#lifestilled

[endless-youth]

@lifestilled asked for a starter in relation to this post, and so a starter they shall get ❤️

dorian couldn't remember the last time that he'd been this happy; and truthfully, it had everything to do with the fact that he had been staying in the same paris that basil existed in for almost three months now. ever since he'd seen him there, he just couldn't bring himself to go back to the states besides to get everything out of his studio and make paris his new quote unquote 'base of operations' — which had been surprisingly pleasant besides the obvious, considering that rose (his assistant) had also agreed to make the move to paris as well. so that meant he got to see his god-daughter, too. and what could be better than having all of the people you love all gathered in the same place?

it was unfortunate that reality often came crashing upon people at the most inopportune times, and this would certainly be considered just that. dorian hadn't slept in three days, which was something that was quickly becoming dangerous, but its not as if he had kept himself up of his own volition. the designer had been afflicted with a manic episode for the entirety of it. and it left him feeling like he had so much energy, he would tremble and jerk at night the whole time while trying to get to sleep. dorian also had the misfortune of seemingly seeing specters or things that weren't actually there at every corner, and my god... there was even a time where he swore it felt like there were ants crawling all over him, but that wasn't true. that wasn't true at all. dorian didn't want to admit it even at that point, but he thought he might need help.

but lord only knows that he would probably spook the hell out of poor basil, who was supposed to be here any minute now as they wanted to 'hang out' today, if he told him what was happening. dorian couldn't continue like this, though. he felt like he was losing his mind... especially when he began to wonder whether he was actually awake at the moment or whether the last two or so months had been a dream, because basil couldn't be alive. he must've been a figment of his imagination or something. yeah, dorian thought, he was confused and this led to him pulling on his hair harshly as he paced the floor whilst trying to think about this. that was when he heard a knock at his door, and he made his best attempt at wiping away any remnants of the frustrated, scared tears that had ran down his cheeks as he thought about basil now.

❝ basil, ❞ dorian voice gave off the eerie sort of vibe that he wasn't sure whether his friend, his crush, had come to him as a savior or something more sinister that day. he was still trembling, even now, and he could see somebody else's face on his for a moment — one he'd encountered in a dream, who was a figure with goat eyes and pale hair, asking him if he was 'having fun yet' again — which made him let out an afraid moan before he practically tackled the other in a hug and repeated internally to himself that this was basil, because no one else smelled exactly like this, and he'd smelt the same pleasing way all those years ago too. ❝ basil, i need to go somewhere. do you think you can help me go there... the hospital? ❞ a pause, ❝ i don't think i'm well. ❞

[narrativefinale]

@lifestilled // plotted

He knew it would be soon, based on he days he tracked in a scrawled calendar in his journal. He didn't dare write in the journal what he was tracking, just marked it with a single black, filled in circle when he thought it was due to arrive. It was a day past when he had calculated, but it wasn't always entirely accurate.

Still, Percy knew it would be soon. He could tell from the aching in his stomach and back, the way he felt entirely out of control of his emotions... Even more than usual, that was. And the pounding headache that plagued him the whole day prior and into the late evening when he finally arrived back at Basil's home.

(Was it, in part, his home now, too? Percy didn't dare assume that, even if he technically lived there.)

He'd gotten in, but hadn't bothered to go further off to his tiny room, too exhausted from the evening's adventures, in too much pain to keep his eyes open long enough to go anywhere other than a couch. He supposed he'd rest until the sun touched on the horizon, wherein he'd wake from the light. He almost always did.

Percy shut his eyes and lays back, takes a deep breath or two, and is almost as soon asleep as the second breath lets out.

When morning does come, the sun doesn't wake Percy. He's far too deep in sleep, far too deep in a dream. Under neath him, his pants are stained red, and that too has bled into the couch.

[ofeasterngate]

Plotted starter for @lifestilled

"Just a moment!" Aziraphale called out when the bell alerted him that a customer had entered the bookshop. It had been a quiet day so far, mostly because the shop had remained closed for the majority of it, and as most people had surely given up on shopping for the day, the Angel wasn't expecting anyone to disturb his reading.

Reluctantly, he got out of his recliner and after carefully setting his bookmark he made his way to the front of the bookstore. He did not like to leave the shop unatended when there was a customer about. Not because he was afraid of missing out on a sale, but rather because he was afraid someone might be tempted to make a purchase if he didn't pay close attention.

"Good evening, sir -"

His eyes went wide, and for a moment he was too stunned to speak. You see, he knew the man who had just wandered into his bookshop - or rather, he knew of him, for they had never actually spoken. It was Basil Hallward, and, if his calculations were correct, he should be either dead or, at the very least, a very old man by now.

Forcing his face into a more neutral expression, and then a welcoming smile, he started again: "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

He had questions - about a million of them - but none of those were safe to spring upon the other man unless he had absolute certainty that he was, in fact, Basil Hallward, and not simply an uncanny lookalike. After all, it had been forty years, and even an Angel's memory wasn't perfect.

