#i love the lux art intensely

[comatosebunny09]

carpe noctem [ climax ] | sylus

— summary: sylus drags you onto a mission with him for old time’s sake. and you slide into familiarity, almost like there isn’t a wedge in the form of a beautiful young hunter driving you apart. — cw: explicit sexual content, reader is not mc, reader implied to be femme, assassin!reader, mentions of blood, profanity, mentions of pedophilia, mentions of human trafficking, minor character death, men with guns, reader has a shitty past, self-destructive behavior, reader doing her assassin duties, a little romance sprinkled in between, mdni — notes: inspired by mr. & mrs. smith. thank you so much for reading, lovely! [ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 ] — now playing: cariño - the marías — obligatory tags: @withering-dream @an-ever-angry-bi @midiplier @abbylee0710 @picnicthegarden @karespocketboyfriends @chrissy26 @delulusimps @glamouroki @midiplier @celestemcbrim @everywherenothere @ari-shipping-stuff @beewilko @alexhenituse @nim-rose @moonlight-inthe-sea @sunnyf4lls @himiko-omikami @inkonparchment @sillyfreakfanparty @regandoesthings @im-in-different-universe @ravensheart18 @alyyylog @corvid007 (sorry if i missed anyone.)

He wanted to make love. You wanted to fuck.

He wanted you, all tender and pliant beneath him, his name hinged in your throat. He wanted to worship you, to uncover the erogenous zones of your body piece by piece, and to expose you like forgotten treasure buried deep beneath rotting ruins. 

But you reasoned you didn’t have time. You were in a hurry—a hurry for what, exactly, you couldn’t pinpoint. 

Perhaps you were rushing to feel something, in a hurry to please and to feel useful as you tore his shirt from his shoulders, his body rigid and searing between the thick of your thighs. Pleasing is all you know, serving embedded in your chemical makeup, no room to pursue your own desires. 

Your mouths came together so abruptly that your teeth clashed. The counter of his kitchen island was glacial and tacky beneath your thighs. You’d barely divested yourself of your coat before you drew him into an ardent dance of tongues, his abs twitching beneath the artful crawl of your fingers. You tugged at the give of his pants, quietly yet vehemently demanding he take them off. He drew back, wild-eyed and hair mussed, eyes drowsy with want.

“We should slow down,” he sighed, hot and open-mouthed where your shoulder met neck. Blistered down to your collarbone where he nipped, hands roosted on your hips, thumbs soothingly cruising over juts of bone. 

It made you sick, his tenderness. You weren’t glass and didn’t deserve to be handled like it. 

You chuckled something husky and bitter, tossing your thoughts to the wolves. Your fingers raked through his hair. Grabbing the scruff of his neck, you brought his mouth back to yours, trapping any further words of protest in his throat. 

You didn’t want to think. Didn’t want complications. Just wanted to be driven by sensation, tucking your inhibitions into the darkest hulls of your mind. 

You’re a bit of a masochist. You enjoy punishing yourself for misdeeds you’ve constructed in your mind—having feelings for your boss, secretly envying your friend. Your use is slowly running its course, and you’ll one day be thrown to the wayside. 

You figure you don’t deserve kindness. Sensitivity. You don’t deserve a slow love, the steady creep of an orgasm bubbling in your stomach, evoked by the sluggish grind of hips, words of affirmation whispered like the sweetest supplication into your ear.

No.

You deserve to be used, lusted after. You’ve spent most of your adult life with that mentality, your past having engraved that under your skin. You’ve been a weapon for as long as you can remember. A tool. Loveless. Which is why, when the gentleman who’d frequented Lux wanted to take his time with you, you declined, opting for something more ragged and intense. 

He took you hard and rough on his counter at your behest. Left you open, bare, laughing, battling to get your breath under control. You stayed the night to humor him. Let him hold you as he stroked the sweetest compliments of all with ghostly fingers into your skin as the stars in the sky gave way to the gentle spill of sun rays. 

You crept out of his arms and apartment once he sank below the misty shawl of sleep. He’d inquire about your whereabouts later—ask why you didn’t stay. You rarely did. Tonight, you felt weak. 

You’d ignore him until you next needed him. When the urge to forget sunk its talons into your chest, curling around your heart and squeezing. 

You had a mission to prepare for. Sylus’ name lit up your notifications, cryptic as ever with minimal words. You’d deal with your feelings later. 

There was work to be done.

Besides, you didn’t even remember his name. 

How could you face him when you’d uttered someone else’s name while he was deep inside you?

—

You pay for your escapades in the form of pretty petals of blue and green blooming on your neck the following night. Bite marks. 

You rub at the raw skin for the nth time, a hiss forced through grit teeth. Maybe he was a little too rough. Concealer works wonders, coupled with your glamor. Still doesn’t take away the sting, but you suppose the pain is your punishment for being weak.

You stretch, yawning. Shift until the leather of the car’s backseat squeaks. You sense his eyes on you in your periphery, boring down to the marrow. The fine hairs littering your body stand on end. You maneuver again, leant against the door, cheek propped on your knuckles, avoidant as ever.

You try to focus on the scenery unfolding beyond the car’s windshield. Powdery stars spilled over a deep violet canvas. The red glare of brake lights every so often as you approach another vehicle. Try to focus on the driver’s fingers readjusting on the steering wheel, on the fixed hum of the engine, and how it intermingles with the gentle bumps on the road. Home in on your breathing and the thunderous drum of your heart. He’s been watching you like this since you eased into the car—Sylus. 

You get this creeping suspicion he wants to say something. Like he knows all your secrets, having perused through them like they’re the yellowed pages of a book. Nah. He wouldn’t know what kind of night you had. He wouldn’t care. You’re a grown woman, capable of making your own mistakes and reaping the repercussions of them. He has other things on his mind—other people. 

Another yawn escapes you. You curse yourself for not grabbing coffee on your way out. Too busy pouring yourself into your dress, painting your face with makeup, and meticulously tucking your weapons away. 

“Long day?” says Sylus. You jolt the slightest bit at the grit of his voice. How it breaks up the silence and sets your stomach alight with dragonflies. Fabric shifts. His exhale is weighted beside you, thigh brushing yours as he spreads his legs, so very big in comparison to the backseat. 

You force a smile, smoothing out the wrinkles of your dress. “You could say that.”

You feel the shift in his gaze. There’s a whisper of bitterness in his tone when he next speaks. “Maybe you should spend less time pursuing your hobbies at night and more time sleeping.”

This time, you do turn. Cut your eyes to him, mouth tugged up with confusion. His expression reads passivity. Mouth scrawled into a rigid line, scarlet eyes fixed to yours, unrelenting. Something’s off about him tonight. You sensed it in the brevity of his call when he phoned you to outline your mission—you’d be accompanying him tonight to a banquet. A glittering, amenable doll on his arm, smiling pretty like murder wasn’t rotting your mind. You’d lure your target away to be snuffed out like a candle’s flame. Slip out without drawing suspicion, and the world would be rid of another shit stain. 

He quirks a brow, wordlessly challenging you. No customary smirk comes this time. Just the air weighted with something tense. Your throat clicks when you swallow. You opt for obliviousness, laughing it off despite the gnarling feeling in your gut worming its way up your throat. Despite every synapse in your brain screaming for you to fire back. You’re reading too much into things. He’s being his usual, detached self, and not because he knows you were up to no good last night.

Right?

“Maybe I should.” 

The tendons in Sylus’ neck pull, jaw tensing. For a moment, he looks like he wants to keep prodding. But he instead averts his gaze when the driver chimes in, announcing you’ve arrived at your destination. 

The venue’s tawny spotlights dance over the windshield as the car crawls to a stop. People donned in expensive formalwear line the sidewalk, animatedly chatting as they await entry. You take some time to admire the historic, art deco architecture before your door opens, the crisp evening air spilling in and fanning over your skin. 

You look up when Sylus offers you his arm. His expression softens considerably, contrasting the wet cat he was moments ago. There’s a hint of a smile twitching his lips. He almost looks boyish, and you can’t help taking him in. He’s dressed to the nines, tucked in a three-piece tux, bow tie meticulously tied, hair swept up into a pretty, alabaster coif.

Your lips spasm. You peel yourself from the seat, gathering up the trail of your dress. Twine your arm with his, allowing him to shepherd you through the throng of people. It almost feels like old times, their voices petering to a hush when they catch sight of you. They part like a school of fish as the pair of you make your way up the steps leading to the venue’s doors.

“Stay frosty,” you joke to dispel your nerves, standing before the heavy, double doors, waiting for the attendees to open them. 

Sylus snorts, his arm flexing beneath the possessive clutch of your fingers. He pinches the bridge of his nose. And the exasperation in his voice makes your eyes crinkle with mirth. “Please, never say that again.”

You slide into familiarity thereafter, almost like there wasn’t a wedge in the form of a beautiful young hunter driven between you.

—

She said something curious to you when you arrived at the airport earlier—Ms. Hunter. You had the time to spare. You wanted to ask why she requested you drive her instead of Sylus. But you didn’t push it, figuring she had her reasons. Maybe she didn’t have the energy for his nagging, his fretting. She should be so lucky. 

She’d be gone for a couple of weeks, swept up in the grueling task of protecting researchers in the mountains from Wanderers. A part of you felt sorry for her. Worried. But she was a big girl. If she could smack Sylus around in Kitty Cards, she could dodge a few teeth and claws, no problem. 

“Need help?” you asked over your shoulder, the SUV’s engine humming idly at the airport’s drop-off point. 

She smiled at you from the backseat. “I got it!” she chirped as she fetched her oversized suitcase from the floor. 

She rounded the vehicle, bowing to your level at the window. Up close, her smile looked more mischievous than usual. Smile lines bracketed her honey-dipped eyes as she murmured, “Be nice to Sylus. He’s trying, ya know?” 

You pinned her with a quizzical look, your mouth working around a retort. She left before you could get a word out. You watched her slip through the crowd of travelers milling about before she was out of sight, leaving you to mull over what the hell that meant.

—

It starts to make sense as time passes what she meant. 

When you’ve gorged yourself on conversation and champagne, nestled between politicians, CEOs, socialites, and people of the like. Fickle, spewing gossip you can’t be bothered to keep up with. 

Sylus rarely leaves your side, only slipping away to chat up old colleagues or to procure you more bubbly. Always has a hand, scorching and possessive, at the small of your back, or an arm slung about your waist, drawing you into the safety his body exudes. He doesn’t correct anyone when they address you as his, giving you a subdued, amused look when you work your mouth into amending them.

You titter shyly, toying with your necklace. Maybe this is a part of your cover—pretending to be his significant other, all pretty and docile at his side. You won’t complain. It’s nice being this close, feeling wanted, and being envied in a different way. Not for your body, but for the man wrapped so willingly around your finger. 

It’s felt like ages since you’ve last done a gig together, so you’ll enjoy his attention, even if it’s all a ploy, while you can.

The evening slides by in a blur of twinkling chandeliers and laughter. 

Sylus draws you into a dance, and the pair of you are swallowed up by the mass of swaying couples and the string orchestra. Your cheeks ache with a smile, your limbs and inhibitions loosened by the champagne. He holds you to him as you waltz, his body rigid and devastating against yours, languorous fingers curled around your nape. He hasn’t stopped smiling, a boyish dimple cratering his cheek. Hasn’t released you from the scarlet stir of his eyes since, and you smoosh your face against pectoral muscle, hiding the warmth splotching your cheeks.  

His heart thrums something steady beneath your ear. Beneath the expensive pleat of his tux. Breaths even, his bewitching scent furling in your chest like smoke. You let him lead you about the glittering marble tiles of the dance floor, feeling like you’re in a dream. Perhaps it’s the bubbly that’s got you toddling through a dreamlike fog, but a fraction of you starts to think, just for a second, you’re more than a cover, and your boss isn’t so detached, shoving you to the back burner in favor of someone else. 

Your breath is sharp when he suddenly peels away, expertly twirling you. You laugh as your dress flutters around your ankles, nearly tripping you up. He dips you as the music dampens, the beautiful scenery tilting and blurring. Swathed in the tawny lighting of the banquet hall, you make out his features, something akin to affection loosening his expression, and the smile slips from your face. 

The world fades away, and only the pair of you seem to exist in this moment. He pulls you closer until your vision fills with red, fringed by dark, wispy lashes sweeping over cheeks mottled pink. His lips purse as his gaze slides to your mouth, breath stirring your baby hairs. You hold your breath as he eases in, appearing like he’ll kiss you, and you’re stricken by something hot. Your mouths but a hairsbreadth apart, he whispers something that makes your heart sink to your feet.

“It’s showtime.”

The magic of the moment falls away as he steadies you. A pout worms its way onto your face as Sylus tangles your fingers together, a chuckle swelling in his chest. He leads you back to your table, still holding your hand, even long after you’ve returned to your seats and the event’s host takes to the stage to introduce a guest speaker.

—

Nikolai is easy to manipulate. To bend to your will. Of course, he is. All men are if you know how to approach them. 

It helps that your glamor erases a few years off your face, giving you the appearance of a young woman barely experiencing the world. His favorite. It only takes you fluttering your lashes, laughing pretty, and flattering him to get him to take you back to his hotel room.

On the surface, he’s a passive, middle-aged man who looks like he wouldn’t harm a fly. But beneath that facade, he’s a scourge waiting to be wiped out. He’s as despicable as everyone else you’ve bumped off, auctioning off girls to nefarious men under the guise of selling “harmless little dolls.” Moonlighting as a franchise owner, using his stores as a ruse to smuggle young girls through the channels of the underworld. 

You take that personally, having once been on the auctioning floor yourself. Memories of a past painted red flood your mind, and it makes your stomach churn with disgust. You were lucky then, having been turned into a murderous tool rather than a fucktoy. So, it makes sense why Sylus was so eager to get you on this mission. Like he knew you’d take pleasure in watching Nikolai’s life drain from his eyes, his blood caked up under your nails. 

Your smile twitches, threatening to screw up into a grimace as you walk at Nikolai’s side, arm in arm. He’s red-faced and cheery, having gorged himself on champagne and merriment at the banquet. You would’ve snuffed him out if four bodyguards didn’t flank you. Not like you can’t take them, but you’d rather complete your mission as quietly as possible without rousing suspicion.

