#❀ ‘ very chic my lady ( WARDROBE. )

[aclaywrites]

Oh Lordy this is a saga. For a super duper long time I didn’t care and just wore whatever. Jeans and t-shirts , it was the 70s and early 80s. I remember a pair jeans I had with rainbows on the back pockets, and a long sleeved ocean pacific shirt that everyone made fun of because they said it was a knockoff and not a real OP but it totally was. I had long hair that I didn’t cut and didn’t even pull back and it just hung around my face like Carrie. In 8th grade I got totally into wearing headbands and had 4 or 5 including one that was puffy and red like a ring of Saturn around my forehead. I can only assume this is the costume of a girl who isn’t interested in getting boys to like her, though it wasn’t that conscious in my mind just yet.

The last time I switched schools was 1985, just before my junior year. That’s also the summer I met Jessie and saw the Hunger, so it was time for a change. We went goth/punk 1980s Oklahoma style. I remember three wardrobe standouts: a pair of ballet flats with hieroglyphs on them, a black sweatshirt I cut the collar off, flash dance style and would wear over everything, and a tight, short skirt that was one continuous print of that 50s photo of people watching a 3D movie. I wore that until all the elastic went out and I couldn’t keep it on my ass any more 😂

Jessie and I split up when i went to college. I stopped dying and crimping my hair and let it grow out long again over the course of some years. I stopped trying to hard to be alternative looking, but I still liked black clothes, lots of ruffles and layers. Legit I had a black velvet cloak I wore when it was cold. I had a barrette shaped like a bat and used it to pull my hair back, on the days I didn’t braid it and pin it up Masterpiece Theater style. Dress like this and go sit in a tree and read Jane Eyre with zero irony. WHY DONT LESBIANS WANT TO DATE ME?!! 🤣🤣🤣

When I started teaching in the early 90s I had to go to the (thrift) store and buy adult looking clothes. Lots of jumpers (American meaning) and cardigans. This evolved into dresses and cardigans, I liked short waists, big skirts, no buttons, and a pair of Birkenstock Mary Jane’s which I still own. My off work style was kind of similar. Dresses and skirts and cardigans. I started wearing more colors, but it was still boho chic. Linen, velvet, the occasional Indian find with mirrors embroidered onto it. I cut my hair into the curly bob I wore for the next 20something years and continued to have very few dates.

After my kid was born and I was a stay at home mom, I let my hair grow again and plan to keep it long. It’s easiest for me, and I like the way it looks. I still prefer dresses and skirts, natural fabrics. I still only shop at thrift stores, and am interested only in pleasing myself, so I love to find odd pieces. I started wearing scarves around 2007 and now they’re a part of my look to an almost ridiculous degree (my kid was teasing me about thrift shopping the other day and said ‘yeah you gotta go to every one! What if you miss a scarf!) but I don’t care because they’re gorgeous and warm and dress up an outfit and frame my face while hiding my old-lady wattle 😂

One of the moms on car duty the other day was dropping off her daughter and gave me a long appraising look, then said critically “What does your husband have to say about the way you dress?” I was so shocked all I could say is “Mr Frizzle loves it.”

[vikoc77]

Dance Through Life in Style: LYANER Women’s Jumpsuit

Introduction:

LYANER is a clothing brand,they offers a vibrant collection of fashion-forward apparel that effortlessly merges modern style with exceptional craftsmanship.

Are you ready to make a statement wherever you go? Prepare to turn heads and steal the spotlight with the LYANER Women’s Jumpsuit – a flawless fusion of comfort, style, and sophistication. Whether you’re hitting the town with friends or lounging at home, this jumpsuit is your go-to choice for effortless chic.

Unveiling the Allure of the LYANER Jumpsuit

Indulge in the ultimate fashion fantasy with the LYANER Women’s Jumpsuit. Crafted with care and attention to detail, this jumpsuit is a masterpiece of modern design and timeless elegance. From its lantern long sleeves to its ruffle layer tie and mini short romper silhouette, every element of this piece is designed to accentuate your curves and elevate your style.

But what sets the LYANER Jumpsuit apart from the rest? Let’s explore its irresistible features:

Hot Product

LYANER Women’s Jumpsuit Lantern Long Sleeve Ruffle Layer Tie Mini Short Romper

Material: skin-friendly fabric is soft and comfortable, it is also light and breathable and more suitable for summer/winter/spring.

Features: Lantern long sleeves, low square neck, off shoulder, tie waist, solid color, elastic necline and cuffs, double layer ruffle hem, back zipper closure, shorts jumpsuit, romper shorts for women, above knee length, A line, slim fit, swing and elegant vintage romper.

Match: This cute romper dress with unique neckline, you can wear it as a low square neckline, it also can be adjusted as off shoulder romper, both of the two ways can creat a chic and sexy style. Pair this sexy bare shoulder ruffle boho rompers with sneakers or heels for the fashion look.

Occasion: Tie back romper suitable for club, party, wedding, formal, graduation, evening, going out, shopping, night date, vacation, work, fall or spring.

Please refer to the LYANER Item Description below for Size Details.

A Review Of LYANER

I don’t often leave reviews, but I absolutely HAD to for this romper. Ladies, do yourself a favor and BUY. THIS. ROMPER! I found this item through an influencer on Instagram. It looked SO cute on her and I couldn’t resist trying it for myself.

Upon opening the package, I was immediately impressed with the quality of the fabric. The item feels silky to the touch. It slips on like a regular romper and zips in the back. Additionally there’s a ribbon detail that you can either tie in the back or on the side. I chose the teal color and it was exactly as depicted in the pictures.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED how this looked on me, and that’s saying a lot because I rarely fall in love with clothing anymore. I couldn’t get over how flattering the romper looked on me. The ribbon helps cinch in my waist even further and it has a sort of romantic feel to it.

My ONLY criticism is that I wish the romper came in more colors for the largest size. I am 5’9 and wear a size 18-20 and bought the XX-Large. It fit perfectly but I felt like the color selection was lacking for that particular size. If I was even one size smaller, the amount of colors available doubled. I would have loved to gotten this in red or maroon, but again, NOT AVAILABLE IN MY SIZE. But that is my only criticism for this item.

All in all, this is a lovely piece and would make a great addition to any wardrobe. I’m going to grab another color very soon!

Customer Q&As

Q: If I’m 5’1 how far above the knee would it be?

A: I’m 5’6 5’7 ish it’s a couple inches above my knee

Q: What exactly is “soft fabric”?

A: They mean it’s not an abrasive material. It feels light and airy in my opinion. Perfect for summer weather

Q: I am 5ft and 180, should I get a large or xl?

A: I’m 5’4 & abt 175-180 & i got both sizes & between the two the large fit a lot better than xl. Large was good around the body & just the right length. I’m also 36DDD & it held the girls just right.

Dare to Dream with LYANER

Life is too short to blend in – dare to stand out with LYANER. Whether you’re channeling your inner fashionista or embracing your unique sense of style, the LYANER Women’s Jumpsuit is your ticket to sartorial success. So why wait? Embrace the thrill of self-expression and dance through life in style with LYANER.

Shop now and discover the joy of effortless elegance with the LYANER Women’s Jumpsuit – because every day is a fashion show and the world is your runway!

[ciyapaofficial]

Comfort and Confidence: Why Having a Black Sweatshirt for Ladies Is Important

You've probably seen them before. The ladies who seem to have it all together, put together in the perfect outfit, hair and makeup done just so, with an air of confidence about them. And then there are the rest of us, who may not feel quite so put together, or confident.

What's the difference? It could be something as simple as a black sweatshirt for women. Yes, you read that right: a black sweatshirt.

You see, while many people view sweatpants and sweatshirts as lazy clothing items, they can actually be incredibly powerful tools for boosting our confidence and comfort levels. And when it comes to feeling good in our own skin, that's a pretty big deal.

What Is So Special About the Black Sweatshirt for Ladies?

There's something very special about the black sweatshirt for ladies. It's a piece that can be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion. It can be worn to the gym, to work or out on a date. And it always looks good.

Why is this so important? Because it gives women a sense of comfort and confidence. It's like a security blanket—a piece of clothing that makes them feel good in any situation. It's a way to say, "I'm comfortable in my own skin, and I'm ready to take on the world."

So if you're looking for a piece of clothing that will make you feel confident and comfortable, then the black sweatshirt for ladies is the perfect choice.

Style and Comfort: A Wardrobe Essential

A black sweatshirt is a key wardrobe essential for ladies. It's comfortable, stylish and perfect for those days when you don't feel like dressing up.

Plus, a black sweatshirt is the perfect way to add a touch of personality to any outfit. Whether you're wearing jeans and a T-shirt or a skirt and blouse, a black sweatshirt will help you feel more comfortable and confident.

So stop stressing about what to wear and add a black sweatshirt to your wardrobe. You'll be glad you did.

Versatility and Special Occasions

When it comes to a black sweatshirt, ladies, the possibilities are endless. A black sweatshirt can be dressed up or down, making it the perfect go-to for any occasion. Wear it to work with a skirt and blazer, or dress it down with jeans for a more relaxed look.

It can also be worn to special events. A sweatshirt for women is the perfect alternative to a dress or suit when you're not sure what to wear. Throw on a black sweatshirt and some statement jewelry, and you're good to go. No need to worry about what the other guests will be wearing—you'll stand out from the crowd in your own unique way.

Popular Sweatshirt Styles for Women

One of the great advantages of having a black sweatshirt for ladies is that there are so many different styles available. Whether you prefer a classic crewneck pullover, or a trendy oversized hoodie, there is sure to be an option that fits your style and lifestyle.

For days when you want something comfortable and warm, try the high-waisted harem pants with the matching slouchy black sweatshirt. This look is perfect for day-to-day wear and stays true to comfort and yet gives off chic vibes with its slouchy look.

For cooler days, go for the more sophisticated bomber style black sweatshirt which pairs well with jeans or trousers, making it ideal for transitioning from day to night. Both hooded and collarless options are available.

If you’re going out shopping or running errands, nothing beats the comfort of a classic hooded pullover with a pouch pocket on the front. It's fail-safe casual wear that you can rely on when you don't have time to think about what to wear—or if you just really don't feel like it!

Go Fashion Forward With a Black Sweatshirt for Ladies

Having a black sweatshirt for ladies can also be a great way to stay fashionable. Yes, you heard that right—black sweatshirts for ladies can be fashionable! Whether it's a classic hoodie, or something that has a drawstring and is cropped, you can always add in some accents like sequins, sparkles, or even patches.

Plus, with a versatile piece like the black sweatshirt for ladies, you can easily dress up or dress down your outfit—it gives you the opportunity to create totally different looks with just one item. And when it comes to comfort and confidence, this is really important. With one item of clothing you can let your personality shine and go from day to night without worry.

Popular Sweatshirt Styles for Women

Having a black sweatshirt for ladies in your wardrobe can be a game-changer. With the right styling, you can wear a black sweatshirt to look chic and elevated, like the women on the street style blogs. Here are some of the most popular looks to keep in mind:

- Oversized: An oversized black sweatshirt is a must-have for any closet and effortlessly transitions from day to night. Wear it with a pair of jeans and sneakers for a relaxed casual look or layer with a skirt and boots for dressier occasions.

- Cropped: If you love showing off your midriff, try sporting a cropped black sweatshirt that hits just above the waistline. To complete this look, style it with high-waisted bottoms and strappy sandals.

- Hoodies: Sporty hoodies are always fun to wear and you can easily dress them up or down depending on where you’re going. Opt for one with an extra pouch pocket or unique zipper details on the front to give it an extra touch of style.

The takeaway? Owning a black sweatshirt for ladies is essential for boosting your confidence, and it can be the key to your success. When you feel comfortable and confident in what you're wearing, you'll be able to achieve anything you set your mind to. So, go out and buy yourself the perfect black sweatshirt today.

[tirumaladesigners1]

PRINTED SAREES: A MODERN TOUCH TO A TRADITIONAL ATTIRE!

What makes every woman look graceful and rich in Indian culture? It is the SAREE! Sarees for women are one of the oldest clothing, but even today, they have not lost their charm. Sarees are available in many designs and patterns today – but printed ones… Oh, My My! We don't think any lady out there doesn't love printed sarees. Printed sarees are full of elegance and sophistication. And what is the best part? Every printed saree has a new story to tell. 

Printed sarees have gone through evolution for decades. For instance, remember your mom wearing printed sarees in the past. Isn't that different from the current fashion? It is because these traditional weaves have undergone modification with the population's demands today. It has a modern touch, which has undoubtedly stolen the hearts of many women. Digital prints have won many souls, and women are eager to explore every new print available in the market.

A Refined Look To Designer Sarees

Two women wearing the same saree – have you ever witnessed this scenario? It is pretty rare! Sarees are so versatile that almost every woman has a different piece. The number of prints available in sarees is infinite. You may barely see someone with twinning sarees on any occasion. The craze for printed drapes is not just common in India, but also there is a lot of female population worldwide who love adorning them. It makes them look alluring and sassy. 

The plethora of printed sarees with distinctive features sets them apart from the rest sarees. Additionally, the wide range of fabrics available in them is remarkable! Maybe, that is why you will find at least one printed saree in every woman's wardrobe.

Women of every age aspire to try something new every day. However, the heavy crape-sequenced sarees are tough to handle, so the best option is to experiment with prints. They are incredibly comfortable and soft, which makes them easy to manage. Plus, modern printing cannot be ignored! Season by season, there is a massive lot of printed sherwanis that are trending all over. Tirumala designers have got all the recent printed saree trends covered! We offer fancy voguish sarees that will make you look like a star. Our prints are indeed classy and chic!

In today's era, art has gone to another level. Our designer sarees are also a reflection of that. We aim to make our traditional sarees more exclusive and updated with contemporary art so that you can flaunt your gorgeous sarees effortlessly! To help you even better, we have brought some intriguing prints you will find in our collection of the latest sarees online.

Floral Printed Saree: Flowers give a very fresh feel, and so does an outfit with a similar print. Floral prints are colourful that provide an enchanting look. These sarees generally have bright colours and are majorly worn in summer. The refreshing vibe of floral printed sarees will surely leave you gorgeous. The versatility of colours in floral sarees makes it easy to design blouses as well. Also, there is a lot that you can experiment with when you pick a floral saree.

Tie-Dye Printed Saree: We are sure you might have seen many individuals donning garments in tie-dye prints. Shirts, t-shirts, track pants, and Kurtis is easily found in this print. What if we tell you that it is possible to wear a saree in this print? Imagine a black and white tie-Dye modal satin saree. Exciting, right? Tie-Dye printed saree is one of the most cherished prints that are available today. The best part of this printed saree is that every print is unique – it looks like the ink has faded. These sarees truly define the line 'there is an art in every fault'.

Bandhani Printed Saree: Bandhani sarees have been printed in distinctive designs inspired by the Rajasthani and Gujrati traditions. The magnificent Bandhani designs mesmerize everyone with their ability to match up with anything and everything. For instance, it goes with almost any accessory and blouse. Plus, it can be worn to both western and traditional events. Moreover, the details on Bandhani prints give an exquisite appeal, especially when they have a touch of metallic shades.

Abstract printed saree: Have you seen a painter owning a canvas and portraying his art with colours? That is how abstract printed sarees are. They have many designs and colours in them that do not follow the monotonous design. Everything from top to bottom is varied in abstract printed sarees. Generally, these sarees are multi-coloured with one background and represent the art wholly.

Conclusion

What are your views on printed sarees? It is an ideal attire for both formal and informal events. As said, you can even experiment with different styles when you wear them. You can go for indo-western by just blousing a printed saree with a shirt or t-shirt or belt it up for a refined and glamorous look. The possibilities are unlimited! At Tirumala designs, we have printed sarees in varied fabrics and patterns that you can select from. We always focus on meeting current standards without any compromise on cultural heritage. So, if you are someone who would love to own a printed saree, enjoy our online saree shopping experience only on our website today.

SOURCE LINK

[fancyclotcurt]

style market and now women of diverse

Sari occupies a unique place in every womans heart. It sums to make the fabric strong and leads to longevity. Handloom sarees are always been the best for regular wear or casual event wear, along with cotton and linen. Bengal Handloom Handloom is a very expensive fabric because the entire process entails handwork. With weavers around the state working day and night, Bengal handloom sarees are one of a kind. Today when I grew up, I feel, saree is the most comfortable dress that any woman can carry with endless grace. Today, you will find many bright colors in the market but then, heritage and legacy always call for the original fabric colors. Cotton handloom has become quite common with young age girls too because they are bringing in abstract prints, designs, and vibrant shades.

It is so long-lasting it&39;s even utilized in paper currency to improve intensity! It is heavier than cotton and linen thread has mutable units, mostly long. That&39;s why one linen saree is always a plus point for grandmother, french door curtain hardware mother, and daughter, sheer elegance follows your way with one fabric. With this, the craze of wearing handloom among the younger generation has also increased as weavers are coming up with trendy designs to hold a strong market. The handloom saree online has made a vital position in the style market and now women of diverse communities, classes show their inclination in this chic piece of clothing.

West Bengal is recognized for its spectacular legacy of a mixture of heritages and practices that have emerged in myriad conventional crafts and art styles in every niche. Let me tell you about some of the finest Bengal handloom sarees fabrics available in Kolkata since time immemorial and are considered to be evergreen. It is a legendary wear of Indian ladies. In my constant endeavor as a child, I used to peek at my mother&39;s wardrobe and imagine how she can wear such long yards and breathe. The saree fabric is long-lasting leading to years of legacy which can be passed on from one generation to another. Linen Handloom Linen is a fine fabric that comes from a flax plant and is comprehended to be the worlds most potent original fiber.

