#tia victoria is there too

[jatp-scrapbook]

molina family dinner, taken by ray

[therapycat21]

Victoria Secret Perfume

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x musician!Reader

Type: One Shot

Description: The reader becomes friends with Noah and they make the social media world run in circles.

Word Count: 1049

“Ugh, that was amazing!” I gasp out, I’ve been out of breath since playing the seventh song and just now catching my breath. The group and I stood talking for a bit before our manager butts in “My favorite people in the world, sorry for interrupting but there are some people here to meet you”

I look around confused as does the rest of the group “We’re not supposed to do fan meet and greets tonight” our lead singer Tia says to him. He shakes his head smiling “I was told that there was another band in the audience tonight and they wanted to meet you guys” He says smiling too hard, I squint my eyes at him before asking “Who?” his phone beeps and he walks over to one of the doors, before opening he smirks at me “its the band bad omens.”

I can feel my heart starting to pound, I told Carlisle in confidence how much of a crush I had on their singer, and knowing him, this wasn't just a coincidence that they are here after telling him. He opens the door and welcomes the band in before walking them over to us.

I watch as he introduces the girls by name and I make eye contact with Noah as he now stands in front of me, I inhale a subtle deep breath before smiling up at him “Hi I’m Y/n” I introduce myself, sticking my hand out. His hand is so warm as he shakes my hand, holding it a few seconds longer (Or I’m being delulu) He smiles down at me “Yeah, I used to watch your live streams”

my heart stutters as he laughs slightly at my reaction. I close my mouth, not knowing it was open. “Thank you, you guys are amazing” I realize I’m only addressing Noah and I look to the side at the rest of the band “Seriously, You guys killed it” they smile in appreciation. I look back and notice Noah still staring at me. 

That is how we became best friends, fast forward to now and a lot has changed, Tia left the group to work solo, I, Isla and Valery decided to stay a throuple and it’s been even more amazing, They deemed me to start singing and the fans have been so supportive and like our new image.

The band and I are very good friends with Noah’s, more so Noah and I have become close, him helping me with my performance anxiety and me helping his. Over the past year, fans have been going crazy over our friendship, now and then we come across a fan edit of us on TikTok, and it's pretty funny reacting to them on live stream.

I sit at home in my gaming room and have been live streaming the past two hours playing a game and talking to some fans when my phone lights up with a message. “Speak of the devil” I laugh and look at Noah's message asking if he can come over, after responding I go back to streaming.

“So I’ll probably see you all at the next show here in Virginia soon, I’m so excited,” I say with excitement not knowing Noah has just walked in the room but considering I can’t hear with these headphones on. I looked at the chat box as it was starting to go crazy “Someone’s behind you?” before I could turn I felt warmth surrounding my back and sighed in relief.

Noah bends behind my chair, hugging me from behind, nestling his head in the side of my hair, I chuckle as the chat starts spamming and I can barely read the messages. He lets go and swings a chair over to sit next to me “I didn't know you were gonna be here that quick, you scared the shit out of me” I lightly slap his stomach. He laughs and catches my hand in his “I was already on my way over when I called you” I start to laugh hysterically.

I look at the chat, “Please tell me what Noah smells like?” I laugh and shake my head, “Are you and Noah together?” I shake my head again “Noah looks like he would smell like cinnamon or mint but in reality, he smells like Victoria's Secret perfume” I smirk at the comments flowing through and look over my shoulder at him.

He wasn't even paying attention to the stream, he was staring and watching his hand rub back and forth on my side and back, I tapped his knee and he looked up “Mhm?” I laugh as he isn't paying attention “They were asking what you smelled like” he furrows his eyebrows and looks to the stream “Some people say I look like I smell like mint or maybe cinnamon but I smell like that perfume you use” he points to me at the end.

I continue to stare at him, I forget how deep his voice can get, I break away from my thoughts when I see his face form into a smug smirk, and he looks me up and down, I take a quick breath and turn my attention back to the stream.

“Why would he smell like you?” I read one of the comments, I glance at him slightly and hover my cursor on the end stream button “Because when he lays on top of me at night my smells linger onto him” I laugh and quickly end the stream before the fans spam and go crazy.

I look at Noah as he starts to laugh “I can’t believe you did that, they're gonna go feral now” He says standing up from the pink furry desk chair, he holds his hand out for me to help me stand up. I stare up at him and hug his waist “I gotta give the fans what they want” I smirk, tap his chest, and walk out of the room. 

Noah stands in the middle of the room and glances at me as I walk away, smirking and feeling proud and claimed by the girl who is the love of his life and the girl who makes him willingly spray Victoria's Secret perfume on so he can smell her when she’s not in a room.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Anne turned Victoria, Aro turned Didyme... how many vampires return for their human family, do you think? ... and how many don't eat them lol

I believe Tia is also Benjamin's cousin (I think, could be wrong, but vaguely remember that).

I think the answer is a lot, and a lot certainly try, and probably most of them fail and end up eating said relative because they didn't have the control.

From what it sounds like/the few number of vampires we see with siblings and relatives turned, the few number of vampires period, while I'm sure there are many attempts they usually don't work out.

(If you think about it, it makes sense to want to go back and turn someone you know very well and love versus turning some rando who you think looks hot. The latter happens all the time too, I'm sure, but people trying to turn their relatives doesn't shock me.)

[invisibleraven]

"Would you let me take care of this for you?" for the rarepair of your choice

Ray crept into the house, silently easing the door behind him, sliding off his shoes and working the crick in his neck out as he tiptoed to the fridge in the dark.

Thankfully there was still one of those cupcakes Julie made there, as well as a pitcher of lemonade that Carlos put too much sugar in, but Ray could care less-he was thirsty after a long night.

"Papi?"

Ray turned, seeing Julie rubbing at her eyes, standing in the doorway in her pyjamas. "You're home super late."

"Yeah, tough shoot," he said, shutting the fridge, leaving them with only the small nightlight he kept plugged in by the sink. "DId I wake you?"

"Couldn't sleep," she replied.

"You wanna talk?" Ray asked. She had suffered a lot of insomnia after Rose passed, and it reared up occasionally, and she found talking helped. Ray didn't need as much sleep himself, and it was never a hardship to lose some to help his children.

Julie sat down, snagging a swipe of icing with her finger, but Ray didn't mind-the lemonade made up for the lost sugar. "I'm worried about Reggie."

That-that came out of left field. Of course Julie cared about all her friends, but Reggie always seemed so easy going, so Ray wondered what on earth had happened that she was worried about him.

"Why?"

Julie sat there, twisting the end of her braid in her hands. "He came to practise today with bruises on him. Bruises he didn't have yesterday before he went home. He says he fell but..."

Ray could figure the rest out, and it made his blood boil. Someone had hurt Reggie-and unfortunately, it was probably someone close to him, a teacher or parent. Ray suspected the latter.

"You think someone hurt him." It was a statement, not a question.

Julie nodded. "I think it was his dad. Luke told me his parents fight a lot, and I think maybe he got in the middle of it. The-the bruises look too big to be made by a woman."

Ray pulled her into a hug then, hoping the shaking rage working through him wouldn't worry Julie. He knew people could be violent, but he had no time for people who hurt kids.

"Okay mija, I think we can do something-in the morning, okay?"

"But what can we do?" Julie asked. "I already tried to get him to talk to tia, and he brushed me off."

Victoria probably should be involved-she was a social worker after all, and a damn good one. But Ray also knew how slow the wheels of the system worked. And if Reggie was getting bruises where his friends could see them, he might not have time to wait for the right way to get processed.

"Would you let me take care of this for you?" he asked. "I think I have a solution that might help."

"Okay," Julie nodded. "Thanks for listening papi."

"Of course. Head back to bed, you have class in the morning. I'll be up in a bit, I just have to put my pictures on my laptop."

Julie waved before heading on up, leaving Ray to clean up, but he didn't mind. It gave him time to assure himself that Julie was back to sleep. Then he sat at his computer, booting up his search engine.

Linus Peters

He researched, finding out what information that he could about Reggie's father, growling as he saw multiple police reports involving the house on Silver Lake, but no real consequences.

Well Ray would be that consequence.

Look, he loved his job as a photographer, but it didn't exactly keep food on the table or a roof over their head. And after Rose's hospital bills wiped their savings, he had to do something to take care of expenses.

Before he had met Rose he had taken jobs to investigate cheaters and the like, and sometimes, if the right client had enough, he took care of their problem. He gave it up after Julie was born, but after Rose died...well it was a handy way to deal with his grief as well as keep his kids fed.

Now he would use it to keep another one of his kids safe-and this time, Reggie getting out of that house was payment enough.

He made it look like an accident of course, and since Reggie's mom had split a few days earlier, Ray didn't worry about her. Only that Linus Peters would never again raise his hand against his son.

Reggie fit right into their home, and Ray took another job to help pay for his therapy, because, well, he was responsible for any trauma-even if Reggie confessed he wasn't as sad as he should be.

But Ray knew he had done the right thing-he had kept his kids safe, he had made Julie happy, and he had rid the world of a monster.

Plus, a decade or so down the road, long after Julie and Reggie figured themselves out, he got himself a grandchild, and he was totally okay not sharing her with anyone.

[sovvannight]

So, Julie's cousin makes a couple of appearances in my season 2. I was going to name him Javier, and, I mean, when you say Javier and then Julie out loud (or in my head) they sound completely different, starting with a "ha" vs. a "joo" sound and 3 syllables vs. 2, but written out they both start with a J and have the ie in them, so now I'm worried that they're too similar.

Julie Javier Julie Javier Julie Javier - is that confusing? Any other ideas? (All names above are from the top 100 names in Puerto Rico in 2001 via the SSA, figuring Tia would go with something traditional.)

tagging my jatp moots: @onlygenxhere, @mac-lilly, @60sec400, @ri-jane, @hey-there-juliet, @justxfolio, @laurengoesforaspin

[amphtaminedreams]

Relevant on the Runway in the Run Up to Fashion Week: F/W23 through to Pre-Fall 2024 & My Top 25 (Part 6)

-Susan Fang, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Tanya Taylor, top to bottom: pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024, RTW S/S24, pre-fall 2024-

-top to bottom: The Attico RTW F/W23, RTW S/S24, resort 2024, Theory RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Tia Adeola RTW F/W23, S/S24, Tokyo James RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Torey Burch RTW F/W23, resort 2024, S/S24, Tomo Koizumi RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Trussardi RTW F/W23, Vera Wang RTW S/S24-

-Ulla Johnson, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, resort 2024-

-Valentino, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2024, haute couture S/S23, pre-fall 2023, haute couture F/W23-

-Versace, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2023-

-Victoria Beckham, clockwise L-R: resort 2024, RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2024, pre-fall 2023-

-L-R, top to bottom: Viktor & Rolf haute couture S/S23, F/W23, Vivetta RTW F/W23, pre-fall 2023, RTW S/S24-

-top to bottom: Viviano RTW F/W23, S/S24, We11done RTW S/S24-

-Vivienne Westwood, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-top to bottom: Wiederhoeft RTW F/W23, S/S24, Y/Project “ -

-Yohji Yamamoto, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Yuhan Wang, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Zimmerman, clockwise L-R: resort 2023, 2024, RTW S/S24, S/S23, F/W22-

-Zuhair Murad, top to bottom: haute couture S/S23, F/W23-

And that’s the lot! 

