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stariikis · 3 months

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𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡 | 𝐧.𝐫𝐤

royal flush ; (noun) a straight flush including ace, king, queen, jack, and ten all in the same suit, which is the hand of the highest possible value when wild cards are not in use. synopsis ; on your anniversary date with riki, he gets you thinking about how a deck of cards and a red string of fate bonded you forever.

pairing ; nishimura riki x reader genre ; fluff, romance, established r/s warnings ; mild cursing wc ; 1543

“You think we were fated to be together?”

As you let the words settle into the darkness, the weight of them simmer around you. It’s almost as if you’re speaking to, perhaps, a figment of your imagination, a ghost of a body you want to be present, but isn’t. But Riki’s fingers, slender and rough with calluses, (he’s recently picked up the peculiar hobby of monkey barring) slide through yours. Like a confirmation that he’s here.

Like a promise.

He likes to associate you both with the tied knot of the red strings of fate. Every gift you receive is tied to perfection with a red ribbon. He likes to decorate printed pictures of you and him with scarlet-licked ribbons, a string of yarn weaved through punched-out holes. You’ve never been much of an artistic person yourself, but Riki gladly takes care of the aesthetics himself.

“You’re my royal flush. Of course we were fated to be together.”

What on earth does he mean?

The night sky envelopes you in a cool breeze. Riki’s canvas, like a mirror, reflects the stars dotting it on the black background. A female figure, meant to be you, is sketched neatly in the middle of the portrait. However, your boyfriend has seemed to temporarily forget about the painting he’s working on.

He leans in closer, one hand supporting himself on the grassy field. The other squeezes yours in a tight reassurance. The grin he’s flaunting is one that makes you want to smile with him. But it’s hard to focus on him when your mind is running through everything it took for you to get here.

“Hey, yn, come here!”

Minji’s voice rings out loud and clear across the room the moment you walk in. In a circle with a few boys, along with Haerin, there’s a deck of cards laid out on the marble floor.

You walk over hesitantly, blinking at the unshuffled pile. ‘I’m not very good at playing cards.”

Your friend and roommate huffs in exasperation, grabbing your wrist and sitting you down in the empty spot beside her. Your new roommates stare at you expectantly, and it’s only then when you realise they’re waiting for an introduction. Hastily and half embarrassed, you nod your head and introduce yourself.

The boy beside you, his hair bleached and long enough to be considered a mullet, smiles amiably and greets you. “Hi, I’m Riki.”

The boy opposite flashes a smile somehow even brighter than Riki’s. “I’m Sunoo! Welcome to the dorm.”

Shyly, you wave and proceed to receive your share of the cards Haerin has silently been dealing amidst the introductions.

“I don’t know, guys…” you murmur lightly, trying to start conversation. “I don’t really play big 2 that often.”

“But do you know how?” Minji tilts her head. Her playful expression is difficult to read. You look through your cards and nod in response. “Who knows, you might be the next prodigy, like Riki beside you. He wins every time! Why do we even play with him anymore?”

Riki laughs boyishly, winking at you charmingly. “Nobody comes even close to beating me!”

… It’s only your first day at university. You should not be finding boys cute yet.

“Sure, sure. Maybe I’ll be the one to change that.”

The game begins, and true to his word, Riki starts off strong. He’s either the luckiest man on earth or has the skills of a professional gambler, because everytime he places down a set, everybody lets out a gasp. As expected, nobody in the circle is able to beat his high value cards, and they skip their turns.

You’re doing better than you expected though. Head to head with Riki, you both have six cards in your hands. Minji sends you a teasing glance, as if signaling for you to destroy him. The chances are pretty low. When Riki places down a full house, you have a feeling you’re pretty screwed. And since you’re his main competition, Riki quirks an eyebrow challengingly at you when he places down three 6s and two 8s.

One card remaining in his hand, he looks your way and giggles. Giggles. It, like, kind of alters your brain chemistry a little.

However, you’re lucky (and smart) enough to have saved your flush, and so you place down your ten, jack, queen, king and ace. As you do so, the whole room goes silent. Haerin is the first to break it, with the first sentence you’ve heard her say that day.

“You had a royal flush?! Now Riki’s definitely going to lose.”

“A royal flush?” You echo, unfamiliar to this term in the world of gambling. Riki’s smug expression has turned into an awe-struck one, and he’s ogling at the five cards you have just placed down.

“Look,” Minji spreads your cards and points at the suit. “They’re all hearts, right? A flush, with all the same suit, is called a royal flush. It’s the best set of five you can place down in this game.”

Sunoo gasps, all nine of his cards spread like a peacock’s tail in his two hands. He uses it to fan himself, shaking his head all the while. “Damn, I never expected anyone to beat Riki.”

Of course, everyone passes, even a begrudging Riki. He hangs his head low, and you don’t know whether to rub salt in the wound or comfort him with a bullshitted, “oh, don’t worry! Haha! Beginner’s luck!”

You toss your last card, a 7, onto the pile before excusing yourself. You don’t want to stay and risk being assaulted by a potentially extremely competitive 18-year-old.

However, that isn’t the case. After a while, you meet him in the dorm’s shared kitchen, stumbling upon him making himself a cup of coffee. At first, you’re nervous and avoid his gaze, because who knows what he could do to your social status if he’s truly upset. You’re slightly traumatised from high school’s notorious group of popular girls.

But instead of giving you a shit-eating glare like you thought he would, he taps your shoulder. It sends tingles through your body, and you almost physically reach up and smack yourself.

“I challenge you to another game,” he beams at you almost innocently. “Tonight, my room.”

As the days go by, these demanding three words leave Riki’s lips more and more often. Soon it is a tradition for you to knock on his door and be greeted with a deck of cards shoved in your face. You truly do somehow have a talent for playing cards, reigning above Riki – and you win him every single time.

It’s his life goal to beat you someday.

To this day, he still hasn’t been able to beat you. But when he confessed to you, his eyes glazed over with a nervousness you’ve never seen before, even during your heated matches. He shyly gifted you with a fresh new deck of cards, tied up with the red string of fate.

He claims to love the colour red because it reminds him of you.

“Look,” he whispered, in the middle of the dark and empty room. Minji, Haerin and Sunoo were all out late in class, and Riki had pulled you in with such a look of desperation and eagerness that you didn’t know how to respond. “It’s red, like the hearts on the royal flush you put down the first day we met. It’s red like the colour of your favourite flowers.”

“Roses,” he turns around and retrieves a bouquet of the prick-studded flowers from next to his nightstand. He sounds a little breathless when he returns to you, and the adoration in his eyes makes you want to break down into tears. “You love roses.”

The boy that you’ve liked since the moment you met him. Why would you not accept such a thoughtful, clumsy confession that is his?

“I like you so, so much!”

A royal flush. So that’s what he means.

“Happy anniversary,” Riki sighs, a little too dizzyingly happy when he leans in to kiss your cheek. “I got you yet another deck of cards because I didn’t know what you would want.”

He whips out a box with intricate lines and swirls, and the design is a little too familiar for your liking.

“Is this…” you reach out to touch it, your fingers connecting once more in the process. Riki nods enthusiastically, lips pursed proudly. “The deck of cards we played with at the very beginning.”

Something’s special, though, when you turn the box around and look at the bottom, you see that he’s engraved both your names there, in his very own handwriting. Your heart swells with pure love for the boy sitting before you. He may be clueless on what to get you, but at the same time he’s the best ever at giving gifts.

“Let me finish up this painting,” he sighs, and scoots back to scan you. His hands imitate a picture frame and he winks to get a clearer picture of you in his mind. “Pretty.”

He turns back to the painting, skilled hands picking up his paintbrush again. “After this, we can go home. I challenge you to another game of cards. Tonight, my room. And this time, I’ll win.”

thank you for reading !

more of my works >

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rottenpumpkin13 · 4 months

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I heard Angeal is into photography

what kind of photos does he take?

Photos On Angeal's Camera

• Zack mid-squat.

• A photo of a gorgeous sunset somewhere in Mideel, its second version with Genesis and Sephiroth posing in front of it. Their smiles are forced and unenthusiastic. Angeal clearly forced them to take the picture.

• A photo of Lazard working in his office but he's casually wearing a fake axe headband one of the SOLDIERs put on him.

• Zack and Sephiroth posing with their thumbs up in front of Genesis, who's sleeping on the floor of his office with an eye mask. They glued two eyes onto the mask while he's passed out.

• A photo of Sephiroth in full uniform and armor casually pushing a shopping cart at the store. He's in the bread aisle holding at a discount baguette.

• Genesis goofing off in a meeting, using the length of Sephiroth's hair as a mustache.

• Cloud giving Zack a piggyback ride, but they're falling so it's just a blur of motion in the picture.

• A photo of Genesis falling from an air vent, but it's just a red blur of motion.

• A photo Genesis took where Angeal is drawing cat ears on a poster of Sephiroth.

• Mirror selfie in the elevator of Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal after a grueling assignment. They're all covered in dirt and muddy water.

• A nice picture of Zack and Sephiroth with their arms around each other at the pool. Genesis is drowning in the background.

• A panorama of a grassy scenery that got ruined because it caught Sephiroth struggling with a melting ice cream cone.

• A cute picture of Cloud pointing at a Cloud in the sky.

• A nice selfie Zack took where he's smiling, but you can see Lazard yelling at Angeal and Genesis in the background.

• A photo set of Hojo tripping up the escalators, Sephiroth's favorite thing ever.

• Angeal takes tons of photos of the plants in his apartment. He's very proud of them.

• A photo of (drunk) Sephiroth licking up spilled milk off the counter that he keeps as blackmail.

• A photo of (sober) Genesis face-planted on the ground in glittery high heels he could not walk in. He also keeps it as blackmail.

• Several pictures of his completed recipes, oftentimes accompanied by a shot of Sephiroth, Genesis and Zack looking pissed because Angeal won't let them eat before he takes the photo.

• A random photo of Sephiroth sitting at Lazard's, drinking and iced coffee and wearing sunglasses.

