#unified skin tone

[beautyfineshopparis]

White Secret Concentrate Lightening Unifying Complexion VitaminE Serum

[flipocrite]

what is the true essence of womanhood?

Thinking to oneself “I am a woman” or “I am a girl” (which generally means “young woman”). You can’t always know what other people think, so you ask, and they will tell you.

It’s a simple yet reliable test, doesn’t involve looking at people’s junk, and won’t get you weird looks for asking about people’s junk. A lot of people seem to think it’s socially acceptable to ask strangers about their junk, but I don’t think anyone should be required under any circumstances to disclose the anatomy of their junk (c.f. “hi you don’t know me but how big are your labia”, “your job interview is going great so far, are you cut or uncut”, “we need to check your hymen before soccer tryouts”). I don’t think people should be treated differently based on what their junk looks like. I believe that deliberate misgendering is a juvenile form of bullying more often seen on the playground, for nonathletic boys or girls with unibrows. I don’t think of myself as a bully, so I’m not going to do that. I address people with their choice of title, name, and gender because that’s the polite thing to do and everyone is happier that way. Also, it doesn’t involve looking at people’s junk.

[allur1ngs]

✮ succumb (to me) ✮

TW: small angst to fluff, smut (dom & top!bada, sub & bottom !reader, kinda rough & angry sex, strap usage–r!receiving, oral–r!receiving, reader sucks on bada’s strap bcs i say so, teasing, strap referred to as a cock, bada is the giver in this scenario, doesn’t rlly receive, sorry…) + aftercare, delulu bada, once again LOTS of protective!bada, cold!bada, frustrated!bada, jealous!bada, petty!bada, bada having SERIOUS beef w your bodyguard, lusher being an instigator, reader being oblivious once again but its okay because we love her, jealous!reader, hyo being stuck in the middle of it all… justice for her fr, ngl the descriptions in this one are more spicy so… beware ? allusions to homophobia if you squint, the picture to the farthest right is purely for aesthetics and not meant to represent reader’s skin tone or body type!! and a surprise character that you may know~

SUMMARY: jealousy is man’s most evil, and easiest sin to yield to. bada struggles to keep herself from falling into its clutches, and succumbing to her greatest temptation, you.

WC: 14.5k… i promised myself this one would be shorter but i’m weak

A/N: find more information about this au on my masterlist! once again, i’m sure there are MANY mistakes throughout this fic, so please ignore them as best as you can--i'll edit this asap. also this isn't the first kiss or first i love you, consider this fic as a "what if" like slightly canon divergent. i want to make a separate fic about the official first kiss and first i love you!!

DISCLAIMER: all characteristics portrayed are purely speculation and fiction, they are not meant to reflect bada, team bebe, or anyone else’s actual character, values, or attitudes. please keep this in mind!!

Orange sunlight pours through the black-tinted windows in Bada’s office, casting a warm glow onto words that blur into blots of ink against white paper. Bada's tired eyes squint, attempting to make out the last sentence of the form in front of her. But no matter how hard she glares and huffs, the blots don’t unify into words.

“Ugh,” she groans, pushing away the form out of frustration. “I need a break.”

“You think so?” Lusher pops up behind the office door, having quietly opened it while Bada was focused on her paperwork.

“Yes, Lusher, I need a break,” Bada pinches the bridge of her nose, sighing out of her nose. “But I have a feeling I won’t be able to, now that you’re here.”

“Those are some harsh words for someone who brought you a gift,” Lusher says cheekily. She approaches Bada, opening her once-closed fist to reveal a pair of black-framed glasses. “Tada!”

Bada lets out a breath, muttering a thank you before grabbing her glasses and putting them on. Immediately, she feels the world come into focus, and the words on the form she pushed away are now crisp and uniform. “Much better.”

“What would you do without me?” Lusher jokes.

“I’d probably be much more productive.” Bada takes ahold of her gold-trimmed fountain pen and sets another stack of papers in front of her.

“What happened to taking a break?” Lusher pouts. “You’re going to go blind if you continue to push your eyes this much.”

“Well, thanks to you, I have my glasses, so I won’t go blind,” Bada says without looking up from the paper she’s signing.

“That’s not how it works,” Lusher huffs.

Bada stops writing, placing her fountain pen down and lifting her gaze up to stare at Lusher dead in the eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want to talk to you.” Lusher plops down on the couch in the corner of the room. “We never get to talk like friends anymore.”

“I’m busy,” Bada says gruffly.

“You’re always busy,” Lusher complains. Bada doesn’t respond, instead, she picks up her pen again and starts reading the paper in front of her. “Fine,” Lusher folds her arms across her chest, “I’ll just talk aloud.”

Again, Bada ignores her subordinate, shuffling to the next paper and beginning to scan the words.

Lusher takes no offense, already used to her friend’s cold and serious behavior; in fact, it’s something she admires in her. And, she also knows that despite how her boss outwardly acts, Bada does care about her and listens to what she has to say.

“Minah and I took care of that job yesterday.” She comments, her eyes moving to the tinted window in Bada’s office. “It was very easy. U-Ram is getting sloppy.” Lusher waits to see if Bada will respond, but she doesn’t, so the second-in-command continues. “His branch of Seoul should be easy to take over. And if he doesn’t want to give it up, Tatter, Minah, and I can visit him.”

Silence fills the room, making Lusher pout again. She wants to get at least some sort of reaction out of Bada, but she remains steadfast in focusing on her work. Lusher thinks to herself, for a moment, wondering what else she could bring up to her boss that might spark up some form of conversation.

Suddenly, a lightbulb goes off in her mind, making her eyes light up and her lips curve upward in a mischievous smile. There’s one thing she can use. One thing–or more like one person–that always breaks through Bada’s icy attitude.

“So, how have things between you and unnie been going?” Lusher asks innocently.

Bada’s writing pauses, “We’re doing fine.” She mumbles before continuing to scribble furiously.

Bingo, Lusher thinks, trying to hide how her smile grows. “That’s good, I’m glad. I was worried after the incident with Seong, your relationship would be on the rocks. But it seems like it brought you two closer together.”

Bada keeps her eyes fixed on the document below her, “Yes. Our friendship has become much stronger.”

“Friendship.” Lusher snorts.

“What’s so funny?” Bada cuts in, tone hard.

“You and unnie aren’t friends.”

“We are.” Bada insists. “I enjoy her company, and she enjoys my company. We’re friends.”

“Bada, you and unnie have done everything in a traditional relationship other than have sex.” Lusher deadpans.

Bada’s hand fumbles with her fountain pen out of shock, her eyes snapping up to meet Lusher’s figure casually lounging on the couch. “Lee Seoyoung,” She says firmly. “remember your place, and don’t speak about my fiancée in such a way.”

“I don’t mean it in an offensive way.” Lusher shrugs, not affected by Bada using her full name. “I’m just pointing out that you two aren’t friends. Or if you are, you’re incredibly touchy friends.”

Bada scoffs, removing her gaze from Lusher. “We’re just friends. End of story.”

“If you say so,” Lusher concedes, resting her head against the headrest of the couch. “But now that I think about it, I wonder how unnie keeps herself satisfied.”

Bada looks up once again, her expression showing clear confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Lusher smirks to herself, sitting up. “Well, unnie’s been with you for about two and a half months now, right? Don’t you think she’d begin to feel…” she trails off, trying to find a less brash way of expressing her thoughts. “lonely for companionship? For some… skinship?”

Bada’s eyes widen only a fraction, the wheels in her mind slowly turning. “I greet her in the morning with hugs and a peck on the cheek.”

“Boss, you have to realize that not all of us are as composed and able to be abstinent for long periods of time like you are.”

“What are you implying?” Bada says incredulously. “That she’s–” she cuts herself off, becoming physically sick at the thought of someone else touching you, caressing you, giving you pleasure, and seeing you in ways she hasn’t.

“I’m not implying anything.” Lusher holds her hands up in defense.

Bada glares at Lusher, countless thoughts running through her mind as her heart races in her chest. “And if she were to be… engaging in such activities, who do you think she’d find company in?”

Lusher looks up, thinking deeply and seriously about Bada’s question. “I would have to say… Hyo. They’ve become quite close.” She answers honestly. “But don’t take this too seriously, Boss. Unnie isn’t that type of woman.”

But it’s much too late. Internally, Bada’s already beginning to spiral, remembering every interaction between you and Hyo she’s witnessed. There’s no way you’re interested in her… right? She may follow you around every minute of every day, but that’s not enough to make you fall in love with her, right? It’s not enough to make you yearn for her touch while Bada remains shut in her office, reviewing documents and signing papers…

“Bada…” Lusher trails off, noticing how her friend’s eyes become cloudy in thought. “I’m serious, don’t read too much into it. I was just joking around.”

“I’m not reading into it,” Bada responds after a beat. “My fiancée is her own woman, and what she does in her free time is none of my business. As long as she’s safe and happy, I’m content.”

Lusher frowns deeply, shaking her head. “But—”

“Don’t worry about it; I’m fine.” Bada holds up a hand to stop Lusher from continuing. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to finish this pile of papers before nightfall.”

Lusher looks between Bada and her work, unsure if she’s convinced that her friend wasn’t overthinking her joking comment. Eventually, she decides not to disturb Bada anymore, taking her leave and remaining oblivious to the chain of events she would unwittingly cause.

Like an unrelenting plague, Lusher’s words echo in Bada’s mind for the rest of the day, night, and the next day that follows. She tries to stay on task and finish her paperwork, but no matter how hard she tries, her mind will play cruel tricks on her, showing her images of your sweaty body sliding against Hyo’s, a smirk painted across her face as she services you with unrivaled pleasure.

Bada bangs her fist against her desk, dragging her chair back violently as she groans, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. If she can’t focus on her work, she might as well see what you’re up to and maybe spend some time with you. Not because she wants to observe your interactions with Hyo—no, not at all. She misses you, is all. In a friendly way, of course.

Leaving her office looking tired and disgruntled, Bada bumps into Soweon in her search for you. She asks her youngest subordinate if she knows where you are, to which she says yes, pointing in the direction of the terrace where the infinity pool lies. Bada says a quick thank you before fast walking in your direction, a prickle of nervousness building in her stomach, something she isn’t used to.

Stepping onto the terrace, Bada’s right hand busies itself by loosening her tie, noticing how tight it suddenly felt when her eyes find a sight that makes the nervousness in her stomach wash away, and instead, be replaced by a burning heat.

Your lower half is submerged in water while your upper half is arched into the warm afternoon air, water droplets falling from your throat and dipping down between your breasts as you hoist yourself out of the pool. In front of you, Hyo is holding out a white towel with one hand and grabbing onto yours in the other, helping you out of the pool.

There’s nothing particularly abnormal or intimate about the interaction, but it’s your bathing suit that makes Bada’s breath hitch, and the simmering fire burning within her spread. It’s a black ensemble, elegant, and compliments your figure to implausible lengths, that Bada wonders if it was handmade to make you look as divine as possible.

But your beautiful visage is overridden by Lusher’s words once again ringing in her mind.

Bada’s legs move before she can even think, rushing her over to where Hyo’s holding out the towel for you. She grabs it from her without a second thought, standing directly in front of her and taking your hand in hers, so Hyo’s unable to see you fully emerge from the pool.

“Bada?” You say, your eyes lighting up at the sight of her. “What are you doing here?”

“I decided to take a break.” She lies through her teeth, briefly checking behind her to see Hyo giving her a slightly confused look before she steps back, allowing her boss to take care of you instead. “Here,” Bada mumbles, wrapping the warm towel around your figure with haste and pulling you into her side.

The action makes butterflies flutter in your belly, and a shy smile overtake your lips. “Thank you.” You say softly, taking the chance to discreetly snuggle into Bada’s warmth.

“You’re welcome.” Bada nods, glancing at Hyo from the corner of her eye every few seconds. “So, is this where you’ve been all day?”

“Mostly,” you admit. “I haven’t swum much recently, and the sun was warm today, so I thought I’d cool off a bit in the water.”

“I see.” Bada nods. “And your bathing suit…” she trails off.

“What? Do you like it?” You ask innocently, unraveling the towel to give her another look at the piece.

Bada's eyes widen as she quickly wraps you in the towel again, feeling her body warm at the sight of yours. "Yes, yes, it looks very good on you," she hurries out. "But isn't it a little... inappropriate for Hyo to see you like this?"

"What do you mean?" You give Bada a confused look. "She sees me like this all the time."

Bada struggles to keep her composure as her thoughts start to race, and her hands instinctively curl into fists. "She does?"

"Yeah, I go swimming pretty often," you say casually, starting to walk toward the terrace exit. Bada follows, keeping you tucked into her side, and sending glares Hyo's way. You glance at your fiancée, noticing the black frames on her nose. "You're wearing your glasses again." Reaching up, you gently touch the side of them.

"Oh, yes," she mumbles. "I forgot I had them on."

"Bada, you need to stop pushing yourself so much." You pout.

Your fiancée smiles lightly, "You know, Lusher said the same thing."

"Because we're right." You insist. "You're lucky you don't have to wear those glasses every day."

"I won't let it get that bad."

You give her an unconvinced look, crossing your arms. "I'm holding you to that, you know."

"Oh?" Bada smirks. "And what will you do if I slip up?"

"I'll start visiting you every other hour to bother you until you take a break." You say playfully.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Bada banters back.

"Hmm, I don't know, I think you'd enjoy it." You mimic a thoughtful expression, making Bada laugh.

"I'd more than enjoy it." She admits, disguising her sincerity with a joking tone.

Slowing your pace, you find the door to your bedroom right ahead, which surprises you. You must have been so enraptured in your conversation with Bada that you didn't realize your legs were taking you back to your bedroom out of instinct.

Parting from Bada reluctantly, you stare at her with glittering eyes as you shift on your feet. "Thank you for coming to see me. I like spending time with you, even if it's only for a little."

Bada swears you’re trying to kill her, because why are you so sweet and lovely? All her life, Bada's dealt with ruthless businessmen, deceitful allies, and those who used her for personal gain. But you... you get genuine satisfaction out of simply seeing her. And she can't deny that she feels the same way.

"You're welcome," Bada says softly, rubbing her hand up and down your arm out of instinct. She doesn't realize the effect her touch has on you, but she sees the way you smile down at the floor. "You can visit me anytime, by the way. I wasn't lying before when I said I would enjoy you coming to see me." She admits brazenly.

"Okay then, I will." A brief pause of silence envelops you two before you turn to look back at your bedroom door. "I'm going to go take a shower. I'll see you later?"

"Of course," Bada nods. She steps forward to open the door for you, watching you head in before closing it behind you with one last small goodbye. She stays still for a moment, staring at the spot where you’d just been, lost in thought. When she finally recollects herself, she pushes her glasses farther up her nose and turns on her feet, about to head in the direction of her office. But upon beginning her stride, she is met with Hyo’s figure standing a few feet away. 

“Have a good afternoon, Boss,” she says calmly.

Bada’s mood plummets in an instant, her expression souring at Hyo’s flippant demeanor. She gives a low hum in response before continuing down the hall toward her office. 

That instance was only the mildest out of three that led up to Bada’s eventual break.

Instance number two occurred while Bada was hard at work. She’d been on a call, about to seal the deal on an important partnership between her and one of the lead car manufacturers in Seoul.

“I’m sure there are ways we can both benefit from this endeavor.” Bada’s voice projects into her work phone.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re correct,” Nam-Su answers on the other line. “But I feel there are some logistical points that still need to be addressed.”

“By all means, ask me anything.” Bada walks around her office, making sure to remain attentive while Nam-Su speaks. If she manages to close this deal, her entire facility will have a steady supply of fortified and modified cars, perfect for jobs.

“Very well, my main issue stems from…” Nam-Su begins to rant, leaving Bada to simply hum in the background while considering his deal. Surprisingly, he had many valid and insightful questions–though she should have expected that from him. Nam-Su was always described as a cunning businessman–when he wasn’t telling jokes in the workplace. Still, Bada manages to reel Nam-Su in with her impeccable rhetoric, and persuasive offers. 

It seems like she’s just about to close the deal when a noise causes her to pause her pacing. She looks up from the floor, squinting with a confused expression to her right, where she thought she heard the noise come from. Her eyes find the window that oversees the large garden right outside her office, locking on the fountain immediately. Assuming that to be the origin of the noise, she turns away, tuning back into her conversation with Nam-Su, who���s now ranting about his breakfast for some reason.

“That’s quite interesting, Mr. Im, but going back to the deal, how often and at what speed are you normally able to create heavily modified cars?”

“Ah yes, usually it takes around–”

The noise cuts in again, making Bada’s head whip toward the window again, this time sure that she heard it. She steps closer to the window, once again squinting in hopes of finding the source. But this time, she does. And she almost wishes she didn’t.

Bada sees you first, twirling into view in a beautiful and elegant sundress, looking like a goddess among the flowers in the garden. You’re laughing boisterously–which Bada realizes was the noise she heard, the sound muffled because of the glass barrier–at something just out of her view. You move to sit on the edge of the fountain, kicking your feet up a bit and revealing the creamy skin of your leg. Bada’s lips curl into a soft smile out of instinct, the sight of you so happy and carefree so pure that she can’t focus on a word Nam-Su is saying.

But just like always, Bada’s never able to fully admire you in peace, because another figure emerges, a black blob disturbing the color and sanctity of the garden. It’s Hyo, of course, dressed in her usual black suit and dark sunglasses. However, one thing stands out to Bada.

Hyo’s smiling.

And not just a simple, small smile, no–she’s smiling widely, borderline laughing with you as she stands in front of you, saying something that makes you give her a cheeky look.

Then she sees it.

Atop Hyo’s head is a ring of baby’s breath flowers woven together to make a crown. And similarly, sitting on yours is a colorful combination of peonies.

Bada's left hand tightens into a fist as she stares at you both, laughing and giggling like schoolgirls with crushes on each other. What was going on between you two? Where did this sudden air of intimacy come from? Has it always been there? Had Bada just been too wrapped up in her work to realize you and Hyo were becoming suspiciously close?

Either way it doesn’t matter, because all Bada can think about is how badly she wants to be standing there in Hyo’s place, admiring you up close, and laughing alongside you without a care in the world. She so badly yearns to be the only one you allow to hear your melodious giggles or share intimate moments with. (So caught up in her own jealousy, Bada doesn’t even realize her thoughts are continuing to stray away from friendship, and farther into romance.)

Bada’s eyes narrow to slits, glaring at Hyo’s every micromovement and scrutinizing it. She briefly considers leaving the office to interrupt, but before she can, she notices you freeze in your spot. A second passes before your eyes meet Hyo’s and become wide. Tiny droplets of water begin to rain down from the sky in steady streams, dotting your dress and deepening its color. You stand up in a hurry, your smile remaining on your lips as you hold your hands above your head, trying to shield yourself from the rain.

Hyo looks up at the sky and says something Bada’s unable to hear, but she sees you motion towards entering the mansion again and feels a wave of relief flood through her body. The world must be on her side. Clearly, it despised the sight of you and Hyo together as well, if the heavy downpour was any indication.

