#Catharine Willows

[angelsvoice1love]

You own my heart (pt1)

Y/n: Greg, I swear. You said running down the hallway after him.

Greg: Don't let her get me. He said, hiding behind Grissom.

Y/n: Greg. You said, lunging forward until two strong arms grabbed you holding you back.

Nick: Woah now, what's going on? Nick asked, releasing his hold slowly.

Y/n: Look at me. I'm purple...that little idiot pranked me in the locker room by giving me a birthday box, and telling me to open it. Which, yeah I was an idiot for doing that, but he said it was a present he forgot to give me for my birthday. And like an idiot I did, then boom, purple smoak powder went off. He laughed, saying it was the best present he could receive and ran away. That's why I'm chancing his little ass. You said, as Nick still held onto your arm incase.

Grissom: Is this true Greg?

Greg: Yes, but-

Nick: Are you kidding me Greg? Y/n, clothes are ruined and the locker.

Grissom: Nick's right. What do you have to say?

Greg: Sorry. I'll ask Wendy to buy you new clothes, and I'll...pay for the locker room to be cleaned personally.

Y/n: What about my hair? Do you know how long it'll take to get out of my hair?

Greg: I'll pay for the removal of the colorents at the salon. And to show how sorry I am, I'll pay for a haircut and treatment.

Y/n: Okay. Thanks...i guess I forgive you. I can't stay mad at you forever.

Greg: Great, thanks. Love you. I'll start making arrangements for the salon, and ask Wendy right away. He said with a wink. Oh, here, for the salon. He said, giving you money.

Just then Greg walked away, leaving you. Taking a deep breath, you shook your head walking off to the locker rooms yet again. You stood in front of the bathroom mirror, and started cleaning your face when there was a knock on the door.

Nick: Hey, Wendy asked me to bring this to you. She said, she had a spare of clothes in her car for you to take until you get home.

Y/n: Thanks. Ugh, I can't-

Nick: Let me help. He said, taking your arm and leading you to the locker seats. Opening his locker, Nick took out toner and cotton pads. Here, these should work. He said, as he started cleaning your face.

Y/n: Question...why do you have toner and cotton pads in your locker. You asked, as you locked eyes with Nick as he kept cleaning your face.

Nick: Greg, did it to me too, so did Worrick. Guess I keep it here, just incase anyone needed it.

You couldn't help but look at this man's facial features. He was so beautiful to you, the way his eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled, even how the smile lines ran deep and high, the deep chocolate color of his eyes and how cute it was when he licked his lips.

You thought about the undercover case you had, and what happened that night. What you and Nick had to do, in order to keep yourself safe from the men watching you on camera.

*Flashback*

You were pushed against the wall as Nick locked his lips with yours, he moved to your neck whispering for you to go play along. Giggling, he took that as a sign of you understanding as he picked you up carrying you to the bed.

Placing you on the bed, he kissed your forehead and said.

Nick: Honey, how about I prove to you once and for all that your the only woman I'll ever love.

And he said, as he moved in to kiss you again, when bang. The Police and CSI team came running in and raiding the hotel, arresting the men that were spying on every couple for their next targets.

Laying there Nick, covered you with his body as Catharine brought over a rain coat. He stood, and held the covers over your body to give you time to put on the coat.

Y/n: Thanks Nicky.

Nick: Sure. I can't let the boys be seeing you like this now, can I?

Y/n: The boys?

Nick: Yeah, the guys in uniform or even Worrick or Greg. Especially Greg, he would just stare at you.

Y/n: Good to know. Sorry about the uhm...you know.

Nick: Don't be, we were only doing our job. Did I make you feel uncomfortable, of touch you to-

Y/n: No. All good. Promise. Like you said, we were doing our job. Besides, I don't think you could make any girl feel uncomfortable Nick, you really are one in a million. You said with a smile as you left.

*End of flashback*

Shaking your head, you sighed as you remembered what you said.

Nick: You okay?

Y/n: Yeah. Guess, so. Nick, can I ask you something?

Nick: Sure.

Y/n: Why don't you want to go on undercover jobs with me anymore? Did I do something wrong?

Nick: What? No. I don't know...guess I didn't think of asking for any.

Y/n: But it would be fun, spying on people again. You said with a light laugh.

Nick: Guess, so. He replied, as he looked at you with a softness to his eyes. You need to get cleaned up, see you in a few minutes.

Just like that he disappeared and left you in the locker room alone, sighing you got up and headed for the shower. Washing your hair, and body of the excess purple powder. Once you were dried up, you got dressed in the clothes that you got from Wendy and just tied up your partly wet hair.

Time skip (going home)

Looking at the clock, it was time for everyone to go home. Sighing you, started going to your car. Trying to start it you groaned, it wasn't working at all, why wasn't it working?

Getting angry, you got out of your car kicking the wheel when you saw Nick seeing the whole thing.

Y/n: Uhh...hi. You said, embarrassed at why you did.

Nick: Hey. Need a lift?

Y/n: Sure. You smiled, as you got into Nick's truck.

Arriving at your apartment building, you looked down at your hands and bit your lip as you spoke up.

Y/n: Nick, would you like to come up for dinner? It's the least I could do for...well, you going out of your way to take me home.

Nick: I don't mind, really. Why would I let you take a cab, instead of taking you home?

Y/n: Well, um...maybe since your home is the other way. You said, laughing slightly.

Nick: True. Guess, I just wanted to make sure you got home safe.

Y/n: So, is that yes to dinner?

Nick: I'd like that.

Once you both were in your apartment, you got out some beer for you and Nick.

Y/n: I have a confession to make. I won't be ordering takeout, instead we'll have some pot roast. I asked my neighbor to keep an eye on the food during the day. I hope you like pot roast.

Nick: I love it.

After having dinner, you both sat outside on the balcony drinking more beer and just enjoying each other's company. Just as you were about to say something that's been on your mind when he stood up.

Nick: It's getting late, I should probably head out.

Y/n: Nicky...can...um...before you go I really need to tell you something. It's been on my mind for a while...and I really like to talk to you about it.

Nick: Is it serious? He asked, placing his hand on yours.

Y/n: I don't know. We'll, to me it is...but I don't know how it will effect you.

Nick: Okay. What's on your mind?

Sighing you got up and walked into the living room, and sat down on the couch biting your lip as you tried to figure how to tell Nick how you felt.

Nick: What's up y/n/n? You know you can tell me anything. He said, as he sat beside you rubbing your back. We're friends, heck best friends.

Y/n: Nick. You started, as you turned to look into his beautiful brown eyes. Nick, I...i really...*blowing out your breath, you closed your eyes and spoke up* I really like you Nick. I have for a while now, and...i...i guess I'd rather you know then you thinking I'm pulling away from you or acting weird. Hehe, come to think about it...that's the exact reason I've been acting weird and avoiding you.

Nick: Oh. So, that's the reason. All because you like me?

Y/n: Nick-

Nick: I should go, I forgot I need to take Sam for a walk. He replied quick, as he got up and headed for the door.

Y/n: Wait, Nick we nerd to talk about this.

Nick: About what? The fact that you like me? Y/n, I can't deal with this right now...i really need to leave. He said, as he disappeared out of the door.

Breathing in deeply, you wanted to kick yourself for saying that to Nick instead of just keeping quiet. How were you going to face him tomorrow?

Without hesitation, you called Catherine tling her that you won't be able to come to work tomorrow. You told her you were feeling sick, a d that you still had some purple pigment on your face and hair. Giving you the clear, you stayed in the apartment, not really knowing what you'll do today at all.

At work

Nick: Hey, Greg, where's y/n?

Greg: Oh, Catherine said she won't be coming in today. Saying that she was sick, and that she was still purple. I suppose she was sick, before I pulled the prank on her.

Nick: Guess, so.

Catharine: Hey Nick, I need you to go with Sarah on the case near the dessert by the last casino. They found a body there.

Nick: Okay. He said, as he walked past Catharine looking for Sarah.

Catharine: Greg, does Nick seem off to you today?

Greg: I don't know.

Catharine: Warrick?

Warrick: Yeah.

Catharine: Did you notice something off with Nick, today?

Warrick: Yes. He's not the same as usual.

Catharine: Did he tell you anything? Is there something that's bothering him? Anything we could help with?

Warrick: No. He hasn't said a word. And he tells me everything.

Catharine: Okay. I'll talk to him later, thank you.

Nodding, everyone left the locker room and did their job. Once the day come to an end, Catharine saw Nick, and ran after him before he could leave.

Catharine: Hey Nicky, wait. Can we talk?

Nick: Sure.

Catharine: Nick, please tell me what's going on. I can see somethings bother you, if there's anything on your mind...please tell me. I want to help Nicky.

Nick: I'm fine Catherine, promise. I'm just tired, that's all. I didn't sleep much last night.

Catharine: Okay. But no going out for drinks, go home and get some rest.

Nick: Yes, ma'am. He said, with a smile as he left to go home.

As Nick was driving to his home, he stopped at the red light, his mind completely on you and what you said. Sighing he turned the corner, and headed for your apartment. Once he at the apartment, he knocked on the door awaiting for you to open. Once you opened, he spoke up.

Nick: How dare you.

Y/n: What?

Nick: Why did you have to tell me how you felt? Everything was going good, we were friends, we got along and worked great together...and then you go ahead and do that. What the hell? What possessed you to do that? He asked, breathless as he started at you.

Y/n: Well, I'm sorry that my feelings for you was inconvenient. I didn't mean to make your world fall apart, by a simple confession. You replied, anger evident in your voice. If it really bothers you that much, then I'll just ask Grissom to work with Archie. That way you'll never have to see me again.

Nick: Y/n, you really are...ugh-

He groaned as he left, he only stood in your doorway but you still felt horrible of what just happened. Closing the door, you bit your lip as you turned when there was another knock on the door. As you opened the door, Nick grabbed you as he connected your lips

Y/n: Nick-you said, as you pushed him away. What are you doing?

Nick closed the door, as he moved closer.

Nick: I don't know. He whispered, in front of you as he had you pinned against the kitchenette.

You could feel his hot breath on your face, tickling your lips as he looked down at you. Biting your lip, you shivered as he placed his hand on your waist, moving your sweater and toughing your skin. Swallowing, you felt hot as he just rubbed your skin with his thumb.

Y/n: Nick...we-

Nick: Shh. He said, as he connected your lips again.

Nick kissed you tenderly, as his hands wondered up your sweater and lifted it over your head. Blinking, you lokked away, disconnecting your eye contact with Nick as you stood infront of him with only a bra. Nick, smiled as he felt your small hands lifting his shirt he was wearing and throwing it on the floor. Running your hands up his arms, your hand left hand was on his chest, while the right hand moved to lock into his hair.

