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takeoffphilippines · 6 months ago

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AirAsia MOVE introduces PHP110 promo rate for Hotel Stay Extensions

Have you ever booked a hotel room and felt like your stay wasn’t enough because you had to rush to check out? Well, we got you covered, you can now extend your hotel stay with your 2nd night for just the price of a cup of milk tea!

AirAsia MOVE is thrilled to introduce its recent offering, PHP110 hotel stay on second night - a limited promotion that promises to make your next getaway even more affordable and enjoyable.

This offer comes amid the string of celebrations, from graduation, father’s day, and more, but this can also be used to plan ahead for your upcoming trips.

Celebrate these special days by treating your loved ones to a well-deserved vacation, relax and spend quality time together without breaking the bank! With a wide selection of participating hotels on AirAsia MOVE, you can choose from city escapes, beachside resorts, or tranquil retreats. Make this festive season a memorable one with an affordable yet wonderful stay!

Travellers can book a minimum of two nights’ stay at selected hotels and get your second night for just PHP110*. Explore the best stays in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines from 10 June till 16 June 2024, for the travel period between now till 31 December 2024. That is not all, you can also enjoy PHP600 off on all hotel bookings by using the promo code CRAZYDEAL, with a minimum spend of PHP2,400.

Here are some top picks hotels with PHP110 deal for your next adventure:

Crimson Hotel Filinvest City Manila

Crimson Hotel Filinvest City Manila is a premier urban destination located in the heart of Alabang, Muntinlupa. Known for its sophisticated ambiance and exceptional service, this hotel offers a perfect blend of comfort and luxury, catering to both business and leisure travelers.

Book your hotel here: https://www.airasia.com/hotel/3bbbdc

Belmont Manila

Belmont Hotel Manila is a stylish and modern hotel situated in Newport City, Pasay, directly across from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. Known for its prime location and impeccable service, Belmont Hotel offers convenience and comfort for both business and leisure travelers. The hotel features well-appointed rooms with contemporary design, a rooftop pool with stunning city views, a fully-equipped fitness center, and diverse dining options, making it an ideal choice for a memorable stay in Manila.

Book your hotel here: https://www.airasia.com/hotel//489170

Hue Hotels and Resorts Boracay

Hue Hotels and Resorts Boracay is a vibrant and chic destination located in Station 2, near the island's famous White Beach. This resort offers a unique blend of modern design and island charm, providing guests with stylish accommodations, a rooftop pool and bar, and diverse dining options.

Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown

Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown is a modern and stylish hotel located in the bustling Mactan Newtown district of Cebu. The hotel features well-appointed rooms with contemporary design, an inviting outdoor pool, a fully-equipped fitness center, and diverse dining options. It is strategically located near Mactan-Cebu International Airport with easy access to beaches and local attractions.

Book your stay here: https://www.airasia.com/hotel/3bdb28

CitizenM Kuala Lumpur Bukit Bintang Hotel

CitizenM Kuala Lumpur Bukit Bintang Hotel is a modern, stylish hotel located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s bustling Bukit Bintang district. The hotel is surrounded by vibrant shopping, dining, entertainment options, and major attractions like Jalan Alor and KLCC. Designed for contemporary travellers, the hotel offers a blend of comfort, convenience, and cutting-edge technology.

Book your stay here: https://www.airasia.com/hotel/e3532

Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort

Located within a 90-minute drive from Kuala Lumpur, Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort features overwater palm with more than 300 rooms and villas inspired by Polynesian aesthetics, built on stilts above gentle waves, along with a private beachfront, overwater pool and spa. Don’t miss the stunning beauty of sunsets at the golden sandy beach with your loved one. Offering morning nature walks, weekend movie nights and various recreational activities, the resort is definitely the perfect spot for couples in search of both relaxation and adventure!

Book your stay here: https://www.airasia.com/hotel/e17e5

Rebak Island Resort & Marina, Langkawi

Rebak Island Resort & Marina, located in Langkawi, a private island accessible by a short boat ride from Langkawi's main island, the resort provides a perfect escape from the bustling mainland. Surrounded by lush tropical greenery and beach, it offers stunning views of the sea and natural landscapes. The resort also offers a wide range of activities and amenities, including an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center, tennis courts, and spa treatments. Travellers can also engage in water sports, nature walks, and kayak paddle boards. This idyllic island destination is perfect for a romantic getaway or a fun vacation with family and friends.

Book your stay here: https://www.airasia.com/hotel/23d7a8

Peace Laguna Resort & Spa, Krabi

The Peace Laguna Resort situated in Ao Nang, Krabi, surrounded by stunning limestone cliffs and close to the Andaman Sea. The resort offers convenient access to Ao Nang Beach and is close to Krabi's vibrant shops, restaurants, and nightlife. This relaxing 4-star resort features spa treatments, swimming pools, kids corner, a fitness centre, and various other amenities. Couples and families will feel at home in the tranquil ambiance of the spacious accommodations. This resort combines natural beauty with modern comforts and exceptional service, offering guests a peaceful retreat in one of Thailand's most beautiful destinations.

Book your stay here: https://www.airasia.com/hotel/5a38

Best Western Resort Kuta, Bali

Best Western Resort Kuta is one of the best Kuta hotels for a memorable vacation. It is located within easy walking distance to world-famous beaches and the area’s hottest shopping mall. The Ngurah Rai International Airport is also just a short drive away, making it a convenient choice for travellers. This charming resort offers an authentic balinese experience with its distinctive design and natural surroundings. Besides, there are a lot of well-known eateries nearby so you would not miss out on any of the local Balinese cuisines. This place is perfect for travellers to experience and enjoy the serene atmosphere of Kuta with your family and friends here.

Book your stay here: https://www.airasia.com/hotel/eba10

How to avail the PHP110 second night stay offer:

Select ‘Hotels’ on AirAsia MOVE app.

Search your preferred hotel/destination.

Lookout for the [PHP110 on 2nd night] label on selected hotels.

Book your stay with a minimum of two nights.

Confirm and Purchase. Enjoy the second night for only PHP110!

Planning your travels couldn't have come at a better time, as AirAsia has just launched its signature PISO SALE Campaign. From 8 to 16 June 2024 guests can book flights from Manila, Clark, and Cebu to select AirAsia domestic destinations for only PHP1 one-way base fare. In the same manner, flights from Manila to 11 international destinations can also be purchased from PHP1 to PHP2,811 one-way base fare for travels from 2 September 2024 to 8 October 2025.

Stay updated with everything from the AirAsia MOVE by following @airasiamove.ph on Instagram, Threads & TikTok or @airasia on Twitter for the latest updates. For a seamless and enhanced experience, download your AirAsia MOVE app from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or Huawei AppGallery.

*Terms and conditions apply

**The PISO SALE is only applicable for the BASE FARE, excluding airport taxes,, fuel surcharges and other applicable fees. Other terms and conditions apply.

