#on my mum’s side they’re in their 30s

[monzamash]

★ bargain bin — lando norris

how the other half lives lando norris x older!reader rating — 18+ (sex, coarse language, age gap) —requested by lovely anon, thank you for the wonderful idea.

"merry christmas… hello!" lando sang as he guided you through the wide open front door of his parents' home. 

the holiday festivities had already begun by the echo of christmas tunes filtering through the open plan along with the rich smell of a delicious home-cooked lunch inviting you in. 

“we’re in here, love!” his mum sang back from down the hallway, every step getting you closer to all the cheerful voices melding into a sound of pure joy. 

that sound truly summed up lando’s family. they were joy personified. you had met them a couple of times in passing, mostly at races or whenever lando had a formal event to attend. they were always by his side, supporting and cheering him on and you adored how much they loved their son. 

you hadn’t been to their home, lando's childhood home. of course you wondered what it would look like, curious to know how the man you had fallen in love with grew up. the two of you were from vastly different backgrounds but all was fair in love and war, no preconceived notions or judgements — only mutual respect and a connection that couldn't be ignored. but you were curious to know how the other half lived, failing to suppress a giggle when you bypassed the study. 

"golden boy," you whispered, pointing to the small shrine dedicated to lando and his career that was set up in what looked to be his father’s office, earning yourself a gentle shove.

"oh god… that's embarrassing," he muttered quietly with a smirk as you took a couple of strides in, running your fingers over the karting trophies all lined up in a perfect row.

“it’s cute. they’re so proud of you.”

all lando could do was smile and hide his blush. he was the twinkle in their eye and all you wanted was for them to like you. 

your relationship with lando was somewhat untraditional, being five years his senior. age is nothing but a number, he had said when you first met through mutual friends on a holiday in mallorca, the connection between the two of you growing instantaneously. he was the charming brit that your friends had warned you about, single and destined to fall head over heels for you — and he did. lando couldn’t believe his luck when you waltzed into the villa, a sight for sore eyes and a smile that made his heart clench with something resembling love. 

the age difference wasn’t a problem at first, most of his friends were older so it made sense that he would blend into the group without a second glance. it wasn’t until the perfect spanish bubble burst and you found yourself cuddled up in his arms, reuniting after a couple of weeks apart and feeling the weight of it all on your shoulders. his life was chaotic, an excuse to be perpetually young — adrenaline filled and without real life responsibilities. 

“i just don’t want you to get sick of me because i have a 9-5 job and a mortgage. it’s boring adult stuff that gets me down and you're doing what every kid dreams of. we’re from very different worlds — god, what would your parents think of you dating a 30 year old…” you’d barely taken a breath when lando rested his hand on your cheek with a sigh. 

“there’s a reason why our worlds collided and i wanna know where it takes us. i'm falling in love with you and i think you are too so let’s see what happens, yeah? plus, you’re like a dream girl to take him to the parents — they’re gonna love you.”

and from day forth, you put those fears behind you and focused on the beautiful moments happening right before your eyes. spending the holidays with lando and his family was a dream, all of the sleepless nights worrying about what they thought was wasted when all you needed to do was trust the man you loved.

“ah, my two favourite people,” lando’s father greeted as he bundled lando up in a hug and pulled you in next with a grin the size of the moon, “so uncle rodney is making cocktails and you can pop any presents under the tree in the living room — lando can show you.”

“thanks so much again for inviting me, adam,” you whispered, earning a reassuring squeeze to the shoulder, “of course, love — we’re glad you were able to join us.” 

lando clasped your hand and showed you the way. the house seemed to go on forever until finally spotting the biggest christmas tree you had ever seen, “wow.” 

“we go big in the norris household — not just with the tree,” he motioned towards the tower of presents, mostly labelled with his sweet niece's names.

"it’s so beautiful," you admired before kneeling down and carefully placing the presents you two bought under the tree, spending a little extra time inspecting the one that had a little card hanging off the side with your name scribbled in lando’s distinctive handwriting.

"oi, behave yourself," lando scolded playfully, catching you red-handed shaking the small box with a guilty smirk.

"what are you gonna do? tell on me?" you teased, peering up at him with puppy dog eyes and playfully poking at his hip. lando gently captured your wrist and helped you up from the floor before dragging you in close for a hug, "maybe you won't get your present from me now. how would you like that?" 

your face fell into a pout as he pressed a sweet kiss to your lips, "okay fine," you surrendered, rolling your eyes at lando’s triumphant grin. 

"hmm, that's what i thought, darling."

—

the norris clan were an absolute riot and lando was spot on with his prediction about everyone being too drunk to take any notice of the two of you. once everyone got their chance to chat to lando about racing and what was in store for the off-season, they went back to telling hysterical family stories and reminiscing about the old days. 

every time someone new told a story, you were blessed with a glimpse into the person lando was before you met him — all the little stories from his childhood and teen years really enriched the emotional side of your relationship and for the first time, it felt like both the physical and emotional sides had caught up with one another. you’d never felt emotionally closer and it solidified all of the feelings and conversations the two of you had been having lately. what did the future hold? where did you see yourselves in five years? so many of those questions fumbling around in your head were answered just by sitting and listening to his family. 

all you wanted was to feel like you and lando could happily spend the rest of your lives together and for the people closest to him to approve of that decision. the car ride home was quiet — lando humming the christmas song stuck in his head while you watched the twinkling city lights of london off in the distance.

"my parents really love you.”

you smiled to yourself while hanging your coat over the back of a kitchen stool, heart pumping a little fast than it was before.

“you think?”

lando nodded, smiling as he leaned against the counter in your shared apartment and admired the way your nose scrunched up, unsure of his genuinity. you were glowing under the warm christmas tree lights stretching up the walls, eyes sparkling with a glimmer of hope that his words were true. 

“i know they do. so do my sisters. and my brother… everyone loves you,” lando stepped forward and pressed your hips against the kitchen counter, sliding you easily up onto the surface. “—but i love you the most.” 

“love you the most too, baby.” you whispered before wrapping your legs and arms loosely around his body, pulling him in for a long awaited kiss. 

the two of you had been on your best behaviour all day, but seeing lando playing chasey with his nieces and making them laugh until their little faces were red made it really hard not to drag him to a quiet corner and beg for him to give you one of your own. he knew what you wanted, what you needed, making quick work of your underwear and skirting the thin material down your legs while you tugged on the buckle of his black belt. 

“so ready for me,” lando teased as his fingertips glided between your shaky thighs, embarrassingly easy if it weren’t for the fact he always had you like that. he fucking lived for having you dripping for him.

“mmm, need you to be ready for me too,” you played with a couple of quick strokes of his cock, earning a loud, raspy moan in your ear. it sent chills down your spine as he grasped your hand and took over, haphazardly lining himself up and nudging forward with a grunt.

“yes,” you whimpered, tightening your grip around lando’s shoulders as he lifted you slightly, guiding your hips in time with his, desperately chasing his high. 

“feels so fucking good,” he groaned into your mouth, as your head tilted back in pleasure. 

“lando?” you half moaned, half asked as his eyes squared with yours. “yeah?” 

“when do you think we should tell your parents that we’re trying to have a baby?” 

lando’s eyebrows furrowed as he continued to slide into you with a pace quicker than any fast lap he’d ever clocked, “fuck, baby,” he groaned, trying to hold his composure, “um, that’d be a long conversation about responsibility and marriage probably — they would want to meet your parents…” 

“are they super religious?” you were panting, lips only centimetres from his. 

“we have to stop talking about my parents while we’re… while this is happening,” lando groaned, face screwed up as he picked up the pace again —hips snapping deliciously in sync. 

“god, yeah, sorry, sorry!” you muttered, stifling a laugh as his hot breath washed over you in a chuckle. 

“lemme try and give you one before we start telling people, yeah?” he breathlessly whispered into your ear, pressing kisses along your collarbone with a smile, “you’re so bad…” 

you sighed, “i’m definitely on the naughty list this year.” 

“absolutely,” lando chuckled and gave you a soft kiss before getting to work on your ultimate christmas gift.

a/n — soooo keen to keep adding to this little story. let me know what you think!! and thank you all so much for getting involved in the end of (f1) season sale. it has been so fun writing for you guys this past month and hopefully i will be able to finish it off over the next couple of weeks but this fic felt like the best way to say goodbye to the formula one season ✨

[gucciwins]

flirty 30

a/n: happy birthday harry! celebrating his birthday every year is always fun. I saw someone say that harry’s probably receiving a lot of sweet and kind messages because he’s so loved and I had this idea I needed to share. I hope you enjoy!!!!!!

warning: angst, mentions about restraining order, abusive relationship

Y/N☀️

Happy Birthdayyyyyy!!!! You deserve for all your wishes to come true! Hope your 30’s start off flirty!

Ten seconds later, a second text came in.

Y/N☀️

Maybe you think it’s out of the blue, but you’ve been on my mind (always are), and I hope you know, even if we don’t talk. I always hold you close in my heart. 

You deserve the world. I hope you never forget that because you gave me kindness when I thought there was none left. You gave me so much love and support. I couldn’t see my life without you—I still can’t. 

Whether you’re in my life physically or not, you will always be important to me. 

I love you, Harry. Happy Birthday! 

Harry stared at his phone, his eyes filling with tears as he read the message a second and third time. By the time he was starting the message, a fourth time, tears were running down his face. 

Y/N had been his rock. Someone he confided in, someone he could never go a day without talking to, and then suddenly she was gone. 

He had closed himself off from her because he didn’t want to see someone else making her happy. His current girlfriend at the time hated how much attention he gave to Y/N but Y/N was like sunshine to him. She shone brightly, and he needed to be in her path to receive warmth. 

Harry had listened to his ex-girlfriend, and before he could even realize his once bright circle of friends had turned dull and revolved around people he didn’t know. It also hurt him to see Y/N didn’t fight to stay in his life because Harry knew if she said anything, anything at all, about their growing distance, he would have fixed it. 

Now he sits in the morning hours of his birthday, staring at his phone, not sure how to respond. His initial thought was to invite her over and share breakfast with Y/N, but he has morning plans with his Mum and sister. 

Harry doesn’t want to leave her on read. He would hate for Y/N, believe he didn’t care, that he opened the message and had no effect on him. 

Gemma

Birthday boy! Change of plans, we’re bringing breakfast to you. Mum doesn’t want to be out on your big day. 

Harry 

Come right in. I’ll be here. 

He sighed in relief. Gemma would know what to do. He’d ask her how to reply to Y/N. Gemma loved Y/N more than him, something she reminded him of plenty. 

While Harry was preparing the table with plates and glasses. He heard a knock on the door. Harry frowned because he told them to come in. Gemma never liked to knock said it was her right as a sister to barge in. 

He swung his door open, but instead of coming in contact with familiar faces, there was a large bouquet. It was clear someone was holding it, but it was hiding them. Harry looked at the hands wrapped around the bouquet and spotted a familiar Aquarius ring on the person’s index finger. 

“Y/N,” he breathed out.

Harry reached for the flowers, needing to see her. The bouquet fell to his side when Y/N came into view.

She was beautiful. 

Harry missed her warmth. 

“Happy Birthday, Harry!” She greeted.

In the next instant, Harry wrapped her in his arms. He breathed her in, and a significant weight removed itself from his chest as if his heart was saying finally, we’re okay. Harry tried his best to hold back his tears but after months of not having her in his life and the fear that she might never return, there was no way to control it. 

“Poppet, don’t cry.” Y/N squeezed him tighter. “Are you upset I’m here?” 

“Crist, no. This is the best thing to happen,” he assured her. 

“Am I aloud in?” 

Harry laughed, “I’m sorry, yes.” 

He broke their hug but did not stop touching Y/N. Harry guided her in with a hand on her back. “Shit, Mum, and Gemma are coming,” he laughs. “They’re going to be so excited to see you.” 

Y/N tries her best to hide her smile but fails miserably. He can see right through her. “Are you the change of plans?” 

She nods, “Gemma helped orchestrate. Said we were too old to be mopey and stuck with our heads in our ass. On the other hand, Anne promised to come by for lunch.”

“Sounds like them.” 

Harry sets the large bouquet in a vase. He runs his fingers through the purple tulips. He once shared how they were his favorite, and Y/N seemed to be the only one to remember. 

“Do you want breakfast?”

“Do you want to talk?” 

It seemed they both spoke at the same time. While Harry was hungry, he knew a lot was hanging in the air.

“Let’s talk,” he gestures for her to follow him to the patio. 

Y/N loved being out here. He has so much greenery and the plants he’s accumulated. You can see all the love built into the house. Y/N missed their summer night talks where they’d be out here for hours, sometimes long after the sun came up. 

Once they settled down, Harry dropped a blanket over Y/N because he knew she ran cold. He sits next to her, leaving a small space that never existed before what happened to them.

Y/N played with the threads of the blanket, letting out a deep breath. “I guess I’ll start.” She looked up and found Harry giving her an encouraging smile. “After your fall out with Dean, things got bad.” Y/N spits out. “He—fuck, I was so confused. You wouldn’t tell me what you argued about, and Dean swore you egged him on. I knew it wasn’t true, but I was so confused, and you wouldn’t talk to me. He—Dean broke my phone. He’d follow me to work, call every ten minutes, and be outside to pick me up.” Harry felt sick hearing this. “Dad helped me get a restraining order. I moved apartments. I asked for a transfer at work. Everyone was very supportive, but every time I called you. There was no answer. It was endless voicemails. I was tired of trying,” Y/N sighed. “Therapy has been helpful, but ultimately everything was fucked. I even started therapy, for fucks sake.”

“Y/N,” he hooved his hand over her knee, waiting for her cue. After a slight nod, he placed it on top of her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you went through that. It feels like my fault, but I’m glad you had help. I’m glad you asked for help.” 

Y/N lets her tears fall. “I was fucking scared. I wished you were there.”

Harry couldn’t stop himself from pulling her into his lap. He hated to see her cry. He hated being one of the reasons she was hurt. Harry wanted to take away all her hurt. 

“I’m sorry. I’m here now,” he promised. “Never going anywhere again.” 

Harry held Y/N close, letting her take her time to cry it out. He’s not sure how long Y/N cried until she spoke up. “I swear I’m doing better.” 

He shakes his head, “I believe you.”

Y/N settles down but makes no move to get off Harry. He quite likes her here. Harry also knows it’s his turn. 

“Simone broke me down. She found out every insecurity and brought it up every chance. It was me laughing. She said it was obnoxious. My clothes were too much, I was begging for attention. My family came over too much. You made her upset. You brought me so much happiness and everything. You were both in the same room, and she realized my attention went to you. Simone pieced something together much quicker than we did, and she managed to break it.” Harry pauses to press a kiss to the top of Y/N’s head. “I know it’s not entirely her fault. I let myself believe everything she told me. I knew they weren’t true, but when your friends stop coming or stop calling, you begin to think maybe she’s right.” 

Y/N nuzzles herself closer as if she can’t believe his words. 

“I had broken up with Simone, but she wouldn’t leave me alone. Gemma had finally had enough and told her she needed to stop or we’d be going to the press.” Harry winced. “I know she’d never do that to me, but it scared Simone. Haven’t seen her since. Not that I would. We got a restraining order.” He trailed off, glad to get that off his chest.

Y/N giggled. “What couple of best friends. We don’t need matching tattoos, just restraining orders.” 

Harry laughed so hard he almost dropped Y/N. To secure herself, she wrapped her hands around his neck. He looked into her eyes and saw his whole future in them. 

Two dumb best friends who finally opened their eyes. 

“20’s fucking sucked then,” Harry complained. 

“Not all of them,” Y/N reminds him. “I’m still 27.” 

She had a few more years to enjoy. 

“Let’s make the most of your final year before you become old like me,” he teased. 

Y/N poked his stomach. “Stop, you’re fine.” 

Harry knew he had to tell her. There was no point in keeping it in. She needed to know. 

“I love you, Y/N. I love you more every single day.” Y/N presses herself closer. “You’re my best friend. You’re the reason the sun shines brighter every day. I’m a fool without you.” Harry smiles when Y/N places her hands on his cheek. “I am in love with you. You’re the reason I get up every day. My reason to smile. The love of my life.” 

Y/N leans forward and kisses him. Harry feels his heart stop, but he kisses her back, pulling her closer. This is Y/N, his best friend. He had waited years for this moment. For years, he thought he’d never get to love or kiss her, but he is sharing the best kiss of his life on his birthday. 

He feels all the yearning leave his body and instead feels all her love pouring into him. Harry knew this kiss would change everything for the better. 

Y/N pulled away, her lips curled in a smile. “I love you, Harry. I love you today. I love you tomorrow. I will love you in every single universe we find ourselves in.” 

Harry kisses her again. It’s the best day of his life. He has an entire life with Y/N to look forward to. 

Y/n pulls away. “Happy Birthday, Harry.”

The happiest birthday, indeed. 

[les-fleurrs-du-mal]

ao3: les_fleurrs_du_mal (30 chapters posted and ongoing)

regulus black x original muggle character

[enemies to lovers]

summary:

Flora, the muggle half-sister of protective older brother Remus Lupin, finds herself hidden away during the First Wizarding War for fear of werewolf attacks. Her life is lonely and quiet until Regulus Black, a former Deatheater and an insufferable bigot, is also in need of sanctuary.

Chapter One

❦

Summer, 1978

It was some time after midnight when Flora awoke suddenly. Her curtains, which she’d left open after falling asleep from the sheer exhaustion of homework, twitched in the soft summer breeze of the still night. Welsh summers were never particularly warm, but this year had reached soaring temperatures. The air was still muggy when Flora woke in confusion, her skin prickly with sweat. The light of the full moon spilled into the room.

She moved only to push the books off her bed so she could get under the cool bedsheets, but was gripped with a sense of unease as she shifted her body and opened her eyes properly. A distinct creak on the stairs made her start. It was a slow, hesitant creak, like somebody was trying to be quiet.

Her parents had surely gone to bed, and it certainly wasn’t Remus. Not on a full moon. Flora pulled the sheet around herself, holding her breath to listen closer. She could feel and hear her pulse beating fast, gripped with a sudden certainty that she was about to die. She couldn’t move, insensible to all action. The footsteps continued up the stairs and moved down the hallway towards her bedroom. She hid deeper under her bedclothes, laying in dread of every second, her heart beating so hard and fast she was sure the intruder would hear it.

The door opened slowly and a small glowing light illuminated the room—a wand light.

“Flora?” A voice whispered, nervous.

Flora let out the breath she was holding and hastily threw back the covers, sitting up at once. “Sirius?”

His handsome face appeared in the dim glow of the wand light. His eyes widened and then softened with relief.

“Flora,” he rushed to her and took hold of her shoulders, looking her over quickly. “Are you alright?”

