#Straight Long Kurtis

[suratifabric]

urtis are one of the most versatile ethnic clothings that can be worn both casually and as an occasion wear. All the Indian women love to wear these ethnic dresses at special events, office wear, formal occasions, and so on.

Long Kurtis are one of the most popular Kurtis among all the Indian women. As there are lots of long Kurtis available in the market, ladies must be aware of the wide range of Kurti options available in the market. Obviously, you do not want to wear the same Kurti style always. Women enjoy diversity. In order to guide all of them about different types of long Kurtis, we have come up with the top 8 must-have long Kurtis which will make you look fashionable. Get Wholesale Kurtis in Surat at the best price online.

Top 8 Trendy Long Kurtis You Must Have in Your Wardrobe

Due to their high levels of comfort and elegance, long Kurtis are every lady's favourite outfit. You can easily find a variety of long Kurtis designs on the market that you can choose from various Kurti wholesalers based on your sense of style. From Anarkali to graceful Angrakha, you can choose one that fits your personality and richly captures your majesty. This essay will discuss various long Kurti styles that will glam up your beauty. Take a look at Different Types of Kurtis and choose the appropriate one.

[trendybucket]

Kurtis: The Fashionable Bridge Between Generations

One of the most captivating aspects of fashion is its cyclical nature, where old styles get revamped and reintroduced, capturing hearts all over again. Standing tall amidst such cyclical trends is the kurti, an attire that beautifully bridges the gap between yesteryears and today. While grandmothers reminisce about their classic ladies kurta designs, today's youth can't get enough of the modern kurti top. Let's embark on a journey to understand how kurtis have seamlessly weaved their way through generations, remaining ever-relevant and ever-stylish.

From the bylanes of ancient bazaars to the digital catalogs of modern e-stores, Stylish Kurti For Women have seen a transformation like no other attire. Yet, they've retained an essence that resonates with wearers across age groups. For the elderly, a ladies kurta might evoke memories of simpler times, paired with traditional handcrafted jewelry and classic chappals. Meanwhile, the youth might perceive the kurti top as the go-to outfit for college, dates, or casual hangouts, paired with sneakers, statement earrings, and perhaps a stylish sling bag.

This universality of the stylish kurti for women lies in its inherent adaptability. Modern designers, recognizing the timeless appeal of the ladies kurta, have continuously experimented with cuts, designs, and fabrics. The result? A multitude of kurti top styles range from peplum, high-low, A-line, to even off-shoulder and cold-shoulder variants. Such innovations have kept the kurti pulsating with freshness, ensuring it never fades into obscurity.

Additionally, collaborations between traditional artisans and contemporary designers have given birth to kurtis that celebrate age-old embroideries like Chikankari, Phulkari, and Kantha while embracing modern aesthetics. This symbiotic relationship preserves age-old crafts and presents them in a format palatable to the younger generation.

Another aspect that underscores the lasting allure of kurtis is their unspoken promise of comfort. Whether it's a luxurious silk ladies kurta for festive occasions or a breathable cotton kurti top for daily wear, there's an implicit assurance of ease and convenience. This comfort, combined with style, makes the kurti a formidable choice for women of all ages.

Personalizing the Kurti Experience In an era where individual expression reigns supreme, the kurti offers a canvas like no other. DIY (Do It Yourself) enthusiasts are reimagining the traditional ladies kurta to align with their unique personalities. From hand-painted designs to sewn-on patches and even embroidered quotes, the kurti top is undergoing personalized transformations. Social media is abuzz with tutorials on giving a fresh spin to a plain kurti top, with fashion influencers leading the charge.

Summary: Stylish kurti for women, with its rich historical roots and modern adaptability, serves as a fashionable bridge between generations. Its enduring appeal lies in its ability to evolve while retaining its essence, making it a cherished attire for both the young and the old.

Conclusion: Fashion trends might come and go, but the kurti remains steadfast, echoing stories of the past while crafting new tales for the future. It's not just a piece of clothing; it's a legacy passed down, a testament to timeless elegance and style.

Authors Bio: The author of this article has a keen interest in fashion and gives productive advice on attire. This conclusion comes with a thorough research for a better understanding of the readers who wish to pursue a new fashionable lifestyle.

[jaipurhightech]

Front Slit Beautiful Solid Maroon Cotton Kurti For Women | Button Down Long Casual Kurti For Woman | Handmade Party Wear Summer Kurta Top

[handweavers]

kiran this is my uhh fourth? year of promising to sew myself a livable summer wardrobe pls pray with me that it’ll be my first year of Actually doing it <3 and also, as always... what are your fave summer patterns?

omg you can do it i believe in you!! i always find that the most difficult part is getting started, once you get into the groove of it and sewing things it becomes addictive to just keep popping out garments, it always happens to me i'll go months without touching my sewing machine and then i'll sit down to sew a pair of pants or a shirt and a few days later i've sewn 5 whole new garments and i don't even know how i got there lmfao.

my summer patterns are probably different than most because i can't wear shorts or short sleeved clothing outside in the heat or my skin explodes, but i have a set of patterns that i make in lightweight linen or cotton and even though they're long pants and long sleeves they're soooo comfortable even on the hottest days. i also run hot year round so i wear these in winter too just with extra layers lol

- the fremantle pants and the cornell shirt from elbe textiles. i think i've made the fremantle pants 6 times now and while i change a few things about the construction process to suit my preference (i prefer a different method for attaching the waistband) they're literally my favourite pants ever. cornell shirt is also fantastic, i like view 1 which has a button placket that goes halfway down the shirt but not fully. i like to sew it using lightweight cotton esp fabric i've gotten from india and that combo makes it function like a short modern kurti/traditional desi shirt pattern for me and i love it

- all well cardigan coat by all well workshop. the hacking guide for this is awesome, i've made several different versions of this coat in midweight linens and cottons and they are the perfect method of protecting my arms from the sun if i want to wear a short sleeved shirt that day as well as for layering, and i always make them long with huge pockets so they're so functional and comfy

- harper tunic by elizabeth suzann studio. another shirt i've made several times to the extent that i use this pattern as a base whenever i want to make a new shirt. i made the hem straight instead of asymmetrical and i removed the pocket, and shortened the length of the tunic and it makes an awesome basic woven tee pattern for me. i can whip out a hacked shirt in this pattern in like 4 hours, highly recommend

- cap sleeve shirt from the assembly line. this is a new-to-me pattern that i'm currently using for the first time to make a shirt, and its great. similar basic silhouette as the harper tunic but it has a button placket and standing straight collar so i like having that built into the pattern.

- morocco pants from the fabrics store. awesome simple pants that are very comfy, but they work extremely well when cut into shorts. i can't wear shorts outside during the day but i still like to wear them at home/inside in the summer esp for sleeping, and i always use my hacked version of this pattern for that. so simple, so perfect.

