#Lucile's glory-of-the-snow

[lindamarieansonsnaps]

Chionodoxa Luciliae/ Scilla luciliae aka Lucile's glory-of-the-snow

[deathtek]

3/24/24

[ninevehsage]

Liverwort (Sinivuokko)

Do I dare to say that the spring is finally here... well... at least it looks like it now, but who really knows. 🤷‍♀️ The weather in Finland is very capricious. Here's some of my nature observations from today and few pages from my nature journal/task book:

Crocus (Krookus) & Lucile's glory-of-the-snow (Isokevättähti)

Kasvun Vuosi by Maaretta Tukiainen (2024)

I love to observe nature and take notes of what I see and hear around me. This book is so beautiul and the drawings really inspire me to colour them. I also love that the book's pages are strong enough for using watercolours. 💜🌿💜🌿💜

Tulips (Tulppaanit)

Vinca minor (Pikkutalvio) ? *Not entirely sure

Red elderberry (Terttuselja)

The sun is currently shining and I might go out for a short walk in the nearby forestal area to collect more nature observations. We shall see what I will discover next. A moment ago I heard Eurasian chaffinch (Peippo) sing outside (heard it clearly inside, even though all the windows and doirs are shut) and it filled me with happiness! 💜🐦🎶

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

The St James Family Tree (x)​

( aside from Jeremy, Josie, and Joy, the entire St James family exists universally throughout all of my glee fics, though they so far only have set appearances in Get It Right, SOWK, By Its Very Definition, and Corner Of The Sky!  More details about everyone below the cut )

shoutout to @the-witching-ash for helping me develop this entire clusterfuck of a family

Tag List: @airwolf92 – want to be added?

Judith & Joseph St James ( Meryl Streep & Pierce Brosnan ):

The parents of the most unadjusted and emotionally unavailable family in all of Ohio

Jenny St James ( Nicole Kidman ):

Married to Lloyd Kline ( Colin Firth )

Judith & Joseph’s eldest child 

Neglectful mother and trophy wife to a DC politician

Johanna St James ( Kate Reinders ):

Married to Chad Channing ( Chris Pine )

The middle St James child 

Professional absentee parent dreaming of her non-existent Broadway glory days

Former roommates with Shelby Corcoran and Cassie July

Joshua St James ( Zac Efron ):

Sometimes dating Nell Baker ( Anne Hathaway )

The youngest of the St James siblings

Real estate agent in Lima

Jeremy’s guardian, legally as of s2

Part of the long-suffering parent club with Burt, Carol, and Brad

His apartment is well known as being a safe place for glee club members to crash if they’re avoiding being at home and he does have a ranked list of all of the club members

Roman Kline ( Aaron Tveit ):

Jenny & Lloyd’s son / Amelie’s twin

Dalton alum, Cooper Anderson’s high school roommate

Dating Cooper Anderson & Ash Astor ( Anna Kendrick )

Went to law school and is a licensed lawyer but he’s working actor in LA and sometimes New York

( also features in a Somewhere Only We Know prequel, Midnights, the Cooper & Roman Dalton era fic )

Amelie Kline ( Lily James):

Jenny & Lloyd’s daughter / Roman’s twin

Went to Crawford Country

In an eventual relationship with her high school best friend, Lindsay Wright ( Brittany Snow )

Bartender & manager at Scandals

Living with her Uncle Josh in Lima while she attends university

( also features in a Somewhere Only We Know prequel, Midnights, the Cooper & Roman Dalton era fic )

Jesse St James ( Jonathan Groff ):

Johanna’s son, not with Chad but he doesn't know it

An honorary member of the warbler inner circle since he was 10

Carmel High alum, UCLA dropout, now coaching Vocal Adrenaline

Learning to be a better brother

In an eventual relationship with former rival Lucille Newton ( Anna Camp ) 

Joy Schuester ( Lili Reinhart ):

featured in By Its Very Definition ( and various chaotic crossover concepts )

Jesse’s half sister through their father, April Rhodes’ surprise daughter

Easily adopted into the St James clan by Josh, Amelie, Roman, and Jesse

Full time disaster

The best thing Johanna ever did for Jesse was not have Chad as his father, only so that he could have Joy as a sister

Josie St James ( Lily Rose Depp ):

featured in Applause

biological daughter of Johanna St James and Bryan Ryan, has never suspected that she might not be Chad's

Has been acting professionally since she was 3, mostly in commercials, TV, and movies, was the star of a disney channel show from ages 3-8, has continued acting since, is still quite famous

Johanna was an obsessive stage mom to the max

She goes to Carmel High (a sophomore in season 1) and is a leading member of VA – despite this, she has always hated Shelby and absolutely hates the Rachel plan

But she hates Johanna more and wants to live with Josh so she goes along with it all

disaster bitch with mommy issues and daddy issues and body issues and attitude issues

Jeremy St James ( Joshua Bassett ):

featured in Corner Of The Sky ( and various chaotic crossover concepts )

Johanna & Chad’s youngest son and Jesse’s younger brother, not actually Chad's son – Chad suspects this, Jeremy does not

An honorary member of the warbler inner circle since he was 5

lives with his Uncle Josh and cousin Amelie

Absolute sunshine despite an overabundance of family trauma

Currently growing a backbone

[shipcestuous]

what are your fave recommendations for villainous incest?

Yes! I love my villainous incest. I don't really see Jaime/Cersei from ASOIAF as villains but a lot of people do. They would be my #1, I think. I also love Fairchild and Stranz from Blades of Glory. Thomas and Lucille from Crimson Peak are a good rec but too angsty and painful to be one my faves.

As discussed in this post, a lot of great ships have one villainous sibling and one good one or one who sides with the good guys in the end, like Nuada and Nuala from Hellboy 2, or Iris and Justin from Carnivale.

Ravenna and Finn from Snow White and the Huntsman are a great example of one of my favorite kind of villainous sibling dynamics, but it could have been so much more. Alanna and Zola from Mission Impossible are similar, too.

OK, what others have I forgotten?

[mattiastolvanen]

Spring flowers in Helsinki, Finland.  Lucile's glory-of-the-snow (Scilla luciliae), isokevättähti,  Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica), idänsinililja, and Striped Squill (Puschkinia scilloides), posliinihyasintti kukkivat Torkkelinmäellä Helsingissä. April 2020 huhtikuu.

[flowerishness]

Scilla luciliae  (Lucile's glory-of-the-snow)

Glory-of-the-snow, as it’s name implies, flowers in late winter/early spring. Nine different species are commonly sold in plant shops and ours is most likely, Lucile's glory-of-the-snow. Glory-of-the-snow used to have it’s own genus, Chionodoxa, (literally glory-of-the-snow in Greek) but nothing stands still in the hothouse world of plant taxonomy, and this plant is now described as belonging to Scilla section Chionodoxa. I don’t really care about it’s technical classification. It’s a pretty little flower and it’s a welcome sight in our spring garden.

[thiswasinevitableid]

no4 for the winter fills as a sternclay nsfw? or honestly anything with them bickering like idiots I’m weak for how you write them

Here you go! I hope this fits the bill!

04. i’m running late to an important interview/meeting and you accidentally spill your hot cocoa all over my outfit

Snow is rarer than silence in Las Vegas, and the sudden chill and white streets drive people into Barclay’s favorite coffee shop, the one that’s usually quiet this time of morning. After the fifth argument breaks out in line, he takes his cocoa to go.

