#Lake Catherine

[justdownthecreek]

Lake Catherine State Park, near Hot Springs, AR

[antlersatdegray]

[leehiller]

Each scar is a beautiful reminder of life as they create an intricate map of survival. ~ @leehiller

[frosted-pop-tart]

Some pictures I took by a lake at night. Shockingly these aren’t edited, my camera just didn’t have time to adjust properly.

I have a couple of journal entries of this coming soon!

[gatabella]

"In the four seasons of beauty, THE BLONDE is spring. Her time of day is morning, and she glistens in the spotlight like the morning dew. Her jewel is the diamond — of course…Pearls can also be effective…Though she's synonymous with all the flowers of springtime, she finds her true expression in the sweet-scented lily of the valley. The legend of blonde beauty runs like a golden thread through the tapestry of history…from the fair-haired beauties of ancient Crete to the golden-haired sorceresses of Renaissence art. From Lady Godiva to Kim Novak, they have sent men's senses spinning. In the Golden Age of Venice, blonde beauty was the ideal of love and art. In those days, light hair was the equivalent of a love potion…"

-Arlene Dahl

[dustedmagazine]

Catherine Lamb — Curva Triangulus (Another Timbre)

Catherine Lamb composes complex, heady music. She explores how we perceive music, playing with harmonic structures and intonation, challenging our typical sense of sound. For Curva Triangulus, she joins with Ensemble Proton to investigate not only compositional drama, but the use of unusual instruments in creating (and limiting) the timbral possibilities of her work. The piece has an undeniable and immediate beauty to it, its leisurely place allowing room (or, better, time) for the experiments that Lamb conducts. It provides opportunity for deep listening challenges — interesting moments and unique developments arise everywhere — but it also makes for accessible pleasure, despite the novel and sometimes unsettling tonal work.

Bern's Ensemble Proton offers Lamb the ideal group for this project. The octet includes musicians hungry for the new and experimental with a penchant for playing unlikely instruments. Coco Schwarz's arciorgano — an extinct but resurrected keyboard instrument — might be the rarest and most unusual. The instrument breaks and octave in more than the usual number of divisions. Lamb uses the arciorgano's tonal options as a sort of sonic adhesive, holding the ensemble's varied sounds together. In a context with not only that instrument but also a lupophone, clarinet d'amore, and others, a violin or bassoon could sound downright pedestrian; instead, they sound otherworldly, part of the strange brew that makes up Curva Triangulus.

Lamb writes in her notes, “Elemental concepts around melody and harmony are reconsidered, blurred.” For listeners less attuned to prime qualitative harmonics and the modal challenges developed across “triadic counterpoint” (whoever those people might be), the blur of melody and harmony becomes the most fascinating aspect of the record. Melody remains subordinate to harmonic movement, but in the interplay of sounds and tones, melody peeks through in unexpected ways. The sonic shifts never become linear, but essentially melodic movements arise, occasionally passed between musicians. The lead “instrument,” might be a harmonic instead of a violin, but those structures give shape to musical phrases that cohere into, if not melody, at least melodic sensibility.

The deep concepts of Curva Triangulus make the album's nuances difficult to access, but the album never relies on its intellectual demands if listened to as a straightforward album. The tonal structures and uncommon instrumentation give it a particularly idiosyncratic feel, but everything sorts itself out into a spellbinding aural geometry. When the ensemble hints at a church organ six minutes in, no one will anticipate a turn toward hymnody, but when it drops into alien space informed by triple harp, no one will feel jarred either. Lamb's work provides a series of intellectual tests, but also a memorable stretch of focused wonder.

Justin Cober-Lake

[justahumblememefarmer]

Ultimate Doctor Who Poll Round 2 - Matchup 4

Episode Summaries under the cut

54: The Star Beast - 60th Anniversary Special 1: A newly regenerated 14th Doctor, unsure why he has regenerated to have the same face as his 10th self, lands in London and runs into his old companion Donna Noble, her daughter Rose, and husband Shawn. He tries to avoid contact as the last time he saw Donna, he needed to erase her memory of him to save her life after her DNA was combined with his Time Lord DNA. A spaceship soon crashes, which the Doctor goes to investigate. An escape pod lands near the Noble's residence and Rose meets an alien, The Meep who claims to be on the run from evil alien warriors.

Following UNIT's tracking of the escape pod, the Doctor shows up at the Noble's house, where Donna has discovered The Meep. The Doctor gets more information from The Meep, who says that Wrath Warriors are hunting the Meep for it's fur. The house is then attacked by both Wrath Warriors and UNIT soldier's who seem to be under alien control. While the two groups fight each other, the Doctor, the Nobles, and The Meep escape, but after noticing that the Wrath Warriors weapons deal only non-lethal damage he summons two to question them about the Meep.