***Prices may vary depending on local airports for checked baggage and seat selection. Other terms and conditions apply.

—

📧 If you wish to send an invite and feature your province/company brand/event; Just ask the author of this vlog, email us at [email protected]

Follow our Social Media Accounts: Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/TakeOffPHBlog

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Website: https://takeoffphilippines.com

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TakeOffPhilippines

#airasia #takeoffph #takeoffphilippines #onthescene

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fictional-yearning · 3 years ago

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Alright, so my scenario was this: a fic (or headcanons - whichever you find more preferable) about our dear Adrian falling for a Fem!Belmont dhampir. Yes, a vampire within the prestigious Belmont family - proposterous, I know 😏. Anyway, they fall in love, and A is kinda confused about Reader being Trevor's polar opposite in many ways - i.e. she's much more polite (can still curse like a sailor tho), she is more understanding of sup.monsters (due to her own nature + morals), and she's a melancholic romantic. And if you're willing to add it to the fic somehow (it's totally optional)...the events of season 3 still happen, but A never gets restrained or f-d by Sumi and Taka, R finds out about their plan and just stops them.

I'm doing headcanons bc I never actually finish the requests where I try to write out the whole thing 🤣 I love this setup btw. I hope you like it!

Due to your particular situation, you and your mother had cut ties with the rest of the Belmonts when you were just a child and retreated to live together in a cottage in a small town, where you trained your abilities in the shroud of the nearby woods.

It was only through folk tales of a vampire-like being having been sighted fighting off Dracula's hordes during the nights that Trevor was able to locate you. Finding out your mother had died not too long after his own parents did was a hard hit for Trevor, given that you were everything he was not: proper, ageeable, delicate and polite. He made it his mission to push your buttons so that you'd bring out what he called "your hidden Belmont charm".

You had never met another vampire, so you were fascinated by Alucard, wanting to spend time with him every chance that you got. Your presence alone helped him soote the complicated guilt he felt over his half-vampiric nature: if you were a dhampir like him, and the best person he knew, then surely, being a dhampir could not be so bad, right?

Soon, you became a perfectly synced battle duo, with Alucard's fighting style evolving to watch your back and yours to do the same for him. When off the battlefield, you also spent most of your time together, either researching about the supernatural or sharing stories from the books you'd read.

Despite all, however, you never confessed your feelings for each other, despite Trevor and Sypha's insistent pushing, as you were both too insecure to believe the other could like you in that way. But when it came time for all of you to part ways after your adventure, your answer surprised everyone: "If it's alright, I'd rather stay with Alucard".

Alucard found it hard to believe that anyone would want to spend time with him, much less now that he found himself in this state. You told him that you were tired of fighting, and that you had nowhere else to go. You couldn't bring yourself to also state the simple truth that there was nowhere in the world you'd rather be but by his side.

You'd come to regret this lack of bravery over and over, but more than ever as the weeks went by and Sumi and Taka joined you in the castle. You could see how forward they both were with Alucard, and how happy he looked when he was with them. You were happy for him, but you regretted it so much that you couldn't be like them and do the same.

When you started to notice something off about the couple, you were disappointed in yourself. You didn't want to ruin Alucard's happiness with what you thought was jealousy, and so, you tried not to fuel those thoughts and made an effort to better get along with the two guests instead.

It would soon prove to be impossible. The more you tried to be closer to them, the more they shut you off. It was almost like they wanted you to leave so they could have Alucard all for themselves.

Fortunately, you didn't let that happen, and so it was only a matter of time before you caught them in the act of planning their attack. The only problem being, that they caught you spying on them, too.

It all happened incredibly fast. You fought, and your calls for help were heard by Alucard, who came swiftly in your rescue, killing Sumi and Taka as soon as he could make sense of the situation, and tightly holding you as he bawled his eyes out asking you for forgiveness.

You shook you head and told him that having been too happy wasn't something that he should apologise for. The man had a heart of gold that had been taken advantage of. Thankfully, you had a brain. So now that you were truly together, you were sure that all would be well.

#alucard imagine #imagine adrian tepes #alucard x reader #castlevania x reader #etc im too lazy

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catholicartistsnyc · 5 years ago

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Meet Nashville-based Artist Rae Hering

RAE HERING is a Nashville, TN-based musician and songwriter.

Official Website | Patreon

CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION (CAC): Where are you from originally, and what brought you to Nashville?

RAE HERING (RH): I’m originally from Minneapolis, MN and moved to Nashville to study piano and composition at Belmont University.

CAC: What do you see as your personal mission as a Catholic working in the arts?

RH: My mission as a Catholic working in the arts is to create what is true, good and beautiful. Sometimes a song is simply fun and lighthearted, sometimes a song explores self-discovery and growth and sometimes a song focuses in on imperfections and failings. I don’t think every song needs to spell out a moral or include a pretty bow to wrap up the “ideal” way of being. In fact, I think art is often more effective if you let the listener decide what to think.

While my primary genre isn’t Christian music I have to say that I recently released my first Christian-themed song! So, I’m now exploring what it means to be a singer/songwriter who sometimes writes explicitly about Christian Faith and sometimes writes about “just life,” as seen through the eyes of a Christian.

CAC: Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?

RH: I have found tremendous support in being a part of the ecclesial movement Regnum Christi (RC). In fact, the Holy Spirit had a chance to move me to write my first Christian song, “Closer to Me,” because of my involvement in RC. I was asked to prepare five worship songs for our annual retreat and when I had worked up four I thought, “well, maybe I could write one?”

Before this moment I hadn’t been very open to the idea of writing Christian music, so I know that God was working on my heart here. I also believe that through the prayers of RC members and through my commitment to being an apostle through RC, God was able to use this simple moment to open me up to writing in this new way.

CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?

RH: There’s a group here in Nashville called Catholics United for the Arts. They aim to bring together Catholic artists for prayer, camaraderie and to help deepen our mission as Catholic artists. I was fortunate to be a part of their 40 Days for Life fundraiser this past year where they brought in Catholics speakers who work in various artistic fields to give down-to-earth, practical talks about being a person of faith in their artistic industries. These kinds of talks are so needed!

Also, Love Good is a wonderful Nashville-based movement that promotes and supports wholesome secular music. Their mission is to change the culture - to change how we perceive good art. What an awesome mission!

CAC: How can the Church be more welcoming to artists, and how can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?

RH: Just a thought: what if we didn’t put songs of faith in a box and separated them from secular music? Must we choose between being a Christian artist and a secular artist? These are thoughts I am currently working through and I don’t have the answers right now…

Thinking back to the time in my life where I stepped away from the Faith, there was nothing attractive to me about worship music; it felt totally un-relatable. This memory is what motivates me now as a practicing Catholic to create Christian-inspired music that IS relatable to someone like my former self. I’m not saying to do away with worship music because it is indeed a beautiful form of prayer. But I think there is a gap that needs to be filled here. Why is there such a chasm between Christian and secular music? Is there an in-between spot where we can sing about the Gospel in a way that is intriguing and not overbearing to people who may have lost their faith along the way? I think so.

CAC: Where in your city do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?

RH: I’m a member of St. Edward parish. One of my favorite groups there is the Padre Pio Prayer Group. St. Pio is one of the saints who helped me come back to the Church and is so active in our world today if we just ask for his help! St. Pio, pray for us!

Also, as I mentioned above, I’m a member of Regnum Christi (RC). Like all apostolate movements, RC came from and is led by the Holy Spirit. In these movements God brings believers together through a common charism or style of living out our faith. The structure of these movements is often likened to early church communities where Christians gathered in small, organically-formed communities. I love RC because it strives to give each member the essential tools needed to live and grow as a Christian in union with the authority of the Catholic Church: prayer, formation, apostleship, accompaniment and community. It has truly been my launch pad as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice? And if you have a spiritual director, how did you find that person? If you go on retreats, where do you like to go?