He’s nudging and excuse-me-ing his way out the door, freedom in sight, when he steps onto the sidewalk proper and collides with a fast moving figure.

“Shit!” The other man yelps as Barclay’s drink splashes down the front of his suit.

“Owfuck” Barclay shakes the scalding milk from his hand, “fuck, I’m so sorry-”

“If you looked where you were going you wouldn’t need to be!”

Barclay bites back the observation that the other man was clearly looking at his phone when they smacked into each other. Instead he grabs the napkins from inside the bag with his scone and holds them out. The man takes them with a terse “thank you��� and pats with barely concealed franticness at his chest.

“I, uh, I’ve got some quick-clean stuff at my room, or I might even be able to loan you a shirt if you’ve got a minute.”

“I don’t. I have exactly five minutes to find the office where I’m interviewing before I’m late and everyone in this goddamn city is incapable of walking in the snow. I can explain the accident better than lateness so, please excuse me.” He pushes past Barclay with a decent amount of force and speed walks down the crowded street.

Barclay feels like crap for the better part of the morning; he can’t get over the idea he might have fucked up someone’s chance at a job. He’s been in that situation and it sucked. He didn’t even get the guys number so he could offer to pay for dry cleaning.

Then there’s a supply chain hiccup with Celestial and work takes over his worries. The restaurant is due to open in two days and the kind of critics who come to the newest fine dining location on the first day will not take kindly to him using substandard ingredients (never mind that the bulk of them couldn’t tell the difference without the menu cluing them in). His head chef knows their shit, but any menu changes have to go by Barclay, at least for the first few months. By the time he’s done with that and two separate interviews–one with VICE and one with Sunset–he’s in dire need of some alone time.

Glory Hole is waiting for him like always, filthy name buzzing in dim neon as he slips through the door. It’s one step below a dive bar, the walls are coated with peeling posters and Sharpie scrawls, and the drinks are better than anywhere in the city. Plus, most patrons are too shit-faced to ever recognize him.

He picks a spot at the bar, Lucille setting his usual sidecar down in front of him a minute later. A clank two seats down draws his attention and his heart plummets; there’s the guy from this morning, tie askew and his empty glass being swapped out for a fresh one. Going by the napkins scattered in front of him, this is drink number four. The expression Barclay spots in the mirror above the bar is not a celebratory one.

Scooting one seat over makes the man look up. Barclay didn’t notice how handsome he was this morning, but now it’s all he can see. It’s like someone sculpted his perfect man and then made a deal with a god to bring him to life.

Bright blue eyes study him a moment, then the man gestures to his stained shirt, “Well, l-look who it is.”

“Hey. “ He signals Lucille to put the guy on his tab, “Uh, I, I didn’t get a chance to offer earlier but I’m happy to pay to get your outfit cleaned.”

“Why? M’not going to, to need it.”

He winces, “Fuck man, I’m so sorry, I never meant to fuck up your job interview.”

The man giggles mournfully, rubbing his face, “you, I swear, some guys think they’re the center of, of the fucking world. You think you’re the reason I didn’t get it?” His voice changes, mimicking someone, “Mr. Stern, why did you lie on your resume? Mr. Stern, why did, didn’t you disclose your time in jail?” A harder laugh, “time, time in jail, can you believe that? I’ve never got, gotten a fucking parking ticket but they can make it look that way. Can, can lie and say I never worked for them. Top agent can’t, can’t even get a job as a fucking rent-a-cop.” The giggle turns hysterical, the man resting his head on the bar, shoulders shaking under the rumpled fabric.

Barclay pushes his glass away, “Lucille? Can I get the check, please?”

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone’s replaced his guts with sour milk and his brain with a cave mouse that screams whenever it sees light. Another stellar life choice for Joseph Stern.

If only he could remember what life choice means he’s waking up in a bed and not the back seat of his car.

Easing his eyes open brings a dark hotel room into view. It’s high end, doesn’t smell like smoke, and someone left painkillers and a glass of water on the bedside table for him. Reaching for them slides the blankets down his body; whatever he did last night, it left him in just his boxer briefs.

“Shit.” He groans, forces himself to stand and lurch over to the trash can; no condom wrappers here. None in the bathroom either. Nor is there any sign of his clothing. There is a robe slung over a chair with a sticky note reading, “for Joseph” on it. He slings it on and then freezes; the T.V is on in the next room, but he doesn’t hear anyone moving around. What if the person who was here with him is in on it? Worse, what if they’re laying out there in a pool of drying blood, Joseph’s old gun left somewhere the cops will find it? Maybe this is all a set up.

Get it together, Stern.

He pushes open the wooden door, stepping into a massive living room. Aarti Sequeira is cooking something on the flat-screen T.V, and a large man in a bathrobe that matches his own is watching the show from behind an ironing board.

“Um, hello?”

The man turns: it’s Barclay, that’s what he said his name was, the guy who spilled his drink on his suit yesterday. The same suit he’s now ironing.

“Morning. You feeling okay?”

“No, but caffeine might fix that.”

Dark brown hair falls across his hosts face as he tilts his head towards the honest-to-go kitchen, “Coffee’s already going. Lemme just finish the slacks and then I’ll order us breakfast.”

“Buying me breakfast and doing my laundry? I must not have been that disappointing last night.”

“Dis–oh, oh no no, we didn’t do anything like that. I brought you back here because you were too drunk to stand and kept saying you didn’t have your room key. Only reason I have your clothes is you stripped as soon as you saw the bed. Fuck, do I really seem like the kind of guy who’d fuck someone who was out of it?”

Joseph sighs, “Not really, but I’m not having much luck predicting people’s decency lately.” He pours coffee into a white, ceramic mug, wondering if Barclay liked what he saw when Joseph shed his clothes. From the nearby window, the city stretches like a miniature beneath them, “where exactly are we?”

“Penthouse of the Bellagio. I, uh, I don’t usually stay places like this but when I have to be in a city for a few weeks, I like a bigger space. I’m opening my newest restaurant here tomorrow.”

“Congratulations.” He wanders to the glass, staring towards the edges of the desert.

“Thanks. Uh, I’m here at least another week and, uh, you can see just how huge this place is, so if you want I can send someone to go get your car and your stuff and bring it over here.”

“Excuse me?” He turns.

Barclay drapes his pants over a hanger, “It’s the least I can do.”

“You’re offering me a week long stay in a penthouse because, what, you feel bad for messing up my clothes?”

“I mean I do, but you made it clear last night that wasn’t what fucked you over. You just…you seem like you could use a friend.”

“Or you like the idea of a charity case?” He crosses his arms; if he grabs his clothes now, he can change in the lobby and leave the robe there.

Barclay sets his hands on the ironing board and takes a deep breath, “Look, where I come from you do what you can to look after people who need it. And buddy, you need someone on your side.”

It’s like someone is squeezing his heart, pulp oozing between their fingers, to hear it put so plainly. To have it offered so freely.

“I can take care of myself. Thank you for letting me stay the night, but I should get going.” He grabs for the hanger but Barclay is too fast, stepping back and blocking the front door.

“Whoa, hold on, you really should get some food in you.”

“I’ll get some on my way out.”

Barclays face falls. Joseph pretends not to care.

“Okay. Uh, do you have your hotel key? You couldn’t find it last night.”

The genuine concern confuses his defenses and so he blurts out, “I don’t have one, period. I've been staying in my car.”

For an eternity of a second, they stare at each other.

“I’m buying you breakfast.”

