#dames 84

[marblesarelost]

Oh thank goodness, there's some backstory to this at last.

I just added it to my wishlist, and it made me think of one of my favorite books and movies: 84 Charing Cross Road.

The movie stars Anne Bancroft and Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Judi Dench (although Dame Judi isn't in the movie very much).

The book is very good; the movie, though. The movie is heartwrenchingly beautiful, in my opinion. Like Shadowlands, another Sir Anthony Hopkins classic, it's...it's a FILM, not just a MOVIE. And yes, there is a difference, at least to me.

(Holy shit my tags got out of control.)

Another day, another delightful Neil Gaiman story.

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

EDIT: Where are my manners. The book in question is Once Upon A Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller

linktr.ee/oliverdarkshire

[imaginespazzi]

Part 9: These Moments Of Ours

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12

Just crash, it's our time now (to make this work second time around)

(In which a people-pleasing author gives the people what they've been begging for)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Fluff with a little bit Angst

Words: 7.2K Words

TW: Explicit Sexual Content, Swearing

A/N: Hello my lovelies <3 Thank you for being oh so patient with me because I know I really made y'all wait and hopefully it'll be worth the wait. I'm gonna keep this pretty short and sweet today so onto the usual. Please keep sending me your thoughts and theories; they're the best motivation a girl could ask for. I did edit but feel free to point out the inevitable typos/mistakes. As always, let me know what you liked, what you disliked and what you'd like to see going forward. Have a lovely rest of your week my loves :)

April 2030 

UConn 84   Notre Dame 82 

The blue and white section of the Moda Center crowd erupts in cheers as the final buzzer rings through the stadium. Confetti rains down on the court as the UConn Huskies are crowned national champions once again. Paige’s scream is drowned out by KK’s louder whoop as the two of them excitedly wrap their arms around each other, jumping up and down like they’re college students all over again. 

“Oh okay, love the inclusion,” Ice rolls her eyes but it morphs into a grin as her former teammates pull her into their group hug, all three of them making a ruckus that’s drowned out by the crowd around them roaring in excitement. 

“Can y’all be a little quieter. I’m tryna mourn my Irish in peace,” Sonia says lousily, glaring at them in irritation as she fiddles with her clover bracelet. 

“Oh cheer up Citron,” Paige teases her Wings teammate, “at least y’all finally made it back to the Final Four.”

“Fuck all the way off Bueckers-”

“GO HUSKIES,” a loud voice interrupts Sonia’s grumbling as Jana rushes into their section, the Valkyries center smiling vibrantly as she crashes into her old friends, “BLEED BLUE BABY!”

“Bleed blue!” the three UConn faithful chorus back as Sonia glumly saunters over to Maddy Westbeld who had come over with Jana, the two Fighting Irish alum sharing a commiserating hug. 

“This is why everyone finds you Huskies insufferable,” Maddy says with disgust. 

“Because we just keep winning? There, there little leprechauns,” Ice taunts, light-heartedly patting Maddy and Sonia’s heads as both of them bristle and flash the Wings forward with a synchronized middle finger, “I’m sure you’ll catch up to us never.”

Paige is about to join in on the ribbing when KK turns to Jana with a frown, “where’s Azzi? I thought all of y’all came together.”

She shouldn’t care this much anymore. It’s been five years and Paige thinks it’s a little ridiculous how quickly her ears perks up at the mention of her girlfriend, thinks it’s a little pathetic how she leans in closer to Jana, embarrassingly eager to hear the answer to KK’s question. 

“We did. She wanted to go call her parents to check on Stephie,” Jana explains. 

KK rolls her eyes, her face as disappointed as Paige feels, “of course she did.”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” Jana narrows her eyes at the shorter woman, a protective edge to her tone.  

“It means that this avoidance bullshit Azzi’s on is pretty fucking tired,” KK sneers. 

“KK bro chill,” Ice steps in immediately, looking worriedly between her two friends as Jana’s eyes flash with fire. 

“She’s checking on her daughter KK. She’s not trying to avoid anything,” Jana’s quietness is in stark contrast with the loud cheers around them and Paige swallows the guilt clawing at her throat. This is their fault. Her and Azzi’s. They’d caused an earthquake in their own lives and the aftershocks had rippled throughout their friends and families, creating rubble where there had once been solid foundations. 

KK laughs bitterly, “she had to check on her daughter right now? The game ended like three fucking seconds ago and she couldn’t just wait?”

“You’re being unfair.”

“Why are you always defending her?”

“Because she’s my teammate and it’s not all her fault,” Jana spits out, eyes briefly darting towards Paige who digs her fingernails into her palm, “it’s not her fault that she doesn’t always feel welcome around certain people.”

“And how about the rest of us people who’d really like to see her once in a while?” hurt tinges in KK’s words, “she can’t put the other shit aside for one fucking second?”

Jana opens her mouth, ready to defend her Azzi again but before she can speak, a calm voice cuts in, “hi guys.”

Goosebumps rush up Paige’s arms as she takes in the sight of the ex-girlfriend. There’s nothing extravagant to Azzi’s outfit, a simple UConn sweatshirt paired with black ripped jeans and minimal jewelry but she looks as radiant as always. There’s an awkward tension in the air as Azzi warily takes in the way KK and Jana are still glaring at each other. Her eyes accidentally lock with Paige and the blonde can see the same guilt of this is our collateral damage reflected back in those dark brown orbs. 

“Hi Azzi,” Ice is the first one to break the silence, wrapping the Valkyries shooting guard in a hug, “how’s Stephanie?”

Paige watches as Azzi’s eyes light up at the mention of her daughter's name, all of her previous apprehension gone as she begins to gush about the little girl, “she’s good. Somehow manipulated my dad into letting her stay up past her bedtime but good. She’s only two years old but already such a damn menace,” the brunette’s gaze wanders over to KK, “I guess that was to be expected huh? Any child of mine was bound to be one.”

KK cracks a half smile, bumping her shoulder against Jana’s as a truce sign, “you call it being menace, we call it being smart as hell right El Alfy?”

“Dude that’s what I tell her every time,” Jana immediately accepts the white flag, slinging an arm around the shorter woman, “Azzi just has genius children. Me, you, Nés and now Stephie.”

Ice gawks at the two of them, “seriously?”

“Well you see Ice, statistically she can’t have all genius children. Someone needed to be average,” KK mocks, high-fiving a giggling Jana. 

“Are y’all seeing this bullying?” Ice rounds on Paige and Azzi, hands on her hips with dramatically wide eyes, “are y’all really gonna let them bully your favorite child like this?”

“We don’t have favorites,” Paige and Azzi say at the same, pausing abruptly at the resurgence of familiar synchronicity between them. They glance briefly at each other, shuffling nervously, before immediately looking away. 

“I hate all of y’all,” Ice pouts, petulantly folding her arms against her chest. 

“Aw cheer up Icey,” Jana pats the top of Ice’s head, “how about a round of shots at the hotel bar to cheer you up?” she turns to Maddy and Sonia, who’d been having their own conversation, with a devilish grin, “losing team’s paying.”

“Y’all are sore winners,” Maddy huffs. 

Paige’s eyes dart towards Azzi, waiting for the younger woman to come up with a shallow excuse like she usually does to get out of having to spend more time with the blonde than necessary. And she knows that it’s unfair of her, knows that it’s only natural for someone to actively avoid being stuck in the same place as their past -thinks only a fool like her could want to be in their ex’s presence- but every time Azzi escapes being around her, Paige can’t help the disappointment that curls in her stomach. 

“Y’all coming,” KK asks, a slight edge to her voice as she twists to look at Paige and Azzi. 

“Of course,” Paige grins, locking arms with Sonia who immediately groans, “I’m not passing up free drinks. Especially not when the Irish are paying.”

“Az?” KK’s eyes are hopeful. 

Azzi bites her lip and Paige can almost see the cogs turning in her brain before she schools her features into a soft smile, “yeah. I’ll come.”

*** 

Paige isn’t sure how it happens. Well actually, that’s not quite right. She definitely has an idea of how it happened. She’s not quite sure when KK, Ice and Jana had had time to devise the plan but she’s certain that’s how it happened. Because really, there’s no other reasonable explanation for how she and Azzi have ended up being the only two people, from their previous party of seven, that are still sitting at the bar. Maddy and Sonia had left first, muttering under their breaths about not wanting to be around insufferable winners. Ice had been the next to leave, making up an excuse about how she wanted to call her boyfriend. Then Jana had apparently needed the bathroom. When she hadn’t returned in a solid 15 minutes, it was KK’s turn. A barely disguised grin and a hard-to-believe lie of  I think Jana got lost, I should go help her on her lips as she’d excused herself to the sound of Paige and Azzi’s protests. 

The two of them sit in awkward silence for a bit until Azzi suddenly bursts out laughing, the corner of her eyes crinkling. Paige regards her with amusement, trying to ignore the way the sound of the younger woman laughing feels like hearing her favorite song come on in the car on a warm summer road trip. 

“You’re a little young to be going crazy,” she remarks. 

“Shut up,” Azzi rolls her eyes, lightly punching Paige’s shoulder, “it’s just- they’re still all really shitty liars.”

Paige laughs, “and they still come up with the dumbest plans.”

“Do you remember when they locked us in the Werth changing rooms when we had that stupid fight-”

“Hey,” Paige interrupts indignantly, “it wasn’t stupid-”

“It was definitely stupid-”

“You asked Carol to drive you to rehab instead of me.”

“Because you had practice at the same time.”

“I wouldn’t have minded being five minutes late to practice.”

Azzi snorts, “more like half an hour and you sure as shit wouldn’t have been fine when coach would have yelled at you and made you run suicides after.”

“I wouldn’t have cared,” Paige shrugs, “running suicides would have been worth it for an extra hour with you.”

Azzi stares at her, mouth opening and closing several times before she finally looks away, a soft sigh falling from her lips, “you’re doing it again.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Paige says, unable to keep the defensiveness from creeping into her words. 

“You are,” Azzi slips off the barstool, “you are and you don’t even know it.”

“Azzi,” Paige curls her hand around the other woman’s bicep, pulling her in to stop her from leaving and it’s a bad idea because now they’re too close and her heartbeat quickens immediately at the fact that if she leaned in just a little bit more, there would be no more space left between them, “what am I doing?”

“You’re- you-” Azzi stutters, gulping as her eyes briefly flicker down to Paige’s lips, “you’re making me feel.”

“Making you feel what?” Paige presses. 

For a second, Paige thinks Azzi might just give in to her heart, might just tell the truth but then something hardens in her face, and the next word that slips out of her mouth has both of them going rigid, “how’s your wife Paige?”

“Az-”

“I should go to bed,” Azzi says firmly, trying to wriggle out of Paige’s tightening grip. 

“Azzi-”

“I have an early flight and I should probably wake up a little earlier than I normally would cause you know Jana’s gonna need me to wake her up,” Azzi rambles still trying to twist her arm out of Paige’s hold. 

“Hold on-”

“Can you just let go of me-”

“I’m trying to tell-”

“I really need to get to bed-’

“Az-”

“I have to go-”

“Azzi I’m getting a divorce,” Paige bursts out; the admission feels light a heavy weight off her chest.

Azzi stops fighting against the blonde’s grip, “oh.”

“We’ve- um-” Paige’s throat feels dry as Azzi’s eyes continue to bore into her, “we’ve been separated for a while and I finally-uh- finally filed the papers a little while ago. So um- to your question- I uh- I don’t know how she is because I- I don’t- there uh- there isn’t- there isn’t a wife.”

There’s silence for a bit as Azzi’s head bops up and down as she processes Paige’s revelation, “I’m um-” she clears her throat, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like it’s your fault,” and that’s not completely true -not when Olivia had repeatedly thrown the past back in Paige’s face- but she doesn’t think Azzi needs to know that, doesn’t want the younger woman to feel guilty for things beyond her control. She’s confused when Azzi flinches, like a memory has just pinched her nerves. 

“Right,” Azzi bites, “I really should- I really should be going to bed.”

