#the lost stradivarius

[zoyavnikolai]

“He sounded lost. His blue eyes fell on Tessa’s first editions, on Jem’s Stradivarius violin, as though they were signposts and he was trying to find his way in a terribly strange land”

cassandra i demand a public apology for calling jem poor like this is just his violin we need to get serious fr

[dangermousie]

The reveal that Ziyu and SJ (and poison bro and Elder Yue) were all working together was epic! And I love that it was Ziyu who took the first step and apologized first but SJ had no issue apologizing either.

When the hottest Gongs united, it was all over for Wufeng (btw, is Gong dick smeared in honey? Literally every Wufeng spy who came within two feet of it except Ziyi lost all her loyalties - Elder Yue, Ziyu, SJ and even Ziyu's Dad must have been something else?! They must be packing something epic, as I told @m-oonsigh they got to possess the Stradivarius of dicks.)

Anyway, moving on, this scene made me grin like a loon because yessss, my three faves being adorable and actually sibling-like, heeeee.

Yes!!! Poison boy gave Ziyu that magic flower that is almost impossible to grow, to save Ziyu from poison!

SCREAMING!!!!

I love themmmmm look at the looks on their facesssssss

[wolfish-nightmares]

Game of Survival

Pairings: The Group x fem!reader

Era: Season 1-11

Warnings: TWD gore and violence. Bad language. 18+

Category: Fluff. Angst.

Word Count:

Summary: With no other choice, you must learn to play this new game of survival. 

Prologue

Season 1: 

1x1 - Days Gone Bye 1x3 - Tell It to the Frogs 1x4 - Vatos 1x5 - Wildfire 1x6 - TS-19

Season 2:

2x1 - What Lies Ahead 2x2 - Bloodletting  2x3 - Save the Last One 2x4 - Cherokee Rose 2x5 - Chupacabra  2x6 - Secrets 2x7 - Pretty Much 2x8 - Nebraska 2x9 - Triggerfinger  2x10 - 18 Miles Out 2x11 - Judge, Jury, Executioner  2x12 - Better Angels 2x13 - Beside the Dying Fire 

Season 3: 

3x1 - Seed 3x2 - Sick 3x3 - Walk With Me 3x4 - Killer Within 3x5 - Say the Word  3x6 - Hounded  3x7 - When the Dead Come Knocking 3x8 - Made to Suffer  3x9 - The Suicide King 3x10 - Home 3x11 - I Ain’t Judas 3x12 - Clear 3x13 - Arrow on the Doorpost 3x14 - Prey 3x15 - This Sorrowful Life 3x16 - Welcome to the Tombs

Season: 4

4x1 - 30 Days Without an Accident 4x2 - Infected 4x3 - Isolation 4x4 - Indifference  4x5 - Internment 4x6 - Live Bait 4x7 - Dead Weight 4x8 - Too Far Gone 4x9 - After 4x10 - Inmates 4x11 - Claimed 4x12 - Still 4x13 - Alone 4x14 - The Grove 4x15 - Us 4x16 - A

Season 5: 

5x1 - No Sanctuary  5x2 - Strangers 5x3 - Four Walls and a Roof 5x4 - Slabtown 5x6 - Self Help 5x7 - Consumed 5x8 - Coda 5x9 - What Happened and What’s Going On 5x10 - Them 5x11 - The Distance  5x12 - Remember  5x13 - Forget 5x14 - Spend 5x15 - Try 5x16 - Conquer 

Season 6: 

6x1 - First Time Again  6x2 - JSS 6x3 - Thank You 6x4 - Here’s Not Here 6x5 - Now 6x6 - Always Accountable  6x7 - Heads Up 6x8 - Start to FInish 6x9 - No Way Out 6x10 - The Next World 6x11 - Knots Untie 6x12 - Not Tomorrow Yet 6x13- The Same Boat 6x14 - Twice As Far 6x15 - East  6x16 - Last Day on Earth 

Season 7: 

7x1 - The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be 7x2 - The Well 7x3 - The Cell 7x4 - Service 7x5 - Go Getter  7x6 - Swear 7x7 - Sing Me a Song 7x8 - Hearts Still Beating 7x9 - Rock in the Road 7x10 - New Best Friends 7x11 - Hostiles and Calamities  7x12 - Say Yes 7x13 - Bury Me Here 7x14 - The Other Side  7x15 - Something They Need 7x16 - The First Day of the Rest of Your Life 

Season 8: 

8x1 - Mercy 8x2 - The Damned  8x3 - Monsters 8x4 - Some Guy  8x5 - The Big Scary U 8x6 - The King, the Widow, and Rick 8x7 - Time for After  8x8 - How It’s Gotta Be 8x9 - Honor 8x10 - The Lost and the Plunderers  8x11 - Dead or Alive Or 8x12 - The Key 8x13 - Do Not Send Us Astray  8x14 - Still Gotta Mean Something 8x15 - Worth  8x16 - Wrath

Season 9: 

9x1 - A New Beginning 9x2 - The Bridge 9x3 - Warning Signs 9x4 - The Obliged 9x5 - What Comes After 9x6 - Who Are You Now? 9x7 - Stradivarius 9x8 - Evolution 9x9 - Adaptation 9x10 - Omega 9x11 - Bounty 9x12 - Guardians 9x13 - Chokepoint 9x14 - Scars 9x15 - The Calm Before 9x16 - The Storm

Season 10: 

10x0 - Holiday Special 10x1 - Lines We Cross 10x2 - We Are the End of the World 10x3 - Ghost 10x4 - Silence the Whisperers 10x5 - What It Always Is 10x6 - Bonds 10x7 - Open Your Eyes 10x8 - The World Before 10x9 - Squeeze 10x10 - Stalker 10x11 - Morning Star 10x12 - Walk with Us 10x13 - What We Become 10x14 - Look at the Flowers 10x15 - The Tower 10x16 - A Certain Doom 10x17 - Home Sweet Home 10x18 - Find Me 10x19 - One More 10x20 - Splinter 10x21 - Diverged 10x22 - Here's Negan