So to round it all up, here’s a quick recap of my standouts from the last year or so of collections, and what’s still on my mind to get me through this winter. 

It was hard to choose how many to limit myself to. A top 50? Too much, a whole post on its own. But a top 20? That’s not enough.

So signing off, in no particular order, here are my top 25 from F/W23 all the way up to S/S24, in time for the start of the FW24 collections we’ll be seeing over the next few weeks!

Schiaparelli EVERYTHING: Is it any surprise Schiaparelli is on the list? Alll the fashion girlies atm are obsessed with everything Schiaparelli does, and how could you not be? Daniel Roseberry’s designs are intricate, luxurious, dramatic, and consistently ahead of the game in terms of creativity. Nobody is doing it like him right now, and for that reason, his pieces are instantly recognisable.

-clockwise L-R: Schiaparelli RTW S/S24, haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Fendi haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Schiaparelli RTW F/W23-

2. Fendi Haute Couture F/W23 and S/S23: Fendi’s Haute Couture collections never disappoint me. Time and time again, Kim Jones offers us her elegant take on glitzy femininity, balancing glamour with soft, ethereal colour palettes, silhouettes and fabrics. This year, she’s given us the red carpet iteration of balletcore (which is an aesthetic I never saw coming or thought of but am obsessed with btw) and for that, I am forever thankful.

-clockwise L-R: Dilara Fındıkoğlu RTW F/W23, Ambush RTW S/S23, F/W23, S/S23, S/S24, Chopona Lowena RTW S/S24, Di Petsa RTW S/S24, Roberto Cavalli RTW S/S24, Yuhan Wang RTW F/W23, Moschino RTW F/W23, Rave Review RTW S/S24, Yuhan Wang RTW S/S24, Roberto Cavalli RTW F/W23, Di Petsa RTW F/W23,  Ermanno Scervino RTW S/S24-

3. Dilara Fındıkoğlu RTW F/W23: Dilara’s ethereal, post-apocalyptic take on grunge delivers everyyy, singleee time! As if I didn’t wish I had Bella Hadid’s life enough already (minus having Yolanda “have a couple of almonds and chew them really well” Hadid as a mother), she then stepped out in that DF custom set and my envy increased tenfold.

4. Ambush EVERYTHING: The way Yoon Ahn’s styles the garments she designs under her label Ambush is the end result I’m trying to achieve whenever I actually make an effort in putting together an outfit these days, as rare as that is atm. Yes, at it’s core, the brand embraces a street wear-friendly version of the grunge aesthetic (I know, I use the word grunge to death but my love for that way of dressing will never die! I lived one full year in the 90s and I’m going to milk being a 90s baby only in the very literal sense for all it’s worth!) But through that lens Yoon plays with a number of other trends, from techwear to the academia-influenced styling craze, and has all that fun incorporating elements from those avenues, whilst retaining the edge that underlies her vision of the brand. The level of flexibility she manages to display without compromising the Ambush blueprint is exactly what makes Yoon’s collections a reliable source of outfit inspiration for those of us who have a strong attachment to one particular style but like to take cues from whichever other aesthetic is dominating the trend cycle at that moment too.

5. Chopona Lowena RTW S/S24: Cutesy ‘90s inspired grunge? Bloody love it. Which reminds me that I should reiterate, NO you don't get a pound every time I say grunge. Not in this economy:(

6. Di Petsa RTW F/W23 & S/S24: I was lucky enough to see a Di Petsa piece in person at the Design Museum’s Alexander McQueen sponsored REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion exhibition, and yes, it was as perfectly sculpted to the mannequin as her pieces are to the models who wear them on the runway IRL. Dimitra Petsa is a little bit of a genius I think. She’s so clearly fuelled by an appreciation of the divine feminine energy of women in the sense which we originally started using the term rather than the way we mostly use it now which is more often than not sardonically to justify our bedrotting days (which I’m totally on board with btw because performing femininity is fucking exhausting tehe), meaning her designs highlight the raw, stripped back power and beauty of the female body and everything it does without us even having to try. Di Petsa’s collections give the world a much needed reminder of the strength and grace of women whatever size or shape we are, and shows us that we don’t need to A). have some otherworldly power or B). Get a shit tonne of filler and plastic surgery to emulate the goddesses of both today’s and yesteryear’s standards.

7. Roberto Cavalli RTW F/W23 & S/S24: Fausto Puglisi treads carefully along the line separating bold and gaudy with his take on Cavalli but both the RTW collections were fucking phenomenal this year, taking it back to at a time when Coachella fashion was at the peak of cultural relevance, and what a TIME to be alive that was.

8. Yuhan Wang RTW F/W23 & S/S24: Take something bit granny chic, a bit little girlish, a couple of pieces from a motorcycle gang and throw it all together, and you get that signature Yuhan Wang look. To quote Liam Hess’ review for Vogue Runway of Yang’s RTW S/S24 collection: "Yuhan Wang’s vision of femininity may appear delicate on the surface, but it’s always undercut with something steelier and a little dangerous." Yah. He said it much better than I can. That's why he writes for Vogue and I talk to myself on here, lol.

9. Moschino RTW F/W23: Glitzy, opulent, old-Hollywood infused punk? Consider me obsessed.

10. Rave Review RTW S/S24: SoOoo glad to finally see a collection from the pioneers of chintzy grunge (I’m sorry but what other word can I use?!) on the runway. See, I make the distinction between Rave Review, Chopona Lowena and Yuhan Wang because Rave Review, in the best way possible, excel at a creating pre-loved feel to their collections. That isn’t to say it looks like the shit no one wants. It looks like the wardrobe of the coolest girl you know who can spend an afternoon browsing her local charity stores, the evening in front of her sewing machine, and by the morning can produce some up-cycled magic that you wish you had the talent to create yourself. I want to be that girl! I’m just a sewing machine and few decent charity shops in my local area short but trust and believe I’m working on it, lol!

11. Ermanno Scervino RTW S/S24: How very high-end LoveShackFancy of Ermanno Scervino to give us this Y2K style Bohemian dream and then refine it in line with the whole “stealth wealth/clean girl” minimalism craze that had such a chokehold over 2023 (and which I hope we leave behind, for the sake of its racist undertones if nothing else). Taken to either end of the spectrum, as in pink frilly floral overkill or an endless cycle of shapeless neutrals, I’m beginning to get a bit worn out with both but the meeting of the two here with the pops of colour in the embroidery was something magical, a beautiful partnership<3

-clockwise L-R: pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024, RTW S/S24-

12. David Koma EVERYTHING: Beyond slept on and idk why! This man was behind Mugler for several years, which is one of my alll time favourite brands, and I think it’s safe to say a staple for many. So where is the buzz about his solo offering? Idk. It is strange because I feel like his collections share a lot of the attributes (y2k feel, hyper-feminine, sex appeal, a bit of edge, overall bit of a Bratz doll vibe if ygm?) as Blumarine and everyone is head over heels for that? So yeah, I truly don’t know. Maybe it’s not luxury enough? I’ve never really cared about that. You don’t get much more luxury than a Hermes Birkin and yet I think they’re dull as dishwater and no one can convince me otherwise regardless of how much a status symbol they’ve become. Maybe it’s my youth, maybe I’d feel differently if I too was a real housewife of Beverly Hills but yeah, give me David Koma over Hermes any day.

-clockwise L-R: Diesel resort 2024, pre-fall 2023, pre-fall 2024, RTW F/W23, S/S24-

13. Diesel EVERYTHING: Wow, Diesel must be the no.1 contender for fashion house comeback of the 2020s so far. And it’s what’s deserved for a name as cool as Diesel, I mean, it is so simple but so good!

As far as I’m concerned Diesel had been relegated to the leagues of the higher price mark section of the Next catalogue for the past decade and yet the past couple of fashion weeks their shows have arguably been amongst the most anticipated. I feel like I’ve said sexy biker grunge or some combination of these 3 words too many times in this post already but look, it’s kind of like the aspirational aesthetic of choice for me minus the sexy part and add in a girlier, more dainty strain of femininity instead bc I do not have the body nor the bone structure or the RHYTHM to have sex appeal. I was built with the body that’s giving little boy at its lowest possible weight and chubby baby at its highest so yay. The sexy thing isn't gonna happen for me, I’m at peace with that, lmao.

-clockwise L-R: Erdem pre-fall 2024, RTW S/S24, pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024-

14. Erdem EVERYTHING: Genuine question here, would Erdem Moralioglu's work be fitting of what Gen Z mean when they talk about whimsy goth or am I way off-base? Honestlyyy, I’m so out of the loop when it comes to this phenomenon of coding everything and idk if I like it because tbh, it seems like it’s only accelerated the pace of fast fashion. Once TikTok has put a label on aesthetic, it starts getting manufactured cheaply en masse and within a matter of weeks, everyone is fatigued and moves right onto the next craze of X/Y/Z “core”. Like apparently mob wife core is a thing now? Kill me FR. When I hear that all I think of is Teresa Giudice flipping a table and calling Danielle Staub "prostitution whore".

Sorry, I'm getting wildly off-topic here, back to whimsy goth…I don’t know what the TikTok/Pinterest certified cues for that vibe are, but within my understanding of the word, it’d be something like this? Because romantic, gothic, elegant, and eurgh, I hate this term, but also like, badass. Essentially, Erdem's dark dramatic touches constitute what I think of as the gothic part and the former adjectives contribute the whimsical part. Anyways, yah, sorry I had to say the word badass. I’m now thinking I could’ve more accurately summarised my understanding of whimsy goth by saying steampunk Disney princess, lol. It pained me to type especially because we don’t really say ass in England, but badARSE sounds really awkward and yeah, let's just move on...

-clockwise L-R: Zimmerman resort 2023, RTW S/S23, F/W23, S/S24, resort 2024-

15. Zimmerman EVERYTHING: I feel like the two opposing sides of the coin representing my personal style are in such stark contrast to one another because yes, one the one hand, I will always be obsessed with that whole forbidden g-word ‘90s look but I also do adore the whole flower power vibe, and for me, Zimmerman does that perfectly. This is to say, essentially, it leans subtly enough in that direction that you can still imagine a Zimmerman dress looking gorgeous with a big, vintage oversized coat, clunky boots, and dark makeup if you get me? There is one particular FKA Twigs look I’m thinking of as I type this, iykyk. But yeah, I never don’t love a collection from them, hence the inclusion on this list!