“I don’t need hel-”

“Joseph, tell me the truth” A firm edge enters Barclay’s voice, the counterpoint to his gentle demeanor making heat coil in his chest “are you hungry?”

“Yes.” He sags against the back of the couch, “I’m sorry, I, I’m not usually this rude. I’m, well, I’m not having a great month and everything feels like a trap. It’s been a trap.”

Barclay hangs his clothes on the ironing board; Joseph can tell he wants to touch him, comfort him, but is holding back because he doesn’t want to scare him.

“It’s not a trap. It’s just breakfast. Let’s start there and then we can talk about the other stuff, okay?”

“Okay.”

His stomach is still too knotted for food to sound good, so he lets Barclay order a selection so he can hopefully find something that doesn’t make him nauseous when he looks at it. He showers, returns to the living room to find a half dozen platters on the table, plus a silver pitcher of cream for his coffee.

“I didn’t have any stuff since I take mine black, but I thought you might.”

“I do, thank you.” He tips the cream into his mug as Barclay lifts the lids on different dishes. The breakfast sandwich calls his name, and Barclay slides it over to him with a smile. The first bite makes him moan embarrassingly loudly.

“God, I thought room service was supposed to be bad.”

“Not when it’s from one of my places.” Barclay is grinning.

“It’s just so good, I, christ when was the last time I ate something for pleasure?” He shoves as much of the sandwich into his mouth as he can, egg yolk running down his hand. Barclay slides a breakfast parfait over to himself along with a sticky bun, the pecans glistening like jewels.

“No wonder you can afford places like this, if these are your recipes people should be paying you a hundred dollars for the privilege of them.”

An adorable blush creeps from under an auburn beard, “Think you might just be really fucking hungry.”

“I’m going to turn into pac-man, just eat my way through your menu until I’m a sphere with eyes.”

Barclay laughs. Joseph looks down, a little embarrassed by his messy enthusiasm.

“Y’know, people love my food, but you might be the most fun person to cook for I’ve ever met.” He runs a thumb along his mug, “I, uh, I tend to cook when I’m stressed, and a restaurant opening tends to be stressful. It’d be nice to have someone to share with.”

Joseph stands, wiping his mouth and retrieving his wallet from the counter. He tosses his keys and Barclay catches them.

“My car is in the Motel 6 lot. Black sedan.”

Barclay smiles, slides a danish his way, and pulls out his phone.

—---------------------------------------------

“Is this Armani?” Joseph’s shock is palpable, even from the next room.

“Yeah. I had Ned and Dani pick what they thought was right for tonight. STK is pretty fucking fancy.” He leaves out the part where he thinks a fine man deserves fine things, and that all the designer labels in the world aren’t worthy to be worn on Joseph’s toned, tall frame.

He gets distracted midway through putting on his own suit by a text from Indrid, in which his friend is showing off the little ranger hats he made for his rats, Duck sporting two of them proudly on his shoulders. As he’s fiddling with his tie, Joseph walks into the room.

“It looks good, right?” He admires himself in the mirror with a smile, giving his hair a final slick back.

“You look like a fucking movie star.”

“Not really a career change I’d considered, but thank you for the compliment. Here, let me get that.” He steps into Barclay’s space, tying the knot in the copper silk without needing to even look at it, “I wish Aubrey and Dani could come, I like talking with them.”

“Mmhm” Barclay forces his voice to stay in his throat; he’s not going to come onto the hot guy he’s known for four days, not when he still spends much of his time looking like a hunting dog left to die in the woods by it’s master.

In spite of his initial wariness, Joseph’s woven himself seamlessly into Barclay’s life. They chat over breakfast, Joseph freshly showered from the gym, trade thoughts on marketing and movies over lunch, and sit close at dinner so Barclay doesn’t miss a moment of his friend’s corny humor.

A peril of being a celebrity, even if he’s just a minor one, is that having a gorgeous guy by his side at meals means some sites are already speculating about the nature of their relationship. His annoyance at the assumptions is almost drowned out by his flattery at the thought that people think he can land a man of Joseph’s caliber.

Tonight is no different, but he’s too busy enjoying the way Joseph looks when he eats (and the way he murmurs, “yours is better” in his ear after certain dishes) to care. He doesn’t have time to focus on gossip. Unless he comes up with a brilliant idea in the next few days, he needs to saturate his mind with memories of Joseph before the other man disappears from his life forever.

—-------------------------------------------------------------

“This…this is a job offer.” Joseph looks up at Ned.

“Right you are, my dear boy. You see, Barclay and I have been discussing the fact he needs an assistant and bodyguard for some time now.”

“Bodyguard? I know he’s famous, but he’s a six-foot tall puppy who makes his money feeding people. Who in the world would hurt him?”

“Ideally, no one. Without revealing too much that is not mine to share, our friend is from a…unique background. His parents had money and enemies in equal measure. That fact has never come back to bite him, and I hope it never does. But if the worst occurs, I can think of no one we’d rather have protecting him than a former federal agent.”

He allows himself a bitter smile, “You haven’t called about my resume yet, have you?”

“Barclay informed me of the difficulties you’ve had with your previous employer. If you say you were with the FBI, I’m inclined to trust you.”

“And the fact I apparently was in jail at the time I could have sworn I was already working in the field?”

Ned leans back in his chair, “I know a government man when I see one, Agent Stern. And even if you had been imprisoned…well, I think even men with checkered pasts deserve a second chance, don’t you?”

Joseph picks up a pen, “Yes, I really do.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It may be cheesy, but Barclay fucking loves the holidays. He loves planning the menus, loves picking out presents for his friends, loves decorating his home base in Tahoe. This year he loves it even more than usual, because Joseph is right beside him the whole time. Better yet, he’s actually relaxing now and then.

Barclay knows why it’s a struggle for him. One night in Vegas, walking the strip after Aubrey’s show at the Atlantis, he took a chance and asked how Joseph ended up stranded and broke in the first place.

“I was stationed at Nelles. I am, or I was, with the U.P, so you can work out what I was probably there for. There were things I saw that I couldn’t reconcile with my supposed mission to understand the mysteries of the world and keep people safe. I blew the whistle and paid the price.” He glances at Barclay, rainbows of light highlight the steel in his eyes, “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Joseph is an excellent assistant and Barclay does feel safer with him around. But if he’s honest, he spends as much time trying to stealth spoil him as he does working with him. Any food he wants is in the fridge, he’s re-vamped the home gym, and he’s set up a tailoring appointment for him to get some new clothes. Barclay rarely gets his own clothes made that way, but Joseph deserves the best.

Still, the last few days, tension is slipping back into his friend’s shoulders. Whenever Barclay asks what’s wrong, Joseph masterfully evades giving a real answer.

They’re in that strange stretch of days between Christmas and New Years, and are spending this snowy afternoon cleaning up the last of the gift wrapping supplies and cards from the living room. Barclay lifts up an envelope, thinking it’s empty, and then chuckles.

“Here, Joseph, this is yours. I ordered for you and forgot to put it with your other gifts.”

Joseph takes the white envelope, removing the small print of Bigfoot with a trans-pride gradient in place of the sunset. He smiles, but then the expression falters and he sets the art aside with a grimace.

“You don’t need to do all this.”

“All of what? I like getting my friends gifts. I mean, you saw all the seeds I gave Dani-”

“Yes, but none of them live with you, you don’t lavish them with luxuries every day, you didn’t give any of them a job you more or less made up out of pity!”