It is loved and used by all because of the lightweight nature and subtle color combination.One fine linen saree is a part of every woman&39;s closet. With digital marketing, you can get Bengal handloom sarees online too, and it has opened doors for many such sellers who do not have many customers.When it comes to sarees, I have always been very curious about fabric. Cotton Handloom Cotton is such a fabric that is adorned by the majority of women for everyday use. The Bengal linen handloom sarees are today popular because they offer the right amount of elegance to add to a womans charm. We must appreciate the fact that West Bengal is a land of variety when it comes to saree fabric. The most popular variant is the cotton saree handloom in Kolkata.

[daphnedauphinoise]

Next style guide 🥺

For you,my muse:

Carolyn Bessette

She was a publicist at Calvin Klein when she met the king of prep, my personal hearthrob, JFK Junior. I love this deatched vibe that you get from her and well JFK Junior got that too from her. I  loved her because she gotJFK Jr but I love her even more because she has never not looked good. 

Carolyn’s style in three words would be simple, androgynous and straightforward. She doesn’t venture into anything too colourful or too risque but that is what works with her look and why she looks good all the time. Her style is a result of having a solid capsule wardrobe with items she van rotate throughout the year. But her capsule wardrobe is slightly different from the modern 2020 capsule wardrobe. What I love about Carolyn is the lack of blazers. Instead she uses long coats, long sleeved knits or she just goes sleeveless. Constantly wearing a blazer (imo) isn’t as stylish as people think it is, it is very easy to use a blazer as a scapegoat when you know your outfit is heading south. Sure, there isn’t alot of variety  in her style but that 'simpleness' is what looks good on her and her commitent to that, is why she looked good all the time. 

 The basics of her style is a button down, trousers and loafers. In most of her pap photographs she is wearing a variation of this. During warmer months, she switches to a silk skirt. She wasn’t a accessoriezer either or a makeup girlie. Infact in most of her pictures she is only sporting red lipstick and her hair either out and in a bun.

Regardless she has the coolness about her and she complimented JFK Jr well... a lot of people did not think so but I say she did. 

How to dress like Carolyn Bessette in..

Autumn/Winter?

Long silhouettes work beautifully during winter. Long A-line coats made with good quality wool are some of the best types of coats. Thicker knits layered on top of each other paired with structured trousers. I like to advise my friends to keep their knits and cardigan loongg. Long shilotues are very pleasing to the eye, it makes you look more uniform and it makes you look taller with a silmming effect.  If you are petite and/or you have a large bust, avoid crowding your neck with knitwear. High necks tend to make women with bigger bust look congested and stuffy. ( It also gives us the most unforgiving uniboob too) Try more v-line neckline or scoop neckline with knits, also I tend to avoid thick knits as the volume of the fabric makes me look clunky and not oversized chic. 

In a style where everything is so consistent, colour is how you are going to look different. You would think people would wear darker, rich colours in the colder months but they don’t. There is no need to be mono-chromatic all the time and again being dressed in mono-chromatic head to toe, isn’t the hallmark of good style. Carolyn used a lot of red to stop her outfits from looking repetitive. I think red is avery underrated colour. You only ever see it in lingere or silk-satin dresses because people only associate sensuality with red and compelty ignore that red also means power. Red in coats has the power to draw you in becuase you look different but the sleekness of your style isn’t screaming clown from the travelling circus but powerful lady coming through. 

Carolyn (i say as we were besties) loved wearing loafers. I think she wore them a lot because loafers show skin which helps break up an outfit. Because she wears a lot of long silhouettes and matching dark trousers and dark footwear, it is good to wear something that breaks up your body so you don’t look like a long line with no feet. Ballet flats are coming back and they do the same thing as well. Boots are another staple. I love pairing boots and long dress together. For the Carolyn Bessette look I would ditch the bratz esque knee high boots for something that is more loose with a moderate heel height.

Spring? Summer?

Personally, I am resortwear kind of girl. Heavily perfumes, heavily adorned and in soft fluttering fabrics is how you will find me. But Carolyn, nope. She still maintains those structures in her clothing choice during the summer months. Boxy oversized shorts, structured linen shorts (I highly reccomend everyont to have one pair in cream or beige, its such an essential), sandals, chinos, ribbed cami and silk-satin dresses that end just under your knee. 

Hamptons chic is her summer style. Linen, cotton and merino wool for the chiller knits. This is the time to wear the lighter colours of your favourite colours. If you want (and Carolyn did this) you can wear the same ensemble of an outfit but with lighter fabrics.

What I have noticed that is different in her spring/summer style and her autumn/winter is that there is a certain laissez-faire in her dressing style. Top buttons are undone, her hair is messier and she is relaxed. Her hair was always unkept but I think that really worked for her. 

Brands to get inspo for  Carolyn’s style: Iris & Ink, Khaite, Joseph and The Row.

There is a girl on tikok who is a great person to follow if you like Carolyn’s style ( i will tag her when i find her) .

Overall her style is very model-off duty-esque. There isn't really anything that stands out about her style from the next model but her style is undeniably hers. Apart from her marriage to JFK Jr her cool style is what she is remembered for. Everyone who met her in NYC would say that her style and grace were what caught their eyes. She had a way of holding her neck eye and she has this look that nothing could truly surprise her. It was her who truly established the minimalist look when fashion was heading straight to colour, glitter and prints. I miss her and I think about her all the time and I hope as she looks down from heaven that she is the blueprint and 20 years later people still want to emulate her signature look.

Daphne xoxo

[shhhlikeme]

Hello, could I request tendou with an S/O who never wears revealing clothing suddenly surprises him one day wearing a virgin killer sweater? Thank you!

I HAD TO SEARCH WHAT THE SWEATER YOU SPEAK OF WAS AND WHEN I SAW IT 😳😳😳😳🥵 WHEW BOYYYYYY—I SEE HOW IT GOT ITS NAME, BECAUSE FAM—

(Pictures below & I love Tendou so much HE’S SO FINE to me 💦like sir plssssssssssssss)

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Tendou Satori Seeing His S/O In A Virgin Killer Sweater For The First Time! 👕

(NSFW) 18+

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Tendou is the most supportive and motivational boyfriend in the world....everybody knows that

He’s literally always lifting you up (mentally and physically) and calling you cute and perfect

He loves the fact that you’re always fully covered because he doesn’t have to kill every guy who turns your way because he knows they’re only wishing you were naked, which was kind of better, if that makes sense

You have no reason to dress the way you do you just do because you like the style. If you can look sexy while fully clothed it was much more chic to you

And your man agreed that you looked sexy all the time in your turtle necks and lose high waisted boyfriend jeans >>>

One day you went to his apartment knowing your red headed baby was probably bouncing off the walls awaiting your arrival

You invited yourself over for the first time because you just finished a full spring cleaning at your apartment and your boyfriend’s could definitely use one too even though he was pretty clean

You packed a big bag of cleaning supplies and headed over to his place

Bby met you at your car and carried everything up for you, insisting on holding your hand with his free hand the entire trip to the 4th floor and swinging your linked hands

“Babe, you’re embarrassing me.” You try to hide your face behind your hair as a family looks at you two grown adults acting like 4-year-olds.

“Oh Y/N, where is your LOVE spirit hmmm???”

“In the house. Where no one can see us.” You said seriously and your boyfriend only started humming happily like you hadn’t said anything.

You both loved being in eachothers company

Your boyfriend’s infectiously overjoyed and odd personality was addicting and he knew it, despite what you said

15 minutes in, Satori had been trying to help you spring clean but he was doing the most trying to dance with you and name each dish so you ordered him to just sit on the couch until you were done

Your initial plan was to have him literally sit on the couch and stay out of your way anyway but he rarely if ever listened

You had to tell him again and again

He fought you on the not helping front but you promised him a reward when everything was complete if he did it and Satori LOVED rewards so he made friends with the couch and turned on the tv

Phew 😅

You put your hair up and opened all the windows in case of dust. you were about to put on your cleaning gloves when you realized you were still in your nice outfit

Luckily in your cleaning bag you packed an extra so you rummaged through the bag where you placed something you’d never ever wear, something you don’t care about because those are fine if they got destroyed with bleach

You find the random sweater that your bestie had gotten you for your birthday that you placed in there. She’s always trying to get you to spice up your wardrobe but you threaten to fight her when she does so now she just buys you things and puts them in your closet

You secretly wear them for paint night or spring cleaning days like today

Knowing you’d never wear something that shows so much skin on a regular day, you slipped it on. it’s a rather odd knit sweater with no sleeves and it fit almost like a short dress. It defied all fashion laws and you thought it was hideous:

Perfect!

While your boyfriend is watching television, you slip back on your gloves and begin with watering his plants

Your cute lanky boy was bobbing his head to some singer on The Voice, cheering his fave on like it was a sport

He jumped on the couch to sing along and dance to the show knowing good and well you hate when he does that because he has broken a lot of furniture that exact same way

“Satori! What did I—oh my goodness!”

Your boyfriend had turned to you mid jump when you yelled his name but because he saw you in the sexiest outfit ever made, he lost his footing and balance on the descent and fell fast to the floor.

“Oh my God!!” You dropped the empty plant watering pot you were holding and raced to your boyfriends side. His eyes were closed for dramatic effect and he was waving his hands in front of him as if he didn’t know that the reason he couldn’t see is because his eyes are closed.

“Satori, baby, are you okay?!” You pat him down to ensure no broken bones and you caress his face. He grimaced.

“My head.......I can’t seeeee.....owww.....”

Your boyfriend groaned with his eyes still closed.

“My poor Tendou! Did you hit your head on the floor?! How many fingers am I holding up?!” You held up four fingers in front of his face while you slipped your other hand under his head so that it was resting on something softer.

Your boyfriend shakes his head and shrugs, his face contorted in pain.

“Open your eyes and maybe you’ll see how many fingers, Satori.” 😑 you say, fighting an eye roll.

“I need.......a doctor..........it hurts to open my eyes!” He exclaimed, clutching his head.

Your heart dropped and your face fell, uber worried that your boyfriend had a serious concussion. “Please open them and try, baby. I need you to identify 3 things in this room and if you can’t then we will go to the hospital. 3 things for me baby, try.”

Tendo squinted his eyes open barely. “I see.....” he cringes and you clutch him tighter. Your heart was beating so fast. Satori moved his head in your hand, looking over at the fallen watering jug.

“I see.....jugs.” He said.

You let out the breath you had been holding in, so happy that your boyfriend was able to identify something correctly. This was a good sign. “Oh my God Satori baby I really thought I’d need to bring you to—wait. Jugs? As in the plural?? How many jugs do you see Satori?”

Your boyfriend shook his head in displeasure at your loud voice. “I see three.” He finished while clutching his head again.

Your internal panic returned. He must be seeing triple since that is a symptom of a serious concussion! This was bad.

“Okay, come on I’m calling Ushijima we are going to the hospital—“

Your spaced-out sounding boyfriend felt the need to elaborate on his answer. He was speaking so softly you had to lean in closer just so you could hear him. “I see one jug over there...” The red head used both his hands to double point to the jug you dropped across the room.

“And two more jugs................................................here.”

His pointing hands moved in a semi circle that you followed with your eyes in confusion, until they landed on your boobs when he said ‘here.’

Gapping at your boyfriend like a fish, you went silent. You looked down at his hands, to his now smiling and very alert face, back to his hands and then back to his face that gave you a wink.

YOU.

WERE.

GOING.

TO.

KILL.

HIM.

Seething, you took a deep breath,

“TENDO SATORI YOU ARE SO DEA——mmmm.”

You started to yell at him but you were stopped because your boyfriend began to massage your boobs in your sweater, knowing that was your utter weakness. You moaned and bit your lip, all the anger you had toward killing him relinquishing from your body and replaced by pleasure.

Your boyfriend smirked as he lifted to sit up on his butt. “Oh no. You cannot get mad at me, little lady.” He tsk-ed, ever the broadway actor. “I still fell because of you, so it’s really your fault, hmmmm?” Through your sweater Tendo pinched your newly hard nipples and flicked them. It felt so nice and soft with the cotton material touching your sensitive areoles but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Do you even know what this sweater is, beautiful? What it does?” He looked into your lust filled eyes with even darker ones. You shook your head, pressing your boobs into his attentive, so attentive hands.

“Fuck me, of course you don’t.......” He looked you up and down and licked his lips as he went back to groping your boobs pleasurably. “It’s called a virgin killer sweater, you inexperienced princess.” He tweaked your nipples again and came in close to you to kiss up and down your neck. When he pulled back to see you again and saw that you were still in the sweater and not fully covered as always, his semi boner grew to full length.

“Oh, am I going to have fun with you....” Your boyfriend captured you in a heated kiss and slipped one of his hands between your legs to softly massage you through your panties.

When he pulled away you asked him while dizzy, “A what-a what sweater? Virgin? Murder? Huh?”

He chuckled darkly, moving his body so that he was on top of you and you were laying on the carpet. While on top of you he caressed your smooth exposed legs with his hand and then bent to their level so he could land kisses on your inner thighs.

“Legend has it,” he began between kisses as he covers your thighs in hickeys, “That if your girlfriend wears this sweater it automatically kills any virgin man because he would just have to make love to you after seeing you in it.....”

You sighed in pleasure as your boyfriend removed your panties. He always became so serious when it came to sex and it was a parallel to his jokester personality.

But you loved it, especially when he was kissing your inner thighs so close to your needy spot like a damn professsio—

“Oh my G-God Satori,” you moaned as you felt your boyfriend’s long, purposeful tongue lick you from one end of your slit to the other. You were drenched down there from the nipple attention he started with and your boyfriend moaned in satisfaction as he tasted you on his tongue. You arched your back because of the vibrations of his sound.

“S-Satori.... we-we’re on the gr-ground.....”

Ignoring you, your man made a “W” shape with his tongue and dove in, paying special attention to stimulating your clit by encircling it which made you tug on his red hair.

He pulled back to softly blow cool air on your clit and you almost pulled out your baby’s hair because how good it felt!!

“F-fuck—“ you moaned.

After blowing on it to make it cold he replaced it with his warm tongue as to shift you from cold to hot sensations. Your toes curled. He was incredible at oral sex and he knew it.

Your boyfriend reached a hand up the inside of your sweater and grabbed one of your bare boobs, massaging it the way you loved. Usually your boyfriend spread the foreplay out in long sections, using his key ‘cum right now’ techniques like the boob play, the blowing, the moaning on your vag and the “W” at different points to draw out your orgasm, but right now he was combining all of them at once just to turn you on. To make you beg for him now so he could fuck you sooner. He couldn’t wait already, and he knew just how to get you to the same place as him in arousal.

He’s smart.

“I-I need you now, Ten, please—“

You grip his hair trying to pull him up so his dick would replace his perfect tongue. You were about to cum. “I need you inside me now.”

Pinching your nipple and blowing on your clit one more time before sucking it into his mouth, letting it go slowly and then kissing you there (to which you screaaamed his name), Tendou looked up at you with a winning smile. “Oh, that is music to my ears, baby.”

He unbuckled his pants and removed them, along with his shirt.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tongue fuck you and tease you longer, my love. I had to pull out all the stops right away because I need to be inside you right now. You have no idea what seeing you in that sweater is doing to me, princess.” Fully naked in all his glory, you look down to see your boyfriends hard cock standing at full attention.

“Tendo, I don’t care it felt amazing. I-just put your dick inside me—“

He grinned, circling his dripping precum all over his long dick. He leaned forward on you so that he could use your vaginal juices as lubricant. He rubbed his length between your pussy lips back and forth slowly not entering you yet, groaning as he did so. He was teasing himself like no tomorrow in the process.

You bit your lip and shut your eyes tightly as your orgasm approached without him even being inside you yet. Him lubricating himself on you manually felt too great and your toes curled and your back arched as you screamed his name over and over, riding out your first orgasm of the night.

“Oh my God, Princess.....” Still rubbing his dick in between your soaked and sensitive lips, your boyfriend stared down at you the whole time, only a little surprised that you climaxed so early.

To Tendou, seeing you orgasm while wearing a virgin killer sweater was absolutely the hottest thing HE’S ever seen!

“Y/N you looked unbelievable cumming right now........ Fair warning that I’m not going to be able to pull out. Not today—“ using his hand he spreads your wetness on any area still left uncovered. He stared at your chest in the sweater. “This looks perfect on you......it highlights your every feature. Your tits, your hips, your legs? How did I get you?” His eyes twinkled because he was so proud for managing to court you that he was going to make sure you two enjoyed this.

“The moment I saw you in this sweater my mind told me to stick my dick inside you.... I don’t know. I—“ Satori groaned as he witnessed you spread your legs open for him, wrapping them around his waist, inviting him inside.

“Let the sweater work it’s magic then, Satori.” You coo impatiently. Your seductive voice went straight to his dick as it pulsated on your lips.

He was about to explain to you just how fucking sexy you looked laying splat on the floor, dressed in a virgin killer sweater, face looking as kinds of seductive, but he couldn’t wait any longer. You looked too hot. He guessed he’d just have to show you.

“Fuuuuuuck Y/N.......”

Satori moaned loudly as he pushed inside your gripping walls.

He lifted your sweater up a tad so he could see your naked hips and tugged you closer to him. He was sitting on his knees with your legs wrapped around him.

Satori took three, maybe four slow testing thrusts that made you shudder before he began pounding into your heat rhythmically. Your combined juices were probably making a mess on the floor but neither of you cared because it felt so fucking good. While you and Tendo have fucked before this time was different. Your boyfriend was pounding into you as if he had no control over it and you loved it. It was like he was put under some spell when the sweater came on and you would like to thank the Genie 🧞‍♂️ who sprinkled their magic on this sweater design because you were happily reaping the benefits of its powers.. You moaned so loudly the plants must have heard you.

