switch, the House of Snow

Van Aakster is the widow mercher who sees Nina to ease his grief

Inej likes orange cakes in white paper

Black Tips tattoo is a hand with first and second fingers cut at the knuckle, Razorgulls is 5 birds in wedge formation

Nina Jesper and Kaz definitely all have the crow and cup; the others don't

Jordie seems to like books

ridderspel and spijker are arcade games

Bilge, clams, and wet stone smell in the Barrel (per Retvenko)

Kaz definitely is partial to dogs; Smeet's hounds and the grey dog the Hertzoon household had, the windup dogs, the metaphors. He loves a dog metaphor sorry ur not real babycakes you'd have loved thematic web weaving posts

Geldspin is the cotton mill in Zierfoort, Firma Allerbest is a cannery. Both in Alys' name

Wylan was 8 when Marya 'died'

the black veil tomb is carved like an ancient cargo ship

3 flying fish on a grave: government. Palm trees and snakes: spices.

Inej's mother braids her hair with orange ribbons (colour of persimmons)

University a series of buildings built around the Boekcanal and joined by Speaker's Bridge (where people debate and/or drink). Boeksplein four libraries built around a central courtyard and the Scholar's Fountain

Shipping container at third harbour is a Liddie hideout; Jam Tart House is an old hotel near the slat that the Razorgulls use

Long scar across Kaz's right knuckle

Violating contracts and interfering with the market can get you hanged in Kerch; same sentences as for murder (this is. Insane)

Haskell holds court with his mates at the Fair Weather Inn every week

Belendt is the second oldest Kerch city and sits on the Droombeld River

Jesper was 7 when Aditi died

Inej has an uncle (who seems to have some sort of ringmaster role) and cousins; Hanzi and Asha

Kaz convinced a locksmith in Klokstraat that he was the son of a wealthy merchant who highly valued his collection of priceless snuffboxes, and that's how he knows what locks the rich are using

Hubrecht Mohren, Master Thief of Pijl, who Kaz doesn't appear to think much of; one of Haskell's old cronies

Martin Van Eck, Wylan's great great grandfather, was a ship's captain, brought back a big shipment of spices from Eames Chin and started the Van Eck fortune

Kaz and Jesper (+ other Dregs boys) taught Inej to fight

Kaz and Jordie are from a town near Lij, as per the 'Johannus Rietveld' exposition, but Lij is seemingly the closest major city/county so it's easier to just say they're from Lij lol

The last time the Council of Tides appeared in public was 25 years prior to CK

Kaz found Filip running a monte game on Kelstraat; he also got the clerks who turned over fake info, the fake attorney, the man who gave them free hot chocolate

The spelling of Zentzbridge lapses to Zentsbridge, not sure which is right or if they're actually separate bridges or if there's a lot of wrong quotes floating around lol

Dryden house symbol is the golden wheat sheaf bound with a blue ribbon; Van Eck is the red laurel but we knew that

Kaz taught himself finance and gambling hall rules

Church of Barter roof is copper and long has turned green

Church of Barter built around the First Forge / The Mortar, which is a flat lump of rock that's supposedly Ghezen's altar

Ghezendaal Hospital is. Idk. a hospital. Just thought ppl might want the name

[the-kr8tor]

I'm doing it! I'm writing a request! :D

(Ik you're suuuuppperrr busy I'm so sorry you can take as long as you want I'm in no rush you're so sweeet and literally a lifesaver cause every time I read your posts, I get infused with the energy of 2 million Suns)

So I was thinking about a oneshot where r is waiting for Hobie to come backstage after one of his performances and this know it all groupie type guy is like, really giving her a hard time and he won't listen to anything she says he just sucks or wtv. Then Hobie comes out like, total golden retriever all giddy and happy to see r and the other guy is just baffled. Dunno it's kinda silly and based off of a post I saw a while back presenting the idea of it.

Thank you for requesting! Sorry for the wait, I hope you still like it ❤️

Pairing: Hobie Brown x fem! Reader/ Spider-Punk x fem! Reader

Word count: 1.2k

Tags: No use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, cw food mentions, FLUFF

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

As the band closes their last song, the crowd cheers and hollers at them. Hobie, all pumped up and sweaty, bows to the audience. The colourful stage light illuminates his features well, lighting up all of his perfection; from how sweat clings to his cheeks, sliding down to his chiseled clavicle. His piercings shine brightly under the warm light, the cherry red guitar in his ringed hand acts as a beacon to the rowdy crowd. Yuri goads them on, arms riling up the crowd for an encore. Turning the clapping and screaming to thunderous applause and screeches.

You're situated along the side of the stage, and on the other side of the bannister where the crowd is currently starting the largest mosh pit you've ever seen. You crane your neck up to the stage, unintentionally meeting with Hobie's hazel eyes that were already turned towards you.

He confidently winks in your direction, a few people behind you screeches like a wild banshee. They don't know the wink was for you and for you only. You wink back, more bashful than the one he threw at you. It's your little signal, a signal that you and Hobie made when he's about to finish his set so you could wait for him backstage where he always runs towards you with his arms wide, grinning triumphantly and embracing you until you're breathless. You're familiar with his affectionate winks, but that doesn't mean you're used to them. He always catches you off guard with them, loving the way your eyes widen with your hand flying to your chest as if he just jumpscared you. Truthfully, you wouldn't have it any other way.

“Fine,” Hobie reluctantly cuts off your little staring contest with the silent promise of being by your side the moment the band finishes this one song. His lips press on the mic, eyes roaming around the packed stadium. “you lot better be fuckin' ready.” An immediate wave of whistles and yells echo around.

With his guitar riff starting back again, lights turning red and acting as the band's spotlight, you walk towards the event bouncers. Once they see your v.i.p ID they let you through the doors and into backstage.

Passing by the snack table placed by the event organizers, you stumble back to it. You then take an armful of water bottles for the entire band, and then you take a single black and white cookie just for Yuri and her sweet tooth.

Arms full, you wait by the side with the perfect view of the band playing with their whole heart. Hobie jumps on an amplifier and backflips off it. Your heart almost fell into your stomach when you thought he couldn't land on his feet. But of course he did, Hobie practically backflips off the bed every morning (not really he’s a grumpy riser) so it's only natural that he lands on his feet like an experienced gymnast.

Yuri and the others jam together in harmony, Ned belts out while James looks like he wants to crowd surf from the look in his eye. You hope he doesn't, not after what happened last time.

“Cool t-shirt.” A voice suddenly says next to you.

“Thanks.” You glance at the tall stranger while you adjust your hold on the water bottles and cookie.

“It's vintage isn't it? I know from the crude design.” You furrow your brows at the comment, especially that you and the entire band stayed up late to finish an entire sack full of the handmade shirts. “It's from their first album, right?” The man raises a brow, like he's questioning your knowledge.

You flick your eyes down to his own shirt, it's a recent one, definitely better than what you have on but it doesn't share the same amount of sentimentality. “Yeah, I know, I was there.”

“Right.” He scoffs, you take a step away from him, turning your attention back to Hobie, who's still not done with the last song. “Of course you were there.” Your jaw tightens, annoyed at best but you're not willing to leave backstage just because of him. “If you were there, you'd know that the shirt was technically designed for their second album. Not the first.”

You turn your head sharply, “you're right, it was.” Smiling, your eyes tell otherwise. “But it was made for the first album because the band couldn't be arsed to make another design for the second one so the second release of the shirts were in a bigger quantity. Hence the misunderstanding that it was for the second album instead.” You finish off your sentence with a smirk.

“Yeah, sure, lady.” He scoffs, unconvinced. “You probably can't name a single song from that album.” He makes another annoying entitled scoff “As if you were actually there—”

“There's our girl!” Yuri appears behind you while you basically throw daggers at the man with your stare. She clasps your shoulder, nudging you happily. “Ooh, cookie! Thanks, babe!” Yanking the snack from your hand, pecking your cheek, she spares the fan a glance then quickly makes her way to the green room to rest before the meet and greet.

“Where's our cookie?” James pouts, feigning a frown.

“I've got some water for you, Jamesy.” You almost forget about the fan gawking and aweing next to you.

“It's not the same though!” And yet, James still takes the bottle from your hand, patting your shoulder as thanks.

Ned clicks his tongue and shakes his head, following James, he takes his share, walking backwards and still teasing you with a disapproving face. “The sheer favoritism!” To add to his so-called discontent, he slams the doors of the greenroom. You're sure that you even heard a muffled, “give me that fucking cookie!” from him.

Before you come looking for your favourite guitarist, Hobie appears from behind you, arms snaking along your middle to wrap you in his anticipated hug. “How's our number one fan?” You lean back, smiling up at him, not minding how his sweat now sticks to your back. You meet with his eyes as he pecks your temple with a resounding smack of his lips. You can see the adrenaline waning off him in waves as he carefully puts more of his weight on you without making you fall from the increased weight. You find yourself giggling more and more, already forgetting about the intrusion.

“I'm good. Hi.” He expects that reply from you, not from the man across from you. “I'm your biggest fan, Hobie!” Holding up a trembling hand to shake Hobie's hand, you seethe in place.

“Thanks, mate.” Hobie, being polite, shakes his hand. “But if you were the biggest fan, you'd know that this shirt…” he pats your stomach, hand lingering there. “was lovingly made by my girl for the first album.”

