#( ✰ musings ⟶ ilsa )

[faereun]

molly mccully brown, places i've taken my body / carol rifka brunt, tell the wolves im home / vanni saltarelli / linnea paskow, splitter / @veniennes on tiktok/ john mayer, in the blood / unknown / sarah kay, hand me downs / faereun, amalgamation / unknown

[nvghtsignals]

✰ ilsa spector — five of cups

the basics

full name  :  ilsa spector faceclaim  :  jenny slate skeleton  :  oc - five of cups occupation  :  emergency room doctor gender  :  demi woman ( they / she ) sexuality  :  bisexual & biromantic birthday  :  june 2nd age  :  thirty-eight

the details

tattoos  :  several , all random aesthetics languages  :  english , portuguese  alcohol use  :  often   cigarettes  :  sometimes   drug use  :  frequently before , sometimes now though they try to steer clear favorite color  :  lilac

personality

natal chart  :  gemini sun , libra moon , virgo rising  moral alignment  :  chaotic neutral mbti  :  infj  likes  :  early mornings , traveling around the world , gardening , certain musicals , comedy movies , journaling , fresh plants and flowers , teas , paddleboarding , decorating , spring most likely to …  :  die first in a horror movie

biography + olive + angelwoods

tw : drugs , alcohol , death , parental issues , addiction

in college , ilsa was infamous on campus ; everyone knew if you wanted top tier liquor and the most potent of drugs , you just needed to befriend her .  if you were lucky and your timing was right , maybe you’d even get an invite to one of ilsa’s parents’ lavish galas .  olive was no exception .  ilsa tolerated olive .  all ilsa needed was someone to drink and drag into a haze with so they felt less pathetic when they woke up the next day .  olive didn’t judge ilsa , and ilsa drowned loneliness through her presence .  it was mutually beneficial .  so one night when the pair was half-drunk and flying high and ilsa received a call from her parents to attend a fundraising gala ‘right now’ , it only seemed natural to have olive tag along to soften the blow from their family when they’d be scolded for forgetting .  what ilsa hadn’t anticipated was her impossible-to-please , manipulative parents immediately adoring olive .  if ilsa was sober enough to care , they’d have envied the way olive seamlessly slipped from ill-fated , inebriated party girl , to captivating spokesperson conversing effortlessly with colorado’s elite .  ilsa’s parents swore they raised more money with olive around , so her attendance at the galas became a regular thing .  ilsa didn’t mind . ilsa was a disappointment , and olive was the sunbeam of a daughter her parents never had . ilsa was more than willing to provide olive the center of attention that once was hers , stepping aside to allow olive to charm her parents’ donors and absorb them in her orbit . there was just something about parading around a bright , lively showpony to distract everyone from the crossfaded drunk at her side that was so … easy .  all those years of ilsa being told they were worthless faded from view when they brought olive around ; after believing ilsa would never amount to anything , landing a friend as ambitious and radiant as olive proved her parents may have been wrong .   if only they knew when ilsa and olive weren’t dressed to the nines , they were in the bathrooms of dive bars doing ketamine , taking tequila shots off strangers , and screaming at each other in their dorms after comedowns . this is who you always wanted .  i’m not sorry i’m not her , but hopefully she’ll make up for who i can’t be .  ilsa’s relationship with her parents had never been better .  suddenly conversations about ilsa’s lack of a future or husband shifted to “how’s olive doing ?  who is olive dating now ?  can olive join us for dinner next weekend ?”  their dynamic became so consumed by this whole other entity that when olive died , they discovered that ilsa and her parents had nothing left to say to one another . 

the worst night of ilsa’s life occured in olive’s presence , but i’m going to leave that to secret and history for now :~)  that said , olive’s death only added to ilsa’s overwhelming guilt .  though olive’s murder was never solved , ilsa couldn’t help but blame herself in a way .  they’d dragged olive down with them into the underbelly of high society and exposed her to all sorts of sketchy characters who could have contributed to her demise .  

there was so much loss and unexpressed grief in ilsa’s heart from those short tragic weeks that later in life when ilsa got clean and went through extensive therapy and rehab , they committed themself to uplifting and saving others by becoming an emergency room doctor .  maybe if she had been able to help that stranger at the party with olive - maybe if she’d been able to help olive sooner - things would be different .  this subconscious atonement is what drives them , even today . 

ilsa doesn’t know if she’s at this reunion to prove something to others or to herself .  she’s changed , truly changed — right ?  mostly , they’re dreading seeing everyone again .  those who judged and hated them for being such a deadbeat and bad influence , she knows what they think of her .  those who who were her friends may tempt her to drag back down into bad habits they’ve worked so hard to get away from . 

growing up an only child , ilsa wanted nothing more than to get away from her constantly fighting , abusive parents .  since she became an adult her parents have both divorced and remarried , so ilsa doesn’t feel like anywhere in particular is home or family .  realizing they had nothing and no one to depend on but themself , ilsa’s third stint in rehab after college stuck and they rebuilt their life , world , and self .  they desperately cling to the life they’ve now created as a doctor that will surely surprise people at angelwoods , but the fear that it could slip away at any moment is always there . 

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

[etxrnaleclipse]

Ilsa Faust

Fandom: Mission Impossible

Occupation: MI6 Agent

[bursterasure]

"Definitely don't know her..."

[musemuseum]

//; I would absolutely die, and love the person if I could get some interactions for the following active muses:

Zuriel (Callum Turner) - fallen guardian angel

Indiana Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo) - Forensics Analyst

Alaska Jones (Hayley Law) - Music Teacher

Ares Knight (Henry Cavill) - Spy

Ilsa Romanov (Charlize Theron) - Spy

Anything for these muses would be much appreciated!!

[missyourflight]

some stuff i read and watched in june:

taskmaster (s1-5): haven't done an early seasons rewatch in so long, s4 and 5 are basically perfect 2 me. incredible that mark watson manages to be both my favourite type of taskmaster guy (hopelessly despairing) and also nearly won the thing lol. nish forever obviously

silo: got well into this! probably at some point apple will stop throwing millions at sci-fi shows but i'm going to enjoy their folly in the meantime

mission: impossible ii: hadn't seen this one! the weakest of the lot but the john woo of it all is undeniable

mission: impossible iii: PSH outrageously good as the villain, hi keri russell

mission: impossible - ghost protocol: so much fun, especially the sequences where you can see brad bird's animation brain going

mission: impossible - rogue nation: ILSA my beloved, the opera sequence is so gorgeous, no notes!

mission: impossible - fallout: it's good when henry cavill reloads his arms, it's better when tom cruise is sprinting around london rooftops and breaking his ankle etc, my most basic trait is that i Love when they're in london like oooh tate modern. anyway i'm very ready for dead reckoning

asteroid city: the bits about making art really got to me! the vending machines were cool!

joint security area: crash landing on you prepared me for this, blank check weren't lying when they said it was homoerotic, song kang-ho forever etc

dodie smith, the town in bloom: the most delightful narrative voice i've read in Ages and v funny. easy to sell me on 1920s theatrical shenanigans

k patrick, mrs s: So hot and butch, i liked the butch friendship stuff almost more than the sex stuff. more sexy lesbian novels Please

kj charles, the secret lives of country gentlemen: another winner from KJC, my most reliable romantic comfort reads. this time it's smugglers!