• A photo set of (infantryman) Cloud kicking down a door that says "SOLDIER members only" and walking inside.

• A photo of Cissnei doing Zack's makeup.

• A photo of Sephiroth sitting on Zack's messy bed in his even messier room. Sephiroth is doing a thumbs up. Angeal took this one to shame Zack into cleaning his room.

• A photo of Angeal posing alongside one of the Guard Dogs. And then a follow-up of Sephiroth and Zack imitating the same photo with Zack as the dog.

• Genesis pretending to read intently. He's holding his book upside down.

• A photo of Sephiroth laying face down, spead-eagle in the middle of the road. The picture was Sephiroth's idea and he made Angeal title it "How I Feel Inside."

• Several photos of flower beds at Aerith's house. A photo of Zack and Aerith doing that cliche prom pose in front of the flowers.

• A candid photo taken during lunch in the cafeteria. Sephiroth and Genesis are laughing at something.

• Several candid photos of Angeal taken by either Zack or Genesis, who claim that Angeal takes pictures of everyone but himself. Some of these include:

• Angeal while he's cooking with one of those cliche "kiss the cook" aprons. • Several photos of Angeal with random SOLDIERs and cadets dangling off of him. It really showcases how everyone loves him as both a mentor and a co-worker. • Angeal watering the plants in his apartment. • Cute picture of Angeal using Zack as a barbell, Zack is laughing. • A photo of Angeal blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. There's frosting on his nose.

• A gust of wind causing Sephiroth's hair to thwack Genesis in the face.

• Cloud fell asleep in Zack's apartment, Zack promptly grabbed a chocobo plush, placed it near Cloud and called Angeal to come take a picture.

• A photo of Lazard in the lounge surrounded by SOLDIERs. Everyone's comfortable. Lazard is wearing a hoodie he stole from one of them and is eating a bag of chips while they all talk.

#ff7 #ffvii #sephiroth #genesis rhapsodos #angeal hewley #zack fair #cloud strife #ff7 crisis core #ffvii crisis core #final fantasy 7 #final fantasy vii #agszc #ags

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spaceistheplaceart · 6 months

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Body Swap - How Do I Talk Like That? Part Four

masterpost

Summarized ID: Mob talks to Reigen about his fear of not being able to socialize properly, that he isn't making connections or can't make the first move. He wonders what it would be like to make the first move, and pictures Tsubomi. Reigen puts a hand on his shoulder and listens.

FULL ID UNDER CUT:

(This is a body swap, so I'll be referring to the characters as who they actually are but keep in mind that Reigen is in Mob's body and vice versa.)

Mob looks down, a dull yet sad expression on his face. He says, "It's not that. I've just been thinking. Even though I'm better at it now, I think, I still have trouble talking to others. I feel like everyone else knows what to say, or at the least can make themselves understood."

A grayscale panel shows a flashback to when Mob gave his speech to become student council president, he is on stage, silent, frozen. Mob continues speaking, "but even when I have a script, I freeze up."

Reigen is looking at Mob with furrowed brows and his lips set into a thin line. Mob continues, "Master, I know you said I don't need to be like other people, but..."

A shot of Mob and Reigen sitting on the curb. Dimple floats next to Mob. "I'm afraid if I can't 'get it' now," Mob looks downwards again with a worried expression. "That I won't be able to socialize properly when I'm older."

Dimple grins. "Come on, you don't need to worry about that stuff yet! You've got plenty of friends don't you?" He flexes his arms, drawn behind him are radial rays of light. "What about Tome? And the Body Improvement Club!"

Mob smiles slightly. "It's true. I do have a lot of friend, and I'm very grateful that I'm surrounded by such good people." His smile drops. "But sometimes, I feel like..."

Shown are a series of grayscale flashbacks all in one long panel. The first scene is of Tome, talking excitedly while holding Mob's hands in hers. He looks slightly taken aback, but is listening. They're sitting at a desk. The next is Mob sitting next to Emi on a grassy hill, holding her writing. The final one is Mob, flexing, while one of his Body Improvement Club friends feels his muscle excitedly. Mob is smiling shakily, blushing slightly, and sweating. He says, "I'm not connecting with them properly. Whenever we talk, I always let them take the lead, I became complacent. It felt easier that way."

Another grayscale flashback, showing Mob at his desk in school, looking over and watching two of his classmates talk happily. One of them is a girl with big curly hair, sitting at her desk, and another is a boy with short spiky hair who's leaning on her desk and talking to her. Mob says, "And everyone that I know now, I only know them because they spoke to me first. I've never gone up to someone and became their friend because of my own efforts."

This page shows a glittery thought bubble, picturing Tsubomi. Tsubomi is smiling widely with cute, big, shiny eyes. She's turning around to face the viewer, her hair and skirt. flowing out from the motion. She has her arms tucked behind her back. She's blushing, and is shaded with soft pencil scratches. The background is gray and pink with sparkles and big glowing circles. She's illuminated in white. She has a cowlick shaped into a heart. Mob looks up at his thought bubble, slightly blushing, and says, "If I were to try and make the first move, I wonder..."

Reigen claps a hand on Mob's shoulder. "Mob. Listen," He says.

END ID.

#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #reigen arataka #shigeo kageyama #mp100 body swap #arataka reigen #kageyama shigeo #op art #comic #mp100 comic #tsubomi takane #takane tsubomi #transcribed

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idkfitememate · 1 month

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Got bored, got too many brainrots and obsessions rn and wrote this “super fast” just to prove a point *AHEM*

(Also you kinda have a “set” look in the beginning, but that’ll change! It’s for stories sake I’m sorry-)

((Also also, I’m so sorry guys… you start off as a Texan I’m so sorry-)) [Fun fact I have a slight southern accent and it’s wild when I hear it-]

Yes this is the Adam/Eve!Reader x Obey Me. It has been rotting my mind for months I’m not sorry-

The Garden of Eden.

Never was it, nor its human counterparts spoken of in a negative light in the Celestial Realm.

Talk of trees that grew above the clouds and lakes so crystalline that you could see every grain of sand under the perfectly glowing sunlight flew out of Angel’s mouths, some even admitting small amounts of jealousy at how finely those mortals were living.

It interested Lilith.

Youngest of seven siblings and one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues - that Virtue being Patience - she was of high status and importance among those lucky enough to live under their Father’s light and guidance.

She wanted to know more than what those baseless rumors and tales could offer her, so one night, beneath the many star like moons of her home, she flew down beneath the clouds but above the stony bridge that would have snatched her away, down into the depths of the Devil’s Realm.

Her wings, as pure as a dove, flapped endlessly to carry her over gorgeous mountain ranges and wide plains of golden grass, over the bluest of oceans, to find this fabled Garden.

And finally? She came upon it.

Landing gracefully on the emerald green grass, she took in the sight. She supposed this Garden truly was what one would get if you took a piece of The Celestial Realm and placed it in the Human Realm.

Colorful birds filled the sky with trees of every type surrounding her. Animals she had never seen before lunged around her. Feeling giddy, she began to run with the multiple groups, eventually taking off.

She flew over a lake, lowering herself right above it to gently grace her fingers over the top, ripples feathering out and creating small waves behind her. Fish kept from the water around her in grand arks, and with a giggle she pushed herself higher with a great flap.

Liliths giggles bubbled into loud laughter, as she soared over tree tops with beautifully colored birds, spinning and diving with no one to tell her no.

She felt free.

That was, until she didn’t manage to catch herself in a dive and crashed through the treetops.

She slammed into the grassy floor of the forest, dragging through the dirt as rocks flung out of her way, eventually being stopped by a tree. It took her a moment to really get her bearings, but when she did she was suddenly all too aware of her surroundings.

It wasn’t nearly as bright here as it was out there.

The shadows of the trees were long and bird song was suddenly silenced. The winds picked up and branches shook harshly, leaves being pulled from their trees.

She could barely make out the sun, clouds blocking its path, and the lack of other creatures was deafening.

Something was watching her. Not unlike the gazes of her elders when she made a small mistake on a document or once again had a day where she stole her closet brothers away to just have fun.

Its gaze was attached to her back, and she curled into herself. She was wrong, this gaze was worse.

It wasn’t scrutinizing her, it was observing her. Watching her movements. Taking her in.

She felt something she couldn’t identify. She hadn’t felt it before. Something crossed of anxiety and that feeling when someone was angry with her.

She was… scared?

That word flew through her mind. She heard it scarcely with fellow Angels. It wasn’t something usually felt in her home, as it’s wasn’t truly necessary. They were supposed to be happy in the Celestial Realm, and fear was not positive, it was a negative, something Demons would usually deal with.

So why was she…

A branch snapped in the background, echoing through the empty forest around her. She jolted upright, grabbing her knees and wrapping her arms around them.

Her breath grew heavy as she began to look around wildly, her wings puffing up as she curled into herself tighter. Her knees to her chest, she instead took her arms from her legs and wrapped them around her head.

“Whoever is there… please…”

Her voice was weak. She shook in the breeze, the delicate flowing fabrics of her gown dancing wildly in the wind with her hair. Her sniffed, trying hard to hold the tears that had suddenly formed in her eyes at bay.

“Please…”

Suddenly, she heard footsteps, fast and steady, rushing towards her. Her head shot up as they grew closer, fight or flight kicking in immediately. She jumped up, arms cradling her chest.

“W-wait!-“

Deciding against talking, she ran.

She hadn’t thought she’d have to fight, so she saw no need in bringing her holy weapon. Her bare feet pounded against the earth. Wildly thrashing through branches, leaves and sticks got stuck in her hair, scratching her face, ichor slipping from the wounds. She pushed through the forest, looking for a space to take off. She heard the footsteps growing closer and faster, nearing her with animosity.

Finally she burst from the forest line and down a hill, tumbling down and landing on her wing awkwardly, causing a dull pain to scream through the joint. White feathers flew as she fell, small screams falling from her throat. She finally rolled to a stop, tears and ichor mixing on the ground. Her shaken sobs making her body shiver on the ground.

