#colette myth

[onceuponaladye]

You see, I am actually quite a weirdo

While normal people get obsessed with Greek Mythology through Percy Jackson or EPIC…

My obsession is being cultivated through a slightly obscure-ish manga series

[writingwhimsey]

Becoming Comtesse Ch. 14

A/N: NSFW 18+ content in this chapter! SMUT! Oral, female receiving, fingering PIV. Also a special shoutout to @lecomtesmansion our spicy rp inspired the smut in this chapter.

Chapter 14

Abel had just finished telling me about the night we had first met and things were starting to come back to me. As he told me about that night, I could picture it perfectly, clearly. Then told me something I had been suspecting for some time now. “That was the night I first fell in love with you, ma cherie.”

“After that…you fell in love with me?”

Abel smiled at me as he lifted a hand to gently caress my cheek. “Yes.”

“What…what about what you’d mentioned about knowing my father and my letters…”

“That was all true.” Abel answered. “I actually met your father just a few days after our encounter. The friend I had been visiting introduced me to him.”

“You…you were Father’s big investor…”

Abel nodded. “Yes and he really did always talk about you. He showed me your family portrait and I recognized you instantly. I thought that hearing about you through your father would be enough. That I would be content to love you from afar so long as i knew you were happy.”

“Why…why did you try that?” I asked.

“Because, you were so young -still are in fact- and I thought…I thought that you deserved a chance at a normal life.” He explained. 

I sat there taking in all of this. What kind of love he must have had to have held onto it for all of these years. “What made you change your mind?” I asked.

“I attended a ball hosted by a mutual acquaintance in England a few months ago.” Abel answered. “You were there with your family. I didn’t approach you, but I noticed your brother introducing you to potential suitors…I was filled with such jealousy and I barely managed to contain myself. I knew then that I couldn’t bear the thought of another man marrying you…so I selfishly wrote to your brother with my proposal.”

“You…were jealous?”

“I know it sounds a bit childish of me, but I couldn’t help myself. I barely managed to keep myself in check that night.” He admitted with blushing cheeks.

I felt my heart skip a beat. Here he was, this immortal creature of myth and legend, and he was blushing over his feelings for me. His words and eyes were filled with love and devotion, the likes of which I had only ever dreamed of being able to see. 

“Colette…” He breathed my name as his hand caressed my cheek once more, “I know that I have told you much tonight. I only hope that you can forgive me for what I have done.”

“And what sin is it you believe you have committed?” I asked.

“For being so selfish.” He answered. “I fought with myself for so long. I told myself it wasn’t right to rob you of a normal life…and yet I did it anyway.”

I looked into his golden eyes. I realized then, I hadn’t yet voiced my own thoughts and feelings. I’d just been asking him questions. “I won’t forgive you for that.” I told him.

His face fell. “I see…”

“Because you are asking me for forgiveness for the wrong thing.”

“What?”

“You should be asking me to forgive you for taking so long.” I explained. “I…even though I had convinced myself that night was a dream…I’d never truly forgotten and I think…deep down I knew and I was always waiting for you.” I pressed my lips to his in a gentle kiss.

I pulled back to look into his face, eyes wide in surprise. “Ma cherie…”

I lifted my own hand to cup his cheek. “Don’t you see? I love you, too Abel.”

In that instant his lips were on mine as his arms wrapped around me. I readily responded, my lips molding to his, my arms wrapping around him as I scooted closer on the bench were were sitting on. His tongue slipped past my lips to meet my own.

My body began to heat up as my heart picked up its pace. His kiss tasted like heaven. His arms felt like bliss. Heat began to pool low in my belly and dangerous desires began to stir inside me.

We were both panting and breathless when we broke the kiss. He leaned his forehead against mine, golden eyes molten with desire and love as they looked into mine. “Colette…ma cherie…mon amour…please… let me make love to you tonight?”

My breath hitched in my throat. The way he was looking at me…the way he wanted me… the way he loved me…images of our bodies entwining flashed through my mind and a funny feeling welled deep in my core…and a tingling ache began to form between my legs. “Oui.” 

Abel smiled and he was instantly standing, his arms reaching for me and the next thing I knew I was being lifted from my seat as he carried me over to the bed. I wrapped my arms around him, holding on even as a surprised squeal left my lips.

He kissed me gently on the lips. “Forgive me, my darling.” He told me.

“It’s alright. I just wasn’t expecting you to pick me up.” I replied, kissing his cheek.

He smiled at me and carried me over to the bed where he gently laid me down before climbing on top of me. “I promise to be gentle with you, my darling.” He told me before capturing my lips in a heated kiss. 

I wrapped my arms around him and pressed myself close. It felt as though I couldn’t get close enough. Slowly, I felt his hands move down my body, sliding over my sides before coming to the belt tying my robe closed. He tugged, pulling my robe open to reveal the thin silk of my nightdress beneath.

He broke the kiss and pulled back to look at me, golden eyes drinking in the sight of me. “Mon amour…may I touch you and kiss you all over?” He asked.

“Yes…” I answered, breathless. I bit my lower lip and my cheeks flushed. “Touch me and kiss me…however you’d like…”

He leaned in and began to kiss along the side of my neck. “Careful what you say, ma cherie…you don’t want to tempt me into giving you more than you can take right away.” He murmured into my ear, sending a spark through me.

I tilted my head to the side, allowing him easier access to my neck. “Mmmm…” I moaned as his lips continued to lavish my neck in affection. His hands slid over my body, cupping my breasts through the thin silk of my nightdress.

“You are…so beautiful, ma cherie…” He murmured as he moved to pepper kisses along my collarbones.

My body seemed to respond readily to his touch. My nipples began to harden and heat pooled low in my belly. “Abel…”

He let out a groan. “Colette…I’ve always hated my name…but I love the sound of it when in your voice…and in such a wanton tone.” He quickly removed my robe and then slid the straps of my nightdress down just enough that my breasts spilled out. 

His eyes were taking in every inch of me as he slowly bared me before him. The way he was looking at me was so…intense. I felt my cheeks redden and my hands were moving to cover my breasts.

“Please…do not hide yourself from me, mon amour?” He asked, his hands resting over mine. “I want to see all of you.”

“Alright…” I replied, slowly removing my hands from my breasts…which were quickly replaced by Abel’s large hands. 

“There…so beautiful.” He murmured as he began to gently knead my breasts, fingers moving to play with my nipples. He leaned down once more and soon one hand was replaced by his mouth, gently taking my nipple in and sucking while his other hand expertly massaged and toyed with my other breast.

Heat shot through me with every move…and when his tongue came out to toy with my nipple…”Ngh…” I couldn’t help but to moan and writhe beneath him. That ache needy little ache began to form between my legs. It was an ache I had felt before and one I usually took care of with my own fingers in the privacy of my room.

Instinctively, I began to move a hand down, but Abel quickly caught it, pulling away from my breasts and giving me a wicked smile. “Are you already starting to feel that need?” He asked.

“Y-yes…” I answered, my cheeks blushing brightly.

“While I wouldn’t mind watching you pleasure yourself, tonight I want to be the reason you come undone.” He told me. His hands moved to finish removing my night dress, completely baring me before him. “Gods…you are the most exquisite creature my eyes have ever beheld.” 

He spoke of my naked body with such reverence, his eyes drinking in my form as his hands moved to worship me. It was as if he were memorizing the sight and feel of me and burning it into his memory for all eternity. My breath caught in my throat as his hands slowly slid down my sides to my hips.

“I...I want to see you…too…” I said, reaching my hands to tug at his nightshirt.

Abel grinned. “Well, I cannot refuse such a request from my beloved wife.” He quickly slid out of his nightshirt, baring himself before me.

As I took in the sight of him, his strong chest, the lean muscle of his arms. The toned muscles of his belly…and finally my gaze moved to his hardened length. I felt both hot and wanting…and nervous. How was that supposed to fit?!

Abel smiled at me as he reached for my hand. He brought it to his lips kissing it reverently. “You’ve nothing to worry about, ma cherie.” He told me. “We won’t be getting to that part just yet.”

“I just…”

He leaned in and kissed me gently on the lips. “If at any point you wish me to stop, I will. But I promise you, I will make sure you are ready before we get there.”

I nodded. “Alright.”

“Do you wish me to keep going?” He asked as he kissed the palm of my hand and then the inside of my wrist, slowly moving up my arm.

“Yes.”

He smiled and then moved my hand to his chest. “And you can feel free to touch me, ma cherie. Anywhere and any way you’d like.”

Abel kissed my lips and then down the side of my neck. Slowly he worked his way down, kissing down the front of my body. The valley between my breasts. Down my stomach. Over my hips. He looked up at me, molten gold eyes as he kissed over my thighs.

“May I taste you?”

My own eyes went wide. “You want to…”

He grinned at me. “I promise, it will feel good. I dare say it might even feel better than your own fingers.”

I felt my heart skip a beat at the seductive promise in his voice. I nodded, unable to get any words out. He flashed me a wicked grin and then his head was dipping between my thighs.

His lips and tongue quickly set to work on that little pleasure pearl. He alternated between flicking it with his tongue and sucking with his lips. White hot heat instantly bolted through me and my hips jerked against his face all of their own accord. My hands flew to fist in his golden locks and a cry spilled from my lips.

“Abel!”

I felt his lips curl into a grin against my heat before he continued. He kept flicking and sucking and soon I felt that familiar coil winding tight inside me before springing loose. His wicked lips and naughty tongue were indeed far better than my own fingers.