16. Jacquemus RTW F/W23: Speaking of clunky boots…Can you IMAGINE one of the little white dresses from this collection with some black platform Doc Martens and a black velvet choker or corsage? Like to reference Courtney Love for what is probably the millionth time, this would be the dream outfit inspired by her, however much of a groupie that makes me sound.

On a side note, Jacquemus’ S/S24 collection only came out, like, last week which is why it wasn’t included in the post but I can’t lie…it is a hugeee step down from this. The disappointment echoes my feelings the new Gucci collection, only I guess I can hold onto the hope this is just a meh year for Jacquemus rather than the loss of another absolutely legendary creative spark. Yeah, Alessandro Michele I miss u xx

-top to bottom: Le Fame pre-fall 2023, RTW S/S24-

17. Le Fame EVERYTHING: I only found out about Le Fame, Miss Sohee, Sultry Virgin etc. through HF Twitter (yeah, X is never catching on) and I feel indignant that only a handful of those are on Vogue Runway. Look when it comes to my A-Zs, if I find anything I like in a collection, I will include it, even if it’s nothing groundbreaking in my eyes. Because range, you know? But amongst the standouts from a collection, the rest can be really fucking drab, and yet the brand makes the top of the Vogue feed regardless, purely based on reputation. Yet Le Fame gets tumbleweeds. Where is the justice for Shanghai Fashion Week? ALL the non-western centric fashion weeks for that matter. WHY has ShuShu/Tong only just got a place on the Vogue Runway archive? I mean, it’s bad all round but the erasure of Shanghai FW in particular bothers me because western fashion is so clearly influenced by East Asian fashion and atm it’s just like we capitalise on it without paying our dues (shocker).

-clockwise L-R: Rahul Mishra haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Giambattista Valli haute couture F/W23, S/S23-

18. Rahul Mishra Haute Couture S/S23 & F/W23: Whilst we're on the topic, thank god for HF Twitter for alerting me to yet another designer ignored until very recently by Western fashion critics. Don’t get me wrong, I like a bit of Elie Saab as much as the next girly girl but every collection lately has been more of the same, risk-free and repetitive. You look at Rahul Mishra, and instantly, you can see just how much work and passion goes into his designs. The end results are that these dresses are utterly ETHEREAL. I have been seeing more talk about RM lately and his collections have recently started being covered by Vogue. I hope this acknowledgment continues!

19. Giambattista Valli Haute Couture F/W23 & S/S23: The princessiest (yeah, that’s a word now) of princess dresses. OFC GV makes it on this list. For the sake of my inner child, if not anything else, who thought that a job in the fashion industry was actually achievable and that wearing a dress like this one day was within my reach. The little me who didn’t know what nepotism even meant, this is for you.

20. Selkie RTW S/S24: So I wouldn’t usually include Selkie in a fashion week post as maybe, for reasons stemming from my own prejudices, I assume anything I have ever been able to afford at any point in my life does not count as high fashion. But the Selkie show for this season, imo, truly epitomised what is supposed to be the whole point of fashion which is to translate our inner beauty to outer beauty on our own terms, in a way that makes us feel empowered and the most magnificent version of ourselves. Selkie speaks to the playful feminine spirit within me, and to see women of all sizes, ethnicities, ages, and abilities looking absolutely enchanting made me feel hopeful for a day when I don’t still feel like the only version of myself that is worthy of being “perceived” (lmao) is the one who still owned that beautiful, tiny Selkie dress, who has to punish and deprive their body to fit into it! Seeing this runway on Twitter gave me a degree of faith that this future where I feel confident and comfortable in my recovered body does exist. So yeah. I had to include it here:)

-top to bottom: Shushu/Tong RTW S/S24, F/W23-

21. Shushu/Tong RTW F/23 & S/S24: I hate to introduce new material at such a late stage but I was choosing my favourite looks from ShuShu/Tong’s S/S24 collection and just thought, I want more! So I did some Googling and managed to find the F/W23 collection too! And it’s just as stunning as S/S24. This is why it’s such a calamity that we don’t get more Shanghai FW coverage, I s2g.

-clockwise L-R: Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini RTW S/S24, Cult Gaia resort 2024, Dominnico RTW F/W23, Zuhair Murad haute couture F/W23-

22. Zuhair Murad Haute Couture F/W23: Okay so obvs the S/S23 couture collection was gorg and lush too buut holy shit, the gothic touches of F/W23 took things to another level for me!

23. Dominnico RTW F/W23: If Sam Levinson decides to have Maddy Perez go through a kawaii-influenced cyberpunk phase and then become a dominatrix in season 3 of Euphoria (and let’s be real, equally nonsensical things have happened on that show), this is what her character should be wearing in keeping with her personal style. Niche, I know. Just please, for the love of god, make her come of age first. I have no time for that man’s insistence on sexualising minors. Justice for Barbie Ferrera and Kat Hernandez, honestly.

24. Cult Gaia Resort 2024: Is it…mermaid core?

And lastly…

25. Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini RTW S/S24: He made layers SEXY.

Honourable mentions go to a few brands I plan to focus on anyway over my next couple of posts (another In the Front Row at…kinda post, and also little 2023 Pt.2 Recap) so I won’t go overboard yapping on about them here too, but to summarise a few points:

I was pleasantly surprised by Maria Grazia Chiurui’s work at Dior this past year? IDK if it’s just that my expectations of Dior based on the collections we’ve seen over the previous few years have set the bar really low, but almost all of it was super pretty. Maria has garnered a reputation for being all quantity and no quality, which is fair enough, however I truly think we saw both this year. So maybe this is all to say…Dior gets the Most Improved award?

Alessandro Michele’s final Gucci RTW collection was full of showstoppers and honestly, I don’t know how Sabato De Sarno is supposed to follow on from that. His Gucci S/S24 was nice enough and probably more in keeping with the brand's old school aesthetic but the character Alessandro brought to the brand is gone and I feel like a little part of me has died along with that. I don’t know what to feel because his version of the brand is the brand in my eyes, at this point, like he resuscitated it and nourished it and got people excited enough about it to reestablish Gucci's place at the precipice of high fashion, and yet seeing S/S24 I feel that artistic flair is gone. If I’m being optimistic, maybe De Sarno is just playing the long game and that, in going back to basics, his aim is to create a point of reference he can build upon over time to develop his own equally bold vision of luxury. Let’s say Sabato De Sarno gets the Person I Most Hope Will Improve award.

Finally, in the absence of Michele’s Gucci and on the back of another year of incredible collections, I think I can finally say…Rokh, you’re my new number one.

To conclude, though, that’s enough from me! I’ve already done way too much chatting shite for a photo post. If I start talking about anything else now, it’ll surely end up as some rant about the state of the world which will inevitably be coming soon, anyway, so for now all I have to say is 1. Free Palestine and 2. I hope anyone reading this is doing otherwise okay notwithstanding the horrific levels of injustice occurring, i.e the abhorrent displays of solidarity with a government perpetrating war crimes by many Western “democratic" leaders. Even when we knew they were awful before, seeing this situation play out is devastating. Be kind to yourself. All we can do some days is get by and that’s okay. To exist in a place where our lives are not constantly at threat is in itself a beautiful thing that everyone deserves, and I know most of us appreciate that and want that for everyone else too.

With that, I’ll say goodbye and will be posting again soon.

Lauren x

[princesssarisa]

There are more meanings of Barbie characters' names?

I'll go through the whole list of Barbie's family and friends from Wikipedia for all the characters I didn't list before.

Barbie's family members

George (her father): "Farmer."

Margaret (her mother): "Pearl."

Tutti (her discontinued sister): An Italian word that means "all" – best known in the US from "tutti frutti" ("all fruits"), a term for mixture of chopped candied fruits or for sweets with a mixed fruit flavor. For Barbie's sister, it must be a nickname.

Francie (her cousin): Short for Frances, meaning "Frenchwoman."

Jazzie (another cousin): Jazz is a style of music; the slang term "jazzy" means bright, colorful, and showy, like the music. It could also be a nickname for Jasmine. It's obviously a nickname, at any rate.

Kirsten (another cousin): "Christian."

Lulu (another cousin): Probably short for Louise or Louisa, meaning "famous in battle," or for Lucinda or Lucia, meaning "light," or for Lucille, meaning "little light."

Millicent (her aunt): "Strong in work" or "unceasing strength."

Adele (another aunt): "Noble."

Female friends (she's had so many!)

Raquelle: "Ewe."

Grace: Self-evident.

Stacey: Derived from Anastasia, meaning "resurrection," or from Eustacia, meaning "fruitful."

P.J.: Unknown; we'd need to know what her initials stand for.

Steffie: Short for Stephanie, meaning "crown" or "wreath."

Cara: "Beloved."

Whitney: "White island."

Miko: "Delicious" or "entertaining."

Kira: "Young" or "black."

Becky: Short for Rebecca, meaning "tie" or "snare."

Kayla: Derived from Catherine, meaning "far off" or "pure."

Lea: "Weary."

Jamie: "Heel-grabber" or "supplanter."

Kelley: "Bright-headed."

Devon: "Calf" or "fawn."

Tracy: "Warlike" or "fierce."

Nia: "Bright" or "purpose."

Viky: Short for Victoria, meaning "victory."

Tara Lynn: Tara means "elevated place" or "star"; Lynn means "lake."

Lara: "Citadel."

Drew: Originally a male name derived from Andrew, meaning "manly."

Melody: Self-evident.

Simone: "Listening."

Shannen: A variant of Shannon, the name of a river in Ireland, which probably comes from a root word meaning "old" or "ancient."

Maiko: "Child in a linen robe" or "dancing child."

Harper: "Harp maker."

Renee: "Reborn."

Daisy: "Daisy flower," of course.

Tia: "Aunt."

Courtney: "Short nose."

Desiree: "Desired."

Ling: "Spirit" or "bell."

Dee Dee: Unknown; originally a nickname for anyone whose name started with D.

Dana: "God is my judge" or "wise."

Diva: A term for a singing star (especially an arrogant one), from the Italian word for "goddess." Obviously a nickname.

Tori: Short for Victoria, meaning "victory."

Susie: Short for Susan, meaning "lily."

Nichelle: A cross between Nicole, meaning "victory of the people," and Michelle, meaning "Who is like God?"

Marissa: "Of the sea."

Ana: "Grace" or "favor."

Gabbie: Short for Gabriella, meaning "God is my strength."

Chelsie: "Chalk wharf."

Marie: "Bitter," "drop of the sea," or "beloved."

Mari: "Truth," among other possible meanings.

Mariko: "Child of truth" or "jasmine child," among other possible meanings.

Isla: "Island."

Male friends

Blaine: "Yellow."

Derek: "Ruler of the people."

Curtis: "Courteous."

Todd: "Fox."

Steven: "Crown" or "wreath."

Kurt: "Brave counsel."

Ryan: "Little king."

