#both men care deeply for Audrey

[owlsie-hoot]

Clever of you Audrey to just leave your two men alone to bond... (part one by @itssoinevitable)

[youremyheaven]

Random Astrology Observations

Moon in the 1h is often talked about like 🥺🥺wears their heart on their sleeve🥹🥹uwu softie way but tbh Moon in 1h can make someone incredibly manipulative, they know just what to say and when to say it and know how to work their audience, this is perhaps why this placement is found in the charts of soooo many successful actors. ex: Leonardo DiCaprio, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Cavill, Charlie Chaplin, Priyanka Chopra, Antonio Banderas, Brendan Fraser, Benicio Del Toro, Jared Padelecki, Val Kilmer, Adrien Brody etc

I think this is a very manipulative placement, again manipulation is not in and of itself a bad thing, its what we use it for that matters. Some people completely lack the ability to manipulate at all (they don't have Moon influence)

2. Debilitated placements point to unconventional intelligence & wisdom in that area. I feel like they've cracked the code . They struggle a lot but when they triumph it's magic

3. I've mentioned this in other posts but many notorious sex offenders have Venus influence. Actions of this sort, as well as criticizing others' beauty, not taking care of yourself/surroundings, being shabby or disorderly in general are all things that harm your Venus. Abusing someone is the quickest way to ruin your Venus, you start corroding and that ugliness begins to manifest on the outside.

Ex: Harvey Weinstein looks like a cartoonish villain

4. As I explore the astrology content put out by others across different platforms, I've seen how the nature of the take themselves are so specific and unique to the person making them. Claire Nakti has a tendency imo to focus heavily on romance, sex and women's sexual behaviour and what sort of men they attract.

Going through her website, it's obvious that she's deeply immersed in occult & esoteric philosophy (all of which ties together with vedic astrology, philosophy, Buddhism etc because I truly believe that spiritual truths are universal and different schools of thought/religion/culture/mythology express these same truths in their own way with a LOT of recurring patterns) and Carl Jung as well.

It's studying Jung that helped me understand that what we see or draw from something is a reflection of who we are. As a beginner to vedic astrology, I initially believed Claire's one dimensional portrayal to be the all encompassing truth of a nakshatra until I started doing my own reading and research.

The things I talk about or the patterns I find are a reflection of me and I get a lot of asks about why I don't do xyz nak and honestly it's not as simple as doing research for an essay for uni, you kind of have to have a gnosis or innate knowing of its themes, something to base your search off of. And different naks call to me at different points. I come across content that describes certain naks in lights i could've never imagined which is to say that gnosis or inner knowing is an important aspect of studying anything esoteric, it kind of has to be revealed to you and what you see, what you can discern is a reflection of you.

5. you have to have a strong Rahu to discern patterns and similarities because Rahu is maya/illusion and a well-placed Rahu will allow you to see through those patterns/illusions. it will be very hard for someone without a strong Rahu to find similarities or common tropes, patterns, themes etc. Seeing through the veil or fog is Rahuvian.

6. Claire Nakti made a video about Venusian men where she said they were the ideal type of man and tbh that just confirmed my suspicion that she's Moon dominant because I think Moon dominant people are attracted to Venusians but in my humble opinion both Venusian men and Moon dominant men are some of the most batshit crazy people (manipulative and controlling at the least, psychopathic at worst) basically men who have a lot of Yin tend to be psychotic

7. I've noticed that Revati people tend to speak in a very verbose way. Nigella Lawson, Revati Moon is a really good example. Obviously other placements will also impact speech

8. Moon dominant people hate it when others share sob stories. They're the type to have the least amount of empathy for others and will either react in a neutral way or like they don't understand why you're saying this stuff at all. They're bored by other people's mundane problems and make it known as well. Not people you want to open up to.

My former friend was this way, I once cried in front of her and she showed zero emotion and didn't even try to comfort me lol

9. The way others treat us is the way we treat others. ik this is a basic take but karma is cause and effect. if you're dismissive of others feelings, other people will be dismissive of yours. what you do is what will be done unto you. Its so crazy to see how people who've been treated like shit by their friends will turn around and treat other people like shit. this is sooo basic but genuinely dont do anything to others that you dont want done to you.

[charmantevamp]

@honorhearted

Audrey laughs at his remark despite his underlying disdain. It seems an explanation is overdue.

“I was raised Catholic by a frankly overly religious and conservative by French standards, Vicomte of a father. To you Americans I would simply say Viscount. I am my mothers only child and my fathers eldest daughter. My father regrettably still lives, maman died of natural causes. My half sister Camille, pray she is well, is a gossip columnist and political advocate. Her mother was a lady in the court at Versailles. My mother was a left handed wife, and an actress, evidently a good one for my father raised her up. Like mother, like daughter I suppose,” a shrug. “I rather like looking at crucifixes. They are very pretty, aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I can say God’s name of course. I can recite the Lord’s Prayer in at least six languages. I can dance at least four dances, play piano, harpsichord, and violin and I’ve acted as a political advisor to a handful of the men and women who ‘kept me’ but my body and mind is my own. Your God’s name is Yahweh by the way, assuming you’ve read the books you claim to care so deeply for. I am partial to Erasmus myself. Of course I can step on holy ground, crosses and garlic don’t do anything to me. That is an old Transylvanian legend, I am French,” an innocent enough chuckle and a pause.

“So, you lying and killing for a cause is just and right? But me, taking blood and life because my vicious nature I did not ask for demands it is not? What manner of evil and damned do you speak of? I never asked for this. The whoredom is my choice. The only choice. I’ve explained that much to you. Convenient how lenient the world is too brothers whose acclaim would be shame for their sisters or their mothers. I must smile and beguile just to stand where a man of your station began. So forgive me, mon amour, if I take some satisfaction in toying with men and women who outrank you on occasion. A kiss and my heart on my cheek and they fall. I can suck, and fuck, and flatter anywhere in the world,” a shrug.

She wishes so deeply to console him. But she isn’t entirely certain how. So she places a soft gloved hand on his shoulder and caresses gently.

“You will, finish what you started,” she reassures Ben. “But getting out of this hot blooded city takes means. That’s why I must address my friends,” a small sigh but there is no malice in it.

“Mon amour,” she begins. Green eyes gazing back at him gently. “You are either my great answer and way out, or… we’ll be the death of each other. For both our sakes, love, I hope it is the first. You’re lucky you need not do much tonight, at least not when addressing the vampire Prince of New Orleans. Yes, I know, Princes, I don’t think much of it either. This is not a land of kings.” A sigh.

“But, New Orleans would be deathly quiet were it not for the French vampires of the Camarilla. Louis, Lestat and Claudia are there and a family of sorts as well. Lestat and I have history. Lestat and the Prince of New Orleans combined means can get us out. You need only say what is true, you come in peace, you are a Major and Spymaster of the continental army, you have the manners of a gentleman and you are looking to leave with me. That is all,” she smiles sweetly. “Clever as you are and I know you are, you can manage that, oui?”

@honorhearted

Audrey gives him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Almost school girl-ish compared to the night before.

“This is New Orleans, mon amour, not Setauket, Long Island or New York City, and it’s too warm to be Boston. Believe me amour, we aren’t nearly as lacking humanity as the books say. Still, our ways are not your ways. The books also paint a poor picture of lycanthropes, witches and the like. I am… not entirely sure of ghosts, allegedly the French quarter is haunted but whether by people or the evils of humanity, I do not know. I suppose we all have some manner of soul, I just doubt a literal one,” a small hum as she rolls up her stockings. While she is a social butterfly she wasn’t big into soirées. She preferred the opera and art galleries.

“Would St. Louis Cathedral put you more at ease? I can see to that when this is over. It helps, however, to have friends in high places. I can assure you that much,” a small laugh.

“You faced bullets, redcoats, Tories and the might of the British empire on which the sun is overdo to set, surely you do not fear me? Truly?” It’s an earnest question. Truthfully sometimes Audrey feared herself. The unwanted beast howling in her blood. But she’s not nearly apathetic enough to give into it.

She sees to it, that the carriage is ready enough to go. They were both, against the odds and it seemed, the world, ‘presentable’ and taking his hand. Turns away from the townhouse, well, bawdy house, on the French quarter.

“Ready whenever you are, monsieur, my sunbeam,” she says placing a small rose in his dirty blonde hair before sitting in the carriage. Face to face with him.

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

Kickstart My Heart Pt.1 (Racer! Yeosang)

Next>>

Pairing: Racer! Kang Yeosang × Waitress/Fuckgirl! Reader (Female)

Genre: Fluff, Angst, 80s AU.

Summary: During an era known for its vibrant colors, eccentric fashion styles and rise of new yet unconventional genres of music, the young generation of that time was infamously known for their need to rebel and live their lives rather scandalously and Y/N is no exception. So when a new and attractive man moves into her town, she has her eyes set on making him her next boy toy.

Word Count: 4K+

Warnings: Dumb attempts at crackhead humor, reader is a cold hearted bitch, guy gets dumped in public, reader's friend is lowkey creepy.

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Throwing on the last article of clothing that had been discarded the night before, the young woman shook out her hair, still damp from the quick shower she just took. Picking up her bag, she looked over at the figure still sleeping soundly, the subtle hint of a smile on his face. With a pitied pout on her lips, she walked over to the edge where his face was. Taking out the lipstick tube from her bag, she applied it all over her lips, painting them in the dark burgundy color that she fancied so much and had practically become her signature hue. Bending over, she pressed her lips against the corners of his mouth, giving him the faintest whisper of a kiss before pulling away. A satisfied smirk was plastered on her pretty features as she stared at the lipstick mark on his face, the only memoir she'd leave him with as she had done with countless others.

Closing the front door behind her, she pulled her denim jacket tighter on her body, shivering slightly from the early dawn's breeze that blew across. It was always like that even though summer had just begun, the early morning hours still feeling obnoxiously cool and then transpiring into slightly uncomfortably warm afternoons that had more than one soul in that quaint town grumbling and fussing about the weather. But oh did the evenings feel absolutely refreshing, and that's when everything would start bustling to life.

Having finally made it out of that small residential area and finding one of the main roads that helped her locate where to go, she started heading south towards the all too familiar diner where she had been working in ever since her school days, first starting part time and eventually transpiring to full time when it came time for her to spread her wings and fly out on her own, a feat she had been most anxious to do to get away from the overly controlling nature of her parents. She knew they cared about her, but she herself cared very little about the morals and principles they had raised her with, a common trait all the young people in that town shared: their rebellious and headstrong nature to not conform and go against everything they had been taught thus far. Live their own lives as freely as they chose to do.

And she definitely lived as she wanted to, even if it ended up with a rather bad reputation and ugly labels that rather than infuriate her, she openly embraced, as others had come to as well.

The light twinkle of the bells above the glass door let the person at the register know someone came in and they immediately plastered on their business smile, which quickly faded when they saw who it was.

"You're late Y/N." The minuscule raven haired waitress informed her, eyes never leaving her coworker's figure that came behind the counter and started punching in her number.

"Only by like 7 minutes." She waved her slip at the nonchalant looking girl before placing it back in its respective slot.

"One day it wouldn't surprise me if you just didn't show up because you got too caught up in.... something else."

Chuckling softly, Y/N walked up behind her coworker, hands coming up to ruffle the cheekbone level bob cut hair framing her unusually small face.

"Awww come on Lynn, you know I'd never leave you hanging here to attend customers by yourself. You're my bestie." Y/N assured her, playfully poking her lips out as she tried to place a kiss on her friend, the poor girl craning her neck away as she tended to dislike physical affection.

"I will squirt ketchup on you." Lynn threatened as she picked up the cherry red bottle as a last resort to get her attacker to back away. A rather noisy struggle ensued between both girls, catching the attention of the owner and cook behind the two doors, prompting her to come out and see what was the cause of such ruckus.

"Well I'll be darned. I don't remember paying you youngsters to simply slack off and behave like the hooligans you are." The middle aged woman spoke up, her thick accent becoming more prominent. Although she had a stern look and hands placed at her hips, the girls knew she was not in reality angry at them.

Looking over at the recently arrived girl, the owner closed her eyes and sighed deeply when she took in the attire she was wearing: low cut white tank, ripped denim shorts that left little to the imagination if she bent down, fishnet tights with a few holes in them, and her beloved denim jacket that was almost always on Y/N's body.

"I swear to god, Y/N , everytime I see you wear them rags you call clothes, I feel like my body is about to collapse. Why must you insist on dressing like a common street worker?"

Y/N wasn't at all offended by her words, having grown used to and becoming fond of her boss's abrupt, direct and honest manner of speaking.

"Gotta start looking the part if I'm going to dedicate my life to the occupation." She giggled at her own joke, resulting in the older woman taking the rag off her apron and smacking her with it.

"This little runt, talking nonsense like that- get your ass back in there and change into your uniform. Can't have you prancing around here in those skimpy clothes and have all these men that come here say disrespectful things about you. Nuh uh, not to my girls." She shook her head.

"Yes Miss Audrey." Complying with the woman's wishes, she pushed open the swing doors leading to the back and quickly made her way to the corner where all the employee's cubicles were located. Grabbing the necessary items, she turned and went inside the bathroom to change into her uniform, consisting of a knee length crimson red dress, which she had actually altered so it would be shorter and display her thighs more, the cap sleeves slightly puffed up and the torso part had a trail of white buttons going all the way up to the modest v-neckline, usually most buttons were left undone so her cleavage would shamelessly peak out. Exchanging her black Doc Martens in favor of her white Nike sneakers, Y/N tied her apron around her waist, making sure it was as tight as possible so it would accentuate her curves and give her body a more flattering appearance. As she made her way out, she quickly piled her hair up before securing it with one of the many elastics she kept around her wrists, leaving out a few tendrils to fall on her temples.

Coming back out to start her daily work, she stood in front of Lynn, who merely spared her an unamused glance.

"How do I look?" Y/N asked.

"Like a total slut." Her friend answered in her usually rude way.

Rolling her eyes, Y/N grabbed a spray bottle and a rag. Making her way over to the table that had just finished being used, she quickly picked up the plates and glass, bringing them back over to where Lynn was, who took them so she could wash them in the sink. Spraying the top of the marble piece, she had began her task of wiping down the table when the ringing of the bell signaled new customers had arrived, and rowdy ones at that too.

"Damn! Is today's special fluffy sponge cake? Cause I would sure love a piece of that ass."

Y/N recognized that annoying voice even from miles away, belonging to none other than one of her old classmates, Jung Wooyoung, whom she considered a friend, if he didn't manage to irk her too much. Turning around, she of course wasn't surprised to see him surrounded by his crew of equally idiotic and adrenaline junkie friends, whom she had to admit were pleasant and fun to hang out with.

"Sit your asses down already, I'll be over in a minute to take your order." She told them before resuming her previous task, earning a scoff from the most dramatic of the group.

"Fine customer service! Don't think you'll be getting a tip from me." His words made her nearly burst into a fit of giggles.

"Wooyoung please, you never ever tip whenever you come. None of you, except Yunho." It kinda saddened her that said male unfortunately wasn't there with them at the moment.

"He doesn't tip you, he tips short stack over there." His friend with cat like eyes pointed towards Lynn, who upon overhearing him held up a rather explicit finger in his direction.

"I'll poison your food San." She threatened with a sing song tone.

"Like I wouldn't know that you already spit on it." San spat back, sticking his tongue out in his immature and infantile fashion.

"Can you guys hurry up and order already? I'm starving and we gotta head to the tracks as early as possible." The fiery red haired male known as Song Mingi blurted out, fingers tapping impatiently against the top of the table.

"If little miss g-string would care to hop her luscious ass over here, maybe we could."

Strutting over to where they sat, Y/N harshly threw the dirty rag on Wooyoung's face, causing a faint grunt to come out of his mouth.

"No matter how many times you mention my ass, I'm still not letting you tap it." She firmly stated, making Wooyoung slightly purse his lips outwards in a disappointed grimace.

"So anygays-" Mingi began.

"Umm I think you mean anyways." San corrected him.

Leaning in towards him, Mingi locked eyes on the shorter male and stared him down with an intimidating glare.

"Did I stutter Choi?"

San immediately shook his head rapidly. With a victory smile, Mingi reclined back in his seat.

"I'm just going to get the breakfast platter with some orange juice."

Y/N couldn't stifle her snort when he said his choice of drink, the other two men looking away in embarrassment.

"You've been drinking orange juice since you were in grade school Mingles, don't you think you outta start taking something more grown up? Like coffee?" San suggested and Mingi did not appreciate it.

"Coming from the one who still brings a plushie to sleep with him, your suggestion holds no value or power." He retorted.

"OK SHIBER IS NOT A PLUSHIE, HE'S FAMILY YOU JACKASS!" San sprinted up from his seat, nearly leaning across to grab Mingi by the color, but he was held back by Wooyoung.

Lynn, who had thus far stayed quiet, promptly came up with a spray bottle and consequently doused the untamed boy on his face.

"Bad kitty, bad kitty." She reprimanded him, unable to resist the opportunity to attack her long time frenemy.

"Lynn!" Y/N looked at her with surprise.

"You're welcome." Lynn replied rather monotone before going back to her place behind the counter like she didn't just spray San with disinfecting water.

"There's too many germs going around anyways..." She muttered under her breath.

Without any further interruptions, aside from the rumbling coming out of the boys' stomachs, they finished ordering what they wanted and Y/N sent it over so they could be prepared. Not wanting to be near their loud asses, Y/N went back over to where Lynn was, peeking over to see what she was currently reading in the magazine she held.

"What you reading?" She casually inquired.