He's had his fair share of people like him, he takes their words in stride, but the moment someone does it to you, he'll be sure to fight back. He's convinced that if you weren't interrupted you'd be wiping the floor with the rude fan’s face by proving him wrong. Or literally wiping his face down on the ground if need be.

You grin wider as you see colour drain from the fan's face. “I ordered shawarma for everyone.” You provide the biggest slap to the rude fan by ignoring him. “I hid the biggest portion for you.”

Hobie chuckles into your shoulder before taking your hand and leading you away without another word to the strange fan. “And everyone says Yuri's your favourite.”

[dengswei]

your gifsets are perfect, I'm always in awe of what you can do and you're creativity!!! Could you please explain how you made the broken glass gif with different gif in it on photopea? https://www.tumblr.com/dengswei/754916132337729536/userdramas-creator-bingo-green-asiandramanet?source=share and would it be possible to do something similar with other shapes? Thank you for your lovely creations <33

heyy thanks so much!! and of course! i have to admit the way i do it might be a little bit tedious compared to like everyone else (though i don't know how photoshop users or other photopea users might do it 🤣) okay this is gonna end up being so long because of the way i do it so i'm sorry about that and i hope it makes sense 😭

okay i have to admit i couldn't find the texture i've seen people use for the shattered glass effect so i actually used a photopea default brush from this pack

to download the brush set go to window -> plugins -> brush and then search for wall cracks brush (it's literally the only wall related brush set in photopea so it'll show up the moment you download it)

so for the gif i did above i did my giffing the usual way of creating & colouring for different gifs seperatly and then adding them all to one project (it doesn't have to be 4 gifs i just chose 4 because that's what i wanted to show in this gif)

i've done this twice once for this set and another time for this the blood of youth set and i have to say the most important part of this is keep multiple versions of the brush in the position you want as you can so once you've used it to test it out and you like that version keep it because unless you can manage to position the brush in the exact same place every time you're gonna need to reference those (or even use the magic wand tool for it later) and also you need to keep at least a white on black background version for the outline

in the brush pack the one i used was this one: (3564, crack b 9)

for this part i just say play around with both positioning and sizing of the brush, it automatically opens with the size 3000+ which is fine i think with the tushan jing one (the green gif above) i stuck with that size and just kept clicking around until i got the positioning i wanted (this is another reason why i said what i said in the paragraph above because if the brush size is bigger than 1000 it's doesn't come out in the exact positioning as you expect it too

i decide the positioning of the gifs on the way i like the brick brush looking rather than the other way around, this is the positioning i went with if you're curious & would like to use it if that's easier 🤣

you'll need to keep this as a seperate layer at the top, i had it set to screen and then added a colour fill layer clipped on later so that i had the outline for when i was masking

so to start off i have the base gif which i do nothing to, that stays as it is, with the brush layer above set to screen

next is where you want to position your other gifs it may benefit to figure this out all at first before doing any of the masking so you know which parts you want to erase and which parts you want to keep

so this is what i decided with my positioning looking at where each of the cracks are

now comes the tedious part, in some ways the way i do this is a lot similar to how i do grid but it's not as easy (for grid photopea automatically locks onto the squares making it easier to mask, here you have to do it all manually)

first put a raster mask on all of the other gifs except for the base gif & use the magic wand tool on the brush layer so you get the outline of the brush and you mask that away from your gif (so if you turned off the brush layer it should look a little something like this: (it's not perfect but it won't matter that much because you should have the original turned on at the end anyway) (you don't have to do this step tbh i just did it because i thought it looked better)

so with the brush layer turned on you can use that as a template to which parts of the cracks you want to erase, you can either use the magic wand or the paint brush tool it really depends on how much of a perfectionist you are and whether or not the sharp edges bother you (plus some of the cracks have small openings so it might erase another part you don't want if you use the magic wand tool so it really is another instance of playing around and seeing what you like, and it might also change once you add the other gifs too)

so this is how it looks after i've done that (notice in the middle you can still see the edge of the gif? that won't matter because one of the other 2 gifs i still have yet to mask will cover that) & just repeat the same thing for the other gifs you want to add

this is how my masking folders look if you're curious

& last but not least i added a green colour fill layer clipped to the brush layer and set that to darken to get the green effect (make sure that the brush layer is still set to screen)

& once you've merged all of the gifs together you should get your desired outcome like the gif above (make sure that all the gifs have the same amount of frames too)

when it comes to other shapes i'm sure you can! like i did a tutorial with the grid version here, i guess it'll just be a lot of trial and error & finding a texture or brush with different shapes to try it out with kinda like how i did with both versions of this (i definitely did it a lot better this time around compared to the first version i did of this)

hopefully this wasn't too long or too confusing, if anything is please feel free to ask me again and i'll try and explain it a little better 🤣

[kookies2000]

A Smile Behind the Crown Chapter 1

Wonderland Au

Au by @endomentendo

Sorry this took so long. It started off as a one shot and kinda turned into a story with over 15 to 20 chapters........... so I hope I make you proud!!!!

…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….

Tik Tok and tok tik

The sounds likes to haunt

Smiling when the time is down

Work with the needs of the royal crown

Hands on the clock move round and round

Wipe wipe wipe, clean windows, clear vision

Chop chop chop, all the way in the kitchen

Sweep sweep sweep, across the halls

Brush brush brush the walls

Cut cut cut the green grass

Tap tap tap the glass

Keep my head

Rest in bed

Repeat

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Day and night

Go to the left and right

Plant the roses in their beds

All of this so I don't lose my head

Do as I'm told so I don't end up dead

Work in the heat and breaking a sweat

Hello and goodbye to the queen and king

Clean through autumn and through the spring

The bounds around my ankles cause pain

They clink and clang as I walk with chains

Voice so loud with screams it's strained

Tears on my cheeks left me with stains

Throat so dry I can't even complain

My emotions are a big hurricane

Family and friends are in vain

I have no one to blame

Started with a flame

Pain hit like a train

Tik tok, tik tok!

LET ME

OUT!

…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….

Oh, it didn't use to be like this. No, it used to be magical. A world full of colour and laughter. I would jump from tree to tree, and run on water, all as long as I never let go of his hand. I was always safe and sound throughout my childhood. Running so fast I was lifted into the air. Running on air, stepping on clouds, and falling in the air at record speeds. I didn't care if the ground got closer. I embraced the feeling of the air running through my skin and dress. Arms out as if to hug something that wasn't there. Only to disappear before the ground can hurt me. It was all….. so………. pulchritudinous! And to imagine it used to be all so blurry. Hidden away in my brain with other memories I couldn't remember. Like they were just whisked away into a field of forgotten. Begging to be found.

As happy as I am to finally remember my family and friends, I wish it didn't come at this cost. But I would rather be locked up with my loved ones and rot in here with them, no regrets and in the arms of everyone I love.

Almost everyone. I wonder where he is. Did he escape? I hope he did, he doesn't deserve to be locked in this inky blackness and consumed by sadness. Even if he was a thorn in the side. What I wouldn't give to see his glowing smile again.

24 years ago

Tossing and turning in her bed, she was so excited for today. She couldn't help but smile throughout her sleep, just waiting for the sun to rise. The very second the golden rays rose, she kicked the blankets off her bed and didn't even bother putting on shoes. Her little bare feet created tiny stepping sounds that echoed on the empty halls. She couldn't wait any longer! She had to see if everything was set up. Her head didn't even reach the windows for her to look out. So with every step she would leap into the air to look out the windows. Her heart skipped when she saw a glimpse of silver and white decorations.

Filled with glee, she sprinted across the halls as fast as she could. So fast her feet barely touched the ground and she could feel herself get lifted into the air.

“Where are you going?” Literally lifted into the air. She felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her and lift her up. She smiled knowing who's beautiful voice this belonged to.

“The coronation is today!” She chimed as she flapped her arms and kicked her feet. The woman held her closer and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“Yes, it is. But it doesn't start until sunset. There's still lots to do before the princess is crowned.” The lady walked the little girl back into her room.

“But mama!” The little girl groaned in disappointment. Her mom placed her back in bed and went to her closet. Her hands brushing against every piece of clothing as if examining each one.

“No buts Ann, the castle must be neat and tighty.” The mother pulled out a maids dress that was the size of her daughters. Ann groaned again and fell back into her bed, throwing the blanket over her head.

“Mama!” her voice was muffled by the blanket.

“Oh Ann, we don't want our future queen to be crowned in a mess, now do we?” her mother placed the cleaning dress onto the bed and gently tugged at the blanket. She heard her daughter sigh before popping back out of the blanket. Her face had a slight pout and her button eye was covered by her dark hair.

Her eye looked down at the dress before her, blue and white, her favourite colours.

“Ok mama.” she gave in and pulled her dress closer. Her mom smiled warmly at the sight of her little one. So small, so innocent and clean. She ran her plushed hand through her daughter's head full of yarn, pulling it away from her face. She sighed at the sight of her pink button eye, a trait she shared with her aunt.

Once dressed, she held her mother's hand and out of her room they went. She felt her mother's doll-like hand place itself on her back and straightened her out.

“Stand up straight dear, no slouching.” She said in her usual warm voice. Ann nodded and kept her posture straight as they walked the halls. The red carpet below them nudged them along as if it was also in a hurry.

