#made this to go with another sketch little drawing but they don't match lmao

[liyuesbian]

✧ pygmalion!au [ningguang]

notes: btw idk how commissions from museums work i just made the process up LMAO and this one's kinda angsty? i mean, it is the pygmalion greek myth so iykyk. also, i describe this figurine of ningguang here but w/o the colour... i've linked it in case any1 needs the reference. (btw, this is not set in ancient greece specifically)

only yesterday had you been commissioned by an art gallery in the capital to create a piece for their up-and-coming collection titled desire, love and identity. yet here you are, slaving away to make the perfect image you had in your head come into fruition. your vision is exquisite once sketched on paper—you can't find any faults in it so you take the risk.

as soon as your chisel meets the marble, a feeling so invigorating dominates your body. no further references are necessary as you place your trust entirely on your hands, coarse from the labour. you find such mindless toil addicting and you work day and night, only stopping for a half-baked meal and the odd collapse into bed.

for months, love streams out of the tips of your fingers and through your sculpting tools to arrive at the stone figure. you sincerely hope the intimate emotion has been reached.

when you finish, you wipe the bead of sweat running down your forehead, rest the other palm on your hip and take slow steps backwards all while maintaining eye contact with the statue. a wave of sweet relief hits you and you fall to the floor, uncontrollably sobbing into tired hands that still grip the hammer and chisel.

it's beautiful.

you stagger, struggling to get up with your bruised knees while clumsily wiping the tears off your stained cheeks. setting the instruments aside, you lift your head to admire your handiwork up close. a woman made of stone sits elegantly atop an oriental chair, crossing her smooth, white legs over each other. her left elbow is propped on the arm of the chair while on the other side, a long smoking pipe is balanced between gloved fingers. around her lies an assortment of objects: a vase containing scrolls, a floor lamp, and a charmingly decorated folding screen.

you see, you had already thought it all out. you'd imagined ningguang's preferences for a life of luxury, her affinity for constructing and sprucing up interiors. she would be a master of the trades and a woman who likes to keep an air of mystery around her. and like how you increasingly project her to be more of a person than she ever will be, there is a creeping concern in the corner of your mind that you will lose your rationality just as quickly.

the sculpture's body is clad in a qipao with a slit that reveals alabaster skin below the waist. the dress—embellished with patterns and neat linings—hugs her figure and shows off a lean build. the extensive train and sleeves of the fabric are shaped curvaceously to mirror the flow of a waterfall. and her face. the section you strived so hard to refine. she stares at you with an imperious expression and a hint of a smirk. her gaze, so piercing, makes you avert your eyes in shyness but you find yourself gravitating back to her profile.

you muster up the courage to draw closer to your creation and unconsciously stroke her cheek with your thumb, captivated. if she were an empress, you'd be a common peasant—undeserving of setting your sights on such a goddess. you can feel your soul being sucked into eyes devoid of emotion—of anything, actually. after all, the woman sitting before you is not a person but an inanimate object.

the weeks following the completion of ningguang—which is the name you've picked up the habit of calling her—are spent in said lady's company. every minute of every day, you surround yourself with her presence as if she is your closest friend. you eat with her, tell her your troubles, even going so far as to decorate her with various types of jewellery and bringing her gifts you think she'd like.

"thank you," you whisper. "for always listening to me." in truth, you're always so immersed in your work that you forgot what conversations could feel like. though, you fear your art would never be on par with something so transcendent ever again.

you become curious, wondering what she would be like if the nymph in front of you were not just a figment of your imagination.

you perch yourself on top of ningguang's stone-cold lap and trace the contours of her visage. you inspect each crease on her lips and the minuscule crinkles in her eyes, applauding yourself for the well-crafted details. you don't know what possesses you but you close your eyes and press your lips against hers, hoping that once you open them, a living being would erupt from underneath the marble. but, of course, as soon as the light hits your retinas, ningguang is as unmoving as ever.

realising what you've just done, you drop off of her thighs and laugh anxiously. however, you could've sworn that you had felt warmth in the lips of your beloved muse.

"i've finally gone mad!" you cry aloud.

hell, you say to yourself, is it even possible to fall in love with such an... an artefact? you dismiss your glaringly obvious infatuation.

"nonsense," you mutter under your breath, sensing your heart breaking slightly. how can something so painfully humanlike also not be human at the same time? you must've caused a tremendous atrocity in your past life to have made the gods harbour a grudge against you. of all things, you'd never have guessed that a lifeless piece of art would be the object of your desire.

you can't bear to look at the handcrafted lady any longer and with an anguished face, cover her with a large cotton cloth. the plan was to wait until you could hand the statue over to the curators and try to ignore its existence until then.

for a few days, you act according to the plan, going about your daily routine but eventually, your stoic demeanour crumbles. you lock yourself in your room refusing to eat or believe that your affection would never be returned.

during the hours of sunlight, you weep under your sheets, drowning in self-inflicted sorrow. and at night, you do the same, lamenting over the loss of what could've been your true love. she would've been so perfect in your eyes, your other half, and the only one who could calm this growing turmoil!

the reality pains you. hence, you do the only thing you can do: you pray. you pray to the gods for a miracle, that the light of your life would stride into your room and pull you from the depths of despair... but she never does.

your last day "cohabitating" with the sculpture has arrived and for the first time in—what felt like—an eternity, you open the doors to your workshop. taking a deep breath, you unveil the stationary maiden.

it's still as beautiful as you remember.

you give it a sad smile, wanting to get its departure over and done with. you manoeuvre about the room to prepare the things for the movers who're due to come in a couple of hours. while you go down your little list of errands to be done, you cough and bat away the smoke—wait, the smoke? frantic, you spin around, eyes darting everywhere in search of its origin until they land on the smoking pipe you so intricately moulded for the commissioned piece.

it's strange, you don't recall colouring the statue. and how on earth is smoke coming out of the pipe? suspicious, you approach the motionless entity and almost stumble when you spot its chest rising.

oh lord! — i really must be descending into madness! you clutch your head, clawing at your hair in hysteria.