You just have to keep up the act long enough to isolate him so you can make your move. He’s been ruffling Onychinus’ feathers, claiming to be in cahoots with its notorious leader. Sylus, of course, doesn’t like that, not wanting to be associated with the likes of him. This is where you come into play, his ever-faithful watchdog, ready to kill at the drop of a hat.

Nikolai ushers you into his hotel room, where three more guards stand in good form in the living area. You acknowledge them with a seductive smile, allowing one to frisk you. Your smile grows tenfold when he finds nothing, clearing his throat and straightening his tie as if he’s fallen prey to your charm. Someone should be fired.

Nikolai leads you into his room thereafter, the double doors shutting and locking with finality. You offer him a massage, to which the portly man happily accepts, stripping down to his boxers and plopping onto the king-sized bed. He has a thing for pretty, young girls barely scraping the surface of legality. You’ll see to it he’s ushered into the afterlife by one.

Your hair waterfalls from its updo, warm as it spills onto your shoulders when you pull your hairpin free. You ruck up your gown, climbing over his body to roost yourself on his backside, legs bracketing either side of his waist, heels digging waning moons into your thighs. You’re sultry as you ensnare him in small talk, fingers kneading over layers of fat and muscle. Nikolai hums appreciatively, seemingly thrilled to have your company. Just the way you want him.

Your fingers tip-toe up his spine, thumbs smoothing over the notches of bone there. He exhales beneath your ministrations, remarking how magical your hands are. You huff a laugh as your fingers curl around his jaw, the opposing set burying themselves in his hair. 

“Massaging isn’t the only thing my hands are good at.”

With a fluent twitch of your wrists, his neck snaps, the sound barely heard above the gentle croon of the jazz music he queued up beforehand, accompanied by the exhale of a life dying out like a flame. 

You pull his eyelids down, easing off his lifeless body. Stare at his corpse with a faraway look in your eyes, smoothing some hair away from his face. Like he’s a sacrifice to the little girl inside, screaming for revenge. You straighten your dress when the bedroom doors rattle, Nikolai’s men frantically calling his name. Shit. Maybe you weren’t as meticulous as you thought. 

Quickly, you survey your surroundings for a way out. Spot the sliding doors leading to the balcony, and you dart between them, the wispy curtains grazing over your fevered skin. A wintry kiss of wind greets you as you lean over the rail, hair ruffling, and you take in the bokeh of lights glittering on the street below. 

You’re at least eight stories from the ground, so jumping is out of the question. You could very well fight your way out, but Nikolai’s guards are heavily armed. There’s no guarantee you’ll make it out of the fray unscathed. 

You lean back against the rail, adrenaline spuming through you, watching the bedroom doors pulse as his guards kick and shove against them. Fuck! Tugging a knife from the garter belt tucked beneath the slit of your dress, you prepare for a fight, body taut, nerves flaring. 

Just when you’ve resolved to get your hands dirty, something feathery touches your bare shoulder. Gentle and curious in its embrace, and you whip your head around to its source. You’re met with a smoky tendril, speckled with claret orbs of energy, swirling ominously before you. You peer over the railing, a familiar shock of white blurring into frame. There’s no mistaking the upward cant of his lips, and the crinkle of scarlet-spun eyes from this height. He motions to you with two fingers from the sidewalk, wordlessly beseeching you to come down.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” you mutter, a nervous expression stretching your features. Heights have never been your forte, but you suppose beggars can’t be choosers. “Fuck it,” you relent, gathering some courage and climbing onto the rail. 

Nikolai’s men finally break through, and as they dart in, spraying the room in a hail of bullets upon seeing Nikolai’s corpse, you fall into the feathery cradle of Sylus’ Evol, a yip ripped from your throat. 

You float to the ground like a feather, falling into Sylus’ arms. He looks down at you with something unguarded shining in his eyes, using his Evol as a shield when Nikolai’s men pelt the pair of you with a barrage of bullets.

You lose yourself in the moment. Your lips part, lids heavy with something you can’t quite place. 

“Took you long enough,” you chide to dispel the tension brewing between you, trying to catch your breath.

“I’ll be more punctual next time,” Sylus answers with a chuckle, voice rumbling against your body as he casually walks away from the scene, refusing to put you down, even long after he’s warped you to safety. 

rising action | masterlist

[lowcallyfruity]

Hihi! Welcome to my blog!

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localanimeidiot -> lowcallyfruity

⟡ You can call me Lux or Honeydew !

⟡I am a MINOR!! Soo like- pls don’t be creepy 😋 please and thank you 👍

╰┈➤ Please do not follow me if you ONLY post N.S.FW. You will get blocked.

╰┈➤ I SOMETIMES make inappropriate jokes and reblog suggestive stuff. Sorry about that.

PLEASE. Let me know if you need something tagged.

↳ I’m also terribly sorry if my tagging is messy and inconsistent sometimes.

Pronouns page💥💥 | My art fight 🎨🖌️ | My strawpage 🍓🥤

⋆🇲🇽… Eng + Esp

⟡ My blog is a MESS. I post lots of different stuff, but it’s mostly twisted wonderland centered. With some P5(R)

⤷ But you’ll see stuff from other fandoms as well sometimes :) (most often reblogs)

╰┈➤ Speaking of TWST, I hc all of the characters (students) as queer, and most of them as neurodivergent, and I talk about it ALOT ALOT. So if you don’t like/are uncomfortable with constant talk about neurodivergence/gay stuff then maybe don’t follow me, but yeah just a heads up 👍

⟡ 😔 I’m cringe, annoying, I talk a lot and I’m very enthusiastic about lots of things!!!! I’m also very freaky and intense

⟢ I use gendered terms like bro,dude, girl and boy often as a joke and gender neutrally. Please let me know if you’re not okay with it

↳ I say slurs. (Faggot, Beaner, Dyke, Lesbo)

⟢ I can be REALLY bad at understanding and interpreting tone sometimes, so I apologize if I do not understand something!

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TAGS!

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જ⁀➴ Fandom tags𓂃

​💛! Z’s TWST adventures (TWST gameplay images)

​💛! Z and Young Sheldon

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💛! me and trolls 4ever (all trolls stuff)

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💛! stardew posting

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💛! Splatoon gaming

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​🎉! transfem twst polls (the polls that are drove me insane)

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AROACE JADE SUPREMACY‼️‼️‼️‼️ (my Aroace Jade adventures)

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Modern Leovil(???) AU (AU where Leona and Vil are divorced. Epel is their son. Hijinks ensue)

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~I’m a multi-shipper! These are just my main ships/ones I post about a lot!~

sebeppy…..i love them… (My Sebek x Epel posts!)

idiasil…my beloved… (My Idia x Silver posts!)

ridtreykei (My Riddle x Trey x Cater posts! ￫ this tag is specifically for all 3 of them, so it won’t contain posts that just talk about Trey x Riddle or Trey x Cater! [And on the rare occasion Riddle x Cater] and don’t mention ridtreykei!)

azujami…my sillies… (My azul x Jamil posts)

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₊˚⊹⋆ Thanks for reading :3 💛!

[maubauu]

[Humanity’s Grief: All At Once]

~~Context~~

I drew this following the prompt “transformation.” This is a key point in a narrative that I’m working on where the world ends when this strange glowing being appears. The main character, Huā, is transformed from his human form (as seen above) to the cat form more commonly depicted. Similar occurrences happen to other people, but I'll get into that at some point later. The strange being, fueled by grief and bitterness at the modern world, puts a hold on humanity’s current order and crumbles it to start anew. More will be revealed as I make more art and as I develop this narrative and my following, so stay tuned :D

~~Symbolism~~

This thing is jam-packed with all sorts of symbols, which I'll list.

-Forehead Stuff: The being's forehead is a simple void of purple, which is meant to represent a cynical view of the world, the wish for complete destruction and renewal, and intimidating emptiness. Huā’s third eye represents the mind's eye and imagination, strangeness, and mysticism. In its current eclipsed state, it represents extreme intensity and strangeness.

-Clothing: The Being’s ribbon represents restriction and obligation and the makeup is a reference to Chinese opera. The clothing/neckline is a reference to Hanfu.

-Colors/Values: I wanted everything to be super dreamy, ethereal, and intense. I kept everything super glowy with nothing too saturated other than the yellow to draw more emphasis to that ethereal glow.

-Expression: Huā’s expression is supposed to be the onset/happening of a panic attack. Everything is supposed to be intense and that being was born from an intense moment.

~~ References and Inspiration~~

I was heavily inspired by Everything, Everywhere, All At Once for this. It's my favorite movie and I reference it a lot in both my art and my writing. The sticky note on the right with the circle, the being's forehead marking, and Hua's eye-eclipse situation are all based on the motif of nothingness depicted as a black circle in EEAAO.

I also referenced performance art, specifically the last act of Swan Lake (The Dying Swan) and Chinese/Peking opera. The Dying Swan was referenced in the being's pose, foreshadowing the end of the world. Chinese opera was referenced in the being's makeup and eyelash things. I chose Chinese opera because it is such an intense artform. I think it depicts the emotional intensity of the being's conception properly. Its clothing is more or less just hanfu inspired, nothing too special about it reference-wise.

The shirt Huā is wearing is loosely based on Mitski's song "Last Words of a Shooting Star" because of the comet designs on it. I also reference her love for checklists on a sticky note. Ty Mitski for putting me on to task planning.

I included a lot of my personal trinkets in this as well. My iPad, my old stylus, my plant, my desk, my sketchbook, my lamp, even my blinds. It's all stuff I own.

The posters are also references. The one on the left is a simple Lunar New Year-themed one and the one on the right is a reference to Carol & the End of the World because I loved how it depicted the apocalypse.

The musical inspirations for this (looping songs is part of my process) are:

-The Deal by Mitski

-Opera Fight by Son Lux and Surrija

-Evelyn All At Once by Son Lux

[twistedtummies2]

The Price May Be Right - Number 28

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” I’m counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. Today we focus on my pick for Number 28…which is really a whole group of performances: His Appearances on the Red Skelton Show.

Most people love Vincent for his appearances in spook shows and as dastardly villains. Which is fair, naturally; the man made a niche for himself very well in those sectors, and they DO dominate this list. However, many people forget that a lot of Vincent’s earliest roles were comedy performances, such as in “Service De Luxe” and “Champagne for Caesar.” He was a versatile performance who could be just as silly as he was sinister. A few parts I’ve talked about already have showcased this, and more to come will continue to make it clear that for as many nasty no-good-nicks as he played, Vincent Price was never afraid to have a good laugh, or to let others have them. There are few places better to see Vincent’s talent for comedy on display than on his many, MANY appearances on the Red Skelton Show. Red Skelton – one of America’s all-time greatest clowns and comedians – was actually very good friends with Vincent; exactly how they met and where their friendship really started is unclear, but their working relationship, on its own, lasted almost twenty years. Between 1956 and 1971, Price appeared numerous times on Skelton’s variety show, in skits that ranged from self-parody pieces to out-of-left-field lunacy. Not only that, but Price guest-starred in one of Skelton’s final televised appearances: a holiday special entitled “Freddie the Freeloader’s Christmas Dinner,” where he played a down-on-his luck professor. What’s most fun about Vincent’s appearances on the Red Skelton Show, in my opinion, is that he was somehow one of the few people who could UPSTAGE Skelton. The man was always known for being a ham, and when one put him in front of a live-audience and give him work that largely relies on improvisation, one could safely be said to have opened Pandora’s Box. From singing a duet with Boris Karloff about how much fun it is to play horror movie monsters, to playing an eccentric chef who has stranded himself on a deserted island to try and create his greatest recipe, Vincent somehow stole the show each time. One of my favorite examples was in the sketch “Freddie’s Masterpiece” (sometimes called “The Original DaVinci”), which was one of Price’s earliest appearances on the show. The sketch depicted Vincent as a supercilious and obsessive art collector called Mr. Giblert; a chief example of self-parody as Price was actually a very noted lover of fine art, and especially painting. When he finds out Freddie the Freeloader – Skelton’s hobo clown character – has accidentally discovered a lost DaVinci masterpiece, Gilbert tries a variety of schemes to steal the painting. When all else fails, finally, Gilbert goes berserk, and throws a tantrum like a baby, kicking and screaming and rolling around on the floor yelling: “I’VE NEVER HAD AN ORIGINAL DAVINCI! I MUST HAVE THAT PAINTING! I MUST, I MUST, I MUST…!” In response to this INTENSE outburst, Skelton is left COMPLETELY speechless…and when he finally regains the ability to speak, he looks to his partner (Jackie Coogan) and, gesturing to Vincent says: “You know, I once had an Original SKELTON Show.” God bless both these men; may they continue to make others laugh in that great sketch show in the sky.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with my pick for Number 27!

[stephantom]

7, 9 and 14 for the songs?

Thank you! :)

You asked for 3 songs but uhhhh I came up with 8. Anyway, they’re behind the cut!

#7. A song that you love from a genre you don’t usually like.

I’m generally not a country music lover, but I appreciate Orville Peck, and the first time someone played this song for me, it just grabbed my whole attention immediately. It’s minimalist and dramatic and raw and captivating, and it queers the original song (which admittedly I’ve never heard) in such a powerful way: “Fancy” by Orville Peck (originally by Reba McEntire). Chills, tbh.

#7 (Not My Genre) Again. Because I can’t choose. “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me” by Wu-Tang Clan

Idk a lot of hip-hop, but I do know this one’s a classic and I love it. Hypnotic, melancholy, thoughtful, great storytelling, great lines, the piano hook gets stuck in my head all the time.

# 9. A song that makes you want to go on an adventure.

“Paradise Warfare” by Carpenter Brut. This entire synthwave album (“Trilogy”) is excellent and all flows together so singling out any one track is hard, but this one has a lot going on (a sax solo? steel drums? an intense banger of a final section?). It makes me feel like the protagonist of a video game, where I’d uhh like drive a cool car off the top of a skyscraper, pursued by mysterious enemies, then leap into the air and do a sick backflip while lightning flashes. You know?

#9 (Adventure Song) Runner up!

“Carry On” by Hallas. Been obsessed with this band for the past month or so. They’ve got a retro, 70s-inspired prog-rock/proto-metal style, catchy hooks, synth-heavy, with kinda dreamy vocals and lyrics about a space epic they made up; they describe themselves as “adventure rock.” It just makes me feel good!

#9 Last answer for the adventure question, I promise!

