#Charles was like this. fancy little guy with his sunglasses

[leclercskiesahead]

First days (first dates)

[imaginesofmtl]

how would the guys + charles and magnus want to spoil their partner?

Nathan takes the big stereotypical approach. Huge box of chocolate, roses, a giant stuffed animal. Huge, grand romantic gestures like taking them on expensive vacations, or even just flying them somewhere fancy just for dessert.

Pickles is the king of back massages. Decades of playing the drums means he’s got incredible arm strength for a little dude, so he can rub out those kinks and stress knots for as many hours as it takes.

Toki lavishes his partner with everything under the sun. Candy, clothes, cars, and lots and lots and cuddles and kisses. He lays it on really thick. He just wants his partner to have everything because it makes him happy to see them smile!

Skwisgaar...well, c’mon, we know. When his partner is stressed out and needs some TLC, Skwisgaar is there to provide some relief in the bedroom however they need it, however many times they need it.

Murderface is all about theatrical surprises. Maybe he pulls up alongside his partner in a vintage car and tilts his sunglasses down at them and beckons them to get inside. Or he rides out to them on a majestic stallion and offers his hand. Or his partner notices a shadow come over them, looks up, and there’s Murderface in a hot air balloon ready to get romantic.

Charles is so busy that the most meaningful way to spoil his partner is just by giving them some of his precious time when he can. Every once in a while he gets a few hours in the evening to do with as he pleases, and he always makes sure to spend them with his partner, usually having a cozy dinner date and some tender alone time afterwards.

Magnus is all about smaller, personal gestures. Remembering that his partner was craving Chinese food last week, so he picks some up on his way home. Going out of his way to find a first press of his partner’s favorite album, even if it’s a little out of his price range. And of course he’s never stingy with the physical affection.

[thelioncourts]

title: the mannequin gallery fandom: captive prince pairing: damen/laurent rating: (eventually) mature words: 5428 for chapter two (2/?); 10116 all together

story summary: If things would have gone the way they were supposed to, Damen and Laurent would have never met. But things didn’t go the way they were supposed to, not at all, and their meeting ended up being the equivalent of skydiving with a malfunctioning parachute. Damen tried not to complain. After all, he was now living his dream; he was travelling with his best friend without having to make sure their “I"s were dotted and their "T"s crossed. And, sure, Laurent was difficult to work with, to work for, but he was also great to look at and they made it work well as long as they were anywhere but in Paris. But when Laurent’s past begins to cause present-day problems, Damen finds out those difficulties Laurent constantly displays were a bit more warranted than he could have ever imagined. And Laurent? Laurent finds out the truth – and finds out how to smile.

“You can practically smell the croissants already,” Damen said as they adjusted their carry-ons over their shoulders and entered terminal 2D of the Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The flight from Berlin to Paris had been two hours long, just long enough for Damen to feel the slightest ache in his legs, and the stretch of walking them to the baggage claim felt refreshing. While Damen talked and chattered, Nik was quiet next to him. His eyes were taking in the bright red of the carpet, the arched glass ceiling, and the hundreds of people surrounding them, some so close they all kept bumping shoulders. None of them lost their stride. Damen wondered if the red of the carpet reminded Nik of the pictures he had been showing Damen on the plane, pictures of past Etoile fashion shows. Red seemed to be one of their favorite colors.

Despite his silence about all this during their stopover in Berlin, Nik had clearly been doing his research in preparation for Paris. Once they had settled into their seats on the plane and the pilot had announced they could unfasten their seatbelts, Nik had pulled out his laptop and said with an edge of excitement, “Do you want to see some of my favorite photos from Etoile’s past shows?”

It turns out, there was a whole lot more to fashion than Damen had ever given any attention to. His head told him ‘Duh, Damen, of course there’s a lot to fashion,’ but it was as though the complete confirmation of that hadn’t hit him until he saw the pictures. Nik seemed to have come to the same realization just days earlier. It had been the main reason for his endless list of saved photos, some cropped and zoomed in to give attention to the embroidered sleeves, the silk waves of scarves, and the jackets all strewn with jewels that glittered differently in angles of light.

“I’m not used to having to pay attention to clothes,” Nik had said before closing the laptop and stuffing it back in its bag. “You barely own a shirt.”

Now, the closer they got to the baggage claim, the looser Damen’s muscles felt and the more that a new excitement settled in instead. It had been a long time since they had gone somewhere unknown to them. He voiced as much.

[Continue on AO3]

“I’m excited about it too,” Nik agreed. His eyes were taking in different things now, scanning the multitude of signs as they wandered and wandered down a seemingly-endless airport with no baggage claim in sight. “Though, to be honest, I don’t know how we’ve never been to Paris.”

“We’ve barely been to France while we’ve travelled,” Damen pointed out. “We’ve only ever been to Nice and I’m pretty sure we went there because we had been in western Italy all the week before.”

“Why haven’t we been here before now?” Nik asked. Without even a break in step, he turned and started another direction with one finger pointing at a welcome and needed ‘Baggage Claim →’ sign above a different area to their right.

Damen didn’t break his step either while he said, “Not sure. I think France has always been not far enough away from home and too close all at once. We couldn’t just take a long weekend here like we could with places close to Greece but it also didn’t seem worth it to plan a long trip here when we could plan a long trip over to the United States to go hiking by the Grand Canyon or to fly down to Australia and hold koalas, you know?”

There were too many people waiting at the baggage claim already, but this was familiar territory after years of travel. Patiently, Damen and Nik waited for their too many bags. Damen’s hands were in his pockets and he was rocking on his heels while listing off a few things he wanted to do while they were here.

“Surprisingly,” he started, “I haven’t planned all that much.”

“Really?” Nik asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

“Really. I figured it’d probably be best to wait until you find out your schedule. Can’t be making the boss-man angry,” Damen said. Nik rolled his eyes.

Right when Nik was about to come back with a retort, Damen felt a finger poke at his shoulder and turned around to a group of teens, each one with hearts in their eyes.