RH: Along with regular Mass, Adoration and Confession I meet with an RC spiritual director each month. I urge everyone to seek out a spiritual director - in my opinion, it’s the “secret sauce” to living out a spirit-filled life!

I attend an annual RC Spiritual Exercises Silent Retreat held at the Bethany Retreat Center in Dickson, TN. I HIGHLY recommend this retreat center. It’s run by the Dominican Sisters and let me tell you, Christ’s Peace is overflowing there! They host many retreats throughout the year so do see if you can visit!

What I’m honing in on in my spiritual practice lately is that daily prayer is the true battlefield. As a person who is always ready to get going on the next project or activity I have a tendency to justify why I don’t have time for personal prayer. In reality prayer is where I am able to allow God to work in my life. This is where He gives me all my good ideas! If I don’t show up for prayer I am turning away from my personal relationship with God. If I don’t show up for prayer Satan has already taken the upper hand on my heart. Prayer is a battlefield and is the true food of the soul.

CAC: What is your daily artistic practice?

RH: I find it’s helpful to get into creative mode first thing in the morning (well, after a cup of coffee, of course!) If I don’t do this I really diminish my chances of tapping into the “creative zone” because all the practicalities of the day start taking hold.

With that being said, I need practical days, too, where I intentionally DON’T try to write a song. If I have too many days where I allow myself to be primarily wrapped up in the creative process I end up with anxiety because I haven’t been keeping up with the more practical side of life.

CAC: Describe a recent day in which you were most completely living out your vocation as an artist.

RH: Playing house concerts is a great example of this! I’ve always felt that performing “completes the circle” as a songwriter because sharing the songs I write really is the whole point of writing them. My goal is to move others and be a witness to them through my music! House concerts have the added element of providing an environment where you are very up-close with the guests. You have an extra opportunity to bond and connect. As we know from our faith, relationship is at the heart of Christianity, so I am thankful for these house concert opportunities.

CAC: How do you afford housing as an artist?

RH: My husband and I were fortunate to be able to buy a house this past August! We were very motivated because we knew my sister-in-law needed a place to live so we decided to look for a house that would be suitable for all three of us. Living with my sister-in-law not only makes it easier to afford a better living condition but it is also such a blessing to be around family.

CAC: How do you financially support yourself as an artist?

RH: All my income comes from music in one way or another. Many independent artists find that it’s smart to widen our income stream variety because each source is likely to provide smaller amounts. For me these things include:tips from livestream shows, merchandise sales, Patreon contributions, house concerts and tours, music lessons, royalties, streaming revenue and studio musician work.

A large chunk of my income comes from tips and donations. This can inspire both deep gratitude and, admittedly, frustration. If the donations are not coming in I can be tempted to de-value myself and my work. This is such a huge pitiful for us artists because we tend to center our identities around our talent and output. I have to remember that my value is in being a Child of God, not in the amount of money I make from my art. But I would be lying if I said this is not a constant battle!

CAC: What other practical resources would you recommend to a Catholic artist living in your city?

RH: If you are in the music industry check out the weekly meet up group Balanced Breakfast. Actually, there are BB groups that meet all around the world, so there may be one in your city. There is always a discussion topic of the day but I think the best part is simply meeting and connecting with other artists.

CAC: What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists post-graduation?

RH: 1.) You are never too busy for prayer.

2.) Offer your talents up to God as a sacrifice on His altar, especially at every Mass you attend.

3.) Invite the Holy Spirit into your creative work regularly.

#catholic #catholic artist #catholic artists #music #musician #nashville #catholic artist connection #rae hering #belmont university #catholics united for the arts #regnum christi #love good #st. edward #padre pio #padre pio prayer group #bethany retreat center #balanced breakfast

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blackswaneuroparedux · 5 years ago

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Gladys Deacon, Duchess of Marlborough: The aristocrat with attitude

Her beauty and fierce intelligence left Proust and Rodin obsessed, and the upper-classes besotted. Murder, abduction from a convent, the destruction of her own legendary beauty, the Aesop’s Fable of wishing to marry a Duke, years of reclusive seclusion… All were combined in the long and turbulent life of Gladys Deacon. Then why did the vivacious Gladys Deacon die a recluse?

The story of the first marriage of Charles, 9th Duke of Marlborough, and Consuelo Vanderbilt in 1895 is well known. Deals were struck on both sides. Both were in love with others, but he needed the Vanderbilt millions to restore Blenheim Palace and her mother wanted a daughter as a Duchess.

As a consequence the marriage was unhappy and ended in separation and, later, in divorce. It is generally recorded that both remarried – though the second marriages are less well known. Consuelo married Jacques Balsan, an aviator and balloonist who profited from “rejuvenating” monkey gland injections to an alarming degree. While in 1921, Charles married Gladys Deacon.

Proust wrote of her: “I never saw a girl with such beauty, such magnificent intelligence, such goodness and charm.”

Gladys had been evicted from Blenheim by the 9th Duke, that on a visit to the palace in 1901 the Crown Prince of Prussia had fallen madly in love with her and given her a ring that the Kaiser had forced her to return. There were rumours of a bizarre operation in which she had injected paraffin wax into her nose to create the perfect Grecian profile, and how the wax had slipped, destroying her legendary beauty.

Then there was the dramatic incident in which her father had shot her mother’s lover dead in a hotel room in Cannes in 1892. And as for the later life, she had become a most eccentric recluse, disappearing into a house at Chacombe, near Banbury, and eventually locking the doors against the world.

Gladys had been born in Paris in 1881, to the kind of family that Henry James wrote about; indeed, James knew her father. Edward Parker Deacon came from Boston, where to this day stands Deacon House. The Deacons had married well. Gladys’s grandmother, Sarah Ann Parker, was well connected, but sadly went mad. It was from her that an unstable streak entered the family.

Gladys’s mother, Florence, was the daughter of Rear-Admiral Charles H Baldwin. He was a somewhat peppery figure who, when sent to represent the United States at the Coronation of Tsar Alexander III in 1883, refused to attend because he was not given a good enough seat.

The Deacons had four beautiful daughters and a son who died as a little boy. They lived in Paris and travelled about Europe. Florence moved in an interesting set, with friends such as Bernard Berenson, Rodin and Count Robert de Montesquiou. But the marriage was not happy and she took a lover called Emile Abeille.

Deacon pursued the couple through Europe and tracked them down to the Hotel Splendide at Cannes in February 1892. Discovering Abeille’s presence, Deacon took a loaded gun, insisted on entering his wife’s room and fired three shots at Abeille as he cowered behind the sofa.

Deacon gave himself up and was jailed. Abeille lingered on through the night and died in the morning.

Gladys was sent back to school at the Convent de l’Assomption at Auteuil. After her father’s release from prison, he made his way there to take custody of her, only to find she had been abducted by her mother. A court case followed. But after the divorce in 1893, Deacon was given custody of his three older children and he promptly took them to the US, where Gladys remained for the next three years.

During this time, William James saw Deacon and reported to his brother, Henry, how vain Deacon was, how he clearly considered his “conjugal exploit” gave him “a distinction for him in the eyes of fashionable New Yorkers” and how shocked he was “by the way he talked about it before his little daughter”. Deacon eventually lost his reason and was put away in the McLean Hospital in Belmont, near Boston, where he died in 1901.

