#Serge durandal

[m1ster1e]

Attention my 0 followers and people looking through Wizardess Heart tags, please give me the validation I crave and congratulate me on this accomplishment 😌

[eye-cri]

Bday series 2.0 part 3

Last installment! Earlier today I reblogged the initial version of the text message memes, so if you wanted to see what's up with those they're right below this series!

Or probably like, "I'll just make you some pads!!" And it ends up causing toxic shock. Sorry but this man is just nawt meant to make health products 😭😭

[gorvamp]

may have gotten a . little bit silly drawing this guy. the spring of unicorns scene has been one of my favorites ever since i played his route so i think it fits that it's the first canon thing ive drawn :)

graphic version & lineart under the cut!

content warning // blood (major)

this is far from my proudest work but im glad i got it out of my system now, and im excited to revisit it in the future as my skills expand!

[asunafairywizardessheart]

Saving him

Saving Him

Pairing: Klaus/MC

Klaus had failed to remain awake. He had tried so hard to avoid deep sleeps and rested his eyes every now and then as a strategy to rest but not to sleep.

With the light orbs still illuminating his room in the dormitory, Klaus was hunched over his desk and fast asleep on top of the assignments he had been doing.

An empty cup of tea, which he had calculated to be his tenth, sat on the top right corner of the table. His glasses were clasped within his right hand as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He had only wanted to simply rest his eyes for a moment, but he was now, unknowingly, in a deep state of sleep, with his head propped up onto his right arm and his mind fading back into his memories that had become his nightmares whenever he fell into a deep slumber.

**

Klaus hadn’t been faced with a situation like this before. While deep inside he was swirling with anger, he could only helplessly stare at the irreversible damage that had been done.

“No,” Serge’s whispered, his voice shaking as he spoke, “No!” he yelled, his heart pounding, his breathing shallow, his hands shaking and tears swelled within his eyes, beginning to spill over, “No!” he repeated, unable to control the raw depth of his emotional turmoil in this moment.

The streaking tails of tears ran down his face and fell off his chin and onto the stone statue in front of him, “Randy!” he cried, painfully, hoping the statue in front of him would hear him, “This wasn’t supposed to happen!” he screamed, trying to tear off the stone with his bare hands.

Serge’s attempts to tear off the stone was in vain. No matter how hard he pulled and scratched at the stone, not a crumble of it fell off. He reached into his pocket and withdraw his wand. Raising his wand, he stood back and aimed the tip at the stone and took a breath to speak an incantation.

Until.

“Stop that you idiot!” Klaus stood in front of the tip of Serge’s wand and pushed him back, knocking his wand from his hand and sending Serge tumbling to the lilac grassy floor below with hard thump, “He’s not covered in stone, he is stone!”

Klaus’ breath was also shallow from the anger and pain that raged within him, “I had warned you this would happen but you didn’t listen? No! You never listen, and now Randy has been petrified because you were too cocky with your abilities!” without missing a beat, his words were direct, sharp and clear.

Serge had stayed where he had landed on the ground below and could only look up into Klaus’ eyes that were welled with tears too but his amethyst eyes were as sharp and terrifying as the anger within his voice. Not even the stars above burned brighter than the anger that reflected within Klaus’ eyes.

Serge couldn’t say anything and looked down at the ground beneath him.

Behind him, a giant serpent laid slain across the grassy meadow in the northern forest that was part of the Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy’s grounds and where the three were students. The meadow at the scene of this tragic night was mostly a beautiful scene day and night. Pale lilac flowers bloomed at the tips of the long grass but melded into a dark violet halfway down the stalk before disappearing into the earth below. Serge and Randy favoured this spot because of its natural beauty but now it marred by blood, death and tears.

The surge of anger within Serge dissipated and was replaced with guilt, sorrow, pain and a sense of helplessness. It was nothing he had ever experienced before and truly began to believe that this was his fault. Regardless that is was a mistake, his mistake was a costly one.

“It…it was an accident,” he pleaded in a whisper, “Believe me Klaus, this…this wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Klaus didn’t want to hear it, “What did you think was going to happen when you started to recklessly experiment with magic well beyond your experience? At the very least, you shouldn’t have dragged another person into your foolishness,” he snapped.

“Do… do you think I wanted this to happen?” Serge asked Klaus.

Klaus was losing his patience with Serge, “I doubt his family are going to accept that as an excuse, Serge. I warned you not to experiment with dangerous summoning spells and I told you not to drag anyone else into this. Mistake or not, you summoned a basilisk and foolishly tried to handle the creature by yourselves, a creature that is well beyond the experience of two students, regardless of your rare abilities,” Klaus’ sharply replied with his eyes still piercing through Serge’s, full of anger and pain, “You’re lucky I was here to defeat that beast otherwise who knows who else may have been hurt.”

“We weren’t supposed to summon a basilisk,” Serge assured him, “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone! Look, we can still save him. There has to be a way to undo the spell!”

Klaus gritted his teeth as his patience grew even more thinner, “Ridiculous!” he yelled, “I can’t believe you right now.”

Serge rose to his feet and with desperation in his voice shouted, “I want to save him! There has to be a way.”

Klaus Goldstein is a genius wizard and despite being a student was already a certified wizard knight and topped all of his classes. His aptitude for wizardry impressed the ministry so much that he had a guaranteed career once he graduated from the academy.

“There is no cure for a petrification spell!” Klaus reminded him.

“I will find one!” Serge said determinedly.

“Even if you do, who knows how many years that will take!” Klaus replied.

“No!” Serge refused to accept that as an answer, “I will find a way to undo what I did here tonight, even if it takes my entire life. He’s not dead in there!”

Serge was overwhelmed with emotions and Klaus’ anger toward him only grew and had no sympathy since he had so recklessly dabbled in magic well beyond his abilities. In Klaus’ mind, Serge had killed someone tonight.

“You do that on your own,” Klaus said, “I warned you not to be reckless and warned you not to drag innocent people into your cockiness, you didn’t listen. Even if it takes you years to undo the spell, who knows how much time he would have lost and how many loved ones would have passed away. Randy may not be dead, but being petrified is a fate the same as death. You killed someone tonight, Serge. Regardless of it being a mistake, you killed him,” Klaus said harshly, “You killed him,” he repeated.

The weight of those words stung Serge in the heart and the guilt, sorrow and pain he was already feeling multiplied. He didn’t just lose one friend, he lost two. Klaus really thought he was a murderer. The intent within Klaus’ voice was unlike anything Serge had ever heard. Serge used to rile Klaus up for fun, but they both knew it was all in good-humour but that wasn’t the mood. The atmosphere was permeated with a morbid tension and Serge was the villain, Randy was his victim and Klaus was the protagonist. Yet, Serge couldn’t disagree with Klaus’ perception since magical creatures were his speciality, Serge would agree it was a fate worse than death since petrification was simply being frozen in time where one is neither dead nor alive. It was he who wrote the summoning circle wrong and summoned the basilisk that petrified Randy. More tears escaped from his eyes as the reality of the situation began to sink in more.

“You’ve killed him,” Klaus repeated, muttering through his clenched jaw as another surge of anger welled within as he turned his back on Serge and looked closer at the petrified state of his friend, clenching his fist, Klaus added, “I should’ve stopped you from these reckless experiments ages ago.”

Serge listened to every word that was being spoken and the weight of those words would become his burden. In that moment, Serge Durandal no longer existed and he adopted a new name, Randy March. It was now his life mission to find a cure for petrification. As Klaus remained with his back turned, Serge couldn’t bear this scene any longer. He wanted to get started, to find that cure for petrification and free his friend. Disappearing into the wilderness, Klaus was left alone with Randy’s statue, the slain beast in the meadow and Serge was never heard from again.

***

“Ugh!” Klaus abruptly woke up.

Sweat formed across his forehead and his hands were slightly shaking.

Looking around the room, he quickly realised that he had simply had had another one of his nightmares, which he had wished was just some fiction of his imagination, but was actually a memory of that tragic day almost six years ago now. Randy still remained petrified and, until a couple of months ago, Serge was never seen or heard from again.

“Why did he show up there of all places?” Klaus asked out loud to no one.

Klaus knew why he reliving that particular memory and it was one out of two traumatic memories that he was reliving in his nightmares. The other was reliving the night he had almost lost someone he had come to love with his entire soul, heart, mind and being to a madman trying to use dark magic to resurrect the dead. Which is when he saw him again – Serge Durandal. Klaus couldn’t understand why he had shown up, why he had helped him save Asana’s life and how did he know Azusa? Were they collaborating? Was Serge dabbling in dark magic to find a cure for petrification? Why did Serge help him despite their falling out on that night? So many unanswered questions ran through his mind.

The light orbs floating above him were still illuminated and the halls outside his room were quiet with all the other boys living in the dorm still fast asleep. Outside, the moon glowed brightly but there was a faint stretch of sunlight beginning to form at the bottom of the sky. Klaus looked to the clock that hung on his walls and it was quarter to five in the morning.

