#holly's adventures in waitressing

[differenzeartistiche]

Gavin Creel is 47 today!

It’s my yearly tradition to bring back this old post of ranked performances to celebrate the birthday of this wonderful performer, so here we go! Updated this year with Into the Woods!

Gavin Creel, 16 performances, ranked!

16. Nick Piazza in Fame

This show has some merits, although it’s definitely not one of my favorites. It’s Gavin’s professional debut, and I can forgive him some naïveté in an otherwise competent, beautifully sung performance. His rendition of “I wanna make magic” is lovely.

15. Charles Darnay in A Tale of Two Cities

Ok, so this was a concert performance, so it’s not really fair to compare it to the others, but I’ll just throw it in here. Mainly because it’s such an unusual show for Gavin. It’s something that tries very hard to be on the level of Les Miserables, without much success, and Gavin is not a huge fan of that kind of show. That said, it’s a nicely sung performance of a classic romantic hero role. Nice, nothing more.

14. Jean-Michel in La Cage Aux Folles

Great show, poor but still competent production. The role is easily the most boring in the whole play, but he gets to sing the cute “With Anne on my arm” and he nails it.

13. Troy in American Horror Stories

Oh this was a fun one, Gavin playing outside his comfort zone, far removed from his preferred genre and into an over-the-top, sexy role that is rather unique in his career. I wish the material he had to work with was better, but his scenes with Aaron Tveit were superb.

12. Hollis Bessemer in Bounce

Sadly a lesser show by Sondheim, I still love some aspects of it, and Gavin’s wide-eyed artistically-inclined dreamer is one of them. His big solo “Talent” is the best song of the show and touches me on a very personal level.

11. Matthews in Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

Gavin voicing a Disney villain! A Disney villain with a secret! A Disney villain with a French accent! Talk about playing against type. There’s something of Kodaly here, and of Lumiere and of Pepé Le Pew. You can tell he had a blast recording this role, and the design is exquisite.

10. Cinderella’s Prince / The Wolf in Into the Woods

This is Gavin at his hammiest, and I’m here fot it. He obviously has loads of fun with the Wolf, oozing sleaziness from every pore, and as the Prince he’s perfectly balanced between superficial, phony and clueless, you can really believe that this candy-colors clothed fool was “raised to be charming, not sincere.”

9. Bill in Eloise at the Plaza / Eloise at Christmastime

Effortlessly hilarious on screen as he is on stage, he goes full-on old-time Hollywood star in the Christmas-themed sequel and I love it. A mix of Dick Powell and Fred Astaire.

8. Dr. Pomatter in Waitress

Sara Bareilles’ little gem of a musical often finds its strength in the absolute realness of its characters, flawed human beings looking for a little sparkle of happiness. Drew Gehling’s Dr. Pomatter was awkward and fun and sad-eyed, but I think Gavin wins infusing the character with tenderness and truly lived-in melancholy. A few weeks in a well-worn musical could be seen as a footnote in a great career, but it’s such a lovely performance, enhanced by the incredible chemistry he has with Bareilles.

7. Bert in Mary Poppins

My introduction to Gavin and since then I’ve come to appreciate him as heir to impossibly gangly male leads like Dick Van Dyke, so this feels like such a natural fit. I find the show a little bloated, but watch him defying gravity in that “walking on air” scene: it’s irresistible.

6. Ugly in Honk!

Having him play the ugly duckling ALSO feels like a natural fit. Gavin’s at his best when he plays lost and confused dreamers, and the fairy tale touch with the surreal setting makes for a wonderful variation on that theme.

5. Steven Kodaly in She Loves Me

Easily the odd man out of the list. The evil, scheming, suave and self-centered Kodaly is a delightful departure from all the romantic leads and clueless buffoons of Gavin’s career. The showstopper “Ilona” brings out all the manipulative nature of the character, a snake that always finds a way out and always gets what he wants. A remarkable performance that makes me want to see him branch out into even more strange territories.

4. Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie

Again with the old-time charm and humor. Millie is a show dominated by women, and Gavin’s male romantic lead manages not to be swallowed whole by them by being so wonderfully easy-going, hilariously aloof and occasionally sassy. It does also help that in “What do I need with love” he has one of the catchiest numbers of the show.

3. Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!

PUDDING. That alone deserved the Tony. It’s an overwhelmingly funny turn that makes the best of the original, almost vaudevillian nature of the show. So full of tricks and ticks and winks to the audience, deliciously aware of its own absurdity, it’s the kind of scene-stealing performance that not every actor can pull off. And oh my god, has anyone ever sung Jerry Herman’s beautiful tunes so gorgeously? You almost wish he could have sung “Put on your Sunday clothes” in its entirety.

2. Elder Price in The Book of Mormon

Somewhere between the rubber-faced humor of Jim Carrey, the earnest straight man hilarity of Jack Lemmon and the physicality of Dick Van Dyke. A perfect combination that captures the sarcastic, yet disarmingly sweet nature of the show, with its hints of meanness and self-devouring doubt.

1. Claude Hooper Bukowski in Hair

Unquestionably the masterpiece of Gavin’s career. A towering performance that starts with the iconicity of the role and the visuals associated with it and finds the core of Claude’s humanity: a scared, earnest, sometimes self-centered, mostly clueless young man that has to face something so much bigger than himself, something that is so far from the made-up world of fake accents and films in space that he has created for himself and that will eventually consume him. Moments like “Where do I go” and “The Flesh Failures” are moving and brutally honest.

[rtmains]

Candi milo

For this role, she was subsequently nominated for the Annie Award in 20. Nora Wakeman in My Life as a Teenage Robot. version of the 2003 Astro Boy ( Tetsuwan Atomu) series.įrom 2003 to 2009, she did the voice of Dr. Her other voice credits include Snap from ChalkZone, The Flea on ¡Mucha Lucha! and the title character in the U.S. Milo voiced Dexter until the end of the series. Later, she replaced Christine Cavanaugh as the voice of Dexter in Dexter's Laboratory in 2001 when Cavanaugh retired from voice acting. She went on to be very active in cartoons, voicing Pakka in Cro, Ann Gora in SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, Little Red Riding Hood in 2 Stupid Dogs, and the main characters' Mom, who was an unseen character and their teacher in Cow and Chicken. She later played Lonette, an attractive animated waitress Bob, a member of Holli Would's gang of goons who was a cross-dresser and other characters in Cool World in addition to feeding lines to the other actors. Milo first auditioned in 1988 for Tiny Toons by reading The Three Little Pigs, but made the wolf kosher and the three pigs suicidal and she booked the job. Milo's first voice role was Sweetie Pie in Tiny Toon Adventures in 1990. She was signed by The William Morris Agency for voice acting, which was initially disappointing to her because Milo originally wanted a singing career. She accidentally got into voiceover acting after singing on stage. Milo was also a member of "The Mighty Carson Art Players" on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Afterwards, she started appearing in roles in movies and television series, such as Gimme a Break!, Knots Landing, and Perfect Strangers. In 1977, she began singing in theme park attractions, most notably at Disneyland in Anaheim. By the time Milo was eleven, she was participating in children's musical theater. Her first appearance on stage was with her father at Turk Murphy's in 1964, where they sang Me and My Shadow together. Her father, Tony Migliaccio, was a child actor who changed his last name to Milo when he started playing adult roles. In San Jose, Milo attended the all-girls Presentation High School. Milo was born in Palm Springs, California, but her family moved to San Jose shortly after her birth.

