#more 300 fashion ads

[fashionbooksmilano]

self service 1994-2022, The Ads

IDEA, London 2022, 344 pages, Softcover, 23x30cm. , Edition of 1000 copies

euro 100,00

email if you want to buy booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

More than 300 fashion ads from 28 years of Self Service magazine in this one book. Instantaneously the definitive reference to contemporary fashion advertising. Raf Simons, APC, Prada, Balenciaga, more Raf Simons! It is stunning. See how the ads have changed from the nineties to today. See the loops and cycles as the first ads in the book become reference for the latter. There's Darwin's Theory of Evolution and there is Self Sevice, The Ads

09/12/23

[toxicanonymity]

Joel Miller Masterlist - NSFW

and: Javi P., Ezra, Javi G.

Version 1/17/25 (cleaned up, last added: no hard feelings)

Blog FAQ / MAIN MASTERLIST / notifs: @toxicfics / recs: @toxicrecs

📢 You can find my latest fics here, on @toxicfics, or on my profile header by clicking "latest fics."

⚠️ I do not give permission for any of my work to be copied, translated, made into bots, put into AI, etc.

⚠️ 18+ x f!reader unless otherwise noted. Read warnings! Sometimes dark means it has dubcon (DC) or noncon (NC). the NC I write is physically enjoyed by reader. DC can involve a diminished ability to truly consent. Like drugs, captivity, or power imbalance. sometimes it may look like enthusiastic consent.

If you can't decide where to start, Buzzfeed quizzes are at the bottom. They're just for fun but might help lol

🍒 innocent reader | 💤 somnophilia | 👴/🧔‍♂️ explicit age gap | ⭐ fave | subjective ratings: D - darkish | DD - dark | DDD - ultra dark

JOEL MILLER

JOEL MASTERLISTS

AUs, Collections, and Series

POST-OUTBREAK JOEL MASTERLISTS

Raider DD. After making his men spare you, Joel decides to take you for himself. Emotional slow burn, smut all along. Extensive masterlist.

Left in Lincoln (dbf x virgin) 👴🍒 DD Your parents trust Joel to look in on you while they're gone. You yearn to have him carnally.

Aches, thoughts, and needs (4 parts) 👴🍒 you join Joel on his journey to Jackson, and soon there's only one sleeping bag.

Speakeasy (Collection, no plot) - Exhibitionist one shots and drabbles set in a Speakeasy.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE JOEL MASTERLISTS

Night walks 👴 D, DC (drugs). Hot, sleazy older pothead neighbor who talks dirty.

Silence can never be bought (dbf)👴 You catch him in a compromising position.

Slasher Joel DD DC - You're DTF the sleazy tow truck driver but end up fcking for your life.

Stepdad 🧔‍♂️D You catch him perving on your insta and start toying with him. You seduce him.

Thighs out (bf's dad) - Your bf strays and his hot, slutty dad makes you feel better, much better.

Vampire Joel D, DC - he's been waiting for you for centuries and can't let you go once he finds you.

Jalbird - horny miniseries, Joel "Jojo" miller is your cellmate's nephew. Lots of dirty talk

Free Use - D, DC, 💤 PWP drabbles where you and Joel have a free use agreement.

JOEL & TOMMY MASTERLIST - "brotherly sharing": various Joel & tommy pairs share (different reader for each pair). Includes Miller Bros. (Daddy Joel & Uncle tommy), Leopard Print, Twin Peaks (Biker AU), and Tommy's Hard Day.

JOEL ONE SHOTS & TWO SHOTS

POST-OUTBREAK JOEL FICS

For Survival - outbreak day (1.4k) - Joel saves your life, but you can't clear your heads until the sexual tension is broken. For Survival 2 - sleeping bag (1.4k) - you have to be quiet.

Lazaretto (NC sex pollen)👴 you're quarantined & treated in a tent, and the fog treatment has a strange effect on Joel PART 2, DC

⭐What you're missing D, NC 💤 you share a sleeping bag with Joel on a hunting trip.

Patrol - pt. 1; virgin patrol 👴🍒 DD, DC creep patrol partner, huddling for warmth

Caught DDD very mean dark Joel catches you, then punishes you more At the table with his crew there. Tommy tucks you in.

Dark mode DDD You activate Joel's dark mode for your own enjoyment. Then Clicking (horny! joel -> dark mode)

The old fashioned way (1k) Joel is a breeder for vaccine research, and he makes it feel good.

Ready for her 🍒 - Tommy provides emotional and physical support as you lose your virginity to Joel.

Movie night in Jackson, you get frisky under a blanket, surrounded by people.

Virgin sex worker (v loss) D 🍒 - Joel finds out he's your first, and does his best to be gentle.

Secret breeder!Joel Refuses to pull out D - established couple, drabble of their typical sexual encounter

caught masturbating (300) D

Parts - You have a crush on Joel and push him until he gets annoyed.

AU JOEL FICS

⭐ Just the tip 🍒 DC (power imbalance) You're a maid and your client coaxes you into full piv. surveillance (imagine). Just the tip really (pt. 2) 2

Pawn shop (GILF Joel) D - you're in a bind, and Joel has cash.

Canopy - close call with dbf in your old bedroom. pt 2 🧔‍♂️ do you get caught?

That's the spot - you want it harder. Can you get masseur!Joel to cross a line?

Window - peeping Tom jacking off, pt.2 date next door - the tables kinda turn D

Night Talks 🧔‍♂️🍒 D, DC your best friend's dad coaxes you into getting high, and more.

Locket DD, DC - dark!reader has her way with her friend's dad.

Sleeping Beauty 👴💤, CNC break-in.

Packing: butcher!Joel DD, DC (NC?)

Fucking dbf Joel at your dad's house - your dad leaves you two alone, and you make your move.

Breeding couple ; Red Dress - pregnancy. Joel is happy to breed you, and cant keep his hands off your pregnant body.

Personal trainer , and part 2 D, DC - Joel offers to train you in his private gym. He's inappropriate and it makes you horny.

Mean Daddy Joel 🧔‍♂️, a day in the filth

Dark nurse!Joel - sex pollen imagines

Trucker Joel (HCs)

Big fat tally mark (fic event entry) - Joel wears an unneeded cock enhancer

No hard feelings (fic event entry) - 80s AU where you break down on the side of the road

JAVIER PEÑA

NARCOS.

Hunt and peck (2.7k)

⭐ THE RAID (DD) - ongoing series, Javi & Steve find you on a dru.g raid and take you with them.

JAVI GUTIERREZ

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Watch you watch him fuck his wife. You're Javi's wife. Nick watches Javi fuck you.

The Narrative (D) - you're a PR agent and he's a PR nightmare.

EZRA

PROSPECT.

⭐ The Green - Earthly AU - Ezra performs spoken word at a rave in the catacombs. Ft. a special guest p-boy.

Sleep time (DC): pt. one (250), two 💤(850) D You bait Ezra pt.3 Ezra strikes back.

MAIN MASTERLIST

OTHER FANDOMS

BLOG FUN

READER CREATIONS

See fic masterlists for character-specific reader creations. These are cross-fic posts.

Fun Visuals

Joelkémon cards by @gasolinerainbowpuddles

JOELS AS CATS by @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

Joel's as cats pt. 2 not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

Joelkémon astrology by @wannab-urs

Mood board of joels by @milla-frenchy

joels as texts by @iamasaddie

Lmk if yours is missing. Y'all are so creative and ily!

Buzzfeed Quizzes by @missannfairy & not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

Which Joel are you most compatible with?

Which Joel are you?

Which Joel to spend the holidays with?

Compatability: Valentine's Edition

MY ANTICS

@toxicbrothel is a magical place where my characters live when they're not in their fics. you'll find a variety of crack BUT ALSO actual smut I've written ("the madame's secret fics").

[no-144444]

A Christmas Prince (2017)- c.leclerc

₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡‧₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡‧₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡

summary: When a young aspiring journalist is sent abroad to cover a a coronation, she hears rumours about the 'Prince of F1' and goes undercover to investigate them.

pairing: prince! charles leclerc x fem! reader

9.8k words

disclaimer: i do not own anything in these films, the only original character is the character y/n.

‧₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡‧₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡‧₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡

You jumped up from your desk as soon as you saw him, and trailed him through the office. “Excuse me, sorry- Ron?!” 

He turned to you. “Not now.”

“This will just take a second, I just have some questions about your article? The fashion week piece that I’m editing?”

He groaned, clearly uninterested in giving you the time of day. “Go for it.”

Nevertheless, you continued on. How could someone who makes so many noticeable mistakes have a higher job than you? How could someone so self-centred and rude be in that position of power? “The main problem is that Max wanted 300 words, and you’ve written 600, and also the models and designers you quoted weren’t even at the event so…”

“Y/n,” he sighed, putting a hand on your shoulder. “I don’t have time for you right now, just go off and fix it? Yeah?” he smiled, that punchable, asshole smile, and walked off. You rolled your eyes. 

Working as a journalist bitch was not your plan when you moved to New York, but alas, your rent does not magically pay itself. Categorically, you enjoyed your job. Decent pay, good co-workers (minus asshole Ron), and it was pretty cool to be in one of the high-rise offices of New York, especially around Christmas. But… the whole getting to write articles part wasn’t something you got to do. You were an editor now, not a journalist. It was… slightly infuriating to know that someone less qualified got paid more money to write shit that you always ended up rewriting for him, but as we mentioned before, bills don’t pay themselves. 

“Let me guess, you’re going to completely rewrite the article and save his ass?” Damon, your best friend, asked. 

You faked a smile. “It’s almost like that’s my job!”

He rolled his eyes. “Tell him to shove it,” he scoffed. “Any of us could write that better- with our eyes closed!”

You groaned as you sat down.

“How the fuck are you ever going to be taken seriously as a real journalist if you are such a good editor?” he added. “He’ll never promote you if you’re always going to stay as his bitch.”

The ding of your laptop ended the conversation 

Max wants you in her office- NOW! 

“Oh fuck,” you said under your breath. 

“What?” Damon asked, looking over your shoulder. “Oh… good luck.”

You walked into her glass office, praying to something to make this as painless as possible. “If this is because of Ron’s article-”

“It’s not, sit down. I have something else for you,” she smiled. You followed her instructions and stared at her, unused to the kindness. “What do you know about the Royal Family of Monaco?”

“Monaco?” you wracked your brain. “The King died a few years ago, the new King just got married, and the other two are racecar drivers, right?”

“Exactly, anything about the second eldest Prince?” she mused. 

You grimaced. “He’s more loyal to Ferrari than his girlfriends and he’s a royal disgrace?”

She grinned. “Yes! Exactly that! Obviously, Charles moved off from the royal duties a long time ago, but Lorenzo has decided to abdicate since his fiance has fallen ill, in Monaco there’s a rule that the throne can be uncrowned for one year and it turns out Lorenzo abdicated in December last year.”

“So Charles has to take the throne?” you asked. “But he’s a driver there’s no way he’d… what happens then?”

She smirked. “That’s exactly what you’re going to find out! His Royal Highness is due back at the Castle this weekend, but in case he also abdicates, I need someone to write on it! There’s a press conference on the 18th, and I want your boots on the ground!”

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but why me?” you smiled, genuinely curious. 

“You’re intelligent, talented, hungry for a story- also none of my regular writers are willing to give up their Christmas,” she admitted. You nodded, knowing you were a last resort. 

“Thank you for this opportunity, I won’t let you down.” 

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

“He’s gorgeous!” Damon fawned over the pictures of him. 

You shrugged. “He’s such a douche, I cannot believe people still find him attractive after all the stuff he’s done.”

“Who wouldn't forgive a face and body like that?” 

You looked at the photos. Yes, he was conventionally attractive, but his track record of scorned girlfriends, and the semi-awful fashion sense (who , over the age of 12, still wears tie dye jeans?) put you off. “He’s not my type.” 

He stared at you. “He’s everyone’s type. Everyone is a Ferrari fan, and everyone is a Charles LeClerc fan.”

“I still don’t see it,” you shrugged. 

“You should try to seduce him! Make him your husband and just excuse all the cheating so you can be royal and rich,” he suggested. 

“I do not want that,” you scoffed. “Plus, I’m not on the market right now.”  

He groaned. “You two broke up a whole year ago. Don’t let him yuck your yum 12 months on!”

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

You walked into Rudy’s, your dad’s diner, you couldn’t but feel the weight of the conversation you were just about to have. You had spent Christmas as just the two of you every year since your mom had passed, you didn’t want to just leave him alone. The regulars raved about the pies as you stepped in from the cold, snowy air. 

“The usual?” your dad asked, you nodded and smiled, waving to some of the regulars you knew. “How are you doing sweetie?” 

“Good, great!” You smiled, plastering on your best ‘i’m fine!’ face. 

“What happened?” he asked, concerned. You deflated.

“I have good news and bad news,” you explained.

“Bad news first,” he decided. 

“I won’t be here on Christmas- but, It’s because I got my first story.”

He grinned, pulling you into a hug. “That’s amazing! Your first real story! This is your big break!”

“You don’t mind that I’ll miss Christmas?”

He shook his head. “This is your big break, take it. Don’t worry about me. You go over to wherever, and you make me proud.”

You smiled, pulling him into another hug, and thanked him. 

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

The flight was long and uncomfortable, thus the joys of economy, and the dickhead that stole your cab wasn’t much nicer either. 

You and the rest of the press were all then bundled into cars and brought to the palace. 

“First time?” The reporter beside you questioned. You nodded your head, slightly embarrassed about the fact that they could tell, but he just chuckled. “Word to the wise, pick a new career.”

The rest of the car was an eruption of laughter, small agreements, or a scoff. You chuckled along, but you couldn’t help but feel small. You were the only woman in your car, the only new reporter, and-

Woah. Holy shit. 

The Monaco Palace. 

Any and all other thoughts were pushed to the back of your mind as you stared in awe at the beautiful structure. The wide windows and beautiful pillars, all decorated perfectly for Christmas. Though it wasn’t snowing (like back home), you did appreciate the gesture of making it feel like Christmas. You were enchanted by the palace, it stood tall on the edge of the bay, fitting in perfectly with the rest of the gorgeous scenery. 

You walked in behind the rest of the press, a nervous energy buzzing in the air. Prince Charles was an F1 favourite, a master of the sport, and now he had to give it all up for the crown. Everyone was more than excited to see if he’d actually show up, which seemed increasingly unlikely as the moments ticked away. He did every single piece of press Ferrari or the FIA asked him to do, and he seemed to enjoy the majority of them, but the second the palace asked him to do something, he was ‘too busy’. It left a bad taste in your mouth. You were exactly a patriot, but you thought that one should at least appreciate the fact that they were a part of their country, and the people deserved to hear from their Prince, not only through sports interviews. He’d been photoshopped into the palace's Christmas cards for the past 4 years, for god’s sake. 

You pushed your opinion of him to the side and turned your attention to the palace. The tall white walls and arched ceilings, the beautiful and historic artwork hanging off the walls, god, you’d give anything to be allowed free reign in here with your camera. Your attention was then grabbed by the PR liaison, Penelope, standing at the panel desk looking increasingly nervous.

After another 30 minutes of waiting, the repress started getting restless. Lorenzo was never late. Hervé had never been late. Pascale was never late. Arthur was never late. Charles was the outlier. He slept with too many women, drank too much, and ‘disgraced the crown’, according to the Monegasque reporters beside you. You didn’t care much for all of the gossip pages he frequented, and only watched F1 on the occasion that your father wanted to watch it. But, it was clear that he thought that following his dreams of being a racecar driver were more important than his duties, and while you understood the push and pull of having a dream, there were also expectations to meet, and he didn’t meet them. 

