#ring schwartz translation

[aishangotome]

[Ring Schwartz] I Can't Return to a Time Before You Premium Ending

Ring ran alongside me as I chased after the kidnapper.

Kate: Ring!? Shouldn't you be getting Dari's judgment...?

Ring: That's what I thought at first. But... I can't just leave my g-g-girlfriend when she's about to jump into danger.

Ring: I'll go with you. ...Is that okay?

Kate: That's reassuring!

-

We arrived at an old clinic.

The man was nowhere to be seen; he must have gone to another room.

Ring: There are some documents over there. I can't understand difficult English, would you mind reading them for me?

Kate: Understood. ...The cover says "Research Report."

––It was a document that gave us a glimpse into why the man had committed the kidnappings.

The man had a daughter, but she suffered from heart disease.

The only way for his daughter to survive was to have a heart transplant.

It seems the man had been kidnapping children of similar ages with the intention of replacing his daughter's heart with theirs.

(This is a record of that...research...)

Ring: Human experimentation on children was being conducted here too...?

Kate: The child who was just kidnapped can still be saved. Let's search!

-

The clinic had several rooms, and we decided to split up to search for the girl.

A little while after I parted ways with Ring, I discovered the tied-up girl in a storage room.

Kidnapped Girl: Who...?

Kate: I've come to help you. You're safe now...!

I desperately tried to untie the tightly bound ropes.

However, while I was doing that, the kidnapper found me.

Kidnapper: What are you doing!?

Kate: ...W-wait, please listen!

I stood protectively in front of the girl and faced the man.

Kidnapper: What is there to discuss? Hand over the heart of the girl!

It seemed like the man's mind was so broken that he no longer saw the kidnapped child as a person, but just a heart.

Kate: I know about your daughter's illness. It must have been very difficult for you.

Kate: But...this child is also someone's family, a precious person they don't want to lose.

Kidnapper: That's...

The man's eyes wavered. The remaining conscience in his heart was trying to stop him from committing any further crimes.

But at that moment.

Kidnapper: Ah...gh!

The man groaned and vomited blood from his mouth.

Kate: Huh...?

I saw a sharp sword piercing the man's body from behind.

As the sword was pulled from his body, the man collapsed.

Ring: That was close.

It was Ring who had approached from behind and stabbed the man with his sword.

The man lay motionless in a pool of blood. I could tell at a glance that he was dead.

Kate: Why...did you kill him...?

Ring: "Why?" you ask... Isn't it obvious?

Ring: If Dari orders me to, I'll kill anyone.

His cheeks, wet with blood splatter, showed no trace of doubt about his heinous act.

It was then that I finally realized.

He, too, was––pure evil.

Ring: Dari told me before we went on our date today...

Ring: That if you were in any danger, I should eliminate the obstacle without hesitation...

If something were to happen to me while we were out, it would cause a rift between Crown and Vogel.

What Darius said was extreme, but not wrong.

(But...)

Kate: He was trying to change his mind. There was no need to kill him...

Ring: I can't make that judgment. Dari's orders are absolute.

I was questioning Ring when he made that firm declaration, and then...

Kidnapped Girl: Waaahhhh!!

Perhaps overwhelmed by what had happened before her eyes, the girl started crying as if a fire had been lit.

Kate: I-I'm sorry. You must have been so scared...!

I desperately tried to soothe her by stroking her back, but she wouldn't stop crying.

Ring: ...Let me hold her hand. I might be able to calm her down.

Ring timidly offered and took the girl's hand, connecting it with his own.

Then, the girl stopped crying in an instant and relaxed her expression as if relieved.

-

Soon after the girl stopped crying, the Crown members arrived at the scene.

Liam had noticed that Ring and I hadn't arrived at the Scala Theater even though we said we were going, and he had been searching for us, thinking we might have been involved in an incident.

Leaving the aftermath to them, we started on our way back.

On the way, he explained what had happened.

Ring: I can turn the emotions of the person I'm holding hands with into joy.

Kate: That's why she stopped crying so quickly.

Ring: Yes. ...Since I killed the culprit, this incident had to be handled internally.

Ring: If she had continued crying, there was a possibility that ordinary people who heard the commotion would come running...

Ring: I'm glad I was able to make her stop crying with my power and settle things peacefully.

Kate: It's not just that things were settled peacefully that's good.

Ring: ......?

Kate: Being kidnapped, seeing someone killed in front of her... The girl was panicking.

Kate: But I think you calmed her down, Ring, and made her feel safe.

Kate: Your ability is a wonderful one that can make people smile.

Ring: ...

Ring: I had completely forgotten...that my ability could make people smile.

(Come to think of it, whenever Ring acts without hesitation, it always involves Darius's orders.)

The reason for acting like a lover, the reason for following me when I chased after the kidnapper, the reason for killing the kidnapper...

Everything is based on Darius's orders.

(Complimenting my clothes, calming the girl down...)

(Whenever it's Ring's own judgment, he always seems unsure of himself.)

––Ring is like Darius's puppet.

(It's fine now because Ring's will and Darius's will seem to align.)

(But if there comes a time when Darius and Ring's opinions clash...)

(...I'm worried that Ring might suppress his own will.)

Ring is a kind and warm person who cares about others, so it would be a shame if he killed his own will.

Ring: That reminds me... There was something I wanted to ask you.

Kate: ...? Please, ask me anything!

Ring: Did you chase after the kidnapper because it's Crown's duty?

Ring: You're not strong, and I don't think you're used to violence.

Ring: If you're being forced into danger... Maybe you should quit Crown.

(Ring really is a kind person. He's worried about me like this.)

Ring: If you want to quit, I could ask Dari to pull some strings...

Kate: ...No, I chased after the culprit of my own free will.

Kate: It wasn't because of a sense of justice or anything grand like that... I just didn't want to have any regrets.

Kate: I didn't want to be the kind of person who turns a blind eye to someone in need of help.

Ring: ...I see. You're different from me.

Ring murmured, looking at me with dazzling eyes.

-

A few days after that date... I was once again summoned by Darius.

Darius: Now then, Ring. Try asking the Fairytale Keeper.

(Ask...? )

As I tilted my head in confusion, Ring stepped forward with a nervous look.

Ring: I request a date with you!

His enthusiasm, as if he were challenging me to a duel, made my eyes widen.

FIN

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.

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If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

Notes: OMG Ring is so freaking adorable. I love him so much and didn't expect to because I thought Nica would have my heart. Now I can't wait for Ring's route T_T

[cheshireliam]

Ring Schwartz 2nd Birthday Campaign: Story

Chapters 1 — 3

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

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— Even if your heart is trapped in abyssal darkness, even if you can’t love yourself. 

I wish for your daily life to have even just one tiny sparkle. 

…

Kate: Wow… this tea is delicious! The rich aroma lingers in my mouth with every sip.

William: Word has it that these tea leaves are the best batch ever grown in years.

— It was a quiet morning on a day off with no plans for the day, and I was enjoying the tea William had prepared. 

As I relaxed in the peaceful atmosphere, the sound of two pairs of hurried footsteps broke it. 

Liam: Kate, since when did you start dating Ring!?

Alfons: You’re so cruel, Miss Kate… was I no more than a one-time fling to you!?

The words spoken by the two men who burst into the dining hall had me completely bewildered. 

Kate: I don't remember dating Ring, nor do I remember ever having a fling with Alfons… 

William: Fufu, I wonder what amusing misunderstanding could've let to this?

Liam: Ring came all the way here to Crown’s castle and he’s asking to see Kate. 

Liam: He said he has some secret business with her that he can’t tell anyone else about.

Alfons: The ever so innocent Ring personally requesting to meet you, and for it to be in regards to some secret business, no less…

Alfons: Isn’t it obvious that the two of you share a very special relationship?

Kate: It’s not… you should tone down your curiosity, Liam.

Kate: And Alfons, please stop making up nonsensical things just because you’re finding this funny. 

Alfons: Alriiighttt.

Liam: Okaaay. 

The pair, who were always drawn to anything even remotely entertaining, replied in unison. 

Finishing my tea, I stood from my seat.

Kate: Thank you for the tea, William. 

William: Where to next?

Kate: Considering he came all this way specifically to see me… I should talk to Ring first. 

…

Right outside Crown’s castle, I spotted Ring being ambushed by Harrison and Roger. 

Kate: Ring, I heard you wanted to see me…

Ring: Oh! You actually came, Robin…! 

The moment he saw me, Ring’s eyes lit up like a lost child who had found his parents. 

Roger: So… how do you intend to ask the lil’ lady out on a date?

Ring: T-that's not it! I’ve already told you, didn't I? I’m not here to ask Robin out on a date… 

Harrison: Doesn’t look like he’s lying.

Roger: Oh? Then what business do you have with her, if not a date? Depending on your answer… we might not let you have Kate. 

Roger and Harrison stepped forward and stood protectively between Ring and I… 

It looked like they were protecting me, but…!

One glance at their faces made it clear that they were just having fun with the situation. 

(First there was Liam and Alfons, and now even these two…?) 

(... I guess Ring’s just too good to tease.) 

I suddenly felt bad for Ring once I realised how that must have felt. 

Ring: I wanted to keep it a secret so the information wouldn’t leak, but… I guess I have no choice but to reveal it now.

Ring: Actually… I came to ask for your help with choosing a birthday present. 

Kate: A birthday present?

Ring: Tomorrow is Nica’s birthday. I don’t have a sense for such things and don’t know much about them, so I’m struggling to pick a present. 

Ring: I asked for Dari’s help at first, but— 

…

Darius: I’m busy, so I can’t help. Why don’t you ask someone from Crown to help you instead? 

Darius: That way, you get to find out more about them and pick a present for Nica at the same time. Killing two birds with one stone, right? 

…

Ring: … That’s what he said, so I figured I’d ask you for help since you seem to have a good sense for getting gifts. 

(“Seem to have good sense”... this is the first time I’m getting this compliment, it feels kind of good to hear.)

Feeling pleased by the compliment, I decided to go with the flow and accept his request. 

Kate: Alright. If you’re okay with me helping you, I’d be happy to. 

Ring: R-really? You’ll be a huge help…! 

Ring’s smile made me think that… if he were a dog, his tail would be wagging like crazy right now. 

Kate: It’s just… I’m not exactly an expert on knowing what men like to receive as gifts, so I think it might help to get some opinions from others. 

Kate: Harrison, Roger, what would you be happy to receive as a gift? 

I decided to ask them right away, since they were just there, but— 

Roger: Alcohol. Or something that goes well with it. 

Harrison: I’d like something sweet. 

Their instant responses were exactly as I expected. 

Ring: Food, huh… Nica has refined taste buds, so I’m not sure I can find something that meets his standards… 

Kate: Boxing gear would be a good gift for Roger, and a novel for Harrison…

Kate: Don't you think it'd be nice to receive something related to your hobbies? 

Roger: Hmm… I already have gear I’m used to, so I don’t really need anyone to buy me more.

Harrison: I wouldn't know how to react if the novel isn’t to my liking or it's one I’ve already read. 

Ring: … Choosing from a category the other person is especially familiar with is a double-edged sword. 

Kate: You’re right. … It’s troublesome indeed, so shall we ask others for their opinions too? Let’s go, Ring! 

Ring: Ah, yeah! I’ll be counting on you. 

— And so, we started our search for Nica’s birthday present. 

…

Ring and I went around gathering opinions to help us decide on a present for Nica. 

William: Something I’d want? Let me think… what do you think I’d want? 

Ring: … That’s what we came to ask.

Kate: Off to the next person! 

…

Liam: Something I’d want… I don’t really want anything in particular. 