Kissing him again, you felt sparks at the strange situation that just accured. Lifting you from the floor, he placed you on the kitchenette and connected his lips to your neck. The soft sensation, made your fingers run through his hair as you pulled him away from your neck. Stopping his actions.

Y/n: Nick...stop.

Nick: Is everything okay?

Y/n: Yes. I jues...what are we doing?

Nick: I think it's obvious what we're doing. He smiled, as he licked his lips.

Y/n: That's not I meant. You said, as your hands were on his shoulders. I don't think this is a good idea.

Nick: I thought you wanted this.

Y/n: I do. I really do. But...i don't want it like this. I don't want this happening just because of an argument, something that just happened out of-

Nick: Trust me, it's not like that. This isn't because of the argument. He said, moving closer, if that was even possible. I like you too, I just didn't know how to act around you. So that's...that's why I acted the way I did. He said, stroking your cheek. Trust me, this is not because of anything else. I want to kiss you, and hold you, wake up next to you...if that's what you'd like. He said, with a smile.

Y/n: I'd like that very much. You said, as you moved forward kissing his cheek. But...i think we should stop here. I don't...I'm not ready to um-

Nick: I understand. We'll wait. Kissing your forhead, as he picked up his shirt and your sweater.

After putting on his shirt, Nick helped you put on your sweater and he kissed you again.

The kiss was deepened, as he picked you up from the kitchenette and carried you to the couch. Laying you down, the kiss got even more hotter, as he pulled away before anything happened.

Nick: Y/n, I should go, before i-

Y/n: Nick. Would you like to stay over tonight? You asked, stroking his cheek.

Nick took your hand in his, as he kissed your hand. Feeling his soft lips made you smile at how sweet he was and how sweet this gesture was.

Nick: I'd love that.

[balkanradfem]

Favourite Fictional Women poll: FINAL LIST nominations + RULES (nominations closed)

Books:

Elphaba (Wicked)

Hermione (Harry Potter)

Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter)

Luna (Harry Potter)

Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter)

Sophie (Howl's Moving Castle)

Bella Swan (Twilight)

Lucy (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Susan (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)

Jo (Little Women)

Alanna (The Song of the Lioness)

Ichigo (Kamikaze Girls)

Momoko (Kamikaze Girls)

Phryne Fisher (Phryne Fisher Detective Novels)

Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs)

Robin Ellacott (Cormoran Strike)

Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade Series)

Gideon (The Locked Tomb)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb)

Tattersail (Malazan Book of the Fallen)

Lyra (His Dark Materials)

Lisbeth Salander (The Millenium Trilogy)

Daja Kisubo (Circle of Magic)

Éowyn (Lord of the Rings)

Honor Harrington (Honor Harrington)

Zahrah (Zahrah the Windseeker)

Clair (Outlander)

Margo (The Magicians)

Camille Preaker (Sharp Objects)

Brienne of Tarth (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Cersei (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Daenerys Targaryen (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Arya (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Sansa ( A Song of Ice and Fire)

Rhaenyra Targaryen (Fire and Blood)

Eileen Dunlop (Eileen)

Romy Silvers (The Loneliest Girl in the Universe)

Lúthien (Sillmarilion)

Lady Sotofa (Echo series)

Esme Weatherwax (Discworld)

Angua von Überwald (Discworld)

Susan Sto Helit (Discworld)

Tiffany Aching (Discworld)

Nina Hill (The Bookish Life of Nina Hill)

Keladry (Protector of the Small series)

Shay (Uglies)

Cassie (Animorphs)

The Groke (the Moomins)

Tooticky (the Moomins)

Maximum Ride (Maximum Ride)

Auri (Kingkiller Chronicles)

Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables)

Emily Starr (Emily of New Moon)

Penelope (Circe by Madeline Miller)

Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy)

Katsa (Graceling)

Yennefer of Vengerberg (Witchier)

Dr. Scarlet Clarke (They Never Learn)

Inej Ghafa (Six of Crows)

Ronja (Ronja)

Violet (Asoue)

Medea (Greek Mythology)

Medusa (Greek Mythology)

Jude (Folk of the Air)

Agatha (Girl Genius)

Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson)

Carrie (Carrie)

Movies

Miss Honey (Matilda)

Matilda (Matilda)

Barbie (Barbie's universe)

Ellen Louise Ripley (Alien)

Evelyn O'Connell (The Mummy)

Peggy Carter (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Sarah Conner (Terminator)

Cruella de Vil (Cruella)

Yzma (Emperor's New Groove)

Dr. Ellie Sattler (Jurrasic Park)

Harley Quinn (DC universe)

Amy Dunne (Gone Girl)

Jennifer (Jennifer's Body)

Maude Lebowski (Big Lebowski)

Eurodia Holmes (Enola)

Amy Adam (Arrival)

Ginger Fitzgerald (Ginger Snaps)

Mary Mason (American Mary)

Elsa (Frozen)

Mulan (Mulan 1998)

Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)

O-Ren Ishii (Kill Bill)

Trinity (Matrix)

Sidney Prescott (Scream movies)

Dani Ardor (Midsommar)

M3gan (M3gan)

Aila (Rhymes for Young Ghouls)

Princess Kida (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Mother Aughra (Dark crystal)

Elizabeth Swan (Pirates of the Carribean)

Marla Grayson (I care a lot)

Heloise (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)

Diana (Wonder Woman)

San (Princess Mononoke)

Zeniba (Spirited Away)

Chihiro (Spirited Away)

Wlle Woods (Legally Blonde)

Rey (Star Wars)

Princess Leia (Star Wars)

Haley Graham (Stick it)

Cruella (101 Dalmatian)

Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service)

TV Shows

Xena (Xena the Warrior Princess)

Gabrielle (Xena the Warrior Princess)

Callisto (Xena the Warrior Princess)

Buffy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Willow (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Sabrina (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)

Morgana Pendragon (Merlin)

Catharine Cawood (Happy Valley)

Donna Noble (Doctor Who)

Martha Jones (Doctor Who)

Female Doctor Who (Doctor Who)

Kaya (Supernatural)

Charlie Bradbury (Supernatural)

Claire (Supernatural)

Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)

Anna Clare (Being Human)

Poussey Washington (Orange is the New Black)

Sister Michael (Derry Girls)

Orla (Derry Girls)

Hayley (Hard Candy)

Vilanelle (Killing Eve)

Eve (Killing Eve)

Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack)

Ann Walker (Gentleman Jack)

Kim (Kim Possible)

Daria Morgendorffer (Daria)

Temperance Brennan (Bones)

Kim Wexler (Better Call Saul)

Katara (Avatar The Last Airbender)

Azula (Avatar The Last Airbender)

Toph (Avatar The Last Airbender)

Krosh (Kid Cosmic)

Guinan (Star Trek New Generations)

Bo-Katan Kryze (Star Wars)

Dong Eun (The Glory)

Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation)

April Ludgate (Parks and Recreation)

Rosa Diaz (Brooklyn 99)

Dana Scully (X Files)

Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager)

Calamity Jane (Deadwood)

Flea (Fleabag)

Michonne (The Walking Dead)

Trixie (Call the Midwife)

Sister Monica Joan (Call the Midwife)

Regina Mills (Once Upon a Time)

Emma Swan (Once Upon a Time)

Ruby Lucas (Once Upon a Time)

Mulan (Once Upon a Time)

Samatha/Sam Carter (Stargate SG-1)

Kira Nerys (Star Trek: Deep Space 9)

Jadzia Dax(Star Trek: Deep Space 9)

Eleanor (The Good Place)

Annalise Keating (How to Get Away with Murder)

Cheryl Blossom (Riverdale)

Miranda Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy)

Lizzie McGuire (Lizzie McGuire)

Catherine the Great (The Great)

Dolores Abernathy (Westworld)

Maeve Millay (Westworld)

Lorelai (Gilmore Girls)

Paris (Gilmore Girls)

Morticia Addams (Addams Family)

Elisa Maza (Gargoyles)

Vera Bennett (Wentworth (2013)

Joan Ferguson (Wentworth (2013)

Constance Hardbroom (The Worst Witch (1998)

Princess Bubblegum (Adventure Time)

Marceline the Vampire Queen (Adventure Time)

Monica (Friends)

Phoebe (Friends)

Maisel (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Shiv Roy (Succession)

Hannah (Please Like Me)

Lupe (A League of Their Own)

Jess (A League of Their Own)

Shahrzad (One Thousand and One Nights)

Michael Burnham (Star Trek Discovery)

 Emperor Phillipa Georgiou (Star Trek Discovery)

Dee Reynold (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

Kara Thrace (Battlestar Galactica)

Donna (Twin Peaks)

Laura palmer (Twin Peaks)

Audrey(Twin Peaks)

Marwa (What we do in the Shadows)

Nadja (What we do in the Shadows)

Love Quinn (You)

Allison (Orphan Black)

Cosima (Orphan Black)

Nyota Uhura (Star Trek: The Original Series)

Lisa Cuddy (House MD)

Leela (Futurama)

Bean (Disenchantment)

Pam (Archer)

Grace (Grace and Frankie)

Frankie (Grace and Frankie)

Helga Pataki (Hey Arnold)

Anime/Manga

Sophie (Howl's Moving Castle)

Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon)

Hotaru - Sailor Saturn (Sailor Moon)

Michiru – Sailor Neptune (Sailor Moon)

Haruka – Sailor Uranus (Sailor Moon)

Rei – Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon)

Homura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Sakura Kinomoto (CardCaptor Sakura)

Tomoyo Daidouji (CardCaptor Sakura)

Onpu (Ojamajo Doremi)

Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)

Striga (Castlevania)

Carmilla (Castlevania)

Misa Amane (Death Note)

Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Shinobu Kocho (Demon Slayer)

Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena)

Nana Osaki (Nana)

Hachi (Nana)

Jean (Claymore)

Clare (Claymore)

Theresa (Claymore)

Helen (Claymore)

Deneve (Claymore)

Casca (Berserk)

Haruno Sakura (Naruto)

Yosano (Bungo Stray Dogs)

Tome Kurata (Mob Psycho 100)

Nikaido (Dorohedoro)

Nia (Dorohedoro)

Maki Zen'in (Jujutsu Kaisen 0)

Yuno Gasai (Mirai Nikki)

Ichigo Momomiya (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Zakuro Fujiwara (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Historia Reiss (Attack on Titan)

Mikasa Ackermann (Attack on Titan)

