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[supernovafics]

your first shift at scoops ahoy with steve harrington

wc: 1.1k words

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

you didn’t know if you’d ever get used to the uniform. the blue and white sailor outfit made you feel like you were seven years old and being forced to be a part of a nautical family photoshoot. 

“you’re new, right?”

you stopped adjusting your hat— the final part of the uniform that only made you feel even more ridiculous— and looked at the guy that had just walked into the break room.  

“hi, yeah,” you said with a small smile. “you’re steve?”

when he nodded and said a quick “yeah,” you nodded back and then told him your name. 

you had expected to work your first real shift with robin. she had been the one training you for the past few days and although she had mentioned that there was another person that worked here, you never saw him so you started wondering if you ever would. 

steve simply looked at you for a bit, which reminded you of what you were wearing and you quickly felt ridiculous all over again. your hands went back up to your hat, which had a way too enthusiastic looking “ahoy” written across it, and started adjusting it. “will this uniform ever eventually not feel stupid to wear?”

steve was quick to shake his head. “no, but i’ve ditched the hat and it makes it feel a little less stupid.”

you immediately took yours off your head and left it on the table. “say no more.” 

it was slow in the morning, which made sense because who really wanted to have ice cream for breakfast? therefore, to help pass the time you suggested that you two play rock, paper, scissors. and when you both got bored of that, steve grabbed a napkin and a pen from behind the counter and the two of you started playing tic-tac-toe, and then moved onto hangman. the childish games you two played were just that, childish and a bit mindless, but they helped make the first handful of hours of the shift go by fast. 

it was when noon rolled around that things finally started to pick up and it almost became too much— the line full of overzealous kids that already seemed as if they had too much ice cream and the handful of people that you recognized from school; and of course, they were the people that you really didn’t want to see. 

you quickly found yourself starting to long for the quiet mundanity that the morning part of the shift brought. 

“you wanna take your break?” steve asked. you had just finished dealing with a middle aged man who sampled pretty much every flavor of ice cream you had and then proceeded to buy nothing. perhaps the most annoying ten minutes of your life.

“yes. please. thank you. you’re the best,” your words came out rushed as you quickly started making your way toward the small break room. 

it was nice to have somewhat of a breather for a bit. you hummed along to a random song that was playing on repeat in your head as you ate the sandwich that you brought from home because you refused to spend money in the food court— money you didn’t have, hence why you got a job in the first place. 

“you’re lucky,” steve said when you came back thirty minutes later, once again standing behind the counter with him. “you just missed the horde of moms that just finished their aerobics class and wanted to “treat themselves.””

you were grateful that you missed that rush. 

“if you want, you can go on your break now. i’ll handle the next swarm of kids or moms that show up,” you told him and he nodded at that before heading to the break room.

things actually didn’t become too insane when steve left. 

a group of kids walked up, but before you could ask them what they would like to get, one that had a “camp know where” hat on said, “hi, we’re friends of steve’s. is he here?”

it slightly confused you that steve would be friends with a group of kids who didn’t look like they were even in high school yet. but ultimately, you didn’t question it and instead shook your head at the kid’s question. “he’s on break right now, but he should be out in a few minutes.” 

“how many girls has he flirted with today?” the red-headed girl asked you. 

a confused look crossed your face. “um, none… is that something that usually happens?” 

she laughed a bit at your question. “uh, literally always.”

“oh, shit, he must like you,” the boy, who had been previously holding hands with the red-headed girl, told you. 

it was way too hard to hold back your laugh at that. “i just met him today.” 

the boy with the camp hat was the one to speak. “oh, trust us, that’s more than enough time for steve.”

before you could say anything in response to that, steve emerged from the break room. he talked to the kids for a bit before letting them go through the back so that they could sneak into a movie. 

“what embarrassing things about me did they say to you?” he asked when he returned next to you. 

you held back your laugh as you answered him. “according to them, you like me.” 

his eyes widened a bit and the redness that rose to his cheeks was almost immediate; just for a moment you thought that maybe there was actually some truth behind the kids’ words. 

he then let out a loud sigh. “i’m never letting them come here again.”  

the next few hours actually breezed by, with random rushes here and there but nothing too overwhelming, and before you knew it your first official day at scoops ahoy was done. 

you and steve cleaned up everything— wiping down tables, refilling napkin dispensers, etc.— and then started heading to the parking lot. somehow the emptiness of the mall felt weirdly calming.

“where are you parked?” you asked when the two of you exited the mall, immediately getting hit by the cool summer air.

steve gestured to the left side of the parking lot. “over there.”

“i’m this way,” you said, pointing in the opposite direction.

“oh, okay,” he said with a small nod. he then leaned in for what you thought would be a hug, but then he seemed to change his mind last second and instead held out his hand for you to shake, which you did after a brief second of hesitation and confusion. the entire chain of events felt insanely awkward, but you also couldn’t help but find it all a little funny. 

“so, um, i’ll… see you later,” steve said, his voice was softer and it sounded a little unsure. 

you smiled at him and his sudden nervousness right then. “yeah, see you later, steve.”

[rollinouttahere-writes]

After that one, I got another thought―

Platonic Yandere! Strawhats with Y/n likes to make DIY gifts? Like little bracelets with supportive and reassuring words, paper stars of different colors, handmade stickers and this kind of stuff?And one day , Y/n out of boredom made DIY gifts for each of crewmembers?

I swear, I even made samples.

Nami - Yellow paper ring with words "Best navigator"

Usopp - Paper bracelet with his name and with words "1# Sniper"

Chopper - Yellow with pink glitter paper medal with words "Best doctor"

Sanji - Another yellow paper medal but with golden glitter and with words "Best cook"

Zoro - Green thick paper bracelet with words "Best swordsmen"

Robin - Purple handmade paper bracelet with "Best archeologist"

Luffy - Red thick bracelet with words "The King of the Pirates"

This is super cute!

Nami loves her ring and only takes it off to keep it safe. She may have a preference towards high end clothing and accessories, but if anyone so much as looks at her ring funny, she's throwing hands with them. She'll buy you something in exchange, and she doesn't even add it to your debt to her!

Usopp, for all of his personal hype, is extremely caught off guard by this. Yeah, he tries to play it off that of course he's deserving of such a title, but he's self aware enough to know that he's got a long ways to go before he can live up to this. It takes a few tries, but he makes you a bracelet too. It says '#1 Usopp Pirate'.

Chopper is full on ugly crying from the medal. He loves it and hangs it up in the infirmary. As much as he wants to wear it, he's afraid that he would break it during a fight. He makes one for you too! It isn't perfect, and will be shedding glitter for its entire existence, but it's the thought that counts. He's very proud of it, so you better compliment the hell out of it.

Sanji is dead, you killed him. He's a crying lump on the floor while cradling the medal to his chest like it's his firstborn child. Once he recovers, you can expect to be fawned over (even more so than usual). You're getting all your favorite foods for the foreseeable future. He wears it constantly, only ever choosing to take it off when he bathes so the water doesn't damage it. He goes out of his way to make sure Zoro can see it while talking about how you made it for him.

Zoro looks at it, looks at you, back at it, then asks if you wanted him to give it to Mihawk or something because he knows he isn't the best swordsman yet. He's hesitant to take it even when you insist it's for him, but eventually caves when you suggest he can hold onto it until he can become the best swordsman. You never see him wearing it and question if he even kept it, but that changes when you see him fish it out of his pocket to look at when he thought no one was watching.

Robin smiles at the gift, but can't help but ask just how many archaeologists you know. She's just teasing though and absolutely cherishes it. You never see her without it after this. She makes you a very ornate bracelet herself that honestly makes yours look like it was made by a small child, but she still thinks the one you made is better regardless.

Luffy will never shut up about this. He wants everyone to see it and tells all of them that you made it. The bracelet is on the same level as his hat in terms of not wanting anything to happen to it... Which is unfortunate because he breaks it almost immediately. He is inconsolable, pitifully clutching whatever was left of it after he snapped it by stretching his arm. He doesn't emotionally recover from this tragedy until you make him a ribbon that can be added onto his hat saying the same thing. He makes you a bracelet too (with help), and while it may be the most misshapen thing you've ever seen, you can't help but wear your '#1 nakama' bracelet with pride.

[inuhalfdemon]

DisPOsable (5/?)

Explicit (tw: language, aftermath of violence and torture)

Word Count: 2,861 Words

Chapter 5: The Writing

The demon’s ears were turning and rotating in odd movements; his eyes focused on the quill and the paper in a strange way.

“I apologize, Rosie, the day got away from me I’m afraid,” Lucifer explained, finding her bustling about her Emporium.

“We did just fine, your grace. No need to fret,” Rosie told him, leading him to the stairs that ran back up to her studio.

“You…left him alone up there? Do you think that’s wise?” Lucifer questioned her, uncertainly.

“Of course! He’s right where I left him, I can guarantee it,” Rosie assured him, pausing before heading up the stairs. “What did you learn from your visit with Abaddon this morning?”

“Not much…he’s not a Disposable that was tagged by Abaddon himself, but there’s so many others involved in the market now, it will be difficult finding out who did.”

“I wondered at that,” Rosie nodded. “The Vees have turned Disposable demons into an outright business…selling them and the products they’ve created for others to control and torment them with…it’s disgusting.”

“Abaddon suggested I contact Voxtech, see if I can narrow down a list of buyers, but…I’m not sure I want to do that quite yet. I’m still curious to see if anyone is actually looking for him.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Rosie told him. “I’d hate to see him have to go back, Lucifer…I really would.”   

“He won’t, Rosie. I can promise you that.”

She smiled, happy to hear him say it.

“Now then,” she turned, heading up the stairs, “while you were away, I took it upon myself to see to a few things. He wasn’t confident in choosing his own clothes; but I do have some things that might work that will be arriving to your mansion later this evening.”

Clothes...of course.

“Thank you, Rosie…I hadn’t even considered that. After meeting with Abaddon, I made sure to find and buy other things he might need: some groceries, a toothbrush, stuff for his hooves and his hair…”

“Ah yes, the hair…I hope you won’t be too put out with me, but I saw to that one as well.” Rosie said, opening the door to the studio and stepping inside.

The Disposable demon was seated on the loveseat again, leaning over the far armrest and staring happily out the window. He was looking interestedly at the goings-on of Cannibal Town below. When Rosie and Lucifer entered, he turned, and his tail swished gently at seeing them both. He blinked back at them, then when they made no motion or word of needing him, he turned his attention back toward the window.

“Oh, you gave him a haircut. It looks, uh…hm.” Lucifer made a face, trying to find the words.

The demon’s hair was cut in an inverted-bob style, his red bangs and ear tufts left long. The hair on top was swept stylishly across his head and his black ends – cut shorter now - hung well above and off his shoulders. The invert of the bob at the back was heavily exaggerated, sharply styled to go upward and with a shaved undercut underneath.

Rosie laughed. “I called in a favor of a friend who owns the barber shop here in town. She brought a book of samples and he picked the look himself. She is both talented and discreet; so I trusted her to do it. It’s a queer choice, I agree, but it suits him, I think.”