In 1896 Gladys and her sisters returned to France to live with their mother. Her education over, she began to blaze through Europe like a brilliant meteor of beauty, intelligence and wit, taking princely and ducal scalps along the way.

Legion were those who fell in love with Gladys: Prince Roffredo Caetani; Bernard Berenson and his wife; the Duke of Marlborough and possibly Consuelo, too, the Dukes of Camastra, Norfolk, Newcastle and Connaught; RC Trevelyan; Gabriele d’Annunzio; Anatole France; and Lord Brooke (later Warwick). But she was set on a marriage to the Duke of Marlborough and eventually, in 1921, having known him for more than 20 years, she followed Consuelo to Blenheim Palace.

Gladys lured figures like Jacob Epstein and Lytton Strachey. But she found herself a lone intellectual caught among county figures. Rodin had given her a little statue. It stood in one of the state rooms but nobody ever asked her about it.

Then the Duke became a Roman Catholic and soon afterwards the marriage descended into a state of internecine warfare. One evening Gladys placed a revolver on the dining room table. “What’s that for?” asked one of the dinner guests.

“Oh I don’t know,” Gladys replied. “I might just shoot Marlborough!”

Not surprisingly he took fright, left her alone at the palace for nearly two years and then evicted her – first from Blenheim and then from the London house in Carlton House Terrace. Courageous to the last, Gladys stood on the steps at Blenheim and photographed the vans taking her possessions away.

The Duke died in 1934, before they were divorced, and Gladys settled with her dogs in north Oxfordshire, eventually at the Grange Farm at Chacombe. She began by filling it with her treasures: the Rodin statue, her portrait by Boldini, her fabulous collection of books.

But as time wore on, she retreated from the world, becoming a total recluse. Her only link to the outside world was her kind Polish helper, Andrei Kwiatkowsky, to whom she would lower the key to her door from an upper window. In 1962, she was forcibly removed to St Andrew’s; she died in 1977.

#gladys deacon #aristocracy #britain #history #biography #marlborough #blenheim #duchess of marlborough #vanderbilt #nobility #eccentric

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words-writ-in-starlight · 6 years ago

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Lisa, I'm killing our boy... Okokokokokokokok please tell me Trevor comes to visit every month or so to make sure Broody Mc. Blondie doesn't get too bored and that he enters the estate by loudly insulting him because it's the only kind of interaction trevor is any good at let's be honest. Alucard shouts right back at him and tosses him some tools and planks to help him rebuild the Belmont estate. That's how it goes right

See, you say “happy ending” but I say “I have some things toget OFF MY CHEST” and, well, you came to me, so…no. That is nothow it goes. Also this racked up to like 4k pretty quick so here, also on AO3.

Adrian is restoring the castle.

Both castles, he supposes—he’s strong, and he has all thetime in the world. He pays for materialsout of Dracula’s vault and does not seek help. No one dares approach the strange and twisted castle above ground, andso below, like Belmont said. Adrian hasa shrewd suspicion, when he bothers to think about it, that the incineratedruins of the Belmont manor grounds have been left untouched out of a fear thatthey might be cursed.

He’s glad, in a grim and distant way, that he pushed Belmontand Sypha to leave. This is…this is tooraw, too aching, to have anyone near him while he faces what used to be hishome.

Adrian starts with the bare minimum. The doors of both castle and hold have to berepaired, to prevent the elements from doing the work of destruction in amatter of weeks. He can’t restore the Enochiansigil on the trapdoor of the hold—he would need a magician for that, and forall that Adrian is a linguist and a polymath the likes of which most humanscould never hope to match, his natural gift for magic is middling at best andlargely untrained��but a large granite slab does almost as well. He hefts it into place and fits it over theopening, seals it with wax so that it will hold out wind and rain while hedeals with Dracula’s castle.

Adrian repairs the door of the castle.

Then he walks into the great library and stands in themiddle of the room, looking at the wreck, for seven hours.

Some of the books knocked from their shelves have been putback in place. He did that, the very nextnight after they took the castle and he killed—

It had been something mindless and small, familiar from alifetime of loving the tidy order of alphabetized authors. Adrian had picked up the books that hadfallen with the great impact of his back hitting the shelves, when he wasthrown into them, and slipped them back between their neighbors where they belonged. Where the shelves were fragmented beyond use,he had stacked the books among the rubble on the floor, neat piles with thespines facing outward. He had notbothered to move the broken glass or the splintered wood, nor done anything todeal with the scorched and melted hole in the wall. Only the books.

Adrian realizes, dimly, that the sun is setting through thewindow, the near-painful white light of day fading to something softer, lesslikely to make his eyes burn and his head ache.

Adrian leaves the library untouched.

Adrian—Alucard, hetells himself, murmurs it under his breath when he’s working, whispers it untilit loses all meaning, tries to carve it into his tongue and burn it into hisblood like silver, like holy water, like a ward—Alucard doesn’t have to hunt. He needs blood, but Dracula’s stores do more than pay for repairs. He drinks from the preserved supply of bloodkept against a disaster, or a long period away from people, and eats from thefood stores that remain untouched by the vampires who lived here. Some, the fresh fruit and vegetables, arelargely spoiled. Most of the rest isfine. There’s even flour, and yeast, ifAlucard had it in himself to spend the effort on bread.

If anyone else were here, someone else who needed food, ahuman or two, maybe, he might try.

Alucard does not make bread.

The library and much of the other areas ruined in the finalbattle—the observatory, the laboratory, the wing of living quarters—are toohaunted for Alucard to bear. He choosesthe deeper reaches of the castle instead, where the work is simple and directand miserably straight-forward. He tearsout bloodied carpeting in the entrance hall and pulls down the throne roomalmost entirely, excises the forgemasters’ workshops like a gangrenous limb,dismantles guest quarters and burns a bonfire behind the castle taller than heis, for days on end.

He destroys the night creatures still caged in the castleand burns their bones, burns the beds used by Dracula’s allies and the tablesused for their war councils, cracks open the Belmont Hold and burns the bodiesthere, burns bloodied carpet and broken wood. Alucard considers burning the books he finds there that are too damagedto be legible, but he sets them aside to evaluate later. Perhaps he can decipher what is left andtranscribe them. Perhaps Belmont knowswhat was inside. Perhaps—

Alucard runs out of things to burn, eventually. There was little to rebuild in the lowerreaches of the castle in the first place, and now he has reduced what there wasto empty rooms, a labyrinth of gutted dungeons and bare stone. He scrubs the floor with his own hands andwith telekinesis and with lye so pure it makes him retch until he cannotjustify it anymore. He retreats to theentrance hall, and then outside of the castle, where the ground is scarred andblack from the bonfire, and sits down with his back to the castle and his kneespulled up to his chest.

It’s dark out—he’s been working night and day without muchregard for what time it is. He’s notsure how long it’s been since—since, but the air has gone cold and bitterrather than the sweet crisp bite of autumn he remembers from Gresit. There’s snow on the ground. He observes these things and forgets to allowthem to affect him, because vampires, even half-human vampires, do not sufferfrom the cold the way a mortal would. Hesits behind Dracula’s castle—his castle, now, Alucard’s castle—in shirtsleevesand lets frost accumulate in his hair.