Season 11: 

11x1 - Acheron: Part 1 11x2 - Acheron: Part 2 11x3 - Hunted 11x4 - Rendition 11x5 - Out of the Ashes 11x6 - On the Inside 11x7 - Promises Broken 11x8 - For Blood 11x9 - No Other Way 11x10 - New Haunts 11x11 - Rogue Element 11x12 - The Lucky Ones 11x13 - Warlords 11x14 - The Rotten Core 11x15 - Trust 11x16 - Acts of God 11x17 - Lockdown 11x18 - A New Deal 11x19 - Variant 11x20 - What's Been Lost 11x21 - Outpost 22

[scarlet-heels]

This time last month, Andy would never have thought that she’d be here in Miranda’s house in the Hampton's. She certainly would never have expected to be sleeping in the same bed as the beautiful editor during a long weekend trip with the three Priestly ladies. Yet, here she is, here they are, and the new but completely intoxicating relationship they have formed warms Andy thoroughly.

Late in the afternoon and in search of her lover, Andy stumbles into the music room to find the twins practicing; Cassidy on the cello, Caroline the viola. Andy leans against the doorframe and crosses her arms across her chest, a smile playing on her lips as she watches Miranda being tutor and conductor while offering gentle encouragement.

Andy, knowing the twins also play piano, is amazed that two youngsters can play multiple instruments. The twins notice her in the doorway and excitedly tell her to come in to explore their music room.

Spying a beautiful Stradivarius violin in a blue velvet lined case, Andy exclaims, “what? You guys play violin too?!”

The twins chuckle. “No, of course not! That’s Mom’s violin!” Cassidy tells her.

Andy turns astonished to Miranda, who wears a cool yet slightly amused expression. “You play the violin?” she asks in amazement.

(I mean, *of course* Miranda plays the violin! Why the hell wouldn’t she excel at absolutely everything?!)

Miranda dips her head in the affirmative, not wholly reluctantly, a spark of excitement flowing through her at the prospect of showing off yet another talent she has to her Andrea.

“Yeah!” Caroline exclaims. “She’s amazing! You should hear her play!”

(A beat)

“Oh!!!!” Cassidy adds excitedly. “You should totally hear her play!!!”

Miranda, starting to look unsure tries to shush the girls as Andy’s smile widens. “I would love to hear you play!”

The twins practically vibrate with excitement. “Mom!! Please??? We’ll play together! We’ll even play your favourite!!!”

“Fine.” She says with a faux eye roll and a sigh. She takes her place in front of the girls who sit patiently with their instruments at the ready.

“Cassidy to start.”

At Caroline’s nod of approval Miranda says “very well. And 1…2… “

Andy watches mesmerised as Cassidy begins the piece, her eyes watching the rise and fall of her mothers hand keeping the beat. As the music plays, Cassidy takes the lead, playing expertly, her sister providing an accompanying percussion. Andy watches as Miranda lifts the violin gracefully (so gracefully!!) and strings out a gentle background melody.

As the music progresses, the violin solo kicks in and Andy is utterly spellbound as Miranda plays beautifully, herself captivated and fully emerged in the graceful movements of the bow and the sound it emits. Miranda is lost in her own little world, her girls now playing a backdrop of percussion for her, Andy wide-eyed and certain this one of the most beautiful things she has ever seen.

Cassidy and Caroline glance at each other and grin conspiratorially; they know their mother is exquisite, and they know Andrea is smitten.

Later, when the girls are in bed and Andrea and Miranda are finally alone, Andrea takes a tentative step towards Miranda. “You really do play beautifully, Miranda.”

A genuine smile, and an uncharacteristic bashful dip of the head prompts Andy to take Miranda’s face gently in her hands and plant a soft kiss to her lips.

Inspired by this piece

[my-mt-heart]

Long ask sorry.

Im a bit lost honestly. I watched the caryl scenes of 11.21 and im conflicted. I refuse to watch the "donnie" scenes especially since if u look at comments on youtube lots of people are like "oh my God Donnie is happening she made him giggle i wasnt dreaming and he's so worried for her"

And then u have this reviewver saying carol's openly in love with daryl now wich uh, maybe, but, actually, no? This is still too subtle for my sanity

Yes, the fact that she mentions HIM to Maggie while in tears ("i was apart from him when we arrived" not exact quote here...) and not Zeke her supposed ex husband is telling, but from his side, nothing is really telling. And when she talked to him about Connie, i can tell u that in a way it made me worried because GA seems to believe it confirms his feelings for Connie, and the way he acts doesnt help, but at the same time it reminds me of when they were looking for Beth.

He was worried and she was there for him. And he definitely wasnt in love with Beth but he cared for her deeply. The thing is that Connie is not a teen, she's a 40 something (at least the actress is) strong bad ass woman and worrying that this time might be different than with his feelings for Beth doesnt seem ridiculous. But i see the way Carol looks at him (and honestly she has been looking at him that way, i mean not subtle at all, since stradivarius for me, Zeke never really stood a chance in the long run, Henry dead or not) and i know u believe they cant go the "she loves him he doesnt" way, but for the scenes i've seen , he's still too cold with her for me. And she's like a lost puppy who dont know how to make things go back to how they were between them and who's suffering so much with the situation and i cant anymore. I hate it

And Im lost. She definitely believes she doesnt deserve him especially after the cave incident and im sick of it. Lets say he doesnt love her back, at least stop being cold to her.

