𝖌𝖗𝖊𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖑𝖞.

[ she/her ]

[fiurefly]

iu | 𝓭𝓪𝔃𝓮𝓭

[venilis]

“I wouldn’t just die for you– I would kill for you."

Oh, how she hated it when Cal sprung words from his heart on her at random. Had her gils not just flattened down into the skin of her neck so that her lungs could fill with air, she would have thought she'd still been unable to breath in the air. Cal was so... so quiet and mousy whenever he spoke, and even when he didn't he seemed too soft. And, yet, it was with that same too-gentle manner that he was able to move her heart in such a fashion. She blinked owlishly up at him with eyes that still held a faint blue glow, her body still partially still seabound. It was a rare moment in that their faces were almost leveled: he sat low, close to the ground, and she was pushed up partially onto the shore of the beach, hands planted firmly in the sand as she dragged herself from the sea.

"How could you..." she closed her mouth before she could say anything else, shaking her head from side to side in disbelief though her eyes held a certain fondness she reserved for only him and Eleri. "Alright. Come here, I suppose this is what you want, then," she said, a grunt pulling at her final words as she pulled her soaking body further onto land. She lifted one arm to wrap around Cal's neck, doing the same with the other once her grip one him was secure. Using him as leverage, she pulled the last of her tail onto the sand, allowing herself to slide into his lap as she did so. Without any hesitation, she planted a firm kiss to both of his cheeks, then a softer one to his lips. When she leaned back to look at him, there was a sly smile on her own.

"Don't tell Ellie. She'll get upset she didn't come with us and demand extra later."

[venilis]

“What are you afraid of?”

Yuliya let out an insulted scoff. “How could you even ask me that?” She complained, though her tired, whiny voice lacked the usual intensity and pitch she tended to have when Eleri called out her needless pessimistic thoughts. “What if they loathe my designs? What if they all just need an entertaining break from their mundane and uninteresting existences and decided to invite the tiny Undersea fae to giggle away at her work? Then what?” With a lazy nudge of her foot, she inched the other fae over, letting her body go lax as she ungracefully flopped onto the warm bed. With slow movements she maneuvered her and El until she was curled snuggly around the other’s form, her head pillowed comfortably on El’s stomach. It was a position she found herself in often when stress ate away at her focus. All she needed was Cal to come back from whatever library he’d been fawning over books in so that he could lay beside her as well, the two of them providing the shield from reality she so desperately craved.

With an upset noise, she wrapped an arm around El’s hips and pushed her bottom lip out to form a heavy pout. She shifted her head to look at El and batted her eyes. “Quit asking me questions you know the answers to. Just hold me.”

[venilis]

“Me, jealous? That would imply that I care.”

“Aw,” Yuliya’s voice dripped with amusement, mischief sparkling in her eyes. “I never said that you were jealous, I only thought that maybe... there was a bit of bitterness in that complement you gave. A little disappointment... or even anger, perhaps?” A soft laugh escaped her. The shorter fae held her head high, the sheer expanse of the ego she exuded making up for her stature. She knew Aurelia admired her craft. A small part of Yuliya enjoyed dangling the fruits of her labor in front of the summer fae’s eyes, letting her see the beauty she could create but never giving her something of her own. “But, I suppose, if you automatically jumped to jealously, of all things... then by all means!”

[venilis]

“Indulge me, tell me something that few know about you."

“Oh, is that what you wanted to ask,” came her uninterested voice. Yuliya’s focus did not budge from the fruit she was peeling in her hands, fringe falling into her eyes and obscuring the form of the other in her peripheral vision. Successfully pulling one of the many slices from its core, she popped the piece into her mouth with a quick flick and finally tilted her head back. “Hmm. Well.” Yuliya tossed her hair back and chewed the sweet treat obnoxiously loud. Her eyes sized Sayf up and down, thoughts swirling in her head like wine. Something that only a select few knew- was it? There was much about her that fae in the High court didn’t know. Much that they would never know if she could have it her way. “Feeling like you want to be my companion, do you? I’ll tell you this: I hate the taste of meat that isn’t fish. Being raised in the water shapes your pallet like that, you know. I don’t know how any of you here eat all that meat."