Something gloomy settles across Paige’s heart as she nods at the brunette’s words, slipping out of her own chair as they start walking towards the elevator in the lobby. She feels antsy, like she’s leaving something incomplete. The silence rings loud between them as they wait for the elevator doors to open, keeping as much distance as they can from each other. It feels like ages before the familiar ding! finally rings out around them. Despite the abundance of room inside, the doorway into the elevator is rather condensed and their shoulders brush against each other as they make their way inside. Audible sighs involuntarily roll off of their tongues at the brief second of contact as they both shiver from each other’s familiar touch. There’s enough space now that they could easily move away -they probably should move away- but instead they stay pressed together. The sound of their uneven breathing fills the elevator as the doors close in front of them.

“I’m uh- I’m on the third floor,” Azzi says as she presses the #3 button, “you?”

“Fifth,” Paige breathes out, eyes fixated on the goosebumps that appear on the back of Azzi’s neck as her hands shake while pushing the #5 button. 

The elevator jolts up and Paige immediately reaches for Azzi’s hips to steady her, eliciting a small gasp from the other woman. She waits for Azzi to move away but the brunette stays put and Paige doesn’t move her hands. 

The doors open on the third floor. Both of them suck in a sharp breath. 

Azzi doesn’t get out. 

*** 

Paige wakes up to the dreadful sound of her alarm clock blaring around her room. It takes a second before the memories of last night start pounding against her skull. Her body aches in the best way possible. The room is still dark -just like it had been last night- and she closes her eyes, trying to revisit the feeling of Azzi’s lips pressed against her forehead, right before the younger woman -with her hair disheveled and bitemarks littered across her jawline-  had left Paige’s room. 

Paige hadn’t asked Azzi to stay. She wonders if she should have; wonders if Azzi would have agreed if she’d asked. But she hadn’t asked and Azzi hadn’t stayed. She regrets it a little bit. She wonders if Azzi does too. And Paige thinks that maybe that’s just the melancholic truth about their tragic story. 

Maybe they’re destined to always regret. 

*** 

April 2033

Paige thinks Azzi’s guest room air conditioning must be broken or something. There’s no other explanation for why, despite having kicked off every single blanket, she feels like she’s tossing and turning in red hot lava. She feels restless, like she has a purpose that she’s leaving unfulfilled. All the different scenes from tonight are rushing through her head, but her heart keeps stuttering on the last one; an image of the way Azzi had looked at her before they’d kissed good night. 

Azzi had asked her to stay even if she’d hidden it under a lame disguise of it being too late and Paige being too angry to drive home alone. And it’s not completely false that her blood is still boiling, their little encounter with fucking asshole still dangerously lingering in her mind as she thinks of the 101 ways she would have liked to murder him. But they both know that the minute Azzi had run her hand down Paige’s back, the moment she’d called her baby, the moment she’d given her the reassurance she was too scared to ask for but needed desperately, Paige had felt all the anger in her body replaced by that familiar sense of calm only Azzi had ever been able to provide. 

And after that had been decided, they’d both hesitated in the hallway, looking back and forth between Azzi’s master bedroom and the guestroom. Paige doesn’t know what had possessed her, why she’d decided tonight of all nights to play this false chivalrous rule-abiding good girl persona when it was the last thing she wanted to do. Because the last couple of weeks had been hell. The stupid rules had been hell. Going slow had been hell. Having to pull away from Azzi and walk out the door every night when all she wanted to was to lose herself in the brunette’s arms had been hell. But she’d done it for Azzi. She’d done it because there isn’t a thing in the world that she wouldn’t do for Azzi. Except tonight had been different. There had been that look on Azzi’s face -the way the younger woman had bitten her lips, the way her eyes had been hooded over, the way her cheeks had been flushed as her gaze roamed over Paige’s body- and  it had morphed into one of pure disappointment when Paige had said she’d take the guestroom. 

You’re a fucking idiot Paige Bueckers, she thinks to herself as she bolts right up, the image finally burning a little too bright behind her eyelids to continue this façade of trying to sleep. Perhaps it’s pointless. It’s late and Azzi loves her sleep; there’s no way she’s awake. But Paige slides out of bed anyways, breathing unevenly as she turns on the nightlight and walks towards her door. She doesn’t have a plan, doesn’t have any idea what she’d even say if Azzi is, by some miracle of god, even awake. But fuck it, Paige needs to see this through. She pauses at the door, hands wrapping around the cold handle as she gives herself one more chance to back out. Really, she doesn’t even know why she’s so nervous. It’s Azzi. Her Azzi. 

Paige twists the handle to tug the door open. 

Azzi’s eyes widen in surprise, her fisted hand -that had clearly been raised to knock on the mahogany door- freezing in place as she swallows and Paige is mesmerized by the way it highlights the veins in her neck. Her eyes move downwards, fixating on where Azzi’s oversized t-shirt hangs looser on one-side, leaving her right shoulder and collarbone on display. The shirt right above her thighs, giving Paige the perfect display of Azzi’s toned long legs looming beneath and the blonde gulps at the sight. 

“Hi,” Azzi speaks first, the low graveliness in her tone causing a coil of want to wrap itself around Paige’s stomach. 

“Hey,” Paige whispers back, “couldn’t sleep?”

Azzi bites her lip, “no- I just uh-, people always say- like when Jana sleeps over or something- she always says that- that the guest room is um- it’s too cold so I just- I wanted to make sure- wanted to ask-” she clears her throat, taking a step forward as she look earnestly at Paige, “are you cold?”

“So cold,” Paige confirms, moving closer to Azzi so their chests are almost touching. 

“You could um-” Azzi licks her teeth, “you could stay in Stephie’s room-” 

“I could?” Paige asks, pressing herself flush against the younger woman, hands wrapping around her waist. There’s barely space for air between them but she wants to get closer, wants to stitch herself into Azzi’s skin and keep them intertwined forever. 

“You could but,” Azzi’s hand trails Paige’s biceps, causing the blonde to shiver, before finally interlocking around her neck, “I think- I think her bed might be a little small for you.”

“Way too small,” Paige breathes against Azzi’s skin as she nips at the brunette’s jawline, before ghosting her lips against her neck, leaving a trail of mine mine mine down her throat.

“Paige,” Azzi’s voice is breathless as she tilts her head, hissing when Paige bites harshly right above her collarbone, immediately soothing it with her tongue, “I think- I think-fuck” she cuts herself with a moan as Paige turns them around, maneuvering them back towards the bed that suddenly looks far more inviting then it had before,  “I just think-”

“You think too much,” Paige says softly, finally removing her lips from Azzi’s skin -she misses the taste of it immediately- so she can smile teasingly at the brunette. 

“Do I?” Azzi grins dopily. 

Paige rolls her eyes, continuing to walk them backwards, “way, way too much.”

They’re forced to a halt when the back of Azzi’s thighs collide against the backframe of the bed. It feels like a turning point, like they could unlock a new chapter or keep themselves on the one they’re already on. And while Paige would really to skip forward, she’ll be okay with whatever happens next as long as the story being written is still theirs, still about her and Azzi. 

“Paige,” Azzi whispers again -and Paige loves the way Azzi’s lips curl around the syllable of her name- as she bunches the blonde’s shirt in her hands, “make me stop thinking.”

“Whatever you want baby,” Paige promises before they both go tumbling into the mattress, their lips colliding in a heated kiss. It feels like they’re trying to meld themselves into each other, like their bodies are carving out an indent of you and i just always feel right against the bedsheets. 

“I want this off,” Azzi breathes out between kisses, hands lifting the edge of Paige’s shirt, “off, off, off.”

“So bossy,” Paige smirks, leaning up off of Azzi to take off her shirt in a tantalizingly slow manner, enjoying the way the brunette’s eyes darken as they glide across her abs first and then her breasts, “enjoying the sho- fuck Az.”

The words are stolen from her mouth as Azzi swirls her tongue around one erect nipple, her hands cupping Paige’s ass to balance the blonde on top of her. She’s always known exactly how to get Paige to shut the fuck up. Paige groans as Azzi flips them over, shifting herself to press her thigh in between Paige’s legs and the blonde can’t help but grind up against it, desperate for some much needed friction, as Azzi sucks a possessive bruise against her jaw. 

“Missed this,” Azzi whispers, as she kisses down Paige’s neck, “and this,” a kiss pressed against her collarbone, “and these,” Azzi presses her lips softly to each breast, “and this,” against Paige’s stomach, “and these,” two featherlight kisses are peppered against her hip bones, “and I really missed these.”

“Azzi,” Paige moans as the brunette’s lips glide across the inside of her thighs, taking her sweet time marking only i could ever make you feel like this against every inch of Paige’s skin. 

Azzi stops right above the edge of Paige’s boxers before slowly peeling them off as sparkling brown eyes staring up at her with a myriad of unspoken emotions that Paige could spend a lifetime trying to memorize, “missed all of this. Missed everything about you. Missed you so much baby.”

Vulnerability echoes in Azzi’s voice as she slowly moves herself back up, hands coming to cup Paige’s face as they press their foreheads together. And it’s not like she hadn’t known that Azzi must have missed her in these last couple of years. But there’s a part of Paige that had thought that there was no way Azzi could have missed her as much as she missed Azzi. Because missing Azzi had felt all consuming, like there was a constant noose around her neck that got tighter and tighter with every day that passed by. But there’s something about the way the words reverberate around the room, something about the way Azzi looks like she can finally breathe again after saying it out loud that it hits Paige; it hits her that they’ve both been suffocating without each other. 

“I missed you too,” she breathes out, tears pooling at the edge of her eyes, “missed you so fucking much Azzi.”

“Yeah?” Azzi whispers, lips catching the lone tear that falls from Paige’s eyes, “how much?”

Paige shudders as Azzi’s fingers teasingly ghost over her wet folds, “s-so much. Azzi please. Need it so bad. Need you so bad.”

“Whatever you want baby,” Azzi repeats Paige’s own words back to her before she finally gives her what she’s desperately been craving, two fingers rhythmically pumping in and out of her pussy as her thumb rubs circles against Paige’s clit. 

“Fuck, fuck, just like that-” a litany of curses waterfall from Paige’s lips as she bucks her hips up against Azzi’s hand, “fuck please.”

“Please what?” Azzi asks coyly, fingers moving at a faster face as she hides a grin against Paige’s neck, “gotta tell me what you want baby.”

“W-want your mouth please- please Azzi-baby please,” Paige begs, writhing underneath her when Azzi immediately complies, lips attaching to her clit as she adds another finger, “fuck Azzi- I’m so close.”

“I know baby,” the words vibrate against Paige’s core, sending another bout of ecstasy shooting up her spine as she feels that familiar buildup in her stomach.

“Azz I’m gonna-”

“I know. Let go baby. I’ve got you. I’m gonna catch you I promise,” Azzi whispers. 

And it’s those words, that promise, that sends Paige over the edge, a cry of Azzi’s name falling from her lips. Because she knows Azzi means them for a lot more than just this moment, that those words -the promise- are born out of something deeper than lust. And maybe neither of them are quite ready to acknowledge that yet, not ready to make vows that teeter dangerously close to the ones they watched themselves break in the past, but it lingers between them, like a string made of we’ve always been inevitable connecting their hearts to each other. 

Azzi slowly eases her fingers out of Paige, pressing open-mouthed kisses against the older woman’s stomach as she recovers from her high, before looking up at her with a smirk. Never breaking eye contact, Azzi slips her fingers into her own mouth, leisurely sucking at them as she watches Paige’s face contort with desire. 

“Was I good?” she asks teasingly and Paige growls. 

“How have you gotten better at that? Actually you know what never mind,” Paige shakes her head, “I don’t want to know that.”

Azzi laughs, hiding her face against Paige’s neck, “only that good for you.”

“Good,” Paige tightens her arms around the woman on top of her and then scrunches her face as she feels the material of Azzi’s shirt itch against her wrists, “well this is unfair.”

“What is?” Azzi hum backs. 

“I’m fully fucking naked and you haven’t taken a single thing off,” Paige grumbles as she coaxes Azzi’s face out of her neck, hands gripping the edge of her shit, “take this off.”

Azzi stills, her previous serene expression replaced by something more nervous, as she lifts herself up so she’s straddling the older woman’s hips, “Paige-”

“What’s wrong?” Paige’s senses are on high alert immediately as she rises up herself, maneuvering them so Azzi’s fully on her lap. 