Alucard can’t sleep. There’s irony there, he thinks, in his moments where things like ironyand humor are achievable. He slept for ayear and was more than ready to sleep again, to escape this world that Draculahad made and sleep until he was found, until he was needed, until Gresit felldown and destroyed his vault and everything inside. Whatever came first.

Now he can’t sleep at all.

Where would he sleep, anyway? He’s avoided thinking about this questionsince he sat in his father’s study—in Dracula’s study and cried until hecouldn’t anymore, curled up in the sturdy oak chair that he had hiddenunderneath as a child. He had set someof the room to rights before he broke down, steadied the chair and set hismother’s portrait on the mantle, but he had fled as soon as he could trust hislegs to carry him. Once, his father’s—Dracula, damn him, Dracula’s study hadbeen a place of warmth and comfort. Itmeant that his family was together, when there was a fire in the hearth and thesoft sound of a quill tip writing, and Alucard had slept there often when hewas restless as a boy.

He hasn’t been back to the study since he fled the ghoststhat lingered there. Nor the ruinedlibrary, where he used to creep after his mother put him to bed, so that hecould read late into the night. Hehasn’t dared the observatory, nor her laboratory. Dracula’s private library was in nearly aspoor repair as the main one, with the distance mirror shattered on the floor,but even if it had been pristine, it made the scar on Alucard’s chestache.

His parents’ rooms, he didn’t enter even to check theircondition. His own—

And he couldn’t feel at ease closing his eyes in the lowerreaches, where the burning taste of forgemaster magic lingered and his mindwhispered dark warnings about the dangers that lurked in the corners. Now, of course, he’s rendered them more orless unlivable for a vampire until the astringent, insistent reek of the lyeairs out.

So. Where does hesleep?

Alucard sits on the ground, back pressed to the wall of thecastle behind him, and lets the question chase itself around in his mind untilthe sky lightens. When he finally stirs,snow drifts from his shoulders and hair.

He holds his hand out, palm up, and watches flakesaccumulate in his palm. They melt more slowly on his skin than on humanskin—than on his mother’s. She loved thesnow, had taken him out on a balcony the first winter after he was born andcuddled him close, her warm cheek pressed to his and his hand, small andchildish, wrapped around the end of her braid as they watched the snow fall onthe mountains.

“Water is the only material in the world that naturallyoccurs as a solid, a liquid, and a gas, Adrian,” she had whispered, like shewas sharing a secret. “Here, lupul mic, like this,” she said, andtipped her head back, sticking her tongue out. Alucard had done the same, turning his face up toward the grey cloudsoverhead, and had laughed, stretching his hands up toward the sky as the coldflakes landed on his tongue. His motherhad laughed too, spinning the two of them around on the balcony until she wasdizzy and he was clinging to her jacket, and then…

And then his father had come to find them, had found themsitting on the balcony with Alucard in his mother’s lap, both of them rumpledand flushed and grinning. He hadlaughed, had crouched down to ask what they were doing, and his mother hadcaught the fearsome master vampire Vlad Dracula Tepes by the collar and draggedhim down by main force to kiss him with her cold lips. They had gone inside, finally, when hismother’s ears and fingertips were so cold she swore they had gone numb, and shehad put a cup of warm spiced milk in Alucard’s hands to match her own and theyhad sipped at it while his father read to them beside the fire, and it had beenso good—

Something hot strikes Alucard’s skin, shocking, almostscalding. He may not feel the cold likea mortal would, but his skin has grown chill, almost deathly so, and the waterburns. He raises his fingers to his face,presses his hand over his eyes as if to force the tears back, and a high, thinsound escapes through his teeth, like the whine of a wolf wounded by an arrow. He feels a little like it, like there’ssomething barbed and terrible lodged in his chest that he’s been trying tooutpace, and sitting here has finally let it dig through his bones to tear opena lung. That’s what Alucard imaginesthis feels like—gasping airlessly while tears fall down his face, as if he’sdrowning in his own lungs, grief filling the empty spaces like blood.

This is the third time Alucard has cried for his family.

The first was when he returned to his mother’s home in apanic—he missed her by a matter of hours, because Alucard is too human toteleport any respectable distance and had to run home on foot when he heardrumors of a witch from Lupu. He had pacedthrough the ruins of his mother’s home, marking the rooms and doors in his mindto prove to himself that it had really been hers. Here, his mother’s kitchen; here, his parents’bedroom; here, his own room; here, her laboratory. He had dashed the tears away without athought and run, flat out, toward Targoviste, and arrived just in time to seehis mother die.

Then he hadn’t allowed himself to shed another tear untilDracula was dead.

Now, crying hurts,makes his ribs ache, makes his head spin. Alucard closes a fist into his shirt, over the sharpest point of pain inhis chest, where a child is calling hopelessly for his parents to come back tohim, and lets his hair fall forward to hide his face.

Eventually, Alucard runs out of tears. No one can cry forever.

Alucard wipes his eyes. Alucard stands up.

There are still repairs to be done.

The hold is less damaged than the castle—Belmont killed mostof the invaders in the first chamber, kept them from reaching the holdproper. But the damage to the entrance shaftis extensive, the stairs smashed to kindling in places and ripped whole fromtheir moorings in others.

Alucard solves the first and most obvious problem by thesimple expedient of affixing a strong pulley to the top of the open column. He can get himself in and out without trouble,but he’s not interested in testing the exact limits of his telekinesis in sucha high-stakes manner as lowering heavy construction materials down a hundredfoot shaft with him at the bottom.

Then Alucard tries his hand at carpentry.

All things being equal, he’s not bad at it. He dares the ghosts in the castle to findbooks in his mother’s study, her endless curiosity teaching him new things evennow as he repairs the shattered staircase. The stairs aren’t as fine as their predecessors, but they’re smooth andclean and sturdy, and he figures that the Belmonts would probably be all rightwith it. Even if they wouldn’t—well, it’shis hold now, isn’t it? If he decidesthat it needs pretty stairs, he’ll redo them.

The thought is equal parts encouraging and deeplyterrifying. Encouraging, because in themoments where Alucard is still, trying to close his eyes for a moment, hedreads finishing the restoration of the Belmont Hold. When he finishes here, there will be nothing leftbut his family’s own wing of the castle, no excuse not to repair the libraryand the laboratory, nothing keeping him away from his parents’ chambers and thelittle room where he grew up and killed—

Terrifying, because for the first time in his life, Alucardlooks forward at eternity and sees a long and lonely blank. There is no one here. Even if his mother hadlived a human life and died of old age—unlikely, in Alucard’s opinion, Draculawould never have allowed it—he would have had company. Family. His father, who lovedhim. Now he has an empty, hauntedcastle, and the last legacy of a family wiped out of history. If Alucard rebuilds the stairs of the BelmontHold twenty times, at least it will be something to do to fill that endlesstime.

Alucard tries not to think about it too much.

When he finishes the stairs, Alucard turns to the rest ofthe hold. He sets the painting of theBelmont ancestor back on the wall. Hepulls rubble out of the places where the walls are damaged. He returns the books they pulled down intheir frantic research back to their shelves, and begins trying to transcribethe ones that have been damaged. Helearns the index inside out, expands it. He grins a little, for the first time in…a while, at the memory ofBelmont’s affront over his criticism of it.