Barbie's younger siblings have lots of friends too, but I'd be here all day if I tried to look up their names' meanings too.

[zerolostwalks]

Ohhhh

Baseball and 1950s?

Carlos wants nothing more than to be a big baseball star, follow in the steps of Luis Miguel Castro and Jackie Robinson. However his school doesn’t have a team, at least not one that is capable of practicing regularly. 

He tries his best but there’s only so much he can get done practicing at his own at the local park. Luckily, Willie who also likes to hang out at the park with his skateboard(a sure sign the beach was either too crowded, no good waves, or some other less optimal for Surfing criteria). Willie does his best to help Carlos but, while he’s great with the surfing and skating he lacks the hand eye coordination for any decent pitching or batting. Plus, there’s only so much they can do as a duo. So Willie decides to recruit some of his friends. 

Carlos is barely surprised to learn these friends include the Patterson and Peters boy, who he frequently hears people whisper about, but never loud enough for him to hear what exactly they’ve done wrong. According to them they built a reputation by sneaking around, specifically sneaking into clubs with the better rock and blues music. 

More surprising is that the Mercer boy is also there. Because the Mercer’s definitely have their own reputation and based off that it makes no sense for Alex to be hanging out with the likes of Reggie and Luke, let alone Willie.

At first Reggie, Luke, and Alex are barely better players than Willie. Reggie is quickest to pick up on the various skills and techniques. Luke is actually a surprisingly good coach. 

Ray and Rose are a little apprehensive when they learn about  these boys who have been helping Carlos. That is until they hear who exactly is helping him and are like oh, well that makes sense, you should bring them home for dinner, tell them they can stay with us whenever they like. Even Tia extends the same offer. (There are things about the boys reputations that Carlos doesn’t have full knowledge of but suspects, especially in regards to their parents and living situations.)

Willie, Reggie, and Luke accept the offer but not on a full time basis. They don’t want to risk getting the Molinas and Victoria into any trouble. Alex extremely reluctantly takes up their off after he runs away from home because his parents keep insisting on setting him up with ‘nice girls’ who are neither nice nor his type. 

Ray eventually reaches out to a couple of old friends, Trevor and Caleb, to see if they can help, and both men step up to help house the boys (as well as get them out of some legal trouble they got themselves in after getting into some physical altercations with some other boys/men who had been harassing Carlos, Flynn, and Julie). After additional catching up and learning more about the story, Caleb and Trevor offer to help get Carlos a proper coach. Which in turn turns into establishing a neighborhood baseball team.

[onlygenxhere]

juke and “you can’t keep buying her all of these bows..she’s 2 months old she’s just going to keep taking them off.”

*speaking from experience*😂

“You can’t keep buying her all of these bows..she’s 2 months old she’s just going to keep taking them off.” Julie tried to keep her voice even as she attempted to talk rationally to her tia on speaker phone while watching her daughter yank another oversized bow, as well as several strands of dark curly hair, out of her head for the third time in as many minutes.

Luke was holding the baby and trying not to laugh at his wife as their daughter managed to throw the bow hard enough to smack her in the cheek.

Julie glared at him as she tuned back into Victoria. “…it took a few tries before you would keep a bow in your hair when you were a bebita too sobrina.”

“Tia?” Julie frowned at the phone as she glanced at Luke who was bouncing their daughter around the green room now while they waited on the rest of the guys to get back with dinner before the show tonight. “I have never seen a picture of me with a bow in my hair before the age of five.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Well, I said it took a while before you were comfortable with wearing them…”

“Tia!” Julie threw up her hands and held the phone out to Luke. She just couldn’t with her any more. She appreciated all the gifts and her help when they’d gotten home from the hospital but she was going to push Julie to say something she would regret and Luke could see it on her face.

“Hey Victoria, we’re being called to sound check we’ll have to talk to you later.”

“Oh, ok,” she sounded so sad Julie’s anger immediately deflated and tears filled her eyes. Pregnancy hormones were still kicking her ass and if this concert wasn’t for her favorite charity she never would have agreed to it. “I miss you all. Send lots of pictures.”

“We will,” Luke said into the phone as he smiled up at his wife. “Pictures with bows.”

Julie shook her head and smiled back at her smartass of a husband. “Talk to you later tia. We love you.”

They could hear the smile in her voice as she said, “Te quiero todo.”

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

SON OF THE SOUL IS LIVE NOW!Get the newest Shrouded Nation release from Brenda Trim and Tia Didmon today. Universal: https://geni.us/SonOTSRead it #FREE with #KindleUnlimited!

A disgruntled demigod. A lost city. A sacred alliance.

When Alex is abducted by our newest foe, I have the entire nation searching for him. But Miletus has a plan and it includes my fae lover.

In our quest to return him, we form an uneasy alliance with the Atlanteans and search for a way to save a forsaken people. We learn we must retrieve a rare artifact, but that too comes at a price.

With the fate of a species hanging in the balance, do I save the Shrouded Nation or the man I love?

Find out what lurks in the shadows of Ravenholde by reading Son of the Soul, the new Paranormal Women's Fiction series readers are comparing to Shannon Mayer, K.F. Breene, and Victoria Dannan.

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About The Authors

A USA Today bestselling author, Brenda loves everything paranormal. She has co-authored over twenty-five books in the best-selling Dark Warrior Alliance series, as well as the Hollow Rock Shifters series. She also has best-selling solo titles readers are raving about. Brenda created worlds that feature dangerously handsome heroes and feisty heroines. With the help of popcorn and candy, she takes dragons, fairies, witches, vampires, and so much more and brings them to life. She lives in Texas with her husband and three kids who fuel not only her heart but her life. If she's not writing, she's reading, traveling, or knee-deep in projects with her husband and five sisters. She encourages readers to Dream Big. If your dreams don't terrify and electrify you then they aren't big enough!  

Tia Didmon is a USA Today bestselling author of provocative paranormal romance. When Tia isn't busy writing about sexy shifters and dreamy demons, she spends her time binge watching The Order and reruns of The Vampire Diaries, cooking with her daughter, and serving her cat. Her love of writing stems from a self-diagnosed book addiction.  Subscribe to Tia's newsletter at tiadidmon.com for a free book and start your journey through Tia's supernatural world today!  Find Them Both Online! https://www.brendatrim.com https://tiadidmon.com

[victoriaxdupont]

[ Lily Rose Depp | She/Her ] Another face is seeking safety in New Orleans. Make sure to welcome VICTORIA DUPONT to the home of the resilient. Rumor has it that they are an 950+/26 year old VAMPIRE, who is one of the SURVIVORS but we’ll keep that a secret. They are said to be MANIPULATIVE, but that’s all a façade to cover up their CHARISMATIC nature. We’ve heard that they can be found listening to BONES by MS MR, which sums them up pretty well. Let’s hope that they can find a way to survive this harsh new world. ( ooc tia, 28, gmt+2, she/her )

BASICS

FULL NAME: Victoria Dupont

NICKNAME(S): Vic, Vicky (do not attempt to call her this though, she don't like it)

BIRTHDAY: September 15th

AGE: 26 / 950+

HOMETOWN: New Orleans

RELIGION: N/A

BIOGRAPHY

Born and raised in France, Victorias family was reasonably wealthy and she was well-taken care of until she reached puberty. She had three older brothers, and two younger sisters and was 'fortunate' enough to catch the eye of a very wealthy traveller who insisted upon her father to allow the two to wed.

Not so keen on the idea, Victoria ran off and found herself suddenly struck by the harsh realities of the 'real world' and what women had to go through in order to survive. She adapted, but she was also too gentle and too fragile making her the perfect target for many men and women who had wished her harm.

Needless to say, as the years passed by and she reached full adulthood, Victoria had given up most of her dreams and hopes in favour of survival alone. And she became very equipped at getting by on wits alone.

Destiny, however, had different plans for her. And the same traveller who had requested her hand over a decade prior, walked into a brothel she had worked in and got on his knee once more. He had not aged a day, and under the lighting of the poorly-lit room, Victoria could tell that he was not a human at all. -- They spoke extensively that night, and she agreed on marrying him in exchange for eternal life. She wanted to be like him.

Transition was neither painful, nor did she come to regret it over the years passed. After becoming a vampire and a third wife to the coven leader, she moved with the coven for centuries. Working and living and thriving in the darkness of the night. She loved the hunt, she loved the power, the protection, the wealth. There was no downsides to the life they lived, not a single one....except that even immortal beings, do not last forever.

When her husband was killed and the coven fell into a civil war over the matter of inheritance, Victoria ran off across the sea, where the witches thrived and the world was new. And she travelled across the new world, setting herself up for success of the future.

Now, she is in New Orleans, reaping the benefits of her investments. And she is limitless in her desires, her selfishness and throwing amazing parties at obnoxiously large houses.

[legolasghosty]

I want to hear all of your headcanons. 💜

Just so you know, I am laying down next to you on our fluffy rug and opening the skylight and looking up at the starry sky with you while Nixie purrs in between us.

Oh gosh, all of them? There's a lot! Here, let me grab the snacks and warm drinks real quick... Yes, Nixie, I have some treats for you too, don't worry!

Okay, here goes nothing!

Ray loves to barbeque. But he hasn't made ribs in a very long time. Reggie asks him about his ribs recipe at some point and Ray is just like, ".... I don't remember the last time I made those." And so, of course, in true Reggie Molina Found Family fashion, they get to work and whip up some great ribs together!

Alex loves stickers but is afraid of how permanent they are, so he has them stuck places with tape instead of using the sticky side. Willie, on the other hand, does not think barely at all before sticking things places, namely his water bottle and skateboard.

Everyone has emotional support water bottles except Luke (because he always loses everything and also likes squashing the disposable plastic ones). Julie's is a dark green translucent one with the signatures of her mom and all the Petal Pushers on it from their first concert that she got to go to. Reggie's is a bright yellow fake hydro flask covered in cowboy stickers. Carrie has an actual hyrdro flask, it's light pink and bedazzled. Hey, a bit of glitter never hurt anyone. Alex has one of those big ones that just barely doesn't fit into any cupholder. It's light blue and Willie keeps doodling on it. Willie's looks like a penguin(yes it's a thing) and has stickers all over its white tummy. Flynn has a pretty small one cause she always has it clipped onto her backpack(she forgets it everywhere otherwise). It's transparent and bright orange.

Tia Victoria is actually a terrible cook. No two ways around it, she just always manages to combine the wrong seasonings and not combine things fully and stuff gets burned a lot. But she loves giving people food and no one ever had the heart to tell her it was nasty. So.... she has no idea. Somehow.

Once it's established that borrowing clothing is okay, Alex and Julie totally swap sweaters. Alex likes her big smiley face one and she steals his pink hoodie.

Everyone messes with Luke's hair. It's just too easy.

Alex and Willie adopt a ghost kitten. I don't know how, but they do. They're cat parents forever.