For a different kind of adventure, one where you pack a rucksack and put on a cloak and go on a quest with your dearest companions and learn that the power was already inside you all along: “Until the Fires Die” by Fellowship. Opens with the words, “Come with me, I’ll take you on a hero’s journey.” It’s the first track on an album that simultaneously heartfelt and inherently silly, exactly as power metal should be.

#14. A song to sing to the sun. I can’t explain why exactly but it’s “Dream State” by Son Lux.

It’s not about the sun or sunlight (in fact, there’s even a line suggesting the opposite, “Out of the dark day / Into the brighter night”), but it’s got this feeling like something coming from the depths of someone, expressing wonder and yearning, which is probably what I’d express to the sun, or the sky, or the sea, or the mountains. I guess I mean that it’s almost prayerful, in a way? Anyway, it’s a favorite song right now, and I think, an incredible piece of art.

#14 Runners up: “Myth” by Beach House and “Wield Lightning To Split The Sun” by Primordial. For similar reasons — they feel existentially expressive and meditative. The latter is a perfect song to the sun: “And let the lightning split my heart in two / And let me howl at the moon with desire / And stretch my arms wide to embrace the sun.” But “Myth” by Beach House is so beautiful and sad and pensive and hopeful, like watching the sun rise after a long night. “Help me to name it…” Agh it’s so good.

[symphonic-appliances]

mid-year wrap up of what i’ve read so far 🫶 i added a cut bc it’s pretty long

except for my last book in june, i honestly haven’t been very impressed by anything i’ve read so far this year. a lot of my reads were good but none were 5 stars. tldr: read the emperor’s soul by brandon sanderson.

i was in a major reading slump this winter so i didn’t read any books in january, february, or march.

~~~

april:

my body by emily ratajkowski

this was very good! i didn’t vibe with it completely at the beginning but her writing style is very beautiful just like her 🤍 i listened to this as an audiobook, which is how i like to read most memoirs

skyward series by brandon sanderson (skyward, starsight, sunreach, redawn, cytonic, evershore, hyperthief, defiant)

i love brandon sanderson but i don’t fw his young adult books. i personally don’t vibe with ya anyway and i think sanderson has trouble with less complex/ya storylines. i was worried that the fight scenes would be boring because they’re fighting in spaceships but the sci-fi aspects were good! and the writing was good. the story just wasn’t giving what brandon is capable of giving.

macbeth by shakespeare

romeo romeo wherefore art thou romeo

crying in h-mart by michelle zauner

i love japanese breakfast and this memoir added so much heart to songs that are already very emotional for me. if you listen to japanese breakfast then you should read this book. it wasn’t necessarily a book that i couldn’t put down, i wish i listened to this as an audiobook instead. however i finished the last probably 20% in one sitting on mother’s day and immediately started watching some interviews of michelle zauner talking about her band and the book and then i gifted my copy of the book to my mother.

~~~

may:

the reckoners series by brandon sanderson (steelheart, mitosis, firefight, calamity, lux)

this series was surprisingly sexist for sanderson. most of his books that i’ve read have had female protagonists but the reckoners follows a man the entire time. the first book was intensely masculine, with david constantly looking at and thinking about megan’s body and only two women in the team, one of which is the love interest and the other barely being a character. the second book moved to a new location and added some new women characters and a female villain but still included moments like when david got danced on by a ‘bodacious’ woman and he compared her sensuality to megan’s tomboyish not-like-other-girls-ness and how he likes megan more than the ‘busty/curvy’ girl. very weird. i liked lux but i would definitely recommend any of sanderson’s adult fantasy books over any of his young adult books that i’ve read.

swimming in the dark by tomasz jedrowski

not the best book i’ve read and not the best lgbtq+ book i’ve read but the plot and writing were good! this book follows two young men in 1980’s poland as they develop feelings for each other under a government + in a time where it’s not really allowed. it’s a very short book so i would recommend it if you’re looking for a short emotional summer read.

the garden of time by j. g. ballard

read bc this was the met gala theme haha. i like short stories a lot and this one was very very good! there are a lot of ways to interpret this short fantastical story so this is a good story to read with a few friends and discuss like a mini book club! this was one of my top fav books of the year (it’s unfortunate that it’s only like 10 pages).

norwegian wood by haruki murakami

i’ve read norwegian wood twice and the plot has never really stuck with me but instead a lot of the simpler moments and ideas have. i first read this a couple of years ago and it was my first murakami book. i was thinking a lot about my gender at the time and this book is very masculine, which was a major plus for me at the time. since then, i’ve read more murakami books and i realized that i wish norwegian wood was a little bit more fantastical. not necessarily magical realism like his other books but i wish the ambiguousness in the ending was the vibe throughout more of the book. which is the complete opposite of how i felt on my first read, i loved how straightforward the book and toru’s character and worldview was.

a wrinkle in time by madeleine l’engle

cute. i wanted to read this very bad when i was a child but i didn’t have access to it and now i’ve read it 🤍

looking for alaska by john green

they could never make me hate john green. i wasn’t as feral about this now as i was when i was 14 but i still adore this book. the reader’s guide introduced me to stephanie says by the velvet underground which is probably going to be my top song this year.