And yet… Hyo takes a step to the side, grabbing something out of Bada’s view before she walks closer to you, revealing an umbrella. Your smile only widens, unheard words falling from your mouth as you sit down on the edge of the fountain again, this time with Hyo sitting next to you. Bada’s eyes switch to cold in an instant, and she bites her lip in frustration. But of course, it seems the universe wants to torture her more, because you start to shiver, the dewy rain on your dress most likely giving you a chill. Because of that you unconsciously lean heavier into Hyo’s side, until you give in and press yourself against her arm, shaking like a leaf.

The simple action makes Bada’s entire body light on fire, a deep-seated jealousy rearing its ugly head as her teeth dig further into her lips, the force so strong that if she didn’t stop, she’d end up breaking the skin of her lip.

In the garden, it seems Hyo has finally noticed your shivering, because she breaks away for a brief moment to tug off her suit jacket before draping it around your shoulders, and bringing you into her side again, nodding when you mutter something to her.

Bada’s hand tightens around her work phone with impossible force, a droplet of blood falling from her lip as she stares at you both through the tinted window of her office while you speak to each other, completely oblivious to Bada’s gaze, or her anger. 

“...Ms. Lee, are you alright?” Nam-Su’s voice breaks through the ringing in Bada’s ear, his tone a mesh between mild worry and genuine confusion at her prolonged silence.

“I’m great, Mr. Im,” she lies through her teeth, the glass screen of her phone cracking under the pressure of her hands.

The last instance, and the one that managed to finally break through Bada’s facade comes the night of Nam-Su’s ball. 

Having successfully sealed the partnership between them despite her distraction, the cheerful man sent Bada an invitation the day after, proposing to throw a celebratory ball. He not only invited her, but Bebe too, and made sure to include a plus one ticket–having heard the rumors of you through the grapevine.

Although Bada doesn’t normally enjoy social events, she realizes it’s an opportunity to spend more intimate time with you, and jumps at the chance. She asks you to go as her plus one, to which you immediately accept.

Now, on the night of the ball, Bada looks at herself in the floor-length mirror in her room. Her eyes run down her figure multiple times, looking closely for any imperfections; wrinkles in her dress shirt, the position of her tie, or a stain on her customized suit. She finds none, but does one last check before leaving her bedroom in search of you.

You–much like Bada had once been–are picking over your appearance nervously while endless thoughts pass through your mind. 

Tonight is a very important milestone in your relationship with Bada. Not only will you be making your public debut as her fiancée, as well as meeting multiple of her allied gangs, but this is also your first time attending a ball with incredibly high-profile socialites from all over South Korea. Disappointing their expectations of you or embarrassing yourself is not an option. Everything must be perfect for both your sake, and Bada’s. 

As if hearing your thoughts, a light rapping against your door alerts you of Bada’s presence. “Are you ready?”

“Yes!” You answer hurriedly, gathering your bag and rushing to exit. You step out of your bedroom with a nervous smile, turning to face Bada once you’ve closed the door behind you. 

Upon making eye contact with her, you immediately notice that she’s not in her usual black suit. Instead, she’s wearing an overall–looking suit jacket, one that somehow makes her even more attractive. She’s also wearing a ring on the middle finger of her right hand, as well as another on the knuckle of her thumb, which makes you swoon. Bada Lee is the most attractive woman you’ve ever seen.

While you appraise Bada’s appearance, your fiancée takes the chance to appraise you, but is struck with a bolt of shock at your choice of clothing. A ravishing, floor-length black dress with boning along the top adorns your figure, and pushes up the tops of your smooth breasts, displaying them, while a large slit begins along the side of it. It allows Bada to see the garter that holds up your mesh nylons–she feels herself gulp every moment her eyes instinctively dip down to look at your breasts or thigh.

 The dress is paired with lace gloves, and the necklace Bada had given you.

Each element paired together decorates your body like beautiful embellishments, creating the vision of perfection in Bada’s eyes.

Her jaw drops out of surprise and astonishment, but once her mind catches up, various thoughts start to form. They start relatively innocent, “She’s so beautiful.” But then they start to stray, “Everyone at the ball will see her.” Until slowly, apprehension builds in her stomach. “I don’t want others to see her like this.”

“Bada?” Your voice brings your fiancée out of her spiraling thoughts. “Should we get going?”

“Oh, yes.” She clears her throat awkwardly, trying to fight the heat that she feels forming in her cheeks. “Sorry, I was–” She stutters. “You look absolutely stunning.”

You laugh bashfully to yourself. “Thank you. You look amazing as well.”

Bada simply smiles back at you, still recovering from your radiance as she holds out her arm. You take it without hesitating, falling in line with her as you both start walking away from your bedroom and toward the stairs to the first level of the mansion. Hyo follows after you as always, keeping her footsteps light while you and Bada engage in conversation.

“When did you buy this dress?”

“I ordered it a few days ago.” You respond. “I wanted to have a more appropriate dress for the occasion.”

“Well, nobody will be able to keep their eyes off of you,” Bada says confidently, beginning the descent down the stairs, holding onto you tight and making sure to help you balance on your heels.

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Bada takes the last step down the stairs first, turning to hold onto your waist as she guides you off the stairs.

“Are we the last to leave?” You ask, noticing the lack of Bebe members.

“Lusher and the rest of the girls left earlier.” Bada nods. “I had them scope out the venue to ensure it’s safe for you.”

“But aren’t all the attendees allies?”

“Yes, so they say.” Bada moves toward the entrance of the mansion, pushing the doors open to reveal her sports car already parked in the cobble-stone driveway. “But after everything you’ve experienced recently, I don’t want to take any risks.”

Bada’s words take you back to the Seong incident, and how terrified you’d been, trapped in her hideout. Your lips curl downwards in a frown, your eyes falling to the floor in thought.

Bada notices the shift in your demeanor, and immediately pauses, turning to face you with a gentle and determined expression. “You don’t have to worry about that happening again. All of Bebe will be paying close attention to you the whole night, and I as well. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

You shake your head, “I’m not scared. I trust you.”

Trust. A bond Bada never thought she’d be able to make again since her mother died. And yet, with you, everything comes naturally and easily.

The car ride to Nam-Su’s is relatively long. You find yourself cycling through many conversations with Bada, ranging from what you did this week, to what she did. Eventually, the conversation strays back to the ball.

“So just how influential are the socialites attending?” You ask.

“Hmm, well in terms of power and connections,” Bada begins, “I outrank all of them.” 

“Really?” You awe. 

“Yes,” Bada nods. “But it’s still very important to make a good impression. They may not have as much influence on me, but making enemies out of them could be detrimental.”

“Right, of course.” You clasp your hands together tightly, hoping the pressure will alleviate some of the nerves building in the pit of your stomach.

“What’s on your mind?” Bada questions softly.

You glance at her and sigh, “I guess I’m just a little worried I’ll say or do something wrong. I’m not used to being around extremely important men and women.”

“You don’t need to be nervous.” Bada grabs your hands and parts them, weaving your fingers together. “You’ll do great.”

“I don’t know–”

“Hey,” She tugs gently on your woven hands, making you turn to face her. “just be yourself. If you do that, they’ll all love you.”

The car comes to a stop just as Bada’s words fade into the open air, driving your focus away from her briefly and to the window instead. Outside, there are already a few paparazzi gathered around the car, their cameras positioned upward, as they wait with baited breath for you to exit.

“Paparazzi.” You breathe.

“They don’t usually show up like this.” Bada frowns, taking her phone out and typing quickly. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it handled.”

Right as she finishes her sentence, all of Bebe walks out of Nam-Su’s mansion onto the driveway. Lusher and Tatter take the lead pushing the paparazzi away from your car, while the rest of the girls focus on creating a walkway for you both to use.

“Hyo,” Bada says firmly.

“Yes, Boss,” your bodyguard answers quickly, fully parking the car and exiting it. She moves to stand next to your side of the car, but doesn’t open your door, because Bada has already left the car and circled around toward you, opening the door for you.

She holds her hand out for you to take as you slide your exposed thigh out of the car, holding onto her as you move to stand up. Immediately, flashes from the paparazzi’s cameras start to bombard you, but thankfully Bada quickly adjusts her position so she’s standing directly in front of you, blocking the lights from blinding you.

Bebe also jumps into action, hollering at the paparazzi who become overeager and start yelling at you to show your face, or for Bada to move out of the way.

“Hey, who do you think you’re talking to?” Lusher asks loudly, her face scrunched up in disgust.

“Have some respect!” Minah adds, stepping closer to a paparazzo and making him back away. 

Bada remains unbothered by the yelling behind her, already used to the demanding nature of having a public life. “Are you okay?”

You take in a deep breath as you stare at Bada, before putting on a confident expression. “Yes.”

“Remember, just be yourself.” She whispers, linking her fingers with yours again. You from your joint hands to Bada, your eyes going wide as you glance at the paparazzi a few feet away, worried they’d see the display of affection. “Don’t worry,” Bada assures you, “they already know. They can’t do anything about it.”

Reinvigorating yourself, you nod firmly, signaling to her that you’re finally ready. Bada nods back, stepping aside so that you’re now shoulder to shoulder as you begin your stride toward the entrance to Nam-Su’s mansion. The paparazzi start to go crazy, snapping photo after photo of you two, but through the noise and the chaos you hold your head high, wanting to make Bada proud.

Behind you both, Hyo and Bebe do crowd control, surprised at the amount of paparazzi that have begun to slowly trickle in, solely focused on snatching an exclusive photo of you to plaster on headlines tomorrow. “Influential Socialite Bada Lee has found her partner?”

You try to dispel all negative thoughts as you stop in front of the entrance, Bada reaching into her left pocket to retrieve her invitation, and handing it to the man standing by the door. He barely takes a look at it before giving you both a bright smile, and motioning for you both to enter.

You look at Bada from the corner of your eye with an amused expression, which she mirrors. “Famous, are we?”

“What could have given you that impression?” Bada says playfully, guiding you further into the main hall.

You have to admit, Nam-Su really had taken no prisoners when it came to decorating his home. A large chandelier dangles low in the center of the room, glittering diamonds falling from the prongs like teardrops, and casting a low, beige light across the room. Tables hug the sides of the walls, with flowers tumbling out of their boxes atop of them, and adjacent to trays of small, Michelin star foods. Everything is beautiful, including the guests.

“Look who it is!” An excited voice reaches your ears, making you turn in that direction out of instinct. A woman with blonde hair, a bright smile, and a mature look heads in your direction. She’s wearing a low cut dusty pink dress that compliments her curves excellently. 

“Ohh, Kirsten!” Bada says excitedly, switching to English to greet her friend. She meets her halfway and gives her a friendly hug, before pulling away. “I didn’t know you were back in Korea."

“I have some business to oversee here before we’re back to Australia and the States.” The woman, Kirsten replies. Her eyes drift away from Bada for a split second, finding yours instead. Her smile immediately widens, noticing how your arm is looped with Bada. “And who is this pretty lady? I love your dress, by the way.”

“Oh, yes,” Bada turns to look at you, showing a genuine enthusiasm at the thought of introducing you to her friend. “Kirsten, this is my fiancée,” she mutters your name while you step forward, a friendly smile adorning your lips as you shake hands with the older woman. 

“Hello,” you greet her in perfect English, watching as her smile doubles in size. “Thank you, I love your dress as well.”

Bada speaks up again, gesturing to her friend, “This is Kirsten, she handles foreign affairs and runs her own group in Australia. We’ve been business partners and friends for a while now.”

“Hold on,” Kirsten cuts in, mimicking an offended expression. “I’m still surprised by the fiancée comment. Why didn’t you tell me you got engaged, Bada?” She acts like a mother scolding her younger daughter, making your smile widen and a small laugh fall from your lips.

“I was trying to keep it under wraps.” Bada says sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”

“You can make up for it by inviting me and the girls to the wedding as honored guests.” Kirsten remarks proudly.

“Ah, of course.” Bada nods, smiling widely. “Where are Audrey and Latrice, by the way?”

“Oh, it’s just me this time.” Kirsten clarifies. “They’re both still in Australia, handling things there while I’m here.”

“How often do you come to visit Korea?” You cut in, interested to learn more about her.

“I only really come when I’m needed.” She answers. “No offense, I love it here, but I get homesick very easily.”

“Oh, I would too.” You agree.

“Australia is my favorite place to be.” Kirsten says while making a heart shape with her hand, mimicking a thoughtful expression. Her youthful attitude makes your nerves slowly edd away as you laugh along with her. “Also, can I just say, your English is amazing.”

“Thank you so much.” You place a hand on your chest, the compliment making you smile.

“Of course, of course.” Kirsten takes hold of your hands, swaying them in a playful manner. “Bada, I think you really struck gold here.” She winks in your direction while looking at Bada.

“Yes, I really did.” Your finacée answers earnestly. All the while you and Kirsten were speaking, she’d been watching you silently, admiring the way you interacted with one of her close friends so naturally. If anything, she felt this proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were meant to be a part of her life.

“Ah, Ms. Lee!” Nam-Su’s voice interjects into the conversation. He stands a few feet away, his wife on his arm as he waves you and Bada over.

“Well,” Kirsten starts, “I’ll let you two go. It was wonderful meeting you!” She steps forward to give you a hug, surprising you, but you immediately reciprocate, already feeling comfortable around her.

“Thank you, I enjoyed meeting you as well!” You respond. Kirsten breaks away from the hug, muttering a goodbye to Bada as well before leaving to speak to another guest. You watch her leave for a second, then turn to face Bada. “She’s very sweet.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Your finacée takes your hand again, guiding you in Nam-Su’s direction.

“When did you two meet?”

Bada hums lightly, thinking. “I believe she’d just turned twenty, and I was around my mid twenties.”

“She’s younger than you?” You stare at her with wide, and shocked irises.

“Yes, she’s closer to your age than mine.” Bada nods. “Are you surprised?”

You nod, “She has a very mature look.”

“She does. But don’t feel bad, a lot of people think Kirsten is older than she really is.” Bada slows her pace as you both near Nam-Su, and switches to a more professional demeanor.

“Ms. Lee,” Nam-Su greets Bada again. He then turns to you, “and…”

“This is my finacée,” Bada introduces you to her business partner.

“Ah, I believe I’ve met your parents.” Nam-Su nods. “I see they’ve done well, you are a beautiful young woman.”

“Thank you so much.” You say politely, slightly bowing your head out of respect.

You, Bada, Nam-Su, and occasionally his wife, all engage in a comfortable, and friendly conversation. From this, you learn Nam-Su is a surprisingly carefree man, cutting into the conversation with random anecdotes and jokes. You end up enjoying yourself more than you expected to, but somewhere down the line, the conversation strays to Nam-Su and Bada’s deal, leaving you and the man’s wife out of the loop.

You tap on Bada’s arm lightly, diverting her attention away from Nam-Su to you. “I think I’m going to get a drink from the refreshment table.”

“Oh, sure.” She nods, giving your hand an encouraging squeeze.

“If you’ll excuse me.” You say to Nam-Su and his wife, gesturing toward the table across the room with champagne flutes and appetizers.

“Be my guest.” Nam-Su smiles.

You break away from the group, walking  toward the refreshments while letting out a deep breath. Although everything’s been going well so far, you still feel mildly stressed, constantly checking your posture and making sure to remember proper etiquette. Reaching the table, you grab a champagne flute, holding it up to your lips and taking a small sip. The bubbly alcohol runs down your throat with a mild burn, the taste sharp, but also sweet.

“You’re looking a little bit tense over there.” A voice comes from beside you, making you turn away quickly and cover your mouth in surprise. “Oh come on, do I look that old to you?” Hyo raises an eyebrow at you, crossing her arms across her chest.

“No, no.” You answer quickly, turning to face Hyo with wide eyes. But when you finally stand face-to-face with her, you’re surprised to make eye contact with hazel eyes, the black sunglasses she wears nowhere to be seen. “You’re not wearing your sunglasses…”

“Did you really think I’d wear them at this kind of event?” Hyo scoffs lightheartedly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without them before.” You mutter, completely ignoring her question. “Oh, and about before, I don’t think you’re old, you just startled me.”

“Well at least you’re being careful.” Hyo shrugs. “Really sparing no expense on formality, huh?”

“This,” you gesture at the ballroom. “Is important to Bada.”

Hyo hums lightly, “It is for you as well.”

“Not as much as her.” You say softly. “Most of the people here have known her much longer than I have. I need to make a good impression.”

Hyo frowns at your words, placing her hand on your back and patting it lightly. “You need to loosen up, kid. Have some fun.”

“I’m trying.” You sigh. “But it’s hard to when all I can think about is the fact that I have to turn away from everyone to drink.”

Hyo laughs at your words, which makes a subtle smile form on your lips. “Well you don’t have to for Bebe, the Boss, or me.”

“You guys are the only exception.” You admit. Silence falls between you two for a few minutes while you continue to take small sips of your champagne, and Hyo turns to face the crowd of partygoers, watching them closely.

“Hey,” your bodyguard suddenly speaks up.

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t I take some pictures of you?” She makes a camera gesture with her hands, a playful look on her face.

“Pictures?” You glance around you with a hesitant expression. “Isn’t that inappropriate?”

“Come on, it’ll just be a few. You look cute, don’t you want to post them to social media?” Hyo insists. When you still give her a worried look, she sighs. “I’ll be fast, just give me your phone.”

You reluctantly hand her your phone, which she quickly taps into the camera app, taking a step back so she gets your entire dress and body in the frame.

“Okay,” she drags out the y in the word, “give me a sexy pose.”

You let out a deep breath before positioning yourself comfortably, and switching to a more alluring expression.

Hyo gives a hum of approval. “That’s good, maybe just turn to the side more.”

You do as she asks, the pose accentuating your nylon-covered thigh. 

“Perfect, stay right there.” She holds up a hand before tapping on your phone, and taking the picture. “Okay, another pose.”

You shift around a bit, now growing more confident as you stare into the camera intensely.

“Ohh, that one’s nice.” Hyo mumbles under her breath. “And, last one. Make this one cute.”

You immediately smile, changing your posture to be more youthful and relaxed. Hyo taps one last time on your phone before passing it back to you, muttering compliments. You glance at the photos, surprised by how good they came out. Your figure stands out amidst the partygoers behind you, the low light highlighting your features and giving you a subtle glow.

Truthfully, you look amazing.

“Wow.” You mutter.

“My picture taking skills are out of this world.” Hyo banters. You roll your eyes at her playfully, nudging her shoulder. “I’m kidding kid, you look good.” She looks over your shoulder at the pictures again, nodding. “You should post them.”

You contemplate it for a second before doing as she says. Opening Instagram, you make a new post with all three pictures, simply captioning them with a champagne emoji.

Time passes by relatively fast after that, women and men from across the room approaching you to make conversation and introduce themselves. You greet them all timidly but politely, Hyo moving to stand off to the side, silently remaining vigilant as you slowly begin to loosen up further, even making some friends with the women who compliment your dress.

However, across the room, Bada leans against the wall while holding a glass of champagne in her right hand, alone. After you left, Nam-Su only spoke to her a bit longer before breaking off to speak to other guests. It was then that Bada realized you’d been gone for a while, and turned to look for you, only to see Hyo standing next to you, taking pictures of you.

