#and she wore striped stockings

[mangos-draws]

Ah fuck. It happened again

I absolutely hate it when I dream and have the coolest ideas ever but then I wake up it's all gone

[inkedells]

I have a request if you’re looking for one! Your innocent reader with the plushies has my mind SPINNING. How about Joel making her squirt for the first time? I can just imagine the reader getting all anxious about the sensation she’s feeling and Joel realizing she’s about to squirt. I know he’d talk her through it so good 🥵😩

oh. em. ef. gee. thank you for absolutely blessing me with this request

A/N: sequel to my dbf!joel fic featuring plushies, and now squirting (things get absolutely filthy so consider this your content warning for a joel who's so absolutely obsessed with reader squirting). read the first part to this AU here, but this can also be read as a standalone!

words: ~700

joel masterlist

mdni! | requests open but responses not guaranteed.

Joel sat naked, propped up against your plushies just as you were the other night, his legs splayed out in front of him to make room for you. With the back of your head resting on his chest and your legs intertwining with his, he was rhythmically rubbing your clit as his hard cock subtly grinded against your back.

“You like it when I play with you like this, cupcake?”

Your head thrashing, your hands reached up behind you to find his face and bring it down for you to kiss him. The angle was difficult, but the way it forced the kiss to be nothing more than a sloppy clash of your mouths only made it hotter.

“Wore these stockings just for me, didn’t you?”

You nodded eagerly, biting your lip as Joel’s free hand caressed the lace that hugged your thigh.

“You’re my fuckin’ toy,” Joel rasped, stretching the fabric until it snapped back against your sensitive skin and pulled a whine out of you, “Say it. Say, ‘I'm your toy, Joel.’”

“I’m—fuck—I’m your… I'm your toy.” As Joel continued to rub your swollen clit, an urge began to creep up on you, something you didn’t know how to explain—but you blurted out what you thought it was despite the embarrassment of it all.

“I think I have to pee... oh god.”

Immediately, Joel knew you were about to squirt. But he said nothing, instead playing with you even more strategically.

“Joel, seriously, I’m,” a shaky whine when he let the fingers of the hand which was previously caressing your leg, slip inside your pussy, “I’m not lying, please.”

He didn’t say a word for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating something. “Touch yourself.”

“W-What, no, I have to…” You cut yourself off and began to push Joel’s hand away from you in an effort to get up and address what you believed to be “the issue” between your legs. 

Joel immediately pulled you back against him. "You're my good girl, aren't you?"

Tears prickling your eyes, you blinked them away before nodding and forcing your tense muscles to relax.

"What are you?"

"I'm your--I'm your good girl."

"Then do what I say. Touch yourself, little girl, let me show you what it's like to fuck my face 'till you're dumb."

Whimpering, you shakily began rubbing circles on your clit. You felt extremely overstimulated, to the point where your legs were vibrating with it. With rapid breaths, you felt Joel slip out from beneath you and place himself with his face between your legs.

His eyes never left yours as he gripped your wrist and pulled your hand away from your pussy before licking a slow, long stripe along your seam. A few more licks, and his fingers were back on your clit, this time moving back and forth rapidly as his own hips fucked your sheets. The tingling feeling only grew more intense, forcing your pent-up energy to manifest into actions, actions like your hands flying to his hair, pulling on it with fervor, your convulsing torso, and the opening and closing motions of your trembling legs.

Joel saw all these signs and took it as his signal to give you your final instruction before he stuck out his tongue.

“In my mouth, fuck, please. Put it in my mouth.”

You didn’t understand what he meant until it was happening.

With your feet planted flat on the bed and your hands shooting to clutch your plushies, your entire body shook with it as clear liquid gushed out of you in pulses, splashing Joel’s tongue and soaking the bottom half of his face. It felt extraordinary, like nothing you had ever felt before, and you knew the pleasure of it all was intensely heightened by Joel’s receptiveness to it; the way he moaned as he drank you down and continued playing with your pussy, eagerly grinding his cock against the mattress, mumbling praises when he could, telling you how good you tasted and returning to finger fucking you in an effort to coax even more out of you.

“Beautiful, god, so beautiful, I need more,” Joel pressured, groaning in frustration when the stream stopped. “F-Fucking give me—give me more.” His mouth closed around your clit and began to suck. As if sensing that you were about to protest his ministrations, he swatted your inner thigh and rasped out in a voice hoarse from arousal, “I’m not stopping until you give me what I want, sweetheart.”

if you enjoyed, see the rest of my works here!

taglist for this AU: @777-wonders, @scarlettstarletts, @pedrosbabygirl , @deathsholywaterr , @devilmademewriteit , @jakegyllenhl

[puddle-nerd]

A Helping Hand

Summary: You meant to help Spider with his hair. It escalated quickly after that. (Spider/Female Na’vi Reader)

Prompt #3 (Lingere/Stockings) for Avatar12DaysofKinkmas2023.

Story Tags: No use of Y/N, Lingerie/Stockings, Female Na’vi Reader, Aged Up Characters, Everyone is Legal, Yes they’re both eighteen+!, Accidental Stimulation, Hair-Pulling, Begging, Hand Jobs, Biting

Na’vi Translation: Olo’eyktan — Clan Leader Tawtute — human | Sky Person Tewng — Loincloth Yawntutsyìp – Darling | little loved one

AO3 Link

You flopped your big blue body onto the Na’vi sized couch in the tawtute compound, letting out an ‘oomph’ as Spider carelessly dropped his weight on top of you with a throaty laugh, his soft skin brushing against yours enticingly. It was the first time in a long time you were able to have the young man to yourself, your younger siblings – especially Kiri – jealously hogging his attention as much as possible. Speaking of your sister, she was busy with your grandmother today, while Lo’ak was grounded again (for what you couldn’t recall but it was probably something stupid) leaving little Tuk to trail after your mother like a pa’li filly and your twin brother, Neteyam, to be training with your dad as the future Olo’eyktan.

“Dude, when is the last time you washed your hair?” you teased, shoving lightly at Spider’s shoulder when you got a whiff, and wrinkling your nose in semi-feigned disgust. You sat up on the couch, displacing him from your lap and leaned forward, picking at his messy dreads, and added, “We should really re-do these. Like… completely. They look… rougher… than normal, to be honest, dude.”

You didn’t want to be hurtful because you really liked Spider, maybe a little (or a lot) – more than your mother would tolerate if she knew), but upon closer inspection, it was clear his dreads needed a lot of work.

The blonde tawtute male scoffed and rolled his eyes at you, muttering, “It’ll take forever to redo them.”

You shrugged, retorting, “I have nothing to do today. Why don’t I help?”

So, that’s how you found yourself sitting on the couch with Spider perched between your spread thighs, a tail comb in your hand as you carefully untangled each dread so you could help him start from scratch, after a thorough washing, that is. Your golden eyes roved over his dirty blue-henna-stained skin, and you considered, maybe a thorough body scrub down, too. The image of you helping Spider wash his strong… naked… body flashing through your mind’s eye made you shiver, your tail twitching in arousal while heat pooled low in your belly. You swallowed and forced yourself to focus on the task at hand; it wouldn’t do your tawtute friend any good if you were to become a distracted horny mess.

Meanwhile, Spider was having a similar problem and was glad you couldn’t see his face.

You had been riding your ikran earlier that day and so had put on your leg guards to prevent chafing from your mount’s rough scales, the pretty woven green lace stretching taut from ankle to mid-thigh giving tantalizing hints of your striped legs and he thought you looked sexy as hell in them. Well, he thought you were sexy no matter what you wore or didn’t wear, but he couldn’t tell you that, not without ruining your friendship for one, and for two, not without your mother absolutely annihilating him, if Neytiri ever found out that is.

So, the two of you sat on the couch, each trying to maintain yourselves as you undid his hair, and he tried not to pop a boner from sitting between your stocking covered legs and having his hair tugged on.

“Sorry,” you muttered each time your comb hit a particularly rough tangle, causing you to pull at his hair a little rougher.

Spider gulped, voice dropping low and husky as he replied, “S’fine.” He then shuffled cautiously, trying to adjust himself surreptitiously as his tweng pulled tighter over his hardening length. Unfortunately for him, you looked down at that precise moment and saw the tent he was beginning to pitch. He was aroused, you blushed then realized what that meant. He was aroused because of you. You gasped as your tail flicked, causing the tufted end to land in his lap, only to twitch against the brown material teasingly. He stifled a groan, hands grabbing onto your legs desperately.

“Sorry,” Spider whispered, moving to push himself up and away from you.

Instinctively, you wrapped your legs around his middle, dragging him back into the juncture of your thighs, complaining, “Don’t move. I’m not done with your hair, yet.” The tawtute moaned, your stocking clad calf pressing into his erection, and he laid his fingers on the soft material covering your shin. “Besides, I’m taking this,” you flicked your tail over his groin once more, “as a compliment. Do you like it – when I play with your hair?” You tugged his head back firmly, tilting his chin up with your other hand, adding, “Or is it something else?”

The young man moaned and nodded, “Yeah… yeah, I like it… and your… your stockings.” Your stockings, huh? You grinned to yourself and tightened your legs around his waist, rubbing over his crotch again. “Want me to stop?” Spider shook his head, driving his hips up into your legs. “Oh, no, please don’t,” he begged, breath coming out shakily as you tugged at his hair again and nibbled down on the side of his neck. “Ohhh, please,” he pleaded, shivering as your other hand stroked down his strong chest. “Please, baby.” Curious, you loosened your legs, chuckling at his immediate whine of disappointment. “Nooo, no, please, please don’t stop.” “Don’t worry, I’m not,” you assured him. You reached beneath the waist of his tewng and pulled his hard cock free of his clothing, eyeing his tawtute genitals in curiosity that was so different than any male Na’vi you had ever seen before. “Better?” you asked, your sapphire-colored hand wrapping around his pink girth and giving his shaft an experimental stroke causing him to whine needily, rutting his hips up into your touch. “Use your word, yawntutsyìp,” you teased him, giggling as his fingers tugged on your thigh-highs and he thrust up into your hand urgently. “Your words, Spider… or I stop.” “No, no please,” he whined, digging his fingers into your legs. “Don’t stop. Feels s’good, baby. Please. Please I–I’ll be so good… just please touch me!” He pouted up at you, eyes sparkling with building tears, making you grin in satisfaction. Tugging on Spider’s hair gently once more and stroking him simultaneously had him whimpering again. Your thumb teased his slit, pre-cum oozing in thick droplets from his slit, earning a whimper from your tawtute. You tightened your grip on him and sped up your movements, giving little twists of your wrists towards the mushroom-like tip of his shaft, watching the way his abdominal muscles tensed and slackened as his breathing increased in speed while more whimpers and a litany of begging words fell from Spider’s throat. You assumed he was nearing his orgasm as you saw his testicles, large and full and covered in a thin layer of dark blonde hair, drawing closer to his body. “N’gh,” Spider suddenly groaned through gritted teeth, fingers curling harder into your legs. “Gonna cum for me, yawntutsyìp?” you asked, breath fanning over one of his rounded, little ears. Spider nodded jerkily, his reddening cock leaking steadily, begging, “Y – yes, yes, please, please let me cum, baby. S – so close.” You chuckled to yourself and then cooed into his ear, “Go on then, and show me how a tawtute cums. Make a mess and let it all out. Cum for me, Spider. Please.” The blonde male let out a wail that you had never heard from his throat before as his spine suddenly bowed upwards, his cock pulsing hotly and white cream spurting from the reddened tip, landing everywhere: up onto his chest, his hips, his thighs, all over your fingers, and decorating your thigh highs. Nuzzling his cheek, you used the hand in his hair to twist his head, sliding your lips over his and initiating a kiss. He hummed and kissed you back, twisting towards you to get a better angle. “That was fun,” you grinned, warmly. “We should do that again. After we finish fixing your hair.”

𖥸 · ─────── · 𖥸 · ─────── · 𖥸

Originally Posted: 16 December 2023 Word Count: 1,323

AO3 Link

[spinchip]

for the fic prompts- something about your hometown glory au maybe?

OOPS. 2300 WORDS.

There’s a dinner in the grand hall two days after they arrive on Chen's Island. Clouse had been the one waiting on the shore to welcome them to the tournament and explain that they would be given two days to settle in before the competition began, with the night of the second day an introductory dinner with Lord Chen himself. They had all jumped at the opportunity to experience the luxuries the palace had to offer before fighting against one another. Cole particularly loved the fully stocked mini-fridge in his room, packed full of all his favorite treats. He made sure to interact with the other contestants as well- know thy enemy, or whatever.

Jay had mostly left him to his own devices, following that girl Nya around like a lost puppy. Cole had known Jay long enough to understand his obsession with love- he wanted to be in love very badly, and Nya was just the newest target of his affection. Whether it would last remained up for debate.

Cole inexplicably found himself running into the ice master, Zane, a lot over the next few days. Zane tended to hover around Kai and Nya or Cole and Jay, when he wasn’t off on his own, but Cole always seemed to stumble upon him randomly in the halls. Sometimes, Zane would have this look on his face-not quite guilty, but like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been. Cole never asked why Zane seemed to be poking around the halls on his own, and Zane never explained. They ate all their meals together.

When Jay had squeezed himself into a seat next to Nya at the welcome dinner, Cole had hung back and sat with Zane and the kid, Lloyd. There were soft murmurs throughout the hall as they all anticipated Lord Chen's arrival. When Cole glanced over at Zane, the ice master was frowning softly, the barest hint of a crease between his brows. Cole felt a chill creep up his spine that had nothing to do with the other man's element.

Chen threw open the halls at the front of the room dramatically. He gathered himself to his full height and cleared his throat, a hush falling over the room, “All rise for Lord Chen.” He announced.

They all stood from their chairs respectfully, standing tall and squaring their shoulders as Lord Chen made his first appearance of the tournament. He wore long, expensive robes that billowed with every step. Delicate embroidery and beading catching and twinkling in the hall's warm lights. He was flanked on each side by several samurai in strangely shaped helmets and elaborately tattooed faces, each with a sword on their hip who marched in time. Several women fanned out behind him as well, their faces painted theatrically in swooping kabuki makeup. They fluttered forward to pull out Lord Chen's chair, others throwing themself forward to unlatch his fancy outer robe and remove it, revealing equally elaborate but more practical robes beneath. One woman hurried to fill his glass with water and his cup with tea, bowing as she stepped away from the table.