the catcher in the rye by j. d. salinger

similar vibes to norwegian wood. i’ve read this twice and the first time i really liked how masculine and young this book felt. now that i’m older, i still really adore it.

~~~

june:

one true loves by taylor jenkins reid

this concept was very cool but i’m not obsessed with the execution. it reads like sally rooney’s normal people in how there’s little stories for each time period to show how the characters feel about each other but since that writing style is purposely fleeting i felt like it lacked depth for this intense story about grief. i also wish she saw olive more after high school. i did like the ideas in this book but the actual writing was not for me.

an enchanting case of spirits

i did not like this. the main character had an attitude for no reason, every side character was trying to help her out and she had a snarky comment about literally everything anyone said. the enemies to lovers was extremely forced, she hated her neighbor because when her fiancé passed away, he took her trash to the curb and back to the house for her. also fuck cops.

the invention of nature: alexander von humboldt’s new world by andrea wulf

this was surprisingly interesting. i listened to this as an audiobook, mainly for while i was driving. i think if i read it physically i would’ve gotten kind of bored but as a little podcast i was obsessed. i love the author’s hook in the beginning got me very interested, especially when she mentions how he’s the person with the most landmasses named after him and how she explains at the end how he was so impactful but not many people in the modern day know about him.

eragon by christopher paolini

the beginning and the end dragged but through the time that they’re actually on the road traveling i had a good time. this is not the best fantasy book ever but it’s alright.

none of this is true by lisa jewel

the first two sections were veryy addicting, i read this book in one day. however, the third act fell so flat for me. and the middle dragged a tiny bit. i’ll try not to spoil anything but with thrillers like this it’s impossible to review them without giving some stuff away. so my least favorite part about this entire book is how walter’s character is handled. i thought it was disgusting and i couldn’t get past that at all. and i think the epilogue should’ve been much longer than 3 pages, especially since lisa jewel apparently confirmed it in an interview (very much trying not to spoil anything haha). if walter didn’t do what he did then i would have very different feelings towards this book but if lisa was trying to get across what she said in the epilogue, implying very different things about walter than what roxy and erin were saying, then she should’ve made that very clear imo. i like ambiguous endings a lot but not when it comes to stuff like that.

where the wild things are by maurice sendak

one of my fav books as a child. i read this bc i want to rewatch the movie.

nimona by nd stevenson

very cute! but honestly if you didn’t follow this story when it was a webtoon / aren’t obsessed with the movie then i would recommend the movie over the graphic novel.

beach read by emily henry

i loved this concept so much. emily henry’s writing is a little more tropey than i prefer but she is very talented! very very good debut novel.

the selection by kiera cass (+ the queen, the prince, and 25% of the elite)

i would have loved this as a trashy reality show summer read but the dystopian aspects completely completely turned me off of this. it was very much trying to be a “monarchies are good as long as the people in charge are nice :))” while also being a rags to riches “look at the big pretty dress” and the message just didn’t make sense.

the emperor’s soul by brandon sanderson

i would recommend this to literally every single person. it took me about few pages to get into but like wow. this is a very good introduction to sanderson because it’s a short novella that isn’t connected to any of his big series. i read this in literally one sitting because it’s so gripping. the themes on creation, being an artist in a greedy world, and what it means to be a person from the most basic parts of our personalities is just so. beautiful. amazing. gorgeous. and the ending prologue makes the beginning make so much sense if you’re familiar with the cosmere (but you aren’t missing anything by using this as an introduction to sanderson).

[briamichellewrites]

95

The media was trying to track Bria down. They took old pictures of her and created false stories about her using drugs and being an alcoholic. They even used pictures of her drinking while at a bar with Jason. She reportedly had to be dragged out because she was so drunk. He confirmed in a phone call to Mike that wasn’t true. Neither of them got drunk. He believed him because he didn’t have any evidence. She was not using drugs and she was not an alcoholic.

Rather, she was a twenty-something-year-old woman, who enjoyed drinking occasionally. Just like everyone else her age. Mike asked him when the last time he spoke to her was. He hadn’t spoken to her for a week because he didn’t know where she was or if she had her phone with her.

Why? Did something happen?

“Jay, she’s pregnant again.”

“Oh my god!”

“You didn’t know?”

“No, I need… I need to talk to her. How far along is she?”

“She just found out. I’m not going to go after you again because you’ve heard it before.”

Where was she? She checked into a clinic called, Luxe Recovery in Studio City. Did she have her phone with her? Yeah, she did. He was going to text her. During the intake process, she went through a physical examination where they checked her height, weight, and vitals. They also went over her medical history. She was late but she thought it was due to her miscarriage.

They did a pregnancy test and it came back positive. Mike was frustrated and freaking out. There was no way she or Jason could take care of a baby. If he had his way, they would choose adoption. Let him raise the baby. But that conversation would have to wait. She was estimated to be four weeks pregnant. It was too early to give an accurate due date. They made a treatment plan to help her through her pregnancy and mental health issues.

They wanted her to have a safe pregnancy for her and her baby. Since she just had a miscarriage, she was at high risk of having another one. She was encouraged to rest during her free time for her mental health and her baby. The reason why he hadn’t completely lost his mind? Misty. She was such a curious little puppy. He loved watching her explore her new surroundings.

She had a favorite toy squirrel. It was soft and had a squeaker in its stomach. She brought it everywhere with her, like a toddler carrying their favorite blanket. It also provided her comfort. As a puppy, she was scared of loud noises. Bark! He calmed her down and comforted her. She loved going outside and walking around. The first time he put the harness on her, she tried grabbing the leash with her paw. Unfortunately, they were too short.

She looked at him, making him laugh. Puppies were amazing animals. They were like little children in that they were curious about everything and they put whatever they could find into their mouths. They would have to have a play date with Phoenix, Chester, and Joe. Rob and Bradford could also join them if they wanted to.

Bria’s body was changing. She felt more tired and she had to use the bathroom more frequently, as well as having morning sickness and food cravings. During a session with her psychiatrist, they went over her mental health history. She was born under the influence of crack cocaine and was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for about a month. Her biological mother lost custody of her when she tested positive for the drug. She then signed away her rights, so she could be adopted.

Her parents adopted her when she was a baby. She couldn’t remember the exact age she was. As a child, she was diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety and depression. Her ADHD was thought to have been caused by the drugs. Was she in special education? No, she went to boarding school in Switzerland. It was great for her because she could go to the teachers and ask questions after school was over.

They helped her through her lessons and explained it in a way she could understand. They had a performing arts program, in which she participated in. She did voice lessons, dance classes, and piano lessons. Along with theater classes. It helped her channel her energy into something positive. Did she still have a relationship with her parents? No, they were killed in a car accident when she was eighteen. They were hit by a driver under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

She had so much love and respect for them because when they inquired about adopting her, they were told she would have developmental difficulties. They thought she would need around-the-clock care for the rest of her life. It was the early eighties, so they didn’t have the information they currently did. The psychiatrist agreed that was true.

What were her symptoms when she was going through withdrawal? Did she remember? She thought she had high-pitched crying, diarrhea, vomiting, and seizures. Her parents were open about what she went through. What about her birth parents? What did she know about them? She knew a little. Her birth mother had a very traumatic childhood. That was a huge understatement. Her father was a World War Two veteran with undiagnosed and untreated PTSD.

He was an alcoholic, who was physically and mentally abusive. She left home and became addicted to drugs. Somehow, she met a guy who was much older than her. He took her in and they used drugs together. While under the influence, he physically and sexually abused her. She was thought to be a product of the sexual abuse.

“I don’t remember what year it was. It was 1998 or 1999, she hit my friend and me while driving intoxicated. We both had minor injuries but she was arrested. She went through a mental health evaluation. We found out she was diagnosed with Borderline Schizophrenia. She is currently in a mental hospital. I’m at risk of developing schizophrenia because of my genetics. I have compassion for her because of what she went through. She never had a chance to have a healthy life.”

Her mother did the most selfless thing. That was giving her a chance to have a life she never had. She also gave her a chance to have a life without abuse. The psychiatrist agreed that was true. She did. What happened to her birth father? They didn’t know. After her mother signed away her rights, they both disappeared. She hoped he was dead because that’s what he deserved.

Hey. When you get a chance, text me back. Mike told me about the pregnancy. I’m not angry or upset. I just want to know how you’re doing. – Jason

Of course, he did. At least he’s not gossiping about me. At least I hope he’s not. Anyway, yeah. I’m in treatment because I had a really bad BPD episode and I self-harmed. I was in the hospital for seventy-two hours and now I’m in treatment. The medical staff is monitoring the pregnancy. I didn’t know I could get pregnant. I should have been more careful. I wasn’t and I’m sorry. Please tell me you’re not angry with me. I miss you and I wish you were here. – Bria

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon

[beyondtheciouds]

.6.

The enchantment was simple enough, or at least Grace had thought it was. "This should be easy to decipher. It's Latin—something Mother taught me before..."

Lucie was skeptical of Grace and her talent with languages, specifically Latin. She squinted at the unfamiliar script in the candlelight, unsure of the writing’s actual origins. "Are you sure?"

Grace rolled her eyes and flipped her moonlight curls over her shoulder. She eyed Lucie with a look that told her they were doing this no matter the consequences. "Are you?"

Of course, Grace had had more practice with the dark arts than Lucie, but Lucie distrusted Grace's genius level. She did not believe the writing was Latin. She wasn’t sure, but she knew it wasn’t the language of ancient Shadowhunters.

Lucie trusted Jesse, however, because he was Jesse.

Not long after Lucie arrived at the Institute from Hell Ruelle, Grace Blackthorn showed up at the door. She had left Matthew to train with her brother in the training room, relieved for a moment of peace that was disturbed by Grace.

Grace had told Bridget she was there so late in the evening to speak with Lucie on a private and urgent matter. The maid had let her in right away and gestured in the general direction of Lucie’s room.

Jesse materialized once in Lucie's bedroom, with her door tightly closed. He explained that Grace would be helpful and that she should trust her, but Lucie was sure the pale princess had her intentions.

"Yes," Lucie said, annoyed at the broken writing. "It's missing too many letters to be Latin. It almost appears demonic."

Jesse glanced at the two girls as they bent their heads together, studying the ancient scripture. He was sitting on the windowsill, his frail ghostly form translucent in the glass. "Et lux perpetua luceat eis," he said, grinning as he wrote it in the fog.

Lucie was the first to look up, her blue eyes clear, shining, and intelligent. "And let perpetual light shine on them."

Jesse smiled, the corners of his mouth dimple as he held back a chuckle.  He looked positively adorable, his green eyes shining. “Grace?"

Grace sighed, but her ears grew hot as her temper rallied. Her grey eyes were steely and cold as they shifted from Jesse to Lucie. Her mouth twitched as she watched her brother with the vaguest of suspicions, her head tilted slightly.  He tried to impress Lucie with his vast knowledge, and now she understood why. Grace was a bit jealous that Jesse was in love with Lucie. "Funny, Jesse."

"I'm only saying that you must start reading between the lines, Grace. You wouldn't be able to get a direct translation without getting a transcription." Jesse said, dragging his hand across the glass of the window. The words did not smudge or wipe away.

Grace frowned, "And where do you propose we find a...a... person to translate and then transcribe an ancient resurrection spell? The moon?"

Lucie snickered, "The moon? Grace? You couldn't think of anything more suitable?"

Grace shoved the scripture into Lucie's hands, clearly upset. "Do you want my help or not?"

Jesse slinked off the windowsill and glided to Lucie's desk, where the girls stood. "Yes," he answered because Lucie was not doing an excellent job holding in her laughter. "We both do."

Grace's anger seemed to melt, and she clenched her hands together, preventing herself from reaching out and hugging the reflection of her brother. "Fine, but I prefer you don't challenge my skills from now on."

Lucie nodded, agreeing, and then let out a high-pitched laugh. She carefully opened the scripture and replaced it on her desk. "All right, deal."

Jesse smirked, a glint of moonlight hitting his eyes. Lucie blinked and studied him for a long moment. She couldn't help but think she could use the description of emeralds to define the intense green of her hero's eyes. Or maybe noir to describe the dark, thick inkiness of his hair.

The moment passed hurriedly like a hurricane, tearing apart all the thoughts inside her head when green clicked in her mind: Matthew. She takes a long breath, blinking, and Grace frowns at her, unamused and worried.

“Lucie, I must go. I’ll be back later. Grace, keep practicing. I know we can get this right.” Jesse's form faded and blurred around the edges, and after a moment, he was gone. Grace gasped, and shivers ran like fingernails down Lucie's spine as the old grandfather clock at the bottom of the stairs clanged twelve times.

Striking midnight.

.7.

Lucie hadn't slept a wink.

Grace had left right after Jesse vanished, and Lucie's nerves had been too frayed to think about sleep. She sat at her desk the entire night, writing down everything she knew about the resurrection spell and studying every line in the two taboo books she had swiped from her brother's collection at the Devil Tavern.  

Creaking noises and disembodied voices plagued her throughout the night and kept her wide awake. She wrote and wrote. Read and read. Still, I need clarification. Nothing seemed possible. Only thoughts of Jesse, his hands around her waist, seemed prevalent.

It was only at the break of the day that she stopped, exhausted and feeling useless. Her binge proved frustrating and fruitless. She was only a nod away from sleeping on the desk.

Lucie had learned nothing new.

So, her mind was preoccupied that afternoon after the maid awoke her for luncheon with her brother and Matthew.   Struggling to stay awake, her eyes drifted shut as she sat at the table. She didn't hear Matthew call her name. "Lucie? Lucie, love. Lucie."

Lucie was seated across from James at the dining table, and Matthew was on his other side. The two boys had similar looks of concern as they leaned over.

Lucie's head was propped up in her hand, and her eyes were slit, red, and heavy with lack of sleep. Her dress was wrinkled, the same one from the previous day, and her light brown hair was airy, pulled hastily up in a bun and clipped with a butterfly barrette. Lucie never looked more amess. "Hmmm?"

Bridget folded the loose table linens nearby; tablecloths and napkins were piled on the counter of the China cabinet, preparing for dinner already. A scowl settled on her freckled, wrinkled face like a permanent fixture as Matthew's hand snaked across the table toward Lucie, and sleepily, she reached forward.

James frowned as Lucie and Matthew's hands snapped back before they reached their mark as if they were a bit. A sigh heaved out of Bridget's apron-clad chest, and she disdainfully shook her head. "Yew was up all-night writing, weren't you, lass? Tsk, tsk."

She sounded more like a grandmother than a maid. Lucie raised her eyes, glancing at the woman who was more of an old nag than anything else to Lucie.

James frowned again and proceeded to flick his peas at her. “Spots?"

Pain brought Lucie to full attention, and she scowled as a string of peas bounced off her forehead. Her blue eyes narrowed at James as she sat up. "What was that for?"

"You're dozing during Bridget’s fine luncheon," James said matter of fact. His eyes were as unreadable as the scripture. Matthew reached for his water glass and shot Lucie a questioning look.

Lucie ignored Matthew. She thoroughly distrusted the curve of James's playful smile as the aftereffect of his antics. "I was not."

The lack of sleep that weighed her down made Lucie sound like a petulant child. She didn't care. She was far too tired.

James rolled his eyes and reached for his teacup as Will entered the dining room. "Luce, you'd be drowning in a pool of drool if it weren't for Matthew. Be grateful that he thought to wake you for lunch since you missed breakfast."

Lucie gripped the fork hard enough for the knuckles on her hand to turn white as she watched her father sit beside her mother. Anxiety filled her. She had to ask her parents about Nate. The snake-like voice had returned, demanding her mother. Lucie smiled cheekily, clearly not meaning the words erupting from her mouth. "My gallant hero."

“Now, Lucie. Be pleasant and nice.” Will muttered, sitting down at the table.

