08-03-2021, 09:26 PM
[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: andale mono; font-size: 6.5pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px; color: #484a4d"]Seagulls cawed overheard and the low rumble in the distance was indication that they were nearing the coastline. That was always helpful — somewhere along the coastline was the city of lights, perhaps not in the literal sense but he had heard that the people around these parts made the city shine a little more than the rest. Perhaps it was the extravegance of the parties, the way multicoloured fireworks ignited bursts of colour throughout the sky.
Out of all the colours, Rafe liked the colour blue the best.
The sea was blue, at least in his illustrations as he’d allow a paintbrush to glide across its canvas. If this place were to welcome the family in, Rafe would love nothing more than to paint a still life landscape of the sea itself. That would be a painter's paradise. What Rafe loved more than his passion for the arts, though, was the fact that his daughter had possessed the same talents as he did. Gianna was growing increasingly adept at her own illustrations — whilst most children thought of the human frame as a body that seemed more fitting for a stick insect than a person, Gianna would attempt the correct proportions, albeit somewhat messily. She drew kneecaps that appeared more like growths attached to the side of her illustrative person and hair as if every person was in fact the embodiment of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The effort to improve was there, however, and so Rafe would praise her with his usual sneering grins and baffled remarks.
Whilst perhaps to some, he seemed somewhat snotty, it was an attitude that Gigi found to be highly amusing. Father and daughter were as close as two people could be, and Rafe’s honesty to his daughter encouraged the freedom to speak up for herself and joke around relentlessly with her father. Because Rafe was one of those fathers; he always favoured the thought of being a friend first, and a parent second. Gianna liked the colour blue, too, but perhaps this was an opinion learned from her father himself. Whilst Gianna’s reasoning was as guileless as one would expect a twelve year old’s to be, Rafe could create art with each word he’d keep to himself, painting the most exquisite scene in explaining what made the colour blue so appealing to him.
Maybe it was just the colour of the sea, that turquoise or cerulean or sometimes a little grey on a particularly cloudy day. Heather’s eyes did the same thing, too. Sometimes her eyes would go from blue to grey, green to blue, all of those awe-inspiring hues and shades all settling within those orbs of hers. Rafe’s eyes were a boring brown, not even the type that would dazzle with specks of gold in the sunlight. But Heather’s eyes were a sight for sore eyes (and excuse him for the lack of better words). This was humiliating and, quite frankly, corny as hell, Rafe would later add with a dismissive huff. He was an artist with an eye for beauty, but never would he stoop to the level of actually admitting such a cheesy admittance to someone like Heather.
They weren’t a thing, despite all signs leading to them being a couple. They had a child together, and Gianna would call them Mom and Dad in the same way any child with two loving parents would. They were close friends, and smiled at each other adoringly every time they passed one another. They lived with each other. But, they were not lovers, but friends. Co-parenting, to put things precisely. The timing wasn’t ever right for them to be anything more than friends and, for the longest of times, Rafe would willingly accept it for what it was. Even up until recently he had been, in fact, none the wiser but feelings sometimes crept upon one until it was blinding. Mind-boggling in the same appreciative way as when Rafe would see his favourite shade of blue. He saw it in the sea, and he saw it in Heather’s eyes.
Embarrassing to say so, but it was true!
Most colours in life were muted, like the humdrum of a hard working day, but as Rafe saw The Badlands just over the horizon, the dullness of its steel shaded silhouette ignited a colourful mind. He looked at those muted colours and thought there ought to be more to it than this. The silhouette shrouded the main attraction in Rafe’s mind — the ocean that he most looked forward to. He hadn’t seen the sea in years, actually, and doubted that Gigi had ever seen the coast at all in her life.
❝ Oof, I’m not as strong as I used to be! ❞ Rafe panted as he finally stopped jogging ahead, eventually letting go of Gianna’s legs as she slid off of his back after a piggyback ride. ❝ You’re not that old… Yet! ❞ She giggled, Rafe raising his brows and allowing his jaw to drop in a feigned look of shock. ❝ I will never grow old, I have you know. I meant that I haven’t done a workout in sometime because someone’s gotta look out for a little monkey that I know. ❞ Poking her nose gently, Gianna swatted Rafe’s hand away with a cheeky grin before looking over her shoulder to wait for Heather to catch up again. ❝ Well, this is it. ❞ Rafe announced, gesturing towards the city that they had since reached before gesturing his pointer finger towards Heather.
