#i have a couple photosets that i could do that for so!

[accio-victuuri]

okay, let’s do a part two of birthday cpns. part one is here incase you missed it ✌🏼

let’s start with this wardrobe match. xzs posted another set of photos and this time, xz is all dressed up. well it turns out it’s from the same brand/collection as what yibo wore at yh concert which is amiri. it’s kinda special cause that’s what he used to perform somebody else’s arms which i think is personal. and adding the cpn that the design on wyb’s side had WX on it.

it’s like the tom ford thing ( among others ) all over again. granted that this is a good brand that they have used before but it’s so sus! do they have the same taste? lol. i imagine them talking about clothes and sharing what they think looks good on them. and personally, that collection had some v interesting pieces. so glad they get to wear stuff like this and not just plain black suits.

now we move on to yibo’s usual photoset related to exploring the unknown 🗺️. he does share personal photos he took from his time shooting for the past saturdays so we knew he will post today. fans have noticed that the number 33 ( gg’s age now ) is somehow incorporated.

his past posts only had one emoji or none. that’s how short and simple he is and we got used to that pattern. but for today, he had 9. and it’s 3 emojis reposted 3x. 33. when people also check this on weibo, it’s coming up as 33 characters. this exact combination. you can put in 9 other emojis that use the hand but it’s not 33. this may be a coincidence. you can say that there are lots of emojis because it’s the last weekend he is expressing his thanks.

also, if you count all the photos/videos in sets he shared ever since he started it’s 33. not including the one posted today.

the universe is truly clowning us. 🤡🤡🤡

and oh, the photoset of wyb and xzs new photoshoot were posted a minute apart. did wyb miss the 16:23? or maybe he was really going for 16:24. I found an explanation here of what it means and it’s so sweet?!

The number 1624 represents love and romance. it can be explained in two ways: 1. Pinyin homophony: In Chinese, "one hundred sixty-two four" is harmonious to "all the way". the sound means smooth progress and smooth development on the road to love. therefore, some people will do it on the occasion of marriage proposal or anniversary.

Digit Split: Split the number, i.e. "1 6" and "24". "16" represents the meaning of "one heart and one mind". it means giving and serving wholeheartedly in love and "24" represents the hours of each day of your life. The number implies that the two of them will spend a whole life together. Day and night, we accompany each other and never leave.

some are also talking about the closed loop of yibo starting his bday with a photo in the desert. and then posting about it again on xz’s bday. 💛

it seems so similar to xz’s bday photoshoot before in a desert where he wore the GUCCI couple necklace. i don’t think i have to explain much, if you were there or read about it — you would know how chaotically sweet that year was.

and the first emoji yibo used ✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻 is the same as the gestured they did in this photo ⬇️⬇️⬇️

this photo too, maybe i’m wrong but when i saw it i was like — two sets of tableware? Is he on a date? lol. or maybe it’s the girlfriend fantasy they are serving here. you and gege on a date? HAHAHAHAHAHA!

FINALLY, xz studio shared 18 photos for the first set. and 9 on the second. they could easily made it 18 + 18 cause that’s the max and i’m sure they have lots of photos. but no. it’s 18 + 9 = 27 which is yibo’s age.

PLEASE SHUT UP. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I honestly thought it was gonna be chill considering the kinds of cpns we picked up on part one. but this is kinda insane. lol. I think we will still get a video? the behind the scenes of the photoshoots ( hopefully ) and i’m excited to see it!!!!!!

END.

[crsssie]

pov ur therapy is doom shopping - tim drake x reader (pretty bird countdown #1)

The world stops for no one.

You drum your fingers against the marble of your kitchen island, browsing through online shops while you're supposed to be working on your paper, humming to yourself as the rain outside your window drums erratically against the glass. It's far too late for you to be awake, but you're also waiting for someone to get home. You wonder why he had picked such an early patrol time for once. It wasn't common for him to be back before two.

"The rain is terrible." Tim sighs, window opening as he slides in, unclasping his boots and cape, locking the window as he turns on the tint. "You alright?"

You hum at him, continuing with your shopping. 

"Whatcha looking at?" He peels off his suit, dropping it down the chute as it lands with a thud, wrapping his arms around your shoulders as he stares at your screen.

"Doom shopping?"

"The day's been slow."

"I figured." He hums. "It's why I took an early shift."

"You seem to know me a little too well." You mumble, no real malice behind your words, clicking add to cart. 

"Isn't it nice?"

"I suppose." You scroll through your cart, blinking twice before closing your laptop. "How was patrol?"

"You don't need to fill in the silence, you know?" He squeezes you, carrying you in his arms as he tells you about patrol anyway. You need time off from your mind, and he's more than willing to help you out. You'd have a higher chance of being better in the morning than anything else. "So? What did you do while I was out?"

"I put the dishes in the dishwasher." You hum. "Not to dry. To wash. I think we officially have enough dishes to use the dishwasher instead of handwashing."

"Mhm?"

"And I also made some steamed egg." You shift slightly in his arms as he reaches to open the bedroom door. 

"Did you save me some?"

"Yeah." You yawn. "Middle section of the upper fridge. If you want anything else, there's quite a couple of things in the freezer. I think we need to eat the costco mac n cheese soon."

Tim laughs. "Yeah?"

"Mhm. Also, I was looking through my photos that I got before my gramps passed..."

"Were you thinking about him?"

"I was." You close your eyes as he sets you down on the bed. "I think that's why I'm so down right now."

"Yeah. I feel that." He mumbles. "I'll shower and then we can get to bed, alright? Feel free to keep browsing. The tablet is charged."

"Alright." 

Tim finds that taking care of you is no big deal no matter how tired he is. It's as easy to take care of you as it is to breathe, and even with the ring on your ear and the band on your finger, he finds that it has only gotten easier to be your other half. He's sure you would say the same, your ring never leaving your finger even while resting — never gone even when he's bloody from the worse days of patrol. The dirt and grime slide down his body as he washes, bathroom door opening as you move to sit in the tub to be by him.

"You alright?"

The lack of response and comfortable silence tells Tim all he needs to know.

"Did you see the new video from Bernard?"

"The one detailing Nightwing as a vampire?"

"Yeah."

"I did." You hum.

"Thoughts?"

"Found it funny. He used one of my photosets from April Fools years back as evidence and I thought I was going to lose my mind." You hum. "Do you think the study could fit a couple more blind boxes?"

"I'm sure it can... somehow. We can always layer the figures." Tim reaches for face wash. "Oh, right. I saw your serum was low. Do you need more?"

"I went over my spending limit for the month, so next month." You mumble. "What do you think about a custom figure?"

"You'd have to be filthy rich for that, no?" He pauses. "Wait. Pretty bird. Why do you have a limit if my credit card never maxes out—"

"Well, aren't you filthy rich?" You raise a brow. "What if you divorce me one day?"

"I am." Tim agrees, closing his mouth to wash his face. "That's not happening. Shoo. You'll put me in my grave before I let you get away from me."

"Then, we can afford it." You hum. "Well, might as well spend the money. Considering that we don't want kids and all." You choose to ignore his words.

"I can't believe your mom is still pestering me to change your mind." Tim sighs. "What gene do they want to continue down the bloodline? Your brain?"

"Your brain, birdie." You chuckle. "You're rich, smart, and other than..."

"Hey, don't bring my height into this!" Tim gasps. "Rude." 

"Hey, I didn't say shit." You grumble. "You know damn well your family has a tall gene."

"I might kill you." 

"That'd align perfectly with my interests." You blow a raspberry at him through the glass.

"Regardless, I told her she's getting no grandchildren. Told her I'm sterile."

You cough, laugh stuck in your chest as you gasp for air, wheezing in the process.

"You alright, pretty bird?"

"I just lost it, sorry." You cough, trying to get the words out. "You are NOT sterile."

"That vasectomy says otherwise."

"That makes you infertile!"

"Yeah, but if I tell her I'm infertile, she might tell me that we could always do IVF."

"Evil..." You mumble.

"I know." Tim grumbles. "Well, regardless," he turns the water off, "might as well spend money on the things that matter?"

"Which is?"

"My wife's retail therapy." Tim grins, robe wrapped around his body as he opens his arms for you. "Hm?"

"I don't know, birdie." You pretend to think. "Sounds like a lot of money you're spending there."

"Well, it's all worth it. Happy wife, happy life. happy spouse, happy house." He hums. "As long as you're smiling, then it made all of that nonsensical pining I went through when I first met you in person worth it."

"Yeah?"

"Positive." He grins.

"You've become real sappy, you know?"

"And you don't like it?"

"Mm..." You pinch his cheek as he reaches over you to shut the lights. "No. I do."

"I know you do." He pinches your cheek back. "It's why you married me."

"Maybe I married you for your bank account."

Tim pretends to gasp in offense, jaw dropped. "You couldn't have."

You go quiet, Tim reaching over to pinch your cheek again as you bite his fingers.

"Hey!"

You stick your tongue out at him with a 'blegh' and he huffs. 

"Nighty night, pretty bird."

"Love you too, birdie."

[gatheringfiki]

The following ficlet was written by @i-am-still-bb​ based on this photoset.

Fili/Kili, T

You might also be able to read this story on AO3.

If you’ve enjoyed this story, please leave a comment either in replies or on AO3.

The Fallen Moon

—

Erebor was cold in December. But it was not bitter and dry or bright and harsh. The city was nestled against the sloping curves of the mountain’s legs as they wrapped around the banks of the fjord. There was snow. There were ice crystals in the air. It was winter. It was cold enough that rugs and pelts had been pulled from storage where they had been carefully paced after being beaten clean last spring. They were then draped over many of the exposed stone surfaces in the living quarters. Because, despite the fires, if you pressed yourself to the stone without a barrier for long enough the cold would seep from the stone into your skin to settle in your bones. 

They had both learned that the hard way. More than once. But had been caught up enough in the moment not to change locations on each occasion.

Fili was currently cocooned in a thick blanket—despite the large fire behind the intricately wrought iron grate that held back the logs and popping embers—in a deep slouch. His feet were propped on a padded ottoman. At his elbow was a glass and metal chalice of wine and a book was spread open across his lap. He was not actually reading it. He was staring out the large glass windows at the mountains that were silhouetted by the flickering stars and the dull streaks of pink and purple that sometimes appeared. 

The doors in their private rooms were never closed off allowing free movement without having the shove around the monstrously heavy doors. The only real downside was that sometimes drafts flowed through the rooms like water. Warm or cold air washed over them, only truly unpleasant if it was cold air, and one was just out of the sauna.

Kili stood in the open door, hand on the carved and scarred wood. He watched Fili in silence, looking for the things that Fili would often hide from Kili for whatever reason. And Kili hated those silences. He hated missing those parts of Fili. 

But when Fili was alone he stopped guarding himself so much. 

He lifted the chalice to his lips, the purple-red wine staining his lips. He was relaxed, but his lips were pulled down in a frown. There were lines on his face, a weariness and a wariness, that had not been there last year at this time. 

Kili watched for a few minutes before he joined Fili. He sat on the furs next to Fili, propped his thick stockinged feet next to Fili’s, and silently untucked the edge of the blanket so that it could cover both of their laps. Fili quietly roused himself, shaking away the melancholy thoughts that had been holding his attention. 

Fili lifted the glass of wine again. It was running low already. “Where did you get to today?” 

Before answering Kili adjusted his seat, crossing his ankles and angling himself to face Fili, “Just around. Answering questions. Doing stuff. Dwalin convinced me to do some training with him. He said to tell you that he has time in the morning for you.”

Fili groaned and closed his eyes. “I’ll just fecking make another of me,” he snapped. “I don’t have enough time for the stuff I already need to do. I do not have the time to play at swords with Dwalin,” Fili scowled, turning his face away from Kili, then said, quietly, “As much as I might want to do just that.”

“I’m sure I can do some of the work…” Kili started. It wasn’t the first time he had made this offer. And he knew how it would end. If they were lucky it would be a couple of sharp words and hurt feelings and then shared silence. But if they weren’t… it would mean another argument. Raised voices. Possibly a shattered chalice as it was swept aside in anger or frustration. Separate silences. And sleeping alone in their separate chambers.