Flora noticed he was trembling. He stared at her like he wasn’t sure she was real, or more chillingly, alive. Flora was too bewildered to answer for a moment, wondering why she would not be alright, and why he didn’t turn the light on.

“Yes,” she answered distractedly, her eyes roving over his face. “Why are you here? Is Remus okay?”

Sirius blinked a moment, preoccupied with the inner whirlwind of his feelings. He looked at her softly and touched her face with platonic, brotherly affection. With the way he was constantly attached to Remus, Sirius may as well have been her brother. 

She became suddenly aware of a second presence in the doorway. Sirius calmly turned his head and greeted a bespectacled boy with black hair, who also had his wand raised with a light emitting from the end of it.

“She’s fine,” Sirius said to the boy, who quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’d better take her now,” he replied, stepping further into the room with a deeply disturbed look on his face.

Flora raised her eyes to look at James Potter, a boy she had heard plenty about from Remus and Sirius, but had never met until now.

“What’s happened?” Flora asked, her confusion and fear mounting as she observed the troubled looks on their ashen faces. “Where’s my mam? My dad? Remus?"

They didn’t answer her. They began to talk between themselves in low, anxious tones about taking her somewhere. When Sirius turned to speak to her again, he took hold of her hands and squeezed them gently. “I’m going to take you to the Potter’s house, alright? His mum and dad are there. They’re kind and they’ll make sure you’re alright. You’ll have to side-along apparate with me. Have you ever done that before?”

Flora shook her head slowly. “No, but why—”

“It will feel a little uncomfortable,” Sirius cut her off, standing up. “Like a tight squeezing, but it won’t be for long.”

James regarded Sirius with uncertainty. “Are you sure you’re alright to do it, mate? Maybe we should wait until Moody or someone more senior gets here.”

“I can take her,” Sirius replied.

“I think we should wait.”

“No, it could be a while yet. We need to get her out of here and somewhere safe,” Sirius insisted firmly.

Flora felt a sudden urge to scream as the realisation dawned on her, that something truly awful had happened. Perhaps she'd anticipated it for a while, unconsciously, through snippets she'd heard in murmured voices between her parents and Remus. Conversations she was not meant to be privy to. She understood there was unrest in the wizarding world, that her brother and his friends were helping. Now something had happened. She didn’t realise she was screaming until she felt Sirius’ arms around her, his voice trying to soothe her. She crumbled into hysterics, begging an explanation and fighting against him in order to flee the room and find out what it was for herself. Sirius held her fast, gripping her shoulders and looking to James for help. He looked just as lost as Sirius. They needed Remus. Flora knew as well as they did that she needed her big brother.

“Flora, Flo, please,” Sirius pleaded, “Calm down. Please calm down.”

“What’s happened? Tell me right now!” She sobbed wildly. At only fifteen years old, nothing terrible had ever happened in her life. She studied and worked hard at school, went to the pictures sometimes, read books. Bad things didn't happen to her. She was the 'normal' child, the one who sorely wished sometimes that she was magic like her older brother just so interesting things would happen. Now suddenly she didn't want it. 

“Please,” Sirius tried again, speaking calmly. “Let me take you to the Potters. I’ll explain things there, I swear.”

“Is Remus there?” She asked hopefully, knowing it was a silly question. “And my mam and dad?”

Sirius shook his head. James hesitantly stepped closer and knelt down in front of Flora, looking at her. “We will explain everything shortly,” he said with solemn eyes. “But right now, you need to leave. It isn’t safe here.”

“Why isn’t it safe?” Flora asked with wide, tearful eyes. “This is my house.”

“Let us take you to my parent’s house. Everything will be alright.”

Sirius was able to ease Flora to her feet, rubbing her back in a useless effort to calm her down. In only her nightie, she was swiftly removed from her quiet home to face the worst news she could possibly imagine.

❦

Autumn, 1980

Flora stood at the kitchen sink, yawning and contemplating an early night with a warm drink and the new book she wanted to start. Darkness had gathered around the little stone cottage, summoning the owls that Flora presently heard hooting in the surrounding blackness of the trees. She scratched the side of her head and pushed a loose piece of hair behind her ear, splashing bubbles on her cheek as she did so.

Her days were slow: peaceful, mundane. She wondered when her brother would arrive — if he would arrive. He’d promised he would, but Order meetings often kept him late or away altogether. She tried hard to stay up on the nights he promised to come back, the nights he brought fresh food and provisions and the occasional gift to lift her spirits, but quite often she would secede waiting and go to bed. In the morning she would find that everything she needed had been restocked in the night, like some elf or fairy had been. He did not usually stay. But tonight, Flora so terribly wanted to talk to him, to see someone, anyone, and so she fought back the temptation of an early night. For someone who was only seventeen, going to bed each night with only the company of one’s inner voice was a dreadful thing. It made Flora feel like an old woman who had already lived the excitement of youth, and yet Flora had yet to experience it.

A long shadow outside caught Flora’s eye and she lifted her head to peer out. Her heart lifted the moment she recognised the tall, wiry figure of her brother at the ancient stone gatepost with his wand illuminating the darkness. She drew back from the old sink, shook her hands dry of water and bubbles, and rushed across the kitchen to the door. Without slippers and in only her pyjamas, she ran outside and down the path. It was dark and wet outside, but she hadn’t been out of the house all day and liked the cool, late summer air on her face as she hurried to meet her brother. It braced her, filling her lungs with the scent of damp moss and earth.

“Remus,” she half walked on the tips of her toes over the dirt path, careful to avoid treading on any sharp stones. She lifted her eyes and noticed there was a second person with him. Not that that was unusual. Sirius Black went wherever Remus went, like a pair. Sirius gave Flora his typical charming smile, a smile that admittedly always made Flora blush just a little too much, as he walked beside Remus. The young man was almost dwarfed by the latter’s height. Half a dozen shopping bags of food floated a little way behind them.

“Where are your shoes? Go back inside,” Remus said as he fixed his eyes on his younger sister.

“I’ve been inside all day. Did you get everything on my list?” She asked in a rush.

He shrugged his thin shoulders. “Most of it, I think. Sirius lost the list before we got there.”

Flora’s eyes sharply darted to Sirius, who quickly sought to defend himself. “It's fine. I’ve got a good memory.”

Remus snorted lightly. They all walked into the little cottage. It was a venerable, white-washed stone building with two ground-floor rooms and four upper rooms, rooms which had been added to over the years. The building itself was at least three hundred years old and had changed relatively little as far as anyone could guess.

Wales was an ancient land. There might have been an older building on the location of the present one, and the magic was heavy here, heavy enough that even Flora could sometimes instinctively feel it. It was not uncommon for her to go walking in the forest and stumble across fairy rings, which she was careful to avoid stepping in. As a child, if she listened very closely at night, she was sure she could hear the soft tinkle of music outside. Remus told her it was the elves, though Flora had never quite believed him, thinking he was winding her up because he was magic and she was not. But then her mother — their mother, who was a muggle — confirmed it to be true and so Flora believed. They were half-siblings, Flora and Remus, but close enough in age and upbringing to consider themselves full siblings. It didn’t matter that Flora wasn’t a witch. Frankly, Flora didn’t mind so much anymore, not with everything going on. 

The cottage was firmly situated amongst the rolling green hills, overlooking the granite coastline of North Wales and little seaside town far below. The wizened old cottage was also heavily warded with protective and defensive charms, charms which protected its singular occupant. Remus said to protect, but to Flora, it felt like imprisonment. Worse still, she was almost always alone. The siblings had nobody but themselves to rely on, and increasingly Remus was unable to visit his younger sister. It was too dangerous, he said. Reports of werewolves in nearby towns and villages were becoming worryingly more common. He came now more out of necessity to deliver food and shopping and take a list of anything she needed or wanted. Today he had gone overboard, Flora thought, probably due to Sirius losing her carefully written list. But it quickly struck Flora as curious—there was too much food here for just one person.

“Right… bread, milk, eggs,” Remus began to empty the shopping bags onto the large kitchen table, which Flora sat down at and watched. He placed three loaves of bread down, two boxes of a dozen eggs, three pints of milk. “Jam… soup… uh, got you lots of fruit this time…chocolate…”

Flora studied him with a small frown, her chin resting in her hands. “Why’ve you got so much of everything?” She half exclaimed. “Half of this will expire by the time I get round to using it.”

Remus and Sirius shared a very brief, but tense look. It was a look that Flora caught immediately and it caused her to sit up straighter.

“What is it? Tell me now,” she demanded. Her soft Welsh accent lilted up and down as she spoke, which somewhat diminished the vexation in her tone.

Sirius smiled at her, speaking quickly in an attempt to distract her. “Shall we have a cup of tea?”

He flicked his wand at the kettle across the room and it began to heat up. Flora sat back in the wooden kitchen chair and folded her arms, eyeing them both with suspicion. Remus looked distinctly uncomfortable. He ran his hand through his thick fluffy hair and sighed through his nose quietly while Sirius busied himself with the tea. Sirius liked making tea. In fact, he enjoyed doing a lot of mundane household tasks (magic or no magic) simply because he never got to do it as a child. His absolute favourite was the microwave, which seemed to endlessly fascinate him no matter how many times he used it. He lived in a small flat with Remus in the muggle side of London, which Flora had only visited once.

Remus sat down opposite his sister. There was just a few years difference in age between them, but Remus always treated Flora like she was much younger. Since their parent's death, he had dutifully taken on a paternal role for his sister. 

“Remember I told you before that things are getting more dangerous out there?” He began.

“No,” Flora replied dryly. “Tell me again."

Remus gave her a steady, stern look. “Flo.”

“Does bringing extra food make it less dangerous?”

Remus decided to ignore her sarcasm, continuing to speak levelly. Flora always thought he would make a very good teacher when he started talking like this.

“Well, every time I come here it does get a little more dangerous than the last.”

“Why’d you keep coming back then?”

“Flora,” Remus huffed, beginning to lose his patience. “Would you please be serious for a minute.” Flora glanced at Sirius, but he was fixated on making the tea with a faraway look on his face and clearly in no mood for jokes.

“I need to explain something to you—ask something of you, actually,” Remus went on.

“Me?” She frowned. “Why? What?”

“Well, I do really,” Sirius suddenly came to life, straightening up and looking over his shoulder. His face remained neutral, controlled. Flora waited, confused.

“Let me explain something first,” Remus looked at Sirius, “Before we get to that part.”

Sirius shrugged and resumed making the tea. Remus turned back to his sister, his face set and grim.

“The werewolves—”

Flora sighed heavily and turned her head away, not letting him get halfway through his sentence. “Not the werewolves again. I've not heard or seen anything."

“Flora, would you be quiet for five minutes,” Remus snapped with a deepening frown. He leaned forward across the table. “Just listen. Werewolf attacks have been reported close to this area. They’re getting closer and I’m seriously worried they’re looking for you specifically.”

“Why would they?” Flora replied, feigning an air of indifference. But her skin prickled slightly at this awful suggestion. That awful night was recalled back to her memory. She dreamt about it sometimes, only her dreams filled in the horrors she’d never witnessed. Remus had never told her what really happened, perhaps to spare her the thought of how their parents died, but in her heart she knew. 

“Because they’re also after me. I’ve told you this before. Greyback wants me to join his—his pack. The Order believes that they believe hurting or kidnapping you would give them leverage. I’ve spent one full moon with them, but they don’t trust me. This isn’t just about protecting you as a just-in-case precaution, it’s crucial now that you stay put while I do what I need to do.”

Flora felt indignant at this. “I already do stay put! Where am I going to go?"

“You’ve left the wards several times. I know you go down to the beach, to the shops."

”I’m not likely to be attacked by a werewolf in broad daylight,” Flora said moodily. 

”No,” Remus agreed, “but there are spies around. Someone could still easily grab you, daylight or not. I need you to stay here.” 

“But it’s boring!”

”It’s safe.” 

“Flora, listen,” Sirius began now in support of Remus. He brought over their cups of tea and sat down next to Remus. “You can’t leave.”

“So you’ve brought me all this extra food to prevent me from going anywhere? Half that bread will go mouldy before I get to open it.”

“No,” Remus rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand, stretching his long fingers out and burying them in his hairline. “No, that’s not it.”

“This is the second surprise,” Sirius said as he sipped his tea. He glanced again at Remus, who was now rubbing his eyelids with the heel of his palm. When Remus lowered his hands, his eyes were a little watery and red from the pressure of his hand. He looked suddenly very tired, older than his twenty-one years. 

“The other thing…” Remus started. His eyes met Sirius’ eyes.

“It’s my brother,” Sirius blurted out quickly.

Flora blinked. “Brother?”

“Yes, my younger brother.”

“I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“That’s because he’s a little prick. We don’t talk about him. He's, um, he was on the—you know, the other side of things. A Death Eater.”

Remus sighed heavily. Flora noticed he was gripping his cup of tea very tightly as Sirius struggled to explain whatever it was he was trying to explain. And this was odd because Sirius was never lost for words. He was always so sure of himself.

“A Death Eater,” Flora repeated when Sirius trailed off, prompting him to continue.

“Yeah, uh… well, ex-Death Eater I suppose now,” Sirius coughed softly to clear his throat. He swallowed thickly and his Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably in his throat. “He abandoned it all and came to find me. He’s hurt. Badly hurt. I still don’t fully know what happened to him because he won’t tell me. I thought maybe You-Know-Who had done something to him. But he's talking, giving us information that is useful to the Order, and so far it's been accurate, reliable."

Flora nodded slowly, keeping her large eyes fixed on the two young men. “Okay…”

“He’s not safe where he is,” Sirius continued. “We’re hiding him in our flat at the moment, but he can’t stay there.”

Flora was not stupid, and the realisation of what he was trying to ask hit her very quickly. But she held back, not speaking, and she waited for the horror of the situation to descend.

“Just to be clear,” Remus spoke up in a low, glum voice, “I don’t want this. I wish this wasn’t happening at all and I’m sorry.”

“Are you going to tell me that you’ve invited a Death Eater to come and live with me?” Flora demanded now, her voice growing increasingly higher as panic set in. She looked to her brother for help, but he was looking down obstinately at the table.

“Ex-Death Eater,” Sirius quickly corrected.

Flora glowered. “Oh, that's alright then."

“He won’t hurt you,” Sirius floundered. “I trust him.”

Flora scoffed, folding her arms across her chest.

“Please, just listen to me” he pleaded. Remus was clearly sitting out on the discussion, having known exactly how his sister would react. It was down to Sirius to convince her, and so far he wasn’t doing a very good job.

“He won’t have access to his wand,” he continued. “He won’t be able to do any magic."

“So he is dangerous?”

“No, it’s just…” Sirius rubbed his face now. “He’s not dangerous. Not really—”

“Not really?”

“Fuck’s sake,” Remus muttered with another very heavy sigh. “Let me explain it to her.”

“I wish one of you would,” Flora snapped in irritation. 

“I was against it too, okay?” Remus began calmly. “I still am. I don’t like him but he’s been fairly reliable so far. He’ll be killed if he’s found. By the look of things, he nearly was killed."

Sirius’ face had grown rather pinched. He held his chin in his hand and frowned down at his mostly untouched cup of tea. His whole body, which he usually held in a careless, relaxed way, was now very tense and hunched.

“I just want him to be safe,” Sirius murmured without raising his eyes.

Flora was quiet for a long moment, glaring at the two of them. “So the extra food,” she began after a minute, “That’s for him?”

“I’m sorry we didn’t ask you first, Flo,” Remus answered softly. “We need to move him quickly though. It probably won’t be for long, mind. The Order will eventually find somewhere more permanent for him to go, maybe. But he’s not exactly their priority right now. He’s just a runaway, at the end of the day.”

“More like an escaped lunatic," Flora said indignantly. "I don’t want him here. I’m telling you no.”

“Flora, please,” Sirius looked up now. His soft eyes were huge and desperate. “I’ll be the first to admit he’s an insufferable little prick. He has his ridiculous airs and prejudices, but I swear he won’t hurt you. I wouldn’t have asked if I thought for even a moment that he would harm a hair on your head. Maybe it’s stupid, but I truly believe he can change. He just needs the chance.”

Flora sat back, halfway defeated. She found it very challenging to argue when Sirius was looking at her with eyes like that, and it did not help that she’d had a foolishly desperate crush on him since she was eleven. She knew she would cave the moment he asked. She reasoned she could handle a rude houseguest — she’d helped at the village pub when she was fourteen during the summer holidays — but she wasn’t so keen on her houseguest being a dark wizard who openly hated muggles. This would be odious, but she couldn’t deny Sirius anything.

“We already broached the subject with him,” Sirius went on when she didn’t respond. “We’ve made it very clear that he has to behave himself.”

“How long will it be for?”

Sirius shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. If he becomes too much to deal with, we’ll take him back to the flat until we can find another arrangement.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘too much to deal with’?" She questioned carefully.

“Exactly what I said before. He’s a prick. I’m going to be completely honest with you, he will likely treat you with a lot of disdain because you’re a muggle. But whatever he says, take no notice. Just tell me and I'll sort the little bastard out."

“So he’ll just be rude?”

“At best, yes.”

“What about at worst?”

Sirius drummed his fingers on the table top. “He can be hateful.”

Remus sat up a little, as though a thought had just occurred to him. He touched Sirius’ arm lightly and shook his head, “Let’s not do this. We can find somewhere else for him to go. Why destroy her peace? She doesn’t need to know what people like him think of her.”

Sirius’ face dropped slightly. He looked a lot like a small child who had just been told no. Flora watched them curiously, feeling an odd swelling in her heart as she observed the pain and anxiety in Sirius’ eyes. Besides that, she was undeniably interested in doing something other than sitting around the house reading novels. When Flora had said life was boring, she meant she felt she was fading into the wings, always waiting, stagnant. She was so bored, lonely, and she resented her brother more and more everyday for keeping her here.

“Where’s he going to go, Moony?” Sirius was speaking in a low murmur to Remus. "He's not safe."

“We’ll find somewhere,” Remus replied with little certainty in his voice. “I promise.”

“He’ll be killed,” Sirius hissed. “They’ll find him.”

“They won’t.”

“One week,” Flora spoke up quietly, barely believing her own words as they left her mouth. She couldn't bear witnessing this. She didn’t have it in her to be cruel, and right now she felt cruel if she said no. “If he can behave himself for one week, he can stay.”

“Flo, you don’t have to—” Remus began hesitantly.

Sirius’ eyes lit up with new-founded hope though. “One week?” he replied quickly, latching to her words.

Flora nodded slowly. Her heart felt heavy but she couldn’t go back now. One week was fair, she reasoned. It wasn’t such a long time. And if Sirius’s brother turned out to be alright, then perhaps she would have a friend to fill her time with. As he was younger than Sirius, she assumed he must be her age. Either way, she reasoned, she had quite literally nothing to lose in letting him stay.