After waking up, there was no way he was going back to sleep. Not that he couldn’t if he tried, but he didn’t want to sleep and have his mind wonder back to force him to relive his traumatic memories. He sighed with exhaustion. Not having a proper sleep pattern was beginning to make him restless but he’d prefer feeling restless over being forced to relive painful memories.

Quarter to five was about the time he woke up every day. He preferred it. When the other students were asleep, the dorm building and the academy was a lot more tolerable because it wasn’t loud and it wasn’t crowded. He didn’t have to swiftly step into the gaps between the crowd to get to where he was going. He didn’t have to stop to have pointless conversations with others. As an added bonus, he had time to revise his schedule for the day and get started to have everything completed. Though, he’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t exhausted and didn’t wonder how he was going to pull through the day contently. But, sleep wasn’t an option right now.

Klaus grabbed his cloak and headed to the kitchen first to have breakfast. After that, he found himself walking the hedged lined courtyard that separated the classrooms from the living quarters. He was bound for his office, but decided to detour to the girls dormitory. Her window was on the garden side of the building, overlooking the forests and springs in the distant north. But, he looked at the building, convincing his mind that she was sound asleep within the safety of those walls. He found himself doing this most mornings ever since he almost lost her two months ago.

Despite the fact that she was Azusa’s victim of choice, Asana barely dwelled on nearly being murdered by a dark wizard practicing dark magic. If anything, she looked happier and healthier than when she had first arrived at the academy. She was proud that she was able to help clear the initial rumours that Klaus was the one practicing dark magic. She was proud that she was able to discover her rare abilities she had never known about. She was proud that her magic wasn’t useless and had helped someone in need. She wasn’t bothered at all and Klaus had come to admire her tenacity even more. But, Klaus, was bothered.

Not only had he nearly lost someone he fell in love with and the fear of losing her a new feeling he was experiencing, but how embarrassed he was to have had become so overwhelmed and emotional about losing her that he had failed to protect her when she needed him the most, that he had forgotten to focus his magic and for the first time felt completely powerless. But, Serge returned, under the name of their petrified friend, Randy March. The first time seeing him since Randy’s petrification and he was the one who broke the barrier, helped him to save her life, stopped the attack and discovered that the Azusa attacking them was just a copy, which he had made, of the real person, who was now long gone.

“Serge,” he muttered, “Why did you come back?”

Klaus didn’t understand why Serge had returned or why he had chosen to help him save Asana. He also didn’t understand how Serge knew Azusa, a man guilty of practicing dark magic and willing to commit murder to see through to his goal. He wanted to know why Serge was using Randy’s name to disguise himself. These questions kept being repeated in his mind and he was desperate to find the answers but since that night by the spring, he hadn’t seen Serge to ask those questions.

After spending several minutes in a trance, thinking about the incident with Randy, the incident with Azusa, Serge and staring at the dorm building thinking about Asana, he was interrupted by someone walking up to him.

“What are you doing?” it was a familiar voice, one he didn’t need to see the face of the owner to know who it was.

“Nothing,” Klaus replied, “Why are you up so early?” Klaus turned his attention to who had come up to him.

Elias had a hand full of books, “There is an exam soon so I wanted to get some studying in before class starts today. You look awful though.”

Klaus gave his brother a fierce glance, “Is that really the first you thing you say to me? Most people begin with ‘good morning’.”

“Well,” Elias blushed in his usual awkwardness that Klaus still found odd but was used to it by now, “I’ve noticed you’ve been keeping your lights on late at night most nights now and you’ve…well…,” he trailed off.

“Well, what?” Klaus prompted, his eyebrows narrowing at his brother.

Elias didn’t want to say it out of fear of brotherly repercussions, “…You know what, never mind.”

“If you have something to say, say it,” Klaus crossed his arms waiting his answer.

Elias glanced away, “Well…You’ve been grumpier than usual.”

Klaus imagined that Elias was aware of the incident involving Randy and Serge six years ago, but if he wasn’t Klaus wouldn’t be surprised since he wasn’t the type to get involved in other people’s business, even if it was his own family. Klaus and Elias had always been close and even if Klaus wanted to hide the truth from his brother, Elias would see through him. Elias had helped Asana to clear his name during that mess with Azusa and it warmed his heart, though he’d never admit it, to know that his littler brother believed in him. Of course, Elias did know that he was romantically involved with Asana, who happened to be Elias’ age, in his classes and they had become friends independently of Klaus. But, Klaus was older and was not going to share his burdens when he knew that Elias, his little brother, had so many of his own to carry.

“You should get going with your studies,” Klaus made it clear he didn’t want to talk about it.

Elias knew what he meant, but also knew by that one sentence that he was also struggling but not willing to share it with him, “…Well,” Elias trailed off, beginning to walk away, “You are okay, right?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Klaus now glared at his little brother.

Elias kept some distance between them and was ready to walk away but said one last thing before he left, “…Well…um…,” he began, awkwardly, his face a shade of light red, “…Make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep. It’s uncomfortable watching you work so hard to the point you aren’t resting properly.”

With those last words, Elias quickly bolted in the direction of, no doubt the library, within the walls of the ancient castle that was now the main building of the entire school. Klaus watched his brother’s body fade into the distance and couldn’t help but be warmed by the fact that he cared, but this was not something big brothers share with their little brothers. With one last glance of the girls dormitory, Klaus quietly disappeared from the scene and walked, tiredly, in the direction of his office inside the castle with a mind full of questions and flashbacks to the incidents involving Randy six years ago and the recent mess with Azusa.

As the day continued on, Klaus felt exhausted and felt as though he was going to collapse, especially after covering Professor Schuyler’s practical magic class. Asana, who had been watching from the distance, was worried about him as much as Elias was too. During the last class of the day, the Headmaster had asked Klaus to cover his Magical Beasts lecture, which happened to be Asana and Elias’ class.

“He’s exhausted, I can tell,” Asana commented, “Other people might not be able to, but it’s obvious once you know him well enough.”

Elias, who was sitting next to her, agreed, “He was awake all night. He has been up late most nights lately. I’m worried about him but he won’t ever talk to me about it. Maybe he’ll talk to you.”

Klaus heard them muttering before he was about to get started with the topic of the lecture, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he quickly skimmed through the lecture notes the Headmaster had left for him and the instructions was to cover the topic of incurable spells and curses that could be cast by magical creatures.

“Timely subject,” he sarcastically thought and had to bury the flashbacks of the basilisk from that night six years ago and Azusa’s summoning of a Nue, a foul and murderous creature born of dark magic.

He understood the instructions and was motivated by the incident six years ago and Azusa’s attempts to slain a unicorn with a Nue to educate this generation of wizards about the costly impacts of messing around with magical creatures beyond their experience. Which is probably what the Headmaster also had in his mind when he prepared the material for this lecture.

“Take your seats,” Klaus clearly and sharply instructed and not one student dared to not to follow an order given by The Emperor.

After giving everyone a moment to relax and find their seats he began, but the bright lights was making him feel very dizzy but he powered through it to the point that no one, but Elias and Asana, could tell that he wasn’t feeling well.

“Today, we will discuss the magical abilities of magical creatures and the consequences of underestimating their impacts,” he informed the class, “The magical capabilities of creatures varies between having weak abilities to incredibly strong abilities. For instance, winged-rabbits and carbuncles tend to have weaker magical abilities compared to creatures like dire wolves, fairies, mermaids and dragons. However, human and magical creature conflicts exist and no matter the degree of magic each creature is capable of doing, do note that if you fall on the wrong side it may very well be the last thing that you ever do. Why do I say this? Any ideas?”

No one raised their hands to answer his question and no one, but Asana and Elias, were aware that his speech and movement was slower than usual. Asana couldn’t focus on the topic of the lesson for she was worried about Klaus collapsing in front of everyone.

“No one?” asked Klaus.

Usually silent, Yukiya decided to answer Klaus question from his usual spot by the window, “There are a few reasons why humans with magic shouldn’t underestimate the abilities of magical creatures. I can give three examples. One, humans still don’t know a lot about the magical capabilities of a variety of magic creatures. Two, magical creatures are often used to make powerful contracts and when used incorrectly can be devastating to the wizard or wizardess. Three, magical creatures can possess the ability to curse and kill depending on the creature.”

Klaus accepted the answer, “Good answer,” he continued, “Magical creatures are also unpredictable and, often, it is up to the nature of the magical creature in question if it wants to be friendly or not, for some creatures they embody darkness and will kill or curse without hesitation, this can include dire wolves, werewolves, vampires and chimeras, while others are creatures, born from light magic and have that choice, such as winged-rabbits, carbuncles, fairies, mermaids, unicorns and other intelligent creatures.”

The lecture continued until the last bell of the day echoed across the school, and somehow Klaus made it through the lesson without fainting even though he struggled to see clearly in front of him by the end of the lesson. As the students cleared out of the classroom, unaware of how dangerously drained he was, only one person remained behind and Klaus could sense her presence. After overhearing her and Elias talking, he didn’t want to open up to her either and decided to gather his cloak and muster what energy he had left to make for a quick escape back to his office.