“Yes, yes, we are going.” The mother giggled as the carpet below them kept bending and moving to make them move faster. Curtains to every window moved aside to let in the new sunlight. Blinding Ann for a moment before she was given a sponge to start cleaning the glass. The curtains lifted the young Ann off the floor and higher so she could clean the upper windows.

“Thank you.” Ann smiled politely.

Everyday was the same. Bed at seven, wake up at five eleven. Clean the windows and brush the curtains. Once done, dust the dust bunnies away from the armoured knights. She always felt bad doing this though. The dust bunnies always ran for their lives.

“Dust off the lint from your bow.” Her aunt patted her head as she vacuumed the halls. Sucking up any dust bunnies that tried to make a run for it. The red carpet had to be free of dirt, and so did Ann apparently. That never made sense to the young girl.

The garden was beautiful. Flowers dancing in their pots and singing a beautiful morning song. Bushes and trees ran to their place as gardeners prepared a new hole for them to rest in.

“Arms firm.” Her father helped her hold the shovel. They dug and dug for what seemed like forever. Leaving holes for the new white roses that were impatiently tapping their leaves.

“Snobs.” Ann whispered under her breath, letting her father receive a slap to the face.

“I didn't say anything!” Her father looked at the roses confused.

Then it was lunch time, at long last. She can sit for a while and relax.

“Pinky out.” Her mother whispered gently as they had their lunch break. Maybe not relax. Even in her free time she had to be prim and proper. Even walking across the garden with her aunt was a chore.

“What did we talk about slouching?” Her aunt fixed Ann’s back again and placed her arms behind her back, “No twiddling your fingers dear!”

Ann nodded yes and did as told.

“Open your mouth wide!” Her aunt commanded. Ann did as told and opened as wide as she could, “Now, with proper articulation, what will we say when her majesty speaks to you?”

“Yes your majesty!” She bowed the best a 6 year old can. Her stubby legs felt a little unsteady as she did. Her aunt took notice of her niece having trouble and held her steady.

“Practice, dear, practice.” Her aunt assured her. Ann nodded and kept her balance.

Practice, they told her. Practice everyday. She had to learn how to dance, how to read, how to garden, how to eat like a lady, and how to do everything with grace and elegance. It was repetitive, boring even. But it was peaceful. No risks, no danger, no worries. Just a steady life. And Ann was expected to follow this steady life until the end.

She felt a yawn come as she dusted the library. Quiet, with not a single sound interrupting it. The little girl sighed but a little smile remained. She dusted all the desks from the library, making sure not a single dust bunny remained. She sighed once more as she hopped on her toes to dust the shelves, she could barely reach the second row of books.

“Need help?” Her brother's voice spoke up. He was no taller than her but definitely took more risks. He dragged a chair behind him and slammed it next to her. He took the duster from her doll hands and dusted the second and third row of books.

“Thanks Randy.” Ann smiled her usual sweet smile. He gave a confident thumbs up and climbed the shelf some more to get the rows above.

As she watched her brother help, she looked around the library to see all the books organised and neat. The setting sun shined a radiant red onto them making them look like they glowed. Her eye landed on all the fairytale books she read. Books about magic, witches, dragons, curses, nothing wonderland hasn't seen. Princesses, queens, kings, and of course a prince. She adored these books to death. The excitement they created, the world's they shared, and the beautiful moments of love they told. She consumed every last word her 6 year old mind can process. How she wished she could experience these moments. Run to the mountains, see the world from above, climb every tree in sight and defeat enemies! And find a charming prince on the way that can rescue her from danger.

“It's almost time kids!” They heard their aunt come in. Ann's day dream came to an end and left her in reality. Unlike the books she read, she wasn't destined for a great adventure or even a prince. She was destined to clean and be a maid. Destined to wake up, get dressed, clean the halls, clean the restrooms, clean the windows, vacuumed the carpets, fix the garden, sleep and repeat. All while looking proper. It was near to impossible to do all this but it was more than possible in Wonderland.

But she can't complain, her family loved her.

They loved her so much they finished their chores early so Ann can get ready and wear her best dress to the coronation. A dress her father requested the Chatter family to create for her. She loved that family. They were always so colourful and made her laugh like chimes in the wind.

After she put on her dress, she looked at herself in the mirror to see it consumed her entire body. Forget me not flowers decorated her waist and hair. The dress was blue and white to match everyone else. It puffed out so much she had to raise her arms to not wrinkle the smooth silk. It was time.

She happily arrived at the castle's garden, listening to the trees hum a tune as the birds chirped along. The flowers sang along and swayed back and forth as they awaited the princess. She couldn't wait to see her. Their future queen! Ann kicked her feet and clapped her hands in excitement, she swore she would explode.

Seconds felt like hours to her until finally the horns sounded. She gasped and looked down the altar with everyone else. There she was, the princess soon to be queen. Dressed in a sparkling white and blue dress that outshines the stars themselves. Ann clapped excitedly as the princess walked down the garden with all eyes on her. Graceful, beautiful, magnificent, and elegant. Everything this kingdom needed. Once at the end of the aisle, the princess bowed to her family and the Chatter family. Everyone had proud smiles on as the king began his speech.

“Today is a special day for my daughter!” The king announced. As he spoke, Ann looked over at the Chatter family. An odd bunch, in fact they were considered the oddest of the odd. Their heads were nothing but a pair of dentures while other family members had a deck of cards for a head. But that was the beauty of the Chatter family, they were a colourful and wondrous sight to behold. And mist if all, her friend was there!

A little boy around her age was holding the golden crown. His hat too large for his head, or jaw in this case. The poor thing only had one eye to see with as the other was covered by the ribbon of his hat. His blue eye scanned the guests and he gasped in delight when he saw the doll.

“Hi!” Ann whispered loudly and waved. The young pair of teeth waved back, dropping the crown for a split second.

“Careful Chatter.” His mom caught the crown before it could hit the ground. The young boy could only chuckle nervously as he held still for the ceremony.

“ Please rise!” The king announced. Ann hopped out of her seat just like everyone else. All eyes locked on the scene before them, “Bring me the crown!”

The moment the king announced this, little boy Chatter scurried across the stage and held up the crown high and proudly. The ribbon of his hat covered both his eyes in the process. The king and queen chuckled at the adorable sight.

“Thank you my dear.” The queen smiled and took the crown from the little Chatter. Chatter gleefully clapped his hands and ran back to his family as the king hovered the crown over his daughters head.

“I hereby present my daughter this crown. Which will symbolise power, generosity, kindness, bravery and intelligence. Qualities she worked hard everyday to perfect so she can rule this land! And today, she will be known as the new queen of Wonderland!” The king announced. The very second the crown rested upon the new queen's head, the garden was filled with cheers and claps. People welcomed the new leader with open arms and congratulated her as she and her family walked down the aisle.

As everyone began to move to the ballroom for the celebratory dinner, Ann ran through the crowd to find her friend. Her only friend in this castle really. The castle kids usually had a busy schedule like her so they didn't spend much time together. Or they were higher ups like the kids of the ladies in waiting or the royal family. She never crossed paths with them much.

But the little Chatter lived in the servants quarters with her and her family. He was the son of a simple hat maker and a dress designer. While wacky and colourful, Chatter liked to stay put in the castle.

“We have all we need here!” He exclaimed as he and Ann walked in the garden with other children playing around. The Chatter hopped onto a leaf and tapped his foot. The leaf raised the little boy into the air as he waved his hands in the air like a showman.

“Why, and I do mean why, would anyone want to leave this magical castle?” He chimed. He looked down at a smiling Ann with a smile of his own.

“It was just a thought Chatter.” Ann twiddled with her fingers and looked around the garden. Her eye scan all the smiling faces of every child. Everyone was so happy and content with their lives inside the walls and sometimes she questioned why.

They lived in a world of wonder and magic. A world where normality didn't exist and anything can happen. Yet everyone seemed content in this box they were in. It was almost as if everyone was hiding from something, maybe from someone.

“You know what they say my dear Ann!” Chatter hopped off the leaf and glided his way next to her. His arms out like a proud little boy as he chimed like the cleanest of wind pipes, “A single drop of thought can cause the biggest splash of ideas!”

“Oh?” Ann tilted her head in curiosity, “What does that mean?”

“I have no idea!” Chatter chimed again in glee, “But my mom tells me that every night. If it's important enough to be said by her, it must be true!”

A soft giggle escaped the doll's mouth. She loved her friend to death but she still wished he would see things like her. Oh well, she can be the only dreamer in this castle and she'll still be happy.

“Look out!!!” She heard a kids voice call out. Ann turned around and ducked just in time when an apple flew past her head.

“Ow!” Chatter shouted when he felt the fruit slam against his eye. Ann gave a gasp of concern and ran to her friend.

“You ok?” She helped him sit up. His eyes rolled around like googly eyes, not being able to look at her in the eyes straight.

“Chipper as a sing-song bird!” Chatter chimed happily, giving her a dizzy smile. Ann giggled at the silly sight of her friend. Always so happy, so full of life and never had a dark day in his life. He always wore his best bright red suite and a hat too big for him……… where's his hat?

“Your hat!” Ann patted his empty head. Chatter could only respond with a “huh” and pat his head. He shook his head, finally fixing his spinning eyes, but they were clearly still trying to focus. Ann saw the hat flying away into the woods nearby and looked back at her friend. One pupil was bigger than the other, indicating he still couldn't see well.