“One week. Okay,” Sirius nodded eagerly, “and we’ll visit every morning and evening to check how he gets on.”

Remus frowned. “I don’t think we can do that.”

“Well, I will anyway,” Sirius said. He then leaned across the table and clasped hold of Flora’s small hand. “Thank you. Thank you,” he whispered with great sincerity.

Flora coloured with pleasure, smiling a little in spite of herself as she relished in his joy and relief — joy and relief she had given. She knew her actions weren’t motivated out of any concern for his brother. Her motivation was purely for Sirius and herself.

“What’s his name anyway?” Flora asked, realising she’d never considered it.

“Regulus.”

“Of course it is,” she rolled her eyes gently and shook her head.

Sirius smiled, still grasping her hand in his tightly. He then kissed her hand, just like a knight in storybooks, placing a chaste kiss on her knuckles. Flora blushed to her ears and looked away, mortified and thrilled. And that was that. Regulus Black would be arriving the very next day.

[3terna15unshin3]

Then Because She Goes

Instagram AU (volume iii)

volume i — volume ii — back to masterlist

a/n: heyyyyy here it is!!! a few people have asked for this and i kept saying i’d do it but i kept putting it off for so long😭 they’re always so fun to make and now that i’ve written so many blurbs there is so much more material to work with so it was especially fun this time around, hope u enjoy🌟🌟

—

este.manansala

Liked by 1975adam, denise_welch and others

este.manansala NYE🌟 (+ aftermath)

View all comments

rass1975 Pho after a night out is crazy

↳ trumanblack Actually the most ideal time for pho

giveurself4try I’d recognize that chest tatt anywhere

_catekeeling this COAT?????? omg

↳ este.manansala i pretty much live in it

1 January, 2021

—

trumanblack added to their story

28 January, 2021

Send message

—

este.manansala

Liked by oliverpereira99 and others

este.manansala Valentine

View all comments

noacfdefender so cute😭😭😭

trumanblack Mine

↳ este.manansala hi x

14 February, 2021

—

trumanblack

Liked by charli_xcx, r0bberz and others

trumanblack Bea❤️ Last day on earth out now!!! x

View all comments

radvxz !!!!!!

este.manansala Obsessed

bedforddanes75 Why were you in a dressing gown

↳ trumanblack Idk studio felt sophisticated that day

24 March, 2021

—

este.manansala added 4 posts to their story

8 April, 2021

Send message

—

este.manansala

Liked by patriciavillirillo, weyesblood and others

este.manansala I’m begging you to go read Crying in H Mart !!! jbrekkie is such a fucking light, it is a privilege to know her and i am so moved/forever changed by this book❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

View all comments

jbrekkie Este 🌈 Thank you for reading!

denise_welch ❤️❤️❤️

trumanblack I wept the whole time jbrekkie

3 May, 2021

—

trumanblack

Liked by percyjmanansala, pollymoney and others

trumanblack My este.manansala turns 30 today. Please never ever ever ever leave my side, there's no me without you x

View all comments

trumanblack That last slide will be us in 40 years btw

charli_xcx dirty thirty!!!!!! the cutest ever <33

↳ Liked by este.manansala

1975adam Happy birthday bestie este🎂

↳ este.manansala "bestie este" lmfao ily

denise_welch That is totally you two in 40 years!!!! Xx

↳ Liked by este.manansala and trumanblack

este.manansala I love you

↳ trumanblack LOLML

↳ trumanblack LOMOL!!!**

↳ trumanblack LOMOMLLOLMOLLOLOMMLOL!!!!!!***

↳ trumanblack fuck sake

2 July, 2021

—

trumanblack

Liked by arianagrande and others

trumanblack Stop asking me when DLID is coming out

View all comments

turnthebiglightoff We wouldn’t be asking if you hadn’t told us it was finished 😐

↳ Liked by este.manansala

rass1975 Mate… that fucking mug

↳ trumanblack What about it?

**↳ Liked by este.manansala

_catekeeling u cut me out of the second slide

28 August, 2021

—

este.manansala

Liked by bedforddanes75 and others

este.manansala Cali for a bit

View all comments

trumanblack LA SUXXXX👎

↳ percyjmanansala Come home then!

**↳ este.manansala soon!!!!!!!

unitepariahs yall are in LA.. things are happening arent they

phoebebridgers 🤘🤘

19 October, 2021

—

este.manansala added to their story

23 October, 2021

Send message

—

trumanblack added 2 posts to their story

14 November, 2021

Send message

—

este.manansala

Liked by iliwysleep and others

este.manansala I’ve missed you Manchester🎄🎁❄️

View all comments

_catekeeling don’t leave me again :(((((

trumanblack My first kamayan😎

bedforddanes75 I dream about your mum

↳ bedforddanes75 Her cooking ^^^^^

g3orgiaheadley Dano!!! My fur baby!!

24 December, 2021

[theodorecanaryhood]

Family feud

Jason Todd x male! Reader

Reader gets into a dispute with his family, Jason gets protective

Warning: swearing, offensive slur, assault and threat - I also haven’t proof read so excuse any spelling errors!

Being the youngest always had complications as well as advantages. You always knew what mistakes not to make and you always got to enjoy a childhood a little longer.

The bad parts were that you were babied quite a lot and no one ever took you seriously when you got older, along with the fact that your older Sister had it in her head she would get everything first.

Truth be told you got the career first, moved out first, got a car first, and once you came out to the family, you began to get boyfriends first too.

Now in your early 20’s and your sister turning 30, she was always the jealous type as still could not get into the swing of adulthood just yet.

In many ways people always thought you were older as you matured a lot quicker, seeming to know the madness of life you worked hard to stay stable. In Gotham City of all places.

‘This is Warren’ your sister smiled as she introduced her boyfriend to you.

This was her first serious relationship or at least the first of hers you knew about, y/s/n didn’t have much luck with men and dating.

‘Lovely to meet you’ you smiled as you held your hand out, Warren hesitating to shake it at first.

‘Sure it is’ he chuckled, with a very cut off expression on his face, you could tell he wasn’t going to stick around or would he trouble.

You set the table as you finished up cooking and laid the plates in front of y/s/n and her boyfriend, who was still not interested in making eye contact with you.

‘So how’d you guys meet?’ You asked, sitting down after serving food.

The conversation was very one sided as only your sister made an effort to talk. Warren more or less focusing on his plate, your sister or checking his phone every now and then.

You drifted mentally from the conversation a little as you studied Warren, thinking all different things. Like maybe he has another woman, maybe he was shy, maybe he just wasn’t ready to meet anyone from his girlfriends family yet.

‘Have you spoken to Mum and Dad recently?’ Y/s/n asked you, you nodded.

‘Yeah, they’re enjoying the trip to Mexico, Dad keeps sending me pictures’ you took another mouthful.

Your sister excused herself to the bathroom as you sat opposite Warren, not really sure what to think of him, you respected that your sister liked him.

‘So, you from Gotham?’ You asked, Warren shook his head. Still not looking at you.

‘Well, we will have to give you a tour sometime, there’s great museums and clubs’ you smiled, you stayed as polite as possible but the man wouldn’t even look at you.

‘You ok?’ You asked, he finally made eye contact with you. He looked deep into your eyes and then looked away, playing with his fork as y/s/n came back into the room.

‘Hope you two are getting along’ she joked as she sat back down. Warren turning to her.

‘Can we go now?’ He asked her, very quickly and making clear he wasn’t comfortable.

‘Not yet, haven’t seen my little brother in a while. We need a catch up’ y/s/n replied, you looked confused.

He huffed as he slumped a little more into his chair, the door opened followed by heavy footsteps.

‘Babe, I’m home’ Jason called out, y/s/n shot her eyebrows up as you stood up and walked towards the door.

‘Hey’ you gave a kiss to Jason and walked with him into the dining room.

‘Y/s/n, this is Jason’ you smiled, your sister walking over and giving Jason a hug.

She’d met him before but only ever on FaceTime as she lived further away from you, Jason greeted her with a smile.

‘This is Warren, my sisters boyfriend’ you introduced, the two men eyed each other and shook hands.

‘Pleasure to meet you’ Jason smiled, the look on Warren’s face was surprise more than anything.

‘You too’ Warren kind of mumbled out, Jason stayed polite as he sat down.

‘Hungry?’ You served Jason a plate of food as he sat down next to you.

There was more conversation made but still only three ways now, as Warren still did not speak. You still couldn’t put a finger on it, or understand the problem.

‘Well, let me show you around’ Jason said to your sister as he got up to give her a tour of the apartment.

Warren remained sat opposite you as you sighed, fed up of the ignorance more than anything.

‘Right, is there a problem?’ You shot the question, as all your sister’s boyfriend could do was stare at you again.

‘I’m not comfortable’ was all he replied, you nodded.

‘Why?’

‘I don’t feel comfortable being here, with you sitting opposite me when you might flirt with me’ he said. You scoffed in disbelief as you nearly jumped onto your feet.

‘What? Why would I?’ You asked, Warren only kept staring at you.

‘Well you’re a gay guy and I’m a guy’ he replied, you laughed out loud but only because the thought of his response humoured you.

‘You’re really not all that my man, nor are you my type’ you responded, bluntly but also making a point.

‘Fuck you’ he responded as he stood up, you shot up onto your feet too.

‘Give him a prize he fucking speaks’ you shot back as you followed him into the hallway.

‘You disgust me, you and Justin’ he spat at you, venom in his words.

‘It’s Jason, and I really don’t care. Why come here if you knew? What do you care?’ You fired back, the man just stood in front of you.

‘Disgusting little faggot’ Warren’s poisoned words came out as his fist connected with your face.

Jason was there in seconds as he heard only Warren gunning words, your sister not sure of what she was hearing.

‘Don’t touch him’ Jason roared as he grabbed Warren by the collar and threw him to the ground.

You stood up on your feet as Jason brushed your face gently with his fingers, y/s/n rushing over to her boyfriend to help him up.

‘You should be ashamed of yourself, this is assault’ your sister took her turn in firing words to both of you.

You rubbed your now bruised eye as Jason shook his head in pure rage, his eyes would’ve turned black from the fire inside him.

‘Are you serious? This man is a homophobic prick who just physically attacked my boyfriend and your little brother’ Jason stated calmly, but his eyes showing the anger inside him.

‘Keep him away from me’ you said with a crack in your voice as you saw Warren stepping forward.

Jason took your hand in his as a tear fell from your eye, the other eye now bruised from the impact.

‘Let’s go’ Warren rushed as he yanked your sister out of the door.

‘That’s it, get the hell out of my apartment and don’t even think you’re welcome here again. Y/s/n, don’t ever call or text y/n again and you, Warren, you’re lucky I don’t call the police’ Jason boomed as the two walked out of the door.

You cried as you watched your sibling, your family, walk away from you and take another side. A side that had spoken to you like that and had physically hurt you too.

Jason took your hand again as you still stared at the door.

‘It’s gonna be ok baby’

[cressthebest]

Art Heist, Baby! thoughts pt. 12

chapter 30:

1. sirius pov fuck yeah

2. ..frank that mf used sirius’ deepest and most secret thoughts about reg against him. i’m pissed beyond belief

3. i know i say it a lot, but i love how bitter sirius is about reg and barty’s brotherhood

4. he chose the marauder + reg crew and i’m very worried. i still don’t trust peter

5. sirius will choose reg over everyone but remus every single time. and i love him. sirius drops his life on the good side and drops his freinds and frank and pandora all to go back to reg.

6. i’m so glad both james and sirius trust remus enough to BOTH tell him. i love that remus is james’ best friend. it’s healing

7. i was so optimistic the heist would go right. idk why i was surprised and still am surprised

8. james’ phone call to his mum is gonna break me so bad

9. shit i’m sobbing on the bus over this phone call. his mum loves him no matter what. fuck, this hurts so bad

10. 😳😳😳 they’re about to fuck i think

11. oh shit wait reg is crying

12. i hate knowing in my heart that peter betrayed them. cause everyone is guessing the mole. everyone is worried. nobody knows. but I KNOW. ASK ME!!! I KNOW THE MOLE!! THIS FOLLOWS CANON BITCH

13. marlene and dorcas being the richest lesbians in the world <333333

14. 😳😳😳 oh shit they might actually fuck this time

15. oh shit they fucked

16. oh shit wait what’s happening. it’s one am and they’re getting up. what’s happening

17. “James tried not to read too much into the fact that while he was in a sex induced, euphoric, sleep, Regulus was thinking about the heist and traitors and not about how amazing their day had been. Well, maybe he had done both. If anyone could multitask, it was Regulus.” 😭😭😭

18. oh. reg thinks it’s lucius that turned them in. i have… suspicions about that. it seems too easy of a fix.

19. 😳😳 tom riddle is lucius’ new business partner

20. he signed the sunflower note R.A.B. i’m gonna sob. that’s probably his last note ever, jsut like in canon. i’m so scared. jesus. i’m crying rn and nothing bad has happened yet

21. evan in barty’s room 😳😳 i was right about the rosekiller.

22. barty and evan are “james-napping” him. my beloveds <3333

23. james would marry regulus tomorrow if he asked. james would. marry. him. tomorrow. he would marry him. tomorrow ifheaskdjdjdhuejdk

24. reg is back alive, thank god

25. reg is trying to join him in the shower, but the door is locked 😭😭 james is so funny

26. jesus, that’s a lot of money. i’m just flabbergasted that that much money even exists in this world

27. 🤢🤢🤮🤮 severus

28. official apologies to peter. i never doubted you bud

[fundielicious-simblr]

(AN: I've been seeing that a recent game update has wrecked havoc on people's games so I guess it's good I play offline, therefore never updating the game 😂. I got this idea randomly so I'm glad I found another reason to dig up old files. These next two side posts will serve as yearly round ups so that you can be reminded of what has happened in the sim-year that's come to a close. I will put the text for this under the cut for easier readability.)

Narrator: Family newsletters have been a thing for a while in this sims universe, the larger families (Allan's and Claire's) have used these to send out to friends and family who live quite a way away and are less technologically advanced. Casandra loves being able to write up and tell people about her ever-growing family, so this is easy businesss for her.

Text under here!

Collins Family Newsletter

Our family verse for the year was from Psalm 37:5,6 “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”

To christen the new year, our son Charles and his wife Lorilee welcomed their first child, a boy they named Everett Collins. These two were ‘newlyweds until very recently, but that gauntlet was passed on swiftly and quickly. They live in a wonderful apartment around 30 minutes from us and are praying about buying their first property. Charles works the admin side of this plumbing business owned by a member of Newcrest Baptist, and Lorilee is now a devoted stay-at-home-mum.

This year we had precious Lana join the family! Parker and his beautiful bride were joined together in the Lord’s design on a wonderful spring day. Their courtship and engagement have been so sweet to watch, and they both made sure to honour the Lord and their parents during the whole process. They now live in the same apartment building as Charles and Lorilee and are praying they can buy a house in the near future. Parker continues to assist churches with their media, working mainly with the Newcrest Baptist media team; Lana has a ministry that aims to point young women towards the Lord in all they do.

Almost immediately after we got home from the wedding, Barrett and Kyleigh welcomed precious little Jackson Collins to the family. He joins older siblings Chloe, Allan Jr (AJ), Benjamin (Benji), Rose, Violet, Daisy, Marigold, Olivia, Preston, and Jefferson. Barrett and Kyleigh have trusted the Lord with the size of their family and he continues to bless them for their faithfulness! Kyleigh homeschools the children and Barrett works at an auto body shop, they are praying about adding an extension to their house. They recently announced that they’re expecting another baby that will join the family next autumn before Harvestfest - Praise the Lord!

In the summer Mason and Adalynn welcomed little Bethany Leonard to the family! She doesn’t know it yet but she’s a very blessed little girl - some would even say an answer to prayer! She joins 8 big brothers: Noah, Luke, Aaron, Paul, Joshua, Caleb, Jonah, and Titus. Bethany is doted on my all of her big brothers, as well as her delighted parents and their extended family. Adalynn continues to homeschool the boys whilst Mason works as a manager. They partake in ministry at Willowcreek Baptist, their home church, and are busy in the Lord’s work as a family.

Zoe and her husband Francisco announced to us recently that they’re expecting another little one next autumn! This blessing will join older siblings Javier Jr (JJ), and Cassie. Francisco continues to bravely serve in our country's military, and the family are a few months away from closing out their time in Windenburg. We thank the Lord for his mercy in keeping them safe daily as they make sacrifices to keep us all safe!

Maggie, her husband Shane, and their twins Iris and Arlo are thriving in San Myshuno, as are Reece, his wife Stacie and their kids Liam and Hazel. Both families attend a wonderful church that has an amazing ministries, one of which has them doing outreach to save the lives of the unborn! Their families are such a blessing to us and to those around them!

Beckett and Mandy are in Selvadorada and are thriving in the mission field! They came over for Harvestfest and enthralled us of wonderful stories of their work with the locals and about how so many people are getting saved and giving their lives to the Lord! They’re almost fluent in Selvadoradan simlish and send us such eye watering videos of them out in ministry reaching the hearts of the Lord and bringing souls to the Lord! We are so proud of them and their hearts for the Lord!

Amira, Thomas, and little Maya are doing wonderful in Windenburg! Little Maya is growing more and more daily, with her doting parents loving on her! Thomas continues working in accounting, with Amira caring for house and home. Priscilla, Felix, Andrew, and darling Grace are also thriving in Oasis Springs. Felix continues to work for his father, working to slowly change the country and bring it back to the Lord!

Onto those of us left at home; Allan continues in preaching at home and at various churches all over. We’ve had the blessing of being invited to various churches, tent meetings, revivals, and camps over the course of the year that have strengthened and blessed us more than we could ever express! In our travels we always try and see the kids if we happen to be passing by them on our travels. When we’re not being a preacher and preacher’s wife, we’re at home being parents and grandparents! This year we counted 55 people at our house for Harvestfest, including 30 grandbabies! We’ve been so greatly blessed by the Lord this year (like every year) that we can truly never even begin to repay the Lord for all the he’s done for us.

Macie, Annette, and Ashton are all making good use of themselves and the seasons of life that the Lord has them in. Macie spends all her free time in service to others, when she’s not helping with her local nieces and nephews, she’s providing child care to families at church. If she’s not local to Newcrest then no doubt she’s found herself on the staff of a camp, or helping a ministry with their outreach - aiding more hearts to turn toward salvation.

Annette has also positioned herself to serve others, in the recent past she’s spent her time babysitting and helping various families who need it. She’s recently been asked to join the admin team of a ministry run by a neighbouring church, so in the new year she’ll be working as an office assistant. It will be different, but it’s still an avenue of service to the Lord and she’s excited for this opportunity.

Ashton also likes to babysit in her free time, when she’s not home she’s travelling to see her siblings that live all over. She’s recently taken to baking and has found herself assisting a church member with a bakery often, with part of the proceeds going to support pregnancy care centres in our area!