Liam: Right now, all I want is the smiles of the audience who come to see my performances! 

Ring: As expected of Sparkly Pink… even your words sparkle…! 

…

Elbert: I want… the most beautiful thing in this world.

Ring: That’s hard. We’d have to compare every single thing in the world to find out what the most beautiful thing is… 

Alfons: I want to spend a sweeeeet, passionate night with Miss Kate. 

Ring: Y-you can’t! 

Alfons: Why do you get to decide? This is between me and Miss Kate. 

Alfons: Ahh, could it be that you've already reserved a night with her yourself? 

Ring: Wha—!? A-absolutely NOT. Don’t say anything weird!! 

Kate: Please don't poke fun at Ring, Alfons. Let’s move on! 

…

Jude: … Somethin’ I want? “Money” or “submissive labour”. 

Ellis: I don’t want anything. But if I had to choose… I suppose I’d want something that would make you happy. 

…

Victor: Something I’d want for my birthday…? Don’t tell me, are you planning for my birthday celebration next year!? 

Victor: First of all, I want everyone from Crown and Vogel to sing me a birthday song. And then— 

…

After gathering opinions from everyone in Crown… Ring and I headed off to buy a present. 

Kate: Hmm… some of their opinions were helpful, whereas some… not quite. 

Ring: … Maybe I should just give him cash instead.

Ring: That might be better than ending up picking something weird and disappointing Nica… 

Kate: You can’t let Jude influence you! The process of choosing the present is important too, you know? 

Ring: Is that how it works…?

Kate: Absolutely! In that case, let’s change our approach.

Kate: Instead of thinking about what Nica wants, let’s think about what you want to give him. 

Ring: What I want to give him…? 

Kate: For example, we could consider getting him something he can use at work or help him relax… 

Kate: Try imagining how Nica would use a present you give him. That might give you some ideas. 

Ring: I… 

Ring’s eyes, usually bright like the reflection of the clear blue sky on a water’s surface, suddenly darkened as though a drop of ink had fallen into them. 

He seemed to be lost in his memories of the past, and for a moment, I thought I saw my image disappear from his eyes. 

It felt like he had wandered off somewhere far away, leaving me feeling uneasy all of a sudden.

Ring: I… want to give Nica a present that will make him smile again. 

Kate: Make him smile again…? 

(From what I’ve seen, Nica always seems to be smiling…)

(... What does Ring mean by “again”?) 

I wasn't very familiar with anything that had happened to the two. 

But… I could tell that Ring’s words came from his heart. 

(A present that will make Nica smile… I wonder what that could be.)

Ring: At this point, I should just buy this. 

With a look of exasperation on his face, Ring picked up a book titled “100 Jokes Guaranteed To Have Everyone Rolling With Laughter!”

A mental image of Nica cracking one of those witty jokes flashed through my mind and vanished as quickly as a shooting star. 

Kate: L-let’s give it another thought! We still have plenty of time!

Ring: But… 

Kate: I’ll help you search for a present you’re satisfied with! Don’t give up!

Ring: … Thanks, Robin. You’re very kind. 

Just as we started walking toward another store, something caught my eye.

Kate: What do you think of this, Ring? 

…

While searching for a present with Ring, my eyes landed on an advertisement for a “coffee cup painting experience”.

Since the members of Vogel lived in the palace, they most likely didn’t have much personal tableware… which made a personalised coffee cup a practical gift. 

Moreover, I was sure Nica would be pleased to receive a one-of-a-kind coffee cup hand painted by Ring himself. 

Ring: … They said they can process it quickly at the shop, so it’ll be ready for pick up tomorrow at noon. 

Kate: I can’t wait to give it to Nica.

Ring: Yeah. 

Ring and I left the store chatting after painting the coffee cup. 

Just then, my vision turned orange.

Kate: Huh? Are these…

Ring: They’re osmanthus flowers. 

Kate: But osmanthus flowers usually only bloom in autumn, right? Wouldn't that make this an off-season bloom? 

Ring: … Or it might be a specially cultivated variety that blooms in all four seasons. 

Kate: A specially cultivated variety…? 

Ring: I'm not too sure of the details… but there’s a technique where different plants are crossbred to create new varieties with specific characteristics. 

Ring: For example, some flowers are cultivated to have more vibrant colours, larger flowers… or a stronger resistance to disease. 

Kate: Wow…! I never knew such techniques existed! 

Listening to Ring’s explanation, I looked up at the osmanthus tree again.

Kate: I don't know if that was how this tree was created, but… 

Kate: … If it was, then it means this tree was grown¹ carrying the hopes of the people who cultivated it. 

¹ The word originally used here was “born”. But trees don't give birth… now do they? 

I was so captivated by the sweet scent of osmanthus flowers and the sight of delicate orange petals fluttering down that I didn't notice— 

Ring: “Born carrying hopes”... huh. 

Ring: I, too,—

Ring muttered something while looking pained, but I didn't catch what he said. 

Kate: … Ah, sorry, Ring! I got too distracted admiring the flowers. 

Ring: No, it’s fine. Such seasonal anomalies are a rare sight and the flowers smell nice, so I understand why you stopped to appreciate them. 

While Ring was talking, a strong gust of wind blew and sent a rain of osmanthus flowers coming down on us. 

Ring: This is incredible. They just keep falling…

Kate: You’re right. It’s almost like a flower shower.

Ring: Flower shower…? That sounds interesting. Is it some sort of ritual where you bathe in flowers? 

Kate: During a wedding ceremony, people scatter flower petals over the bride and groom as a way to give the newlyweds their blessings. 

Ring: W-wedding…? B-b-bride and groom…!? 

Ring: D-does that mean… standing in this rain of flower petals right now… we look like we’re getting married…!? 

Kate: Huh? No, that’s not what I… 

Ring: Unacceptable! 

Ring panicked and hurriedly removed his jacket to hold over his head like a makeshift shelter from the “rain”, before pulling me closer to his side under it, holding me by the waist. 

Ring: … Thank goodness. We’re safe now. 

My nose was filled with the smell of the osmanthus flowers mixed with Ring’s deep woody scent. 

My heart was hammering against my chest, and the warmth due to our lack of physical distance made me all the more nervous, but—

More than that, there was something else on my mind. 

Kate: Umm… I’m sorry, Ring.

Ring: What for? 

Kate: I didn’t realize you’d hate the idea so much… I shouldn't have compared this to a flower shower. 

Ring: … No, it’s not you that I hate. 

Ring: One day, we might become enemies, and as a member of Vogel, I can’t get too close to you…

Ring: That aside, you’re kind and an overall good person. 

Ring: When Harrison and Roger had me surrounded in front of the castle today, it made me happy to hear you calling out to me from afar. 

Ring: There’s nothing in it for you, and yet you sincerely helped me to pick a present for Nica. 

Ring: You also stopped me when I was about to give up and buy something weird… all of it makes me happy. 

Ring: If you were my fiancée, I feel like we’d make a wonderful family… I can easily picture it. 

Kate: … 

I could feel my face heating up at the praise I had never heard before. 

Ring: That’s exactly why… it just feels wrong for someone like me to be seen as your fiancé. 

Ring: So just bear with it a little longer, until the petals stop falling. 

(“Someone like me”...) 

Those words made the warmth I felt from being complimented fade away almost instantly. 

I think Ring’s a wonderful person…

The way he spoke so lowly of himself was heartbreaking to witness. 

Kate: You’re a wonderful person too, Ring. No matter what anyone says, I know you are. 

I looked up at him, genuinely wanting him to hear the words coming from the bottom of my heart. 

Kate: You’re wary of Crown because we might one day become Vogel’s enemy.

Kate: Despite that… you went all the way to Crown’s castle just to seek help with picking out a birthday present. 

Kate: You wanted to find something special for Nica, even if it meant putting your suspicions aside. I think that’s wonderful.

Ring: …

Kate: Someone who cherishes the family he has now will surely… cherish the family they create in the future too. 

Kate: So there’s nothing bad or strange about you being my fiancé at all…! 

Ring: Um. 

Kate: Ah. 

Kate: Uhh… sorry. I was just babbling away…! 

Ring: I-I see…

An awkward moment of silence fell between us as we stared at each other, unable to say another word. 

Ring: Robin… 

Right as Ring was about to say something, the wind suddenly stopped.

Ring: … G-good. The rain of petals is over. 

Ring put his jacket back on and stepped away from me.

His warmth was now gone, and somehow I felt a little lonely. 

…

Our day of picking out a present smoothly came to an end…

The next morning, I went to visit Ring at the palace.

Ring: Did you need something from me…? Did you perhaps forget to tell me something yesterday—...

Kate: Nope, I didn't forget anything. I came to tell you something I can only say today. 

Ring: …? 

Kate: Happy birthday, Ring! 

I held out a small package to him. 

Ring: Huh…? Wha—...!?

Kate: Since it’s Nica’s birthday today and you two are twins, I figured it must be your birthday too… am I wrong? 

Ring: You’re not… but I didn't expect to receive a present from you. 

Ring: Th…tha…thanks… Can I open it now?

Kate: Go ahead! … But it’s nothing fancy, so please don’t expect too much. 

Ring opened the package to reveal a small glass jar filled with colourful candies.

Ring: Wow…! The jar is beautiful, and the candies sparkle like jewels… 

Ring: It’s fun to look at, like looking at treasure. 

He lifted the jar up to the sunlight, admiring the way the candies sparkled. 

Kate: Fufu… I’m glad you like it. I picked it out while thinking of you. 

Ring: Thinking of me…?

Kate: You told me yesterday that you had no sense for gifts and didn’t know enough about them to pick a good one, right? 

Ring: Oh, yeah… I did say that. 

Kate: I think that’s how everyone starts out. 

Kate: Just like filling a glass jar with your favourite candies, you gain new experiences and gather things you love little by little every day… 

Kate: That’s how you develop your sense for things and learn more about the world. 

Kate: So… I hope the days you spend in England will be like this jar, filling up with things you love. 

As I spoke, Ring took another look at the jar, taking in the sight of the colourful candies inside. 

Ring: I don’t know if that’s how my days will turn out. But… 

Ring: At the very least… they did turn out like that yesterday and today, all thanks to you. 

Ring took out two pieces of candy, one the same warm orange colour of osmanthus flowers and one a soft lavender colour like the ribbon I was wearing today. 

He placed the orange candy in my palm. 

Ring: … Thank you for celebrating my birthday.

Ring: If you don’t mind… can we eat these candies together? 

Kate: Thank you! I’d love to. 

The sweet candy melted on my tongue, and at the same time, Ring’s gentle smile filled my heart… 

It felt like a tiny piece of jewel-like candy was just added to the jar in my heart. 

[kurishiri]

AGF “The Dark Mafia” gacha: card quote translations

꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ notice ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ this translation may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but please don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

꒰ Elbert🍎 . ꒱ “ You can keep your eyes closed. The sins and the smell of blood don’t suit someone like yourself. ”

꒰ Jude⌛️ . ꒱ “ Come ‘ere a bit. Tch, there ain’t a single bloody eye on ya that’s hidin’ what they want. ”

꒰ Ring💍 . ꒱ “ ——If there’s anyone that hurts those dear to me, I will kill them all. So, come at me with all you got. ”

꒰ William🍓 . ꒱ “ ‘Come here.’ How do you like the fear of having your life trampled upon? ”

꒰ Alfons🪞 . ꒱ “ When it comes to battles… I can’t say I take too much a fancy. For you see, those cries of dread are all the same, and they’d only bore me to no end. ”

꒰ Ellis⛓️ . ꒱ “ I don’t hesitate when I kill others for my job. After all, that doesn’t affect my love. ”

[sevenai]

Putting My Growing Feelings Into Chocolates

〜Valentines Just The Two Of Us〜

For Valentine's Day I prepare chocolates to give to himー.