Tessa frowned, noting the sarcastic tone of her daughter's voice. She was still buttering seemingly endless amounts of burnt toast at the head of the square table. "Are you feeling all right, darling? You seem out of sorts this afternoon."

Tessa's attention to Lucie's inattention was clear as day to everyone at the table. It didn't take Kit's strange genius to figure out that something was eating at Lucie.

"Not to mention Luce, I've seen that dress before." Kit thought momentarily, and then a grin lit up his face. "Oh yes, didn't you wear that yesterday at Devil Tavern when you asked Thomas to help you?" Kit piped in from his seat, diagonal from Lucie.

Thomas looked down at his plate, and Lucie wanted to kick Christopher in the shin under the table. James and Tessa shot them all questioning looks. Will picked up the paper and began reading.

Lucie dropped her fork on her plate of uneaten green peas and some meat she could not classify. She slipped her hands into her lap, clenching her fingers. "I suppose I may have," she said, trying to keep some level of decency and composure.

Bridget snickered. "The lass is tired. The night before—or was it the previous one? I don’t know, but I caught this one," she said, putting down the napkin she was folding on the table and jerking her thumb at Matthew. "Sneaking out of Princess's room," she paused and glared at Lucie and Matthew, "in the middle of the night!"

Tessa frowned, setting her knife and a black piece of toast down on her plate. "What's going on?"

Will tried not to look stunned. But his dark blue eyes were full of fury when he put the paper on the table. "Lucie?"

Lucie shrugged, picking up her fork. She leveled her eyes on the table and began aimlessly and absently pushing the mystery meat around on her plate. "Someone has beaten him up," she exclaimed. "He didn't know where to go, so I cared for him. Nothing happened."

That drew Tessa's attention to Matthew, who looked quite appalled. "Is that true? Who beat you up?"

Wills's inky eyebrows furrowed, and his dark gaze landed on Matthew. "Are you...and Lucie...?" Will, despite his best efforts, was speechless for several seconds. "Do you plan on courting my daughter, Matthew Fairchild?"

Lucie smiled, not particularly paying attention to the conversation. She had drifted off in her mind again. Happy she had successfully transferred the attention to Matthew, she let herself daydream. What else do I need for the spell? Lucie thought. Eye of newt…

Matthew Fairchild was caught off guard for the first time in his life. His green eyes were wide, like a doe. If he said no, he would need an explanation for being in her room, beaten to a pulp. If he said yes, he knew he might get away with just a lecture instead of a reprimanding from Will.

Matthew nodded and inconspicuously glanced at Lucie.

Now it was James's turn to look appalled.

.8.

Lucie's eyebrows entered her hairline, and her hand went to her temple. Her temper was ready to flare as fire. Her head ached. Matthew Fairchild was an idiot who just single-handedly complicated her existence. "Why did you say that? Why would you think such a thing would be all right to say?”

The sky was dark, and the night was too cold for early autumn. Winter had whisked her way into London on the coattails of her brother. Thick, dark clouds loomed overhead, a little reminder that September will soon become December. Lucie needed to get home. She needed to speak with Jessamine and Jesse about the spell. It was getting late.

A sideways glance out the window told her it wouldn't be possible to make it home. Her carriage driver had already trotted off to the stables near the flat, the horses warm within the walls. The wind blew sideways and howled like a wolf as the snow hurricane drifted over. Large flakes of ice and snow rained down from the heavens. This was the second snowy night of the season, and Lucie wondered how damaging the winter would be.

Heavy snow was already falling on the horizon; the roads were blocked further downtown. Lucie couldn't shake the odd feeling that it wasn't a coincidence she was here---with Matthew, alone in his brand-new flat.  She had unwillingly escorted him home, intending to head somewhere else after.

Matthew hummed, watching the smoke curl and float up the chimney. “Why not? We’ve now slept together three times. Shouldn’t we be something by now?”

Lucie couldn't think straight, and her fingers brushed the cool fabric of his bottle's fine green waistcoat. Her hand lingered, remembering a heated moment that felt centuries ago. She could never take back that exemplary moment that led to an awful moment. She still felt her indifference towards him at the core of her soul. The coat was draped over the back of the matching velvet chair she was sitting in, and she touched it one more time before defiantly crossing her arms over her chest. “It is not true for starters. Secondly, why do we need a label? I thought your whole mantra was against labels. Oscar Wilde.”

Matthew's back was to her, but she knew his shirt was halfway undone; the bare skin underneath was still tan and toned from the summer sun. She could feel it under her hands when she closed her eyes. His green eyes had been glassed over, and his sunshine hair stuck up in the back from hours of dozing in the chair at the Institute as he was getting lectured by her father.

Matthew knelt before the fireplace, stoking the many burning logs with a metal poker. His rings glittered in the firelight. He didn't turn around when he replied, "I didn't know what to say except that I felt we should be a couple."

"I still don't," Lucie retorted and stood up. She frowned, slumping her shoulders. “I didn’t mean it like that.” But she had.

Matthew sighed and set the poker back in the corner rack. "I know what you think of me," he said, his voice suddenly small.

"Oh, and what is that?" Lucie asked. She moved until she was directly behind him. She could smell the intoxicating scent of fire on him and feel the heat of the intense flame on her skin. It drove her wild.

Matthew stood up and slowly turned around. His expression was unreadable, like illegible penmanship. Lucie stared at his face, picking out the emotions drifting in and out of his eyes like the tide.

"You think I'm a fool," he said. His face was inches from hers, and this close, she could inhale the gin in his hot breath and see the slips of honey and amber in his irises.

.9.

Lucie blinked and sucked in a breath; the electricity between them was overwhelming. She swallowed the little saliva coating her mouth. Sweat dripped down the side of her face, salty like tears. "We shouldn't," she whispered. She held her breath and heard Matthew catch his as his hand reached out, calloused fingers cupping her chin, and he leaned towards her.

Lucie lifted her hands, placing them on his chest. She locked her eyes on his as her fingertips fled the safety of his shirt and treaded his soft skin. She could feel his heart thumping like wild horses under her palms. Knowing that she could have this effect on Matthew made her mad with desire for him.

The silver of his rings glinted in the firelight, and Lucie exhaled slowly, thinking, here we go.

She closed her eyes as his lips touched hers, and the world as she knew it faded. His kiss was soft and tender. It was nothing like she had expected and everything she'd imagined.  The kiss was the same as it had always been: intoxicating, breathless. Souls aligning.

His hands had moved, and his fingers trailed down her neck, lingering on the gold chain.

Matthew broke the kiss abruptly and stepped back. He swallowed hard, his eyes on the locket hanging around Lucie's neck.

Jesse's locket.

When Lucie opened her eyes, she saw that hurt and confusion flooded his summer-dazed features. "Math?"

His nickname on her lips broke him down, and he gritted his teeth. He felt stupid and betrayed. It hadn't escaped him that the design was of thorns. "Why are you wearing that locket?"

.10.

Lucie sucked in a breath; the nausea was like a tidal wave washing over her. Jessamine stood in the corner of the room watching. She didn't look pleased.

"Drink," Grace urged, shoving the cracked mug under Lucie's nose for the fifth and final time. "Drink, or you'll dehydrate your powers."

Lucie's dull blue eyes glanced into the mug skeptically. The murky liquid was green, swirled with terrible-smelling herbs and spices- items Grace had said were on the spell list.

The rottenness of it made Lucie's stomach queasy, and she had to look away. She turned her face away like a stubborn child. "No."

Grace sighed, sitting back on her heels. She had promised Jesse they would try harder. Time was running out. "Lucie. Please don't be difficult."

"Difficult?" Lucie forced a laugh, glancing at her reflection in her vanity mirror. She looked tired. Bags were under her eyes, but at least she was in a clean dress and had neat hair. "I will be difficult and won't drink that putrid concoction."

Grace sighed, setting the mug on Lucie's nightstand. She sat on the bed as if she and Lucie had been friends forever. "We should go to Magnus with the scripture."

Lucie raised an eyebrow, wondering how brilliant Grace was. "He won't help us. The language is ancient, possibly demonic. I guarantee he won't want anything to do with it."

Grace said nothing for a long moment as she eyed the mug. "You know for certain?"

The sunlight streamed through the enormous windows, and Lucie wondered how much longer she would have to deal with Grace today. All she had wanted to do since she woke was to go back to bed. Bone tired, drained from the last few hours of drinking mysterious concoctions, Lucie had enough.

"Not one hundred percent," Lucie began, unsure how she would finish her sentence. With Magnus, one never knew. “But I know he will have questions we don’t have answers for.”

There was always that slight chance.

The truth was that her heart was still reeling, tugging her like she was caught on the end of Matthew's line. She was breathless and flapping excuses in the sun like a fish. Confused and upset more at Matthew than herself, Lucie needed to be alone. It had been a week since she was at Matthew’s flat overnight.

 Things had gotten out of hand, and she had ended up with him in his bed again. Annoyed, Lucie now crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing Grace. "I know that if we go to him, he might expose our necromancy to the Clave. We can't have that with you marrying the future Consul."

Grace smiled harshly, "Or with you consorting with the Consul's rebellious son."

A knock at the door disrupted their argument, and Lucie silently promised to find out what Grace knew. What Charles had told her about Matthew.

Lucie shoved the scripture under several manuscripts on her desk as James opened her door and stepped into Lucie's bedroom without an invitation. “Uhm, hello?”

Behind him, Matthew lingered in the hall. First, his eyes were on the floor, and his hands were stuck in the pockets of his expensive jacket. His cheeks were flushed, his lips parted. He turned his head slightly, and he looked directly at her. Lucie wanted to hurl.

"Lucie! I hope you're decent--Mam wants us to get ready to go--" James stopped short, spying on Grace. "What are you doing--"

James was cut off by Lucie, who avoided glancing into the hall. "Grace was just leaving."

[shishibloomy]

Hello! I love the Shishigumi and they don’t get enough love! I was hoping you could, if comfortable, how the Shishigumi members react to their s/o having a mental disorder (anxiety/depression etc.) and what they do to comfort them/how they react and or feel. If not then delete this :)

Ill stick with the anxiety/depression stuff cus thats what I’m most familiar with.

Ibuki I feel like Ibuki would be one of the best people to have with you if you’re going through an anxiety attack or a depressive episode.  He’ll be there with you through every thing and he’ll know how to balance letting you take time to rest but also getting you up to get you moving.  I think he would also appreciate that you’re showing this side of yourself to him and being vulnerable.  He’ll probably start opening up to you more as well and it’ll be more time for both of you to bond. Talking is going to be very important for him. He's had to hide his struggles behind the mask of being a strong lion so having someone he can open to is going to be refreshing for him; he might end up talking more than you because he feels so comfortable with you.  After the first couple of times of it happening, he’ll figure out a routine for you that will get you up and running. If you're having anxiety doing something, he'll be there with you through it all. If it gets very bad, he'll give you the comfiest hug in the world until you stop feeling so anxious. He keeps your hand in his and squeezes it to let you know that he's there with you. He's honestly a giant lion teddy bear, and one thats happy to be cuddling with you too.

Miguel

With Miguel, his first thought will be to get you up and active. He'll make sure to only do as much as you're comfortable with; he just doesn't want you to fall into a rut. He'll take you to walks and low impact workouts and use them as an opportunity for you to open up to him about whatevers going on with you. His usual intense gaze softens up incredibly; he doesn't want you to feel intimidated from him. He does a lot of comfortable touches that help you relax, like keeping your hand in his or rubbing your arm. If the two of you are walking somewhere, he'll have his arm wrapped around you the whole time and keep you flushed against him, it's especially nice during the winter time. Even though he tries to get you more active, he'll also be doing so much for you during this time. If you don't feel like eating, he'll make something for you that you'll like; if you're laying down somewhere and you need to go somewhere, he'll just pick you up and take you somewhere. If you have issues with anxiety, he'll work with you ot build up your confidence... by getting you to work out more. Not because it's anything related to your physical appearance but working out in a gym infront of people will make you more comfortable. He'll be with you the whole time so if you start getting very uncomfortable, you can tell him and he'll stop.

Free

Free suddenly becomes so serious with his s/o. Yes he is reckless himself but when it comes to someone he cares about, you bet he's going to watch out for them. He drinks and does a lot of silvervine, but in front of you he'll never do it because substances like that can make depression and anxiety worse. If you want to just lay down and not do anything, he's going to take that as an opportunity to lay with you and cuddle you. He's going to be talking to you a lot to keep your mind active and it's going to be the randomest things ever (most of which he got from Agata). He just wants to laugh with you and hear your happy voice again. He's not the best at talking about his feelings but he's going to try and open up so that you feel comfortable talking to him. It's going to be stuff like "I know shit sucks sometimes but it'll get better babe." Also, expect his regular affection do increase even more. If you're making breakfast, he'll hug you from behind the whole time or try to make it for you; if you're doing stuff in public, he'll never let go of your hand; he's going to be giving you kisses every minute too. He wants you to feel very loved the whole time.

Agata

Agata is someone who wants to be more comfortable talking about his feelings so when he sees you going through some depression or having anxiety, he'll spend a lot of time making sure you're feeling ok and asking how you're doing. He doesn't want you to have to hold everything in like he had to and pretend like everything was ok. He's very sensitive about things so he'll pick up right away if you aren't feeling ok. He's going to try to get you to play a lot of really fun, feel good, or goofy games with him. Think Mario Party, Animal Crossing, Minecraft, Roblox, etc. He'll bring you a lot of snacks you like and some new ones both of you guys havent tried before so you can eat them together. After you start opening up to him, he'll start telling you how he feels as well. He wants to bond with you and also let you know that you aren't alone in your feelings. I imagine him as someone who also has issues with anxiety stemming from all his pressures to be a strong lion so you’ll both be helping each other in situations where you’re anxious. Lots of hand holding, standing close together, whispering in each other’s ears. You’ll both eventually forget others are there because you’re both so focused on each other

Dolph

Dolph ends up being a leader to the Shishigumi when their actual leader isn't there so he has experience from members who occasionally come up to him and talk him (specifically Agata). He seems like someone who's very intimidating but when he wants to, he can be the sweetest person ever. Whenever you talk to him, it feels very intimate because he keeps very intense eye contact with you. He doesn't do it intentionally but he wants to feel connected to you; if you feel uncomfortable he'll tone it down a bit. Dolph will listen to you a lot and then if you ask for advice, he'll give some. He wants you to know that he's listening to whatever you're saying and that you getting better is the most important thing to him. You'll find him bringing up times when he's had similar issues and how he went through them and survived; he wants you to know that whatever it is that has you depressed is only temporary and you'll get through it. When it comes to your anxiety, he's also like Ibuki in the sense that he's a giant lion teddy bear that you can hug and hold whenever you get anxious. He's going to use his scar as an example; even though he has it over his face, he manages to get through public interactions.

Dope

Dope will know right away that you aren’t feeling good by reading your body language. Even if you don’t tell him, he’ll ask you if everything’s ok and offer you lots and lots of emotional support. He wants you to feel absolutely comfortable telling him everything so he can do something to help you feel better. If you thought that he was good with his words before, he comes to a whole other level to make you feel better. If you talk about yourself in a deprecating way, he's going to correct you right away. It might feel irritating at first but he wants to change your negative way of thinking and eventually you'll notice that you have less deprecating thoughts about yourself too. Until he notices that you start acting like you did before your depressive episode, he's going to dedicate time for you every day where you open up to him about how you're feeling. He'll also make sure to ask you if you want comfort or solutions so he doesn't say anything that might upset you if you just want to vent. If you want solutions, he'll sit with you until you two figure out what works best for you.

Hino

