Hi, guys! I’m excited to show you a. preview of the piece I did with designer @illuminatedweasel for the TDDK Style Zine! This is a Tododeku model/photographer zine. So much great content, and it’s all FREE to download on October 27! Follow @tddkmodelzine for updates on the pdf release!
Hey, @illuminatedweasel !!!!!! I was your gifter for the allurance @vldexchange !!!!!!!! You asked for summer and water parks and a happy ending and, well, I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you really like it!!!!!!!!
Allura peered at herself through the mirror, not quite believing what she was doing.
The human woman behind her was smiling softly, running her hands through Allura’s damp tresses. “So what are you thinking? Just a trim? Did you want to add any colour to it?”
Allura shook her head, her gaze trailing down the sagging curls. They were so thick, so heavy, a white purer than the snow she had witnessed mere months before.
It felt like it was from another time, the style of a princess from worlds away.
The tinkling of bells pulled her attention from her reflection, and her eyes caught on the hair of the woman entering, of the short brown waves curling softly around her face like a halo, their tips barely grazing her bared collarbone.
Allura jerked her finger behind her. “Can I have it look like that?”
The woman behind her grinned. “I can have it look even better.”
Allura ran her fingers through the strands, still warm from the curling iron the stylist had twisted through her hair.
The stylist had been right, she’d made Allura’s hair look even better than the stranger’s, giving it soft edges that danced again the skin of her throat and brushed against the very tops of her shoulders. Gently curling bangs lay horizontally across her forehead, leaving one half exposed.
She loved it. She loved everything about it. It felt new, it felt fresh, like the turn her life had taken. The threat of the Galra empire had been dealt with, the Universe in the midst of a young, beautiful peace.
It was such a small thing, having her hair cut so short, but it felt like something huge. The Universe was different now, it was time for her to change along with it.
She emerged from the salon, the smell of roses and heady oils chasing after her as she stepped into the humid day. She felt sweat clinging to her bared arms and legs as she made her way to the sleek vehicle in the parking lot, grey clouds pouring from a pipe at its back. She could never remember what the pipe was called, but she was pretty sure that what the vehicle was doing was known as idling.
She knocked on the side door once, waving through the tinted windows until she heard a click, the door opening.
Cold air wafted into the sticky summer day as she slid into the cool interior. Lance sat at the wheel, brows raised as he leaned back in his seat.
Allura cocked her head to the side as she watched his mouth open and close, like he was searching for air. “Is something the matter?”
He shook his head, seeming to find his voice. “No, no. It’s just. You look beautiful, Allura.”
She felt herself grinning shyly, the tips of her ears warming. She tucked a loose strand behind her ear. “Thank you, Lance.”
She was quite proud that her voice didn’t waver.
He swallowed once, twice, his throat bobbing as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, heading to the house they were sharing with the other paladins. “So, any occasion?”
“What do you mean?”
He cleared his throat. “I mean, for your hair. Not that it needs any special occasion, or anything like that…” He trailed off, brows furrowing as he focused on the road ahead.
Allura shrugged. “It felt like a time for change. For celebrating.”
“So you cut your hair?”
She cocked her head to the side, heart suddenly squeezing painfully. “Do you not like it?”
He shook his head furiously. “No no, I do. I was just thinking, to celebrate I mean, are you only going to cut your hair?”
Allura hummed to herself in thought, staring out the window as they passed by a flower shop. “Lance, do you think you could pull over for a tick?”
He did, and Allura quickly escaped the crisp air of the car into the muggy summer world. She made her way to the flower shop, peering down at the flowers, at the brilliant azures and the simple violets. At the petals in reds so deep they reminded her of hearts brimming with true love. Flowers an ivory as pale as her hair.
She didn’t notice Lance coming up beside her, plucking a small bouquet of roses the same hue as the sky at dawn. She stared at them, an idea cracking through her like lightning.
“Lance,” she said, her fingers brushing against his knuckles, staying his movements. “If you’re willing, I’d love to celebrate with you.”
Now it was his turn to blush, a deep scarlet creeping up his neck and crawling into his hairline. He fumbled for words and Allura couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. Gently, she pulled the bouquet from his hands, paying for the flowers before heading back towards the car.
