#Original Venice Shop

[rabbitcruiser]

Benches/Chairs (No. 85)

Bellagio Hotel & Casino, NV (five pics)

San Francisco, CA

Venice Beach, LA

Calico Ghost Town, CA

Barstow, CA

The Forum Shops, NV

[fuckyeahtravelphotos]

Wine shop, Venice, winter

[stevetoppsculpture]

Hello dear friends, may I present a second photo that will be featuring in a new portfolio that I'm currently working on. This is one of the original photographs of my sculpture called Tut .

I took this photo just as I finished up the clay sculpt of the sculpture in my little work shop. Very soon I look forward to showing the next photo of The Lost Boy Of Venice in the making. The sculpture is developing on since the last photo I showed on here.

Hope you're having a great start to the week, keep well and Take care dear friends 🖐️🤗😌

[harrietvane]

Perfume chat, because it's hot, summer's ending, and I'm of a mind to list out some of my favourite Hot Weather Perfumes. To be fair, once it gets above 30C/86F, I don't tend to wear scent, but all these I ones I could, and have worn in hot weather, and worth mentioning. Lot of citrus going on here, not much floral, and heavily leaning towards citrus cologne strenght (and away from big floral, gourmand, or sweet eaux de parfum). BYO gender, none of these are marketed specifically one way or another.

-Cédrat Enivrant (Atelier Cologne): the 'cedrat' here is not referring to cedar, but to the ur-citrus known in english as the Citron, aka the mighty Etrog. It's one of the original citrii from which all others spring: it's lumpy, bitter, like 60% rind, and doesn't care what you think. Cedrat Enivrant is a bitter cocktail cologne resembling a French 75 - which is gin and champagne - but dry AF. There's a mintiness, and a pine needle dryness as well. Starts off very high and tart, dries down herbal.

Paris-Deauville (Chanel): part of their Eaux de Chanel cologne-style lighter series, this is an orange/basil combo that stays fairly light and dry - the sweetness is from orange, but otherwise the addition of basil heart note keeps this summery and green. Starts off quite juicy, but 'dries' as it dries, ending in mostly sweet herbs, and the basil is unexpected. Light enough to be a splash bottle though, not a typical Chanel.

Blenheim Bouquet (Penhaligon's): despite going all-in on flashy, heavier things lately, Penhaligon's keeps the old BB on the shelf because I'm p sure it's still one of their best sellers: it's a classic for a reason. Despite listing notes of lemon, black pepper and pine, this comes off mainly with a 'clean pencil shavings' vibe on me, and it suits that freshly-sharpened pencil image. Lemony, sharp, dry, precise. if it was a person it would be Anton Lesser's character in Endeavour.

Melograno (Santa Maria Novella): I sought this out after seeing it on-screen in Casino Royale as one of Vesper Lynd's few belongings in Venice, and it did not disappoint. A warning: despite the name, if you go in expecting a syrupy bath and bodywork's style fruity pomegranate, or dislike things 'that smell like perfume' this perfume is not for you. There is very little, if any, fruit in Melograno, and I confess it's a surprise entry to a cologne-y summer list because it lists several flowers (and oakmoss! and patch!), BUT the reality of it on me is dry dry dryyyy. I have worn this in very hot weather, and the impression is a herbal soap in the cleanest italian bathroom that's ever existed, with a rigid linen handtowel, and some dried flowers in a bowl on the window.

Bergamotto di Positano (Floris): if you DID want fruit, but not syrup, Floris has you covered for orange and mandarin. It steers away from Body Shop fruit with marine notes, but don't let that dissuade you if you avoid CK One types: there's a softness to this from some ginger, green tea, and vanilla in the background. Never goes overly gourmand on me despite the fact that these are all edible things.

Ouarzazate/Series 3 (Comme des Garçons): whaaaaat, an incense in a summer list?? Adding it here as we can't have an entirely citrine list, and this makes the cut due to DRY. CdG did a little series on incense of various styles (the most infamous being Avignon, which does actually smell like a realistic in-use thurible, so hats off to them), and Ouarzazate is their desert incense vibe. It's clean in that dry sauna/spa room sort of way. It's the driest and woodiest of the 4 they did imho. Like walking into a shady, cool, dark wooden room when it's hot outside.

Le Pamplemousse (Miller Harris): MH perfumes divide into those made when Lyn Harris was the nose (interesting, lots of werird herbal combos), and those after she left (generally bigger and sweeter) - this is one of the former. Obviously grapefruit as a theme, which is always a nice bitter citrus for summer, this wears like a crisp white shirt. Despite mentioning things like rhubrarb, the notes are kept in strict order by rosemary, sage, and vetiver. The grapefuit fades as the herbs take over on drydown, manages to evoke clean laundry with no musk. (Bonus points: I have also loved Le Petit Grain from the same house for its twiggy orange tree bundle vibes, but it's discontinued)

Budget options: some countries get great sampling or decanting services (not mine, booooo), and getting 10mls of the above might be easier for you than me, but if not: here's some you can get for a lot less cash but still give you quality-

Vetiver Pamplemousse (Zara): done by theee Jo Malone, so that gives you an idea of the vibe (light, approachable). It's grapefruit, tangerine, and vetiver. Vetiver keeps it dry, quite linear development. Might be slightly 'spicier' than the MH Pampelmousse, or at least more vetiver-forward. Comes in a rollerball for those wanting a short commitment!

4711 (Mäurer & Wirtz): how could i not end on the OG, the classic, the unbeatable 4711. Four-Seven-Eleven has been freshening up people's bathroom routines since 1799, and boasts of a recipe (mostly?) unchanged since Napoleon was tramping around the area. It's citrus, it's lavender, it's romemary, it evaporates in 8 seconds, it's fresh lemony goodness. It's an aftershave, it's a cologne, it's a linen spray, it's a bath soak, is there nothing it cannot do? M&W have started to do endless 'remixes' of the base cologne, in many fruit and floral varieties, but the classic is where it's at. And it costs almost nothing.

[visitor-to-the-villains-world]

Queendom of Roses Headcanons!

Some thoughts I had in no particular order

• The only things we know about The Queendom for sure (unless I've missed something) are that Riddle's parents are famous mages and that residents living there have a subtle floral fragrance

• Now the reason the people of the Queendom all have a floral scent is that there are flowers everywhere!

• The Queendom has a national flower that (and I took inspiration from another game) is native to the Queendom. It only lasts a few weeks before wilting but if it is taken out of the borders of the Queendom it will stop growing and be suspended in time. Only when it returns to the Queendom will it continue its life cycle

• Now because there are so many flowers that are grown, the Queendom has lots and lots of water in the form of canals and fountains, and rivers. It looks similar to Venice

• Tea culture is also very prominent in the Queendom as it is in the Scalding Sands. They both have tea trading agreements and such (I know nothing about government sorry)

• The Queendom's buildings and homes are very open allowing the most sunlight to be let in and everyone tends to leave their windows open. Restaurants have more outdoor seating than indoor and some places are completely outdoors with covers for possible rain

• Landscape technicians are a very high value job in the Queendom. The flowers, especially the roses are highly valued and must be properly taken care of

• There is a rose garden in the Queendom that has roses dating back to when the Red Queen was alive. It isn't her original garden but this generation of flowers is from her garden. Only a select few people are allowed to maintain the gardens and it's only open to the public on special occasions. But this doesn't mean they are locked away, no, everyone can look at the gardens from a distance, and on holidays the public is allowed to walk through them to pay respects to their late Queen

• The Queendom has the largest perfume market in Twisted Wonderland

• Floriculture is also super big in the Queendom

• Flower language is something every Queendom resident knows and is always incorporated into the designs of buildings and homes

• There are so many candy shops with candied flower petals

• Gardening is second hand nature to the people there

• There are a lot of mages with earth magic that are born into the Queendom. Most don't have enough magic to enroll in a fancy school but it's enough to grow any type of flower without it dying or declining in any way

[inu-jiru]

Hiii, so you may know me from the Discord server and I had a question about where Blitzø lives, the city of Luxus... so what do you plan on it looking like (tbh I think in the Mastermind ep or my rewrite of it I plan for I.M.P moving there)

And what's your idea for the geography of Hell/the rings since I noticed a map on your HUNGER profile and how did you come up with that name?!

*rubs hands together* Oh yeah, Mr. Krabs, lore questions 😏

MASSIVE lore dump ahead!

