#Send Love and Romance Flowers to India

[craftyinfluencerfun]

Flower Delivery in Bangalore Adding Elegance to Every Occasion

Bangalore, often referred to as the "Garden City of India," is known for its lush greenery, vibrant culture, and fast-paced lifestyle. With a population that thrives on celebrations, from birthdays and anniversaries to festivals and corporate milestones, flowers hold a special place in expressing emotions. The convenience of flower delivery in Bangalore has revolutionized how people share their love, gratitude, and joy. Whether you want to surprise a loved one or brighten someone’s day, online flowers delivery services in Bangalore offer a seamless way to send fresh and beautiful blooms for any occasion.

The Rise of Flower Delivery Services in Bangalore

The advent of online flowers delivery has transformed the gifting culture in Bangalore. These services provide a hassle-free way to select, customize, and deliver exquisite flower arrangements to any corner of the city. With Bangalore’s busy streets and packed schedules, having flowers delivered right to the recipient’s doorstep saves time and effort while ensuring a meaningful gesture.

Why Choose Flower Delivery in Bangalore?

Here are some compelling reasons why residents and visitors prefer using flower delivery in Bangalore:

1. Wide Range of Flower Options

Bangalore’s online florists offer an extensive collection of flowers to cater to every taste and occasion. From classic roses and elegant lilies to exotic orchids and cheerful carnations, there’s something for everyone. Whether you’re looking for a romantic bouquet for Valentine’s Day, a cheerful arrangement for a birthday, or a formal centerpiece for corporate events, you’ll find the perfect option.

2. Same-Day and Midnight Delivery

Timely delivery is crucial, especially for surprises and last-minute plans. Most flower delivery in Bangalore services offer same-day delivery, ensuring that your gift arrives fresh and on time. For those extra-special moments, midnight delivery services help you surprise your loved ones at the stroke of midnight, making the occasion even more memorable.

3. Customization and Personalization

A personalized bouquet adds a unique touch to your gift. With online services, you can customize your arrangement by selecting specific flowers, colors, and styles. Additionally, you can pair flowers with chocolates, greeting cards, stuffed toys, or even cakes to create a thoughtful and complete gift package.

4. Convenience and Accessibility

One of the most significant advantages of online flowers delivery is the convenience it offers. You can browse through various floral options, select your preferred arrangement, and place an order—all from the comfort of your home or office. This eliminates the need to visit multiple florists or worry about delivery logistics, especially in a bustling city like Bangalore.

5. Affordable Options for Every Budget

Online flower delivery services in Bangalore cater to all budgets, offering affordable bouquets and premium floral arrangements. Many platforms also provide discounts and seasonal deals, making it easier to send thoughtful gifts without overspending.

Popular Occasions for Flower Delivery in Bangalore

Festivals and Celebrations Flowers are an integral part of Indian festivals like Diwali, Pongal, and Christmas. Flower delivery in Bangalore allows you to send festive floral arrangements to loved ones, adding a touch of elegance to the celebrations.

Corporate Events Bangalore’s thriving corporate culture often calls for professional gifts. Floral arrangements are perfect for congratulating colleagues, appreciating employees, or enhancing the décor of office events.

Romantic Gestures Whether it’s Valentine’s Day, an anniversary, or just a regular day when you want to express your love, flowers are a timeless symbol of romance. Online delivery makes it easy to send a bouquet that conveys your feelings perfectly.

Birthdays and Anniversaries A bouquet of fresh flowers is an ideal gift to make someone’s birthday or anniversary extra special. Pair it with a heartfelt message or a box of chocolates for a memorable surprise.

Sympathy and Condolences Flowers are also a thoughtful way to express sympathy and support during difficult times. Online florists in Bangalore offer subtle and elegant arrangements to convey your condolences.

How to Order Flowers Online in Bangalore

The process of ordering flowers online is simple and user-friendly:

Select Your Flowers: Browse through the wide range of floral arrangements available. Choose based on the occasion, recipient’s preferences, or your budget.

Add Personal Touches: Customize your bouquet with additional elements like chocolates, greeting cards, or personalized messages.

Provide Delivery Details: Enter the recipient’s address, select the delivery date and time, and opt for services like same-day or midnight delivery if needed.

Make Payment: Complete the payment through secure methods like credit cards, digital wallets, or net banking.

Why Bangalore Residents Love Online Flowers Delivery

Bangaloreans embrace technology in every aspect of their lives, and flower delivery services are no exception. These services make it easier to maintain connections with loved ones, even amidst the city’s hectic pace. Whether it’s sending a token of appreciation, celebrating a milestone, or simply spreading joy, online flowers delivery ensures that your heartfelt gesture is executed flawlessly.

Conclusion

In a city as lively and diverse as Bangalore, flowers remain a universal way to celebrate, comfort, and connect. With the convenience of flower delivery in Bangalore, you can effortlessly share the beauty of fresh blooms with your loved ones, no matter the occasion. So, the next time you want to brighten someone’s day or make an event unforgettable, trust online flowers delivery to bring a touch of elegance and joy.

[myflowertree1]

Sending Flowers to Mumbai: A Guide to Expressing Love and Affection from Afar

In today's interconnected world, distance no longer has to be a barrier to expressing your love and affection. Whether it's for a special occasion like a birthday, anniversary, or just to brighten someone's day, sending flowers is a timeless gesture that transcends geographical boundaries. If you're looking to send flowers to Mumbai, one of India's bustling metropolises, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to make your gesture as seamless and heartfelt as possible.

Why Send Flowers to Mumbai? Mumbai, often referred to as the "City of Dreams," is a vibrant and diverse metropolis that never sleeps. It's a melting pot of cultures, traditions, and lifestyles, where people celebrate both traditional festivals and modern occasions with equal enthusiasm. Sending flowers to Mumbai is a wonderful way to connect with loved ones, friends, or colleagues who call this bustling city home.

Choosing the Right Flowers Before you send flowers to Mumbai, it's essential to consider the preferences and tastes of the recipient. Do they have a favorite flower or color? Are you sending flowers for a specific occasion? Roses are classic choices for expressing love and romance, while lilies convey purity and elegance. Gerbera daisies are perfect for adding a pop of color and cheerfulness to any occasion. Consider the symbolism of different flowers to ensure your gesture is meaningful and thoughtful.

Selecting a Reputable Florist When sending flowers to Mumbai, choosing a reputable florist is key to ensuring the freshness and quality of your floral arrangement. Look for florists with positive reviews and a wide selection of flowers to choose from. Many online florists offer delivery services to Mumbai, making it convenient to send flowers from anywhere in the world. Make sure to read customer testimonials and reviews to gauge the reliability and quality of service.

Customizing Your Floral Arrangement Personalization adds a special touch to your floral gift. Many florists offer customization options, allowing you to add a personal message, select specific flowers or colors, and choose the presentation style of your arrangement. Whether you prefer a classic bouquet, an elegant vase arrangement, or a whimsical floral basket, there are plenty of options to suit every taste and occasion.

Delivery Options and Considerations When sending flowers to Mumbai, consider factors such as delivery time, location, and any special instructions for the recipient. Most online florists offer same-day or next-day delivery options, making it easy to send last-minute gifts. Provide accurate delivery details, including the recipient's name, address, and contact number, to ensure smooth and timely delivery.

The Impact of Sending Flowers Sending flowers is more than just a gesture; it's a powerful way to convey emotions and sentiments that words alone cannot express. Whether you're celebrating a milestone, expressing sympathy, or simply letting someone know you're thinking of them, flowers have a universal language of love and appreciation. In a fast-paced world where digital communication often replaces face-to-face interactions, sending flowers to Mumbai is a tangible reminder of the beauty of human connection.

In conclusion, sending flowers to Mumbai is a thoughtful and meaningful way to connect with loved ones and show you care, regardless of the miles that separate you. With careful consideration of the recipient's preferences, choosing a reputable florist, and personalizing your floral arrangement, you can make a lasting impression and bring joy to someone's day, no matter where they are in the bustling city of Mumbai.

[indiagiftsonline]

When is rose day celebrated in India

Roses are both suggestive and symbolize love in diverse cultures and rose day gift is especially for those who are truly in love. This day gives a kick-start to the week and the mood for celebrating these 7 days full of love i.e. the valentine week. Rose helps in communicating your thoughtful feelings to your loved ones even if you have not met them for a very long time. Sending them a bunch of roses with a note of happy rose day certainly makes their day. The moment you fall short of words to communicate your love, affection, gratitude, and passion of your feelings, a rose can be of great use in fixing your relation. Rose day 2023 is a perfect day to convey your love to your special one. On this day, create a set-up and convey your feelings by gifting a red rose. People celebrate this day all over the globe to express their undying love for your significant one and make him/her special.

When do we celebrate rose day

Rose Day is the primary day of the valentine week and is celebrated on 7th February every year with a lot of enthusiasm and fervor. It evokes love in different backgrounds and it is really a special day. A rose along with rose day special gift can kick off the mood for merriment and love for the whole week. Saying happy rose day my husband can ignite the hidden emotions, which are otherwise deeply lying in your heart.

Roses inspire large number of people and gifting it can uplift your mood and give a perfect start to a new relationship whether it is romantic love or an honest friendship. Though rose day is an advent of western countries but currently lot of young population in India are celebrating it.  Nothing can impress your deep emotions better than a rose flower or bud, which can be done in a fraction of a second. Rose Day conveys your purest emotions of love in a sophisticated yet affectionate way.

Impact of the dissimilar colours of Roses the rose simply stands for romance, passion, admiration, gratitude, joy, kindness, and people like to send their wishes with a special note. The majority of the people choose red rose to communicate their feelings. On the other hand, to send off your message that transmits your precise feelings and thoughts, picking up an appropriate rose can really make the difference.

Find below the colours of roses and what they indicate:

Red: Conveys love and infatuation. Couples gifting red roses convey sincere and ardent love for your loved one. When a person gifts a single rose, it means 'I love you'.

Pink: Conveys happiness and charm for the other person. Those gifting pink flowers fill up clarity, charm and cheerfulness in their relationship.

Yellow: This colour rose suggests deep affection and joviality. People gifting yellow flowers extend a promise of a lasting relationship.

Dark pink: This colour indicates gratitude and thankfulness. Those gifting dark pink roses convey their admiration and thankfulness to each other.

Purple: It indicates love at first glance. People who exchange lavender roses reveal their profound interest at first sight and convey their deep love.

Rose Day celebrations Rose Day celebrations are done in different ways like-

Young couples convey their deep emotions by gifting a bunch of roses. This day spreads thrill and excitement

Youngsters greet their friends with a rose and a rose day special gift

Youngsters look at this day for finding an opportunity to build new relations or friendships and to express their deep emotions to their girlfriends, boyfriends and relations.

A rose bouquet is seen all over on a rose day spreading fragrance and freshness in every relation.

Rose Day activities

Couples of different ages enjoy this day with a lot of ecstasy and energy

On Rose day, everyone brings up the topic of love and convey their gestures by gifting a rose

Love birds gift a red rose, to exhibit their passion and love for each other.

People get the tables booked in their favourite restaurant and go out for an intimate candle light dinners.

Loved ones enjoy shopping followed by a movie.