An another part of me, maybe the desillusional one, is still thinking that the fact that she really seems in love with him now cant be for nothing, with 3 episodes left, and that if he's still so much at odds with her its not for nothing either. Connie is alive, the cave incident is long forgotten and forgiven by everyone else in team family, including Connie and Kelly, the fact that he's still cold is very telling: it was never about just Connie but about trust being broken ("dont bullshit me"). We know that. But she keeps pushing him towards Connie and she takes his hand and looks at him like he's the moon and the stars and he's still kind of strange towards her. Im so lost, honestly. Im not even sure we will have answers before the end, they could still let everything open to keep both shippers for the daryl spin off. But what i want is for him to warm up to her like before. And its patethic that we have, i mean i have, to beg for it. We re talking about Caryl here. His f...ing feud with Rick was awful, but all was forgotten with a simple "i'd die for you". Cant we have something like that at least for the last season with 3 ep left between Caryl? Especially since there is no caryl spin off in sight anymore? Is that too much to ask? For Caryl, really? Its been horrible between them since 10.03 give or take some nice moments... for me anyways. And its been way too long. Im so lost. Im sorry.

Don’t be sorry. Pretty sure the intention is to make us feel anxious right now, which I know is super frustrating when there’s not a lot of runway left. Even though we’ve all had enough of the subtlety, don’t be so quick to dismiss the *many* visual cues because they still matter a lot (like SF mentioned). The physical distance we often see between them suggests there’s an emotional distance too, yes, but you have to imagine it’s something that’s going to be bridged and how do you convey that visually? With a callback to the terminus reunion maybe? That’s what I’m hoping for anyway.

As far as Daryl’s “coldness” goes, POV is also something to take note of. We’re seeing things through Carol’s eyes, which is why the Daryl and Connie beats feel played up. She thinks she broke her friendship with Daryl because she let Connie get hurt and she doesn’t want that to happen again. She doesn’t want to take away Daryl’s happiness. But like you said, the issue goes much deeper than Connie. In season 10, when we saw things through Daryl’s eyes, he was heartbroken because Carol was essentially running away from him. He asked her to follow his light and take his hand, but in a metaphorical way, she didn’t (couldn't). Now we’re seeing her reciprocate hence the light/dark imagery in 20 and the hand holding in 21. I’m glad you brought up Beth. That’s a great parallel too. They want to save somebody they couldn't save before and they're working as a team to do it.

I hope this helps a little bit. Obviously I don't know for sure what's going to happen, but I think there's reason to hope. TWD loves ship baiting, but placating Donnie fans isn’t going to do much for AMC in the end. They’re a significantly smaller sector of the fanbase than Carylers, who they’ve been profiting off of for years  and still can if they give us something that’ll make us happy. 

[kamreadsandrecs]

Title: The Violin Conspiracy Author: Brendan Slocumb Genre/s: mystery Content/Trigger Warning/s: explicit racism, emotionally abusive parents and family, police violence, false arrest Summary (from author's website): Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music.

When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him. Buy Here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-violin-conspiracy-brendan-slocumb/18709063 Spoiler-Free Review: So I picked this up because it promised to be a mystery about a Stradivarius being stolen from a Black musician, and while that's DEFINITELY what this book is about, the mystery of the theft is more like a frame for the story of Ray's growth as a musician; the origins of the Strad; and the many, MANY complications and dangers of being a Black classical musician. So really it's more like a bildungsroman than a mystery overall, but I think that billing it as a mystery makes it more marketable? Regardless, as a bildungsroman and as a mystery, it's a fantastic read. I enjoy classical music and it hasn't escaped my attention that it's an overwhelmingly white world, so I can only imagine the kinds of hurdles musicians and composers of color, especially Black musicians and composers, face in that world - this on top of the myriad other injustices that come with being a Black person in the US. Slocumb writes about those instances with a sharpness and clarity that comes from personal experience - something which he admits to in the Author's Note at the end of the novel. Another thing I appreciated was the family aspect of Ray's life: how Black children don't always get the kind of support they might need or want to pursue less "profitable" career paths. In a way, one can't blame the family for this because of the systemic poverty that haunts many Black families and communities, and makes it so that they have to struggle to survive. The psychological damage this causes is then passed on to their children, in a cycle that can be difficult to break. On the other hand, though, Ray's bitterness at the way he's treated by certain members of his family is entirely familiar. This is especially true in the way his family only begins to think he's "doing something" with his life once he hits the "big time" as a musician. It's something many people who've pursued careers in creative fields will recognize, and will relate very hard to.

I know I said earlier that the mystery acts more like a frame for the bildungsroman that forms the actual heart of this novel, but I think they play very well with each other, because the bildungsroman provides you with a list of potential suspects: all the people in Ray's life who could possibly want to get their hands on the Strad, along with their potential motivations for doing so, and their potential methods. Whenever someone new comes into Ray's life, you look at them with some suspicion, even if they seem nice, because they could potentially be responsible for stealing Ray's violin. And I'll admit: I didn't guess who the real culprit was until Ray himself figured it out. It's always fun to try and guess ahead, but I also appreciate it when I don't figure it out until the precise moment the protagonist does. Of course, that only happens when the rest of the novel is also fun to read, which was definitely the case here. So overall, an enjoyable read with a great look at what happens behind the curtains, so to speak, in the classical music world. It's also a great look at the kind of prejudice Black classical musicians face in that same world, which they must deal with on top of the prejudice they already face in less rarefied circles. I do wish, though, that there had been a list of all the musical pieces mentioned in the novel at the end of the book. Slocumb provides a link to a Spotify playlist on his website, but I wish there'd been a list at the end regardless. Rating: five violins

[supernovagifs]

