#do you think going to ireland in the spring (1 MONTH!!!) will make it better or worse

[frecht]

i need to get over this thing i have where i visit a country and im excessively obsessed with it for the next year at least

[queenshelby]

Time for Change – Part One

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Warning: None

Words: 1,193

Notes: Not based on Cillian’s life. This is fiction guys! 

The spring weather had finally kicked in and you celebrated the warmth of the day with a floral dress. Though modest, the dress was more revealing than he'd see your wear before. Sitting mid-thigh, it had thin adjustable straps and a low cut and ruffled neckline. Your body was curvy, but strong; soft in the right places, and filled out that dress like no-one else could. The gentle breeze played at the dress' hem as you walked, showing glimpses of your smooth tanned upper leg. Your hair was long and fell is soft waves down your back and framed your face.  

Cillian admired your body and the way the dress moved with you as you approached him even though he knew that he shouldn’t have. He was married to your step-sister and he shouldn’t be looking at you like this. It wasn’t right.

‘Cillian, how are you?’ you asked as he welcomed you in with a hug and kiss on the cheek as usual. But he let his hand linger on your lower back just a fraction longer than he probably should have and, as he pulled away he wondered if you noticed.

‘Hey, uhm, come in and thank you again for teaching the kids’ Cillian said and your face gave nothing away and he moved towards the kitchen to make a coffee.

‘Is Danielle not home?’ you asked surprised, not seeing any sign of her. You weren’t particularly close and didn’t talk much but, usually, she was at home when you came around for the boys’ piano lessons. Being a music teacher had its advantages and you were always willing and eager to teach your friends’ and family’s children for free. Cillian and Danielle’s children were no different and, in your opinion, they were immensely talented and you adored spending time with them.

‘She is staying with her mother for a while’ Cillian huffed out before offering you a cup of coffee which you gladly accepted. You never met Danielle’s mother, although you shared the same father.

You dropped your bag by the front door and followed him. He could feel your eyes on his back and he wondered what you were thinking when he told you that his wife had walked out on him for second time within the past four months.

‘She just left you, again, without the boys? Why would she?’ you asked surprised, wanting to know how to handle their lessons. They were only 10 and 12 years old and you were somewhat concerned about the current circumstances.

‘Well, as usual, she left without any sort of explanation’ Cillian said rather frustrated.

‘Fuck Cillian, I am sorry’ you said, looking around for a second to make sure that his boys didn’t hear you.

Sitting in your usual seat at the counter you talked while he made your coffee, checking in and updating each other on your somewhat troubled lives.

As you sat on the stool chatting about your marriage troubles with your husband James, you leaned slightly forward offering him a perfect view of your ample cleavage, causing Cillian to blush.

‘I suppose life has it’s challenges, huh?’ you eventually chuckled and your soft laugh brought him back but the look in your slightly narrowed eyes was, for once, unreadable. He realised then that you had asked him a question, but he'd been so caught up in his musings that he hadn't noticed. But you'd definitely noticed him staring at your breasts.

“Uhm yes, it does” Cillian eventually responded and you sat up straight and you both ignored his lapse. He gave your your cup, and without warning or invitation you took your coffee to the lounge room. He followed you. You sat on the large couch next to the piano, tucking your legs underneath yourself as you sat. Your dress falling a little to one side, he again caught just a glimpse of your upper thigh.

"So, this is my plan for the boys, what do you think?” you asked.

“Pretty impressive. You should teach my how to play this” Cillian chuckled and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Your piano skills are much better than you lead on Cillian. I’ve heard you play at Danielle’s birthday last year” you said, which was shortly after you moved to Dublin after having spent the past ten years in America with your husband.  

The reasons you sought to return to Ireland were your husband’s numerous indiscretions when working at a large corporation in New York. He had one affair after another until you had enough and requested a transfer back to Dublin, forcing him to break it off with his secretary.

You knew you shouldn’t have forgiven him, but you did it for your daughter who you had adopted six years ago, giving her the best life possible. An intact home, close to family.

But, what you hadn’t told anyone was that, two days ago, the last straw had been drawn when your husband informed you that he had to return to New York for two weeks to attend a business conference, a conference which you found out didn’t even exist.  

Cillian’s situation wasn’t much better than yours. Danielle and him had broken up on numerous occasions throughout the past two years and he thought that, by staying with her, he was doing the right thing. But this was no longer sustainable and he found himself conflicted about what he wants in life.

As your conversation about music and playing the piano flowed, you occasionally touched his arm. It was your innocent way of connecting with him, of showing him you were there. You meant nothing by it, but today your touch sent electricity through him, into his core and he had to use everything he had to resist reaching out for you.

Luckily for him, within less than five minutes, his sons arrived in the living room, ready for their lessons and Cillian got up and left you to it.

***

After about an hour, when you were ready to leave, Cillian thanked you for coming over and, again, you gently touched his arm.

‘You are welcome’ you said with a warm smile, causing him to take in a deep breath.

‘I hope Danielle is back soon’ you then said before continuing. ‘But, in case that she isn’t, do you want me to come over and cook you and the boys dinner tomorrow? James is in New York and I get a bit lonely at home’ you asked politely.

‘The boys are going to camp for three nights with the local football club’ Cillian then said and you nodded before, after a small pause, asking him whether he would like to come over to your house for dinner by himself then.

‘Uhm, I am not sure if that would be appropriate’ Cillian then said, already struggling being around you. The small touches and gestures were almost too much for him especially since, the last time him and Danielle were intimate, was six months ago and they’ve been doing nothing but fighting ever since.

‘It’s just dinner Cilly’ you reassured him and he reluctantly agreed.

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[third-generation-female-warrior]

Hidden

So, I decided to maybe do a multi-chapter fic of what Talbott and Alexus were up to during the Second Wizarding War (but it could end up being a one-shot). I don't have too many plans, so I'm hoping I can keep it up. It may get a little more mature than what I've written before, never anything explicit, so far it's a T rating. Lots of romantical language, some dueling, writing the first bit felt a lot like writing quarantine, so take with that what you will.

Chapter 1

Sometimes, on quiet rainy nights, while laying in bed, Talbott Winger would reflect fondly upon the last few years of his life. He was still a young man, only twenty-four-years-old. Some would say the prime of life. He looked down at the woman laying down with him, and kissed her forehead, remembering the last few years, remembering how he was lucky enough to be living with her.

He had graduated from Hogwarts with her in 1991, and he wasted no time moving into a flat in London with his girlfriend of three years: Alexus Johnson. He continued his auror career while she had set up a private investigative office, occasionally working as a hit-witch for his department.

Working young kids, that’s what they were, tripping over themselves in the bliss of freedom, no teachers or dark cabals constantly looming over their heads. Just them, in their space, with their combined book collection.

They continued dating for another couple years until 1995, a year that Talbott reflected upon fondly as he noticed her eyes fluttering from a dream.

That was the year he had proposed to her. In a wheat field, under a large shady tree, when they were on a picnic together, he pulled her favorite book out of the basket and told her to find a story for him to read.

She turned to a marked page, a custom bookmark pressed between the pages of her favorite romantic poem. Embossed in blue lettering was the question he wanted to ask her.

“Will you marry me?”

By the time she processed the bookmark and looked at him for answers, he was already on one knee, an open box with his ring in his hands, held up to her.

They had a small ceremony, a few months later, only their closest friends and her mother and brother were in attendance. They didn’t need or want a big spectacle. All he wanted was to dance with his wife, and he did, for the whole night.

It was 1997 now, and he considered himself the luckiest wizard in the world. He loved her, he didn’t want to lose her.

He loved her, and there was a war right outside their door.

Instead of being stable and safe at their London flat, they were in a safe house.

He loved his wife, but she was rather prone to being targeted by large groups of dark wizards.

Granted, this time, as with his work serving under Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody in the auror department, Talbott himself had been targeted as the Death Eaters took over the Ministry.

Mad-Eye had been killed just over two months ago, during a big confrontation involving Harry Potter and a bunch of Death Eaters, and a few weeks after, there was a wedding for Bill Weasley.

Alexus, still being a good friend with her the eldest Weasley, had attended with Talbott.

They were attacked while there, and that was when they went into hiding, apparating to their flat to grab the bags they had packed in advance before leaving, on a muggle bus, to a train station.

From that station, they made their way to some distant station before apparating again.

Somewhere in Ireland, Talbott didn’t know the exact location. An old villa in the countryside with rolling hills to the right, as far as they could see, and a thick forest to the left of the home, her father’s childhood home, apparently. She and Jacob inherited it when he died.

It was modest, with a lush flower garden in the front, and a greenhouse in the back, a small village within a bike ride’s distance for when they needed groceries.

Most importantly, it had a library, a record player, and a radio.

The days passed slowly, the sun rose over the hills and set behind the trees.

To pass the time, they read, they danced, they cooked, they tended to the garden and greenhouse. Only sparingly did they venture to the village together, for being in sight of other people increased their risk of being sighted.

Today had included a trip to the village. It started off a sunny day, brilliant blue skies as they walked the markets in the center of the place. By the time they were leaving, fresh groceries in their arms, the dark clouds were rolling through the skys.

They had rushed home, just barely avoiding getting caught in the downpour. Alexus found the whole scenario hilarious. Rainy weather always made her feel better, and after dinner, she played music on the muggle device that she called a record player, some relic that belonged to her grandparents.

Talbott hadn’t really heard music like this before, but it was fascinating nonetheless. So, they danced that night, for a long time.

It was enough to leave Alexus properly tired by the time they were heading to bed, so she had fallen asleep in minutes, laying her head on his chest instead of the pillows.

He read his book with one hand, keeping his other arm around her. It was an old one, a collection of an author’s favorites that Alexus had gotten him for his 16th birthday.

The pages were well preserved, some passages underlined, the ink from their own pens fading.

He traced his thumb over a neat line, knowing it was Alexus who had marked it. He sighed and marked his spot before setting the book on his nightstand.

He turned off his light and gently moved, just slow enough so that he didn’t disturb his wife. He laid down and closed his eyes, letting the lullaby of the raindrops tapping on the window sooth him to sleep.

When the sun filtered in from the bedroom window, Talbott threw the blankets over his head.

“You have to get up eventually,” his wife’s chiding voice came from outside the covers.

“No I don’t,” he called back, a smile creeping onto his lips.

“We’re going to the forest, remember? To explore beyond the yard?”

He felt the weight of the bed shift, the springs in the mattress squeaking as she sat down at the foot.

He relented and sat up, pulling the covers off of his face.

She looked at him, with her big round eyes, misleadingly innocent, a soft smile on her lips. She was already dressed, wearing simple blue jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt, her hair tied back into a bun, two strands of hair framing either side of her face.

“There you are,” she said, a glint of mischief taking its place in her eyes.

“Here I am,” he repeated before lifting his arms into a powerful stretch, extending his entire upper torso, a yawn accenting his movements.

“Get ready, I’ll be downstairs,” she said, leaning over the bed to peck his cheek before sliding off the bed and walking out.

Now, he really had no choice. He couldn’t keep his wife waiting.

He reflected on their predicament as he got ready for the day. They were treating it like a second honeymoon. If any bystander that they met asked, they were on vacation from two demanding jobs.

Vacation, he mentally repeated as he examined his face in the mirror. A small beard was developing, he hadn’t shaved in a few weeks. Everyone I know could be killed by now, and I’m on vacation. He shook his head to rapidly clear those thoughts. He couldn’t let his mind go down that direction. They were just as safe as he and Alexus.

He ran his hands through his hair, letting it fall where it may before he exited the bathroom, fully dressed. He wore khakis and a grey t-shirt, simple enough, but durable for a walk in the woods. Lastly, from his closet, he grabbed a dark jacket and threw it over his shoulder before making his way downstairs.

Alexus was in the kitchen, reaching through one of the cupboards to grab plates.

Talbott took the opportunity to look over what she was preparing. Bacon on one burner, scrambled eggs on another. He looked at the counter, to see bread in the toaster.

He turned the eggs before kissing the back of her head, reaching above her to grab the plates that were just at the brush of her fingertips.

“What would you do without me?” he said, almost teasingly.

“Get a step-ladder.”

He laughed as two pieces of toast popped up. She quickly took them out and added another slice. He started to prep their coffee.

It wasn’t too long before they sat down at the little table in a dining nook.

While they ate, Alexus was looking through a book of botany, one hand balancing the spine on the table and flicking through the pages, the other holding her fork and messing with eggs that she kept forgetting to actually eat.

He watched her read, her brow furrowing in concentration, her emerald eyes blocked only slightly by her reading glasses, lips slightly parted and occasionally mouthing words, eggs hovering an inch off her plate, occasionally dropping off the fork balanced between her two fingers.

“I thought we banned reading at the breakfast table for this reason,” Talbott remarked casually, snapping her out of her trance.

“Sorry,” she muttered, quickly marking her spot and setting it to the side before she started eating.

“Find anything interesting in the book?” he asked, trying to keep a conversation.

“Well, nothing in particular,” she started, stirring her coffee slightly. Talbott waited for her to finish drinking, knowing that she was about to dump a niche patch of information on him.

“But I just think,” she continued, setting her mug down, “It’s interesting, there’s botany, the study of non-magical plants, but there’s also herbology, which is for magical plants, but there’s also a certain overlap in their medicinal and magical uses.”

He nodded slightly, watching her ramble. The topic she was discussing was rather interesting, but he always found her info-dumping made it more compelling.

“Like, dittany,” she said after a breath. “In herbology and potion making, it’s very powerful for healing purposes, but muggles know about dittany, it’s not just a magical plant. For them, it’s medicinal, ornamental, symbolic of love, used for culinary and perfumery purposes.”

“And?” he asked, encouraging her to state her real point, knowing that her tangent was merely a method of building context to set up her point.

“Why doesn’t someone publish a book containing both muggle and magical herbs?” she asked.

He frowned, biting the inside of his cheek as he thought. “That’s an excellent proposal,” he said, “I suppose we could.”

She tilted her head. “We?” she repeated.

“Well, yes. We’re both talented at Herbology, plus with all the books we read on gardening and other botanical research, we’d both be qualified enough.” He shrugged before taking the last bite of his toast.

She nodded before she continued eating. He could see the gears turning in her head.