I'll answer the name question first: It's based on the idea of sin acting as a sort of never-ending, animalistic hunger, constantly wanting and wanting regardless of what pain it causes to others or to yourself, all for the sake of filling a void that only God can fill, in a Biblical sense. I originally wanted to call it "The Kingdom of Hell" but I found that pretty basic and boring aaa 😩

I've thought a bit about Hell's geography and a few differences I have from the shows are as follows:

Pride is made up mostly of thick woodlands, and the Pandemonium district takes up a small portion. Pandemonium is a residential area, so much of the forest there has been cleared for the many mansions and palaces owned by Lucifer and the Goetia. The forest is an interesting place and a very dangerous force lies with it, but that's all I'll say on that 😏

Wrath is similar to its canon counterpart, pretty much the Wild West with molten lakes and extreme heat. I'll go a step further and say it's got elements of a chaparral biome, so the place isn't completely barren. Everything native to Wrath has adapted to the heat, including the local fauna and crops, so food exports tend to mainly be bought by imps and Satan (other creatures buy it if they think they can handle the spice or if they want to watch others suffer eating it).

Gluttony is a much bigger food export location, and much of its territory is devoted to factory farming and agriculture. Zuph, Beelzebub's city, rests within a beehive-like dome in order to protect from factory fumes. It mostly exists for grocery stores, restaurants, bars, and clubs, with residential areas mainly existing for those working at said locations.

Greed and Luxus are pretty interesting, imo, with Luxus being the fancier of Greed's two cities. Luxus isn't part of the ring itself, but exists as an island city within the space in the middle of the ring (there does exist elevators making travels between the ring possible; for Luxus, the shaft passes through it without much issue.) Since Luxus is basically just a big shopping district/playground for the rich, the place is heavily segregated so that lower class demons can't be seen walking on the golden streets that the rich walk on (not unless they're aids to the nobility in some way). The only way that a lower class demon can live in Luxus is if they can afford it, which is almost impossible. The second city is called The Labyrinth. Unlike the other rings, which has everything existing on the "surface" of each ring, the Labyrinth is within the Ring itself, a series of chasms, paths, and mines, where the lesser folk live and work. Most tend to work in Mammon's mines.

Lust is pretty much equal to its canon counterpart, just one big city of sex and shamelessness (and other things, but that's a much darker topic). There's no artificial sky like the other rings have (the Labyrinth also lacks one), and no natural landscapes. It's about what you'd expect, really. I imagine there's a big use of black lighting in Lust to make it even harder to hide how much filth goes on there.

Envy is one big ocean with a few island or Venice-style towns and cities for demons to live on. A wall of stone exists at the edge of the ring to keep it from spilling over and into the empty space. Envy is very dangerous, as most of its creatures are unapologetically beastly in nature and won't put on a show of civility the way other Hellborn would. Envy is another "playground for the rich" type of place, so not very many Hellborn aside from sirens (Leviathan's subjects) choose to live there.

Finally, there's Sloth, a dreamy place of rolling hills and woodlands, vast and easy to get lost in. Belphegor's city of Somnia is a place of carelessness, uncared for, cluttered, and reeking of the fumes of drugs. Of course, there's a better maintained district for the rich with spas, hotels, and Hell's hospitals, which are crazy expensive and exist to keep Lucifer's Court alive and well, first and foremost. There are no rehabilitation centers, therapists or anything that truly helps. It can be a peaceful place if one choses to live outside of Somnia, as Ipos does, but the wilderness of Sloth comes with its own dangers.

Lastly, there exists another part of Hell monitored by Lucifer, and will be referenced to in HUNGER: Sheol. I won't explain it here, though, since I actually want these places to be explored in the series 😤

I think that's it! It's nice getting to ramble about this project, since it's still fresh in my mind, even if writer's block has me in a chokehold aaaa, thanks for the ask! I'll repost this on the rewrite blog!

[talia-rumlow]

Fight For Me (Alvey Kulina/Original Female Character) Chapter One

WORDCOUNT: 5525

TRIGGERS: Mentions of drug abuse, strong language, some mentions of sex.

CHAPTER ONE - BACK AGAIN!

Venice Beach, California. Where the land meets the ocean and there's mile after mile of open beaches, life-guard towers, side walk coffee shops, luxury boutiques, unconvetional street artists and colorful wallpaintings. Venice Boardwalk was a haven for tourists, and therefore almost always packed with people.

For those who live here full time, this was a regular day to day lifestyle. And something they got used to over time. Learning when to not visit certain places, due to the crowds that gathered there. Learning how to deal with the crazy tourists, and the not so crazy ones. Life for the locals in Venice was a regular day to day life, no different from your life or my life. For them, Venice was the most beautiful place on God's green earth, and a lifestyle in itself.

For Alyssa Stavos, Venice Beach was a new beginning. Or well, more like a walk of shame, back to a life she left behind several years ago. A life she left without looking back, and without giving notice. She just left, dissapeared overnight. And back then, she thought that was the best descition she ever made. But that was back then, way back then.

Life hadn't exactly been like Alyssa had planned, and wether she wanted to or not, she was back in Venice. Back to the fighting scene, back to stitchin' fighters up, back to deal with addiction, anger, remorse, head injuries and weighins. Back in a world of masculinity, strong language, anger issues, family drama and most importaintly, back in Navy St. And back where Alvey was. He didn't know yet of course, but it was just a matter of time until that bliss also would fly out the window.

Alyssa sort of grew up in the MMA life. Her father Alexander Stavos used to be a famous MMA fighter, when he was still alive. And it was through him that Alyssa got intorduced to the world of fighting. It was the world of fighting that pushed her to study medicine, so she could be a part of the team around her dad when he was fighting. Due to her dad's merrits, she quickly made a name for herself in the business, which in turn led her to Alvey Kulina and his world. He was King Kulina back then. A world renown fighter, with several medals and trophies attached to his name. Back when they first met, Alvey was like a God to her. A renown fighter who wanted her on his team. And Alvey was a good fighter, he probably still was. But his carreer took a big hit, and that brought with it a whole avalance of messed up things, that all happened at once. Alyssa thought she pulled out before her name was too tainted with Alvey's mistakes. But as it turned out, the name King Kulina wasn't what it used to be. And getting a job, a real job, after being a part of the Kulina scene when it crumbled wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Alyssa discards her empty paper cup in a trashcan, before walking over to Muscle Beach. She needed a morning work out before she entered the Lion's den. Of course the job came with free workouts at Navy St. But she wasn't going there now. Not before Alvey gets to know she's back.

As she gets ready for her morning workout, she can't help but notice some guys looking at her from the other side of the street, talking to each other. By the look on their faces it's either unpure or unfriendly thoughts they have about her. Maybe both. It's not like she's not used to this. In her line of work, this kind of thing was sort of in the job description. But in some weird way, these particular guys felt threatening. She could probably kick their asses from here to the end of the universe. But even if she could fight, it wasn't like she wanted to, at least not all the time. And definetly not now. Maybe Navy St. is a better place to work out after all.

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Alvey leans back in the yellow couch in his office. Another fuckin' fork in the god damn road. Jay was still in denial about having a drug problem, and wasn't fit to fight at all. Maybe in some ways Jay was in physical shape to fight. But mentally he was lost in whatever drug cloud he was in these days. Nate was mentally 100% ready for a fight, but he had taken a beating a while back, and none of the 20 or so doctors they had spoken to wanted to clear him for the cage yet. And Ryan, well as much as he could fight, and he'd probably do fairly good too. There was something inside Alvey that held back. His relationship with Ryan wasn't exactly paved with honesty and good intentions, but the two men did their best to make it work. For the business they said. But still, Alvey really didn't want Ryan the Destroyer steal his thunder. He'd be much more comfortable if another Kulina, such as Jay or Nate could carry the torch after him. But given the current situation, that seemed impossible. He was so desperate that he had called Lisa, his ex, a couple of weeks ago and asked if she knew any medics that would maybe look away from Nate's condition, and let him fight regardless.

To call Lisa, after everything that had happen between them, was hard to do. But Alvey felt he was out of options. It was now 14 days ago, and he still hadn't heard a word. Maybe he should just let Ryan fight. Swallow his ego, and let Ryan have the spotlight on him. Wheeler The Destroyer? King Kulina? He definetly liked the sound of King better.

Fuck, he needs to get out of here. He thinks for himself, dragging his hand over his face before he gets up. Just sitting here, waiting for that phone call from Lisa is not a good use of his time. Stupid, fucking Lisa. Although he couldn't entirely blame everything on her, she sure played a big part in what happened. Fuck!

As he steps out from his office and into the gym he's met by the familiar smell of sweat, energy drinks and wet towels.

"Dad!" Someone yells. The voice is almost drowned by the sound of ropes hitting the floor, people sparring in the cage and other familiar sounds of people working out.

Alvey doesn't react to the voice. Making a mental note that they shound get better air conditioning in here, he contiues through the gym.

"Dad!" The voice yells again. Alvey picks up his pace. He's not in the mood for any questions right now. Not about doctors or fighting or Lisa or anything else. "Alvey!" The voice presists.

"WHAT?" Alvey hisses out as he stops and turns around.