Like clockwork, that venomous and sickening feeling of jealousy bubbles at the surface, making Bada’s expression immediately sour, and her gaze lock onto you both. She waited for Hyo to stop taking pictures of you so she could approach you, but just as soon as she did, other women started to gather around you, their voices just barely reaching Bada’s ears across the room, but she was able to make out every compliment they hurtled your way. And while Hyo fell back into her role as a bodyguard, that didn’t stop other women–and eventually men, from circling you and talking your ear off.

You stand in the center of it, looking shy and a bit reserved, but it seems that only makes them swoon even more. Like a new blooming flower amidst a garden of plain roses, you stand out like a beautiful jewel.

It makes Bada sick to her stomach. She has to watch from afar as their eyes stray from your eyes, dipping down to your breasts or your thigh, their gaze caressing every feature of yours like predators.

She only lasts a few minutes like that before she pushes off the wall, about to interrupt and make it clear to the crowd around you that you’re already spoke for–that you’re hers, and they will never be able to lay their hands on you like they desire to–when a loud voice stops her.

“Bada!” The voice says excitedly.

Bada turns to face the source, mentally cursing herself for not moving faster when she sees who it is. “Raong.” She says with a light sigh.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see you before! How long have you been here?” Raong attaches herself to Bada without a care in the world, missing how the older woman tries to avoid the touch.

Raong is the daughter of Dong-Geun, one of Bada’s oldest business partners. A while back, when he caught word of Bada being rumored to take over her deceased father’s gang, he’d offered one of his sons up as a potential suitor, trying to make her family. But of course, Bada immediately denied. Though she didn’t explain why at the time, Dong-Geun later found out it was because she wasn’t looking for male suitors.

Since then, he’d begun shoving his daughter at Bada, practically begging her to marry Raong. Bada refused once again, this time because she wasn’t looking for a spouse at the time–or ever. At least, that’s what she believed back then.

Eventually, after years of bothering her, Dong-Geun gave up, realizing it was better to keep Bada as a business partner rather than distance her from him by pushing his daughter onto her day after day.

But it seemed Raong never got the memo. Because although she only spoke to Bada a few times at most, she somehow managed to develop a puppy crush on the (much) older woman. She never left Bada alone at events, becoming a nuisance like no other and making Bada hesitant to make public appearances.

“I arrived about an hour ago.” Bada replies in a monotone voice.

“Really? That’s so long ago.” Raong says, making her eyes go wide in an attempt to look cute. Something that fails miserably.

Bada says nothing in response, instead lifting her glass of champagne up to her lips, about to take a sip of it when Raong suddenly grabs it.

“You really shouldn’t be drinking so much!” She pouts. “It’s bad for your health.”

“It’s champagne.” Bada deadpans, already feeling the soul being sucked out of her.

Raong smiles cheekily, glancing between the alcohol and Bada. “You’re right.” She lifts the glass up to her lips, placing them directly onto the spot Bada had hers on, and takes a big gulp of the drink. She pulls away with a proud look, holding the glass up for Bada to take. “Here.”

“No thank you.” Bada immediately answers, her face stone cold. “I’d rather get a new one.”

For some reason, her comment makes Raong laugh loudly–incredibly loud–to the point that other guests turn their heads in her direction, their expressions showing a mix between shock and disapproval.

“Bada, there’s no need to act so shy.” Raong says, completely oblivious to the negative attention she’s garnered. “We may be in public, but everyone knows that we’re the most attractive couple here.”

“Couple?” Bada scoffs. “Where did you get that from?” Out of instinct, her eyes move from Raong’s figure to search for yours. And when she does, a revelation like no other dawns upon her.

You’re standing in the middle of a circle of men and women like before, but instead of speaking to them, your eyes are solely focused on Bada–no, focused on Raong, who clings to her like a needy girlfriend. Your expression shows nothing but absolute discomfort and anger, a look Bada’s never seen you wear before.

You’re jealous. She realizes, the thought echoing in her head over and over again and making a strange, satisfied feeling build in her gut. You must be feeling like she’d been for the past few days while watching you and Hyo interact–full of resentment and annoyance at the woman touching her.

Then, another thought comes to mind. Will she act upon her jealousy if I push her more?

Bada knows she shouldn’t be this petty. As the older woman in the relationship, and the one more emotionally mature, she should put a stop to Raong’s advances, walk up to you, and whisk you away, ridding both of your sour feelings so you can enjoy the night together free from inhibition.

But the more sinful part of Bada wants you to fully understand how she’s felt the past few days–the turmoil and envy that comes from seeing someone you care about fall into the arms of someone else.

Unfortunately for you, Bada will almost always succumb to sin.

“Come on Bada, I know you feel something for me.” Raong pushes herself against the older woman’s arm, trying to make her breasts pop, and look enticing.

Although Bada feels nothing at the action, she plays along. “You’re right, I do.” She says in a low voice looking down to stare directly into Raong’s eyes.

Bada’s behavior even surprises her, the younger girl gapes for a bit before quickly switching back to her piss-poor attempt at being seductive. “I’m so glad you’ve finally realized we’re meant for each other.” Her voice pitches upwards, trying to do an aegyo voice.

The result only causes a nails-on chalkboard effect, almost making Bada wince and break her facade. But before she can, she quickly glances at you. You’re still staring at her, your expression now much further into the territory of anger, before you shift your gaze somewhere else hastily, trying to make it seem like you hadn’t been glaring at her and Raong.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me this long.” Bada turns back to Raong, playing the act up by tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

The action makes you gasp across the room, daggers physically puncturing your heart.

Bada hears the sound, and has to stop herself from smirking too widely. Yes, finally you understand how it feels.

Raong swoons at Bada’s display, turning away from her with blushing cheeks and giggling loudly.

“Hey, Boss!” Lusher suddenly appears on Bada’s other side, trying to look casual as she glances between Raong and her friend. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?” Bada says casually.

“I mean, why are you all over,” she lowers her voice to a whisper to say the next word, “the pest!”

“I’m not all over her, I’m simply being polite.” Bada mutters back, discreetly glancing at you yet again.

“Yeah, right. When have you ever been polite to her?” Lusher catches her straying gaze, finding you on the other side of it. Immediately, it all clicks in her mind. “If this is about what I said a few days ago–”

“Shouldn’t you be keeping a lookout right now?” Bada cuts her off sharply.

“Boss…” Lusher says in a disapproving tone. Her friend doesn’t budge, instead turning her back toward her and speaking to Raong again. Sensing the conversation is over, Lusher walks away with a pit of guilt burning in her stomach, seeing you struggle to hide your emotions as Bada pretends to fawn over the younger woman beside her.

“What’s going on?” Kirsten stops at Lusher’s side, her eyebrows dipping downward as she observes Bada’s strange behavior.

“I think I might have caused this.” Lusher admits, hanging her head in shame.

If someone were to ask you how you were feeling at the moment, the best word to describe it would be "out-of-body."

You truly feel like you’re watching the events in front of you unfold as an omnipotent being. Your eyes are able to take in every movement of both Bada and the girl on her arm to the finest detail, which proves to be a cruel form of torture.

Why is this happening? You find yourself questioning over and over again in your mind. Why is Bada acting this way? Why is she allowing that woman to touch her? And why does it look like she enjoys it?

You swear you feel bile form in your throat with every touch they exchange, and although there’s nothing more that you want to do than to run away in shame, you physically can’t. You’re rooted to the floor like a statue, cursed to watch your fiancée flirt with another woman.

Perhaps this is your fault for being so naive. Did you really think that Bada would remain loyal to you when your engagement had been a business deal from the start? When she so firmly stated that she’d never fall in love with you? How could you have believe that she felt something for you when she touched you so gently, smiled at you, and made you laugh?

Had Bada been secretly having affairs with women from the start? Had she touched them like she did, you? Did she mutter to them how beautiful they looked? Did she undress them with her eyes?

…How could you be so stupid–so young and stupid.

But the worst is yet to come.

You watch in slow motion as the woman beside Bada shifts on her feet, putting all her weight onto her tippy toes as she reaches up to place a kiss on your fiancée’s lips. They’re just about to touch–

“Alright kid, let’s go.” Hyo steps in front of you, blocking your view of Bada and the woman. She grabs onto your arm in a hurry, taking off her jacket and placing it on top of your head to shield you from any straying gazes as she fast-walks you out of the Nam-Su’s mansion, barely managing to tell Lusher that she’s taking you home before you’re out of the door, the only evidence of your attendance the droplets of small tears dotting the floor.

The entire car ride is dead silent, Hyo’s lips sealed tight into lines, and not a single sound coming from you in the backseat that she has to check every few minutes on you to make sure you’re still there.

You are, but your head is down, her suit jacket blocking her view of you as you fight back waves of tears building in your eyes.

“Bada, I have to tell you the truth, I’ve always been in love with you…” The second those words left Raong’s lips, and she began leaning upward in an attempt to kiss her, Bada knew she went too far.

She immediately breaks away from Raong’s hold, the disgusted face she’d been trying to hold back for so long surfacing in an instant. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean?” Raong still keeps her voice artificially high, trying to get closer to Bada again. “Are you too shy to do it in public? Should we go somewhere private–”

“I will be going nowhere with you.” Bada interrupts in a stern voice, straightening out her suit. “I’m engaged.”

Raong’s smile finally drops, a sour look crossing her face. “So you really did propose to another woman.” She glances from the floor to Bada again, mustering up another embarrassing “sexy” look. “But it’s fine, she doesn’t have to know.”

Bada scowls at the younger woman. “I mean this in the most polite way possible,” she watches as Raong starts to frown, “I would never choose you, or any other woman over my fiancée. She is the only woman I will ever touch, or kiss.”

Raong stands in front of Bada, frozen and humiliated beyond belief.

“I suggest you stop making advances toward me, if you know what’s good for you.” Bada finally says the words she’s been wanting to for years now, and it’s like a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders. She leaves Raong standing there without a second thought, heading in your direction before she stops, realizing you’re not there anymore.

Her eyebrows furrow, an immediate spike of worry hitting her heart as she searches for Lusher through the crowd of partygoers. 

When she finds her friend, she walks as quickly as possible towards her. “Where did she go?” Bada says, looking from one side of the room to the other in a frenetic manner.

Lusher glances at Kirsten who stands next to her, hesitating before answering. “Hyo took her home…”

Bada’s eyes narrow to slits in milliseconds. “Lusher, I’m taking your car.”

The Lee mansion feels eerily quiet when Bada enters, the lights reflecting off the white marble flooring, casting an ominous glow as she ascends the stairs.

Although she knows the mess she’s caused is purely her own fault, a part of her wants to deny it. She wants to call it retribution for all the mental torment she’s experienced over the past few days.

She wants to call it that, but she knows she can’t.

Standing in front of your door, Bada’s eyes find Hyo’s figure with ease. Your bodyguard is wearing her classic sunglasses again, but this time she doesn’t greet her superior. She doesn’t even acknowledge her presence, simply stands there, her lips in a firm line with her arms crossed against her chest.

Bada briefly considers speaking with Hyo, but eventually decides against it, knowing she should check on you first, before anything else. Her hand reaches up to knock on the wood of your door, the sound echoing through the hallway as she retracts her fist.

She waits there for about three minutes with no response before pushing the door open and entering your bedroom.

Most of the lights have been turned off, just one raining down a small amount of light and illuminating the room. Bada closes the door behind her, the guilt that had already been brewing in her stomach doubling when she notices you’re not in bed, but sitting in front of your vanity with your dress still on, staring at your reflection with an emotionless expression.

Bada mutters your name, stopping a few feet away from you. “I knocked on your door, did you hear me?”

You don’t respond, only continue to stare at your reflection, completely disregarding her presence.

Bada frowns at you, clearly disappointed by your silence. “You shouldn’t have left so suddenly. I was worried about you.” This time, she sees something shift in your eyes, but still, you remain quiet and stock still. Bada huffs, becoming increasingly frustrated as she gets closer to you, stopping right by your side. “Is that Hyo’s jacket?” She gestures to your bodyguard’s suit that’s strewn across your shoulders.

This time when you don’t answer her, Bada finally snaps, releasing the tension that’d been brewing in her for so long.

“Would you say something to me?” She says, the words coming out much harsher than she intended them to.

Your lips stay stuck together for a minute before they finally part. “What do you want me to say, Bada?” Your voice sounds an equal mix of tired, and uncharacteristically cold. “You made yourself perfectly clear at the ball.”

Your fiancée stares at you from through the reflection of the mirror, trying to lock eyes with you. “Why are you acting this way?”

“Why am I acting this way?” You scoff, rolling your eyes. “You shouldn’t ask such obvious questions.”

“I’m asking because I don’t know.” She lies through her teeth. She does know, and despite that she continues to push you, wanting to hear you say the words, “I’m jealous.”

“You know, if you wanted to fool around with other women, the least you could do was take it somewhere private where I wouldn’t have to see.” You shoot back, tone bordering on venomous.

“I wasn’t fooling around with her.” Bada denies firmly. “And you’re one to talk.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” You finally look away from the mirror, turning to face Bada with a furious expression.

“Hyo took you home.” Your fiancée lists. “You’re wearing her jacket. She took photos of you while we were at a public event. You’ve been spending a lot of time with her.”

“Oh please, spare me, Bada Lee,” you interrupt, your voice rising. “She’s my bodyguard! And I don’t touch her like you touched that woman. I haven’t kissed her–”

“I didn’t kiss Raong,” Bada interjects.

“I spend so much time with her because all you do is work all day!” You continue ranting. “I have never once disrespected you like you just did to me thirty minutes ago.”

“It’s not like that–” Bada tries to explain herself, but now that you’re speaking, you can’t stop.

“I know you said that you would never fall in love with me, but what the fuck?” You exclaim. “How could you just kiss her in front of all of those people when you introduced me as your fiancée?”

“I didn’t kiss her.” Bada reiterates, feeling her patience wear thin.

“Some of the guests know my parents!” You’re bordering on tears once again. “Can you imagine what they’ll think when they hear that my future wife kissed another woman in front of the most influential people in South Korea?”

“God damn it–” Bada steps forward, her frustration finally getting the better of her as she grabs you by the waist, pulling you flush against her body, forcing you to look into her eyes. "I never kissed Raong," she says again, her voice full of force. "I would never kiss her. I would never kiss a woman that isn't you."

Silence falls heavily across the room, your expression shifting from anger, to confusion, then to surprise.

“If you believe there is another woman out there that I would rather press my lips against, you’re crazy.” She whispers.

You stare into Bada’s eyes, completely taken aback by the sudden turn of events before your eyes slip downwards, to where her lips are.

Bada does the same, although she takes it a step further, bringing her thumb up to press onto your bottom lip, watching the plush skin accommodate for the pressure she applies.

“I want you,” she mutters inches away from your lips. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I met you.”

As if an invisible string had been snapped, both you and Bada surge forward, placing your lips against each other with unrestrained passion. Bada’s right hand grabs onto the side of your face, tilting your head backward as you two move in synch, completely lost in the taste of each other. She pulls you in even closer to the point that your chests knock against each other with every labored breath, the desire between you two so strong that you can’t help but moan.

Bada hears the sound and feels a pulse go straight to her cunt, the build-up to this simple kiss being so long that she can’t help but revel in it. She bites down on your lip and the second you part your lips to gasp, she slips her tongue into your mouth.

Your teeth clash in a heated dance, your tongues caressing each others as Bada turns you around so your back is toward the direction of your bed, walking you backward quickly so that you fall onto it, your body laid out on the cushion like a fallen angel. She follows you onto the bed, keeping herself above you with a single hand as she continues to kiss you deeply, a small string of saliva falling from your lips because of your sloppiness.

Bada’s other hand busies itself by grabbing onto your exposed thigh and hiking it against her hip, pushing her thigh between the gap of yours. Finally she pulls away, both of you panting loudly into the open air of the room. “Fuck.” Bada curses. “I’ve been wanting to do that for so long.”

Your arms wrap around her shoulders, wanting to kiss her again because of her confession.

“I bet you’ve wanted to too, huh?” She smirks, leaning down to just barely graze her lips against yours, not quite giving you what you want. “That’s why you got so jealous when you thought I kissed Raong, right?”

You huff at Bada’s words, hearing that woman’s name you frustrates you.

“Oh, are you mad?” She taunts you, laughing. “Yeah, you’re really mad aren’t you?” The hand that’d been stationed on your thigh moves under the fabric of your dress and inwards, towards your hot and sticky pussy. “You’re mad because you imagined me touching her like this, didn’t you?” Her fingers ghost against the material of your underwear, already finding a wet patch forming at the bottom of it.

Bada smirks widely. She’s got you right where she wants you.

“Did you imagine me touching her through her panties?” Bada’s fingers move up and down the wet patch, making it grow with every passing second.

You bite your lip, trying hard to suppress your moans at the feeling of your finacée’s long fingers touching you where you need her most.

“Did you imagine me playing with her pussy and making her moan like a whore?” Bada nudges her nose with yours, enjoying every second of your withering composure. “Huh? Are you going to say something?”

You shake your head, wanting to deny the fact that you indeed had imagined all those things in your blind fit of jealousy, which only made you spiral further.

“No?” Bada whispers in a higher-pitched voice, trying to mimic you.

You don’t respond.

“Say something.” She demands, her voice dropping and her eyes narrowing into a glare. It lacks any real hatred or heat but does burn with sexual desire. “Say something or I’ll leave you here wet and panting bitch in heat.”

You finally release your lip, completely believing that she’d leave you like this. “No, please,” you whimper quietly.

“Ah, she speaks.” Bada smiles, continuing to circle your clit with her fingers, now applying more pressure. “Now tell me, did you imagine any of those things I described to you?”

Again you grow quiet, embarrassment flooding your veins.

Bada’s smile drops in an instant. “What did I say?” She withdraws her hand from your clit, moving it back toward your thigh.

“Wait–” you cry out, looking completely in anguish. “I did! I did!”

Bada hums in approval, placing her fingers against your underwear again. “Which one?”

“I–” The words die on your tongue, the small pressure that Bada’s applying to you making your sensitive body go haywire.

“Which one?” She says again firmly.

“The–the last one!”

“Oh baby,” Bada pouts mockingly, “that’s not good enough. Tell me exactly which one.”

“I imagined you playing with her pussy.” You admit, feeling more shame in that moment than you ever had before.

“Good job, babe.” She praises you. “You finally got the words out. Should I give you a reward?”

“Yes, please,” you practically beg.

“Well since you asked so nicely,” Bada looks at you through hooded eyes, smirking. She pulls away the material of your panties and inserts her finger, your hot, wet walls sucking her in compliantly.

"Bada!" You all but scream, your legs jerking in pleasure.

"You're so wet," Your finacée whispers, hearing the sheer amount of slickness your body produces. "Is this all for me?"

"All for you, Bada." You immediately reply, tears beginning to build in your eyes.

"Good." Pumping her finger agonizingly slow, Bada flips the fabric of your dress up so she can watch your pussy open and close, beating against her finger in a fast rhythm.

"Bada–" You whine, closing your eyes and trying to move against her long, firm finger. "Touch me more, please."