"Horoscope section." Y/N wasn't surprised, her friend tended to be into more mystical, eccentric and rather.....extreme with her taste in fashion and music. If Y/N was the one who turned heads for her scandalous attire, Lynn was the one people turned away from in fear when they saw how she dressed. It was a sight that truly made both of them laugh at people's foolishness, well at least made Y/N laugh. Her friend rarely had any other expression plastered on that wasn't utter disdain for society and life.

Unexpectedly, another customer came in. Both girls looked at each other in confusion when neither of them recognized him. Their town was rather small with few people living there, so they deduced that he must be a traveler who probably got lost on his route. He himself looked around nervously, eyes barely lifting up. Y/N couldn't help herself as she took in his perfect face. Big, round eyes with crystal clear orbs, small face with a V-line jaw, perfectly sculpted nose with no sign of defects, skin smooth and blemish free, he looked like a prince out of a fairytale. He was incredibly pretty, yet stood there so awkwardly that it was almost comical.

"Hey Yeosang! You made it! Sit down! I ordered for you in advanced!" Wooyoung surprised both girls when it seemed he knew the stranger and even waved him over to where they sat. The other two boys also seem familiarized with him and welcomed him to sit with them, chatting up a storm already with him.

"Who's that?" Lynn was the one to finally ask out loud.

"Beats me.....but he sure is adorable."

Noticing the way her lips curled upwards, Lynn could already see the wheels inside Y/N's head turning.

"And I bet you're going to go over there and find out- aaand there you go." She ended up answering her own deduction as she watched Y/N happily walked over with a more bright expression on her face, that soon soured when her boss came out of the kitchen and beat her over to the table, laying down several plates of food.

"I knew as soon as I saw the orders that it had to be the lot of you." She scoffed softly as she looked at the boys' grinning faces.

"You know us Miss Audrey, we wouldn't ever think of eating anywhere else but here. You're the best cook in all of town." Wooyoung praised her with a sparkling charm that could have fooled anyone else but not the robust woman in front of him.

"Boy stop trying to tickle my ears, I've known you since you were in your soiled diapers being carried around by your mama, running around and creating chaos anywhere you went. Flattery may work on them poor girls you play with but me? I can see right through ruffians like you."

Turning her head to finally notice the new addition to the group, she looked him up and down.

"Boy who might you be?" She questioned him, earning the ears of the girls nearby to listen in for any valuable information.

"I'm..... Yeosang Kang, nice to meet you." He introduced himself, tilting his head slightly down when he said that.

"He just moved into town this week! He's the new guy who is going to work with us down at the car shop and help on the race track!" San enthusiastically shouted, making the older woman cringe.

"I may be old, but I still haven't gone deaf for you to yell in such a way boy. So...." She crossed her arms and looked at Yeosang again.

"You a racer too?"

Now the girls, particularly Y/N, were more interested in what his response would be.

"I- yes. So it seems." The poor boy looked so flustered, obviously being more of a soft spoken individual, contrasting starkly to the other 3 boys.

Miss Audrey let out a seemingly displeased hum at his answer.

"As if we needed anymore hooligans running wild. We already got enough with the 3 Stooges over here."

The girls couldn't help but snicker at their boss's words, always having a blast whenever she put the boys back in their place. They however looked displeased, glaring at them intensely.

"Shouldn't you both be off somewhere cleaning dishes or making sandwiches?"

Snatching one of the knifes, Lynn held it up and was about to jump over, but Y/N came up in front of her.

"Lynn, no. Just calm down ok? You know they're just being idiots." Y/N reminded her.

Grumbling something in a foreign language no one knew for sure if it was real or not, Lynn put the knife back, squinting her eyes at them before turning around to not look at them again. Y/N giggled softly, finding it absolutely cute whenever her friend lost her cool and collected form cause it reminded her of a chihuahua, barking and yelping at anything larger than itself trying to establish dominance.

Noticing that in her display of aggression, Lynn had inadvertently knocked over a few of the brochures that were on display for people to take, Y/N stooped down and proceeded to pick them up in a casual manner. Standing up, she neatly arranged them properly, making sure they all faced the same direction and the sides weren't poking out anywhere. Feeling as though someone had been watching her all along, she looked at the table of boys, half expecting Wooyoung's smug grin to greet her, but she was completely wrong as it was none other than the new guy who seemed unable to keep his eyes off her figure, staring intently at the length of her skirt. When he realized she noticed, his eyes went wide, cheeks burning up with utter embarrassment. Y/N however seemed unbothered by this. Wanting to test something, she pretended to accidentally drop one of the pamphlets. Bending over, she made sure he could get a perfect glimpse of her cleavage, if he payed enough attention, he'd be able to see that she was in fact, not wearing any bra. Coming back up, Y/N looked over to see the results, smirking when the agape mouth of Yeosang confirmed to her that he had indeed noticed everything.

"Oh sweetheart, you're gonna be too easy..." She had already made up in her mind that Yeosang would be her next target, and she had to put her plan in action. Placing the brochures down, she was about to go over and start flirting with him, until a familiar voice called for her.

"Y/N! There you are!"

She internally groaned when she heard him, wondering why on earth did he not get the hint of ditching him like that, especially when he very well knew about the reputation she had. She tried ignoring him, but of course, he had had to be the persistent type, no doubt thinking he was going to have a different ending than the rest before him.

"I thought you'd be here. You could have told me you were going to be gone early. I would have made you breakfast."

Knowing she had to say something, Y/N grabbed her pad and gave him the fakest smile she was capable of donning.

"Hi, what can we get started for you today? Waffles? Eggs and bacon? Coffee to start off with?"

The trio of friends, having no choice but to witness the interaction due to it happening right in front of them, snickered amongst themselves.

"Oh shit. He's in for it." San whispered lowly.

The boy obviously looked extremely confused, his smile lightly falling off, but then returning to its hopeful state.

"Why are you acting like this candy bear? Pretending like you don't know me?" When he tried to reach a hand to pull her close, the girl simply pushed him away with one of her fingers.

"Look, clearly you're too stupid to understand so let me spell it out in a language you can understand." Letting out a tired sigh, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, a sour look displaying on her pretty face.

"We had a nice time together, and last night was... average to put it nicely."

"Oh man. That was a total burn." Mingi couldn't help but snort, some of the orange juice being spit back into his glass.

"But that was all it was and all it's ever going to be. So why don't you do yourself a favor and just go back home to your Star Trek figurines and watch the latest episode of Thunder Cats?"

The not so discreet snickering coming from the table behind them only made the humiliation for the man multiply significantly. Turning red with utter despair and rage, he quickly brushed past Y/N rather brusquely.

"Fucking bitch." She heard him mutter under his breath, a phrase she had grown accustomed to hearing among many others.

"Oh god. Homegirl struck again." Wooyoung laughed, swirling his milkshake in his hand.

"Ayo why you gotta do Thunder Cats like that? It's actually pretty entertaining." San commented.

Looking over at the time, the guys quickly stood up, dropping their share of bills onto the table.

"You guys get paid today too right? Come meet up with us at the track." Wooyoung suggested.

"Why on earth would we want to go see your greasy, oil smelling ass after dealing for nearly an hour with you already?" Lynn questioned him, eyes never peering up from her magazine.

"Because Yunho would be there?"

Still she didn't respond, the only movement made was her finger turning the page.

"Bro we been knew she don't give two shits about him." Mingi reminded them.

"Because we're going to the drive in theater after work, they're playing a horror movie."

Lifting her gaze, Lynn closed the magazine, although still stone faced, her eyes seemed to brighten up.

"My interest has been greatly piqued." Her lips showed the faintest whisper of a smile that gave a rather eerie and chilling feel down the people's spines.

"Maybe we should rethink inviting Satan's offspring." San leaned in towards Mingi, shivering significantly.

"Great! So we'll catch you gals later."

The boys quickly dispersed themselves, save Yeosang who still sat quietly, keeping mostly to himself. His fingers fidgeted with the half drunk cup he was holding, gaze fixed on the table in front of him. Looking up, he was attempting to work up the courage to talk to Y/N, but before he could even get the chance to gather strength, the owner came out from the back, whispering a few orders to her and gesturing for her to go tend to a situation in the kitchen. With a defeated sigh, he got up to go join the rest of the gang outside who were waiting for him. Slumping his hands in the pockets of his pants, he moved out of the booth with a solemn gaze.

"Hey."

His steps came to a screeching halt when he heard Y/N call out to him. Looking over, she smiled sweetly in his direction.

"Hope I see you later." With a flirtatious wink, she bid him goodbye as she disappeared into the back.

Yeosang stood there stunned momentarily, replaying her words over and over again in his mind, pondering endlessly at their meaning.

"Little pussy cat sure got you brain dead, didn't she?"

Startled by the unexpected voice next to him, he jumped when the face of the kind yet stern old lady studied him carefully. With a disapproving shake of her head, she decided it'd be best to warn him before he started getting ideas in his head.

"Listen, you seem like a sweet and sensible young man, so it's best for you to listen to me and stay away from that darn girl. Don't let them sugar coated lips of hers sweet talk themselves into your heart. You'll just end up heart broken like all the lovers she's had."

Picking up some of the plates, she gave him one last look, pointing an accusatory finger at him to get her point across.

"She's dangerous." Finally saying what she needed to say, Miss Audrey headed back with plates in her arms, slapping away Lynn's hands when they attempted to pry them off her, barking instructions at her to watch the counter and leave her be.

"Dangerous....." Yeosang thought to himself, the warning the good intended woman gave him sinking deep in his mind. Although he took her words to heart, something about the way she glanced at him pulled at the strings in his chest, taking his breath away when he remembered the risque position she was in that purposely allowed him to view more than he should have. That memory tinted his cheeks pink, lips unable to suppress a small smile. He knew that he should heed the old woman's advice.

But he had to admit that he loved danger and the thrill it came with.........

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Taglist: @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers @brie02 @galaxteez @multidreams-and-desires @deja-vux @hanatiny @couchpotatoaniki @daniblogs164 @a-soft-hornytiny @yunsangoveryonder @minhyukmyluv @nanamarkie @ateezbabysitters @mingismoon @rainteez02

[ladypurplejanewrynn]

A small change for a month

Versailles ( Audrey Bonnefoy) belongs to @hopelessly-austroholic

It was a nice sunny day. Alfred and Tolys decided to spent some time outside and get some fresh air. They went to a lake to be at peace and quite. They sat down on the grass and admired the view in silence for a small moment. Then Tolys decided to cut the moment of silence. "This place is so beautiful at spring, when flowers starts blooming and birds are singing ." Alfred faced his boyfriend:"That’s true. This place is really amazing at spring. Especially when i get to spent my time in here with you, my love." A small blush appeared on Tolys face:"I’m also glad to spent my time in this place with you hun. No noises. Only the birds singing and the sound of the water. And you and me, spending our time together, as lovers." The American wrapped his arm around The Lithuanian and kissed him on the cheek. Later on they layed down on the grass, looking deeply in each other eyes. They were about to kiss on the lips when suddently they heared an explotion somewhere close to where they were. They got up and went to check what happend. As they arrived to the place, the only things they saw were a destroyed spaceship and a weird looking object next to it. They decided to go a little closer to take a closer look. America picked up the object:" Wow, this looks really weird. But on the same time it looks really cool. How about i take this home with me?" Lithuania looked at him:"I don’t know sweety. I would leave this here and not even take this into my hands if i were you." "Oh come on babe. What’s the worst that can happend?" asked Alfred while he start it playing with it. "Just please be careful with it, ok? We don’t know what this exactly is." said Tolys.

"Don’t worry love. I’m gonna be super careful with it." said the American. Suddently something weird start it happening with the object. It start it glowing. Both Alfred and Tolys looked at it confused. "Alfred, what did you do?" asked the Lithuanian. "I don’t know. I was just playing with it and it start it glowing." answered the American. Then it start glowing even brighter, blinding the both men. After it stopped, Tolys and Alfred found themselfs laying on the ground. Luckly they didn’t get hurt or anything, but something just felt off for both of them. Finally when they fully were able to see again, they noticed something has changed. Lithuania looked at America to see a blond haired, beautiful young woman. "Alfred, is that you? asked Tolys as a more feminine voice came out of his mouth. "Yes, it is me. Something weird happend to us. We’re women now." said America. "What?" asked Lithuania and then looked down on his body to see a pair of breasts. "No way. This can’t be happening. This can’t be true. It has to be a trick pulled off by that weird object, right?" said Tolys as he grabbed his own chest. He couldn’t believe it. The breasts felt so realistic in touch. He took his hands off of his chest and his face start it turnning deeply red. "Honey, calm down. There must be a way for us to change back." said Alfred wrapping his arms around Tolys. "And what if we’re actually stuck like this for the rest of our life? Alfred, i don’t want to be a girl forever." said Tolys wrapping his arms around his lover as well.

"Everything is gonna be alright hun. I think i know a person that could help us." said America. "And who would that be?" asked Lithuania. "Well, i thought about asking England to try to use his magic and change us back." said Alfred. "But, i thought you didn’t believe in magic." said Tolys all shocked. "And i still don’t believe in it. But is always worth a try." said Alfred. Then they took the weird object with them and went to pay a visit to Arthur’s house. In the beginning, he was surprised to see two ladies at his door. But after Tolys and Alfred told him that it was them and explained him want exactly happend, he was all surprised. "So, you’re coming to me for help. I thought you didn’t believe in magic." said England looking at America. "Whatever. I still don’t believe in it." answered the American. "Then why are you coming to ask me for help by using magic in the first place, you idiot?!" asked England all frustrated. "Please, can the both of you not argue? Especially in a moment like this?" said Tolys. "Oh, sorry dear." said America and then turned back to England. "Anyway, even thought i don’t believe in magic this is your chance to prove me wrong. And beside is always worth a try, no matter how ridiculous it may sound or be." said Alfred. "Ehhh, i guess you’re right. Alright then. Get yourselfs ready. And please, if you want the spell to work perfectly, please stay in place. And don’t deconcentrate me." said Arthur, took his wand and start it casting the spell. Alfred and Tolys got ready, and even closed their eyes. Once the spell was casted, they opened their eyes but nothing happend. They were still stuck in female bodies. "Geez, just like i thought it would be. So magic doesn’t exist after all." said America. "But, how? It was supposed to work. You were supposed to be back in your normal bodies. I don’t understand." said Arthur all suprised. "Dude, maybe you should accept the fact that magic doesn’t exist." said America. "And what if my spell malfunctioned? Or what if something is making it impossible to change you back by magic? Didn’t you say it was the weird object that did this to you and that you found it next to a crushed spaceship, or something?" asked England. "Yes, that’s what we said. Why?" asked Lithuania. "Maybe the alien technology is strong against magic." said England. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that." answered Alfred.

"Hey, not my fault it didn’t work." said Arthur. "Sure, whatever you say dude. Anyway, why didn’t i thought about it earlier. Tony is an alien. I’m sure he will know something about this object and maybe he’ll even find a way to change us back." said America with so much happiness in his voice. "I really hope so. I really want my old body back. I’m a bit uncomfortable in this one." said Lithuania. "Don’t you worry hun. I’m sure Tony will find a way out for us." said Alfred and took his lover by the hand. After they finally arrived home, they went straight to Tony to ask him for help. They gave him the weird object, so he could take a closer look and analyse it. After an hour, he finally finished. "So, Tony do you know how to change us back?" asked Alfred. The alien looked at his friends:"Well, i have good news and fucking bad news. The good ones are that you will change back to normal. But the bad news are that you’re stuck like this for a month. Fuck." "A month? There’s no way i can survive being stuck as a woman for this long." said Tolys starting panicking. "Hey, is gonna be alright love. We’re in this together. We can handle this. This month will pass really fast. At least is better than being stuck like that for a year or even forever, right?" said Alfred calming down his boyfriend. Tolys smiled:"You’re right, honey. Is gonna be ok. But still, I don’t really like this." America put his hand on his lover’s shoulder:"I know you don’t like it. But you’re not alone. I’m also not feeling really comfortable with having to live like this for a month. And I won’t hide that I feel guilty for what happend to us. After all, I’m the one who played with the object like an idiot." Suddenly, Lithuania pulled his lover into a hug:"Alfred, please don’t blame yourself for it. You couldn’t know that this would happend. And beside, I’m not mad at you for it. We all are allowed to make mistakes, right?" A moment later they shared a kiss on their lips. After they broke their kiss, Tolys spoke up again:"Like you said, we can handle this."

Alfred smiled:"You’re right babe." After comforting each other, they went to their room. "Geez, we could really use the help of a bra or something. Since turning into girls, these things have been bouncing a lot lately." said the Lithuanian. "True. But I don’t feel like going shopping today. What about we go buy some bras for the current situation tomorrow?" asked the American. "Sure, i don’t feel like going either. So, what about we just relax for the rest of this day in our house then?" said Liet. "Sounds like a plan." noded America. Then they layed down on their bed and watched a movie. After they finished the movie, it was already evening. Alfred decided to go first to take a shower. He was a little embarressed to undress from him cloths. He slowly took them off. When he was completly naked, he found himself looking at his own reflection in the mirror. "Holy crap, i look pretty hot as a woman." thought the American while admiring himself. Then he went to the bathtube and start it bathing. He was still a bit embarressed to look at his naked body, but he knew he had to get used to it for the current situation. After showering, he took a moment to look at himself again. Meanwhile, Tolys was already waiting in front of the bathroom’s door:"Alfred, are you done out there? I would also love to take a shower." The voice of his boyfriend brought him back to reality:"Oh, i’m almost done sweetheart. Just let me put my pijama on." After putting his pijama on, he got out and let his lover in. Tolys had a similar reaction as Alfred, when he had to take off his cloths. But with the diffrence he was much more embarressed about it. After undressing and seeing himself in the mirror, he turned his head away from his mirror reflection. He closed his eyes. He could feel his face turnning completly red. A moment later, he opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to face the mirror. "Oh goodness, is that really me?" he asked himself in his thoughts. "Not that i look bad or anything, but it feels really embarrassing." thought the Lithuanian. After a moment of looking at himself in the mirror, he took the shower really quick, dressed up in his pijama and went out of the bathroom.