“Ah…Abel!” I cried out as my walls clutched at air. He continued to lick and suck until I was trembling.

He gave a kiss to my lower lips before pulling back, lips glistening with my fluids. His tongue snaked out to lick his lips clean. “Every part of you tastes so sweet, ma cherie.”

Watching him lick his lips stirred my desire and brought on that familiar ache once again. I suddenly felt as if I wanted more. “Abel…I…”

He grinned as he leaned down over me. “You wish for more.”

“How did you, know…”

“It is written all over your face, ma cherie.” He answered before leaning in to kiss my lips. His tongue quickly slid inside my mouth, letting me taste myself.

I moaned into the kiss. The lewdness of the act awakening something deep within me. It was then his skilled hands began exploring my body once more, one finding its way between my legs. He stroked that pleasure pearl before sliding further back and then slipping one finger inside me.

My body was still sensitive from the pleasure he had already brought me. He broke our kiss so that he could look at my face as his fingers worked between my legs. “You’re so wet, ma cherie…”

I felt my cheeks heating up and I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. I was transfixed on his gaze and the way his fingers moved. “Abel…”

He smiled. “It is a good thing.” He told me as he slid a second finger in to join the first. He began to move his fingers in a come hither motion inside me, curling them as he pumped them in and out of me.

“Oh…”

“You like that, ma cherie?”

“Y-yes…gods it feels…good…” I’d touched myself before, but his fingers were much longer than mine and seemed to reach places I hadn’t even known existed.

He slipped a third finger inside me and set his thumb on that nub, circling it. My hips jerked against his hand. “I’m going to make you feel so good, mon amour.” He told me, his eyes full of heated desire. He moved his fingers with purpose. Increasing my pleasure while slowly stretching me, preparing me for what was to come.

Each movement of his fingers only brought me more pleasure and soon, I was cresting over that wave again, my walls clutching his fingers and his name leaving my lips in a cry of pleasure once again.

“Mmm, that’s right, my darling…gods you’re even more beautiful crying out for me than I imagined.” He told me as he slowly withdrew his fingers from me, bringing them to his lips and licking each one clean.

I shivered at the sight. “Abel…”

He moved, repositioning himself more fully between my legs. His arms wrapped around me and that handsome face was over mine. “Are you ready, Colette?”

“Oui…I think so.” I answered with a nod.

He gave me a gentle kiss to the lips. “Remember, if you want me to stop at any point, just tell me.”

I wrapped my arms around him. “I know.” I told him.

He gave me another kiss on the lips. He positioned himself at my entrance and slowly began to slip inside, starting off with just the tip. 

I sucked in a breath as the discomfort began to settle in. Abel instantly stopped. “Do you want me to pull out?” He asked.

I shook my head. “No…”

“Relax, my darling.” He murmured, his hands moving gently over me and he kissed me gently on the lips. “The pain will be short-lived.”

I nodded and did my best to follow his instructions. Slowly, the discomfort began to fade. Then he slid in a bit more and it was back. We continued this, Abel slowly sliding in an inch at a time, letting my body adjust. 

“You’re doing so well, ma cherie.” He murmured as he gave me loving kisses, my body stretching, slowly adjusting to each inch. His hands continued to gently caress me, helping me to relax and adjust.

“I…I’m sorry…”

“You’ve nothing to apologize for, mon amour.” He told me, giving me another loving kiss. “We’re almost there. Just a little bit more. Are you ready?”

I took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes.”

He slid the last inch inside, our bodies fully pressed together now. He kissed me so lovingly and moved a hand to massage my thigh. “There, you were able to take me all in.” He murmured against the skin of my neck. “You really are doing so well, ma cherie. Just relax and breathe.”

I nodded, doing my best to get my body to relax and adjust. I’d never felt anything so DEEP before. Slowly I began to adjust and the discomfort left me.

“How do you feel, Colette?” He asked me, looking deep into my eyes.

“I’m…okay.” I answered.

He smiled gently at me and lifted a hand to caress my cheek. “Are you ready for the next part? I’m going to start moving.”

I took a moment, taking in another breath before nodding. “Yes.”

“Hold on to me as tightly as you like, my love.” He told me before he began to move his hips.

He started off with a slow pace, pulling out and then slowly sliding back in. My body took a few strokes to adjust, but once it did, the discomfort was gone, the pressure gone. The movements began to feel good. Abel’s eyes watched my every move and facial expression. He didn’t increase his pace until he saw on my face that I was ready.

“I’m going to move a little faster, Colette. Is that alright?”

“Yes…”

It took several more strokes, but the discomfort was completely gone. All that remained was how good the movements felt. My body began to respond on its own accord, my hips bucking in time with his thrusts.

“Hah…Colette…” Abel moaned my name, when I began to buck my hips. My arms tightened around him. “Mon amour…mon ange…”

“Ngh…Abel…” I moaned in turn. I felt that white hot heat bubbling up inside me once again, this time even bigger than I’d ever felt before and soon I was swimming in a sea of pleasure. My walls clamped around his cock. “Abel! I love you!” I cried out as my release hit me.

“Colette…gods I love you.” He groaned as his own release hit him and he spilled his seed inside me.

We were both panting and breathless as we slowly came down. Abel peppered my face in kisses. “Ah, mon amour…you’re so beautiful.” He told me as he pulled back to look into my eyes. His hand came to stroke my cheek gently. “How do you feel?” He asked.

“Good…very good.” I answered, smiling up at him.

Abel smiled back at me and gently kissed me on the lips. He remained inside me even now as we stayed like this. “No discomfort or pain at all anymore?” He asked.

I shook my head. “None…that was…amazing…”

He chuckled, his laughter washing over me like warm melted chocolate. “I’ve been imagining what this would be like for so long now…it was even better than anything I’ve ever imagined.” He told me. “If you’re feeling up to it…I’d like to love you more tonight…”

“More…as in again?” I asked.

“Yes, but only if you…”

“Yes.” I answered before he could finish his sentence. Once I got through the pain and pressure part…it felt nothing but good and I wanted more. “I…want more of you.”

Abel’s breath hitched. “Colette…you are quite the temptress tonight.” He murmured before capturing my lips in a hungry kiss. Our first true night together had only just begun.

Taglist:

@zulablaise @kisara-16 @tele86

@otomewonderland @lovely-bubb1es @lucyw260 @queengiuliettafirstlady

@obeymetalesandikemen @leiaglamela @fang-and-feather @eventinelysplayground

[blizzardsuplex]

Whereas professional wrestling is often condemned as lowbrow and “fake,” North American poetry has long been condemned as elitist and inconsequential. Insiders love what they love; outsiders sneer. Taste matters: both poetry and professional wrestling suffer critiques from eye-rolling outsiders; both nonetheless hold the passion of devoted insiders. And both, crucially, blur the boundaries of producers and consumers—be it performers and/as audiences or writers and/as readers.

from Myth! Allegory! Ekphrasis! Professional Wrestling & the Poetics of Kayfabe by Marion Wrenn [Some of my favorite excerpts of poems about prowres. Sources (from top to bottom, left to right): Allegory by Gregory Pardlo; The Use of Roland Barthes to Justify One's Love of Wrestling and For "Adorable" Adrian Adonis, Unable to Wash the Pink From His Hands by Colette Arrand; You Screwed Bret, To Be the Man, You've Got to Beat the Man, and sections 1, 4, and 5 of 10 Bell Salute by Michael Holmes.]

[jessmalia]

i think you saved a pic of allison argent to your colette board and i'm curious to hear more about her 👀👀

Yess, she does give me Colette vibes (although not on an extreme level) but I can't really articulate why, other than the visual component and the fact that she shares a first name with Cameron, and I might be totally off. Jo will probably be able to give more insight on that as she keeps watching. The only thing I can think to bring up is the quote from the Lover foreword that I included in my Teen Wolf characters as Taylor Swift albums gifset: "We constantly question our choices, our surroundings, and we beat ourselves up for our mistakes. All the while, we crave romance. We long for those rare, enchanting moments when things just fall into place. Above all else, we really, really want our lives to be filled with love."

Anyway, her deal is that she comes from the most notorious family of werewolf hunters in history (Argent means silver in French, so in canon, the myth of silver being deadly to werewolves comes from her family). At the start of the show, she has not been let into the family secret (she thinks they're arms dealers, which is their cover for all the weapons they have, but don't ask me how they make money, I think they just live off of family money? cause they are rich [edit: I think they are actually arms dealers for real as well, but there's gotta be family money involved, too]), but she is highly trained in archery. She starts dating Scott at the start of season 1 and finds out that he's a werewolf at the end of the season, shortly after having been let in on the family secret. The two of them are very Romeo and Juliet in the first two seasons before they break up for good (the movie isn't canon to me). Her character arc deals mostly with her family struggles — her being manipulated by her evil aunt and later grandpa, who take the werewolf hunting way too far, her mother's death at the hands of a werewolf, and her and her dad trying to pick up the pieces of their broken family legacy after Scott turns her dad's entire world view around and doing their best to do good with the skills that they have. Also dealing with normal teenage insecurities and issues while being in life or death situations constantly and a want to feel powerful and in control.