“We regret to inform you that this press conference has been cancelled-” 

She was cut off by about 200 reporters shouting and groaning. 

You politely raised your hand, and all eyes turned to you. “When can we expect the press conference to be rescheduled?” You asked and the room was alive again, this time, in agreement. 

“As of right now, we won’t be rescheduling,” she offered a polite smile as everyone collectively groaned again. 

“Well can we at least expect a date at which he’ll be crowned?”

“He will be crowned on Christmas Eve, at the annual Christmas Ball,” she smiled. 

“Which is a private event, so what are we to tell your people? They can’t see him getting crowned as their next king? No media are allowed in, no cameras, phones are barely allowed. What will your people think?” you questioned, your voice dripping with condescension. The rest of the reporters cheered you on, no one had stood up against his behaviour before. No one. 

She faltered, and then the room started being cleared by security, much to the chagrin of the rest of you. You were kicked out, a collection of grumbles and groans, knowing Christmas was ruined because of some stupid Prince and his childish antics. 

You couldn’t go home empty handed. You’d never get a chance like this again, so breaking and entering into the Monaco Palace wasn’t that bad of a crime, right? 

You came into a long hallway, the marble walls and floors taking your full attention, until you came across a picture. It was the royal family, a picture of the five of them, taken before Hervé passed. Charles was only 20, Arthur was only 16. Lorenzo was 29. And they lost their father. In the photo, they’re sitting at a dinner table, looking happy. It didn’t look posed, or professionally taken. It looked like it had been taken on an iphone. Charles was smiling bright, his arm around his little brother and his father. Lorenzo’s arm around Pascale as she held Arthur’s hand. Charles was truly the thing that dragged you in. His bright smile, eyes crinkled at the edges, laughing so hard he must’ve felt sick. The way everyone else’s eyes were on him. He was like a magnet. Not because of his good looks or lovably dorky personality, but because of something else. He was just… interesting. 

“Can I help you?” a security guard asked, his voice booming and strong. You jumped. 

“Gosh! Sorry, umm-yes-no-um-”

“American?” he asked, and you were sure you were busted. But then he smiled. “Follow me.”

You followed him through the halls until you were in front of a tall woman with brunette hair. You knew who she was, her name was Georgia, the palace coordinator. She was terrifying to stand in front of. You’d never felt so judged in your life. 

“You’re the new tutor?” she questioned. You just nodded. “I thought you couldn’t come until January?”

“My last job finished up early,” you lied. A sinking pit in your stomach started growing, but you just swallowed it. You’d deal with it later. 

“Oh,” she smiled. “Perfect, I’ll bring you to meet him,” she smiled. 

What were you getting yourself into?

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

Turns out Arthur LeClerc needed a tutor to help with his engineering course. Thank god you’d dated that engineer who wanted to mansplain every single part of a car to you, and you could get by the maths with a calculator. Arthur wasn’t exactly a fan of having someone younger than him tutor him, he felt stupid, you could tell. You did everything you could to reassure him that it truly was alright to need help, and he was starting to come around, but every time you two really started talking, Charles would appear. And yes, Charles had been that asshole who’d taken your cab at the airport. Even more of a reason to hate him.

“Arthur!” Charles called up as you finished explaining a sum, which he was finally getting, but of course, Charles had to distract him. “Sim work?” he offered, popping his head in the door. You frowned. He was clean-shaven, unlike the small goatee and mustache he’d been sporting before. Objectively, he was attractive either way, but you personally preferred the facial hair. 

He frowned back at you. “What?”

Arthur attempted to get up to join his brother, but you held him down to his seat with a hand on his shoulder. He sighed. 

“What?” you repeated. “Arthur is busy with lessons, your Royal Highness, you can come back in 2 hours, when he’s finished,” you smile politely, though your tone was less than warm. 

“2 hours?” Arthur sighed, looking at you with pleading eyes. 

“I’m not the one who failed their midterm,” you said, matter-of-factly. He nodded, agreeing. 

“Why did you look at me like that?” Charles smirked, walking into the study. 

“Like what?” you asked, engrossed in the work, trying to decipher Arthur’s handwriting. 

“Like you didn’t like what you saw,” he mused. 

You scoffed. “I was just surprised by the baby face, that’s all.” 

He frowned, making Arthur laugh. “Baby face?”

“You look like a 12 year old boy without facial hair, it freaks me out,” you pointed out. 

Charles left the room with whatever dignity he still had intact, and you and Arthur rather enjoyed the teasing. 

“Will you be my guest tonight?” he turned to you, discarding his work. 

“What’s tonight?” you asked. 

“Some boring drinks and dinner thing with the whole of Charles’s team, and other nobility. It’s going to be such a chore to go without you, please come?” 

You smiled. “I’d be honoured.”

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

You kind of hated the whole ‘double agent’ thing. You were getting on really well with Arthur, Charles was enough to stomach (in small intervals), and Lorenzo had been too busy to really meet. Georgia had been on you about different things, but you always had to remember that a) your name was in fact not Y/n, but Martha. And b) You still had to be a reporter. You still had to break into these people’s privacy, and make it a story. You were pretty sure what you were doing was illegal in America, so you were just hoping it wasn’t a crime here. As the night went on you snapped pictures of Pascale, Lorenzo, some of the other nobility and some of the important F1 drivers (a friend was doing an expose on one of them for cheating so… yeah). You didn’t catch a glimpse of his Royal (pain-in-the-ass) Highness all night, that was, until he made an(uncharacteristically (not)) late arrival. You also left Arthur to go hang out with his girlfriend, who had surprised him this weekend by arriving a whole week early. 

“How are you enjoying the party?” Arthur smiled, walking up behind you as you tried to take photos of the nobility as secretly as possible. You quickly hid your phone. 

“Very much so, thank you for inviting me,” you smiled. 

“Staring at Charles?” he questioned, noticing how you’d been following him around the room. 

“Trying to find something to eat,” you lied. Again, that pit in your stomach grew every single day that you were at the palace. “Not a fan of the meat-jelly.”

He grimaced. “Me neither, follow me.”

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

Possibly the best gingerbread cookies entered your mouth soon after. “Wow,” you nodded, and he smiled back. You stared at him. “Where’s Jade?”

“She’s off with her friends,” he answered, but you knew it was a guess. 

“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden? You hated me three days ago,” you chuckled. 

“You’re not like everyone here,” he shrugged. “You’re normal.”

You smiled. “I know I’m, normal, btu so are you-”

“A ‘normal’ 24 year old who has a palace and a crown, as well as an affinity for racing cars. I’m so normal.”

You laughed. “No one’s perfect.”

Then a tall man, who looked a little bit like Arthur, joined you. 

“Cousin Arthur,” he smiled. 

“Cousin Simon,” he sighed, less than impressed with having to see him. 

Simon looked at you, slightly confused. “Was your mother feeling charitable, inviting the chambermaids again?” he joked, but it wasn’t funny. Arthur didn't laugh, he groaned. 

“She’s my tutor, actually. And I invited her. Mrs. Martha Whelan, meet my cousin, Simon.” 

You stood up and held your hand out to be shook, but he shied away. “Nice to meet you Simon.” 

“You can address me as Lord Dukesburg,” he explained, taking great offence. Ah, this was Simon Dukesburg, the man who has been after the throne since Arhtur’s father died. He said some of the most out-of-touch shit about Lorenzo, saying he couldn’t be the King because he wasn’t Herve’s blood-related son. 

“I find that nobility who require someone to use their title might be compensating for something,” Charles interjected, making you stifle a laugh, whereas Arthur laughed out loud. 

“And what might I be compensating for?” he scoffed. 

“I wonder,” Charles smirked. Then someone else interjected the conversation and pulled the both of them away from you and Arthur. 

“Simon hates Charles,” Arthur explained. “He’s ahead of him in the succession, since it goes by age, not actual blood relation, he’s ahead of me.”

“So if Charles abdicates, Simon has the throne?” you questioned. 

Arthur nodded. You looked up at the two men again, and found Charles already looking back at you. You offered a small smile, which was returned, then you turned back to Arthur. 

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

“I'm really not sure there’s any dirt here,” you sighed, explaining it for the millionth time to your boss. 

She wasn’t having it. You ended the call feeling even worse than before. Honestly, you were one day away from just leaving the palace all together and admitting your crimes. It was eating you up inside, you could barely sleep, barely eat. It was all a little bit too much for you. You understood that reporters had to be cut-throat, but god, it was hard work pretending to be someone you weren't, especially to people as kind as the LeClerc’s. As you walked through the halls of the palace, unable to sleep, you heard some piano music. You followed the sound and found Prince Charles at his piano, incredibly talented. Sadly, it ended the second he noticed you, about 30 seconds of you being there. 

“Sorry for interrupting, your Royal Highness,, I’ll head back-”

“Call me Charles,” he smiled. 

Slightly blind-sided, you weren’t sure what to say. “That was beautiful,” you smiled. 

“Thank you,” he smiled, getting up. “My father made me take lessons. It’s a great passion of mine.”

“I’ve heard your father was a great man,” you smiled. 

“He was,” Charles agreed.. 

“Won’t be easy to replace him,” you mused, hoping he would give you something, anything worth writing the story over. 

“I’m not trying to replace him,” he explained. “No one could.”

“Oh god! No, I didn’t mean it like that- just… there must be a lot of pressure on you, I didn’t mean it…” you trailed off and he smiled. 

“Well, you’re under more pressure than you bargained for, right?” he smirked. 

Shit. He knew. Somehow. He knew. You were bout to get arrested by the fucking Prince of Monaco. How embarrassing. 

“My brother can really be a handful,” he chuckled. 

You took a deep breath. He didn’t know. You were safe, for now at least. You chuckled. “He’s actually pretty great.”

“After our father died, he took it very hard,” he explained. 

“I lost my mom, same age and everything,” you explained, a flat smile on your face. 

He nodded. “So you know what it’s like then.”

You nodded. “Holidays are the worst.”

“I’m glad he has someone to talk to.”

“So, now that you’re back… is it for good? Arthur talks about you all the time. He misses you when you’re gone. Is all that talk about abdication just… rumors?” you questioned, feeling like the worst human being in the world for manipulating this family the way you were. They were good people. Maybe yes, they’re rich and commit tax fraud, but good people. 

He sighed. “It’s very hard to know what to do.”

FUCK! 

Great. So there is a story. Ideal. It’s not like if he’d just said, ‘yes, they’re all just rumors’, you could’ve gone home and never had to think about the awful things you’ve done here, but now you have to stay, to listen to him. Great.

“I heard you didn’t want to give your… lifestyle,” you asked. “Is that true?”

“What lifestyle is that?” he scoffed, slightly amused.

“I don’t know. The women, wine, and cars?” 

“Is that what you think I am?” he chuckled. 

“I don’t know who you are, Charles, but if your brother is any indication, I wouldn’t exactly believe everything I read. Good night.” 

And with that you left the room, feeling like a terrible person, and he was more than intrigued by you. 

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Christmas Eve rolled closer and closer, and every night seemed to be one of celebration. You decorated the tree with the family (aka you sat in the corner not eating or drinking because of the guilt, and watched over Arthur, making sure he was alright). 

“To family and friends,” Pascale smiled. 

“And new friends!” Arthur called, lifting your hand. You smiled at him, thankful that you had a friend there. 

“What are your traditions Martha?” Charles asked, turning attention to you. 

“Well, my father and I light a candle and we bake my mothers favourite cookies,” you explained, a smile on your face. “I know how it feels to… have someone missing during traditions,” you assured Arthur, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

Just then, Lady Sophia appeared in the doorway. Lady Sophia, Charles’s childhood best friend and the leading lady of the greatest will-they-won’t-they story of all time. She wore a beautiful long flowing gown with a present in hand for Pascale. She elegantly dodged cousin Simon’s advances (you applauded her for that), and went straight to Pascale and Charles. 

“Sophia, it’s lovely to see you,” she smiled, pulling her in for a hug. 

“It’s lovely to see you too,” she smiled, then moved on to Charles. “Charles, good to see you.”

Charles greeted her with his best flirty smirk, and Arthur turned to you, fake gagging, which made you both laugh. All eyes turned to the two of you for a moment, before you quickly shut up, and the greetings continued. Lady Sophia was staying for Christmas, how wonderful. Maybe you could get an early access to their engagement story- god you felt sick with yourself. 

You turned to Arthur engrossed in the small toy car he had in his hands, a gift from his father, he spoke about it as you listened, barely noticing Charles over both of your shoulders. 

“I remember when you first got that,” he chuckled, ruffling Arthur’s hair. “You were so happy with it, you wanted to be just like dad.”

“Now you are,” you smiled, squeezing Arthur;’s hand. He’d be moving up to F1 next year, in a Haas seat (Esetban Ocon shit the bed, oops), and Arthur was the next best Ferrari junior driver. Arthur beamed back at you, and Charles gave himself a moment to study you. 

You were so gentle, so smart, so kind, so… you. He was entranced by you. You were some sort of enigma. He didn’t want to sound full of himself, but women did throw themselves at him, it was a simple fact, and you didn’t. You weren’t interested in him at all, in fact. It was refreshing. 

“Charles!” Lady Sophie called. “Will you put my ornament on the tree?” 

He (begrudgingly) took his eyes off of you and joined her at the side of the tree. Funnily enough, her ornament was a heart. 

“Be gentle with it,” she told him, and he sighed, knowing it wasn’t just the ornament she was talking about.He placed it on the ree and when he looked back at you, you were already engrossed in conversation with Arthur about something else and he thought it best not to pry. You barely liked him as is, he shouldn’t push his luck. 

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The day you get bossed around by Arthur LeCerc may actually be the biggest joke of your life. He found out that you were a journalist, and he didn’t even care. He just… wanted a friend, and for you to write the truth about his brother. Which you were happy to oblige. 

So, instead of going over aerodynamics, you baked Christmas cookies. 

“What’s with Charles and Lady Sophia?” you questioned, shovelling some of the batter into your mouth. Arthur shrugged. 

“She’s had a crush on him for ages, but he’s never liked her back,” he shrugged, eating some of the icing. “She’s always trying to get with him though.” 

“Simon seems to like her,” you pointed out, shooing him away from the icing (he’d eaten half of it). 

Arthur groaned. “Simon has wanted everything Charles has had since they were 3. He even tried go-karting. He was shit though,” he chuckled. “But y’know, everyone wants what we have.”

You cracked a smile. “You are the royal family of one of the most beautiful countries in Europe.”

Arthur sighed. “It was different though, before my dad died, it was-” he cut himself off, trying to to cry. You pulled him into a hug. 

“He’s not gone Arthur, you’ll always remember him,” you smiled, he nodded against your neck. “Come on, we need to get these in the oven before I eat all of the batter.”

He laughed, joining you beside the oven. 

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The next morning was the children’s fundraiser, where everyone was expected to be a guest. You, again, were Arthur’s, Jade having left a few days earlier to spend time with her family. One of those asshole reporters came up to you, but he got them away, and you knew that by tomorrow, people would already assume you were his new girlfriend, or something along those lines, so you made sure to tell him to talk about Jade in interviews. After the wonderful carol service, Pascale came out to the stage and addressed the public, announcing Charles’s speech. 

When she called his name, he didn’t show. 

