#also his gloves add some good contrast

[mail-posting]

Sobbing crying ect on how they took beta Luca away from us btw

[vaguely-concerned]

Eight Little Talons Reread Thoughts

Which, I’ll level with you folks, is mostly just me gushing about Teia and Viago and how much they should kiss because of who I am as a person, but maybe also some actual observations sprinkled in. This is still my favourite story in Tevinter Nights, I think, there’s so much Character Stuff in it. Let’s go!

Viago hated carriages—no amount of plush seating could make up for the inevitable ache of being knocked around like weighted dice. But decorum insisted, and he would not be outclassed by his fellow Talons.

Vs.

“You didn’t take a carriage.” 

“My luggage did. But I couldn’t resist the opportunity for a country jaunt.” She nodded toward the thoroughbred Taslin strider grazing on the top of the hill. “Andoral so rarely gets a chance to let loose in Rialto.” 

“You named your horse after an archdemon?” 

“Don’t worry, Vi. I won’t let him nip you.

You know… Andarateia might gain some illusion of normalcy by standing next to the most paranoid wound-up-tight repressed man around to provide contrast, but I think it’s crucial we keep in mind that she is also nuts. Naming your horse after an archdemon IS an insane thing to do in the world of Thedas huh. I suppose she genuinely seems to think of Caterina Dellamorte as a warm maternal figure and is in love with a tetchy snake of a guy too, it does all start to add up when you look at it like that.

— Beneath the smooth samite, he felt like a sinewy ball of tension. Teia suspected contact of any kind made Viago uncomfortable. It would explain why he swathed himself in indigo from chin to toe and refused to remove his gloves during dinner.

He offers his arm to her and doesn’t pull away when they meet Caterina — only when Dante shows up. Interesting (and possibly part of why Caterina seems to consider the two of them a cleverly stabilizing package deal when they get along lol). I love the mix of playful seduction and genuine fond, intimate knowledge and interest Teia has for him all the way through too — speculating about his childhood, trying to divine his thoughts and intentions, testing to see how he reacts to different things. And it’s so sweet that she seems to regard him with this affectionate amusement and fascination (which he seems to be afraid means that she’s mocking him but is, I think, just another level of appreciation she has for him. Correctly. Because he’s one of the funniest people in Thedas both in concept and in practice. Accountant brained-ass noodle arm Vetinari homage poison specialist. Teia’s neurotic purse dog of a man. Sole royal bastard who willingly chose to have a boring Antivan day job (killing people) and makes spreadsheets about it.) 

— “Not exactly welcoming, are they?” Teia whispered, her breath warm against his ear. 

Viago’s grip tightened on the head of his walking stick.

I swear to god courtney woods is so fucking good at writing romantic and sexual tension. One sentence!!! She drops in a one-sentence detail and it says everything!!!! She has such a knack for consistently adding these details without getting overindulgent or spelling it out too much that I really admire, I tend a bit more towards indulging too much as a writer that way myself so her sense of where to show restraint has me in awe 

— “Don’t ‘Nonna’ me, Andarateia Cantori,” Caterina snapped, although the heat in her voice had lowered to a simmer. “Not even my actual grandchildren call me that.” 

“Well, considering who your grandchildren are,” Teia responded, “I’m not surprised.” 

“How is Master Lucanis?” Viago asked.

Hell yeah Lucanis mention! Can’t wait to see how their dynamics will turn out in-game, we could be in for some truly spectacular and absurd workplace comedy nonsense if we’re lucky

— As always, Viago had with him his leather case of poisons and antidotes for toxins typically hidden in ingredients such as olives, truffles, pasta, lamb, cheese, cream, and alcohol. But he had not expected eggplant.

This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read, I love Viago so much he’s such a perfect weirdo. Reader, he had not expected eggplant. 

— Taking a deep breath, Viago focused on tying his cravat—an ordinarily simple task except now Teia was running her hands across every surface in his room, and his fingers kept slipping on the final knot. “It would help if you removed the gloves,” Teia remarked. “Surely your own cravats haven’t been tampered with.”

Viago being just… seethingly horrifically despairingly horny every time Teia shows up is so amazing, and Teia clearly paying A Lot of attention to his hands and his reactions at all times… again, courtney woods s tier sexual tension provider. 

— “No,” she said, crossing her arms. “Not until we boil some water.” 

Viago raised a brow. “Eight people were poisoned in this room.” 

“Then run your little tests to make sure it’s safe, but I refuse to look at another dead body until I’ve had my coffee.”

I must take care to repeat: teia is also fucking nuts (affectionate). It’s SO FUNNY that her slightly lighter and softer moral take on being a Crow means she does feel bad about the servants ending up in the crossfire, but she will also demand that viago make her coffee with their horrifically bloated corpses still strewn about the room fhdsjka. 

— Teia had often imagined what it would be like to kiss Viago. She told herself it was only natural. He was handsome, in his own way, and wound up so tight that she likened him to a giant knot. He was a challenge to untie—to twist and pull and loosen until the tension gave way and he unraveled, laying bare all his secrets. But knots were a delicate business. Tug the wrong way and you could end up with a noose.

I know I KNOW they have sex so weird and intimate and no one even takes their clothes off during it I know it in my heart

— “Do you not think you’re attractive?” Viago turned on her, his ears pink. “Ten people are dead.” 

She didn’t back down. “And whoever’s responsible will pay, but that has no bearing on this conversation.” 

“It could be me.” 

Covering her mouth with both hands, Teia doubled over, laughter spilling from her lips. “It’s not you.” 

He looked as if she’d slapped him. “I’m more than capable of killing everyone here.” 

“Don’t tell me you’re offended!” 

“It is offensive,” Viago protested. “Professionally.”

Teia please tell me you love me not only for my body and fashion sense and numerous and fascinating neuroses but also my extensive knowledge of poisons and capacity to cause death

— Again, Viago felt like a lute string. With every challenge, Teia twisted the pegs, tuning him, until she found what she wanted. Which is what, exactly? he asked himself, not daring to listen to the number of answers that bubbled to the surface of his mind.

You know Viago I think we should let her try some scales here at least. See what happens. (There’s no explicit sex in this story but everything that’s going on is nevertheless so kinky fdsjak. I think Teia could convince Viago to show a flash of his naked wrist and have a reaction like a sheltered young Victorian gentleman seeing an exposed ankle and a playful wink for the first time)

— As if she could feel the sudden rush of shame within him, Teia brought her hands up to rest on Viago’s hips, holding him in place. His thumb stilled as he realized her breath was short. Her pupils dilated. Before he could stop himself, Viago nuzzled his forehead against hers, his nose brushing her cheek. Teia’s hands snaked up his chest to run through his hair. She tugged him forward. He braced himself on one arm, while the other curled around the small of her back. 

This whole scene is unspeakably good of course but it’s always the detail of ‘his nose brushing her cheek’ that does me in the most. The longing!!! The yearning, the intimacy, the awkward perfect clumsy physical reality of it!!!! If he kissed her here the magical potion thing on her lips would have been immaterial, the results would have been the same without it!!!!!! The tug of war between longing and fear!

— oblique Zevran mention! <3 as the ultimate failson of house arainai, granted, but as I believe he might argue here: ‘ah, but you have heard of me, no? :>’. Babe I support you so much go out there and raise hell/kill whoever you want to I got your flower

— Big shoutout to the author for managing to pull off an entirely workable ‘And Then There Were None’ plot in the background here, even though the real meat and potatoes going on is the character and relationship development (and what meat and potatoes they are too)! It’s not an easy thing to do even in an abbreviated, more of a homage sort of form and balancing it with everything else going on is a feat

— Caterina 100% knows Teia is in Viago’s room when he’s supposed to be isolated and just doesn’t care lmao. (They act like such teenagers in that scene where she knocks on the door and they haven’t even kissed yet I’m dying). Caterina seems like a terrible person but it’s impossible to not feel for her a little, trying to keep Talons in line seems a lot like herding (very horny very carrying sharp objects) cats 

— Standing outside her ex-lover’s room, Teia tried to quell the violent drumming within her. Normally, she didn’t need to come down from a physical encounter. Seduction—like any form of manipulation—was about control. She could enjoy herself, but Teia always made sure to hold the upper hand. Viago had shattered that control without so much as a kiss.

I feel like this is a sneaky common trait that actually is part of what makes them so compatible (and the playful negotiation of which must feature prominently in their sex life eventually lmao): they are both HUGE control freaks. (Indeed it might be hard to be a successful Talon without this trait.) Teia and Viago both strive for control of themselves and their surroundings so deeply, she’s just much more extroverted, psychologically minded and soft power focused going about it (not unlike Caterina, whose power is built more on fear than charm but works along the same lines), while he’s more coldly intellectual and uh materialist? I want to call it? about it. Which makes perfect sense considering their backstories! Teia came from nothing in a monetary sense but has found she excels at moving people, hearts and minds style — and she’s very good at it, she is everyone’s favorite — so that’s the source of power for her, and Viago is not very charismatic or interested in people naturally but grew up seeing how status, wealth and power have their own clinical gravity that can be used, and also that people can never be trusted to watch out for you in that system.  

If Thedas has a Machiavelli-equivalent to ask whether it’s better for a ruler to be feared or loved they would both instantly give their answer with their whole chest and then squint at each other like ‘babe how do you live like this’ lol

(Also this line of thought has me wondering what the hell Caterina’s partner/spouse(s) would have been like — she must have at least two children to account for Illario and Lucanis, I wonder if she was ever married and what that looked like.)

— I really like the oppressiveness and claustrophobia you get from the descriptions Teia uses in Dante’s room — it feels so icky and sticky with history and sad and confining, and the way she keeps pushing herself through it anyway is weirdly melancholy to me. 

— I also like how their flaws/traits that drive them apart at the crisis point have follow-up consequences outside of their relationship before they reconcile. Teia’s penchant for manipulation and pushing on people indirectly causes the death of someone she once cared about (I mean, fuck that guy, not crying any tears for Dante or his broken bottle, but like in the overarching principle of the thing lol). When she goes too far with it or gets careless, she renders other people vulnerable and helpless in ways she doesn’t anticipate. (Rightfully or not this seems to be part of what scares Viago so much about it, he has this fear of being dissected for whatever she finds interesting and then abandoned when she’s tired of it, the whole underlying being a footnote in her life when she could clearly be something uh a lot more in his anxiety.) Meanwhile Viago’s insistence on self-reliance and reluctance to engage in human contact leaves him easily isolated and nearly results in his death. (And even when Teia saves him he has a hard time giving her full credit in favour of his many neurotic coping mechanisms lmao disaster man.) But when the two of them work it out to understand each other better and come together as a partnership, they’re such a force to be reckoned with that it brute forces the resolution and return to stability near the end. (Well. A significantly reduced version of stability to be fair but y’know better late than never.)

— Also: delicious detail that she is actually the closest you might get to a self-made woman/Talon, and he is definitely at least not in a position to fully dodge the nepo baby allegations — he wants so bitterly to be entirely independent and self-sufficient and not reliant on anyone, and yet it’s his connections inherent to his birth that have helped him get here, while she wants so desperately to have people to rely on because she comes from nothing and has known what it is to be that alone and unprotected. He knows protection and gifts — and love — can easily be taken away and used to control you/render you helpless in your vulnerability from how his father treated his mother, and she knows you have to try to hold on to something in other people or it’s just you and the dirt and you die. Which is what they’re really talking about in that scene where they argue, and it’s why they’re both right and wrong at the same time and it’s so tasty. It’s really Teia asking ‘Will you ever trust anyone? (will you ever trust me, or will you put up this wall every time no matter what I say or do?)’ and Viago going ‘Will you never take precautions to protect yourself against this hurt? (will I have to be the bearer of bad news about how the world really is every time?)’ and neither of them realize that’s what they’re taling about and it’s why it all explodes so badly. (I mean. Factually both came to the wrong conclusion about who the murderer was for fairly good reasons, so there’s also that haha.) 