[venilis]

“You’re driving away every soul that has ever cared for you.”

“Have you any genuine reason to be here?” Yuliya spat, eyes narrowing at the woman who stood before her. “I’m busy, if you haven’t noticed. If you’ve nothing important to tell me- get out of the way and go.” The Undersea fae was unpolished: robes wrinkled and askew, her hair only barely tied out of the way in a bun so loose more strands fell out of place with every movement. Having to redesign a garment for the fourth time left her with a fraying string of patience, waiting to snap at any notice. She had no time to waste standing around with someone who clearly didn’t have a care in the world for wasting Yuliya’s time. And for what did the other have to gain from telling her as much, anyways? There was no soul left close to Yuliya, she’d driven them away decades ago. 

[archive-highcourthq]

HIGHCOURTHQ MEME DAY

hello everyone! as promised, WEDNESDAYS will be our designated meme day! please make sure to be as inclusive as possible and send one to everyone who participates. for now, we ask that you refrain from reblogging other memes not posted to the main. and as always, have fun!

SUMMER COURT

“You are the warmest place I know.” “I think I’ve had too much wine, the room is beginning to spin.” “How much longer do I have to keep swallowing my desires for you?” “You took the sun when you left.” “I’ve never felt more alive than when I’m with you.” “Who’s blood is that?“ 

 WINTER COURT 

"How do I learn to accept love, when all I’ve known is pain?” “To hate is an easy thing.” “You’re a weapon, and weapons don’t weep.” “All that blood was beautiful.” “You’re driving away every soul that has ever cared for you.” “I forgot, you don’t care about anything.” “I wouldn’t just die for you– I would kill for you." 

UNDERSEA  COURT

"Are you really going to leave without asking me whatever it is you’ve been dying to ask?” “What are you afraid of?” “You aren’t just beautiful, you are otherworldly and vaguely terrifying.” “I miss the stars.” “Indulge me, tell me something that few know about you." 

HIGH COURT 

"It is probably in your best interest to stay as far away from me as possible.” “Me, jealous? That would imply that I care.” “Be careful, you sound genuinely concerned for me.” “But what if I don’t want the crown, what if I want to watch the kingdom burn down?” “We have the power to hurt one another.” “You’re either with me, or against me.”

[oceanbllvd-deactivated20230417]

eight

[venilis]

maelstrom-cal‌:

“I always find my way back, sooner or later.” He trails off with a twist in the pit of his insides that feels like something trying to creep and crawl through them; some monster of regretful history that still fed itself upon the coagulated blood of past wounds. Oh, if only they would stitch together and finally heal, but every time they might have something hooked into them and tore flesh back apart. 

Always, always, he found his path to old places, old faces, and a lifetime that he refused to allow the glint of gold to fade from even if, obviously, it had turned to tarnished brass to the ones he had shared it with. So be it, Cal granted it and said nothing to spoil her anger because it wasn’t his place to deny anyone the feelings that laced up their heart. It might have been the stitching to her wounds, that, and if he couldn’t spare himself the bloodshed he would her; it wasn’t as though he hadn’t been braced for a knife. How could it have been anything else? He was the fool, after all, who kept them when neither had wanted to keep him.  

He was lost, in a million ways, and just as she had in the past she saw through them to the hesitant boy behind his eyes. Bolder now, true, but still not brazen the way Yu could stand with teeth bared. To have them bared to him though, now that cut a deep ache. All he could do was keep his feet under him and his head lifted, face the tusmani of it all. But it was peeling back his skin, rubbing raw in spots, his jaw clinched at the mockery because that was too much of an echo of the life the two of them had given him freedom from growing up. Yu knew him too well, knew the barbs that would truly dig in deeply. 

