nifties | You let the Devil in 😈

You let the Devil in 😈

Ever since he agreed to go on this trip with Zari, his mind's been turning over and over about it. Technically, yes, the Legends are adults. Some of them even managed to survive for years without them aboard (which seems miraculous now.) But that doesn't make it any easier for him to leave his hatchlings, no matter how many speeches Sara has about how they only live once and they should go enjoy themselves. And he knows Ava has pulled Zari aside to essentially say the same thing just in a more Ava type way.

The thing is, even when John is running away, it's never for long and he's usually only pretending to dick off. As he thinks back over the years, has he ever taken a real vacation? Ever? Something creepy or crawly always manages to find him wherever he goes and that's weighing heavily on his mind as well. If the team will be safe without him, will Zari be safe with him?

He keeps starting and stopping packing, not like it matters when he knows Zari is going to make him get a whole different wardrobe the second they're alone. He's been avoiding that one for long enough so he's kind of resigned to the whole affair honestly. Packing means leaving though, indefinitely the way his life goes. What if they damage the timeline by being out there together? And again, what if the Legends really really need them??

Yeah, so he's spiraling. When Zari finds him, he'll be pacing the length of his room back and forth - back and forth. Every time he crosses his suitcase, he drops something new in and/or takes something out so that the job never actually gets finished. He's so absorbed in his weird, manic ritual that he doesn't even notice her coming in until she's right in front of him. Her sudden appearance (from his perspective) actually makes him jump before he manages to focus his foggy gaze on her.

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Zari meets his eyes, an authentic smile slipping out. It's warm and unguarded. Anyone watching could clearly see that she agrees and believe that was the case for them before Zari utters a single word. "I think I know what you mean." She points out tone wavering between authentic Zari and influencer Zari.

She smiles big at his follow up, content to let him run the show how he wants as her eyes shut again. Zari can imagine the comment section would be long paragraphs on everything he's done wrong so far according to them. "Ready as I'll ever be." She is back in the zone, still looking for conversation threads to pick up on and weighing what her audience can handle knowing even if they'll never view the video.

"Speaking of the universe, this is probably a good of a time as any to talk about the first time we met." She pauses dramatically here. This part would have fans in an uproar if it were a live stream. Maybe this would be a premiere video to allow that experience while having the power to edit. "Oh! Did I ever tell you about the first time I saw you?" She actually doesn't know if he even noticed her back then.

That smile completely melts him, and he finds himself stroking a thumb across her cheekbone before he remembers himself and pulls away to hunt down the next step. He picks the matching luminous finish foundation out and starts hunting through the brushes, choosing one by how soft it feels alone.

"Hmm," he hums idly as he thinks about that. Try as he might, John can't pinpoint the moment. "Can't say you ever have." He pumps some foundation onto the brush idly and starts stippling it across her face, frowning at the effort it takes to do so with any sort of precision. He manages to get some on her hairline and onto her lips, but he's so afraid of pressing too hard that it's stealing all of his focus.

She's leaving that moment in for sure when the editing process comes in. Zari is actually pleased he doesn't know. To her, it's a funny little story she holds close to her heart. It's a moment that meant exactly nothing at the time. Now it's like the opening of Sleepy Beauty for her when Phillip gazed on his future bride and reacted exactly how a little kid would when faced with a baby they were set to marry one day.

She resists the urge to give John tips in favor of telling the story. Zari has made an art of barely moving as she speaks for this kind of video. "So backstory for Z Nation: John is actually a friend of Behrad's. We met through him." She explains without skipping a beat. It'll give John time to work out the problem.

Zari switches between telling John and audience with the precision of a master storyteller. "The first time I saw you was at our friend Raymond's wedding. John was hosting it at his house. I remember I was dancing with my brother after the ceremony when I saw you across the room standing around like you were crashing your own party. I thought 'I can't believe he didn't change his clothes for a wedding at his house. Those are completely wrinkled.'" Zari pauses dramatically here, "That's when I became convinced you were squatting in that house and the real owners were going to kick us out any minute. Awkward."

"Not just a friend. We're bros now," he points out totally unhelpfully with a flourish of his brush, still furiously trying to blend. Everyone is Behrad's bro, but he's his real bro-bro or something. It really is impressive how Zari stays perfectly still for him while telling this ridiculous story. Which of course, he remembers the moment she starts. He had been more than a little distracted that night, but he can't help but snort at her assessment. "Ah, yes, now I remember. Just like the first night we..." Oh right, PG audience- "started dating you called me a tramp."