It wasn’t that uncommon for Damen to get recognized in public settings anymore. Hitting two million followers on Instagram would do that for a person. Luckily for all those that recognized him, he was an easy-going guy, hence him posing with the kids for the video they were filming on their phones. It was a quick thing; the five of them stood around Damen, his height dwarfing them by comparison, and they all – Damen included – smiled wide, all their pearly whites on display while they waved at the camera and the girl holding the phone moved her thumb up and down on the screen, zooming the camera in and out. After another minutes of giggles from the teens, they disappeared, no doubt to immediately go edit the footage, and Damen rejoined Nik to wait for sight of their bags.

“Oh, is the king done mingling with the commoners at last?” Nik mocked.

“Man, I think I’m getting too old for this social media thing,” Damen said, laughing a little. “They’re making a TikTok, or whatever. I thought that was only people dancing? Am I missing something?”

“You know we’ve never been good at keeping up with the trends,” Nik said. “And for guys who rely on social media for their way of living, it’s not the smartest thing we’ve done. Or not done.”

Their bags finally rolled out from behind the curtain of the carousel and Damen stepped forward to heft each bag over toward Nik. They both had two bags on the carousel. Nik had one for his clothes and whatnot while the other held an array of camera equipment. Damen’s, meanwhile, were filled with clothes, products from advertisers, and half of one suitcase was full of workout gear and tubs of preworkout and protein that Damen couldn’t go without. Luckily, a few years ago, they had invested in nice luggage sets that stacked together like puzzle pieces in order to make moving them easier. They also had USB ports in them so they could keep their phones charged at all times.

It was another maze to get to the exit. They got lost once, Damen got stopped by two boys who were also filming a TikTok, and Nik bought an overpriced water for their drive into town all before they finally found the main doors. The doors were thronged with people, with loved ones waiting for family and business moguls waiting for their called cars, and Damen and Nik were talking over the cacophony, so it was a miracle Damen saw what he saw.

“Nik?” Damen asked, pointing over to where a bunch of men in suits were standing, eyes scanning the crowds. In that crowd stood a guy with a sign that read Etoile in fancy script and had Nik’s name underneath.

The man was inconspicuous in appearance, his suit nice but not standout-in-the-crowd-nice. His hair was cropped and a standard shade of brown, he was short and a bit stocky, and the sunglasses on his face only drew attention to his unsmiling mouth. He looked completely average.

Nik turned to Damen and said, “They never said they were sending a car.”

They both approached the man, Nik the slightest bit more hesitant than Damen, and shouldered their way through the crowd until they could stand in front of him. Behind the sunglasses, they could see his eyes jump from Nik to Damen then back to Damen before he asked in accented English, “Are you Nik?”

“I am,” Nik said after a beat.

“My name is Jord. Etoile has sent for me to escort you to our head office before then taking you to your hotel. I have been informed that you may be tired from your journey and may wish to go directly to your hotel instead. That can be done as well.”

“I’m going to Etoile already?” Nik asked.

“The owner likes to make connections with his possible hires as soon as possible,” Jord said, moving to fold the sign up. Damen stopped him with a hand out and the man eyed him cautiously still behind dark glasses.

“Can I keep that?”

The man kept a cautious eye on Damen even as he handed the sign to him and Damen, feeling Nik’s gaze, said, “We have to document this, Nik.”

“Well, we’ve only just come from Berlin, so it wasn’t a long journey. I’d be glad to go right over,” Nik said in response to Jord, bringing the conversation back around. “Is that okay with you, Damen?”

“Absolutely.”

“Wonderful,” Jord said, sounding like it was anything but that. “Follow me, please.”

The car was just outside the main doors, surrounded by dark taxi cars, a few buses, and several drivers from phone apps. The car, however, wasn’t so much a car. It was a sleek black Rolls Royce instead, the true standout in a crowd like this. Damen raised both eyebrows appreciatively at it before sliding into the seat through the open back passenger door. Nik followed, a quieter kind of awe on his face, and Jord closed the door behind them before they heard and felt the luggage being loaded into the trunk.

“This is crazy, Nik,” Damen said. The interior of the car was all a soft black leather and there was plenty of room for the both of them to stretch their legs out, something that was no small feat for two men several inches over six feet tall.

“They sent a car,” Nik said. His right hand couldn’t stop touching the seat underneath him.

“And not some shitty car. They sent the nicest car we’ve ever sat in that wasn’t at an Italian car show,” Damen said.

Jord was getting in the driver’s seat now, sunglasses still firmly in place, and he adjusted the rearview mirror before asking, “Is there anything I can get the two of you before we leave?”

“I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion,” Nik said after a beat. The fact seemed to have just dawned on him, perhaps when he took in how his black joggers looked next to the car’s interior, and Damen was in no better shape with a pair of slide-on shoes and a baggy neon orange sweatshirt.

“It won’t be a problem,” Jord said and he started the car, the engine purring as it came to life. “As long as you know what you’re doing with a camera, it won’t matter what you look or dress like.”

The drive from the Charles de Gaulle Airport to the heart of Paris was a hair over thirty minutes. It was just long enough for Damen and Nik to sit on the edge of the too-nice seats in the car and take in the sights. At first, it started like most drives near or in a big city: surrounded by a bunch of cars and monotonous buildings. But the closer they got, the more that ‘real’ feeling started to sink in. When they set sight on the first Parisian landmark, a statue that was too far away to read the plaque, Damen smacked Nik with the back of his hand and said, “Welcome to your new home for the next month.”

Sights started to get more and more recognizable. When they turned onto Rue de Rivoli, the Seine came into view. It was wider than it looked in pictures and it was impossible to decide if it was worth it to spend more time looking at the blue of the water or the beautiful French architecture all around them.

“We definitely have to plan something there,” Nik said, a sort of awe in his voice as he pointed to the Louvre. The pyramid was just visible enough to see the sunlight bounce from its glass.

“You’ll have plenty of opportunity,” Jord said. The car turned left down Rue de l’Amiral de Coligny. “Etoile’s building is just next to the museum, right outside the Tuileries Garden.”

“Wait, we’re almost there?”

Jord only hummed, the sound just loud enough to reach Damen and Nik’s ears, and then they were on Quai Franςois Mitterand and the Seine was practically at their fingertips. They were both leaning forward in their seats again, taking in the boats touring the river, the people sitting on the river’s edge, and the buildings across the river all framed by the sun. They felt the car ease to a stop.