“Pity? Jesus Christ, Joseph, do really think I’d give this job to any random person who needed help? For crying out loud, you’re in charge of my safety, I asked Ned to hire you because I trusted you, because it was clear you’re hella competent and you’re a good guy!”

“Am I though?” He’s not yelling, which is more frustrating than if he was, “Or am I a failure who lost everything he ever worked for and just happens to be good looking enough to land a spot as a glorified watchdog?”

“I…Joseph, where is this coming from?”

Joseph tilts his chin up, “Look me in the eye and tell me you really believe I deserve everything you’re giving me. That you’re not just doing this out of some weird guilt, that, that you don’t think I’m just some sugar baby who needs shiny toys to be happy!”

Barclay rests his hands on his shoulders and meets his eyes, “I think you deserve love and care. That you were fending for yourself so fucking long you deserve someone to looking after you. And yeah, I really want the person doing that to be me. Is that not what you want?”

Joseph’s never hugged him, but now he wraps his arms around his waist and hides his face in his shoulder.

“I can’t live like that, Barclay. I have to be of use.”

“Isn’t that what the job is for?”

His friend looks up at him, eyes like cornflowers pelted by rain, “In theory. But, well, there are other people who could do this work in the way you need. I want…I want to be here for you in a way you deserve.”

Barclay’s halfway to asking what that way might be when Joseph presses their lips together. It’s over and done in a blink, his friend already trying to step away.

“I’m sorry I, um, that was inappropriate-”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Barclay growls and pulls him back into his arms, kissing his face in case he needs to tell him to stop. What he gets is Joseph nearly toppling them both over the couch in his eagerness to drag the cook closer.

“This what you need, babe?” He licks his lips when the pet name earns a little gasp, “you need me to take care of you? Make use of you.” He grinds their hips together for emphasis and Joseph grips the front of his shirt.

“Yes.”

An idea that’s circled the depths of his mind whenever he’s alone and surfaced whenever he looks at Joseph too long rears its head once more.

“On your knees.” He takes a half-step back as Joseph sinks obediently before him, “take off your sweater and stay right here.”

He doesn’t have any formal gear for this, but the gleam in Joseph's eyes tells him he’s heading in the right direction. He picks up the scissors and a spool of thick, silver ribbon.

“Hands behind your back.”

Joseph instantly crosses his wrists.

“Good boy.”

He’s never heard a whimper like the one that leaves the other man, at once needy and utterly ashamed of that need.

“You are a good boy, aren’t you baby? You do everything so well.” He kneels, sets the free end of the ribbon in Joseph's right hand, waits for him to grip it before unspooling more up his back and over his shoulder.

“Y’know, having money means I can get basically anything I want. If I don’t get the thing I’m hoping for for Christmas, I can just buy it myself. Except…” he hesitates, not quite sure where to loop the ribbon next.

Joseph offers him a dreamy smile, “Around my waist, big guy.”

He kisses his forehead, “Thanks, babe. Like I was saying, there’s one thing I couldn’t get this year; a gorgeous genius who needs someone to show him what he’s really good for. Someone to take control for a while.” He ties the ribbon in a bow around Joseph’s wrists, stands to admire his work. Joseph stares up at him, eyes blown wide and lips parted in excitement, silver criss-crossing his white t-shirt and showing off his upper body. His bound hands rests just above his ass, irresistible in his slacks.

“Merry fucking Christmas to me.” He pets Joseph’s hair, slicking stray strands back into place.

“Barclay…”

“Yeah, blue eyes?”

“Please, please tell me what to do, I want to be good for you, I’ll do anything, say anything, I’ll, I’ll…” he furrows his brow as Barclay unwraps a stray candy cane that came off a gift bag.

“I don’t want you to worry about any of that, okay babe? Not even about asking the right questions. But that’s kinda hard for you, isn’t it?”

Joseph nods, looking chagrined.

“Then it wouldn’t be fair of me to ask you to do it without help. Open up.”

Lips part and he puts the candy crosswise between them. Joseph moans, tips his head back into Barclay’s palm when he strokes his hair.

Wait, fuck, safeword.

“You need me to stop, snap twice okay?”

Another nod. Barclay returns to floor, kneeling behind the other man and kissing the back of his neck. He runs his hands under his shirt, dragging his nails along his sides. The reaction surprises him; Joseph thrashes, managing to stay in position as he does, and a moan bursts from his throat.

“You like that, babe? Maybe I’ve been going at this wrong, spoiling you. Maybe I oughta bend you over the kitchen table and spank you.”

“Mmmhmmm.” Joseph nods hurriedly, groans when Barclay scratches down along his collarbone.

“An, uh, overconfident fan sent me one of those little Wartenberg wheels. I could use that on you” He closes his eyes, keeps kissing a shaking back and clawing soft skin, “I’ve always wanted to tie someone to the bed and see if I could make them cry. Used to hate myself for that but with you…I bet it’d feel good to let it all out.”

More nodding, Joseph trying to grip his shirt with his bound hands. He wants him closer? Barclay can get closer.

He reaches around, unzipping Joseph’s slacks and sliding his hand under the elastic of his boxer briefs. Teasing the head of his dick gets a delectable moan, but sliding his fingers inside..

“MMOHod.”

“That’s it babe, let go, I got you.” He wraps his other arm around him, “gonna take such good care of you, c’mon, spread ‘em wider” He nudges his legs further with his knee. Joseph is moaning non-stop, head lolling back to rest on Barclay’s shoulder as he grinds along his palm. Minty spit is trailing down his chin, his hair is coming loose, and his eyes are fluttering closed as Barclay fucks him harder.

Moving his thumb up to his dick brings deeper, rougher gasps from his chest and Barclay kisses his neck, his cheek, the edge of his jaw as his body tenses in his hold and he cums on Barclay’s fingers. As Joseph shudders he pulls his hands away and practically rips his fly open.

“You’re not done just yet baby. Be a good boy and make me cum.”

“‘Ow? Moh!” Joseph actually laughs as Barclay forces his bound hands around his cock. He thrusts roughly into the warm, tight hold, gripping Joseph’s wrists like he’s a fleshlight.”

“Fuck, fuck this is good, see babe, this is what I deserve, this is what your fucking use is.” He bites his neck with a growl, “you were made to have a sugar daddy, wait, fuck-” his apology dies as Joseph moans weakly and nods. He jerks himself off harder, “that’s what scared you, isn’t it? Deep down you wanna be a kept man, wanna put out and get the best money can buy”

“Mmhmmm, mmhmm, shit” the remains of the candy drop down Joseph’s front, “only for you, know you’ll take care of me, want you to, Barclay, please”

“Fuck.” Is all he manages to get out as he cums across Joseph’s lower back.

Their knees give in comic sync, sending them flopping onto the rug, Joseph collapsing in his arms with a laugh.

“Christ, I’m a mess.”

“Join the club.” Barclay wipes sugar from his lovers chin, “worth it?”

“Completely. That was, well, it was exactly what I needed.”

“I’m glad. I’m uh, domming stuff is still kinda new to me; I lean towards subby but something about you makes me wanna…”

“Take charge?”

“Take care.” Barclay kisses him, “I meant all of that, Joseph. If the gifts, if the job is weirding you out and making you unhappy, I’ll knock it off, I’ll help you find somewhere else. But if it’s not I, I’d really like a chance to be your, uh,” he blushes, “sugar daddy.”

“I’d like that.” Joseph rests against him, breathing even, “I’m sorry, I lived with blinders on for so long that I still get jumpy when it seems like someone only has pure motives. So many don’t. But you do.”

