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childoftimeandmagic · 7 years

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Stormy Seas

This is my contribution for @klaroweenweekend. Caroline and Katherine attend a masquerade ball at the MET. Caroline dresses as a sea nymph and Kat is dressed as Red Riding Hood. Elijah plays matchmaker between his brother and Caroline.

“Caroline Ann Forbes! I swear to god if you don’t come out of the bathroom right this second I’m sending in Katherine,” Lexi’s voice came through the door of their shared bathroom.

“Lexi I’ve only been in the bathroom for ten minutes, and it’s not locked.” Caroline answered as she opened some more make up products on the counter and continued going about her mermaid make-up.

Lexi burst in and sat down on the toilet in the span of two seconds, Caroline laughed and avoided looking at her fellow blond as she plopped onto the toilet. They’d been friends for six years at this point, such boundaries had long since fallen to the way side.

She was focused on getting her make-up to show up perfectly behind her masquerade mask which was tasteful and mysterious with a cerulean tealish base and decorated simply with gold accents and gold seashells. The ribbon attached was the same gold shade as the paint and highlighted off the seashell crown she’d purchased a month ago on Etsy when Katherine had asked her if she’d be her plus on. Apparently, Elijah Kats fancy boyfriend had his own invitation. Her make-up was understated but the perfect tone to make her own blue eyes pop behind the mask.

Lexi blew her a kiss as she slipped from the bathroom and left her best friend to get ready for the night rubbing elbows with the who’s who of the New York City art world. Caroline smiled as she checked her hair and make-up again before following her best friend out of the bathroom.

Once in her own room she took the cover off her dress and sighed, the aqua dress with the illusion mesh bodice was decorated with ivory flowers that she’d had replaced with seashells also ivory and they crawled up the right shoulder, and then descended down the back. The back was open all the way to right above her ass and it was lucky her boobs didn’t need a bra unless she wanted one. Slipping her nude pumps on she stepped into her dress and twirled once in the mirror. Caroline felt like a sea goddess.

Katherine’s partner had sent them a limo to pick them up from their apartment and Caroline and Katherine couldn’t have looked more different. Caroline a vision in aqua, gold, and ivory, while Katherine was stunning in a ruby red dress and red mask and a long garnet over her shoulders. She was the most fashionable ‘Red Riding Hood’ that Caroline had ever seen. She smiled at her best friend and checked one last time in her compact mirror that everything looked perfect. Katherine was busy on her phone typing away instructions for her assistant about a case she was in the midst of settling in court.

“Thank you again, for inviting me Katherine,” Caroline said grinning as she sent her own slew of texts to her assistant about the event coming up next week at the Natural History museum.

“Thank you for coming, now I can hang out with someone who doesn’t want to talk to Lijah about his big win last week or the direction the government is going in,” Katherine made a face and the girls divulged into giggles looking at each other thinking about all the boring adult conversations that they’d have to make at the event. “Oh! Care, Lijah’s brother has a piece in the MET tonight it’s part of the showcase.”

“That’s absolutely fascinating I hope that he’s proud, that’s a great honor,” she said smiling at her best friend as the limo slowed to a halt at the base of the MET steps. Taking the front of the dress Caroline stepped from the limo and turned to take Katherine’s hand. Their masks secured they made the walk up the steps to the lights and the line of crowds. Everyone was in a costume of the fanciest proportion and Caroline was a little intimidated as she took Katherines hand for support. Katherine patted her on the back and stepped away as a man with a tasteful wolf mask stepped up to her and kissed her gently.

“Hello, Elijah, you look very dapper as the wolf to Kat’s Red Riding Hood,” Caroline said holding out her hand to shake his which thankfully he chuckled and with an arm around Katherine’s waist he took her offered hand in a short but firm handshake.

“I heard your brother is around here somewhere, how is Klaus doing?” she asked feigning interest as Elijah chuckled and shook his head at her antics.

“He isn’t here yet, said he couldn’t choose a mask from the selection that his agent sent over. Might I say Caroline that you are a vision tonight,” he coughed when Katherine nudged him pretending to be hurt that he’d complimented her best friend, “Katerina you are the most beautiful woman here. Apologies for not telling you sooner.”

Caroline giggled at the adorableness between the two and mentally wished for someone who would care as much about her as Elijah cared about Kat. Caroline was rarely jealous of her friend’s relationships but sometimes the reminder that it had been three years since she’d last had a relationship was blatantly obvious.

After the invitations and IDs had been checked Caroline walked off to explore the art on display within the exhibit. Smiling she accepted a flute of champagne and sipped it slowly exchanging pleasantries with other guests and handing out a business card or two. Soon she found herself standing in front of a piece that tugged at her heart strings. The painting was simple in design and in execution, but something about it was so sad. The single boat alone at sea with the storm above closing in from all around.

Caroline was so entranced with the painting before she didn’t notice that someone had come to stand next to her their own glass of champagne in hand. She almost jumped when he suddenly spoke his words breaking through her thoughts.

“It’s a bit flat,” his voice soft and smooth with the hint of a British accent.

“I think it’s beautiful, the depth of the emotion poured into this piece is heart wrenching,” Caroline said softly not taking her eyes from the single ship alone in the storm. “The feeling of impending doom, and the power of being alone in a desolate situation. How can you not see any of that?”

“Love, it’s a painting and I’m allowed to critique my own work,” the voice said, and Caroline felt her cheeks flush as she turned to see a tall man in a gold half face mask decorated with waves and a trident.

“Apologies, but your work is excellent, how could you not like it?” She asked raising her eyebrow as he chuckled and shook his head.

“Let’s just say that I have a different muse who I would much rather have the world admire,” he said cryptically placing his empty glass on a passing tray and smiled down at her. “May I have this dance miss?”

“Do you have any other pieces in the exhibit?” she asked coping his motions. “Yes, you can.” She took his offered hand and allowed herself to be led out onto the dance floor.

“No sadly the MET is waiting to display my works with the rest of the new exhibit in a few weeks, I’m hoping that the work I put into the pieces pay off.” He said softly spinning her around as they danced with the tempo of the song.

“I’ll be sure to come back and check out your other works when the exhibit opens then,” she said looking up at him. He was a marvelous dancer and something about him seemed familiar. Sadly, she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“I can show you the pieces now love, if you don’t mind disappearing from the party for a moment,” he said dipping her elegantly at the proper moment in the music and Caroline nodded her mind trying to put her finger on how she knew him.

They snuck away from the party and their fellow dancers into the hallway just off the open ballroom into a different wing which said under development and he pulled her towards a corner of the new exhibit. There were paintings and sketchings littering the three walls. Caroline spun around and looked at the images before one caught her eye. The side image of a nude blonde woman gazing out of a window the sun illuminating her profile, looked familiar, walking closer she gasped, it was her.

“NIKLAUS!” She turned to look at the stranger who now was someone she knew intimately well. For his credit he looked a little embarrassed about the reaction and since they were alone she could make a bit of a scene. “You placed an image of me nude in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art?!” “Well technically love, the curator came to my studio and chose that painting he wouldn’t be discouraged,” Klaus said moving closer and holding out his hands to steady her.

“That was one night a month ago, why would you paint it when you weren’t going to call me again?” she asked feeling vulnerable that a one-night stand had painted her and the aftermath was now in a museum.

“Love you had that massive event at Town Hall I called your office and your assistant Vicky told me that you were too busy to call back.” He said reaching out to push a wayward curl that had come loose from her hair behind her ear. “I called twice, and then Rebekah said to give you time and space.”

She was gob smacked as she looked up at him and blinked twice. The first thought in her mind was that Vicky was officially fucking fired, and the second was that she was going to murder her business partner. “You called twice?” she squeaked feeling her face flush.

“I would have called more but everyone said you needed space and that you were super busy,” he said rubbing the back of his head. “I’m assuming by your reaction you didn’t get the message that I had called back either by your assistant or my sister?”

“No and their both fucking dead,” she said crossly looking up into his gray eyes and stepping closer. She leaned up and placed a light kiss against his lips unsure if this was the right move. She started to pull away, when one hand to cup her cheek and his other hand pulled her closer. The move deepened the kiss and Caroline moaned into the kiss.

“I would say that might be a bit rash but since it deprived the two of us from a month of doing that, I concur,” he said after they finally pulled away from the kiss. Holding her close and tight against his chest he smiled down at her his eyes filled with love and admiration.

“What do you say we go back to your place and make up for lost time?” she asked slowly her blue eyes twinkling in the lamp light that shined over them from the streetlight outside.

“I’ve never supported an idea so much,” he said chuckling ducking down to kiss her one more time before leading her out towards the exit. Caroline looked for Katherine and Elijah as they weaved through the crowd feeling bad for up and leaving but also excited to get out of the gala.

Caroline woke up the next morning slowly, her body warm and comfortable against the chest of the body beneath her and she peeked to see that Klaus was sipping coffee and looking down at her expectantly and a smirk.

“Good morning luv,” he said softly pushing a few curls out of the way and chuckled when she pulled away to sit up and stretch. “You are a deep sleeper when your content.”

“I’m a sound sleeper regardless of the level of contentment,” she said sticking her tongue out at him and stealing his cup of coffee to take a long sip. Sighing happily she looked at him and grinned, “What are you doing today?”

“I was going to paint, but now I’d much rather stay in the bed with you all day.” Klaus said stealing his coffee back and setting it on the bed side table. Caroline grinned and laid back down cuddling closer as he pulled her to him. “You should probably check your phone it beeped twice this morning.”

Caroline groaned and sat up looking for her clutch and smiled when he handed her the offending item to her. Unlocking it she saw an email from Vicky and a text from Kat. She giggled opening the text from Kat.

{Katherine to CareBEAR} Lady you ditched me at the party, oh I should tell you that Klaus and you matched your costumes. Kinda Spooky.

{Caroline to Kit-Kat} Nah Elijah texted him what my costume was, and well yea the option of sex or more party was an easy option!

Closing her phone she handed it back to Klaus and leaned up to kiss him good morning. “Where were we?”