And there had been a lot of the latter of late.

Kili did not get to finish his sentence before Balin was knocking on the door frame. He and many others had never gotten used to the open doors. “My liege.”

“Balin,” Fili sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

“It’s proper.”

“I don’t care,” Fili practically whined. 

“What is it, Balin?” Kili asked, seeking to prevent them from getting stuck in a loop where Fili would insist and Balin would refuse. 

Balin cleared his throat. “The Fire Stag, the Agni Olen,  has been spotted.”

Kili straightened, excited, the blanket falling away from his legs. “Really? How long’s it been?”

“Since Thrain’s disappearance, milord.”

“It’s overdue,” Fili said. “And of course it’s cold now.”

“It does usually appear during the winter season,” Balin said gently. 

“So, what do I have to do?”

“I’ve already called a council meeting for tomorrow, but I thought that you should know, so you have time to prepare yourself for the quest.”

Fili’s voice was sharp. “Thank you. You can go now.”

“Great, another thing to do,” he said sourly after Balin was out of earshot. 

—

The mountain aspens still clung to their golden leaves in the twilight. 

The courtiers and the rest of the entourage had trickled away or not even left the castle gates, eventually leaving Fili and Kili alone at the entrance to the Enchanted Forest to find the pieces of the moon. And if they didn’t find the pieces of the moon? Nothing bad happened. There were no prophecies of doom, no nobles waiting to depose Fili. It was just tradition.

And the fallen moon had been found, but also not found plenty of times before. 

Fili patted Daisy the Pony’s neck and considered the forest. 

“It’s so quiet.”

“It’s nice.”

Kili just nodded his head in agreement before saying, “So should we get going?”

Fili released a deep breath before answering. “Might as well.”

—

Three days later they found themselves on the edge of a lake that had ice growlers floating in the calm water. Daisy’s breath came in clouds. The sun was pink on the water in the pre-dawn light.

The small tent was warm from their bodies and breath. The textures of the animal skins that made up the tent slowly became visible as the light outside grew brighter. Fili’s cares had seemed to fall away in the past days. He snapped less and laughed more. And they hadn’t exchanged sharp words at all. Which was good because there were no separate places to retreat to, and the tent was very small. They had slept side by side in peace, finding warmth in each other.

Fili spoke into the empty air as he stared at the ceiling. “I don’t want to go back.” 

“Daisy might not give us much choice. She’s going to demand fresh, not frozen, food.”

Fili kept talking, like he had not heard Kili, “I’m sure Balin will be able to figure things out. The nobles will probably make things difficult for a while, but… Dain always has wanted a bigger kingdom.”

“But you’re a better king than Dain is.”

Fili sighed.

A long silence stretched out between them. 

There were small sounds.

A crack of ice on the lake. 

Daisy huffing and stamping her feet. 

The tent moving and creaking in the slight breeze. 

“I guess you’re right. We should get going and try to find that bit of moon before Daisy eats all of the grain we brought with us.” Fili sat up, the furs and blankets falling away and scrubbed his face with his hands.

“She’ll do that in the next hour if we let her.”

He groaned theatrically. “Don’t remind me.”

“We did bring the hungriest pony in Erebor.”

“Why was that again?”

Kili shrugged.

When they were finally bundled up and ready to leave the tent the pink light of dawn was fading into the dreary grey it had been for most of their days. Fili exited first and held the tent flap open for Kili to follow him. Kili straightened and froze.

“Fili.”

Fili looked in the direction Kili was looking. Out at the lake with its ice growlers. 

There, right near the shore, was a growler the size of a table. And on it was a crescent moon.

[funarisjournal]

Episode 4: Things Slowly Change...

So, I was re-watching Episode 4 yesterday. I did a silly livetweet session that involved mostly gushing over expressions and stuff, but I was pointing out how this episode really is a pivotal one for the relationship between Nomoto and Kasuga. An early pivot, so to speak, but things definitely start to change during this episode and onward.

One part I didn't actually tweet about was when they were enjoying the pudding and have a personal conversation...

This was after the trip, after prepping the pumpkin pudding and enjoying it. It was a quieter time, a time to reflect what happened earlier.

Kasuga was always one for budgeting and efficiency: Buying food on sale, owning only the basic needs, shortcuts that cut down on mileage.... But... something about today, she wanted to try something different. A more leisurely route along the beach. At the market, they enjoyed some ice cream and Nomoto proposed hanging out more often BEYOND their agreement of cooking and eating. Someone wants to actually spend time with Kasuga?? FUN time?? This thought lingers in the back of her mind because, when they got back to the apartments, she eyed that pumpkin with some consideration. Almost like... she didn't quite want their time together to end yet.

In all of this, Kasuga didn't show any reason why she wanted to do the things she did. She even looked a little unsure herself during the farmer's market scenes! I think it took her some quiet time - that time they waited for the pudding to settle - to actually think about it. And that's when she starts that convo in the photoset above, finishing it off with this line:

...which gets Nomoto thinking as well!

Now, Nomoto already had some inkling of a desire since the first episode, and something started to click by Episode 2, but it was them actually going out together that really started to bring out more feelings from Nomoto. She was the one that asked if they could do more things together earlier that day. Very awkwardly, I may add, heh:

Even before this, she was fretting over what to wear for the trip, looking up advice (that didn't help since it was all for het couples), and here she brings up the question almost like a proposal. Almost. Then she does her infamous nervous babbling.

It's, like, deep down, she knows what she wants (friendship at this point), but she doesn't want to sound weird and doesn't want to lose the first connection she's had in a LONG TIME. This even goes to later events like Christmas and Valentine's Day... But she WANTS to say these things, and sometimes, they just come out. Nomoto has a tendency to let her emotions out, even if she holds back a bit. She WANTS to see Kasuga more. This isn't just a bargain about cooking and eating big dishes anymore. This is about spending more time together and enjoying it, together!

But she didn't really put everything together until Kasuga said her own thoughts. They were acting different because they were hanging out with one another.

Why? They aren't quite sure yet. Yes, you can say something like "I guess it was because I was doing this thing with you," and not immediately think "because I want to be your friend" right off the bat, especially later in life. School-aged, you're taught the beginnings of socialization, you're encouraged to make friends and work together, etc. After you graduate, it's more about that working together in your jobs and raising a family, and with the latter, that has never been on either ladies' minds. Work-wise? Coworkers are not your friends. They are your cohorts, the other folks that help make the job run smoothly.

So, what DOES that make them?....is what they're both wondering individually. You can see it in their faces, their expressions, even within this episode (pics are when Kasuga said her version of the "It was because of you" line):

Nomoto is ahead of this path, though. She knows she wants friendship.... Or something like that, but she's too shy to admit that's what she wants at her age. She cherishes her friendships from childhood and is still devastated to this day how she lost them. And now, Kasuga has come into her life and it's looking bright again.

As for Kasuga, while not confirmed, I always got this feeling she never had any friends, even when she was younger. She's always been a loner...I'm sure even this blossoming relationship with Nomoto is something she's completely new to. A lot of it would be new grounds to navigate, but Nomoto is patient with her, and it seems like she'll do fine if she continues to just be herself.

We know how it develops, but it's really fun looking back and figuring out how they were thinking/feeling at that point in time!

[bunnakit]

(please bear with me this is the most convoluted question known to man, but whenever you post for asks I can't help but want to scratch my weird lore theory itch, sorry not sorry)

So, like, the chomer's got fancy magic powers, right? And there were those photoshoots back during Treasure where each member had some kind of prop, right? And we've seen a couple kind of appear in other mv's like the telescope showing up in Answer, or Mingi's lines all coming through the radio in Fireworks when he was the one who had the ham radio as a prop. And, arguably, the candelabra Seonghwa has in the photoset and then the lantern he has in Wonderland. (I personally like to think that there are a couple other magic pirate artifacts already in play and its just that whatever they do hasn't been relevant to mention in the diary lore or the point of the timeline we're currently at yet).

I was just kind of idly thinking about how Hongjoong had a wand in that photoset, which hasn't specifically shown up anywhere again in that exact same form, (and quite frankly how in the heck they would ever work a wand into an mv)

and then I was like 'a wand is basically just a long stick, how would you adapt-... wait a minute'

a cane is also basically just a long stick. That he has in Guerrilla and Don't Stop, (and I know Don't Stop is not part of main canon and its own thing, but I love how they just spin slightly different AU flavours of their own lore as it suits them, and the cane in Don't Stop is.... kind of significant in the mv soooooo)

This was my crazily-roundabout way of asking if you had any thoughts/theories etc about Hongjoong and wands/sticks/canes, normal, magical, or otherwise and the lore

AAH LORE ANON YESS thank you for gracing my inbox its always a treat

so i kind of have weird theories on this? my friend [@pop-off-nabokov] and i were doing some Cromer Silvia conspiracy board theories one night and we realized something really interesting about trends in ATEEZ MVs and their themes in general.

so the captains symbol looks A LOT like like The Wheel tarot, a card that essentially breaks down the alchemical symbols of life (with EIGHT in the outer ring)

and then you have their entire last album theme The World

the wands could either be a reference to a 'of wands' tarot or the wand-like objects shown here in The World

and one of the big themes i noticed throughout Halazia is Hongjoong and Seonghwa play off each other in a theme of 'as above, so below' - Seonghwa is bathed in light and on the surface and we meet Hongjoong as Wooyoung gestures down and the camera pans downwards where Hongjoong, dressed in dark colors, seems to be a figurehead of a different gathering.

as for the lantern in Wonderland, well, i've got something for that too

The Hermit also depicts a lantern!

we also have...

Judgement

and...

The Fool - okay this one is a bit of a stretch but the pose is pretty spot on and the meaning of The Fool feels very lore!San (and really, all of the boys entering their journey in the Z World)

so i don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that ATEEZ features a lot of nods to tarot and perhaps some of the artifacts may be related to them in some way. now if they're magic like the Cromer or not? who is to say. i certainly would love to find out the looking glass allows you to see through the dimensions or something similar, or that the staff/wand has the same abilities as the breakers or who knows.

and if we want to be extra ridiculous about it, well, i hope this is at least good for a laugh

please always come to my inbox with any thoughts or questions. i hope my answers are always at least a little fun to think about.

[keepthedelta]

since this is the delta help desk, I have come to you once again to dip into your vast swathe of motorsport knowledge.

I've seen a lot of pictures of Nico from his early years in the sport and read a lot of articles where he is described as good looking, handsome, blonde etc and have heard some discussions where pre dts f1 fans have called him the og pretty boy, and charles' predecessor etc. I wanted to understand the cultural hype around Nico in his early years? Like the current f1 fandom is very americanised and charles definitely enjoys the fruits of being good looking. Did Nico have something similar? Like fans emphasizing their love for Nico because of how pretty he is, giving him an almost pop idol sort of worship. I understand that f1 had a smaller fan base back then and it was more men that women probably so this sort of talk was probably frowned upon. But did Nico drive people un poco loco, essentially? Would love your thoughts.