As we close this year out, Allan and I are eternally grateful for all that the Lord has done for us and our family. We pray that this past year has been a time of worship, prayer, and togetherness. We also pray that this next year is full of the Lord’s mercies and blessings!

May you continue to be guided by the Lord's light,

Allan & Casandra Collins.

[bisluthq]

Do you think LOT prolonged Harry and Olivia’s relationship? I think they would’ve tried to save face for DWD’s sake either way but it’s interesting to me bc she clearly enjoyed and made the effort to be seen at his shows almost every week and the madness of everything was tied up in the tour for a while. So much of the intensity of their relationship seemed to be born out of covid restrictions limiting them to the house and her fertility causing them to speed run some decisions. I can’t picture what a tl looks for them where lot doesn’t happen so they’re at home more or jason doesn’t pick a fight with custody. It’s weird to think about now because the harry pre dwd and post dwd/olivia seem like different people to me and I can’t imagine him in that situation now. for all the genuinely traumatising scrutiny that must’ve been and I assume heartbreak over losing olivia and subsequently taylor, I think having a serious relationship that was 100x less publicised than holivia and having tour probably helped him process and made him think a lot about his choices

when I said it was a bit traumatic I didn’t even mean the public side of it lol (that too obviously and escalated the whole situation for sure), I meant like dating a woman going through what was essentially a divorce that included a very horrible custody battle that involved two kids and a really nasty ex is a WHOLE LOT for anyone but especially someone in their late 20s/early 30s imo who hasn’t had that type of experience before. Like NO ONE has fun during custody battles/divorces but at least if you’ve had your own experiences with them it’s like “okay here’s what I did” but Harry hadn’t had any experience with that beyond being a child of divorce and seeing Ann’s divorce with John and then seeing Robin really step the fuck up for Gemma and him? And I just imagine, even outside like the celebrity side of it, that that would’ve been really difficult. I’m basically his age, am a child of divorce, have seen my mum divorce twice more lol, am not in principle averse to dating someone with kids (haven’t ever but not like because it’s a rule for me) and have an older partner but ngl if my partner were going through a custody battle while with me I’d be very fucking stressed and I think pretty useless with advice and wouldn’t even be the best at the moral support side because it’s just like… quite far out of the realm of my own experience. And I do get the sense that Harry was hella overwhelmed lol and also again partly because of how much he loved/loves Robin and respected Robin, he was trying to do the right thing for Olivia and the kids but also like he’s not yk old enough per se to be in that position.

I don’t know what their whole situation would’ve been in another life where she’d left Jason in a classy fashion and had obtained a normal parenting plan and then started dating Harry. And also what it would’ve been like without LOT and all the DWD drama that was unrelated to them/this. Like that would’ve been a completely different tl and maybe it would’ve worked better because they clearly got along grand for the most part and did really love each other and if things were chill from Jason’s end like I don’t think the kids would’ve been a problem at all. I don’t think Harry would’ve tried to replace him or anything as their dad but also would’ve tried to be a good stepfather figure.

the biological clock thing would still have been an issue just because like she realistically needs to have a kid in the next few years if she wants more bio kids - she can’t really wait another 8 years or anything - but they did seem legit open to kids together idk so again without Jason drama + all the other crap then maybe it would’ve worked out. It didn’t.

and I agree the Taylor thing was healthier and probably helped him work through a few of the issues he’d built up over the past few years but clearly also didn’t work out and imo he should take it slow with the next girl and like see where things go and how they develop. Which again is why Olivia D or someone like her, who’s busy and not really in a rush to marry/have kids etc, would imo be a really good idea. He needn’t stay single but I also don’t think he should move in with someone and/or start talking rings and cradles in the next year or so lol. He should just chill for a bit.

[dhr-ao3]

Rock and Fortress

Rock and Fortress https://ift.tt/fVn3Plu by May_Millefeuille On a dramatic shoreline of jutting rocks and cliffs, two neighbouring villas are the home to two opposite families. The Malfoy’s occupy the beautiful and desolate castle atop a cliff facing the sea, locally known as 'Serpents Edge'. The Granger’s occupy the much smaller vine covered lodging at the bottom of the cliff. Returning each summer and separated only by the small beach both properties share, a young boy and girl meet and begin a complicated friendship that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “They’re a very old and strange family that own that house round the other side of this cliff, they only come for the summers and keep to themselves when they do. Beautiful house though, been in the family for generations. Armand I think was his name who first owned it, they’ve all got funny names come to think of it. Draco I think is the son’s name, same age as Hermione here”. “Perhaps you will make friends, Hermione!” my dad nodded at me enthusiastically, as my mum looked on warily. “Yeah, maybe” I said without much conviction. I doubt he’d want to be friends with me anyway. No one else does. Words: 347, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage Categories: F/M Characters: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Lily Evans Potter, Ron Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Hermione Granger's Mother, Hermione Granger's Father, Ginny Weasley, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Dean Thomas, Astoria Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, Daphne Greengrass, Marauders (Harry Potter) Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Minor Character Death, The Golden Trio Era (Harry Potter), Post-Second Wizarding War with Voldemort (Harry Potter), Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, POV Hermione Granger, POV Draco Malfoy, Adult Hermione Granger, Adult Draco Malfoy, Redemption, Hurt/Comfort, Coming of Age, Sad and Happy via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/ah74YOe July 30, 2023 at 02:54PM

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 30: The Chaotix Detective Agency

''Team Chaotix! They're detectives you want on your side! Team Chaotix! Their directive's tracking down your crime! Come along for the ride (Team Chaotix!)! Truth can run but not hide for long, the game is on! Team Chaotix! Sonic Heroes, what your problem needs! Team Chaotix! Watch those three go make the outlaws bleed! There's no way you can win (Team Chaotix!)! If it's trouble you're in (You're in!)! They're going to kick your... Team Chaotix!''

– Team Chaotix by Sonic Heroes

xXxXxXx

Lily and Knuckles were enjoying their breakfast during the quiet hours of early morning, only to hear an unholy screeching sound coming from somewhere inside the mansion. Knuckles was alarmed by it, looking at Lily for her reaction, only to be surprised when she resumed eating her cereal, looking rather annoyed.

''Don't you want to know what has happened?'' Knuckles asked, giving Lily a curious look.

''Going by the banshee screeching, either one of Mum's fake nails got chipped while she was trying to put on jewelry, or her favorite drama show got cancelled,'' Lily said in a nonchalant tone. Knuckles rose an eyebrow.

''Hmph, so you can recognize what your mother is upset about by the type of screeching she performs?'' Knuckles asked, with Lily nodding, looking rather amused. ''That is quite an unusual skill. I suppose it helps you whenever you socialize with your parents.''

''You have no idea…'' Lily chuckled.

''Lily!!''

Both were startled by the angry scream, with Lily groaning in annoyance, not wanting to deal with her mother at all, while Knuckles had a thoughtful look on his expression. ''I believe this scream means that she's angry about something and is calling you to solve the problem for her.''

''Really? How come it's so specific?'' Lily asked as she got up.

''I may not have lived with your family for long, but I did pick up on their behavior,'' Knuckles replied, joining her as they walked out of the dining room. The screeching was coming from the room that was filled with various valuable gemstones and minerals Lily's mother was collecting.

''Finally, you two are here!'' Lauren turned to the two, pointing at an empty glass case. ''It's gone! My friend's gem is gone! How do you want to explain this?!''

''How are we supposed to explain what?'' Lily asked, still having no idea what her mother was talking about. Knuckles meanwhile took a look at the empty glass case with a thoughtful look.

''It is indeed empty,'' he stated, frowning. ''What kind of gem had been stolen?''

''Well, duh! The big aquamarine my friend had borrowed me for safekeeping!'' Lauren huffed. ''It had been stolen right under your nose, Guardian!''

''Don't fret, I will recover it,'' Knuckles replied, not liking the mocking tone Lauren addressed him with. He clenched his fist, muttering under his breath, ''That Rouge! She will pay for this…''

Lily, who also took a closer look at the empty glass case, frowned and turned to her mother. ''Hey, Mum, have you found some kind of card next to the glass case?

''What? No,'' Lauren responded, visibly confused by the question, but it only lasted for a moment, as the look of annoyance returned almost immediately. She then waved them off. ''If you really think you know who did it, then go find this person and arrest them or whatever! I don't want to explain to my friend how I got one of her precious gems lost!''

Lily narrowed her eyes, but she turned on her heel, leaving with Knuckles. She noted that the echidna was furious over the possibility that Rouge had managed to somehow break in and steal one of the gems – again. It didn't help that she had been taunting him the past days, leaving those calling cards to make it clear that she still found ways breaking into the mansion. Yet, she didn't take anything… at least until now.

''We need to find Rouge as fast as possible and get that gem back,'' Knuckles growled, feeling really angry. He heard a sigh, and turned to Lily, who appeared to be more blasé about the situation. ''Do you know something?''

''Honestly, while it is quite possible that Rouge was behind this theft, something is telling me that she might not be the actual culprit,'' Lily said. Knuckles rose an eyebrow.

''What makes you think that?'' he asked, with the two stopping in the hallway.

''It simply doesn't match her recent modus operandi. She might be a thief, but she always left a calling card, didn't she? She would want to alert you to the theft because she sees it as a game or a battle, if you want to call it that,'' Lily explained. Knuckles fell silent for a moment as he thought about her words.

''Let's find Rouge first,'' he said, walking away. ''I want a direct answer from her.''

Lily tilted her head, arms folded across her chest, as she tried to figure out what was going through Knuckles' head. Obviously, he wanted to make sure whether it really was Rouge who had stolen the gem. But, if Lily was right and it actually wasn't the elusive thief, then who was the real culprit?

xXx

Right, there is also the problem of finding Rouge. It's not as if she's going to let us find her so easily. Lily sighed as she and Knuckles had sat down on a bench at a park after walking around for several hours. The echidna warrior refused to rest until they found Rouge, with Lily following him in silence, well aware that they wouldn't be making any progress this way. However, she decided to follow his plan first as she tried to make her own.

''This isn't working,'' Knuckles grumbled as he sat on the bench.

''Obviously, it doesn't,'' Lily muttered, still deep in thought. Knuckles gave her an annoyed look, but he knew that she was right. Aimlessly searching for someone who cannot be found wasn't the best plan.

''Do you have a better plan?'' Knuckles asked again. Lily was silent, only to shake her head.

''I have no clue,'' she said. Both then sighed in unison, their minds completely blank. ''It's not easy to find someone who doesn't want to be found.''

''You're correct. You could try to put yourself in the mind of the person you wanted to find, though.'' Knuckles and Lily suddenly turned around, stunned to see Rouge hanging upside down from the tree behind them, her wings wrapped around her body. ''That's how I found you.''

''Rouge!'' Knuckles jumped on his feet, getting into a fighting stance. Rouge leapt down from the tree, flying up to the echidna warrior.

''I have heard that you had been searching for me. I had no idea you cared so much,'' Rouge said, her forwardness startling Knuckles.

''You- You're mistaken! I was searching you to confront you!'' Knuckles replied angrily, pointing his gloved fist at her. ''Last night, you had stolen an aquamarine gemstone from Lily's mother's collection.''

''Did I?'' Rouge was genuinely surprised at the accusation, then folded her arms across her chest. ''I'm sorry to disappoint you, Knuckles, but I had been busy last night with something else and I didn't have the time to pay you a visit.''

''Don't lie to me!'' Knuckles growled, only to shiver when Rouge suddenly got closer to him, placing a finger under his chin.

''Oh, poor Knuckie… Were you so desperate to see me again that you hallucinated me stealing a gem?'' she asked, smiling in a teasing manner. Knuckles froze for a moment, his peach fur on his muzzle barely hiding the blush that appeared. The moment he regained control over his legs, he quickly stepped back, trying to come up with a good response, but his mind was completely blank. Fortunately, Lily saved him.

''No, Knuckles is telling the truth. Someone really stole the aquamarine and we wanted to figure out whether it was you or someone else. We didn't find any of your calling cards at the scene of crime, but we still decided to cover all possibilities,'' she explained. Rouge frowned.

''Hmph, unfortunately for you, I'm not the culprit. As a matter of fact, I have a solid alibi that I was nowhere near the mansion last night,'' she told them, with Lily waving her hands.

''No, we believe you,'' she said, with Knuckles giving his partner a side-eye. He then turned to Rouge, who appeared to be quite in a sour mood.

''I hope that you find the true culprit,'' Rouge told him, now a bit more serious.

''I'm amazed that you're siding with us,'' Knuckles said, tilting his head as he gave her a questioning look.

''Of course I'm siding with you. If there is a thief who is targeting your home, then it should be me. I don't want a rival on my territory,'' Rouge huffed. Knuckles rose an eyebrow.

''I thought you insisted on referring to yourself as a treasure hunter,'' he said. Rouge stammered for a moment, only to quickly wave it off in a causal manner.

''As far as I'm concerned, it's the same thing,'' she replied. ''After all, it is all about finding and acquiring treasures, isn't it?''

''Not when that treasure clearly belongs to someone else and they have a whole security system installed to protect it and…'' Knuckles trailed off as he realized that he was also describing what a typical treasure hunt adventure from the movies looks like. Rouge smirked.

''Yeah, I think you would want to rethink the definition of a treasure hunt,'' she said, flapping her wings and flying off. ''Let me know when you find your thief!''

''Wait, but I don't even know where you live!'' Knuckles protested. Rouge, who sort of had to agree with Knuckles on this point, then shrugged.

''Then, I'll find you. I know where you live, after all,'' she said, then flew away. Knuckles pouted, folding his arms across his chest.

''Of course that sneaky bat wouldn't tell me anything,'' he grumbled.

''She's just messing with your head,'' Lily commented. Knuckles groaned.

''I know, and I hate how she makes me feel. I shouldn't be freezing up. What if she attempts a sneak attack?'' he said. Lily was about to reply how she thought that Rouge's so-called sneak attack would not fit Knuckles' definition of one, but decided to just drop the topic.

''I think we can deal with Rouge later, since we have more important matters to focus on,'' she said.

''Right. If Rouge wasn't the thief, then who was…'' Knuckles trailed off, feeling frustrated. He wanted to know what was going on and he would do anything to find the culprit. He lifted his head as he heard Lily humming, noticing her taking a piece of paper out of her pocket.

''I suppose we'll need some help with this,'' she said as she unwrapped the paper.

''Do you mean that we should call the rest of Team Neos for this?'' Knuckles asked.

''We could, but I was actually thinking of hiring detectives,'' Lily replied, showing Knuckles the paper. ''I found this yesterday after we ran into Minami and Amy.''

Knuckles took the piece of paper, confused by the crude crayon drawing of headphones, a shuriken and a bee. Above the drawing was the text ''CHAOTIX DETECTIVE AGENCY'', written in a child's handwriting. Below the drawing was an address written in a more elegant writing. ''Chaotix Detective Agency… The name sounds familiar.''

''They're also characters from the Sonic video game franchise,'' Lily explained.

''I see,'' Knuckles muttered, looking up at Lily. ''It says that they're located in Eas. That's our district, but I don't think we've been to that part of the city.''

''Well, you know how they say – there is a first time for everything,'' Lily said. ''I'm really looking forward to meeting Team Chaotix.''

xXx

''The detective life is a hard one. The jobs are tough and… a-actually, I don't have a case right now, but when I do, they're tough. Sometimes, the streets are mean and full of hoodlums… well, okay, they're not bad kids, they're just noisy, and there's that café in the corner, the one with the raspberry-filled pastries and, I mean- Yeah, it's a tough life and I'm a tough guy. Years of tough work made me this way. Even when the times are tough I… I… Geez, this noir stuff is hard, I might need a thesaurus. Next time I get a paycheck, I'll buy one. A-Anyway, a classy dame walks in…''

Vector the Crocodile almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the door slam open. He was a large, green-skinned crocodile with spiky red scales down his tail and goldenrod eyes. He sported a thick body that resembled an S-shape, with his broad upper body getting slimmer towards his tail and legs. By contrast, his arms started out thin and thickened closer to the wrist. His belly, snout and arms were light green, while the rest of his body was dark green. For attire, he wore small, black shoulder pads, white gloves with black-and-orange cuffs, embellished with gold buckles as well as black shoes figured with white and orange colors. He also wore a gold chain around his neck, serving as his trademark accessory alongside his pair of black-and-gray wireless noise-cancelling. With the exception of his chain, Vector's complete attire appeared to be made out of leather.

Vector rubbed his head, looking at the front door, but instead of seeing a ''dame'', it was a red-furred echidna about half his size. Not what he had imagined in his film noir daydream, but he figured that, if this echidna was another client, it was better than nothing.

''Hello, is this the Chaotix Detective Agency?'' the echidna asked.

''Yes, it is. My name is Vector, the head honcho of our detective agency,'' Vector introduced himself, getting up and extending his hand to the echidna.

''My name is Knuckles,'' Knuckles responded, shaking hands with Vector. ''Me and my partner wanted to ask you whether you could help us with a mystery.''

''Don't worry, the Chaotix Detective Agency accepts any kind cases… uh, where is your partner?'' Vector looked around, a bit confused.

The door slammed open once again, startling both Vector and Knuckles, but this time a rather hyperactive anthropomorphic black-and-yellow striped bee with yellow-and-black striped antennae, translucent sky-blue wings on his back, and honey brown eyes flew inside. He also had exposed peach skin on his muzzle and arms, a tiny black nose, and a silver stinger. For attire, he wore an orange vest with a bee emblem on the left, a small yellow zipper, and a white collar resembling that of a polo shirt. He also wore white and orange shoes cuffed with black rings and topped with yellow zippers, white gloves with similar cuffs, and a black pilot's helmet with a raspberry and two orange-circulated trim, alongside orange and silver flight goggles with light blue lenses.

''Hey, Vector, you'll never guess what happened!'' Charmy Bee was zooming around Vector excitedly.

''We have a new case,'' Vector stated calmly, watching as Charmy doing a flip in the air.

''We have a new case! I told you that my leaflets would work!'' Charmy replied proudly, his head lifted high and his arms on his hips. ''Now I need to make more of them, so we can get even more people to ask us to help them.''

''Charmy, how about we complete this case first?'' Vector suggested.

Charmy nodded, adding, ''Okay, and when I get my part of the paycheck, I'll buy more paper and crayons and make more leaflets and place them all over Neos City! I'll make them all super colourful, so everyone will see them!''

''If you wish to do so, you will also need to know the perfect spots to place them, else you won't be able to draw in any clients.'' The door opened once again, and much to Vector's relief, it didn't slam into the wall this time, with purple anthropomorphic chameleon with a yellow horn between his gold eyes walking inside. His muzzle and the heart-shaped pattern on his torso were peach in color. He had a ridge of three black spikes going down his spine and a coiled tail. For attire, he wore dark purple shoes with black accents, metal-reinforced arm bracers, and white gloves with dark purple pads on the backs. Around his wrists and ankles were bandage-wrapped cuffs with gold studs on the lower bands. Espio the Chameleon then turned his gaze to the person that followed him. ''However, Vector is right about this case taking priority, since our client is quite important.''