Nate, his youngest son is on his way over to him. Alvey folds his arms over his chest. Perfect. He loves both his boys, both Nate and Jay. After their mom took off left them alone, he had raised them as best he could. Constantly being reminded that they needed a female role model in their lives. It was just that King Kulina wasn't good at holding on to anything other than boxing gloves and diets.

"Did Lisa call back? Did we get a medic?" Nate asks, there's a hope in his voice. And Alvey hates to let him down. These days he felt that's all he did. Let people down.

"No, Nate. No doctor. I'm still waiting for a phone call. If she's ever going to call back," he sighs in return. Then he turns and leaves. "Shooting range," he hollers over his shoulder to Shelby in the reception before he walks out the door.

"Does he know anything?" Jay asks his younger brother as he tosses a water bottle his way. Watching as his brother catches the bottle, and takes a sip.

"Nope, not a damn thing," he replies. Then they just stand there together, looking at the enterance to the gym. Like the salvation is about to come through there any second.

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Alyssa looks up at the big sign outside the gym. Navy St. Mixed Martial Arts, Venice, Ca. A mix of nervousness and exitement fills her body, and without realizing it, she clench her fists. Lowering her gaze to the enterance. Navy St. Enterance can be seen above the door. What is she even doing here? Maybe she shouldn't have agreed to this at all.

When Lisa had called her, about 14 days ago, she was shocked. Given the troubled relationship she had with Lisa, it was the last person she ever expected to get a phone call from. Although half of it were Alvey's fault, Lisa wasn't as innocent as she tended to portray herself to be. The whole thing was kinda ironic in a way. Her relationship with Alvey ended the same way it had started, with infidelity. If she could call it that at all. Neither she or Alvey had said that they were exclusive, and she already knew how he was, and what he tended to do. Alvey was never the best at keeping girls. Probably why he and Lisa also broke up, but Alyssa never asked Lisa why. Wasn't her business anyway. But she said yes to help out as a medic. Mostly for Nate, she had said. And that was true in a way. At least it wasn't a total lie. But she would never admit to Lisa that she missed Alvey. Missed how he made her feel free and strong. Because Alvey did take her under his wings, protected her, kept her safe, helped her. But when Alvey crumbled, everything else also crumbled around him, including her. And then, Alvey found solace in Lisa. And Alyssa... Well, she left. She left everything behind six years ago, without a word. Including 19 year old Nate and 21 year old Jay. Leaving Alvey was hard enough, but leaving Jay and Nate; that was almost unbearable. They already been left once, and then she left as well. Probably not the best choice she made, but she did talk to them already, and they seemed to be okay about her coming back. Alvey however; that would be a different story.

Walking into the gym's reception area, she's immidiatly greeted by Shelby.

"Ally, you look amazing girl," Shelby states, followed by a warm hug.

"You too, Shelby, you too." She replies, hugging the blonde back. "He's not here is he?" She continues. She knows she have to face him sooner or later, but she kinda hopes it'll be later.

"Who, Alvey?" The blonde replies as they break the hug. "He's at the shooting range. But Nate and Jay are here," she continues.

"Shooting range, huh?" Alyssa almost laughs. "Shocker," she continues in an almost condecending tone. Alvey and his guns. Typical, whenever Alvey had trouble he either went in the cage or to the shooting range. She silently thanks the universe that he chose the shooting today. She hasn't seen or heard from Alvey for six years, and she basically don't know him anymore. But if there's one thing she knows; it's that Alvey won't be as welcoming as Shelby.

"You think I should go see him, don't you?" Alyssa tries to not sound nervous, annoyed or anything like that. But, she's unsure if she actually managed to.

Shelby tilts her head, and sends Her an apologetic look. "He'll be pissed either way Ally, but it might be smart to give him an extra day to be pissed, before he shows up for work tomorrow," she informs with a shrug.

"Yeah..." Alyssa breathes out, biting her lower lip. "I get that things haven't exactly been running smooth lately," she continues, drumming her fingertips on the reception desk.

"Just show your face to him, Ally," Shelby begs with both the words and her face. "It'll make it easier," she continues with another shrug.

"For me or for you?" Ally replies, accompanied by a smile to show Shelby that the comment wasn't meant as bad as it sounded.

Shelby points to the roof, and makes a circle in the air. "For this place," she informs.

Alyssa lets out an exasperating sigh, then she tosses her hands up. "You are annoyingly right, you know that?" She tells Shelby, before she tosses her bag over her shoulder, and moves towards the exit.

"Always," she gets in response, followed by a "good luck," as she exits the reception.

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Alyssa takes a good long look at herself in the mirror. Her thick dark locks framing her face. The mascara and eyeliner she just applied makes the intricate pattern of green in between the brown in her eyes pop. She's usually not the biggest make up user. But in some weird way, she wanted to look good when she saw him. And when he sees her. Not that she should care at all. Her relationship with Alvey ended six years ago, and not exactly in a friendly way.

She takes a deep breath, close her eyes. Remembering how it was to be with Alvey. How his breath felt on her skin. How his lips and tongue felt, when he opened his mouth, before closing it around her most sensitive spots. How he entered her, filled her up, fucked her. How he growled in her ear as he came. There was no doubt that what she and Alvey had was hot and heavy, and not at all a secret. Everybody around them knew. And back then; that made Alyssa feel powerful. To get to be with the infamous King Kulina, that was every girls dream back then, and she got to live it. But it came with a price, a price and a hard fall. She feels shivers down her spine just by thinking about it. "Fuck you, Alvey," she says to her reflection before she leaves the bathroom, and walks out to the shooting range.

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A round of automatic rounds reaches Alyssa's ears, followed by a happy "aaaahhh", and laughter. She crosses her arms over her chest as she moves closer. God damnit, what should she say to him? Should she say anything at all? Maybe just showing her face will do the trick. He did call Lisa for help. Or did he? Lisa could have lied to her. She could have. Or she could've lied to him. God knows she did that already.

Alyssa looks down her attire. Skinny jeans, ankle boots and a black t-shirt. Her style hasn't changed much over the years. When she takes another look at Alvey's back, she can confirm that neither has his. Army pants and a dark sweatshirt. Definetly Alvey, maybe a bit older, but his pants still fits his behind perfectly, and his shoulders are still as broad as she remembers them. You're not having sex with Alvey again, she thinks to herself. You're not, she repeats. Shaking her head as to shake the thoughts out. Do not have sex with him, Alyssa. You know what's going to happen. You don't want that again. "You really don't," she whispers.

"Is is weird that I want to fuck this gun?" Alvey's voice. Still as firm, determined and rough as she remembers it. It does something to her, something that makes her repeat in her head that she's not going to have sex with him again. But, if she's completely honest with herself, she's not sure if it's to convince herself that she shouldn't do it, or if she actually won't do it.

"Nah, it won't fit," she can hear her voice saying it, but her mind isn't totally there. Perfect Alyssa. She thinks. That was the absolute best way to get his attention, make fun of his dick. Like that will help at all. "Up your ass maybe, but I kinda have a feeling that's not what you meant," she continues, while her brain screams 'stop talking, Alyssa. For God's sake, just stop!'

Alvey turns around, slowly. Then he stops and just looks at her. Oh for fuck's sake. He thinks for himself. Fuckin' Alyssa Stavos. Just as stunning as she alwas was. What the fuck is she doing here. "The fuck are you doing here?" He hisses.

She shrugs in return, raising her eyebrows. "Just saying hi," she replies.

Alvey huffs. "You came all the way out here, just to say fuckin' hi?" He spits out. Did he like her still? Alyssa was undoubtably the only woman he ever met who could deal with him, who dared to fight him, discuss with him, be mad at him. Did Lisa call her? No, Lisa wouldn't have called Alyssa, after everything that had happened between them, she would not have called her. Do not start, Alvey. You don't have feelings. At least not for her.

"Oh, go fuck yourself, Alvey!" Alyssa spits out, before she turns and leaves. He'll figure everything out tomorrow anyway. And he deserves that punch in the face. Fuck him, fuck this. She should've never agreed to this, ever. But it was too late to turn back now. Way too late.

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Alyssa looks at herself in the mirror as she applies her mascara. Her red toothbrush held in place between her teeth. Today is the day. Her first day back in Navy St. She had already signed the contract, so Alvey couldn't fire her. He would try, but it couldn't be done. She felt safe in that department. Previous sexual relations wasn't the best reason for fiering people. Alvey knew that too, but he'd be mad. She tried to tell herself that she wouldn't care about that. But deep down, she really did wish he would be okay with her coming back. Not because of the sex or anything, even if it was the best she'd ever had. No, she wanted them to be friends for once. And handle arguments with something other than dirty fucking. It had been six years, she'd grown. Maybe Alvey had too. One could only hope.