Games

Nancy Drew (Nancy Drew)

April Ryan (The Longest Journey)

Kate Walker (Syberia)

Zelda (Legend of Zelda)

Impa (Legend of Zelda)

Urdosa (Legend of Zelda)

Evie Frye (Assassin's Creed)

Senua (Senua's Sacrifice)

Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn)

Elisabet Sobeck (Horizon Zero Dawn)

Serena (Skyrim)

Frea (Skyrim)

Morrigan (Dragon Age Origins)

Kreia (Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II)

Kassandra of Sparta (Assassin's Creed Odyssey)

Heather Mason (Silent Hill 3)

Reika (Fatal Frame)

Rei (Fatal Frame:The Tormented)

An Shiraishi (Project SEKAI)

Nene Kusanagi (Project SEKAI)

Ena Shinonome (Project SEKAI)

Jesse Faden (Control)

Almalexia (The Elder Scrolls)

Billie Lurk (Dishonored)

Emily Kaldwin (Dishonored)

Cecelia (Dishonored)

Lizzy Stride (Dishonored)

Delilah Copperspoon (Dishonored)

Lohse (Divinity: Original Sin II)

Sebille Kaleran (Divinity: Original Sin II)

Siva (Divinity: Original Sin II)

Malady (Divinity: Original Sin II)

Dallis the Hammer (Divinity: Original Sin II)

Toriel (Undertale)

Undyne (Undertale)

Alphys (Undertale)

Commander Shepard (Mass Effect)

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya (Mass Effect)

Liara T'Soni (Mass Effect)

Aria T'Loak (Mass Effect)

Nyreen Kandros (Mass Effect)

Shala'Raan vas Tonba (Mass Effect)

Matriarch Aethyta (Mass Effect)

Yuna (Final Fantasy X)

Abby (The Last of Us)

Ellie (The Last of Us)

GLaDOS (Portal)

Chell (Portal)

Dr. Suvi Anwar (Mass Effect Andromeda)

Leliana (Dragon Age)

Parvati Holcomb (The Outer Worlds)

Chloe Price (Life is Strange)

2B (Nier Automata)

Comics

Stephanie Brown (DC comics)

Cassandra Cain (DC comics)

Zatanna Zatara (DC comics)

Elektra Natchios (Marvel comics)

Fanfiction

Ebony Dark'ness Raven Dementia Way

Web comics

Vriska Serket (Homestuck)

Jaden (Leasebound)

Antimony Carver (Gunnerkrigg Court)

Fictional Movies

Katya (Goncharov)

Podcasts

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home from (Welcome to Nightvale)

Plays

Lady Mabeth (Macbeth)

Clytemnestra (Oresteia)

Miscellanous

Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid)

RULES:

All fictional women from a category will be randomized, and put into polls

Whoever gets 50 votes automatically proceeds into the next round. There won't be only one winner for each poll!

We will do one category at the time. We'll start with books.

We'll decide on a winner of each category, and then whoever had the most votes, will proceed into the Final 10.

I'll calculate how many votes each woman got, so that at the end of the voting, you can see how many other women also adored your favourite ones :)

This also means that once you vote, if there's someone else you also want to see in the finals, you can reblog and let your followers know who already has enough votes, and who needs more in order to proceed. I'll also sometimes reblog polls announcing that a certain character has made the cut, and now others need your attention. We're trying to see which ones are loved and adored enough to actually get a lot of votes, even with competition. The voting starts at the end of nominations!

(POLLS ARE COMING SHORTLY)

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Saturday 13 October 1832

6 10

12 20

wild, windy, wet morning – F59° at 6 ½ am - wrote copy of letter asking Eugénie’s character - Breakfast at 8 ¼ with my father - staid down talking about the road thro’ Trough of Bolland wood etc my father taking it all now  with composure and really seeming not even the least annoyed about it at heart - just saw my aunt for a minute - read my father his letter from Marian to say she would be back between 6 and 7 this evening and came to my room at 9 40 - wrote 1 page to ‘The honourable Mrs Herbert, 84 London road Brighton’ and left this letter and my letter written last night to ‘the honourable Lady Stuart Richmond Park, Surrey’ on my desk ready for the post tonight for fear I should not happen to be at home before 6pm when John goes for my sister – out at 10 35 – went down to the hut – found Pickels and Dick there moving earth from the back of it – went with P- to see line of road he had raced out in Trough of Bolland wood – will do very well – told him to cut out a track I could get along easily, so that I might see my way before and consider of it – then back to the hut and stood over there till 1 – then home -  changed my pelisse etc a little while with my aunt and off again at 1 ¾ - a few minutes at the hut and at Lidgate at 2 25 - found Mrs Dyson of Willow field and her friends Mrs and Miss Salomon (late of Sandbach) called there - very civil to them during the 10 minutes or ¼ hour - then sat cozing with Miss W- very comfortably - she, however, not well and lay on the sofa - expressed my wish she should have Dr Belcombe’s advice to which she at last consented and we are to go over to York together for this purpose - had a beef steak at 6 ½ and afterwards tea - John came late on account of having waited in vain for my sister from Market Weighton - home in ½ hour at 10 25 - found Marian arrived ½ hour ago - had come by the Wakefield coach -  just wished her and my father goodnight - talked a little to my aunt (poorly tonight) and came to my room at 10 40 - talked to Miss W- first of her business matters and then quite as if we were really to travel together  mentioned Mrs N-’s asking me to Bath and Miss W- looked with a long face on my talking of going  in fact it is plain she likes me   she said what confidence she felt in [me]    and that she already felt attached to me  I talked of the continent in a style of observation amusing and rather exciting  she lay down and I leaned over her kissing her as usual   after tea got more affectionate but on gently putting my hand up her petticoats   she whispered  don’t and I desisted   she said I did not know how she had suffered from it the other night  had not got the better of it yet  she was very tender there    I talked soothingly and affectionately  said how gentle I would be  expressed my anxiety for her health and she said she would go with me to York this month  she always sleeps with Catharine Rawson   goes to her   I joked and wanted her to come to me  on Monday  no not then  it would not do   it would be better when we went to York to sleep at Tadcaster going and returning    oh oh thought I then we must get off  I must get my ordeal over and let her try me and see whether I can make her happy enough or not   she has really seemed better or more nicely conducted tonight than of late and her affectionate manner did make me feel in love with her  I said I only wished she had but a third of what she had and no Cliff hill and then we might have managed all without difficulty  oh no said she the difficulty would have been far greater I could not comprehend this  I will perhaps explain it said she by and by   I told her my uncle and aunt together had given me more than five hundred pounds one year and my uncle Joseph had once paid my debts but if I had not been as I was perhaps neither I nor Marian would have had the estate   mentioned having Cordingley with me in Paris    but did not say where we were told some of the queer stories and said I had always been too great a pickle but was quite different now    she is more than half in love with me already? rainy morning till after 9 then fine till about 3 or after when hail shower – gleams and showers afterwards but very fine moonlight evening F58° now at 11 20pm. having just written all but the first 7 ½ lines of today -

[rustyblackwood]

Canadian author Rusty Blackwood, whose pen name is derived from the colour of her russet hair, and her estranged husband’s Scottish great, great grandmother’s maiden surname Blackwood, loves to write, and this has been demonstrated many times through the assorted titles and genres of her work, ranging from poetry, children’s short stories, comedy, and romantic fiction drama, her favourite genre, and for which she best known. Rusty has written 13 titles to date, and is presently working on her 14th, Return to Autumn, the anticipated follow-up to her 5-star-multi-award- winning romantic fiction drama, The Perils of Autumn. Rusty is the recipient of a bronze medal from the International Open Amateur Poetry Contest, sponsored by poetrypoem.com for her 2005 poem, Desire. She has been honoured for the 3 consecutive years of 2017, 2018, and 2019 as a Nominee for Top Female Authors, sponsored by The Author Show.com. She was also honoured as a Finalist in The Author Show’s 50 Great Authors You Should Be Reading. Though she is unprofessionally trained in the field of writing, she has a commanding understanding of the English language paired with a never-ending imagination, and has written

[redladydeath]

Mmmm, every English queen, but Sixed

The order is *INHALE*...

Image one: Matilda of Flanders (insp. Ella Fitzgerald), Matilda of Scotland (insp. Jewel), Adeliza of Louvain (insp. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu), Empress Matilda (insp. Cardi B), Matilda of Boulogne (insp. Lana Del Rey) Image two: Eleanor of Aquitaine (insp. Marina), Berengaria of Navarre (insp. Mary J. Blige), Isabelle of Angouleme (insp. Camila Cabello), Eleanor of Provence (insp. Meghan Trainor), Eleanor of Castile (insp. Kelly Clarkson) Image three: Margaret of France (insp. Carly Rae Jepsen), Isabella of France (insp. Haley Williams), Philippa of Hainault (insp. Mariah Carey), Anne of Bohemia (insp. Alanis Morissette), Isabella of Valois (insp. Willow Smith)

Image four: Joan of Navarre (insp. Amy Winehouse), Catherine of Valois (insp. Charli XCX), Margaret of Anjou (insp. Blondie), Elizabeth Woodville (insp. Olivia Newton-John), Anne Neville (insp. Ellie Goulding) Image five: Margaret Beaufort (insp. Carole King), Elizabeth of York (insp. Selene Dion), Catharine of Aragon (insp. Beyonce), Anne Boleyn (insp. Avril Lavigne), Jane Seymour (insp. Adele) Image six: Anna of Cleves (insp. Rihanna), Katherine Howard (insp. Britney Spears), Catherine Parr (insp. Alicia Keys), Jane Grey (insp. young Taylor Swift), Mary I (insp. P!nk)

Image seven: Elizabeth I (insp. Lady Gaga), Mary Queen of Scots (insp. Katy Perry), Anne of Denmark (insp. Cyndi Lauper), Henrietta Maria of France (insp. Janelle Monae), Catherine of Braganza (insp. Elle King) Image eight: Mary of Modena (insp. Florence Welch), Mary II (insp. Carrie Underwood), Queen Anne (insp. Halsey), Caroline of Ansbach (insp. Lorde), Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (insp. Whitney Houston) Image nine: Caroline of Brunswick (insp. Lizzo), Adelaide of Saxe-Meinigen (insp. Demi Lovato), and Queen Victoria (insp. Billie Eilish)

[possiblyjad]

So I noticed that I have had a bunch of new followers over the last month or so and I haven't taken the time to send you guys love and a proper intro! So here we go:

Hi! My name is Jade, but you can also call me Jad. I'm 27, Canadian (I live in Niagara Falls), and super queer. I use both she and they pronouns. I have two conflicting aesthetics of super cutesy pastel stuff and emo renaissance. I love fashion, makeup, and body modification as outlets of expression. I go to school VERY soon to be an esthetician, and I'm currently looking into the possibilities of getting a piercing apprenticeship.