I'll link some good Allison posts for you, too: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

[mangatxt]

top 10 manga i read in 2024:

(please note these are not necessarily published in 2024. just things i read or picked up this year)

the fable / ザ・ファブル by minami katsuhisa (seinen / hitman, yakuza, action, comedy / complete) a famed hitman must lay low under the care of a local yakuza group in osaka for a year, blending into a society he is deeply unfamiliar with. some of the most thoughtful and funniest character writing i've ever read.

adults' picture book / otona no zukan kaiteiban / おとなのずかん改訂版 by itoi kei (seinen / childcare, drama / complete) when his late best friend (and maybe more) passes away, an adult comics mangaka must get his act together to take care of his orphaned daughter, even enlisting the help of a local tax accountant to his new odd family. i think this is one of those series that caught me at the exact right moment. you too can read vol 1 as a creative in your late 20s to max out emotional damage.

sketchy / スケッチー by maki hirochi (seinen / sports, slice of life / complete) burnt out and feeling lost, ako stumbles into a group of female skateboarders one night on the way home — invigorated with hope and excitement, she, along with a great cast of women, take up the sport too. absolutely delightful and inspiring, through and through.

colette decides to die / colette wa shinu koto ni shita / コレットは死ぬことにした by yukimura alto (shoujo / fantasy, mythology, romance / complete) (tw: suicide) a village doctor, desperate for a break from overwork, jumps into a well. when she arrives in the land of the dead, she meets its king -- hades -- who is sick and needs her care. a very unique take on greek myth with wonderful slowburn romance between the leads.

do not call it mystery / mystery to iu nakare / ミステリと言う勿れ by tamura yumi (josei / detective, mystery, drama / ongoing) totonou kunou is arrested for the murder of a classmate he doesn't know. after he successfully deduces each cop's backstory while in custody, the police consult his detective skills for other cases, including his own. if you liked basara or seven seeds, i probably don't need to sell this to you.

smoking behind the supermarket with you / super no ura de yani suu futaru / スーパーの裏でヤニ吸うふたり by jinushi (web comic / slice of life, romance / ongoing) overworked and stressed out, sasaki regularly visits his local supermarket for one reason only: the cute cashier yamada. on one visit, he doesn't see her. disappointed, he takes a smoke break behind the store and encounters tayama, a mischievous coworker who seems oddly familiar. a friendship between the two grows with every shared cigarette. if you liked wotakoi but want something more down to earth, this is for you.

gazing at the star next door / tonari no stella / 隣のステラ by ammitsu (shoujo / romance / ongoing) chiaki reckons with her feelings for her next door neighbor and best friend subaru, who's quickly rising through the ranks to become the most popular actor in japan. read this for a classic, butterflies-in-your-stomach shoujo romance feeling.

orb: on the movements of the earth / chi. chikyuu no undou ni tsuite / チ。―地球の運動について― by uoto (seinen / historical, drama / complete) this manga follows several generations in a fictional retelling of the discovery of heliocentrism in the solar system. when claiming that the earth revolves around the sun will get you killed for heresy, these figures must work together in secret, so that church's terrifying inquisitors cannot find them. this fucks, and the anime fucks even harder.

a condition called love / hananoi-kun to koi no yomai / 花野井くんと恋の病 by morino megumi (shoujo / romance, drama / ongoing) a girl who struggles to understand romance and a boy with debilitating abandonment issues enter a trial relationship after a kind act makes him fall in "love." a tough read at times, but to me, this is a welcome commentary on the "obsessive male lead" trope in romance manga.

lost lad london / ロスト・ラッド・ロンドン by shinya shima (seinen / mystery, drama / complete) a young part-time worker, al adley, is framed in the fatal stabbing of london's mayor. when by-the-book detective ellis gives him the benefit of the doubt, the two work together evade arrest to unravel the murder -- and the reason al has been targeted. short (3 vols) and underrated with a unique and delightful art style and some keen social commentary.

[incesthemes]

20 fanfic author questions

oh omg thank you to both @according2thelore and @drowninginredink for the tag :) this seems fun!

1. How many works on AO3?

113! i've had my account since 2013 though lol

2. Total AO3 Word Count?

537,726. i think this is a respectable amount 😌

3. Top 5 fics by Kudos

well my most kudos'd fic (5,179) is for a [redacted] fandom so i will not broadcast that one... but the other four are 1. step by step (Haikyuu!!), 898 2. Wes Has Terrible Taste in Romance Novels (Danny Phantom), 652 3. drip (Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)), 397 4. two steps away (Haikyuu!!), 327

4. What fandoms do you write for?

currently it's supernatural and the terror! you can look for the rest of my cringe compilation on my ao3

5. Do you respond to comments?

i do! but only once every few months, all at once. i get so distracted, oopsieeeee

6. Angstiest Ending?

well idk, what constitutes as angst 🤔 that's the real question. i'll put bury me in consecrated ground and burning house on the list because why not. most of my fics tend to not have a Happy Ending because i don't really like happy endings 😭 so it's hard to sa!

7. Fic with the Happiest Ending?

uh hm. umm. i think i have to go back a few years for that one??? i have a few enstars fics that have happy endings. no one who follows me is here for that so i'll spare you the recs 😭

8. Do you get hate?

not anymore! i had haters in previous fandoms but that was mostly contained to twitter harassment campaigns. nowadays people leave me pretty much alone.

9. Do you write smut?

i have been learning to write it, but honestly sex is like 😭 unbearably boring to me. so if i do write smut it is like 5d chess mind games in the 7th dimension and i think it's probably kind of weird for people. i get good reviews on it though so i'm just gonna keep on keeping on

10. Do you write crossovers?

not really. if i take inspiration from another series i pretty much always put my own unique spin on it that removes most of the crossover elements. i don't care much for them really

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of, no. i've had other fanworks stolen though lol

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i have, one time! into russian, i believe? it feels kind of crazy actually!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

i have one time, but i'm not a fan of it honestly 😭 not that my experience was bad! i wrote it with a friend and it was lots of fun. it's just not something i really enjoy in the end!

14. All time favorite ship?

hm. zelos/colette from tales of symphonia 😭 is anyone out there. is anyone hearing me. (the secret option is [redacted] from [redacted] but we're not talking about that no sirree)

15. WIPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

fantasy au. my ultimate fic. the million-word three-part epic based around the philosophical and theological concepts of eternal return and doubling as a variation on the proto-indo-european creation myth with a true ensemble cast of 40+ characters interweaving and affecting the plot in drastic ways ohhhhhhh lordy that fic was everything and more. i'm so proud of it. there's a 5% chance it'll ever get written past the 17k i've written already. sad!

16. Writing strengths?

i think i do description well, and narration? i get a lot of compliments on my dialogue and characterization, and the most common positive feedback i get is that i'm very good at eliciting emotions.

17. Writing Weaknesses?

i've struggled a lot in the past to structure my longer stories well, plot-wise! however once i realized i didn't have to write happy endings, i think i got a lot better at this, and now i'm putting a lot of practice in it to fine-tune this skill :)

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

i've... never considered this as something to ask a question about? i guess i really don't care, but i would prefer if there is research and at least a margin of expertise into the second language. google translate just to be cute does NOT cut it for me 😭 i have a degree in linguistics...

19. First fandom you wrote for?

tales of symphonia :) my true beloved. everything i wrote for it was so so bad. i think on them fondly

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

umm hmmmm oh no this is a very difficult question. and i don't have anything recent to provide either. which means i have to pull out the cringe compilation, oh no. idk if i can choose one single favorite but i will try to pick a top 3: 1. birds of flight 2. raindrops on roses 3. nightfall

i have been so afk from tumblr lately that i can't think of anyone to tag 😭 feel free to consider yourself tagged if you want to do this though!

[zenithgenderroyaleacademyelite]

https://society6.com/a/products/colette-zgr_stretched-canvas?sku=s6-6773380p16a6v28

(Original artwork from the base artist 'ClaireJorifValentine)

#Bad (feat. #TiaraThomas) by #Wale on #SoundCloud

https://on.soundcloud.com/1RjDEp8ruUuDMzVQ6

Glass Hearts and Zenith Shadows – Chapter 6: The Calling of Ophinum

Scene 1: A Storm of Rings

The heavens trembled as Colette stepped forward, her glass whistle pressed gently to her lips. A piercing yet melodic note rang through the battlefield, slicing through the silence like a blade of frozen starlight. The air quivered, bending to her call.

Above, doves dissolved into light, their forms unraveling into swirling rings—sterling silver, engraved with forgotten names and celestial sigils. The sky became an armory of halos, an endless procession of Ophinum descending from unseen realms.

Their guardians followed.

From within the rings, the Seraphim-Clowns emerged—four-armed celestial jesters wrapped in patchwork robes stitched with silver thread. Their single cyclopean eyes gleamed beneath feathered veils. Grins stretched across their faces, at once mirthful and mournful. Each movement carried an eerie precision, a balance between reverence and madness.

Colette stood motionless, her teal hair whipping in the summoning winds. The Ophinum fleet spiraled in perfect synchrony, awaiting her command.

Colette (Inner Monologue):

They said I was too small to bear this power. Too fragile to carry a legacy carved in silver. But they forgot—heirlooms are not just things. They are weights, anchors, promises.

Scene 2: The Opposition Forms

Claes Valentine had seen enough.

She pulled her stuffed lion, Malik, close to her chest. The plush felt warm, alive beneath her grip. His button eyes gleamed with understanding.

Claes: "You see this, Malik? This is what we're up against. A circus of angels. A ballet of ghosts."

Malik’s plush form twitched. His seams stretched, threads pulling as an unseen force began to reshape him. The first stirrings of transformation.

Across the battlefield, Yumiko Hino stood beside her own stuffed companion—Ren Takahashi, the phantom rabbit. He was still in his doll form, but his gaze was fixed on the Ophinum fleet with cold calculation.

Ren (smirking): "Not often you get to fight against a myth. You ready, Yumiko?"