The Tuileries Gardens were bright green. The flowers weren’t yet in bloom, the weather was too cold for that, but it was still beautiful in its contrast against the uniform color of all the surrounding Parisian buildings. But more eye catching than the gardens was the Etoile headquarters directly to the car’s right. The building went with everything else in Paris, its color a neutral cream, its design recognizably Haussmanian. It stood out though with its added ornamentation, the building busy even if lacking in colors. And right above the door was a sign in script writing, the letters enormous and undeniable: Etoile.

“Well,” Damen started, and he pulled his eyes away from the building to look at Nik expectantly.

“Well,” Nik repeated.

Jord had already gotten out and rounded the car to open the door before Nik even thought about unclenching his fist still holding onto his carry on. With a deep breath, Nik got out and smoothed down his shirt.

“You’re going to be fine in there, Nik,” Damen said reassuringly. He was still sitting in the car, one arm over the seat where Nik had just been, and he was flashing his biggest smile. “Can’t wait to hear about it when you get out.”

“Actually,” Jord interrupted whilst still holding the door wide open, “it’s been requested that you join.”

“Me?”

“Potential hires are looked through thoroughly for both professional and personal purposes,” Jord explained. “As you are in most of the photographs that were sent in for review, it was decided that you would be an important person to meet as well. Of course, if you’re opposed, you can wait in the lobby.”

“What do you think, Nik? This is your thing.”

“I’d like you there,” Nik said. “If you’ve been asked for personally, I don’t have any reason not to have you there.”

“And I’m your best friend in the whole world so you want me there for support,” Damen said, filling in the obvious gaps in Nik’s reasoning.

Jord led the way inside.

Though the outside was the same cream color as the other buildings around, probably due to a city restriction, the inside was like entering an entirely different universe. The floors were marble, a real marble that made everything from voices to footsteps echo, and right at the center, just in front of the desk where two beautiful secretaries sat on their phones whilst typing at a maddening pace on their computers, was a gold inlay, its design immaculate swirls and crossed lines. It was a labyrinth of busyness and it wasn’t calmed down or contrasted by an unbusy surrounding. No, instead the walls – which were white, yes, but – were brimming, overflowing, with solid gold decoration that covered every inch. Each arcaded window had a foot of gold surrounding its edges, the designs cherubs and flowers and muses like the palaces of old. There were a dozen gold gilded statues around the room that matched the gold gilded paneling taking up most of the walls’ space. None of it, however, compared to the chandelier hanging from the center, the piece looking like the one out of The Phantom of the Opera.

Damen and Nik shared a look that said everything. Jord was walking forward without hesitation and they followed as close behind as they could, trying not to get too distracted by their surroundings. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking, they reached the elevators which also, to no surprise now, were decorated all in gold.

“Take the elevator to the top floor. Someone will greet you and escort you to the owner’s office,” Jord said. He went to turn, his sunglasses reflecting all the gold in the room back in Damen and Nik’s face, when Nik asked, “What about our bags?”

“I will be taking your bags to your hotel,” Jord said. “And yes, your hotel has been arranged and paid for already. Once you are done, I will be here to pick you up and bring you there.”

Damen and Nik shared another look before Damen said, “Thank you very much, Jord. You’ve been a great help to us.”

Jord seemed hesitant to do anything for a moment and even more hesitant to say anything, so after an awkward pause he nodded curtly and turned the way they had come.

The elevator had a mirrored ceiling inside and it glittered the gold inlay of the floor back up. Nik hit the button that was above all the others, the one to take them to the top floor, and then Damen and Nik both sighed in unison.

“Are you feeling claustrophobic?” Damen asked. “I’m feeling claustrophobic.”

“I knew they used a lot of designs on their clothing,” Nik started, “but I didn’t think that would transfer to the building as well.”

“You ready for this?”

“Not much I could do right now if I wasn’t,” Nik said.

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“I’ll be fine.”

They reached the top floor soon enough and this floor wasn’t much different from the main one. In other words, it was busy and overwhelming. There was a desk directly in front of the elevator doors, a smaller desk than the one on the main floor, but it sat empty. The mirrored panelling of the desk showed just how much Damen and Nik’s sweatpants went against everything Etoile stood for. To the right was a narrow hallway and to the left was another and, for a minute, Damen and Nik looked back and forth between the two, looking for a sign. It felt like the airport all over again.

It was just when they had decided to go to the right that a child came around the corner.

‘Child’ was the best word for him for he didn’t look a day over twelve, even if he was dressed like a little adult. He had a mess of artfully wavy brown hair and a stunning pair of blue eyes that matched the sapphires around the necklace on his throat. There was a shimmer to his eyelids, a golden glitter that went well with the actual gold glitter covering the jacket so big he appeared to be swimming in it. He was a beautiful child and he would have been more beautiful if his face didn’t have such a distasteful expression on it.

The child had stopped when he saw Damen and Nik and once they had taken him in and he them, the child scoffed and said in a voice clearer than a bell, “Les bêtes envahissent la ville, je vois,” before continuing to walk in a way that said this was definitely not worth his time.

Damen couldn’t help but laugh, the sound drawing both Nik and the child’s attention to him. “Les bêtes sont là pour voir le propriétaire de l'Etoile. Savez-vous où nous pourrions le trouver?”

The child’s face grew pale, if only for just a moment, before he recomposed himself. “This way,” he said with agitation, not pausing to ensure they were following him before he went down the left hallway. At the end of the hallway was a huge door, one that screamed of importance.

Damen and Nik expected the child to knock on the grand door that was clearly the entrance to the main office, but the child went in without a care.

“You have visitors,” the child said.

They couldn’t see the man, but they could see the top of his head. He was in a tall chair, large enough to be a throne, and the back of it was facing them as he typed away at the computer. If he had heard the child, he didn’t pay him any mind, but the child didn’t seem to be bothered. Instead, he stepped up to the desk, plucked a red lollipop from a gold gilded bowl, and left without another word or a spared glance in Damen and Nik’s direction.

