#pat carlyle

[weirdlookindog]

[jada-b]

⭐️👧

[js589]

Chapter 4 is up! Lockwood talks to Lucy! Lucy talks to Lockwood! Penelope Fittes is slightly terrible! Barnes questions his chosen profession for the umpteenth time! AND SO MUCH MORE!

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott, born on October 19th 1954 in Edinburgh.

One of my favourite actors, as hard-drinking Detective hero of Ian Rankin's popular book he was Inspector John Rebus to me. Ken's Father was Scottish and a teacher, his mum a Sicilian, he went to the famous George Herriots school before going onto to Mountview Theatre School, where the distinguished actor Sir John Mills was president. Fellow Scot Douglas Henshall was also a student of the school. Before leaving Edinburgh Stott had been in a band called Keyhole some of the members of the group would later join the Bay City Rollers.

Ken went on to work with the Royal Shakespeare Company but the pay was poor and he subsidised his earnings by selling double glazing. His first TV role was in Secret Army for the BBC, parts in TV shows throughout his career have included, Taggart (of course) The Singing Detective, London's Burning, Your Cheatin' Heart and Silent Witness. He was insome good films too, The Debt Collector (with Billy Connolly) , Shallow Grave, (with Ewen MacGregor) and Plunkett & Macleane (with Robert Carlyle).

My favourite shows of Ken's have been the brilliant BBC Scotland series, Takin' Over the Asylum in which starred as Double Glazing salesman, but aspiring disc jockey

with David Tennant and Angus Macfadyen,The ITV series The Vice was also a cracking series where he played DI Pat Chappel and The BBC show Messiah, where again he played a cop, DCI Red Metcalfe where he learned sign language for scenes with his screen wife,and Rebus of course, when the show was resurrected in 2006, Stott was a first choice for many as D.I John Rebus, John Hannah had the role in the first incarnation, mainly due to it being made by his own production company.

On film Ken is probably best known for his role as the Dwarf, Balin in The Hobbit trilogy. He is a popular choice for voice work, as narrator for series such as Trawlermen, a documentary following North Sea trawlers, and Send in the Dogs, following the work of Police Officers and their canine partners.

One of my favourite stories about Ken Stott echoes the no nonsense approach of Rebus, on stage during Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge, he halted the play when a group of teenage schoolkids were misbehaving and disturbing the show, switching from his stage American to his native Scots accent he told the teacher responsible for the children to remove them, or the play would not go on.

The house lights were switched on and there was then a 15-minute stand-off as discussions took place with the offending youngsters.

The audience took the side of Stott and even resorted to chanting 'out, out, out' in extraordinary scenes. Eventually the three culprits and an embarrassed teacher was forced to creep away before the play resumed at the Duke of York's Theatre.

Of his recent stuff check out The Dig,, it a decent film and based on a true story of an archaeologist embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.

I can't see anything happening on Ken's IMDb page, but there is a third series of the Irvine Welsh show Crime in development, so I expect he will reappear in that.

[the-moral-of-the-rose]

If anybody wanted to write a crossover between L.M. Montgomery's books, here is a little help with the ages of the characters (@no-where-near-hero maybe it will be a tiny help for your fanfic):

Anne Shirley - born on 5th of March 1865

Gilbert Blythe - born in 1862 or 1863

James Matthew "Jem" Blythe - born in July 1893

Walter Cuthbert Blythe - born in 1894

Anne "Nan" and Diana "Di" Blythe - born in 1896

Shirley Blythe - born in 1888*

Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe - born in 1900*

Gerald "Jerry" Meredith - born 1894

Faith Meredith - born 1895

Una Meredith - born 1896

Thomas Carlyle "Carl" Meredith - born 1897

Jims Anderson - born in August of 1914

Emily Byrd Starr - born on 19th of May 1888

Ilse Burnley - born in 1888 (probably)

Perry Miller - born in 1887

Frederick "Teddy" Kent - 1887 or 1888

Dean Priest - born in 1865

Patricia "Pat" Gardiner - born in 1913

Rachel "Rue" Gardiner - born in 1919

Winnifred "Winnie" Gardiner - born in 1910

Sidney "Sid" Gardiner - born in 1912

Joseph"Joe" Gardiner - born in 1908

Hilary Gordon - born in 1911

Elizabeth "Bets" Wilcox - born in 1913

David Kirk - born around 1893

Jane Stuart - born in May 1918 or 1919

Valancy Stirling* - born 1883**

Barney Snaith - born 1877**

Cecilia "Cissy" - born 1886**

Olive Stirling - born 1884**

Gay Penhallow - born in 1904***

Nan Penhallow - born in 1904***

Roger Dark - born in 1890***

Donna Dark - born between 1894 and 1896***

Virginia Powell - born between 1894 and 1896***

Peter Penhallow - born between 1888 and 1890***

Margaret Penhallow - born 1872***

Brian Dark - born 1916***

Hugh Dark - born in 1887***

Joscelyn Penhallow: born between 1889-1892***

*In both Anne of Ingleside and Rainbow Valley Shirley is two years older than Rilla. But in Rilla of Ingleside, he turns eighteen few months before Rilla... it is pure chaos. Rilla was supposed to be nearly fourteen, according to the RV, in 1914, but she is nearly fifteen in RoI. So I apologize, but I had a lot of trouble here...

**The Blue Castle is the most difficult to place in time. It is set several years before it was published, and in my own opinion: before Tangled Web and Pat of Silver Bush. Why? Because of this reference: "This was before the day of bobs and was regarded as a wild, unheard-of proceeding—unless you had typhoid." (The Blue Castle). Bobs were already "in fashion" at the beginning of Pat of Silver Bush (so, in 1919, when Pat was six years old: it was said that Winnie wanted to have her hair bobbed) and in Tangled Web (which is set in 1922). Yet, the cars, motorboats and movie theaters were a rather common occurence in The Blue Castle's times. But... there might be an explanation. Valancy doesn't live on PEI, which might have been a little "behind" the rest of Canada, as far as modern technology went. It is my own personal opinion, but I think that it might be set just before the war, at the same time as the end Emily's Quest. I know that the clothes seem more "modern" in TBC, but Emily wore "a little sport suit" and dress that was described as followed "there was so little of it". Teddy and Perry both had cars, as sone of Ilse's cousins. I would say that the Blue Castle book might be set around 1912-1913. Still, the timeline is extremely elusive. Please, let me know, dear Blue Castle Book Club's members, what is your opinion? I think I have read some amazing discussion about TBC's timeline a long time ago, but if I remember correctly, everyone was certain that this novel was set post WWI (me included, until this very moment when I tried to place Pat and Tangled Web and remembered the "bob" quote). So I choose 1912 as the beginning of TBC, when Valancy was twenty-nine.

*** the ages of characters in Tangled Web:

"They were first cousins, who were born the same day and married the same day,--Donna to her own second cousin, Barry Dark, and Virginia to Edmond Powell--two weeks before they had left for Valcartier. Edmond Powell had died of pneumonia in the training camp, but Barry Dark had his crowded hour of glorious life somewhere in France." (Tangled Web).

"Virginia Powell, whose husband had been dead eight years and who was young and tolerably beautiful" (Tangled Web).

"Valcartier, Quebec was the primary training base for the First Canadian Contingent in 1914."

- from: https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/going-to-war/canada-enters-the-war/training-at-valcartier/

So, from this I assumed that Virginia's husband died in 1914 (so Tangled Web is set in 1922-23). Gay is 18 at the beginning, so she would be born in 1904. If Donna and Virginia were 18-20 when they got married, they would be 26-28 (so still "young"). at the beginning. Peter was 14 when Donna was 8, so he'd be 32-34 at the beginning of the book (same age or a bit older than Roger). Hugh was 35 at the beginning. I guess Joscelyn was a bit younger- most of LMM's heroines are at least two years younger than their love interest. I'd say she might have been 20-23 when she got married, so she'd be around 30-33 at the beginning of the book. I would say Brian is about six years old - he doesn't seem to attend school yet, but is big enough to be sent to the harbour. Margaret Penhallow was about fifty at the beginning of the book.

So sorry that this post was rather long, but it was a great fun to write (even if it took me A LOT of time). Thank you for reading. Please, let me know if you agree. Any feedback will be very welcome!

[mlmshipbracket]

Fourth MLM Ship Bracket Propaganda Submissions

Below you will find all of the submitted and approved ships for the Fourth MLM Ship Bracket Tournament along with the form to submit further propaganda at the bottom

This is another opportunity to submit propaganda for your favorite ships. Wether you were unable to submit propaganda for them in the initial form or you spot your favorite ship who has no propaganda submitted. Ships with a strikethrough have propaganda submitted, I will continue to update this post as propaganda is submitted. I will accept further propaganda for ships with already submitted propaganda but please prioritize those with out.

The goal is to have propaganda for all ships but I understand that may not be possible. Therefore I will be leaving the form open for a few weeks to see if we receive propaganda for at least half the ships.

Note: Please reach out to me if you spot any mistakes in character or fandom names, even if it is only formatting or spelling issues.

Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)

Kyojuro Rengoku/Akaza (Demon Slayer)

Mikhail”Misha” [Heavy]/Dr. Ludwig [Medic] (Team Fortress 2)

Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas (Homestuck)

Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng (Guardian, 2018)

Oliver Marks/James Farrow (If We Were Villains)

David Starsky/Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson (Starsky & Hutch)

Tinn/Gun (My School President)

Loki Odinson/Mobius M. Mobius (Loki)

Jaime Reyes/Bart Allen (DC Comics)

Levi Schmitt/Nico Kim (Grey's Anatomy)

Ren Amamiya or Akira Kurusu/Goro Akechi (Persona 5)

Wallace Price/ Hugo Freeman (Under the Whispering Door)

Daffy Duck/Bugs Bunny (Looney Toons)

Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan (Guardian, 2018)

Isak Valtersen/Even Bech Næsheim (SKAM)

Henry "Monty" Montague/Percy Newton (Montague Siblings)

Nico di Angelo/Will Solace (Camp Half-Blood Chronicles)

Argos/Mr. Plant (The World of Mr. Plant)

Richard St Vier/Alec Campion (Swordspoint Universe)

Klaus Hargreeves/Dave Katz (The Umbrella Academy)

Woody/Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)

Victor Lawson/Hap (In the Lives of Puppets

Charlie/Babe (Pit Babe The Series)

Fred/Shaggy (Scooby-Doo)

Simon Snow/Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Grimm-Pitch (Carry On)

Gaius Octavius/Jedediah Smith (Night at the Museum)

Sound/Win (My School President)

Pat/Pran (Bad Buddy)

Mike Wazowski/James "Sulley" P. Sullivan (Monsters, Inc.)

Nicholas “Nick” Bell/ Seth Gray (The Extraordinaries)

Evan 'Buck' Buckley/Edmundo 'Eddie' Diaz (9-1-1)

Sean/White (Not Me: The Series)

Vegas Theerapanyakun/Pete Saengtham (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Runaan/Ethari (The Dragon Prince)

Larry Daley/Ahkmenrah (Night at the Museum)

Tintin/Captain Archibald Haddock (Tintin comics)

Bai Lang/Jin Xun An (My Tooth Your Love)

Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin (The Man from U.N.C.L.E)

Wario/Waluigi (Mario franchise)

Peter Parker/Miguel O'Hará (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse)

Steve Rogers/Anthony "Tony" Stark (Marvel Comics)

Dave Miller/Jack "Old sport" Kennedy (Dayshift at Freddy's)

Boston/Nick (Only Friends)

Kinn Theerapanyakun/Porsche Kittisawasd (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Satoru Gojo/Suguru Geto (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Craig Cuttlefish/Octavio Takowasa (Splatoon)

Tulio/Miguel (The Road to El Dorado)

Sun Wukong/Neptune Vasilias (RWBY)

Zachary Ezra Rawlins/Dorian (The Starless Sea)

Fox Mulder/Alex Krycek (The X-Files)

Thomas/Newt (The Maze Runner)

Fulgrim/Ferrus Manus (Warhammer 40k)

Kim Theerapanyakun/Porchay Kittisawasd (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Alec Lightwood/Magnus Bane (The Mortal Instruments)

Tan/Bun (Manner of Death)

Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi (RWBY)

Rhy Maresh/Alucard Emery (Shades of Magic)

Yashiro Isana/Kuroh Yatogami (K Project)

Jaskier/Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher)

Dustfinger/Mortimer "Mo" Folchart (Inkworld series)

Brandon/Sky (Winx Club)

Phineas Taylor “P. T.” Barnum/Phillip Carlyle (The Greatest Showman)

Alfred Hillinghead/Henry Ashe (Bodies TV Show)

Baal/Inanna (The Wicked + the Divine)

Timothy "Tim" Drake/Bernard Dowd (DC Comics)

Vash the Stampede/Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Trigun Stampede)

Anthony Lockwood/Quill Kipps (Lockwood and Co)

Henry Winter/Francis Abernathy (The Secret History)

Crowley/Aziraphale (Good Omens)

Dainix/Falst (Aurora Comic)

Prince Rupert/Prince Amir (The Two Princes)

Finn/Poe Dameron (Star Wars)

