#〈 anastasia 〉 v: five years.

[adrl-pt]

Preparations for the “Noon Against Putin” campaign continue. PMC "Wagner" is being re-created in Africa.

You are watching news from the weekly rally at the Russian Embassy in Lisbon. Today is March 9, 14:30.

The murder of Alexei Navalny unsettled many people. Kremlin political strategists are trying to take advantage of this. Every now and then texts appear saying that everything is lost and Putin has won.

In response to our campaign “Silence is not a consent” in support of those who do not give up while remaining in Russia, we received hundreds of similar comments from Kremlin bots. They are trying to create a background that in Russia everyone is for Putin, and those who are against are paid for by the United States. Activists from different countries report attempts to destroy memorials in memory of Alexei. On Thursday, the memorial in Lisbon was also attacked.

But at the same time, we received thousands of likes and tens of thousands of views from you, those who do not give up. Memorials around the world are surrounded by lots of fresh flowers. And Alexei’s grave in Moscow is literally buried in flowers. The most touching statement on his grave reads: “We will cover you so warmly that all of Russia will get warm.” https://twitter.com/ne_buhai/status/1764622947279393165

Preparations for the “Anti-Putin Noon” campaign are in full swing. In Lisbon, the polling station will be set up at the embassy. It is not necessary by law to attach yourself to this site at Gosuslugi, but there is an opinion that in order to have enough ballots, it is worth doing. Yulia Navalnaya also supported this action in her recent video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93hgn6hrzUI

To achieve maximum coverage, we need the help of each of you. This is also important because it is possible that information will soon have to be passed on from person to person, just as samizdat was distributed. The head of the Internet Defense Society, Mikhail Klimarev, said on Feigin Live that Russia is already testing the blocking of YouTube and the entire Internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVEazCqC9dU

We previously talked about arms supplies to Russia from North Korea and Iran. Mercenaries are also being recruited in different countries, often without the consent of their authorities. Thus, at the end of January, the Associated Press reported that the Nepalese Foreign Ministry was demanding the return of about 200 recruited Nepalese. https://apnews.com/article/nepal-fighters-russia-ukraine-war-e57a45645666d02651f6efed4e3f21ae

Also at the end of January, The Moscow Times, citing Bloomberg, reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense was forming the Africa Korps from former members of the Wagner PMC. It is planned to create a corps of 20,000 people by the middle of the year in five African countries with regimes friendly to Russia. https://t.me/moscowtimes_ru/18892

More and more people are realizing that without their active participation, one may not only not wait for a regime change, but also end up in a world where Putin and his dictator friends rule everything. Anastasia Sergeeva from the Civic Council published her call not to give up. The Civic Council helps volunteers join the ranks of the Siberian Battalion as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It will become the basis of the army and security forces for the wonderful Russia of the future, in which Alexey Navalny believed. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/V3ibeJw48RkXpWfQ

We don't give up either. We continue to support all forms of resistance to the criminal Putin regime. Join us!

[carlosroborto]

Part 1 - Albert Anastasia Escaped the Electric Chair to Die in a Barber Chair

Albert Anastasia Escaped the Electric Chair to Die in a Barber Chair True Crime | True Crime Podcasts on Youtube | True Crime Documentary **After watching this video, watch Part 2 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6kj2JumhqE&t=11s ** Next, watch Part 3 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhXPorMk-IM Albert Anastasia (born “Anastasio,” the masculine form of the Italian name) was a mobster who came out of the tough streets of Lower Manhattan to run one of the Five Families of La Cosa Nostra through the first half of the 20th century. Along the way, he built a reputation as one of the Mob’s most feared killers. Anastasia was reportedly a member of Murder Incorporated, the kill-for-hire crew that worked for Charlie “Lucky” Luciano and others in the years of Prohibition. Anastasia was, according to reports, one of the four men in 1931 who assassinated Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria, a powerful Mob boss, in the bloody gang rivalry known as the Castellammarese War. Anastasia was charged in three murders – in 1928, 1932 and 1933 – but in each case, witnesses either disappeared or refused to testify. Two other high-level Mob informants, both under police custody, died before their testimony helped bring Anastasia to trial, in 1941 and 1942. During World War II, Anastasia joined the U.S. Army. He also reportedly helped engineer the deal that eventually allowed Luciano, then ostensibly serving a life sentence for multiple prostitution-related convictions, to get out of prison (and go into exile in Italy) in exchange for keeping the New York City docks free of wartime Nazi infiltration. Anastasia worked for the Army training longshoremen on the East Coast. In 1943, he received U.S. citizenship for his military service, and he was honorably discharged from the Army in 1944. Eventually, Gambino moved against his sometime family boss. Anastasia was gunned down while he was sitting in a barber chair in Manhattan. Gambino assumed the family leadership, which would eventually become known as the Gambino crime family.

[daryldamnson]

MASTERLIST

EDDIE MUNSON:

Fics:

Surprise, Surprise (complete)

Summary: Eddie has to reckon with the fact that the rich cheerleader he thought he could brush off as another basic conformist has a few surprises up her sleeve. (6.6k words)

part i

part ii

part iii

part iv

part v

Sweet Boy

Summary: Requested!  Eddie’s father shows up unexpectedly.  At first Eddie freezes up, but when his dad starts harassing you, years of pent up anger gets released.  soft ending!  (1.1k words)

Primadonna

Summary: Requested!  After Corroded Coffin gets famous famous, Eddie buys you stuff.  Lots of stuff.  You reassure him that all you really want is him.  (0.7k words)

Put Your Head On My Shoulder

Summary: On the drive home from a day out with the regular troupe, you and Eddie get shoved in the back two seats. It doesn’t take long for you to drift off when Eddie offers himself up as a human pillow. pre-relationship fluff. (1k words)

Elm Street and Other Things Worth Waiting For

Summary: Eddie’s convinced he heard you listening to Black Sabbath.  Steve’s not having it.  You just came in to rent a horror movie; you leave with a maybe date with the metalhead who’s kind of already obsessed with you.  (2.1k words)

Homespun Remedies

Summary: Requested! You get the hiccups. Eddie is a dork. cute and dumb fluff. (0.4k words)

Caught Up In You

Summary: Jason manages to corner you at a party. You’re saved by a knight in shining leather jacket who does very well at playing boyfriend. Maybe too well. (2k words)

made a wish on elevens - historical royal au

Summary: Eddie’s a servant. He knows what that means. He knows he can’t have you. He loves you anyway. hardcore pining. (1k words)

Sweet Nothing

Summary: Requested! A quiet day in where Eddie doesn’t feel the need to put on any airs because he’s with you, his favourite person. (0.5k words)

Steady (in progress)

Summary: soft post-s4 steddie/reader. no real summary yet. the name makes me laugh ok.  1.4k words and counting

Close Calls (in progress)

Summary: Eddie likes to pretend he hasn’t been crushing on you for the better part of a year.  It becomes a much more difficult task after you begin tutoring him.  6.5k words and counting

Headcanons:

Eddie’s kinks

STEVE HARRINGTON:

Fics:

Crime and Punishment (complete)

Summary:  One day when you’re in the library Steve Harrington attempts to engage you in a conversation about a book he’s clearly never read, because he’s crushing on you and all other attempts of striking up conversation have flown right over your oblivious head.  Fluffy and short.  Awkward!Steve. (3.8k words)

part i

part ii

part iii

part iv

part v

And Suddenly, I See It At A Glance (on hold)

Summary:  Anastasia prompt - “ah, an unspoken attraction.” “attraction? to that skinny little brat? have you lost your mind?”  Steve realises that yes, he does have feelings for Y/N.

part i

part ii

part iii

Headcanons:

Meeting you

Camp counsellor Steve

Steve confessing his love

Cuddling

Semi-public sin

Protective Steve (angsty version)

Lazy day in bed

He’ll be such a good dad

Comfort after a nightmare

Christmas Shopping

Steve’s kinks

DAIR:

Fics:

Lemons, Limes, and Tomatoes (complete)

Summary: She finds it hard to describe.  Realising she likes Dan Humphrey. (0.4k words)

SPENCER REID:

Headcanons:

Reader is a youtuber

BUCKY BARNES:

Fics:

Five Times He Wanted To Kiss You + One Time He Did (on hold)

Summary:  You’re a good friend of Tony Stark’s who decides to drop in for a while.  Bucky can’t seem to help becoming captivated by you (and your lips).

part i

part ii

part iii

part iv

part v

part vi

Headcanons:

pining for you (pt. 1)

confessing his feelings (pt. 2)

BILLY HARGROVE (will be ooc bc i hate him really):

Headcanons:

Christmas Shopping

Meeting him (+Billy loves your ass)

Fics:

Safety Hazards and Lethal Smiles (on hold)

Summary:  Billy Hargrove is an asshole of epic proportions.  You know that.  Everyone knows that.  So why does your heart stutter every time grins at you?  Man, are you in trouble.

part i

part ii

part iii

[dweemeister]

The complete list of films featured in 2021′s “31 Days of Oscar” marathon

What follows is the exhaustive list of all 403 short- and feature-length films featured on this blog over the last thirty-one days for the 31 Days of Oscar marathon. This number is up from last year’s count of 327 and is the second-highest number of films I have ever featured in this marathon (behind the 410 films from 2016). Despite the number, this remains only a fraction of the nearly 5,000 films that have been nominated for Academy Awards. This year’s marathon was harder to plan than usual due to the fact it was presented in alphabetical order - with the exception of any write-ups I did.

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE 1927-1929: 7 1930s: 44 1940s: 63 1950s: 63 1960s: 46 1970s: 25 1980s: 29 1990s: 28 2000s: 25 2010s: 43 2020s: 30

Year with most representation (2020 excluded): 1940 (ten films) Median year: 1964

And now, the list. Best Picture winners and the one (and only) winner for Unique and Artistic Production are in bold. Asterisked (*) films are films I haven’t seen in their entirety as of the publishing of this post.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Ace in the Hole (1951)

Adam’s Rib (1949)*

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

After the Thin Man (1936)*

Airport (1970)*

Aladdin (1992)

Albert Nobbs (2011)

Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938)

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Almost Famous (2000)

An American in Paris (1951)

Anastasia (1956)

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Annie (1982)

Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)

Arrival (2016)

Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987, France)

The Awful Truth (1937)

Babe (1995)

Baby Doll (1956)*

Ballad of a Soldier (1959, Soviet Union)*

The Band Wagon (1953)

Bao (2018 short)

Ben-Hur (1959)

Berkeley Square (1933)

The Best Man (1964)

Better Days (2019, Hong Kong)*

The Big Chill (1983)*

The Birds (1963)

Birds Anonymous (1957 short)

Black Orpheus (1959, Brazil)

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Blue Velvet (1986)

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)*

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2020)*

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Brief Encounter (1945)

Brotherhood (2018 short, Tunisia/Canada/Qatar/Sweden)

Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Calamity Jane (1953)

Carol (2015)*

Casablanca (1942)

Casino (1995)*

Charade (1963)

The Circus (1928)

Citizen Kane (1941)

City of God (2002, Brazil)*

Claudine (1974)*

Closely Watched Trains (1966, Czechoslovakia)

Coraline (2009)*

Da 5 Bloods (2020)*

Dances with Wolves (1990)

Death in Venice (1971)*

Destination Moon (1950)*

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

Down Argentine Way (1940)

Dunkirk (2017)

Easter Parade (1948)

The Edge of Democracy (2019, Brazil)*

Educated Fish (1937 short)*

El Cid (1961)*

Elmer Gantry (1960)

The End of the Affair (1999)*

Ernest & Celestine (2012, France/Belgium)

Face to Face (1976, Sweden)*

The Fallen Idol (1948)

Fantasia (1940)