❝ Stick with Mom, okay? I’ll do the talking. ❞ Without the pep talk beforehand, Rafe knew that Gianna would try to take over the conversation with her confident, sassy remarks. Whilst Rafe adored her personality, he could never be sure how these people would respond to newcomers. Whilst Rafe didn’t seem like much of a protector — more like a gentle giant in nature — he would not put his beautiful daughter in harm’s way. Watching Gianna return to Heather’s side, Rafe’s gaze lingered on Heather for a moment too long before he looked back to see a few Badlanders approaching.
❝ You’re in The Badlands. We don’t allow kids at casino night, ya know? ❞ The one NPC pointed out shortly, Rafe staring with slightly parted lips before he said, ❝ Uh, no. I’m actually looking for… Elisa? ❞ Salem, but she’d given Rafe no more than her birth name and her location when they first united. ❝ Huh, all right. And you are? ❞ The NPC took a step back, readying themselves to look around for Salem. Rafe gave him a shrug before he said, ❝ Just tell her that her brother’s here to see her. ❞ With that, the NPC gave him a slow nod before turning around to notify Salem.
Several moments after he left, Rafe began to give the growing crowd of Badlanders a cheesy grin, pulling his head back and clasping his front hands together in front of him before he began to ramble. ❝ Well it’s… It’s half-brother, technically. You wouldn’t believe the story behind it. My father… What a funny chap. You all have probably heard of him. Lionel King, you know? Starring in all of the Revenge of the Lost Pioneer films? That’s my father — yes I know — they all say I'm a spitting image of him. Must've been one handsome feller, hey? ❞ One of the Badlanders curled his lip. ❝ Man, I hated those films. So boring. ❞ Rafe raised his brows as the Badlander cut him off, before eventually Rafe laughed an awkward chuckle. ❝ At least you’d heard of them, right? Right? ❞ There was silence for a moment before Badlanders began to laugh. Perhaps out of pity, Rafe would have imagined. After all, this was a slightly awkward conversation. Hopefully Elisa would show her face soon enough.
// Revenge of the Lost Pioneer? Yeah it's totally a made up film series in the same way that Rafe's dad was a made up celebrity film actor, we'll just go with it HGJFKL Also sorry I totally rambled, the only important part are the last two paragraphs!
Out of all the colours, Rafe liked the colour blue the best.
The sea was blue, at least in his illustrations as he’d allow a paintbrush to glide across its canvas. If this place were to welcome the family in, Rafe would love nothing more than to paint a still life landscape of the sea itself. That would be a painter's paradise. What Rafe loved more than his passion for the arts, though, was the fact that his daughter had possessed the same talents as he did. Gianna was growing increasingly adept at her own illustrations — whilst most children thought of the human frame as a body that seemed more fitting for a stick insect than a person, Gianna would attempt the correct proportions, albeit somewhat messily. She drew kneecaps that appeared more like growths attached to the side of her illustrative person and hair as if every person was in fact the embodiment of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The effort to improve was there, however, and so Rafe would praise her with his usual sneering grins and baffled remarks.
Whilst perhaps to some, he seemed somewhat snotty, it was an attitude that Gigi found to be highly amusing. Father and daughter were as close as two people could be, and Rafe’s honesty to his daughter encouraged the freedom to speak up for herself and joke around relentlessly with her father. Because Rafe was one of those fathers; he always favoured the thought of being a friend first, and a parent second. Gianna liked the colour blue, too, but perhaps this was an opinion learned from her father himself. Whilst Gianna’s reasoning was as guileless as one would expect a twelve year old’s to be, Rafe could create art with each word he’d keep to himself, painting the most exquisite scene in explaining what made the colour blue so appealing to him.
Maybe it was just the colour of the sea, that turquoise or cerulean or sometimes a little grey on a particularly cloudy day. Heather’s eyes did the same thing, too. Sometimes her eyes would go from blue to grey, green to blue, all of those awe-inspiring hues and shades all settling within those orbs of hers. Rafe’s eyes were a boring brown, not even the type that would dazzle with specks of gold in the sunlight. But Heather’s eyes were a sight for sore eyes (and excuse him for the lack of better words). This was humiliating and, quite frankly, corny as hell, Rafe would later add with a dismissive huff. He was an artist with an eye for beauty, but never would he stoop to the level of actually admitting such a cheesy admittance to someone like Heather.