 The DiPO demon’s attention piqued at something outside and his head turned; smiling gently. His ears were turning and twitching happily.

“He picked that out himself!?” Lucifer wondered. “He hasn’t said one word to me since we left here last night.”

“Well…maybe if you treated him less like a feral dog about to turn rabid…he’d offer to talk more around you,” Rosie blatantly told him. “I am only half-teasing, by the way,” she sniffed.

“What all has he said to you?” Lucifer asked her, brushing past the comment.

“Not much, really. He converses, but only in small doses and very infrequently. The words get jumbled and mixed around sometimes and he shuts down easily. He told me today that you have been very kind to him.”

Lucifer watched the Disposable still looking at the window. “You said he had talked with you last night, what did he say then?”

“It was all politeness, really.” Rosie almost laughed, remembering the circumstance. “I managed to bring him up here; he was shivering from the cold and the rain; bleeding all over himself and some started dripping onto the floor; he rambled off apologies and not wanting to be of any nuisance…I assumed his broken speech was affected by the shock of everything going on that I hadn’t considered the oddness of it really before I realized he was wearing the tag.”

“Has he shown any interest in wanting to leave or go outside?” Lucifer asked her.

“No, not really. Like I said, he’s right where I left him earlier when I had to run downstairs and see to a few things.”

“I think it best if we keep him out of the public’s eye. For now, at least.”

“I agree, yes,” Rosie told him. “Oh! I did manage to find something that he likes! To eat, I mean.” She turned and went to a cooler that was set nearby and Lucifer followed her with interest.

“A cannibal after my own heart, I’ve discovered,” she announced, smiling. Lifting the lid to the cooler, she slid her hand in and pulled out a bundle of meat that was wrapped tightly in butcher paper and twine. “He’s partial to a variety of meats and cuts but this, this was especially a favorite of his. I will send you with some. Raw is best,” she told Lucifer, tossing the package to him.

Lucifer caught the package, looking at it strangely.

“What is it?” he asked her, nervously.

“Deer meat,” Rosie told him, grinning widely.

The next few days passed very strangely for Lucifer.

“Looks like you and I are roommates,” he told the DiPO demon, getting him all set up with his own bathroom and wardrobe within another spare room down the hall. Lucifer picked one that had wide windows that looked out across all of the city and the demon spent hours upon hours, just sitting there and staring out at the Pride Ring.

Lucifer walked him through the mansion; showing him rooms and places he may frequent if he wished: the kitchens, the studies, the parlors and personal bars, a music room, the library, Lucifer’s own personal workroom and office, the sunroom and pool.

The property, too, had a beautiful botanical garden that Lucifer enjoyed walking through in the mornings and evenings and he got into the habit of inviting the Disposable to go with him. The DiPO always stared in a quiet and open wonder at all the strange and unique flora - and fauna - that he would find there, but never did he move to touch or venture to say anything.

 Nights were always the strangest.

Lucifer had taken care to encourage the Disposable to remain in his room – to utilize the bed that was in there for him to use – each night. He had brought in Rosie’s blankets, folded them and left them on the duvet for the demon. He even left the door unlocked; hoping the DiPO would feel less confined; but also, not finding a point in locking it if the demon could mysteriously let himself out anyway.

Each morning, however, Lucifer would wake and step out from his own room to find the Disposable just outside his door; curled into the blankets that were from Rosie and asleep on the floor, wearing only the black pair of boxers. He couldn’t make sense of it.

The DiPO seemed to be adjusting, only, very slowly. He was completely indifferent to the clothing that Rosie had sent, and Lucifer took pangs in taking time to work through the options; hoping to find a style that interested him. He still hadn’t uttered a word since coming to the mansion and Lucifer, too, noted that he still wasn’t eating.

“Look,” Lucifer sighed, bringing the Disposable with him into the kitchen and opening the fridge. “I’ll show you this to you again. See these? See all of these? These are for you,” he told him, gesturing to the pile of meat packages that were stuffed onto the shelf.

The Disposable slowly leant back, sinking down onto his haunches in a submissive sitting position.

“I’m not mad at you,” Lucifer huffed. “Even if I was, you don’t have to do that. I’m just trying to show you that this is yours, ok.” Lucifer reached in and pulled out one of the packages labeled as venison. The DiPO remained sitting, just looking blankly back at him.

“Rosie told me you liked this stuff,” Lucifer was unwrapping the package. “Maybe you don’t have to eat every day but, you’ve gotta be feeling a little hungry by now.” The paper and plastic wrap came away and the Disposable’s ears went straight, eyes sharply on the meat.

Lucifer saw the change and without thinking, he took the cold hunk of meat from the wrappings and held it out.

The DiPO shifted, leaning forward and staring hungrily at the raw venison; but, still he remained sitting – waiting.

“Here, take it,” Lucifer told him, still offering him the meat.

Rather than standing back up, the Disposable leaned further forward from where he was sitting and slowly – purposefully – moved toward the meat. His eyes shifted to Lucifer; wide and calculating as his face neared his outstretched hand. Opening his mouth; his long tongue slid wet and warm into Lucifer’s hand – causing him to shudder – as the DiPO used it to pull the meat into his mouth. His sharp teeth sank deeply into the raw muscle and Lucifer’s stomach clenched at the soft, sucking sound of it. The demon pulled back, sitting back onto his haunches again – just holding the meat between his teeth and staring at Lucifer.

Ugh, just…enjoy it, you freaky ass creep. Lucifer thought, turning away to toss the bloody wrappings and wash his hands.

Feeling frustrated, Lucifer buried himself in his work. He had begun reflecting on his visit with Abaddon; replaying the conversation over and over again in his head and remembering the things that were said – the memory of it was grating on him.

Seated at the desk in his office, he tore through piles and piles of paperwork – reviewing documents of varying importance in his governing of all of Hell. His eyes wandered briefly to the tabloid and small stack of newspapers; news discussing the infamous Radio Demon and how the horrific screams that had been continuously broadcasting all throughout Hell had suddenly ceased playing. It reminded him of how he had somehow missed the change… how Abaddon had berated him for becoming distracted and letting things fall apart around him.

Then his eyes drifted to his phone; briefly considering picking it up and calling Charlie…or even Lilith. How did things between them all get so bad?

All Lucifer ever wanted was peace: peace for his family and peace for his people. When Heaven demanded a meeting and announced to him that they would be holding annual exterminations as a means to control the ever-growing population in Hell…what was he to say? What was he to do? Declare war, there at the table? He was lucky enough even to somehow land protection from the attacks for himself, his family, and all of the Hellborn…better that than certain destruction.

Lilith didn’t see it that way though. She told him he was a coward and that he was weak for not choosing to stand against them. She loved her people, and she would die fighting before she stood back and watched them be slaughtered. Charlie, his daughter, maintained that Heaven had it wrong, that each of these wicked, tormented souls still had some good in them; that they were worth saving.

Lucifer had fought with both of them; they didn’t understand Heaven’s ways, nor had they ever seen what a war or a battle looked like between realms. The costs were never worth the effort and, more often than not; both sides ended up losing.

Abaddon – more than anyone- had a right to be angry with him. All Abaddon wanted for any soul was for them to have their right to their own free will. It’s why they stood beside Lucifer and Lilith’s decision to offer it to humanity in the very beginning and why they fell with them when Heaven responded. Abaddon loved their family…but, they also held a deep regret and resentment for Lucifer’s carelessness.

Lucifer didn’t have the foresight to know that all of this would happen; that they would end up here. He recognized now that it was terribly cruel of him, to force Abaddon’s hand; to ask them to pass judgement on souls that he himself had deemed unworthy – incapable - of finding any form of redemption for themselves; to ask them to do all of that…then to go to them now, questioning whether it had all been the right choice…

Sighing and still feeling frustrated, Lucifer flicked his eyes to the side and groaned. The Disposable demon sat comfortably with crossed legs on the floor – just staring at him. Lucifer had been at it for hours now and the demon just stayed there the entirety of the time…watching him.

“You could go and find your own things to do, you know. You don’t have to sit here all day and watch me work,” Lucifer told him.

The DiPO flicked an ear but made no move to leave or shift position.

“Do what you want then, I suppose.” Lucifer pulled a sheet of paper to him; reaching for a quill, he began scratching into the page with ink.

The demon’s head sharply tilted; his ears twitching at the noise. Lucifer tried to ignore him, but he could see the Disposable’s head turning and tilting - back and forth - as he continued to write across the page. He managed to get nearly half-way done before setting the quill down and groaning again.

“That is entirely too distracting,” Lucifer told him sharply and the demon straightened. “If you’re so curious of what I’m doing, just come over here then.”

The DiPO’s ears straightened and he shifted forward – hesitating.

“Come on, it’s fine,” Lucifer told him, gently now.

The demon smoothly stood from where he was sitting on the floor and slowly approached the desk. Lucifer scooted his chair aside to give him room. The Disposable paused beside him; eyes widely watching Lucifer and then flashing to the desk with interest.

“Look, see…” Lucifer lifted the quill again and quickly scribbled out a sentence. “That’s all that I’m doing, it’s not so interesting.”

But, the demon’s ears were turning and rotating in odd movements; his eyes focused on the quill and the paper in a strange way.

“Here.” Lucifer reached over and dug around in his drawer for a clipboard. Reaching into a small trash bin, he pulled out a sheet of something he had tossed away earlier. Flipping the page to a blank surface, Lucifer stuck it into the clip. Grabbing a pen, he stood up from his chair and led the demon to the nook beside his office window. “Entertain yourself with these for a while,” Lucifer told him, inviting him to sit in the nook and handing him the clipboard and pen. “I’ve still got more to do.”

Returning to his desk, Lucifer sat back down and pulled the sheet he had been working on back to him. Lifting the quill and glancing briefly up from the page, he saw that the DiPO demon was looking from the pen that he held in his own hand to the blank sheet of paper upon the clipboard that he was holding in his other. Concentrating, he lifted the pen to the paper and began scratching at the page. After a moment, he stopped – eyes wide and ears straight as he stared at the marks he had made. Forgetting all about Lucifer, the demon focused harder on what he was doing and continued to scribble away with the pen.

Nodding his head, Lucifer bent himself back over his own work.

Later, Lucifer’s mind was wandering again, and his hand had begun to cramp. Lifting his wrist, he flexed it and his fingers and decided that he had had enough of that today. Pushing back from the desk, he stretched himself and yawned. He needed a drink.

Standing, he stretched himself again before going to where the Disposable demon sat, tucked away in the nook, still very focused on what he was doing.

“It’s getting late, you wanna call it a night?” Lucifer asked him.

The DiPO jerked his head up, surprised at seeing Lucifer there.

“What have you been working on over here that’s got you so absorbed?” Lucifer reached for the clipboard.

The Disposable readily handed it to him; offering the pen back as well, but Lucifer had forgotten it.

All across the sheet of paper were letters…letters forming into a name that repeated itself over and over all across the page:

ALASTOR

Chapter 6

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

What do the M6 spent an exorbitant amount of money on? So much so that it could be considered an addiction? (Doesn't need to be expenses related to the MC, but could be.) I feel like for Lucio it would be Furry Comissions (regardless of whether or not you want to set the hc's in a modern AU or the regular story).