The Walking Dead Masterlist

Below are/will be episodes of The Walking Dead

Season 1

1x1 - Days Gone Bye

1x2 - Guts

1x3 - Tell It To The Frogs

1x4 - Vatos

1x5 - Wildfire

1x6 - TS-19

Season 2

2x1 - What Lies Ahead

2x2 - Bloodletting

2x3 - Save the Last One

2x4 - Cherokee Rose

2x5 - Chupacabra

2x6 - Secrets

2x7 - Pretty Much Dead Already

2x8 - Nebraska

2x9 - Triggerfinger

2x10 - 18 Miles Out

2x11 - Judge, Jury, Executioner

2x12 - Better Angels

2x13 - Beside the Dying Fire

Season 3

3x1 - Seed

3x2 - Slick

3x3 - Walk With Me

3x4 - Killer Within

3x5 - Say the Word

3x6 - Hounded

3x7 - When the Dead Come Knocking

3x8 - Made to Suffer

3x9 - The Suicide King

3x10 - Home

3x11 - I Ain't Judas

3x12 - Clear

3x13 - Arrow on the Doorpost

3x14 - Prey

3x15 - This Sorrowful Life

3x16 - Welcome to the Tombs

Season 4

4x1 - 30 Days Without an Accident

4x2 - Infected

4x3 - Isolation

4x4 - Indifference

4x5 - Internment

4x6 - Live Bait

4x7 - Dead Weight

4x8 - Too Far Gone

4x9 - After

4x10 - Inmates

4x11 - Claimed

4x12 - Still

4x13 - Alone

4x14 - The Grove

4x15 - Us

4x16 - A

Season 5

5x1 - No Sanctuary

5x2 - Strangers

5x3 - Four Walls and a Roof

5x4 - Slabtown

5x5 - Self Help

5x6 - Consumed

5x7 - Crossed

5x8 - Coda

5x9 - What Happened and What's Going On

5x10 - Them

5x11 - The Distance

5x12 - Remember

5x13 - Forget

5x14 - Spend

5x15 - Try

5x16 - Conquer

Season 6

6x1 - First Time Again

6x2 - JSS

6x3 - Thank You

6x4 - Here's Not Here

6x5 - Now

6x6 - Always Accountable

6x7 - Heads Up

6x8 - Start to Finish

6x9 - No Way Out

6x10 - The Next World

6x11 - Knots Untie

6x12 - Not Tomorrow Yet

6x13 - The Same Boat

6x14 - Twice

6x15 - East

6x16 - Last Day on Earth

Season 7

7x1 - The Day Will Come When You Won't Be

7x2 - The Well

7x3 - The Cell

7x4 - Service

7x5 - Go Getters

7x6 - Swear

7x7 - Sing Me a Song

7x8 - Hearts Still Beating

7x9 - Rock in the Road

7x10 - New Best Friends

7x11 - Hostiles and Calamities

7x12 - Say Yes

7x13 - Bury Me Here

7x14 - The Other Side

7x15 - Something They Need

7x16 - The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Season 8

8x1 - Mercy

8x2 - The Damned

8x3 - Monsters

8x4 - Some Guy

8x5 - The Big Scary U

8x6 - The King, the Widow and Rick

8x7 - Time for After

8x8 - How It's Gotta Be

8x9 - Honor

8x10 - The Lost and the Plunderers

8x11 - Dead or Alive Or

8x12 - The Key

8x13 - Do Not Send Us Astray

8x14 - Still Gotta Mean Something

8x15 - Worth

8x16 - Wrath

Season 9

9x1 - A New Beginning

9x2 - The Bridge

9x3 - Warning Signs

9x4 - The Obliged

9x5 - What Comes After

9x6 - Who Are You Now?

9x7 - Stradivarius

9x8 - Evolution

9x9 - Adaption

9x10 - Omega

9x11 - Bounty

9x12 - Guardians

9x13 - Chokepoint

9x14 - Scars

9x15 - The Calm Before

9x16 - The Storm

Season 10

10x1 - Lines We Cross

10x2 - We Are the End of the World

10x3 - Ghosts

10x4 - Silence the Whisperers

10x5 - What It Always Is

10x6 - Bonds

10x7 - Open Your Eyes

10x8 - The World Before

10x9 - Squeeze

10x10 - Stalker

10x11 - Morning Star

10x12 - Walk with Us

10x13 - What We Become

10x14 - Look at the Flowers

10x15 - The Tower

10x16 - A Certain Doom

10x17 - Home Sweet Home

10x18 - Find Me

10x19 - One More

10x20 - Splinter

10x21 - Diverged

10x22 - Here's Negan

Season 11

11x1 - Archeron (Part 1)

11x2 - Archeron (Part 2)

11x3 - Hunted

11x4 - Rendition

11x5 - Out of the Ashes

11x6 - On the Inside

11x7 - Promises Broken

11x8 - For Blood

11x9 - No Other Way

11x10 - New Haunts

11x11 - Rogue Element

11x12 - The Lucky Ones

11x13 - Warlords

11x14 - The Rotten Core

11x15 - Trust

11x16 - Acts of God

11x17 - Lockdown

11x18 - A New Deal

11x19 - Variant

11x20 - What's Been Lost

11x21 - Outpost 22

11x22 - Faith

11x23 - Family

11x24 - Rest in Peace

[thornfield13713]

Okay, having completely failed to rescue a guy from vampire cultists, Maris is now pledged to find a lost Stradivarius.

She's not...great at saying no to people. Or to people responding to 'can I help' with something over than polite social 'oh no, never mind' sort of comments. But- okay. Get Stradivarius for sad old lady all on her own. From a Vault which- so far as Maris is concerned, it might still have people in it! People who have probably passed down that Stradivarius for generations! And if it's that valuable, she's rather sceptical that they'd ever want to let her have it back. Particularly to give it to some wastelander, given the attitudes towards the outside world Maris grew up with in Vault 101. And that's even assuming she could get them to open the door in the first place!

It feels...well, kind of doomed. And slightly insane. But she's really, really bad at saying bad to people. Particularly to nice old ladies who are offering her a bed for the night free of charge for the first time since she left the Vault. Old ladies in general are hard to refuse for her, honestly, through a combination of being raised to respect her elders and having generally found that older people were more likely to be kind to her than most adults and most kids her own age.