By sheer force of will, Julie figures out how to touch the kitten cause she wants cuddles too.

The kitten is literally the only other being that is allowed to mess with Alex's drumsticks.

Darn I'm having too many thoughts about this kitten now.

Awwww, Nixie's asleep. Awww, so are you! *grabs some blankets to cover you up* Goodnight, sweet dreams!

[invisibleraven]

smiling for no reason, other than looking at each other

peterpatterlina, bonus points if Alex is there like "what's happening" 😆

Julie giggled, peering around the corner, but seeing the coast was clear, urged her accomplices forward. Luke and Reggie followed eagerly behind, stifling their own chortles as they shut themselves into the library.

Hidden amongst the stacks, they collapsed into a pile, Julie finally collecting herself to unearth the treasure she and the boys had gotten away with: three gorgeously wrapped chocolates from the box that had been taunting them all afternoon.

Technically, they belonged to Julie's aunt, but tia Victoria was always going on about how sugar spoiled your figure and your teeth, so Julie insisted to herself that they were only helping the prevention of such spoiling.

She handed both boys a chocolate each, then beheld her own plunder, watching as the afternoon sun made the colourful foil sparkle. She could have watched such a kaleidoscope for hours, but she wanted to enjoy her treat before it became a melted mess in her hands.

They all peeled back the foil, Luke stashing it in the pockets of his sleeveless hoodie to dispose of later, then they gobbled down their treat.

The flavour was a burst across the palette, rich chocolate, a tinge of salt from the peanuts, the sticky sweet caramel.

Heaven.

Julie grinned around the morsel, the boys echoing the expression as they polished off their own morsels.

"We should have taken more," Luke lamented when the last dredges of chocolate had been polished off or licked from fingers.

"No way, we'll be dead meat enough as it is if tia ever finds out!" Julie insisted, peering around the corner of the shelf as if to ensure her aunt wasn't right there, ready to read them the riot act for taking her chocolates.

The boys had been the ones to come up with the idea; hungry for something sweet, but dinner (and thus, dessert) were ages away, and Julie had innocently mentioned the chocolates and the comments about their ruining effect. It was easy to be talked into the theft, and Julie was thankful her boys were more mischievous than villainous, lest she get talked into a real crime one day.

She just found it hard to say no to them; Luke with his big shiny topaz coloured eyes, and Reggie's crooked grin that could make her agree to anything. They had confessed they were much the same with her-all she had to do was sk, and they would do anything for her.

That's why they were the best of friends-they knew they would always have each other.

Sure, Julie had Flynn, and the guys Alex, but it was different somehow. Flynn and Alex didn't give Julie a weird warm feeling inside when they smiled at Julie or make her face heat up when they took her hand.

"What should we do now?' Reggie asked, stretching out, his long limbs popping as he did. Julie was still getting used to his new gangly form-she was surely destined to be shorter now that both the guys had hit a growth spurt. It was weird looking up at them, but also nice to have them wrap her up so completely in their arms should they want to.

Which they did, with increasing regularity.

"We should go back to lessons," Julie rationalized. "Before they realize we're gone."

"They were showing slides on the different types of rocks, I doubt we were missed," Luke replied, eyeing the comfy armchair in the corner, adjacent to a sunny spot. "I'd rather stay here and nap."

"You won't sleep tonight if you do," Reggie cautioned. "And I'm in no mood to be awoken in the middle of the night with another 'write until i fall back asleep' session."

"Fine," Luke groaned. "Let's go see if we can sneak Alex out of his class and fart around outside at least, it's too nice of a day to be stuck indoors."

Julie was usually not one to ditch class, but again, had been talked into it, and the prospect of whiling away her afternoon in the sun did sound appealing.

They couldn't hook Alex out of class given he was in the middle of an exam, so simply texted him so he would meet them at their usual spot-the field of dahlias next to the big willow tree where they liked to hang out. There was a swimming hole nearby which was great in the summer, and berry bushes not far off if they could thwart the gardener's wrath by nicking a few.

Julie often wondered how lucky she was to be growing up on this big estate with her friends, learning all they could before being launched out into the world. Her mother had started this place after an old friend left her a great deal of money-rationalizing she didn't need a vast palace, but it could be put to good use creating the kind of school she wished for. One that nurtured practical learning yes, but also art, theatre, music.

One day, Julie swore, after she and her friends had made it big making music, they would come back here. Maybe to teach, maybe just to visit. But to ensure they never forgot the place that had brought them together.

Out in the field, Julie began weaving a flower crown for herself, while Luke lay back in the grass, notebook held aloft as he ruminated on lyrics, with Reggie tossing out a metaphor whilst her worked a brain into Julie's curls.

This was how Alex found them, slumping into the shade, groaning over his exam, then turning over, gazing at the clouds.

"Where did you three scamper off to during the oh so riveting geology presentation?"

Julie grinned, sharing the smile with Luke and Reggie, feeling those flutters in her stomach again as they didn't answer, just recalled their misdeeds and the feeling of sharing that moment together.

Alex for his part, looked at them confused, but he had never really gotten the three of them, their secret smiles and the way they talked with their eyes.

But he could also see something the three of them didn't-the way they looked at each other that he usually only saw in romances. He wasn't sure how that happened or would work, but he saw it all the same.

But right now he just saw them smiling, sharing a secret that he was almost certain he wanted no part in. "Okay, don't answer you weirdos."

He hummed for a bit, still ignoring the weird looks, paying more heed to the clouds than the unspoken words surrounding him-he had already sworn not to get involved, when he finally spoke again.

"By the way, your aunt is on the warpath Julie, something about chocolates?"

The three of them couldn't help but collapse into heaps of giggles at that, leaving Alex confused, and the lingering flavour of sweetness on their tongues as their laughter filled the air.

Julie had to wipe a tear from her eye as she watched Reggie hold his sides, and Luke roll a little, they were laughing so hard while Alex looked on confused. But she wouldn't-couldn't-alleviate his curiosity.

The secret was too delicious to tell.

[queersrus]

hi!!! do you have any names (or pronouns) that are like. prince themed? princess is okay too! /nf :]

oui! of course, ma fleur royale!

prince-

names:

including names of princes and meaning prince

Prynce, Princey, Princie, Princer, Prinze, william, george, louis, harry, andrew, archie, edward, james, richard, michael, oscar, carl, philip, alexander, gabriel, julien, nicolas, haakon, sverre, magnus, frederik, frederick, christian, vincent, joachim, nikolai, felix, henrik, emmanuel, laurent, aymeric, amadeo, baldr, baldur, brioc, cynfael, regulus, brendan, mael, maelys, maelle, armel, adelio, mailys, alaric, balder, griffith, hector, henry, paris, rognvaldr,

1st p: i/me/my/myself

pri/prin/princes/princeself pry/pri/prince/princeself cro/crown/crowns/crownself hi/he/heirs/heirself

2nd p: you/your/yourself

pri/prince/princeself cro/crown/crownself hei/heir/heirself

3rd p: they/them/theirs/theirself

pri/prince/princes/princeself pri/ince, prince/princes cro/crown/crowns/crownself cro/own, crown/crowns crown/crowned crowned/prince he/hir/heirs/heirself he/heir, heir/heirs, he/ir

princess-

names:

including names of princesses and meaning princess

Pryncess, Prinzess, Prinzessa, Princessa, princesse, charlotte, lilibet, beatrice, eugenie, louise, anne, alexandra, michael, catherine, victoria, estelle, madeleine, adrienne, leonore, ingrid, martha, isabella, josephine, athena, elisabeth, eleanore, delphine, astrid, sadie, sarai, sharai, sara, sarah, zadie, soraya, adalinda, aricia, alyssa, anneliese, bano, chelidonis, camilla, damita, damyanti, deoch, diana, eadlin, erendira, farsiris, gormlaith, gladys, izella, kiana, maelie, orla, pari, quille, sabrina, saina, tzeitel, yseult,

1st p: i/me/my/myself

pri/prie/princess/princesself pri/prine/princesses/princesself cro/crown/crowns/crownself ti/tia/tiaras/tiaraself hi/heir/heiress/heiresself

2nd p: you/your/yourself

pri/princesses/princesself cro/crowns/crownself tia/tiaras/tiaraself hei/heiresses/heiresself

3rd p: they/them/theirs/theirself

pri/prine/princesses/princesself prin/cess, princess/princesses cro/crown/crowns/crownself cro/own, crown/crowns crown/crowned crowned/princess ti/tiara/tiaras/tiaraself ti/ara, tiara/tiaras he/heir/heiresses/heiresself heir/ess, heir/heiress, heiress/heiresself

many more names found here

did not include fictional or (many) historical names.

[tlatia-the-radiant]

Hello! This is the person behind the blog speaking out of character!

I want to start this by saying that this blog is NOT endorsed by the original creator of Tlatia, one Brother Dougal on the Bolter and Chainsword forums. I sent them a message and they still have not responded to me as I'm writing this post, one week after I originally messaged them. (Update: It's been like two months. Still no response.) (Second Update, as of 19 Feb. 2024: It has now been several months. Still no response.)

I am, however, trying my best to keep this in-line with Tlatia's characterization and the Dawn Legion's lore as I understand it. Obviously, I don't have all the details, but I'm trying my best. If you want lore, just ask; I'm more than happy to explain!

This post is the organisation for the Dawn Legion that I work with.

A few quick rules before going further.

Yes, I am fine with NSFW stuff, if you DM me and ask first. I promise I will not look down on you for asking.

Caveat to me being fine with NSFW stuff; certain characters are taken or are otherwise unavailable, and some of them have defined sexualities. If you're not sure, feel free to ask.

Please don't kill my characters without clearing it with me first. My lil girls are soldiers, and sometimes they may die, but I want to have a say in that.

Please don't godmode. If you need my characters to do A Thing, message me about it. I know I have a problem with godmoding; it's something I'm working on. If you feel I'm being too restrictive please tell me. I promise, tell me how you want the story to work out and we can work towards it together.

I am diagnosed with ADHD and on occasion you can really tell. If I make a formatting mistake, that's why. I can barely remember to tag things sometimes.

If you find that what I do just isn't for you, feel free to unfollow me, block me, whatever you want. You curate your experience, not mine, and vice versa.

This blog is run by a sapphic bisexual trans woman with a complicated gender. If you have issues with any of that—leave now and only come back once you're a better person.

With that out of the way: Tagging!

I tend to fast-reblog a lot, so not every post will be tagged.

"Tlatia Answers" is the ask tag, for all that good dialogue.

"Chronicles of the Lost Legion" is the writing tag, for any short stories I decide to post. This is where you'll get the deeper Dawn Legion lore and see how Tlatia reacts in modern 40k canon.

"Stories of Lost Time" is also a writing tag, but for 30k instead of 40k. These stories will be about what Tlatia was like before she left the Imperium; her life, her actions, the actions of her siblings, and so on. You might even catch glimpses of her love life if you look hard enough.