She remained deep in thought even when they both finished breakfast and were walking out the door, heading left to enter the forest. There was a fog rolling over the hills and the forest floor, Talbott knew, was caused by the hot October sun evaporating the cold, wet air leftover from last night’s rain. It created a certain ambience as they walked along the natural pathway, the light of the sun breaking through the red and orange canopy and catching on the omnipresent mist.

The forest was cold, almost a biting chill, the shade of the trees only adding to that cold.

Talbott reached for her hand, and they walked together, keeping close for warmth.

There was a natural pathway to the forest, nothing paved, no stepping stones. Just a clearing of trees.

“What do you think we’ll find out here?” Talbott asked after a second of walking, the villa no longer visible behind them.

“Other than memories?” Alexus contemplated his answer, “My father, he wrote some poetry about this place. He called it Sunset Forest. I remember he described finding groves of berry bushes, small streams flowing into ponds, rabbits.”

“I didn’t know he was a poet,” Talbott said.

“Only in his spare time. That’s what my mum would tell me. He kept journals and filled them with poetry, ever since he was young. She gave me a box full of them for my 13th birthday.”

She let go of his hand to jump over a large branch that had fallen in the path. Talbott stepped over it and looked up, hearing a persistent little hammering on a tree trunk, knowing it was a woodpecker.

“Do you still have his journals?” he asked, looking back at her.

“Most of them,” she replied, reaching for his hand. “Jacob took some of his more… contemporary and political stuff. Apparently, he went through a phase, from what I could tell.”

Talbott laughed. “How so?”

“Well, in the journals from his early adult years, they were mostly about society and war.”

“Ah,” he nodded in understanding. He knew Alexus had a small dislike for contemporary poetry, especially when they were about war.

She believed that every good story deserved a love, whether it be a tragedy or a happy ending.

“I also brought a few journals with me, to the villa,” she muttered. “I know we were only supposed to pack essential things, but I just wanted-”

“You don’t have to make excuses to please me,” he quickly assured her. “I understand, it’s important to you.”

She stopped in her path, making him stop with her. “Would you like to hear some? I memorized a couple about this forest.”

“I would love to,” he assured her.

She hummed a bit, leaning against his arm as she thought, mentally searching her internal catalog of poetry. For a second, it was quiet, with just her humming and the sound of yellow leaves and twigs being crushed under foot.

“Okay,” she said finally, “This one is called La Bruja de Rosa. He wrote it after my mum told him she was a witch. His response was to propose to her.”

Talbott laughed again as she cleared her throat.

“Smoothed down by the steps Of the many men that have taken this road Before my first breath This forestry path with the stories untold

My story is mine My head is mine My heart is yours La bruja de rosa

Mi bruja de rosa, I walk this path Guided by your spell From my childhood villa To a love meant to last Oh, the story this ground could tell

Magical in the way you take my breath Oh, enchantress of my soul! Meet me at Gaia’s archway, for apart for me, is living death but together, I am whole

You are my other half On the Sunset Forest path, A compliment to me my flying rose, I offer you my prose and the villa To build our own castillo To last for years But only if You’ll say “yes” My dear”

Talbott let out a breath as she finished. “That was nice,” he muttered.

“My mother’s maiden name was Espartero-Rosales. Espartero was her mother’s last name, the one tied with my magical side of the family. But Rosales, it means “rose bush,” so there was a lot of rose symbolism in his poetry after he met her,” she explained.

“Espartero,” he repeated, humming a bit before a thought struck him. This time, he froze in his path, causing her to look back at him.

“Wait,” he looked at her, “Like, the Espartero family in Mexico?”

“Did I not mention that before? I mean, you know my mom was in both the European and Mexican Quidditch Hall of Fa-”

“You told me she played for Spain!”

“Yeah, she played for the Leona Madrid team after playing for the Mexican World Cup team!”

“You never told me you came from the most influential family in developing Herbology research!”

She started laughing as she turned to him. He wasn’t angry, it was more than likely shock manifesting in him.

She placed her hands on his chest and smoothed out his jacket. “Yes, that is my close family, yes, I keep in touch with them, and yes, we can visit them.”

She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Satisfied?”

He gently wrapped his arms around her waist. “Very.”

She cupped his face into her hands and brushed his cheek with her right thumb before standing on her toes to kiss him on the lips, just for a second.

He moved one hand, placing it over hers to hold it in place as he turned his head to kiss her palm.

She smiled, staring up at him. “I love you, and we will get through this. Both of us. I promise,” she assured him.

“I will never let anything happen to us,” he murmured.

She looked into his eyes, that brilliant crimson, the sharpness of his intellect just as alluring as the day she met him, even now, after everything.

They had been married for a good two years, and it all passed like a dream for her. From the moment he got down on one knee, to when they were running home to grab their pre-packed luggage to escape Death Eaters.

He made life a dream for her, still, even in hiding, where they were the only two people in the world. He gave poems and stories she had memorized for years a new life. He gave her motivation when she had none. Hope when she was hopeless. Love when she needed it.

He was a dream for her, still, even after knowing each other for ten years. She loved him as easily as she did when they were younger, it was breathing to her.

But she was being greedy and she knew it. Neither two years nor ten was not enough for her.

She wanted so much more, she wanted what she vowed to: life. After all the danger she ran into headfirst as a youth, she knew life was not promised to her. Not when there was danger still chasing her, when she was awake, and in the dark nights where her dreams left her gasping in a cold sweat, reaching for him, depending on him to be the rock to anchor her back to reality.

Those were terrible nights, when she would sit up, in tears, trying to understand, trying to make sense of why everything she held dear was so fragile. Everyone she loved, they could be gone in a flash, and she didn’t understand it, she couldn’t understand why.

Why did so many things threaten to rip her friends and family from her hands? Why could she never escape the mysteries, the curses? She never wanted any of it, never wanted a reputation for breaking curses, defeating evil. She never wanted the things that threatened to rip Talbott from her hands. She just wanted him. She wanted to be there for him so much, it physically hurt. It was an ache in her chest, a lack of breath in her lungs.

She loved him too much, and she was being greedy because of it.

She loved him and just wanted a life with him. But the war outside the villa was just another thing that threatened to steal him from her.

She was going to spend her whole life with him; she was certain of that fact. What terrified her was how little time that could be. Three minutes, three days, three months. None of it was certain.

Nothing was promised to Alexus, except Talbott.

She stood back up on her toes and kissed him again, he leaned down so she didn’t have to strain so much.

She was so warmed by him, by his hands exploring her, by his lips moving against her own, until a bitter chill swept through a forest, a rustling wind shaking the trees.

Alexus pulled away, shivering, pulling her jean jacket closer around her.

She would have passed it off as a simple October breeze, until everything quieted, the sounds of the forest, the rustling of the leaves, the sounds of animals in the distance, it all went mute. The shadows of the trees grew longer, the sunlight disappearing, the fog taking a much more sinister presence now, heralding a threat, just lurking outside their field of vision. The only thing she heard was Talbott’s own shuddering breath, which puffed out like white smoke from his mouth.

In her stomach, a pit of dread was lodged, making her unsettled.

“T-Talbott,” she whispered through chattering teeth.

He pulled out his wand, she followed suit, and they moved to stand back-to-back.

She watched the fog, until she saw what she was looking for. A hooded figure, looming in the banks, gliding across the forest floor.

“Dementor!” she called before waving her wand, remembering her wedding night, the happiness she felt when Talbott slid the ring on her finger. A patronus of a coyote bounded from the tip and sprang in front of her, rushing at the dementor, sending it away before it could get closer.

“This way too!” Talbott called, another dementor appearing.

She turned on her heel, her and Talbott switching spots as the coyote ran, chasing away the second one.

Immediately, the air cleared, the soft October breeze rustled the canopy, the morning sun returned, even the fog seemed to fade now.

She expelled the patronus and looked at Talbott. “We have to leave, that wasn’t a coincidence,” she whispered, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down the forest path.

They ran to the villa, stumbling over tree trunks and branches, sliding on the golden leaves still wet with morning dew.

Alexus ran into the villa first, but the second she was through the door, a powerful blast sent her flying back, colliding into Talbott, sending him back as well, both of them rolling across the grassy lawn.

“Damn,” Alexus groaned, moving to stand up, clutching her stomach.

“Are you alright?” Talbott asked, sitting up,

“Fine,” she assured him, sliding her wand back into her hand. “But whoever just hit me with a jinx is going to be sorry.”

He pulled out his wand as well and stood up as a wizard, a snatcher, by the looks of his ratty robes, strolled out of the home.

“I wouldn’t try it, Johnson, we’ve got you surrounded,” he drawled casually.

There was a series of snaps as several other snatchers apparated in a circle around Talbott and Alexus.

“Johnson-Winger, I’m a married woman,” Alexus corrected, standing up. “And, I like my odds.”

She did a once-over, glancing over her shoulders, that was all she needed to do, Talbott was aware of that fact. All she needed was one look to gain an accurate account of where everyone was in relation to her own position.

Talbott dove for the ground as she waved her wand in a circle around her head, fire billowing out in a ring around them, pushing the Snatchers away from them.

Standing up, turning on his heel, Talbott fired hex after hex around him, nailing four of the seven snatchers in the chest, sending them down.

“Go inside, I got them!” Alexus called as she sent a particularly nasty hex at the most physically imposing thug.

Talbott ran inside, Alexus standing against two snatchers, both of them holding up their wands.

“Neat trick, Johnson,” the leader said, still standing.

“I’ve had a good amount of practice, didn’t they tell you my background?”

“Why do you think we brought so many?”

With that, they both snapped their wands forward, Alexus stepping to the side, dodging a glaring red jinx, but the second spell had her wand flying out of her hand, landing in the thick grass somewhere behind her.

“Damn,” she whispered before looking back at them.

“No wand, no magic,” the second one said.

Alexus planted one foot behind herself and aimed her hand forward.

She jerked her hand, red sparks shooting from her palm, colliding with the second-in-command, sending him flying back, unconscious.

“Ever heard of wandless magic?” Alexus asked as she turned to the last wizard. “Got any more tricks up your sleeve?”

He lowered his wand.

There was a shift behind Alexus, but before she could react, a pair of thick arms wrapped around her and lifted her up, pinning her arms to her sides.

She responded by slamming her head back as hard as she could into the person’s nose, prompting them to drop her. While they were occupied, she grabbed their wrist and arm, pulling it over her shoulder while hooking her foot behind his ankle, lifting him up enough to flip him over his shoulder.

She kept his arm in her hands, twisting it when he landed on his back, while placing her foot on his chest, keeping him pinned. There was a snapping noise, which was probably his shoulder, and he was yelling.

Alexus, satisfied, jumped back as the initial snatcher tried to hex her.

She quickly retreated, moving behind a snatcher who was slowly climbing to his feet. She grabbed this one by the front of his shirt and hoisted him up to his feet before turning around, using him as a shield, the lead snatcher’s hex hitting his back instead of her, forcing her to drop him as he went dead limp.

She grabbed his wand and ignored its hostile energy as she pointed it forward, right as the lead snatcher was about to hex her. They were at a draw, both ready to take each other out, but the question was, who would go first?

Alexus didn’t find out.

Before she could try, there was a small explosion at the wizard’s feet, sending him jumping back before Talbott sent another hex at him, pushing him back again.

Alexus, satisfied as her husband handled the last one, looked around the grass, running her hands through it before she found her hand.

She went around the other six snatchers and confounded them, casting obliviate on the conscious ones before taking all their wands and throwing them around the yard, some of them ending up in a pond. This would make it harder for them to find Talbott and Alexus again.

“Ready to go?” Talbott asked, holding their bags as she walked back to the house, the tent bundled at his feet.

She grabbed the tent and held it under one arm, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Ready,” she said before kissing his cheek.

With that, they disapparated away from the villa.

[lauraluna98]

Diana’s mothers fanfic

Have you ever think about Diana’s parents?

Have you think how did Daryl become so mean with Diana?

Why only Daryl, the twins and Diana are the only Cavendish remaining?

Where’s Diana’s grandparents?

Who’s Diana’s grandparents?

Why they aren’t there?

Why Bernadette was dead?

Who’s Diana dad?

How’s Bernadette Luna Nova years? If she really studied there

What happened in the Cavendish manor?

I’m going here to ask all these question with this fanfiction I wrote that is going to give a proper and a writing you guys never seen about Bernadette Cavendish the mother of Diana and her wife

Things here are going to change from the canon a little but well this is fanfiction and this is what fanfiction stand for

“Wait Wife? How? Why?”