[sun-daisies]

yesterday I got asked to cover about three waitressing shifts this month in the span of one hour - yes I did take all of them. one of them was today and I walk in and start doing pre-opening stuff and im told by the cooks that there's a party of 50 coming in today. first of all thanks for the heads up boss I wish you'd said something when you asked me to work but whatever its fine

BUT. the bartender I worked with tonight. oh my god.

listen I consider myself a pretty easygoing person, it takes a LOT for me to get angry. I can be frustrated and annoyed pretty easily, but not a lot makes my blood boil outside of like politics and human rights, you know stuff you should care about. I also don't want to flex or anything but I KNOW im a hard worker, I hold my own no matter where I am or what's thrown at me. literally a majority of the people I've worked with ever have only nice things to say about me - and they DO, to my face.

this bartender

oh my goodness

I can't remember the last time someone made me SO angry like that

I've only worked with her once before and she was pretty cool, we actually got along pretty well and so I was feeling pretty okay about today's shift because I was like oh it's her on today it'll be a good day. right off the bat she's being incredibly patronizing to me. literally within the first five minutes. I dont remember how we got there - it might have been because she was complaining about how people don't wipe the ketchup bottles before putting them away - but she started talking about the floor and how she wishes it had those like ergonomic mats and I mentioned how "oh, but at least there's some hardwood floor down now, we didn't have that a while back" and she claps back with "oh trust me sweetie I know, I've been coming here since you were in the fifth grade."

I brush it off because whatever, she can have her weird age superiority complex just because she's got maybe a decade on me, tops. she's also been a bartender like her entire working career, but I've worked at this particular restaurant for three years longer than her, so I'm not exactly clueless. I had worked at the coffeeshop this morning and hadn't eaten yet so I ask the cook to make me a lil sandwich so I can at least have enough energy to carry me through the shift considering I'm apparently serving a party of 50 tonight. I get it, I take a few bites, and almost immediately the bartender goes "can you do the ketchup and the parmesan" - HER job, btw, but I figure she's got a few people at the bar already so I go help her. she tells me "I started wiping them off but didn't get far, I also need you to marry them."

"to- to what"

"marry them"

"and refill them?"

"so you'll see I wiped this one off but obviously you still need to do the rest of them- you know especially since we've got a whole party coming in later we'll need some full ketchups. you've done this before right?"

"I've done what before? served a party?"

"no married the ketchups."

"what do you even mean by that"

"like combine the old ones"

"you're asking me if I've ever poured ketchup from one bottle into a different bottle...?"

there's this elderly couple sitting there witnessing this whole thing and they sort of laugh at that, the bartender makes some comment about how "oh I just call it that because I'm old and that's what we say in the industry" and the couple was like "we had NO idea what you were trying to say either." so they were basically my best friends now. when the bartender finally walks away we start making all these jokes about matrimony, they keep going "you're doing FANTASTIC, I've never seen anyone do a better job" and I'm absolutely playing into it because I literally could not believe this bartender was being serious.

anyway, the party starts coming in, I'm running around, the bartender is making drinks - not the ones I ring in, because apparently those aren't important, but making drinks nonetheless - and we're in the thick of it and she stops me while I'm grabbing some fountain drinks and goes "so are we pooling tips tonight or...?"

"I mean... idk, I don't really care what we do"

"well usually when we serve parties like this we pool tips"

I'm trying to run stuff out to my table so I'm kind of like "I mean whatever you wanna do I literally don't care" and she shoots back with "well just so you know in the future I prefer to communicate about this beforehand" so of course I snap back with "great, well I didn't know we were serving a party of 50 until about an hour ago. but I'll keep that in mind, thanks a lot." (please read that with nine miles of snark).

anyway apparently that pissed her off bc she went back to the cook - MY cook, the one who's literally like a mom to me - and starts bitching about how she "can't work with young people" and how much she can't stand me :p

and THAT made me so angry that I needed to step outside and take a breather.

anyway we did not pool tips, I did my cash out, tipped out the bartender, took my tips and walked out. she can keep those stupid party tips as my sincere apology for her having the burden of working with someone a little younger than her.

oh and my sandwich sat in the corner for the next four hours because I didn't get a chance to eat the rest of it after the ketchup wedding thank you so much for that one bestie

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

Twelve Days of Holly Jolly Tidings - Day 6

Disclaimers: I watched “Dash & Lily” the other day on Netflix. This story is LOOSELY based on that book and Netflix series.  I do not own “Dash and Lily” or Newsies or anything recognizable within the series.  There are occasional curse words throughout the series, nothing too horrible but there’s some.  