[desifemininewoman]

Guide to 90's-2000's desi aesthetic

If you want to be more like Aishwarya Rai from Dil ka Rishta or Amrita Rao from Vivah, this guide is for you.

Clothes

1. Go for fitted traditional dresses be it kurta, suit or even long dresses. They should be tailored to your sizes. Choose fabrics like chiffon and georgette.

2. Choose pastel colors or bright colors. Never dull colors.

3. Make it as simple as possible. If you are opting for a kurta set, your duppata should be plain, the kurti can be plain or some simple embroidery or chikankari or some other work can also go. The bottom again should be plain devoid of any work. Make sure you are wearing the same color top to bottom.

Makeup

Simplicity is the key for this aesthetic. Don't overdo anything. Keep your makeup as natural as possible.

Apply foundation and concealer to hide any acne or pigmentation. Nothing else.

Wear nude lipstick and add lipgloss to it.

Same with eyes. Nude eyeshadow or avoid it if you want to. Finish with eyeliner.

Hair

If you have straight hair, this aesthetic works for you. I, personally think, straight hair gives very polished, neat look and this is why the aesthetic works.

Don't worry if you have wavy or curly hair. To achieve that put together look, you can tie up your hair in braids or in a bun or ponytail. If you want to leave it open, what I do is, I frame my hair to my face and then tuck the rest of the hair behind. it works for me cause I have bangs so they stay on the front, rest of the hair behind. Otherwise you could always straighten your hair.

Jwellery

Again, simplicity is the key. Wear a small bindi matching your clothes or you can even wear that shiny one.

Either wear earrings or a necklace set. I mostly prefer earrings but if you want to wear both, make sure they are the small dainty ones.

You can also wear simple set of chudis in both hands matching the color of your clothes.

Mannerism

This is the most important in my eyes. You can look like Aishwarya Rai from Dil ka Rishta but the way you handle the look is the most important.

Ever wondered why Laxman was suddenly interested in Sanju in Mai Hoon Na? It wasn't just her wearing indian that did it neither it was the straightened hair.

She looked put together, more feminine after her makeover. She leaned into her feminine energy.

Be elegant, graceful, expressive. Smile more. Talk softly. Walk properly. Own your outfit with confidence.

Imagine you are Shantipriya yourself from Om Shanti Om, I don't care. Even the lookalike of Shanti had to learn her mannerism. You can do it do.

At the end I would say experiment. I would suggest at first, get your clothes tailored. Make your outfit. See what works and what doesn't. If you are shy about your arms get sleeves. If you are slender and have hourglass figure, go for long bodycon dresses and pair it with duppatta. Research and see what type of necklines, back, straps, etc works for you.

[theressomethinghappeninginparis]

I got some additional information on the "Proto Nephilim" I could fill a whole book about it and people would still call it made up. Listen: I don't know if is is made up, and just used as a threat to the people here, and as a token to explain Eckhardt's evilness and whatnot, but I want to take notes throughout my journey. And maybe figure out if this was a fever dream afterwards.

Transcript of the first and second page: The name of this thing comes from "protos" meaning "first" and "nephilim", refering to Nephilim, the descendants of humans and angels. I took some photos from the file cabinets and soem descriptions, too. I don't know how much fanfiction this is, but apparently they really did experiments on random people. If I'm able to reverse image search the first drawing correctly, it is the skull of an ape, but the teeth are so long they resemble carnivorous fangs. A chimera perhaps? Sadly, I cannot read the text written next to it. So, according to some notes I can decipher or pretend I can the left is a human skeleton and the right is the Proto- it looks ape-ish? The drawn foot on the left is clearly a human's, the right has fingers and a thumb liek a primate. The fingers are way too elongated for a normal ape and it's not human either. The notes in a file talk about the left being a homo sapiens and the right a homo nephili, according to the man in the cell he carried the remains of the Proto "in his truck". Was this some way to resurrect it? Breeding it with a closely related species?

Transcript of the third and fourth page: Here's a sketc of ...bones, and I hope only bones. Not sure of they found these arranged already or tried to mix and match them, but this is what came out. My paranoia asks me whether they have kept this thing inside the cage dangling above an abyss? This skeleton was supposedly inside a truck (the inmate one's) and was carried all the way from Cappadocia, Turkey, to the Czech Republic. They probably found the remains closely together (as scribbled in the left corner) so they could put it back together, correct or not. Skeletons usually don't have flesh, otherwise they'd be mummies, thus there is no DNA. I can only speculate:

1. Remains of the Proto are found and carried to Prague. 2. They actually have DNA, thus flesh, this either a bit of cells or a whole fucking corpse 3. They succeed in breeding the Proto, the first Nephilim-thing, on the left 4. ??? 5. They capture random men, inject them with Nephilim-DNA, and hope to not create maniacs, but actual Nephilim descendants.

Yeah sounds like straight out of a science fiction novel.

Transcript of the fifth page: Okay, I can only assume the thing this man (Kurtis probably) was asking the truck driver was about the Proto, which escaped (remember the woman saying she didn't kill the experiment?) and it was only to be killed with a Periapt Shard. Which Kurtis should own which makes him capable of killing this thing.

THEORY: Shards are inherited from father to son. The dude MUST be a member of the Lux vertatis. Thus: is really likely to be Kurtis Trent. And if it's him having the shard or shards, hunting down a thing, it surely needs to have ties to Eckhardt that Kurtis HAS to know about. But does Miss Croft?

Transcript of the sixth page: I kept on walking, through doors and compelexes. Currently, I am not too sure where I am now, but I found an elevator. The electricity is back on, so I think I'll give it a shot. Where am I even going now? Okay, I know less than before. The doors are all metal and open sideways, it feels like I'm in a new place. A whole new wooorld! Jokes aside. I think I can hear water now. My ID card works, thankfully, but I want to get back to the surface again, to be honest. I went down three floors and there's some panels in here which says stuff like "security levels one and two" and "feeding program". I'm heading further out, the security cameras are showing something like a pond?

Transcript of the seventh and eighth page: There is a giant fucking fish with teeth in the pond what. the fuck I swear I pinched myselfa bout ten times. The security camera has footage of a giant golden fish, the pool is filled with a red something. I think I can see chunks of meat swimming in there? Is this the feeding program? Yeah I'm not going in there. Can this thing jump? I'm better off watching the cameras all day and look through the desks and cupboards here. Does this thing even sleep? What on earth is this?? You see the eyes of this thing?? And the teeth? Oh god. I'm trying to talk myself down. I'll read some on the things here. Rationalize. I cannot stop here, I'm not done yet.