It’s been—months, probably, since Belmont and Sypha left. Alucard isn’t sure. It’s even harder to track time in the holdthan in the depths of the castle. Hedoes know that he hasn’t talked to anyone in almost as long, except for a fewpassing exchanges with the merchants who sold him the stores of wood and stone thathe needed. He doesn’t talk much now,except for the occasional flood of cursing when something goes wrong in therepairs. He doesn’t even murmur his own nameanymore. Alucard comes easily now.

His mother would be so disappointed.

Alucard is restoring the Belmont Hold, and he is notthinking about his mother, or his father, or his eternity.

He is not.

The hold is beautiful, and deep, and quiet, and kind—even toAlucard, who is trespassing on the legacy of those who might have hunted him,given the chance. He sleeps a littlemore, here, an hour or two of restless dozing at a time snatched while he’slying on the floor or the top of a shelf or on a table, filled with uneasydreams. He thinks he could be at peacehere, if the world left him alone.

He understands, a little bit, the world Dracula craved. The silence. There is nothing that Alucard wants more than to close his eyes andsleep forever, and the hold, sometimes, seems like it would let him.

Alucard comes to the end of the restorations in the hold. It takes longer than he’d first expected—he’sbeen doing makework, he can admit it, restitching old pages back into bindingand moving books that have been misplaced back to their proper shelves just todraw it out—but not as long as he’d hoped.

The last step is the granite slab. It’s the same size and weight as the previousone, as best as Alucard can estimate, and smooth on top, ready to be engravedwith the Enochian seal. Alucard hasseveral diagrams of the seal, drawn from his memory and checked against whatbooks he could find on the subject, and in theory, he should be able to engraveit and be done.

Alucard doesn’t engrave the seal. He’s still not a magician, he tellshimself. If there’s another step hedoesn’t know of, something left out of the books or lost over time, he couldcarve the seal and render the stone useless. He’ll look into it later.

Besides, no one comes near the castle. The hold is as protected as it’s likely toget.

Some part of Alucard wonders if he can find a way to contactSypha. She would know how to seal thehold. Belmont might be with her—would heapprove of Alucard’s repairs? He’s thelast of his line, it’s only right that he know what’s happened to his family’shold. Maybe the two of them—

Alucard breaks off the thought as crisply as snapping a neck,and leaves the granite slab over the entrance.

It is spring. Heknows this because the weeds taking over the ruin of Belmont Manor are greenand lively, putting out flowers. Thesunlight is bright and cheerful, the air sweet with the promise of rain, warmenough that Alucard’s plain dress of shirt and breeches wouldn’t mark him asstrange. It’s…beautiful.

Alucard stands in front of the castle, hands spread and facetipped up to the sun, eyes closed to against the brilliance, for a long time. He has always loved sunlight, even though it’soften too bright for his eyes, he remembers, and the memory is strange and alittle foreign, as if remembering a story told to him by someone else a longtime ago. But it’s his, his own story,his own memory, and as he stands there in the sunlight, feeling the warmth sinkinto his bones like so little sinks into a vampire’s bones, it clicks back intoplace, a stone pressed back into a wall he’d thought was mostly torn down.

He is—so glad to be half human, Alucard thinks abruptly, asa breeze whips around him and vanishes into the ruins. He would hate to have never felt sunlight onhis face.

The sun begins to set, and Alucard goes back into thecastle.

It’s time to face the upper rooms.

Over the last uncertain number of months, Alucard has done morework than a team of humans could have achieved in years, but when he steps intothe ruins of Dracula’s private library, the enormity of the work he has aheadof him hits him like a tidal wave. Itleaves him breathless—there’s so much to do here, even just in this room, whichis less damaged than some. He had thoughtthat starting here might be easier, the way it was easier to tear apart the lowerreaches, where there was more evidence of the monster Dracula than there was ofAlucard’s father.

This room is ruined, but in the way of a room willfullywrecked by someone in a rage, or a haze of grief, rather than the collateraldestruction the main library or the observatory faced. The smashed distance mirror is far from theonly thing scattered in pieces—books and quills, glass beakers and vials, evena writing desk, have all faced Dracula and failed to withstand his wrath. The icosahedron that used to govern thecastle’s movement is as shattered as the engine, planes melted together at oddangles and lying on the floor. Alucardhasn’t even bothered to try and repair the engine yet, hasn’t even reallydecided if it’s worth repairing. There’snowhere he wants to go, after all.

Alucard lights the lamps and looks around the room,breathing slow and careful, as if inhaling too sharply might send his fragile controlof himself spinning. The shelves aremostly intact, at least, and he can probably repair the damaged ones easilyenough. The desk is a lost cause, he’llhave to build up a bonfire again. Mostof the books are more or less intact, and—

And there’s a spray of blood, smeared across the wall besidethe door as if someone had tried to scrub it away while it was drying but hadn’tcleaned it properly. It smells old, morethan a year, and it has a distinct signature to it. Unique, even. Neither the sweet promise of human blood nor the electric crackle ofvampire blood—somewhere in between.

Alucard retches, and it’s probably for the best that he hasn’teaten anything more substantial than donated blood in a while. There’s nothing to bring up.

He locks Dracula’s library behind him.

It’s a bad start and sets a bad precedent for hisprogress. These rooms are haunted, true,by the memory of better times, but Alucard drifts from one chamber to anotherlike he’s the only ghost in this castle. He remembers this feeling from that first day, a sort of perfect numbhelplessness as he rights chairs and straightens pictures, lingering over them,but doesn’t move a finger to take steps toward real repairs. He trails his fingers over his mother’s books,over Dracula’s telescope, over the door to his parents’ room. He still hasn’t dared to go inside.

Alucard passes through the halls of the castle with lessimpact than a strong breeze and—and he’s tired,a sort of soul-deep exhaustion that drives him on instinct to the door he leastwants to see.

At the end of all this, of Dracula’s war on the world, ofhistory’s longest and most disastrous suicide, Alucard is a little boy alone ina vast castle, and all he wants is to sleep, and so here he is, sitting on hischildhood bed without much memory of having walked there.

The room has suffered for the winter with a shattered window,but not as much as Alucard might have expected. The eave, and the fact that the broken window is one of those set intothe wall, have conspired to protect it from most of the elements. The wallpaper is peeling, and many of thedrawings tacked to the desk and wall have been shredded or suffered waterdamage, but the portrait of the three of them is unharmed, and other than theblack and ashy stain on the carpet and the broken bedpost, there’s little else disturbed.

The ceiling is still painted with constellations—it’s full darkoutside, probably even getting on toward morning a bit, but Alucard can stillsee them when he leans back to lie down on the bed. He’s too tall for it now, lying at an anglewith his legs bent at the knee and his feet on the floor. His father had painted the stars for him, asa surprise for his first naming day, a mishmash of constellations that Alucardliked best arranged without concern for the reality of the night sky.

“If it’s the stars you wish to see,” Alucard says to theceiling, remembering what his father said, “look out your window.” Art isfor us, Dracula had murmured, and Alucard had rested his head against hisfather’s shoulder, so that he could better hear the rumble of the deep voice inhis chest, like distant thunder.