“You.....can’t....wear.....this.....around....me.” said Ten, matching his words to his thrusts. Seeing you look so sexy being fucked by him dressed like this, Tendou felt his balls tighten. You felt extraordinary inside but the look of you alone was driving him to the edge.

“You.....look......too......fucking.....good.....”

He reached down to rub your clit with his skilled fingers, hoping you were going to come over the edge with him. You arched your back in that sweater when he touched you there and you took it upon yourself to bunch the sweater material between your boobs so that they were naked and free. Satori felt like he was going to pass out by how hot you looked.

“Fuck, princess. You’re so beautiful. I don’t know what’s happening. I can’t even last because you’re wearing this? Shit, I’m gonna—“ Still thrusting and massaging your clit a bit harder now, he reached up to roll your hard nipple between his fingers again with his the other hand.

HOLD UP CAUSE I NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YALL:

THIS RED HEADED SEX GOD HAD BOTH HIS HANDS BUSY STIMULATING YOU AND HE WAS STILL GIVING YOU LONG DEEP THRUSTS: He was a jack of all trades and you were here for it huntyyy!

Moaning like you’ve never moaned before, you screamed your boyfriends name.

Satori was already there but he just knew that you had to cum with him. He was a very giving lover and he always made sure you came before him during penetration, despite whether you came earlier due to his tongue or not. But, now......with you dressed like that.......he wasn’t prepared for how much more turned on he’d be and consequently how much faster his tidal wave of an orgasm would hit him.

It was YOU, and it was THAT FUCKING SWEATER—and then it was you IN that sweater—that made Satori go from playing a joke on you because he only caught a glimpse of you in that: to fucking you silly on the ground when he saw you fully. You in that sweater made him want to empty his balls deep inside your heat over and over every time you wore it until you decide to throw it out.

As you gripped him deep inside your hot box as you always did, the pleasure was enhanced for your boyfriend due to your sexiness in that sweater. It was Satori’s toes’ turn to curl as his head fell back because he couldn’t handle the maximized erotica of watching you AND fucking you.

“I’m.....going.....to........cum........so........fucking......much.... Y/N—“ he moaned sexily.

One more deep stroke was all it took for Tendo to release a 15-second long orgasm inside you. Of course, his orgasm and his deep moans triggered your second one and you also rode out the longest orgasm you’ve ever had.

Still inside you, Satori collapsed with his back leaning on the back of the couch. You moved so that you were straddling him and leaned the entire front of your body on his front. You both panted like you just ran two 50K marathons.

Still trying to catch your breath you said,

“Wow. You’ve never cum that long before, babe. So you mean to tell me that our usual mind blowing sex had another level?!” You ask incredulously as your boyfriend peppered kisses on your shoulder.

“You mean to tell me that I can make you feel even better just by wearing this?! I’m not taking this off then.”

Tendo who had oddly already caught his breath, stood up with you still in his arms. He was usually all up for cockwarming after sex but that would be a no-go right now when you were looking so delectable. His dick hardened inside you as he walked you both around to the other side of the couch.

“Be careful what you wish for, Y/N.” your gorgeous red head warned as he placed you down on the couch and started sucking on your neck. You moaned as Tendo’s length twitched inside you. “Because you’re still wearing it now, and one of the side effects of this sweater isn’t only longer... stronger.. orgasms—“ He pulled out to thrust deep inside you, earning a moan from you both. Ten was horny again. “—It’s also its ability to make your boyfriend want to go again, and again, and again.....”

[safarigirlsp]

Which movie did you think was the best out of House of Gucci, Annette and The Last Duel? 🖤

Hi! I waited until I'd actually seen Gucci to answer this lol.

1. The Last Duel - 9.5/10. I had very high expectations for this movie and it met and/or exceeded them on all counts! I’ve been hyped about this movie since spring of 2020 before the plague lol! Plus, I love knights, medieval settings, and also courtroom dramas, and this is all of the above. I was expecting to be let down, as is usually the case when I go into a movie with high expectations. I really enjoyed everything about this movie and I’m hard pressed to think of any negatives. Ideally, the premise would have been more fun as say a murder lol, but it was an actual historical event, so it is what it is lol. The subject matter isn’t inherently offensive or a turn-off to me. The only actual structural criticism I have is that I think it would have made for more interesting story telling if there was more ambiguity as to what happened rather than everyone knows at all times and the jig is up from the outset. 

Although obviously a drama, surprisingly it also has a lot of very tongue in cheek humor that I loved! The humor in Gucci is more ridiculous like velvet suits being chic (which I did admittedly enjoy very much!), and there is some of that in Duel that hits perfectly too ala “Come in. Take your pants off!” But the best humor in Duel was more subtle. It killed me with scenes like Margueritte struggling to lie under oath that she does experience pleasure from her husband, and Pierre making Carroughes scoot closer to him to kneel, Carroughes explaining to Margueritte that was well-behaved but “We’re no longer welcome at court,” not to mention all the men saying things 'are science' to a chorus of women's eyerolls lol.

Contrary to Gucci, with approximately the same running time, I didn’t find Duel to get boring or feel as though it was dragging, even during the scenes and segments without Jacques lol. This is extra impressive since it is basically the same story told three times in three different ways! The directing was superb and the nuances each actor gave their characters to change the way each point of view was presented was truly impressive. I also think it’s the most nuanced performance AD has given, and he excels at that in every instance!

More minor in the calculation, but I loved the aesthetics of the movie and the settings! Jacques’s wardrobe in particular was incredible. And the jousting part of the duel was amazing! I think it’s the best joust that’s ever been filmed, certainly that I’ve ever seen. I wish that part had been longer!

2. House of Gucci - 7/10. I thought this was a very fun movie and I enjoyed it, however, I was expecting to love it and I just didn't. There was nothing bad about it, other than some of the accents lol, but it wasn't quite as good as I was expecting. I probably fell victim to the hype machine lol. I thought the second half dragged a little and could have been shortened. I was disappointed by the sex scene, particularly Lady Gaga's animal noises lol, and the mistress I found very blah, irritating, and utterly devoid of character, chemistry, or personality. However, I enjoyed AD’s change from a happy innocent of sorts into a monstrous Gucci! I would have liked to have seen more in his descent and more of Hyde as it were.

One thing that pleasantly surprised me both with Duel and Gucci is that the supporting actors were wonderful! I always love Jeremy Irons, but he was superb in Gucci! His was probably my favorite performance in the movie! The lunch scene where he is just glaring at Maurizio for bringing Patrizia the gold digger home is perfect! That's my favorite scene in the movie. And Paolo's line, "Now I can finally soar. Like a pigeon!" killed me. In Duel, I was truly surprised how much I enjoyed Pierre! In contrast to Irons, I really don't care for Ben Affleck at all, but he did superb. Pierre gets my vote for the best sidekick/buddy in any AD movie yet. He added so much to every scene and he and Jacques are great together.

3. Annette - 3/10. I enjoyed watching Annette as a dark and warped comedy in my own way, but I wouldn't call it a good movie in any regard. I'm not a fan of musicals, so that's a hard sell for me anyway lol, but in some of them, I can appreciate the songs when they're good. Despite my opinion on the quality of the singing in Annette, the songs themselves were just lame. The plot lacked depth from my point of view, and it was generally just too artsy for me lol. I also found myself not engaged enough to care about any character at all. Whereas in Duel and Gucci, I was invested in Marguerite and Patrizia, and caught up by Rudlofo and Pierre, I was utterly ambivalent to every single character in Annette other than Henry, which was solely because he happens to be played by an actor I enjoy.

I obviously have a strong bias for Jacques, so you can factor that in lol. Although, I'm trying to be objective in my movie analysis

[prometheanglory]

i want em facts abt my two favorite bitches, bby 😳 spill the tea abt the sad old lady and gunboy

😳😳😳😳😳 put ur teacup out here i come

vinh:

she likes roasted fennel, and that’s mainly an allusion to a fennel stalk being how prometheus brought fire to mankind

she is the eldest daughter, but exactly how many sisters she has is... still entirely ambiguous. certainly enough to represent all the colors and gold alloy variations. she’s the only one without actual ‘gold’ naturally present on her.

vinh’s age is... again entirely arbitrary as all my ocs are — but general concept is that she’s typically on the ‘older’ end of the cast roster. mafia au, she’s like late 20s/early-mid 30s. nrc, she’s about 22-29 physically. it really just depends on how i feel like writing her. whatever the age, i just need to get across the concept that she’s Matured. Not Young Teen Girl.

she speaks a number of languages, mainly due to the emphasis on being well-educated in arts and literature for the nobles of the sierras of ambrosia. her knowledge of the languages themselves may be a little outdated though, as her expanse of an education was rather... varied, in terms of time periods.

in terms of the ethereals, i like to think of her as the most ‘human’ because rather than marian and xuehai’s perceived loftiness and sarge’s inability to truly connect — she has come the closest to allowing ‘human’ ideals to like... actually come in direct contact with her own ideals?

she can’t really ‘perceive’ heat. she can eat peppers with no problem, wear sweaters in deserts, and touch hot stoves without any issues. that being said though, she can perceive ‘lack’ of heat. she doesn’t particularly like being cold.

she spent a good chunk of her life either in a volcano or on an incredibly sunny cloud — vinh quite likes heat and sunlight. her body being so mana-dependent actually is a bit in-tune with this pattern of heat and weather... and it doesn’t particularly help that she is actively impeding her own mana levels, so her need to rely on other means of energy (i.e. eating, sleeping, etc) is elevated on cold or notably dark days. she’s a bit like a cat. she really likes sunbeams.

professionalism aside, vinh’s actually a pretty low-ranker in regards to confidence. she’s very aware of how she is perceived and how she comes across (both in skills and relationships), but she doesn’t actually share much of that notion. her sense of value and worth is very skewed. she’s actually pretty prone to getting gloomy or unsure.

her fashion style is mainly along the lines of more ‘modest’ but still notably chic and elegant? she’s having some fun experimenting with modern sensibilities but she’s more used to skirts and dresses because pants aren’t really... a thing for her culture. she likes a very dark ensemble (an occasional neutral or dark-earthy tone can be found in her wardrobe). she enjoys simplistic jewelry.

vinh is actually shorter than most sierras of ambrosian nobles, but still above the average for the commonfolk. it might be genetics, it might be the ‘i was on the mountain instead of the cloud’, who knows.

flint:

flint is the most flexible member of the stagrove-5. he has past experience as a gymnast, but he’s been out of that practice for a while now — doesn’t really alter much though, he still stays pretty on top of maintaining his overall flexibility.

in terms of personality, i think the best way to describe him would just be Lawful/Lawful. the most stereotypical ISTJ... a personality of straight up black coffee. or perhaps a rock.

in terms of confidence, i think flint easily is one of the top-rankers amongst my ocs for being self-assured. certainly not the most vocal about it, but you know. he knows he’s got it good.

actually, on that note, i think the fun thing about flint is the fact that he’s just. some dude. like yeah, he’s talented n shit but like... he’s just a Dude. nothing grand about him. his entire arc and personality (and perceived perfection) is mainly a product of me getting tired of lofty things and trying to put more emphasis on like. mundane things. an unabashedly human thing and story, u know. no gods, no angels, just you and your neighbor.

his surname is actually from the now-defunct Remington Arms Company, the former oldest and former largest producer of shotguns and rifles in america — flint is for flintlock pistol.

he is easily my most sane and stable oc. i can’t even picture him ever overblotting within a reasonable or ‘immediate’ context. he’s a pretty emotionally aware guy, he just doesn’t express himself in the most outward of ways.

flint’s fashion taste isn’t very adventurous. he likes business casual styles but he doesn’t really care too much about fashion. he dresses up more for nrc and being in public just because, but on days-off and at home, he’s more fond of wearing his older and more ‘worn’ clothes. he likes more earthy and neutral colors and doesn’t stray too much from ‘traditionally masculine’ accessories. he’s got an old watch from his grandpa that miraculously still works.

he generally wakes up around 5 o’clock sharp, but sometimes he wakes up earlier. his schedule doesn’t actually require him to be up by that time, but flint’s given himself ample room for preparing things and to enjoy the mornings. he likes the quiet and how the world looks.

despite how strict and mean he seems, flint’s a pretty unbothered guy. he’s got a bit of a ‘no-nonsense’ attitude but at the same time he’s not going to go out of his immediate way to correct something if he feels it doesn’t concern him. imagine ur traditional ‘ironbound rules’ student council head archetype.... okay now, make him talk less and less nosy. bam, u got a remington.

flint handles the cold pretty well, being drom the land of pyroxene! ...but he doesn’t like hot-humidity much at all, so he tends to be pretty miserable during ridge of willows summers. he usually just ends up sucking it up either way though.

[heymacy]

Macy Macy Macy, happy Friday!

1) Are you trendy? Or do you hold to the styles that you know work for you?

2) How do you feel about having kids? And if you were to decide you wanted to be a parent, what route to parenthood do you think you would want to take?

3) Do you wear jewellery and if yes, are you more into costume, gold, silver, beads, what?

Curveballs? Moi?? Jamais! 😘

howl howl howl, happy friday my love!! 💛🦉

1) i am the least trendy person in the world 😭 when i'm not at work (in jeans and a rotating selection of black t-shirts), i'm in my pajamas or sweats! i own maybe 15 shirts and they're all 2 to 12 years old - i still have most of the shit i wore in high school!! 90% of the clothes i own came from thrift stores and could be described as “old lady chic” 👵🏼✨ if i had the money, time, and energy, i'd have a very well-curated dark, witchy wardrobe full of twirly dresses and shredded jeans and fishnet tops. but alas, i'm too lazy to be the bad bitch that rests quietly inside of my soul 😭🥺

2) i thought i wanted kids for a really long time (i've worked with kids my entire life and i'm really good with them), but i don't think i want my own anymore. my sister-in-law is pregnant and due in march and honestly i'm just happy with the idea of being a cool aunt! but my wife and i have had many conversations about this and decided years ago that if we change our minds and want kids down the line, we'll be adopting! but that's a very expensive and time-consuming process, so it would have to be when we're super stable and making decent money! but for now, i'm very happy with my little life as it is 👩🏻🧑🏻🐱🐱🐱

3) i WISH i wore more jewelry - i wear a tiny diamond stud in my tragus piercing and occasionally little diamond studs in my ears, but not that often. i went through a phase a while back where i wore a shit ton of wire wrapped crystal necklaces my friends and i made, but i've never been much of a necklace person. when i do wear jewelry, i tend to mix metals, which i KNOW is taboo but idc because it always winds up looking cute 🥰💍💫

howl? nous lancer des balles courbes? la démence!!! (no i don't speak french, yes i used google translate, yes it’s probably wrong, sue me 😇)

[hipparelinda]

Stretch Panic NA Story

I had to type it all out for the treasure wiki so I might as well share here. It’s from the game manual

Linda lived in a big house on the outskirts of town with her 12 sisters, all of whom were extremely vain. All day long her sisters would put on make up, try on different clothes and strut about the house admiring themselves in mirrors. They rarely talked, pausing only to complement each other on how beautiful they looked.

'My, how beautiful I look today!' said Jelly-chan as she admired herself in one of the house's many large mirrors. 'This outfit looks absolutely fabulous on me. Linda don't I look spectacular?'

'Yes Jelly, you look lovely, as always' replied Linda who wasn't in the least bit vain. Linda could not understand her sisters' fascination with their appearance. The only piece of clothing Linda truly loved was a tatty old green scarf which had been give to her by her father.

'And look at you, always wearing that gaudy striped shirt and stupid cap. And that scarf! It's so old it should be buried. Honestly Linda you're a complete disaster. Why don't you let us give you a makeover?'

"Because I don't want a makeover. I like my clothes. At least they fit me! That skirt is obviously two sizes too small for you!'

'Don't you take that tone of voice with Jelly!' said Spirit, the oldest of the sisters. 'She's right, you do look like a mess! Now make yourself useful and go down to the mall and pick up our cosmetics order!'

Linda was the youngest in the family and was used to being bossed around. Since her sisters rarely left the house (they couldn't stand to be away from their wardrobe for very long) Linda was always delegated to go into town for groceries and whatnot. Linda didn't really mind though. In truth, she liked to get outside and enjoyed a break from her sister's once in a while.

So Linda walked down the long road into town and picked up her sister's cosmetics order from the beauty store. There were so many boxes Linda could barely carry them all! As she staggered back from town, trying to keep her balance with the boxes stacked way above her head, she heard the sound of a vehicle getting closer. She looked around but couldn't see anything, even though the sound was getting louder and louder. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a large truck with a bizarre logo emblazoned on the side appeared and zoomed by Linda, almost hitting her. Linda lost her balance and dropped all the boxes. As the truck drove away into the distance, it seemed to her that the logo on the side was almost... laughing at her? No, it must be her imagination. Linda slowly gathered up the boxes and continued on towards home.

Meanwhile, the truck pulled to a stop outside Linda's house. A few seconds later the front door opened and a large package was pushed inside. Before anyone could see who (or what) had made the delivery, the door slammed and the truck drove away. All of the 12 sisters gathered round the package, curious as to what it was, and who it was for.

'Maybe it's food for me!' said Jelly-chan hungrily.

'Perhaps it's make-up for me!' Said Mirage hopefully.

'No, no, it must be that new blouse I ordered!' said Samantha, excitedly.

'That's strange, there's no address on it, just this 'Beauty Set' flier.' Commented Spirit.