Arthur sighed, grabbing your hand and running you to the Orphanage. There he was, playing with the children. He looked so… happy. He was telling them about every corner in the Monaco Grand Prix, and telling them what it felt like to win it. They all sat around him, listening intently, desperate to hear from him. You took out your phone and took a photo, seeing a tiny glimpse of that same 20 year old boy from the picture.  

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“Charles, help me understand why you were unable to carry out your duty today?” Pascale asked, exasperated with her son. 

“I thought my duty was to those children,” his words bit through the tension in the air. 

“There is much more to being kind than simply compassion,” she sighed. “You need to be strong, a leader. You need to be someone that those people can look up to and say, ‘that’s my king, and he can make the hard decisions’. Not someone who tiptoes around his duties like a schoolboy. Arthur had to give your speech instead. Now every outlet thinks your abdicating and giving the throne to him right when he’s on the cusp of his dreams-”

“I have dreams!” he shouted. “I have a life, I have a dream-”

“And we gave you 8 years to make it happen. You have to grow up now Charles,” she commanded. 

“Mother I-”

“Do you seriously think you’re the only one who wants to run away?” she questioned. “The only one who has dreams, and feelings, and a weariness about everything?”

“I’m-”

“This has been the hardest year of my life,” she choked up. “Lorenzo abdicating, you off in god-knows-where racing a car that can’t win, and Arthur trying his damndest to make his dreams come true, while I deal with it all. While I ‘hold down the fort’. You have a duty to your country, but you also have a duty to your family, Charles. I have complete faith in you, and then some. You will be a brave, and compassionate King. But you need to realise that sacrifice is a part of life. One we may have shielded you from, and I am sorry for that. But you need to make a sacrifice here. Royal life isn’t the prison you make it out to be. You can be happy, and you will be. But you need to learn to be happy with what you’ve got, because you have so much Charles. You have your family, you’ll meet someone nice and then you’ll have your own. You don’t need to race cars to feel strong. You need to be yourself. The people of Monaco are looking for someone they know after a year of confusion and shock. You need to be the comforting voice. I know you can be.” 

“I’m trying,” he whispered. 

“I have faith in you. You need to have faith in yourself. Don’t try to be your father, be Charles. He’s just as wonderful.”

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Arthur wasn’t going to focus, it was 3 days till Christmas, and he was kind of like an over-excited child. You suggested an adventure, and that is how you ended up racing speed boats with Arthur and a few of his friends. You two won, of course, and he may or may not have accidentally shoved you overboard and made you hit your head. But you were probably fine. Probably. You two relaxed on the water for a while, enjoying the Monaco sun asn the sun began to set and all of his friends went home. 

Then you felt something hit into the edge of your boat. Another speedboat. Driven by none other than Prince Charles. 

“Race you?” he smirked at his brother, his eyes then landing on you. He stopped, almost doing a double take when he saw you in your swimsuit, his mouth opening slightly. You didn’t seem to notice. Arthur did and he rolled his eyes, hoping against hope that Charles and his master-manipulating ways would pass you by and go onto the next person.

“You’re on!” Arthur shouted back, reeving up the engine, and thus the great race of speedboats began. Sadly, once again, Arthur LeClerc is very much not coordinated, so he shoved you off the boat, again. Charles immediately slowed down, turning back to grab you, but he found you laughing. He reached a hand in, and pulled you up onto his boat, grabbing your waist when you almost slipped and fell. You were close, much too close. You could feel his breath on your face, his eyes staring into yours, the look of shock, but neither one of you was asking to stop. It was different, a good difference. He was right there, right in front of you, and you didn’t look at him with annoyance, or anger, or distance. One of those fleeting moments of the both of you truly just being yourselves. Well, you were Marha and he was the Prince of Monaco, soon to be King. He saw every freckle on your face, every small wrinkle line, every flutter of your eyelashes. He loved it. He loved being this close to you. He loved the way you were smiling at him, and once he’d started looking at your lips, he couldn’t stop. 

Arthur threw a snorkel at the two of you, making you jump apart, you almost falling off the boat again (actually your fault that time), but you just fell into Arthur’s boat. “No fraternising with the enemy!”

And the race was back on.

Unbeknownst to you, Lady Sophia and Duke Arsehole (aka Cousin Simoin), were riding by on a perfectly sublime boat ride, and saw the three of you enjoying yourselves. You had joined Charles' side, winning against Arthur every time, and then you’d be swapped back, or Arthur would swap. 

Lady Sophia didn’t like it one bit. 

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When you got back to the palace, Lorenzo was standing at the top step of the stairs, his mother beside him. 

“Where have you three been?” he demanded. 

“Lorenzo, we were-” Charles began.

“Speedboat racing in the bay?” he finished.  

The three of you stood there, silent and still, unsure of what to do next. 

“I suggest next time that you ask permission, Ms. Whelan,” he addressed you, and you nodded quickly offering multiple apologies. “And next time, maybe include the other members of the family. It’s not like we've never raced in our lives,” he smiled, before walking off. You had a feeling they hadn’t seen Arthur this happy in a long time. You couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in you, that you had been the one to help him get himself back. 

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Arthur was busy with his duties, so you were given the day off, the day before Christmas Eve. You needed to get to know Charles better, so you could right all the wrongs online about him. He was going for a bike ride, so you followed suit, clearly forgetting about the fact that you knew nothing about Monaco, and the limited cell-service was really helpful. Oh, and when you fell off your bike and cut the shit out of your knee, you really wondered whether it was you or Arthur who was clumsy. 

“Are you alright?”a voice called out, a voice you couldn't quite place, until Charles was in front of you and taking a look at your knee. “This looks bad, come with me.”

He helped you up, and while Mont Agel was beautiful, you were in the middle of fucking nowhere, what was he going to do? 

Bring you to his secret cabin, of course. 

Literally, was this dude James Bond? 

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You sat outside on his patio as the sun set. He handed you a glass of water. You thanked him. 

“So, now that you’re alright,” he smiled (he’d bandaged up your leg despite the thousands of times you assured him you were fine). “Why were you following me?”

You sighed. “I was curious about Monaco, and I didn’t want to bother you,” lie after lie after lie. You were continuously sick. Maybe that other reporter was right, maybe you did need a new career. 

“You couldn’t bother me,” he assured you, an easy smile on his lips. 

“So what is… this?” you asked, gesturing to the house. “James Bond hideout or?

He laughed. “No, nothing interesting like that. This is just my house,” he smiled. 

“So you’ve lived in Monaco the entire time?” you asked. 

“The Palace is a bit too much for me at times,” he explained. “So I come here.”

“That’s nice,” you smiled. “Why do you find the Palace too much?”

He sighed. “Everyone is always looking at me.”

“Everyone is away looking at you in F1 too, you have like, millions of fan-girls,” you giggled. 

“That’s different,” he argued. “I’m a driver there, that’s talent and hard work, I was just… handed the throne.”

“You were born into it,” you corrected him. “And just because you came across something easily doesn’t mean you haven’t struggled. I mean yes, it’s a lot of responsibility, but why wouldn’t you want to be King of Monaco?” 

“Do we have to talk about this?” he sighed, getting up and pacing the patio. 

“It might be good for you to talk it through,” you told him. 

“I can’t even go for dinner with my friends without it being an international scandal!” he groaned. 

“Like, when you went out with Sophia?” you mused. 

“That was different, she sold a story to a tabloid, and the media had a field day,” he sighed, slumping back into his chair. 

“The media is what’s holding you back?” you questioned, feeling your stomach twist. 

“It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“Explain it then,” you smiled gently. 

He looked at you for a moment, and for a fraction of a second, you could see that boy from the picture again. The magnetic, messy, smiley boy his parents had adored. The boy who worked so hard to prove himself. Then those walls went right back up and what replaced him was the man; older, wiser, and hurt. “Why bother? You probably think I’m just a spoiled rich kid anyway.”

You scoffed. “I never said that!” you argued, getting up and turning to him. “You know what you need to do, stop worrying so much about what everyone thinks of you, or how they’re going to perceive you. You’re a good person, with good instincts, and despite being actual nobility, you have morals, good ones, the kind that makes you miss a speech because you’re helping children. The kind that makes you worry about your little brother so much that you come home when he asks you to. The kind that makes you kind. Stop trying to be your father Charles, just be, Charles.” 

He sighed, standing beside you. “You make that sound so simple,” he scoffed. 

“Why isn't it? You’re a smart, talented, caring person-”

“Except when I steal your taxi,” he smirked, making you roll your eyes. He paused for a moment, his eyes shining in the low light of the sun. “I want to show you something.”

You stared at him, grimacing slightly. “What is it?”

“Follow me,” he said, taking your hand. He led you through his house, up to a room filled with books. 

“You read?”

“After my father died,” he explained. “We kept some of the overflow of his habit here. He also kept his journals here. I found a poem, it was dated just before he died, I think he was going to give it to my mother.”

Frost a sparkle in the fields, 

Twixt the frozen minarets, 

Winter’s harvest, wager yields, 

Heavy burden’s, the years debts, 

P[out from a seed, an acorn’s gift, 

Henceforth the truth will flood, 

Darkness such a secret bears, 

A love far greater than blood.

“It’s beautiful,” you smiled, reading the poem. Charles’s eyes were on you. You were so close, just like on the bat, just like he wished for every single day since you’d come into his life. He leaned in and you didn’t back away. You didn’t run, or lean in either, you were still, your eyes trained on his lips.

Then your phone rang, and off you went to find it. Part of him wanted to grab you back and kiss you, but even he, in his delirious love-filled haze, knew the moment had passed, and he would just have to wait until the next one. 

As you two were getting ready to go back to the palace, he left to go grab something from his room. His father’s desk took your attention, and you obliged yourself. Hidden in plain sight was a secret drawer with a stack of documents in it. As much as you hated yourself for it, you took the documents back to the palace with you. 

Within those documents you found out a truth, a truth so great, you had no idea what to say. Charles and Arthur were adopted as children. 

What the fuck were you going to do now?

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As you were walking through the halls with Arthur the next day, you saw Lady Sophia and Charles… kissing. Great, barf. Anyways. You had to finish your story, get something on the page, make this torment of a trip worth something. If you broke the story today, you could be out of there before Christmas, and their lives would be a lot easier. You thought about coming clean, but the thought of it actually made you vomit in your mouth. You were lost. You had no idea what to do. 

So, you called your dad. What else were you supposed to do?

“Y/n!” he smiled, it was only a phone call but you could tell. “How are you?”

“Hey dad, remember how you said I have to take chances to win?” you asked.

“They are my words to live by,” he chuckled, understanding that something was going on. “Is everything alright?”

“What if that chance is going to really hurt people who don’t deserve it?” you questioned.

“I’m going to need more than that sweetheart,” he sighed. 

“My story, if I release it, it might hurt someone who’s already been through a lot. I’m just…” you trailed off

“Sweetheart, I’m not going to sit here and pretend I know anything about the world of publishing and reporting, but I do know that you have to trust your gut.”

You smiled. “Thanks dad.”

“I’m better than a fortune cookie, right?” he joked and you both chuckled. “I’ll see you soon sweetheart.”

“Bye dad-” as you hung up the phone, there was a knock on your door. You tentatively got up and opened the door, only to find Charles on the other side, dressed in a Ferrari branded suit, a small smile on his face. 

“Hi, is there something I can do for you?” you asked, slightly awkward and unsure. You didn’t really want him to look in your room too much, considering the documents of his adoption were literally on your desk, but alas, what would be, would be. 

“I thought we could go for a walk?” he offered. “I can actually show you around Monaco, now that I know you want a tour guide.”

Your smile faltered. “I don’t know,” you sighed. The media had been stirring everything up ever since the boat, you were the ‘mystery girl’ being passed around by the LeClerc’s, and it didn’t feel great. 

He looked at you with pleading eyes. “Please, just give me a few minutes of your time. I would like some company.”

“Sure, let me grab my coat,” you smiled, but it didn’t reach your eyes.

As you two walked through the streets of Monaco, he spoke freely about the beautiful buildings and people he knew so well, while you listened. You liked it, but it broke your heart slightly, to know that you had lied to the entire family for weeks now. But another part of you was grateful that you got to meet them, because you knew you had been changed for the better. It was also nice to see Charles be less… upset than when you first came. He smiled more, laughed more, and spent more time with Arthur, it was lovely to see. 

He stared at you for a moment, his eyes darting around your face as you looked at the pavement. “Are you alright?”

“Do you often take the help for a walk?” you questioned, your tone soft but the words bit at him anyway. 

“What?” he questioned.

“Nothing, it’s stupid. Go back to your story Charles,” you sighed, walking on. 

He grabbed your hand, turning you back to him. “Please talk to me. I feel like you know everything about me, and I know nothing about you.”

“What would Lady Sophia say if she saw us walking together?” you scoffed. 

“Why would that matter?” 

“I saw you two,” you said.

“Whatever you saw, trust me, there is nothing there,” he pleaded. 

“It didn’t look like that to me,” you scoffed. “And anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

“She was just… taking her chance again, even after I explicitly told her not to.”

“Sure,” you nodded. “It doesn’t matter anyways. Charles.”

You were both silent for a moment. He took the opportunity to study your face. The way your eyebrows creased, the tightness of your lips, the determined stare forward. He smiled. You were so smart, and headstrong, and right all the time (which kind of drove him crazy), but he loved it all. He loved you. 

“I hope you’ll come tomorrow night,” he admitted. You looked at him confused. “The Ball. My coronation.” 

You couldn’t do it anymore. You had to tell him. He couldn’t keep living this lie, and neither could you. “Charles, I need to tell you something-”

But he kissed you. Of course, he fucking kissed you, because he’d been wanting to do it since the day you arrived at the palace. He was in love with you, if he hadn't made that obvious enough, and yes, he kissed you, because the fact that he hadn’t yet was driving him mad. He didn’t want Sophia, he didn’t want anyone else, he wanted you. 

And it was everything he could’ve dreamed of. His arms circled your waist, pulling you close to him, while his lips explored your soft ones, the taste of cherry on them. You must use some sort of cherry lip balm, and it quickly became one of his favourite tastes. Your arms slowly crept up to wrap around his neck, and when he pulled back you just pulled him back in. 

This was the real Charles. The one who loved people unabashedly and didn’t care what people thought. This was that 20 year old boy in the photo. This was the boy you had slowly fallen in love with, without even realising it. 

And it was wonderful. 

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Much to your chagrin, while you were off tonguing the next King of Monaco, Lady Sophia and Cousin Arsehole were busy looking through your things. Unluckily for you, they found something.

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Charles sat in the driver’s seat of his Ferrari, half willing himself to man-up, and the other half begging himself to turn around. He couldn't though, not when he was this close to finally visiting his father’s resting place for the first time in months. 

He got up and out of the car, your voice in his head telling him to get over himself, with that soft, perfect, smile on your lips. 

He walked up to the grave, determined to speak to his father once again. 

“I’ll take the crown,” he whispered, his eyes flooding with tears. “I’ll never measure up to you, but I will take it. For you and for mom.”

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You stood in your room, wondering what the fuck one wears to a coronation. 

Arthur stood in the doorway, smiling brightly. He frowned when he saw your dress. 

“It’s this or pyjamas,” you dead-panned. He walked in, taking the dress out of your hands and sitting on your bed. 

“How’s the story coming along?” he asked. “Nearly done?”

“Almost,” you huffed, laying beside him. 

He sighed. “I’ll miss you when you go,” he admitted, more vulnerable than you’d ever seen him. You almost forgot how much he’d been through, his sunny demeanour always seemed to make you forget his troubles.  “It was nice to have a friend.”