She turned and laid eyes on mask, painted with gold and black accents.

Long flowing golden hair trailed behind them as they walked towards the fallen Angel. A tight black top clung to their chest, sleeveless and cut off right below the pecks. A pure white sash wrapped around their shoulder and down onto their waist, a bow on their thigh tying it together. Large, black flowing pants with golden accents ended at their ankles where their feet were wrapped in bandages. Armor clung to their arms - black with golden trimmings - one arm having slimmer armor that ended at the wrist, revealing an archer’s glove, the other arm ending in a gauntlet with sharpened claws for fingers. A small amount of the same armor rested on their waist, held together with a golden chain. A white scarf that flowed behind them covered the bottom part of the white mask with golden inlays that hid their face from Lilith.

What brought it all together were the feathers that attached to one side of their mask. A large golden one, two pure white ones on either side of it, and a small row of black feathers behind them.

A bow rested on their back, large and black in color with golden accents, made of the same metals that made the armors that covered their skin. A long sword rested on their back as well, under the bow. A circular shield rested atop the bow, though from the angle she lay at, Lilith could not see the design on its front. The sheath was beautifully decorated with golds. A quiver rested on their hip, filled to the brim with arrows begging to be used, surrounded in smaller bags and satchels. And finally, in their hand, was a large and imposing spear. Long and thin, yet it looked to be made of a strong metal, one light enough to glide through air if thrown.

They slowly and antagonizingly made their way towards the fallen Angelic girl, who in a last ditch effort shot a weak burst of light from her palm. It was hot, but if not hot enough to injure then it would be bright, to blind. Though unfortunately, the person just smacked it away with their spear.

They made it in front of the still downed Lilith, who was preparing to prey to The Father for safety, before they crouched down and kneeled before her. They both stared - Lilith assumed they were anyway - at each other for a moment. Then, the clawed hand came to their mask, and slowly pulled it above their head.

Lilith’s eyes widened.

“A genuine Angel..? Here..? Well, I do apologize for our horrid meeting. Hadit been in my hands I’d’ve had you land safely into m’ arms, pretty lady. Now, what can this a-humble human do for a graceful lil’ thing such as yourself? Father got any new messages f’ me?”

Soft (e/c) eyes stared back into Lilith’s with a soft smile as well. A hand was offered to her as well, which she took. The spear in hand was safely placed on their back as they pulled her up gently, their un-clawed hand gently wrapped around her waist.

“Oh! Where are my manners! S’cuse me, but I’m The First. Eh, heard from the last Angel that visited that ya’ll might call me Adam? Or Eve? Couldn’t really tell. You can pick though, pretty lady. Speakn’ of, what’s your name dove?”

They gave her a toothy grin as she stared wide-eyed at them. They were… Adam… and Eve? Looking at their body they looked neither feminine nor masculine, a perfect mix of the two. As did their face.

“L-Lilith…” “Well nice to meet you, Lilith! As I said, Adam or Eve I don’t mind neither, course you could come up with somethin’ of yer own!”

Lilith continued to stare at the human-you as you walked her through the forest she just ran through. Taking her through a small yet visible path into a small clearing, sat in the center was a small little hut of wood with a high standing brick chimney.

“Oh! Darn, yer wing! Ah, my apologies Lilith, I assume this happened when ya took that real big tumble down the way? Now, I ain’t ever heal no Angel wing before, but I’d be a fool not to try for you, dove.” Their hand brushed over her wing gently, smoothing down some feathers. Lilith looked at them, taking in their features once more. They looked… young.

“How long have you been here..? Alone..?” The looked at her with widened eyes, before turning back to the hut.

Silent with a thoughtful look on their face, they opened the polished, wooden door and showed Lilith inside first, closing the door behind them. With a flick of their wrist, a flame enveloped their hand, and with another, shot out of their grip, startling the Angel.

It flew to different corners of the house, bouncing off walls and other surfaces until they found their placement in various lamps around the room, bathing the small house in a warm glow.

“How did you… you spoke no words-“ “Yeah, been doin’ things of that sort for as long as I can remember. Didn’t mean to startle you. But to answer your other question… I don’t know, truly. Been left with my thoughts for ‘bout as long as I’ve been alive, not countin’ the few Angels that may come down with a message from The Father anyway.”

They sat her down in a small chair, and she really took in her surroundings.

It was all one room really, only a wall separating what she assumed was the kitchen from the living/bedroom. The kitchen had the bare minimum, a wood fire stove and a couple small chests and cabinets. In the living room was the base of the chimney, a fire having been lit inside it with a large pot rested against it. In front of it were two wooden chairs, each draped with thick woolen blankets. Behind the chairs was a bed that took up a large corner of the home, pressed to the wall next to the door. A small window rested above it, as well as a shelf with small pots containing various flowers of different sizes, shapes and colors. Beside the small kitchen area was a small circular table - where she was sat now - with four chairs surrounding it. It sat in the corner opposite to the bed, with a window beside it as well and a potted flower in the center.

It was small, but cozy. As she looked around, Lilith barely noticed as the human, who had placed their weapons at the foot of the bed and mask on a hook next to it, took a look at her wing, gently flexing it and feeling up the joint to get a better feeling for the injury.

“S’nothin’ too bad. Pulled a muscle, might be a sprain. I’d say stay off it for a bit, maybe ‘bout a… week?” Lilith looked at them incredulously.

“A WEEK!?! I NEED TO BE BACK BY TONIGHT!!! I can’t stay here… I need… I can’t-“ She kept up from the chair, causing it to clatter against the floor. She flinched as it fell but the human simply stared.

“Is there anything you can do?? I need to leave, this was a on a whim trip and no one knows I’m here-“ “No one knows?” They interrupted.

“Well now dove, ain’t that a bit irresponsible of you?” Lilith sighed with a grimace.

“Well… yeah. BUT I WAS CURIOUS!! I couldn’t help myself! I just had to see the Garden of Eden. It sounded to pretty a magical and and… oh isn’t there anything? I’m not the greatest at healing magic, my brothers usually take care of all my cuts and scrapes…” The human smiled at her while gently rubbing her back.

“Now don’tcha worry your pretty lil’ head dove, ya interrupted me ‘fore I could say that’d be if I couldn’t heal it, which I can. So you just sit back down an’ led me work my magic, alright?” They picked back up the chair she had knocked over and sat her back down.

“Plus, a week ain’t that bad compared to what it woulda been f’ me. I’da been outta commission for at least a month. But with y’all’s fancy Angel bodies, healing is all quick like. Notice here? Ya face scratches are all gone dove.” Lilith gently placed a hand on her face, noticing the dull throb of any of the scratches she sustained in the chase were gone.

“I-I guess I never noticed, considering we don’t regularly get hurt in The Celestial Realm…” She mused. The human chuckled.

“Heh, wouldn’t expect y’all too. Anyway, gonna have this wing fixed up faster than double-struck lightning.” The Angel looked that them.

“What?” “Eh?”

They both stared before the human chuckled.

“Don’t mind me, let’s just get this here wing fixed up. I’m gonna count to three, and then you’re gonna hold ya breath, alright?” She was confused, but Lilith nodded.

“Alrighty, one…” She closed her eyes and took a breath.

“Two…” She felt the humans hands wrap around the injury.

“THREE!” A loud *SNAP* sounded through the room, and her eyes shot open. Before she could scream or anything of the sort, a cooling sensation flowed through her wing, the dull pain she felt washing away. She sighed in relief and leaned into the touch of the human. She couldn’t see it, but a sweet smile crossed their face.

“Thank you… so much…” “It’s no problem, dove. My fault you even got hurt in the first place. Again, my apologies f’ that.” Lilith huffed.

“No, it’s my fault for even getting in this situation in the first place, I shouldn’t have left without permission. Maybe I would’ve known where your dwelling was and could have made a safer landing.” That human chuckled and gently pulled her up.

“Now now, don’t go gettin’ your knickers in a twist over this, alright? Here, we both take blame.” “No no, I did more harm in the long run-“

They placed their hands on her shoulders, mindful of the claws on their single gauntlet.

“Nope. Not hearin’ you out ‘bout this. Anyway, you best be getting outta here now dove. Wouldn’t want’cha getting in no kinda trouble just cause you came down and visited this mortal. Come one now, let me show you out.”

A arm wrapped around her waist, gently leading her back to the front and out the house into the small clearing.

“Next time ya come ‘round here, make sure ya got some kinda permission, alright?” They asked. Lilith blushed as she looked back, an embarrassed chuckle following.

“I will. Promise.” The human smiled back.

“Alright then. Now then, it’s time f’ you to swap spit an’ hit the road.” The Angel looked back, aghast.

“It’s time for us to WHAT?!” She screamed, leading the human the lift their hands in surrender and laugh.

“Sorry, I just meant it’s time for you to leave, dove.” Lilith sighed and chuckled with them.

“Alright, thank you again! I will visit, I hope you know that!” They nodded and she smiled.

With a final smile, she leapt into the air, wingbeats echoing through the landscape. As she cut through the sky, she took a glance back and noticed them enthusiastically waving her off with a big silly grin, causing her to grin.

Yeah, she’d be back.

‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧

Belphegor had begun to notice Lilith’s absences were increasing.

It wasn’t odd for the youngest of the seven to go missing on one of her little adventures, but for them to be happening so often?

And on top of that, she seemed happier. Now, don’t get him wrong, Belphegor loved seeing his sister so happy, but the thing was he couldn’t tell what exactly was making her so happy.

Also she called him “as pretty a peach”??? Whatever that means??? What even was a peach???

Anyway, he was determined to find out what it was, especially since last night she came home THREE HOURS after dinner all giddy and stuff.

Today was the triplets day off and with Beel out for the moment and her in her room, Belphegor figured this would be the best time for questioning.

Knocking on her door and waiting for the muted ‘come in’, he entered the room and closed the door behind him.