Jean Luc Picard/Q (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Will Stronghold/Warren Peace (Sky High)

Heart/Li Ming (Moonlight Chicken)

Wallace Wells/Todd Ingram (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off)

Sunai/Veyadi Lut (The Archive Undying)

Linus Baker/Arthur Parnassus (The House in the Cerulean Sea)

Aaron Slaughter/Jace Boucher (House of Slaughter)

Hercule Poirot/Captain Arthur Hastings (Hercule Poirot)

Phaya/Tharn (The Sign)

Hercules/Iolaus (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)

Todd/Black (Not Me: The Series)

Julio "Rictor" Esteban Richter/Shatterstar (Marvel Comics)

Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu (Word of Honor)

Siffrin/Isabeau (In Stars and time)

Kendall Knight/Logan Mitchell (Big Time Rush TV Show)

Yuichiro Hiyakuya/Mikaela Hyakuya (Owari no Seraph/Seraph of the End)

Palm/Nuengdiao (Never Let Me Go)

Khatha/Dome (Midnight Museum)

Asterix/Obelix (Asterix Comics)

Bowser/Luigi (Mario Franchise)

Lucien "Luc" O'Donnell/Oliver Blackwood (London Calling)

Kazuki Kurusu/Rei Suwa (Buddy Daddies)

Benjamin “Ben” Tennyson/Kevin Ethan Levin (Ben 10: Alien Force)

Lumière/Cogsworth (Beauty and the Beast)

Damian Wayne/Jon Kent (DC Comics)

Spy/Dell Conagher [Engineer] (Team Fortress 2)

Shanks/Buggy (One Piece)

Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Ecks (Six of Crows)

Harold Finch/John Reese (Person of Interest)

Ulrich Stern/Odd Della Robbia (Code Lyoko)

Vincent Freeman/Jerome Morrow (Gattaca)

Eustass Kid/Killer (One Piece)

Christopher Hitchcock/Jalil Sherman (Everworld)

Frodo Baggins/Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings)

Edgin Darvis/Xenk Yendar (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves)

[storyofmychoices]

Cloud Watching

[Beckett Harrington x Emma Carlyle Masterlist] 

Pairing: Beckett Harrington x Emma Carlyle (F!MC) Book: The Elementalists 2 Word Count: ~1,000 Rating/Warnings: general, none Submitting to: @choicesaprilchallenge24: Clouds ; @choicesficwriterscreations FotW; @choicesbookclub TE2

Synopsis: Emma tries to teach Beckett to cloud watch.

"Despite the slight distraction-" His cheeks flushed red as his gaze drifted to her lips. He swallowed hard and continued. He took a step forward, following the path back to the dorms. "I think we can say this was quite a productive study session."

Emma's gaze softened as she watched him process the academic merit of successfully completing the cloud shape-shifting spell. And yet, she couldn't help but wonder if he was missing something more important entirely. 

"Haven't you ever just lied back on the soft grass on a sunny day and just watched the clouds drift by?" Emma held her finger up, quieting his reply before continuing, "-without magick?"

"What would the value of such an activity be?" His brows knitted together as he questioned the notion. 

"To enjoy the beauty of nature."

"I suppose we could discuss the types and classifications of clouds and how they form. Nevertheless, that's rather elementary knowledge." He adjusted his blazer. "Knowing how to manipulate them and bend the air and water vapor to your specifications and designs takes far more knowledge and control."

"You're such a nerd." She shook her head gently. "Not everything has to be about learning or gaining knowledge of information. Some things can be for fun or to relax."

"Did you not have fun shaping the clouds?" A frown fell on his features. To him, mastering a new spell was the perfect amount of fun. It was productive and efficient without any of the more frivolous aspects of fun that caused others to lose control.

"It was fun, but sometimes, just pausing to breathe and enjoy the moment without anything other than nature's own magic is something special." Her gaze shifted to the heavens, letting the sun warm her face. A soft smile spread across her features. "Do you trust me?" Her attention returned to him. 

"You need not ask for you know the answer is always." The tips of his ears turned pink despite his attempts to compose himself in her presence. 

She held her hand to him, lacing their fingers with his. "Follow me."

Emma guided him off the path and across the quad, finding a spot where the grass was just right, not too short where it would be scratchy and uncomfortable or too long where it might threaten to tickle their skin with the breeze. "Perfect." 

She sat on the soft ground, patting the surface for him to sit beside her. Despite his hesitance in getting his khaki pants grass-stained, he complied with her request. 

"Now, lay back on the grass and just look at the clouds." Emma led by example, reclining on the quad. Her eyes fluttered closed as she breathed in the fresh air and the scent of the wildflowers dancing in the breeze. 

She opened her eyes to find Beckett very much in the same seated position. Her eyes narrowed at him, insisting he follow suit. 

"But my blazer!" His eyes widened in horror.

"Take it off if you must, but you're not getting out of this, Harrington. If anyone needs to learn how to cloud-watch, it's you!"

He grumbled slightly, though his eyes betrayed the sentiment. He mirrored her pose. "Okay, now that I'm lying in the dirt, what is it that I am supposed to do?"

"Just watch the clouds."

"Watch them for what?" 

"Just watch how they move. How slowly. How swiftly. Do they dance across the sky? What can you see in them? Can you make shapes? animals?—without magick!"

Beckett propped himself up on his elbow, looking over to her with great skepticism. "Is this some sort of tuneless prank?"

"Not a prank."

"So this is something tuneless people do for enjoyment?"

"Some. Others miss the point."

"I must admit that I might be one of them."

Emma sighed before breathing in again, refusing to give up so quickly. She shimmied closer to him, resting her head against his. "See, that one there��" Lifting her arm toward the sky, she pointed toward a fluffy cloud. "—that one's a bunny." 

Beckett suppressed the urge to protest. Squinting at the cloud in question, he turned his head to the left, then to the right, trying to see what she saw. "I suppose... if you squint and tilt your head like this, it is uh—vaguely...resembling of a rabbit..." He couldn't stop his analytical mind. "But, from a scientific perspective, clouds are formed by the condensation of water vapor in the atmosphere. Any thought that they form particular shapes is just the human mind searching for meaning. Cloud formation is dependent on temperature, humidity, and air currents." His voice trailed away as the potential of the air magick sparked at his fingertips. "Can't you feel the atmosphere all around us? The air currents pulling in the sky, forming the clouds, shaping them into what they are and could be?"

Emma laughed softly, brushing a kiss on his head. "I love your beautiful brain, but let's focus on trying to bring out your imagination." Her hands drew out a rainbow in front of her head. She knew he wouldn't understand the tuneless reference, but she had seen the meme too many times for her to say the word without the accompanying gesture. 

His lips twitched up. "I admire your persistence." He pulled her closer.

Emma rested her head on his shoulder. "Try again." She searched the sky, pointing to the next one. "There. See. Right there, that one is a dragon."

His gaze flickered to her, watching as her face illuminated with wonder. He nodded, squinting as he followed where she gestured. He let the sun warm his face and nodded slowly. "If I squint and... turn my head...and—" 

"It's okay." She snuggled into him, giggling at the steady concentration drawing almost painstakingly across his face. "You get an A for effort, Mr Harrington." 

"OOo!" Her attention was captured again by the sky. "Now, it looks like it's breathing fire! ICE fire!"

"Ice fire?" His brow arched, amusement dancing on his lips. "I suppose that isn't entirely inaccurate. The clouds are made of ice crystals!"

"At least we can agree on something." 

The pair relaxed on the quad, letting the sun caress their skin. With each gentle breeze, the clouds above shifted and danced, creating new shapes and designs for Emma to decipher, reminding Beckett of the magic that could be found in even the simplest moments of life.

A/N: Emma loves Spongebob. Once she learns a spell to make a rainbow, she'll be doing this all day and no one will get it but her and Atlas, because she introduced Atlas to Spongebob and she binged the first few seasons without pausing to sleep!

[star-girl69]

Ultraviolence

Natalie Scatorccio x Fem!Reader

—-

a/n: i hope you all enjoy!!

warnings: guns and shooting, mentions of being shot, slight injury, blackmail, mentions of death, swearing, tell me if i missed anything!!

Chapter Sixteen - Mad Woman

Chapter Sixteen - Mad Woman

—-

2021-

Natalie smokes, leaning against her car, while you play some mindless game on your phone. Last night, with what she remembered about you, what she did you for you, it makes you remember how much you had loved her.

She breathes out the smoke, and the wind carries it by you. And she’s always reminded you of cigarettes, so it makes you all the more sadder.

You think back to days in the plane, that first summer, the weed you shared, blowing smoke into each other’s mouths.

The smoke fills up your field of vision, and you have to bat it away, closing your eyes. Today has become the blackest day.

Finally, car lights shine over you, and Taissa and Shauna pull in. Natalie steps out her cigarette, and in a motel like this, she’s really not doing the worst.

“What part of ‘hurry up’ did you guys not understand?” she asks.

“Takes you getting blackmailed to care about being late?” Taissa looks at you. “Besides, it’s not like we had a free invitation to stay with you.” You roll your eyes.

“I’m sorry, but we all have families and lives, okay? We can’t just sneak out a window whenever…” Shauna sighs. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Where’s the money?” Tai asks, and Nat takes out a large stack, looking it over in her hands before placing it in the bag Shauna brought.

“Right here.”

“That’s 50 grand?” Shauna asks, patting it suspiciously.

“Yeah. In $100 bills.”

“Little bit disappointing by movie standards,” Shauna shrugs.

“You got the tracker?” Tai asks.

“Yes. It’s one of Amazon’s top sellers,” she cringes. “Apparently, secretly tracking people is really huge right now.” She takes out the small black device, and you cross your arms, sighing.

“All right, we should put the tracker in the middle of the bills,” Nat says.

“No. Then when they count the money, they’ll just see it.” Shauna says.

“Uh, they’ll see it in that bag too,” Tai says.

“So your big idea was shit?” Nat coos to Shauna.

“It’s not shit. I just through the money would-would be bigger. Like…” she makes some weird movement with her hands, gesturing to the open bag, and you don’t even try to hide your groan. “Okay, we just have to fill the bag with some other stuff. You know? Like, um… Oh! The more stuff he has to go through, right?”

Shauna shuffles through whatever she’s found, muttering about things like towels and trash, while you put your head in your hands.

She places the bag back on the table with a loud thump, staring to pack it up.

“Where did you get that Etsy reject of a bag, anyway, Shauna?” Natalie laughs.

“My daughter made it for Father’s Day back when she was cute. I took it from Jeff’s like, ‘special keeps.’”

“Your not as sentimental as your hubby?

Shauna shoots Natalie a look. “I’m trying to help you guys.” Finally, she sticks the tracker into an empty chip bag, stuffing it in with everything else. “That good?”

“Like a needle in a goddamn haystack,” Natalie remarks, throwing the bag over her shoulder. “Can we go now? I can’t wait to meet Fuckface. Give me the keys.”

“What? Why?” Tai asks.

“I got the money. I’m gonna make the drop.”

Tai and Shauna look at each other, and you just want this to be over. Tai let’s out a small laugh.

“Nah, it’s cool, it’s cool. She’s my baby.”

“All right, meet me east of Carlyle and DeWalt,” Nat says, as Shauna clicks open the sliding doors of her minivan, letting you slide in easily. “Don’t fuck around.”

—-

“She tells us not to take forever. How long does it take to drive a block?”

“Maybe she stopped to score drugs.”

You can barely hide your laugh, because you know Natalie better than you know yourself. That is something she would do.

“Ah, the pay cut I took to run for Senate isn’t gonna fund another stint in rehab.”

“Fuck, Tai, did you really?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? You’re just enabling her to repeat the same pattern.” Shauna flips around in her seat. “How’d you get away?”

“Hm?” you look away from the window.

“I mean, not to stir the pot, but you guys were like really in love. Like really.”

“Uh, I don’t know. We met up in 2019, fucked around in motels, and then one night she OD’d and I realized I couldn’t watch her kill herself. So, I left, and now we’re here.”

You think about nights with the TV talk shows lulling you to sleep, her heartbeat, her hands and skin, her voice. Nightshade.

“If she won’t change for Y/N, then I don’t know.” Tai says, before turning to look out the window. Tears well in your eyes. “But… we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. So I do it. Not just for her, for me.”

They both out short sighs, and you wipe away the tears you barely realized were falling, grateful they can’t see you clearly in the darkness.

The car door slides open.

“What the fuck took you so long?” Tai hisses.

“I stopped at a gas station.”

“Oh,” Shauna mutters, the prediction from earlier correct.

“But I couldn’t find any cups,” she smiles, holding out a bottle of alcohol.

“What?” Shauna says, taking the bottle. “Where did you find a gas station in Jersey that sells liquor at 2 a.m.?”

“I bought it off the clerk. You’re welcome.”

“Did you see anyone at the drop?” you ask.

“If I saw somebody, I would have said something by now.”

You can hear Shauna take a small sip.

“Pass that to me.”

Natalie takes a long sip, and then goes to hand it back to Tai and Shauna, but you grab it from her.