“I'll get it for you!” Ann lifted the dress of her skirt and ran off to get the runaway hat. The hat flew into the dark woods and the little doll followed. Her little mind not even thinking twice about what she was running into.

In fact, her little mind didn't even realise she had some eyes following her every move.

[pnsteblnme]

a slight headache ✿ k.m.

pairing: katie mccabe x reader

summary: katie's corner kick leads to a dramatic turn of events.

warning: injuries, blood, cursing, me trying to write angst

word count: 2.1k

a/n: this was a request from ages ago and i'm so sorry that it took so long! i don't really know how to write angst so i hope it's not that bad

It was the 89th minute, the score read 1:1, and Katie was ready to take the corner kick. 

Even though it was tied right now, Arsenal clearly had the upper hand. It was a one-sided game from the beginning of the second half, with the gunners constantly creating opportunities and taking numerous shots at the goal.

Katie raised her hands, signalling to everyone that she was about to shoot. 

You stood a few metres in front of the goal, waiting for the ball to come flying towards you. When you finally spotted it sailing through the air and barreling in your direction, you immediately moved forward before jumping as high as you could. 

Feeling the ball connect with your forehead, you held your breath and saw it nestling into the back of the net. 

Then, your head flew to the side. A sharp ringing filled your ears. Thousands of black spots clouded your vision. Everything went silent. 

Katie let out an elated shout, running to the penalty box to celebrate with her teammates. Seeing you still on the ground, she thought you were just too exhausted to stand up. 

Though when Lia leaned down to check up on you and yelled for the medics in distraught, the Irish woman felt her heart drop and rushed to your side. 

The sight before her made a chill run down her spine, breath catching in her throat. Your head propped up on Lia’s thighs as gushing waves of red emerged from the side of your head and painted her shorts the same colour as her crimson jersey.

The brunette fell to her knees next to your still body, hand reaching for yours, praying that you would open her favourite pair of eyes and tell her you were just playing with her. 

While the Swiss woman pressed her hand to your wound to minimise the blood that was still flowing out of your head at an agonisingly fast pace, Katie’s right hand cupped your cheek as she whispered, “Please wake up, Y/N/N.”

After the medics came rushing and ushered your teammates away, your girlfriend having to be pulled away by Leah, fury roared within her.

Noticing Zecira, whose fists had smashed into your head, standing a few metres ahead of her, the brunette’s hands clenched, knuckles turning white, as she bridged the gap between them with tramping steps.

“Are you sick in the fuckin’ head?” Katie spat, pushing the goalkeeper with such force that, despite the immense height difference between the two, the taller girl stumbled. 

Nostrils flaring and jaw clenching, she continued to shove her with the vigour of a thousand flames until she tumbled to the ground, Katie’s finger prodding at her chest as she spewed more insults her way.

Before the altercation could escalate any further, a turmoil of Chelsea and Arsenal players separated them and tried to calm the hot-headed left back down.

When Katie’s breathing had slowed down, she cautiously let her gaze travel back to you, afraid of the sight she’d have to face. You were just being put onto the stretcher, the white bandage wrapped around your head tainted red as the referee called the brunette’s name. 

Turning around with tears on the brink of cascading down her cheeks, she faced the woman who held up a yellow card - the second time it was directed towards her this game, consequently meaning she’d be sent off and banned from the next match. 

Not caring about that in the slightest, Katie whirled around and quickly jogged to where you were being carried to the ambulance, her vision blurring with unshed tears as she could feel her heart break, the sight of your still unresponsive body making her stomach drop.

After she was allowed to ride to the hospital with you, the brunette sat next to you, one hand tightly gripping your cold one as the other was pressed against her mouth to stifle the sobs that so desperately wanted to come out. 

Thoughts were running through her head at a thousand miles per hour, her shoulders slumped and her teeth digging into her bottom lip, nearly drawing blood. She didn’t know what to do, didn’t know how she could help you, how she could tell you that everything was going to be fine when you couldn’t even hear her. 

Feeling the teeniest squeeze on her hand, she picked her head up so fast, that she was surprised she didn’t get whiplash. Heart bursting with relief when you let out a quiet groan, Katie cupped your cheek, softly tracing her thumb over your skin as she soothed, “Everythin’s gonna be fine, love.”

“You’re gonna be alright, I promise,” she continued, pressing a feather-light kiss on the back of your hand as a few tears that had gathered at her chin dropped to her thighs. 

When they arrived at the hospital shortly after, the doctor told her to stay in the waiting room until they informed her about the next steps. 

After ten minutes of nervous pacing and anxiously chewing on her nails in the dull room, which reeked of antiseptics and had excruciatingly bright lights, the brunette was joined by a few of her teammates, only a handful of girls having come in order to not disturb you. 

They had sat there for another ten minutes before the door was opened by a doctor, “Y/N Y/L/N?” he questioned as he looked at the clipboard in his hands. 

Chair scraping against the ground and almost tipping over, Katie stood up in the blink of an eye and rushed to the door, “Is she alright?”

Flipping a page on his board, he looked up with a comforting smile and nodded, “She suffered a grade 4 concussion and we had to stitch up the cut on her temple. She may have a few complaints like nausea, headaches and sensitivity to light and noise but in a couple of weeks she should be perfectly fine again.”

The Irish woman let out a huge sigh of relief at hearing the doctor’s words, a weight being lifted off her shoulders. 

“Okay, so there is a very big chance that this is not the case, but because it’s not a hundred percent impossible, I need to inform you that she could suffer from post-traumatic amnesia,” noticing the woman’s face fall again, the doctor added, “I’m certain though, that if that should happen, it’d only be temporary.”

Nodding her head, Katie took a few breaths and tried to take all of the information in, “Can I see her?” He hummed in agreement before advising, “I think it’d be good if only one or two people went in because she’ll probably feel a little dazed and sensitive to noise et cetera.”

“Okay, thank you so much,” she exclaimed, sending him a grateful smile as she made her way to her teammates and told them everything he had just explained to her. Knowing that you’d be absolutely exhausted and thankful for the tranquillity, the others decided to visit some other time, leaving just Katie to enter your room.

When she closed the door behind her and turned around to face you, the brunette let out a huge breath, corners of her mouth tentatively turning upwards as she sat down on the edge of the chair next to the bed you were sleeping on. 

Reaching for your hand, her smile brightened, finally relishing in the feeling of your warm skin against hers. The urge to kiss you became too strong to resist and she leaned over you to gently press a kiss against your forehead. 

The sound of rustling bedsheets filled the room as you groaned, eyes fluttering open, Katie’s face twisting into a grimace, “Sorry love, I didn’t mean to wake ya.”

It took you a moment to answer, having to get used to the brightness of the room and the ache throbbing in your head. When you finally locked eyes with your girlfriend, your eyebrows furrowed, “And you are..?”

Suddenly, Katie’s whole body went rigid, a shiver colder than the worst winter storms in her hometown spreading from within her, looking at you with eyes that held more heartache than anything else you’d ever seen.

“I- uh… god, I-,” she tried to get words to come out of her mouth, but the thought of the love of her life not knowing who she was, filled her whole being with an all-encompassing heaviness.

Noticing how affected the brunette was, you hastily grabbed her hand, “No, I’m just kidding, Katie!”

“This isn’t fuckin’ funny,” she grumbled, slapping your arm, a glare stretching across her face, “I was worried about you, dickhead!”

“Ow! How dare you hit an injured woman?”

When the sound of your laughter filled her ears, all of the previous darkness inside of her vanished, warmth spreading through her chest as the sight of your bright smile ignited one of her own. 

“Shut up,” Katie groaned, face pressed into the mattress next to your thigh. Your gaze travelled to her hunched-over form, eyes twinkling even under these horrible hospital lights as your hand tangled in her hair, gently scratching at her scalp. 

The Irish woman’s breath evened out, the first time since that godforsaken corner kick that she felt something akin to peace. 

“Come here,” you cooed after she lifted her head and you patted the space next to you.

Crawling under the blanket with you, Katie wrapped her arms around your waist, tightly squeezing your body against hers as if she were afraid you’d slip right through her fingers. 

Head laying on your shoulder, she leaned back a bit to look into your eyes, breath fanning across your face as she softly questioned, “Does it still hurt?”

You brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, leaving your hand on her cheek and gently tracing her skin, “I do have a bit of a headache but other than that it’s like nothing happened,” you assured your girlfriend with a grin. 

Katie visibly relaxed at your answer, her tense shoulders relaxing as she pressed her lips to your cheek, the simple action being enough to get your stomach doing somersaults.

“Except,” you winced, dragging out the word at the end, “what happened exactly? I only remember you being about to shoot that corner but after that, it’s like-,” you gestured with your hands.

“Ya headed the ball into the goal and then that daft cow punched you,” your girlfriend grumbled as her face scrunched in anger.

Your fingers drew random shapes on her hips, where her hoodie had revealed a tiny bit of her tanned skin, “I’m sure that was just an accident.”

“An accident?! She should get her arms cut off for that and-”

“Please tell me you didn’t do anything stupid,” you sighed, squeezing your eyes shut in hopes of your little devil having controlled herself. When Katie unintelligibly mumbled something under her breath and avoided your gaze, you knew you were wrong. 

“What did you do?”

Still not meeting your eyes, the Irish woman conceded with a small voice, “I may have pushed her,” eyes now scanning the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, she added, “and I may have gotten another yellow card.”