Lord Chen, in contrast to his neatly put together robes and serious air, was a scruffy looking man. His eyebrows and his mustaches were wild and unmaintained, the red makeup around his eyes applied sloppily- even the salt and pepper of his hair seemed to get the memo and came in in awkward stripes along his sideburns. “Sit.” He commanded, his voice rough and scratchy.

Cole sat along with the others. The Samurai fanned out across the room, looking intimidating and mean, but made no move to draw their weapons.

Lord Chen's face was kept in a neutral scowl, eyes narrowed and assessing as he raked them across the gathered crowd. Then, his lip twitched- and just like that, he gave up the act and grinned broadly. He threw his hands out, a new air of levity breaking through his serious act, “Welcome,” He shouted, “to the Tournament of Elements!”

He smiled, arms outstretched. A long moment of silence passed, no one knowing quite what to say. His smile never dimmed even as his arms dropped and he settled into his seat, “I am delighted to have you all here, in my home. Please, eat!”

The moment the words come out of his mouth, servants flood into the room each carrying trays of food and drink. They serve each of them a small appetizer dish artfully arranged on the plate. The dinner continues in a similar manner, with each consecutive dish brought out ceremoniously. It's easily the most expensive meal Cole has ever eaten, with puffer fish a delicacy he never thought he’d taste.

The dinner passes quietly. So quietly, in fact,that after the third course Chen himself scoffs, “No need to act so shy! You are my honored guests. You are permitted to speak freely!” He makes a shooing motion with a piece of sashimi in one hand, “Socialize!” He orders.

Hesitantly, chatter fills the room. Zane quietly instructs Lloyd on how to properly eat some of the more exotic foods on his plate, and Cole not-so-subtly eavesdrops and mimics him. He can hear the sound of Jay and Kai arguing down the table, which has quickly become a regular occurrence among the two.

“You have a beautiful home, Lord chen.” Neuro says politely.

“Isn’t it lovely?” Chen smiles, sipping his tea.

“It is,” Zane agrees, and his voice slices across the room as he directs his eyes to the head of the table, “I suppose it must be, since you cannot leave.”

Chen's easygoing smile freezes on his face. The room grows quiet and strangely tense, Cole shifting uncomfortable. Zane's eyes are that bright, intense blue, and all his attention is focused solely on Chen.

Clouse speaks next, recovering smoothly from whatever Zane had just implied, “Lord Chen has been well documented as a recluse, but this tournament is his return to the public eye. He has always been intrigued by the elements, and has chosen to face the world once more for the opportunity to see you all in action.”

It sounds like damage control. Chen is still smiling, but there’s something dark swirling in his eyes now.

“Of course.” Zane nods graciously, “It must be difficult to come out of hiding considering his role in-”

“What was your name again?” Chen interrupts abruptly, grin tight along the edges.

“I believe you know my name.” Zane responds neutrally, “You know everything about us.”

When Cole was younger, when he still lived with his father, he could always tell when his dad was angry by the way his lips pulled tight over his teeth. Like he was suppressing the urge to snarl. He always walked away then, leaving Cole to practice his fouette alone with his fathers disappointment hanging over his head. Chen has that same tightness around his mouth, but there's a fury to it that Cole can practically taste that hangs electric in the air.

“You are awfully presumptuous.” Chen says jovially, the sharp blade of danger brutally apparent to Cole.

Zane dips his head, “It was not my intention to offend,” He says, despite the fact that Cole is one hundred percent certain that was exactly his goal. He looks up and meets Chen's eyes, “My name is Zane. I am the master of Ice.”

“Ice.” Chen echoes, “Symbolizing stillness, coldness- the absence of love. Death, even. What an element to be saddled with, but it seems it fits you well.”

There’s something there Cole can’t pick up on, some uneasy threat. Chen continues, “Despite that, I still welcome you to my island and I am eager to see you fight in the tournament.”

Zane regards him quietly, “Thank you for inviting me.” He says evenly as dessert is served.

Chen turns away from Zane and stands, addressing the whole table warmly, “Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesied Green Savior.” His eyes linger on Lloyd before he moves on, “I must welcome you again to the Tournament of Elements! Here, we will pit you against each other in friendly combat to reveal which element rules over them all! The rules are simple. Every match will be different. No two fights will be the same. Your powers will keep you in the Tournament. Use it or lose it!”

Karlof rubs at his beard, “Hmm, What does Karlof win?” he asks with narrowed eyes. It seems Cole wasn’t the only one to pick up on Chens strange behavior towards Zane- in fact, most of the table looked uncomfortable and wary, now. Zane had revealed teeny pieces of fact about Chen he was trying to suppress. What was he hiding?

“Win and stay on the island. Win it all, and you'll receive fortunes beyond your wildest dreams!” He flings an arm out and one of the lush curtains to the side of the room is pulled aside by one of his woman servants, revealing stacks of cash that nearly reach the top of the vaulted ceiling. There’s a collective gasp through the room, and Cole can practically see everyone's suspicion fly out the window at the size of that prize, “-and lifetime supply of Master Chen noodles. But no one is here because of noodle. You want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!”

Jay is practically drooling at the sight of the money, as are several of the others. Cole gets a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but even he can’t shy away from a prize like that. Earth could win this thing- he could win this thing. He knew he could. Coming home with all that prize money… proving himself as ninjagos number one warrior… this was his chance to prove himself. Maybe then his dad-

A cold hand grips his bicep and Cole turns around to look at Zane, whose face is tense with worry.

Cole feels that same cold chill up his spine again.

“What happens if we lose?” Lloyds little voice pipes up, carrying ominously across the room.

Chen's smile grows strained again, but he doesn’t miss a beat, “Lose? Who here likes to lose?” A few of the others laugh at that, “Now please, enjoy my island. It's a super fun, happy place. Hahaha. Fun time on me! We will begin the first challenge of the tournament bright and early tomorrow morning!”

With that, he sweeps out of the room with a flourish. His servants and guards go with him.

Clouse stands as well, “Lord Chen formally requests you all retire to your rooms for the night.” He says bluntly, completely disregarding Chen's words not five minutes earlier, “We must prepare for the first challenge and that requires you all to stay in your rooms until morning. Our servants will escort you.”

As they are marched back to their rooms by several of Chens samurai, Zane stays close to Cole. It feels like a funeral procession.

“Cole, I have a favor to request.” Zane says quietly as they approach the rooms, the Samurai finally out of earshot.

“Uh, What is it?” He whispers back just as softly.

They arrive at Zanes door quickly and Zane barely has time to speak before the guards are ushering him away- he looks at Cole with those intense, knowing eyes and simply says, “I need you to find me.”

And then the door closes behind him with a finality, and the others are escorted to their rooms in similar fashion. Cole can barely sleep all night, but when he finally does doze off it feels like only a few seconds have passed before the rising sun cuts a path across his eyes and wakes him. He has a quick breakfast from his minibar and joins the meandering mass of contestants as they walk down to the grand hall once more.

Cole had been ruminating over Zane's request all night, trying to understand what he meant. Maybe he wanted Cole to stand with him this morning? He stands on his tippy toes and looks over the crowd, hunting for Zanes signature white hair. He frowns, turning around and looking behind himself too- where was he?

“Oof!” He grunts as Jay crashes into his side.

“Morning!” Jay greets with a grin, “How’d you sleep?”

“Not well.” Cole admits.

“Me neither! You know why? Because it occurred to me last night that Chen said there would be one winner last night- one!” Jay smiles with a manic edge, “Which means our genius team up plan is out the window. They’re gonna tear me apart!” He gestures at the others wildly, a few of them shooting him a weird look.

Cole snorts, “You’re the master of electricity, Jay. I’m sure you can hold your own.”

Jay throws himself onto Cole, gripping the collar of his shirt and sagging to the floor in anguish, “I’m going to die!”

The grand hall had been cleared of the dinning room table, the raised dais now the focal point of the room that Clouse was standing on as he waited for the last contestant to linger in. Clouse clears his throat, “Before Lord Chen arrives, I have some unfortunate news.” He clasps his hands together and summons an extremely fake looking frown, “Late last night, due to a family emergency, Zane chose to drop out of the tournament and leave the island.”

That cold chill is back. Zane didn’t have any family, that was one of the first things he’d told Cole.

I need you to find me.

“He is being transported back to the mainland by our ferry, which is our only way off the island. It will return in a few days, but for now that means we are unable to leave.” He says apologetically, “But I can ensure your accommodations here are more than adequate enough that you won’t want to go!” He says with a grin.

“Now, it is time for our first challenge: The hunt for the Jade blades. Lord Chen will explain the rules.” He says with a bow, graciously stepping aside so Chen can take center stage with his signature flourish.

Zane didn’t leave on that ferry.

Cole had a feeling no one would be leaving on that ferry.

[chefkids]

What Syd's Scarves are Telling Us

The First One: Coming Together & Falling Apart

The first scarf she wears when they meet is the same one she wears when she gives him the short rib risotto that is basically both of their identities and family meals coming together in one meal, but it is also the catalyst of them falling apart and leading up to her leaving.

The Blue One: "You're Hired" & "I Quit"

The blue one is what she wears when he decides to hire her for real and what she has on when she quits and has had enough of him.

The Red One: Running the Restaurant Alone x2

The red scarf is first seen when Carmy is off making hot dogs at the kids party and Syd is left alone. Here is when Marcus makes his chocolate cakes and Ebra says she's giving him confidence, and by the end of the day Tina has finally started to warm up to her. Then again we see it when Syd is left alone because Carmy got locked up.

7 Fishes: Learning to Listen to Each Other & Family Trauma Dumping

The fishes, maybe they were a trigger for Carmy reminding him of 7 Fishes Christmas Dinner and that's why he was being a little bitch to her, but by the end she accidentally gets him to start opening up about his family and they start to understand how to talk to each other. Then Sydney wore it again when she was working on developing the 7 fishes dish.

Stripes: Inspiration

The striped scarf we've only seen once when she was praising Carmy's past jobs and talking about wanting to go to Noma to be inspired.

Blue & Green: Frustration

This is only a quick appearance but it's when we first really start to see cracks for in Sydney and she is frustrated with how Carmy and Richie are treating her.

Hands: "This is What Love is For"

They both needs hands, they need each other. But more importantly, they want each other. This is when he helps her strain the stock that eventually ends up being a part of the infamous risotto. This is when they really start to accept that they just enjoy each others company and she starts being vulnerable and opens up about her past failures.

Red People: Lonely

Carmy ditched her. She is basically always in red when he leaves her alone.

Polka Dots: Struggling

With the Polka Dots she was struggling to come up with dishes with Tina after Carmy's went MIA. Polka dots are also historically associated with illness dating back to medieval times, which is something that maybe hinted at that she might be going to struggle with in the future.

Curious to see which ones will repeat in Season 3.

[empressofmankind]

BEGGARS SHAN'T BE CHOOSERS - Part I

[Crocodile x F!OC]

SFW

(A/N) Better known as the 'Impel Down' fic, I kept mentioning the past two weeks. This is Part One. Of five? Of ten? I've given up. The total draft was > 12k. So, I split it in 3x 4k. And then, I noticed today the 'first part' had grown to >7k. So, I've split it again. I have a clear end in mind, but how long it'll take me to get there...

Originally, this fic was meant to focus around Buggy, but then a 2.53m unit of absolute bullshit got in the way. Shivs and her world class plans, good gods. Post-Alabaste, the mens are stuck in Impel Down. Shivs is dead set on springing the clown from prison. However, she'll first need to figure out where they're keeping him. On account of his devil fruit powers, she suspects level 6. And she has an excellent alibi to demand visitation to level 6. For once, the legal quagmire of technically still being married to Crocodile is going to work for her. Right? RIGHT??

In this first part, we'll join Shivs and Benji (and Mani!) as they get ready to, and make their way for, Impel Down. That's it, that's all that happens, and it took me near 4k. I am so long-winded. It's a terminal condition, I know.

Tag(s): Considering this is the entré, there isn't actually much to tag for? There's fluff and humour. There's a 10-year-old running around saying the absolute funniest shit as things go straight over her head. We got Mani the scaly golden retriever Bananawani along? Oh, and one (1) good marine.

🐊 🐊 🐊 

Beggars Shan't Be Choosers - Part I

“They're stupid clothes,” Benji said, her brow wrinkling with petulant annoyance. She was wearing a crispy white dress shirt, a green-on-ochre striped vest and grey slacks. She'd refused a dress of any sort. Her flame orange hair was neatly brushed and her small face wasn't covered in grease paint for once.

“I think you look handsome,” Shivs said as she pinned her own red hair up with a two-pronged kanzashi fashioned with golden lotuses whose inlaid blue diamonds had not seen the light of day in years.

“I look stupid.”

“Look. I am not comfortable in my clothes either,” Shivs said and indicated the mid-thigh sheath dress of black lace on dark grey broadcloth she wore. She'd decided on sheer stockings to go with it, but no gloves. 

“You look pretty in them.”

Shivs turned back to the mirror to finish pinning her hair and adjusting her bangs to fall neatly from under the strings of her eyepatch. “That is the idea, yes.”

Benji put her hands in her pockets, kicking her foot, making squeaky noises against the deck boards. “What am I supposed to look like? I don't want to be pretty.”

“You are supposed to look like the most capable and well-behaved child to ever grace the Blue.” Shivs pinched her cheek, gilt bangles jangling. “And you do when you don't stand with your hands wearing out your pockets like that.”

Benji took her hands out of her pockets. They idled a moment, undecided, but then she clasped them behind her back. “Your neck looks naked.” 

Shivs laughed at that because the bateau neckline of the dress could certainly use something. “Yours too.”

She plucked one of Buggy's patterned neck scarves from a drawer and tied it around her daughter's neck, tucking the ends into the vest. “There.”

“You should wear a pretty necklace,” Benji said, though her eyes were on the scarf. She seemed to like that, at least.