“I never thought the day would come when I would get my own Valentine's Day chocolates.”

This feeling, experienced just between the two of us, is deeper and sweeter than any chocolate.

*screaming…ring is so cute!

*translations may be incorrect.

[judesmoonbeauty]

2025 Mystery Bag Prologue: Lucky Man Competition

This is a fan translation only. Please expect grammatical errors and translation inaccuracies. This is a full translation. Creative liberties are taken for characterization and smoother translation process. Cybird owns everything. Re-blogs are appreciated, but please do not post my translation elsewhere. Thank you for your support! ☾.

It’s the end of the year, it's condemnation, after condemnation, after condemnation.

The busy Crown members also seem to get worn out by the end of the year.

Roger: Ah- I’ve worked hard this year. I don’t feel like lifting a finger anymore.

Harrison: I get what ya mean, the end of the year’s…..gotten worse.

Harrison: Well, Jude’s seems crappier though.

Jude: Those damned average employees makin’ stupid mistakes durin’ the shittiest busiest time.

Ellis: It's true that the busier you are, the more mistakes you make and the more work you have to do.

Alfons: I’ve also been rather busy what with attending parties with Elbie, greeting people, drinking parties, and caring for the cat!

Elbert: I didn’t ask him to care for the cat….but, you saved it. Thank you.

Liam: We’re all exhausted. But we’ve finished our duties for the year, so now we can take it easy to our heart’s content.

William: I agree with Liam.

William: That’s what I want to say, but at times like this,

Victor: My cutie Crown members are all gathered together ~~!

William: This man stirs up a perpetual storm at Crown.

Jude & Harrison: I’m dyin’.

Victor: This is a marvelous and amazing event. Let’s APPLAUSE!

Liam & Ellis: Yay! Clapping!

Jude: If it’s somethin’ stupid, I’ll sink ya in the sea today.

Victor: You’re the stars of 2025! The Lucky Man competition will be held in the UK, WHOOOOOO!

Jude: Tch.

Ellis: Jude, your blood vessel’s about to burst.

Victor: I see, I see! I’m delighted you’re so happy that your blood vessels could burst!

William: This is the first event where Jude is so excited about it that his blood vessels pop, isn’t it?

Victor: This is a project her Majesty has been working on for many years, and it’s being held for the first time.

Victor: Here, let me explain the rules. They’re simple.

Victor: The person who runs the designated course, and reaches the goal first will be chosen as the Lucky Man.

Victor: The Lucky Man is said to be brought to various events throughout the year for good luck.

Alfons: Essentially, it’s a race to determine first place.

Victor: It’s exactly that!

Victor: First, there is a qualifying round. Those whom make it through, will be able to participate in the final match. This means that everyone has an equal chance to participate.

Victor: It’s fun, it’s exciting! Now, all of Crown should join!

Jude: How stupid. Why should I be runnin’ ‘round in this cold ass weather?

Harrison: Yeah, I’ll pass too. Gimme a break, I’m already exhausted.

Roger: I agree. If there were some benefit like money or something, I wouldn’t hesitate to think it over—

Victor: What if, Her Majesty would grant any one wish to the one chosen as the Lucky Man?

Alfons & Roger: Anything?

Roger: Her Majesty’s really stepped up. Victor, I’ll join.

Ellis: Roger’s participating? Guess I will too if that’s the case.

Ellis: Jude?

Jude: If yer sayin’ “anythin’” then that changes thin’s.

Alfons: Just look at everyone declaring their participation one after the other. Elbie, what of you?

Elbert: …..I don’t compete very often.

Victor: Ahhh! Come to think of it, Kate said something like this,

Victor: “The Lucky Man is amazing! I respect anyone tries their best at anything” —

Elbert: Victor, I’ll join too.

Alfons: For cash. I’ll participate too. I adore reveling in drinking sprees.

Liam: Me too, me too! Win or lose, it’ll be a great memory.

Liam: C’mon, Harry you too! I’m sure Kate will come to cheer us on.

Harrison: Don’t hit my arm, Liam. Good grief, I get it……I’ll tag along too.

Victor: Now, that just leaves William. Although I don’t think I need to ask.

William: Of course, I’ll join. The real pleasure of one’s life is to enjoy everything.

Victor: All of Crown, including myself will participate by entering the qualifying round.

Victor: Crown, the townspeople, and the rest I’m certain —

[Transitions to Vogel]

Darius: — Apparently, an event like that is taking place. We three Vogel’s have announced our participation as well.

Nica & Ring: ….Huh?

Darius: Ahaha, your surprised looks are exactly the same.

Darius: It’s at times like this I think you really are twins.

Nica: Your eccentricities are nothing new Dari, but is there any reason for us to participate in this?

Darius: Do you really feel I always say such outlandish things?

Darius: Simply put, choosing a Lucky Man seems amusing, doesn’t it?

Nica: That’s it? Just the king’s whim.

Nica: So, why does my little brother look so happy?

Ring: Oh, um….

Ring: ….Because I’ve always wanted to get excited along with a large group of people.

Darius: See, my lovely Ring feels the same way. Don’t you think?

Nica: Fine, I enter too. Frankly, a wish that’ll come true sounds delicious.

Darius: You’re such good boys Nica and Ring. Oh, just one thing….

Darius: Usage of our abilities are prohibited since we cursed are currently confidential information.

Nica & Ring: Verstanden [Got it] • Understood.

Darius: I wonder who’ll be chosen as the Lucky Man? Hehe, I look forward to it.

[Story Set Master List] Dividers: @.adornedwithlight

Tags list: @sh0jun @theimaginativelyreticent @sapphire-323 @velisle @nateko @greatwitchsongsinger @injudescoat @aeyumicore @complexivelovely @drachonia @cosmowgyral @lunaaka @rosalyne08 @8the-perfect-lie8 @voydsoul

[starzeyquee]

LMAOAOA THIS CAME TO ME IN A DREAM

[taylorswiftstyle]

MTV Video Music Awards | September 11, 2024

Monse Fall/Winter 2024 custom

For Future Reference Vintage 'Omega Chain' - no longer available

Rainbow K Jewelry ‘Diamond Horn Earring’ - € 7215.00 Ali Weiss Jewelry ‘Baby Pave Hoop With 2 Diamond Drop’ - $375.00 Grown Brilliance ‘Emerald and Heart Lab Grown Diamond Two Stone Stud Earrings’ - $1,895.00

Lizzie Mandler Jewelry ‘Pave Knife Edge Bracelet’ - $13,665.00 Mateo New York ‘Carabiner Bracelet’ - $300.00 Mateo New York ‘Lock Link Bracelet’ - $350.00 Rainbow K Jewelry ‘Diamond Horn Bangle’ - €18,575.00

Ali Weiss Jewelry ‘Thin Gold Band With 5 Diamonds’ - $650.00 Jade Ruzzo ‘Tennessee Drop Ring in Demantoid Garnet’ - $5,600.00 Retrouvai ‘Platinum Magna Ring’ - price upon request Grown Brilliance‘Marquise Lab Grown Diamond Eternity Band’ - $2,190.00

A brief moment of pride for me because I happened to predict a different look from this exact same collection for the MTV VMAs. I'll take the win! Taylor changed partway through the show, shedding her tartan Dior look for a party look that was easier for her to dance in but still retained a high shine award show appeal. While Taylor's look is obviously custom, the tapestry alien print and buckle detail are clear riffs from the Monse FW2024 runway. This was a fun and flirty mid-show change that reminded me of her strategy at the 2022 MTV EMAs. Though for that award show, there was a clearer throughline between both her looks as they were by the same designer - David Koma. Here, there isn't as obvious a connect between the two aesthetics. Although perhaps it's the notion of translating older notions of art into surreal, modern takes. With Dior, an ode to the secret messages Mary Queen of Scots embroidered in her clothes and with this Monse look, reimagining the antique tapestry to feature futuristic visions of alien invasion. Which feels very "Down Bad" in imagery.

For her second look of the evening, Taylor swapped out her singular pair of Lorraine Schwartz earrings (a go-to jeweler for her red carpet looks) and tapped into one of her style pillars: indie designers.

The mix of metals feels very Taylor - she often swaps between gold and silver and looks equally great in both, lucky her. Though I did most appreciate the silver tying in to the buckle detail on her Monse dress.

Of all her jewels, the piece that most caught my eye is Jade Ruzzo's ‘Tennessee’ ring. I spoke to the designer and she described the Tennessee as her “signature” collection, inspired by her late father who was a drummer. “I designed the Tennessee ring, the first piece from the collection, while in Tennessee,” she told me. “Tennessee has a heart and soul that I felt I could literally hear a beat to - it felt like it moved.” Jade translated the kinetic energy she felt in the city into a hand bezel ring with hanging gemstones that create a subtle movement - “as if [the stones] are dancing on each piece.” She added, “I wanted the movement to be subtle enough that it felt Iike soft steady music throughout the day.“ What an appropriate thing for Taylor, who calls Tennessee her home, to wear.

Photo by John Shearer via Getty Images

[candiedcoffeedrops]

Geborgenheit

Notes: I yap a lot so I'm putting them at the end this time along with the German translations.

WC: 1,020

Pairing: Ring Schwartz x Reader

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, SFW, Written from suitor's perspective- still like doing that apparently lol

CW: Possible spoilers for Nica and Ring's backstories. I took what I've heard and read from JP and ran with it so be warned. Also potentially OOC because Ring's route isn't out yet.

No beta, we die like mne.

“Subjects 404 and 405.” A clinical, dispassionate voice called out as a wide room materialized around me. Tight restraints kept my arms and legs secured to the seat I was forced to lay down on. I flexed my wrists, trying to find a way out of them despite knowing that the people who put me here wouldn’t give me such a kindness. The room smelled like chemicals and dust and iron. My heart thudded in my chest and my breathing became shallow. Sweat beaded on my brow and neck despite the chill in the air.

Something isn’t right. Why do I keep coming back here?

We left. I know we did. Dari came and we–

“Leave him alone!” 

Nica’s voice. Somewhere. It sounds warped and far away, like hearing him yell through water. I know he’s here somewhere but why can’t I see him? Why can I never see him when I come back here?

“Nica? Nica, where are you? I’m scared…” My voice left my mouth– frail and wet. Younger. When I blink, my eyelashes are wet and cold. 

Expressionless faces that I know all too well and yet can’t quite remember fully begin to draw closer, their owners wearing sterile white coats. One of them holds a long syringe filled with an eerie cyan liquid. I pulled with everything I had against my restraints, eyes fixed on the needle. My breathing came out in shallow, harsh pants now.

“Nein,” I tried to yank my torso and my neck further away from the approaching drug but there was no use. Two sets of sturdy hands pressed down on me while the needle touched the skin of my neck. “Fass mich nicht an. Es tut weh.”

As soon as the needle broke my skin, I felt the liquid being plunged into my body. It stung like thousands of tiny glass shards all at once, a searing heat followed by icy numbness spreading from my neck outward. It hurts. It hurts. Why do they keep doing this to us? Why me and my brother? Why did we have to be here? I miss the sun. I miss the wind and clouds in the sky. There was never anything here but prodding and scraping and needles and new drugs. Why wasn’t Dari here yet?