“I just-,” Azzi draws in a deep breath, looking downwards as she chews her lips.

“Hey,” Paige whispers, lifting the younger woman’s chin back up before pressing their foreheads together, “talk to me baby.”

“Can we just-” Azzi plays with the end of Paige’s hair, “can we maybe just-” she cocks her head towards the nightlight on the desk, “do you think we could turn the light off?”

“What?” Paige asks confusedly, “Azzi I’ve seen you naked-”

“Not since- not since I had Stephie,” Azzi interrupts, cowering under Paige’s intense stare, “the lights- the lights were off that one time and the other time I don't think- I don’t think we were sober enough for me to care or for you to remember so can we just-”

“Azzi,” Paige cups the younger woman’s face, “baby there is no amount of alcohol in the world that could make me forget you. Trust me I’ve tried,” she slips her hand under Azzi’s shirt, caressing the skin underneath, “but every time I see you baby, I memorize every little part of you,” she dances her fingertips across where she remembers those stretch marks -the ones Azzi is so afraid of her seeing again- are littered across her stomach, “and whether I’m sober or drunk or something in between, I always think every little bit of you is perfect.”

“Paige,” Azzi says softly, something akin to awe coating her voice. 

“Just wanna make you feel as good as you made me feel baby. Please,” Paige wraps her fingers around the edge of Azzi’s shirt again, “can I?”

“Okay,” Azzi concedes quietly, lifting her arms so Paige can finally tug the offending shirt off. 

Paige gives herself a moment to look at the woman in front of her, the woman whose body she’s seen countless times yet she swears that it feels like a different adventure every time. And then she lets herself have a taste, running her tongue lazily across Azzi’s skin, as she slowly maneuvers them so she can hover above the younger woman. A soft smile flitter across her face as she rubs her fingers over the tattoo printed across Azzi’s ribcage. It’s a purple S tattoo, with butterfly wings fanning out on either side. For Stephie. 

Keeping her eyes trained on the darker-skinned , she brushes her lips across the stretch marks on the darker-skinned woman’s abdomen and she hopes that Azzi can read the all of your imperfections are still made for me that Paige is spelling out against her skin. She uses her teeth to pull down Azzi’s panties, smirking to herself when she hears the younger woman's breath hitch above her. Eyes still interlocked with Azzi’s, Paige is purposefully slow as she licks a stripe up Azzi’s folds, relishing the way the other woman’s eyes roll back into her head. 

“So fucking wet,” she hums, “all for me?”

“You know-” Azzi shudders when Paige’s lips brush against her clit, still teasing, “you know it is.”

Paige smirks, “only for me.”

“Please,” Azzi begs as Paige continues to lazily lap at her pussy, giving her something but not quite enough. 

“Say it,” Paige demands, harshly biting against Azzi’s inner thigh as she brings up a hand to rub infinity signs around Azzi’s clit, “say it’s only for me.”

“It’s only for you-” Azzi cuts herself off with a scream as Paige plunges her tongue deep inside her, setting a tempo she knows will have Azzi seeing stars. 

“Doing so good for me baby,” Paige coos as she adds two fingers with her tongue, “always so good for me.”

“Fuck,” Azzi fists the bedsheets, trying to gain some semblance of control as she writhes under Paige’s touch, “feels so good. Paige please.”

“I know,” Paige whispers, “I know what you need baby.”

And that’s the thing about them. That’s why it’s good every single time. Because Paige knows every little crevice of Azzi’s body like it’s her own, knows exactly where to touch and how to touch to elicit those little gasps of pleasure that she wishes she could record and listen to on loop. And it doesn’t matter how long they go without each other in between, coming back always feels like home. But as much as she loves the feeling of coming back, Paige never wants to feel it again. Because this time, she hopes there is no in between without each other. She hopes that this time, they both stay. 

“Paige,” Azzi moans again, her name falling from her mouth like a prayer. 

“I’ve got you,” Paige whispers, capturing Azzi’s lips with her own as she continues her ministrations with her hand, “fall apart for me baby. I swear I’ll put you back together.”

There’s nothing quite like watching Azzi come undone and Paige drinks in the sight of the other woman quivering as she grabs the blonde’s bicep so tight that it’s bound to leave a victory mark. Paige coaxes her through it, nibbling at Azzi’s jawline as the younger woman slowly climbs down from her peak, going limp in Paige’s arms. 

They’re quiet for a while, languorously pressing delicate kisses against each other's skin, soft hands exploring all over each other’s familiar bodies as they tangle their legs together; close not being close enough. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Paige whines when Azzi starts to move out of her grasp. 

“I got what I came for,” Azzi teases, “so I’m going back to my own bed.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Paige scowls, pulling the younger woman back into her chest. 

Azzi laughs, kissing away Paige’s pout as she wriggles out of her grip and slips out of the bed, “relax. I’m just getting something to clean us up with.”

“Well hurry up. I’m already cold,” Paige mewls before letting out a wolf-whistle as her eyes drift over Azzi’s naked retreating form, appreciating the tautness of the brunette’s back muscles down to her perfectly curved ass. 

“You’re 31 years old Paige Bueckers,” Azzi chides as she walks into the ensuite bathroom but Paige can hear the blush in her voice. 

“And you’re hot as fuck Azzi Fudd,” Paige calls out with a smirk, keeping the and you’re all mine as a secret in her own thoughts. 

“You’re not bad yourself Bueckers,” Azzi returns from the bathroom with a smile and a damp cloth as she hops back onto the bed, gently dabbing it between Paige’s thighs. 

It’s a simple act but Paige feels tears prickle at the corner of the eyes. Because it signifies so much more than just this moment. For most of her life, Paige had grown accustomed to the idea that no one would take care of her unless she took care of them first. She didn't know it was possible that someone could reach out first, that they could hold her first without any expectation of anything else in return. Until Azzi. 

“Baby?” Azzi’s voice is wrapped in concern as she takes notice of Paige’s tears, immediately rising up to brush them away, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing I just-” Paige loops her arms around Azzi’s neck, shuddering slightly at how earnest the younger woman’s face is, “I really fucking missed you.”

Azzi’s eyes soften as she caresses Paige’s cheek before pressing her lips against her forehead, “I really fucking missed you too.”

***

Paige’s eyes flutter awake to sunlight peeking through the blue curtains of Azzi’s guest bedroom. She groans, shifting to bury her face further into the brunette’s stomach, pinching it when Azzi laughs above her. Lifting her head slightly, Paige can’t help but smile at the woman above her. Azzi’s got her glasses on, a book in her hands as she peers down at Paige with nothing but pure fondness. Something aches in Paige’s chest as countless visions of mornings just like this fill her head. She’d resigned herself to believing that she’d never get this back again, that she’d have to rely on memories of the past to fill the empty void that rattled hollowly against her chest every time she’d woken up without Azzi by her side. 

“Morning sleepy head,” Azzi says softly, putting her book down to brush her fingers through Paige’s hair, “assuming you slept well considering you didn’t even notice when I left to grab my glasses and a book from my room.”

Paige frowns, “you left me?”

“I was bored,” Azzi defends herself, “you were fast asleep and I had nothing to occupy myself with.”

“I can believe you left me,” Paige petulantly accuses again. 

“I didn’t leave-”

“You left me!”

“Okay fine,” Azzi concedes with an eyeroll, “but I came back.”

“Yeah you did,” a soft smile takes over Paige’s features as she leans up to brush her lips against Azzi’s, “you came back.”

“I did,” Azzi whispers against Paige’s mouth, cupping the older woman’s face with her hands. 

Paige is about to deepen the kiss, her hands beginning to slip lower, when the sound of a doorbell ruins any chances of putting in motion any of the uncordial ideas that had taken birth in her mind. She groans as Azzi immediately pulls away.

“Shit, I didn’t realize they’d be here so early.” the younger woman curses, hurriedly tossing Paige’s discarded clothes at her, “here, put your clothes on. I’ll go down first while you change.”

“I- I can come down?” Paige asks slowly. 

Azzi crinkles her eyes in confusion, “what do you mean? What else would you do?”

“I just. I dunno-” Paige shrugs, “I just assumed you uh- you wouldn’t want Stephie to know I stayed the night. I figured I’d sneak out of the window or something.”

“Paige,” Azzi whispers, walking over to grip the older girl’s hands, “you’re not- you’re not my dirty little secret or anything. I’m not- I’m not quite ready to tell Stephie about us- hell I’m not even really sure what we are yet but I know- I know that I don’t want to hide you from her. Besides,” she nudges Paige humorously, “we’re on the 2nd floor babe. I don’t need you trying to climb out the window and breaking your knee before the season even starts.”

Paige watches quietly as Azzi walks out the door. She doesn’t think the younger woman quite understands how much she had needed to hear those words, how much she had needed to not feel like a secret again. It fills Paige with a sense of hope, hope that maybe things would be different this time. Maybe things would be better this time. 

*** 

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie squeals from Azzi’s arms as she spots Paige descending down the stairs, “you’re already here!”

Paige smiles at the little girl, tapping her nose over Azzi’s shoulder, “I promised you I’d be here bright and early didn’t I?”

“Very bright and early,” Katie cocks an eyebrow as she smirks at Paige and Azzi, “how did you get here so early Paige?”

“Don’t be silly Nanna. She drove of course,” Stephie says matter-of-factly before scrunching up her nose, “but Miss Buecks. How come your car isn’t outside then?”

“That’s a great question Stephie,” Katie says and Paige thinks the woman’s a little bit too peppy for a grandmother, “why isn’t your car outside Paige?”

“Because-” Azzi gives her mother an exasperated look before fixing her eyes on her daughter, “because Paige slept over last night.”

“Miss Buecks slept over last night?” Stephie repeats. 

“I did,” Paige confirms, glaring at Katie as she snickers in the corner. 

“Mama can you please put me down,” Stephie says finally. 

The little girl looks upset and Paige feels her heart constrict with fear. In general, she doesn’t really do well with people being mad at her. But she definitely doesn't think she can take Stephie of all people being mad at her. The little girl has chiseled herself into Paige’s heart and if she ever left, Paige thinks she’d leave a hole so big, her entire heart would cease working. 

Azzi shares a nervous look with Paige as she sets her daughter down before crouching down to Stephie’s level, “what’s wrong Stephie-bean?”

Stephie’s bottom lip trembles as she looks between her mother and Paige, “you let Miss Buecks sleepover.”

“I-” Azzi looks helplessly between her own mother and Paige, both of whom look just as tense, “I did but sweetheart why is that upsetting you? You like Miss Buecks.”

“I love Miss Buecks,” Stephie wails and Paige lets out a sigh of relief, the little girl's words wrapping themselves around her like a warm blanket. 

Azzi blanches for a second, “I don’t understand then what’s the problem-”

 “YOU GUYS HAD A SLEEPOVER WITHOUT ME,” Stephie yells, stomping her tiny feet.  

Oh. 

“Stephie-” Azzi says softly, unable to keep the smile off of her face. 

“I can’t believe you’d do this to me Mama,” Stephie sniffs as she turns to Paige with a betrayed expression, “and you Miss Buecks. How could you guys have a sleepover without me?”

“Oh sweetheart,” Paige falls to her knees beside Azzi, trying not to smile when Stephie dramatically turns her face away from them, “we didn’t mean to. It was just really late when we got back from the party-”

“The party,” Stephie cries out, “first you went to a party without me and then you had a sleepover without me. I can’t bel-ieve you guys would do that to me. Don’t you guys love me at all?”

“We’re really sorry Stephie,” Paige says as seriously as she can, reaching out to fold Stephie’s tiny hands into her much larger one. 

“Very, very, sorry,” Azzi echoes. 

“I don’t know,” Katie supplies unhelpfully from where she’s watching the whole situation with pure amusement, “they don’t seem that sorry Stephie.”

“Mom!” “Katie!”

Katie raises her hands in mock surrender as both Paige and Azzi glare at her, “just looking out for my granddaughter’s best interest.”

“Stephie-bean,” Paige says again, maneuvering the little girl’s body to face her, “your Mama and I are very, very, sorry for having a sleepover without you. Please forgive us.”