"Yeah? You want more?" Bada says, continuing her slow pace.

"Yes." You cry.

"But do you think you deserve it?" She asks, glancing between your wrecked pussy to your face, which is beautifully expressive.

“I don’t kn–” you hesitate, “yes, I do.”

“I don’t know.” Bada cocks her head to the side, staring at you deeply. “You spoke to me very rudely just moments before.” She makes a thoughtful expression before looking down at you again. “I think you should apologize.”

“I’m sorry–” you begin, but she cuts you off immediately.

“You should apologize for wearing this dress to the ball.” Bada insists. “For looking so fucking sexy and letting everyone eye fuck you while I had to stand there and watch.”

“I’m s–”

“Apologize for making me think you and Hyo were fooling around behind my back.”

At this point you’re so far gone and dizzy, you don’t even fully register what she’s saying, only that you’re desperate for her to touch you more.

“I’m sorry for everything, Bada.” You say through heaving breaths.

Your fiancée gives you a satisfied smile. “I accept your apology, baby.”

Wasting no more time, Bada dives in with an almost inhumane speed, placing her mouth against you, and letting her tongue part your pussy lips as she drives it straight into you. She's rewarded with another loud, pornographic moan as she begins to slurp your juices up, volatile sounds coming from her mouth, and your slick pussy.

Bada’s nose presses against your clit in a dreadfully delicious way, stimulating it and making your legs shake around her head.

“Bada!” You chant her name like a prayer, feeling insane amounts of pleasure you never thought you’d experience in your lifetime.

She mumbles something back, the words lost against the skin of your pussy as she moves her tongue in and out of you faster, adjusting her grip around your thighs so she presses even more of your weight onto her.

Bada pulls away with a heaving breath, her chest rising and falling at a concerning speed. But she doesn't stop, she never does, and before you know it she's diving back in, licking and sucking on your pearly-shaped clit, giving you dizzying pleasure.

She flicks her tongue a few more times, dragging her lips and pressing them firmly down until she's driving her tongue back into your pussy, and moving her tongue around your walls, sucking up all the wetness you produce.

And there's tons of it—some of it is dripping down Bada’s chin in a nasty combination with her spit, the murky substance stickily beading down until it drops onto her clavicle.

"Oh fuck," you moan, your head being thrown back with your mounting pleasure. Although it felt like she’d just started, you already feel an orgasm building in the depths of your stomach. "I think I'm gonna cum!"

Briefly popping off your pussy, Bada's raspy voice speaks up. "Do it. Drench me baby, fucking cream all over my face."

Your world goes white for a long moment, your fiancée’s chants egging you on, telling you to just let the pleasure consume you. So you let it happen, you let your pussy throb and release its slick all over Bada’s face.

Quiteness follows your orgasm, but the buzzing in your ears doesn't leave you alone, nor does your bride-to-be.

“Oh baby,” Bada’s head backs away from your body, the lower half of her face absolutely drenched in your cum. She licks her lips, savoring every droplet of your essence, “you taste like a fucking dream.”

“Bada.” You whine, her words making your pussy go hot again. “Don’t say things like that.”

“What? You don’t want me to tell you how pretty your pussy is?” She leans over your face again, wiping your cum off her face with her fingers and licking it after. “Don’t want me to tell you that I could die a happy woman between your legs?”

You wrap your legs around Bada’s waist, pulling her in closer so you can give her a kiss. She lets you, thankfully, and on her tongue you can taste yourself, which makes you moan.

When she pulls away she’s wearing a much more tender look, like your kiss had brought her back from a trance. “I’m not done with you yet.” She whispers, bringing her hands down to grope your tits through the fabric of your dress.

Although it’s late and you’re already tired, you still nod at her, slipping into a submissive state yet again.

Bada smiles at you before completely getting off of the bed, making you stare up at the ceiling in confusion. You prop yourself up on your elbows to see what she’s doing, and what you see is nothing short of heavenly.

Bada’s stripped herself of her tie, her customized suit jacket, and is now only in a white dress shirt–but not for long. She chucks off the wrinkled shirt, revealing the black sports bra she was wearing under, and… a pair of muscled arms and abs?

You shouldn’t be surprised, really. Naturally, as the leader of a mafia group, she’s required to stay relatively lean and strong, yet every divot and curve of her muscles makes you want to jump her bones even more.

Bada doesn’t even realize you’re staring, she’s much too busy taking off her pants, now only in her sports bra and her boxers, with something else in her hand. She looks up then, finding you practically gaping at her, making her smirk.

“Already have you star-struck and I haven’t even started yet.” She chuckles, taking the thing in her hand and placing it closer to the ground so she can step through it.

It’s then your eyes focus in on it, realizing that–oh.

A long, girthy black strap sits across Bada’s pelvis. Your eyes widen, your heart racing a the monstrous length and girth of her strap, as well as the texture and ridges on it. You weren't just going to be fucked, you were going to be absolutely destroyed.

“When did you–” your voice dies out, completely lost for words.

“I made a stop to my bedroom before coming here,” Bada answers easily. “Call it wishful thinking, but I felt I’d need it.” She grabs a bottle of lube from the pocket of her dress pants, about to apply some to her cock when she sees movement out of her peripheral and stops.

Absolutely mesmerized, you crawl over to Bada, the material of your dress slightly pulled up so she can trace the curve of your plump ass.

Reaching out an excited hand, you grasp the base of her cock, and open your lips wide before placing them on the mushroom head of her strap.

Immediately Bada drops the lube, her head dropping down in awe to watch you lick and suck on her cock, her jaw falling open. "Fuck." She grabs your head softly, helping you move up and down, her eyes rolling shut. For a second Bada feels like the strap attached to her really is her cock, and that she can feel your plump lips move against it, bringing her unbridled pleasure.

Your slobber drips all the way down her strap and wets her grey boxers, the material turning a damp shade darker. Bada pulls you down her cock gently, trying to avoid gagging you too harshly, but she can't deny the jolt in her cunt when she hears you struggle to take the inches, a slight choking sound murmuring against the black plastic.

"You like that, don’t you?" Bada finally gathers her bearings enough to speak again.

Your eyes glisten with tears as you nod, moving off of her cock to gasp out a breath. "Please, can't wait any longer."

"Okay, baby." Bada nods, giving into your wants easily and moving on top of you again. "I’m going to make you feel so good, honey." Taking her slick cock, she gently guides it to your pussy. "Open wide."

You immediately comply and spread your legs as wide as you can, watching with parted and panting breaths how your fiancée finally nudges the head of her cock into your pussy.

Slick and wide, her cock splits your pussy open only with its mushroom head inserted, making you let out a debauched and loud moan, the sound reverberating against the walls and filling every pore in the room.

"Shit." Bada curses, feeling herself come to a stop with how hard you're clenching down on her strap. "You've gotta relax, pretty. You're very tight."

Huffing, you attempt to relax your muscles, and slowly but surely, she’s able to nudge in another inch or two before you start clenching down hard again. Her thumb comes up to your clit and rubs it gently, making your eyes close and another moan slip from your lips.

"C'mon babe, take a nice deep breath in and relax." Bada guides you, rubbing your clit with slightly more force, and at a faster speed.

"Okay." You choke out, taking in a long and shaky breath.

She feels you loosen a bit, and again she takes the chance to slide her cock further inside you, and she's finally able to slip it all in. She breathes out a long, drawn-out curse when all she's able to see of the black plastic is the small sliver of the base.

"There you go." Bada pulls her hand up to your thighs, squishing their flesh in her grip and rubbing soothing circles into them.

Your pussy clenches at your finacée’s raspy praise, a strangled whine leaving your lips. "Bada—"

"Shhh," Bada moves forward, even able to push slightly more of the strap into you as she reaches over to give you a sweet kiss, shushing your loud cries. "I've got you. Promised I was gonna make you feel good, remember?"

"Mhmm." You hum, your eyes sparkling.

"I'm not going to let my wife down." Bada keeps to her promise and begins moving, her strap slowly pulling out of your wet pussy, then firmly coming back in and making your back arch.

"Holy shit." You awe, your mouth falling open. She hadn't even started yet. Bada then begins to pick up her pace slowly, pulling and pushing through your pussy's walls, the base of her strap slapping against your lower lips and making loud sounds fill the room.

"Damn it," Bada curses, her eyes drinking in the sight of you. Plump lips parted open, eyebrows furrowed in pleasure, your dress falling so that your tits are spilling out and bouncing in kind with her harsh thrusts.

Leaning forward, Bada takes a nipple into her mouth, her unoccupied hand grabbing and caressing the other, her eyes falling closed at the feeling of your tit in her mouth. Fuck, if she knew she could have had you like this long ago, she wouldn’t have waited so long.

But in a weird way, the wait made it even more satisfying, made the sounds of your pornographic moans even more sweet to Bada’s ears. 

"Bada!" There's not a single thought in your mind anymore, the space being occupied by the woman who is thrusting into your pussy at a dizzying speed, and covering your tits in her spit. The woman who swore she would never fall in love with you. The woman who’d risked her life to save you from kidnappers. Your fiancée.

Bada's mouth leaves your nipple with an obscene pop, the flesh around it slightly bruised a darker color from her sucking. "Does that feel good baby?"

"It feels so good." You almost scream, your eyes now opening to see Bada’s frantic thrusts, and how sweat is starting to form on the arches of her brows. "You're so good."

Bada closes her eyes, your words going straight to her cunt. "It's about to get a whole lot better." She leans forward again, this time grabbing your legs and folding them up, then pushing them as far as they can into your chest, giving her uninhibited access to your pussy.

You're seeing stars, you're sure of it. Bada's cock is lodged so deep in you, you swear you feel her in your stomach, your eyes widening to the size of saucers. She pounds into you at an incomparable speed, wet, sloshy sounds squirting from your pussy, making a beautiful melody with your moans, and Bada’s low groans.

A ring of cream begins to form around the base of her strap, the milky white substance catching her attention and making her teeth grit painfully against each other. "Are you close?"

"Yes, yes! Don't—don't stop!" You cry out,  your bedroom ceiling moving in your vision with every thrust of her strap.

Bada's breath catches, feeling the stimulation of her strap rubbing and pushing against her cunt build up into an orgasm. "Fuck, me too." She dips down to give you a purely tongue kiss before pulling away, panting. "Cum. Fucking cum, honey. Cum all over me."

And you do. Your mind goes blank and you let out your loudest, most obscene moan and cum on Bada's cock.

She follows close behind, letting out a low and drawn-out groan, cumming in her boxers.

Your body becomes liquid against your sheets, the only sound in the now quiet room being your staggered breath, and your fiancée’s panting.

Kissing your ankle, Bada gently unfolds your legs, making sure to be careful as she lays them back against her bedsheets and slowly pulls some of her strap out of you. You wince a bit and let out a choked whine, which she quickly silences with a sweet kiss and mumbled praises.

"It's alright, honey. You're good, you're with me." Eventually, Bada's able to fully usher her cock out of your still-tight walls and take off her harness, throwing her strap into some random, unimportant corner of the room. "Great job. You were so good, my love."

"Bada." You croak without thought.

"Yeah, honey?" Bada coos, caressing your cheek with her rough thumb.

"I'm tired."

“I know, sweet girl.” She mumbles, placing her forehead against your own. “Catch your breath, okay? I’ll clean you up. You don’t have to do anything.” Staying there for only a few more seconds, Bada sits up and walks to your bathroom, grabbing a towel and running it under some water before returning to you. She gently parts your legs, shushing any hisses of pain that leave your lips as she cleans you up, and helps you out of your tight dress.

Once you’re rid of your clothing, she moves to sit next to you.

“How are you feeling now?” She asks, staring down at you with nothing but love in her eyes.

“Sore.” You admit.

“Already?” Bada looks down at your legs, frowning. “Here,” She places her large hand on your thigh, slowly kneading your flesh in soothing circles, making you let out small, blissful sighs. “Does this help?”

“Yes.” You nod, smiling at her before closing your eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, honey.” A comfortable silence settles into the air between you two before your finacée breaks it. “About before,” she suddenly begins, her voice low and remorseful. “I’m sorry for what I did.”

You stare at her quietly, then speak up. “Why did you do it?”

Bada looks down at your body and sighs. “I wanted you to understand how I felt.”

“What do you mean?”

She shifts her gaze to your eyes. “I’ve been jealous of you and Hyo for days now.”

“Hyo?” You say incredulously. “Wait, is this about her taking me home? Because she only did that to stop me from seeing you and that woman kiss.”

“It’s not just because of that.” Bada shakes her head. “You two have gotten very close recently, and I didn’t know how to feel about it.” She closes her eyes, reaching deep within her to find the right words. “I guess I felt envious because she can spend all her day with you, while I’m constrained to my limited free time to see you.”

Slowly, the wheels in your cogs start to turn, and suddenly everything makes sense. “Bada, Hyo is like an older sister to me.” You tell her. “I don’t see her in that way.”

Your fiancée opens her eyes, staring at you with a mildly surprised look. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” You nod.

“Oh, I see.” Bada moves her hands to your other thigh, starting to massage it. “I don’t see Raong in any romantic light either, by the way. I’ve been trying to get her off my back for years.”

“Well, clearly she doesn’t understand.” You huff.

The action is so cute, Bada can’t help but laugh. “Believe me, she understands now.” When you give her a confused look, she elaborates. “When she tried to kiss me, I told her I had a fiancée.”

Bada’s words make you smile shyly, butterflies dancing in your tummy.

“And…” She trails off, a soft smile also finding her lips. “I told her that I’m in love with my fiancée, and I would never so much as think about devoting myself to anyone other than her.”

The l word that falls from Bada’s lips makes your eyes grow impossibly wide, and your lips part in astonishment. She watches it all, never shifting her expression away from being loving.

“Bada…” you trail off, tears in your eyes. “I love you too.”

Gazing into the other’s eyes, you meet halfway in a sweet kiss, one that seals your love, and commitment to each other. 

“You are my everything,” Bada mumbles against your lips. “I will always succumb to you.”

taglist:

@aericrys, @somerandomtinyperson, @bluebada, @dallaji, @luvjanexx, @hyejuwu, @diana-rose-25, @jjlovesbada, @cephox, @prilux, @youknow1234, @fae-the-wanderer, @mightymyo, @aein-tings

(if your name is crossed out i wasn't able to to tag you)

want to join the taglist? send me a message or comment saying you'd like to be on it, and i'll add you!

[blueparadis]

HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD + NANAMI KENTO & HIGURUMA HIROMI.

cw - (afab + gn)!reader x nanami kento x higuruma hiromi, double penetration, use of strap-on, explicit sexual content, s/d dynamic, implied after care. | wc  - 1K. | notes - in collaboration with ffg kinktober 2024.|

“Look at you.” You exclaim as you adjust the harness of your strap-on on your pelvis. “So full yet so hungry,”  Kento chuckles at your remark as he adjusts Hiromi in his lap to push his cock inside him till the base hits his ass making Hiromi wince. As Hiromi opens his eyes, he tries his best to mask the thrill as he watches you wear the strap-on intently but alas! he can only do so much, unable to hide the goosebumps rising over his skin. 

Nanami has occupied the couch while Hiromi? Nanami’s lap. Kento has been preparing Hiromi, getting him relaxed and stretched. While the former has not been able to cum, not even once he sure went easy on Hiromi even though you did not want him to be so doused for the latter. Hiromi was given the privilege to cum already. When you asked Nanami said, “It’ll get him in the mood,” while working his hand up and down Hiromi’s cock. Indeed, it was a sight to behold: Nanami writhing underneath as he jerked Hiromi off. Hiromi wanted more, and that too from you.

Hiromi’s eyes never swayed from you from the moment you left the couch, got undressed, and wore the strap-on taking your sweet time while you enjoyed basking in his scrutinizing stares. You walk towards them and stand bare-naked with just the strap-on. “Are you ready, Hiro?” You pose a question knowing full well that he would not be able to answer but rather drown in lust and want. Taking a glance at Kento, you give him a nod while Hiromi finds it hard to form proper coherent thoughts. He did demand that he wanted both of you but now that it is happening it is making his mind dizzy, muscles sublime to feel and skin igniting to touch. Kento aligns Hiromi a little as you get comfortable in your position, with one leg on the couch and the other on the ground. At first, you tease his hole by running the mouth of the dildo against his entrance. Hiromi’s teeth find their way over the bottom lip and it puts a smirk on your face. 

“Think I’m missing something?” Nanami whispers against Hiromi’s ears making him coil away from him but Kento is quick to any aid of sorts, always. He runs the sharp tip of his tongue against the back of his ear making him moan audibly. 

“Oh no. How can I ever forget you, Ken?” You quip as you push the tip of the dildo inside Hiromi. Both the men wince. Nanami’s hand grips the couch for support while Hiromi grabs Nanami’s thighs. 

“Boys, are we fine?” You check with a short chuckle before you are about to push the rest of the dildo inside him. You get a firm, vocal answer from Hiromi this time but Kento just nods. Kento can feel the rubber skin of the dildo sliding against his cock. It makes him shut his eyes for a second and when you thrust the whole of it inside Hiromi a unified moan. You move your hips at a slow and even pace letting Hiromi get used to this feeling of having two cocks inside at once. Nanami fidgets for a bit before letting his arms clamp through the gap between Hiromi’s thighs and calf muscle. You can gauge what he is trying to do and honestly, you cannot thank him enough for that in words but you surely could show that in your actions.

Hiromi watches you, eyes so full of daze and lust that as you lean towards them and he thinks he is the one to be graced with a sprinkle of affection but he lets out a sharp inhaled moan when your lips dash on Kento’s, sucking both the lips in turns. Seeing both of you getting so comfortable so easily he flattens his tongue and runs up from the base of your collarbones almost to the back of your ear making you immediately pull away from showering any more affection on Kento.

“My my you’re one hungry fellow,” you exclaim with a hint of mischief laced underneath your tone moving at a pace faster than before.

“I agree,” Kento adds spreading his legs apart from each other so that both of you could move at ease. With Nanami’s hands busy holding Hiromi for you to fuck, one of your hands rests on Hiromi’s shoulders and the other on his knee. As both of you start to move, Hiromi’s vocal side is slowly getting exposed. He huffs and pants and sometimes mewls when Kento licks and nibbles his ears in between. 

Peeling off your hand from his knee you clamp around his cock that has been begging for attention for a while now. Hiromi tries to swat your hand away but the unified constant thrust inside him makes it hard for him to bring his thoughts in motion. As you start to stroke his cock, Nanami protests, “Don’t.”

“You would if you were in my position.” You dismiss his plea with a single statement making him wince. Hiromi is feeling both of your emotions all at once, his hole being fucked by both of you with strong strokes and thrusts as you jack off his cock. His eyes go white for a few seconds feeling the wave of pleasure continuously so he tilts his head to kiss Nanami by pulling him by his nape. You can hear them kissing and groaning as you keep thrusting over and over again until something at the bottom of your stomach starts to tighten up. 

Kento pulls away from Hiromi’s lips to watch how well the latter is taking both of you. You guide Hiromi’s hands over your chest feeling your orgasm building up as it takes a few more thrusts into his hole making Hiromi cum, reaching a bit over your face and lips. It is a sight to behold, Nanami thinks as both of you keep thrusting into Hiromi until both of you peak in orgasm.