alice slater, death of a bookseller: sticky little thriller about being poisoned by true crime, great sense of place, So many pints of dark fruits

laura kay, wild things: bisexual disaster in love with her best friend, tragically very me- and also george russell-coded, god i want to swim in a pond again

SOME STUFF I SAW AT ROCK WERCHTER

the dj on the first nigt who played a mash up of i'm gonna be (500 miles) into temperature and then the 1d cover of one way or another into little lion man (deeply cursed fandom flashbacks etc)

weyes blood with candelabras and glowing hearts and amazing adam curtis projections on the big screen behind her

king princess sending the gay girls of belgium absolutely wild - "you wanna hear a sad lesbian song?"

matty healy is a dickhead but he's very good at being the frontman of the 1975. like if ben whishaw was straight and kind of disgusting

stormzy!!! literally the rain was pouring during blinded by your grace pt 2

mumford and sons - this whole festival was like being borne back ceaseless into the past but the cave still fucks me up, marcus really in his ken marino era, face-wise

PUP - i do believe if this tour doesn't kill you, i will to be a wholly perfect song, they had a trans flag on stage, best vibes of the festival

sigur ros - sometimes you just want to be in a massive barn with thousands of people with your faces turned up in the dark feeling like you're inside the sound somehow

muse - fucking incredible live band still!! every time i'm see them i'm floored by how hot chris the bassist is and then i forget about it and then i see them again and i'm poleaxed etc. they had a tech meltdown during knights of cydonia at the encore so we got showbiz instead!!

christine and the queens - beautiful and terrible as the dawn

jacob collier - asked if we wanted to get funky then put on a special hat, bit george russell-coded in the face

arctic monkeys - sometimes you just want to be in a field with one of your oldest friends singing the songs of your youth!! i love the 70s act actually! there are so many sexy songs on AM!! the skies finally cleared for the beautiful full moon, thank you belgium, good night

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/15/2022: A personal essay on THE BEYOND (1981)

There is a lot to say about THE BEYOND as a work of art, and it's been said by smarter people than me—including Tenebrous Kate, a writer and critic who handily kicked off the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival's Fulci retrospective with a compact, insightful introduction to the prolific director's genre-spanning career. Besides situating his work historically, and breaking down his key themes, Kate also reflected on what it was like to discover someone like Fulci in a pre-internet world where you really had to care and network and sleuth out movies like his, and you could often be surprised—traumatized, even!—by stumbling upon films you never saw coming. THE BEYOND was like that for me, and Kate's observations sent me spiraling into old lady reverie and musing about whether that kind of mentally revolutionary discovery can still happen in this day and age. So, this piece is more about that, than it is about THE BEYOND specifically.

Just to be clear, I was never some sort of tape-trading hero. I made most of my discoveries in mom & pop video stores, and then later in more esoteric rental places where there was an escalated risk of experiencing something that I was in no way prepared for. When I was 14 and had my first personal membership at our local shop, I picked up something that looked for all the world like an old F.W. Murnau movie. When I took it home and pressed play, I realized how wrong I was; it was DER TODESKING, an explicit essay on suicide by Jörg Buttgereit, the director most famous for the still-shocking NEKROMANTIC. About 20 minutes later, after a segment that suggests a hardcore version of ILSA: SHE-WOLF OF THE SS including graphic castration, I took the tape out, returned it, and spent the rest of the afternoon crying. Many years later I found a love for Buttgereit, who makes intelligent, satirical art that tends to target past and contemporary German culture—but at the time, I was REALLY not ready for it. I didn't even know anything like that existed. And actually, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world. It made watching movies an adventure, with a real sense of peril, and it encouraged me to take them very, very seriously.

When I was a little older but not necessarily wiser, I took a semester off college in Portland, Maine, where there was once the greatest video store I've ever been in to this day. I would beeline for that place every day or three and grab a handful of movies—typically, anything that I couldn't sort out just by looking at the box, or even anything that seemed potentially threatening. This is how I first encountered CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. It was the first movie of its kind that I had ever seen. I didn't even know that it was a whole category of thing, let alone the most challenging and feared version of the type. So, with absolutely zero context, I met with a movie around which probably the most people have drawn lines in the sand. It completely blew my brains out of my mind. I returned it the next day in a daze and sheepishly asked the clerk, "What……..is this?" The guy rolled his eyes and gently assured me, "It's just one of those Italian endurance tests." I still like to use this phrase, and I still like to maintain my initial, naive impression that what I had seen was, in fact, a snuff film. Not that I think it's cool to, like, kill people, or that I like the idea of filmmakers having their work literally put on trial like Ruggero Deodato's was. I just love that I had that folkloric kind of experience where I really didn't know what had happened to me. Years later, I came to really like CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST—which feels weird to say, it definitely doesn't strive to be liked! But I do think it has a certain kind of editorial intelligence that becomes clear if and when you can get passed the visceral shock of the images.

Anyway, in between DER TODESKING and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, I was enduringly shocked by THE BEYOND. It was the end of high school, and Quentin Tarantino's distro Rolling Thunder Pictures was circulating a print of the movie that turned up at our nearest theater with a midnight program. I had seen ERASERHEAD and PINK FLAMINGOS there, and as challenging as those can, they came with a certain reassuring reputation establishing their position in the art world, and those screenings were joyful experiences. Still, my friends and I didn't know a thing about Fulci. We had no idea what we were in for. The whole audience seemed to anticipate that we were in for a fun time, as it was the late '90s, and our collective ears had pricked up when we heard the name Tarantino. We thought THE BEYOND was probably going to be a charming thrill ride like EVIL DEAD 2 or something…and we quickly found out we were dead wrong.

As soon as the movie began and the warlock Schweick was being chain whipped to death in a swampy basement by a sweaty mob, a very, very bad vibe descended on the theater. It was grim, and grimy, and unforgiving, and it just got worse by the second. Fabio Frizzi's perverse, spidery score was also something the most of us had never heard anything like before, and we were experiencing the evil, perverted potency of italo disco in the best/worst possible context for the first time. As the movie unspooled, a thick pheromonal fog of fear and misery gathered in the air around us, and no one made a sound. We were trapped with this film, unable to escape it, compelled to see how much worse it could possibly get. Finally in the middle of the movie, as someone was being protractedly pulled apart like so much monkey bread by a swarm of tarantulas, my most sensitive friend simply couldn't take it anymore, and screamed out loud: "OH MY GOD THEY'RE RIPPING OUT HIS EYEBALL!" It was exactly the icebreaker the audience so badly needed. Everyone laughed, and that midpoint catharsis helped us survive the rest of the movie. But still, we all walked out marked by an experience we would not soon forget, whether we all liked it or not. (Of course, I really, really liked it)

I definitely don't mean to complain about the availability of movies and information that we enjoy in today's computerized environment. To me, nothing beats the pleasure of movies and the stories about how they came to be. But I wonder how often people still get to experience the thrill of seeing something that they are truly, completely unprepared for. If you have a story like this, past or present, please feel free to ad it to this post.

[aheartshapedgun]

charlie apologies we’re greedy people need more wip stuff from youuu

I forgive you. It’s very flattering that you like whatever shit I throw at you. I can offer you a bit of jealous!Ethan…

Ethan held the glass of scotch to his mouth, not taking a sip as he was too caught up watching Ilsa dance with the man they had observed for weeks until they had been absolutely certain he could lead them to the person they were after.

They swayed to the music, entangled in a soft embrace, their bodies finding a way to communicate with each other on the dance floor. It worked beautifully, Ethan noticed, much to his dismay.