“Katie!” you exclaimed, smacking her head as you sat up and glared at her, “Why would you do that? Now you’re banned from our next game!”

Turning to you with a smirk and a shrug of her shoulders, “She deserved it.”

Being met with an onslaught of your hands, she quickly grabbed your wrists and gently pinned them to the bed. When you continued to struggle in her hold, the brunette straddled you - carefully as to not hurt you any further, “Maybe it was wrong but I was just so mad at her and seeing you losing so much blood, it just- I couldn’t contro-”

You leaned up and pressed your lips against hers, a sigh escaping your mouth when her hands wandered to your face and gently cupped your cheeks. 

Katie instantly relaxed, tingles running through her whole body with just a brush of your lips. 

The brunette couldn’t put into words how relieved she was that you were here in her arms, out of harm’s way, with just a concussion and on your way to recovery. 

She knew that you didn’t like the way she handled a lot of things, but she also knew that you accepted her the way she was, because you loved her just the way she was - as you made sure to tell her daily.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Bella Goth's (Actually Cozy!) Winterfest Celebrations - And a New Ring 💍

Bella Goth loved the holiday season. Even when she was unhappily married to Mortimer for years, she could always get into the Winterfest spirit. She'd always been fascinated by Father Clement, who could seemingly be everywhere at once every Winterfest Night. If families celebrated, he would come. You might even say the inexplicable magic of Father Clement was her gateway to a lifetime studying occults and paranormality.

Now, of course, she was dating the Grim Reaper himself, and to mark the season she prepared a plate of Hallacas - a traditional holiday dish passed down from her Selvadoradian grandmother, Enriqueta, at the request of her beloved sons.

Alexander was grown and had started a family of his own, and Dexter would graduate high school before she knew it (I don't think I've shown a picture of him since he was a toddler, so there he is in the green jacket, looking pretty much nothing like Mortimer). Bella cherished their excitement over the savoury dish - a mainstay at Goth family Winterfests year after year. They knew the best Hallacas in the world were the ones their mother made!

Once Alex and Lydia lit the menorah to introduce their son, Jagger, to another part of his heritage, most of the Goths went to bed. The cats, Spatula and Victory, stayed awake sniffing around the Hallacas, while Bella played and sang a tune on the piano.

She was in a good mood, waiting for her beloved Grim to return from his latest reaping. They didn't get to see one another enough, but they more than made up for time apart each time they came together. "My love," she said warmly. "I adore you. Come in from the cold."

Grim couldn't feel temperatures, exactly, but his entire being buzzed with a fire he hadn't felt for millennia whenever he spent time with Bella. But one thing in particular had always bothered him - her insistence upon wearing the oversized engagement ring from her ex-husband, Mortimer, as a fashion statement.

He'd grown tired of looking at it, quite frankly. "I have a gift for you," he said. She lifted the lid on the medium-sized box with excitement, gasping when she spotted the velvet ring box inside.

"You didn't!"

"I didn't. I asked @deardiaryts4 to design a custom ring just for you. A new fashion statement. I know how much you love her work, and I hope you like it. She did an incredible job, and considering how close it was to Winterfest when I asked her to design it, she pulled it together in no time."

The stunning bauble glistened under the lights of the Winterfest tree at their backs - a massive black diamond set on a white gold band dotted with dozens of smaller black diamonds. "It's incredible, Grimmie, I love it!"

The ring fit Bella like a glove, but they had to cut their cozy celebration short. "Sorry, duty calls," said Grim, before disappearing outside in a cloud of black smoke.

Bella went to bed satisfied though Grim couldn't stay by her side, and she awoke to the excited murmur of Winterfest morning streaming up the stairs.

Soon after breakfast, her daughter Cassandra arrived with her husband, River, and their sons.

Bella made spiced hot cocoa to greet their arrival - another common treat at Goth family holidays - and she pulled out a retro game console Cass and Alex used to play with when they were children, introducing her grandson Michael to the simple, colourful joy of earlier, more pixellated video games.

(I see you plumbob. I've been so good. But the event rewards task box was in the way!)

She even managed to wrangle all nine of them for a family portrait by the tree, and then the family put on some Winter Holiday music to dance off some of their festive energy.

clockwise from top: Dexter Goth, Alexander Goth, Jagger Goth, Lydia (Kim-Lewis) Goth, Cassandra (Goth) Nesbitt, Bella Goth holding Samuel Nesbitt, River Nesbitt, Michael Nesbitt

(Jagger also needed a diaper change, so dance party done.)

These moments with her family, surrounded by the love of her children and grandsons, meant everything to Bella.

But Grim, and the gorgeous ring she wore as a symbol of their love, meant something, too. As she grooved with her family by the fire and spent time with her beloved crow, Obsidian, this cozy celebration reminded Bella she was one of the luckiest women in the world.

Cozy Celebrations posts with Hazel & Nicola: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Nicola Enters Dating Deanna

NOTE: I didn't give this installment a part number because it's not technically canon but IS canon, if that makes sense. The ring is real and the portraits are going on the wall, but Michael, Samuel, and Jagger are all older than they were during in-game Winterfest (and aging them back down meant trying to pose infants through a couch and I honestly couldn't be bothered!) But I allude to the idea that the holidays come around every year, even though it's actually closer to every 15 years of actual game time. A sim year is 8 days, but the calendar year is 112 days because I like to fit in as many holidays as I can. So last year Cassandra, River, Michael, and Samuel were with the Nesbitts, but "this year" they rotated to the Goths, because I absolutely needed a family photo with them in it.

I know the Hazel/Nic play on Cozy Celebrations turned out to be the complete opposite, so this is like a palate cleanser, finishing the last two days of the event tasks with another side family in this legacy, instead. Not everyone's out here having a bad time!

WCIF Bella's ring? You can't, I'm sorry! This post came about because I got an exclusive and it's gorgeous, but @deardiaryts4-rb posted about the white diamond version here, and let this be my endorsement that it's stunning! If she puts either swatch up for public download I highly recommend this ring for any of your luxe sims! Thank you Zen!!

WCIF Portrait Poses? I used 9 of 19 poses from @somneasims Our Legacy posepack, and with the exception of River giving jazz hands where that would be behind another sim's back and a missing infant on Michael's lap, it's a perfect fit! And these are so minor, like it's absolutely acceptable to give jazz hands or look like you're fidgeting in a family photo. Also, Dexter should be carrying an infant, but River's hair disguises his empty hands. Thank you for sharing this, I love the results!

(And yes I considered adding Mortimer and Karl since he and Bella are on such good terms, but in the end I decided they went on a vacation because this shot is wonderful.)

And I've used the same acha-sims' Lovers 2 pose for Grimbella before, but it's so perfect and really puts the ring front and centre, which this post deserved!

[velvetypoets]

Spoiled Rotten

James Potter always gets what he wants. That's just how it goes.

Warnings: James Potter x reader fanfic, James is down bad, I tagged marauders but no peter, Slytherin reader, Black family reader, reader is portrayed as she/her, reader centric, forbidden love trope, SFW, James perspective, Sirius loves his friends, James is a blurting mess but it leads to victory anyways

thank u sososomuch for the support on the first one!!! im very fond of this work and everyone's been super sweet to me. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE UPLOADED 1 MONTH AGO BEFORE I WENT ON A FIELD TRIP IM SO SORRY my dumbass uploaded it in private. the third might take a longer while since ill' be busier with uni so this one will be a tad longer. ty for the warm support and ily guys <333

[ part 1|part 2|part 3 ]

————————————————————————————————————————

The clock was striking 1:00 when it appears. Perched at the Marauders dorm windowsill stands the purest white owl with beads of orbs so clear James could almost see his own reflection. Its eyes focused on Sirius's drooling face and for every little twitch he makes, the bird's grip on the letter in his claw tightens.

He left a crack of the window open on purpose once Sirius and Remus had fallen still. Sirius had been bullying—Scratch that, James thought. Assaulting every owl that even comes close to the trio the whole day. Looking at it, the bird and Sirius seem well acquainted so what did that Tawny ever do to Pads? James wondered. That owl got a few of its feathers off this morning fighting his friend all for nothing.

 "Emerald," whispered James from his bed. The majestic being blinks slowly before diving in from the open window as she lands gracefully at his bedside table. The letter she was so carefully guarding sits neatly on his lap now. James was simply astonished, "A magnificent bird for a magnificent girl, huh? Thank you, Emerald." 

Emerald blinks to him as she receives James smile. She went straight back to her guard duty and she turned her head dutifully to watch Sirius. He reaches for his glasses and the letter opener next to Emeralds's feet, the bird doesn't flinch one bit. He takes a deep inhale from the velvet green coloured paper as he opens the letter. The parchment smells of the same one that he's been basking in all night. Yes, he slept with his stupid scarf with trails of your warm scent on his neck.

I heard there was an attack on an owl by a wild dog this afternoon. Can that brat of a cousin be any more duller?

James can't hold his smile any longer, he glanced at Emerald who seems interested in his expressions as she keeps looking his way while still keeping guard. "Oh, so you do have a personality," He whispered with a chuckle. 

I don't know how you and Lupin stand him this long. Well, you live and you learn. Now take good care of Emerald. She's fed and full so don't even dare try to buy her love with treats. I told her to keep her eyes on the dog for as long as you're reading this letter. 

Do send her back once you're done, simply say the words. Meet me at the farthest tower of the south near astronomy at dawn. You're a prankster, figure out how to sneak through Filch yourself.