Yeah Wife, by magic they made their kid and I’m going to explain why I choose a woman to be Bernadette’s wife rather than a dad

Simply, because feels generic and shallow to just simply give Bernadette a generic husband, this wouldn’t give a better writing to Bernadette as if was with another girl, Bernadette would simply marry or just have Diana with a generic man #1 and then one day he will die, leave her, or even plan to kill her

Plus the great majority of the fandom shipps Diakko, and they never think about the whole dilemma around Diana, by Akko’s side is easier she just need to fell in love with Diana and then yay they are together. But What about Diana’s side? Have you guys ever think that she’s an aristocrat (I’m not assumpting that aristocrats are LGBTphobes), she needs to keep a reputation there, a image and even she needs to have kids in order to keep her lineage being the one who will keep the head. So by Diana’s side things are harder, the reputation side she just can be simply strong and say openly that she’s a lesbian and everyone needs to accept that because we are in modern days but things get complicated about having kids

And pretty much the fanarts about a Diakko kid the children is always 100% biological daughter of Diana and Akko, so an artificial insemination by a donator is out of question (unless the donator is someone from the family who looks like them). Trans headcanon? That’s a pretty cool concept I think, tbh I love it, but to that work Diana or Akko wherever is gonna be Trans need to froze their sperm before the HRT if they want to have kids in the future, because the HRT make person infertile after a while. So magic? Well this is a another cool concept if both are cis so a fertility spell enters here, but how this is going to work? Leave that to the writers to do it. This is the idea I pick up with the fertility stone

This is why I come into the idea of giving Diana two mothers rather than a generic dad, because with that possibility Diana would get into the conclusion that a fertility spell is real with her at the first not actually believing it, until she finds out that her father was actually an another mother and she used the fertility stone with Bernadette

See how cool is that? And I’m not even starting to tell about Diana’s mom deeply, because this isn’t a story that takes place in the modern days but in the past

This is going to focus on Diana’s mothers

Bernadette Cavendish (the one everyone knows) and Laura McLaren (better than the generic Diana’s father OC)

Just to enter into the context of this story, the Cavendish family was into a time where they are even more close minded than today, on a time where Diana’s grandmother was alive and she’s a very conservative person, she was LGBTphobe AF not allowing their two daughters being other sexuality rather than straight, she controlled a lot of Bernadette’s life and even pressure her to be perfect

So times there was even worse for her than what is today. Bernadette’s mother was someone who preserve for the traditions and the image of the Cavendish family and this is where Daryl’s hatred among Diana enters

“What? But Diana wasn’t even born”

Because the hate wasn’t with Diana, but at Bernadette, Daryl hated Bernadette

“But in the anime has shown that Daryl had some feelings with her sister”

Really? I’ve only seen her screwing up with Bernadette will to keep the traditions of the family and she simply sell everything, I’ve seen her pretty much being very mean to Diana, not even taking care of her niece, plus when Bernadette was alive she pretty much was bullying Diana for liking Shiny Chariot

Come on the twins are less worse because they are kids but Daryl was a grown ass mother with two kids, she was simply bullying her niece for nothing when Bernadette was still alive in the canon

So this is how I come that Daryl is envy of Bernadette and she in reality hates her and I pretty much think that she’s even responsible for her sister death

Because of power, money and the wish to be the head of the family, Daryl pretty much has shown that in the anime and even her redemption was more like “Yeah you didn’t leave me to die so I’m in debt with you” (If LWA was going to have a season 2 she could pretty much fit into a villain and even if LWA didn’t have, Daryl was more Villainous than Croix ever was)

This envy among Daryl was something that started since she and Bernadette were kids, because their mother prioritize all the attention to the eldest daughter, the eldest daughter should be the one who will deserve to be the head and all the attention, but this is how their mother think is right to do and because of that Daryl starts to hate Bernadette’s side, plus that she was educated into a different way, she got more “evil” and greedy with the influence of her great aunts that think like that, while Bernadette was educated to be someone more “nice” and preserve the traditions of the family, she was even a little influenced by her grandma that actually believes into the fertility stone legend, where all the family think that’s bullshit

Bernadette needs to improve herself as a person to overcome all that weight over her, to have her own personality and freedom, because she didn’t have any freedom on her residence, until she enters on Luna Nova and meet someone called Laura McLaren

Laura is the complete opposite of Bernadette with her family, the McLaren family was like the Cavendish but from Ireland, they are rich too, but they prefer to live on a more simple big house, rather than a big ass castle because is more cheaper to maintain, Laura’s family is open minded AF they already knew about the fertility stone because the matriarch of the family is a 88 years old trans lesbian who used the fertility stone back then, so they are pretty much very fine with LGBT thing. Laura is openly a lesbian and she’s free to be herself, even tho she was most of the time trained with magic to become a powerful witch, so that makes her a strong ass witch that she didn’t even need to study in Luna Nova, but she’s there just for the grade

Laura was going to show to Bernadette how’s the freedom to be herself and not accept everything, that she needs to impose herself when someone is making her feeling down and Bernadette was going to make Laura being more mature with herself, since Laura was a little teen rebel, since she didn’t care that much about the authority of older persons rather than the family, so she really feels like she’s an adult and wanted to be respected like one. She’s the kind of badass tomboy girl who don’t care about authority and thing that she knows how the system works, so she obeys only who she really want

The time was going to be set around 1987 on the very first chapter which could fit very well into the canon since the anime canon takes place 30 years later, plus the time they make into adulthood and when the couple finally have their kids

The 15/16 years students on that time are going to be born on July 1971 to June 1972 and their birthdates will actually fit into the school year

Daryl is 3 years younger in this story she will be born in 1975 just like Laura’s sister Chelsea

The main differs with the canon

Since the time is changed in this AU with the anime being set on 2014 the 16 years old characters of the anime are born in 1998 in this AU.

Another thing I’m going to fix from the canon is the School year, since Luna Nova is a British school I’m going to change the school year from the canon which use the Japanese school year starting on May, but here I’m going to make the year starting in September to June next year with three vacation, December on Winter, two weeks after the easter on a spring break and the 3 months vacations from June to September when the year ends

And the whole magic limitation of them need to be near the sorcerer stone in order to use magic, in this AU they can use magic wherever they want, the most powerful the witch the most capable she is with the magic to point some of them can use their own body as wands

The dates are going to differ from the canon on the AU only when Diana is born and Chariot/Croix age since this is a part of the whole AU where the “anime” is set on 2014 and I make them both on the 30s when I didn’t know their canon ages there, so Chariot will be born on 1984, this will make her a kid when she meets Laura McLaren when she come to the Du Nord family residence to research for the fertility stone this presence of Laura is what made Chariot enchanted with magic

Bernadette have olive green eyes, idk if this differs a lot since we didn’t have proper canon information of her eyes and we didn’t even see her eyes in the anime, the main information is that the Cavendish has mostly blue eyes and I put her with greenish ones just because I want to make her unique, being the only Cavendish with a different eye color in her family

Diana is Irish/Scottish here, since Laura is Irish and Bernadette Scottish this makes Diana half of each (making her more Irish than Amanda lol)

Bernadette didn’t die, but that part could be also the one with Bernadette die and the whole canon anime happen with Laura didn’t come back to see her daughter

The Claiomh Solais didn’t appear for Chariot neither Croix and the main reason is because wasn’t needed at that time, the magic was pretty good, so both girls still become rivals but into another thing that is Broom Racing, just like on the real life we have Formula 1, so why not a championship with broom racing like Formula 1? This is what I bring into the AU in the next story which takes place after this one

Akko still idolize chariot but into her dream to become a Broom Racer and you can see here

Diana also like’s Chariot career but her main Broom Racing icon is her own mother Laura McLaren which become a excellent Broom Racer on the 1990s decade, without actually know that broom racer is her mother

The fic

It’s a remake of The mysterious mother, a lot of things are gonna be like the original but I’m also going to do a lot of changes to give more development to the characters, give more reasons to them to do what they did and also I wanted to do a story to fit in my whole AU

Well I talked a lot but not about the story, but this is because I don’t want to give a lot of spoilers on what happened and the whole answers to all these questions, even the one where Laura leaves Diana, since she’s a nice person, something happened that Laura leaves her lovely wife and her daughter and how did Diana never knew about who’s her dad actually is

Take a read into the very first chapter and have fun because this is going to be a very looong story with some familiar faces around there and some of them that are OC’s but they are needed to appear since most of the cast isn’t born at all despite the teachers at Luna Nova or Chariot and Croix that are still pretty young

This story is also the 3rd part of the whole AU of the fertility stone which you can check out all the parts I’ve wrote just to be more clearer with this whole story

Part 1: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26913469

Part 2: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27899341

Part 3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31098311

Part 4: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807575

Also not only we are going to know about Diana’s mothers but a lot of things that will play on the part 5 story read it to find out, since the story is going to take place 50 years after this one, also is going to be a very very long story with them I’m already with 30+ chapters wrote and I’m gonna write even more, plus I’m gonna do daily updates so stay all the days on Ao3 for updates on the same time if you got interested on this story (I’m also very sorry with bad English and Grammar since I just put the story into Deepl translator and I change a word or another into the translation, when things get confused, since English is not my language)

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31098311

Fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13875351/1/Laura-McLaren-The-mother-of-Diana-Cavendish-IV

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/1065632225-laura-mclaren-the-mother-of-diana-cavendish-iv-so

[bunkershotgolf]

LedgeRock, Rees Jones plan May debut for new 17th hole - Renovation continues through spring, at a safe social distance

LedgeRock Golf Club has broken ground on the renovation of its 17th hole, with plans to reopen the infamous par-4 by the middle of May. 

The project has been undertaken by superintendent Alan FitzGerald using in house crews, under the direction of architect Rees Jones, who authored the original design at LedgeRock GC back in 2006.

Notably, the work has been funded not via member assessment but via voluntary membership donations — one reason the work was authorized and ground broken with such speed.

“LedgeRock is a different sort of place. They aren’t much for lengthy meetings and drawn out procedures here,” says FitzGerald, a native of Ireland and the only superintendent the club has ever had. “People are really invested in this place. I suppose that informs the way things get done around here.

“I was in Orlando for the Golf Industry Show in late January and I was explaining to Rees Jones what we had in mind for 17. He said, ‘Well, I’ll be there as soon as you guys are ready to go’ — thinking that’d be months or at least weeks down the road. Well, I got home a couple days later, our General Manager Gerry Heller secured the funding authorization from our members, and I called Rees that first week in February: When can you be here?”

Most course renovation work in the Northeast is undertaken in the fall, allowing construction crews the opportunity to work until the snow flies. That schedule also allows seeded turf to mature all the following spring, once the snow melts. But Fitzgerald’s in-house construction capability affords him an extraordinary flexibility — to undertake renovation in February, for example, and have golfers playing the new hole by May.

FitzGerald was involved in the original construction at LedgeRock. The Penn State graduate also gathered considerable course renovation experience during assistant superintendent stints at famed Pine Valley Golf Club in Clementon, N.J., and the luxury Mt. Juliet Resort in his native Ireland.

“We had thought about trying to do 17 when we renovated no. 10, last spring, but for several reasons it didn’t make sense,” GM Gerry Heller explains. “One reason we pulled the trigger this winter was Alan himself. The work his team did at the par-3 10th hole was so well received (and under budget, I might add). Once we had gone over the project at 17 in real detail — to confirm all the numbers were solid — the members didn’t see any reason to wait.”

The weather has cooperated, even if the prevailing national health situation has not.

“We were well underway by the time the Covid19 situation hit home here in the U.S.,” Heller says. “But golf is one of the few sports where social distancing can be effectively maintained. After consulting with Alan, his crews, Rees Jones and his lieutenant Bryce Swanson, we continued full speed ahead. There are extra precautions to be taken. But outside, on your own, working a bulldozer is about the safest place to be these days.”

LedgeRock Golf Club opened in 2006, 15 minutes southwest of Reading, on 212 acres of terrain marked by striking elevation changes and riven by half a dozen roaring brooks. In today’s uncertain market — an average of 150 courses have closed each year since 2008, according to the National Golf Foundation — LedgeRock has thrived by doubling down on golf itself. There are no tennis courts or swimming pools here. Just its nationally ranked golf course and one of the Northeast’s most expansive practice facilities, which doubles as a sort of social hub — another clubhouse just down the hill from the clubhouse. Further down the hill sits Kohl Lodge, where national and regional members can stay the night.

The par-4 17th at LedgeRock has always been demanding. Its sharply uphill approach — over a cross bunker to a green nestled into a steep hillside — is one reason it’s the no. 1 handicap hole, the club’s most difficult hole.

“In many ways it has always played as a half-par hole, a tough par-4 for long hitters and a par-5 for shorter hitters,” architect Jones says. “And the cross bunker was an issue.”

Phase 1 of the renovation project, now underway, replaces the cross bunker with a single small bunker on the right, creating a generous lay-up area short and left of the putting surface. Jones also reimagined the green complex at 17. Where it had been flanked left by a greenside bunker, with bluegrass rough behind and right of the green, Jones artfully designed greenside chipping areas right and left, allowing players a variety of recovery shots.

Beyond the green, a wide fairway-cut swale has been created to catch approach shots that, in the past, would skitter over the green into thick rough.

“On a hole this long and this uphill, players naturally take a bit of extra club — to be sure they ‘get there’. But that downhill chip from the rough over the green at 17 was very difficult,” FitzGerald says. “Now they can putt from back there. They can putt from everywhere around the green, including short left. Better players chip, but that’s a tough shot off a tight bentgrass surface. The green surface has not been touched. But everything around it has been radically expanded, regraded and softened to give players the chance to recover, if they happen to miss the target.

“We made the decision to sod these renovated areas with bentgrass, to move things along schedule-wise. The plan was to get it open by May 1, but I think mid-May is more realistic. Either way, we’re only losing maybe a month of play on the hole.”

Phase II will be undertaken in October, on a more traditional renovation schedule. The design calls for significant widening and regrading the landing area on 17, which is flanked left by one of LedgeRock’s many babbling brooks. By widening the landing area, more golfers will be inclined to hit driver — which should shorten the length of the uphill approach shot.

“The grading on 17 fairway will accomplish two things,” FitzGerald explains. “We’re making the fairway more concave, so off-center drives will kick into more advantageous positions. But we’ll also be building up the left side of the fairway to add more landing area. When it’s done, that fairway will be one third large.” The sort of renovation/reinvestment taking place at LedgeRock is not on the radar at most private clubs in 2020. Berks County alone has seen a dozen golf properties shuttered over the last decade. Reading Country Club, just north of LedgeRock is operational but not as a private club. In the Harrisburg area, Blue Ridge CC, Wren Dale GC and Felicita GC have all been shuttered since 2012. “We do feel as if we have reimagined the traditional private club model here at LedgeRock,” Heller says. “Our national and regional membership programs are part of that evolution. Your golf course has to be truly top drawer to make that work, of course. But again, I have to credit our members for the attitude and atmosphere that prevails here. They’ve allowed us to streamline operations and decision-making. I’ve been in this business for 35 years. I’ve never seen a project approved in this way — with voluntary donations vs. a club-wide assessment — or this quickly.

“But you know what? Guess who benefits: The members do. They’ll be playing that new hole in May, instead of waiting till 2021.”

[lykoi]

@ravensknowledge tagged me for this, so here I go! (Thank you btw <3)

Rules: answer the 20 questions, then tag 20 bloggers you’d like to get to know better

1. Name: Devon

2. Nickname: I have had a lot of nicknames, but most of them feel irrelevant now since they haven't been used in years. The only ones that are still in use are Wavey and Ducks (from my mom) and Lady/Ladyfishpup (from my wife).

3. Zodiac sign: Libra Sun, Taurus Moon, Libra Rising

4. Height: 5’7"ish

5. Languages: English and a love hate relationship with Duolingo

6. Nationality: American

7. Favourite season: Always torn between Spring and Fall.

8. Favourite flowers: I don't know enough about flowers to have a real opinion on this. XD I like most of the ones I see.

9. Favourite scent: This changes a lot, but right now it's the Hibiscus Guava spray and lotion BBW brought back for like 2 seconds after years of it being unavailable.