Transcript of the ninth and tenth page: Yeah I just descided to not look at the cameras anymore but search this place. These files here were in a folder in a cupboard. I think this is this big fish-dinosaur-hopefully not another Nephilim-thing. It looks like it has four horns, or two horns and two gigantic fangs. It has rows of teeth, which remind me of sharks. It could be some ancient thing, the files were labelled "leviathan". I know it's a biblical thing, and since we'ret alking about reviving the Nephilim race, why not revive Leviathan also? I wish I could read what's written here. It shows again a skeleton and some measurements of this thing.

Transcript of the eleventh page: So, about the Leviathan: the name is Hebrew and means "the twisting". It looks like a crocodile, a dragon, a snake and a whale. It's supposed to eat sinners on doomsday. God made Leviathan to play after being busy with writing the Tora and judgeing the world. its history is told in the Jewish Kabbalah (=mysticism) where Jonah is being swallowed by her. Christianity turned her into the embodiment of ecil, Satanism uses the name "Leviathan" in its sigil.

UPDATE: I'm ready to pass the pool. The thing is busy with food until now. I'll try to get to one of the open doors since there has to be a way out!

For now, I wish for a few things...let me wish. Let me make a wish. I wish for a warm chamber, with a palce to sit and rest, maybe a crackling fire, some books, maybe some friendly company. I made a wish, and now I hope one door will lead me somewhere...cozy.

[melancholy-empire]

Helloooo! You can call me Honey, I go by any/all

The original owner of this acc was my sibling, If you wanna say anything to them lemme know!

I might post shortstories or things like that on here :D

Things abt me!

I am bisexual

please do not come to me with anything oversexual, I am fine with jokes, but do not harass me.

I go by any/all pronouns

If you are in the lgbtq+ community, black, white, hispanic, asian or anything else, a furry, a therian, trans, straight, or anyone of any religion

YOU ARE VALID AND WELCOME HERE (As long as you are not the following below)

I will NOT TOLERATE

Homophobia, transphobia, racism, bigotry, or someone who hates on another group of people, because of age, race, gender, sexuality, religion, lifestyle, or you shove you beliefs down someones throat, than please leave now and block me.

Fandoms I'm in:

Southpark

Httyd

Naruto

AoT

(Any Rick Riordian book)

Warrior Cats

Voltron

She-Ra

FullMetal Alchemist

SALLY FACEEEEEE

And more I'm to lazy to add :D

If you want, you can request certain things, can't promise they'll be amazing, as I'm still a beginner writer but I could use the practice.

I will do fluff and angst, I'm not very comfortable with WRITING smut

I will NOT write

oversexualizing minors

Pedophilia

Age play/major age gaps (Like Eren x Levi)

Necrophilia

Incest

A CANONICALLY gay/straight character shipped with opposite (Gay man + women, or straight women + women, or vice versa)

If its a headcannon and one or neither of the characters sexuality has been confirmed, I will try my best to write it.

Things I am willing to write

Gay things <3

Fluff :D

Angst :(

Stuff like Klance is ok, I understand the appeal and I am willing to try and appease you with this

For South Park, I refuse to ship Cartman with ANYONE but possibly the reader

idk just ask, I promise I don't stab, (I might bite tho not gonna lie-)

More things abt me

I am a rat/gremlin/opossum and I am onky living in society now bc my bsf saved me

I like Cavetown, Melanie Martinez, Eminem, and some more

Some of my favorite youtubers are: Kurtis Conner, Ethan is online, FunkyFrogBait, Film Cooper, MankyBadassHero, Ranboo, Slimecicle, Tommynpinnit & Tubbo, Jack Manifold and more

P.S I married my Bsf and I refuse to sign divorce papers, yes I am going to pull a Tommyinnit when we are older <3

[empireofpearls-if]

Character Appearances:

First the ROs:

Akbar

Ear-length curly dark brown hair, kept neatly under his royal turban. He has brown almond eyes, a fair complexion with sharp expressive features, a mole on the left side of his nose, and a thick mustache. A strong build with a broad chest, a narrow waist, and long arms means the emperor is seen as a fairly attractive man. Able to relate more with commoners due to not being raised as royalty, his welcoming smile and a cheerful and friendly personality has helped him amass following from the very early days of his reign. Always dressed in his royal garments and opulent jewelry, Akbar exudes authority. Despite this, he stands on the shorter side at only 5'7".

Ruqaiya

Knee-length brown hair, loosely covered by a dupatta. Pieces of jewelry cover her from head to toe in a way that is only fitting for an empress of her stature. Her fair complexion is only made more beautiful with bold red lips and dramatic eyeliner on her almond eyes. While traveling away from the palace, she exhibits a modest and reserved fashion, hiding her curves and leaving only her eyes visible. To an outsider who doesn't know any better, Ruqaiya and Akbar look like siblings, maybe even twins. Unlike Akbar, her upbringing has all but ingrained a bit of elitism in her blood which she isn't always able to suppress. She is of average height, about 5'3".

Mahira

Waist-length black braided hair, covered by the dupatta of her farshi pajamas and the elaborate passa she wears on the side of her head. As the newest bride, she fulfills her duty of carrying the social status and familial wealth of her family by wearing many layers of gold and pearl jewelry. Mahira is shorter than most people and wears light makeup over her round dark brown eyes and lips. She has a dark brown complexion and has a petite physique. She isn't every talkative and tends to stay in her room. She is very short, standing at only 4'10".

Arslan

Short light brown wavy hair that is fully on display inside the palace as he rarely wears his turban indoors and his popularity in court allows him to get away with it. A man in his position usually has a long full beard but he seems unable to grow one. Despite his good reputation, he is an irritable individual and his hooded hazel eyes, ones he inherited from his father, almost perpetually wear a scowl. Arslan is a tall and lanky man with bags under his eyes and skin that remained unusually pale even in the sun and heat of Agra. Compared to the rest, his almost otherworldly features only helped to solidify his mystical status. And to add to that, Arslan is one of the tallest people in the whole Empire, standing at 6'3".

Nadeem/Nadia

Nadeem has black hair kept short almost like a buzz cut, Nadia has straight black hair going past her shoulders that are intricately braided into an updo. They both have dark skin and upturned dark brown eyes with softer features. Nadeem has trained with soldiers when he was young and still possesses the strength and muscles. Nadia is more on the leaner side with not many visible curves and is considered tall for a woman. They both wear fine clothing expected from the nobles of the time but don't adorn as much jewelry as the people living in the palace. Nadeem stands at 5'9" and Nadia stands at 5'7".

Hamza/Hira

Hira and Hira both wear full head coverings, a hijab and turban respectively that completely cover up their black hair. They have a sun-kissed brown complexion, with sunken dark brown eyes and slightly hollowed cheeks. Growing up malnourished, neither of them have much height or muscles, sporting a bony physique. Hamza wears a simple white dhoti and jama, while Hira has a few worn kurtis. Hira is 5'1" and Hamza is 5'3".