"Hope Springs Eternal || Warmaster AU" is the tag dedicated to, well, the Warmaster AU created by the wonderful @kcnhub. Aurelius, Primarch of the Second Legion, returns and retakes his mantle as the Warmaster. Naturally, shenanigans ensue, and since Tlatia is both the sibling he's closest with and completely unrepentant about abandoning the Imperium she has rather complicated feelings about this. Trust me, it's good.

"A Better World || Real Life AU" is my tag for the Real World universe that @warpcursed, @kcnhub and myself developed. In it, the Primarchs are all DnD characters developed by veterans as a method of dealing with their trauma. Tlatia is Tanya Farou, a former JTF2 combat medic who received the Victoria Cross for taking four bullets while treating wounded soldiers and only passing out after the fourth bullet broke her arm.

"Sunlight in Darkness || World of Darkness AU" is the tag for whenever, instead of 40k, we're writing about the World of Darkness (you may know it from Hunter: the Parenting or Vampire: the Masquerade). Tlatia becomes Tia, a Redeemer Hunter that managed to charm a Toreador into trying and eventually succeeding in reaching Golconda.

"Sight of the Singer" is my reblog tag. These are usually unrelated to the Dawn Legion and are instead me gushing over friend's writing.

"OOC Housekeeping" is what it says on the tin; blog maintenance and IRL updates and whatnot. (If I have any major delays in addressing your stuff, I'll try and post why under this tag. I'm a college student. It'll happen eventually.)

"Banter" is for any snippy back-and-forth with other RP blogs. It'll be less canon-driven and more meme-filled, and how the conversations happen might not make a whole lot of sense, but it's still RP, so I'll still keep it true to Tlatia's character. Mostly.

"NSFW" is self-explanatory. It's anything about sex or non-medical nudity. (Some of my characters are medics, so medical nudity may come up; it'll never be explicit beyond vague descriptions like "chest wounds".)

This post will be updated as this blog evolves.

For the Dream, the Outcast, and the Emperor!

[artificialqueens]

🏳️‍🌈 Euphoria, 2/10 (Greentia) - Juno

Summary: After receiving some surprising news from Divina, Veronica teams up with Tia to do some songwriting.

A/N: Part 2 of Eurovision au!! Big thanks to everyone who has let me annoy them about this fic, and there is more content on my blog!!

“Good morning everyone, it’s twelve minutes past nine and you’re listening to Kofi Mornings with me, Tia Kofi, looking to get you caffeinated and ready for the day! You’ve just heard two hits from …”

The second time that Veronica joined Tia on the radio went much better. Helped by the fact that this time she knew where she was going, and that she’d actually already met Tia this time, the whole process was smoother.

Veronica let Tia do their usual speech, looking around to see what had changed, but nothing had - just another photo added to those next to their computer, this one with their arm around the tv host Lawrence Chaney and a few of their friends, including two people who had been in the band, Vanity and Victoria. 

They must all hang out together frequently still, even though they split up ages ago -

“… Veronica Green, then you can after this number!” Her thoughts were interrupted by her own name in Tia’s voice again. They flicked the button and the dial on the computer, adding some flair to their movements this time, and then sat back, exhaling with a contented sigh.

“And we’re good,” Tia muttered, picking up their mug of coffee and taking a long draught. “That’s better. Hi again, Ronnie! You alright, babe?”

Veronica smiled at them. “Think I’ll be better when I’m not using annual leave to take half days in the morning and come and do promotional interviews. Not - not that I don’t want to do it!”

“Yeah, that’s rough.” Tia nodded. 

It was, they were right. Veronica was trying not to think about her boss calling her into his office yesterday morning to talk about the amount of half days she’d had to take the last couple of months to go and do interviews with people. This one in particular, the third this week due to what would be her second number one, must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“My boss said I now have to give him a week’s notice of any leave. And no Fridays.” She huffed, leaning her head on the heel of her hand. “It’s bollocks.”

“God. Tell me about it. When I first did X Factor, Tescos said I had to dedicate myself to my job more than being on that stupid show and that I couldn’t keep taking holiday just because I was on TV now.“ 

Tia wasn’t looking at her any more, rolling the drawstring of their hoodie around one finger. Veronica shook her head in sympathy.

“So shit. It’s like they don’t want people to fulfil their dreams. And he knows why I’m taking leave! He knows about my singing! I told him when I signed the contract that my singing career might be picking up and it wasn’t a problem for him then!”

“He probably just didn’t think you were serious. Most of them don’t.”

There was a little too much bitterness in Tia’s words for Veronica to believe there wasn’t something behind them. But when Tia looked back up at her, their expression shifted into a small smile.

“Honestly, Vee, from the way your singles keep going up the charts, you may not be going to a day job much longer.”

But a shiver of anxiety went down her back. In a way, Veronica liked having a day job. It was stable and kept her bills running regularly from the joint account she and Joe had set up. Knowing that she would be paid a certain amount for a certain number of hours worked was … safe. Secure. The thought of not having that? Of maybe giving up her job and relying on money from her singing? The idea was so surreal … but the more she thought about it, the more it was growing like a little amoeba chewing its way through her thoughts, getting large and lazy and lingering longer and longer.

Would she ever be able to do that? 

But before she could think any more, the song was fading, and Tia was leaning back to their mic.

“We’re back on the studio, and as promised we have the lovely Veronica Green with us again this morning, I’m sure you’re all familiar by now with …”

She watched Tia put on the same cheery voice they used on air. Completely different to the one they spoke to her with. 

“… hands together! Hi, nice to see you again!”

That was her cue. Tia was playing the applause effect and she had to start talking now. “Nice to be back, Tia!”

This time, there was no issue with the mic, the sound perfect. Tia gave her a grin and a thumbs up sign.

“So Ronnie - can I call you Ronnie?”

“Yeah, all my friends do!” Veronica laughed, this time easily, and the smile Tia gave her in return was something Veronica wished she could print from her memory and put in a frame. 

“Stunning. So Ronnie, last time we spoke you had been at the number one spot for two weeks, and now you’ve just been announced as this week’s number one for your new single, Just Once More - why don’t you tell us a bit about that?”

Veronica uncrossed and crossed her legs again. “It’s a really personal song, but when we wrote it, we wanted to make it really fun and dancey but not in a normal way. It’s really about how much we all love to express ourselves, and about letting ourselves be free and let go just once more, so I’m so happy that the public love it as much as we loved creating it.”

Tia’s eyes flickered, and then they renewed their smile. “It’s so great when you get to create stuff that you love and you get that response. It’s so validating. And - you say we, who is your muse for songwriting?”

“Oh - my friend Joe. I play guitar and he plays piano and we just like to mess around and write music.“

“Interesting. So how did you both start writing together?” Tia unfurled their legs from the chair and crossed their ankles. “Did you meet through a music group?”

“No, we,” Veronica paused, realising that she probably shouldn’t say the real reason she and Joe had started playing music together, as this show was pre-watershed. But Tia blinked at her, waved their hand, and she realised she’d have to paint over the truth a little. “We played music together when we were at uni, and then we both ended up in London together, so we just … carried on.”

“Oh, I see. Amazing. Do you two have similar taste, did you go to gigs together?”

“Well,” Veronica couldn’t help but laugh, it simply spilled from her mouth, “we don’t have too similar a music taste to be honest; he’d probably be more comfortable in either a mosh pit or a cabaret, but we make it work.”

For a moment, when she looked at Tia, she saw their expression glaze over, but they shifted their weight and quickly got over that.

“A - oh okay!” Tia laughed. “That’s great, that’s great. Okay, well we’ll play your single now, and when we get back after, we’ll go through some questions our listeners have brought for you!”

Tia pushed the buttons up, playing the opening bars of the song, and then shut off the microphones. “We’re good. That was so good! You did loads better than the first show! Have you had more practice now?”

Veronica nodded. “Had a couple of magazines, a newspaper, and two radios. One back home, I went home! First time I’d been on the radio there in two years. Felt weird! I feel like I’m getting a bit of a platform now!” Veronica put her hands to her mouth at the realisation. “God, I’ve come a long way since I won Rochdale’s Got Talent!”

“Wait, what was that?” Tia asked. “Is that something Rochdale made or was that official? Did you get Amanda Holden visiting?”

“God no, it was a contest held in Rochdale, and there were a few people who entered, and I made it to the final and I won! Good thing really, I almost lost to a tiny old man and his dancing dog!”

“Dancing dog? I’d have had to leave, I’m scared of dogs.”

“Oh, this one was alright,” Veronica said, “it was a tiny little fluffy thing. Dead friendly.”

“What did you sing?”

“At the final I sang this song I wrote ages ago, but at the start I - I sang -“

Her mouth went slowly dry and her face was turning hot, but Tia’s face flooded with realisation, their eyes widening.

“Did you sing one of my songs?”

“Yeah. I sang … Real To Me.” Veronica put her face in her hands, skin burning her palms, but Tia’s voice echoed around her.

“Oh, god, that one was … Wow. I wrote that one in like, twenty minutes one night at like 2am.”

Veronica looked up through her fingertips in time to see Tia gazing at some point in the distance before they turned back to her with a small smile.

“Look - feel free to say no,” Tia murmured, scratching at their chin, “but would you be up for a session together? At mine? I have some stuff and we could do a bit of a jam together if you want?”

——

“Wait, what did you say?” Veronica looked up from her phone. Joe, one eyebrow quirking up towards his hair, adjusted the blanket around himself where he lay on the sofa, and gave her a wry look.

“I said, you sounded so much happier this time on radio, Rodney,” Joe said again. “So relaxed. Nice one. Did you feel better? You look like you did; you haven’t stopped smiling at your phone for the last five minutes.”

“Oh.” She fought to make her face neutral again, but an echo of the smile stayed etched there. She glanced down once more at the string of messages Tia had sent her and locked her phone, putting it down and curling herself towards Joe instead.

“Yeah, yeah I did. Much better.”

“Good. And what’s his name - Nathan?”

“Neil.”

Joe waved a dismissive hand, rolling his eyes. “Whatever - he didn’t give you too much hassle when you got back to the office, did he?”

Veronica chewed her lip, twisted the hem of her shirt into a ball.

“Oh, Rodney.” He sighed and opened his arms, and she drifted into them like always, rested her chin on his shoulder and started to unwind while he rubbed circles into her shoulder blades. 

“He just doesn’t get it.” Veronica thought she sounded like a petulant child, but her words kept coming. “I told him I was singing as well, and looking to get into the industry, and he said it was alright then! But now that it’s happening he’s suddenly got a problem! And he even listens to Kofi Mornings. And he said he liked me on it! And he … he’s a dick.”

“I know.“ Joe murmured absently. He’d heard most of this plenty of times before, and he just continued to rub her back, and she could feel the knot of anger at her gut loosen and fade out of her body. 

“Once my album comes out,” she said firmly, “I’m quitting.”