#klaroweenweekend #day one #put a spell on you #klaroline #masquerade ball au #human au #writing corner

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allondonboy · 7 years

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Medicine for the Soul (Ch 6)

Chapter 6 - Allegro molto appassionato: fortissimo (Ch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

My half-disappearing off the face of the earth was because I thought my main academic deadline for this year was the end of February. Turns out it's the end of November, which required a brain-aching switch into academic writing mode and...yeah.

Thank you for your patience, comments and kudos, I couldn't have got through this term without them. The next chapter is 80 % written and should be up for mid-December. That and this one are my favourites so far, and I really hope you enjoy them!

Sanvers is 100 % endgame in this little universe.

Thanks as always, Sky, for your help.

Maggie is already back at Stanford when Eliza and Kara drop them off. Physically being near her again takes more getting used to than Alex expected – the stories of couples being reunited with passionate kisses and more had prepared them for more than an awkward wave and the sensation of not being wholly present in the room.

They’ve grown uncomfortably used to Eliza’s misgendering such that Maggie’s gender-neutral language knocks them off kilter. After the emotional whiplash from going from college to Midvale to college again their brain is learning to relax once more, safe and validated next to their girlfriend, but it still lags as they get used to hearing the right pronouns again.

Not that Kara and Lucy didn’t try, they muse as Maggie leads them to her next gig in the gay bar down the road, but the house in Midvale always held a feeling of unease when they were called they.

The bar is lit with multi-coloured lights and it’s early enough in the evening that the buzz is present but not overbearing. Maggie, chewing ferociously on a mint, makes a beeline for the mic in the corner. Alex heads for the bar and orders two beers, setting one on the floor by Maggie’s feet next to her bottle of water.

Alex finds a quiet corner from where to watch Maggie, raising their bottle at her when she searches for them. She sends them a smile, dimples flashing, and they grin back.

The audience around Maggie grows, obscuring their view of her. They slide closer with their refilled drink, eyes fixed on their girlfriend as she puts her guitar away. Maggie smiles as she talks to the people, the girls, who come up to her.

And Rao, they don’t want to be possessive but winter break is still too fresh in their mind and the doubts are sticking to their mind like burs on a coat and they don’t take Maggie’s hand when she offers it, they don’t return her eye roll at another girl’s simpers, they turn their cheek into her kiss, and they stop before Maggie’s door is within arm’s reach.

“Danvers, you coming?” With the gleam in Maggie’s eye, they know she’s expecting a quip and at another time they might have provided one but there’s blood pounding in their ears and something bubbling behind their eyes and they turn, and they run.

In the week since they’d been back, they’d studied, worked their way through the remaining bottles of beer in their room, and moved through all the practice rooms in the music block to try and find the best acoustic.

In the end, it’s the smallest room in the corner of the second floor that they choose. With just enough room for the upright piano tucked at the back, it has a small window out of which a tree is just visible, tall and stark against the neighbouring building. They work through their old exercise books, making the most of the week before classes start to scrape their way to a tone that doesn’t make them cringe in embarrassment.

The practice room is where they run when they leave Maggie’s.

It’s partly because Lucy is in all evening, and Alex isn’t in the mood for a conversation that isn’t moving fast with their feet slamming the pavement: the only way they can dampen the stifling beat of their heart in the base of their throat without damaging a hand that they need to squeeze out double stops and furious glissandi.

Some of them wants to go back to the punching bag they’d hung in Midvale, where they’d taught Kara how to throw a punch.

Some of them wants to go back to the bottle of vodka stashed in their sock drawer.

Most of them wants to scream at Eliza for filling them with all the emotions they’d spent three years trying to bury.

So, they settle for the violin.

Steady hands with an unsteady mind, drowning out the ringing in their ears.

Black notes on white pages, blocking out Maggie’s face.

It’s day three when they find the bottle of scotch their dad brings – brought – out when they have guests over.

It sits unopened on their desk for days four and five, and on day six, they twist the lid off and take a cautious gulp.

Day seven is the funeral.

Half of the remaining scotch slips down easily and it takes them two attempts to screw on the lid.

It’s hard to notice its effect when they’re already so numb.

Weeks two and three are the most drawn out weeks of their life.

At first, they sleep more than they ever have, willing this nightmare to be over each time they open their eyes to a new day and a fleeting second of normality before the eerie silence of the house hits them like a sledgehammer to the chest and they know it’s real, know they can’t be dreaming the vacuum inside them that takes all of their breath and none of their pain.

Then they don’t sleep at all, to put off freefalling through his absence every morning, to put off the dreams where he is alive and happy and joking, to put off another day of the whispers at school.

They don’t surf. He isn’t there to see it.

They study, and they drink, and they practice their violin.

They try to practice.

It’s hard.

After all, what use is a shaking hand from the burn of liquor down your throat and the burn of something else entirely in your heart?

The next day, they sit on the other side of the lecture hall. As soon as they’ve pulled out a pen, the lecture starts, and they look across at Maggie exactly once to see her three rows down, watching the lecturer intently.

They don’t sit in their usual library seat, instead finding a secluded corner. Maggie arrives five minutes later at their usual table and they see her slow as she finds it empty of both Alex and a Tuesday sandwich.

She sits anyway.

Alex comes out of the lab and stops in their tracks. Maggie is leaning against their locker, arms folded and ankles crossed, and she pushes off with her shoulders to walk towards them, concern on her face.

They push past her. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“You weren’t answering my texts or calls. I was worried.”

“I – I’ve been busy. I’m sorry.” They yank on their sweater, head still inside the locker.

“Is this a bad time?”

“Yeah, yeah it is, kinda.” Alex grabs their bag and slams the door shut, spinning around to find Maggie closer than she sounded. “I’m in the middle of an assignment.”

They focus on a spot on the wall just above Maggie’s head. “It’s a challenging one and I’m not sure any of our class get it, to be honest.”

“If anyone can figure it out, it’s you,” says Maggie in a way that makes them meet her eyes and they wonder, briefly, how they thought they deserved someone so supportive and with so much confidence in them.

“I knew this was going to happen, I knew it,” mutters Alex and they bolt for the stairs, Maggie chasing after them.

“What are you talking about?”

“I was happy for like, five minutes.”

“What?” Maggie lands at the bottom of the stairs first and stops in front of Alex.

They readjust their bag and shake their head. “I – I’m sorry, this isn’t going to work. It was a mistake. I’m sorry. I can’t.”

A professor slips past them and Alex nods at her. When they turn back, Maggie’s face is unreadable and Alex panics that she’s answered and they’ve missed it.

“Okay.” Maggie takes a breath. There’s a split second where they could jump in and take it all back, but they don’t. “Got it. See you, Danvers.”

No. They wouldn’t miss that.

The implications of what they said don’t sink in until they’re opening their door. They freeze in the doorway. Lucy is on the floor in the middle of a plank and Alex stares at the back of her head.

“What’s the difference,” says Alex slowly, “between a fight and a break up?”

Lucy hits the floor and rolls over. “Well, I didn’t see that one coming.” She sits up and Alex inches further into the room. “You think you broke up?”

“I don’t know.” Alex rubs their eyes. “I don’t know, Lucy.”

“Sit.” Lucy points them to her bed and they sink into it. “Start from the beginning.”

Alex recounts it all, monotonously, twisting their hands.

“What do you want to happen now?” Lucy asks when they’ve finished.

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here,” says Alex. “I need a drink.”

Lucy watches wordlessly as they open their sock drawer and unscrew the lid of their vodka.

They don’t drink immediately. “I told her we were a mistake.” Alex takes a swig, staring at the scratches on the wall. “I don’t want her to think it’s her that’s the mistake.”

Alex takes a smaller sip then points at Lucy. “You and me, that’s the only remotely normal relationship I’ve had in my life.”

“Watch who you’re calling normal,” Lucy murmurs, her eyes tracking Alex as they start to pace.

“I have an alien for a sister. My dad died in a freak accident which no one is ever going to tell me about, my mom is only interested in me following in his scientific footsteps, and I haven’t spoken to Vicky in years. Maggie is the first person I’ve ever wanted to date, Luce, but she’s too good for someone who can’t balance romance with the rest of their life.”

“Did you tell her that?”

“No.” Alex sips again.

“Call her,” Lucy says. Alex twitches. “Call her and talk to her. Tell her what you told me and give her a chance to respond.”

Alex examines the chemical stains on their hands. “She won’t want to talk to me.”

“And you know that how? With your magical crystal ball?” Lucy reaches for Alex’s phone and scrolls through until she finds Maggie’s number. “Call her. The Alex Danvers I know owns up to their mistakes,” she says frankly, “so go and do that.”

They take the phone but don’t press call. Maggie’s face stares up at them, dimples on full.

“Call her, you useless gay,” Lucy calls from the other end of the bed, and Alex finds the bottle of vodka being prised from their grip. “And therapy time with Lucy is now over.”

“Al, it’s your girlfriend.”

Alex takes Lucy’s place at the door and curls their head around it. Maggie’s arms are crossed and she looks like she’d rather be anywhere else than in front of them. When they look at her eyes and see them resigned, they can’t blame her.

“Thanks for coming.”

Maggie’s fingers tighten in the folds of her flannel and she stands straighter. “I almost didn’t.”

Alex takes a step backwards as Maggie barges through and their arm brushes against Lucy, jacket in hand.

“I’ll let you talk,” Lucy says. It’s a good idea, Alex knows, but they want to drag her back and make her mediate this conversation with Maggie, who looks like she’s trying not to slam the door and get of there.

Maggie fixes them with a cold, unwavering stare and they release a long breath. The room behind them is still and quiet, the corner they’re standing in dim with artificial light, and Maggie’s determined, tilted head is silhouetted against the quietly closing door behind her.

“Do you want a drink?”

“Cut to it, Danvers.” Maggie’s voice is tight and Alex isn’t sure what she thinks they’re going to say. They try to school their features into something less terrified and more reassuring. It feels like a pained grimace so they duck their head and grab a beer for themselves, returning to their serious expression.

“I feel like the universe is magically smacking me down from being happy.”

Maggie scoffs a dry laugh. “That’s it? You gotta give me more than that.”

They sort through the speech they prepared, some of it with Lucy, and pick a new starting place.

“Okay. Okay, I,” they nod slowly and try again. “In the bar.”

“Okay.”

“There were all these women coming up to you. Beautiful women, and yet you still came over to me and that - that is confusing.” Alex takes a deep breath. “And I can’t, I just need to know: what do you get out of this relationship?”