You turned to him. “I’ll always be your friend,” you smiled. “And I’ll be cheering you on in Haas, and in everything else you do. I think you’re brilliant Arthur, seriously.”

He chuckled. “Thank you. I hope everything goes well for you back in New York.”

 “I hope so too,” you teased, wiping a tear off his cheek. 

“I got you something,” he smiled cheekily, handing over a small box. 

“Arthur!” you scolded. “We said no gifts!”

“There was no way I was following that,” he chuckled. “Open it!”

You slowly opened the box, inside there was a beautiful necklace with a beautiful blue topaz on the end. “Oh my god Arthur, this is beautiful,” you whispered. 

“To remind you of the boat day” he grinned. “So you will never forget me.”

You smiled, your eyes cloudy with unshed tears. “I could never forget you, Arthur.” 

Then in walked Jade, his girlfriend, with an array of gowns on a rack. 

“Oh no,” you whispered. 

“Oh yes!” Arthur cheered. 

It was going to be a long afternoon. 

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You stood at the top of the steps, terrified of what anyone would say. Arthur had styled you (aka, Jade let him pick the dress) and while you thought you looked beautiful, you were slightly worried about what the nobility in the room would think. It had been fun though, an afternoon of being pampered and becoming friends with Jade was a lot more enjoyable than it was nerve-wracking. You slowly descended the steps, looking for Arthur, when Charles caught your eye. He looked beautiful, his hair perfectly styled, his suit perfect, his face perfect. He smiled up at you, excusing himself from his mother and brother to take your hand as you left the bottom step. 

“You look beautiful,” he smiled, taking in your dress. IN all honesty, there wasn’t a word for how he thought you looked. Regularly, a look from you made his heart stop. This? A different level. He was enamoured. He couldn’t take his eyes off you, even if he wanted to. 

You felt your cheeks heat. “Thank you,” you smiled. “You look pretty handsome yourself.” 

He pressed a soft kiss to your cheek. “I will see you in there, alright? I have to-”

“Do what you need to Charles,” you chuckled. “I’m not running away at midnight.”

He smiled. “I’m glad.”

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Despite the fact that it was a royal ball, it was quite entertaining. Different Duke’s and Duchess’s were dancing, letting loose, and getting pretty drunk, but you just sat with Arthur and Jade and laughed at them. The ballroom was magnificent, the tall ceilings and Christmas lights all around, and in the centre of the hall there was a 36 foot (yes, about the height of a telephone pole) Christmas tree, decorated perfectly. Even though you were miles and miles away from home, it was still nice to be celebrating with people you love. 

As you were speaking to Jade, someone started speaking. 

“Might I have the first dance, mon amour?” Charles asked, barely above a whisper as he wrapped an arm around your waist. 

You turned to him, your face dropping. “Seriously?”

“Well, as long as you promise not to tread on my feet, we should be alright,” he chuckled, leading you to the dance floor. You joined on, doing a simple waltz (you thanked your father mentally for making you take ballroom classes as a child), and it was very sweet. It was nice to be so open about being close to each other, no longer shying away from each other's affections. You liked having Charles so close. He liked having you in his arms. 

Win-win. 

“I wanted to thank you,” he said as you waltzed around the hall. “I wouldn’t be accepting the crown if it wasn’t for you, so thank you for telling me to grow up.”

You chuckled. “I think you’re giving me too much credit there.”

He shrugged. “I do not think so,” he smiled. “You make me feel comfortable, you’re the most genuine person I have met since… well probably since birth.”

Again, that nauseating feeling in your stomach urged you to run away and hide from him, even though your heart (as mad as it sounds) longed to never let him go. “I have to tell you something.”

He nodded. “You can talk to me about anything.”

As he spoke, the music stopped, and it was time. He would be crowned King. 

“Tell me after,” he whispered, as all eyes went to him. “Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need luck.”

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“I dispute this claim!” Lady Sophia’s voice shocked the room and you. Charles was so close, so close to taking his rightful seat as the King, and of course, someone had to make it difficult. 

“On what grounds?” the Archbishop asked.

“The grounds that he is in fact, not the rightful heir,” she smirked, smug as ever. “Prince Charles, and his brother Arthur, were in fact adopted by the late King Hervé and our Queen Pascale, therefore are not of the blood of the Royal family, as per this document.”

The certificate was taken from her, and shown to the Archbishop. “Where did you obtain this document?”

“I obtained it by uncovering a scheme by an American journalist, Ms. Martha Whelan, or should we call you Y/n Y/l/n?” 

All eyes went to you as the room was full of gasps. 

You knew you should've turned tail and ran, you knew you shouldn’t have stayed on when Arthur found out, and you knew you shouldn’t have fallen in love with the Prince of fucking Monaco. You were the dumbest person you’d ever met. 

You didn’t dare look at Charles, knowing what his expression would be. You just looked down. 

“Is that true, you are a journalist?” the Archbishop questioned. 

You spoke confidently, though the regret was evident in your voice. “I am.”

The room was in upheaval. Everyone was angry, everyone was confused, and everyone needed an answer. 

“And your Majesty, this certificate?”

The room went silent as Pascale began to speak. “It is legitimate.” 

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

You were running out as quickly as humanly possible, trailing just after Charles. 

“Charles, please, just let me explain-!”

“Explain what?” he spat, turning to you. 

“I’m sorry. I never meant for anything like this to happen, and I understand that you never want to see me again. I just had to tell you I’m sorry, and the only reason I kept it up was for you and Arthur.”

“And you couldn’t have told me?!”

“Arthur made me promise I wouldn’t tell you,” you sniffled. 

His face dropped. “He knew?”

You nodded, wiping away your tears. This wasn’t for you to be upset about. This was your mistake, and you couldn't fix it. 

“Why wouldn’t he let you tell me? Did he know he was adopted?”

You shook your head. “He doesn’t know. And I don’t know why he wouldn’t let me tell you. I just… he asked me not to.”

He stared at you for a moment, and it wasn’t those same, shining eyes that made your heart leap. It was the cold, dead, reserved eyes that made you want to run away and never come back, that stared back at you. “I’m glad you have your story. I suggest you stay out of our lives from now on.” 

And with that he walked on.

౨ৎ˚��౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

New York was colder than you remembered. You had decided to just go straight to your apartment, turn off your phone, and binge watch shitty reality tv shows until you could show your face in public again without wanting to sob every time you saw something that remotely reminded you of Charles and Monaco. 

But something nagged at you. The acorn, the poem, ‘a love far greater than blood’. You didn’t understand it. So you spent about 12 hours working on deconstructing it, and you thought of something. Maybe it was your delusions after not sleeping for a day (or two), but maybe the acorn ornament could prove something, so you sent your findings over to Arthur, hoping they would make sense, and turned your phone back off, blocking all of their numbers and falling into a very needed sleep. 

౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊౨ৎ˚₊

The next few weeks were full of clearing out your office (you quit), looking for a new job, and starting off as an actual journalist, not just cleaning up some sleaze work. It was nice, peaceful. Writing articles about things that mattered to you, things that would help people, things that weren’t a certain King of Monaco.

Life was good. Getting over your heartbreak was hard, but you were starting to believe that you might actually be alright. 

You sat in your dad’s diner, ready to ring in the New Year, when there was a snowball thrown on the glass, and when you looked outside, there he was.  

Quickly, you ran outside. “What are you doing here?” you questioned. 

He shrugged, “I never got to say goodbye, or thank you.”

“Please don’t thank me, I honestly should be apologising again and again for what I did, I am so sor-”

“You opened a door that should’ve been opened years ago. Arthur showed me what you’d done. Half because I couldn’t believe he could do it on his own, and half because… I thought it was going to be a message from you. You blocked me…”

“I didn’t want to risk bothering you anymore,” you sighed. 

“You’d never bother me,” he smiled, pausing for a moment. “Arthur misses you. So do I.”

“I miss you both too,” you smiled. “It’s nice to see you.”

“Y’know, a palace is a lonely place for a king, when he has no queen,” he admitted. 

“It’s a good thing you’re an eligible bachelor then,” you chuckled. “Good night Charles, thank you for coming to see me-”

“I love you,” he confessed. “You made me a better man- you make me a better man. I don’t even want to spend time without you, do you understand that?” he asked, getting down on one knee and revealing an engagement ring. 

You frowned, your eyes tearing up. “Charles, I am not nobility-”

“I don’t care,” he smiled.

“My entire life is in New York-”

“We can come back as much as you want.”

“What will the people think?” you sniffled, and he stood up, wrapping his arms around you. 

“They’ll think you're a kind, caring, beautiful woman with a very intelligent mind, and brilliant ideas, who is loved very much by their King,” he whispered, then pressed a soft kiss to your cheek. 

“We barely know each other Charles-”

“And yet I’ve never been more certain in my life. And I’m known to be indecisive-” 

He stopped talking because you’d started kissing him. 

Jesus Christ, you were going to be the Queen of Monaco, what a story that was.

‧₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡‧₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡‧₊˚🎄✩ ₊˚🦌⊹♡

a very f1 christmas! masterlist (2024)

navigation for my blog :) (masterlist)

[viennaswcrld]

𝓕͟𝗔͟𝗠𝗘 𝗗𝗥. 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

𝓕͟𝗔͟𝗠𝗘 𝗗𝗥 ( also known as: 00s fame dr , jackass dr )

RISE TO FAME.

Vienna Bardot. A Cuban-British fashion model whose short stature and imperfect look redefined the industry in the 2000s.

At the age of seventeen, she was scouted by a Victoria’s Secret associate at a shopping centre in 2001. Only two months later, once she turned eighteen, she was flown out to Los Angeles and thrown into the epicentre of the modelling industry. “It was terrifying,” She recalled, “But there was this, sort of, adrenaline fuelled excitement for it all.”

After moving to L.A., Bardot crossed paths with Juliet Montgomery, a fellow Victoria’s Secret model who was the same age. The two became instantly inseparable. “We were attached at the hip,” Juliet says, “Couldn’t find one without the other.”

“I think it was the fact we were both so young. Finding someone who is experiencing the same thing as you is rare, but once you find it you grasp onto it,” Vienna adds, “I mean, being eighteen on your own in a big unknown city is scary. I don’t know what we would’ve done without grounding each other.”

The two would then regularly attend night clubs; although the drinking age in America is twenty-one, they were “not skipping the experience of being british eighteen-year-olds”. This is when they both met Johnny Knoxville (who, at the time, was known for his reality stunt show Jackass) along with Steve-O, who also took part in the show. After a lot of talking, and a few drinks, Bardot agreed to do a stunt on the show.

The stunt in question was called “The Beekini”. The basic concept consisted of Vienna’s crotch and breasts being covered in bees, resulting in a bikini made of the insects. Knoxville had done something similar to himself of the same name in the first season of the show. He laughs, “I didn’t expect her to actually do it, I was just joking around! But I wasn’t complaining. Footage is footage.”

Bardot and Knoxville then formed a close bond, causing a friendship between her, Juliet, and the rest of the Jackass crew. So, it wasn’t a surprise when the two were invited to take part in Jackass: The Movie, an extended, more explicit version of the popular MTV show.

When we asked about special treatment due to their gender, Jeff Tremaine, director of the Jackass show and movie franchise, said this: “Absolutely not. If they were gonna be apart of Jackass, they got treated like any of the others. […] Although, we had to sign an agreement in order to not damage their hair or faces, so they lucked out on that.”

Due to the amount of stunts when filming, Bardot was bound to be covered in bruises, cuts, and all sorts of injuries, “At the beginning, they tried to cover them. Every show and shoot I was covered in foundation from head to toe.”

Show coordinators then eventually decided to stop covering the bruises, as it took hours to finish, and began having conversations on what to do with Vienna. Will they have to let her go? Until Cathy Riva, the 2002 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show segment producer, said, “Who says we have to cover them at all?”

Vienna Bardot became a symbol for the “heroin chic” aesthetic that followed the grunge style. She was accused of promoting violence and abuse, but despite the uproar, Bardot became one of the most sought-after and highest-paid models in the world. In the ensuing decades she appeared in ad campaigns for Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Chanel, Versace, and Dolce and Gabbana, among others. With her iconic style, she also became a muse to a number of designers. Although many models retire by their mid-20s, Bardot remained busy into the 21st century, by which time she had appeared on more than 300 magazine covers. She had also appeared in many iconic movies, such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Mean Girls, and The Other Woman. In 2016, she then appeared in the show Fleabag as the main character. The show’s two seasons were a massive success, causing Bardot to also become an icon for the newer generation as well.

PERSONAL LIFE.

After many years of speculation, Knoxville and Bardot made it official to the public in the ending credits of Jackass Number Two, a special clip “for fans who waited until the end”.

In 2012, the two then got engaged in a secluded field in the countryside of Johnny’s hometown Knoxville, Tennessee during a private picnic, before getting married in Lake Como, Italy in June 2013 in front of their family and friends.

[kyra45]

Keys guide to general scams

(Keys guide to general scams)

Hey everyone! This post is intended as a simple compilation of common scams without going into too much detail and also explains how to check for scams in general. If you want to check out info in detail, check out my tag “how to spot a scam blog”!

So here’s a quick rundown of some simple scams:

Donation scam - These scams range from medical aid to pet care and sometimes a little in between. The most common variant of these is someone needing insulin and their asking for “nt much” or claiming their “nose freezes” due to asthma. The other common kind is for a pet of theirs, usually one needing some kind of surgery or having some kind of medical condition. Another version of this scam may be themed around world events, a seasonal holiday, or a special week depending on when the account was made.

Art scam - These scams range from commission scams to commissioner scams. The common kind of scam you’ll get is someone asking you if you do commissions then request you draw their pet for around $100-$300. This price is usually more than your actual commission prices but don’t be fooled the person doesn’t want your art and often wants to only pay you by an email address which then gives you a fake payment sent email. Commissioner scams are less common but work in a similar fashion where someone will ask you if you want to commission them but their art is stolen from someone else. Another version of this scam is the mural scam where they offer to use your art in a mural but want to pay you with a check via mobile deposit but it’s a fake check and you’ll lose money.

Mutual aid support scam - This kind of scam is when you’ll get a comment on your fundraiser of someone saying you don’t seem to be getting much attention and offer to boost your post. They will then DM you and offer their services usually requiring a payment to do so. Additionally, some may contact you offering to help you but won’t use any method of support you already have. Instead they will offer to link your bank to theirs or offer a digital check. Don’t give them any information or pay anyone to get more views on your fundraiser.

Tech support scam - A very common scam where someone on Discord claims to have reported you and you need to pay support to get the report cleared up. Often seen on hacked accounts, the ‘support’ is fake and often someone wanting your account data. Additionally, this scam may also be someone sending you an ask claiming you need to go to a suspicious link to ‘verify’ your account or someone sending you a DM claiming to be support and asking for your personal information to ‘verify’ your account. Keep in mind this is just a phishing scam and your account isn’t in danger as long as you haven’t given anything.

Misc scams - Outside of the above scams, you’ll also find scams based around lottery winners, gift card giveaways, or offering you monthly allowances to be in a romantic relationship. There’s also drop shipping scams where someone’s advertising a product but doesn’t mention it’s an ad and the product is just a cheap version of an already easily affordable item and often doesn’t get shipped leaving you out of money.

—

Always check how many posts an account has with timestamps enabled to see how much time passed between each post. Usually scam accounts only have one original post with a few reblogs from a trending tag or is just random reblogs to make their account look active with no original content. You can also try searching the username to see if anyone’s posted a warning or reverse image search there pictures to see if there’s any potential the images they used are from another site without credit.