Wednesday, December 18

Gathering her stuff, she trudged over to the elevator, happy to finally be leaving her work behind. It had been a shit day and it didn’t help that one of her articles was sent back to her desk with red ink all over it.   

Walking out of the elevator, she smiled seeing a man standing there waiting for her. “Thank God you’re still here. I thought you might have snuck out.” 

“Nope . . . just got my ass chewed out and an article was just redlined back to me.” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Not that I don’t love seeing you, but what are you doing here, Spot?” 

He held up the familiar green notebook, grinning. “I’ve been recruited to deliver this to you. But there’s something you need to do first before you can get this.” 

“And what’s that?” Her eyebrow rose in curiosity, Spot holding the notebook just out of her reach. 

He smiled, tucking the notebook in his back pocket. “Have dinner with me?” 

“So I’m guessing today’s adventure isn’t on some sort of time table?” She guessed, looking over at him. 

Shaking his head, he started walking, not waiting for her to catch up. “No, there’s not. Something has to be done tonight but not a strict schedule. Now can we go get dinner?” 

She looped her arm through his as they made their way down the street. “And what’s for dinner, oh grumpy one?” 

“Just for that, you can pick up the bill.” He stuck his tongue out at her as she scoffed. “Kidding but I’m thinking Chinese.” 

“Sounds good to me. Lead the way, dear sir.” She grinned, trying to avoid the hip check that was coming her way; she was unsuccessful. 

Holding open the door, he motioned for her to go in first as he followed behind her. The door shut with a gentle bang as the hostess led them over to a table. Taking off her coat, she threw it in the booth before sliding in it as Spot did the same on the other side of the table. 

“Have you been here before?” She asked, giving him a look as she opened her menu. She immediately knew what she wanted, closing the menu with a snap. 

Spot looked up briefly before returning to his menu. “Once, Race took me here for a date a couple of years ago. I remember this place having really good food.” 

Nodding, she tapped her nails on the table watching him trying to figure out what he was going to order. “You figured out what you want to eat already?” 

“I tend to get the same thing when I go out for Chinese so it’s not rocket science.” She shrugged as the waitress reappeared with two glasses of water and a pot of tea. 

Quickly ordering, they were left in silence as Kat looked at him. “What’s been up with you? Seems like it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.” 

“You saw me last week for our annual lunch date. Hospital has been busy so I’ve been pulling more shifts.” Spot grinned, shaking his head at her. “What’s up with you?” 

Kat motioned to him. “You know what Jack’s been doing?” 

“He mentioned it last time Race and I saw him.” Spot shrugged. “I think it’s sweet that he’s planned this out just for you. He just wants to see you smile, Kat.” 

She nodded. “And it’s been fun to follow his adventures and I’ve had a great time with them.” 

“So what’s the problem?” Spot asked, as their order of Crab Rangoon were delivered to the table along with a couple of plates. 

Picking up a Crab Rangoon, she put it on her plate, pulling it apart and popping a piece in her mouth. “It feels like something is missing or I’m not picking up on something.” 

“So you’re putting an expectation on this?” Spot picked up exactly what she was doing. When the two had met, they had instantly connected and had become fast friends. Spot was her best friend, outside of her group she still hung around from college. 

Kat sighed, giving him a look. “I am trying not to but my brain keeps doing it.” 

“You need to tell your brain to knock it off. There shouldn’t be any expectations along with this.” Spot reached over, grabbing her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Jack is doing this to bring a little more holiday cheer to your life. He wants you to be happy and he designed this for that sole purpose. You need to get out of your head this time and just go with the flow. Maybe that’s what Jack is trying to teach you with these adventures - letting go and letting loose.” 

“Letting go and letting loose?” Kat raised an eyebrow at him. “Have you met me?” 

He chuckled. “Yes, I’ve met you. You’re one of my best friends. Don’t put yourself down but I’m challenging you to let go and let loose.” 

“Ugh . . . alright.” She sighed, nodding her head as their food arrived. 

Spot raised an eyebrow, looking up at her before he dug into his meal. “If you’re going to be like that, then I triple dog dare you to let go and let loose tonight.” 