— I wonder if we’ll see Bolivar or the heirs to the houses left Talon-less in the game itself. I’m guessing they probably won’t have big roles, at least, but you know just as background flavour, especially since Crow!Rook is already within the de Riva uh household as it were. I think Viago is still sensibly mid-table at Fifth Talon in Veilguard and Teia remains Seventh? So at least they’re not messing around with that rank order during the occupation 

— In semi-not teia and viago news (I am a character first writer and reader I canot change this), it’s neat to see it outlined just how much the Talons really are just merchant princes with some more added knives and cultural weight behind them. They are at the end of the day running businesses, no matter the mystique ��� you wrap it in. (Which I think Viago would be the first to tell you and Teia might try to argue against at least a little haha. Being a Talon is what you make of it you live your truth girl kill awful men you’ll never run out of contracts!!)

— Can’t believe the Crows have self-congratulatory ‘top 10 murders in history!’ classes as part of the training. Do you think Zev sat through those. Probably, if Teia did, right. Now there were some entertaining hours around the campfire during the Blight I’m sure

— Viago understanding but not accepting Teia’s offer to help him with an alibi and at first angling it as being out of hesitancy to accept help/rely on someone, and then later unveiling the added element that he knows Teia respects and loves Caterina and doesn’t want her to have to lie to her for him… Viago is nothing so simple as secretly nice deep down but he IS horrifically in love with and desperate to be kind to specifically Teia and it gets to me okay  

— I’d forgotten that DA’s passionate love affair with toxic yuri and some recreational bury your gays extended to Guili and Lera in this fdskjah. Would it really be Thedas without it I suppose (considering the genre of the short story it’s fine with me in this case, though, everyone’s dropping like flies in this even the straight people that’s just equality) 

— Viago was not a typical Antivan. He liked facts—checklists, numbers, precise measurements. Heart palpitations, clammy hands, tight pants—Viago did not like these things. In fact, he would go so far as to say he hated them. Mild curiosity was his favorite mood. What Teia had elicited in him was akin to an internal natural disaster.

I simply love him so so much. Mild curiosity was his favorite mood. He failed to account for the eggplant. He’s so annoyed at being poisoned and dying horribly and it literally never occurs to him that anyone would help him until he wakes up in Teia’s lap. He organizes all his poisons by puns. He uses his potentially last breath to argue with Teia about his precise state of dress or undress. Have we finally found him, the perfect man? 

(Also between Reyes and Viago Courtney Woods does such a good line in guys who’d really rather be emotionless machines of practical violence and monetary gain but find themselves down so horrifically catastrophically bad that it cracks them open to reveal a soul they aren’t all that happy to discover they have lol) 

— When Viago woke, it felt like someone had drained the blood from his body and replaced it with sludge. But it wasn’t all bad—someone who smelled like coffee and cinnamon was playing with his hair. . . . Her fingers resumed stroking his hair. It felt better than the water. It felt better than anything.

Unspeakable. Don’t look at me. 

— Viago reaching out and touching Teia’s cheek with his bare hands without a thought and all his tenderness and reverence for her laid bare in turn is something that can actually be so personal and it only took very nearly dying to get there (also… he’s presumably still half-naked through all of this while cradled in her lap. Amazing.). Can’t believe bare hands to cheek feels like third base with these two. And his fucking THOUGHTS through all of this… Don’t cry, he doesn’t deserve your tears, no one does (I don’t, I don’t want to be something that causes you pain) AOUGH

— Vaguely related: the implication in how that part is built is that he’s reaching out specifically to gently dry away her tears, right. Double AOUGHHHHHH not only does he manage to not be selfish or unfair in asking her not to cry he does that instead… there’s hope for you yet messere de riva  

— Teia with the red-hot poker standing guard over Viago while he ‘looks like a king in judgement’ and does the Poirot in the library exposition is everything and so hot what the fuck. She a snacc she attacc but most importantly… she protecc, she’s so fucking cool lol. they’re both really smart, but she’s clearly the brawn as well as the social skills (hey manipulation is such an ugly word!) and he’s the logistics and realpolitik on two long thin nerdy legs, absolute power couple. She’s the gaslight he’s the girlboss together may they gatekeep this invading army out of antiva  

— You guys… this might come as a surprise I have tried to keep it on the down low but. I really do love the world of Thedas so very much. I love the people and the places and the history and the stupidness and the brilliance so much. We must save the world because everyone I love lives here. Let this be a secret between just you and me we can’t let people know we sit/have emotions etc.  

— A servant approached to take the cage in Viago’s hand. 

“Careful,” Viago warned. “He bites.” 

“I can’t believe you’re keeping that snake,” Teia said, shaking her head. “It almost killed you.” 

“Which is more than any man can say. He deserves my respect. And a good home—with all the mice he can eat.” 

“But did you have to name it Emil?” Teia asked, making a face. 

“An homage. You’re always telling me to recognize my fellow Talons.”

Andarateia ‘names her horse after an archdemon’ Cantori x Viago ‘keeps the deadly adder that nearly killed him as a pet and names it after the last guy who failed to murder him’ de Riva. Freak well and truly matched. Soulmates, no notes, I’ll do borderline anything for these two to make it, goodnight. 

[greenroze2]

your rendering is so good how do you do it

Thanks, I love your rendering too!! Gonna try and make a tutorial ^^

To start off, I'm on Clip Studio Paint and these are the brushes I use! First two for rendering characters (round brushes) and the other two for mostly backgrounds (square brushes)

I used to do lineart, but it takes too long >:( now I just make a sketch and sorta clean it up!

Next I fill it in with a gray color. For simpler pieces I just put in the flat colors, but for more paint-y pieces I do grayscale -> color! I'll be doing that here :)

Also, I make 3 clipped layers on top of the gray - two are multiply, and the top one is screen. On the first multiply, I do a soft gradient using an airbrush

On the next multiply layer, I fill everything in with either a cool-ish or warm-ish gray, depending on the mood ^^

I also determine a light source, and use the lasso tool on the screen layer to block out where (I think) the light hits! Tbh I just do wherever feels right lmao, but I recommend having a reference! I like doing it in triangle patterns

Then adjust the opacity of each layer to whatever feels right, and merge everything (I don't merge the sketch/lineart yet, I do it before adding colors in!)

Now... rendering. Some tips I have are color pick (greys) off of the canvas and use them to paint! Clean up the sketch more, erase edges, but I save details (like Galaxia's red gem, his eyes, etc.) for the end, or during coloring.

After I'm sorta happy with it, I merge the sketch layer, then duplicate it, and add a gradient map! I did this sunset-y one but changed the hue to yellow-ish, then lowered the layer's opacity ^^

Play around with the hue-saturation-luminosity setting!

Now go crazy with blending modes! Multiply, overlay, color, glow/color dodge, etc. Feel free to layer them up on top of each other too, and this is to add the character/piece's actual colors in. For example, I used a white-blueish overlay layer for his mask and glove, blue for his cape, blah blah

Now I clean the sketch up/refine it more. Also, to "harmonize" the color palette, you can add a colored gradient on top. Then set it to multiply, and add overlay/glow dodge layers with any colors you see fit! I like using teal and light/warm orange! Here is an example of a colored gradient:

Another tip is to add saturated colors on the edges of both lighting and darker shadows, before blending it:

Also I usually add in a light blue/grey in shadowy areas, and lower the opacity for reflective light:

Also! You can lasso + use an airbush with a light blue to block out parts of the background (his cape here, for example). It helps with more depth!

Finally, I like adding sparkles on low opacity :3 And gaussian blur to certain areas! I'm using radial blur on this piece though ^^

For the background, I like doing blocky shapes!! I use my square brush on 90% ish opacity, to color pick different hues from the piece. For lighting I use a glow dodge layer, here's a mini timelapse as well as the finished art!

At the very end, play around with the hue/saturation and contrast tools to change the colors :)

[margoshvets]

Redesign / Alliance fit for Theron!

I was kinda sad that our husband didn't get a new design like our wife Lana did, so I decided to try to make something nice for him✨

Not that I don't like his original design. I just wanted to try something different.

(I got too tired drawing, so that's why he doesn't have a face XD)

I'll be describing some details of this design below if anyone is interested to read about them!

A little bit of warning. There is some headcanon / fanon stuff here, and, also, the opinion on some stuff is just my opinion, and you don't have to agree with me. Please don't be too harsh to me. I just wanted to have fun UwU

For the lower part of his body, I mostly got rid of a bunch of details, like the blue stripes on his pants, to make it simpler (in contrast with the upper part, which has some interesting stuff going on).

Got rid of those hanging things on his belt cuz they seemed pretty redundant, and I couldn't think of what they could be used for. Belt, in general, is more simplified. As a cherry on top, he now has the alliance symbol on it ✨

I added the metal thing, which I like to call "magnetic plate", on his right leg, and it's basically for carrying stuff like his datapad, keys, Eternal Fleet ashes, etc.

(I do remember seeing a similar thing in imperial designs, but I'm not sure what it's called)

Since he relies on tech a lot, he now has a fancy new toy - the glove on his left hand! Very useful thing for operating stuff and also hacking!

Remember that scene when we get our ship back, and Theron just presses something on his very regular glove? I always found it amusing. Not it will make more sense since he now actually has a suitable glove for this kind of action XD

[the scene in question]

He now hides his blasters inside his jacket (hence the belts on his upper part).

The jacket is a pretty memorable part of his design. It looked really good with a yellow color, but it's hard to imagine him wearing a jacket that isn't red.

I have to admit that a lot of new stuff in that thing was added based only on my headcanons. Mostly because I wanted to add an interesting story to it.

(A little bit of explaining is in order) Theron is a chilly person; he often feels like it's cold even if the room temperature is normal. Tauntauns are also his favourite animals.

This jacked is a gift from a very dear person to him. They knew all that and that's why they gifted Theron a warm jacket made with Tauntaun's fur (no tauntaun was harmed in making this jacket).

That person is no longer alive, but he still holds on to this jacket like it's his second skin; it's very important to him.

Anyway, the white parts of the jacket are now fur. And the fur inside only extends to shoulders (having natural fur already sounds too expensive for a republic soldier salary it was bought with). It's still warm tho. Sleeves have fur only at the ends and have zippers so that they can be easily folded back.

This jacket also can be closed (sounds kinda pointless stating the obvious, but in comparison with his original jacket, to me at least, makes sense cuz I can hardly imagine the original one closing).

Almost forgot.

A turtleneck for Theron. It just makes sense.

[p0rk-guts]

He's finally done I think. WOAW! Radio demon time!!!