Now the non-ROs:

Bairam

Short salt and paper hair and a short full beard, Bairam has long limbs perfect for sword fighting. He isn't as pale or tall as his son but his strong posture and sharp hooded hazel eyes manage to give him a very intimidating figure. No matter the occasion, he always travels with his talwar, Zulfikar sheathed within his luxurious garment. He stands tall at 5'11".

Salima

Salima, like her cousins Raqaiya and Akbar, has a fair complexion with shoulder-length brown hair which she regularly cuts despite being advised against it. She also brown almond eyes but considering her royal status, she wears almost no jewelry or makeup. She has even worn jamas, traditionally seen as masculine clothing up until her first marriage. Now her fashion sense is still very muted and her lack of effort and overall demeanor ruffles a lot of feathers but her marriage and strong friendship with both her cousins means no one dares says a word. She stands at 5'5".

I'll maybe add either a Pinterest board or commission their portraits later on as I don't trust AI to do any of their features justice.

[whump-me]

Unseen: Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Unseen, a novel-length whump story about a ruthless mob heiress and the superpowered assassin she kidnaps and forces to work for her—and the unexpected friendship that develops between them.

Masterpost | the Mind Games universe | Read the complete novel on Patreon

---

Yvette was in her father’s office again. Sitting with her back straight and her face stern, pretending to know what she was doing again. Fighting the urge to squirm in her father’s chair like a small child.

Again.

This time, the man in front of her was built like a mop. Tall and thin with a wet-looking brush on top. His hair wasn’t wet. It was oily. So was his shaggy mustache. So was his face, his large pores glistening under his stubble.

Ioannis Petropoulos was one of the familiar faces from her childhood. He had been at every syndicate meeting, offering suggestions for maximizing profit in his voice that was oily as his hair. He always wore the same thick, spicy cologne. The smell made her think of a table full of powerful men, with one small girl smiling in the corner.

She had to fight her muscle memory not to give him that smile now.

Her father had trusted this man for as long as Yvette had been alive. That made Yvette want to trust him too, oily or not.

Her father had also trusted Stanbury.

“You didn’t make an appointment,” said Yvette. “I have a busy schedule, you know.”

Petropoulos looked unrepentant. “I had a feeling you would make time for me.”

Yvette raised an eyebrow. “Because you consider yourself that important?”

She regretted the words as soon as they had left her mouth. They were harsh. Confrontational. Her father had never been so overt in his confrontations.

But he had never needed to be. People had looked at him and seen power. People looked at Yvette and saw that little girl smiling obediently in the corner, silent as the grown-ups talked business.

Petropoulos did see himself as that important. More important than Yvette herself. Of course she didn’t have anything on her schedule that couldn’t be interrupted for someone of Petropoulos’s caliber.

Maybe that was unfair of her. She didn’t think so. It was how Stanbury had thought.

Yvette had sat where Petropoulos was sitting before. Only she was only when she was in serious trouble. If she had committed some minor infraction, her father would come to her. He would sit on her bed, and look at her sternly from under his thick eyebrows, and lecture her in his low, rolling voice.

Only when she had committed a grave sin would he call her into his office.

Sitting in this chair, his chair, had made her feel grown up. Sitting in the other chair had turned her stomach to water. But in a strange way, it had also made her feel proud. When she lectured her in her bedroom, he was treating her like the child she was. When he called her into his office, he was treating her the same as any of his subordinates, all of whom had received a similar summons on at least one occasion.

Yvette had never sat in on those meetings. But she had pressed her ear to the door sometimes. She had listened to her father’s rolling voice—he had never needed to yell—and his unlucky subordinate’s fainter and fainter protests.

When the voices went silent, she would hurry to the end of the hallway and duck around the corner. Then she would peek out and watch them leave, their shoulders sagging, their eyes downcast.

She used to wonder how it would feel to be so grown up she could make another adult feel like a child.

She wanted to invoke that feeling in Petropoulos now. But as with Kurti before him, Petropoulos met her eyes head-on, and did not look cowed in the least. No matter how stern her expression. No matter how tall she sat, or how much she straightened her shoulders.

On her lap, her hands curled into small fists. She knew how to be her father. She had spent a lifetime studying at his feet. The only thing she lacked was everyone else’s cooperation.

A leader was no leader at all if no one was willing to follow.

“I assumed it was an urgent matter, for you to show up unannounced,” Yvette said. “And yet you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”

She tried to imitate her father’s voice. But she didn’t have his broad chest that had magnified his rolling bass. Her voice was high, and crisp, and maddeningly polite. Politeness sounded different in a voice like hers than in a voice like his.

But she could do brusque, and she could do curt. Which she did, as often as possible, because it was the only way people would hear her words and not just a voice that belonged to a smiling girl. Background music. Not worth noticing.

The problem there was that brusque and curt also sounded different in her voice than in her father’s. In his, it sounded like a warning. Something meant to make you sit up and take notice, and fix whatever you had done wrong before the warning turned into more.

On her, it just made her sound like a bitch. Her friends—former friends, by the time she was in high school—had thrown the word at her often enough.

“I came to offer my condolences,” he said. “I heard about Nathan Stanbury’s untimely death.” His eyes studied hers.

She met his gaze flatly, offering him the confirmation he wouldn’t ask for aloud. “A tragic loss for all of us.”

“I thought you might be in need of support,” he said, and stretched a hand across the desk toward her. “Two losses in such a short time. You must be struggling.”

She didn’t take his hand. She looked at it like it was a rodent that had crawled onto the desk, until it disappeared back onto his lap.

“We’re all struggling with the loss of my father,” she said. “As for Mr. Stanbury, I struggled more with him while he was still with us. If he wanted me to mourn him, he should have acted in a way that would have made me miss him when he was gone.”

From a voice like hers, one made for demure little euphemisms, bluntness often sounded shocking.

Shocking could work in her favor. Or so she hoped. It wasn’t as if anything else had.

His eyebrows gave a slight jerk. That was the only reaction he showed.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, and gave her an oily smile. “I hope your animosity doesn’t extend to the rest of us.”

She returned his smile with one of her own. It didn’t reach her eyes. “That’s up to you.”

She glanced conspicuously at her watch. Her father’s watch. It had fit his broad wrist like he had been born wearing it. On her wrist, it made her look like… well, like a little girl wearing her father’s watch.

“Is that all you came for?” she asked.

“Nathan was a busy man after your father’s death. He was doing all he could to keep your father’s legacy alive. If he treated you unkindly, I’m sure that was why—he had a lot on his mind.” He offered her another smile. “Including, no doubt, those who wanted to succeed your father and take Nathan’s place as the new head of the Couvillion Syndicate.”

“I’m sure,” she said neutrally. They had been over this already, hadn’t they? He had asked his unspoken question. She had confirmed the answer. Yes, she had killed Stanbury. Yes, Petropoulos was next if he didn’t toe the line. Why belabor the point?