Shivs didn't have all that many necklaces conventionally considered ‘nice’. Going through the few she had in her thoughts, she picked up her modest jewellery box. Then paused as her gaze lingered on the bottom drawer of her vanity. Maybe she should… She pulled the drawer open and reached among clothes she rarely wore, patting around until she found the old music box.

Its silver had blackened with age and negligence, but even so, its delicate engravings of waves and tall ships were fine. If she polished it now, the oxidation remaining in the fine creases would help pick out its details better than ever before. She didn’t, of course. And she didn’t open the lid either. She couldn’t remember if it was wound up, and didn’t want to hear its melody if it was.

Instead, she held it with both hands and turned its engraved body as if removing a lid from a jar. With a click, the top section came off. Within the tiny compartment revealed lay a small, gold hoop with a bent hinge. She’d long since let the earlobe puncture it used to occupy close. Taking a thin string from her jewellery box, she suspended it from that instead.

“Like so?” Shivs asked, drawing Benji’s attention as she fastened it around her neck.

“Don’t you have anything sparklier, like your hair thing?”

Shivs brushed the kanzashi. Though the era of having such things aplenty was long behind her, she was loath to detract from the last one that remained to her with lesser gems. Besides, he’d notice.

“Sadly, no.”

“Oh?” Benji gave her the thumbs up. “Gold is pretty too, I guess!”

Part of the reason she’d picked it was that it was 24-carat gold. Just like the kanzashi.

“Can I do your makeup?”

“Only if you do not turn me into a clown,” Shivs said as she sat down at her vanity so the girl could reach her face. Benji grinned and set to work.

When Benji declared she was done, Shivs turned to the mirror and had to admit the little girl was now officially better at this than her. She’d gone for a dark burgundy smokey eye with a flawlessly thin line of gold right at the root of her eyelashes and a touch of white on the waterline. It made the hazel of her good eye pop like nobody’s business. She was pretty sure the dark red lipstick was Buggy’s favourite to use himself.

“I like it,” Shivs said and Benji beamed. “Now, I just need shoes.”

“I'll fetch some!” 

Benji was up and running out of the cabin before Shivs could protest. It was only a few minutes before the girl returned, clutching shoes in her arms. And not just any shoes, either. She held up gold-tinted, faux leather gladiator sandals with six-inch stiletto heels that would be a trick and a half to walk on. Where had she even found those?

“These will look awesome with your hair thing and necklace!”

She didn’t disagree as she put them on, but hoped the floors of Impel Down would be neatly packed concrete and nothing else. She hadn’t walked on heels like these in half a decade. Throwing a long bridge coat the rosy beige of dunes about her shoulders, she turned to the floor-length mirror.

Benji looked her up and down with the pinched expression of a critical, pint-sized costume designer grading their latest creation. “You look very pretty.”

Benji wasn’t wrong. She did look nice. Her mood sank, settling like an anchor in the pit of her stomach. She looked like his wife.

“Why is it OK to lie today?”

“It's not a lie.” Shivs shook the morose feeling and picked up her small black bag, its gilded chain rattling as she double checked its content. “More like, hm.”

“Make believe?”

“Yes. Yes, I suppose it is,” Shivs said as she snapped the bag closed and hung it from her shoulder. “It will be easier to convince them to let us visit if we look the way they’d expect.”

“Why would they let us visit uncle Crocodile? Aren’t those visits for, like, if you’re his mom or sister or baby or something?” Benji’s small face was filled with healthy scepticism, hands in her pockets once again. “We should pretend he’s my dad.”

Shivs flinched and struggled to keep her smile from faltering. “Well, only if we have to.”

“They’d have to be pretty bad people to stop a kid from visiting their father.” Benji took her hand. “I hope uncle Crocodile knows where dad is.”

“I am sure he knows.” Shivs gave Benji’s hand a squeeze. She’d no idea how she’d find out where Buggy was if Crocodile didn’t know. She couldn’t exactly demand that information on legal grounds like she had done with him. “Is Mani ready, too?”

“Yes! I scrubbed her squeaky clean and even picked her teeth and scales. She’s eaten and done a big poop.” Shivs tried to let the girl’s bubbly chatter lift her spirits. “I borrowed one of Richie’s sparkly collars and she looks flashy in it!”

“Sparkly? That sounds amazing.”

“It is! She likes sparkly things.”

“Let’s fetch her then and go before we are too late.”

Benji glanced up at her as they left the cabin. “How can we be late for an appointment we didn’t make?”

“We can be late for the only ship going there today.”

🐊 🐊 🐊 

Benji had wanted to stand upon the prow as the government ship approached the Gate of Justice out of Enbies Lobby, because the skipper had said the Tarai current that would see them to Impel Down was chock full of sea kings. Shivs sat on a deck chair with a glass of wine, watching the girl run back and forth with binoculars she’d weedled from a matelot. On account of the seastone laminated hull, she doubted they would see any. However, there was no need to dunk on her chipper mood.

They were not the only visitors, more had trickled aboard to form a modest but motley company on the deck. She’d caught snippets of conversations as they walked by: a mother visiting her son; a brother, his sister. And she had a good guess what some of them were whispering about as they stole glances her way. She’d neglected to list any details regarding who they’d be visiting, but, in hindsight, she supposed the pony-sized bananawani lounging beside her gave it away. 

She’d tied Mani’s rhinestone-infested lilac leash to her chair leg, to discourage the reptile from wandering or - worse - deciding to take a swim. Not that she had any illusion as to its ability to pull the chair straight from under her if it wanted to go. But Mani was a creature of habit and minimal effort. A minor inconvenience such as this would be enough to keep her snoozing on the deck.

“Spotted any big ones?” Shivs said when Benji came towards her for a sip of lychee ramune.

“Not yet.” Benji plopped down beside Mani, putting her skinny arm around her scaly neck as she slurped lemonade. “Did you know bananawani hunt sea kings?”

“Really?” 

Shivs remembered the way the casino halls would darken as they swam by, their shadows passing beyond the glass as they glided towards the feeding platform. The unwitting sea king never stood a chance.

“They are their only known predator and totally hunt them,” Benji babbled happily while enjoying her drink. Mani’s eyes were still closed, but she’d shifted to lean into the little girl’s petting. “Do you think sea king tastes good?”

The water would run red but only for a short while, only until the currents whisked it away. Theoretically, the creature could make it out for the Rainbase oasis connected to the Sandora river.

“I bet Mani would prefer sea king chow,” Shivs said.

“I don't think they sell that at the pet stores.” Benji pouted as she hugged Mani. “She won’t be able to have a sea king snack until she’s big enough to hunt them herself.”

Hopefully, that would take a while yet. Bananawani could grow to colossal sizes, dwarfing mid-class tall ships. Shivs had no idea what they were supposed to do with a fully grown one. Or how to afford feeding the beast if there was no prey for her to hunt on her own. Rain Dinners’ bananawani never hunted alone.

Benji emptied her bottle with a big, noisy slurp, waking Mani. “Maybe we should have brought something?”

“A deck would have been nice,” Shivs said as she watched them. “We could have played slapjack.”

“No, I mean, for uncle Crocodile?” 

Shivs flinched.

“You always say that it is nice to bring something when you visit someone. Especially if you want something from them in turn?” Benji scrunched up her face, rubbing Mani’s thick scaly neck. “I have, like, half a bag of marshmallows, but I didn’t think to bring them.”

“I have something for him, don’t worry about it.”

🐊 🐊 🐊 

Impel Down was a fortress as ugly as it was unimaginative. It spilled onto the rapidly approaching horizon as a grey stain overtaking the limitless freedom of the open sea. And as they drew near on the Tarai current, its squat towers and crenellated battlements came into ever sharper focus until they dominated their entire surroundings. Curiously, there were no cannon embrasures, machicolations or any such defences one might expect from a proper bastion. 

A fleet of warships rested at anchor along the approach to the underwater prison. The modest passenger ship they were on was dwarfed by the marine dreadnoughts they passed as the current pulled them inexorably towards the prison’s colossal gatehouse.

Benji had returned to the prow for the approach, and Shivs joined her there.

“It’s so huge!” Benji stared wide-eyed at the thick walls as they sailed under the barbican and into the secured harbour proper beyond. Mani sat beside her, holding her own leash.

“The vast majority of the complex is actually underwater.” Shivs counted the cannons peeking down at them through the embrasures, out of habit more than anything. She wondered if they had a standing firing crew to man them.

“Are we going underwater?” Benji hopped from one leg unto the other. “The Calm Belts are supposed to be full of Sea Kings! Maybe there will be a window, and I can see one? Maybe there will be wild Bananawani too!”

“It is a prison, so I don’t think there will be windows,” Shivs said in an attempt to calm the girl’s excitement and avoid utter disappointment if that turned out to be true. “It does reach quite a ways below the water surface. A few kilometres, perhaps? Yes, I think so.”

“Wow.” Turning to Mani, Benji added: “Let's find a window, I bet there will be wild Bananawani! You can say ‘hi’!”

Shivs took her by the shoulder when she saw the other visitors disembark. “Come, let’s not be late.”

Benji glanced up at her as they walked to the gangplank. “For the visit we didn-?”

“Don’t say that,” Shivs interrupted her with a quelling look.

“Right.” Benji smiled again and took Mani’s leash. “Come on Mani. Can’t be late!”

They were funnelled through the gatehouse and into a courtyard patrolled by marine sentries. Here, too, cannons peered through embrasures on all sides. Evidently, the prison was more concerned about threats to its security rising from within than without.

“Visitors for level 1 and 2 inmates, that way,” a young marine officer said as he gestured to a colleague. “Level 3 and up, with me.” The few people that joined them as they went to the marine officer gave the juvenile Bananawani plodding beside them a wide breadth. 

The officer led them up steps and into an wholly uninviting lobby. With its worn plaster walls and dirty grey linoleum floor it did its very best to make you want to leave as soon as possible. No seats, no plants, no windows, no nothing. 

“Registration check.” The marine officer motioned them towards the looming concrete counter on the other side of the unpleasant space. “In an orderly manner, gentlefolk.”

Benji put her arm around Mani, leaning into the large reptile and putting her nose against its scales as she eyed their casually hostile surroundings.

“What’s his name?” The marine officer’s tone was amiable, conversational.

“Hers!” Benji said, holding on tighter to the Bananawani.

He tried to catch her gaze with a smile. “Big girls, both of you.”

“Her name is Mani.”

“Ah, ‘she who averts harm’,” he said, and Shivs appreciated his attempts to make Benji feel comfortable. “A wise choice for such a hardy animal.”

“She’s very sweet and tough,” Benji agreed as she snuggled Mani. “I love her.”

“I am sure she loves you very much too.”

“What is your name?” Benji asked. “Mine is Benji!”

“Nice to meet you, Benji,” the young marine said. “Mine is Toby.”

By then it was their turn, and Shivs approached the desk. It was higher than such things normally were, for she was not a particularly short woman and yet she need not bend down to meet the registrar’s gaze.

“State your name and purpose?” the woman said, hands poised to take down the information.

“Figarland Seonaid. Conjugal visit,” Then added when she saw her transcribe it as ‘Sheona’: “That is without the H, and spelled with N-A-I-D.”

The registrar gave a sign of neither interest nor recognition. “Visiting?”

“Crocodile Niall.”

The woman paused when she heard that name. And Shivs ignored the whispers she could not quite catch from those behind her in line.

“Niall. N-I-A-L-L. Not ‘Nile’.”

The registrar flipped through a thick binder, finger running down a table packed with dense handwriting. “No visitation registered.”

“Preposterous,” Shivs said, overacting an affronted tone. “A signed request for visitation has been approved weeks ago.” 

“There is no record of it, ma'am.”

Benji let go of Mani to fling her arms around Shivs’ waist instead, and gave the registrar and marine officer her most watery of wobbly baby looks. “Mommy, I want to see daddy!”

Shivs rubbed her shoulder, giving the registrar the pleading look of parents the world across trying to desperately manage a child on the brink of wailing. Benji's little sob into the fabric of her dress was very convincing. Mani paced around them, uncertain but riled by the sudden change of mood.

“Can't you put in an expedited request?” Shivs suggested, trying her damndest to sound sincere. “She'd been looking forward to it, and we get so few chances.”

“No registration, no visitation,” the woman said as Benji took in a breath to start a wail.

Toby shook his head. “Let me see what I can do,” he said as he produced a small, earpiece Den Den Mushi and put the sea snail against his ear. A few transmissions later, he turned to the registrar and held up his hand. “Two visitor badges, please.”

With due reluctance the registrar handed them over to him and he turned to Benji. “There you go, kiddo,” he said as he gave her one, and then Shivs as well. “Courtesy of the vice-admiral making the curator see reason.”

“You're the best!” Benji beamed. “Look, mom, I am number 17! What is yours?”

Shivs looked at the scuffed 13 on the badge. It reminded her of a poker table she used to deal at, and the memory settled in the pit of her stomach like a fetch of cannon balls. “Not as high as yours, sweetie.”

“Come, I will see you two down to the right level,” Toby said, and led them to the elevator room beyond the lobby. There were four, two on the left and two on the right. He took them to the far right one, the doors opening as they approached.

“Awesome!” Benji said as she rushed inside, Mani hot on her heels. For the elevator was made entirely of armoured glass and provided a grand view of the ocean sprawling all the way across the horizon. The afternoon sun kissed the waves, setting sparkles to the white-capped water. And Shivs felt it beckon in her bones. 

Benji gave him a hopeful look. “Are we going underwater?”

“We are,” Toby said as he put a key in the control panel and turned it.

When the doors slid closed, Shivs suppressed the sudden and overwhelming urge to get out, to leave and never look back. To stay at the surface, where they belonged. I have to, she told herself as she clenched her hands into fists around the chain of her handbag. Bugs is down there, and he hates the dark beneath the waves.

The elevator jolted to life and Shivs closed her eyes, ignoring the sound of the lapping waves against the glass as they submerged, focussing on Benji’s excited noises instead. When she opened them again, they were enveloped in blue. Sunlight still penetrated, sending curtains of light through the water. Less so with every foot they descended, as the blue grew deeper, darker.