Under the cut will be 25 random facts about me. Click to see them:

1. I grew up in a smallish town called Bowmanville, which is about an hour east of Toronto. It's rapidly expanding but in the heart of it is a bevy of picture esque historic neighborhoods lined with centuries old mansions. If you ever go, the one place I highly recommend food wise is Norm’s Deli downtown. The handmade pierogis and cabbage rolls are unmatched. Also, if you’re a tattoo fiend like me, some of my all time favourite artists are in Bowmanville/Oshawa.

2. I currently have 4 tattoos and 12 piercings, with the strong desire to get more.

3. My favourite colours are pastels mainly, baby blue, mint, lavender, and millennial pink.

4. I have a caffeine addiction which is usually fueled by coffee (mainly iced) and sugar free energy drinks.

5. I don't really care for alcohol too much, I like the occasional beer at Taps or a cocktail on a hot day, but I hate getting drunk and I'm also not fairly comfortable around drunk people unless I'm also drunk. (I don't really do parties anymore for that very reason)

6. I've been pescatarian since Feb 2020 and I've been trying my hardest to use cruelty free personal care products since the beginning of 2020.

7. My favourite CF makeup brands are Colourpop, Milk Makeup, Sugarpill, and Anastasia Beverly Hills.

8. Even though I'm trying really hard right now, I am USELESS when it comes to hair. I don't really know how to curl hair, I don't know how to braid, and I cannot be trusted with bleach (I won't fry your hair, it'll just be very uneven). I'm trying to learn hair curling now, though!

9. I smoke weed almost everyday. Depending on what I smoke with, it actually levels me out anxiety wise and allows me to focus and think like a normal person. I also smoke before bed to help treat my insomnia. On occasion though, I DO like to get mind numbingly stoned.

10. I actually have a hard time getting close to people, predominantly because of my past relationships with toxic people. My broken brain automatically considers most relationships temporary until proven otherwise, in an attempt to protect myself from further heartache. I always want to make new friends, I swear! Just keep interacting with me and I'll open up at some point.

11. I don't shut the fuck up. Ever. I'm either talking my friends' ears off or I'm complimenting a stranger because I can. Let’s just say that I’m a hit with my friends’ parents or family.

12. I LOVE TTRPG, it’s likely my biggest creative outlet right now. I play both DnD 5E and Pathfinder 1E. I partake in 5 games right now.

13. I’m a first time DM! I started a campaign for a bunch of people who are relatively new to DnD a few months ago and it’s been a hit so far! I absolutely love flexing my creative muscles and writing for my friends!

14. I also write as a hobby as well. Mainly fantasy drabble based on my TTRPG characters, but it’s still something.

15. I’m almost always either listening to music or finding new musicians to listen to. I curate playlists all the time and daydream to songs constantly.

16. My favourite artists/bands right now are: Lights, Marianas Trench, Mothica, BMTH, Halsey, Ashnikko, Billy Talent, Stand Atlantic, and a plethora more.

17. I’m technically the oldest in my family. I have a younger brother (also queer and trans, he recently started HRT!!), and a little half sister who is the literal light of my life.

18. I LOVE animals! I have a senior cat, Willow, who does not look or behave like a senior cat. I also have a lionhead/dwarf rabbit named Theodore, or Theo. I’d get more pets if it weren’t for the fact, we don’t really have the room for other animals in our apartment, and also the fact that Willow hates other cats.

19. I’m TERRFIED of bees/wasps. I understand their importance to the world and they can vibe and save the planet as far away from me as possible.

20. My favourite food is sushi. I’m also a massive sushi snob and I have strong opinions on many of the places I’ve been to in my lifetime. The best I’ve had is still this place in Freehold, NJ that I don’t remember the name of. In Ontario, thus far, is tied between Oishi Maki in Whitby, ON, and the St Catharines location for Wind.

21. I’m also a sucker for good bubble tea. It’s one of the easiest ways to win me over.

22. I just love tea in general. Hot or iced. You should see my tea/coffee cupboard, it is PACKED. I’m a huge David’s tea fan but I also like trying other loose-leaf teas as well, and I prefer herbal/fruit infusions over most other teas. Except for chai, you can win me over with a good chai.

23. I marched in a pride parade once! It was the Durham Pride Parade in Oshawa in 2014! I was still very much in the closet at the time, but I did get photographed by the news and everything! I would LOVE to go to Toronto Pride once in my life with a bunch of my other Alphabet Mafia fiends when things die down.

24. I am a shameless collector of Pokemon and Alpacasso plush.

25. Back when we could, I used to go to conventions a lot! I’ve been to Anime North, Fan Expo, and Con Bravo thus far. My favourite out of all of them is easily Con Bravo, but I would LOVE to check out other Ontario conventions when things open up!

[tipsycad147]

HERBARIUM: MAGICAL AND MEDICINAL USES OF QUINCE

By Willow

Gender: Feminine Planet: Saturn Element: Earth Powers: Fertility, Love, Lust, Marriage Magical Uses and History: The quince appears in numerous folk legends and myths around the world and is connected with a number of deities who "fall." In the Greek tale of Huntree Atalanta, Atalanta is able to outrun all of her suitors, remaining unmarried as a result. However, her fall comes with Hippomenes who threw 'golden apples' aka quinces on the ground in front of her to distract her as they raced. Each time Atlanta caught up to him, he would throw another off the path for her to retrieve. Ultimately, Hippomenes wins the race and therefore the hand of Atalanta. The quince was also the catalyst for the Trojan Wars. Eris, the goddess of discord, rolled a quice with the words "to the fairest" into the middle of a wedding banquet, which led Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena to vie for the position of fairest. When Paris, the most handsome of mortal men, could not choose, Aphrodite promised him Helen of Sparta. This, of course, led to the Trojan War, but as a result, the fruit became associated with Aphrodite. Others still attribute the fall of man in the Garden of Eden to the eating of a quince (golden apple). Either way, the quince is thus associated with downfall, but also with love. It was common for the quince to appear in Greek weddings due to its association with Aphrodite. In 594 BC Solon was elected chief magistrate of Athens and during his rule, he passed a number of social and cultural reforms, which included making the quince a wedding food. It is he that solidified the quinces role in weddings where it was used to sweeten the breath of the bride before she entered her marital chambers, baked into wedding cakes, and used in decoration to ensure a fruitful or fertile marriage. Its association with love continued on into the age of the Tudors in England, who had it cooked into marmalades and wrapped in golden foil to use as an aphrodisiac. The desire for quince was so strong that the marriage between Portugal's Catharine of Bragacanca and Charles the Second of England not only provided the country with money but also an ample supply of tea and quinces. As such, quinces can be used in love spells and rituals, specifically those designed to bring fertility, fidelity, and faithfulness, but it can also be used to break up love, as seen in some of the earlier stories of the quince. Quince can be used in a number of spells including:         Love Spells         Marriage Spells Medicinal Uses: Due to the high fiber content of quince seeds, they can be used as a gentle yet effective laxative, especially in cases of constipation. They are also used as an astringent to treat gastritis and enteritis and even mild burns. quince seeds are also anti-inflammatory and an expectorant making them great for mouthwashes to treat inflammation and dry coughs. Preparation and Dosage:  For medicinal purposes, both seed and the entire fruit are used. They should be collected between September and October. Internally- For an infusion, soak seeds for 3-5 hours until a slime forms on the outer coats of the seed. Drink as needed or three times a day. For a tincture, take 1-2 milliliters as needed or three times a day (made from seed). Eating the whole quince can work just as well. Externally- Rub the mucus from the seeds on mild burns.

https://www.flyingthehedge.com/2014/08/

[feadae]

That OC name post I reblogged got me thinking and also I’m procrastinating hardcore

So here for your viewing pleasure (and your schadenfreude and, I don’t know, knowledge that your middle-school OCs’ names weren’t the worst?) is as many of my middle-school OCs as I can find on my computer. This is by no means all of the OCs I created in middle school; in fact, this may be barely half of them.

I know that the worst one of the bunch is missing but I’ve literally blocked her name from my memory (I can remember exactly which notebook she’s in and exactly where in my room that notebook is and exactly how terrible her story was but I can’t remember her name and I’m currently 501 miles away from my room)

•Alea Jodeen Raynerson (Harry Potter)

•Alexandrine Keisha Winfield (Supernatural)

•Aradhana Gadhavi (one of 4 characters of color I created during this time period 😬—Harry Potter)

•Arianna (Supernatural)

•Benjamin Samuel Russell (A dragon-themed ChickenSmoothie RP)

•Casey Renee Altair (the TV show Scorpion)

•Cassiopeia Joan Reid (Doctor Who)

•Catarina Rowanne Mallory (I don’t remember)

•Catharine Richardson (Harry Potter—I really like to riff on the name Catherine, don’t I?)

•Catriona D’Onofrio (Harry Potter)

•Charlotte Solene Quick (I think CotIG? Idk)

•Chrisabel Luisella Krauss (Harry Potter)

•Ciera Martin (Harry Potter)

•Claire Elizabeth Ashdown (I don’t remember)

•Dante Lee Hawk (original story)

•Emmett Wickham (original story)

•Enola Avalon Solomon (BBC Sherlock)

•Erika Christine Leroux (first for an Avengers fanfic, then technically for an original superhero story, but you KNOW she had a Phantom of the Opera theme going on)

•Evelina Fern Low (I don’t remember, but she has wings, so either Marvel or Supernatural)

•Frida Theadottir (Marvel)

•Gideon Pace (Harry Potter)

•Grace/Griffin Press (original-ish story—with crossdressing to get into the army! Revolutionary)

•Hanna Burnham (orignal story, which I might actually improve and finish someday; the fundamental concept wasn’t half-bad)

•Iris Regalia Moran (I think a pirate RP on ChickenSmoothie?)