Yumiko (steely-eyed): "I was born ready."

Lightning crackled through the sky. The battle was about to begin.

Scene 3: The Zenith Awakens

Colette raised a hand. The silver rings shuddered, aligning into a towering, intricate mechanism. It was time.

Colette: "Ophinum, unfold. Let the Zenith awaken."

The largest ring descended behind her, opening like an ancient celestial lock. The space within it twisted, birthing something vast, something divine.

Her Exo emerged—an angelic colossus clad in armor that shimmered like liquid moonlight. Its spear of frozen starlight burned cold, its presence commanding the battlefield like a silent requiem.

The others had no choice now.

Claes pressed her forehead to Malik’s plush head.

Claes: "It's time, partner."

Malik’s seams burst apart—not in destruction, but in transformation. Fur became metal. Thread became circuits. Button eyes ignited into burning stars.

Leo Regalia had awakened.

Across the battlefield, Yumiko placed a hand on Ren’s stitched ear.

Yumiko (whispering): "No holding back."

Ren (grinning): "Wouldn’t dream of it."

With a final pulse of moonlit energy, Ren’s plush form was swallowed by silver light.

Tsuki-no-Usagi had awakened.

The Zeniths had arrived. The battle of the Fetish Models had begun.

To Be Continued...

**Revised AI Art Prompt: Colette’s Ophinum Angelic Fleet & Seraphim-Clowns**

*(Sterling Silver Heirloom Edition)*

**"Illustrate Colette summoning her Ophinum armada—a celestial fleet of swirling** ***sterling silver rings*** **adorned with ancestral engravings, inhabited by four-armed seraphim-clowns—in a hyper-detailed anime style blending divine grandeur and eerie whimsy."**

---

### **Key Elements to Include:**

1. **Colette (Foreground):**

- Blowing her **glass whistle**, teal hair swept back by summoning winds.

- **Doves** erupting into sterling silver rings, their feathers edged with metallic sheen.

- Her **Stuffed** (dove-plush mecha) perched on her shoulder, wings glowing with teal light.

2. **Ophinum Rings:**

- Massive **interlocking sterling silver rings**, etched with ancestral runes and frost-like fractals.

- **Seraphim-Clowns** inside each ring:

- **Four arms** stretched in a *Vitruvian Man* pose, grasping smaller inner rings.

- **Wings** sprouting from their temples (***metallic silver feathers***), veiling their **single cyclops eye**.

- **Apparel:** Patchwork robes with ***sterling silver thread*** weaving holy sigils and jester diamonds.

3. **EXO Mecha (Background):**

- Colette’s **giant angelic robot** interfacing with the largest Ophinum ring, its armor gleaming like polished silver.

- **Weapon:** A lance forged from frozen starlight and ancestral silverwork.

---

### **Scene Details:**

- **Lighting:** Cool platinum and teal beams cutting through stormy skies, casting sharp metallic reflections.

- **Atmosphere:** Reverent yet haunting—the clowns’ grins are painted with ***tarnished silver tears***.

- **Style:** *Final Fantasy* meets *Tim Burton*; intricate textures with *Kilian Eng*-inspired surrealism.

### **Color Palette:**

- **Colette:** Teal, pearl-white, magenta glow.

- **Ophinum:** Sterling silver, frosted blue, and heirloom patina greens.

- **Seraphim-Clowns:** Pale ivory skin, tarnished silver tears, wings of shimmering graphite.

**Negative Prompts:** *Avoid gold tones, warm metallics, or overly bright hues.*

**Mood:** *"An elegy sung in mercury and moonlight."*

---

This revision honors the sterling silver heirloom motif while amplifying the celestial-carnival duality. Let me know if you’d like to incorporate specific ancestral patterns or refine the clowns’ uncanny expressions! 🔄🔗

#BeckyG ft. #PesoPluma - Chanel (Slowed) by #SoundCloud

https://on.soundcloud.com/D6nyL5XJcgCAft7q9

**Revised AI Art Prompt: Colette’s Ophinum Angelic Fleet & Seraphim-Clowns**

*(Sterling Silver Heirloom Edition)*

**"Illustrate Colette summoning her Ophinum armada—a celestial fleet of swirling** ***sterling silver rings*** **adorned with ancestral engravings, inhabited by four-armed seraphim-clowns—in a hyper-detailed anime style blending divine grandeur and eerie whimsy."**

---

### **Key Elements to Include:**

1. **Colette (Foreground):**

- Blowing her **glass whistle**, teal hair swept back by summoning winds.

- **Doves** erupting into sterling silver rings, their feathers edged with metallic sheen.

- Her **Stuffed** (dove-plush mecha) perched on her shoulder, wings glowing with teal light.

2. **Ophinum Rings:**

- Massive **interlocking sterling silver rings**, etched with ancestral runes and frost-like fractals.

- **Seraphim-Clowns** inside each ring:

- **Four arms** stretched in a *Vitruvian Man* pose, grasping smaller inner rings.

- **Wings** sprouting from their temples (***metallic silver feathers***), veiling their **single cyclops eye**.

- **Apparel:** Patchwork robes with ***sterling silver thread*** weaving holy sigils and jester diamonds.

3. **EXO Mecha (Background):**

- Colette’s **giant angelic robot** interfacing with the largest Ophinum ring, its armor gleaming like polished silver.

- **Weapon:** A lance forged from frozen starlight and ancestral silverwork.

---

### **Scene Details:**

- **Lighting:** Cool platinum and teal beams cutting through stormy skies, casting sharp metallic reflections.

- **Atmosphere:** Reverent yet haunting—the clowns’ grins are painted with ***tarnished silver tears***.

- **Style:** *Final Fantasy* meets *Tim Burton*; intricate textures with *Kilian Eng*-inspired surrealism.

---

### **Color Palette:**

- **Colette:** Teal, pearl-white, magenta glow.

- **Ophinum:** Sterling silver, frosted blue, and heirloom patina greens.

- **Seraphim-Clowns:** Pale ivory skin, tarnished silver tears, wings of shimmering graphite.

**Negative Prompts:** *Avoid gold tones, warm metallics, or overly bright hues.*

**Mood:** *"An elegy sung in mercury and moonlight."*

---

This revision honors the sterling silver heirloom motif while amplifying the celestial-carnival duality. Let me know if you’d like to incorporate specific ancestral patterns or refine the clowns’ uncanny expressions! 🔄🔗

[luluprevention]

𝑶𝑪 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆

Finally I'm getting around to showing off my first child, haha. Well, at least she is the first one that got a full character sheet so I have enough of an excuse to ramble about her lol.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ Character Info Below ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Well, I say character info, but it will be more like reading through the notes of a man befallen by madness. Still, enjoy :3

I created Colette as an OC for Love and Deepspace, not as an MC stand-in but specifically as someone with an unrequited love for Rafayel. After the twins, Kieran and Luke, entered the game along with Sylus that did change a bit though. But I'm about to get ahead of myself so let's do the basics first!

Colette is a vampire (don't judge me pls lol) who has been around for a very very long time. I never decided on a written down age for her bc I'm not gonna lie, the lnd timeline is something I don't even want to pretend to understand. One thing is for sure though, she is old enough to have witnessed the first reincarnation cycle of MC and Rafayel (whenever that may have been, infold don't play with me now and change the entire lore around the reincarnations I beg). And that is also about the same time that she fell for Rafayel. Guess that little fishie isn't the only one who has been waiting around, heh.

But yeah, the concept of her being a vampire basically came about bc I wanted her to have spent a long time with those feelings of love already, to have seen what the love between Rafayel and MC has caused over and over again and to ask "is that really worth it?". (Little fun fact: in my mind's canon she has brought this exact question up to Rafayel before. Let's just say it didn't end well lol.) Of course I could've made her something else with a long lifespan but I definitely didn't want her to be Lemurian bc I was worried that new game lore would make what I'd established for her unworkable so I just went an easier route.

This was around the time that Sylus got announced and there were so many theories about him being a vampire, so I immediately latched onto that. For some reason it seems like I was a lot more confident that the game couldn't come up with any vampire lore that'd destroy everything I established for Colette. And, well, lucky me? Sylus isn't a vampire, so that means any vampire lore is now up to me, myself and I, right?

Anyways, what I, the ultimate writer of vampire lore for lnd, have decided is: vampires are kind of like Lemurians. Like, Vampires didn't get hunted down the same way Lemurians did most of them were actually doing the hunting bc Lemurians are very very tasty and if the humans are already doing much of the heavy lifting. Well, can't blame them for joining in, right? Wrong. There's now a ban on consuming Lemurian blood forever lol. but to humans they are just as much of a myth. Vampires established their entire society behind a bit of a veil so even though vampires are most certainly walking amongst humans they also have what could be called their own dimension? I guess? Basically, they have a home to return to without causing the regular questions of "how long have you been 17? ".

Oh yeah, on that note, quick vampire age intersection! They can manipulate what age they look like to a certain degree but there is an age where their bodies naturally stop aging and revert back to if manipulated, the exact age depends from vampire to vampire. Presenting as an age younger or older is possible but takes an extreme amount of control, focus and power. That is why it was a thing in noble society for a very long time that nobility had to keep up a specific age range that is not their “natural” one just to basically flex that they have the power to do so. Nobility's gotta nobility, always.

But all that to say, humanity is living blissfully unaware of the hungry danger that is always watching, in large part thanks to Colette and a few other old vampires. Colette herself has been born into the aforementioned vampire nobility, so her rise to power started at a pretty high place already and with how driven she is to succeed it wasn't much of a surprise that she managed to carve her own spot at the top, reaching even higher than her parents ever dared to.