As Spirit reached out to pick up the leaflet the box began to shake! All the sisters jumped back, startled! Slowly the tabs unfolded and the box began to open by itself! As the sides dropped to the floor an ominous looking doorway was revealed. The door was closed, but a mysterious could be heard from inside.

"Sisters, Sisters, don't be frighened.

Gather round and be enlightened!

For we have come from far away,

to grant your heart's desire this day.

Such glamour we have rarely seen!

You all could pass as beauty queens.

Your clothes look great, as does your hair;

your make up is without compare.

And yet... you feel it's not enough,

for any girl can buy this stuff.

You want a look that's more unique.

A style beyond conventional chic.

Well ladies, it's your lucky day,

there is no reason to dismay!

For it is well within our power.

To change your very shape this hour!

Now ultimately it's your decision.

To manifest your inner vision.

But trust us, it's the best cosmetic.

We guarantee you won't regret it.

Your vanity has drawn us here.

Let your pride overcome your fear.

Your desire is the only key.

To unlock the museum of agony."

By the time the voice had finished the sisters had completely forgotten about Linda and their cosmetics delivery. In fact, they had completely forgotten about everything. They barely even noticed as the door slowly began to open...

As Linda approached the house, tired from carrying her sisters' cosmetics boxes all the way back from the store, a blinding light started flashing from inside, visible through all the windows. There was a large explosion, windows shattered, and the light spread, engulfing Linda.

Linda dashed inside, and instantly saw the source of the light. Standing right there in the middle of the front hall was a mysterious open doorway with light pouring out. Linda approached the door cautiously. As she stepped closer she heard a strange high pitched mischievous laugh. Then, right before her eyes her scarf started to move, coiling around her like a snake! Linda gasped as the end turning black, split like fingers, and a huge eye opened on the back. Her scarf had become possessed! Linda was afraid the scarf might try to attack her, after a few seconds, she realized that is actually seemed to like her!

Just then Linda heard the whispering voice coming from the other side of the door. Because of the light she could not see who was speaking.

'Linda, step through the portal. Join your sisters! Join us!'

'What have you done with my sisters?' shouted Linda defiantly.

'They have been made beautiful, like your scarf. Do you want to become beautiful Linda?'

'I don't want to become anything! I just want my sisters back!'

'If you want them,' hissed the voice, 'then come and get them.'

Even though she was scared, Linda knew she was her sisters' only hope. Without hesitation, she stepped through the doorway and into the light.

[isitovers]

since you write so well, i figured you might be a fan of books and i will LITERALLY read ANYTHING you recommend so pls drop a book rec or fic rec or anything that i could read that has your approval

oh my gosh I love finding some peace in reading! I’ve made this list for you so I hope there’s something on there you might be interested in checking out 😘

fiction:

19 love songs by david levithan (he writes stories for his friends for valentine’s day and this is a collection of fiction and nonfiction centring on the idea of love)

air kisses by zoe foster (if you like the devil wears prada then you’ll probably like the idea of the main character in this bluffing her way into being a beauty editor for a magazine)

all the bright places by jennifer niven (one of my favourites. I can’t bring myself to watch the movie because I enjoyed the book so much and don’t want it to be ruined)

breathless by jennifer niven (I love this and I love that it’s based on her own love story)

burn for burn trilogy by jenny han and siobhan vivian (the ending was not at all what I was expecting – in the best way)

every day by david levithan (I haven’t read this since high school but the concept of this book is so wildly unique. I don’t understand how they made a movie based on it and I don’t intend to find out)

honeybee by craig silvey (hard but very good reading. deals with transitioning, transphobia, abuse)

I am out with lanterns by emily gale (I read this last year and it was one of my fave books that follows multiple characters. it’s also set in melbourne and I love a good book set in aus)

I was born for this by alice oseman (as a long time 1d fan I loved the premise of this book. if you’ve ever used fandom as escapism this is definitely a rec)

jasper jones by craig silvey (by far my favourite book we studied in high school; I finished it long before anyone else in my class. the movie version isn’t as good)

let it snow by maureen johnson, john green and lauren myracle (my annual holiday reading. maureen’s story is my favourite. do not even bother with the netflix movie it has literally nothing to do with this book and shouldn’t be allowed to say it’s based on it)

loveless by alice oseman (a book hasn’t hit me like this in so long and hasn’t since I read this last year. I’d never read anything like it before and I connected in a way I wasn’t expecting when I first bought it)

one of us is lying by karen m mcmanus (where my love of her ya mystery novels started. I didn’t enjoy the sequel one of us is next quite as much but still worth reading as well)

outlander series by diana gabaldon (this series is a long investment but completely worth it. the accompanying lord john novels are also recs – you can probably read them on their own as they’re separate from the outlander journey but there may be things that make more sense if you’ve read outlander first)

strange girls and ordinary women by morgan mccarthy (follows the lives of three very different women)

the wardrobe girl by jennifer smart (a funny one with the drama of behind the scenes of a soapie)

the wonder of us by kim culbertson (an honest look at friendship)

turtles all the way down by john green (I love the way he wrote the very end of this book. would also rec the rest of his work if you haven’t read already)

two can keep a secret by karen m mcmanus (idk about you but I wouldn’t go to a place called murderland halloween park especially not when a girl was fittingly murdered there but this is another well written ya novel)

nonfiction:

bloom by beau taplin (for if you like poetry)

challenge accepted by celeste barber (for if you enjoy her instagram and are interested in knowing more about her)

dior by dior the autobiography of christian dior (for if you’re interested in couture)

grace by grace coddington (very interesting read if you’re a fan of grace or the fashion industry in general)

hope is the thing with feathers by emily dickinson (I got into her work watching the show dickinson and this is a really nice collection of her poetry)

it by alexa chung (I love alexa and this book is so aesthetic)

the beautiful fall by alicia drake (really in depth look at the lives of yves saint laurent and karl lagerfeld)

the divine feline by belinda alexandra (for chic cat ladies)

the little book of gucci by karen homer (for if you’re interested in the history of the fashion house accompanied by pretty pictures)

[sweeethinny]

The Duke - Chapter 5

I took a while to update, I thought about quitting sometimes, I won't lie, but, I started reading fanfics and books about Monarchy and regency era theme, and all my creativity came back.

Thank you as always, @theroomofreq who is very kind to me and helps me beta this story And to all my friends who need to listen to my crazy ideas

AO3 | FF.NET | SIYE (soon) 

| G. W |

It was barely dawn when that newspaper fell on the Weasleys' door and the elf caught it. It was like every other day, well rolled, with the ink still fresh, full of gossip, important news, and political speculation, in addition to that malicious hint that they introduced in the news, to be just mean to some stupid Viscount that was stolen - and deserved it - or a newly decorated Marquis who married a woman who struck him - and who also deserved it.

It was just another normal day.

Or so it was meant to be.

As soon as Ginny came down to breakfast, she felt that something was different in the air, or maybe it was the fact that her brothers and mother were on top of her father to be able to read the newspaper page too.

‘’Good morning.’’ She called, but no one paid any attention to her. ‘’What’s so important? Did we find a gold mine?’’ Ginny stood next to Ron, needing to tiptoe to read the main and most eye-catching story on the front page of the newspaper.

'’The - yet - Duke and Duchess of Godric’s Hollow, James and Lily Potter, open the doors of their country house, for the first time in 20 years, for the fiftieth Dueling Party.

Check out more information, and the guest list so far, on page 13.’’

‘’Were we invited?’’ Ginny asked, wanting her father to leave that page right away where showed a picture of the couple in front of their huge country house, with the two of them not looking so happy to pose for the camera.

‘‘We were.’’ Ron confirmed, still looking at the newspaper. ‘’I think… Did Mr Potter go crazy?’’

‘’Ron! Don't say that!’’ Molly slapped his son on the arm, scolding him. ‘’Arthur dear, do you know why… this? Lily's authorizing something like this to happen?’’

''James had talked about applying some measures at Godric's Hollow and some changes but ... I didn't imagine he would host the Dueling Party ... I mean, they have a pretty big list of guests.'' Father said, still standing at same page of the newspaper.

‘’I heard they think they know where their son is.’’ Fred said, a little quietly, as if saying something terrible.

‘’Lily will die looking for that son.. I don’t blame her, of course, but… It’s been almost 24 years, how does she think she can find the boy? Only Merlin knows who took him, where they took him…’’ Her mother put her hand on her chest, facing Ginny. ‘’We need to find you with a new dress.’’

‘‘No mom, please.’’ Ginny denied, looking back at the newspaper. ‘’But what if he’s really alive? How will they find him? Is that why they’re having the party this year?’’

‘’James says the boy was born with a brand.’‘ The father clarified. ‘’But I don’t know if that’s why they decided-- ’’

‘‘-- I’m sorry.’’ Henry’s voice interrupted Arthur’s, and the man bowed to everyone in the room. ''Mr. Weasley, I think you would like to accompany me.'' The man did not look at Ginny, as if he was afraid to show too much, holding a torn piece of paper tightly and having his left forearm grated and dirty. Had he fallen?

'‘Of course, Mr Figg. Excuse me, love.’’ Arthur kissed his wife respectfully and then followed Henry out of the dining room. Ginny almost ran after them, knowing it seemed to have something to do with her, just from the way Henry avoided looking at her.

She hated it when they made her look like a damsel in distress who couldn't distinguish fire from ice.

''Ginny, we will see this afternoon about your dress, and Ron, we also need to decide on new clothes for you ...'' Her mother continued to talk about the duties they would have for the next few days, but all Ginny could pay attention to was in Henry walking away. His cloak was torn in the back and it looked like he had just arrived - which was strange, because he never left in the morning, always preferring to go out in the afternoon when Ginny was at tea time with her mother, or at night, at dinner time. Henry always said that in the morning, it was the time that crazy people wake up and make a mess.

He looked over his shoulder after her dad turned the corner of the hall and disappeared towards the office, but he also followed the path before Ginny was able to have any appropriate reaction.

After his intrusion, and the delay for her father to return, Ginny had to be taken care of by another Auror (she was told that Henry needed to go to his office), and nowhere was Thomas as gentle and nice to her as Henry was. 

All morning, Ginny felt like she was being followed by a ghost, in silence for all the hours that passed, a little disconcerted that Thomas didn't like talking to her like Henry did - even though sometimes it was just yes and no - and when she had to leave the house to keep her mother company on the way to the center, Ginny was excited to at least hear different voices.

''Does Mrs. Potter know that I need to bring Mr. Figg?'' Ginny asked, looking at the windows they passed, daydreaming about those colorful and well-sewn dresses.

Even though her father was a Viscount, Arthur had been decorated one after the other 10 in front of him died, so there was not much inheritance for them to benefit from. They weren't really poor, Ginny could still choose a dress sewn by a top dressmaker on special occasions, but she knew that the family had far more limitations than other families who had a wardrobe all made just for them.

‘’I wouldn’t like you to bring him,’’ The mother started, raising her gloved hand as if she already knew that Ginny was going to interrupt her. "It's always quite threatening when he stays behind you wherever you go, and maybe that's what limits gentlemen to ask you out." The younger redhead bit her cheek, swallowing the urge to say what prevented men from getting close to her was that she was seen as crazy. ‘‘But your father would never let us leave the property without him following, so… Yes, Mrs. Potter already knows that Mr. Figg will be with you.’’

‘‘I thought they didn’t throw parties anymore.’’ She commented quietly, smiling at a lady who was looking at her a little terrified, pulling her little daughter aside when Ginny passed.

Ah, London hospitality, always so pleasant.

‘’We all thought so.’’ Molly spread the fan in her hands, fanning herself because of the heat that seemed to be almost deadly. ‘‘But it looks like Mrs. Potter is tired of leaving the doors closed.’’

‘’I don’t remember visiting their house.’’

‘’You first came right when you were born, we introduced you to them. We have a picture of you and little Harry in the crib.'' Her mother sighed, stopping in front of the shop for hats, gloves and other accessories (not as chic as the one on the top street where jewelry was sold) and smiled at Ginny . ‘’Let's go in, I want to see if we can find some hats for you. Maybe there is a suitor who captures your heart during the Dueling Party.’’

[...]

‘'The Dueling Party …’’ Ginny repeated, rereading the news for the tenth time. ‘’Do you know what they say about this party?’’ She asked, looking over her shoulder at Thomas, standing behind her, while she was dining alone.

He denied. Ginny snorted, annoyed by the silence.

‘’Do you know where Mr. Figg is?’’ It was a lot more fun to have dinner with his company.

‘’No, Miss.’’

‘’Do you know when he comes back?’’

‘‘No, Miss.’’ Ginny turned to the untouched plate in front of her. Her father had spent the day outside, just like Henry, Ron had gone out with Fred somewhere, and her mother had already gone to bed, saying she was having a headache from the heat. She sighed, alone.

Thomas was married, not that he told her, she had seen the ring in his hand, and Ginny hoped he would be more talkative outside of work, or she would send her condolences to the poor woman who was married to a ghost.

The day had been quite boring, even after going out with her mother - which resulted in her buying a new hat - her father had sent a Patron with strict orders not to leave the house. Not even to fly. So Ginny spent the afternoon reading, knitting, and even pruning some flowers. All without saying much, since Thomas seemed to hate any human interaction.

At first, Henry was like that, too, quietly, until he seemed to feel sorry for Ginny's loneliness (and his own, since he was 24/7 by her side), and they started talking and she was even able to convince him sit at the table with her when no one was attending dinner.

But today, even after Thomas has been with her a few times, he still seemed to completely ignore the warmth and preferred to remain silent, leaving Ginny talking to herself.

When she thought about starting dinner - even though the chicken looked pale and the potatoes didn't look so appetizing - she heard footsteps toward the dining room, and before she could understand who was coming in, his voice boomed through the quiet room; ‘’Mr. Thomas, you can go to your home. Thank you very much.’’ Henry bowed to her a little. ‘’Good night, Miss Weasley, forgive me for being late.’’

‘’Good night, Mr. Figg.’’ ’Ginny had to bite her cheek to avoid the smile that wanted to break her face. The other Auror bowed to her and left the room, looking even relieved of an unknown tension that weighed on his shoulders. ‘’He doesn’t seem to like me very much.’’ She continued to look at the door through which the man had disappeared.

‘’If you want to know a secret,’’ Henry spoke softly, and approached her a little. ‘‘I don’t think he even likes himself.’’ Ginny laughed, her chest seeming to burn with that feeling of comfort that the man gave to her. It was always so simple to be around him, even when they were around several people and Henry was not allowed to give his real opinions (he would never give them, anyway, but Ginny knew that when it was just the two of them, he could be one little less judicious)

‘’May I know where you and my father have been?’’ She gave up on dinner, turning entirely to Henry and putting her arms on the back of the chair, resting her head there and staring at him curiously. ‘’It was a very boring day.’’

‘’Sorry to leave you, Miss.’’ Like a great gentleman he was, he nodded politely. ‘’But unfortunately I can’t tell you where we went. You’ll have to ask your father.’’

‘’And will he tell me?’’ She tried hopefully.

''I do not think so. Sorry.''

‘‘It’s not your fault.’’ She shrugged, only then really looking at him. Henry was still as he was yesterday; his slightly old and crooked glasses made his green eyes even bigger, Auror's clothes were so tightly buttoned and without any wrinkles that Ginny was embarrassed about her dress, which had a slightly worn hem. But unlike yesterday, she realized that his left hand was bandaged. ''What happened?''

‘’Ah… problems.’’ Henry shrugged. ‘’Another time we can discuss this, but I don’t think it is an issue for a lady who… still needs dinner.’’ He looked over her shoulder at her untouched plate - which now seemed to have gained color and life.

‘’Have you eaten yet?’’ Ginny turned around, slicing the chicken and smiling eagerly for him to sit with her.

''Already, Miss. Sorry.’’ Ginny could even hear his sad smile.

"But sit still, you know I hate to eat alone." She helped herself to the wine, having to bite her cheek again to keep from smiling and bursting into words she swallowed all day, when he sat in front of her. ‘’Can I ask you just one thing?’’

‘’For sure, Miss.’’ Henry seemed to want to disagree when Ginny spilled wine in his glass, but said nothing.

''Your bruised hand, the disappearance for the whole day, and the bloody story... has to do with me?'' She said, filling her mouth with a good forkful of chicken, peas and puree, staring at Henry with a pink color on his cheeks and he looked away from hers for a second.

‘’Yes, Miss.’’ He sighed, looking tense. ‘’But I’m not allowed to say more than that.’’ And then Henry pointed his finger at the walls around them, silent, and then at his own ear.

The walls have ears.

Ginny could not contain the reaction of bulging her eyes and looking at the large window beside them, which showed the entire backyard of the dark and lost yard in the darkness of the night, the trees making a lot of noise, as well as the wind whistling in the small openings of the glass and some old wood.

Henry was still staring at her, his green eyes almost seemed to enter her mind.

‘’What was I doing when I got the scar on my leg?’’ Ginny was alarmed, placing her hand on the wand at her waist, and the other holding the knife even stronger.

‘’You went up on the roof to save a cat, and when I thought was safe and tried to go up too, you slipped and cut your leg on a loose tile.’’ She blew out the air she seemed to be holding. ‘’I’m glad you remember to ask this, but it would have been too late,’’ Henry said, without taking his eyes off her. ‘’You have to do this when I arrive, not after inviting me to sit.’’ He warned her, his eyebrow dark and cut in half by the scar, rising and arching.

‘’I would know if you were an impostor.’’ For some reason she couldn’t take her eyes off him, feeling her chest burn and her hands tremble. And unlike any other time this happened, it was as if her magic was more controlled rather than totally insane inside Ginny.