Barely able to stand straight, Asana watched him leave through the teacher’s door near the desk in the classroom. Immediately, she followed after him knowing that this was his attempt to hide whatever he was feeling from her too. She ran to catch up to his side, dodging a hall full of students, who, thankfully, were too frightened of Klaus, who they had nicknamed “The Emperor”, to stand in his way.

“Don’t you want to see me today?” she asked, catching up to him and standing by his side.

“I have a lot of work to do today,” Klaus insisted, but it was a lie.

Asana glanced up at his face and could see the redness within his amethyst eyes and the bags underneath them. His usually perfect and smooth ivory-skin showed some stubble and coarseness that she didn’t even think was possible for someone as regal and respectable as Klaus. It worried her because she had never seen him like this before.

“You look worse than what you did yesterday,” she said.

“Is that so,” Klaus didn’t argue with her, “Elias already told me that this morning.”

The lecture room wasn’t far from his prefect office and he nudged the door open with a slight push of his hand and Asana followed him through, closing the door behind her and locking it.

“Why did you lock it for?” he asked.

“Because, we need to talk,” she said.

Klaus took off his cloak and hung it on a hook on the wall near the door. Asana did the same with hers and put her bag on a vacant chair inside of his office. Klaus went over to his small stove to brew a pot of tea but before he could choose the flavour from his box, she stopped him.

“I will do that,” she said, “Go sit.”

“And if you don’t make it correctly?” he asked.

“You have taught me how to make tea the way you like it,” she smiled up at him, “I’ve basically mastered it,” she amused and gave him a cheeky smirk.

Knowing he wasn’t going to win when she was this persistent and not having the energy to do so, he yielded and sat down at his usual seat on his side of the desk where he worked.

Although he was exhausted, her energy somehow increased his own. The sparkle in her eye, the brightness in her smile and her overall beauty, simple yet divine, had attracted him to her. But, her kindness, strength and understanding personality truly captured his entire heart and soul. She brought a lightness back into his life that he had been missing for so many years. Little did she know it, but in a way she was saving him too.

“I have a different flavour of tea that I’d like for you to try,” she said and waited for the water to boil.

“What kind of flavour?” he inquired, not keen on trying something new.

Asana didn’t answer immediately for she had a plan.

Earlier, in magical pharmaceutics, she had enquired to Professor Merkulova about teas that can help a person sleep better and ease their minds. Observantly, Professor Merkulova had figured it was about Klaus’ restlessness and had handed her a blend of valerian root, black rose petals, camomile and lavender that were great for relaxing the mind, boosting pleasant dreams and helped the drinker to get as much sleep as their body needed to recover.

She had to follow the recipe and cooking method for the brew to work as intended. The water had to boil before putting in the leaves and steeped for at least two minutes before straining the mixture into a cup for consumption. She waited for the tea to be brewed before answering his question. He didn’t bug her in that time and went about his work.

Pouring only him a cup of tea, she walked over to the right side of his body and placed a hand over his right hand that was moving a quill across the papers on his desk. He stopped writing and looked up at her. The steaming cup of tea in her left hand and she looked at him with loving eyes.

Moving a lock of his golden hair from his forehead, she began to speak, “You looked like you were going to collapse in that last lesson Klaus,” she said, concern riddled in her voice, “I’m worried about you.”

Klaus didn’t want her to be and swivelled his chair around to face her directly. His right hand clasped onto hers that she had placed over his and was now using to brush aside his golden locks of hair, and gently he brought the back of her hand to his lips and placed a sweet kiss on the back of her hand, “I’m fine, really,” he said, trying to convince her.

“You’re not though,” she saw right through him, “This is a magic blend of valerian root, black rose petal, camomile and lavender. I made it during Professor Merkulova’s class today to help relax your mind and let you sleep until you are refreshed again. I made it so that it’s sweet for you.”

Klaus gave her a soft smile, appreciative of how much she cared for him but this wasn’t something magic tea could fix. With her in his presence, giving him the kind of love that no one else could, was more relaxing to him than she even knew. She was becoming that one person who was breaking down those walls he had built around him, that he had sworn he’d never let anyone in but, she was becoming an exception to that rule.

“I don’t need tea,” he said, grabbing the cup she had brewed and placing it on the desk.

“But—,” she protested him not drinking it, especially after she was just trying to help him.

In her distraction, Klaus tugged on her arm and pulled her close to him. The unexpected tug had her lose her footing and she fell forward into his arms but he caught her almost immediately.

“K-Klaus?” with their noses almost touching, she could see the fine lines in his skin, the redness in his eyes and the dark bags underneath them much more closely and in more detail.

Immediately, Klaus felt her body relaxing and she let herself gently rest against his frame. He was bigger, broader and stronger than her that her tumble into him didn’t even hurt. Looking deep into her rose-quartz eyes, he could clearly see the detail of her lashes, to the slight curve on the upper eyelid and their roundness. Despite seeing her eyes flickering with surprise, by his unexpected tug, and concern, which she had for him, her eyes were so different from his own but they were full of light and wonder that he could stare and get lost into for a long time. To think that he had come so close to never seeing them again, haunted him in ways she couldn’t imagine.

With a swift movement, Klaus swept her feet off the ground so that she was propped onto his lap and made it easier for him to embrace her entire body. Without saying a word, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers taking in everything he could sense with his own body and senses. The warmth of her body seeping into his, her relaxed and comfortable breathing, a sign that she completely trusted him, the feeling of her cute nose brushing against his, which was larger and straighter, the tickle of her chestnut hair against his forehead, the way her fingers lovingly and gently brushed through his golden locks, knowing the way she was looking at him right now, the sweet scent of strawberry shampoo in her hair and the sweet floral scent that was absorbed into her skin from the perfume she wore, the loving and sweet smile she always flashed at him, the way her mind, body and heart trusted him, the light thumping of her heartbeat and her melodic voice, although she wasn’t speaking, he could hear her internal thoughts like no one else could. He had come so close to losing all of her, but with her safely in his arms and feeling all her warmth, this ensured him that she was really alive and his mind began to relax.

“…K-Klaus?” she called out his name, but didn’t want to disturb what he was doing especially if it was relaxing him.

He felt her breath on his lips and a smile curled at his lips.

All his armour fell off around her and after a moment, he began to speak, “…I almost lost you…,” he whispered, “…I don’t want to ever lose you…”.

She could feel his breath on her lips too and, even though his eyes were closed, she smiled at him, “You’re not going to,” she whispered back, her fingers still lovingly tussling through his golden locks, “I’m right here and I’m not planning on going anywhere so long as you’re here.”

“Well stop doing dangerous things,” he retorted but gave a small humorous laugh, “At the very least, think before you act.”

Asana laughed with him, “…Same to you.”

She suspected that this was why he was losing sleep and asked him if that was the case, “Is this why you haven’t been sleeping? Because of what happened with Azusa?”

Klaus opened his eyes and looked down into hers, “…Yes, and no.”

“Then what is it? Will you tell me?”

Klaus paused for a moment but chose to be honest with her, “…Had it not been for another person that I haven’t seen for a long time, and that I didn’t expect to see there, you would have died. I couldn’t break through the barrier to get to you and was overwhelmed by fear that I was going to lose you that I couldn’t focus my magic properly. I’m embarrassed to admit that I failed to protect you when you needed me the most and after you had so bravely fought for my innocence as well. I keep thinking about that night and how and why things turned out the way that it did. It’s the first time where I felt so afraid and worried that I was going to lose someone I care about so much.”

Asana remembered that night as clearly as Klaus had and never knew it bothered him so much. Despite being the person that was almost murdered, she didn’t think of his rescue as a failure and disagreed with him, “But you did save me Klaus, in more ways than you know,” she insisted, “In the end, you showed up and you did protect me. I was scared but as soon as I saw you, I wasn’t afraid anymore. Your magic was amazing and inspiring that I hope to be somewhere on your level one day.”

“How can you seem to be okay with what happened that night?” Klaus wondered, her response something he was expecting to hear her say but could never understand her way of thinking, “You’re so…weird.”

“Hey! That’s so mean!” she chuckled, but then her voice reverted back to having some seriousness within her melodic tone, “Why dwell on something that didn’t happen? Yes, I could’ve died, but in the end I didn’t and I get to live another day. I also don’t regret my actions. I helped clear your name and a unicorn’s life was spared. After losing my family when I was young, I often do wonder how I survived but I did and that’s what’s important. There is no use spending my energy thinking and fearing what could have been a different outcome. Besides, my mother always told me to keep smiling no matter what because being in the light is better than being in the shadows. I add my own philosophy on the matter too. That being, even the darkest moments of our lives can be temporary if we will it but happiness should always be permanent for it makes our lives fuller.”

Klaus was silent after hearing her response. He never once doubted her tenacity but on the surface she can appear to be quite airheaded, but underneath her happy exterior he was sure that her intelligence and wisdom came from a traumatic period in her own life. All he could do was stare into her eyes to try and make sense of what kind of a person she was and who she would end up becoming.