The Arcana HCs: M6 and their shopping weaknesses

~ a request from my wonderful fantastic mutual @helshollowhalls ? Anything for you, friend! Enjoy the madness - brainrot ~

Depending on how the two of you like to split your duties, it may be more or less frequent for you or your beloved to shop alone. Most of the time you don't have to worry too much, they're an adult! They know what they're doing.

Until they creep into your shared quarters one evening, oozing both excitement and guilt as they hide the results of their errands behind the door. "MC, you wouldn't believe what I saw for sale in the market today."

Julian

He's standing almost like a soldier, chest bared and feet braced for your reaction, arms folded under his cape behind his back

"What did you buy, Julian?"

He's not ready to answer your question. "I have it in good faith that it may one day prove essential to saving someone's life."

He's really getting into character now, and you're beginning to worry

"What did you buy, Julian?"

"A rare instrument necessary to my practice! A scientific breakthrough! Behold!"

And with a grand flourish, he pulls out a feat of engineering that seems to be an obscure medical instrument. Fair enough

"So what does it do?"

You watch him deflate like one of those car dealership tube men at the end of the day

"... I don't know."

"And how much did you spend on it?"

He clutches it to his chest protectively. "Does it matter? I'll figure out a way to use it eventually! Maybe it pairs well with leeches!"

Asra

You can't tell if they're grinning or grimacing, but their dimples are out and they're almost sparkling with excitement

"They had so many options, MC. I've never even heard of most of them before!"

He can see your eyes widening as Faust tips over the duffle-sized bag behind the door, slithering over the piles of packages that pour out across the floor

"How much did you spend, Asra!?"

"Not as much as I could have, and only my own money. They had sample packs!"

Now that their secret is out, they're excitedly unwrapping every bundle and disappearing in a mountain of paper and twine

Faust seeks refuge on your shoulder and the sheer diversity of smells filling the room are making both of you a little dizzy

Small bottles of perfumed oil, tiny pots of lotion, mini candles and twigs of incense cover every surface of the room

All the candles and incense are lit. Every tester is being applied in random patchwork

He got over 50 new scents and he is thriving

Nadia

She feels a little guilty for going without you, but she's so excited to have been part of your world like this

She went to the central marketplace

And she got everything suggested to her

Because who would know better than the people selling what she needed to get?

Two menservants are bringing in the multiple bags she brought back in the carriage while she goes over each thing with you, excitedly repeating their sales pitches

She's halfway through the second bag, telling you all about her new gilded mop holder when you finally interrupt

"Nadia, my love. How many things did you get?" You're holding your breath, hoping the question doesn't burst her bubble

"Oh, nothing extravagant. You should see the shipments that come in for palace events! We'll go back together, my darling, and we can do a proper shopping trip then."

You do go back together, and this time you steer clear of the salesmen taking advantage of her inexperience

Muriel

He's peeking around the door of the hut, and you can tell by the set of his eyebrows that he is embarrassed and has no regrets

You smile up at him, walking over to greet him after his trip into town

And the door swings a little further open to reveal his cloak, stuffed to the brim with something that keeps cheeping

He's got the squirming mass wrapped protectively in his arms, slowly kneeling to lower it to the ground

And from the depths of his clothing burst a tidal wave of baby chicks, spreading out to cover the yard and sending the chickens already present into a ruffle of squawks

"Muriel, how many are there?!"

" ... twenty-four. The pet shop had them with the kittens and puppies and," he pauses to peek at your face, "chickens are different. They wouldn't be happy in the city."

The ground is yellow. Inanna has turned into a sulky, wolf shaped jungle gymn. Muriel watches quietly. "Did I do the right thing?"

"Yes. But they are your responsibility."

Portia

You see the way Pepi perks up and Portia moves to guard the giant paper bags she's holding, and that's how you know it's food

You pick Pepi up to protect the goods and take a closer look. The two bags are each nearly the size of your beloved's torso

"Portia, what small army are we feeding!?"

She drops them on the table, flicks a stray crumb from her sleeve, and deflects Pepi's swipe at the pastry that tumbles out

"Ok so don't be mad, I may have overspent just a teeny little bit, but she was a traveling baker from up north! And I had to try some!"

"And then?"

"And then we started talking about baking, and she gave me a discount so I tried one of everything, but I didn't want you to miss out so I got two more of everything for us to eat together!"

You're not sure what to say. It's a lot of food

You end up inviting the Palace bakers to enjoy it with you (they'll be able to really appreciate the technique) and eating lentil stew for the rest of the week

Lucio

You're having flashbacks while he fidgets in the doorway. This used to happen every time you let him do the shopping alone

In his defense, nobody ever taught him to budget. His job was to hunt his food or eat his rations until the old Count took him in

But you two have been working on it together, and he's gotten pretty good at making and sticking to a list and limit

Which can only mean one thing:

"It was so shiny, MC. I know I made an oopsie, but look at it! It goes on my arm!"

It's a jewelry piece that he's clipped to the grooves on his gauntlet. It's not that big, so you can't see how it's an oopsie unless ...

"Is that an emerald? Is that real gold!?"

He nods excitedly. "Don't feel bad, MC, I got you one too! Now we match!"

It's beautiful, but, "Lucio, where did you get the money for this?"

"Next week's budget." He sees your face and grabs your hands. "But don't worry! I did the math, and I already found a job to cover it."

This man is going to be the death of you

[penguinmerchant]

Fool in the Moon binding

All right, time for a successful binding post, how about that? This was for @arahir's amazing work, Fool in the Moon. As you can probably tell by the rest of my feed right now I'm a little obsessed with Trigun at the moment (it's okay, it's normal, I feel normal things about all of these people, I'm not obsessing and listening to the soundtrack 24 hours a day, I haven't watched the whole thing twice in two weeks, all of my targeted ads on my computer aren't about plants right now, I'm fine) and suffice to say this story was just an emotional gut punch. It's so good, you guys. Go read it.

Anyway. The binding.

This was my first time using holofoil vinyl, and it turned out AMAZING. Look how pretty it is. And the color change in the light is just crazy.

Here's the back. Sorry I don't know how to make a gif, or I would totally show you guys how it shimmers and ripples. At certain angles it's green, blue, purple, orange, sometimes you can get it to be all of those at once, it's a really neat effect.

Also, I love the effect it gives when you open the book up (hard to do once it's bound with the textblock, but doable. This picture was taken before I cased in).

You have to squint your eyes a little but it's supposed to be reminiscent of Vash's sunglasses, and the way (spoilers? maybe?) his face looks when the plant lines come out. I think it's just the super neatest thing.

Here's the endpapers and the title page:

Isn't the title page just the coolest?

And here's a pic of some section breaks:

I just made them with the draw tool in Libreoffice, I wanted it to reflect the lines of the endpapers and maybe (?) look like dunes. Either way I think it turned out really great. I kind of maybe wish that I could have incorporated some of Wolfwood's imagery into this, but the design pretty much made itself and I'm super happy with it. Plus at the end of the day everything is about Vash, isn't it? He's Vash the Stampede! (I'm not crying YOU'RE crying!)

Anyway, I figured out the reason my previous book was so crooked was because my guillotine is messed up. It can't cut straight (which is...kind of the point) but it does okay on smaller works like this. So this one cased in very nicely. I used the 5 mm gutters again, and duo bookcloth (magpie I want to say?). The cricut vinyl came in a sample pack and unfortunately didn't come with a name (the sample pack was called Berry something), but it's very similar to Siser's Rainbow Pearl HTV, which is what I used for my copy. Once again the siser was a pain to use, with little bits flying off everywhere and wanting to wrinkle underneath the iron. I don't know why I keep buying that brand. But it worked in the end, and the effect of the holofoil is so cool I'll probably use it again. Endpapers are from Mulberry paper, I love those guys so much.

Let me know what you think! And if you have any questions please feel free to ask, I could talk about bookbinding stuff all day!

[getinthefuckingcarkitten]

It's short wait for her at Harper's office, as always. The doctor is surprisingly accomodating whenever she stops by, and Avery isn't sure if it's the money talking or something else that makes her so cooperative. This makes all interactions with the good doctor so very uncomfortable.

"How have you been?" Harper asks, smiling pleasantly. She has one of those unsettlingly calm faces. It might be comforting for something else, but to Avery it's like a still lake. Probably swarming with bacteria and parasites, that is.

"Fine." Avery is always curt to her, albeit polite. "I just want my prescription. I have work today until later, and i'm all out of my medicine."

"On a sunday?" Harper's eyebrows shoot up. "My, that must be stressful."

"You're also working on a sunday." Avery points out, with a hint of a frown on her face.

"Yes, but i like my job." Harper gives her another one of those unnerving, placid smiles.

Avery doesn't like the implication of her words, but she keeps quiet. She needs to stay on the doctor's good side, at least until she gets another supplier.

"And you're in luck." Harper says, getting up to grab something in a cabinet behind her desk. "I've just gotten samples of your prescription, so you don't even need to go to the pharmacy."

She holds out two little bottles of pills, unlabeled, unlicensed opiates. Likely stronger than the stuff she could buy anywhere else. Avery can't help but get a bit excited to feel that high again, as her tolarance built up over the years.

"That's nice." Avery smiles carefully. "How much?"

"Because it's you... I guess £20000 will do." Harper decides. "A discount for a regular. So?"

"Hey, that's steep." Avery frowns, but Harper seems completely unfazed, as always.

"You can always just grab the usual." Harper shrugs, setting the bottles down on her desk, then getting in front of them as she leans back on her desk. "Ah, i hate to see you looking so sad. I can give you a prescription for the pharmacy for the same price as always, or..."

"Or?" Avery raises an eyebrow at the doctor. She doesn't like her tone, but if it's a good offer...

"You can help me with research, and i'll dock the price." Harper's smile widens a bit as she says it. "Answer some questions for me, and i can do it for around... £15000. What do you say?"

Avery has blinks a little. That big of a discount, just for answering some questions? It had to have a catch, but... The temptation of something that could give her a decent high was too strong.

"Okay, fine, but make it quick. I have work." Avery hurriedly replies, and Harper's claps once like a little kid.

"Okay, great! Let me just..." The doctor turns and grabs a clipboard and pen from her desk, scribbling something on the paper. "Whenever you're ready."

"Let's get this over with already." Impatient, Avery has to hold back from rolling her eyes at the pretense of profissionalism.

"Right, first question. What drugs do you usually take?" Harper asks, and as Avery shoots her a glare, she explains. "Drug is an umbrella term that describes medicines, too, as i'm sure you know. I'm not implying anything here, miss Avery, please don't be offended."

"You know that already, then." Avery huffs, but Harper just chuckles a little.

"For the purposes of research, i can't assume anything about the subjects. Now, if you'd be kind to tell me..." She insists.

"God, fine." Avery reluctantly lists them, by brand rather than name, to emphasize their legal status just in case that file falls in the wrong hands. Harper seems a bit amused by this, but doesn't comment on it.