“Yeah, Belphie?” Lilith was sat on her bed on her stomach, legs swinging above her. Her head was resting in her palm as her other hand held a letter.

“I just had a question, nothing serious. May I sit?” Belphegor asked from the door. He pointed beside the laid down girl who giggled.

“Yep! Go right ahead.” She said, rolling over and sitting up. Belphegor sat by her feet and looked at his sister.

“My question is… what’s been making you so happy lately?” A sour look crossed the man’s face as Lilith only stared… Before bursting out into laughter over his expression.

“PFFFT- WHAT KINDA QUESTION IS THAT BELPHIE???” She laughed. Belphegor coughed into his fist to hide his now embarrassed expression, causing Lilith’s laughter to only grow in volume.

“W-Well I only ask because you’ve been so... so… Giddy! Lately! Like your head has been in the clouds!!” Belphegor defended, Lilith’s laughter quieted.

“Well for one, aren’t our head technically always in the clouds?” Belphegor stared at her as she grinned. With a chuckled, she continued.

“Besides, it’s nothing super important. I just maybe… kinda… might think I’m in love?” Belphegor did a double take.

“You might be… what?” “Okay head me out Belphie-“ Belphegor shook his head in shock. His little sister? In love? With who? What were they like? Likes and dislikes? How old? So on and so forth. Questions ran through his mind a mile a minute.

“Before you ask ANY questions, they’re younger than me, super nice and take my wants into consideration, cares for nature, and is just the sweetest person I’ve met. They even cook and clean and can sew and even crochet! Isn’t that just amazing…” Lilith immediately looked away from her brother, clutching the letter she was holding to her chest.

Belphegor figured the letter might be from the person in question, so in a moment of selfishness - to which he knew he would pray about later - , grabbed the letter from her, causing a gasp from his sister.

She immediately complained, pushing at her brother to get it back, but he stood up and held her back with one arm, reading the letter aloud.

“- Don’t worry about the bruise, it isn’t nothing to worry about. Anyway, those Celestial flowers you brought me are doing wonderfully. You were right, all they needed was a bit more sunlight than the regular flower, like a sunflower. Might show you the sunflower field I found the other day if you want. Don’t feel rushed to come back down, however. And please say thank you to Yael for making the trip to and fro. Glory to The Father, may he smile upon us. Goodbye, my dove.

- A.E.”

Belphegor looked at his sister who was flushed in embarrassment. She had given up fighting in the middle of his reading the end of the letter, and was sitting on her heels on her bed.

“A.E.? What kind of name is that? And why are they acting as though they don’t live here? “Those Celestial flowers you brought me are doing wonderfully.”? That’s not something someone who is here would say, Lilith. Just who is this?” Belphegor looked to his sister whose blush had disappeared by then.

She sighed as she looked to her brother, gaze clouded for a moment before huffing again.

“If I tell you… promise to not tell anyone?” Lilith’s voice was uncannily soft compared to her usual loud and outgoing self. A little uneasy with her sudden change in tone, Belphegor nodded.

Lilith hesitated and opened her mouth, then shut it, then thrust her hand into her brother’s chest, pinkie out turned.

“Pinkie promise?” Lilith’s eyes held… worry? Fear? Belphegor couldn’t read it well but whatever it was it immediately sent signals off in his head.

“Yeah… yeah of course.” Belphegor held out his hand with pinky extended, wrapping it around hers.

“I may have… gone to the Garden?.. And talked to a…” she hesitated, “human..?” Belphegor looked to his sister with now widened eyes.

“You went to… the Garden? Like, THE Garden? Of… Eden? Where the… humans live?” Belphegor spoke their name like a taboo, which made Lilith cringe.

He knew why, humans were still relatively new and were more or less a hot topic. Either you never spoke a word or they were all you could talk about. They were something of a passion project, as was rumored. Something that was aloud to have varied results, and more importantly:

To make mistakes.

The was the supposed “beauty” of what would soon be humanity.

Or so Belphegor was told, anyway.

He never got it, as the Virtue of Diligence, it was literally ingrained in his being to always be alert to any mistakes and correct them as quickly as possible, to ensure everything ran smoothly. Sure, sometimes a mistake could prove to be beneficial, but more often than not, that was untrue.

So how an entire race could be conceived from the idea of mistakes propelling them was… Belphegor just couldn’t understand.

So to hear his sister, LITTLE sister mind you, had gone down and… interacted with those things?? He was a little upset but… her eyes.

Lilith’s eyes shined with a wonder he hadn’t seen in them in a while, life finally growing bland after their millions of years of existence. She had something new, and it clearly brought her happiness. Who was he to take that from her.

In the grand scheme of things it didn’t affect her work to much, and Father had never explicitly told them to stay away…

“Does this human seem to have any intentions of hurting you?-“ “NO!”

Lilith raised her eyes and flinched back in indignation at the words, looking offended, a hand landed on her chest.

“They would never! I’m impressed you’d even say such a thing!” Chuckles rung from her as she began to kick her legs slightly, covering her mouth with a hand. Belphegor smiled.

This may not have been his favorite predicament, but she was happy. Perhaps he could give these humans a chance.

…

This would be his first time making a “mistake”.

‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧

Years went by and Lilith’s visits to you didn’t stop.

Nearly every weekend was spent with you, sharing stories and otherwise. You’d taught her a few tricks of your trade as well, such as sewing and wood carving.

All was well.

Of course, until it wasn’t.

Yael, the Angel you and Lilith had trusted to take your messages to and from each other, had “crumbled under the pressure” and told a higher up. Who told someone higher than them, who told someone higher than them and well…

You hadn’t seen or heard from Lilith is weeks.

You were getting worried, but you had no way of getting to the Celestial Realm to check on her. So you waited.

And waited…

And… waited…

Lilith, meanwhile, was trying her hardest to convince the others to allow her back down into the Garden.

she had been forbidden, Angels weren’t meant to meddle in the affairs of mortals unless explicitly instructed too, after all. The Realm was still figuring out the logistics of Guardians, so no one Angel - without permission - was allowed down there.

Lilith begged and cried and sobbed, doing everything in her power to convince them that she deserved to go back down. That nothing had truly changed or happened. That’s she hadn’t fully interfered with the mortals.

All it took was an image of your now sullen face staring at the sky awaiting her return for the council to agree that she would never again be allowed to see you again.

She had exposed you too much.

You’d most likely not move on for years.

And she sobbed.

Her brothers had never seen her cry like this.

She fell to her knees and sobbed and pleaded with the council to reconsider, to give her another chance;

To at least allow her to say goodbye.

All requests were denied.

And her brothers were forced to watch her fall into something they had only heard from Demons, a “Depression”.

No longer did she go on spontaneous adventures, nor did she make jokes or try anything new.

It was simply work, eat, sleep, and staring longingly at the gifts you had given her.

Her colors dulled as time went on, and she slowly lost her glow.

Lucifer just couldn’t take it.

He tried to reason with the council. Asking them time and time again.

Always getting denied.

He only got more desperate as days past and she got duller and duller…

And finally he snapped.

Lucifer didn’t know how it happened. Once second he was asking peacefully.

The next he was chocking someone.

He let go after regaining control of his body, breathing heavily and palms shaking. After which a shouting match broke out.

And soon after that meeting, things only got worse.

Chocking turned to punching, punching turned to full on fighting, and fighting turned to the first angelic death by angelic hands in history.

Then the declaration of war.

‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧

The days seemed to pass like a blur to you.

From days filled with planing of what new thing you could introduce to Lilith and where you could take her, now filled with the monotony of what like was before.

Farming, hunting, animal watching.

Barely did you touch your loom or carving tools, only when you needed a new utensil or blanket.

You hated it.

You missed her smile, and her laugh.

You sighed as you polished off another deer skull, taking a hammer and smashing it across a rock. Picking up the pieces, you take them to a small plot of land and begin to bury them beneath the tilled dirt.

though your eyes immediately met those of a dove, and you smiled.

“I’ll wait as long as you need, dove.”

It fluttered softly onto your upturned hand, cooing softly at you. Your eyes softened and you ran your free hand through the feathers on its head.

“As long as you need.”

‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧

Years passed without much thought.

You remained oblivious to the war raging on above you.

Angels blood was technically on your hands and you couldn’t be the wiser.

Masses fell into their graves, simply because you needed to morn.

And now here you were, staring into the sky in shock as you watched the body of the woman you loved streaked across it, obviously mortally wounded.

You cried, and with a yelp, leapt into action, rushing behind her as she fell.

Your weapons discarded, you ran through rivers, jumped over rocks and basically glided through fields, all to catch her.

You barely noticed when you left The Garden.

Rocks dug into the skin of your feet but that was the least of your worries as you screamed her name, begging the Father to wake you from this awful nightmare.

Your arms raised high to catch her, begging her to please land in your grasp, barely paying attention to the cliff before you-

You fell.

You had never fallen from such a hight before.

Your long hair billowed through the wind with your clothes as you watched through tears as she hit the earth.

Then you hit a cliff.

A *SNAP* rang through the air as you landed on your back, head over the edge, perfectly positioned to see her and her… brother?

Two other men came as your breathing shallowed, a conversation you were too far away to hear taking place before you, before the man with the leathery wings performed some kind of spell, and her body ignited in a flame.

Your vision grew blurry as blood seeped from your mouth, coughs mixed with crimson bubbles escaping your lips as she disappeared. Her brother - who you realized was Lucifer, though his color pallet was much different than what she described - kneeled before the men.

With what little strength you had left, you clasped your hands together.

‘My Father who art above, please heed this prayer. Let be me reborn and find my love once more. Let us continue to be the star crossed lovers we believed ourselves to be. Please Father… and if one must be punished let it be me, for I had forsaken her from your land when my mortal lips met hers. Allow me this repentance and… let me… see… her once… mo…r…’

Your thoughts were silenced as you slipped away.

‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧

You hated that prick in the sky.

You had given Him your everything, pledged yourself to Him.

You thought He was merciful, well apparently not.

Hundreds of thousands of fucking years.