“…You really are a mystery to me sometimes,” Klaus eventually remarked.

Asana wasn’t sure if that was a compliment, “Was that supposed to be a compliment?”

Klaus flashed her a soft smile, “Yes, this time that was a compliment.”

Klaus watched her hand move across to cup his large cheek into her hand and felt her thumb glide across the dark bags that had formed underneath his eyes, “You need to rest Klaus,” she remarked, “I’m right here with you but I sense that my brush with death isn’t the only thing on your mind, right?”

He remembered Serge being there that night and remembered Asana calling him Randy and wanted to know where she had even met him, “Where did you meet Randy?” Klaus asked, curious as to how the two could have crossed paths.

He watched her closely and saw her remembering how she met the man who, unknowingly to her, was the same person she looked up to and the same person that he had loathed for a long time because of that incident six years ago.

“He was very strange,” she recalled, and that didn’t surprise Klaus at all, “You were in custody at the time that I met him. I couldn’t sleep and there was a disturbance in the northern valley. Magical creatures and animals were escaping the area in droves and I went to investigate. Randy was the first person I had seen there and he kept asking if I was a magical creature or a spirit. He had come from his dorm to investigate the disturbance in the forest too. I didn’t know then that Azusa was behind the disturbance, but he was there too.”

“Did the two seem friendly?” Klaus asked.

Asana nodded, “Apparently they were roommates in the dorms. But, you also heard him say that Randy had made that shikigami for him too.”

“Yes, I heard him say that,” Klaus said.

Klaus knew that she was telling the truth but if Serge had been roaming the dorms, he surely would have seen him but it was entirely possible for Serge was a strange and unpredictable person who probably took great measures to conceal himself so that they wouldn’t meet.

“If Randy is who you are concerned about, I wouldn’t worry because I don’t think Randy was involved in the incident with Azusa,” she continued, “If you think he’s dangerous, I don’t sense a malicious vibe from him at all. He tore the shikigami and even wanted to help capture Azusa so that he didn’t hurt anyone.”

Internally, Klaus wanted to be angry that she was defending him but knew that it would be unfair to her because she truly had no idea who he really was and what he did six years ago. He wondered if he should tell her. Unaware, his soft and loving stare into her eyes had changed into a glare.

“…What’s wrong?” she asked after seeing his soft stare turn into that glare, which only a few months ago scared her, but not anymore, “Did I say something wrong?” she removed her hand from his cheek, afraid she had offended him.

Usually always aware of his emotions, he quickly realised that he was glaring into her eyes, “…It’s nothing,” he replied, his answer short.

“Is it because Randy helped you that you can’t sleep?” she wondered.

For Klaus, that was a complicated answer but for her to understand he would have to explain, “It’s complicated,” he answered, “I’m truly grateful for his help, working together we were able to stop Azusa and the Nue, and no one was killed.”

He didn’t like Serge using Randy’s name in place of his own since it wasn’t his to use and it was his mistake six years ago that cost Randy his life. He didn’t like the idea of Serge sneaking around the academy after disappearing six years ago. Inside, that same anger he felt six years ago began to burn once again.

“…Six years ago,” Klaus began to speak, breaking the silence, “Something happened in the northern valley in the meadow not far from the spring where Azusa tried to slay that unicorn and almost killed you. There were two other students and myself. One of the students attempted to summon a magical creature using a summoning circle but had written a component incorrectly and he hadn’t checked it before performing the spell. The other student, my roommate and closest friend here at the academy at the time, lost his life that night. The one who had performed it, disappeared and I haven’t seen him since that night. I was full of rage at him for being so reckless that I accused him of murdering our classmate.”

Klaus felt Asana’s body relax once again and watched her big round eyes flicker with surprise, “I didn’t know, I’m sorry,” she said, sympathising with him as she didn’t know about the traumas he had been through, “That night with Azusa must have reminded you of that night, huh?”

“Yes,” Klaus agreed, but unknown to her it was more so because Serge had appeared.

“…If I can ask,” Asana began slowly, “What…did he accidentally summon?”

If Klaus didn’t want to talk about something, he would simply not talk about it but was comfortable sharing this much of his memory with her, “A basilisk. If you directly look that creature in the eye you will die instantly. However, if you indirectly stare at it, you will be petrified. My friend was petrified that night.”

Klaus watched her eyes widened with fright as he recalled his memory and shared it with her, “…There’s no cure for petrification, right?” Asana asked, remembering the lecture he had given in class moments ago, “I read that in the textbook just now in class.”

“That’s right,” Klaus said, “Maybe, someone will find a cure one day. Though, until it is found, he remains, to his day, in a state of petrification at his family’s house. I keep remembering this memory because of where I almost lost you was almost in the exact same location.”

“It makes sense now,” Asana understood why he was so restless, “I get it now.”

Klaus didn’t need to elaborate any further but felt relieved he was able to tell her the bulk of the memory without dragging names into the recollection of his memory of that night. Although that was a difficult memory to openly discuss, he found himself relaxed and comfortable with her right by his side. It was another reason why he had fallen in love with her, because she had come to understand him and who he was so quickly.

“I’m so sorry for your friend, Klaus,” she apologised.

He felt her hand gently cup his large cheek again and felt her press her forehead against his, “I’m hopeful someday that someone will find a cure and we can release your friend together. But, in order to do that, you need to rest first otherwise I’m scared you’re going to collapse. You may be a gifted wizard, but you are still a human being that has his physical limits just like everyone else.”

Klaus agreed with her, “I know.”

“That tea will help.”

Klaus didn’t think so, “I don’t need the tea,” he assured her.

For a moment, he released his left hand from where it helped to embrace her body as she laid upon his lap. Grabbing his quill, he jotted down words on a piece of paper and then neatly folded it and sent it flying out of the open window on the opposite side of the room. Outside, the orange shades of the afternoon light was dimming into darkness as night began to fall across the kingdom.

“What was that about?” Asana watched it flutter away like a butterfly.

“Help me sleep tonight,” he said.

Asana’s eyes widened as he asked that and he could see her mind going to dirty thoughts. It amused him, but that was not what he was asking, though it was the perfect opportunity to tease her, “Good thing you locked the door,” he teased.

“Wait…,” she protested, thinking he was going to do things to her and her cheeks turning red by the suggestive thoughts going through her mind, “That’s not—.”

Before she could finish speaking, he lifted her up in his arms, carried her across the room and laid her down on the sofa inside the office, on the opposite left side of his desk and below the windows of the office, where he sometimes took a nap during his breaks and breathed in the fresh air that drafted through the cosy room.

“K-Klaus, wait…,” Asana half-protested.

Her shifting eyes were amusing to him but he gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead before climbing over the top of her. Somehow, that kiss had her no longer protesting, even though Klaus could see on her face that she thought he had intentions to make love to her.

He chuckled, “One day,” he said, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek and then on her lips, “Not today though.”

“Huh?” she was confused, “Then what do you want me to do?”

“Stay with me here,” he said.

“Huh?” she sounded her confusion once again, “But…the tea?”

“I don’t need the tea,” he repeated, “…You.”

His body gently pressed against hers and with a couple of shifts they found some comfort laying together on the sofa. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and closed his eyes. He could feel that she now understood what he meant as her body comfortably relaxed underneath his and she wrapped an arm around his body while the fingers of the other hand lovingly stroked through his golden locks.

“…I get it,” she whispered, with a smile forming across her face “Sleep well. I’m right here with you,” she said, and kissed him on the forehead too.

Klaus could hear her heart beating and he could feel the vibrations of her vocal chords as she quietly hummed. It soothed him to the point where he fell into a deep slumber and not long after he had fallen fast asleep, did she succumb to her own drowsiness and joined him in a deep sleep. The pair not awaking until the next morning.

[nitia95]

I finally finished this messy, kissing 3-panels template 😍

I love them very much ♡ (˃͈ દ ˂͈ ༶ )

(mistakes were 💯% made but I'm not gonna bother with them)

[wh10yearszine]

What a tooth rotter!

✨🌟✨

Contributor Apps close tomorrow, be sure to apply before the deadline! 🍬✨

[eye-burning]

Starting on quite the ambitious project of drawing as many wizardess heart characters as I can. I know the color wheel trend has died down but this is bound to drag on anyway.

Pink includes: Liz, Carbuncle, Mischa, Caesar, Elder Wing Rabbit, Chica, Piggy Caesar, Vain, Taffy and Randy.

Just a heads up, some characters may be "misplaced" because I personally associate them with a color different than their theme color.

[misschimotosuwa-blog]

Man, never even liked Randy and he's just getting worse and worse

[shall-we-imagine]

That's what friends are for! (Serge DurandalxAmelia Nile)

Some Amelia love!

Unedited because I'm lazy

Genre: basically dis a romcom 🤷🏻‍♀️

Summary: You better come get your man; I think he wanna be way more than friends. (Juice by Lizzo)

(Third person point of view)

"I'm tired, Amelia...he'll never feel the same way towards me..." Liz sighs, staring at their shared dorm's ceiling.