“That’s almost certainly how he died,” said Petropoulos. His voice took on a new, strangely gentle tone. “I know your father shielded you from some of the harsh realities of his business, but his position was a dangerous one. Everyone knew not to touch him, but Nathan… he didn’t have your father’s reputation. He was more vulnerable. And so are you.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t have to speak so plainly about unpleasant matters.”

Yvette pressed her lips together so she couldn’t burst out with, What the hell?

“None of us are certain who is responsible for Nathan’s death,” said Petropoulos. “But what’s plain is that whoever it is wants the Couvillion Syndicate, and they’re willing to resort to extreme measures to get it. And you, as far as I understand, are still in control of your father’s accounts. That means you’re in danger.”

His hand crept across the desk again toward hers. She stared at it in morbid fascination. The back of his hand was covered in bristly black hairs. Even those hairs looked oily.

She looked up from his hand and met his eyes. She wished she could find a hidden message there. But all she saw was concern.

She had misread their earlier exchange. There had been no unspoken question. Her wordless answer had gone unheard.

Petropoulos didn’t suspect her of Stanbury’s death. No one did.

She was just sweet little Yvette. The pretty girl who served the drinks and sat in the corner. The proof that her father was as skilled at passing on his genes as he was at everything else.

Her fingernails dug into her palms. She hadn’t just had Stanbury killed to get rid of him. She had done it to bring the others in line. To let them know she wouldn’t give up her father’s empire without a fight.

If they hadn’t heard her message, what was the point?

“I hope you know you can trust me,” Petropoulos was saying.

Yvette dragged herself out of her furious thoughts and tried to focus. “I’m sorry?”

“I’ve been with your father from the beginning,” said Petropoulos. “Almost as long as Nathan. I was there when you were born. If I were responsible for Nathan’s death, I would never have come to you like this.”

“I know you didn’t kill him.” I know because I killed him, you utter numbskull.

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Petropoulos. “Nathan mentioned to me that he was working with you on the transition.”

“He approached me about it.”

“I think it best to resume the process as soon as possible,” said Petropoulos. “I’m more equipped to take on the risk than you. The sooner people know me as the new head of the Couvillion Syndicate, and the sooner the accounts are under my control, the safer you’ll be.”

Yvette lifted her chin. “Are you threatening me?”

Petropoulos’s oily brow creased. “I’m trying to help you.”

“I’ll tell you what I told Stanbury. The new head of the Couvillion Syndicate is Yvette Couvillion. And while I appreciate the offer, I’m not in any need of help.”

His eyebrows lurched up again. This time, they didn’t come back down. “I’m sorry. You intend to take control of the Couvillion Syndicate?”

“I don’t think I can make it any clearer.”

“Yvette.” Petropoulos shook his head. “I know you miss your father. We all do. Major losses are always a time of high emotion. A time when we might make decisions we haven’t thought through.”

“Like trying to steal the Couvillion Syndicate out from the hands of its rightful heir? I agree.” She gave him another thin smile. “Thank you for your offer. I decline.”

He sighed. Even his sigh sounded oily. “It wasn’t an offer,” he said. “It was a statement of intent. With Nathan gone, I will be the next head of the Couvillion Syndicate. I didn’t kill him—I was telling the truth about that. But that doesn’t mean I intend to let this opportunity pass me by.”

“Did you not hear a word I said? The position isn’t open.”

“Your cooperation would be useful,” he said, “but it isn’t required. As I said, I’ve been with your father from the beginning. I know all his contacts. I can take the Couvillion Syndicate by force, if I must.”

“You mean the way Nathan Stanbury tried to?”

And still, he didn’t get it. His eyes didn’t widen in surprise. Or—what she was really hoping for—fear.

“All I truly need from you,” he said, “is your signature on the documents that will transfer your father’s accounts to me. And I think once you realize there’s nothing left for you to hold on to, and that those accounts will bring you nothing but more danger, you’ll be more than willing to come to an agreement.”

“I’m sorry,” Yvette said sweetly. “I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. I know you didn’t have Nathan Stanbury killed, because I’m the one who did.”

Now his eyes went wide—but not like she had hoped. There was no fear there. Only shocked incomprehension. As if he couldn’t conceive of such a thing.

“You’re in over your head,” Petropoulos warned. Still, there was no threat in his voice. Just concern. The concern sounded genuine.

She knew which drawer held her father’s letter opener. Her fingers twitched with the desire to grab it, surge across the desk, and jam it through his eye.

“Nathan Stanbury said the same thing,” she said, with another smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“A single assassination is one thing; But you’re up against the entirety of the Couvillion Syndicate. Your father built it into a formidable force, as you well know. None of his enemies dared to oppose it. And those are some of the most notable businessmen in this part of the country—and when I say businessmen, I mean your father’s kind of business. Do you really think you can do what they were afraid to?”

“I’m not going up against Couvillion Syndicate,” she said. “I am the Couvillion Syndicate.”

“And how many people do you have behind you?” Petropoulos didn’t just sound concerned anymore. Now he sounded like he pitied her.

She longed for the feeling of the letter opener in her hands. For hot blood rolling down her fingers. For the look in his one remaining eye that would tell her he finally, finally saw her.

But even if she truly thought she had the temperament for murder—or the physical strength—she wouldn’t have done it. Because when she tried to answer his question, she came up with one name. Reynold. That was it.

“If they would just give me a chance.” She wanted to sound resolute. She sounded small instead. Her cry of injustice came out thin and whining. “I could run the Couvillion Syndicate better than my father ever did.”

The pity in Petropoulos’s eyes softened his face. She hated him for it.

“I’ve been over his books,” she went on. As if this would make a difference. It sure hadn’t for Stanbury. If he had just listened… “I found inefficiencies in every area of business. I can make it more profitable than my father ever—”

Petropoulos was already shaking his head. “If leadership came from numbers, Yvette, accountants would rule the world.”

Back in the days when her father would let her sit behind his desk, she used to pretend she was running the syndicate all by herself. She never told her father what was going through her head while her toothpick legs dangled off his wooden chair. Even then, even before she knew how ridiculous she had looked, she had known he would have laughed at her.

Even then, she had understood her role. Her job was to look sweet and cute, because that disarmed his enemies long enough for him to stick a metaphorical knife through their ribs. She had already understood how business was done.

She had played a role. She had played it flawlessly. But her father hadn’t looked at her and thought, She understands what needs to be done. Neither had her father’s people.

They had looked at her and thought, This is all she’s capable of. This is what she’s for.

It had been all she was for. Her father had never allowed her anything else. She’d had no friendships outside the syndicate—none that were real, at least. Only friendships that might have become real, if only her father hadn’t been there at every turn, throwing up barrier after barrier, reminding her that she wasn’t like them.