People also like to go for long drives or visit an adventurous spot and create a romantic set-up to make it memorable

Several people raise a toast for their lasting friendship and sing romantic numbers together

To wind it up we can say that the cheerful spirit of the rose day is so contagious that people who are least expressive indulge in engaging conversations. Social media is full of happy rose day messages and they wish their best friends by greeting them cheerfully. Planning this day much in advance will make everything fall into place flawlessly.

[narendraseo]

Flower Delivery in Gurgaon Follow the Best Trend

The exquisite flower collection will delight loved ones with its bright colors and sweet fragrance. Many websites can enjoy every occasion and stay entertained at all times! Use the online flower delivery in Gurgaon and the surrounding areas. If they are looking for a unique way to express their love, flower bouquets will do just that. There is a large selection of flowers that can be beautifully arranged. Simply look at the various flower varieties in the particular flower category and choose the best one. They may arrange flowers for any occasion, whether it's for decoration or some purpose.

Flower gifting to express their love from various on-site:

They radiate positive energy that attracts the attention of onlookers. We provide our services in the United States and internationally. For validation, they can search the distribution area on our portal using the specific pin code. There is an express delivery service that is ideal for sending gifts to several locations quickly. Simply log in to their portal and select the appropriate choice. Giving their partner a lovely gift to commemorate Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day flowers delivered through the internet will make their romantic relationship even more enjoyable. They have a large selection of flowers that can look at and choose the most appealing choice.

Delivery flowers with some arrangements to their beloved ones:

They have the ideal address for all those hunting for the most exquisite Flowers from faraway places. When they visit various websites in the Online Flower Shop, they will agree with the best florist in the region. There are the most beautiful Bouquets, Bunches, and other Flower Arrangements that are ideal for any occasion. If they are in a hurry and can't make it to the store, that can always order Flowers Online from various website.  They won't have to go anywhere because they will bring them a special surprise on behalf of their friends and family. With Gurgaon flower delivery, they can send flowers to their loved ones without getting stuck in congested traffic.

Flower gifts that make special ones elegant and happy:

Giving a lovely surprise on a romantic day is always on the mind. So why not surprise someone with a lovely, one-of-a-kind, expressive gift? To show their love, they can have the gifts customized with a picture of their darling. On Valentine's Day, they can give Valentine's Day Gifts to loved ones through the internet. They can choose from a variety of mouth-watering, scrumptious, and fully delectable cakes, such as heart-shaped red velvet cake, delicious chocolate truffle, nutty star plum cake, red heart cake with I love you carved on it, heart-shaped coffee cake, and so on. These delectable cakes are worth choosing if they want to make valentine's day or special day extra romantic.

Surprising the loved ones with some bunch of flowers that makes them excited:

Will no longer have to be concerned with delivery dates and times for every product. Simply choose and purchase the presents, and they will deliver them to their door at any time they choose. They can order Romantic Gifts online and choose from a variety of delivery options, including same-day delivery, midnight delivery, and express delivery in as little as 3 hours. They can choose any of the delivery services based on the requirements. If they want to surprise their sweetheart on Valentine's Day at midnight, choose the same-day or express delivery options. Every city in India receives free home delivery from them.  Here are some of the most ideal Love and Romance Gifts Online, as well as discounts on each of them.

Conclusion:

To all, romantic moments are always unique. And there are several ways to commemorate it, such as Valentine's Day, an anniversary, or your partner's birthday. These are the days when they enjoy pampering their significant other and romanticizing every moment spent together. There are a wide variety of fantastic gifts that will transform the day into a deeply romantic one by bringing a beautiful smile to their lover's face and igniting a romantic flame in their heart for them.

[hanaasbananas]

excuse me for my ignorance but what is ddlj? :0

Oh. 

Oh my. 

Where do I even start. (Disclaimer: this might get long)

Short answer: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (roughly translates to The Big-hearted will take away the bride) is a romantic bollywood movie from 1995, but it was incredibly popular when it came out and still is-it pretty much created a whole new genre of romance and there’s even a movie theatre in India that still plays the movie every day ever since it came out 25 years ago which is INSANE. 

Long answer: DDLJ is only my favourite bollywood movie of ALL TIME. It came out three years before I was born, and I don’t even remember the first time I watched it, this film is just seared into my consciousness from birth apparently. 

The basic summary is that Simran is a young Indian girl living in London who dreams of finding love,  of finding that mysterious, faceless stranger in her dreams, but finds out that when she was born, her dad had made a betrothal promise to his best friend back in India that she would marry his son when she was of age. She accepts this, but asks her dad to let her go on a month long Eurail trip around Europe with her friends before getting married and he says yes. Raj is going on the same trip before he settles down to work at his father’s company. They get off on the wrong foot, but then have to hang out together because their two groups of friends are joined up, they don’t get along, miss the train and have to travel together to catch up with everyone else at the next stop and Feelings Happen. Of course then there’s the whole ‘she’s engaged to someone else and he’s in love with her so he goes to India to get his girl’ etc etc. This movie honestly set the bar for me. It’s silly and goofy in some parts but it has so much HEART and the SONGS. Dear god, the SONGS. (all these links have subs btw)

This is right after they get back from their trip and Simran realises she’s in love after she tells him she’ll send a wedding card and he says he won’t come to the wedding (and BTW I might have had an idea to do a marichat/adrinette fic for my ao3 bollywood playlist set to this song-where like, Marinette realises she loves Chat, and Adrien realises he loves Marinette and they get their signals crossed. Mostly because of the line when my heart wanted to stop you, you had gone far away)

and OF COURSE THIS SONG. tRULY I C O N I C, honestly every desi girl has fantasised about running through a field of yellow flowers into her lovers arms

ok one more and i’ll stop there’s this that’s played at every single brown wedding pretty much: 

i lOVE THIS SO MUCH. The DOUBLE MEANINGS, the PLAYFULNESS with Raj singing to the other girl but Simran knowing his words are for her, and Simran singing back to him, but her fiancé thinking he’s singing to HIM and just the general shenanigans of them secretly being together while nobody else knows it’s just *chef kiss* 

Wow, you really just got me rambling about this movie when you haven’t even seen it sksksks honestly though it’s amazing with every rewatch i love it SO MUCH. I watched it with my cousin for her first time because she’d never seen it and I was just as engrossed in the film as she was. It’s just such a good fun film honestly you should check it out. You would need to set aside an afternoon though because it’s LONG. I love both parts equally tbh but I love the second half because of the secretly meeting up and being in a relationship stuff it’s so CUTE

[sahidchettair]

MOTHER

Laji Varma was born in India. 

When she married Ajay Chettair, she knew it would get her to America. It was her one dream growing up. She had seen the movies, those that portrayed the United States for the perspective of her own country. And she had fallen in love. 

Ajay had family in the United States, a big family, and they would be welcome there, to start their own family. She was pregnant when they stepped off the airplane and moved into their small apartment in Atlanta, Georgia. Laji had learned English, and she was fluent at it, arranging everything around the house with the landowners and the movers. Meanwhile her husband got himself a job in a bogota. She gave birth to Sahid surrounded by his family, while the tv in the back of the room showed an American baseball game. 

It was all she ever dreamed of.

Sahid’s name was her first act of rebellion. She had lost touch with Hinduism long before he was born, she had grown out of it. The rituals had lost the shine they had in her youth, all of it was work and responsibility and she was tired of it. Ajay’s family was kind, but they too couldn’t bring back the love she once felt for it. 

Shahid Ajay, that was supposed to be his name. But Laji wanted him to fit in, wanted her little boy to be an American boy, even though he looked just like his father. So she called him Sahid Chettair. Use her husband’s last name, took away the original spelling. Something new, she told herself. 

Ajay wasn’t happy with the changes, but he was too in love with his little boy. He told him everything, and he would always be looking up at his father with wide-eyes. Whenever Ajay was at work, Laji would teach her son all about American culture. They would go to the movies together, eat ice cream, watch softball games. She would walk with him through the city and point out everything she loved. 

But when they would all be at home, she saw it was her husband’s stories that seemed to inspire him the most. 

She had been with family when the news came in. Women wept around her, men turned away from her, her own son continued to play with his cousins. 

But Laji didn’t feel grief like all the others. She had loved Ajay in her own way, she had loved his smile and she had loved his love for their son. But their marriage had been an arrangement, an agreement. She missed him, but she did not weep for him. 

With Ajay’s sister taking care of Sahid, who didn’t understand why his father hadn’t come home, she met Phill. He was on business in Atlanta, and like most men, had fallen in love with her at first sight. Laji had always been a beautiful woman, wearing a Saree of pink and gold that fitted her like a glove. It was the one Sahid liked the most. He would always take the pieces of fabric between his little fists and when she needed to put him to bed, she would have to pry his hands loose. 

Phill met her several times over a course of three months. They spoke English and discussed all the things she loved: the news, fashion, sports. He would listen to her and stare at her, he would make her feel seen. 

Four months later she agreed to marry him. 

Her family shunned her. Tried to take Sahid from her, hated the idea of this Christian man coming to take family away. But Laji was smart. This had been her dream, and she wouldn’t have them try and take it from her. 

-

She converted to Baptism and so did her son. Sahid didn’t understand what was happening, he didn’t understand it when she told him his father would never come back, and that Phil was his new father. He would look at her with those brown eyes of his and she understood he didn’t know anything. He thought Ajay would come back and tell them stories. So Laji took every reminder of him away from her son. No pictures, all new clothes, and everything reminding him of Hinduism and India would go. 

Slowly her new life settled in. No more sarees but beautiful dresses with flowers. She became loved in Wheeler. The men wanted her, the women envied her. She shone like the sun, she was a beautiful new flower, and she lived the life she dreamt of. 

But there was still Sahid. She told him his father died in a car accident. She lied.

Phil didn’t seem to be much interested in her son. He didn’t look at him like Ajay had, and she knew he seemed to be craving for that kind of attention. 

-

She would be home to greet Sahid every day when he returned from school, she would make him some tea and give him a cookie. He would tell her about school. Every day she noticed him grow more quiet. He would ask her why he looked so different from all the other kids at school. And she would tell him that he looked like her, and he was beautiful because of that. But she noticed the way he would look at other people. 

Phil had one son, one son that he loved dearly. His ex-wife had divorced him and made sure he didn’t get to see his son again. He had been forced to leave when his boy was only five, a year older than Sahid was then. But when his ex-wife was arrested and send to prison, Brandon had found a way to reconnect with his father. He was older now, fifteen years older than Sahid, and a beautiful young man. Dark skin and curly dark hair, but with eyes that pierced through everyone and everything. He had a look that could melt hearts, hers too. 

And she found herself looking for that in Sahid but not finding it. He just reminded her of Ajay. And she didn’t look at her like he would look at his father. And she would look at him and only be reminded of Ajay. 

Ajay who was not killed in a car accident but killed because of the color of his skin. 

But how could she ever explain that to him. He was so little now. The only Indian boy in town. She couldn’t explain that others looked at him differently because of his appearance. So she didn’t. 

Slowly she began to create a distance. She would talk with the other mothers, become a part of the community. Drink tea with them, or coffee, and spend most of her hours at the church. And more and more often Sahid would come home from school and find the house empty. 