They looked like the perfect couple—no missteps, an undeniable chemistry between them that sent sparks flying all across the room and right in his face. He rolled his eyes at that observation, swallowing the raw emotions burning in his stomach.

The guy opened his mouth, purring something sweet into Ilsa’s ear that made her giggle, and Ethan huffed out a breath in annoyance as the corners of his mouth slowly curled downwards, scornfully.

“What did he say? I didn’t get that over the earpiece.” There was silence on the other end. “Benji?” Ethan gulped down his drink while keeping his eyes fixed on the dancing couple. “Talk to me Benji.”

“It was nothing, Ethan. Just small talk.”

“Did you see her face? It was obviously something,” Ethan countered, with a sniff, and Benji felt a living discomfort emanating from him.

“Huh… interesting,” he mused.

“What?” Ethan placed the glass down on the counter with a light bang and wiped his mouth on his arm. “What did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything. I just think it’s funny how concerned you are with what’s going on between those two. I didn’t consider you the jealous type.”

“Jealous? I’m not jealous,” Ethan brushed off Benji’s words.

“Of course not,” Benji chuckled.

“No, I’m not jealous. This is about the mission.”

“Sure it is,” Benji said teasingly.

Ilsa laughed, and Ethan wondered if it was because of something the man had said or in response to his argument with Benji.

[etxrnaleclipse]

((With the new film coming out soon, like this post if you'd be interested in plotting with one of my Mission Impossible muses:

Benji Dunn || Age range: 31 - 46 Occupation: IMF Agent || CANON

Ilsa Faust || Age range: 28 - 38 Occupation: MI6 Agent || CANON

Alanna Mitsopolis || Age range: 26 - 31 Occupation: Arms Dealer/CIA Informant || CANON

Nyah Nordoff-Hall || Age range: 26 - 44 Occupation: IMF Agent/Former Thief || CANON

William Brandt || Age range: 38 - 45 Occupation: IMF Agent || CANON

Liz Burgess || Age range: 65 - 70 Occupation: Criminal Leader || OC

[bursterasure]

"Gran?"

[arjaandsimoni]

Aquamarine

Since The Smiling Knight things had been tense around the house. A blend of fear at how quickly a seemingly safe hunt went badly for the younger ones and genuine confusion at what could drive ghosts that mad that quickly had put the Roche family on high alert studying their archives.

“Banshee?” Nessa called from her ladder halfway up one of the massive bookshelves.

“No... they were very adamant he said SONG, Banshees tend not to sing…” Alice frowned, fingers rapidly dancing over the book she was reading with braille.

“Maybe a myling?” Ilsa offered from her own seat across from Alice. “A bit far from Scandinavia I admit but they are known to sing.”

“Hm, maybe…” Alice frowned. “I thought they sang to lure victims though? Never heard of one doing it to other ghosts.”

“Yea, me neither… So odd.” Ilsa mused as Nessa continued to slide along the shelf she was looking at.

The trio looked rather out of place in the library, all three dressed far more formally than research typically called for. Alice and Nessa wearing matching ankle length ball gowns of royal blue and deep crimson respectively, Nessa’s many shining gold bracelets jingling almost musically on her arm as she scanned the books as Alice’s rather heavy looking rings seemed to make a few words she fingered over difficult, both having discarded their heels at the door to let them move through isles faster.

Ilsa was dressed just as nicely, though a bit more conservative, a more traditional wide-bottomed dress from her homeland, a blend of pale blue and white in an elaborately stitched pattern of geometric lines and angles. She was more used to moving in heels than the younger women, the advantage of spending most of one’s adult life playing arm candy to one’s husband.

“Oh!” Nessa called from the shelf. “What if it’s a siren?”

“Maybe…” Ilsa mused softly. “Same problem as the myling though, yes? Don’t they typically save their songs for human victims?”

“Typically! Buuuut…” Nessa continued with a bit of a wild grin, yanking a book from the shelf and hopping down. “I was just reading this journal for a sailor your family worked with way back…”

“Dare I ask why?” Alice asked with an amused smirk.

“Hoping for hints of sunken treasure.” Nessa answered earnestly.

“Of course, carry on dear.” Alice grinned as she turned to face her.

“No signs of treasure, BUT he mentioned a cavern with ‘beautiful music’ that was glowing ‘as if from another realm’.” She continued undeterred, flipping the pages to find the right one. “Now, like a smart mundie he avoided it but that sounds like it COULD be a ghostly situation with a possible siren at the head.”

“Huh, yea it could be.” Alice nodded as her mother took the book. “Nice find, we’ll file that under ‘hopefully’ since at least sirens are pretty easy to handle once you recognize them.”

“Mhm, it would be nice to fix this before it spirals.” Ilsa nodded, tucking the journal into her pocketbook as she gave Nessa a smile.

“Speaking of times.” a voice came from the doorway. Ryan was smirking faintly as he leaned on the doorframe, the older man dressed in a crisply cleaned black suit, obviously enjoying watching the trio work for a moment. “They’re about to start asking why my wife, child, and future head of security all seemed to vanish at once and that’s a rather awkward question to answer even among this crowd.”

The Roche house was currently quite busy, more so than the usual activity about the halls. The family was known for attending many parties and events publicly, but very rarely hosted them themselves. Most Roche events were family only, times for the hunter family to gather, touch bases, and plan for the future as well as socialize.

One of their biggest times for this was the yearly Rosh Hashanah celebration. The Jewish new year was a perfect time for the family to plan for the coming year and get on the same page, as well as a pleasant enough excuse to get together and simply enjoy the company.

Alice and Francis remained at home like most eyeless in the family did, the ease of staying in the ‘command center’ of the family valuable for the ones meant to lead it, as well as giving them access to all the family resources easily. There were other Roche family members, though, spread through their network of influence.

Alice’s eldest sister, Isobel, was head of her own team covering eastern Europe. The tall, well built, young woman stood out in most family gatherings due to having a good few inches on even the men in the group. She was currently trying to wrangle some of the younger family from getting too rowdy, laughing as she and her husband both helped guide the children to the back garden where the food and tables had been set up.

Between Alice and Francis in age were the twins, a boy and girl both nearly identical in slightly androgynous looks with their short cut hair and loose fitting clothes, it made telling Justin and Julia apart quite difficult most times.

The only Roche who had any reliable record at it was Harlow, the adopted fae standing between them with a friendly arm over both of their shoulders as they talked logistics. The twins had been setting up shop in North America, a part of the world the Roche family didn’t work with too often and were looking to change.

Other branches of the family were present as well, siblings of Ryan and Ilsa and other extended families that, when taken together, stretched almost the whole globe to some degree. The garden had become quite full by the time Alice and the rest came out to rejoin things.

There was one figure that stood out in the group, though, drawing Nessa’s eye to her as the group passed by to take their seats at the head table. She was young looking, maybe around Alice’s age, wearing a deep blue dress that looked similar to Alice’s, though seemed to be made of a much… shinier material, almost like liquid metal as it glimmered in the low sunset light.

Her bright, almost neon, blue hair was pulled back into a ponytail, not just out of fashion choices but for practicality as well. Unlike everyone else currently eating traditional holiday treats such as apples and baked goods, the strange face was currently eating what looked like a whole fish, likely taken right out of the kitchen fridge, using her elegant bare fingers to pull the fish’s flesh and muscle apart and bring it to her mouth as if it was the most classy and refined act she could do…

“Who’s the blue one?” Nessa whispered to Ilsa as Ryan moved to the podium set up for speaking next to the table. Ilsa just shook her head, a soft smile on her face as she held a finger to her lips in a ‘shhh’ motion.