Side note: the nico pfp is soooo darling and the photoset you reblogged of him carrying his little daughter on his shoulder where she is holding onto his ear with her chubby baby hand...... sewercideeeee

oh this is kind of a hard one. i feel like the most accurate and honest answer i can give you is no. and yes. which is very irritating of me, but bear with me.

the culture around f1 was massively different back then, both when nico first started and when he left. the audience was smaller and mostly male, and information about the drivers and their personalities was extremely limited, mostly due to FOM rules regulating what behind the scenes stuff teams and drivers could post. most of the "fun" content and insight that teams can do now was only done through the broadcasters like sky, the bbc, espn etc.

the other main source of information about drivers i would say was tabloids. and certain drivers like jenson button, kimi raikkonen and to a slightly lesser (or different) extent lewis hamilton became very famous because of them. michael schumacher was a god of racing, and lewis had the whole young prodigy dating an american popstar thing, but even before jenson and kimi won their championships they were very well known for drinking and partying and dating lots and lots of very beautiful women, some famous, some not. it was a bit more rockstar than popstar i guess, where the extremes of the life, the heavy drinking, the hard partying, the fast driving, the beautiful women were seen as aspirational for the mostly male audience.

and nico never really fit into that. he did the drinking and partying, but away from the cameras usually, and his awkwardness and resting bitch face made people think that he was boring and stuck up. he was also so steadfastly loyal to vivian, who seems like his only real relationship (they began dating at 18 and people who worked with nico back in the junior formulas said that he never brought girls round other than her) in an era where cheating was so widespread and normalised that some fans speculated about his sexuality, suggesting that vivian was a beard and he was actually gay (he was also close with lewis, adrian sutil and nelson piquet jr who also all had speculation over their sexualities so i think that was part of it as well).

i think there was some pop idol-ism in women's treatment of nico back in the day. when he was in formula bmw as the most aggressively blonde 17 year old in existence he was sponsored by viva, which i believe was the german version of mtv, and i think more broadly the whole formula bmw championship was promoted on that channel, making the racers relatively popular with the teenage girls of germany. i also remember seeing an interview nico and some of the other drivers like romain grosjean did (i think in canada 2013 but i can't be sure) where a couple of women in the audience said they were there to see nico because he was so pretty. and if you go into some of the old reddit threads on f1 there are some comments about how pretty nico is and can you blame the camera operator for zooming in so the audience can count his eyelashes? (i believe reddit's consensus was no, you can't blame the camera operator).

i think one of the major differences (other than the different fan cultures) between nico's early years and charles's early years is that charles was promoted to ferrari almost immediately while nico was stuck outdriving fairly terrible cars. one of the reasons why charles has such a large fanbase is because he's driving for a top team, has done so for a long time, and is hailed (rightly or wrongly) as a future world champion. nico never really had any of that hype. he had moments of brilliance in his early years and outdrove all of his cars and teammates (i know mark webber beat him in the head to head in nico's first year but he beat everyone else), but the williams was at best a midfield car and so the hype wasn't really there in the way it has been for charles at ferrari. i think it's also fair to say that as well as nico did in his early career, he was overshadowed by lewis coming into mclaren and immediately challenging for a championship. maybe things would have been different if nico had been able to accept the mclaren seat in 2008, but ultimately he got very few opportunities to show his talent in his early career. and in an era where fandom gravitated either to the challengers (michael, kimi, fernando, lewis) or the playboys (kimi, jenson) nico didn't really fit either mould.

i also think we have to acknowledge the negativity that surrounded nico throughout his career, largely because of his looks. i (and f1blr more broadly) joke a lot about nico causing sexuality crises throughout the paddock, and while it is a joke, i do think there was a lot of very genuine homophobia (and misogyny) directed at nico, especially in his early career. while other drivers, like jenson for example, were thought of as good looking, it was in an aspirational way (aspirational for women to have in a partner and aspirational for men to be, and therefore to get women), whereas nico was viewed as attractive in a "feminine" way, which was seen as the wrong way. he was too pretty, too conscious about it, too effeminate. the britney nickname, fans constantly calling him barbie as an insult, the most attractive woman in the paddock vote where someone (pretty sure nico has said it was seb) voted for him, it was all based in a perception of him as "womanly" and therefore "weak". he was good-looking in a way that men couldn't fantasise about being, because they associated him too heavily with the people, usually women, that they wanted to fuck.

as much as people like to talk about how feral men are for charles now, it is largely in a positive way. when men talked about nico being pretty it was in a derogatory way, rooted in the culture of the time, which was generally quite homophobic and misogynistic. i think he did drive them crazy, but not necessarily in a good way 🤷🏿‍♀️

[xsilversugar]

Just Some of my BJDs

Been a while since I’ve done anything with my dolls. It’s slow going getting back into things but I’m enjoying it a ton! These are edited mostly for the backgrounds, color correcting, and fixing stray wig hair where I could. It’s not perfect since my phone is garbage but at the same time I kinda dig the flaws.

Vishen Muriel Konten Alueshious Sylveryn (He/Any)

Former Water God and current Wanderer of Basn in the forme of a peculiar Serar. (AKA an Aasimar in my homebrew DnD world but that’s his full name and whole deal in a nutshell.)

Vishen is Volks Ryoya Konoe and was/is my Grail Doll. He’s an unmodded fullset lacking only his original wig, and I think a jewelry piece? No matter. They’re perfect.

Vishen and Ghost. They’re not a romantic couple but they have my favorite chemistry of my lorge dolls.

I really loved painting this one. The background itself is in my Discord as a stand-alone haha. As for Ghost… There isn’t much to his story (yet.) I mostly just like having him look pretty. Factory face-ups on both the lads.

Ghost (He/Him) is a Migidoll Ryu!

Sasha "Shou" Bernard. (He/Him) He’s one of my oldest BJDs. A cat-boy who loves all things cute and fun! He needs a proper wig and ears/tail but man it’s a hard color match. I’m trying to fit him to the design of an adoptable I got from an art-friend aaaaggesss ago. As a doll he’s changed characters and looks a ton over the years. But for now he’s my pretty princess son! I wanna do another photoset in his maid cafe uniform next. uwu Custom face-up by myself, eyes from a friend. <3

Sasha is a Volks Kohaku.

Francheska "Cheesecake" del Sune (She/He)

Cheska was my first BJD. Originally on a female body, I hybridized her onto a male one but it was via trade so I genuinely cannot recall the sculpt anymore. Their story is that they literally are a {collective?) spirit possessing a doll. He can move on his own but cannot speak audibly. They communicate exclusively through their traveling companion Morgan del Sune. Their relationship is not very clear currently as Morgan tends to embellish any stories on the subject to the deliberate and relative horror of their audience. I’m gonna be exploring them both (only Cheska is shelled as a BJD in real life, Morgan is a Tiefling tho) more in a DnD game hopefully pretty soon and I am so excited! Face-up and wig by yours truly!

Cheesecake is a Luts Dreaming Shiwoo.

[wanderingaldecaldo]

💕 Self-love time! Talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most, then send to other creators to do the same 💕

Thank you so much @rosapexa! 🥰❤️ I'm super proud of this photoset I did for Halloween last year, Poison Ivy and The Penguin! It's the biggest non-work, non-writing project I've completed. It required a lot of work modding-wise, and I picked up some new skills along the way, and in the end it was worth all the effort!

Mitch 🤝 me, unable to keep our eyes off of Valerie

Early on in Corpo Val's life, someone commented that she looked like Poison Ivy, and I couldn't stop thinking about that. I'd wanted to do a couple's theme the previous Halloween but didn't have the time, so I started working on this in late summer to get it done. I started by looking at Poison Ivy's costumes, both from movies and comics, and matching things in-game that could serve my purpose. I ended up with this: Mel's (Panam's) bodysuit, arm-length gloves, and Evelyn's boots.

Val's first appearance as Poison Ivy

I wanted to add some texture to the bodysuit, and nothing in game matched what I imagined, so the first thing I learned was adding a new texture to use as a pattern. It turned out better than I hoped! Next were the boots which required a refit since Evelyn has skinny legs compared to vanilla fem. I knew that ArchiveXL allowed the hiding of different parts of the body mesh, so between extensive refitting and learning something new, I chose ArchiveXL. (And I'm so glad I did!) Then it was a matter of recoloring them and the sleeves to coordinate with the bodysuit.

For Mitch, I wasn't entirely sure what to do since I'm not as familiar with DC. I thought The Penguin could be a good match given his hair and nose, but it wasn't until I found this art from a comic cover that I knew I made the right decision. I already had a suit I'd been working on for the Corpo AU, so it was just a matter of swapping out the shirt for the three piece suit and recoloring it.

The Penguin from Wikipedia; Mitch in a suit 🥵 by me

His accessories were the third (and fourth) things I learned in the process. I replaced the cowboy hat with a free 3D mesh top hat; created the normal map and the mlmask for the textures from scratch (just don't ask me how to do the normal map again); and colored it match the suit and pocket square. The umbrella was a half-successful experiment in which I added a new prop to the game. I struggled with the textures, and eventually called it "good enough", which is why you don't see it too much. 😅

And the final product! I have never used so many props in my life, and it gave me a greater appreciation for everyone who does have that patience. I used Wingdeer's roses to make a crown for her to wear, then went ham decorating, and decorated some more.

I still can't believe I did all this! I'm so happy with how everything turned out. 🥰

Want more? #poison ivy and the penguin

[terrainofheartfelt]

do you have any headcannons or behind-the-scenes for "it's something new (because of you)"?

oh DO I

for starters i'm sorryyyyyy for letting this sit so long I have no excuse other than life and brain chemistry are Nuts.

BTS-wise, this one-shot within the universe was inspired by a photoset I stumbled across here on tumblr, and I thought: "that could be my blorbos" and lo! it came. I started drafting it while at was at my folks' for christmas, and then it sat in google docs in purgatory before I summoned the spoons to complete it. which at the time I thought was odd, because my general technique with smut is to write it all within the space of a couple days--they just flow differently than things with, ya know, plot, but this one incubated for a while, and I think it served it.

HCs-wise, I've jotted down a few about this universe and specifically the beginning of dair's marriage within it :)

this is how Dan & Blair (mostly Blair) announce the wedding:

Epperly guest writes a post for Blair Necessities covering the event/interviewing Blair

The morning the post goes live, Blair & Dan each post one (1) thing to their accounts

They each pick a photo from what their photographer sent them (both candid, because they look stupidly in love in those)

Dan’s caption is from the Auden Blair quoted in her vows to him: The years shall run like rabbits, / For in my arms I hold / The Flower of the Ages, / And the first love of the world.

Blair’s is a quote of a different kind: Reader, I married him. 

They make their posts from a sidewalk cafe in Firenze then shut off their phones. 

And the internet goes WILD

immediately there’s all these buzzfeedesque articles like “Blair Waldorf, Former Princess of Monaco has remarried,” and “Blair Waldorf’s New Husband Is Hot” and “Who Is Mr. Blair Waldorf?” and “Blair Waldorf Totally Won Her Divorce”

Just to fuck with everyone Blair posts another pic of Dan a couple days later. it's of him sitting at the window in their tuscan villa, pretty much the view Blair wakes up to in the beginning of it's something new. Caption: my huckleberry friend

They don’t see any of it til they check their messages over breakfast the next day. Dan loves the nomer “Mr. Blair Waldorf” and immediately adds it to his profiles (which he only made bc his agent made him). Sherri, said agent, almost makes him change them back before she sees the spike in his book sales. He was doing well enough on a debut, but now he’s doing really well. 

Thanks to his family’s caution (and the NDAs signed by the wedding vendors), no photos of Milo surface, he’s mentioned by Blair in her interview of course, and outside of W he’s only known as “Humphrey’s grade school-aged son”

Nate has a good laugh at it all, which he calls payback for all the good natured ribbing he and Serena got in the summer with “Serena van der Woodsen and Nate Archibald Eloped, Apparently”—a headline that spurred several never-ending phone calls from a horde of van der Bilts, and one—as Serena calls it—“ugly-ass gravy boat” (and yes, she did have to contribute to the swear jar for that)

I actually have MORE mostly about the work after something new, so don't mind me if I share those too ;))))

Speaking of Serenate, they’re on the move a lot and bring Sophie when they can, but she’s old so long haul trips to LA that are only a few days aren’t ideal. So they ask the Humphreys to dog sit a lot. Dan always outright refuses, because he knows that dog-sitting is only one degree of separation from “Why can’t we get a dog, Dad?” and he just cannot have that conversation. Again. 

There’s a lot of anxiety from all parties when Blair gets pregnant. There’s her traumatic history which flares up when it is most inconvenient, plus Dan’s trauma coupled with the fact that  he hasn’t done this part before. He missed almost all of Georgina’s pregnancy, so he doesn’t really know how to be. 

Milo expresses a flicker of concern because he knows on some level that the upcoming baby is genetically connected to his parents while he isn’t and he needs reassurance. 