[silverdune]

an aria in perfect fifths | k.hj, c.jh

"well, that would be great, but newsflash: i.. didn't.. sing!"

minors dni. ageless blogs dni. blank blogs dni. you'll be blocked. genre: supernatural character(s): kim hongjoong, choi jongho tags: violin demon hunter!hongjoong, demon!jongho, violins, jongho can show up in mirrors, explicit language, banter, mild rivalry energy, hj and jh have some history, very very loosely based around phantom of the opera (more vibes than anything) word count: 1.3k summary: choi jongho, a notorious demon of the opera house, can be summoned to any mirror, but only if you sing three notes perfectly in a very specific order. one day he is summoned.. only to find the man responsible didn't even open his mouth. a/n: this work is entirely inspired by and workshopped with the amazing anne (@bikerjongho)! please go and read her work, she is incredible. particularly for this one shot, i would advise you read her one shot stradivarius in flames, as that is where violin demon hunter!hongjoong originated! with her permission i have combined my idea with her world to create this. to anne: i really hope you like it!🫶

Hongjoong knows how to play the violin.

Over the years of setting the instruments to the fire to burn the demons within, he has learned to become quite the virtuoso. Now, he may not be perfect, but he is certainly no slouch at playing.

When the mood strikes him, he waits until the demon is lying perfectly dormant to lift up the violin along with its bow and play a line or two. Hongjoong knows he has little time to spare, but he uses that time to place the violin between his jaw and shoulder, and drag the bow across the finely tuned strings.

With being so lost in the melody, he does not even realise something happening to the cracked mirror behind him.

Clouds rumble behind the glass, and in its fragile state, almost shatters completely.

When the figure materialises, his lips tilt up in a smirk briefly, before he realises just who has summoned him. "..Oh, God.."

The voice almost makes Hongjoong drop the instrument on the ground.

Pivoting on the spot, he comes face to face with what exactly happened to the mirror.. and the person inside it.

His jaw drops, a mix of disbelief and annoyance. "What the hell do you want, Jongho?”

Jongho merely stares at him, deadpan. "It is a pleasure to see you again too, Hongjoong.”

Rolling his eyes, Hongjoong groans, "I thought you needed to be summoned! Why are you bothering me?”

"Bothering you?" Jongho repeats, remarkably calm with his hands crossed in front of him. "I do need to be summoned, that is exactly why I am here, or have you forgotten?" he asks, lifting a brow like a disappointed father.

"No I haven't forgotten, how could I forget? That's your entire shtick," Hongjoong retorts.

"Well.." Jongho gestures vaguely around him. "Then you would know the only way I could possibly be here is if I had been summoned, and.. you are the only one here." Jongho smiles; it seems bizarrely genuine, though anyone who knows Jongho would know he could hide a thousand laughs of ridicule behind his saccharine grins. "Might I say, I did not expect your vocals to improve so dramatically, you truly did pay attention in all of my lessons!"

Hongjoong purses his lips, not at all amused by this. "Well, that would be great, but newsflash: I.. didn't.. sing!"

He punctuates each word with a wave of the bow in his right hand. Jongho draws back in shock.

"You.. did not?”

"No! I did not!" Hongjoong asserts.

Jongho's attention then gets brought back and forth between the violin, the bow and Hongjoong. The violin, the bow, Hongjoong, the violin, the bow..

Jongho stops. He covers his eyes with one hand and sighs. "It was the violin. You playing the violin summoned me.”

Hongjoong stills, then slowly glances down at the instrument in his hands. It clicks, and he scoffs.

"Oh, fuck- You're right, it was the violin!"

Jongho drops his hand and looks away in exasperation.

He does not get paid enough for this.

Hongjoong twirls the bow around his fingers. “Ha! Funny that.. But, hold on.” He pauses, then quickly throws the bow in the air to catch again before pointing it at Jongho. “I barely played a chord on this thing. How did you get summoned so fast?”

Jongho shrugs, still baffled by the fact it was a violin that did the trick over anyone singing to start pondering the specifics. “Don't ask me, you’re the one who plucked it.”

“But that's all I did!” Hongjoong says, exasperated.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jongho sighs, “Look, you played a couple notes, it managed to match the notes that would need to be sung in order to summon me, I’m here now..” He drops his hand and stares at the demon hunter. “What do you want?”

Hongjoong’s eyes shift around the room before they land on Jongho, blank as ever. “You- You think I did this to legitimately conjure your presence? I didn't even know this was possible, your appearance is a bigger surprise than my appearance on stage getting the Stradivarius last month.”

“Ah.. Ah, yes I did hear whisperings about that..” Jongho recalls in a tone of voice Hongjoong just knows is leading to a punchline. “You made quite a name for yourself in the local fucking newspaper!”

“Well, if they didn't know it was me, did I really make a name for myself?” Hongjoong quips, putting the violin and bow aside.

“Stradi-Vulture..”

“Yeah, see? No name for myself, I live perfectly in secret,” says Hongjoong, taking a seat on an old, dusty chair in the corner. He clasps his hands over his abdomen then kicks his feet up on a crate in front of him, crossing one ankle over the other.

Jongho draws his lips to a thin line and exhales through his nose. He pointedly decides to change the subject. “Have you remembered anything from my lessons?”

Hongjoong's eyes dart over. The tonal shift from somewhat light-hearted banter to sincerity nearly knocks him off the chair. “I didn't not remember anything..”

“Wonderful answer,” Jongho tuts.

Planting his feet on the floor, Hongjoong rests his arms on his thighs. “Let me put it this way: I haven't applied your teachings in the way you might think but they have helped a tremendous amount.”

Jongho’s brows pricked up at that. “Oh?”

Hongjoong smirks a little proudly. “..I know my arias from my cadenzas.”

Jongho scoffs a laugh. “You’re a funny one, Hongjoong.”

“You laugh! But, it has helped me figure out what the demons are singing when I’m seeking them out. Does more than you might imagine.” He nestles back in the chair then flicks a stray bit of lint off his jacket.