Hino is the king of self care and it’s going to reflect when he helps you during a depressive episode. If you aren’t feeling up for doing anything, he’s going to make sure you’re taking care of your personal hygiene. When you wake up, he’ll do a routine for you (face wash, brushing teeth, putting on some moisturizer and sunscreen) so you feel pampered. He wants you to feel good and fresh physically even if you aren’t feeling the best mentally. He’ll do the same at night and will get new products for both of you to try out; some of them are luxe and some are more silly (face masks that bubble when you put them on and sheet masks that have funny faces on them). He’ll be showering you with compliments the whole time, and they’re all genuine ones; none of those superficial ones. He’ll bring you some new clothes to try on, it’ll be cute outfits he picks out for you and all of them fit perfectly. Even though this all seems a bit materialistic, he does it all while giving you a lot of emotional support too. These things are just extra stuff to help you feel better because it’s things he likes himself and he wants to do things both of you can enjoy together. I imagine Hino as a very artistic person too so he’ll do art activities with you. Lots of painting how you’re feeling and writing out your feelings in poetry. He’s going to make sure you don’t feel the pressure to make your art look perfect and he’ll share his to show you that your art can be anything you want it to be. If you get anxiety in public, just take him anywhere with you and all the attention will be on him. He will make sure to build up your confidence so that you don’t need to rely on him all the time too and Hino is the best person for a morale boost.

Sabu

Sabu is better at telling you're feeling upset than Dope is. He has his years of experience under his belt and him being quiet means he listens more. You don't even realize it but he's been listening to a lot of the little things you say and from that he picks up that you aren't in the best state of mind. Before you even tell him, you notice that he starts doing a lot of things for you to make your mood better. Whatever he doesn't say with words, he shows with his actions and right now it's that he wants you to feel better. Once you do tell him and open up to him, he makes an effort to try and talk more to you. Similarly to Dolph, he'll mainly listen and then only talk if you ask him to. He's not used to talking about his past so it's going to be a new thing for him to be so open about it but he'll do it so that you feel comfortable. It'll still be short answers but you know that he's trying his best to open up. If you're having anxiety, Sabu will be your silent supporter through all of it. If anyone in particular tries to mess with you, he goes back to his intimidating self and will get them to back off of you right away. Just imagine a scary, scarred lion intimidating someone while holding his s/os hand.

Jinma

When you tell Jinma about how you're feeling, his first train of thought is to find the best therapist in the BAM that you can talk through all of this. He wants to help you through all of it but he knows he has his connections and he could find someone way more qualified. Even if you do go to a therapist, he'll still make sure to check on you through everything. If you really enjoy nature, he'll find the best nature area that the both of you can go to together. If you want to eat something good, he's going to find the best and most exclusive place and somehow manage to get you reservations the day of it all. Whatever you want, he's going to know where to get you the best one of it. If he doesn't know where to get it, he'll know someone else who will. If you're dealing with anxiety issues, he'll make sure to talk to the best therapist and figure out ways to get you comfortable in situations that make you anxious. He'll also try his own things by taking you to places with him so you get more comfortable being in new places. Of course nothing dangerous like gang deals but if he hears about a new place to check out, he's definitely making you tag along so that the two of you can experience it together.

[almorica]

I did this elsewhere, so I’ll add it here too. here’s a VN/adventure game rec list even if my taste is often at odds with critics and popular consensus alike. I live to be contrary (derogatory).

after the first few of “made a significant impression on me recently” titles, it’s in no special order. contains a lot of horror and mystery, from 12+ to 18+ titles, and from free to paid. if you’re interested in one but want some specific content warnings, I can offer that.

Death Mark is my favorite of the last 4 years. let’s go ghost hunting with a cursed cast of mainly adults! really good, intense and graphic supernatural horror (18+). it’s on multiple systems and steam (but you get more save files on the PS systems. I have like 30 save files on my Vita). there are good LPs if you get curious!

Spirit Hunter: NG is a sequel to Death Mark with a different cast, so you could easily play one and not the other. the focus is on the older teenager characters this time, and everyone’s shady but sympathetic somehow. also intense supernatural horror (18+) and on multiple systems! (same save file consideration applies.) 

the most recent addition to the List is MAMIYA - A Shared Illusion of the World’s End. it's a depressing but kind of cathartic tale without being even remotely as graphic as the first two (I’d recommend 16+). a mature and stable mindset is key to enjoying it. it's still kiiiiind of supernatural horror but largely psychological. no fun(?) ghost hunting. available for PC.

Hashihime of the Old Book Town is quite a bit like MAMIYA, but more suspense focused. explicitly M/M with a cast age 20+. mostly about the mystery/psychological/horror aspects, however. if you connect to any of these characters, it will hurt.

across languages, it's already on PC on multiple sites, Vita (JP only), and in JP/CN/EN for Switch! 18+ except for Switch, which cuts some content.

Lux-Pain is a 2008 DS title involving people with powers fighting mind parasites. ALSO a mystery revolving around heavy topics like dark states of mind (13+ official rating). canon queer, but awkward about it.

you're better off playing this in JP if you can read it, because the EN localization was poor, but sometimes you Love It Anyway (me).

Kara no Shoujo, a very dark and gritty murder mystery. 18+ in multiple respects; available on PC. fascinating if you like experiencing unflinchingly twisted and challenging storylines, otherwise you should /really/ give it a pass. I am serious.

the protagonist, while ultimately trying to be a good person, is really morally not. a reprehensible man only overshadowed by the ones killing people, lol. nobody’s really likeable, but I found it an interesting look into the potential darkness in people’s hearts.

Fatal Twelve, another teen-friendly title. Is it still a Death Game if you're already dead? a F/F VN (mostly plot-focused) with a wonderfully imperfect and sympathetic love interest. it involves some questionable stereotypes of the characters from nations outside Japan, but the fucked up American is justified tbh. available on PC, switch, and PS4.

Lake of Voices, a free survival horror-type game. great atmosphere and a wlw romance option. difficult, but satisfying to 100%. available on PC.

Trace Memory/Another Code: Two Memories. my first VN-type mystery/puzzle game! cing was a total gateway into all this. it's only a few hours long, but the music is excellent and the story is poignant. available on the DS.

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly: also a tragic mystery grappling with grief! my fav Vita game after the Spirit Hunters. Incredible somber atmosphere and beautiful art that I think about a lot. also available on PC.

I've mostly seen people criticize this one and love the second in the series (Ashen Hawk). but after playing the second, I can only recommend it if you want to see a game speedrun getting as boldly problematic as possible (it is kind of entertaining how comparatively Wild it gets).

Zero Escape: 999 and VLR (The Nonary Games): actually pretty popular. 999 is top notch horror, and VLR top notch sci-fi. I played them both on 3/DS, but they have other options, like PC and mobile and vita. 18+ for graphic gore and violence.

there's a 3rd (ZTD), but I have a wide definition of Visual Novel and it still doesn't fit. it is also not Good in actual story quality like the first two, but the bloody horror is a fun time.

Hatoful Boyfriend: romance birds! have a weird time that only gets weirder! multiple systems? PC for sure.

Theresia: Dear Emile: a DS horror game that's mostly puzzle/adventure, but unfolds the story VN-style. A lot like a more relaxed Amnesia TDD with no chasers, but a lot of inanimate objects will hurt you. (major cw: parental abuse. recommended for 18+)

playing Theresia when I was younger solidified SO much of what I've loved in horror games ever since. I've replayed it enough to have many puzzle solutions memorized.

Neighbor: short, sweet, old-fashioned supernatural horror VN. the subject matter can be heavy, but it's not particularly adult. available on PC.

Cinderella Phenomenon: free fairy tale-based otome game that still took me 30 hours. while not sugary sweet, the most chill of the entire list.

the main dealbreaker might be that there's a step-brother route (and it’s weird in how it goes about it even if that's /not/ a trigger for you), but you can avoid it and still clear everyone else.

Root Letter: mystery game with a complex adult cast. a good balance of chill music + setting and suspense. 24 hrs playtime for me; a great game to pick up on sale.

the protagonist is not afraid to be seriously, verbally MEAN (like about someone's weight) to get them to talk, which you may want to consider if you’re not in the mood to play that kind of person. on many systems, depending on what language you want to play in.

Without a Voice: short free F/F VN (I clocked in 3 hours). a bit supernatural, a bit horror-y, all visually beautiful. available on PC.

Shin Hayarigami 1+2: intense horror VNs on the graphic level of Spirit Hunter or higher (18+). mostly only JP, but the first chapter of 1 is localized for mobile, and a bit more is available in translated LPs.

another one you play as a godawful person (this time a mean policewoman). I find all kinds of protagonists can be interesting to read!

Hotel Dusk: excellent mystery puzzle/adventure/VN for the DS, and a lot of people would agree. the protagonist is an endearing middle aged guy who is easily pleased by paperclips.

the second one (Last Window) is all right. I've played it twice and still cannot remember a thing about the new characters or story. kind of impressive.

anyhow, do hotel dusk for them?

[missjanjie]

Better Than Revenge | Chapter 3

Title: Better Than Revenge Summary: Karma Inc.’s business structure is simple - clients hire them when they’ve been grievously wronged and they send one of their revenge mercenaries to right them. As painstaking as their efforts to remain ethical may be, that may be tested when former detective, Rosé, enlists the squad to pick up where she couldn’t on a much higher scale, with potentially greater consequences. Word Count: ~2.7k (this chapter) | ~8k (total) Relationship(s): Rosnali (Rosé/Denali Foxx), Jankie (Jackie Cox/Jan Sport), Halldoll (Nicky Doll/Jaida Essence Hall), Gimone (Gigi Goode/Symone), Gottlux (Gottmik/Olivia Lux) Rating: T

Read on AO3 | Ko-Fi

Chapter Summary: Rosé learns Gigi, Symone, and Denali's revenge origin stories

-

Woodstock, IL — 2016

Gigi took a deep breath as she stared at herself in the mirror. She could do this, it was fine. Every time her suspicions or confusion would bubble up, she forced them back down. Hannah was nice, she was different from the other popular girls. She didn’t see the ‘weird art lesbian’ with the braces and thick-rimmed glasses, who rarely got pop culture references post-1989, at least, that’s how she made her feel.

“I’ll text you in the morning,” she assured her mother as she threw her bag over her shoulder. “It’ll be fine, I’m just hanging out with a friend.” She was out to her mom, of course, that was her biggest ally. But she wasn’t ready to tell her that the head cheerleader had taken an interest in her. Maybe when and if they became official. Until then, she shook off the last of her nerves and drove to her house, only pulled from her thoughts by the time she was sitting on Hannah’s bed.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” Hannah cooed, batting her lashes and resting her hand on Gigi’s thigh.

If Gigi hadn’t been so blinded by her crush, she might’ve thought Hannah was laying it on a little thick, but she couldn’t act like she didn’t enjoy the attention. “Me too, a-about you, I mean. Sorry, I’m just nervous…”

“How come? I didn’t come on too strong over text, did I?”

“No, no I liked it, it’s just… I’m a virgin, like, I’ve only ever kissed before,” she confessed, her cheeks flushing rosy pink. She had talked a big game over text, but being faced with the chance of starting a physical relationship brought her back to reality.

Hannah pouted, rubbing Gigi’s thigh as she thought, letting her hand inch higher. “Well, you’ve got fantasies, don’t you? I know you’ve masturbated before. What do you think about while you touch yourself?”

Gigi hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip. The other girl wasn’t wrong, she did know what she liked, could conjure up vivid imagery to get herself aroused, but she had never said any of it out loud. “I like powerful, confident women. I guess that’s something that drew me to you,” she started, “I wanna just… give up control, be dominated.”

“Really? Tell me more,” Hannah prompted, kissing along her neck and jaw and slowly tugging Gigi’s shirt off in an attempt to coax her to continue.

When Hannah didn’t seem deterred by her confession, Gigi started to relax. “It’s just, I don’t know, I always feel the need to be in control of my life and with sex, I just wanna let go and give up that power.”

“So like, what would you want someone to do to you?” she asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

She bit down on her lip. “Um… tie me up, spank me, choke me, and I know it’s kind of intense but maybe something like cnc or—” the incessant buzzing of her phone distracted her and, concerned it might be an urgent call or text from home, she took her phone out. “Sorry, one sec.”

It wasn’t from home, she had two missed calls from her best friend, Crystal, followed by several texts.

Crystal: GIGI STOP Crystal: SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! Crystal: She’s broadcasting you on IG live! Crystal: We can see and hear everything…

Gigi’s face fell, her first instinct to pull her shirt back on. Then she slowly looked up and in front of her, that’s when she saw it, nestled between stuffed animals — Hannah’s phone with an instagram live going. She didn’t say anything, just ran out of the house as fast as her legs would take her and through her tears drove right to Crystal’s house. That was when the two of them formed their plot.

In and of itself, it was simple. Gigi waited one day until Hannah was away for a cheer competition and went to her house. “I’m so sorry to bother you, Mrs. Andrews, but I think I left some of my homework in Hannah’s room, she just said to let you know so I can run in and grab it.” Once inside, she found exactly what she was looking for, sliding Hannah’s diary into her backpack and went right back out.

“This feels very Mean Girls, I love it,” Crystal remarked as they taped page after page of the diary on lockers, walls, anywhere they could.

“Well, plan B was to go the Heathers route, so let’s just hope it works.”

And to say it worked was an understatement. As it turned out, Hannah had written things far more incriminating, and because it came from someone of her social ranking, it made everyone immediately lose interest in Gigi’s livestream scandal, and she graduated with the anonymity she needed for survival.

Present Day

“I’ll be honest with you,” Rosé remarked, “it’s kinda hard to picture you as an ugly duckling, especially the way you described it.” Gigi was too pretty, too perfect. Something didn’t add up.

Gigi got out her phone and scrolled through her photos until she found one from her senior year. “Believe it, doll,” she said as she held her phone up. She watched with an amused expression as Rosé looked from her phone, to her, and back with her eyes wide and mouth agape. “Braces off, lasik, learned a lot about how to dress while going to FIDM, which is where I met Symone, who helped fill in the blanks.”

“And made sure she got to do all them things she listed to that bitch without feeling ashamed about it,” Symone added with a smirk, draping her arm around Gigi and pulling her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Why don’t you tell her your story next, baby?” Gigi prompted.

Conway, AR — 2014

Symone watched her sister throw her bag over her shoulder and start to sneak out the window. “Look, I ain’t snitching or nothing, but I still don’t think this is a good idea.”

She and her sister, Lala, were close, sometimes referring to themselves as twins – they were only ten months apart, in the same grade at school. And until the summer after sophomore year, they had the same group of friends. But the crowd Lala ran with now just rubbed her the wrong way.

“You worry too much,” Lala brushed it off. “I’ll be fine, in bed by morning like nothing happened.”

But when Symone got a collect call two hours later, she found out things were far from fine. She drove down to the county jail as fast as she could without getting pulled over herself. Luckily bail was a mere fifty dollars, but once she got her sister back in the car, she looked at her incredulously. “What the fuck happened?”

“One of ‘em brought weed, another brought booze, but when the cops rolled up on us, they said it all was mine. And who was they gonna believe, me or three white kids?” Lala sniffled, wiping her eyes. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me,” she whispered.

“I don’t either,” Symone admitted quietly, frustrated at her inability to come up with an immediate solution. “But we’re gonna do our best to get you out of this, okay?”

The best they could do wasn’t easy. It involved a lot of legal maneuvering, meetings with one person in a suit after another. The end result wasn’t ideal, but it was far better than what could have been. Lala was fined three hundred dollars and put on thirty days of probation. In and of itself, it didn’t seem so bad, but the residual consequences took their toll.

“I lost my scholarship, ‘mone. That was my ticket into college,” Lala sighed. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know I’m getting off with a slap on the wrist, but I really ain’t thrilled about taking out student loans,” she sat down on the floor beside the bed, head leaning against it. “Or maybe I’ll start with community college, I dunno. It just fucking sucks that they all got off with warnings.”

Symone’s brows knitted together, her lips pressed into a fine line. “Don’t you worry baby,” she said after a moment, “they gon’ face consequences one way or another.”

It had taken most of spring break, but Symone finally had all of the pieces for her plan. “Not the most convoluted thing in the world, but it’ll get the job done,” she mused.

Lala looked at her sister, then at her desk and back. “Do I even wanna know where the hell you got coke from?”

“No, you do not.”

Getting the drugs was the hard part. Getting into school early to plant the drugs in the lockers of Lala’s former friends was far easier, as was leaving an ‘anonymous tip’ from a ‘concerned student’ on the principal’s desk.

“God, I wish I could’ve seen them get hauled off in cop cars,” Lala remarked as she and Symone drove home from school. The three students were quietly escorted out of class and arrested, the school wanting to bring as little attention as possible. “Shame that they rich daddies will still get them off lightly.”