To reach that high she had to make sure to provide very tangible achievements that no one could refute, so, shortly after she got to meet Rafayel and MC in their first cycle, Colette had to leave for a trial specific to nobility. One could imagine it a bit like going abroad to study, except that it is into the oldest vampire's consciousness. Okay, wait, maybe that needs more context.

So, this entire veil and lowkey separate dimension situation that vampire society has going on is all thanks to the First Traveler, or simply put, the oldest vampire. This vampire had abilities that even the strongest vampires nowadays can only dream of ever reaching and this vampire, fearing that their children (read: younger vampires) could face danger if discovered, decided to put themselves into a deep, eternal sleep to create and maintain what is now the home to every vampire.

The noble families are ones that are immediate descendants of this First Traveler and as such they are the only ones who stand a chance of surviving inside their ancestor's consciousness. This entire thing is for safety means, the nobility is expected to protect and keep in check the rest of vampire society and in exchange they are provided with considerable additional power directly from the First Traveler. Well, that is, the nobles who survive the trial.

As might have become apparent, the First Traveler is very focused on keeping everyone safe and alive, so they can't just have anyone in charge, right? And yeah, sure, nobility is nobility. But even among nobility there are always those who are just.... lacking. And having a lacking person in charge really doesn't sound like it would keep everyone else safe and sound, so... Into the consciousness it is! In there the noble vampire partaking in the trial is left fully to their own devices, any situations that are created by the First Traveler need to be solved by that noble alone and to the full satisfaction of the First Traveler. These situations can range from negotiations to more business oriented things but can also be something a lot more dangerous that could result in death. Most times there will be a mix of situations for every trial bc the whole thing takes quite a bit of time. 

Once the trial has started the noble is only able to leave again upon successfully clearing everything or upon being deemed unfit. If they should be deemed unfit (and survive the trial) they will be stripped of their rank as a noble, having to live out the rest of their days among the other vampires. Of course, every noble has the right to refuse to partake in the trial but if they should decide to do so they also automatically give up their rank. Should the noble die during the trial the information will be relayed to the outside but the body will be absorbed by the First Traveler. I think that should cover the most important parts for now. 

Back to how this relates to Colette. As established, she is very driven to succeed so when the time came for her to take part in the trial there was no question about whether or not she wanted to partake, the only question in her mind was “how can I possibly set myself apart from the rest and rise above them?” The answer to that came to her surprisingly easy when she managed to get through the entire trial in a mere 103 years, the fastest clearing that anyone has been able to achieve and, as of yet, an unbroken record. This was her first achievement on her way up and many more were to follow. 

And we are just gonna skip the details on what happened with Lemurians bc Rafayel might be my fav among the LIs but even he can't force me to actually study up on the history. 

But that is also the first time she was confronted with the very short lifespans of humans bc while Colette was doing her trial MC died. And yes, of course MC died young (I'm pretty sure?) but even before Colette found out about this she had already been told by every other vampire that humans just simply don't live that long. That no matter how well this particular human would've lived they would've still already been dead or close to it by the time she finished her trial. So yeah, that was pretty much her awakening to properly understand what the differences in lifespans really mean.

What is more important to know is that, since creating Colette I never planned for her to be crazily obsessed with Rafayel even though she is in love with him. So after the initial infatuation phase her love for him just became a constant thing she carried around with her, never something she had the urge to act upon. Even more so after seeing Rafayel and MC together multiple times. Most of the time Colette thought the two were actually quite cute together and over time she herself grew very fond of MC. But of course, we all know that MC rarely has a good time for long in her incarnations bc at some point something bad happens to either her or one of the LIs. 

To her credit Colette does feel bad for MC and does keep an eye on her when she can but she still has to do her job as a noble and take proper care of vampire society. So she spends most of her time divided between gaining achievements to cement her own position, keeping other vampires in check and looking over MC. 

There was opposition to the idea initially, especially from the older vampires who had been accustomed to how things had been before, but Colette had amassed enough power for herself at that point that she could've implemented this new rule simply by force if necessary. Which means, yay, more vampire lore! 

That is, at least for a while. More specifically until she sees the need to put rules in place on how vampires are to interact with reincarnations of previous loved ones. Or well, how to not interact might be more accurate. Having seen one too many cases of a vampire, very obviously much older than the person of their desire, resorting to creepy tactics that can only be described as grooming, Colette decides that for the benefit of the humans, as well as the honor of vampire society, some rules need to be put in place. And so she did. 

A very very short summary of these rules: vampires are not allowed to approach reincarnations of loved ones except for unavoidable cases (e.g. buying something from them but it has to stay strictly a customer - worker relationship). The human has to initiate everything, needs to be the one to approach, the one to flirt, the one to make physical contact. And just because the human has initiated doesn't mean that the vampire is now free to act upon it. A human's fancy is fleeting and ever changing in the eyes of vampires, which means that the human has to keep up the initiating for at least a year, just to make sure that they have an actual interest and it isn't just them being slightly infatuated. The vampire on the other hand is not allowed to do anything in this timeframe that could possibly get the person to act towards a specific outcome. So, basically that means that no vampire is allowed to show any kind of approval or disapproval to the attention they are getting from their human. Which is really strict but also, a way better alternative than creepy old vampires preying upon humans. 

The rules for dating or having any close relationship (friendships, etc.) with any human are very similar to this tbh with a bit more leeway for really young vampires but this only applies to the ones that are under 90 bc I imagine that at that point they would have the maturity level equivalent of a 30 year old human, the actual age difference still makes it a squint worthy thing but we have to do what we can to not cause an uprising among the young ones I fear. Then it would become a case by case kind of thing until they reach the age of 120 at which point they are now bound to the exact same strict rules as anyone else. And let's be honest, considering everything vampires might as well just give up on the hope of ever being with a reincarnated loved one ever again bc what human is realistically going to keep initiating contact for a year or longer while getting not even an indication of returned interest? Okay, to be fair there might be some humans out there who would do that but I'm sure they would be a minority. 

With these rules in place now though that also means that Colette can no longer be the one to approach Rafayel or MC. Of course she still gets information on what and how they are doing but she herself can no longer get involved even if she knows that something is about to happen. Considering that her hands are basically bound there has been the thought that maybe she should just stop getting information on the two, save herself the hassle and the worries, but ultimately she has still decided to keep an eye on them up until modern times. 

And that is where we get to do our timeskip into the future, and more importantly, the game time! Colette has created her own, very lucrative, position as one of the top information brokers worldwide, which is largely thanks to all of the time she has had to establish herself. While others might be limited by their short lifespans no such thing applies to her and so she capitalizes on that. Ah yes, the wonders of immortality and of inheriting your own wealth over and over again.

Speaking of her being an information broker, I can now finally get into her Evol which I've been excited for for a good while! I decided for Colette's Evol to be blood (or well, I guess water if we are being really specific) to go along with the entire vampire concept. A vampire manipulating blood freely is just such a staple, right? But also, her Evol being water was a really nice choice when we consider that Rafayel has fire but lives(lived) in the water. I just think that's neat :3

Anyways, back to the blood manipulation and how this works. Manipulating water is a lot easier than actually manipulating blood (among other things bc it doesn't prompt questions of “where did you get that blood from?”) but as Colette is a noble she cannot simply be as good with her abilities as others are. Even just being a bit better than everyone else is not good enough in the eyes of nobility. She has to be so far above everyone else's level that there is never a worry that anyone could come close and she has to make it look absolutely effortless. Because of this, one will rarely ever see her actually using water for her abilities, even if she might be able to do even greater feats if she did. It is about making sure that no one else can do it the way she can and not about doing the things that she would be naturally good at.

Thinking about her Evol in combination with her work as an information broker I decided to go with the assumption of “water retains memories” and that is what she uses to get most of her information (we are just ignoring the giant information network that she has built throughout her entire life while I make this claim, okay? :3). Of course she could just read whatever body of water is nearby, and sometimes that is what she has to do, but more often than not she will be using a small amount of blood to create little butterflies that she can send off to do some spying for her. Why butterflies? She likes them and she has a reputation to uphold, so making something small and delicate will only help to show off how great her control over her abilities is. 

I also gave her a scythe for fighting! Once again mostly for the aesthetic and because it was very easy to incorporate the blood manipulation into the weapon. That also means though that the scythe is very obviously for show mostly bc to create the bladed parts she needs blood, which means that she will need to have made someone bleed a considerable amount already before she is even able to use her scythe properly. I wish I could say that this is another weird thing that nobility has going on but unfortunately this is just a Colette exclusive lol. 

Moving on though, thanks to her work as an information broker she is very well connected and this also extends to the N109 Zone. Which means we are finally at the part that I alluded to very early on! One thing everyone needs to know about me is that I really really like the twins. Instantly fell for their charming ways the first time they got introduced and now they are sharing the spot of my #1 for this game. So, needless to say I just had to have Colette getting involved with them (and by extension Sylus and MC but this isn't about them) 

Of course, earlier we were talking about all these rules of how vampires are supposed to interact with mortals, but not to worry bc I didn't plan for Colette to be romantically involved with either of the twins, heh. She sees the two more as particularly interesting and amusing kids and doesn't mind humoring them and spending some time with them. Fortunately for her she has business to take care of with Sylus fairly regularly so she finds herself interacting with the twins just as often even without breaking any of the rules. And once the time period stipulated by the rules has come to pass she is now free to interact with the twins of her own accord instead of having to wait for them to approach her. (There's also stuff going on with a friend's OC but that's not for me to tell right now :3) 

So yeah, at this point my Colette is basically just the go to information broker that is playing around with the twins whenever not needed for any other duties lol. Also, her having this one sided love for Rafayel is still going on to this day but it is more of a reflex instead of an active feeling of love that keeps evolving. And I do think that is most of the basic things I have for her! 