"You smoke, correct?" Harper asks, and Avery takes a moment before nodding.

"Just occasionally." She adds, making Harper shoot her a look. Whatever, she didn't need to prove anything.

"What about alcohol?" Harper continues.

"...Socially." Avery replies, and Harper sets down the clipboard.

"Miss Avery, i know i said i shouldn't assume anything about the subjects, but i'd like it if you were truthful." Harper almost sounds like she's begging, and Avery hates that it could work if she didn't know better. "Don't worry, nobody else is going to see this, and your name won't be on it. It's... Personal research."

Avery lets out a loud sigh as she looks away from Harper's pleading eyes.

"Fine, yes, i do drink more than socially, but i'm not an alcoholic or something! Put that down exactly like that!" Avery half-growls, her impatience getting the best of her, and she hates even more that Harper seems pleased by that.

As Harper takes her time writing, Avery looks at the watch on her wrist. She'll run late if the good doctor doesn't pick up her pace.

"Are we done?" Avery asks, not bothering to hide her irritation anymore.

"Two more questions." Harper grins at her. "Do you often mix alcohol and your usual drugs?"

"...Sometimes, so what? You said it'd be fine if the dosing was on the low side." Avery grumbles.

"It's usually fine, don't worry." Harper shakes her head. "Last question, how do you usually feel when you do that?"

She stares at Avery intensely, making her feel even more reluctant to answer.

"I feel fine." Avery replies, but Harper doesn't even bother writing it down. She wants details, clearly. "I don't know, i feel relaxed, my head feels lighter for a moment. Is that what you want to know?"

"A little more, if you will." There's a glint of something in Harper's eyes that Avery can't quite discern, maybe just a sick curiosity, or maybe something more dangerous.

"I... I get drunk easier. I guess. I suppose it makes me more willing to get drunk." Avery says, hoping that will satisfy the doctor, but she keeps staring behind her pink-tinted glasses, expecting even more. "Sometimes when i fall sleep like that and wake up i don't remember much, but it feels like a really good night's sleep."

Harper nods and quickly scribbles something, as Avery starts to tap her foot on the floor unconsciously, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. When Harper looks at her again, there's an intensity in her gaze that wasn't there before.

"I have another offer to make." Harper says, her grin widening as she reached for the bottle behind her. "If you take one of those right now, i'll give you another £5000 discount."

Avery feels a chill run down her spine, something telling her that this would be a bad idea. The alarm on her phone goes off and warns her that lunch break is over, and she can't thank herself enough for setting it up earlier.

"No, i'm already late." She gets up, and Harper's smile fades a little. "I'll just pay for the samples, thank you."

Before she even finishes speaking, the money is already out of her wallet and being shoved in Harper's direction, but the doctor takes an awfully long time before reaching for the bank notes. There's an almost forlorn look on her face as she hands Avery the bottles.

"Next time i might make some ajustments." Harper says, sounding a bit defeated, though Avery knows it means it might get more expensive. Her smile is back shortly after, though. "Please tell me if it's any good."

"Yeah, yeah, i'll be in touch, thank you." Avery can't hide her relief to have ended that crazy negotiation.

The doctor's eyes fixate on her back as she leaves the office and closes the door maybe a bit too forcefully. It occurred to her, maybe a bit too late, that this might entice Harper's curiosity even more. With a shiver, she hoped that those little pills were enough to stop her from having nightmares about prodding, curious little needles and scalpels reaching for her forehead, trying to pick her head open like Harper always tried to do.

[hyper-lynx]

Blue Moon Ball: Outfitting

“So what the hell, a ball? A formal ball?” Hemi looked over at Liam, ears ascanse. Liam’s long, clouded tail swished playfully behind him. 

“Yep~! That’s what the letter said. The Blue Moon Ball. Two weeks from now on the Wizard Island, planar registry WIS-α-1.”

The lynx groaned and stretched as he stood from his well-cushioned seat. His upper body was wholly unclothed -- indeed, only a pair of trusty cargo shorts girded his tan fur. The tufted tips of his ears tingled a little as the energy current beside this reality shifted slightly. He approached and snatched the letter from Liam’s grasp.

“To Queer Wizard Council MEMBER and Hyper-Lynx, Hemi. Hello Magical Friend~☆…” And the invitation continued. An open bar, festivities, and a formal dress code, all described in impeccable hand-written cursive.

“I see…” Hemi muttered. He regarded Liam, his closest friend -- adorned in his typical flowing skirt and well-fitted vest, tail meandering through the cool air behind him, and wondered for just a moment if he should ask the clouded leopard to take his place. Then, the pride flag mounted on the cavern wall caught his eye, and he remembered his obligations.

“What’s the matter?” Liam asked, ears lowering just slightly. “This should be a lot of fun!”

“I’ve never… been to a big formal party like this, so I… don’t really know how any of it works. I’ve also only been to Wizard Island Island for business before, it’s not really… like, I don’t know my way around there at all.”

Liam chuckled. “You’re not one to turn down an adventure, so I don’t buy that that’s the problem.”

“...There’s also the matter of the dress code.”

“Hm! I figured that was the issue. “ Liam began to pace through the workshop. Pieces of unfinished arcane devices littered the counters, glass containers housed samples from distant realities, and a few piles of boxes were still, after months, residing at the sides of the closed cavern chamber. He stopped in front of the makeshift wardrobe -- just a wooden frame around a bar with various shorts hanging, completely in the shadow of a large mechanical air purifier. “I know your outfit choices are usually pretty… spartan, but this is a big event! Dozens or more wizards will be there, and everyone will have put a lot of effort into their outfit. I don’t think just finding your least dirty pair of pants will help you here.”

“I-- hesitate to ask this, but, what alternative do you have in mind? I’m not likely to fit any of your clothes either…” It was true-- Liam was almost a full head taller than Hemi, so sharing clothes was out of the question.

“Well, then we’ll just have to go clothes shopping for you!”

“...Can’t I just, find a good cheesy wizard hat or something? Cut some ear holes, call it a day?”

Liam’s face darkened. “Well, you could do that. For a ball of wizards, you might not even stand out. But, aren’t you a member of the Queer Wizard Council? Specifically one of the ambassadors of the gay identity?”

“Oh, you’re not about to--”

“I am! Friend, there are Expectations on you, justified or not. I won’t condone you showing up with absolutely no effort in your outfit. It doesn’t have to be like what I wear, I just want you to make a good impression! These wizards are powerful allies -- don’t you want to get to know them?”

Hemi sighed and flopped back down onto the chair he was still next to. “...Fine. We’ll go clothes shopping. But you’re doing the astrogation.”

“Ehe, I knew you’d see things my way! You won’t regret this!” With that, he practically pounced over to the divining orb and began running the numbers.

Hemi had almost fallen asleep by the time that Liam returned to him with a piece of discarded scroll paper. 

“Here! A full charted course.”

Hemi sat up and looked it over. It was a pretty straight shot through the phantasmal plane to reach… “Terastra… Is this just an excuse to visit your homeworld, Liam?”

“I mean… no! It’s not. It’s almost spring on my continent of origin, so the blooming festivals will be kicking off soon. They’re tied to the new moon, so I figure the motifs should line up. Plus, if we get lucky with the time alignment, the plaza might already be pretty well decorated.”

Hemi hesitated for a moment, but then stood up again. “Alright. Let’s do this. Better to leap then stay in place, right?”

Liam’s grin widened. “That’s the spirit!”

They both stepped onto the pedestal that formed the center of the entire chamber -- the place set aside for traversal work. The tips of Hemi’s ears sparked and shone with indigo and lavender, bringing a strange vertigo over both of them for just a moment. Hemi traced his claw along the lines of the pattern from the paper, then huffed and crouched.

“Three seconds!” He called out. Liam crouched down too.

Hemi bobbed his head a few times, running the final calculations in his head, and then leapt into the air and sliced outward with extended claws. The air tore open, and from the wound a prismatic light burst onto the chamber. Hemi’s momentum carried him through, and a second later Liam lowered his eyes and leapt into the rift as well.

The void between worlds was beautiful, but in a fleeting way-- when one leaves it, the structure is lost as the story of a dream upon waking. So it was that Liam had almost no memory of the traversal itself when he came to his senses on the surface of his home planet. The air was crisp and cool, but the first tinge of spring’s humidity had already snuck into it. The grass around him was damp with morning dew. He found Hemi’s paw reaching down towards him and took it with a groan as he stood unsteadily.

“Feeling alright?” Hemi asked.

“Yes, sorry.”

“Not at all! It was my bad, I took us close to a turbulent zone. That being said… where are we?”

Liam blinked a few times and found that the two of them were, in fact, not in the plaza of any city, but were in the midst of a great pine forest. The untamed ground sloped upwards towards the gathering light of morning.

“Um-- hopefully, we’re just… next to the city?”

“...What precision did you use in the astrogation?”

“Five places?”

Hemi groaned. “We could be miles away…” He started trudging through the short grass towards the local peak. “Come on, maybe there’s a view over this bluff.”

It was a deceptively long distance to the bluff -- by the time they arrived, the sky was already very nearly blue. But, when they finally reached the top, both were wordlessly taken aback.

The cliff they had arrived at was, in fact, the edge of a great ridge that nearly surrounded the landed side of the vibrant city below.  The shadow of the opposing cliffs still cast darkness over the white buildings, but the miniscule impressions of hundreds of people were already milling about in the city center, were the colors of spring had been lavished upon the streets in minuscule strands. Liam’s tail and ears recovered their former, perky status immediately.

“Hmh! Not bad for five decimal places.” Hemi remarked. “I might come back here on purpose some time.”

“I’m still sorry for the trouble. It might take all morning to hike down there.”

“We’ve got two weeks, right? There’s no rush. If you mess up your skirt we’ll be in a good place to get a new one, too.”

“--Right! Okay…”

They sat for a moment to watch the sunrise finish, and then continued on their way. Thankfully, a reasonable series of switchbacks existed to allow the downward voyage to be done without any significant climbing.

“They won’t like-- recognize you here, right?” Hemi asked as they approached the base of the hills. “I know you’ve done some pretty heroic stuff…”

“No, we should be fine on that front. It was a while ago, and I looked different at the time.”

“Damn. Was hoping for some ‘divine messenger’ discounts.”

“Ha!” Liam shook his head. “We should hope they don’t have any ‘divine messenger’ flaming arrows for us. But, again, it should be fine.”

When they finally breached the city walls, both cats were somewhat exhausted, so before they reached the plaza proper, they found a tea-serving restaurant of some kind to relax at. As promised, none of the residents seemed to think the two of them were at all unusual -- the residents and tourists occupied a wide array of distinct species. Mostly canids, it seemed, but felines and the odd cervid could be sighted in the streets.

As Hemi sipped on his (quite good!) cup of green tea, Liam tilted his head, caught by a passing idea. “So, Hemi, there’s one big choice we have to make before finding you clothes.”

“And what’s that?” As Hemi asked, he already had some idea of what this ‘choice’ would be, judging from the mirthful display across Liam’s face.

“Suits or skirts?”