“Oh,” she mumbles, watching as you tilt your head back and practically throw the stuff down your throat.

She takes it back from you, her eyes still on you, but you stare at the tracker map on Shauna’s phone.

The little dot still blinks in the same place.

“Come on, take the money,” you whisper.

—-

“This is unacceptable. Blackmail us, fine. But it’s 3:34. Like why have us show up at 2:00, then just keep us waiting. It’s, like…” Shauna trails off, taking another sip.

“Maybe they’re scouring the area, making sure we’re not waiting.”

“Okay. Then find us already.”

You look over at Natalie, ignoring Tai and Shauna. She looks down at her lap, her fingers around nothing. Maybe she’s missing the alcohol bottle.

“Maybe slow down?” she asks, reaching out towards Shauna.

“Mm. What for?” Shauna asks, handing over the alcohol none the less. “Alright. You’re right. We should make the most of this quality time,” Shauna muses. “Tai, how are the wife and kid?”

“Fine,” she says after a moment.

“And the campaign?”

“Hmm.”

“Also fine?”

“Mhm. It’s just fine.”

“It’s fine. Okay, well, Y/N, what about you? You’re a big hot shot journalist, right? I mean, I don’t pay attention to sports much anymore, but.”

“Nope,” you mutter. “I work at a goddamn Whole Foods.”

“Oh, Y/N, Come on.”

“What?” you mutter, taking the bottle from Natalie.

“You’re talented. You should be doing something with it.”

“It’s just… not how it worked out.”

“Oh, ok. Great talk.”

You sigh and stare out the window, half expecting some masked assailant to run by with a bag marked by Shauna’s daughter’s handprints.

“Well, if anyone wants to know about me, I’ve been fucking Kevyn Tan.” You look over at Natalie.

“Kevyn Tan?” Shauna asks. “The goth kid?”

“Well, he’s a cop now.”

“Are you kidding me?” Tai asks, a wide smile on her face.

“Uh, yeah. And he has two kids, and…”

“Oh, dear,” Shauna coos. “That’s a bit complicated.”

You knew in leaving her that she would probably move on. But you expected to be far away from her when it happened.

“Not to me. He’s, uh… I mean, he’s actually kind of… not bad.”

Shauna and Tai start laughing.

“Well, good for you,” Shauna says after a moment.

You almost want to ask them how. How can they go around and date and get married and love? Do they not have nightmares and visions? Do they not get scared by trees? By everything and anything?

How can they live when you are still there?

Shauna’s phone starts beeping.

“Wait. Shit, shit, he’s moving.” Everyone moves to get their seatbelts on, and you would be lying if you said your body didn’t rush with adrenaline. “Oh, no, no, no. Actually, I don’t think I should drive ‘cause of we die, we will never find out who’s doing this-”

Taissa and Shauna switch seats, and the chase starts.

—-

Taissa drives the van like a mad woman, taking harsh turns, speeding. Shauna urges around a corner, until you finally come to loading dock of a warehouse. A truck backs in.

“Is-is this supposed to happen? What’s going on?” Tai asks.

“The driver must be in on it,” Natalie says. Tai stops the car after a few more seconds, seatbelts unbuckling, but everyone stays still.

None of you know what you’re gonna find. But isn’t this what you’ve been craving? An adventure? A hunt?

“Okay, so. What do we do? I mean-”

“Natalie!” Tai hisses, as Nat opens the minivan door and slides out, and you sigh heavily, following her after a moment. Nat is erratic and quick to fight usually- but drunk like this? There’s no telling what she could do.

“Natalie!” you yell after her, running around the front of the car, but she disappears around the corner. When you see her again, you almost roll your eyes. “Natalie!” you shout, running towards her, holding a man up against his truck- no duffel bag of money in sight.

Then, you notice the handgun in her hand.

“Don’t lie to me!” she shouts, pointing the gun to his chin.

“Natalie, please put the gun down,” Shauna pleads.

“Please don’t shoot me,” the man says, the truck keys dangling from his hands. “Take the truck. Just take it.”

Something slams, and you can barely see the flash of a hooded figure run past- a duffel bag in his hand.

“There he is! There he is!” Shauna shouts.

“Take the keys,” Tai hisses, and you’re too busy following after Natalie, trying to make sure she doesn’t murder anyone. She’s a deadly shot normally, and even drunk, you’re sure she’ll make her target. “Drive around the front!”

The man pushes down people and carts of clothes, running wildly, bursting through the warehouse onto the main floor. You can faintly hear Tai shouting instructions- but this is a hunt. Rules are hazy.

You power on straight ahead, less concerned about Natalie, and more concerned about catching your prey. He shoves around stacks of clothes, and Tai takes a sharp turn, finally managing to catch up to him and tackle him to the floor. You can barely see what’s happening before he’s knocked her off, only to run straight into a bucket full of glitter- but he doesn’t let that deter him.

You keep chasing, running past Tai while she shouts for you to leave her, before jumping up right behind you, following Natalie following the masked figure.

A car rolls past. You can barely see Natalie raise the gun before you’re jumping towards her.

“Natalie!” you shout, throwing yourself over her, so the gun goes off into some random direction.

Then, you hit the ground.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you insane bitch!” you shout, smelling something burning. Natalie starts pacing.

“Are you hurt?” she asks, but doesn’t look at you, tucking the gun back into her pocket.

You stare at the sleeve of your jacket, singed by the bullet, just barely missing your skin. The jump is a tangle of limbs and metal. You don’t know where something ends and another begins.

“God, Natalie,” Taissa hisses, leaning down in front of you.

“You shot me!” you yell at her, and she turns around.

“What?” she breathes.

You show her your singed and ripped jacket arm.

Her face relaxes. “I didn’t shoot you.”

Shauna storms out of her car. “Natalie, what the hell?”

“Oh, me? Y/N is the one who jumped on a woman with a gun!”

You stand up, dusting yourself off, feeling grazes on your legs and hands.

“What was your master plan, Natalie? Go to jail? Ruin your perfect little life with Kevyn Tan?”

She rolls her eyes.

“Seriously!” you shout, and no one else speaks, everyone panting from the chase. “You’re insane,” you breathe after a moment. “You’re insane. Insane!”

She gives you a bored look, and you think back to days in the wilderness, hunting with her- this was the same look she would give you on the rare occasions she missed. She would blame everything else.

“You’re fucking mad,” she hisses. “Do you have a death wish? Is your life as a Whole Foods cashier not thrilling enough for you?”

And maybe you’re just broken from the woods.

“I fucking hate you, Natalie!” you shout like a petulant child.

“We both know you don’t,” she says, before walking over to study the trash the blackmailer had dropped. She pulls out the tracker from the chip bag. “Well, he dumped out all our shit. Got any more good ideas?”

“We look for an asshole covered in glitter.”

Natalie shoves the gun back into her bra and looks up at you.

—-

“I wasn’t gonna kill him,” she says, much later while you’re in the car.

“Oh, really? So what was your plan? Just shoot him in the leg, through the back windshield? ‘Cause it sure felt for a moment there we were all going away for murder.” Shauna sighs, squeezing the steering wheel.

“Like we haven’t done a lot worse.”

“You know what? Speak for yourself, Natalie. Don’t drag us into your endless fucking out of guilt.”

“At least we know Fuckface is a man,” Tai murmurs.

“No. No, we don’t. I mean, he could be working with someone. Including that, like, annoying reporter.”

“Whoever they are, they now got 50 grand. And they know we’re onto them.”

“What if they talk just to spite us?” you ask, biting your nail.

“I’m not gonna let that happen,” Natalie murmurs.

“Oh, yeah? What genius plan do you have this time? Grab a flamethrower and go down Route 9, knocking on doors?” you scoff.

“Pull over.” Shauna doesn’t stop. “Pull over or I’m gonna jump out.”

“Oh, God,” Shauna groans.

“You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t for us. This is for Travis.”

You sigh and tilt your head to the sky.

“Natalie,” you whisper, turning to her. “You weren’t the only person who was friends with Travis. You weren’t the only person who knew him. And Travis wouldn’t want this.”

Against your better judgment, you put your hand over her own.

“Travis wouldn’t want this, Nat.”

She stares into your eyes, and you try to push back the hatred that’s festered up inside of her, focusing on the love that will never go away.

“Besides, we’re not even sure his death is connected to all of this,” Tai says.

“The fuck is isn’t!” she shouts. She rips her hand away from yours. “And this isn’t for him, Y/N. This is for all of us. You know just as much as me what we promised. Travis wouldn’t kill himself. Someone killed him, and they’re coming for us next.”

She stares right into your eyes, and for a moment, you see a flash of blonde hair. Smoother, clearer skin. Unmarked by years of alcohol and drugs. Bright blue eyes that had seen the worst the world had to offer, but hadn’t let her ruin it yet.

“You guys are just as fucked up as me. You’re just better at hiding it. And if you aren’t gonna help me with the plan, then I’ll do it myself.”

She slams the car door shut.

—-

taglist:

@sweetdayme4427 @dreaming-for-an-escape @peachydoki @happysparklingshadows @zhivaxo @maraudeerrs

everything taglist:

@emilynissangtr

[wyrmst]

Something Borrowed (Part Twelve)

M Gargoyle x M Reader

PREVIOUS || STORY TAG || NEXT

Wordcount: 9023

Content Warnings: Discussion of a Breakup, Drinking (Mild)

It’s been a while! This chapter was getting massive, so I decided to split it up as well. And it is still, somehow, massive. But it is here! Though this means I won’t be getting my baker’s dozen after all, boo. The rest of the story is dangerously close to finished, so no more months long gaps to come- at least not for this one, ha!

Why did you ever agree to this?

From the second you and Carlyle walk into the vestibule attached to the ballroom, all of your senses are assaulted from all sides.

Bright, shifting colors and light. Layers of voices over the loud music.The mingling scents of multiple perfumes all pooling together.

And while none of it is particularly garish on its own- it is an elven ceremony after all, so it’s all “tasteful”- as it turns out, layer upon layer of subtle things vying for attention are just as dominating, as if it was an average nightclub, just with old money set dressing. You’re unfazed by even the most bustling of Sunday mornings working a bakery storefront, but that’s nothing to this.

And of course, when it comes to overbearing experiences, nothing quite compares to the occasional glance from random elves judging the validity of your presence and barely withholding their sneers of contempt.

…You’re not going to survive this event much longer. Not without some social lubricant.

But just looking at the mass of people conglomerating around the middle of the room, between where you stand and the bar, makes you simply want to dissolve instead.

“Some happy hour, I barely see any smiles.” Carlyle smirks, even and strikingly unaffected by the noise and the chaos of the room, his focus fixed on you. “Would you like a drink?”

“Oh, I’d love one, but you’ll catch me swimming with sharks before I brave that crowd…”

“Understandable. Your chance of being bitten might actually be lower with the sharks.”

You snort out a laugh. A matron elf in a bedazzled set of robes shoots you a look of scorn as she passes by to your left. You think you recognize her- some second great aunt of Trevor’s or something, but you can’t be bothered to recall.

“You go ahead and I’ll find a spot for us to chat.” You say, voice barely raising above the oppressive, complex elven music, then mentally correct yourself: to hide.

“Are you sure about that?” Carlyle pats down his tie, clearly concerned with the prospect of leaving you on your own. “We can stick together, if you prefer- Wait until the crowd disperses a bit?”

“No, no. I’ll be fine, no need to make a fuss. I’m a grown man. You’ll only be gone for a few minutes!” You force a flippant laugh, but it sounds hollow even to your ears.

“What would you like to drink?  I’m sure they have champagne in stock, but I don’t know if I’d trust you with it just yet…”

You scoff in mock offense, playfully slapping the back of your hand against Carlyle’s torso, causing him to grin from ear to ear, fangs fully exposed. You can’t help but see the resemblance to his brother when he makes such an impishly amused face.

“Anything's fine. I trust your judgement.”

“Alright. I’ll be back soon.” Carlyle gives you a nod and a squeeze of the hand, and off he goes to brave the throng of people alone. At least he seems to blend in a bit easier than you do, despite being one of the only clearly non-elven guests in attendance…

You quickly realize the grave mistake you’ve made.

The onslaught of people just doesn’t end. None of them stop to talk to you, of course, but there’s just so many of them. Just how many guests did they even invite to this thing? This must be at least a quarter of a population of the entire high elven quarter of Windrise, at this rate…

You’d be content to stand here and look inconspicuous until Carlyle returns, and you do for several minutes, except for one thing. It’s impossible to miss the sight of your old friend group slide up to one of the nearby tables; far enough away that they haven’t noticed you yet, but close enough that they almost certainly will, and soon.

A jolt of panic grips your chest, thinking about seeing these people that for all intents and purposes abandoned you when you need friends the most, having to make small talk and act like none of that happened, and blithely comment on how funny life is that you’d end up here anyway!

And without Carlyle here to shield you from the worst of it with his charm?

No, thank you.

Swiftly deciding that won’t be on the agenda for tonight, your eyes dart around the room, looking for any out of the way corner that you can casually find your way to and avoid this incoming social trainwreck.