10. Favourite colour: Whenever I get this question I always think "Dusty Blue" and googling that wasn't quite right, but close enough. Something like this: https://images.delphiglass.com/image_1500/215009.jpg

11. Favourite animal: Childhood go to was wolves and it's as good an answer as any. XD Broadly speaking I like most animals, but ones that I seek out pictures of and give me the most joy are wolves, dogs, cats, frogs, horses, goats, and pangolins.

12. Favourite fictional characters: I started to type some of my answers but found that I like groups of characters and hate separating them because part of what makes them so great is what the bring out in each other, so bear with me. Daine Sarrasri and Numair Salmalin Keladry of Mindelan and Nealan of Queenscove The Gangsey The 6 of Crows crew ..... it would be cheating to just say "The Noldor", huh? Very difficult not to put some of my wife and my roommate’s OCs on here adkjhasdsjh 

13. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?: I like coffee and tea about the same when it comes to taste, I just have coffee more often because I feel like it does a better job of waking me up. I like hot chocolate but have a harder time drinking hot drinks in general, whereas coffee and tea can be cold.

14. Average sleep hours: Hmmmmmmmm average? Probably evens out to 7. Can vary drastically.

15. Dog or cat person: Both, and I do miss having both.

16. Number of blankets you sleep with: One, I don't like getting weighed down or tangled up. When I'm too cold I put on the heating pad.

17. Dream trip: I want to do so much travelling that all the trips I want to go on are duking it out in my head. (such a libra amirite) Gonna go with Ireland & Scotland

18. Blog established: I joined tumblr to scroll through X-Men First Class art, so that was 2011, also the year I met my wife!

19. Followers: Mmmm it *says* 279 but I'm pretty sure the vast majority of those are spam or porn bots I've blocked.

20. Random fact: I'm going to go home to LA for the first time in 5 years in about a month and it's almost all I can think about so you get to think about it now, too Not gonna tag anyone because I’m a coward! Please consider yourself tagged if you see this and think ‘huh I want to do this’

[catherindonald]

Spring Holidays: Imbolc & How To Celebrate This Old World Festival

According to the Old World Celtic calendar, February 1st (and sometimes the 2nd) marks the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and August 1st (and sometimes the 2nd) is the first day of spring in the Southern Hemisphere, and this day is known by a few different names. 

Imbolc, Candlemas, and Groundhog’s Day??

The pagan Celts call this day Imbolc, and it is one of the four fire festivals representing the beginning of each season—Imbolc marking the beginning of spring. This festival was also the time when the Celtic people honor Brighid, the goddess of fertility, handicrafts, and dairy work and keeper of the home and hearth.

After Christianity came to the Celts of Ireland via St. Patrick, converted pagans wanted to continue celebrating their seasonal holidays, so the names of the holidays were changed to Christian names and saints of the Christian faith were worshiped instead of the traditional pagan gods and goddesses. Imbolc was changed to Candlemas, a feast celebrating the presentation of Jesus Christ at the temple as well as the purification of his mother, Mary. In the Christian faith, the focus was taken off of the goddess Brighid and placed on St. Brigid, the Irish nun who devoted her life to the people of Ireland and is often referred to as Saint Brigid’s Day in her honor. 

In America, we celebrate Groundhogs Day on February 1st or 2nd. This is a fun tradition that is used to “predict” whether we will have six more weeks of winter or if spring is on its way. Interestingly enough, this tradition actually has pagan Celtic roots. On Imbolc, it was believed that if the weather was nice, then a creature of Irish folklore, the Cailleach, would go out and collect all the wood available because more winter was to come. However, if the day was wet and windy, the Cailleach would stay inside and sleep and warm weather would be on its way. Hmm…

Today, you will hear this day called by all of the above names depending on who’s using it. 

So is Imbolc or Candlemas a Religious Holiday? 

Well, sort of, but it doesn’t have to be.

I’m not pagan, but I do have a variety of Celtic ancestry. I’m not Catholic, but I am of the Christian faith and have some close Catholic friends. I am American, but I don’t put much stock in whether or not a groundhog sees his shadow or not.

To me, this day represents more of a seasonal holiday than a religious holiday, but if I were pagan, Catholic, or superstitious, then I guess I would celebrate it from a seasonal and religious viewpoint, which I’ll talk even more about below. Alas, because I am none of the above (well, I may be a little superstitious!), I like to think of it as the first of the spring holidays. As far as what to call it goes, I usually call it Imbolc since that’s what it was first known by.

Seasonal Living & What The Beginning of Spring Represents

So why does Imbolc matter to those of us who try to live seasonally?

Well, first, we must understand what Imbolc represents which is the end of winter’s dark, cold days and the coming of light and warmer weather. The time of rest and renewal has passed, and now we must resume our active lives. Imbolc also represents new life as this is the time of year when flowers begin to burst forth from the earth and many animals give birth to spring babies.

At this time of the year, the days begin to warm, the hibernating animals begin to wake from their winter sleep, and the spring bulbs start to pop from the soil slowly filling the brown landscape with their colors. It’s a hopeful time of year!

Imbolc Traditions

Imbolc is traditionally celebrated with fire and light. People would burn fires in the hearth or keep candles lit all through the night. Pagan Celts believed that the goddess Brighid would come to visit in the night blessing them with prosperity and protection. Likewise, converted Celts believed St. Brigid’s spirit would come to bless and protect them. Some people would make dolls out of rushes (called a Brideog), dress them in white dresses with flowers in their hair, and put them in a basket or a makeshift bed near the fire. Others would take rushes, tie them together, and hang at the entrance to the home. Some people would even leave coins, cloth, and other items out to be blessed, and others would make beds by the fire so she would have a place to rest. These and many other old traditions were observed on this festive day.

So how can someone interested in seasonal living celebrate this first day of spring while honoring the traditions of the past if they choose? Here are # ideas to help you if you choose to celebrate Imbolc or Candlemas, no matter what your religious beliefs are.

7 Imbolc Traditions To Celebrate This Year

1. Build A Fire

As I mentioned above, Imbolc is one of the ancient fire festivals that marks the beginning of each season, so what better way to celebrate the significance of this day than by starting a fire. Starting a fire in the fireplace or woodstove will be more in line with ancient traditions, but if you don’t have access to a hearth or stove, you can light lanterns or candles in your home.

Don’t forget to say this little blessing over your home as you do:

Hearth and home, home and hearth, welcoming close our family and friends. Home and hearth, hearth and home, the light returns as winter ends.

2. Make St. Brigid’s Crosses & Brighid Dolls

St. Brigid’s Crosses and Brighid Dolls are common crafts that are made and placed in the home on Candlemas or Imbolc. Here is a St. Brigid’s Cross YouTube tutorial that will show you how to make them. When it comes to making St. Brigid’s Crosses, you can make them with anything. You don’t have to have rushes! You can make them out of strips of paper, pipe cleaners, straws, or other types of grass. Hang these in your home to symbolize the blessing of the home. 

Here’s a Brigid Doll YouTube tutorial that is really easy to make. Your kids can play with these, set them up in their rooms, or place them in baskets in the kitchen or near the stove (not too close though!) to honor St. Brigid.

3. Eat Symbolic Foods

If you’re looking for symbolic foods that represent traditional festivals and holidays, Gather Victoria is THE website to visit. If you’re looking for some special foods to celebrate Imbolc or St. Brigid’s Day, check out these recipes for inspiration: lavender and rosemary seed cake, rosemary oat bannock, lavender tea milk, and these rosemary and lavender lemon curd tassies. 

4. Take a Milk Bath

The goddess Brighid is associated with dairy as is the increase of new births during spring and the resulting mother’s milk that follows. New birth is more than humans and animals. New plants emerge from the soil and sap and nutrients begin to flow through trunks, stems, and branches. For that reason, bathing Cleopatra-style in a milk bath is the perfect activity on Imbolc. This layered wintery milk bath by the oh-so-creative Miss Wondersmith is my go-to!

5. Research the Jewish Tradition of Purification and Presenting Children at the Temple

Curious about the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin or the Presentation of Jesus Christ? If so, do an online search about these Jewish traditions and find out why they are important to Jews and Christians and how they are celebrated in modern times.

6. Start Seeds or Make DIY Seed Bombs

Imbolc is THE time to start seeds indoors so you have seedlings ready when the fear of frost has passed. So grab your seed trays and seed starting soil or some peat pellets, purchase your favorite seeds, gather your heat mats and grow lights (or head to the greenhouse), and get to planting those seeds! If starting seeds isn’t for you, try your hand at making seed paper. Here’s a great seed bomb YouTube tutorial on how to do it with minimal supplies.

7. Predict the Weather

You don’t have to have a groundhog to try your hand at predicting the coming weather. Just head outside to see what the weather is like. If it’s sunny, chances are there are six more weeks of winter weather ahead, but if it’s cloudy, warm spring weather is just around the corner. You can even make this a fun activity by having everyone write their weather predictions down on paper. After four weeks or so, read everyone’s predictions and see who was right.

So now you know all about the spring holiday known as Imbolc, Candlemas, and St. Brigid’s Day. Are you interested in living a more seasonally aligned lifestyle? If so, how will you celebrate this spring holiday this year? Share your thoughts and plans with me in the comments below.

Let me wish you a lovely February and spring season with your friends and family. May your hearth, home, and health be blessed, may your cup overflow, and may your world be filled with warmth, light, and color over the coming months! God bless, friends.

The post Spring Holidays: Imbolc & How To Celebrate This Old World Festival appeared first on Growing Up Herbal.

Spring Holidays: Imbolc & How To Celebrate This Old World Festival published first on https://marcuskeever.blogspot.com/

[weirdstuff-blog]

Me and stephanie dancing up Christian

"ROB SIMS presents KellyMBentley.Com in 2008! "

Female 26 years old ATLANTA, Georgia United States

Last Login: 4/13/2008

I love models and everything to do with the glamour industry. I am seriously into photography. I love to dance and I am currently learning to sing. I am crazy in love with my American Pitt Bull Terrier "Layla" and I love spending time with her playing freesbee with her and my loving fiance Django. I love fast cars preferrably American Muscle. My favorite would be a Trans Am. Long live Cassondra

Music I love all types of music, but my favorite is Classic Rock including the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Doors, Def Lepard, AC/DC, Primus, Nine Inch Nail all kinds of artists. I love dancing to hip-hop, but I really don’t have any favorites.

Movies I love chic flicks and cartoons. I’ve never really been a fan of horror flicks. My favs include Notebook, Ratatouille, Sweet Home Alabama, Youve Got Mail…you get where this is going.

Television I love reality shows. I was on the Coyote Ugly Reality Show but I hated it. My favorites shows include Pussycat dolls, ANTM, Ghost Hunters, Dirty Jobs, Rock of Love, Make me a Supermodel….well all of them except American Idol…hate that shit!!

Books I dont read anything but war books and Cosmopolitian magazine. Oh yea and the Bible of course. Heroes All of our American Military men and women especially those close to me….Andrew Goldman, Jason Edmondson, Chris Willis, and my sweet uncle Kurt. Love and appreciate you guys. If you have a friend or relative serving I send me their name and I will post it here to show my appreciation.

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Details

Status: In a Relationship Here for: Networking, Friends Orientation: Straight Hometown: Alabama Body type: Slim / Slender Ethnicity: White / Caucasian Zodiac Sign: Libra Smoke / Drink: No / No Education: College graduate Occupation: Model

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Schools Southern Union State Community College Wadley, AL Graduated: 2002 Student status: Alumni Degree: Associate’s Degree Major: Computer Science

2000 to 2002

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Companies NOPI Motorsports Atlanta, Georgia US Nopi Chic Model

Construction Cuties Atlanta, Georgia US

M Bentley Productions Atlanta, Georgia US

The Kelly M. Bentley is Taking Over the F*cking World!

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Latest Blog Entry [Subscribe to this Blog]

Rob Sims and Kelly Bentley 2008 (view more)

RIDE FOR LIFE…..Relay For Life Charity Event (view more)

Coyote Ugly Episode 5…Thank God its Over! (view more)

National Glamour Showcase Florida (view more)

Coyote Ugly Episode 4 (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Blurbs About me: Its hard to describe myself because I am constantly changing. So to start, above all else, I am a bad ass bartender. I bartend at OPERA Nightclub here in Atlanta, Geogia. Its the biggest and hottest club in Atlanta. I also bartend at the Irish Bred Carrollton where I can fulfill my bar dancing passion to AC/DC, Buckcherry (Crazy biotch!), and Def Lepard. I love serving up cocktails with a little sassy shake some come by either place and check me out!!

Second, I am a model and one of the hottest female entrepreneurs on this planet. In modeling, I specialize in glamour, fitness, and promotional modeling. I always have something going on somewhere. I’m partnering up with NOPI as a NOPI CHIC for 2008. I love doing charity work so keep updated on my events and help us out. As an entrepreneur, I own half of a calendar production company with JM Polsfuss that is responsible for the hottest calendar coming out in 2009 Construction Cuties. Watch for it!! I also just teamed up with get this…yes…The Rob Sims….which we will have my website launched by the end of Spring to help heat up the summer for you. Also watch for all the magazine covers, layouts, spreads, etc. coming soon…I told you guys I’ll be taking over the WORLD!! Lastly, I am a regular girl that had a dream and am still forcing it to come true come hell or high water. I’m from a small town, but I’m working hard to fulfill my big city dreams as well as those of other girls who want to be models with MODELICIOUS. So if you want to try modeling, don’t listen to people when they tell you that you cant do it, they said I couldn’t, and I look at me…so don’t listen, contact me and lets see what we can do. I DONT DO ANYTHING FOR FREE….so don’t ask. I have a small network of professional models I use and promote because they have become friends. Don’t ask for my contacts, because I work hard in promoting and networking myself so why should I just hand over my hard work to you. If you want my network, you pay for my network.