“Don’t,” his voice finally dipped into weariness as he saw the mistake in it, “I shouldn’t have asked.” But what was he best at? Mistakes and missteps, turning the world around him into chaos with his own calamity. Want to see them both was a tired plea upon his lips but never should have passed them; it was just the want to see them well though, ultimately. He had his answer for her, in all her finery and purpose wrapped soundly around her; Yu might have been happy.

It was ill timing though, already he could feel the tick of time at the back of his mind, counting seconds until he would have to return to Rowan. Just another stolen moment though, he was too selfish to go just yet. It might have been the last one to steal, if Yu’s clenched jaw and the uneasiness in her eyes told tales; he didn’t want to be the cause of her misery. Life had required sacrifices of each of them but he had never wanted that sacrifice to be the ones he held closest. 

Still, the twitch of his hand reminded him that it was meant to be wrapped around the hilt of a sword, the price he did not regret but longed for a way that might have granted him everything; why life couldn’t allow it Cal had little idea but felt the unfair edge to it so much stronger in that moment than the past months and years; distance brought a degree of comfort that had sloughed away. “It won’t be for long, if that’s any solace.” Cal gave her that, the Court was large and she had the advantage of knowing where he might be found much of the time. “I’ll be just another ghost again soon enough.” He was a shadow, after all, to the heiress, if Yu was so intensely determined to have nothing to do with him the answer was easy enough; she could avoid him. 

The difficulty of resisting was ever mounting behind her eyes. A desire to throw all the efforts she’d made up until that point was overcoming her. No matter how much she struggled internally to hold back her tongue, the turbulent ocean of her heart had been close to bursting for far too many decades. Being so close to Cal was only stirring the waters, pushing it against the dams she’d built to save herself from so much misery. 

Tell him off and run. Spit out a warning to stay away and run. Say nothing and run. Turn around- just run, damn it!

She’d done it for decades, what was so different? Decades of creating a mask for herself, never having to face the truth if she never needed to approach the sleeping beast. All that time and effort- and for what? Not even minutes into seeing him again and her mask was cracking. Yuliya couldn’t let this happen. And yet, when she willed her legs to turn her and find a different route to the main hall, she found that she couldn’t will her body to move.

She couldn’t move. All she could do was stand there and stare at any and everything that wasn’t the Undersea fae that stood before her. Did he feel the same? Was he unable to bring himself to leave? No, she knew him better. Cal would make himself leave if he thought that was something she wanted. Though- was that what she wanted? What did she, at that very moment, faced with a phantom from her past so that was far more lively and both exactly how she remembered and completely new at the same time, want? For the first time in many, many years, Yuliya was at a loss. She didn’t know what she wanted. The only thing she knew was that her newfound position so close to the to-be Queen was built on years of neglecting her emotional desires for societal gain. The stubborn, scornful part of her hissed at the thought of all that work crumbling for just the mere suggestion of being hugged by Cal. In that very same breath, however, her heart wept for the emptiness that filled her.

And for a moment, her mask slipped.

Yuliya’s head dropped to her chest and her shoulders slumped, the ridge posture she’d forced her body into leaving her muscles stinging with tiredness. With exhaustion- just like the rest of her. The memories of embraces she could relax into and allow herself to be vulnerable in were too tempting. No. She knew what she wanted. She’d always known, deep down. That was the problem. No amount of distraction or work could ever truly change the truth, could it?

Then, just as soon as she’d shown her weakness, the reality came back to hit her in the face. And then- only then, did the fae find the strength in her to turn around. Her heels clicked loudly against the tile as she moved her feet to turn. She continued to say nothing. Speaking would only chance fate and give her heart the chance to cry out for the bare slivers of affection it craved. She continued to stand there. At least the least deserving victim of her scorn and bitterness was no longer staring her down in the face.