The ginger frowns, "Come on; don't say that. I'm sure he likes you. Maybe he's just...I don't know- not ready to confess yet."

"Amelia, he's THE Emperor. All girls like him; why would he go for the clumsy idiot?"

Amelia sighs, "Liz, he makes you clean his desk, doesn't he?"

"Yeah?" She looks back at her roommate in confusion.

"See? He totally likes you!" Amelia beams.

"Amelia, that makes no sense..."

She rolls her eyes, "Liz, you really don't understand men, do you? Think about it. Klaus isn't lazy, so why would he make someone else do his work for him? He's always around when you do it too, right? What do you think he's trying to do?"

"Torment me?"

"No! He's trying to spend time with you! I bet he even tries to start conversations with you."

"I mean...he yells at me a lot if that counts..."

"Hmm.." The ginger brings her her fingers to her chin, pausing to think for a bit. "Well, every guy has a different way to express affection, I guess." She shrugs.

Regardless of how unreasonable Amelia was being, Liz wanted to believe her. "You think so?"

"I know so! You just need to get him to realize he should confess to you."

She sits up to face her friend, "How do I do that?"

A few moments of silence pass before Amelia speaks up, "I have an idea."

Liz perks up in excitement.

"But you won't like it..."

She slumps back once more. "I should just forget about it and move on."

"Liz! How could you just give up on Klaus Goldstein?" Amelia scolds.

"That's the point, Amelia! He's Klaus Goldstein!" The brunette retorts.

Amelia sighs, "I'll help you out. Just leave it all to me."

×××××

"I don't understand how lemonade is supposed to help..." Liz ponders.

"Just do as I say, and you'll see for yourself."

"If you say so..." Still uncertain, the small brunette pushes the door open gently. "Prefect Klaus?"

"Oh, come in, Liz. Klaus is teaching a class at the moment, but you can wait here if you want." A familiar, cheerful voice invites them inside.

Just as the girls had planned, Klaus would still be busy for the next couple of minutes, and Serge was alone in the Prefects' room- the plan would turn out nicely.

Amelia nudges Liz the second they step into the room.

"Oh! We brought you lemonade!" Liz hesitantly approaches Serge, who happily accepts the suspicious drink. Liz hopes she isn't unknowingly poisoning her friend; surely, that couldn't be Amelia's oh so smart plan, right?

A few confused sips in, Serge drops to the floor, smashing the glass of lemonade in the process.

Liz barely manages to save his head from a concussion or worse. "Is that supposed to happen?!" Her head snaps to an equally horrified Amelia; the answer was a clear no.

Amelia rushes to place herself on top of an unconscious Serge, "Serge?! Serge!!" She holds his face in her hands.

"Amelia, what did we give him?" Terrified of what her friend's bizarre instructions had lead to, Liz hopes they could still save Serge (preferably, before Klaus comes back).

"A love potion; I was hoping we could try to get Klaus jealous, so he'd confess to you, but-" She frantically tries to explain before getting cut off by a ray of hope.

Serge moans in pain and confusion. "What's happening?" His eyebrows furrow together.

"Serge?!" The girls exclaim in happiness and relief.

"Oh, Amelia, I'm so happy to lay my eyes on such beauty." He dreamily rubs his face into her hand.

"Uh, er, I- you mean Liz?" Blushing, Amelia retracts her hands and tries to redirect the situation to the original plan.

"Well, Liz is not the one straddling me, is she?" He shoots a cheeky grin at a flustered Amelia.

She fumbles to get off but he grips her thighs, holding her in place.

"I- Serge, what are you doing?!" Liz semi-screeches.

"Mmhm, nothing." A dumb grin remains plastered on his face, as he continues to stare at Amelia.

"S-serge, I- this isn't-" Before Amelia could put together a sentence, someone barges in.

"Hey, I thought I told you- um...what exactly is going on here?" Klaus's irritated tone quickly switches to one of plain confusion and a lil bit of...suspicion? Disgust? Who knows?

"Prefect Klaus!" Amelia quickly pushes herself off of Serge while he was distracted by the interruption.

"That's me; yes." The blond raises his eyebrows, "still waiting for that explanation though." He crosses his arms.

"It's, uh, for a play!" Liz offers.

"A play?" Klaus repeats.

"A play!" Liz nods vigorously, eyeing a very confused Amelia. "Serge and Amelia are playing two lovers, so they were practicing!"

"Is this true?" Klaus stares right at Serge.

He giggles in response, "yes, in fact, we were just about to get to the kissing scene!"

"W-what?!" Amelia blushes furiously.

"What?" Serge blinks innocently.

"N-nothing! I think I have to go!" Amelia tries to escape the weird situation she found herself in, but Serge grips her wrist.

He pushes himself off the ground, "Aww, so soon? We haven't finished practicing the fun parts!" He pouts.

Amelia's face heats up even more; how was that even possible? She didn't know.

This was all going horribly wrong; Liz was the one he was supposed to be after not her!

"M-maybe later..." She frees her hand from his and quickly rushes past Klaus, her face remaining as red as humanly possible.

"Amelia!" Serge calls after her, but she doesn't look back.

Unfortunately for her, Serge soon catches up to her, "Amelia, wait!"

She almost stops, but her embarrassment pushes her to keep going until Serge grabs her by the wrist.

"Okay, okay, maybe I took it a little too far; I'm sorry." His other hand finds the back of his neck, as he gives an apologetic smile to a red faced Amelia.

"I- huh?" She faces him.

"You have to drink the whole thing for a love potion to work, Amelia; I just wanted to mess with the two of you."

"Oh." She responds before it registers in her brain what that actually means.

"Oh." She realizes. Then takes off sprinting.

"Amelia??" Serge is left behind, dumbfounded, "What just happened?"

×××××

"You ran away?!"

"Yes, Liz, I ran away; what else did you expect me to do?!" She groans into her pillow.

"Well, I guess I've done that before too, if I'm being completely honest." Liz chuckles, "but you're gonna have to face him eventually; plus, didn't you kind of have a thing for him anyways?"

"I'm gonna run away. Or fake my death." She groans louder.

"Amelia, come on, it's not that-" a knock on their window interrupts Liz.

Liz pushes herself off the bed and walks towards the window. She pushes the curtains aside and almost falls back in surprise.

"S-serge?" She pushes the window open, and he climbs in.

"Hey, Liz!" He beams, like he didn't just jumpscare the hell out of her.

Amelia moves slowly, pulling the covers over her head, hoping she won't get noticed.

Alas, things don't work that way.

"Hey, Amelia!" She jumps at the mention of her name.

"Hey, Serge..." Amelia slowly uncovers her head to look at the intruder.

"Oh, I just remembered I...have to be somewhere...important!" Liz exits the room, leaving Amelia to face her crush on her own.

"That little-" Amelia mutters.

Sighing, Amelia directs her attention back to Serge. "So, what brings you here?"

"I came to ask you out!"

"Huh?" Her face heats up; she really needs to work on that.

"See you at 7; wear something comfy!" He jumps back out the window casually.

"Hey, I didn't even say yes!" She calls out, but he was already gone. "Is this guy insane?"

She falls back on her bed, "well...guess I'm going on a date tonight..."

[mrsalfonsegoldstein]

Ahhh looking through old posts and finding this gem...

[m1ster1e]

Nah nah nah nah nah new kınk CONFIRMED!!!!!!!!!!

[justforbooks]

Anouk Aimée

Elegant French film actor best known for her roles in the classic films A Man and a Woman, Lola, and La Dolce Vita

Show-business history records how the young Françoise Sorya was walking with her parents in Paris when they were approached by the director Henri Calef, who asked whether the teenager could play a part in his forthcoming production La Maison Sous la Mer (1947). The answer was yes and Françoise took the professional name Anouk after the character she was to play.

A short while later, she accepted a part in La Fleur de l’Age and its director, Marcel Carné, added Aimée to her chosen name. In the event the film was not completed, but its writer, Jacques Prévert, had been captivated by the beauty and natural talent of the young actor and wrote a screenplay indebted to Romeo and Juliet for her. As a result, Anouk Aimée, who has died aged 92, took the role of Juliette in The Lovers of Verona (1949).

The success of the movie launched her career, which included some 70 feature films, stage work and a handful of TV movies and miniseries. Her greatest successes were La Dolce Vita (1960), Lola (1961) and A Man and a Woman (1966), for which she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination, but she chose work erratically and happily sacrificed her career for a private life that included an absence from the screen during the first six years of her marriage to the actor Albert Finney.

Daughter of Geneviève (nee Durand), who acted under the name Geneviève Sorya, and Henri Dreyfus, also an actor, she was born in Paris. During the occupation, her parents moved her to the country for safety and she used her mother’s name rather than that of her Jewish father. He later changed his name to Henry Murray.