Not everyone is a native English speaker, meaning poor English in a post isn’t a sign someone’s scamming you. Additionally, not every fundraiser is a scam by default just because you was sent an ask or a DM. Those are things you can turn off if necessary or limit if you don’t want them. It’s a relatively simple process and doesn’t take more than a few seconds of your time to do.

If you found this guide useful, feel free to share it around to your friends or users who are new to this website.

[ancientfabricspreservation]

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - New scientific research has revealed a piece of tartan found in a peat bog in Glen Affric around forty years ago can be dated to circa 1500-1600 AD, making it the oldest known surviving specimen of true tartan in Scotland.

The Scottish Tartans Authority commissioned Dye Analysis and Radiocarbon testing on the woolen textile to prove its age.

Scotland's Oldest Tartan On Display For The First Time!

Glen Affric tartan - Scotland's oldest-known true tartan discovered by The Scottish Tartans Authority to go on display for the first time at V&A Dundee's Tartan exhibition.

Credit: Alan Richardson Pix-AR

The first investigation was dye analysis carried out by analytical scientists from National Museums Scotland. Using high-resolution digital microscopy, four colors were visually identified for dye analysis: green, brown, and possibly red and yellow.

The dye analysis confirmed the use of indigo/woad in the green but was inconclusive for the other colors, probably due to the dyestuff degradation state. However, no artificial or semi-synthetic dyestuffs were involved in making the tartan, which pointed to a date of pre-1750s.

Further clarification on the age of the tartan involved radiocarbon testing at the SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory in East Kilbride. The process involved washing out all the peat staining, which would have otherwise contaminated the carbon content of the textile.

The Radiocarbon testing results identified a broad date range between 1500 and 1655 AD, with the period between 1500 and 1600 AD the most probable. This makes it the oldest-known piece of true tartan found in Scotland – the Falkirk ‘tartan,’ dating from the early third century AD, is actually a simpler check pattern woven using undyed yarns.

The Glen Affric tartan, which measures around 55cm by 43cm, is now on display for the first time at V&A Dundee’s Tartan exhibition.

by TaboolaSponsored Links

The piece will be the oldest exhibit among more than 300 objects. The exhibition examines tartan’s universal and enduring appeal through iconic and everyday examples of fashion, architecture, graphic and product design, photography, furniture, glass and ceramics, film, performance, and art.

“The testing process has taken nearly six months, but the effort was well worth it, and we are thrilled with the results!

In Scotland, surviving examples of old textiles are rare as the soil is not conducive to their survival. As the piece was buried in peat, meaning it had no exposure to air and was therefore preserved.

The tartan has several colors with multiple stripes of different sizes, and so it corresponds to what people would think of as a true tartan.

“Although we can theorize about the Glen Affric tartan, it’s important that we don’t construct history around it. Although Clan Chisholm controlled that area, we cannot attribute the tartan to them as we don’t know who owned it.

“The potential presence of red, a color that Gaels considered a status symbol, is interesting because of the more rustic nature of the cloth. This piece is not something you would associate with a king or someone of high status; it is more likely to be an outdoor working garment," Peter MacDonald, Head of Research and Collections at The Scottish Tartans Authorit said.

Scotland's Oldest Tartan On Display For The First Time!

New scientific research has revealed a piece of tartan found in a peat bog in Glen Affric, Scotland around forty years ago can be dated to circa 1500-1600 AD, making it the oldest known surviving specimen of true tartan in Scotland. Credit: Credit: Alan Richardson Pix-AR

“The Glen Affric tartan is clearly a piece of national and historical significance. It is likely to date to the reign of James V, Mary Queen of Scots, or James VI/I. “There is no other known surviving piece of tartan from this period of this age. It's a remarkable discovery and deserves national attention and preservation. “It also deserves to be seen and we’re delighted that it is to be included in the Tartan exhibition at V&A Dundee,” John McLeish, Chair of The Scottish Tartans Authority, said.

“We knew The Scottish Tartans Authority had a tremendous archive of material and we initially approached them to ask if they knew of any examples of 'proto-tartans' that could be loaned to the exhibition.

I'm delighted the exhibition has encouraged further exploration into this plaid portion and very thankful for The Scottish Tartans Authority's backing and support in uncovering such a historic find.

To be able to exhibit the Glen Affric tartan is immensely important in understanding the textile traditions from which modern tartan derives, and I'm sure visitors will appreciate seeing this on public display for the very first time," James Wylie, curator at V&A Dundee said.

Tartan at V&A Dundee opens on Saturday, 1 April, until 14 January 2024.

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Source: Facebook

Source: AncientPages.com

[doodler16]

part of the reason i won't watch s2 of hazbin hotel is because of the vees. and no, im not talking about how they're all accomplices to valentino raping/drugging people. i think that's actually the one bit of subtle villainy i appreciate, even i can't fully appreciate it because of the creators barely disguised rape fetish. i really just think were done so dirty compared to their fun instagram versions that were allowed to be terrible and a cute found family all at once, and pretty much everything added to their canon selves goes against what their appeal was before to me.

valentino? a charming and suave, but manipulative pimp who rules the porn industry in the ring of pride, and who's been ruling said industry since he died in the 70s, making him a powerful figure with history in hell AND with one of the main characters, his abuse victim angel dust who's been there longer than him? what great potential!

the monkey paw finger curls. valentino is now a stupid bitch who needs vox to put him in his place and treat him like a violent overgrown toddler who's never heard the word no. makes shitty porn no one actually likes despite supposedly being super duper sexy and the playbill claiming everyone wants a piece of him, made his very first porno with angel be titled "my cousin and me", (even though it would've been a great chance to show val and angel bonding over porn and sex in the begining when angel started working for val and THEN have it slowly devolve over time, but fuck you we need more sex jokes, clearly,) and is implied to be not well liked by even the other vees. tries to seduce the princess of hell by drooling all over her arm and is given quirky habits like arts and crafting while he talks about all the people he's tricked into working for him. totally not a weird or lame or inappropriate way to portray a pimp at all, shut up and buy the 300 dollar three vees print,

velvet? a fun, bright, but chaotic force that holds the vees together due to having died recently with a good understanding of social media, who dominates the fashion industry in the pride ring and doesn't take shit from anyone, especially not the men she's working with? what great potential!

the monkey paw finger curls again. velvet gets the bare minimum attention needed to acknowledge her existence as another vee and not just an assistant, gets one song that doesn't mean jack diddly shit to the story at all and just gives her an excuse to be a bitch, then doesn't even have enough budget to sing in the finale. is implied to also hate the vees because she never enjoys spending time with them seemingly unless she gets to film her old toxic yaoi dads making out for clout and nothing else. will probably continue to get the bare minimum treatment for a female character in one of vivs shows with no interesting personality like she had before, (which was all just given to nifty in retrospect so she could be a joke character, but it makes even less sense because nifty doesn't even act like she's from the 50s so what's the point of making her drool over bad boys and bdsm other then for the Funny,) and MIGHT get redeemed, but who knows and who cares anymore,

vox? a business man who's been around since the 50s and has a business partner valentino who he's implied to have a relationship with, along with the addition of velvet to give him some modern day help? what great potential.

the monkey paws finger goddamn motherfucking curls. vox is a pathetic bitch who beefs with alastor and does nothing else so alastor can look better and cooler and goes "YES IM SO FUCKING HARD RN. THIS IS BETTER THEN SEX" in a way that's so fucking obnoxious that it gives s1 blitz a run for his money. also the leaks revealed that the only reason he was given hypnotism powers is so he can really just hypnotize angel into being a brainless obedient employee that can't consent to ANYTHING if he ever steps out of line, (theres a s2 leak where angel has red hypno vox eyes, another where he's tied up to a chair, and in the red smoke comic that masquerade references during the abuse sequence with val and angel, ex; "ive killed bitches for half the shit you've pulled!" "when i say cum, you say, yes, val.", ends, with vox hypnotizing angel into submission while angel begs to val to be spared.) like i realized before anyone else that they only gave him hypnotism powers for that reason and nothing else; why else would you give a business man, who can use his charm and voice to trick people into trusting him, a power that FORCES people to trust him anyway?

i feel like half of these issues might be excusable if any of them even actually liked each other like how velvet used to enjoy the other voys, even if it was at their expense some of the time. but no, they all just work with each other because they have to and that's it. fuck the found family, only the main characters get that! the main characters, who's characterization is slowly being butchered too, if al and pent are anything to go by. not even the s2 leaks i did see of the vees interested me; the s2 leaks feel like an excuse from god to give me a glimpse of what i'll be missing out if i don't stick around for vivziepops shows in 2025. and boy, i won't miss it.

if i wanted to watch rapists get away with heinous shit and be rewarded for it, i'd turn on the news and see who's about to rule the United States of America. it's why i won't stick around for helluva either - the obsession the creator has with these terrible characters who have no concept of consent, to the point they poison the narrative and become creators pets, has become so gross and draining to watch. i just can't anymore tbh! because if you told me 4 years ago that valentino and stolas would've been treated this way by the stories they're in, i wouldn't have believed you.

its not even that i want them to be changed or "less problematic", no, i WANT them to be problematic, and interact with a world in hell that treats them as such. i want to see sinners talk about them honestly in private, or express dislike they can't be too upfront about, or even have other overlords and powerful people (like the main fucking character) point out and try to punish their actually vile behavior in an understandable, but comedic and hellish way. because this is hell - so why shouldn't bad people who do bad things suffer for them in some way socially if they can't suffer in hell the traditional way?

but that's the kind of thing you'd expect from a show made for adults. this wasn't a show made for adults, it was made for teenagers, kids, and 30 year olds with zero critical thinking skills when it comes to media and enough disposable income (and need to escape from reality due to likely poor mental health because of the way the world is rn,) for them to not give a shit to develop said critical thinking skills, and just buy the shiny new merch of their problematic favs when they drop. the audience they write for gives them money and praise, not feedback on a story.

in conclusion, the vees are just wasted potential and creators pets to me at this point, thank you for reading my big ass rant because i hate their canon versions sm 😭

I am curious and interested how far the enabling will go. Vox and Velvette seem like the type of people to be “ride or die” for Valentino for the worst reasons. Valentino got can rant about Angel Dust for ignoring him for 5 seconds, then proceed to reveal to his team that he raped and physically abused Angel Dust as punishment. Then Vox and Velvette would cheer him on for doing said action instead of calling him out or distancing themselves, continuing to proudly hang out with him in the public eye and calling everyone haters. At the same time, I feel like Vivziepop will double down on the Vees somehow.

While, I still am interested how Vivziepop writes Valentino in season 2. In season 1, he feels so downgraded and is only “intimidating” to Angel Dust’s perspective. I feel like it could’ve worked even more if Valentino was this uncharacteristically nice, charming boss everyone in the pride ring respected and was enchanted. Valentino having a large fanbase too and everyone wanted to work with him because he’s just so darn nice and talented! But obviously, there will be subtle creepiness to him that the audience can’t put their finger on.

For example, Anon: Valentino’s debut episode could’ve been about Charlie going into the porn studio to check up on Angel Dust only to be suck into Valentino’s charm. He doesn’t lick Charlie but respects her ambition and creativity regarding the hotel even if he doesn’t personally agree with Charlie’s ideals, being the first person to treat her with the highest respect. We the audience, see the two bond as artists. How artists are treated as scum and how artists must stick together. The audience along with Charlie would see how the porn studio would work too, Valentino would conveniently treat his sex workers including Angel Dust with respect since Charlie is in the room.

Charlie (ignorantly) and Valentino would mention and joke about how Angel Dust doesn’t know what he is talking about since he is a druggie. The episode would end on Charlie leaving the porn studio on a happy note, not knowing and ignorant about Valentino’s true intentions. I would’ve written it as a slow process as abusers aren’t always in your face especially when a friend is involved.

Valentino is the show is basically a manchild that is treated as the toddler in group which makes it extra hard to him seriously. There are times where I question whether to take him seriously or laugh. I think that’s the reason why I appreciate and like Paranoid DJ’s version of Valentino as he is an authoritarian figure who is treated serious and is self ware about his actions.

Vox is such a mess when Alastor is in picture or involved. Like if you cut of all the parts of him bitching and screaming about Alastor, and it only showed him and Valentino in episode 2, you at least see the business man in Vox and how much control, influence and power has in the Vee team.

That scene when Vox tells Valentino “yo Angel Dust is your slave and you got him on contract, so chill out. We have a reputation to keep together.” All logic goes out the window when Alastor has 5 seconds of screen time. It’s interesting in the comic that follow Alastor, it was the exact opposite. Alastor was pissed the moment Vox was on screen and swore. Vivziepop achieved her goal, she got many people to side with Alastor in comment section on YouTube. In the Instagram posts, it was showed that Val would physically abused Vox, soo take that as you will.

Velvette, the backbone (apparently) of the Vees (the only female in the trio who doesn’t do much). Crazyyy, totally not a repeated pattern in Vivziepop’s works where the females barely get any attention. It’s so funny because, it mentioned that Vox/Val saw Velvette as a daughter but now it’s crickets. Nobody knows what to say about Velvette’s involvement. The annoying part she has so much potential. Velvette could’ve been a great foil to Charlie, the one who teach her (in Velvette’s own ways) how to be a leader, that you must take charge no matter how rude you are.

Without “Respectless” no one would remember Velvette. Like sure, maybe 1-2 scenes where a fan could quote a line but compared Vox/Val, it is no competition. As vile and controversial as Val is many can bring up memorable aspects he has done throughout season 1 (I’m sure even without looking it up). Same with Vox even his moments can be cringey. But Velvette is just crickets, her entire “iconic” hinges on Respectless.

The writers make it sound like she will do something impactful or big later but 5 episodes later and no Velvette. I mean she does appear in the last episode, doing nothing. And, Vivziepop sucks at budgeting soo of course she doesn’t say anything. They should’ve cut out the Vees in episode 8, they didn’t do anything of worth.

I will admit, Raph’s involvement is hard to ignore. It’s like an equivalent of a bug consistently buzzing into your ear. Raph isn’t just a simple fan of the show, they are a storyboard artist and he has a big influence (whether he knows it or not). Especially, when Vivziepop has this annoying habit of make fan related stuff canon without adding her own twist to it. At first when that scene of Val threatening Angel Dust with the whole dick scene.

I got deju vu, I immediately went to Paranoid DJ’s comic dub of it and my suspicions were correct, even the other commenters noticed. I chalked it up to a coincidence/pure inspiration and nothing more. Then when I watch Raph’s Valentino’s animatic, the background scenes were very similar to the official episode. Then there is the infamous dance scene. And, I couldn’t ignore anymore, once you see certain aspects of Raph’s work you can’t unsee it. To be fair, even before Raph’s involvement Vox did have the hypothesizing eye but yeah I did see the leaks when it shows Angel Dust being hypothesized and does happen in their rape comic. But, I’m a bit hopeful that Vivziepop won’t completely copy Raph’s comic to a tee, just take inspiration and a few ideas from Raph here and there.

Either way I don’t blame you not wanting or planning to watch Season 2. I will be honest, I’m sure you won’t miss too much Anon. I can definitely see more drama and controversy coming from season because of Vees (mainly Val).