The Warriors reveal that Meepkind were turned into evil world conquerors after their sentient sun went insane, and they seek to bring the remaining Meep to justice. The Meep drops it's cute facade and kills the warriors. The UNIT soldiers show up under the Meep's control and take them all to the Meep's ship, which will destroy the Earth upon takeoff. They escape capture and the Doctor goes to stop the ship, but Donna sends her family off and decides to go with him. As the Doctor works on disabling the ship, the room they are in is split in half. Knowing that it will kill Donna, he reactivates her memories, allowing her to help him stop the ship.

She grows weak and accepts her death, but then Rose appears, having been affected by her mother's reactivation and also has the knowledge of a Time Lord. The Doctor realizes that by having a child, Donna was able to share the burden put on her to a more survivable level. They defeat The Meep, who is taken into custody by the Wrath Warriors. Donna and Rose are able to release the Time Lord DNA, saving both their lives while Donna is able to retain her memories. The Doctor plans to take her to see her grandfather, but she spills coffee on the TARDIS console, causing them to fly to a mystery location.

75: The Next Doctor - 2008 Christmas Special: The Doctor lands in London on Christmas Eve, 1851 and meets a man who claims to be The Doctor investigating the Cybermen, who have been responsible for many missing children and murders, starting with the murder of a man named Jackson Lake. The other Doctor claims to be a future regeneration, but he has lost much of his memory and does not remember the 10th Doctor. The Cybermen and their human accomplice, Miss Hartigan, attack a funeral, where they kill most of the attendees but keep alive the owners of several warehouses and orphanages.

While investigating with the next Doctor, he sees that his "sonic screwdriver" is just a regular screwdriver and that his TARDIS is just a hot air balloon. They search the house of one of the Cybermen's victims and discover "infostamps", devices that the Cybermen use to store information. The next Doctor remembers holding one the night he lost his memory and regenerated. The Doctor finally deduces that the next Doctor is actually Jackson Lake. The Cybermen killed his wife and stole his child, but he managed to save himself by fighting them off with a damaged infostamp about the Doctor. The information also beamed into his head, and combined with the trauma of losing his family, caused him to forget his real life and take on the persona of the Doctor.

Miss Hartigan and the Cybermen have been using the stolen children to work in factories building a giant Cyber man warship, the Cyberking. Hartigan sits the throne and takes control of it and the Cybermen and begins to attack London. Lake goes to rescue the children, including his son, from the factory, while the Doctor takes his hot air balloon TARDIS. He uses the infostamps to reverse the conversion on Hartigan's mind and allow her to see what she's become. Her emotions overwhelm the Cybermen and self-destructs the Cyberking, which the Doctor teleports to the Time Vortex to safely disintegrate.

[fawnvelveteen]

Princess Diana in a dress by Catherine Walker at the London Coliseum for a performance of Swan Lake by the Bolshoi Ballet, July 1989. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

[spacenutspod]

Embark on an astronomical adventure with Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in the latest episode of Space Nuts, where they celebrate a historic moment for Australia with the announcement of the nation's first female astronaut, Catherine Bennell Pegg. Discover her remarkable journey to the stars and the aspirations she harbors for future Australian spacefarers. Then, take a volcanic voyage to Jupiter's moon Io with Juno's latest flybys, revealing a lava lake in Loki Patera so vast and smooth it mirrors the gas giant itself. Marvel at the newly dubbed Steeple Mountain, a geological spire that evokes Earth's own gothic cathedrals, and ponder the mysterious forces sculpting Io's tumultuous terrain. The episode continues to probe the secrets of the Solar System as Juno also sheds light on Jupiter's elusive water content, challenging previous theories about the giant planet's formation. And finally, the duo turns their gaze to Mars, where a new theory suggests that humans may inadvertently be unearthing the Red Planet's methane mysteries with the tread of rovers. From celebrating trailblazing astronauts to unraveling the enigmas of alien worlds, this episode of Space Nuts is a cosmic journey not to be missed. Tune in for these interstellar stories, and remember to bring your curiosity as we explore the wonders of our universe. Support the podcast and unlock a universe of knowledge by visiting https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts--2631155/support. Don't forget to subscribe for more deep space discoveries and celestial insights with Space Nuts, where the cosmos is just a play button away. Until our next cosmic rendezvous, keep your eyes to the skies and your questions at the ready. And for your daily space news fix, check out the team at our sister podcast 'Astronomy Daily the Podcast. Available wherever you get podcasts or stream from the website at www.astronomydaily.io

[justdownthecreek]

Falls Creek Falls, Lake Catherine State Park, near Hot Springs, AR

[leehiller]

It is never too late to let go of fear and find the freedom to live. ~ @leehiller

[belle-keys]

The Ultimate Dark Academia Book Recommendation Guide Ever

The title of this post is clickbait. I, unfortunately, have not read every book ever. Not all of these books are particularly “dark” either. However, these are my recommendations for your dark academia fix. The quality of each of these books varies. I have limited this list to books that are directly linked to the world of academia and/or which have a vaguely academic setting.