But in letting go, Laji began to enjoy her life to the fullest. She was loved, and she loved in return. Phil brought her nothing but happiness. He would come by during his lunch, they would live a life of romance for years, even when she was growing older, he still brought her flowers every thursday. He would take her out for movies. She would draw him a bath, make him American Pancakes on Sunday mornings before church. She loved the way he looked at her. Ajay had never looked at her like that, and she found herself craving those looks. 

Meanwhile Sahid became lead alto, got average marks, was a good Christian boy. She did notice how he hung out with all the wrong kids. 

Sally Hawk, the daughter of a dead cop and a wife who had committed sucide, who lived at the edge of town with her grandmother. Her grandmother had refused to cut Laji’s hair so often that Laji had started to cut hers and Sahid’s herself. 

Franklin Johnson, whose father was a drunk and owned a farm where Sahid would often hang out. He bred horses, but he had farmhands who did most of the work. During the summer a lot of boys from town would work on his fields. Franklin got low marks and was held back twice. 

Theodore Newton had never known his father, his mother worked a few towns over as a prostitute, she let Theodore do whatever he wanted. He was exceptionally smart however, but his attitude wasn’t a great help. 

James Abbott was one of the most promising young men in town, but his parents were always trying to get him to stop hanging out with the others. He threw parties whenever his parents were away and got away with everything. 

Laji wanted to believe her son wasn’t like them, but she could see the way he looked at everything, she could smell the booze and the weed even if he tried to hide it as best he could. She knew something was off but she told Phil to leave it alone. He would turn out alright, she believed that much. 

-

Cassie was a miracle. She was a little ray of sunshine and she called her grandma. Laji would hold her and love her and take her with her everywhere. The whole world had to see her like she saw her. A precious thing, so small. With eyes like her father. She saw Phil in her as well. She loved looking at the little girl. 

-

Deep down she knew she was losing Sahid in the process. Deep down she knew that burying Ajay so deep meant he would want to find her. That he would want to try and regain this connection, that it would frustrate him that they never talked about him. That he would keep it a secret, that he wouldn’t tell her that he was trying to reconnect with him because she never spoke about him. 

But when she found him on the floor, performing some ritual she hadn’t seen in years, she was angry. 

She was angry because she had tried to give him an American life, something beautiful, something that would help him get a beautiful life. And instead he had looked back into the past. In that moment he had looked so much like his father that Laji didn’t know how to make him stop. She couldn’t make him stop because he wasn’t going to suddenly change. He hated how much of a reminder he was. 

So she told Phil he had to go. He had to go and he shouldn’t have any reason to come back. 

Phil took it way further than she had wanted him to, but by then Laji had stopped caring. By then she had created a hole in her heart where her love for her son had once been. 

-

The last time she saw him was at the airport in Atlanta. She had told Phil she wasn’t going to go, but she had to see him off. He was alone. Nobody had come to see him off. Brandon was in a bar, drinking his grief away. Nadia was at home, sending out the picture of Cassie on the internet, hoping somebody would’ve seen her. Phil was at work, working always helped him forget. 

Laji would normally be at the church, or with one of her friends. They would offer her kindness, grief with her, pray for Cassie’s safe return. Nobody mentioned Sahid, ever. 

And still she was there, watching from a distance, just another individual in the crowd. She saw him seated, glancing at his phone or the board frantically, worried he wouldn’t notice his gate opening. He wouldn’t look around, didn’t hear how busy the airport was. 

She did pity him. 

But she pitied him for what he had turned out to be, not for her part in it. 

He pitied him because he could’ve had it all. 

Instead he had made all the wrong choices. 

Some part of her wished he would find happiness somewhere else. The part of her that was glad he was going away, the part that hoped he wouldn’t return. 

[phantomchick]

Tony Stark Fic Recs

Burning Candles - by kerravon Hurt/comfort, exhaustion, concussions, hurt tony, steve is a bro, nick fury being morally shady, the avengers! Summary: A few months have passed since the Avengers fought the Chitauri, and the team is coming together, except for Tony, who seems to be coming apart. At first, Steve assumes that he's just being irresponsible and annoying, but then JARVIS clues him in.

Fifth Time Lucky - by Arkada oneshot, fluff, this fic is short, sweet and a lot of fun. Well worth the read. Summary:  Tony Stark has five soulmates, but he gave up on finding any of them a long time ago.

Hide A Heart Of War - by RayShippouUchiha Tony Centric 2 chapter fic. Flower soul mark au. EXCELLENT ANGST.  Lots of feels, there’s also a slow burn romance in the background. Rhodey is a good bro. Loving all the descriptions of the soulmarks. Summary:  “You’ve got war in your heart boy,” Howard sneers, “don’t ever try and pretend to be anything but what you are.” Tony feels the familiar burn of a flower mark being etched into his skin but he doesn’t look, doesn’t try and check to see what it is. Instead he keeps his eyes on Howard and his hands cupped around his bleeding mouth and nose.

The (Not So) Great Pretender - by RayShippouUchiha Complete, secret identities, tony/bucky which i don’t usually ship but hey this author really makes it worth it. Oblivious Avengers. Hilarious but also angsty? Summary: Basically no one believes Tony when he tells them he’s Iron Man so he’s just... reluctantly keeping his secret identity going? It’s super funny.

To Victor Goes the Spoils - by tisfan Tony Stark/Victor von Doom, 10 chapters, complete, secret identities. Summary: In which Doom finds himself at a super hero masked ball... and gaining the attentions of the handsome and charming Tony Stark...Just one dance... just one kiss... before Doom unleashes his evil plot. Backstory: I accidentally stumbled on this doom x iron man fic so i thought i’d read it for laughs but then the fic itself was really good and I was suckered into shipping it. Now I’m in rarepair hell. The end. 

Iron Man Yes, Tony Stark...Not Recommended - by lilsmartass Gen. Complete. 9 chapters. Angst, lots of angst. Hurt/comfort. Unintentional bullying. Rhodey is the captain of the tony stark defence squad. AND HE WILL HAVE HIS REVENGE. Summary: Clint and Steve have both seen Natasha’s report on Tony and expect him to be a certain way. With Pepper now out of the picture, Bruce in India and Thor is Asgard they have no one to show them just how wrong first impressions can be.

That Which Kills Us - by Ironlawyer Ultimates!verse, steve/tony, oneshot, internalised homophobia, Tony is not a good patient. Summary: Sometimes Tony hates being alive as much as he hates dying. Trying to juggle duties to The Ultimates and a terminal illness isn’t exactly easy. Throw in an irate Steve Rogers and things just get too damn complicated.

Doomed To Failure - by DobbyRocksSocks Oneshot, excellent content, i read this fic and then i had to sit in my chair and be like ‘whoa’ for a while. This au is very well done! Summary: Everyone is born with their soulmate on one wrist, and their mortal enemy on the other. What do you do when it's the same person?

Say Goodbye to Yesterday - by melonbutterfly 4 chapter fic, complete, time loop, team building, alien invasion. time travel is a trope i keel over for this you must learn. Summary:  The day after the invasion Tony wakes up and his tower is intact again; everything is exactly the way it was before this whole mess went down. 

Don't Bet Against the House - by AlexTheShipper 2 chapter fic, complete, protective Jarvis, team dynamics, fluff Summary:  In which jokes about the arc reactor are not taken lightly, not by JARVIS who will never again sit trapped in his servers as someone attempts to kill Sir.

From A to Z - by Rachel500 26 chapter fic.Complete. Very very good, *sips fruit juice out of my champaigne glass* a classic of the genre! I’m a sucker for time travel as a trope, pair that with fixing the disaster that was the mcu chronology? BUDDY I’M SOLD.\ Summary: “OK, hypothetically, you get sent back in time one year. Does that make a difference?” Strange asked. “Two? Three? Could you live through the worst experience of your life again to preserve enough of the timeline to continue? Could you stand aside and let someone you love live through a bad experience in their life?” “OK. I get it. Bad idea.” Tony smirked at Strange to cover for his unease. “So. Plan B?” Strange grinned but there was a serious glint in his eyes. “How about we make it plan Z?”

Acceptable Risk Is Not - by izumi2 Super bamf tony, oneshot, Maria Hill redemption arc. Captain america the winter soldier. Not steve friendly but this can be blamed on the plot of the movie making zero sense with hindsight. Summary: what if someone considered an alternate solution to the data drop?  THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE FICS FOR REASONS SO PLEASE TRY IT.

The Course of Reason - by Infie Oneshot, aftermath of captain america civil war, Carol Danvers is a relateable ho whom I stan, the saltiest of all possible responses to that film. YESSSS. This is it. The fic that finally knocked me over the edge onto the civil war team iron man side of the fence. BEHOLD. It’s greatness. Summary: The UN has asked Tony to discuss their options with the Fugitive Avengers. It does not go the way they expect it to.

Uncompromising Principles - by Kizmet 19 chapter fic, it’s completed and it’s very well done, legal drama, Tony/Pepper, Steve is... a good person who made mistakes, he’s trying anyway, i can’t say more without spoilers, but it’s A Ride, like you’ll read this and it’ll make you have Feelings and Thoughts and it’s very clever in how it goes about making those Feelings and Thoughts happen. Captain America: civil war aftermath fic. Summary: After leaving Siberia Captain America begins his plans to overturn the Accords. But not all is as it seems.Not compliant with the end of "Civil War".

To intervene - by apathyinreverie Currently at 15 chapters, ongoing, a lot of fun, tony stark has a heart, tony and rhodey, civil war team iron man, mutant kind, pro accords. Summary: The one where Rhodey stages an intervention after the whole Ultron fiasco.

Veni, Vidi, Amavi - by Maedlin Treat yo’self. It’s a Time travel fic. ONE OF THE BEST: Bamf Tony Stark, Bamf Jarvis, Palladium Poisoning, Complete, 26 chapter fic, but you’ll wish it was longer by the time you’re done. (Luckily there’s an ongoing sequel series to enjoy!) THIS FIC IS SUPREMELY GOOD! And HEAVY on the Jarvis love! DO YOURSELVES A FAVOUR AND TRY IT SERIOUSLY YOU WON’T REGRET READING THIS. Highest of recs goes to this. Summary:  (We came, we saw, we loved.) Tony's not the hero type. To suggest otherwise would be outlandish and fantastic, clearly.  Yet somehow, he's the one that's responsible for saving the universe. Now, he's a decade in the past. He's just revealed to the world he's Iron Man.  Tony finds himself facing dozens of old problems, and as time passes the ripple effect of his presence generates ever more new issues. All the while, the impending threat of Thanos looms ever-closer.

With One More Try (Can We Start Again) - by Infinite_Monkeys 5 Chapter fic, and it’s Completed. Time travel fix it, not strictly tony stark-centric but still a firm fave, A masterpiece. Definitely in my top 5 time travel fics and i’ve read a LOT so that’s saying something! Contains: That Good Loki Content. Summary: Loki's attempt to conquer Earth has, to his great dismay, succeeded spectacularly. When Thanos sends him to collect the Time Stone, he strikes a deal with the Stone's keeper: He'll be sent back to the beginning of the invasion, and this time, armed with knowledge about his opponents, he can lose properly. Or: a time loop fic in which Loki does increasingly desperate things to try and get the Avengers to defeat him already.