Alvey puts his thoothbrush back and spits in the sink, then he looks at his teeth in the mirror. What the fuck was Alyssa doing in Venice? She wouldn't come and just say hi if it wasn't something special. At least he didn't think so. Given what had happened between them, he didn't even understand why she came to say hi. Sure, he wasn't the easiest person to be around back then, and he did tecnically cheat on her with Lisa. If you could call it cheating. What he once had with Alyssa wasn't a real relationship. They didn't even live together, not like he did with Lisa. For the past six years he thought Alyssa hated him. So why was she here now? Lisa couldn't possibly have called her for help. Alyssa and Lisa hated each other. Even before he had started things with Lisa, the two of them hadn't had the best relationship. Lisa would never had called Alyssa. And if she had, it would be more to get back at him than to help him. Fuck!

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"Morning, Shelby," Alyssa greets the blonde as she enters the gym. "I'll wait for Alvey in his office," she adds as she keeps walking towards the office with fast firm footsteps.

"You'll need-," Shelby hollers, but stops mid sentence when Alyssa lifts up a keychain. "I see Lisa fixed it all," Shelby states for herself, as she goes back to folding up t-shirts.

Alyssa takes a deep breath as she locks the door behind her. She's not completely sure why she locked the door behind her. Maybe it felt safer, or maybe it was to piss Alvey off. Either way, that was the choice she took. She's here now, no matter what he thinks. But she still has no fucking clue what to say to him.

Four steps from the door over to Alvey's desk. She takes another deep breath as she pulls some papers out from her bag, and places them on the desk. Then she walks over to the couch, and sinks down in it. "You're welcome, Lisa," she mutters for herself, as she once again contemplates why she decided to say yes to this. For Nate and Jay? For Alvey? For Lisa? For herself?

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"Fuck," Alvey mutters as he unlocks the door to his office. He slept like shit, this morning was shit, Jay is probably shitfaced somewhere, everything is shit. He can't wait to close his office door behind him and get some peace, at least until Wheeler shows up. He still has a few pounds to go, and Alvey had a diet and an exercise-plan set up for him.

"Hi," he hears, as he locks the door behind him. The voice is familiar, too familiar. Fuck. Can't she just leave him the fuck alone? The shooting range was one thing, that place was open to the public. But this was his gym, his office. How the hell did she even get in?

"What the motherfucking fuck are you doing here, Alyssa?" He spits the words out. Fucking Alyssa. She should know better than to show up here.

"I work here," she casually replies. Shrugging at his firm steely stare. She does work here, and she wasn't going to let Alvey mess that up. Well, he couldn't mess it up, but he didn't know that yet. And she knew it would all blow up once he sat down and actually read over the papers she left on his desk. The arrangement Lisa had set up for her was rock solid. No force within Navy St. could kick her out. Both Jay and Nate knew already, and they were both onboard with it. They even helped find the loophole they jumped through for the contract to be valid.

"The hell you are," He huffs. "This is my gym, and I decide who works here or not," he continues, still looking at her with that steely stare.

Alyssa shrugs at him, he can say what he needs to say right now. In a couple of minutes he'll know he lost anyway. "Well, Alvey," she raises her eyebrows. "I'm going to work, you can do whatever the fuck you want about that," she continues as she opens the door and continues out into the gym.

"What the fuck do you mean 'going to work'?" Alvey follows her, and slams the door to his office shut. "Didn't you hear what I said? You. Don't. Work. Here," he continues.

Alyssa takes a deep breath, forcing herself not to tell him everything. She turns around and takes another deep breath, before she walks over to him. "Listen, jerkoff. I-," she's cut off by the snap of a chain, a startled half scream followed by a loud bang.

Both Alvey and Alyssa whirles around, along with every single other person in the gym. Alvey places his hands on his hips, looks up at the chain which used to hold the 110 pounds punching bag, now snapped in the middle, and the bag on the floor.

"Fuck, Wheeler. You trying to wreck my gym?" Alvey sounds a bit angry. But Alyssa knows that he's more annoyed. She follows him, as he walks over to the bag on the floor.

"Looks like a worn chain," she states, holding up the chain for Alvey to see.

"Still here I see," he replies. This'll just be one of those days. Fuck this.

"Like I told you. I work here," she calmly brush off his statement. The she looks up at the guy who was punching the bag off the chains.

She recognize him right away. Semi blonde hair, strong facial features, a strong yet lean body, and 'DESTROYER' tattooed across his chest. Ryan Wheeler. He hadn't changed much over the past six years. "Ryan?" Her voice carried a bit of surprise.

"Hi, Ally," Ryan smiles. "I'd shake your hand, but I think I should keep my hand here," he continues, gesturing with his eye to his hand, firmly placed above his left eye. "The chain hit me," he adds.

"Allright, come over here. I'll look at it," she replies. "Just look up, and I'll guide you over to the wall there," she continues, taking Ryans hand, and helping him over to the bench.

Alvey grabs her wrist. "What are you doing?" He asks, still annoyed.

She yanks her arm back. "My job!" She replies, continuing to walk towards the bench.

"You don't have a fucking job," Alvey continues. But she's not giving him any reaction.

After she sits Ryan down, she takes off her jacket tossing it to the side. "Let me see," she instructs.

Ryan removes his hand. Trying not to look at Alvey, who's still hovering over them. Ryan can't see if he's jealous or angry because Alyssa is back. But given the history the two have, it could be both. "Is it bad? Can I still fight?" Ryan asks. Fighting is all he is, and if he has to bench this next fight, it'll be even harder to get Alvey to set him up for one of the big fights.

"It's nothing, Ryan. Nothing. Doesn't even need stiches. It'll bruise though," she informs him, as she picks up what she needs from her medical bag. "But given what you do, I guess you're used to that," she continues, as she starts to clean the cut over his eye.

Ryan looks down, trying not to look at her clevage. That's almost an impossible task. Alyssa was always a beautiful woman. Both inside and outside. Why Alvey did what he did, Ryan'll never understand. But, then again. Alvey was a complexed guy. And his mistakes could make it easier for Ryan to make a move. If he dared to.

Alvey's still hovering over Ryan and Alyssa. That Ryan checks out her clevage is no surprise, but that she is so fucking stupid that she still doesn't understand that he can't have her working for him again, that's a surprise. "Take a long hard look, Wheeler. She won't be here tomorrow," he informs them both.

He gets no reaction from Alyssa, and Ryan sits absolutely still, so Alyssa can do her job. "What are you going to do, Alvey? Fire me?" She suddenly asks, not looking at him at all.

Her casual response to all of this make Alvey's blood boil. Who the fuck does she think she is? "I don't have to fucking fire you. I didn't hire you. You can't just walk in here and expect to have a job," he want's to yell at her. She has no fucking business coming here and fuck up his life, his consentration. Fuck.

"You should read over the papers I left on your desk. You can't fire me," she shrugs back. She takes a quick glance up at Nate who's standing on the other side of her. He already knows, and in some weird way, she wants his approval once more. Alvey hates the fact that she's back, and she can live with that. But if Nate or Jay or both of them doesn't approve, it'll make her staying so much harder. She signed that contract, so she can't back out either. Hopefully Alvey will come around.

"What papers?" His voice over her head again. It pisses her off. If she wasn't closing up Ryan's wound, she's pretty sure she would have put her fist into the wall right about now.

"The papers, Alvey! On your desk. Take a fucking look, and stop being a baby," her voice might be a bit harder than she intended it to be. But this man seriously pisses her off, in every possible way.

As Alvey slams the door to his office shut, Ryan finally looks up at Alyssa. "What does it say in the papers?" He asks, curious, but he knows he'll probably find out any second.

Alyssa sends him a half smile. "You'll see in a bit," she replies, patting him on the knee. "How many pounds you got left?" She continues, trying to get attention away from Alvey, in his office, reading over the papers. It's about to explode any second now. She knows that.

"Fo-," Ryan starts, but a bang in the wall from Alvey's office cuts him off.

"Fucking bitch!" Alvey yells.

Alyssa smiles again. Here we go, she thinks. "I'm just gonna go back there. No need to take this fight out in the open," she gestures with her hand to the back of the gym, where the showers, the sauna, the kitchen and Alvey's private exercise area is.

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Ryan points in the direction Alyssa went when Alvey comes out of his office. No words are exchanged, but Ryan knows that it'll be loud in just a few seconds. He knows he still has four pounds to go, but right now, he wished he had popcorn. As Alvey's angry footsteps echoes around the gym, Ryan gets up and slowly follows him in a safe distance. He can't help it. But he wants to know what this is about. What Lisa and Alyssa did, that made Alvey totally lose it like this.

"Alyssa!" Alvey's voice echoes through the oversized gym. "Alyssa, don't fuckin' hide from me. We need to talk," he continues as he rips open the door to the changing rooms, before slamming it behind him.