You’ve had to watch her descendants live their lives, always finding a way to bump into them.

If this was His idea of a cosmic joke, then you wanted to bash your fucking skull in.

I mean, you’ve tried but he made you immortal on top of everything.

You had been reborn, as you asked, then to find that she’d been reborn as a human too. Great! You even had all your memories so you assumed she had her and…

…

…And then you were getting invited to her wedding as her ‘best friend’.

Never did you ever think you could’ve experienced a pain like that, like your soul shattering and being crumbled into dust but there you were. Watching her get wed off.

And have children.

And die.

You grew numb after a while, because why wouldn’t you. Seeing them grow became a past time, seeing where they ended up and then how many people attended their funerals.

Morbid game but it helped pass the time.

You got to watch as humans evolved and took over the planet, eventually coming to a point where they might destroy it if they aren’t careful.

You’ve watched technology grow and tack over and magic users be forced into hiding.

You’ve watched kingdoms rise and fall, nations grow and shrink, the belief of Angels and Devils become lesser and lesser.

You remember when Solomon, the big bitch of magic users and demon pact collector extraordinaire, was born. That was fun.

You remember when The King of the Devildom went to sleep, that was also neat, though you’re pretty sure that happened just a while before you died… time was a blur.

And naturally, you remembered when the brothers officially became “The Demon Brothers.”

You never forgot.

When out with “friends” - they were more people you surrounded yourself with to numb the pain of life - you just said you had Hyperthymesia, which led to more questions and other shit you couldn’t be bothered with.

The Father only know how many times you’ve gone through Highschool and Collage for the hell of it, there was shit else to do and at this point you were a hidden billionaire with how long you lived, plus it was nice to stay up to date on current affairs.

You had cut and dyed your hair same near every color under the sun at the this point, now at (h/c) for the time being.

One of the shittiest parts, however, was your morals.

The Father must’ve thought he was the funniest fucker in reality because he basically singed the Seven Virtues onto your soul, the on top of that made you the living example of the Seven Sins.

You couldn’t do shit without feeling torn apart.

Couldn’t spend large amount of money on yourself without feeling the need to give it away, but when you did you just wanted more money.

Never got a good nights sleep anymore because part of your brain would want to stay up to make sure nothing bad happened.

Couldn’t gouge yourself on a mountain of food without wanting to hurl halfway through because it “was enough”.

So life was shit in every way.

And then, the fucking cherry on top?

When a friend - who you knew full well was a decadent of her - got a letters from the Devildom about some “exchange program”. They tossed it because they thought it was a scam, which was fair.

You only read it out of curiosity, and when you say your jaw dropped? I mean it fucking dropped.

You knew all about Diavolo’s little “re-connection” thing, had since he announced it really, but to see it actually coming to light was… an experience you weren’t expecting.

Honestly you didn’t want them to go.

This descendent, MC was their name - such a weird fucking name - was one of your favorites. They were a chaotic little shit and you lived for it. Unless you had to pull them from a problem they caused. Then you didn’t.

But soon you got involved with their shit and completely forgot.

And there you were when they got sucked to hell, hand in hand…

… Also handcuffed but we don’t talk about that-

‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧

“AW FUCK-“

“SHITTY TITTES AUGH-“

Both you and MC gripped each other, them screaming and you gritting your teeth with arms around them to protect them.

It took a second for them to stop and you to finally look up.

Before you was a judges seat with eight seats, five of which were filled. Though, a man stood beside the tallest standing seat.

Wait…

Orange, blond, strawberry blond, ravenette, red head - literally, and deep blue to teal?

Oh fuck-

The man in the tallest seat began to speak.

“Welcome to the Devildom MC… and friend?”

Diavolo looked down at the two of you, MC looking confused and you well… you looked uncomfortable but not unknowing.

“We can deal with that in a moment but, pardon my abrupt introduction. Feeling a bit shocked, I’m sure? Well that’s understandable, you’ve only just arrived, after all.”

MC looked around at the men confused and obviously scared while you just sighed with a hand pressed to your forehead. MC tried to stand only to trip back when the cuffs holding you both together. You noticed some of the brothers staring at you two, but you looked away. Diavolo seemed to ignore you both, however.

“As a human, it will probably take a little while for you to adjust to things here in the Devildom.”

“What the fuck is a Devildom-“ MC was cut off by a glare from Lucifer.

“Haha! Calm yourself Lucifer they were just asking a question! Now, before we introduce ourselves, who are you?”

You glanced over at the male and glanced at everyone else. Tugging on your shirt and running your hand through your hair, you finally met Diavolo’s eyes again.

‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧

“Now I call you dove, you ain’t got any kinda name f’ me?”

You both were sat on a cliff you had just recently found overlooking your home with a great view of the sky and sun, which was setting at the moment. She was sat beside you, head on your shoulder with you both in the grass. A small wind blew through, making your hair wave like a sea of gold. She ran a hand through your hair, you humming at the feeling.

Your easygoing grin made Lilith’s heart melt, but she focused up back on your question after a moment, humming.

“Well… I want it to mean something.” “Dove means somethin’!” Lilith giggled.

“Oh yeah, and what would that be?” “Well you’re an Angel… n’ doves are connected ta Angels n’ stuff…” you groaned after, shoving your face in your hands, causing the Angels laughter to grow.

“Don’t laugh at me! It was cute how you reacted when I first called ya it!” Lilith continued to laugh, you whining and wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling close and placing her head on your chest. Then, you grabbed her face in a huff. You forced her to stare at you as she bit her tongue with blush on her cheeks.

Finally you both broke out into laughter, her falling onto you. You both fell back into the grass giggling. She laid on top of you and you both breathed and took the moment in.

“… I think I have an idea.”

You glanced at her. Wrapping your arms around her waist, you pulled her up and rested your head on top of her hers. She nuzzled into your neck.

“Idea for what, dove?” “A nickname.”

You smiled and looked down at her, causing her to look up.

“Well then get on with it, I’m excited as a cow to a good wooden post.” “A what… to a what?” “Heh, nothin’ dove.”

She smiled and snuggled into you.

“I think you deserve your own name. Not what they call you up there. Something like…”

‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧‧꒰˚ʚ🎀ɞ˚꒱ ‧

You stared Diavolo in the eyes, and smiled somberly.

“…(y/n).”

WOOO FINALLY I FUCKING FINISHED IT WOOOOOOO-

This has been sitting in my drafts for fucking months :)

Yes this will be getting a part two this is for me I’m the target audience-

My fucking hands man… they hurt-

Please god tell me someone appreciates this-

… is this my longest fic?-

#Obey me #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me lilith #obey me belphegor #obey me diavolo #obey me x reader #x reader #x gn reader #x yn #x gn y/n #obey me x gender neutral reader #obey me x gn!reader #Adam/Eve!Reader

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fabrickind · 2 months

Text

Finding Cosplay Photoshoot Locations: Part 1

📸Want to do cosplay photoshoots but don't know how to find that perfect place to shoot? This tutorial covers how to brainstorm a location for your shoot, logistical and cost concerns with shoot locations, and how to actually find your dream location.

📸This tutorial can be applied to shoots of all types, including but not limited to self shoots, shoots with friends, and shoots with hired photographers. Self shooting or shooting with friends only requires a camera (a phone works!) and possibly a tripod.

Part 1: Location Types

Coming up with the general type of location you want requires some brainstorming about what you want from the shoot. Think about your specific goals and types of photos you want and how certain types of locations would work for your goal. Remember you can always do multiple shoots for the same costume with different concepts!

For example, if you want big, sweeping shots, you will need a location that allows for wider framing and still looks good, while if you are primarily after shots with closer framing, you can go with a location with only a small usable portion. If you are looking to primarily showcase the costume itself or your posing, a flatter and simpler background works better than a busy background, but if you want cinematic shots or shots where you are existing in the environment as the character, somewhere that can show off the location itself as well as how you exist in it would work better.

Types of Locations

There are three main types of locations for cosplay shoots in relation to the cosplay itself. Of course, you can combine these types and there is a lot of overlap, but thinking of these three location types will help you conceptualize your shoot.

The first type is locations that are similar to something in the series, or an exact location from the series. My cover image is an example of this, where I took photos at the location of the climactic battle of the manga. Most fictional locations don't exist in real life so exactly, however, so think of locations that look similar to where this character might be found. The example on this slide shows a cosplay at a nature preserve with grassy fields and oak trees, which is similar to the locations the character traverses several times throughout the game she is from. This category can also include locations with similar vibes, such as a studio made up to look like a fancy European castle for a character from a series about European royalty, or a shoji screen backdrop for a character who lives in a Japanese-style house.

The second location type is locations with symbolic meaning. These locations showcase something about the themes or character arcs present in the series, and this can be accomplished with anything from specific props and setpieces to the entire background. One shoot I'd love to do with this concept is of Lady Blackpearl staring into a mirror -- this would symbolize her dual personality nature -- or of Lady Oscar wrapped in thorns, with the rose thorns symbolizing her glorious but fragile life. I chose to represent this location type with Ultimecia, a sorceress who wants to compress time so she is the only one who can live in the combined past/present/future, set among ruins. The ruins aren't accurate to the game, but show her crumbling reign marked by the passage of time.

The third location type is locations chosen for pure aesthetics. Obviously all locations are chosen for aesthetics, but these are locations with no deeper meaning and may not represent anything from the series at all. These can range from a simple colored wall backdrop to a sweeping landscape that simply looks good with the colors of the costume. Some examples are the Yasuho Hirose ocean shoot on the slide, where it doesn't represent a particular scene or location in the series but simply looks good with the cut and colors of the costume and the sailor theming, or my Princess White Rose milk bath photoshoot, where again the character never takes a milk bath, but a bathtub full of milk and roses shows off the detail of her floral hat and showcases the opulent nature of a rose-themed princess.