He layed down next to his boyfriend. "So, ready to go to sleep hun?" asked Alfred. "Yeah…" answered Tolys a little mixed up. Alfred noticed the mixed up look on his lover’s face and decided to check if everything was alright. "Is everything ok, sweetheart?" asked America. Tolys looked at his boyfriend:"Oh, don’t worry honey. I’m alright. Is just, it felt kinda embarrassing when i was taking the shower lately. It felt a little weird to me when i had to touch all these female body parts while showering and…" He didn’t menage to finish as Alfred cut his words with a gentle kiss on the lips. A moment later they broke their kiss. "I understand how you feel honey. It also felt weird to me. But is gonna be alright. And who knows? Maybe we’ll get used to it." Tolys gave him a gentle smile:"Right." After having their small conversation, they fell asleep. The next day, Liet was the first to wake up. He went to the kitchen and made breakfeast for himself and Alfred. When the food was ready, he went to wake up his lover. After they finished eating their breakfeast, they went to dress up. "So, are you ready to go bra shopping hun?" asked America. "I sure am." answered Liet. When they were about to get out of their house, they heared someone ringing at the door bell. They opened the door to see Warsaw and Poland in front of them. In the beginning they were shocked to see two ladies instead of their friends. "Who are you and what are you doing at our friends house?" asked Warsaw. "Alice, Feliks. I know it might be hard to believe but is us. Tolys and Alfred. We got turned into girls." answered Lithuania. "What? How did that happend?" asked Feliks. "There’s a lot to explain. Please come in." said Alfred. They took their sit. Alfred made some coffee for their guests and he and Tolys start it explainning them what happend. After explainning everything to their friends, Warsaw and Poland comforted them. "Oh my gosh, i’m really sorry to hear that guys." said Alice. "Eh, it could be worse. At least is not for a year or permanent." answered Alfred. "Luckly. I don’t know if I would be able to endure that this long." said Tolys. "Anyway, i see you are ready to get out of the house. Did you plan on getting out somewhere?" asked Feliks. "Actually, we were supposed to go shopping. You see, we kinda need some bras for the current situation." said the American. "Why didn’t you tell us earlier? We would gladly come to help." said Warsaw. "Well, we were planning on buying the bras and then later tell you and the rest of our friends about what happend to us." answered Lithuania. "Well, is like totally understandable." said Poland. "But since that you are now here, I guess you can come with us and even help us out if you want." said Tolys. "Oh, we’ll gladly help. Beside, that’s what friends are for." said Alice with a sweet smile on her face. Then they got out of the house straight to a gallery. After arriving, they went to the clothing shop immendiatly and to the bra section. "Geez, what size exactly do we need to pick?" asked America looking at his lover. "Well, definitely not the smallest one. After all, these things looks a little big. Although, maybe not that much big." answered Lithuania. Then Warsaw came up to them:"Hmmmm… I think the two of you should be pretty much my size. So, i guess you should pick the C cups size. I’m not exactly sure though."

The lovers looked at her. "Well, we won’t find out if we don’t try it out." said Tolys. They took the bras of the size suggested by Alice and went to the changing rooms. Alice and Feliks waited for them to get out and show themselfs. After a moment of waiting, the two lovers got out of their changing rooms. "So, how do you guys feel? Do you feel the bras being loose or a bit tight or anything like that?" asked Warsaw. "To be honest, no. I feel it fits my exact mesurement. How about you hun?" said Alfred turnning his head to face his boyfriend. "Same for me actaully. The bra doesn’t feel loose or tight on me. I can feel it clinging to my chest perfectly." said Tolys. After trying out the bras, they went back to their changing rooms and got dressed, they took some pairs of bras and bought them. After getting out of the store, they thanked Alice and Feliks for their help and all four of them went back to Alfred and Tolys’s house. While Feliks and Alice waited for them in the guest room, the two lovers went to their bathroom to put their bras on. After that was done, they put their shirt back on and came out of the bathroom. Then they texted to their friends to come over to their house and that it was important. After everyone arrived, they were all confused about seeing two women openning the door for them. Then Tolys and Alfred explained them everything about what happend to them. When they finished explainning, all of their friends gave them a hug and words of support. After telling their friends about the whole situation, they start it to visit them even more often then usual. They wanted to make sure Alfred and Tolys are doing well while being stuck in female bodies. Eduard and Raivis came up one day to pick up Tolys with them for a friends movie night. Another time Arthur came to check on Alfred. Then another day Feliks and Alice along with Audrey and Roderich came over to them for a sleepover. Then another time Philadelphia along with Switzerland and Lichtenstein came over for a visist. With time passing by, Alfred and Tolys slowly start it getting used to their female bodies.

One day, they had to go to a world meeting to talk about a world problem. After the meeting was over, they got out of the room with relief. "Hey love, do you want some ice cream?" asked America. "Sure. I would love to babe. Vanilla flavor please." answered Lithuania. "Alright, i’ll be right back. Wait for me in here,okay?" said the American and went up to the ice cream truck to order ice creams for both of them. While, Tolys was waiting for Alfred to come back, Gilbert came up to him and start it to laugh at him. "So, how does it feel like being stuck in a woman’s body Lithua- whatever your name is?" Tolys gave him a cold stare:"Do you ever shut up or you always have to be this annoying?" Prussia looked at him with a small grin on his face:"Calm down, no need to get immediatly defensive. Beside, i just wanted to tell you that even thought you’re still a loser and i’m still better than you, you actually look pretty good as a woman." "Was that supposed to be a compliment or one of your ways to mock me?" asked Lithuania with confusion on his face. "Listen, we maybe are rivals and we may hate each other, but i’m completly honest with what i just said. But on the same time, yes, i am kinda mocking you a little bit." said Gilbert. "Just as i thought. You know what, i don’t need this. I don’t need to listen to your words. I’m getting out of here." said Liet and slowly start it to walk away. But suddently, he got grabbed by his arm. "Wait, i’m not finished yet." said Gilbert. "Let go of me!" shout it Tolys while struggling to get his arm free from the grip. At that moment Alfred was coming back with ice creams and saw what was happening. He was about to do something, when suddently Tolys punched Gilbert really hard in the face. Prussia let go of his arm and fell on the ground. "I think i told you to let go and that i didn’t wish to listen to more of your bullshit. Now excuse me, but i think i’m done in here." said the Lithuanian and went away. "Wow, hun that was amazing. Are you okay by the way? Did he hurt you?" asked America. Lithuania looked at him:"Thanks love. And don’t worry. I’m good. Just a little pissed because of this asshole." Alfred smiled:"Then let me make you feel a little better." said Alfred and kissed his boyfriend on the lips with so much love and warmth. After they broke their kiss, they went on a walk while eating their ice creams. The days were passing by. The month of America and Lithuania being stuck in female bodies was almost over. It was finally the last day for them. So they decided to have some fun while they were still stuck in female bodies. They spent most of their time outside. And at evening they decided to have some fun in bed. It all began gently with some kisses and some bites on their neck. But later it got a little wilder as they both took off their shirts and their bras. Alfred got on top of Tolys and grabbed his chest. In the beginning he was squeezing his lover’s breasts gently, but later he start it to squeeze them harder, making more moans escape Tolys’s mouth. A moment later they switched and it was Tolys turn to do the same to Alfred. After that they got fully naked and start it having their fun until they fell asleep hugging each other. It was already mornning, Tolys woke up first as usual. He sat up and opened his eyes. He looked at his own body and noticed the female body parts disappeared. Then he looked at Alfred, who also got his old body back. Tolys smiled softly and gently woke up his boyfriend. "Alfred, Alfred wake up. It worked. We’re back to normal." America opened his eyes:"Huh? What? What’s happening?" asked Alfred as he opened his eyes to see his lover’s face and back in his male body. Then he looked at his own body to see he changed back as well. A smile of joy appeared on his face and a moment later he was hugging his boyfriend. "Tolys, we’re back to normal. We really are." said America. "I know that hun." answered Lithuania. After the hug, they decided to lay in bed a little longer. They shared a kiss on the lips and went back to sleep.

The End

[thevirgodoll]

Wat do u think of Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)? She’s 1 of the 3 people I look to for fashion (Rihanna and Chanel from the cheetah girl movies) (Carrie Bradshaw from sex in the city is honorary) for her preppy, youthful, feminine old money style. I think she exudes femeninity even if she manipulative. She def makes her standards clear in terms of men and where she wants to be in life, and she takes good care of herself. Idk, she’s one of my all time fav characters. Wat do u think?

I think Blair has always had a distinct sense of style as far as preppy fashion goes. She was inspired by greats in the femininity world such as Audrey Hepburn. Blair set her own trends like she is known for her headbands lol. I think she was pretty feminine and had her thing going as far as fashion goes but otherwise, she made multiple excuses for things Chuck did.

I think he was too low vibrational for her and did some things that were unforgivable in my book. Their entire relationship is highly emotionally manipulative and low vibrational... They consistently project their psychological issues onto each other and use each other to manipulate situations throughout the series... Like Chuck “sold” Blair for a hotel.... okay. ION LIKE DET.

That’s not to put Serena on a pedestal, since every Gossip Girl character is comical as far as development goes at best (a lot of things that happened wouldn’t have flied today including the abhorrent Chuck/Jenny issue that gets ignored hence me saying he was too low vibrational)...

It’s just that I believe Blair lowered her high standards and has internalized misogyny...she slut shames Serena far too many times. Not to say she is a victim, but it’s noted.

A part of me believes people adore Blair’s actions so much because they see so much of themselves within the things she does.

I have analyzed both Blair and Serena often. Blair is complex and seemingly “human” and attainable which is why people latch onto her, whereas Serena is the dreamy “it girl�� written solely around her love life for some reason.

Blair shows her vulnerabilities and fears of inadequacy like many “Queen Bee” archetypes, and uses her charm to her advantage, while also falling weak to people such as Chuck and Serena. She was highly jealous of Serena and it was deeply detailed throughout their fights...which is unfortunate because again, Serena wasn’t any better.

Blair was reacting to the world around her, turning inward with a killer eating disorder, while Serena was oblivious to her surroundings yet maintaining an equally sorrowful narrative.

Two outwardly confident women who clashed because of their projected insecurities, and internalized them even more by surrounding themselves with problematic boys that could never be men 🤷🏽‍♀️

[darklesmylove]

powers of deduction | cressworth

some valentines day cressworth! i wrote this because im currently on the last book and the angst is torturous so here’s some fluffy fluff for you! 

enjoy <3

tags: @city-of-fae @thomasscresswell @danieldesario @illyrianbeauty

***

Thomas Cresswell was an exceedingly hard man to buy gifts for, that much Audrey Rose could attest to. But after years of marriage, she had become a self proclaimed expert at reading him and his wants that he would never admit out loud. Sometimes even before he knew them himself.

Sir Isaac Mewton had, at first, become a reluctant addition to their partnership, but that had quickly dissolved into an unconditional love like that of a real child. Audrey Rose knew that Thomas was itching to have children of their own despite their still relatively young age, but it was at her discretion that they would decide it was time. After all, men were not the ones who had to carry a living being inside of them for nine whole miserable months.

So for Valentine's Day she had decided to get him the next best thing to tide him over until that time came.

It was heart wrenchingly difficult to select a puppy to adopt amidst all of the animals begging and hoping for a home outside of a cramped metal cage. If she could, she would have taken them all home with her.

In reality she had come away with an adorable Corgi puppy that had been so excited upon her arrival it had tripped over its tiny little legs in an effort to run to her. A shiny red bow was looped around his neck; he panted happily with its soft pink tongue lolling to the side in pure joy. At the sound of the front door opening and closing, signaling Thomas's arrival, she gathered the dog into her arms, giving him a nice scratch behind its ears to calm it down some.

"I'm home, my love!" Thomas called from the foyer with his usual cheer, making a smile curl at the corner of her mouth at his imminent reaction to her gift.

"Come join me the living room, Cresswell, I have a surprise." She bit down on her lip, excitement and nervousness  buzzing through her veins to the point that she was close to vibrating. His heavy, sure steps padded against the marble floors until he rounded the corner.

Immediately, at the sight of her holding a puppy, he froze, mouth almost comically agape.

"Happy Valentine's Day from me and Barkimedes," she grinned devilishly, Barkimedes bouncing in her arms in particularly enthusiastic emphasis. Thomas's incredulous laugh warmed her skin like sun rays on a particularly pleasant summer day. 

"Like Archimedes," he nodded with a teasing eye roll, "Making fun of my naming choices, I see." 

She tilted her head in amusement, allowing Barkimedes to jump from her lap and rush into Thomas's embrace as he opened is arms in invitation. He chuckled, sinking to his knees and allowing the puppy to attack him with incessant kisses. Of course the dog had taken to him so quickly, it seemed Thomas Cresswell could charm anyone and everyone with wicked ease.  

She could do nothing but admire her husband, his golden eyes glimmering with adoration as he cooed lovingly, messy brown locks falling into his eyes in perfect disarray. Finally, after a long few minutes of affectionate cuddling, he scooped the puppy into his arms, lazily making his way over to where she lounged on the couch.

"How did you know I wanted a puppy?" he narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion, though there was genuine curiosity behind the inquiry.

She let a smirk curve the side of her rosy lips upward in smug satisfaction. "You're not the only one with attuned powers of deduction, Cresswell." 

He regarded her as if he could ravage her based on that statement alone. 

Her giggle in response made him pout ever so slightly. Though she had no qualms about ravaging or being ravaged, it was sometimes amusing the smallest things that made him regard her in such a manner. The pout turned into a lopsided grin as he noticed her lingering stare. At the endearing look she couldn't help but soften, shifting closer and leaning against his hard frame. 

"I know you've been wanting a child, Thomas," she murmured gently, tracing a fingertip along the back of his hand, Barkimedes curling up in his lap with a contented sigh. "Until I am ready, I thought it would be appropriate to find you a different baby to take care of in the meantime."

When she looked up, she startled to see the glimmer of tears welling at the corners of his dark lashes. 

"Damn you, Audrey Rose," he chuckled almost mournfully, "You know me better than I know myself. Barkimedes will be more than sufficient until you are ready." 

A brief pause. 

"And know that I meant it when I told you that you and only you will decide when the time is right. I refuse to pressure you or try and control you and your body that I have no claim to. When you so choose, I want nothing more than to raise a child with you and be the greatest father I can possibly be. That I will promise you, Audrey Rose Cresswell."

Now her throat choked up with the threat of tears, the speech another constant reminder of just how deeply in love she was with her husband. He would never force her to obey his will, and no matter what society told him he had possession of, he would always remain her equal in both body and mind.  

A playful look quirked at his lips as he snaked an arm around her waist, a teasing sparkle in his eye. 

"Though I must add, my lovely wife, that if you decide to get me an animal every time I silently wish to have a child, we might own a zoo by the time that day comes. Sooner rather than later we'll have Aristurtle and Frederic Chirpin and a plethora of other badly named pets to take care of."

She snorted with a gentle shove against his shoulder, though it didn't take her long to get lost in his gaze, a stare of pure adoration and love that encapsulated the warmth of a thousand stars.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Thomas," she whispered, not giving him a chance to reply before her lips collided against his, so unimaginably soft it was a wonder that she ever stopped kissing him.

The only thing able to break them away was a fit of giggles at Barkimedes attacking them with kisses of his own.

[this-artist-is-screaming]

04/02/21 New Feminist Perspectives and the Emergence of Intersectional Critique

Adrian Piper - The mythic being 1973/74

- First wave feminism looked at the Suffragettes in the late 19th century 

- Feminist critique in the 70s, mid 20th century, second wave feminism

This is a feminist mytholodgy 

Feminists which first emerged were white, middle class, American. This came to an end in the 70s. African American, Latina, First Nation people and minorities ec were all excluded before the 70s. It was a very heterosexual narrative. 

Feminist aesthetics don't refer to a particular aesthetic or style but question assumptions in art and as an aesthetic we’re looking at stereotyping the defined between men, women and gender. 

Feminists argue that despite seeing being neutral or inclusive the way people think about art and a static influence by sex roles eg. men and women. 

Feminist aesthetics:

A tool for analysing how art is understood using gender issues. 

Audrey Lord was an incredibly influential writer. She delivered a conference paper, very angrily. at a feminist conference. She delivered this paper called ‘The Masters Tool will never dismantle the pastors house’ - this changed the way that feminism looked at itself. 

“If white American feminist theory does not deal with the fact that women will clean your house and look after 10 of your children while you attend a conference of feminist theory are poor people and women of colour. What is the theory behind racist feminism.”

Lord was the only other woman of colour speaking at this conference. Both women were invited as an afterthought. 

Unless we address and embrace the diversity between us and see us as a strength, then it will undermine any of the change, changes that we’re trying to make in society. 

“To read this program is to assume that lesbian and black women have nothing to say about the existentialism, about the erotic, about women culture, womens silence, they’ve got nothing to say in developing feminist theory or heterosexuality or power”.

Historical Narrative Recap

Two ways women have been depicted in art:

Botticelli - Judiths return to Bethulia

- Chopped of the 10th invading Palestine generals head

- got him drunk, seduced him, hacked his head off

- picture shows Judith returning to Jerusalem with the head

- No viscosity, there's no blood, no brains dripping everywhere, the maids    just carrying the head along, not a care in the world.

- Judith herself has a very ‘idealised’ Botticelli style face, no emotions, she doesn't look upset or stressed or angry, she's just walking back with a clean silver sword. 

-does not look very realistic, she’s meant to have just murdered this man!