You finally spot an empty table, tucked in a corner and partially obscured by one of large winding tree limbs and the gauzy curtain draped over it. It might as well be a blanket fort, compared to the rest of the open battlefield of the chamber.

You slip behind the cover. Instantly and much to your chagrin, you realize that the table is already occupied, and the occupant was just hidden where they stand at the far side of the cocktail table.

It’s the orc that was sitting at the front of the ceremony with Devin’s parents, you realize.

They’re clad in a set of ornate elven robes, constructed of deep blue silk and intricate, sprawling gold embroidery fanning out from the chest and down the arms. Despite not often seeing this particular article of clothing on a person with their build, it’s extremely well tailored to their body, with a high neck and strategic cut-outs that accentuate their wide shoulders rather than working against them. The iridescent blue-purple feathers placed in their coiled updo and the dangling, rhomboid chandelier earrings seem to have been picked out with just as much thought.

The open faced style of the bottom of their robes reveals that they’re wearing stilettos- not that they need the height, as they’d easily tower over everyone else anyway- but you appreciate the dedication. But dear Lady, the height of those heels nearly makes you dizzy. You have no idea how they have managed to survive both the heels and the drooping train of the style of robes they wear. You silently say a prayer of thanks that you’re not socially expected to wear them, because you would absolutely have not made it into the venue without breaking your neck.

The dissonance between such a person and the rest of the guest list is certainly jarring, even when they’re wearing clothing that fits perfectly. At least you and Carlyle aren’t the only people sticking out like sore thumbs at this wedding. You hope your expression doesn’t betray the shock you’re feeling, because you’d hate to be rude.

“Oh, um. Hi.” You smile sheepishly and immediately start fidgeting with your cufflinks. “Sorry, I didn’t realize this table was taken. I was just…”

“Looking for a place to hide?” They give you a grim smirk.

“Guilty. I take it we’re on the same page?”

“Yep. I can’t be forced to socialize if I’m not visible. I’m Zelg.” The orc introduces themselves, and then reflexively adds, as if they’ve had to countless times already today: “Just Zelg. It’s not short for anything.”

“Nice to meet you, Zelg.” You smile and give your name, your customer service niceties unintentionally activating. “Your robes look stunning, by the way.”

“Pfft, they look perfectly nice, but honestly I don’t think they’re much worth the price tag or the discomfort.” You seem to have struck a chord, and they immediately launch into impassioned talk on the subject. The steeled facade you saw just a moment ago has completely vaporized. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find an elven tailor willing to work with proportions that aren’t fit for a willow branch? The upcharge for fabric alone was absurd. Now your number, though? Classic, can’t go wrong with a slim fit suit, if suits are what you like to wear. No flashy lapels either, just let the tie do all the heavy lifting…” 

“You think so? That’s grand, because I’m quite fond of it.” They don’t need to know that this is your one and only suit and tie, for every occasion from funerals to weddings you don’t particularly want to attend.

“Ugh, listen to me ramble on about clothes. Curse of the trade, I guess.” Zelg sighs. “So, what do you do?”

“Baker. Wedding cakes.” You offer with a smile, sure they’ll put things together quickly.

“Oh! So like-” Zelg points towards a seemingly random direction that you assume must be the reception hall, turning a circle with one short, lacquered nail. “This wedding cake?”

“Hahah, yes. I made this wedding cake.” And you really hope you don’t witness it explode tonight. But again, you don’t feel the need to add that part- it would probably be bad or business.

“Interesting! I was looking at it when they were still setting up before the ceremony. I don’t really know what makes a wedding cake good, per say, but it looked like it took a lot of skill to make.”

“Ah, thanks. That’s very kind of you to say.”

“You know, I don’t recognize you at all, though. So, I imagine you’re here for the groom?”

“No, actually, Devin invited me. But I do know the groom very well.” Regrettably.

“Ah, figures. A friend of his, then? All of Dev’s friends now seem like they were his friends first...”

“Um. Not really.” You say, maybe a little bluntly. “Not anymore.”

“Oh. That’s… something.” Zelg’s eyebrows raise in clear interest. “That sounds complicated.”

“It’s a long story.” You sigh. It isn’t, not really; but boy, are you tired of repeating it. “He’s my ex-boyfr- well, ex fiance.”

“...I have to admit, that has certainly piqued attention.” Zelg swirls their glass, the single oversized ice cube in their drink clinking. “Do you mind if I pick your brain about him, a little bit? A few nosy questions? I haven’t had a lot of time to get to know him yet and I’d like some insight on who Devin’s gone and married.”

“Sure, why not? It couldn’t hurt.” You’re a bit unsure why they would have such burning questions about Trevor of all people, but it seems like an innocent enough request. “Though I’m probably pretty biased…”

Zelg immediately puts on a deadly serious front in the time it would take to snap their fingers, to the point you’re surprised they don’t whip out a pen and pad of paper out of their robes to take detailed notes.

“How long were you together?”

“Eight years, engaged for nearly the last year.”

“My, that’s a long time. I can’t imagine it was easy to extract yourself.” Zelg clicks their tongue in sympathy.

“No, it was a pretty long and difficult process.”

“Who ended things, then?”

“Him. …Well- Sort of?”

Zelg tilts their head at ‘sort of’, in silent curiosity.

“I came down with a love curse. He claimed he was ripping off the band-aid before we both got hurt.”

“I see. I’m sorry to hear that, it sounds like a painful memory.”

“I’ll admit, it’s not my favorite.”

“Stress does strange things to people. But before that, at least- Was he a good partner?”

You would’ve empathically replied yes to this question, right up until mere months ago.

You think about him being late for everything, regardless of how important it was to you or the other people around you. You think about him consistently putting what felt like anybody else ahead of you- or putting the band ahead of you. You think about him never being there for you when you needed him. You think about how many excuses you made for him, friends you lost for him, opportunities for happiness you passed up for him.

You sacrificed so much- and you don’t think he ever really cared that you did.

Or- giving him the benefit of the doubt- he never cared in a way that you needed.

“No.” You shake your head. “Not really.”

It’s cathartic to finally admit out loud, even if you’re being gently grilled about the failures of your love life.

“Well, he sounds like an absolute dream.” Zelg shakes their head in scorn and then lets out a beleaguered sigh. “I don’t like this. Not at all. Not after everything else.”

“Ah- Did something else happen?”

“Nothing I have receipts for. But supposedly, there was some sort of mix up with her side of the invitations. Something about Devin losing them.” Zelg furrows their eyebrows, bringing two fingers up to massage their temple, suddenly looking twice as intimidating as a scowl overtakes their severe features. “And she’s been having such trouble with that damn wedding planner and she’s too nice to put her foot down. Nothing’s been going right. Not a thing.”

“Now that you mention it, the planner did let slip that they had tried to hire a different baker entirely.”

“Personally, I don’t think any of it was an accident. It’s all very convenient.” They roll their eyes with a sigh. “She may be an airhead, but Devin wouldn’t lose something that important. …At least, not for more than a few hours…”

“That makes me really worry for her sake.” You shake your head. “Though in a way, I’m a bit relieved that I’m not just being paranoid. I thought I was just being sour about things since, you know. Groom being my ex, and all.”

“No, it’s not just you. I thought the same at first, that maybe he just wasn’t to my personal taste. But I don’t think that’s the case, unfortunately. It’s been bad vibes since day one.”

“Should we… I dunno, do something? It feels a bit wrong to sit here and gossip.”

“What can be done? The ceremony’s finished. It’s far too late to lodge a complaint now.”

A bit of a maudlin silence sets in. You’re both concerned for Devin, yet not really in a position to do anything about it- other than commiserate.

“Well, I know a good divorce lawyer.” You awkwardly blurt out after a few moments, then immediately wonder if the comment is too gouache to have even brought up mere minutes after the wedding. But Zelg doesn’t even seem to bat an eye, instead their face cracking into a huge grin as they let out a genuine laugh.

“Well, keep that in your back pocket. At least she seems happy for the moment. That’s really all we can ask for, right?”

“Right. And who knows? Maybe it’ll stay that way…” You say, forcing yourself to be optimistic that this relationship isn’t going to end up as much of a trainwreck as yours did.

Before you can continue your speculation, welcome company joins you.

“Oh, this is where you’re hiding.” As if summoned by you simply mentioning his existence a few moments ago, the divorce lawyer in question appears from around the corner, ducking his horns slightly under the shimmering fabric overhang so that they don’t snag. He’s carrying two drinks; a highball glass of amber liquid, and a blush-colored sparkling flute for you that he gestures for you to take. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Oh, sorry- I wasn’t thinking. I stepped over here to get out of the way.” You graciously take the flute, your face burning slightly. You can feel the stupid, fond grin spreading on your face, and the burn becoming even worse when you realize how much of a lovestruck fool you probably look like in front of this person you’ve just met. “Thank you.”

You redirect your embarrassment by introducing Carlyle to your new acquaintance.

“Charmed.” Zelg returns the nicety, but their head quirks to the side, just a bit, interest clearly piqued.

“Is there something on my face?” Carlyle chuckles amicably, his tail swishing subtly behind him.

“No, nothing like that- I was just thinking you look familiar, is all…” Zelg seems to second guess for a moment before finally asking; “Do you perhaps work in… the service industry?”

“Nope. I’m a lawyer.”

“Is that right? I could have sworn I’ve seen your face before somewhere.”

“Hah, well. I do get that a lot. Comes with the territory when there’s two of them out there.” His smile is charming, as usual.

“Ah, right. Gargoyles. So I suppose your sibling is the one that works at The Diamond, then.”

“Oh, Marcus works at a restaurant?” You ask.

“Not exactly.” Carlyle says with a sheepish laugh, but uncharacteristically, does not seem ready to elaborate.

Ah. Maybe a bartender then…?

After a few more minutes of much more pleasant chatting than you expected to find at this reception, Zelg smiles around their gilded tusks, then looks down at their now empty glass.

“Thanks for the chat, but I’m going to need another one of these if I’m going to make it through the night.”

With your acknowledgement, Zelg departs with a wave, assumingly in the direction of the bar. 

“Well, can’t say I blame them.” You say with a laugh, before taking a long sip of your own drink.

When you set the champagne flute back down on the table, the smallest of the stone claws on Carlyle’s right hand playfully nudges your own.

“Hmm… It may be for the best to not indulge too much tonight.” 

“Oh? Why not? You quip with faux indignance and stroke his hand with your pinky in turn, as if you’re locked in a very gentle, very slow bout of inverted thumb wrestling. “Isn’t that what weddings are for?” 

Carlyle leans over, chin hovering just near your shoulder. The proximity makes the hairs on your neck stand up, and gooseflesh threatens to dot your forearms from the sudden thrill. He moves his other hand, slipping between your blazer and dress shirt, resting the hook of his thumb on the dip of your waist.

He whispers in your ear over the sound of whatever woodwind heavy elven song just started up- the music is so far away with him this close.

“You may want to be lucid later.”

Giddy excitement bubbles up in your chest. 

You doubt anyone would see you, tucked in a forgotten corner of the venue like this- and it’s not as if you’re doing anything particularly lewd, just a simple show of physical affection- but the level of emotion attached and the suggestion alone makes it feel far too intimate for a public space, you think.

You don’t need to see his face to see the smirk undoubtedly forming at your reaction. You want to pull him into a kiss by his collar and devour him, but you know the second you get too comfortable, you’ll end up getting spotted by the worst possible person. Instead, you simply let out a wistful sigh and press a quick peck to his firm cheek to tide you over.

The end of the night can’t come fast enough.

Luckily for you, a distraction appears, in the form of the mass of wedding guests beginning to slowly move like a group of herd animals. They’re all filtering through the large doors to the main ballroom where the reception proper is being held. 

You linger for a few minutes to avoid the rush, but then follow suit, though you immediately miss the reassuring feel of Carlyle’s hand on your side.

Somehow, the reception area has gotten even more ostentatious over the last few hours since you delivered the cake. The soft lighting has been adjusted to perfectly suit the later hour, causing the stained glass windows and the stemware dotting the tables to almost glow in response.

Reinvigorated by the scrap of physical affection to tide you over, you navigate through the crowd, looking for your assigned table. When you meet a bit of resistance getting across the ballroom, Carlyle takes the lead; for some reason, it seems that the oddity of a gargoyle parts the crowd easier just by the nature of being present than you could ever manage on your own.

You’re not the first to arrive at your table, with a set of three elves already settled in around the faintly glowing centerpiece. The pair of elves you easily identify as Devin’s parents, from their part in the ceremony earlier. From there, you come to the logical conclusion that the older elven woman is most likely Devin’s grandmother- the very same one that she’s brought back tea blends for you from the times she’s gone to visit.

“Oh! Hello!! Thank you for coming,” The younger of the two elven women exclaims, clasping her hands in excitement so that the fine bangles on her wrists clink together chaotically. She then introduces you to her husband and mother-in-law as you take your seats, confirming your assumptions. You introduce yourself and Carlyle in turn.