“Well,” Joe said, raising his head, “even now you might want to take a look at reducing your hours. Maybe look at working four days with two mornings free to get yourself time to go to interviews. Because I can’t see it slowing down for you from here.”

Veronica shut her eyes, opened her mouth to say that it wasn’t that easy. She had to have stable income. 

But he was right about one thing. She definitely wasn’t slowing down. 

She silently ran through everything else she’d been booked on for summer. Divina had booked her for a magazine interview next weekend, three radio interviews for July and one for August so far; plus an interview with Sunday Brunch on Channel 4 in September. Along with a slot singing at a festival in the middle of nowhere in Oxfordshire, a monthly upcoming talent night somewhere in Vauxhall for the end of June, and potential for a singing place at Pride in London over the bank holiday in August. On top of that, she had some studio time booked during October and November to work on an album, and had been writing songs with Joe every spare moment. 

All while holding down an office job, to keep the roof of the flat she shared with Joe over her head. 

He let her go, rubbing her biceps. “Have a think about it.”

She huffed. “Alright.”

“Good.” He swung his legs from the sofa and made his way to the kitchen, putting the kettle on. “You want a cup of tea?”

But Veronica didn’t hear him; her attention was on her phone, buzzing against her hand in her pocket. 

The message from her agent was strange. Veronica rubbed her eyes once or twice to see if she’d misread it, but there it was in black and white on her screen. 

Divina @18.44: Spoken to the execs on the label, and thanks to your new single’s success they said they are going to put you forward as one of the candidates for sponsorship for Eurovision. Congrats! xx

Veronica blinked, and blinked again. Eurovision? Me? Why?

She scrolled back a little further up the messages to Divina. 

And then she saw it. A message from the party she’d gone to back in May, or just after it, that she must have sent just before falling asleep, because she had no memory of it whatsoever. 

Her chest was cold, and she put a hand to her forehead.

I got drunk at that party and told Divina I wanted to go on Eurovision! Oh, god. Never drinking again.

Scrolling back to the foot of the screen, she started tapping words on there to send to them now and stop this. 

Changed my mind, not sure I’m up for doing it any

But she hesitated on the last word, not sure if she was going to type any more. It was a silly idea, just a silly thought she’d had, but something in the air seemed to hold her hand still, unable to type anything else. She didn’t hit send, didn’t go any further, but she deleted the words she’d typed.

“Joe,” she whispered, and when he looked over at her, she showed him the message on her phone. 

“Oh, that’s tiny, I’m going to have to find my …” and he paused, patting himself and then the flat surfaces until he found his monocle and put it to his eye, his eyebrows furrowing.

Veronica couldn’t help but laugh. “I always just want to sketch you or something when you wear that thing. You look like a caricature.”

“Thanks, darling, that’s because I am one.” He leaned a little nearer, and then the monocle dropped from his face as his mouth dropped open with an emphatic gasp. “You’re going on Eurovision? The queer Olympics? That’s wonderful news, absolutely excellent!”

“Well, not quite Joe, I’m just being put forwards -“

“Oh, don’t be silly my love, they’d be mad not to pick you.” Joe shook his head as if the mere idea was absurd, then paused, running his fingers over his chin. “How do you actually apply?”

“No idea -“

“Is it like applying for a driving licence? Do you get a form? Or is it more … y’know, up in the air, mystical? Do you need to do a personality test? An MBTI? Do they need a sample of blood? Your star sign? I mean, do you even need a song?”

“Yes, I definitely need a song.” Veronica rolled her eyes. “That’s kind of the point of the contest.”

“Well, do you have one?”

Veronica opened her mouth and closed it again.

“We’ll have to write you one then - when does it have to be done by?” Joe grabbed the diary he still insisted on keeping and flipped it open to the month ahead. “Shall we schedule some times when we’re both in and we can have a piss about with the piano and your guitar and see if we can’t -“

“Joe,” Veronica held up her hand, “I was thinking …”

But there was no easy way to say it. He was watching her expectantly, but she didn’t know what he’d say. Would he be offended?

Joe, for his part, nodded with a face that was the picture of solemnity. “Thinking. That’s a dangerous activity, darling.”

Veronica snorted. “Joe! I mean … I was thinking. About … about writing. Writing this song.”

“That’s good. You do need to think about it in order to write it -”

“No, I mean - when I was on the radio with Tia, they said they’d like us to write together. Me and them. As well. So.” Veronica gave a cough as her throat seemed to close up a little. “I said I would write with them at some point.”

For a moment, Joe’s face didn’t change.

Then it split into a grin. 

“Rodney! That’s an excellent idea! They’re already an established pop star, they’ve written most of the things on their solo albums, they did lots of writing collaborations with other people too! You should see their writing credits. Did you know they wrote with -“

“How d’you know all this?” Veronica giggled. “I didn’t know that!”

“Well.” Joe shrugged, arranging his face into some overt nonchalance. “You pick things up. Here and there. Don’t you?”

Veronica stared at him for a moment, as he diverted his attention to polishing the monocle with the hem of his shirt, peering at it over and over again and re-polishing.

“Yeah, yeah I guess,” she said finally. 

And then her phone buzzed again. 

This is a dream. I’ve gone off into la la land.

@officialtiakofi: Hey hun, let me know if you want to do any brainstorming ideas or writing or anything. Will have to be in the afternoon but probably after this month as i’ve got some things on. Want me to ping you a few dates? 

Veronica sighed. 

Tia Kofi is in my dms. Not my shoes - no, my actual dms. 

She looked up at Joe, staring at her curiously, holding the mug of tea in one hand and stirring with the other. “Rodney, why are you holding the phone against yourself like some damsel in a Jane Austen novel?”

Veronica realised, hastily bringing the phone away from her chest. “Just - it’s - the light was hurting my eyes.”

She arranged her expression into what she hoped was the same overt nonchalance as he had just done, although her face was growing hot and her heart thumping. Joe just raised his eyebrows with a smile.

“Alright, alright - I’ll leave you to it. Eurovision star.”

Joe left to his room, taking his tea to his piano he’d somehow crammed into his room, filling the house up with gentle nocturnes as he did several times a week. Veronica took to Google, tapping into the search bar applying for Eurovision and drinking in every article she could find on it. 

There were so many rules for each entry. She scanned down them all, wondering how anyone could get a song through them all. The most annoying rule was the three-minute allowance on the song. That would seriously limit her length of singing and her creativity. But, she thought to herself, it would make her think in ways she wouldn’t have before.

@officialtiakofi: I have a couple of engagements the next weekends but how about 5th July? 1pm? I can’t do any earlier I always need to nap after my morning shows lmao

@callmeronniex: OK sounds good :) x

She mentally slapped herself. A kiss? That is not your best friend Veronica, that is -

@officialtiakofi: Great :) I’ll send an uber to the tube to get you x

Oh. They’d sent one back.

——

The rest of June, Veronica’s weekdays were exhausting. Daytimes were spent in the thick-walled office in what seemed like a never-ending heatwave, and nighttimes in bars and venues underneath the city, strumming her guitar and singing covers for a few quid here and there. She’d find Joe in the same place at the end of the night, grinning at her through the shadows, always wanting to meet her after his own shift and take the Tube back with her, and they’d stroll the last few yards to their home, fanning each other with copies of the day's Metro.

Other weeknights were spent sitting in Joe’s room, writing a line or two to a song and then spending an hour too tired to continue, descending into conversations about aliens or clouds or whatever other things seemed to plague Joe’s mind when he was meant to be at work.

All of it kept the roof of the flat over their heads. And really, it was comfortable. But as summer drew on, having sessions writing music in their own flat, the balmy air with Joe’s previously invigorating piano sounded more and more like a swamp, pulling her down.

A change of scenery would do her the world of good.

Early in July, she went to Tia’s house for the first time. She was alone - Tia hadn’t met Joe yet, and it seemed rude to ask to bring him. 

Bright sunshine greeted Veronica off the tube at Sloane Square, still far too hot. Her shirt stuck to her and her hair was wet at the back of her neck, but she didn’t worry about that now; she could sort that when she got there.

Tia’s home was not a block of flats like hers, but a pretty row of terraced houses that Veronica had seen pictures of but had never dreamt she’d be going into. They were all painted beautiful and different pastel colours, reminding Veronica of bunting, and spring flowers, and afternoon tea. They were all covered by high fences, plants weaving along and through them.

Once she was buzzed in - buzzed in! By a guard! - she was led inside, through the iron gate and into the house.

Inside, she found herself alone in a single large reception room, much cooler than outside even while bright from sunlight streaming in through the blinds. The guard pulled the door closed behind her, but Veronica didn’t move, twisting her fingers and looking around.

The room was as large as the living room at her flat, decorated with lemon-coloured walls and a wooden floor polished so brightly it looked like the still waters of a lake. The sofa and coffee table were both soft white, and the beautiful rug underneath them a marbled grey. A few shelves were embedded into the opposite wall, the same pale yellow as the wall, with eucalyptus plants and tiny cacti and a huge pot of bright orange and purple flowers in the centre. 

Otherwise, it was dawning on Veronica how sterile it was.

There’s no books. No records. No tv! What is this?

Tia finally entered, pushing the door open. Veronica immediately once again felt too overdressed. She could feel her eyeliner smudging on her face, the foundation running with rivulets of sweat on her forehead. Tia was fresh as always; another shorts and shirt and converse combo, their hair cropped a little shorter than the last time she’d seen them at the radio station, rubbing their free hand on the back of their neck. 

“Afternoon.” Tia rubbed their forehead and let out a huge yawn. “Sorry. I always have a quick nap after the show and it overran.”

“‘S okay.” Veronica stifled her own yawn behind her hand. “I was running a bit early anyway.”

“Sorry. Anyway,” Tia motioned towards her, “come on through, you’re not staying in here all day.”

Veronica blinked at the slight derision dripping from their words, but followed them through the door, along to the back rooms, and her mouth dropped. 

She got the distinct impression Tia was a tornado and she herself was Dorothy, whisked away to Oz. The kitchen-diner area was much larger than the room she had just been in, decorated in a sunset orange, and through the arch and into the living room, it was more cluttered, more lived in. Silk flowers sat at each corner, a tall pile of books leant precariously next to a deep red loveseat, pictures and mirrors adorned the walls like sparkling jewels, and a plethora of personal items and decorations ran along the shelves, in shades of pinks and burnt yellows and signs of life, of having been lived in. Beyond that were french doors leading into a small garden, teeming with grass and rose bushes along the edges. 

Tia stopped at the kitchen area, a huge space, and opened a cupboard, filled with cups and glasses.

“What do you normally drink when you’re songwriting then?” Veronica couldn’t help herself. “Tea or coffee?”

“Oh - G&T.” They cocked their head to the left and gave Veronica an ironic smile, before reaching into the cupboard. “D’you want a drink? Tea? Coffee? Something else?”

“Tea is fine.”