“If I can have your attention please.” Ryan spoke as he took his place, smiling warmly at the crowd. The microphone was on but hardly needed for his strong voice to reach the already relaxed assembled group easily. “I have just a few words to celebrate this new year with my beloved family.”

He kept his smile on his face, though his eyes couldn’t help but drift to the frog statue in the distance that held that spirit’s orb for just a moment before he cleared his throat.

“This past year was a big one for us. My dear sister Augustine has set up her family in China quite well, our twins are making inroads in North America’s hunter communities, and most of all I was proud to see Francis take his first steps to become a proper hunter just a few days ago.”

Francis could hear the genuine pride in his father’s voice as he said that, a faint blush coming to his cheeks as the crowd clapped for the list of accomplishments. In truth they were all impressive, between two major plays into huge hunting territories and the second eyeless hunter coming into his own the Roche family had a lot to be optimistic about.

“I have never been prouder to be a Roche, or humbler to lead this family as I am right now. In truth I have the easiest job among you, because each and every hunter I ‘lead’ is a skilled, brilliant, figure who is more than capable of solving anything in their way… Which is why I hope you all won’t think less of me when I say this next part.” He took a soft breath at that, Alice and Francis both feeling the tension in the air as he shifted topics so seamlessly.

“As of today I will be stepping down as head of the Roche family hunters.” he said, cutting the tension finally as a few genuine gasps of surprise came from the family.

“I’m not retiring fully, don’t worry.” Ryan continued, holding his hand up. “I’ll still be doing my ‘official’ duties as head of the Roche Foundation and other mundane aspects, and obviously I’ll remain here as an advisor… but the time has come for me to step aside and allow the new generation of hunters to take their spot. Alice will be leading things for now and, when he’s ready, Francis will join her as is tradition. I understand my position as leader came at an unusual circumstance, and I hope I did well to meet it, but it’s time to return to how this family has been led for generations before, and I can think of no better heirs to have than my daughter and son.”

He took a soft breath at that, his eyes seeming heavier, sadder as he looked across the crowd. “If I can be honest… I never felt I deserved this spot. When my siblings died I felt like a part of me died with them…” he said in a softer voice, his siblings looking to him empathetically. For all the strife and conflict that came with it, Ryan was always respected by his younger siblings for taking such a burden without complaint and hearing him open up about it was far from a shock but still unexpected.

“I’ve felt my heart becoming harder as the years go on, the spite and bitterness building in my soul like poison. I can feel there’s only so long before I begin to view every supernatural being as I do the one that took my siblings from me.” he continued as he gave Harlow a soft look.

“Though I know there is so much good in that world that the Roche family has always tried to maintain. So, before my own pain can poison my family and ruin the legacy my siblings died for, I know what must be done. I need to step aside, and in fitting tribute for the new year I need to let this grief go before it festers.”

He nodded to Anna at that, the woman chuckling lightly as she stood, nodding softly at Ryan.

“If you’ll forgive me, I’m going to do one last act as head of House Roche. Something I should have listened to my wife and done years ago.” He smiled at Ilsa, reaching down to take her hand gently as Anna made her way to the frog statue, Nessa and Patli moving to join her.

“The Roche family has always stood on a foundation of mercy, mercy for the people we protect and the things we hunt. I have violated that foundation by keeping this spirit in bondage for so long. I don’t know what twisted it into such a cruel thing, maybe it was always that way in life as well, maybe something made it that way, or maybe my siblings were just unlucky and I ascribed malice to what was just a horrible turn of fate all these years. Regardless… Life is for the living, and it’s time I stopped letting ghosts weigh me down.”

He could see the looks on his siblings’ faces, the sympathy, pity even, he wanted to avoid for so long, but he also saw the anger as they looked at the statue, and knew he was choosing the correct path. He wasn’t the only one letting that anger fester, and keeping the constant reminder of tragedy around was only making it worse. “Ladies, if you please.” he nodded to the trio, Anna nodding crisply to him before looking at the girls.

“We are speakers of the gods…” she spoke in a soft voice that still seemed to carry over the grounds easily. The trio each pull out a small obsidian blade and slashing their own palms open. “We maintain the natural order, and this spirit’s time has long passed.” She continued as the three pressed their bloody palms to the statue. “Let it be judged by the gods, its time judged by man is over.” She continued as the smoke within the sphere rolled faster and faster, as if raging against magic before it began to spark with green flames.

“I hope they’re kinder to you than I was…” Ryan whispered softly away from the microphone as he watched the fire overtake the smoke before, like nothing happened, the orb was left empty, a simple bauble decorating a rich man’s garden…

The garden was stone silent as the trio returned to their seats, one of Ryan’s siblings even wiping their eyes as he coughed softly. “Well, on that upbeat note…” Ryan laughed slightly awkwardly. “Let me be the first to welcome Alice to her position as head of hunters.” he smiled, already feeling slightly less weighed down as he stepped aside, the family applauding as Alice stood slowly to make her way over.

Unlike her father she needed that microphone, her voice soft, delicate even, hiding the hunter’s true deadly nature that everyone knew well. “Hell of an act to follow, Dad…” she said with a soft laugh before nodding.

“I’m not going to say a lot, to be honest I don’t have much to say. Like dad said this isn’t too hard of a job when I have so many great family members supporting me. All I can do is promise you I’ll always put this family’s duty above all else. My father’s humble to a fault but he left me a great family to lead, and if I can be half the leader he was then I’ll be proud. So… yea…” she laughed again slightly nervously. Typically her public engagements weren’t so… focused. Photos and the occasional softball question sure but she wasn’t quite used to having so many eyes on her looking for actual leadership even if she couldn’t actually see them.

”Shana tovah, let’s get this year kicked off well,” she finished as Nessa quickly signaled at the assembled musicians who had set up at the side of the garden, the band thankfully starting to play to give people something other than Alice to focus on as she quickly strode away from the podium.

“Well that was garbage…” she sighed softly as her father laughed, slapping her shoulder lightly.

“No no, it was good! You were quick at least. I think I rambled for a good ten minutes when I gave my first speech to the family…” he chuckled, smiling at her before pulling her into a hug. “You’ll get used to it.”

Thankfully it seemed most of the family agreed, nobody expecting this announcement at all, let alone having some grandiose expectation for Alice’s speech. Barely nineteen she was one of the younger heads to be appointed, only beaten by her father who had the burden put upon him at eighteen… Still, her reputation was well known, and aside from some jokes about her having to fit in office hours between galas it did seem the optimism remained.

Thankfully for its own good that optimistic air was far from the house office, where Alice, Nessa, and Ryan had gone to let her get used to her duties. “Honestly, it’s fairly simple. In the morning you’ll come here, the computer is obviously set up for voice to text and vice-versa, and you’ll have Nessa to help. Log in with that information I gave you and you’ll get our communication network and can-…”

“Roche!” A voice from the door made Alice jump in her seat. She hadn’t heard anyone coming… how had she not heard that?

Standing in the doorway was the woman in blue, frowning at the trio as she marched in uninvited. “What is this ‘retire?’” She asked, her voice thick with a French accent that sounded… honestly a lot like Alice’s.