“Assieds-toi.” The man’s voice was deep, a rumble in the delicacy of the room, and Nik turned to Damen for guidance. Damen, silently, pointed at the two chairs in front of the desk and they both sat down, listening to the clicking of the keys on the keyboard and the tapping of Nik’s toe on the ground.

Damen decided to give all his attention to the ticking clock on the wall. It was both to keep the time and to also try to figure out just how a clock could have so many things going on with it: an opal face, gold numbers, jewel encrusted hands, and Damen didn’t even know where to begin with the outside of it. Still, it was how he knew exactly three minutes and twelve seconds could feel like an eternity. Luckily, that was when the man turned around in his seat and smiled at them openly.

He didn’t look like what Damen thought a fashion designer and modeling agency owner would look like but, then again, Damen supposed he had never given much thought to what a fashion designer and modeling agency owner would look like in the first place.

The man was large; he had a broad chest and shoulders to match and Damen guessed that if he were to stand, he would be close to Damen’s own height. His hair was dark and neat and his beard full, if sprinkled with just enough gray to make him look dignified. His suit was dark and made him look regal, someone who would draw the eye and demand respect.

When he stood, it confirmed what Damen had thought about the man’s height, but it was hard to give that much mind when his smile went up to his blue eyes. “Bonjour bonjour. Bienvenue à Paris.” He must have seen something on Damen and Nik’s faces, especially Nik’s face, because he quickly came back with, “L'anglais serait-il un meilleur terrain d'entente pour nous? J'ai peur de ne pas parler grec.”

“English would be great, thank you,” Damen said, smiling at the smallest expression of relief on Nik’s face.

“Of course,” the man said agreeably and then he leaned forward, hand out. “And you must be our talented photographer, Nik.” The two of them shook hands.

“I am. Nik, that is. Thank you for having me. Us. It’s an honor just to be here.”

“We here at Etoile are honored to have you.” The man turned to Damen. “And you must be Damen.”

“Yes, sir,” Damen said, shaking the man’s hand. His grip was strong, his fingers rough. “Paris has been wonderful to us already and we’ve only been here an hour.”

Everything was all polite smiles as they each sat back down and adjusted into the chairs. The man had his fingers clasped together on the deeply rich colored desk and his eyes fell to Nik. “Do you prefer to go by Nik or is there something else you’d like to be called?”

“Nik is fine. It’s less of a mouthful than Nikandros.”

“Indeed, it is.” The man laughed just a bit. “So, Nik, I have to say that all of us here at Etoile, myself especially, were incredibly impressed with your portfolio.”

“Thank you,” Nik said genuinely. Damen could already see Nik’s shoulders dropping their tension, even if just a little.

“We normally receive applications from fashion photographers, people who live in the business of finding the perfect shots to display clothing made of every kind of fabric, clothing cut into every kind of style. It isn’t often we look over action shots of people surfing,” he said, motioning over to Damen, “or pictures of the stars over a desert. It was a nice change of pace. This brings me to two questions I have for you, Nik. The first is simply to sate my own curiosity: what drove you to want to photograph Paris Fashion Week? The second question, if you wouldn’t mind, is the question of how you came into the opportunity to photograph all around the world? It’s astonishing, especially for a photographer so young.”

“Well,” Nik said after a deep breath, “to answer your first question, I can say that fashion shows were never a thought, not until I started to meet other photographers as we travelled over the years. There was a photographer, from France actually, that we befriended while in Norway a few years back and last year he was given the opportunity to shoot for Silversio and he said he learned so much. I’ve been expanding my photography more and more as the years have gone on and I thought that this would be another great way to expand my art.”

“That’s quite a drive you have.”

“I owe a lot of it to Damen,” Nik continued, moving onto the second question. “When we were children, we made a pact to spend our gap year travelling the world together. We wanted to climb mountains and see every ocean. The older we got, the more I wanted to skip gap year all together and go straight into working for my family. But Damen convinced me of the worth held in our planned gap year and I realized one year wouldn’t cause me any harm and I would have hated myself for not giving it a chance. But our one year got ahead of us in terms of our social media. We started all of our accounts as a way to document the year. We never guessed it would turn into what it did and what it has.”

“I think congratulations are very deserved for all that you’ve accomplished. I’m assuming this means you’re a self-taught photographer as well?”

“Yes.”

The man hummed, the sound not unpleasant, just thoughtful, and after a pause as though to collect his thoughts, he turned his attention to Damen. “And I believe a congratulations should be given to you as well. Nik here has quite a talent with a camera, but from what I have seen, your charisma is remarkable. It explains much of your success, I would think.”

“Damen could rally himself an army if he wanted to,” Nik said.

“Charisma is everything in this world,” the man said. “You need it to survive.”

Damen smiled the smile he gave in pictures. The man smiled back and clasped his hands together again.

“I don’t want to keep you two any longer than necessary, I’m sure you would like to rest, and I have a few more meetings to attend before my day is over. The reason I asked for you to come meet me as soon as you arrived was to explain how the first part of this is going to go.” He plucked a folder from a small and neat pile on his desk and handed it over to Nik. Even the folders here looked expensive, Etoile’s fancy script all over the front. “In two days’ time we will begin our first photoshoot. I’ve learned over the years of building and perfecting Etoile that the best shows were shot by photographers who had a relationship with the models. This photoshoot will give you the opportunity to begin building those relationships. The clothing line you will be shooting is our new “Gold Label” line. It’s much different than anything we’ll be premiering at fashion week.” Inside the folder was an itinerary and an array of photographs of the most important pieces in this specific line of clothing. “The photoshoot is scheduled for three days. This is to ensure that each of the photographers have plenty of time to shoot with the group and to work with the individual models. There will be five photographers there, but only three of you will be going to fashion week.” He turned to Nik and smiled that same open smile. “Nothing like a little friendly competition.”

“And that’s all we’ll be doing before the actual show?”

“Yes. I will then be giving you the rest of the week to put together your shots from the photoshoot in order to present them to me. From there, a decision will be made on which photographers will be staying with us. Then you’ll have a week before the show to further prepare for the big event. Are there any questions about that?”

“I don’t believe so, no.”