Dark Academia staples:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Dead Poets Society by Nancy H. Kleinbaum

Vita Nostra by Maryna Dyachenko

Dark academia litfic or contemporary:

Bunny by Mona Awad

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

White Ivy by Susie Yang

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates

Attribution by Linda Moore

Dark academia thrillers or horror:

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

Dark academia fantasy/sci-fi:

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

Dark academia romance:

Gothikana by RuNyx

Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

Dark academia YA or MG:

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Crave by Tracy Wolff

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Dark academia miscellaneous:

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou

Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

doctor who but i've never watched it

and so it begins again. the people asked for it. the people got it. i will ensure the people regret it.

i have never watched this show, or seen an edit, but i am a thorough researcher and i feel that i've got the essence of it.

this is what i have gathered. academicians worldwide take note.

Firstly, so I don't anger anyone, I accept and acknowledge that the tardis is blue and not yellow. My misinformation was from a Drarry fanfiction, and I had hitherto regarded Drarry fanfiction as the absolute truth.

There are doctors, and there are at least fifteen of them. At least two of them are David Tennant, which I can respect.

I'm not sure why the doctors are doctors, because I can find no trace of any medical procedure except for one doctor who licks things, which he learned from the previous doctor. If this is sufficient reason, I apologise for doubting their credentials.

On the other hand, if they are doctors thanks to a postdoctoral degree, this is also fine, though I have never seen anyone study anything. There is however a doctor, and there were people upset about her, but the fandom pointed out she set the tardis on fire, which is apparently a very doctor thing to do. Setting things on fire is absolutely something any research scholar would love, so again, apologies for doubting their credentials.

At least one doctor is gay. It is probably one of the David doctors, which checks out. He says someone, I think a dentist, is hot. I envy the maybe-dentist.

A t least one doctor is trans. I was unable to find them. But they exist. Oh yes, the fandom assures me they exist.

David Tennant as well as Ncuti Gatwa were fanboys, first of the show, and second of David Tennant, and thus they got into acting. Just a fun tidbit from me, since I am now the authority on this fandom.

There are time machines with which the doctors have sex by piloting them, which is questionable because the time machines are only partially sentient. I am not sure if the time machines are the tardis. But the tardis is blue, and not yellow, of that I am certain.

There was a stage play. Or maybe that was a metaphor for the production budget of the early seasons. I am not sure, but toddler David Tennant watched it. I assume no one took a 3 year old to a stage play, so through scientific deduction, it must have been a metaphor.

At some point, Death is an agony aunt and they have to spill secrets to it, or drown in a lake of human skulls. Who is this they? It's so obvious that the fandom sees no need to explain it, and neither do I. I do know it though. Of that you may remain certain.

A David doctor has a niece and she likes being his niece.

A David doctor has a best friend named Donna. He kisses her head. She supports his fruitiness. It is wholesome. It killed him when he lost her.

Slight tangent, but younger David doctor looks like Andrew Garfield. Current David in photos does give Ben Barnes energy. Any Wolfstar shippers, I believe you've found the Wolfstar kid. It is David Tennant.

A lot of people are David Tennant. A reliable Pinterest post on Doctor Who, clearly well researched, gave me the statistic that 15% of Doctor Who is David Tennant. From the amount of David Tennant that I ran across in my research, I don't understand it but I don't doubt it, either.

Speaking of Andrew Garfield, he in involved in this somehow. I am not sure how, but you cannot escape Andrew Garfield. He is even a part of fandoms he never acted in.

There is an individual named Catherine, I think she is the actress, but she could be a character. She seems to have much less knowledge about Doctor Who lore than I do. David Tennant finds it funny. Maybe he would find me funny, too.

The doctors installed some things in the tardis, from a wheelchair ramp to a jukebox. I don't know why a jukebox was needed. If I'm honest I don't know what a jukebox is. I don't know what the tardis is. But it is blue, and not yellow.

There is a French catchphrase.

Something happens in Wales. I don't know what it is, but something always seems to be happening in Wales in these fandoms, so I don't doubt it.

There is an old Doctor Who in a wheelchair, and he is happy to see a David doctor.

They go around in space, and do things. Who is this they? You and I both know the answer, so we needn't talk about it.

The show intro is "doo wee doo".

There is an alien who is not a mouse, the alien is The Meep, and uses the definite article as pronouns. David doctor is supportive of this, which is very good.