‘’Miss didn’t seem so sure of that.’’ Henry didn’t seem bothered to look her in the eye either.

‘’I just doubted it. But I would know.’’ She didn’t know how, but something inside her said she would know.

‘’I’m happy that no imposter would take my place.’’ Henry smirked. ‘’I would also know how to differentiate you from an impostor.’’ And then he looked away at the window, and Ginny’s chest seemed to almost break without the pressure that was building there.

She even managed to fill her lungs with air.

| H. F |

‘’If you allow me to ask..’’ Ginny started, as they walked to the place where they were training duels. A place that Mr. Weasley had built after the clearing, where no one would get hurt or end up drawing much attention. It was not respectful for girls born in good families to know the art of dueling.

It was another day, nearly seven in the morning when Henry had to wake Ginny up so they could train the duel. After yesterday's threat, it would be necessary for her to be more than prepared if he could not defend her alone - but he was training even more so that it would not happen.

‘’Where do your scars come from? The one you have on your forehead. I mean.'' She pointed with her gloved hand at his forehead, almost touching where the lightning-like scar was marked on his skin.

‘’It’s too bloody a story for seven in the morning. And for a lady like you.’��� He kept up his education, already seeing the hut they haven’t visited in a few months, trying to ignore the feeling of failure due to having to make a woman like her, needing to learn the art of dueling. Dueling with an auror, to top it off, and not with figures he would transfigure, as he did for the boys who had been a tutor a few years ago.

No Auror learned to duel as Ginny Weasley needed to learn.

Women usually - if they learned to duel - did it with transfigured birds, wooden figures, and sometimes, if it was very necessary, the teacher would participate or call another woman who also trained, so that they would duel.

Ginny was dueling with an Auror who could do this even with his eyes closed, and who had already killed so many men that he almost needed a third hand to count how many.

''Well, if I'm asking for the story of your scar, I'm wise enough to know that I'm going to hear a bloody story.'' Henry opened the wooden hut door for her to enter first, and the smell of damp wood and dust entered their noses. Sunlight passed through broken planks and windows, and the lack of furniture (or what was left over and already broken) caused their voices to echo.

‘’They tried to kill me when I was a kid.’’ He didn’t have to look at her to see her eyes bulge, instead he walked to his usual place and started getting ready for them to start dueling.

‘’Who would do that ?! This is ... This is horrible!’’

‘’I know, Miss.’’ Henry never doubted that. ''But you would be astonished at how many crazy people there are.'' He saw her getting ready across the room, taking off the cloak, gloves and hat that her mother insisted she really wear, even inside the property.

‘’How did you get out alive?’’ Her brown eyes looked a little horrified and a little angry, as if she wanted to protect him. Henry wanted to laugh at the concern of a Viscount's daughter, at a poor man like him. In no dream or hallucination would a woman so above him look at him and speak as she did, always so friendly, seeming not even to notice how foolish she left him.

Henry was only above the bourgeois and, obviously, the miserable and squib (a class that his mother, unfortunately, belonged to), and by very little yet. If it weren't for sheer luck and being in the right place at the right time, Henry would never know what it was like to step inside the Auror Department.

‘‘My mom saved me.’’ He said, simply, but Ginny was still staring at him absurdly. ‘’In fact, she’s not my birth mother… My birth mother died at the hands of the Death Eaters. But she has looked after me since one of the Death Eaters tried to kill me, and here I am, safe and sound.’’

''I've never seen a spell that left a scar.'' She approached, eyes fixed on Henry's forehead, and her bare hand touched his skin, making him shiver and make him walk away in fright, as if her touch burned his face. ‘‘Sorry.’’ Ginny blushed furiously, still looking more scared, withdrawing her hand.

'’It's okay, Miss.’’ Henry swallowed, the wand in his hand shaking slightly, as if the magic wanted to explode out of it at all costs. ‘’And, I don’t know how I came out with just a scar. Maybe my magic saved me.’’

‘’Yeah… maybe it is.’’ Ginny now looked into his eyes, looking a little too serious, the brown eyes that Henry thought were so beautiful, seemed to carry a mountain of feelings that she would never let out. At least, not for him. ‘’Come on… let’s train.’’ And then she turned her back on him, the purple robes making her look like a witch from a Muggle fairy tale. Her hair tied tightly in the braid made her look a little more challenging than she usually was.

Henry knew he would never find a woman more beautiful than she was, and he cursed himself for thinking of her that way.

‘’We’re going to start.’’ He had to breathe deeply, before getting back in line and starting.

They bowed to each other in a sign of respect - if there was any respect in a duel - and then raised their wands.

Ginny and Henry had already dueled a few times, much more than a lady should, and he knew that she was really good and that if they accepted women at the Auror Academy, she would be even better than most the men who worked there. But whenever they dueled, Henry felt that electricity running in his wand, making it difficult to keep the spells for a long time, as if his wands refused to duel.

The magic was out of control - that's why Mr. Weasley had a hut built away from everyone and empty - and he could see the intensity of her magic almost greater than his. There always seemed to be something missing to make his strengths equal, and Henry thought that maybe it was the fact that he always feared for hurting her, while Ginny was instructed to use all her strength.

‘’Expelliarmus.’’ He whispered to himself

‘‘Estupor.’’ Ginny also spoke in an almost lower tone than Henry, and then the spells dueled, and the electricity almost looked like it was about to kill him. His arm was shaking, and the strength of the spells facing each other made the boards tremble and the rest of the entire furniture began to want to dismantle.

But for some reason Ginny lost her focus, and then Henry's magic won and her wand flew into his hands, just as her body stumbled over the furniture behind her.

He also lost his balance, and had it not been for the table well placed behind him, he would have been shamefully thrown back.

‘’I heard a noise.’’ She said, startled. ''I saw someone passing by, behind the house.'' And as if all the strength was suddenly recovered, Henry stood up and looked behind him, through the gaps in the wood where all you could see was the forest.

‘’Are you sure?’’ He asked, already casting a protective spell around them and throwing her wand at her, walking towards her and keeping her behind him - even though she insisted on going to his side.

''Yes. I saw someone. It wasn't a deer or anything. It was a person.’’ Henry’s magic trembled again, and just for safety, he cast three more protective spells around them, and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the house. ''Don't let me stay behind, someone can hit me from behind and you won't even see.'' She complained when he once again put his body in front of hers, stamping her feet next to Henry, who was looking at the forest silent around them.

‘’Miss, you will stay in the circle of protection, while I will see if there is anyone, understood?’’ He stared at her, the taste of blood dominating the palate with the idea of ​​yet another crazy men trying to kill her.

''But I--''

‘’--Don’t make me petrify you. And I will. ’’ Henry didn’t even give her time to complain, throwing more protections around her, stepping out of the circle and preparing to grab another idiot who tried to get close to Ginny.

Yesterday morning Henry had found a miserable boy, doing the dirty work for wealthy people, bringing with him a cursed Ginny doll and a letter detailing exactly what they would do when they caught her. Henry didn't even like to remember the fury that surrounded him when he read what they intended to do. Not even over his corpse, would anyone touch her.

They were starting to be more creative now. It was the second cursed item they tried to get to Ginny.

Making sure she was still safe - and she looked furious in the circle Henry had created - he started walking around, looking at the sides of the house and a little way through the trees, but never losing sight of Ginny, who was so well protected that he could barely hear her voice.

But maybe Henry should have paid attention to what she was screaming, or trying to scream, because when a spell tried to hit him and ricocheted away, he knew it was she who was protecting him, and that they were with visitors. But he saw no one.

Turning to her, even more furious, Henry felt protected once again, seeing that Ginny was also surrounding him with protective spells, and he made the sign that she needed to leave. He told her to Apparate, but Ginny stayed there, denying it while Henry felt his protective sense scream inside him.

Better him than her.

He hid behind a tree, still feeling protected, and concentrating on the image of Ginny and her mesmerizing eyes, Henry struggled to enter her mind, as they had trained exhaustively. But it always seemed easier with her.

''Apparate out of here.. Now.''

He ordered, even though that part of the Forest was strangely quiet. Had they given up?

‘’Not without you.’’ She snapped in his mind, and Henry wished he could shake her shoulders.

‘’You are more important than me.Get out. They won’t see you, you’re protected.’’

''Not. Without. You.''

Henry took a deep breath and looked behind the tree, looking for whoever it was, wondering what he would do with that stubborn woman. There was no more noise, no spell shining, everything was silent. Which was even more dangerous.

They wouldn't come and just shoot Henry and leave without even fighting. But he was not staying to see.

And if he could bet, he knew it was more dangerous for them to stay there, waiting for them to come back. They had done this once, killed a deer as a threat, so Henry knew there must be a dead animal somewhere nearby.

He would send a patronus to Robards.

'’Apparate to our safe place. I will meet you there.’’ He spoke to her, still in mind.

‘’Do you promise to go?’’

‘’I’m right behind you, Miss.’’

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 37 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Things looked up for Violet as she finally settled into the new normal of working in design.

This Chapter: One of New York’s most illustrious editors-in-chief turns 40--in style.

***

Shit.

It had been an absolute hell week, Courtney being run ragged all day, everyday. She’d missed more meals than not, barely slept, had gotten used to only using the bathroom when Fame was occupied.

It was really the first time that she and Miss Fame had to interact directly for more than a few words, and if Courtney thought she was high-maintenance before, she had no idea how weird it would get.

On Tuesday, Courtney had been torn a new one for ringing the doorbell when she had dropped off a package at Fame’s house, Fame looking at her like she was absolute vermin.

How was Courtney supposed to have known that it was a deathsin not to just let herself into her boss’ house, Fame explaining to her like she was a retarded toddler that she valued her family life and private time too much to be interrupted, not at all catching the irony of the fact that she was imposing on Courtney’s private time by forcing her to come to her house at 10 pm.

And now, a casual text from Adore that she’d be there around 7:30 reminded her about Bianca’s party and she was absolutely panicking. She had less than an hour to make herself presentable with literally nothing to wear.

She’d meant to ask Ivy about a dress, days ago, and then again yesterday when she was arranging the delivery of Miss Fame’s present to the Marie Claire offices, but it had slipped her mind amongst all the other things she had to remember.  

She jumped up and raced into Raja’s suite, a cramp in her side, relieved to find the redhead still at her desk.

“Courtney? Are you okay?” Ivy rose from her seat, a concerned look on her face, ever the empath.

“I just...I forgot…” Courtney tried to catch her breath.

“Okay, take a breath. Whatever it is, it’s fixable. I promise.”

Courtney gulped. “I forgot that I’m supposed to go to this party tonight at the Guggenheim and it’s super fancy and my ride will be here in 40 minutes and I don’t have anything to wear and I don’t even know what the dress code means and I was just wondering if I could borrow something and I promise I’ll have it cleaned and returned by Monday but-”

“Courtney, breathe. Okay?” Ivy took her hand, inhaling deeply and then blowing out dramatically.

Had this job really killed so many of her brain cells that she needed assistance breathing now? Regardless, Courtney followed Ivy’s lead, taking a few deep breaths to slow her racing heart.

“Now,” Ivy began. “What does the dress code say?”

“Creative black tie?”

“Ah. Okay. Follow me.”

Courtney nearly cried with gratitude as Ivy led her into the wardrobe closet.

“Luckily, you’re a sample size, so this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge,” Ivy said. “It’s Bianca Del Rio’s party, right?”

“Yeah,” Courtney said, watching her paw expertly through the racks.

“Are you going for anything in particular?”

“I guess I wanna look…” Courtney racked her brain, unsure of what to say, when the word, “older” slipped from her lips.

Ivy paused, clearly not expecting that answer, and gave Courtney a curious look before nodding.

“I can work with that. Now, Bianca likes bold colors and dramatic silhouettes with clean lines, so I think something like this…” Ivy pulled a stunning, beaded blue cocktail dress out off the rack. “This will look good on you.”

Ivy was truly a gift from god. Not only did they find a dress that fit perfectly (they settled on a short, fire-engine red silk number with a plunging neckline), along with shoes, accessories, and a glamorous faux-fur wrap, but she even stayed to help Courtney with her hair and makeup, giving her a chic updo and dramatic winged liner.

“Ivy, honestly, if you ever need anything. Someone to cover your desk...a kidney...whatever...you know who to ask.”

“Good to know.” Ivy laughed, checking her makeup one more time, adding a little more glimmering highlighter to her cheekbones, and then proclaiming, “Alright, I think you’re done.”

“Thank you so much,” Courtney said again, pulling out her phone. She hadn’t heard from Adore in awhile, and wondered if she was stuck in traffic or something. She seriously hoped that she hadn’t rushed like crazy, inconveniencing Ivy and nearly giving herself an ulcer worrying, just to sit around waiting for an hour.

COURTNEY: ETA?

ADORE: Soon, I think. I’m on my way to Pearl’s, then we’ll pick you up. Do you want a gyro?

COURTNEY: I’M A VEGAN

ADORE: Oh yeah. Gross. I’ll text you when we’re close.

***

“Bianca! Darling!” Fame reached out her arms to pull Bianca in for a tight embrace.  “Happy Birthday!”

She and Patrick had just arrived at the stunning event space a few minutes earlier, and were immediately whisked off to a VIP area with a private bar, where Raja and Raven were already relaxing on sofas, Sutan and Violet standing at the bar chatting with Detox and Jujubee.

It was perfect, removed enough from the chaos of the dance floor, but with a perfect view over the railing. And the speed with which Bianca had arrived to greet her told her that she’s given special instructions for the staff to alert her to Fame’s presence--exactly the kind of preferential treatment that Fame expected.

“Thanks, blondie,” Bianca grinned, “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Fame smiled widely, fluttering her lashes. “So do you. I love this dress!”

“Yeah, your tits look great!” Raja chimed in.

Bianca was wearing a sinfully tight black bandage dress, the neckline showing off her breasts and glowing skin, the hem just above her knees, her legs one of Bianca’s best assets.

“You can barely see that you’re turning 40.” Fame grinned, which earned her a pinch from Bianca, the other still keeping her in her arms.

“Shush.”

“Please,” Fame squeezed Bianca’s forearm, “So, tell me the truth, do you like the ring?”

Bianca held up her hand, where it glittered on her index finger.

Yesterday, Fame had had Bianca’s birthday present delivered to her office at the exact time of her birth, 3:57 pm. Fame knew Bianca liked her statement pieces, so she had custom ordered a cocktail ring, but not just any cocktail ring. Instead of the usual single band, a stone in the middle, Fame had gone for a three part twist in gold, sparkling garnets adorning it.

“It’s perfect, I love it,” Bianca said.

“Wonderful!” Fame clasped her hands together. “You’re impossible to shop for.”

“No I’m not! I love stuff,” Bianca countered. “Plus, you know...I’ll never say no to a present that’s unavailable in stores…”

She grinned wickedly, dimples deep, hand drifting down to Fame’s ass. Fame swatted it away with a scolding look.

“Really, Bianca.”

“What, it’s my birthday!” Bianca said. “You gotta give me something.”

“Fine, a tiny something,” Fame laughed, leaning in and giving her a sweet kiss on the lips, then following up with a light smack to her cheek.

“That’s not where I like being spanked,” Bianca said.

“Oh my god, you’re impossible!” Fame exclaimed, breaking away and stepping over to the bar while Bianca laughed gleefully behind her. “Now come on, tell me about your presents.”

***

“And a drink for the lady.” Sutan smiled as he handed Violet a glass, his date taking it with a sweet smile and a thank you, Sutan putting his arm back around her waist as they walked around.

He had picked Violet up at her apartment, his heart almost skipping a beat as she had pushed the double doors open and walked down the steps, her dress of the night absolutely stunning, the back open and taunting with it’s promise of bare impossibly soft skin.

“So,” Sutan rubbed his thumb up and down, gently caressing Violet’s back, “are you having fun?”

Sutan was happy that she was there, enjoyed spending time with her, but as he got to know her more and more, he slowly realized how little she actually enjoyed big crowds.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Sutan bit his lip, hiding a smile at Violet’s quick but short reply.

***

Alaska giggled delightedly, letting Jinkx twirl her on the dance floor. If you’d told Alaska a few years ago that she’d have a friend who she could have this much fun with sober, she’d have laughed in your face. But, even though Jinkx didn’t mind it, Alaska really didn’t enjoy drinking around her. So when they were together, Alaska felt like it was the least she could do to hold off on the booze. What she did enjoy was being with her, sober or not, looking into her sparkling brown eyes as they tripped all over their feet.

“For a Broadway star, you’re really uncoordinated,” Alaska laughed, and Jinkx pretended to be offended, then giggled.

“It’s hard to be mad when you call me a Broadway star.”

“Well, you are!” Alaska said, wrapping her arms around Jinkx’s neck and gazing at her happily. She loved these moments, just the two of them having the time of their lives, dancing and laughing and ignoring every other person in the room. They always had fun, but tonight, Jinkx seemed to have an extra bounce in her step, radiating a kind of joy, and it made Alaska feel so grateful to be around her.

“Thanks Lasky...you’re the best.”

They whirled and stumbled around the dance floor some more, until they were both breathless and needed a break.

“What are we feeling like tonight? Ginger ale? Cranberry and soda?” Alaska asked.

“You choose,” Jinkx said, clinging to her arm.

Alaska ordered a couple of drinks for them and then turned back to Jinkx, who was looking at her with the cutest little dreamy half-smile. She couldn’t help the tingling rush that went down her spine as she lowered her eyes and asked, “So...what’s going on with you tonight?”

“What do you mean?” Jinkx asked, eyes widening innocently.

“I mean...you’re just very...I don’t know...” A smile tugged at Alaska’s lips. “...twinkly tonight.”