Okay time for comparison + breakdown rant ^ - ^ another SUPER long one I had a lot to say about this silly guy

ALRIGHT. So. Atp all that can be said has been said about Alastor but I'll gloss over it anyhow. Grossly historically inaccurate hair and clothing. Invisible deer theming. One of the main reasons he's got one of the most clowned on designs in the show is bc he's a pretty good representation of the worst it has to offer. He's absurdly red and has the waspiest waist in town. Also gotta zero in on the coat for a second bc I find it incredibly stupid that he went to that tailor bc of his coat being ripped and then left the shop with the exact same torn coat on oh goddd that felt like a complete joke who wrote this

Also his "redesign" was pointless. He stayed pretty much entirely the same except his colors got pinker and grosser and now he has this?? White trim on his lapels??? Even less 1930's accurate and it only serves to hurt the pallate in my eyes. It's the only spot of white on his entire design, it doesn't appear anywhere else so it throws it all off. And it's so bright. Is it supposed to be a focal point?? His tits????

Anyways onto my guy who I love so very deeply. I'm pretty sure sepia film was outdated by the 1930s but I gave him a palette inspired by it to emphasize how dated and stuck in old ways he is. Added blood red accents bc. Well. Cannibal murderer. Also bc I redid the sin colors so red is wrath and it seems like a fitting sin to pair him with.

After looking into 1930's men's fashion a tiny bit (thanks anon, this video was helpful!) and gave him a double breasted coat but wider and pointier so he looks a little less like just some normal guy and really emphasize how prideful and egotistical he is. "Ooo look at me I'm super big and imposing and powerfulll". I think it's a fun character trait of his. Definitely keeping it.

I liked him wearing gloves bc I feel like he wouldn't like getting his hands directly dirty and would always be covered when committing his murders. Maybe he's a germaphobe even. "I can excuse murder but I draw the line at dried blood on my skin". Also the gloves being white would contrast really well with blood so. Love that

I gave him a long tie to free him from the Vivziepop bow tie uniform and a fedora to add to the 1930's vibe and serve as something that can occasionally obscure his face in shadow. His glasses are also opaque and I imagine his eyes would rarely be shown if ever to make him seem more inhuman and off-putting, disconnecting him from personhood a bit. Wanted to add to that with his smiling mouth never opening and just being a static grin that can only occasionally widen or lessen, his voice cracking out of his "speaker" with fuzzy radio static. Seen multiple ppl use that idea and it always eats

I love Alastor's silly theatric nature (primarily in the pilot) and I'd probably keep it, but I'd add a layer of uncanny-ness to him where when he's not putting on his silly jovial facade, he gives off an unnerving vibe. Trying to appear approachable and charming and pleasant to lure people in before he's revealed to be less than human. Loveee thattt

I love Alastor being a deer. Predator becoming prey (animal) + "prey animal" lulling people into a false sense of security before striking. Love it. We should be CAPITALIZING ON IT❗So I gave him deer like legs, visible deer hooves, and more readable deer ears + the ham radio tower antenna antlers (sorry 4 calling them horns 💀)

Tried to make it a little more obvious that he's a mixed man of color by giving him dark wavy hair and the faintest hint of lip definition Viv uses in her style. I think it works. He's still not dark skinned tho

LASTLY the mic. Also not an original idea as I've seen tons of others turn it into a carbon mic but turned into a pentagram shape and I love the idea a lotttt so I joined the crew.

AND THAT DOES IT!!!! hope u like him as much as I do hehe. Just 1 supplemental doodle this time sorry :/ showing off how his face is probably obscured most of the time. He's. So hard to draw. I'm just bad at men but I'm tryinggggg guys

Alsoooo I've already finished the drawings for Niffty, Angel, and Husk! Once I've finished their breakdowns I'll add em right to the queue, and then I'll make a post with all of the main 6 together :3

[miioouu]

Hehhe🥴💕

Ghost with temperature play tho🥴💕(i think its temp play or kink but whateves its the same thing, i think??)

This request reminds me of the time when I used to write anime smut and I'm here for it!!! Also after some thorough research ;) I have concluded that yes, temp play and kink are the same. Anyway, hope you enjoy it, thank you for blessing us with your unholy thoughts bbg!

Tw: smut, temperature play, oral (fem receiving), orgasm denial, fem reader

The room was hot, sweat drops running down your spine and your chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. Your body was blazing, scorching even…

The chuckle coming from between your thighs didn’t help the situation either. His warm eyes looking up at you through his long eyelashes. “What is it, love? Are you feeling hot?” He’s mocking you, for sure. And you wonder why he even bothers asking you this question, Simon would never let you talk back. In fact, he likes your silence, maybe that’s why he has his glove shoved deeply into your mouth, your drool coating it, dripping down your chin.

The room was hot, like a sauna, honestly what did you expect when your latest mission is right in the middle of the desert. Luckily though, your captain isn’t cruel enough to let you die from a heat stroke, the place he rented for you has perfect air conditioning. But your lieutenant on the other hand, he’s nasty and dirty. “Turn on the AC? We’re in the military sergeant, you should be able to handle heat” And that’s true, and you usually were perfectly fine sweating in the dry sandy air, but usually he wouldn’t have his tongue swiping at your slit, sliding between your folds to have a taste of your arousal. Usually, you wouldn’t have to hold your breath, be scared of letting out a sound, afraid that your comrades next door would hear. He took pity on you, the moments your eyes flutter, your fingers grasped his, gosh you’ve always been so beautiful to him, but something about seeing you almost slip out of conscience as you body sticks to the sheets with perspiration has really got him thinking of you as a the most beautiful angel that has ever graced the surface of the earth. “Ah, relax… I know a way to cool you down, love” He’d murmur against your soft thigh before straightening up. His hand quickly found the mini fridge, a smirk adorned his face when he saw the tray of ice cubes, that’ll definitely cool you down. He slipped one between his lips, letting it melt on the tip of his tongue slightly before going back to the place where he belonged; between your legs.

The ice cube, now a little smaller, falls from his mouth, placing it right above your bundle of nerves. The contrast between your hot body and the glacial crystal has you arching your back and a whimper of his name choked itself out from between your lips. This reaction earned you a chuckle from the man above you, his eyes shining in mischief, trying but failing to feign innocence as he kisses your inner thighs, slowly, coldly, making his way to your drenching core. Tongue still frozen, he swiped it between your folds, tasting you had him humming out loud. “You always taste so good, love.” His compliment is mumbled against your skin as he’s still sloppily making out with your heat. He sucks on your clit, the tip of his tongue draws languid circles, making sure to always add a little more pressure to that place that would usually have you hiccuping for air. His lashes flutter shut, enjoying your arousal a little too much, his nails dig in the soft flesh of your thighs. Enjoying you a little too much, his hips grind against the mattress below him. Enjoying the way you tremble and shake beneath him, not even his glove can restrain your whines for more, he can almost hear your voice in his head “More sir! Please, please, I need more, more than just your tongue” The memory has him moaning, the vibration of it making your toes curl.Oh you were so close, and he knew it.

The ice cube now long melted, the cold water running down your thighs, spilling on the sheets and whenever your skin ever so grazes the drops, it sends electricity through your body. “Still hot, hmm?” Simon teases, his voice laced with a hint of arrogance as he sees the desperation in your teary eyes. He pulls away for a minute, finding the tray again, and it isn't Ghost if he gives you warnings, right? Where's the fun in that? With that he dumps the rest of the ice cubes onto your stomach, relishing in the way you quiver and squirm, a proud smile drawn on his face.

Quickly, his hands still cold, he grabs your hips and pulls you closer to him, he hovers above you, face mere inches away from yours “What? Are you feeling cold now, sergeant? Don't worry, I've also got a way to deal with this too…”

[astronyu]

Sketches and commentary on the Folly ref sheet for RAT's newest plush! (info below the cut vvv)

(note: RAT commissioned me to make the character ref sheet, which is NOT the plushie schematic that Makeship actually uses as reference to produce the plushie)

This is the first sketch we sent to Makeship!

I'm starting to add details to push Folly's identity a bit more and differentiate her more from RM (Rat Maid), i.e. neckline, nose, gloves, blush. Lots of curves! (And I also added two rats instead of one <3O~ <3O~)

At one point we considered giving her the eye design shown on the right (red thread embroidered around her eye) as a reference to her MC skin's glowing eyes, but we decided eye shadow was a better look. also it looks like sans undertale

This is the back! The Folly skin has a long pretty bow, but it's scrapped by the end because A. her hair obscures everything on her back and B. as we went along we increasingly afraid of the sheer mass of fabric building on this plushie.

Most of her palette is colorpicked from the original minecraft skin by Arathain (who also made RM!) but iirc we made the ears pinker and lighter. You can see their OG tweet featuring the Folly skin here!

Onto the dress design!

RAT wanted the Folly plush to feel like more than just a recolor, so he had me redesign her dress. I started off with an inspo board focused on elements we wanted to keep-- Folly's lighter palette, the middle slit of her dress, the off-shoulder straps, and the overall maid theme.

You'll notice that Folly's expressions here are kind of all over the place (I don't think she's ever looked that sympathetic in her life). I think I made these sketches before I finalized her face, where RAT requested some mixture of murderous intent with mischief, but in a subtle way. Later down the line the specific smirk Folly has actually gave the physical plushie a lot of trouble (faces do not scale easily on cone shaped snouts).

The first alternate dress designs!

RED: RAT (paraphrased), PURPLE: me ofc More refined sketches! As you can see here RAT's working me to the bone with all of his requests. It's okay though, b/c after I sent him the completed ref sheet I got to watch him turn on Makeship. (KIDDING, KIDDING)

Overall, I was looking for a dress that felt regal, beautiful, and unconventional, while still feeling like a maid dress. Wow, after physically typing that out I feel like face palming. "I need a dress for a GODDESS also a uniform good for housekeeping please" (???)

After feedback, I focused more on variations of the 2nd option.

You'll see at the last Folly, I combined the 2nd variation with the tie ribbon, the layered dress design, and long puffy sleeves. I decided to bring over the long puffy sleeves specifically because I hoped that they would give Folly a more interesting silhouette that of course contrasts with RM.

(To be fair, this contrast isn't very visible on the plushie itself but it is fun to draw.)

And finally, the second and last ref we sent to Makeship!

imo Makeship did an INCREDIBLE job translating the design to plushie!! I'm sure there's plenty of challenges Makeship's plushie makers have to deal with that we don't see, so I always specify that I'm only responsible for the initial drawing when people ask me if I "made" the plush.

One really delightful surprise were the 3d rats; we didn't think they were possible but they were (ilu makeship)!! You'll probably also notice that Folly's eyes look pretty different--- they were changed slightly in each step and ultimately ended up softer, which is interesting because I feel that it kind of mirrored how RAT's approach to Folly as a character changed in the months of the plushie's development (and up to her release!).

And that's all I have for my part of the plushie! I always love working with RAT on projects and plushies are a highlight. They're especially surreal to think about when we all used to joke about them before RAT really blew up.

ofc, the shill if you want to get her: Makeship Folly plush and RM's ref sheet if you're curious: Rat Maid plushie ref

i think the campaign ends about October 7th, 2023, but you and i are very likely to be in different time zones so if you're interested doublecheck with the site. if the date has long past then ig this is just a fun little time capsule for you, which can also be pretty cool :)

[mauesartetc]

Hello again! Thank you for the response on the ask, here are my redesigns that I was referring to! I’ve only done three thus far and only one actually has color 😅 color schemes are difficult for me, I must say. I’ll add a few notes on the side, they’re not necessarily the only things I’m looking for criticism on but just a few things I particularly am worried about with them/a bit of thought process.