“How old are you?” Kat asked. She should be shocked by his response but they had known each other long enough that it didn’t even phase her. 

“I’m the same age as you.” He stuck his tongue out at her as he laughed.  “Are you going to shy away from a triple dog dare?” 

Biting her lip, she pushed her food around on her plate. “No, I’m not going to shy away from a triple dog dare!” 

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” He teased, putting his hand near his ear. “Can you repeat that?” 

“I’m not going to shy away from a triple dog dare, old man!” She raised her voice a bit as he laughed, nodding his head. “Make sure those hearing aids are turned up.” 

Looking around them, he quickly flashes her his middle finger as she laughed.  “Love you too Conlon.” 

“It’s Higgins-Conlon, Plums and it’s been that way for the last two years.” He gave her a quick smile, shoveling another forkful in his mouth.

Pushing her plate away, she gave him a tentative smile. “I’m sorry, my apologies Mr. Higgins-Conlon.” 

“Thanks, love.” Sending her an air kiss, he grinned. 

He signaled for the bill, quickly paying it before he leaned back in his seat. “So where is he sending you tonight?” 

“Not sure.” She laughed. “I actually have to read the notebook.” 

Grabbing the notebook from his coat, he tossed it across the table to her. He signed the receipt, watching her crack open the book. 

Hello love, 

I hope you had a wonderful sixth day of Christmas and I hope you had a wonderful dinner with Spot. 

“You told him you were taking me out for dinner?” Cocking an eyebrow she gave him a look. 

Shrugging, he put his credit card back in his wallet. “It may have come up.” 

You’re going on a night adventure tonight. I’m changing it up for today’s adventure. Spot’s going to give you something before you leave him and that’ll give you the ticket to where you need to go.  You’ll need to get on your beloved D-train and take it out to 79th Street and Utrecht. 

You told me that one of your favorite childhood memories was going to look at Christmas lights with your parents and siblings when you were younger. I’ll let you in on a little secret, that was one of my favorite childhood memories as well. It was so cool to see how people would decorate their houses with simple strings of lights and a few blown up characters. 

So tonight I’m sending you to the ULTIMATE Christmas tree lights display in the city.  Once you get there, continue reading the notebook. 

Closing the book, she looked at Spot. “You’re supposed to give me something.” 

“I did . . . I gave you the notebook.” Spot gave her a look, tilting his head. 

Pointing to the notebook, Kat gave him a look. “Jack mentioned that you were going to be giving me something else.” 

“Oh, you’re looking for this.” Grabbing something from his back pocket, he handed it over to her. Accepting it, she saw it was a ticket. Flipping it over, she saw that it was a ticket to the Dyker Heights Christmas tour. 

“He’s sending me to Dyker Heights.” She said, as Spot snorted. 

“Have fun with that one.” Spot chuckled, shaking his head. 

Giving him a look, Kat tilted her head, not understanding why he was laughing.  “Why do you say that?” 

“Have you ever been to Dyker Heights during Christmas?” He raised an eyebrow, knowing exactly what she was getting herself into. 

Shaking her head, she slid the ticket in the notebook, before slipping that into her bag, giving Spot a look. “Do I dare ask what I’m getting into?” 

“Nope, you’re not getting that out of me. Just let loose and go with the flow tonight, okay?” Spot gave her a look. “Now go have fun and I cannot wait to hear all about it.” 

Putting her coat on and grabbing her bag, she leaned over and kissed Spot’s cheek before making her way out the door. Walking to the nearest Subway station, she paid before waiting for the train to arrive.  She looked around at the few people who were on the platform, bouncing on her toes to try to stay warm. Finally, the train arrived, as she boarded and found a spot. 

The train ride was quicker than she thought. Before long, she was walking off the train and through the station. She walked a couple of blocks and her eyes went wide at the brightness of the street. Everywhere she looked were covered in multicolored lights. Every street lamp, every fence, and every square inch of the houses were decorated. 

Hopping up on a brick wall fence, she dug the notebook out of her bag, opening it up. 