“Uh, not sure this counts as pure.” He gestures to their mussed state.

“Pure enough. Come on, that candy gave me an idea” He helps Barclay up, “how about some cocoa?”

Barclay snickers, kisses him once, “Sounds great, babe.”

[insanityclause]

Guillermo Del Toro is no stranger to widespread acclaim, especially from his ride or die legion of fans. Pan’s Labyrinth, the Hellboy duology, the list of genre-bending, timeless masterworks goes on. Coming off his 2 Oscar wins for The Shape of Water in 2018, and moving into finally releasing his animated Pinocchio film from the pits of development hell along with an adaption of Nightmare Alley next year, this couldn’t be a more thriving time for the Mexican auteur. Though amongst all the praise and glory, something has still felt missing these last handful of years. Besides his Oscar-winning film, Del Toro’s works prior to the 2010s are what generally buzz conversations of his genius. Those aforementioned films did, after all, skyrocket his name to fame. His titles from the last decade, however, are just as crucial to the Del Toro canon and emphasize his greater influence as a filmmaker. One, in particular, has seemingly gotten by in its young life at the hands of few. But now that Crimson Peak has officially turned 5, it’s time to turn that few into many.

Del Toro’s trifecta of the 2010s (not counting his work on television) stand out vastly from one another. Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water: all love letters penned from the ‘nichest’ corners of his mind. These 3 arguably boast more diversity in genre than Del Toro’s 5 films of the 2000s (3 comic-book adaptations and 2 Spanish-set fantasies). Not a criticism, as established, those films now flaunt an immovable place within the cultural zeitgeist. Though with a career notoriously marked by a slew of unrealized projects (more on this later), it’s not often recognized how the ideas that did make the cut still lead a crystal clear trajectory in Del Toro’s growth as a storyteller. In the eyes of many, Del Toro pulls ideas out of a hat and gambles on which one actually sees the light of day. Humorous sure, but this is far from the truth.

Each Del Toro project feels like a pivotal step for what would come later, take his work on Trollhunters paving the way for his upcoming first animated feature for instance. Despite this trajectory, Crimson Peak feels criminally unsung 5 years later. Pacific Rim continued its life with a sequel and more planned spin-offs. The Shape of Water literally set a new bar for the Academy. This leaves Crimson Peak feeling like the pushed aside middle child of this trio. This isn’t a call for a sequel, and ‘underrated’ gets tossed around very loosely in modern film discussion. But for cinema as quintessential as Crimson Peak, it just doesn’t feel like it gets enough recognition – especially when the current film industry is seeing less big-budget, R-rated projects heavily steeped in genre.

You can easily trace Crimson Peak‘s short-lived spotlight back to its marketing. The timely October release and scare-heavy trailers sold a classic ‘Haunted House’ horror, when in reality, Del Toro’s film is a Gothic Romance. Set in the early 1900s, an aspiring American writer, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), is swept away by a promising English baronet, Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). They discover true love and marry, leading the young newlywed to her husband’s decaying mansion in the English hills. The age-old manor is slowly, but surely, sinking in red clay – the very source of Sharpe’s wealth. Here Edith is forced to live with her new sister-in-law, Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain), a reserved yet commanding force who works to hide the true nature of the house and its endless secrets. Mystery lingers as untamed lust, envy and greed unfold between the mansion walls, not leaving enough room for the restless red-colored spirits who haunt them. When it snows on this cursed hill, the clay surfaces, making it seem as if the land bleeds. Given more than just red clay rises from beneath, a deeper meaning is given to the place locals call ‘Crimson Peak’.

Just like the clay at the center of its mystery, Crimson Peak is an amalgamation, but of genre. It would be novice to expect anything less from Del Toro. The Gothic elements call back to many classic tales, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s adaption of Rebecca and, of course, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. On the horror side, homage is paid to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. It’s a devilish blend that only this filmmaker could pull off so beautifully. And oh is Crimson Peak so god damn gorgeous. To contrast common period pieces that go for muted or sepia-toned color palettes, Del Toro turns the saturation on high. The result is an eye-popping picture that heightens the core emotions at play: fear, pain, and more importantly, love. Simply mesmerizing, avid fans will be quick to recognize the same shades of golden yellows, sea greens, and ruby reds found in Del Toro’s other works. It feels right at home in his filmography visually, while packing its own unique punch.

Red, a color mainly associated with passion, here instead intricately represents endless bloodshed. A twist that would suggest Crimson Peak is just as equal a horror film as it is a love story. Regardless of what might have been initially marketed to audiences in 2015, this film is a Gothic Romance from start to finish. Del Toro himself made this distinction clear to the studio from the get-go and repeatedly draws the line whenever given the chance. Yet, much like the rest of his repertoire, Crimson Peak utilizes horror not as a means to an end, but as a means for introspection. Yes, there are classic horror conventions such as jump scares, but it couldn’t be more obvious that Crimson Peak isn’t trying to evoke the same kind of high and dry fear other films heavily rely on. Del Toro is actively trying to get under your skin to achieve a hell of a cathartic viewing experience.

The ghosts of our past and how we let them define us is a core theme in Crimson Peak. The film opens on a flashback in which Edith is visited by the charcoal black ghost of her recently deceased mother. The nature of this visit sets the groundwork for the rest of the narrative. Mother Ghost, dreadful in appearance, doesn’t necessarily come to haunt her child, but to warn her. “Beware of Crimson Peak,” she says. The way Edith takes in this otherworldly occurrence, and those that follow, sets her apart from everyone else in the film. Wherein others flee from or lock away the ghosts of their past, she learns how to wear them on her sleeves – reaching out to the dead multiple times in the story, each attempt more confident than the last. Not too dissimilar from what Del Toro was playing with before, Jaeger pilots confronting past trauma in their quest to defeat Kaiju. At the same time, the transformation that occurs in Crimson Peak when neglected demons consume you from the inside – humans becoming the true monsters of their supernatural tales – would only be amplified in Del Toro’s next film.

Every minute detail coincides with this strategized, therapeutic use of horror. And to the everyday moviegoer trained by common tropes, Crimson Peak is quite deceptive. Just like Mother Ghost at the beginning of the film, the red spirits never manifest with the intent to cause physical harm, but instead to give messages and guide. Red clay seeps down the walls and the mansion ‘breathes’ as the country winds burst in. The house feels alive in the most cinematic sense possible, but the case as to it being ‘horrifying’ is not so black and white. Expertly designed to every inch, there is plenty of beauty to be found in the manor. Much of it has just been corrupted by a debauched affair – keeping this story rooted as a Gothic Romance. Subversion has always been the name of Del Toro’s game, and it’s within Crimson Peak that he uses it to mix genre so well while still staying true to his vision.

Though Crimson Peak saw Del Toro take subversion to a new level, notably with his main character. This film is a key chapter in his overarching legacy; not the first of his works to be lead by a defiant woman, but the first to have the female hero entangled in an unabashed love story. Effortlessly played by the brilliant Mia Wasikowska, the not so damsel in distress at the center of Crimson Peak is one of the most significant characters of Del Toro’s career. In discussing Gothic Romance with The Mary Sue in 2015, Del Toro explains: “This is quintessentially a female genre, that was written with characters that were very complex, very strong. I wanted to make a movie in which to some degree I recuperated and, maybe if possible, enhanced all that.” And enhanced he did for every central male character acts in more distress than Edith ever does, even when she is literally at the edge of death. A more than welcome change of pace that makes for a more resonating film.