Old nobility, the kind one heard from diplomats and long time national leaders. Though hers was a bit more… aggressive. “Who ‘retires’ from hunting? You hunt until you die!” She glared as Nessa moved quickly to intercept her.

“Hey, why don’t you go back to the party, fish breath? This is family business.” Nessa said defensively.

“Family…” the other woman growled softly, lip curling to expose a rather long canine tooth… At first Nessa thought vampire, but it was too early, she’d been here since before sundown, and that fang wasn’t the typical vampire canine. It was longer and thinner, like a snake’s. “Do you not tell your spawn anything, Roche?!” She continued, looking around Nessa to speak to Ryan still.

“Oh that’s it! You’re out of here…” Nessa glared, grabbing at the woman’s arm only for her to wind up behind Nessa in a blink. Nessa felt a rush of cold, and suddenly she was soaked as if she had been thrown in the pool, and the woman had seemingly passed through her. “Oh you absolute BITCH! I did my makeup for almost an hour for this!” She fumed, turning to face the woman again.

“...Wow, that took an hour?” The woman in blue responded with a sneer, making Nessa’s eye twitch with rage as she reached for her knife.

“Nessa, down…” Ryan said, holding a hand out as he moved over. “You too Thea, you are here as a guest and I CAN revoke that. Apologize to Nessa and try again.” He spoke firmly, but with surprising calm despite what just happened, as if he was used to this.

The woman frowned at him, tongue gliding around her cheeks as she tried to avoid listening before realizing he wouldn’t give… ”Fine, I’m sorry Nessie.”

“NESSA!” the still dripping woman corrected her angrily.

“NESSA!” the blue haired woman repeated in the same tone. “I shouldn’t have insulted your makeup, you probably did your best with what you have.”

“I’m going to kill her, I’m actually going to end her life, Alice be a love and get me a barrel and some acid because I’m about to kill her…” Nessa fumed as Ryan sighed softly.

“I’m afraid by her standards that actually was a ‘good’ apology, Nessa. I’m going to have to request as your employer that you accept it and not murder a royal dignitary in my home.” He said as he rubbed his temple.

“Alice, Nessa, meet Princess Thea of the Aquamarine dynasty.” He continued, waving a hand at the woman.

“Ugh, that’s it?” She frowned. “I am Princess Thea, heir to the Golden Coral Throne, Grand Duchess of the Arctic Seas and Warden of Lemuria. Daughter of Azhu and her most honored concubi-…”

“Princess Thea,” Alice cut her off, already feeling the headache forming as she stood, giving the woman a respectful bow. “To what does my family owe the honor of your presence?”

“Well at least the new Roche knows how to address royalty…” Thea huffed, crossing her arms as she looked back at Ryan. “You, though. Where do you get off retiring without permission? You were under contract to my family and don’t think retiring frees you of that duty!”

“I would never, my lady.” Ryan spoke as he put a hand up to block Thea as she strode angrily at him, finger jabbing at his chest as she did. “My contract is still in effect, and I would remind you that my contract with your mother was that my FAMILY would aid yours, not me personally. Alice is the new head, she will be working with you now.”

“So I’m left with a spawnling on a matter of divine importance? Can this one even swim?” She asked without even looking at Alice.

“I almost qualified for the special olympics in swimming actually.” Alice offered. “It was speed swimming but still, only reason I stepped aside was because during the last qualifiers I had to deal with a werewolf that was causing problems a few towns over and wound up… incapacitated…”

“I didn’t ask you, fry.” Thea glared at her, Nessa raising her knife behind the other woman before a rapid motion from Ryan told her to stop. “I asked your father, who my family has worked with before. YOU are a stranger, and the divine wardens of the seas do not work with strangers.” She huffed before looking back to Ryan. “Roche, you will report to my mother’s palace IMMEDIATELY to explain to her why you are abandoning her and pray that she is feeling merciful…”

“Actually, I will not.” Ryan spoke in a firmer tone, frowning at Thea. “I have explained now twice that the contract I signed promised the aid of my family, so as far as I’m concerned she is NOT a stranger and you will speak to her with the same respect you show me in my own house during a holiday gathering you were kindly invited to as a show of respect for our bond. If this is a problem, then you are free to end the contract and find a new family to aid you.”

“...This is ‘speaking to him with respect’?” Nessa whispered as Alice shushed her, rarely seeing her father speak so authoritatively, let alone to… guests? Clients?

For a moment Thea and Ryan just glared at each other, neither backing down for a good minute before Thea sighed angrily.

“Fine! Smaller Roche, Roche the lesser.” she snapped as she turned on her heel to look at Alice. “Are you aware of the contract your father signed?”

“I am not, actually, could you fill me in?” Alice asked, trying to contain her annoyance as she motioned for Thea to sit across from her.

“Of course, how silly I expected your father to actually prepare you for your most important task…” She huffed, though she did sit. “First off, do you know who I am?”

“Well you had a long list of titles back there, give me the short version?”

Thea looked mildly offended at the implication that a ‘short version’ existed, but thankfully did nod at least. “I am Thea, daughter of Queen Azhu of the Golden Coral Throne. She is queen of the northern seas and heir to the Empire of Lemuria.”

“Alright, Lemuria I do know, though only through mythology and theories. Your family is from there?” Alice spoke as she pressed a recording device’s button, having a feeling this would need extensive notes…

“We are its former rulers, god kings and queens of the most advanced and powerful empire this wretched surface world has ever seen. I am the heir to the Aquamarine dynasty, the oldest of the bloodlines. Your father met my mother years ago, when he was still a whelp like you and after doing her a great service he was invited as one of the few surface dwellers allowed into her kingdom.”

“So our families are allies then.” Alice nodded. “Well that’s good to know.”

“Yea good to know how you treat allies, hate to be your enemy…” Nessa huffed as she wrung her hair out.

“Yes, you would, child of blood.” Thea glared pointedly at Nessa before continuing. “Yes, we are allies, and in that alliance your father swore his… family’s… aid to my mother in one of her most important tasks.”

“Alright, well like he said that contract is still in play, consider me my father’s new proxy in that, what’s the task? Have some creature bothering your people? Mundie fishermen or treasure hunters causing problems?”

“He pledged his family might to slay my aunt, my mother’s sister, Queen Yuvia.”

“Slaying your aunt?” Alice asked, shooting a glance at her father. “We typically don’t take… assassination jobs.”

“My aunt is far more than some rogue enemy or some dissenter in a power struggle. She is a powerful magician of the sea, one descended from the gods themselves, and she wishes nothing but the subjugation and slaughter of the entire surface world.”

“Alright…point made, so she’s a big threat then. Why has this apparently taken years to do then?” Alice asked.

“I can answer that.” Ryan stepped forward. “Queen Yuvia is an intelligent enemy and… frankly until very recently I thought she HAD been dispatched. Instead it seems she’s been lying in wait for a moment to strike… and I believe she’s chosen her moment.”

“Your father fought her once.” Thea continued. “He lured her to a drilling rig a surface-dweller group named for the ferryman of the dead.”

“Cheiron?!” Alice nearly spat out, staring at her father. “You worked with Cheiron?!”

“It was… it was my only play I had,” Ryan said shamefully, rubbing his arm lightly. “Alice, look, this woman is incredibly powerful, and incredibly smart. Your mother and Anna and I tried other ways but she got away every time, and each time it… cost us.”