“You sure?” That smile was back on their lips and Veronica’s chest fluttered with words that for some reason didn’t rise to her mouth this time. Tia took the pause with a chuckle. “I’ll get you a G&T as well if you want.” 

Veronica opened her mouth, then gave a little laugh and closed it again.

“G&Ts, for Tee and Vee,” Tia nodded, grabbing two tall glasses, then turning back to Veronica with a frown. "You - you don’t mind being called Vee?”

“No, that’s fine.”

“Okay stunning. Well, I’ll bring you to the music room while I get these sorted.”

Tia led her through the kitchen, up the staircase and along to the back of the house, where one of what was obviously meant to be a bedroom was converted into a music room. It was painted a beautiful deep indigo, stark contrast to the white shelves. 

“Back in a minute,” Tia waved, heading back to the stairs. “Make yourself comfy.”

She listened to their footsteps on the staircase fade, turning to take her guitar off her shoulder and remove it from the case. 

Most of the room was filled with accolades. Veronica didn’t want to move too much, didn’t want to disrupt anything, but she carefully walked up to the shelves as if worried it would wake up if she disturbed it. The first shelves were a little newer, and the ones closer to the door had older items - the earliest awards from their career, things from the line of merchandise from when they had been in the band and all the accolades, all lined with a sheen of dust. 

The band merchandise was the strangest to see now that the band hadn’t existed for almost five years, but it came with a warm nostalgia for Veronica, who had watched her sister get into the band as a child and teenager. Keyrings, badges, patches, books, cds, posters. Merch in colours that would come to define their entire careers - magenta for Vic, royal blue for Vanity, orange for Tia and emerald green for Krystal. 

She got to the Barbie doll set that had been made of them all, and remembered with a jolt of warmth her younger sister wanting one (Krystal, of course; all the kids in her class had wanted Krystal), but that would have been a toy, while these had been handled like collectors items. All still in their boxes, they’d been arranged alphabetically, Krystal on the left, then Tia, Vanity, and Victoria on the right. 

She couldn’t help smiling. Krystal probably wouldn’t be seen dead in that green jumpsuit now. And god, the backlash this set got for making Victoria look nothing like herself -

“I miss the dolls.”

Veronica leapt backwards at their voice. “Sorry, I -”

“It’s fine. It’s nice to remember.” Tia chuckled at the dolls. “Funny that we have a reminder of the people we were ten years ago. Or at least, the people we thought we were.”

Veronica held her tongue at that last statement, watched as Tia sat down at the keyboard, putting their fingers down to no sound, before rolling their eyes and flicking the power on. “That would help, wouldn’t it. So. What sort of things do you already have lined up for your album? Is there something in particular you want to write? Do you have some lyrics already and you want to put them to a tune, or do you want to go full into just …” They played a chord with each hand, “just into some music and see where it takes you?”

“There is something I’m working on at the moment,” Veronica began slowly, “or that I need to be working on, anyway. A side project.”

“A side quest?” They chuckled to themself, picking up their tablet and putting it on the keyboard stand. “Okay well, we can have a play with that if you want. Any theme to the side quest?”

“Well, I’m not sure, but it can’t - it can’t be political,” Veronica counted off her fingers, “and it can’t be over three minutes, and it needs to be … like, clean, no swearing or anything in it - ”

“Wait, hold on.” Tia interrupted her, jaw slackening. “Are you entering Eurovision?”

Veronica nodded fervently. “Yeah, actually! Are you a mind reader, how did you guess!”

"Oh, just - ” they shrugged. “But that’s great news. Who’s your label again?”

“Meridian." 

"Oh.” Tia extended their mouth around the sound a little more than necessary, giving a nod. “Right. Okay, well what do you want to write to send to Eurovision then, do you want to something fun and poppy, do you want a dance tune -”

“I don’t know to be honest, I just know I can’t say fuck!”

Veronica laughed at her own remark, and Tia smiled, not joining in.

“Okay, stunning. Do you want a particular key?”

Working with Tia was very different to working with Joe. She was used to playing her guitar while he played his piano, and working with him was slow, but always fun; full of breaks for cups of tea or cigarettes, and never short of innuendo and rude rhymes to her lyrics that didn’t make the final cut but were fun to think of nonetheless. 

But Tia was obviously a professional. Completely focused, tapping things into the screen as they went along, trying out lots of different sounds and suggesting things she hadn’t thought of - key changes, effects, timings that she wouldn’t have used.

Even singing in front of them - something that always worried her when she’d never done it before - today the notes were looser, more fluid with every strum of her plectrum. The nerves that always overgrew her ribcage like weeds in a garden had shrivelled away, her voice ringing out in the small room, while the afternoon faded into a golden evening.

Before they realised, it was half past eight, and Tia put their hand to their mouth.

“Oh, god, I’m sorry, think we lost track of time -“

“No it’s been great, really.” Veronica put the guitar down and dropped her hands into her lap. “We’ve done loads!”

Tia’s smile was stiff. “I’m - sorry, I think I’m a bit rusty, I haven’t written in so long -“

“It’s great, are you joking! We’ve done so much! I’m sorry we’ve overrun, I just got really into it and kept on going!”

“Alright.” Tia linked their hands and stretched them over their head. “It’s been great. But I think it’s time for a bit of a wind-down now.”

“What did you always do after you’ve written a song?” Veronica asked Tia.

“I’ll show you what I’ve done since I came here.” They held out their hand to her. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

She tried to ignore the vague tingle in the palm of their hand when Tia led her out the room and up the stairs to a tiny attic room, decorated in the same sunset orange but with a projector screen on one wall and a few scattered chairs. But they didn’t stop there, leading her out the door there to the rooftop.

“I come out here.” They gestured with a wide sweep of their arm, and Veronica looked all around the view. 

The sun was behind them both, and a cool breeze lifted Veronica’s hair from this height. She could see the river from here, glistening with sunlight, the sky turning pale and the first stars appearing from behind the buildings along the horizon.

She sighed. “I can see why.”

——

Summer went fast with a project. 

Hot, sticky days blasted through London for all of July, and getting the Tube was like walking into a furnace, but Tia’s whole house had air conditioning, and all the free afternoons were much more comfortable inside their wonderful peach-tinted haven. She’d take her guitar to their house - normally Saturdays, but sometimes Sundays - and practise with them until the sun dipped low against the skyscrapers on the horizon, and then rest on the rooftop, relaxing with one of the books from Tia’s pile.

The contrast to working with Tia, having spent so long working with Joe, was striking. Tia saw music as a construct, a mathematical formula, something that working within rules could produce a beautiful and carefully detailed result; while Joe saw it as pure art, as a voice of the soul, that defied regulations. 

Veronica continued to write with Joe as well, mostly weeknights, things for her album; but his relaxed method of working was totally different from Tia’s focused attitude. It was always so free with Joe, just two friends - or maybe more - playing from the heart, making something self-indulgent. But Joe had never worked professionally in the music industry, unless getting hired to play at schools and drama clubs for panto season counted, right now in the middle of summer.

By the end of July, it was time to bring her two worlds together. 

Joe had raised his eyebrows at the guard outside the gate of Tia’s home, more in amusement than anything else, but when he was inside he looked in awe at the lounge, gazing around at the plain and sterile environment of the fake home as Tia called it. 

And when they came out to greet them both, Veronica saw him swallow, and a tendon in his neck pulse, before he smiled his award-winning smile and accepted their handshake. 

"The pleasure is all mine,” he said with a tiny wink, and Veronica could have sworn she saw the muscles in Tia’s face straining, holding back a smile.

Veronica led him up to the music room while Tia stayed downstairs to grab some drinks, and like a moth to a lightbulb Joe wasted no time upon entering to leap onto the stool next to the keyboard, straighten his back, and play a solemn but slightly tinny Clair de Lune. Veronica shook her head with a laugh at his doleful expression as he stroked the keys, and once she’d put her guitar down, she headed back down the stairs to the kitchen to help Tia. 

She found them next to a tray with three tumblers, standing at the sink with their hand on the tap, letting the water run, but not moving to put the jug they held in the other hand under it, frozen like a statue. They had tilted their head upwards, glassy-eyed, to listen to Joe’s playing through the ceiling, and Veronica watched a little smile start, and spread across their cheeks, and her heart melted like the ice cubes in the long-forgotten jug in Tia’s hand.

“Tia.”

They blinked rapidly, putting the jug under the water and looking at her.

“Oh. Hi. Is that …” they pointed upwards, and she nodded. 

“He does this all the time at home.”

“Oh, gorgeous.” Their voice was so quiet it was hard to hear over the water, now overflowing from the jug, and Veronica picked up the tray herself and headed up the stairs.

Part of her stomach was still knotted with nerves, unsure how this would work. After all, Joe and Tia were very very different on the surface with how they approached music and writing songs.

In reality though, Veronica had rarely seen Joe laugh as much as when Tia was up in the room, and Veronica loved how freely Tia danced around, spinning in circles, hooking arms with Veronica and laughing while Joe freestyled melodies for them both. Writing came so easily, so completely with the three of them together, as if they’d already been in a band together and were re-forming. Music flowed, words embraced the notes, song formed itself in a neat parcel.

By eight in the evening, they were exhausted, but not too exhausted to climb to the top floor, go out onto Tia’s rooftop balcony. It was still warm, July turning to August like day turned to night, and the humid air  

Joe stood at the far side, his lighter clicking and clicking as he tried and failed to light his cigarette he’d held off smoking until now. Tia and Veronica stayed at the front, gazed out at the river, tinted orange and blue by the waning sunlight in the sky, breathing in the warm air. 

“It was good, today, wasn’t it.”

She turned to Tia at their words, finding a solemn expression facing the horizon still, their teeth taking their bottom lip into their mouth. 

For one bizarre moment, Veronica pictured herself doing that to them, too. 

“It was … really lovely. Thank you.” She smiled, pushed the thought down. “I’m really happy with how well we all worked together.”

She glanced at Joe, still clicking his lighter, rapid frustrated noises.

“God, I wish we could do this more.”

“We could do this all the time. If you lived closer.”

Veronica snorted. “I can’t see myself being able to afford to live here any time soon.”

Tia made a noise in their throat. “Course you will. Once your career takes off. And it will.”

They didn’t look at her while they spoke, staring straight through the horizon as if seeing something in another universe that Veronica had yet to know.

She could guess though.

Eurovision was something that was watched by millions - no, hundreds of millions of people. It was more than a concert. It was a spectacle, an event, a religious experience for everyone watching. 

And because of that, it had the power to make her or break her. 

One wrong step, one flat note, one fall, one protester hurling eggs at her - and her entirely fragile career could be over before the clock struck midnight like some warped retelling of Cinderella. She’d probably lose her contract with the music label, she’d lose Divina, she’d lose any hope of signing somewhere else. Everything she was building upon, her singing career demolished from the very cornerstones.

But if she got it right …

Pride Challenge Points: 2285