Alastor (worried a lil about his color values not contrasting enough- I wanted his regular form to seem somewhat approachable from far away but then up close you feel a little more uneasy around him)

Angel (HEAVY W.I.P.- I’m especially iffy on the heart pattern for the outfit fluff and I wanna figure out how to make his general outfit more interesting. For his outfit it’s more supposed to be something that Val or Velvet would’ve put him in rather than something he’d pick out)

Charlie (she’s not much different in terms of sketch, she has some subtle design elements that go with my lore for the Angels in a Hazbin+Helluva rewrite I’m currently working on because I wanted to give something special for the royal heirs of the OG fallen Angels, but without color she’s mostly the same 😅)

Thank ya again for letting me send these! I’ve only rly shown them to friends and wanted to see if I could get some outside feedback as well 😅

(Thank you for your patience on this, dear god)

For starters, if you want Alastor to seem approachable from a distance, you might try some lighter, less-sinister colors for his outfit. Personally, if I saw this guy from across a room, the dark gloves alone would set off alarm bells. Major OJ Simpson vibes. Maybe a yellow, tan, or cream color (white would probably be too formal) would appear friendlier as well as accurate to his time period.

As for the rest of his outfit, I looked up "1930s men's fashion catalog" on good ol' Google Images and found a hefty amount of brown and light grey suits. Maybe something in this wheelhouse would work for Alastor-?

(I also darkened his face a tad for more value contrast with the new colors, and pushed the red on his staff for a more "infernal" look as well as standing out from the gloves.)

Angel Dust is trickier, since we don't know him, Val, or Velvet that well as characters yet. Since the series hasn't been released, we don't know much about what their taste in clothing actually is. (And no, I don't care about the character Instagrams or whatever. Social media doesn't count as canon.)

But I do know Val would probably want to put Angel in something that "sells"; something that makes him more attractive to clients. Something intriguing but not too revealing, that makes them want to see more. I figure a long-sleeved mesh top would fit the bill.

I also found a sexier version with harness rings. Research is your friend, especially when you're looking for something outside the realm of what you normally draw. And you could always make a moodboard with Pinterest or PureRef for a lot of different inspiration sources. Not sure what specifically you meant by "more interesting" as that's a hugely subjective term, but hopefully this is a decent enough starting point.

Okay. Charlie.

Just some notes and tweaks here and there. Not sure what specifically you wanted feedback on with her, but again, it's a starting point.

Hope that helps!

[tortillasconsal]

I thought I should share my design for Jeff the Killer since I'm done with his headcanons

Here he is

Now my thought process:

I didn't do a lot lmao

Let's start with the biggest detail: his face. My first thought when I started Jeff was that I wanted his skin to actually look like it was lit on fire, I'm tired of fair skinned paper-white Jeff, give me scars and deformity.

His hair was the most complicated thing to figure out oddly enough. I wanted to add some bald spots but I also wanted him to keep an emo hairstyle and be true to the character, but couldn't figure out how. I'm not really upset at it because I feel like he could use it to cover up his face more for when he's in public.

I also struggled a lot with how I was going to draw it (the most accurate hairstyle is the one on the full-body drawings).

I feel like his hair would be very mistreated. It would have the texture of an old wig and a matted dog's hair, quoting the comment a friend made on my WIP post of this piece.

His eyes are now brown, because he took them from his mom let's say. I tried to stick with the blue eyes but I didn't like it, I did add like a white thing on them to keep the same effect blue eyes would have and to show the fact that he's almost blind because he almost got his eyelids burnt.

Now the clothes. So I just kept the white hoodie-black pants combo because its iconic, but I did my best to decorate it because it was very boring and it looked very flat in contrast to the hands and the head. But not too much because I don't want to have a very meow-meow scene aesthetic for my AU.

I mainly went for stitches, a patch and some wholes on his clothes to kind of show off how worn they are because I didn't want to go for too many accesories because that'd take away from the seriousness.

I wanted to add dirt and dubious spots on his hoodie but I forgor 💀

I was planning on skinny black jeans, but I didn't liked how the silhouette looked so I gave him some baggy pants. I think its better for him anyway, since some skinny jeans would probably irritate his skin a lot.

I did gave him a classic belt to keep the whole emo style around because I think that could show how he's still a young man who's into sad music and whatever emos like. To show some personality. There's also a chain to add balance to the belt and add depth to the pants.

I also wanted to give him a bandana (a paliacate) because I feel like it would be more usefull and also link him to his mexican background. I didn't add it because I forgot about it, but I do want to say that he would also use a bandana.

I wanted his gloves to have fingers because carrying gloves just makes more sense in order to protect his hands with all the killing, forest environment, carrying knives and guns and his sensitive skin. They didn't look good with fingers, because I didn't feel like putting effort on the hands so it just looked like a weird black thing that fused with the pants so I had to switch it up to fingerless gloves.

It makes sense with his emo style anyway.

I gave him a rosary to link him to his mexican and catholic background, I've seen a lot of alt people use them so I though it would be a nice accesory to give depth to his black tee's.

The rosary also has a deeper meaning, but it would be too long to add in this post so I'll probably do another one purely focused on it since it also involves Liu's backstory and relationship with Jeff.

Yeah, so this is the Jeff or my AU 🤙

I was originally planning on sharing this on the Headcanons post, but it got too long so I decided to share this on a separate post. And also to have something while I work on the other requests.

I might do the same for those characters as well, though it will take me more time since uni is giving me more and more homework.

[lemonadehtwooh]

Can you tell more about your Fate redesigns? Like your Penth, Hektor, Paris/Apollo, and Astolfo?

*FOAMING AT MOUTH* YES I CAN.

WARNING FOR A SUPER LONG READ

OKAY so first Imma talk about Paris/Apollo because Alexander-Paris is one of my most in-depth designs ATM and also explains some of Hektor's concepts!

Ignore that all I can in find my camera roll are SUPER old doodles of him lmao XD this ask really making me go through doodles from last year

So firstly is the color symbolism! I noticed in FGO that his design is very light-colored, and while that's interesting, I thought it would be more symbolic to have the main colors be dark as to point towards how he inherently can't escape his fate and actions as an adult, even in a child/teenage body, and also as a sort of symbol of how dark his future is. Adding on, Paris is VERY SPECIFICALLY summoned as having a child's body but the memories of his entire life, and I had the idea that the darker colors also show that he knows more than he lets on/he isn't innocent. The gold and such are to point towards him being a prince and technical demigod, and the blues are just in general for color diversity

With his horns and wings: Both Hektor and Paris in my AU are biologically Apollo's children (reference to some versions of the Troy Boys actually being his biological children instead of Priam's), so the horns and wings symbolize that (which Hektor doesn't have, more on that later). Apollo-Sheep's "humanoid" design concept actually has the wings and horns too (just bigger and more fancy lmao). Another Fun Fact: Both Hektor and Paris have some sun/fire related abilities in my AU, although it's slight

Next Paris and Hektor's eyes! Yep! I put thought into eye color! Paris' eyes are orange, while Hektor's are black. HOWEVER, when they use their NPs, Paris's eyes darken to black and Hektor's glow orange! Prominently, I honestly just thought Hektor having glowing eyes when using his NP would be Fun and Sexy XD However then i was like "...Okay but what if... Paris had opposite? What if... Symbolism?" And this idea is so cool to me because of how they can connect!!!! Hektor's glow because he's deemed to be Troy's hope, while Paris's darken because he's deemed as Troy's downfall!!! Sorry I just love how I can make the brothers contrast each other and how they can be interpreted AAAAA

I also made Paris's hair darker while Hektor's hair lighter so that they would look more similar to each other/look more like brothers, same with them both having wavy hair and the eyelash part on the bottom eye (it's kinda hard to see in the pictures RIP). I just wanted them to be a lil match-y. They also both have beauty marks that mirror each other! I imagine both of the Troy Boys to have thicker bodies

I gave Paris some armor parts as well as to look more similar to Hektor, while I also kept the cute dress parts because the cute stuff just seem to be more of his own style and I think That's Neat. The symbol on his skirt piece is Romeo's command spell symbol, matching with a headcanon I had posted some time ago about the command spells appearing somewhere in a Servant's design

Paris also has these sorta long-sleeve glove things due to me originally adding it to my Jekyll/Hyde redesign (which I need to remake) and Paris, in my AU, is one of Hyde's best friends, so I thought it would be cute for them to have a lil match-y thing XD

With the black wool, I thought it would be interesting to show physically of Paris being more of the "black sheep" of his family, especially considering he wasn't raised as a prince, he was raised as a sheep herder. And how he was sorta cast aside as a baby due to the prophecy of him becoming Troy's downfall

This is my current concepts for Hektor (the graphite sketches are a lot older than the digital btw, but good a good idea about his arm and shoes design), but it needs some work XD I want to add a lot more later on, but this is a good start I think

with Hektor, color-wise I tried to make his pallette somewhat a mix between opposite and similar to Paris. For him, the dark colors represent more of his death. He doesn't have the horns or wings anymore due to Achilles dragging his corpse, too. I think I posted some old sketches before of the back of his head having the broken bases on his horns. I would imagine his back having scarring and some skin disfigurement where his wings once were as well

With the red, specifically the red wool and the red gradient in his hair, I wanted it to represent the blood that was shed during the Trojan War. Plus, it also contrasts against Paris's blue colors, pushing more of that contrast between the two

With Both the Troy Boys' personalities, Paris still has that childish demeanor about everything, but he's definitely fully Aware and could manipulate if he really wanted to. However he doesn't really, unless if he wants to get away with childish things (like sneaking candy). He's a bit cheeky at times, and in general is A Lot like his canon FGO self. He likes being helpful when he can. Although something I added is that he Hates romance/romantic things. He thinks it's gross, but also his view point is due to the Trojan War and his whole thing with Helen.

Hektor is a mix of things that's hard to explain. He's similar to his canon FGO self. The thing is that FGO itself states that he has a facade going on, which pretty much is what For Funsies AU also does, so there isn't much for me to add XD Although I think in my AU, his facade is a bit different. Other than that, he's silly goofy as usual

i could have sworn I had pictures of her that are more recent/go more in-depth with her design ideas, but I can't find any TwT I'll talk more about her personally redesign since there isn't much physically I can exactly say

Next with Beserker/Penth, her concepts are still definitely a WIP. The general idea I have for her is this 16 year old being very elegant yet absolutely able to kick your ass with the slightest provoke. She's beefy, I would imagine (I really wish I had better sketches of her). I kinda want her to lean more towards having a "royalty" look yet also young and armored up. Iirc in Canon FGO she literally has herself be summoned at a younger age so Achilles can't flirt with her, so I decided to lean on her looking young. I also gave her more furs and armor coverage since she's a warrior and also the whole thing with her fighting in a bikini just. Doesn't sit right with me.

Personality-wise, I think she would try to act very mature and serious, but she's Not immune to Acting Her Age. Aka being a goofy teenager. She definitely tends to butt heads with Paris because he keeps stealing her hair comb. I definitely think she's super smart though, considering the business she has going on in Canon FGO. However, even smart teenagers can be silly (as a treat). She's definitely still has that Extreme personality trait, like tending to take things too far and being rather hot-headed. I like her dynamic with Mr. Utterson because he'll be like "Thank God you're here. Maybe you can talk some sense into Paris" and immediately Penth is trying to knock Paris out with her fist because it's faster and more efficient XD (also as revenge for stealing her comb). She's wonderful, although I'm still working on her dynamic with others and how she generally acts

i can't find any of my Astolfo doodles other than this Really Old One TwT (HELP IM BEING SUBJECTED TO MY OWN DRAWINGS)

In general, color-wise I'm thinking of making their outfit+armor VERY vibrant with Many colors to the point it's gaudy and dramatic. I kinda still want a cutesy look with them, but also messy and disorganized to show more of the sorta "frantic" and "can't sit still" vibe they have. It's hard to change anything about Astolfo because they're already a pretty interesting character with a solid design and personality. Anyway, as you can see in the drawing, I tried making their hair Super Messy. I imagine them being so energetic that their hair is never done in a "proper" way

So yeah! Yippee! Thank you for the ask <3

[kelyon]

Courtship 6: Second Date--Dinner

Lacey has a date at Mr. Gold's house

Read on AO3

The goosebumps on Lacey’s bare legs were bigger than her boobs, but Mr. Gold’s reaction was worth it. The light from the Cadillac’s dashboard shone a gleam into his dark eyes, a faint glimpse of white teeth when he grinned.