“Well...I wasn’t gonna say anything because...it’s kind of silly, but,” she lowered her voice, eyes shining. “I ran into her again. Ivy.”

Alaska felt her whole chest deflate, forcing a smile as Jinkx continued.

“At Zabar’s! It’s like the universe is just conspiring to help us get together, you know?” Jinkx giggled happily.

A lump rose in Alaska’s throat and she nodded, using all her willpower to keep the smile painted across her face. “Oh, wow. That’s...that’s cool. Did you talk?”

“Yes. You’d be so proud of me, I even got her number!”

“Wow. Awesome!” Alaska felt like she was going to throw up, shifting her gaze to the bartender, grateful for the distraction as he slid two ginger ales across the bar. She couldn’t help wishing that half the glass was Jack Daniels. She handed one of them to Jinkx and took her own. It tasted just dust.

“Yeah, but she was still a bit formal, you know? I think I need to see her in a more relaxed setting. Do you think she likes opera? Maybe I can ask her to Madame Butterfly?” Jinkx chattered, away, oblivious to Alaska’s shift in mood.

“You really think the Met is a relaxed setting?”

Jinkx threw back her head and laughed, squeezing Alaska’s arm. “Omigod, you’re right. I’m such a dingbat. What would I do without you, Lasky?”

“I don’t know…” Alaska stirred her drink.

“What do you think she likes?”

“Uh, I’m really not sure,” Alaska said. And it was true. She knew that Ivy was sweet, and professional, and did her job with a kind of calm efficiency. But she didn’t know her very well on a personal level, their professional paths rarely crossing directly.

“Hmm, maybe you can ask around? If that wouldn’t be too weird?” Jinkx looked so hopeful and earnest that Alaska couldn’t help but smile for real in spite of herself, immediately agreeing to help her on this quest to capture Ivy’s heart.

“Of course. I’ll ask around.”

Jinkx sighed happily, leaning on Alaska’s shoulder, eyes falling closed for a moment. “You really are my favorite person, Lask.”

“Back atcha, Jinxky.”

***

Adore walked into Bianca’s party, feeling like a million bucks. Everyone that was anyone and even some who were nothing were there, and Adore knew she looked better than all of them with her purple hair, her pouty red lips, her short black leather dress, fishnets, and best of all… Pearl, the sexiest fucking goddess she’d ever seen in her life at her side.

She hung on Pearl’s arm, enjoying the jealous looks she got; knowing that everyone at the party wanted to be in her place. She even got a nasty look from some models, who were clearly all in love with her girl, but Adore didn’t care.

Pearl was here with her and only her. Pearl glanced at her every few seconds with a smug grin on her face, like the cat that just ate the canary. Well, if the canary was Adore’s pussy. Which would mean the cat was… Well whatever, Adore wasn’t an English scholar. She was in love.

The only thing that sucked was that Courtney looked so fucking miserable. They’d been a little late picking her up, due to getting, well, sidetracked for a while at Pearl’s, and then stopping for food. She thought that Courtney would be a bit more understanding, but she’d barely spoken two words in the car, even Pearl picking up on her obvious anger.

And now, even though she was at the coolest party in Manhattan, she didn’t look happy at all. Adore caught her eye, offering a hopeful smile, but received only a resigned nod in return. She reached out to touch her hand.

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look?” Adore asked, hoping that a compliment and a charming grin would be enough to lighten her mood.

“You think?” Courtney asked, adjusting one of her straps nervously. “I don’t look out of place?”

“Bitch, you put all these other girls to shame,” Adore promised, and was rewarded, finally, with a pleased smile from Courtney.

“Thanks.”

“Pearl!”

Adore looked over at the group of giggling socialites who were approaching them, only slightly annoyed when they swept her girlfriend up. She pouted as Pearl dropped her hand, but smiled again when she doubled back to whisper into her ear, “I’m gonna try and squeeze some gossip out of these hoes, and then I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Okay, but don’t be too long!” Adore pulled her in, branding her cheek with a dark red kiss before taking Courtney’s arm and sauntering away, pleased with herself. She scanned the party, looking for her sister and finally spotting her holding court near the bar. She cupped her hands over her mouth to shout through the crowd. “Bianca! Happy birthday, you ancient whore!”

*

Bianca turned towards her sister’s voice, barking out, “You’re late!”

“Whaddaya mean, we’re right on time for a grand entrance!” Adore countered, laughing.

“Well-” Bianca stopped, completely losing her train of thought when her eyes landed on Courtney. She was wearing a short red dress, the first time Bianca has seen her in a color other than pastels, and she looked absolutely fucking stunning--legs a mile long, one blonde curl falling into her eyes. Damn.

“You look cute, B. Very boobalicious,” Adore said, giving her a hug. “Not bad for an old lady.”

“Yeah, thank you,” Bianca said, eyes still locked on Courtney. “Hi, Courtney.”

“Hi. Happy birthday,” Courtney said, giving her a sweet smile. “Sorry we’re late.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Bianca told her. “But here, uh...this’ll help you catch up.”

She took a couple of the signature drinks from a passing tray and handed them over. Adore immediately began to suck hers down, but Courtney hesitated.

“Um, what’s in this?”

“Courtney’s afraid of tequila. It makes her messy, right bae?” Adore bumped her hip.

“Something like that.”

“It’s called a Madras. Vodka, orange juice and cranberry. No tequila, but it will fuck you up. Be warned,” Bianca said with a wink.

“Well...cheers,” Courtney said, giving an adorable little laugh.

“Cheers.” Bianca took a sip of her own drink, then leaned in closer. “You look amazing, by the way.”

“Yeah?” Courtney’s eyes shone, her fingers twirling that stray lock of hair.

“Yeah.” Bianca tried unsuccessfully to wipe the stupid grin off her face, and instead broke the tension with, “I’m shocked that someone who’s friends with my sister has such good taste.”

“Hey!” Adore exclaimed.

“Don’t be too impressed. It’s a loaner,” Courtney replied drily, causing Bianca to throw back her head and laugh.

“Fair enough.” She downed the rest of her drink, waving off a couple of acquaintances who were trying to get her attention.

“Be right back,” Adore said, scampering away towards Pearl, of course jumping the second the blonde so much as crooked a little finger.

Courtney reached out for her, but she was already gone. She sighed slightly, looking a little bit dejected, and Bianca cleared her throat.

“So listen, I heard through the grapevine that you’re looking for a way to avoid your, uh, Galactica employers while you’re here?”

Courtney looked up, startled. She seemed shocked that Bianca was still talking to her, and she stammered uncomfortably. “Oh. Yeah, no, I just-”

“Listen, it’s understandable, you wanna have a good time. Can’t do that while your boss is breathing down your neck, right?” Bianca flashed her dimples.

“Well...yeah,” Courtney admitted, laughing a little.

Bianca stepped closer, slipping an arm around her shoulders and lowering her voice conspiratorially. “Fame and Raja are well contained, don’t worry. I made a VIP section since those two need a velvet rope to feel like they’re having a good time.”

Courtney giggled. “Like a rich person playpen?”

“It’s a prison of their own making,” Bianca affirmed,  giving her a wink. “Trust me, they’re looking down on everyone the way they prefer, and they ain’t leaving.”

“Well...thank you.” Courtney bit her lip. It was hard to tell in this light, but it looked like a slight blush had crept into her cheeks, and Bianca found herself even more enamored.

“Anytime.”

A second later, she felt someone tap on her arm: one of the Marie-Claire board members, who she sadly couldn’t ignore.

“Sorry, I have go...do hostess shit,” Bianca said, regret flooding her chest, and Courtney nodded.

“Of course.”

She turned towards the middle-aged man and his young wife, saying her cursory hellos and giving air kisses, making small talk with them both. As soon as she could manage, though, she spared a glance back at Courtney.

The plan, from the moment Adore told her that Courtney was coming, had been to seduce this smoking hot friend of her sister’s. And she figured that the “rough break-up” that Adore’d reported would make it a sure thing. An easy and fun little fling--a birthday present to herself.

But now, something about the wistful, faraway expression on her delicate face as she smoothed down her skirt made her look vulnerable, in a way that gave Bianca pause. As stunning as she was--and fuck, she was an absolute knock-out--it didn’t make Bianca want to seduce her. Instead, it made her want to protect her. Ugh, why did her fucking conscience have rear its ugly head tonight, on her birthday of all nights?

“Thank you so much. Be sure to check out the raw bar!” she said, finally escaping and ready to head back to Courtney--but Adore beat her to it.

She watched as her sister came bounding up, Pearl in tow, and grabbed Courtney’s hands to pull her onto the dance floor.

Well, good. She should have a good time. Lord knows, anyone who worked for Fame deserved to blow off some steam. Bianca snatched another drink from a passing tray, trying to redirect her attention to the Welsh model who’d been giving her bedroom eyes all night.

***

Violet was having a surprisingly good time, taking small sips of her champagne. She had hurried home from work, almost ready when Sutan had texted that he was downstairs, the smile on Sutan’s face when he had seen her dress almost, almost, almost worth it’s price tag.

She had never been to an event of this size without having to worry if catering ran out of ice, or if she’d need to get taxis for whoever got way too drunk. It was nice to just stand by Sutan’s side, nice to be allowed to just be, without having to entertain or constantly think about everything that could go wrong.

“Ah, yes, of course.” Sutan smiled, his thumb rubbing up and down the small of Violet’s back. He was talking to one of the models from Elite, Violet vaguely recognizing her from some of the headshots she had presented to Fame for the fall collection. “I’ll be sure to tell Marcel about that.”

“Excuse me,” Violet turned, her eyes falling on a man with a camera, the card around his neck instantly telling her that he was from OK! magazine. “I was wondering if I could take a few pictures?”

“Oh,” Violet didn’t know what to do, her stomach instantly tightening.

“Sure,” Sutan grinned, turning towards the camera. “Right girls?”

“I-” Violet didn’t want to be in the picture, didn’t want someone she didn’t know documenting where she was, didn’t want to risk it ending up online. “I don’t-”

“Oh of course,” Sutan took her glass, handing it off to someone. “There we go.”

“Sutan”

“Come here,” Sutan put an arm around the model, posing both of them.

“Please-” Violet could feel Sutan’s hand on her hip, holding her tight, keeping her trapped, her throat closing up.

“Should we smile?”

“No,” The photographer looked out from behind his camera, “just be natural.”

Violet pushed away, forcing Sutan to let her go as the camera went off. She didn’t hear Sutan say her name, a quick flicker of a question on his face, didn’t see him smile apologetically to the photographer and pose with the model, didn’t notice any of it as she made her way outside, escaping the only thing she could think of.

***

Juju strolled through the crowd with Raven. She appreciated the whole VIP setup as much as anyone, but this was a massive party, and they’d decided to come spend a little time where the action was, maybe dance a bit -at least as much as her poor pregnant body would allow. They were stopped by a group of models, Raven proudly showing off her engagement ring and letting the other girls fawn all over her.

Juju put up with the schmoozing for a couple of minutes--after all, those girls were potential clients, until she spotted Bianca nearby and politely excused herself from the group, knowing that Raven would be perfectly content with her little fan club.

Bianca was chatting up some sweet young thing (typical), and Juju couldn’t resist messing with her a little. She wrapped her arms around Bianca’s waist from behind, asking in a low, husky voice, “Tell me I’m your favorite, Daddy.”

It was a joke between the two of them, something that had started years ago when Juju and Detox were first dating. They’d shown up at brunch one morning in the middle of a heated argument about whether it was appropriate for her to call him “Daddy” during sex--ironically, only a few months before she got preganant with their first child. It wasn’t a kink thing, exactly, it was just that she thought it was funny, and especially so when she saw his freaked out reaction. The group agreed that right or wrong, if it bothered him then she probably shouldn’t say it. But Bianca, ever the good sport, had pulled the smaller woman into her lap and declared that if she really needed to call someone Daddy, she was ‘willing to take one for the team.’

Juju accompanied her breathy greeting by biting gently on Bianca’s ear, adding, “Pwease?”

Bianca burst out laughing, pulling her close and introducing her to a very confused looking girl. “Tayce, you must know my friend Juju Sanderson. The brilliant hairstylist who owns Jujubee’s downtown?”

“Oh, yeah! It’s an honor!” Tayce said, her brown eyes lighting up as a dazzling smile spread across her face. “I’ve been trying to get an appointment with you, but you’re booked up for months!”

Juju had to bite back her laugh when she heard Tayce speak--Bianca always was a sucker for an accent.

“Well, play your luck with Daddy here, and you might jump the queue,” Juju said with a wink.

“Among other benefits,” Bianca cackled. “You know you’re the only one who I’d let get away with that Daddy shit, right?”

“Yes, thank you. You’re a lot more fun than my husband.”

“In so many ways,” Bianca said, turning to Tayce and giving her a playful smirk.

***

Violet took a deep breath, letting it out through her teeth as she could finally feel her heart slow down, though the knot in her stomach wasn’t going away.

She knew she couldn’t help it, but it was impossible not to feel an inkling of shame travel up her spine, the feeling that she was being ridiculous impossible to push down.

Sutan hadn’t meant anything by it, taking photos a part of his life, being in the public eye something that simply came natural for him.

Violet took a last breath, pushing away from the wall she had been leaning against to go back to the party, hoping that Sutan hadn’t noticed how strange she was acting.

It wasn’t that Violet liked acting this way, that she wanted to feel the panic rising in her body whenever she saw a camera in a stranger's hand, but she couldn’t help it.

She was an adult now, she had her own life, her own money and even her own job and her own apartment, but it was hard not to hide, impossible not to react to the instinctive fear that welled up in her at the risk of being found.

Violet walked back inside, the noise and the amount of people feeling so much more overwhelming when she wasn’t at Sutan’s side. She made her way through the crowd, easily spotting both Fame and Pearl, avoiding both of them.

She was starting to think Sutan had left, Raja nowhere to be found either, when she saw him sitting at a table, surrounded by models. He was laughing loudly, his arm around one of the girls, several of the models’ phones taking pictures of everything that was happening.

Violet’s stomach did a flip, the panic from earlier rushing through her body. She couldn’t go over there, couldn’t be a part of that part of Sutan’s world, so instead, Violet did what she always did.

Turned around, and walked away.

***

[Raja?] Sutan put a hand on Raja’s hip, turning her around. Sutan had been sitting with a group of models, doing shots and having fun right up until one of them had touched his legs under the table, and he had abandoned ship instantly.

[Have you seen Violet?]

He hadn’t seen her in over an hour, and while Sutan was more than sure that Violet could take care of herself, he had started to worry.

[Sutan!] Raja grinned, stepping into his space, looping her arms around his neck. [Hello brother dear.]

[Hello.] Sutan smiled, once again reminded of how much he truly loved Raja. She was tipsy, her eyes swimming slightly, which was probably why she hadn’t responded to his question. [Have you seen Violet?]

[Violet?] Raja tilted her head, her hand fiddling with the hairs at the nape of his neck. [No?]

[Shit.] Sutan bit his lip, his hands resting on Raja’s hips.

[Maybe she just left?] Raja smiled, running her fingers through his hair. [There’s no need to worry.]

[Maybe...]

[She can handle herself.]

[Mmmh.] Sutan knew that Raja was probably right, but it still felt weird that VIolet hadn’t said goodbye, and if he was honest, he was disappointed that they wouldn’t be going home together at the end of the night. [I’ll send her a text.]

Sutan was just about to reach into his pocket, was just about to get his phone out, when he saw a photographer to his left, just outside the VIP section. The paparazzi always loved to get photos of him and Raja together, and while he was sure Raja hadn’t noticed, he made sure to twist her slightly to the left, getting her good side as he smiled at the camera.

***

“Every guy here is drooling over you, bae,” Adore giggled, spinning Courtney on the dance floor before accepting another drink from Pearl.

“Not just the guys,” Pearl added with a wink.

Courtney laughed. In spite of her hesitation in tagging along, she’d been having a pretty good time. The attention was fun, of course, but Courtney’d barely noticed the alleged guys drooling over her. She couldn’t help thinking about the way she’d felt when Bianca put that arm around her, the way her brown eyes had sparkled in the dim light. The way goosebumps prickled her skin as Bianca’s fingers grazed her shoulder.

Her gaze kept being pulled in Bianca’s direction. Eyes drifting over her enticing curves in that tight dress. And occasionally, to her absolute thrill, Bianca would be looking back at her. Every time their eyes met, her stomach flipped around like crazy.

It was silly, she knew that. She knew that Bianca was only being nice to her because she was Adore’s friend. A nice kid. That it didn’t mean anything deep. This was, after all, a woman who dated supermodels and Oscar winners. Like the gorgeous girl by her side most of the evening, who had a face that Courtney instantly recognized from last month’s British Vogue cover.

Still.

The reality of the situation didn’t stop her from pretending, even just to herself, even just for the night, that maybe there was something there, that warranted all these confusing feelings swirling around inside her like a tornado.

And later, when they were saying goodbye, she allowed herself to enjoy the way Bianca’s palm pressed to the small of her back. She even let her lips linger for a few moments on Bianca’s warm cheek, kissing her goodnight.

***

SUTAN: Did you leave?

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: The party is still going.

SUTAN: Did you get home safe?

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: I can’t find you.

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: Violet??

VIOLET: I’m fine.

[cassiopee-utopia]

The day I ran into you 3/3

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Chapter 3: Meet me at the restaurant

(3k words)

I am so excited. I am going to have a real date with Timothée Chalamet, I just can’t believe it! But wait, am I sure this is a date? Maybe he asked me to dinner out of politeness? Or maybe he didn’t know how to finally get rid of me and he panicked?