Hemi sighed, but had no immediate response. To tell the truth, he’d been mulling that over the entire hike so far. Suits were, of course, more traditional for masculine-appearing beings, but he was there as a representative of the Queer Wizard Council, so everything would be open to him, but if he looked bad in something, it would be worse than having shown up in just shorts and a hat, and suits and ties all seemed very restrictive compared to what he was used to… it continued spinning around from there. 

“I haven’t chosen.” He answered bluntly.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sure you’d cut a dashing look in either. Since you don’t have a strong preference, we’ll have to try out some of both.”

Hemi squirmed a little in his seat, then tilted his head and let his ears fall back as he noticed Liam’s general expression. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you--?”

“It’s not every day I get to see you, of all people, flustered~”

“I’m not flustered!”

“Yes you are. Don’t lie to yourself, sweetheart.”

“Don’t-- call me that… Damn it. Fine, it’s just not a comfortable thing, okay? Is that such a crime? I probably’ll look stupid no matter what I choose anyway so--”

“What? Don’t say that! I wasn’t joking earlier, I really do think you can pull it off!”

Hemi’s ears were low, and his little nub of a tail was moving back and forth through the cutout of the chair. His posture made him appear to be barely half of Liam’s size, and his voice became quiet but firm. “This is an important event, Liam. I’ve never even seen this many other wizards at once before, let alone-- partied with them. What if I end up making a bad impression? All of this is alien to me, literally more so than actual, like, alien life… I’ve literally been more comfortable climbing a volcano or spelunking a thousand miles under the surface of some rock no one has laid eyes upon since creation began.”

“Those things are physically perilous. That’s completely different then this-- social peril-- you’re feeling. I’m sorry for pressuring you… I, uh, think I got a little too excited.“ 

Liam was quiet for a moment. “If, you want to go home, this was still a nice day out. You can even discard the invitation if you want, I’m sure they’ve got plenty of attendees.”

“...No.” Hemi’s back straightened, and he took a deep breath in. “No, I need to do this. I can’t just live underground with you alone forever-- no offense. I need to get out there, get out of my own head and be seen by… anyone else. Anything else, then just me and the one writing all this down.”

“Huh?”

Hemi finished his tea and stood up. “I’m ready.”

Liam’s eyes went wild and he quickly finished the last small amount of his own tea as well. “Then, let’s do this--!”

The plaza burst and flowed with vibrant colors and moving bodies of all descriptions. A sea of horns and ears jostled about open-air stalls with perfumes, floral headdresses, fresh-grilled fish, and, finally, a veritable feast of clothes. Gowns, cocktail dresses, suits, ties… a hundred outfits for a thousand eyes. Above it all, streams of paper-made flowers that jostled in the gentle breeze, like candle fire against the immense blue sky.

Hemi tried on a suit first. As predicted, the feeling of his long body fur being constrained by the fabric was hard to stomach, and this particular suit made his head seem disproportionately too large. He tried another -- similar results, but it was a bit looser. Most of the outfits had some sort of floral design, but a few commemorated the moon as well -- unfortunately, each suit that had appropriate theming seemed to have some issue of comfort or price that disqualified it from consideration. Minutes passed, then tens of minutes. Almost an hour. Over an hour. Even Liam had begun to wear down, and that resolve the lynx had kindled within himself could only maintain itself for so long. The crowds kept throbbing and coursing down the cobblestones all the while.

In the distance, Hemi noticed something different as the attendant (a rather friendly coyote) and Liam were helping button together the latest too-tight suit. It was a cocktail dress (of the over-one-shoulder variety), formed from a deep blue-purple that matched the night sky above his home world on a clear night. Across its chest, it displayed a beautiful full moon, and it had a few frills down the sides that would match his face’s lynx-like cheek fur. It stood against a boutique stand that seemed to have little traction.

“How does it fit?” Liam asked of the suit he was already wearing, though he was able to guess given how much Hemi had squirmed while it was being fastened, when he caught Hemi’s gaze and followed it. “Oh~! Did you find something..?”

An invisible barrier formed around Hemi’s words as he was stricken again with doubt. It would be a bold statement -- one his generally not-that-attractive physique would butcher for sure. Liam took the coyote aside and whispered something in their ears. The coyote looked across the crowd, then back to Hemi, and put their paw under their chin for a moment before nodding. Liam’s smile became a gentle smirk.

“Well, what are you waiting for? You won’t know anything until you try it on.”

The lynx looked to Liam with a frightened expression, so Liam put a hand on his still-padded shoulder. “They’re wizards, Liam. Half of them will be wearing bones or slime or something.”

Hemi swallowed and, after another second nodded. “I want to try on that dress.” The words, alien as they might have been to his tongue, brought an electric feeling to the back of his mind. The coyote dutifully helped him remove the suit, and he and Liam entered the other stall.

The dress, once donned, hung loosely around Hemi’s frame. Somehow, his exposed shoulder felt almost salacious, compared to not wearing any shirt at all, but the feeling was a good one. The fabric was smooth and breathable, so it was not unbearable on his fur. Most importantly, the inner structure of the dress emphasized his physique without being explicit-- it was just a little more sensual than normal. He turned around and around in the mirror, while Liam watched on from the side.

“So… what do you think?”

Hemi looked down at himself, then back up at the mirror. “I think I actually like it--! What do you think?”

“I think it’s gorgeous. It fits you really well! The moon might make it hard to use at other events, but that’s the only downside.”

“I’m alright with that. I’m sure if I end up wearing it often I can find some illusion to cast over the moon -- it’s basically a big white disk, right? Perfect backdrop for an insignia.”

“Right! Well-- do you want to try any of the other dresses? Since we’re on this side of the aisle…?”

“...Um. No, no I think-- I like this one. Aha--” Hemi put a hand against the back of his head and gave a soft, genuine smile. Liam quickly moved to find the cashier -- who ended up being some kind of dog with very curly white fur.

“My friend would like to buy that dress, please!” 

The cashier nodded. “And why not! Oh, but the moon is out of season, isn’t it?”

“It’s fine, it’s for a different event. Actually, the moon was what drew us over here in the first place.”

“Oho!” The cashier dropped her voice. ”And, your friend is happy in… that kind of clothing? We have a suit with the same design in the back--”

Hemi approached. His large ears made it trivial to overhear the conversation from afar. He’d removed the dress and put it onto its hanger, but was still carrying it. He laid the fabric onto the purchase area. “Yes, I’d like to buy the dress. What’s your price?”

The cashier tapped her claw onto a rune engraved in her desk, and a circle of symbols appeared briefly in the air between her and the lynx. “You are a magician, yes? I will ask for a simple service -- production of some lumen oil for my silkworms to feed on. A cup should suffice as payment.”

“Lumen oil… very well. Do you have a cloche?”

The cashier directed Hemi to her alchemy room, and left him to provide his payment while she packaged the dress gently into a clear garment bag. A few minutes later, Hemi emerged with a small container of glowing golden liquid, formed from pure arcane energy. He wiped the sweat from his head -- he’d have to do a more complete grooming in a moment.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” He set the vial onto the payment section. The cashier tapped a rune, and the sign for equivalence appeared in the air. “Then the outfit is yours. I do hope you enjoy wearing it…!” The cashier announced. 

Liam took the dress into his hands. “Thank you!” Hemi nodded in thanks as well, and the two left into the plaza. As midday drew closer, the crows had settled into lines near the food vendors, and it was clearly time to take their leave. Hemi knew the way home by heart, so it was a quick matter to tear open the air again and lead the duo back to their place in another reality.

“You did good today, Hemi.” Liam literally patted the lynx on the back as he groomed.

“It’s strange… I never imagined I’d choose an outfit like that, but-- it really did look alright on me?”

“My friend, I could not have envisioned a dress that would fit you and the occasion better. I know I’m biased, but it’s really nice that you’re taking these kinds of risks now. It was a nice day! When we both get a while off of work, we should go out again -- and not just because I got to watch you try on suits for over an hour this time.”

“Hmph--! I’ll bet that was a real treat…”

“Oh, it was~” Liam said in a tone that made it truly impossible to discern if he was being sincere or just trying to get a rise out of him. Hemi just chuckled and looked back over at the garment bag, now hanging in his wardrobe.

“You should come with me. To the ball.”

“Um-- I’m not a wizard, though?”

“Any good ball allows plus ones. Besides, I know you’ve got some ridiculous giant gown or other in your storage somewhere.”

“I… may, but, I don’t think I’d look-- hey, you don’t get to turn the situation around on me like that!”

Hemi’s chuckle turned into a full laugh. ��Revenge really is sweet~ But, seriously, you should come.”

“I’ll think about it. Home’s been pretty busy lately. Tsunamis, droughts-- the people need a nature prophet more than ever. But-- if I’m not actively mitigating some huge catastrophe-- I’ll put on a ‘ridiculous, giant gown’ and come with you to the ball. It’s the least I could do, after today.”

“Thank you.”

“Of-- course.”

The matter decided, each cat went on to enjoy the rest of the afternoon in their own ways.

[opmilfzine]

✨ "Mother Knows Best" Advice Column: Ivankov! ✨

On '𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮 ':

Prison has a way of making you forget just how fabulous you are. I only realized that once I came home to Okama Island and reunited with all my fresh-faced candies. One of them took my hand and said, “Iva-sama, I don’t understand. You were imprisoned for so long, and yet you look radiant! How did you manage to stay this beautiful?”

Of course, I’ve been asked for my secrets thousands of times. But you must understand: at that time, I had just stepped onto the island after days of sailing. The only thing radiant about me was my smell. I was too tired to give her a proper answer, so I’m posting this up around the island. Hopefully she will see it. I’m tired of repeating myself, so to all of my lovely candies out there who have posed this same question—please read this and stop asking me!

Listen up! There is no skincare in Impel Down, okay?! No creams, no sprays, and no free lipstick samples. And forget about following the perfect diet—every day became a cheat day for me. There is no product you can buy and super food you can eat that will turn you lovely. Not in this brutal Grand Line.

To find your true source of beauty, you must think: what are your strongest features? My deadliest weapon, for instance, is my wink. These eyes could topple kingdoms, honey! So, every morning, I work hard to make them stand out.

For you candies who have never needed to draw on your face, come find me later—we run a workshop each month where you can learn the basics. For the rest of you, this is how to take your eyes (and your look in general) to the next level:

Choose your colors wisely. Swatch colors when you can, and if they don’t suit your skin tone, don’t buy them.

Go big, but know when to stop. If your eyebrows are indistinguishable from your hairline, what’s the point of having eyebrows? 

Symmetry is elegant and attractive. Whatever you do to one eye, repeat on the other. They don’t need to be twins, but they do need to be sisters. 

Give your eyelashes extra dimension by gluing multiple pairs of false lashes together, or glue strips of black construction paper on top of them. Make them as long and pointy as you want! 

Highlight the areas you want to pop out the farthest, and contour what you want to give more depth.

But most importantly, dispose of the idea that there is a “correct” way to look. In prison, I gave up on that completely. Don’t even ask how I found dupes for my at-home makeup kit.