“It’s so lovely that some of Devie’s friends could make it!” Hearing Devin’s mother speak, you immediately know who her daughter takes after when it comes to her mannerisms. “How do you know Devie? How long have you known each other? Are you enjoying the reception? What did you think of the ceremony? How about-”

“Dear…” Her husband on the other hand, is much quieter and more reserved, his stoic behavior and clearly Rowenian accent reminding you a bit of your own father, if he had a much less stocky figure and lacked any hint of facial hair. That, and it’s hard to imagine your own father wearing his hair in a long, loose ponytail, the no-frills man that he is. “Maybe one question at a time.”

“Um- What do the two of you do for a living?” She finally settles on what seems to be an acceptable smalltalk question with a sheepish smile, after a moment of intense thought.

“I work in law, but I think my date’s profession is slightly more relevant here.” Carlyle speaks up first, softening the burden of conversation by giving you a lead in.

“I’m a baker. I actually made Devin’s cake.” You say, feeling a bit of deja vu, but wanting to preemptively answer the follow up question that you know is coming.

“Oh, so you're the mysterious baker friend! It's so nice to finally meet you!” Her mother’s face lights up in recognition. “Devie’s been sooooo excited about this cake!”

“Hahah, well I hope the product lives up to expectations, then.”

It takes considerable effort to not cringe, remembering what the wedding planner had said about Trevor’s family almost bullying Devin out of her first choice. You can’t help but think of what Zelg mentioned about the mix up with the invitations. If her parents know anything regarding why the total of Devin’s guests can fit at one standard table with space left over to spare when the rest of ballroom is filled with Trevor’s guests and Devin herself is a social butterfly, they’re acting convincingly unfazed. Though, knowing Devin herself, you get the feeling that perhaps they are just genuinely blissfully unaware.

“Oh, I’m sure it will, love. It looks positively scrumptious.” Devin’s grandmother chips in with a grin, smile lines visible at the corners of her mouth.

“Doesn’t it?! And it’s so pretty and so tall! I don’t know how you manage something like that without magic!”

“It’s impressive just how talented he is.” 

“He really is! I couldn’t dream of making such a nice cake- Oh, oh! Do you remember, honey?” Devin’s mom laughs gleefully, tapping her husband’s arm until he nods, before turning her attention back to you to clue you in. “One year, for Devie’s birthday when she was still small, I tried to make her a showstopper cake like that. It was supposed to be the skirt of a big poofy princess dress, but when I was decorating it, the whole thing caved in!! It was a disaster!”

“Oh no.” You try to stop yourself from troubleshooting out loud, but you can’t help yourself- Probably didn’t add enough support, but perhaps didn’t let it cool long enough before… “I hope you were able to fix it. That sounds tragic.”

“It was!! I was a blubbering mess- but it turned out in the end. That year we made cake pops instead, hehe!”

“Bless her though, she was just as excited about cake pops as a proper princess cake.” Her grandmother’s accent isn’t quite from the same region that you’re from, but it’s close enough to be making you just a bit homesick.

As you’re conversing, a newly familiar face approaches the table.

“Hello again.” Zelg nods to you and Carlyle, then takes a seat next to Devin’s grandmother, whom… pats their hand affectionately before taking it in her own to hold…?

“There you are, love. Where have you been hiding all this time?”

“Just getting some air, Gran. Had a nice chat with these two for a bit during cocktail hour.” They tilt their head in your direction, their statement earrings wobbling with the movement.

Gran? Oh, then…

With that, the realization that Zelg is Devin’s sibling hits you like a truck. Devin’s never mentioned a sibling before- but then again, neither have you, so perhaps it’s just never come up yet.

“Oh, you’re already acquainted then? How nice.”

“Sweetie, listen, hehe- we were just talking about the year we had emergency cake pops for your sister’s birthday! Do you remember?”

“Ah. Of course I do. How could I forget? I came home from school and it looked like a cake had exploded in the kitchen…” Zelg snorts punitively, but is clearly smiling at the memory. You try to keep from turning as white as a sheet at the unintentionally cutting choice of phrase. 

“At least your pick that year went smoothly.” Their father adds. “Can’t go wrong with a nice figgy pudding...”

It’s not long after Zelg appears that dinner service starts, with impeccably dressed and masked elven waitstaff begin delivering the salad course, plated on flawless, iridescent old-era Aurelian crystal. You vaguely consider just how much money your ex-future-in-laws wasted on things that neither Trevor nor Devin likely care about… at least it's not a concern you have to have for yourself any more. 

Devin’s mother and grandmother are an art teacher and a sculptrix, respectively, so the conversation has shifted from the artistry aspect of baking to more simply art itself as a profession.

Carlyle has begun to gradually bear more of the weight of social interaction; judging by the way he softly grips your thigh under the table, you have to assume he’s noticed you steadily grow more weary as the night goes on.

“So, you said you work in law, was it, dearie?”

“Yes. I started out as a defense attorney but I shifted to family law a few years ago.”

“Oh, a lawyer! I should’ve married a lawyer when I had the chance. Lock him down while you can.” Grandmother says with a wily grin and winks at you, causing Carlyle to chuckle so forcefully that the bite he had balancing on his fork tines falls back onto the plate.

“Mother…” Devin’s father chides his mother, but it’s barely audible over Zelg trying not to snort into their drink in amusement.

“That’s such a hard job! I don’t think I could ever handle it, hehe… I hope us prattling on about paints and clay hasn’t seemed too frivolous!”

“Honestly, it’s much more interesting hearing people talk about art than to talk about legal paperwork, anyway. Even I can admit that it’s boring at times.”

“Ah, do you two bake together then? Or do you have any creative hobbies of your own…? It’s soooo important to have room to express yourself, even as a grown-up.”

“Hmm… I suppose you could consider some of my hobbies creative. I technically make 3d models, in a way…” He’s talking about making builds in that game he likes, and it makes a warm feeling settle in your chest to think about. Then you have to force yourself to keep a straight face when he glances at you and adds, “Oh, and macrame.”

“Macrame! That’s just fantastic. Not enough young people appreciate textile art…”

“Hehe, I’m glad to hear it. It makes sense for Devie's friends with other creatives- It runs in the family on both sides. Between me and her grandmother, she and her sibling have been in studios since they were little!”

“Ah, right. Devin’s a ceramics artist, as well isn’t she? I haven’t had the chance to see much of her work yet.”

“Yes!! Don’t worry, I have a buuunch of pictures!” Her mother pulls up her device, scrolling through pictures of Devin’s pottery with a dainty finger. “She’s so good with clay, just like her grandmother!”

“Mmhmm. She’s been a natural since she was just a wee sprog.”

“Wow, these are beautiful. You must be very proud.” Carlyle adds, looking genuinely impressed by the images he’s being shown. You of course already know how talented Devin is, but it’s always nice to see her getting acknowledgement.

“We are. Of both of them.” Devin’s grandmother coos like a content mother hen.

“Oh, oh! You know, our Zelg is in the arts, as well! They’re a very accomplished designer. This one’s a dress they were making that they sent me a picture of the other day-”

“Mother…” Zelg sighs in exasperation, echoing their father’s reaction from moments ago.

“Hehe, don’t be so bashful, honey! You’re too talented to be so humble!”

“Well then, it sounds like the whole family is creatively inclined. What field is dad in?”

“Ah, nothing very creative about my work.”

“Oh, that’s not true, dearie. It takes an eye to lay out a bee yard for form and function.”

“Ah. Beekeeping? That does sound interesting. I didn’t realize there was enough space to keep bees so close to the city.”

“Species I keep don’t need all that much space to work their magic, they’re bred to be homebodies,” Her father begins to explain. He’s been quiet as a mouse up until now, but seems to have been stoked into discussion, given the topic. “Put a couple artificial ley lines down on the land and they know to stay put. Now it’s the ones from southerly like that you need to worry about wandering…”

Within a few minutes, Carlyle has instigated a full spiel about the finer points of beekeeping from him, because as it turns out, he runs an award-winning apiary. You somehow have a new contact for locally sourced honey by the time the main course comes.

Conversation over the rest of dinner flows easily, thanks to Carlyle taking most of the burden from you. You're sure you look as smitten as you feel, watching him draw information out of people in such an effortless way. He has a way of making people feel like talking, you observe, and shows genuine interest in what they have to say. You’re nearly able to forget all of the baggage around the event and just enjoy the exorbitantly overpriced meal in pleasant company.

Just as the meal is winding down, the bride and groom themselves approach the table. Devin is pulling- though to you, it looks a bit like dragging, if you’re honest- her new husband by the hand behind her.

Devin greets her family briefly, then turns her attention to you as her mother and grandmother zone in their attention on Trevor.

“Oh, thank you for staying for the party!” Devin borderline squeals your name as she squeezes you in a tight hug. “The cake looks sooooo pretty!!! It’s like something out of a fairytale, gosh!”

“I’m glad you like it.” You laugh.

You thought the dress robes looked uncharacteristic on her before from a distance, but now seeing her up close, it’s even more jarring seeing the lines of her features and shape made so sleek and forcibly flattened, when you’re used to seeing her clad in soft and voluminous shapes, her form usually gobbled up in chunky cardigans and fluttery bangs.

“Ah, and this must be your boyfriend!” Devin leans down and smothers Carlyle in a hug too, before he even has the chance to object, causing a deep, surprised chuckle to escape his chest. “It’s so good to meet you!!”

“Nice to meet you too Devin, I've heard a lot of good things about you.” He says over her shoulder, patting her gently on the back before she releases him. “Congratulations.”

“Yeah, congrats! The ceremony was beautiful.” You chime in. “And you look stunning in your robes, as well.”

“Oh, thank you!! You’re too sweet!” Devin has moved to casually snake her arm around her sibling’s shoulders. “I was thinking about a short dress before, but then Pookie’s parents offered to pay for the tailoring- wasn’t that just so nice of them? …I didn’t think I’d be able to walk in it at first, but I um… got the hang of it now. I think?”

“The short dress would’ve suited you better.” Zelg says matter-of-factly; though they get their opinion in, they’re obviously restraining themselves from saying more out of love for Devin.

“Oh hush,” She pats Zelg’s shoulder. “It was like, less work for you and stuff this way, right…?”

“Trevor, honey, you’ve already met this lovely baker too, haven’t you?” Devin’s mom says, clearly trying to be a good hostess, despite her lack of awareness of your shared history. “At the tasting?”

“...Yeah.” Trevor finally looks over, completely unimpressed. “We know each other.”

“Oh, yeah, Mom- They already know each other. They used to date, but they’re still friends! Isn’t that like, the coolest thing?”

“How nice!! You must be good friends, then! How long were you two together?”

“It was a while.” Trevor says nonchalantly with a shrug. You choose to not specify either if he’s not, silently willing the conversation to go in another direction- any other direction.

Luckily for you, you have a wonderful man accompanying you that is more than happy to run interference.

“We haven’t had a chance to meet yet,” Carlyle says, extending a clawed hand out to him with a polite smile. “I’m Carlyle.”

The forced half-smile on Trevor’s face contorts into a wince for the briefest of moments while his hand is within Carlyle’s stoney grasp.

“Uh… Charmed.” Trevor retracts his hand, subtly shaking it out after he’s returned it to his side.

“So, I hear you’re in a band?”

“Yeah. Guitar. Some synth.”

“Interesting. Do you have any albums out? My brother has some friends in the scene, maybe I’ve heard of you.”

“Just LPs…” Trevor barely conceals a scoff. “I don’t think you’ve heard of us, dude.”

“Ah, more of a local thing, then? Well, touring probably isn’t everything…”

“Nah.”

“Aw, Pookie, don’t be shy! Go ahead and tell him more about it, you should be proud of your work!”

Trevor simply shrugs, head slightly tipped back in silent opposition to this whole interaction. You’re pretty sure the only thing keeping him from fully rolling his eyes is the fact that he is at his own wedding- and therefore, his mother could be watching him for bad behavior.

“They have a standing gig at one of the coffee shops downtown.” Devin says proudly. “They have so many regulars. They’re a real hidden gem!”

“Hey, that’s great. Doing what you love while making a living is the dream, right?”

“The money doesn’t matter to me.” Trevor says the words in a way that makes it sound like he doesn’t care, but you clearly see a telltale twitch of the muscle around the corner of his mouth- a small expression that you’ve had the years of experience to learn is a sign he’s getting beyond irritated. 

“Oh, good for you. I’m sure many artists would love to be in the position to not have to worry about whether it’s lucrative or not.”

To everyone else at the table, you’re sure this comes across as perfectly civil chitchat. At least to most everyone- you did see Zelg’s eyebrows covertly raise at that last comment, just slightly.

While you’re content to not say anything more to Trevor than you need to, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t enjoying watching your ex prickle at Carlyle’s subtle needling. 

“Isn’t it? We’re soooo blessed to both be doing what we love.” Devin chimes in, ray of sunshine that she is. “Pookie’s been making music for so long, I don’t know what he’d do without it!”

“Well, certainly no reason to give up on something you care about. You wouldn’t want to abandon something you’ve put some much time, care and hope into- Only a fool would do that.”

“...I’m not planning on it.” Trevor says, barely keeping the latent sneer from infecting his features. “Not everyone wants to wear a suit every day.”

