facades

princess irina romanova of russia, forty-one

[rcmvncv]

𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟕, 𝐒𝐭. 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠

Maybe tearing Irina away from her family had been selfish of him but he had felt like having her around and fortunately she had seemed willing to come for a visit. “I think the kitchen still remembers your favourite brew,” he told her as he set the cup of tea in front of his sister. He had a glass of bourbon for himself: he had a feeling he might need it. His eyes remained fixated on his hands as he sat down. “Thanks for coming. It’s been a rough two months.” ( ** @irinvs​ )

[irinvs-a]

“as they should. you pay them far too much to forget such an important thing.” she was only partially kidding, but then again it wasn’t the topic of the day. when lyosha had asked her to visit she hadn’t hesitated before booking her flight. he had sounded bad and now that he was in front of her eyes, she could see that he looked even worse. “of course.” declining had never been a possibility. “i can see that. i haven’t asked for details since i didn’t want to pry, but if you want to talk, i’m here.”

[irinvs-a]

𝚊𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟷. 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚔, 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚜. // @yvrivic​

she hadn’t suspected a thing. maybe she should have, given the countless warnings she had heard about roman yurivic. she definitely should have, given the sight in front of her. “what the hell, roman?” the volume of her voice was loud enough that it would probably detangle him from the leggy brunette. “who is that?”

[irinvs-a]

“i am so glad we could finally arrange this meeting.” her smile was genuine as she poured herself a cup of tea. “there’s white tea in the other pot. i am dreadfully conservative when it comes to tea and i heard that you prefer white so two pots it is.” // @jin-xue​

[irinvs-a]

kcstyv‌:

the utter glee in her tone is so palpable, he’s defenseless against the boyish smile that creeps onto his face. “ well that depends on what you remember, ” he’s deflecting, again. “ anyway, make sure you have white tea imported before you have her over. don’t insult her by asking if she wants sugar — she doesn’t. ”

“i’m not sure. maybe you should refresh my memory – what is she like?” kostya might be good at avoiding her questions, but she has three decades of practice. “thank you. i’ll have a pot of white for her, no sugar. i only drink black tea, or as lesya likes to call it, sugar with a splash of tea, but we can’t all have a delightfully russian taste when it comes to tea. “

[irinvs-a]

kcstyv‌:

the corners of his lips curl into a smirk, but he refuses to give her the satisfaction of the ‘ yes ‘ she desires. “ have you ? she’s expecting an invitation for tea, you know ? ”

“so you have spoken to her!” she doesn’t even try to tone down how delighted she is. now that nadya and anya are gone, kostya is the only one she can truly bother. “i wanted to know whether you had met her before inviting her. is she still as lovely as i remember?”

[irinvs-a]

“have you spoken to xue yet?”  // @kcstyv​

[alessandrxs-a]

*   𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚   ,   𝑟   .   ⤿   @irinvs​   .

           ❛      his   name   is   milo   ,   by   the   way   ,      ❜      he   informs   after   introducing   irina   to   his   still   young   pup   .   finding   a   name   for   him   was   the   most   difficult   thing   ale   thinks   he’s   every   done   ,   military   be   damned   .   he   smiles   .      ❛      lesya   said   he   looks   like   a   charlie   .   i   think   he   likes   you   .      ❜

[irinvs-a]

she hums in delight, having already knelt to greet the dog properly. animals have never been a particular interest of hers, but an occasional dog will make her happy. “a charlie? maybe. milo suits him well.” every single time when she meets an adorable dog, she wants one too. maybe she’ll finally cave in to vasya’s endless requests? “does he now? he is adorable. is he still very young?”

[irinvs-a]

who are you most comfortable around?

“my family, but especially gavril. that’s what happens after spending eighteen years with someone.”

[irinvs-a]

who is your favourite one direction member and why

“i remember lesya gushing over a certain fellow named niall a few years ago and i think it had something to do with this band? i don’t have a personal opinion so i might as well share my daughter’s.”

[irinvs-a]

kcstyv‌:

he takes a generous sip of her own drink before he’s willing to speak, “ hey, she’ll be okay. lenya is tough. ” equally as a reassurance for himself as it is for his sister. his hand rests on her knee, attempting to provide her with a little comfort, though the light chuckle he forces doesn’t sound nearly as convincing as he’d hoped it would. “ lesya was the most stressful. it’s normal to worry. ”

“yes.” no matter how many times they say the words out loud, they don’t seem to work. it only means they can only wait. why she has ever tried to persuade her siblings to procreate? knowing that there is absolutely nothing she can do, that’s absolutely terrible. “if you say so.” she sighs. “it was eighteen years ago. yet it feels like no time has passed. it has, though – you’re not sixteen anymore.”

[irinvs-a]

miilenv‌:

“ i think she worried more than i did. i can hardly blame her. ” the situations were different, between ekaterina’s birth, and kseniya’s, but the similarities that did occur were almost too close for comfort. but it was all worth it in the end. “ i debated it, and yes, she’s going to be a romanov. she hardly counts as pyotr’s daughter. ” she didn’t count at all, considering she wasn’t even remotely biologically related to him, and thank god for that. “ the only baby i can remember being this small was alyona, but i think that has more to do with the fact that i was just so fascinated by her. but katya… she’s tiny. ”

“it must have been difficult for her. what a brave girl.” irina’s maternal instincts had always been impressive, and they had been directed at kseniya ever since she had been born. “she’s your daughter, first and foremost. oh, she will be magnificent.” she beamed. irina had never particularly liked pyotr, anyways. “in reality the twins were the small ones. but i remember holding lesya when she was only a day old and thinking that she must have been the smallest child ever. “ the wonder never faded, not really. even after eighteen years, she remembered the moment like it had happened yesterday. “your katya, she is small now, but she’ll grow up to be just as fierce as her mother.”