(Science) Bros before (HYDRA) Hoes - by Kizmet Tony is the captain of the Bruce Banner defence squad, Legal Shenanigans, It’s marked as Ongoing but what’s there is satisfying enough on its own I promise, basically a huge callout for Johannesburg, Hulk deserves a hug. Summary: The Hulk isn’t taken from the planet after AoU, there’s no one conveniently out of reach to take the fall for Johannesburg… A choice is going to have to be made: Wanda or the Hulk. 

A Larger Matter - by TheSovereigntyofReality Oneshot. Consequences! The ‘Steve’s blood’ scene in the agent carter tv show always pissed me off so this fic was uh Cathartic shall we say, but honestly you can read it and have it make perfect sense even without having seen the show, Howard Stark, teenaged Tony, Team Stark. Woohoo. Summary: When Peggy Carter tipped out Steve's blood, she had no idea the hornet's nest she just kicked.

Who in their Right Mind... - by AnonEhouse Crackfic, Oneshot Summary: Dum-E saves the universe

Catching Butterflies - by GremlinSR Ongoing, 6 chapters and counting, very very good content, like you wouldn’t think so from the summary which is a little bland but it’s actually very very good. Believe me when I tell you: It contains The Good Stuff. Time Travel fix it, Bamf Tony Stark, Bamf yet confused T’Challa. Summary: Tony snaps his fingers...and wakes up five days before the events that led to the death of JARVIS and the creation of Ultron. He decides he won't let the future he lived come to pass, no matter how thoroughly he has to destroy the timeline.

The War is Far From Over Now - by Dont_call_me_Carrie Ongoing, 40 dhapters and counting, this fic is clearly the author’s baby and they put so much work into it so watching it grow is a pleasure. Protective Jarvis, Protective Stark Industries Employees who like their boss. Rhodey is a good Bro, Awesome Pepper Potts. Fix it via Accidental World Domination. Summary: In which Tony does not, in fact, intend to take over the world.... unfortunately, everyone else missed that particular memo.

Can I Quote You On This? - by Wix Oneshot, Mcu critical, Avengers Critical, salty, extremely salty. Uncovering Plot Holes is easy when the road’s full of them. Summary:  Christine was sent in to just do a puff piece about the Avengers. What she uncovers instead is so much more interesting.

Strong Enough to Bend - by Kizmet Oneshot, salt and shade, tony stark & steve rogers, the author has Opinions about mcu steve so if that’s not your thing i wouldn’t rec it, not steve friendly? Summary: Steve ‘watches’ the videos on Tony Stark that Shield provides him with

Take that Away and What are You? - by Kizmet Oneshot, kidnapping, bamf tony stark, not steve friendly, I love this fic Summary: Tony and Steve get kidnapped. Since Tony’s wearing a tux, Steve figures it’s all up to him to get them out of this mess. Steve never really thought much about the conditions under which Tony built the Mach I.

Facing the devil (and the deep, blue sea) - by petroltogo Oneshot, au, not steve friendly, steve isn’t a good person in this fic, but it’s juicy, soulmate au, soulmarks Summary:  Alternate title: No obvious truth  Post-CACW: In an alternate universe where everyone has the name of their soulmate and the name of their greatest enemy written on their wrists, recently captured ex-Avenger Steve Rogers receives an unexpected visitor two days before the start of his trial. [The trick is figuring out which name is tied to which fate.] [The trick is realising you’ll never know.]

Asking Why - by Kizmet Oneshot. the relief and catharsis of logic. Nat, Hill, Cho, Rhodey and Pepper sit Tony down to talk about what led to the creation of Ultron. Scapegoating is stupid: The Fanfic edition. Summary: Applying analytical techniques in the aftermath of Ultron

[ofmymuses]

india eisley for the fc thing?

╰ ♡ ✧ ˖ send me a fc & I’ll come up with a character for them ! no more please

say hello to enola gentian   ;  a 24-year-old witch. light magic runs in the family — it has for many generations now. but it stops with you. from a young age, you were … different from the rest of your family. from physical appearance to your aura to even the way you walked. your hair is dark, long & straight whereas your parents have nearly-white & curly hair. your eyes are blue —- icy. you were often left alone as a younger child due to the parents of your “friends” keeping them from you out of fear. this only fueled what you were destined to do. each night you would stay up & practice dark magic. romance hexes were soon your favourite thing to play with. in high school, you would give people these romance hex bags to people and watch them stumble for love for your own amusement. it was fun all fun and games until you accidentally planted a hex bag on someone who would fall for you. you were never left alone after that & suffered through many love letters, home visits & lustful stares. you cooled off romance hexes.

although …. your family ( & everyone around you for that matter ) would surely hope you’d have stayed with those “harmless” hex bags. for your next game was much darker & much more dangerous. after the hexes, you began practicing and training to summon things. demons, ghosts .. maybe something even bigger than that one day. the thing is : will you be able to keep them tamed and ensure they won’t get loose?

aesthetic : mischievous laughter, skipping everywhere instead of walking, matte black fingernails, speaking dead languages, long eyelashes, playing with ouija boards, wilted flowers, rune tattoos, deep crimson red, déjà vu, magic flowing through your veins, bloody noses, nothing but black clothes in your closet, sharp eyeliner, rainy days  …

[brokendevilwrites]

What does the future look like for Clarke and lexa in the childhood au? Absolutely love your writing!!

Thank you!

They marry at thirty-two. After Lexa proposes to her with a dumb twig and a lopsided smile, they don’t really want to wait. But Clarke’s got a new movie coming out and Lexa’s research takes her to Morocco and Budapest and Norway so it’s sort of impossible for a little while.

They marry in a library because Clarke saw it on Sex and the City but also because they both have a love affair with books and writing and romance. Lexa uses her connections to manage it and all of their friends come from Miami and California and Virginia. It’s bigger than either of them expect but why would they want to limit showing how much they love one another?

Each table has a little yellow flower in the middle. 

Lexa writes papers for universities all over the world and Clarke continues writing scripts under a different name and they’re thirty-five when they decide to see the world. Lexa tells her work and she knows they’ll take her back at the museum when she comes back and Clarke can write anywhere in the world. They rent out their apartment to Lincoln because they trust him and his partner to look after it and they pack two bags before taking off. 

New Zealand greets them first and then they move on to Australia and Thailand, India and Zambia and Brazil. By the end of the year they move up to Europe and Lexa shows Clarke all the sights she loved during her research and they waste almost twenty months learning about the world and each other and fall in love even more. 

They settle in England for a little bit because Clarke thinks pubs are cute and Lexa enjoys Clarke’s smile. Lexa--somehow--manages to help do some work in some museums and Clarke writes a book in their time there. She sends it off to a publisher and doubts she’ll hear anything back but Lexa encourages her and England is cute.

They land back in America on Lexa’s thirty-eighth birthday and it’s so Clarke can discuss her book.

Lexa goes straight back to work because she actually adores it and Clarke speeds ahead with her book which is a moderate hit, enough to bring in money but she doesn’t think she’ll be getting any film offers for it any time soon.

They’re happy and in love and that couple that you kind of love to hate.

[dweemeister]

2018 Movie Odyssey Awards

And that’s it folks. That’s all the posts they wrote on the 2018 Movie Odyssey. All the films featured here were films that I saw for the first time in their entirety over the last calendar year (the entire list of which you can see here). Except for the Worst Picture category at the bottom, this entire post is a roll call of cinematic excellence. You can’t go wrong with the winners and nominees in these many categories. Submitted for your consumption and reflection...

Best Pictures (I name ten, and never distinguish one above the other nine)

The Blue Angel (1930, Germany)

Charade (1963)

8½ (1963, Italy)

The Heiress (1949)

A Man Escaped (1956, France)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Pyaasa (1957, India)

Roma (2018, Mexico)

Shoplifters (2018, Japan)

Stalker (1979, Soviet Union)

This is the first Movie Odyssey Best Picture lineup without an entry from either the 1990s or 2000s. It is the first Best Picture lineup since 2015 without a silent film being among the top ten. But what is not here should detract from the excellence of what is here. There are no 9/10s here... The Blue Angel, Charade, and Pyaasa received 9.5/10s; everything else received a 10/10. From the romantic antics in Charade (as part-spy thriller) and The Philadelphia Story; lust masquerading for love in The Blue Angel and 8½; standing resolutely on one’s own self-worth in The Heiress and Pyaasa; the desperation of A Man Escaped and Stalker; and the modern instant classics of Roma and Shoplifters, this is the best Best Picture slate in the last three years.

Best Comedy

Blondie (1938)

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Incredibles 2 (2018)

My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999, Japan)

Overboard (1987)

The Philadelphia Story

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

Stowaway (1936)

The Whole Town’s Talking (1935)

Wonder Man (1945)

It didn’t make me laugh the hardest (that goes to Incredibles 2 and Spider-Verse), but The Philadelphia Story managed to reaffirm what is most important in loving someone and seeing in others what isn’t necessarily the most visible thing. Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Ruth Hussey are an amazing ensemble. Close behind are those two aforementioned animated movies and another animated peer, My Neighbors the Yamadas. The Whole Town’s Talking also was in the mix.

Best Musical

Girl Crazy (1943)

Grease (1978)

Moon Over Miami (1941)

The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968)

Pete’s Dragon (1977)

Pyaasa

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

South Pacific (1958)

A Star Is Born (2018)

Stowaway

This category favors musicals that are original, not adaptations. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers would never be made today, because no one would get the satire for its gendered misbehavior. But with its incredible musical score, outstanding choreography, and appealing performances despite a brow-raising plot, it is by far the best musical I saw this year for the first time. Girl Crazy, Family Band, and Pyaasa would have been next up.

Best Animated Feature

The Cat Returns (2002, Japan)

Incredibles 2

Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017, Japan)

Mirai (2018, Japan)

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Perfect Blue (1997, Japan)

Pom Poko (1994, Japan)

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1967)

There was a lot of separation from the top films and the bottom films in this category. The excellent family comedy My Neighbors the Yamadas sends the late Isao Takahata a winner (its comedy entirely based on Takahata’s strengths in observing human behavior), in what was also the last Ghibli film I needed to see to complete the studio’s filmography. Close behind were Perfect Blue and the best animated feature of 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Best Documentary

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (2016)

Don’t Look Back (1967)

Free Solo (2018)

Pick of the Litter (2018)

RBG (2018)

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

It was the cinéma vérité of Don’t Look Back versus the emotional power of Won’t You Be My Neighbor? in the end. And at the end, what appealed to me most was the latter. Mr. Rogers was a part of my childhood, and I’m only learning more about him and the lessons he imparted to all his neighbors in my mid-twenties. I never imagined I would be revisiting him now, but here we are! The harrowing (at least, in the final half-hour) Free Solo - dont watch if you’re afraid of heights - was solidly in third in this category.