"stop, please don't hurt yourself." the sound of a low, worried voice penetrates your ears. you shut your eyes tight.

"no, the gods have cursed me! i mustn't listen to your poisonous words!" you exclaim. your state of agitation is alleviated when the woman caresses your tensed arm.

"what has happened to you? i haven't seen you lately either." the tone is more soft and more tender than you had imagined. you release your grip.

"is it really you, ningguang?" your voice cracks at the end, and the woman you sought after witnesses your features twist into an expression of longing and hope.

"yes, my darling. i dare not go anywhere else."

helplessly, you rush to cup her face to check for heat, for the blood traversing under her skin—anything that would prove that your sweetheart is truly alive and breathing. and when you do get the confirmation, you beam, trying to withhold tears born from elation.

you bend down to kiss ningguang, who is still seated on the chair, once, twice, and three times to rid your scepticism. oh, deities! she's real.

"i love you," you declare.

"i know." you watch as the same creases you'd etched on the corners of her eyes spread into a loving half-moon shape and you kiss her again.

you reach a conclusion: you couldn't give away your lover—let alone a live person—to be displayed as part of a museum exhibition so when the workers arrive, you hide your muse away in another room. you apologise profusely and spin a lie, rambling on about how you had nothing to relinquish for the piece you had prepared had been oh-so-viciously stolen by a mob of trespassers!

the movers share with you their sympathies and ask what the work of art looks like and maybe they could sort something out with the authorities. nodding, you recount—so ardently—the details of your divine maiden. you feel heat rush to your face, chuckling when you realise that you'd run your mouth for too long.

in response to this, the two labourers exchange dubious looks as they peer at the static sculpture standing in the middle of the studio—its appearance unmistakably matching your elaborate description.

[edengarden]

Hi! Hope you're staying hydrated. I would like to request a regular haikyuu matchup if your ask box is still open. If not then please ignore this.

Basics-

I'm 5'2". Straight and a female. I'm on the tanner side. Brown doe eyes. Light brown wavy hair till my lower back. Full lips. I also have a mole on my face and 2 more on my collarbones. I'm on the skinny side. But I have an hourglass body type.

Personality-

INFP-T. So I'm a Turbulent Mediator. I'm a Pisces. Also a Slytherin. So I'm basically the most extroverted person among the introverts. Like I usually am shy and keep to myself, until I get comfortable around someone. Then I could probably talk their ears off. I'm not the confrontational type so I really hate arguments. Even if there people argue in front of me. I can't stand it. I also hate sudden loud noises. I swear that will be the death of me. I can be a little stubborn sometimes but that's only if the other person is being a jerk or something. I do daydream a lot. But that's only cause I just have so many ideas going on in my head all the time it's kinda hard not to. People say that I'm very kind and generous and I do find it easy to empathize with people even if their going through something I haven't. I also don't like judging people, unless they're hurting other people.

Hobbies-

I love reading and writing. But most of all I love listening to music. It could be anything. Right from classical to metal. I love listening to all kinds of music. Especially ballads or pop or alternative or stuff like that. I also love sketching from time to time. I also have a small shell collection.

Conditions-

I suffer from asthma. So I seriously can't stand dust. I've also been diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety. That's probably why I can't focus on something for too long and that in turn makes me anxious cause I keep thinking that I've forgotten to do something important. Also that's another reason why I tend to be so self critical and insecure. But I'm being treated for it and hopefully will be able to get better soon.

Thanks!

I’ll match you up with Akaashi!

The switch between your reserved self and yourself would probably be enough to make his heart melt? Like wow you’re comfortable enough to be yourself around him and he’s just,, so shocked?? But he LOVES it. Please talk his ear off about your hobbies, and what book you read and how you liked it. PLUS you write?? Buddy will lowkey be curious and will want to see what you come up with. If you tell him no he’ll understand but brooo pls Akaashi wants nothing more than a peak in that genius brain of yours?? Definitely the type to waltz in your room like “waatchaa doin’?” Hoping that you will share whatever you were doing with him. Caught you drawing something that made you think of him? He is melting, pls let him hold you.

‘Kaashi’s caring side is definitely a plus for your conditions. He’ll remember every single one of them and he’ll make sure to watch out for you. Asthma? Gotcha. Do you need an inhaler, are there certain places you have to avoid, so on so forth. Same goes with your ADHD and your anxiety, he’ll do some research on it if he needs to, to be able to tend your needs. Baby just wants to be there for you as much as he can

If you take care of him the way he does for you, he’s a GONER. Might as well fall on his knees right then and propose- but he won’t do that because Akaashi isn’t that impulsive. But he thinks about it sometimes. And wonders. He’s a hopeless romantic after all

Songs!!

- I’m Your Man, Michael Bublé

- More Than a Feeling, Boston (SKSKSK I shit you not one morning you woke up and went to the kitchen and caught Keiji absolutely VIBING to this song, singing and dancing and all- needless to say, you joined him ofc)

- Broken Wings, Mr Mister (lmao it’s so dramatic and you two always over do it but it’s FUNNY. Akaashi also has a rlly good voice for this one but hearing him sing is RARE. A VIP event)

- As the World Falls Down, David Bowie