''Well, I wouldn't call myself important…'' Lily replied. As it turned out, Vector was correct about getting a case from a ''dame''. ''I'm Lily Crystle, nice too meet you. It's Vector, right? Charmy and Espio had already introduced themselves.''

''Right, nice to meet you Ms. Crystle…'' Vector trailed off as he shook hands with Lily, rising an eyebrow. ''Excuse me, but do you have any relation to Anthony Crystle, the CEO of Rising Quest?''

''Yes, that's my father,'' Lily responded, her eyes narrowing.

''I told you she was important,'' Espio told Vector in a matter-of-fact tone. Lily sighed in annoyance.

''Seriously, guys, I'm not that important. Also, I'd prefer if you just called me Lily. I don't want the whole public to know that I'm the daughter of the CEO of Rising Quest, because I want to avoid trouble,'' she told them, folding her arms across her chest. ''Besides, Knuckles and I are here on a business matter.''

''Right, the case,'' Vector said, looking at the two. ''So, why do you need our help?''

''An aquamarine gemstone had been stolen from Lily's mother's collection. We have tried to find the thief, but so far, we weren't successful. Lily had found your leaflet and decided that it would be better to leave this to professionals,'' Knuckles explained.

''I see, so this is a case of a stolen item...'' Vector hummed, narrowing his eyes in deep thought as his mind went into detective mode. ''You said you have tried to find the thief? Does this mean that you already had a suspect in mind?''

''Correct,'' Knuckles replied. ''Her name is Rouge the Bat, and she had been antagonizing us for a while. However, she claims that she has nothing to do with this.''

''It simply didn't match her modus operandi and she even offered us to confirm her alibi,'' Lily added.

''I see… Well, you came to the right detective agency!'' Vector said jovially. ''We are the best of the best!''

''Yeah!'' Charmy cheered, while Espio just nodded proudly.

''That's great. I'll make sure to also pay you generously for your work,'' Lily said, noting a glint in Vector's eyes. If this was an anime, she was sure the Zenny currency sign would've appeared in them, considering the look she was giving her.

''Heheh, you don't have to worry about that. We're simply here to help people in trouble, whether we're payed or not,'' Vector said, only to get elbowed by Espio, who gave him a side-eye. Vector then cleared his throat. ''Of course, since this is our job, being payed is also part of it. Anyways, we should get going. Our first order of business is to examine the scene of crime.''

Lily and Knuckles nodded, with the whole group exiting the Chaotix Detective Agency – a small and somewhat rundown building with the ''CHAOTIX DETECTIVE AGENCY'' sign placed above the entrance. It was obvious that, if it weren't for the sign (or the fact that it looked quite rundown), it wouldn't really stand out from other buildings, which were newer and better looking. Lily had to admit that, when she and Knuckles had arrived earlier, she wondered whether she should even be surprised that the building looked like this or just shrug it off. Knuckles didn't care either way, as he was only focused on getting help for their case.

''You know, you are important to me.'' Lily blinked, only to look down at Knuckles, who gave her a determined look. ''You said earlier that you weren't anyone important, but that's not true. You are important to me. I just wanted to make this clear.''

''Thanks, but I didn't mean it like that…'' Lily trailed off, wanting to point out that she just didn't want to be seen just as the daughter of a CEO and draw attention that way. She then smiled. ''How about this? You're the only one who gets the honor of calling me important.''

Knuckles nodded with a big grin on his expression. ''I will make sure to make you proud.''

xXx

''Hmph, and these guys are professionals?'' Lauren rose an eyebrow as she saw Team Chaotix, her arms folded across her chest. It was clear she had zero faith in the trio.

''Don't worry, Ma'am, we're the best of the best. We will follow this case through to the very end,'' Vector responded confidently.

''Whatever…'' Lauren just rolled her eyes in response, walking away to leave them to their job.

''She's a tough customer,'' Espio commented.

''I think that she's really mean,'' Charmy said, sticking out his tongue at Lauren's back.

''I'm sorry about my Mum being so rude,'' Lily told them. ''If you guys need anything, you can ask me or Knuckles.''

''Does this place have any security system?'' Vector asked her.

''Well, we have cameras and a security alarm,'' Lily responded. ''However, the alarm didn't go off and I don't really know whether there's anything on the cameras.''

''Okay, Espio, you go check the cameras. Charmy and I will investigate the crime scene,'' Vector said. Espio just nodded, following Knuckles towards the CCTV room, while Lily went along with Charmy and Vector.

''Something doesn't make sense, though…'' Charmy hummed, flying above the two. ''If something gets stolen, you'd usually call the police, right?''

''You're right,'' Lily replied, narrowing her eyes. ''Instead of calling the police, she just told me and Knuckles to deal with this. However, I didn't really think much about it since we already dealt with a similar situation before.''

''You had told us that you already interrogated the main suspect, Rouge, and that she had nothing to do with this case. Does your mother have anyone else who knows about her gemstone collection and would want to steal one?'' Vector asked as they entered said room.

''Well, she loves to brag about her collection to her friend, and even offers to safekeep them. As a matter of fact, the aquamarine that got stolen belonged to one of her friends,'' Lily explained.

''What if her friend took it back?'' Charmy asked. Lily shook her head.

''Impossible. She's on a business trip and won't be returning until tomorrow,'' she responded. Meanwhile, Vector took a look the glass case, his eyes narrowing.

''Who has access to this room?'' he asked.

''Well, it is usually kept locked up and Mum is the one who has the key. She won't let anyone inside, not even the maids or Bennet, our butler, without her permission. Knuckles actually stood guard for a couple of nights in front of both entrances, and even kept an eye on the skylight because he wanted to catch Rouge in the act of stealing, but he always missed her. However, last night, he was with me the whole time,'' Lily explained.

''That's weird…'' Vector mused, noting how the glass was pristine aside from a couple of barely noticeable smudges.

''What did you find?'' Charmy hovered next to him.

''It looks like fingerprints,'' Vector responded, turning back to Lily. ''When was the glass casing cleaned last?''

''Uhhh, yesterday evening, I think?'' Lily replied, feeling a little confused. ''Mum talked about how she loved how the aquamarine looked under the light and wanted to make sure the glass was crystal clear.''

''Has anyone touched the glass since last night?'' Vector asked. Lily placed a finger on her lips as she tried to remember.

''I think the only person who touched it is my Mum. Knuckles and I did take a look at it, but we didn't touch anything. Why?'' she asked.

''I'm just trying to put the puzzle pieces together into a whole picture,'' Vector responded, while Charmy was looking around at the other gemstones. ''Your mother didn't appear to be too alarmed about losing a valuable gemstone that actually belongs to her friend.''

''Vector's right! If I lost something important, I would turn the whole house upside down,'' Charmy said. Lily fell silent, having to admit that her mother appeared to not really care about finding the aquamarine, but she felt that it was mainly because she had little faith in the Chaotix Detectives. However, a strange feeling was telling her that this case might not be as complicated as she thought. Vector then turned to Charmy, who was currently looking at a glass case filled with minerals. ''Charmy, I have a task for you. We're going to play a little game.''

''Yay, a game! What are we going to pay?'' Charmy flew up to Vector, looking excited, with the crocodile whispering something in his ear, with Lily giving the two a curious look.

''Do you think you can do that?'' he asked.

''Of course I can!'' Charmy replied and then flew out of the room. Lily then turned to Vector.

''What did you tell him to do?'' she asked.

''It's just a little treasure hunt. I already have a hunch in regards to who the culprit is, but we need more evidence. I hope that Espio has found out more,'' Vector replied.

xXx

''Is this all of the footage from last night?'' Espio asked as he and Knuckles looked over it. Knuckles simply nodded in response, with Espio's frown deepening. ''It appears that around 15 minutes are missing, with the camera being turned off during that time. There is also only one person who had access to this room during that timeframe.''

Both stared at the footage again as they saw Lauren walking towards the CCTV room, with the video then blacking out, only to re-appear later with Lauren walking away from the room. Knuckles frowned. ''I don't like how this looks. I don't believe that Lily's mother would have any reason to turn off the cameras unless she was covering something.''

''You're correct in that regard,'' Espio commented, checking the camera footage before and after the aquamarine went missing. ''The timeframe matches the lack of footage. It looks like our suspect might not even be an outsider.'' He then turned on the live footage, switching between the cameras, only for him and Knuckles to look surprised. ''Did you expect any visitors today?''

''No,'' Knuckles responded, staring at the screen which showed Sonic walking around the mansion. He then muttered, ''What is Sonic doing here?'' He walked out of the room, going towards the hallway where he saw Sonic, eventually finding him tapping with his foot, looking around as he tried to figure out where to go next. ''Hey, Sonic!''

''Yo, Knux! I've been hoping to find you here,'' Sonic greeted him in a chipper tone.

''Sonic, what are you doing here?'' Knuckles asked him.

''I was in the neigborhood and I had figured to drop by for a visit,'' Sonic said in a casual manner, only for Knuckles to give him a pointed look, clearly reading him like an open book. Sonic shifted a bit. ''Okay, maybe I actually wanted to ask you for help.''

Knuckles was surprised at first, but then grinned smugly. ''What do you need help with?''

''Oh, it's nothing special,'' Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head, trying not to look at Knuckles, well aware of the look the echidna was giving him. ''After the last battle with Metal Sonic, I had figured that I'd sort of need some pointers when it comes to close combat, and you're the one who has the most experience with it.''

''I'm honored that you're asking for my help, and I'd gladly train you in close combat, but for now, there is something else I need to deal with,'' Knuckles replied. The two were then joined by Espio.

''We should go back to Vector and Lily,'' he told Knuckles. Sonic gave the two a confused look.

''Uhh, what's going on?'' he asked.

''Someone stole another gemstone, but it's not Rouge,'' Knuckles replied.

''Do you guys know who did it?'' Sonic asked.

''We have a hunch,'' Espio replied, with the three then walking back to the gemstone room, where they only found Vector. ''We've checked the camera footage, and around 15 minutes of it were missing. The only person who had access to it at the time was Mrs. Crystle.''

''As I had suspected,'' Vector muttered. Sonic was confused, looking at Knuckles for answers, only for Lily and her mother, who was loudly complaining about being dragged into the room, entered.

''Why do you want me here? Can't I get a break from the emotional damage I had experienced?'' Lauren protested.

''Don't worry, Ma'am, we just wanted to ask you a few questions. Then, he case will be solved,'' Vector replied. Everyone in the room stared at Lauren, who went from frowning to being genuinely stunned.

''Uh, what are you talking about?'' she asked.

''Vector wants to say that he knows stole the aquamarine,'' Lily told her in a grumpy tone, having been asked earlier by Vector to go get her mother for the big reveal.

''Oooohhh, this is going to be interesting,'' Sonic grinned as he realized he unintentionally got himself involved in another adventure.

''W-Well… I don't really think you'd be able to solve anything in such a short time, but I'll hear you out,'' Lauren said, looking nervous. Vector cleared his throat, looking at Lauren.

''First, we'll set the scene. The aquamarine, which belongs to your friend, had been stolen last night, and it was placed in this glass case. Afterwards, this room had been locked and remained like this the whole night, with you being the only one who had access to the keys. Is that correct?'' he asked.

''Yes, that's true,'' Lauren responded.

''You also knew that no one would be guarding this room, since Knuckles stayed over night with Lily?'' Vector continued, with Lauren nodding again.

''Of course I knew. I was the one who told him to just leave it be, since nothing had been stolen before,'' she explained.

''Except, we had several visits from Rouge. While nothing had been stolen, I had offered to keep an eye on the room just in case,'' Knuckles responded, glaring at Lauren.

''Well, that's your own fault. You didn't have to listen to me if you thought something would get stolen; and now look what had happened!'' Lauren said, with both Knuckles and Lily glaring daggers at her. Vector sighed, rubbing his head.

''Why didn't you call the police when you found out the aquamarine had been stolen instead of telling Knuckles and Lily to solve the case?'' he asked. ''Wouldn't that be the most logical move?''

''I don't believe that law enforcement would do much in this case. After all, my friend is returning tomorrow and I sincerely doubt that the police would be able to find the aquamarine in time,'' Lauren responded.

''So, you're scared to tell your friend about their stolen gem?'' Espio asked. Lauren sighed audibly.

''Obviously, I would have to tell her that it's gone, and I'm not looking forward to it. Even if involved law enforcement, that aquamarine is already long gone, probably sold to some shady people,'' she explained. ''Why should I put effort into something that's gonna remain unsolved?''

''All cases can be solved,'' Vector responded in a calm tone. ''We have found fingerprints on the glass case. Were you the one who touched it?''

''Well, of course I have. What kind of question is that?'' Lauren asked. Vector folded his arms across his chest.

''I find it interesting that you have ordered for all the glass cases to be cleaned, yet this one is the only one with fingerprints – your fingerprints – and a missing gemstone. Not only that, but the aquamarine isn't even the most valuable gemstone in your collection. In my experience, a thief would take the most valuable items, if not all of them. Of course, the lack of fingerprints could be explained by the culprit wearing gloves, but it is still curious that only the aquamarine had been taken,'' Vector explained. Lauren frowned.

''What do you want to say with that?'' she asked, now getting irritated.

''We have also found that 15 minutes of footage were missing from the CCTV, and you were the only one close to the CCTV room at the time,'' Espio added.

''W-Wait, do you want to say that you're accusing me of stealing the aquamarine? Are you crazy?! Why would I even do that?!'' Lauren yelled at them.

''You had been telling us how you were jealous at your friend in regards to the aquamarine and how you didn't want to return it yet,'' Lily added. Lauren grimaced, looking speechless.

''Uh, I-I- Why have you told them that?!'' she shouted at her daughter.

''Considering the circumstances and your current behavior, the only conclusion we have is that you were the culprit!'' Vector said, pointing at Lauren.

''Wh-What are you talking about?! I haven't done anything to warrant such an accusation! Your evidence is flimsy at best!'' Lauren protested.

''Then what were you doing at the CCTV room?'' Espio asked.

''T-That's none of your business! B-Besides, if I was the culprit, then where is the aquamarine? Shouldn't it be still here?'' Lauren asked.

''Vector, I found it!'' Charmy suddenly burst into the room, holding an aquamarine gemstone in his hands. ''It was in the master bedroom, just like you said!''

Lauren gasped when Charmy handed the aquamarine to Vector. ''You did a great job, Charmy.''

Charmy grinned in response, while Lauren was just baffled as now everyone was staring at her. Vector then added, ''I suppose we could call this case closed. Not only have we found the stolen aquamarine in your bedroom, but you also had a motive to steal it.''

Lauren was fuming at first, but unable to bear everyone's judging looks, she fell on her knees. ''Okay, fine, I took it! Sarah told me to return it tomorrow after she is back from her business trip, but I wanted to keep it a bit longer. I though that I could just pretend it got lost and make it resurface later on when I got bored of keeping it.''

''Then why did you tell Knuckles and I about it?'' Lily asked.

''Because I realized it would make more sense if I acted as if it was stolen,'' Lauren grumbled. ''I thought you'd drop it, but you just had to hire those detectives.''

''That's because we thought this was serious, and not just an act of petty jealousy,'' Knuckles replied, glancing at Lily. ''What is going to happen now?''

''You know, we could pretend this had never happened,'' Lily said, much to everyone surprise. She then shoot her mother a glare. ''But only if you return the aquamarine to its rightful owner!''

Lauren shuddered when she heard Lily's icy tone, but then lowered her head. ''Okay, I'll do it as long as you don't tell her anything. I promise.''

''Good,'' Lily said, watching as Lauren got up and took the aquamarine from Vector. ''Oh, and one more thing to make sure I'll keep my lips sealed.''

''What?'' Lauren asked, her eyes narrowing.

''I had promised the Chaotix that I would pay them for their work and I had fully intended to use my own savings for that. However, since it was you who caused this mess, you should be the one to pay for it. Also, since all of this could've been avoided if you had been honest from the start, I suppose that paying them triple the amount would suffice,'' Lily told her, giving her mother a side-eye. Lauren was somewhat mortified by the suggestion, but then she realized that she really had no way out.

''Okay, fine,'' she grumbled, only for Vector, Espio and Charmy's demeanor to instantly change from tense to excited.

''Triple the amount? I could finally get myself that thesaurus! And maybe a real gold chain!'' Vector said.

''I believe that we should first buy a box of new lightbulbs… and pay the electricity bill so we can actually use them,'' Espio added.

''I'll just use my part to buy ice-cream and crayons!'' Charmy shouted, zooming around the two.

Lauren just glared at the trio of detectives, but after seeing the glares Lily and Knuckles gave her, she had to admit defeat. Sonic, meanwhile, really wished he had a chilli dog with him or maybe some popcorn, because he felt like he was in some kind of a movie.

xXx

''I'm really sorry for everything, guys,'' Lily said, her, the Chaotix and Knuckles walking back to the Chaotix Detective Agency. ''I should've figured out from the start what was going on.''

''Don't worry. As you had said, nothing really happened and we got payed on top of everything,'' Vector responded. He didn't buy the thesaurus nor a gold chain, but still went along with Charmy's idea to get ice-cream. Espio, meanwhile, did buy the lightbulbs in addition to ice-cream.

''For us, this was a successful day,'' Espio added. ''This payment should also cover the rent for the next month.''

''Man, I wish I could help you guys out more,'' Lily said, clasping her hands on her back.

''If you manage to find more cases for us, let us know,'' Vector told her. ''We can handle anything.''

''We will keep an eye out for anything suspicious,'' Knuckles replied, only for him to pause for a moment. ''Have you ever heard of someone named Dr. Eggman?''

''Hmph, it sounds familiar,'' Vector said, narrowing his eyes.

''Woah, is that the bald man with the funny mustache who made all of those robots go crazy?'' Charmy asked.

''I remember that accident with the Buddy Bots. He also caused havoc in Sentoraru, correct?'' Espio asked. Knuckles nodded.

''We had been fighting him for a while now, so I figured that it would be good to warn you about him,'' he told them.

''If the Doctor causes any trouble, just call us and we'll be there to help you,'' Vector said.

Knuckles and Lily nodded in response, both being happy to have found new friends and allies.