A Fantastic Woman (2017, Chile)*

Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)*

A Farewell to Arms (1932)*

A Few Good Men (1992)*

Five Easy Pieces (1970)*

The Five Pennies (1959)

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)

Flower Drum Song (1961)

Flowers and Trees (1932 short)

Flying Down to Rio (1933)*

For All Mankind (1989)

For Sama (2019)*

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Forrest Gump (1994)

42nd Street (1933)

Four Days in November (1964)*

The Four Feathers (1939)

The 400 Blows (1959, France)

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)*

From Here to Eternity (1953)

Funny Face (1957)

Funny Girl (1968)

Fury (1936)*

Gandhi (1982)

The Garden of Allah (1936)

Garden Party (2017 short, France)

Gaslight (1944)

Giant (1956)

Gigi (1958)

Gladiator (2000)

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather, Part II (1974)

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

Gorillas in the Mist (1988)*

Gosford Park (2001)

Grand Hotel (1932)

Grand Prix (1966)*

The Great Beauty (2013, Italy)

The Great Race (1965)

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Green Book (2018)

Green Dolphin Street (1947)*

The Green Mile (1999)*

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Gunga Din (1939)

Hair Love (2019 short)

Hallelujah (1929)*

Hamlet (1948)

Hamlet (1990)

Hamlet (1996)

Hangmen Also Die! (1943)*

The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)

The Harvey Girls (1946)

Heartbreak Ridge (1986)*

The Heiress (1949)

Hell’s Angels (1930)*

Henry V (1989)

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Hero (2002, China)*

Hidden Figures (2016)

The High and the Mighty (1954)*

High Noon (1952)

High Society (1956)

Himalaya (1999, France/Switzerland/United Kingdom/Nepal)*

Home Alone (1990)

Honeysuckle Rose (1980)*

Hoosiers (1986)

The House on 92nd Street (1945)*

How the West Was Won (1962)

How to Survive a Plague (2012)*

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

I Married a Witch (1942)*

I Never Sang for My Father (1970)

I Vitelloni (1953, Italy)*

I Wanted Wings (1941)*

I, Tonya (2017)*

Ida (2013, Poland)

Imitation of Life (1959)

In Cold Blood (1967)

In the Absence (2018 short, South Korea)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Inherit the Wind (1960)

Inside Daisy Clover (1965)*

Inside Moves (1980)*

It Happened One Night (1934)

It Happened Tomorrow (1944)*

It Should Happen to You (1954)*

It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)

Jackie Brown (1997)*

Jammin’ the Blues (1944 short)*

Jaws (1975)

The Jazz Singer (1927)

Jerry’s Cousin (1951 short)

Jesus Camp (2006)*

Jezebel (1938)

Jim: The James Foley Story (2016)*

Joe’s Violin (2016 short)

The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)

Joyeux Noel (2005, France)

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Julia (1977)*

Juliet of the Spirits (1965, Italy)

Kagemusha (1980, Japan)

The Karate Kid (1984)

The Killers (1946)*

The King and I (1956)

The King’s Speech (2010)

The Kite Runner (2007)

Knights of the Round Table (1953)*

Knives Out (2019)

Kundun (1997)*

La Ronde (1950, France)*

La Strada (1954, Italy)

La Traviata (1982, Italy)*

Lady Be Good (1941)*

The Lady Eve (1941)

The Ladykillers (1955)*

The Last Emperor (1987)

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

The Life Ahead (2020, Italy)*

Life is Beautiful (1997, Italy)

Life with Feathers (1945 short)

Lili (1953)

Lilies of the Field (1963)

The Lion in Winter (1968)*

Little Caesar (1931)

A Little Romance (1979)

Little Women (2019)

Logan (2017)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Lost Horizon (1937)

Love Affair (1939)*

Love Story (1970)*

Loving Vincent (2017)

The Magic Flute (1975, Sweden)

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Malcolm X (1992)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Maria Full of Grace (2004, Colombia)*

Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)*

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Mighty Joe Young (1949)*

Milk (2008)

Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)*

The Miracle Worker (1962)*

Mon Oncle (1958, France)

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953, France)*

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

My Fair Lady (1964)

My Favorite Wife (1940)

My Favorite Year (1982)

My Night at Maud’s (1969)*

The Narrow Margin (1952)

The Natural (1984)

Nebraska (2013)

Network (1976)

Night Must Fall (1937)*

Nightcrawler (2014)*

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Ninotchka (1939)

Nowhere in Africa (2001, Germany)*

Odd Man Out (1947)*

The Official Story (1985, Argentina)*

Oklahoma! (1955)*

Oliver! (1968)

On Golden Pond (1981)*

On the Riviera (1951)*

On the Waterfront (1954)

One Day in September (1999)*

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

One Foot in Heaven (1941)

One Hour with You (1932)

One Potato, Two Potato (1964)*

Only Angels Have Wings (1939)*

Our Town (1940)

Paisan (1946, Italy)

Pal Joey (1957)*

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006, Mexico)

Paper Moon (1973)*

Parasite (2019, South Korea)

The Parent Trap (1961)

A Passage to India (1984)*

Patton (1970)

Pelle the Conqueror (1987, Denmark)*

Period. End of Sentence. (2018 short)

Persepolis (2007, France)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

Pigs in a Polka (1943 short)*

Pillow Talk (1959)*

Pinocchio (1940)

Places in the Heart (1984)*

Poltergeist (1982)

Portrait of Jennie (1948)

Precious (2009)*

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)*

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)*

The Producers (1967)

Psycho (1960)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Purple Rain (1984)

Puss Gets the Boot (1940 short)

Pygmalion (1938)

Quiet Please! (1945 short)

Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020, Bosnia-Herzegovina)*

Rachel, Rachel (1968)*

Ran (1985, Japan)

Random Harvest (1942)

Rashômon (1950, Japan)

Rasputin and the Empress (1932)*

Rear Window (1954)

Rebecca (1940)

Red River (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

A River Runs Through It (1992)

Road to Perdition (2002)

Roma (2018, Mexico)

Saludos Amigos (1942)

Same Time, Next Year (1978)*

The Secret of Kells (2009)

Sense and Sensibility (1995)*

Sergeant York (1941)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Seven Samurai (1954, Japan)

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

The Shape of Water (2017)

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)*

She Done Him Wrong (1933)*

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

The Shootist (1976)

The Shop on Main Street (1965, Czechoslovakia)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Silverado (1985)

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

The Snake Pit (1948)*

Song of the Sea (2014)

Sounder (1972)

The Sound of Music (1965)

The Spanish Main (1945)*

Speedy (1928)

Speedy Gonzales (1955 short)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Spirited Away (2001, Japan)

Stagecoach (1939)

A Star is Born (1937)

A Star is Born (1954)

A Star is Born (1976)*

A Star is Born (2018)

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Star Wars (1977)

Starship Troopers (1997)

The Sting (1973)

A Stolen Life (1946)*

The Story of Three Loves (1953)*

The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003, Mongolia)*

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)*

The Stranger (1946)*

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Strike Up the Band (1940)

Strings (1991 short)*

The Sundowners (1960)*

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Superman (1978)

Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)

Swing Time (1936)

T-Men (1947)*

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, Japan)

Tangerines (2013, Estonia)*

Tenet (2020)

Them! (1954)

Theodora Goes Wild (1936)*

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)*

This is Cinerama (1952)*

The Three Musketeers (1948)

Three Orphan Kittens (1935 short)

Time (2020)*

Timecode (2016 short, Spain)

Tom Jones (1963)

Toni Erdmann (2016, Germany)*

Top Hat (1935)

The Triplets of Belleville (2003, France)*

The Truman Show (1998)*

12 Angry Men (1957)

Twilight of Honor (1963)*

Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)*

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Umberto D. (1952, Italy)

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964, France)

Unforgiven (1992)

Up (2009)

Vertigo (1958)

Victor/Victoria (1982)

WALL-E (2008)

Watch on the Rhine (1943)*

Waterloo Bridge (1940)

Weary River (1929)*

West Side Story (1961)

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968 short)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Wolfwalkers (2020)

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

You Can’t Take It with You (1938)

Zorba the Greek (1964)*

The 15 nominated short films for the 93rd Academy Awards

The 8 nominees for Best Picture at the 93rd Academy Awards, including the winner, Nomadland

Until next year’s ceremony, folks - February will be here before we know it!

[flamespun]

tag drop: anastasia.

[x-rainflame-x]

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Tagged approximately one thousand years ago by @firewoodfigs, @hanamuri, @musing-and-music :'D Thank you for tagging me even if I cannot even ;v;

Currently In progress:

Never Slumber, Nevermore

Glass Stars and Paper Moons

Sort of in progress:

Sandcastles

First You Dream

Haven’t Touched Yet:

Anastasia AU

StP Oneshots: like five of them

Ed and Alfons have a nice Christmas except they don’t

Homunculus Fic

Ed Can’t Swim (Probably can’t dance either)

“Fullmetal, it is my regret to inform you that you are deceased.”

Roy Takes a Zoom Call

Moonshine Lullaby

A Cautionary Tale on Body Piercings

If Wishes Were Horses

Miles to Go

Last Song of Summer

Wishing Wells Do Not Tell

Second Family

Lost in the Waves

Tornado Warning

Four Requests

I could not possibly tag this many people but I'm gonna take a stab at it xD Tagging @mildly-nerdy, @lilisky, @ta1k-less, @nerdywriiterchild, @liathgray, @the-original-akarri, @anthropwashere, @justanotherghostwriter, @elricsyao, @thewingedwalrus, @aureshadow, @ymir-me, @niconiconina, @by-nina, @magmatickobaian, @fullmetalscullyy

[wisteria-lodge]

My explanation of the Sorting Hat Chats System

SHC Archetypes

Living character sorting doc 

SortMe masterpost, where I sort *real* people (reader submissions)

Character sortings that members of the community have written can be found below the cut. Let me know if you’ve written a character sorting you want included. 

3% @justbecauseyoubelievesomething

ANASTASIA @alix-in-july

BARBIE FRANCHISE  @missbrunettebarbie, @the-phoenix-heart, @starry-sky-stuff, @laufire

BARE: A POP OPERA @repetitionsings

BIG HERO 6 @dragonsaredorks

BLACK SAILS  @laufire 

BOKURANO @swearingintengwar

THE BOLD TYPE @writingonesdreams

BROADCHURCH @connecting-the-mothership 

Alec Hardy 

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER @wisteria-lodge

BUNGOU STRAY DOGS @writingonesdreams

CASTLEVANIA @the-phoenix-heart

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE @wisteria-lodge

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN @wisteria-lodge

CHUUBO’S MARVELOUS WISH-GRANTING ENGINE: GLASS-MAKER’S DRAGON @thecottageinthedark

DC COMICS

Catwoman / Selina Kyle @nectargrapes

A DEADLY EDUCATION @parpatarts

DISCWORLD @paint-the-ravenclaw 

Death @paint-the-ravenclaw 

The Witches @thecottageinthedark

DOLLHOUSE @missbrunettebarbie & @laufire

DOWNTON ABBEY @montmarayroyal

EMMA (AUSTEN) @alix-in-july

THE EXPANSE @wyrdnis

FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF @wisteria-lodge

FINAL FANTASY X @thecottageinthedark

FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES @lachless

The Lords

The Black Eagles 

FUTURAMA @the-phoenix-heart

GOOD OMENS @wisteria-lodge

More on Crowley’s sorting

More on Aziraphale’s sorting

GOSSIP GIRL @persefoneshalott

THE GREAT @missbrunettebarbie

GRISHA TRILOGY @starry-sky-stuff

Six of Crows Duology

H2O: JUST ADD WATER @nectargrapes & @missbrunettebarbie

HAIBANE RENMEI @swearingintengwar

HAMLET @wisteria-lodge

Ophelia

Gertrude

Hamlet & Horatio

Laertes & Fortinbras

HANAKO-KUN @writingonesdreams 

HANNIBAL 

Abigail Hobbs @dealltheknives  

Will Graham @awritersrejections & @reds-burrow

HARRY POTTER

Harry Potter @awinterrain & @wisteria-lodge

Ron Weasley @wisteria-lodge

Ginny Weasley @awinterrain & @the-phoenix-heart

Peter Pettigrew @wisteria-lodge

Draco Malfoy @awinterrain & @the-phoenix-heart

Vernon, Petunia & Dudley Dursley @awinterrain et al.