They weren’t a thing, despite all signs leading to them being a couple. They had a child together, and Gianna would call them Mom and Dad in the same way any child with two loving parents would. They were close friends, and smiled at each other adoringly every time they passed one another. They lived with each other. But, they were not lovers, but friends. Co-parenting, to put things precisely. The timing wasn’t ever right for them to be anything more than friends and, for the longest of times, Rafe would willingly accept it for what it was. Even up until recently he had been, in fact, none the wiser but feelings sometimes crept upon one until it was blinding. Mind-boggling in the same appreciative way as when Rafe would see his favourite shade of blue. He saw it in the sea, and he saw it in Heather’s eyes.
Embarrassing to say so, but it was true!
Most colours in life were muted, like the humdrum of a hard working day, but as Rafe saw The Badlands just over the horizon, the dullness of its steel shaded silhouette ignited a colourful mind. He looked at those muted colours and thought there ought to be more to it than this. The silhouette shrouded the main attraction in Rafe’s mind — the ocean that he most looked forward to. He hadn’t seen the sea in years, actually, and doubted that Gigi had ever seen the coast at all in her life.
❝ Oof, I’m not as strong as I used to be! ❞ Rafe panted as he finally stopped jogging ahead, eventually letting go of Gianna’s legs as she slid off of his back after a piggyback ride. ❝ You’re not that old… Yet! ❞ She giggled, Rafe raising his brows and allowing his jaw to drop in a feigned look of shock. ❝ I will never grow old, I have you know. I meant that I haven’t done a workout in sometime because someone’s gotta look out for a little monkey that I know. ❞ Poking her nose gently, Gianna swatted Rafe’s hand away with a cheeky grin before looking over her shoulder to wait for Heather to catch up again. ❝ Well, this is it. ❞ Rafe announced, gesturing towards the city that they had since reached before gesturing his pointer finger towards Heather.
❝ Stick with Mom, okay? I’ll do the talking. ❞ Without the pep talk beforehand, Rafe knew that Gianna would try to take over the conversation with her confident, sassy remarks. Whilst Rafe adored her personality, he could never be sure how these people would respond to newcomers. Whilst Rafe didn’t seem like much of a protector — more like a gentle giant in nature — he would not put his beautiful daughter in harm’s way. Watching Gianna return to Heather’s side, Rafe’s gaze lingered on Heather for a moment too long before he looked back to see a few Badlanders approaching.
❝ You’re in The Badlands. We don’t allow kids at casino night, ya know? ❞ The one NPC pointed out shortly, Rafe staring with slightly parted lips before he said, ❝ Uh, no. I’m actually looking for… Elisa? ❞ Salem, but she’d given Rafe no more than her birth name and her location when they first united. ❝ Huh, all right. And you are? ❞ The NPC took a step back, readying themselves to look around for Salem. Rafe gave him a shrug before he said, ❝ Just tell her that her brother’s here to see her. ❞ With that, the NPC gave him a slow nod before turning around to notify Salem.
Several moments after he left, Rafe began to give the growing crowd of Badlanders a cheesy grin, pulling his head back and clasping his front hands together in front of him before he began to ramble. ❝ Well it’s… It’s half-brother, technically. You wouldn’t believe the story behind it. My father… What a funny chap. You all have probably heard of him. Lionel King, you know? Starring in all of the Revenge of the Lost Pioneer films? That’s my father — yes I know — they all say I'm a spitting image of him. Must've been one handsome feller, hey? ❞ One of the Badlanders curled his lip. ❝ Man, I hated those films. So boring. ❞ Rafe raised his brows as the Badlander cut him off, before eventually Rafe laughed an awkward chuckle. ❝ At least you’d heard of them, right? Right? ❞ There was silence for a moment before Badlanders began to laugh. Perhaps out of pity, Rafe would have imagined. After all, this was a slightly awkward conversation. Hopefully Elisa would show her face soon enough.
// Revenge of the Lost Pioneer? Yeah it's totally a made up film series in the same way that Rafe's dad was a made up celebrity film actor, we'll just go with it HGJFKL Also sorry I totally rambled, the only important part are the last two paragraphs!
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YOU CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD THEN TORE MY WORLD APART
[div style="width: 400px; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; font-size: 5pt; line-height: 1; letter-spacing: 3px; word-spacing: 2px; margin-bottom: 5px;"]ONLY A DEVIL LIKE YOU COULD MAKE ME SIN LIKE I DO.
[div style="width: 400px; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; font-size: 5pt; line-height: 1; letter-spacing: 3px; word-spacing: 2px; margin-bottom: 5px;"]ONLY A DEVIL LIKE YOU COULD MAKE ME SIN LIKE I DO.
![[Image: ves_8_2.jpg]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/570131315656228879/672256263177895946/ves_8_2.jpg)