There had been no friendships within the syndicate, either. No one wanted to get too close to her father, which meant they didn’t want their children to get too close to his daughter, either. Or else they wanted to get too close, and sent their children as their emissaries, to fawn at Yvette’s feet as if she were a proxy for her father. She had smelled their falsehood from a mile away. She had been raised to it.

She had done exactly what her father had taught her to do. She had excelled at it. She would have excelled at any task he sent her.

Why had he never trained her to lead?

Her mind supplied her with the answer. Because he thought he would live forever.

But under that, there was another answer. Quieter. Truer. Because even he thought you weren’t capable.

“You’re dismissed,” she said coolly to the man across from her.

He didn’t move. “Take the deal, Yvette. Let me help you.”

Not a hint of fear in his eyes.

“You’re dismissed,” she repeated, and held his gaze until he stood and left.

The syndicate was all she’d ever had. Her father had made sure of that.

Did her father’s people really think she would stand by and let them take it?

---

Tagged: @suspicious-whumping-egg @whump-kitty @violets-whumperflies

Ask to be added or removed from taglist.

[carnivorousyandeere]

Welcome to the Cliffside Inn P.3; Isla and Airna Short Intros

CW: gambling mentions, alcohol implications

Spending some more time with Kurtis, and meeting the enigmatic performers of the hotel’s casino.

The next installment will probably be a more in-depth look at Isla and Airna, rather than an intro to the Siren Eris, since this one ended up being so Kurtis-centric. Hope you all don’t mind 💜

Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

After Cecilia leaves, you do your best to shake off your nerves and tidy your belongings in the hotel room; your trip is a week and a half long, after all— may as well unpack a little.

You’re almost done when a knock comes at the door. You brace yourself for yet another enigmatic or larger-than-life person to be waiting on the other side of the door, but to your relief and confusion, nobody is there. The confusion of who knocked and why is quickly replaced with a new question— who’d left such fancy clothes outside your room?

And why— as you pick them up to examine them, a letter falls out— do they look like they’d fit you perfectly?

The letter was on extremely nice paper, and sealed with a… a Lisa Frank sticker, of all things, and was written in magenta ink. You supposed it was pretty obvious who’d left the letter after all. The letter invited you to a casino on the property, and even included a little photograph of the building.

Kurtis didn’t sign his name, instead signing with a little bitty heart at the corner of the page. The ink is ever so slightly smeared, in contrast with the neatness of the rest of the page.

Kurtis seems… a little strange, but you can’t deny the attention feels kind of nice. Part of you screams at you to be careful, but the rest says, “fuck it! We’re on vacation!” You idly wonder if you’re going to end up on some kind of Netflix true-crime special thinking that way, but bring the clothes into your room and try them on anyway.

As you suspected, they fit perfectly— and you look good.

The letter didn’t specify a time, and as you look in the mirror, doubt begins to swirl once more. But again you say, “fuck it!” And decide to go anyway.

It’s been a long, and stressful day. Maybe a night of dancing and partying, or people-watching from the corner, will actually be just what you need. Even if Kurtis is there to talk your ear off the whole time.

The evening air is dark and heavy with humidity, clouds masking the sunset and making it look much later at night than it was. You shiver a little in the salty winds buffeting you among sparse plants and sand-crusted walkways.

The gaudy lights of the casino reach you over a sand dune, drawing you inside. The place is lavish, maybe even more so than the main hotel— but if anything, it looks like a place from the 80’s, something straight out of Twin Peaks or Blue Velvet, rather than out of the 20’s.

The lights are soft, and the atmosphere strangely calm for how many people were gambling and drinking. Maybe when you had as much money as these people, gambling felt less… dangerous, you supposed. Tempers just didn’t run as high then.

You meet Kurtis’ eyes from where he stands behind the bar, decked out in a slim tuxedo. Although it isn’t what you would’ve expected from him; it’s plain black-and-white, the only hint of his favorite pinkish shade a pocket square.

He squeezes in between the bartenders, careful not to disturb their mixing, and makes his way to you. Kurtis’ smile is a million watts as he places his hands on your shoulders and thanks you for coming.

“I wasn’t sure you’d show up,” he admits. “We did just meet after all. Didn’t know if you liked this kind of thing. If not, we could always walk on the beach? It’s so peaceful at night, I love walking out there.”

You let Kurtis ramble on for a bit, but assure him you’re fine to stay here for now.

He grins again in response. “Great! There’s actually a really cool show tonight. Not me doing card tricks, although that’s pretty cool too. Tonight we’ve got our best singers and musicians playing a set.”

As if on cue, the lights in the casino dim, some changing to moody colorful lighting, and a hush falls over the crowd. You and Kurtis sit next to one another at the bar, facing the stage opposite.

Musicians begin to play, one-by-one, weaving together a rich tune.

Spotlights flicker on over one, then two, singers. Their voices are soft and dreamy, mixing with one another in a strangely tense harmony. Everybody is entranced by their voices, the words flowing over you and dragging you under… or at least you think they are, until a third spotlight shines on the last singer.

Her voice is strong, tightly controlled, her mastery over pitch unquestionable. Her tone is rich and dark, a slight vocal fry scratching an itch in your brain you hadn’t known was there. This is what it means to be entranced, you find yourself thinking, leaning forward more and more, even forgetting to blink, until Kurtis’ hand around your waist anchors you back to reality.

You look up at him. His expression is more serious than you’ve ever seen before, gaze fixed on the lead singer. Something about it sends a shiver down your spine.

He seems to feel your gaze on him, and turns, leaning to your ear; “She and her voice are beautiful— but only from a distance. You really should stay away from her.”

You blink at the sudden change in his mood, and try to lighten things up with a risky joke, shakily whispering back “Why? You got a history with her?”

Kurtis smiles down at you, expression brightening like the sun peeking through dispersing storm clouds, and he bumps your shoulder lightly with his. “Nah, thank goodness! She’s just a real man eater. And woman eater. And… well, everyone eater.”

You cover your mouth, trying not to laugh too much at his awkward phrasing— especially since the musicians and singers are still hard at work onstage.

You and Kurtis bring your attention back to them, though they don’t manage to ensnare you in the music as deeply this time. They go through one song, then two, then three, before the lights come up and the hushed awe of the crowd splinters into polite-rich-people-applause and admiring whispers.

All of the singers and musicians bow before leaving the stage, save the lead singer, who walks right off. She looks across the room, meeting your eye by chance— there’s something so cold, so electrifying, about her gaze, but then she’s looking away and being hidden by a throng of admirers. The curiosity is eating you alive— you’ll have to ask for her name later.

Kurtis leans down, as if to whisper something in your ear again, but is interrupted by his phone ringing. He smiles apologetically, and excuses himself to take the call. You see a glimpse of that serious side of him again as he walks out, spine straight and brow furrowed.

How strange.

You don’t have much time to ponder this before you’re accosted by two new acquaintances. One of them bounds up and grabs your hand excitedly, and the other approaches more calmly. They look beautiful in the dim light, the sparkles in their makeup and dresses scintillating.