•Jamie Ciara Callaghan (Marvel—this is the third character with wings and we’re only on J)

•Jared Mason Baker (I don’t remember)

•Jennifer Marie Baker (Yes they’re siblings and actually I do remember this was a superpower high school RP on ChickenSmoothie)

•Joshua Richard Green (original story)

•Julia Aryana Thalia Parker (Marvel—winged character #4)

•Julia Phoebe Holmes (BBC Sherlock—I seem to have had a thing for making OCs related to established characters—I’m told that wasn’t as unique as I’d thought it was)

•Kendall Ethelinda Rowe (I remember this was for ChickenSmoothie, but I don’t remember what the RP was; I just remember she had the ability to create and manipulate smoke)

•Kyrie Nora-Jane Adeodata Casper (Supernatural)

•Lily Serena Weekes (Marvel—character of color #2)

•Loranos, who also went by Athena DeWitt (Doctor Who and a feature in a SuperWho fanfic I wrote—gag)

•Mark Hopper (original story)

•Marsha Jan Tillik (character of color #3; I don’t remember for what fandom)

•Mary Peter (original story)

•Miyu Patil (Marvel—character of color #4)

•Moira Andromeda Byrne (Harry Potter—a werewolf turned by—*gasp*—Remus Lupin)

•Ophelia (given the one-name shtick, I’m guessing she’s one of my many Quirky The-Doctor’s-Long-Lost-Sister characters but I don’t recall)

•Page Bannerman (original story)

•Phoebe Amelia Brigham (my first CotIG OC! And one of about a thousand Phoebes)

•Phoebe Rachelle DeLaney (Supernatural)

•Phoenix Gallagher (original story)

•Robin Tempest Pierce (Supernatural)

•Saga Verandi (Harry Potter)

•Sigrid Lokidottir (sigh)

•Stephanie Grace Banner (Marvel—yes, that Banner)

•Talia Ophelia Gabriel (Marvel—what was it with me and the names Talia/Thalia, Ophelia, and Phoebe?)

•Tanya Marjory Underhill (Marvel)

•Tawny Benedict (original story)

•Violet Rossana Victor (Marvel)

•Virginia Joan Hathaway (Jekyll and Hyde, of all things)

•Vivienne Guenievre Verne (a CotIG/Doctor Who crossover fic I regret writing—and yes, that Verne—I went to the trouble of researching how far down his family line went to make sure it was plausible for her to be his great-great granddaughter or whatever)

•Will Atkins (original story)

•Willow Thomas (BBC Sherlock, and I think Supernatural too)

•Xavia Hermione Starr (Harry Potter—I wasn’t even subtle, good Lord)

•Xavia Wilson (original story—not one, but TWO Xavias—ffs)

And finally, the very epitome of my OC-naming whatever-the-hell-you-call-this,

Adelaide Arwen Athalia Brigitta Philomena Sapphira Thea Auttenberg (Marvel).

I am so sorry I subjected y’all to this.

[veryfineday]

Saturday 13 October 1832

6 10/..

12 20/..

L  L  V  V  Ͷ

wild, windy, wet morning – Fahrenheit 59º. at 6 1/2 a.m. – wrote copy of letter asking Eugenies character – breakfast at 8 1/4 with my father – staid down talKing about the road thro’ trough of Bolland wood etc. etc. my father taKing it all now with composure, and really seeming not even the least annoyed about it at heart – just saw my aunt for a minute – read my father his letter from marian to say she would be bacK between 6 and 7 this evening, and came to my room at 9 40/.. –

wrote 1 page to ‘the honourable mrs. Herbert, 84 London Road, Brighton’ and left this letter and my letter written yesterday to ‘the honourable Lady Stuart, Richmond ParK, Surrey’ on my desK ready for the post tonight for fear I should not happen to be at home before 6 p.m. when John goes for my sister – out at 10 25/.. –

went down to the hut – found PicKles and DicK there moving earth from the back of it – went with P-[Pickles] to see the line of road he had traced out in trough of Bolland wood – will do very well – told him to cut out a tracK I could get along easily, so that I might see my way before and consider of it – then bacK to the hut and stood over then till 2 – then home – changed my pelisse etc. a little while with my aunt and off again at 1 3/4 –

a few minutes at the hut and at Lidgate at 2 25/.. – found mrs. Dyson of willow field and her friends mrs. and miss Salmon (late of Sandbach) calling there – very civil to them during the 10 minutes or 1/4 hour – then sat cozing with miss w-[Walker] very comfortably – she, however, not well and lay on the sofa – expressed my wish she should have Dr. Belcombe’s advice to which she at last consented and we are to go over to YorK together for this purpose – had a beef steaK at 6 1/2 and afterwards tea – John came late on account of having waited in vain for my sister from market weighton – home in 1/2 hour at 10 25/.. – found marian arrived 1/2 hour ago – had come by the WaKefield coach – just wished her and my father good night – talKed a little to my aunt (poorly tonight) and came to my room at 10 40/.. –

talked to Miss W[alker] first of her business matters and then quite as if we were really to travel together mentioned Mrs. N[orcliffe]’s asking me to Bath  and Miss W[alker] looked with a long face on my talking of going  in fact it is plain she likes me  she said what confidence she felt in  and that she already felt attached to me I talked of the continent in a style of observation amusing and rather exciting she lay down and I leaned over her kissing her as usual  after tea got more affectionate but on gently putting my hand up her petticoats  she whispered dont  and I desisted she said I d[o] not know how she had suffered from it the other night  had not got the better of it yet she was very tender there  I talked soothingly and affectionately  said how gentle I would be expressed my anxiety for her health  and she said she would go with me to York this month she always ssleeps with Catharine Rawson  goes to her  I joked and wanted her to come to me on Monday  no not then  it would not do  it would be better when we went to York  to sleep at Tadcaster going and returning  oh oh thought I  then we must get off  I must get my or deal over and let her try me and see whether I can make ker happy enough or not  she has really seemed better or more nicely conducted tonight than of late and her affectionate manner did make me feel in love with her 

I said I only wished she had but a third of what she had and no Cliffhill and then we might have managed all without difficulty  oh no said she the difficulty would have been far greater   I could not comprehend this  I will perhaps explain it said she by and by – I told her my uncle and aunt together had given me more than five hundred pounds one year  and my uncle Joseph had once paid my debts  but if I had not been as I was perhaps neither I nor Marian would have had the estate  mentioned having Cordingley with me in Paris  but did not say where we were  told some of the queer stories  and said I had always been too great a pickle but was quite different now – she is more than half in love with me already?

rainy morning till after 9 – then fine till about 3 or after when hail shower – gleams and showers afterwards but very fine moonlight evening Fahrenheit 58º. now at 11 20/.. p.m. having just written all but the first 7 1/2 lines of today –

[mybookplacenet]

Featured Post: The Perils of Autumn by Rusty Blackwood

About The Perils of Autumn: Steam Level: From the author of the riveting romantic fiction drama, Passions in Paris: Revelations of a Lost Diary, and the celebrated, 5-star-award-winning romantic fiction drama, Willow's Walk, comes the intense romantic drama, The Perils of Autumn. This page turner, set primarily in the early 1970's, centers on a young Kentucky woman, Autumn Leeves, born to Abigail Leeves, an unwed mother who struggles to make ends meet. By 1970, Autumn graduates nursing school and is sent on assignment by the local hospital to care for the terminally-ill wife of middle-aged English equestrian master, Cyril Landon, owner of Landon Lawns Stables, a most successful thoroughbred racing stable located just outside Lexington, Kentucky in a posh community known as The Meadows. Duff Taylor, world renown jockey who is tops in his field, lives full-time above the tack room at Landon Lawns and enjoys the many benefits it brings, but he also has a dark secret surrounding an unsolved racing incident from his past that he will go to any length to protect. Autumn arrives to Landon manor in time to be thrown into the fray, and finds herself caught in the ongoing disruption that ensues. Buy the ebook: Buy the Book On Amazon Buy the Book On Barnes & Noble/Nook Buy the Book On Kobo Buy the Print book: Buy the Book On Amazon Buy the Book On Barnes & Noble/Nook Author Bio: Top ranking romantic fiction author Rusty Blackwood believes the flair for fantasy is anything the mind wishes it to be, and she is a master at this. Within her expressive mind is found an endless array of romance, passion, textures and colors to sweep the reader to exotic, faraway places where anything is possible, proving that her words really do leave you breathless. Canadian born Blackwood, who chose her 'pen-name' by combining both the color of her russet hair with her estranged husband's great, great, Scottish grandmother’s maiden name, grew up on her paternal grandfather’s farm in southwestern Ontario, Canada where she developed her love of writing while still in grade school, entering numerous competitions and writing exhibitions throughout her area, and attributes her love of writing to her late father James, and to the late Gladys Carroll, her elementary teacher. Although unprofessionally trained in the field, Rusty has always had an affinity for the written word, a gift to express it, and has demonstrated this talent many times since becoming a serious writer in 2001. Miss Blackwood is a bronze medalist winner in the 2006 Annual International Library of Poetry for her 2005 poem, Desire. She has written an eclectic array of contemporary and traditional poetry, publishing her first collection in October of 2009 titled, “Feelings: A Rhythmic Journey in Thought,” which was later re-released in a second collection with additional content in 2011 under the title, “Impressions: A Poetic Rhythm in Emotion”. Feelings was followed in April of 2010 by a collection of assorted short stories for children, as well as the young at heart, titled, “Young Minds,” which was later re-released as a second collection with additional content in 2012 under the title, “Through the Eyes of Innocence.” In March of 2012 Rusty released the first installment in her ongoing 'Derwood Comedy Series', “The Misadventures of Derwood Tugbottom,” an adult comedy series centering on and around an eccentric, retired London City Hall Official who comes to Canada looking for 'the perfect retirement' - that of which eludes his ongoing search. Following a previously hard fought, misguided, and misleading publishing road into the competitive world of main-stream fiction with her first two-part romance/drama, "Passion in Paris’"– Connections to the Past and Directions of the Heart respectively – Rusty was finally given the chance to accomplish what she had originally set out to do, and this exciting reprieve can be found within the pages of her grand-scale, 4-star Amazon-rated, heart-touching romance/drama, “Passions In Paris: Revelations of a Lost Diary,” released in 2013, and available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon. *The 2-part Passion in Paris series is no longer available. Passions in Paris is followed in 2015 by the official release of the riveting 5-star award-winning romantic fiction drama, "Willow’s Walk." This page-turner has been given a 5 star rating by Readers’ Favorite while still in pre-release, so be sure to check it out in Paperback & Kindle at Amazon. In July 2017, Miss Blackwood released her second installment in the Derwood comedy series, titled, "Derwood Returns". In this hysterical follow-up to The Misadventures of Derwood Tugbottom, the bubbling and pretentious Englishman, known for his staunch outlook and demanding ways, decides to return to the picturesque village of Vinehaven on the Lake, where he takes up residence in the swinging Sunset Villa Retirement center, located directly across the road from the infamous Anchors Away, of which he hastily departed two years earlier. Now he is back, with a hard-learned lesson beneath his belt, and hopes of finding the life that escaped him on his initial try. Rusty currently released the third installment of the Derwood Tugbottom comedy series, titled, Derwood Goes Caribbean, on January 27, 2019. Travel with Derwood, and his best friend, Robbie, as they board The Travelling Minstrel on a swinging single’s cruise to the Caribbean. Christmas 2014 is fast approaching and an intrepid Derwood talks Robert into taking a single’s cruise to the Caribbean with him, which sends them on another eccentric adventure. Will they find what they hope to aboard ship? Will happiness present itself in one the ports of call, or will it avoid them altogether? Find out, in this third Derwood adventure, certain to make you laugh as you cruise right along with him. Rusty’s third novel, The Perils of Autumn by Tellwell Talent and release late January 2019, is a 5-star award-winning romantic fiction drama set in the early 1970’s at Landon Lawns Stables, a fictional thoroughbred racing stable in the posh community known as The Meadows located just outside Lexington Kentucky. This enthralling story centers around heroine Autumn Leeves, a twenty four year old newly graduated RN, who is sent on assignment to Landon Lawns to care for the terminally ill wife of English equestrian master, Cyril Landon. However, once there, Autumn encounters a world filled with intrigue, wonderment, and a well kept secret. The Perils of Autumn was released on January 17, 2019 and is available in paperback, hardback, and Kindle editions at all Amazons, and in Kobo at Chapters. Paperback, and Hardback editions may also be ordered at all Chapters, Coles and Indigo. The Perils of Autumn is now a 2019 Finalist in Romance in both the International Book Awards and the American Fest Best Book Awards! Rusty is currently writing the follow-up novel to the 5-star awarded, The Perils of Autumn, entitled, Return to Autumn, and is expected to release in late 2020. Miss Blackwood is also a tree-time Nominee for Top Female Author sponsored by The Authors Show for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019. The 5’1″(154.94 cm) spunky redhead is often asked how much of herself is found in her heroines, and she has been noted to say a fair amount, adding that most writers inspiration comes from many different aspects of life experience and reaping from them all that one can to use to one’s best advantage, so in that respect she would have to say that many sides, aspects, and flavors of her heroines derive from her own personality and life. Rusty has always loved the Arts in their many unique forms and this is demonstrated in the two Interior Decorating and Design diplomas she holds, as well as her many years spent on the south-western Ontario stage performing with her family’s country music band, The Midnight Ramblers, and the country – rock – blues band, MIRAGE respectively as an accomplished vocalist, bassist, and rhythm guitarist. Rusty firmly believes in going after what she wants, doing whatever is required to make it happen, and turning a deaf ear to anyone who says it cannot be done. She has faced many challenges throughout her life, emerging more determined with each, but make no mistake about her methods, for she is a firm believer in Karma and the adage that whatever you put out in life revisits you, so be sure your intentions are proper. Miss Blackwood now resides in the cultural city of St. Catharines, Ontario and when not at her keyboard, enjoys art, music, nature, gardening, and spending quality time with family, friends, and her loyal cat, Tipper. She also invites you to contact her regarding your views, questions, or to simply say hello. Follow the author on social media: Learn more about the writer. Visit the Author's Website Facebook Fan Page Twitter Linked In Pinterest YouTube Read the full article