I found baby Yoda in the show, but apparently they call it a 'goblin' there, and someone doesn't like it.

There is a lot to do with time. There is a time hole, and things happen, and people die and are resurrected. There is danger, but it is fun.

They have CGI, and it is not good, which is the best thing about it. Who is they? Please stop asking me. It is rather obvious and something I definitely know.

Someone's boyfriend dies and the boyfriend is then resurrected but then gets lost with his boyfriend but then is reincarnated as a girl who would still call herself the someone's boyfriend but then she is replaced by the boyfriend but he's different now. I apologise for any errors that have crept it, but the tardis is blue and not yellow.

Someone named Martha is a doctor, and someone is very proud of her for it.

The eleventh and twelfth doctors like bow ties.

David Tennant wants to be ginger. David Tennant always gets what he wants. Who can refuse David Tennant? David Tennant is then ginger.

A David doctor gets a happy ending.

Someone yelled at Neil Gaiman about this. It was a mistake. He said that since it had already been done, he wouldn't want to give David's character a happy ending in S3, that would be a trifle unoriginal.

A lesson to be learned, Good Omens fandom, just a bit of advice from your son, do not yell at Neil Gaiman, it does not go well. Rumour has it he murdered the people who complained about him always wearing black. Of course, there is the fact that he doesn't exist, but that doesn't seem to have stopped him.

The doctors manifest in the previous doctor's clothes, which is apparently so last season. The tardis also manifests. I don't know where, or how. But it is blue, and not yellow.

I know, there was a lot of lore, so many of you thought I wouldn't be able to gather it all. But look how much research I did! I've got it better than maybe-actress-maybe-character Catherine, I'm sure :"]

Anyway, all the major plot points are covered above, so anyone who hasn't watched Doctor Who, feel free to refer to this and impress your Whovian friends with your knowledge! [not to be judgemental, but what a dreadfully Dr Seuss name, I rather like it]

[sommerbueckers]

another part two pillow talk PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤²

___________________________________________________________

✰ 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

✰ 𝐰𝐜 :: 𝟐.𝟖𝐤

✰ 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐢 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐭𝐭

___________________________________________________________

THE DRAGO FAMILY LAKE house was beautiful; the outside appeared like an abnormally large log cabin while the inside had been completely modernized from corner to corner.

Mrs Drago groaned, "I've never seen this much dust in my life."

"You say that every year," Catherine laughed, looking at her mom.

"Every year is dustier than the last."

As Mr and Mrs Drago set their bags down and headed into the kitchen, Catherine looked expectantly to Paige, "C'mon."

She led her upstairs, allowing Paige to stare in awe at every new area she saw until they reached their shared bedroom. There was a large bed in the middle of the room, the mattress covered in baby pink sheets with teddy bears scattered on them. Full length windows made up an entire wall, looking out to the incredible backyard.

The walls were decorated in framed pictures of Catherine when se was younger. Pictures of her in a kiddy pool with goggles around her head, pictures of her holding ice cream with what looked to be a young Zane and Sasha. There were also some that had been taken in the last few years, in a bikini on a boat, by a fire beside Noella, holding a black '8' ball over her face at what looked to be a party.

The room was like a glimpse into Catherine's past, Paige could watch her grow up just by looking at the walls. Paige smiled at a picture of a young Catherine, curls wild and untamed, in the driver seat of a Jeep with her tongue out. She had to have been about eight or nine.

"That was my uncle's Jeep, I used to pretend to drive it when he'd come up to visit," she heard the girl explain, and Paige turned to see her lying on her stomach with her chin in her hands.

Paige set the picture down and slowly approached Catherine on the bed. "He doesn't come to visit anymore?" she asked.

"He does, just not as often. I don't have to pretend to drive it now though, he actually lets me drive it around now."

"Must be fun," Paige used her hands to push Catherine's hair out of her face, then she trailed her fingers down and pulled out the girl's bottom lip. "You like to drive?"

Catherine nodded silently, put in a trance by the way Paige was completely towering over her. The presence of Paige felt overwhelming, yet mesmerizing, as if she commanded the very air around them. Catherine's gaze was fixed upward, challengingly holding the blonde's eyes. In that moment, words seemed unnecessary; the intensity between them spoke volumes.

"What about riding, huh? You like to ride Cat?"

Paige trailed her thumb across the girl's lip once more, only this time, she let it push past them and slipped her finger in. Catherine sucked gently, swirling her finger around the tip. Paige was spellbound with the way Catherine's plump lips looked around her finger, she imagined what they would look like around something much thicker.

Catherine rose up on her knees, slowly taking Paige's hand from her mouth and dragging it down her body. She tilted her head back when Paige's fingers came in contact with her clit through her shorts, it didn't take a genius to realize that she wasn't wearing any panties. Paige's own arousal grew at the thought of how easily she had access to Catherine, how easily Catherine had given her access.