So you’ve made your way to the Dyker Heights Christmas Extravaganza.  This is the jolliest street within Brooklyn. Apparently people flock from all over the city every year to take in the brightness and cheer. 

So, my challenge to you, lose yourself in the wonder and the awe of the street. Listen to the history on the tour and join in the singing. Just enjoy yourself and have fun. 

Wish I could see your face right now - I’m sure your face is a mixture of fear and pure happiness. Look for Max, he’ll have a surprise for you. 

Closing the book, she looked around her.  Jack was really throwing her for a loop. The past 6 days, he had hidden the surprise in some random places but Max was a new one. 

“Are you Katherine?” Looking up from the notebook, she gave him a look. 

Jumping off the wall, she slowly nodded. “I am. And you are?” 

“The tour guide, Mitch.” He introduced himself. “And we’re about to start the tour.” 

She nodded, making her way over to the group.  Mitch started by greeting everyone before starting the tour.  “The Dyker Heights Lights displays started in the 1980s and it’s been a yearly tradition for many families since. Lucy Spata started the Christmas Lights tradition when she moved to the neighborhood in the 1980s. She decorates her house to carry on the tradition her mother had started.” 

She made her way with the group as they stopped at each of the houses along the street. Mitch would give them a brief history of the house and the family. He described that there usually was a theme that the neighborhood would decide on, leaving it up to each family to decorate their houses how they saw fit. 

Her eyes went wide taking in the Polizzotto’s house - it had a 15-foot-tall Santa Claus, and even taller nutcrackers. 

They continued down the street and stopped in front of another house. A giant Grinch was in the yard along with his dog, Max. Kat’s eyes went wide thinking back to the notebook and Jack’s note - Max. 

Her eyes swept the house, trying to figure out where Jack would hide the box. Nothing jumped out at her at first until her eyes landed on a divet in the brick wall. Leaning over, she grinned seeing a purple wrapped box, where a brick should’ve been. Pulling the box loose, she backed away from the group, letting them walk ahead without her.  Pulling the wrapping paper loose, she tucked it away in her bag before cracking open the box. Inside, laid a red Christmas bulb charm. Grinning, she closed the box back up and tucked it away. 

Grinning, she looked up and down the street and felt absolutely happiness. She grinned, letting herself go, just like she promised Spot, and twirled around as snow started to lightly fall. Throwing her head back, she caught a few snowflakes in her mouth, giggling the entire time.

So that’s day 6. What did you think? Feedback would be amazing and wonderful! 

[exkernal]

My Only Peace: 3/?

William insists he stay the night, and after a token protest, Nelson agrees. To his surprise, William leads him to his old bedroom.

"But it's the master," he says, confused. "It should be yours."

"Didn't feel right," Will mutters, and that's all the explanation he'll give.

It's exactly as Nelson left it two years ago, with one notable addition on the mantelpiece: a framed photograph of the original Minutemen at the height of their glory.

Nelson stares at the youthful faces of his comrades. They're all old or dead or disgraced now. He sees his younger self, brimming with confidence that bordered on the absurd, standing close to Hooded Justice, who looked like a god among men. Even in the black and white photograph, his desire for closeness is obvious. How he couldn't resist the back pats and shoulder clasps, or any of the other myriad of socially acceptable touches that always lingered a little too long.

Little wonder that their relationship became an open secret among the Minutemen.

Nelson sinks into the old familiar bed, but he already knows he'll have trouble sleeping that night. After all, this was the very place where he and Will made love for the first time.

"Making love" was probably not the right term for it. He'd lusted after William from the moment he first appeared in the New York Gazette. At first he told himself that it was simply admiration, but it was the beginnings of a school boy crush, the kind that used to keep him awake at night in the boarding school dormitory, intrigued and disturbed at the same time.

After his brief meeting at the Reeves' home, he reached two conclusions: that young Officer Reeves was not a simple courier but Hooded Justice himself, and that there was a spark between them.

He cautioned himself. He'd become quite adept at recognizing the subtle cues that men put out, but he'd been wrong before. One of those wrongs resulted in a black eye and cracked rib, which he passed off to his fellow Marines as the result of a drunken fall after a night partying. Luckily, the other officer was too embarrassed to tell their superior, or else Nelson would've lost more than his pride.