THINGS YOU WOULDN’T GUESS ABOUT ME: No one would ever guess that I used to be in the Army National Guard. I used to be on Active Reserve as the RA for SFC Robert Cornett. I got out in 2005. I also used to wiegh 170 lbs. I gained a huge amount of weight when I quit drinking and smoking. Yea a lot of you thought it would never happen. I quit cold turkey and the turkey went to my ass. I lost 50 lbs. on the Subway diet. I was recently on the Coyote Ugly Reality Show on CMT and hated every minute. I also have a degree in Political Science and Computer Science with a minor in Military Science. Just some cool quirks about me. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF – The Survey Name: Kelly M Bentley Birthday: October 7th Birthplace: Anniston, Alabama Current Location: Atlanta, Georgia Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Blonde/Brunette..hell I don’t know Height: 5’5" if I’d stand up straight Right Handed or Left Handed: Right Your Heritage: Irish/German &..39;The Shoes You Wore Today:’ My beloved flip flops Your Weakness: Your Fears: airplanes, elevators, and scurrying vermon Your Perfect Pizza: cheese/pepperoni without any sauce Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Be at 8% Body Fat by the end of the year Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: I dont even know how to set that shit up… Thoughts First Waking Up: What in the hell are the Backyardigans? Your Best Physical Feature: My big ghetto booty Your Bedtime: When ever my mind decides to quit thinking Your Most Missed Memory: No clue..too much memory lost Pepsi or Coke: Caffeine free coke MacDonalds or Burger King: both are some nasty shit…I dont put it in my body! Single or Group Dates: Cant remember my last date… Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: I don’t drink any tea Chocolate or Vanilla: Just hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt Cappuccino or Coffee: Caffeine free Coffee Do you Smoke: hell no Do you Swear: I swear I cuss too much Do you Sing: Did you catch my show? Think I’ll stick to the shower. Do you Shower Daily: more than once Have you Been in Love: Only twice for sure Do you want to go to College: Been there done that Do you want to get Married: Umm….when I’m too old to know better Do you belive in yourself: more than anyother person besides Roy Do you get Motion Sickness: Do you think you are Attractive: No but others tend to disagree Are you a Health Freak: Absolutely Do you get along with your Parents: depends on the day of the week Do you like Thunderstorms: love them Do you play an Instrument: In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: don’t drink alcohol In the past month have you Smoked: I quit when I was 20 In the past month have you been on Drugs: hell no drugs are for weak people In the past month have you gone on a Date: I havent gone on a date in the past few years In the past month have you gone to a Mall: No..I hate the mall..I’m in need of another personal shopper In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: yea right…my trainer would shoot me In the past month have you eaten Sushi: I don’t eat fish In the past month have you been on Stage: too many times In the past month have you been Dumped: No In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: I wish In the past month have you Stolen Anything: No but someone stole two of my damned portfolios Ever been Drunk: Plastered on many occassions Ever been called a Tease: What girl hasnt Ever been Beaten up: No but I got launched off some steps one time Ever Shoplifted: no I only steal hearts How do you want to Die: at 200mph on the Autobahn What do you want to be when you Grow Up: I’m doing it but not grown up yet What country would you most like to Visit: Ireland In a Boy/Girl.. Favourite Eye Color: Any that don’t lie Favourite Hair Color: any that I can run my fingers through Short or Long Hair: either Height: all heights Weight: weight doesn’t matter Best Clothing Style: clothes dont make the man Number of Drugs I have taken: Don’t do drugs Number of CDs I own: not too many Number of Piercings: ears and belly button Number of Tattoos: 1 Number of things in my Past I Regret: only 1…if you know me you know what it is

CREATE YOUR OWN! – or – GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Myspace Layouts – Myspace Editor – Image Hosting

Who I’d like to meet: TO ALL MODELS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS: Now that I am partnered up with Robs Sims who is the most published photographer on the planet also owner of FitBeauties and FitModels International Magazines, photographer for Oxygen, MuscleMag, InStyle, American Curves, Maxim, FHM, Mens Health…okay I’m tired already. Too many to list. Google him for the rest…lol. Rob and I will be offering photoshoots to ambitious models with the guarantee to be published. Yes there is a catch. 1)like I said I don’t do anything for FREE 2) Neither does he 3) you have to be approved by me first. Sorry ladies…I have to be picky. Feel free to submit to me for shoots with Rob. I will be honest and give you feedback. WE ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT CAN GUARANTEE YOU PUBLICATION IN MAJOR MAGAZINES.

Posted by dcsmith2752002 on 2008-06-23 13:19:11

Tagged: , KELLY , M , BENTLEY , IN , ATLANTA , GA , NIGHT , LIFE , BASIC , BLACK , FORMAL-WEAR , AND , CASUAL , -WEAR , ATTIRES

The post Me and stephanie dancing up Christian appeared first on Good Info.

[spocksbedsidemanner]

I saw @bethel-wilson do this and I'm always a slut for tag memes so here we go lol

1. Who is your idol?

My mom.

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I've wanted to go to Ireland for forever, maybe someday I'll have money.. ^^' I'd love to go back to Germany too, and actually speak the language.

3. What decorates the walls of your room?

Not much, i really need to get on that. Just a mirror rn.

4. Favorite color combination?

Light gray/black/dusty rose/forest green are my fave colors

5. What’s on the top of your bucket list?

Don't have one.

6. Height?

5'2 1/2". I USED to be 5'3 1/4" for AGES, but noooo my bones decided it would be fun to shrink after college lol

7. Favorite animal?

Cats.

8. What’s the last song you listened to?

It Has Begun by Starset

9. How many/what kind of pets do you have?

Got my Artemis, smol fluffy black kitty. Best girl 💜

10. Last movie you saw in theaters?

I haven't been to the movies in months... Was it Shazam maybe?

11. Comfort food or favorite food?

Mom's venison stroganoff and grandma's potato dumplings 💚

12. Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get away from me lol

13. Book you’re currently reading?

I JUST FINISHED a really good fic last night, Between Now and Eternity by TomFooleryPrime, which is a Sarek x Amanda origin story but STRANDED ON A DESERTED PLANET SURVIVAL MODE, it's so dang good and well-written and i recommend it, and I've had the dogfather series by hollimichele open on my phone for the past month, it's a hp fic where it's like 'what if Harry didn't stay with the Dursleys and Sirius broke out early to find him', i read the original and the second part while my dad and i were driving down to Rochester a couple weeks ago, I'm currently midway thru there and back again which is abt Draco in this au and I'm waiting to continue when we go down again on the 21st & 22nd, it's REALLY GOOD!

14. Your favorite season and 3 things about it?

Spring/fall. 1. Changing your wardrobe. 2. Feeling like renewal. 3. Comfy.

15. You are about to get into a fight, what song comes on as your soundtrack?

Save Yourself by My Darkest Days

16. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what’s the first thing you would buy yourself?

I would hire somebody to clean/organize my apt so i could start fresh, make it a little easier for me.

17. What fictional world would you want to live in?

Star Trek 100%. No capitalism so i wouldn't feel so stressed over not having job, i could just find something to do within my limits and that i enjoy doing, healthcare w/ Crohn's and an ostomy would be a fuckin breeze, it'd be so nice... All that knowledge and ppl and SPACE!

18. If you had to learn a completely new language, what would it be?

I wanna know German and ASL.

19. Do you wear socks to bed?

If I'm already wearing them and they don't fall off when i get undressed.

20. If you could only choose one celebrity or athlete to make out with who would it be?

Idk... I like kisses but i don't think there's anyone I'm actually interested in like that.

21. If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life what would it be?

Lotr series.

22. Who’s your favorite player/celebrity and whats your favorite thing about them?

Markiplier or Jenna Marbles, for the same reason: they care SO DANG MUCH and are always interested in learning how to do even better.

23. Do you collect anything?

I collect skulls, aprons, mugs, and old cookbooks.

24. Favorite smell?

Nostalgia. My dad's shop at the farm, diesel, grandma's sewing room, mom's perfume...

Tagging YOU!

[orbemnews]

Stripe Is Most Valuable U.S. Start-Up, Worth $95 Billion: Live Updates Here’s what you need to know: A photo illustration of a Stripe logo on a smartphone.Credit…Pavlo Gonchar/Sipa, via Associated Press The payments company Stripe is worth $95 billion after a new round of funding, making it the most valuable start-up in the United States. The San Francisco and Dublin-based company said on Sunday that it had raised $600 million in new funding from investors including Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management and Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency. The investment nearly triples Stripe’s last valuation of $35 billion. The funding comes amid a surge in the adoption of digital tools and services in the pandemic as more people live, work and make purchases online. That has fueled a wave of investment into, and eye-popping valuations at, tech start-ups, as well as a frenzy of highly valued initial public offerings. Investors have valued Airbnb, the home rental start-up that recently went public, at $123 billion. Roblox, a kids gaming start-up, saw its valuation soar to $45 billion when it went public last week. Founded in 2010, Stripe builds software that enables businesses to process payments online. As more people have turned to online shopping in the pandemic, Stripe’s offerings have been in demand. It is the largest among a class of fast-growing, highly valued financial technology companies. Stripe is now processing hundreds of billions of dollars in payments each year across 42 countries, Dhivya Suryadevara, Stripe’s chief financial officer, said in an interview. “We are in a hyper-growth industry and within that, the company itself is experiencing hyper-growth,” she said. Ms. Suryadevara declined to share specifics on Stripe’s revenue or growth. Stripe “is experiencing hyper-growth,” Dhivya Suryadevara, the company’s chief financial officer, said.Credit…Richard Drew/Associated Press Stripe has been considered a candidate to go public. Coinbase, another financial technology start-up, filed to go public later this month in a transaction that some expect could hit $100 billion. Robinhood, a stock trading app, has also seen its valuation surge in the pandemic. Stripe said in an announcement that it planned to use the money to expand in Europe, including its office in Dublin. The company’s sibling founders, John Collison, 30, and Patrick, 32, were born in Ireland. In a statement, John Collison, Stripe’s president, said the company would focus heavily on Europe this year. “The growth opportunity for the European digital economy is immense,” he said. The company, which got its start working with start-ups and small businesses, will also invest in building more tools to help larger businesses handle payments. It counts 50 businesses that process more than $1 billion a year as customers. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said that inflation was “a small risk and I think it’s manageable.”Credit…Andrew Harnik/Associated Press Futures for the S&P 500 stock index fluctuated on Monday and indicated the U.S. benchmark index would open little changed after closing at a record high on Friday. Most European stock indexes were higher. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell by 0.02 percentage point to 1.61 percent on Monday. It reached as high as 1.64 percent on Friday, a level not seen since February 2020. Last week, President Biden signed into law a nearly $1.9 trillion stimulus package. On Friday, bond yields jumped again as investors considered whether the spending would be inflationary alongside an expected economic recovery as more Americans are vaccinated. But on Sunday, Janet L. Yellen, the Treasury secretary, pushed back against these concerns. “Is there a risk of inflation? I think there’s a small risk and I think it’s manageable,” she said on ABC. She added that she expected prices to rise over the spring and summer but only temporarily because of how much they fell last year. “We have had very well-anchored inflation expectations and a Federal Reserve that’s learned about how to manage inflation,” Ms. Yellen said. Analysts at Goldman Sachs raised their forecast for U.S. economic growth because of the large stimulus bill. They expect the gross domestic produce to increase 7 percent this year, while expecting unemployment to be slightly lower. Europe The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4 percent, led higher by gains in health care and consumer stocks. Shares in Flutter Entertainment, a British betting and entertainment company, rose 7 percent after it confirmed that it was considering publicly listing shares of FanDuel, its U.S. sports betting website. The board of Danone, the French food company, said Monday it had removed its chairman and chief executive, Emmanuel Faber. Its share price rose as much as 5.8 percent. The shake-up comes after a monthslong campaign by activist investors, The Financial Times reported. Under Mr. Faber, Danone changed its legal status to be a purpose-driven company with a social mission of “health through food.” Danone’s water and dairy brands include Evian, Alpro and Silk. Asia Shares in Tencent were at their lowest in two months, dropping 3.5 percent on Monday after a loss of 4.4 percent on Friday. The Chinese tech company is facing a crackdown from antitrust regulators, Bloomberg reported. Gene Sperling at the White House in 2013.Credit…Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images President Biden has tapped Gene Sperling, a longtime top economic aide to Democratic presidents, to oversee spending from the $1.9 trillion relief package that the president signed into law last week and planned to promote across the country this week. Mr. Sperling was director of the National Economic Council under President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. In Mr. Obama’s administration, where he first served as a counselor in the Treasury Department, Mr. Sperling helped to coordinate a bailout of Detroit automakers and other parts of the administration’s response to the 2008 financial crisis. He advised Mr. Biden’s campaign informally in 2020, helping to hone the campaign’s “Build Back Better” policy agenda. He will serve as the White House American Rescue Plan coordinator and as a senior adviser to Mr. Biden. His appointment could be announced as soon as today. Mr. Biden is scheduled to give remarks on the implementation of his relief bill, known as the American Rescue Plan, on Monday afternoon. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, told reporters last week that Mr. Biden intended to appoint someone to “run point” on implementing the plan — a role that Mr. Biden held for the Obama administration’s $800 billion stimulus plan in 2009. Mr. Sperling did not respond to a message seeking comment. Friends have described him in recent months as eager to join the administration, and he had been mentioned as a possible appointee to head the Office of Management and Budget after Mr. Biden’s first nominee for that position, Neera Tanden, withdrew amid Senate opposition. His appointment was reported earlier by Politico. Mr. Sperling’s challenge with the rescue plan will be different than the one Mr. Biden faced in 2009, because the relief bill that Mr. Biden just signed differs starkly from Mr. Obama’s signature stimulus plan. The Biden plan is more than twice as large as Mr. Obama’s, and it centers on a wide range of payments to low- and middle-income Americans, including $1,400-per-person direct checks that Treasury officials started sending electronically to Americans over the weekend. It includes money meant to hasten the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, including billions for vaccine deployment and coronavirus testing. But the plans also have similarities, including more than $400 billion each in total spending for school districts and state and local governments. An administration official said Mr. Sperling would work with White House officials and leaders of federal agencies to hasten the delivery of the money, including partnering with state and local governments on their shares of relief spending from the bill. The Tesla car manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., remained open during the pandemic despite restrictions put in place by local officials.Credit…Jim Wilson/The New York Times More than 400 workers at a Tesla plant in California tested positive for the coronavirus between May and December, according to public health data released by a transparency website. The data provides the first glimpse into virus cases at Tesla, whose chief executive, Elon Musk, had played down the severity of the pandemic and reopened the plant, in Fremont, Calif., in May in defiance of guidelines issued by local public health officials. Automakers across the country halted production and closed plants for two months last year from mid-March until mid-May. After resuming production, other automakers publicly announced when workers had tested positive for the virus and halted production to prevent further infection among employees and to disinfect work areas. Tesla, however, has released little information about employee coronavirus cases. The data was obtained by the website PlainSite, which works to make legal and governmental documents publicly accessible. It showed that 440 cases were reported at the Tesla plant, which employs some 10,000 people. The number of cases rose to 125 in December from fewer than 11 in May. A year ago, after officials in California ordered manufacturing plants to close, Mr. Musk suggested on Twitter that the measure was unnecessary and that cases in the United States would be “close to zero.” He also called virus restrictions “fascist,” threatened to move Tesla out of California, and then reopened the plant a week before health officials said it was safe to do so. More recently, Mr. Musk has questioned on Twitter the effectiveness of Covid vaccines. The pharmaceutical industry is popular right now, which is perhaps unsurprising considering that the end of the pandemic depends on Covid-19 vaccines. Drug makers’ rapid response to the crisis has transformed public sentiment about the industry, moving it from one of the most reviled to one of the most respected, according to new data from the Harris Poll, reported first in the DealBook newsletter. A year of living in existential and economic fear created unlikely heroes. For the past year or so, the Harris Poll has monitored public sentiment in weekly surveys of more than 114,000 people. At the height of the emergency, more than half of respondents were afraid of dying from the virus and a similar share were afraid of losing their jobs. “Only in the past month, with vaccines rising and hospitalizations and deaths declining, is fear abating,” the report noted. Business generally got good grades during the pandemic. Many respondents cited companies as important to solving problems, where previously they were considered the cause of social woes. Two-thirds said that companies could do a better job coordinating the vaccine rollout than the government could. Approval ratings rose for many industries from January last year to February this year. But the reputation of the pharma industry — stained by its role in the opioid crisis and criticized for high drug prices — benefited the most. In January 2020, only 32 percent of respondents viewed the industry positively; late last month, that had almost doubled, to 62 percent. “The pharmaceutical industry’s ability to innovate and perform under intense pressure and in a time of crisis is the ultimate validation for any business,” said John Gerzema, the chief executive of the Harris Poll. Allison Herren Lee, the S.E.C.’s acting chair, will say that corporate disclosures on E.S.G. issues are a high priority.Credit…Erin Scott/Reuters Allison Herren Lee was named acting chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission in January, and she has been active since, especially when it comes to environmental, social and governance issues. The agency has issued a flurry of notices that such disclosures will be priorities this year. On Monday, Ms. Lee, who was appointed as a commissioner by President Donald J. Trump in 2019, is speaking at the Center for American Progress, where she will call for input on additional E.S.G. transparency, according to prepared remarks reviewed by the DealBook newsletter. The supposed distinction between what’s good and what’s profitable is diminishing, Ms. Lee will argue in the speech, saying that “acting in pursuit of the public interest and acting to maximize the bottom line” are complementary. The S.E.C.’s job is to meet investor demand for data on a range of corporate activities. “That demand is not being met by the current voluntary framework,” she will say. “Human capital, human rights, climate change — these issues are fundamental to our markets, and investors want to and can help drive sustainable solutions on these issues.” Ms. Lee will also argue that “political spending disclosure is inextricably linked to E.S.G. issues,” based on research showing that many companies have made climate pledges while donating to candidates with contradictory voting records. The same goes for racial justice initiatives, she will say. Although Ms. Lee is only the acting chief, she’s laying the groundwork for more action, based on recent statements by Gary Gensler, President Biden’s choice to lead the S.E.C. In his confirmation hearing this month, Mr. Gensler said that investors increasingly wanted companies to disclose risks associated with climate change, diversity, political spending and other E.S.G. issues. Not everyone at the S.E.C. is on board. Hester Peirce and Elad Roisman, fellow commissioners also appointed by Mr. Trump, recently protested the “steady flow” of climate and E.S.G. notices. They issued a public statement, asking, “Do these announcements represent a change from current commission practices or a continuation of the status quo with a new public relations twist?” Heather Kilpatrick lost her job last March and stayed home with her 3-year-old daughter in East Boston. She has just taken a new job that enables her to work remotely.Credit…Tony Luong for The New York Times In the year since the pandemic upended the economy, more than four million people have quit the labor force. They are not counted in the most commonly cited unemployment rate, which stood at 6.2 percent in February, making the group something of a hidden casualty of the pandemic. Now, as the labor market begins to emerge from the pandemic’s vise, whether those who have left the labor force return to work — and if so, how quickly — is one of the big questions about the shape of the recovery, Sydney Ember reports for The New York Times. For the legion of older workers who hope to return to work after the pandemic, a challenging path may lie ahead. Studies show that older people who leave the work force will have a more difficult time re-entering it because of age discrimination and other reasons. If that reality holds during the recovery, the number of older workers who have left the labor force — either because they could not find a job or because they retired early — could be one of the pandemic’s enduring consequences. One prevailing question is whether employers, as in the past, will look askance at those who have been out of the labor force for a significant time. Even in a tight labor market, long-term unemployed workers faced a stigma, said Maria Heidkamp, the director of the New Start Career Network, which helps older job seekers in New Jersey. “In addition to any age, race or gender discrimination that they may already encounter, there’s a lot of evidence that it is easier to get a job if you already have a job,” she said. Though employers may overlook any pandemic résumé gap, she said, “there’s no reason to think that that is going to be different for these people, who are on the sidelines right now who want to come back.” Still, many economists believe that the extraordinary number of people who have left the labor force will be more of a temporary blip than emblematic of a deeper structural issue. They expect that many who have left the labor force in the last year will return to work once health concerns and child care issues are alleviated. And they are optimistic that as the labor market heats up, it will draw in workers who grew disenchanted with the job search. A screenshot of Matt Granite during an Amazon Live video. Matt Granite, who goes by The Deal Guy, streams daily on Amazon Live, covering everything from kitchen gadgets to snowblowers. Under each video is a carousel display of the products he’s discussing. When a viewer clicks that item and buys it, Mr. Granite gets a cut, with commissions varying from 10 percent for luxury and beauty products to 1 percent for Amazon Fresh items. Mr. Granite’s YouTube channel still brings in more revenue through ad rolls and sponsorships, but he said the revenue and audience numbers for his Amazon Live videos have grown over the past year. This type of shopping, called e-commerce livestreaming, lets brand representatives, store owners, influencers — and really, just about anyone — stand in front of a smartphone and start a conversation with viewers who tune in, Jackie Snow reports for The New York Times. Amazon isn’t the only company trying out this type of hawking on an American audience. “Everybody is thinking about this,” said Mark Yuan, a co-founder of And Luxe, a livestream e-commerce consulting company based in New York. “But they are rushing to it because of the pandemic. Before they had a choice. Now they have no choice.” E-commerce livestreams are still a niche enterprise in the United States, but they are big business in China, where they drive about 9 percent of the country’s $63 billion online market. Kim Kardashian West went on a popular Chinese influencer’s stream and sold out her perfume stock within minutes after 13 million people tuned in. At least one Chinese college offers e-commerce livestreaming as a degree. Chinese retailers have also innovated during the pandemic lockdowns, with more streams focused on one-on-one consultations and store walk-throughs. Source link Orbem News #Billion #Live #StartUp #Stripe #Updates #valuable #worth