Regret tickles their tongue when Maggie flinches away from them.

“What do you get from this relationship, Maggie?”

It’s more of a snap this time and they expect Maggie to flinch again but her eyes soften and no, no, they don’t deserve soft.

“Alex, what are you talking about?”

Maggie reaches for Alex’s hand but they snatch it away and point a finger at her.

“You, you could have had any woman in that bar, any of them, but you settle for me? Me, who - ” They break off and raise their head to glare at the ceiling.

“Alex.” Maggie’s voice is gentle and Alex steels themselves. “What’s going on?”

“I – I – I just need to know why you’re doing this, why me, why – you could have anyone, and I…” they trail off, blinking angrily as their vision starts to blur with tears.

“Being with you isn’t settling, Alex,” Maggie says, voice low, and Alex’s lip curls into a snarl.

“Yeah? I don’t even know what I am or who I am and you don’t deserve that, you deserve someone normal and, and – and not me.”

“Alex.”

“So I figured, I realised, that you’ve got to be in this for another reason, right? There must be something I can give you to make this,” they gesture to themselves in disgust, “worth it.”

“Alex.” Rao, they didn’t mean to hurt her, they didn’t, but there’s pain in Maggie’s eyes now and they can’t look at her because that’s all they do, they are pain, pain for the ones they love and they can’t, they shouldn’t have even tried – “Alex, look at me.”

It takes a deep breath and their knuckles starting to burn from too tight fists for Alex to finally look at her.

“What’s going on?” Maggie repeats, gently, and Alex starts shaking their head. “You can tell me anything.”

They dip their head and their lip trembles but they don’t answer.

“Did something happen at home?”

How. How did she know?

Alex raises their eyes and Maggie gives a small nod, taking a tiny step forward.

“What happened with your mom?”

There’s so much they want to tell Maggie but saying it out loud sounds like a confession of not being able to cope. Not being strong enough.

They roll the words around their mouth. Off-script words now that Lucy may suspect but never hear, they don’t know, they can’t tell if these words are obvious to anyone but them. They tug at them, arranging them into an order that burns like a brand on their tongue and then they can’t hold them in any longer.

“It’s relentless in that house,” they whisper. “It’s constant. She and her and sister and daughter and I get back here and suddenly I can be they again and I can be happy being me without feeling like I’m supposed to be ashamed of it. You make me so happy, Maggie, but spending time in that house makes me wonder how much I deserve it.”

“Alex.” She sounds like she wants to jump in but if they don’t get this out now they never will so they hold up a hand, a tiny wave, and she nods.

“You know, I have always felt so…responsible. Like, weight of the world responsible. And my parents always relied on me to watch over my sister, so the few times that I did anything for myself, it ended badly, and now I remember why.”

Alex runs a hand through their hair. They’ve never talked about this before. They can’t tell Kara about it. They don’t want to tell Lucy about it and chance pointing out even more differences between them and Kara, and Lucy and Lois.

“My sister… she deserves the world. And when I can give that to her, a safe home away from whatever the kids at school do or say, that’s huge, and I’ve always, always known that I will do anything to protect her including forfeiting myself because when Mom and I get going, it effects Kara. I can’t protect Kara when I’m putting me first.”

It feels like Kara’s squeezing all the air out of their chest and they wrap their arms around themselves, before shaking their head in bewilderment.

“I’ve never doubted myself so much, you know. And I want to be able to say that what my mom thinks doesn’t matter to me but it does. I’ve never doubted that I know myself but…” Alex exhales and shrugs. “Maybe she’s right and this is just a phase.”

“No,” Maggie says firmly, so firmly that Alex’s heart settles instantly. “This is real. You are real. And you deserve a real, full, happy life, as you, in the identity that fits you best. None of us can tell you what you’re feeling, Alex, but whatever it is, it is valid. It is real.”

They search her eyes for the caveat, but there’s just earnest, ferocious, fiery love.

“So.” They puff out their cheeks and gradually blow them out. “That’s what happened. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Maggie steps back and looks at them for a long time before speaking. “We’ve both got ghosts,” she tells Alex, and Maggie’s eyes glaze over briefly as though one of those ghosts has materialised behind them, “but I don’t want this to become one of them.”

Alex reaches for Maggie’s hand. “It won’t.”

“It will if we don’t start talking about this stuff.”

They don’t respond immediately. They run their thumb over the back of Maggie’s hand and let the ripples in their stomach die away.

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Maggie squeezes their hand. “Because when you went running off on me, saying we were a mistake, I thought I’d done something wrong.”

Alex’s eyes widen in horror. “Maggie, no - ”

“You made my decision for me, you decided it would be better for me to not be with you, and I didn’t get a say.” Maggie takes a deep breath. “That’s not fair on me. I deserve more than that.”

Alex tries to imagine what happened to Maggie to make her words hold a note of uncertainty underlined with pride. They nod. “I know.”

“And you don’t have to tell me the details, okay? Just don’t run without an explanation. I can’t stop bad things happening to you but I can help you through them and I deserve to be allowed to make the choice to do that.”

There’s a moment of silence, Maggie steadfastly holding Alex’s gaze as firmly as she’s holding their hand.

“You were never the mistake,” says Alex quietly. “You’re not a mistake. You’re real too.”

The hug Maggie draws them into feels more real than anything they’ve felt in the last week and they melt into her arms, suddenly and brilliantly completely in the moment.

Alex stirs and tries to roll over to look at the time. A weight pinning them down stops them and they freeze. Looking down at where dark hair peeks out of the top of their duvet, they smile at the sight of Maggie curled tightly on top of them, nose squished into their chest.

Alex snakes out an arm and flaps it towards their phone, little finger snagging the charger and sending it crashing to the floor. Maggie opens one eye, sees Alex where she expects them to be, and closes it again.

They swear under their breath when Lucy grunts at them and hope she doesn’t notice Maggie repositioning herself.

“Danvers?” says Lucy groggily.

“Lane?” Alex answers as quietly as they can. Maggie’s hand flops onto their mouth and sleepy eyes peer up at them.

“Shhhhhhhh,” she says with the coherence of someone still half-asleep. Lucy is suddenly awake and peeling the covers off them both. Alex pushes her away with their free hand and Lucy dodges it, snickering.

“Cosy.”

“Cold!” Maggie complains until Lucy’s presence registers in her mind and she stiffens. She squirms around as Alex’s hand rubs her arm reassuringly and she tries to pull the covers back over her head to shield her eyes from the harsh light of the lamp Lucy had decided to turn on.

“Lucy, what are you – no!” Alex half lunges towards Lucy as she grabs their phone from the floor and pulls up the camera.

“Smile,” says Lucy. Maggie groans and mumbles something that neither of the other two catch, holding onto Alex as they spill out of bed in slow motion. Maggie clings to Alex like a koala and they end up in a heap with their legs still tangled in the sheets.

“Lucy fucking Lane,” Alex starts, spitting out a mouthful of hair. “You delete that right now.”

“You kiss your girl with that mouth, Danvers?”

“Yeah,” Maggie declares from Alex’s neck. “They do.”

Lucy watches as Alex’s gaze softens and their entire body melts into Maggie. “I see you two have made up.”

Maggie stiffens again.

“Yeah,” says Alex quietly. “We talked.”

Lucy smirks. “Looks like more than just talking.” Alex throws a pillow at her head. “Can I interest you two nerds in coffee, or should I get my books and go?”

Maggie wriggles into a sitting position and clutches the sheets to her chest. “Coffee.”

“We could get coffee later.” Alex hooks their foot under Maggie’s knee and tries to pull her back down.

“Coffee,” Maggie says more firmly, glancing up at Lucy who squints at Alex with an unreadable expression. Alex looks between them and sighs. They roll onto their side and prop their head up with their hand.

“Fine.”

Alex walks between Lucy and Maggie on the way to the café. They keep hold of Maggie’s hand even as they slide onto the bench after her.

Across the table, they see Lucy not so subtly take another photo of them but as they inhale the heavenly coffee fumes they find they don’t care – or at least, they care less than they did that morning, because Maggie’s hand in theirs is small and warm and Lucy’s knee knocking against theirs is so Lucy and familiar, and the messages appearing on their phone screen from Kara in response to what they can only assume is Lucy’s photos is so expected and sisterly and they’re not really okay, but they’re happy, and that’ll do for now.

#nb!alex #sanvers #sanvers fic #sanvers au #alex danvers #medicine for the soul #my fic #*internal screeching*#i swear one day i'll be able to write the end of chapters

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podcake · 7 years

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Podcast Teatime: The Case of the Questioning Cheesecake

Hello and a happy August day to everyone. Welcome to a new Q&A to cap off the summer, starring the masterminds behind the adventures we’ve grown to love in The Penumbra Podcast.

As a loyal patron of the arts, I took it upon myself to do some of my own detective work for a change and see what’s going on in the heads of creators Kevin Vibert and Sophie Kaner .

(The following is a direct copy-and-paste from the email)

Question One: Let’s get the most pressing question out of the way first, at least for me: Is there any reason why you chose a hotel as a framing device for your stories? Was it always something you had planned?

Kevin: To start, Sophie and I were thinking that the Penumbra would be an anthology show, along the lines of The Twilight Zone or old radio drama anthologies like Suspense. The idea that the narrator would be a spooky, semi-omnipotent character voiced by the lead writer (hi) was Sophie’s, and is a very, very direct reference to Rod Serling’s narrator on The Twilight Zone. (“Shaken,” which is the one episode that remains mostly intact from this first view of the show, is full of Twilight Zone references — Louise’s surname “Serling” is not a nod to Rod Serling so much as a head-shake-so-hard-you-can-hear-our-necks-crack.)

As for the hotel itself: I have a real love of weird horror and descriptions of impossible places. House of Leaves, which is about ten billion things but one of them is a house that’s slightly bigger on the inside than the outside, was definitely bouncing around in my head as we were pitching ideas for the frame. So was The Shining, which is one of my favorite horror novels of all time, as well as Invisible Cities, which is a really bizarre collection of stories in which Marco Polo describes a bunch of cities that couldn’t possibly exist to Kublai Khan, saying they all lie somewhere in his empire. The description of the infinite hotel is definitely connected to that the most.

