#event025

[giorxcci]

⁎  ‘ 𝙰𝙻𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙰𝙽𝙳𝚁𝙾 𝙳𝙸 𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙾𝙸𝙰 ’ ;  @alessandrxs​

They hadn’t spoken in passing at the tailors. It rubbed Gio sourly when Ale pretended as if he hadn’t existed. Their last bar encounter added insult to injury and by now, he had run dry of ideas to stage a casual run-in. This was a last ditch effort considering he harbored no interest in picking out a ring for the Chinese princess. “Don’t blame Giuliano for lying on my behalf,” he stood in the vault surrounded by jewels of all assortments. It was a decent excuse. A believable excuse. Lily and Gio were to be seen in public and her finger was bare. Although none would be picked for this occasion nor anytime soon. “I just. . .needed somebody to come with me, you know?”

[bangdreaming]

A strong friendship, and an interesting connection!

(Please read each panel from right to left, but the order of panels left to right.)

[giorxcci]

⁎  ‘ 𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙻 𝙳𝙴 𝙱𝚁𝙰𝙶𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙰 ’ ; @aribraganca​

Any and all plans to sleep in were cancelled the instant he’d been informed of a sanctioned family breakfast that required a yacht to be reached. Beautifully carved into the stone of a cliff, it looked as though it had been stolen from a page of Eden with an elaborate red carpet leading the way up to the open dining area. He held out a hand to assist Ariel out of the boat to a sturdy surface. “You go up first. I’m not prepared for Giambattista to lecture on punctuality.” 

[giorxcci]

⁎  ‘ 𝚂𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙰 𝙲𝚉𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙾𝚁𝚈𝚂𝙺𝙰 ’ ; @serpcntine​

It’s a quarter after ten, which was far later than he’d planned on staying out with Giuliano and Edorado. One more drink turned in to two then three and so forth to the point he’s laying sprawled in the back seat of his Rolls Royce – lights from the star ceiling glinting in his eyes. The room wasn’t spinning as of yet until his gaze latches onto a shining blonde head of hair that had him yelling for the chauffeur to halt. “Sera?!” The low timbre of his voice carried out the window and above the screeching tires. “Sera!” The Italian jogged out of the vehicle to match her pace. “Please say you’re headed inside and not in fact leaving.” Gio was the type to enable horrible habits but when it came to Sera he took a different stance. If she were to get hammered then he’d prefer she do it around someone who had her best interest at heart. “I’m trying to have Celine involuntarily force me into a twelve step program or, at the very least, be caught on camera standing on the bar.” The inherent perks of your family controlling the news in your country meant scandals were few and far between.

[giorxcci]

⁎  ‘ 𝚁𝙷𝙸𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙾𝙽 𝙿𝙾𝚆𝚈𝚂 ’ ;   @rhiannonofwales​

“My, my, oh my. I should’ve known you’d be at the pub crawl,” spoken from behind the bar as if he belonged there among the rest of the bartenders but he was busy mixing drinks for himself and a few others after hopping the counter. “What’re you having? I’ll make it. Fair warning though, if I haven’t heard of it you’ll probably end up with something random or unpalatable,” he rolled his dress shirt sleeves even higher. “I’m really good at bullshitting.”

[giorxcci]

⁎  ‘ 𝙻𝚄𝙲𝙸𝙰𝙽𝙰 𝙳𝙸 𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙾𝙸𝙰 ’ ;   @lucianabxlla​

‘Noe, we donate our things we no longer use for those who are in need.’ It was akin to conversing with a brick wall. Despite her age, Noe fought tooth and nail with Gio each step of the way. He tried explaining why their closets in Quirinal could be cleared since they hadn’t visited in a handful of years but she met him with excuses like buying kids new toys or, rather than donating her items they could simply give away his. He rises from his kneeling position to catch Luci’s attention as she passes in the hall. “Luci, you must talk to Noe. She refuses to give me any sort of leeway.” 

[giorxcci]

⁎  ‘ 𝚂𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙰 𝙲𝚉𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙾𝚁𝚈𝚂𝙺𝙰 ’ ; @serpcntine

What happened to a life when the bullet leaves the chambers, when it spun and sputtered through empty space? It screamed, like the wail of metal through air. Such a small, futile thing to destroy a life. A metal piece no larger than a thumb. A lifetime of loss and growth and love threatened in an instance, a candle snuffed out by an anemic draft. For all Ale’s faithful optimism, it failed to help in the end. Sweetness, selflessness, cut down by a sickle fate that reaped monsters and saints alike. Gio was without sleep, eight hours and counting. One step in front of the other, he told himself, aimlessly walking the halls of a closed off wing in the hospital. He refused to leave or eat, instead his arms crossed the breadth of his chest to conceal blood stained hands. He barely remembers the act. He can only wonder what happens once everyone is gone. The staccato of heels down the corridor lured his attention from ruinous thoughts. “Sera,” he croaked out, careful to not unravel his arms despite how much he craved to embrace someone. “I––,” Certainly, he hasn’t breathed at all in the past eight hours. How is he supposed to explain the way his heart is a dead weight in his chest? What is it? What are the words? His misery deepens like a coastal shelf. Is he that poetic now?

[giorxcci]

⁎  ‘ 𝙹𝙸𝙽 𝚇𝙸𝚄𝚈𝙸𝙽𝙶 ’ ;   @jinxiuyin​

“Not shabby,” his hand rested high on her shoulder blade, the other carefully holding the train of her ensemble as to spare the silk from dragging along the cobblestone path. “The reporters will find difficulty mincing your words for a misconstrued soundbite, or worse a political gaffe, and we didn’t even have to practice.” Teasingly, of course. The scores of onlookers were nothing compared to his family socializing inside. “You’re a natural. Greeting the important members of my family shouldn’t take long. I’ve been informed they’re barely recognizable behind the masks.”