Val And MelbyGianna Ragagnin

Val and Mel by Gianna Ragagnin

“Flowers were her natural allies, like trees, fruit and animals—everything that grows, sways in the wind, bites and hides. She was one of them, on their side.”

— Violet Trefusis, from Broderie Anglaise

i am insane <3 PRINTS

🪐 — edward teach​ ;

it still disorients him a little to have such an unyielding presence at his side.   someone he can trust to watch his back without fear of being thrown to the sharks for a coin or two.  there had never been someone like that in his life before,  and yet he found him while bound and bleeding on a british vessel,  headed for the gallows  —  life is funny like that sometimes,  he supposes.  edward hadn’t hesitated then,  back on his ship,  once the haze of pain released him enough to let him be conscious for more than a few minutes at a time:  izzy was to be made part of the crew from the get go,  and no one had better dare raise a single protest on the matter.  then harris died not long after that and the choice to replace his first mate had been so damn easy,  as easy as breathing.  who else other than the man who had freed him from the english and abandoned his post to follow him?  israel hands,  former british navy officer turned pirate,  now acting as his first mate.  

both the memory and izzy’s words bring a smile to his lips,  but edward is a little distracted  —  fingers tapping idly against his knee,  thoughts racing away from the recent event.   ❛  what?  uh,  yeah.  sure.  ❜   he seems to be miles away.  he agrees that they need to tell the men it had been their captain to kill the fellow,  but distantly,  like his ears are full of water.  an idea,  half formed and so sudden his head nearly spins with it:  they need something to mark their first raid together by.  and they need it now.   ❛  actually,  yes.  i need you to come with me quick.  ❜   grinning widely,  edward springs to his feet and reaches out to wrap a hand around his first mate’s wrist,  feeling half mad with anticipation as he heads towards his cabin.

( … )

❛  stay still for me,  mh?  captain’s orders.  ❜   he is holding a big needle close to his face,  after all,  grin replaced by a rather serious expression as he makes some experimental moves with his wrist,  still well above the skin.  edward straightens his back again,  balancing his weight on the mattress while his knees are positioned on either side of izzy’s hips,  effectively pinning him between himself and the bed.   ❛  this your first tattoo,  mr hands?  ❜

         I NEED YOU  edward says, grin dazzling as strong fingers curl around his wrist,  &  izzy’s world goes hazy. all doubts vanish from his mind as he follows edward into his cabin, a little flip in his stomach. there’s a chaotic energy to his captain that he only gets when his blood is up, adrenaline still buzzing through his body.  &  izzy revels in it, drinks in every moment. he always does as edward tells him without complaint or question, but at the order to get on the bed  &  lie back, his head spins. he almost passes out, but still he scrambles to comply, graceless as he stretches himself out on his back.  &  then a moment later edward is straddling his hips, tools clattering beside them,  &  izzy stops breathing.                                                                   whether he’s in heaven or hell, he can’t say. izzy has survived this long only by keeping a vice-tight control on his both body  &  his mind, but edward’s heat  &  weight pressing him flat back against the bed threatens to shatter his resolve to pieces. but he says stay still  &  izzy complies instantly, his thoughts going foggy  &  his body calming unconsciously under the commanding tone. the needle is large  &  menacing, ink welling darkly at its tip,  &  izzy can see that he means to place his mark just below his eye, just where the tears would fall if he ever were to let them.                               this will hurt, he knows,  &  the pain is a promise. to wear edward’s mark so plainly for all to see was a gift,  &  he would accept it as such. he will not flinch; he will make his captain proud.  izzy steels himself, swallowing around the thick lump in his throat. &  his hands need to take ahold of something, so they fist in the sheets below him, gripping tight enough for his knuckles to go white. ❝ yes, captain, ❞ he breathes, his voice hoarse  &  scarcely above a whisper.  ❝ my first. ❞  &  god is he grateful that edward is the first man who’s gotten beneath his skin; hopes he is the only one who ever does.  ❝ thank you. ❞

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE (2021) dir. Andy Serkis ››› Naomie Harris as Frances Barrison / Shriek

🪐 — kang sae-beyok ;

fingers close around the offered glass,   gesture more automatic than genuine.  she fights off the urge to wrinkle her nose as she scent of alcohol brushes against her nostrils,  but makes herself take a small sip anyway.  she might get away with tuning out half of katiana’s words  —  especially when they involve dinners with wealthy sons and such  —  but she doubts the girl is entirely stupid and sae-byeok needs to be careful.   

❛  no,  thanks.  ❜   she declines the invite,  clipping the vowels as she heard people around her do so many times already,  then finally settling down on a nearby armchair lest someone mistakes her for a waitress,  standing there with her spine straight and a blank expression to booth.  sae-byeok relaxes her stance as much as she can,  elbows on the armrests and champagne glass on the table,  while her gaze slips towards the little box of macarons  —  pastries she has never tasted from a country she has never been to.  and a bite of curiosity has the better of her,  sudden and striking,  guilt following fast on its heels. she shouldn’t want more than she has, and yet.   ❛  what do they taste like?  ❜

       IT’S ALMOST A DISAPPOINTMENT  when she says no. without a friend  — if sae-byeok could be considered such  —  there to talk to, katiana would probably end up actually having to listen to the investment banker for most of the night.  &  people who worked in finance certainly had a flash factor that she enjoyed  ( nice cars, fancy restaurants, the best champagne )  they were honestly pretty boring when it came right down to it. but she shrugs, it off, popping another perfect macaroon into her mouth.                                     but then sae-byeok asks an entirely unbelievable question,  &  katiana almost chokes on the pastry she’s still chewing. ❝ you mean you’ve never tried them ? ❞  a hand flies up to cover her full mouth, the shame of bad manners so deeply ingrained that it comes as instinct,  &  she forces herself to chew  &  swallow before she speaks again.  ❝ well here !  you have to have one !  ❞  katiana leans forward in her seat, the half-empty box extended out in one hand toward sae-byeok in offering.  &  she shakes the box a bit for emphasis, clearly refusing to take no for an answer.  ❝ come on, i insist. i definitely don’t need the whole box to myself. there’s plenty  —  &  they’re so good, like little sweet little sugar puffs !  you’ll love them. ❞