Knock 4 times. Sincerely, 

A blot of ink ended the last word of the letter. James ran a finger softly to it as he let go of the breath he was holding for so long. He reads your letter over and over till he's sure he can recite every word. It was way too short. He reminds himself to ask his charm professor tomorrow of a protection charm to keep time from damaging. 

"Bloody hell, did you really have to risk us all getting the cold for a darn letter, Prongs??" Remus is awake, James expected it. He's a light sleeper and the ruffling paper sound James was making while inspecting the content of the letter to see for any hidden message was probably enough. That and the cold air of a one in the morning approaching winter breeze. 

Remus's drowsy eyes lands on the white snow owl perched on James's table. His brows furry, "Its a snow all along? What was his problem with that Tawny from earlier then??" James shrugs a shoulder still deep in thought, he has not a care in this world right now for anything other than the piece of paper in his hand. "She warned us it was a snow. He shooed all the other owls for precaution I guess,"

Remus lets out an annoyed sigh at James reply, "Those poor birds. We genuinely have enough feathers now to last the three of us a school year thanks to him." 

James hums at the comment. They did keep all the feathers since it'll be a huge waste. They were also avoiding Filch's fury for littering. Remus looks at the sight of his best friend fully immersed in a mere piece of paper, "You're really going through with this?"

The boy halted, looking up to find Remus's concerned face. He knows what he's doing. His best friends are protecting him from what only compares to a mountain of incoming trouble.

Sirius had made it truly sound that your family are absolutely no one to tamper with. With how dramatic he is, he made it explicitly sound like what James has done is an entire war crime. "I told you! Archivus and Nebula Black are not ones to tamper with! They will leash hell on you if you keep this up!"

"Well I can't stop now, Moony."

"You can't or you won't?"  

"Why do you always ask questions you've always known the answer to, my friend?" James lets a frustrated sighs as he rests his head back to his pillow. He cast it to float over his face. All of those words, all 120 of them– 121 since James is counting in the ink blot, they're all directed to him. You took the time to write and send it through your owl, for James. A letter from his new, his cherished, girlfriend.

A full day had abruptly passed by from that meeting with you in front of Charms. Every word and every tune you uttered rings about his head the entire day. Especially the last few bit, one on which you called him your boyfriend. He'd never thought for a million years that you would've called him that soon. James would've never had the guts to do it first. He was supposed to be the courageous one. He's Gryffindors poster boy for Merlin sake!

My idiot boyfriend. Idiot. Boyfriend. Her boyfriend. I'm an idiot boyfriend.

"I don't... know why I'm like this either. I just know I have so much love to give to her.

"Remus turns his head to the window to relieve himself of a smile. He bites his lips for an answer to not let it known, he promised himself he would stay neutral, "I won't stop you."

James closed his eyes. Remus knows the weight he sets free to his friend. He glances back at the owl now looking curiously at him, "Close the window after, yeah? Good night, Prongs."

"Good night, Moony."

——————————————————————————

The marauders had all made up and are back to being attached at the hip again the next day. Remus dragged Sirius the next afternoon to another puzzle night—of which Sirius has a lot to complained about all day— at the common room. Sirius isn't the type to sit around for too long and even for James, finishing a 10k puzzle seems a lot.

The type of person Sirius Black is though, is one that transforms the entire Gryffindor common room decorations and moves the furniture to lay out blankets and swarms of pillows. He even went as far as sneaking to the kitchen and begs the Hogwarts house elves for cookies and hot chocolate. Now there's a huge misunderstanding about the elves point of view in Pads since he is in fact, a Black. But Sirius isn't himself if he didn't have tricks up his sleeves and James has a hunch on that.

"I must say... You've really outdone yourself now, mate," James said, sincerely amused. Sirius put his last touch of fluffing the pillows before he approached James to join him in examining the room, "Oh what would our little Moony do without me, huh Prongsie? Now that I've learned my lesson on that painstaking first game night I'm making this activity worthwhile. He was only going to set up a plain grey blanket and tea! The general ones in bags too! Glad I rid of that one quick."

Sirius makes a condescending tsk, tsk, tsk from his mouth before his brow furrowed, "Say... Where are you off to, Mate? You know you're always welcome to join us. I mean, lily and the other girls said they're joining too."

He wouldn't be able to lie and look at Sirius's face. James averts his attention to kneel and inspect the steaming tray of cookies and fudge laying on top of the puffy carpet. Sirius had somehow got the grant from McGonagall to lay out the Christmas carpet early for the game. Moony's going to have such a headache keeping the carpet out of cookie crumbs.

"Believe me my cookies loving heart breaking here but I've got to talk to Slughorn, Mate. Thinks he's got an idea on improving one of dad's medicines."

Sirius eyes lit up in the last sentence, James wants to punch himself in the face, "That's terrific! That's such good news for Fleamont, Prongs! Why we should be the one joining you!!" Sirius didn't even question him one bit, he pulled him stead to a hug full on the thrill. James hugs him back as he tries to keep his voice from wavering, "Nah, don't ruin your good time with Moony. Go and get absolutely wrecked, man."

Sirius chuckled as he ruffled a hand to James curls, "Oh we'll be so out by the time you got here, don't you worry. I'm going to fill my belly with hard-earned fudge!"

James manages to release himself from Sirius's rough hug and tries to fix his hair up a bit, "I should be going now, but hey! Don't forget to leave me some of that fudge!" He said as he did a bit of run to the door while Sirius tends to Lily and Mary who came just in time to light the candles. Sirius looks back to James one last time, the fangs on him peaking through his grin, "Oh don't you worry, mate. We'll make sure to lick the plate right off tonight!"

James closed the door with a crackle of laughter. He replies to Sirius's grin with an even sassier one, slipping his hand onto his coat pocket that fits exactly four pieces of fudge. He's not James Potter if he doesn't double down.

He puts on the invisibility cloak and makes his way through Hogwarts with ease. Being a Marauder he had his fair share sneaking out a million times and yet, his heart beats so loud it feels like bursting out of him. He's at the southernmost tower bottom of stairs when he heard footsteps.

It was you. You're out of uniform, a Slytherin sweater that's way too big for you and a black coat with emerald buttons that James swears he's seen the same in Sirius's back closet and on Regulus every now and again. You're visibly cold, your cheeks pale as you hold yourself close to keep the warmth in your coat from escaping. Your brows furrowed, James can't think of a more sweeter creature.

Your head whipped right to where he's standing, your face a couple inches away from him. James got absolutely the fear of his life, he almost yelps and gave his presence away. You were looking at the window right behind him, "Dawn is settling... Oh if that man is late for even a minute I'm dumping his ass so hard," You complain to yourself. He held his chuckle and his lips are already giving into a dumb smile as he follows you from a distance. He's thinking of giving you a headstart to make yourself feel better for arriving sooner.

He notices the mystery boxes and blanket you're hiding in the inside of your coat jacket. James eyes widens, it's a thermos that smells familiarly of general store brewed tea, blankets, and a box of magic puzzles.

James freezes in his tracks right then and there, holding his heart to his chest as if its trying to escape. He waits until the door to the tower room at the top creaks open and shuts– to uncover the cloak and lets a laugh for himself. His body trembled the whole time. Tint of flushing red quickly took over his cheeks. James rests his back to the stone wall behind him and let his body slump. He covers his face with his hands before catching his breath and turning to check his faint reflection in the window.

"James Potter you're so incredibly fucked."

——————————————————————————

"There you are!! Do you know how long I've been waiting for you!"

Exactly 9 minutes and 24 seconds James believed. It took him that long to finally rid the tint of his face and regain just enough composure before he's ready to opens the door that leads to you. He counted so he wouldn't make you wait too long. James had decided to set on 10 minutes, max. He closed the door behind him and leaned his back against the door, his famously charming grin forms, "Apologies my darling, I wanted to give you the time to feel like Rapunzel."

Your brows raised, you're sitting in the middle of the room on a carpet with a blanket in your lap. The huge rustic style window behind you makes James view look like a framed painting. "Who's Rapunzel?"

James grin had never fallen that quick, he quickly caught himself, "What? Don't tell me you don't know Rapunzel, Love. Huge Muggle folklore? Long-haired blonde princess that's locked on a tower! She has both a barbie and a disney movie!" His eyes widened in disbelief as he claimed a seat next to you, his eyes met the burnt mark to the hem of your sweater. To rid of feuds from the lack of sharing culture between the Blacks, all family members are required to mark everything they own with a custom spell that burns their names perfectly on the items. (Y/N) Soleia Black He gives a relaxed sigh, he really thought for a second there you were wearing Regulus's sweater or even worse, Notts.

You were nice enough to let him ramble before knocking a soft one on his head, "Really Potter? Muggles? Should I remind you of which lineage I am from?" You shook your head at his clumsiness but you'd be lying if you didn't find that cute. You know what a movie and the gist of it is, Sirius took you to a muggle theatre a while back, "This Rapunzel girl seems like quite the actress to play in a movie with whoever this disney and barbie is though. She's a princess you say, did she ever find her prince?"

You don't seem to be quite aware of the absolute power James is using to not laugh at your innocence, that would be quite rude, "No, well– Yes, she did found her a man but not quite a prince. She fell in love with the thief who tried to rob her and got happily wedded at the end of the story."