“A Sea King!” Benji screamed, spooking Mani as she glued herself against the glass. In the far distance, blurred in the shifting hues of the blue, swam a long, serpentine creature, its body undulating as it made its way from somewhere to elsewhere. 

“It could be the Prince of the Deep,” Toby said as he came to stand beside her. “It has about the right shape. Colour too, perhaps.”

Benji glanced at him, her eyes large and eager. “Prince?”

“Yes, because he is a prince among his kind. The largest Sea King in this part of the Calm Belt,” Toby said. “Ten times larger than Coral Grove, our largest dreadnought.”

“Wow.” Benji pressed her face against the glass. “Mani could snack on that for years.”

“Wouldn’t it be tough for her to hunt such a large creature?” Toby said, not without humour.

Benji rolled her eyes. “Not right now, she’s a baby. But she’ll be big and strong one day! Bananawani hunt Sea Kings, did you know?” she said and babbled the poor marine’s ears off about the large reptiles for some minutes.

As the armoured glass elevator descended to deeper water, their surroundings became steadily darker. Shivs put her gaze on the glass floor and the pitch black abyss below. It was easier to face the darkness approaching than the light receding, the sparkle of the sun on the water surface dwindling as you sank. The sea has never been friendly to man.

Beside her, Benji had put her arm around Mani as she looked up. No more sea kings down here.

“The 6th level is also called ‘The Basement’,” Toby said, making the girl glance away from the ever more distant sunlight. “Do you know why?”

Ghosts in the attic and monsters in the basement, Shivs thought as she recalled the sailors’ idiom about grief with its haunting memories and stowed feelings.

Benji eyed him, holding on to Mani still. “Because it's dark and far down?”

Because nobody goes there if they can help it. Shivs stared at the watery dark beneath their feet. The sea floor might never come and she'd not be surprised.

“Nope!” Toby said, his smile bright in the dimming light. “Because it is where all the cool people stay.”

Benji’s mood lit up. “My unc- Dad, is super cool! He's actually made out of sand, like, for real.”

“Are you made out of sand?”

Shivs gaze snapped onto him like a hawk. He was looking at Benji, fondness soft on his youthful face. He couldn't be much older than 20 or 22.

“I don't think so?” Benji let go of Mani to brush at her clothes, then glanced at him. “Do you want to pet her?”

Toby smiled. “Absolutely.”

🐊 🐊 🐊 

Horny hell seat reservations - @tiredemomama @smut-goblin @ruledbyproblematique @momodwriter @littlemountainwolf @fanaticsnail @feral-artistry - except there's no horny. Croc isn't even in it either. I feel like a cheat.

[indigomarina]

First Halloween (FrostedApple Nanny AU) Inspired by @notherpuppet's RadioApple Nanny AU and that cute duck onesie I've seen Lucifer in. It was Halloween night, and the Morningstar mansion was a flurry of excitement. Lucifer, clad in a bright yellow duck onesie complete with a beak and webbed feet, waddled around the foyer, quacking loudly. "Quack, quack! Where are my little ducklings?" he called, peering around comically. From the top of the stairs, Charlie appeared, dressed in a fierce demon costume, complete with horns, a spiked tail, and a little pitchfork. She let out a mighty roar, then dissolved into giggles. "I'm not a duckling, Daddy!" she protested, bouncing down the steps. "I'm a scary demon, see?" Lucifer swept her up, peppering her face with kisses until she squealed. "The cutest little demon in all of Hell!" he declared, setting her down just as Gloria and Eira made their entrance. Gloria was resplendent in a shimmering blue gown, her dark hair twisted up and adorned with icicles. Glittery frost patterns swirled over her pale skin, and in her hand, she carried a crystal-tipped wand. She looked every inch the snow witch, ethereal and enchanting. Eira, meanwhile, was the picture of a storybook Alice, in a baby blue dress with a frilly white apron, striped stockings, and a black hair band. She carried a little stuffed white rabbit, her expression caught between excitement and trepidation. Lucifer's jaw dropped at the sight of Gloria, his eyes wide and adoring. "Sweet Hell, you look stunning," he breathed, taking her hand and brushing a kiss over her knuckles. "I'm bewitched, my snowy sorceress." Gloria laughed, swatting him with her wand. "Flatterer. You just want me to magic up some candy for you, don't you?" Charlie, meanwhile, had grabbed Eira's hand, bouncing on her toes. "You look so pretty, Eira! Just like a real Alice!" Eira smiled shyly, hugging her rabbit. "Thank you. You make a very fearsome demon, Charlie." Lucifer clapped his hands, grinning broadly. "Alright, my little monsters! Who's ready to go trick-or-treating?" The girls cheered, racing for the door. Gloria and Lucifer followed at a more sedate pace, their hands intertwined. As they walked down the street, the girls darting from house to house, Gloria leaned her head on Lucifer's shoulder. "This is nice," she murmured, watching as Charlie and Eira compared their candy hauls, giggling together. "I can't remember the last time I celebrated Halloween." Lucifer pressed a kiss to her hair, pulling her closer. "Get used to it, my love. With Charlie around, every day is a celebration." Just then, a group of teenage boys passed by, snickering at Lucifer's costume. "Nice duck suit, man!" one of them called, laughing. Lucifer drew himself up, affronted. "I'll have you know, this is a very manly duck costume!" he retorted, flapping his arms for emphasis. "Quack, quack, motherduckers!" The boys howled with laughter, moving on. Gloria buried her face in Lucifer's shoulder, shaking with mirth. "Very manly," she agreed, her voice muffled. "The manliest duck in all the land." Lucifer huffed, but he was smiling. "Damn right. And don't you forget it." As the night wore on, the girls' energy began to flag. Charlie, her little pitchfork dragging, reached up to Lucifer. "Carry me, Daddy?" she pleaded, yawning. Lucifer scooped her up, settling her on his hip. Eira, not to be outdone, tugged at Gloria's dress. "Me too, Mama?" Gloria's heart melted. It was the first time Eira had called her that outside of their home. She bent down, gathering the sleepy girl into her arms. "Of course, my little Alice. Let's get you home to Wonderland." As they made their way back to the mansion, the girls dozing against their shoulders, Gloria felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the mild autumn night.

The house was quiet, the only sound the soft ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway. Lucifer and Gloria tiptoed into the living room, careful not to wake the sleeping girls. Charlie and Eira were curled up together on the couch, a tangled mess of candy wrappers, costume pieces, and exhausted little limbs. Charlie's demon horns were askew, and Eira's Alice band had slipped down over one eye, but they both wore matching smiles, lost in sugar-sweet dreams.

Gloria felt her heart swell at the sight, a rush of love so fierce it took her breath away. She turned to Lucifer, finding him watching the girls with the same tender expression. "We should get them to bed," she whispered, running a hand through Eira's mussed hair. Lucifer nodded, carefully scooping Charlie into his arms. The little girl mumbled something, burrowing her face into his fuzzy duck costume. Lucifer's eyes softened, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before carrying her off to her room.

Gloria followed suit with Eira, the child's slight weight a precious burden in her arms. She navigated the stairs slowly, marveling at the trust in Eira's sleeping face, the way her little hand curled into Gloria's dress even in slumber.

This, she thought as she tucked Eira into bed, was what love felt like. This quiet, perfect moment, the knowledge that she would do anything, everything, to keep this child safe and happy.

She brushed a kiss over Eira's brow, whispering a soft goodnight, before slipping out of the room. She found Lucifer in the hallway, leaning against the wall with a soft smile.

"Out like a light," he reported, tilting his head towards Charlie's door. "I think we wore them out."

Gloria chuckled, leaning into his side. "I think they wore us out. I'm exhausted." Lucifer wrapped an arm around her, guiding her back downstairs. "Ah, but it's the good kind of exhausted, isn't it? The kind that comes from a day well spent, full of joy and laughter." She hummed in agreement, letting him lead her to the couch. They collapsed onto it together, Gloria kicking off her shoes and curling into Lucifer's side. He draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. For a long moment, they simply sat in comfortable silence, basking in the warmth of each other's presence. Then, impulsively, Gloria turned her head, pressing a soft kiss to Lucifer's cheek. He blinked, surprised, then grinned. "What was that for?" In answer, Gloria kissed him again, this time on the corner of his mouth. And again, on the tip of his nose. Lucifer laughed, his eyes crinkling with delight. "Not that I'm complaining, but-" She silenced him with a kiss to his lips, lingering and sweet. When she pulled back, his face was smeared with her cobalt blue lipstick, and he was staring at her with a dazed, lovestruck expression. "You," she informed him, punctuating each word with another kiss, "are the cutest," kiss, "sweetest," kiss, "most ridiculous," kiss, "duck-wucky I have ever seen." Lucifer, looking thoroughly kissed and more than a little punch-drunk, let out a slightly manic giggle. "Duck-wucky?" Gloria grinned, wiping at the lipstick stains with her thumb. "Mhmm. My very own adorable duck-wucky. And I wouldn't have you any other way." His expression softened, his eyes liquid with emotion. "Gloria, I… you…" She pressed a finger to his lips, smiling. "I know, Luci. Me too." And she did. In that perfect, shining moment, she knew. Knew that this was where she belonged, where she had always been meant to be. Here, in this house full of laughter and love, with this ridiculous, wonderful man and their two precious girls. Her family. Her home. Her happily ever after. She leaned in, resting her forehead against his. Lucifer's arms came around her, holding her close, so close she could feel the beat of his heart against her own. "Happy Halloween, Lucifer," she whispered. He smiled, his eyes never leaving hers. "Happy Halloween, my snow angel."

And as he captured her lips once more, Gloria let herself melt into his embrace, into the warmth and love and certainty of it all. Outside, the night was dark and full of monsters. But here, in the circle of Lucifer's arms, in the heart of their little family…

Here, there was only light, and love, and the promise of forever.

And really, what treat could be sweeter than that?

[candycandy00]

The Dark Carnival - Shigaraki x Reader

AU fic about the League of Villains as members of a 1920’s traveling circus/carnival, and everywhere they go, people tend to disappear. Each chapter will feature a new Reader getting mixed up with one of the members. This is a dark fanfic so please don’t expect happy endings!

Smut. 18+. Violence. Death. Blood. Whips. Oral sex. Creampie. Rough sex (the sex is consensual though).

It was your sister who convinced you to go to the traveling carnival that had just arrived in town. She’d been watching the progress of the huge colorful tents being erected in the empty field behind the school, and she’d come home to tell you of the exotic animals she’d seen being led from enormous carts to steel cages. To make her happy, you agreed to go with her on the first night it was open. 

You noticed him right away. How could you not? He was the ring master, as well as the lion tamer. He was dressed in a blood red jacket, a black and red vest underneath, with white pants and black shiny boots. A black hat sat atop a mess of white hair that spilled to his shoulders and framed a surprisingly young and pretty face. A few faint scars marred his visage, but to you they only added to his mysterious charm. 

But his eyes entranced you most of all. They were the color of his jacket, the color of blood. So unusual, but so incredibly beautiful. You were mesmerized by him, by the way he moved across the sandy floor of the tent, the way he cracked his whip to get the lions to do his bidding, the way the rest of the performers seemed to move around him as if he were the true star of the circus. 

The other performers were alluring in their own right. A white haired fire dancer covered in burn scars, nude to his waist, piercings on his lips and nipples connected by thin dangling chains. A sharply dressed magician who wore a glittering mask over his eyes and charmed every young lady lucky enough to be selected as his volunteer assistant for the evening, his hands sliding over their bodies as he helped them in and out of various contraptions. A lovely young knife thrower in a striped corset and fishnet stockings, laughing gleefully as she outlined the bodies of her adoring fans in knives. A ruggedly handsome ventriloquist who wore a bow tie and suspenders over his tightly fitting shirt and chain smoked as he made his puppet say outrageous things. And finally, the Lizard Man who was dragged out covered in chains, even his mouth bound shut, as if he were a danger to everyone there, but with long shaggy pink hair and shockingly kind eyes that made everyone in the audience want to free him. 

Even when the others were performing amazing feats, your eyes sought him out. When not in the middle of the biggest ring, he usually stood leaning against the lion cage, arms crossed, watching his fellow performers. At the end of the show, he stood near the tent’s exit, periodically bowing to patrons as they left. As you walked by him, your heart raced. Your eyes met his, and the intensity of his stare made heat rush to your face. 

The second night, your sister didn’t have to convince you at all. You were eager to get to the big tent and take your seat, a bit closer to the ring this time. As the handsome ring master moved around, cracking his whip at the lions, his eyes drifted over the crowd. Was it your imagination, or did they seem to linger on you? 

You shifted in your seat, feeling nervous and excited. You watched his performance with rapt attention, barely even hearing your sister when she asked if you wanted some cotton candy. The only treat you wanted was standing in the middle of the ring, holding the whip taut between his hands as he suddenly ran his tongue along the length of it. Several ladies in the audience gasped, but you could tell from the looks on their faces that they’d enjoyed the spectacle. 

The third night was the last performance, and you sat in the front row, face flushed, eyes shining as you committed his every move to your memory. You didn’t want this to end. The thought of going back to your drab, boring life while the ring master rode out of town made you feel a deep sadness you couldn’t explain. 

So after the last performance was done and everyone had gone home, you decided to sneak back into the carnival to get one last look at the man who had captivated you so strongly. Perhaps, you thought, you could even speak to him or get his autograph. 

It was a crazy impulse, and you’d never been the type to follow such whims, but once the idea was in your head, you couldn’t resist. 

It was pitch dark when you snuck back into the carnival grounds. All the bright swirling lights were turned off, all the rides gone still. As you crept along, you wondered which tent belonged to the ring master. You didn’t have to wonder long. 

He stepped out of a small tent among a row of similar tents, lighting a cigarette then crossing his arms, tilting his head to look up at the cloudless sky. He was so beautiful in the starlight that your breath caught in your throat. You stood there for a moment in the darkness, peeking out from behind a nearby crate, just enjoying the sight of him, thrilled by the thought that you were seeing him in a private moment that the other women in the audience would never get to see. 