“Well then, I believe we are settled here.” He stood up from his desk promptly, a physical end to the quick meeting, and Damen and Nik stood to follow him to the door. “Inside the folder are phone numbers for Jord whom you’ve already met and a few of my other men. If you need anything, do not hesitate to call them during your time here in Paris.”

“Thank you,” Nik said, shaking his hand once more, “for the opportunity and your generosity.”

“Yes, thank you,” Damen repeated.

“Of course, gentlemen. I’m looking forward to what this week will bring.”

They passed the child again as they were leaving. The lollipop was down to almost nothing on the stick and he watched them near predatorily, a finger twirling the gem attached to the zipper of his jacket.

“Bonne soirée,” Damen said with a wave.

The child flipped them off, his painted nail glittering.

Once they were downstairs, it was a quick journey to the hotel they had been put up in. The hotel was located in an old palace just across the river. Sadly, they were one building behind a river front view, but neither could care, not when the view itself was another bustling Parisian apartment complex that radiated life and sophistication, its inhabitants clearly upper class.

They were on the fifth floor and their room was spacious and decorated much more simplistically than anything Etoile could dream up. It was appreciated after the blinding display of wealth and ornamentation. The cream-colored walls matched the exterior of all the iconic Haussman buildings and the arched window and doorways gave it the elegance so expected from something in this part of Paris. The gaudiest thing were the curtains and Damen and Nik were quick to pull those back and secure them. After all, they blocked the best part of the room, the terrace overlooking the street.

They spent the next two hours taking turns showering the plane off of them, unpacking all their things, ordering room service, and chatting away about the things they couldn’t say earlier.

“What was with the kid?” Nik asked as he folded another shirt and put it in a drawer.

“I don’t know,” Damen said. “Maybe he’s one of the models.”

“He’s a little young to be a model,” Nik said.

“He was dressed like one.”

“He looked twelve.”

“Well the kid doesn’t matter. What matters is that the meeting went really well. He seems to like you,” Damen said.

“I’m not sure,” Nik said.

Damen rolled his eyes. “Don’t start with that.”

“I didn’t start anything.”

“What also matters,” Damen interrupted, “is that I could very much get used to this.”

He was standing at the open entrance of the terrace. The terrace itself was just large enough to fit a small table and two chairs, perfect for early morning coffee or relaxing at night. At the other building, the one just across, were other terraces full of people doing just that as the sun slowly began to fall over the city. On the streets were people all bundled as the nighttime temperatures began to settle in. Best of all, on the terrace table was a bottle of wine, a nice deep red, with Etoile’s script signature and a note from the owner himself bidding them, yet again, a welcome to Paris.

“I bet you could,” Nik said. He was already grabbing the available bottle opener. “I’m the one doing all the work.”

[benmic98-blog]

LAST MINUTE INSPO FROM A SNEAK PEEK INTO CELEBRITY HALLOWEEN COSTUMES 2019

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good to Eat! Soon there will Halloween parties in full swing, pumpkins lining the streets and masses of trick or treaters on a serious scrape to secure as many sweets as possible at midnight. It’s that time of the year when you fancy channeling your inner Rihanna or Halsey or any fictional a character like Shrek or Lego Batman or any celebrity to create a spotlight-stealing look. Many choose to pay homage to their idols this spooktacular season and as the season has already kicked started with a bang, you might be at the hunt for a last-minute Halloween costume inspiration from the A-list set, spending hours to create the iconic looks this Halloween, all hail to the early festivities that have begun with our stars flaunting their Halloween looks setting the bar high again this year leaving behind costume inspiration for many. If you are a die-hard Halsey fan like me, plenty of choices to channel your Halsey are open; from Met Gala, Victoria Secret’s fashion show to American Music Awards and New York Fashion week Halsey could be your go-to Halsey costume for the Halloween party.

From Cruella de Vil to the tooth fairy you might have experimented with all kinds of looks from spooky to sweet all your life and this year what will be your spin this year is giving you serious trouble. Just Eat, Drink & Be Scary.

2018 didn’t fail to disappoint the celebrity high bar for Halloween costumes with some of the most outrageous, funny and confusing costumes, from the barely recognizable (Rita Ora as Post Malone, anyone?) to the downright uncanny, one can recreate the previous year’s head-turners as this Halloween's spooky and glamorous ensemble with DIY. From the most hyped costumes from the last year Halloween that took Instagram and twitters with amaze and gaze was the Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake, and Silas Randall Timberlake as Lego Batman characters, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, the great Kardashians always making up to the highlights with fancy yet controversial stories, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, and Khloe Kardashian as Victoria's Secret Angels, Heidi Klum as Princess Fiona from Shrek, the millionaire whose Insta stories are always extravagant and stays at the top of social media hype, Kylie Jenner as Barbie and Beyoncé as Toni Braxton. When we talk about the most spine-chilling Halloween outfits we can’t just get over Heidi Klum's remarkable Jessica Rabbit in 2015 (which took nine hours of groundwork to complete the prosthetics), or Lady Gaga as a terrifying Edward Scissorhands in 2017 and the list goes on and on, for Halloween is the most sought social event in the celebrity calendar where their costume ideas are mandatory to prove as the crowd-pleasers.

Among the early Halloween feels, Dance with the Stars take the lead in giving us those creepy looks by going full zombie during Halloween night on Monday with a spooky opening number set to Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy. With the insane moves and crazy costumes donned with dreadful makeup to turn the ballroom floor into a creepier zombie world, the stars and the professional dancers are giving me chills down the spine.

https://youtu.be/h8ZYLlNZEMw

Some creepy costume inspirations are ready to be added to the Halloween mood board from the early Halloween festivity in Los Angeles hosted by Rande Gerber and George  Clooney, the annual Casamigos the party had the starry guest list who donned their crazy costumes as the homage to classical idols or recreated the looks from their past events. All of this flooded twitter and their Instagram before the arrival of the big day. The social-media worthy clobber for the annual Casamigos party is listed below.