Best Non-English Language Film

The Blue Angel, Germany

8½, Italy

Floating Weeds (1959), Japan

Gojira (1954), Japan

A Man Escaped, France

My Neighbors the Yamadas, Japan

Pyaasa, India

Roma, Mexico

Shoplifters, Japan

Stalker, Soviet Union

With four entries, this was Japan’s to lose. In what was essentially a toss-up between Federico Fellini and Andrei Tarkovsky, it was the former’s film that will this category for me. I first saw a part of 8½ almost ten years ago now, deleting the recording after realizing there was something about the film that I, as a teenager, could not get. There is only one movie you need to watch, probably, about artist’s block, and that’s 8½. Considered just after that and Stalker are Roma, Pyaasa, and Shoplifters. Gojira - best known to all as Godzilla - was not expected to be here because I once saw the American cut/dub of the film (which cuts a lot of the tragic and allegorical elements). There is no better monster movie than the original Godzilla.

Best Silent Film

Camille (1921)

Caught in a Cabaret (1914 short)

It (1927)

Mabel’s Blunder (1914 short)

Mare Nostrum (1926)

Piccadilly (1929)

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927)

West Point (1927)

I honestly did not see enough silent films last year. But that doesn’t take away from how good West Point is - as a drama, a comedy, a romance, and a sports film. Edward Sedgwick’s film juggles a lot of hats, and by sheer charm of its performances, manages to find the right balance. Trailing West Point were Piccadilly and a strong adaptation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Personal Favorite Film

Charade

Christopher Robin (2018)

A Corny Concerto (1943 short)

Gojira

Incredibles 2

The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)

My Neighbors the Yamadas

The Philadelphia Story

The Whole Town’s Talking

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

1) The Philadelphia Story; 2) Won’t You Be My Neighbor?; 3) The Journey of Natty Gann; 4) Charade; 5) Incredibles 2; 6) My Neighbors the Yamadas; 7) Gojira; 8) The Whole Town’s Talking; 9) Christopher Robin; 10) A Corny Concerto

You folks have no idea how many times my top three switched places while considering this. So much to love about them all. Since I haven’t mentioned Natty Gann yet in my comments, let me do so here. Sometimes, I’m in the mood for a simple, but beautifully shot Disney film out in the wilderness. Meredith Salenger as the title character must make her way from Chicago to Washington state after an unfortunate accident where she is separated from her father. I just adore the nature shots, Natty’s wolfdog companion, and James Horner’s ridiculously beautiful score.

Best Director

Robert Bresson, A Man Escaped

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

George Cukor, The Philadelphia Story

Stanley Donen, Charade

Guru Dutt, Pyaasa

Federico Fellini, 8½

Hirokazu Koreeda, Shoplifters

Michael Powell, 49th Parallel (1941)

Andrei Tarkovsky, Stalker

William Wyler, The Heiress

A bit of an upset here, but my goodness it takes incredible skill to pull off such social commentary with the amount of artistry Pyaasa does. Ambitious in structure, aesthetic, and thematic approach, it is Guru Dutt who will take this home. Next up would have been Tarkovsky and Fellini.

Best Acting Ensemble

All This, and Heaven Too (1940)

Crossfire (1947)

Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)

The Heiress

Imitation of Life (1934)

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

The Philadelphia Story

The Post (2017)

Shoplifters

Splendor in the Grass (1961)

An excellent set of nominees for Acting Ensemble, with few weak links among them all. They might not be the biggest ensemble, but pretty much everyone is pitch perfect in Imitation of Life - essentially bolstered by its supporting actresses in Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington. The Philadelphia Story in a close second.

Best Actor

Cary Grant, Charade

Emil Jannings, The Blue Angel

Burt Lancaster, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Canada Lee, Cry, the Beloved Country

James B. Lowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Marcello Mastroianni, 8½

Ganjirô Nakamura, Floating Weeds

Sidney Poitier, A Warm December (1973)

Paul Scofield, A Man for All Seasons

Jack Webb, The D.I. (1957)

Paul Scofield, as Sir Thomas More, is a man on a mission - a mission to stop Henry VIII to stop screwing things up even more. Reprising his role from the stage, to me Scofield is clearly the winner as he imbues More with incredible authority yet knowing vulnerability. An astounding, career performance from Scofield is trailed only by Cary Grant and Marcello Mastroianni.

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

Bette Davis, All This, and Heaven Too

Marlene Dietrich, The Blue Angel

Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade (2018)

Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress

Audrey Hepburn, Charade

Katharine Hepburn, The Philadelphia Story

Waheeda Rehman, Pyaasa

Anna May Wong, Piccadilly

Natalie Wood, Splendor in the Grass

Olivia de Havilland’s growth throughout The Heiress is downright incredible to watch. How she asserts herself in the final minutes is the culmination of all that has happened up until that point - a film about a woman who finds the strength within herself to state her clearest intentions as pointedly as possible without breaking societal expectations. Just trailing are Yalitza Aparicio (please nominate her for this year’s Academy Awards) and the Hepburns.

Best Supporting Actor

Montgomery Clift, The Heiress

Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

Rodney A. Grant, Dances with Wolves (1990)

Graham Greene, Dances with Wolves

Bob Odenkirk, The Post

Sidney Poitier, Cry, the Beloved Country

Anthony Quinn, Warlock (1959)

Mickey Rooney, The Black Stallion (1979)

Robert Ryan, Crossfire

Takashi Shimura, Gojira

I don’t know folks, this category seems to like villains. And Robert Ryan’s psychopathic, anti-Semitic murderer is as frightening as a film noir villain can get. Considering what I had seen from Ryan up to this point, there was no preparing me for that. Runners-up include Graham Greene (of Oneida descent), Sidney Poitier, Mickey Rooney, and Takashi Shimura.

Best Supporting Actress

Louise Beavers, Imitation of Life

Stockard Channing, Grease

Wendy Hiller, A Man for All Seasons

Ruth Hussey, The Philadelphia Story

Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread (2017)

Sandra Milo, 8½

Anne Revere, National Velvet (1944)

Millicent Simmonds, A Quiet Place (2018)

Fredi Washington, Imitation of Life

Michelle Yeoh, Crazy Rich Asians

No one could really touch Paul Scofield in Best Actor. Likewise, no one could touch Louise Beavers in Imitation of Life. Yes, Beavers’ role in the film is that of a stereotypical “mammy” at first glance. But looking deeper - and with a major assist from an extremely thoughtful screenplay - Beavers is allowed to give this role so much more than many of her fellow black actresses were ever permitted to have. In a film on racial identity and belonging, she is what makes Imitation of Life tick. The distant challengers were co-star Fredi Washington, Lesley Manville, and Sandra Milo.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Robert Alan Arthur, Warlock

Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons

Ruth and Augustus Goetz, The Heiress

Sadayuki Murai, Perfect Blue

Alan Paton and John Howard Lawson, Cry, the Beloved Country

Casey Robinson, All This, and Heaven Too

Donald Ogden Stewart and Waldo Salt, The Philadelphia Story

Arkadi Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky, Stalker

Jo Swerling and Robert Riskin, The Whole Town’s Talking

Isao Takahata, My Neighbors the Yamadas

Best Original Screenplay

Rodney Ackland and Emeric Pressburger, 49th Parallel

Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread

Ari Aster, Hereditary (2018)

Robert Bresson, A Man Escaped

Robert Buckner, Dodge City (1939)

Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi, 8½

William Inge, Splendor in the Grass

Hirokazu Koreeda, Shoplifters

Best Cinematography

Eduard Tisse, Alexander Nevsky (1938, Soviet Union)

Caleb Deschanel, The Black Stallion

William H. Clothier, Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

Dean Semler, Dances with Wolves

Gianni Di Venanzo, 8½

V.K. Murthy, Pyaasa

Philippe Rousselot, A River Runs Through It (1992)

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Alexander Knyazhinsky, Stalker

Nicholas Musuraca, Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

Best Film Editing

 Paul Crowder, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years

Robert Dalva, The Black Stallion

Jim Clark, Charade

Leo Catozzo, 8½

Tom Cross, First Man (2018)

Eddie Hamilton, Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Robert Kern, National Velvet

Harutoshi Ogata, Perfect Blue

Ralph E. Winters, Quo Vadis (1951)

Barbara McLean, The Rains Came (1939)

Best Adaptation or Musical Score

S. D. Burman and Sahir Ludhiyanvi, Pyaasa

Adolph Deutsch and Saul Chaplin, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn, and Irwin Kostal, Pete’s Dragon

Alfred Newman, Moon Over Miami

Alfred Newman and Ken Darby, South Pacific

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, The Greatest Showman (2017)

Walter Scharf, Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band

Louis Silvers, Stowaway

George Stoll, Girl Crazy

It is one of the few wholly original musicals here. And though its score is not perfect, its highs are some of the best 1950s MGM has to offer.

Best Original Score (eleven nominees because this year’s slate was way too hard to decide on... even the ones I cut)

John Barry, Dances with Wolves

Aaron Copland, The Heiress

James Horner, The Journey of Natty Gann

Akira Ifukube, Gojira

Henry Mancini, Charade

Sergei Prokofiev, Alexander Nevsky

Nino Rota, 8½

Miklós Rózsa, Quo Vadis

Max Steiner, All This, and Heaven Too

Dimitri Tiomkin, The Alamo (1960)

Ralph Vaughan Williams, 49th Parallel

This was the most difficult category to call this year. This was the strongest collection of Best Original Score nominees in a few years, with arguments that could easily be made for John Barry, Akira Ifukube, Nino Rota, Max Steiner, and Dimitri Tiomkin. In the end, it was between the three composers not known for film scores, but their classical music: Aaron Copland, Sergei Prokofiev, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Prokofiev took third place as I found that the placement of music in Alexander Nevsky paled a bit compared to The Heiress and 49th Parallel. In the end, I went with the Englishman because his distinct sound has never really been replicated for movies, and Vaughan Williams’ works are less available in North America. There are other Copland scores - and some that I feel more strongly about. So in this titanic battle of film score composers, congratulations to Ralph Vaughan Williams!

Best Original Song

“Bless Your Beautiful Hide”, music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

“Candle on the Water”, music and lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, Pete's Dragon

“Chaar Kadam”, music by Shantanu Moitra, lyrics by Swanand Kirkire, PK (2014, India)

“Charade”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Charade (1963)

“Gunfight at the O.K. Corral”, music by Dimitri Tiomkin, lyrics by Ned Washington, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

“Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing”, music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

“Mystery of Love”, music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens, Call Me by Your Name (2017)

“Rain”, music by Shin'ichi Nakajima, Saori Fujisaki, and Satoshi Fukase, lyrics by Saori Fujisaki and Satoshi Fukase, Mary and the Witch’s Flower

“Shallow”, music and lyrics by Mark Ronson, Lady Gaga, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt, A Star Is Born

“You're the One That I Want”, music and lyrics by John Farrar, Grease

Thanks to all those who participated in the preliminary and final rounds! And even those who didn’t participate but gave me the support power through this. Details are here!

Best Costume Design (TIE)

Konstantin Eliseev, Alexander Nevsky

Orry-Kelly, All This, and Heaven Too

Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther (2018)

Mary E. Vogt, Crazy Rich Asians

Sandy Powell, The Favourite (2018)

Edith Head and Gile Steele, The Heiress

Albert Wolsky, The Journey of Natty Gann

Elizabeth Haffenden and Joan Bridge, A Man for All Seasons

Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread

Herschel McCoy and Joan Joseff, Quo Vadis

You couldn’t make me choose, folks!