Stephie looks at the adults kneeling in front of her with a contemplative expression, “you promise you’ll never do it again?”

“Never,” Azzi promises as Paige nods along.

“And when we go to the park today I can get three scoops of ice cream?” the little girl asks, the hint of a smile starting to breakthrough her lips. 

“I don’t know about that one sweetheart. That’s a lot of ice-”

“Of course you can!”

“Paige!” Azzi hisses. 

“And you’ll push me on the swing at the park for twenty minutes?”

“I’ll even push you for thirty minutes if you want,” Paige says and Azzi rolls her eyes. 

���Just had to one-up it didn’t you Bueckers,” she mutters under her breath. 

“And even though Miss Buecks said she’d get me fries at the park, I can get In-N-Out for dinner too?”

“You’re pushing it Stephie-bean-”

“In-N-Out for dinner sounds perfect,” Paige winks at Stephie as a full smile finally overtakes the little girl’s face. 

“You’re hopeless,” Azzi chides the blonde, throwing her hands up exasperatedly but there’s no denying the grin on her face as she looks back at Stephie, “is that all your highness? Are we finally forgiven or did you want to ask us for more unhealthy things?”

“Just one more thing,” Stephie’s eyes twinkle with mischief, “Miss Buecks has to sleepover tonight too.”

Paige and Azzi share a toothy smile with each other before turning to the little girl. 

“I think that could be arranged.”

The words are barely out of Paige’s mouth before Stephie goes tumbling into her and Azzi, tiny arms somehow wrapping around both of their necks as she pulls them into a group hug. The two adults laugh, cocooning the little girl in between them as she rambles on about how excited she is.  And Paige thinks that when all is said and done, when she looks back on her life, she’ll remember this moment as the one where everything started to finally come together. Right now, with Stephie's arms wrapped around her neck and Azzi’s hands curling around the little girl’s back to intertwine their fingers together, this moment here feels perfect. This moment feels like it belongs to Paige.

[legok9]

"Who's that girl" DWM 268 (1998)

So, who would have played the Doctor if she'd been a woman from the first? DWM rounds up the likely ladies …

Hermione Baddeley 1963-66 Renowned for unsympathetic roles in both Brighton Rock and the dour 'kitchen sink'-styled Room at the Top, film veteran Baddeley made an enthralling Doctor - part dragon, part slightly dotty maiden aunt. Eternal juvenile Melvyn Hayes was 'unearthly' grandson Stephen Vivian Pickles 1966-69 Although much younger, and never a lead, the versatile Pickles had been a familiar TV face for 20 years (Harpers West One, etc) before being cast as Baddeley's successor. Her sprightly, elfin Doctor had a penchant for dressing-up, like a St Trinian's tomboy who never left school

Liz Fraser 1970-74 A comic actress familiar from several Carry Ons, Fraser's initial trepidation at taking on an ostensibly serious role soon dissipated. Her bossy, big-sisterly show-off of a Doctor was best paired with dippy companion Joe Grant (later Playgirl pin-up Robin Askwith) Frances de la Tour 1974-81 Gangling, piercing-eyed Shakespearean actress de la Tour played a tweedy, louche, Bohemian Doctor part-based on Virginia Woolf. Caused a minor sensation when she married the young actor who played the second incarnation of Time Lord companion Roman — Peter Davison

Jan Francis 1982-84 Despite rumours that the next Doctor might be played by a man (former New Avenger Gareth Hunt is hotly tipped), the youngest actress yet is cast. Fresh from middlebrow thirties drama The Good Companions, Francis made for a sporty Doctor in Lottie Dod-style tennis whites Lynda Bellingham 1984-86 Known to SF fans for her role as Barbara the Butcher in an episode of Jenna's 7, Bellingham's controversial Doctor was a loud, hectoring grand-dame of the theatre. Unceremoniously 'regenerated' following the Doctor's on- (and off-) screen inquisition in the epic Trial of a Time Lady

Pauline Melville 1987-89 Virtually unknown fringe cabaret and cult comedy artiste is surprise choice for 'back to basics' Seventh Doctor. Fan fears that series will become showcase for childish high-jinks up-ended when Melville stories adopt a sombre, down-beat mood, performed with conviction and gravitas Miranda Richardson 1996 The eldest in a successful line of acting siblings, a favourite of BBC producers since high-profile lead debut in revisionist biographical drama of notorious 20th century 'villain', makes a bid for American network stardom via lavish new big-haired version of Doctor Who. Star Trek actor Alexander Siddig plays love interest Dr Brian

[justforbooks]

Maggie Smith: the magisterial star of Harry Potter and Downton had the courage and talent to do absolutely everything

The real-life dame and on-screen dowager countess, who has died aged 89, earned fame in her 70s and 80s for blockbuster roles. But her early work at the National Theatre marked her out as a talent for the ages

Dame Maggie Smith’s trophy cabinet reflected her extraordinary achievements across theatre, film and television – and in the biggest arenas of British and US culture, from the BBC to Hollywood, the West End to Broadway. A measure of her versatility and durability is that, in the 1960s, she played nine major roles in the formative years of the National Theatre, but also, from the start of the 2000s, appeared in five series of Downton Abbey, the ITV Sunday night series that became one of the biggest popular hits of the new millennium.

Her role in that show was Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, who lived in such a bubble of exclusive comfort that, in trademark one-liners, she would drawl in mystification, for example: “What is a ‘weekend’?” That acerbic superiority was a signature throughout Smith’s career, including the part that brought her first Academy award in 1970, against a shortlist also featuring Liza Minnelli and Jane Fonda, for the title role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted from Muriel Spark’s novel about a maverick, arrogant schoolteacher in Edinburgh.

Smith consistently had the courage and talent to do unexpected things. Her second Oscar, in 1979, was for California Suite, with a script by Neil Simon and a cast of high Hollywood talent including Alan Alda and Walter Matthau. Introducing an element of postmodernism to a mainstream comedy, Smith played exactly what she had been at the start of the decade: an English actress up for her first Academy award.

Another surprise on her CV demonstrated an ability to play it straight and dark. In 2019, after 12 years away from the stage, Smith, at the age of 84, performed a 100-minute monologue at the Bridge theatre in London. A German Life was adapted by Christopher Hampton from a documentary movie interview given, at the age of 102 (the show was a rare case of an octogenarian ageing up for a part), by Brunhilde Pomsel, who worked for the Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels during the Holocaust, but who continued to deny complicity or guilt. With typical meticulousness, Smith refused to accept the part until she had proved to herself at home that she could memorise an extended solo. Combining enduringly impeccable technique with the guts to test it again at such an age, it was a late triumph in an astonishing career.

Margaret Smith – she preferred her full first name, the “Maggie” imposed on her to distinguish from another performer on the Equity register – was born in Ilford, Essex. Her mother, who worked as a secretary, was Scottish, so useful for the creation of the Brodie brogue. Her father, Nathaniel, was a pathologist, whose academic posting to Oxford led to his daughter attending the city’s girls��� high school.

Despite joining the Oxford Playhouse Company at 16, rather than going to college, Smith benefited from the local varsity theatrical privileges, cast in Oxford University Dramatic Society productions, including revues, which, at the time were attended by national critics.

Such was the impact she made in comedy skits and songs that, aged 21, she was part of an ensemble recruited to appear on Broadway in a revue called New Faces of 1956. In London, during the following two years, she appeared, with co-stars including Kenneth Williams, in an English show, Share My Lettuce, billed as “a diversion with music”, with a script by Bamber Gascoigne.

At that point, Smith seemed set to be a sketch-and-music comedian, especially when Strip the Willow, a play about the survivors of a nuclear war in the UK, failed to transfer to London from a UK tour. It was written by Beverley Cross, whom Smith had met at the Oxford Playhouse. He wrote the play for her as an attempted seduction, the first description of her character being “beautiful. As elegant and sophisticated as a top international model. A great sense of fun. A marvellous girl.’’

However, at that stage, no lasting relationship occurred. And Smith’s serious dramatic career was launched when she appeared, again paired with Kenneth Williams, in a double bill of plays, The Private Ear and The Public Eye, by Peter Shaffer, in 1962. These won Smith her first Evening Standard best actress statuette, at the age of 27, and caught the attention of Sir Laurence Olivier, then establishing, at Chichester, the first attempt at a National Theatre. Crucially to the development of her reputation, Olivier trusted her not only with comedy – such as The Recruiting Officer, George Farquhar’s early 18th-century farce – but also tragedy: she was Desdemona to Olivier’s performance in the title role of Othello.

Also at the National, Smith formed a relationship with the actor Robert Stephens, who became her first husband, and father of her sons, who, as Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, followed their parents into acting.

Dramatic Exchanges, a collection of correspondence from the National Theatre archives, shows the close creative relationship between Olivier and Smith. A habitual nicknamer, he addressed her as “Mageen”. He had long told her that her perfect role would be Millamant, a strong-willed woman conspiring to achieve a desired marriage, in William Congreve’s Restoration comedy The Way of the World. But, in 1968, with Smith having left the company following her marriage with Stephens and pregnant with their first child, Olivier proceeded to stage the play with Geraldine McEwan as Millamant.

Olivier’s letter of apology to Smith contained elaborately verbose admiration. Smith wrote a reply of pained regret concluding: “Well, what’s the point of trying to tell you my feelings. They obviously count for so very little. It was nice of you to say you will devote your energies to my return but really I do not think it would be wise of me to believe that either. Margaret.”

There is a waspish, unforgiving tone in that letter that was part of Smith’s personality; some of those who worked with her, especially younger actors struggling with their roles, were wounded by witty but cruel putdowns.

That bad casting luck at the National, though, was more than balanced out. Had Julie Andrews, in the same year, not turned down the Jean Brodie movie, Smith would never have played the part that redefined her career. With her American bankability increased by a US tour of Noël Coward’s Private Lives, Smith used it to go into a kind of theatrical exile from Olivier and Britain. From 1976 to 1980, she played four summer seasons at the Shakespeare festival in Stratford, Ontario, conceived as a sort of ex-pat RSC-National, where she finally played the part of Millamant and other roles that might have been expected in London, such as Lady Macbeth.

Smith fell into a happy rhythm of filming gigs split with Canadian acting sabbaticals. While she rehearsed or acted, Beverley Cross wrote to her, having become Smith’s second husband in 1975 following her divorce from Robert Stephens.

When Smith returned to London theatre, she took over from Diana Rigg as the troubled modern colonial wife Ruth Carson, in Tom Stoppard’s Night and Day. She confirmed her resurgence with two more Evening Standard awards, in 1981 and 1984, for London runs of shows she had premiered in Canada. In Virginia, by Edna O’Brien, she was the writer Virginia Woolf, for whom Smith’s gift for haughty wit made her natural casting. Then, 16 years after the disappointment with Olivier, she finally played the coveted role in The Way of the World in her own city.

Smith, in contradiction of the standard professional graphs, had, after that slight mid-career dip, a third act even more glorious than her first. Shaffer wrote for her Lettice and Lovage, a comedy maximising her command of sardonic superiority, as Lettice Douffet, a tour guide who begins to embellish history. She took the play to New York, where she won a Tony award. Smith also became an Alan Bennett specialist. She co-starred with Michael Palin in the movie A Private Function in 1984, as a Yorkshire woman using a black-market pig to prevent wartime rationing thwarting her upward mobility. In the 1988 first series of Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues for television, she was a vicar’s wife, anxious about private sins, in A Bed Among the Lentils. On stage (1999) and screen (2015), she was memorable as The Lady in the Van, a fictionalised version of Miss Shepherd, a Catholic evangelist tramp who for some years lived in a caravan on Bennett’s driveway.

There was a trio of West End appearances in plays by the great American dramatist Edward Albee: as the oldest (90-something) of three versions of the writer’s imperious mother in Three Tall Women (1994); playing a vicious drunk in a family menaced by an unnamed “plague” in A Delicate Balance (1997); and a mysterious matriarch visiting a deathbed in The Lady from Dubuque (2007), a rare flop that put Smith off theatre.