Edith’s willingness to tackle the unknown is captivating and her vigor inspiring. But she isn’t absolved of frailty. For someone who comes to terms with facing the dead, her sheer vulnerability to heartbreak and suffering brings great humanity to the role. Hardly recognized, but Edith is one of Del Toro’s most self-reflective protagonists. A marginalized writer, inspired by the great Mary Shelley no less, in the midst of drafting her magnum opus, she immediately faces backlash from her novel’s inclusion of the paranormal. “It’s not [a ghost story]. It’s more a story with a ghost in it. The ghost is just a metaphor… for the past,” she says – giving Crimson Peak a rare Del Toro tongue-in-cheek quality that he utilizes until the credits roll. Meta enough given that the crimson ghosts Edith later encounters are, in fact, echoes of the past, but when looking back on the public’s initial perception of the film, it creates a charming, albeit ironic, wit only found here.

Additionally, when tracing back to Crimson Peak‘s pre-production days, you’ll find something even more profound. Penned by Del Toro and an old collaborator, screenwriter Matthew Robbins; this was the first script completed after the release of Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006. The two first worked together an entire decade earlier on Mimic, which has now gone down as the only film Del Toro has truly lost to studio interference. Del Toro was supposed to direct Crimson Peak in the late 2000s, but along came Hellboy II and his involvement in launching The Hobbit (another R.I.P). Through this hectic time, Del Toro would reunite with Robbins in writing 2010’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, directed by Troy Nixey. However, the two also spent time together writing something else: an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness.

For those unfamiliar, At the Mountains of Madness is by far one of, if not, the most tragic of this filmmaker’s unrealized projects. After spending years trying to get this dream off the ground, Del Toro had the following to say to Empire in 2010: “It doesn’t look like I can do it. It’s very difficult for the studios to take the step of doing a period-set, R-rated, tentpole movie with a tough ending and no love story.” The payoff of Crimson Peak being a period-set, R-rated, tentpole film only 5 years after that statement couldn’t be sweeter. In the film, Edith is told to insert a love story for the better of her novel. Del Toro is obviously commenting on expectations tied to gender here, but you can’t help but wonder if he’s also referring to one of the biggest thorns in his own writing career – one that also ties back to writing partner Matthew Robbins.

When faced with the question, Del Toro has consistently said that all of his films carry an inherent Mexican touch just from the utter fact that they come from him, and Crimson Peak is no different. Whether if deriving from his personal experiences with tackling genre, both on and off paper, or from actual events tied to his life – Del Toro reimagines two separate ghostly encounters experienced by him and his mother through Edith – this film beams with the very essence of Del Toro’s soul. Perhaps most personified when the marginalized writer gets bloody and fights back with nothing but her pen, a visual that cements this as an important stepping stone in his career. It’s a fascinating through-line, connecting to very different segments of his canon while still defining a clear path. The mending of our wounds and subversion of gender roles is continued from Pacific Rim, while setting a bold new course for delving into unfiltered, mature romance in The Shape of Water.

This is only a fraction of what makes Crimson Peak quintessential Guillermo Del Toro. Gothic Romance has long been part of this auteur’s framework, and you would be remiss not to indulge in all of its glorious melodrama. Even if it isn’t your cup of tea, Del Toro will make it so. Reaching its 5-year anniversary, the film hits stronger than before. The intricate motifs, compelling use of practical effects (complete with the involvement of Del Toro veteran Doug Jones), and cathartic use of horror make for something that has yet to be replicated by a major studio. Its lacking box office performance suggests that maybe the world merely wasn’t ready for this masterwork? But just like its characters, we hold the power to define what comes next. Del Toro himself has previously ranked Crimson Peak as one of the 3 best films he’s ever made, and straight-up called it the most beautiful. Take his word and dive in no strings attached, because who knows when we’ll get another large scale, unapologetic Gothic Romance with this much grandeur.

[rorykillmore]

alright for reference (and so you all can bear witness to how far denny has fallen tonight) here are some of my warrior cat au roster

mothshadow from shadowclan! complete with distinctive/symbolic markings. idk much about mothshadow yet except that she’s probably a problem and has a mess of a rivalry/friendship with a certain thunderclan cat

snowflight, riverclan medicine cat! she probably had one of those ~tragic forbidden love~ medicine cat arcs that ended messily, given her inspiration’s luck with romance.  also was probably part of a misadventurous friendship trio as an apprentice (would barry and cisco be in riverclan?) kind of distant and aloof but gets along well with resident grumpy warrior winterheart

blossomstar, a skyclan leader at... some point! given skyclan’s history she’s probably one of the descendants that drifted off somewhere, later got found and reunited, and rediscovered her heritage and all that. eventually working her way up to become leader. you know the drill. i like to think maybe cat moonwatcher would eventually be her deputy...

and foxstrike! devoted riverclan warrior. known for her loyalty and courage but has always been a little too... headstrong to be a mentor.  when she finally gets landed with her first apprentice, petalpaw, she secretly has no idea what the fuck to do with her. will this end in disaster.... ?  probably. 

[regnum-plantae]

Chionodoxa gigantea (syn. C. luciliae), Asparagaceae

If you are new to my blog you probably don’t know I have a very weak spot for blue flowers, and early spring is a great period to enjoy many short lived sky-coloured beauties. A true show-stopper is known as Lucile’s glory-of-the-snow and with its lilac-blue tepals, white centre and yellow stamens, it really ticks all the boxes for me. Native to western and southern Turkey, this geophyte is very hardy if grown in free-draining soil and full sun exposure, but like many others can resent excessive wetness, something to always keep in mind here in rainy Scotland and other wet-cool areas. Given the right conditions it can easily self-sow and naturalise on rockeries, gravel gardens or even lawns, but if very good drainage is hard to provide in the ground then a container is the next best option. If blue is not your colour, you can opt for white, mauve or pink flowered cultivars, like ‘Pink Giant’, which I photographed at work -not nearly as impressive to me as the regular blue species from Glasgow Botanic Gardens.

Although closely related to the genus Scilla, and somewhat similar to species like S. siberica and S. mischtschenkoana, a distinguishing trait is how the stamens are clustered together at the centre of the flower, something you can easily notice if you compare these photos with those two posts from last spring.    

[crzcorgi]

Christmas Past

 a Christmas story for @cherieann-2001

Under a cut due to length

  Christmas, I didn’t give a flying fuck about it, but my baby sister was going on and on about.

 “Negan, it’s the most wonderful day of the year! How can you not be excited! Maybe it will snow, how perfect would that be?!”

 She began dancing around me, humming one of those Christmas songs

 “Cherbear, my sweet baby sister…”

 “We’re twins Negan, I’m only a minute younger than you.” She tapped my cheek, a smirk on her sweet face.

 “Still younger, and you’ll always be my baby sis. Anyway, as I was saying. Things are different, you know that sweetheart. And while seeing you so fucking happy makes me happy, I just don’t see the point of celebrating. I’m sorry baby sis.”

I started walking towards the stairs, I had an appointment with a couple of shitheads that thought they were above the rules. I felt bad, I know how much Christmas used to mean to her, our family kinda went all fucking out. But shit, I lost all that spirit when the end came.

 “Hey, boss!” Fuck, it was Dwight. I’d been trying to avoid that freaky faced fucker. Asshole thought he was good enough for my baby sister. Fuck, he most certainly was not!