Her hands wrapped around Paige's neck and she pulled her close, moaning softly into her ear.

"Want you to fuck me."

Paige pushed her down onto the bed, drawing out a yelp from Catherine when her back hit the mattress. The blonde began to unbutton her shorts, Catherine following suit as she untied the string to hers. Before either girl could get any further, a knock sounded at the door.

Catherine rubbed her hands over her face, releasing a frustrating sigh before saying, "Come in!."

Her mother's face appeared, a large smile plastered across it as she entered the room. "Hi girls," she said before turning to Catherine, "your father and I are gonna go to the grocery store to get some things for the fridge and for dinner, if you two wanna come and pick some things out you're welcome to."

A silent conversation was held between the girls before Catherine answered for the both of them, "No, just get some snacks and stuff. Some fruit too."

"Will do," Phoebe nodded, giving Paige a friendly smile before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

They waited until they could no longer hear the woman's footsteps nearby, the pair holding in their laughter as best as they could.

"You still turned on?" Paige finally asked.

Catherine laughed, "Shut up and get over here."

BEING WITH CATHERINE'S FAMILY wasn't awkward to Paige — at least not while the curly head was around. The young teen stood in the kitchen, helping her mother cook dinner. They were making Ravioli pasta, a dish Paige always made from a can rather than from scratch. As Paige watched Catherine move around the kitchen with her mother, there was a warmth in the air that she couldn't quite put into words. Catherine, with her curls bouncing lightly as she moved, seemed completely at ease. She smiled at her mother, laughing softly at some inside joke they shared as they chopped vegetables and tended to the simmering pot on the stove. The scene was domestic and tender, a side of Catherine that Paige hadn't seen before. It was a simple, everyday task—cooking dinner with family—but to Paige, it was something else entirely.

Catherine’s hands moved with a practiced grace, chopping, stirring, seasoning—all under the gentle guidance of her mother. There was a harmony between them that Paige found mesmerizing. It was as if they were in sync, understanding each other without the need for words. Paige could see how much Catherine respected and adored her mother, and it made her heart swell. This was Catherine in her element, surrounded by the people she loved, doing something that was second nature to her.

As Paige watched Catherine move around the kitchen with her mother, there was a warmth in the air that she couldn't quite put into words. Catherine, with her curls bouncing lightly as she moved, seemed completely at ease. She smiled at her mother, laughing softly at some inside joke they shared as they chopped vegetables and tended to the simmering pot on the stove. The scene was domestic and tender, a side of Catherine that Paige hadn't seen before. It was a simple, everyday task—cooking dinner with family—but to Paige, it was something else entirely.

Catherine’s hands moved with a practiced grace, chopping, stirring, seasoning—all under the gentle guidance of her mother. There was a harmony between them that Paige found mesmerizing. It was as if they were in sync, understanding each other without the need for words. Paige could see how much Catherine respected and adored her mother, and it made her heart swell. This was Catherine in her element, surrounded by the people she loved, doing something that was second nature to her.

Paige felt a pang of longing, not just for Catherine, but for this sense of belonging, of being part of something so warm and loving. She realized then that her feelings for Catherine were deepening. It wasn’t just Catherine’s beauty or her sharp wit that drew Paige in—it was moments like these, seeing Catherine’s gentler side, her connection to her family, and the care she put into the small, everyday things.

The way Catherine laughed with her mother, the way she focused intently on getting the seasoning just right, and the way she nudged Paige playfully with her elbow when she caught her staring—all of it made Paige's chest tighten with affection. She wasn’t just falling for Catherine’s looks or charm; she was falling for the person Catherine was when no one was watching, the person who cared deeply and loved fiercely.

"Paige honey, would you like some wine?"

Paige perked up at the sound of Phoebe Drago's voice, smooth and suave. The woman was dressed in a large black sweater, jeans coating her legs even with the thickness that lingered in the summer air. She didn't seem to be bothered by it, only rolling them up when she had begun cooking.

Paige quirked an eyebrow at the question, glancing at Catherine who stood smiling with her hands on her hips.

"Sure," the blonde nodded unsurely.

Catherine retrieved three wine glasses from one of the cabinets, opening a fresh bottle of Brachetto d'Acqui and filling them slightly over what her mother considered an appropriate amount.

"Catherine!" the woman exclaimed, gently hitting her shoulder. "C'est trop pour elle." It's too much for her.

"Non, c'est bon," No, it's okay. Catherine waved her off, placing the glass in front of Paige. "Is that good for you?"

"Yeah, it's cool," she shrugged cooly.