“My mother was part of this?” Nessa asked in a slightly smaller voice than before. Clearly feeling the weight of this contract far outweighs her annoyance at Thea.

“She was. We tried to keep this small, just us, the ones who made the deal, the less people involved meant the less people she could target but…” Ryan sighed, shaking his head. “We almost lost your mother, Nessa.”

“The scar on her side…” The woman concluded, the one wound on her mother she never told even her about.

“Your mother died. I don’t know how she came back but she somehow did. After that we were out of options, Yuvia was angry and… A Cheiron worker approached us with a deal. We lure her to a research rig and help subdue her and Cheiron would… handle her.”

“What did they do?” Alice whispered softly.

“I don’t know. I didn’t want to know. We left before we could find out and never looked back.”

“Whatever they did.” Thea spoke in a more serious tone. “It broke her mind even more than it was before. She wants revenge on the entire surface for what happened to her, and frankly I don’t blame her. The thought of some surface apes defiling the divine form of even my hated aunt fills me with disgust and rage.”

“So why come to us to stop her,” Nessa asked bluntly, though her annoyance was gone, she was genuinely curious.

“As much as it sickens me.” Thea continued. “My aunt… she is no longer my aunt. Whatever foul monster your people turned her into will destroy everything. When she destroys your kin I have no doubt she’ll turn her wrath on my mother’s kingdom for her part in contracting the Roche. She’ll drown this world and chum the seas with my people’s corpses for what your father did, and as much as I am loathe to ask him for help again the contract is still in effect as long as she remains alive, and I expect him to clean up his mess.”

“She’s right.” Ryan nodded softly. “I was desperate, and stupid, and because of that a narrow threat became even bigger. I’m sorry Alice, I wish I had fixed this before now but… I couldn’t, I wasn’t strong enough. Every time I tried to move on her I just…”

“You remembered mom.” Nessa completed the thought for him softly.

“Your mom, my siblings too. I never was able to prove it but… I think she made the spirit that killed them. I’ve lost so much to her I just kept thinking if I failed again she may come after you or Francis or Nessa or Patli or…” he sighed, shaking his head. “And now my cowardice means you’re in danger anyway.”

“She’s killed many,” Thea spoke again, for once sounding… smaller, less haughty and angry as she realized the reason for Ryan’s reluctance. “I lost three sisters in one of her attacks, my father as well. My mother almost fell too. As much as I blame you I also understand your desperation. She’s too great a foe to handle alone, especially with the scars of loss so fresh in your heart. So…” she coughed, standing, taking her regal attitude again. “You, lesser Roche, and whoever else you feel needed, will report to my mother to make a plan, before she can take any others.”

Alice nodded softly at that. “Alright, where? Your palace?”

Thea scoffed at that. “As if I would allow surface dwellers into my scared chambers, let alone one I barely know… No, we will open two clams with one stone.” she said as Nessa and Alice exchanged a look.

“Two birds one stone.” Ryan added helpfully.

“Oh, right, yea.” Alice nodded. “Continue.”

“I have come not just to chastise Roche for his cowardice… I also came to warn of an attack. My aunt has been acting from the shadows since her defeat before but now I fear she’s beginning to act personally. She is weak, though. Between the tortures your people inflicted on her and the fact that when she ‘died’ my family moved to… contain some of her more powerful relics.”

“To loot her palace after she died.” Nessa corrected with a smirk. “How very ‘primitive’ of you.”

“We kept her divine artifacts from being stumbled upon by your underdeveloped kin,” Thea shot back. “Regardless, my aunt is without much of her power, and will seek to regain it before she fully moves to strike. Unfortunately we were not alone in that plan to keep her power from returning. Your little friends in Cheiron have taken one of my aunt’s possessions and I believe as much as she hates you and I for our parts in her demise…”

“She hates Cheiron more, so she’ll start there.” Alice continued for her, the other woman nodding.

“Correct. We will intercept whatever agent she sends to retake it and find out what they know.”

“Not that I have a feeling you’re morally above torture...” Nessa said calmly as she ran a finger through her still damp hair, “But why are you so sure you’ll get your information from this agent?”

Thea grinned wickedly at that, her fanged smile seeming to shimmer brighter than her dress for a moment. “My dear, as I said, two clams with one rock… I will not be interrogating them, that task will be handled by my mother personally.”

Elsewhere

Far off from the safety of the Roche manor, in a small research station floating in international waters, a storm was rolling in.

This was no storm any meteorologist could predict, or any mundane protection could keep out. It was a storm born of rage and vengeance as waves crashed against the support structures and winds howled outside their shuttered windows.

Through the fog and spray of seafoam the massive spotlights of the station could make out a lone form. A woman’s upper half cresting the water, her hair a mane of windswept fury as lightning crashed into the water around her seemingly literally unable to touch her properly.

She didn’t roar with anger or cast some grand curse on the inhabitants as they stared in horror at her. She simply sat in the water, bobbing gently in all the chaos as if not even a part of it.

She simply watched, and waited, letting the storm speak for her. A queen doesn’t  need to speak for herself, after all, when her power can speak for her.

Next Story

Previous Story

[yerimissea]

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ 어떤 별보다, 김예림 ☆

( ♡ ) + .. 🗒️ With a heart sincere and a muse dignified, I present the enchanting Kim Yerim. Born in Seoul on March 5, 1999, her destiny was woven with the threads of stardom. As the youngest member of Red Velvet, she ascended to idolhood, a journey marked by relentless dedication. Her path was carved from her days in SM Rookies to her triumph as a celebrated idol and actress, gracing the screen in a renowned web drama. Her emblematic color, purple, and her spirit animal, the turtle, epitomize her unique and remarkable essence. To Ilsa Aminé Lavani, she is a beacon of glory. ˖ ࣪ ໒꒱ ‧₊

𝔂𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓪 ^᪲᪲᪲

[musemuseum]

Muses | I

Ian Stanfield | 50 | Ewan McGregor | Occupation | Extra Info | Verses

Ignacio “Iggy” Sanchez | 25 | Danny Ramirez | Occupation | Extra Info | Verses

Ilsa Romanov | 48 | Charlize Theron | Spy | Extra Info | Verses

Indiana Messer | 42 | Carmine Giovinazzo | Forensics Analyst | Extra Info | Verses

Ivy Fairaday | 35 | Drew Barrymore | Occupation | Extra Info | Verses

[brookston]

Holidays 6.18

Holidays

Academy Day (Scientology)

Autistic Pride Day

Clark Kent Day

Clean Your Aquarium Day

Constitution Day (Seychelles)

Count Your $$ Day

Drone Safety Day

Eid el-Galaa (Evacuation Day; Egypt)

Festival of Invisible Pornography

Foundation Day (Benguet, Philippines)

Go Fishing Day

Hand Cart Day (French Republic)

Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan)

International Day for Countering Hate Speech

International Declaration of Human Rights Day

International Panic Day

Jack Herer Day

Mela Khir Bhawani (Kashmir, India)

National Black America’s Day of Repentance

National Jesse Day

National Relationship Day

National Splurge Day

National Wear Blue Day

National Wanna Get Away Day

Neurodiversity Pride Day (Netherlands)

No Headline Day

Queen Mother’s Day (Cambodia)

Sustainable Gastronomy Day

Trouser Day

Veterinary Appreciation Day (a.k.a. Veterinarian Appreciation Day)

Waterloo Day (UK)

Wild Den Dancing Day

World Day Against Incarceration

World Wide Knit in Public Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Insalata Day (Italy)