“Miss French.” His voice lingered over her name. “What a lovely skirt.”

“Thank you, Mr. Gold,” she smiled. 

She made sure the red skirt covered her backside as she slid into the passenger seat. It wouldn’t do to rub her naked pussy all over Mr. Gold’s leather--at least not until she knew if he’d like that. 

He reached over and put one hand on her leg. His hands were big enough to span the whole of her thigh. The black leather gloves contrasted so much against her white skin she could see the shape of him even in the dark. Heat seeped through his gloves onto her flesh. He gave her a squeeze and put the car into drive. The whole way to his house, he kept his hand on her.

Miss French shivered, even as she warmed up. She had done what Mr. Gold asked, and he was going to reward her for it. This was going to be a good night.

****

This time, Mr. Gold took her to the back door of his house. It opened up into a kitchen that was about half the size of Lacey’s entire apartment. All the appliances were shiny and new. Everything was so clean it looked like it had never been used. There were no dirty dishes in the sink, no crumbs or stains on the counter, no layer of greasy grime on the cupboard doors.

“Wow,” Lacey said as she looked around. “This place looks serious.”

“That is the impression I try to give people,” Mr. Gold said wryly. He ushered her inside and went to the front hall to take off his coat. When he came back, he had also taken off his suit jacket.

Lacey had never seen him without a jacket on. She licked her lips. 

Mr. Gold kept moving. He took an apron off a hook on the wall and tied it behind his back. Then he went over to a massive stove and pulled some covered dishes out of the oven. He set them on trivets on the counter, then took the lids off to check the contents inside. Apparently satisfied with what he saw and smelled, Mr. Gold put the lids back on and turned away. He picked up a frying pan from a rack over the stove and spun it in his hand before putting it on top of an unlit burner. He turned to her. 

“Would you like to fetch some things for me, Miss French?”

Lacey stood up straight. Miss French was ready to do whatever he asked. “Yes, Mr. Gold.”

“In the icebox you’ll find a roll of butter and a plate with steaks on it. Bring them to me.”

“Yes, Mr. Gold.”

The inside of his fridge was just as spotless as the rest of the kitchen. Everything was organized. Matching glass containers stacked on top of each other in neat rows. There was enough room to set a plate down on the center shelf without having to wedge it on top of three other things. 

The steaks were smaller than she would have hoped, each one about the size of a hockey puck. Lacey had never seen steaks that were round before--maybe this was something new. She brought the plate and the butter over to Mr. Gold. 

“Good girl.” 

He didn’t put any special emphasis on the words, but they were still enough to make Miss French blush. He saw her reaction, and grinned. 

“Do you like making yourself useful, Miss French?”

“I-I guess so,” Lacey shrugged. “Never really had much of a choice in the matter. I grew up hearing that there was always something that needed doing.”   

Mr. Gold made a thoughtful sound. 

He had rolled up his sleeves to pick up the meat and press it into  some kind of spice mixture. This was the first glimpse Lacey had ever gotten of his wrists. In a normal relationship, wrists wouldn’t be something to get hot and bothered over, but nothing that was going on between her and Mr. Gold was normal. 

That was why she liked it so much. 

He melted butter in the frying pan, tilting it from side to side to spread the butter around. The steaks sizzled when he added them to the hot pan.

“Now,” he nodded back to the fridge. “There’s a jar of beef stock and a container of minced shallots. Will you bring them to me?”

Lacey bit her lower lip. ‘Beef stock’ meant absolutely nothing to her, unless he was talking about some Wall Street financial thing. She knew she had read the word ‘shallot’ before, in the context of vegetables and good food, but she couldn’t picture one in her mind. 

“Um. What do those things look like?”

Mr. Gold’s smile was surprisingly warm. “The beef stock is a brown liquid, it should be in a glass jar close to the door. Shallots look like finely chopped purple onions.”

“Oh,” she said. It sounded so simple when he said it. Like something everybody knew. Like something Lacey would know if she wasn’t such a stupid Old Town yokel. Low-class, that’s what she was. Ignorant. Why was he even bothering with her?

Because she had potential. That’s what he had said last time. Because she was interested in the same weird shit he was an expert in. Because she was willing to learn, to become something better than what she was.

Miss French found the beef stock and the minced shallots. When she got back to Mr. Gold, he had flipped over the steaks and was in the process of putting them on a platter and putting the platter in the warm oven.

He took the ingredients with thanks and another wave of heat washed over her. He measured out a wooden spoonful of shallots and cooked them in the frying pan with the meat drippings. 

“You’ll want to stand back for this,” he said. There was a short bottle of some kind of booze on the counter beside him. He took the bottle and poured out a generous glug into the pan. Then, like a madman, Mr. Gold tipped the pan forward into the burner so the alcohol ignited. For a few seconds, he had a frying pan full of orange flames over the stove. 

He looked at Lacey as he controlled the fire, grinning at her with perfect confidence.

“Jesus,” she whispered.

“Not remotely.” Mr. Gold gave her a devilish wink.

When the alcohol flames burned themselves out, Mr. Gold added the beef stock to the pan. He gave the mixture a stir and set it down on low heat.   

Then he busied himself with rolling his sleeves back into place. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out two little doodads made of gold. When he fastened them to his sleeve ends, the words ‘cuff links’ popped into Lacey’s head. Another thing she had read about but never encountered in real life before. 

  “Now,” he said. “I’m going to plate up our dinner, but I want you to bring the plates into the dining room.” He brushed by her, lingering only long enough to hiss into her ear--“Serve me.”--and then he was on the other side of the kitchen.

Lacey let out a shuddering breath. The order was so quick and so quiet, it might have never happened at all. It might have been subconscious, might have been planted directly into her head--though her head was not where Lacey most keenly felt the effects. 

Miss French shivered and then obeyed.

Mr. Gold had set the plates on the counter. Two identical pieces of meat supported leaning stalks of asparagus in front of a cloud of mashed potatoes. A brown sauce covered the meat and dripped artful dots onto the unoccupied white china. Their plates at Bella Notte hadn’t looked this elegant.

Carefully, Miss French took a plate in each hand. She didn’t know where Mr. Gold’s dining room was, but there was only one door out of the kitchen, so she could make an educated guess. 

Mr. Gold was seated at the head of a long, dark table. He had taken the apron off and  put his jacket back on. There was a second place set at his left side. Miss French placed a plate in front of him, then walked behind him to put the other where she was going to sit. The chair was already pulled out for her. 

Again, Miss French made sure to smooth the back of her skirt and make sure she didn’t leave a mess on the embroidered seats of Mr. Gold’s dining room chairs. He saw her do it, and he grinned.

“Dare I hope that you remembered the second part of my proposal?” He poured red wine into her glass, then his own. “It wasn’t just that you wear a red skirt.” 

Miss French’s cheeks burned, but she looked him in the eye. “I remembered, Mr. Gold.”

“If I were a coarser man, I’d make you prove it to me before I allowed you to eat.” He picked up his fork. “But you are a guest in my home, Miss French, so I’ll permit you a touch of courtesy.”   

“You’ve been nothing but courteous, Mr. Gold.” Miss French took a cloth napkin out of a gold napkin ring engraved with a G. She set the napkin delicately in her lap. “After all, what more could a good host offer his guest than a series of screaming orgasms?”  

Mr. Gold’s knife scraped harshly against his plate. He cleared his throat. “You have high expectations, Miss French.”

“So do you, Mr. Gold.” She picked up her glass of red wine, determined not to flinch at the taste like she had at the restaurant. “I’m just trying to match you.”

She took a sip of the wine, and blinked. It wasn’t bad this time! It wasn’t bitter or dry or whatever bullshit people said about wine. It was fruity and sweet, like something Lacey would actually drink. 

Mr. Gold was watching her, his expression somewhere between amused and pleased. “Tolerable?” he asked her.

“Extremely.” Miss French took another drink then set the glass down. She made sure to turn it so Mr. Gold wouldn’t see her lipstick marks on the golden rim. 

“I selected a sweeter vintage than the Marias we had at the restaurant,” he said. “This is a Cocteau, from the year 1946.”

“You know those words don’t mean anything to me,” Lacey admitted. 

Mr. Gold smiled indulgently. “It’s a good wine,” he said. “Sweet and simple, for a… less refined palate.”

Lacey’s face went hot. Was she ever going to stop feeling like an idiot around him? Mr. Gold was so cultured and classy. She had to be better if she was going to be good enough for him. 

“I am willing to expand my tastes,” Miss French defended herself. “I just have a lot to learn.”

“Of course you do.” Mr. Gold gazed at her over his own glass. He took a slow sip, then swallowed. Still looking at her, he licked his lips. “You need a teacher.”

Lacey gave a self-effacing grin. “I did always get good grades in school.” 

“I recall,” Mr. Gold said. “Valedictorian.”

She looked down at her plate, silently cut into her meat. The knife slid through the steak like it was butter. Under a layer of crisp brown char, it was a dark, luscious red. 

“In retrospect,” she said. “I think being praised for my supposed intelligence is the worst thing that could have happened to me.”

“Really?”

“Good grades don’t equate to actual intelligence. School is just memorizing answers people have already told you and then maybe writing a paper about it. And spending your life with your nose in a book means you never get to experience anything that isn’t on the page. Thinking any of that stuff will get you anywhere… it’s just stupid.”

“It could have gotten you into college, if your circumstances had been different.”

She shook her head. “Even that was never really a guarantee, just a promise. And promises are broken all the time.”

To keep herself from talking more, she finally took a bite of her steak. Her mouth exploded with pepper and salt and the rich, savory sauce. The meat pressed between her tongue and the roof of her mouth and started to melt. It seemed to slide down her throat without her even having to chew it.

“Oh my God,” Lacey whispered. 

Mr. Gold grinned at her. “Never had filet mignon before, Miss French?”

If she opened her mouth, the flavor might escape, so she just shook her head.

“It’s steak au poivre, to be specific. Now that you’ve tasted it, try the wine again.”

She picked up her glass and took a sip. The splash of fruit and sweetness that had been perfectly pleasant a few minutes ago now seemed like a revelation. The flavors of wine and meat clashed and cut through each other in a cacophony that was also, somehow, a symphony. 

“Oh, wow.”

Mr. Gold chuckled and went back to his own meal. “You have good taste, Miss French. You can appreciate the finer things in life. Your only deficit is a lack of experience.”

Miss French swallowed. Pacing herself, she shifted her focus away from the filet mignon. The steamed asparagus was crisp and fresh, seasoned with lemon juice. The potatoes were creamier than anything she’d ever eaten before, and smoother than anything besides the filet mignon.

“Do you eat like this all the time?”