[sanctus-ingenium]

hi im so sorry if youve already answered this but how do u go about selecting the colors you use for your works!

hi! i've had this question a few times and every time i've only been able to answer with a vague sort of 'ehhh i just pick them'. but i think i'll actually talk some more about it now since a lot of my art actually takes a lot of beating before i decide on a final palette. but with a lot of them admittedly i already know what palette i'm using, and i organise the whole composition around those colours.

i use like two main palette methods and here they are (once you see it in my art, you won't unsee it). It mainly involves picking one main hue, and then a contrasting secondary colour.

So the most basic is to have a drawing be mostly a small range of hues, in this case the reds and oranges, and adding a single contrasting shade. Here it is the bounce light on the metallic metal parts, and doesn't appear anywhere else. It looks blue but it isn't - if I used actual blue, it would be too jarring and the colours would not appear unified. This is a warm and nice scene. So instead I pick that strong blue and blend it into a small swatch of the base colour. Then I pick from the blended portion, and what I get will be more blue than the base, but not actually blue. In fact it is yellow-orange :) The entire drawing looks warm as a result.

When working with marginally stronger contrast, here I have a cream unicorn on a green background. The main shadows on the unicorn will be the colour of that ambient room temperature bg - green. So I use the same test swatch method to pick a shadow colour which LOOKS green without being too disruptive of the cream unicorn. I increase the saturation and darken the value (moving the colour dot diagonally to the lower right hand corner of the box) and also spin the whole wheel towards green just a bit. Then I blend into the cream and colour pick a shade in the middle. But for the bounce light, I chose to use a common contrast of green - pink. It looks like pink in the drawing but in fact it is a low saturation orange! Using that real pink would be disharmonious. I do the exact same thing - I blend the pink into the bg colour and come up with that orange shade. It looks harmonious.

Now (top example) I am using two contrasting hues side by side. I decide the shadows will be warm, and the highlights in that contrasting zone. That means that for every colour i pick - Islin's skin, hair, his glasses, his shirt collar, his coat - every colour gets slid around the colour wheel until it falls inside that narrow band. And when I am highlighting his skin, I turn the wheel towards green. When I am shading his skin, I turn the wheel more red. I do this for every single element in the drawing.

It's the same for the Rua cover but this time I am not using such a wide band of available hues on the colour wheel, it's much tighter. I did this to replicate the look of a faded print, intentionally lowering the available contrast I had to work with by removing black as tool. It's all in that small cream to red window but it LOOKS purple - it looks like Pascal wears a purple shirt and that the smoke in the bg is lilac. Well, it isn't. That's all red and orange. I pick those colours by, again, choosing my goal "look" - a low-saturation purple, and then turning the wheel into the red range.

Okay so! for this it's just... the exact same thing again. Literally it always is. But since this one is recent I still have the process fresh in my mind. I envisioned it in the car, and I wanted this empty sort of desolate blue bg and a cold, distant overall tone. I ended up making the white on the chessboard & white pieces warmer, cream instead of white-grey, which worked out great. I wanted the blue, I wanted the pale cream/white, and the black of the chessboard. I didn't envision a colour for Pascal's shirt. but when the time came it was an obvious choice. It has to contrast with the bg both in value and hue, without falling outside the cream range already established by the chess pieces. So it's shiny salmon pink :) or orange, whatever you think it is. The only disharmonious part of this palette is the red velvet under the black knight piece - it works, but if I'd taken more care I might have spun the wheel more into orange and it would stand out less. But I don't mind.

[otaku553]

Can we ask why you’ve distanced from Genshin? I’m thinking about it bc of the representation issues but was wondering abt ur thoughts

It’s a bit difficult to put this succinctly!

I have a lot of thoughts on this, so I’ll sum up a few on the topic of character design.

I think when most people talk about representation in Genshin, the first thing they talk about is skin tone, which is fair and definitely valid. I think, as someone who has grown up with a lot of East Asian beauty standards around me, what Genshin does is cowardly but understandable from a viewpoint of marketability. I’m sure that they know their lack of representation is controversial overseas, but either this controversy is just giving them more attention and free promotion, or they’ve calculated that the controversy generated won’t actually deal any damage to their profits. That’s mostly why I’m not vocal about it: at best, they scroll past an extra opinion that they’ll probably ignore, and at worst, they’re getting free unintentional advertising out of me.

I will say, though I think plenty of people have made great posts about the representation issues, I think Genshin’s problems with character design and representation go much deeper than just skin color, and have been a growing issue even since Liyue; it’s just gotten exponentially worse with the introduction of Natlan.

I feel like Genshin is actively making regions more modern just to avoid historically accurate cultural representation, and nowhere is this clearer than in Natlan. To begin with, Genshin introduced itself as a historical fantasy, and that is, I think, why it worked so well compared to, say, Honkai— you can tell characters come from the same game due to unified elements such as the Knights of Favonius’s crest as a motif, and the central idea of history. Though the idea of “historical fantasy” is kind of nebulous, since they don’t actually claim to be trying to replicate any real world locations or cultures, you can infer some things about the time period and general location based on the existing technology and architecture and stuff.

But it feels like the moment you get to somewhere not European or East Asian, Genshin starts making designs from a far more modern approach. Some of the Natlan and Sumeru characters, I don’t think I’d be able to place as Genshin characters if I hadn’t played the game. I actually thought that one of the teased Genshin characters for Natlan that I’d seen around online, Citlali, was a Honkai Star Rail character, and was super surprised when I saw her in the Genshin 5.1 trailer. When you can’t even tell that a character belongs to the game you’re designing for, then what are you doing as a character designer?

This is more speculation than anything, but it’s almost as if they’re avoiding proper representation of cultural clothing by making things look modern, and it’s clashing terribly with what they established the game as from the beginning. For fuck’s sake, Mavuika, who’s the archon, meant to represent her nation, is wearing a leather biking suit. She looks so incredibly out of place in the fourth anniversary art of all the 5 archons together. They seem to be losing sight of what made them successful with character designs in the first place just out of a fear to do proper research or make something less than “conventionally aesthetic/attractive.” That’s my main issue, to be honest— not necessarily the skin colors, but the clear lack of thoughtfulness in character design, not only for representation but also for what suits their setting and premise best.

I have a lot more thoughts on Genshin Impact so feel free to send another ask if you’re curious!

[byhees]

the beauty of hands.

엔하이픈 ・ female reader + word count 500 genre fluff established relationship warnings not proof-read — more

a/n. blank

heeseung

hands that instinctively find themselves intertwined tightly together when walking through a crowded area, not wanting to lose the other in the midst of people.

your fingers moulding perfectly with his, as though every concave and convex of both your hands matched like a puzzle piece.

loving how his touch would solace you, hands still interlocked with one another, despite being a far distance from any large crowds.

jongseong

fingers that brush against one another ever so slightly whenever he raises your hand to his lips to kiss it softly.

a smile naturally tugging at the corners of your lips when he sends a playful bow towards your direction, knowing just how cliché this might have seemed.

him mimicking the action by raising your chin just slightly upwards, cupping your cheeks, and leaving a soft peck on your lips.

jaeyun

pinky swears that leave shadows of promises behind— small, lighthearted ones that simply work as excuses to interlock hands, and sincere ones that signify the beauty of genuineness and communication.

gazes fixating on your interlaced fingers, before trailing up the other’s arm, to their face.

him flashing a small wink to catch you off guard, to which you respond by breaking contact to leave a light smack on his shoulder, giggles falling from your lips.

sunghoon

holding hands whilst running in the rain, relishing in the simplicity of being in the other’s vicinity, droplets of water running down your faces.

his hands that pull you in for a kiss underneath the relentless downpour, caressing your cheeks.

his hands that shield the top of your head, acting as a makeshift umbrella, soft laughter being drowned out by the loud pitter-patter of the rain.

seonwoo

hands that find comfort in being interlinked under the table, both of you not being able to sit still without it.

his fingers softly tapping against the skin at the back of your palm, unintentionally eliciting a few softened titters.

your own fingers returning the gesture, and you two just isolate yourselves from the surrounding conversations and happenings, completely infatuated by the joy of it all.

jungwon

him running his thumb over the back of your hand, and allowing his finger to trace the outlines of your knuckles.

finding tranquility in playing nostalgic finger games with you— a small moment of respite that feels more enjoyable than simply fidgeting with his own hands.

purchasing matching accessories such as rings, and admiring the way they compliment your skin tone.

riki

intertwined hands which swing back and forth in the empty space between your bodies, paired with a melodious harmony of unified laughter.

skipping across fields together during the later hours of day and chuckling at how the moment reminds you both of childhood fun.

appreciating the twinkles of light amidst the expansive lake, his hand resting on your shoulder as he pulls you towards his embrace.

taglist open! @wondipity @yjjungwon @shysakuno @niktwazny303 @syrxiee2 @g4m3girl @minhosify @haechansbbg @yeomha @stepout-09-15 @chansburgah networks! @kflixnet

[delliebre]

op i would pay to watch full videos of you paint 😭😭 what were some of your biggest breakthroughs in learning, or the most helpful art advices you've watched/found?

Wow thank you!! Definitely one of the most useful things to keep in mind always when painting is the fresnel effect. If you don't know what that is, please look it up there are resources that explain it way better than I can. If this is your first time hearing of this effect, I hope it is a breakthrough for you too as it was for me years ago.

It is an effect I always think about. Also, implementing ambient occlusion is another, which is kind of opposite of fresnel effect as fresnel effect deals with reflection while ambient occlusion is the lack of.

Highlights are not what make a painting come alive. It is the darkest darks. Those accent values.

Every kind of "rule" I ever speak of can be broken and is broken in thousands of amazing paintings. Always experiment with what you want to achieve while keeping in mind art fundamentals so you know when you are breaking them for your artistic vision.

Another helpful art advice is to not overstate your halftones, and to bias exposure one way or the other, try to avoid painting fully in both sides of exposure.

It was important for me to realize the colors of objects depend on not only local color but largely the environment as well. So much so, that sometimes the environment will overpower local colors. Ditching local colors smartly, and instead bringing in environmental colors, allows for more expressive, often even more realistic, depictions of the world.

Take an arm in light. Depending on how bright the light is, the arm's colors will lean towards it not just in value but in hue instead of just becoming a brighter version of the local skin color. Color is volumetric. Light exists in 3 dimensions here. Light can and will persist over local color, though some local colors, like a vibrant red are so strong that they cannot be taken so simply.

Light is the most important thing to understand for painters. Without light, the canvas is black.

Value is often more important than color.

So as long as you are actually seeing something that you are painting, light exists and you should keep in mind where, from your perspective as the "camera" it is coming from, its temperature, and its strength.

Atmospheric perspective is useful in that it brings darks up and tones lights down. There are two tall black lampposts. One is close to the camera, one is 30 meters away. Our atmosphere is smoggy. The light closest to us is clear, the light further away is blurring. Its light, though bright, must be darker than the light of the closest one because the atmosphere is 3D, the atmosphere is dust, water, and particles which give it its weight. Because of this, light hits the atmosphere. It is a filter through which our eyes see no matter how clear a day.

So, the brightness of the lamppost's light is toned down as it recesses from the camera, but what about the black post? It lightens. Values in atmospheric perspective are brought together. Shapes lose identity. This unifies pictures.

Thank you again! Hope these were somewhat useful 🥰

[vivalgi]

Begone, purple alien! ✝

I tried to achieve a similar skin tone as the darkest Getaway Girls MC option. Ideally such a dark skin should be shinier too. Funny that even the eyebrows were purple.

I get that under specific lighting conditions skin can take colder tones (heck, even I almost sparkle like Edward Cullen in bright sun light or get a concerned look from my doctor in her office with fluorescent lights), but in a game like Choices all the assets should have unified perceived lighting. You can't have a character's body to look like it's the night of full moon while their clothes look like in studio lighting, it will look just stupid and strange. Please, try to do better, PB!

[laismoura-art]

Hey everyone! Remember when I told y'all I was gonna make a huge post about Harumi Shirai being playable? Well, it's heeeeere!! :D ✨️

Before we start! A thanks to @meme099 for requesting this post and a thanks to all my Harumi girlies (in special @mikka-minns @thedragonholder @madamealtruist @orbitinytheworld and @running-with-the-feels ) who have always been so supportive of my Harumi content! Hope you guys enjoy this!🩷

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Canon info used as inspo:

Harumi and Kuai are childhood friends and are in a relationship;

Harumi is head of her clan (that is not the Shirai Ryu);

Harumi uses her knowledge as Grandmistress to help Kuai and Tomas assemble the Shirai Ryu;

Harumi has connections with the Umgadi.

Everything else I used is based on Headcanons of mine, Harumi's clan being the most blatant case, I'll be linking previous posts in case you want more details!

I wanted to make Harumi a brand new character, with her own unique backstory and skill set! (It's what she deserves)

With all that in mind, LET'S BEGIN!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

TW: This will be much more explicitly violent than my regular Tumblr content, as there will be Fatalities and Brutalities. I know in this Fandom this is expected, but as it's not usual for MY content, I feel like a warning is welcome!

New Playable Fighter: Harumi Shirai🌸

🌸 Bio:

Fierce leader, talented herbalist and honorary Umgadi, Harumi Shirai is the head of her clan, the Order of Cetrion.

Founded by her ancestors and composed by women only, her clan uses their skills to aid the Elder Goddess of Life and Virtue, Cetrion, in her never-ending mission to protect all life in Earthrealm.

Nowadays, Harumi is not only the Grandmistress of her clan, but also mentor of her childhood friend and lover, Kuai Liang, as he struggles and persists in his quest to assemble a clan that will rival the Lin Kuei's might and serve as Earthrealm's new line of defence.

For more of my thoughts and HCs on Harumi and her clan, you can read these:

🌸 Gear:

As stablished in the previously mentioned posts The Daughters of Cetrion are herbalists with access to Outworldly magic and spices, so most her arsenal will reflect that!

Bottles of healing potions and deadly poisons.

Pouches of grated herbs that can heal, cause allergic reactions and, of course, kill. (Pocket sand!)

A scythe (small one, used to harvest plants but can and will slit a throat)

It is canon that Harumi has connections with the Umgadi and it's safe to assume she was trained by them (my HC is that Li Mei was her teacher), so I gave her an Umgadi skill:

Umgadi energy constructs. Only the Grandmistresses are allowed to learn this skill from the Umgadi. Harumi's constructs are pink and she shapes them like flowers and red foxes (a nod to her Animality).

🌸 Skins:

Now being quite fair, MK1 can be hardly known for its variety in skins. It is however, pretty creative when if comes to colour palettes, so I decided to rely on that!

Bellow you have Harumi's main outfit, the long sleeve nods to her canon fit while the rest was made with her clan in mind (the main reference were Cetrion's outfits)

The Grandmistress: The main colour. This is her Grandmistress outfit, all in pinkish tones, which I HC to be her family's colours)

The Scorpion: 1st colour variant has my Scorpion!Harumi colours, with a brighter shade of pink and yellow (the flower on her hair nods to her Scorpion hairpin)

Daughter of Cetrion: 3rd variation brings her clan's colours, a mix of her family's colours and Cetrion's. The colours are to represent their commitment as protectors of life and nature.

Li Mei's Apprentice: 4th variation is for her Umgadi outfit! She wears the traditional shades of yellow and silver!

The Shirai Ryu's Bride: 5th variation has Kuai's colours (and yes, the name is a nod to their relationship)

Honorary Lin Kuei: 6th variation might look controversial, but I find it hard to believe Harumi was only Kuai's friend. I HC Harumi was named honorary Lin Kuei warrior many years ago. (She wears Bi-Han’s colours to imply they were once friends too)

Bonus info:

Kuai has two of her colour palettes, "The Grandmistress" as nod to their relationship and "Daughter of Cetrion" as I HC him to be a honorary Cetrion warrior;

I drew Harumi slightly different here to make her resemble her new face model, Jiwon Ra, but I kept some of my HCs, meaning her freckles and slight heterochromia;

The tattoo on Harumi's arm is the Umgadi insignia and the pendant on her belt is her clan's.

🌸 Special moves:

Fireworks: Harumi shoots fireworks through her finger (Umgadi magic) they work as projectiles and can be shot to any height and also as she jumps or ducks; (it looks like Charlie's fireworks)

Witchy makes you dizzy: She throws a concoction that makes the opponent dizzy (it inverts your remote);

Pocket sand: She throws a pouch that makes the opponent cough (makes them stand in place)

They don't bite... much: Harumi creates two foxes with her constructs and sends them to bite the opponent;

Cetrion's healer: She uses one of her potions to heal herself.

Bonus: For stronger hits and during kombos, she will strike with her scythe;

She throws bottles and pouches of potions during her kombos.

The first and fourth move can become Brutalities. With "Fireworks" she blows up the opponent and with "They don't bite... much" her foxes eat the opponent alive.

🌸 Fatal Blow:

Beware the Forest Witch:

Harumi blows one of her powder mixes on the opponents face, the powder makes their skin itchy and they scratch their face aggressively (drawing a lot of blood).

She steps back and sends her foxes, the creatures start to bite, one of them givas a particularly strong bite, breaking the opponets leg, the other breaks their arm right after.

Harumi finishes the move with a firework attack, breaking the opponents ribs and sending them away!

The Fatal Blow can also be used as a brutality, her foxes will tear the opponents limbs off as they bite them!

🌸 Fatality:

Sacrifice for the Goddess:

Harumi uses her constructs to open holes into the opponent's chest and stomach.

She calmly walks closer, holding a pouch and a bottle as she's still deciding which one to use.

She places the pouch in the opponent's stomach hole and the bottle on their chest hole, only to change her mind at the last minute and replace the bottle with another one from her belt.

She places a smaller bottle at the opponent's mouth and slowly walks away.

The bottles and pouch explode into plants and vines with beautiful flowers that start to grow inside the opponent's holes and mouth as they fall backwards. The opponent starts to look like a gory flower pot.

From the opponent's mouth grows a singular pink flower, which Harumi gently plucks and sniffs as her victory is announced.

🌸 Intro animations:

When she's pushed away by her opponent, she carves her scythe on the ground to stop her momentum. Her foxes constructs are already by her side. She pets them to assure she's ok and raises up saying "my foxes will be eating well today"

When she's the one pushing, she distances herself with a one-handed cartwheel and a back flip. Her hands glows as she moves, summoning flowery shapes around them. She mocks the opponent calling them "fertilizer for Cetrion's gardens"

🌸 In-between rounds animation:

When she wins: She recreates her foxes constructs and pets them, sweetly calling them "good boys"

When she loses: She uses one of her potions to "heal" herself (she'll grunt in pain and anger as she does)

🌸 Victory animation:

She will use her constructs to slightly recriate this one victory animation of Cetrion from MK11. Her foxes will be lying by each of her sides.

🌸Ending:

"The arrival of Titan Shang Tsung inspired many other foes to rise and act on their darkest desires.

In their path they left behind only death and destruction. Among their victims, were the Living forests and the Capital of Seido.