 Sighing, I turned to listen to whatever shit Dwighty was going to be spewing my way. “Yes, Dwight?”

 “So, I found some cool stuff on the run and I know Cherbear would love them, so I thought…”

 “What the fuck did you just call her?!” I was fucking livid.

 “Uh, Cherie? I’m sorry sir.”

 “Yeah, you better fucking be! So what’s this shit you’re talking about?”

 “Just some stuff I know she’d like. Maybe you could give it to her for Christmas?”

 I liked that idea, but fuck I didn’t want to owe him in anyway. Shit.

 “Yeah, that might be nice, D. Thanks.” Ugh.

 “Okay, I’ll bring them up to your room later on.” He waved, turning to walk away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I was in a meeting, discussing a new community we had just acquired when Simon pointed out the window.

 “Yes, Simon, the outdoors. Why the fuck are you pointing like a fucking toddler?”

 “It’s snowing out, pretty heavy too. Having seen that shit in years. Huh.”

 I turned, looking out the window to see the snow. And fuck if Simon wasn’t right. It was snowing. My sweet girl must be thrilled. All my Saviors running over to look out the windows like a bunch of fucking kindergartners.

 “Alright you fucking slackers, meeting’s over. Go do some real work!”

 I headed upstairs, checking to see if my sweet sister had seen the snow yet.

 “Sir!!” Fat Joseph was running, well, walking as fast as his fucking legs could carry him, his arms loaded with something, presents?!

 “What is it Fat Joey? I’m kinda headed somewhere.”

 He was trying to catch his breath so he could answer me, and I was growing impatient, tapping my foot.

 “Sorry sir, uh, these are from…Dwight.” He handed me a bunch of hastily wrapped presents. “Said there for your sister, from you? I’m not sure.” He panted.

 I took the packages. “Thanks Joseph, go enjoy the rest of your afternoon, it’s fucking Christmas.”  I slapped his back, heading to my room.

 “Thank you sir, Merry Christmas!”

 Unlocking my door, I stepped inside, placing the presents down. I looked around a bit startled by the sight. Lights everywhere, blinking fucking Christmas lights, strung up on my shelves, hanging around the windows, off my bed posts.

 “Cherbear, you here?” It had to be her doing, no one else would dare.

 “Negan!” She came running from the bathroom, throwing herself into my arms, causing me to almost fall back on my ass. “Did you see the snow?! Can you believe it?!”

 “Yes, sweetheart, I most certain-fucking-ly did see it. What’s with the lights, huh?”

 “It’s Christmas, and it’s so gloomy and dark in here. Now it’s bright and festive! Do you like it?” She was still in my arms, hugging me like a fucking koala bear. Just like when we were kids.

 “Gloomy and fucking dark is my thing, baby sis. And I guess it’s okay. For today.” I glanced around, seeing something I hadn’t seen when I first entered. Lucille, all decked out in her own set of Christmas lights. “Cherbear, care to tell me what this is?” I had walked over and picked up Lucille in all of her Christmas glory and pointing it at her.

 “Doesn’t she look spectacular?! Look at her, all bright and sparkling!” I turned to place Lucille back. How could I be mad? She was so proud, so happy with what she had fucking done. When I turned back around to look at her, she was gone. What the ever livin’ fuck?!

 “Merry Christmas Negan!” She had gone into her adjacent bedroom, coming out with a big box, wrapped in fancy wrapping paper.

 She was having trouble carrying it, so I ran over to help. “Fuck sweetheart, what is this?”

 “Just a little something for my favorite brother!” We placed it down by the sofa.

 “I’m your only brother baby sis, and you didn’t have to give me anything, you know that.”

 “Yes, I did! Open it!!!” She was practically bouncing, so fucking excited.

 “Okay, I’ll open it.” I sat down, carefully tearing the paper from the box.

 “Just rip it Neg, for goodness sake!” She came over, ripping at the paper, making quick work of it.

 “Jesus tiny, easy!”

 “Negan! Don’t call me that!” She slapped my arm. “Open it!!!!”

 I opened up the box to see frames, a lot of them. I was fucking confused.

 “Take one out!” She was fucking vibrating at this point.

 “Okay, sweetheart, hold your fucking horses!” I laughed.

 I took out one, turning it over to see a picture I had thought had been lost a long time ago, with every other piece of our pasts. It was Cherbear and I, sitting in front of our family’s Christmas tree, matching pajamas and big stupid fucking grins on our faces.

 “Fuck girl, where did you find this?!” I could feel a flood of memories invading my fucking head.

 “Doesn’t matter, pull more out! Look at them Neg!”

 I did as she commanded, I always did. Each frame containing another photograph, a Christmas memory. The portraits of a happier time. I wiped my cheek, fucking allergic to the dust.

 “I honestly don’t know what to say baby sis, I’m fucking speechless. I’ve gotta get someone from maintenance to hang these up.” I sniffed. “Come here.” I held my arms open for her.

 Climbing into my lap, her head snuggled into my chest. “I miss those days so much Negan. I miss Mom & Daddy.” She began to shake, I knew the tears were coming. Hugging her tight to me, I let out a deep breath.

 “I know sweetie, I do too. I miss a lot.” I glanced over at Lucille. “But we still have each other baby sis.” I kissed the top of her head, trying to think of something to cheer her up.

 “Okay, go get something warm on.” I let go of her, urging her to stand up.

 “Warm? What for?” She looked up at me, sniffing.

 Wiping her cheeks, I answered. “We’re going up on the roof, check out the fucking snow.”

 I saw her face instantly brighten. “Really Neg? Yes!” She jumped up, turning to go, but quickly turning back to throw her arms around me in a fucking bone crushing hug. “Thank you Negan! For being the best brother a girl could ever want!” With a kiss on my cheek, she took off for her room.

That tiny fucking powerhouse had me wrapped around her little finger. Always, since the beginning. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Merry Christmas Cherbear, my sweet baby sis.

[myphillyrealty]

Take a look back at the glory days of the Poconos

There’s nothing we like more than a good solid dose of nostalgia

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2015 and has been updated with the most recent information.

Not too long ago, the Poconos were one the hippest destinations east of the Mississippi. What began as one of America’s honeymoon (or post-honeymoon) destinations of choice, more elaborate and family-friendly resorts started opening in the 1940s and 1950s.

The first commercial ski area, Big Boulder, was established in 1946 and after not too long, the Poconos resorts were swinging pan-seasonal vacation destinations, welcoming guests of all social strata. Unity House welcomed union workers from around the Northeast until its closure in the 1990s, and Jackie Gleason was a regular at The Shawnee Inn (Lucille Ball, and Ed Sullivan, too). John F. Kennedy even made a trip to the Poconos in the early 1960s.

Photo by Hans Knopf/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) members, many in swimwear, as they stand, talk, or swim from a narrow pier at the union-owned resort called ‘Unity House’ in the Pocono Mountains, Bushkill, Pennsylvania, summer 1938.

Summer in the Poconos meant boating, camping, sun-bathing, and golf, and yuletide was the annual harbinger for fun-fueled winters chock full of snow-shoeing, skiing, and getting warm the old-fashioned way. But, “the Poconos ain’t what it used to be.” Per Katherine Wisniewski for Curbed:

Mount Airy Lodge closed in 2001. White Pines Resort suspended operations in the 1990s. Brookdale Resort is on the cusp on becoming a time share. Penn Hills Resort shuttered in 2009. Poconos Gardens Lodge was demolished. And Paradise Stream Resort’s rebranding insists that the old love hotel is “a hotter, hipper, destination than ever before.” The demise of old-school Poconos loves nests could be blamed on the rise of Vegas as a tourist attraction, AirBnB, and/or affordable cruise lines.