Links:

#Previous Chapter

#Current Chapter

#Next Chapter

#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[somanyquestions-featuringanxiety]

Thx for the tag!! Here we go…

1. The Umbrella Academy, Angel The Series and Torchwood

2. They’re long and pale pink and have sparkly hedgehogs on them!

3. I LOVE smoothies, especially anything with berries!

4. Usually a pretty dress, sometimes a nice skirt and top

5. Eggs are amazing in all forms, but my fav is soft boiled with soldiers!

6. A bookmark?? Like a normal person???

7. My wardrobe is very colourful, I’m not really sure!

8. I don’t really collect anything, though I like to own copies of my favourite books

9. I have a comforting playlist which is my go to, and I find the smell of lavender calming too :)

10. Like the ones that ask you what you most relate to or what you feel best represents you

11. No, but I think glasses are super pretty!

12. I love her kindness and genuine love and concern for me and all her other friends, it’s really beautiful

13. Pen all the way, and it has to be blue or black!

14. Definitely my mum’s house and specifically my bedroom, but also probably my school

15. I have ZERO house plants because I have ZERO gardening skills, but I have a few fake plants (I KNOW ITS CHEATING BUT I CANNOT KEEP ANY PLANTS ALIVE OK 😭)

16. My fav hoodie is pink and fluffy and has rabbits on the back!!! I’ve had it for around four years I think, and one time I wore it camping and a small chunk of burning wood flew from the campfire and landed on my sleeve, so now it’s got a hole, but I still love it :D

17. A bunch of ink refills for my fav pens

18. Honestly anything in the renaissance era, specifically anything Leonardo da Vinci related, I’m super nerdy about him lol

19. That time two years ago when me and a friend dressed up as Aziraphale and Crowley (I got to be Aziraphale!!!)

20. Tbh I’m really good at maths, but idk which kind (she says while on the verge of tears due to a maths problem)

21. I’m not much of an artist but like I already said ik a huge nerd about Leonardo da Vinci so I guess his works interest me? I do like the renaissance style

22. Iced!

23. Whatever I feel like that day! It varies all the time, but my go to is anything by The Crane Wives (my fav band)

24. Don’t have my licence yet

25. No, and I don’t think I’ll ever get any (maybe my ears pierced if I ever get over my INTENSE fear of needles)

26. I am not particularly good at cooking or baking, but I do like to bake the occasional cake or some biscuits!

27. My home keys are on a keychain with a clear shell thing full of water and blue glitter, it’s really pretty!

28. My swimming level is like… not drowning. But I’m weak as fuck, have no coordination, terrible technique and I’m slow as hell

29. I had a TON of Lego when I was younger, and most of it is disassembled in boxes now except my fav sets which were all the Harry Potter ones, especially the burrow!

30. Yes, one side is uniform, T-shirts, long pants and skirts, the other is everything else, and within both sides everything is sorted by colour

31. I’ve genuinely got no idea, I hardly ever watch music videos

32. I’d probably do some pale pink streaks!

33. Headphones all the way!!!

34. Yes

35. A rabbit a very crafty friend of mine crocheted for me , except one of its arms is almost completely falling off now since it’s over a year old and I cannot sew for the life of me

36. I like to think l’m pretty good at air hockey, though I don’t know how accurate that is

37. I can stand it, but I prefer to have it just be me while either watching tv or listening to music while doing it

38. My fav show ever is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and though some of my friends have watched a bit none of them really like it and it makes me so sad :(

39. Watching doctor who and eating dinner

40. Idk, probs willow trees (because I ADORE willow from BTVS but also because they’re pretty)

41. Coconut vanilla!

42. I have a few, like cookie run kingdom and geometry dash, but I haven’t played them in ages

43. Definitely on, but I’ve been curious about what it’s like with the lights off

44. Stick it in my purse and hope I remember it’s there when I need it (I don’t)

45. Yeah it’s pretty good! Definitely fluctuates a lot though depending on the speed and size I’m writing and how much effort I can be bothered to put into it

46. I don’t know if this is the latest but my fav band was introduced to me via a friend, and it was one of the best things to ever happen to me

47. Short, easy, pretty walks? Yes. Hilly hike things where’s its stupidly hot, ugly and the middle of nowhere? Absolutely not

48. Yes, a pretty pink bowl with cool patterns on it

49. Sit in bed and read!! Bonus points if it’s cold enough for an open fire

50. Under one soft blanket, in soft loose long sleeved pyjamas, a bit of background noise coming from outside my room but nothing loud, cool temperature, knowing I have no alarm tmrw

Whew, did them all!

No pressure tags (I know this was long but it’s super fun!)

@niamhings @amy-harper @hawthorne-swift-enthusiasttt @yourlocalchronicdaydreamer @yourlocalwhovian @n3rdchi1d + anyone who wants to!

50 Questions Just Because

What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to?

Describe your favorite pair of socks

Do you like smoothies?

What do you wear when you have to dress nicely?

How do you like your eggs?

What do you use to keep your place when you’re reading a book?

What color dominates your closet?

Do you collect anything? If so, what?

What sounds or scents calm you down?

What’s your favorite kind of uquiz question? (Lyric, color, aesthetic, etc)

Do you wear glasses or contacts?

What’s something about your best friend that you love?

Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil?

What are some places where you feel most at home?

Do you have any houseplants? Do any of them have names?

Describe your favorite hoodie. How long have you had it? What makes it unique?

What’s the last thing you ordered online?

What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed?

What’s your favorite Halloween costume from when you were a kid?

What kind of math are you best at?

What’s your favorite period in art history, your favorite famous work and/or your favorite style of art? If you don’t know any that’s ok!

Iced or hot drinks?

Which songs do you like to sing in the shower?

Are you a good driver?

Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Are there any that you want?

Can you cook or bake? If so, what are some of your specialties?

Do you have any keychains on your home or car keys? Describe them!

Can you swim very well? Do you like swimming?

Did you play with Legos as a kid? What was your favorite set?

Is your closet organized? If so, how?

What’s the last music video you watched?

If you could dye your hair any color, regardless of how you think it would look, what color would you choose?

Headphones or earbuds?

Can you read analog clocks?

Describe your favorite stuffed animal, either now or from when you were a kid.

What’s an arcade or table game (air hockey, ping pong, etc) that you’re really good at?

Do you mind if others are in the kitchen when you’re cooking or baking?

What’s one show you watch or musician you listen to that your friends know nothing about?

What was the best part of your day today?

What’s your favorite kind of tree?

What scent is your deodorant?

Do you have any games on your phone? If so, which one(s) is/are your favorite?

Do you shower with the lights on or off?

What do you do with spare change?

Do you have good handwriting?

What’s the last thing a friend recommended to you that you looked into and actually liked?

Do you like to go on walks?

Do you have a favorite plate or bowl?

What’s your favorite thing to do when it’s raining?

Describe your perfect sleeping conditions

[cleverhottubmiracle]

There’s that old saying: “Behind every successful man, there’s a strong woman.” Similarly, in my 20-plus years with the lingerie industry, I’ve learned this: Behind every successful lingerie brand, there’s a strong woman designer. They’re gifted, dedicated, and passionate about designing outstanding products for you to wear.This Tomima Talk will be the first of many future Talks dedicated to the women behind the lingerie brands you may or may not be familiar with. After learning more about their approach to design along with their compulsive attention to every detail, it’s my hope you’ll evaluate their brand through “new eyes.”I am very excited to introduce you to Liesl, the designer behind Elomi – one of the most successful full figure lingerie and swimwear brands in the world. Whether she makes your size or not (32-48 bands and; B-K(D12) cups), her story is inspirational and worth the read.Age: 54 Years Designing: 30 Location: Northamptonshire, UK Bra Size: “At the upper end of the Elomi size range.”TOMIMA: How did you get into the lingerie designing industry?LIESL: My interest in lingerie and swimwear fashion started as a teenager working in my mum’s dancewear shop where I was designing leotards at the height of the 80’s aerobic craze. I went on to complete a degree in Fashion Design at Durban University of Technology.Although I set my heart on designing swimwear, my first role included lingerie designing too. I quickly discovered that I relished the technical side of lingerie. Also, not being able to find bras in my true bra size, I was drawn to specializing first in fuller busted, and then later fuller figure lingerie and swimwear.TOMIMA: How do you approach a new Elomi bra style, and are you part of that process?LIESL: Elomi bras are developed first in sizes 36G(D6) and 40JJ(D11), before we grade† them to create the smaller/in between/larger bra sizes for the style. Everything I design is specifically engineered for larger band and cup sizes – I don’t start with the industry sample size of 34B and use grading to make our larger bra sizes. This common industry approach simply doesn’t work in my opinion.Once we are happy with a concept bra style, we fit and amend, tweak patterns, and remake the development samples. This cycle repeats on average 17 times, but can be repeated more than 50, until we are satisfied with the fit. Once the final development samples are determined, they are passed out to our army of fit models to wear, wash and report back any issues not seen in the initial fitting. I personally wear-test every new bra design – I want to understand exactly how they feel and perform.TOMIMA: Any fun story about field-testing a style where you found a better solution?LIESL: Our Smooth Underwire Moulded Convertible Strapless Bra was the most epic design project I have ever worked on. It took three years to develop and enlisted the help and feedback of many wear-testers. Originally, it was to be a cut-and-sew style††, but after working on it for over a year I could never get the firmness of fit in the cups. So, I scrapped a year’s worth of work, went back to the drawing board, and decided to think about a molded contour cup style††† instead. I re-started by reviewing the fit of our existing molded strapless and highlighting aspects I wanted to improve. Those included: lower center front, more forward cup shape, more secure strap connectors, and more comfortable side boning.Year two into the development, it was determined that Elomi’s existing molds, which are used to shape our molded bra cups, were unable to achieve the cup shape I wanted. We decided to develop a completely new shape, which meant creating and fabricating new cup molds. More testing found that the essential side boning, needed to prevent the back panel from rolling and provide an important fit, was digging in when our wear-testers would bend to the side. We, therefore, questioned their side placement and discovered that by moving the boning towards the back, the back stayed flat, and the bones did not dig. We also achieved all of the other targets we set for ourselves, including slide-and-lock strap connectors.TOMIMA: Speaking of strapless bras, where are your design limitations size-wise?LIESL: This question made me giggle. It reminds me of a tv advertisement here in the UK where a man is feeling so empowered, he decides to pick a fight with gravity. He tries to dunk a basketball but misses the hoop by a foot – disappearing off the bottom of the screen. Strapless bras are a feat of anti-gravity engineering. The challenge is to develop something firm enough to hold the bust, but soft enough to be comfortable. The larger the size, the more supporting “girders” are needed. And, if we make the cup firm enough to hold our top cup sizes, it’s uncomfortable. That said, we at Elomi love a challenge, and we have been able to get our recent strapless bra to work up to a 38J(D10).TOMIMA: Elomi bra styles are all given women’s names. How did this start?LIESL: Each bra range is given an actual female name for “personality”. Along the way, we discovered our customers also find it easier to remember. We often pick names to suit the range. For example, our Eugenie range was embellished with an opulent gilded embroidery that made us think of royalty, including Empress Eugenie of France, and Princess Eugenie of Britain.TOMIMA: Are there any new or unique design elements in full figure lingerie?LIESL: Designing for fuller figures is all about creating the look of an effortlessly light and beautiful product, while building in the structure to make it work. We use more powerful back fabrics and specially developed powerful stretch laces. We have developed non-roll, limited stretch, strapping elastics. They have just enough stretch for comfort, but enough stability to give excellent uplift. (Tomima: HerRoom calls these straps “restricted stretch” in our feature filter.) We use a very sheer stabilized tricot for linings, which allows us to add support to delicate embroideries, laces, and tulles without looking cumbersome.TOMIMA: Is there anything unique about the underwires Elomi uses?LIESL: Underwires need to have a specific amount of flex. That flex amount is a balance between comfort and support. We found the perfect way to achieve this was to use three different thicknesses of wires, which vary according to bra size. Some manufacturers use a coated underwire because it’s easier to insert into the casing. But we have developed a custom triple layer casing to slip our underwires into. It’s durable, comfortable, and lets our uncoated underwires slip in perfectly.TOMIMA: Are there any new fabrics or fabric contents you are using?LIESL: Our favorite fabric at the moment is the TENCEL™ micromodal used in our Smooth briefs, which will launch in July (2021). Although briefs are usually quick to develop, this was a big project for the Elomi design team. We tasked ourselves with developing the most comfortable brief ever for plus sizes. Micromodal is sustainably derived from trees, and the fabric is super soft and stretchy. The team spent months trying different seaming locations and finishing techniques to develop a brief that does not ride up, looks invisible under clothing, and with plenty of stretch to avoid elastic edges pinching. Our wear-testers are telling us they are so comfortable, they forget they are wearing them!TOMIMA: Do you have a personal favorite Elomi bra style?LIESL: My favorite bra is always the one I happen to be developing at the time. But my everyday favorite is admittedly the Morgan because of its comfort and easy wearability. It has also seen incredible sales growth, so count on seeing future Elomi bra styles based on the Morgan bra frame. My “feel-gorgeous” bra is the Matilda (sheer and plunging, yet uplifting) or any of the other styles based on the Matilda frame such as Sachi, Eugenie, Brianna, and the Kelsey – coming soon.TOMIMA: How do you keep your designing exciting with each new season?LIESL: The start of a new season is always the most exciting time on my calendar. I like studying emerging key shapes in the market then figuring out ways to interpret these looks for larger sizes. Fresh new color palettes and trends spark ideas, and I enjoy seeing the newest lace and embroidery ranges, as these often inspire new collections. Feedback from customers and sales teams is vital, too – discussions and requests often trigger inspiration. Time out of the normal office environment is important to flex those creative muscles and spark new ideas. Design doesn’t stop at work though, creativity spills over into hobbies and almost everything I do. I love to challenge myself and find better ways to do things.TOMIMA: Is it true that once an Elomi bra style is on the market, no future design changes are made?LIESL: Elomi has a loyal following, and our consumers trust our brand. Consistency is really important to maintain that trust, so we don’t change existing styles. We are aware, too, of the importance of consistency in fit between different styles within the brand, so we use the Matilda bra style as our “fit standard bra” and use it to evaluate the bra size of all our wear-testers. Sometimes we expand a successful existing bra style with a new shape, but we will always give it a new name and style number.TOMIMA: What causes an Elomi bra style to be retired?LIESL: Sometimes we see a downtrend in sales on a style. When this happens, it’s usually the style is starting to look dated. We carefully analyze it to see if that style still fits our brand profile. If it does, we will replace it with a newer looking style along with a new style number and name. I will say the HerRoom product reviews are invaluable to us when designing a replacement style. I scour them to see if there are lessons to be learned that can help me improve the replacement style.TOMIMA: Appreciate your accolade!TOMIMA: How are the bras you design today different from the first bra you designed?LIESL: My first bra was a simple underwire bra in sizes 32-36 A-C, and I would have drafted and graded the pattern by hand. Nowadays, apart from fitting garments, almost every part of the design and development process is computerized, including technical drawings, pattern making, and grading.The average bra size has increased as women have changed shape over the years, and with this, our expertise in plus sizes has grown. My current design project is the Kelsey. It’s a style that looks like a fun crop top but has a concealed inner bra based on Matilda. It’s Elomi’ s response to the current bralette trend. It’s in final fit development at the moment and is working beautifully in a JJ(D11) cup size. We now have the know-how and technology to give full figure women on-trend lingerie with similar styling found on their smaller friends.TOMIMA: What customer complaints do you hear that you simply can’t fix?LIESL: Occasionally, we get requests for a backless strapless low-plunge bra. It just doesn’t work for the fuller figure. The support has to come from somewhere, so if you cut the bra away in one place, you need to build it up elsewhere to balance it. For every complaint about an aspect of a bra, there will be another person who loves precisely that aspect, so we try to offer a mix of styles so we have something for everyone.TOMIMA: What is a full figure woman’s capsule lingerie wardrobe?† Grading – The process of turning a sample size into additional smaller and larger sizes †† Cut-and-sew-style – A bra with seams in the cups ††† Molded contour cup – A seamless t-shirt bra cup shaped by using a moldUSA e-commerce sites are currently experiencing an interesting phenomenon. Government assistance checks have made it very difficult to find employees willing to come to work. And carriers such as USPS, UPS, and DHL are also VERY short-handed and therefore missing delivery pick-ups. We are doing our very best, but our high-performance levels of the past have fallen a little. Please know my team and I are laser-focused on finding solutions to get us back on track, and this week I feel we may have turned a corner. I greatly appreciate your patience and understanding should something with your order take a bit longer.Should you wish to know the status of your order, it would help greatly if you could log in and review your order status online rather than calling or emailing our customer service team. They are seeing record inquiries, too, while being short-handed. Source link

[norajworld]