“Ring?��� Your voice– gentle and sweet, sounded out to me in the midst of the dark and terrifying. You weren’t supposed to be here. You’d get hurt, you’d be-

“Ring, wake up,” Your touch, soft but insistent as you shook my shoulder pulled me from the inky black cold of my memories. My eyes shot open to see you, your brow upturned, stitched together in worry as you looked down at me. Your name escaped my lips as I reached out to touch you, my fingers hesitating before grazing your jawline. You were here. You were warm and real. A shaky breath of relief left my chest as I slumped back against the mattress, feeling heavier than I had before. Another nightmare.

“You were restless and talking in your sleep. It looked like you were having a nightmare. Are you alright?”

“Ah,” I inhaled deeply, my eyes scanning the ceiling of your room. The more I saw, the more I felt at ease. I wasn’t strapped down in that horrible lab, waiting for the next cut, the next needle. My skin wasn’t yielding to medical blades and syringes for the sake of experimentation. I was here. I was home. I looked at you again, studying the contours of your face. The shine in your eyes, the shape of your lips, strands of your hair, mussed by sleep. “Better now. Much better. Thank you.”

I brushed my knuckles against the soft skin of your cheek. You leaned into the touch and I felt my heart melt a little– the warmth chasing off the cold bite of the nightmare. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” You offered slowly, your eyes darting over my face. 

“Maybe in the morning…it’s too much right now.”

You nodded in understanding, moving an errant strand of my hair from my face. I noticed it was damp with sweat. 

“I didn’t mean to worry you, Schatz.” I felt my brow furrow. “...I’m sorry.”

Your hand gently wrapped around mine as you turned your face to place a kiss on my finger with a smile that was far too kind. “You can’t control it. There’s nothing to apologize for, Dearest.” 

I allow myself to sigh in relief, some of the tension in my shoulders easing. You pressed your forehead to mine and I closed my eyes, savoring your closeness. 

“You’re too good to me,” I whispered. How many times would you be there to pull me from the depths? You shouldn’t have to do it at all. I was supposed to be stronger than this. If I can’t even fight off what’s in my own head then-

“Shhh,” you wrapped your arm around my head and held me close to your chest. “None of that now. You deserve to be treated with kindness, Ring.” I wrap my arms around your torso, letting out a shuddering breath as I nuzzle my face into your chest. The scent of your soap filled my nose.

My eyelids began to feel heavy again. A faint worry of repeating the nightmare echoed in my mind but it felt dulled, your warmth around me acting as a shield against the cold and the dreaded. I felt safe. Guarded. It feels welcome and also strange, after spending so long either helpless or guarding others. I feel your lips press a kiss to my hair and my face warms.

Your fingers stroked lazily through my hair, a slow, soothing rhythm that lulled me further into the warmth of your embrace. My body, still tense from the ghosts of my dreams, finally began to yield, my breaths evening out, my grip on you loosening but not letting go entirely.

"Sleep," you murmured, your voice a quiet promise against my temple. "I've got you."

And for the first time in a long time, I believed it.

Tags: @drachonia

Notes: Thank you to @velisle for the inspiration for this guy something to the tune of several weeks ago on Discord lol. Hope you like it! And also thank you to @injudescoat for looking over the German I used to make sure I was using it properly💜💜

Translations:

Geborgenheit - Security

Fass mich nicht an. Es tut weh - Don't touch me. It hurts.

Schatz - Treasure/Darling

I don't remember who did the banner, but the orange pearl divider is by @saradika-graphics

[sussex-newswire]

British Vogue: Meghan’s Favourite Cartier Necklace Is Inspired By Rebels

"[Meghan, Duchess of Sussex] rarely takes off her Tank watch – the same timepiece worn by Princess Diana – or her Love bracelet – the ultimate status symbol for a certain kind of aspirational woman – but her Juste Un Clou choker is a more recent addition to her jewellery box that’s saved for certain occasions, such as the Invictus Games. Emulating the look of a nail wrapped around the skin, the Juste Un Clou collection started life as simply 'the nail bracelet' in 1971, and demonstrated the jeweller’s dexterity at transforming a simple household object into a precious treasure.

"Channelling the rebellious spirit of the decade was remarkable at the time for Cartier designer Aldo Cipullo, who rebuked traditional jewellery processes by stripping things back and practising a minimalism not yet popularised. The bracelet enjoyed a new surge in popularity in the 2000s, when it was renamed 'juste un Clou' (which translates as 'just a nail') in honour of its punk undertones, and joined by necklaces, rings and brooches. Today, [Meghan]’s choker (hers is the small yellow gold version set with 57 diamonds totalling 0.20 carats) retails for upwards of £12,000, which when coupled with her Tank and Love pieces is not an insignificant sum – particularly on a state visit when every personal effect is scrutinised for its deeper significance.

"The hybrid Cali-CEO-meets-thoughtful-traveller look followed the neat navy Veronica Beard coords Meghan wore to touch down in Colombia. Teamed with Manolos, a Loro Piana tote and Lorraine Schwartz diamonds, as well as her keepsake Cartier watch and bracelet, [Meghan]’s business separates once again signalled an ambitious entrepreneur, who has always gone her own way. Her carefully curated jewellery shows this more than ever."

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior Feb. 14, 2020 – SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, FANTASY ISLAND, THE PHOTOGRAPH, DOWNHILL, OLYMPIC DREAMS

It’s Valentine’s Day on Friday and President’s Day on Monday, which means that this weekend is going to be absolutely nuts in terms of getting four new wide releases.  Last week’s Birds of Prey did not do even remotely close to where I predicted/projected – almost half!! -- and here I thought all those raves reviews might help, but apparently not. It will still make money with its global release but it’s gonna fall short even of last year’s Shazam! and many have already started questioning whether an R-rating is the way to go with a movie semi-targeted towards younger women. (Warner Bros. has already sent out a mandate to theaters to change the title of the movie to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. I cannot believe that it took this long for them to figure out what a terrible title they had previously!)

With the four-day weekend, it’s very likely that Paramount Pictures’ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, will prevail, as it brings the beloved SEGA video game character to the big screen with James Marsdenand Jim Carrey, the latter starring in one of his first big-screen appearances in a while. It should be an easy victor this weekend in a market that could desperately use another strong family film.

For those unfamiliar with SEGA’s flagship video game “mascot,” Sonic has appeared in all sorts of other media including animated series and comic books, so one can say that the character is almost but not quite as well known and popular as Nintendo’s Pokemon, which has had a much wider reach in terms of both games and cartoons.

Of course, it’s impossible not to look at Sonic the Hedgehog and completely ignore the relative success of last year’s Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, which had the added benefits of a popular A-list star in Ryan Reynoldsand a summer release. That opened with $54.4 million and made $144 million domestic and $429.7 million worldwide.

On the other hand, Sonic does have Jim Carrey, who hasn’t been in an American wide release since the 2014 sequel Dumb and Dumber To, which only made about $156 million worldwide. At one point, Carrey was one of the biggest box office stars with multiple $240 million plus domestic blockbusters. Maybe the kids won’t be as invested in Carrey’s Mr. Robotnik, but many parents who grew up with Carrey’s comedies will be happy to see him in such a perfect role.

The Presidents Day weekend allows one extra day for parents with kids needing something to do with them sans school. Even so, the biggest movies on the weekend have been superhero movies, including Black Panther, Deadpool and Fifty Shades of Grey, the latter two definitely not for kids. (Daredeviland Ghost Rider also fared well on the weekend.) In fifth place for the weekend is Warner Bros’ The LEGO Movie, which made $62.5 million over the four-day weekend, but that was in its SECOND WEEKEND! So yeah, lots of money to be had for a family movie even though the biggest opener was Christopher Columbus’ Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (now on Broadway!), which opened with $38.7 million ten years ago.

I have to imagine that Sonic is more popular, and even with the tragic misstep of that first trailer last year which got such a negative reaction to Sonic’s appearance, Paramount delayed the movie and went back to the CG drawing board, there will be enough fans interested to see how he translates to the screen that $40 million over the weekend should be doable even with three other wide releases. I also don’t think reviews will be so bad, so it should be good for $100 million plus.

Mini-Review: For whatever reason, Sonic the Hedgehog is the kind of movie that lazy critics love to dump on, maybe because it’s a kids’ movie or because it’s a movie based on a video game they played as kids, or more likely, a character their kids know from popular cartoons and comic books. It doesn’t help that judgments were mostly cast when the first trailer hit last year and Sonic looked different than what people expected. Regardless, I went into the movie with very low expectations, maybe because I really had no passionate connection to the character despite being generally familiar with some of the games.

We meet Sonic as he’s being chased by robots, and we flash back to him as a kid on a planet where he’s able to zoom around freely, until he’s discovered by predators that are hunting him (it’s never explained why), so his mentor owl gives Sonic gold rings that can take him off-planet. Sonic ends up in a small town called Green Hills where he watches the townsfolk in hiding for years, including a local police officer (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter). The former eventually discovers Sonic after he causes a major power outage that gets the attention of the government and its genius robotics scientist, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey).

Despite not having much previous connection to Sonic, it’s hard for me not to appreciate this character, because I’ve been known to zip around myself. I also enjoyed Sonic’s haste since who knows when we might see that movie based on one of my favorite comic characters, The Flash. Sonic does a good job capturing the intensity and yes, speed, of having speed powers in quite a masterful way compared to previous attempts, giving me hope that a Flash movie is possible. (Granted, they do rip-off the fun thing Quicksilver does in the recent X-movies by slowing everything around Sonic down to a halt, but it’s still amusing.)

Probably the most genius idea by Sonic’s filmmakers was to convince Jim Carrey to return to the big screen as Dr. Robotnik. He quickly reminds us how hilarious he can be when going as fully into a character as he does this one, and it’s prime Carey vs. the semi-lazy Carrey that made movies in the early ‘00s. Robotnik is a super-genius with no patience for anyone on a lower level of intellect (aka everyone), and Carrey takes that idea to the utmost extreme. (It’s hard not to compare what he’s doing in this movie to what Ewan McGregor does in Birds of Prey and see how Carey does it effortlessly whereas McGregor was clearly trying too hard.)

That’s not to take away from Marsden and Sumpter, Sonic’s other prominent human co-stars, who bring such a warmth and humanity to those characters that you rarely even think that you’re watching them interact with a fully CG-character. (Kudos to Ben Schwartz and what he brings to Sonic as his voice.)

Sure, the plot can be a bit predictable with certain parts clearly geared to kids, but there’s also slew of pop references that display some real talent in the writing of the movie so that it can be watched and enjoyed by people of all ages.

Is it possible that Sonic the Hedgehog is the first thoroughly entertaining movie of the year? Yes, indeedy. (Definitely stay through the first bunch of credits if you are a Sonic fan!)

Rating: 8/10

One of the more interesting releases of the weekend is BLUMHOUSE’S FANTASY ISLAND (Sony Pictures Releasing), which as you can guess is a PG-13 horror version of the popular ‘80s show, starring Michael Peña as Mr. Rouke, the head of a program in which people can pay lots of money to achieve their greatest wishes… with a catch! Since this is Blumhouse, you probably know that the catch involves some sort of horror/thriller premise, and if you’ve seen the trailer, you might get some idea how it works… or not. (I wish I can say more but I’m under embargo!)

The rest of the cast is decent including Maggie Q (from Mission: Impossible 3), Lucy Hale, Portia Doubleday, Michael Rooker, Ryan Hansen, Jimmy O . Yang and more, plus it’s directed by Jeff Wadlow, who last did Blumhouse’s Truth Or Dare (a very bad movie!) and then Kick Ass 2 before that. (He was supposed to direct Sony’s upcoming Bloodshot movie but he left that to do other things, like this.)