He followed after her, finally able to find his voice. “Did you - Did you have anything in mind?”
Again she hummed, placing the flowers in her lap. She pushed her hair back, already sticking to her face in the heat. “Well, it is quite hot right now. Do you have any ideas that might go along with that?”
Lance grinned, starting the ignition, cool air blessedly blasting against her face. “Oh, I think I have something in mind.”
The next day, Allura found herself at the gates of some sort of attraction park, children and adults alike screaming as they were wrenched around metallic tracks in brightly coloured cars. The smell of frying foods and ice cream filled the air as she shuffled through a crammed line stuffed with sweaty people and whining children.
She huffed, gripping Lance’s arm as they plodded forward, the rest of the members of the team pressed behind them. “This is your idea of a celebration?”
Lance hummed, a look of impish delight curving across his features. “Just wait a minute, princess. I promise this will be worth it.”
Eventually, after shoving through a strange entrance with spinning bars on its side, Allura and the others were swept into the park. She stared at the great metal contraptions scattered throughout the park, the roiling crowds, the exuberance of the people waiting in lines beside the metallic behemoths.
She turned to Lance, quirking a brow. “Well?”
He shrugged, tugging her by the hand through the sea of people. “Just another minute, princess. I promise.”
“You’ve been saying that a lot lately,” she grumbled.
He laughed, plodding ahead.
Behind them, the rest of the paladins chattered amongst themselves, Shiro trailing at the back, hefting a giant bag behind him.
And then they were before a set of gates, the air much cooler, like a crisp breeze curling from the pools at the base of the great Altean mountain range. From where she stood, Allura could hear shrieking and splashing and, beneath that, the rush of water.
She tipped onto her toes, suddenly giddy. “Lance, where are you taking us?”
He put a finger to his lips, that mischievous light dancing in his eyes.
They passed through a small path between a thin barrier of trees, crossing over a wooden bridge that echoed dully the sounds of their footsteps.
And then they were standing before more monstrous rides, but these ones seemed to be dripping with water, waterfalls sluicing from their sides. Great slides twisted and curled around frothing pools, while a river seemed to snake further into the trees. Towels had been laid out haphazardly across the ground, most coating the grassy shores surrounding the water wonderland.
Lance stretched out an arm, fingers splayed. “Welcome, to the water park.”
Allura clasped her hands together, her gaze roving over the water park, laughing as she watched a group of giggling children try desperately to fight against the tide of a large pool. Behind her, the other paladins grouped. They moved along the edges of the park, stopping at the edges of the grassy area.
Shiro dumped his bag, unzipping the top. “I brought pool stuff for everyone. Sunscreen, towels, bathing suits…” He trailed off, listing the items as he tossed them from the bag. The paladins scrambled to scoop the items up, Hunk tossing the towels into the air, unfurling their lengths as they rested against the emerald grass.
Allura picked up her suit, quickly changing in one of the designated areas, before racing back out onto the asphalt, ignoring the way it burned the pads of her feet as she surveyed the park.
Beside her, Lance hummed. The other paladins splashed into the closest pool, Keith crying out as a wave engulfed him.
Lance opened his mouth to speak, but Allura cut him off, jabbing her finger at the tallest slide. “That one.”
His expression was bemused, and slightly afraid. “What?”
“I’d love to go on that one first.”
He swallowed, crossing his arms over his bare chest, his eyes moving between Allura and the monstrous water ride. “Well,” he said, voice catching. “Anything for you, Allura.”
Allura screeched as they tore down the slide, water splashing off the edges. She threw her hands up into the air while Lance held the small plastic doughnut they rode with a white-knuckled grip.
They splashed down into a small pool, and Allura scrambled from the doughnut, pulling them to shore. Her damp hair plastered itself to her cheek, water glittering as she spun to face Lance. “Let’s go again.”
They rode the slide two more times before Allura clambered from the water, excitement in her chest like a flurry of butterflies.
Lance came up beside her, pointing to another slide that seemed to curve endlessly. “How about that one next?”
She grinned, joy dancing in her heart, as she grabbed his hand, yanking him towards it. “Let’s do it!”