There’s that old saying: “Behind every successful man, there’s a strong woman.” Similarly, in my 20-plus years with the lingerie industry, I’ve learned this: Behind every successful lingerie brand, there’s a strong woman designer. They’re gifted, dedicated, and passionate about designing outstanding products for you to wear.This Tomima Talk will be the first of many future Talks dedicated to the women behind the lingerie brands you may or may not be familiar with. After learning more about their approach to design along with their compulsive attention to every detail, it’s my hope you’ll evaluate their brand through “new eyes.”I am very excited to introduce you to Liesl, the designer behind Elomi – one of the most successful full figure lingerie and swimwear brands in the world. Whether she makes your size or not (32-48 bands and; B-K(D12) cups), her story is inspirational and worth the read.Age: 54 Years Designing: 30 Location: Northamptonshire, UK Bra Size: “At the upper end of the Elomi size range.”TOMIMA: How did you get into the lingerie designing industry?LIESL: My interest in lingerie and swimwear fashion started as a teenager working in my mum’s dancewear shop where I was designing leotards at the height of the 80’s aerobic craze. I went on to complete a degree in Fashion Design at Durban University of Technology.Although I set my heart on designing swimwear, my first role included lingerie designing too. I quickly discovered that I relished the technical side of lingerie. Also, not being able to find bras in my true bra size, I was drawn to specializing first in fuller busted, and then later fuller figure lingerie and swimwear.TOMIMA: How do you approach a new Elomi bra style, and are you part of that process?LIESL: Elomi bras are developed first in sizes 36G(D6) and 40JJ(D11), before we grade† them to create the smaller/in between/larger bra sizes for the style. Everything I design is specifically engineered for larger band and cup sizes – I don’t start with the industry sample size of 34B and use grading to make our larger bra sizes. This common industry approach simply doesn’t work in my opinion.Once we are happy with a concept bra style, we fit and amend, tweak patterns, and remake the development samples. This cycle repeats on average 17 times, but can be repeated more than 50, until we are satisfied with the fit. Once the final development samples are determined, they are passed out to our army of fit models to wear, wash and report back any issues not seen in the initial fitting. I personally wear-test every new bra design – I want to understand exactly how they feel and perform.TOMIMA: Any fun story about field-testing a style where you found a better solution?LIESL: Our Smooth Underwire Moulded Convertible Strapless Bra was the most epic design project I have ever worked on. It took three years to develop and enlisted the help and feedback of many wear-testers. Originally, it was to be a cut-and-sew style††, but after working on it for over a year I could never get the firmness of fit in the cups. So, I scrapped a year’s worth of work, went back to the drawing board, and decided to think about a molded contour cup style††† instead. I re-started by reviewing the fit of our existing molded strapless and highlighting aspects I wanted to improve. Those included: lower center front, more forward cup shape, more secure strap connectors, and more comfortable side boning.Year two into the development, it was determined that Elomi’s existing molds, which are used to shape our molded bra cups, were unable to achieve the cup shape I wanted. We decided to develop a completely new shape, which meant creating and fabricating new cup molds. More testing found that the essential side boning, needed to prevent the back panel from rolling and provide an important fit, was digging in when our wear-testers would bend to the side. We, therefore, questioned their side placement and discovered that by moving the boning towards the back, the back stayed flat, and the bones did not dig. We also achieved all of the other targets we set for ourselves, including slide-and-lock strap connectors.TOMIMA: Speaking of strapless bras, where are your design limitations size-wise?LIESL: This question made me giggle. It reminds me of a tv advertisement here in the UK where a man is feeling so empowered, he decides to pick a fight with gravity. He tries to dunk a basketball but misses the hoop by a foot – disappearing off the bottom of the screen. Strapless bras are a feat of anti-gravity engineering. The challenge is to develop something firm enough to hold the bust, but soft enough to be comfortable. The larger the size, the more supporting “girders” are needed. And, if we make the cup firm enough to hold our top cup sizes, it’s uncomfortable. That said, we at Elomi love a challenge, and we have been able to get our recent strapless bra to work up to a 38J(D10).TOMIMA: Elomi bra styles are all given women’s names. How did this start?LIESL: Each bra range is given an actual female name for “personality”. Along the way, we discovered our customers also find it easier to remember. We often pick names to suit the range. For example, our Eugenie range was embellished with an opulent gilded embroidery that made us think of royalty, including Empress Eugenie of France, and Princess Eugenie of Britain.TOMIMA: Are there any new or unique design elements in full figure lingerie?LIESL: Designing for fuller figures is all about creating the look of an effortlessly light and beautiful product, while building in the structure to make it work. We use more powerful back fabrics and specially developed powerful stretch laces. We have developed non-roll, limited stretch, strapping elastics. They have just enough stretch for comfort, but enough stability to give excellent uplift. (Tomima: HerRoom calls these straps “restricted stretch” in our feature filter.) We use a very sheer stabilized tricot for linings, which allows us to add support to delicate embroideries, laces, and tulles without looking cumbersome.TOMIMA: Is there anything unique about the underwires Elomi uses?LIESL: Underwires need to have a specific amount of flex. That flex amount is a balance between comfort and support. We found the perfect way to achieve this was to use three different thicknesses of wires, which vary according to bra size. Some manufacturers use a coated underwire because it’s easier to insert into the casing. But we have developed a custom triple layer casing to slip our underwires into. It’s durable, comfortable, and lets our uncoated underwires slip in perfectly.TOMIMA: Are there any new fabrics or fabric contents you are using?LIESL: Our favorite fabric at the moment is the TENCEL™ micromodal used in our Smooth briefs, which will launch in July (2021). Although briefs are usually quick to develop, this was a big project for the Elomi design team. We tasked ourselves with developing the most comfortable brief ever for plus sizes. Micromodal is sustainably derived from trees, and the fabric is super soft and stretchy. The team spent months trying different seaming locations and finishing techniques to develop a brief that does not ride up, looks invisible under clothing, and with plenty of stretch to avoid elastic edges pinching. Our wear-testers are telling us they are so comfortable, they forget they are wearing them!TOMIMA: Do you have a personal favorite Elomi bra style?LIESL: My favorite bra is always the one I happen to be developing at the time. But my everyday favorite is admittedly the Morgan because of its comfort and easy wearability. It has also seen incredible sales growth, so count on seeing future Elomi bra styles based on the Morgan bra frame. My “feel-gorgeous” bra is the Matilda (sheer and plunging, yet uplifting) or any of the other styles based on the Matilda frame such as Sachi, Eugenie, Brianna, and the Kelsey – coming soon.TOMIMA: How do you keep your designing exciting with each new season?LIESL: The start of a new season is always the most exciting time on my calendar. I like studying emerging key shapes in the market then figuring out ways to interpret these looks for larger sizes. Fresh new color palettes and trends spark ideas, and I enjoy seeing the newest lace and embroidery ranges, as these often inspire new collections. Feedback from customers and sales teams is vital, too – discussions and requests often trigger inspiration. Time out of the normal office environment is important to flex those creative muscles and spark new ideas. Design doesn’t stop at work though, creativity spills over into hobbies and almost everything I do. I love to challenge myself and find better ways to do things.TOMIMA: Is it true that once an Elomi bra style is on the market, no future design changes are made?LIESL: Elomi has a loyal following, and our consumers trust our brand. Consistency is really important to maintain that trust, so we don’t change existing styles. We are aware, too, of the importance of consistency in fit between different styles within the brand, so we use the Matilda bra style as our “fit standard bra” and use it to evaluate the bra size of all our wear-testers. Sometimes we expand a successful existing bra style with a new shape, but we will always give it a new name and style number.TOMIMA: What causes an Elomi bra style to be retired?LIESL: Sometimes we see a downtrend in sales on a style. When this happens, it’s usually the style is starting to look dated. We carefully analyze it to see if that style still fits our brand profile. If it does, we will replace it with a newer looking style along with a new style number and name. I will say the HerRoom product reviews are invaluable to us when designing a replacement style. I scour them to see if there are lessons to be learned that can help me improve the replacement style.TOMIMA: Appreciate your accolade!TOMIMA: How are the bras you design today different from the first bra you designed?LIESL: My first bra was a simple underwire bra in sizes 32-36 A-C, and I would have drafted and graded the pattern by hand. Nowadays, apart from fitting garments, almost every part of the design and development process is computerized, including technical drawings, pattern making, and grading.The average bra size has increased as women have changed shape over the years, and with this, our expertise in plus sizes has grown. My current design project is the Kelsey. It’s a style that looks like a fun crop top but has a concealed inner bra based on Matilda. It’s Elomi’ s response to the current bralette trend. It’s in final fit development at the moment and is working beautifully in a JJ(D11) cup size. We now have the know-how and technology to give full figure women on-trend lingerie with similar styling found on their smaller friends.TOMIMA: What customer complaints do you hear that you simply can’t fix?LIESL: Occasionally, we get requests for a backless strapless low-plunge bra. It just doesn’t work for the fuller figure. The support has to come from somewhere, so if you cut the bra away in one place, you need to build it up elsewhere to balance it. For every complaint about an aspect of a bra, there will be another person who loves precisely that aspect, so we try to offer a mix of styles so we have something for everyone.TOMIMA: What is a full figure woman’s capsule lingerie wardrobe?† Grading – The process of turning a sample size into additional smaller and larger sizes †† Cut-and-sew-style – A bra with seams in the cups ††† Molded contour cup – A seamless t-shirt bra cup shaped by using a moldUSA e-commerce sites are currently experiencing an interesting phenomenon. Government assistance checks have made it very difficult to find employees willing to come to work. And carriers such as USPS, UPS, and DHL are also VERY short-handed and therefore missing delivery pick-ups. We are doing our very best, but our high-performance levels of the past have fallen a little. Please know my team and I are laser-focused on finding solutions to get us back on track, and this week I feel we may have turned a corner. I greatly appreciate your patience and understanding should something with your order take a bit longer.Should you wish to know the status of your order, it would help greatly if you could log in and review your order status online rather than calling or emailing our customer service team. They are seeing record inquiries, too, while being short-handed. Source link

[ellajme0]

There’s that old saying: “Behind every successful man, there’s a strong woman.” Similarly, in my 20-plus years with the lingerie industry, I’ve learned this: Behind every successful lingerie brand, there’s a strong woman designer. They’re gifted, dedicated, and passionate about designing outstanding products for you to wear.This Tomima Talk will be the first of many future Talks dedicated to the women behind the lingerie brands you may or may not be familiar with. After learning more about their approach to design along with their compulsive attention to every detail, it’s my hope you’ll evaluate their brand through “new eyes.”I am very excited to introduce you to Liesl, the designer behind Elomi – one of the most successful full figure lingerie and swimwear brands in the world. Whether she makes your size or not (32-48 bands and; B-K(D12) cups), her story is inspirational and worth the read.Age: 54 Years Designing: 30 Location: Northamptonshire, UK Bra Size: “At the upper end of the Elomi size range.”TOMIMA: How did you get into the lingerie designing industry?LIESL: My interest in lingerie and swimwear fashion started as a teenager working in my mum’s dancewear shop where I was designing leotards at the height of the 80’s aerobic craze. I went on to complete a degree in Fashion Design at Durban University of Technology.Although I set my heart on designing swimwear, my first role included lingerie designing too. I quickly discovered that I relished the technical side of lingerie. Also, not being able to find bras in my true bra size, I was drawn to specializing first in fuller busted, and then later fuller figure lingerie and swimwear.TOMIMA: How do you approach a new Elomi bra style, and are you part of that process?LIESL: Elomi bras are developed first in sizes 36G(D6) and 40JJ(D11), before we grade† them to create the smaller/in between/larger bra sizes for the style. Everything I design is specifically engineered for larger band and cup sizes – I don’t start with the industry sample size of 34B and use grading to make our larger bra sizes. This common industry approach simply doesn’t work in my opinion.Once we are happy with a concept bra style, we fit and amend, tweak patterns, and remake the development samples. This cycle repeats on average 17 times, but can be repeated more than 50, until we are satisfied with the fit. Once the final development samples are determined, they are passed out to our army of fit models to wear, wash and report back any issues not seen in the initial fitting. I personally wear-test every new bra design – I want to understand exactly how they feel and perform.TOMIMA: Any fun story about field-testing a style where you found a better solution?LIESL: Our Smooth Underwire Moulded Convertible Strapless Bra was the most epic design project I have ever worked on. It took three years to develop and enlisted the help and feedback of many wear-testers. Originally, it was to be a cut-and-sew style††, but after working on it for over a year I could never get the firmness of fit in the cups. So, I scrapped a year’s worth of work, went back to the drawing board, and decided to think about a molded contour cup style††† instead. I re-started by reviewing the fit of our existing molded strapless and highlighting aspects I wanted to improve. Those included: lower center front, more forward cup shape, more secure strap connectors, and more comfortable side boning.Year two into the development, it was determined that Elomi’s existing molds, which are used to shape our molded bra cups, were unable to achieve the cup shape I wanted. We decided to develop a completely new shape, which meant creating and fabricating new cup molds. More testing found that the essential side boning, needed to prevent the back panel from rolling and provide an important fit, was digging in when our wear-testers would bend to the side. We, therefore, questioned their side placement and discovered that by moving the boning towards the back, the back stayed flat, and the bones did not dig. We also achieved all of the other targets we set for ourselves, including slide-and-lock strap connectors.TOMIMA: Speaking of strapless bras, where are your design limitations size-wise?LIESL: This question made me giggle. It reminds me of a tv advertisement here in the UK where a man is feeling so empowered, he decides to pick a fight with gravity. He tries to dunk a basketball but misses the hoop by a foot – disappearing off the bottom of the screen. Strapless bras are a feat of anti-gravity engineering. The challenge is to develop something firm enough to hold the bust, but soft enough to be comfortable. The larger the size, the more supporting “girders” are needed. And, if we make the cup firm enough to hold our top cup sizes, it’s uncomfortable. That said, we at Elomi love a challenge, and we have been able to get our recent strapless bra to work up to a 38J(D10).TOMIMA: Elomi bra styles are all given women’s names. How did this start?LIESL: Each bra range is given an actual female name for “personality”. Along the way, we discovered our customers also find it easier to remember. We often pick names to suit the range. For example, our Eugenie range was embellished with an opulent gilded embroidery that made us think of royalty, including Empress Eugenie of France, and Princess Eugenie of Britain.TOMIMA: Are there any new or unique design elements in full figure lingerie?LIESL: Designing for fuller figures is all about creating the look of an effortlessly light and beautiful product, while building in the structure to make it work. We use more powerful back fabrics and specially developed powerful stretch laces. We have developed non-roll, limited stretch, strapping elastics. They have just enough stretch for comfort, but enough stability to give excellent uplift. (Tomima: HerRoom calls these straps “restricted stretch” in our feature filter.) We use a very sheer stabilized tricot for linings, which allows us to add support to delicate embroideries, laces, and tulles without looking cumbersome.TOMIMA: Is there anything unique about the underwires Elomi uses?LIESL: Underwires need to have a specific amount of flex. That flex amount is a balance between comfort and support. We found the perfect way to achieve this was to use three different thicknesses of wires, which vary according to bra size. Some manufacturers use a coated underwire because it’s easier to insert into the casing. But we have developed a custom triple layer casing to slip our underwires into. It’s durable, comfortable, and lets our uncoated underwires slip in perfectly.TOMIMA: Are there any new fabrics or fabric contents you are using?LIESL: Our favorite fabric at the moment is the TENCEL™ micromodal used in our Smooth briefs, which will launch in July (2021). Although briefs are usually quick to develop, this was a big project for the Elomi design team. We tasked ourselves with developing the most comfortable brief ever for plus sizes. Micromodal is sustainably derived from trees, and the fabric is super soft and stretchy. The team spent months trying different seaming locations and finishing techniques to develop a brief that does not ride up, looks invisible under clothing, and with plenty of stretch to avoid elastic edges pinching. Our wear-testers are telling us they are so comfortable, they forget they are wearing them!TOMIMA: Do you have a personal favorite Elomi bra style?LIESL: My favorite bra is always the one I happen to be developing at the time. But my everyday favorite is admittedly the Morgan because of its comfort and easy wearability. It has also seen incredible sales growth, so count on seeing future Elomi bra styles based on the Morgan bra frame. My “feel-gorgeous” bra is the Matilda (sheer and plunging, yet uplifting) or any of the other styles based on the Matilda frame such as Sachi, Eugenie, Brianna, and the Kelsey – coming soon.TOMIMA: How do you keep your designing exciting with each new season?LIESL: The start of a new season is always the most exciting time on my calendar. I like studying emerging key shapes in the market then figuring out ways to interpret these looks for larger sizes. Fresh new color palettes and trends spark ideas, and I enjoy seeing the newest lace and embroidery ranges, as these often inspire new collections. Feedback from customers and sales teams is vital, too – discussions and requests often trigger inspiration. Time out of the normal office environment is important to flex those creative muscles and spark new ideas. Design doesn’t stop at work though, creativity spills over into hobbies and almost everything I do. I love to challenge myself and find better ways to do things.TOMIMA: Is it true that once an Elomi bra style is on the market, no future design changes are made?LIESL: Elomi has a loyal following, and our consumers trust our brand. Consistency is really important to maintain that trust, so we don’t change existing styles. We are aware, too, of the importance of consistency in fit between different styles within the brand, so we use the Matilda bra style as our “fit standard bra” and use it to evaluate the bra size of all our wear-testers. Sometimes we expand a successful existing bra style with a new shape, but we will always give it a new name and style number.TOMIMA: What causes an Elomi bra style to be retired?LIESL: Sometimes we see a downtrend in sales on a style. When this happens, it’s usually the style is starting to look dated. We carefully analyze it to see if that style still fits our brand profile. If it does, we will replace it with a newer looking style along with a new style number and name. I will say the HerRoom product reviews are invaluable to us when designing a replacement style. I scour them to see if there are lessons to be learned that can help me improve the replacement style.TOMIMA: Appreciate your accolade!TOMIMA: How are the bras you design today different from the first bra you designed?LIESL: My first bra was a simple underwire bra in sizes 32-36 A-C, and I would have drafted and graded the pattern by hand. Nowadays, apart from fitting garments, almost every part of the design and development process is computerized, including technical drawings, pattern making, and grading.The average bra size has increased as women have changed shape over the years, and with this, our expertise in plus sizes has grown. My current design project is the Kelsey. It’s a style that looks like a fun crop top but has a concealed inner bra based on Matilda. It’s Elomi’ s response to the current bralette trend. It’s in final fit development at the moment and is working beautifully in a JJ(D11) cup size. We now have the know-how and technology to give full figure women on-trend lingerie with similar styling found on their smaller friends.TOMIMA: What customer complaints do you hear that you simply can’t fix?LIESL: Occasionally, we get requests for a backless strapless low-plunge bra. It just doesn’t work for the fuller figure. The support has to come from somewhere, so if you cut the bra away in one place, you need to build it up elsewhere to balance it. For every complaint about an aspect of a bra, there will be another person who loves precisely that aspect, so we try to offer a mix of styles so we have something for everyone.TOMIMA: What is a full figure woman’s capsule lingerie wardrobe?† Grading – The process of turning a sample size into additional smaller and larger sizes †† Cut-and-sew-style – A bra with seams in the cups ††† Molded contour cup – A seamless t-shirt bra cup shaped by using a moldUSA e-commerce sites are currently experiencing an interesting phenomenon. Government assistance checks have made it very difficult to find employees willing to come to work. And carriers such as USPS, UPS, and DHL are also VERY short-handed and therefore missing delivery pick-ups. We are doing our very best, but our high-performance levels of the past have fallen a little. Please know my team and I are laser-focused on finding solutions to get us back on track, and this week I feel we may have turned a corner. I greatly appreciate your patience and understanding should something with your order take a bit longer.Should you wish to know the status of your order, it would help greatly if you could log in and review your order status online rather than calling or emailing our customer service team. They are seeing record inquiries, too, while being short-handed. Source link

[chilimili212]