Unfortunately, Sony Pictures Releasing (another specialized imprint from the parent company?) seems to have taken a cue from Screen Gems by deciding not to screen the movie for critics until Thursday afternoon (just like with The Grudge!), plus there won’t be ANY Thursday previews for this. It’s a shame since… well, I can’t really tell you if I liked the movie or not since I’m under embargo until Friday. J

Either way, it seems like a strong enough counter to Sonic and Birds of Prey that it should be good for $15 million plus over the four days. Personally, I think it would have opened even bigger if Sony and Blumhouse had shown some balls and screened it for critics in advance, but what do I know? I’ve only written about this stuff for ALMOST TWENTY FUCKING YEARS! (Not sure I’m gonna review the movie but we’ll see.)

I know far less about Universal’s Valentine’s Day offering THE PHOTOGRAPH (Universal), which I guess is a romantic drama that’s targeting African-Americans looking for something to see on the biggest date nights of the year. In fact, we’ve seen some interesting hits on this weekend just by putting “Date” in the movie title, as was the case with Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore’s 50 First Dates ($45.1 million four-day opening) and even Date Movie ($21.8 million), which satirized romantic movies. But the real winner has to be a movie that went all out for Valentine’s Day by actually going with the title Valentine’s Day, which helped it open with $63 million over the four-day weekend ten years ago. ($23.4 million of that was on Valentine’s Day alone!)

Since I won’t see The Photograph until Weds. night, I can only talk about the little bit of marketing I’ve seen and what’s out there. Apparently, this is more in the vein of Valentine’s Day in that it’s a series of intertwined romantic stories, but it has an impressive cast of African-American actors who are on the verge of breaking out such as the great LaKeith Stanfield and amazing Kelvin Harrison Jr., as well as Rob Morgan (from “Daredevil” and Mudbound) and Courtney B. Vance. I’d be neglect if I didn’t mention any of the women involved and having Issa Raefrom the TV show “Insecure” as the primary female lead is something that shouldn’t be ignored. Stanfield isn’t the only connection to Jordan Peele, though, asLil Rel Howery from Get Outis also in this movie as is Peele’s actual wife, Chelsea Peretti!

I actually had to double check to make sure Peele wasn’t one of the film’s producers, but no, this is from Will Packer, a producer who is responsible for so many huge hits among African-Americans that one of these days I won’t underestimate his drawing power, even though all three of his 2019 movies underdelivered, including the comedy Little (co-starring Rae), although did well compared to their lower budgets.

In that sense, The Photograph could be compared to Packer’s Screen Gems comedy About Last Night, which opened with $27.8 million in just over 2,200 theaters in 2014, but that also had the power of proven box office draw Kevin Hartto bring in audiences. I certainly don’t want to be accused of underestimating Packer again, but with such a generic title and premise (and next to no marketing?), I’m just not sure the movie will deliver despite being decent counter-programming for AA audiences. With that in mind, I think the movie will probably make somewhere between $12 and 14 million.

Then there’s DOWNHILL (Searchlight Studios), the new movie from The Way, Way Back directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (who also won the Oscar for cowriting Alexander Payne’s The Descendants), this one being a direct remake of Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund’s 2014 film Force Majeure.

In this version, Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus play a squabbling couple who travel to the alps with their kids, but after barely escaping an avalanche – one in which he runs away leaving his family behind – they start questioning their lives. The film also stars Zach Woods (also from “Veep”), Miranda Otto and Zoe Chao, and though it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival (just like the duo’s previous movie), it did not receive great reviews, as it currently sits at 48% on Rotten Tomatoes.

I don’t think that will matter since like Carey above, Ferrell hasn’t been oversaturating the market with movies in the past couple year, maybe because his last movie, Holmes & Watson, reteaming him with John C. Reilly from Step Brothers bombed with $41 million worldwide after horrifying reviews. Fortunately, Louis-Dreyfus is far more loved thanks to her run on “Seinfeld” and her Emmy-winning run on HBO’s “Veep,” and that should help get people into theaters despite all the competition aboe and below.

Searchlight (no more Fox!!) will be releasing the movie into roughly 1,500 theaters, a moderate release to see how it fares, and the extended holiday weekend (plus the chance of it attracting older moviegoers on Valentine’s Day) should help it make $5 million plus over the extended weekend.

Mini-Review: If you’re reading this review hoping for a play-by-play of how Downhill differs from Ruben Ostlund’s Force Majeure, then you’re bound to be disappointed, because a.) I don’t really remember it, b.) I wasn’t as big a fan of the movie as so many others, and c.) I’m going to assume that a lot of people never got around to seeing it.

In this version, it’s Ferrell and Louis-Dreyfus as Peter and Billie Stanton, and there’s much more focus on their roles as parents and the responsibility that goes with that. Once again, Peter runs off when a controlled avalanche comes their way, but they don’t really talk about it so much even as it hangs over their heads.

Nat Faxon and Jim Rash once again find a manageable way of making “dramedy” out of a situation, making sure not to go for constant visual laughs or the zaniness Ferrell usually goes for. (Granted, we can totally believe him as a careless father/husband who does dumb things.) In fact, Ferrell plays his role fairly toned down, which allows Louis-Dreyfus to shine in what’s, oddly, a quite rare movie appearance. How they deal with the aftermath of the avalanche comes to a head when Pete’s work-buddy Zack (Zach Woods) arrives with a ladyfriend (Zoe Chao) allows the two to go at each other. It doesn’t get quite as intense as Marriage Story, but it’s obvious that they both have reached the point in their marriage where they need a separation.

It is kind of amusing that Miranda Otto almost steals her scenes with the two leads because she’s so funny as a hot-to-trot European guest they keep running into and who sets Billie up with a hot Italian ski trainer. There’s a few other funny characters but it mostly stays on Ferrell and Louis-Dreyfus either alone or together, and that’ll be enough for most people.

Faxon and Rash find interesting ways to play with the basic premise, although Downhill is very much comedy with a lower-case “c,” and like the original movie, it should lead to some interesting conversations.

Rating: 7/10

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this… (bearing in mind that the below are all four-day projections). It’ll be interesting to see if the name change for “Birds of Prey” will make a difference, but look for NEON’s Parasite to make its first foray into the top 10 this weekend after 19 (!!!) weeks in theaters, thanks to its Best Picture win last Sunday.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog (Paramount) - $44 million N/A (up $1.5 million)* 2. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey  (Warner Bros) - $20 million -39% (down $1.5 million)* 3. Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island (Sony) - $15.8 million N/A (up $.3 million)* 4. The Photograph (Universal) - $13.5 million N/A 5. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) - $8 million -35% (up .2 million)* 6. 1917 (Universal) - $7 million -23% 7. Downhill (Searchlight) - $5.6 million N/A (up .2 million)* 8. Parasite (NEON) - $5 million +300% (up .4 million and one place) 9. Dolittle  (Universal) - $4.5 million -30% (down .4 million and one place) 10. Jumanji: The Next Level  (Sony) - $4.2 million -24%

*UPDATE: A few minor updates based on actual theater counts with Parasite being expanded into 2,000 theaters, the widest its been so far. I feel like most of the new movies will do well, including Downhill (which will be in 2,301 theaters vs. the 1,500 estimated earlier in the week). Anyway, it should be a fairly hearty and robust weekend at the box office.

LIMITED RELEASES

Before we get to the regular limited releases opening Friday, I want to mention two special releases for Weds. night, Trafalgar Releasing is giving a one-night screening of The Doors: Break on Thru - A Celebration of Ray Manzarek, which I haven’t seen but I’m definitely interested in as a fan of the ‘60s group (and Manzarek’s keyboard work). You can get tickets for that here. Also, Kino Lorber is giving one-night release of Emily Taguchi & Jake Lefferman’s doc After Parkland to commemorate the second anniversary of the shootings at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people and began a nationwide student movement for gun control. It’s a fairly sobering and emotional doc, as you can imagine, especially since so little has been done to prevent incidents like this even two years later.

My favorite movie of the weekend is Jeremy Teicher’s OLYMPIC DREAMS ( IFC Films), opening at the IFC Center Friday. It stars Nick Kroll (who you’ll know from “The League,” “Oh, Hello” and other things) and (actual Olympian distance runner) Alexi Pappas, who you may or may not be as familiar with. Pappas plays Penelope, an American competitor in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, who is feeling lonely and unable to connect with others until she meets Kroll’s volunteer dentist, Ezra. While at first, it wouldn’t seem like they would have anything in common, they spend a night hanging out and while some might be expecting something romantic, since this is opening on Valentine’s Day, well I won’t ruin what does or doesn’t happen, k?  Either way, it’s a wonderful film co-written by Teichter, Pappas and Kroll, and if that sounds like a familiar formula, then it is indeed the one Richard Linklater used for his sequels to Before Sunrise with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Olympic Dreams isn’t nearly as deep and philosophical (or wordy), but the two actors are so wonderful together, and they actually filmed this in the Athletes Village at the Olympics (the first film to do so) which adds some authenticity to the sweet little movie. (There will be a sneak preview Weds night at the IFC Center with Teicher, Kroll and Pappas all in attendance!)

Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig returns with THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS (Vertical), a star-studded ensemble piece starring Zoe Kazan, Andrea Riseborough, Caleb Landry Jones, Jay Baruchel and Bill Nighy (who appeared in Lone’s previous film Their Finest). This is a New York City story about six strangers whose lives intersect and mingle while trying to find help, hope and love. I know it sounds like the Crash-style movie we’ve seen far too many times before, but I have faith in Ms. Scherfig and hopefully I’ll have a chance to watch it in the next day or two.

I also still haven’t gotten around to watching Kenji Tanagaki’s action-comedy ENTER THE FAT DRAGON (Go WELL USA), starring the always-amazing Donnie Yen as police officer Zhu, who is sent to Japan on a routine police escort of a suspect… who mysteriously dies, forcing Zhu to call upon a former undercover inspector to help solve the murder. I’m assuming the latter is the “Fat Dragon” and Yen didn’t gain 200 lbs. for the part.

Opening at the Quad Cinemaon Friday and in L.A. on Feb. 21 is Dimitri de Clercq’sFrench/Belgian film You Go to My Head (First Run Features) about an architect who finds a young woman lost, alone and in a fog in the Sahara after a mysterious accident, but when he takes her to the hospital, he claims to be her husband. As she gets better, he creates an elaborate life to fill in the life they shared which she can no longer remember. It also sounds perfect for Valentine’s Day, so you have plenty of options!

I didn’t have too much to say about Céline Sciamma’s PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (NEON), because I think I wrote about it last year, and I haven’t seen the movie since the New York Film Festival. Set in the 18thCentury, it’s about a woman painter who travels to a remote island where she’s commissioned to do a painting of a grieving widow, who she ends up falling in love with. I probably should see the movie again as it didn’t really connect with me the first time, but I can totally understand why others love it so much. (Unfortunately, the 7:10 screening on Friday night at the Angelika with a QnA moderated by my pal, Valerie Complex, is already sold out!)

The second documentary in the last year about a man named “Cunningham” (a different one this time) is Mark Bozek’s The Times of Bill Cunningham (Greenwich) about the famed photographer who died in 2016… and whom I know even less about than I did dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham. Apparently, he was a New York Timesphotographer for four decades and had a long relationship with First Lady Jackie Kennedy, and this doc is even narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker! It also opens at the Angelika and City Cinemas 1, 2 & 3, and maybe L.A.?

Due to the usual conflicts and circumstances, I wasn’t able to see Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn’s Ordinary Love (Bleecker Street) as planned, but it’s an appropriately-timed romantic drama starring Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville as a middle-aged couple who must deal with her beast cancer diagnosis. I actually am interested in seeing this, especially to see Neeson back in serious drama mode (it’s been a while), so hopefully I’ll have a chance to see this down the road.