[angelsvoice1love]

Nick Stokes

Wedding date (part 2 of pool)

You kept watching the time on your watch, constantly counting down the time before the wedding.

Grissom.... Y/n. If you want you could go get ready. We can do this without you.

Y/n.... Really? All I need to do is get dressed, and just do my hair and make-up. I...but what about Nick? He's my date.

Catharine.... Your date?

Nick.... Yes. I agreed to be her date for the wedding.

Sarah.... Why exactly did you agree to this? She asked, raising her brow.

Nick.... I...it's a long story that's between me, y/n and Warrick. Other than that, I'm just being a-

Warrick.... Nick's also pretending to be y/n boyfriend.

Y/n.... WARRICK!

Greg.... Oo...this just got interesting. He responded with a giggle.

Y/n.... Okay...fine. Yes, I asked Nick to be my pretend boyfriend because...because I didn't want my mother to set me up with someone. I didn't want to go to my cousin's wedding on a blind date, and pretending to have a good time. With Nick, I know I'll have a great time. I wouldn't need to pretend to have fun with Nick, cause he's one of the funniest people I know...and I'm really comfortable around him that's why I asked him. And if that's a crime, then you can arrest me right here.

Brass.... It's better to pretend than, be uncomfortable with someone you just met. Go, you two get ready.

Smiling you gave Brass a hug, and ran out of the lab Nick following after you. After taking a shower at the LVPD, you blow dried your hair, did your make-up and got dressed.

Catharine.... Why are you both waiting with Nick? Shouldn't you be working?

Greg.... Yes. But we really, wanted to see how y/n looks. Seeing that Nick here has to wear a tux, how exactly would she look? Greg asked, making Catharine shake her head.

Just then you came walking in, turning the corner. Smiling you reached Nick, Warrick, Greg an Catharine as you fixed Nick's bowtie.

Y/n.... All better. Ready to go?

Nick.... As I'll ever be. You look beautiful.

Greg.... No...you look hot. Greg spoke loud, making everyone else including you laugh.

Y/n.... Why thank you, Greg.

Warrick.... Enjoy tonight, see you two tomorrow then?

Nodding, Nick offered you his arm which made you giggle as you placed your hand around it. Going to this wedding was going to be fun, interesting and defiantly different. But you got to go with one of your best friends. Yes, although you made a deal, Nick would've still gone with you if you didn't take the photo, but still it was fun seeing how he reacted with all of the picture fun.

[cokeisrael4-blog]

Can South Philly Hold On to What’s Always Made It Unique?

City

It’s our most famous neighborhood, defined by its immigrants and its characters, by intermingling (sometimes clashing) cultures — and by near-constant change. Where does it go from here?

The rapidly changing South Philly. Photograph by Adam Englehart

In the late summer of 1981, very much against my Catholic mother’s wishes, I had just moved into a rowhouse at 17th and Naudain — then the very bottom edge of Center City — where my new boyfriend lived. Mom, who’d recently been diagnosed with cancer, was coming for her first visit, reluctantly. The neighborhood was admittedly sketchy — most of Center City was, back then — but I was proud of our chic little home, with its new sofa and drapes and the garden planted out back. Mom knocked, I opened the door, and she peered past me into the narrow hallway.

“Oh my God,” she said, and not in a good way. “It’s just like Morris Street.”

That was where my mom grew up: 128 Morris Street, in the heart of South Philly. A hundred or so years ago, for reasons that are lost in the sands of time, Casimir Norvilas, a Lithuanian immigrant, moved there. He was still in his 20s, but he’d already lived an exciting life, having served in the merchant marine and fought Pancho Villa on the U.S.-Mexican border.

In Philly, perhaps calling on some leatherworking skills acquired on the horse farm near Vilnius where he grew up, he opened a shoemaker shop. He married a fellow Lithuanian immigrant, bought the house on Morris Street, and had three daughters, the eldest of whom was my mom.

The part of the city where he settled was traditionally a point of entry for immigrants. It was close to the docks where ships arrived from the Old World; those same docks provided jobs for laborers whose only skill was brute force. The first big flush of migrants to the city had been Irish, pried from their hearths in the 1840s by a potato blight that caused widespread starvation, killed a million people, and drove another two million to exit the Emerald Isle. The next was Italian, propelled by the “unification” of small city-states and the breakdown of the peninsula’s feudal system. Some seven million mostly Southern Italian peasants decamped for foreign parts.

The Morris Street house where the author’s mom grew up. Photograph by Michelle Gustafson

Since then, wave after wave of newcomers has inhabited the rowhouses of South Philly, on both the east and west sides of Broad Street — Southern blacks with the collapse of Reconstruction, Eastern European Jews starting in the 1880s, more Italians after World War II ended. Mexicans moved north under the 1942 bracero (“one who works using his arms”) program, and smaller tides of Cubans and Puerto Ricans and Vietnamese and Cambodians and Liberians landed here, too. South Philly was a place to gain a foothold, to begin anew, to build something from nothing for impoverished families from all over the world. Then your kids got the hell out.

That was what Mom did. She made her way to Girls’ High, which was then at 17th and Spring Garden, and after graduating went even further up Broad Street to Temple, where she met my dad. Together, they began a family and a series of successive moves away from South Philly, to Willow Grove and Glenside and finally bucolic Doylestown. They raised a solid middle-class clan of four kids and a dog on a third of an acre there.

Which is why, I think, the house on Naudain Street so unnerved Mom. When you’ve spent a lifetime trying to escape the past, it can’t be easy to realize that your child just cheerfully leaped back in.

That was the only time Mom ever visited me and Doug, who eventually became my husband. She died three months later. I’d like to think it wasn’t seeing the house.

•

The workingman’s homes that make up Philly’s rows were built in the mid-to-late 19th century, as the city underwent rapid industrialization. But there were rowhouses even before that; witness the city’s oldest block, Elfreth’s Alley. William Penn envisioned his city filled with gracious single homes set amid green lawns, but it didn’t take long for speculators to slice up the blocks he laid out and eke the most from them by erecting rowhomes. The city was built atop clay, which is what you make bricks from, which is why the rowhomes were brick.

I have the vaguest memories of the house on Morris Street; Poppy’s shoemaker shop and the penny-candy place next door made more of an impression on me. I know this, though: Mom’s parents, like so many new arrivals here, found the fact that they were allowed to own land amazing. Slaves from the South and serfs from the Baltic States and paesani from Italy had all fled societies in which “real estate” belonged to the master or czar or king. To buy for yourself even the postage-stamp property beneath a rowhouse was a marvelous thing.

Which is one reason newcomers stayed put. “People would move to South Philly because it was close to jobs on the waterfront or in the garment factories,” says Bryant Simon, a history professor at Temple. “Then they created a culture that reminded them of where they were from.” They opened butcher shops and bakeries, planted grapevines in tiny backyards, built churches and fraternal organizations. They dug in, deep.

A window near 8th and Tasker. Photograph by Michelle Gustafson

Southern Italian immigrants, notes Penn city planning and urban studies professor Domenic Vitiello, had a particular pattern of migration: “They settled in groups of people from the same town. You could identify them — this block from this village in Abruzzo, this block from this village in Calabria.” Mexican immigration, Vitiello adds, would later follow this same pattern.