As Daughters of Cetrion, it is my clan's duty to protect life and preserve the nature. Such disasters would never pass unnoticed by us.

Lady Cetrion healed the forest and put a stop to the flood that had already killed so many. In a way only her magic could!

My sisters and I helped as we could, searching for survivors, protecting and healing them.

Once they were out of harm, it was time to get them justice. Reunited with my old friends and mentor in the Umgadi, we went after the responsible for this atrocity.

Havik, the agent of chaos."

🌸 A few intro dialogues:

🔥 With Kuai:

Harumi: Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my fiancé.

Kuai: I know you'll go harder on me because I'm your fiancé.

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

Kuai: I'll join you against Havik in a heartbeat.

Harumi: I appreciate it, but you already have much in your plate, Grandmaster.

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

Kuai: When you're around Hanzo, do you ever feel...

Harumi: Like I've met him before? All the time.

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

Kuai: So, about those comic books you borrowed?

Harumi, chuckling: We're married now, Sunbeam. What's yours is mine!

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

Kuai: So when you said "Summer camping" you actually meant training with the Umgadi?

Harumi: Uh... Surprise?

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

Kuai: So you and Tanya...?

Harumi: So you and Cyrax?

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

Kuai: You think things will ever get better with Bi-Han?

Harumi: Of course! As long as we don't give up on him!

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

❄️ With Bi-Han:

Bi-Han: I only wish to speak to my brothers.

Harumi: And your men lurking on my territory, are they here only to speak too?

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

Bi-Han: Step aside, Harumi, this is family matter.

Harumi: Have you forgotten, dear? I am family.

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

Harumi: Come alone to the Shirai Ryu. Let's put our differences aside.

Bi-Han: So you can stab me in the back?

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

Harumi: We used to be friends, Bi-Han.

Bi-Han: Regrettably, Harumi, things have changed.

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

Harumi: So how is Cyrax doing?

Bi-Han: Your concoctions have been quite helpful...

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

💨 With Tomas:

Tomas: Are you sure Hanzo is over 18?

Harumi: *Sigh* For the last time, Tom. Yes!

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

Tomas: Wait, you know Kuai has a crush on you?

Harumi, chuckling: Who doesn't know?

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

Harumi: You drank my truth serum??

Tomas: it's not my fault you stash your potions with the kitchen spices!

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

Harumi: The Shirai Ryu is turning out great!

Tomas: And you thought we were total lost causes!

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

Harumi: Where did you say you found your apprentice again?

Tomas: He fell from a tree!

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

Tomas: So your Umgadi friend Jade...

Harumi: Want me to introduce you to her?

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

So for now I only have these dialogues with the Sub-Zero siblings, but I'll tell you that:

If you want so see Harumi interacting with other characters, you can send me an ask with the character(s) you want and will make some intro dialogues with them! (Maximum 3 characters per ask, please)🩷

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Yoo folks! We made it!! Playable Fighter Harumi Shirai at your services!!!

Thank you very much for reading, I hope you have enjoyed!

If you have thoughts, questions and/or suggestions, please DO TELL! I'd love to chat to you about my girl!💕

🌸 🦊 ✨️

[beautyfineshopparis]

White Secret Concentrate Lightening Unifying Complexion VitaminE Serum

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[i99zhuo]

How to live like tzuyu 💿˖ ࣪‧₊˚໒꒱⋆✩

This is a guide on daily routines inspired by Chou Tzuyu! requested in the last post, thank you for your request hope you like it!

content list (routines):

morning 

study

workout 

shower and self care 

night

(_ _  ) . . z Z⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚୨ :★: ୧   ∗  ˖࣪ ໒꒱  ˚₊· 

✸ ꒰ morning routine ꒱⋆ ࣪.* ࣪.⋆ 

🥽 Tzuyu wakes up super early every single day, having a regular sleep schedule (sleep and wake up at the same time everyday) can help us be less stressed and it's super helpful when you want to build multiple routines! you can set an alarm at night time if you struggle going to sleep because you're always mindlessly scrolling!

Now, it's time to get ready, wash both your hands and face and just apply moisturizer and sunscreen, wearing to much skincare products before applying base makeup products may make them look super patchy, if you want to do a really long 10-step skincare routine you have to do it the night before!

🦡 the key for Tzuyu´s makeup is to have a clean base makeup and changing the color of her lips, see, she's so gorgeous that she doesn't need much to look super cute, the main steps of her makeup is to use concealer and bb cream to unify her skin tone and the use a light lipstick as base and then add a more colorful tint, she does this to make bright pink shades work for her dark lips. Other makeup steps are completely optional and up to your needs!

✸ ꒰ study routine ꒱⋆ ࣪.* ࣪.⋆ 

Tzuyu was the kind of student to always doze off and sleep in class, even though this isn't necessarily good, getting rest it's still an important thing to do! So when you get from school you can take a nap instead of studying right away. Once you wake up you can do a little review on what you learn today and emphasize on things you didn't understand in class.

🪨 Also, buying super cute school supplies can help you be at least more motivated to study or to pay attention in class!

✸ ꒰ workout routine ꒱⋆ ࣪.* ࣪.⋆ 

There are videos of Tzuyu using a vibrating platform as a ´workout´ however it isn't clear if these devices actually work or not. 

🥄 What you can do whatsoever is to start warming up before doing cardio or a dancing session, then you can do other kind of workouts to slim and tone up areas like your arms, abs, waist and legs

Finally you can do some stretching for your back and upper body to get a perfect posture and a defined collarbone like her.  

⚽️ Additionally, Tzuyu’s favorite subject at school was P.E! So you can start practicing some other kind of sport like volleyball!

✸ ꒰ shower and self care routine ꒱⋆ ࣪.* ࣪.⋆ 

Instead of showering we are going to take a bath with warm water. Bathing, especially in the evening, can help you relax after a long day. Also, it's much better for your face to not be in direct contact with hot water and just get your pores open lightly with the steam. After bath you can wash your face and put on a sheet mask! tzuyu even puts on a silimask, this is a silicone mask that will help you keep the sheet in place while doing other stuff and make the serum of the mask absorb better!

✸ ꒰ night routine ꒱⋆ ࣪.* ࣪.⋆ 

🗻 Her night routine is not clear however you can stretch again like other twice members do or just sit in your bed and scroll through social media, just make sure to have a perfect posture while doing it, having a good posture is basically a habit, so try  practicing having one as often as you can! 

heyyy I finally finished my requests, I can't believe it!

I never realize how long it really takes me to write these posts

right now im going to be re-opening my requests but im going to be focusing mainly on my new glow up series that im pretty sure it takes less time to write so you guys can have new content more often

ajdksjdjsd thats all

toodlezzzzz!!!!!1!

[black-suns-rim]

The Prophecy

This is part one for the Ethereal Star AU story.

Word count: about 7,100

Still and motionless was the figure sitting on a padded mat. The room was darkened by the lack of windows and almost pitch black if not for the soft orange glow from the sacred white candles that surrounded the figure who was in deep meditation. Incense burned from hanging lanterns, filling the room with a herbal but sweet smell. Gentle whispers echoed off the glistening smooth stone walls from observers.

"How long have they been like this?" One of the Scholars asked in a quiet tone, just now arriving at the domed room. "Hours." Another one ushered. "I have never seen them this long in meditation before."

The Scholars murmured as they wondered what their oracle was meditating on. All the Scholars were dressed in long robes covering their entire bodies, letting no skin show other than their hands. Their hair was covered by a white cloth that had been loosely wrapped around. They bore carved stone masks that hid the details of their faces and only allowed for their eyes to shine through. They all wore a smoothed stone tablet that curved to the shape of their head with writing made of light that had sacred scripts of prayer, worship and protection. The oracle was dressed in more elegant and complex robes compared to the scholars. They were decorated in small stone jewels that glowed only in the dim light. Their headdress was more complex in design and stuck out from their layered robes.

The scholars only stopped their chatter when they saw the oracle rise up from their meditation as if they were floating effortlessly off of the ground. The group of scholars watched closely as the oracle moved their hands, affecting the candle light, brightening it and pulling it in towards themself. The light flowed quickly in strings, changing from the soft glowing orange to a brilliant purple.

The light sparkled like glitter around the oracle, surrounding them in a swirling tornado as they manipulated it. Their movements became more complex as they scattered the light, painting it onto the walls of the domed room. The Scholars stepped back in awe. Though they have seen this many times before, it was always a breathtaking sight for them. The oracle contorted their body as they etched the light into the walls like an artist in an unwavering trance. When the last of the light was placed on the wall, the mural was complete and the oracle fell to the floor, kneeling down in exhaustion.

The Scholars briskly walked up to the oracle and gently pulled them up to their feet. When the oracle was stable, the Scholars took their time looking at the mural that was just painted with elegant speed and precision. They began to whisper, some gasping and others in disbelief. The detail of the mural was like nothing they had seen before produced by the oracle.

"What does this mean?" A scholar asked as they tried to take in the full complex detail. The oracle leaned into one of the scholars and they held their arm to keep them balanced, "I have foreseen something like I have never before." They began to speak, their voice weakened for the strain they had put on their body from painting the mural.

"A child will rise from the four sacred trials, he will lead our people in unification and rule over us as king. He will bring us technologies like we have never dreamed of and his rule over us will bring prosperity." The oracle levitated a stone tablet towards herself and inscribed writing into it, copying down what was on the walls.

"A child king?" A Scholar looked towards the oracle, "But... There has never been a Ruler over our kingdom before like you have spoken of. The last attempt sent us our separate ways. We are as divided as the knowledge we store. How would a king, a child, lead us to unification?"

"I do not know. I only saw him unifying us, all five realms and making a sixth realm with all of our cultures and people in one place." They handed the finished prophecy to one of the Scholars, "We must send this to all corners of the realms. This isn't something we should keep to ourselves this time."

"Where should we send it to?"

"The sacred light temples. And the prophets of the elements. They must know first." The oracle gripped onto the arm of a scholar while walking out of the domed room. The scholar made sure she kept balanced as they made their way to the main floor and workplace of the knowledge keepers.

"The elemental prophets will laugh at the idea of a child going through the trials. They are dangerous and even more so for a kid." The scholar glanced at the oracle.

"Do you doubt my vision?" She asked rhetorically, "They will find it amusing, I know for sure, but when children are the only ones coming in for the sacred trials, they won't find it so amusing any more."

"True... every realm values your word and respects you. Therefore many will send their children off for the trials..." The Scholar sat the oracle down at a table where other knowledge keepers were eating.

"I do not need food-"

"You need your strength returned to you. Don't be stubborn." The Scholar left and returned with two plates of food.

"Don't scold me as if I were a child." She took a plate from his hand. She removed the stone carved mask from her face and sat it down right next to her plate. The Scholar did the same.

"Then take better care of yourself. You may be the oracle, but you're still my little sister." He began to eat.

"If we weren't related, you would be minding your own business and not be talking to me like this." She said with slight amusement in her tone as she began to eat as well.

"You wish." He spoke in a teasing fashion.

As the two of them finished up their meal, a small group of scholars came up to the oracle, "We have replicated your new prophecy and we are ready to spread the word through the realms."

"Good." Lamed slipped her mask back onto her face, "I will be traveling with you." The scholars were stunned.

"But you haven't left the vault in centuries." Her brother sounded as if he were protesting her statement.

"More a reason why I should go out. I haven't been seen in the realms for so long, I only leave when such an event is important." The scholars murmured at her reasoning.

"Then we must bring protection with us. Someone as valuable as you can't leave the vault without it." One of the Scholars advocated. Lamed nodded, "I have a friend in golden city who could help with protection."

"Then we set out tomorrow at sunrise?" A scholar asked. The group agreed. "We can discuss the route tomorrow morning." The group chattered for a bit before dispersing to continue the rest of their duties before heading off to their personal quarters. Lamed made her way back into the meditation room and sat on the padded mat. She stared at the mural and studied it. Though she did create it, she was under a meditative trance and didn't think about what she was doing. Her brother came into the room and kneeled beside her.

"Are you sure you want to leave the vault tomorrow just to deliver your prophecy?" His voice carried a hint of concern and worry.

"Yes. Like you have said, it's been centuries since I've left the vault. The prophecies I've delivered before, they weren't as important as this one, they didn't require me to leave." She didn't break her gaze from the mural.

"When word spreads that you have left... you will gain a following."

"That's why we will be heading to golden city tomorrow. As I've said, I have a friend there who can provide protection." She placed a hand on his shoulder and turned her gaze towards him, "I will be safe. You don't need to stress."

"I just want to make sure since... you know... we are the only family we have left."

She leaned in and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly, "You overthink so much. This is coming from my foresight; no harm will come to me while on this trip. I will be safe." Lamed gave him a gentle pat on his back before pulling away.

"As you say... you've never been wrong." He put an arm around her shoulders and turned his sight onto the mural, "Never been wrong about your predictions that is. You have been wrong about many other things before." He teased.

She scuffed at his comment.

"What? Someone here has to keep you humble. Don't want your ego to get too big." He teased again and got up, "I'm heading to bed, all of my duties have been fulfilled for today."

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning before I leave."

He nodded and left the room. Lamed stared at the mural once more. "A child king..." She uttered to herself. She stretched her arms, her back and her legs. She wanted to remember this mural with all its fine detail. It will be needed for tomorrow. As time passed, she felt her eyelids growing heavier and her body feeling weighted. She closed her eyes just to rest them, but slowly, the room faded to black and everything fell silent.

𓆩✧𓆪

Lamed awoke from the stone floor, sluggishly sitting up. She groaned as the right side of her body stung from soreness. Slowly, she moved her neck side to side to loosen up her tightened muscles. All the candles in the room had burnt out, leaving behind hardened wax puddles. The incense in the lanterns were all used up and the mural on the walls had dimmed. Lamed stood to her feet, stretching what she could before leaving the room.

Everything was silent in the vault. She couldn't tell how long she had slept or what time it was. She needed to head to her personal quarters. As she walked through the clean and glistening halls her mind trailed off to the child king...

Why specifically a child? Would he be gifted with abilities? What would he look like?

She didn't know. The purple undertone of the vault had always been comforting to her, but now, it felt different... she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Feeling so uncertain, filled with questions, it made her uneasy. Quickening her pace, she made it to her personal quarters in a hurry. She closed the heavy stone door behind herself, encasing herself inside. Walking to the small stone clock, she checked to see what time it was.

4 am?

She sighed.

Might as well get ready for the day.

Taking off her mask and headdress, placing them on the counter of the main living space, she still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she had.

Maybe a bath would help.

Lamed unwrapped the cloth that had kept her hair hidden and tossed it off onto the floor of her bathroom. She looked at herself in the large mirror, noticing the dark rings around her eyes. She touched them and remembered how her brother nagged her about needing to take better care of herself.

Sighing, she took off all the layers of clothes from herself, tossing them aside. All the weight from the cloth had been lifted from her body, forgetting just how heavy all that fabric was. The air seemed really cold without all of the cloth on her to keep her warm.

Has the vault always been this cold?

Turning on the water and plugging the drain, she sat in the tub and watched as the water slowly rose. The hot water against the frigid cold air made her shiver. Once the water had filled the tub, she turned it off and sunk in, only leaving her face sticking out. Her eyes were staring at the ceiling. The hot steam from the water felt nice on her face. She sighed, laying in the water for a while before she began to wash herself.

After getting cleaned up and dressed for the day, she carefully packed what things she needed for the trip. At most, she planned to be gone for 4 weeks. Traveling the kingdom didn't take too long if you had the right transportation. She went over everything she packed, making sure she had everything. Once she was satisfied, she looked at the time again.

6 am...

The uneasy feeling came back to her as she sat on the corner of her bed. What was nagging at her? She grabbed a small mat and laid it on the floor, taking a seat on it. Closing her eyes, Lamed took a deep breath in and sighed out. Concentrated, letting all thoughts fade away, her body tingled. Starting from her hands and feet, slowly making its way to her chest. Floating, feeling light... fading... fading... fading...

The weight began to fall on her as an image appeared in front of her. She kept her breathing steady, kept her mind clear from thought and feeling as she focused on this image. She saw... a creature, effortlessly flying through the air. But there was something off about this creature... it was black and sickened, something she has never seen before. She reached out to the image to try and get a better look but this dark creature turned to face her with a single eye. Burning red with rage, a passionate rage. The image pulled her in and the scene became overwhelmingly clear.

She could feel fear creeping in as she saw the ruins of a long forgotten civilization. Pools of sludge, long pipes sticking out from walls, tall walls and plants that seemed to have withered but were alive… alive but sick. Destruction, death, darkness... the sickly creature stared at her with its burning eye and released a horrible piercing scream of agony as it charged at her. Lamed jolted back and gasped. Her head hit the floor. She opened her eyes to see her room a cluttered mess and a desperate, sloppy light mural painted across her walls. She sat up, shaking and confused as she stared at the mural. It was the creature. The sickened creature. Everywhere.

Lamed stood up, not understanding what she just saw, what she just had a vision of. "What is this?..." She uttered to herself as if someone would give her the answer. She looked at the mess she had created. She's never done this before... the creature, it was so angry, so full of hate, so full of rage... and full of hurt. An aching hurt.

"Who did this to you?..." She touched one of the many paintings, feeling sorrowful for it. She closed her eyes and got her breathing under control. She turned to the mess and levitated the items back into place. The nagging feeling was gone, but now she wished she still felt it.

What did this mean?

Lamed's head hurt from thinking about it. She looked at the time, remembering she had to meet up with the scholars.

7:56!

How did time go by so quickly?!

She grabbed her things and quickly left her room, leaving behind the aching creature on her walls.

𓆩✧𓆪

"A child king still sounds so strange." A Scholar was loading up luggage onto a large manta.

"Right? But the oracle Lamed is never wrong." They were making sure all items were secured to the manta.

"I know, I know. I would never doubt them. But this is the strangest prophecy she has foreseen by far." They handed the other scholar the last bit of the luggage.

"Speaking of the oracle, where is she? It's 8." A third scholar looked at their clock.

Right after finishing their sentence, Lamed exited the vault's doors. "I apologize for my untimely manner." She apologetically bowed. She was slightly out of breath. The Scholars hastily placed her luggage on the manta as they forgave her. They all stepped onto the back of the manta, taking a seat on its fitted saddle. Her brother had been helping the other scholars place luggage onto the manta.

“It's not like you to be late. Accidentally sleep in?” He chuckled.

“Yeah, something like that.” She thought about the sickened creature. The image of it haunted her.

“Well, be safe. I would come with you if I could, but I have lots of things to get done that I've been putting off. I'll see you later.” He waved at the group and they waved back. He headed inside of the vault.

"Everyone's here now?" The birostrian looked back at the small group. They nodded.

"Alright. Where to first?" They grabbed the lead of the manta.

"Golden city." Lamed adjusted herself in her seat. The birostrian clicked and flicked the lead on the manta, signaling for it to start flying.

"Tikevoyu, have you, Noganiz and Pejagon decided on a route yet?" Lamed asked.

"Oh, yes we did. We decided the first stop, besides golden city, would be the ferryman's village since the trial prophets aren't too far from it. Plus the ferryman can spread the word of your prophecy a lot faster than we can due to how many travelers come to the village on a regular basis." Tikevoyu pulled out a map with a couple of spots marked on it, showing the whole route to Lamed.