There’s that old saying: “Behind every successful man, there’s a strong woman.” Similarly, in my 20-plus years with the lingerie industry, I’ve learned this: Behind every successful lingerie brand, there’s a strong woman designer. They’re gifted, dedicated, and passionate about designing outstanding products for you to wear.This Tomima Talk will be the first of many future Talks dedicated to the women behind the lingerie brands you may or may not be familiar with. After learning more about their approach to design along with their compulsive attention to every detail, it’s my hope you’ll evaluate their brand through “new eyes.”I am very excited to introduce you to Liesl, the designer behind Elomi – one of the most successful full figure lingerie and swimwear brands in the world. Whether she makes your size or not (32-48 bands and; B-K(D12) cups), her story is inspirational and worth the read.Age: 54 Years Designing: 30 Location: Northamptonshire, UK Bra Size: “At the upper end of the Elomi size range.”TOMIMA: How did you get into the lingerie designing industry?LIESL: My interest in lingerie and swimwear fashion started as a teenager working in my mum’s dancewear shop where I was designing leotards at the height of the 80’s aerobic craze. I went on to complete a degree in Fashion Design at Durban University of Technology.Although I set my heart on designing swimwear, my first role included lingerie designing too. I quickly discovered that I relished the technical side of lingerie. Also, not being able to find bras in my true bra size, I was drawn to specializing first in fuller busted, and then later fuller figure lingerie and swimwear.TOMIMA: How do you approach a new Elomi bra style, and are you part of that process?LIESL: Elomi bras are developed first in sizes 36G(D6) and 40JJ(D11), before we grade† them to create the smaller/in between/larger bra sizes for the style. Everything I design is specifically engineered for larger band and cup sizes – I don’t start with the industry sample size of 34B and use grading to make our larger bra sizes. This common industry approach simply doesn’t work in my opinion.Once we are happy with a concept bra style, we fit and amend, tweak patterns, and remake the development samples. This cycle repeats on average 17 times, but can be repeated more than 50, until we are satisfied with the fit. Once the final development samples are determined, they are passed out to our army of fit models to wear, wash and report back any issues not seen in the initial fitting. I personally wear-test every new bra design – I want to understand exactly how they feel and perform.TOMIMA: Any fun story about field-testing a style where you found a better solution?LIESL: Our Smooth Underwire Moulded Convertible Strapless Bra was the most epic design project I have ever worked on. It took three years to develop and enlisted the help and feedback of many wear-testers. Originally, it was to be a cut-and-sew style††, but after working on it for over a year I could never get the firmness of fit in the cups. So, I scrapped a year’s worth of work, went back to the drawing board, and decided to think about a molded contour cup style††† instead. I re-started by reviewing the fit of our existing molded strapless and highlighting aspects I wanted to improve. Those included: lower center front, more forward cup shape, more secure strap connectors, and more comfortable side boning.Year two into the development, it was determined that Elomi’s existing molds, which are used to shape our molded bra cups, were unable to achieve the cup shape I wanted. We decided to develop a completely new shape, which meant creating and fabricating new cup molds. More testing found that the essential side boning, needed to prevent the back panel from rolling and provide an important fit, was digging in when our wear-testers would bend to the side. We, therefore, questioned their side placement and discovered that by moving the boning towards the back, the back stayed flat, and the bones did not dig. We also achieved all of the other targets we set for ourselves, including slide-and-lock strap connectors.TOMIMA: Speaking of strapless bras, where are your design limitations size-wise?LIESL: This question made me giggle. It reminds me of a tv advertisement here in the UK where a man is feeling so empowered, he decides to pick a fight with gravity. He tries to dunk a basketball but misses the hoop by a foot – disappearing off the bottom of the screen. Strapless bras are a feat of anti-gravity engineering. The challenge is to develop something firm enough to hold the bust, but soft enough to be comfortable. The larger the size, the more supporting “girders” are needed. And, if we make the cup firm enough to hold our top cup sizes, it’s uncomfortable. That said, we at Elomi love a challenge, and we have been able to get our recent strapless bra to work up to a 38J(D10).TOMIMA: Elomi bra styles are all given women’s names. How did this start?LIESL: Each bra range is given an actual female name for “personality”. Along the way, we discovered our customers also find it easier to remember. We often pick names to suit the range. For example, our Eugenie range was embellished with an opulent gilded embroidery that made us think of royalty, including Empress Eugenie of France, and Princess Eugenie of Britain.TOMIMA: Are there any new or unique design elements in full figure lingerie?LIESL: Designing for fuller figures is all about creating the look of an effortlessly light and beautiful product, while building in the structure to make it work. We use more powerful back fabrics and specially developed powerful stretch laces. We have developed non-roll, limited stretch, strapping elastics. They have just enough stretch for comfort, but enough stability to give excellent uplift. (Tomima: HerRoom calls these straps “restricted stretch” in our feature filter.) We use a very sheer stabilized tricot for linings, which allows us to add support to delicate embroideries, laces, and tulles without looking cumbersome.TOMIMA: Is there anything unique about the underwires Elomi uses?LIESL: Underwires need to have a specific amount of flex. That flex amount is a balance between comfort and support. We found the perfect way to achieve this was to use three different thicknesses of wires, which vary according to bra size. Some manufacturers use a coated underwire because it’s easier to insert into the casing. But we have developed a custom triple layer casing to slip our underwires into. It’s durable, comfortable, and lets our uncoated underwires slip in perfectly.TOMIMA: Are there any new fabrics or fabric contents you are using?LIESL: Our favorite fabric at the moment is the TENCEL™ micromodal used in our Smooth briefs, which will launch in July (2021). Although briefs are usually quick to develop, this was a big project for the Elomi design team. We tasked ourselves with developing the most comfortable brief ever for plus sizes. Micromodal is sustainably derived from trees, and the fabric is super soft and stretchy. The team spent months trying different seaming locations and finishing techniques to develop a brief that does not ride up, looks invisible under clothing, and with plenty of stretch to avoid elastic edges pinching. Our wear-testers are telling us they are so comfortable, they forget they are wearing them!TOMIMA: Do you have a personal favorite Elomi bra style?LIESL: My favorite bra is always the one I happen to be developing at the time. But my everyday favorite is admittedly the Morgan because of its comfort and easy wearability. It has also seen incredible sales growth, so count on seeing future Elomi bra styles based on the Morgan bra frame. My “feel-gorgeous” bra is the Matilda (sheer and plunging, yet uplifting) or any of the other styles based on the Matilda frame such as Sachi, Eugenie, Brianna, and the Kelsey – coming soon.TOMIMA: How do you keep your designing exciting with each new season?LIESL: The start of a new season is always the most exciting time on my calendar. I like studying emerging key shapes in the market then figuring out ways to interpret these looks for larger sizes. Fresh new color palettes and trends spark ideas, and I enjoy seeing the newest lace and embroidery ranges, as these often inspire new collections. Feedback from customers and sales teams is vital, too – discussions and requests often trigger inspiration. Time out of the normal office environment is important to flex those creative muscles and spark new ideas. Design doesn’t stop at work though, creativity spills over into hobbies and almost everything I do. I love to challenge myself and find better ways to do things.TOMIMA: Is it true that once an Elomi bra style is on the market, no future design changes are made?LIESL: Elomi has a loyal following, and our consumers trust our brand. Consistency is really important to maintain that trust, so we don’t change existing styles. We are aware, too, of the importance of consistency in fit between different styles within the brand, so we use the Matilda bra style as our “fit standard bra” and use it to evaluate the bra size of all our wear-testers. Sometimes we expand a successful existing bra style with a new shape, but we will always give it a new name and style number.TOMIMA: What causes an Elomi bra style to be retired?LIESL: Sometimes we see a downtrend in sales on a style. When this happens, it’s usually the style is starting to look dated. We carefully analyze it to see if that style still fits our brand profile. If it does, we will replace it with a newer looking style along with a new style number and name. I will say the HerRoom product reviews are invaluable to us when designing a replacement style. I scour them to see if there are lessons to be learned that can help me improve the replacement style.TOMIMA: Appreciate your accolade!TOMIMA: How are the bras you design today different from the first bra you designed?LIESL: My first bra was a simple underwire bra in sizes 32-36 A-C, and I would have drafted and graded the pattern by hand. Nowadays, apart from fitting garments, almost every part of the design and development process is computerized, including technical drawings, pattern making, and grading.The average bra size has increased as women have changed shape over the years, and with this, our expertise in plus sizes has grown. My current design project is the Kelsey. It’s a style that looks like a fun crop top but has a concealed inner bra based on Matilda. It’s Elomi’ s response to the current bralette trend. It’s in final fit development at the moment and is working beautifully in a JJ(D11) cup size. We now have the know-how and technology to give full figure women on-trend lingerie with similar styling found on their smaller friends.TOMIMA: What customer complaints do you hear that you simply can’t fix?LIESL: Occasionally, we get requests for a backless strapless low-plunge bra. It just doesn’t work for the fuller figure. The support has to come from somewhere, so if you cut the bra away in one place, you need to build it up elsewhere to balance it. For every complaint about an aspect of a bra, there will be another person who loves precisely that aspect, so we try to offer a mix of styles so we have something for everyone.TOMIMA: What is a full figure woman’s capsule lingerie wardrobe?† Grading – The process of turning a sample size into additional smaller and larger sizes †† Cut-and-sew-style – A bra with seams in the cups ††† Molded contour cup – A seamless t-shirt bra cup shaped by using a moldUSA e-commerce sites are currently experiencing an interesting phenomenon. Government assistance checks have made it very difficult to find employees willing to come to work. And carriers such as USPS, UPS, and DHL are also VERY short-handed and therefore missing delivery pick-ups. We are doing our very best, but our high-performance levels of the past have fallen a little. Please know my team and I are laser-focused on finding solutions to get us back on track, and this week I feel we may have turned a corner. I greatly appreciate your patience and understanding should something with your order take a bit longer.Should you wish to know the status of your order, it would help greatly if you could log in and review your order status online rather than calling or emailing our customer service team. They are seeing record inquiries, too, while being short-handed. Source link

[oliviajoyice21]

There’s that old saying: “Behind every successful man, there’s a strong woman.” Similarly, in my 20-plus years with the lingerie industry, I’ve learned this: Behind every successful lingerie brand, there’s a strong woman designer. They’re gifted, dedicated, and passionate about designing outstanding products for you to wear.This Tomima Talk will be the first of many future Talks dedicated to the women behind the lingerie brands you may or may not be familiar with. After learning more about their approach to design along with their compulsive attention to every detail, it’s my hope you’ll evaluate their brand through “new eyes.”I am very excited to introduce you to Liesl, the designer behind Elomi – one of the most successful full figure lingerie and swimwear brands in the world. Whether she makes your size or not (32-48 bands and; B-K(D12) cups), her story is inspirational and worth the read.Age: 54 Years Designing: 30 Location: Northamptonshire, UK Bra Size: “At the upper end of the Elomi size range.”TOMIMA: How did you get into the lingerie designing industry?LIESL: My interest in lingerie and swimwear fashion started as a teenager working in my mum’s dancewear shop where I was designing leotards at the height of the 80’s aerobic craze. I went on to complete a degree in Fashion Design at Durban University of Technology.Although I set my heart on designing swimwear, my first role included lingerie designing too. I quickly discovered that I relished the technical side of lingerie. Also, not being able to find bras in my true bra size, I was drawn to specializing first in fuller busted, and then later fuller figure lingerie and swimwear.TOMIMA: How do you approach a new Elomi bra style, and are you part of that process?LIESL: Elomi bras are developed first in sizes 36G(D6) and 40JJ(D11), before we grade† them to create the smaller/in between/larger bra sizes for the style. Everything I design is specifically engineered for larger band and cup sizes – I don’t start with the industry sample size of 34B and use grading to make our larger bra sizes. This common industry approach simply doesn’t work in my opinion.Once we are happy with a concept bra style, we fit and amend, tweak patterns, and remake the development samples. This cycle repeats on average 17 times, but can be repeated more than 50, until we are satisfied with the fit. Once the final development samples are determined, they are passed out to our army of fit models to wear, wash and report back any issues not seen in the initial fitting. I personally wear-test every new bra design – I want to understand exactly how they feel and perform.TOMIMA: Any fun story about field-testing a style where you found a better solution?LIESL: Our Smooth Underwire Moulded Convertible Strapless Bra was the most epic design project I have ever worked on. It took three years to develop and enlisted the help and feedback of many wear-testers. Originally, it was to be a cut-and-sew style††, but after working on it for over a year I could never get the firmness of fit in the cups. So, I scrapped a year’s worth of work, went back to the drawing board, and decided to think about a molded contour cup style††† instead. I re-started by reviewing the fit of our existing molded strapless and highlighting aspects I wanted to improve. Those included: lower center front, more forward cup shape, more secure strap connectors, and more comfortable side boning.Year two into the development, it was determined that Elomi’s existing molds, which are used to shape our molded bra cups, were unable to achieve the cup shape I wanted. We decided to develop a completely new shape, which meant creating and fabricating new cup molds. More testing found that the essential side boning, needed to prevent the back panel from rolling and provide an important fit, was digging in when our wear-testers would bend to the side. We, therefore, questioned their side placement and discovered that by moving the boning towards the back, the back stayed flat, and the bones did not dig. We also achieved all of the other targets we set for ourselves, including slide-and-lock strap connectors.TOMIMA: Speaking of strapless bras, where are your design limitations size-wise?LIESL: This question made me giggle. It reminds me of a tv advertisement here in the UK where a man is feeling so empowered, he decides to pick a fight with gravity. He tries to dunk a basketball but misses the hoop by a foot – disappearing off the bottom of the screen. Strapless bras are a feat of anti-gravity engineering. The challenge is to develop something firm enough to hold the bust, but soft enough to be comfortable. The larger the size, the more supporting “girders” are needed. And, if we make the cup firm enough to hold our top cup sizes, it’s uncomfortable. That said, we at Elomi love a challenge, and we have been able to get our recent strapless bra to work up to a 38J(D10).TOMIMA: Elomi bra styles are all given women’s names. How did this start?LIESL: Each bra range is given an actual female name for “personality”. Along the way, we discovered our customers also find it easier to remember. We often pick names to suit the range. For example, our Eugenie range was embellished with an opulent gilded embroidery that made us think of royalty, including Empress Eugenie of France, and Princess Eugenie of Britain.TOMIMA: Are there any new or unique design elements in full figure lingerie?LIESL: Designing for fuller figures is all about creating the look of an effortlessly light and beautiful product, while building in the structure to make it work. We use more powerful back fabrics and specially developed powerful stretch laces. We have developed non-roll, limited stretch, strapping elastics. They have just enough stretch for comfort, but enough stability to give excellent uplift. (Tomima: HerRoom calls these straps “restricted stretch” in our feature filter.) We use a very sheer stabilized tricot for linings, which allows us to add support to delicate embroideries, laces, and tulles without looking cumbersome.TOMIMA: Is there anything unique about the underwires Elomi uses?LIESL: Underwires need to have a specific amount of flex. That flex amount is a balance between comfort and support. We found the perfect way to achieve this was to use three different thicknesses of wires, which vary according to bra size. Some manufacturers use a coated underwire because it’s easier to insert into the casing. But we have developed a custom triple layer casing to slip our underwires into. It’s durable, comfortable, and lets our uncoated underwires slip in perfectly.TOMIMA: Are there any new fabrics or fabric contents you are using?LIESL: Our favorite fabric at the moment is the TENCEL™ micromodal used in our Smooth briefs, which will launch in July (2021). Although briefs are usually quick to develop, this was a big project for the Elomi design team. We tasked ourselves with developing the most comfortable brief ever for plus sizes. Micromodal is sustainably derived from trees, and the fabric is super soft and stretchy. The team spent months trying different seaming locations and finishing techniques to develop a brief that does not ride up, looks invisible under clothing, and with plenty of stretch to avoid elastic edges pinching. Our wear-testers are telling us they are so comfortable, they forget they are wearing them!TOMIMA: Do you have a personal favorite Elomi bra style?LIESL: My favorite bra is always the one I happen to be developing at the time. But my everyday favorite is admittedly the Morgan because of its comfort and easy wearability. It has also seen incredible sales growth, so count on seeing future Elomi bra styles based on the Morgan bra frame. My “feel-gorgeous” bra is the Matilda (sheer and plunging, yet uplifting) or any of the other styles based on the Matilda frame such as Sachi, Eugenie, Brianna, and the Kelsey – coming soon.TOMIMA: How do you keep your designing exciting with each new season?LIESL: The start of a new season is always the most exciting time on my calendar. I like studying emerging key shapes in the market then figuring out ways to interpret these looks for larger sizes. Fresh new color palettes and trends spark ideas, and I enjoy seeing the newest lace and embroidery ranges, as these often inspire new collections. Feedback from customers and sales teams is vital, too – discussions and requests often trigger inspiration. Time out of the normal office environment is important to flex those creative muscles and spark new ideas. Design doesn’t stop at work though, creativity spills over into hobbies and almost everything I do. I love to challenge myself and find better ways to do things.TOMIMA: Is it true that once an Elomi bra style is on the market, no future design changes are made?LIESL: Elomi has a loyal following, and our consumers trust our brand. Consistency is really important to maintain that trust, so we don’t change existing styles. We are aware, too, of the importance of consistency in fit between different styles within the brand, so we use the Matilda bra style as our “fit standard bra” and use it to evaluate the bra size of all our wear-testers. Sometimes we expand a successful existing bra style with a new shape, but we will always give it a new name and style number.TOMIMA: What causes an Elomi bra style to be retired?LIESL: Sometimes we see a downtrend in sales on a style. When this happens, it’s usually the style is starting to look dated. We carefully analyze it to see if that style still fits our brand profile. If it does, we will replace it with a newer looking style along with a new style number and name. I will say the HerRoom product reviews are invaluable to us when designing a replacement style. I scour them to see if there are lessons to be learned that can help me improve the replacement style.TOMIMA: Appreciate your accolade!TOMIMA: How are the bras you design today different from the first bra you designed?LIESL: My first bra was a simple underwire bra in sizes 32-36 A-C, and I would have drafted and graded the pattern by hand. Nowadays, apart from fitting garments, almost every part of the design and development process is computerized, including technical drawings, pattern making, and grading.The average bra size has increased as women have changed shape over the years, and with this, our expertise in plus sizes has grown. My current design project is the Kelsey. It’s a style that looks like a fun crop top but has a concealed inner bra based on Matilda. It’s Elomi’ s response to the current bralette trend. It’s in final fit development at the moment and is working beautifully in a JJ(D11) cup size. We now have the know-how and technology to give full figure women on-trend lingerie with similar styling found on their smaller friends.TOMIMA: What customer complaints do you hear that you simply can’t fix?LIESL: Occasionally, we get requests for a backless strapless low-plunge bra. It just doesn’t work for the fuller figure. The support has to come from somewhere, so if you cut the bra away in one place, you need to build it up elsewhere to balance it. For every complaint about an aspect of a bra, there will be another person who loves precisely that aspect, so we try to offer a mix of styles so we have something for everyone.TOMIMA: What is a full figure woman’s capsule lingerie wardrobe?† Grading – The process of turning a sample size into additional smaller and larger sizes †† Cut-and-sew-style – A bra with seams in the cups ††† Molded contour cup – A seamless t-shirt bra cup shaped by using a moldUSA e-commerce sites are currently experiencing an interesting phenomenon. Government assistance checks have made it very difficult to find employees willing to come to work. And carriers such as USPS, UPS, and DHL are also VERY short-handed and therefore missing delivery pick-ups. We are doing our very best, but our high-performance levels of the past have fallen a little. Please know my team and I are laser-focused on finding solutions to get us back on track, and this week I feel we may have turned a corner. I greatly appreciate your patience and understanding should something with your order take a bit longer.Should you wish to know the status of your order, it would help greatly if you could log in and review your order status online rather than calling or emailing our customer service team. They are seeing record inquiries, too, while being short-handed. Source link