Requirements of your Shoot

Once you have a general concept, think of what is required to fit that concept. This can be as general as specific backgrounds or types of backgrounds to as specific as particular items at the location or particular lighting setups. Some shoots might need specific props, such as furniture to sit or lounge on, and props that won't work in a public location, such as realistic weapons that may cause panic or worse. Also keep in mind any accessibility needs, whether it is an accessible location in general to accommodate a disability or a need that is caused by the costume itself. Check not just the specific area you want to shoot, but how to get there from the parking lot or transit stop. Finally, keep in mind that unsecured outdoor locations, such as a park or beach, are locations where you can't change things about the location and you may encounter other people. Discussion of how to be respectful of such locations is in part 5.

Stay tuned for the rest of the parts~!

Links to other parts: 1 Location Types, 2 Discovering Locations, 3 Indoor vs Outdoor Locations, 4 Location Permissions, 5 Location Logistics

#cosplay photography #cosplay tips #cosplay help #cosplay advice #cosplay tutorial #helpful things

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theboxfort · 11 months

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List of details I've noticed in TPOT 1

Because I miss Pie, Liy, and Stapy. Gonna start AFTER the Cake at Stake

A lot of the focus will be put on Death PACT Again because. That's my favorite team.

Also ran out of space, so all the Exitor stuff after the credits is in the reblog!

Details in the elevator scene (seen above):

The most obvious one is where Two opens the door and it hits Puffball's face

Pie gets pushed into the elevator by the crowd (she's just sitting there)

Alternatively, she might actually be sliding backwards by herself instead of being pushed by the crowd

Coiny is most likely the first object to get into the elevator, as seen here

Fanny started out quite far away from the elevator but then scampered into the elevator. Also her legs barely moved

Pen was just out of the shot and had to haul ass into the elevator

Lightning waited for everyone (aside from Two) to get into the elevator before getting in there himself

Alternatively, an observation by @sweeswawswussy on twitter (a REALLY good one)!

lightning kinda look like hes contemplating to either float down the building with black hole or getting into the lift the face he made when he looks at black hole tho hhh looks like he felt sorry for him

BH didn't get in, because he didn't want to accidentally suck anyone up (which will 100% happen in such a small space), so he went down on his own

The rest of these are set AFTER the team picking scene (under the cut, because it's LONG)

When Two announced the challenge, everyone's standing in teams :]

The painting in the lobby, next to the elevator

During the elevator gets stuck scene with Just Not, while everybody reacted to the alarm, Pillow didn't. When the elevator falls, she's the only one smiling

Remote added a face to her drawing after she finished explaining <:]

PIE HOPPED DOWN FROM THE STAIRS LOOK AT HER GOOOOOOOOOOOO

Are You Okay's scene, yeah, let's go

This is shown in order! TB does not scream at all. GB seems excited at first, but after she got flung back, she's now. Not screaming in excitement. Eraser has the classic BFDI mouth in the first two flings.

COMPUTER ENHANCE THE PILE

80% sure that this is Cloudy's pile, I think that's a painting/drawing of Cloudy? The shape seems to fit him. There's also Balloony and Woody in the background, and maaaaybe Roboty to the bottom right, I'm not too sure.

BACK TO DEATH PACT!!!

In this scene, Fanny's the only member who doesn't seem to be tired! She's not panting, she's up straight (can't really tell if she's sitting or standing), and she's >:C

Remote gets recharged later, that's why she's also up in the second pic

When Just Not made it to the top, Book has the scrunkly old BFDI arm asset (the arm that's waving)

FANNY, SHE'S SMILING EHEHEHEHEH IT'S NOT A DETAIL, I JUST LIKE HER!!! Also Pie opens up her eyes :]

Sorry for the Death PACT Again stuff, I really like them. Here's a shot of them getting thrown by Remote

Remote grabs Trees and tells him to get Black Hole

TINY DEATH PACTERS...

Okay, so I counted all the hits Two got in this scene, and here's a list of what happened:

2 punches from Snowball

1 kick from Eggy

Another smack (1) from Snowball

1 jump/stomp from Marker

2 face slams from Robot Flower

1 slam from Bell

2 zaps from Lightning

1 BODY SLAM from Basketball

1 tray slap from Pillow

1 vomit to the face from Rocky (with Tree holding him)

1 jump kick from Foldy

1 knee strike from Basketball (GO BASKETBALL GO)

At least 10 stomps from Grassy (since we don't know if he kept stomping after the cut)

So in total, Two received 25 hits from these guys. The team that did the most damage is...

The Strongest Team on Earth with 20 hits! 10 from Grassy (the MVP), 3 from Snowball, 2 from Robot Flower, 2 from Basketball, 1 from Bell, 1 from Eggy, and 1 from Foldy!

A tangent here, from this screenshot, we can see that there's 6 floors in the hotel! Each floor is color coded too, red = lobby, orange = 2nd floor, yellow = 3rd floor, green = 4th floor, teal/cyan/blue = 5th floor, and the roof. Is a roof.

Fun fact, Basketball's lab from TPOT 2 is on the 4th floor!

Exitor stuff in the reblogs!!

#osc #battle for dream island #bfdi #bfb #tpot #long post #pink posts #part 2 done and it's in the reblogs hi hi and good night

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colourstreakgryffin · 6 months

Note

can you do Kenma x high school first year female reader who wants to join the girl’s volleyball team but is struggling to learn how to play so she can’t join yet and Kenma helps her?:3 ty!:p

Yessssiieeee~! My love! My Haikyuu baeee~! I love Kenma so much! That like… I can’t even express how much I love Kenma! Let’s goooo~! This is rather cute and I can already see it!

Kozume Kenma; Level 0; Training

“It’s fine, okay…?” Kenma speaks gently as he slowly walks over to the bouncing volleyball rolling on the grassy floor to pick it up and return to his designated spot in front of the portable net he and his childhood best friend, Kuroo had set up for him to assist his longtime crush in honing her overall sport skills

You, a second year girl much like him. In the background, not that noticeable but yet with a unique yet unexplainable spark that drew him to you

You really became determined to follow your passion and join the female Nekoma Volleyball team after you overheard one of your closest friends, Kenma himself joined the male Volleyball team as their main Setter. You have always wanted to play volleyball and regularly practiced with Kuroo, sparking up Kenma’s mad jealousy over you and his dorky childhood best friend bonding over matching desires

You’ll like him more than Kuroo, if he works harder to join the Volleyball Team right? You’ll like him, more than Kuroo, if he helps you with your own practice sessions. It may be true that Kenma thinks about you a lot… besides Kuroo, you’re one of his only actual friends and you’re so sweet to him…

So angelic and pure, like you are made directly from cotton candy and clouds. Kenma finds himself falling deeper and deeper in love with you everyday, his crush on you overtakes his thought process a lot

You were quite distressed as you widen your stance and stretch your pressed-together forearms outwards, so professionally as you waited for Kenma to fire a practice shot at you. Nowhere, it’d be painful but judging him, you know to always be on your toes for how unpredictable he truly is. You still liked that unpredictability well, such a little genius he is

Despite how tense you are over your rejection in trying to apply for the girls’ team. You were still smiling and determined to get what you wanted, and Kenma thrived off that. You were such a wonderful piece of motivation to keep doing all he can in the boys’ Volleyball Team, Kuroo’s encouragement did play a part but so did you

You two were simply passing shots to each other. It was simple, it was fun, it was quiet as Kenma occasionally intervened to show you specific strategies he used during practice with his team. You couldn’t help but feel a warmth rise in your stomach everytime Kenma’s cute, smooth yet reserved voice rung out and his surprisingly calloused hands moved your arms or hips in a precise style

He was just helping you, both of you thought that… but that didn’t mean both of you weren’t blushing intensely at every decision Kenma makes over helping you physically

Kenma did help you in all ways he can. He was straining himself, just a bit, to practice with you for hours, not necessarily above his usual hours but he wanted to try harder than he did with the team; all to try impress you whilst assisting you with your own volleyball skills by applying his own experience. He was no volleyball protege like Kuroo but he didn’t want Kuroo possibly stealing up your heart

Kenma will help get you into the girls’ team, on his own and at the best of his abilities. Kuroo and his many requests to assist him with training you, would always be rejected as he pushes on. It’s not just for a random girl… it’s for the girl he really likes, the girl who understands him well, the girl who has his heart. If you want to be a member of the Girls’ Volleyball Team but got rejected for your unsuitable skillset;

He’ll just train you to be even better, better than any of those girls ever could be

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justalildumpling · 1 year

Text

chapter 7: her nike zoom pegasus

wc: 1k

“Ok i can already cross out at least half the girls on this list because genuinely, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them wear sneakers before.”

Donghyuck leant back against the trunk of the big oak tree in the quad, as the rest of the group crowded around Jeno’s laptop. Jeno could only let out a tired sigh, as he couldn’t exactly pinpoint when or how he had ended up in this position.

It was a normal Wednesday afternoon, cherishing his rare days off by lazing around his home. He remembered sitting at the base of his couch, flipping through the endless catalogue of movies on Netflix before a thunderous set of knocks sounded at his door.

That’s weird, he thought. He didn’t recall ordering any packages or food during the span of the morning. Maybe it was one of the street cats he would feed every once in a while?

No, he immediately scrapped the thought. Cats most definitely do not knock on doors like that, if at all.

With his curiosity burning in his mind, Jeno shuffled his feet to the door. Flimsily fiddling with the doorknob with one hand and attempting to cover his tousled bed hair with another, he eventually pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head; and with a click, he pulled the door towards him to face his… friends?

Jeno couldn’t exactly recall the events that followed the initial confrontation as each of his friends grabbed a part of his arm, stuffed him into Mark’s car and set off to the university campus.

And now here he was, sitting crosslegged on the soft grassy lawns of the quadrangle watching his ambushers figure out the solution to his complicated love life (aka mostly Donghyuck, crossing out name after name with the red highlight tool of google docs)

“Not gonna lie to you guys,” Jeno spoke up, catching the attention of his group, “I don’t remember any of these people on the list.”

Jaemin slapped the side of his arm lightly, “Cause you were black out drunk, idiot.”