Find the parts of yourself you like, and E-M-P-H-A-S-I-Z-E!✩ Understand? You’re already beautiful, even if you don’t realize that yet. Be brave, be confident, and don’t let anyone take that from you. Not even the World Government.

Much love from your King,

Iva-sama~✩

---

Thank you for the boost! 🥂 @opfandombase @opzinebulletin

[mariacallous]

China’s economy is performing dreadfully. The post-pandemic bounce was far smaller and briefer than the Chinese government had anticipated. Despite recording a respectable, if diminished, official growth rate of 5.2 percent in 2023, the reality may have been much slower, with some analysts estimating growth was no more than 1-2 percent. Some indicators showed modest improvement in the first few months of 2024, but the economy still appears to be sputtering, with growth now highly dependent on exports.

Along with the economic slowdown has come a collapse in confidence in China’s trajectory, both at home and abroad. The quantitative data is stark, showing a sudden drop in confidence by consumers and producers in the spring of 2022 following the Shanghai lockdown. Consumers’ outlook improved briefly when the zero-COVID policies ended in late 2022 but has hovered in record-low territory since. Various indices for domestic business show a recent modest recovery, but the numbers are still far off their historic highs.

This data may understate the depth and breadth of the uneasiness that Chinese citizens have about the country’s present and its future—concerns I heard in person during an extended research trip this spring.

The struggling economy—and the collapse of the real estate sector—is the No. 1 issue, but I heard surprisingly frank complaints about zero-COVID and the messy exit, the extended attack on private tech firms, the heightened attention to ideology, an unrealistic pursuit of technology self-reliance, and growing tensions with the West. These fears translate into weak consumer demand, restrained business investment, and efforts to move wealth and family abroad.

One question came up again and again: Why hasn’t the leadership done more to boost the economy and restore confidence? And by leadership, many were actually implicitly referring to a single person, Xi Jinping. The end of term limits, the shift of governance to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organs under his control, and the outsized attention he receives in official media give the Chinese populace (and the rest of the world) the impression that he is fully in charge.

Beijing has not stood still; it has expanded credit, put forth multipoint plans to reassure the private sector and foreign business community, reduced restrictions to buy a second home, and toned down the wolf-warrior rhetoric. But a substantial portion of people I encountered—which is not a scientific sample—have not been impressed, with these steps still adding up to too little, too late.

There were four views that commonly came up on why Xi and other top leaders haven’t taken a different approach, which we might dub “The Four Nos” in Chinese political style. The first is, “He doesn’t know.” Some have speculated that Xi is being kept in the dark about the sour state of the economy by cadres who do not want to give him bad news for fear that he would blame the messenger. And so, the thinking goes, they only provide him with sanitized, positive reports.

One source said they heard that working-level officials at Zhongnanhai have told outside researchers to only submit positive reports. Another said senior officials who control the paper flow to Xi are aligned with the security and propaganda apparatus, so his reading pile reflects their biases. But others with whom I spoke strongly disagreed that Xi and other leaders are not well informed. One expert who has submitted research to the party-state said they were told to provide unvarnished analyses because the leadership wants to receive contending views.

The second idea, “He doesn’t know what to do,” is based on the premise that Xi and other top leaders are well informed but they are facing a variety of problems that are not easy to fix. The list is long—the real estate crisis, ballooning local government debt, the plummeting fertility rate, rising inequality, disaffection in Hong Kong, and expanding tensions with the West and most of China’s neighbors—and solutions are far from simple.

Moreover, the leadership is now composed of the “B-team,” including many with limited central government experience, and policymaking has become so centralized in the CCP that coordination across the bureaucracy and between Beijing and the localities has become harder, not easier.

Multiple confidants said they have heard that on some issues, the leadership has had long debates about how to solve problems, delaying decisions and the rollout of new policies. For example, the leadership apparently identified a weak stock market as a problem in the summer of 2023, but new steps were not rolled out until early 2024, when the head of China’s securities regulator was replaced. Even more challenging is figuring out ways to address one problem that don’t worsen others or coming up with an overall plan that finds a balanced approach.

Solving the real estate mess—and the imbalances in the economy—may be the quintessential example, as it is visibly obvious how difficult it is to find a policy path that effectively navigates the conflicting interests among all of the stakeholders, including the central government, local governments, developers, homeowners, financial institutions, and other economic sectors. In the same vein, the Third Plenum was reportedly postponed from January 2024 to the summer because of a lack of consensus.

Some sources emphasized the drop in quality of top officials, negatively comparing Premier Li Qiang to his predecessor Li Keqiang, who died suddenly last fall. The vice premier in charge of the economy, He Lifeng, is viewed as less capable than his predecessor Liu He.

The third option, “He doesn’t care,” is rooted in the hypothesis that Xi’s top priority is strengthening the CCP’s monopolistic hold on power and his own personal political dominance. Although the media shows him visiting factories and holding discussion sessions on various economic challenges, his own daily schedule may be dominated by managing security and political issues, including personnel decisions, not the economy.

This was by far the least popular option among Chinese interlocuters, but those who held it believed it passionately. Their core impression was that Xi appears willing to sacrifice the economy for the sake of nationalism and CCP dominance. Moreover, Xi is not alone; he was selected as Hu Jintao’s replacement, as one said, “to not be Mikhail Gorbachev,” not to promote rapid growth. Tellingly, the holders of this view tended to be older (above 60); they highlighted apparent similarities in the personalities of Xi and Mao Zedong and parallels between the two periods in their common emphasis on ideological purity and class struggle, which resulted in substantial social and elite tensions.

The final answer, “He doesn’t agree,” speculates that the issue is not Xi’s insufficient access to information, indecisiveness and incompetence, or a lack of interest but rather that he and his lieutenants disagree with the criticism that the current policy line is incorrect and not up to the challenge. In fact, their view may be that given the loss of reliable access to Western technology, markets, and finance, China has no choice but to prioritize developing domestic technologies and gaining as much leverage over global supply chains as possible.

Even more important, Chinese leaders could point to some evidence that their plan is working—dominance in electric vehicles and batteries, the world’s longest high-speed rail system, the C919 single-aisle commercial jet, a series of highly popular internet platforms, the BeiDou satellite system, and more.

A plurality of informants chose this last option. They believe Xi has strong views about the centrality of controlling advanced technologies for both China’s economic and strategic needs and is intensely implementing this vision. Hence, the shift in investment from real estate to advanced manufacturing and intensive party-state support for emerging technologies that could both fuel growth and strengthen the country’s security. Where others see ignorance, incompetence, or disinterest, they see clarity of purpose and decisiveness.

Yet advocates of “He doesn’t agree” are split into two camps. Most who choose this option believe the Chinese leadership has made a strategic blunder by moving in a decidedly statist direction with massive industrial policy and betting so much on controlling the technologies of the future. The turn away from liberalization and insufficient attention to households and consumption, from this view, mean lower productivity, higher debt, slower growth, and, to boot, greater tensions with other advanced economies.

Others who landed on this choice have the opposite reaction. They, in fact, agree with the Chinese leadership’s approach and believe critics are neoliberal ideologues instinctively opposed to an activist state and unfairly dismiss major signs of technological progress. Perhaps not surprisingly, some—though far from all—in this latter camp whom I heard from work in government-based research organizations.

These beliefs matter. If one of the first two options—“He doesn’t know” or “He doesn’t know what to do”—is accurate, then the current path is the product of unintentional mistakes, and all that is needed to generate change is providing the leadership with better information and more effective plans to address the country’s economic woes. How those outside China see this also determines how China should be approached on other issues. It would support the notion held by some officials in Washington that it is important for President Joe Biden to have direct conversations with Xi to ensure he has an accurate understanding of U.S. foreign policy on issues such as Ukraine and Taiwan.

But if Xi and other top leaders don’t care about the economy or disagree with the criticisms, then the current trajectory is the result of an intentional plan, and new data and policy reports with alternative strategies won’t make much of a difference.

It’s possible the leadership will prove critics wrong, but if not, there are two potential sources of change. The first would be a major economic crisis that would create a political reckoning: The current leadership could recognize its mistakes and change gears, some other elite faction could crystalize and replace the current team, or, least likely, the public could rise up in protest and try to unseat the CCP entirely. While there may be more brewing under the surface than outsiders can see, none of these scenarios seem plausible in the short to medium term.

The second source of change would be for China’s leadership to be presented with a far more benign international environment in which the United States, and the West more generally, provided credible reassurances that it would return to being a reliable supplier of technology, markets, and finance; unconditionally recognize the CCP’s authoritarian system as legitimate; and accept Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the South China Sea and Taiwan. But the chances of this shift occurring are even smaller than any of the domestically driven scenarios.

One reason the West is unlikely to become more accommodating is because foreign business executives and officials, when surveyed in and outside China, usually picked “He doesn’t agree.” From the vantage point of overseas boardrooms and capitals, Xi appears in total political control and determined to press ahead with this strategy, with any adjustments being minor tactical shifts to minimally placate domestic and international critics. As a result, they believe they must be more, not less, resolute in standing their ground.

Though far from scientific, this informal survey suggests hardening divisions between parts of Chinese society and its leaders as well as between Beijing and other capitals. That means there’s little chance of bold new action—but the contradictions between the leadership and opposing domestic and international perspectives presage more tensions and conflict to come.

[magicwithclass]

Value Boosters in Bloomburrow Part 2 (Continued). Are Value Booster Packs a Gateway Drug to more expensive boosters?

So, what is in these new value boosters? Are these boosters worth it or is a play booster or collector booster the better deal? Is this a decent budget option or are they selling you junk? I want to make it clear that if you are trying to get into the game, then I would always recommend you start with a preconstructed commander deck. The commander decks are, almost always, an amazing value with some commander staples that can be used in multiple competitive decks. In paper, almost everyone plays commander so even though the preconstructed decks are usually very complicated, I would still start any new players with a 40 dollar commander deck. They still get to open a sample pack so there is some amount of random chance associated with the product. I have opened some really interesting stuff out of those little packs. However, I know people who simply want the rush of ripping open 30 bucks. These new value packs are only 7 cards. Aftermath also had smaller boosters and that was considered an extreme failure but the assassin's creed boosters seem to be doing a lot better. 7 card packs are ok because the duplication should be low. Bloomburrow is a set with almost 300 cards while aftermath and creed had much less cards in the entire set. The one issue with this product is that you are not guaranteed a rare in each pack. They have no released the probability of getting a rare per pack but I hope that the pull rate of a rare is 50 percent or higher. I feel like you should get at least one rare in every two packs. The product packaging is purposefully misleading. The packs say you can get up to two rares per pack which is true but the probability of that is probably extremely rare. The packaging should say that rares are not guaranteed but they would not prominently showcase that truth to the public. I do like that you can get special guests in these packs and pulling two mythics in one cheap pack is going to make some exciting stories. Options are good but I feel like this is merely a marketing ploy to expose the youth to an addiction on the cheap. Are value boosters a gateway booster to more expensive boosters? Do the kids that get value packs grow up to buy their own collectors packs and set packs a an adult? Is this good for the game as it puts the game in the public eye starting from childhood? I am so curious to see how low the price is without a guaranteed rare. Could they guarantee a rare in a future value booster without raising the price? Will the audience accept these rareless packs? Do kids even know or want rares or do they just want to see cool art and characters on cards? Time will answer all of these questions. Is this something they will try for universes beyond? People would more likely impulse buy a pack of cards for a dollar if the cards had their favorite ip on them. I will be watching the market on value booster packs very carefully as this might be the introductory product that stands the test of time and brings Magic the Gathering into the zeitgeist.