[venilis]

iceheartcd‌:

             𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.   for the cold  &  ice was something always associated with bitterness.  as opposed to the joy people derived from summer,  winter was a bitter fate that loomed over all.  except for her   & the select few she’d accepted into her court over the years.   it seemed that only they say the  BEAUTY  in the cold.   it’s crystal white glistening with the hint of — purple?   she blinked.   this was not a delusion.  there was someone sat in the ice gardens.   her ice gardens.   she was in good mind to be her usual self  & tell the fae to vacate this place.   but  instead,  aster approached. 

             ‘ you shouldn’t be here. ’    she spoke ominously as she approached.  deliberately framing her words as a warning until she flashed a pearly smile,  ‘ at least,  not whilst you’re wearing that  GHASTLY  thing. ’   all of a sudden she began to chuckle,   quickly falling into hysterics as she took in the appearance of the  practically  frozen woman in purple.   with a devious smirk she let her fur coat slide off her shoulders,  landing in a pile at her feet.   she did not require it’s warmth here,  for the cold wind did not affect her in the same way.  instead,   it greeted her like an old friend as she sat down next to the other.   ‘ isn’t this place amazing? ’

The sound of another’s voice so suddenly spooked the Undersea fae ever so, but she only showed as much in the fraction of a moment her shoulders hitched and her eyes widened to a size that rivaled a round, full moon. The surprise, however, was short-lived as an emotion more akin to insult flashed over her. “Ghastly?” She echoed, disbelief in her voice. A scoff followed it, and Yuliya watched as the Winter queen dropped the fur cover at her feet. “I may not be a fae of winter, but I can hold myself just fine in the cold.” Despite her words, she leaned forward to grab the other’s coat, if only to not face scorn from not taking the other’s form of generosity when she saw it.

Even though she wouldn’t admit it, the cold was a bit more bearable with the fur coat placed neatly on her lap. Yuliya hummed her agreement softly, the noise almost lost to the all-absorbing quietness of the winter around them. “It’s impressive in its own right. While it doesn’t give the satisfaction of being in the ocean… water is water.” She ran a finger over the fur, collecting the space droplets of melting snow and rubbing it between her fingers. Before continuing, she shrugged, turning to look at the fae as she sat down. “Besides the visual appeal, it’s quiet. The events at the coronation left me with a headache. I was thinking that no one else would have desired to sit in an icebox after all that happened… but it seems that I forgot about a certain type of fae, hm?”

[venilis]

❝ I am not at all surprised that the world says that you are extremely wicked. ❞

A breath of laughter left Yuliya as she tossed her hair back. “My,” she breathed, awe and shock dripping from her voice as she drew out the sound. She smiled, painted lips perfectly framing the smile fit for a shark that she wore. “You agree with them? Coming from someone of your prestige- that’s more of a compliment than anything else.”  

[venilis]

❝ You like your art better than your friends. ❞

Oh. The only word that crossed Yuliya’s mind the moment Seladon’s words registered in her mind. She was frozen where she stood, hands lifted to wrap her hair up, out of the way into a bun so she could work. Oh. That’s right. There was no doubt in her mind that out of any fae outside of the Undersea court, Seladon would be someone who knew. She had requested Yuliya to design for her, after all. There must have been an elder from the sea that told her of Yuliya’s misguided actions. Her fingers went lax as she thought and the purple strands slipped from her grip unceremoniously. When she turned to face the Queen, her face was smoothed over in a look of indifference, but her eyes had an edge of coldness to them. For a brief moment of time, she said nothing, only looked at the other fae.

Then, a bitter smile appeared. “It’s quite cruel of you to mention them, here, of all places,” Yuliya said simply, returning to her task soon thereafter as though nothing had been said at all.

[venilis]

gildedlucius‌:

Her syllables draw his gaze, stalling at the curve of her mouth before meeting irises the hue of the sea’s depth, “as you wish.” The intentional distance she places between their frames prompts the lift of a brow, levity twisting at Lu’s lips, “you’re Yuliya, yes?” features tilt, stray beams from the moon cast shadows to cheekbones cut high, “they speak of you as though you can turn milk to honey. Or, perhaps, sand to silk?” his tongue meets teeth with an audible tsk, “no matter, they speak fondly of your skill within the summer court,” Lucius had unravelled enough fabric from the silhouettes of others to recognize her work. He takes a draw from the bottle, the curve of a thumb lifting to swipe at a stray bead of wine resting at the corner of his bottom lip, “will Seladon’s attire at the coronation be of your doing?” 