It’s been some time since Alucard slept here regularly—firsthe stayed in Lupu, then he traveled, and then, of course, he fled to Gresit. Still, though, the bed is made up with softsheets and a warm blanket, the pillow placed as if he might come back to it atany moment, and it smells familiar and soothing, the smell that meant love andcomfort for most of his life.

He is so tired, Alucard thinks as he stares up at theceiling. The painted stars swim beforehis eyes, the periphery feathered with grey, and focusing his vision makes asharp, subtle pain lance through his temples. He hasn’t slept well in so long. Today was probably his least productive day in months, idled away in thesunlight and the night spent wandering the dark halls of the castle, but theexhaustion is hitting him hard and fast, like he’s been in free fall all thistime repairing the castle and hold and now he’s finally reaching the bottom.

The thought comes to him like it’s being whispered bysomeone else—maybe he can sleep here. Maybe, if he closes his eyes here, he can sleep until he wakes up better, without the ache in his chestand the weight in his bones. Maybe he cansleep until he wakes up to his mother’s face, his father’s affection.

Maybe he can sleep until he wakes up in a world wherevampires don’t exist.

It’s a hopeless wish, but Alucard shuts his eyes anyway.

As the sky begins to turn grey, Adrian Tepes fallsasleep.

#castlevania #netflix castlevania #alucard #adrian tepes #castlevania fic #starlight writes stuff #I'M SO SORRY #I WROTE THIS IN LIKE...AN EMOTIONAL HAZE OVER THE LAST 30 HOURS #I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER WRITING HALF OF IT #god remember that lucretia fic where i made the comment in the notes that you too could send me an ask and get thousands of words of murder #*murder weapon about your favorite character?#i think this is also in that category #if it makes you feel any better i am planning a second chapter #and 'happy ending' might be generous but this really is rock bottom for The Boy so there's only up from here #if that uh...helps at all #should be up in a few days #yikes #uh....#apparently when all i want to do is write angst and i get a happy ask i just get vengeful #i'm...so sorry #oh boy i hope you're not a new follower #you were around when i wrote 6k of torture fic for caleb widogast right? or the 3k of grief-stricken crying for lucretia?#like...you knew what you were getting into with this right????? oh boy i hope so #queue deeper than the sea of stars #asked and answered #lovelypieceofjade

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nicsofcharlotte12 · 2 years ago

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Beautiful Spots in Charlotte NC

If you're visiting Charlotte NC, you've probably heard of the city's downtown area as Uptown. This modern part of the city is home to attractions like the Levine Museum of the New South, which explores post-Civil War Southern history, and Discovery Place, which is known for its interactive museums and theme parks. There's also the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which celebrates the sport of auto racing.

Another great place to take a tour of Charlotte is the historic Fourth Ward. This area is home to the Old Settler's Cemetery, where the first settlers of Charlotte were buried. Also located nearby is the Wells Fargo Museum, which explores the city's mining history. There you can see gold nuggets and rare coins from Charlotte's mining past. You can also take your kids to the Children's Theatre, which is one of the city's top attractions.

For something more relaxing, check out the Charlotte Symphony's Summer Pops concert. During the summer months, the orchestra plays the most popular songs from films and other entertainment. You can even bring a picnic lunch and sit outside and enjoy the music while watching the performance. This is one of the most cultural experiences in Charlotte, so don't miss this chance to catch it!

For a more cultured experience, you can also check out the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. This museum is renowned for its innovative and stunning exhibits. The museum is open every day of the week, except Tuesday. The entrance fee is $10. During the football season, you can also visit Bank of America Stadium, the home of the Carolina Panthers. With its raucous crowds and high energy atmosphere, it regularly attracts sold-out bleachers. It also features behind-the-scenes tours, which are also available to guests.

If you love nature, you may also want to spend time at the nearby Bird Sanctuary. This is a place where you can get close to birds, and it's open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also take in a museum with interactive exhibits.

Located two miles northeast of Uptown Charlotte, Villa Heights offers the perfect outdoor getaway. The neighborhood is home to the beautiful Cordelia Park, a 21-acre park. It offers a splash pad, basketball court, community garden, and is part of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. It also sits on a hilltop with sweeping views of the Charlotte skyline.

If you're traveling with children, consider renting a vacation home in Villa Heights. Villa Heights vacation rentals often include pools, hot tubs, and docks. These rentals offer all the comforts of home, plus laundry facilities and dining facilities. Guests can even request a meal delivery service.

For residents of Villa Heights, there's a wide variety of shopping and dining options. Several restaurants and bars are located in the area. Villa Heights also features a 24-acre park. It is one of the most popular neighborhoods in the area. Its public schools are above average.

Belmont NC is a great place to visit if you're looking for a relaxing retreat. It's located just a few miles from Charlotte, making it a convenient place for vacations and day trips. There are many beautiful spots to explore in Belmont, from the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden to downtown Belmont's thriving historic district.

In the city, Belmont has a number of great retail spots, including the town's main street. You can browse antiques, check out local galleries, and experience the charm of this historic neighborhood. The Main Street is open from Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

How to Deal With Fire Damage in Your Home

Fire damage is a very serious hazard for people and their belongings. This form of damage is usually caused by three factors: the fire itself, smoke, and soot. Each of these factors has different effects on different items. These factors all play an important role in the restoration process. Here are some tips to consider when you're dealing with fire damage in your home.

Fire damage can cause discoloration of walls, flooring, and other surfaces. It can also damage framing and insulation. Smoke can also cause the malfunction of electrical appliances. Smoke can also be a major source of health concerns. The smoke can irritate the lungs and cause other problems. Luckily, fire restoration services are available.

When it comes to restoring the structural integrity of a building after a fire, it is crucial to hire a professional to inspect the property. Fires spread smoke, soot, and chemicals throughout the structure. Fires also damage drywall, stone, brick, and wood. Depending on the severity of the fire, some materials may not be salvageable. Others may have to be discarded due to potential mold concerns. Likewise, damaged materials can show stains caused by minerals and other dissolved particles.

NICS of Charlotte 2501 Duncan Ave Suite B, Charlotte, NC 28205, United States 980-346-5321 https://nicsrestoration.com/

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ledenews · 2 years ago

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Belmont County NAACP's Freedom Fund Dinner Scheduled for October 1