Aimée studied both drama and dance before her first starring role in The Lovers of Verona, as the would-be actor Juliette, who, while working as an understudy, meets and falls tragically in love with a set carpenter (Serge Reggiani). That success took her to Britain for a part opposite Trevor Howard in The Golden Salamander (1950). Although she was well received in the rather dull film, she subsequently married the Greek director Nico Papatakis and had a daughter, and did not appear on screen again until The Crimson Curtain (1953).

This was a stylishly made period romance, adapted by the writer Alexandre Astruc from a short story as his directorial debut. Despite a duration of 43 minutes and narration rather than dialogue, it proved a critical success. Aimée, cast as a young woman with heart problems who sacrifices herself for her lover, embarked on a busy international career.

She played a prostitute, Jeanne, in an adaptation of a Georges Simenon story, The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By (aka The Paris Express, 1952); co-starred in a somewhat pretentious thriller, Bad Liaisons (1955), directed by Astruc; and played a small role in Lovers of Paris (1957), which starred Gérard Philipe, France’s leading romantic actor.

She was invited to play opposite him in Jacques Becker’s Montparnasse 19 (1958), a biopic of Modigliani in which she took the role of the woman who eventually married the artist. She moved straight to another prestige production for Georges Franju, The Keepers (1959), playing a woman who tries to help a young man wrongly committed to a psychiatric hospital by his father. In Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, starring Marcello Mastroianni, she had the powerful role of a jaded socialite and found in the director a new freedom and vitality that kept her working in Italy for much of the next six years.

However, her best role was in Lola, Jacques Demy’s enchanting debut, dedicated to Max Ophuls and romantic cinema, which it affectionately satirised. Aimée as the not very talented singer waiting for her sailor lover to return made the character, in top hat and feather boa, vivacious yet vulnerable. Sadly, most of the other films in this period were less distinguished, and only Fellini’s 8½ (1963) placed her in a quality movie, as Mastroianni’s girlfriend.

She received the greatest popular acclaim of her long career in Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman. It took the Oscar as best foreign film, and the Cannes festival award as best film, with an Oscar nomination for Aimée as best actress. She did not win, but there was compensation in receiving the equivalent award from Bafta, a Golden Globe and starring in a huge box office hit. Its success led to a sequel, A Man and a Woman – Twenty Years Later (1986).

After starring in the elegant and mysterious Un Soir, Un Train (1968) for the Belgian director André Delvaux, she again played Lola, in Model Shop (1969), which marked Demy’s American debut. The film flopped, not least because Aimée seemed uninterested and unengaged by her role.

The same could be said of The Appointment and Justine (both 1969). The former was a misguided project by the New Yorker Sidney Lumet and suffered from an arty pseudo-European “sophistication” that alienated audiences. Justine was taken over by George Cukor early in the shooting. The director, famous for his rapport with female actors, later remarked that it was his only experience working with “somebody who didn’t try”. It was a commercial failure.

She returned to the screen in 1976 with Second Chance. There was an upturn when she received the best actress award at the 1980 Cannes festival for A Leap in the Dark, an atmospheric work by Marco Bellochio. Aimée took the character role of a spinster sister of a judge (Michel Piccoli), also unmarried, each enduring lives of quiet desperation. This was one of eight films she made with Piccoli, a friend since their days as drama students.

She worked for another distinguished director, Bernardo Bertolucci, in Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981), but her cool talent was swamped by the ebullience of her co-star, Ugo Tognazzi. The political thriller enjoyed little success either critically or commercially. Aimée subsequently worked mainly in France, with occasional sorties into international movies, including a small role in Jerzy Skolimowski’s Success Is the Best Revenge (1984), and a larger one in Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1990), a co-production celebrating the Canadian doctor Norman Bethune, portrayed by Donald Sutherland.

She was among the prestige cast in Robert Altman’s stargazer’s delight, Prêt-à-Porter (1994), which had fun at the expense of the fashion trade. In 2002 she received a lifetime achievement Golden Bear award at the Berlin International film festival.

She continued to work during the following decade, and defended criticisms of her occasional misfires, saying that while some of her choices had been poor, she was still proud of her “not unimpressive” career. She added that actors, too, need to work for money.

She had a pivotal role in The Birch-Tree Meadow (2003), co-written by Jeanne Moreau and directed by Marceline Loridon-Ivens. This sturdy work cast her as a Holocaust survivor returning to the scenes of the atrocities and encountering the photographer grandson of an SS officer.

In lighter mood in the comedy Happily Ever After (2004), she played the mother to the central character Vincent, a role taken by the director Yvan Attal. In 2006, she was attracted to another supporting role as the mother to the lead actor in the intriguing Hotel Harabati.

The amiable The One I Love (2009) was followed by a return to the director who had given her international fame in 1966. Lelouch’s Ces Amours-là was a sad disappointment, however, and Aimée’s following film, Paris Connections (financed by Tesco and sold through their retail outlets), based on a Jackie Collins novel, seems to have fared little better.

She then worked with the novelist and film-maker Philippe Claudel in his second feature, Tous les Soleils (2011), in which she took the role of a dying woman. After Mince Alors! (2012), her 90th screen credit, in which she had a small role, as Maman, she effectively retired, living in Montparnasse, Paris, with her daughter, Manuela.

However, in 2019 she was tempted to return for a final film with Lelouch and the chance to work again with Jean-Louis Trintignant, her co-star from A Man and a Woman. The film The Best Years of a Life was the second follow-up to that famous original and dealt with love and memory in old age. It was celebrated for showing the enduring magnetism of its stars.

Aimée was married and divorced four times. She is survived by Manuela.

🔔 Anouk Aimée (Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus), actor, born 27 April 1932; died 18 June 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[memoria-99]

Wizardess Heart:

Redesigned canon characters & Original characters

... that are planned to be in my fanfic someday

In this post I'll just introduce them briefly, and maybe in the next post I'll post more specific profiles for each

Warning: This post includes a genderbent one, so if you don't wanna see those stuff feel free to go back

#1 (Canon redesign)

Name: Liz Hart

Appearance: Brown hair, reddish pink eye and purple eye

MBTI: ENFP

Specialty: Baking, Talking to animals, Time control

Class: Day Class Fortitudo

Roommate: Amelia Nile

Alias: Goddess of Time

Alive Relatives: Count Hart(distant relative, adoptive father), Countess Hart(distant relative, adoptive mother)

In Class: Overall good listener, reacts a lot. But reacts a lot to other students as well and daydreams more than that.

#2 (Canon redesign)

Name: Amelia Nile

Appearance: Orange hair(wavy), orange eyes

MBTI: ESFJ

Specialty: Physical activities, Charm, Purification

Class: Day Class Potestas

Roommate: Liz Hart

Alias: Sol Maiden

Alive relatives: Father, Mother, Stepmother, Younger siblings

In Class: Greets professors cheerfully. Pays attention and reacts a lot. Sometimes dozes off.

#3 (Original character)

Name: Heidi Alpheus

Appearance: Magenta pink hair(wavy), blue eyes

MBTI: ENTP

Specialty: Drawing, Telecommunication with nature, Reading minds

Class: Day Class Fortitudo & Night Class

Roommate: Erin Leiado

Alias: Mother Nature

Alive Relatives: Serge Durandal(maternal cousin)

In Class: Participates actively. Asks tons of questions, which usually have a point.

#4 (Original character)

Name: Erin Leiado

Appearance: Silver hair, black eyes

MBTI: INTP

Specialty: Playing the piano, Spellsinging, Controlling others' will

Class: Day Class Vir Ingeniosus

Roommate: Heidi Alpheus

Alias: Songstress Diva

Alive Relatives: Mother, Younger sister, Saella(distinct ancestor), Cerim Leiado(paternal cousin)

In Class: Quiet listener, but tries different way rather than copying the textbook. Often gets pinned on one point and is trapped in that thought. Reads other books when bored, only to get scolded when found out.

#5 (Canon genderswap)

Name: Lucienne Duller

Appearance: Pale violet hair, yellow eyes

MBTI: ISFP

Specialty: Dancing, Embroidery, Monitoring dreams, Space control

Class: Night class

Roommate: Selina Goldstein

Alias: Princess of the Labyrinth

Alive Relatives: None

In Class: Is asleep half of the times. Is awake in the other half, mostly because the exam is close.

#6 (Original character)

Name: Selina Goldstein

Appearance: Blonde hair, pale green eyes

MBTI: INFJ

Specialty: Writing, Controlling marionettes, Talking to ghosts

Class: Night Class

Roommate: None -> Lucienne Duller

Alias: Shadow Queen

Alive Relatives: Walter Goldstein(father), Alfonse Goldstein(half-brother), Klaus Goldstein(half-brother), Elias Goldstein(half-brother)

In Class: Quietly writes everything down, then asks question after class.

[redundant2]

Valentine Low's book Courtiers, Part 2: Tiaragate

Interesting excerpts from the book, Part 2

Much has been said and speculated about in regard to the tiara worn by Meghan at her wedding to Harry. Here is what Valentine Low had to say about "Tiaragate" in his book, which was published before The Queen passed away:

"Being a royal would always mean dressing up -- and for the women, that meant jewellery. The Queen would sometimes lend pieces to existing and incoming members of the royal family. It was a gesture of welcome and support, but it could lead to problems."