It goes without saying that Will wasn't what he expected--and truthfully, Nelson's only experiences with black people were as servants--but it didn't take long for him to fall head over heels.

To stave off the early morning awkwardness, Will suggests they go out to brunch. The diner is similar to their old meeting place, though slightly more upscale. IT reminded him, bitterly, of their last conversation together.

Don't think about that now, he tells himself. Not when William is actually speaking to him.

"Don't worry," Will mutters, opening up a newspaper. "If anyone asks, we're two retired cops catching up."

Nelson bristles a little. "I'm not worried."

And he's not. There was a time when that's all he'd be thinking about, but those days are long gone.

"Isn't that your friend?" Will says, jabbing at a black and white photo of Adrian Veidt. "Ozy-man-mouthful-of-a-name?"

He snorts. "I wouldn't call him a friend exactly. We've barely spoken since my, uh, bout of foolishness in '66."

The waitress brings them their coffee. Nelson doesn't wait for the scalding beverage to cool off. He's too eager to do something with his hands.

"Speaking of Veidt," he says, "he told me an interesting theory about you."

"Oh yeah?" Will raises an eyebrow.

"He investigated Hooded Justice's disappearance before I ever formed the Crimebusters. Apparently, it led him straight to Eddie Blake. Eddie mistook him for a criminal, and beat him up."

William chuckles. "You don't say."

A smile twists at Nelson's lips. "Adrian concluded, based on your documented feud, that Eddie killed you back in '55."

His expression darkens. "As if that sniveling little pissant  could ever get the drop on me. I should've snapped his worthless neck after he attacked Sally."

"That probably would've been for the best," Nelson agrees. "I thought it best to let Adrian believe his theory--after all, you don't want the worlds smartest man on your case. "

"More like the world's best PR man," Will mutters.

Nelson clears his throat. "Have you read Hollis's book?"

"Might've skimmed it in an airport," he says breezily. "Why?"

"According to Hollis, you were an East German strong man with, um, strange proclivities whose body was found in Boston Harbor in 1955."

Will's whole body shook when he laughed. Making Will genuinely laugh-- not a wry chuckle or sardonic snort, but a real honest to God laugh-- was so rare that Nelson always savored the sound like it was the New York orchestra. He joins in.

The waitress brings them their plates of bacon and eggs, and their laughter dies down.

"It's funny how they all thought my costume was some sex thing," William says, voice light, but there's a slight menace to his words. "Think that says more about them than me."

He's dying to ask William the meaning behind his costume. That was one thing they never discussed during their relationship. Yet he hesitates. Maybe they didn't discuss it for a reason.

"Nothing against Hollis," Will goes on, "but he never knew when to keep his mouth shut."

"I had to call him on the verge of tears to stop him from publishing more details about...about us," Nelson says. It hadn't been the verge of tears, but William doesn't need to know that.

He and Will rarely broached the topic of "us," never defining the relationship that consumed Nelson's life for sixteen years. They had to keep it secret, for one. For another, Will was a married father for most of it. Friendship is what he called it in his will. "He was a very good friend," is how he explained it whenever anyone questioned him about Hooded Justice. He always hated it, just a little bit, but that hatred paled in comparison to the terror of being found out.

Will frowns. "Yeah. Sally wasn't too happy with some of the stuff he said."

"Mm," Nelson goes. "That's a bit of a pot-kettle situation. Sally basically outed me in her latest interview, without naming any names. It's was still abundantly clear who she meant, though."

"She probably didn't think it mattered, since we all thought you were dead." Will says that last part with an edge to his voice.

"I don't really blame Sally," he says, eager to avoid that conversation again. Keep it light, Nelly. "Did I use that term correctly? Outed?"

"How should I know?" Will says through a mouthful of eggs.

"You're the one who lived in San Francisco."

"Yeah, but I wasn't hanging around that scene. Not that much, anyway. I know as much about the counterculture as you do."