Paige had rarely even tasted wine, let alone finished an entire glass. She imagined how her mother might react if she could see her now. Catherine swirled her wine thoughtfully, then lifted the glass to her lips. As she took a delicate sip, she closed her eyes in pleasure, letting out a contented hum.

Paige couldn't take her eyes off of her, watching how her tongue darted across her lips, and how her cheeks took on a light shade of red when their eyes met. Paige's eyes roamed over Catherine, drinking in every detail with fascination. She admired the way Catherine’s lips curled around the wine glass, how the light played off her flushed cheeks. She shifted her gaze subtly, mindful not to be too obvious, trying to blend her curiosity with a veneer of polite restraint. 

"So Paige," Phoebe asked, breaking the silence, "do you enjoy cooking?"

Paige hesitated, a sheepish smile playing on her lips. "Well, I've never really cooked much, unless you count instant ramen or something like that," she said, scratching the back of her neck with a chuckle.

Phoebe's smile was warm and encouraging. "Would you like to learn?"

Paige’s eyes brightened. "I’d love to," she replied, nodding enthusiastically. Though cooking had never been her passion, the prospect of stepping away from the stool and moving closer to Catherine made the idea irresistibly appealing.

"You can help me cut the dough," Catherine suggested, extending a pizza cutter. "Then we're gonna roll it so it gets kinda thin, and that's when you put the cheese filling in."

Paige was beaming down at her, a dazed look in her eyes. She should've been embarrassed when Catherine caught, and she would've if the shorter girl hadn't been giving her the same look. Those stunning brown eyes, framed by the longest eyelashes Paige had ever seen, were staring right back at her.

"That dough isn't going to cut itself girls."

When the cooking had finally finished, Phoebe turned off the stove, her movements deliberate as she retrieved her oven mitts from a drawer. "Catherine," the woman called, grabbing four plates out of the cabinet and setting them down in a stack on the counter. The curly head didn't answer. "Catherine," she called again, and still no answer. When she finally looked up, she noticed her daughter completely immersed in a conversation with Paige.

She noticed the not-so-subtle glances between them, the way their eyes met and held just a moment too long, the subtle smiles they shared over the simmering pots. She saw how Paige’s eyes would drift toward Catherine, lingering on her as if she were the only person in the room. Catherine, in turn, would catch those glances and respond with a shy smile or a soft blush, a quiet but unmistakable acknowledgment of something between them.

Phoebe observed all of this with the practiced eye of a mother who had seen these signs before. The gentle laughter they shared, the way their shoulders brushed as they moved around the kitchen.

With that, she looked to Catherine and said in a warm but firm tone, "Catherine, could you go help your father set the table, please?" The request was casual, but the underlying message was clear: she had noticed.

Catherine blinked, slightly caught off guard by her mother’s request. She wasn’t usually the one asked to set the table—that was something her father typically handled. She hesitated for a moment, her gaze flicking to Paige, who was still standing by the counter. There was a brief flash of surprise in her eyes, but she quickly masked it with a small smile.

"Sure," Catherine replied, her voice calm, though there was a hint of hesitation beneath her tone. She grabbed the stack of plates off the counter, reaching for the silverware in the drawer before carrying it out to the patio.

As Catherine left the kitchen, Paige felt a subtle shift in the atmosphere. The easy warmth she’d felt moments ago was replaced by a slight tension that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Her muscles tightened, and she found herself suddenly aware of the quiet hum of the room, the ticking of the clock on the wall seeming louder than before.

Phoebe moved to clean up a bit, but there was a certain stillness in her posture, a deliberate calm that only added to Paige’s unease. Paige tried to focus on something else, but the lingering tension nagged at her, making her feel slightly out of place. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something unspoken was hanging in the air, just out of reach, but she had no idea what it was or why it made her heart beat just a little faster.

"You know..." Phoebe started, her voice unnaturally calm. "The first time that Catherine told me she'd be staying after school to watch her friend's basketball game, I thought there was no way in hell." She let out a breathless laugh before she continued. "Catherine's never been interested in sports. So, me being a mother, I just assumed she had a crush on some stupid little boy. She asked a second time, and a third, and a fourth. And when the fifth time came around, I started to think, 'What about this boy is so special that he is getting Catherine to do something that her father and I have been trying to get her to do for years?' And so I came to a game to see for myself, and then I noticed, there were no boys!" the woman was still smiling, but Paige wasn't sure how genuine it was.

"I couldn't possibly think of one thing that the two of you would've had in common, not one. Your styles are different, your interests are different, your friends are different..."

As Phoebe’s words hung in the air, Paige felt her heart rate spike, a cold wave of panic washing over her. Her mind raced, scrambling for some kind of defense, some way to explain herself, but the more Phoebe spoke, the more certain Paige became that she had figured everything out. The calm tone, the way Phoebe listed their differences with almost clinical precision—it all felt like a carefully crafted interrogation. Paige could feel her palms start to sweat, her throat tightening as if the truth was stuck there, threatening to escape.