[ily-sunghoon]

The Omen of Sterling | CHAPTER II

Pairing : vampire!enha x fem!oc (sunoo moments appear a lot in this chapter)

Genre of this chapter : vampire, fluff if you squint

POV : Author’s

Words count : 3.9k

WARNINGS : food, blood, slight manipulation, sunoo dad is handsome and funny (lmk if i miss anything)

Note : the masterlist almost hitting 300 notes... im very grateful, thank you for liking my works guys <3 it feels like a dream :( feel free to ask if you have confusion about the world building! and feel free to correct any grammatical mistake, im also still learning english!

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST : @nshmrarki @capri-cuntz @millieinyourarea @strxwbloody (let me know if you want to be added)

CHAPTER II: ‘PERSONALITY’ TEST

“Can I come with you?” Sarco asked Jestel who’s ready to go to Idris with Jusarlie, Saine, and of course, Iolana.

“No, you have to teach today.” Jestel knows Sarco’s schedule.

“But they have to teach too?!” Sarco pointed at Jusarlie and Saine with his chin.

“They have substitutes. You don’t.” Jestel shortly ended it.

“Ricardo can—”

“Ricardo is still one of your students, Sarco.”

“Ugh! You’re annoying.” Sarco unexpectedly sulks.

“Isn’t our bet about Jusarlie? Why is Sarco becoming grumpier than him?” Saine chuckled.

“He’s very nosy.” Jestel shook his head. “Let’s go.”

They headed to Cairneye’s Mansion. Jestel had contacted Idris beforehand, saying that they would show up with a surprise guest. Cairneye’s Mansion is beautiful. It has a wide yard, beautifully decorated with flowers, bushes, fountain, and some statues. They head straight to Idris’s workshop that usually opens every day for people who need guidance. He made an exception today, because he’s feeling like he’s going to be exhausted after Jestel’s visit.

Stepping into the workshop, Iolana can’t help but observe her surroundings. The workshop gives her a cozy feeling. Warm lights, a tall armchair, some books that were left open on the desk, potions, herbs’ scent, incense that is burning in some spots, ritual candles. It’s just very homey. Judging by his workshop, Iolana has a feeling that Idris is a warm person.

“Papa, where are you?” Saine calls to his father.

Iolana continues to observe her surroundings again. She found a table full of framed pictures. Her eyes are staring at a picture of Saine and a guy, they’re smiling so sweetly with their eyes too. Saine is holding some flowers, Iolana assumed they’re canterbury bells based on how they look.

“I always have a panic attack whenever I heard you looking for me, Saine.” Saine’s father suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Can you stop scaring us, Uncle?” Jusarlie scoffed.

“Keep hating your own son and see where it’ll take you! Ugh!” Saine scoffed as well. Idris is such a cute silly man.

“It’s fun.” The said man smiles, his eyes are smiling too, looks like Saine got it from him. “Oh, hi! A girl. Human even. A sweet scented one.”

“Hi.” Iolana said shyly. Idris is incredibly handsome. His fashion taste is no match too. An elegant white top with black trousers, and even the touch of a man’s corset on his waist, or more like a wide belt? Iolana doesn’t know. Is it the outfit or his face? Iolana doesn’t know that either. Cairneye are so blessed, that’s the only thing that she knows. Best physical appearance combined with predicting future skill? Iolana immediately feels the need to have whatever they have. What a strong gene.

“Do a full test on her.” Jestel orders the older man around.

“Your name, Child?” Idris asked Iolana softly.

“Iolana Sterling.” Iolana is still shy.

“Holy Amadeus!” Idris is definitely surprised. “Welcome back!”

“Thank you…” The shier she gets, the more she hides behind Jusarlie. Jusarlie found it adorable, he feels warm because Iolana is already comfortable enough to seek for his protection.

“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” Idris nods and prepare his bowl.

“Papa, let’s use the pool.” Saine told his father. More like a warning, to be frank.

“Oh.” Idris immediately knew what his son meant. “Excuse me for asking this, but are you perhaps the last Sterling alive right now, Iolana?”

Iolana nods, “That’s correct.”

“Well, the pool it is!” Idris listened to his son and brought some bottles of potion with him. His feeling was right, he will be exhausted today.

They walked together to the pool, Idris took off his shoes and socks, then sat by the pool.

“Sit next to me, Iolana.” Idris told her with a smile on his face. How could she say no?

She took off her own shoes and socks. Saine, Jestel, and Jusarlie immediately looked away. 1700s is so funny. When she sits next to Idris, they’re looking at the pool again. Flustered.

“Have you… take off your socks?” Saine is confused. Under the dim light, Iolana looks like she’s still wearing her socks.

“She’s just almost as pale as Sarco and you, Saine.” Idris chuckled.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Saine is flustered again.

“Now, Iolana. Shall we begin?” Idris looks at Iolana again.

Iolana nods calmly, showing that she’s ready.

Idris begins the ritual. He poured two bottles of his potions into the pool. He touched the pool and stirred the water to the right. “Could you tell us what you see?”

“A dining table?” Iolana is confused.

“Can you tell us what’s on that table?”

“Five empty plates and one apple in the middle of the table.” Iolana explained.

“Five? Wow! Do you see any marks on the empty plates?” Idris asked again.

“Yes. Lion, snowflake, cat, sun, and a broken crown?” Iolana is so confused.

Oh, the four of them hit the mind links together.

Idris stirs the water to his right again. “Now, what do you see?”

“The apple cut in half. It’s flying over the plates, it looks confused.”

Idris laughs. It is indeed funny. He stirs the water again, “How about now?”

“It’s changing every second, I don’t know.” Iolana frowned.

“Do you want to explain it to us?”

“One second, it’s on the snowflake plate and the cat. Next second, the snowflake and the sun.”

“Ah! Does the apple have one frequent destination?”

“I don’t think so, the apple is really confused.”

Idris laughs again. “You’re adorable.” He stirs the water again.

Iolana doesn’t have to be told this time. “I see five love letters.”

“Okay, I can understand now. How about now?” Idris stirs the water to the right again.

“I see Saine crying.” Iolana still looks confused.

“Do you know why?” Idris is kind of surprised.

“I lied, it’s actually Jestel.” Iolana giggled. She’s in a goofy mood.

The four of them are dumbfounded. The last time Idris successfully lied to was when they were having pioneers’ dinner, and the very person who lied to him was Tearle Sterling. Yes, Iolana’s father himself.

“Why am I crying?” The said person is as confused.

“I’m not sure, you look very… devastated?” Iolana is concerned.

“That’s odd!” Idris stirs the water again.

“There’s a throne.” Iolana answered.

“Who sits on it?” Idris asked.

Iolana remains silent.

“Iolana? It’s okay, you can say it.” Jestel said softly.

Can’t you read her mind? Jusarlie asked Idris through mind links.

I swear on Roberto Cairneye, I can’t read this little girl at all, Idris answered.

“It’s Jestel.” Iolana finally answered. “…or me.”

They’re definitely surprised by that.

“And that’s also my omen of Sterling.” Idris giggled. “What a coincidence, right?”

“It’s just a possibility, right? I would never do that to Jestel.” Iolana is worried about her own future.

“Yes! Don’t worry, Iolana.” Idris’ smile is so reassuring. He stirs the water again. “Do you see something?”

“Few things. Sword, crown, herbs, map, books, potions.”

Saine’s jaw dropped at that one. Idris just nods, not wanting Iolana to feel uncomfortable.

“Before I explain your results, let me talk with Jestel first. Are you okay with that, Iolana?” Idris asked her.

Iolana nods at the question, “Can I wear my shoes back?”

“Of course, Iolana.” Idris chuckled, he dried his feet with a spell and put his shoes back. “Let’s go, Jestel.”

Iolana gets her feet out of the water, Jusarlie and Saine immediately look away again.

“Hey, Saine. Could you do the spell that your father just casted for himself?” Iolana asked at Saine.

“Is it okay for you—you know…” If Saine is a human, he’s blushing pink right now.

“Yeah, of course!”

“Excuse me, Iolana.” Saine said before looking towards Iolana. He swings his hand above Iolana’s bare feet while casting the spell.

“Wow, you should teach me that!” Iolana is amazed. “Thank you, Saine.”

“N-no problem.” Saine looks away again.

“Just to let you know, it’s okay to look at me. I grew up being okay with my feet on display at home.”

“It’s just… we feel like a pervert…” Saine admitted.

“I wonder what’s the limit of dressing here in Krashoviel.” Iolana laughed. “I’m done. You are safe to look.”

Jusarlie and Saine hesitantly look toward Iolana again. They feel relieved when her feet are fully covered with her long skirt and shoes again.

“The girls are usually covering their feet, that’s why we act that way earlier.” Jusarlie explained.

“I want to be controversial and show my ankle to the streets.” Iolana giggled.

“No, no, no!” Jusarlie and Saine panicked. “Arms are okay, but ankle? Wow, that’s pornographic.”

“That’s confusing.” Iolana nods. “What about chest area? How far can the neckline go?”

“Chest area is okay, as long as the breasts are not like… full on display? Ankles, however, is a big no.” Saine explained. “I feel like invading your privacy earlier when casting that spell.”

Iolana laughed. Krashoviel is so funny for her, when it’s just her who doesn’t even leave her house before going to Krashoviel. She’s lucky she’s easy-going and pretty.

“Drink this, don’t you feel tired?” Saine hands her a glass of questionable drink.

“Not really.” Iolana accepts the glass. “Oh, what is this?”

She smelled the drink, and it smelled like strawberry! She drinks it without hesitation until the last drop. “I like it! What is this? Strawberry juice?”

Curiosity kills the cat!

“Our bloods.” Saine grins.

“Oh?” Iolana is concerned. “What would that do? Whose blood?”

“Three of us. It can give you strength! And you can summon us anytime you want when you need it. You can also talk to us through telepathy.” Saine explained excitedly.

“Summon you? How?” Iolana is interested in this.

“Just say our name and say you need us. For example, Jusarlie I need you.” Jusarlie explained further.

“Oh! I get it.” Iolana nods. “But why? Isn’t that… personal? Don’t you think I need to gain your trusts first?”

“You already did.”

It feels too fast for Iolana, but she accepts it as it is. She’s grateful that they care about her a lot, but are they?

—

“Jestel, that was the most entertaining reading that I ever did. I thanked you for that.” Idris is giggling non-stop.

“Elaborate, please.” Jestel is frustrated.

“You will fight your best friends.” Idris started off so strong. “You, Saine, Jusarlie, Sarco, and Hiael.”

“Why?” Jestel asked, still oblivious.

“You’re going to fall in love with Iolana. All of you.” Idris stated. “Some of you already did, I checked my son and he’s already blooming for her.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Jestel shook his head.

“Love never makes any sense, Jestel.” One thing about Idris is that he hits hard with his words, accidentally or not. “Especially the throne for her vamp host. You’re going to fight really dirty for that. I can see it.”

“Nonsense.” Jestel scoffed.

“I won’t help you if you cry someday.” Idris threatened him. Scares him for sure, where will Jestel run to for advice if not Idris?

“What should I do about this?” Jestel is stressed out.

“Accept it.” Idris calmly told him.

“What can I do to make her choose me?”

“That remains a mystery.” Idris doesn’t know either. “I’m more surprised you’re not bringing up anything about the throne. You already fell for her, don’t you?”

“No. I just trust her.” Jestel explained himself.

“You gave her your blood, along with Saine and Jusarlie.” Idris points that out.

“She’s a human, Idris. I just want to protect her.”

“Sure, sure. Protect her. When we all know it’s special and intimate.” Idris mocked him.

“It’s not that intimate.”

“Imagine she chose Sarco as her vamp host.” Idris immediately puts a scenario.

“Fine, it is intimate.”

“Best of luck, Jestel.” Idris taps his shoulder a few times. “It’s going to be anything but easy.”

“She’s not capable of wiping out the whole Sinflame, right? She’s lovely, she would never do that.” Jestel asked Idris for reassurance.

“Not yet. However, if I was you… I would never get on her wrong side. She’s a complicated girl.”

—

“Your father is so majestic.” Iolana admitted. Truly smitten by Saine’s father.

“You think I’m ugly?” Saine acts like he has been hurt.

“I never said that.” Iolana is still giggling over Idris.

“Don’t feed his ego, Iolana.” Jusarlie scoffed.           

“Get over it, Jusarlie. She thinks I’m handsome.” Saine is being cocky right now.

“Your father reminds me of a pine tree.” Iolana sudden words silenced them.

Jusarlie and Saine is so confused. There’s no way she just said that like it’s a normal thing to do.

“I can’t believe we lose you to Sarco’s species.” Saine faked a sigh.

“Species is insane.” Jusarlie laughs. “Why a pine tree?”

“Tall, look good, calming, I don’t know? He reminds me of it.”

“Bloody hell, she really is a Sarco’s species.” Jusarlie couldn’t believe it.

“Why Sarco?” Iolana is curious.

“He’s odd. Just like you. I don’t mean it in a bad way, it’s creative. Sometimes we just… don’t understand.” Saine explained. “He did that a lot, saying I look like the lamp near south’s stairs and so on.”

“You should show me the lamp later.” Iolana is invested now.

“Hey, small question, but if you don’t want to answer it’s fine. What happened to your hair? Did you get punished?” Jusarlie suddenly hits Iolana with a personal and nosy question.

Iolana expects this with her a little bit over the shoulder-length hair. It is unusual for a girl to have hair that short, at least in their era.

“Well, it was an accident. It got cut by my brother when we were practicing sword, so my mom cut it all to this length.” Iolana explained. “I’m waiting for it to be long again. It’s troublesome, I can’t tie it properly, yet it’s annoying enough to be left undone like this.”

Jusarlie and Saine nod in unison.

Idris and Jestel went back to the pool area. Jestel looks stressed, while Idris looks happy. What a weird combination.

“Iolana, do you mind if I ask you to lend us your power?” Idris asked.

“Huh? I have power?” Iolana is confused again.

“Bigger than you think.” Idris giggled. “We are also testing it out.”

“Sure, if it’s for a good reason…” Iolana is totally unsure.

“We are going to search for Jestel’s long lost brother, Holstein.” Idris explained briefly.

“But I don’t know what he looks like?” Iolana is still questioning him.

“You will, if you succeed.” Idris smiles warmly. “Would you do it?”

Iolana nods after a few seconds of hesitation. She sits between Idris and Jestel, making half of a circle.

“Saine, Jusarlie, let’s go.” Idris points at the empty seats.

“You need us as well?” Jusarlie questioned but obeyed.

“You were just doing nothing, so why not?” Idris is an entertaining man for sure.

They held each other’s hands. For the first time ever, Jestel could understand what the romance books were talking about. The electricity and the butterflies, he feels them now.

“I seek upon Holstein Sinflame whereabouts,” as Idris said those words, there is a big cloud forming over Cairneye’s mansion. Thunder begins to growl, lightning begins to show.

They close their eyes, focusing on the name Holstein Sinflame.

They begin to see a vision. A palace, but not Krashiovel’s palace.

“Whose vision is this?” Jestel asked.

“Iolana.” Idris answered.

“Have you found the girl?” Holstein asked them.

“She killed herself along with her father, Your Highness.”

“Did you see her face? Is it really her?” Holstein asked again.

“No, but there is no way she could run away. We’ve blocked all the access.”

“Tearle is the smartest vampire that I’ve ever met. She could be in Krashoviel now with my stupid brother.” The Prince of Slevado is furious.

“That would be the same as suicide, her blood smells so fucking sweet.” Holstein chuckled. “Where is she?”

“Holstein, you must come back to Krashoviel and fetch that girl.”