You're wide-eyed and let your lips agape at his explanation, James hearts melts at sight of it, "I'm sorry, did you really just say she married the man who tried to bloody robbed her? Happily at that?"

"Oh Merlin, we should really watch tangled together sometimes. I have a telly and the cd at my house, uhh... It's the muggle technology that plays videos on a little screen we learned on Muggles Studies— Well I could just show it to you later, Pads mind was absolutely blown when I showed him," James chuckle as he's reminded of the time he brought his friends over to his house. Sirius keeps trying to look behind the tv to catch some form of little persons coming out.

You giggled at his story, "Is that an invitation for another date, Mister Potter? This one hasn't even started yet," You brought out the box of magic puzzles and the thermos of tea and said innocently, "Why unfortunately for us the wizarding worlds entertainment bizz is limited. Though I did pick up this game that had been trending quite recently. Are you familiar with it by any chance?"

James sighs at the sight of the 10k puzzle game, the same bright colored box with cheesy lines written on it that was sitting as the centerpiece of Sirius's golden plan. Reality is not so subtly mocking him at this point, "Did anybody give this to you or did you lied to the sorting hat and is you just a Ravenclaw in secret?"

You give him a playful punch on the arm, "Hey! Us Slytherins could be smart too! And is capable of doing a little solving here and there, I mean I love to read mystery novels myself. I got the puzzle at the shop but the lame blankets and tea were from this suspicious looking guy in robe that visited me earlier. Made me promised to burn it and never let a wizard know where to find it again. I don't quite get his disgust on the tea, generics are just fine," You pour James a cup of tea from the thermos cup and you look up to find him staring at you like you just said something weird. You raise a brow, "What? You a fancy tea leaves only guy too?"

He snaps back quickly and curses himself in his mind, "No, No! I.. I just never heard you talk that much before," The truth came out of him involuntarily, he's never done this before. Speaking his mind. That only ever leads to bad outcomes, he thinks. Outcomes he can't control. Every second you take to process his words makes him even more anxious, "Look... Fuck, I don't mean anything about it, I love hearing you rant. I'd give everything for it. It's just I've never really heard you talk... This much—"

You watch him stumble on his own words, processing what on earth have you done to this man. For some reason you felt like you've just broken James Potter. Like you went on a ride and it started malfunctioning, is he malfunctioning? Oh God Sirius wouldn't have your head for breaking his best mate right?

"James, it's just me. Breathe, I'm not going anywhere," You said, deciding to save him from more embarrassment that is surely coming if he doesn't stop. It's not just you though, you are not just someone! ,Was all he wanted to scream. You raise your hands to cups his cheeks as it warms your skin almost effectively. James ego can't suffer more than it already is. He is a crumbling, stuttering, mess, all from your presence.

James Fleamont Potter, on his last bit of sanity that hadn't left him yet decides to be truthful for once, "I think your ranting has done burnt my brain."

You stifle a laugh, "Wah-What?! That's your explanation for me? You big foolish mess of an idiot, you! Ohh I'm so going to hex you now! What was all that about, Potter??"

James feels there should exist a spell to make the ground open up and swallow him whole, "Next time you try something new to me, I think you might have to do a bit of precaution first, Lovie," He sighs, he lets a hand courses through the curls of the hair upon his forehead, "My heart nearly jumped out of its place. I'm being truthful to you, you should open your eyes to the crazy things you do to me, (Y/N)."

Hearing your name come out of him feels surreal, not a sweet nickname or your family name, just yours. You don't know how to feel about all of this. You don't know what to think of him. Fuck it. You shoot.

"You don't actually like me do you, James?"

Silence. Then another brain fart erupts.

"What if I said yes?"

That came out too soon for his liking. James lets out a groan as he stops himself from covering his face to hide away, "What about it, (Y/N)? What if I did all this to set myself up with you. What if my thing for our complicated arrangement was you all along?"

You seem to have fallen still again. He brings your hand gently to his face and lightly plants a kiss on the back, "I've completely fallen for you. (Y/N) you have no idea the mess you made out of me. You've not a clue of the lengths I do for you and.. And I feel like I'm always doing the wrong things when I'm with you."

The kiss feels hot on your skin. He continues with his hazel eyes piercing sincerely right through you and it feels like he's seeing you bare for what you are. The girl who was born from the wrong family. A Black with more feelings than the other. The weak one, as your father likes to remind you.

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. Truthfully, I'm not used to love," You blurts, biting your lips in agony.

"I, If there's anything I can do to help you..." He sensed the weight anchoring in his stomach long before it falls. His tensed shoulders feel like it's crumbling down on him. You smile faintly and leaned closer.

Don't blame James for feeling so down cause not even Merlin himself would've predicted you to plant a kiss on his cheek, a near miss from his lips.

"I do feel intrigued enough that you somehow managed to trick me into all this. Bravo, Potter. I think I'd give you a chance."

He's stiff as the day he'll be when he's gone. The paleness leaving his tone as warmth fluttery butterflies color him in the reddest hue. You chuckled,

"Well, Potter. You've got your princess. Now what?"

[beevvy]

Guys

I was thinking up some dark world forms for the lu cast and came up with some good ones plus backstory and reasons supporting my choices

I wanted to keep them all as mammals for the continuity (legends bunny and twi's wolf are both mammals) and its just easier to create limitations for myself to be more creative!

((and i tried to pick animals that existed in their original games,

But some games ( zelda I & II, I'm looking at you ) didn't really have any passive animals to choose from, so i'm following this rule only for some/most of them))

here are the results: ( warning: very long)

Twilight:

Wolf

(kinda obvious, no explanation needed)

Legend:

Pink rabbit/hare (he seems more rabbit/hare then bunny in my mind?) but i thought, what if i had to choose a realistic animal?

I think he would still be a rabbit, but an albino rabbit, his eyes red and with white fur, at least thin enough that you can notice a little pink from his skin to have a slightly visible pink-ish hue.

Time:

(ghost?) Wolf; i think being a ghost wolf after death, he probably still have the same form when he was alive too?

he never uses it in any game he's in (like Oot or Mm) other then Twilight Princess (taking place after he died)

I couldn't find any better leads or clues suggesting any other form, so I'll stick with this, maybe for a realistic animal he would be some kind of like timber wolf ( just a big kind of wolf) that is a golden/ light brown colour with white underbelly.

Hyrule:

(the idea that created this list in the first place...)

Sheep!; the sheep would have brown wool like Rulies hair, (my hc is his hair is curly, or at least wavy, like a sheep, but anyway) he's innocent and quiet like a sheep, and the main selling point: the blood of a lamb. Lambs blood was often used in (very) olden times, on an altor as offerings to God.

(also link in these games was originally religious ( specifically Christian), and the lamb is a religious symbol( Christian at least))

Hyrules blood is sought after by Ganons underlings as a way to resurrect Ganon, using hyrules blood as an offering / way to resurrect ganon, the reincarnation of a god, in a ceremony on an altor.

Wind:

Winds animal was a harder one to choose because there arent much mammals in his games, other than the ones you dont see but are mentioned or hinted at existing still even after the great flood.

Cats, think about it, he makes those cat meowing noises when hes stalking that girl at night in Wind Waker., so they must exist for him to know what meowing is ( there might actually already be a cat in one of his games but i never played phantom hourglass (😭) and haven't seen any in my playthroughs of Wind Waker)

Supporting facts to back up my reasoning: He was taking a nap during the day, even if it was his birthday. Big black eyes that are vaguely cat-like, and just the generally goofy feeling i get from him in-game and especially LU. ( HES SO SILLY AND CUTE AND AAA-)

Wild:

Highland Fox; sometimes people chose a deer for his dark world animal form, while i think it fits, i wanted his form to have more resemblance to Wolfie (who is in Botw, as a companion) sort of a cool representation of his mentor/guide?

Foxes and distinct enough but also close enough to fit the bill of 'close enough' (and foxes are more on the dog/wolf side than cat side, apparently)

Also, highland foxes exist in Botw + Totk, and the bright orange of their fur is similar to Wilds blonde hair, in its bright, almost unnatural boldness, opposite the lush green of the landscape.

Warriors:

Lion; fights in groups, lion mane is like his blue scarf, golden fur is like his hair, you know that like personified stereotype that lions are egotistical and self centeredness? reminded me of him.

sorry for the short answer, i don't know much about Wars, never played *any* of his games (😭😭😭) so I'm just going of LU, and the majority of what people portray him as in the fandom ( I DON'T OWN ANY OF HIS GAMES NOOO-)

Sky:

Remlet; Sky seems to like them, their native to his home, Skyloft, and they nap all day. They are cute and cheerful, and when their angry, they can be vicious and frightening, like Sky.

Realistic animal: Siamese, they share lots of similarities with remlets, their light brown and dark chocolate fur match and the bright round eyes are identical to a remlets.

Four:

i would've chosen Picori, but thats not really an animal, thats a whole race of small centient beings! so I'll have to go with a chipmunk.

Small, lives in forestry, multiple different colours, has a tail like minish, dexterous small hands good for holding things, smart, agile, and similar in shape to Minish.

woah. just let my acoustic ahh ramble for a second there.

[drconstellation]

The Assistant Book Seller

Edit 1 Dec 2023 - added missing information on the "ribbon pattern."

Edit: 3 Dec 2023 - correct information about middle pattern from creator

GABRIEL: Greetings! I'm Jim! It's short for James, but I don't need to keep telling everyone that. I'm an assistant book seller.