Uhg, what am I saying, we don’t invite someone to dinner when we want to get rid of them! And we especially don’t kiss their forehead! Actually, I think I’m the one panicking… I am still in the subway on my way home and I am mentally pacing up and down.

When I finally arrive at my apartment, another issue, which appeares to me as an insurmountable problem, come to my mind. What on earth am I going to wear?!? Something stylish or something more casual? The thing is, I don’t know where we’re going, so if he brings me to a fancy restaurant and I’m wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt I will look stupid, but on the other hand, if a wear a nice dress and we’re going to a pizzeria, I will also look stupid. So I am totally lost and it’s not like I could just ask him because I haven’t any way to contact him. Then, the only solution I have is simple, wear something between chic and casual.

And as a problem never comes alone, with the time I lost freaking out in front of my wardrobe it was already 7:10pm, and with his hotel being at least 30 minutes away, it means I have only 15 minutes left to get ready to make sure to get there on time.

Obviously I can’t take a shower in this short time so I take off the clothes I have on (his clothes), I jump in a simple and cute summer wrap black dress with a V neck and a pair of black sandals with small heels. I arrange the few makeup I have on to make a more sophisticated look as fast as I can and finally make a pony tale to hide how messy my hairs are after all that stress and the sweat I got from running everywhere in my apartment.

I check myself in the mirror one last time and lock my door at 7:26pm.

When I get out of my building my phone is indicating 40 minutes to get to his hotel. I am then officially late. I could run of course, but running in summer, and actually no matter the season, equals sweating, and I can’t arrive all sweaty to my date with Timothée Chalamet! So I decide to walk, fast, really fast.

When I arrive on the platform of the subway, I see the train I was supposed to be on leaving in the dark tunnel. Of course, the next one is in 7 minutes. I am so stressed, I’ve always hated to be late, it’s a real source of anxiety, even when it’s for something not really important like meeting friends for example, so right now, knowing what’s at stake for me, I am really harassed. I guess that when he suggested to meet at 8, he didn’t take into account that unlike him, I wasn’t already on site. But it’s okay, he’s gonna wait for me, right?

When I get out of the subway it is already 8:04 and I have still some walking to do to get to the hotel, but because of the heat there I can feel the drop I have on my forehead, so I can’t run anymore, unless I want to arrive like someone who run a marathon (I’m hardly exaggerating)? So I walk calmly, trying to wipe the sweat off my head.

8:11 I’m there, in the lobby, desperately looking for him. When I see him seated on one of the couches near the bar I feel so released. He is wearing an elegant white shirt and a pair of dark blue pants. I then head towards him and when he notices me, I say with my sorriest voice:

- My god, I’m so sorry, I’m late, I’m sorry Timothée, I’m…

- Hey, hey, hey, he says softly touching my agitated arms. It’s okay. (He looks at his watch). It’s only 8:12, you’re not late. You know, I’ve got here just 5 minutes ago so relax.

- Okay, then I’m not that sorry, I smirk.

As an answer he just rolls his eyes with a soft smile.

- So, where are you taking me? I ask.

- You’ll see.

- But…

- You’ll see.

- This is not funny.

- Yes, it is! He says laughing.

I make a face to him as we are going out of the hotel. When I look back ahead of me, I see a black car parked just in front of us with a guy waiting next it. When he sees Timothée, he makes a hand gesture to him.

- This is our car? No subway anymore? I question.

- No, no subway in the evening, it’s not chic!

Timothée opens the back door and says to me with a sort of bow.

- My lady, your carriage is here.

I bow too taking his hand and say:

- Well, dear sir, I am more than delighted.

We both laugh and enter in the car.

During our drive we are both silent and are looking awkwardly at each other every now and then. But after 5 minutes he finally breaks the silence.

- So, as I’m a nice guy I’m gonna give you a clue: water.

- Water?

- Yup.

- uhm… Oh! Water like the Seine water!?

- Exactly! What a little genius!

- Yeah, yeah I know, I say smirking

- Don’t get carried away, my clue was extremely easy.

A few minutes later we finally arrive. Timothée thanks the driver and tell him he will call him back to pick us up.

The restaurant is a wonderful barge in front of the Eiffel Tower. As it is currently the longest days of the year, it’s still pretty luminous outside, so it isn’t illuminated yet.

The exterior walls of the barge are entirely in glass and there is a terrace on the roof.  

The restaurant is already pretty crowded and when I see the elegance of the decoration, the furniture, the waiters and even the clients, I understand that it is kind of a luxury restaurant. In that moment I am relieved to have chosen a cute black dress but also embarrassed at the idea of the price this restaurant must cost.    

A waiter installs us upstairs at one of the best places of the roof when he hears Timothée’s reservation name. He immediately gives us the menu.

Once we’re alone, I tell him:

- So you’re the kind of guy who can get a reservation in an exclusive restaurant just one hour before?

- Yeah, apparently…

- No seriously, how did you do that, this place is amazing!

- Really, you like it?

- Are you kidding? Obviously I do! I mean, just look around you, I’ve never been in such a restaurant!  

- Well, I’m pleased you like it then, he says with a sincere smile.

- But you didn’t answer my question, how did you manage to have a reservation here?

- I guess I can be very persuasive, he answers smirking.

- Timothée, this is a serious question, was it because of who you are?

- Oh, not at all… When I tried to use my name to convince them to let us come, the guy on the phone said: “Who?? I don’t know any Timothée Chamanet”. So, I decided to use some of my connections.

- Timothée “Chamanet”, the guy with the good connections…

- Please don’t call me that way, he says with his hands on his face pretending he’s sad.

We laugh.

- But more seriously, why didn’t you just choose another restaurant?

- Because someone I know highly recommended it to me and I thought it was the perfect occasion!

- You mean, I’m the perfect occasion? I say a little self-conscious.

- Yes, perfect, he says putting his hand on mine.

He’s looking right into my eyes, his beautiful curls a little bit over his. He then starts brushing softly my hand with his thumb and I feel that I am blushing really strongly, so I decide to change the subject.

- So, uhm… we should order, shall we? I say quickly, removing my hand and taking the menu.

- Yes, yes, but you know, you’re really cute when you blush, you shouldn’t be embarrassed, he reply with a gentle voice.

Oh dear! In this moment the only thing I manage to do is to open the menu and hide behind it.

- Who’s hiding now? He says amused.

- This is not funny, I answer still hidden.

- Yeah, you’re right, it’s not funny when your date is hiding from you.

He delicately pushes down the menu I’m holding.

-Date? I ask quietly.

-Yes, if it’s okay with you.

As an answer I offer him my biggest smile.

- Nice! Now let’s see what we have here! He tells taking his menu.

When my eyes lean on the one still in my hands, they open wide seeing the prices.

- Oh my god, Timothée this is so much… you can’t…

He doesn’t let me finish and cut me off.

- I can.

- But…

- I can.

With the tone he uses I understand that I can’t make any protest.

After a few minutes we finally make our decisions and tell the waiter our order. I choose a sole and Timothée take a duck breast fillet.

The whole time we’re waiting for our courses we’re talking about our personal life, like why did I choose to study communications or how shooting he’s first movie was… But I am not really in the conversation as I can’t stop thinking about what he has just said. “Perfection occasion” ; “date” ; his hand on mine… or simply the fact that I just spent the whole afternoon with him and that now we’re at a restaurant. Everything is mixing up in my head and I don’t know what to think of this situation, about the after. Because, I mean, yeah what’s going to happen tomorrow? Will I ever see him again? Or is it just a kind of a one-time thing for him? And anyway, even if it wasn’t a one-time thing and he really liked me, this relationship, whatever it is, is simply not possible! I mean, I live in Paris and him in New York and he travels all around the world a big part of…

- Rachel? … Rachel!?

I suddenly go out of my thoughts.

- Um?

- Are you listening to me?

- Pff, of course I’m listening to you! I reply with an unconvincing air.

- Okay, then, what did I just said?

- … er… you, you said that… er…

- I see. What were you thinking about? Is there something wrong? He asks me with a concerned look.

- Yeah, yeah, sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts.

Luckily for me, I’m saved of this situation by the waiter who bring us our dishes.  

- That looks delicious, thank you! Timothée says to the man.

And indeed, that is delicious!

- This is so beautiful!

- What? Are you falling in love with your fillet? I joke.

- Pff, no! The Eiffel Tower!

I turn my head in the direction he is looking, and I see it, the illuminated Eiffel Tower, sparkling as it is probably 9pm, and yes, even if I had been in Paris for a few months now I am still amazed by this beauty. (* the Eiffel Tower sparkles every night at the beginning of each hour for about five minutes until 1 am).

- Yeah, it’s marvelous, I didn’t even notice it was on.

When I look back at him, he is still admiring the tower that is on his side, letting appear his perfect profile accompanied by his renowned jawline. I can see the sparkles reflecting on his eyes and I am melting because of what I am seeing just in front of me.

- Yeah, it’s so so beautiful, I murmur.  

We continue to talk about everything and nothing, to laugh and tease each other until the end of our respective dessert.

- Woo! I think I ate for the whole week, I can't swallow anything anymore! I exclaim.

- Come on, we both know in one hour you’ll be hungry again! He says laughing.

- No, na, nao, na… yeah okay you’re right.

We both laugh.

- But seriously, thank again Timothée that was succulent!

- You’re welcome. But you’re the one that should be thanked, because I spent a delightful evening with you, he smiles at me.

I widely smile at him too.  

- So, shall we go? He asks.

- Yeah, let’s go!

- Perfect, I’m going to pay, you wait me at the exit?

- Thanks again for that.

- I said it was fine Rachel, you don’t have to thank me every two minutes!

I smile and go towards the stairs and then the exit.

I take my phone to check the time, 9:49pm. I then try to check my face with the front camera but even with the streetlights it is too dark and the quality of my iPhone 6s camera doesn’t help at all. I try to find the spot with most light, but I get interrupted by a voice behind me that makes me jump.

- What are you doing?

- Oh, you scared me Timothée!

- Sorry for that… But seriously, what were those weird movements every which way? He asks laughing

- Hey! Don’t laugh okay! I was just trying to check my face with my front camera…

- You do know there are restrooms with a mirror in the restaurant right? He says pointing a finger over his shoulder in direction of the restaurant.

- err..

- Anyway, you don’t have to worry, you look perfect.

He doesn’t let me react and directly ask me:

- What about a little walk down the quay?

- That sounds nice.

We walk close to each other, silently, under the light of the streetlamps. On our way we cross paths with a couple, a group of young people drinking beers, and even a jogger. God no matter what the time it is, there’s always joggers in this city…  

All of a sudden, without any warnings he takes my hand in the most natural way possible, like if we’ve been together for months. The only thing I do at this moment is to look down and let a big smile out.

But then, my smile disappears as I rethink about what I told myself earlier. What’s next? What about tomorrow and all the other days after that? And this time, a waiter isn’t going to save me from that, no, I have to face it and ask him, so I stop and tell him, looking right into his eyes:

- Timothée, what’s next?

- What do you mean what’s next? He asks confused.

- er… you know, this, … us… I mean, what does this afternoon mean to you? I mean, you talked about a date, you now take my hand, but we both know that you don’t live here, so, I just don’t understand what you’re doing… and er… I know that I should just enjoy the wonderful time I’m having with you but now, I don’t know anymore how to act around you and how to react to what you do or say, cause I don’t know… er… what do I mean to you?

He is standing here, in front of me, still and silent, looking in my eyes. Then he gets slowly closer to me, put his right hand on my waist, which makes me froze, and next his left hand on my cheek as he is still getting closer. Our faces are now only separated by a few centimeters, and we are still looking deeply in each other’s eyes until he looks a little bit downer, at my lips I suppose, and smiles softly. My heart is beating so hard, I swear he can probably hear it. He brings his mouth to my ear and says quietly:

- This is what you mean to mean.

As soon as he ends his sentence, he attaches his lips to mine and kisses me deeply. The first three seconds I am still not able to react as the situation seems so unreal to me, but then those butterflies come and I’m starting to relax and kiss him back, placing a hand in his hairs and the other down his back. In that moment I forget everything around me, every preoccupation and doubts I have, I’m just floating in his arms.

When we pull back and end the kiss, we are both smiling like idiots looking at each other with my hands on his shoulders and his hands on my waist. I then see just behind him the most cliché thing ever, the Eiffel Tower sparkling, again, but I love it because I like that kind of romantic but cliché stuff.

- Look! I told him pointing at it.

He turns back.

- Wow, I guess this going to be a habit for us, he says smiling. And for your interrogations about what’s going to happen next, don’t worry… If I remember well, you dream to live in the US and you only have one or two years of college left, right?

- Yeah.

- And until then, I can visit you quite often as I have the money to.

- Yeah, I guess.

- See? We can figure it out. We will figure it out… Because it’s not every day we ran into love.  

The End

Thanks for reading my story ^^

[amphtaminedreams]

Spring/Summer & Haute Couture Week 2021: Whoops, I’ve Missed a Loooot

Hi to anyone reading,

Where TF has the time gone!?

After experiencing the longest January of all time (when your birthday is right after New Year, you get that between Boxing Day before NYE slump like a couple of weeks after everyone else), February has gone by in, like, 5 minutes and already we’re well into the throes of the F/W 2021 collection presentations. Meanwhile, I’m here like! Surprise! Here are my reviews of the S/S 2021 collections if anybody still cares! I mean I’m mashing it up with corresponding haute couture week reviews to fool everyone into thinking that doing it so many months later was intentional and it was totally working right up until this sentence, right?

In all fairness, I originally thought that I wasn’t going to bother reviewing S/S21 because it seemed kinda redundant given the circumstances and I wasn’t keen on the idea of collections being showcased via photo sets which is the route so many brands chose to (understandably) go down. Buuuut, the more I saw of what designers had put out there, the more I was tempted to put this post together and now here I am. The fact that designers are even able to churn pieces out during a pandemic when I’m out here like 0__0 no thoughts, head empty...it’s impressive to say the least, especially the way so many used the circumstances to inform their designs. In a way, it would be a disservice not to do a post on the season, and yeah it’s late, but given that it we are actually about to enter spring and the shows are kind of the deciders of what’s going to be “in” and “out”, they’re more relevant than ever. With plans for our way out of lockdown materialising-now is the perfect time to add that I don’t want ANYONE suddenly developing selective amnesia over how our government has failed us now that Boris has announced when the clubs COULD reopen-let this post serve as a roundup of every bit of inspiration available for our spring fits. I also want to use this opportunity to disclose how irritated I am at myself for starting the previous fashion week reviews post by declaring I was going to work through the designers in chronological order when I meant fucking alphabetical because I now can’t go back and change that. So this time, let me start properly. I’m going to be reviewing the collections in ALPHABETICAL order. Now that’s out the way, let’s do it. First, Acne:

It’s so great to start on a high, it really is, and fortunately Acne is reliably good. It’s still got that deconstructed, minimalist feel that the brand is known for but for the summer season; we can see creative director Jonny Johansson and his team moving away from the heavier pieces we saw last time round, away from upcycled bohemian curtains and towards a breezier, more season appropriate aesthetic, boujee kaftans and swimwear rebelliously hacked up and artfully rearranged, and it feels correct. The net pieces, the beachy colour palette, the oil spill-esque print (though this represents an intruder of the marine ecosystem, as a print I loveee it and 100% want more!) and the accessories, reminiscent of shells, coral and anything else you might find on the seabed, give me a hipster mermaid washed ashore vibe which completely fits with that rugged, mysterious sense of Nordic folklore references and adventure the brand has established as its foundation. If it’s a nod to some kind of new age cult that Johansson was going for, which apparently is the case, I’m guessing said cult worship sea goddesses and perform pagan rituals on the beach by moonlight, and though indoctrination doesn’t sound at all inviting, it's a party compared to scientology.

The chiffon trousers here are actually chic and seeing them styled under a blazer makes me realise done right they CAN be more than just a PrettyLittleThing summer sale piece, so I’ll store that away for outfit inspo when the time to get rid of some layers comes around. The glasses, too, are very Gucci. Flip flops with socks I don’t think I can ever come round to but-

Whilst it was a favourite of mine last season and it sticks to that same bohemian vibe with a lot of the elements I love, Ferretti lacks a little oomph this time round; it’s more stripped back, neutral, easy-going, and it is lovely, but for those same reasons it doesn’t grab my attention as much as the past couple of collections have. If you’re an influencer wanting to shoot a Joshua Tree desert lookbook this is sublime, but compared to the flair I saw in their last winter show, for example, there’s something lacking.

I’m very glad to see neutral coloured boiler suits on the runway, however; I snagged myself one off Depop the other week so I might be unintentionally ahead of the curve for once! The crochet detail dresses are nice too but very much remind me of past Zimmerman collections, or an Ermanno Scervino grab for the most high street friendly parts of Erdem SS2020, something along those lines. What I’m trying to say is that it’s definitely been there done that, even by Ferretti themselves and not in a continuity kinda way, in a kinda…this is basic and pretty so we know it will sell kinda way.

Eurgh, I wanna be one of these Alessandra Rich girls so bad.

I end up repeating myself every single time because I always love her collections but really, this is what a high fashion novice thinks Chanel is. Alessandra Rich outsold. As much as her dresses have looked amazing on people like Kate Middleton and January Jones, I’m just waiting for one of the modern it-girls to take the nostalgia-tinged femininity of her pieces and put some kind of daring, street-style twist on it; if that doesn’t happen I’ll gladly take 5 minutes of fame so I can do it before fading back into obscurity. Let me fulfil my modern first lady fantasy, reenact the croquet scene from Heathers, drape myself on a chaise lounge whilst smoking with a cigarette holder, and then throw me back into the trash where I belong. I can die happy. Also, can we once again appreciate how much more iconic the Alessandra Rich two piece made the already moment Dakota Johnson singlehandedly brought down the Ellen dynasty?