Another reason for her retreat from theatre was, unusually for a septuagenarian performer, a vast demand from movie studios. Between 2001 and 2011, she appeared in seven of the eight Harry Potter films, as Professor Minerva McGonagall, transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts, her embodiment of the formidable Scottish academic seeming to contain affectionate nods to Brodie. The part brought Smith considerable wealth – she joked about the “Harry Potter pension fund” – and a vast new fanbase that, she complained, made it impossible for her to shop in Waitrose any more.

Her cinematic renaissance had also included Robert Altman’s Gosford Park (2001). In this English country house drama, written by Julian Fellowes, Smith’s character was at least a first cousin to her Downton Abbey countess. Appearing in a TV series with an average audience of 10 million made it even harder for Dame Maggie (as she had become in 1990) to go shopping. But this late superstardom, half a century or more after her first major theatre and movie successes, confirmed that she was an actor with the rare ability to do anything she wanted anywhere.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[chic-a-gigot]

Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costume Parisien, 14 janvier 1799, An 7, (84): Chapeau de velours Souci, orné de gances d'argent. Schall Ponceau à Bordures Noires. / Magasin de Modes. Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Netherlands

Standing woman, seen from the back, wearing a velvet hat, decorated with an ostrich feather and 'gances d'argent'. A scarf decorated with an embroidered meander motif around the shoulders. She is wearing a dress, which she holds up with her right hand. Stockings with contrasting handles. flat shoes with pointed toes. The print is part of the fashion magazine Journal des Dames et des Modes, published by Sellèque, Paris, 1797-1839.

[bitter69uk]

Born on this day 84 years ago (19 September 1940): effervescent and eccentric fuchsia-haired doyenne of British fashion, Dame Zandra Rhodes. She is of course the undisputed queen of the elaborately bejeweled float-y chiffon caftan, but I prefer Rhodes’ response to the rise of punk in 1977. To the revulsion of punk purists, Rhodes launched her own deluxe haute couture interpretation of punk fashion, with artful jagged rips and tears, embellished with glittering safety pins and chains! Some have claimed this made her “the high priestess of punk”, although I suspect the late Vivienne Westwood disagreed. Anyway, over the decades her clientele has numbered international jet set superstar names like Elizabeth Taylor, Jacqueline Kennedy, Cher, Bianca Jagger, Barbra Streisand and Princesses Margaret and Diana. But as far as I’m concerned, no one looked better in Rhodes’ signature caftans than drag mega-star Divine! (Rhodes and Divine were friends in the 1980s and in fact the only times I’ve ever spotted Rhodes socially, it’s been backstage at John Waters’ events in London, accompanied by Helena Kennedy QC and the late transgender trailblazer April Ashley). Pictured: portrait of Rhodes by Simon Emmett, 2018.

[most-screwed-by-writers-tourney]

Also, potential list of the yandere characters under the read more!

1. Cutthroat from Akudama Drive

2. Belphegor (Obey Me)

3. Griffith (Berserk)

4. Mimimi, Hypnosis Mic

5. Zenos yae Galvus from Final Fantasy 14

6. Shion Sonozaki from Higurashi

7. Yandere-Chan from Carflo + co's Yandere High School Minecraft Roleplay series

8. Luo Binghe, Scum Villain’s Self Saving System

9. Monica Campanella, Baccano!

10. Creed, Black Cat

11. Seiko, Blood on the Tracks

12. Makima, Chainsaw Man

13. Mao, Code Geass

14. Mariko Shinobu, Dear Brother

15. Mika Harima, Durarara

16. Akito Sohma, Fruits Baskrt

17. Shigure Sohma, Fruits Basket

18. Yuno Gasai, Future Diary

19. Satou, Happy Sugar Life

20. Yukako Yamagishi, JJBA Diamond is Unbreakable

21. Himiko Toga, My Hero Academia

22. Haru, My Little Monster

23. Oz, Pandora Hearts

24. Kuroi, Thou Shalt Not Die

25. Seishirou, Tokyo Babylon

26. Kish, Tokyo Mew Mew

27. Asami, Audition

28. Lucille Sharpe, Crimson Peak

29. Alex Forrest, Fatal Attraction

30. Jareth, Labyrinth

31. Annie Wilkes, Misery

32. Evelyn Draper, Play Misty for Me

33. Charlie Stoker, Stoker

34. Nellie Lovett, Sweeney Todd

35. Victor Frankenstein, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein

36. Frollo, Hunchback of Notre Dame

37. Erik, Phantom of the Opera

38. Fu Shenxing, Who is the Prey

39. Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights

40. Joe Goldberg, You

41. Missy, Doctor Who

42. Lestat, Interview with the Vampire

43. Kilgrave, Jessica Jones

44. Masato Kisaka, Kamen Rider 555

45. Siyun Baek, Dreaming Freedom

46. Tomoya/Sam, He’s Harmless I swear

47. Morae Baek, I don’t want this kind of hero

48. Lady, I don’t want this kind of hero

49. Yuta, Kubera

50. Thaddeus, Madame Outlaw

51. Yunsu, Trapped

52. JD, Heathers

53. Erik, Yeston and Kopit Phantom

54. Der Tod, Elisabeth

55. Callisto, Villains Are Destined to Die

56. Hannibal, Hannibal

57. Reinhart, I failed to oust the villain

58. Yul, Secret Alliance

59. Hananoi, A Condition Called Love

60. Naoka Ueno, A Silent Voice

61. Sumireko Hanabusa, Akuma no Riddle

62. Esdeath, Akame ga Kill

63. Dracula, Bram Stoker’s Dracula

64. Mashiro Mai, Dead Tube

65. Monika, Doki Doki Literature Club

66. Lucy, Elfen Lied

67. Juvia, Fairy Tail

68. Mimi. flip flappers

69. Akise Aru, Future Diary

70. Elena Aoki, Gleipnir

71. Hades, Hadestown

72. shuu iwamine, Hatoful Boyfriend

73. Luka, Alien Stage

74. LT. Oscar, Lupin the III, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine

75. Sumin Jeong, Marry My Husband

76. Reiko Ichijou, Migi and Dali

77. Diane Selwyn, Mulholland Drive

78. Harry MacDougall, Outlaw Star

79. Root, Person of Interest

80. Jackson Rippner, Red Eye

81. Kozue Kaoru, Revolutionary Girl Utena

82. Seyoung Jin, Surviving Romance

83. Sudou Kayo, Tailer of Enbizaka

84. Hayase, To Your Eternity

85. Tooru Mutsuki, Tokyo Ghoul RE

86. Kichimura Washuu, Tokyo Ghoul RE

87. The Creature, Lisa Frankenstein

88. Pig, Disco Pigs

89. Shinpei, Firefly Wedding

90. Aiko, Goodnight Punpun

91. Sal, Wadanonara

92. Jung, Cheese in the Trap

93. Khalid, From a knight to a lady

94. Margot, Gremoryland

95. Bibi, I love Amy

96. Kairos, I Shall Kill that Sweet Devil

[mylittledarkag3]

How many have you read out of the hundred?

Me: 64/100

Reblog & share your results

1. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

2. "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

3. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

4. "1984" by George Orwell

5. "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

6. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez

7. "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

8. "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

9. "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

10. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

11. "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville

12. "The Odyssey" by Homer

13. "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë

14. "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy

15. "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

16. "The Iliad" by Homer

17. "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

18. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo

19. "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes

20. "Middlemarch" by George Eliot

21. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde

22. "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

23. "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

24. "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen

25. "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo

26. "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells

27. "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck

28. "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer

29. "The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James

30. "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling

31. "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse

32. "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri

33. "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens

34. "The Trial" by Franz Kafka

35. "Mansfield Park" by Jane Austen

36. "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas

37. "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

38. "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift

39. "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

40. "Emma" by Jane Austen

41. "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe

42. "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy

43. "The Republic" by Plato

44. "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad

45. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle

46. "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

47. "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

48. "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka

49. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway

50. "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens

51. "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell

52. "The Plague" by Albert Camus

53. "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

54. "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov

55. "The Red and the Black" by Stendhal

56. "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

57. "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand

58. "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

59. "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

60. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

61. "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle

62. "The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins

63. "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe

64. "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson

65. "Ulysses" by James Joyce

66. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe

67. "Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray

68. "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett

69. "Walden Two" by B.F. Skinner

70. "Watership Down" by Richard Adams

71. "White Fang" by Jack London

72. "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys

73. "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A. Milne

74. "Wise Blood" by Flannery O'Connor

75. "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" by Margaret Fuller

76. "Women in Love" by D.H. Lawrence

77. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig

78. "The Aeneid" by Virgil

79. "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton

80. "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

81. "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu

82. "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" by Benjamin Franklin

83. "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

84. "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler

85. "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

86. "The Caine Mutiny" by Herman Wouk

87. "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov

88. "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

89. "The Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

90. "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau

91. "The Clue in the Crumbling Wall" by Carolyn Keene

92. "The Code of the Woosters" by P.G. Wodehouse

93. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

94. "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas

95. "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller

96. "The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon

97. "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown

98. "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy

99. "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon

100. "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" by Rebecca Wells

[darkmaga-returns]

A new report from the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) has sounded the alarm about escalating violence and discrimination faced by Christians across the continent.

In 2023, 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes were documented across 35 European countries. These crimes ranged from vandalism and arson to physical violence and restrictions on religious freedoms. The findings reveal a concerning trend that has left Christian communities feeling increasingly vulnerable.

The report published on Friday highlighted France, the U.K., and Germany as areas of particular concern. France recorded nearly 1,000 hate crimes last year, making it the most affected country. The incidents included the desecration of churches and cemeteries, with at least 84 direct attacks on individuals.

[jewellery-box]

Polka-dot Printed Dress                            

1810-1815

Style: This simple dress attests to American women’s ability to keep up with European fashions while modifying them to suit simpler middle-class American taste and budgets. The bodice has been lengthened to keep up with fashion, and the flounce is superimposed atop a simple self-pleat, which would have updated the dress when skirt hems began to be accentuated with ruffles and trims. Hem accents appeared late in the first decade of the 1800s and increased in volume and complexity as skirts began to widen after 1810. The dress’s relatively narrow skirt (84 inch hem circumference) may place its original construction closer to 1810.

Fabric: A cheerful print of good quality but modest cost is made up with a fashionable crossover (surplice) bodice and a small flounce.

Dress, cotton, United States, private collection; reproduction chemisette, private collection; coral necklace courtesy of Dames à la Mode.

[mykidself]

An attempt to rank my top 100 movies growing up. Note that I’m not trying to judge how good of a movie it is by any objective measures, but just how fond I remember feeling of it as a kid and how much it seemed to impact me at the time, how much I rewatched it, etc. I’m using 1999 as the cutoff point, when I was 11 or 12.

Made with Topsters.

Full text list behind the cut.