“Hello~!” The first barks out, startling you with her volume. You blink, surprised that the harmony singers who’d put on such a gorgeous show seem so excited to talk with you of all the people in here.

“Haven’t seen you around here before! You new? We might be a resort but we do get a lot of regulars coming around too. You’re really pretty, too-“

“Airna!” The other singer interjects with a laugh, “I think you’re coming on a little strong. Give them a chance to answer your questions, cariño.”

Airna flushes, smiling guiltily at her, then you. “Hehe, sorry. I’ve been overexcitable like that since I was little.”

You introduce yourself, and they introduce themselves.

Airna and Isla, two peas in a pod. Even just meeting them, you can tell they have a way of completing the other. It makes your heart ache just a little, wishing you had someone like that. But you don’t say so, and the conversation stays light. They’re fun to talk to, and the time slips by before you know it.

[dressesforwomen]

5 Trendy Designs of Short Kurta for Women in 2023

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2. Pink LIVA Straight Short Kurti

This pink Liva straight short kurta is ideal for festive occasions. It has a gold dot print all over the ambre bodice. Designed using LIVA fabrics of natural origin. This short kurta design for women is lightweight and soft to the touch. To make the outfit complete, pair it with pants or palazzo pants and hoop earrings.

3. Indigo LIVA Checkered Indie Top

A stylish short kurta for women is also popular among the younger generation for going to college, tuition, etc. The Indigo LIVA Checkered Indie Top is made of natural-origin LIVA fabric. It is a checkered top with three-quarter puff sleeves, a V-slit collar, a buttoned placket, and a small slit on either side. Wear it with formal pants, palazzos, or jeans to complete any look. Accessorize with silver earrings and casual footwear to complete the look.

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This short white kurta for women in a regular fit can be a great addition to anyone's wardrobe. It is popular among young people and office-going professional women. The white viscose rayon is very breathable, making it a cool fabric for stylish summer wear. It can be worn with jeans, palazzos, or even pants. Accessorize with a colorful scarf and minimal earrings to complete the look.

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This Maroon art silk kaftan top is both light and stylish. They can be worn with shorts, palazzos, or denim. The maroon color may have added a sophisticated feel to the kurti. Choose juttis or wedges and accessorize with earrings and a bracelet to complete the look.

Conclusion

Women want their clothes to reflect them. They want the versatility of design, comfort, and long-lasting fabrics in short kurtas for women. Hope this guide can help you pair comfort with elegance through short kurtis.

[ahotknife]

nothing worse than a straight hipster couple where the woman has long blonde hair that’s never been cut and glasses too big for her face and the man looks like kurtis conner if he shopped at zara

[jaipurhightech]

Fashionable Handmade Woman’s Wear Kurti | Traditional Designer Tunic Tops For Woman | Black Cotton Party Wear Casual Kurta For Women

[saleintothe90s]

462. Daily Press, July 1, 1992

I'm trying to remember, I think this became a Proffit's department store by the next Summer.

Back when Wal*Mart was simpler times.

Wait. Hold up. WalMart would close at 9:30 back in 1992?! AND AT SIX PM ON SUNDAYS. I thought by the time we got this Walmart in the early 90s in Hampton, Walmart was running 24/7.

Phar-Mor was trying so hard to be lil Kmart or lil WalMart back then. They had so much drama with the way the place was ran I need to get into it soon. Here's just a quick summary from Tedium. Our store was near the mall, so mom never ventured over there, citing that area as "too busy".

I remember OW! I mean, we never went in there because I was 9, but I remember driving by it. The sign always made me uncomfortable because it was just a giant O and a giant W. Like the word "ow!" OW did not last long. It was a spinoff of the HQ hardware stores which I've mentioned before.

I found their logo! From an April 16, 1990 newspaper .

Four days later, there was this advertisment about the remaning stores becoming Office Max:

Here was our cell phone technology in 1992.

I didn't know we got the cardinal and mountain plates so early! I thought they were more from 1995.

Wait, is the "expandable free jug" the burp jug?!

Back in the Summer of 2008, I was about five seconds to a complete nervous breakdown. Well, this was around the time that my mom would watch American Justice every morning, I think they're the ones that Bill Kurtis would do the voiceovers for. So you know, that was absolutely GREAT for my messed up brain. The episode about the kidnapping of Exxon executive Sidney Reso really messed me up. After being shot and kidnapped from his driveway in April of 1992, he was locked in a small box in a storage unit. He died five days later and his body was dumped in a park. Irene received a 20 year sentence while her husband Arthur received a 90 year sentence. Hearing their disguised voices will send shivers down your spine.

Of all the cars to seal in Hampton, why an Isuzu I-Mark. For reference, this is an I-Mark, my mom drove it's copycat, the Chevrolet Spectrum at this time:

wikimedia commons

three.hundred.dollar.rollerblades, I mean Bauers.

I'm with S.M, I'd be mad as hell if I didn't have my Cathy. I've actually begun re-reading the strip again recently.

via GIPHY

OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING. The fist time jump in Funky Winkerbean history.

So, finally in the early Summer of 1992, the kids at Westview High finally graduate, and the strip jumps four years later to see them as straight out of college adults -- thus making them graduate in 1988 instead of 1992. Got that?

Too Legit to Quit? Really? How do you do, fellow kids?

This was part of some strange celebrity news insert I guess Daily Press did back then. This was here too:

welp, here's a kid playing with cockroaches with Ross Perot's face on it.

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[thecratedigga]

Here’s the 1st 9 out if 100 cards from the “Album Cover Collection #1 Trading Cards”

Here’s is the List of cards included

Album covers collection #1 (80s Hip-Hop Cards 1-9 out of 100 of the series)

Kurtis blow 1/100 Kurtis Blow Album Cover Art Trading Card

Too $hirt 2/100 Born To Mack Album Cover Art Trading Card

N.W.W. Straight Outra Compton Album Cover Art Trading Card 3/100

Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full Album Cover Art Trading Card 4/100

Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It Album Cover Art Trading Card 5/100

Boogie Down Productions & KRS-One

Criminal Minded Album Cover Art Trading Card 6/100

De La Soul 3 Feet High And Rising Album Cover Art Trading Card 7/100

Big Daddy Kane Long Live The Kane Album Cover Art Trading Card 8/100

The D.O.C. No One Can Do It Better Album Cover Art Trading Card 9/100

80s Hip-Hip Rap Vintage album cover Trading Card (Kurtis blow, big daddy Kane, KRS-One, Eazy-E, De La Soul, Erick B. & Rakim) [9Pack] for sale on etsy & the official we shop only

[theressomethinghappeninginparis]

These will be my last pages. For now.