"Ah, the ferryman. I've recently heard they made a holy light temple above their village."

"It's been there for a couple of years. Ever since it was put up, there has been a lot of activity there." Pejagon grabbed a couple of stone tablets, "There is a camp outside of the village that's used for the preparation of trial participants. I have extended family living in the village and one of my cousin's just recently went through the trials."

"You have my congratulations. What trials did they succeed in?" Noganiz asked.

Lamed listened to the scholars talk amongst themselves. She found it fascinating how they had family all around the realms. She smiled under her mask, enjoying their chatter like how you would enjoy the chirping of the early-rising birds of the morning.

The manta began to fly slower as they entered the golden city. Lamed guided the birostrian to where she wanted to head. They stopped at the enforcement building that belonged to the center of the city. The scholars helped Lamed to step off of the manta. She could feel the stares coming from the city folk but she paid them no mind. She hadn't been to the city ever since it was founded... that was centuries ago.

She walked in the enforcement building with her scholars trailing behind her. Before she could get too far into the building, two large enforcers stopped them.

"What's your business here?" He had a hostile tone to his voice.

"Yeah, did you take a wrong turn trying to get back to the Vault?" The other one sneered.

"You knowledge slopsuckers are known for getting lost." The two enforcers laughed.

"Do you know who you're talking to-!?" Raising her hand to silence them so as to not cause a scene, Tikevoyu was cut off by Lamed.

"We are here to speak to High Enforcer Tsadi." Lamed was soft spoken but firm.

"Tsadi?" The enforcers looked at each other and laughed. "Get in line lady, there's many who want to see him." The enforcer gestured to a group of angry cuffed people.

Tikevoyu was about to say something when some commotion started happening farther behind the enforcers. They immediately ran over and yelling could be heard from a room. A slim enchanter came running out, dodging the two large enforcers who had been making their way to the room.

"DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!" A thunderous deep voice boomed which made the scholars flinch. Lamed used her telekinesis to trip the enchanter which allow the enforcers to grab them before they could get any farther. A built enforcer twice the size of the other enforcers came out of the room where the enchanter tried to escape from. They were wiping away a yellow powder from their face.

Lamed started to walk towards the massive enforcer but she was stopped again by one of the rude enforcers. She stayed silent as they threw insults at her again. The large enforcer caught a glimpse of Lamed, rubbing their eyes to see if it was the yellow powder messing with their vision, but it wasn't. Once the shock of seeing Lamed wore off, they then saw one of his enforcers talking down to her.

"SOMULOX, HOLD YOUR TONGUE! DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE SPEAKING TO?!" He stormed his way over and slapped the back of the enforcer's head, "THAT'S THE ORACLE!"

Somulox's face went pale and they began to stammer, "I- I was just-"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear an excuse from you." He growled.

"You don't need to be so harsh. It was an honest mistake." Lamed looked up to Tsadi.

"They should know better." His words were filled with venom aimed towards the enforcer. Somulox got down on his knees and lowered his head to the ground in front of her, "please forgive me. I didn't know- I wouldn't have-"

"Get up, you are forgiven." She sounded sincere.

Tsadi pulled the enforcer up by their arm from the ground. He whispered something in their ear and they walked off with their head low.

"I am so sorry- Also what brings you here? Lamed, I haven't seen you for so long!" He opened his arms and Lamed went in for a brief hug.

"It's alright, really. I've come here to ask for protection. I'm going to be traveling the realms to bring news of my latest prophecy." Lamed gestured for one of the scholars who brought her a stone tablet. She handed it to Tsadi for him to read.

"This... this is big." He said after reading the prophecy, "Of course, of course! Yes, you can have my protection." He handed the tablet back to her, "I will have one guard for each of you. And if you wouldn't mind... I could come with?"

He leaned over Lamed and whispered, "I really need an excuse to take some time off of my duties here."

Lamed chuckled, "Sure, you can come."

"Amazing. Wait outside and I'll have my guards get ready." Tsadi smiled.

Lamed and her scholars went back to the manta and waited for a while before Tsadi and three guards came out of the building. One of them fetched a manta for the four of them to ride on for the journey. Once they were all ready, they headed out for the sacred caves.

𓆩✧𓆪

It only took 2 days of constant travel to reach the sacred trial caves. When they reached the camp outside of the cave, they began to unpack since it was already nightfall. Some of the camp members alerted the prophets of the stranger's arrival, which the overseer went to see who had appeared at such a strange hour.

“Well, this is surely a surprise. Welcome!” A slender and tall Prophet walked up to the group. The scholars and the guards turned their attention to them. As the overseer got closer to the group, they recognized Lamed, “You all must be famished. Come, join us for dinner. We just got done serving.”

The group followed the lengthy Prophet to the camp where they were served a warm meal. In the large tent where they were sitting, the camp members stared and glanced at the guests. The slender Prophet sat right beside Lamed with a bowl in their hand.

“So, What brings the Oracle herself all the way out here?” They began to eat.

“I have foreseen someone of great importance arising out of your trials.”

“Is that so? Another realm protector?” Their curiosity was peaked.

“A king.”

They stopped eating, “A king?” They echoed her words. They glanced at the people who were listening to the conversation. The slender Prophet stood up and gestured for Lamed to follow. They walked outside of the tent and headed to a smaller tent where the other four Prophets were. They greeted Lamed as she walked in.

“Tell us about your prophecy.” The slender prophet sat on the floor in front of the small fire pit.

“A child will succeed in all four of your trials. He will unite all realms and create a city built off of great technologies we have never seen before. He will be our child King.”

“A child? In our trials?” Some of the prophets laughed, “The trials aren't for children.”

“It is what I have seen.”

“Even if a child can get through all the trials, what makes you say he will become a king?” A bulky prophet asked.

“I do not know. But you all know very well that whoever succeeds in all four trials, they will become a great leader as foretold. Unless one of us is wrong.” She looked at the slender prophet who seemed to take offense from her comment. Silent tension was building up between them.

“Let the children come… But if any of them perish in MY trials, I won't accept any more to enter.” They sighed, “The trials are dangerous… And the spiritual death of a child, I do not know how they will be reborn. Their soul flame, it wouldn't have had enough time to develop… there might be consequences.” Their tone turned from anger to worry.

“Your ability to see the future is greater than mine, Lamed… I have many concerns…”

“I can't look for specific outcomes. The visions come to me when it is time for me to see them. I'm sorry Anubis.”

“Shame… I was hoping you could put your old teacher's worries to rest. I guess we will have a lot of new materials to study if an influx of younger people will be coming here.” They stood up, “Until we have what we need, stay here for a while. We need the head start.”

“Understandable. How long will it take for you to gather what you need?” Anubis led Lamed out of the small tent.

“Only a couple of days. At most, a week. Can you stay here for that long?” They led her back to the large tent where everyone else had been eating.

“Yes. I did plan to be gone from the vault for a while.” Lamed sat down where she had left her food.

“Good. If you and your scholars would like, you can observe the trials. We start the water trial tomorrow. Or, you can visit the ferryman's village. I heard there have been some exotic merchants down there selling their goods.”

Lamed nodded, “We will see what we feel up for tomorrow.”

By now, everyone else had finished up their food and Lamed's bowl had grown cold. She didn't mind eating a cold meal.

Her group set up their tents for the night and started a small fire pit. The scholars were the first to go to sleep while the guards stayed awake. Lamed changed into her night clothes, laid on her padded mat and tried to sleep.

She turned and tossed, trying to get comfortable, but she couldn't. After what seemed like hours, she got frustrated. She wrapped her white cloth around her head, not bothering to put her mask on. She went outside of her tent to see Tsadi tending to the fire. She sat down right next to him and he looked surprised to see her still awake.

“Can't sleep?”

She shook her head as she got closer to the fire. The air was very frigid at this hour of the night. They sat in silence together for a while.

“So, what’s been happening in the vault? Besides the usual.” Tsadi poked at the fire with a rather scrawny stick.

“Not much… Well, there is the expansion that's being worked on. I told you about that through letters already… um.. I can't think of anything else.”

“How about you? How have you been doing? I don't think I've asked that yet.” He glanced down at her.

She thought for a while, “I'm… I'm honestly not sure.”

“You don't feel excited, scared or anything like that?”

“I don't know. But you know me, I'm never sure how I'm feeling.”

He chuckled, “Right. I forgot.”

“What about you? You and Teth still together?”

“No. We haven't been together for a couple of months now.”

“Oh, why so?” She looked up at him.

“You know Teth… she's all about her work and crazy inventions. Plus…” Tsadi placed a hand on the back of his neck, “When we did get together, she was way too demanding. She always went from not speaking to me for weeks at a time, to suddenly needing all of my attention every second. It stressed me out after a while.”

“Oh… yeah, that would be pretty stressful. You're doing better now, right?”

“Yeah, much better. I mean, we did have our good times, but… yeah… it got too much for me.” He poked at the fire again, moving the wood around.

“Understandable.” She shivered when a sudden breeze blew by. Tsadi took off his cloak and placed it on her. It was like an extra large blanket for her.

“I've missed chatting with you in person.” Tsadi gave Lamed a side hug.

“Same…” She sighed, “If only we were children again.”

He chuckled, “If only indeed.”

Lamed and Tsadi stayed up chatting for hours before she decided she would try sleeping again. By then, the sun had already started to come up over the mountain. She returned his cloak before going back to her tent.

𓆩✧𓆪

Quiet whispering could be heard outside of the tents. Tsadi had passed out after the fire died and the sun rose over the peaks of the mountain. Everyone was asleep in their small camp.

“You go touch them.” One kid whispered and shoved another forward.

“No, I'm not gonna! What if they get angry?” They whispered back. A third child pushed them off to the side, “out of my way cowards.”

The third child slowly crept up towards Tsadi while the other two hid behind a large rock. Tsadi was laying on his back with his cloak covering his torso, deep in sleep. The child froze when Tsadi rolled to his side. The two kids behind the rock peaked over and motioned for them to come back.

The child looked back to see their two friends and shook their head. The kid turned their attention to Tsadi once more, creeping closer. They stood over Tsadi, holding their breath and realizing just how massive he was. The kid quickly poked Tsadi and hid behind one of the tents close by. He didn't move. The kid peaked. Feeling a little more confident, they grabbed a small stone, walking over to him once more. They placed the stone on the side of Tsadi's face, snickering.

The kid turned to look at their friends. The two kids suddenly ran away from behind the rock, leaving the kid confused. They turned around, looking up at Tsadi. The kid let out a gasp and bolted, joining their friends. Tsadi grinned and then chuckled, “Kids.”

He stretched before putting on his mask. He woke up the guards who had fallen asleep. He spoke with them briefly before heading towards the village. It wasn't too far from where they were camped. The village was already lively with activity. Seems they are a village of early risers.

Tsadi was hoping to find firewood for sale and maybe a hot breakfast for himself. The merchants and vendors becond for Tsadi's attention, trying to get him to buy what they were selling, but he wasn't interested. When he made his way towards the center of the village, he could smell food being cooked which made his stomach growl. He debated with himself whether or not to get food, but in the end, he let his temptation get the best of him.

He entered the village's small café. A few of the villagers and some travelers were already seated and eating at the stone carved tables. Tsadi grabbed a menu and sat himself down at an empty table. His stomach growled again as he read through the food items on the menu. He ordered 3 large items from the menu and waited as they were being prepared for him.

As he waited, he watched the people in the café. An old and slender man with a long beard came walking in. The villagers greeted him with respect as if he were a realm leader. Tsadi noticed that the same kid that had messed with him earlier was following behind the old man. The old man was going around the café, starting up small conversations with the travelers and the village folk. He eventually made his way to Tsadi, “Greetings. You seem like you're far from home.” The old man had an upbeat tone in his voice. The child recognized Tsadi and shyly hid behind the old man.

“I am.” Tsadi didn't feel like talking, but he wanted to be polite.

“Where are you from?”

“Golden city, in the golden dunes.”

“Oh, the golden dunes. I've heard many things about it but I've never been. I must know, is It true that enforcement there is brutal? I've heard about how harsh they can be.”

Tsadi slightly frowned under his mask, “Yeah… the enforcers can be brutal at times, but that's only with the newer recruits. More seasoned enforcers are often relaxed after being in the position for so long.”

“I see. Must be all the energy they have. Oh! I almost forgot, how rude of me. I'm Daleth, and you are?” He reached out his hand.

“Tsadi.” He shook Daleth's hand.

“And this here is Alef.” He gestured to the kid hiding behind him.

Tsadi chuckled, “Your kid is a prankster. He woke me this morning at my camp.”

“Oh! I'm so sorry-”

“It's fine.” A waiter brought Tsadi's food to the table and he thanked them.

“It was nice to meet you. Again, I'm so sorry.”

“It's alright.” Tsadi took off his mask and began to eat. Daleth left and quietly scolded Alef on his way out of the café. Once Tsadi was done eating and paid for his meal, he left to go find that firewood. Once he obtained it, he headed back to the camp.

By now, the scholars were awake but Lamed was still asleep. He placed the firewood right next to the firepit. He chatted with the scholars for a while. The camp outside of the trial cave was starting to become active as well.

“Should we wait for the oracle to wake up?” Pejagon asked the other two scholars.

“She was having trouble sleeping last night and didn't go to bed until the sun began to rise.” Tsadi butted in on their conversation.

“Ah, so she probably won't be awake until later in the day.” Noganiz handed Pejagon and Tikevoyu some bread.

“Then we should go and observe the trials without her.” Tikevoyu gnawed on the bread.

“But didn't she want to observe them as well?” Pejagon held the bread in their hands, not feeling hungry for it just yet.

“She needs her sleep. Plus the trials are going to last the whole week since they are starting with the water trial first.” Noganiz was quick to eat.

The scholars talked back and forth with one another for a while before they decided to head to the trials for observation. Tsadi and one other guard stayed behind at the camp. Lamed woke up around noon and got herself ready for the day.

“Where are the scholars?” Lamed walked up to Tsadi who was playing a strategy game with the guard.

“They went to observe the water trial since they didn't know when you'd wake up.” Tsadi was focused on the game.

“Ah…” She watched him play for a while before becoming bored, “I would like to go to the village and look around.”

“After this-” Tsadi stopped mid sentence when the guard pulled a winning move. “YOU SNEAKY BASTARD!” Tsadi yelled. The guard laughed, “pay up.” Tsadi grumbled as he handed some currency to the guard.

“Gambling? You haven't changed.” She chuckled.

“I know… I just can't help myself. Anyway, the village you said?” He stood up.

“Yeah. I'm curious about the merchants Anubis mentioned last night. I haven't been in a marketplace for so long.”

“Alright. Let's go then.”

The three of them left their camp. Lamed took her time looking around at the merchant's products. She was tempted to buy many things, but she restrained herself. When she got to the end of the market, it led right into the village. She wondered her way around, taking in the smells, sights and sounds. A musician played as people passed by. Lamed stopped to listen to the music. She smiled under her mask, nodding her head to the upbeat song.

Her stomach suddenly rumbled. She hadn't eaten yet. So they went to a vendor who was selling food and Lamed chose a small meal for herself. She sat down at a bench and removed her mask to eat. She watched the children play in the center of the village.

“I'm going to check up on the scholars. Anumoh, keep her safe.” Tsadi said as he left. The guard nodded.

As she ate, Lamed noticed three kids looking in her direction. They seemed to be discussing something. One of them eventually walked up to her.

“Are you some kind of fancy vault worker?” The child asked sheepishly. Lamed gave a soft smile, “Something like that, yeah.” She spoke in a gentle tone.

“My friends said there's no such thing as a fancy vault worker because they all dress the same.”

“Well, my job is different from other vault workers. That's why I'm dressed differently.” She got done eating and placed her mask back on.

“What's your job?” The kid slowly became a little more confident.

“I'm a soothsayer.”

“What's that?”

“Someone who can foresee future events.”

“Whoa… so you can see the future?”

“Yes.” Lamed thought this kid was quite adorable. She didn't mind all the questions they were asking. The kid asked a few more questions and Lamed answered them. The other two kids who had stayed back came towards their friend. They too began to ask questions. The youngest one had to be at least 6 while the oldest was probably around 8.

After the three kids were done asking questions, the leader of the trio introduced themselves, “I'm Alef, that's Veluboga and this is Kizuna.”

“It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Lamed, and this is Anumoh.” She gestured to the guard.

“They're big!” Kizuna stared at the guard, “Why are you so big?”

“I ate my vegetables.” Anumoh said with a straight face.

The kids chatted more with Lamed. Eventually they wanted to go somewhere else, so they said goodbye and left. Lamed continued to wonder around in the village before heading back to their camp.

𓆩✧𓆪

The week went by quick. Some of the days, Lamed observed the trials and training the elemental prophets were teaching. Other days, Lamed wondered the ferryman's village. Every time she went back, she found something new that fascinated her. By the end of the week, the prophets had what materials they needed if they were going to have to teach a younger audience.

At the end of the week, all of those who had gone through the trials, a ceremony was being held for them and their succession. The scholars and Lamed attended it. Another group of the recent generation, now adults.

And now that elemental prophets were prepared for what's to come, Lamed and her scholars could spread the news of the prophecy. They started by going to the ferryman's sacred temple of light.

Before entering the temple, Lamed prayed to the deity of light and balance. It wasn't a custom, but it was something Lamed always did before entering any sacred space. Upon entering, the group was hit with strong incense that smelled of herbs and lavender. White candles lined the temple floors and light murals were painted all across the walls. The temple was much smaller than the other ones across the realms, but it wasn't cramped.

The Ferryman was in the back of the temple, sending people off in boats. Tsadi recognized the ferryman, it was the old man he had met in the café earlier that week. It now made sense to him why the villagers treated him with such respect.

“Hello travelers!” The old ferryman greeted, “Where is it you would like to go?”

“Hello,” Lamed greeted, “We are here to deliver a prophecy, actually.”

“Oh, a prophecy? From who?” The ferryman walked up to the group with his staff in hand.

“From myself.” She didn't know why, but she felt a little bit awkward saying that.

“Are you a Prophet?”

“She's the oracle.” Tikevoyu spoke up.

“The oracle?... The oracle?”

The scholars nodded. The ferryman grew flustered and he bowed, “I heard a soothsayer was camped outside of the village, but I had no idea it was the oracle. My eyes don't work like they used to… But please, enlighten me about your prophecy.”

Lamed explained the prophecy to the old ferryman, to which he expressed great shock and interest. One of the Scholars handed the ferryman a stone tablet that had the prophecy engraved on it.

“Keep this in your temple and let the travelers who pass by see it.” Lamed said. Daleth nodded, “I will.”

They talked for a while afterwards and once done, they left the light temple. They packed up their tents and adventured off to the next realm. It took 3 weeks to visit the other realms and their holy light temples. Some people had followed the oracle along the way, but none had done anything against her. By the end of the journey, everyone was tired and ready to go back to their daily duties. The scholars and Lamed in the vault, Tsadi and his guards back at golden city.