Someone in the distance called out a name that sounded foreign to you, and the ring master walked toward the voice, leaving the immediate area of his tent. Had that been his name? You’d never heard one like “Tomura” before. 

Regardless, his tent was now unguarded, just sitting there empty, ripe to be looked through. You hesitated for a moment, wondering if you should really go through with this. You wanted so badly to get a glimpse of his personal space, to perhaps get even a tiny inkling as to who he really was. But what if he came back and caught you? You could just say you were lost, right? 

You crept over to his tent and carefully pulled the fabric of the opening back, glancing inside. It was lit by a few small lamps with clear glass globes, so you stepped on in. 

The space was nothing shocking. There was a bed, a dresser with a large mirror, a huge wooden trunk, and a wrack of colorful clothes that all looked similar to the outfits he’d been wearing during the shows. Still, you felt amazing just being in there. You ran one hand along the dresser, then went over to the clothes and smelled of them. To your surprise, they didn’t smell like animals or any typical circus odors. They smelled fairly fresh. 

Suddenly you heard footsteps outside the tent. He was back! In a panic, you completely forgot the plan to say you were lost and instead dove behind the clothes, easily slipping out of view. 

You heard the flap of the tent’s entrance open and then heavy footsteps walking through the tent. You carefully parted the clothes a tiny bit and peered out. You found the ring master standing in front of his dresser, looking at himself in the mirror. As you watched, he began removing his clothing, piece by piece. You heart rate sped up as more and more of his toned body became visible. Without realizing it, you’d started breathing heavily. 

Suddenly he turned his head toward the clothes and said, “Who’s there?”

You froze, an instinctive fear overtaking all your thoughts. Why were you so frightened? The worst that could happen was that he’d be angry and you’d be embarrassed. But something deep within you told you to flee. You ignored it. 

The ring master grabbed his whip from the dresser and cracked it toward the the clothes you were hiding behind, causing them to slide to the left and reveal you standing there in your pink floral sundress. 

He regarded you with a cold, penetrating stare and asked, “What are you doing in my tent?”

Even half dressed, he was imposing. 

“I’m sorry, I got lost,” you managed to squeak out. 

He stared at you with those red eyes, as if he could see right through you. 

You decided to fess up. “No, that’s a lie,” you admitted. “The truth is… I’ve been so drawn to you. I’ve come to every performance, and I find myself enamored. I just wanted to see you one more time before you leave town. I thought maybe… you could give me your autograph.”

His face broke into a somewhat eerie smile. “If that’s true, I can give you something much better than an autograph.”

Right there in the tent, just a few feet away from you, he pulled his cock out. You gasped and looked away, unable to believe he would do something so brazen. Then you remembered that you’d been hiding in his tent, watching him undress. To him, you were probably the brazen one. You looked back at him, at the long, pale shaft in his hand, growing larger and firmer before your eyes. 

“Come here,” he said, and your body seemed to move on its own. You stepped over to him, your heart hammering in your chest, and he put one hand on your shoulder, gently but firmly pushing you down to a kneeling position before him. You found yourself at mouth level with his now fully erect cock. 

You looked up at at him, uncertain, but he put his hand on the back of your head, threading his thin fingers through your hair, and pulled you closer. By reflex you opened your mouth, and his cock slid inside. You closed your lips around it, licked at it with your tongue, savoring the taste of him. He watched you, his expression unchanged as you pulled back and ran your tongue along the length, wanting to give him pleasure more than anything else in the world.

Finally, your licking and sucking seemed to have an effect, as his grip on your hair tightened. He pulled out of your mouth and said, “Hold out your tongue.”

You obeyed immediately. He grasped the tip of your tongue with his thumb and one finger, pulling it a little further out, then shot his cum directly onto it. The warm sticky fluid drizzled down your bottom lip and chin, but you managed to bring most of it into your mouth, where you swallowed it. 

He grinned down at you. “Good girl.”

You stood up slowly, not wanting to do anything that would displease him. It was as if your whole body existed just for him. You’d never been so entranced by anyone before. 

He reached forward and undid the buttons on the front of your dress, then pulled it down to pool around your feet, leaving you only in bra, panties, garter belt, and sheer stockings. You blushed, lowering your eyes, but he took hold of your hand and pulled you over to the bed. 

After pushing you onto your back, you watched in confusion as he unspooled the whip and held it up. “Put your hands above your head,” he commanded, and you did. 

The next moment, he swung the whip, and it coiled tightly around both your wrists, holding them together. You cried out in pain as the whip stung your flesh, and you noticed that it was covered in tiny sharp briars that pricked your skin and caused little drops of blood to trickle down your arms. 

He stood over you, watching your face, as if waiting to see if you would beg him to release you. But you didn’t. You would let this man do whatever he wanted with you, if it meant getting to spend even one more moment in his presence. 

After a few moments, he climbed onto the bed, and pulled a small knife from his boot. You drew in a sharp breath, wondering what he was going to do with it, but he simply used it to cut off your bra and panties, leaving the garter belt and stockings. 

He moved down and pushed your knees apart, then used two fingers to spread you open. You gasped as he leaned forward and ran his tongue along the inside of your folds, prodding at your clit with the tip. You arched your back and moaned. He alternated using his tongue and his fingers to pleasure you, making obscene sounds with the wet arousal dripping out of you, bringing you to climax faster than you ever thought possible. 

As you shuddered through your orgasm, he got to his knees between your thighs and positioned himself at your entrance. You barely had time to register what he was doing when he thrust inside you. You bucked against the whip restraining you, your whole body lifting off the bed, the briars biting into your wrists. It hurt. All of it did. But he was so beautiful, you would have let him whip you as if you were a misbehaving lion. 

He pulled back and looked down at where your bodies were connected, his expression vaguely displaying surprise. You assumed he saw blood and realized you were a virgin. He grinned at you again and thrust back in, burying himself in you. 

You whimpered but you wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him even deeper into you. All those other women and girls in the audience were so obviously smitten with him, and he may have bowed to them as they left or graced them with a smile, but you were the one he was fucking. You were special. 

He reached one hand up to stroke your hair as he continued thrusting in and out. “For a virgin, you can take it deep,” he said, clearly meaning it as a compliment. 

You clenched around him, the praise causing your arousal to spike. You looked up at him with teary, lust-filled eyes. “P-please… wherever you’re going… take me with you!”

He looked you in the eyes, but said nothing, so you went on. 

“I’ll do anything you want! I don’t think I can live without you!”

His eyes shifted away from your face as he muttered, “You won’t have to worry about that.”

“What?”

He suddenly kissed you on the lips, pushing his tongue into your mouth, making you forget what he’d just said as one of his hands groped your breast. The sudden actions, coupled with the sensation of his cock repeatedly hitting a very sensitive spot inside you, brought you over the edge again, leaving you whimpering against his mouth. 

Moments later, he shot his seed inside you, so much that you felt like it would leak out around his cock. 

He pulled out and stood up, then walked over to retrieve his pants from the floor, leaving you shuddering on the bed, the whip still digging into your skin. 

When he stepped back over to you, he pulled the whip free. It hurt, possibly more than when he originally hit you with it, and blood kept sliding  down your shaking arms. He coiled the whip back up and leaned over you, rubbing the whip against your breast, the briars scratching over the nipple. You hissed and tossed your head back, enjoying the pain. 

He watched you with something like amusement, smiling down at you as he dragged the whip down, then rubbed it against the tender flesh between your legs. It wasn’t hard enough to draw blood, but your body was already so sensitive that the sensations felt much sharper than they were. You moaned and reached for him, wanting to pull him closer, wanting him to kiss you again. But he abruptly stopped and stood back up, looking toward the entrance to his tent. 

You followed his gaze and saw several figures walking into the tent. It was the other performers, all five of them, dressed in casual clothing as they crowded in and stood around, none of them seeming the least bit surprised to find a naked young woman in the ring master’s bed. 

“Oh, you’re not finished yet?” one of them asked. You were too confused to notice which one. You tried to cover your nudity with your arms as you scooted to the back of the bed. 

“I was just about to,” the ring leader said, uncoiling the whip and stretching it tight between his hands. 

“What’s going on?!” you cry, feeling completely exposed and vulnerable. 

The fire dancer laughed. “The boss is about to finish you up. At least he showed you a good time first, from the looks of it.” His eyes very pointedly moved to the wet sticky spot on the sheets. 

You couldn’t take this any more. Things were getting crazy, fast. You jumped off the bed and ran toward the tent’s entrance, but you only got a few feet before you heard a familiar sound, the whip slicing through the air. A split second later, you felt the spike-covered whip wrap around your neck, cutting into the delicate skin of your throat, causing blood to trickle down to your chest as you struggled to get your fingers under the whip. 

You were jerked backwards, toward the end of the bed, and you watched in horror as the ring master slung his end of the whip over a metal hook hanging from the tent’s ceiling and pulled, causing you to be lifted off your feet, hanging you. 

You struggled wildly, kicking and jerking as your oxygen ran out. Just before you were about to black out, you were able to extend one foot to touch the end of the bed, giving yourself a tiny bit of leeway to suck in some air, your fingers clawing at the whip. The motion forced you to spread your legs apart, and you felt the ring master’s cum, tinted red by your blood, pour out of you. 

You heard some of the other performers laugh, and one of them said, “Fuck, you really filled her up, boss!”

You looked down at the ring master, who was holding the end of the whip firmly, using it to squeeze the life out of you. You couldn’t understand why he was doing this. When he finally met your eyes, he looked… regretful? “Sorry,” he said in a quiet voice, “I can’t keep a pet. I always end up killing them. Best to do it now before I get attached.”

Your eyes widened as he suddenly jerked on the whip, pulling you further into the air and out of reach of the bed. You jerked and kicked, desperate to find some footing, desperate for mercy, but none came. You got one last look at those beautiful red eyes as you lost consciousness, and died. 

The next morning, the dark carnival loaded up and headed for the next town, leaving your body in a shallow grave. 

[paganimagevault]

The Princess of Ukok (aka Siberian Ice Maiden & The White Lady) 500 BCE. Tumblr image limit only allows 30 photos, I will include a link to my blog, at bottom, with more photos and more organized descriptions.

"In 1993, Russian archaeologist Natalya Polosmak and her team discovered an ancient tomb at the Ukok Plateau, in the Altai Mountains region of Russia near the border with China.

The ‘Maiden’ belonged to the Pazyryk culture. The Pazyryk people, a congregation of Scythian nomadic tribes, lived in the Altai mountains in the 6th to 3rd centuries B.C.

The woman’s body, carefully embalmed using peat and bark, was laid on its side as if she were asleep. She was young and her hair was shaved, but she wore a wig and a tall hat. She was 167cm tall. Some tribal animal-style tattoos remained on her pale skin: creatures with horns that evolved into floral shapes. Her coffin was made large enough to accommodate the 90cm felt headdress she wore. She was also wearing a long wool skirt with red and white stripes and white felt stockings.

'A mop of hair on top was tightly wrapped around with a woollen cord, which helped this mop to stand upright,' she says. 'On top of this mop was worn a red 'nakosnik' (a braided decoration made from threads), and atop of this structure was a bronze pin with a deer, standing on a sphere. The deer was made from wood, and was covered in golden foil.' Yet it was more intricate, still. 'The wig had another very important detail,' she says. Its crowning glory looked like a giant feather, 68.5 cm long, made from felt and covered with black woollen fabric, with a stick inside it to help it stand straight.' she says. 'This feather had the figures of 15 birds attached to it, which like in modern Russian Matryoshkha dolls with one inside another, were each of smaller size compared to the previous one. The birds had leather wings, tails and legs, and long necks, which most likely meant they were swans. 'This feather can be interpreted as a symbol of the Tree of Life - a healing tree which existed in so many cultures all around the planet. By the roots of the tree there is a wooden figure of a deer with a Capricorn's antlers. 'There was also ... a cap for the wig.... some 84 cm tall. It was found in Princess Ukok's burial chamber.'

The Altai princess became the second mummy found with a tattoo (tattoo had not yet been found on other, earlier mummies in the Hermitage). Kurgan 1, burial ground Ak-Alakha-3 (Ukok Plateau, Altai). Tattoos were inked on both arms from shoulders to hands. The drawings were blue and stood out against the white skin. They were preserved only on the left hand, on the right they were almost completely destroyed. Drawings were also applied to some phalanges of both hands. Archaeologists saw the tattoos during the opening of the wooden sarcophagus, then the mummy's skin began to darken, and the tattoos disappeared, subsequently they were restored in the laboratory. When other Pazyryk mummies were found, the tattoos were not visually noticeable.

The tattoos on the left shoulder of the 'princess' show a fantastical mythological animal: a deer with a griffon's beak and a Capricorn's antlers. The antlers are decorated with the heads of griffons. And the same griffon's head is shown on the back of the animal. The mouth of a spotted panther with a long tail is seen at the legs of a sheep. She also has a deer's head on her wrist, with big antlers. There is a drawing on the animal's body on a thumb on her left hand.

Somehow, many Pazyryk burials in this region were flooded, possibly with underground waters, and then froze – so the organic remains were preserved almost untouched by decay.

The embalmed body was buried at least three months after death. All this time, the mysterious woman continued to play a special role in the life of her tribe — for example, she was put in some chairs, which can be seen from the traces on the body. At the same time, a complex, time-consuming ceremony of embalming is a sign of the extraordinary status of the deceased. However, the scientists deny her status as a ‘Princess.’

“It’s not accurate to call her a ‘princess’. She was not a princess, she was a representative of the middle layer of the Pazyryk society,” archaeologist Vyacheslav Molodin, academician at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Natalya Polosmak’s husband, told “Expert-Siberia” magazine in 2012.

Studies of the mummified remains extraordinary advances in our understanding of her rich and ingenious Pazyryk culture. The tattoos on her skin are works of great skill and artistry, while her fashion and beauty secrets - from items found in her burial chamber which even included a 'cosmetics bag' - allow her impressive looks to be recreated more than two millennia after her death.

The princess' cosmetic kit included a black horsehair brush with a thin wooden shaft inside, tied with a (disappeared) leather cord, completely studded with cylindrical marble beads, and handfuls of scattered powder of bright blue-green color. There were also the remains of a broken thin rod of flat metal rings filled with the same blue-green substance (that is, in fact, it is a pencil for drawing lines or drawings like our eyeliner).