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, and Lois Burwell, Braveheart (1995)

Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, and Lucy Sibbick, Darkest Hour (2017)

Samantha Denyer, The Favourite

Colin Arthur, The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Uncredited, Piccadilly

Charles E. Parker, Sydney Guilaroff, and Joan Johnstone, Quo Vadis

Uncredited, Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953)

Amanda Knight and Francesca Crowder, Solo (2018)

Geoffrey Rodway and Biddy Chrystal, The Sword and the Rose (1953)

Perc Westmore, Jean Burt Reilly, and Ed Voight, The Woman in White (1948)

Best Production Design

Iosif Shpinel and Nikolai Solovyov, Alexander Nevsky

Peter Ellenshaw, John B. Mansbridge, Robert McCall, Al Roelofs, Frank R. McKelvy, and Roger M. Shook, The Black Hole (1979)

Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart, Black Panther

Otto Hunte, The Blue Angel

Max Rée, Cimarron

Ted Smith, Dodge City

Piero Gherardi, 8½

Edward Carrere and William L. Kuehl, The Fountainhead (1949)

John Meehan, Harry Horner, and Emile Kuri, The Heiress

William A. Horning, Cedric Gibbons, Edward C. Carfagno, and Hugh Hunt, Quo Vadis

Achievement in Visual Effects

The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)

The Black Hole

First Man

Flight of the Navigator (1986)

GoldenEye (1995)

Licence to Kill (1989)

Mare Nostrum

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

The Rains Came

Ready Player One

Solo

The Sword and the Rose

Tron (1982)

Wonder Man

All films in this category are declared winners. It would be unfair to compare a silent film to the newest Mission: Impossible film, so this is based on visual effects achievement in their respective time.

Worst Picture

Cimarron (1931)

The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964)

Die Another Day (2002)

It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963)

Kiss & Spell (2017, Vietnam)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Red Barry (1938 serial)

Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue

Tron

The Wacky World of Mother Goose

Holy mother of hell. Rankin and Bass, what did you DO?

Honorary Awards:

Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, for stewarding the James Bond series and decades of entertainment

Peter Ellenshaw, for his esteemed career as a matte artist and visual effects wizard

Bill Gold (posthumously), for his artistry in movie poster design

Salt of the Earth (1954), for its courage to speak truth to power, persevering through the judgment of time despite being the only American film ever blacklisted

Vitaphone, for innovative achievements in sound recording

FILMS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS (excluding Worst Picture... 61) Ten: 8½

Nine: The Heiress

Eight: Charade; The Philadelphia Story

Seven: Pyaasa

Five: All This, and Heaven Too; The Blue Angel; A Man for All Seasons; My Neighbors the Yamadas; Quo Vadis; Roma; Shoplifters; Stalker

Four: Alexander Nevsky; Cry, the Beloved Country; Dances with Wolves; Gojira; A Man Escaped

Three: The Black Stallion; Crazy Rich Asians; 49th Parallel; Grease; Imitation of Life; Incredibles 2; The Journey of Natty Gann; Perfect Blue; Pete’s Dragon; Phantom Thread; Piccadilly; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Splendor in the Grass; A Star Is Born; Stowaway; The Whole Town’s Talking

Two: The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years; The Black Hole; Black Panther; Crossfire; Dodge City; Eighth Grade; The Favourite; First Man; Floating Weeds; Girl Crazy; Gunfight at the O.K. Corral; Mare Nostrum; Mary and the Witch’s Flower; Mission: Impossible – Fallout; Moon Over Miami; National Velvet; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band; The Post; The Rains Came; Solo; South Pacific; The Sword and the Rose; Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Warlock; Wonder Man; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

WINNERS (excluding honorary awards and Worst Picture; 41) 3 wins: The Philadelphia Story

2 wins: 8½; The Heiress; Imitation of Life; Mission: Impossible – Fallout; Pyaasa; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Shoplifters

1 win: The Absent-Minded Professor; Alexander Nevsky; All This, and Heaven Too; The Black Hole; Black Panther; The Black Stallion; The Blue Angel; Charade; Crossfire; The Favourite; First Man; Flight of the Navigator; 49th Parallel; GoldenEye; Licence to Kill; Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing; A Man Escaped; A Man for All Seasons; Mare Nostrum; My Neighbors the Yamadas; Quo Vadis; The Rains Came; Ready Player One; Roma; Solo; Stalker; The Sword and the Rose; Tron; West Point; Wonder Man; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

102 films were nominated in 26 categories.

[adorkablephil]

Fic: The Roles We Play (7/10)

Title: The Roles We Play Summary: Dan Howell and Phil Lester work together as voice actors for BBC radio dramas in the late 1930s, but slowly begin to develop “inappropriate” feelings for each other Rating: G Word Count: 4.967 (this chapter) Tags: Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Historical AU, 1930s, BBC, Radio, Actors AU, Slow Burn, Love Letters, Past Character Death, Grief, Angst Author’s Note: This fic was inspired by the @phanfichallenge 20k History Challenge. A bazillion thanks, as always, to my amazing beta, India!

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[ All Chapters Masterlist ]

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19 March 2001

Before Kathleen returned to the little terrace house the next morning, she sent her children to school and bid her husband goodbye with a kiss when he left for the office. “Make sure to stop reading long enough to eat something at lunchtime,” her husband, George, insisted sternly. “I packed you a sandwich.” He knew her well. She could easily get absorbed in a project and work for hours at a time without taking any breaks, and this particular project was far more absorbing than any other she’d ever embarked upon. She promised him, thanked him for the sandwich, and kissed him again. Then, she shooed him out of their house with a smile.

She reentered Daniel Howell and Philip Lester’s silent home as if entering a church, for it seemed to her now filled with sacred memories she could never understand. She could only know the scraps of information left behind in the shoebox on the kitchen table … and perhaps another shoebox somewhere in the house that held Philip Lester’s own mementos, including the corresponding letters from her Great-Uncle Dan. She hoped that such a box existed so that she could understand more of the story. For a moment, she hesitated at the doorway leading into the kitchen, suddenly feeling as if she were invading these two men’s privacy by reading their letters.

But then she decided that, through their letters, their love lived on, and by reading them she kept that love alive. It would be tragic to leave such a romance unacknowledged, shut up in a shoebox for none to see. She hoped she was not merely justifying her own curiosity as she entered the room and sat once again on the chair at the little table.

She remembered well where she had left off the previous night. Dan had been conscripted into the Army in World War II. She felt extremely glad that she knew for certain that he had survived, because otherwise she would have feared for him terribly at this point. But he would not have bought this house and lived here until his recent death if he had not survived the war.

She glanced one more time at the conscription notice, then set it aside with distaste. She picked up the next envelope, which was addressed simply to “Dan” and had no postage or indication of mailing on the outside.

-

19 January 1940

My dearest love,

I am struck to the heart by this terrible news. I am more grateful to you than I can possibly express that you took me aside privately to give me the information in advance, for if I had heard it for the first time when you announced it to the repertory company at large, I am sure I would not have been able to maintain my composure.

I cannot believe that we are to be parted so soon after finally finding each other. Yes, we met for the first time more than a year ago, and yet it feels as if we only truly found each other three weeks ago when you pressed your lips to mine for the first time. An entire world opened to me that I had never previously imagined. Or, perhaps, imagined, but never believed to be possible in my own life.

For you are now my life, my dearest and most beautiful love. It may seem ridiculous that I write you this letter when I shall see you this evening at your home, but I find that I must express my emotions as I sit here, alone, with my first thought upon waking being that I shall be parted from you all too soon. I wish that I had woken this morning to the sight of your lovely face on the pillow beside me, your golden skin bathed in the earliest rays of the sun, but I do understand your need to make household arrangements and come to terms with this situation with some privacy.

I do hope, however, that we may make the most of these meager days before you depart. I know that the BBC has released you from duty so that you may make all necessary arrangements and bid goodbye to your family. I intend to feign illness or a family emergency so that we might spend as much time as possible together, and perhaps make a trip to the north so that my family might see you before you leave, as well, if you wish it. I know that they love you dearly and will be deeply grieved by this news.

I must admit that I am glad that the BBC has released you from your duties, for it would strike me to the heart to playact beside you, surrounded by others completely unaware of our pain and sorrow. I do not know how I shall perform today, myself, with this news in the forefront of my mind. I believe I shall have little difficulty feigning a need to take time away from my work.

Rather than mailing this letter, I will give it to you in person when I come this evening to your home, where we might embrace each other and express all the love in our united hearts.

Yours most devotedly,

Phil

-

Kathleen found herself particularly touched by Phil’s reference to Dan’s face on the pillow beside him, bathed in morning sunlight. She interpreted that to mean that the two men had, in fact, shared a bed at some point before the writing of that letter, and regardless of whether their interactions had been sexual in nature, she was glad that they’d had that intimacy. Especially since their time together had been so short before Dan was scheduled to leave for the war.

She thought of all the tender moments she had shared with her husband over the years, all those early mornings of sleepy smiles and gentle kisses. And then she remembered that although Dan and Phil may have had only a short period together before World War II, they had apparently had decades together afterward, and she felt tears smarting in her eyes. She was so glad that they’d gotten that second chance.

At first glance, the next letter appeared to be written by a different hand, with a slightly more feminine style. Kathleen frowned in confusion and continued reading.

-

4 February 1940

My dearest,

I know that this letter must pass through the hands of your superiors and perhaps others in the military before it reaches you, and someone may intercept this either before or after you have received it, but I can no longer communicate with you in any other way, and I simply will not be separated from you entirely. I will speak to you by whatever means necessary, even if that means that I chance the discovery of this letter by some officer who chooses to invade our privacy.

If you wish for me not to write to you in such a potentially scandalous way, please do tell me, but know that it would break my heart to be unable to reach out to you until we see each other again. Please forgive me for not quite being myself in this letter, but I hope it may persuade you to allow me this small consolation in writing to you.

I think of you every moment and wonder where you are, what you are doing. I hope that this letter will reach you in Dorset before you are deployed, but I do not know how extensive a period of time you may receive training before you depart. Nor do I know how long it will take future letters to reach you, for I know not where your regiment will be sent. I, who pray little, do pray that the Lord keeps you safe and brings you home to me as soon as may be.

Please write when you are able. My heart aches for you with its every beat.

Your most loving,

Philippa

-

Kathleen giggled. “Philippa”! Philip Lester had signed his letter as “Philippa”! But then her humor dissipated as she realized the very real danger the two men had faced in that less accepting time. Phil subtly acknowledged in his own letter that he took chances with both their reputations by writing at all when he had no idea how many hands would touch that letter before it reached Dan, or whether anyone might open it to examine it for some reason.

Any desire to giggle completely vanished, and she grieved for their need to hide their love from the world. What would have happened to Dan if the identity of his lover had been discovered? She honestly did not know. She hurt for Phil, for his desperation to stay in touch with his lover while they were apart, despite the possible dangers.

Even today, such a relationship would receive disgusted condemnation from many. Many in her own family, apparently. She bowed her head in shame that she’d unknowingly been a party to their rejection of him, that she had not reached out to her great-uncle to let him know that not everyone would see and treat him with such judgment. If only she had known. If only she had known him. But now the chance was lost to her, and she had only these letters and mementos to allow her to know who this wonderful man had been.

The next letter, too, was written in the more feminine hand, but it was extremely short.