For season two we changed the game a bit, but I think even that has connections to this weird thing about places that are horrifying and impossible and kind of mundane — hotels and trolleys and things you see every day. I don’t know why I like making normal places scary. It is either a little bit of cruelty or a complete terror of everything around me, or both. Yeah, both.

Question Two: You have quite the talented cast to work with for your show. Did you have to look far and wide or was it a simple casting call? Or are these just close friends who happen to know how to act?

Sophie: Aren’t they great? It’s important to remember that the Penumbra Podcast was never intended to be a podcast in the first place; it was just going to be one radio play written for fun, except that one turned into two and then three and then we really let the whole thing get out of control. In any case, the first few people we brought on board (notably, the three actors at the core of the Juniverse: Joshua, Noah, and Kate) are old friends of mine from college, though I know them from a theater group, so it’s most accurate to say that I know them because they know how to act. We are always adding new actors, though!

I perform a lot myself, so I ask a lot of the talented people I’ve worked with in the past to join the show, and I’ve also solicited auditions from friends of friends. (I don’t hold open auditions: we are still too small a production for me to feel safe doing that.) One exception: last year I went to see a play with a friend, and the lead actor was so incredible that I said “THAT. That’s who I need on my show.” So I found him on Facebook and asked him if he would be interested in joining the production, and luckily he had not only heard of the show but was totally on board! (If you’re wondering, the actor was Matthew Zahnzinger, who now plays Ramses O'Flaherty in the Juniverse and Sir Damien in Second Citadel.)

Question Three: What is it that inspired Juno Steel’s adventures? Do you ever see yourself paying homage to Sherlock Holmes and the like or are you more interested in other media to act as a muse?

Kevin: This answer will be relevant in, like, two seconds. I promise.

Sophie has a theory regarding directing actors towards new voices that I really love: she likes to get people to do impressions of people they sound nothing like and then shape the voice from there. Leslie Drescher, who plays Sir Caroline, Valles Vicky, Cassandra, and Cecil, has thus far gotten the brunt of this: for Vicky Sophie sent her videos of Robert DeNiro and Jabba the Hutt, and they shaped a character from there. Cassandra was Joan Jett, Cecil was a French aristocrat and Scott Disick, and so on.

Anyway: the reason this works for voice acting is that you’re relying on the natural chemistry of getting someone to do something they can’t actually do perfectly. When Leslie imitates Robert DeNiro, she does not sound like Robert DeNiro. But she can use that approximation as a starting place to figure out how to sound like a tough, brusque crime lord, and that’s what we needed Vicky to be. And better yet: the voice she does it not one Robert DeNiro could do, and it’s probably not one any of us would have thought she should do until we asked her to do something way outside what she was used to.

We treat inspiration and genre in our stories similarly. In the Juno stories, noir and scifi are always what we go back to… but usually we start by looking at another genre or story that doesn’t quite fit, but that we really love. Juno Steel and the Train From Nowhere happened because we really wanted to write a Bond movie, and then we decided it would be interesting and new if Juno was the “Bond girl” instead. The framing device in Angel of Brahma exists entirely the way it does because I’m obsessed with the first section of the novel Dracula, in which Jonathan Harker is simultaneously a guest and a hostage in Dracula’s house.

It’s worth noting that neither of these episodes are very much like the source material, and that’s where the shaky line between “homage” and “inspiration” comes in. Very often we start with a story convention we love because we love it, and then over the course of outlining and drafting and editing naturally branch off in a new direction.

When I was younger I would get really self-conscious about having “original ideas,” and of course I still do — but it’s really important to remember that “original” is not the same as “immaculate conception.” Just because you can trace where an idea came from doesn’t mean you stole it. If I rewrote It or The Shining and changed the title to Juno Steel and the Day That Wouldn’t Die and tweaked a few names, that’d be plagiarism.

But if we read It and go, “Damn, I really wish I wrote this,” and then we examine what it is we like about the story, what we wish we wrote about it, what parts we don’t like and we’d take out, and what other influences we want to incorporate… suddenly we’ve made something brand new, even if the first thought was, “I really wish I wrote this story that already exists.”

Question Four: The Penumbra spans genres from mystery to fantasy and science fiction. Does it ever become a struggle to juggle so many different themes?

Kevin: For genre and theme, not really. The more difficult thing is bouncing between all these different characters.

Sophie and I talk incessantly about stories, and our interests dovetail really nicely for writing genre stories. I really like pulling apart plot structure and she’s obsessed with tropes; I like figuring out how a joke works and she likes figuring out how to make people cry.

So entering a new genre is never terribly difficult for us because chances are we’ve already had forty conversations about that genre anyway: that’s why when we wrote The Coyote of the Painted Plains, but we knew we didn’t actually like Westerns very much, we gave it all the structure and tropes of a swashbuckler instead, like Ivanhoe or The Three Musketeersand so on.

By the same token when I need to explain the Second Citadel stories to people, my shorthand is usually, “So there’s this fantasy world with knights and stuff, only the knights are kind of like superhero beat cops and the Queen is their chief, so it’s kind of a police procedural with a monster-of-the-week spin, and…”

So genre doesn’t tend to be an issue for us. But making new characters? That’s really, really hard.

Part of the reason we honed down to two main series in season two was because making new characters and getting an audience invested in them in half an hour was a good challenge, but completely exhausting.

I can’t tell you how many half-finished outlines we have for season one one-shots, just because we realized we’d never be able to get people invested in these characters quickly enough and also have time to complete an actual plot. We also just really fell in love with the process of diving deep into a few characters over a long period of time, honing in on the ones with conflicts unresolved and seeing where they go next.

Question Five: Would The Penumbra still be The Penumbra if it wasn’t audio? If it could be recreated in any other format, which would you pick and would it still feel the same? (By the way, I would totally read a novelization of Juno Steel mysteries.)

Sophie: Oh god, if we could make the Penumbra in another format, it would be a TV show–well, two TV shows, probably, one for Juno Steel and one for Second Citadel. And if we had the resources, we’d create an animated series with Penumbra artist Mikaela Buckley! But that being said, the Penumbra would definitely lose something in the transition from audio to visual. Many of the plot points were written explicitly with an audio format in mind (the abilities Juno gains from the Martian Pill, the Ruby 7 car chase, the action scenes in the Head of the Janus Beast), and other setpiece moments were designed in post-production without even being a part of the original script (Annie Wire’s death, the music at Ingrid Lake’s party, Sir Damien’s storytelling). Which is all to say that the Penumbra would be an extremely different show if it hadn’t been created as a podcast.

Question Six: How long does it usually take to make an episode? Including voice acting, sound editing, and of course writing, is it especially time consuming or is it something that can be knocked out in a day?

Sophie: This is a tough question to answer because the first part of the process–the dreaming up of the stories–is the part that can vary the most. Sometimes Kevin and I agonize over characters and plot points for months, but on some very special occasions, when we’ve been in a really great groove, we’ve been able to outline an entire episode in one day.

Once we have an outline, Kevin writes a draft, which can take anywhere from three days to three months (though both ends of the spectrum are very unusual). After that, we spend two to three weeks editing on our own and then with a few other people, and once the script is complete we can move onto rehearsal and recording.

This part is a ton of fun! Scheduling (handled by Noah Simes, our production manager) is a bit of a nightmare because the actors are all extremely busy, but we always do our best to have at least one rehearsal for everybody, and then 1-3 recording sessions. Those are usually long days, but we all love each other a lot, so it’s worth it. The final piece of the process is the sound design, which I usually spend about two full weeks on. I almost never think I’m going to get the whole thing done in time for episode release day, but so far I’ve always managed it!

BONUS: What are some future plans you have in mind? Without going into spoilers, can we can anticipate some new characters, exciting cases, and big reveals to come up?

Kevin: It is very much the Penumbra Brand to make sure all new information only raises forty new questions and makes everyone terribly upset, and so in that time-honored tradition I bring you this fun exclusive:

The structure of this Juno season — number of cases, number of episodes, plot structure, etc. — is so different from season one that we can’t even post a release calendar or tell you how many more you have left to expect, because it would spoil some major reveals coming up in… a few weeks? A few months? I don’t know. You’ll have to wait and see.

Thank you to Sophie and Kevin to taking time to answer my questions. If you haven’t already, check out The Penumbra Podcast yourself to get the scoop on Juno Steel and The Second Citadel as well as enjoying all the beautiful art provided by the talented @disasterscenario.

Another tea pot emptied and another case solved.

#the penumbra podcast #q&a #podcast teatime #juno steel gives me juno feels #sophie kaner #kevin vibert

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passionate-baker · 5 years

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Monthly Musings: November

Hello friends!

Please excuse my tardiness in bringing you this month’s dose of ramblings. Things got slightly away from me for a bit, but I’m here now & everything is right once more.

November marks a whole year since I’ve been writing these posts & they’ve honestly become some of my very favourite to write. Sitting down near the end of each month & recapping the different things we did or places we went to is such a lovely way to spend a couple of hours. Thank you for allowing me to share a little bit more of my life here.

This time last year I fan-girled over new cookbooks, talked about my favourite book of the moment, shared our new favourite dinner, and reiterated how good my latest recipe was. Looking below, not a whole lot has changed over the last year, and honestly, I find more than a little bit of comfort in that knowledge. If you’d like to read last year’s post, click here.

I hope this fine Monday evening finds you on the couch in your comfy pants, addictive book in hand. We’ll be over here, entertaining Boyfriend’s brother for dinner, living our best life. We’re making a homemade pasta dish for dinner, serving a rustic honey & apple crumble for dessert, and savoring a couple of glasses of red wine along the way. This is what long autumnal nights are made for, right?

Please enjoy the random collection of thoughts & musings below.

November is such a busy birthday month in my family - both my sister & mother have birthdays the day after each other. To make this year extra busy, my sister graduated from college in the same week - with a first! We celebrated with drinks & a fancy lunch out at Coppinger Row. We’re so proud of you, Kid!

Boyfriend did us real proud last month by having not just one, but two of his short films shown in the Horrorthon Film Festival at the IFI here in Dublin. Two! I’m always pretty proud of him, but this was especially wonderful to boast about to others. Congrats, Boyfriend!