Also opening Friday is Tanya Wexler’s Buffaloed (Magnolia), starring Zoey Deutch as Peg Dahl, a young woman living in Buffalo, the debt collection capital of America but hopes to get out of town and into an Ivy League university. When she’s accepted to her top choice but can’t afford the tuition, she gets pulled into the rope of debt collection.  Also starring Judy Greer, Germaine Fowler, Noah Reid and Jai Courtney, it will open at New York’s Quad Cinema, the Loz Feliz 3 in L.A., Buffalo’s North Park Theater and more theaters.

Opening at the Quad Cinemaon Friday and in L.A. on Feb. 21 is Dimitri de Clercq’sFrench/Belgian film You Go to My Head (First Run Features) about an architect who finds a young woman lost, alone and in a fog in the Sahara after a mysterious accident, but when he takes her to the hospital, he claims to be her husband. As she gets better, he creates an elaborate life to fill in the life they shared which she can no longer remember. It also sounds perfect for Valentine’s Day, so you have plenty of options!

Another SXSW 2019 movie is Richard Wong’s Come As You Are (Samuel Goldwyn), starring Gabourey Sidibe, Grant Rosenmeyer, Ravi Patel, Hayden Szeto and Janeane Garofolo. The three guys in the middle play men with disabilities who go on a road trip to a Montreal brothel to get away from their suffocating parents. Sidibe (from Precious) plays their travelling nurse who drives them across the border to help them lose their virginity. This is an English remake of the Belgian Film Hasta La Vista about the real-life adventure of Asta Philpot.

Sara Zandieh’s indie rom-com A Simple Wedding (Blue Fox Entertainment) also opens in theaters and On Demand on Valentine’s Day, this one following an Iranian-American named Nousha (Tara Grammy) whose hopes for a Persian wedding are dashed when she falls for a bisexual artist/DJ named Alex (Christopher O’Shea). She has to make sure her parents don’t realize they’re living together before marriage. The film also stars Shohreh Aghdashloo, Rita Wilson, Maz Jobrani, Peter McKenzie and James Eckhouse.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

Some cool festivals and series in New York are happening this weekend to offer competition for all the choices above.

Let’s begin with the “Winter Showcase” for one of my favorite annual film festivals, the New York Asian Film Festivalsubtitled “Love at First Bite,” since they’re including a special Valentine’s Day screening of the Korean hit Extreme Job followed by a reception including delicious Korean food. The rest of the line-up is probably more appropriate for the rep section as it will including Asian classics like Stephen Chow’s God of Cookery (1996), Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman (1994),Tampopo (1985) on Saturday, as well as Ritesh Batra’s amazing The Lunchbox and more on Sunday.

Up at Film at Lincoln Center, there’s the annual “Neighboring Scenes,” the annual celebration of “New Latin American Cinema,” opening Friday with Joanna Reposi Garibaldi’s Lemebel, a documentary about writer/visual artist Pedro Lemebel and his controversial performances amidst Chilean upheaval. Of course, I’m most interested in the Brazilian offerings, but sadly, there just isn’t enough time in the day/week to see as many of the films in this series I’m curious about including the New York premiere of Ema from Chile’s Pablo Larrain (Neruda, Jackie). Click on the link above and check out that line-up.

Further North (in terms of global geography) but South (in terms of New York City geography) is this year’s “Canada Now” series, taking place at the IFC Center from Thursday through Sunday. It will kick off with Guest of Honor, the new film from Canada’s Atom Egoyan, starring David Thewlis and Laysla De Oliveira as father and music school teacher daughter whose lives become complicated when she’s put in prison for earlier crimes. There are seven other movies in this series, most of them getting their U.S. debuts, so that’s another alternative for what could be a busy movie-going weekend.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Lots of stuff premiering on streaming services this weekend including the British animated sequel A Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon on Netflix, as well as the rom-com sequel To All the Boys: PS I Still Love You, which will premiere on Weds and may end up being the “Netflix and chill” choice for many young people on V-Day. (I honestly never got around to seeing the first movies of either of those yet!)

Over on Hulu, they’re premiering the gender-swapped series loosely based on Nick Horny’s High Fidelity, this one starring Zoe Kravitz, the daughter of Lisa Bonet, who appeared opposite John Cusack in Stephen Frears’ adaptation of Hornby’s book from 2000 that was one of my favorite movies that year! Wait a second, even though Kravitz plays a character named Rob, just like Cusack, is she meant to be the daughter of Cusack and Bonet’s characters in that movie? That would be intense! (But probably not. I’m sure I’ll check it out.)

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

The Metrograph’s Valentine’s Dayweekend offerings include Casablanca (1942), Howard Hawks’ 1944 film To Have and  Have Not, the 1932 film Trouble in Paradise, Douglas Sirk’s Written on the Wind (1956) and another screening of Makoto Shinkai’s animated Your Name. The “To Hong Kong with Love” series continues through the end of February, this weekend screening Yellowing (2016), which I haven’t seen.This weekend, the  Welcome To Metrograph: Reduxwill offer two more screenings of Edward Yang’s 4-hour 1991 film A Brighter Summer Day, while Late Nites at Metrograph  will screen Nagisa Oshima’s 1978 film Empire of Passion, also which I have never seen! Rounding out the weekend’s Asian offering is the Playtime: Family Matineesoffering of Yoshifumi Kondo’s 1995 animated film Whisper of the Heart, which guess what? I haven’t seen that either! Clearly, I need to try to get to one of the four movies, right?  

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is the Susan Sarandon-James Spader romantic drama White Palace (1990). Oddly, the Alamo is CLOSED on Valentine’s Day.. is this true?!? On Sunday is a special “Drew Believers: Drew Barrymore Movie Marathon” with four of Barrymore’s movies in 35mm! (As of this writing, there are a few seats available near the front.) Monday’s “Fist City” is Sam Raimi’s The Quick and The Dead from 1995 and that’s quickly selling out as well. The “Terror Tuesday” is James Gunn’s hilarious Slither and then next week’s “Weird Wednesday” is the 1987 Ken Russell film Gothic.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Wednesday’s “Afternoon Classic” is the 1961 Oscar-winning musical West Side Story. Weds and Thursday night’s double feature is Robert Altman’s 1971 film McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Sydney Pollack’s 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson, starring Robert Redford. This week’s “Freaky Friday” offering is the classic The Bride of Frankenstein (1935, while Friday’s midnight movie is True Romanceand Saturday’s midnight is 1978’s Mean Dog Blues in 16mm! This weekend continues the “Kiddee Matinee” run with the Alfonso Cuaron-directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Monday’s matinee of David Lynch’s Wild at Heart is already sold out but that night is a Robert Clouse double feature of The Pack(1977) and Darker than Amber (1970). Tuesday’s Grindhouse double feature is 1976’s Sky Riders and 1981’s Force: Five.  

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Thursday is a “Black Voices” double feature of Car Wash (1976) and Cooley High (1975) with guest including Bill Duke in person. John Sayles and Joe Dante will be on hand Friday night for a “John Sayles: Independent” double feature of Piranha (1978) and The Howling (1981). This weekend is the “HFPA Restoration Summit” including a Saturday afternoon presentation called “Serge Bromberg Presents from the Silent Era” with the Lobster Films founder, while the one and only Jane Fonda will be on-hand Saturday evening to present a 4k restoration of the 1972 film F.T.A., which she produced with Donald Sutherland. Saturday night is a screening of The Black Vampire, the 1953 Argentine adaptation of Fritz Lang’s M, and there’s more classic cinema on Sunday as part of the series.

AERO  (LA):

Thursday’s “Antiwar Cinema” matinee is Richard Attenborough’s Oh! What a Lovely War from 1969 with an all-star cast, while that night is a Eugene Levy/Christopher Guest double feature of A Might Windand For Your Consideration. The AERO is ALSO showing Casablancaon Valentine’s Day and then Saturday is another Levy/Guest double feature of Best in Show (2000)and Waiting for Guffman  (1996) with Levy doing a discussion between films. John Sayles and Frances McDormand will appear in person for a Sunday afternoon double feature of 1996’s Lone Star and 1999’s Limbo.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

MOMI is going a bit crazy with its Valentine’s offering but it’s a good one…Jane Fonda in 1968’s Barbarella as part of its new 2001-inspired series “See It Big! Outer Space”! (If MOMI wasn’t all the way in Astoria, I’d totally go.)  It will play again Sunday with Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972) playing on Friday and Saturday and 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Pictureon Sunday. Sunday will also be a repeat of Kubrick’s 1969 film 2001: A Space Odyssey in 70mm with a discussion before the movie between Doug Trumbull and Piers Bizony. There’s also the usual DCP screening of 2001on Saturday afternoon, as part of the exhibition. On Saturday, they’ll screen Marjane Satrapi’s excellent Persepolis(2007) as part of its “World of Animation.”

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Starting Friday, the Forum will be screening a DCP restoration of Luchino Visconti’s L’Innocente (1976), starring Giancarlo Giannini. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is Guys and Dolls from 1955, starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra. (If you read this on Wednesday, you can catch Joseph Strick’s 1963 film The Balcony, starring Shelley Winters, Peter Falk and Lee Grant, in 35mm.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The Quad’s run of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman continues through the weekend, and there will be Valentine’s Day screenings of Alex Cox’s Sid and Nancy on Thursday and Friday night. (How romantic!)

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES (NYC):

The Anthology’s great “The Devil Probably: A Century of Satanic Panic” continues this weekend with screenings of Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Alan Parker’s Angel Heart, another screening of Rosemary’s Baby, as well as screenings of Race with the Devil on Weds. and Thursday night. I missed it last week but they’ve been showing Mark Rappaport’s 1975 film Mozart in Love the past week, as well.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

The Cage-athon continues Weds. with Neil Labute’s The Wicker Man (2006) and 2009’s Knowing on Thursday. Valentine’s Day sees screening of Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, as well as the 1987 Nicolas Cage movie Moonstruck, co-starring Cher. Spike Jonez and Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation (2003), starring Cage, repeats on Saturday.

NITEHAWK CINEMA  (NYC):

Williamsburg‘s “Uncaged” series continues Friday with last year’s Mandy at midnight and 1983’s Valley Girl on Saturday morning. Casabalanca is also playing at the Prospect Park on Thursday, and unrelated but Back to the Future will play there on Monday night. Billy Wilder’s 1954 film Sabrina, starring Bogart, Hepburn and Holden will play on Saturay morning.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Luis Buñuel is back with Belle de Jour from 1967, starring Catherine Deneuve.  Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020 will screen the animated Ghost in the Shell, while Late Night Favorites: Winter 2020 will also go with an Anime film, Paprika.

MOMA  (NYC):

Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmon is off Weds. and Thursday but will return Friday with Billy Wilder’s Irma La Douce (1963).

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

BAM will continue to show Horace Jenkins’ 1982 film Cane River through the weekend.

Next week, the second to last week of February (man, it flew right by!) will include Fox’s The Call of the Wild, starring Harrison Ford, and the horror sequel, Brahms: The Boy II.