“I am.” She replied, taking a small, slow sip of the wine she held. So he’d heard of her- as did everyone else. But not everyone was so quick to put her name to her face. A pleased look settled over my features. “Yes, I do get quite a few requests from the Summer court. Funny you should mention it- much of what fae from there want is silken clothing. Even more than those in the High court.” She chuckled lifelessly, though her eyes twinkled with humor as she turned back to face Lu. “Mh. It was quite an arduous task to design to everyone’s preference, you know. There’s only so many times in one’s life that they can be crowned. It had to be perfect for the spectacle.” 

[venilis]

cordeliaes‌:

“ surely, ” she dipped her head in agreement, “ you are lucky to be viewed so highly by not only your court, but by all of them. many go overlooked. ” cordelia supposed it was like that in the mortal realm too, competition raging but only a certain few ever reaching fame and notoriety. somehow, it seemed all the more cutthroat in fae. they were much more fickle with their attention, it being fleeting, coming and going with merely a blink of an eye. “ have you something spectacular planned for the coronation ? “

A sweet smile crossed Yuliya’s face. She hummed in agreement, taking a small bite of the hors d'oeuvre she held. “It’s nice to see a human with an eye for true beauty,” she replied, crossing one arm over her chest and resting the hand in the crook of her other’s elbow. “So many times I’ve gone to fashion events held by them in their realm and been so bored. Ah, but I suppose it isn’t their fault- they’re limited to their mortal minds.” Her voice took on an almost disappointed tone as she punctuated her words with a soft sigh.

“Mm. But not for I. For our to-be-crowned.”

[ask-meme-addicts]

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" sentence starters

❝ There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. ❞

❝ The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world. ❞

❝ We shall all suffer for what the gods have given us, suffer terribly. ❞

❝ I have grown to love secrecy. ❞

❝ Your cynicism is simply a pose. ❞

❝ You know we poor artists have to show ourselves in society from time to time, just to remind the public that we are not savages. ❞

❝ Conscience and cowardice are really the same things. ❞

❝ I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. ❞

❝ A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. ❞

❝ Is that very vain of me? I think it is rather vain. ❞

❝ None of us can stand other people having the same faults as ourselves. ❞

❝ I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world. ❞

❝ There is nothing that art cannot express. ❞

❝ The harmony of soul and body—how much that is! We in our madness have separated the two, and have invented a realism that is vulgar, an ideality that is void. ❞

❝ My heart shall never be put under their microscope. ❞

❝ It is only the intellectually lost who ever argue. ❞

❝ I feel that I have given away my whole soul to someone who treats it as if it were a flower to put in his coat, a bit of decoration to charm his vanity, an ornament for a summer’s day.” ❞

❝ In the wild struggle for existence, we want to have something that endures, and so we fill our minds with rubbish and facts, in the silly hope of keeping our place. ❞

❝ Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithless who know love’s tragedies. ❞

❝ People are afraid of themselves, nowadays. ❞

❝ Courage has gone out of our race. Perhaps we never really had it. ❞

❝ Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. ❞

❝ The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. ❞

❝ Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul. ❞

❝ You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know. ❞

❝ Wherever you go, you charm the world. Will it always be so? ❞

❝ Time is jealous of you, and wars against your lilies and your roses. ❞

❝ Our limbs fail, our senses rot. We degenerate into hideous puppets, haunted by the memory of the passions of which we were too much afraid, and the exquisite temptations that we had not the courage to yield to. ❞