They rode that one, and the next slide, and the next. Some of them Lance had suggested, and some of them he was barely able to contain his terror as they slid along the opened slides.
One slide was like an endless whirlpool, ending with a ninety degree drop that had Lance screaming. Allura screeched as they fell, holding on to Lance for dear life as delight and terror weaved together in her chest.
After that they’d moved on to the wave pool, braving the ever-growing waves as they tried to swallow them whole.
As they washed up on the cement shore, Lance had grinned at her, eyes sparkling. Allura furrowed her brow as she stared at him. “What are you thinking?”
He pulled himself to his feet, offering her a hand. “How do you feel about a super soaker?”
She had no idea what a super soaker was, but she was excited to find out.
As it happened, a super soaker was a water gun. Gripping her arm, Lance tugged her back to where their towels were strewn, Shiro stretched out on his, a hat pulled low over his face, obscuring his eyes.
As quietly as he could, Lance unzipped Shiro’s bag, brandishing two plastic guns. He explained that they needed to be filled with water, and that they could spray them at their friends.
Allura grinned as she filled hers up, wondering who her first victim would be.
A flash of green caught her eye and she looked up, gaze falling on Pidge as the girl emerged from one of the pool below the water slides.
There.
Allura turned to Lance, jerking her head towards Pidge. Wearing matching grins, they crept to where she stood, chattering with Hunk.
Allura pulled her trigger first, spraying the green paladin with freezing water. She covered her mouth to stifle her laughter as Pidge jumped, shrieking. Hunk too, shouted in alarm as Lance’s shot found its mark in Hunk’s face.
“Hey!” Pidge shouted, outraged.
They laughed, quickly scuttling away.
Shiro had been next, sputtering awake as the water had sprayed his face and chest, soaking through his hat and shirt.
Then Keith, who had chased them for so long they’d ended up hiding behind the slides until he’d calmed down.
And then they’d gone after them again and again, slipping through the crowds, spraying their friends, and sometimes strangers, laughing as they hid before they could get caught.
Shouts rang out behind them as they approached the wave pool, and two figures clad in black stormed towards them. Lance’s eyes widened and he’d grabbed Allura’s arm, yanking her from the pool and towards the line of trees. “Quick! It’s security! We have to hide!”
They dropped their water guns in their haste, hiding in the sparse line of trees as the two men shouted, communicators at their shoulders crackling as they stalked away.
Allura smirked, holding a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter as she watched them go. Lance too, seemed to be having trouble keeping his laughter in check, his cerulean eyes bulging as he screwed his lips together.
Finally, after security was long gone, they relaxed. Leaning against one of the trees, Lance crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe we should take things easy for a bit. How does the lazy river sound?”
Allura shrugged, because she had no idea what it was.
Lance led her to a small pool where an attendant waited, handing out plastic doughnuts as people entered the pool, which opened into the river snaking through the trees.
Following behind Lance, she waded into the pool, accepting one of the doughnuts. She climbed atop it, letting the gentle current carry her through the river.
Her doughnut bumped against Lance’s, and she found herself smiling at him, the world around them blurring. Reaching out, she twined her fingers with his.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “This was a wonderful idea.”
He shrugged, running his free hand through his hair. “Oh this was nothing, princess.” He paused, looking away for a moment as he bit his lip before meeting her gaze. When he spoke again, his voice gentle, quiet. Almost shy. “Thank you for inviting me.”
She leaned to the side, so close she thought she would tip over into the water. She felt her heart warming, her chest filling with the most beautiful fizzing, golden champagne. The one that felt like the first pure drops of love. “There’s no one I’d rather be with right now.”
His answering smile was like the first rays of sun breaking through the blush of dawn.
More stunning than anything she’d ever seen.
Little did either of them know that their friends were lying in wait, ready to douse them with super soakers of their own in cold, watery revenge.
Hi there! I was thinking of applying but I'd like to know who the moderators are and what their relevant experience is? Thanks and good luck with the project!
The mods for this project are @xnighten and @imaginartionx! We’ve both participated in a number of zines in the past, and have consulted with previous zine organizers to get a stronger grasp on the organization and workings of a zine. And while this is our first organized zine, we’ve had experience in leading production and design as previous editors of a yearbook. Thank you for asking !