Jongho processes the information and it slowly clicks into place. “..Because you know what form they take, you know what kind of demon you are dealing with.”

Hongjoong shrugs a shoulder, “You taught me that.”

Jongho shifts in place inside the mirror. He starts to feel the growing embers of his limited time in this space closing in on him, a sign that he should not spend much longer in there, lest he grow weak. “You surprise me, Hongjoong. Though, to be fair, it was not as though you took much interest in the singing portion of my lessons.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. “You can thank Astaroth for that one..”

“You made a mockery of each other. Besides, are you telling me you always took an interest anyway?”

“Why do you think I showed up?” Hongjoong fired back, looking Jongho directly in the eyes.

Jongho was taken aback by this sudden admittance. Hongjoong had always been the one to turn up late. He sat in the back and played with the piano keys. No mention of any genuine interest in the singing, apart from the odd time Hongjoong would throw a note through the air just to appease the old choirmaster.

His eyes narrowed. “Why did you show up?”

Hongjoong feels a lead weight in his chest.

Gently, he lifts the violin and places it on his hands, as though he were presenting an award, and stands up.

“Had to save you from one certain fate, didn't I?”

Hongjoong can't look him in the eyes.

Jongho swallows the lump in his throat. The embers grow stronger.

“I- I must go.”

“I bid you farewell, sir.” Hongjoong smiles faintly. A smile that does not reach his eyes. His eyes are still trained on the violin. “Tell Astaroth we can talk it out soon.”

The warmth of fire starts to burn Jongho’s skin as his eyes well up with tears. Without another word, he disappears from the mirror, shrouding the backroom in darkness once more.

Hongjoong hums passively. He decides not to risk another note.

At least he now knows he could get an aria in perfect fifths.

× tristeetconfus. (ave) ×

[shop-korea]

Watch Talking In Your Sleep on YouTube Music

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

WOULD - LIKE - 2 - SHARE

THIS - STORY - BECAUSE I

LOVED - MGM - DONALD O'

CONNER - BRILLIANT - YES

COMEDIAN - ACTOR DANCER

SO - WENT - WITH - MY MAID

2 - THE - SAHARA - DESERTS

PERFECT - 4 - PHILIPPINES

VOLCANIC - MOISTURE NO

FLOWERS - 4 - CENTURIES

185 DEGREES - LIKE - TEXAS

HITTING - PAINFULLY - HEADS

LIKE - SHOWERS - FACE - WET

BACK - ARMS - LEGS - WHEN I

SAW - KAI - WEARING - PANTS

FACE - COVERED - BECAUSE HE

DIDN'T - WANT - ANY - DISEASE

FR - PHILIPPINE - ISLANDS - YES

THOUGH - 90% - OUR CHEMISTRY

ALL - I - FELT - ENDED - 4 - HIM - 2

THEN - HE - WAS - WITH - JENNY

BLK - PINK - THEY - EARNED EA

OTHER - AS I - AM - 90% - WITH

ANOTHER - ROOSTER - PARKY

BO GUM - ASSOCIATED - WITH

JOEL AND VICTORIA OSTEEN

BUT - PARKY - THEY - ARE YES

LACKING - LOTS - OF - BIBLE

VERSES - DR JERRY SAVELLE

IS - MORE - POWERFUL DEAR

PARKY - SO - KAI - AND AESPA

GISELLE - 'COME - WINTER'

REVISING - HIS - JAPANESE

'WHEN - SPRING - COMES'