Analysis showed that it was vivianite (blue iron ore). Such a powder, closer to modern times, was used to obtain green paint. In the Altai Mountains, it is known as a satellite of gold-bearing sands. Perhaps this powder had a sacred meaning. The vivianite pencil may have been used for face painting, possibly for people with special functions or gifts. Among the Pazyryks, face and body painting has not been recorded, partly because not a single mummified face has been found. But among the peoples close to the Pazyryks, such a tradition was recorded, in particular, the painting of the face with two spiral drawings. There is a weak association with the blue-green turquoise Hathor from the Sinaiand numerous Sumerian green cosmetic "shadows" in boxes discovered during excavations in Ur and other cities of Sumer.

It is believed that she was not in fact a royal but that her use of drugs to cope with the symptoms of her illnesses may have given her 'an altered state of mind', leading her kinsmen to the belief that she could communicate with the spirits. Her lavish grave suggests she was someone of singular importance.

The MRI, conducted in Novosibirsk by eminent academics Andrey Letyagin and Andrey Savelov, showed that the 'princess' suffered from osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone or bone marrow, from childhood or adolescence. Close to the end of her life, she was afflicted, too, by injuries consistent with a fall from a horse.

The mystery was solved only in the 2010s with the help of a computed tomography scan. It showed that the maiden suffered from breast cancer that killed her in about three years. She was 25 at the time of her death.

'During the imaging of mammary glands, we paid attention to their asymmetric structure and the varying asymmetry of the MR signal,' stated Dr Letyagin in his analysis. 'We are dealing with a primary tumour in the right breast and right axial lymph nodes with metastases.'

'The three first thoracic vertebrae showed a statistically significant decrease in MR signal and distortion of the contours, which may indicate the metastatic cancer process.' He concluded: 'I am quite sure of the diagnosis - she had cancer.

'She was extremely emaciated. Given her rather high rank in society and the information scientists obtained studying mummies of elite Pazyryks, I do not have any other explanation of her state. Only cancer could have such an impact.'

'When she arrived in winter camp on Ukok in October, she had the fourth stage of breast cancer,' she wrote. 'She had severe pain and the strongest intoxication, which caused the loss of physical strength. 'In such a condition, she could fall from her horse and suffer serious injuries. She obviously fell on her right side, hit the right temple, right shoulder and right hip. Her right hand was not hurt, because it was pressed to the body, probably by this time the hand was already inactive. Though she was alive after her fall, because edemas are seen, which developed due to injuries.

The DNA research performed on the remains showed that the ‘Maiden’ is genetically closely related to contemporary Selkup and Ket peoples – indigenous Siberian tribes still living in Russia.

'There was a moment of gross misunderstanding when a legend came about this mummy being a foremother of people of Altai,' said Molodin.

'The people of Pazyryk belonged to different ethnic group, in no way related to Altaians. Genetic studies showed that the Pazyryks were a part of Samoyedic family, with elements of Iranian-Caucasian substratum.'

So perhaps more Samoyedic than Scythian.

'We tried to overcome the misunderstanding, but sadly it didn't work.'

The Altai authorities have now declared the remote mountain area from where the princess and her kinsmen were buried as a 'zone of peace' where no more excavations will take place, despite the near-certain treasures lying in the permafrost.

Such work amounts to plundering, they believe.

To Molodin, who found the male mummy several years after the princess, this deprives the world of a valuable scientific inheritance. He argues, too, that the issue is critical since global warming means the ancient bodies will decay.

Scientists reckon there are thousands of burial mounds here, hundreds of which date to the Pazyryk period, many of which may contain answers to questions about where we come from.

The ancient mummy of a mysterious young woman, known as the Ukok Princess, is finally returning home to the Altai Republic this month (The Siberian Times, August 2012).

On 19 May 2014, during a speech at the museum, (Alexander) Berdnikov reminded the crowd and media that the renovation and repatriation of the Altai Princess was one of his most important accomplishments, of course aided by Gazprom:

We should be proud that we have such a museum. A great accomplishment; we thank the management of Gazprom. When I was appointed as the Head [of the Altai Republic] one of my main goals and dreams was to have a bright opening of a renovated museum and that we could welcome the “Siberian Ice Maiden” home again. Today our museum is the best one east of the Urals and is the only one that has been restored in Russia in the past twenty years. (Government of the Altai Republic 2014)

The museum, the repatriated Altai Princess, and a vibrant cultural life, all indirectly bankrolled by Gazprom."

-taken from The Siberian Times, Russia Beyond, Taylor & Francis Online, world-jewellery livejournal, and peaceandjustice

[lonely-vault-boy]

What kinds of gifts do you think the harbingers give eachother during their """christmas""" holiday?

ngl these prompts are absolutely my favorite thing to see when i open tumblr!!

Pierro gives everybody socks. All of them. But they're all goofy socks he ordered custom.

Dottore's last year were anatomically correct. Two years ago they had a bunch of his clones in chibi form. This year they have a bunch of little organs and vials. Only prime gets socks tho bc Pantalone is very strict with the holiday gift budget.

Capitano gets just boring black socks, but he secretly wants fun socks like everybody else.

Columbina gets fluffy slipper socks.

Pulcinella gets socks with striped or dot patterns- kinda basic, but very fun for an old man.

He forgot to get Scara a gift for the last 200 years in a row. It is absolutely on purpose.

Apparently his socks were classy enough for Signora, bc she claimed that she lit them on fire. She secretly wore them on nights when she felt lonely tho. They usually have some sort of moth or rose pattern on them.

Sandrone gets frilly socks, but she never actually checks her mail. They've been sitting there for two years. The frilly socks for her robot had a much better reception tho.

Pantalone gets socks with little mora on them. Every year. And every year he says that he would have preferred a check.

Arlecchino gets plain woolen socks, but she prefers the practicality.

Childe always gets the most fucked up socks but in a fun way. Pierro (as an immortal) doesn't fully understand age. So he gets Childe socks from whatever thing is popular with like little kids and then has it designed so something is getting stabbed. Super gruesome, but Childe grew up poor and was raised to never reject a gift.

Dottore gives everyone vitamins. He knows all of their medical records by heart, so he comes up with custom vitamins for each of them.

Columbina only gives gifts to a few people. Her gifts to Pierro and Dottore greatly benefit the Fatui's research, but I can't say what they are because that knowledge is forbidden. She also makes Arlecchino and Childe super fluffy scarves. They're not very well knitted, but Arlecchino wears hers all the time. Childe wears his whenever he's in Snezhnaya bc he's afraid of her.

Capitano gives everybody rations. He says it's best to be practical. For the past 5 years, he's had to tell Childe that sparring is not a valid gift. He also hands out rations in the capital because winters are very harsh.

Pulcinella used to get meaningful little gifts for each harbinger...but for the past 5 years he hasn't had enough in his budget to get anything for most of the other harbingers. He claims he invests it into the city, but if anyone has been to a small home in Morepesok (or even Childe's room at the palace), they'd be able to see that he's lying. If they could see anything at all beyond the piles of candy and plushies.

Scaramouche despises the holidays. Partially bc nobody ever gets him anything, but mostly bc he hates seeing all of the happy families gathered together around the fire. Especially the young kids. It reminds him of the family he should have had...

Sandrone gives the other harbingers little dolls of themselves. It's super creepy. Childe also gets a card every year asking for some of his hair.

Signora claims she's above trivial matters like holidays, but if one listens very carefully, they can sometimes hear a woman singing from atop the palace.

Pantalone gives everyone passive aggressive cards accusing them of going over budget. He used to get mocked for not getting actual gifts, but he claims the cards are made from quality paper.

Also...he doesn't have the best track record with gifts.

He 100% sucks up to Pierro and he Tsaritsa in his cards tho.

Dottore gets sucked up in a different way.

Arlecchino buys gifts for the orphans, but occasionally she'll gift the other harbingers ugly sweaters. Once, one of the stockings "accidentally" ended up on Childe's desk. She says she has no idea how it got there, and he claims that he didn't cry himself to sleep during his first holiday away from his family.

They're both liars, but neither of them really wants to call the other out.

Childe always ends up with the most gifts. Not just from the harbingers (and the Tsaritsa) since he's the youngest and was still a kid when he was recruited, but also from the Fatui who work under him. He spends his entire budget on gifts for his family and Pulcinella, so he makes the other harbingers and recruits a nice, warm meal. He spends like a super long time on it too. And none of the other harbingers want to admit that it's good, but it is.

He managed to convince Pulcinella to let him invite some of the orphans as well so they can have a nice meal for the holidays.

[sodaabaa]

little fox, part three

bruce wayne x OC in looking for help from ally and friend lucius fox, bruce wayne finds a rather curious young woman in his stead.

tw: mentions of parental deaths, grief, typical violence/danger of gotham.

masterlist

playlist

Maia rubbed the sleep from her eyes, looking through the room as rays of light shone through the beige curtains, making them glow golden with the sunlight. It took her a second to realize where she was. 

Shit.

She threw off her covers and scrambled to reach for her phone – it was only Thursday and she had to be at the office by 8. She groaned when she saw the time, 10:46. 

“Dammit,” She muttered. Maia didn’t make it a habit to be late, in fact, she wasn’t ever late. She stood up from the bed, stretching out her stiff muscles for a brief second as she looked for the clothes she wore yesterday. Alfred had set up the room last night, going so far as to provide a pair of pajamas – although much too large for her, they were quite comfy. The room was also fully stocked with snacks, bottles of water, packets of tea and even a Nespresso machine. Maia hadn’t ever stayed at a hotel with this amount of luxury, let alone a home.

She got dressed and quickly made her way downstairs. Her steps faltered. 

Do I go to the kitchen? Or the dining room – if so, which one there's a dozen of them? Where’s Alfred?

Her thoughts jumbled. She didn’t want to leave without thanking Alfred and Bruce for accommodating her but she also didn’t exactly know where she’d find them. She stood in the middle of the hall, unsure which way to go. Luckily, footsteps echoed nearby so she followed after the sound.

She was met with the back of Bruce’s head as he strode through the hallway. He wore a gray suit accented with thin white stripes. He brought a hand up to check his watch (which probably cost more than a whole six months of her apartment’s rent). 

“Mr. Wayne!” She called out as she scurried after him. He stopped in his tracks, turning to Maia. She had to steady herself as he laid his eyes on her. She hated how her stomach erupted with butterflies when he looked at her. Maia couldn’t deny that he was a beautiful man, resembling a Greek statue come to life – and the expensive suits, watches, and shoes he wore only enhanced his appeal.

“Good morning, Maia. Join me for breakfast?” He asked her with a smile, stepping back into a brisk walk, he didn’t wait for Maia to match his stride.

She took a few quick steps to catch up to him.

“Um, I’m a bit late to work – do you know where I might find Alfred?” She said as she looked around.

“Don’t worry about it, I already called your boss to say you’re fixing something for me and you’ll be out today. Breakfast?” 

Maia stopped in her tracks, “You called–,” She paused, taking a moment to gather herself, “don’t you think you should’ve checked with me before doing that?”

He stopped, turning back to stand in front of her. 

“You were up late last night and when Alfred came to check on you this morning, you were still fast asleep. He thought maybe you’d appreciate sleeping in and so I made a call.”

He said it so nonchalantly. She supposed for someone in his position, everything was just that simple. Maia sighed, she could already sense her coworkers coming up with rumors, whispering to each other about Bruce Wayne calling on her behalf to inform her boss that she’d be out for the day. She decided not to pick a fight and take advantage of the day off he’d just afforded her. 

“So, I’ll update you when I get a ping on the honeypot then,” She said. 

“You won’t join me for breakfast?”

“I’ve got some errands to run – thanks to you, I have some spare time on my hands now,” Palpable sarcasm dripped off her words. She couldn’t help but want to spite him after the liberties he saw himself fit to take. 

Bruce nodded slowly, “I won’t keep you, then. I’ll have Alfred bring the car around. Thank you for the help.” He walked off, leaving Maia where he had found her in the hallway.

She ran a hand through her hair. The interaction left her feeling confused. He could never understand the difficulties she’d been through. Being one of the only women on the securities team at Wayne Enterprises required her to work twice as hard as the men she worked with – and still, the smallest mistake, the slightest indication of “having it easy” as a woman and all her hard work would be washed down the drain. 

“Ready to go, Miss?” Alfred called out as he appeared at the end of the hall. She pushed her thoughts away, smiling at the butler approaching her.

“Yes, thank you Alfred. I could call a taxi, I wouldn’t want to trouble you.” “Nonsense, it’s no trouble at all. Shall we?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maia threw herself onto her bed with a huff. Despite the luxury of Wayne manor, she much preferred the comfort of her own bed. It was only midday and for once, Maia had little to do apart from lounge about. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled and she remembered that she hadn’t eaten anything since waking up this morning.

“To Big Belly Burger, I guess.”

She pushed herself up off her bed, grabbing her wallet and keys on the way out. The beloved fast food restaurant was just around the block so she opted to walk. The city bustled around her, workers rushing to grab their lunches from the nearest bodega, people whistling for taxis, cars honking in the traffic. Maia could sit and people-watch all day, comforted by the endless hustle and bustle of Gotham. She finally reached the Big Belly Burger, bells ringing as she opened the door.

“Hey Reggie,” She greeted the staff. 

“Hey Maia, haven’t seen you in a while. The usual?” Reggie replied with a warm smile on his face. He’d been working here ever since Maia moved in around the corner – she had just graduated from college and returned to Gotham. 

“Yes, please. I’m starving,” She said, taking a seat at the counter. 

“Ted! Number two with extra pickles!” He yelled over his shoulder. Maia smiled as Reggie walked off to tend to other business, leaving her to deal with her own work.

She pulled her laptop out of her bag to check on any Entropy updates. So far, they hadn’t tried to get into any Wayne systems – good for the company but she couldn’t help feeling anxious, what if she’d been wrong about Wayne Enterprises being the next target? Her fingers tapped away at the keyboard, going over everything she’d gathered the night before, tracing all the breadcrumbs they’d left. Her review was cut short by her phone buzzing, she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone to see a message from an unknown number.