“Unnecessary, I think she’s gone.”

The vision turns black again, the clouds are nowhere to be found, the thunder is no longer roaring.

“Wow, he’s a traitor.” Saine couldn’t believe what he just saw.

Idris was the only one laughing, he couldn’t contain it. “It’s so funny, you’re swapping brothers.”

Iolana holds back her giggle, she doesn’t want to be rude.

“Thank you, Iolana.” Idris has stopped laughing. “We wouldn’t make it without you, we’ve tried for hundred years to get a vision of Holstein.”

“I didn’t do that much, I’m glad I could help.” Iolana is still oblivious about her real power, buried deep down under that human form.

“Here’s your test result, make sure you read it alone without them lurking.” Idris intentionally whispered loudly.

“I will lurk.” Saine smiles.

“Have some class.” Idris faked a sigh.

“We’ll head out, Idris. Thank you for your service.” Jestel stood up, the others followed.

“Bye, Papa.” Saine waves at his father.

“Don’t come back.”

“You see? He’s not as handsome as you think, Iolana.” Saine used that as a way to show her his father’s teasing habit.

“Forgivable if he has that elf type of face.” Iolana giggled.

“Aw, you flustered me.” Idris chuckled at Iolana. She has a sense of humor too!

“Let’s go.” Jestel is not having it. Well, at least now he knows that he truly fell for her.

—

Saine is being told to look after Iolana while the others held emergency meeting for the third time today, of course he enjoys this! They’re currently putting Iolana’s clothes into the wardrobe.

“I think you have good eyes for apparels. I want your wardrobe.” Saine adores Iolana’s taste in fashion. “Ah, the trousers! Where did you get these?”

“Come on, Saine. Those are just my casual and practice clothes. I got it from my human maids.” Iolana chuckled. “I love my pretty dresses, but I barely get to wear it.”

“You will wear it more often now, there are so many events that we usually have to attend.” Saine informed her. “Ah, you don’t have any ball gowns! Do you want to go to Charson? You’ll need some gowns for royal ball and Jestel’s birthday.”

“Is it far?” Iolana asked.

“Not really, but we need to cover your scent.” Saine chuckled. “I’ll put some spell on you. It could last for two hours, at least.”

—

“Don’t play with me, Jestel. What do you mean Holstein is a traitor?” Sarco shook his head.

“That’s what we saw.” Jusarllie admitted.

“They must’ve brainwashed our Holstein,” Odelia, the queen on the throne, scoffed. Clearly annoyed.

“Hiael betrayed his nation by his own will, it is not an impossibility if Holstein ever do the same.” Idris shrugged his shoulder. “However, this Sterling girl…”

“What Sterling girl?” Raphael, the queen’s brother, is shocked.

“She came with this letter.” Jestel gave them the letter that Tearle wrote.

“She’s back? Here? In Krashoviel?” Sullivan, the queen’s father, is puzzled.

“She could end your bloodline.” Idris said without any burden.

“I’d rather be dead than to fight back, it’s no use.” Sullivan chuckled. “Oh, Sterling.”

“Are Sterling that dangerous?” Wilhelmina, Jestel’s niece, is too young to watch how frightening Sterling can be back then in the war field.

“I’m really scared of them, take that information as you wish.” Sullivan said to his great-granddaughter.

“Oh!” Wilhelmina is surprised. “Is she beautiful?”

“Very.” Jestel answered. “I would do anything for her.”

“In front of your queen aunt is just insane, Jestel.” Idris laughed at his son.

“I don’t blame him.” Jusarlie stands with him.

“They fell for her charm,” Sarco scoffed. “I would ne—”

“Careful, now.” Idris warned Sarco. “You will fall for her too. I saw it.”

“Who else?” Odelia asked her son.

“Saine and Hiael. The five of them will fight to be her vamp host.” Idris informed them.

“This is ridiculous, let’s just kill that girl.” Raphael is furious. “She will tear us apart.”

“If Sinflame is no longer worthy of the throne, then just let it be.” Odelia is calmer than the others.

“What on earth are you saying, Odelia?” Raphael is getting more furious. What an old grumpy man.

“Grandma Odelia is not wrong.” Wilhelmina is against his father.

“Father, look at this—” Raphael seeks Sullivan’s support.

“I’m not going to say anything.” Sullivan is busy cleaning each of his gemstones.

“That girl won’t do it by herself, right? Who are the potential traitors?” Raphael asked Idris.

“Have you ever done a friendly practice with Tearle?” Idris questioned him back.

“No, why?”

“Then you are not in the place to say that.” Sullivan makes it clear. “One Sullivan equals five Sinflame. Train her as hard as you can, give her the best facility, and don’t you dare to let other nations have her.”

“Yes, Grandpa.” Jestel nods.

“When will you sit on the throne, Jestel?” Odelia asked, she’s tired of the kingdom’s bullshits.

“As soon as possible, I’m still preparing myself.” Jestel feels a heavy weight on his shoulders. He can’t control his feelings toward Iolana, that is what bothers him the most right now.

—

“Mr. Cairneye! Oh, my vamp, close the shop!” The receptionist panicked when he saw Saine smiling at him.

The workers immediately temporarily close the shop, the other guests who are waiting outside are getting used to it now. Must be one of the pioneers making some sudden appearance.

“How can we help you, Your Highness?” The shop workers are ready to serve him.

“I’d like some ball gowns for this cute little girl.” Saine pushed Iolana slightly.

“Of course, we’ll measure her.” Two of the workers quickly measured Iolana, while the others asked Saine about the gown’s details.

“What’s your favorite color, Iolana?” Saine questioned her. “You can name five.”

“White and pink. As for the others, I’ll leave it to you. I trust you.” Iolana is never failed to make Saine feels so… flustered.

“White, pink, blue, red, and purple.” Saine told the worker.

“Which shade, Your Highness?”

“Actually… make it six. White, violet, navy, sky blue, maroon, and pink. Maybe a bold pink like this one? Iolana, do you like it?” Saine asked her again.

“Loves it.” Iolana stares adoringly at the color that Saine just showed her. It’s almost fuchsia, just a little less bold.

“Pardon me, Your Highness. She looks unfamiliar to me, is she a new citizen? I’ve never seen her before.” Jeremy asked Saine, trying to be as polite as possible.

“Yes, she is. She’s Iolana Sterling, Jeremy.”

“S-Sterling, Your Highness?”

“She has a perfect body proportion.” One of the measurement workers said to the other.

“Thank you.” Iolana whispered to them.

“We apologize, we didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay. I love your compliment. You’re being genuine.” Iolana smiles. “I’m done, Saine.”

She walked to Saine as he smiled at her proudly.

“Payment should be here by tomorrow morning. Thank you for your service, Jeremy.” Saine informed the owner of that grand boutique.

“Always happy to be at your service, Your Highness and Lady Sterling. Thank you for trusting us.” The workers and Jeremy bow a little to show their respect and devotion towards the pioneers.

They walked out of Charson and went home instantly. After they got back to Iolana’s room, Saine seemed confused.

“Are you not going to ask anything about them referring me as… you know?”

“Jusarlie told me about the royal family’s tree. I was a little surprised, I’m so sorry I interacted with you so casually.” Iolana admitted, feeling a little guilty.

“No, no! Keep being casual, we’re equal.” Saine quickly reassured her. “No one dares to challenge a Sterling, not even the oldest Sinflame alive. You’re still a part of the pioneers.”

Pioneers.

It sounds incredibly weird for Iolana, but deep down in her heart… it feels just right.

TO BE CONTINUED...

; YOUR CUTE REBLOGS AND COMMENTS MAKE ME FEEL REALLY GRATEFUL <3 ; FEEL FREE TO HIT MY ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION ABOUT THE WORLD BUILDING OR CHARACTER!

© ily-sunghoon, 2024 DO NOT COPY, STEAL, PLAGIARIZE, OR REPOST ON OTHER PLATFORM DO NOT TRANSLATE WITHOUT PERMISSION

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1981 Cadillac Evolution I

Fashion Victim: The 1981-83 Pierre Cardin Evolution I

French-Italian designer Pierre Cardin found worldwide fame with his exuberant approach to women’s fashion, but the skills didn’t necessarily cross over to the automotive world. 

The creator of mod chic and the bubble dress, Pierre Cardin (1922-2020) first made his name as a ladies’ fashion designer—one who then aggressively extended his brand marketing into consumer goods of all kinds, from perfume to sunglasses and eventually, automobiles. For American Motors he designed the 1972 Cardin Javelin with its memorable neon-striped upholstery, and in 1978 he whipped up a line of specially trimmed Cadillacs. But easily the wildest of his automotive enterprises was a customized Cadillac Eldorado called the Evolution I.

Cadillac Cardin Convertible

As we can see above, the most remarkable feature of Cardin’s restyled Eldorado is its  radically extended nose, which was facilitated in part with fenders and bumpers borrowed from the Oldsmobile Toronado, the Eldo’s GM E-body sibling. It’s an odd look, especially given the front-drive E-Body’s relatively short dash-to-axle distance.

The rear end styling was rearranged in a similarly arbitrary manner, with the Eldorado’s classic vertical taillights replaced with a slim horizontal lamp assembly that spanned the width of the body. Cardin’s sales literature boasted of “30 coats of hand-rubbed lacquer” and other fineries.

1981 Cadillac Evolution I

Luxury upgrades to the interior included elaborate two-tone leather upholstery, front and rear consoles, and a Quasar video player with a Sony TV in the rear seat. Pierre Cardin Automotive originally planned to produce 300 examples of the Evoluution I, with a gold plate on the instrument panel to testify to the serial number. But reportedly, only around 100 vehicles were delivered in the 1981-83 model run, including one Hess & Eisehnart convertible conversion. One likely reason for the limited popularity, we theorize, was the price: a hefty $58,000, more than three times the cost of a standard Cadillac Eldorado. As far as we know, this would be the fashion maven’s final foray into the automobile business.

Evolution I ad

[mariacallous]

In 1971, legendary British actress Judi Dench played Portia in a production of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” In her book about the playwright published this spring, Dench is candid and straight to the point about the play, which centers on a Jewish moneylender: “I think it’s a horrible play.” 

Dench, who would usually joyfully skip to the theater, added that she found herself dreading each performance. “All the characters behave so badly,” she wrote. “Nobody really redeems themselves.”

Written more than 400 years ago, the portrayal of Jews in “The Merchant of Venice”  — namely, the infamous, vindictive Jewish moneylender, Shylock, who demands a literal pound of flesh from the Christian merchant, Antonio — was called “profoundly anti-Semitic” by preeminent literary critic Harold Bloom. The play was even a favorite of Nazi Germany, where, between 1933 and 1939, it was performed 50 times.

And yet, it continues to be performed around the world  — including here in New York with a new, off-Broadway production of “The Merchant of Venice” that will open at Classic Stage Company (136 E 13th St.) on Friday, Nov. 22. 

Given the climate of rising antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023 — hate crimes targeting Jews in New York City have surged over the past year, according to NYPD data — staging the play in present-day New York City seems like an unusual choice, at least at first glance. But according to director Igor Golyak, his version of “Merchant” — a play Shakespeare wrote as a comedy — challenges Jewish stereotypes by doubling down on them. 

“The purpose of this comedy is to have the audience understand how easy it is to fall into hate,” Golyak told the New York Jewish Week following a rehearsal of the play last week.

Golyak’s “Merchant” offers a meta, comedic and, at times, cartoonish take on the original story. Billed as a “contemporary, spirited” production, it’s set in the present-day, in a nightclub/late-night talk-show setting with a camera pointed at the cast. Antonio (played by “Grey’s Anatomy” star T.R. Knight) welcomes the audience in a humorous fashion: “Tonight, we give you Shakespeare in a new time, a modern time,” he says. “So gone are the fancy tights, and gone are the boys playing women — we have actual real women!” 

“It’s a hard play,” Knight admitted, echoing Dench. 

“[The play] is filled with so much vile, racist ugliness,” he said, adding that “a straight version of ‘Merchant of Venice’” would “border on the impossible” to pull off.

However, as executive producer Sara Stackhouse points out, “We’re doing this version of ‘Merchant of Venice’ in the context of Oct. 7, and what happened in Amsterdam, and the election and a real rise in hatred and antisemitism around the world.” (Israeli soccer fans were attacked after a game in the Dutch capital earlier this month.)

According to Golyak, Shakespeare intended “The Merchant of Venice” to be a straightforward comedy in which good defeats evil. The problem? In the play, “evil” is presented as a loathsome Jew — a detail that was likely far more palatable in 1590s England, which had expelled its Jews 300 years earlier, than to present-day audiences. 

Golyak, who is Jewish and originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, leans into — and by the play’s conclusion, undercuts — the original script’s clear-cut, good-versus-evil plot by exaggerating its use of tropes. For example, as he contemplates loaning money out to Bassanio (José Espinosa) in Antonio’s name, Shylock the villainous Jew (Richard Topol) dons Groucho glasses and a vampire’s teeth and cape, while the Christian heroes at one point slip into Batman masks to defeat him.

“Batman, Superman, you know they’re the quote-unquote righteous ones,” Golyak said. “Of course, I’m being ironic, but that was the initial intention of the play.”

Golyak added that, centuries ago, the actor playing Shylock would don a red wig to echo traditional portrayals of Judas with red hair. And Shylock’s monologues — like the iconic, “Hath not a Jew eyes?” — which are nowadays typically portrayed in an emotional, human light, were once fodder for the audience’s laughter. 

“He was this comic villain,” Golyak said. “So we are going with that until the play turns on itself.”

Over the years, directors have altered the script of “Merchant” to confront its offensive aspects for contemporary audiences. An adaptation that ran last year at the New Ohio Theatre, for example, reimagined the play by focusing on the idea of white supremacy. The previous year, a “Merchant” production in Brooklyn tackled anti-Black racism.

Golyak’s take, however, acknowledges not just the hatred within the play, but also the ease with which audiences can become complicit in that hatred. Nearly every scene has comedic elements, like Antonio’s frazzled, bumbling introduction, or the game show played by suitors/contestants to win over Portia, which lull the audience into a state of enjoyment. “Everyone is having fun, everyone is laughing together,” said Golyak, “and then we fall into supporting the hate.” 

“This play is a comedy, and it’s a blast — until it’s devastating,” Stackhouse concurred. 

Golyak and much of the cast recently worked on “Our Class,” a dark play about the 1941 Jedwabne pogrom, that was performed at BAM in January. For his next work, he wanted to try something lighter — and thus he landed on “The Merchant of Venice.” “I wanted to come at the same theme of antisemitism from the opposite angle, but ultimately arriving at the same depth,” he said.

Broadway veteran Topol said playing Shylock is “a little bit scary for [him] to do” as a Jew. But the role has long been on the bucket list for Topol, who played Tubal alongside Al Pacino’s Shylock in the 2010 production of “The Merchant of Venice” at Shakespeare in the Park. “I’m stealing as much Al Pacino as I can,” he said. 

Shylock’s journey of losing his daughter — who marries a Christian — and losing the money loaned to Antonio leads to a twist ending hinted at by Golyak and cast members that forces the audience to reflect on their own laughter throughout the show. Like in the original, Shylock succumbs to the Christians, but “how we express it is different,” Golyak said. 

Alexandra Silber, who stars as Portia, is no stranger to the theme of antisemitism — she’s played a number of “harrowing Jews” in her career, including Rachelka in “Our Class” and both Hodel and Tzeitel in “Fiddler on the Roof” (twice each). And while she expressed concern over rising antisemitism — pointing to last week’s neo-Nazi demonstration outside a community theater production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” in Michigan — Silber also acknowledged the role that humor can play in combating it. 