In case you missed it: Pumpkin Pie Crumble Bars hit the blog a couple of weeks back. It’s basically a pumpkin pie layered between a brown butter shortbread base & a thick layer of crumble. Whatchu waiting for?

I’ve finally put the finishing touches on our Berlin Travel Guide! Be sure to check back next week to catch all the deets. Related: Munich City Guide / Exploring Bremen, Germany.

Hummingbird High’s cookbook Weeknight Baking is finally out! I pre-ordered it way back in August & I was beyond excited when it arrived. I’ve already made the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake & the Overnight Cinnamon Rolls; both of which were amazzzingg.

We booked flights to Lyon! We’re heading off in mid-December for a long weekend of Christmas market-ing and I can’t wait! It’s been two years since we visited a Christmas market & I am long overdue my fill of gluhwein. Related: Vienna in December.

I’m toying with the idea of throwing a small Thanksgiving dinner party. There’ll be no Americans in attendance... but I love the excuse of throwing a dinner party. Am I losing it? These will definitely be on the menu if I do: Herb & Parmesan Cheese Sticks.

This month’s book recommendation: LESS. Boyfriend read it first; he lingered over every word & laughed at every second page. I got so curious that I had to read it before he returned it to the library & I fell for it just as hard! It is amazing.

My new culinary obsession: homemade pasta. It’s literally a breeze to make with my trusty new pasta roller & it never fails to impress guests at dinner parties! This is the recipe I’ve been using & I am in love.

Boyfriend & I went to see a really great photography exhibition recently called View of Ireland: Collecting Photography. It offered a fascinating insight into Ireland through the ages and we would definitely recommend it if you’re in the area!

I have found the most perfect grey nail polish: Rubble, by CND. You are welcome.

Can we talk about how great Scorsese’s latest film - The Irishman - is quickly? We decided to go to the cinema to see it & loved every second! Honestly, the 3.5 hour epic went by in a flash, and we were so enthralled from the get-go that we’re already looking forward to watching it again on Netflix.

Thanks for reading along friends, I hope you have a wonderful month!

Hugs,

Vicki xo

2019: jan // feb // mar // apr // may // jun // jul // aug // sep // oct

2018: nov // dec

#monthlymusings2019 #monthlymusings #november #2019

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wildefiction · 5 years

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Of Course...Mr. Collins

TWENTY-FOUR

Sometime around eight-thirty, as Darius told yet another story about Misha’s antics, you looked across the flames to see Daneel, Gen and their children all asleep. Jared absentmindedly combing his fingers through Gen’s dark chocolate waves and Jensen smiling wistfully at the most important women in his life.

As you slipped into a daydream filled with thoughts of living happily with a family of your own, the petite arm draped around your shoulders tightened in a comforting squeeze. Vicki, observant as ever, pressed her lips to your ear, “you've got us [Y/F/N], I told you, you're family now.” The thought comforted you to some degree, and you decided to try and just be in the moment rather than worrying about the future. You had a habit of wondering when the next life-changing event would happen in your life to such a degree, that you often forgot to enjoy them when they did.

The quiet hiss of water hitting the rim of the searing fire pit caught your attention as heavy drops of rain began to fall. Distant thunder rolled through the sky, and you moved from your seat to the banister of the deck, resting your arms against the cool cedar beams. It was a rare thing to have a real thunderstorm in this area, and you were entranced by the symphony of sounds as the rain moved from an occasional drop to a light sprinkle.

Rousing the sleeping children from their laps, the Ackles and Padalecki’s quickly moved into the house, Vicki and Misha following behind. West and Maison hadn't even flinched when the weather had turned balmy. Turning back to the sky, you inhaled deeply, spreading your arms wide and laughing as the sprinkle made way for the storm; sheets of water quickly reducing the fire to sputtering, glowing embers.

It was Misha’s turn to smile. [Y/F/N] laughed as she threw her head back and spread her arms wide; welcoming the rain. The wood frame of the door groaned in protest when he leaned against it, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he watched his girlfriend dancing in the rain. Had he really just called her his girlfriend? Luckily it'd been only in his head, he mused. He was surprised with how quickly he'd come to care for the woman. It had only been a month and he already felt like she'd always been his.

With the water splashing across your skin and quickly soaking through your hair you stopped spinning, taking a moment to get your bearings. The quiet huff of levity drew your attention to the man framed in the doorway. With a wide smile, you lurched forward, wrapping a wet hand around the warm skin of his wrist and pulling him off balance, out into the evening showers.

“AGHHGH, I'm melting...I'm melting..” a dramatic hand pressed to his forehead had you laughing quietly as the rain quickly soaked through his clothes, his artfully disheveled hair dripping into those impossibly blue eyes. Your damp clothes stuck to your skin, and as the breeze picked up again a chill spread through your limbs. Misha, noting the fine tremble wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close to his body.

“Better?” he implored. His eyes crinkled as he smiled. In answer to his ridiculous question, you rose up onto your toes and pressed your lips to his. Wrapping your arms around his neck pulled his warm body closer to yours as the kiss intensified. The rain continued it's deluge around the two of you, but it was the last thing on your mind when Misha's fingers dug into your hips, his cock stirring beneath the now soaked denim of his jeans. The considerable effort required to pull back from the man who seemed content to fuck you right here and now was palpable, and only after giving in to several more attempts were you able to fight through the heady feeling that came with being in Misha's presence.

Thoroughly soaked, Vicki simply shook her head when the two of you walked back through the patio doors into the kitchen.

“I can't leave you two alone for ten minutes and you're out snogging in the water.” Crossing around the island, the woman approached you, her maroon glasses having slid down the bridge of her nose only added to her disapproving look.

The sheepish look on your face was short lived when the woman approached, reaching out for your hand.

“C’mon then, into the shower with you, can't have you getting sick - Mish would lose his head, wouldn’cha babe?” Winking to soften the impact of her words, Vicki turned back towards you as the three of you made your way down the hall.

Twenty minutes later, you stepped from the expansive stone shower and wrapped yourself in an oversized white towel. Briefly you wondered if it was the same white towel that Misha had worn so nonchalantly that first week. Just the thought of that image -forever seared into your mind- made you shiver with desire. Shaking your head to clear the thoughts, your hand closed around the door handle and pulled it open.

“Hey Vee, than-" words stopped abruptly and you averted your eyes out of habit when you saw the woman bent double, rummaging through what you assumed was her underwear drawer.

Straightening, she turned to ask what you had said, seeming wholly unconcerned by the idea of her nudity. Crimson laced panties covered the curve of her narrow hips and ass. You hadn't meant to stare, and whether the sudden frigid body language was the result of fear or unabashed attraction was unclear. As she approached you, her hips swaying as only a ladies’ can, a knowing smile spread across her features and there was new life in her dark eyes; layers of caramel swirled through the chocolate, and you couldn't seem to look away. Truth be told, it had been nearly ten years since you'd last found yourself in the company of a woman.

Your heart thundered against your ribcage, the raucous sound echoing through your mind as Vicki stopped just short of touching you. The melody of her laugh drew you from your thoughts as her long, cool fingers laced themselves with yours.

“Relax, sweetheart - I won’t bite...hard.” “I believe I promised you a proper welcoming to our family…?” The words trailed from her lips, the questioning tone asking for permission...making sure you wanted this. While your [Y/E/C] eyes still nervously darted between hers, the slight dip of your head spoke for you, and when she pressed warm, soft lips to yours, you melted against her, encircling her waist with your one free arm and pulling her against your body.

The small yelp of delight that slipped from Vicki’s lips filtered through the bedroom door, effectively stopping Misha in his tracks. [Y/F/N] had still been in the shower when he’d left to check on the kids and to make sure their house guests were comfortable. Intrigued, he crept along the darkened hallway until he reached the bedroom. Peering through the cracked door, Misha’s mouth ran dry - his pupils dilating at the scene that greeted him.

“Ohhhhholyfuuuckkk…” The words were a whispered groan. His pants tightened around the sudden, strong erection; a deep rumble of need echoed in his chest as he watched his wife make out with his girlfriend. Absentmindedly, Misha’s hand drifted down to rest against the thickness that strained against the cotton pajama bottoms, the other palm pressed against the cool wooden door. The sliver of light pouring through the crack expanded as the door inched open with his touch.

The low whine of the hinges distracted you enough to pull your attention from the kiss, your swollen lips and lust filled eyes darting to find the source of the noise. Stepping back from your embrace, Vicki, with a knowing smile on her face, advanced towards the door. Pulling it open to find her husband contentedly watching, his own eyes blown so wide with lust, there was only the smallest sliver of navy ringing the pupil. Crossing her arms across the expansive swell of her chest, a finely arched brow raised in mock disbelief at the sight before her.

“Well, well...Mr. Collins…”

TWENTY-FIVE

TAGS: @jamielea81 @wings-of-a-raven

#WildeFiction #Misha x Reader #Vicki x Reader #Supernatural Fanfiction #SPN x RPF

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mxitre-a · 6 years

Note

“ When I was younger I wanted to be an alien. “

“well... I can sell you to an alien if you want?”

#obedeared #( guest muse: vicky.)#( answered. )#queue tag.#PLS BABY GIRL NO

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fayewonglibrary · 4 years

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Faye's charity raises $1.4 million (2006)

Beijing - Their baby girl was nowhere to be seen and their good friend, actress Carina Lau, almost stole the show by turning up hand in hand with Taiwanese billionaire Terry Gou.

Still, the night belonged to pop queen Faye Wong and her actor husband Li Yapeng when they hosted a charity ball on Tuesday which raised a reported 7 million yuan for their SmileAngel Foundation.

This was Wong's first public appearance since she gave birth in May to baby Yan, who went to the United States for corrective surgery for a cleft lip. The couple started the foundation last month to help children with cleft lips and palettes.

Wong, 37 and Li, 35 posed for photos for the media, which was the first time they had done so since they started dating in late 2003, said Hong Kong reports.

They married last year. Wong has another daughter from a previous marriage.

Stars, including Na YIng, Vicki Zhao, Huang Xiaoming and Alec Su attended the ball held at a five-star hotel. Taiwanese political commentator Sisy Chen also showed up.

Lau, whose actor boyfriend Tony Leung Chiu Wai was not present, helped Wong host the event.