Alyssa leans her back against the wall. "Hey, Alvey," she smiles "What's up?" She continues placing her left foot up against the wall.

"What the fuck is this?" Alvey yells, lifting the papers up in front of her face. "Is this some kind of revenge? You and Lisa teaming up together to avenge me," Alvey's eyes are locked on hers, almost a threatening look.

Alyssa raises her eyebrows as Alvey places an arm on each side of her head. "And what exactly did you think you did, that would lead us to want revenge?" She asks, tilting her head a bit. She was never scared of Alvey. Every single time they fought like this the ended up having sex. Now that would not happen this time.

"Don't play games with me. Lisa gave you her share of the gym," Alveys jaw ticks, and Alyssa halfway expect him to punch a hole in the wall next to her head.

"She didn't give it to me, I bought it," she replies, still calm and collected. She knows that this move won't defuse the situation at all, but it'll help her to have some form of control.

"So you just bought 25% of my gym? For what? Out of the kindness of your heart?" He almost spits the last words out.

"Well, that's not entirely accurate," Alyssa replies. She was sorta thinking about keeping this last part a secret for a bit longer. But Alvey pisses her off more than she thought he would. So fuck it. "I didn't buy 25%," she continues. Then she stops, waiting for Alvey to reply.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Alvey is now all the way up in her face. But she's determined to stay cool. No need to start a fist fight.

"I bought closer to 50%," she informs him, watching as his face morphes from angry to confused. "I bought 25% from Lisa, and 24% from you," she continues. The confusion on Alveys face is priceless, and she can't help butsto find that amusing.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Alvey replies. It's like he's trying to be angry, but Alyssa knows him. And there's a bit of something else in his voice.

"Pro Grip Equipment," she delivers the name with a hint of exitement. "Ergonomic designed exercise equipment for injured fighters," she continues, not taking her eyes away from Alvey. "You took them up on their offer to supply Navy St. with top of the line equipment," Alyssa reaches into her pocket. "To set Navy St. on the map, as an including and safe space for everyone," she delivers Alveys own words back at him, as she hands him her calling card for the business.

"You?" Alvey asks, as he takes the card from her. "You and Lisa," he continues. "Vengeful," he adds.

Alyssa can feel the anger bubbling inside her. "Believe it or not Alvey. But I'm not here for you," she moves closer to his face as she's talking. "And about the whole revenge ting. If I wanted to do that. I'd just go and sleep with Ryan," she continues. She knows that might have been a stupid thing to say, given the situation.

Finally Alvey moves away from her. Instead he points his index finger at her. "This isn't over," he hisses before he walks away.

"You're right. I think this'll be an eventful partnership," she hollers after him. But she's not sure where it'll go from here. It could be good, it could work out okay or it could be a total disaster. Just don't sleep with him, she once again tells herself.

@nekoannie-chan @ladysif8 @the-ero-writer @saiyanprincessswanie @late-to-the-party-81 @here4thefanfics

[twostepstyless]

how are our ARLTY lovies doing? :(( miss them!!! 🥹

Oh my god!!  the fact that you miss them??? Ouch I miss them SO much too, shall we have a little check in with them? 

Read the original one shot here :))

Masterlist

2.3k words

***

The rest of the trip flew by. Well, it would do when the pair were surrounded by a pink, glittery haze of their newly professed love. After Harry had gone back into the villa to lock the balcony doors and they left Amalfi, they cut across Italy, through Salerno and Potenza before arriving in Bari where they spent a few days traipsing round the maze of narrow, cobbled streets of the old town and walking through galleries and museums while nudging hips and the brushes of hands against one another’s. The pair took turns on the drive alongside the Adriatic coast, stopping for day trips and overnights. They had no plan so pulled in wherever they fancied, or when something caught their eye. Funnily enough, the weird, dodgy sound coming from the engine had disappeared and was now a distant memory as they made their way to Venice. Venice was… well… bloody Venice. They wandered down paved streets hand in hand, and they took a gondola ride as night fell on their first evening. As the sun set around them their gondolier told them the romantic legend of the Bridge of Sighs and urged the young couple to share a kiss as they floated under the bridge so they could bask in eternal love. 

“What a load of old shit,” Y/N had snorted quietly to Harry as they approached the bridge as she was cuddled up to his side. 

“Oi, it’s romantic,” Harry jabbed her side playfully before looping his arm around her shoulders and playing with the ends of her hair that fell there. 

“It’s the gondola companies capitalist wet dream is what it is, look at all the boats lined up,” she giggled thinking about how many young couples must pay a premium to come to this spot every day. 

Harry laughed as he noticed the queue of boats himself, “hm, so no kiss then?” he asked just as they were about to sail under. 

“Well, I never said that” Y/N whispered turning her neck to face him as he was already leaning in. She planted her lips on his and indulged in the feel of his lips moving against her own, honouring the legend even if it was used as a ploy to make money nowadays. 

Venice continued to be perfect. Harry held his clumsy girl steady on the landings that bobbed in the water of the Vaporetto water taxis, taking her hand in his, helping her to board. They spent a day and two entire reels of film in Burano taking in the brightly coloured houses that were even brighter and even more sweet-like than the ones they saw in Naples. The colours paired with the sun shining above them made for beautifully hazy pictures of the two of them with the houses at bright backdrops. Harry had Y/N posing for him every few metres that left him overwhelmed with options for his phones new home screen. He settled on one with her hand raised to stop him a faux glare gracing her face as he stopped her again to take her photo. 

The toured a lacemakers on Burano and Y/N went back with scraps of the handmade lace in her hands that she knew was going straight into the scrapbook she planned to make of this trip. Harry couldn’t take his eyes off her as her fingers toyed with the lace and ran delicately over the top of it appreciating the floral designs and the craftmanship that went into making even the little pieces she was going away with. Their favourite stop was at the Libreria Acqua Alta, the most beautiful bookshop the pair had ever seen, the Waterstones on the high street near both their houses paled in comparison to this. Stacks of books littered the place, but what really sold it to the pair was that the slew of books were displayed in buckets, boats and bathtubs to save them from flooding when the canals overflow into the shop. They spent a while looking at all the books with Harry buying a few of his favourites in Italian so he could get better at learning the language. She watched him from an aisle over, his brow furrowed as he read over the blurb on the back of a particular book in his hand, eyes flitting over the words before deciding to buy it and depositing it on the growing pile of books he had accumulated. He looked up to find her, but seeing her gaze already on him as they smiled to each other before Harry went over to grab her own pile of books to carry for her.

***

It was November now, and the stack of books with worn edges and pretty leatherbound spines Y/N had bought from the little shop in Venice sat pride of place in the bookshelves of her flats living room. She was sat criss-cross on the floor in front of her coffee table with her supplies spilling over the edges of the small table and onto the floor, a large square book opened onto a blank page in front of her. She rifled through the bundle of freshly developed photographs trying to find a specific shot of her and her best friend. It was a photo from a few months ago on a road trip they had taken. It was a photo of them on a walk one evening in Positano, they were walking side by side down the middle of the road watching the sunset when a stranger stopped the pair and asked if she could take a photo of them as they looked like such a beautiful couple and they should remember their evening with a picture. How little the stranger knew that the beautiful couple had only became a couple a short 12 hours before that. But as the setting sun burnt the sky a rich orange that faded to pink then into blue behind them, Harry and Y/N were photographed leaning against the railing that looked over the water, arms wrapped around one another with radiant smiles plastered on their faces as the stranger took the first official photo of the pair as a couple. Y/N looked fondly down as she pasted the photo into her scrapbook with the glue stick that she had to peel a layer of crust off as she had left the lid off for too long. She wrote the date under the photograph before flipping through the book again, seeing the U.K sticker they peeled off the car when they arrived back next to the photo of them outside the car before they left, the photo of an unsuspecting Harry getting to drive through the big tunnel he was so desperate to do, the two of them standing in front of the candy-coloured houses in both Naples and Burano caught on film and glued into her book, a strip cut off from the silk scarf Harry had tied round her neck, to live out her best Audrey Hepburn fantasy, was in the book next to one of the numerous photos of Y/N that Harry had taken that evening. She was just starting a new page with the scraps of lace from Burano getting pasted in when she heard a key jiggle in the lock of her front door. Now, only Y/N’s mum and one other person had a key to the flat and her mum was currently in her hometown to that left the latter as who it could be. 

“Girlfriend, where are you?” he sang from the entryway as he shed his coat from his shoulders before putting it in her coat cupboard in the hallway. She heard his shoes get kicked off his feet in a clatter against the wooden floor. 

“I’m in the living room, boyfriend,” Y/N called back not looking up from her task at hand as she heard his socked feet pad up the hall towards her. 

“Evening, my love, wha’s all this?” Harry asked standing next to her, peering down at her covered coffee table and the opened scrapbook.