I have been invited to- well, read for yourself. But first, let me finish the interview and some spreads from Kurtis' own journal, with information I have missed or it might be things he still is investigating. Whatever this leads up to, I'll be happy to be of service.

Transcript of the first and second page: Q: When was the Lux Veritatis formed and why? Where are the other members? A: The Lux Veritatis was a secret group of the Knights Templars, and in the beginning planned to fight against all evil- especially magic. Then, they used magic themselves since white magic exists. The LV-membership is inherited from father to son. As far as I know my father was the last member. When he was murdered by Eckhardt who wasn't aware of me, the shards got passed onto my hands. I wasn't having any of it (he takes a smoke), didn't want to live like the LV, always chased around and rehomed, and then lived as a headhunter. Until..yeah, I was told about the murder.

That answers my fourth question: his father was killed as the initially thought last Lux Veritatis member.

Q: How did you cross paths with Lara Croft? A: She crossed mine. When the murders in Paris started and the mysterious symbols turned up, I went there to chase after Eckhardt, knowing it was him. I rented a place above the Café Metro, a run-down place in hopes to be all by myself. She talked to me there, but I dismissed her, being busy reading the news. Then, I saw her again leaving the club...you know, the Serpent Rouge, another trashy looking long abandoned place. When I tracked her path I noticed she'd go to the Pawn Shop so I waited there for her, too. I had the feeling she could be of use. When we were in the Louvre I witnessed her breaking into the dig and retrieving one of the Obscura Paintings- that I (he chuckles) convinced her to hand over. After a quick chase outside (he shakes his head)- she would have run straight into a corner and would have ended up like Swiss cheese- I got punched in the face, yeah, deep shit. She stole my Periapt Shard. When we met again in the Strahov we joined forces. Wild ride. Almost shot me there. Q: The Periapt Shards, what are they made of? Do they really kill immortals? A: So, this is a secret unrevealed. I have no fucking clue. I know they are ancient, and Lara told me about Vasiley fancying them, and they were among the crusades. It's suspected some of my ancestors made them and inherited them from owner to highest ranking new member. Since my father was the last one there was no one else- he owned all three shards as when Eckhardt was in the Pit, stabbed with all three- and I got my hands on them. They really kill immortals if you stab them with all three in the head, or chest. Mere hands or feet won't do the trick.

Transcript of the third and fourth page: Q: What about the guys in the Sanitarium? A: That's such an ugly part (he takes a smoke, visibly disgusted) I'll try to keep it short. Boaz is a - was- psychiatrist and she, like the rest of the fanclub, was looking into breeding a Nephilim race. Shit like this. The men down there were locked up and injected with Nephilim DNA. That's why they got so aggressive and misfigured, in different stages. Lobotomy would keep them silent (he shakes his head). They mainly abducted men no one would be looking for, homeless, self employed truckers, tramps. It's a pity. Q: The guy in cell 42 talked about a "Proto Nephilim", what is this? A: So he was still alive, talking through the door? Didn't expect that. He talked to me when I entered his cell, unlocked, and I told him to close it afterwards. He drove here, to the Strahov, from Turkey, and brought the "Sleeper" as he said, "death in tons of stone". I've never seen that as it was stored within the Strahov, but Lara told me about that. It had inscriptions on it, I wonder if I could have deciphered that. But if Lara couldn't (he smirks) I surely couldn't either. This...driver also talked about them being fed to the Proto, the "first" Nephilim that was created by his lunatic fans that worked. Yet it was set loose when Lara shut the lights of, slip a switch and ya git this bastard running amok. I got rid of it personally.

Kurtis asks if I want to see his journal- I had handed him mine prior. Well, it's full of stuff and his barely legible handwriting, but there's two things I want to mention.

Transcript of the fifth and sixth page: This red circle is the symbol of the Codex Angellicus, an angelic alphabet. I'm not sure what use it is or what is says, Kurtis suggested it's a codex used to write LV books and other knowledge. He can read it, but it is uhm- ambigous. One needs some baackground knowledge to fully understand what it says, and he for sure didn't bother explaining how to read that.

The green symbols are nephili glyphs. It's either an alphabet again or a phrase, Kurtis is not sure or wouldn't tell me. It's a script that is very old and found in the Sanglyph itself (which makes me wonder. How did Eckhardt, who created the Sanglyph, know about the scripts and its use of the LV?). Even the order could be different depending on where you start to read on the relic. Kurtis estimated with his father's notes that there are about 80 different angelic glyphs in here and two of them are readable. Sadly I can't take them to a graphologist.

Transcript of the seventh page: Kurtis also mentioned someone - or something- nicknamed "The Shapeshifter". It's a guy(?) who changed his apprearance in front of Lara, as she was about to kill Eckhardt. This shapeshifter became a councer, Eckhardt and even Kurtis himself. He assumed this person(?) must be closer to the Nephilim than Eckhardt and that the latter was working for him, not vice-versa. Which would be a game changer. Like, imagine that Eckhardt, the 600 year old maniac, is just a puppet of a shapeshifter. Weren't Nephilim known to change their looks...? They're up to serve the world some angelic freedom and in return make magicians immortal. Yeah I wish I was joking.

This sounds like the plot of a fanfiction based on the Knights Templars, including Lara Croft and a revenge-seeking mercenary. Oh, and you ship them.

Transcript of the eighth page: Here's what I think happened...as far as my information and my skills to comprehend this mess go. So:

Shapeshifter is a Nephilim and hires Eckhardt. Eckhardt wants to be immortal and gets granted X years to rebread the Nephilim. The Lux Veritatis had put him in a pit inside a castle, that got bombed, freeing him. Eckhardt fucks off, the Shards are given to Kurtis, his father gets murdered. Somehow along the way Werner von Croy gets murdered, perhaps by shapeshifter. What for though? Kurtis wants revenge and chases Eckhardt, meeting Lara, who want that too. Eckhardt's fanclub want to also be immortal and help him, they create the Proto Nephilim with DNA taken from a sample of the Sleeper. Showdown in the room with pillars that fucked up my knee, and lots and lots of sailt. Did anyone but the Proto and the sleeper die?

As you can see there are loose theads everywhere. I don't know if I'll ever fill in the gaps, or be able to.

Transcript of the final page: We're on our way to London, I'll return to Paris with another flight. Kurtis accepted Lara's invitation and also brought some books and tools with him (I think it's some LV spooky anti-alchemy-merchandise). They'll surely figure out more than I did by putting their heads together and brood over all of this. I also wonder what their next steps will be- don't think Eckhardt and shapeshifter will stop there, if they survived. Oh and Bouchard has been murdered, too. At least I won't have any trouble at home.

NEWS: It's been a week and I got some news from Lara and Kurtis. They tracked the alchemist's steps to another place! Whether it is him or shapeshifter or both they won't explicitely say, but killings are happening with this rune painted above the dead, and they're on the way to kick his ass again.

They're asking if I want to join?