Mr. Gold scoffed. “Like this? All this butter and red meat? No.” He carved off a slice of filet mignon, and placed it on his tongue. He savored it for a moment, then swallowed. “No, tonight is a night of indulgences. For both of us, I think.”

“The mashed potatoes are excellent.” She took tiny forkfuls, to make it all last longer. 

“Technically,” Mr. Gold said, “they are whipped potatoes.” 

Despite her better manners, Lacey snorted. “I suppose that makes sense, given the kind of stuff you’re into.”

Mr. Gold wasn’t grinning, but his eyes held that peculiar gleam. “Does the thought repulse you?”  

“If it did, I would have told you last time. Or I wouldn’t have come back.”

“Being with me is only going to become more intense, Miss French.”

“I like a challenge.” She stared into Mr. Gold’s eyes. “Is it really going to be whips and chains and stuff?”

“I ask again, does the thought repulse you?”

“No.” Miss French spoke with absolute conviction. “If I’m honest with you, Mr. Gold, I’d say it kind of excites me.”

His grin this time was wide, something almost close to genuine. Miss French’s heart skipped a beat. She had made him happy. 

Fuck, she wanted to keep making him happy. 

“Of course, I always want you to be honest with me. Particularly about what excites you.” He had only eaten half of his filet mignon. He cut off a final sliver and then pushed his plate away. “Now, finish your meal. We need to put this table to better use.” 

“What use is that?” Miss French asked, even as heat raced through her. 

“I invited you here so I could have you for dinner, Miss French. That is precisely what I mean to do.”

****

When the meal was done and the plates were cleared, Mr. Gold had Miss French sit on top of the table. He placed her on the long side, near where she had been eating. Once again, Lacey made sure her skirt was arranged so a layer of fabric was between the polished wood and her naked flesh. Once again, Mr. Gold saw what she was doing and snickered. 

“Do you think you’re fooling anyone, Miss French?” He stood in front of her, his hands on the table, his arms boxing her in on either side. Mr. Gold wasn’t a big man, but he knew how to use his body. He leaned in, his breath hot on her ear. “You act so demure, so ladylike. Do you think people can’t see what you really are?”

Shivering, she gripped the edge of the table. “What am I, Mr. Gold?”

“You tell me,” he said quietly. He placed one hand on her bare thigh, his fingers just brushing her hemline. “If people in this town knew you were coming here, to my house, without a stitch of clothing on under your skirt, only because I’d asked you to, and only after I had given you money--what would they call you?”

There was an incredible stillness inside Miss French. The kind of stillness that can only be found when a vibrating object meets another object vibrating at the exact same frequency and they cancel each other out. The truth of Mr. Gold’s words met the truth of her reality and everything stopped. It was a moment of perfect clarity, perfect understanding. Most importantly, it was a moment of perfect acceptance. She knew what she was, what she had always been deep down. All Mr. Gold was asking her to do was admit it. 

“I’m a slut.” Her voice sounded strange, but she couldn’t stop herself from talking. “That’s what people would say. They’d say I’m a bad girl, a whore.” She blinked. Her Uncle Manny’s face flashed in front of her. Heat pooled in her eyes. “They’d say the smartest kid in Storybrooke should know better than to associate with you.”

Mr. Gold held her face, forced her to look at him. “Are you a kid, Miss French?”

“No, Mr. Gold.”

“Then what are you?”

“I’m a woman.” She swallowed. She tried to remember what he’d told her in the shop when he’d given her the money to buy her skirt. “I’m a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to get it.”

Still holding her, he stroked her jaw with his thumb. “Even if you had been the smartest kid in Storybrooke, did that get you anywhere? Does that have any bearing on what you are now?”

“No, Mr. Gold.”

“Did you think it would?”

He knew she had, he was just trying to get her to say it. Anger flashed through her--at him, at herself, at the whole fucking world and all its lost potential. She stared at him, hard as a diamond. 

“I did, Mr. Gold.”

“By your own admission, what does that make you?”

“Stupid.” She closed her eyes, let the tears roll down her cheeks. “I’m stupid, Mr. Gold. And I’m a slut, Mr. Gold.”

He pressed in and kissed her. It was a surprisingly soft kiss, not like the possessive biting that had left her with a hickey that still hadn’t faded three days later. No, this kiss was gentle, reassuring. He was telling her that she had done hard work, and she had done it well. This kiss--like all signs of affection from Mr. Gold--was a reward. She kissed him back, relishing the chance to be as honest with him as she had been with herself. This was the truth. This kiss, this moment, this was more real than anything else in Storybrooke. 

She knew it in the deepest corners of her heart. 

He broke away slowly. His hands rested loosely around her neck. He pulled back the collar of her black button-down and grinned when he saw the hickey at her nape. He must have been thinking about it too.

He looked at her with warm, dark eyes. “Do you know what happens to stupid sluts, Miss French?”

She shook her head. “No, Mr. Gold.”

He pulled her towards him for another kiss. This one was short and sharp. Then he took her by the shoulders and gently pushed her down onto the table top. 

“Stupid sluts get their pussies eaten, Miss French.”

****

She lay on her back, her arms above her head on the table. For a second, she had an odd thought that was waiting for something. She felt like she ought to be moving, like some external force should be pulling her by the wrists to be in the exact position he wanted her to be in.

Lacey blinked a few times, to clear her head, then pulled herself back to the other edge of the table. Her legs dangled over the sides. She was still wearing her sensible black pumps. 

Mr. Gold stood between her legs. His cane off to the side, he rubbed her thighs with both hands. Miss French hoped her flesh was soft and tender to his touch. She wanted to be as pleasing to him as his filet mignon had been to her. She wanted him to enjoy her. God, she wanted him to devour her.

“You’re wiggling,” he observed. “I expect more self-discipline than that, Miss French.”

“Or what, you’ll tie me up?”

He squeezed her thigh and gave her a smirk. “Not this time, my dear. But perhaps I need to remind you of the rules.”

“I’m not going to touch you, Mr. Gold.”

“No, you won’t. Tonight, you’ll keep your pretty hands gripped to the edge of the table, no matter what. If you do try to touch me, or do anything cheeky, I’ll stop what I’m doing and take you home that instant.”

Miss French shivered. Threats sounded so good in his mouth. She wanted to obey him just so he would keep talking to her. 

“And you’re only going to come when I give you permission.” His fingers dug into her flesh. His grip was so strong it hurt, in the best way. He leaned over her on the table to whisper. “I intend to make it very difficult for you, Miss French. See if you can be a good girl for me.”

Breath shaking, Miss French pulled herself together enough to speak. “Am I going to get anything? If I follow the rules?”

Mr. Gold stroked the whole of her leg, thigh to ankle, contemplating her question. Thank God Lacey had taken the time to shave her legs again.

“If you obey me, my dear Miss French, if you do exactly as I say, then when we’re done here I will allow you to join me in the study.”

Miss French’s breath caught in her throat. There was nothing she wanted more than to go into Mr. Gold’s study again.

“That sounds good,” she whispered. 

“So we have a deal, dearie?” 

Mr. Gold’s grin over her was animalistic, wild. Or at least as close to wild as a man as self-controlled as Mr. Gold would allow himself to get. A desire ignited inside Miss French: Even more than she wanted the pleasures and passions he could give her, she wanted to see what his passion looked like. She wanted to make him lose control.

“Yes, Mr. Gold,” she whispered. “We have a deal.”

The briefest flash of pleasure burned in his eyes, then his face was gone. He stood between her legs again. For the first time, his hands went under her pretty red skirt. 

From the back of his throat came a dark, hungry sound. When he raised the skirt up over her waist, Miss French felt cool air against her heated body.

Cooler than it should have been. His hands were gone. After a moment, Lacey pushed herself up on her elbows so she could see what was going on.

Mr. Gold was looking down at her. He was frowning.

Lacey’s stomach plummeted.

“Is… something wrong, Mr. Gold?”

He shook his head. “More fool me not to expect it.”

“What?”

“This…” As he searched for words, he used one long finger to slide over her mound. “Carpet.”

Lacey’s face went hot. Her hair? He was annoyed because she had pubic hair? 

“Oh,” she said softly. “I’m… sorry?” 

Mr. Gold seemed so disgusted that Lacey felt like she had to apologize. Like this was some fundamental act of hygiene that she had completely ignored.

Clearly he wasn’t going to have any more use for her, at least not tonight. She started to sit up. “You don’t have to--”

“Stay where you are, you filthy creature.” His palm covered her hair. His fingers plunged into her core. Mr. Gold made a noise, pleased and ravenous. “Did you get this wet just from dirty talk? You really are a slut, Miss French.”

A high whine left her throat. Miss French drifted down to the table. “Do whatever you want to me, Mr. Gold. Whatever I deserve.”

He began to rub slow circles over her cunt. “See, that’s how I know you’re not a nice girl, dearie. Those are words a nice girl would never say.”

“I’m not a nice girl,” she whispered half to herself. “I’m a stupid slut. A filthy, stupid, whore.”

Mr. Gold grunted his agreement. He was still playing with her pussy. Two fingers sank inside her, then slowly withdrew. 

“Look at me, Miss French.”

Miss French obeyed, propping herself up on her elbows again. Mr. Gold stood in front of her with his lips parted and two fingers in front of his mouth. They glistened faintly from her juices, the fingers he had just put inside her. 

He waited until she was watching him, then he inhaled deeply through his nose. He waved his fingers in front of his face like he was swirling a wine glass. Then he brought them up to his lips.

Jesus Christ. 

He closed his eyes as he savored the taste of her. When he opened them, and saw that she was still gaping at him, he grinned. 

“I don’t normally tolerate hair in my food,” he said. “But you present too sumptuous a meal to resist.” Slick with saliva, his fingers grazed over her opening. “More importantly, I made a deal with you, Miss French. And I am nothing if not a man of my word. You held up your end of the bargain, now I am duty-bound to do my part.”

Without another word, he bent down and put his lips on her cunt.

It was surprisingly slow at first. He just kissed her. It felt like a continuation of the kiss they’d shared earlier. Mr. Gold’s mouth was gentle, coaxing. His lips brushed softly against her folds, her clitoris. Waves of pleasure rolled over Miss French’s body, but they were warm, comforting. She thought it would be new and strange to have someone eat her out--since no one ever had before--but what Mr. Gold did to her felt familiar, somehow. Like she had given him her body a thousand times already and was ready to do it a thousand times more.

Mr. Gold broke away. He looked up at her with hooded eyes. Miss French saw the sheen of moisture on his chin.

She took a breath. She tried to say something, but she couldn’t think of any words worth saying. 

He dove in again, harder now, faster. His tongue made wide, long licks across her pussy. Miss French rose up from the table, but Mr. Gold followed her. His strong hands gripped into her hips, pulling her down and forward, closer to him, closer to his mouth. 

She clutched the back edge of the table, hanging on for dear life. She wanted to grab him. It seemed so natural to touch him in this moment, to run her hands through his hair and press him closer, closer, into her most hidden center.

But Mr. Gold didn’t want her to touch him. If she tried anything like that, he would stop what he was doing and send her home. She couldn’t bear that. Miss French couldn’t tolerate even the thought of being apart from him. 

As he kept working in her--licking and sucking, pressing against her with his nose and his teeth--she felt the pleasure rise up.

“Oh,” Miss French whispered. She tried to fight off the feeling, tried to stave off her climax, but there was nothing she could do. “Mr. Gold, please!”

Immediately, he pulled away. His face rose up from between her legs like a cackling demon. 