Wayne Gala at 8pm. Do me the honor of being my plus one? - B. Wayne

She fought the urge to smile despite her frustrations with the charming man.

How did you get my number?

She waited.

You’re not the only one who can track subjects of interest. 

She rolled her eyes.

“Hey now, who’s got you smiling like that, Fox?” Reggie’s teasing broke Maia out of her giddy daze.

She put the phone face down on the counter, trying her best not to blush.

“No one,” She replied defensively.

He raised his brows at her, unconvinced as he wiped down the counter and then left her to herself when she didn't give into his teasing.

Another buzz returned her attention to the phone.

Still waiting on an answer.

If her boss wasn’t already suspicious of her, this would surely be the nail in the coffin – her reputation and all the work she’d done would be flushed down the drain. But she also couldn’t help falling for his charms. It’d been an embarrassingly long time since she’d gone out and had some fun, and who’s to say her boss would even be there? 

Can you check the invite list for Carl Langford?

She bounced her leg rapidly, waiting for his reply. The three dots in the corner finally appeared.

He’s not on the list. 

She exhaled, sighing in relief as another text came in.

I’ll send a car. Be ready at 7.

See you then, Mr. Wayne. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bruce stepped out of his car, instantly being met with a swarm of paparazzi. He took a breath and plastered a drunken smile on his face as he waved and pointed, throwing quips and pleasantries at those he recognized in the crowd. He walked through the bright flashes, bringing a hand up to block some of the light. He made his way in, sobering back up. His eyes searched the room, he arrived slightly early this time in hopes he’d meet up with Maia but she’d yet to show. He looked down at his phone, checking her location – in reality, it was the car Alfred had picked her up in that he was tracking. The GPS indicated that she was just a few minutes away. Bruce decided to wait at the bar facing the entrance. He called over the bartender with the raise of a hand and ordered a drink suitable for the role he played at these events. 

“Scotch, neat. Thank you.” 

“Drinking already, Mr. Wayne,” A familiar voice called out from behind him.

He turned, meeting the friendly old man with a genuine smile. 

“Lucius, where’ve you been?” He replied, arms open to embrace the man he’d come to be quite fond of.

“Taking a much needed break but I’m back now. I hope you haven’t gotten into too much trouble in my absence.” He offered Lucius a seat and gestured for the bartender to pour a drink. 

“I’m afraid it’s been dull around here since you’ve been gone.” Lucius chuckled, taking a sip of his drink as Bruce did the same. The two were mid-conversation when something – rather, someone – entered the event hall. Her chestnut brown hair, normally pulled away from her face, was curled in a style reminiscent of old Hollywood actresses. She ran her hands down her shimmering, navy-blue evening dress as she looked around the room. She was clearly nervous, out of her element and searching for a familiar face. “Excuse me, Lucius,” He said, his eyes still trained on the girl in the distance.

He walked over to her, smiling as he approached. She noticed him coming up to her, her shoulders dropping in relief, her lips curving into a smile of her own. Something tugged at Bruce's chest.

“Glad you could make it. You look stunning," he said to her. He offered an elbow, which she took graciously, hooking her arm through his. 

“Thank you – and thank you for inviting me,” She said.

“Oh you won’t be thanking me by the end of the night – these functions are terribly boring.”

A beat of silence passed between them before Bruce spoke again, "I apologize for earlier -- I should have checked with you before calling in." She looked at him, a genuine smile forming on her face.

"I forgive you," she nudged his shoulder with his, "I bet it'll give the IT department some excitement for once."

She laughed, a sound he wished he could bottle up and keep all for himself. 

“Uncle Luc!” She exclaimed as they approached the bar. She pulled herself away from Bruce to give her uncle a hug. Lucius’ eyes shot between the two of them, trying to piece together what brought them together. Bruce offered a tight lipped smile.

“Maia, what are you doing here?”  He questioned after their quick embrace had come to an end.

“Bruce invited me.” Bruce. 

Lucius looked over to Bruce, waiting for an explanation. He cleared his throat, snapping himself out of the daze she’d just put him in.

“I went down to your office a few days ago for help with an issue,” he paused, “you were out at the time and so I enlisted the help of your lovely niece.” “Is that so?” Lucius said as he surveyed the pair, clearly upset.

“I know about your extracurricular activities, Luc. I was helping him track down a network of hackers. It’s just work,” she reassured him. 

Just work. The words rang through Bruce’s head. He quickly caught himself, what was he, some sort of school boy? He didn’t need to get hung up on something she’d said.

“Mr. Wayne,” Lucius said, snapping Bruce out of his thoughts.

“Yes?” “I asked if you thought it was a good idea to get my niece involved without my permission.” 

Before Bruce could speak, Maia cut in, “Luc, I’m a grown woman. I don't need your permission.”

Maia stepped back from her uncle, crossing her arms in defiance. 

“Sweetheart, I made a promise to your parents that I’d look after you and–” “Don’t.”

Her tone shocked Bruce – and it looked like it shocked Lucius as well, the two men looked at her in silence.

“You don’t get to use my parents against me like that. I can make my own choices and I made the decision to work with him. I’ll take responsibility for whatever comes my way.” 

Although Maia had shown little but professionalism in the time that they’d been working together, Bruce hadn’t expected the sternness that she’d just shown. He saw flashes of his own pain in her words. A reminder. The people who had raised them weren’t their parents, and never could be. The three of them stood in silence, the tension in the air stifling until Bruce broke the silence. 

“For what it’s worth, Lucius, I did a thorough search for anyone else who might be able to help me but Maia seemed to be the best candidate. I meant no harm in asking for her assistance.”

Lucius pondered for a moment before he sighed, forced to accept his niece's decision. 

“Promise me you’ll keep her safe.” “Uncle Luc–” Maia protested.

“I swear it,” Bruce cut her off, his voice gravely serious. He needed Lucius to know that he would put his life on the line before he allowed Maia to get hurt. 

Maia scoffed, stealing Bruce’s drink from the counter. She threw her head back, downing the drink all at once.

Bruce and Lucius exchanged a look, a smile creeping on both of their faces at Maia’s antics.

“She’s a handful, Mr. Wayne. I wish you luck.” Bruce chuckled and Lucius bid the pair goodbye – though he made a motion that signaled he’d be keeping an eye on them.

He snaked an arm around Maia’s waist, leading them away from the bar and towards a few Wayne Enterprise Board members. 

“Let the endless small talk begin,” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. He could get used to having her around.

[ambrossart]

My question is about Evelyn and her yellow dress, I suppose Evelyn had never dressed that way, right? Why during that episode almost everyone he met noticed his outfit or mentioned it, was it really that exaggerated? (and even if it was, it justifies what happened to her) because it was just a simple dress and makeup and at the beginning of the chapter she felt great and happy with her clothes she was comfortable that made me think but then after arriving at school she started to feeling uncomfortable and Henry mentions that in the dining room there were many eyes looking at her. Was it her perception at that moment or was it really like that? Because it was simply normal, I mean, I suppose there are more girls who would dress like that and put on makeup, for example, Manda or Liz, who are also girls who dress up and also wore outfits to call them sexy in a certain way, nothing is said to them, but Evelyn is He gets attention for that and so much fuss is created.

So why is Evelyn punished so much for it or looked at so much just for wearing a dress when it is something completely normal? She just wanted to feel pretty for once and this happens to her, and also another thing Martin has special for her. I hate Evelyn? It's only with her because he has also raped other girls but with Evelyn I don't know if I can say that it's even worse, I really feel sorry for Evelyn and she feels so insecure with herself and her body and now with what Martin did even worse and the accident with Henry for feeling that she is not attractive enough or not feeling valued as a woman for her body. She is only 15 years old, obviously she is not a little girl but she is a teenager, she is developing and she is growing.

All right, let’s settle the debate about Evelyn’s yellow dress once and for all.

If that dress was actually slutty or inappropriate in any way, I promise you Steph Price would have had something to say about it. Greta Bowie would have had something to say about it. Liz Mueller would have had something to say about it. In fact, Liz probably would have pulled Evelyn aside and very nicely told her that she’s dressed like a sleazy tramp and that everyone in school’s talking about it. Then she’d offer to go grab her a change of clothes or something.

But that didn’t happen. Because there was nothing wrong with Evelyn’s dress. Was it a bold look for her? Yes, but that’s just because Evelyn usually dresses… modestly? professionally? Those aren’t the right words, so I’ll let the text speak for itself:

When Henry first saw her, he had to do a double-take. Images flashed through his head like reels on a View-Master: Evelyn in knit sweaters and sweater vests, in striped tees and light-wash jeans, in baggy spring overalls and puffy winter coats, with mittens, scarves, and stocking caps, because she didn't care how dorky she looked when she was trying to stay warm. Henry tried to reconcile those images with the new image in front of him, of Evelyn with big hair and a full face of makeup, in a short yellow dress with a flouncy little skirt that went whoosh-whoosh every time she moved her hips (and she had hips now—the dress made that more apparent than ever), but he couldn't reconcile them at all.

Evelyn’s typical style is practical. It’s functional. It’s comfortable. But on that day, just that day, she wanted to dress differently. She wanted people to see her differently. Not as the annoying student council girl. Not as Little Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes Tozier. For that one day, Evelyn wanted to feel like all the other girls. She wanted to feel pretty and feminine and, yes, maybe even a little sexy. And that’s totally okay. Evelyn’s fifteen, not five. She’s allowed to freely express and explore her sexuality—as long as it’s done in a safe and tasteful way, of course. And it was! It really was! Evelyn even wore stockings, for goodness sake (much to Patrick’s disappointment).

In short, nobody thought that dress was inappropriate. Nobody. Not the girls. Not even the boys. They all thought she looked very pretty. That’s it.

The only people who had a problem with it are toxic, women-hating assholes like Martin and… unfortunately… Henry, but with Henry it’s a little more complicated.

At this point, Henry’s struggling with his growing sexual attraction to Evelyn. By now, we all know what happened before freshmen-year finals (and if you don’t know, stop reading this before you get even more spoiled) and Henry’s still very much dealing with that.

Now it’s his first day back from suspension and Evelyn is dressed… not like Evelyn, something that Henry notices right away. And he has two reactions to this: first he gets a little aroused (whoops) and then he gets very angry and territorial.

If he’s having this response to her, what are the other guys thinking? Are they noticing her, too?

Henry doesn’t want other guys noticing Evelyn. He doesn’t want other guys looking at her or thinking about her in that way. Hands off, everyone. She’s taken.

So to answer your question—

Were all the boys staring at Evelyn in the lunchroom? No, nobody was looking at her. That was just Henry being hypersensitive and letting his dad’s bullshit get into his head.

Henry was in a very vulnerable headspace at that moment. He’s back in school. Feeling completely out of place. The girl who sexually assaulted him is sitting a few tables away. (That alone is messing with his head.) He sees Patrick groping Evelyn (wtf?). She’s letting him (WTF?). She’s wearing that damn dress.

What is going on right now? What happened while he was suspended?

Henry just started panicking. It’s really that simple.

Now Martin… yeah, that guy’s just a dick. He hates Evelyn and everything she stands for. Ever since they were kids, she’s been sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, and Martin has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to teach her a lesson.

He sees Evelyn hanging out in the senior locker area. Sees her wearing that yellow dress.

Martin knew exactly what she was doing by wearing that dress. So he took that very innocent intention, twisted it into something shameful and ugly, and he weaponized it against her.

Martin assaulting Evelyn wasn’t about sex and it wasn’t even a rape. It was about making her feel small and worthless. And Henry showing up when he did was just the mother of all bad timings.

“See, Tozier? No one’s interested.”

I don’t think Martin realizes just how effective and painful that lesson was for her.

[diamondcrownacademy]

DCA Info Part 42: Once Upon A Story Outfits 🦄

Style: Classical

A beginner brand that uses the classical look on all of its clothing. The clothes are simple and have a casual design to them with an accessory referencing a certain Disney film. This brand is given to those who have yet to pick a brand but only first years have access to this, when they move to the second year, they have to pick a brand. This brand is Sophie, Ottilie and Ru's starting design.

Village Sweetheart (Sophie)

The dress: Based on the dress Sofia wore before she became royalty, The dress itself is violet in color with an argyle pattern. The top has a pale yellow collar with ruffle sleeves of the same color, a opal brooch with held by a lavender ribbon with daisies on the top and patchwork designs of daisies, with the bottom left having a lacy pink heart. The top also has pale yellow ruffle trimming. The skirt has a lavender ribbon sash with daisies on top, the patchwork design of daisies and a heart, and deep purple lace trim layered over pale yellow ruffle trim. The shoes are a pair of violet moccasins with deep purple trimming and ribbon.

Accessories: The accessories include a pale yellow hair bow with daisies, a pair of daisy bracelets and pale yellow socks with bands that resemble daisies.

Tiny Wanderer (Ottilie)

The dress: Inspired by the tale of Thumbelina, the green colored dress has a floral print throughout, with white swirl and heart markings. The top is an off-shoulder one with a pale pink stripe in the center. The light chartreuse colored upper pieces folded to resemble triangles with a single white stripe and in the center of the ones on the bodice is a peach colored bow. The top also has four peach colored straps, with two of them on each side forming Xs. The sleeves have two parts to them, the first being the green floral printed sleeves with swirls at the end and the second being gray sleeves that function like arm warmers. The skirt is three layered with peach lace trim and the third and final layer of the skirt is a solid chartreuse. The shoes are a pair of light chartreuse heeled sandals with peach colored straps and gray soles. The sandals also have yellow butterflies on them.

Accessories: The accessories include two yellow hair bows, a yellow neckerchief tied into a bow and a gray belt with gold buckle.

Rockin' Bamboo (Ru)

The outfit: Inspired by The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a story dating back to the 10th century Japan . This outfit is designed to fit Ru's athletic personality. The outfit itself consists of navy colored vest worn over a white and red off shoulder top with green trim, with the left side having a red cuff and the right side (though not visible in the picture) having a white cuff. The skirt is red in color and has trimming in the shape of ivory triangles with green outline. The skirt also has printed details with a bamboo stock in front of what appears to be a sun. The look also features a pair of black capri leggings. The shoes are a pair of red flats with green soles and detailing.