Lamed's prophecy spread quickly to every corner of the realms and a flood of children, from 5 to 16, came for the elemental trials. As the prophet Anubis feared, many of the children got hurt during the trials, but none perished. Years went by but no child succeeded in all 4 trials. Less and less children showed up for them.

Until one fateful day…

𓆩✧𓆪

[saintmuses]

❝𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩❞

Pairing:

Chris x Rockstar!Reader

Summary:

It was 1978, she was living her life on stages. She had her whole future planned out which was playing in front of crowds until she dropped dead. Well that was the plan until the night she met Chris.

Warning(s): soft SMUT. Slight Oral (m-receiving). Slight fingering. P in V. Attack/threat (from a stranger). Minors, dni!

Word Count: 3k

For some reason, this particular night called her. Called out to her in a certain fashion with a seductive tone with a voice as a sin. 

She didn’t know why, but she was ready to fall in the deep abyss that was the night sky filled with clusters of stars. To her, the stars reminded her of gold dust from afar; the closest thing to her was the gold glitter smeared on her cheekbones that was brushed upwardly and gold eyeshadow that looked like fallen dust.

It was nineteen seventy-eight, and Y/N could practically taste the anticipation on her lips as she could hear the rising excitement of having her on stage at . 

Clad in worn-out converses, bell bottom jeans and skin tight tank top, she was the lead singer and one of the songs her band had written and produced ended up playing on the radio.

It was music to her ears, flowing in one ear with gold glitter and coming out with dust in gold dust because she drained every critic, every success, it was the most powerful thing in the world. The power that the words held over them. Sending them into a trance-like state, and she couldn't blame them because if she was in their shoes, she would've felt the same.

Her voice nearly faltered when her eyes landed on a lone guy standing by the wall, far away from the sporadic crowd, gripping the base of the microphone with one hand and holding the spine of the stand with the other; she was surprised by the fact that she could see him in the crowd like this. Pulsing, erratic, a unified wave with the strobe lights flashing red and blue over the nightclub.

Her voice then faded into the low range, whispering the words of the song that was blasting across the place as she raked her eyes down his frame.

She could tell that his hair was somewhat shoulder length and dark, almost as dark as the wall behind him, maybe even closer to black. She could tell there was a mustache adorning his skin between his nose and his upper lip, and he was handsome despite of it. He would've been just a regular nobody, and she would be none wiser, but the thing about him that drew her in like a moth to its flame was the holster hidden underneath his leather jacket.

And that was why she could tell he wasn't a regular nobody. Maybe nobody in her world, but as far as it goes...he wasn't a nobody in his world; of that she could tell. He was dressed in dark colored pants, a patterned buttoned up shirt beneath the leather jacket he was adorning that were clearly custom cut for his body.

Who carried a gun to a nightclub? Or even a bar? He was at a high risk of destroying the place with a sea of crowd full of intoxicated people and a few were all high on powdered addiction. 

She felt like she was singing the words to him. Maybe she was, but no one had to know. She was nearly flustered when she knew that he knew she was looking at him as she growled into the microphone -with the words that drove through the crowd relentlessly- due to the smirk that lilted his lips.

Those lips from afar, are the ones that she wanted to kiss. And she didn't even know him. Just a mere stranger from the sideline, an observant, a bystander. A handsome bystander at that. All she knew was his eyes were on her, and she relished in the attention that he was giving her. There could be many men in one room that could be so handsome, but she would single him out. 

It was electrifying.

Her painted lips trembled slightly at the sight of his face as he stared at her. It wasn't the one of those creepy stares that she would get every now and then. It was more of a romantic novel stare like one of those movies that border-lined dramatic on romantic scenes. She didn’t know him. Yet, she didn’t care because she had a feeling she will know him very soon.

She nibbled her bottom lip when the drummer took over for the solo, and her eyes were heavily lidded as she mentally beckoned him to come to her. To come closer to her, to lessen the distance between him and her with the crowd in between. 

To suppress the electricity charged tension that she had felt earlier before coming upon the elevated platform, she then knew it was him that was making the night called to her. She then shifted her hips to shimmy them to the beats of the drums as it echoed throughout the room.

Her eyes were still on his as she finished the song. She wouldn't be able to look at the song the same way ever again.

Every time she would sing the song in the future, she would remember the icy eyed man in a leather jacket.

Y/N dipped the rag into the running warm water and raised it in front of her as she stared at the dirty mirror of the small dingy bathroom, then dragged the damp cloth across her face to clean up the gold dust off of her cheeks.

When she was at the age of sixteen, she ran away from home; her mother and her father died in a robbery gone wrong sending her and her brother to their guardian. There were more secrets in the family, and more lies that she couldn't take anymore and ran out of the town ever since.

She was a runaway from the quiet town of Massachusetts and had ended up in California after weeks of long days and lonely nights where people paid her no mind and not an ounce of sympathy in their hearts. It had been one cold rainy night on the street in Los Angeles where she met her very first friend and bandmate.

They had a simple idea. A seed, really. It was a tiny seed that slowly turned into roots then it erupted into a wild thing. A simple idea was to form a rock band, whereas everyone chased their dreams, and had been crushed when life deemed to not be satisfied enough to give them what they deserved after a lot of sacrifices and dedication.

Somehow, Y/N and her bandmate were able to make it come true. It was a small dream, really. It went from two, a guitarist and a singer. That was a rough draft; then they somehow got three more. A dream became a reality when she was eighteen when she heard her song on the radio for the first time. She wasn't always the avid music lover; she'd settle for classical music. 

When she was a little girl, she wanted to be a doctor; to follow her father's footsteps. After her parents died, that desire went from being a doctor to a writer. A writer about horrors, she supposed. Granted she had enough of them to last a lifetime.

Between running away from a small town in Massachusetts to arriving in a severely overpopulated city that is Los Angeles, music had become her only source of comfort. she had constantly listened to Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, ABBA, Meat Loaf, the Runaways, and etcetera on the radios in the random vehicles as she raised her thumb in the cool days of spring and hot days of summer to hitch a ride or two across the States to realize that the music was her lover. Then from that point on, it manifested into a dream.

No matter how much she played the music, sung into the melody's lips, her lover, she would always be the imposter; inside of the rock persona, she was a nobody, a nineteen-year-old from the quiet town who escaped from her past, because nothing will change the truth about herself. 

Y/N sighed as she pulled her leather jacket around her frame tightly as she stepped through the back door and into the October air. She glanced around when she felt a shift in the air; she already sent her friends to the hotel earlier and wanted the night to herself so she was on high alert.

Before she could take a step on the way out of the alleyway, she felt a presence looming over her, and she turned around. She let out a groan when her back slammed against the rough wall, and she opened her eyes to see an unknown man hovering over her with his hand wrapped around her throat, constricting her airways along with a knife to her skin.

"Ah, pretty thing." The man hissed; his eyes flashed maliciously as his lips curled. "Why won't you fight back?" He asked after he realized she wasn't taking control of the situation.

"Are you stupid?" She hissed gasping as she struggled to breathe, "you’re holding a knife to my neck."

He bared his teeth in response which revealed his fury, and he reared back to shove the weapon into the juncture of her neck.

She squeezed her eyelids shut in preparation of the pain that she knew she would feel once his knife cut into her skin, but nothing happened until she heard a gun going off and she felt his fingers loosening the grip on her throat; so, she opened her eyes to see a stunned face reflecting back at her, his eyes were wide, unseeingly and his mouth was agape before collapsing onto the pavement.

Her eyes followed to see a familiar man she saw in the audience earlier, the one who she couldn't take her eyes off all night, standing in front of her with his fingers gripping a handgun in his hand and drops of blood splattered his face.

"You alright?" he asked, his hand -the one not holding the weapon- was reaching for the handkerchief inside of his leather jacket, tugging on it and pulled it out as he placed the weapon back into his holster.

The man whipped the cloth into a loose form as her eyes drew to it; it was white, a stark contrast of himself. White was pure, from what she could tell he was not pure, and she was certain that he weathered a lot of burden in that regard.

She snorted, "I am…” she trailed off, eyeing him. “But who the hell are you?" She asked, shaking her head slightly.

"Chris." His eyebrows shot up with a smirk, then he wrapped the cloth around his face to wipe off the excess of her attacker's blood.

"Well, Chris. Thank you for saving my life." She grumbled, straightening her leather jacket, dusting off some lint off of her shoulders before looking at him.

"You don’t like it when someone saves you?" He asked after stuffing the cloth into the pocket of his pants.

She nodded, pushing a several loose strands away from her face. “Don’t like owing someone a debt.” 

He inclined his head towards her, "Let me take you to some place nearby and we can talk more about this," he gestured for her to come with him.

“Can I trust you?”

“Aye, I did save your life after all.” A smirk curled his lips before walking away while pulling out a case of cigarettes out of his leather jacket pocket.

"My mama had warned me about men like you," she said playfully as she slid into the booth underneath the bright lights of the quiet diner. A stark contrast to the night lights in the crowd of the bar.

He clasped his fingers on the top of the dull surface of the table, chuckling slightly, "she told you to stay away from IRA men, eh?” 

She shook her head, “no. Dangerous men.”

“Not dangerous around you,” he murmured causing her to blush. “What made you want to sing?” He was genuinely curious.

She looked at him, eyeing him before she exhaled softly. "It was sort of a dying wish; my life has been filled with death and none of people did what they wanted to do…my life was dull ever since my parents died and I had to do something about it. It's like a bucket list, except there's only one thing on the list to do before my death. So, when I die, at least I did something meaningful with my life.”

It had been during one hot summer day in nineteen seventy-six when he heard her voice for the first time. He could recall her voice sent shivers down his spine when it blasted from the radio in his borrowed vehicle, he didn't know who she was then; However, he knew he had to know her.

It was enticing, her voice. When he went across one of the local record stores, he found what he was looking for, and he had remembered his eyes widened, his jaw slacked, and his fingers were gripping on the cover.

He was a fool when he thought that he was done playing a schoolboy with a crush on some hot girls back in Ireland, but the proof was undeniably on the cover that he's holding.

He was curious about the voice of the music, so he had bought it and had listened to it. It wasn't until over a year later, he heard that Y/N and her band were going to play at a bar which happened to be near where he was staying at.

He was already enraptured by her voice, but until he walked into the sporadic room, she had captured his attention to her beauty that the others did not have. By the time she was done with the show, he knew he had to have her. 

"Thank you," she murmured while fiddling her thumbs.

He tilted his head sideway. "For what?"

"For saving my life." She smiled softly.

He allowed a small smirk to grace upon his face while gazing at her. "You can thank me by telling me how you were introduced to a different world." He said expectantly, ignoring the tension that rose between them. It wasn't the time yet.

She hummed before telling him the story from the very first night she almost died.

A few hours later, he drove her back to his rental place which happened to be a dingy little motel, and now they're in the assigned room of his.

"I...I don't really do this stuff," she stammered, flushing heavily under his heady gaze.

One thing had led to another as soon they walked into the living room. Electricity surged between them with phantom rope tied them together, and they had to give into the feeling. The tension had exploded literally and figuratively. 

It was undeniably inevitable.

He walked closer to her, loosening the jacket, and she forced herself to keep her arms by her side from touching him. She felt the weight of his hand pressed against the lower part of her back as he reached for her. It ascended in a slow line, following the curve of her back from her spine.

"It's okay. I don't do it either," he murmured, and then his fingers curled around the nape of her neck, and her mind quieted.

“I don’t believe you,” she said automatically.

“Well, I don’t, I usually just take them out for dinner, but sometimes it’s tediously boring that we never go that far. You on the other hand…” he trailed off; His other hand drew a trail over the curve of her hip, rising over her waist where he barely grazed over her breasts. Her breath caught in her throat and her gaze averted at his exploration. He dipped his head, his lips hovering over hers. Her lips trembled at the sheer tension as it rose between them.

His fingers caressed her face, tucking strands of hair behind her ears as his tongue slid against hers, and she just pressed her body against his in response, he then gripped her by the waist. It wasn't enough.

It was heaven and hell being close to his presence.

She nipped at his neck, and he gasped. She finally opened his shirt and yanked it from his pants rather unceremoniously, her fingers touching the fabric.

She sucked in a gasp at the sudden pressure of two digits sliding over the underwear.

He held her gaze, her dilated pupils and flushed cheeks utterly entrancing. She felt his fingers hooked into the elastic of her underwear and tugged down, allowing them to drop onto the floor. She inhaled sharply as she felt his fingers trail up her thighs.

His breath was hot in her ear as he murmured her name, her hips bucked forward as he slid his fingers into her.

His eyes trailed over her bare breasts after she reached around her back to unclasp the hooks and dropped her bra to the floor. The light pressure made her knees shake as he cupped her breasts with his fingers, blue eyes gazing as her back helplessly arched.

She lowered herself to the floor, the thick carpet was soft under her knees.

When she looked up at him, she saw his head was thrown back, his eyes closed. He groaned and tightened his grip in her hair, making her eyes roll back.

She felt a flash of arousal clenching her abdomen. That she could easily make him lose control as easy as he could keep a façade. She then swirled her tongue around his cock, taking him deeper with glitter in her eyes.

His body was flushed against her, hovering over her frame, all around her in so many ways in one. She quietly begged him to move. As if he could read her mind, he began to slowly move in and out of her with a swirl of his hips, pushing back in all the way with each thrust.

Her body rocked helplessly against the mattress each time, her breasts bounced slightly with each thrust, a rhythmic pounding that seemed to match her heartbeat. His hips thrusted so roughly that she'd be sore. Her hips would ache, she'd feel him for the rest of the night and in the morning.

His breath came in shallow pants, he whispered against her damp skin that he will make her breakfast in the morning.

That thought made her feel warmer than she had ever been.

[gattnk]

For every shadow there's a light source. For Malachia, there's Reina.

The superior villain pair of the show and the highlight of the first season, everyone! I would've kept them secret for a bit longer but my darling @angelsfriendsass did one of their famous crossover pieces showcasing my (until now) server-exclusive Reina so... I guess my hands are tied :P Here's how the magic happened:

The first thing I did when I set myself to revamp the Angel's Friends plot, was work on Reina and Malachia's role in the story. They're the driving force behind the plot in both the series and the comic, which meant it was crucial to determine what their story would be this time around: what would I keep, what would I change, and what would be tossed out entirely.

I looked into Igor Chimisso's work for Malachia and Reina to better understand his design work (he was a lead character designer for the series). I also looked into their theme songs for inspiration. My research brought me to four key words: light, shadows, opposites, and neutrality. Reina would be searing light, and Malachia would be creeping shadows. The "opposites" and "neutrality" concepts would tie them together and unify their designs.

I love the idea of protagonists seeing themselves mirrored by their antagonists in some way. Reina used to be an angel in the show and Malachia used to be a devil in the comics, so I cemented this into my own canon; they would mirror Raf and Sulfus quite naturally this way.

Malachia's new personality and role as a "creeping shadow" made me choose a variety of greys for him. Being a former devil, his focus on ambiguity and "neutrality" would fit well with him. Reina instead has more polarizing tones, dealing in extremes like the "searing light" she embodies: being a former angel, her line of thought would be more black and white, and this would be reflected in her dress with "opposite" hues.

You can't have a villain duo without complementary concepts, and what better way to represent complementary concepts than with complementary colors? I gave Reina yellow eyes and Malachia purple ones, and included "hints" of each other by adding shades of these colors on their counterpart.

Malachia has ochre accents, a yellowed shirt and bronze skin, very straightforward. Reina has dark magenta accents and her iconic blue hair to tie her to his counterpart. I considered white hair like her young self in the series at first, but it clashed with the dress; I took a page from her adult design and kept her silver bangs to frame her face instead.

Reina's shattered halo pieces are arranged over her head like a crown, a tongue-in-cheek reference to her name ("queen" in spanish) and her position of leadership in Limbo. Malachia instead used his shattered horns to fashion himself a diapason, like the one in the comics. The function of this tool is very different in my rewrite, but I'll keep the specifics to myself for now ;P

Also, I wasn't entirely sure where to include this, but remember how angels are tied to circles and devils to triangles? Reina, Malachia and other neutrals will be tied to a half circle on top of a triangle, kinda like a diamond with a round top. See how many of those you can spot around!

It'll be a long time before they show up in my fic proper, but I still encourage you to keep your eyes open just in case while you read my rewrite fic. After all, Raf and Sulfus aren't particularly careful or subtle, so who knows what's lurking around the Golden School these days...

I'll Fly With You (rewrite fic) Art masterpost

[boycritter]

how i fuck with color like that: a hopefully helpful guide

STEP 1: SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF

skin doesnt have to be skin color. grass doesnt have to be grass color. free yourself from these shackles.

STEP 2: PICK COLOR PALETTE

pick 3-4 colors you want to be the main colors of your piece, but know you can use transitional shades and stuff like that as well, so you arent limited to those exact 3-4 colors

for this piece, this was the color scheme i went with, but obviously a lot more colors show up! general rule of thumb i follow is 1 dark tone, 1-3 mid tones, and 1 light tone. if you're painting digitally, you can reduce the saturation to check that your values are distinct :3

also if you're painting digitally!! you can use tonal correction (or whatever its called in your art program of choice) to adjust the hue/saturation/luminosity of an entire layer :3 which can be pretty helpful if you think your colors are a liiiittle bit off, but you want to keep the relative saturation/luminosity/etc the same

sometimes i will go to sites like this one for inspiration, but other times i just know what i want to do

STEP 3: FUCK AROUND?? IDK WHAT TO CALL THIS STEP

start slapping down color in the places you want it to go. uhhh i have no good advice for this part i just feel it in my bones. which i know is not super helpful. if you have a reference image, USE IT. its your reference for a reason. you can turn the saturation of it all the way down so you're not distracted by the hues, just pay attention to the value and stuff. don't worry about it looking realistic or smooth, in my experience the blockier the chunks of color, the funkier the piece will look.

STEP 4: FIND OUT !!!!

does it look good! hell yeah! good job! does it not look good? hell yeah! that means you're practicing! identify what you think works and what doesn't, and apply that knowledge in the future! working with a limited color palette definitely takes practice, but if you know basic color theory then you should be in a good starting position (if you dont um. you should learn that? i dont think im qualified to teach that) yeah idk basically you can just refine your piece a bit, i would recommend using a brush that has built in color mixing if you can find one of those, those are good :3

STEP 5: OVERLAYS

if you're painting digitally overlays are YOUR BEST FRIEND!!!! fill bucket tool a whole layer with one of your midtones, reduce opacity, set it to overlay (abt 20% in my experience), this will really unify the colors of the piece

get funky, get fancy, create visual interest. what i do is similar to the first thing, but i take this like. sand tool?

its one of the defaults on csp, but what ill do is i'll draw squiggles with this on a separate layer with all the colors of my color palette, then set it to a 10-20% overlay, and it gives it this grainy texture i think is really cool

piece linked above without any overlays versus with both a plain overlay and grainy overlay

STEP 6: PAT URSELF ON THE BACK FOR DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB AT ART !!!!!!!!!

^ do that. you are awesome and every thing you create is valuable even if you dont like how it turned out. you need to make mistakes to get better and you did such a good job and im proud of you for creating. <3