[outfitandtrend]

[ad_1] Image Source: Getty / Noam Galai Avril Lavigne is a bride-to-be. On April 7, the singer announced her engagement to Mod Sun via Instagram, including a look at the sparkly heart-shaped ring the punk rocker proposed with. The couple, who started dating in February 2021 after collaborating on a song together, got engaged by the Eiffel Tower in Paris on March 27. "Oui! Je t'aime pour toujours 🤍💍," Lavigne wrote alongside the photos, which translates to "Yes! I love you forever." Mod Sun also shared photos of the pair's celebration, offering a closer view of Lavigne's ring on his Instagram. "The day we met I knew you were the one," he wrote. Custom designed by XIV Karats in Beverly Hills, CA, the unique heart-shaped stone is set into a royal setting with little diamond hearts on the band. In an interview with People, Lavigne revealed the band is engraved with "Hi Icon," the first words he said to the singer, as well as "Mod + Avril" on the inside. "He knew from the very beginning I wanted a heart-shaped diamond because on the day we met, we had matching heart-shaped paved rings on. We've worn them every day since, so it's only fitting to have a heart-shaped engagement ring," she said. Lavigne's newest piece of jewelry sparkled against her bright-orange manicure. According to The Clear Cut's founder Olivia Landau, who's also a GIA-certified gemologist, the rock appears to be four carats and worth an estimated value of $150,000 to $200,000, depending on the quality. Lavigne was previously married to Sum 41 member Deryck Whibley in 2006, and Chad Kroeger, Nickelback frontman, in 2013, while Mod Sun was formerly engaged to Bella Thorne. Though heart-shaped rings are quite uncommon, Lavigne's ring resembles one that belongs to another famous star. Back in 2015, Lady Gaga received a very similar ring from Taylor Kinney, designed by Lorraine Schwartz. And more recently, Machine Gun Kelly, a friend of Mod Sun's, proposed to Megan Fox with an intricate two-gem ring that formed a heart to represent "two halves of the same soul." Ahead, get a closer look at Lavigne's gorgeous ring. window.fbAsyncInit = function() FB.init( appId : '175338224756', status : true, // check login status xfbml : true, // parse XFBML version : 'v8.0' ); ONSUGAR.Event.fire('fb:loaded'); ; // Load the SDK Asynchronously (function(d) var id = 'facebook-jssdk'; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; if (typeof scriptsList !== "undefined") scriptsList.push('src': 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js', 'attrs': 'id':id, 'async': true); (document)); [ad_2] Source link

[aishangotome]

[Ring Schwartz] I Can't Return to a Time Before You Part 2

(Now...what should I talk about with Ring?)

(...Huh?)

While I was thinking about what to say, Ring had gone on ahead.

Kate: Ring! Wait for me!

Ring: !?!? Why are you so far behind...?

I hurriedly chased after Ring, and he quickly turned back. We ended up side-by-side again, halfway between the distance that had opened up.

Kate: Our strides are different, so I seem to fall behind. I'll be careful.

Ring: No, I should have adjusted to yours. ...My bad.

Ring: A-anyway, hold onto my arm.

Kate: Thank you.

Ring: Actually...I was hoping you would hold my arm when we met up.

Kate: Is that what the sudden warm-up exercise was about?

Ring: Yeah. ...If it meant leaving you behind, I should have just had you grab my arm sooner.

Ring: I'm not acting like a lover at all. Even though Dari ordered me to...

Kate: We're both failing at acting like lovers, so don't worry about it.

Kate: Is there anything else you wanted to say but couldn't?

Ring: Yes. About your...clothes.

Ring: "Your outfit today is really nice. It suits you, little Robin."

Ring: "Where did you find that bracelet? I want to get a matching one."

Kate: Huh...?

Ring: "The design of your collar is playful and nice. It really shows your personality. And..."...

Kate: Um...are those your own words, Ring?

Ring had started complimenting me so fluently, it was like his previous awkwardness was a lie. I couldn't help but interrupt.

Ring: ...Y-you're sharp. As expected of a member of Crown...I can't let my guard down.

(It's not that I'm sharp, it's more like Ring is being too unnatural...)

Ring: Actually...Nica taught me some compliments so I could act more like a lover.

Kate: Oh, I see...! I'm happy you prepared beforehand. But...

Ring: "But?"

Kate: I want to hear your own words, Ring.

Kate: Would you really compliment your lover with someone else's words?

Ring: I-I wouldn't do that...I think.

Ring: A-anyway, I'll think of some compliments now, so wait for me.

Kate: ...If you can't think of anything, you don't have to force yourself to compliment me, okay?

Ring: No, I really do think your clothes are nice... uh, well...

He earnestly took my opinion to heart and tried to respond. It was impossible to dislike him...

(You can do it...!)

I silently cheered Ring on in my heart.

Ring: Your clothes today are...fluttery and fluffy... and I think they're c-cute.

Ring: Like the purple Hardenbergia flower...the calm color is...reassuring to look at.

The compliments he squeezed out after taking his time were halting.

But they struck me much harder than any borrowed words could.

Kate: I never would have thought to compare the color of my clothes to a Hardenbergia flower! I'm happy.

Ring: ...! I-is that so... That's good.

Kate: You're quite knowledgeable about flowers, Ring?

Ring: Ah, yes... I should be more knowledgeable about them than other things.

Kate: There are a few flower beds along the way to the Scala Theater.

Kate: If you'd like, could you tell me what kind of flowers are planted there?

Ring: ...If it's something I can answer.

-

From then on, Ring taught me about the flowers blooming along the way...

Perhaps thanks to that, by the time we arrived at Piccadilly, Ring's nervousness had lessened considerably.

Ring: ...It's almost showtime. We arrived at just the right time.

Kate: Yes, we did! The Scala Theater is just up ahead. Let's go.

(...He's still a bit awkward, but I feel like we can at least talk more naturally than this morning.)

Ring is wary of me and sometimes says alarming things...

But he's an honest person who can't lie and listens sincerely to what I have to say.

That's probably why I can interact with him naturally without feeling tense.

(I'm looking forward to seeing the play too. I wonder how Ring will react?)

(...Huh?)

Ring: ...Wh-why did you suddenly stop?

Kate: E-excuse me. There's something I want to check... Come with me, Ring!

I pulled Ring's arm and headed towards an alley in the opposite direction of the Scala Theater.

-

Ring: ...What business do you have in an alley like this?

Kate: Lately, there have been child abduction cases, and I saw someone who looked like the suspect who's on the run...

Kate: Ah... That's him!

I lowered my voice and pointed to the man lurking in the shadows of the alley.

Kate: It might be a case of mistaken identity, so I want to talk to him discreetly, but––

It was right in the middle of explaining the situation to Ring.

Perhaps she wandered in by mistake, but a little girl came into the alley... And at that moment, the man moved.

(Oh...!)

The man crept up to the girl and pressed a cloth he was holding to her mouth. It seemed like he made her smell some kind of chemical.

He expertly stuffed the limp girl into a bag and tried to leave.

Kate: Ring, let's go after him!

Ring: ...No, we need to get Dari's judgment before we pursue him.

Kate: What...? But, a kidnapping is happening right in front of us!? We have to help her now!

Ring: I've been ordered to bring you back safely today. I'm not allowed to take any other action without permission.

Ring: If we get involved in some strange incident, it would mean defying Dari's orders.

Ring: I understand you want to help, but we have to report to Dari first.

(A crime is happening right before our eyes, what is Ring saying...?)

Just a moment ago, I judged Ring to be an honest person who couldn't lie.

That's precisely why I know his words now are also true.

In other words... Ring has no intention of stopping the crime.

The person named Ring Schwartz, whom I thought I was beginning to understand, is becoming a stranger to me.

Kate: ...U-understood. In that case, I'll chase after the criminal myself!

Ring: H-hey...!

.

.

.

Premium Ending

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[cheshireliam]

"Growing Feelings Poured Into Chocolate" Collection Event

Ring Schwartz

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

Got too excited and did this in a rush. Didn't really proofread...

Kate: Ring!

…

Kate: Ring!

…

Kate: Riiiinngg!

(I can't find him anywhere…)

Today was Valentine's Day— a day to gift chocolates and other gifts to express your appreciation or love.

I had prepared chocolates to show my appreciation to everyone who's supported me.

That included the members of Crown of course, the friendly maids at Crown's castle, and even the members of Vogel.

However, Ring was the only person I couldn't find today.

(He usually says he's watching me and follows right behind me… where could he be?)

I was determined to give Ring his chocolates, and so I kept searching for him…

In the end, I never found him.

…

(Darius and Nica said he was somewhere in the palace when I asked…)

(He might come back to drawing room, so I'll wait here for now.)

When I sat down on a chair and let out a deep sigh to ease my fatigue, a wave of sleepiness slowly washed over me.

(I know I shouldn't fall asleep in a place like this, and yet…)

The more I tried to shake off the sleepiness, the heavier my eyelids grew.

Just as I decided to give in and take a short nap, I felt soft blanket being gently draped over my shoulders.

(Who is it…?)

I cracked my eyes open slightly, and saw that the person standing before me was the exact person I had been searching for the entire time.

Kate: Ring!

Ring: UWAH!? You… you're awake!?

Kate: I just woke up. There's something I want to tell you, so please hear me out!

I firmly grabbed his arm to make sure he wouldn't run off.

Ring: Sigh… so this is where my escape ends.

Kate: I knew it. I couldn't find you all day, because you were avoiding me on purpose, weren't you?

Kate: Why are you running away from me? If it's something I did, I'll apologise.

Ring: No… it's not anything you did…

Ring: … I just didn't want to be disappointed.

He muttered in a small voice that sounded no louder than a squeak.

Kate: Disappointed…?

Ring: You gave… chocolates to Nica and Darius this morning, right?

Ring: I kept thinking, what if I ran into you today and didn't get any chocolate…?

Ring: I'd probably feel disappointed and think "I was right, I'm not getting any", so I chose to run away.

Ring: … I'm weird, aren't I?

Ring: Until now, it's never bothered me whenever Darius and Nica received gifts from girls and I didn't…

Ring: But the thought of not receiving chocolates from you really made me feel gloomy.

Listening to Ring express his confusion with those unfamiliar feelings filled my heart with warmth.

Kate: To think you wanted my chocolates so much… I'm really honoured.

Kate: You feeling gloomy over the possibility of not receiving them is proof that our friendship has gotten closer!

When I was a child, I would feel lonely too if my friends played with other children instead of me.

Ring's feelings were most likely something similar to that.

Ring: Is that… what it is? No, I'm a member of Vogel and you're from Crown. There's no need for us to get along…

It seemed that Ring still believed he shouldn't be on friendly terms with someone from Crown.

Ignoring his last statement, I took out the chocolates.

Kate: Here, Ring. Happy Valentine's Day!

Ring: This is… for me? I-is it because I said I wanted chocolate…?

Kate: Not at all. I prepared this specifically for you from the start.

Kate: I was looking for you so I could give you these chocolates.

Ring: R-really? I never thought there would come a day when I'd receive Valentine's chocolate…

Ring: … I figured I'd spend my whole life just eating Nica's leftover chocolate.

Ring: Thanks. I'm… I'm super happy.

Ring: I think I'll spend every day and night staring at these chocolates.

Kate: Huh?

Ring: If I look at them whenever I wake up in the mornings and before I go to sleep at night, I'll always remember how happy I was when I received them from you…

Kate: Um, they're chocolate, so I'd prefer if you ate them…

Ring: … But they'll be gone if I do.

Ring looked serious about leaving the chocolate untouched, like a dog burying its treat for safekeeping.

(If that's the case…)

Kate: Gotcha!

I switftly snatched the chocolates from Ring's hand and ripped open the packaging.

Ring: My chocolate…!

Kate: I'll give you more next year, so don't feel bad about it. Come on, open your mouth!

Ring: Mmph!

I forcibly stuffed chocolate into Ring's mouth.

Ring: Mm… it's so… sweet, and delicious…

Kate: That's great! I sampled a few and picked the one I thought was the tastiest!