HALSEY: MARILYN MANSON

Halsey deserves all the applaud and the limelight, biased? Probably yes but the fandom of Halsey provokes such instinct in me and if I were to hand over the best celebrity costume award, Its Halsey and Halsey every time, every year and every event. Halsey this year didn't fail to disappoint and channeled inner goth rocker Marilyn Manson while she announces her relationship with actor Evan Peters on the Halloween bash in Los Angeles. Fiery redhead and a latex leotard was Halsey in the complete Halloween Spirit, spooktacularly-sexy.

Halsey and Evan Peter are giving us some real relationship goals or they chose to confirm their love by costume coordination, Polka dots giving nostalgia of the '70s. They donned the look at starry American Horror Story 100th Episode Celebration kicked off in California.

KYLIE JENNER – FLAUNTS HALLOWEEN LOOK AS MADONNA

Black is always a killer and Kylie Jenner totally slayed the look with blood-stained red lipstick and blondes to create the Madonna look in a now-iconic kiss at the 2003 VMAs. The makeup-mogul paid homage to the pop culture by pairing with her friend Stassie Karanikolaou to recreate Britney Spear. How cool is that?

Like mother is the daughter, all glammed up in the Jenner’s met gala ensemble look. Stormi Webster was a miniature version of Kylie at the Met Gala, with the same lavender dress and purple hair. She totally was a little cute fella.

HEIDI KLUM – TOOK THE RED CARPET WITH GLITZ AND GLLITTERZ

Her spectacular look made me utter “All that Glitters is just Gold!” The model dipped in glitter dazzled like a neon firework with green and other neon-colored glitters sprayed generously. That would be an understatement though as both husband and wife took the theme of fireworks to take Instagram like always to satiate the fandom every Halloween. But this is not the finale to the Halloween spook; a lot of creative prosthetics has been put to pull off this year’s costume for her iconic party.

DEMI LOVATO - MARIE ANTOINETTE

In round 1, Demi was shining in the ensemble by her glam team, Etienne Ortega and Paul Norton. She is the crown-winner just in round 1, the slayer has dressed like French aristocrat Marie Antoinette with a low-cleavage corseted frock, taking us back to the 18th century. The star-studded eyes with heavily-powered makeup and a high-bun is worth the applaud.

The second round brought forward the clown look of the singer, red-nosed and ginger head with complementing fierce red lens and pom-pom frock is another slayer and winner.

JESSICA BIEL - SARTORIAL TRIBUTE TO THE JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE NYSNC DAYS

When Jessica Biel dared to confess on air that she knows nothing about NSYNC songs, this is what it turned out as Jessica's costume for Halloween. In a metallic boiler suit with a curly wig and '90s sunglasses, Jessica paid homage to his husband's boy-band days.

UK celebs have been hitting hard to get into the game and giving tough competition to their US counterparts with hilarious costumes for the big day. The KISS Haunted House Party was another peak-into a place for getting costume inspo. Many of the stars that were performing in the KISS Haunted House Party took the stage with some incredible costumes; Four of diamonds rocked the recreation look of Bratz dolls with their infamous big eyes and face paint to complete the look. The Joker look was much expected after the acclaimed success of the movie, Cetinay was all Joker ready in red suit and clown painted face. Latex seemed more of a trend this Halloween in the celebs, after Hasley, Henderson was seen in black and orange latex with devil horns and blood dripping from the eyes, orange glitter blood to be specific.

Get your Halloween party shoes on and get running with the last minute DIY costume ideas. Slay the look completely. Happy Haunting!

 Author’s Bio:

A well-versed business-writer with an immense passion for innovation and technology. I am a trend enthusiast and like to explore trending practices in various industries. I have written a detailed review of the Exede rural high-speed internet for its major overhaul in the satellite.  

I like to write and talk about fun & entertainment and how technology is evolving our lives in the most amazing ways. Mainly, little things such as the internet and smartphones are the center of my attention.

[chloe-skywalker]

The Secret That Never Got Told - Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto

Erik/Magneto x daughter reader

Peter Maximoff x sister reader

Warnings: none

Word count: 2,065

Summary: the x-men meet a new mutant and Erik gets a surprise. Reader is Peters twin sister and he never got to tell her a big secret containing there DNA

Authors Note: i hate that i killed peter off, and charles and erik are youngish in this and everyone else is an adult.

Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Where are we? What is this place?” I asked Logan as we entered a gate to a fancy looking mansion

“Its a school for mutants.” he replied driving through

“Ok, why are we here then” I questioned

“We are here because I got a call from a friend and I thought I’d bring you along.” he answered before turning his head to look at me with a sly smirk on his lips.

“Ah how sweet” I said in a tone that probably annoyed him.

Once Logan parked we both got out of the car. We went inside the building and I have never seen so many mutants all in one place before. I moved my sunglasses to the top of my head.

“Logan, long time” some redheaded women said walking up to Logan

“Yeah long time” Logan said with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips

“Scott” he nodded to the guy who came up next to the lady with red hair, and put an arm around her waist.

“Logan” the man replied

“Logan, who’s this?” the women who I guess names Jean asked nodding over to me

“This is y/n.” he said nodding over to me at his side “she's a mutant. . . Anyway we’re here to see the Professor he wanted to see me.”

They lead us to what I assume is this Professor guys office. Once in there they shut the door behind us. There were a couple of other people in the room.

“Ah Logan, glad you could make it.” a man in a wheelchair said coming out from behind his desk. I’m guessing this is the Professor

“What's he doing here?” Logan pointed at the man standing next to the Professor

“Erik is here because we have a problem that might require his help.” the Professor replied. Erik as in Magneto. My brother use to say something about him.

“No need to worry Logan” a lady with short white hair said, I believe her name is Storm. Logan described her once.

“And who’s your friend?” Magneto spoke gesturing to me.

“y/n” I said looking between the two older men

“y/n what?” the Professor asks

“Not important” I replied. At my answer everyone looked intrigued.

 Except Scott he just rolled his eyes probably thinking ‘great a mini Logan’.

“Logan said your a mutation?” Jean asked more liked a statement

“Yeah” I confirmed

“So what can you do?” the Professor asked leaning back in his chair a little.

‘You can read minds, I figure you already know’ I thought knowing since I directed it towards him he would hear it.

“I would rather not have to go into your head to find out.” replied out loud. I bit my lip smiling of course.