She forced a smile, but it felt weak, barely holding together the rising tide of anxiety that threatened to spill over. All she could think was how desperately she wished Catherine would walk in, flash that confident smile, and somehow smooth over the growing tension. If Catherine were here, Paige was sure she could defuse the situation with just a few words, turning the conversation in a safer direction. But Catherine wasn’t here, and Paige was left alone, trapped under Phoebe’s knowing gaze, feeling more exposed with every passing second.

"But there actually is one thing that you guys have in common, and do you know what that is Paige?"

Paige swallowed hard, her mind racing as she tried to anticipate where Phoebe was going with this. She forced herself to meet Phoebe’s gaze, even as her stomach twisted into knots.

"I—uh, I’m not sure," Paige stammered, her voice wavering slightly despite her best efforts to stay calm. She could feel the blood pounding in her ears, every muscle in her body tensed as she braced herself for whatever was coming next.

"When you look at each other, you have that same little glint in your eye that she does. It's so obvious a blind man could see it from a mile away. Like you two are the only ones in the room, like your ears only respond to each other's voices. You're not very good at hiding it."

Paige hesitated, unsure of what she could do or say to save herself, to save Catherine. In truth, there was nothing that could be done, and the blonde soon came to that defeating realization. "Are you mad?" Her eyes searched Phoebe’s face for any sign of approval or disapproval. Phoebe's expression was unwavering for a moment, the urge to cry slowly building inside of Paige. That was until the ends of Phoebe's lips curled upward, a smile breaking out onto her face.

"Not at all."

___________________________________________________________

[3rdeyeblaque]

On September 10th we venerate Elevated Ancestor, Voodoo Queen of Louisiana, & Saint, Marie Catherine Laveau on her 222nd birthday 🎉

[for our Hoodoos of the Vodou Pantheon]

Marie Catherine Laveau was a dedicated Hoodoo, healer, herbalist, & midwife who, "traveled the streets [of New Orleans] like she owned them", as the most infamous Voodoo Queen of New Orleans.

Marie C. Laveau I was born a "Free Mulatto" in today's French Quarter in what was then, New France); to a mother & grandmother who were both born into slavery & later freed via freedom papers. It is believed that she grew up in the St. Ann Street cottage of her maternal grandmother.

She married Jacques Santiago-Paris, a "Quadroon" "Free Man of Color", who fled as a refugee from Saint-Domingue, Haiti from the Haitian Revolution in the former French colony . After his passing, she became known as "The Widow Paris". She then worked as a hairdresser catering to White families & later entered a domestic partnership with a French nobleman his death. She excelled at obtaining inside information on her wealthy patrons by instilling fear in their servants whom she either paid or cured of mysterious ailments. Although she never abandoned her Catholic roots, she became increasingly interested in her mother’s African traditional beliefs. The Widow Paris learned her craft from a ‘Voodoo doctor’ known variously as Doctor John or John Bayou.

Marie C. Laveau I is said to have intiated into Voodoo career sometime in the 1820s. She's believed to be descended from a long line of Voodoo Priestesses, all bearing her same name. She was also a lifelong devout Catholic. It didn’t take long before Marie C. Laveau I dominated New Orleans Voodoo culture & society before claiming title of Queen. She was the 3rd Voodoo Queen of NOLA - after Queen Sanité Dédé & Queen Marie Salopé. During her decades tenure, she was the premier beacon of hope and service to customers seeking private consultations - to aid in matters such as family disputes, health, finances, etc, created/sold gris gris, perforemed exorcisms. While her daughter Marie II was known for her more theatrical displays of public events, Marie C. Laveau I was less flamboyant in her persona. She conducted her work in 3 primary locations throughout the city: her home on St. Ann Street, Congo Square, & at Lake Pontchartrain. Despite one account of a challenge to her authority in 1850, Marie C. Laveau I maintained her leadership & influence.

The Queen died peacefully in her sleep in her ole cottage home on St. Ann Street. Her funeral was conducted according to the rite of the Catholic Church & in the absence of any Voodoo rites. To her Voodoo followers, she's venerated as a Folk Saint. In² addition to her Priesthood in Voodoo and title of Queen, she is also remembered for her community activism; visiting prisoners, providing lessons to women of the community, & doing ritual work for those in need.

She is generally believed to have been buried in plot 347, the Glapion family crypt in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans. As of March 1st, 2015, there is no longer public access to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Entry with a tour guide is required due to continued vandalism & tomb raiding.

We pour libations & give her💐 today as we celebrate her for her love for & service to the people, through poverty, misfortune, bondage, & beyond.