Symone sighed and nodded. “Sure, but they’re still gonna get something, which is more than what they got when they threw you under the bus. Bet they’re gonna think twice before they let someone else take the fall for them.”

Her sister smiled softly and shook her head. “You really ain’t gotta do all that for me, you know?”

“I know,” she hummed, “not gonna stop me, though.”

Present Day

“Wow, that’s both selfless and hardcore,” Rosé remarked with an impressed nod. “Did she ever find out where you got the coke from?”

Symone laughed and shook her head. “Nah, that secret I’m taking to the grave.”

Rosé jokingly put her hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, fair enough,” she chuckled. After a moment, she turned her attention to Denali. “That just leaves you, princess,” she remarked, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. “What’s your claim to infamy?”

Denali tossed her hair off her shoulder and grinned softly. “Who, me?” she cooed, fluttering her lashes. “Well, it is kind of an interesting story…”

Nicky rolled her eyes and tossed one of the couch pillows at her head. “Stop flirting and get on with it already.”

Fairbanks, AK — 2011

Denali groaned when the sound of loud footsteps racing up the stairs pulled her from her quasi-asleep state, then pulled a pillow over her head when the door swung open.

“What the hell are you still doing in bed when the qualifiers are in two hours?” her friend, Kahmora, asked with incredulous horror. She yanked the covers off of her, but stepped back in concern when she finally caught sight of Denali’s face. “Oh god, you look like shit.”

She frowned and rolled over to face away from her. “I feel like I died and was in the process of being reanimated, then killed again,” she lamented. “It’s probably food poisoning… or maybe swine flu came back, I dunno.”

“Did you eat anything unusual?”

Denali furrowed her brows as she wracked her brain. “I mean, Tara gave me those brownies and I had one, but when she said they were ‘special’, I just thought she meant they had weed in them, but that sure as hell isn’t it.” With as much energy as she could muster, she sat upright. “Oh my god, do you think she poisoned me?”

Kahmora arched her brow. “I think that’s a bit much, even for her. Do I think she put something like a laxative in there so it’d take you out long enough that you couldn’t beat her out in the international qualifiers? Yeah, probably. She’s a cunt.”

The skater scowled, her jaw clenched. “She’s a dead cunt,” she corrected, then suddenly shot out of bed. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she muttered as she raced to the bathroom yet again.

There wasn’t an obvious revenge plan for Denali. She knew that nothing she did would get her spot in the competition, and she wondered if it was even worth it. But her pettiness and spite won out and she began planning out her course of action.

“Remember,” she was saying, “if all else fails, we go the Tonya Harding route.”

Kahmora sighed. “For the last time, you are not whacking Tara’s kneecaps, now let’s go.” Despite some pouting from Denali, they went to get the gears turning in their plan. They got to the ice rink and slipped into the locker room without being noticed by Tara, who was in the middle of practice.

Denali picked the lock and took out Tara’s change of clothes. Then she reached into her own bag and pulled on latex gloves and a plastic bag containing several leaves of poison ivy. She turned the shirt, pants, and socks inside out and firmly rubbed the leaves against the fabric, making sure she left as little fabric uncovered as possible. “She’s lucky I’m merciful or I’d rub it on her panties too,” she remarked offhandedly.

Kahmora tilted her head as she watched her. “Do you actually think it’ll take her out of the competition?” she asked as her friend put the leaves and gloves into the ziploc bag.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I mean, it’s possible, probable really, that the constant itching might make it too difficult for her to skate. But this is more about getting even with her. I might not ever get another chance to compete for internationals. She’s lucky the only retribution she’s getting is a few weeks of itchy blisters.”

“Otherwise you’d Tonya Harding her?”

Denali nodded brightly. “Exactly! Now come on, we have to get rid of the evidence.” And with that, they scurried out of the locker room as inconspicuously as they’d entered it and threw out the evidence in a trash can several blocks over.

When the news broke that Tara had withdrawn from the competition due to ‘unexpected physical problems’, Denali did her best to feign shock and didn’t celebrate until she and Kahmora were alone.

“So, what do you wanna do now?” Kahmora asked.

Denali tilted her head in thought, then smirked. “Let’s go get brownies.”

Present Day

“Personally, I still think you should’ve busted her knees,” Mik mused offhandedly. “Like, I bet you would’ve figured out a way to get away with it, you conniving bitch,” he teased.

Denali shrugged. “Maybe, but it’s not very original and it’d look a lot more suspicious on my end.”

“I think it was pretty badass,” Rosé offered, making the other woman smile which, in turn, made her heart flutter — something she chose to actively ignore. Instead, she let all of their stories sink in. None of their reasons for revenge were out of line, none of their victims undeserving. And none of the consequences were as severe as some of the things she had seen in her time. “You all really know what you’re doing, huh?”

“We wouldn’t have been able to keep this up for three years if we didn’t,” Jan replied. “We had all of the potential on our own, but we make a difference together, and then we added Jackie to tie up the loose ends. It’s been smooth sailing from there.”

“Yeah, and now Jackie ties you up instead,” Nicky teased, earning an eye roll in response.

Rosé watched the group interact with a fond smile. She had assumed they all got along to be working together for as long as they have been, but she hadn’t anticipated them truly behaving like a family. It was a stark contrast to the constant coldness and curtness she had grown accustomed to, both in her previous career and in the environment she grew up in. She only hoped it would make the tasks ahead that much easier for them.

[bubblyani]

Delicious as You

(Lucifer Morningstar x Reader)

A Lucifer Morningstar One Shot

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 2,304

Summary: Unexpectedly stopping by one night during your cooking adventures in the kitchen, Lucifer was determined to have you all to himself. But to his surprise, you were equally determined to get your cooking done. Who will win?

Author’s Note: Sorry for being absent without any Lucifer content. Had this idea while I was cooking one day. Stayed in my head for a while until I finally decided to vent my frustration through words. Enjoy Thirsty Luci-fans!

He watched her, like a hawk. But instead of having a predatory intention, he was full of fascination. He drank in the curves of her face, the warm cheeks that lifted as she smiled to herself, the wrinkles that formed in the corners of her eyes, giving her lips some competition with a touch of sunshine. He drank it all while she worked her magic in the kitchen. She was certainly lost in her own little world.

For she had not even noticed his presence for the last 5 minutes. Bored already, he decided to change that.

“Boo…”

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

“Boo!”

Looking up, a squeak came out of you as you clutched your chest, dropping the steel bowl on the counter top with loud clang. You realized it was Lucifer Morningstar standing before you, his hands resting inside his pockets while he watched you work in the kitchen island.

“Lucifer!” You cried out, “H-How did you get in here?” You babbled. “Well…I seem to recall you giving me a spare key to your humble abode…” he said nonchalantly, holding up the small key for display. Sighing with relief, you chuckled. Of course you did, you remember promising him one when he repeatedly demanded whilst claiming his rights.  

“Oh yeah…I forgot that” You said, pushing the steel bowl to the back, “Well…how can I help you today?” Your tone was a mocking equivalent to a sales assistant at a clothing store. Lucifer scoffed in kind.

“I prefer to call this a visit from a concerned lover, rather than a favor” he replied with much sass. You stifled a smile. Indeed, you were more than happy to have your super handsome, wonderfully talented and secretly benevolent boyfriend around more than anything. Truthfully, sometimes you would even wonder what made him fall for you in the first place.

“In the mood for a culinary adventure tonight?” Lucifer inquired, walking over to your side. You nodded.

“You bet, slow cooking night, baby!” You said joyfully, whilst peeling off the papery layers of some onions and cloves of garlic. Cooking was always exhilarating. But slow cooking with a touch of exotic flavors brought it to another level. No wonder you were in high spirits. No wonder a smile was on your face when the pieces of meat were seasoned with sea salt and ground black pepper, before Lucifer frightened the living daylights out of you.

“As much as I commend your love of the culinary arts…” Lucifer stressed, before wrapping his arms around your waist from behind, “…the dance floors at Lux misses you immensely…And so does my warm bed…” he purred. As much as it brought warmth to your heart, you laughed it out to sound unaffected:

“Ha! Now that’s a panty dropper of a line” you joked, taking the knife in hand to chop the onions. You felt Lucifer scoff as his breath fell on your neck.

“Oh! Humor was clearly not the intended emotion I was trying rouse from you…” he said, flashing a naughty smile. Though you were busy crushing the garlic, your heart felt heavy for the man. Due to your recent busy schedule, you were deprived of the opportunity to visit and witness the flourishing business of his nightclub, LUX. You missed it as well, for every night there was a night to remember. And seeing the proud smile on Lucifer’s face every time you would wake up in his bed was something to hold on to.

“Awww…” You pouted, looking his way, “…just be a little patient, babe…” you said, turning back to chopping, “I’ll be right…” you paused to yawn , “…with you”. Whilst yawning, your body involuntarily stretched, pushing your buttocks back, only to accidentally have them brush against his clothed manhood. “Oh…my” You heard Lucifer mutter with fascination. Not caring much for it, you completely missed the naughty smile that returned to his face. A few seconds later, you suddenly felt the tightly wrapped apron loosen.

“Lucifer…?” You began questioningly,“What are you doing?” When you caught him in the act.

“Oh, you know. Just being patient…” He said innocently, his hands firmly gripping on your waist, “…might as well keep myself occupied…” he purred. Suspicious, you raised your eyebrows. “Clearly…” you said, “But w-oh!” Your suspicions were on point when you realized his right hand quickly dug inside your elastic shorts. Stomach retracting in response, it was the moment you knew where this was heading, what his intentions were, “Oh…you’re cheeky…”

“Not as cheeky as you are…” Lucifer teased smugly, slapping your buttocks in an instant. You chuckled loudly. Except those chuckles only lasted a few seconds when you gasped , queuing his beautiful fingers to graze over your panties. The few weeks of sexual depravity was handed to the world on a silver platter with your hushed breaths and twitching.

“Your resolute attitude is much appreciated, Mr. Morningstar…” your voice shook, as you reached for the mortar and pestle, “…but I have a dish to prepare…Oh my!…” unable to finish the sentence, you cried out. He defied you when his skilled fingers dipped inside your cotton panties, obtaining close contact with the bare skin between your thighs.

This, this was a battle of the wills. Being the stubborn man he was, Lucifer Morningstar would stop at nothing to get what he desired: You.

But you were not going to give up so easily. No matter he would try to make you cave in, you will thrive with your culinary mission tonight.

“In the mood for some spices, Lucifer?” Your inquiry was brimming with teases, taking a few steps to grab the steel spice container. Like a conjoined twin, he followed you wherever you moved towards. “Why not?” He breathed against your ear, “Nothing’s better than getting this tongue fired up…”

Adding spices in the correct measurements to a mortar would typically be considered an easy task. But nothing was of the typical nature at this moment. Not when your lover was occupied in distracting you using the nastiest method possible. Your body began to jerk when you felt three of his fingers familiarize themselves with the fleshy outer lips around your slit. His index finger and ring finger marked their territories there, while his middle finger gingerly stroked the sensitive tip that began to swell the longer he stroked it in tiny flicks. Having gained access to the part which induced the most pleasure, Lucifer held the liberty to do whatever he pleased with it. His finger stroked it in circles, he stroked it in straight lines, in triangles, and even in shapes that only existed in his subconscious. Regardless, every second he played with you, a small fire was lit up within, only to have that fire burst into gigantic flames. When he daringly inserted that finger into your thoroughly wet opening. All while his ears indulged in your cries of pleasure.


Taking the pestle, you began to grind up the onions, garlic with the spices in a fashion that was much more intense than it was previously done. And Lucifer noticed instantly. He felt victorious.

“My my…aren’t you the hard worker?” He commented in a seductive tone. Bitting your lower lip due to the fact his finger was literally inside of you, chuckling was the only option. “Of course, how else am I to let my frustrations out?” You said, looking over to him. “Well…” he said, licking his lips, “…you can always turn back to me-” “Not until this is done” you insisted, not willing to give up. Not ever. “Your call, darling” Lucifer said, as his finger quickly began to move in and out of you. Groaning, you finally stopped grinding the spices. “Ah fuck!” You cried out, “…fuck fuck fuck…” you repeated through gritted teeth,  “Lucifer, that’s not helping” you added with desperation. “Who said I intended to help?” He said darkly, his stubble grazing over your shoulder. He was not jesting for sure. When your hand reached out to grab the salted meat in the steel bowl, Lucifer’s left hand surprised you, by reaching up to cup your left breast over the t-shirt. But you would be fibbing if you did not admit your increased arousal at that point. Feeling the softness that resting on his palm, Lucifer was more than pleased.

“Oh!” He said amusingly, “Braless at home, are we?” He smiled mischievously,  “Lucifer, you lucky devil…” he said to himself. You rolled your eyes with a grin. “And again with the Devil persona…Ah!” Once again, you were forced to bite your lower lip when his fingers moved steadily in rhythm. Closing your eyes, you wished to savor this. Savor his loving to your leisure. But you had meat to marinade. Looking at the spice paste and the meat, you inhaled with determination. “Okay…” you began, smearing the spices over the pieces of meat, “This shouldn’t be too hard…Oh fuck!” Throwing your head back, you felt Lucifer tease you even more. For whilst you smeared and massaged the raw meat with the aromatic paste, his eager right hand massaged your breast, even having the audacity to pull the nipple through the shirt, making it thoroughly erect. “Ah! Shan’t leave the other feeling jealous…” Lucifer said, which made your eyebrows furrow. “What? Oh Lucifer….” You moaned, when you realized how his hand moved to your other breast to do the same. With two erect buds at the mercy of his touch, you felt the heat increase within you like a sauna.

“Oh boy…” you exhaled frustratingly, trying so hard not to scream in arousal with this torture. This sweet, delicious torture to be specific. Turning the stove on, you poured the oil on to the Dutch Oven. But it was certainly a challenge when your lovers hands were all over you. Lucifer’s mischievous chuckle tickled your ears.

“Come on, Y/N…” Lucifer whispered, “You know you want this bad…”. He thought he had you, dead to rights.

When the ginger and garlic paste infused with the cinnamon sticks in the hot oil, the aroma was invigorating. Throwing your head back over his shoulder, you tried to distinguish the pleasures you were gifted with. The aroma of your cooking, and the eager passionate touch of the man you longed to defile everywhere with.

“Not…until…it’s done…” you said with difficulty. As much as you said this to him, this was also for yourself. Only a little while longer till you had to hold out on this frustration. Truthfully, you could just stop all this, spin around and pounce at him wildly. But the task you started with genuine interest would end up burnt, ignored and wasted. When you added the seasoned meat into the pan, you heard the pan sizzle loudly whilst indulging on the rich aroma that traveled all the way through your nostrils.

“Well, I do like a challenge” Lucifer cried out, proceeding to make everything more diffusely by kissing your neck. His lips on your neck, his hands on your bosom and between your thighs, he literally was lighting you in flames. The delicious aroma and the whiff of his cologne mixed together drove you wild with arousal. You could imagine it, his body on top of your own, licking his own lips before he proceeded to your lick your bare frame, eating off the food you just cooked. No matter what he did, he was insanely skilled at it. He was simply inhuman. Though you washed your hands frantically, though your cleansed your hands of the spices, your mind becoming filthier by the second. Holding the tap tightly, you felt a jerk inside. That was it.

“Lucifer!” You moaned, “I’m close…so close…” you breathed, motivating his fingers to increase speed. Moving your hands towards the marble counter, a loud cry exited your lips as you finally, found your release.

This release was certainly different from all the others you have shared with him.

“Whoa!” You panted, as his fingers retracted, “What-How did you even do that?” You said, looking at him over the shoulder. He smiled. “Darling…”  Lucifer began with pride,  “It’s me…” he said, making your jaw drop as he brought his finger to his lips, sucking your juices in front of your very eyes. You shook your head. “Show off..” You panted with a smile. He chuckled, looking at the pan,  “I bet that won’t be as delicious as you are, my darling” “Normally, I’d be insulted if anyone disses my cooking…” you said, as you stirred the meat, “…but in this case I really don’t know what to say…” you added dreamily. “A Thank you would be suffice…” “How about this…as a thank you?” You said, making his eyes widened with disbelief when you finally closed the the lid of the dutch oven, and turning the stove heat low. Your job was complete. And now it was all up to time to solve this culinary equation.

“Finally…” turning you towards him, Lucifer pulled to kiss you roughly on the lips. It felt like you were being gifted for doing a wonderful job. His kisses were that rewarding. You blushed when you tasted yourself in him, especially as his tongue jumped in to show you.