Dakota knew exactly what she was gonna do and the energy that she was gonna channel when she wore that piece and I admire it. Alessandra Rich, if nothing else, will go down as a key moment in pop culture history, and you know what? It’s what she deserves.

Whilst I do wish she’d branch out a little and try and get back in touch with the dark drama of old McQueen collections now and again, Sarah Burton has made a very recognisable Alexander McQueen silhouette and it’s beautiful; this season is gorgeous as always. A leather biker and tulle affair that’s perfect for a grunge ballet, it’s easy to avoid lamenting the excitement and theatrics of old collections when Sarah creates such consistently sophisticated pieces. Stunning.

Now, a quick haute couture detour with Alexandre Vauthier:

Compared to other haute couture collections, this is pretty toned down and by appearances alone (I know haute couture is more about meeting technical requirements more than anything else but there is a level of grandiose you expect to see) is more like a RTW collection than its counterparts. That being the case, I don’t have a huge amount to say about this one, though I do really like it-the ruched metallic boots especially. The Studio 54 vibes and the glam rock influences are clear and a lot of these pieces could definitely make it into Lady Gaga’s AHS Hotel wardrobe which is a compliment of the highest order, so there ya go. Plus, if a collection IS gonna be presented through stills, a format like this is preferable to some of the others I’m gonna talk about. There may be more exciting ways of doing it but simple allows us to see the clothes properly and at the end of the day, that’s what I care about the most!

Heading back to good ole’ RTW, we have Altuzarra; I wasn’t hugely keen on their last collection but this is definitely a step up for me and justifies keeping them on my radar. Though in some ways this seems like less of a summer collection and more of a late winter/early spring transitional one on the basis it can’t seem to decide which temperature its catering to, there’s a lot to like: a colour palette that reminds me of a Dion Lee collection, harnesses evocative of those sprinkled throughout the last few Alexander McQueen shows, and more of the utility wear trend that I’m still very much into nicely contrasted against lighter, airier pieces for an overall fresh, modern vibe. The interpretive dancewear style pieces are interesting and the woven platform sandals are the shoe of the summer but the white shirt with the cape incorporated is definitely the high point of this show and I absolutely adore it.

Anna Sui was actually pretty cute this time round. Her pieces have always been kooky, but in the past a little too lairy and occasionally cheap-looking for me. This collection, however, is kooky in more of a Melanie Martinez styled baby doll kinda way, as opposed to in an eccentric Bjork loving aunt whose idea of heaven is an all-must-go Primark sale kinda way (I know some people are going to vehemently disagree with my aesthetic preference there) and I love that. There seems to be a lot more creative direction going on, a much clearer vision of what Sui wanted to achieve, and yes a few of the looks went a bit too hard on the cookie cutter vibes but on the whole, they were more edited than usual; it seems Sui actually paid attention to the “take one thing off before you leave the house” rule this time. The staging is the perfect compliment to the doily style bucket hats and the sandals paired with frilly socks, and really adds to the whimsy of the collection, and as a whole, it really reminds me a lot of the way my mum would dress me as a toddler but styled up for a grown adult. Cute AF.

Armani RTW I was pleasantly surprised by, considering I don’t usually rate it. It’s a cool, androgynous take on retro shapes and styles that’s simultaneously fit for the hustle and bustle of the modern world. Strong 2021 Peggy Olsen vibes, and a bit muted Lacoste-I can 100% imagine Elisabeth Moss as Peggy swanning around in one of those huge minimalist houses with the floor to ceiling windows after a long day at work, though we’ll switch the cigarette for a vape because...you know...welcome to the future. And sure, maybe the vision is slightly influenced by THAT scene from Us, but whatever. As for the men’s wear, if I have to look through an endless gallery of straight white men in plain ass suits every time I do some kind of red carpet fashion review, I at least hope they’re wearing Armani. I need me some impeccable tailoring to soften the blow.

I do wonder, however, how the clothes would look on plus size models. I feel like it’s a collection that’s very catered to a person who is straight up and down, and it feels like a bit of an easy cop out not to have any kind of versatility. Say what you want about Christian Siriano but he caters to all body types very well.

I actually quite liked Armani’s haute couture collection too; the pops of colour and the intricate embroidery give me what I’ll later talk about missing from Valentino haute couture. There were still some of the frumpier pieces that I usually associate Armani with but also a lot of Great Gatsby-esque looks that I really enjoyed.

Returning to RTW, Ashish was amazing. I LOVE that there’s always some kind of unique print (this time round, kitschy illustrations) and whilst a whole maxi swan print dress may not be the most wearable for the majority of us, Ashish Gupta does bold and innovative really well. There were a few boring striped pieces in there but I adore the one shouldered butterfly print dress and I NEED that Hail Satan jumper; it reminds me a lot of something by sustainable fashion brand Minga, which is one of my absolute fave websites to buy from when I’m treating myself to some new clothes.

Azarro’s haute couture collection is full of supreme awards show afterparty fits, and I was shook to find out that Olivier Theyskens is the brand’s creative director! My newfound obsession with his pieces really had me like :O when I realised he was behind Azarro too. I loved their collection last time round, though this I’m finding a bit harder to give much analysis on because of the way it’s shot; whilst it could be a YSL perfume Vogue ad, which is obviously far from a bad thing, it comes at the cost of lacking visual clarity. That being said, from what I can see, Theyskens once again masterfully channels the wardrobe of the effortlessly cool, messy haired, smudged eye make up rock ‘n roll girl, and I think that’s someone we all want to be.

Balenciaga RTW was an interesting one for me-on first inspection, I was kinda disappointed. Without the usual drama of the bold, exaggerated silhouettes and the theatrical production of their shows, I felt it was missing a bit of the magic I’ve come to expect from them. The streetwear elements infused throughout, a departure from their typical pieces, was very hit and miss; the shearling slip-ons in particular were not my thing at all. I’d be admiring some beautiful gothic dress and then my eyes would slide down and see those monstrosities and it would bring the whole thing down a notch or two, despite bad shoes being something I can typically overlook if I otherwise enjoy the rest of the outfit. My initial conclusion: that the Balenciaga Myrtle Snow would choose as her last words this collection.

However, upon re-evaluation when typing this post up properly and knowing what to expect, I like the collection a lot. I’m getting a bit of a Seoul streetwear vibe from it, and I can appreciate that although it is a lot more trend focussed, it’s got an edgy, daring quality to it, with a lot of androgynous, utility wear elements on show. I loveee the Balenciaga chokers too and in my wildest dreams would get my hands on one before it goes the way of the Gucci belt and gets overdone and flaunted by social media influencers as a show of wealth to the point of tackiness.

At Balmain the sculpted body armour made a comeback but on this occasion, not in a way that I liked, and there war far too many neons for my taste too. No matter how many times it rears its ugly head, I find it hard to get on board because as a colour palette I can’t help but associate with Claire’s Accessories circa 2007-it has to be SO well done to avoid looking cheap, imo, and these Balmain pieces weren’t good enough for me to go against that gut aversion. A collection with 100+ looks isn’t usually a good sign and expecting Olivier Rousteing to achieve the impossible and manage to do both quality and quantity is a recipe for disaster; it’s a shame because his last collection was so original and yet this one feels like a cheaper looking rip off of other brands. It was just a bawdy display of 80s overkill IMO and if I can only find 8 outfits to include out of 100 that’s clearly not a good sign.

Bottega Veneta is a brand that the high fashion side of the internet loves that I can never 100% get on board with; I get it, they’re behind the gorgeous square toed heels, but other than that none of their collections have ever really wowed me. The chunky knitted pieces are very Miu Miu style futuristic grandma chic and as someone on the cusp of being either a millennial or gen Z (depending on which website you visit) it’s got me outfit planning for my retirement years. Utilising so much wool for a summer collection, however, seems like a choice because can you IMAGINE wearing a heavy knit in blazing sun; I almost didn’t include the collection to be honest but then every so often something really cute came long, and one of the signature crisp, classic BV pieces would be done well and so I felt I had to. Am I missing something given all the hype here? IDK tbh.

Burberry? Meh. You could also call this collection how many ways can I do a trench coat, with results of differing quality; occasionally the mix match of styles worked and I saw the deconstructed outerwear concept that Ricardo Tisci was presumably trying to go for, though it can’t come as much of a surprise that the combination of a trench, denim and leather jacket was mostly just messy and came off as a last ditch attempt to make the classic coat more interesting by just chucking other fabrics at it and seeing what stuck.

One thing I will say is that there were some really sick prints going on-the snakes in particular-and it was those prints that were really the saving grace of the collection; as I said with regards to Ashish, I like it when you can tell a brand has gone out of their way to experiment with patterns and actually incorporate illustration and graphic design into their pieces. Prints notwithstanding, though, it wasn’t a memorable collection and I really can’t wait for the day we put this whole multiple denim jean waistband trend to bed once and for all; in the wise words of Regina George “stop drying to make multiple waist bands happen. They’re not going to happen.”.

Carolina Herrera was just as I expected. Whilst Wes Gordon was a little more daring with the structure of the pieces than usual, you can still he’s still committed to designing for the wealthy, modestly dressed socialite (yes I’m talking about Tinsley Mortimer and yes, I have recently become obsessed with Real Housewives) and her insatiable need to collect more charity gala gowns than she’ll ever possibly have opportunities to wear in her time on this earth. Sounds like a great life, sure, but it’s not like it gets my heart racing when I see the looks on the runway. The most memorable piece for sure was double breasted blazer w the asymmetric ruffle; I haven’t seen anything like it in a RTW collection in recent memory.

Now onto the fucking train wreck that was Celine RTW.

It’s not even bad for a runway fashion show, it’s just like…straight-up bad. Like Hedi Slimane went back in time to 2013, took a bunch of models into my local Topshop (and I have to clarify my local Topshop rather than the flagship Oxford Circus store-RIP-because to do the same in the latter would produce far better results), picked up some cheap basics, switched the lights off, and then, finally, dressed them in the dark. There’s very few positive comments I can make so I’m just going to move on.

Chanel RTW I actually didn’t hate as much this season; maybe it’s because coming from Celine, my standards are like, on the floor, but it’s slightly better than usual. Whilst most of it was same old same old, the opening 10 or so looks and then from 40 onwards were alright. The colour contrast pieces were classic Chanel in a good way, that is to say somewhat modernised and appealing to a younger clientele as opposed to the elderly women who still see a boucle jacket as the height of fashion. The mini chiffon capes were also cute, and if it weren’t for COVID putting pause on everything I can see the Chanel headband being duped ad infinitum.

The worst part of the collection was without a doubt the pieces with the neon logo print, which I wish I could erase from my mind. At this point, with Virginie Viard seemingly refusing to make any attempt to reinvent the brand, Chanel is best when it’s subtle; that way it appeals to those regular customers who rely on the prestige of the garment and the new generation of consumers who are further branching out into experimenting with their personal style and want a quality base. But who I ask are these tacky ass pieces aimed at? Because though it appears to be an attempt to infuse a kind of youthful spirit into Chanel, it is very out of touch with what gen Z actually like, and I can’t imagine any rich old white ladies buying them either. Big shoulder shrug.

Whilst I tend to find Chanel’s haute couture collections a bit better than their RTW, this is probably on par. Still rather meh and frumpy at times, but there were some pretty, whimsical pieces in there that were definitely elevated by the staging which, I must say, was very dreamy. I’ve enjoyed the last couple of haute couture shows a lot more (the one with the library set was v cool), which were comparatively restrained with the frivolous details and the chintz, so this seems a step back. The dresses with the 50s Audrey Hepburn for Miss Dior style silhouette are lovely but obviously, as per the reference, nothing new.

Onto something much more exciting, we have Charlotte Knowles’ RTW collection, whose work has made her one to watch. I’m not as huge a fan of this as her last instalment, but Knowles’ (who I recently found out only just graduated from Central Saint Martins, making her achievements all the more impressive) continues to create clothes for a girl far cooler than myself; I know, that wouldn’t be hard, but we’re talking like, miles cooler. One of those women who can literally pull anything off and immediately make you want to try it yourself even though 9 times out of 10 that would be a bad idea-I could probably take, like, one piece and make it work but anything more would most likely just be me embarrassing myself. You wouldn’t think San Fransisco psychedelic summer of love motifs would mesh with futuristic Mad Max style biker vibes but Charlotte and her partner Alexandre Arsenault make it sexy AF, like a combo that was always meant to be. They are a dream team.

And lastly for this post, we have another collection I really liked: Chloe. Sadly Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s last collection for the brand, she truly went out on a high note, with a reliably gorgeous iteration of her sophisticated take on bohemian style. Who now, will we look to when we want to cosplay as one of the Jessas from Girls of the world? When we want to pretend we’re a rich, party girl socialite backpacking across Western Europe (along the foothills of Mount Tibidabo…) on a commissioned trip to “find herself” for the fashion magazine column she’s writing, whilst we’re actually on a budget family holiday in Spain? When we can’t decide if we’re dressing like a modern day Rachel Green or Phoebe Buffay and say fuck it, I’m gonna do both? I mean sure, I could never afford Chloe anyway and sure, I’m interested to see what Gabriela Hearst can do with the brand, which despite its loveliness is quite predictable, but it’s definitely sad to see Ramsay-Levi go when she has become a reliable source of elegance and class each season. She brings a quietly confident brand of femininity to the fashion world where the high profile design houses are increasingly dominated by men who are sometimes too focussed on being bold and brash enough to be hailed as the newest design visionary, and I have huge respect for that. She will be missed.

Now it feels right to end the post here, given that I just finished with a kind of dramatic memoriam for a woman who is very much still alive and given that I would really be playing with fire by trying to push Tumblr’s edit post feature any further, so I’ll wrap it up for now. In part 2, which will hopefully be out over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be looking at a surprisingly strong haute couture collection from (can’t believe I’m about to say this) Maria Grazia as well as some of my faves, Etro, Dion Lee, Gucci, and of course Iris Van Herpen’s haute couture. In the meantime, I’m hoping to get a post out on my favourite sustainable clothing brands and to shoot my take on the “what I would wear sat front row at X” video trend that’s been going around lately on TikTok and Instagram reels, which I know I am kinda late to the party with.

I’m also looking at starting “photo dump” posts where I basically just substitute what I would be putting on my Instagram feed as photo posts on here, all the way back to when I first started my fashion Instagram account. I know this is hardly a hot take, but Instagram has really gone to shit, and once I’ve moved all my photos from there to here, I’m probably going to be deleting my account and just keep my private personal one. I’m sick of the endless scrolling past photos of people edited to the point of being unrecognisable and of seeing faces that all conform to that exact same Eurocentric beauty standard with the exact same surgical procedures to the point that even I, as a thin, white cis girl feel disgusting (so god knows how others without my privilege feel) because I don’t have a fucking fox eye lift or whatever it is that internet famous surgeons are telling us we need for our faces to fit the “golden ratio” at the moment. I am OVERRR all the promoted posts from people who preach social awareness and equality and authenticity and kindness making money off promoting companies that rely on slave labour rather than those who make me feel uplifted and inspired. And I am VERY MUCH done with scrolling through share for share and like for like pages because I am embarrassed by the fact that my likes don’t match up to my follower count since that must mean that NOBODY LIKES ME AND EVERYONE HATES MY FACE, right!? Even though I’d like to think that mentality was something I grew out of a long time ago. Instagram, much like Facebook before it (which is no surprise since the latter now owns the former), has just become another cesspit of an app which exists solely to convince you to buy new clothes and follow the latest filler trend and blow money on holidays you can’t afford to convince everyone you’re living the good life. Like many others, I have finally come to the conclusion that the way Instagram operates now is nothing but detrimental to my wellbeing. So, all that being said, I’m moving my feed over here, to a place where I can just arrange my silly little photos into silly little collages and not care if I’m shouting into the void by doing so because they’re just a screenshot of my life that I can look back on in however many years time and think Oh, Cool! That’s What I Was Interested In Back Then! That Outfit is Timeless! Or That One Was a HUGE FUCKING MISTAKE! Because I do love the creative element of Instagram, turning your feed into a collage, picking out which colours compliment each other, posting your favourite art and your outfits and the makeup looks you’re proud of, the beautiful sights you’ve seen-I just hate how unbridled capitalism and unrealistic social expectations have once again destroyed a good thing, and caused it to stray so far from its original vision of connecting people. Here, I don’t care if I get 0 interactions on those kinds of posts, because I am putting stuff out there I am proud of that expresses who I am and that interests me, and when I put a lot of hard ass work into something that’s actually important or that benefits others in some way as opposed to indulging my own vanity, it does get some circulation and I hope that it does make a positive difference, regardless of how small. I hope it doesn’t bother anyone too much seeing my initial photo dump posts on their dashboard as I try and catch up to where I am now; you’ll probs see a mini influx of 2015 fashion and I’m sorry about that! But I don’t *think* it will be too long until I’m up to date and then the photo dump posts will be much less regular.

Anyway, sorry about the Instagram rant there at the end! If you read all the way til the end, this is a  huuuuge thank you! I hope you enjoyed the post and I will get the next one out ASAP, potentially with a few posts in between. As always, feel free to inbox me if there’s anything you wanted to talk about or suggest and make sure you stay safe. There may finally be some light at the end of the tunnel:D

With a cautious dose of optimism, and the acknowledgement that I will most likely regret saying this: bring on June the 21st UK gals!

Lauren x