1. The Lion King

2. Aladdin

3. Tom and Huck

4. The NeverEnding Story

5. Jumanji

6. Return of the Jedi

7. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

8. The Rescuers Down Under

9. The Muppet Christmas Carol

10. Muppet Treasure Island

11. An American Tail

12. The Land Before Time

13. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

14. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

15. Beauty and the Beast

16. The Little Mermaid

17. Fantasia

18. Pocahontas

19. FernGully: The Last Rainforest

20. Bambi

21. The Princess Bride

22. Star Wars

23. The Empire Strikes Back

24. Toy Story

25. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

26. The Wizard of Oz

27. Jurassic Park

28. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

29. Mickey's Christmas Carol

30. Squanto: A Warrior's Tale

31. Treasure Island

32. A Little Princess

33. Kids of the Round Table

34. The Ewok Adventure

35. The Secret Garden

36. The Flight of Dragons

37. The Jungle Book

38. Babe

39. Black Beauty

40. Balto

41. Back to the Future

42. Back to the Future Part III

43. Anne of Green Gables

44. Hocus Pocus

45. Brink!

46. Escape to Witch Mountain

47. The Adventures of Huck Finn

48. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

49. Titanic

50. Robin Hood: Men in Tights

51. Cats

52. The Sword in the Stone

53. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

54. Little Women

55. Cool Runnings

56. Heavyweights

57. Jungle 2 Jungle

58. Man of the House

59. The Three Musketeers

60. The Jungle Book

61. Sleeping Beauty

62. Harry and the Hendersons

63. Flight of the Navigator

64. The Indian in the Cupboard

65. Angels in the Outfield

66. Free Willy

67. Oliver!

68. Mary Poppins

69. Peter Pan

70. The Sound of Music

71. Dumbo

72. Lady and the Tramp

73. Magic Island

74. White Fang

75. The Amazing Panda Adventure

76. Alaska

77. Operation Dumbo Drop

78. Labyrinth

79. Hook

80. Anastasia

81. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

82. The Brave Little Toaster

83. Once Upon a Forest

84. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

85. Harriet the Spy

86. My Little Pony: The Movie

87. Felix the Cat: The Movie

88. We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

89. The Hobbit

90. Jack

91. Adventures in Babysitting

92. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

93. The Care Bears Movie

94. Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer

95. Tall Tale

96. All Dogs Go to Heaven

97. Fun and Fancy Free

98. Mulan

99. Tarzan

100. The Parent Trap

[mysterycharacterbracket]

FINAL RECAP POST

Tier 1 - First 44

300. 260. Puff Puff from Your Favorite Martian

299. 160. Maxil of Gallifrey from Doctor Who Arc of Infinity

298. 88. Nobody from scp foundation

297. 64. Jubei from Video Game (Blazblue)

296. 131. Nyssa from Doctor Who fused with Bulbasaur from Pokémon

295. 242. Rarity from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

294. 148. Garwin Chang from Kotlc

293. 103. William from Chad Smith: Life of a rich boy (webtoon), and more coming soon TBD

292. 244. Benrey from Half-life VR but the AI is self aware

291. 15. Flavio Who from the submitter's own memes

290. 70. Vislor Turlough from Doctor who (-_-)

289. 293. Lee Ping from Detentionaire

288. 19. Clay Puppington from Moral Orel

287. 211. The Puppeteer from Steldomo (aka an oc in a story the submitter wants to write)

286. 43. hatsune miku; colorful stage

285. 167. Hugtan / Hagumi / Cure Tomorrow from Hugtto Precure

284. 164. Dr Frankistein from Frankenstein (the book)

283. 60. Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama

282. 175. Sho Minamimoto from The World Ends With You

281. 28. Stacy Hirano from Phineas and Ferb!

280. 199. Dib Membrane from Invader Zim

279. 25. Loras Tyrell from A Song of Ice and Fire (NOT the show they fuckijgbmassacred his character)

278. 74. Candyman from Lethal League Blaze

277. 31. Kikiu from Tess of the Road

276. 191. Dazai Osamu from Bungou stray dogs

275. 185. Juta Tachibana from Otomen

274. 85. Jenny Jergens from Detentionnaire

273. 119. Theodore from The House in the Cerulean Sea

272. 95. Shirou Emiya from Fate/Stay Night

271. 124. Puss in Boots from Shrek

270. 137. Phantom Horn from Two Best Brothers Bitch About Ponies/Slime and Punishment/RowdyFuckers CopKillers Endless War (indirectly originatined in Sonichu as well, as slime and punushment is the cannonical ending to Sonichu, TBBBAP, and while not the end, is a cannonical story in RFCK)

269. 8. Greenland from Plague, Inc.

268. 233. Link from The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap

267. 223. Scooby doo from Scooby doo

266. 156. Cricket from Wings of Fire

265. 10. Wilbur the pig from Charlotte's Web

264. 1. Cleopatra the 7th from Real life

263. 189. Colin Frazer from Doctor Who Arc of Infinity

262. 79. Peter Pan from Once Upon a Time

261. 240. Shiho Kobayakawa from Private Actress

260. 277. The Human Faced Fish from Shingi: The Spirit's Playbook

259. 84. Chopfyt (The Tin Man) from Oz

258. 250. Albedo from Ben 10

257. 257. Sam Lloyd/Sergei Lubovitch from The Diviners series

Tier 2 - Round of 256

256. 254. Andrew Ryan from Buoshck

255. 216. Nyssa õf Traken from Doctor who

254. 228. Asha from Iji

253. 22. Whisper Schnee from Boldores and Boomsticks

252. 253. Chuuya Nakahara from Bungou stray dogs

251. 18. Mapleshade from warrior cats

250. 190. Andrew Eldritch from real life

249. 120. sans undertale from undertale

248. 219. T-Rex from Jurassic Park

247. 141. Karkat Vantas from Homestuck

246. 53. Rasputin IV from X-Men

245. 20. Hunter | The Golden Guard from The Owl House

244. 7. Kim Dokja from Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

243. 50. Death from Darksiders

242. 266. Dave Miller from Dsaf

241. 174. Dr. Miranda Jones from Star Trek: The Original Series

240. 274. donquixote doflamingo from one piece

239. 92. Hyakunosuke Ogata from Golden Kamuy

238. 11. Kha'Nel from Dragens Øye

237. 139. George Costanza from Seinfeld

236. 121. Rampage from Beast Wars

235. 62. ε (epsilon) from Mathematics, real life (kinda? Not sure maths qualifies as real life) ) (common phrase: Let ε>0 be any real number)

234. 134. BoJack Horseman from BoJack Horseman

233. 291. Juleka Couffaine from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

232. 129. Flavio Rezza (MC Flava) from real life

231. 215. Goodtimewithscar or Scar for short (the minecraft youtuber)

230. 186. Percy Weasley from Harry Potter

229. 170. claude frollo from the hunchback of notre dame (specifically the stage musical)

228. 217. Grian from Life Series (3rd/Last/Double/Limited Life)

227. 168. the submitter from real life

226. 269. Mizi from Alien Stage

225. 96. Robin Stuart from Arc of Infinity (Doctor Who)

224. 172. Tessa Minsky from Imogen, Obviously

223. 267. Ea-nasir (real life copper merchant - 1750 BCE)

222. 37. Kokichi Ouma from Danganronpa V3

221. 147. Rose Lavillant from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

220. 135. Fiver from Watership down

219. 251. Keith Kogane from Voltron

218. 63. Cricket from Wings of Fire

217. 146. Adric of Alzarius from Doctor Who

216. 177. Mort from the Madagascar Movies/All Hail King Julian

215. 59. Edward Elric from Fullmetal metal alchemist

214. 290. Jimmy Solidarity from The Empires smp

213. 259. rayla from the dragon prince

212. 205. Starfy from The Legendary Starfy

211. 232. Taako from The Adventure Zone

210. 188. Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid

209/208. 182. Matt Murdock from Daredevil (Netflix)

209/208. 107. Ted Kord from DC comics

207. 86. Juleka Couffaine from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

206. 27. Sailor Saturn from Sailor Moon

205. 197. Marc Anciel from Miraculous Ladybug

204. 159. Yona from Yona of the Dawn

203. 220. David Chiem from Danganronpa: Despair Time

202. 125. Tynan from Aurora Webcomic

201. 169. Kid Blink from Newsies

200. 128. π (pi) from Mathematics (as in half a circle of radius 1)

199. 275. Zee from Total Drama 2023

198. 278. Flynn Moore from Echo (the furry vn)

197. 270. Caim Tivh from Mørkalven

196. 195. Grendel, The Grimm General from Boldores and Boomsticks

195. 280. Hermie the Unworthy from Dungeons and Daddies

194. 181. Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way from My Immortal

193. 247. Monkey D Luffy from One Piece

Tier 3 - Round of 192

192. 68. Jacopo Bearzatti from The House in Fata Morgana

191. 117. Pugsley Guttman from From the animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park

190. 57. Maglor from the Silmarillion

189. 203. Al-An from Subnautica: Below Zero

188. 112. Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie-verse (???)

187. 122. Rampage from Beast Wars

186. 284. Callie Cuttlefish from Splatoon 1-3

185. 61. Ranpo Edogawa from Bungou Stray Dogs

184. 123. Emil from Nier series

183. 157. vriska from homestuck

182. 213. Brainy Smurf from The Smurfs

181. 36. Doppo Kannonzaka from Hypnosis Mic

180. 38. Diane Nguyen from BoJack Horseman

179. 32. Serial Designation N from Murder Drones

178. 29. Morgrem from Pokemon

177. 17. Joy Wang/Jobu Tupaki from Everything Everywhere All at Once

176. 54. Rex Salazar from Generator Rex

175. 161. Huan from The Silmarillion

174. 225. meg from megahex comic series

173. 136. [redacted] / trivia murder party host from jackbox; trivia murder party

172. 42. Toshiko Sato from Torchwood

171. 106. Veeva Dash from Stampy's Lovely World

170. 39. gaheris from arthuriana

169. 287. waylon smithers jr from the simpsons

168. 77. Nathaniel Kurtzberg from Miraculous Ladybug

167. 89. Pit from Kid Icarus

166. 82. Tsurugi Kyousuke / Victor Blade from Inazuma Eleven GO

165. 171. Danhausen from Professional wrestling

164. 3. Maia Drahzar/Edrehasivar VII from The Goblin Emperor

163. 165. Taranee Cook from W.i.t.c.h.

162. 207. Ardyn "Izunia" Lucis Caelum from Final Fantasy XV

161. 132. Invader Zim from Invader Zim

160. 94. Mumbo Jumbo from Real Life/Mcyt

159. 208. Garwin Chang from Keeper of the Lost Cities

158. 78. Aya Burnstein from Dancing In The Devils Auditorium, by xxangelxbl00dxx(the OP) on ao3

157. 230. Nintendo EShop Bag from Nintendo EShop

156. 234. Logan(Logic) from Sanders Sides

155. 261. Eridan Ampora from Homestuck

154. 235. Markiplier from Real Life

153. 138. Hajime Hinata from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

152. 264. Bao-Dur from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2

151. 71. Fabian Seacaster from Fantasy High (Dimension 20)

150. 283. Bruno Madrigal from Encanto

149. 13. The Fifth Doctor from Doctor Who

148. 155. Tegan Jovanka from Doctor Who

147. 273. Lynne from Ghost Trick

146. 130. Hoshina Hikaru (Cure Star) from Star Twinkle Pretty Cure

145. 81. Damon of Gallifrey from Doctor Who Arc of Infinity

144. 239. "Phoenix" from iiRitW, the OP's ORIGINAL (sob) wip videogame

143. 115. Sound Saran from My School President

142. 149. data from star trek the next generation

141. 2. Iruma-kun from Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun

140. 256. Akane Kurashiki from Zero Escape

139. 104. Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon from Sailor Moon

138. 91. Kuromi from Sanrio

137. 158. Corazón de Ballena from Oxventure

136. 192. Milo Murphy from Milo Murphy's Law

135. 105. Alice Price Healy from Incryptid

134. 48. Raven Scofflaw from the submitter's OC from a wip that currently has the filler title 'Family'

133. 187. Vash the Stampede from Trigun

132. 206. Ben from the submitter's OC with almost zero information about lmao (this will change once I update artfight?)

131. 66. Natsuki Subaru from Re:Zero

130. 126. Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher

129. 255. Kevin from Ghost Host Ghost House

Tier 4 - Round of 128

128. 116. Pancho from All Hail King Julien!