Dan consults his brother Scott, who lived through a similar situation being an adoptee, and being an adoptee with a younger sibling that was born to his parents, and his perspective helps. 

They move from the loft to a Park Slope townhouse just after the New Year and just shy of the beginning of Blair’s third trimester. She’s not allowed to pick up anything, so she just stands in the center of the first floor and directs the moving until Dan makes her sit on the first chair they bring in (the one from his home office). A joke about a sedan chair is made, and then Dan immediately regrets it when she looks like she’s considering it. Milo’s her assistant when he gets back from school. It’s adorable. 

It’s more house than either Humphrey boy knows what to do with, but they follow Blair’s lead in putting it together. Her nesting instincts kick into overdrive—it’s quite a thing to witness. Dan acquiesces to hiring Dorota full-time so Blair doesn’t do too much. 

The fetus of when everything else changes is male, despite Blair and Milo’s good vibes. After he’s born Blair—hopped up on drugs—is like “A boy? I don’t know anything about boys. How do I raise a boy?” Dan gives her a funny look and reminds her that she’s been successfully mothering a son for a few years now, actually. 

I haven’t an earthly idea what that baby’s first name is (Otis? — I’m KIDDING) but his middle name is Nathaniel. 

Blair and Milo are very precious and anxious and fussy when the baby comes and Dan is much more chill. He jokes that it’s because he’s Blair and Milo’s first baby

Dan becomes a stay-at-home dilf, fulfilling his potential ♥️

Rufus leaves the decision of what to do with the loft up to Dan and Jenny, and they can’t really bear to part with it, so they keep it in the family. It becomes Jenny’s crash pad when she’s in NY, and eventually morphs into her makeshift atelier, where she works while she’s in NY. 

[allyriadayne]

what are your favourite hotd ships and why?

in no order and as concise as possible:

jace x aegon - answered here. i just really love their dynamic. childhood friends, uncle and nephew, enemies? just the thought of proper straight laced (so he thinks!) jace falling head over heels with stupid stinky aegon is delicious to say the least. it's the worse match unimaginable and the only way they can be together is if their whole family is dead or they are completely different people. it's impossible. they are romeo and juliet to ME.

aegon x aemond - THE BLOWJOB BROTHERS! they hate each other, they love each other, they are having wacky looney tunes sex in front of the great sept while telling the other they should've been a girl and be married to the other. aemond would never kill aegon and aegon is too selfish to give in. the kingsguard HATES THEM.

aemond x alicent / aegon x alicent - grouping them in one section because while they have entirely different relationships the two ships respond to the brother's issues with alicent related to how both of them think the other is their mother's favorite! to me, it's like this: aemond wants to be alicent's fatherhusband while aegon wants to be her beautiful little baby boy and when they don't get it it turns really ugly. i just love how alicent is weaved too tightly in the psychosexual targtower web 💜

alicent x larys - [crowd cheers] i'll just let mr matthew needham (larys' actor) explain their bond

after losing rhaenyra, alicent is constantly, unconsciously asking for a companion, someone to take her side in everything......and she got it! too bad larys has his own morals. oh well!

alicent x otto - the most married and divorced couple in the whole of westeros.

(thank you to tumblr user laymedowninsheetsoflinen for the best tag in my aliotto photoset)

rhaenyra x daemon - theeee blueprint. i have trouble shipping them with other people because they are absolutely perfect for the other, it's crazy. restless chaotic blood of the dragon, depressed and divorced, happy domestics in dragonstone with their blended family, everything anyone could ever want.

alicent x tyland - if larycent is darksided master and pet, tylicent (you are paying me royalties if you ever talk about them btw) is the most saccharine lady and knight you can think of. this is my happy place when i don't want to torture (affectionate) alicent anymore. tyland is a complete fool but he's decent and kind and can spoil alicent however she wants. this started because i was joking with a friend how tyland lannister is the only man in the counsel who doesn't want to sit on alicent's lap. and was like, wait. he is the Only One. he's obsessed with her in the good way and she's blushing like a maid and wishing for another life where she would've had a proper courtship with a handsome knight instead of....anyway. life is not a song so they must make do.

crackships that are many but these i am constantly thinking about and rotating in my mind at any moment:

larys x otto (x alicent. sexual jealousy! scheming second sons!), otto x lyonel (otto's gay summer in the citadel), lyonel x rhaenyra (grrm's original dance draft mixed with bluebeard and brat taming), rhaenys x criston (thee original cuck chair couple), aegon x mysaria (i know her strap is big), aegon x alys (x aemond. who is dead), jace x alyn (fucking my bastard identity away), daemon x jace (horror movie comedy of errors)

[neoninky]

TWST Fic "Her Ivory Crown": Chapter 10

Ok so first thing's first-

This is the last chapter I'll repost today/tonight. But more importantly - this is a REDUX chapter (cue fanfare) because when I originally wrote this chapter two years ago holy shi-, it was before two of my OCs that are near and dear to my heart were fully developed.

This was a horrible mistake that needed to be retroactively corrected so I went back and added a bit more of a proper introduction in the chapter for my beloved, my wonderous...Luna and Cowrie Cerith *chef kiss*

I present to you readers that have already experienced this and the sequel story and any new readers, the new-new Chapter 10 of 'Her Ivory Crown'. Enjoy~

Ch. 10: Conflict of Interests

Jade and Floyd circled about through the crowd for the third time, the first two times being for patrol for troublemakers and this time being for a "casual stroll" meant to make sure all of the booth pick ups were going off without any problems. Part of the deal Elise had made was that a nice percentage of the profits from each photo booth and the merchandise booths would go directly to Azul and therefore add to the NRC's festival sales numbers in exchange for the support Azul and the rest of Octavinelle had provided to make all of this possible so last minute. While there technically wasn't a rule against two schools joining forces, it was frowned upon as an unfair advantage. Therefore, this part of the operation had to be done discreetly so no one else would suspect any foul play. Just like how no one suspected that the props, photography, and booths were all set up by the highly resourceful Octavinelle dorm itself. Or that Manari Ali and her vice dorm leader, Jinnah Safiri, were both given a magic booster so that they could not only create but perfectly replicate each of the outfits (minus a few additions) and the backgrounds for the photosets perfectly using their own magic. A much faster and efficient method than making everything by hand. Or if anyone did suspect, they understood the no-snitching policy that was very prominent on Night Raven's campus that was now being extended to their female guests.  Jade quietly observed other assigned members of his dorm sneaking into each girl's booth, picking up the prepared envelopes the girls had ready for them and then casually disappearing into the crowd to pass them along to an eagerly awaiting Azul. There was nothing to report aside from the fact that the girls were keeping their side of the contract with ease. So far the results were even better than they or the Octavinelle trio had expected but even so...Floyd was feeling irritated. Jade had already had to stop him from being too rough with some other students that were getting a bit too touchy with the girls trying to hand out tickets. To be fair, Jade did wait a couple of minutes before stepping in. Something about not wanting to scare the girls too badly. Floyd just yawned and pouted at his brother, "Hey Jade...how long do we gotta keep doing this? Everything is going to Star Fishie's plan...it's booooring..."

Jade just smiled at his twin and patted him on the shoulder, "Hang in there, Floyd. We just need to make one more round," the more composed twin noticed that they were almost at the Octavinelle booth and grinned, showing his teeth, "unless you'd like to see to this one personally? I believe they might have an opening for us..."

Floyd looked just in time to see Elise's own 'twins' walking to the top of the stairs at the front of their line. The two girls give him and his brother playful, inviting looks after the petite one whispered something to taller vixen-like girl. While Night Raven had the Leech brothers, Sacred Crown had the Cerith sisters. The elder sister, Luna, was dressed as Jade, appropriate since she was also the Cerulamare vice dorm leader. Luna had molten sharp gold eyes that were warm and sultry and long, pin straight, silken black hair with tiny flecks of gold throughout. Cowrie, the younger sister, was much shorter and more petite with choppy ragdoll, matching black hair and sleepy baby blue eyes. She was dressed as Floyd, which given her spunky attitude also seemed appropriate.  They were mermaids too, apparently. One was rumored to be on a mandatory singing ban due to a 'siren song' incident that put Sacred Crown's campus on lock down for about two months. They weren't sure which sister it was, but the twins had been warned to approach both of them with a healthy amount of caution just in case. Floyd heard the warning but wasn't slowed down in the slightest, not when 'Star Fishie' and her crew just got all the more interesting! Jade could only follow his twin with an amused sigh as Floyd made a b-line towards the two girls, completely ignoring all the other boys already in line. 

"Welcome Leech Brothers~" the two girls chimed in melodic unison, "Princess Elise will see you now," the sisters smiled sweetly at the brothers, ignoring all the complaints coming from the boys in line who didn't know any better than to keep their mouths shut. They learned pretty fast once Floyd gave him this signature about-to-snap look, however. The sisters took the arm of the brother they represented and led them up the steps to their own Miss Ashengrotto who looked very pleased at their arrival. 

"Well if it isn't my favorite twins! No offense, girls." 

The two sisters just giggled before returning to their spots and let the boys decide where they wanted to stand before the picture was taken. After which, Elise retrieved the printed photo and slipped it into a thicker envelope she had stashed in her Azul coat. The princess gave the brothers a light smile as she sneaked the envelope into Jade's blazer inner pocket with the deftness of a trained professional. 

"Thank you, gentlemen!" the three girls said in perfect harmony, making Floyd giggle mirthfully at how sneaky they were being in plain sight. Jade's smile stayed on as he gave Elise's hand a couple of light kisses.

"Thank you, ladies."

Who knew girls from a 'princess school' could be so entertaining? The boys in line only groaned and muttered their complaints under their breath as Jade didn't bother hiding his display of affection. Nor did Floyd restrain himself as he draped his arms around Elise from behind, making her giggle. These displays ultimately meant nothing but the twins did enjoy riling up all the impatient bottom feeders no matter which school they hailed from, knowing they wouldn't get these special perks. Their eyes were locked onto the two mischievous Cerith sisters the whole time, however. To add a bit of salt to the wound, Luna blew the pair of brothers a flirtatious kiss, making the ignored patrons even more disgruntled.  -

Riddle wasn't paying attention to anything people in the crowd were saying around him as he was following their flow back to the stage for the final two performances. It had been such a roller coaster of an afternoon that he had no idea how to feel right now about any of it. His mind circled back to earlier when he stood next to Reine, waiting to get his picture taken with her.

He had lost count of the embarrassing amount of times he stared at her, completely smitten. It was so bad even Riddle couldn't fool himself anymore. The real question was how did Reine feel? Were there actual signals or was Riddle so desperate for validation that he was looking for something that wasn't even there? The little king silently waved those fluttering thoughts away as they shifted back to Zehn's ugly words. Riddle did believe Malleus when he said that Zehn had to be motivated by jealousy more than anything but part of him struggled against a shard of belief in Zehn's words too. 

Reine had been nothing but pure sweetness to all of the boys she met since her arrival. She was warm, welcoming, kind whether she was talking to him or someone more eccentric like the eels. As a future ruler, diplomacy was always at the forefront of her words and actions no matter the status of whom she was around. Could it be that maybe she was just being nice and placating him? ...Riddle didn't want to accept it but yes, that could very well be the truth. On the other hand, something did seem different when he entered her booth. The princess was happy to see him, she didn't try to pretend she wasn't. She also seemed a bit more tender than usual. It reminded him when he, unintentionally, surprised her in her dorm. Reine was softer, more unguarded. It was so charming the memory alone made Riddle's heart squeeze a bit too hard. Pull it together, Rosehearts, you're getting downright obsessed! he silently hissed at himself, trying to remind himself the reality of the situation. Ugh, why did everything have to be so damn complicated? Whatever higher power had been listening to the poor boy's internal struggles wasn't done testing him yet apparently.  He heard the familiar voices and laughter of the visiting girls join in the flow of the crowd around him as they were closing up their booths and heading into the main staging area. Elise and Reine were linked arm-in-arm not that far away, both girls seemed very pleased with the outcome of their efforts. Silver and Sebek had been dismissed from their duties, he guessed, since they were nowhere to be seen. In their place was a very attentive Floyd, hovering over the girls from behind with that stupid half-awake grin on his face as he kept playing with the small horns on Reine's head. Either she didn't mind or didn't notice but it made Riddle want to run up and smack his irritating hands away from her. In his hyper focused state, Riddle felt himself bump into the taller figure in front of him and apologized automatically before doing a double-take. Judging from the outfit, the ears, and tail, Riddle thought he bumped into Leona but that was definitely not Leona's beautiful face or modelesque body now facing him.