“Go on bub, show ‘em.” Logan said putting his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it a little for reassurance.

“I have more than one mutation. I have 3 to be exact.” I told them taking a breath before saying the last part. I nodded to Logan and he removed his hand. As me and Logan headed outside by the lake.Everyone that was in the room was now outside.

“One of them is elemental” I said before making the water move around us “water” once the water was put back I moved on to the next. 

I pulled my right forearm up and as I put it back down fast and it turned into “Ice”. Then I did the same with my left arm and “Fire”.I flicked both really fast and my arms were back to normal.

“I could also mess with earth but I think you have enough trees” I said to the Professor smirking as he chuckled

“My second Isn’t one you can exactly show like the last one.” I took  a deep breath “Logan, wanna help?”

“You know, I don’t like this” he said walking over to me. We turned so they could see

“I know” I said giving him a reassuring look.With that Logan took his claws out and plunged them into my gut. 

Once he took them out. I turned to look out at them. They all looked shocked at what I had Logan do but that went away when they saw me heal.

“I can heal like Logan. I also age really slowly. After I turned 18 I started to age very slowly, before that I aged normal.”Looking around I could tell they were processing it.

“Wait, sweetheart you said you had 3. What's the third?” Storm asked 

I looked at Logan, he knew instantly why. I haven’t felt comfortable just showing people my third power. Its the same one my twin brother had.I opened and closed my mouth a couple times.

”I don't feel comfortable showing it to just anybody.”

“Why's that?” Erik asked tilting his head to the side a little

“My twin brother. He-uh he had the same power. After he died in a battle, the only battle that I didn't follow him into, and he-uh-he . . . died. Ever since then I don't really like showing it off. I use it when needed and I use it for what him and I use to do. Not all of it legal. But I don’t use it just to use it anymore.” I told them. Wrapping my arms around myself.

Storm walked over to me. She has a soft smile on her face.“You don’t have to hide here. You can be yourself. We won’t judge you, and you don’t have to do anything your not comfortable with. But we would like to see all of what you can do. Also see what you share with your brother. Who you obviously cared a lot about.” Storm said in a soft tone of voice. Rubbing my shoulders. 

No one had been like this towards me in ages. To be honest I really missed it and I was really liking it to.Out of the corner of my eye I could see Logan give her a thankful look. He knew that I had a hard time without my brother, and seeing how what Storm said helped me and how she acted towards me made me relax. It made him think that maybe they should stay awhile.

“Ok” I nodded I looked over towards the mansion at a balcony.

“You might want to let go” Logan said gesturing to Storms hands that were still on my shoulders.

Once she did I smiled at all of them before tilting my head before putting on my sunglasses with that I was off. Less than a second later I was on the balcony. Leaning against the railing.

They were looking around for me. Logan pointed to the house. Once they looked over I waved before smirking.

After that I went back over to them. All there heads turned really fast when they noticed I was once again in front of them.

“My brother, uh most of you knew him I think. You’ve actually met me before to.”

“y/n. As in y/n Maximoff.” Professor stated but it came out sounding like a question.

“Yep” I said popping the ‘p’

“You haven’t aged much. I guess it is really slow.” he chuckled

^    ^    ^ 

We decided to stay at the mansion for awhile.After dinner I headed off with Storm since she was the one that volunteered to show me my room I’ll be staying in for awhile.At dinner it was a little strange a couple people were being off.

Storm was asking me about my family.

The Professor looked like he was deep in thought.

And Erik a.k.a Magneto looked like he was thinking to.

After dinner was over Logan said goodnight to me and him, Charles and Erik headed to Charles’ office.

^     ^    ^ 

3rd P.O.V

“Peter an Y/n are twins?” Erik questioned as they walked into the room.

“Yeah” Logan said with a sigh

“Meaning your her dad Erik.” Charles said to Erik

“Yeah . . . Peter never told me I was his father, but I had my suspicions.” Magneto said sitting down in a chair that is next to Charles and facing Logan.

“You should talk to her” Charles purposed

“I don’t think that's a good idea.” Logan spoke up

“Why’s that?” Charles asked Logan leaning forward

“I don’t think she knows. Or that he ever told her.”

“Why do you think that, Logan?”

“We’ve been traveling together for years now and she's never said anything to hint it. As far as she’s said, she thinks she has no blood family alive.” Logan explained

“Then what do we do?” Charles asked looking between the two men

“Maybe you should just tell her. Rip off the band-aid and hope she reacts well.” Logan replied after some long silence . He does know y/n and its how he would do it.

“You think that’s the best way?” Erik asks wolverine

“I do - but catch her in a happy calm mood, tomorrow.” Logan advised before heading out to go to bed.

^     ^     ^

 It is the next day and y/n was sitting on a bench next to her the water moving around.

“Good luck bub” Logan said to Erik before heading inside to help Storm and Scott. 

Erik headed over to y/n.

“Can I sit?” Erik asked y/n pointing at the bench

“Yeah” she replied scooting over to make room for him on the bench since she was sitting in the middle of the bench.

“You are very gifted y/n.” he said after some moments of silence.

“Is this the part where you tell me I should honor my gifts and use them more?” y/n asked but said in a joking tone.

“No, you should but no that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” he answered

“Then what did you want to talk about?” she asked this time curiously

“Your brother. Did he ever tell you about me?” he asked her trying to figure out if she might already know.

She shook her head “No. Why?”

“Your brother found out from your mother after he broke me out of the pentagon. She told him that it was his decision weather or when he wanted to tell you or not. He never got the chance to and I’m sorry that he didn’t get to be the one to tell you-”

“Tell me what?” y/n asked. She was getting a little scared. Why we he talking about her brother and mom? Was this the thing that her brother tried to tell her many times?

“Logan said that you think you don’t have any blood family alive left.” he stated

“Yeah” she nodded stretching the word out

“You do, have blood family left. . . I’m your father sweetheart.” Erik told her. He could see her connecting the dots in her head. 

Her brother’s weird behavior towards anything about the famous Magneto.

“I think he tried to tell me before. Many times actually.” She said chuckling

“Are you ok? Knowing this, is it ok?” he asked hopping the answer is yes.