Now time for my delulu: 

If she actually ever were to be put into the game I would really enjoy having her as a possible love interest for our MC (who are you calling biased?) and as a possible contact for information gathering when MC is romancing someone else. (I know, the game doesn't usually have the love interests in any scenes together in any way shape or form -correct me if that has changed tho lol- but I think MC deserves some more female friendships) I think her route would actually be really frustrating for the player simply bc of some of the vampire lore that I have established. Colette is the one who made the rule that vampires are not allowed to approach reincarnations of people they have known before, so what do we think will happen if she is the one to break that rule by approaching MC and being closer to her than is strictly necessary?

Absolute chaos, that is what.

In my mind that would create a ripple effect that goes not just through all of vampire society but also the human society and the consequences would very likely be a bunch of old ass vampires going after the young reincarnations of their past loved ones. Bc if Colette, a very old noble vampire with the accompanying standing, is breaking the rule that she has held up for so long, then really, what is stopping anyone else? Rules for thee but not for me? I don't think so.

And at that point even if she were to try to put her foot down and keep everyone in check no one would listen to a hypocrite like that. And yes, maybe not everyone would be creepy about the whole thing but do we really want to risk that? Colette certainly doesn't and she is more than aware of the consequences that getting close to a mortal like that could have. So yeah, no missteps for her.

Anyways, for the players that would mean that now they can get the Zayne Deluxe Treatment™ twice in the same game! Oh wow and for such a low price as well! But yeah, I'm being kinda serious with that actually. Colette would have her hands bound when it comes to any flirting with MC and there could only be a chance if there is enough plausible deniability, which can only happen so many times without becoming overdone for the players or suspicious to vampire society.

So, as per the rules MC needs to initiate everything and bc we know how the world works it's not just a thing of "Oh, MC initiated the flirting with me once so that means that she is interested and I can now reciprocate without breaking the rules" bc as stated further up when talking about the whole reincarnation & vampire society intersection thing, the human has to keep that interest up for a good while. That means MC would have to do her best while Colette can basically only stand there and do nothing much. Very exciting stuff everyone! 

But yeah, Colette would still willingly help MC out with whatever she needs under the pretense that she is only doing her job as an information broker. Especially if it is relating to the Protocore MC is looking into or smth like that bc as established, Colette has grown fond of her over all the reincarnations that she has witnessed, even more so if the player is playing her route(? moments?). It would be kind of a "whatever it is, just say the word and it shall be yours" kind of vibe but played off as something more casual bc Colette simply isn't allowed to show that kind of devotion.

Then I guess for card stories... some could definitely be them going traveling to find some information or even them going undercover.

The first pair of myth cards I would put somewhere between the first Rafayel cycle and Colette establishing the reincarnation no no rule timeline wise. It would be a reincarnation where MC doesn't run into any of the other LIs which draws Colette's attention and worries her tbh. So she puts herself into MC's life, at first only to look over her until one of the usual faces enters the playing field, but they grow closer in the time they spend together and if none of the others show up then who can really blame her if she starts to feel that almost forgotten excitement whenever she meets up with MC. But yeah, these myth cards are set at that point in the timeline for a reason and so we can only imagine what must have happened to MC for Colette to work out a rule that keeps vampires away from reincarnations. (The rule gets established one way or another, it's just that in the version where Colette is a LI there are a lot more personal reasons involved as to why this rule is necessary basically)

Apart from that I think it would be really fun if there were some cards where MC can get some first hand insight into vampire society. Like, I know most lore stuff would probably be coming up in the Anecdotes but I just really want to see MC herself having to navigate through all that. Or well, less navigate, I guess it would be more likely that Colette would be leading MC with a possessive hand on her lower back as she smiles down at her but sends warning glares to any vampire that even thinks about stepping out of place and oh my god I'm reading this out loud in my head and I feel like I saw that exact scene happen in Vampire Knight, the Kaname Kuran allegations can no longer be denied. Not like I was ever trying to deny them tbh. But yeah, I just think it would be neat :3

Some more fun facts:

I just flipped Rafayel's birthday to come up with Colette's lol. I was really leaning into the small connections when I first started working out some details and that's one that stuck

Her Evol being water was simply bc I thought blood bending would be cool for her to do. All other explanations I gave above were just me justifying why it would totally work

Colette's entire concept (except for the high ranking vampire part) was supposed to be different. My initial plan was soooo much more angsty and dark and would've played so much with reincarnation and what happened between Rafayel and MC. But I'm ngl, the ever evolving lore made keeping everything reasonable too complicated for my taste and I really like my Colette's current concept so all is good. Maybe one day I will write out the OG concept tho :3

For her outfit colours my only thought was (and still is tbh): Nemo

Her hair being a jellyfish cut is equally as well thought through as the colours lol

Also, she made me realize that I don't actually know how to draw a parasol and that I also couldn't be bothered to learn. That's a lie, I really want to do fan art with her and the parasol is kinda a staple for her look so I gotta actually learn sobs

I didn't intend for this but whenever I'm writing her she kind of takes on an older sister/cool aunt vibe, which wasn't intended but you know what? Considering that she is multiple hundreds of years old I can't complain

I think the theme that fits her the most is: love that is willing to let go. You know, like, the selfless kind of love where you let the other person go because it is best for them and will bring them more happiness while all you can allow yourself is to watch from a distance and be happy for them even while knowing that you can never be that happiness for them :3

Would absolutely use her Evol to cheat at the claw machine

Also, no mercy when it comes to the kitty game. Will probably be making small talk at the same time to get some intel while she is at it

Colette is definitely one of those vampires that drink their blood from wine glasses only bc everything else is low class

Out of the major Arcana in tarot I would be assigning her the Strength card

After working on Colette for all this time I actually grew really fond of her so now she has joined the ranks of my core OCs that I will be using for other stuff. But more importantly, that means that in my OCverse she now has a sister who is a dragon even though she is siblingless in the lnd universe

Thank you so much for reading through this essay of a post! Unfortunately my target audience is me, so that is why I've just been freely rambling instead of putting this down in a more summarised version, heh. But yeah, congrats to anyone who made it this far.

Also, I'm ngl having written all of this out really makes me want to write something for the myth cards. Maybe when I have time to also make an illustration to go along with it :3

[justforbooks]

Stranger than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel review

Edwin Frank’s finely judged survey of modern fiction from Dostoevsky to Sebald will have you reaching for novels you hadn’t thought about in years

Edwin Frank vows in his introduction to this book to try to do for the fiction of the last century what the critic Alex Ross’s landmark book The Rest Is Noise did for its music. He is as good as his word. This is the most engaging imagining of the progress of the 20th-century novel you will read. Frank brings serious erudition to the task – in his day job he is editorial director of New York Review Books and has for 25 years edited its eclectic classics series which breathes new life into half-forgotten or out-of-print treasures. Though he has a fine critical judgment, Frank writes as an enthusiast at least as much as an academic, trusting his taste, always alive to the stories he is telling and the arguments he makes.

His method is broadly chronological, offering the reader a “long” 20th century, beginning with Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground (1864) and concluding with WG Sebald’s Austerlitz (2001). The choice of those two particular bookends to his study of 30-odd examples of the modern novel gives some idea of the emphasis of the project and the interests of the author. He is drawn to books that challenge the form itself in different ways, those that self-consciously or otherwise disrupt the more stately certainties of the great 19th-century novels. “The writers of the 20th century are ambushed by history,” Frank writes. “They exist in a world where the dynamic balance between self and society that the 19th-century novel sought to maintain can no longer be maintained, even as fiction.”

If Dostoevsky’s “unclassifiable” book – the structure of which resembles “nothing so much as a swept-up heap of broken glass” – set the pattern of that new relationship, Frank’s subsequent inquiries celebrate how the novel form became the place where changing ideas of fictional consciousness were tried out for size – from Gertrude Stein’s adventures with character as language in Three Lives to VS Naipaul’s restless examinations of post-colonial identity in The Enigma of Arrival.

Frank sometimes uses unlikely pairs of books to illustrate the ways very different writers responded to similar contemporary pressures – placing distinct confessionals such as Colette’s Claudine at School and Rudyard Kipling’s Kim alongside each other, for example, or finding the parallels between discrete experiments like Italo Svevo’s Confessions of Zeno and Jean Rhys’s Good Morning, Midnight. In other chapters, he focuses on individual novels: Mrs Dalloway – Virginia Woolf’s riposte to the “vulgarities” of Ulysses – or Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, the magic of whose realism, he suggests, in part lay in the fact that it was living proof of “the triumphant march of the 20th-century novel across the whole world”.

Frank follows the threads of that literary colonisation which advanced as empires themselves were retreating. His attention ranges far and wide, to Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and Anna Banti’s Artemisia (there are only four American writers who make headline acts: Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Vladimir Nabokov and Ralph Ellison). As a critic, he is not seduced by labels – isms get short shrift. He champions the 20th-century novel as the ultimate hybrid “misbegotten” form, existing somewhere between memoir and history and myth and gives a thumbs up to poet Randall Jarrell’s catch-all description: “A novel is a prose narrative of a certain length with something wrong with it.”