❝ You like your art better than your friends. ❞

❝ I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. ❞

❝ Young people, nowadays, imagine that money is everything. ❞

❝ Credit is the capital of a younger son, and one lives charmingly upon it. ❞

❝ Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic. ❞

❝ The way of paradoxes is the way of truth. ❞

❝ I can sympathize with everything except suffering. ❞

❝ Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world’s original sin. If the caveman had known how to laugh, history would have been different. ❞

❝ Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one’s mistakes. ❞

❝ You are quite delightful and dreadfully demoralizing. ❞

❝ I am always late on principle, the principle being that punctuality is the thief of time. ❞

❝ I adore it, but I am afraid of it. It makes me too romantic. ❞

❝ Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. ❞

❝ Passion is the privilege of people who have nothing to do. ❞

❝ If I ever did a crime, I would come and confess it to you. You would understand me. ❞

❝ When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one’s self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance. ❞

❝ There is always something infinitely mean about other people’s tragedies. ❞

❝ I want to make Romeo jealous. I want the dead lovers of the world to hear our laughter and grow sad. I want a breath of our passion to stir their dust into consciousness, to wake their ashes into pain. ❞

❝ People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves. It is what I call the depth of generosity. ❞

❝ The only artists I have ever known who are personally delightful are bad artists. ❞

❝ It often happens that when we think we were experimenting on others we are really experimenting on ourselves. ❞

❝ Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them. ❞

❝ To be in love is to surpass one’s self. ❞

❝ Poor? What does that matter? When poverty creeps in at the door, love flies in through the window. ❞

❝ Our proverbs want rewriting. They were made in winter, and it is summer now; springtime for me, I think, a very dance of blossoms in blue skies. ❞

❝ I shudder at the thought of being free. ❞

❝ I know you would never harm anyone I love, would you? ❞

❝ Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives. ❞

❝ Of course, it is sudden—all really delightful things are. ❞

❝ The reason we all like to think so well of others is that we are all afraid for ourselves. The basis of optimism is sheer terror. ❞

❝ Unselfish people are colourless. They lack individuality. ❞

❝ You are much better than you pretend to be. ❞

❝ I cannot understand how anyone can wish to shame the thing he loves. ❞

❝ When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy. ❞

❝ The real tragedy of the poor is that they can afford nothing but self-denial. Beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich. ❞

❝ Being adored is a nuisance. ❞

❝ You are dreadful! I don’t know why I like you so much. ❞

❝ You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit. ❞

❝ Love is a more wonderful thing than art. ❞

❝ There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating—people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing. ❞

❝ The secret of remaining young is never to have an emotion that is unbecoming. ❞

❝ I knew nothing but shadows, and I thought them real. ❞

❝ You taught me what reality really is. ❞

❝ You used to stir my imagination. Now you don’t even stir my curiosity. ❞

❝ I have grown sick of shadows. ❞

❝ You don’t know what you were to me, once. ❞

❝ You have spoiled the romance of my life. ❞

❝ Without your art, you are nothing. ❞

❝ There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people whom one has ceased to love. ❞

❝ There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. ❞

❝ I can’t bear the idea of my soul being hideous. ❞

❝ You cut life to pieces with your epigrams. ❞

❝ Things like that make a man fashionable in Paris. But in London people are so prejudiced. ❞

❝ One should never make one’s début with a scandal. One should reserve that to give an interest to one’s old age. ❞

❝ How extraordinarily dramatic life is! ❞

❝ I don’t think I am heartless. Do you? ❞

❝ The moment she touched actual life, she marred it, and it marred her. ❞

❝ Life has everything in store for you, ❞

❝ We live in an age that reads too much to be wise, and that thinks too much to be beautiful. ❞

❝ If one doesn’t talk about a thing, it has never happened. It is simply expression that gives reality to things. ❞

❝ You must not tell me about things. What is done is done. What is past is past. ❞

❝ I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them. ❞

❝ You talk as if you had no heart, no pity in you. ❞

❝ if I told you, you might like me less than you do, and you would certainly laugh at me. I could not bear your doing either of those two things. ❞