"Pardon moi, Mr. Rosehearts," it was definitely Adela de Beau's elegantly accented voice that was currently addressing him and her sapphire blue eyes peering down at him right now. Riddle immediately corrected his gaze and cleared his throat, "Miss de Beau, forgive me for bumping into you...also, not to be rude but are you...a lioness?"

The tall girl sighed and crossed her arms in frustration. Not at Riddle because who could blame him for being surprised but just the explanation was a bit odd. Her golden blonde-tuffed tail swayed back and forth behind her as she took a breath and motioned for the boy to keep walking with her as she explained. She normally didn't feel inclined to explain herself but in her short time around Riddle Rosehearts, he was nothing but earnest in every way. Plus it was no secret amongst the female students that Reine and Riddle have grown fond of each other's company. So if Reine trusted him...

"My heritage is a bit complex," she started gently, "my father is a lion beastman and my mother a very beautiful and open-minded human woman. A very odd arrangement that was frowned upon by many in my hometown." 

Riddle was both confused and fascinated. Marriages between beastmen and regular humans weren't completely unheard of or even seen as strange in some places but obviously that was not the case in Adela's background. 

"The short version: I was born a hybrid but instead of looking like a mix, my body can switch back and forth between the two as part of my unique magic. It's pointless really," she laughed dryly, "however, my human form is more appreciated in the modeling that I do. I suppose I've grown more accustomed to it. But I suppose I should thank my juniors for convincing me to play along with their idea...it feels nice every once in a while to let my other self out for some sun." 

Riddle took a minute to admire the golden fur that covered her tail and ears and the feline slits in her eyes. Honestly, this girl was gorgeous in either form so her employers preferring one versus the other made no sense. Then again any sort of media marketing never made a lot of sense to Riddle anyway. 

"I'm not surprised that you're a model. You've modeled with Schoenheit before haven't you?" Riddle wasn't that interested in fashion but he did recall seeing a couple of magazines with the two of them featured in it. Mostly because he confiscated them from Cater. 

Adela smiled at Riddle's keen eyes, "Oh? Why yes I have. You didn't strike me as someone who was interested in such things, Mr. Rosehearts. I've actually been honored to model with Vil Schoenheit quite a few times before. He is exquiste." He hadn't been paying much mind to the female whispers coming from behind them until Adela suddenly let out a loud snarl and whipped her head around, ears flattened. The offending girls had 'accidently' stepped on her tail and gave half-assed apologies before skittering away. The looks in their eyes were anything but apologetic. 

"Petty little rats...ugh now I remember why I usually don't walk about like this," seeing the surprised look on Riddle's face, Adela huffed, "most of us at Sacred Crown get along peacefully at the best of times, but you put them a mile within of a heart-throb like Vil or Mr.Le Blanche, they lose their senses and turn vicious. Of course, it doesn't help that Vil has already made his intentions of asking me to the dance known. So I will be making my boutonnière with him in mind. Poor little bitches can't handle disappointment it seems."

Riddle felt an electric currant of guilt pulse through him for first of all bringing up the topic but also unknowingly step into more personal territory, "Oh, I am sorry for prying into your personal life, Miss de Beau."

This made the girl chuckle lightly at his guilty expression. The poor thing looked like a scolded puppy, "Non, non. Don't be. Vil and I are professionals and occasionally colleagues. Nothing more. We work well together so why not enjoy the dance together? Saves us both the trouble of dealing with the crude rabble. It's definitely not the first time a fuss has been made and it won't be the last, I'm sure..."

Riddle followed her gaze towards Reine and felt his brow furrow, "Has Miss Reine been harassed as well?" The lioness let out a hum as she recalled the specific memory, "I remember it started when I was a first year. We were having a holiday ball with Royal Sword. Zehn Cavalier ignored all of the girls who desired him for their dates and invited Reine to the ball as his partner, a younger girl not even in highschool yet. You can imagine how livid they were...it's only a rumor, of course, but I've heard he has been that way for years. Any event, school or otherwise, that called for a date or dance partner, Cavalier would always have his eye set on Reine and her only. It wasn't until she was a proper Sacred Crown student and everyone realized that she was a princess aiming for her mother's throne did the bullies start to move on to other targets. Do not be fooled by a sweet voice and face, Mr. Rosehearts. Girls can be oh so vicious when they covet something or someone." 

Riddle wasn't surprised at all to hear that Zehn had a history of being weirdly possessive of the princess, "I'm guessing he intending to secure her for the dance in a couple of days too then..." he couldn't keep his tone pleasant sounding even if he wanted to.

"That would be my guess as well. But this is a new situation we find ourselves in. We've never attended a dance with two boys' schools at the same time...anything can happen, yes?"

Riddle remembered Cater mentioning the dance as well. This seemed as good a time as any to get some inside information, "Miss de Beau, you mentioned making a boutonnière?"

"Yes. It is a long standing tradition at Sacred Crown. Whether we host a dance or attend one with either Royal Sword or another boys' school, the girls make a boutonnière to give to the beau of their liking. The boys do the asking in most cases and present some sort of token or make some grand gesture to win the girls' favors. If the girl says yes, she gives him the boutonnière to show that he has won her affections and will be her escort for the evening. A bit old fashioned but still romantic. We have danced with other schools before but Royal Sword takes pride in their amorous feats to, how you say, 'win fair maiden's heart'..."

Romantic was one word for it. Humiliating and nerve-wracking were better ones though. Adela couldn't help but smile at Riddle's look of worry, "Have faith, Mr. Rosehearts. If there is a fair lady you desire, I have no doubt you have everything you need to be victorious." 

Judging from the spark in her eyes and the swish of her tail, Adela knew something. Before Riddle could muster up the guts to ask, they had reached the arena's main seats. The lioness saw the other Sacred Crown dorm leaders grouped together closer to the stage, waving to her to join them. She gave the younger boy a graceful half bow before departing, "We have a saying in the days before a ball when everyone is rushing to win their desire one's company. Good hunting to you, Mr. Rosehearts."

Riddle's face flushed as he remembered Cater practically screaming the very same saying to him as he left to get his photo with Reine earlier. He wasn't sure if he should feel exposed or angry before feeling a good mixture of both. Riddle barely had time to process before the diamond boy himself clapped a hand on his shoulder and guided him a few rows down to an open seat by him, Trey, and the Adeuce combo. Unfortunately he found himself surrounded by probably the most eclectic group of people possible: the shady Octavinelle trio behind them, the very sparkly Pomefiore trio in front, and Kalim and Jamil on the side. 

"Here he is! Just in time!" Cater plopped Riddle right down next to him, smack dab in the middle so he'd have no escape before whispering to him, "Sooo how'd it go? You get the coveted photo? Let's see it!"

"Isn't the next performance about to start?" Riddle huffed trying to sidestep the subject altogether. Cater wasn't having it and forgot to keep whispering.

"Aw come on, dorm leader! You get a picture from the day's most exclusive booth and you're not going to share? Come ooon. The was the only one I couldn't get before they sold out again and again," the diamond started to whine. 

"Fine. If it will stop your pathetic whining," Riddle carefully pulled the envelope from inside his jacket and removed the photo with Reine and her group so Cater could see it. Cater being Cater of course drew everyone else's attention to it as well and suddenly it was crowd. The three most excitable members immediately rattled off their comments without batting an eye. The others didn't not look but instead gave more subdued murmurs of praise and approval.

"OOOH she looks so good! Like a dark sorceress!!" Kalim chirped excitedly as he leaned all the way over to get a look.

"Heeeh~ Mantie Ray is so so prettyyy. Lucky Goldfish...I wanted a picture too. And a squeeze." Floyd chuckled without any hint of shyness whatsoever. 

Rook was practically writing poetry as he spoke with what looked like a glistening tear in his eye, "Quelle beauté~ Ah, my mortal heart can't take this, this goddess setting my soul ablaze-"

Riddle snapped and flared like an angry porcupine. "DO YOU MIND?" he snarled, red in the face as he snatched the photo away from Cater and everyone's prying eyes and shoo'd them out of his personal space. Thankfully he was saved from any further embarrassment as the next performance started with a roar of female voices cheering for Neige who just walked on stage with the seven dwarf students, his smile as brilliant as ever as he waved to the crowd. Rook went into full blown fanboy mode while Vil sat stiffly next to him with a blank expression and polite clap. 

In pure Neige Le Blanche fashion, the song and choreography both were fun, light-hearted, and adorably charming. The song was so catchy that it was sure to haunt all of their dreams for many, many nights to come, especially the whistling that joined the lyrics about whistling and working. 

A few rows down, the Sacred Crown dorm leaders seemed to be enjoying themselves a bit more, bobbing and clapping along with several other members of the audience as Neige charmed all of them as usual. Reine knew better than to look around and have a repeat of earlier. She just smiled and clapped along, eyes focused on the stage, like everyone else and completely ignored the buzzing thoughts in her head...or  tried to at least. The princess' brain wouldn't stop replaying the photo shoot moment she had with Riddle earlier even though literally nothing happened. He showed up, they said maybe two word to each other, he stood next to her...looking really sharp in his uniform and almost touching her hand...their fingers definitely touched when she handed him the picture afterwards. And he smiled and said something but she didn't really hear it because she was very distracted by how nice he smelled and looked- OK so some things kinda almost happened. Maybe. Almost. Or did it? Maybe she was just imagining things?  Reine was grateful that everyone around her was so distracted right now. Her face may have been calm but she felt like she wanted to crawl into the deepest hole possible. Reine had always considered herself a very composed, very self-aware princess but now she felt like a clumsy fool mentally falling tripping over herself over absolutely nothing. Unfortunately for her, Reine also wasn't as sneaky as she'd like to think. She nearly jumped right out of the row when a whisper to her left suddenly said...

"I saw that, by the way."

Reine quickly turned and saw Petra had scooted closer to her, giving her the most smug look possible, "Yeeeah that little long distance bout of flirting with the VIP ticket you and Riddle had going on earlier...That."

Suddenly the deepest hole wasn't enough. Reine wanted-nay-NEEDED to dive into the very abyss of the nearest ocean and drown herself right that second. Seeing the shock flood her friend's face had Petra grinning like a damn fool.

"So...come on. Just say it."

"Wha-what??"

Petra scooted even closer to whisper right into Reine's very pink ear, "You. LIKE. Hiiim~"

Oh sweet underworld, where was that ocean when she needed it?! Reine couldn't respond. Her brain was on fire with a myriad of debates sparking off all at once. Petra was relentless.

"Aaaand I'm pretty sure he likes yooou~"

Reine covered her now rose red face with a tiny squeak of protest. Really? Was the boy's affection for her so obvious to everyone but her? Ugh Great Seven above, she wanted so badly to feel happy about this but this was beyond embarrassing. Actually she did. She felt so stupidly happy that-NO no no NOOO! This couldn't be happening! No, it couldn't be with Riddle because then...then...

Petra immediately started to regret her playful teasing. The princess in front of her went from being a bashful, blushing mess to someone who looked genuinely upset very quickly. Too quickly. She quickly grabbed Reine's hand and led her as casually away from the crowd as possible, saying something about going to the bathroom so none of the other girls would get suspicious or worry.

-

"Reine, what's wrong? Having a crush isn't a crime...or do you actually NOT like him like that?" Petra's formally teasing voice was now hushed even though the hall was empty. 

Reine spoke barely above a whisper, "That's not the problem, Petra. I think I do like him. I...ok fine, I really, REALLY like him but I can't afford to have feelings for someone like Riddle." 

The other dorm leader blinked at her owlishly as the two of them sat for a beat of silence, really letting that statement sit there between them. 