If the writers share a fatal flaw, he suggests, it is a belief that the novel “matters immensely” and is undone by that fact. “To read them,” he writes, “is to catch them in the act of thinking about the novel in the midst of writing a novel… they write both as novelist and as critic writing over the novelist’s shoulder.” That schism, he argues, was rendered by the Great War and its effect on the European imagination, a fact articulated in the triumvirate of novels – Ulysses, In Search of Lost Time, and The Magic Mountain – that were conceived or begun before 1914 and entirely altered by what followed.

Frank’s great gift lies in vividly bringing to life the books themselves and the specific time and place of the individuals who created them. There can be no better proof of his engagement than that it had me, chapter by chapter, tracking down books that I hadn’t looked at for years – Hemingway’s In Our Time stories, for example, or HG Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau – and rereading them through his eyes, before rejoining him on his quest.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[inkyminx]

🏳️‍🌈✨ Happy Pride Month, y’all! Have some characters from that myth pirate story I’m writing.

Nikki (left) ~ He / She

Colette (right) ~ She / Her

[marsilles]

tell  me  why  you  really  stopped  by      [   …   ]     from  @splitrivers,   with   inspo.

she  does  what  she  does  best  —  lurk  in  the  shadows,  waiting  for  a  moment  in  the  sun  that  will  never  peak  behind  the  clouds.  it's  not  worth  trying.  the  old  guy,  long  since  actually  decomposed,  took  up  the  mantle  of  group  leader  and  then  assumed  whoever  came  next  would  follow  suit.  it's  not  like  he  was  wrong.  but  even  so,  colette  doesn't  understand  the  point.  nor  does  she  think  any  of  them  do,  really.  it's  an  uphill  battle  to  even  stare  at  the  double  doors  to  the  gymnasium.  something  about  mountains  and  molehills  that  she's  sure  is  on  the  tip  of  necktie's  tongue.  she  doesn't  want  to  hear  it.  ignoring  shocked  faces  when  she  sits  down  with  trembling  hands  in  the  hoodie  pocket  she  stole  be  damned. 

the  question  makes  her  pause  —  tongue  clicks  in  attempt  to  speak.  nothing  happens.  brain  going  miles  a  minute.  this  was  a  bad,  bad,  bad  idea.  the  room  itself  is  a  trigger  within  itself,  not  to  mention  the  thought  of  blonde  attending  one  of  these  things  slowly  became  something  more  than  a  myth.  “w  -  w  -  w  —   ”  stuck,  again,  barely  audible  in  her  response.  a  loop  of  her  very  own.  takes  a  deep  breath,  an  attempt  to  try  again.  “what?”  there  she  goes.  leans  against  the  doorframe,  like  rhonda  was  doing  something  terrible  by  keeping  her  in  that  damn  room.  and,  well,  she  may  be  a  ghost  —  but  colette  still  has  somewhat  free  will,  if  it  was  restrained  by  some  kind  of  mystic  force  that  keeps  her  within  school  grounds.  “you  guys  n  -  not  as'epting  new  members  'or  your  little  club?”

[arwensarboretum]

More Tales of Symphonia Spoilers!

In light of the Martel question, I am back for mana signature questions:

How does Mithos monitor mana signatures?

He apparently can because he's trying to match the signature in order to find a body that can host Martel, but why do the whole Journey of Regeneration (aside from to flip the worlds) if he can just tell from birth what the mana signature of the person is? Does it change over time (and the Journey makes the Chosen's signature more like Martel's)?

Is he just not able to monitor them and he has to attempt trial-and-error style with every body? How would he know in what way to arrange marriages to control the bloodlines and the mana signatures if he couldn't tell what some people's mana signatures are? Is he only able to tell when a host body fails, so he knows "this configuration didn't work, marry the Chosen's line into new blood to try something new"? Is that why the process took 4000 years? We don't even know if the Chosen system existed the whole 4000 years, we only know that the worlds were split that whole time, so I am confused. How does he monitor this? Is it literally just trial-and-error?

2. Do Cruxis Crystals play a part in/affect mana signatures?

I always assumed the Chosens had Cruxis Crystals in order to make them angels because Mithos and company are angels and he wanted Martel to have the benefits of a wings, the ability to change her body, effective immortality, the works. She already had one at the time of her death as we know she had angel toxicosis which comes from the crystal. So it makes sense that the Chosen's would have one to grant their bodies the benefits of the crystal that would then be passed to Martel, but what if it's because the crystals affect the wearer's mana?We know the crystals cause physical changes and allow a non-magical human such as Colette to wield angel magic, so it's obviously affecting something on a deeper level. If it could be used to adjust or even tweak mana signatures, then attaching them to each Chosen could help Mithos not necessarily monitor the Chosens' mana signatures but manipulate them subtly which would help him meet his goals. Especially if it's the same Cruxis Crystal being recycled for each new Chosen of the world, it could combine the current Chosen with the mana signatures of the past Chosen's who'd all gone on a Martel-like Journey and that could influence the current Chosen. I don't know if that's true, but I think it's notable that the Chosen's are given their crystals at birth but are not forced to wear them until they are actively on their Journey of Regeneration (as Zelos's is stored with Seles instead of being carried on him and he just uses a normal exsphere (in the Kratos timeline, do Zelos' wings come from his Chosen Cruxis Crystal or is there another one he was given by Cruxis that gave him the yellow wings? If he didn't open a seal, how did he get wings? Or are the angels and Cruxis just able to do that for someone with a Cruxis Crystal and they only give those powers at seals during the Journey in order to reinforce the myth about the Journey of Regeneration?). That makes me think the Crystals are doing something more than just turning the body into an angel and it has something to do with the Journey itself. We know exspheres and presumably also Cruxis Crystals are impacted by stress felt by the wearer, so it makes sense that the Journey would cause the crystals to develop quickly, but normal life (especially in the declining world) could affect the crystals too, so why not let the Chosen wear them since birth unless they're tied specifically to something that only happens during the Journey? (and I don't think the powers from Remiel count as those seemingly could be bestowed at any time Cruxis feels like.) I don't know. I'm confused. I think it's possible the crystals could impact mana signatures.

3. Here's my big question. We only see 2 instances of successful mana transfer: Martel and Colette, and Yuan and Kratos. So if the process is so specific, how was Yuan able to transfer his mana to Kratos just like that?

We know Mithos' system is to find a body where the mana signature is close enough to Martel's to host her soul, and it's this whole elaborate plan with Cruxis Crystals and the Journey and the machine in Welgaia (how did they even build that knowing it would work? Is mana transfer just a thing people used to do during the Kharlan war? and if yes, why was it so hard to find a suitable body for Martel?) but then Yuan was just able to transfer enough mana to save Krato's life in the middle of a forest. It's possible it worked because we know there is a lot of mana located around a summon spirit's seal so that was able to preserve Kratos temporarily while Yuan revived him. It's also mentionable that in both cases of transfer, the transfer is human-half elf, and both parties are angels. All parties wore Cruxis Crystals and all were angels.

So why is Mithos' system so elaborate while Yuan was able to do it with little to no outside help at all? How did that even work? Is it simply less complicated than Mithos thinks? Then why would Kratos or Yuan not tell him and end the global suffering sooner? Did Yuan learn it on his own? How? From who? Wouldn't Mithos also be studying the topic aggressively to bring back Martel?

It's possible the transfer was able to happen because Kratos had JUST released his mana and was without mana for like 3 seconds, but we know the process actually killed him as he needed all mana to be released from his body and to actually die to open the seal, and Origin appears, meaning the seal is open. So Kratos actually died, and Yuan was able to revive him. It's even stated that Yuan used part of his own mana. So Kratos's body was somehow able to accept it? How does that work? Would they have been able to use the trick on Martel herself right after she died? Is there a reason they didn't? (Yuan notes the attempt could kill him so that might be why they didn't, but given that the boys were willing to destroy the world for 4000 years, I can easily see one of them being willing to sacrifice themselves to save Martel.) How is the process so utterly complicated for Martel and so simple for Yuan and Kratos? Is it because they're from the same time while Colette isn't? Similar strains and life experiences? (It'd be interesting and weird if, because of how the boys messed up the world, Yuan, Mithos and Kratos were able to share mana amongst themselves and that's how they figured they'd save Martel, but that would have needed to happen at the beginning of the plan when they'd be less like each other by virtue of living that long together. Or they already knew it was possible and destroying the worlds together let them share mana due to similarities in their experiences (their own Journey... those... not of Regeneration)). Why was it able to work with Kratos and Yuan, but it took so long to find the correct body to work with Martel?

I really don't understand this mana signature thing at all, and if it's based on personality or experience or Cruxis Crystals or energy transfers or what, I think I've raised enough questions about it. Anyone have any ideas of this? Because I'm super stumped.

[xitty]

My brain happily mushes up years together and I often mix if something happened this or last year but let's try collecting some fun stuff from 2024:

The highlight of 2024 was definitely seeing Kenji Nojima at Desucon. He was so charming and funny. When he gave me back the signed card, he did a little spell in Natsume voice to put magic into it. ❤️

ENSEMBLE STARS AND MUSIC:

Ensemble Stars of course had lots of fun things. Checkmate anime aired. Both Starry Symphonies this year, the Dead of Night and the Midnight Sun, were great. Finally fine and Eden were back for them. And oh my was it emotional. Hikaru Midorikawa 🩷

English server had SS Finals in the beginning of the year and I loved it. Other events I had been looking forward to a lot were Bridal Light, Obbligato and Ghostic Halloween. Been having a lot of fun playing Enstars. 💛

JP server gave M∀N∀ shuffle, I love everything in it. Intelligence scout story became one of my faves. Card highlights were definitely long-haired Eichi (so beautiful) and baby Adonis (cuuute).