International Picnic Day

International Sushi Day

National Cheesemaker’s Day

National Cherry Tart Day

3rd Sunday in June

Burghfield BoxKart Bash Day [3rd Sunday]

Dollars Against Diabetes Days end [3rd Sunday]

Family Awareness Day [3rd Sunday]

Father's Day (US) [3rd Sunday]

Husband Caregiver Day [3rd Sunday]

National Turkey Lovers’ Day [3rd Sunday]

Independence Days

Aldrodnia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Egypt (a.k.a. Eid el-Galaa, evacuation of foreign troops, 1954)

Flinders (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Jailavera (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Leprechia (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Onontakeka (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Snagov (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Amand, Bishop of Bordeaux (Christian; Saint)

Andim Day (Pastafarian)

Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church)

Elisabeth of Schönau (Christian; Saint)

Elvis Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Erik Ortvad (Artology)

Going Forth of Neith Along the River (Ancient Egypt’ Goddess of War and Hunting)

Gregorio Barbarigo (Christian; Saint)

Gregory of Fragalata (Christian; Saint)

Into Raymi Festival begins (Inca Sun Worship Festival; until 24th)

James Montgomery Flagg (Artology)

Joseph-Marie Vien (Artology)

Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus (Christian; Saints)

Leroy (Muppetism)

Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)

Mark and Marcellian (Christian; Martyrs)

Media Ver XI (Pagan)

National Splurge Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Now Panic Day (Pastafarian)

Osanna Andreasi (Christian; Saint)

Theodoric the Great (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [36 of 57]

Premieres

The Adventures of Ellery Queen (Radio Series; 1939)

Casey Bats Again (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

Dangerous When Wet (Film; 1953)

Dare To Be Stupid, by Weird Al Yankovic (Album; 1985)

Day & Night (Pixar Cartoon; 2010)

DodgeBall (Film: 2004)

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, by Bryan Adams (Song; 1991)

Eyes in Outer Space (Disney Cartoon; 1959)

Goodbye Cruel World, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1984)

Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (Documentary Film; 2004)

An Ideal Husband (Film; 1999)

Inside, Outside, by Herman Wouk (History Book; 1985)

Lady and the Lamp (Disney Cartoon; 1979)

Last Action Hero (Film; 1993)

Luca (Animated Film; 2021)

My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1952)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman (Novel; 2013)

Odelay, by Beck (Album; 1996)

Origin of Symmetry, by Muse (Album; 2001)

The Sparks Brothers (Documentary Film; 2021)

Suppressed Duck (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

Tarzan (Animated Disney Film; 1999)

Toy Story 3 (Animated Pixar Film; 2010)

The Wild Bunch (Film; 1969)

Wouldn’t It Be Nice, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1966)

Today’s Name Days

Elisabeth, Ilsa, Marina (Austria)

Asen, Chavdar (Bulgaria)

Elizabeta, Marcel, Ozana, Paul (Croatia)

Milan (Czech Republic)

Leontius (Denmark)

Auli, Aurelia, Auri, Reeli, Reelika, Reili (Estonia)

Tapio (Finland)

Léonce (France)

Elisabeth, Ilsa, Isabella, Marina (Germany)

Erasmos, Leontios (Greece)

Arnold, Levente (Hungary)

Gregorio, Marina, Marinella, Marinetta (Italy)

Alberts, Madis (Latvia)

Arnulfas, Ginbutas, Marina, Vaiva (Lithuania)

Bjarne, Bjørn (Norway)

Efrem, Elżbieta, Gerwazy, Leonia, Marek, Marina, Paula (Poland)

Ipatie, Leontie, Teodul (România)

Vratislav (Slovakia)

Marcelino, Marcos (Spain)

Bjarne, Björn (Sweden)

Leo, Leon (Ukraine)

Effie, Efrain, Eph, Ephraim, Marina, Marnie, Nevaeh (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 169 of 2024; 196 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 24 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 7 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Wu-Wu), Day 1 (Ding-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 29 Sivan 5783

Islamic: 29 Dhu al-Qada 1444

J Cal: 19 Sol; Fiveday [19 of 30]

Julian: 5 June 2023

Moon: 1%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 1 Charlemagne (7th Month) [Theodoric the Great]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 90 of 92)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 28 of 32)

Calendar Changes

Charlemagne (Feudal Civilization) [Month 7 of 13; Positivist]

榴月[Liúyuè] (Chinese Lunisolar Calendar) [Month 5 of 13] (Pomegranate Month)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 6.18

Holidays

Academy Day (Scientology)

Autistic Pride Day

Clark Kent Day

Clean Your Aquarium Day

Constitution Day (Seychelles)

Count Your $$ Day

Drone Safety Day

Eid el-Galaa (Evacuation Day; Egypt)

Festival of Invisible Pornography

Foundation Day (Benguet, Philippines)

Go Fishing Day

Hand Cart Day (French Republic)

Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan)

International Day for Countering Hate Speech

International Declaration of Human Rights Day

International Panic Day

Jack Herer Day

Mela Khir Bhawani (Kashmir, India)

National Black America’s Day of Repentance

National Jesse Day

National Relationship Day

National Splurge Day

National Wear Blue Day

National Wanna Get Away Day

Neurodiversity Pride Day (Netherlands)

No Headline Day

Queen Mother’s Day (Cambodia)

Sustainable Gastronomy Day

Trouser Day

Veterinary Appreciation Day (a.k.a. Veterinarian Appreciation Day)

Waterloo Day (UK)

Wild Den Dancing Day

World Day Against Incarceration

World Wide Knit in Public Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Insalata Day (Italy)

International Picnic Day

International Sushi Day

National Cheesemaker’s Day

National Cherry Tart Day

3rd Sunday in June

Burghfield BoxKart Bash Day [3rd Sunday]

Dollars Against Diabetes Days end [3rd Sunday]

Family Awareness Day [3rd Sunday]

Father's Day (US) [3rd Sunday]

Husband Caregiver Day [3rd Sunday]

National Turkey Lovers’ Day [3rd Sunday]

Independence Days

Aldrodnia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Egypt (a.k.a. Eid el-Galaa, evacuation of foreign troops, 1954)

Flinders (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Jailavera (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Leprechia (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Onontakeka (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Snagov (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Amand, Bishop of Bordeaux (Christian; Saint)

Andim Day (Pastafarian)

Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church)

Elisabeth of Schönau (Christian; Saint)

Elvis Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Erik Ortvad (Artology)

Going Forth of Neith Along the River (Ancient Egypt’ Goddess of War and Hunting)

Gregorio Barbarigo (Christian; Saint)

Gregory of Fragalata (Christian; Saint)

Into Raymi Festival begins (Inca Sun Worship Festival; until 24th)

James Montgomery Flagg (Artology)

Joseph-Marie Vien (Artology)

Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus (Christian; Saints)

Leroy (Muppetism)

Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)

Mark and Marcellian (Christian; Martyrs)

Media Ver XI (Pagan)

National Splurge Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Now Panic Day (Pastafarian)

Osanna Andreasi (Christian; Saint)

Theodoric the Great (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [36 of 57]

Premieres

The Adventures of Ellery Queen (Radio Series; 1939)

Casey Bats Again (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

Dangerous When Wet (Film; 1953)

Dare To Be Stupid, by Weird Al Yankovic (Album; 1985)

Day & Night (Pixar Cartoon; 2010)

DodgeBall (Film: 2004)