Belmont County NAACP is excited to present this year’s Freedom Fund Dinner held at Belmont Hills Country Club, October 1, 2022, at 6 PM (dinner) with a social hour starting at 5 PM (cash bar). This year we will be honoring three (3) people of the community of Belmont County that have been outstanding in their respective fields of leadership, dedication, service, and loyalty to the community. This year we have a Power Couple as our guest speakers. They are hardworking and dedicated in their respective fields, world-renowned public speakers, teaching at the collegiate level here and abroad. Dr. Clėment A. Akassi is a professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Monique L. Akassi is the DEI Director and Strategies Coordinator at West Liberty University. All are welcome to join us and help celebrate with us. Tickets in advance $40.00. Tickets at the door $45.00. There will be 50/50 raffle and a Chinese Auction. Applications will on the premises for all wanting to become a member of the NAACP. Dr. John Mattox The late Dr. John Mattox served as the curator and founder of the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing, Ohio. The museum was founded in 1993 by the late Dr. John Mattox and his late wife, Rosalind Mattox. Dr. Mattox passed away at the age of 84 on July 17, 2019. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Dr. Mattox graduated from Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas. In 2008, he received an Honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree from Ohio University. In addition, Dr. Mattox served in the U.S. Air Force from 1959-1962. He was Commander of the American Legion Post 366, V.F.W. #7342 in Flushing, Ohio, for many years. Furthermore, he was a proud member of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Ohio, Lodge #298, Flushing, Ohio. Dr. Mattox dedicated his time to the museum, as well as volunteered with various community organizations. He served on the following boards: Sargus Juvenile Center, Ohio University Eastern, Harrison Community Hospital, A Special Wish Foundation, and Belmont Correctional Institution Reentry Coalition. He also worked closely with the Ohio National Road Association, Friends of Freedom Society, Inc., Zion Retreat, Belmont County Tourism Office, and numerous others. Dr. Mattox was eager to share his love of history with others. As curator of the Underground Railroad Museum, he was passionate about preserving the past for future generations. The museum was accepted to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. Dr. Mattox was a dedicated leader, always willing to lend a helping hand to others. He is remembered for his work and community involvement in the Ohio Valley. Dr. Monique L. Akassi Dr. Monique L. Akassi Touted as a “Thought Leader, Change Agent, Innovator, and one who will Transform the Impossible into the Possible with Results”— I am an award-winning, transformative, servant leader, entrepreneur, & manager in higher education with over a decade of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion, academic affairs, student affairs & fundraising. Dr. Akassi is currently the Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Strategic Initiatives at West Liberty University. I am member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Girl Scouts Leader in Wheeling, West Virginia. I am Founding President of the Jacksonville, Florida Chapter Interest Group for the National Coalition of 100 Black Women; Founding President & CEO of Drs. Akassi & Akassi’s Global Languages and Leadership Academy; and Founding President and CEO of Drs. Akassi & Akassi’s Second Chance Program. I’m also a lifelong educator, administrator, author, editor, researcher, curriculum designer, digital literacy expert, assessment specialist, humanitarian, & public figure in higher education. I earned my Post Doctorate Certificates in Management Development & Women in Education Leadership from Harvard University; a B.A in English & Comparative Literature from the University of Cincinnati; an M.A in English Composition & Rhetoric from Wright State University; & a Ph.D in English Composition & Rhetoric with minors in Literary Criticism Theory &African American Literature from Morgan State University. I am Full Professor Tenured. I am the founder & President of Africana Critical Composition & Rhetoric Association. I am author/editor of over 23 publications, including 7 books & 2 journals, including the Journal of Africana Composition & Rhetoric & Undergraduate Journal of Research & Writing Across The Curriculum. Moreover, my book entitled, Research & Writing Across The Curriculum (2 ed), is a must have with Pearson Publishing. My Post-Colonial Composition Pedagogy: Using The Culture of Marginalized Students To Teach Writing, I coined Post-Colonial Composition Pedagogy, marking a major paradigm shift in the current methods of teaching instruction in writing courses today. My first book, Neo Hybrid Pedagogy: An Investigation On Writing Portfolios For African American Students is the first study of its kind. My latest book, W.E.B. Du Bois and the Africana Rhetoric of Dealienation is the first book of scholarship in collaboration with a family member of W.E.B. Du Bois’, great grandson of Arthur McFarlane II. Penelton “Tobay” Clark Penelton “Tobay” Clark Served as the Belmont County NAACP Vice President through the 1990s. He assisted in ensuring the citizens of Belmont County were treated fairly and strived for equality and social justice. Tobay was raised in the Garfield section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by Dellamae and Penelton Clark and had 8 siblings. He attended Peabody High School. His father died when he was young. He was the oldest son, so he began to work to support his family. He served in the US Army and was a veteran of the Korean War. After returning from the Korean War, the Clark Family moved to Bridgeport, Ohio in the 1960s.Tobay attended the police academy and became a police officer for the village. He protected and served the citizens of Bridgeport and was known to be tough but fair. He married his true love, Kathy. They had 3 sons, Penn, Mario, and Ryan. He worked two jobs to support his family. They later moved from Bridgeport to Bellaire. Tobay was also a member of Children Services for the county and volunteered his time to promote a safe environment for underprivileged children. Tobay spent most his life protecting and supporting the needs of others. He would be very proud of being recognized for all of his hard work. He would be even happier that the local chapter of the NAACP that he had help start and worked for all those years ago has been reestablished and supporting the community. Dr. Clement A. Akassi Dr. Clement A. Akassi Dr. Clement A. Akassi is an international scholar, Associate Professor of Spanish, French, and Portugueses and Graduate Director for the World Languages Departent at Howard University in Washington DC. He is former President of the College Language Association. He earned a Ph.D. in Spanish w/concentration: in Afro-Caribbean/Afro-Hispanic Studies. Dissertation’s Title: “Conciencia de la condena y de la libertad en la obra poética del escritor afrocubano Gastón Baquero.” Option: Doctorado Europeo. Universidad de Alcalá/Madrid, Spain. 2004. He is the author or editor of over 20 publications, including Discursos poscoloniales y renegociacones de las identidades negras. Áfricas, Américas, Caribes, Europa. Perpignan, France: Presses Universitaires de Perpignan, 2010. Abbey Maroon: Lifetime Achievement Award - Belmont County chapter of the NAACP With a natural spirit for entrepreneurship and a passion for helping his hometown thrive, Abbey Maroon is an Ohio Valley icon with over six decades of experience in business development, management and entertainment operations. Born and raised in Bridgeport, Ohio, Abbey’s professional history started by hitchhiking from Bridgeport to the Wheeling Country Club to caddy for golfers. With his charm, people skills, leadership abilities and dashing good looks, Abbey quickly took an interest in management and working with people. He soon found himself running his first of many local businesses, Hickey’s Gift and Card Shop. He officially entered the nightlife business in his early twenties–and he hasn’t stopped since. Over the years, Abbey has employed hundreds of Ohio Valley residents with his successful business ventures, including the Jolly Roger Night Club, the Roof Garden, the Alamo, the Merrymint Lounge, Tom’s Night Club, Abbey’s Lounge and his current business, Abbey’s Restaurant and Lounge on the Wheeling Island. He has a long list of regulars who’ve followed him from business to business, who still remember dancing into the early morning hours at the Merrymint or sipping cocktails with friends at Abbey’s Lounge in the Ohio Valley Mall. Outside of his professional life, Abbey is an active philanthropist and frequently donates food from his restaurant to local organizations, clothing to families in need and monetary donations to organizations helping people all around the world. He served in the United States Coast Guard Reserves for eight years. Currently, he resides in St. Clairsville and is a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Abbey enjoyed nearly 60 years of marriage with his wife, the late Kathy Maroon–he likes to think she enjoyed their time together, too. The two met while Abbey was working at Hickey’s Gift and Card Shop and were both alumni of St. John Central High School. While he misses her every day and wishes she could be here to celebrate this award with him, he knows she didn’t need another reason to be impressed with him anyways–and has the best view as she watches from above. Abbey is deeply honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Belmont County chapter of the NAACP. He would like to give a special thank you to his family: his children Angie, Joey, Lenora and Vanessa; in-laws Bob, Dawn, Al and Dean; grandchildren Lauren, Abbey, Joey, Jake, Anna, Deea and Dino; and great-grandson Braxton. He loves you more than words can say. Read the full article

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