"I don't get it. What's wrong with Riddle??"

Reine laughed dryly as she felt her heart ache, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong with him at all. He's so good and kind. I never feel uncomfortable around him. He makes me feel so...happy. But, we haven't even known each other for that long. I'm going to be the queen and I'm currently trying to decide who is going to be my king....but what does Riddle want?"

Petra could feel the high ebbing away from her friend as she spoke and it suddenly clicked for her too. Being royalty was full of complications, even when you weren't heir to the throne. She said nothing and just sat down on the cold floor next to the worried princess, letting Reine continue.

"It's different when it's another royal or someone raised in the royal court. We were born into this and groomed for it. What if he already has plans for his life, his future? He's free to make those choices. I can't take that away from him. I couldn't bear it. Even though the thought of always having him beside me is...very nice." 

"And...what about Zehn Cavalier?" Petra said his name like it was some sour thing in her mouth. 

Reine had definitely not forgotten about him which just made this all an even more frustrating, tangled mess, "Yes. What to do about Mr. Cavalier...I still haven't quite decided. Unfortunately." This felt like a lie even as it came out of her own mouth but no one else needed to know that yet. 

Petra leaned her head on Reine's shoulder as they both sighed tiredly, "Man...why can't we just go to school and, I don't know...fumble our way through classes, exams, and boy problems with little to no consequence like everyone else does? Between you and Riddle and Elise and that mermaid prince guy, we're well on our way to having a solid 'Sad Princess Club' established. Don't even get me started on all the guys my dad keeps trying to get me engaged to. Ugh..."

This got a laugh out of both of them at least. The loud cheers from the crowd echoed into the hall, letting the girls know the Neige's performance had ended and that their girls were on next. Petra quickly hopped up and grabbed Reine's hand to get her off the ground. Reine gave the brunette a pleading look, "By the way, you didn't hear any of this, right?"

"Oh, of course not. I mean it doesn't really matter either way. I'm pretty sure everyone in our school at least suspects you two by now anyway," she said with a wicked giggle. 

"...Great." 

-

The stage was dark as the Sacred Crown group entered and took positions, Charlaine took a deep breath and let it out quietly as she took the center position between Manari and Jinnah. It was now or never, go big or go home! The crowd quieted down just in time for Charlaine's  voice to start singing acapella, ringing across the arena clear as day. After a few moments of just her voice, lights up and music on and there was the Sacred Crown Hall dance team poised and ready, dressed in alternating Scarabia and Pomefiore dorm uniform replicas. Flanking Charlaine on either side was Manari dressed as Kalim and Jinnah dressed as Jamil. Charlaine was dead center dressed to the nines as a mini Vil Schoenheit with every detail in place from his crown to his perfect smokey eyes. Granted the skirt was shortened at the last minute to avoid any dancing casualties.  Rook and Kalim were estatic as the music took off to a more upbeat pace and the girls all started to dance in perfect sync together. Vil and Jamil both sat in stunned, open-mouthed silence, just staring at the display. Celebrity or not, this was the first time Vil could remember seeing someone dress up like him and not only doing it so perfectly but also singing and dancing at the same time! Jamil by himself was so self-concious about getting any excess amount of attention so seeing Jinnah dress up like him and dance very well in his outfit broke his brain entirely. Every move Manari and Jinnah made around Charlaine while she sang, framed her like a work of art until the three of them would dance together again, the whole time Charlaine sang with a bright smile on her face. Many of her fellow Sacred Crown students in the audience were already clapping and singing along, making her sing with even more energy. Her energy was infectious. The dancers' movements were excuted so tightly it was like second nature to them even if their outfits were two completely different styles. All their hardwork had clearly paid off. 

Once the final verse ended and the girls hit their final dance move in a tight finish, the crowd was on their feet just like they had been with both Vil and Neige's performances. Rook was legitimately in tears this time, clapping and swooning with as much gusto as he could possibly muster, "OOOH!! Mademoiselle Skylark, your voice, your smile! C'EST MAGNIFIQUE!"  Kalim was just as excited and even shaking a still stunned Jamil next to him as he rambled on about how impressed he was. Jamil could only clap as he slowly snapped out of it. The one and only Vil Schoenheit wore a smile of approval as he too applauded the girls' wonderful performance. She wasn't as beautiful as him, of course, but Charlaine had certainly impressed him nonetheless. On the stage, the girls were breathing hard and felt a bit wobbly as their adrenaline wore off but they still couldn't believe the sight in front of them. The dancers behind the main three girls took a bow and then motioned for the three leads to do the same, which made the crowd cheer even more. 

"Well we did it," Manari laughed over all the cheering to Charlaine and the others, "Now...we just wait and see." 

-

No one in the audience moved from their spots except those who had performed earlier. Now each group stood waiting on the stage to hear the results. Like in the official VDC, the votes were left up to each student and each performer as well. If they were being honest, the girls weren't too hopeful about taking first. Sure, they gave it their all and the audience responded well but they knew a good chunk of the Sacred Crown student body were hardcore Vil or Neige fans. Or both. So their chances? Not great. Still, Manari, Charlaine, and Jinnah stood in row in front of the rest of the girls, ready to place wherever they ended up as the votes were counted. Vil, Rook, and Epel stood next to them, looking as cool as ever. Though Charlaine did catch Rook smiling over at her which did distract her from her nerves temporarily. Neige was on the other side of the girls, looking a tad nervous but still mouthed a 'good luck' to Manari and Jinnah. The other three groups were standing in the back, none looking all that hopeful. Reine and the other dorm leaders in the audience had voted for their girls in confidence but that didn't make them any less anxious. 

"This was a very close competition! Third place, losing by only a handful of votes....," the contest's chosen MC paused for a dramatic drumroll, "...Royal Sword Academy's Neige Le Blanche!"

The girls looked at each other wide-eyed. Did they hear that right? Neige only took third?! They clapped for Neige's group but they along with Vil's group couldn't hide their surprise. If the legendary Neige only took third then who the hell are in the top two?!

"Second and First place...are only one vote apart!"

Vil had a sudden wave of deja vu slap him right across the face and he didn't like it one bit. The look he gave Rook didn't go unnoticed but Rook just looked back with a face of complete innocence. Both Epel and Charlaine looked like they were about to pass out. 

"Second place....Sacred Crown Hall! Which means First place goes to Night Raven College's Pomefiore!!"

The sound of the crowd was deafening. Surely Vil was dreaming...he did not just...finally after all this time...Rook and Epel were beside themselves and only them gently pulling him front and center alongside them could snap him out of his trance. He couldn't hold his composure as reality finally hit him. Charlaine wasn't even upset. She absolutely beamed as she cheered and applauded him along with everyone else. Manari and Jinnah just shrugged and cheered on the Raven boys as well, "Can't beat the real thing, I guess!" Also they wouldn't be surprised if Charlaine had in fact given the Pomefiore boys her vote. Oh well~ All that was left was one last win...

-

All of the dorm leaders plus Alyssa and Jinnah stood in a tight circle around Elise as she stared at the tablet, waiting for the sales numbers to update. Every last item and ticket was sold and every last madol promised to Azul/NRC had been delivered and accounted for. Now they just had to wait for the sales committee to finish tallying up the numbers for each school. By this point, they had changed out of their outfits and into more casual clothing, any additions like Reine's horns and fangs were gone. Azul and the twins had just finished submitting their numbers to the committee, all three of them looking quite relaxed which could mean one of two things: 1) the girls met the conditions of the deal and succeeded in pushing NRC to the top of the sales contest with all of their contributions thus everyone involved prospered OR 2) the girls didn't met the conditions but still made Azul a lot of money and they would also become his personal waitresses in the Mostro Lounge proper for the rest of the week. Also something about the girls giving Azul and the twins something irreplaceable on top of their labor but that was never truly specified in detail...

"Oh!"

One chirp from Elise made all of the girls lean forward even more. The results were in aaaand....there it was in print: Royal Sword Academy in third, Sacred Crown in second, and Night Raven College in first. Elise turned around to the rest of the girls with a triumphant grin. Floyd giggled and clapped happily as the girls burst into a round of excited cheers, "Yaaay~" Jade and Azul looked equal parts satisfied and amused. 

The news spread like wildfire and the girls of Sacred Hall never felt so good about second place in their lives. The majority of the Royal Sword boys were very good sports about it and gave their congratulations to the girls and their rivals. And for Night Raven College, there would be absolutely no living with them or their over-the-moon Headmaster now. 

Azul and the twins approached the excited ring of girls to thank them properly by inviting them to the Mostro Lounge to celebrate now that the day was officially over. The other students of Night Raven were also invited. If Azul had any intention of inviting Royal Sword, he never said so. Though seeing a very content Che'nya wrapped around Reine, he supposed he could make one exception. Riddle couldn't stop his smile from growing as he saw Reine hug the cat boy, looking undoubtly happy. Someone else had caught her eye and she said something to Che'nya before running off through the crowd now moving towards the exits, the same black lace dress she wore earlier fluttering about her legs. He had no idea who could make her move so quickly until he saw her run straight to Malleus as if they were old friends. The princess and the dragon both looked so happy to see each other even though they only just met. Riddle frowned at tingle of jealousy that was starting to surface and mentally brushed the unnecessary feeling away. He walked towards the exit, frustrated with himself, only to be stopped by Floyd.

"Neee Goldfish-chaaan. Come to the Mostro Lounge, we're gonna have a big party!"

Riddle really wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now but before he could reject the invitation, Floyd flashed him a toothy grin, "Mantie Ray and all her friends are coming too, heh heh..." 

Damn it. Now Floyd was teasing him too?! Azul and Jade insisted as well, giving Riddle little choice but to accept. 

-

"Girls. We did it. We got 'em."

The girls of Sacred Crown all gave a hearty cheer that rang throughout the Mostro Lounge lead by Manari. Not only did they accomplish what they set out to do and not get caught for all their behind the scenes mischief, they managed to beat Royal Sword Academy TWICE! History had been made and no one could ruin their moods tonight or ever. Elise sat in a corner booth across from the man of the hour himself, sighing contently, "Well I must say today was a huge success for all of us, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Ashengrotto?" 

Azul was beyond pleased, "Oh yes, you precious pearls have exceeded my expectations tremendously!" 

The princess' angelic smile took on a whole nother meaning very quickly, "Oh I'm so happy to hear that. Now then. Since our contract with you has been satisfied, I think now is a good time for you to complete the last step of your contract with us, or more specifically with me."

Azul felt a cold prick of panic run through him. He had read over every single syllable of the contract paperwork that she, a human princess of all people, had presented to him and had him sign before signing a contract with him on behalf of her and the other girls. Everything had been right there and he had agreed to it all. Octavinelle would provide the resources the girls needed to meet the criteria of the sales arrangement, along with the twins who would act as muscle to keep rowdy customers in line if needed. Also Azul would personally have all the rights to the pictures taken to continue selling exclusively to the students of NRC who didn't beat the rush in time. So long as a cut of the profits were donated directly to Sacred Crown, anonymously of course. The only grey area had been this aforementioned last step...perhaps he had been too blinded by such a golden opportunity that it slipped his mind to worry about it.

"Yes, of course...and what exactly is that, your highness?" Azul asked unable to hide the pop of nervous energy in his voice. 

Elise batted her eyes innocently at him, still smiling sweetly. It was then Azul released that this girl probably didn't deal with being told 'no' very often, a terrifying quality in women of status really. Especially the aggressively, deceitfully sweet ones.

"Oh it's not much. A token, a mere triffle really~" this made the Cerith sisters standing behind the princess giggle impishly, "I just want a favor from you, Mr. Ashengrotto. Doesn't have to be today or even tomorrow. Just a promise to do me a favor when I need it. See? Perfectly harmless." 

Azul was confused but he just chuckled light-heartedly, "Well I see no issue with that. It's the least I can do for the sweet pearl that has brought me such a bounty." She probably won't remember anyway, he thought. Oh but she definitely would. Jade and Floyd silently looked forward to it. 