“Jews are better than anybody in the world at laughter,” she said. “I think the shoulder shrug, the joyous dancing, the religious ecstasy and the cultural community that laughs together, is why we’ve been able to bear it all.”

[making-you-in-spore]

i haven't played spore but ive been wanting to but is it worth the money?

if you like making funky guys, absolutely. i've spent about 300 or so hours in spore and plan on adding much more. it has infinite replayability as long as you have infinite creativity in any fashion.

[champmorado]

300 FOLLOWERS DTIYS!!!!

we finally reached 300 followers, fuck yea!!!! thank you so much to everyone here, i appreciate all of you <3333

in honor of this milestone, i'll be hosting a dtiys challenge!! deadline will be on JULY 31, 3:00pm philippine standard time!! it will be extended if ppl ask for it

guidelines:

you can draw the time twins with any design (canon/lego designs, my human hc designs, your human hc designs, etc)

you can change their outfits, as long as krux is wearing historical fashion and acronix is wearing more modern fashion (ex: dark ages krux & renaissance acronix, 1920s krux & 90s acronix, etc)

no adding or removing characters!! keep it only the time twins

you can change the pose, angle, and anything else as long as it follows the other guidelines

tag your post as #morado300dtiys , and tag me too

here are the prizes, winners will be randomly picked ^_^

1st place - shaded and colored drawing of a ninjago character or oc

2nd place - colored drawing of a ninjago character or oc

3rd place - grayscale colored drawing of a ninjago character or oc

and the artist of my favorite drawing that didnt get picked will get a doodle :D (art style/quality and note count wont be a factor in me choosing my favorite)

feel free to send an ask or dm if you have any questions :]

[lgcmanager]

PERSONAL CHANNELS ( Q1 2025 )

SCHEDULE TYPE: N/A RESTRICTIONS: ACTORS AND MODELS ONLY

it’s becoming more and more common for public personalities to own personal youtube channels through which they can communicate with their fans. two idols within legacy entertainment ( BLAZing’s May and Haru’s YP ) own accounts themselves that focus on their respective passions and professional lives. through these channels, public personalities are able to display their personalities, interests and consolidate their images. with this in mind LGC Agency has decided to be the first LGC subsidiary to offer to all its artists the possibility of owning their personal youtube channel.

( note: if you want a general idea of how these personal channels go, here are some examples: example #1 / example #2 / example #3 )

ELIGIBILITY

ACTORS and MODELS who have been on their path for at least ONE TRIMESTER and have a minimum of +50 HOSTING or +50 VARIETY may own a personal youtube channel.

channels are personal and therefore have a single owner ( no grouping possible ). however, artists may invite OTHER LEGACY DEBUTED ARTIST/MODEL/ACTOR once per trimester.

before applying for a channel, please note that this is a long term commitment ( 3 months minimum ) and will require you to write a minimum of 2 solos during this period to keep the channel.

individuals who have lost their account for not meeting the minimum requirements or decided that they do not want to continue it will need to wait 3 trimesters before applying for a new youtube channel.

IC wise, artists under 200 notoriety will have one video per week posted on their channel, while artists over 200 notoriety will have one video every two weeks posted on theirs. LGC agency will be in charge of editing and publishing each video, although the editing style will be decided by the artists.

NEW RULE: with the personal channels growing over the past couple of months, all of the personal channel owners will be given the task during their free time to transcribe and add subtitles to their videos! this means that once their editor is done reviewing and compiling a video that meets both the agency and personal channel owner's expectations, they will give the episode to the personal channel owner to add in the subtitles. any muses who have AT LEAST 80 POINTS IN A LANGUAGE ASIDE FROM KOREAN will be adding the subtitles to their videos. if your muse has at least 80 or more points in multiple languages ( eg. korean, english, japanese, french ), then the episodes will be subbed in those languages.

REQUIREMENTS ( NEW )

as mentioned above, channel owners must write a MINIMUM of 2 SOLOS of 300 words+ each trimester to keep their channel.

read below for further details depending of the muse’s notoriety;

0-199 NOTORIETY

may write up to 3 solos of 300+ words each per trimester

may write one thread of four replies minimum per trimester with a guest. guests receive no reward.

each requirements will reward +6 POINTS IN HOSTING, VARIETY, ACTING, OR PERFORMANCE and +4 NOTORIETY.

200+ NOTORIETY

may write up to 2 solos of 300+ words each per trimester

may write one thread of four replies minimum per trimester with a guest. guests receive no reward.

each requirements will reward +6 POINTS IN HOSTING, VARIETY, ACTING, OR PERFORMANCE and +4 NOTORIETY.

APPLICATION FORM

you have until JANUARY 11, 2025 11:59PM EST to apply for a personal youtube channel for this trimester. submit the following form to the lgcmanager blog to apply:

muse name:

channel’s name:

concept: (please describe in a minimum of 50 words the concept of the channel. will it be vlogs or videos sitting down in front of the camera? will it be more career oriented, hobby (example: makeup, fashion, food, environment), variety like (going for various challenges, trying out new activities)? in other words, tell us in detail what will make the channel unique and at the muse’s image)

AIRING DATES FOR Q4 PERSONAL CHANNELS

in case you missed it, the schedules for when all of the episodes for those shows have been posted over here on the lgcmedia sheet. if you want to write a netizen article pertaining to the episode/show, you can use that as reference in terms of the timeline.

ic wise, since the personal channel owners post more episodes than the number of solos/threads written, here is a schedule as to what days the episodes are posted:

g'day, jino! - mondays

hi!han - tuesdays

jinseo’s communication center - wednesdays

sanghyun’s stories - fridays

seonny side up - wednesdays

the adventures of kim cherry - saturdays

videogomdori - thursdays

xander: off the runway - thursdays

RENEWAL UPDATES

the muses listed below are the ones who are eligible to continue their personal channel for another trimester:

0-199 NOTORIETY

hi!han - seunghyun

200+ NOTORIETY

g'day, jino! - moon jino

jinseo’s communication center - kim jinseo

seonny side up - baek seona

sanghyun’s stories - lim sanghyun

the adventures of kim cherry - kim cherry

videogomdori - lee hyunsoo

xander: off the runway - han jisoo

if you do not want to continue your personal channel, you will have a 3 trimester cooldown period before you can reapply again.

RENEWAL FORM

if you want to continue your personal channel for another term, please fill out the form below. you have until JANUARY 11, 2025 11:59PM EST to submit it to the lgcmanager blog:

muse name: I would like to renew my personal channel for another term.

once we’ve received all of the forms, we’ll create another post detailing the channels that have been accepted and the point forms for this gig. afterwards, you can start writing solos and threads!

[themanifestingbrat]

Favorite things I've manifested using the law.

Dating my sp There was a third party and "challenging" circumstances but I truly did not gaf. I persisted by saying that's my boo anytime I saw or thought of him, ofc seeing him all the time helped.

Desired apartment When I was moving with my mom, I fell in love with the first apartment we toured. I told her that's the one and despite her doubts and concerns, I didn't care. There was no way in hell I was going to live anywhere else. The application and move in process was extremely easy.

Desired jobs Pretty much every job I worked at, I manifested. Whether it was me simply imagining myself working there, "hearing" the call back that I was hired, or also "hearing" a family member saying they were proud of me.

$200 I felt like I had "blocks" in regards to money so I chose a small amount to manifest. Just claimed it and thought about what I was going to do with it. Came in less than three days. Randomly saw the amount around $300 added to my bank account from the government I think??

Desired friend Despite both of us being in two different cliques and having only a few classes together, I thought she looked so cool and just wanted to be friends with her lmao. I think I initiated conversations with her at first but then before I knew it, she was coming over to my house and we would hang out after school a lot. We are still close to this day.

Free drinks/food This is easy since I already had people always buying me free shit. So whenever I wanted to eat but didn’t want to pay, someone somehow always came through!

People's response/reactions These are usually instant because I'd immediately assume what they would say before they even get a chance to. I would simply imagine their response in a way that felt real and go from there.

Braces This one took me so long to manifest because I would not let it goooo! I wanted to fix my teeth so fucking badd. But after finally giving up and not caring about it anymore, randomly my parents just said they’ll pay for my braces.

Beauty I was hella insecure even though I always been told that I was beautiful. I didn't want to be beautiful tho, I wanted to be hot, cool, and sexy. I wanted to be desired and pull people left and right. I started to just tell myself that I was hot regardless of my insecurites. Now, while I didn't manifest any major appearance changes, just my mindset and confidence (maybe a lil makeup too) helped. I now can pull anyone and have people constantly staring at me, calling me hot, gorgeous, stunning, etc.

Desired School I was in my senior year and happened to tour a prestigous fashion school. Even though it was hella expensive and not everyone could get it in, I wanted to go to school there just for status lmao. I persisted and got accepted! Now, if only I could've manifested my parents to not force me to go to college...

Desired Sister I used to bitch and complain about how my sister is irresponsible, inconsiderate, and rude all the gotdamn time. But I learned EIYPO and I stopped. Whenever she pissed me off, I didn't react the way I usually would, I would leave it alone and maybe affirmed in my favor at times. Then her whole demeanor changed, she more kind, caring, and dependable and we don't fight anymore. She still be getting on my nerves sometimes tho.

My old friend to reach out This one was a doozy. So I was bored at 2am and watched a Youtube video about the 369 method. I decided to try it and chose a friend I haven't spoken to in a year because of a bad falling out. I kinda missed her so I used her for the method and went to bed right after. I get up a few hours later for work and I check my ig and she dm'ed me exactly what I wrote! I thought I was in a twilight zone, I couldn't believe I manifested it so fast!

My “perfect” partner I wrote a long ass list of things I wanted in a partner. But here's the thing, I admired my sister's relationship with her bf because they were so in love. So when I finaly met and started dating my bf, he checked off almost everything on my list AND the qualities of my sister's bf, the good... and the bad, which is why he's my ex now lmfao.

My dream car Way before it was time for me to get a car of my own, I always wanted a Jeep wrangler. Anytime I would see it on the road, I would claim it as my car, I would tell people it's my dream car, and I had it on my vision board. I even went to a dealership to test drive one, it was so fun! I also visualized myself driving it. When it was time to find one, I did get scared I wasn't going to find one I liked at a good price but I persisted and now I have one!

[alpaca-clouds]

We kinda look at history wrong

(And school is to blame.)

Building a bit on the historical apocalypse post I wrote. I think, we really make a big mistake in the way we look at history. And that big mistake is looking at the history in defined epoches. Like: 500-1500 in Europe was the middle ages. Ancient Rome lasted from 600BC till 500AD. And Ancient Egypt lasted from 4000 BC till around 300 BC. Stuff like that.

Why do I think this is a mistake? Well, basically because it groups things into "one thing" that are not "one thing".

Do you remember when Assassin's Creed Origin came out? All the Egyptologists would keep telling the people that in fact the pyramids have been build longer ago from the main character's perspective, then the fictional story in the game lay before our current perspective. The Egypt of the game very much is not the Egypt those pyramids were build in. Because literal thousands of years of time had passed in between. The culture developed and changed in between. Ancient Egypt is not one monolith, but like... I honestly do not have the words for it.

Certainly. Technology had not shifted as massively, as it did in those last 100 years from our perspective. But it had shifted a lot. It is to assume that language, too, has shifted a ton in between, even though it is hard for us to know how much. Because we have obviously no audio recordings. We know that the writing system changed a lot. But until someone invents a time machine...

This is as bad with the "middle ages". For several reasons. For one: Those were 1000 years. A lot of stuff happened and changed during those 1000 years. But also: When people say "middle ages" they tend to mean "Europe in the 1000 years between 500 and 1500 AD". At least that is what they think they mean. But what they tend to actually talk about it "England, France and Germany in that time", mostly because a lot of the mainstream research focuses on those areas, but also because we just happen to have more written records from those areas surviving till this day.

But I guarantee you: While technology wise the peasant in 11th century England might not have lived so very different from the peasant in 11th century Wallachia... Culturally they had a very different experience. And that is something that gets lost a lot.

And it really gets us in a ton of problems, when we speak about history. Especially when it comes to certain nerds, that are awfully obsessed with masculinity and whiteness, discussing those eras. Because they tend to often pick and choose something that fits their narrative and that happened somewhere in the 15th century and then just project it out onto the entire medieval period, ignoring any and all sources that actually show things were different at other places and times during the period.

One of my favorite less political things that are brought up again and again is the misconception of "medieval people did not bathe". Which is just plain wrong. Medieval Europe had in fact a very elaborate bathing culture with bath houses, that kept the water heated - at times still using technologies that had survived from Roman times. But... when the plague came again and again, people realized that those, who frequented the bath houses were more likely to catch the plague. And because they did not understand bacteria and such, they assumed that it had something to do with the bathing. So bit by bit in the late medieval period bath houses fell out of fashion and people instead washed at home - often with a cloth. Which did not make them unclean. Just not bathed.

And all of that is without going into the entire idea of history somehow being linear... Which I think I will save for another time.

What I want to say, though, is... A lot happens within 1000 years. And while there are certain reasons that history is grouped into those epoches for study, teaching it just straight like that kinda does the whole topic no justice. Folks need to understand that those epoches are just convenient ways to group history together - but that within those epoches a lot happened and changed.

[modeus-the-misanthrope]

Kinda wanna make an expanded version of my Elden Ring boss idea. Original place the idea is at this link.

The idea I have for this bossfight and it's mechanics are heavily inspired by the Fume Knight Raime fight in DS2. The bossfight arena is in an area of Leyndell that you previously couldn't access. The boss shares design elements of the four armed puppet enemies and Crucible Knights. The Crucible training dummy was originally just that. A training dummy fashioned to help keep the Crucible knights who worked under Godfrey in peak condition. Now it sits in an abandoned and ruined training arena, alone.

The player will find two helmets in Leyndell that previously weren't in game. These are specifically worn by the Crucible knights to help the Crucible training dummy know which fighting style they wanted to train against. Fast and rapid unarmed strikes. Or slow but hard hitting staff swings. The animations for both intentionally resemble Hoarah Loux and Godfrey respectively. Entering the arena without either helmet equipped will cause the Crucible training dummy to periodically switch between the two styles. At 30% health the Crucible training dummy will retreat to it's self repair station, with a large chasm seperating it from the rest of the arena. If the Crucible training dummy drinks its repair fluid, it will gain an aura around it that damages the player slowly. This is due to the Crucible Training Dummy and the repair fluid having degraded over time.

If the repair fluid has been sabatoged by the player outside of the bossfight, then instead the Crucible training dummy will stand there perplexed for several moments. Allowing the player to either do a ranged/magic/charged heavy attack that will have a 300% damage multiplier added to it. Or the player can allowe the Crucible Training Dummy to finish animation and learn a gesture that matches it. This gesture closely resembles the one the player does when trying to heal without any crimson flasks and can be cancled at any point with a dodge, block, or attack. But being hit while the animation is active will make the player take 50% more damage.

Defeating the Crucible Training Dummy will give the player a new Crystal tear for their Physick Flask, specifically it's effect will mimic the damaging aura that the repair fluid would have given the boss for 20 seconds. In the area's where the boss fight arena was acting as a barrier to enter, ther will be an armory for the Crucible knights. A Collosal weapon category Hammer (crucible knight themed) and a light set of Crucible Knight armor will be in a chest.