Gentileschi - Judiths slaying Holofernes 1614-20

- Has been raped, not a lot of contact

- very different depiction of women

- these women are strong and powerful

- it is very contrasting from the Botticelli painting, its more realistic and really looks like the man is in agony

Hannah Hoch

Hoch was known for her political collage and photomontage work. She appropriates her images from mass media, by doing this she is critiquing the government in Germany. She was deeply inspired by early collage artists such as Picasso. She preferred to talk in metaphors rather than direct confrontation. She is recognised as a pioneering feminist artist

‘The beautiful gir’l - 1920 looks at the visual reaction to advertising and the ideas of beauty. She takes clippings from car parts, takes female figures from magazines and she makes a juxtaposition of the role of women in a modernising society. She wanted to emphasize this problematic phenomena between the reality of the experience of real women in Germany, and the rise of national socialism. 

Yoko Ono

Her performance interactive piece from the 60s saw Ono sat on a stage, fully dressed with a pair of scissors next to her, she invites the audience to come and cut a piece of fabric from what she was wearing. People started very gently, by cutting only a tiny section of clothes and then as people got more and more involved in this process they started to get more and more aggressive. She was incredibly passive, she sat their, submissively. People started to cut away at her underwear, she does nothing as part of the performance but security guards stop the audience from cutting before she is fully naked. 

Investigating what changes, what makes people who would generally credit themselves as behaving well, what makes them submit to these very predatory and aggressive people who would cut away very intimate garments.

Marina Abramovic

In her performance piece titled ‘Rhythm Zone’  Abramovic is stood in front of a table with different implements on it. She invited members of the audience to use these implements to cause an interaction between herself and the instance of the objects on the table eg. feathers, pens, knives  (someone cut her jugular) also a loaded gun where someone began to pick it up but security would step in. 

Abramovic had been stripped, we have someone here who is vulnerable and defenceless - she cannot defend herself 

- this is a process of transformation of the audience

- The role of Women as submissive and they’re expecting violence accepting these things happening to them - and unable to respond. 

Judy Chicago - The dinner party 1974-79

A collaborative piece, organised by Judy Chicago, it is seen as a seminal piece in feminist art. The narrative of the piece showcases her inviting women who throughout history have been renowned or made a difference. Women such as Mary Woolstonecroft and Mary Shelley. In the centre of the piece are other woman's  names.

Intersectionality 

Is a concept often used in critical theories to describe the ways in which oppressive institutes ( racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, classism etc.) are interconnected and cannot be examined separately from each other. Your not telling the whole story if your not including all oppressed institutions. You are as guilty as I am guilty of leaving people out of the narratives history.

It suggests that we cannot separate the effects of race, class and gender.

‘Personal is political’ Carol Hanisch 1969 **look more at this**

This term was founded by Hanisch in 1969

- it means that political and personal issues affect each other. 

- The experiences of women is in the grounding of feminism is both personal and political

- You bring your own experiences to feminism because it is a political movement

Multi Racial Feminism - Becky Thomson

“This feminism ( second wave ) is white led, marginalises the activism and world views of women of colour, focuses mainly on the United State, and treats sexism as the ultimate oppression. Hegemonic feminism de - emphasizes or ignores a class or race analysis, generally see’s equality with men as the goal of feminism and has an individual rights based, rather than a justice based vision for social change 

Hegemonic: Who has the overwhelming power.

[aion-rsa]

Anya Taylor-Joy Infiltrates the Boys’ Club of Chess in The Queen’s Gambit

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Netflix’s period piece miniseries The Queen’s Gambit spans a decade in the life of fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), a wunderkind whose natural aptitude for anticipating her opponents’ moves is blunted by her addiction to the tranquilizer pills with which she credits her wins. Following gawky teenage Beth through her early tournaments in the 1950s to the aloof redheaded beauty wowing spectators in Europe in the ’60s—and leaving a trail of defeated men in her wake—the seven-hour series was faced with the challenge of making every chess scene equally thrilling to enthusiasts and non-fans alike.

The key, Taylor-Joy explains to Den of Geek, was in having every single game be recognizably unique. “[Series creator and director] Scott [Frank] and I would have a lot of conversations about both the chess and the addiction scenes, and how we were going to make each of them different and each of them fresh,” she says. “Because this show is seven and a half hours, and if a lot of that is the same chess game, people are gonna wander off.”

The cast and crew imbued each chess match with specific emotion, matching Beth’s personal and professional growth, and unique physicality. For the latter, that involved bringing in chess consultant Bruce Pandolfini (who also consulted on Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel on which the series is based) and grandmaster Garry Kasparov to plan out the series’ many games down to every gambit and checkmate. Because neither Taylor-Joy nor her on-screen competitors had played much chess prior to shooting, treating the gameplay as choreography helped them pick up the moves.

“I saw the whole thing as a dance,” explains Taylor-Joy, a former ballet dancer. “I saw learning the choreography as dance, but just with your fingers.”

Costar Harry Melling, who plays one of Beth’s early rivals Harry Beltik, agrees that the authenticity was found in the tactile movements of the pieces themselves.

“One of the most important things in terms of the choreography was the feel of the pieces,” he says, “about how you take pieces—whether you slide it across the board or whether you lift it up or put it down. All of these little details [are] what makes it look like you’ve been doing it your entire life.”

“It’s like riding a horse,” says Thomas Brodie-Sangster, whose chess champion Benny Watts is known for a distinctive leather duster and laconic attitude. “It doesn’t really matter if you can ride a horse, it’s more about if you can get on the horse and get off the horse and look cool doing it. That’s what people pick up on; it shows that you actually look comfortable doing it.”

While Beltik and Benny are as fictional as Beth, the actors were encouraged to draw inspiration from current and historical grandmasters on which to base their characters’ games. “Every game in the show is based on a real game,” Brodie-Sangster says. “If you’ve got a really keen eye, you can probably recognize games from across the history of chess.” He modeled Benny’s moves after Bobby Fischer, while Melling devoted a lot of time to watching current World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen play.

“That was really fascinating,” Melling says, “because I knew nothing about chess whatsoever—so [I was] starting from ground zero, really, working out how these people operate, what makes them tick.”

Equally important as the dance steps were the dance partners. Taylor-Joy credits the originality of each sequence to who Beth is playing at that moment in time—like Townes (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), a hunky competitor who flusters young Beth. “The first time that Beth plays Townes, it’s the first time that she’s ever liked somebody that she’s playing opposite against,” she says, “so she wants to win, but she doesn’t necessarily enjoy seeing him crumble, which is a new experience for her.”

Taylor-Joy soon found the game as dramatic as Beth does. “For her, it is life or death,” she says. “This is her intellect being challenged, and her intellect is the only thing she has any faith in. So I definitely felt the pressure, and then—whenever she’s playing with somebody—the power high of that.”

It’s no surprise that Beth gets a power high from defeating her male opponents, as it is a very insular boys’ club into which she enters as a dowdily-dressed teenager in the ’50s. For her first match with Beltik at the Kentucky Chess Championship, Melling says, the former is very much in his element, “and then she sort of enters his sphere, and he becomes completely in awe of her talent, and he knows that she’s a better player than him. His bubble gets burst very quick.”

Though Benny saunters into their first match together, Brodie-Sangster acknowledges that there is also an immediate spark with Beth. “Her presence is a bit of a surprise, and a bit of an enigma for him,” he says. “She is very much in a man’s world and doesn’t really look like she really fits in there; neither does he, and I think there’s a kind of connection there.”

Beth grows up in the world of chess, both as an aspiring grandmaster and as a young woman. Taylor-Joy had a blast playing so many different versions of Beth, though she laughs recalling how Frank initially asked her how young she thought she could play. Fourteen or fifteen was her answer—“eight, you’re gonna have to get another actor to do that one”—and so she portrays Beth from her inelegant teenage years through to her mid-twenties.

Over the course of the series, we witness Beths who are alternately brilliant and awkward, shy and sexy, on top of the world and extremely vulnerable. “Because [the show] takes its time and because you do grow with her, you as an audience are allowed insight into why she is the way she is,” Taylor-Joy says. “You see the things that shape her, and you see her grow from it, and you understand why she’s grown in that direction.” 

To move between those many phases, she would devise her own backstories for the different Beths: “She starts off walking very clumsily and awkwardly and almost side-to-side, and then I was like, ‘Oh, and this is the first time she’s ever seen an Audrey Hepburn movie’ and she starts wearing the black pants and the turtleneck and starts standing differently, if a boy’s around. And just trying on different personalities, as I think we all do, especially in that age range, and probably into our adult life. It was really fun.”

In contrast to her male opponents and love interests who inhabit the same sphere, the two key women in Beth’s life exist almost entirely outside of the chess world. Fellow orphan Jolene (Moses Ingram) shows her the ropes at the orphanage, much like an older sister, but resentment stretches between them when Beth is adopted and Jolene is left behind.

“It’s all in how they’ve grown up with each other and gotten to know each other,” says the theatrically trained Ingram of her first on-screen role and the difficult emotional history between Beth and Jolene. “I think people that truly love one another certainly get the very best, but also the very worst, of each other. When you can see someone that deeply, you can’t help but be locked in to one another.”

Complicating their relationship is the fact that preteen Jolene is the one who introduces eight-year-old Beth to the tranquilizer pills to which she immediately becomes addicted. “Jolene was just teaching her how to cope in the only way that Jolene has learned how to cope,” Ingram explains, but that simple act irrevocably shapes Beth’s approach to chess for the next decade. Initially used to “even out” the orphans’ disposition (and then later banned for their habit-forming tendencies), the pills help Beth envision a chessboard in the shadows of her bedroom ceiling at night. Taylor-Joy says she would track Beth’s mental and emotional state not just by the different matches, but by how the ghostly chess pieces appear to her: “Sometimes they’re familiar, sometimes they’re very threatening, it all very much depends on where she’s at.”

Unfortunately, where Beth is often at is relying too much on the pills to help her focus during chess games, believing herself unable to triumph when not in her altered state. Her dilemma is complicated by the fact that the tranquilizer pills come back into her life care of her adoptive mother Alma Wheatley (Marielle Heller), who initially comes off as a stereotypical ’50s housewife who can’t function without “Mother’s Little Helper.” (Though the pills go by the fictional name Xanzolam in the series, they seem to be a cousin of Azolam and other benzodiazepines.)

In the past four years, Heller has been best known behind the camera, as the director of such celebrated films as The Diary of a Teenage Girl (for which she also wrote the screenplay), Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and What the Constitution Means to Me. While Heller had always referenced her history as an actor as “part of my superpower as a director,” she says that she began to feel like “a fraud” when directing stars like Tom Hanks or Matthew Rhys. “I started to feel like, ‘Do I even remember what that feels like, to be an actor, to be asked to do these things, to be asked to go into these certain emotional places?’”

So when Frank, a long-time friend, invited her to join the series and spend a few months shooting in Berlin, Heller saw it as the perfect opportunity to, in her words, “keep my street cred as a director who was an actor.” As a director who seeks out projects about the uncomfortable things that people don’t talk about, Heller found that Alma embodied those same sensibilities: “She’s someone who has a lot of pain in her past, and that makes her most interesting; she’s not some version of a ’50s housewife that doesn’t feel real. So much of what I try to do as a director is to tap into that thing that has made somebody the way they are.”

Despite mother and daughter’s initial friction, as Beth carves out her niche in the chess world, and Alma begins accompanying her on her more glamorous tournaments, the older woman is inspired to revisit her own long-abandoned dreams of devoting her life to a creative pursuit. “For Alma,” Heller says, “she had this dream deferred. She was somebody who wanted to be a pianist and artist and never could, and that’s a pain that I feel is very human, and I totally connected to.”

What’s remarkable about The Queen’s Gambit is that each of its female characters experiences a different and specific struggle for the time period. “Scott did that really beautifully,” Ingram says of playing adult Jolene, advocating for change during the Civil Rights movement while Beth is moving up through the ranks of the chess world. “He didn’t let us forget what point in time we were in the world—we’re in the ’60s, in the smack-dab [middle] of civil unrest, because people aren’t being treated fairly. And I loved that Jolene is out front and being a crusader, being a champion for change, when very clearly all she’s known is white people her whole life. So it was beautiful to see that she’s found herself later, in changing the world—trying to, at least.”

In that endeavor, Jolene describes herself as a radical, though Ingram also feels that the word was a fitting theme for the series overall.

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“I think it’s radical that Beth, as a woman, is this far into the chess world at this point in time,” she says. “It’s unheard of that she’s there, and everyone’s shocked by it. It’s definitely a story of radical love, and radical faith.”

The Queen’s Gambit premieres October 23 on Netflix.

The post Anya Taylor-Joy Infiltrates the Boys’ Club of Chess in The Queen’s Gambit appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[crispyimagines17]

“GOSSIP GIRL: Summertime Madness“ (Chapter 2).

Summary: Gossip Girl, your one and only social media source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s Elite. Things begin to stagger at the Upper East Side with the return of Alana Howarth and the unexpected arrival of Timothée Chalamet, a European handsome boy and rising ruler who has come for Alana; ignoring that NYC already has an heir and prince in its realm, Tom Holland. Secrets, romance, drama and lots of champagne are our daily bread. You know you love me, XOXO.

Originally based on: R’s & CrispyImagines writers’ idea.

Written by:  @crispyimagines17

CAST:

Tom Holland

Timothée Chalamet

Noah Centineo as Noah Humphrey

Kiernan Shipka as Kiernan Archibald

Disclaimer:  This fiction is set on our days (2019). Gossip Girl is now all over social media, Twitter and Instagram being the best sites to find hot tea. Also, for those who may ask what happens with Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan, Nate and the original cast, they’re now grownups who set the reign and have left it for new generations.

Author’s Note: Just enjoy it while it lasts, guys. Thank you to all those supportive souls who sent their good vibes via ask or DM <3 especially to Napofthesoul, your words really meant a lot, sweetie. 

Previous Chapters: 1: “New York, New York”

Masterpost

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Morning, Upper East Siders. Time to wake up from bad dreams and face a new day. Though, if you’re a queen just arriving at your realm after time abroad and with two royals fighting for you, looks like things could get uglier in the morning.

Her eyelids hesitated to open at the touch of sunrays coming from a window. Her body was paying off yesterday’s red wine glasses. But she didn’t regret it after thinking about the dramatic performance at the terrace. If anything could’ve calmed her late nerves to see the two men in the same city, and much worse in the same place, that was wine.

“Oh shit”

Alana exhaled loudly as she sat up on the bed at a slow pace for not worsen her nausea. Her hand stretched out to reach her phone. The clock read 10 a.m. It was a miracle her mother hadn’t sent Mishka, her maid and Dorota’s nephew, to her bedroom yet.

But as if thinking of her called her up, Mrs. Howarth and Mishka opened the door seconds later.  

“Oh Alana, I almost forgot you were here.”

“Thank you for that, mother.” She rolled her eyes.

Margot eyed from head to toe at her messy daughter for a second before taking her attention back to her smartphone.  

“Dress up. We’re running late for the Holland’s annual golf match”

“Mother. I am not going.”

In a single move, Alana stood up from bed to face her mother with a frown. But the cold woman cut her off.

“You are. End of discussion.”

“I agreed to attend your last night’s party. But this is much more”

Her vibrant blue eyes stared straight into her daughter’s as she kept her phone inside her purse.

“You wanted to be back, don’t you? And your grandma’s Charity Foundation would not rise again if you refuse to attend events and show your deep interest on getting more investors.” Margot made a brief pause, but nothing came out of Alana’s mouth. She smirked at her silence. “I’ll be on the limo. Hurry up”

The Howarth girl did as told unwillingly, not before unlocking her phonescreen; one lost call and 4 messages from Timothée. Nothing from Tom. Alana pursed her lips. Maybe her long-time friend understood the message and made peace.

Or at least that’s what she hoped.

* * * * * * 

The sun shined bright and clear. A perfect Saturday morning for those lucky souls with no strings and ready to live. Veuve Clicquot Garden looked just as she remembered. It felt so Upper East Side. It smelt like money.

As soon as a waiter approached her, she asked him for a glass of wine. It might be 11:00 a.m., but Breakfast at Tiffany’s with orange juice wasn’t a possibility.

“Oh Alana, my dear.”

“Mrs. O’Brien!”

An elegant grandmother with certainly more class than the British Queen herself stared at her and pulled her into an embrace. The woman who, as her godmother Blair Waldorf, had thought her everything she needed to know about life and this sick elite society.

“My darling, you look wonderful!”

“And you look younger, if I may say so.” Alana exclaimed with a joyful smile over her face.

“Oh, enough” She giggled. “So, what have you been up to, Lana?”

“Europe, recently. But I’m back now. What about you?”

“South Sudan. There’s a terrible situation happening for children there.” The old woman briefly fixed her eyes in the ground with a sad expression. “But of course, the Holland’s believe things can get managed with Golf Match so, shall we?”

Both approached the lunch table to pick some fruit and Alana stayed in silence for a couple seconds until Lilian O’Brien spoke again.

“Christ, I used to enjoy these events very much.”

“Now you don’t?”, Alana frowned as she followed her inside the white tent.

“I still do, dear. What changed was that I don’t only care for my social status anymore, I care about others too.”

Alana seemed to be deeply digesting her words as she nodded. But her analysis was interrupted by a curly mass of hair stepping into the garden followed by the Bass family; Chuck and Blair.

“May you excuse me?”

“Go, Lana. Go”, the old woman nodded gently in a soft attempt to encourage the young girl.

“Was truly a pleasure, Mrs. O’Brien”

Until that very instance, Alana hadn’t paid attention to the music playing in the background because her ears were used to Frank Sinatra’s voice. But when Timothée’s eyes met hers, Etta James’ voice invaded her and suddenly, the scene looked taken from a romantic comedy film.