Accessories: The accessories include a hair ornament that includes a red fan behind a cherry blossom flower attached to a gold bead with a red tassel. The look also contains a gold necklace with a moon charm. Additionally the outfit includes a pair of black gloves also well as a green belt with gold buckles.

🌳 Forest Friends Set (Inspired by Bambi)

Darling Doe (Sophie)

The dress: Inspired by the titular character, this dress is made up of three layers. The first layer being a turtleneck style dress is pale yellow and features puff sleeves with brown and red cuffs. The dress also has red trimming on it's skirt. Second layer includes a brown corset dress with two daisy buttons and red trim at the bodice and skirt. The skirt hems resemble rounded arches. The third layer features a tan colored skirt with daisies and red trim, as well as straps. The footwear consists of a pair of brown heeled sandals with red detailing on both the strap and yellow ankle strap.

Accessories: The dress comes with a brown headband with red detailing, as well as a pale yellow ruffle rosette layered beneath a daisy decoration with a brown and red ribbon connected to red gem brooch. On one of the dress straps, there is a ruffled pin with a smiling deer and daisies on it. This outfit also includes a pair of below elbow black gloves.

Perfume Kit (Ottilie)

The outfit: Inspired by Bambi's skunk friend Flower, this outfit consists of a pale pink shirt with the sleeves having white vertical lines and white lace trim. The center of the shirt has a design that features a skunk in the center of a purple heart with red outline as well as yellow flowers at the bottom of the heart. The bottom half of the outfit consists of a grayish mauve skirt with a white lace petticoat as well as flowy white horizontal lines with pink flower details. The outfit also includes a pair of black and white knee length leggings with lace trim. The footwear consists of a pair of brownish gray ankle boots with black and white fur and yellow flowers and green leaves.

Accessories: The outfit includes a black and white beret with pink ribbon trim, yellow flowers and green leaves, a scarf that resembles a skunk's tail with a yellow flower brooch, a pair of black lace gloves and a brown belt with silver buckles and an accessory that resembles a skunk's tail.

Lucky Coney (Ru)

The outfit: Inspired by Bambi's rabbit friend Thumper, this outfit consists of a light blue turtleneck crop top that includes chartreuse flow trim. The top also includes a picture of a rabbit in front of a comic style explosion with the word "POW" in orange letters and green clovers on each side. The bottom half of the outfit consists of gray jeans with yellowish-orange zigzag lines, accompanied by clovers and white rabbit paw prints. The footwear consists of a pair of blue ankle boots with black straps and silver chains and buckles, white fur trim, pale yellow soles, gold trimming and the tips resemble rabbit feet.

Accessories: The outfit includes a blue cap with the word "THMPR" (an abbreviation for Thumper's name) in orange lettering along with a pair of white rabbit feet with pink interiors and green clovers. This set also includes a teal glove with a black strap and silver buckle with an orange and yellow armband and maroon armband with spikes on the right and and arm warmer on the left side with the same armbands and strap, with the addition of a silver chain. The outfit also has a black belt with a silver buckle.

[angelhummel]

Welcome to the Every Rachel Berry Outfit season 3 round up! It's been a long time coming but it's finally here. And this is also the longest style summary yet, so buckle up! Brought to you as always by the me, AngelHummel

Season 3 gives Rachel 192 new looks. She has the most outfit changes in Michael and Goodbye with 14 outfits each. While Pot O Gold and Nationals are tied for the least amount of outfits, with a mere 3 each. This is also the fewest outfits featured in any episode overall

While Rachel's style matures this season, it also gets a lot more samey. Gone are her animal sweaters, and gone is the variety in her silhouette. These days, dresses are her best friend.

Though she's never been a big fan of pants, that article of clothing is all but eliminated from her wardrobe this season. She's gone from 23 in season one, to 16 in season two, to 11 in season three. And the majority of those are either workout clothes, or pajamas. She also wears a pair for a coordinated group number (something else that is lacking in s3), and a pair as part of her Saturday Night Fever suit. Her only real pants outfit features a pair of shorts - soon to be a staple of Rachel's wardrobe - seen at the very end of the season

Pants weren't the only thing Rachel decided were restricting her legs too much this year. Knee high socks and tights' stocks plummeted this year thanks to Rachel leaving her legs bare more often than not. But of course these signature accessories haven't vanished completely. This season, Rachel sported...

25 pairs of knee socks. Okay, still a lot, but we've cut back from s1's 38 pairs

18 pairs of tights. Again, sounds like a lot, but compared to last season's 45 count...

13 pairs of ankle socks. She was trying something new but must've decided they weren't for her, as they don't appear after the halfway point of the season

As for accessories that have all but been wiped out, the headband fans were starving this season

We see Rachel sporting headband a pitiful 6 times - and one of them was Tina as Rachel! She wears two stretchy headbands to hold her hair back, once during dodgeball and once while in the shower. Then all the girls wear headbands in 3x14's competition. The only real headbands we see her wear are both in 3x22. An homage to her fashion roots, before she can branch out and find new styles

The 2011-2012 school year was a real "Say Something" Hat Year for McKinley, and Rachel was no exception. In addition to her headbands, she also wore 9 hats, along with flowers, bows, blue streaks, a welder's mask, and several other fun accessories for a total of 25 head based accessories

Most memorable of all? A wedding veil, a prom queen tiara, and a graduation cap. Landmark accessories, all of them.

And the final lost staple of Rachel's old wardrobe? Plaid skirts. She only wore two this season. But plaid made an appearance a total of 9 times, popping up in her outerwear and dresses more often. She also featured hearts a handful of times, and even a few florals this season

But the patterns that featured most in her wardrobe this season?

Stripes, which appeared 21 times, and...

Polka dots! Which appeared 24 times.

Rachel's wardrobe also featured 26 costumes this season, including matching group number outfits, themed looks, and all her potential Maria outfits

And of course it wouldn't be an outfit review if we didn't quantify the colors of her wonderful wardrobe. Have to appreciate them now because New York definitely bleaches out her rainbow a little. But for now...

Rachel rocked every color under the sun this season, but some much more than others. While some people, like myself, might associate her strongly with the color pink, that didn't even crack the top 5 this season

Honorable mentions this season are grey and pink, featured heavily in 16 and 17 outfits, respectively

Fifth place with 20 looks is Navy

Fourth place with 23 looks is Blue

Third place with 30 looks is Red

Second place with 41 looks is White

And in First place with a total of 52 looks is classic Black

And finally, to close out this extra long review, we will conclude with a visual list of my Top 10 Favorite Rachel Outfits of the season

[sophisticatedgia]

Ok y'all I decided I am going to the gym. I took a bath and feel refreshed. And being ADHD, unmedicated for it, I don't currently feel the concentration to practice yoga. The stairstepper is simple, plain, structured, easy. I'm wearing dark blue polka dotted leggings, plain washed out black v neck shirt, and dark blue cardigan with my dark green neck warmer. I brought the white gloves, newly washed. And of course I'm wearing my light grey new balance sneakers. I don't think I will ever buy another type of shoe. This is my third time buying these particular grey sneakers. They are comfy and great. I wear them with everything. Even if I had a dress to wear, I'd wear my sneakers. For awhile I was posting kawaii pink, blue, white, and black dresses. Its fun to daydream about being super kawaii, or fairy kei. Even elegant gothic Lolita. When I was in highschool I loved the band "malice mizer". Mana, the vocalist, is how i learned the elegant gothic lolita look. The songs are part Japanese and English, tho mostly Japanese. Sometimes throughout my life I listen to music in different languages. My other favorite singer is Henri Dekongue, who sings mostly in different language i don't understand. He is so jolly and warm. But lately I don't listen to music much. For a long time I was very interested in dungeon synth and instrumental music, piano very much. My fave band is probably secret stairways and tangerine dream. For a period of time in my life when I stayed at my rapists apartment the room would glow blue with his fish tank and id play "boards of Canada". I enjoy that band alot. When I was in my teens my favorite bands were Jack off jill, hole, and most of all the Dresden dolls. I even performed an art piece on stage with the Dresden dolls and kissed Amanda Palmer on the lips once at a show. I asked her permission, but I believe I was only 17 or 18 years old lol. She wore striped white and black stockings at nearly every performance. So in high school as much as I could I wore striped white n black stockings with a fairy shredded black skirt, or frilly black skirt. I remember cutting my arms because of her song"bad habit" which is about self injury. I don't think she's a good role model and I'm a bit peeved she used to be my fixation/obsession. I also tweezed each of my eyebrow hairs out one by one, and drew them on with liquid black eyeliner. Like she does, or did, but I'm sure she isn't OCD like me and just shaved her brows off like a less ocd person would. Alright I'm about to go to gym now. Thankyou for allowing me to share. I hope this is a safe place for sharing. Love y'all!

[omgsquee2001]

Chapter 1: Romance Dawn: Part 1

East Blue Sea, present day

Somewhere, in the East Blue Sea, a small boat with two females sitting in it drifted along the waves. The first female had long, brown hair pulled into a Dutch side braid. She wore a olive green, short sleeve crop top and tan cargo pants. Her heterochronic turquoise and brown eyes stared into the water. Her hand drifted through the waves. She sighed in boredom. The second female was sitting on one of the benches and watched the younger female. She had short, neck length orange hair. She wore a white, short sleeve shirt, black shorts, and two orange striped stockings, one pulled down to fold over her shoes. 

"If you're bored, then go for a swim." The orange haired female, Nami said. The brown haired female, Raya, shrugged her shoulders. 

"Nah. Going for a swim doesn't sound to fun." Raya said. Nami tilted her head a bit. 

"It's been a while since you have. Didn't you say when you were younger that if you didn't you would die?" Nami asked. Raya rolled her eyes. 

"I was being dramatic. You should know to never trust the word of a child. I wouldn't die die, I just, sure wouldn't be living," Raya said. She sat up with a sigh and rested her arms against the edge of the boat. "Besides. We need the two of us for this plan to work." She said. Nami chuckled. 

"Oh please. We both know that I'm the brains of this operation. If you went for a swim now, I guarantee you would be able to catch up with me in about thirty minutes." Nami said. Raya gave a smile, two pointed canine teeth showing amongst the rest of her regular teeth. 

"It's also the fact that I don't want to." She said. Raya's smile fell. She sniffed the air. Nami's smile fell and she leaned forward, looking at her sister. 

"What? What do you smell?" Nami asked. Raya looked at her sister. 

"Engage plan "Kick some unfortunate pirate ass"." Raya said. Nami nodded. The two lay down in the boat, trying to look as exhausted as possible. They heard the familiar sound of water hitting another boat as it approached. Nami opened her eyes and looked up. A small pirate ship sailed along side their boat. There were two males in the ship. One light skinned male and another dark skinned male. 

"There's people in there. Let's get closer." One of the men said. Nami leaned up, pretending to look desperate. Nami gripped the edge of the boat. 

"Help me!" She cried out, sounding exhausted. She quickened her breath to sell the act. Raya sat up, but fell back, leaning her head against the edge of the boat. "Water. Please. My sister and I need water." Nami begged. 

"Oh, you and your sister are in luck, sweetheart. We're all the help you'll need." The first male said. 

"Our crew, was attacked by pirates. We barley managed to make it out alive." Nami said. Raya opened her eyes slightly and moved her eyes up. She noticed a skull and cross bones with a big, red nose in the middle. 

"Pirates you say?" The second male asked. "I hear they're a terrible lot." He said. The first male nodded. 

"The worst sort. Good thing we found you two instead of them." Using two hooks, the men got onto the boat. Coming to her senses, Raya quickly rushed over to a chest and pulled a sheet down over it. 

"What you got there, darling? Something to share?" The first male said. Raya and Nami shook their heads. 

"No. Please, no, it's, it's all we have. Please." Raya begged. She and Nami were drawing them in, hook, line and sinker. Raya gripped the first male by the wrist. 

"It's a fair trade for saving your lives." The male said, pushing Raya roughly down onto the boat. Raya pated in exhaustion. 

"Raya!" Nami called out. She rushed to crawl over to her sister, holding her close. The two men, with their backs turned, broke open the locks on the chest. The opened the chest, only to find that it was empty. 

"Hey. What gives?" The first male asked. It was too late when they noticed that the two girls were sailing away on their ship. 

"Sorry boys," They turned around when they heard Nami call out to them, sounding not at all exhausted. They watched in defeat as Nami and Raya, who was leaning her arm on Nami's shoulder, sailed away. 

"Thanks for the rescue." Raya called. The sisters smiled and laughed, giving each other a high five. As they turned away from the boys, Raya's body disappeared in a flash of purple. Nami walked to the middle of the deck, holding out a map and looking at their next destination. A gray, almost black Maine Coon cat trotted next to the orange haired female. The cat hopped up onto a chest behind Nami. The cat's tail twitched in curiosity. 

Where to next, Nami? A familiar voice asked. Nami glanced at her charts, then looked up smiling. She glanced down at the cat. 

"We're off to Shells Town." She said. Nami knelt down and gently stroked her sister's head. Raya purred at the motion, closing her eyes in content. "Try not to shapeshift while we're in Shells Town. From what I hear, town is held under the thumb of Marine Captain Morgan. Who knows what the Marines would do with someone of your powers. Especially the corrupt Marines." Nami said. She pulled her hand away. Raya opened her eyes and nodded. 

I understand. She said. 

~~~~

To Be Continued

~~~~

Up Next

You like rum?

Yeah, sure. As much as the next guy.

You stole that guy's uniform, and now you're looking for my map. 

Raya, what did I say about using your powers?!

Hey, you said to only use them if I absolutely had to! I take this as absolutely have to! 

 

//I decided to change up my story. I just didn't feel inspired enough to continue. So, I decided to keep Raya's name, but change her powers. I'm giving her the abilities of Nimona, where they are able to transform into any animal, however, excluding the transforming into other people part. If you haven't watched Nimona, I highly recommend you do. It's full of humor and will also hit you in the feels.//