“Of course not. Some people aren’t exactly suited to it, either.” Carlyle verbally parries that attempt at a dig in perfect form, not even a hint of irritation on his face or in his voice. Perfectly charming, even in this circumstance.

The pun is a particularly harsh blow, Devin’s mother and grandmother both chittering in amusement. Carlyle lets the motherly types take over the lead with the conversation, though you doubt their fussing over Trevor is to quite the same effect as his attention was.

“Oh, look, they’re getting along so well!” Devin says to you in such a soggily sentimental way, hand placed at her collarbone. You don’t have the heart to correct her- no need to burst her bubble if she hasn’t caught on herself yet. 

Maybe it’s petty- but you are absolutely basking in the experience, a warm, viscous sense of vindication in your chest. 

“They sure are.”

“And you didn’t tell me your boyfriend was so, like, handsome too, hehe!” Devin half-giggles, half-whispers to you, tugging the edge of her long robe sleeve. “It’s like… meeting an actor, or something!”

“Hah, well I’m sure he’d be pleased to hear that.” You say, barely holding back a bout of laughter at the pure absurdity of the situation you’re sitting in.

“Ooo, when we get back from our honeymoon, we’ll have to go on a double date!” She exclaims happily, squeezing your forearm in excitement. “There’s a new microwinery that opened over by the old arts district! I heard the building used to be an old shoe factory! Won’t that be, like, soooo fun??”

“Oh, absolutely. That sounds lovely.” You already know that Trevor will conveniently be busy whenever Devin tries to plan that, but it is flattering that she wants to spend more time together.

Before long, the lights above the dance floor change to a soft, shifting pattern of pastel colors, and the background music slows to a soft ballad. A nerve of anxiety is plucked within you, knowing what’s coming. A disembodied voice announces it’s time for the first dance. Or, at least you think it does, as they’re speaking in that same incredibly stuffy, archaic dialect of Elvish from the ceremony. You conclude you were correct, seeing as the bride and groom make their way out onto the dance floor.

You manage to keep a thin smile plastered on your face for the duration of the song. This is helped immensely by the fact that Carlyle offers his hand to you halfway through. Your smile eases a bit into a more genuine one, grounded by the smooth sensation of his polished stoneskin palm on your fingertips.

The first dance concludes as the song ends, and the disembodied voice returns to add that the dance floor is now open to guests. Surprisingly, the same musicians from the ceremony that have been providing the music for the reception also have some modern songs in their repertoire, too. It doesn’t sound half bad, as far as discordant genres of sound and instrument are concerned.

Devin's grandmother might be the very first person on their feet after the announcement, briefly trying (and failing) to persuade her other grandchild to join her on the dance floor. After Zelg’s clear disinterest in the activity, she relents, then hits the floor on her own with an impressive fleetness that does not suit her age at all.

“Come on, dear-” Devin’s mother follows the example moments later, laughing while dragging her sheepish, yet compliant husband to the dance floor with her.

“That was quite the show.” Zelg chuckles to themselves now that it’s just the three of you at the table, directing their focus in Carlyle’s direction.

“Oh? I hope it wasn’t too obvious. I’d hate to come off as rude to a groom at his own wedding.”

“Nope. I don’t think anyone else noticed. But boy, was he squirming… Nothing that he didn’t have coming, from the sound of it.”

Carlyle tries not to look pleased with himself, but simply nods in acknowledgement, in turn making you smile.

“Did I hear that right, Zelg? You were supposed to make Devin’s dress…?”

“Ugh, yeah. You heard right. I had already sketched a design when they pulled the same nonsense that it sounds like they tried with the cake.”

“I’m sorry. That’s awful.”

“At least they didn’t get their way on something… Just thinking about it makes me want to drink five more of these.”

Zelg excuses themselves once again at that point, grumbling a lament about how weak elven liquor is before heading in the direction of the open bar.

“Speaking of clothes, I’m a bit surprised to see the couple still in robes,” Carlyle observes after you have the table to yourselves. “Most of the weddings I’ve been to with traditional wear, they tend to change into an easier second look for the party.”

“His parents probably had to resort to extortion to get him into those robes in the first place.” You laugh mirthlessly, staring down at your unbiased, empty dinner plate. “The man couldn’t be bothered to put on formal dress for anything short of a visit from the Queen herself. ” 

“Is that right?” He chuckles, clearly trying to not look so pleased with your scathing commentary.

“It is. Lady knows I could never get the man into anything nicer than a shirt with minimal holes, even for important occasions. I think our worst fight was over it, even...”

Carlyle simply tilts his head to indicate he’s listening, waiting for you to continue.

“It was a funeral, Carlyle. His grandfather’s funeral. And he couldn’t be buggered to put on a tie. I’d understand if it was a robes only affair, but the dress code said either. And Trevor was about to go in tatty joggers. I thought maybe it was because he was so sad about it he couldn’t bring himself to get dressed, but no… Just didn’t want to. Told me he thought it was stupid to dress up for a dead man.” 

“So, I have to ask… Did he actually go like that?”

“No. After much strife and him getting his mother involved… He wore the tie, in the end.” You recall the victory, unfondly. It ended up a pyrrhic victory in the end, like a lot of things did for you during that relationship.

“Hmm.”

You’re quiet for a moment, sifting through the bad memories like you’re mentally panning for gold, but only coming up with jagged, unpleasant scrap.

“It… wasn’t really about the tie, I think.” You finally conclude after some thought, your voice nearly hoarse and croaky with regret, barely registering above the music.

“It rarely ever is.” Carlyle replies, an almost weary knowingness to his words, as he's fighting the urge to sigh. “At least not in my line of work. It's never an ill-timed comment or a sink full of dishes alone- Or even an argument about a tie. Most often, it’s ages of little things, built up. Then eventually, one last little thing is all it takes to break the dam wide open, and everything else comes rushing out.”

“I think you may be right... In the beginning, he was so charming. Still is. He’s just so good at making you feel like he thinks you’re important. Like you’re special for someone like him paying attention to you. But… He never called first when we were dating. Never remembered any occasion unless I reminded him. Never wanted to go meet my parents because the trip overseas would be too much of a hassle. Never prioritized my feelings on anything. Literally left me when I needed him to be there for me for once-” You can feel yourself working up to the edge of ranting, barely managing to reel yourself back in. You cradle your chin in your hand in an effort not to gnaw all your nails off. “Why bother with any of it if you don’t actually care?“

“At the end of the day, you can’t make someone care.”

“I should’ve known it wasn’t going to work out, then. I was so stupid to just keep… holding on for so long. Carrying on like things were fine...”

“In my opinion, you’re being much too hard on yourself. Of course things seem clear when you’re on the other side of them- It’s an unfortunate side effect of hindsight being 20/20.” Carlyle squeezes your hand affectionately, letting his touch linger there. “But stupid? No.”

You manage a sad smile, but the gloom that’s settled in is hard to shake that easily.

You’ve mulled over your failed relationship for so long, assuming there could have been a way to save it, if you had just done something different, just tried harder. But you’re finally coming around to realize it wasn’t worth saving in the first place.

All that wasted time…

You think that just maybe, you may have run out of strong feelings to have on this topic- the seemingly unending well of sadness inside you that you once thought you’d eventually drown in, now finally dried up, and only emptiness and a watermark on the stone left.

“Hey, you know what I think you need? A distraction.” Carlyle punctuates the query with another gentle squeeze, and carefully rises from the table. Then, he extends a clawed, stony handy out towards you. “May I have this dance?”

“Hah- Oh, I dunno…” It’s very tempting, but you don’t exactly feel like dancing right now. “Tempting offer, but I might suck all the fun right out of the dance floor.”

“So what, you’re going to come to a wedding and not dance?” Carlyle teases you, then adds with a quirk of a grin; “And pass up the chance to experience my special occasion only dance moves? Who knows how long it will be until you get that chance again.”

“Well, when you put it like that, how could I say no?” You can’t help but chortle as you let yourself be brought to your feet.

Carlyle takes your hand and gently, yet firmly, leads you out onto the dance floor. Blessedly, he doesn’t take you to the center. At first, you stand there awkwardly, he encourages you to loosen up by example- and judging by his movements, that means alternatively flailing your arms and legs in a swinging twist of limbs that somehow manages to still look incredibly smooth.

You just try your best to keep up- not really caring that you’re likely the only ones in the ballroom dancing with this much enthusiasm.

After a song or two, you‘re swept up in the energy and laughing like an idiot, making it hard to catch your breath. You like to think you’re fairly in shape, working on your feet all day- but you’re getting winded at an alarming rate, trying to keep up with him.

Mercifully, after several rounds of non-stop movement, the tempo transitions back to something slower and softer. You come to a halt, gasping for breath, while Carlyle gracefully comes to a stop at your side, waiting for you to no longer be doubled over.

“You weren’t lying about them being special-” You finally manage to gasp, taking a moment to suck down some ample gulps of air into your lungs. You’ve grown to enjoy the activity enough that now you wish it didn’t have to end, despite how loud dancing is making your heart pound in your ears. “Were you, then?”

“I don’t make a habit of lying.” Carlyle’s hand hovers at your waist as he waits in an open invitation for you to turn into the embrace. “The cardio has to be for something, hmm?”

After a moment of rethinking your footing, you eagerly take position, still letting out an errant giggle here and there. His other hand idles to the side until you put your own palm in his grasp, making a clumsy guess at the appropriate way to position it.

Carlyle’s touch is warm and comforting on your lower back as he leads, gently rocking you in a slow circle around your informally designated area of the dance floor. You’re a bit surprised with how adept he is at dancing- despite you coming dangerously close to stepping on his toes multiple times and him being literally made of stone, his body is loose and relaxed, exuding as much confidence in his steps as in his hold on you.

It could be the setting making you sentimental, but you can’t help but compare what you have now with how things could have been.

It’s a dizzying thought- If things had gone the way you had planned them to, you would be married to Trevor right now. You never would have even had the chance to even meet Carlyle, let alone fall head over heels like this. You would’ve never known how much better things could be- how good just being with someone could make you feel.

You could have lost your chance at this completely. You could have continued to be stubborn, kept him firmly pushed away, and stayed too wrapped up in your own fear of what would happen if things went wrong again, that you cheated yourself out of that chance of happiness before it could really start.

You didn’t really want Trevor exactly, it finally dawns on you.

You wanted the wedding.

You’ve been such a fool- but you’re so glad that you didn’t get what you wanted in the end. You hum in appreciation and lay your head on Carlyle’s shoulder and let it rest there for the rest of the song.

The song winds down over its coda, your hands travel down from shoulder height, fingers slipping between the lapels of his suit jacket to straighten the soft fabric of your date’s tie. Your eyes run over the subtle texture of watermarked stone on his skin, and the coarse marks left from the sanded down crystal spines along his jaw, the spot on his upper lip that you just know a cheeky fang is hiding behind, up to lock in on his dark, richly brown eyes. You draw out the motion as long as you reasonably can. 

You expect the music to transition to yet another slow song, but as the last few notes linger, the announcer returns to inform guests that it’s time for the dessert course to be served. The dance floor slowly becomes still. Some guests return to their tables, while others move to stand at the fringes of the room to watch the cake be cut. You and Carlyle occupy the latter category; you select a spot near the side doors, just in case you need to make a quick getaway.

You’ve dreaded this more than anything else this whole night. If things were going to go sideways, this would be the time… You try to calm yourself as well as you can, fidgeting to self-soothe as you watch the attendants preparing cutlery.

Finally, the wedding couple is armed with a very expensive looking crystal cake knife, the side of the tool primed to cut through the layers of buttercream, jam and cake.

You wince, screwing your eyes closed. Carlyle squeezes your hand in reassurance- firm enough to ground you but still considerate of his strength and gentle enough to not be uncomfortable.

You wait for the pop, or the wet sound of frosting splattering the pristine venue, or a horrified chorus of gasps from the assembled crowd.

But… 

Nothing happens.

Just the darkness of your closed eyes and the joyous sounds of the reception going on around you.

You open your eyes, and simply watch as things, going as planned-

Then out of nowhere, a sudden POP-

You nearly jump straight out of your skin. An embarrassingly high pitched yelp emanates from deep in your chest. Flight or fight begins to kick in- but you quickly find the culprit to be one of the attendants opening a bottle of champagne nearby.

You find yourself chuckling at your own overblown reaction, palm flat on your chest in an attempt to calm your racing heartbeat. The feeling of Carlyle’s fingers laced in yours help to calm you, more than you could manage on your own. Several nearby guests are looking at you or whispering to each other now, but you can’t bring yourself to care, turning your attention back towards the product of your labor.

Not to pat yourself on the back too much, but your work looks beautiful even after sitting in the reception hall for hours at this point. The cut is clean, like a slice prepared for a magazine shoot.

The rest of the custom goes off without a hitch. Bride and groom exchange bites of cake. It’s all very pretty and perfectly orchestrated, and you’re sure the pictures will look flawless. No one even smashes cake in the other’s face, as you’ve seen so many times before.

No mistakes. No accidents. No unforeseen tragedy.

No exploded cake.

“Nothing…” You say aloud in quiet disbelief, the words taking their time pushing past your teeth. “...Happened?”