Rubeus Hagrid @paint-the-ravenclaw

Sibyl Trelawney @paint-the-ravenclaw

Tom Riddle & Cornelius Fudge @paint-the-ravenclaw

The Weasleys @the-phoenix-heart

HIS DARK MATERIALS @missbrunettebarbie 

HOUSE OF CARDS @sevilemar

KILLING EVE

Eve Polastri & Villanelle @idrewbedraggledbreaths

More thoughts on Eve & Villanelle @ornamental-coral

KILLJOYS @missbrunettebarbie & @starry-sky-stuff

LABYRINTH @the-phoenix-heart

More on Jareth’s sorting

THE LAST FIVE YEARS @dealltheknives

THE LAST UNICORN  @the-phoenix-heart

LES MISERABLES @everyonewasabird

THE LOCKED TOMB TRILOGY @thecottageinthedark

Ianthe & Coronabeth Tridentarius 

Ortus Nigenad

LUCIFER @yoursummerfrost

MAFIA III @rottingmanifesto

John Donovan & Lincoln Clay

THE MANDALORIAN @reds-burrow

More on Greef Karga’s sorting

THE MENTALIST @missbrunettebarbie with @laufire

MERLIN @sarahmillie

MIRACULOUS  LADYBUG @the-phoenix-heart

Redux

MONSTERS INC. @dragonsaredorks

MR. AND MRS. SMITH  @starry-sky-stuff

MY HERO ACADEMIA @the-phoenix-heart

Hawk & Dabi

More on Deku & Bakugou’s sorting

NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND @the-phoenix-heart

THE OLD GUARD @wisteria-lodge

ONCE UPON A TIME @starry-sky-stuff

PERSONA 4  @thecottageinthedark

PITCH PERFECT @starry-sky-stuff & @missbrunettebarbie

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA @air-in-words

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN @wisteria-lodge

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG @the-phoenix-heart

RIVERS OF LONDON  @wisteria-lodge

SANDERS SIDES @magpie-of-a-birb

SCOOBY DOO @air-in-words

SET IT UP @starry-sky-stuff

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS @reds-burrow

SHERLOCK HOLMES (CONAN DOYLE) @wisteria-lodge

SOFIA THE FIRST @alix-in-july

SPIRITED AWAY @the-phoenix-heart

STAR TREK (TOS / AOS)  @wisteria-lodge

STAR TREK (DS9) @wisteria-lodge

Elim Garak

Julian Bashir

STAR WARS (PARENT SERIES) @wisteria-lodge

Emperor Palpatine 

Anakin Skywalker & Obi-wan Kenobi 

STAR WARS (CLONE WARS) @reds-burrow

More on Rex’s sorting

STEVEN UNIVERSE @applesaps et al.

SUPERNATURAL

Castiel @wisteria-lodge

John, Dean & Sam Winchester @wisteria-lodge

Lucifer & Michael @wisteria-lodge

Jimmy & Claire Novak @wisteria-lodge

Ruby & Bela Talbot @laufire

Balthazar @wisteria-lodge

Meg Masters  @laufire

TANZ DER VAMPIRE @herlaqueen & @niche-pastiche

TWILIGHT  @misku-nimfa & @livrelady

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY @wisteria-lodge

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES @sevilemar

V FOR VENDETTA @the-phoenix-heart & @wisteria-lodge

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS @sevilemar & @wisteria-lodge

OC SORTING - Essence of the Equinox @nectargrapes

[q-gorgeous]

Family

fanfiction

hidey hey another dannymay fic but now its october i had most of this written for awhile but eh

“Okay, let me get this straight.” Vlad said, pinching the bridge of his nose and ignoring the glare Oliver was sending him from across the table. “You two dated long enough to get engaged?” 

“Yes, Vlad.” Anastasia said as she set a plate down at the table. 

“And Oliver is your son, Neil?” 

“Yep, he sure is.” Neil said as he fiddled with the flowers in the vase in front of him. 

“You and Neil had a kid together.” Vlad whispered, squinting at the table in disbelief. 

“Why are you so shocked?” Oliver asked. “He must’ve been pretty great if someone had a kid with him. No one’s had a kid with you.”

“Oliver!” Anastasia gasped. 

“Woah.” Neil said, looking with wide eyes between Vlad and Oliver. 

“When did things get that serious between you two?” Vlad exclaimed, not seeming to notice Oliver’s comment. 

“You’d probably know about all of that if you’d been here.” Oliver said, interrupting Anastasia, as he crossed his arms and continued staring at Vlad. 

“Oliver! That’s enough. Be nice to Vlad today.” Anastasia scolded. 

“Your mom’s right, kid.” Neil started. “You gotta be nice to Vlad. Him and I were actually buddies for a bit in school. He always seemed nice. Not sure what he did to garner those kinds of comments though.” 

“Yeah, not sure what he did either except be gone for almost twenty years.”

Neil spit out his water he had just taken a sip from. “Twenty years?! Vlad where were you all that time?”

Vlad waved his hand as he stared out the window over the sink. “Oh you know, getting into the business world and creating a name for myself. Investing.”

“For twenty years?” Neil asked, raising an eyebrow. Seeing Oliver move on his left, Neil watched as the boy stared him in the eyes and made a finger waggle motion similar to one he’s seen Anastasia make when they were younger. Neil’s eyes widened. 

“Wait-”

Vlad lightly pounded a fist on the table and stood up quickly. “Where’s mom? I should go find her.”

“Now, now. Stay where you are Vlad, I’m coming downstairs.” Mrs. Masters said, slowly making her way down the stairs.

“Are you ready? Can we finally start dinner now, mom?” Anastasia asked, her hands on her hips when Mrs. Masters finally sat down. 

“Of course! I can’t wait to see what you guys whipped up today while I was working. I’m sure it’ll be delicious.” Mrs. Masters' gaze turned towards Neil and she started a bit. “Oh my, Neil. I always forget you’re back. Are you still doing good?”

“I sure am, Mrs. Masters. Couldn’t be better!” Neil said before taking another sip of his water. 

“Oh, that’s good! And I’m sure Vlad will be doing just as good in a few minutes as well!” 

Vlad looked suspiciously at his mom in apprehension. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Mrs. Masters waved him off. “So, Oliver, when are your friends coming over again? I’d love to hear more of your music you’ve been practicing.”

“I’m not sure. I try to keep them away from the house when Vlad is here.”

“Oliver!” Anastasia scolded again as she placed a dish of casserole on the table. “What did I say already? Leave your uncle alone.”

“What, like how he left you guys alone for all those years? Gladly.”

Vlad glared at the boy from across the table. “You can’t even fathom what I went through! You couldn’t possibly know why I left!”

“What’s there to know?” Oliver shouted back, grabbing a big spoon and dishing out a big heaping of casserole. “You were gone for twenty years and you come back and make me feel like there are ants under my skin. There’s only one thing that makes me feel like that. You wanna know what it is?”

Neil placed a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “Come on, Oliver. Now is not the time. Let’s eat dinner and then later you and I can go get ice cream while they talk stuff out.”

“Go get ice cream? What am I, five? We have ice cream in the fridge anyways.”

“Oliver, don’t use that tone of voice with your father.” Anastasia said as she placed a napkin in her lap.

Picking at his casserole, Oliver let out a mumble. “He’s as much of a father to me as Vlad is an uncle.”

Silence settled over the table as Oliver stared at his food, the adults stared at Oliver, and Mrs. Masters looked between all of them. 

Suddenly the silence was broken by knocking on the front door.

“Hey, V-man! It’s me and Maddie!”

“What?!” Vlad shouted, recoiling in his chair. 

“Oh, they made it!” Mrs. Masters said, clapping her hands together. “That boy Jack, I remembered how much you loved him when you were younger and I heard that you guys were talking again! So I figured I’d invite them over for the weekend.” She got up from her seat at the table and headed to the door. 

Vlad sent a glare towards Anastasia and she shrugged at him apologetically. 

“Hiya, Mrs. Masters!” Jack said jovially as the door opened. “It’s been awhile! How are you guys doing?”

“Jack, Maddie!” Mrs. Masters smiled at them. “We’ve been good, come in come in. We just started dinner.”

Jack and Maddie followed Mrs. Masters back into the kitchen where everyone else was still sitting, silently staring at their plates. 

“Hi everyone!” Jack bellowed once they made their way in. 

“Hi, Jack, hi Maddie.” Anastasia said with a smile. “You didn’t bring the kids with you?”

“No.” Maddie said with a wave of her hand. “Jazz is studying and Danny had plans with his friends this weekend. They’re back home.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. We haven’t seen them in awhile.” 

Jack turned towards Neil and held a hand out. “Hi! I’m Jack.” Neil grabbed his hand and shook it as Jack squinted at him. “Say, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

“I think we hung out a few times as kids when you came to visit Vlad. I’m Oliver’s father.”

Jack stared at Neil in shock, turning to look at Anastasia and Oliver, pointing at Neil. “This is Oliver’s dad?” Jack asked in a voice much too quiet for him. 

Anastasia nodded and a smile lit up Jack’s face and he scooped Neil into his arms, giving him a bear hug. “Isn’t that amazing! Welcome to the family!”

“Jack, I don’t believe you’re a part of this family.” Vlad said, still staring at his plate.

“You’re kidding me right?” Oliver snapped. “He’s been more of an uncle than you have! He’s been here the last twenty years that you were gone, seeing when you’d come back!”

“He’s the reason I left!” Vlad shouted, slamming his hands down on the table as he stood up. “He’s the reason the accident happened, the reason I was in the hospital, the reason I could never be the same again! He doesn’t deserve to be a part of this family!” 

Oliver stared at Vlad with wide eyes, the room was silent again. 

“Vladdy-” Jack started. 

Aggressively, Vlad pushed his chair in and stomped his way upstairs. Heading into his old bedroom, he slammed the door shut and collapsed on the bed. He lay on the bed, in his room that had hardly changed in the past two decades, but had miraculously stayed clean all that time. 

After a few minutes of pouting, Vlad hears a soft knock at his door. He considers going invisible, but that would probably only raise Oliver’s hostility towards him if Vlad just disappeared. 

“Vlad?” Jack's voice carries quietly through the door, much more gentle than most times Vlad has heard the man speak. Vlad ignores him, facing the wall next to his bed. 

The door slowly opens and Vlad can feel Jack peeking in at him. 

“Can we talk?”

“No.” Vlad curls further into himself. 

“Okay. Well then, I guess I’ll talk.” Jack closes the door behind him and makes his way to Vlad’s bed where he sits down beside the other man. 

Vlad can feel the other man fidgeting behind him. Jack doesn’t fidget. Maybe out of excitement or boredom, but Vlad doesn’t know the last time Jack has fidgeted out of nervousness. 

“You know it was an accident, right?” Jack says quietly. This causes Vlad to flinch. Of course he knows it was an accident. That didn’t stop it from ruining his life. 

“I had really wanted to show you guys that it’d work. That we could really get into the ghost zone. Maybe if I had just let Maddie put the finishing touches on it then…” Vlad heard a sigh and could tell Jack was running a hand down his face. “That was the worst day of my life.”