"In the months before Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle in May 2018, Meghan was told that the Queen would lend her a tiara for the big day, just as she had done for Kate Middleton seven years earlier. An appointment was made in February for Meghan to look at a shortlist of appropriate tiaras at Buckingham Palace. Accompanied by Harry, and under the watchful eye of Angela Kelly, the Queen's dresser, who is also curator of the Queen's jewellery, Meghan opted for Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau Tiara. So far, so good. Despite some confusing reports, there was no row about which tiara Meghan could have. She got her first choice. It was what happened afterwards that was the problem."

"Wearing a tiara is not a straightforward business. Hair and tiara have to be considered together, and Meghan needed to be sure her hairdresser had an opportunity to rehearse before the day itself. Unfortunately, on the day that her hairdresser, Serge Normant was in town, Angela Kelly --who has a very close relationship with Her Majesty and is an influential figure at Buckingham Palace -- was not available.

Serge Normant, Meghan's wedding hairdresser

"And if Angela Kelly was not available, neither was the tiara. In Harry's view, this was Kelly being obstructive, plain and simple. According to Finding Freedom, a decidedly pro-Harry and Meghan account of the couple's life together, Kelly had ignored repeated requests from Kensington Palace to set up a date for a hair trial. And Harry was furious. 'Nothing could convince Harry that some of the old guard at the Palace simply didn't like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult,' wrote the book's authours, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand."

(I ... don't think this book quote means what the authors meant it to say. Maybe they meant to write that Harry felt the old guard at the Palace were out to block Meghan, and nothing would convince him otherwise? Tell me Finding Freedom wasn't edited well without telling me...)

"But there is another version: that it wasn't a snub, and that Harry and Meghan were naive at best, entitled at worst, to expect others to jump to their command when they hadn't even bothered to make an appointment. As a source told the Mail on Sunday:"

"'Meghan demanded access to the tiara. She didn't make an appointment with Angela, but said, "We're at Buckingham Palace, we want the tiara. Can we have it now please?" Angela essentially said, "I'm very sorry, but that's not how it works. There's protocol in place over these jewels. They're kept under very tight lock and key. You can't turn up and demand to have the tiara just because your hairdresser happens to be in town."'

"This did not go down well with Harry. He tried to get what Meghan wanted by ringing others to put pressure on Kelly to bend the rules, and in the course of his less-than-diplomatic efforts is said to have used some fairly fruity language. Whether Harry swore at his grandmother's aide, or about her, is not clear; either way, it is probably language that Kelly, the daughter of a Liverpool docks crane driver, has heard before. She is a forthright individual, who has not earned the nickname AK-47 for nothing. But she wasn't impressed. She reported all this to the Queen, who summoned Harry to a private meeting. 'He was firmly put in his place,' a source said. 'He had been downright rude.'

It was a very simple lesson: don't mess with AK-47."

From the book Courtiers by Valentine Low, pp 125-126.

Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Angela Kelly, the Queen's dresser.

This is a great book, and I highly recommend reading it. It's chock full of interesting anecdotes. There is quite a bit more interesting info about Angela Kelly, who seems to have been somewhat sidelined since the Queen's passing. I do hope that Kelly did get the grace-and-favour home that the Queen had promised her for life, as she seemed to loyally protect the Queen at all times.

In regard to the tiara worn by Meghan at her wedding to Harry, some have speculated that it was a replica of Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau, with moissanite gems instead of real diamonds - due to the way the light reflected on the stones. Would be interested if anyone has further thoughts or expertise on that theory, if you'd like to share.

I'll share more in subsequent posts about Angela Kelly, and of course, about the courtiers' version of events surrounding Harry and Meghan.

[alexlacquemanne]

Octobre MMXXIV

Films

Quartet (2012) de Dustin Hoffman avec Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Sheridan Smith, Michael Gambon, Andrew Sachs et Gwyneth Jones

Bob le flambeur (1956) de Jean-Pierre Melville avec Roger Duchesne, Isabelle Corey, Daniel Cauchy, Guy Decomble, Simone Paris, André Garret, Claude Cerval et Colette Fleury

Indian Palace (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) (2011) de John Madden avec Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, Celia Imrie, Dev Patel, Ronald Pickup et Penelope Wilton

Grosse Fatigue (1994) de et avec Michel Blanc et aussi Carole Bouquet, Philippe Noiret, Josiane Balasko, Marie-Anne Chazel, Christian Clavier, Guillaume Durand, Charlotte Gainsbourg, David Hallyday, Estelle Lefébure et Gérard Jugnot

L'Air de rien (2012) de Grégory Magne et Stéphane Viard avec Grégory Montel, Fred Scotlande, Céline Milliat-Baumgartner, Michel Delpech, Martine Schambacher, Miossec, Jérôme Huguet, Benoît Belleville et Pauline Moulène

Code Mercury (Mercury Rising) (1998) de Harold Becker avec Bruce Willis, Miko Hughes, Alec Baldwin, Chi McBride, John Carroll Lynch, John Doman, Peter Stormare et Kim Dickens

Le Privé (The Long Goodbye) (1973) de Robert Altman avec Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson, David Arkin, David Carradine et Arnold Schwarzenegger

Mon oncle Benjamin (1969) d'Édouard Molinaro avec Jacques Brel, Claude Jade, Bernard Alane, Paul Frankeur, Rosy Varte, Lyne Chardonnet, Robert Dalban, Bernard Blier et Armand Mestral

Le Tueur triste (1984) de Nicolas Gessner avec Guy Marchand, Edwige Feuillère, Michel Creton, Béatrice Agenin, Franck Olivier Bonnet, Jean Louis Richard, Jacques François, Amélie Gonin et Marcelle Barreau

Indian Palace : Suite royale (The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) (2015) de John Madde avec Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup, Diana Hardcastle, Richard Gere et Tina Desai

Gremlins 2 : La Nouvelle Génération (Gremlins 2: The New Batch) (1990) de Joe Dante avec Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover, Robert Prosky, Robert Picardo, Christopher Lee, Haviland Morris, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph et Kathleen Freeman

L’Été meurtrier (1983) de Jean Becker avec Isabelle Adjani, Alain Souchon, Suzanne Flon, Jenny Clève, Maria Machado, Évelyne Didi, Jean Gaven, François Cluzet, Michel Galabru et Roger Carel

Baisers volés (1968) de François Truffaut avec Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Delphine Seyrig, Michael Lonsdale, Harry-Max, André Falcon, Daniel Ceccaldi, Claire Duhamel et Catherine Lutz

Key Largo (1948) de John Huston avec Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Gomez, Harry Lewis et John Rodney

Soleil rouge (1971) de Terence Young avec Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshirō Mifune, Alain Delon, Capucine, Bart Barry et Lee Burton

Le Chien des Baskerville (The Hound of the Baskervilles) (1958) de Terence Fisher avec Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, David Oxley, Francis De Wolff, Miles Malleson et Ewen Solon

L'Arnaque (The Sting) (1973) de George Roy Hill avec Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, John Heffernan, Dana Elcar et Dimitra Arliss

Au service de Sara (Serving Sara) (2002) de Reginald Hudlin avec Matthew Perry, Elizabeth Hurley, Vincent Pastore, Bruce Campbell, Cedric the Entertainer, Amy Adams et Terry Crews

Tirez sur le pianiste (1960) de François Truffaut avec Charles Aznavour, Marie Dubois, Nicole Berger, Michèle Mercier, Serge Davri, Claude Mansard et Richard Kanayan

Séries

L'été rouge

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5

Castle Saison 8

M. et Mme Castle - Meurtre a cappella - Témoin-clé - L'Espion qui venait du froid - Huis clos - Le Rêve américain - Escapade à L.A. - Le ver est dans le fruit - Le Cœur ou la Raison - Votre mort est un ordre - Trahisons - L'immortel - Beaucoup de bruit pour un meurtre - La Fin du monde - Tirs croisés

Psych Saison 1, 2, 3

Voyances et Manigances - T-R-I-C-H-E-U-R - Qu'il parle maintenant ou se taise à jamais - Esprit, es-tu là ? - 9 vies - Champ de bataille - La Maison hantée - Shawn chez les super-héros - Souvenirs, souvenirs - La Guerre de l'étoile - Coup de soleil - Avis de meurtre - Jeu, Set et Meurtre - Poker menteur - Esprits féminin - Les Nouvelles Stars - 65 Millions d'années plus tôt - Un médium de trop - Trop facile pour être possible - Petit… mais costaud - Un plat qui se mange froid - Les Petits Génies - Recherche nounous désespérément - Chasseurs de primes - Un mort au pied du sapin - Mariage en sursis - Coups de vieux - Un rôle de composition - Dans le secret de la loge - Fashion victimes - Une nuit au musée - Chasse aux fantômes - La Folle Soirée de Shawn - Le médium qui tombe à pic - La Chasse au trésor - Au pays de l'or noir - Henry les bons tuyaux - Comme sur des roulettes - Haut les mains !