‘This gotta be a fucking joke’, Alana whispered to herself.

Meanwhile, the European man wearing the latest Berluti’s white design walked towards her. Perhaps aware of the song’s effect, because his steps seemed to be perfectly synchronized with the tune.

“Morning, sunshine.” Timothée said with the same charming smile that made her knees weak.

As soon as he stood before her, Alana thought they’d be dancing or passionately kissing as in an Audrey Hepburn’s films. But they didn’t. A helicopter landing sound interrupted the magic moment, bringing both souls back to reality. Etta James’ voice had faded giving way to Nina Simone’s strong classy style.  

‘Am I in Broadway?’

The It-girl frowned sarcastically at the coincidence. The helicopter’s door opened, and Dominic Holland greeted with one hand before helping his wife to step on ground.  

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Hollands.”

Claps showered the iconic family. Tom was the last to step down. And for Alana’s surprise, his eyes fixed on hers for a millisecond until he turned his head at the crowd welcoming him. Although she tried not to, a part inside her kind of broke when he looked away this time.

But Timothée noticed it; she had blinked twice and finished the glass of wine in one gulp right after Tom joined his family for the magazine picture.

And Chalamet only scowled at his adversary with pursed lips as he posed for the cameras. 

* * * * *

The golf match had begun with the Holland boys playing the first holes. Tom won every single one of them. He was good at this; polo and golf were his favorite sports.

Alana and Timothée were sitting along the Bass. At first, they sat there because of Blair, but then she learned that Timothée had followed her because of Chuck. Although Chuck Bass wasn’t anything else than just her godmother’s husband, it shocked her the fact that Timothée had never told her he was related to him.

And she wondered why he’d hide it.

“Well, it’s Chuck’s turn to smack golf’s yard”

Blair Waldorf said with that elegant smile of hers as Bass moved the chair to let his wife stood up. She picked her purse and looked at her goddaughter.

“Your godfather Nate is coming, dear. Tell him to wait for us.”

“Sure, Aunt Blair.” Alana nodded forcing a smile.

Alone in the table, the two millionaire youngsters shared a brief moment of awkward silence filled only by the crowd sound and murmurs of polite laughs in near tables.

Timothée doubted on say something but his heart couldn’t bear her strange behavior, making him sip his drink and swallow hard.

“Are you okay, Alana?”, he inquired in a more worried tone than he’d liked.

The Howarth girl frowned nonchalantly as she brought a vegetarian pressed Italian little sandwich into her mouth and chewed on it carefree before answering.

“I am. Perfectly. Just wondering when were you going to tell me you’re a Chalamet-Bass?” She asked still in a nonchalant mode as if talking about the weather, without facing him. “He’s the real reason you’re here, isn’t it?”

He turned his torso and laid his arm over his chair’s back to completely look at her.

“He’s not, they invited me. And I knew you’d be here.”

His voice was softer this time. Alana kept sitting straight as she glanced the garden, whatever but his eyes.

“When you messaged me last night asking to see me and talk, I never expected you’d go for my godmother’s help.”

“Even she can tell why I am in New York.”

“Bass Industries is a good reason.”

Timothée leaned just a few inches closer to her.

“I didn’t mention him because we said ‘the past is in the past’”

Alana shut her eyes in contained frustration for a second before turning her head to meet his eyes.

“But he’s not past. He’s present!”

“So is Tom Holland.” He said in the same calmed velvety tone as before.

Her whole face went pale with the mere mention of his name and her lips parted yet speechless.

“He told me everything at yesterday’s party”, Timothée continued.

Neither of them uttered a word for a few seconds. The sound of applauses and shouts of celebration for the winner echoed from behind.

Alana’s weak expression was replaced by a serious one. She looked away and grabbed her purse.

“Then we’re even.”

“It’s not that”, Chalamet began to elaborate but she cut him off right after standing up from her seat.

“You know? I really wanted this thing between us worked out”

And she walked away of the white tent in that elegant way of hers, praying that he wouldn’t follow her.

But he did, meeting her just halfway to the lavatories. Again, they were face to face. His eyes were almost watery, and the desperation now reflected over his persona.

“What you wanted me to do if not come here? Can you imagine how I felt? You left 2 days after graduation!”

Her eyes almost went watery too at the sound of his broken voice seeking for answers. Though, she swallowed the lump in her throat and crossed her arms over her chest with pursed lips.

“And so, what?”

“Never really got a chance to talk things out”

“We’ve got nothing to say, Timothée.” She responded forcing a smile with pain in her tone as a tear fell down her cheek. “You were always out in parties to ‘find producers’ for your director’s debut in film business”

“When you learned about my crazy past and reputation, I told you I was about to leave it for my Art… And for you”

“And you did?”

“I tried.” Timothée looked away, smoothing his hair back with one hand in an attempt to hold tears inside before locking eyes with Alana again. “But…”

Though, as soon as she heard the same word that had begun past fights between them, Alana exhaled loudly and showed a tired expression.

“Sure, Chalamet. Now please, stop. Let’s be friends and that’s it. Carpe Diem.”

“Don’t come me with the Carpe Diem thing. I’m here because…”

“Timothée, please. We tried a couple of times, and all went to trash. Just…”

But she added no more. Instead, her body turned to follow her heels somewhere far from there.

Timothée sighed as he let her go this time, not being aware that a pair of brown eyes were glued on him with rage injected on them.

****

Tom had won against Chuck Bass. Everyone cheered and congratulated his victory, even some old men in their 60s patted his shoulder after uttering “great match” with a satisfied smile.

In his way to join his family at the white tent, he recognized Alana’s figure walking in the middle of the garden and then being stopped by a man in white suit. Tom had to narrow his eyes to confirm the identity of who his mind already knew; Timothée Chalamet.

He tightened his jaw when he saw Alana leaving the scene with a shadow of pain on her very feature and got to restrain his desire to hit that black wavy head.  

****

Spotted at Veuve Clicquot Garden: Tom Holland lifting a golf club to hit not a ball but a curly head. Current Match Play; Timothée 1 - Tom 0

****

Alana touched-up her eyeliner with a powder shadow and used the corner of the makeup sponge to remove any evidence of the smeared eyeliner made by her late watery eyes. She stared at herself in the mirror as she took a deep encouraging breath. She hated the fact she got to ran into the toilettes and hide there from Timothée. ‘What a child I am’.

The Howarth girl took one last glance at the mirror before opening the door back to the garden.

She hadn’t walked three steps when her chest crashed against someone’s back.

“Sorry, am…”, Alana began to apology.

The young man turned around to face her and a genuine smile crossed his face when he recognized her.

“Lana?”

“Harry?”, she smiled too.

Harry Holland, one of the Tom’s brother twins she used to babysit in the building when their parents were away.

They immediately pulled each other into an embrace.

“God! Good to see you”

“Me too. Look how handsome you look”, she eyed him from head to toe.

“And you, pretty as always”, Harry imitated her.

“Where’s Sam?”, Alana’s eyes looked for the other twin behind Harry’s back.

“Probably eating every dessert available”, he giggled. “Come join us”

****

The table Harry leaded her to was filled with the Holland family and her parents, the Howarth.

Just seconds before Alana took a seat, Chuck and Blair appeared. And while he was excusing for leaving early, Blair approached to Alana close enough for her to hear her warning;

“Drama’s not over, A. Just don’t explode here, darling. For your own sake.”

The elegant couple left. Alana showed a polite smile and nodded, not sure what her godmother referred with ‘drama’. Though, she found out a second later when Margot Howarth, her mother, placed her hand on top of Alana’s over the table.

“Alana, here you’re. We were just talking about you”

Indeed, everyone’s eyes were glued on her with big smiles drawn across their faces. Even the twins and little Patrick were happy.

“Europe must’ve been exciting”, Elizabeth Holland, Tom’s mother, said interlacing her fingers over the table as she genuinely smiled.

“It was great, of course.” Alana answered as she grabbed the glass of wine the waiter offered her.

“We’re glad you’re back, dear.” Elizabeth looked at her husband, Dominic, who nodded graciously.

Mrs. Holland was truly happy for her return because she couldn’t stop smiling. She had always appreciated her.

Margot sighed, imitating everyone’s smiles but with a hint of pride in it because was her daughter the main subject, just as she always loved her to be.

“Can you believe? Harry and Sam’s Cotillion is this Friday as your cousin Cass’”, she said raising her eyebrows as if surprised.

Tom arrived, being welcomed with more cheering from his brothers. He took a seat as far from Alana as possible, which was just two seats difference; Patrick and Sam were in between.

“Remember when Alana and Tom went together to Cotillion?”, Elizabeth added with a nostalgic sigh.

“Time flies isn’t it?”, Margot did the same.

“I know… Just think about it. In a blink of an eye, our sons will be getting married”, Mrs. Howarth gathered her hands as in an applause while raising her eyebrows thus drawing a ‘cannot wait’ expression in her feature.

Dominic Holland, who had been chatting along Marcus Howarth about today’s golf match, joined the conversation.

“Alana would be perfect to wear the family ring”

He patted her wife’s hand joyfully. Margot, Elizabeth and Dominic glanced at them with a satisfied smile given, perhaps, by the picture created in their imagination of a perfect wedding.    

“Oh she will.” Margot stated. “They’ve been friends since childhood”

This was what Blair warned her about. Tom and Alana uncomfortably sipped two or maybe three times their drinks as if a mirror stood between them. She wished her wine was scotch, while he wished his brandy was vodka.

A heavy environment settled between Tom and Alana’s bodies right after their parents celebrated their fantasy. Even Patrick felt a little weird being‘third wheels’ in this situation.

Harry noticed it too. And the twins made everything in their hands to change the subject back into the next season’s event, suggesting a polo match.

Alana only recognized gross sounds of what was discussed next. Her eyes were blank, realizing that her return wouldn’t be as easy as she thought it’d be. The Holland’s comment made her think of her latest nightmare; her life could change so fast if she married Tom. She’d basically sign herself up for the same traditional life she ran away from; she’d become a socialite woman caught up in the system.

So, the It-girl fumbled her phone out of her Cartier purse and dialed a number she knew by heart. Her thumbs moved fast over the keyboard and clicked the ‘send’ icon.

*****

Start buying those dancing shoes, kids. Looks like we’ll be going to the chapel soon.

****

Hours later, New York City lights announced the beginning of nocturnal life affairs. The city that never sleeps. And less if you’re in the Upper East Side.

After Timothée received Alana’s text, he arranged a reservation for what he saw as a special occasion at Le Bernadin, one of the top six most exclusive restaurants in New York.

Alana arrived there on time in an elegant blue dress. He was already waiting for her at the table and helped her seat by holding back the chair like a true gentleman.

“Thought we’d go somewhere more… private”, her eyes traveled around the place.

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. Le Bernadin is excellent”, she slightly frowned.

“Not that. I mean, sorry for today’s”, he cleared his throat and showed her an apological smile.

“I’m sorry too. I was maybe a little too harsh with you about the… Chuck thing”

“But you were right about the hiding thing.” He started in such an honest tone that it sent chills down Alana’s back, freezing her on her seat. “I don’t wanna hide anything from you, Lana. That day before our graduation when we broke up and you told me I never committed to our relationship; I couldn’t sleep trying to see it from your perspective. And you were right. After our lovely summer when road tripping all around Western Europe, I pretended to forget my reputation and begin from scratch when it was clear that could never happen. Then parties came and we split for a month because you weren’t used to that part of me. Art class joined us again, you were my date for several parties more and it seemed to work out this time. I just don’t know where it went wrong…”

Timothée stopped to take a deep breath and calm himself, cause up to this moment his tone had changed revealing the true desperation behind his words.

“That’s why I’m here.”

Alana was perplexed. She never imagined herself in that situation with him; at least not outside her dreams. On the contrary, she prayed not to see him ever again, convincing herself that her decision to leave Europe would make things easier for both. Yet he had found his way back to her quite earlier than expected.

Now she sipped her drink to brush away the lump in her throat when the sudden memory of their fights, the nights alone, and their breakup flooded her mind.  

“You left me no choice.” She looked away and sighed as she tried to hold the tears inside. “Remember one of our first talks when I told you about how it made me sick all the socialite stuff and its hypocrisy? Well, I was so happy you weren’t so involved in that sick game… New York seemed just a far bad dream.”

The mere memory of a hopeful time made her so nostalgic, that her brain got to remind her to take a deep breath. She turned to face him.

“But when your parties began, I said ‘let’s give it a chance’, though something inside didn’t feel good. Even when that wasn’t the socialite, yet there was a similar sensation with my past. And when our Netflix and cuddle nights became YOUR party nights as soon as some old buddies of yours arrived at your flat, leaving me there ALONE… I just couldn’t handle it no more. I wasn’t ready to deal this new thing.”

Tears flooded her eyes inevitably. And she couldn’t help herself on a few tears from sliding down her cheek. Timothée’s heart ached by watching her in that state. A state he promised he’d never be the cause of, yet he was.

He approached her slowly, sitting at the chair right next to her.

“We could’ve sorted it out together”, Timothée whispered as he cupped her face in his hands and wiped away the tears running down her cheek with his thumb.

“You weren’t there. Your friends needed you.” She avoided any eye contact for her own sake.

“Nothing, listen to me, nothing is more important for me than you.”  

Their watery eyes finally met.

“I’m scared. I just don’t…”

But before she could finish her sentence, Timothée passed his hand around her neck and pulled her into a kiss. Her blood ran cold at first but then she succumbed to the moment.

Once they pulled away, both stared deep at each other for an instance before he showed a glint of mixed hope and shyness.

“I’m scared too. I’ve never felt this way for anybody. Didn’t even believe it was possible but seems like Hollywood doesn’t exaggerate.”

“Timothée…”

“I want to try again, please”

“There are no third chances”

“For me, Alana. Do it for me, for us. If you still have feelings for me, even the weakest one, give me a chance, and I’ll prove to you that we aren’t supposed to be apart.”

“I don’t know… How”

“Me neither but we can take a leap of faith, together.”

“A little faith, trust and pixie dust”

Alana giggled and Timothée joined her. The atmosphere between them slightly changed and both hearts felt less heavy. She bit her lip and gave him a slight nod.

“Okay”, she nodded.

“Okay?”

Relief washed over Timothée’s aura, drawing a big smile across his face. One of true happiness.

“We’ll take it slow”, Alana continued as she got contagious with the hopeful ambience between them.

“At our own pace.” Timothée added.

“And won’t let our past get in the way.”

“Promise. I’ve left all behind.”

He stated. And everything seemed as if taken away from a fairy tale the couple had written themselves, making her forget that such a thing cannot be at the Upper East Side.

****

The moment Nate Archibald’s daughter stepped into the Howarth’s penthouse as she had done countless times back in the days, Mishka knew something was going on.  

Kiernan Archibald was Alana’s best friend ever since kindergarten, and she never arrived without a reason.  

It took no time before the girls gathered at Alana’s room, and ate macarons with champagne.  

“You know? When I saw you the day you came back, I almost faint.”

Kiernan had her legs crossed in the air and her abdomen over the bed as she ate another macaron with a smirk.

“Yeah, if it weren’t for Mishka you would’ve hit your head very bad”, Alana giggled while resting her head over her pillow, also on bed.

“Thank heaven I didn’t”, Kiernan joined her giggles and incorporated herself to see her friend better. “Now, tell me about your dinner with that European king.”

“Well, you’re updated with the whole situation”, Alana exhaled loudly as the yesterday scenes came to her mind. “Tom and Timothée already met and my mother is dreaming of her daughter being a Howarth-Holland”

Her friend made an “upps” face as she sipped her champagne glass and bit a strawberry.

“The thing is we decided to give us a new chance.” Alana continued with a hopeful grin drawn across her face.

“Timothée and you?”, Kiernan raised her eyebrows.

“We said we’ll take it slow but-”

Before the Howarth girl could explain, the Archibald heiress cut her off while locking eyes into her friend’s.

“Hey, you like him. If you feel good with him and your gut’s telling you to go for it then go for it”, her hands emphasized her words by opening both as if showing her the answer to her question.

“That’s the matter, Kiki. My gut is out of service or something”

“Wait what?”

Alana took a deep breath, though she knew it was almost impossible to avoid Kiernan’s inquisitive look.

“Listen, what I feel about Timothée is very special. He’s so damn charming and smart and funny. He’s very observant and caring.”

“But?”

“But… That night at my welcoming party when I saw Tom, something inside me kind of winced. And when he spoke to me… Uggh, it sent shivers down my spine”

Kiernan was open-mouthed, processing the situation.

“Oh Lana, you’re in such a trouble.”

Seconds later, she raised her glass at Alana for an impromptu toast in honor of whatever thing came. After both finished the last champagne drop, Kiki added;

“Just give it time. The answer will come to you, A.”  

****

Have you been so busy that you’ve forgotten what time of year it is? Couture, quadrilles and cutthroat competition. That’s right. It’s time for Cotillion. 

****

Cotillion was a just as Alana remembered. If not better, but she doubted that. She got to admit, when she was Queen the rules were fancier.

Harry and Sam Holland walked towards her as soon as they saw her coming inside.

“Hey, Lana”, the twins said at the same time.

“Guys, look how handsome you’re!”, she smiled as her eyebrows raised in surprise.  

“Hugo Boss himself said that too”, Harry added and chuckled.

“So, you’re escoting my cousin Cassandra huh?”

“Yeah”, Harry blushed at the sound of her name.

“Take care of her, Harry. And yourself! The Howarths are not easy girls.”

She patted his shoulder, wishing him good luck.

“That’s a fact”, Harry nodded but went pale as soon as he realized she was a Howarth too.

Sam opened his eyes and glanced at his brother with a “bro, wtf” look. He just screwed it up.

“Well, enjoy your night guys”, Alana blinked and forced a smile before walking somewhere else.