127. 110. Kento from Payday 2

126. 113. Grantaire from Les Miserables

125. 65. Lexcanium from Wasteland 2

124. 297. Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars

123. 263. Chocolat Aizawa from Chocolat no Mahou

121/122. 153. Syv from Snøkattprinsen/The Snowcat Prince

121/122. 299. Adam Tyler from the Firewatching series

120. 83. Imogen Scott from Imogen, Obviously

119. 152. Garwin Chang from Keeper of the Lost Cities

118. 198. Sylvio Sawatari from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V

117. 295. Pheonix Wright from Ace Attorney

116. 221. Prince Tarte (full name so long even he can't remember all of it) from Fresh Precure

115. 286. Ingo from Pokemon Legends Arceus

114. 279. The Collector from The Owl House

113. 227. Guildmaster Wigglytuff from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky

112. 99. Nanako Dojima from Persona 4

111. 262. Lunar from The sun and moon show

110. 143. the doctor (could just be the 10th doctor if thats too broad) from doctor who

109. 108. Don Quixote from Limbus Company

108. 46. Chiono from Steldomo (aka an oc in a story the submitter wants to write)

107. 236. the Doctor from Doctor Who

106. 45. Hao Asakura from Shaman King

105. 16. Tatsuya Suou from Persona 2

104. 194. Magic Brian from The Adventure Zone: Balance

103. 229. ronan lynch from the raven cycle

102. 58. Todd Chavez from BoJack Horseman

101. 252. Susan Sto Helit from The Discworld series

100. 12. Baljeet Tjinder from Phineas and Ferb

99. 271. Manga Fukidashi from My hero academia

98. 238. Cure Lovely/Megumi Aino from Happiness Charge Precure

97. 154. Nate Ford from Leverage

Tier 5 - Round of 96

96. 210. Melanie King from The Magnus Archives

95. 241. Vriska Serket from Homestuck

94. 93. Cure Passion from Fresh Precure

93. 44. Stanford Pines from Gravity Falls

92. 265. Otome from Video game (Gnosia)

91. 173. Lucian Lockhart from the submitter's imagination

90. 4. Pyotr 'Pierre' Bezukhov from War and Peace

89. 6. Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi from Gotham Academy/DC Comics

88. 76. Meridius from Venom

87. 268. daniil dankovsky from pathologic

86. 55. Nona from Nona the Ninth (book)

85. 24. Prince Peasely from Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

84. 298. IMOGEN from stellar firma

83. 52. Jordyn Khaos from The chronicles of Destiny

82. 166. Gideon Nav from The Locked Tomb

81. 282. Obi from Snow White with the Red Hair

80. 281. Dalinar Kholin from Stormlight Archive

79. 140. Tim Drake from DC Comics, Batman Comics

78. 248. Brightheart from Warriors

77. 23. Garwin Chang from Keeper of the Lost cities

76. 109. Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist

75. 289. Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul

74. 114. Vinnie Dakota from Milo Murphy's Law

73. 14. Jin Macchiato from Fuga: Melodies of Steel

72. 101. Hendry Lowe from All of Us Villains

71. 212. Annabel McAllistair from Dolls of new albion

70. 258. Sanji from One piece

69. 214. God from the Bible

68. 73. Kosane Kiriha from Null Magical Girl

67. 218. Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit

66. 118. anakin skywalker from star wars

65. 90. Adina Astra from Lost Constellation (Night in the Woods Supplemental)

Tier 6 - Round of 64

64. 35. Larten Crepsley from The Saga of Darren Shan

63. 49. Eda Clawthorne from The Owl House

62. 26. Perona from One Piece

61. 47. Bain from Payday: the Heist and Payday 2

60. 144. Heiji Hattori from Detective Conan

59. 41. Maglor from The Silmarillion

58. 237. Carrot from The Discworld series

57. 179. John from Malevolent (podcast)

56. 226. Katarina Claes from My Next Life as a Villianess

55. 127. five hargreeves from the umbrella academy

54. 196. Dragon from Parahumans

53. 102. Vanessa Santoro from Fablehaven book series

52. 150. James Flint from Black Sails

51. 180. Sasha Rackett from Rusty Quill Gaming

50. 249. Donna Noble from Doctor Who

49. 178. Beauregard Lionett from Critical Role

Tier 7 - Second bracket

48. 151. Zisu from Pokemon Legends Arceus

47. 209. Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender

46. 56. Canute from Vinland Saga

45. 183. otto octavius / doc ock from spiderman 2

44. 204. Kim Dokja from Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

43. 33. Mihashi Ren from Ookiku Furikabutte (Big Windup!)

42. 100. The original char aznable from Gundam

41. 51. Percy Weasley from Harry Potter

40. 292. akagi shigeru from akagi

39. 202. Douglas F. Eiffel from Wolf 359

38. 80. Marty Mikalski from The Cabin in the Woods, 2011

37. 142. The Reaper from Death's door

36. 184. Thors from Vinland Saga

35. 200. Ryoma Hoshi from Danganronpa

34. 75. Darth Maul from Star Wars

33. 243. Kim Theerapanyakul from Kinnporsche The Series

Tier 8 - Round of 32

32. 34. Godzilla from Godzilla

31. 300 Baljeet Tjinder from Phineas and Ferb

30. 245. Duck Newton from The Adventure Zone: Amnesty

29. 145. Gakushuu Asano from Assassination Classroom

28. 30. Natsume Takashi from Natsume's Book of Friends

27. 276. Nona from The Locked Tomb series

26. 87. Cordelia Gallo from Gosick

25. 162. Richard Spender from Paranatural

Tier 9 - Round of 24

24. 296. Horse from Centaurworld

23. 40. charlie kelly from its always sunny in philadelphia

22. 294. Warren Peace from Sky High

21. 176. Percy Weasley from Harry Potter

20. 285. Daisy Wells from Murder Most Unladylike (book series)

19. 201. zane from lego ninjago

18. 9. Tin from Triage

17. 111. Kelsier from Mistborn

Tier 10 - Sweet 16

16. 98. Fujiwara no Sai from Hikaru no Go

15. 133. Megamind from Megamind

14. 97. V from Devil May Cry

13. 69. Vegas Theerapanyakul from Kinnporsche: The Series

Tier 11 - Top Twelve

12. 193. The Obituary Writer from Death By Dying

11. 163. hollyleaf from warrior cats

10. 72. King Clawthorne from The Owl House

9. 288. Vin from Mistborn

Tier 12 - Elite Eight

8. 222. Galacta Knight from Kirby

7. 224. Metal Sonic from Sonic Series

Tier 13 - Final bracket

6. 272. Ilke from Phenomena

5. 231. Maika Halfwolf from Monstress

Tier 14 - Final Four

4. 246. Phoenix Wright from Ace Attorney

Tier 15 - Thrilling Three

3. 21. Olenna Tyrell from A Song of Ice and Fire

Tier 16 - Top Two

2. 5. Parker from Leverage

Tier 17 - Only One

1. 67. Sophie Foster from Keeper of the lost cities

[iamnotawomanimagod]

I'm back with numbers!! 6, 11, 27, 38, 40, 51, 62, 75, 84, 98 🩵🩷🖤❤️💙💜🤍 (is that too many? 😅)

Never too many!! Thank you, Luce <3

6. "Hollywood Baby" by 100 gecs

11. "Marrow" by Thao, & The Get Down Stay Down

27. "Blacksnake" by Charming Disaster

38. "Pressed to Death" by illuminati hotties

40. "18+" by Scene Queen

51. "vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo

62. "Pass the Knife" by No/Me

75. "The Tradition" by Halsey

84. "notre dame" by Paris Paloma

98. "Candleburn - Dorm Demo" by Rabbitology

[lindsaywesker]

Deaths In 2023

January

1: Fred White (67, American drummer, Earth Wind & Fire)

3: Alan Rankine (64, Scottish musician/producer, The Associates)

6: Gianluca Vialli (58, Italian football player/manager)

10: Jeff Beck (78, English guitarist, The Yardbirds/The Jeff Beck Group/Beck Bogart & Appice)

11: Yukihiro Takahashi (70, Japanese singer/drummer, Yellow Magic Orchestra)

12: Robbie Bachman (69, Canadian drummer, Bachman Turner Overdrive)

Lisa-Marie Presley (54, American singer/songwriter, daughter of Elvis, mother of Riley Keough)

16: Gina Lollobrigida (95, Italian actress)

18: David Crosby (81, American singer/songwriter, The Byrds, Crosby Stills Nash & Young)

27: Sylvia Sims (89, English actress, ‘Ice Cold In Alex’)

28: Barrett Strong (81, American singer/songwriter, co-wrote ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’/‘Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone’

Tom Verlaine (73, American musician/songwriter/producer, Television)

Lisa Loring (64, American actress, ‘The Addams Family’)

February

2: Calton Coffie (68, Jamaican singer, Inner Circle)

3: Paco Rabanne (88, Spanish fashion designer)

8: Burt Bacharach (94, American songwriter, co-wrote ‘Walk On By’/‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’/‘A House Is Not A Home’/‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’)

10: Hugh Hudson (86, film director, ‘Chariots Of Fire’)

12: David Jolicoeur a.k.a. Trugoy The Dove (54, American rapper, De La Soul)

15: Raquel Welch (82, American actress)

16: Chuck Jackson (85, American soul singer, ‘Any Day Now’/‘I Keep Forgettin’’)

18: Barbara Bosson (83, American actress, ‘Hill Street Blues’)

19: Richard Belzer (78, American actor, ‘Homicide: Life On The Street’/’Law And Order: Special Victims Unit’)

Dickie Davies (94, British television personality, ‘World Of Sport’)

23: John Motson (77, English football commentator, ‘Match Of The Day’)

March

2: Steve Mackey (56, English bassist/producer, Pulp)

Wayne Shorter (89, American jazz saxophonist, Weather Report)

3: Carlos Garnett (84, Panamanian jazz saxophonist)

Tom Sizemore (61, American actor, ‘Saving Private Ryan’)

5: Gary Rossington (71, American guitarist, Lynyrd Skynyrd)

8: Topol (87, Israeli actor, ‘Fiddler On The Roof’/’Flash Gordon’)

10: Junior English (71, Jamaican reggae singer)

12: Dick Fosbury (76, American high jumper)

13: Jim Gordon (77, American drummer, Traffic/Derek & The Dominoes)

14: Bobby Caldwell (71, American singer/songwriter)

15: Greg Perry (singer/songwriter/producer)

16: Fuzzy Haskins (81, American singer, Parliament/Funkadelic)

17: Lance Reddick (60, American actor, ‘The Wire’/’Oz’/’John Wick’ films)

23: Keith Reid (76, English songwriter, Procol Harum)

Peter Shelley (80, English singer/songwriter/producer, ‘Gee Baby’/’Love Me Love My Dog’)

28: Paul O’Grady a.k.a. Lily Savage (67, English comedian)

Ryuichi Sakamoto (71, Japanese musician/composer, Yellow Magic Orchestra, composed theme to ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’)

29: Charles Sherrell a.k.a. Sweet Charles (80, American bass player/singer, The JBs, ‘Yes, It’s You’)

April

5: Booker T. Newberry III (67, American singer, Sweet Thunder, ‘Love Town’)

6: Paul Cattermole (46, English singer, S Club 7)

8: Michael Lerner (81, American actor, ‘Barton Fink’)

12: Jah Shaka (75, Jamaican sound system operator)

13: Dame Mary Quant (93, English fashion designer)

14: Mark Sheehan (46, Irish guitarist, The Script)

16: Ahmad Jamal (92, jazz pianist)

17: Ivan Conti (76, jazz drummer, Azymuth)

22: Barry Humphries a.k.a. Dame Edna Everage (89, Australian comedian/actor)

Len Goodman (78, English TV personality)

25: Harry Belafonte (95, American musician/actor/civil rights leader)

27: Wee Willie Harris (90, English rock & roll singer)

Jerry Springer (79, English-born, American TV host)

28: Tim Bachman (71, Canadian guitarist, Bachman-Turner Overdrive)

May

1: Gordon Lightfoot (84, Canadian singer/songwriter, ‘If You Could Read My Mind’)

3: Linda Lewis (72, English singer/songwriter, ‘Rock-A-Doodle-Doo’)

18: Jim Brown (87, American football player/actor, ‘The Dirty Dozen’)

19: Pete Brown (82, poet/singer/lyricist, ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’/’White Room’/’I Feel Free’)

Andy Rourke (59, English bass player, The Smiths)

24: Bill Lee (94, American jazz musician/composer, Spike’s dad, scored ‘She’s Gotta Have It’/‘School Daze’/’Do The Right Thing’

Tina Turner (84, American-born, Swiss singer/actress, ‘River Deep Mountain High’/’Nutbush City Limits’/’What’s Love Got To Do With It?’)