[endless-youth]

@lifestilled asked for a starter in which dorian dresses up in lingerie for basil, so here.. we... go 👀

dorian had put a lot of thought into what kind of lingerie basil might like that week prior — and this had shown itself through the quiet way that, unbeknowst to the man himself, that he examined his paintings with male figures with more scrutiny than usual. dorian had thought to pay extra attention to the colors that the other used an abundance of, after all, and what kind of scenes they were all in. though in terms of how provocative they were; they usually were rather quite tame. it seemed like, in that way, basil still retained some of his quote unquote 'victorian sensibilities' even though dorian himself was actively trying to help the other come out of his shell more now that they had kissed and were something... more. or, at least, he certainly hoped that they were even though they hadn't quite defined their relationship.

if anything were to signal their relationship being taken to the 'next level', though, it was with the purchase as well as the implementation of dorian trying to seduce the man. basil had come to his apartment seemingly after a long day's work lecturing his students as well as just being an underappreciated artist overall (but trust me when i say, dorian personally appreciated him a lot) only to be greeted with a bubble bath to 'wind down' and relax, which gave dorian plenty of time to actually set the scene in which he was dressing up for basil. he put on a two-piece set, which he hid behind a plain white robe for now, and turned off all the lights in his adjoining bedroom only to light up the room with subtly scented candles.

it was whenever he knocked on the door and asked if basil was okay about thirty minutes after that the other had said he was getting dressed, which meant that it was his cue. he untied the sash keeping his robe closed then and let it fall open to reveal his lingerie, sitting on the edge of the bed patiently for basil. it was only when he actually left his bathroom that dorian let the robe fall to the ground elegantly from his shoulders, and he wrapped his arms around the other's neck. the two of them were awfully close now — in fact, dorian was pressing his chest to basil's now — as he carefully took one of his hands to trail it down across his ass and then settle on his ample thigh while he rose his leg to have it be partially rested against basil's body.

❝ basil... you know, you might not have even realized this, but you've been driving me crazy lately with all of the little touches you've been giving me. it's made me fantasize about you doing much more to me. like you taking those long fingers of yours and pressing them to my lips so i can suck on them; and thus, show you just how skilled with my mouth i can be, ❞ dorian whispered this to the other as he looked down from the other's eyes to his lips, gnawing on his own bottom lip in the process. he took a deep breath in before saying, ❝ i promise i won't bite. that is, unless you want me to. ❞

[endless-youth]

36. ...to give up control (woop woop artistbcontrol freak allows Things To Happen,, more at 8!!)

fifty ways to kiss someone prompts.

inviting basil to have brunch with him at kind of a quaint, but still comfortable french cafe seemed to be turning out to be a good idea, dorian thought. it seemed like the other was speaking to him a bit more freely as there was less pressure to fill up silence with words because they were eating, maybe, after all... but in any case, that morning before, dorian couldn't help but feel like he had no idea what to wear despite his abundance of clothes to this 'meet-up' between them. i mean, there was the overlying question here of whether he wanted to dress truly casual, or make a statement during this brunch with basil that said he was 'single and ready to mingle?' at the end of the day, though, dorian thought that perhaps refraining from wearing a dress around basil for now might be a good choice.

he did kind of fear that the other might react to it by blushing hard enough to resemble a tomato or whether he might just not say anything about it because he didn't wish to be rude; the latter of which was actually worse, in dorian's own opinion. so, dorian got dressed in something that subtly tested the boundaries of what basil might be familiar with with dorian but nothing too crazy. a simple blue off the shoulder top and a white skirt, as well as high heels is what he chose to wear, along with some subtle makeup. dorian ended up liking this choice as they sat on the rooftop of the brunch place he chose for them to meet at and that meant he could feel the sun on his skin, considering it was a nice day outside. at some point in their meeting, though, the topic of romance had come up and basil appeared to be visibly a bit perturbed by this.

poor basil, was all dorian could think as he scooted his chair so that he was sitting right next to the other. he hadn't meant to make the other feel anxious in any way, of course, but it still seemed as if he perhaps had some things to work out? dorian wasn't sure, but basil had spoken of harboring certain proclivities that weren't too popular back in their original century, and trust me when i say... he believed he got what basil meant by that pretty quickly. so he thought that maybe giving up the control in not only the conversation, but in this entire situation would be the best course of action here, to help shock basil out of his current state. he put down the napkin that he was crunching in his hand not too long ago, then, before making a move to gently take basil's hand in his.

❝ ahh, it's alright if you'd rather not elaborate anymore on the subject, basil. i just asked whether you had any prospects, because i just-so-happen to have one in mind who's tall, dark, and handsome - kind of like you might see in those vogue magazines. but this person... or man, rather, doesn't strike me as the type to do modeling but as the type to be the one capturing the model. he has a really good eye for things like the right angle to capture someone at, you know, and the lighting, ❞ dorian carefully stroked his thumb across the other's fingers as his eyes trailed down from basil's eyes to his lips, a wide smile settling on his lips. it was then that he decided to reach over to lightly kiss the side of the other's lips to let him know he was talking about him. hence, dorian giving up control as to where they might go next with this.

they were alone up on the rooftop, so there was no need for basil to be afraid to pull him into his arms and kiss him, should he so wish. or maybe to inquire whether he was talking about him, or any number of things, really. basil just looked so kissable at that moment and he just wanted him to feel more like he was in control of what was happening, lest he lose him. and that would be the last thing that dorian would want to happen.