[irinvs-a]

it’s what y’all have been waiting for ... the results of THE IRINA TEST, ayo’s coronation-edition

the rules are mostly simple; the less revealing your dress is, the more acceptable you are. four categories: fail, not sure, barely passing, passing with flying colors. as always, if you feel like your character is in the wrong category, lmk.

1. FAIL – 11 (+6)

silje, sutton, gaia, alina, sylvia, nylane, tilly, ariel, sabrina, anastasia, kristina

2. NOT SURE – 4 (-4)

juliana (it’s a tits out look), elyse (sheer), dalia (the slit), ilona (legs),

3. BARELY PASSING – 14 (-2)

armani, kseniya, aiko, kenny, vita, layla, leonor, nike, louise, fanni, freja, natalia, despina, dianna

4. PASSING WITH FLYING COLORS – 32 (+6)

cecilia, barbie, renée, irena, femke, inari, pia, lisette, esmeray, noori, anneli, hanne, mieke, rhiannon (if it’s not sheer), xiuying, xue, natasja, mirjam, stella, wilhelmina, sara elena, catherine, mimi, astrid, vitaliya, arabella, aisling, olimpia, lena, luciana, arielle, cordelia

EXTRAS bc i made an excel for this

two category fours in a row: mimi, anneli, inari, willa, natasja, mirjam, sara elena, astrid, esmeray, catherine, olimpia

two category ones in a row: alina

biggest positive change: luciana, pia ( 1 -> 4 )

biggest negative change: juliana, elyse ( 4 -> 2 ), sutton, gaia ( 3 -> 1 )

[irinvs-a]

kcstyv‌:

his jaw had been clenched shut since the second the news had reached him. a celebration was hardly the place for kostya to be recoiled in a vacant corner, but his mind was clearly elsewhere, as was irina’s. the expression changes to one that resembles a smile for a fraction of a second as the waiter hands him the two drinks. “ she’ll be fine, irina. ” her words are far from reassuring, and they both need a drink. 

she should probably stop worrying, or at least stop voicing her thoughts out loud. it couldn’t be helped, though. irina had been sixteen when their aunt katya had died and even after three successful pregnancies, the ghost of that memory hadn’t quite faded. “i know.” she snatched the other drink from kostya’s hand and took a sizable gulp of it. “i know. is this always so nerve-wracking?”

[irinvs-a]

“you heard it, right? that lenya is having the baby right now?” they were not the most eloquent words she had ever said, but she tended to become flustered in sudden situations. “she’s going to be fine, right? giving birth doesn’t really kill anyone anymore, she’s going to be fine.” // @kcstyv​

[irinvs-a]

miilenv‌:

“ please, sit. do you want some tea ? ” her teacup sat in front of her, cooling down without her taking even a sip. she hadn’t been able to do anything except stare at her daughter in complete and utter rapture. “ it went well enough, it was quick, i started having pains last night and i was about to get ready when everything happened. kseniya was here in her gown. ” only her child would be greeted by her aunt and father in full formal regalia, it was certainly dramatic enough. “ ekaterina viktoria. for my mother, viktoria is a family name. ” milena shifted katya’s small body so she could offer irinka a hold, something she knew her cousin would be dying to do. “ she’s very insistent on attention being paid to her already, though i don’t think she’ll find herself lacking with all of us around her. ”

she quickly shook her head. any tea she had would just end up getting cold since she was far too excited to meet lenya’s daughter. “good. it is lucky that kseniya was present.” she couldn’t even imagine going through something so grueling alone. irina smiled as she nodded when hearing the child’s name. taking hold of her was easy with her experience, and she cooed at the child, completely enchanted by her. “it is a beautiful name. will she be a romanov?” she asked while she marveled how small the baby was. “she’s the first baby in almost seven years, she will have all the attention.”

[miilenv-archived]

it was a strange situation, one she was hardly prepared for, but it was all worth it now that her daughter was comfortably snoozing away in the crook of her arm. lenya had debated waiting until they were back in phuket to start introducing ekaterina to her family members, but she’d had a shower and she’d told miriam to extend an invite in case anyone wanted to come by before they flew out. so while the baby slept she dressed herself and waited for clementine to let them in one by one. “ she’s sleeping, ” she warned as they entered.

@rcmvncv​​ @irinvs​​ @kcstyv​ @ncdyc​ @mimidbg​ @elenasturias​ @ariellevalois​

[irinvs-a]

the news of lenya’s labour starting had been shocking. as a result, she had spent the entire time worrying over lenya. waiting until back in phuket would have been unbearable, so irina was very glad to hear that lenya would allow visitors. “i’ll keep quiet.” she reassured her cousin as she walked in. “i was so worried the whole time! did it go well? or, as well as it can go, i suppose. it is never a pleasant experience.” she grimaced, though it transformed into a glorious smile as soon as she noticed the newest member of the romanov family. “oh, she is beautiful! do you have a name already?”

[irinvs-a]

her royal highness, princess irina romanova of russia, attending the coronation of king ayo of south africa in a beautiful gucci gown, wearing a cartier tiara.