[madminniefics]

hot chocolate with a side of you / iceburgs in ireland drabble

sugarplum solstice week 1, drabble 2

It was the perfect morning. Quiet, still, warm, the smell of freshly baked breakfast pastries in the air pulled Eden out of her slumber. Niall sat next to her in bed as they ate the quick breakfast he’d brought from the coffee shop. To think he walked five blocks to and from just to have his favorite hot chocolate made Eden smile. Some things never changed.

And then, their peaceful morning was interrupted by a string of yelling in portuguese. Eden leaned her head against Niall’s shoulder, closed her eyes, and sighed.

“It’s time to go!” Eden’s mom Alda yelled, in their native tongue, her voice sounding closer and closer with each word. “We’re going to be late.”

Niall’s body shook Eden’s as he laughed silently. She groaned at the thought of spending hours in the car with her mom as the drove to Dublin to begin wedding planning. It had been six months since Niall proposed. They’d been living on a high of future plans and love until they came crashing down, suddenly, two weeks ago when Eden’s mom showed up on their doorstep with talks of a large wedding in the spring.

“Save me,” she mumbled.“I’ll be there in time for dinner.”

She sat up and looked at him with a plea in her big, brown eyes. He laughed. Eden’s relationship with her mother had not been the same since the accident six years before. When they were together things were strained, forced, and awkward but as soon as Niall, with his rosy cheeks and booming laughter, walked in the room Eden’s mom turned from the coldest icicle to the warmest person in the world. She loved Niall and couldn’t wait to have him as the son she always wanted.

“Not soon enough.”

There was a moment of silence before a knock sounded at the door. Eden sighed and stood from the bed, opening the door just as her mom opened her mouth to yell again.

“Mamãe,” Eden smiled serenely and closed the door quietly behind her. Her mom blinked at her and smiled tightly before turning and leading the way outside. Eden grabbed the keys from a hook and threw a wistful glance at the door to her bedroom. What she wouldn’t give to be warm under the covers with Niall instead of in the freezing cold with her mom.

///

The ride into the city was quiet, long, and torturous. Eden preferred driving with the music on, loud, so she could sing along. Her mom preferred a silent car so that there was nothing to distract her, even when she wasn’t driving. Eden turned the music on; her mom turned it off. They had yet to meet in the middle.

The icy sidewalks and snow flurries outside matched the atmosphere inside the dress shop. They’d been there for three hours, most of the morning since arriving in Dublin, and couldn’t even agree on what color Eden’s dress should be.

“No, no,” Alda said. “That’s eggshell, you should wear ivory.”

Eden shared a glance with the owner of the dress shop and sent her an apologetic smile. She ran her hands over the creamy colored lace of the bodice and looked in the mirror. A smile forced itself on her face as she imagined walking down the aisle towards Niall wearing that dress. It was perfect, despite the scowl on her mom’s face as she stood just behind her playing with the ring on her thumb.

“I love it,” Eden whispered. The noise made Alda stop fidgeting. Her brows furrowed and her chin quivered as she let go of her scowl and really looked at Eden in the mirror. Tears clouded her vision and a sob escaped her mouth. She covered it with her hand.

“Edie,” Alda took a deep breath and pushed past the tears. “You look beautiful.”

Eden cleared her throat and smiled at her mom in the mirror.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Maybe some things could change.

///

Or, as Eden was finding out, sometimes things wouldn’t change. Sometimes things got better before going back to the status quo. In the flower shop down the street, an hour after deciding on the perfect dress and eating lunch at the cafe next door, Eden and Alda were twenty minutes into a fight over flowers.

Peonies or anemonies? Pink or purple? What color ribbon?It should match the colors of the wedding.

No, it should be an accent color so that it can stand out.

Mom, we’re doing a neutral color scheme.

But this pink is so cute!

Eden and Alda were staring each other down as the flower shop owner walked to the front of the shop to let someone in. Eden crossed her arms over her chest as Alda looked down at her and it was like Eden was fifteen again covering for her sister when she missed curfew. A lump settled in Eden’s throat. She pushed it away. A flower shop was no place for tears.

“My beauty,” a familiar voice boomed from behind a rack of succulents. Eden wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye as she turned to face Niall. He wasn’t supposed to be there for hours. It was barely lunchtime. He must have finished at the studio early.The smile dropped from his face as he saw the look on Eden’s face. He took her face in his hands, one on each cheek, and placed his forehead against hers. He hated to see her like that and know that he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Edie,” he whispered. “What’s wrong?”

She sniffled and shook her head against his.

“Just thinking about Elisa,” Eden said. Niall lifted his head with a sad sigh and brought Eden in for a hug. He placed a hand on the back of her head and hid his in her hair. It had been years since they talked about her sister but he knew how much she missed her.

“We don’t have to do this today,” he whispered in her ear.Eden took a deep breath and leaned back, out of his arms, with a watery smile on her face.

“I want to.”

Niall nodded and placed his hand on the small of Eden’s back as if to give her the strength to make it through the rest of the day. She would need all the strength she could get.

///

The house was quiet that night after a successful afternoon where Niall was able to field Alda’s questions and suggestions while getting everything that Eden wanted. The right dress, the right flowers, the right centerpieces all in the right colors. The only sound was Eden sobbing in Niall’s arms.

“Why does she hate me?” She cried. Niall shook his head and placed a kiss to the top of her head.

“She doesn’t hate you,” he whispered. “She just…”

“She hates me.”

“It’s a hard thing to deal with.”

“It’s hard for me, too,” Eden cried. “I’m still dealing with it, too.”

Niall couldn’t say anything to that. He simply put an arm around her and brought her in closer, as if that were possible, and held her while she cried. Because there was nothing else he could say to Eden that would make her feel better.

“I’m never going to be like that,” Eden whispered.“You’re going to be an amazing mum.”

She beamed up at him, the tears seeming to stop in their tracks, and nodded. “The best.”

She placed a hand on her stomach and leaned back against Niall as they got ready for bed. No, she’d never turn out like her mother. Not with this child or any other.

[bunchofbooks]

It’s Time for Kyrsten’s Opinions: March Wrap Up Edition

Hello friends, 

It’s hard to believe that it’s April! I really feel like January 1, 2018 was like a week ago, but here we are in Spring (even though it’s supposed to snow tomorrow >:| !!!!). I wanted to do a March wrap up for the books I read, so if you are interested you can read about them under the cut. If not, I will leave questions for you guys to message me or comment back with your answers. What were your favorite books you read this month? Do you have a least favorite book you read this month? What does your April tbr look like? Do you have any reading goals for the month of April? My favorite books I read in March were Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda. My least favorite book was probably Hunting Jack the Ripper. My reading/book goals for April are, not to buy any books and I want to read 4 books on my TBR shelf. I want to read (well finish) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, X-Files the Devil’s Advocate by Jonathan Maberry, and The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed. Until next time everyone! Happy reading! 

In the month of March, I read 5 books, which is wild to me, I feel like that’s a lot for me, but now I’m making up for it in a reading slump like no other! 

The first book I read was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’m not going to bother giving a synopsis of this book because I’m confident all of us here have read the book or seen the movie or both more times than we can count! I try to read Harry Potter once a year and this time was one of the most enjoyable times I read it. This book was 5 stars and would be more if 5 was not the cutoff. 

Next I read One Hour in Paris by Karyn L. Freedman. This is a book about a woman who is recovering from being raped. I have a class called Sex Crimes and the Law and that was one of the required readings for the class. It definitely was not my favorite books and I will be giving my professor my copy for a future student to use. It was well written, I just don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I would have because I was forced to read it. I gave this 2.5 stars. 