“Good girl.” His voice was dark and rich, velvet to the ears. 

Miss French’s breath shook. She had to take several breaths before she knew for sure that she wasn’t going to come. “Th-thank you, Mr. Gold. Thank you for stopping.”

He wiped off his cheek on the inside of her thigh. “You’re not skilled enough to control yourself while I’m still stimulating you.” He gave her leg a quick kiss. “Not yet, anyway.”

He had such a practiced, easy nature when he hinted at what else he had planned for her, what her future might be if she kept playing his games. There was a casualness, a matter-of-fact certainty. Mr. Gold got what he wanted. That was just how this world worked. He would get what he wanted from her. He would mold her into whatever he wanted her to be. It was just a fact. Miss French’s only choice was whether or not she benefited from the process, whether or not she enjoyed it.

So far, she was enjoying it very much.

Mr. Gold kept eating her in fits and starts. He teased her to the brink of orgasm, then pulled away, again and again. She tried to hold herself together, tried to keep her body from doing the thing it wanted. Not yet, not until Mr. Gold said so. It didn’t matter if she wanted to come; all that mattered was if he wanted her to come. He was in control. His will was the only thing that mattered, the only thing in all the world.

Moans filled the dark dining room. Moans and grunts and the quiet, intimate noises of flesh against flesh. Mr. Gold ate her out like he was trying a musical instrument, seeing what movements on what parts produced what sounds. It seemed experimental, but he was already an expert. Somehow, Mr. Gold knew how to play her body. He knew where to find the sensitive spots, how to touch them just enough to make her squeal.

“You’re such an easy fuck,” he sneered. His hands twitched over her clit, sending out shockwaves of pleasure with every motion. “If I let you, you would have come a dozen times already.”

Just his words made Miss French clench and tighten. It was true, of course. Mr. Gold could have made her come a dozen times, a hundred times. She gripped the edge of the table so hard she probably left nail marks in the wood.

“I could just leave you like this,” he chuckled. “I could drive you back to your father’s house drenched in your own desire. Unfulfilled, unsatisfied--but you’re used to that, aren’t you Miss French?”

Lacey grit her teeth. He had one finger pushing hard against her clit and it was taking every ounce of concentration not to come.

“Answer me,” he teased her.

The best Miss French could do was nod. He pushed even harder against her. 

“That’s not what I want, dearie. You’re not going to come until you say what I want to hear.” 

“Yes!” she squeaked. The effort of holding herself together brought tears to her eyes. “Yes, Mr. Gold!”

“Good girl,” he hissed. “Now, come.”

The words were barely out of his mouth before she was thrashing against the table. He kept his hands on her for a moment as he watched her shake and flail, then he sank down to use his mouth on her again.

Miss French kept coming. Every time she thought she might be done, Mr. Gold added more fuel to her fire. His tongue probed at her, filled her, covered every inch of her. Everything he had done earlier to tease her he did again--only harder and faster and longer. Now that he wanted her to come, he wouldn’t let her stop.

“Fuck!” Mr. Gold snarled as he jammed his fingers into her again and again. “Is there any fucking end to you? Are you ever satisfied, you whore? Am I going to have to pull men off the streets just to keep you happy?”

“No!” she shrieked. “No, Mr. Gold! Please, Mr. Gold! I only want you, Mr. Gold!”

Her body proved her words with an intense orgasm. She clenched around his hand, sucked him into her. A heavy rush of wetness pulsed out.

Mr. Gold sneered. “And you squirt, too. Of course. The perfect fucktoy does everything.” His hand jabbed at her as he spoke, every motion bringing with it a new crest of pleasure. “You take anal on the first try. You orgasm from anal sex. You’re a sopping mess before you’re even touched, and you come like a multiorgasmic machine.” 

His free hand grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up. Miss French had to blink a few times before she could focus on his face. He looked furious.

“What else do you do?” His other hand gripped her jaw. His fingers were hot, damp from her juices. “What other tricks can the pretty little sex doll perform? Do you come from having your nipples played with? Or vaginally? Do you come from pain?” His hand slid down from her jaw to her neck. “Do you deep throat on the first try? Do you get off on swallowing?”

All Miss French could do was shake her head, very slowly. “I don’t know, Mr. Gold. I’m--I’m not a virgin, but I promise I’ve never done any of that.”

He let his hands drop. He stared at her like he didn’t believe what he was looking at. Didn’t he think she was telling the truth? Or didn’t he think she was real?

“We’ll see about that,” he said, quietly but not softly. “Can you walk?”

Miss French slid herself off the table. Her legs were wobbly, but she could stand.

“Yes, Mr. Gold.”

“Good.” He jerked his head toward a door. “Because we’re going to the study.” 

[zenixromeave]

zane skins/designs review!

first MCD appearance/wedding/white +gold

This is ugly as sin to be completely honest.

Okay, looking a little harder it isn’t THAT bad. The white and gold are clearly reminiscent of royalty and status, but the chosen yellow is far too on the lime green side of the spectrum to be recognizable as gold or have the same beauty as gold does. The belt looks bad, it doesn’t fit the rest of the outfit well and it would probably have given more of a priest/nun look if it weren’t present and his clothes were implied to be more drapey. This far back in his character design, his hair was also very light, giving it more of an impression of being gray than black, which thankfully she fixes eventually. The shading on the clothing- both white and gold- is very harsh and uses some really bad yellow tones (when shading with yellow, it is almost never good to take the color just closer to black, instead, making it more orange and a little darker usually makes a more aesthetically appealing color.)

There are admittedly some good, iconic features present in this design which just weren’t fully polished yet. Personally, I really like the idea of the hood, as it’s a common motif in a lot of religious clothing I feel like. Also, it looks cool, and goes well with him having a mask and covering himself.

-

main outfit (MCD)

The monochrome of this outfit works really well. All of the blacks and greys are slightly blue, lending themselves to suit his eyes nicely. The shading is nice as well. While the outfit looks good, I don’t feel the same about his face. His eyes could provide a nice pop of color, and since his clothes are tinted blue it should work, but the blue of his eyes is far too dull and light to provide any contrast or pop. Since his eyes and skin have nearly the same gray undertones, his eyes don’t pop as much as they should in a monochromatic design like this. “Also, they look like pajamas” - my boyfriend

-

other main outfit (??? this one’s white)

“This one is super ugly” - my bf

The blue crosses are too similar in color to his eyes, it draws your attention to his knees instead of his face and eyes. I think his eyes work better in this outfit though with all the white, and I like the gloves. The strap around his chest is not really recognizable as a strap and the colors in the sword are obviously awful. The brown is really bright, as is the greenish-blue color of the sword (dagger?) Also, the amount of armor and weaponry in this outfit doesn’t really make sense for him considering he rarely fights. The boots/pants situation confuses me, I don’t know what’s going on there. Are they really short shoes and black pants of almost the same color? Visually confusing and ugly. His hair is still a little bit too gray.

His mask looks like it’s really long and with a cross on it. I think that looks really good. Shoulder pads are weirdly small as well, looks goofy.

-

rebirth

Why did she make him sexy. Whats her issue

I like the belt/strap details, they add some well needed texture to the previous design. The pants/shoes situation is still confusing and hard to tell what’s what. Finally, she’s utilizing his eyes as a proper pop of color. Personally, I would make them more on the purplish side of blue, but the green tint does match his sword, so that’s a nice touch. 

-

Jury of nine transformation (I think?)

He’s big. You can’t see his face. He’s evil. Very sexy of him.

-

season 3 (shadow knight armor)

I really like the purples in this one, and I think the shading is nice. I think the red should have probably been toned down a little because it’s very harsh and yet again draws attention away from his face. I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, the full gem swords are ugly as shit. No escaping it. They’re all bad and look tacky.

The reasoning for why his mask is shaped that way still eludes me. He’s wearing all armor in this outfit, so the same hoodie-scarf-mask made of fabric he usually wears makes even less sense. There’s definitely cooler ways to cover his face, use some creativity. At this point, she was only giving him a mask because it was an established part of his character, not because it served any narrative or aesthetic purposes.

-

beach episode (side stories)

trans ? why is he wearing that.

The shorts and top have no shading. Other than that, there isn’t much clothing to critique so... overall I think it’s kinda cute. The colors are pretty balanced, and I appreciate giving him some kind of shirt even at the beach, considering he’s usually covered head-to-toe. Not the kind of guy who should have abs though. Not everyone is Grey Fullbuster, Jess.

[alkalineleak]

Also wait do u have ashockwave design i suddenly thought of him and needed to know. Good evening

i dont and im SO sad about it................ i have an IDEA of a tide design that im slowly working out though hold on. let me open aggie. what i DO know and can tell you right now is i imagine shockwave as a bundle of sharp and jagged shapes. his shoulders are all joints and his hands are like an old tree. i also want his hair to be more shaped and jagged in the same way so itll definitely be in a protective style thats more on the shorter side, but i havent decided which !!!! im thinking some sort of micro twist ? just to have a lot of movement while having a contained more sharp shape !

which will ALSO contrast a lot with tides hair which are goddess braids since i liked the flowing movement of water + since they r colored synthetic ends it will actually EMULATE how water looks !!!!!!!

anyways here what i have like. as some drafts ? im using tide to compare him to shockwave. with shockwaves ACTUAL design i gave used inspo from hazmat suits and the silly archetype of a mad scientist like large gloves and clothing !! so i gave him a drapping coat thingy which would HEYY !! more places to hide conductice material!! i also wanted to vaguely take a spider theme bc hes so spidery body type wise. i want him to look like he Crawls. i also tried to give it more of a square edgy thing. So combining these i hoped the tucked in sleeves gave more of a square shape and the dangly gold bits would add some visual unease. its a first draft so its.rough but hey !! thats what 1st drafts r for. it came out vaguely cowboy ish DJDJDJ

and then going with actual BODY designs instead of color work

[cosmic--dandelion]

So I have a fairly unique take on Kakyoin's backstory in my own writing. I wrote his parents as straight up toxic, psychologically and sometimes physically abusive, and neglectful. My version of Kakyoin ran away from home years before he met Jotaro, spent some time in a mental institution, and instead of being stalked and kidnapped, deliverately sought Dio out on his own.

Quite a departure from the more commonly accepted "Kakyoin has nice, normal parents who just didn't understand him" interpretation, huh? So why did I write this (other than the fact that I graviate toward angsty backstories) and how does it fit what we know about Kakyoin?

Kakyoin's most obvious feature is his intelligence. All of his friends, who are (mostly) brainy guys themselves, acknowledge that he's the best, most reliable strategist in the group, and a good portion of his dislogue is info-dumping. As expected of an honor student, he's very prim and proper to contrast Jotaro's delinquent image. Yet he's also weird, socially awkward, brutally honest, and emotionally distant. I've heard him described as having no setting in between "uncomfortably polite" and "rude bastard", and damn if that doesn't fit him like glove. In battle, he's probably the scariest, most ruthless crusader and is perfectly capable of straight-up beating the shit out of his closest friends, even if he's also capable of bring the bigger person and forgiving them. Friendship and bonds are everything to him. He's caring and empathetic but has balls of steel and takes exactly zero shit from anyone. He's quite familiar with other cultures' customs and traditions, implying he's an experienced traveler. Kakyoin is very independent and has skills, knowledge, and confidence you wouldn't expect a normal kid his age to have.