Friends Saison 1, 2, 3

Celui qui avait un singe - Celui qui rêve par procuration - Celui qui a failli rater l'accouchement - Celui qui fait craquer Rachel - Celui qui a une nouvelle fiancée - Celui qui détestait le lait maternel - Celui qui est mort dans l'appart du dessous - Celui qui avait viré de bord - Celui qui se faisait passer pour Bob - Celui qui a oublié un bébé dans le bus - Celui qui tombe des nues - Celui qui a été très maladroit - Celui qui cassait les radiateurs - Celui qui se dédouble - Celui qui n'apprécie pas certains mariages - Celui qui retrouve son singe : première partie - Celui qui retrouve son singe : deuxième partie - Celui qui a failli aller au bal de promo - Celui qui a fait on ne sait quoi avec Rachel - Celui qui vit sa vie - Celui qui remplace celui qui part - Celui qui disparaît de la série - Celui qui ne voulait pas partir - Celui qui se met à parler - Celui qui affronte les voyous - Celui qui faisait le lien - Celui qui attrape la varicelle - Celui qui embrassait mal - Celui qui rêvait de la princesse Leia - Celui qui a du mal à se préparer - Celui qui avait la technique du câlin - Celui qui ne supportait pas les poupées - Celui qui bricolait - Celui qui se souvient - Celui qui était prof et élève - Celui qui avait pris un coup sur la tête - Celui pour qui le foot c'est pas le pied - Celui qui fait démissionner Rachel - Celui qui ne s'y retrouvait plus - Celui qui était très jaloux - Celui qui persiste et signe - Celui que les prothèses ne gênaient pas - Celui qui vivait mal la rupture - Celui qui a survécu au lendemain - Celui qui était laissé pour compte - Celui qui s'auto-hypnotisait

Affaires sensibles

La chute de Nicolas Hulot - Blur vs Oasis : la bataille d'Angleterre - Août 44, La Libération de Paris, Épisode 1/2 : Août 44, des Parisiens en armes - Août 44, La Libération de Paris, Épisode 2/2 : Eté 44, De Gaulle, la marche d’un président - Docteur Petiot, faux résistant, vrai tueur - Hitler l'insaisissable cadavre - Benito Mussolini, un cadavre en cavale - Le mystère des noyés de la Deûle - Les trois de West Memphis - "Naissance d’une nation" : Naissance d’une contestation - Little Rock, neuf lycéens noirs contre la ségrégation - Emmett Till, le lynchage de trop - Marseille 1973, quand le racisme tue en toute impunité - L'argent russe du Front National - Affaire Alstom : la guerre secrète - Le procès de Lady Chatterley - Les survivants de la Cordillère des Andes - "Tcherno-Blaye" : le scénario d'un Tchernobyl français ? - La tour Montparnasse ou la folie des grandeurs en direct des Rendez-vous de l'histoire de Blois - « Sans haine, sans arme, ni violence » : le casse du siècle de Nice - "La Grande Bouffe" ou le festin orgiaque - Taylor Swift, le phénomène total - L’abominable homme des neiges, une rencontre au sommet

Brokenwood Saison 9, 3

Comme chien et chat - En plein cœur - La mariée était en cuir - Le veuf noir

Le Coffre à Catch

#188 : La dernière avec UVA !

Les Brigades du Tigre : « Les Années-Folles » Saison 6

Les Princes de la nuit - Rita et le Caïd - La Grande Duchesse Tatiana - Les Fantômes de Noël - La Fille de l'air - Lacs et Entrelacs

Commissaire Moulin Saison 1

Le Diable aussi a des ailes - Intox - Fausses notes - Les Brebis égarées

Les Simpson Saison 3

Mon pote Michael Jackson - Lisa va à Washington - Le Palais du Gaucher - Le Petit Parrain - Une belle simpsonnerie - Tel père, tel clown - Simpson Horror Show II - Le Poney de Lisa - Un père dans la course - Un cocktail d'enfer - Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk - Vive les mariés - Un puits de mensonges - L'Enfer du jeu - Homer au foyer - Bart le tombeur - Homer la foudre - Le Flic et la Rebelle - Chienne de vie - Imprésario de mon cœur - La Veuve noire - Le Permis d'Otto Bus - Séparés par l'amour - Le Retour du frère prodigue

Belphégor ou le Fantôme du Louvre

Le Louvre - Le secret du Louvre

Nestor Burma saison 6

Panique à Saint-Patrick - Atout cœur

Rematch

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6

Brooklyn Nine-Nine Saison 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Halloween - Halloween II - Halloween III - Halloween IV - Halloween V

Le tribunal de l'impossible

La Bête du Gévaudan

Spectacles

Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, Director's Cut (1972) d'Adrian Maben

Chers parents (2024) de Emmanuel Patron & Armelle Patron avec Elise Diamant, Bernard Alane, Emmanuel Patron, Rudy Milstein et Frédérique Tirmont

Stevie Wonder: Live at Last (2008)

R.E.M : Perfect Square (2004)

Bénabar : la tournée des indociles (2022)

Le Chien des Baskerville (1974) de Jean Marcillac avec Raymond Gerome, André Haber, Christian Alers, Jean Pierre Gernez, Bernard Musson, Christiane Moinet, Pierre Hatet, Colette Teissedre, Robert Bazil, Liliane Patrick et Jean Jacques Steen

Livres

Putzi de Thomas Snégaroff

Kaamelott, tome 10 : Karadoc et l'Icosaèdre d'Alexandre Astier et Steven Dupré

Lucky Luke, tome 28 : Le Pony Express de Morris, Xavier Fauche et Jean Léturgie

Philip Marlowe : Le Grand Sommeil de Raymond Chandler

OSS 117 : Agonie en Patagonie de Jean Bruce

Batman : Un long Halloween de Jeph Loeb et Tim Sale

[wikiuntamed]

On this day in Wikipedia: Sunday, 14th January

Welcome, velkommen, καλωσόρισμα (kalosórisma), benvingut 🤗 What does @Wikipedia say about 14th January through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?

14th January 2023 🗓️ : Death - Mukarram Jah Mukarram Jah, 8th Nizam of Hyderabad (b. 1933) "Nizam Mir Barkat Ali Khan Siddiqi Mukarram Jah, Asaf Jah VIII (6 October 1933 – 15 January 2023), less formally known as Mukarram Jah, was the titular Nizam of Hyderabad between 1967 and 1971. He was the head of the House of Asaf Jah until his death in 2023. Born as the eldest son of Azam Jah and..."

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0? by Nagarjun Kandukuru from Bangalore, India

14th January 2019 🗓️ : Event - Saha Airlines A Saha Airlines Boeing 707 crashes at Fath Air Base near Karaj in Alborz Province, Iran, killing 15 people. "Saha Airlines (Persian: هواپیمایی ساها) is an Iranian airline based in Tehran that operates scheduled domestic flights...."

14th January 2014 🗓️ : Death - Jon Bing Jon Bing, Norwegian author, scholar, and academic (b. 1944) "Jon Bing (30 April 1944 – 14 January 2014) was a Norwegian writer and law professor at the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law (NRCCL), and the Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo. Bing was considered a pioneer in international IT and information law. He held honorary doctorates..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0? by Andre Eide from Norway

14th January 1974 🗓️ : Birth - Kevin Durand Kevin Durand, Canadian actor "Kevin Serge Durand (born January 14, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for portraying Vasiliy Fet in The Strain, Joshua in Dark Angel, Martin Keamy in Lost, Fred J. Dukes / The Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Barry Burton in Resident Evil: Retribution, Gabriel in Legion, Little John in..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0? by Gage Skidmore

14th January 1924 🗓️ : Birth - Carole Cook Carole Cook, American actress and singer (d. 2023) "Mildred Frances Cook (January 14, 1924 – January 11, 2023), known professionally as Carole Cook, was an American actress, active on screen and stage, best known for appearances on Lucille Ball's comedy television series The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy. Her best known film roles include The Incredible..."

Image by State Library and Archives of Florida

14th January 1824 🗓️ : Birth - Vladimir Stasov Vladimir Stasov, Russian critic (d. 1906) "Vladimir Vasilievich Stasov (also Stassov; Russian: Влади́мир Васи́льевич Ста́сов; 14 January [O.S. 2 January] 1824 – 23 October [O.S. 10 October] 1906), was a Russian critic of music and art. Born into a wealthy, noble family, Stasov became a prominent figure in mid-19th-century Russian culture. He..."

Image by Ilya Repin

14th January 🗓️ : Holiday - Revolution and Youth Day (Tunisia) "This is a list of holidays in Tunisia. January 1: New Year's Day March 20: Independence Day April 9: Martyrs' Day May 1: Labour Day July 25: Republic Day August 13: Women's Day October 15: Evacuation Day December 17: Revolution Day Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Adha Islamic New Year Mawlid..."