My mom’s mom’s sister, Adeline, married an Italian my grandfather fondly called “Goombah Jimmy.” We only visited Adeline’s house, on Wolf Street near Broad, for the Mummers Parade and the occasional funeral, but it stood out because it was so unlike anything else in my bland suburban life. People drank, hard; everyone was loud; the women and the food — Italian sausages, kielbasa and pierogies — smelled wonderful; and in an upstairs bedroom there hung the biggest painting I had ever seen, a full-size reproduction of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, with all that bare-breasted flesh. Who could look away?

I went back to South Philly recently and checked out the house on Wolf Street. There were potted plants taking the sun beside the front stoop. Mom’s people were farmers at heart. She would have liked that.

I went to Morris Street, too, to see what was left of number 128. It looked good — the trim all freshly painted, a fancy ornamental door. There was a planter beside it, too. The houses on Mom’s row are tiny — under a thousand square feet, with two bedrooms and a single bath. Yet when she was a kid, her family took in a boarder to help with the bills, which wasn’t rare. A 1904 survey of the area from 8th Street to 9th Street between Carpenter and Christian showed that 41 of the 167 houses were occupied by three or more families. That’s a tight squeeze.

Bryant Simon says you can tell when a neighborhood gentrifies by the house numbers; newcomers prefer sans serif fonts. There’s a lot of sans serif on Mom’s block. Another clue: the four new three-story townhomes with garages and roof decks. They have three bedrooms and two and a half baths and, you can bet, one family apiece.

•

Mom’s old house sold for $43,000 in 1995; today, its estimated worth is $218,985. The big difference between people buying in South Philly these days and those from the old days is that the latest arrivals don’t land here with nothing. They bring along advanced degrees and SUVs and Mitchell Gold sofas and IRAs.

Back in 2011, Kate Mellina and her husband, Dave Christopher, moved from Asbury Park to Philadelphia, where Mellina had grown up: “In the Northeast — St. Timothy’s parish. But my dad was from South Philly. St. Monica’s. You forget how Philadelphia is defined by its parishes.” The couple, both artists, were looking for an area that was “up-and-coming,” Mellina says, and they bought a house in East Passyunk, overlooking the famed Singing Fountain. “It was not quite as developed then,” Mellina says, “but you could see it was on its way.”

Not long after they moved in, one of the couple’s friends happened on a vintage photo album at Lambertville’s Golden Nugget flea market and recognized some famous faces posing with the grinning strangers inside: Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Liberace. On the back of the album was the photographer’s studio address, on East Passyunk Avenue. “Our friend knew we’d moved in around there, so he gave it to us,” Mellina explains. “He said, “Here’s your housewarming present — find out who these people are!”

Naturally, Mellina says, she started by showing the album to her neighbor, “Frank from around the corner, who’s been here forever.”

“Oh, that’s Palumbo’s!” Frank said.

“We were like, ‘What’s Palumbo’s?’” Mellina had never heard of the now-defunct nightclub at 8th and Catharine that hosted everyone from Sinatra to Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. back in the day. It started life as a boardinghouse for immigrants sailing from Italy; legend has it they’d arrive speaking no English but with signs around their necks that read PALUMBO’S.

Plenty of Palumbo’s stars were homegrown. South Philly’s rowhouses all looked alike on the outside, but they sheltered singular individuals inside. The roll call just of those who passed through South Philly High at Broad and Snyder is startling: Marian Anderson, Mario Lanza, Chubby Checker, Jack Klugman, Frankie Avalon, bandleader Lester Lanin, composer Vincent Persichetti, NBA founder Eddie Gottlieb, world heavyweight boxing champ Tim Witherspoon, mayor Frank Rizzo, boxing trainer Angelo Dundee … It’s hard not to feel optimistic in a neighborhood where just a few streets over, a Jewish punk named Eddie Fisher grew up to divorce Debbie Reynolds so he could marry Elizabeth Taylor. America. What a country.

“South Philly is a real neighborhood,” says Kate Mellina. “It’s a mix of people whose families have been here for three or four generations — in the same houses — and new people moving in with dogs and babies.”

Since the album was foisted on her, Mellina has visited senior centers and the local library in her quest to identify the non-famous people in its pages. She discovered that it had belonged to Arthur Tavani, a writer for a little local newspaper. “His sister was still alive then,” she recalls, “living in the same house they grew up in. She greeted me like a long-lost daughter.” Mellina also talked to Carmen Dee, who’d been the bandleader at Palumbo’s, which burned down in 1994. And she’s chronicled her efforts at a website, Unexpected Philadelphia, that lets you scroll through the photos in case there’s anyone you know.

“South Philly is a real neighborhood,” says Mellina. “It’s a mix of people whose families have been here for three or four generations — in the same houses — and new people moving in with dogs and babies. Everyone seems to get along. You take your lawn chairs out front in the summer, and people parade by with the kids and the dogs.” Asbury Park, she notes, actually was a small town — “but it didn’t have that small-town feel.”

The small town has gone big-time over the past decade. Townsend Wentz, Nick Elmi, Chris Kearse, Lou Boquila, Lynn Rinaldi, and Lee Styer and Jessie Prawlucki have all opened restaurants along this stretch of East Passyunk. The neighborhood has coffee shops, twinkly string lights, a British pie shop, and Artisan Boulanger Patissier. You’ll find dim sum and doggie boutiques, a retro typewriter repair shop, breweries and bike stores, not to mention a yoga studio that recently hosted a visit from an alpaca. It’s a freaking hipster paradise.

A block or so north, the paradise ends.

•

Philly’s Italian Market, which stretches along 9th Street roughly from Dickinson to Fitzwater, started out as a Jewish market. It’s now mostly Asians and Latinos who run the iconic sidewalk stalls. To go from twinkly Passyunk Square to, say, Giordano’s produce stand just above Washington is sort of a shock. The market hasn’t gentrified. It still has flies in summer and burn barrels in winter, and wooden skids and flattened cardboard boxes are piled everywhere. (“That’s not real trash,” Bryant Simon teases when I raise the subject of the market. “They bring it out every morning so it looks like a scene from Rocky.”) It also has guys who pick out your tomatoes for you, thank you very much, and put them in a bag. The area is a good example of the challenges of gentrification. “How do you maintain the market while the neighborhood changes?” asks Simon. “That’s a delicate balance. Tourists can only buy so many vegetables.” Anthony’s Italian Coffee & Chocolate House has stood here for four generations. Now it has online ordering, and seasonal lattes like the Spring Fling and the Crème Brûlée.

There have been fitful efforts to start up a Business Improvement District for the market, so merchants can kick in to gussy things up. A few years back, Michelle Gambino, business manager for the South 9th Street Business Association, described her vision for the future, with organic foods and craft booths alongside the homely produce carts: “We’re hoping that the look will continue to be Old World, but just upscale.”

To add to the balancing act, New York developers have so far unveiled three iterations of an apartment building planned for the heart of the market, right at 9th and Washington, ranging from six to eight stories in height. The latest version has 157 units. Merchants and shoppers panicked when plans showed the driveway to the building’s underground parking right on 9th Street, where it will surely disrupt the market’s traffic and pedestrians. So much for Old World.

“There are two processes going on in South Philly right now,” says Bryant Simon. “Longtime residents are being displaced by new immigrants and by high-end creative-class people.” In other words, old South Philly’s getting squeezed from both sides.

The Italian isn’t the only market in South Philly. The busy commercial stretch of Washington between 6th and 16th earned the soubriquet “Little Saigon” thanks to immigrants who settled there after the Vietnam War. (Condé Nast Traveler once dubbed the area “Pho Row.”) The city’s Asian population has continued to grow, jumping by 42 percent from 2000 to 2010; Philly is now home to the East Coast’s largest population of Vietnamese immigrants. At Horace Furness High, near Mom’s old house, 48.5 percent of the kids are Asian.

In Little Saigon, too, change is coming. Developers have proposed new rowhomes and duplexes, plus parking spots, on the site of the Hoa Binh shopping center, which occupies almost an entire block at Washington and 16th. The current shopping center isn’t pretty. But neither are most newly built rowhomes, when you think about it.

There may be no better example of South Philly’s metamorphosis than what used to be the Edward W. Bok Technical High School at 8th and Mifflin, where neighborhood kids not bound for college once studied tailoring and plumbing, hairdressing and bricklaying. After closing down in 2013, the Art Deco building, constructed in the 1930s by Franklin Roosevelt’s Public Works Administration, was reborn as BOK, an urban playground with a roof-deck bar, boutiques, “maker spaces,” tattoo artists and, of course, yoga. “I think BOK is a fascinating symbol,” says Bryant Simon. “There are two processes going on in South Philly right now. Longtime residents are being displaced by new immigrants and by high-end creative-class people who value urban spaces and are knowledge workers.” In other words, old South Philly’s getting squeezed from both sides.

•

We tend to think of “South Philly” as the Rocky world that’s east of Broad Street, but Point Breeze and Grays Ferry are South Philly, too. They were settled along familiar lines, first by European Jews, then by Italians and Irish, and finally by blacks driven west from their original stronghold in what had been farm country near 7th and South. There were race riots here in 1918, touched off when a black woman moved in; thousands battled in the streets. By the 1920s, according to a resident quoted in Murray Dubin’s South Philadelphia: Mummers, Memories, and the Melrose Diner, from Lombard Street to Washington Avenue between Broad and 20th was “solid black.” Still, racial strife bubbled up regularly. In 1997, then-mayor Ed Rendell had to negotiate a compromise with Louis Farrakhan to ward off a planned protest.

Today, Point Breeze is ground zero for Philly gentrification. The median housing price in the most gentrified section rose from $29,000 in 2000 to $234,000 in 2016, while the population of black residents changed from 80 percent to 46 percent. Bryant Simon, who wrote a book about Starbucks, says you can trace the spread of gentrification in coffee shops. He mentions developer Ori Feibush, who fueled Point Breeze’s gilding by opening OCF Coffee House at 20th and Federal “as a way of planting a flag. He was smart about that.”

Neighbors playing at 2nd and Porter. Photograph by Michelle Gustafson

For many residents of western South Philly, Feibush, who’s been building new townhouses everywhere, has become the face of black displacement. In 2015, he ran against incumbent 2nd District Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson in a bitter primary fight that stirred race into the already boiling pot of tax assessments and abatements and property values. Johnson won. In May, he introduced a bill that would ban from Grays Ferry and Point Breeze the balconies and bay windows featured on many newly constructed rowhomes �� a pointed up-yours to Feibush and gentrification. The resentment is understandable.