-

Both Riddle and Reine felt absolutely exhausted. They were both surrounded by much more excitable friends on opposite sides of the room, taking selfies and regaling in the day's events. A moment of reprieve would be so nice right now...fortunately, they both had the same idea at the same time and no one bothered stopping them. Especially the ones that noticed the two of them at the same time.

Riddle made his way to an isolated corner next to windows that peered out into the underwater scene surrounding the lounge and let out a breath as soon as he was alone. At least he thought he was alone.

"You too?"

He looked to his right to see the princess sitting on some cushions, grinning up at him. The boy's brain was screaming in alarm, telling him to run away like a scared rabbit but the minute Reine patted the cushions as a sign that she wanted him to join her, his feet had other plans. The princess felt  guilty for beckoning him closer. Really this was going against everything she had declared earlier but she also seemed to be suffering from her body having a mind of its own. The two of them sat next to each other in an oddly comfortable quiet, watching the aquatic scenery on the other side of the glass. It felt so easy in spite of their nerves jumping all over the place. 

"You surprised me today," Riddle's voice was soft, "I really didn't expect you...well I didn't expect anything you girls did at all, actually." 

The princess' laugh sounded like a bell, "Ah ha. Then our plans were a success. Honestly though, I didn't expect to play the one and only Malleus Draconia either. It was Elise's idea. She wanted to take everyone by surprise in the 'most fetching way possible' and there's no stopping her from getting exactly what she wants, I'm afraid."

"Sounds like a certain aquatic dorm leader...hopefully they never join forces or else we'd all be doomed," Riddle snorted, not noticing the questionable look on Reine's face, "you were quite fetching tho-ahhh...um..."

Riddle caught himself a little too late. His face began to flush when he saw the way Reine smiled and bashfully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "O-oh thank you. It was fun but very, very odd. Believe it or not, I'm not used to getting that much attention. Or at least not that much informal attention. I'm certainly not accustomed to wearing this much black either but...well Elise said it was good for building up intrigue and suspense for some reason."

Riddle's mouth grabbed the steering wheel before his brain could, "You look beautiful in black. A-and red too. You should wear them more often." Sweet strawberry tarts, stop talking!

"Goodness," it was Reine's turn to flush, "you are being rather bold with your compliments today, Riddle. Perhaps I should...I like your boldness." Wait she likes it, keep going-wait NO!

The boy cleared his throat in attempt to settle his nerves. It didn't work. There was just too much push and pull between the two of them, it was maddening. The princess was feeling just as conflicted and guilty. Why was she willingly making this situation worse by not just inviting him into her space but also flirting back?! Yes, Miss Reine Castilene, Crown Princess of the Rose Queendom who is supposed to be pulling herself off the market on purpose, you know what is happening here and it is FLIRTING. Honestly, you realize you have a crush and then hours later- while they weren't speaking out loud, Reine was very busy lecturing herself internally. 

"I like youuu...r..uh I like many things about you, Miss Reine." Ugh, he was drowning. Every ounce of cool authority right out the window in seconds. Riddle was so all around flustered that he didn't even notice himself instinctually leaning closer to the girl in front of him. Her surprised eyes were pulling him in like a black hole. A very pretty, sweet black hole. 

"Riddle...can you do one thing for me?" Reine's voice sounded unbearably shy. What was she doing? Why wasn't she stopping this right now?? She shouldn't want this as badly as she did but Reine just had to know, had to hear it for some unexplainable reason, "Can you call me by just my name? No honorifics?"

That's it. He was finished. A man absolutely defeated. Before he could never imagine being so informal with royalty but somehow it felt impossible to deny her request all the same. His voice came out in a soft hush as if he were speaking some ancient spell into existance, "...Reine." 

"Again, please?" the sound of her name wasn't anything new but with Riddle, it felt like its own form of magic.

Riddle gulped and spoke her name again this time with a bit more courage, "Reine." 

The princess couldn't hold back her laugh, she felt so stupidly giddy. It was embarrassing, awkward, and delightful. The feeling connected the two of them like an invisible bridge. "See? Was that so hard-"

The princess froze with a surprised squeak as Riddle suddenly pressed his lips to hers. In love stories, they always made that first kiss seem so embellished. So magical that the world would stop and fade into a dewy haze as the two lovers melted into each other's embrace, the music would swell, etc. etc. A very over the top scene that was usually pretty cheesy. Turns out, Reine realized, the real experience wasn't too far off. Her arms slowly wrapped around his shoulders as she returned the kiss with little to no hesitation, mentally noting how much broader his shoulders felt now that she was touching them, how good his lips felt carassing hers. Riddle's brain could only focus on how soft her lips were, how they tasted like honey, the soft touch of her dress's fabric as his hands found her waist, as one kiss turned into two...three...four very breathy kisses that brought them closer and closer to one another. It was around the impending fifth kiss when it all came to a very sudden cold flush of realization, making the two of them pull apart in a panic.

"I-I-I am SO sorry, Your Highness! I don't know- wha..." Riddle was a crimson faced mess trying to explain himself even though he had no baring on why he just did what he did. But he felt everything all at once: confusion, happiness, and guilt. SO much guilt. When did he turn into such a barbarian?! Reine wasn't much better off. She could only stare red faced and wide-eyed as everything sunk in. This...was...a...DISASTER. A disaster that she very happily and willingly let happen. Where the hell did all that resolve from earlier go?! So much for "I couldn't bear it" and "I don't want to get him involved blah blah blah" ...she felt like a two-faced liar. The two of them felt the weight of crossing that line bear down on them in that moment. Reine back peddled and grabbed onto any remaining sense she could and cleared her throat.

"R-Riddle...I should  be the one to apologize. I'm so sorry." 

Riddle felt the air around them plummet from the rush of emotions, and hormones, that was there only seconds ago and somehow it only made him feel worse. Did he offend her? Did she think he was just trying to take advantage of her? Was he a  terrible kisser?! Reine gave him a sad smile, trying not to let her eyes tear up, "I'm sorry, Riddle. The kiss was wonderful-" YES! "-but...it shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have let it happen. Please forgive me." NO!! Riddle felt like a monster even though that was not Reine's intention at all. He quickly recovered and stood up, away from her, bowing formally to her.

"Don't apologize. You're right, Miss Reine, it was highly inappropriate and much too forward of me. I'm the one that should be asking for forgiveness." they both hated how rigid he had suddenly become. It felt like such a misstep but Riddle couldn't help it. He had never felt so foolish, so ashamed. Before she could say another word, the boy politely excused himself and quickly left the lounge in a silently tormented rush. Reine couldn't move. She could hardly breathe. She felt a chill run through her entire body as thick tears welled up in her eyes. 

She had ruined everything...

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

Tagging: @foxwitchaine @iscarlettappel @nuitthegoddess @1ndigowitch @wysteriadelights @evieyouknow @aiimee9

@victoria1676 @feldya @espada188

[accio-victuuri]

It’s time for CPN. 🎟️

first, thank you to xiao laoshi for making this thursday extra special with his exposed knees and fabulous hair. and well, that face. he can do no wrong. next day is btf premiere and wyb is expected to attend BIFF ( red carpet starts at 5:30 ) so we will most likely have another meltdown.

continue reading for more clownery ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Well let’s start with what we do best, over analyzing the photos they share and the numbers as well. XZS posted GG’s Gucci set and the most obvious observation is that he uploaded 18 ( yi bo ) photos with the 2nd and 8th ( love bo ) colored as red. you know, ZZ’s favorite and the color associated with love. no big deal.

You can say it’s for aesthetic reasons cause 2 and 8 in red will look good in the 9 grid, but there’s one more thing with the 8th photo. 8 = bo. It’s a split photo, on the left is a photo of a place. and yes they did that before in the Milan sets but those are a couple. I’m so proud of myself for noticing that this is the same place that makes an appearance in Hidden Blade. Which also takes place in Shanghai.

it is a landmark, yes. but he is not promoting the city of shanghai 🤦‍♀️. He is there for Gucci. why can’t he add a photo of the venue itself? interpret this however you want but it’s something that personally made me go 👀. a scene from HB + red + the number 8. i cannot not clown over it. 😂

Also the last photo shared from both studio photosets are of their backs. It’s the 18th ( yi bo ) for ZZ, so is he copying someone? Lol. We know that “yibo’s back photos” are popular among fans so i’m wondering if ZZ is bias towards it too.

Now for ZZ’s weibo post:

What we noticed is a photo, that looks like water and fire. Which reminds us of their NYE stage themes in 2019. The blue eyes reminds us of a photoshoot Yibo did and the colors. doesn’t really matter if they mean what we think it does — the point is, this fandom have so many symbolism/association over the years and it shows up over and over.

My favorite would have to be XZ reminding us all that he is a Libra. Yes we know. and well GUCCI + Libra design also has some CPN history ( hint : weibo night 2020 ) 😌

Over at Yibo-Official’s side, they probably noticed how loud they are with the ♥️. yesterday, so they were more lowkey today. Their douyin post was shared 20:33 ( love zhan zhan ). I admit i was kinda bummed out that WYB had to leave early for Beijing. He wouldn’t go there if he had no participation in BIFF program. Because his usual MO for events is arrive the same day and then leave as soon as his part is over. So I think this “one day” is for him to prepare for whatever it is he will do for BIFF. I could be wrong. I just want them in the same city. 🥺🥺

Lastly, Happy 5 year anniversary to the BJYX Supertopic! I have so many good memories of that space and it’s only right that it gets to be celebrated. It’s nice that it falls on BTF release so people can get together and the eve of it is GG’s gucci event so it’s all positive vibes ✨⭐️

[shesquaredpodcast]

Thanks so much! I'll keep an eye out here for if/when you get it-- no worries if you can't find it. I just couldn't remember so I figured I'd at least ask. Good god do I miss them though.

We miss them so much, too, Anon!!

We miss them so much. Their story is so painful.

Look at the pain on both of their faces here. What kills us is that you know, as bad as what Sarah did was, Nicte left because it was the last straw in a relationship that was apparently already strained. Nicte walked away not just because Sarah did the horrible thing, but because Sarah did something “for the greater good” again and clearly repeated a mindset that Nicte said, “I told you I’d leave if you did this again” and then she did.

And Sarah’s face says that she knows exactly why Nicte is leaving. She knows that she said she’d be gone if something like whatever happened in their past happened again and Nicte always tells the truth no matter how painful.

It’s why the “Your heart is black” line is so powerful.

Sarah knows she’s losing the person she cares about and even her pained scream of her name can’t stop it. It’s too late. She couldn’t open up and trust passed her 300 years of being the only one who will do what needs to be done in her mind.

We also wonder if that pained yell of Nicte’s name was the first time Sarah allowed anyone else to hear her acknowledge Nicte or the truth of their relationship in such a way. Cause there was no denying the emotion behind that moment.

Think of how heartbroken and hurt they both were. How that turned into anger over each other’s behavior as more and more time went on. It makes the entirety of the show so much more poignant. Everything Nicte does is because Sarah is recruiting witches to die based on the Spree actions and she knows Sarah knows it’s her in charge. Everything Alder does is with the knowledge of Nicte being the leader of the Spree hanging over her head and exactly why she created them and she’s running from it.

Until Tally. It’s why Tally and Sarah are such mirrors to each other. Where Nicte walked away, Tally demanded Sarah face it. Regardless of how one feels about Talder (we love Talder), there is an intimacy between them that is the feel of two people who have no clue how to be in a relationship being afraid and stumbling their way through to try. But we digress.

Except that then Nicte teases and baits Sarah with Tally. She even says, “Look at those dimples”!! Those two know how to push each other’s buttons intimately and that’s a ex-couple thing. They loved each other enough for it to turn into anger and hurt and then battle. That love and hurt is why Sarah is crying at the execution before Tally stops her. She already has tears in her eyes as she is giving her speech and turns to carry the execution out.

Then the camera shots go to Nicte’s eyes. They are not angry and filled with hate, but sadness, too. Sarah is about to do one more thing that neither of them want her to do for the greater good. And it is taking its toll on Sarah. It’s tearing her apart and Tally steps in to stop it. There is SO much to unpack there.