[cordcorvid]

hi! i hope this doesnt come off as a bother or anything . but do you have any mask making tips or tutorials you could reccomend ?? (like for materials, jaw movement, and how to see out of there) im planning to do a raven named Goose :D

ive been finding some resources here and there, but i thought it wouldnt hurt to ask !!!

Absolutely not! I'd love to answer all your questions. :D I have not looked at that many tutorials, I mostly looked at pinterest pictures of raven costumes to see what I can come up with. One that really inspired me to get things going is actually another Tumblr user I found on there who has posted some helpful tips that I followed along with! They too have a raven costume and they got their resin base from the same manufacturer (Crystumes, they have a website where you can shop for their blanks) Since this post is awfully long, I'll do a read more from here on:

The tutorials I followed the most is this one by Rah-Bop:

Rah-Bop has some tips about adding feathers, making foam-feathers, adding claws to your gloves, making gloves or feet. In terms of material: I used the hinged resin base by Crystumes which by itself cost me +/- 200USD, they sent me a pair of customizeable glass eyes and a tongue.

Crystumes has some additional tutorials specifically regarding their masks on their website! Crystumes also lists some of the materials on their website that I used and where to get them (Like the apoxie clay to do the eyelids, the glass eyes etc.) I did mess the eyes up though the first time I did it so I had to order them from delviesplastics.com (As suggested by Crystumes) Since I ordered the base with hinges I'm not sure how to do them myself but I will have to figure it out for the second fursuit I'm cooking! In terms of other material I bought some long rooster feathers and hair jewelry off of Etsy. I bought a pair of long faux leather gloves from Ricardo (which is a swiss second hand online shop) but you can buy the gloves anywhere else or even sew them yourself by tracing your arm and hand on a piece of paper, then trace the pattern twice on any somewhat stretchy material like faux leather or spandex and sew those two together for one glove each. I bought black fur in another Swiss textile / sewing shop named Alja (not sure if it's actually Swiss) since it's cheaper (around 60$ for 4 yards) than to ship fur from America to Switzerland (Which amounts to 100-200 for the same amount). But if you can afford it: Take a look at Howl's Fabrics or Big Z Fabric. Both websites offer samples! I personally don't buy from them as the shipping costs for me are devastating. I suggest looking at general "furring" tutorials or "how to fur a fursuit head" tutorials on youtube. Most of them will tell you to make a duct tape pattern on your base, draw on the patterns then cut those patterns out on fur, sew the fur together then glue to the base. Crystumes once made a twitter post about it as well I think but I'm not sure I'll find it. When cutting fur in general just make sure you keep the scissors as close to the backing as possible to avoid cutting any fur fibers in the process, it will be visible otherwise. I made a fur top / shirt by tracing one of my long sleeve t-shirts onto the fur I bought and went with that. For the back of the head I used an 80s Mullet/Rockstar wig I bought from another Swiss online store. Other fursuit makers mostly sew fur even to the back of the head but my personal Raven fursuit is literally just a mask with a wig to cover the back. Which in turn makes the whole mask less hot. To keep the mask ON my face and to keep it from slipping down I used the adjusteable part of a biking helmet or climbing helmet. and attached it to the mask by using a lot of hot glue, I eventually had to use some stronger glue as it kept falling off. Since the mask was fairly big when I bought it and rather uncomfortable I used thick felt sheets and glued them inside the head as padding material! Foam works as well, whatever floats your boat. I went with felt since I could easily cut some feather patterns into them as a nice easter egg. Not sure anymore what exactly I used to cover the holes by the beak that I see out of, but it was some kind of very fine dark and flexible grid that I bought from the swiss equivalent of home depot. In terms of being able to see: The crystume base has holes between the beak and the eyes that you can look out of or you can even look through the mouth, both works pretty well and the mask allows for a lot of visibility from within- Out of all my fellow furry friends I'm the only one that doesn't necessarily need a spotter since I can see pretty well. In terms of clothing I pretty much sewed nothing by myself and only assembled a bunch of my own outfits that would fit the raven costume. Sometimes I did buy some costume specific stuff from online clothing stores or went into the thrift shop to buy some costume specific clothing pieces. In general, for your first raven costume just go with the flow and try to keep it budget friendly, as your first will unlikely be perfect. And that's about it! Not sure if I missed something but I tried to cover everything as much in detail as I could. Hope it helps!

[randomcollectionitem]

clipping. - Face

https://www.discogs.com/release/11980126-Clipping-Face

Hey, we finally had a record show up! This is the 2018 vinyl reissue of the 2012 debut EP from beloved industrial rap trio Clipping (they stylize it as "clipping." but it fucks up my formatting mojo so I'm sticking to the capital C for this one). The A side is the original 3 track tape, and the B side is remixes and an acapella. This version was released by Deathbomb Arc, the same label that put out the original EP.

I was a little late to the Clipping party and got on board with them shortly after the release of their semi-self-titled debut album, CLPPNG. CLPPNG dropped right after Death Grips broke up and the hype surrounding Clipping on the internet was mostly /mu/ posters heralding them as The Next Death Grips. I always thought that comparison was questionable. Outside of a vague sense of being in the same genre they don't share a lot of DNA, with Clipping pulling heavily from harsh noise and power electronics in contrast to Death Grips' sample-heavy sound fueled by math rock-adjacent live drums. Regardless, the JENNY DEATH WHEN era hype train brought Clipping in front of a relatively big audience of outsider rap nerds looking for another hit of bizarre sounds, and they brought it in spades. After listening to CLPPNG an embarrassing number of times I worked my way back to midcity (their first mixtape) and Face. Face really stuck with me, so I was thrilled to see it reissued in 2018 and picked it up immediately.

The original EP is a short-but-sweet three song affair that wastes no space and takes no prisoners. The opening track, the eponymous Face, is a blistering assault of lighting fast bars, blasts of noise, and a catchy x-rated chorus. It's followed by Studio Freestyle 01, which serves as a sort of mental breather in the middle of the list (as much of one as Clipping will give you at least), with mid-tempo freestyle verses alternating call-and-response style with bursts of harsh noise. The EP rounds out with Block, my personal favorite track from the project. Block showcases Daveed Diggs' uncanny ability to make even the smallest things seem profound and significant. A song about nothing becomes a song about everything as he paints a picture of a city block on top of a slow-burning beat. There are no characters. There is no action and no narrative. And that's the beauty of it.

The B side is a collection of remixes backed with an acapella of the first track. I'm normally not a huge fan of remixes, but the selection here is a fun listen. The first two are remixes of the title track, with the first turning it into a stompy industrial club tune and the second chopping it into a wall of samples (including a shockingly straight-faced interpolation of Gangnam Style, and a slightly less straight-faced interlude of the intro to Never Gonna Give You Up). This is followed by Clipping's remix of This Song Is A Drug Deal, by LA noise rock drum-and-shout group Foot Village. It chops up the spastic drums from the original song and uses them as a bed for some verses from Daveed. The side closes out with the acapella of Face, not exactly critical listening but I'm glad it's out there for DJs and remix artists to take advantage of.

As previously mentioned, the copy in front of me is the 2018 Deathbomb Arc vinyl issue, the only vinyl issue to date. The 2012 original pressing was only on cassette, and this deluxe reissue was also available on cassette with an expanded tracklist containing additional Face remixes. I opted for the vinyl version because, frankly, I lived through tapes the first time around; they sucked then, they suck now, and part of me withers away every time I have to buy a new one. Regardless, the vinyl edition is simple but well-presented. The album art still looks good when blown up to 12"x12", and they did a nice job typesetting the back cover. It includes a download code for the download-inclined, and opts for a polybag rather than a paper inner (I breathe a sigh of relief every time I open a new record and don't need to immediately resleeve the LP, records are too damn expensive now for these labels to cheap out with the crappy paper inners that shed everywhere and scuff your new record up). The pressing is fairly shallow, but my copy plays well with little to no surface noise. The sound is a bit dull, but it's not exactly a hi-fi recording in the first place so I'm not going to complain. No inserts or liner notes on this one, but an EP doesn't really need all that anyways. Overall I think they've done a nice job with the reissue.

I think the beauty of Face is that it paints a fairly complete picture of Clipping in only 3 tracks. You have the high energy sonic assaults, you have the artsy contemplation, and you have the fearless harsh noise and power electronics interludes. While it's not their most essential work, if you want a short elevator pitch for why you should care about Clipping, this is it. A great start to a legendary career. Rest assured, if I keep doing this long enough we'll see plenty of other Clipping releases in the future, so strap in for some more noise rap greatness down the road. In the meantime, may your music stay pleasantly abrasive and may your preferred genitals be in your face.

[icestar-74]

Shizaya Week 2023

Day 8 Free Day Part 1/7

Shizuo: "Hey! It's Shizuo and Fleabag here! We've recently heard that someone wanted a tour of our home."

Izaya: "Hey Protozan, don't smoke indoors. Yes, we decided that this week dedicated to us would be perfect time to show it all off."

Izaya: "I would like to start by showcasing my new rug. It's actually a coffee coaster. We purchased it from a local coffee shop and thought it was the PERFECT addition!"

Shizuo: "Right here we have our cat Foofoo. It doesn't do much..."

Izaya: "Stop smoking Shizu-chan! Don't make me come over there."

Izaya: "This is one of my favorite chairs. Believe it or not it's made out of a dish towel and the bottom of a soda bottle! If you look closely, you can see the ripples at the bottom."

Shizuo: "This couch is from a dish towel and sponges! I think there is foam board too. It's the perfect size for us. We'd like to buy a legit one but the sizing isn't ever right and they tend to be pricey."

Izaya: "These books here were bought as a set. Not sure why we have them still. We know Shizu-chan can't read!"

Shizuo: "This might be the perfect time to show my stop sign! Get over here!"

Izaya: "Ope gotta run! Next we'll show you the kitchen."

Shizuo: "Get back here you dick head!"

A note from me!

The flooring here is made up of samples from the home improvement stores. I just got a bunch and cut them into strips. The wallpaper is made of scrap book paper. Everything is stuck on with doublesided tape. It's easy to remove for remodeling if needed.

If anyone ever has questions about my house or the things in it, please ask. My inbox is always open :D

Next I'll show the kitchen. Tiny food for them is my favorite thing!

[serenatheseraph]

lucifer goes to walmart (not ducking mcdonalds)

i was looking at my old edits and like so i saw this

lucifer in walmart lets go. (this is in the devildom on lockdown series)

and then i also took a moment to question younger me. *sigh*

Lucifer: Why does absolutely no store here in the Devildom sell food...