Racism has a long history throughout South Philadelphia. “It would have helped if Frank Rizzo didn’t tolerate white resistance, or if there had been no redlining,” Simon says. Old photos of South Philly High show integrated sports teams as far back as 1918, and black and white cross-country runners in the ’50s with their arms draped around each other. But as recently as 2009, black students were beating up Asian immigrants. Following a boycott, a new principal, and a Justice Department investigation, matters have improved.

In fact, says Penn’s Vitiello, you could make the case that since the 1970s, South Philadelphia has been the city’s most successful neighborhood in terms of immigration: “A wide variety of refugees has found it comfortable and livable. There’s a wide variety of ethnic groceries, goods and services. The housing stock is still affordable. There are still plenty of absentee landlords who see new immigrants as an important source of income.” And many older residents, he says, “welcome newcomers in a very humane way. They appreciate that their neighbors are here just trying to raise their kids and provide for themselves.” It was former mayor John Street, he points out, who first established sanctuary protections in Philadelphia back in 2001, along with Irish-born police commissioner John Timoney.

“Change related to new immigrants is nothing new in South Philly,” Bryant Simon says. “It’s never been without tensions. Change is kind of perpetual there.”

To some extent, Vitiello says, politicians here have embraced immigrants because they know that without them, the city would be shrinking, not growing. He puts Michael Nutter in this economically motivated camp. But Jim Kenney, whose parents came to the U.S. from Ireland — and who grew up five blocks from my mom’s house, at 3rd and Snyder — “has consistently been more about treating people as humans, as neighbors,” he says.

At the same time, South Philadelphians, Bryant Simon points out, have always shown “a commitment to maintaining their turf.” Historically, this is the land of mobsters and payola, not touchy-feely empathy. “We make fun of yoga studios and deck bars serving IPAs,” Simon says, “and the identity that goes along with certain cultural practices.” But alpaca yoga isn’t South Philly’s big problem now: “The real tensions are over real estate values.”

On the positive side, he notes, “Change related to new immigrants is nothing new in South Philly. It was always a place of immigrants. It’s never been without tensions. Change is kind of perpetual there.”

•

I used to live in South Philly. In 1988, Doug and I bought a little rowhouse near 20th and Snyder for $35,000. We were ready to have kids and wanted some stability. We were an odd fit for the neighborhood back then. There was nobody our age on our block; old people lived there, and their kids drove in from Jersey for Sunday dinner. One entire wall of our bathroom was mirrored; it became our daughter’s favorite part of the house. Once, when I was taking the bus into Center City with Marcy when she was two, a nun asked what parish we belonged to. “We don’t go to church,” I told her. “Surely you’ve had her baptized,” she said. I shook my head. She looked me dead in the eye and said, “Do you want your daughter to go to Hell?”

Most people, though, were nice to us. Johnny from the auto shop across the street would invite us in for barbecued deer during fall hunting season. In winter, we pushed the kids in strollers beneath rainbows of Christmas lights. In summer, there were walks to the water-ice stand and cooling showers from fire-hydrant sprinklers. The mobster’s mom down the block wouldn’t let her grandson come to Marcy’s birthday party, but she did show up afterward with excuses and a gift.

After six years, we got tired of chasing guys with guns off our stoop, of worrying that the kids would get hit by cars, of the endless litter and the fight to find parking. I longed for a real garden, not a couple of barrel planters. We escaped to the suburbs, just in time for Marcy to start school. We sold the house for less than we’d paid for it, to two Cambodian brothers. We always have been terrible at real estate.

Today, the house we dumped for $32,500 is worth an estimated $195,954. I go back to see it, for old time’s sake. The neighborhood is still dotted with bodegas and pharmacies and Chinese takeout joints, but there’s a new coffee shop that delivers through Grubhub. Our place looks tidy and kempt; there are a host of potted plants beside the front door, which is painted deep blue. The house numbers are a bougie font. The young woman who lives there now walks dogs for a living. We exchange emails, and I ask if the bathroom still has that mirrored wall. She LOLs. It does.

In nearby Girard Park, I pick my way through downed tree branches from a recent storm to view a plaque honoring Kenyatta Johnson for nabbing $600,000 in improvements to its drainage, benches and walkways. Within eyeshot of the house where a pipe bomb blew up Phil “Chicken Man” Testa in 1981, I join a woman sitting on a park bench with a little girl in a stroller. I smile and tell her my daughter learned to walk right in this park. She smiles back. “I’m the nanny,” she says.

A nanny. In Girard Park. It’s the beginning of the end.

Not so fast, says Vitiello. “South Philly is pretty big,” he points out, “and gentrification moves in waves. There are some indicators that suggest South Philly will keep growing, and others that suggest its growth will be slow and halting.” That means South Philly’s seemingly impossible balance of old and new, rich and poor, black and white and everything else, could endure. Large tracts here, Vitiello insists, should remain affordable for a long time to come.

Maybe so. All I know is, there’s new three-story housing going up across 20th Street from our old place, no doubt with garages and roof decks.

Oh my God. It’s just like Morris Street.

Published as “True South” in the July 2019 issue of Philadelphia magazine.

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/07/06/changing-south-philly/

[rustyblackwood]

I invite you to check out my grand scale, Amazon 4-star-awarded romantic fiction drama, Passions in Paris: Revelations of a Lost Diary, as it makes it final stop of its Spring Internet Book Tour 2022 at AwesomeBookPromotion.com.

[annelisterstravelnotes]

Netherlands with Mariana - Ely and Peterborough, 20 August 1831

August

Saturday 20

5 50/..

9 3/4

off at 6 55/.. from Newmarket to

Ely – comfortable bed and rooms but bad

butter last night – Fahrenheit 61 1/2 ° at 6 3/4 great

deal of rain in the night and rainy morning

till after 8 then sunny and pretty fine

at Soham large Straggling village in

3/4  hour – very dead flat willow growing

country – oats and barley to cut as

yesterday – thatched board building more

picturesque than good – farmsteads not so

good as yesterday – cathedral Mariana says

looks a little like Chester – one tower

in the middle of west end and one small

lantern tower – and on the north-side

the west end a project and 2 turrets –

at the Lamb (good new house) Ely at

8 25/.. – then an hour in the cathedral from 9 1/2

the screen thrown back 2 arches – looks

much better from the nave – not so well from the

choir on account of the different style of roofing –

the choir groined – the nave not under drawn

at all – see all the wood work – best to put

the screen just with in the great pillars, but here

the present choir is more modern than the 3 arcades

that form the vestibule between the octagonal

centre of the transept and the choir –

only transept aisles – 1 year library another

the vestry and the singers vestry in one arcade

taken off the other transept – Bishop Alcock’s chapel

heavy – the other bishop wests larger and lighter

and prettier – the ogee projecting arches of

the Lady’s chapel now thinly church singular

very pretty cathedral – the organ under repair

{margin: +} the man full of Rickmans architecture

Rickman scouts saxon altogether – all for

Norman – heavy shower at 9 25/.. for 5 or 6 minutes Breakfast at

9 3/4  - off from the Lamb, Ely, at 10 40/..

Ely a very poor place – a mere village –

Dead flat – 50 minutes from Ely largish canal

and then crossed several large drains – fields

fenced off by small drains as in Holland –

quite the fens of Cambridgeshire – at 12 10/..

stop to change horses at Chatteris

a neat enough goodish village – pertly straw –

thatched – off from Chatteris at

12 25/.. – in 1/4 hour on the dyke of

Canal with 11 windmills in

view along the canal – wind and water

mill sluices to the canal) narrow

good road for 1 35/.. hour – ditch fences

much cattle – exactly like Holland –

then turn right – good road heavyish

now and then – low one story straw thatched

picturesque village and still ditch fences the

rest of the way – much oats to cut –

Peterborough cathedral in sight at 1 3/4 –

stop 2 or 3 minutes at the little village of Whittles

to water the horses at 2 – at Peterborough

at 2 52/.. – lay on the sofa while Mariana

wrote to her mother – out at 3 3/4 – coaches

from the Talbot – market day in the square

then to the cathedral – took shelter 1/2 hour lastly

in the drawing room with the lady herself schoolmistress

at the cathedral at 4 1/4 – nave 280 feet

whole from outside to outside 471 feet long

whole breadth 156 feet – new organ and all the

wood work and 2 stone screens and floor

of choir £8000 very cheap – Mr

Edward Blower architect of Westminster

{Margin: И} master wood workman Ruddle and Thompson the

master stone mason – both of this place –

Ruddle has already got work for 12 men for 12 months to come at bishop Canterbury’s at

Westminster, in Dorsetshire etc. – steps to

pulpit and reading desk capital and altar railing would be

{margin: И} model for stair case at Shibden –

Peterborough about 6000 inhabitants – Mary

Queen of Scotts buried under stone

at the South side gate into the choir for

25 years then removed to Westminster –

Fotheringay Castle only 11 miles from here –

the oldest monument in England here to

abbot Edda who with his monks

was murdered by the Danes in 870 –

the new building it time of Henry 7

used as a library for many years its roof like

Henry 7th chapel Kings college Cambridge and like

St George’s Chapel Windsor – florid Gothic –

Catharine of Aragon buried here – a gentleman a stranger

to the man who shewed us about the cathedral

has a letter now in his possession, a sort of

mandamus from the King, to attend

the funeral of Catharine of Aragon –

the stone quite white hardens as it dries

from Burwell, 12 miles from Cambridge –

floor stone rather yellow from Kitton

in Rutlandshire 4 miles from Stamford – beautiful

cathedral – quite white and clean – plain style

of architecture – only 7 cathedrals larger than this viz

(26 cathedrals with out counting Westminster) taking

length from east to west Winchester, Ely, York, Lincoln, Canterbury,

St Pauls and the collegiate church of Westminster –

walked nearly round the cathedral – a church yard planted with

weeping willows, cypresses, laurels, etc. aiming the gravestones

the prettiest church yard I ever saw in England – came in

at 5 1/4 and ordered dinner at 7 –

then sauntered out again and seeing

Yorke’s bank open went in and on shewed

Hammersleys letter of credit and my passport they

Very lively gave me £10 on my leaving with

them a check for the money on Hammersley-

no place because then a stamp would be required –

‘Saturday 20 August 1831’ Sir at sight please to pay

to Messers Yorke of bearer the sum of ten pounds

A Lister’ – rain again – very heavy rain for

1/2 hour just before going to the cathedral sent us in

{Margin: L} at 6 5/.. – wrote 3 pages to my aunt – possible to be at

home on Monday but not to decidedly to expect me

till Tuesday or Wednesday – dinner at 7 – showery day –

rainy evening – came to our room at 8 3/4 Fahrenheit 67°at 9 p.m.

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licensed electrician near me Whitby Ontario

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