John rolls his eyes, looking down at his lackluster clothing she's always winding him up about.

"Everyone has a signature look, right? It's not weird? Tell us in the comments, though I suppose you should know I allowed the princess here to use me as her dress-up dolly earlier. Perhaps we'll pop back on and show you the ridiculous outfit I'll be wearing to dinner."

"Sorry for undermining your epic brotherly love with my brother, sweetie. I know you two are really tight." It's sing-song even if she is a little remorseful. Zari knows from how hard her brother went to talk up John before they ever met that he's always been attached. Maybe it's because Behrad met his mom and was around for such a difficult period of John's life. Maybe they just click the way she has with the wizard. This is important. Zari respects that.

It doesn't quite come across from the way her lips purse at his choice of words. Her audience would totally take that the wrong way. "Okay two things for the record: he means I called him homeless and your outfit is beautiful. We absolutely have to show them." She wouldn't mind proof it happened somewhere either!!

He nods to accept her grace, however she portrays it he knows she respects his closeness with Behrad and it means a lot considering it was one of his #1 worries when they got together. John points up to indicate she should look that way so he can finish by pulling foundation down her chin and the top of her neck, being even gentler and as a result making that tickle even more.

"Fine, but only if I can ask for a hint," he sing-songs himself, always bargaining. Thankfully he knows what comes next, picking up the first tube of concealer he'd had in his hands and starting to draw protection runes on her face with it in the same areas he's seen her apply it. "Maybe I should go for a change in career."

Zari complies immediately, lips pulling again as he tickles her with the brush. The audacity of John bargaining during a challenge makes her smile fondly despite herself. He really can't help himself. "Okay, magic man. Would you like to use it now or later?" Her face pulls back to that still mask as soon as she can. She mulls over his idea. Maybe in another life. He definitely has the right dramatic flair for it. "I think you'd miss being a walking B-Movie special effect at work." Zari jokes. "No offense to them. They do amazing work with limited resources." Please cast her. :(

He tips his head to concede her point, hunting for a smaller brush blindly with his other hand to blend all this before it can dry completely. Thankfully, he's seen her put her face on enough times to know he literally can't overdo it.

"I think... now. I've about exhausted my memory for the steps. Though I know the next one is vaguely connected to the Kardashians?" Is that even close to right, God help them if it is.

Edited (i broke the icon ) 2020-10-18 23:51 (UTC)

Zari does everything in her power not to react to that name. Northwest would have a field day with that namedrop. "Cream contour, sweetie. Her artist made it into a whole thing. I'm sure no one will remember that after you have a go at it." Zari compliments in a way she knows would make the other woman furious. Good. She's a toxic weirdo!!!

"I promise I won't ask for another runway walk." Now she's just having fun.

"Right... cream contour," he repeats like it's a different language, going through products one after the other until he finds a tube he'd mistakenly put in the lip section. "And good, because that walk was just for you. And I thought the fact that it happened at all."

But as usual, he lets it go instantly. He uncaps the bronzer and looks at it skeptically before rolling it up a little and gesturing uncertainly. Can he really just paint this right on her face?? Well, okay.

"Suck in your cheeks a little... yeah, like that." He draws under her cheekbone and around her hairline before going to hunt down another brush. "What else does Z Nation want to know about me while I blend for my life here...?"

She actually smiles innocently in response to that runway thread. John predictably lets it go so Zari moves on as well. She can't tease as much as she wants to when they're doing a video and her makeup anyways. Zari complies like the perfect doll she is in these scenarios and runs through her most common questions. "Well a lot of them are answered by having you here now. Mostly what you look like, where you're from..." And ding! She's got it. "Actually let's elaborate on that one. Z Nation would love to know where you're from. Fun facts about the place too... They love my travel logs." She explains. That is true. Those always do really well on her channel.

"Right. Drop dead gorgeous as they now know." He tosses a wink over his shoulder for the camera before trying to be satisfied with the blend on his contour, mentally combing through the last steps and wondering how on earth she keeps this all straight. "Liverpool. Old mining town, famous only for the Beatles. And being even more dreary than one would expect. Which is why I came to America, the land of opportunity... and no less demons, lucky for me."

He picks up the loose powder, trying to decide how exactly to go about it. Of course, the moment he opens it, particles fly everywhere and he sputters as some gets stuck in his throat.

"Don't forget modest." Zari tacks on even if she has no argument with that. She can imagine her followers furiously looking up Liverpool right now. The whole thing is mapped out even by tech in his age. She imagines it getting a little weird with them pouring over images and speculating about where exactly John might have been born. Then he's dropping powder everywhere and a frown escapes her. Zari is quick to spin it into something fun.

"Hmm... really thought the powder would take you out. I guess you're used to dust between the old books and Liverpool. Are mining towns dusty?" She asks casually; like he didn't drop a bunch of expensive product everywhere. Whatever it's not like she can't afford it.

"Oh, that was all part of your plan, was it?" He gives her a haggard look entirely for effect, making a more apologetic face when he turns his back to the viewfinder. He's just going to gently set that down now and start picking through brushes again like he has any clue what he's doing. "Incredibly, yeah. Or it was back then before they invented scrubbers. It's like a thick ash settles over the whole place... think snow, but a lot less fun."

He dunks the brush into the powder and immediately deposits some on her cheek, sending a big puff of it into both their faces this time. Well, now he's choking for real. He should've saved the hint for this part, clearly.

There's no spinning that one. Zari turns her head to sneeze delicately into her elbow. That is definitely getting cut from the final product. She thankfully shut her eyes in time to avoid anything getting in, but now she's afraid to actually open them. "Okay, I'm calling time out. Camera off." It takes Zari a beat to remember this won't respond to her voice. She groans loudly.

"Right, this is ancient." She sighs for a second before changing tracks. Gotta keep the show going. "Are you okay, babe?"

"Yeah, fine- my lungs are just, exploding," he manages between hacks that quickly spiral into laughter and then back into another coughing fit. "This stuff really should come with directions." But the show must go on, right?

He looks over the mess he made of her makeup, feeling powder on his own face that probably looks about the same and shakes his head at himself.

"Am I allowed to cheat, just once?" John asks before doing the thing anyway, chanting lowly so a gentle wind whips around them, serving the dual purpose of blowing powder away from their eyes and blending it seamlessly into her skin. "Alright, I think I know the rest just let me concentrate." She could put some royalty-free music over this part or something because he wants to get into the zone before he forgets all the steps he memorized in his head!!

He sweeps some bronzer on, maybe a little blotchy, then a little too much blush and then a whole lot of highlighter because he remembers she likes that part the most...

"Oh, wait." He goes back for the eyeliner and colors in a beauty spot just below her eye. "Okay, I'm ready for you to check my work," John says with a lifted eyebrow as he starts shaking the setting spray in anticipation of her obviously telling him it's perfect, duh.

A huge smile cracks through despite Zari's efforts to be professional. This is so ridiculous. She can't keep a straight face when he's laughing like that. It's even worse when he cheats. Zari can't even fault him. They're doing this in one take now. They have to move the plot along. All she can say is, "You would have a spell for fixing makeup." Now to worry how much that will cost him!! Wow!!

Zari stays perfectly still as she lets him finish. It's only then she pulls out her big mirror to examine his work. This actually turned out okay until the end she thinks. He lost the plot a little... okay a lot. Zari stares at herself as she tries to figure out how to approach this delicately.

"So babe how open are you to critique? Scale of one to ten? It's not bad, but I think we can plus this." She smiles that perfectly charming influencer smile that lets John know without a single doubt that he is getting worked here. Her followers, if they were watching, would just see Zari being supportive of her hot, but clueless boyfriend.

All he can do is roll his eyes, picking back up the powder brush to blend some more :( Stop playing on his emotions.

"I'm doing the best I can here," he points out, and probably shaved off a few weeks of his life on that cute spell, but who's counting!! John decides he can't make anything look any better after another touch-up to her eyeliner. "Alright, close your eyes."

He spritzes her face to lock in his masterpiece, fanning her with his hand to speed up the process.

"That looks like it feels nice," he admits, spraying some on his own face while he waits.

She is going to go with five on that scale. Zari sighs that perfect put-upon girlfriend sigh as she lets him have at it. "And I appreciate it." It is true!! She just wishes he'd accept the feedback. While it is below Zari's rigorous standards, it is not completely unacceptable. The influencer lets him lock it into place.

Zari smiles playfully. He is such a dork. It inspires her to have a little fun herself. Since no one will ever see this, but them what's the harm? She makes a gesture towards herself with her hand. The small amount of air John is generating with his hand suddenly has the force of a fan. Mysterious!!! Once it's done, Zari leans in. "Thank you, sweetie." She's ending this with a sweet kiss. This is the perfect outro.

He hums into the kiss, closing his eyes for the moment the contact lasts; and predictably a stupid smile spreads across his face in its wake.

"I forgot lipstick," he realizes, combing through the table to find a red and leaning in to gently grasp her chin. This is already proving to be the hardest step of all, maybe he should have picked a more forgiving color... He does his best to even out her lip lines, going back and forth the same way he did the eyeliner like he has any idea what he's doing. Satisfied with his work, he starts going through everything else for whatever else he forgot. "Mascara!" he suddenly shouts, finding a tube hidden among the mass of products.

"Okay, ask me one more question while I try my best not to poke your eye out."

And he remembered. Zari supposes she should give him some credit. John is trying so hard so she shouldn't try to weasel out of him finishing the job. Besides, she is Zari Tarazi. She can rock literally anything. It's so freaking charming how he suddenly remembers everything. John pays way more attention than she pays him credit for.

Zari goes back to playing the perfect statue while he works. "Okay what's a weird fact about you that no one else knows? You can include me in that."

John squints his eyes, thinking about that as he struggles to coat her eyelashes without getting product everywhere which causes him to move slower than he's ever moved in his life. He's not wholly thinking about what he's saying, it just seems like something he never talks about as it's coming out.

"I committed myself to the nuthouse a few years back. Yeah, that's right, the John Constantine thought magic wasn't real. There's some real irony for ya-" He finishes with a flourish, only managing to get a little mascara beneath her eye. Look, it's a lot better than he thought he was going to do. John recaps the tube and sets it aside before leaning back to assess his own work before asking for Zari's input. "Alright: final marks." He gestures for her to pick the mirror back up and judge him for real.

It takes years of hard earned control over her face not to react to that. Zari doesn't even know where to begin to address that one. Why is John like this?? She knows how to follow a damn cue. Zari picks up the mirror to examine his work. Not great, not terrible. She has to fix that mark under her face, but she can live with this.

Zari flashes him a reassuring smile. "Definitely an improvement, babe. I think you did great for your first time. Let's go with a six." Zari is up on her feet and addressing the camera before John can read through those lines. "Alright that is it for today, Z Nation. Be omide didâr." She waves, gently reaching over to stop the recording. She misses her normal equipment already.

"So? How did it feel do your first video?" She asks like the camera never went off. Just give her a minute to process that reveal!!

"Six? I thought I did at least a seven, seven-and-a-half!" That's the last thing he says for the video, but then he makes a little face in acceptance as she turns the recording off. "What, wasn't I charismatic enough for your followers?"

As usual, John has no idea that was a bombshell at all. He reaches for his cold tea, realizing he got so in the zone he forgot to drink it during filming.

"You're a natural. If I could actually get you on my channel, my views would double easily." Zari points out flatly. She knows analytics like no one's business. John would kill with her demographic. Ruggedly handsome guy who is really into his girlfriend? Funny and charming? She wouldn't even know how to handle that surge.

Zari frowns deeply. Does he not even get what he said? Is it really no big deal for John? "I just wasn't expecting..." She gestures vaguely at him. It becomes clearly quickly it's best to come out and say it. "You committed yourself? Willingly?" She sighs audibly, shoving hair back on reflex. "No offense, but your time period isn't exactly known for kind, compassionate care for the mentally ill. It's basically legalized torture. I may have spiraled a little when I was looking into therapy back in the day." So many documentaries. Things changed for the better thankfully by the time she needed it. As always Zari's concern is for John.

"Did they hurt you? Is some weirdo doctor going to show up one day asking for you back if we hang out in your time for too long?" Okay that was from Halloween. She's too worried to keep it all straight. John isn't the only one who is protective here. She can't stand the idea of him getting pushed around inside some gross old building and being medicated out of his mind.

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