I then read, Simon vs. the Homo-sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and this was my only other 5 star book this month. If you did not know, this book is about a boy named Simon who is in high school and he is gay, but closeted and another student in the school finds out and blackmails him. It’s a lot about coming to terms with his sexuality and coming out. As someone who identifies in the LGBT+ community I loved this book and wished it was around when I was in high school so I could have felt like I was identifying with a character and maybe would not have felt so self conscious.  I definitely did not think I would like this book as much as I did. I laughed out loud at some of the parts and cried at others. I loved the writing and will be checking out some of Albertalli’s other books. I’ve been trying to get my mom to go see the movie with me, but she’s not interested :(. 

I read Stalking Jack the Ripper by Keri Maniscalco and I’m not going to sugar coat this, I hated it. I did not think it was well written. I figured out who Jack the Ripper was pretty quickly and the main character Audrey was obnoxious. There is another book in the series called Hunting Prince Dracula and I will not be reading it. If you could not guess by the title, this is about a girl named Audrey who is interested in forensic science and she lives in England while Jack the Ripper is at large. She, her uncle, and one of her uncles’ students are tying to catch Jack the Ripper before he can kill anyone else. I gave this book 1 star. 

Finally, I read Every Last Word by Tamra Ireland Stone. This is a book I heard about through Emmmabooks on YouTube. This is about a girl named Sam, who has been hiding her OCD from her best friends who are popular and are bullies. Sam finds these other kids in her school that have the Poet’s Corner and they write poems and read them to each other and they are the group of friends that Sam wishes she was a part of. Of course there is a love interest because it is a YA book and what YA book doesn’t have a love interest. I was not crazy about this book, I thought it was kind of immature for lack of better words, I feel like Sam’s friends were like every other mean girl character in any other YA book/movie. I did love one part, where Sam is in therapy and tells her therapist that she never wants to make a mistake again and her therapist says that mistakes are how we grow and learn as people. I thought that was an extremely important part and relevant not only to readers who are around Sam’s age, but readers of any age. I gave this book 2.5 stars. 

[liveandletrain]

I was tagged by @vintage-smokestack

THE RULES: Answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you would like to get know better!

1. nicknames: Rain

2. gender: Girl

3. star sign: Sagittarius

4. height: 5′4”

5. time: 7:20 PM

6. birthday: Today! December 10th. 😆

7. favorite band(s): Icon for Hire, Skillet, Imagine Dragons, Shinedown

8. favorite solo artist(s): Andra Day, Lindsey Stirling, Eivor

9. song stuck in my head: Make a Move by Icon for Hire.

10. last movie I watched: Justice League

11. last show I watched: Law and Order: Teen Wolf

12. when did I create my blog: two years ago, I think? I didn’t become active unto this year though.

13. what do I post: I reblog and, on my fanblogs, post fic and meta and ask memes.

14. last thing I googled: “how do I turn the touchscreen for my acer laptop off?”

15. do I have any other blogs: heh heh heh. Heh. I have side blogs for too many fandoms. I get stressed if my info isn’t organized. (Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Hunger Games, And Teen Wolf are the big ones)

16. do I get asks: Occasionally

17. why I chose my url: I don’t remember. Because I like rain and thought of the saying “live and let live” so I squashed the two together.

18. following: almost seven hundred. A lot of topic blogs such as fashion and writing prompt blogs.

19. followers: here on my main blog, 77

21. average hours of sleep: What is sleep? Probably four or five unless I’m allowed to sleep in. Then closer to ten.

22. lucky number: 7. Why mess with the classics. 3 is also good.

23. instruments: I used to play piano.

24. what am I wearing: Athletic shorts and a college hoodie

26. dream job: School Counselor/Special Ed teacher

27. dream trip: I want to go back to Ireland.

28. favorite food: My family’s recipe for chicken noodle soup. I could eat that stuff every day for a month and not get tired of it.

29. nationality: American

30. favorite season: Spring

I tag… @liliaeth @radioactivepeasant @iliveonmylaptop @brambleberrycottage @brooklynscrapper And anyone else who wants to. Just tag me so I can read yours!

[wellesleyunderground]

Wellesley in Politics: Interview with Farahnaz Ispahani ‘85  (@fispahani)

Farahnaz Ispahani ‘85 has been a leading voice for women and religious minorities in Pakistan for over two decades, working as a journalist, member of Pakistan’s National Assembly, and most recently as a United States-based scholar. An advocate of Pakistan’s return to democracy during the military regime of Pervez Musharraf, she served as a spokesperson and international media coordinator for the Pakistan People’s Party, working alongside the late Benazir Bhutto. During her tenure in parliament (2008-2012), she was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights committees and the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus. In 2013 and 2014 she was a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where she completed “Purifying the Land of the Pure: A History of Pakistan's Religious Minorities” (2016), a book on the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan. In 2012 she was listed among Foreign Policy magazine’s Top 100 Global Thinkers, as well as Newsweek Pakistan’s Top 100 Women Who Matter.

What led you to Wellesley?

I arrived at Wellesley through family connections to the college. My grandfather, M.A.H Ispahani had spoken at Wellesley when he was Pakistan’s first Ambassador to the United States. My eldest sister attended Wellesley in the late 70s. I had never been to the United States before and I wanted to go to school in a warmer part of the country but I got in and the choice was made for me!

However, once I got to Wellesley I appreciated its unique and very special education and community and made it mine. Wellesley changed my life.

How did your childhood and family influence your work as an adult? Â Who was your biggest role model growing up?

Growing up in Pakistan in the 1970s I attended a convent school run by a teaching order of nuns from Ireland. My class was made up of girls from every religious and ethnic community of my city Karachi. We never knew who was a Christian or Shia or Sunni Muslim or a Hindu or a Parsi. The nuns ensured an atmosphere of inclusion. I started understanding that I belonged to a religious minority when my mother, siblings and I used to attend majlises or religious gatherings in the month of mourning which is called Muharram. We saw a city and country where we could commemorate this month in peace and our Sunni neighbors would acknowledge the solemnity and respect us to a point where our places of worship are surrounded by tanks and armed police or army men and we are frisked for metal objects and guns when we enter in case we are terrorist wanting to blow us up.

My career in journalism, politics and as a scholar was deeply influenced by what we as a family witnessed and experienced.

My greatest role model was my Iranian grandmother. She was an amazing woman who made Pakistan her home and founded and ran the first day care center in Karachi that enabled middle class and poor women to work and have their children in a safe environment where they were taught and fed. She also founded and ran an orphanage for unwanted children. Some were left outside in the dead of the night in a basket. In a society that rejects illegitimate children Kashana e Atfal and Naunehal took in and educated thousands of girls and still does. Some of the young women who were adopted from Kashana attended Oxford, Cambridge and the Sorbonne.

Khanumjoon, as we called her lovingly, spoke 5 languages including Farsi, Urdu, French, German and Turkish. She also attended London University and got a social science degree during WW11.

Her affection, love, guidance and time were a constant for us throughout her life.

With Pakistan being Sunni run and about 77 percent Sunni, does that lead to distrust towards them from religious minorities? Based on the number of claims of blasphemy and harsh penalties for it, is it hard to people of different religions (and within Muslims for Shi’ites and Ahmadis) to trust each other?

The founder of Pakistan, M.A. Jinnah was a Shia Muslim and he was supported in the creation of Pakistan by the head of the Ahmadi Muslim community. Unfortunately, Mr. Jinnah died a year after the birth of Pakistan. The downward descent of what I call ‘communal majoritarianism’ kicked in immediately and anti-Shia and anti-Ahmadi movements gained strength. Today, we see sectarian terrorist groups that kill those of Muslim minority and Christian and Hindu minority faiths and blow up their places of worship. The leaders of these groups are known to the authorities but remain free to address open public rallies and travel. The Blasphemy Law in Pakistan is considered the toughest in the world and carries a death penalty if convicted. Once this law was passed it gave the general public of Pakistan a sort of license to judge and convict anyone they feel has blasphemed.

You said in a paper in 2013 for the Hudson Institute that Ahmadis make up only 0.22 percent of the population of Pakistan. How much of a change is that since the Partition? I saw an article recently in Dawn that another Ahmadi Muslim was killed. Do you think they’ll ever be safe in Pakistan?

Members of Ahmadi sect forbidden to call themselves Muslim. Ahmadis are some of the most common defendants in criminal charges of blasphemy, which in Pakistan can carry the death penalty. By law they cannot call their place of worship mosques or distribute religious literature, recite the Koran or use traditional Islamic greetings, measures that they say criminalize their daily lives.

The legal restrictions began in 1974, when the then-Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto passed a constitutional amendment declaring Ahmadis non-Muslim. A decade later military dictator General Zia ul Haq barred Ahmadis from identifying themselves as Muslim.

The exact percentage is hard to calculate as though many Ahmadis have fled the country and gained asylum in the US, Canada, UK and Australia the constant increase of the Pakistani population which is not easily attainable as many Ahmadis have to hide their faith to be able to work and ensure the safety of their families.

I do not think they will be safe in Pakistan in my lifetime. In the month of November alone, nuclear armed Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad has been taken hostage by thousands of religious extremists demanding further restrictions on the county’s Ahmadi Muslims & praising convicted criminals like Mumtaz Qadri, the murderer of our former governor, Punjab province, Salmaan Taseer.

Also, The National Assembly (Parliament) has passed the new Elections (Amendment) Bill 2017 challenging the voter registration of anyone accused of being an Ahmadi.

The bill relates to the fresh delimitation of constituencies keeping in view the provisional results of the recently conducted census with respect to the upcoming general elections in 2018.

Speaking on the new law ‘Elections Amendment Bill 2017′ Senate Deputy Chairman Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who belongs to the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F, said that the Ahmadis’ status is the same as it was back in the 1973 Constitution. Reinforcing the Ahmadis vulnerable position and demonstrating that the parliament and government consider them non-Muslims.

Can Pakistan ever be a place where all feel safe and welcome regardless of religion?

In my lifetime only former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf had the power during his ten year rule to change the laws and ensure prosecution of those who attacked minority groups. And, to disband sectarian terrorist organizations. But he did not. I am not hopeful in the rational sense but one has to keep hope alive to ensure change one day.

Can social media be freely used or is it regulated as part of the blasphemy laws?

It is regulated to some extent. People have been arrested for blasphemy because of blasphemy allegations of online comments and killed as university student Mashal Khan was. But, like others, his family has not received justice. Journalists and bloggers speaking freely on social media have disappeared, been tortured and fled the country.

Especially after writing Purifying the Land of the Pure can you safely return to Pakistan? If not what would have to change for that to be possible?

I have gone back on a handful of occasions - but in a very low key manner and with a full understanding of the risks. Anyone who has written and spoken as much about the issues I do can never be safe in Pakistan. Vigilante justice continues unimpeded.

Do you think it’s possible to have a country based on a religion that’s welcoming to those who don’t follow that religion?

No. There has to be a separation of church and state and all citizens must be considered equal under the constitution. Religion or ethnicity cannot be a part of any modern and civilized nation.

Your work has largely focused on bringing Pakistan back to democracy. How do you hold onto hope for a country with such a history of violence?

Hope does spring eternal. However, as Pakistan is a relatively young country one can only work for a better tomorrow. But, I know how ugly the lives of those of minority community faiths are. That spurs me on. The country belongs to every single Pakistani and they deserve that.

I can’t even imagine getting to work with Benazir Bhutto as you did both when she was in exile and when she returned to Pakistan in September 2007. What is your favorite story about her?

Benazir Bhutto, was human and had faults but what a great leader she was. I still miss her every day. She had political intelligence, knowledge of her country and the world and a deep compassion and empathy for women, the disadvantaged and the persecuted. She was hated by the religious right wing forces.

My favorite story about Bibi as any of us referred to her was the day after her arrival. Estimates say that 1 million supporters gathered to welcome her arrival. As her caravan slowly inched through Karachi terrorists set off two bombs to kill her. Many died but she managed to survive.

The following day Benazir Bhutto held a press conference in her small garden at her Karachi home. It was packed with PPP party officials and reporters. Benazir arrived in a old pair of glasses from her bedside drawer as the ones she had on were shattered in the blast. The audio didn't work. Bibi picked up a hand mike and without missing a stride spoke so clearly and with an unshaken sense of mission.

She answered every question although she was mourning those who had lost their lives and been up all night talking to her family and party people.

That was Benazir. Brilliant and unbowed. And, kind..Finding a bond with every woman she met. Rich or poor, educated or not. Privately her humor, and love of chocolate and ice cream, and escaping to a movie or a having a cozy chat for a brief respite from her lifetime of heavy responsibility. I always thought of her as the perfect Wellesley woman though she went to Radcliffe!

Farahnaz’s blog is https://farahnazispahani.com/ and her writings can also be found in various news outlets.

Photo by Elliott O’Donovan Photography

[rysonbran]

Asks Challenge: Late night 🌙 Tea ☕️ and Spring Awakening 🌸

Spring Awakening Lyrics ask meme

Mama who bore me- What’s your relationship with your parents like?

I have a gr8 relationship with my parents, they’re divorced so I do most general stuff with my mom and then most cooking stuff I’ll do with my dad because we’re both food nerds

No sleep in Heaven- Are you currently worried about something?

nah

Thought is suspect- Do you have any unpopular opinions?

I mean not that I know of?

All will know- what are your plans for the future?

Idk man whatever happens happens

Her silver call- What gives you hope?

The future

The bitch of living- What do you dislike most about your life?

Ummmm highschool lmao

This mess of a life- Do you find it important to feel in control?

Fuck yeah but it doesn’t always happen

It’s so where I live- Do you or your family have any unique traditions?

We do family dinners every Sunday and Christmas competitions every year

To shore- What’s your “happy place”?

At home with my doge and a blanket and some tea

All is forgiven- Is there anything you can’t forgive yourself for?

I mean my anxiety says yes but

Just too unreal- Did you ever get in a situation that felt too good to be true??

Not that I can remember

Grasping at pearls- Do you tend to jump to conclusions too quickly? 

yessssss oh my god

I don’t scream- Are you more likely to protest something that you don’t agree with, or keep it to yourself?

Protest lmao I’m stubborn

Just like she never saw me- Have you ever felt like your problems were getting ignored?

Yeahhh

Well, fine- do you often lie? what do you typically lie about?

I have a lot of little white lies lmao

You tell your soul - What do you do feel better when you’re down?