Despite her efforts, she couldn’t help the nostalgia vibe that surrounded her; looking at the prep-school girls excited and nervous for their presentation, the boys wearing tuxedos and trying their best against the current king. Everything reminded her the Cotillion she and Tom attended to; they had been the best couple ever since the legendary Blair and Nate or even the unexpected Jenny and Nate one.

At first, she expected the nostalgia would fade away when her brain noticed this wasn’t her Cotillion. But the more she walked around the place, the more it seemed like time had never passed. Every face around her was a face she was familiar with. And she got a weird feeling that they weren’t because of Cotillion but for her; to see with their own eyeballs she was back in New York.

Kiernan was the bell that saved her from getting an anxiety attack.  

“Ugh, people always sticking their noses where don’t belong”, the Archibald heiress said as if she had read Alana’s mind.

“Did it say on Gossip Girl that I’d be here?”, Alana inquired with a tired expression.

“Uhm, nope. But it did say about Cotillion and cutthroat competition. You know she likes pun, A.”

“What about that clean slate? She should leave me alone”

“New York missed you”, Kiernan shrugged. “No sign of T.H?”

“Not yet and praying to keep that way.” Alana said in a serious and a hint of worried tone.

Both friends were about to sit when something in the crowd caught their attention. Every young soul there began muttering and pulling their phones out.

“What’s going on?”, Kiernan wondered.

The answer appeared just after her words. There were they; Tom Holland accompanied with Serena van der Woodsen and Dan Humphrey’s son, Noah Humphrey.  

Every single phone camera pointed at them.

*******

Spotted: An elite family reunion. Don’t you love Cotillion surprises?

******

Noah Humphrey immediately recognized his friends and walked towards them.

“Look who’s in town!”, he shouted opening his arms.

“Gosh, Noah!”, Alana smiled as both pulled each other into a tight embrace.  

Meanwhile, Kiernan and Tom saluted each other by their last names. “Archibald”, “Holland”. She didn’t like him after what happened with her friend, and he just imitated her attitude. Though, Alana’s best friend sacrificed herself and put her dislike apart to take him as far as possible from the Howarth girl.

“Holland, why don’t you tell me where’s Sam? He’ll be escorting my sister Nicole”, Kiernan hold him from his arm forcing him to follow her.

“Sure, he is. Noah?”, Tom locked eyes briefly with Alana and looked at his best friend.

“I’ll stay here.” Noah nodded.

When their bodies disappeared in the crowd, Noah turned back to face her.

“So… Europe, huh?”, Noah giggled. “Was quite a bomb when you left.”

“I know! Everyone keeps telling me about it”, Alana responded aiming to be sarcastic but instead sounding irritated. “Sorry. It’s just so… overwhelming”

“That’s the UEA… And that guy at the airport didn’t help you with the gossip either”

“What do you mean?”, she narrowed her eyes.

“Well, his presence made your return the big hit wondering who he is? Or what is he doing here?”, he looked at her with inquisitive eyes, almost as powerful as Kiernan’s.

“None of their business.” Alana pursed her lips.

“Seriously, Lana. Do we have to care about him?”

“Wha- No! Clean slate, remember? It’s not like the old times.”

“The good old times”, Noah chuckled by the memory of countless party nights. “So, he won’t be here long?”

“Noah, where’s this coming from?”, Alana frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

“From a caring friend.”

He said that truly, but she didn’t see it the same way.

“Oh tell that to someone who knows you less than I do, Humphrey.” She scoffed. “If this is one of Tom’s strategy then I don’t care”

No answer came out of Noah’s mouth. Alana rolled her eyes.

“I’ll go for a drink”, she stated walking away from a friend for the second time in that night.

*****

Once at the bar table with a drink in hand, Alana smoothed her hair back with one hand while letting out a frustrated sigh.

“What does a beautiful woman like you alone?”, a voice asked her seductively from her back.

“Timothée, you came”, she turned to see him standing in an elegant black suite.

“Of course, sweetie. As soon as I read your text, I rushed here.”

“Thanks, wanna join me on preparing my cousin?”

“Sure.” He followed her through an aisle. “What’s this Cotillion stuff?”

“Oh, well is like a social presentation party. It was supposed to be symbolic, but girls take it very very seriously. A battle for power.” She raised her eyebrows ironically. “Cass is not quite the Queen, but my mother forced me to be her mentor”

At the end of the aisle, a door leaded to an elegant room with teen girls in expensive dresses and makeup covering every inch of their bodies waited for the moment.

When Alana entered, every teenager gasped and made way for her to walk comfortably. She frowned at their reaction that back in the days would’ve been completely normal for her. Two seconds later, she found her cousin.

“Cass, you’re perfect!”, Alana complimented her.

Cassandra Howarth was three years younger; therefore, three years less experienced and more pretentious.

“C’mon you don’t believe it”, she got her arms over her hips and not noticed the young man standing behind Alana.

“Harry Holland is your escort, and you’re a Howarth. It’ll be enough for these people.”

Cass stared at her outfit in the mirror and took a deep breath.

“You’re right. The odds are on my favor, you’re my mentee, Blair Waldorf was your mentee… I’ll be fine”, saying this more to herself than for Alana.

A bell announced the Elite Women presentation ceremony was about to begin. The teenagers rushed to the door.

“Good luck”, Alana waved a goodbye.

Timothée and her stood near the stage as a good mentor would do.

The rest of the iconic elite group were seated near the bar, waiting for the show to end. Tom was quite edgy, like a caged tiger deciding whether to eat the iron bars and scape or stay in captivity. Kiernan sipped her mojito, and while she did, she saw through the glass how he made up his mind as he clicked once something on his phone and then kept it in his jacket pocket.

Alana saw that too, though turned her gaze at the stage and swallowed hard.

The Archibald heiress narrowed her eyes suspiciously; she didn't like his attitude one bit. But before she’d approach him, another event caught her attention.

Different ringtones echoed at the same time and every young witness grabbed their phones out to check the notification.

It was Gossip Girl.

Did anyone notice something strange when Alana returned? No paparazzi. Apparently, Europe wasn’t aware of who you are, A. But don’t worry, an anonymous soul has proper manners and sent some details about her big little adventures. Please, shall we enjoy the reading? Cause Gossip Girl goes Europe.

First things first. It was true she ran away from that indecent kiss with our King Tom… But our Queen found a new King in those tiding European lands.

Timothée Chalamet, ladies and gentlemen. If Carlo Magno had a successor, that’s definitely Timothée.

He showed her his Empire, and found love while they did. Just look at these wonderful FRANCE and CARIBBEAN magazine covers.

But then, uh oh. Is that Matty Healy and Alana on MUSIC ICON cover? 

Looks like our Queen just expanded her horizons with flying colours. Monte Carlo and Mallorca are her new capitols.

And the party won’t start ‘till New York walks in.  

“Fuck…”, Kiernan muttered under her breath as she looked for Alana’s whereabouts.

But, it took no effort to find her; cause people around her had moved aside, forming a circle with Timothée and her as the center.

Alana was puzzled. It was until Timothée handed her his phone with the Gossip Girl’s latest tweet that she understood what was going on.

For an instance, the whole world fell over her chest impeding her to breath. She stared at Timothée with eyes wide open and a shadow of confusion casted on her very feature as Gossip Girl’s last words resonated in the back of her head.

And that’s when her inner voice reawakened. She clenched her jaw, swallowed the venom she just received and holded Timothée’s hand, walking away from that circle.

Perhaps Alana Howarth returned days ago, but the Queen had just woken up. The bitch Queen was back.

Kiernan recognized that glint in her eyes when she reached her friend halfway from the door. And Noah knew it too. Even Tom knew it.

“We’re leaving, see you K”, Alana brushed past her as the valet boy opened the door for the couple.

Timothée followed her from behind, still holding her hand. He was shocked by her brusque change.

Kiernan just nodded.

And, although Cotillion representatives tried to dissipate the atmosphere, Alana left more open-mouthed witnesses than those in Valentine’s Day.

****

Outside, the show continued.

“That’s fucking it”, Alana shouted with anger cracking her voice. She fumbled her phone out her purse and dialed a number. “Geof, meet me at the front door in 2 minutes please”

“I brought my car”, Timothée interrupted.

“Forget it, go home.” She added before hung up.

The valet boy drove Timothée’s Jaguar and the couple got inside. As soon as they were there, he exhaled loudly and fixed his eyes on her.

“So…”, he started. But received no answer.

Silence reigned in the car for a couple of blocks, when a semaphore made them stop. Alana stared at him with a playful grin across her face.

“You know baby? There’s no need to take it slow. Just…”

But before she added something else, she wrapped her hands around his neck and crashed her lips against his; pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

“Are you sure?”, Timothée asked in a soft voice.

Both lovers wrapped their hands and stared straight into each other’s eyes.

“More than ever”, she smirked.

Timothée pulled her in for a second kiss but it was brief this time.

A satisfied smile spread across his face and Alana raised her head as only Queens know when a solemn phrase is about to be said.

“If you can't beat them… Join them”

*****

A, you left America a star. But after your exploits in Europe you’ve come back a supernova. And yet nothing explodes without a fuse. I wonder what —or who— lit yours. Perhaps we all know the handsome answer to that.  Just careful with the fire, kids. You might get burned.

You know you love me, XOXO

Gossip Girl.

---------------------

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[otomememento]

Quest for Knowledge

Cybird Creative Challenge: Day 17 - Bound

(Continued from: A Proposition)

It had been a week since Oliver last saw Audrey.  A week during which his mind poured over her question and came to one conclusion: he didn’t have enough information.  But instead of daunting him, it intrigued him.  If he asked her to fill in the gaps, what would she tell him?  And he would be lying to himself if he didn’t often replay their previous interactions in his head.  If he had to be stuck with someone long term, Audrey didn’t seem like bad company; she would definitely keep things from getting too dull.

All the secrets he kept locked inside made him wary of women; the desires that seemed so natural during the evening were just awkward while he was in a youth’s body.  Anyone who looked his age during the day would be way too young: girls with innocent dreams of their romantic futures had little to do with someone his age.  But the women who were actually his age would be put off by the body of a boy barely in his teens.

He couldn’t say if he wanted to be a vampire or not, he didn’t know the details of such a life.  But he could decide, at the very least, whether he wanted his curse to be conquered.  It hadn’t seemed so bad at first; he could retain some of his child-like wonder during the day, but switching back and forth made things hard.  And he didn’t age normally between times.  Each day, his time was effectively reset.  He wouldn’t grow old and die anyhow.  The question came down to whether being a blood thirsty predator was better than being a child.  Audrey didn’t seem to have any trouble blending in; she didn’t burn in the sunlight like the creatures from horror stories would.

Even though he had predetermined this, Oliver found that his throat caught when Audrey showed up.  He had been so certain he could coolly and calmly pose his questions to her, but his tongue felt dry and stuck to the roof of his mouth.  Audrey smiled; it was one of her softer ones.  The kind that made it easier to believe she was more than just a thirsty seductress.

“Have you thought about my question?” she asked, her tone serious, but not quite severe.

“I have.”

“What do you think about it?”

“I said I thought about it; I didn’t say I had an answer,” Oliver replied with half a smile.

“That is more than fair,” Audrey said.  Did she look a little disappointed?  “I really wouldn’t expect you to jump at the chance.”

“I wouldn’t jump at anything that I didn’t have enough information on,” pointed out Oliver.  Audrey stared at him for a couple beats, then laughed.

“Ahhhh.  Of course not!”  She shook her head.  “It’s very sensible of you.  But, I hope you’re not too sensible.  After all, you have been called the Mad Hatter.  One has to be at least a little mad to survive this way.”

“Sensible.  Hmph,” said Oliver.  “I wouldn’t say that I’m always sensible, but being in Cradle has made me cautious.”  He shrugged his shoulders.

“Very well.  If you want to know something, then ask.”  Audrey opened her arms in a gesture of welcoming.  “I didn’t make the offer in jest.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure where to start,” Oliver admitted.

“Just start with whatever is on your mind.  Don’t worry about it being reasonable; you can make sense of it afterwards.  I won’t scold you for re-asking a question, or looking for clarification.”  She lowered her voice a trifle.  “Unless you want me to, that is.”

“Then I might as well tackle the biggest problem first.”  His eyes narrowed slightly.  “Blood: how much will I need and how will I get it.”

“Straight to the point.  And you managed it without flinching, which is a very promising start.”

“No sense in being squeamish about it.  If we’re serious, then it would be a sure sign I’m not ready if it made me too uncomfortable.”  He shifted slightly.  “Not that I’m entirely comfortable with the idea, but I consider myself open minded, if nothing else.”

“You’ve pretty much had to be,” murmured Audrey softly.  She nodded her head in approval.  “Well, the first week will be the hardest.  You’ll need to take blood nightly as your body is making the transition.  There will be some aches and pains, but I wouldn’t say it’s unbearable.  During that time, you’ll get most of your blood directly from me.”  She sighed.  “When it happened to me, I was in quite a panic because I was told nothing.  I had to learn everything the hard way while my creator just watched and laughed.  I wouldn’t do that to someone else.”  

Her eyes grew distant for a while as her mind scanned back through her memories.  Oliver let her take her time.  She continued a few minutes later.  

“After that first week, it’s a good idea to take blood every other night, just as you get used to things.  The hungrier we are, the harder it is to control ourselves.  But, for a new vampire, it can be difficult to feed if you’re not a little hungry.  This is less of a physical precaution, and more of a psychological one.  Most of us are raised from a young age to think that attacking other people is generally a bad idea.  Drinking blood from another person would be considered aberrant at best, and evil at worst.”

Audrey reached up and caressed Oliver’s cheek; he found himself leaning into the contact.  He had gotten so good at keeping his distance; he found it far to easy to seek out her touch now that she had opened the door on the experience.  His only worry is that it might cloud his judgment on the current topic.

“Typically, in the past, I got blood by skulking around and taking people unawares, just like a thief.  Only I wasn’t stealing mere objects.  I had to be careful not to let my face be shown.”  She smiled faintly.  “Sometimes, I attracted men to me.  Sometimes I would creep into a person’s house while they were asleep.”   She shook her head.  “With the magic around, it is a bit riskier, but I’ve also met with a lot less revulsion.  People may be afraid of what I am, but so far no one has tried too hard to get rid of me.”  She paused a beat.  “At least, not for being a vampire, at any rate.”

Oliver listened with quiet patience.  The information she gave was good, but he was equally interested in the little insights into Audrey’s personality, and past, that went along with it.  His life would be in her hands, and so he was watching for any red flags, any sign that this would be something he would deeply regret.  So far, he didn’t get such an impression.  He nodded his head to show he understood, and he pursed his lips as he thought what else he wanted, needed, to know.

“So, you’re suggesting I do all, or some, of those things?” he asked tentatively.  Audrey shook her head.

“It’s not so much a suggestion as a retelling of my experience.  The thing about blood is, it tastes different depending on the emotions of a person.  Depending on the emotional flavors you learn to like, your style of hunting will change.  I fed on sleeping people because their blood was often peaceful, quiet.  I lured people in because I prefer the taste of desire over the taste of fear or anger.”  Her expression darkened slightly.  “My maker liked the taste of fear; I’ve never cared for it.  Anger, on the other hand, has a rather unpredictable reaction in me.  I don’t know if it’s the same for others.”  She frowned, her brows drawing together.  “He also made me experience any number of emotions, doing questionable things to get the humans to ‘feel’ just right.”  Her lips twitched; for a brief moment Oliver saw a true look of hatred in her face.

Audrey didn’t go into deeper detail, but Oliver could read between the lines.

“Yet you would still turn someone else into the same thing?” he asked.

“It does get lonely, being this way,” Audrey said, speaking plainly.  “But because of your situation, you seem the best candidate.”

“And what does that mean to you?  What will…turning me into a vampire signify?”  It wasn’t the nature of the creature he was asking about now; it was a question about Audrey.  About Oliver.

“It means nothing you don’t want it to mean,” Audrey said.  Then, seeing Oliver was not amused at her vague answer, she sighed.  “It does not create an artificial bond,” she began to explain.  “You will not feel any differently towards me afterwards, nor I to you, except that which is based in experience.  We will only be bound together by those things we have in common.  As I said before, it will be difficult at first, and you will likely rely quite a bit on me.  Once you grow accustomed to things, your fate is your own.  If that means you want to continue to share my company, then it can mean closeness.  If you decide that you wish to go your own way, I will respect your wishes.”  Even though her voice was calm, Oliver was sure he saw sadness in her eyes when Audrey mentioned the option of leaving her.

“So I would not belong to you?”  Oliver wasn’t sure how he felt about that.  Perhaps deep down he wanted there to be something unbreakable between them.

“Never.  You will always be your own man Oliver.  I wouldn’t have offered if it could take that away from you,” she said.  “But I will always be the one who made you, and we will always have our ties to London.  Unnatural as we may be, there are natural things that bind us, which is as it should be.”

Oliver was quiet for some time.  Audrey stood up and went to the window, looking outside as if to give him the illusion of privacy while he organized his thoughts.

“I just need a little more time to think,” he finally said.  Audrey merely nodded from where she was pressed against the window.  She was in no hurry; both of them would be the same tomorrow as they were now.  And the day after that, and the day after that.  Time bound them together as well.

[valilaghari-ffxiv]

lfrp/about vali laghari

full name.  vali laghari. pronunciation. valley lah-ghar-ee. nicknames. enchantress, the perfumer, the empath.  height. 5 fulms, 8 ilms, excluding her ears.  age. 25. zodiac. leo. languages. common, thavnairian, conversational far eastern. 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour.  raven black. eye colour.  pale lilac purple.  skin tone.  a warm, medium brown with rosy undertones.  body type.  of elegant bearing, with a natural, curvy hourglass shape.  accent. a light and educated hannish accent.  dominant hand. ambidextrous.  posture. nigh regal. the posture of a woman with a deep level of self respect and large amount of confidence.  scars. fading scars that surround both of her ankles, but more heavily her left ankle. tattoos.  none that are permanent; the occasional henna on her hands and ankles.  most noticeable features. her pale eyes amongst her dark complexion, the small beauty mark beneath her eye, a bounty of dark waves, eyes that seem to see right through you. 