ACTUALLY - FORGOT

SAW - HIS - DANCING - AT

ELLEN DEGENERES - FELT

LIKE - HIS - DAD - AND HOW

HIS - DANCING - MAKES HIM

WEEP - WHY - HE WAS BORN

EXO - 'GROWL' - WHO - KAI IS

SO - DECIDED - 2 - MAKE THIS

FILM - 4 - WITH - MY - NEW

FACE - MARRYING - A - YES

CHINESE - MALE - ACTOR

WITH - EXTREME - LONG

HAIR - HE - CAN - SING DANCE

A - ROCKER - LOTS - OF DUETS

AS - WE - PERFORM IN BEIJING

BRINGING - BACK - THE - BEST

OF - ANCIENT - CHINA

I - WANT - 2 - MEET - KAI EXO

AND - BAEKHYUN - WITH ME

ALREADY - MARRIED

INTRODUCING - 2 - KOREA

THE - CHINESE - RED PASSPORT

OF - LOVE - HOW - 2 - PEOPLE

LOOK - LIKE - WITH - COLOR

PHOTO - DO - THEY - LOOK

GOOD - KAI - AND - GISELLE

LIKE - ME - 90% - LOVE BIRDS

HE - JUST - HURT - ME - HOW

HE - ARRIVED - IN - MY - YES

COUNTRY - OF - BIRTH

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

HERE's - MY - STORY - LAST

CENTURY - ARABS - OF FUEL

THEY - WEAR - BEDSHEETS 2

LOOKS - LIKE - WHAT - THEY

ARE - IS - 100% - COTTON

4 - THEIR - SAND STORMS

ARE - DEADLY - NO - ONE

SURVIVES - WHEN THE

SAND - HITS - PEOPLE ONLY

SURVIVORS - ARE - THE YES

SKELETONS - OF - CAMELS

SO - I - BROUGHT - LIKE YES

PRINCESS - TAMINA - OF -

'PRINCE - OF - PERSIA: tHE

SANDS - OF - TIME' - WE YES

ME - AND - MY - PHILIPPINE

MAID - BROUGHT - A - TENT

100% - COTTON - 4 OUR YES

CAMEL - AND - 2 - OF - US - 2

WELL - GUESS - WHAT - ONE

OF - THE - WORST - SAND -

STORMS - ARRIVED - SO ME

MY - MAID - OUR - FOOD AND

DRINK - AND - CAMEL - WENT

UNDER - OUR - 100% COTTON

TENT - AND - IT - WAS - BAD 2

BROUGHT - MY - STRADIVARIUS

LADY ROSE - HARP - AND - SML

GUITAR - AS - WE - SAND - YES

RICO J PUNO - SONGS - AS WE

ATE - DRANK - ALSO BROUGHT

CAMEL - FOOD - GUESS WHAT

2 MALE - PINOYS - KIDS ALSO

THEY - KNEW - NOTHING - YES

ABOUT - SANDSTORMS - THAT

NO - HUMANS - SURVIVE THAT

THEY - JUST - KNEW - THEY

GOT - LOST - THEY - SANG &

HOPED - THEY - CAN - FIND

A - PHILIPPINE - GROUP YES

SOMEWHERE - AS - THEY AS

KIDS - CONTINUED - AND THEY

HEARD - OUR - DUET - OF - YES

RICO J PUNO - SONGS - AND

THEY - RAN - 2 - OUR - TENT

COULDN'T - B A - MIRAGE - 2

SAID - 'TULOY - PO' - 'CAN WE

COME - IN' - OF COURSE - YES

AS - THE - 4 - OF - US - ALL HAI

SANG - RICO J PUNO - THEN

THEY - WEREN'T - ALONE - 2

THEIR - GRANDMA - CRYING

WONDERING - WHERE THEY

ARE - PLEASE - GOD - HELP

ME - THEN - SHE - HEARD

THE - 2 - BOYS - AND - ME

AND - MY - MAID - SINGING

SANG - RICO J - AND - RAN

2 - FIND - US - AS - SHE YES

WEPT - AS - SHE - SAID -

'TULOY - PO' - MY BOYS -

CRYING - HUGGED THEM

THANKS - HO - AS - WE ALL

JOINED - IN - JOYOUS - YES

CHORUS - RICO J PUNO

SO - I - GAVE - MY - MAID's

WORLD - FAMOUS - PORK

ADOBO - AND - CHINESE YES

FRIED - RICE - AND - DRINKS

WELL - FED - AND - OUR YES

PORTABLE - TOILETS - AS WE

SANG - THROUGH - THE NIGHT

AND - FELL - ASLEEP - WHEN

WE - WOKE - UP - WAS CLEAR

OUR - CAMEL - BROUGHT - US

ALL BACK - WE TRANSFERRED

ALL - 2 - RITZ - CARLTON - ME

PAID - INCLUDING - TRANSFER

OF - PLANE - HAD - GREAT YES

TIME - COMING - BACK - LOTS

OF - TEARS - HEARTFELT - FOR

MANY - DIED - EVEN - SEPT - 11

BOMBINGS - NEVER - TRULY

PRODUCED - LOTS - OF TEARS

SAHARA DESERTS

LIKE - A - SMALL COUNTRY

WHEN - MANY - DIED - LOTS

OF - TEARS - EVERYWHERE

AS - WE - STAYED - AT - OUR

SUITE - ALL - OF - US - TRUE

BOUGHT - AT - GROCERY AND

MADE - OUR - FOODS - AS WE

ATE - INDOORS - OURS - HAD

A - FOUNTAIN - INSIDE - SO WE

ARE - NOT - AFFECTED - BY THE

TEARS - EVERYWHERE - AS WE

ENJOYED - THE - MOON - AS - I

PLAYED - THE - PIANO - THEY

STILL - DIDN'T - KNOW - THAT

NO - HUMAN - SURVIVED THEIR

SANDSTORMS - BUT - 2 - PINOY

KIDS - AND - GRANDMA - DIDN'T

KNOW - THAT - AS - THEY SANG

AND - WISHED - 4 - ANY PINAYS

AND - GOT - THEIR - WISH

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

HARD - 2 - FIND - THAT - IN

KOREA - WHO - U - CAN YES

CALL - HOME - SO - WE ARE

INVITING - U 2 - OUR - WORLD

HOW - U - KNOW - WHAT HOME

IS - SO - THIS - IS - MY - STORY 2

WANTED - 2 - SHARE - THAT

THOUGH - MIAMI - POLICE

CALLED - ME - MENTALLY ILL

BECAUSE - I'M - HOMELESS

WHERE - THEY - WERE BORN

GARBAGE - WHERE - I - WAS

BORN - THE - MAGIC - OF THE

MOONLIGHT - THE - FREE DAY

CARE - SHOWED - 2 - BLK SML

BOYS - ONE - LOOKED - AT ME

LIKE - I - SHOULD - APOLOGISE

4 - LIVING - AS - WE - WILL YES

'NEVER - MARRY - BLK'

'NEVER - MARRY - SPANISH'

JESUS - IS - LORD - AS - THOSE

WEIRDOS - START - YOUNG - AS

SATANIC - FOUL - IRON - COOK

WARE - HOW - WE - DON'T LOOK

LIKE - WHAT - U - NEED - 2 - YES

GRILL - CHICKEN - STEAK

BLK - AND - UGLY

JESUS - IS - WHITE

GOD - IS - WHITE

JESUS - IS - LORD

SHARED - MY - STORY

[starsandsteelandbrokenglass]

June 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Well, summer is officially upon us. Happy belated pride month and happy disability pride month! Strength and joy to everyone in those groups. I did a lot of reading in June...mostly because I’m avoiding other, more necessary things. (Namely, my dissertation proposal, which is emphatically NOT cooperating.) 18 books and about 6,300 pages this month! Here they are:

Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris- 3.5/5 stars

The City of Dusk (The Dark Gods #1) by Tara Sim- 4/5 stars

Nine Liars (Truly Devious #5) by Maureen Johnson- 3.5/5 stars

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

This Poison Heart (This Poison Heart #1) by Kalynn Bayron- 4.5/5 stars

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland- 3.5/5 stars

All Our Hidden Gifts (The Gifts #1) by Caroline O’Donoghue- 3.75/5 stars

Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys #1) by Seanan McGuire- 3.75/5 stars