Renjun snickered softly from the opposite end of the circle with his head buried in his own device. He remained disengaged for most of their conversations, which in turn made Jeno believe that the devil’s incarnate called Lee Donghyuck had also forcefully brought the poor film student along for his own entertainment.

“Y/N L/N?” Donghyuck stated, breaking Jeno’s train of thought.

The boy paused his scrolling to stare at your name in thought for a couple of seconds, “Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“Wasn’t that the girl Hyunjae was crushing on last year?” Renjun replied nonchalantly, though his attention never left his major work.

A murmur of what seemed like mutual agreement filled the atmosphere with a few other remarks and unconfirmed rumours half hazardly thrown into the mix. The once heated conversation revolving around his love life or lack there of, dulled down into a mellower one about the girl in question.

“Speak of the devil,” Mark butted in, his eyes peering towards the stone pathway to his right.

Jeno alongside the rest of his friends followed the Canadian’s gaze to spot you. For an average human’s attention to detail, they would’ve stared for a couple of seconds, thought not much of it and returned their focus back to their original task at hand. But, not Jeno.

His eyes zeroed in on your shoes, Black Nike Zoom Pegasus. One of the models of footwear he wore for training back in his high school days. It was a comfortable fit, with the cushion of the sole being slightly ‌thicker than the previous models, it made it a perfect shoe for long distance cardio or just everyday life.

The white sole of your shoes was tinted a light brown; most probably dirtied from walking around the campus grounds in the rain and the Nike symbol slightly rubbed off, showing the much love the shoes had received over the years.

As his eyes trailed up to your pale blue cardigan draped on your shoulders, it felt as if sirens were going off in his brain. He could hear the squabbles of his friends in the background as he stood up from the park bench, taking cautionary steps towards your figure on the path.

Jeno could feel the beating of his heart crescendoing the closer in proximity the two of you got, his hands clenching the cuffs of his jacket, before mustering out, “Hey! You’re Y/N right?”

You slowly swivelled around, eyes wide open and your eyebrows raised by the unexpected interaction.

“Uh yeah? Jeno right?” You answered with a curious smile, “What’s up?”

Jeno didn’t exactly know what he was trying to achieve with this conversation, maybe he was trying to introduce himself to you. But obviously that failed because you already knew who he was, and of course you did. You were best friends with Park Sunghoon, his occasional gym buddy and seatmate in that god forbidden exercise physiology class he had barely passed last semester.

Maybe he wanted to ask you about last night, if you had willingly kissed him let alone actually remembered anything at all. But that would be weird, what was he meant to say?

“Hey, I’m pretty sure we made out last night but I don’t exactly remember if it’s you but you’re wearing the same exact running shoes as the girl so I’d like to think that it’s you.”

No. Over his dead body.

It was then Jeno realised that he had stayed silent for longer than socially acceptable as you started scrunching your eyebrows in confusion, tapping your fingers against the base of your laptop patiently for him to reply to your so called simple question.

Maybe he should’ve replied with “Were you at Sunwoo’s party last night because I swear I saw you around the beer pong area” or “Sorry, I blanked out there, have you seen Sunghoon around?” But life doesn’t work that simply, nor does his hungover state of a fried brain so instead came:

“If you’re free right now, let me take you on a date.”

masterlist || previous | next

pairing: jeno x fem! reader

synopsis: it wasn’t often jeno showed emotions of love and affection, let alone kissing a stranger at a party that he doesn’t even remember?! determined to find his nameless cinderella, he began searching the campus far and wide but as hidden secrets started surfacing, he started to wonder whether the midnight spark was meant to be pursued after all.

genre: social media au, college au, strangers to lovers, fluff, angst, crack

warnings: mentions of alcohol

note: ... hehe. bet u didn't see that coming (also i was running on like 3hrs of sleep when writing this so pls forgive me)

taglist: open! feel free to send an ask or comment to be added :))) ~ @vellitac @ddeonuism @heavenly-seraphic @matchahyuck @pckeia @rinrinslovebot @dior-15 @raikea10 @justsayk @btssf9nct @ismileeprnc-responder @moonchele @mothmork @dandelionxgal @cheyehc @luvenshiti @friseealamode @pastelsicheng @silvsie @kpopshithead @ifyournameischoisanpleaseloveme @pewpewpwe00 @kindawack @mrkleelvr @shxnz @woneulz @kyuupidwrites @yunho-1999 @loveleejn @barbkh8450t

permanent taglist: ~ @xxxx-23nct @maeumiluv @produmads @shwizhies @polarisjisung @dearlyminhyung @wooyoung-a @w3bqrl @daincty @deehyuck @enelrahs @rv7hsua @n0hyuck @neosdaisy @baekhyunstruly

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mikathemonster · 1 year

Note

Hi! I love your writing, would you be able to do prompt 5 "Please stop talking so I can kiss you." With kili? much love x

"traced feelings"

author's note: wow. it's short but this piece really brought me out of the abyss for a second. sorry I've basically dropped dead on the face of the earth when it comes to writing, but hopefully this is enough to feed you guys for now <3

Pairing: Kíli / Gender-Neutral Reader

Word Count: 1,226

summary: while you admire the view for your sketches, Kíli admires an entirely different view

content warnings: fluff

DO NOT REPOST OR COPY. MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT.

It was long sunny days like this where Kíli felt as though he could sit in the grassy knolls with you forever, the shadow of Erebor behind you two as you sketched little drawings of the nearby flowers in your book. This was one of the many times Kíli had met you here, enjoying the stillness with you in your favorite place to relax, and now your favorite place to come to because of a certain dwarven prince.

Sometimes, he’d ask you thousands of questions just to hear the sound of your voice mingle with the wind and grace his ears. And though he genuinely listened, it was hard for you to tell with the way he would gaze at you with a dreamy look in his eye. But you never could complain, not when you admired the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed or smiled. It was a precious time you two spent together despite the unspoken growing feelings you had begun harboring for one another.

Here you were with him, the clouds peppering the sky and giving you moments of breezy shade followed by the gentle winds from the mountain; Kíli had come soon after you had set up your spot under a tall oak tree, some water and art supplies by your side as you had come today to sketch and rest your mind for a little. Like clockwork, he had memorized your favorite times to come out and enjoy the sunshine. The flowers around you were in full bloom as they ebbed and flowed against the breeze, mingled with the weeds and grass.

“Did I keep you waiting?” He had asked before seating himself, laying the grass across you as he gave you a warm smile.

“Not at all, I was simply admiring the view,” you shook your head, turning your sketchbook around to show it to him. It was a simple drawing, still quite early in its birth, but it made him smile.

“Is that so? I could give you another view if you’d like,” he said, a teasing tone in his voice as he stretched out among the soft green grass. You laughed but kept your gaze fixed to your sketch to avoid blushing.

“As lovely as that would be, I’m not sure you could handle being my muse,” you replied with an amused voice, the soft scribbling sound of your pencil filling your mind as you carefully etched the softness of the flower petals into the landscape on your page.

“You wound me, Y/N,” he said, his hand coming to his heart to feign hurt. “And I thought we were friends, truly.”

“We are, Kíli,” you said. “Which is why I’m being honest with you.”

“Well, go on then. Tell me why I would make a terrible muse,” he spoke, pressing you for more information as he admired the way the wind played with your hair. Your gaze was still pressed to your drawing, which gave him plenty of opportunity to appreciate your beauty.

You chuckled, rolling your eyes with a slight scoff. “Alright then. For starters, you never sit still,” you began, speaking slowly in between strokes of your pencil. Now the trees and the little pond were coming into view on your thick page, the scene truly coming together as you outlined the clouds in the background. This piece was almost done, you thought to yourself. “Everytime you sit with me, you fidget about like a little dog.”

“I do not!” He gasped, though he did so while twirling the grass between his fingers, their green blades intertwined in his grasp. He looked so beautiful, you thought, as he rolled around among the grass and the weeds and the flowers.

“My point exactly.” You smiled, and it was just as radiant as a flower to him. In this forested field full of flora and fauna and all of nature’s beautiful creations, you were the prettiest flower in the entire glade.

“You always move around, I can never get you to sit still,” you continued. “Even when you had me paint your portrait, it took so long because you can only sit still for a little while at a time.” In truth, Kíli’s commissioned portrait had taken quite some time for you to complete, and it was completely and utterly his fault. But what you didn’t know is that he had purposely made the process much longer than necessary as a means of being able to be so close to you on a routine basis. “And then when you do sit down for me, you always keep cracking jokes to make me laugh.”

“Would you prefer me to be melancholy?” He asked, his smile growing but his eyes seeming distant as he couldn’t do anything besides look at you. But he didn’t feel far away, no. He felt almost too close, as if he could see all of you right now as the wind brushed around you two. It was intimate.

“Not at all,” you shook your head. “I adore your jokes. But it’s hard to paint or sketch or carve or anything when I’m too busy laughing at something you’ve said or done. You’re very mischie–”

“Please stop talking so I can kiss you,” he muttered, staring into your eyes in a wistful trance, and it was more than enough to stop your thoughts completely.

“I’m sorry?” You responded, completely taken aback by his soft-spoken statement. It seemed he too was startled, eyes widening as if he had just realized that he had such a thing out loud. He hadn’t meant to, in all honesty; his thoughts had just become far too loud. And you were also quite caught off-guard, finally caught out of your sketching to look at him face to face. Silence fell over you for a second as your grip loosened around your pencil, and suddenly Kíli was all too aware of what he had just uttered.

“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to–” He began, but you quickly abandoned your art supplies, tossing them aside as you shuffled closer to him, your hands now resting on the sides of his face as you looked deep into his dark eyes.

“Did you mean it?” You asked, wanting clarification before you went any further in your current impulsive display.

“What?”

“Did you mean it? Can I kiss you?” You asked again, now growing a small worry that his question had been ingenuine.