“Went to the craft shop today, went a bit mental, here I am, finally making the scrapbook from our trip,” she spoke as she pressed down on the piece of lace to stick it in place before looking up at him, “hi pretty,” she sighed out smiling up at him from her place on the floor. 

“‘Went a bit mental,’ yeah I can see that,” Harry laughed leaning down to peel a letter H sticker from her forehead before showing it to her on the pad of his index finger. 

“Oh! I was looking for that,” she carefully peeled the sticker from his fingertip and flicked to the front page of the book to complete the sentence that formerly read as ‘Arry and Y/N’s Roadtrip.’ “There we go,” she stuck it in place, even if it was a little squint on the page. “Help me up?” Y/N pouted up at him raising her hands up in front of him. Harry popped the plastic bag for life onto her couch to grip both her hands in his pulling her up from her spot. 

“Hmm, finally,” Harry groaned as he finally got to kiss her hello. A deep, slow kiss as his tongue licked into her mouth just a little bit before he pulled back with three short pecks, muttering a ‘hi,’ against her kiss softened lips. 

“Hm, what’s with the bag,” she glanced down to her couch as if to remind him. 

“My turn to cook tonight, isn’t it?” Harry asked lifting the bag and walking towards her kitchen setting it on the side before helping Y/N pop herself up to sit on the countertop when she followed him in. “Did y’know they charge 30 bloody pence for a bag for life nowadays,” Harry sighed as he stood between her legs wanting to be close to her after a long day and last night without her. 

“It’s so we stop using plastic H, where were your reusable ones?” asking as she rest her forearms on his shoulders pulling him in closely and letting her hand card through the back of his hair. 

“Left them in the car and couldn’t carry everything without one,” he muttered before holding back a moan at the satisfaction of her nails scraping lightly against his scalp. 

“How was the studio?” Y/N questioned him as he untangled himself from her for a second to unpack his shopping bag so he could start preparing dinner. 

“Hm, was good I think, felt like a good day today,” he mused, sniffing his fresh produce quickly, still didn’t smell as good or as fresh as what they bought in Italy.

“Write anything good?” Y/N reached behind her to grab the two cutting boards he would need. 

“Yeah, think so,” Harry smiled, remembering what he got out today and thinking about what inspired it. 

“Let me hear some?” she asked playfully, knowing already she had absolutely no chance until Harry was ready to share it with her. 

“Nice try, baby, not yet” Harry came back to stand between her legs, reaching forward to quickly push her hair back off her face. 

Y/N scrunched her nose and grumbled, “tell me what it’s about at least,” batting her eyelashes flirtatiously to try and convince him.

Kissing the pout from her lips, tasting the balm she was using to fight off the chapping the ever-increasing winter wind was causing as London grew colder and colder.

“Hmm, I’m not sure,” Harry teased. 

“Oh H, please,” she whined hopping down from the counter, standing on her tiptoes she brushed her nose against his, the tip of his own still tinged pink and a little cold from being outside, before resting her chin on his chest to gaze up at him. 

Harry breathed out a huff of laughter his hands cupping her face, thumbs brushing across the tops of her cheeks as she leant into his touch

“Driving,” he stated

“Driving?” she puzzled head tilting to the side. 

“The songs about driving,” he said softly. Memories of the road trip that changed it all for the flourishing couple rushed through both their minds simultaneously, Harry’s like a movie in his mind and Y/N’s all the pasted pages of her scrapbook that she had worked on all day. Smiles graced both of their faces, knowingly, but not one of the two saying it aloud. Harry let out a hum of laughter, almost bashful sounding before he pulled her into a kiss. His lips nipping her bottom lip between them. 

Harry was cooking dinner when Y/N spoke up again as she watched him stir the sauce with a tea towel draped across his shoulder. 

“My wish came true by the way,” she spoke from behind him as he turned to face her, closing the distance by pulling her into his chest. 

“Wish?” Harry puzzled, resting his forehead on hers, the innate need to be close to her waving its flag. 

“My wish I wouldn’t tell y’about at the Trevi, it came true,” she whispered the sound of food bubbling away on the stove almost drowning her out.

“Mine too,” Harry pulled back to look into her eyes before leaning down to kiss his love. 

“Now feed me, Styles,” Y/N proclaimed as they broke apart. Harry laughed as he turned round grabbing the spoon from the sauce and holding it up for her to taste. As she leant to taste it, the sauce fell from the spoon and down her shirt that was partly covered by the soft cotton dungarees she wore. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, that was your fault this time,” she whined as she began to shimmy out of the t-shirt from under her overalls, and to Harry this all felt a bit too much like déjà vu. 

[mydailyfashionworld]

Enjoué Collectif

Ophelia Corset and Venice Skirt (Cream):

Ophelia Corset

Featuring Enjoue’s original Shakespeare script print cotton fabric; Guipure lace;

Satin lining;

Adjustable satin bow straps;

Wide satin ribbon laces;

Boning suitable for daily fashion wear.

Venice Skirt

Luscious layers of lace.

From: https://enjouecollectif.com/shop/ophelia-corset/

From: https://enjouecollectif.com/shop/venice-skirt-cream/

2. Cupid & Psyche Corset and Juliet Skirt:

Cupid & Psyche Corset

Designed with a similar composition to a stays corset, but with a creative twist.

Featuring Enjoue’s original Cupid & Psyche (by Anthony van Dyck) art print on satin with satin lining;

Comfortable spiral steel boning suitable for daily fashion wear;

Satin ribbon laces;

The design features an open back and is not meant to be closed fully.

Juliet Skirt

With a drawstring front to adjust the length;

Tiered ruffles;

Light and breezy fabric in chocolate brown.

With high-low hem;

Elastic waist in the back for a very comfortable and accommodating fit.

From: https://enjouecollectif.com/shop/cupid-psyche-corset/

From: https://enjouecollectif.com/shop/juliet-skirt/

[falling-turtle]

Little Stratford - custom shopping district for Veronaville

Little Stratford is home to many businesses, newcomers and established merchants alike. How is life in this little community going to continue?

Have you ever wanted more Shakespearean Sims for your Veronaville and/or a shopping district that’d fit Veronaville’s theme? Well, I wanted the same thing, which is why I sat down and created this little suburb so you can enjoy more Shakespeare-inspired families in your neighborhood!

Features:

9 households inspired by Shakespeare’s plays The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Winter's Tale.  There are 22 playable Sims in total (plus one cat). There are also three deceased NPCs that are resurrectable and have correct memories.

8 business lots - 6 owned by some of the families who live in this subhood, 2 unowned. There is a general store, a pet shop, clothing store, a restaurant, a bookstore, a salon and spa (which works as a venue), a bakery and a furniture store.

The neighborhood name when you download it is BLST so make sure you don’t already have a subhood by that name.

The hood is built on the Riverblossom Hills template so you shouldn’t need a camera mod to view the lots.

MODS THAT YOU WILL DEFINITELY NEED:

50 new lifetime wants for Sims 2 by Lamare since some of the Sims use those lifetime wants

Lifestyle Build Bundle (the second link in the top post; extracted from Lifestyle Stories by Argon)

Fix Subhood selection by Mootilda

RECOMMENDED MODS

Veronaville 2.0 by Delijume is what I prefer to play instead of the original Veronaville, so if you want even more Shakespeare than what the original Veronaville + my subhood gives you, I recommend you check it out! I chose Sims for my neighborhood specifically so they wouldn’t clash with playables from Veronaville 2.0 (although a few of the townies have the same or similar name as the Sims in my neighborhood).

DOWNLOAD

Meet the families of Little Stratford!

Belmont

Portia has recently inherited her late father’s business. She’s confident she will be able to manage it just fine... as long as she has the support of her best friend Nerissa. But with her wealth, will she ever be able to form genuine relationships or is she going to be surrounded by vultures?

Friends

Bassanio has moved in with his best friend as both of them look for ways to get wealthy. Bassanio has his sights set on a wealthy heiress while Antonio is struggling to get his business off the ground. Will the friends be successful in their endeavors?

Minola

After his wife’s death, Baptista was left to manage his business and raise his daughters alone. Will he manage to be a good father to both Bianca and Katherine as well as keep the business afloat?

Lartius

Just moved in, Hortensio and Petruchio are looking forward to their new life in this town.

McBeth

The McBeth sisters have just moved in! Verona plans to open a shop and sell her potions, Bellatrix mostly wants to cause mischief and Esme is trying to keep things from falling apart. This family might seem a tad wyrd, but the sisters have a strong bond.

Falstaff

John is looking for some new love; ideally for someone wealthy enough to financially support him. He has his sights set on two women in particular and is fully confident he will manage to woo at least one of them. Is he right?