“Nothing happened.” Carlyle confirms with a smile.

“Nothing happened!” You say once more, this time with giddy confidence.

You squeeze Carlyle’s hand in glee, the solid stone unyielding under your fingertips. 

Then, you give his hand a tug and nod your head towards the side doors.

>> ✨ MASTERLIST

[stubobnumbers]

Marihuana (1936)

Director: Dwain Esper Starring: Harley Wood, Hugh McArthur, and Pat Carlyle.

A young girl slowly becomes a dope pusher.

[weirdlookindog]

Honky Tonk Girl (Hitchhike to Hell, 1941)

[indoraptorgirlwind]

2023 DRAWINGS SUMMARY

Notes:

I may have missed some. Next year i'm certainly making a special tag for all my kinds of drawings. If you know about a drawing i did that isn't there, feel free to tell me!

Links marked with red indicate that these drawings got shared on friends' blogs (@antvnger and @birdswings)

☆ are digital drawings

♤ are hand-made drawings

JANUARY

COUNT OLAF. January 25 ♤

ART CLASS BREAD DRAWINGS. January 26 ♤

FEBRUARY

WHAT IF SCOTT WAS?. February 23 ♤

APRIL

BARRY THE BARYONYX. April 5 ☆

SCOTT DOESN'T WANNA BE SNEK. April 9 ☆

MAY

ARK GENESIS 1. May 4 ☆

EATING CAR TIRES. May 7 ☆

NO CLIMBING TREES. May 10 ☆

TAPPY THE TAPEJARA. May 11 ☆

KIT'S VIBES. May 11 ☆

CAN I HAVE A RIDE?. May 11 ☆

CAN I JUMP?. May 16 ☆

GOLDEN GATE CLIMBER. May 17 ☆

MURPHY THE DIMORPHODON. May 18 ☆

SPIDER-LYSTRO. May 19 ☆

SLEEPING KIT. May 21 ☆

TANGLED KIT. May 23 ☆

KIT AND THE ASTONISHING GIANT-MAN. May 25 ☆

CHEAP GLIDER. May 28 ☆

TIGHT ROPE. May 29 ☆

SCOTT AND BABY CASSIE. May 30 ♤

PARASAUROLOPHUS. May 30 ☆

ROOF CLIMBER. May 30 ☆

CLIMBING THE JUNK YARD. May 31 ☆

JUNE

SNOOPY SCOTT AND WOODSTOCK KIT. June 1 ☆

KIT QUICK SKETCH. June 2 ♤

ABELISAURID. June 2 ☆

GASTORNIS. June 6 ☆

CORVE THE CONCAVENATOR. June 6 ♤

DIABLO THE CARNOTAURUS. June 7 ☆

CRONOS THE GIGA. June 8 ☆

KIT'S PETS. June 8 ☆

PLAYING DEAD. June 9 ☆

GROUP HUG. June 9 ☆

POKE THE KIT. June 10 ☆

KIT DISCARDED DESIGN. June 11 ♤/☆

KAPRO TIME!. June 11 ♤

SILLY KIT. June 12 ☆

CHOMP SETS FIRE. June 19 ☆

KIT AND RUBEN VS SCOTT. June 20 ☆

YEET OR BE YEETED. June 21 ☆

RUBIT AND SCOTT. June 25 ☆

A SMOOTHIE. June 26 ☆

LYSTROSAURUS GOD. June 30 ☆

JULY

SCOTT LANG SKETCH. July 3 ♤

NO NESTS ON SCOTT. July 7 ☆

AUGUST

KIT'S GUIDE. August 9 ☆

PEACE WAS NEVER AN OPTION. August 13 ☆

SCOTT LANG HUGGING MOSASAURUS. August 16 ☆

SCOTT LANG PATTING T-REX. August 17 ☆

OH WATERMELON. August 18 ☆

SMOL QUETZAL. August 20 ☆

GHILLIE!KIT. August 21 ☆

ZOMBIE SCOTT LANG. August 22 ☆

SEPTEMBER

RUBIT BARBIE MUGSHOT. September 4 ☆

CARNOTARUS CROSSOVER. September 18 ♤

HUG PLEASE. September 20 ☆

OCTOBER

ARK GIGANOTOSAURUS. October 2 ♤

ANT-MAN PORTRAIT. October 6 ♤

KUKULKAN. October 9 ♤

VELOCIRAPTOR. October 9 ♤

QUETZAL WOMAN. October 9 ♤

CELEST QUETZAL. October 18 ♤

DINO!SCOTT LANG. October 18 ♤

CHIBI QUETZAL. October 23 ♤

ALEBRIJE. October 24 ♤

DODOREX. October 30 ♤

SCOTT'S ZOMBIE DODOS. October 31 ♤

VAMPIRE PHILLIP CARLYLE. October 31 ♤

WEREWOLF SPIDEY. October 31 ♤

ANNE AND BAT!PHILLIP. October 31 ♤

NOVEMBER

THE LITTLE ANT. November 6 ☆

KIT CORTES ICON. November 7 ♤

SCOTTY'S TRAVELS. November 8 ☆

STARMORA. November 9 ☆

THE IRON ANT. November 9 ☆

SCOTTY IN WONDERLAND. November 14 ☆

QUETZAL SKETCH. November 15 ♤

TONY STARK. November 19. ♤

WESEN AVENGERS PART 1. November 20 ♤

WESEN AVENGERS PART 2. November 21 ♤

LANGDYNE QUOTE. November 22 ☆

KIT JUMPING FROM SCOTT. November 23 ☆

BIRDSWINGS AND CHICKENRANNOSAURUS. November 27 ☆

DECEMBER

ELF KIT. December 1 ☆

WESEN AVENGERS PART 3. December 2 ♤

SPINNETOD!MIGUEL O'HARA. December 20 ☆

OOKIN STARTER. December 28 ☆

[cleverhottubmiracle]

At its first-ever fashion show on Tuesday, cashmere line Lingua Franca didn’t send a single sweater hand-embroidered with a cheeky phrase — its best-known item — down the runway. Instead, its collection was inspired by the brand signatures of the show’s setting, New York’s Bowery Hotel.Model Pat Cleveland danced down the runway in a teddy-inspired shearling coat and hat, a nod to the teddy bears the hotel leaves on each bed, while former J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons wore a red jacket and top hat mimicking the hotel logo. Plenty of models sported sweaters knitted with the hotel’s logo. It’s just the latest brand to not only align itself with a hotel to drive buzz but take a more creative approach in doing so. Fashion brand Frame was one of the first of this most recent series of fashion-hotel match-ups, inking a still-ongoing partnership with the Ritz Paris in 2021. Since then, sportswear brand Sporty & Rich, swimwear label Minnow, pyjama brand Petite Plume and more have rolled out their own collections with top-tier hotels, including The Carlyle on New York’s Upper East Side; Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France; and The Colony in Palm Beach, Florida. Fashion brands are so obsessed with hotel-inspired merchandise, they’re even making it for fictional properties: Fans of HBO’s hit series “The White Lotus” can buy a branded sweatshirt printed with a “The White Lotus Resort & Spa” logo at Bloomingdale’s, or a kaftan and swimsuit in a bold tropical print (in the style of those worn by Jennifer Coolidge’s character in the series) from resortwear label Camilla.Stylish takes on branded merch are a major element of these collabs — think sweatshirts and T-shirts emblazoned with an iconic property’s logo — but so are items inspired by a hotel’s aesthetic or visual cues. The idea is to give travel-obsessed consumers something they’ll want to wear long after they check out — or even if they never check in in the first place. “Branded and destination merch is nothing new,” said Mandi Meng, area director of marketing and communications for Auberge Resorts Collection, which teamed up with Markarian designer Alexandra O’Neill to oversee the holiday decor of its Mayflower Inn property in Washington, Connecticut, and Max Mara to deck the halls of its Hotel Jerome property in Aspen. “I have 500 tote bags from everywhere I’ve been. Do I actually use those? Probably not. But being able to take that concept and create things that people actually want to wear and use is really special.” The hotels brands gravitate to usually have a storied reputation and a built-in fanbase beyond their guest list, whether it’s someone who wishes The White Lotus were a real hotel chain or dreams about staying at The Carlyle but can’t yet afford the $1,000-plus nightly rate. Plus, they can provide brands with a new space to share their collections that feels naturally aligned with their offering.Minnow, for instance, partnered with Auberge Resorts Collection on an après-ski collection including base layers, knits and swimwear. The collab launched at Auberge’s Madeline property in Telluride, Colorado, with a series of activations like an ice-skating rink and s’mores by the hotel’s Alpine Swim Club. The hope, said Minnow founder Morgan Smith, is to give their customer an experience “outside of products.” “You need to be in your customer’s life with many touchpoints so you’re top of mind,” said Frame’s founder, Erik Torstensson. “Otherwise, the competition is tough.”Weaving a Shared IdentityThe best hotel partnerships create a unique product or format that merges the two distinct brand worlds.Sporty & Rich, for instance, created sweats, caps and even pyjamas for historic French luxury hotels like Le Bristol in Paris and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, as well as The Carlyle. Through partnering with the 10-year-old brand, which was founded by influencer Emily Oberg, these more old-school hotels can better appeal to younger consumers, while the brand can target its own aspirational shoppers.“Those partnerships put Le Bristol somewhere it’s not expected,” said Thomas Matteï, head of marketing, brand and e-commerce for Le Bristol. “We are 100 years old. We know our roots, so we can go a little bit further in collaborations. We are not afraid to shake the old lady a little bit.”Brands are also getting creative in how they bring a hotel to life through products. For its fourth collection with the Ritz Paris, released in December, Frame took a similar approach through a collection of wearable pieces meant to fit in at the hotel’s famed Hemingway Bar. While some were more overtly branded — think a sweater featuring the Ritz Paris logo — there were also more subtle approaches, like a pair of jeans embellished with minimalist “Ritz” hardware and embroidery. Fragrance label D.S. & Durga even formulated a custom scent for The Carlyle that is also infused in the hotel’s shower products, as well as carried in the brand’s stores nationwide.“These are absolute luxury experiences. They deserve more thought than just putting a logo on some chocolates,” said Torstensson.The Right to Play in New SpacesThese partnerships also give the fashion brands in question the ability to extend their presence into new markets. For example, by partnering with the Ritz Paris, which is well-known internationally, Frame was confident in opening a pop-up in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, giving the brand greater exposure in a burgeoning market.For Petite Plume, which has made custom pyjamas for elevated yet family-friendly properties like Eden Rock in St Barths, The Colony and San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado, they’re an opportunity to catch customers when they are in a “lounging mindset,” said the brand’s CMO, Fanny Quehe.“We’re getting to the right demographic in the right context …How many times have you slept in a really amazing hotel and said, ‘Oh my God, these sheets are amazing. I wish I could get them at home. What brand are they?’” said Quehe. For some brands, partnerships don’t include hotel-branded merch at all, but are rather a way to build alternative opportunities to engage their audiences. The Carlyle, for example, teamed up with luxury e-tailer Mytheresa to bring a pop-up version of its famed Bemelmans Bar to Aspen later this month. On site, a selection of luxury après-ski pieces curated by Mytheresa will be available for purchase. “When you’re seated at the table and you’ve got your martini, there’s this little button on the table that says ‘press for fashion,’ and along comes this bar cart … It is the most fabulous edit of luxury style,” said Jacqui Cox, head of marketing and communications for The Carlyle. It’s all a way to keep customers engaged by showing up in more and more of their favourite places. Auberge’s Meng said these sort of partnerships are “the future of marketing.” “It becomes a really cohesive story, and also it feels like an organic experience, as opposed to just something that’s sponsored or paid,” she said. Source link

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott, born on October 19th 1954 in Edinburgh.

One of my favourite actors, as hard-drinking Detective hero of Ian Rankin's popular book he was Inspector John Rebus to me. Ken's Father was Scottish and a teacher, his mum a Sicilian, he went to the famous George Herriots school before going onto to Mountview Theatre School, where the distinguished actor Sir John Mills was president. Fellow Scot Douglas Henshall was also a student of the school. Before leaving Edinburgh Stott had been in a band called Keyhole some of the members of the group would later join the Bay City Rollers.

Ken went on to work with the Royal Shakespeare Company but the pay was poor and he subsidised his earnings by selling double glazing. His first TV role was in Secret Army for the BBC, parts in TV shows throughout his career have included, Taggart (of course) The Singing Detective, London's Burning, Your Cheatin' Heart and Silent Witness. He was insome good films too, The Debt Collector (with Billy Connolly) , Shallow Grave, (with Ewen MacGregor) and Plunkett & Macleane (with Robert Carlyle).

My favourite shows of Ken's have been the brilliant BBC Scotland series, Takin' Over the Asylum in which starred as Double Glazing salesman, but aspiring disc jockey

with David Tennant and Angus Macfadyen,The ITV series The Vice was also a cracking series where he played DI Pat Chappel and The BBC show Messiah, where again he played a cop, DCI Red Metcalfe where he learned sign language for scenes with his screen wife,and Rebus of course, when the show was resurrected in 2006, Stott was a first choice for many as D.I John Rebus, John Hannah had the role in the first incarnation, mainly due to it being made by his own production company.

