* 𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙁𝙀𝘾𝙏 𝙉𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏 @veiledopals - Tumblr Blog

Posts

AESTHETICS / portraits that line the hallway, eyes following your every move. a desperate scream underwater. the clicking of chess pieces across the board. taste of fresh persimmon on your tongue. bird fluttering helplessly in a gilded cage. ribbon pulled taut, threatening to tear. the sudden calmness and rage of the sea. hushed conversations at midnight, secrets traded as a form of currency. ──────────── ( BIOGRAPHY / PINTEREST )

#redsnow.intro #finally. 👏

lasanspareille

EARLY MORNING, ON ONE OF THE MANY BALCONIES, IN THE DAYS AFTER THE MASQUERADE, CATHERINE QUESTIONS SANTICARNO'S DESCENT INTO PURGATORY / OPEN

she should've stayed in bed, that much is true. half-dressed, used to the absence of warmth, catherine finds herself resting her sadness and body on the very edge of an ornate balustrade, as her brown, tired eyes, still heavy with sleep, seek the comfort that only daybreak can bring. here's the thing about women and the sun; one always needs the other. but here and now, enveloped in something red, the princess' lodestar loses all its charm, forcing her to widen her eyes.

she sighs and laughs, as if to empty herself from all the expectations that didn't reach the point of fruition. disappointment then, has her by the scruff of her neck, followed closely by the folly of all that's transpired in the days that stretch between them like a silken thread ready to snap. "is this all there is to it?" to life? or to the sun?

veiledopals

the uncertainty continues to gnaw at her. she’s never liked it—not knowing, not having the answers at her fingertips—that she wonders if this is a mere test to ascertain whether she’s capable enough to push through regardless.

( and she is, she claims, but in the face of a world bathed in crimson, is she? )

it’s the laughter that draws her attention, gaze shifting ever so slowly to the other, registering the face and not yet the name. “and, pray tell, what were you expecting?” better things than this, she guesses, but figures it won’t do her any harm to listen, if not to quieten her worries for a moment. “it’s all far more complicated than we might’ve thought.”

#𝐒𝐄𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐎𝐍 / 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 .#with: catherine

daiyuhua-deactivated20260119

location: the garden, a safe distance from the river. open starter to everyone.

Daiyu found the masquerade a tasteless thing from the start. It was only fair that the Malnoctio-entity, or whatever it had been, had been pissed at their behavior. A deity, from the heavens, quite literally threatened the humanity and what was their reply? To throw a feast and a masked ball, as if the Deity had merely asked them the time. She was not surprised by the acts of retribution, but she had been terrified by it. Why harm the birds and the creatures of the land? What ill did they ever do? Or, perhaps, it had merely been yet another warning for the royals and the nobles of the world.

a deep sigh left her lips as her dark gaze fixed upon the blood red river surrounding the grounds of the royal palace.

What will become of them all? Daiyu wished she knew, but a part of her had dreaded knowing. If the Malnoctio keeps demanding that one life... whose life will it be? She dreaded the answer -- the bloodbath which may follow it. A sound of footsteps made her turn her attention towards the reddish, translucent dome trapping them in. "Do you think there is a way to break this... thing, holding us all hostage here? Everything that is created can also be destroyed, but I don't even know if there is a way to end it. It seems to devour everything that comes near it." she spoke to the person coming to stand beside her.

"What do you make of today? Of Malnoctio and this... crimson plague?"

veiledopals

Nothing had prepared her for this. Countless stories, poems, and tales hadn’t given Seoyeon any indication of what to expect once she left home. Had she known, perhaps, of the threats of danger and death, then she might've chosen to dig in her heels and refuse to leave the comfort (or in this instance, safety) of the palace. Maybe then, she wouldn't need to be confronted by the fact that her view of the world would be forever rattled.

Perhaps. Maybe. Might've. But it was too late to consider the possibilities when she was already here and pacing through the grounds in an attempt to make sense of what had happened.

Empress and Queen. Queen and Empress. Under typical circumstances, Seoyeon would've sought comfort in the presence of another reigning figure, but too conscious of the situation before them, her concerns merely grew. "No, I don’t believe that this being is invincible," she uttered carefully in response to Daiyu's question. "But I'm uncertain if we have enough time to settle on the ideal solution." Nor was Seoyeon confident in whether those present would be willing to work together, or if the ensuing chaos would result in further bloodshed.

Wasn't mankind the most terrifying monsters of all?

Another quick glance towards the vermillion river, and Seoyeon wondered if the growing discomfort in the pit of her stomach would ever ease. “On the one hand, it would be easy to downplay the warning as some dramatic, albeit morbid, form of entertainment." Digging her nails into the palm of her hands, it took everything within her to avoid letting her mind wander to the mocking laughter from moments earlier. "But it feels too real to deem it as such, don't you think?" The death, the redness, the eerie silence that engulfed them. "It would serve us well to exercise caution towards Malnoctio and the plague, and begin preparing something." A beat. "We can't afford to be complacent. Not anymore."