We could go on and on about them.

(Also, whoever made this heartbreaking photoset that we found, we didn’t find your name. Let us know if it’s yours!)

[gatheringfiki]

PSA: GatheringFiKi is back!

Hello, my favourite people!

If you've been with us for some time, following the mis-adventures of this little, but mighty fandom, or perhaps even taking part in them from time to time, you'll be delighted to hear that we are now in a position to resume normal service.

If you're joining us just now and wondering what on earth is going on - welcome! We are a small community focussed around the Fili/Kili pairing (and other fictional pairings fortrayed by Dean and Aidan), which has always traditionally ran frequent events to generate new content and encourage fan interactions.

Our activity was kinda suspended a year ago when our admin, @linane-art scampered off to travel the world for a year.

I have no idea why I'm writing this in 3rd person. Ahem, anyway - I'm back. And here's what I'd like to do with GatheringFiKi:

Firstly, I'd like to figure out how many content creators we actually have at the moment, since these folks are my audience. So if you are currently actively writing / creating artwork or edits in the Fili/Kili fandom, or plan on doing so in the near future, please REPLY TO THIS POST. Please also feel free to forward it to anyone who might want to respond.

Whatever else happens, there will be a 12 Days of Christmas event happening in 2023! I have no idea how many photosets I will actually be able to make before mid-November, but I'm aiming for at least a couple. It's such a highlight of every Christmas for me, I can't wait!

There may or may not also be some little prompts posted for Halloween this year. This would be about a week before the 31st, a very informal little event.

Whatever else happens, from now on, I would like to see GF becaome an amplifier for any and all new Fili/Kili content. Updates to your existing fics, new fics, artwork, edits, photosets, and not just the things 'worthy of recs'. ANY new Fili/Kili content - please submit or send us a link and we will re-blog, so it reaches more folks.

If we still have a decent number of creators, we will go back to running events. The plan would be to run a survery before the end of 2023 for you to pick your favourite events and run 3-4 of those accross 2024.

If we don't have creators, I will focus on delivering only the 12 Days of Christmas event annually and promoting any new FiKi content as above, based on the assumption that we're all reverting to focussing on our own works and posting them unprompted.

If you have any ideas, comments, or concerns about how this community could/should be ran - please let us know!

It's lovely to be back!

~linane-art

[latex-corset]

so I'd like for this to be a diary

I am also deathly afraid of having a diary. You have one parent open up your sacred space at 16 and all of a sudden a decade and some change later, and you hate keeping a diary, even though it's the only thing that'll keep you sane. Sans therapy. I'd love to go to therapy again, but I hate paperwork.

Still, the things I am experiencing in my work as "queen of the demi monde" are unique. I'm not finding musings on homewrecking beyond the typical reddit posts about heartbroken couples, the "hey girl" instagram reels, and of course, the one person on fetlife who has discovered the epiphany of "as it's not my relationship, it's not my responsibility". I'm also finding a ton of people putting in the work to make the fantasy content, the clips, the pretense.

All of my feelings on homewrecking, as a typical proud and shameless homewrecker, are tied up in wanting to read T.M. Scanlon's "What We Owe To Each Other", procrastinating on a photoset I'm supposed to have to my client by tonight, and of course, at least three other submissives asking, vying, begging for my attention. I am not being given the time or space by anyone or anything to process my feelings on my session yesterday, which left my thighs sore, and my feelings in kind of the same spot. Hence, the online diary.

My sub seems to feel just as emotionally sore. Maybe it's drop for lack of aftercare (at their behest). It certainly isn't a development of romance, but it does feel like, for them, they took things a step too far. Our play, as real as it is in the context of their fantasies, somehow stepped too close to the reality. I wonder if they're actually sitting with the thoughts that they could in fact leave their wife happier. Not because they want to leave their wives for me, but because they feel as though they've settled into the trappings of middle class generic life. Vinyl plank flooring in the new houses and formica countertops. As much as I feel a weight, I can't imagine being stuck in a life between wanting a white picket fence and a wife and kids, and wanting latex and degradation. I tell them all the time that they can have both, that I know people in the community that have both. I have far too many clients who feel like it's impossible.

I even have clients who I watch go from single, to in relationship, to fucking around with me behind their brand new girlfriend's back. Yes, it is very hot and all that the vanilla girlfriend is inferior and blah blah blah, my tits, etc. Maybe even a year or two ago I took some small joy in feeling superior to thin, conventionally attractive women who found my clients in the tinder dating pool. But now I'm bored with it. I do in fact want what's best for everyone. I steer those clients towards going to a munch and meeting the lifestyle domme of their dreams, even if it means lightening my own pockets by taking them out of my income, and instead they search through bottle blondes with utah curls on bumble. Be for fucking real.

I'm terrible at taking a day off.

I would love to go to my hometown, to the lake, to throw my phone in the sand and swim and not think about anything. I don't even care for the generous and random and unprompted cashapp and venmo notifications that plague my ears at all hours of the night. Four years ago I would have been elated. I honestly wonder if I'm burnt out. Will a day off fix me? Do I need a week? What happens when I can't afford a day or a week off? I love this work. Will this work love me back in the ways where I can have it for another twenty years as planned?

I hope I sound relatable to someone who's having the same questions, months or years in the future. The nice thing about making an anonymous tumblr and not having to represent my brand is that I don't have to try to be funny or relatable on the internet. I'm cringe but I'm free. The writing is mediocre but it's honest.

[honeybearee]

Cam

To say that Cameron was nervous about his upcoming nuptials would be an understatement. Over the last week, the closer he came to hearing the wedding bells chime, the more he felt the fiery panic igniting in his chest and chanting run at him.

It certainly wasn't the best mindset to have going into his wedding; he had tried to write it off as pre-wedding jitters, but as he stood amid the chaos that had become their living room -- also known as wedding planning headquarters -- he felt like maybe this was all too much.

The swatches pinned to the bulletin boards hung above the couch like a pinterest photoset. Splayed across the coffee table was the various schedules and itineraries for the day, down to when they'd have time to use the restroom. The large posterboard seating chart was posed on an easel, blocking the TV screen, like it had been for the last couple of months. The planning, down to what socks he was wearing... it was stifling for someone like him.

He grabbed his keys and his wallet, thankful for the hazy distraction that a night of drinking with the best of his friends would provide. Already, the thought of getting lost in the loud bass racing through his blood electrified his step, spurring him ever quicker towards what had become one of his last bastions of life and excitement, where everything else had become flat and tight.

"Hey, man! Congrats!" The bouncer thumped him on the back as he let Cam through, ignoring the twenty he was brandishing for the cover. "Free for you tonight."

"Thanks, man!" Cam grinned, glad that this looming event could still allow for some perks.

He barely had to scan the club for a few seconds before he spotted Anna waving at him as she bounced excitedly, and his face split into a wide grin as he quickened his step. He caught her in his arms, mindful of the glass she held so that it wouldn't spill on the two of them, and he hugged her tightly, thankful that she had thought to put together something so relaxing for him tonight.

"Thanks!" Cam said and took the glass without a second thought, tipping it back and drinking the contents in one long gulp. He laughed as Max whisked her away to the dance floor, watching as they were pushed tightly together among the vibrating crowd.

"Is that the loser who's about to get married?" He turned to see his brother Jesse walking towards him with a rueful smile on his face. Cam pulled him into a hug, clapping him hard on the back. He still couldn't believe how much Jesse had grown since he'd been away, and it was still unsettling to think that it probably wouldn't be too much longer before Jesse was doing these same traditions.

"Dude, I'm getting married. I think that makes me a winner." Cam said, as he released him.

"Whatever you say," Jesse said, but his eyes were already scouring the dance floor to see if the look of anyone interested him. Cam smirked at him, rolling his eyes as he grabbed a couple of shots from a waiting tray on the table Anna had set up. He passed one to Jesse and they both downed them before going for a second.

Cam lost himself in a couple of songs, the music pulsing from his feet to the top of his head, and he could feel it in his chest, like a beating heart in perfect rhythm. The hot liquor in his stomach burned at the nothing he'd consumed all day, and he felt himself growing hot from the heat of the bodies packed in such a tight space. He found the table again, nearly stumbling as he slid into a seat next to Jesse, who was receiving drinks he'd apparently ordered for the table.

He'd have to try to remember to ask who was picking up the tab for the party.

He grabbed a coke, taking a long drink before realizing it was loaded with more rum than coke. He caught the bartender's eye and held up the drink, a sloppy grin on his face, and the bartender just gave him a few claps with his hands to congratulate him on his wedding.

It was like everyone knew exactly how to take care of him tonight. What was with that?

Cameron was halfway through the rum (and coke) when Anna finally stumbled her way back and into his lap, and he found himself nearly choking with laughter as he threw his arms around her, leaning in close enough that he could smell the vodka on her breath.

"Well, hello, beautiful," He said teasingly. "I'm having a wonderful night. How about you?"

One Last Time

Change had always been a difficult thing for Anna to accept - even though her life had been nothing but change for as long as she could remember. But of all the things she'd had to accept in her admittedly rather short life, by far the hardest had been the knowledge that her time with Cam was coming to an end. In two days, he would be off toward a new, shinier life, and no matter how much he had tried to promise that things wouldn't change, she had always been the more realistic out of the two of them.

In a way it shouldn't have been entirely surprising that he had been the one to have gotten scooped off the market first. Though he had always had the shorter attention span, he would sometimes jump in head first and not stop to realize how he could crack his head on shallow waters. And there she had always been, patiently waiting for him to come back so she could clean him up and send him back out into the world to do it all over again.

It had become increasingly harder over the years to stop herself from wondering what exactly it was about her that made her so seemingly unlovable, so easily left behind.

As if on cue, Max's arms slid around her, and for a moment she was able to break out of the spiral she'd been in since Cam had confided in her about his proposal, easing back into him and craning her head to drop a kiss on his chin.

"Oh damn, are you sure it's not my lucky night?" he grinned down at her, all sweetness as she did a quick spin, the tassels of her gold dress catching the light and for once making her feel like she was actually sparkling. Being with Max was simple and it was so nice to feel wanted that she could see herself settling into a perfectly pleasant life with him.

"Might still be" she teased, leaning up to catch his lips in a searing kiss. "Now, come on! Not a great look if your best man is late," she joked as the two shot back a quick tequila shot before heading off.

----

Anna may not have had whatever edge you'd needed to survive in the city, but she was still kind of proud that she'd managed to pull off what she thought would be a fun night. She'd rented out the VIP section of a club Cam had mentioned a few times, made sure to let everyone know he was getting married so he'd get nothing less than the most exclusive experience, and gotten there extra early so she could have time to decorate the area. Anna tried not to linger on how many extra shifts she'd have to pick up to make up for the amount of money she'd been throwing at his wedding.

Not that it even mattered anymore when she saw the way his face lit up across the club when he spotted her eagerly waving an arm to signal their spot, jumping in place excitedly until he arrived and she jumped into his arms for a hug "happy almost wedding day!" she chirped a little too loudly - something she blamed on the few drinks she'd already been sipping at to try and settle her nerves.

She didn't have the best record with alcohol, but sometimes it was easier to lean into her natural giddiness when it was running through her bloodstream.

"Oh shit, sorry, here you go!" she looked around and handed him her half-finished drink, "I'll make you- ah!" she giggled, her thoughts interrupted as Max swooped her away to dance with him. For a brief moment she was aggravated that he'd just pulled her away from him, but it was quickly forgotten when Max pulled her in closer mumbling something she couldn't quite understand between the loud thumping of the music, and the ticklish sensation of his lips on her neck.

They were caught like that for a few songs before he finally relented and let her head back to their area, where she grabbed a glass of what she'd thought was water from Jesse, but promptly discovering it was vodka she almost gagged as he lost it laughing, and before she realized it she was laughing too, "ass!" she added with a kick to his leg that made her lose her balance and land promptly in Cam's lap.

"Hey handsome," she smiled up at him, lifting her arms to drape her hands behind his neck, "fun night?"