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth.  thavnair.  hometown.  radz-at-han.  birth weight/height. slightly small for a viera.  manner of birth. natural home birth.  first words. ‘bye.’  siblings.  none. parents:  daskha (mother, deceased), pratyush (father, deceased).  parental involvement. dashka and pratyush both were deeply involved in the raising of their child. though commonly thought to be odd because of their viera heritage, they were doting parents for the early part of vali’s childhood. for the first ten years of her life, she enjoyed wealth, a fine and expensive education, and a happy home life, where she learned alchemy under the tutelage of her mother. when an accident befell her parents and she lost them both, however, vali was cast into the streets to fend for herself, finding a mother figure in another alchemist residing in the capitol of thavnair. she is tight-lipped on the subject of both her birth parents and her found-family -- or anything regarding her personal life. 

ADULT LIFE

Occupation. a former dancer and slave, now a skilled perfumer. less an occupation, but a skill: psychometric and intuitive empath.  Current residence. traveling.  Close friends. few. she prefers to keep people at a distance.  relationship status. single. rumors of her being widowed flit around the capitol.  financial status. from riches to rags to riches again, vali makes a very comfortable living for herself and uses it to enjoy the finer parts of life.  vices. secrets, breaking hearts, the occasional indulgence of recreational drugs, stubbornness, dabbling in some chaotic trickster god-esque behaviors with her alchemy and perfumes. 

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation.  heterosexual.  romantic orientation.   heterosexual.  preferred emotional role.  submissive | dominant | switch  |  unsure preferred sexual role.  submissive  |  dominant  |  switch |  sex repulsed libido. healthy, bordering on high.  turn on’s. physically and emotionally strong men, sensual whispers, tall men, intelligence, physical touch to sensitive areas of the body, knowing someone is attracted to her.  Turn off’s. lack of a spine, lying and liars, crudeness of nature, physically distant, cruel or unkind people, any sort of degradation between her and her partner.  love language. touch, with words as a close second.  relationship tendencies.  a loyal creature, as well as doting. not much is known about vali’s relationship tendencies, but she is protective of those she cares for and keeps a lover on their toes. if she comes to love you, you have her heart entirely. absent minded touches, quiet, affectionate words of affirmation and reassurance. independent and will need time to herself, but will always be happy to come back to you after taking time to decompress. a good listener. 

MISCELLANEOUS.

hobbies to pass the time.  knowing things, practicing her craft, dancing, training her abilities as a psychometric empath, tending to her plants and flowers.  mental illnesses. PTSD fueled anxiety and depression that she medicates for. physical illnesses. none, to her knowledge.  left or right brained. an even split.  fears. people finding out details about her past, losing her sense of smell, losing her abilities as an empath, getting too close to anyone, appearing vulnerable.  self confidence level. outwardly, extremely high. inwardly... still pretty high, though she isn’t without her own secret insecurities.  vulnerabilities. a soft spot for children and for animals, stronger reactions than she’d like to seeing injustices, knowing too much too quickly about a person, knowing too much in general.

RP HOOKS. 

- open to discussion. 

- vali is thavnairian born, but has begun to travel around eorzea selling her perfumes. these perfumes are often benign, but there are whispers of the scents she creates with ‘special’ properties. curious as to what these properties are? seek her out, and she may tell you - for a price.

- her abilities as a psychometric empath give her special understanding and looks into the past of people, rooms, and objects alike. while this is not an ability i will use without explicit OOC consent, it is a large part of her character. if you think this is an avenue you’d like to explore - whether it be to help your character unlock forgotten memories for themselves or for other things then vali is your girl. the same is to be said for her abilities as an intuitive empath. i will not use it without OOC consent, but they do allow her to tell if someone is lying to her, IC.

- vali is a very new character for me, and so i am very open to whatever hooks that you may have in mind! her past as a slave could come back to haunt her, and how she escaped. she is a beautiful and clearly foreign young woman in a new land, and is certainly meant to be eye catching. if you’d like to get to know her, shoot me a message here on tumblr and we can figure something out!

- friendships, rivalries, business partners, crushes, romances, and everything in between are all things i’m looking forward to exploring with vali. 

- darker themes of RP are a-okay with me, including violence, gore, obsession, stalking, horror, as well as sexual themes. please know, though, that i am not going to ERP with you for the sake of ERP, and i do not do permanent death, injury, or disfigurement for my characters unless it is a specific plot point originally planned by me. 

OOC.

- i am over the age of 18!

- i am very friendly, but am not willing to immediately hand out my discord. however, if we RP and click, chances are that i’ll offer it to you. the best way to communicate with me is either by sending me a DM here on tumblr or whispering me in-game on Audrey Wells, Sarah Hawke, or Vali Laghari. 

- i am on the Crystal Data Center! 

- thank you for reading!!! <3

[korporxie]

🍊  :    does my muse desire romance?  is it something they would actively seek out,  or prefer to happen more  ‘  naturally?  ’  what is their love life like?  do they have any exes or past flings,  or crushes?   🍓  :    how is my muse typically seen by others?  does it ring true to who they really are?  does their reputation matter to them?  ((Both, for all muses!))

Tucking this under a read more because it got long!!

🍊  :    does my muse desire romance?  is it something they would actively seek out,  or prefer to happen more  ‘  naturally?  ’  what is their love life like?  do they have any exes or past flings,  or crushes?

Audrey is not a person who has ever actively sought out romance. Most of her traumas that ended up isolating her from others started at a young age, and so it was rare for her to even date boys as a teenager. She’s had a multitude of sexual partners and a few ‘friends with benefits’ type situations, and only two “official” boyfriends. Her current romantic situation, however, is the best it’s ever been. It occurred very organically, with no plans of entering a relationship until, well... it happened! She’s now happily engaged to her soulmate and finding out that love does not - and should not - ever hurt.

Laelia is a person who has actively sought out relationships and romance. Though all of her relationships ended up not working out, she did want companionship, more inclined towards loneliness and craving of physical and emotional attention than she would ever admit. She can count the number of serious relationships she’s had on one hand, but even then, they were brief and fleeting, and most of them ended in her being cheated on by the other party. In truth, her strongest feelings for someone developed when she was a little girl, and when he later died in battle, she found herself always trying to replicate or find him in other people. It was only later in life by a twist of fate that she’s been able to reconnect with her first love, under strange and difficult circumstances considering that he isn’t exactly alive, but... Regardless, her love life is happy and thriving, and she’s never been in a better or more healthy relationship, long after giving up on romance altogether. 

Elowyn is a very romantic person, but... her upbringing made it hard for her to really meet anyone! She’s been really sheltered, and so even if she wanted to actively pursue romance, she wouldn’t - and isn’t - sure how to go about it. Sure, she reads plenty of romance novels, but theory is very different from practice. In her heart, she wants to be wooed and pursued by someone head over heels in love with her. She’s had a couple of brief crushes on different men she’s met in passing, but they never lasted long. Her current love life is... complicated! Though she’s developing feelings for someone, neither of them are good at understanding just what it is they’re feeling, and both are too stubborn and - maybe - a little afraid to admit that they’re developing romantic feelings.

🍓  :    how is my muse typically seen by others?  does it ring true to who they really are?  does their reputation matter to them?

Audrey is typically seen as a multitude of different things. Her personality is personally and carefully crafted for each different person that she meets. To a lot of people, she’s a fun-loving and flirtatious party girl, while others see her as icy, distant, and even a little robotic. But in the case of what’s been most often perceived in roleplay - I would say she’s most often seen as the party girl, and that’s not entirely true to who she actually is. Though she tends towards being extroverted, she is not a ditzy girl, nor has she ever been a flirt for the sole purpose of receiving attention. Audrey is a deeply intelligent creature who reads people like a book, and she has most often worn a mask in order to protect herself or to manipulate other people in order to get something she needs. In recent development, her manipulative nature has started turning off, and she is embracing who she really is beneath her survival mode - and that’s someone that’s loving, fun, silly, and clever.

And she couldn’t really give a damn about her bad reputation. 

Laelia, to most people, is seen as a brilliant woman that is also almost entirely no-nonsense. She’s perceived as capable and serious, a definite ‘mom’ friend. This is pretty spot on to who she really is, in some ways! But it’s hard to define anyone by just a couple of personality aspects. Though Laelia IS no-nonsense, this is mostly in a professional setting, or out of a need to make sure all of her little chicks are kept in line and not accidentally setting things on fire. There’s a more secret side of her that’s actually very vulnerable, and very fun, too. She is deeply loving, but I think that gets lost in translation as she’s often busy being the Big Boss Lady and keeping everything in order. 

Her reputation doesn’t matter a whole lot to her, either, but she cares more than Audrey does. She WANTS to be seen as capable, as someone who takes important things seriously, but also as someone that is reliable and empathetic. 

Elowyn... sweet Elowyn, lol. She is a space cadet. She is eccentric and odd and endlessly curious, and sometimes, she doesn’t seem like she makes a whole lot of sense. People tend to see her as weird, silly, or even a little bit out of touch with reality, with her head stuck up in the clouds - or, more accurately, in the stars. This is not inaccurate. Ellie is definitely a dreamy, spacey kind of girl, but again, there’s way more to her than meets the eye. Her empathy knows no bounds, nor does her generosity. She is a naturally selfless person who was born kind. It’s also worth mentioning that she is brilliant. Her brilliance just tends to get overshadowed by her eccentric nature. Don’t be fooled, though-- despite being spacey, she notices a lot more than she lets on.

It does bother her sometimes, how people perceive her. It can wear on her self confidence in a big way, and it has contributed to her difficulty in making and keeping friends. Elowyn is unsure of herself and constantly worried that she is too much and not enough at the same time. Her reputation, in truth, makes her feel sad, and makes her feel as though no one wants to know who she truly is. They’ve already got their perception of her in their heads. 

Thanks for the ask, @idanwyn! Sorry it took so long!

[cherrytart-ffxiv]

the snake, the doe, and the bird

“Mor Dhona?” 

Mori ran his hand over his face and slumped into his chair while the man in front of him cleared his throat. There was a detailed piece of art sitting on the yakuza boss’s desk of a young woman of clear Far Eastern descent, with big dark eyes and short, pale hair, a beauty mark beneath her eye, full lips curled into the faintest of smiles with the hint of a dimple in her left cheek. Mori stood up and picked up the portrait, looking it over closely.

His chest tightened some, and he inhaled. She was beautiful, if the sketch even began to do her justice. He could see Misaki in her face, very clearly... and Hana, to a lesser extent. The sharp eyes of her cousin, but the size and shape of her sister’s. The soft curves of her face like Hana’s. The dimple like Misaki. And a knowing little smile that he could only assume was all her own. It wounded him, to think of anyone being more beautiful than Misaki.

And yet... there she was, on paper, right in front of him. 

“That’s where we last saw her, sir,” the man replied, shaking Mori back to reality. He lifted tired eyes to the young man with his dark red hair, to the piercings in his ears and the tattoos that snaked up his chest towards his neck. “With a group of... adventurers, it seemed. On their way to an unknown location. When she returned to Revenant’s Toll, she was alone and apparently injured, speaking to someone she referred to as ‘Caius’ on a linkpearl.” 

“Caius...” Mori pursed his lips. “That’s a Garlean name if I’ve ever heard one. I’m assuming this is the same man she was seen with at that... bar.” 

“Since she called the man at the bar the same name... yes, that’s a safe assumption.”

“Her relation to this man?” Mori looked back down at the drawing.

“Uh.” The red-haired man -- boy, almost -- balked at the question. They’d told Mori before, hadn’t they, about the apparently close relationship between Yuna and this man named Caius? Was he really going to make him say it again? 

“L-Lovers, I think, sir. He came and got her from Revenant’s Toll. They seemed very, uh... cozy.”

All over each other and damn near crying with relief, more like.

“Right.”

Mori exhaled through his mouth and slowly placed the portrait back down on his desk. He moved to the open window and reached up towards his shoulder, rubbing at the serpentine tattoo marking it beneath his shirt. Ever since Xiu had delivered information about this surviving relative of Misaki and Hana, Mori hadn’t been able to help himself. He sent men to Eorzea to tail her and to learn what they could, and he hadn’t liked what he’d learned; her profession, and the man who kept her, that her lover seemed to be Garlean, that Hana’s brother mistreated their youngest sister, that she was under the impression that she was half Eorzean rather than knowing the true circumstances of her birth.

Who were these La Nosceans that took her in? They were the biggest memory, Jack and Elizabeth Wells. Their son, the one Yuna assumed was her father, had long since passed, and so too had Kaida. Had she really been wed to this man when Kiyoshi Matsuda was still alive and well in Hingashi, or was it some sort of... misunderstanding? Something to keep her family safe from the Garleans that hunted them like dogs on account of Kiyoshi’s military victories? Hana had been safe in Hingashi, in the geisha house. So they thought, at least. Yuna and Itsuki would be safe in La Noscea... so they thought. 

Split them up. They’d be harder to find. Keep Misaki and Hana together. Keep Yuna and Itsuki together. It would have worked. It should have worked. What did the universe have against this family? Why were they plagued by misfortune? And, Mori had to ask, what power did they have over him? Why? 

The man had never even met Yuna, but he yearned for her. He yearned for her the way that he yearned for Misaki, making his body ache as he lay in bed at night. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to breathe her in, press his lips to her skin and worship her as he’d wanted to worship her cousin. Mori was a man of the kami, but when it came to the Ito family, to the Matsuda family... he wanted to lay down at the altar between their legs, to give them everything he had, to cherish them and treat them as the nobility that they were. 

He wanted to know how Yuna tasted, the sounds she made when she was brought to the edge. It only stood to reason, then, that she’d have an Imperial lover. What he wanted was always just out of his grasp. Part of him wondered if that’s why he wanted it so much-- because he couldn’t have it. Another part of him was acutely aware of the deep need to protect her. He had failed Hana and Misaki. He wouldn’t fail Yuna. He would take care of her. No more harm would come to her, he told himself, if he could just reach her. 

“Learn what you can about this... Caius.” Mori pursed his lips with disdain. “Learn the surname. Garleans are proud people. If he was anyone of any importance, then there will be some sort of record accessible in Hingashi via the consulate.”

“Sir...?”

“It’s an order.” Mori looked sharply over his shoulder.

“You want to protect Yuna, sir, with all due respect. I don’t see how--”

“If she is deeply involved with a Garlean, boy, then how safe do you think that she really is?” he sneered. “A pimp, an abusive brother, and a Garlean. We take these problems by the root and remove them. We bring her home to her father, and to her family, and we sort this out--” 

The door suddenly swung open, and the red-haired boy and Mori both turned to see who had entered with such haste. In the doorway stood another young man, panting, his eyes wide. Mori frowned, rolling his shoulder and listening to it click before approaching. His hand settled on the pistol at his hip, peering down the hallway and towards the stairwell.

“What is it?”

“S-Sir... It’s...”

“Spit it out!” 

“Kiyoshi Matsuda. And his mother. T-They’ve requested an audience.” 

Mori stared. He stared for a long time. This, in front of his grand speech and his detailed - or what would have been detailed - plan to rescue Yuna? It was just what he needed. So, too, was fainting with a hard thud onto his office floor at the news of Kiyoshi Matsuda and the tigress of the Matsuda clan wanting to see him. Any vague notion that he was intimidating had flown out the open window... as it did uncomfortably often, for a man leading a gang of rowdy yakuza. 

“He’s a fucking idiot,” the red-haired youth sighed, looking down at his boss.

“...Yeah, but he’s the one who pays us. Scrape him up off of the floor.” 

                    __________________________________________

Audrey closed her eyes as she felt Caius’ hands run over her skin, her lips at his neck while the sheets tangled around them, his hips rolling into her with quiet sounds of exertion breathed into her ear. They’d not left the bed since they’d hit it after her return to him... post senseless argument, born of two people with emotions running unnaturally high. Really, though, who could blame them? It had been a chaotic few weeks. This was just the kind of stress relief both of them needed, rather than shouting and slamming doors. 

“I love you,” he breathed, and she smiled, dazed, running her fingers through the man’s hair - the dark dye now starting to fade. 

“I love you back,” she whispered before her back arched, head tilting as her lips parted as there was a mutual release of ecstasy, sunlight dappled across their skin through the inn room window. Caius kissed her tenderly, holding her face in between his hands before both of their bodies were still. He rolled off of her, gently pulling her on top of him. 

“My clever girl. My perfect girl. My tough girl.” Kisses punctuated each of Caius’s words, and Audrey smiled, warm from her toes to the top of her head as her lover wrapped her up securely in his strong arms. 

She was blissfully unaware that there were eyes other than Alfie’s watching her, unaware that someone else on the other side of the world was lusting after an idea of her. All that mattered, then and there, was Caius, her Caius, her sun and her stars, the other half of her. For now, she didn’t have a care in the world but the feeling of him between her legs, of their hushed words and shared laughter, his fingers tickling against her sides to send peals of giggles through the room. 

The snake in the grass could wait. The snake in the sand could wait, too. Her dove had her attention, all of it, undivided. And somewhere, as Mori started to come to his senses with smelling salts and some slaps to the face... He, for reasons unknown, felt jealousy welling up in the pit of his stomach. 

Someone else was touching her. 

[mst3kproject]

Attack of the Puppet People

This is the other movie Bert I. Gordon namedropped in Earth vs the Spider.  The screenplay was by John Worthing Yates, a guy who has a name that sounds like a Byronic poet but mostly wrote giant bug movies.  It stars June Kenney from that movie and Bloodlust!, John Hoyt from Lost Continent and The Time Travellers, and yep, John Agar.  The title is pretty much a lie, too – unless it refers to Agar tearing the head off a marionette.

Dolls Incorporated is a small toy company in Los Angeles.  The owner, Mr. Franz, needs a new secretary and hires Sally Reynolds, who is fresh out of college and has no family – an interesting choice, especially when we discover his previous secretary has vanished without a trace.  Sally soon notices that Mr. Franz has a weird habit of treating his dolls like real people, and comes to worry about his mental health.  When a salesman, Bob Wesley, asks her to marry him she is more than happy to leave the unnerving Mr. Franz behind, but Mr. Franz does not intend to let her.  With some technobabble and a contraption made out of photography equipment, he shrinks both Bob and Sally down to Barbie size to join his collection of human dolls! Somehow they must make their way back up to his office in order to un-shrink themselves, but it’s a very long way when you’re only a foot tall.

(The point of including clips from The Amazing Colossal Man, by the way, appears to have been a ham-fisted bit of foreshadowing with the line I’m not growing – you’re shrinking!  Which… okay, sure, if that made everybody feel better about the shameless self-promotion.)

The movie was made very quickly in order to capitalize on The Incredible Shrinking Man and I have to say, it puts significant effort into not being merely a ripoff. It’s not nearly as ambitious as its model in terms of special effects, but it has much more plot, being an actual story rather than a psychological study, although it does some of that, too.  I suspect that this was an idea that either Gordon or Yates had sitting around anyway and they welcomed the excuse to put it into production.

In terms of its story, this is actually one of Bert I. Gordon’s better efforts.  Like The Amazing Colossal Man, it tries to explore character a little rather than just being a monster rampage, and the character it’s interested in is Mr. Franz’.  He’s a deeply lonely man who feels everybody he cares about abandons him – starting with his wife, who ran off with a boyfriend long ago – and therefore goes to great lengths to keep them.  This obsession has grown worse and worse, until now people he’s only known a few weeks are subject to his captivity.  When he believes the police are on to him, he decides to commit suicide and take all his prisoners with him, because even in death he cannot bear to leave them behind.

The movie does occasionally waste our time, as in the sequence where one of the human dolls is commanded to sing, but not very often. Things like the tiny cat, or Sally’s efforts to go to the police, seem like sidelines but later turn out to be quite important.  My favourite part is when Franz is forced to leave his little people unsupervised when a friend drops in on him with a lengthy story to tell – he knows he can’t leave them alone for too long but he also doesn’t want to be rude to his buddy, so he keeps trying to make excuses and things get more and more awkward.  I’m pretty sure any introvert can identify with the situation, even those of us who are not mad scientists.

Attack of the Puppet People also has some of the better effects shots I’ve ever seen in Bert I. Gordon.  The dolls in their cases are nothing but paper cut-outs, always carefully held face-on to the camera in an attempt to preserve the illusion, and there are very visible seams around a miniature cat in Franz’ hands, but the images of tiny people interacting with oversized objects are actually pretty good.  There’s one of tiny Sally on a desk, with a telephone in front of her and Mr. Franz leaning in to talk to her, that’s almost seamless – the only place the illusion breaks is that he’s not quite actually looking at her. Quite a few of the oversized objects, like the telephone or coffee tin one woman uses as a bathtub, must have been specially made for the movie, and they’re detailed and convincing. The best is the oversize puppet the characters have to interact with. It really does look like something small, magnified.

The performances in the movie, on the other hand, are some of the worst I’ve seen even in a Bert I. Gordon film.  Everybody picks one note and sticks to it.  John Hoyt had been in Julius Caesar (although he’d also been in The Conqueror) and would go on to be in Spartacus (and Flesh Gordon), but here he just gives us the exact same Valium-laced smile throughout the whole movie.  Sometimes it’s creepy, lending credence to Sally’s early suspicion that Franz is a serial killer, but mostly it’s just annoying.  The long scene of technobabble while he explains how his shrinking machine works is insufferable.  June Kenney gives her usually slightly over-wrought reads that sound like a high school’s production of Shakespeare.

Then of course there’s John Agar.  His character is written as kind of a jerk, but in ways that were probably acceptable for white men in the 50’s.  His physical performance, on the other hand, makes you want to see Sally kick him repeatedly in the nuts.  He looms over her, follows a foot behind her when she is clearly uncomfortable with this, and touches her when she does not want to be touched.  Nowadays all this would earn him a restraining order but in this old movie it’s apparently supposed to be romantic.  Then there’s the way he laughs at her when she confesses that she’s slightly afraid of Mr. Franz.  How the hell did he ever persuade her to go out with him, let alone marry him?  And who fucking proposes in the middle of The Amazing Colossal Man?!

When Sally believes Bob has run off on her, she protests to Mr. Franz, “Bob wouldn’t treat me this way if he could help it!”  The audience just rolls their eyes, because they’ve already seen Bob treat her far worse.  We’ll see him do worse again, too, when he persuades Sally to abandon the others at the theatre even though they know that Franz will kill them if he finds them.

Besides Mr. Franz’ pathological fear of losing people close to him, the other place the movie goes in exploring its characters psychology is a form of Stockholm Syndrome.  When Bob and Sally meet the other ‘dolls’, they discover that their fellow prisoners have resigned themselves to their fate.  Mr. Franz mostly keeps them in jars and occasionally lets them out to party, and they’ve decided to look at it as if they’re on a sort of permanent vacation, just enjoying the party without worrying about things they don’t believe they can change.  The only rebellion apparent is the teenage girl, Lori, refusing to sing on command – and she changes her mind in a hurry when Franz threatens to put her back in her bottle.

They aren’t totally brainwashed, though.  When a chance to escape presents itself, they all pitch in to help.  The moral of the story, insofar as it seems to have one, is that freedom is better than slavery even when the slaves are well-treated and have everything taken care of for them.  The little people don’t need to work, they don’t need to pay taxes, and Mr. Franz sees to all their needs, but they are still prisoners.  Real life may be difficult and full of worries and responsibilities, but it’s better than being kept in a box!

Bert I. Gordon never used women as heroes, in the sense of actually doing anything to save the day, but it’s kind of interesting how frequently he used them as point-of-view characters.  Sally in Attack of the Puppet People joins Audrey Aimes in Beginning of the End and Joyce Manning in War of the Colossal Beast as a female lead through whose eyes we’re watching all this happen.  Male characters may be more active and heroic, but they are secondary in terms of screen time and audience identification.  I wonder if this were something intentional or not, and either way, what it might reveal about his storytelling.

Is it feminist?  I don’t think so.  In many of Gordon’s films, the characters feel helpless in the face of more powerful forces: the grasshoppers of Beginning of the End overrun the military easily, Joyce and her problem are handed around like a hot potato by people who don’t care, and even Glenn Manning is a powerless victim of his own growth.  Perhaps the choice of a passively watching woman rather than an actively heroic man as the main character is supposed to add to this.  Audrey Aimes might be the best example, in that her job, as a reporter, is to observe and record, rather than to intervene.  Consider The Magic Sword, in which Princess Helene watches her own rescue attempts in the magic mirror, while Sir George’s transition to manhood is represented by him leaving mere watching behind and actually getting involved in the events he has observed.  Or Necromancy, in which Lori Brandon is left watching herself in Mr. Cato’s thrall.  Heck with Manos, I could write a thesis on this.

If I had to pick a Stinger Moment for this movie, it would be the tiny people gathered around a huge telephone while Bob exclaims, “the police!  Does anyone know the number?”  At the time this wouldn’t have been a joke at all – 911 came into wide use only in the early 1960’s, but from a modern viewer it earns a snicker, and it would definitely have been funny in the UK, where 999 had been around since the 30’s. There’s your random fact for the day.

[peakyblinders-au]

Eleonora Changretta

Tumblr Url & Your Real Name: babyblinder.tumblr.com - Tash

Character Full Name: Eleonora Audrey-Cecile Changretta

Nicknames/Alias: Ele, Eli, Rory

Backstory for nicknames/alias/names: All her family and friends call her Ele\Eli quite a girly name, but her dad calls her Rory, a more boyish name, because he always wanted a boy

Gender: Female; she\ her

Gender Role: Ele was raised both as a lady and a killer. She knows her guns, her traps, her escapes, how to negotiate, how to win in almost any situation. Her dad taught her how to shoot and where to stab to make sure she knew how to defend herself if she ever needed to, mostly because of the family name. Also, as I said Luca really wanted a boy, so he pretty much treated self-defense training as a hobby. Her mum taught her to play piano, sew clothes and bake.

Sexual Orientation: Straight

Age: 22, looks 18

Birthday: 11th June (idk the year I can’t count L)

Birthplace: London, England

Ethnicity: Mixed – Sicilian by father and Creole by mother

Family Members: Luca Changretta (father), Vincente and Audrey Changretta (grandparents), Angel Changretta (uncle)

Children: None

Face shape: Visible cheekbones

Eye colour: green eyes on the outside, brown on the inside

Hair colour: dark brown, almost black

Hairstyle: She’s mixed, so curly, shoulder length hair.

Skin tone: Light brown

Height: 5’5

Weight: 133 lbs (60kg)

Breast size: 36DD

Scars/Birthmarks/Prominent Features: a scar on her right elbow that she got when she fell from her horse.    

Preferred hand: Rightie to do anything (eat, grab things, open doors, write), but she learnt to shoot and sign her name with both hands

Health: no issues

Phobias:  falling in love, heights

Addictions: Wine, rosé or red. That’s her shit.  She loves a good party\event\wedding and maybe addicted is not the word, but she will never turn down an occasion to drink.

Attitude: A rebel in everything she does. She’s the flirtiest, she loves making all the men wish, but everything is always in the basis of a joke or strictly physical\sexual attraction. When it comes to feelings, she’s the ice queen and claims to have none, Michael is the only one that stirs up something inside of her. She makes everyone believe she doesn’t care about anything and always just does what she wants??? She gives 0 fucks. Her attitude only and exclusively changes towards kids, she loves them and cares for them sooo deeply.

Expressions: She’s Italian come on, she talks with her hands and face. She throws her hands in the air when something goes wrong, she extends her arm and points at people with her palm and pretty much any typical Italian gesture, SHE DOES IT. She shrugs to everything, as to say ‘what you gonna do about it?’.

Residence: She lives in London with her mum, though she often goes to America to see her father and his side of the family. She went to surprise her dad in Birmingham when she found out he came to the UK and didn’t tell her, just to realise he was here for business. When in Small Heath, she stays at her grandmother and grandfather’s place.

Political Affiliation: She has little to no interest in politics

Friends: She’s so damn friendly, she will be friends with the old lady down the road and the 7 year olds playing in the fields. She can befriend anyone in the AU. I feel like Polly would love her rebel, adventurous nature and she’s probably the one that gets Ada in trouble by dragging her out all the time. She knows Lizzie liked her uncle Angel and was prohibited to see him because of gang rivalry, so she confesses her feelings for Michael and they bond on the fact they had\have the same issue, as the Changrettas will probably never allow Ele to be with Michael.

Enemies: OK idk if she should be enemies with the Shelbys after they beef her family and kill her father, or if she actually wanted them to kill him??? So I’ll leave that up to you; though I’d love her to have a hate\love relationship with them and especially Michael, where she likes him for all the wrong reasons.

Boss: Though he never involved her in any gang activities, her father is her boss; anything she does, wants to do or dreams of has to be run and approved by him. Or at least that’s what she makes him think. If she was ever to do any ‘jobs’ she would definitely be loyal and work for her family.

Pets: None in London, she has a black horse called Cenere in Birmingham that lives at her grandparents’.

Finances: Upper class gang-rich but has to hide it, or at least not flaunt it

Marital Status: Single

Sex Life: I’m very comfortable with her being subject to smut, and so is she (we ask, cos consent is everything). She has only ever slept with her ex, but she’s trynna get MICHAEL

Lovers: She’s had a boyfriend in London, an Italian boy her dad set her up with, but he was never really her thing. She’s a flirt alert: does it with anyone and everyone for the (her own) fun and amusement, but would never just sleep around. Michael caught her eye and she’s trying to show him that when she flirts with him it’s something real.

Turn-ons: A dom man. DIRTY TALK and MOANING and just being LOUD AF. Loves it when other people hear it and even acknowledge it (she used to be loud just to piss her dad off, but she found out she actually loves it).

Winking: they’re such small signs that say so much. Being physical, e.g. tickles, poking, slaps, hugs, grabbing, squeezes, anything involving him touching her and vice versa in public (and not). Big rough hands, broad shoulders and chest, muscly arms.

Turn-offs: Any sort of mushy smushy cutie pie things like bringing flowers (buy her diamonds instead) and slow, sweet love making

Dom or Sub: Sub but knows what she wants, and can potentially become dom. She grew up being spoiled af, everything always provided, always a receiver, so she expects the guy to give it to her. But when she feels like it, she can easily become dom, just to remind him who’s the boss.

Fantasies: Anything her with Michael would be great. Maybe she fucks Tommy to make Michael jealous\piss him off??? She never has sex at random but she likes Mikey so much that she even goes to those lengths to make him realise he likes her.

Occupation: A trained gang leader that doesn’t lead a gang. If she doesn’t get a fixed place in the family business, she’d like to be a painter.

Income: All from her father and family. She often has to hide her wealth: Luca doesn’t want anyone to know (tbh almost all the Italians in London know who she is, cos duh they’re Italian) that she’s his daughter as it might bring dangers and honestly, discrimination.

Work Experience: Luca refuses to let her take part in the family business, however she secretly followed him countless times when he went to ‘get jobs done’ and learnt a lot by watching him. She volunteers to teach kids how to write and reads stories at an orphanage in London. When in Birmingham she teaches the kids at Tommy’s Institute painting techniques and literature (this could be after all the beef with her fam and the pbs is done).

Religion: She believes in a God. She doesn’t even come close to religious, but her family taught her that there is a God of creation out there and someone to look to, if she ever needs it, though they rely more on Saints.

Criminal Record: Her dad said no

Morals: She breaks the rules and does whatever her dad tells her not to, what can ya do? She would only do illegal things for family, loyalty and vengeance. I kinda want her to learn to forgive, unlike her family???

Main Goal: She went to Birmingham to surprise her dad, but after learning his business with the Peakys she begs him to let her get involved, to which he finally agrees. He puts her charm to use by making her a ‘bait’ to get information and distract the boys. After she meets Michael she questions her role and involvement in the job

Ambitions: She wants her paintings to be displayed in an art gallery one day, as painting is the one thing that no one taught her or gave to her, it is something she found and cultivated herself.

Regrets: Na, she ain’t got time.

Secrets: Ofc all the times she rebelled against her dad’s disapproval of something and did it anyway, and the times she secretly followed him while he was doing business.

Ah yes, she shot one man in her life… who is it??? idk is it Luca??? no?? yes??

Best memories: Travelling to the US to see her dad and her cousins. 

Worst memories: Being discriminated against for being mixed\of colour. Feeling lonely at times, because most of the Italian kids knew who her father was and didn’t want to be her friend.

Hobbies: drinking, breaking rules, painting, teaching kids

Skills: Painting, shooting with either hand, sewing clothes, making men want her

Likes: attention, being in company, children, partying, pissing her dad off

Dislikes: being alone, showing emotions, being vulnerable and not in control of a situation

Superstitions: She doesn’t believe in the ones that say ‘bad luck if’ but she believes all of the ones that promise good luck

Guilty Pleasures: Baking, I know I said no mushy cutie pie stuff but she loves to bake

Strengths: 1) She can make anyone comfortable around her in no time 2) extremely manipulative and convincing 3) has a fearless sense of adventure 4) could charm a snake 5) has a small emotional depth, so feelings for people are never a problem, until ofc Mikey 6) hiding sensations, others can’t tell how she feels about things

Weaknesses: 1) Michael 2) isn’t always her true self, she puts on this over confident outlook she then has to keep it up 3) easily gets bored and can be very inconsistent 4) entitled when it comes to men 5) children make her melt

Languages: Fluent in Italian and English (I can totally send you Italian words and phrases)

Accent: London accent, but quite posh

Voice: Suave, like she’s constantly flirting while talking. It has a lot of tonalities (singy-songy) like Italians talk.

Reputation: Will get you in trouble, but extremely fun to be around. A rebel. Loyal.

Backstory:

Eleonora’s mum (Jeanette) and dad (Luca) met in NY and fell in love, but interracial relationships were extremely stigmatised, so when Jeanette fell pregnant, he moved her to London, where she gave birth and relocated permanently. Ele’s mother ‘works’ (not that she needs to, Luca maintains her well) for Alfie, where she passes as a single black mother to cover up her real identity as Luca’s love. Ele’s father and his family absolutely adore her, but refuse to bring her to the US permanently because of the higher dangers with Al Capone, and the discrimination she and her mum might face because of their mixed-race relationship with Luca (he might just start a killing spree otherwise).

Ele grew up being trained to kill by her dad and occasionally her grandfather; she begs to be involved in the gang, although her family refuse to let her do any work related to that.

She brings the party wherever she goes and is extremely fun to be around, but doesn’t open up to anyone but her mum about her feelings, emotions or even issues, though most of the time she just deals with it all herself. She has a very stable and happy life, so good that she hates how boring and easy it is to get things, so she rebels, completely ignores any instructions from her father and does whatever she pleases anyway. As a child, Eleonora and her mother would go to Birmingham and sneak to see her grandparents, and though people saw her here and there on the streets a few times, no one knew she was related to them. Before going to surprise her dad, she hadn’t been to Birmingham for about 7 years.