Page

George and Margaret have been married for years and still going strong! Will young Anne manage to find such a strong relationship one day? And will William ever manage to fix his terrible grades?

Ford

Alice and Francis are content, but are they truly happy together? Will they grow closer or more apart?

King

Leontes and Hermione have been happily married for years but recently, Leontes has become convinced that Hermione is cheating on him. Will his jealousy destroy the family?

[supersonicart]

Gabe Leonard's "In A Perfect World."

Currently on view at Distinction Gallery in Escondido, California is artist Gabe Leonard's solo exhibition, "In A Perfect World."

Gabe Leonard spent his early years in rural Wyoming, sketching wildlife and selling his drawings for one dollar. After earning his BFA from Columbus College in Ohio, Leonard honed his talents on the ultra-competitive Venice Beach boardwalk.

Described as "Johnny Cash meets Quentin Tarantino," Gabe Leonard's original art and prints possess an intense cinematic quality combining the gestural brushwork of expressionism with the expert lighting and framing of a Hollywood cinematographer. His oils are cinematic, atmospheric and moody, revolving around outlaws, rugged noir characters to create narratives full of dramatic possibility.

While his subjects and compositions belie a heavy influence of modern and contemporary cinema, Leonard's artistic style is rooted firmly in a European tradition. While he often breaks from academic restrictions with his loose brushwork and characteristic drips, he counts Rembrandt, Mucha, Klimt and Schiele as amongst his influences.

SUPERSONIC ART SHOP | FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM

[sound-and-vision-inspiration]

The Artists House and Khlong Bang Luang

A centuries old house in Thonburi, right on an old canal.

It is popular for hosting traditional puppet shows.

It has a gallery upstairs and a space for painters and other artists to enjoy below. Visitors can make their own bead brackets, have a go at painting or feed the ever hungry fish that swarm beside the covered wooden walkway beside the canal.

There is an ancient chedi in the garden area which dates back to the Ayutthaya era and is the backdrop for puppet shows.

It is an important part of the vibrant community that makes up the "artists village," in Thonburi. Many parts of Thonburi retain an old fashioned charm, with the canals that gave Bangkok the moniker "Venice of the East," still very present. Across the river, over half the original canals were filled in and built upon years ago.

As well as regular traffic from boats along the canal, there are cute little bridges that connect the two sides of the bustling stalls, shops and restaurants that line Khlong Bang Luang.

[dollarbin]

Shakey Sundays #17:

Ragged Glory, Part 3

When I was a senior in high school I experienced big-deal, pure, adrenaline surging joy - the kind that feels like it forever changes the shape of your face - three separate times.

Two of these moments happened separately on the same day, beginning in the afternoon with an obvious and rather pedestrian origin: I got into college. What's more, I got into a trophy school that would allow me leave home permanently and still be a goldilocks' drive time away from the two most important things in my life at that point: my ladyfriend and the summer camp job where she, I, and most of our friends worked (and where we listened to a lot of Built To Spill). I remember running from the mailbox and past my father, on my way to nowhere in particular, while ripping open the big heavy acceptance envelope, my ideal future suddenly revealed like a sparkling second sun.

My famous brother chronicled that same day's night from his own perspective earlier this month. We went together that night to see The Breeders play, yes, but The John Spencer Blues Explosion opened the show and they melted my already-altered-by-the-day face. Spencer crept around his Theremin like a tricked out cosmic bullfighter, tempting it to shout and gurgle and spin. The drummer broke several kick peddles in his mammoth exuberance; they had no bass player and no sense of composure whatsoever. I was not on any drugs, but it sure felt like it. And they were really good drugs.

John Spencer and his mates were, at that point in my life, the loudest, most alive thing I'd ever seen on stage; and keep in mind that I had already seen Tom Petty and Bob Dylan twice each, Neil Young three times, a crumbling and brutal Uncle Tupelo once and the Dead and Paul Simon more times than I frankly remember (there're years of future Dollar Bin posts left to come about all those shows).

I'm not saying the John Spencer Blues Explosion compares to those acts or played comparably good music that night. Instead, what I mean is that I was just right there with them: they were so alive, and so was I. And so I was SO, DAMN, HAPPY.

This video is from that same Spring, but not from my show. Had this been from my show, and had I filmed it, there would be almost no coherent footage: I spent the whole set wriggling like a fish on a line who just couldn't wait to be hauled bodily out the dull ocean and eaten raw.

And then Kim Deal came out immediately afterwards and chain smoked her frantic set away while not just blowing up the room, somehow, with an acoustic guitar, but she also managed to elbow, kick and head butt a whole cage of pedals around her, all the time singing with the cigarettes still in her mouth.

So, obviously, that whole show was the second time.

That year's third big-deal, pure, adrenaline surge of joy came, of course, in a record store. I was the good part of a year into my quest to find The Holy Grail. Not the real thing of course; that was of no interest. Rather, as should be obvious to the dedicated readers of the Dollar Bin, I was searching for my own copy of Neil Young's On The Beach.

I've already outlined how I'd heard the record long before finding my own copy, so suffice it to say that when I finally came upon On The Beach in a Venice Beach shop that year I screamed out loud and ran all over the shop, bearing it aloft in my triumphant hands. Keep in mind that this would have been late 1993 or early 94: eight or so years before Nabster and very much in the era when Young refused to issue the album on either CD or tape, meaning that you literally could not listen unless you found a vinyl copy or found some Neil Young freak to tape it for you.

Well, last weekend, when I talked that same ladyfriend, now my very patient wife, into dropping me off at Amoeba Records in Berkeley in the middle of our 12 hour drive home from a Spring Break trip, I did not run around whooping with another Neil Young record in my triumphant hands.

But I should have!

After all, look what I found after 30 full years of searching:

That's right, folks. I passed on 60 individual Dollar Bin finds and bought my first vinyl copy of Ragged Glory instead (that's not strictly true: I bought 18 other records at the same time for a buck each, so I didn't actual passed on anything - but saying so justifies my extravagance).

Okay, it's time to actually drop the needle (very carefully!) on this thing. Let's do this.

Good God...

I've already written about the record, without actually owning it, twice so feel free to read my Part 1 and/or Part 2. But I'm here to tell you that, after an initial 10 years of listening to the album on the tape I bought at age 14, then another 25 of listening to it digitally, it may be all in my imagination but I feel like I'm listening to Ragged Glory for the first time. It sounds like Neil is performing Country Home while riding piggyback on my shoulders. And we're hang gliding through flames.

Okay, I'm actually having a bit of a religious experience. Jesus Frickin' Cristo: Young is forever going on and on about how the perfect echo dies when you transfer his music to digital and, even though I'm a big record guy, I always kinda roll my eyes. After all, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I dwell in the Dollar Bin, not Nathan's VGG++ Nerd Shack.

And don't get me wrong, as advertized there is some bustle and pop on my new copy. But I'd be disappointed if the occasional scuffle weren't there: they add the kind of textures Joe Freakin' Lala could never even attempt, and, Sweet Billy Talbot, I'm hearing bass notes I've never heard before and the drums - THE DRUMS!

(By the way: you can disregard all the shade I cast on Love To Burn in one of those earlier posts - that track just started up and it suddenly sounds fresh and urgent as it spins forth from my record's new, precious grooves. I suspect the same thing will have during Love and Only Love when I get there...)

I'm so happy, friends. I'm SO HAPPY all over again. I'd even slow dance with Stephen Stills right now if he asked, just as long as we blasted my personal copy of Ragged Glory while we swayed.

[scurvyoaks]

Sargent Family Federal Inlaid Burlwood and Satinwood Work Table, Boston, attributed to John and Thomas Seymour, 1800-1810, top in finely grained burlwood veneer surrounded by Greek key banding, rich, exuberant satinwood drawer facings and case sides, dovetailed drawers with tropical exotic hardwood secondary, one side with pull out work bag, finely turned and reeded legs with brass casters, 29-3/4 x 20 x 15-3/4 in. Literature: Robert D. Mussey Jr., The Furniture Masterworks of John and Thomas Seymour, pg. 294-295

Note: This exceptional table is arguably the best Boston Federal work table in private hands. It was discovered at the Palazzo Barbaro in Venice, having been transported there in the mid 19th century by Daniel Sargent Curtis and his wife, Ariana Randolf Wormeley Curtis, as part of the furnishings for the 60-room palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice. Ariana was the granddaughter of Elizabeth Derby Preble, a niece of Elias Hasket Derby of Salem, thus linking this table to two of the most important families of early Boston - the Sargents and the Derbys. It is possible the table may have descended through the Derby family, as Ariana Curtis was the only surviving member of the Preble family. It is the mate to a table at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (accession no. 1990.172). The sister table is illustrated in Vernon C. Stoneman, A Supplement to John and Thomas Seymour, Cabinetmakers in Boston, 1794-1816, catalog no. 49. Robert Mussey notes in his catalog entry for this table in The Furniture Masterworks of John and Thomas Seymour that, in addition to surviving extraordinarily well, the table is “even rarer in being one of a pair, the two being different only in their hardware pull patterns. The veneers on the tables are cut from the same flitches of veneer and placed identically on the various surfaces. The numerals “N1” and “2” (on this table) are inscribed in chalk on the matching drawer bottoms, indicating the tables were made in the Seymour shop at the same time.” The table offered here and its sister table at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, rank among the finest surviving examples from Federal Boston.