Text my best friend and cry into food lmao

Flip on a switch- What never fails to brighten up your day?

My doge!

The whispers of fear- What’s your biggest fear?

Spiders, the death of everyone I know, my dog dying, morbid stuff lmao

I believe- What is an important belief of yours?

My belief in equality probably

Peace and joy be with them - What’s the best thing someone said to you?

Probably that I’m pretty

the season for dreaming - What’s your dream?

To be able to travel the world and see stuff

This brave new you that you are - What’s something that changed for the better about you?

I don’t think anything’s really changed but I’ve been attempting to be more open, not that it’s worked

Floating high and blue- What would you consider to be the ideal life for you?

Living somewhere other than the states, working a creative job with intelligent people and having a dog

Beneath the rising moon- What’s your favourite thing about night time?

It’s quiet

Through the open books on the grass- What’s your favourite pastime?

Reading or drawing or being on this blue hellscape

Winter wind sings and it cries- Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist?

hahahaha pessimist  All things he never did- What’s something you always wanted to do, and didn’t (or didn’t yet)?

I’ve always wanted to go to London, which I did, and not I want to go to Ireland so that I guess

It whistles through the ghosts still left behind- What’s a memory you often think about?

The time I wasn’t allowed to wear a bowtie with a uniform but I didn’t fight it

There’s a moment you know you’re fucked- What was your biggest fuck up?

I made someone faceplant at work lmao

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah - What’s something stupid you remember you or some one else saying?

Something about D.C. being in Virginia

Travel the world within my lips- Ahat was your first kiss like?

Cramped and hot- temperature wise but good

You’re gonna be wounded - Did you ever do something risky that ended up being worth it?

Ummm no I’m not a risk taker lmao

So let that be my story- What’s the biggest lie you ever told?

That I was going to hang out with friends but instead drove 45 minutes away

Something beautiful, a new chance- What are you looking forward to?

Currently? Dinner lmao

You’ve left them far behind- What’s something you decided to leave in the past?

Idk man

And I’ll see their thoughts are known- What are some ideas you feel are important to spread?

Equality, comprehensive sex ed, kindness

The butterfly sings - What makes you feel free?

Nature despite the fact that I hate bugs

Tea ask meme

1: Golden mornings or peachy sunsets?

Peachy sunsets

2: Sugar cones or waffle cones?

Sugar cones

3: Do you wear scarves often? do you have a favorite?

No but I love my mom’s cowl neck infinity scarf it’s so soft

4: How long do you lay in bed before you finally get up?

Like half a goddamn hour lmao

5: Is there a food you’ve never had but always wanted to try?

Macarons, I’ve only had them once and I tried making them and I failed

6: What does your umbrella look like?

It has crowns all over it from the tower of london

7: Do you listen to ASMR?

No

8: Rain storms or a light drizzle?

Rain storms

9: What’s a little thing in life that you love? 

Little acts of kindness that happen in public, like someone paying for someone else’s coffee or something

10: Favorite color aesthetic?

Blue and mint green, pastels, pink and orange

11: Wobbly lines or using a ruler?

Wobbly lines

12:  Bright colorful living room or neutral cozy living room?

Both

13: Do you have any candles? what scents are they?

Yeas pumpkin spice

14: Have you ever rode a horse?

Yesss multiple times it’s fun until you get a tick

15: Do you have glasses? 

Yeah but I wear contacts most of the time

16: What’s a language you’d like to speak?

Sign language or French

17: What’s your favorite season and favorite month in that season?

I love spring, probably like may

18: Do you have a favorite pair of socks?

I have a thick pair of wool socks I got from a gun show and I love them

19: Favorite Ghibli and/or disney movie

Oh my god uhhhh moana?

20: Disney, Dreamworks, or Pixar?

UHHHHHH

21: What snacks do you usually get at the theater?

Gummies or popcorn

22: What’s an underrated video game/ movie/ show you love and think it needs more recognition?

Best in Show

23: Would you fill your house with plants if you had a green thumb?

YEAS

24; All plants are great but do you have a favorite?

I like succulents

25: Do you have a favorite type of art style? (eg: soft looking, no to little color, sketches, crisp and clean, minimalist, pixel art etc.)

Nah man it’s art I like all art

26: What would you do if someone gave you flowers? 

Kiss them probably

27: Do you like nicknames? 

Depends on the nickname

28: Do you still watch shows you watched when you were a kid? even from time to time?

Yeas

29: Do you still like old memes? (tell the truth)

Yeas

30: Favorite Halloween costume you dressed up as? (if you don’t celebrate halloween have you ever cosplayed or would you like to? who did you cosplay as?) 

My 11th doctor costume was lit, I want to cosplay newt Scamander

31:  Are you a fashionable person? 

I like to think I am

32: Do you like watching holiday movies? 

Yeaaasss

33:  Cookies or brownies?

Brownies

34: Do you blow in the cold air just to see your breath?

Yes lmao

35: Do you find the crickets chirping outside your window relaxing? 

Sometimes

36: Do you like cobblestone streets? 

Yes they’re adorable

37:  How often do you doodle? 

A lot

38: When was the last time you blew bubbles?

Idk at least 6 months ago

39: What’s your favorite random piece of decor in your house and room?

I have a mannequin head in my room lmao

40: Do you bite your fingernails off or clip them more often?

I pick at my nails

41: Any birthmarks?

Nah

42: Thoughts on freckles?

Love em

43: First video game you ever played?

Probably mariokart on the DS Lite

44: what type of bird do you hear most often outside your door?

Idk

45: Do you use gifs/ memes a lot when replying to people?

Yes lmao

46: Thoughts on spring? 

I love it

47: Ideal temperature outside?

Like 65 or 70 where it’s warm but not hot… sweater weather

48: Cloudy, partly cloudy, or clear skies?

Partly cloudy but cloudy makes for the best lighting

49: How often do you hear airplanes outside?

I don’t hear them but I see them, i live like 30 mins away from an airport

50: Do you enjoy windy days?

Ehhhhh

Late night ask meme

cosmos: what’s one thing you wish you could say to someone you are no longer friends with? 

 Bye bitch lmaogalaxies: what are three things you want to do before you die?Travel the world, meet brendon urie, and perform with niall horan or ed sheeran lmao 

 waxing: what is your proudest accomplishment?

 I got pictures accepted into a local arts fiesta

 waning: what is your biggest regret? 

 I probably have a lot but I can’t remember them atm 

 full moon: what type of person do you hope to be?

 A humble famous person

 contemplation: if you could wake up one morning and everything in your life was perfect, what would that look like? 

 No deadlines, I’d have a doge and a big house and a huge kitchen somewhere European 

 night light: who/what makes you feel safe?My doge

 ponder: what do you want to do with your life? 

 Something great, I’d like to be able to help people

 sunset: who is someone you thought would be in your life forever, but you no longer talk to? 

 My best friend from elementary school 

 midnight: are you a different person late at night than in the early morning?

 Early morning do not speak to me lmao late at night I’m more chill

 Candle light: are you an indecisive person? 

 Yes oh my god lmao

 reflection: have you ever changed something you liked about yourself to satisfy someone else?

 I’d hope not

 sweet dreams: are you happy?

 Are you bo burnham? I mean for the most part 

 nightmare: what are you most afraid of? 

 See the one above 

 constellations: who is someone you could talk to for hours and never stop?

 My best friend probably 

 reminder: who is someone you will never forget? 

 My sister’s dog Corona who passed away last year 

 11-11: what’s something you want, but feel like you will never have?

I don’t feel like I’ll be completely satisfied with my life ever, which isn’t completely bad but at the same time it is.

shooting star: who is someone you trust to help you make the right decisions?

My best friend or my fam I love my fam

earth: where do you feel most at home?

.... my home...

soothe: what’s one thing that always makes you feel better when you’re upset?

My doge! 

slumber: what’s one thing that helps you fall asleep when it feels impossible?

I have this silky pajama shirt thing I sleep with, so probably that or like the little stuffed giraffe I got as an early christmas gift

[sincerepositivethings]

Issue 25 - Adam’s Best of 2019

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Last week I dubbed my dear friend Adam Maid "The King of Media." This is because nobody is more up to date on movies, books, music and TV than him. However, merely consuming all of that does not media royalty make. Thankfully, in addition to his vast audio/visual/textual diet, Adam also has impeccable taste. It only made sense to commission a top of 2019 list from him and share it with the world. Enjoy!

Hey, you know what was a pretty good year for pop culture? 2019. It would take forever to really get into everything I loved this year, so I'll try to contain it to just a top 15, so you can head into 2020 with the entertaining distractions you'll most certainly need. 1. Knives and Skin (movie) - A lot of people have been influenced by David Lynch, but few have been able to sublimate that influence into something as wholly new and exciting as Jennifer Reeder did with Knives and Skin. Even though it's set in a small town full of idiosyncratic weirdos (hello Twin Peaks) rocked by the disappearance of a teen girl (see previous parentheses), every scene/character/moment goes off in unexpected, surprising directions that make it one of the most original and daring films I've seen in years. Oh, and it's also sort of a musical? 2. Los Espookys (TV) - There's nothing that can't happen in the world of Los Espookys. A woman trapped in a world of mirrors? Sure. A water spirit obsessed with watching The King's Speech? Why not. Fred Armisen as a legendary parking valet? Yes. The show, co-created by SNL's Julio Torres and mostly set in Spanish, follows a group of friends in an undisclosed Latin American country bound by their love of horror and their business creating elaborate practical effects (you know, normal stuff like fake exorcisms to help the Church and tourist-trap sea monsters). It's delightful. 3. Normal People - Sally Rooney (book) - This is just Sally Rooney's second novel, but she has quickly established herself as one of the best writers of this generation. We see all of her young characters' strengths and weaknesses, how they fumble communication and collide into one another on the way to adulthood, through prose that is alive and absolutely precise. 4. Orville Peck - Pony (music) - So there's this guy. He's a country singer, but also kind of a punk, who wears a mask, has a sort of rockabilly-glam aesthetic, and his name's not really Orville Peck and no one actually knows who he is. It's a fun gimmick, but what keeps it from being style over substance is that the substance is really, really good. Sometimes haunting, sometimes straight-up rock, Pony is an album that will always instantly make you feel like you're on a highway at 4 AM. 5. The Righteous Gemstones (TV) - If Danny McBride and Jody Hill had just opted to make The Righteous Gemstones a straight parody of bloated southern megachurches and the large personalities who run them, it still would've been hilarious. But what they made is something much weirder and darker, with an Elmore Leonard novel's worth of blackmail, double-crossing, and actual intense stakes. It also gave us living legend Walton Goggins performing, and I'm being serious here, the song of the year. 6. Nilüfer Yanya - Miss Universe (music) - I listened to this album more than almost any other this year, and I still can't really decide how to describe it. Even in the course of a song she's able to somehow transition from sounding like late-period Sade to early 2000s indie rock and back again, stopping along the way to pick up and discard jazzy lounge, pop beats, heavy synths, and even spoken word. 7. Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir (book) - You're not going to find a more fun protagonist this year than Gideon Nav, the smartass, sword-wielding filth queen 2019 got but didn't deserve. I love the worldbuilding in this book, full of necromancers, puzzle box rooms, and massive creatures made of reanimated bones. 8. Midsommar (movie) - I saw this movie in theaters three times this year (and two of them were the 3-hour director's cut). I love it. It manages to be a weirdly funny, sun-drenched, folk horror breakup movie that's also about grief and healing, anchored by Florence Pugh giving one of the absolute best performances of the year. 9. Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest - Hanif Abdurraqib (book) - Nobody writes about music like Hanif Abdurraqib. His latest is part-biography of A Tribe Called Quest, part-autobiography through the lens of their work, part-love letter to a favorite group, part-larger reflection on race, culture, and music's role in helping a person find their place in the world. 10. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors (music) - Angel Olsen has been one of my favorite artists for nearly a decade, but this year/album felt like a leveling up in both her songwriting and aesthetic approach, bringing in a new layer of theatrical, bombastic strings coupled with an almost "Grand Dame of the Opry" stage persona that was thrilling to see evolve in real time. 11. Octet (theater) - Dave Malloy wrote one of the century's best musicals with Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, so I had to check out his newest work at the Signature Theater here in New York (sorry, out-of-towners) that ran this past spring (sorry, New Yorkers). This piece was an eight-voice a cappella musical all focused around social media and its various detrimental effects, which, nope, I did not find relatable at all and was absolutely NOT devastated, I don't know who you've been talking to, uh uh. Anyway, a cast album is in production, so you're in luck! 12: What We Do in the Shadows (TV) - Was there a narrative need for a spinoff of the 2015 Taika Waititi movie of the same name? No. Did the show's creators find the develop a series that is both fully of that world/its humor and also stands completely on its own? A resounding yes. 13. The Last Black Man in San Francisco (movie) - I haven't stopped thinking about this movie for like six months. It's streaming on Amazon Prime now, so please just go watch it right now. (On the biggest screen you can. The cinematography is beautiful.) 14. Wilder Girls - Rory Power (book) - You simply have to hand it to a YA book with David Cronenberg-levels of body horror. You just do. Wilder Girls is set in an all-girls boarding school on a quarantined island, where everyone who isn't killed by a mysterious plague is left with some kind of physical transformation. But it's really the writing that sets it off: florid without being languid, poetic but also heart-pounding. 15. The National - I Am Easy to Find (music) - Somehow, almost two decades and eight albums in, The National keep finding new directions to push their music, and new ways for their lyrics to run you through with a knife. Yes, I am in my 30s. Ok, I know I said I'd cover my top 15, but there's a lot more I could get into and Ramsey's not here right now, so here's a quick rundown of some other great stuff you maybe haven't seen or have seen covered on other, better lists: Movies: The Farewell, Fast Color, Tigers Are Not Afraid, Parasite, High Flying Bird, Us, Booksmart Books: The Twisted Ones - T. Kingfisher, Orange World - Karen Russell, Fleishman Is in Trouble - Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland - Patrick Radden Keefe, Mostly Dead Things - Kristen Arnett TV: Russian Doll, Succession, Watchmen, Holy Moley, Fleabag, The Boys, Doom Patrol, I Think You Should Leave Music: James Blake - Assume Form, PUP - Morbid Stuff, Better Oblivion Community Center - s/t, Charly Bliss - Young Enough, The New Pornographers - In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow