Equilibrium (Vexxieverse Series - Part 5)

Phillip Almighty (H)

Harry
March

With a small makeup brush, Zayn meticulously dabbed on the last touch of purple lip stain to Harry's mouth and leaned back to assess his work. "I think that does it. What do you think?" He spun Harry's chair around to face the mirror laid in a frame of lights.

Using the art of prosthetics, airbrush paint, and makeup, Zayn crafted Harry into a fae-human hybrid. He barely recognized himself! His cheekbones were inhumanly high with a kiss of shimmer, and the subtle eyeshadow tapered off to a sharp point that almost reached his hairline. There was a slight gray tint dusted over his skin to make him look other-worldly and Zayn contoured Harry's nose to look pencil thin. But it was the blackout scala contacts that gave him the unsettlingly eerie look.

The high fantasy makeup combined with his long curls and simple, modern day clothes created an interesting combination. Just because Phillip changed into a magical creature didn't mean his clothes would. He wore the typical all-black adventuring gear that had cargo pants with too many pockets. Plus, because the show shamelessly catered to a sex crazed audience, his t-shirt was so snug and thin you could see his abs through it. Just like Tommy and Nate.

Phillip finally let go of the poet's shirts once he came to terms with his mortality. Harry kind of missed them, though. They were frilly and comfy.

"I look creepy!" Harry smiled at the mirror. Being an actor was so cool some days. Harry always loved when he got to dress up as something different. Being a vampire was fun and all but being a druid would open a lot of new possibilities for the show. It would also present Harry with more versital acting challenges, which he was looking forward to. Playing the weakling got old fast.

"Yes, you do," Zayn laughed and helped Harry out of the chair. "But you know who is going to be a lot scarier if we don't get to set in the next 60 seconds? Niall."

*******

Every time Harry walked on to the fae set, the vibrant colors and intricate details of the design filled him with awe. This set would be a semi-permanent fixture for a while since they'd need it for a chunk of the next season. It was so massive that they had to take up a second studio lot for it. The network insisted on the extra space since the show was making them so much money. They were spoiling Niall and Zayn so they wouldn't be tempted away by all the job offers flying their way.

The left half was all jungle, but not just any jungle. This jungle had dropped acid. The trees had twisted dark blue trunks with big, tropical leaves that were just a little too Crayola Apple Green to look normal. All the flowers were oversized and had a neon purple glow to the petals. Mysterious lights twinkled throughout the thick foliage, and there were red and orange mushrooms big enough to stand on.

The right half was the interior of a whimsically shaped building that would get redecorated for different scenes. At its foundation, it was a room that looked built of weather-worn stone. All the walls had a slight curve to them to imply the buildings were all round rather than square. This wasn't the human realm, so the architecture needed to be unique. They had a few interchangeable window shapes on standby, but today's were circular and looked out into the colorful forest and night sky.

For this episode, the crew dressed the interior side to look like the warm, cozy home of two fae sorcerers. There was a crackling fireplace with a cauldron in it full of some kind of stew. Instead of electricity, they had only candles for light. They filled the walls with shelves that displayed potion bottles, dried herbs, and crystals, much like Nate's bedroom set. There was a plush, dark red couch and a small kitchen, but not much else in the way of furniture.

"There he is! Zayn, fantastic job!" Niall said and put his hands on Harry's shoulders so he could shift him around and take in the makeup. He lifted Harry's chin with his thumb and tilted his head in different angles to study how the light and shadows responded. Inspected Harry like he was an object. Even took notes!