His lips cracked quickly into a smile as his eyes danced between your eyes, your hair, your lips, and then your eyes again. “Mahal, yes. Yes, you can.” He breathed out, an airy laugh ringing in your ears before you leaned in and pressed your chapped lips to his gentle ones, your eyes closed as you pressed yourself closer to him with his face in your hands. Eager to accept your feelings, his hands snaked their way to rest along the curve of your waist, his touch gentle as he massaged small circles with his thumbs, wanting to enjoy this moment for however long it lasted.

And within a moment, you pulled away. Your cheeks felt warm as you could do nothing else but look at the beautiful dwarf in front of you. His cheeky smile returned, a brow raising in amusement. “You don’t suppose we could do that again, do you?”

#kili fanfic #kili durin #fili and kili #kili x reader #kili smut #kili #lord of the rings #lotr fanfiction #lotr fanfic #lotr fic #lotr #the hobbit fanfic #the hobbit fanfiction #the hobbit #the hobbit imagine #lotr x reader #the hobbit x reader #mikathemonster #mikamonsterwriting

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balladofthewhitehorse · 4 months

Note

hope you aren't sick of me requesting things but how about "dinner is served" for eng, Scot, and Wales!

I would never be sick of your requests <3 Thank you so, so much - You inspire me to keep writing Hetalia Fics, not gonna lie. Your bear Eng has fuelled me.

Wales scrutinised her brothers quietly, leaned back in her chair as England and Scotland stood on the shores of the lake; It was painted in idyllic colours, faint hues of pink and washed out orange unfurling across the sky. A thread of anxiety coiled tightly around her lungs, her heart, her ribs as England muttered something to Scotland - and then a bark of laughter let Wales breathe. ‘’Having fun-?’’ She called out, smiling thinly as England turned around to regard her - with an expression painfully reminiscent of younger days amongst the dandelions and the trees (Children’s wishes and sunlight - freckling the dark undergrowth). It struck at her heartstrings like fingers at a harp, Wales’ smile thinning. ‘’-Caught anything?’’

‘’Not yet.’’ England grunted softly, shaking his head dolefully; Fish had been furtive and England hovered on the grassy lakeside, almost tempted to dive in head-first into the brackish water. They would have more success that way, England was sure - impatience thrumming through every nerve. ‘’I don’t know how you can stand this - just a load of sitting around…waiting for something to happen.’’ (Once he had complained during a siege, staring up at those insurmountable walls - and now it echoed by the lakeshore, on a cold, grey day).

‘’Maybe if you stopped whingeing, the fish would come.’’ Scotland muttered under his breath.

England’s eyes flashed as he shot Scotland a glare; The surface of the lake rippled as a fish came up for air, a darting brown shape in the dusky light (England pouted, irritation bearing teeth - a thorny thing he was, as he elbowed Scotland in the ribs for good measure). ‘’You’re hardly the epitome of cheeriness.’’ He glanced at Wales, seeking her approval with an impish grin that lit up his eyes - and one that vanished as quick as a wink when Wales shook her head. ‘’Oh come on-’’ England groused, petulant while his half-sister simply crossed her arms in disapproval; A tension crackling in the air as England reluctantly stood down.

‘’Sorry.’’

Scotland shrugged, smirking as he reeled in a struggling trout - its speckles shiny in the early light. ‘’Naw, it’s alright-’’ He held up the fish to England’s face, pride blooming a fire in his heart as he slowly unhooked it from the line. ‘’-Caught something. Shown you how it’s done.’’

‘’Get it away from me.’’ Scotland snorted, amused as England’s nose wrinkled with disgust (freckles dusted the bridge of his nose - and Wales’ too, and Scotland was struck at once with the heady, heavy realisation that they were his siblings). The trout was carefully placed into an ice box, still kicking as Scotland laid it out reverently - a bruise coiled tight in his chest as the chatter of his family continued to murmur in the background like mayflies. ‘’...Hey, you know what we should do?’’ He sat down, wincing something in his back twinged - bad memories dragged to the surface, like a cat with a mouse - and pulled out a small pocket-knife, blood spooling out of the fish as he began to cut it open. ‘’-Have dinner here? There’s plenty of wood for a fire and…England, you remember how to set a fire? Like I taught you? Remember?’’ Scotland asked hopefully as he looked up at his younger brother (hands folded around a pair of dry sticks, knees bent into a thick bed of pine-needles - finger outstretched in patient instruction).

‘’Or I could use a lighter?’’ England replied, his voice curt (the snapping of twigs beneath his feet as they stalked one another like wolves; Circling in bitter enmity, kin’s blood on their palms). He fumbled with his pockets as Wales slowly stood up - wandering along the lakeshore, in search of dry wood for the fire. ‘’It’s not-’’ A lump rose in his throat, England choking on sentimentality as he scoffed, a defensive sneer on his face; Prickly and warring with thorns, swarthy red flowers as a flush rose up his neck, cowed by the purse of Wales’ lips and the raise of Scotland’s thick eyebrows, questioning his little brother’s stubbornness.

‘’Are you saying that because you’ve forgotten?’’ Wales hummed quietly, striding towards her brothers - armful of twigs and sticks of varying sizes, carefully chosen and carefully arranged in a small pyramid-ish shape. ‘’...I thought you didn’t carry lighters, Eng?’’ Wales replied softly, watching England grasp it between his thumb and index finger. ‘’You don’t like the fi-’’ A short, curt look - a flash of sparks in England’s eyes, and Wales bit her tongue ruefully. ‘’It’s not the olden days anymore.’’ He replied, fumbling the lighter out of his pocket; A shudder as he pressed the pad of his thumb down on the cool metal, taking a deep breath as something fearful inside England filled out the space in his lungs - a stone in his throat, smooth and icy and heavy. ‘’We’re not-’’ A spark, and England wavered (a deep chill set into his bones, a field turned barren - there would be no more crops, all the men and women and children were leaving; Seeking more fruitful land, somewhere where there wasn’t ash, smoke and cinders). ‘’We’re not like that anymore-!’’ He cried out, half-between laughter and frustration, crinkling the corners of his eyes as the lighter trembled in his fingers. ‘’Old fuck-’’

‘’Hey-’’ Scotland’s brows furrowed, heavy and thoughtful; Scales clung to his fingers, silvery in the little grey sunlight. ‘’-You forgot. What about it?’’ (Wreaths of smoke hung in the air, trepidation at the base of Scotland’s spine; Convoys of mumbling strangers, yet no England).

‘’I didn’t forget.’’

‘’Aye, you did.’’ ‘’Would you piss off, you-’’

Wales couldn’t help, but snort with amusement - head jerking up towards the treeline, now gone plum-dark. Streaks of gold filtered against a pale pink sky, a blue haze steadily encroaching with the usual impatience of twilight. She had taught Scotland how to build a fire, and then he had passed those lessons onto England while she was away; Cinders at his fingertips, England had a faceful of smoke and coughing lungs by the time Wales had come back to find the aftermath of an argument - tempers had frayed, red-eyed and hissing curses as Scotland tightly bound the puckered, pale seam of a blister under his palm, England’s face drawn into a defiant glare - shot up from the summer grass like a startled rabbit, raw knees. Hot coals on freckled skin, thrown in an argument over what leaves to burn. It was the typical kind of argument that would soon become familiar, and in time - even endearing, before spats were traded for conflict, balled fists and hair-grabbing for swords and war-hammers. The air crackled with tension - a storm brewing between England and Scotland, frowns drawn like blades, and she was stuck between them again. ‘’Would you knock it off, you two?’’ Wales hissed between her teeth, scolding her young brothers - pulling them apart, sit in the corner and think about what you’ve just done - and when she looked at them, eyes flitting between England and Scotland, Wales felt a pang of heartache. Some things would never change.

‘’England, you can prepare the fish; Scotland, deal with the fire.’’ Wales huffed quietly. ‘’I’m hungry.’’ A sidelong glance down towards the copse of woods, and she nodded resolutely. ‘’I’ll get some thyme, sage and rosemary. Please try not to kill each other, you hear?’’ She offered a lop-sided smile - anxiety thrumming beneath her skin as she slowly walked away, slipping into the cool shade of the woods; Twigs cracked beneath her footsteps, a tight coil of nerves sitting heavy in her chest as she drew in a deep breath. She just hoped they would listen to her - just one day of peace and quiet, just one day of the year with her brothers that didn’t make Wales want to scream (it would well up inside of her; Dragonsfire buried deep in mud).

Lingering in the wake of Wales’ silence, England blinked slowly - and staggered to his feet with a grunt, muttering under his breath as he slowly deboned the fish with a practised ease of a man who’s been doing this for centuries. A sailor had taught him, sat on a pier with a grey sea churning beneath their feet - stone and timber and a sense of hope that England longed for. Scotland might have taught him to fish, but England remembered with a rueful smile the lessons passed on to him through mortal hands. ‘’I’ve heard birch bark is good for starting fires.’’ He piped up, glancing towards Scotland with a thoughtful smile. ‘’Don’t remember where I heard it from.’’ A steady plume of smoke had already started, trawling through the air in a lofty and lazy trail from the pile of dead leaves and sticks. ‘’I think you-’’ ‘’-I told you about that.’’ Scotland cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘’Nice that you remember.’’ A silence - filled in by the odd birdsong - crept in, uncomfortable and yet familiar (the woolly burr of an old blanket, drawn tight around their shoulders as they lay side by side - the crooked lean-to of their shelter and one another all that they needed). When Wales returned with sprigs of rosemary and thyme, they set about cooking the fish in a small frying pan from the boot of Scotland’s car. (‘’Why do you have that?’’ England had asked, incredulous and confused. ‘’Why not?’’ Scotland had responded - his tone manner of fact, offering no further explanation and certainly not wishing to admit that it had been France’s idea, hastily sequestered on him in case of a car breaking down on the side of the road; Leaving them both to subsist on poor quality petrol-station lunch).

Once dinner was served, they sat in the cool glow of the dusky light - and for the first time in a long while, things were amicable between them.

#hws england #hws scotland #hws wales #brit bros

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