-

14 February 1940

My dearest love,

Today we celebrate Saint Valentine, and so I wished merely to send you a short missive so that you know I shall think of you every moment of this day. Imagine me ostentatiously presenting you with flowers and chocolate, if such an image might amuse you. I would certainly treat you like a king if you were here, for you are of course the king of my heart and always shall be.

I have not yet received a reply to my last letter, so I shall not write extensively before receiving your permission to do so. But please just know that I love you with every fibre of my being, and every inch of my body misses every inch of yours beside me.

With devotion,

Philippa

-

The next letter was written in Philip Lester’s familiar hand, however, without any disguise.

-

20 March 1940

My beautiful love,

Your letter made me laugh aloud, and I am glad that my choice of pseudonym amused you so. To be entirely honest, I am glad that you do not feel a need for me to sign my letters in that manner, for I wish my messages to you to be as authentic and true as possible. It pained me to sign my letters with something other than my actual name, but I did not wish to risk your reputation without permission.

Since I now have that permission, I shall state with no hesitation whatsoever that I, Philip Lester, am most devotedly and passionately in love with Private Daniel Howell!

There. Now, if thunder should sound and lightning should strike us, at least I will have spoken the truth proudly, for indeed I am most proud to love and be loved by you.

I have ceased my work at the BBC, for I find I cannot tolerate the place, haunted as it is by memories of you. I could never enter the rehearsal room without remembering our first meeting there. You, so nervous and yet so handsome. Your deep brown eyes when you looked at me seemed to say much, but I refused to build any hopes. No, that is not true, for I appreciated your spirit and did develop hope of earning your friendship. Remember when we both said that we would prefer the role of Puck? I knew then that you were a kindred spirit, but I could never have guessed to what extent that could be true.

So I now spend my days haunting the house, with Gemma fussing over me and Mrs. Jameson baking a ridiculous number of cakes in hopes of tempting my palate, for I have little interest in food. I believe I shall go north for a time to seek solace in the bosom of my family. And then I know not what I shall do. I miss you so abominably! I cannot bear it.

Yours most devotedly,

Phil

-

Kathleen read several such moving letters, with Phil expressing increasingly desperate longing for Dan and grief at his absence. Then she reached the letter she had been expecting, for she remembered that her family had always described Great-Uncle Dan as living with “a fellow Army pensioner” to save money.

-

23 May 1940

My dearest, most beautiful love,

Please do not be angry with me. I simply cannot sit here in safety while you are abroad fighting for all that is right and just. You may not have chosen your fate, you may have been conscripted to fight this war, but I now choose to fight it with you. Though we may not be together, in a way we shall, for we shall be fighting for the same righteous cause.

Again, I plead with you not to chide me for this decision. This is the best way for me to feel close to you, to feel as if we are in some way together even if it is not in a physical sense. At least we may be together in purpose, part of the same endeavor for freedom not only for ourselves but also for all folk in the oppressed and ravaged corners of the world.

I once told you that I was a coward, that I would run from any fight and trip over my own feet while doing so. Today I choose to be Errol Flynn, instead, though I must admit that I have not chosen the cavalry, for obvious equine-related reasons.

Please forgive me and wish me well. My thoughts and prayers are always with you—for, yes, my constant fears for your safety have induced me to take up frequent prayer.

Yours always and forever,

Phil

-

The next few items in the box were birthday cards addressed to various international addresses. It was apparent that no one knew exactly where his regiment was located, but they had all apparently reached him through the various channels of the military.

One card appeared to be from his mother. On the cover, it only said, “Happy Birthday to My Son,” and on the inside it was signed merely, “Be safe, Mum.” Thinking on it, Kathleen realized that this bland—perhaps even cold—message had come from her own great-grandmother. Kathleen had never known her well, as she died when Kathleen was still young, but Kathleen found herself now wondering if the woman had held everyone at such a distance or whether it had only been the son she disapproved of, the one who lived with “a fellow Army pensioner.”

There was a card from Phil, of course, with the usual sentimental avowals but no mention of his Army situation. Another card, however, appeared to be from Phil’s family, signed by all of them (including a squiggle presumably from the very young Steven), which contained a letter from Phil’s mother.

-

1 June 1940

Our dear Daniel,

I do not know if this card will reach you by your birthday, but I can only hope that it shall. Please know that we will all be thinking of you on that day, and that our hopes for your safety endure not only then but on every day of the year.

I hope you will be able to forgive our beloved Philip for his decision to join the Army. He did so only to feel closer to you, but I know it also pleases him to feel that he may be helping others, as he has always been such a kind and gentle boy. He may not have told you, but he is to be given the rank of Captain, and will be working in translation, as he is fluent in both French and German, so you needn’t fear him falling prey to violence on the front lines. We know that you, however, face true peril every day, and we fear for you so much that we cannot help but understand Philip’s decision, knowing that the extremity of his own feelings for you must be so much greater than our own.

Instead of dwelling on the dangers of today, I would invite you to remember when you spent your birthday with us last year. You boys had so much fun messing about in the river and playing badminton in the garden. I remember you strolling through the trees and along the hillsides with Philip, the two of you so engaged in conversation that you needed no other company. And you were so sweet with young Steven.

I remember with great pleasure how surprised and delighted you were by the extravagance of a Pimm’s Cup when we brought them out on the evening of your birthday. On your birthday this year, wherever you are, I hope you will remember those broad snifters filled with colorful fruits and delicious liqueur that we all drank together in the back garden in the sunshine. Remember how we all raised our glasses to toast the anniversary of your birth, and know that we will be toasting you this year, as well. We all look forward to doing so with you again upon your safe return.

With all good wishes and affection,

Kathryn Lester

-

The next letter was another from Phil, and a photograph fell out of the envelope when Kathleen opened it. The black-and-white photo showed a handsome young man, tall and slim, dressed in military uniform, standing beside a motorcycle. He had a winsome smile upon his face and one hand resting on the motorcycle’s handlebar.

-

8 July 1940

My most beloved Daniel,

I hope you do not blame me excessively for writing less often than I would like. My duties keep me quite busy, but I think of you every day and hope for your safety. Every letter I receive from you is a balm to my heart.

I enclose a photograph of myself with my new motorcycle. I greatly enjoy riding it about the country lanes on grand adventures with the wind in my face and the motor roaring.

But surely you know that I jest, for I would never ride such an infernally dangerous creation, perhaps even worse than a horse! It belongs to a fellow soldier in my regiment, and I merely asked him to photograph me with it so that I might look dashing. Do I look dashing? Do I look like a man who might have wild adventures?

I should not jest about wild adventures, for I know you face true dangers and not merely fancifully imagined ones. I must admit that I loathe thinking about the fear you must experience. In your most recent letter, you sounded so downcast that I worry extremely. Please write again soon, or I shall be forced to find additional opportunities to take photographs of myself in ludicrous situations in an attempt to cheer you.

I love you more than words could possibly express, but I know you already understand this, for I know you love me with the same enduring intensity. We shall be together again, and when that time comes, I shall never let us be parted ever after, for I will never again let go of your hand in mine.

Except perhaps to allow you to make the tea. It always tastes better when you make it.

I hope my letter has given you a chuckle or two, for I worry about your dark mood. You must keep up your spirits, my dearest, so that you can come back to me and we can spend the rest of our lives making each other deliriously happy. I insist upon it. Promise me in your next letter. Promise me that we shall have that future together when we both return home when this infernal war is finished.

With the most enduring and ardent love,

Phil

-

Kathleen felt grateful, once again, for the fact that she knew that Dan—her Great-Uncle Dan, she reminded herself, since she had begun to think of him as the young man seen through Philip Lester’s eyes in these letters—survived the war, for everyone’s concern for his safety was contagious.

Unexpectedly, the doorbell rang. Kathleen glanced at it, then at her watch. She had continued reading past lunchtime, so she should take a break in any case. She wondered if Bernice had come to visit again. She wouldn’t mind chatting with the older woman while eating her sandwich.

But when she opened the door, Kathleen found a man standing outside. He looked to be around her age, and he wore crisp jeans with a white jumper. He held out his hand. “I’m Marcus Greene,” he said with a smile. “I assume you’re one of Uncle Dan’s relatives?”

Kathleen shook his hand automatically, asking dazedly, “Uncle Dan?”

Marcus Greene laughed. “Oh, I’m not actually related to him. That’s just what we always called him. Phil Lester was my uncle. Well, great-uncle, but we always just called him Uncle Phil.”

Kathleen nodded, uncertain what exactly was going on, but she knew that she would love to talk more with someone who had known Philip Lester and, apparently, her own great-uncle. “I was just about to have lunch,” she told him. “Would you care for half a sandwich and a chat?”

******

They ended up sitting in the two chairs in the garden, splitting the roast beef sandwich Kathleen’s husband had prepared for her that morning.

“Uncle Phil always loved this garden,” Marcus told Kathleen as they sat among the greenery and flowering shrubbery.

“I’d noticed how beautiful it was,” Kathleen admitted. “Was one of them an avid gardener?”

Marcus laughed. “Oh, Uncle Phil loved plants, but he couldn’t keep them alive for long. He always joked that he had a ‘brown thumb.’” Kathleen chuckled. “It was Uncle Dan who took care of this garden. He didn’t care about plants very much, but he loved how happy they made Uncle Phil, so he has multiple gardening books and spent time out here tending the garden, even during the week that he died.”

“You saw my great-uncle the week he died?” Kathleen asked, surprised.

“Oh, of course,” Marcus replied. “I came to check on him every day after Uncle Phil was gone. He was inconsolable. Simply lost without his Phil. They hadn’t spent a day apart for decades, you know.”

Kathleen shook her head. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know very much about my great-uncle at all until I came here yesterday to begin sorting through his estate. I found a box of letters and have been reading them. I really wish I’d gotten to know my great-uncle while he was still alive. And I wish I’d gotten to know Philip Lester, too. He seems like a wonderful man. Very loving.”

“They both were, in their own ways,” Marcus told her. “I wish you could have known Uncle Dan. He was a character.” He smiled in memory.

“I wonder … did your uncle have a box of mementos like Dan did? I would dearly love to read the letters my great-uncle wrote!”

Marcus looked thoughtful. “Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t have thrown anything like that away, so it should be around here somewhere, but I haven’t gone through the house yet.”

“You didn’t go through your uncle’s estate after his death?”

“Of course not!” Marcus exclaimed, sounding almost horrified. “With Uncle Dan still living here? Surrounded by Uncle Phil’s things? It would have been cruel to come in and take things away from him when that was all he had left!”

“Oh,” Kathleen said softly. “Of course.” She felt terrible for having even suggested the idea. “So … we will both need to go through the house. If you haven’t already dealt with your uncle’s belongings, I’m afraid it might be a bit of a muddle.”

Marcus gestured dismissively. “That won’t be too difficult. I can help you sort through everything, since I know which things belonged to each of them … though after all these years most of their belongings really were theirs together, instead of belonging to one or the other.” Marcus glanced at her, then out at the garden. He took a bite of sandwich, chewed, and swallowed before adding, “To be honest, I didn’t think Uncle Dan’s family would care about his estate.” He hesitated. “Or was your family hoping for something that could be sold? I’m afraid there isn’t anything worth much money.”