“Now that I have your complete attention…” your lover began, letting you go, “I’m afraid you won’t escape me for a few hours” he said. You giggled.

“F-few?” You inquired, seeing him put away his phone “Oh wow” you chuckled, full of squeals when he grabbed you by the waist once again.

“Darling…” he purred, brushing his nose against yours, “…Tonight I’m all yours…”

When he kissed you fully once more, you were certainly very glad you decided on slow cooking tonight.

——————————————————

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[tazmuir]

GET READY FOR...

SEABOUND! A LOCKED TOMB UNIVERSE SURVIVAL ADVENTURE AND HOUSE IDENTIFICATION TOOL

You and a couple of your friends, if you have any, are on a boat in the ocean. Why are you here? Is this even relevant in the universe? Who cares. This ocean’s purpose is to help you pick… your true House identity.

Luckily, on this magical survival journey you have the opportunity to pick items to help you. You may salvage five items of the fifteen I am about to list under the cut. These items will be the key to who you are, secretly, on the inside. You’re probably going to die, but at least you will know who you are, which has to be some kind of comfort, right

These items will score you points with one or more Houses. Once you have made your selection, read the guide, tally your points, and discover… Yourself!!!!

PICK YOUR TOP FIVE OUT OF...

A sack  of mandibles

A sack  of fresh human hands

A  rolled-up flag of the Cohort, soldiers of the blessed Necrolord Prime

Pen and  flimsy

A bottle  of 160 proof rum   

A  waterproof portrait of the Emperor, here portrayed as the Merciful Resurrector

An empty  bottle with a lid to seal it

An ancient flare gun of curious make

A book  of antiquated Ninth House prayers

A 25 litre container of BLOOD

A single  sharp rapier

A  shaving mirror

A case  of absolutely disgusting army rations, hard and bad

A case  of extremely glamorous luxe rations, but poisoned

A  tinier, leakier fold-out raft, with a dubious motor

What’s that, you want it in image format??? 

WRITE YOUR TOP FIVE DOWN...........

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

It may be helpful to organise a tally sheet, like so.....

Don’t scroll down until you have made your choices...

No peeking past this point....

I mean it..............

DO NOT LOOK BELOW UNTIL YOU HAVE SETTLED YOUR CHOICES, UNLESS YOU ARE A HUGE CHEATER, IN WHICH CASE GIVE YOURSELF AN EXTRA +10 THIRD HOUSE POINTS

*****************

ITEM GUIDE

*****************

A SACK OF OLD OSSICLES

+15 Ninth House points

Only a Ninth House necromancer would want this. Not even a bone necromancer would look in joy on a sack of ossicles. If it was a more useful bone or even a fresher bone, sure, or let’s say a whole skeleton, that would be arguably useful, but in the hands of most bone adepts the ossicle is simply an ossicle. You’re from the Ninth House if you ranked this highly, which means odds are good that you are 90+ and have kidney and bladder problems.

A SACK OF FRESH HUMAN HANDS

+10 Third House points +7 Seventh House points +6 Second House points +5 Third House points +5 Fourth House points +5 Fifth House points +5 Sixth House points +5 Ninth House points

Fresh human hands are generally useful. Fresh flesh (say that five times fast) will carry a goodly amount of thanergy (death energy) and thalergy (life energy), which in the hands of a necromancer might be put to good purpose. Extra points to the Third and Seventh houses, places where you’re likely to find very talented flesh magicians; five points to the other houses as flesh magic is quite generally used, and if not, there’s a whole articulating hand in there for the bone magicians. The Ninth House don’t rate this quite as highly as the sack of ossicles because you have to get the flesh off first. The Eighth House does not want your sack of fresh human hands.

The Second House gets an extra point because we could always eat those hands. We’ve eaten worse.

A ROLLED-UP FLAG OF THE COHORT, SOLDIERS OF THE BLESSED NECROLORD PRIME

+15 Second House points +5 Seventh House points +1 point for every other House

Only a Second House denizen would think this was a must-have. It doesn’t even have a pole. You can’t fly it. You can just look at it and think patriotic thoughts about the Cohort. The only reason you get +1 from any other House is because you could maybe use it as shade. The Seventh House scores a cool five points off this one because it would be a very Seventh House thought to be found dead and draped in the Cohort flag. Symbolic… aesthetic…. Raw

PEN AND FLIMSY

+15 Sixth House points +10 Fifth House points +10 Seventh House points +10 Eighth House points

Reaching for the pen and flimsy first is a very Sixth House thing to do, because you’re going to immediately try to form a committee, have a huge argument, split off on your own and do some kind of brainstorm of ideas, then maybe you’re going to write down a bunch of bullshit equations and jot notes on the back about ways in which this might contribute to your research. The Fifth House also may well reach for this, but it’s to write down everyone on the boat’s memoirs, and perhaps a group letter expressing regret at what a bish they’ve made of it and perhaps a small measure of buttoned-up, restrained feeling for their lovers back home.

The Seventh House have written a single, very beautiful and oblique sentence about the water. The Eighth House have written down a list of any moral crimes committed on the boat.

A BOTTLE OF 160 PROOF RUM

+15 Third House points +5 Fourth House points +1 Second House points

CUP OF ACE, CUP OF GOOSE, CUP OF CRIS

The good Third House citizen has resigned themselves to death, but to not go gentle into that good night. The Fourth House thinks they could light this on fire, or something? Who knows

The Second House citizen will surprise you by doing a generous shot of this before everyone starts playing Mercy Stab The Weakest Members Of The Boat So They Won’t Have To Suffer.

A WATERPROOF PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR

+15 Eighth House points +5 Seventh House points +5 Ninth House points

The Eighth House citizen will pray at this grimly until they die. The Ninth House citizen will also do a certain amount of praying at this grimly until they die, but get less points because they’ll also be praying to other things.

The Seventh House citizen may hope to drape the Cohort flag over one of their dead bodies, and this to be held by another, and then they’ve got a tableau so symbolic that their rescuers will set it up as an art installation.

AN EMPTY BOTTLE WITH A LID TO SEAL IT

+9 Sixth House points +9 Fifth House points +9 Eighth House points

There’s no water around, so what are you going to do with this EXCEPT use it to put your rolled-up memoirs, thought crimes, or the useful rebuttal to that one article you just thought up and hope someone will rescue and publish?

AN ANTIQUE FLARE GUN OF CURIOUS MAKE

+15 Fourth House points +5 Fifth House points +5 Sixth House points

This thing will blow your head off. It’s a gun. Don’t – don’t fucking fire it here (NOISE OF BODY PARTS HITTING WATER)

It is intensely Fourth House to take an unbelievably dangerous piece of kit you barely understand and bravely fire it in the hope of getting rescued. It is also intensely Fifth and Sixth house just to keep a museum piece around so you can look at it and admire it. How interesting our antecedents were, to be sure

A BOOK OF ANTIQUATED NINTH HOUSE PRAYERS

+15 Ninth House points +5 Sixth House points +5 Seventh House points +1 Fifth House points ‘Nuff said.

The other points reflects different desperations in the Sixth and Fifth houses are for reading material, and the Seventh House might add this to the tableau as an Enigma.

A TWENTY-FIVE LITRE CONTAINER OF BLOOD!!!!

+9 Fifth House points

Nobody wants this and very few people are talented enough to separate the toxic iron stew from some drinkable plasma, or something. The Fifth House in its boundless optimism may take this thinking they might call a ghost, but otherwise, yuk

A SINGLE SHARP RAPIER

+10 Second House points +9 Fourth House points +9 Seventh House points +2 Third House points

The Second House knows that the death of a colleague neatly stabbing you is better than a death by drowning. The Fourth House is going to fuck up an octopus. The Seventh House is going to have it present, centrally, on the boat, and cast down glances through their eyelashes at it but otherwise never mention its presence, tortured. The Third House just wants a sword for the delicious drama. Delicious, delicious drama

A SHAVING MIRROR

+6 Fourth House points +2 Third House points

A mirror can reflect the sun, generating up to seven million candlepower in light. A mirror would be a very Fourth House idea: something that sounds unrealistic and stupid on first blush, but turns out to be a one in a million incredible idea that may even save your life.

The Third House just want to check their mascara, and also see over their shoulder before one of their boat colleagues sticks the single sharp rapier inside them. Drama

A CASE OF ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING ARMY RATIONS, HARD AND BAD

+9 Second House points +1 to every other House

We can’t fault you for practicality.

A CASE OF EXTREMELY GLAMOROUS LUXE RATIONS, BUT POISONED

+8 Third House points +5 Eighth House points

Fuck this noise and pass me the caviar, darling

The Eighth House are also ready to receive the poison, but they will try their damndest not to enjoy it.

A TINIER, LEAKIER FOLD-OUT RAFT, WITH A DUBIOUS MOTOR

+5 Fourth House points

This is not going to get you five yards on a free ticket, which is why hopping into it and getting that dusty, wheezy motor going, then sailing for help as the rest of the boat watches you sink into the ocean and get snapped up by a giant undead squid is the most Fourth House thing you could’ve done.

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FAQ

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 WHAT DO I DO IN CASE OF A TIE?

Pick the House descriptor most like yourself, or most like the person you secretly wish you were, or with the colours you like best.

WHAT DO I DO IF I DON’T LIKE THE ANSWER?

We all have to live with pain. I have gotten sorted into Slytherin House every Sorting test I have ever taken. This is not correct. I am a muggle, and demand to be treated as such.

BUT I REALLY HATE MY ANSWER.

Then you’re a Firebender. Everyone loves being a Firebender.

CAN I BE IN THE FIRST HOUSE?

No, you cursed grandpa.

ARE YOUR HOUSES REALLY MADE UP OF NARROW STEREOTYPES?

No. You are just as likely to find a party-loving Second House member as you are to find a Fourth House deep thinker who always looks before they leap. These are simply the crude crystallizations, such as those used for soap operas and toothpaste advertisements.

SOMETHING ELSE?

Whatever your problem, you can always make up your own House, with the rider that you would have to make it up as though you were ten years old and were basing it heavily around whatever you were into at the time, which would mean that my House would be inspired entirely by the Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness manual

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COUNT UP YOUR POINTS, DIVINE YOUR HOUSE, AND THEN…

Congratulations, dullard/poser/fool/stodge/nerd/drip/zealot/weirdo! You’re in the Second/Third/Fourth/Fifth/Sixth/Seventh/Eighth/Ninth House!!!

[uncloseted]

hi, how are you? do you have any advice in how to get out of seasonal depression? or just when ur into a very bad phase

Yes! I have advice! First things first, seasonal depression is usually cyclical, so if you have any coping mechanisms that have worked in the past, try implementing them again. It sucks to keep having to deal with seasonal depression, but every time you experience it you'll have a little more information about what works for you to recover from it and you'll be able to pull out of it faster.

If you don't know what's worked for you in the past, don't worry! There are lots of different things you can try.

If you have access to a therapist, doctor, or psychiatrist, that's the first thing to try. They've seen lots of patients with seasonal depression before so they know what works, and they can offer you treatment options that you can't get on your own.

If you don't have access to a doctor, though, there are still things you can do.

If you're up to it, exercising will help a lot. One study found that 90% of people with depression who exercised for 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week had recovered from their depression at 10 weeks. This doesn't have to be super intense exercise- even just walking for 30 minutes will make a difference. If you can exercise outside, that will provide an extra benefit, since exposure to sunlight can help you feel happier.

Meditation is also a great option. Try a free meditation app like Headspace or Calm, or look for guided meditations on YouTube. Loving kindness meditations are my favorite, since they make you feel connected to other people and the world at large. Meditation helps teach you how to stay "in the moment", which is really important for people who have depression.

Try journaling about your feelings. Gratitude journaling, where you write down three things you're grateful for each day and why you're grateful for them, is especially good for depression, but any kind of practice where you get your thoughts out of your head is good. It doesn't have to be a written journal- it can be videos where you talk out your feelings (or even just talking to yourself). If writing down three things you're grateful for is too hard, there are lots of other gratitude prompts online that might work better for you.

Try to interact with people outside of your house. I know this one is hard, but feeling connected to other people helps to reduce depression. Volunteering is especially good for this, since you get to meet other people and you get to do something good for them. In psych studies, they find one of the things that makes people happiest is doing nice things for others.

Try to find a hobby, whether it’s reading, playing video games, knitting, baking, making art, doing makeup, taking online classes, playing music…anything that you can focus on is good.  Try setting little goals for yourself when it comes to your hobbies- it will help you to feel like you’re making progress.

Do your best to get 7-9 hours of sleep a night (no more and no less) on a regular time schedule, to eat meals regularly, and to keep up with hygiene. If cooking is hard for you, keep microwavable meals or snack bars in your house. If showering is hard for you, keep wipes on your bedside table that you can use to clean yourself. These sound like boring suggestions, I know, but they make a huge difference in mood.

Try taking Vitamin D supplements. The jury is still out on this one, but some research suggests that one of the reasons people develop SAD is because they don't have enough Vitamin D in their system due to lack of sunlight.

Finally, you can try light therapy. It has been shown to be an effective treatment for SAD specifically. You can buy a light therapy box on Amazon. You want one that emits blue enriched white light and is a minimum of 2500 lux. What an effective dose of light therapy looks like depends on the person. Studies have found effective doses ranging between 3,000 lux, 2 hours a day, for 5 weeks to 10,000 lux, 30 minutes a day, for 8 weeks, so if you go down this route, you may need to try a few different things to see what works for you. Make sure to follow clinical practice guidelines and use light therapy as recommended, as it loses its effectiveness if you're using it incorrectly. As many as 80% of people who use light therapy as a treatment for SAD find an improvement in their symptoms.

[theapartmentonsunsetbeach]

Gisou vous plaît?

I tried the hyped honey infused hair oil, and here’s the verdict.

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Only very recently did I become apart of 31-year-old Dutch beekeeper and influencer Negin Mirsalehi‘s 6 million Instagram followers. And if you’re familiar with her abundant, glossy, flowy hair… #hairgoals doesn’t even begin to cover it. She credits this to an old family recipe for a Honey Infused Hair Oil, which she’s used she was a little girl. Since sharing this recipe with the world as well as launching a honey-honouring haircare collection, Negin has since turned down a $800,000 brand ambassadorship with a major haircare label in favour of founding her own vision. I’m in love with it.

The art of harvesting honey runs deep in Negin’s ancestry, as a sixth generation beekeeper, it was Negin’s mother who was a hairdresser in training that found its benefits for maintaining long luscious locks and repairing damages. After testing countless recipes and concoctions of oils, they stumbled upon the perfect formula. Fast forward to 2013, Gisou made its official launch online. Using goods cultivated in the Mirsalehi family, the brand is well known for its signature line of products within the cosmetic industry.

“Gisou is committed to caring for the Mirsalehi Honey Bees in the same way my family always has. We put their well-being first in everything we do. From my family’s beekeeping legacy to the Mirsalehi Bee Garden, Gisou’s heritage stems from a passion for honey bees.” - Negin Mirsalehi, 2019

My birthday was this past April, and if it wasn’t for one of my best friends Holly I don’t think I would’ve tried this product. So props to her for making this blog poat even possible, I’m a loyal Olaplex girl so and as an Aries I inherently believe that shifting my routine is a tough gig but the beautiful packaging enticed me too much not to – was I about to have 6 million followers worth of hair? I sure had hoped so.

There are a few different ways to use this product. My favorite is to apply a few drops to my hair after a shower (while it’s still damp) and let dry. It leaves my hair so soft and shiny. I’ve also used it as an overnight treatment, applying 2-3 dropperfuls to my hair and wrapping it in a towel while I sleep. This also made my hair feel beyond incredible – it’s an intensive treatment I incorporate once a twice a week, and *especially* leading up to a special occasion. Lastly, I’ve added a few drops into a hair mask for extra nourishment and shine.

Gisou’s hair oil is versatile, but most importantly it’s effective. I’ve always struggled with hair oils making my hair too greasy or heavy since I have such fine hair, and tended to just use them on my ends. But, this is truly the first hair oil I can apply to my entire head without those concerns and if it’s helping me mend my relationship with my previously-box-dyed-then-turned-blonde-again hair then… that’s definitely worth something.

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And while the 3.4 fl oz version is pricey ($115CAD) like… ouch! The 1.7 oz version is a little more palatable at $60CAD. Since you only need a little with each use, I would recommend getting the “luxe travel size.” I’ve had it for almost two months and haven’t even used a quarter of it. I know that when I do eventually run out I will be repurchasing – it’s the best hair oil I’ve used by far and I consider it one of my holy grails. This is your sign to follow suit.