I wrote a little about Kakyoin's backstory in the second fanfiction I ever wrote, "Facets" and then in great detail in "In Water". If you haven't yet, please go check them out! They are, in my opinion, quite a bit more interesting that just hearing me talk about them. Now onto spoilers, for both the manga and my own work.

So this is Kakyoin's canonical backstory. All of it. The anime isn't canon, the fighting games aren't canon, the Josuke and Hol Horse spin-off isn't canon. Only this is, plus that 19 page backstory Araki wrote for him thirty years ago that will never see the light of day.

This is it. There's a blurb on his character profile that mentions that his parents are alive, they think he ran away, and they're either "shocked " or "very worried" depending on the translation. Then he dies, and in typical Araki fashion, Kakyoin is never seen or referenced again.

The sheer amount of angst Kakyoin had over no one being able to see his stand, even compared to other born stand users, makes me think there's more to it.

In my version of his backstory, Kakyoin's parents are poor. His dad is a rather unimpressive, unambiguous office worker who's made several bad business decision, escalating tensions between him and his wife. She hails from an upper middle class background and is generally a bit snobbish and image-conscious. Kakyoin's birth just adds fuel to the flames. In addition to being another mouth to feed, he has inexplicably bright red hair and violet eyes. (In my version of the jjba-verse, born stand users just have weird hair and eye colors sometimes.) The husband decides that this means his wife cheated on him with a red-headed foreigner.

Kakyoin is a problem child. He's exceptionally bright and imaginative in a school system (remember, it's 1970s Japan) that doesn't know how to handle gifted children, and he's non-neurotypical with a troubled home life to boot. That conversation with his teacher probably happens around this time. He self isolates, but he's not causing trouble on purpose, and the other kids are intimidated, but not hateful. Yet.

Then his parents have a their worst fight yet, and Kakyoin loses control of Hierophant due to stress and almost kills his father. The man is traumatized (as you would be if you were possessed by an invisible tentacle monster only you son can see and control) and abandons his own family. The mother knows Kakyoin did *something*, but she doesn't know what. Her resentment deepens, and they continue to drift apart.

Kakyoin's relationship with his mother reaches its nadir, and now he *is* getting ostracized. He's angry at the world and starting to lash out. By age 10, Kakyoin has started seeing counselors. He is misdiagnosed as having a whole host of scary-sounding mental disorders and is forced to take powerful mood stabilizers and antipsychotics every day. After all, he spends all his time playing with someone they can't see and drawing a weird green thing that looks like a cthulhuloid abomination. The mother reaches her breaking point and surrenders him to a combination group home/"special school". This experience defined him probably more than any other event in his life before this point. It's incredibly violating and humiliating, and Kakyoin develops a complex about always having to be seen as the smartest guy in the room.

At around age 14, he runs away, desperate to find more people like him. On his travels, he hears rumors about a mysterious, beautiful man in Egypt with strange powers. The entire "family vacation" to Egypt was a lie he made up on the spot because he didn't want to admit that HE sought Dio out, not the other way around, and that he's a runaway with a checkered past.

So what about his parents? My version of Kakyoin doesn't hate them and would have at least tried to bridge the gap between them if they'd both hasn't so thoroughly cut him out of their lives. He feels guilty on some level for not being a good enough son, and he wants to believe that they still love him on some level. Hence the "I'm sorry for making you worry" line.

Are they worried? Probably. They're shitty parents, not monsters.

(The "mom has dad and dad has mom" line? The former Mrs. Kakyoin had a revolving line of boyfriends and lovers, so Kakyoin started to think of 'dad' as a temporary position in her life rather than a singular person. Growing up in a dysfunctional family with no socialization with peers who had normal ones, he has a warped view of how families are.)

So what about Dio?

This one's pretty easy. In my version, Dio acted like a friend at first, lulling Kakyoin into a false sense of security. He was a little intimidated, but not full on terrified. Dio didn't want to risk destroying Kakyoin's brain, finding it quite useful, so he basically tried to groom him so the fleshbud wouldn't be needed. Then once Dio realized that Kakyoin was going to be harder to control than his other minions, he implanted the fleshbud. Dio being Dio, he decided to scare the shit out of the poor kid, savoring his pain and horror and sense of betrayal.

I think I would probably feel differently giving Kakyoin this amount of baggage if I ever wrote anything canon-compliant. I also didn't add it to make him more of a wobbie or break him so Jotaro could fix him with the power of yaoi.

It means something to me that (my version of) Kakyoin went through all this shit and healed from it and went on to lead a long, happy, successful life.

[mysticstarlightduck]

hi! for the rainy day ask game:

🌦️ Overcast: Which character do you think readers would love the most? Which character do you think they would dislike?

Thank you for the ask, @kitkins13! Let's go with the cast of What Lurks In The Hollow

ASK GAME HERE

🌦️ Overcast:

Which character do you think readers would love the most?

I think that vote would be stuck between Dylan, Zach or Christine. In all honesty, the whole cast of this WIP has a lot of different personalities that I did my best to make unique, so every MC character in this WIP would probably be someone's favorite once the book's out lol. But I think those three would absolutely be the at the Top 3:

Dylan Millihan:

Overall Description/Vibes: 23M, a reserved, emotionally unavailable mess of an young man who is trying his best and is probably more overworked than it would be healthy but pretends he's fine by using a social mask of bad mood and distance from strangers. Cares about his little sister immensely but generally doesn't know how to show it verbally so just shows it through quiet actions and hopes for the best.

Appearance: Tall, handsome, has medium to long hazel hair vaguely styled in a 80s-90s way, usually wears black button up shirts not buttoned up all the way and jeans. Prefers boots over sneakers.

Zach Taylors:

Overall Description/Vibes: 16M, an incredibly charismatically charming goth kid who likes freedom above everything and who has some serious self-esteem issues that he hides behind a facade of confidence. He's Amy Millihan's best friend and love interest as the story progresses. Zach loves music, skateboarding and reading books from his vast collection he stole from the library.

Appearance: Average height, skinny, usually wears improvised goth style clothes including a shirt with the logo from his favorite yet obscure band, dark grey jacket with DIY spikes and small chains, black fingerless gloves with ripped fishnetting, spike studded black converse sneakers + dark nail polish and eyeliner. Has short, yet messy dark brown hair.

Christine Nespor:

Overall Description/Vibes: 22F, a laid-back wanderer with a love for all things funny, from jokes to pranks to hilariously bad movies, but who is also really wise when it comes to life and gives top tier advice. Loves a good amount of harmless chaos and probably knows more than a few really strange unsolved cases that really contrast with her wholesome personality. She's also Dylan's first friend and later love interest in Vinethorn Grove.

Appearance: Average height, has wavy blonde hair cut into a simple yet stylish bob, wears cutesy yet simple makeup preferring to add a small splash of color to her styles. Loves woven sweaters, twill pants and patchwork shirts, especially DIY ones, and wears vintage sneakers. Has a playful smile.

Which character do you think they would dislike?

Probably the villains, yeah lmao.

Take your pick 😭

Mayor Samuel Whitaker: Literal serial killer whose family is involved with bloody rituals with fey demons. Most of his victims are teens or kids because he "likes his souls young" (essentially the younger and more 'pure'/innocent the souls the more effective the sacrifices are)

Mrs. Adelaide Draycott: A 50 year old cougar/Karen who has nothing better to do in her life than to stalk Dylan (who is young enough to be her son at the very least) around to try to get him to 'fall in love with her'. When her attempts fail she fully becomes a Karen and decides to sabotage his entire life.

Sheriff Isaac Clarke: A corrupt, racist cop who thrives on nepotism and blackmail, often using underhanded tactics to get what he wants. Aids criminals if it means getting more power and literally 'calls the shots' in town. Also covers up the Mayor's string of murders and makes sure no investigations suceed.

Branden Heddam: Insanely threatening - probably drunk - biker gang leader who terrorizes innocent people and specially likes making his stepson's (Zach) life a living hell. The most abusive """"""parent"""""" figure known to mankind and has committed murders before due to his sheer brutality.

Cathleen "Cath" Edwards: The most annoying debt collector known to mankind who literally shows up unnanounced at the worst times and is so smug she could make Regina George cringe.

[fatedevour]

♢  —     @bogachs​​ said:  *pulls on his leash*  now, now.  be a good boy and behave, would you? (in which situation he would say this i wonder 👀 also i keep spamming you because ilu)

UNPROMPTED ASKS: ALWAYS ACCEPTING!

  Dottore gives a SNARL in response when he feels the harsh yank of the leash on the harness that circles his throat. It forces him forwards by a singular point, throat tugged down so that Dottore has to look UP. Up, when he refuses to look at gods themselves with such respect. Gods, leaders, even the Tsaritsa, All were looked down at, or at least his chin would be tilted up in defiance even when he had to look up to meet their gazes. But not once like this, when the doctor is brought to his knees against the cold ground under candlelight and secretive silence of their interactions. No doubt Pantalone is savoring every moment of this, feasting his ego upon this like wolves on a fresh kill. The god-maker brought to heel by a mere mortal.

   They both know Dottore could snap the leash like it was nothing if he TRULY wanted to. 

   Red eyes focus solely on Pantalone, watching how the light strikes his figure from the angle he’s forced into. It gives Pantalone something of an ETHEREAL light surrounding him, a golden sheen that compliments fair skin.  Something heavenly against a beast of darkness at the end of a leash. It’s a LAUGHABLE concept if one really knows the man, to anyone who knows Pantalone is anything BUT an angel or saint. Still, even a monster like Dottore can know something beautiful. It’s frustrating, vexing, these wants and desires that Pantalone brings out of him. It makes him almost feel HUMAN. He wants to touch, he wants to feel his warmth and presences, he wants and wants for something beyond the cold facts of science. It’s disgusting. It’s INTOXICATING. It’s dangerous. It’s warm. He wants like a suffocating beast wants for air. Nothing about this entanglement is objectively a GOOD idea, to grow attached to someone (much less someone that DEATH can touch with ease). And yet he doesn’t CARE. (He doesn’t dwell on what that means.)

   Instead, Dottore’s eyes follow every movement as Pantalone tugs the leash again, tight enough that leather digs into his skin to leave angry red marks while Pantalone leans closer. Dottore wants to reach out and slide his hands up Pantalone’s legs or pull him closer by his hips, desire curling through his body with a violent heat like an infection. He knows beneath the fabrics that most of his marks would have already faded by now, leaving a blank or near blank canvas for Dottore to press his claim against beautiful skin. Tsk. All of this is Pantalone’s fault, these wants and desires. And yet his cheek still leans into Pantalone’s silk gloved hand as it glides down his cheek, body held in place by the other hand that keeps its cruel grip on leather and metal.

   “  Pantalone.  “  The name rolls off his tongue with a growl, even as he remains surprisingly docile for the time being. It is in contrast to the sharp and clear red that BLAZES with promises of trouble and misbehaving.  ���  For now, perhaps.  “  Dottore replies, lips parting to allow his razor sharp teeth to gently nibble at the tips fingers that are close to his mouth .  “  But don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I’m some obedient PET for you.  “  He adds, lips curling into a predatory, hungry grin despite his current position and predicament. 

   For now though, Dottore decides to play along. SOMETIMES it works out in his favor to behave and get what he wants. But other times...well, he was far from concerned about MISBEVING. His hands lift, pressed to rest against the fabric and wood on each side of Pantalone’s legs on the furniture the banker sits upon like a throne.  “  I make no promises to how long either.  “  He adds, but does not lay hand on the man mere centimeters away despite how his fingers itch to do so.