Offering suggestions: flowers + libations at her grave, catholic hymns, holy water, gold rings/bracelets, money

‼️Note: offering suggestions are just that & strictly for veneration purposes only. Never attempt to conjure up any spirit or entity without proper divination/Mediumship counsel.‼️

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

If you are a movie fan and haven't read the book yet, here are some irrelevant details from the book

Henry owns a cardigan

Arthur and Catherine meet on a Henry V play (which they named Henry after), which Catherine went to see and saw Arthur playing. She "shook off her security to disappear into London and dance all night".

Pez listens to kpop, and he got Alex into it

Nora watches drag race and got Henry into it

Henry is an Elton John fan (actually relevant in the book)

Alex is a Hall & Oates fan

Alex wears glasses (actually relevant in the book)

Henry is described by Alex as having lots of moles

Bea is the rockstar girlfriend, at the end of the book she plays on a concert and everything. She plays the guitar and is always wearing a leather jacket. She also has a fat cat called Mr Wobbles. And the queen wanted her to learn violin “since it was more proper” instead of guitar. “Bea was allowed to learn both, but she went to uni for classical violin.”

During the turkey phonecall, Henry is wearing a peely face mask

Amy is trans and has a pansexual wife

(Actually relevant) Catherine was not off in another country the whole story, just battling intense grief for her husband's death, so she wasn't present in her children's life, so they felt as if they lost both parents.

There's no king, she's actually a queen, her name is Mary and she should die (she's so so much worse on the book than the king is on the movie)

David is a service dog

(Actually relevant in the book) June bought a teen magazine at 15 and 13 year old Alex would sneak into her room to stare at the magazine (and the picture of a blonde 14 year old British prince on it).

Bea is the middle kid, Henry is the youngest

Henry is canonically on therapy and on antidepressants (since the start of the book)

I don't remember if they mentioned it on the movie but Arthur was James Bond and died of pancreatic cancer.

Alex’s favorite Olympic sport is rhythmic gymnastics

Bea had an addiction problem when Henry was about 17 (as a way to cope after their father's death) and only got herself into rehab after Henry went to her and started crying about dad was dead and he was gay and scared so she couldn't kill herself. That's how he came out to her

Alex doesn't wanna be president at the end of the book, he starts law school

Henry favourite star wars is Jedi, Alex's is Empire

June is allergic to peanuts

Alex runs and runs to cope and clear his head

He did not know he was bi until after Henry kissed him. Yes, he had a friend with benefits relationship with his high school friend Liam, but he genuinely thought it was perfectly platonic and straight

Also he doesn't keep on touch with Liam after high school (their friendship just slowly fades away, with living so far and Alex being suddenly famous) but they reconnect at the end

Alex and Henry move in together on a brownstone on Brooklyn, eventually they marry (after Henry abdicates) on the lake house, they move to a farmhouse on Austin, they spend their honeymoon unpacking

Pez is lactose intolerant

Bluebonnet is June’s code name, Barracuda is Alex’s

Henry is a big Austen fan, and makes references to her books through the story

Amy knits

Zahra has a sister who recently had a baby

June forced Alex into dresses as a kid

Henry’s favorite food is a cheap falafel stand ten minutes from the palace

Henry really likes sailing

Shaan has a motorbike

Alex is allergic to dust

Henry keeps a copy of Le Monde, the newspaper from the day they were in Paris, on his room

Alex and Nora dated when Alex was 17 and Nora 18 but realized they were definitely better off as friends. When they are bored, they like to create rumors about their relationship

Alex makes tons of lists to organize

Alex wears chinos, and claims kakhis are for white people

Nora is very good at math

Alex grew up catholic

At the end of their e-mails, Alex and Henry quoted historical lgbt love letters

Nora’s one-bedroom is “full of books and plants she tends to with complex spreadsheets of watering schedules.”

Nora is bisexual and on the aro spectrum (not canon on the book than she’s aro, but Casey did mention it somewhere)

Arthur gifted Henry a telescope for his seventh birthday

The karaoke scene happens not while on Texas but in some club full of queer people. The whole group is there, Pez got them matching kimonos. Alex’s says Hoe Dameron, Henry’s says Prince Buttercup. Aside from Henry singing Don’t Stop Me Now, Bea sings Call Me by Blondie, and Pez sings So Emotional by Whitney Houston in a “shockingly flawless falsetto”.

The lakehouse confessions happens while at night

The Kensington fight (after the lakehouse confession) is much more dramatic, they don’t go to the v&a that night, but the next night. That morning Henry got up early, and brought Alex coffee when he woke up. They made up.

Also Alex takes his coffee with cinnamon

Alex, Nora and Henry are gen z, while June is a millennial