26: Reuben Wilson (88, American jazz organist, ‘Got To Get Your Own’)

June

1: Cynthia Weil (82, songwriter, ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’/’Here You Come Again’)

6: Tony McPhee (79, English guitarist, The Groundhogs)

12: Treat Williams (71, American actor, ‘Hair’/’Prince Of The City’)

14: John Hollins (76, English football player, Chelsea/Arsenal/England)

15: Glenda Jackson (87, English MP/actress, ‘Women In Love’/’Sunday Bloody Sunday’)

27: Julian Sands (65, English actor, ‘A Room With A View’)

29: Alan Arkin (89, American actor, ‘Catch 22’/’Little Miss Sunshine’)

30: Lord Creator (87, Trinidad-born, Jamaican singer/songwriter, ‘Kingston Town’)

July

3: Vicki Anderson a.k.a. Myra Barnes  (83, American soul singer, Carleen’s mum)

Mo Foster (78, English songwriter/musician/producer)

5: George Tickner (76, American guitarist, Journey)

16: Jane Birkin (76, French/English actress/singer, ‘Je t’aime … moi non plus’, banned by the BBC in 1969)

21: Tony Bennett (96, American singer, ‘I Left My Heart In San Francisco’)

22: Vince Hill (89, English singer, ‘Edelweiss’)

24: Trevor Francis (69, English football player, Birmingham City/England)

26: Randy Meisner (77, musician/songwriter, Poco/The Eagles, ‘Take It To The Limit’)

Sinead O’Connor (56, Irish singer, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’/songwriter, ‘Mandinka’)

30: Paul Reubens a.k.a. Pee-Wee Herman (70, American actor/comedian)

31: Angus Cloud (25, American actor, ‘Euphoria’)

 August

4: John Gosling (75, English keyboard player, The Kinks)

7: DJ Casper (58, DJ/artist/songwriter, ‘Cha Cha Slide’)

William Friedkin (87, American film director, ‘The French Connection’/’The Exorcist’)

9: Robbie Robertson (80, Canadian musician/songwriter/singer, The Band)

Sixto Rodriguez (81, American singer/songwriter, subject of 2012 documentary ‘Searching For Sugar Man’

13: Clarence Avant (92, owner of Sussex Records/Tabu Records, film producer, ‘Jason’s Lyric’)

Magoo (50, American rapper, Timbaland & Magoo)

16: Jerry Moss (88, music executive, the ‘M’ in A&M Records)

17: Bobby Eli (77, guitarist, MFSB/songwriter, ‘Love Won’t Let Me Wait’)

Gary Young (70, American drummer, Pavement)

19: Ron Cephas Jones (66, American actor, ‘This Is Us’)

24: Bernie Marsden (72, English guitarist, Whitesnake/songwriter, ‘Here I Go Again’/’Fool For Your Loving’)

29: Jamie Crick (57, English radio broadcaster, Jazz FM)

31: Gayle Hunnicutt (80, American actress, ‘Dallas’)

September

1: Jimmy Buffett (76, American singer/songwriter, ‘Margaritaville’)

4: Gary Wright (80, American singer/songwriter, ‘Dream Weaver’/’Love Is Alive’)

Steve Harwell (56, American singer/rapper, Smash Mouth)

8: Mike Yarwood (82, English comedian/impressionist)

13: Roger Whittaker (87, Kenyan-born English singer/songwriter, ‘Durham Town’)

16: Sir Horace Ove (86, Trinidadian-born, English film director, ‘Pressure’)

Irish Grinstead (43, American R&B singer, 702)

25: David McCallum (90, Scottish actor, ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’/’N.C.I.S.’/musician)

28: Michael Gambon (82, English actor, ‘Harry Potter’ movies)

30: Russell Batiste Jr. (57, American drummer, The Meters)

October

2: Francis Lee (79, English football player, Manchester City/England)

8: Burt Young (83, American actor, ‘Rocky’)

11: Rudolph Isley (84, American singer, The Isley Brothers/songwriter, ‘That Lady’)

12: Michael Cooper (71, Jamaican musician, Inner Circle/Third World)

14: Piper Laurie (91, American actress, ‘Carrie’/’The Hustler’)

19: DJ Mark The 45 King (62, DJ/musician/producer, ‘The 900 Number’)

20: Haydn Gwynne (66, English actress, ‘Drop The Dead Donkey’)

21: Sir Bobby Charlton (86, English footballer, Manchester United/England)

24: Richard Roundtree (81, American actor, ‘Shaft’)

28: Matthew Perry (54, American-Canadian actor, ‘Friends’)

November

12: Anna Scher (78, founder of the Anna Scher Children’s Theatre)

19: Joss Ackland CBE (95, English actor, ‘White Mischief’)

22: Jean Knight (80, American soul singer, ‘Mr. Big Stuff’)

25: Terry Venables (80, English footballer, Chelsea/Tottenham Hotspur/England manager)

26: Geordie Walker (64, English guitarist, Killing Joke)

29: Sticky Vicky (80, Spanish dancer and illusionist)

30: Shane MacGowan (65, English-born Irish singer, The Pogues/songwriter, ‘Fairytale Of New York’)

December

1: Brigit Forsyth (83, Scottish actress, ‘Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?’)

5: Denny Laine (79, English musician, The Moody Blues/Wings, songwriter, ‘Mull Of Kintyre’)

7: Benjamin Zephaniah (65, English poet/writer/actor, ‘Peaky Blinders’)

8: Ryan O’Neal (82, American actor, ‘Love Story’/’Barry Lyndon’/’Paper Moon’)

Nidra Beard (71, American singer, Dynasty)

11: Andre Braugher (61, American actor, ‘Homicide: Life On The Street’/’Brooklyn Nine-Nine’/’Glory’)

Richard Kerr (78, English singer/songwriter, ‘Mandy’)

15: Bob Johnson (79, singer/songwriter/musician, Steeleye Span)

16: Colin Burgess (77, Australian drummer, AC/DC)

17: Amp Fiddler (65, singer/songwriter/producer)

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode illustrée, no. 6, 7 février 1897, Paris. Capuchon pour dame âgée. Modèle de chez Mmes de La Torchère et Sauveur, rue de Cherche-Midi, 67. Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque Forney

Ce capuchon fait en soie écossaise est doublé en légère soie noire. Notre modèle se compose d'un morceau presque rond ayant 50 à 52 centimètres de diamètre. On le coupe en biais; on le fronce, à l'exception de 22 centimètres de longueur des deux côtés, de façon que le morceau ait 84 centimètres de tour. On fixe au bord du morceau un volant en même étoffe ayant 2 mètres 20 de longueur, 8 centimètres de largeur; le bord de ce volant est couvert par un ruban de faille noire. On fixe encore au bord intérieur de capuchon quatre volants plissés en gaze de soie verte, très froncés, bordés d'un ruban de velours; le capuchon est muni de brides en satin noir ayant 5 centimètres 1/2 de largeur.

This hood made of Scottish silk is lined in light black silk. Our model consists of an almost round piece having 50 to 52 centimeters in diameter. We cut it on the bias; we gather it, with the exception of 22 centimeters in length on both sides, so that the piece has 84 centimeters around. A ruffle of the same fabric measuring 2.20 meters in length and 8 centimeters in width is attached to the edge of the piece; the edge of this ruffle is covered by a ribbon of black fault. Four pleated ruffles in green silk gauze, very gathered, edged with a velvet ribbon, are also attached to the inner edge of the cap; the cap is fitted with black satin straps measuring 5 1/2 centimeters wide.

[mvdbutler]

EA COLLEGE FOOTBALL 25 GAMEPLAY SEASON 1 THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS ACC-SMU AMERICAN-WICHITA STATE BIG EAST-UCONN BIG TEN-NEBRASKA BIG 12-BOISE STATE MOUNTAIN WEST-MONTANA SEC-ALABAMA BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 1 VS 2 ALABAMA VS BOISE STATE-WINNER ROSE BOWL 3 VS 4 NEBRASKA VS SMU-WINNER ORANGE BOWL 5 VS 6 UCONN-WINNER-OT-2 VS WICHITA STATE SUGAR BOWL 7 VS 8 COLORADO VS MICHIGAN-WINNER COTTON BOWL CLASSIC 9 VS 10 BYU-WINNER VS OREGON PEACH BOWL 11 VS 12 LIBERTY VS WEST VIRGINIA-WINNER FIESTA BOWL 13 VS 14 VILLANOVA VS GEORGIA-WINNER SUN BOWL 15 VS 16 MONTANA VS ST.JOHN'S-WINNER-OT-3 GATOR BOWL 17 VS 18 OKLAHOMA STATE-WINNER VS TEXAS CITRUS BOWL 19 VS 20 IOWA VS WISCONSIN-WINNER LIBERTY BOWL 21 VS 22 UCF-WINNER VS USC INDEPENDENCE BOWL 23 VS 24 PITTSBURGH VS SACRAMENTO STATE-WINNER-OT-3 HOLIDAY BOWL 25 VS 26 BUFFALO VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC-WINNER TAMPA BAY BOWL 27 VS 28 MARYLAND-WINNER VS TEXAS TECH PHOENIX BOWL 29 VS 30 ARIZONA VS NAVY-WINNER LAS VEGAS BOWL 31 VS 32 IOWA STATE VS LSU-WINNER ALAMO BOWL 33 VS 34 TCU-WINNER VS ARKANSAS BOISE BOWL 35 VS 36 OREGON STATE VS OLE MISS-WINNER NASHVILLE BOWL 37 VS 38 RUTGERS VS SOUTHERN MISS-WINNER MOBILE BOWL 39 VS 40 TEXAS A&M VS PURDUE-WINNER HAWAII BOWL 41 VS 42 FIU-WINNER VS MEMPHIS CHARLOTTE BOWL 43 VS 44 WASHINGTON-WINNER-OT-1 VS CLEMSON FORT WORTH BOWL 45 VS 46 OLD DOMINION VS NC STATE-WINNER HOUSTON BOWL 47 VS 48 MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS NORTH TEXAS-WINNER BIRMINGHAM BOWL 49 VS 50 LOUISIANA TECH VS VIRGINIA-WINNER ALBUQUERQUE BOWL 51 VS 52 UTAH VS TULANE-WINNER WASHINGTON DC BOWL 53 VS 54 MARQUETTE VS MARSHALL-WINNER-OT-1 NEW YORK BOWL 55 VS 56 ARMY-WINNER VS KANSAS STATE BAHAMAS BOWL 57 VS 58 FRESNO STATE VS UNLV-WINNER BOCA RATON BOWL 59 VS 60 AIR FORCE VS NEW MEXICO-WINNER MONTGOMERY BOWL 61 VS 62 UTSA VS UCLA-WINNER DETROIT BOWL 63 VS 64 VANDERBILT VS IDAHO-WINNER-OT-3 TUCSON BOWL 65 VS 66 SOUTH CAROLINA-WINNER-OT-1 VS CINCINNATI FRISCO BOWL 67 VS 68 MONTANA STATE VS LOUISVILLE-WINNER MYRTLE BEACH BOWL 69 VS 70 VIRGINIA TECH-WINNER VS NEVADA BOSTON BOWL 71 VS 72 OHIO STATE VS TENNESSEE-WINNER LOS ANGELES BOWL 73 VS 74 CREIGHTON-WINNER VS UTEP MIAMI BEACH BOWL 75 VS 76 USF VS BUTLER-WINNER SAN FRANCISCO BOWL 77 VS 78 WASHINGTON STATE-WINNER VS COLORADO STATE SEATTLE BOWL 79 VS 80 HAWAII-WINNER VS BOSTON COLLEGE SILICON VALLEY FOOTBALL CLASSIC 81 VS 82 INDIANA VS SETON HALL-WINNER NEW JERSEY BOWL 83 VS 84 SOUTH ALABAMA-WINNER-OT-1 VS NORTE DAME PICHU LONDON BOWL 85 VS 86 BAYLOR VS ILLINOIS-WINNER JOHNJAKE GAMING BOWL 87 VS 88 ECU VS PENN STATE-WINNER KTO BOWL 89 VS 90 UAB-WINNER VS TEXAS STATE DEAD MEAT BOWL 91 VS 92 MISSISSIPPI STATE-WINNER VS GEORGETOWN BUTLERLION NETWORK BOWL 93 VS 94 GEORGIA TECH-WINNER VS KANSAS OLYMPICS BOWL 95 VS 96 XAVIER-OT-9 VS NORTH CAROLINA