“Its weird. I thought I was alone. I thought I would never get to know what Peter wanted to tell me.”  y/n told him, looking him in the eyes

“So what do you want to do with this new found information?” Erik asked. He wanted a relationship with his daughter, one he didn’t get to have with Nina or Peter. But if she wasn’t comfortable with it then he would try his hardest to respect her wishes.

“Maybe stick around for awhile. Get to know you. You get to know me. Bond. If thats ok?” she asked looking nervously at him. Like he was gonna say no to all she just asked.

“I would want nothing less. Maybe more in the future. But right now I would love it if you just stuck around and we get to know each other.” he stated before pulling her close, into a hug.

Hopefully this is the start of what could become a great father daughter relationship. Both Erik and y/n wanted that more than anything.Logan had feeling that they would be staying longer than a few days. And Charles looked out the window he was happy that Erik might finally get to have his own family and someone to love and protect.

[hopeatermain]

Assassin’s creed modern au headcanons part 1

I SWEAR I AM NOT PROCRASTINATING. Part two of The Child of Izanami is on the way, and I’m writing another Unity one-shot right now. It’s just that I need to take a break from writing stories right now. So please, excuse my lateness. I will list off there what I think they would be if they lived in a small town in modern times: their clothing styles everyday and while doing parkour, their jobs, their relationship status and other information that can be important. I’ll only be doing playable characters for this one, and it’s only part 1. This one will list every playable characters from game 1 to 3 (minus Desmond and + Aveline). I’ll do the other playable characters on part 2 (game IV to Syndicate + Desmond), part 3 is for the DLCs, Chronicles and the other assassins of Unity, part 4 will list off headcanons about the life in their little closed town in general and part 5 will list off how my ocs fit in all this.

Altair

The silent guy that moved there a few years ago, who acts like a prick to hide is Tragic Past™.

He wears a ridiculous amount of clothing. Most of the time, he wears a t-shirt with a button-up shirt over it with a v neck sweater over that with a leather jacket over this with a sleeveless vest with a hood over all of that. And that’s without the sunglasses, the beanie and the trenchcoat.

He simply wears a white hoodie with red outlines over a t-shirt when doing parkour or practicing dancing, however.

He cannot keep a job to save his life. The longest job he had was two months in a Starbucks before he jumped on Robert de Sablé who was being a dick to him, and the record of his shortest job was at a supermarket with not even a full day in before getting fired due to spraying cayenne in the face of a toddler three hours in. In his defense, the toddler stabbed him in the tight. He’s actually a killer for hire, but shh, don’t tell anybody.

He’s in a poly relationship with Malik and Maria. The two of them aren’t involved with each other, but accept that Altair is seeing two people at the same time.

He’s Desmond’s blond (and sexier) cousin from Syria that moved there with his grandfather Rashid when he was twelve.

Ezio

He’s the son of the only banker in their ridiculously closed on itself and weirdly liberal city, even if his father and older brother died by the hand of someone that he vowed revenge on. His mother is still managing the bank, tho.

He wear romantic clothing, like pirate shirts or a white button-up shirt + black vest. Like, his “chilling at home” clothes are what most people use when they want to go for a fancy but relaxed look. He needs to chill.

He also wears these fancy clothes when doing parkour, even if they are more practical.

He’s an actor in the little studio of their city, which stages theaters pieces between movies.

Not dating anyone, but he doesn’t do like everyone when trying to seduces ladies; he courts them. The result is: he bedded a third of the ladies of his age in town, is ready to do it again and it pisses everyone off so much. He seduced one or two guys, too. His sexual orientation is “probably straight”

His parents moved there from Italy when they were young, and they speak Italian at home. Due to this, he often slips into Italian when angered or excited without realizing it.

Connor

The native son of a New York businessman following a fire that killed his mother.

He’s either dressed as a hipster (shows up 15 minutes late for starbucks because he was getting it for the teacher) or in traditional clothing with a wolf skin draped over him. There is no in-between. He dresses as a hipster most of the time tho, with a little native influence, like braids with beads or feathers.

Just a white t-shirt with a blue jacket when doing parkour, however.

Still a student. He’s wants to become a police officier one day, but right now, he’s just eighteen.

Not dating anyone. He’s too busy with his studies and trying to get rid of Charles Lee who goes at their home for dinner every two Wednesday. For some reason, he’s fine with Shay, who could as well live there since he sleeps there so much because of Haytham’s lowkey high level of stress. He does, however, have a slight crush on his friend Aveline.

He holds on onto Mohawk culture and also celebrates their celebrations with ours. He also ran off to the woods three times, two time with his cousin for camping, the other one he was just taking a walk. These three occasions are also the time where Haytham’s stress hit an all-time high.

Haytham

Said british businessman who is Connor’s father and his legal guardian following the fire that killed Ziio. Edward also lives with him.

He’s always in his businessman suit. Always. Sometimes, he remembers to take the jacket off when at home.

He also remembers to take the jacket off when doing parkour.

Businnessman, of course.

He had a short marriage with Ziio before she asked for a divorce while Connor was still an infant when she realized she did not love him anymore, so that Connor would have parents that were still civil toward each other. Now, everyone is sure that he and Shay are a couple, even if they are not. OR ARE THEY?!

He’s that kind of person who is extremely stressed about everything to the point he does not care anymore. When alone (read: with Shay) or concerning his son’s bad temper or grandfather slowly going nuts, he starts showing just how much he stress to the point he sometimes cry.

Aveline

The nice daughter of one of Haytham’s associate and his former wife.

She dresses fancy, like Ezio: green, yellow and black dresses are her personal favorite, and she puts her hair in complicated styles. She also ad a slight rock edge to her clothes, like a leather jacket or spiked bracelets.

She dons more practical and boyish blue clothing when doing parkour. She also puts her hair in a simple braid.

Student, like Connor. She plans on taking her father’s place in doing affairs or with a side career of being a fashion designer.

She has a boyfriend, Gérald Blanc. She’s also aware of Connor’s slight crush on her, and is cool with it.

When she’s on vacation, she’s always somewhere else. Most of the time, she goes to New Orléans to see her mother, but she has gone as far as China. She always come back with a few souvenirs.