When business in many of the Poconos’ groovier destinations dropped off, many resorts were closed, and either abandoned or demolished to make way for suburban development.

Flickr/Jonathan Haeber

An old brochure for Buck Hill Inn touts its heated indoor pool. Below, the Buck Hill Inn’s pool in 2012.

Flickr/Jonathan Haeber

Any mention of the Poconos now drums up images of miles-long ski-lines and indoor water parks. The Poconos are now decidedly “family-friendly.”

But because there’s nothing we like more than a good solid dose of nostalgia, here’s a look back at the glory days of the Poconos, when dinners were formal and drenched in champagne, ping-pong was played without irony, the fire-side sing-alongs warm, and the Jacuzzis even hotter.

Photo by George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

In 1971, these newlyweds are photographed kissing in the heart-shaped tub on honeymoon at Cove Haven resort in the Poconos.

The sad decline of Poconos resort towns [City Lab]

The heart-shaped bed [Curbed]

History of the Poconos [Lustgarten on the Lake]

Abandoned honeymoon resorts [Hub Pages]

Vintage Poconos Resorts Postcards [Flickr]

from http://philly.curbed.com/

The post Take a look back at the glory days of the Poconos appeared first on MyPhillyRealty.

http://myphillyrealty.com/2017/05/25/take-a-look-back-at-the-glory-days-of-the-poconos/

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

The St James Family Tree (x)​

( aside from Jeremy and Joy, the entire St James family exists universally throughout all of my glee fics, though they so far only have set appearances in Get It Right, SOWK, By Its Very Definition, and Corner Of The Sky!  More details about everyone below the cut )

shoutout to @the-witching-ash for helping me develop this entire clusterfuck of a family

Tag List: want to be added?

Judith & Joseph St James ( Meryl Streep & Pierce Brosnan ):

The parents of the most unadjusted and emotionally unavailable family in all of Ohio

Jenny St James ( Nicole Kidman ):

Married to Lloyd Kline ( Colin Firth )

Judith & Joseph’s eldest child 

Neglectful mother and trophy wife to a DC politician

Johanna St James ( Kate Reinders ):

Married to Chad Channing ( Chris Pine )

The middle St James child 

Professional absentee parent dreaming of her non-existent Broadway glory days

Former roommates with Shelby Corcoran and Cassie July

Joshua St James ( Zac Efron ):

Sometimes dating Nell Baker ( Anne Hathaway )

The youngest of the St James siblings

Real estate agent in Lima

Jeremy’s guardian, legally as of s2

Part of the long-suffering parent club with Burt, Carol, and Brad

His apartment is well known as being a safe place for glee club members to crash if they’re avoiding being at home and he does have a ranked list of all of the club members

Roman Kline ( Aaron Tveit ):

Jenny & Lloyd’s son / Amelie’s twin

Dalton alum, Cooper Anderson’s high school roommate

Dating Cooper Anderson & Ash Astor ( Anna Kendrick )

Went to law school and is a licensed lawyer but he’s working actor in LA and sometimes New York

( also features in a their-canon-compliant conceptual Cooper & Roman Dalton era fic )

Amelie Kline ( Lily James):

Jenny & Lloyd’s daughter / Roman’s twin

Went to Crawford Country

In an eventual relationship with her high school best friend, Lindsay Wright ( Brittany Snow )

Bartender & manager at Scandals

Living with her Uncle Josh in Lima while she attends university

Jesse St James ( Jonathan Groff ):

Johanna’s son, presumably with Chad sometimes not though and Jeremy and Joy’s older brother

An honorary member of the warbler inner circle since he was 10

Carmel High alum, UCLA dropout, now coaching Vocal Adrenaline

Learning to be a better brother

In an eventual relationship with former rival Lucille Newton ( Anna Camp ) 

Joy Schuester ( Lili Reinhart ):

featured in By Its Very Definition ( and various chaotic crossover concepts )

Jesse’s half sister through their father, April Rhodes’ surprise daughter

Easily adopted into the St James clan by Josh, Amelie, Roman, and Jesse

Full time disaster

The best thing Johanna ever did for Jesse was not have Chad as his father, only so that he could have Joy as a sister

Jeremy St James ( Joshua Bassett ):

featured in Corner Of The Sky ( and various chaotic crossover concepts )

Johanna & Chad’s youngest son and Jesse’s younger brother

An honorary member of the warbler inner circle since he was 5

lives with his Uncle Josh and cousin Amelie

Absolute sunshine despite an overabundance of family trauma

Currently growing a backbone

[anais-georgeault-blog]

Crimson Peak or the grand final of gothic novels

Crimson Peak is a movie released in 2015 and directed by Guillermo Del Toro. As usual in his movies, he pays tribute to a movie genre or theme : Pacific Rim was a reference to kaiju Japanese movies, The Shape of Water recalled romances between a human and a monster, and Crimson Peak pays tribute to the Gothic Novel.

The manor of Crimson Peak, the ultimate gothic decor

In Crimson Peak, Guillermo del Toro pays a tribute to the Gothic genre by quoting a myriad of references from Jane Eyre. Edith is the typical female protagonist of the genre : she is a young, naïve and inexperienced maiden. Like Jane Eyre, she seems different of what society expected from women during the XIXth century. Indeed she has a lot of imagination and she is unsatisfied about being a wife. She fell in love and married Sir Thomas who is the stereotypical love interest of the gothic genre : he is an handsome, charming and mysterious gentleman. His past is unclear, and as soon as he appears on screen, we guess we should not trust him too much. His sister, Lady Lucille, is just as suspicious and seducing as him. As soon as Edith and Thomas are married, the Sharpes take her to Crimson Peak, a damaged, secluded and dready, but beautiful, gothic manor, similar to Thornfield in Charlotte Brontë’s novel. And of course, there are ghosts : just like Bertha is the counterpart of Jane Eyre, the ghosts are Edith’s alter-egos and they seem to warn her that she is in danger. Therefore, Guillermo del Toro sets up the gloomy and charming atmosphere of the Gothic Novel by quoting one of the most famous story of the genre, Jane Eyre.

 However, Crimson Peak is not only a tribute to the genre, but an exagerated combination of everything that characterizes it. If we compare the evolution of the Gothic genre with the three stages of art movements (emerging phase, flourishment phase and decay or decadent phase), then Crimson Peak would be the ultimate example of this decadent phase. Indeed, every element of the gothic genre is glorified, as if the movie was showing the reflection of the gothic genre in both a distorting mirror and a magnifying glass. Then, some aspects of the movie become caricatural and grotesque. For example, ghosts in Gothic novels are mysterious, but in Crimson Peak they are obvious and frightening, by the use of crimson red and jumpscares. Another exagerated element of the Gothic Novel is the manor in ruins : Crimson Peak is sinking into a bloody red mud, it is snowing through the decayed roof and it is full of dark corners, creaking stairs and secret rooms. 

As a consequence, it is as if Crimson Peak was the grand finale of the gothic genre, that finished in a blaze of glory.

[mattiastolvanen]

Lucile's glory-of-the-snow, Scilla luciliae or Chionodoxa luciliae, spring flower at Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden in Helsinki, Finland, isokevättähti kukkii Kaisaniemen kasvitieteellisessä puutarhassa, April 2015 huhtikuu.