Her escort for the night, widowed high-tech tycoon Gou hit the headlines recently for investing in an Aaron Kwok film and for partying with actress Rosamund Kwan in Lau's Muse club in Shanghai.

Li's business manger had described the event as a "very thrifty ball" because the couple "want every cent to be spent on the children who need help".

And it was. Guests had donated at least 20,000 yuan each to be invited, and the 1,000 yuan-a-table menu included items such as soup and tiramisu, said Apple Daily.

The highlight was a charity auction. Leung had donated an 18th-century Buddhist jade bowl that raised the most money - 5 million yuan.

Oriental Daily News said the foundation has raised more than 10 million yuan since last month, including a US10,000 donation from former United States president George Bush.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hubby's thanks makes Faye cry

Beijing - Their charity is called SmileAngel, but China actor Li Yapeng brought tears to the eyes of his singer wife Faye Wong at their fund-raising ball on Tuesday.

Apple Daily said the couple were all lovey-dovey at the event, their first in full sight of the media. When they were on stage, Wong smiled and smacked Li's face playfully after he gave the wrong name of a donor.

Later, an emcee made fun of the taciturn singer for saying little more than "thank you", said the reports.

This was when Li went to his wife's rescue and said: "My wife is a shy person but has come out to face everybody today. Even when we married, it wasn't as grand as this."

As she beamed and bowed to their guests, he added: "I want to especially thank my wife for giving me such a good daughter."

These words made her teary, said the report. The couple then went off stage with their arms around each other.

They founded the charity last month, after their baby girl needed corrective surgery for a cleft lip. Hong Kong reports said on Thursday that a total of 12 million yuan was raised at the ball.

An antique Buddhist jade bowl donated by actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai sold for 5 million yuan.

#2006

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guapo-t-w · 5 years

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Local Tidewater VA Beer Festivals

UPCOMING BEER FESTS AND FESTIVAL FORECAST: Sat, Mar 7 - The Vanguard's 2 Year Anniversary Party!, 7:00 pm - 12:00 am, The Vanguard Brewpub and Distillery, 504 N. King St., Hampton. OUR 2ND YEAR ANNIVERSARY IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! Tell your friends all about it and come on down to The Vanguard Brewpub and Distillery in Downtown Hampton and celebrate with us! We will have music featuring Cris Jacobs Band with Kyle Davis Band! This is a free show!! The music is starting at 8pm! Come enjoy some of our craft beer and craft spirits that we have enjoyed producing the past 2 years! Let's cheers to many more! Sun, Mar 8 - 44th Annual Oyster Roast and Craft Beer Festival, 1 - 5:00 pm, Hosted by Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad, Virginia Beach Convention Center, 1000 19th St., Virginia Beach. Do you love oysters? BBQ? Beer, wine and lots of other delicious stuff? There's live music, casino tables, live and silent auction, and local artists! PLUS, the great satisfaction of supporting the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad; proceeds allow us to purchase the necessary life-saving equipment and supplies that help us respond to more than 14,000 calls every year. GET YOUR TIX TODAY! vbvrs.org/oyster-roast Sat, Mar 14 - 2020 Ocean View Saint Patrick's Day Parade & Party. Join Us for the 53rd Annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, a fun filled Irish parade with all the marching bands, clowns, floats, cars, and people necessary to make up an exciting and enjoyable parade. The Parade steps off at 10:00 am on March 14, 2020. Don't miss the After Parade Party, presented by the Columbian Club of Ocean View starting at noon at 211 W. Government Ave featuring live bands: Tidewater Drive (outside) and Savannah (inside the Hall). Plenty of food and refreshment vendors will be available as well. Sat, Mar 14 - 10 Year Anniversary & Saint Paddy's Day Party! 12 - 10:00 pm, Hosted by O'Connor Brewing Co. , 211 W 24th St., Norfolk. Time sure flies when you're having fun... Can you believe we are turning TEN years old?! What an incredible decade it has been, we are so thankful for all of the love & support throughout the years. Now...let's party!!! Join us for our 10 Year Anniversary & Saint Paddy's Day Party! Live Performances by: Rhodes Academy of Irish Dance 12-1 pm, Glasgow Kiss 1:30-3 pm, DownTown Abby & The Echoes 3:30-5 pm, Will Overman 5:30-7 pm, Super Doppler 7:30-9:30 pm. Food Provided by: Capt'n Crabby, Vicki Vail's, Deutscher Imbiss, Hangry's. PLUS! The release of our Imperial Anniversary Stout, barrel-aged in Irish Whiskey barrels! It's going to be the biggest party yet, we can't wait to celebrate TEN YEARS with you all. Slainté! Saturday, March 14, ShamROCK the 'Burg!, 5:30 – 9:30 pm, Hosted by Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg, 401 N Boundary St., Williamsburg. ShamROCK the 'Burg will be featuring the musical talents of The Donnybrooks! $5 beer/wine tickets, BEST TICKET $30 - Jammer Ticket includes $15 admission, $15 meal ticket, and 3 $2 raffle tickets! Wear your green and show your support for the Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg! https://williamsburgkiwanis.org/ Sun, Mar 15 - Billsburg St. Paddy's Day Beer Mile, 1 – 4:00 pm, Hosted by MettleEvents.com and Billsburg Brewery, 2054 Jamestown Rd., Williamsburg. Enjoy Saint Patrick's Day with Mettle Events and Billsburg Brewery for its Beer Mile followed by a great party including the Halfpenny Holiday Parade, food, entertainment and some signature beers. Wear your favorite St. Patrick's Day attire for the parade and judged costume contest. https://register.chronotrack.com/r/56159?fbclid=IwAR0PSbTeyR3RCQyx9N88UH5sF5OXQq09_nM1TisOXNZw52jf3jX2n4c0M5Y Sat, Mar 28 - VBC's Four Year Freeversary, 12 – 7:00 pm, Hosted by The Virginia Beer Company, 401 2nd St., Williamsburg. Save The Date: the Virginia Beer Co. is turning FOUR! On Saturday, March 28th we'll be opening up the entire VBC campus for a day celebrating four years of beers & cheers. Expect badass bands -- pop-ups from some of Williamsburg's favorite restaurants -- family friendly entertainment -- small batch releases (Waypost is coming...) -- and anniversary-exclusive FREE VERSE VARIANTS. More information (including entry info and beer/entertainment lineups) coming in February! In the meantime: mark those calendars! Sat, Mar 28 - Kiss My Cask Festival, 2 - 6:00 pm, Hosted by Back Bay Brewing, 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. Join us for our 5th Annual Kiss My Cask Festival! Come and judge over 20 different local, regional and national breweries! There will be games, live music, delicious food, and of course a massive supply of beer! Pucker up, because this is going to be one hell of a festival. Are you wondering what exactly a cask beer is? We got you! A cask beer is unfiltered beer (usually ale), that is transferred into casks, krausened (carbonated), sealed and then undergoes a slight final fermentation in the cask. Often finings (clarifying agents) will be added to help the beer drop bright—when yeast cells naturally flocculate (clump) and settle at the bottom of a vessel. Check out this link from CraftBeer.com for more info: https://www.craftbeer.com/craft-beer-muses/cask-ale-draught-beer-at-its-best. $15 General Admission Ticket: 1. Entry (no tastings); 2. One beer ticket NON CASK BEER (valid for one full pour from our Back Bay Brewing truck) **Get 15% off your ticket by using the promo code: EARLYBIRD from now until February 28th! $40 VIP Ticket (limited to 500): 1. Entry; 2. Special event tasting glass; 3. Tasting and judging of all casks; 4. Two beer tickets NON CASK BEER (valid for two full pours from our Back Bay Brewing truck); 5. Entry into a raffle for a Mug Club Membership **Get 15% off your ticket by using the promo code: EARLYBIRD from now until February 28th! GET TICKETS HERE: https://www.squadup.com/events/kiss-my-cask-festival-1 Sat, Apr 25 - Historic Phoebus Spring Fling, 10:00 am, 6:00 pm, hosted by Phoebus VA Events, 21 Mellen St. E, Hampton. On April 25, historic Phoebus will transform into a vibrant outdoor street festival featuring handmade arts and crafts, children’s activities, festival food, live music and a craft beer tasting ($30 admission required for craft beer tasting). [email protected] Sun, Apr 26 - 2020 Williamsburg Craft Beer Festival, 1 – 5:00 pm, 410 N Boundary St., Williamsburg. Williamsburg's Biggest Beer Benefit is back! The 7th Annual Williamsburg Craft Beer Festival presented by The Rotary Club of Williamsburg and Aspire Young Professionals returns Sunday, April 26, 2020 from 1pm-5pm with VIP access starting at noon. Part of CultureFix VA's Scrumptious Weekend, the seventh annual Williamsburg Craft Beer Festival will feature a selection of beers from 25 craft breweries. Enjoy delicious beer, live music by Jesse Chong Music, and food available for purchase from Old City Barbeque, Nosh, and more. General admission tickets ($35) include a complimentary 16-oz tasting glass and unlimited 4-oz. pours plus live music, public restrooms, and food available for purchase from one of our vendors. VIP tickets ($60) include all general admission perks PLUS early entry to the festival at noon, a complimentary food item from one of our vendors, and access to a designated VIP area including exclusive VIP beers and private bathrooms. The Festival is rain or shine since we're fully tented, and tickets are transferable but not refundable. As Williamsburg's biggest beer benefit, 100% of proceeds from this event will go to these great local non-profits: • Avalon Center: working to end domestic and sexual violence • Bacon Street Youth and Family Services • Here for the Girls, Inc. • Literacy for Life. We've generated nearly $150,000 in support of local charities over the last six years, and we'd like to grow that number even more this year with your help. See you on April 26! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-williamsburg-craft-beer-festival-tickets-79466210575 Sat, May 2 - Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival, 12 – 6:00 pm, Hosted by Visit Yorktown and Village Events, Ltd., Riverwalk Landing, 425 Water St., Yorktown. Sample more than 30 different craft beers, dig into some amazing BBQ (available for purchase), and listen as some of the best Blues musicians in Hampton Roads take the stage at Riverwalk Landing. This year’s festival promises to be the best yet! At 12:30, Bobby BlackHat Blues Blast, with special guests, will deliver blends and influences of Chicago, Memphis, Piedmont, and Delta style blues along with a little Gospel into a toe tappin’, finger poppin’, hip shakin’ blues experience. Then, at 3:30, the Michael Clark Band will take the mic to blend the R&B, Blues, Soul, Rock, Jazz and Funk. Back by popular demand this year – a wine garden with limited tastings included in admission and great music by Phil Poteat. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. This is a rain or shine event. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/yorktowns-blues-brews-bbq-2020-tickets-95442062779 Sun, May 3 - The Mariners' Craft Beer Festival, 12 – 5:00 pm, The Mariners' Museum and Park, 100 Museum Dr., Newport News. Great beer, good food, and live music! The eighth annual Mariners’ Craft Beer Festival will feature more than 50 craft beers for tasting from over 20 local, regional, and national breweries in the unique setting of The Mariners’ Museum’s outdoor courtyards. Breweries will have representatives at each tasting tent to answer questions, and select brewery speakers will give “beer talks” on the hour from 1 - 3 p.m with a special sample at each talk. Live music and local food trucks on site. Tickets: Advance $35 / Day-of $45 / Non-drinker: $15. The Festival will also include one-off beers to taste in the fan-favorite “Cask-Off” competition. A continuing tradition at this event, select breweries will prepare their best version of a cask ale. This unfiltered and unpasteurized beer is traditionally served through a hand pump at around room temperature. Event participants will vote for their favorite cask ale, and the winning brewery will receive a special prize. Tickets are on sale now! https://www.marinersmuseum.org/beerfest/ Drink Happy - Be Safe Follow the blogs at: www.brew-n-rock-tidewater.blogspot.com or www.guapo-t-w.tumblr.com and follow the latest listings of local brew events on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/hamptonroadsbeerforum/