This statement startled Vlad, the fist he had been clenching to his chest falling open in his surprise. 

“When you screamed, I-” Jack’s words got caught in his throat, but he pushed through. “I thought you were dead. I thought when me and Maddie stood up, that I’d find you dead on the floor.

“And then we could never see you in the hospital, we had to finish school, by the time we had finally arranged a time to come visit you, you were gone. No one knew where you went. We were all scared.”

Guilt filled Vlad’s being, memories of the nightmares he’d had of his ghostly side taking over and hurting his best friends coming to the front of his mind. The terror he’d felt not knowing if he’d follow through with any of it. 

Finally, Vlad turned over to his other side to face Jack, his hand coming to rest beside Jack's knee. Vlad kept his eyes averted, but he could feel the other man staring down at him. 

“I’m sorry, Vlad.” Jack whispered. “I wish I could’ve said that sooner.”

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Vlad blinked his eyes a couple times before he lifted an open hand to Jack. Turning his gaze up, Vlad could see Jack’s watery eyes. 

Jack gently grabbed his hand, running his thumb along Vlad’s knuckles. 

Vlad took another deep breath and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, Vlad heard the door open and close softly. Someone else sat down on the bed near him and small fingers ran through his hair. Distantly he could hear Maddie whispering to Jack, but he was too relaxed by this point to zone back in. He thought about the last time they did this back in college, during midterms. 

He hadn’t realized how much he missed this, missed them. Guilt fills his chest again as he thinks about the twenty years he spent away from everyone and he grips Jack’s hand a bit harder. 

Never again.

[carlosroborto]

Part 2 - Albert Anastasia Escaped the Electric Chair to Die in a Barber Chair - Part 2

Albert Anastasia Escaped the Electric Chair to Die in a Barber Chair - Part 2 True Crime | True Crime Podcasts on YouTube | True Crime Documentary **Before watching this episode, watch Part 1 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvvlTP3pk8c&t=250s ** When you're done with Part 2, view Part 3 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhXPorMk-IM Albert Anastasia (born “Anastasio,” the masculine form of the Italian name) was a mobster who came out of the tough streets of Lower Manhattan to run one of the Five Families of La Cosa Nostra through the first half of the 20th century. Along the way, he built a reputation as one of the Mob’s most feared killers. Anastasia was reportedly a member of Murder Incorporated, the kill-for-hire crew that worked for Charlie “Lucky” Luciano and others in the years of Prohibition. Anastasia was, according to reports, one of the four men in 1931 who assassinated Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria, a powerful Mob boss, in the bloody gang rivalry known as the Castellammarese War. Anastasia was charged in three murders – in 1928, 1932 and 1933 – but in each case, witnesses either disappeared or refused to testify. Two other high-level Mob informants, both under police custody, died before their testimony helped bring Anastasia to trial, in 1941 and 1942. During World War II, Anastasia joined the U.S. Army. He also reportedly helped engineer the deal that eventually allowed Luciano, then ostensibly serving a life sentence for multiple prostitution-related convictions, to get out of prison (and go into exile in Italy) in exchange for keeping the New York City docks free of wartime Nazi infiltration. Anastasia worked for the Army training longshoremen on the East Coast. In 1943, he received U.S. citizenship for his military service, and he was honorably discharged from the Army in 1944. Eventually, Gambino moved against his sometime family boss. Anastasia was gunned down while he was sitting in a barber chair in Manhattan. Gambino assumed the family leadership, which would eventually become known as the Gambino crime family.

[cadence-talle]

Rain Against A Window

Pairing: Eventual Fitz Vacker/Dex Dizznee, Eventual Biana Vacker/Sophie Foster

Wordcount: 1,746

Summary: Dex continues, “have you heard the rumors? About the prince and princess?”

“You mean the princess whose name is so similar to mine I visibly react whenever anyone mentions her? Yeah, I’ve heard of her.”

“They’re saying-” and here Dex’s voice drops to a whisper- “that Fitzroy and Bianca are alive.”

Other notes: Here’s the first chapter of the Anastasia AU! I’m a little nervous about starting a multichap, so please bear with me!

Read it on ao3 or under the cut!

St Petersburg, Russia. October 12, 1917. 

Della rushes through the palace hallways, holding tight to the hands of her two smallest children. Fitzroy stumbles, and she pulls him to his feet. 

“Come on, sweetheart,” she says. “We need to keep going.”

She doesn’t know where Alden and Alvar are. As soon as the shouts of “assassin” had been heard, she had taken Fitzroy and Bianca and run. She hopes that her husband and her eldest son are all right.

They turn into a hallway, and Della can see the doorway that will lead them outside at the end. She breathes a sigh of relief- they’re almost there. They’re going to make it. 

Gently, she pushes Bianca and Fitzroy forward towards the door, spinning around when she hears footsteps behind them. Della’s sags when she sees Alvar standing there. 

“Al, thank goodness,” she says. “Come on, we need to leave.”

“You’re right,” Alvar says coldly. “You do.”

Della blinks. “Alvar?”

Slowly, her son reaches behind himself and points a gun at her. Della freezes. “Alvar,” she pleads, “Don’t do this. You’re better than this.”

Alvar snorts. “Funny. I wasn’t aware you thought of me as ‘better’ than anything.” 

“Alvar-” Della starts, shooing her other children towards the exit behind her back. Alvar growls. 

“Even now, they’re more important than me.”

“They’re not,” Della says. “But it’s me you’re frustrated with. Don’t take it out on them.”

“I’m not frustrated,” Alvar responds coolly, gun never shifting in his hand. “I’m simply tired of this facade.” He steps closer. 

“You’ll see. Or, you won’t, really. But as you go blind, know that this is what’s best for Russia.”

He pulls the trigger. 

-/-

St Petersburg, Russia. February 23, 1927.

“Comrades!”

A crowd surrounds a wooden platform, the man atop it spreading his arms wide.  “The revolution hears you. Each and every one of you. Together, we will forge a new Russia that will be the envy of all the world!” The crowd erupts into tears, and he gives the people below a wide smile.

 This is Alvar, the ex-Vacker prince who took out his mother and siblings in a single night. Everyone in Russia- or, at least, in the general area around Petersburg- knows him. Some love him, some hate him, but all are agreed on one thing: you don’t mess with Alvar. Those who do tend to disappear. 

A brown-haired girl lurks on the edge of the onlookers, frown deepening with each word Alvar says. When he begins to wrap up his speech, she sighs and ducks into an alleyway. 

This is Biana Dizznee, fifteen year old scam artist and oddly good singer. She’s technically an orphan, but she’ll refute any claim towards that- this is my family, she’ll say, gesturing towards the Dizznees, not some people who didn’t even care enough to keep me. She disapproves of the current government, not that she’d ever be loud about it; she likes being alive very much, thank you. 

Biana moves along the dirty streets to a small market, loud with the sound of voices. She walks over to a boy with strawberry-blond hair, tapping him on the shoulder. He turns around, leaning against the fruit stall they’re standing in front of. 

“Hey, Bi. What’s going on?”

Biana shrugs, picking up an apple and inspecting it for spots. She doesn’t know why she even bothers anymore, honestly- any and all fruit that’s being sold down here is sure to be half-rotted already. “Not much. Alvar’s on another of his tangents. Apparently Petersburg is now called ‘Leningrad.’”

Dex snorts. “Good luck with that.”

This is Dex Dizznee, Biana’s adopted brother. People say he can fix everything; and, while almost true, fixing things is nowhere near his most useful talent. No, that would be his ability to forge papers, hotwire machines, pick locks. If Biana’s the face of their little group, the one who talks their way out, Dex is the one who gets things done. 

“Right?” Biana agrees, giving up on her apple. “He’s tried stuff like this before, too. It won’t work- Petersburg will always be Petersburg, no matter how many new names they give it. The tsar’s influence is too strong for that.”

“Speaking of the tsar,” Dex says casually. Biana recognizes the twinkle in his heads and jerks her head covertly to the left. They move out of the market, out of earshot of anyone incriminating. Biana raises an eyebrow and Dex continues, “have you heard the rumors? About the prince and princess?”

“You mean the princess whose name is so similar to mine I visibly react whenever anyone mentions her? Yeah, I’ve heard of her.”

“They’re saying-” and here Dex’s voice drops to a whisper- “that Fitzroy and Bianca are alive.”

Biana scoffs. “That’s impossible. Alvar killed them- he boasts about it once a week.”

Dex shrugs. “Maybe so. All I know is that the Ruewens, over in Paris, are offering a huge reward if someone brings them the lost Vackers.”

A slow smile creeps over Biana’s face. “And if someone was to, say, bring them the lost Vackers, or people who seemed like the lost Vackers…”

“That someone would get a reward.” Dex finishes. “A reward so huge we could pay off all of Mom’s medical bills right now.”

“Then let’s do it,” Biana says. “It can’t be too hard, right? I could play Bianca, you could be Fitz-” she trails off, thinking. “No, that won’t work. I look pretty close to a Vacker, teal eyes and all that, but you’re not even the right skin tone.”

“But you know who is?” Dex responds. “That streetsweeper everyone keeps thinking is your brother.”

Biana gasps. “You’re right. That’s brilliant.”

“All we need to do is get him on board.”

-/-

A light mist settles over the city as a teal-eyed boy sweeps a broom across the sidewalks, shivering as the cold sets into his clothes. Passer-bys push him this way and that, barely sparing him a glance.  

This is Fitz. He doesn’t know quite who he is, or why he’s in Russia, but he doesn’t need to. Sweep the streets, he’s told, and sweep the streets he does. It’s a simple, mind-numbing job, but Fitz doesn’t care- if his mind is numb, it distracts from the numerous blank spots in his memory. 

He’s just finished, leaning his broom against the wall inside a small hat shop, when a truck in the street backfires, emitting a loud bang. Unbidden, Fitz flinches. 

Loud noises startle him. The nurses at the hospital believe that it’s a side effect of getting shot in the head, that every shot-like sound will trigger him, but Fitz thinks it’s more than that. 

Loud noises these days, after all, never mean anything good. 

The truck on the road moves on, a small paper-wrapped package falling out of the back. Curiously, Fitz picks it up and peeks inside. 

It’s an ornate box, initialed with a gold-inlaid V that even Fitz, with his limited memory, knows- the sign of the royal family. He moves to tilt the lid open, but footsteps behind him make him hurriedly rewrap the box and turn around. 

“Hello,” a girl with eyes the same shade as Fitz’s says. “We’d like to talk.” She loops her arm through his and Fitz’s eyes go wide. He pushes away, trying to back up. A boy with red hair, standing a few feet behind the girl, sighs. 

“Bi, that’s probably not the best way to do this. You sound like you’re kidnapping him.”

Bi makes a considering noise and nods. “You’re right. Sorry,” she says to Fitz. “Just to clarify, ‘We want to talk’ wasn’t a way of saying ‘we want to kidnap you’- we actually do just want to talk.”

Fitz narrows his eyes at them, gesturing towards the hat shop in front of them. They huddle under the awning, and Fitz raises an eyebrow.��

“Talk,” he says. Bi turns to her friend. 

“Uh, okay,” she starts. “First of all, I’m Biana, and this is Dex. And we.. well. You’ve heard of the Vackers, right?”

Five minutes later, Fitz leans against the glass of the shop window, staring at them. “You’re going to impersonate the prince and princess and go to Paris to get money,” he says, “and you want me to help?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Dex agrees. “We’ll give you a third of the profits, though. What do you say?”

Fitz should say no. He should say no, and walk away, and tell the government. That’s what a loyal citizen would do, and Fitz has worked hard to be a loyal citizen.

But something in the back of his mind says Paris, and something in the back of his mind says you need to get out of here, and something in the back of his mind says aren’t you tired of being a streetsweeper, and Fitz finds he can’t say no.

“I’ll do it.”

-/-

The rumor mill in Russia flows as steadily as the Neva river, always staying its course. It can be diverted, of course, and it is- sometimes to Germany, sometimes to Belarus, sometimes to France. 

Now, rumors flow to Paris, where a blond girl walks the streets, greeting people who she knows. She smiles and chuckles and seems, for all the world, like a people person.

She is not.

This is Sophie Ruewen, previously Foster. She’s the adopted daughter of Grady and Edaline Ruewen, ex-count and countess of Russia. Sophie’s never actually been to Russia- her parents left before things got too bad. She’s heard the stories, though, and keeps an ear out for any rumors.

Rumors are flying around Paris today, though, and Sophie carefully commits them to memory. 

The Vacker siblings, it seems, are back. 

-/-

And back in Russia, Alvar sits in his office, door closed and scowling. People are saying Fitzroy and Bianca are alive, which is impossible. Alvar killed them himself.

Still, every rumor in St Petersburg has a hint of truth. 

Carefully, Alvar slides a drawer in his desk open and takes out his gun. 

Better safe than sorry, after all. 

-/-

This is Alvar, Biana, Dex, Fitz, and Sophie.

They don’t all know each other, not yet. They’re scattered, each with their own hopes and dreams and fears. Some of them are luckier than others. But all have a role to play in the drama of the Vackers.

This is Sophie, Fitz, Dex, Biana, and Alvar. 

And with them, on a cold February day, we set our scene. 

[catchmeifyoureallycan]

Sheet Music - Musicals

Just a disclaimer, I found these looking through tumblrs, Googling them, or people have sent them to me. This is just me compiling a list for everyone to enjoy and use.

Note: If you notice that any of the links are broken, or you just found sheet music that I don’t have, please send me a message!

Songbooks

Cole Porter Songbook

Another Broadway Songbook

#

9 to 5 (Piano/Vocals)

13

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Broadway)

35MM (Vocal Selections)

A

A Chorus Line (Complete Score)

A Little Night Music

A Year With Frog and Toad

The Addams Family (13 songs - Songbook)

Aida (Song Book)

Aladdin (Piano/Vocal; Disney film)

All Shook Up

American Idiot

Anastasia

Annie (Full Score)

Annie Get Your Gun (1999 Revival)

Anything Goes (Conductor’s Score)

The Apple Tree

Assassins

Avenue Q

A Very Potter Musical

B

Bare (Vocal Score)

Bat Boy (Piano/Conductor)

Beauty & the Beast

Beautiful

Be More Chill

Big Fish

Billy Elliot

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Bonnie and Clyde (Complete Score/ Sheet Music)

Book of Mormon

Bridges of Madison County

Brigadoon

Bring It On

Bye Bye Birdie (Complete Score)

C

Cabaret

Carousel

Carrie (Broadway)

Catch Me If You Can (Piano/Vocal Selections)

Chicago

Children of Eden (Piano/Conductor)

Cinderella (Rodgers & Hammerstein)

The Color Purple (Broadway)

Company

Crazy For You

D

Damn Yankees (Revival)

Dogfight

Dracula

Dreamgirls

Drowsy Chaperone (Broadway)

E

Evita (Vocal Selections)

F

Falsettos

Fame the Musical

The Fantasticks (Full Score)

Fiddler on the Roof

First Date

Footloose (Score)

The Full Monty

Funny Girl

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

G

A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Ghost

Godspell

Grease

Guys and Dolls

Gypsy

H

Hair (Piano Conductor’s Score)

Hairspray

Hamilton (Piano/Vocals)

Heathers (2014 score)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hello Dolly

Hercules (Disney,Complete Book)

How To Succeed (Vocal Score)

Hunchback of Notre Dame   Part 1   Part 2

I

In the Heights

Into the Woods (Piano/Conductor Score)

J

Jane Eyre

Jekyll & Hyde (Piano/Conductor Score)

Jesus Christ Superstar

Jersey Boys

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

K

King & I

Kinky Boots (Vocal Selections)

Kiss Me Kate (Revival)

L

La Cage Aux Folles (Complete Score)   Part 1   Part 2

La Traviata

The Last Five Years (2002)

Legally Blonde

Les Miserables

The Light in the Piazza (Piano/Vocal)

Lion King

The Little Mermaid (Disney Movie)

The Little Mermaid (Broadway)

A Little Princess

Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway)

Little Women

Love Never Dies

M

Man of la Mancha

Mamma Mia

Mary Poppins (Broadway)

Matilda

Memphis

Merrily We Roll Along

Miss Saigon (Piano/Vocal Score)

Music Man

My Fair Lady

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

N

Newsies (Piano/Vocal Selections)

Next to Normal

Nightmare Before Christmas (Disney Movie)

Nine

O

Oklahoma!

On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

Once

Once on this Island

Once Upon A Mattress

Ordinary Days

P

Pajama Game

Parade

Pipe Dream

Pippin

Pirate Queen (Piano/Conductor Score)

Pirates of Penzance

The Producers

Q

R

Ragtime

Reefer Madness

Rent

Rocky the Musical

S

The Scottsboro Boys

The Secret Garden

Seussical

She Loves Me

Show Boat

Shrek

Side Show

Singing in the Rain

Sister Act (Broadway)

Sound of Music (Broadway)

South Pacific

Spamalot

Spiderman - Turn off the Dark

Spring Awakening

Sunday in the Park With George

Sweeney Todd

Sweet Charity

T

Tarzan

Tick Tick Boom

[Title of Show] (Libretto)

Thoroughly Modern Millie

U

Urinetown

V

Violet

W

Wedding Singer

West Side Story

Wicked

The Wild Party (Andrew Lippa)

The Wiz

Wonderland

X

Xanadu

Y

A Year with Frog and Toad

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Young Frankenstein

Z

[aw-laurendet]

A book-related request

Dear Ms. Laurendet:

My name is Thomas Anthony DiMaggio. I am a 63-year old retired attorney (and non-retired writer, actor and teacher) who lives in York, Pennsylvania.

I recently began work on my second novel, "The Bell of Five Hundred Years". It is an alternative history of the 20th century, in which the Russian Imperial family secures asylum in Great Britain in 1917 (George V actually grows a spine in this version). The Tsarevich grows up to lead an international White Russian movement that ultimately restores the monarchy in Russia during World War II. A great many historical facts get revised during the story: Olga becomes the Queen of Greece, Tatiana the Queen of Yugoslavia, Anastasia marries the heir to the Mellon banking fortune, and Marie becomes the mother of Queen Elizabeth II !

The Tsarevich (ultimately Tsar Alexis II) is assisted in his work by Prince Vladimir Paley, the morganatic son of Grand Duke Paul. As you doubtlessly know, in real life Paley (known as "Volodia") was murdered at Alapayevsk in the Urals in July 1918, together with the Empress' sister Mother Elizabeth and several other Romanovs. He had already distinguished himself as a poet at 21 (in my story, he develops into a world-famous literary figure who serves as the voice of the true Russia, along the lines of Pasternak's Yuri Zhivago).

There has, to my knowledge, only been one biography of Prince Paley: a 2004 paperback entitled "A Poet Among the Romanovs", by Jorge Saenz. I have beaten the bushes trying to run a copy of this book to earth, without success.

I was wondering, in light of your interest in the last years of Imperial Russia, if you either have a copy of this book, or know where I could secure one. If either you or anyone else owns one, and does not wish to either sell or lend it, I would be glad to pay for a photocopy of the entire book.

Please let me know your feelings on this matter. My contact information is:

Thomas Anthony DiMaggio

14 Jean-Lo Way 

York, Pennsylvania 17406-6701

Telephone: 717.515.5726

E-mail (the best way to reach me): tadimaggio@gmail.com 

Thank you for your time and attention to the above matters.

Very truly yours,

Thomas Anthony DiMaggio 

My apologies Mr DiMaggio.I am not sure when you messaged me.I normally do not go to my settings on Tumbler.I will post a page for you.A Poet Among the Romanovs: Prince Vladimir Paley 1897-1918



Prince Vladimir Paley, first cousin of the last tsar, was a poet among the Romanovs. The rules of the Imperial Family prevented him from being considered a member of the dynasty due to the unequal Prince Vladimir Paley, first cousin of the last tsar, was a poet among the Romanovs. The rules of the Imperial Family prevented him from being considered a member of the dynasty due to the unequal marriage of his parents. This circumstance could have saved his life. Instead, when he was requested by the Bolsheviks to denounce his father, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, young Prince Vladimir chose love, loyalty, honor, and affection. His only crime was being related to a dynasty of which he had not even been an official member. This is the compelling story of a young man, and a talented poet, who in different circumstances would have attained great heights. Destiny, however, played a sad role in bringing a brutal and early death to a promising life ... 

Jorge F. Sáenz brings to life the previously unknown figure of Prince Vladimir Paley. In doing so, Mr. Sáenz adds to a long and distinguished list of historical studies he has written over the last thirty years. His books number well over a dozen, most of them focusing on various aspects of Costa Rica’s history and unique democratic traditions, that make the country a bastion of democracy in Latin America. His study of the life of Prince Vladimir Paley was first published as a biographical essay in Eurohistory — The European Royal History Journal. The success of this essay led to the story of Vladimir Paley becoming a full-on book. Mr. Sáenz is a career diplomat for Costa Rica, as well as a distinguished law professor at the University of Costa Rica. 



This unique book, also containing many samples of the young poet's work, has a 24-page photo section depicting Vladimir Paley and those closest to him. We are exceedingly happy to be able to bring this excellent historical work to you in hardbound form.

A Poet Among the Romanovs will undoubtedly enrich your Romanov Collections!

The book is printing and will be available at the end of January 2021, the first Eurohistory book of the New Year!

EUROHISTORY

6300 Kensington Avenue

East Richmond Heights, CA 94805

USA

Phone: 510.236.1730

Email: books@eurohistory.com / eurohistory@comcast.net / aebeeche@mac.com

http://www.eurohistory.com

Arturo Beéche at 2:00 PM

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[newstfionline]

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Difficult Times for Flight Attendants (NYT) One flight attendant needed medical attention for a crippling migraine brought on by confronting a passenger who refused to wear a mask. Aviation safety officials have received dozens of confidential complaints in the past year from attendants trying to enforce mask safety rules. The reports, filed in the Aviation Safety Reporting System database, at times describe a chaotic, unhinged workplace where passengers regularly abuse airline employees. The coronavirus pandemic and political divisions of the past year have caused fear, economic pain, and social and family rifts around the country, but for airline workers, and flight attendants in particular, the unease and tension have often converged in a tiny cabin space. The tension is at a level flight attendants have not seen before, said Paul Hartshorn Jr., a veteran attendant and a spokesman for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants union. “I think we’re pretty well trained on how to handle a disruptive passenger,” said Mr. Hartshorn, 46. “What we’re not trained to do and what we shouldn’t be dealing with is large groups of passengers inciting a riot with another group of passengers [over political differences].” “It’s insane,” he added.

Fight The Man: What GameStop’s surge says about online mobs (AP) It’s a fable for our times: Small-time investors band together to take down greedy Wall Street hedge funds using the stock of a troubled video-game store. But the revolt of online stock-traders suggests much more. The internet is shifting society’s balance of power in unanticipated ways. In the world of pseudonymous internet message boards, pranks-gone-wild and logic turned upside down amid a global pandemic, revolts come in all shapes, sizes and aims. Last week they gave us the Great GameStop Stock Uprising. Who knows what this week will bring. “The internet can democratize access, upsetting power dynamics between the people and traditional institutions,��� tweeted Tiffany C. Li, a law professor and tech attorney focusing on privacy and technology platform governance. With GameStop, she added in an interview Friday, the goal was to upset the interests of a few large hedge funds. “But in other places the goal can be more nefarious. Online spaces are being used to radicalize people toward extremism, to plan hate crimes and attacks,” she said. “The internet isn’t really the villain or the hero.”

Pandemic Pushes More Parents to Go All-In for Home Schooling (WSJ) As parents grow increasingly frustrated with remote learning during the pandemic, some are deciding to pull their children out of school and try teaching on their own. In North Carolina, the state’s home-school monitoring website crashed on the first day of enrollment, and more than 18,800 families filed to operate a home-school from July 1 to Jan. 22—more than double the school-year before, according to the state Division of Non-Public Education. In Connecticut, the number of students who left public schools to be home-schooled jumped fivefold this school year, to 3,500. In Nebraska, the number of home-schooled students jumped 56%, to 13,426, according to state education officials. “The vast majority [of parents] are saying, ‘We’ve been really trying to do what the schools are asking us to do, but we just can’t do this anymore,’ “ said J. Allen Weston, executive director of the National Home School Association, which has been fielding inquiries on the topic. Vanderbilt University’s Joseph Murphy, who studies home schooling, said “We are in a major shift from how we thought about teaching children and running schools for 100 years. Parents have shifted to the place where they feel they need more direct involvement and greater responsibility for what happens with their children.”

Vaccine skepticism lurks in town famous for syphilis study (AP) Lucenia Dunn spent the early days of the coronavirus pandemic encouraging people to wear masks and keep a safe distance from each other in Tuskegee, a mostly Black city where the government once used unsuspecting African American men as guinea pigs in a study of a sexually transmitted disease. Now, the onetime mayor of the town immortalized as the home of the infamous “Tuskegee syphilis study” is wary of getting inoculated against COVID-19. Among other things, she’s suspicious of the government promoting a vaccine that was developed in record time when it can’t seem to conduct adequate virus testing or consistently provide quality rural health care. “I’m not doing this vaccine right now. That doesn’t mean I’m never going to do it. But I know enough to withhold getting it until we see all that is involved,” said Dunn, who is Black. The coronavirus immunization campaign is off to a shaky start in Tuskegee and other parts of Macon County. Area leaders point to a resistance among residents spurred by a distrust of government promises and decades of failed health programs. Tuskegee is not a complete outlier. A recent survey conducted by the communications firm Edelman revealed that as of November, only 59% of people in the U.S. were willing to get vaccinated within a year with just 33% happy to do so as soon as possible. Health experts have stressed both the vaccines’ safety and efficacy.

As Biden prays for healing, Catholics clash over president’s faith (GMA) On his quest to heal a divided America, Joe Biden may first have to confront bitter division over his presidency from within his own church. Since his inauguration two weeks ago as the nation’s second Catholic president, Biden’s devout Christian faith has become a new flashpoint within the church. While millions of Catholics have celebrated the ascension of one of their own to the White House, some have been publicly questioning whether Biden should be considered a model of their faith. Many Catholic clergy and faithful are passionately fixated on Biden’s support for abortion rights, which the church staunchly opposes and considers an issue of “preeminent” importance. Biden opposes abortion as a personal matter, but wrote in his 2007 memoir that he doesn’t “have a right to impose my view on the rest of society.” One in five Americans identifies as Roman Catholic, the largest Christian denomination in the U.S., according to Pew Research Center. While the faithful have long been divided in matters of theology and politics, Catholic values aren’t exclusively red or blue.

Russia Protesters Defy Vast Police Operation as Signs of Kremlin Anxiety Mount (NYT) The Kremlin mounted Russia’s most fearsome nationwide police operation in recent memory on Sunday, seeking to overwhelm a protest movement backing the jailed opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny that swept across the country for a second weekend in a row. But the show of force—including closed subway stations, thousands of arrests and often brutal tactics—failed to smother the unrest. By late Sunday evening in Moscow, more than 5,000 people had been detained in at least 85 cities across Russia, an activist group reported, though many were later released. Previously unseen numbers of riot police officers in black helmets, camouflage and body armor essentially locked down the center of the metropolis of 13 million people, stopping passers-by miles from the protest to check their documents and ask what they were doing outside. “I don’t understand what they’re afraid of,” a protester named Anastasia Kuzmina, a 25-year-old account manager at an advertising agency, said of the police. Referring to the peak year of Stalin’s mass repression, she added, “It’s like we’re slipping into 1937.” The large-scale police response signaled anxiety in the Kremlin over Mr. Navalny’s ability to unite Russia’s disparate critics of President Vladimir V. Putin, from nationalists to liberals to many with no particular ideology at all.

In Myanmar coup, Suu Kyi’s ouster heralds return to military rule (Washington Post) Aung San Suu Kyi defended Myanmar’s generals against genocide charges at The Hague. She praised soldiers as they unleashed artillery against ethnic minority settlements. She took only modest steps toward democratic changes that would chip away at the army’s political power. It wasn’t enough. On Monday, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup, detaining Suu Kyi, elected ministers from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party and others in a predawn raid. Though condemned internationally for defending the military and its campaign against the Rohingya minority, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who spent 15 years under house arrest until 2010 now finds herself again at the generals’ mercy. The coup underscored the fragility of Myanmar’s decade-old, quasi-democratic transition that many assumed, despite imperfections, would continue with Suu Kyi as head of the civilian government and still-entrenched powers for the military, led by Min Aung Hlaing. But the military was never comfortable with its enduring unpopularity and Suu Kyi’s godlike status among ordinary Burmese, analysts said, despite its role in engineering the country’s opening after half a century of isolationist rule.

Survivors of Beirut’s explosion endure psychological scars (AP) Joana Dagher lay unconscious and hemorrhaging under a pile of rubble in her apartment after the massive Beirut port blast in August, on the brink of death. She survived because of the courage of her husband who got her out, the kindness of a stranger who transported her in his damaged car and the help of her sisters during the chaos at the overwhelmed hospital. But Dagher doesn’t remember any of that: The 33-year-old mother of two lost her memory for two full months from the trauma she suffered in the explosion, including a cerebral contusion and brain lesions. “I lost my life on August 4,” Dagher said. “I lost my house, I lost my memory, I lost two friends,” she added, referring to neighbors killed in the explosion. “I lost my mental health, and so I lost everything.”       The Beirut explosion, which killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6,000, caused wounds on an even wider scale on the mental health of those who lived through it. Even in a country that has seen many wars and bombings, never had so many people—tens of thousands—directly experienced the same traumatizing event at the same time. It came on top of the stress that Lebanese were already feeling from multiple crises, including an unprecedented economic meltdown, the coronavirus pandemic and a feeling of helplessness after nationwide protests against corruption that failed to achieve their goals. “There are very high levels of anxiety and worry across the population,” said Mia Atwi, psychologist and president of Embrace, an organization working on mental health awareness and support. “There is a low mood bordering on clinical depression for the majority of the population.”

[ficsandcatsandficsandcats]

All Is Found:Anastasia!AU

Part V – In The Dark Of The Night

Fandom: The Witcher Word Count: 2,509 Rating: T Taglist: @heroics-and-heartbreak​ @whatevermonkey​ @jill-makes-art​ @mynamesoundslikesherlock​ @kemmastan​ @magic-multicolored-miracle​ @writingstudent​ @mlleecrivaine​ @coffee-and-stories​ @amirahiddleston​ @ultracolorfulnerdcollection​ @astouract​ @your-not-invisible-to-me​ @mycat-is-mylove​  a/n: A retelling of Don Bluth’s Anastasia (1997)

{prologue}{part i}{part ii}{part iii}{part iv}

The plan was fairly easy, all things considered. After several successful border crossings Geralt and Jaskier had established a streamlined process. When they returned to the little house Geralt and Jaskier shared, which was more of an abandoned building than an actual home, you were told to try and rest as you would be traveling all night to get out of Old Nilfgaard. Jaskier had gallantly fluffed the pillow for you and you’d lain on the straw mattress bed and stared at the ceiling for some time. You tossed and turned until Jaskier finally came to check on you.

“What’s going on in there?” he asked.

“I can’t sleep,” you answered.

“Oh, thank the gods. I thought you were wrestling with a particularly tenacious rat,” he quipped.

“Very funny,” you murmured. Jaskier smiled kindly and moved a bit closer, crouching down by the bed so his face was level with yours.

“It’s normal to be nervous,” he said.

“I’m not nervous,” you lied. He cocked an eyebrow in disbelief but you kept your face placid as you gazed back, the sky-blue eyes nearly silver in the beams of sunlight that streamed through little slats in the wall.

“Well if you were nervous, I’d assure you that we have done this several times and there have never been any casualties,” Jaskier said.

“And if I wasn’t nervous what would you say?” you asked, stubbornly refusing to admit you were scared but trying to keep him by your side talking. Even if he frustrated you at times, you didn’t want to be alone. You’d spent too much of your life alone already.

“I’d tell you to stop thrashing around or you’ll wake the bats in the attic,” he answered glibly. You made an annoyed harrumphing sound and flipped back over, unsure if the squeak you heard was a trick of your mind or one of the aforementioned bats. Jaskier walked back into the little living space where Geralt sat sharpening one of his swords. It had been unsettling to watch the first few times but now it was as commonplace as seeing him wash a dish or grunt impassively.

“Is she alright?” he asked, glancing up at Jaskier as he plopped heavily into a chair that wobbled dangerously under his weight.

“She’s nervous but she won’t admit it,” Jaskier replied, “She’s certainly stubborn enough to be a queen.”

“Stubborn can be good. Stubborn keeps people focus on a goal,” Geralt replied, sheathing the sword.

“Perhaps, but it makes for difficult conversation,” Jaskier grumbled.

“Jaskier, don’t tell me you of all people are having a hard time making conversation. I thought it was one of your foremost skills. You’ve certainly practiced long enough,” Geralt muttered.

“It’s hard to get anywhere with someone who won’t be open with you,” the bard argued.

“And how open have you been with her?” Geralt asked. Jaskier scoffed and sputtered as he tried to think of a good answer.

“That is.. entirely different,” he snorted.

“Indeed.”

“Yes!”

“How?”

“It just is,” Jaskier snapped. Geralt leaned closer, fixing his amber eyes on Jaskier’s blue ones intently.

“You both have histories. But you’ve had someone to talk with, she hasn’t. If our lives in this godsforsaken country has made us cautious, imagine what it’s like for someone whose family was slaughtered and who just found out who they truly are?”

Jaskier squirmed uncomfortably under Geralt’s words, unable to deny the truth in them.

“I suppose I can be more accommodating,” Jaskier mumbled. Geralt smiled at him proudly and they both turned to look as the door to the bedroom creaked open. You stood in the threshold and fixed them both with a cautious but determined expression.

“I can’t sleep so I’d rather help prepare,” you said. Jaskier and Geralt exchanged a brief glance and then Geralt nodded. Jaskier turned to look back at you, a smile playing about his lips.

“Are you handy with any weapons?” he asked. You thought hard for a moment, not wanting to say no but not wanting to lie and look like an ass or endanger them in a critical moment.

“I used to throw knives. For a little bit. Till the Headmistress found out,” you said.

“That’s a start! What about archery? Ever held a bow?” he asked.

“No, but I have pretty good upper arm strength! I was always giving the girls spins,” you answered proudly.

“Sorry, giving them what?”

“Spins! It’s when you pick a child up under their arms and you spin them around in a circle,” you hoisted your arms up, pantomiming the action as you moved in a circle until you stumbled into a nearby chair.

“Let’s try the knives,” Geralt said with an encouraging smile. He rose from his chair and reached into a bag, pulling out three ornate, lightweight daggers and gestured for you to follow him outside.

-----

The blades glistened in the candlelight, nearly dry though the mages could still see the shimmer of poison that had yet to fully be absorbed.

“If any part of the blade so much as grazes her flesh, the poison will ensure her death within a minute. It should go without saying that you need to avoid touching it yourself,” Stregobor announced. The three mages he’d chosen for the mission nodded in unison.

“There are few routes they could be taking but the witcher will choose the mountain. I have seen it,” he said, looking down at the flames that were mirrored in the blades like a seer gazing into a crystal ball.

“You will bring her body to me,” he instructed.

“What of the witcher and the bard?” one of the mages asked. Stregobor’s eyes glanced up at them as he considered the question and then gave an impassive shrug.

“You can do with those what you wish. There are some who would be eager for the chance to examine a witcher’s corpse. The bard is of no consequence. The only one I care about is the girl,” he answered.

“What happens if…” the mage who had begun to speak thought twice and quickly closed their mouths but Stregobor’s sharp eyes were on him, hawk like and predatory.

“If?” Stregobor prodded. The mage glanced up into his eyes and then away again. There were a few tense moments of silence and then Stregobor pulled himself up to his full height, crossing his hands behind his back as he looked down at the trio in front of him who looked everywhere but towards him.

“Allow me to be very clear with you all,” he said in a calm, composed voice, “You either bring her body to me, or you do not come back at all. You have been chosen to complete a task. Failure will not be accepted, no matter the circumstance. Does that answer any lingering questions you may have?”

The three nodded in unison again, eyes on the ground, and Stregobor nodded as well, satisfied that they were sufficiently motivated.

“They will leave at dusk. I will portal you now so you can be waiting for them. Do not fail me,” he said. He picked up the daggers and handed them carefully over, one to each mage.

-----

They left under the cover of night and they would go through a cave path in the mountains that the pair alone knew. It would take them into Sodden where they would be safe to travel openly through the other countries until they reached Cidaris. Geralt took the lead with you in the middle, Jaskier ostensibly in the back but he had decided a good use of time walking would be providing a history lesson so he spent more time by your side than behind you.

“Repeat back to me, your grandmother...”

“Marie,” you answered confidently.

“From House…,” Jaskier trailed off, looking at you expectantly.

“House… Tussel?”

“Thyssen,” Jaskier corrected.

“Question, would I really have known that or paid attention as a child? I mean as a seven year old did you know your grandmother’s maiden name?” you argued. Jaskier ran a hand through his chestnut hair.

“I am not a prince, Y/N, nobody cares who my grandparents are or where they’re from. It matters for you and it would have as soon as you understood words and symbols,” Jaskier insisted.

“Tell me something meaningful about them,” you asked, “Just… something besides dates and houses.”

“What do you consider meaningful?” he asked.

“Well… why is she in Cidaris? Why not stay in Toussaint?”

“House Thyssen is a Cidarian dynasty, she returned when there began to be word of unrest in the country,” he explained, “Word was that you were supposed to join her but never got the chance.”

“Speaking of that,” you said quickly before he could ask another question, “How did she get out? And me? And how did I not stay with her?”

Jaskier considered your question for a moment, a silence lapsing between you as he considered his answer. When he opened his mouth to answer Geralt held up a hand, halting you both. You instinctively reached for the knife Geralt had given you for protection and you saw Jaskier’s hand go towards something as well. You stayed like that for a few minutes as Geralt listened and waited. You were within sight of the bushes that obscured the cave entrance, so close to freedom that you felt the itch to run for it but you knew better than to take that risk. After five minutes had passed you opened your mouth to speak but Jaskier saw and quickly took your hand. When you looked over at him he shook his head. Geralt spun around, pulling something from his pocket and sending it flying just where your head had been seconds before Jaskier pulled you to the ground, cushioning your fall with his body. You heard a shriek and turned to see someone drop from a nearby tree. Geralt reached for another one and you heard an ungodly scream from the right. You jumped up, hands fumbling for the dagger as someone in a robe came running towards you from the trees, something in their hand glinting in the moonlight. Jaskier rose up before you could get a good grasp on the knife handle and thrust one of his own. It landed in the assailant’s shoulder and they fell backward with a cry of pain. Jaskier seized your hand and pulled him behind you. Geralt looked around the perimeter, yellow eyes scanning the trees carefully. For a moment the only sound was of your breathing, shaky and anxious, and the crunch of leaves underfoot. Jaskier’s hand squeezed yours hard, the only sign of his own nervousness, and you squeeze back just as hard. Geralt turned again to look into the trees and you felt something grasp your ankle. You kicked instinctively and by the time you looked down the third assailant held a hand over their eye, blindly swiping at you with a dagger that missed you by inches. You kicked again and the dagger went flying. Before Jaskier could do anything you were on top of the assailant who struggled but couldn’t shake you as you held them down, your legs wrapped around their waist and your hands keeping their shoulders pinned to the earth.

‘Who are you?” you demanded. The hood had fallen back and you were surprised to find what looked like an ordinary young man.

“It doesn’t matter,” the man spat, “I’m dead.”

“Not necessarily,” you said, “If you answer some questions…”

Before you could continue the man reached for the blade that was just beyond his outstretched fingers but Jaskier stepped on it, pulling it further away as Geralt moved in to pull you off of the man. He didn’t try to run, he just looked up into the witcher’s golden eyes defiantly.

“Do it,” he snapped.

“Who sent you?” Geralt asked. The man scoffed and shook his head. You noticed him begin to move his hand in a strange pattern but before you could point it out the man made an odd wheezing noise. Geralt moved closer and then stepped back quickly as he spat up blood, body convulsing until it stopped. His head fell to the side, eyes empty and a stream of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“Gods…” you whispered. Geralt scowled at the body and then at the other two around you.

“What do we do with the bodies?” Jaskier asked, far calmer than you felt but you heard the slight crack in his voice as he spoke. Again you were grateful for the glimpse of vulnerability that helped you feel less alone in your fear. It was also good that this wasn’t a normal occurrence. For the bard, anyway. Geralt was unaffected, mostly seeming confused and ponderous rather than shaken by the near death experience, much less the actual deaths witnessed.

“We leave them. We don’t have time to dig graves. With luck the animals will get to them before any guards find them,” Geralt answered. Jaskier nodded and then moved his boot, reaching down to pick up the dagger he’d moved aside.

“Don’t touch that!” Geralt snapped just before Jaskier’s fingers brushed against the flat of the blade.

“I was just going to look at it!” Jaskier cried, stepping back as Geralt ran towards it. He picked it up with a gloved hand and you moved closer to look. You could see that the blade was colored in an odd way, tinged with something opaque.

“Poison,” Geralt said. His eyes found yours before he spoke again, “Someone knows you’re alive.”

Your heart leapt to your throat and you focused on trying to regulate your breathing as Geralt moved some paces away and buried the dagger. Jaskier walked over to you and his hand found yours again, the warmth of his hand helping to soothe the trembling from your fingers.

“You saved my life,” you said, focusing on the soft blue of his eyes and trying to lose yourself in their depths, far, far away from the carnage around you and your attempted murder.

“I told you to trust us,” he said with a smile, “You were brilliant, too.”

“I didn’t say you were brilliant.”

“I said it for you,” he teased, a smirk playing about his lips for a moment before he grew serious again, “Truly, though. You held your head. Hell, you held them down!”

“I told you,” you said with a smug nod, “Spinning. I have the upper arm strength of an ox.”

“Do oxen have especially strong upper arms?” Jaskier asked. You opened your mouth to reply but Geralt walked up to you and you turned your attention to him.

“Are you alright?” he asked. You nodded and he glanced to Jaskier who nodded as well.

“Alright, let’s go,” he said, “Quickly.”

The rest of the walk was spent in silence and when Jaskier helped you up onto the rocky ledge into the mountain tunnel he kept your hand in his, a silent reassurance that you weren’t alone.  

[dr-nero-is-god]

1, 9, and 11 for the hive questions!

1- already answered this one here!

9-  which minor character did you want to see more of? which major character do you wish there was less of?

i would have been so down to keep constance & verity around for a few more books. why are they with sebastian trent? do they believe in the cause or are they just getting paid? would they have been anti-overlord? what if they became raven’s friends? what would a girl’s night out with raven, c, and v look like? like COME ON. girls who are also assassins and friends?? the possibilities are endless here, people

on the flip side, i think i would have preferred if tom and penny didn’t just hop in at the end there. i feel like we know as an established fact that we have six characters who matter, and so whatever happened to tom and penny was never going to be permanent... ya know?

11-  talk about your favorite character. what you like about them, their line or scene you like the most, etc. gush about them!

oh lordt

reasons i, mitch, love dr. max nero, and think he is so cool and better than every other person in these books, by just a little bit i guess:

1. tailored outfits every day? big respect

2. the fact that he lives in an extremely high-risk business and yet keeps making best friends who keep his secrets for him and decide to help him out all the time! he would be like, an amazing amish person. he’d get everyone to help him raise barns whenever he wanted

3. “three months” “three months?” “since I felt the sun on my skin” <3

4. the fact that he says that line with such contentedness while also forcing several hundred teenagers to live in the sunless underground of a volcano all the time

5. he can and would kill the person he loves most for the greater good (which, notably, other characters are unable to do, including diabolus darkdoom)

6. he never is forced to apologize for hating cypher, and is the pettiest lil bitch about cypher, and cannot hold a conversation with him for more than 30 seconds at a time without losing his cool. what a dumbass

7. my main man who looks people “straight in the eye” all the time. eye contact is his primary superpower

8. he has always believed in raven. and even when she disappoints him, even when she makes the wrong choices, he has never stopped believing in her

9. refuses to speak to his dad for fifteen years over a blueprint and steals priceless art to piss him off

10. “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” 

11. goes shopping for otto and wing to make them look like normal people when infiltrating steve jobs’s business hq and acts as though he and otto look as though they could be related

12. “on your return, we will discuss the wisdom of allowing a student to join you on a mission like this”

13. pays people like ms. gonzales and professor pike and the contessa to work for him, who inevitably make his life HARDER because they keep doing nefarious things!!! but he believes in the liberal arts so he keeps giving them leeway to do stuff!!

14. is not afraid of telling the most powerful people on earth that he thinks they’re dumb and he’s firing them all

15. tried to kill a computer with a fire ax

16. has seen diabolus darkdoom’s penis (evidence: book six. “if you were any less of a man, i’d think you were compensating for something.” conclusion: nero does not think it’s anything to sneeze at, and ALSO diabolus likes big toys. is he deficient in some other way if his manhood is good to go? it’s unclear)

17. does not mind that wing would have to kill him if he were xiu mei’s murderer. very reasonable to get vengeance for your mom, y’know? he gets it

18. “i’m almost ashamed to admit it but i’ve wanted to do this since i was five years old”

19. punches stuff when he’s mad, but only when he’s with friends??? why

20. hugs raven after she kills anastasia because while it’s important to her that she kills the person who ruined her life, it would be incomplete without the support and comfort of the person who helped her learn to reclaim her life and live it again

21. keeps threatening to kill people but never does, cuz he’s an ole softie

22. gets nervous when his daughter, who is, btw, the most feared assassin in the world, the definition of “capable of looking after herself,” doesn’t call him before bedtime to check in

23. the kind of guy who will walk through new york’s sewers or sneak into government bases in colorado springs but then will also have tea with the prime minister 

24. does not like tchaikovsky at four in the morning

25. he thinks otto malpense is funny, which is in good taste

26. for all his reputation as a villain, the thing he’s known for is being a headmaster, and despite the fact that everyone thinks it’s corny and a waste of money (or that’s what they say), nero continually proves that through the power of education, teamwork, and a little well-executed kindness, he can do pretty much whatever he wants because, alone, he is nothing, but with his friends at his side, he is UNSTOPPABLE mwahahahahahahaha

27. “it wasn’t you, natalya. it wasn’t you”

[hummingbirdsaltimolockia]

I recently made a list of all the musicals I’m pretty familiar with and it came out to 63. and since my sisters won’t listen to my recommendations this is a masterpost of all those musicals with a few of my Thoughts and Opinions. this gets hella long so prepare yourself

-Les Miserables

ah, you never forget your first. I heard the symphonic recording when I was six? seven? so it has become the definitive version in my mind, but cast members (michael ball) are weak, and unfortch I haven’t come across a recording were all the cast members are top notch, though the 25th anniversary concert comes very close (norm lewis!! lea salonga!!)

-The Little Mermaid

ok so on the whole this show is not particularly great or interesting and honestly didn’t do very well on stage BUT hearing sherie rene scott sing poor unfortunate souls literally changed my life and is what really sparked my interest in musical theatre. also norm lewis is there

-The Band’s Visit

unlike any broadway musical you’ve heard fs. based on the movie of the same name, it’s about the egyptian police band being stranded in a middle-of-nowhere town in israel for in 1996. it’s a simple story but incredibly charming and ernest and surprsingly emotional. also the music is played onstage by the actors which is always cool!

-In the Heights

lin manuel miranda’s first musical and is honestly just as good as hamilton, if not better (I said what I said). it’s a slice of life kinda story about people living in washington heights. great music, great story, great characters, feels very real without being like....depressing.

-Aladdin

most of the songs from the movie stay mostly the same, I think they only changed arabian nights, and friend like me (which for the latter was a huuge improvement. I can’t NOT dance whenever I hear it. james monroe inglehart is a fantastic genie). and the flying carpet!! looks amazing!!

-Once on This Island

this story made me v mad initially (the female lead just. dies at the end), but I kept coming back to it because I loved the music, and it took me a while to figure out why and it’s because the caribbean island vibes are off the charts, and that reminds me of my childhood in sofl. and the vocals of the ensemble are amazing and the 2018 revival used a in the round stage with actual sand and live animals how cool is that

-She Loves Me

a super cute, super enjoyable, super fun musical based on the old film shop around the corner. zachery levi and laura benanti make some quality faces

-Next to Normal

oooof. a very intense show both in terms of theme and music. deals with bipolar depression, schizophrenia, drugs, suicide, hallucinations, death of a child....yeah. a very good show that handles all those heavy themes realistically

-Hamilton

so yeah when it first came out five years ago it was very hyped up and was called lin manuel’s “masterpiece” and when I listened to it I was like....dam they’re right. the lyrics and wording are so precise and having a story told by the protag’s enemy is so narratively juicey. plus the music is incredible (also listen to the hamilton mixtape if you haven’t it’s great)

-The Lion King

if you’ve followed me for any time you know I love the movie and the musical only makes it better. the songs, the music, the puppets, heather headley, the songs in zulu, the costumes...ugh perfection. the most successful disney show on broadway

-Aida

ever wonder what it’s like to be so darn good at singing that sir elton john writes a musical for you? well that’s what happened to heather headley and she completely deserved it. it’s a bit problematic in that the egyptian conquerors are all white and all the nubia slaves are black and like....they’re both in africa dude

-Anastasia

ok so I know it didn’t happen but the premise is so compelling and so gd tragic and christy altomare’s voice has such a fragility to it which is such a contrast to who anastasia actually was and the show features a song about russian refugees having to flee their homeland and it’s like the saddest song I’ve ever heard

-Anything Goes

honestly this musical on the whole isn’t that great for some...reasons, but it does have some great Friendship songs and Great tap dancing and sutton foster is in it and she is the epitome of a triple threat

-Cinderella

honestly just watch the brandy version because it’s the best version. better than the broadway version for sure, even though laura osnes is fantastic in everything she does and the show does have an amazing onstage costume change, but the brandy version has the coolest cast and costume and sets

-Ragtime

ho boy. so much to unpack here. while I think this is a “good” musical, it is too long, has too many characters and storylines, and deals with some heavy themes but doesn’t handle them very well so by the end it’s just exhausting and disappointing. BUT it does have the incomparable brian stokes mitchell and audra mcdonald, who is literally the best performer to ever grace broadway

-Thoroughly Modern Millie

there is so much spirit in this show it’s infectious. also sutton foster

-Dear Evan Hanson

sigh. so this musical gained a lot popularity among the Young People and...it..didn’t...deserve it? like again it deals with heavy issues like social anxiety, depression, and suicide, but like ragtime it doesn’t handle them very well; not in an honest way. and like everything they talk about is handled better in next to normal so

-Tuck Everlasting

based on the book, not the movie. the music is something really different and I don’t think broadway was ready to accept it so it didn’t run very long. and the adaption isn’t very strong, but the lead (sarah charles lewis) is very good and it does have a very sad song about miles losing his family

-Come From Away

so this is about the 38 planes that were diverted to a small town in newfoundland on 9/11. now with as much as america loves to talk about 9/11 I had never heard this story so it was cool to hear a different side of it. also it has a song that makes me tear up every time I hear it

-Annie

not much to say about this one. a classic

-Oklahoma!

speaking of classics, if you think this musical is boring and outdated, please listen to the 2019 revival. it rocks in every sense of the word

-West Side Story

this one is also a classic, and often called a masterpiece for good reason. the music is so strong and is integrated so well and it represents the characters on both sides. this video explains it really well. tho productions consistently have trouble finding puerto rican actors to play the puerto ricans....

-Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

this one deserved sooo much more than it got, coming out in the same year as dear shmevan shmhanson. the lighting and set design is incredible and the music reflects each character’s emotion so it feels really honest, and almost like a supporting character. it’s so good guys. it has josh groban in a fat suit

-The Phantom of the Opera

unpopular opinion (maybe): I think gerard butler was a really good phantom. probably andrew llyod webber’s best work

-Waitress

based on the film of the same name, also the first broadway show with an entirely female creative team. also what baking can do came after my entire life

-Hello Dolly!

I fell in love with the movie version with barbra streisand, but then I learned that the original broadway production had a all black cast which is awesome but wasn’t reflected at all in the movie and that’s disappointing. great show tho

-Wicked

I can distinctly remember the first time I heard the ending crescendo of defying gravity. and the fact that it has so quickly become classic staple of broadway is a testiment to how strong it is

-You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

yes there is a broadway show of charlie brown. the songs are funny and childlike and honest, and very ernest. also kristin chenoweth is hilarious as sally brown (she won a tony for it!)

-Chess

I love the music in the show, and some songs have very complex lyrics but the main character is kinda annoying. like yeah dude deserting your country with another woman and leaving your wife and kids behind is gonna have negative consequences. don’t know what to tell you

-Finding Neverland

not as good as the movie it’s based on. while some of the music is very pretty, the songs are pretty simple and kinda boring

-Venice

ok this show also isn’t very good, the character’s motivations are not clear, especially the villain, and the female lead’s songs are weak. but the premise and some of the songs are arresting, and I kept coming back to them

-The King and I

like wws, it took a very long time for a production to cast this show accurately, and it still hasn’t....quite done it. but the songs are very beautiful. r&h strike again.

-Matilda

features a bunch of v talented children and manages to be lighthearted but also really gets you. just listen to when I grow up

-Little Women

on the whole, not a great adaption. some good songs. sutton foster is great

-Bonnie and Clyde

oh boy you want some bad guy songs? how bout a whole musical of them? oh no the public hated us and we closed after 36 performances. ah well. at least laura osnes got her first tony nod

-Beetlejuice

very catchy show with a killer aesthetic. give alex brightman a tony just for being Like That

-Hadestown

this show has such nice lyrical rhythm, even in the spoken words, and it is so smartly composed and balanced. and even tho the broadway cast recording is out, it’s worth it to listen to the earlier album as well

-Catch Me If You Can

based on the film. just two hours of aaron tveit being a little brat and norbert leo butz flexing on everyone else’s vocal chords

-Miss Saigon

an extremely problematic and infuriating show that is unfortunately very beautiful. introduced lea salonga to the world, so that’s good at least

-The Hunchback of Notre Dame

speaking of problematic but beautiful shows. exceeds the movie in my opinion. the choral vocals just cut right through you

-The Fiddler on the Roof

I listened to the 2016 revival after not listening to this show for years and you know what? it’s really good! like heck!

-Mean Girls

yes they made a musical of mean girls. yes it’s pretty great. regina has a killer song near the end that I love to belt out

-Bandstand

one of the only musicals to make me cry actual tears just from listening to one (1) song. it’s about WWII veterans coming together to form a band just months after the war ends. also laura osnes fricking kills it in the last number

-Into the Woods

I’m not a huge fan of “fairy tales but make it realistic and therefore disappointing” but stephen sondheim is a very good writer and musician so it’s worth checking out. and the witch is played by bernadette peters in the musical and meryl streep in the movie so it’s a win both ways

-How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

what it says on the can. a very fun, ‘don’t take this too seriously’ show. the lead was played by daniel radcliffe and nick jonas at one point so like. come on

-The Last Five Years

honestly this is a very depressing show, but it’s told in a interesting way. it’s about a couple who meet, fall in love, get married, drift apart, and ultimately get divorced, but not in that order

-Newsies

ok so the broadway version is very different from the movie, but it’s still worth checking out! the new verse at the beginning of seize the day makes it worth it!

-Legally Blonde

yes they made a musical of legally blonde. yes it’s great

-Daddy Long Legs

a little known musical about a young woman who is aging out of an orphanage and finds out she is being sent to school by a mysterious benefactor. meghan mcginnis has super sweet voice

-My Fair Lady

another problematic show about a british asshole who takes it upon himself to turn a flower girl into a “proper lady” (no one asked you to do that dude). but it is funny

-South Pacific

ok so I’m not actually super familiar with this show but it does have a very important song called you’ve got to be carefully taught about how racism is not “something you’re just born” so stop making excuses nellie

-Once

again I’m not super knowledgeable about this show, I’ve listened to it a few times, and read the wiki summary but I still don’t quite know what it’s about. but the music is really good, really different from a traditional broadway show. very enticing and sentimental

-Beauty and the Beast

I think this was the first disney movie that made it to broadway? I could be wrong. like hunchback, I think it exceeds the movie, esp if I can’t love her??? shoutout to my sister’s friend for blowing my socks off with that song in 2005

-Six

not a full blown production, just a rock show about the six wives of henry viii. I thought it would be like riding off the hamilton craze of “history but make it cool” but it actually kicks ass all by itself

-The Sound of Music

another classic, and edelweiss makes me emotional

-Billy Elliot

ahh this show has so much tangible emotion in it and it’s heavy but children are it and they carry it so well and the juxtaposition of the protests an d the dancing UGH

-The Lightning Thief

yes the percy jackson musical! is good and enjoyable! doesn’t take itself seriously at all (as it shouldn’t) and the last two songs go so hard!

-The Music Man

this is imprinted into my brain because of my sister’s drama group and from that day on I have never known peace

-The Scarlet Pimpernel

based on the film of the same name, it’s really good, the opening number goes really hard, and it SHOULD be revived with laura osnes

-Oliver!

this show is....good..but it’s just too long. too many extra songs that don’t do anything

-Sussical

beautifully whimsical and heartfelt. features an array of suess characters and stories

-Moulin Rouge!

the cast album that came late year and it kicks ass. it keeps some of the songs that were featured in the movie, and brings in songs that have come out since the movie like shut up and dance, royals, and bad romance

-The Greatest Showman

so technically this isn’t a broadway show, but it’s going to be, and I think it will be much better as a stage show than a movie.