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #1) by Holly Jackson- 3/5 stars

Winterkeep (Graceling Realm #4) by Kristin Cashore- 3/5 stars

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier #1) by T. Kingfisher- 5/5 stars

Greek and Roman Necromancy by Daniel Ogden

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1) by Seanan McGuire- 4/5 stars

Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2) by Seanan McGuire- 4/5

Beneath a Sugar Sky (Wayward Children #3) by Seanan McGuire- 4/5 stars

My Heart Is a Chainsaw (The Indian Lake Trilogy #1) by Stephen Graham Jones- 4/5 stars

Tales of the Troubled Dead: Ghost Stories in Cultural History by Catherine Belsey

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Choksi- 4.5/5 stars

My favorite book this month was What Moves the Dead, but I actually read a lot of great stuff, so it was hard to pick!

Currently Reading: Classic Ghost Stories (I know. I promise I am reading it sometimes. I’m in the middle of “The Lost Stradivarius”.) and The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan.

[childrenfuturemind]

All products and recordings are chosen independently by our editorial team. This review contains affiliate links and we may receive a commission for purchases.

Who is Joshua Bell?

American violinist Joshua Bell has been an enduring presence on the concert stage and in the recording studio. But just exactly who is he, and why is he one of the world’s great players? Here’s a brief guide to the man and his music-making.

How old is Joshua Bell?

At the time of writing Joshua Bell is 53 years old. He was born in December 1967 in the town of Bloomington, Indiana.

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How long has Joshua Bell been playing the violin?

Bell was just four years old when he first picked up a violin. Ten years later he made his concert debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Riccardo Muti. That means Bell will soon celebrate four decades on the concert stage.

* 20 greatest violinists of all time

* Violinists who turned their hand to conducting

* What are the best pieces of violin music?

* Five famous people who played the violin...and one who didn't

Does Joshua Bell play a Stradivarius violin?


Yes he does! It’s a ‘Gibson, Huberman’ Stradivarius, made in 1713 by the great violin maker. Bell has been playing it since 2001 and before him it was played by Norbert Brainin (of the Amadeus Quartet) and the Israeli violinist Bronislaw Huberman. Poor Huberman lost the instrument twice, firstly (and briefly) in 1916 in Vienna, and a second time in 1936. The second time, it was stolen from his Carnegie Hall dressing room and didn’t resurface for 50 years! Suffice to say it was a bit grubby and in need of attention

medici.tv

331K subscribers

Joshua Bell performs Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto Op. 35

<div class="player-unavailable"><h1 class="message">An error occurred.</h1><div class="submessage"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C-ukopBX6g" target="_blank">Try watching this video on www.youtube.com</a>, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.</div></div>

* Which performers currently own Stradivarius violins and how much are they worth?

* Four of the most famous violins ever made – and who owns them now

Does Joshua Bell conduct?

Yes he does. He’s a multi-talented chap is Joshua Bell. Aside from playing the violin rather brilliantly, he is also the music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, one of London’s top ensembles. He took on the role in 2011 from Neville Mariner, who had founded the ensemble. Bell recorded with them earlier in his career.

Has Joshua Bell played on any film scores?


He has, and a few times. He performed on John Corigliano’s 1998 Oscar-winning score for The Red Violin (indeed, he reunited with the film in 2018 for live performances). In 2002 he worked with the late composer James Horner on the score for Iris, shortly followed by a very memorable turn in Nigel Hess’s 2004 score for Ladies in Lavender. Then in 2008 Bell worked with James Newton Howard on his score for Defiance, swiftly followed by Angels & Demons with Hans Zimmer in 2009.

Didn’t Joshua Bell once pretend to be a busker or something?

Right again! Bell went undercover on the Washington DC Metro, performing dazzling solos to passers by. It was a fascinating experiment in public perceptions of classical music, performance, and how context really matters. The experiment formed the basis of a Pulitzer Prize-winning article in the Washington Post.

What are some of Joshua Bell’s best recordings?

Bell has a huge catalogue of recordings. And it’s no wonder, since he signed his first recording contract – with Decca – aged 18. Here are some highlights

[the-firebird69]

This violin is an original Stradivarius it's one of the first and our son's plan took it from the Wilson family which was formally the stratavares family and said it was a knockoff to hold on to it and they need violins as well and their name is famous as well

Thor Freya

Oh gosh what can I say they're fighting and they're good at fighting but they lost because of it

Hera

Someone's asking if your Romeo and Juliet it says no of course not Dave and Carol were back then so he was funny answers

Thor Freya

By the way they were always fighting it was very nasty

Olympus

[tremendousdetectivetheorist]

wake the kiddos--AGAIN!!!  “Mystery & Imagination - The Lost Stradivarius (Audio Only)“ oh my goddd just the fact that the Audio Exists! I’m...!

From the yt description: Originally broadcast 29 January 1966. Adapted by Owen Holder Directed by Bill Bain Starring David Buck, Jeremy Brett, Patricia Garwood, Joyce Heron, Edward Brayshaw, Angela Morant, Faye Sharpe, Peter Ashmore, Jack Howlett, Franco Derosa.

[books0977]

The Lost Stradivarius. J Meade Falkner. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896. First U.S. edition. 

"A sophisticated supernatural novel, concerned with music, evil, and mysticism ... one of the 19th century classics."

[taiturner]

She's been on edge since we lost Bernie. He loved getting under Magna's skin. He, um, used to wear this absolutely horrid shirt. It was like looking into creation itself. In paisley. God, it was horrendous. But Magna hated it. She said just looking at it gave her a migraine. So Bernie wore it every day for a week. Honestly, I think she came around on the shirt. Just like she came around on him. Like family.

YUMIKO OKUMURA in every episode 9.07: Stradivarius