I'm sorry. Before I do anything else, I need to apologize for something I need to write further in. I didn't plan to write it, I just kind of bumped into it and, well, I can't ignore it. So...sorry. It's said. Forgive me for what needs to be done.

Although he arrived with nothing but a cardboard box and Rodney the Stunt Fly, Aziraphale made sure Jim was clothed in appropriate raiment while under his protection. We'll forgive him that he took a step back about, oh, fifty years or so to the 1970's, as Jim's overall look is a nod to the famous old sitcom "Open All Hours." So if he looks a little bit out of place, or, a little bit familiar, even, that's why.

While we are used to seeing angels in overcoats, it's Jim's vest that is the particular feature here. But I will take a moment to comment on the overcoat - not just the colour but its lapels. Aziraphale has obviously given him a colour with an earthly connection and one that indicate that he has bought Jim under his protection, but the lapels look quite neutral, with one up and one down. (Muriel is the same in their Inspector uniform, btw) This is the first indication they are between two things at the moment.

Onto the vest.

There is so, so much work and thought put into this vest! It was a one-off commission for the show, and the creator, Sandy Higgins, has said she is not allowed to give away the final design pattern. I have tried to contact her, and I'm waiting for a reply, so in the mean time I thought I would ask my keen knitter of a sister-in-law about one of the patterns I'm not sure about. "Well, that's Fair Isle knitting," she said, but she knew nothing about the individual line pattern I was interested in. Hmm, I kind of know that already, its in the notes that are guiding me for this meta, but hey, why not do a broader search and see what comes up?

So once I got back home I did. "Fair Isle knitting patterns" hmm...Wikipedia page for starters...what on *earth* is that at the bottom of the page...? YOU ARE. FRIKKING. KIDDING ME!!!!!!!

"See also: Gumbys"

oh ffs

I am so sorry that needs must make me mention Monty Python yet again, but here we are. And we must mention them, because this link is just too...unbelievably, deliciously good.

If you aren't familiar with the Monty Python catalogue, and don't recognize the mention of Gumbys, they were a set of characters that dressed and spoke in a certain way but the main points to take away were they wore woolen vests in the Fair Isle knitted style and their catch-phrase was - wait for it - "My brain hurts!"

I think we've heard that somewhere before?

CROWLEY: When you first arrived, you said you were here because they were planning to do 'Something Terrible' to you. So you remembered it then. Remember it now. GABRIEL: It hurts to remember. My head isn't built for that.

Right. Now we've got that out of the way...back to the serious stuff.

The colours used in the vest are not your typical angel colours. There is a base of angelic off-white and there are some bits of purple for his royalty around the shoulder area - sometimes you need to look carefully for it. Otherwise it is dominated by vintage shades of red and green. Well. Who's an agent of change driven by love, then?

The horizontal stripe pattern is partly to remind us of the classic biblical robes with stripes that ran along them, much like the style of Crowley's black and red robe in the Job minisode, but is also part of the traditional Fair Isles pattern work. And each row only has two colours, but up around the shoulder area we do see purple start to sneak in as a third colour.

On to the incorporated symbols! I'm going to go from bottom to top.

On the lowest two we feature Crowley and Aziraphale. We have Crowley's demon satyr tail from the Good Omens logo on the lowest stripe - the double-headed arrow.

The next stripe is Aziraphale, with a variation of the classic OXO pattern ("hugs and kisses.") The X is meant to represent his angel wings, and the O is modified to mimic the "o" with a halo in the Good Omens logo. I've highlighted all three in the image on the right.

The third row up is a Sumerian Star pattern that represents one of the flowers associated with Gabriel, the lily. They are supposed to represent the purity of Mary, mother of Jesus, as he had one in his hand when he visited her during the Annunciation.

The row above that is what I believe to be a Byzantium pattern, and is included to show "an Angel's ability to be timeless."

The next three rows are still under a bit of a question mark as I write this. I plan to come back and edit it in if I find the answer.

The bottom of the three is the Duke of Buccleuch pattern, "to celebrate the long and necessary contribution that the cottage industry of hand knitted items."

The middle one - ? (perhaps you, the reader, know? It looks like a spiralling ribbon if I stand back, but that isn't sparking any connections, either.)

Edit: @noneorother tells me in a reblog (below) that this pattern represents the shoelace from the magic incantation Aziraphale uses "Banana Fish Gorilla Shoelace." So it is ribbon-like! This then points to the Second Coming, as it the shoelace references the end of the book, and the last paragraph of the book references Yeats poem "The Second Coming" as well as the novel 1984. To me it is then also telling us there is a cycle occurring, or a cycle that needs to be renewed. This fits in with some other clues other meta-writers have been picking up.

Edit 2: Turns out none of that was correct - I heard back from the creator herself and it's actually the double-ended satyr tail pattern again! It just seems to make a bit of an illusion of a ribbon or shoelace.

The pattern below is a modified OXO pattern.

The top one looks like two rams horns facing each other. A hollowed out rams horn can be used as a trumpet, and is known as a shofar in Jewish religion. Gabriel was traditionally known to carry a trumpet.

The ancient meander pattern would be recognized by most people, included as another classic timeless pattern found all over the world. For some it symbolizes eternity and endless flow.

The wheels here appear to be Michael's ophanim wheels, that would have eyes around the rims.

The hourglass is to remind us that time is running out. Memento mori - "Remember that you die." It is a major theme in both series.

Right up high, just before we lose the rest of the vest inside the overcoat, we get a glimpse of a large diamond-shaped icon. I wonder if this is another stylized set of angel wings, like we saw in the Job minisode on Aziraphale's golden collar.

To finish off the outfit, he is wearing dark gray trousers with sneakers! I'm sure that's so he could keep sneaking up on Aziraphale in the shop, haha. His shirt seems a little too large for him and the tie is knotted too high and is not settled along his centerline. It's all at odds with his previous neat and sharp appearance as Supreme Archangel Gabriel.

I'd like to say a big thank you to @aduckwithears for helping me with information on the vest and finding the creator's other social media sites. You can see their two posts about it here and here.

[le-monchou]

Jotaro x stylist reader‼️ Boy needs some fashion tips fr

part 6! jotaro who gets dragged to one of the more fancier stores of uptown new york by jolyne because by god, she cannot stand that shitty purple colour with the gold, and she makes her opinion very vocal.

part 6! jotaro who is ushered into the store by much younger and touchier women, and jolyne, who had yet to see the extent of the way this happens to him on a regular basis, calls for you, the manager of the store.

"oh, miss kujo! you brought your father this time, i see." you smile and nod your head in greeting, and jolyne sighs with relief. "i thought you were going to be handsy with my dad too," she starts as she shoves him forward like he was a wayward toddler refusing to step into the kindergarten classroom. "that was very weird."

"well, your father looks much younger than you'd expect for forty, miss kujo." you hum as you take a few steps back to fish for your measuring tape randomly. "don't worry, i'm not going to get handsier than this. just needed to confirm if we even carry your sizes, you're a very tall and broad man."

"but, even if we don't, we can have it made-to-order, so no big deal!" you add as you note down the sizes. "we do that all the time for bigger socialite gala events, i've had the pleasure of mr. joseph joestar and his wife's time as well once." you miss the way jotaro stiffens at that comment, but you keep humming. "anyway, considering you're here, i'm guessing jolyne's finally had it with your fashion sense?"

"finally?" jotaro speaks up as his daughter scurries away to look at cropped cardigans arranged for the fall sale. "well, you're well-known here, at least to me. your grandfather wouldn't stop complimenting your work, and your daughter over here wouldn't stop complaining about your, quote-unquote, "shitty fashion sense". honestly, i think you look fine."

"thank you."

"but it is also very shitty." jotaro scoffs lightly at that, noticing the slight smile on your face. "you know what colours work together, and yes, purple and gold is an age-old combination, one typically favoured by western royalty. but-" you pause, circling him around, and jotaro can't help but feel extremely underdressed the way you're looking at him. "you also likely wear the same kind of coat regularly with only changes in colour, which isn't really a style, per se."

jotaro nods slowly at that but remains silent, letting you speak further. "purple is a good colour on you, but so would blacks, blues, golds, and greens, and white. to be honest, black and while suit everyone, and any colour that you find on your body naturally would look good on you. your eyes are a specific blue-green shade, and blues and greens would bring them out." you add before you gasp and leave, sorting through a bunch of shirts to bring one that looked half-formal-half-informal to him.

"anything against compression shirts?" jotaro mumbles as you manuever behind him to measure the size of the shirt and he hears you chuckle behind him. "nope. compression shirts are good for you as you get older, so i've heard. and you look like you exercise regularly, so it's not a bad choice, even for casual outings with jolyne." jotaro nods once again.

"anyway, i'm all done here. i have joylne's email, so i'll email her the custom brochure when i'm done. should take about three to four days, and you can browse at your leisure."

"no." jotaro stutters. "no, you can email them to me directly. it'd be better that way... instead of going through someone else, and jolyne has her own schedule anyway, getting busy through the day."

"well then, i'd love to have your email." you murmur with a smile jotaro thinks is both coy and gentle, and he hands you his business card before tipping his hat and calling for jolyne to leave with him.

if you've never flushed because of a customer before, you're certainly flushing now.

i hope you like this wife <3 it took me a very long time akjdfhghdjs sorry about that :) || 679 words