(Earlier)

Beelzebub: I'm so fucking hungry.

Beelzebub: *Looks at Mammon*

Mammon: I miss shopping fuck covid--

Mammon: *Looks at Beelzebub*

Beelzebub:

Mammon:

(Back to present)

Lucifer: Oh well...I wonder if the human world has anything.

(So Lucifer decided to go to Walmart. No idea why but...it's walmart.)

Lucifer: Hm. It's pretty packed here—

Solomon: Indeed.

Lucifer: What on- why are you here, Solomon?

Solomon: Purgatory hall needs more detergant. We also need a carpet cleaner, so I'm getting a rugdoctor.

Lucifer: *envisioning Raphael struggling with measuring detergant out*

Lucifer: I wonder why.

Solomon: Are you here because of the food crisis?

Lucifer: ...Yes. I also forgot to get toilet paper back in the Devildom

Solomon: Oh...did you? Well-Actually you will figure it out yourself. Have fun Lucifer.

Lucifer:

Lucifer: Okay...

(Lucifer found himself in the produce aisle but forgot the #1 rule shopping in walmart)

Lucifer: Is that...mold? On...the fruit?

Random Lady: Yeah. Don't you know the #1 rule?

Lucifer: No. What's that?

Random Lady: Don't buy Walmart produce.

Lucifer: *Dropping the apple he was gonna sample* Noted.

(Now Lucifer was in that chaotic section where the baby clothes and cleaning products is)

Lucifer: Hmm...I should buy Luke some clothes. *Picks up a shirt that says "Im 100% woof"* I hope Simeon appreciates this. Dealing with children is tiresome.

(Just as Lucifer reached out to pick up another one of those stupid baby clothes with dumbass quotes he felt something cold)

Lucifer: WHAT THE FUCK-

Beelzebub: Can you get these corn dogs. *Holding a huge ass box of those foster farm corndogs*

Lucifer: What? No. How'd you find me?

Beelzebub: MC installed this... "Find my dog" app...? I guess they forgot to uninstall it from my D.D.D.

Lucifer: WHAAAAAT?!!?!

Mammon: Hey hey, Lucifer this old dude on this medicine looks exactly like you!

Lucifer: *Snatches medicine box* What the-this is a medicine for elderly people having episodes...?!?!

Mammon: Ya kinda need it if you had a mirror to look at yourself with!

Lucifer: Why you...

Beelzebub: Okay okay I'll put the corn dogs and medicine away as long as we get those little peanut butter and jelly pies MC gave me last year.

Lucifer: Fine. We just need toilet paper and then we're out of here.

Mammon: Aight! Then we can go to that Versace store I saw!

Lucifer: No. We are not buying you anything that expensive. You can ask for one thing under ten dollars here in Walmart.

Lucifer:

Lucifer: How about you and Luke match—

Mammon: NO WAY! I want some studs.

Lucifer: You don't even have a piercing.

Mammon: I'll get one in the Devildom.

Lucifer:

Lucifer: I'm not helping you if you end up cursed.

Mammon: Yeah yeah.

Karen: Uhm excuse me sir (Mammon) you don't have a mask on.

Beelzebub: You don't have one on either.

Karen: That doesn't matter because I own this walmart.

Lucifer: Since when.

Karen: Since now.

Lucifer: ...Beelzebub did you see where the toilet paper is?

Karen: EXCUSE ME I'M TALKING TO YOU!

Mammon: Shudduuuppp it's not like an employee came up and said: put a mask on.

Beelzebub: You should probably put one on anyways, you got covid those few months ago remember?

Karen: COVID?! *sprays lysol in the air* Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. Face.

Beelzebub: You could literally just walk away, lady...

Employee: Hey sir put a mask on please.

(Anyways their at the aisle for toilet paper)

Mammon: Why the fuck do people need to shit so much they buy all the goddamn toilet paper?!

Beelzebub: Because they get corn dogs while I don't

Lucifer: There has to be some toilet paper somewhere...

Mammon: Lucifer they don't even got paper towels lets just get some from the Devildom!

Lucifer: No. We are getting Charmin.

Mammon: Cause it's soft on your butt and Diavolo says-

Lucifer: Q u i e t.

Mammon: *was magically shut the fuck up* MMM MM!

Lucifer: Beel go look for toilet paper.

Beelzebub: Okay Lucifer.

Lucifer: Mammon you'll be--What are you doing.

(Mammon literally just wearing the mask the employee gave him over his eyes and mouth.)

Mammon: You know you could get sick through your eyes too.

Lucifer: You could have just asked for a face visor.

Mammon: Those exist?

Lucifer: Anyways. climb up onto that top shelf and look.

Mammon: They have angel soft.

Lucifer: It's not the same as charmin.

Random kid: Hey mr with red eyes.

Lucifer: Yes?

Random kid: I think theres a charmin on top of the bike display area.

Lucifer: WHAT?! *He looks to his left and sees the little kids bike display thing have one pack of charmin on top of there because this is florida walmart*

(Lucifer immediately rushed over to the bike stand display thing and as he entered into the isle so did a familiar face)

Thirteen: Oh, why hey there Lucifer, fancy seeing you here in Florida!

Lucifer: Mhm...yes. Are you after what I think you are?

Thirteen: *looks up at the charmin toilet paper then back at Lucifer* Wouldn't you like to know.

Lucifer: Why do I have this feeling you put it up there.

Thirteen: For some lucky soul to try and burn the extra fat off them but hey this should be a breeze for you!

(Mephistopheles soon came slowly staggering to the isle, out of breath)

Mephistopheles: Th...Stop...no more--traps! *he clutches his chest as he widens at the toilet paper on top of the bike thing*

Mephistopheles: ARE YOU INSANE?! ALL THIS FOR TOILET PAPER!

Lucifer: M-Mephisto...WHY DO YOU WANT CHARMIN!

Thirteen: Gentlemen gentlemen...calm down. Seeing that you are equally matched-

Both: WE ARE NOT EQUALLY MATCHED!

Thirteen: How about you fight for it?

Mephistophles: I will delightfully beat Lucifer's angelic ass!

Lucifer: That's so fucking corny.

Mephistopheles: Your so fucking annoying.

Thirteen: There are children watching you two.

(some colony of children are there cause this is florida)

Mephistopheles: I mean. He's...irritating.

Lucifer: I don't take anything back.

Kid 1: Fucking.

Kid 2: Irritating.

Lucifer: Now I do.

Thirteen: Anyways, we will do a series of events to see whos worthy of the charmin!

Lucifer: Is that really necessa-

Mephistopheles: Too late to back out now Lucifer, unless your saying Diavolo isn't good enough hm?

Lucifer: When did this turn into that sort of issue again?

Mephistopheles: ITS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT DIAVOLO, ANGEL!

(Meanwhile in the Devildom)

[Diavolo and Barbatos are at his private beach sunbathing when Dia sits up on his beach chair.]

Diavolo: Why do I have this feeling something exciting is happening without me there to spectate...!

Barbatos: I'm not sure, m'lord. Would you like it if we went to check up on Lucifer's trip to the human world?

Diavolo: And I thought all that popcorn I had bought those few days ago was going to go to waste just monitoring the demon brothers on our "Doom" meetings.

Barbatos: *Opens portal* Let us leave at once, m'lord

**And thats how they died/j there will be a part 2 soon or something ig

[nancypullen]

Oops

Soooo, I’ve been making a lot of noise about getting our back porch stained.  It’s just bare wood, and my decades in the deep south make me itchy to protect it from weather, bugs, rot, etc.  Maybe it’s different up here but I doubt it.  Anyway, we were in Easton a couple of days ago so I popped into Lowe’s and bought stain.  Our house is gray, the shutters are sort of a deep charcoal, the front porch and all the window trim is white.  In Nancy Land that means that you don’t buy any of the hundred shades of brown stain - tones from light oak to mahogany or a deep walnut.  Nope, I looked at the semi-transparent grays.  I didn’t want to match the gray of the house, I knew that I needed to compliment it with a deeper tone.  I should add, that I wanted to just paint it white to match the front porch.  The mister was adamant that white was not a good idea.  I agreed that white wouldn’t last on the floor boards, but everything else would work.  He stood his ground.  I figured if I was going to give him his way with a color choice that something attached to the back of the house was my best bet.  So I picked a color called Dutch Licorice.  I chose a semi-transparent base for the color because the sample piece of wood at the store in that color and base was just right.  Not too light, not too dark, the woodgrain showed through the wash of color - perfect.   Except it’s not.  You guys....I snapped this photo when I was about halfway finished.

Yes, I know the patio looks absolutely awful.  It’s begging to be power washed.  I’ll get to it.   But look at that stain!  Yikes!  I told my sister that it looks like Darth Vader is sitting right in the middle of my carefully curated, blossom covered, white picket fenced, birdie sanctuary.  Rats.   Because I am cheap, I used what I bought.  Lowe’s won’t let me return a can of regret.  I’ll admit, it’s finished now and looks almost okay in sunlight.  I’m going to have to brighten it up with white pots of colorful flowers. I’ll provide more pics when it gets to that point.  I can count on one hand the times in my life when I’ve regretted a color choice (we’re not talking about my hair) but this one goes on the list.   I’m glad it’s on the back of the house, but I still think the squirrels are judging it.

In other news, my itty-bitty vinca are trying really hard to show off. I’ve been so concerned about them because they haven’t seemed too robust, but they’re trying.  Hopefully they’ll fill in, flower abundantly, and that row of little flowers will become a tumble of red.

Vinca was an easy, reliable work horse in my gardens in Mt. Juliet.  Maybe they don’t like it here.  I’ve dropped sunflower seeds along the porch and they’re doing great.  I can’t remember the name, but they should be about four feet tall which would be perfect for this bed.

This little clematis is thriving, and I’ve provided some twine for it to climb toward the porch.  Grow, little girl, grow!

I rescued this baby from the orphan table for $2.00.  I think she’ll make it.  She probably won’t stay there, that’s just her ICU.  She might end up potted with some friends.  We’ll see.

This fern loves its spot by the front door.

It’s early days, but I have high hopes for this spot.

I’ll add more, but it’s coming along.

Have I made you forget about that travesty of a back porch yet? I tried not to think about it as I sat at my desk today and played with some paper and paint.  This sweet kitty kept me company.

“Animals are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”   - George Eliot She told me that she didn’t care one little bit about the color of that porch. Then I remembered that cats see basically in blue and gray and realized that she doesn’t appreciate anything I do around this house.  All that matters to her is the can opener. Still, I appreciated the support.

Tomorrow the mister wants to run off to D.C.  He’s got an urge to go to the Air & Space Museum and I figure I can at least get lunch out of it. Since I’ve spent the last few days spreading mulch, scrubbing and staining that porch, and hauling and cooking groceries - I need a nice lunch in a nice place.   That’s it for me tonight.  I’m off to soak my aching bones and then read myself to sleep. More tomorrow, hopefully something fun from D.C. ,certainly more exciting than mulch and stain. Sending out loads of love, wishing you peace and contentment, and hoping that you stay safe and stay well. XOXO - Nancy