❝ Your friendship is dearer to me than any fame or reputation. ❞

❝ You became to me the visible incarnation of that unseen ideal whose memory haunts us artists like an exquisite dream. ❞

❝ Whatever I have done that is good, I owe to you. ❞

❝ There is something fatal about a portrait. It has a life of its own. ❞

❝ Perhaps one should never put one’s worship into words. ❞

❝ There seems to be something tragic in a friendship so colored by romance. ❞

❝ It has a corruption of its own, worse than the corruption of death itself—something that would breed horrors and yet would never die. ❞

❝ The past can always be annihilated. ❞

❝ How exquisite life had once been! How gorgeous in its pomp and decoration! Even to read of the luxury of the dead was wonderful. ❞

❝ Is insincerity such a terrible thing? I think not. It is merely a method by which we can multiply our personalities. ❞

❝ I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else. ❞

❝ I love scandals about other people, but scandals about myself don’t interest me. They have not got the charm of novelty. ❞

❝ You don’t want people to talk of you as something vile and degraded. ❞

❝ You must not say things like that. They are horrible, and they don’t mean anything. ❞

❝ You have had more to do with my life than you think. ❞

❝ Each of us has heaven and hell in him. ❞

❝ Youth smiles without any reason. It is one of its chiefest charms. ❞

❝ Keep your horrible secrets to yourself. They don’t interest me any more. ❞

❝ What is it to me what devil’s work you are up to? ❞

❝ I wish you had a thousandth part of the pity for me that I have for you. ❞

❝ The husbands of very beautiful women belong to the criminal classes. ❞

❝ I am not at all surprised that the world says that you are extremely wicked. ❞

❝ It is perfectly monstrous, the way people go about nowadays saying things against one behind one’s back that are absolutely and entirely true. ❞

❝ Nowadays all the married men live like bachelors, and all the bachelors like married men. ❞

❝ Everybody I know says you are very wicked. ❞

❝ I like men who have a future and women who have a past. ❞

❝ Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast. ❞

❝ He atones for being occasionally somewhat overdressed by being always absolutely overeducated. He is a very modern type. ❞

❝ What do you want? Money? Here it is. Don’t ever talk to me again. ❞

❝ Each man lives his own life and pays his own price for living it. ❞

❝ The man who could call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for. ❞

❝ I think that it is better to be beautiful than to be good. But on the other hand, no one is more ready than I am to acknowledge that it is better to be good than to be ugly. ❞

❝ To be popular one must be a mediocrity. ❞

❝ We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible. ❞

❝ I wish I could love, but I seem to have lost the passion and forgotten the desire. ❞

❝ My own personality has become a burden to me. ❞

❝ Death is the only thing that ever terrifies me. ❞

❝ The world has always worshipped you. It always will worship you. ❞

❝ Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets. ❞

❝ The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame. That is all. ❞

❝ The world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curves of your lips rewrite history. ❞

[venilis]

when: after the coronation where: the ice gardens who: open to all 

Madness. Absolute madness was what all that was. Yuliya supposed she finally understood what elders in the Undersea court meant when they gossiped about how High court events never ended as planned. Seladon, both crowned and crownless at once, had more important things to fret over with the sudden intrusion in the night’s affair, so the young designer had taken the opportunity to leave the center of commotion when it presented itself. Yuliya wanted no part in having to deal with the messy period of time that was sure to follow. But the High court was her place of residence now. She imagined the desire for peace and quiet would soon be something one could only dream of as all courts had to manage the fallout of such an event.

In looking for a place of solitude, the Ice Gardens felt as though it would be a safe choice. With a warmer shawl thrown over her shoulders and bunched up close to her neck, Yuliya sat, a purple smear against the otherwise perfectly white landscape, on one of the few benches that had been placed relatively close to the entrance. The cold bit bitterly at her nose and ears, but the sensation was welcomed- if only for the time being. A deep exhale left her, eyes following the fog of her breath up into the air.

[idolsgeneration]