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, by Bryan Adams (Song; 1991)

Eyes in Outer Space (Disney Cartoon; 1959)

Goodbye Cruel World, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1984)

Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (Documentary Film; 2004)

An Ideal Husband (Film; 1999)

Inside, Outside, by Herman Wouk (History Book; 1985)

Lady and the Lamp (Disney Cartoon; 1979)

Last Action Hero (Film; 1993)

Luca (Animated Film; 2021)

My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1952)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman (Novel; 2013)

Odelay, by Beck (Album; 1996)

Origin of Symmetry, by Muse (Album; 2001)

The Sparks Brothers (Documentary Film; 2021)

Suppressed Duck (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

Tarzan (Animated Disney Film; 1999)

Toy Story 3 (Animated Pixar Film; 2010)

The Wild Bunch (Film; 1969)

Wouldn’t It Be Nice, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1966)

Today’s Name Days

Elisabeth, Ilsa, Marina (Austria)

Asen, Chavdar (Bulgaria)

Elizabeta, Marcel, Ozana, Paul (Croatia)

Milan (Czech Republic)

Leontius (Denmark)

Auli, Aurelia, Auri, Reeli, Reelika, Reili (Estonia)

Tapio (Finland)

Léonce (France)

Elisabeth, Ilsa, Isabella, Marina (Germany)

Erasmos, Leontios (Greece)

Arnold, Levente (Hungary)

Gregorio, Marina, Marinella, Marinetta (Italy)

Alberts, Madis (Latvia)

Arnulfas, Ginbutas, Marina, Vaiva (Lithuania)

Bjarne, Bjørn (Norway)

Efrem, Elżbieta, Gerwazy, Leonia, Marek, Marina, Paula (Poland)

Ipatie, Leontie, Teodul (România)

Vratislav (Slovakia)

Marcelino, Marcos (Spain)

Bjarne, Björn (Sweden)

Leo, Leon (Ukraine)

Effie, Efrain, Eph, Ephraim, Marina, Marnie, Nevaeh (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 169 of 2024; 196 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 24 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 7 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Wu-Wu), Day 1 (Ding-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 29 Sivan 5783

Islamic: 29 Dhu al-Qada 1444

J Cal: 19 Sol; Fiveday [19 of 30]

Julian: 5 June 2023

Moon: 1%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 1 Charlemagne (7th Month) [Theodoric the Great]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 90 of 92)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 28 of 32)

Calendar Changes

Charlemagne (Feudal Civilization) [Month 7 of 13; Positivist]

榴月[Liúyuè] (Chinese Lunisolar Calendar) [Month 5 of 13] (Pomegranate Month)

[ofmusingsxandmayhem]

((Re-posting my old shippy dynamic wishlist post, but have removed ones for retired muses or changed ones that I have already got. Let me know if you're interested.))

Alanna - give me a CIA agent who is her contact when informing, who she flirts with relentlessly much to the irritation of her brother. M/F 26+  (age gaps welcome)

Andi - another lawyer who she is constantly put up against in cases, they really dislike one another and yet when they meet in a social setting, they can’t deny there’s something there. M 36+

Ben - a supernatural being who he has hunted in the past, who has also hunted him, and yet neither can ever bring themselves to harm the other. M 40+

Benji - a civilian partner or husband who knows what he does for work and is supportive of his recovery from what he’s been through. M 40+ 

Charlotte - gimme another assassin who she is in a rivalry with, constantly trying to one-up the other but they’re also totally sleeping together. Any 27+ (age gaps welcome)

Cris - a colleague who he’s known for a long time, someone who is able to get past his walls (he’s reluctant because he knows that his time is running out but he also craves love). M 39+

Ellen - someone younger than her who is pursuing her and despite her trying to turn them down, she can’t help but enjoy having someone so desperate for her. M/F 25+ 

Eric - for his supernatural verse, could be a hunter or law enforcement who has been tracking him down but he evades them at every turn, yet when they do meet, there’s something there. M 45+

Eva - gimme a classic bad boy or bad girl who brings out a more rebellious and fun loving side out of her. M/F 22+ (age gaps welcome)

Evan - the parent of a student he is tutoring in music who he had got close to, but he’s holding back his feelings because his student’s well being comes first. M 35+

Freddie - someone who was also a performer around the same time as he was, could have stayed in the industry, who Freddie had a crush on when he was young but he was still figuring out who he was, and now they’ve met again years later. M 40+

Gabi - another magical being who comes along and sweeps her off her feet. Or a rival musician in town. Any 24+ 

Gen - either a member of a rival organisation or one from her family's who she's pursuing. Any 27+ (age gaps welcome)

Harry - another medical resident who he is competing with but it’s nothing negative, just good fun and they hook up at student parties. M 25+

Hollie - an old school friend who’s been her bff for a long time but now oops are those feelings? M/F 25+ 

Ilsa - someone in a similar job to her who understands the life she leads. No immediate romance, just a physical relationship, but it could develop over time if she feels something. M/F 30+

Isabella - parent of one of her students who moves into the same apartment block as her and they grow close. M/F 28+ (age gaps welcome)  

Jayne - someone who helps out at the sanctuary, maybe who does a lot of handywork or something and they are good friends that become more. Picturing them hiding out in the house after a rainy day with hot drinks and blankets and Things Happen. M/F 33+

Kara - one of her regular customers at the garage, maybe a businessman whose marriage is on the rocks and Kara is an escape for him, she just enjoys the thrill. M 30+ (age gaps welcome)

Lia - someone who she knows that she feels strongly for but she is afraid to let them in because she will outlive them. M/F 50+ 

Matt - an ex husband where they co-parent a child together, but there’s still feelings that they can’t deny. M 30+

Mira - another professor at the university with a ‘will-they-won’t-they’ vibe. All the students ship it but they try to deny it as long as they can because Professionals. M 40+

Neve - for her modern fairytale verse, another royal from another kingdom. M/F 30+

Nick - for his thirties!verse, a former professor who Nick had a thing with once but never again because it crossed professional lines, but now he’s not a student anymore, maybe they can try again? M 40+ (age gaps welcome)  

Nyah - someone who she knew in her thief days but now she’s an agent and maybe he is still in that life so they’re on opposing sides now. M 40+

Olivia - for her younger verse, a client who started hiring her for the obvious, but now they just spend time together and are falling for one another. Could be in a broken marriage or single. M/F 25+ (age gaps welcome)

Oscar - another agent who has been his friend since they started at the CIA, who knew him through his marriage and supported him after the incident with his ex, feelings developing over a long-term friendship. M 40+

Prue - a colleague where they keep telling each other it’ll never happen again but it totally does. M/F 35+ 

Rose - a hunter who she has a good connection with, they help each other out and occasionally seek each other for comfort. M/F 35+ 

Scott - another actor where they’re playing rivals in a show/movie but in real life they’re in love and hiding it. M 25+ (age gaps welcome)  

Steven - someone who knows how dedicated he is to his job and tries not to let it get in the way of their relationship. M 45+

Will - someone who was his counsellor after Croatia but now he’s back in the field and doing well and doesn’t need to see him, and they catch up for a drink now and then and maybe something develops. M 38+

Zara - someone a bit older who maybe lives in the same building as her and helps her out with Lily and over time they start to fall for one another and there’s conflicted feelings about their age difference and whether it’s good for Lily but they can’t help how they feel. M/F 30+ (age gaps welcome)