On film Ken is probably best known for his role as the Dwarf, Balin in The Hobbit trilogy. He is a popular choice for voice work, as narrator for series such as Trawlermen, a documentary following North Sea trawlers, and Send in the Dogs, following the work of Police Officers and their canine partners.

One of my favourite stories about Ken Stott echoes the no nonsense approach of Rebus, on stage during Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge, he halted the play when a group of teenage schoolkids were misbehaving and disturbing the show, switching from his stage American to his native Scots accent he told the teacher responsible for the children to remove them, or the play would not go on.

The house lights were switched on and there was then a 15-minute stand-off as discussions took place with the offending youngsters.

The audience took the side of Stott and even resorted to chanting 'out, out, out' in extraordinary scenes. Eventually the three culprits and an embarrassed teacher was forced to creep away before the play resumed at the Duke of York's Theatre.

Recently Ken was in the TV series Devils playing professor Wade in the show. Look out for The Dig, a decent Netflix film about an archaeologist dig in England in 1938 also starring Ralph Fiennes.

Ken reprised his role as Chief Superintendent Bob Toal in the second series of Irvine Welsh's Edinburgh set cop show Crime.

Nominated for many awards, he was lifted two Scottish Baftas and a Laurence Olivier Award.

[norajworld]

At its first-ever fashion show on Tuesday, cashmere line Lingua Franca didn’t send a single sweater hand-embroidered with a cheeky phrase — its best-known item — down the runway. Instead, its collection was inspired by the brand signatures of the show’s setting, New York’s Bowery Hotel.Model Pat Cleveland danced down the runway in a teddy-inspired shearling coat and hat, a nod to the teddy bears the hotel leaves on each bed, while former J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons wore a red jacket and top hat mimicking the hotel logo. Plenty of models sported sweaters knitted with the hotel’s logo. It’s just the latest brand to not only align itself with a hotel to drive buzz but take a more creative approach in doing so. Fashion brand Frame was one of the first of this most recent series of fashion-hotel match-ups, inking a still-ongoing partnership with the Ritz Paris in 2021. Since then, sportswear brand Sporty & Rich, swimwear label Minnow, pyjama brand Petite Plume and more have rolled out their own collections with top-tier hotels, including The Carlyle on New York’s Upper East Side; Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France; and The Colony in Palm Beach, Florida. Fashion brands are so obsessed with hotel-inspired merchandise, they’re even making it for fictional properties: Fans of HBO’s hit series “The White Lotus” can buy a branded sweatshirt printed with a “The White Lotus Resort & Spa” logo at Bloomingdale’s, or a kaftan and swimsuit in a bold tropical print (in the style of those worn by Jennifer Coolidge’s character in the series) from resortwear label Camilla.Stylish takes on branded merch are a major element of these collabs — think sweatshirts and T-shirts emblazoned with an iconic property’s logo — but so are items inspired by a hotel’s aesthetic or visual cues. The idea is to give travel-obsessed consumers something they’ll want to wear long after they check out — or even if they never check in in the first place. “Branded and destination merch is nothing new,” said Mandi Meng, area director of marketing and communications for Auberge Resorts Collection, which teamed up with Markarian designer Alexandra O’Neill to oversee the holiday decor of its Mayflower Inn property in Washington, Connecticut, and Max Mara to deck the halls of its Hotel Jerome property in Aspen. “I have 500 tote bags from everywhere I’ve been. Do I actually use those? Probably not. But being able to take that concept and create things that people actually want to wear and use is really special.” The hotels brands gravitate to usually have a storied reputation and a built-in fanbase beyond their guest list, whether it’s someone who wishes The White Lotus were a real hotel chain or dreams about staying at The Carlyle but can’t yet afford the $1,000-plus nightly rate. Plus, they can provide brands with a new space to share their collections that feels naturally aligned with their offering.Minnow, for instance, partnered with Auberge Resorts Collection on an après-ski collection including base layers, knits and swimwear. The collab launched at Auberge’s Madeline property in Telluride, Colorado, with a series of activations like an ice-skating rink and s’mores by the hotel’s Alpine Swim Club. The hope, said Minnow founder Morgan Smith, is to give their customer an experience “outside of products.” “You need to be in your customer’s life with many touchpoints so you’re top of mind,” said Frame’s founder, Erik Torstensson. “Otherwise, the competition is tough.”Weaving a Shared IdentityThe best hotel partnerships create a unique product or format that merges the two distinct brand worlds.Sporty & Rich, for instance, created sweats, caps and even pyjamas for historic French luxury hotels like Le Bristol in Paris and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, as well as The Carlyle. Through partnering with the 10-year-old brand, which was founded by influencer Emily Oberg, these more old-school hotels can better appeal to younger consumers, while the brand can target its own aspirational shoppers.“Those partnerships put Le Bristol somewhere it’s not expected,” said Thomas Matteï, head of marketing, brand and e-commerce for Le Bristol. “We are 100 years old. We know our roots, so we can go a little bit further in collaborations. We are not afraid to shake the old lady a little bit.”Brands are also getting creative in how they bring a hotel to life through products. For its fourth collection with the Ritz Paris, released in December, Frame took a similar approach through a collection of wearable pieces meant to fit in at the hotel’s famed Hemingway Bar. While some were more overtly branded — think a sweater featuring the Ritz Paris logo — there were also more subtle approaches, like a pair of jeans embellished with minimalist “Ritz” hardware and embroidery. Fragrance label D.S. & Durga even formulated a custom scent for The Carlyle that is also infused in the hotel’s shower products, as well as carried in the brand’s stores nationwide.“These are absolute luxury experiences. They deserve more thought than just putting a logo on some chocolates,” said Torstensson.The Right to Play in New SpacesThese partnerships also give the fashion brands in question the ability to extend their presence into new markets. For example, by partnering with the Ritz Paris, which is well-known internationally, Frame was confident in opening a pop-up in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, giving the brand greater exposure in a burgeoning market.For Petite Plume, which has made custom pyjamas for elevated yet family-friendly properties like Eden Rock in St Barths, The Colony and San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado, they’re an opportunity to catch customers when they are in a “lounging mindset,” said the brand’s CMO, Fanny Quehe.“We’re getting to the right demographic in the right context …How many times have you slept in a really amazing hotel and said, ‘Oh my God, these sheets are amazing. I wish I could get them at home. What brand are they?’” said Quehe. For some brands, partnerships don’t include hotel-branded merch at all, but are rather a way to build alternative opportunities to engage their audiences. The Carlyle, for example, teamed up with luxury e-tailer Mytheresa to bring a pop-up version of its famed Bemelmans Bar to Aspen later this month. On site, a selection of luxury après-ski pieces curated by Mytheresa will be available for purchase. “When you’re seated at the table and you’ve got your martini, there’s this little button on the table that says ‘press for fashion,’ and along comes this bar cart … It is the most fabulous edit of luxury style,” said Jacqui Cox, head of marketing and communications for The Carlyle. It’s all a way to keep customers engaged by showing up in more and more of their favourite places. Auberge’s Meng said these sort of partnerships are “the future of marketing.” “It becomes a really cohesive story, and also it feels like an organic experience, as opposed to just something that’s sponsored or paid,” she said. Source link

[ellajme0]

At its first-ever fashion show on Tuesday, cashmere line Lingua Franca didn’t send a single sweater hand-embroidered with a cheeky phrase — its best-known item — down the runway. Instead, its collection was inspired by the brand signatures of the show’s setting, New York’s Bowery Hotel.Model Pat Cleveland danced down the runway in a teddy-inspired shearling coat and hat, a nod to the teddy bears the hotel leaves on each bed, while former J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons wore a red jacket and top hat mimicking the hotel logo. Plenty of models sported sweaters knitted with the hotel’s logo. It’s just the latest brand to not only align itself with a hotel to drive buzz but take a more creative approach in doing so. Fashion brand Frame was one of the first of this most recent series of fashion-hotel match-ups, inking a still-ongoing partnership with the Ritz Paris in 2021. Since then, sportswear brand Sporty & Rich, swimwear label Minnow, pyjama brand Petite Plume and more have rolled out their own collections with top-tier hotels, including The Carlyle on New York’s Upper East Side; Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France; and The Colony in Palm Beach, Florida. Fashion brands are so obsessed with hotel-inspired merchandise, they’re even making it for fictional properties: Fans of HBO’s hit series “The White Lotus” can buy a branded sweatshirt printed with a “The White Lotus Resort & Spa” logo at Bloomingdale’s, or a kaftan and swimsuit in a bold tropical print (in the style of those worn by Jennifer Coolidge’s character in the series) from resortwear label Camilla.Stylish takes on branded merch are a major element of these collabs — think sweatshirts and T-shirts emblazoned with an iconic property’s logo — but so are items inspired by a hotel’s aesthetic or visual cues. The idea is to give travel-obsessed consumers something they’ll want to wear long after they check out — or even if they never check in in the first place. “Branded and destination merch is nothing new,” said Mandi Meng, area director of marketing and communications for Auberge Resorts Collection, which teamed up with Markarian designer Alexandra O’Neill to oversee the holiday decor of its Mayflower Inn property in Washington, Connecticut, and Max Mara to deck the halls of its Hotel Jerome property in Aspen. “I have 500 tote bags from everywhere I’ve been. Do I actually use those? Probably not. But being able to take that concept and create things that people actually want to wear and use is really special.” The hotels brands gravitate to usually have a storied reputation and a built-in fanbase beyond their guest list, whether it’s someone who wishes The White Lotus were a real hotel chain or dreams about staying at The Carlyle but can’t yet afford the $1,000-plus nightly rate. Plus, they can provide brands with a new space to share their collections that feels naturally aligned with their offering.Minnow, for instance, partnered with Auberge Resorts Collection on an après-ski collection including base layers, knits and swimwear. The collab launched at Auberge’s Madeline property in Telluride, Colorado, with a series of activations like an ice-skating rink and s’mores by the hotel’s Alpine Swim Club. The hope, said Minnow founder Morgan Smith, is to give their customer an experience “outside of products.” “You need to be in your customer’s life with many touchpoints so you’re top of mind,” said Frame’s founder, Erik Torstensson. “Otherwise, the competition is tough.”Weaving a Shared IdentityThe best hotel partnerships create a unique product or format that merges the two distinct brand worlds.Sporty & Rich, for instance, created sweats, caps and even pyjamas for historic French luxury hotels like Le Bristol in Paris and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, as well as The Carlyle. Through partnering with the 10-year-old brand, which was founded by influencer Emily Oberg, these more old-school hotels can better appeal to younger consumers, while the brand can target its own aspirational shoppers.“Those partnerships put Le Bristol somewhere it’s not expected,” said Thomas Matteï, head of marketing, brand and e-commerce for Le Bristol. “We are 100 years old. We know our roots, so we can go a little bit further in collaborations. We are not afraid to shake the old lady a little bit.”Brands are also getting creative in how they bring a hotel to life through products. For its fourth collection with the Ritz Paris, released in December, Frame took a similar approach through a collection of wearable pieces meant to fit in at the hotel’s famed Hemingway Bar. While some were more overtly branded — think a sweater featuring the Ritz Paris logo — there were also more subtle approaches, like a pair of jeans embellished with minimalist “Ritz” hardware and embroidery. Fragrance label D.S. & Durga even formulated a custom scent for The Carlyle that is also infused in the hotel’s shower products, as well as carried in the brand’s stores nationwide.“These are absolute luxury experiences. They deserve more thought than just putting a logo on some chocolates,” said Torstensson.The Right to Play in New SpacesThese partnerships also give the fashion brands in question the ability to extend their presence into new markets. For example, by partnering with the Ritz Paris, which is well-known internationally, Frame was confident in opening a pop-up in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, giving the brand greater exposure in a burgeoning market.For Petite Plume, which has made custom pyjamas for elevated yet family-friendly properties like Eden Rock in St Barths, The Colony and San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado, they’re an opportunity to catch customers when they are in a “lounging mindset,” said the brand’s CMO, Fanny Quehe.“We’re getting to the right demographic in the right context …How many times have you slept in a really amazing hotel and said, ‘Oh my God, these sheets are amazing. I wish I could get them at home. What brand are they?’” said Quehe. For some brands, partnerships don’t include hotel-branded merch at all, but are rather a way to build alternative opportunities to engage their audiences. The Carlyle, for example, teamed up with luxury e-tailer Mytheresa to bring a pop-up version of its famed Bemelmans Bar to Aspen later this month. On site, a selection of luxury après-ski pieces curated by Mytheresa will be available for purchase. “When you’re seated at the table and you’ve got your martini, there’s this little button on the table that says ‘press for fashion,’ and along comes this bar cart … It is the most fabulous edit of luxury style,” said Jacqui Cox, head of marketing and communications for The Carlyle. It’s all a way to keep customers engaged by showing up in more and more of their favourite places. Auberge’s Meng said these sort of partnerships are “the future of marketing.” “It becomes a really cohesive story, and also it feels like an organic experience, as opposed to just something that’s sponsored or paid,” she said. Source link