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thotyssey · 6 years

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Monday (10.1.2018)

UPTOWN

TOOLBOX: Charity bingo (9pm)

SUITE: Glam Gavin’s karaoke (10pm)

ALIBI: Gogo Mondays (10pm)

BOXERS WH: Latin night (10pm)

HELL’S KITCHEN

POSH: DJ Xavier Mazara (9pm)

HARDWARE: Sutton Lee Seymour & Cacophony Daniels or TBA (10pm)

THERAPY: Marti Gould Cummings hosts STAGE FRIGHT feat. Kate Baldwin (10pm); Kizha Carr hosts BOOTCAMP weekly drga competition feat. Lemon (midnight)

RITZ: DJ John Marto with Nick Gaga (10pm)

ATLAS SOCIAL CLUB: Musical Mondays (10pm)

VSBU: “Reel Thirsty Mondays” movie viewing (10pm)

RISE: Jasmine Rice & Pissi Myles (11pm)

INDUSTRY: Tina Burner with Vinchelle, Iris Spectre & Juicy Liu (11pm)

EAST SIDE

EVOLVE: STRIPPED MONDAYS (4pm)

UNCLE CHARLIE’S: Live piano (8pm)

MC 58 BAR: Sarah Glassman (10pm)

CHELSEA

REBAR: MARQUEE MONDAYS with Sherry Pie & Danny Marandola (9pm)

EAGLE NYC: Foot Fetish Night (10pm)

BARRACUDA: Brenda Dharling (midnight)

WEST VILLAGE

ROCKBAR: MUSICAL MONDAYS: feat. Clarice DuBois (7pm) WE THE HEROES BALL GeeksOUT event feat. FiFi DuBois with Hazel Tart, Lee VaLone, Jayse Vegas, Broody Valentino, Crimson Kitty & Akira (8pm)

STONEWALL: Shirley U. Jest: Unwigged upstairs (8pm); Bingo with Kenny Dash downstairs (8pm)

PIECES: MoMo Shade & Kandy Muse with Janelle No. 5 (9pm); Shequida’s DRAG WARS (10pm)

MONSTER: DJ Nesto & Morgan Royel (11pm)

DUPLEX: Chandilier (11pm)

EAST VILLAGE

CLUB CUMMING: Pianist Lance Horne (9pm)

THE COCK: PLAYPEN MONDAYS feat. Kareem McJagger (9pm)

NOWHERE: MACHO MONDAYS (9pm)

BROOKLYN

HOLLER: Bingo with Whendy Whaxwood (8pm)

3 DOLLAR BILL: “My Big Fat Vegan Fundraiser” benefit feat. Honey LaBronx with Tammie Brown, Vicky Boofont & more (9pm)

ROSEMONT: Karaoke (10pm)

METROPOLITAN BAR: HOT FRUIT feat. Will Sheridan & DJ ECON with Loretta Stoned, Zenobia, Emira & Cre (10pm)

HAPPYFUN HIDEAWAY: Guest DJ (10pm)

MACRI PARK: Ruby Roo & Ragamuffin (midnight)

QUEENS

TRUE COLORS: Poker happy hour (5pm)

ALBATROSS: Karaoke with Jacklynn Hyde (9pm)

ICON: Nicole Onoscopi (10pm)

NEW JERSEY

CASCADA: RUMBA LATINA with Nikki Sky (9pm)

PARADISE: Cee’Mour Cox’s DRAG WARS (10pm)

Full List Here

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deltamovies · 6 years

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Phantom Thread Free Full HD watch online & movie trailer

Release Year: 2017

Critic's Score: /100

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville, Camilla Rutherford

Storyline Set in the glamour of 1950's post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock's life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love.

Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis –

Reynolds Woodcock

Lesley Manville –

Cyril Woodcock

Camilla Rutherford –

Johanna

Vicky Krieps –

Alma

Richard Graham –

Jane Perry –

Mrs. Vaughan

Bern Collaço –

Wedding Guest / Dancer

(as Bern Collaco)

Pip Phillips –

Rubio's Girl

Ingrid Sophie Schram –

Ingrid

Sarah Lamesch –

Steff

Dave Simon –

Chelsea Arts club New years eve party guest

Cedric Tylleman –

Lujza Richter –

Princess Mona Braganza

Kelly Schembri –

Wedding Dancer

Neil Broome –

Hotel Guest

Details

Official Website: Official Facebook |

Official site |

Country: USA

Language: English

Release Date: 3 Jan 2017

Filming Locations: London, England, UK

Box Office Details

Budget: $35,000,000

(estimated)

Did You Know?

Trivia: Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson's second film together. See more »

The post Phantom Thread appeared first on The Movie Entertainment of the 21st Century!.

from https://ift.tt/2lQaCDe

#Phantom Thread #Drama #Movies

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celtfather · 7 years

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Most-Popular Celtic Bands of 2017 #339

Who were the most-popular Celtic bands in 2017? We're ending the year with some of my favorite Celtic bands of the year with Celtic music from Black Market Haggis, The Gothard Sisters, Ed Miller, Ockham's Razor, We Banjo 3, Screaming Orphans, Jesse Ferguson, Battlelegs, Battlefield Band, The Elders, Poitin, Runa, Sons of Malarkey, Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer, Screeched Inn, Jil Chambless, Ed Miller and Scooter Muse, Barleyjuice, Ciana, Coast, West of Mabou. http://celticmusicpodcast.com/

Listen and share this podcast. Download 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Subscribe to the Celtic Music Magazine. This is our free newsletter and your guide to the latest Celtic music and podcast news. Remember to support the artists who support this podcast: buy their CDs, download their MP3s, see their shows, and drop them an email to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.

TODAY'S SHOW IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY... THE CELTIC INVASION OF THE ISLE OF SKYE

You can join me in Scotland in June 2018. Imagine joining a small group of eight Celtic music fans, driving in a van as we explore the Isle of Skye. Some call it one of the most-beautiful islands in the world, with spectacular vistas, gorgeous castles and towns, fairy pools, and magic. We won't see everything. Instead, we will stay in one area, and get to know the region through its history, culture, and legends. Subscribe to the mailing list to join the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

0:06 "Welcome Paddy Home" by Black Market Haggis from Better Than It Sounds

4:52 "Chaos in La Casa" by The Gothard Sisters from Mountain Rose

7:58 "Bonnie Bessie Logan" by Ed Miller from Come Awa' Wi' Me

11:29 "I'm Coming Home Northumberland" by Ockham's Razor from Wolves in the Walls

16:29 "Over the Waterfall/Liberty Polka" by We Banjo 3 from Roots of the Banjo Tree

18:59 "The Ballad of Spring Hill" by Screaming Orphans from Taproom

22:47 CELTIC PODCAST NEWS

24:15 "All For Me Grog" by Jesse Ferguson from Folk Favourites

27:18 "Greenland Whale Fisheries (acoustic version)" by Battlelegs from Facemelt Friday

29:47 "Leaving Friday Harbor" by Battlefield Band from The Producer's Choice

34:55 "Golden Ghost" by The Elders from TRUE

40:26 SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION TIP TO HELP CELTIC BANDS

41:15 "O'puss No. 7" by Poitin from Simple Pleasures

46:16 "Bedlam Boys" by Runa from Live

49:37 "Killarney Boys of Pleasure" by Sons of Malarkey from Gulls Lads

51:58 "The Proposal" by Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer from Red House

58:15 "Farewell to Nova Scotia" by Screeched Inn from Screeched Inn

1:02:30 CELTIC FEEDBACK

1:04:48 "Billy Gray" by Jil Chambless, Ed Miller and Scooter Muse from The Lang Awa' Ships

1:09:32 "Whiskey & Weed" by Barleyjuice from This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

1:13:23 "King's House/The Maids of Selma/Abbey Reel" by Ciana from Rubicon

1:17:27 "Gordon's Reels" by West of Mabou from West of Mabou

1:23:29 "Windmills in the Sky" by Coast from Windmills in the Sky

1:29:32 "Silent Place" by Jiggy from Translate

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather. To subscribe, go to iTunes or to our website where you can become a Patron of the Podcast for as little as $1 per episode. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST!