Obviously there was a lot of other great things but this would become too long if I mentioned everything...

I put music in the same section because most of my music highlights are from Ensemble Stars, so here they are:

Venus in My Eyes ~Hanasanai, konya~, Soushitsu Guui -Lost Ballade-, Absolute Perfection, Accept My Love, Shiawase no Uta, Tsumi no Soko, Seven Days "Prismagic" and We'll Be "Knights"... Oh and of course Ryou Kataomoi no Kousaten de, Kimi ni Mata Aitakute!

BOOKS AND MANGA:

Favourite books were definitely the volumes of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard I read this year (6, 7, 8 and 9) but especially vol. 6. The series has handled Seigi's trauma about his biological father so well, and Seigi and Richard's relationship has been developing beautifully (and slowly lol). Other books I really loved were Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Foster was also great) and Elolliset by Iida Turpeinen.

Best new manga was definitely Colette Decides to Die. Of continuing series, Kowloon Generic Romance and Therapy Game Restart got 5 star volumes.

RANDOM THINGS:

I absolutely love these two pieces of Enstars merch I got: the Mysterious Myths Rei figure and life-sized poster of Kaoru. :D They spark lots of joy for me.

I made a few gifsets I really like: Ringing Evil Phone, M∀N∀ and Fairy Tale Library.

I wrote a couple of fanfics I'm very happy with: I've Been Saving All My Summers For You (Hiyori and Nagisa) and Would You Smile At Me? (Kaoru and Adonis).

[soda-gremlin]

Thea Sisters Book Reviews: Part 7

This post contains Chocolate Sabotage, Missing Myth, and Lost Letters

Chocolate Sabotage:

6/10, It was perfectly okay! Not my favorite, but still a quality book. Paulina, through a box of chocolates and the mouse equivalent of Facebook, finds an old friend of hers from Peru, Antonio. He invites them to his chocolate factory, which has been his dream to open. They go there and see him, and they find out that he’s running for the Chocolate Cup with some formidable opponents. The day after showing them around though, something happens. Fruit is dumped into the vat of chocolate! Fortunately, it turned out for the best, but still. There was a saboteur in their midst. Their number one suspect was an old friend, Luz, who ditched them for a rival, money-grubbing company, ChocoMax. They investigate further and find out that not only was Luz trying to reconnect with them, she's not the culprit, the CEO of ChocoMax is. 

This book’s concept and conflict are both pretty engaging, and it’s utilized nicely, especially with its message about natural production. And Luz as both a character and a mystery are interesting too (but she does turn boring at the end, when she’s nice again.) The villain’s archetype also works well with the plot, although I wish he had a bit more to him. The stakes weren’t that high, there wasn’t much tension or action, aside from a few instances. The side characters also weren’t as boring as some of the others, it was nice to see the relationship between them and the girls, specifically Paulina, who was Antonio’s old friend. 

Yeah, this book is good, and if the plot interests you, I would definitely read it. It's just not my personal preference.

Missing Myth:

5/10, if a glass of room temperature water was a book. It was so lukewarm that I didn’t even remember what it was about at first. The girls are in Greece having their vacation, and after spending a few days in Athens, they went to Epidauraus. When they visit the ancient theater, they meet Khloe and Ioannis. They’re part of a theater group that’s performing Helen. After spending a day with them, they find out that Khloe has a love problem. Ioannis has been distracted lately, neglecting her. He’s always taking strange phone calls he doesn't tell her about. Then the next day, things start going wrong with the play until eventually Ioannis goes missing. At the end, they find out Nikos, one of Khloe’s friends, is behind it because he has a crush on Khloe, and he wanted Ioannis’ part as her love interest.

Okay so are we gonna talk about the fact that Nikos straight up kidnapped Ioannis because he was simping for his girl? No? Anyways, I actually liked the change of pace here. I was so sick and tired of the same one-dimensional “huehuehueh, I want money money money!” villains that we get a lot in the later books. And Nikos’ was somewhat interesting of a character as well, so that was nice. Other than that though, same old shit. The only parts of Greece that are touched upon are food, tourist spots, and one instance of a dance, so basically like a brochure you find on a plane. The rest of the side characters are a bunch of plain janes, and the thing with Ioannis and Khloe’s “lover’s quarrel” was a little grating. I also wish that they chose ANY OTHER PLAY that isn’t a romance “happily ever after”. GREEK PLAYS ARE TRAGEDIES, MAN. WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE THE ONE THAT ISN’T IN YOUR ONLY BOOK ABOUT GREECE??

Yeah, don’t read it. Drama at Mouseford is better.

Lost Letters:

5/10, It was alright, but not the most exciting for me. The girls all visit Russia for vacation, and while ice skating in St. Petersburg, meet a famous figure skater, Aleksandra. They become friends, even going to her practice, where Colette fixed a stray ribbon on her costume. (Oh yeah they also meet this bitch, Katerina, but no one cares about her.) After helping her find a dress, they all go to a party hosted by Countess Irina. Katerina’s dad, a detective, shows up after having investigated a recent theft. It turns out, the ring Aleksandra wears is identical to the one that was stolen. So of course Katerina narcs on her. The Thea Sisters investigate the matter, and they find out that the ring Aleksandra has is a copy of the one that was stolen, made by the original jeweler for both a client, and his true love. Now with Aleksandra’s name cleared, they find the real thief, Professor Rattensky, who is actually a thief named Sydney Crookson. Yes, that is his real name.

Okay so if this plot actually followed police procedure and common sense, half of this book would not exist. You know trace evidence? Ever met her?? It only would have taken a few days of examining the ring to find out it did not originate from the museum. The antagonist Katerina is also a huge waste of time, just another Vanilla knockoff with none of the fun antics and over-the-top personality. We also have quite a few side characters, and none of them are interesting. They’re all the generic “nice guy/girl” except for Katerina, who is just a bitch to be a bitch, which is arguably worse. Conflict is sort of interesting, but it could have been better. Also, “Crookson”? Really? At least give him a personality along with the goofy name.

It's not the worst book in the world, that award belongs to Irrelewood Hoax, but if you didn’t read this, you wouldn’t be missing a damn thing. 

[risingshine]

"Lotus Eaters? The old Greek myth? Never been there," said Colette. "Why do you ask?"

"Cause a friend's havein a party, and apparenty if I could get tha fruits it'd really 'crank it up ta a next level' - and since its a week out, I'm trying ta see if I can find it!"

[leblogdemarinaetjm]

MARDI 1er OCTOBRE 2024 (Billet 2/2)

Pathé dévoile cette semaine la bande-annonce d'un documentaire consacré à la star, indéniable icône des années 1950 à 1970, qui a incarné la révolution sexuelle de toute une époque comme personne, mais qui, vue de 2024, est régulièrement critiquée pour ses opinions politiques.

"J'm'en fous qu'on se souvienne de moi ou pas. Ce que je voudrais, c'est qu'on se souvienne du respect qu'on doit aux animaux."

Ce film documentaire est construit autour d’un mélange d’images d’archives, d’interviews et de reconstitutions tournées. Brigitte Bardot en sera la première narratrice et prend comme point de départ sa décision si radicale et si forte de tout quitter pour se consacrer à la cause animale.

Alors qu’elle prend sa retraite du monde cinématographique en 1973, Brigitte Bardot comptabilise près de 45 films et plus de 70 chansons. D’actrice icône, elle devient une militante convaincue qui n’a depuis jamais dévié du chemin engagé qu’elle a tracé.

Une réflexion croisée sur ce que signifie être une femme artiste, une femme libre et parfois en avance sur son temps.

« Bardot » sortira en 2025 au cinéma.

(Source : « premiere.fr »)

Nous vous rappelons l’excellentissime petit livre dont nous avions déjà parlé sur le Blog (une lectrice/abonnée du Blog, Marlène B., l’a lu, l’a beaucoup aimé et nous a remerciés du conseil) :

« MES NUITS SANS BARDOT » de Simonetta Greggio.

« Prix du Livre de plage » 2024 - Jury Présidé par Jean-Christophe Rufin (de l’Académie Française)

« Mieux qu'une biographie, ce roman est un cadeau fait à tous ceux qui aiment B.B. » 

« On a cru me connaître parce qu'on m'a vue nue. Personne ne sait qui je suis vraiment. »

La 4e de couverture. Une femme s’installe à Saint-Tropez, tout près de La Madrague, afin de percer les mystères qui entourent la star flamboyante et secrète. Leurs voix, leurs histoires se répondent, mettant en lumière les multiples facettes de Bardot - de la fillette disgracieuse à l'amoureuse passionnée en passant par l'adolescente perdue et la militante de la cause animale -, et font ressurgir du passé de grandes figures artistiques : Colette, Vadim, Brando, Trintignant et Gainsbourg... À travers un troublant jeu de miroirs, se recrée sous nos yeux le mythe BB, un être d’une stupéfiante modernité.

L’autrice. Journaliste, scénariste, Simonetta Greggio est l’autrice de nombreux romans parmi lesquels « La Douceur des hommes » ; « Dolce Vita » ; « Les Nouveaux Monstres » ; « Bellissima » (éditions Stock) ; « Elsa mon amour » (Flammarion). Elle a également produit pour France Culture des documentaires consacrés à Virginia Woolf, Brigitte Bardot, Elsa Morante et Benito Mussolini.