Kathleen’s face felt hot, and she knew she was blushing. “No,” she stammered, “I mean … they just sent me to deal with the estate, to decide what to do with everything, you know? Decide which things to take to the charity shop, which things might have sentimental value, that sort of thing.”

Marcus���s eyebrows went up. “Sentimental value?” he asked in obvious disbelief. Then he cleared his throat and said, “Oh, I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I just … I wasn’t aware that Uncle Dan’s family felt much sentiment where he was concerned. He never talked about them, and he spent all holidays with us, so I wasn’t even aware that he had much living family.” Marcus stopped himself, then added, “Biological family, that is. He was very much a part of the Lester family.”

“I’m glad,” Kathleen said softly. “I don’t know what happened between him and our family, because no one ever talked about him. I’m afraid…” she hesitated, then continued, “I’m afraid perhaps my grandfather and their parents might have disapproved. Of … them.”

Marcus nodded slowly. “I always assumed that was the case, but I didn’t want to ask. I was afraid it might open old wounds. And he seemed perfectly happy as a part of our own family, so I didn’t want to stir up any possible bad memories.”

“I wish I’d had the chance to know him,” Kathleen said sadly, her sandwich quite forgotten. “And Philip Lester.” She found a smile for Marcus Greene. “And perhaps the two corgis in the photograph in the lounge.”

Marcus laughed. “Oh! Pancake and Nuki! Those dogs were the delight of their lives! They used to take them out for walks twice a day, showing them off to the neighborhood. Uncle Phil always told us that corgis are basically royalty. Something about a dog named Dookie.” Marcus’s face sobered. “They didn’t make it outside so often once the dogs were gone.” He looked at Kathleen. “Pancake and Nuki died just a few months apart. It was hard on Uncle Phil and Uncle Dan, losing them so close together like that. I think it probably contributed to them hiding out in the house more. It’s hard to overcome grief like that, when you love like that, even if it’s just a pet.”

Kathleen nodded. She nibbled at her sandwich. George would chastise her if she didn’t eat at least half of it, and she knew he was right. She took a proper bite and chewed and swallowed. It was difficult to swallow around the lump in her throat, though.

“I can tell they were very loving people,” she said hesitantly. “I only met Great-Uncle Dan a few times and never had a real conversation with him, and I never got to meet Philip Lester at all, but I feel like I’ve been getting to know them a bit through their letters.” She paused, then corrected herself, “Well, Phil’s letters. Because it’s my Great-Uncle Dan’s box of mementos, so it doesn’t have any letters from him, only letters to him.”

Marcus smiled at her, and it reminded her of that winsome smile on the face of a soldier standing beside a motorbike. “If you like, we can look for Uncle Phil’s box of mementos and go through it together. I knew them both well my whole life, so I can fill in some of the context for you.”

“That’s…” Kathleen felt herself tear up, and felt a tear actually slide down her face. She sniffed, and dabbed at her eyes with the piece of kitchen roll she’d brought out with her sandwich. “I would love that. It’s incredibly kind of you, given how my family has behaved.”

“Uncle Phil wouldn’t want me to hold it against you, and I don’t think Uncle Dan would, either. Let’s go order some more substantial food…” Kathleen laughed, knowing that the half-sandwich hadn’t been much of a meal for either of them, “…and we’ll go through their things, and I’ll tell you all about both of them. How about that?”

Kathleen nodded gratefully. “That would be wonderful.”

They gathered up their things and went into the house, but Kathleen glanced back as she closed the sliding glass doors, and thought about all the love her great-uncle must have felt, inspiring him to nurture a garden like that for a man with a brown thumb who loved plants.

******

[ Continue to Chapter 8 ]

[getfloweroflove-blog]

Confidential Information On Flower Of Love That Only The Experts Know Exist

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  Tags  I Love You Flowers, Flowers Of Love, Flowers Love

[gotdeliveryflowers-blog]

Find Out Everything There Is To Know About Delivery Flowers In 5 Simple Steps

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  Tags  Best Online Flowers, Flowers Delivery, Online Flower Delivery, Flowers To Send

[thesweetblossoms]

Notes On Perfumery

🌿The delicious, provocative, memorable, thrilling, seductive, romantic and captivating realms of perfumery and scent serve as distinct and alchemical reminders of the present, incomparable, attenuating and effervescent moment. But, while I long to purchase many of the perfumes that evocatively shift and heighten the pleasure quotient, such as Narcotic Venus by Nassamotto, Blanche by Byredo, or Carnal Flower by Frederic Malle, I know that I must be prudent with many luxury indulgences, and thoughtfully consider whether I would be satisfied with simpler, singular, hits emanating from the olfactory world, by being more aware of the notes that drift throughly from nature, from the structures we live in, from the material we clothe ourselves in and from the food and drink we prepare and enjoy. By seeking to read the scent scape at any moment, we transfer the energy inherent therein to bits of data into our mind, embellishing the experience, adding nuances, deepening the atmosphere and adding the denuded invisible light that accompanies the elemental notes of a perfume. Thus I greedily imbibe reality through a perfumed perspective, noting the mellow, calming notes of still warm, washed cotton blankets, the promising whiffs of steamy, morning coffee, the lingering traces of tuberose petals on a birch wood stool side table, coconut oil mixed with jasmine that I rub over my limbs, the added cinnamon and cardamom powder floating from my orange pekoe tea, the Thai basil I pull from the garden to enliven turmeric stained shrimp massaman curry, the sleepy notes of lavender from our castile soap, the marrying of shouldering palo santo and vanilla incense matches lit before meditation, the handmade rose water spray I use to pick me up at work, the earthy smell of twine that I snip to tie marigolds before placing them in a copper Moscow mule rug, the clementine skin that I peel off for my daughter, the dark chocolate and walnut bedtime snack, the fine, dusty atmosphere of leather and time marked old books, the salty smell of seashells, or the delicate song of sweet alyssum that is so sensitive, that is likely missed from most perfume concoctions that I could ever buy.

Fragrances I would Like Bottled

The perfume of feeling better immediately after an argument with your spouse.

The perfume of moonlight, fluttering moth and delicate desert breezes.

The perfume of tuberose garlands strung above the wedding bed.

The perfume of congratulatory soirées, saturated with champagne, music, dancing, mason jar cut garden flowers, candlelit lanterns, well wishes and unhindered vistas of hope.

The perfume of receiving a petite emerald green satin gift box, tied with a full cream silk ribbon.

The perfume of mornings beginning with croissants, freshly squeezed orange juice and hazelnut coffee, before walking in the city, visiting flower shops, bookstores, art museums, the yoga studio and the park.

The perfume of an afternoon at the beach with books, bespoke sunglasses, a white bikini and a large brimmed, black ribboned straw hat.

Th perfume of falling in love with a stranger among the stacks of the library.

The perfume of days filled with yoga, meditation, green juices, sound bathing, incense, candlelight, dancing and gardening.

The perfume of arranging flowers for windowsill Wednesday.

The perfume of walking into your first apartment in Paris.

The perfume of knowing that today will be a lucky day.

The perfume of of a brilliant, silver moon hanging outside your window like a dangling silver charm.

The perfume of walking into a bookstore café with two hours to spare and an earl gray tea to buy.

The perfume of sleeping in extra and allowing yourself to be lazy.

The perfume of orange cardamom soaped, Shea butter rubbed hands.

The perfume of jasmine plucked from the garden mixing with rumpled cotton sheets.

The perfume of a round the world tickets and unlimited word processing software budget.

The perfume of amnesia for painful memories and vivid remembrances of the joyous ones.

The perfume of a quiet hour by the windows with an apothecary bottle of recently cut roses, sweet alyssum and oriental lilies, a pad of watercolor paper, brushes and paint.

The perfume of lush, deep, heavy, weary slumber to remind your mind when it refuses to surrender to sleep.

The perfume of tuberose plants, mango and magnolia trees after the rain.

The perfume of a first kiss by the sea.

The perfume of mutual, unwavering regard for romance, evidenced in the subtlest occurrences, bring French presses coffee in bed or turning off the lights due to a preference for sparkling candlelight and evocative splinters of the moon.

The perfume of palm trees embracing us as we live, and their plump dates tempering the unalterable truth that we die.

The perfume of narcotic reprieve that would heal a persons sorrow, would offer a sanctuary during distress and would allow tampered hearts to move past the closely trailing anxieties and woes.

The perfume that firmly stays the swiftly passing hours.

The perfume of the poetry that lingers in the shadows and the music that is too shy to be heard.

Love Letters

I am enameled by the art of writing love letters. Love letters are like butterfly nets to transpose over the moment in order to entrap emotion into tangible form. Some allow us to express ourselves in ways that is absent in our customary interactions. For the words, embedded into parchment, or onto a digital screen, speak directly, yet also subtly, just as flushed cheeks, reveal truths about the state of your heart, when you spy a lover. For often when we say things out aloud, much is distorted by the mood of the day, perhaps the stream of dust by open French windows, or by the hazy mist falling copiously over burdened peach rose bushes, or by the movement of coffee cups over a thick cherry wood table, the cadence of slow sips, distracting us from what we are saying. Yet we transcribe these thoughts, ideas or feelings into paper we are not only clearer in expressing ourselves, we assure that our reader might also witness a bit of the inimitable cast of our soul. For love letters inspire more love, writing might manifest more healing, nurturing, palliative entreaties, or they may elucidate further on a source of conflict, providing a new way of thinking about a seemingly impenetrable block, for writing is a mode of thinking, it extracts instincts that may be faded in ordinary circumstances. Beautiful love letters hint at the pace of the writers breaths, their temperament, there vision of the world, of whether they wore a jasmine and tuberose perfume, marks of soil may denote time in the garden, or the email time stamp, the hour that the person lingered with, albeit, separated by time and space, in letters. Writing letters are forms of therapy, meditation, creativity, idea generation, contemplation an imagination. It can become a part of a lifestyle. I highly recommend you send flowers, a postcard, am email, a disarming text message or a distinctly mesmerizing photograph, to manifest more love in your hours.

Traveling to Bengal

I am returning to the country of my birth, a land veined with five major rivers that flow from the highest mountains peaks in the world, to the Bay of Bengal, down to the Indian Ocean, the rivers include Meghna, Padma, Jumuna, Bhramaputra and the Ganges river. Bengal is a rich, fertile, magnolia, tuberose, marigold and mango tree embroidered emerald terrain, whirling with possibility, imagination and chance. I dwell amidst a cloud of ripe anticipation and hopefulness as I embark on the journey. Perhaps the days ahead will enrich and concentrate my adamant search for the truth; sought by reading the signs of nature, by dwelling alertly within the dreamlike spaces structuring reality, by noting the unwavering play of light and darkness that is a constant anywhere upon our pale earth, by listening to the quiet laughter and the silent tears which is as universal, by tasting familiar wedding kacchi biriyanis at sumptuous, twinkling, fairy light wrapped palm tree, terra-cotta votive candlelit, cashmere pashmina, chiffon sari wrapped, strung jasmine garlanded soirées, by sipping tea from antique British India silver teapots, on worn Mughal era Persian carpets, lit softly with heirloom Italian, crystal chandeliers, with latticed windows open to the enchanting songs of subtropical sunbirds accompanied by the fluttering of parrot wings.🌴🌴🌴