Ring: And… my chest feels tight, I can't breathe…

Kate: … I promise the chocolates aren't poisoned.

Since Ring often said his heart raced like he was under a curse whenever he saw me, I made sure to set the record straight.

Ring: … I know they're not.

Ring: I'm just so happy to you got me chocolates… it hurts.

Kate: …

(… Him admitting it so straightforwardly is a problem in itself.)

Seeing Ring's overjoyed reaction, I felt sweet inside, even though I didn't have any chocolates myself.

[kurishiri]

alfons v.s. ring . . . ring schwartz epilogue 💍

— this translation may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

— cw: suggestive undertones.

Kate: If it’s come to this... then let’s do it! I mean, pretending to do naughty things!

Ring: Y-yeah, I do know that’s our only choice here, but... there’s no way I could do it.

R: Um, those kinds of things... I’ve never actually done them before!

R: But... s-since you’re really cute... I’m sure you have plenty of experience and whatnot...!

Kate: W-what do you mean, ‘plenty,’ there’s no way I have that much experience! Anyway, forget about that, we need to do something about this...

K: Ring, you go shake and push on the bed to make it creak!

K: And I’ll listen in on the other room and make sounds to match!

Ring: ...That seems more doable.

Ring went atop the bed and started to jump on it.

The bed did start creaking, to be sure, but it also was making some jarring noises that made me think the bed was really about to break down.

Kate: Could you be a bit more gentle though, Ring? It’s too much...!

Ring: Oh, umm, then... how about this!?

He briskly stepped off the bed before he put both hands on the bed and started to push down.

By doing so, he could create a good creaking sound that didn’t go too far.

Woman’s voice: The bed from the room next door has started creaking.

Man’s voice: In that case, they’re probably just a pair of lovebirds. Guess we were worrying ourselves over nothing.

Woman’s voice: ...That said, don’t you think it’s strange that there’s not a peep from the other side?

(Oh, that’s right! I have to make noise too.)

Kate: Ah, ahh... ahhn...

Ring: H-hey, um. I can’t say I’ve heard others doing you-know-what before, so I may be wrong, but...

R: When women do, you know, the deed, do they really sound this monotone...?

Kate: I mean, we’re not actually doing it, so that makes it harder...

Woman’s voice: The panting from the room next door sounds a bit strange, wouldn’t you say?

Man’s voice: It sounds real flat...

(First Ring, and now the two in the next room over are doubting me too...! At times like these, then...!)

Kate: I-I’m really, really sorry! I’ve been told by a lot of partners that my panting sounds suuuper flat!

At this point, I decided to play into the role of ‘a woman whose pants sound flat’ as I raised my voice.

Ring: N-no matter how you are, I won’t mind at aaalll!

While continuing to push down on the bed, Ring returned a fitting line in response.

...Very monotonously, may I add, for the both of us.

Woman’s voice: ...Huh, I guess they really are just one odd couple.

Man’s voice: I mean, seeing as they’re using a room of a strange manor like this, that would be a given, probably.

Kate: Oh, thank goodness, it seems they’ve bought the act...! Let’s keep this up then!

Ring: Alright... but, sorry, I’m a bit hot, so I’ll take my jacket off.

Seeing as the bed is hard, having to push down hard enough to make sounds continuously must have taken a considerable amount of stamina.

With that, Ring casually took off his top layer and put it aside.

(...)

Maybe because of the way his clothes fit his body so well, his well-trained muscles were brought to the surface.

The sweat that came from shaking the bed moved traced the back of his neck, making him quite sexy.

Ring: ...Kate? Is there something wrong?

Kate: N-no, not at all! It’s nothing——

Taken aback at having become more conscious of Ring, my legs buckled suddenly,

and, preparing for the impact, I closed my eyes then and there.

Kate: ...!

(Hm? Wait, it doesn’t hurt...?)

Ring: Are you okay?

When I slowly opened my eyes, there Ring was, nearby, as he asked with a touch of worry in his voice.

(So Ring is the one who saved me and stopped the fall...)

Our bodies were touching, and I could feel his body was a bit warmer than mine, and he gave off a pleasant, earthy scent.

(Even though he’s holding me in his arms, he seems completely unperturbed... his appearance hardly betrays the fact he must be training regularly.)

(...Wait, what in the world are you looking at, Kate!?)

Kate: T-thank you for saving me. I’ll let go now.

Ring: ...Wait.

Kate: Huh...

When his earnest voice stopped me stiff, Ring’s hand gently slid to my cheek.

(W-what the...!?)

Ring: Your face is all red. Did you hit it somewhere?

(Oh... so he was worried for me.)

Kate: N-no, I didn’t. I’m fine.

Ring: But...

Kate: It’s just... we’re so close together that I’m a bit nervous... is all...

Ring showed no sign of pulling away himself, so I opted to give him an honest answer then. And when I did, Ring also turned red, as though it had moved over from me to him.

Ring: I-I see... then, umm, I’m glad if you’re okay.

R: Sorry for keeping you like that. ...And should we continue then? What we were doing before, I mean.

After that, we continued our act of panting and shaking the bed until we exited the room.

Ring looked exhausted as we exited the room, and there was Alfons, waiting out in the hallway.

Alfons: Thank you for your hard work. Now then, were you able to listen in for what we needed?

Kate: Yes, all of it and everything...

Alfons: My word, is that a hoarse voice I hear? And not only that...

A: I see Ring has stripped his outer layer off and is positively sweaty as well.

A: Would it be safe to assume... you two have gone aaall the way, by any chance?

Ring & Kate: “No!” “Absolutely not!”

Fin.

will vs darius jude vs nica alfons vs ring

← prev fin

END NOTES: this story was so silly and makes me smile whenever i read it, haha. ring seems to be the most popular of the vogel trio, seeing he has gotten a dark mafia design, and it’s not hard to see why. his charm is in his innocence, and it’s like a breath of fresh air in this game, and i hope i could capture it too.

i’m overall curious about all the vogel members and feel this story event is a strong debut for all three. thank you for reading, and hope you enjoyed! i’d love to hear your thoughts as well ♡

full masterlist 🪞💍

[sevenai]

Ring’s Birthday Commemorative Diamond Purchase Campaign 2nd Season

You don't have to remember my birthday.

Even if I told you that, you'd still say, "I remember."・・・・・

That's the kind of sweet person you are.

*IF anyone gets the voice line… and is willing to share~ pleasee

*the card only blinking is funny to me, also did not expect his color to be orange but he’s so cutee in it

[judesmoonbeauty]

Ikémen Series Expo 2024 - A “Villains” Original Short Story

This is a fan translation. 100% accuracy is not guaranteed. Cybird owns everything. This is exclusive content for IFC members that gained it via point accumulation during the event. Re-blogs are appreciated, but please do not share my translations. Thank you! ☾

This story features: Ellis, Liam, Harrison & Ring. The stories are dialogue only (Cybird's doing not mine.)

Ellis: Oh, it’s my acrylic stand.

Liam: It is, and this is my card.

Ring: There’s also buttons. 

Liam: I don’t know which one I want.

Ellis: For now, why not collect and organize your own merch?

Liam: Good idea, then….what should I get?

Ring: Isn’t this armor cool.

Ellis: It’s Mr. Nobunaga’s acrylic stand, his armor isn’t something found in the West.

Ring: Ah, it doesn’t exist in the UK or Germany. Are there other types of armor that exist.

Liam: It’s nice they each have their own colored armor, I wonder what our colors would be.

Ellis: I think you’d be pink Liam. Ring is…

Harrison: What are you excited about?

Liam: Ah, Harry!

Harrison: Your hands aren’t moving. Aren’t going to work hard so the robins can enjoy it.

Liam: Sorry, I got really excited.

Ellis: Harry, you’re all done?

Harrison: I organized the goods so they’re easy to grab.

Harrison: You guys only put your own merch up…..

Ellis: I want people to see and get my goods first…..

Liam: I put my merch upfront because I want them to see how well made it is…

Ring: ….I….for some reason

Harrison: Haaa. Come on, put it back. This won’t be done no matter how long it takes.

Liam: Okaaay.

Ellis: Yeah.

Ring: Sure.

Liam: Hey, doesn’t this Harry merch look good? 

Ellis: These Jude goods are so cute. 

Ring: Nica’s merch is nice too.

Harrison: Hey. 

Liam: Will’s card looks so stylish. 

Ellis: Roger’s acrylic stand looks just like him.

Ring: Dari’s too….

Harrison: ….Oi.

Liam: Oh, Lord Elbie is beautiful! His beauty doubles when merch is made of him.

Ellis: Victor’s hair looks so smooth seeing it like this. 

Ring: Alfons’ personality comes out in his goods too…..

Harrison: …..Set up!

Liam: Oh, sorry!

Ellis: Sorry.

Ring: I-I’m sorry.

Harrison: The space you guys touched is nothing but a mess.

Harrison: Who said they’d work hard to get set up.

Liam: Me…..

Ellis: Me…..

Ring: I did…

Harrison: ….Liam line up the larger goods. Ellis, clean the shelves, and Ring handle the smaller items.

Liam: On it! Ring, let’s do our best.

Ring: Oh, by the way, where should I put this?

Liam: Is that this one.

Ellis: I’ll dust the upper shelves.

Harrison: It’s finally getting it done…..

Harrison: Why am I in charge?

Ellis: Harry?

Harrison: Hm, something happen?

Ellis: I hope the robins will be happy.

Harrison: ….Oh, that’s right.

Ellis: I hope they’ll be the happiest when they see our merchandise stand.

Harrison: I’m not sure about the happiest, but they’ll be happy.

Ellis: Heh, I’m looking forward to it now.

Harrison: ….I see.

Liam: Harry, come here!

Harrison: Yeah, what is it now?

Liam: Do they look better placed this way, or that way?

Harrison: Either way is fine….

Liam: No it’s not, I have to arrange them in a way that’s easy for the robin to look at them.

Harrison: In that case, I think it’d be better to put the larger items on an upper shelf.

Harrison: Since they’re shorter than us, it might be harder for them to reach the items on top shelf.

Liam: That’s true, thanks Harry.

Harrison: No problem, you okay?

Harrison: Your fingers are shaking as you line up the merch?

Ring: I’ve never done a task like this before.

Harrison: You don’t have to fine tune it so much.

Ring: But, I want them to think that the display looks pretty when they see it.

Harrison: ….Want me to help too.

Ring: No, I’ll do each of these here…..ah.

Liam: Huh!

Ellis: Wah!

Harrison: ….Bad move.

Liam: All the goods you lined up fell like a trail of dominoes.

Ellis: The dust pile fell down, due to the impact,

Ring: There’s a lot of dust the fell on top of the merch…..

Harrison: Worst’s come to worst……

Ring: I-I’m sorry! It’s my fault, I’ll clean it up quickly! 

Liam: Wait! You’re going to bump into something,

Ring: [Gasp!]

Ellis: Ring’s arm bumped into a lower shelf, and now it’s all messed up.

Ring: S-sorry!

Liam: It’s okay, let’s start again, we’ve got dust in our heads.

Ring: Ah…..

Liam: Haha, we’re all matching.

Ring: ….Haha, it’s true.

Ellis: It’s kind of funny.

Liam: Harry’s the dustiest…..Harry?

Ellis: Harry？

Ring: What’s wrong？

Harrison: ……I, am NOT your guys’ babysitter!

Fin.

Quick, someone get Harry a double shot of extra extra super sweet strawberry milk, a cupcake, and a Sherlock Holmes novel STAT! ....Poor Ring lmao.

Dividers: @.adornedwithlight

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