Condition

Robert Mussey notes in the catalog entry for this table in The Furniture Masterworks of John and Thomas Seymour that "the table has survived extraordinarily well, with virtually no repairs except refinishing." Mussey also notes the table retains its original bag slide mechanism intact, a rare survival; top with some minor abrasions with some possible color retouch and some areas of wax drip, minor warping and one edge crack to top, typical checking to figured veneers, brasses probably original (no plugged holes), small areas of dents and distress at lower center skirt.

Brunk Auctions. Collection of Jean and Jim Barrow.

[adventurebeforedementia]

Autumn in Bologna

So many beautiful places to see in Italy and autumn seems the perfect time for this adventure. So much history, wall-to-wall sunshine, 30 degrees plus and dodging the rain in Blighty. What more could you want?

We��ve been clocking up the steps in Bologna, taking in the sights and experiencing the Italian way of life in this lovely country. We’re learning more about how things work and meeting so many new people from across Europe and beyond.

It was an easy journey into Bologna by public bus which came into the campsite for pick up and drop off. Bologna is famous as the birthplace of Marconi, the inventor of radio and his contribution is credited across the city.

Our first stop was the Salaborsa Library where the remains of an ancient Roman city are hidden below. Visitors can see the ruins through the floor of the library and go underground to explore further. Two main streets and the remains of an ancient sewage system built in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries BC can be seen. But deeper ruins suggest an even earlier settlement was there before the founding of Bologna.

The heart of the city is Piazza Maggiore and is home to the Basilica of San Petronio which is Bologna’s most beloved and important church - but not it’s Cathedral, that is in another part of the city. The Basilica is dedicated to Petronius, the patron saint of the city, but it was never finished because the project was considered too complicated.

Piazza Santo Stefano is also an important site, named after the Basilica Santo Stefano which was in fact, built as not one church but a complex of seven. Restoration work in the 1800s changed the shape of the complex and four churches now remain.

Inside, you can wander through this incredible building where every section has its own story to tell. There you can see the remains of the monastery of Santo Stefano and its cloister and the oldest nativity scene in the world.

Bologna also has a 60km network of underground canals, the latest dating back to the 12th Century. These channels are now largely covered but we were able to view the “window on the canal” and this area of the city is known as “little Venice”.

Alex has been scaling the heights again. He climbed the Asinelli Tower - the highest authentic Mediaeval tower in Italy at 97 metres high. It was originally built in 1150 to defend the city but is now a major tourist attraction.

This climb was challenging to say the least as most of the others attempting this feat were considerably younger - by about 40 years! To get to the top, Alex climbed 498 steps in a winding stone and wooden staircase only wide enough for one person. There was a sheer drop to one side and a small, wooden handrail to the other.

He had to make the climb without stopping to catch his breath because he was being pursued by the 20-somethings coming up behind him. His reward was a fabulous 360 degree panoramic view of the city - but I was more worried that he was going to have a heart attack before reaching the top!

After surviving this ordeal - sorry heroic challenge - we felt it wouldn’t be right to come to Bologna without sampling one of its delicious cakes. So we found a little coffee shop tucked away in one of its historic streets and added probably half a stone each with a Primavera. It was so worth it!

Now we’re in Florence, walking off the Primavera and continuing on the next stage of our Italian adventure.

[contraspectacle]

☿ KONTAKT 09.15.23 PLAYLIST

☿ thank you so much for your support — we hope you find some new music you love.

☿ please support artists on bandcamp. never have they had to work as hard as they do in current conditions.

☿ substitutions may be made for unavailable tracks/versions in the streaming playlist.

☿ next KONTAKT on 10/20/23 — we hope to see you there.

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☿ 10:00PM (NON SERVIAM)

Marie Davidson ft. L'Oeil Nu - Renegade Breakdown

Marie Davidson ft. L'Oeil Nu - Renegade Breakdown (Jessy Lanza Remix) (mixed)

Love and Rockets - So Alive

Dildox - If I Die (Nonfiction Remix)

Micro Chip League (MCL) - New York (Razormaid Mix)

Angela - Painted Love

Multiple Man - Power Fantasy

Black Devil Disco Club - «H» Friend

Identified Patient ft. Sophie du Palais - The Drip

Riki - Come Inside

A Strange Wedding - Gimme Da Space Vox (mixed)

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peek‐a‐Boo

Saâda Bonaire - You Could Be More As You Are

Pet Shop Boys - Love Comes Quickly (Shep Pettibone Mix)

Equinoxious - Axis

Portion Control - Amnesia

Spike Hellis - Teardrops (Moon 17 Remix)

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - The Devil Does Drugs

Patriarchy - The Man For You (Houses of Heaven Remix)

Curses - Puttanesca (Original Mix)

Madonna - Into The Groove (Shep Pettibone 7" Edit) (mixed)

Nuxx Vomica - Easy Go (Semantix Remix)

Nuxx Vomica - Easy Go

Amiture - Slide In (Model/Actriz Mix)

Venice Arms - Dancing Is a Stranger (Original Mix)

Sweet Love Under Tyranny ft. Sugar Rody - Route 87

Grace Jones - Love Is The Drug (Single Remix) (Roxy Music Cover)

Debby Friday - Hot Love (Boy Harsher Remix)

L.O.T.I.O.N. Multinational Corporation ft. Lulu - Cybernetic Super Lover

Kumo 99 - Tiny Twist

Missing Persons - Walking In LA (KMFDM Remix)

Sacred Skin - Circles

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☿ 11:40PM (NECRO.MANTIS)

I Speak Machine - Bloodletting / The Vampire Song (Concrete Blonde Cover)

The KVB - Kiss Them For Me (Siouxsie Cover)

Pixel Grip - Club Mania

Audiobooks - The Doll

Madeline Goldstein - Death's Door

Visage - Fade To Grey (Lecomte de Brégeot / Violet Chachki Remix)

Foie Gras - Psychic Sobriety

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☿ 12:00AM (NON SERVIAM)

Pet Shop Boys - A Man Could Get Arrested (7" Version)

Front 242 - Headhunter V 3.0

Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam (mixed)

Black Light Odyssey - Deiche

Digital Orgasm - Moog Eruption

Vodoo Rage - Fun Again

Sally Dige - Doppelgänger

Chernoburkv - Близнецы

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☿ 12:30AM (INTERMISSION / PERFORMANCE)

Intermission: Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker (Solomun Remix)

Performance: Crying Contest - You Want it Darker (Leonard Cohen Cover)

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☿ 12:40AM (NON SERVIAM)

Ortrotasce - Mock Stranger

Silicodisco - No Body (Freudenthal Remix)

Kloq - You Never Know

Earth To Mickey - Brace & Bit

Yello - Vicious Games (12” Mix)

Cerrone - Supernature (Instrumental Climax Edit)

DAF - Der Mussolini (Giorgio Moroder & Denis Naidanow Remix) (antifash)

Locked Club - Edu V Egipet (mixed)

Boy Harsher - Tears

Boy Harsher - Tears (Minimal Violence Remix) (mixed)

Nuxx Vomica - Do It Twice

Xibling - Bulletproof

Marc Almond - Tears Run Rings (The La Magia Dance Mix)

TINI ft. Amiture - What If, Then What?

Talk Talk - Talk Talk (Extended Mix)

SDH (Semiotics Department of Heteronyms) - Talk In Dreams

Special Interest - Street Pulse Beat (Boy Harsher Remix)

Debby Friday - I GOT IT

¿LA PREGUNTA? - Trains

Kumo 99 - Gomi

More Ephemerol - Secrecy

Patriarchy - No Touch Torture (Spike Hellis ‘Fear’ Remix)

Leæther Strip - No Place Like Home

PVA - Sleek Form

Xibling - Warm Leatherette (The Normal Cover)

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☿ 1:45AM (NECRO.MANTIS)

Pixel Grip - ALPHAPUSSY

Sex Kino - Scream In The City

ULTRA SUNN - Broken Monsters

Sydney Valette - Station Stop

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(WRAP-UP)

Local Suicide ft. Curses - Whispering

The Nasty Boys - I Was Made For Lovin' You (Extended Version) (KISS Cover)

Peter Richard - Walking in the Neon (Club Mix)

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☿ artgoth ☿