Imagine a world with no Celtic music. Pretty crappy, right? All you have is boring music being shoved down your throats by big record labels. You wouldn't get to experience the incredible music shared each and every week in the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. These incredibly generous people bring you hours of great Celtic music. You can help celebrate Celtic music and culture and keep this show running every week. Become a Patron of the Podcast a http://patreon.com/celticpodcast

CELTIC PODCAST NEWS

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. My name is Marc Gunn. I am a Celtic and Geek musician and podcaster. This podcast is dedicated to the indie Celtic musicians. I want to ask you to support these artists. Share the show with your friends. And find more episodes at celticmusicpodcast.com. You can also support this podcast on Patreon.

Every year, I compile a list of the most-played Celtic bands on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. We're gonna end the year with some of my favorite bands played on the show in 2017.

This is your last chance to vote for your favorite bands in the Celtic Top 20. Every year, I compile a list of the best tracks played on this podcast and I share it in an extra-long show like this one. I want to ask you to review the 2017 shows. Find your favorite tracks in each show. Then go vote at bestcelticmusic.net/vote/. In a few weeks, I will share your votes with the world.

Celtfather Music & Travel podcast features an interview with Shannon Heaton of the Irish Music Stories. You may remember in show #314 Shannon Heaton was the the guest host of this podcast. I was really curious to learn about her history as an American playing traditional Irish music. She also published a video about Irish Session Etiquette. So I decided to ask her to share her insights into playing in Irish sessions in this podcast. Listen to episode #234 Demystifying Irish Sessions.

If you're in a Celtic band, I want to invite you to submit your new album to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. It's easy to do. Complete the permission form at http://4celts.com/. Then follow the instructions to send a digital copy of your album.

Band Social Media Promotion Tip. I've never been super fond of social media. Partially because of the negative nature of the beast. But partially because I've never been able to figure it out. I generally keep to myself.

However, over the past year, I've made a dent in the social media monster and I wanted to share my best social media promotion tip which I beg you to use with your favorite Celtic artist. It's simple too--SHARE.

Don't just laugh and like a post. If you support Celtic music, take an active role and share it. With one little click, you will not only proclaim your love of Celtic culture, but you will also immensely help these artists who are fighting to be heard.

And of course, you can do the same with any posts from the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Please SHARE your love of Celtic music.

VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20

It's easier than ever to do. Just list the show number, and the name of one or two bands. That's it. You can vote once for each episode help me create next year's Best Celtic music of 2017 episode. http://bestcelticmusic.net/vote/

I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? You can send a written comment along with a picture of what you're doing while listening. Email a voicemail message to [email protected]

Seán Roy Mac Aodha emailed: "Hi Mark, First off, I want to say that I really enjoy listen to your Celtic music podcasts. You do an excellent job putting together selections, and listening to an hour of the ICM podcasts is one of my great pleasures and I'm happy to be a subscriber.

Right now, I'm listening to the podcast #324, Celtic in Connemara, and I think it's great that you want to learn to speak the language a little better. While I'm not a native speaker, I am an Irish-American with exposure to the language, and my pronunciation is pretty good. I'm glad to answer any questions you may have. Although many words look intimidating, it's really not that hard once you learn the rules of Irish orthography.

You should probably know that the correct name of the language spoken in the Gaeltacht regions of Ireland is properly referred to in English as "Irish," and not Gaelic, as many people think, as "Gaelic" can mean Scottish Gaelic or even Manx. In Irish, the word for the language of course is "Gaeilge."

Good luck with your Duolingo lessons, and I'll look forward to your continuing podcasts. Thanks so much for all you do."

Check out this episode!

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emilyemcnabb · 7 years

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Vicky and Will’s wedding at Cavallo Point Lodge

Vicky and Will met for the first time while living abroad, and they bonded over their shared love of reading. As their relationship grew, they continued to make their love of books and travel central components of their life together. So, for their wedding day at Cavallo Point Lodge, designer and planner Linen and Lilac used the couple’s love of reading and travel travel, along with their modern and vibrant, yet unfussy style as the jumping off point for a minimalist aesthetic, acrylic accents, and a colorful peach and ochre color palette. With punchy florals and stationery by Bowerbird Atelier and amazing photography by Sorella Muse, this wedding is such a treat for the eyes and we’re thrilled to share it with you today!

From the planners: Cavallo Point, located in Sausalito near the Golden Gate Bridge, provided the perfect backdrop for this New York-based couple who wanted a wedding with a classic Bay Area feel. We sought to weave the couple’s love story and personal style throughout the wedding in a way that was consistent with the aesthetic of the venue.

We conceptualized with floral + stationery vendor, Bowerbird Atelier, a minimalist ceremony design of asymmetrically placed potted plants and branches that served to welcome guests, set the tone of the wedding design, and were later reused to highlight the sweetheart table in the reception space. Vibrant centerpieces with votives were layered on top of neutral linens for the guest tables while the Harper linen from La Tavola added visual interest to accent tables.

Playing off the couple’s love of books, we designed modern acrylic bookmarks that served triple duty as escort cards, guest favors, and adorned with a colorful pom indicating the guests’ meal selection. In lieu of a traditional guest book, we incorporated their love of travel by having guests write notes on cards designed to look like airmail envelopes in their color scheme. Cards were bound together with thick acrylic covers and simple silver rounds, making it easy to store and read through the notes from their loved ones. Vicky and Will’s wedding came together perfectly as a colorful, elegant San Francisco affair. Even though it was March, the sun shone brightly enough for the iconic Golden Gate Bridge not to be shrouded in fog and peek out in the background of their couple portraits!

Photography: Sorella Muse // Design + Planning: Linen and Lilac // Flowers + Stationery: Bowerbird Atelier // Venue: Cavallo Point Lodge // Hair + Makeup: Beauty by Chau // Ceremony Music: Amethyst Trio // DJ: Four Leaf Entertainment // Linens: La Tavola Linen // Dress: Reem Acra // Bride’s shoes: Jimmy Choo // Film Processing: Richard Photo Lab

The post Vicky and Will’s wedding at Cavallo Point Lodge appeared first on Grey Likes Weddings | Wedding Fashion & Inspiration | Best Wedding Blog.

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mysteryshelf · 8 years

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BLOG TOUR - Elementary She Read

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Elementary She Read by Vicki Delany

Read the first chapter here.

Elementary, She Read: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery by Vicki Delany Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (March 14, 2017) Hardcover: 320 pages ISBN-13: 978-1683310969 Kindle ASIN: B01MT6H7O1

Gemma Doyle, a transplanted Englishwoman, has returned to the quaint town of West London on Cape Cod to manage her Great Uncle Arthur’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. The shop–located at 222 Baker Street–specializes in the Holmes canon and pastiche, and is also the home of Moriarty the cat. When Gemma finds a rare and potentially valuable magazine containing the first Sherlock Homes story hidden in the bookshop, she and her friend Jayne (who runs the adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room) set off to find the owner, only to stumble upon a dead body.

The highly perceptive Gemma is the police’s first suspect, so she puts her consummate powers of deduction to work to clear her name, investigating a handsome rare books expert, the dead woman’s suspiciously unmoved son, and a whole family of greedy characters desperate to cash in on their inheritance. But when Gemma and Jayne accidentally place themselves at a second murder scene, it’s a race to uncover the truth before the detectives lock them up for good.

Interview with the Author:

What initially got you interested in writing?

Reading! I read a lot and one day I thought, “I could do this…”

What genres do you write in?

I write crime novels. In the past I’ve written modern Gothic thrillers, psychological suspense, historical mysteries, and police procedurals. But now I’m concentrating on cozy mysteries as well as novellas for adult literacy.

What drew you to writing these specific genres?

I read mystery novels most of all, so that was naturally what I wanted to write. I love the variety of crime books today, and I like to play with different moods and styles.

How did you break into the field?

I took courses in creative writing at my local community college. It took me four years to finish my first book and a couple more to write the second. I sent out letters to agents and publishers, hundreds of them probably. I just kept trying. The first book went nowhere, but I was lucky enough to have my second manuscript, a standalone suspense novel called Scare the Light Away, accepted by the highly-regarded Poisoned Pen Press.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

Now that I’m writing cozies all I want them to take from my books is a sense of fun. Just have fun with something like Elementary, She Read, sit back, have a cup of tea (or a glass of wine) and (hopefully) a chuckle. The adult literacy novellas (Blood and Belonging, coming in April) are a good deal more serious and have something to say about Western interference in developing countries.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

The people I’ve met and the places I’ve been to. I meet readers all the time, and I travel quite a bit on book tours or to conferences. Book people really are the best.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

Just putting words on paper. The first draft is always an enormous slog. I have to have a set time every day to write, otherwise, it wouldn’t get done.

What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

Read. And read a lot.

What type of books do you enjoy reading?

I love the British style police procedurals and modern Gothics.

Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?

I live a very simple life in a small house in the country, but when I leave that house, I love to travel.

What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

Thank you for asking. I am at www.vickidelany.com, Facebook at facebook.com/evagatesauthor or Twitter at @vickidelany or @evagatesauthor. (Eva Gates is the pen name I use for the Lighthouse Library series)

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. She is the author of twenty-three published crime novels, including standalone Gothic thrillers, the Constable Molly Smith series, and the Year Round Christmas Mysteries. Under the pen name of Eva Gates she is the national bestselling author of the Lighthouse Library cozy series.

The first in Vicki’s Sherlock Holmes bookshop series, Elementary She Read, will be released in March 2017 from Crooked Lane Books.

Vicki lives and writes in Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is the past president of the Crime Writers of Canada.

www.vickidelany.com Facebook: Vicki Delany & Eva Gates and twitter: @vickidelany and @evagatesauthor

Purchase Links

Amazon B&N

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

March 13 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – REVIEW

March 13 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT

March 13 – Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf – SPOTLIGHT

March 14 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

March 14 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – REVIEW

March 15 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW

March 15 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW

March 16 – Rainy Day Reviews – REVIEW

March 16 – A Holland Reads – GUEST POST

March 17 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

March 17 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT

March 18 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW

March 18 – Girl with Book Lungs – GUEST POST

March 19 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW

March 20 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW

March 20 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – REVIEW, INTERVIEW

March 21 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

March 21 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT

March 22 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

March 22 – Carole’s Book Corner – REVIEW

March 22 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW

March 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

March 23 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

March 23 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

March 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, INTERVIEW

March 24 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 25 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW

March 25 – Island Confidential – spotlight

March 26 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW

March 26 – Girl Lost In a Book – REVIEW

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