Nelson feels warm, and it has nothing to do with his coffee (which is lukewarm now, anyway). He has no claim on Will's heart, and it certainly isn't his business if he's had any dalliances (Lord knows Nelson hasn't refrained). Still. He's glad all the same.

Will glances at the window. "You know, it's a good thing for the young ones coming up. That they have a community that's putting up a fight. Maybe it won't be as hard for them as it was for us."

He's surprised that Will's bringing it up. This is the closest he's ever heard his former lover come to acknowledging that he was a man involved with men. Not that he ever expected him to; after all, Nelson rarely verbalized it either, thanks to his years of keeping it secret. Even now, as an old nameless man with nothing left to lose, he couldn't completely let go of his fear.

"Yes," he mumbles, "it is."

Will insists on paying. "Technically it's your money," Will says when Nelson resists. Now that brunch is over, he's not sure what to do with himself. At the diner, they had a good report going. But now what happens when there's nothing to do? Will William come to his senses and get sick of the tag-along?

"Wanna see how I spent your money?" Will asks. They journey through New York's mobbed streets, as much an adventure as his days soldiering through the jungle.

Will explains that he auctioned off the Minutemen memorabilia  for the Southern Poverty Law Center. "That was a good idea that you had," he comments, "so I did it. Altogether, it came too nearly a million."

William doesn't mention the one piece of memorabilia he's kept, so Nelson doesn't either.

They stop at a grand old movie theater, the kind that was popular when Nelson was a boy. It looks as if it's been recently touched up, casting an impressive figure. William looks at him expectantly.

"You bought a theater?" Nelson says. Well, it makes sense; Will was always a cinephile.

"And fixed it up," he says proudly. "When I first started working here, it was a dump. Now it's the most profitable historical theater in the borough."

William gives him the tour.

"We play all kinds of films here. The modern stuff, but we also show classics. There's theme nights, too. Some of the kids get all dressed up for some of the showings, but I don't know much about that. If we hurry, there's a showing I want you to see."

William takes him to a projector room. There's a smattering of people in the theater below, maybe a dozen scattered along the wide rows. A young white man with wiry long black hair sits by the projector, loading up a reel.

"Mr. Reeves?" he says, more politely than his appearance would suggest. He looks curiously at Nelson.

"You can take an early lunch break, Don," Will says. "I've got it from here."

"Thank you, Mr. Reeves!" the youth says. He doesn't hesitate to take him up on the offer.

The movie starts. It's a black and white, silent picture that takes Nelson back to his childhood. A man chases another on horseback, his face obscured by a hood.

"This is that film you always talked about," Nelson says. "Trust in the Law, was it?"

"I'm surprised you remember," Wilal says. Nelson's a little offended by that. But only a little, seeing what an ass he'd been before.

He also remembers that a young Will was watching this movie when a race riot broke out in Tulsa. William mentioned it once, early in their relationship. At the time, Nelson privately assumed that Will was exaggerating; he was only a child when it happened, so surely it couldn't have been as bad as he said. Or perhaps, if it was bad, than it was somehow...justified. Now, the memory sickens him. He wishes he could go back in time and knock some sense into his younger self.

"Didn't it inspire you to become Hooded Justice?" he asks. The flicking black and white light casts shadows on their faces.

"Partly," Will says. He looks directly at Nelson. "I never did tell you what made me put on the mask that first time."

Nelson feels cold. There's a shift in Will's tone that seems to change the very air around them. It feels ominous.

"It started with Cyclops," he says with a faraway look in his eyes. "Though I didn't know it at the time. I arrested a white man for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Jewish deli. When I brought him in, some other officers took him off my hands, saying they'd book him. Days later, I saw the same man walking free.

"I was told not to question it. But I couldn't let it go. So one night, when I was walking home, three of my fellow officers jumped me in an alley. They beat me, forced me into their car, and drove to a secluded area. They tied my hands together, put a bag over my head and a noose around my neck, and strung me up from a tree."

"What?!" Nelson gasps. His hands ball into fists, clenching his pants leg. How is this the first time he's hearing about it?

"I struggled and kicked. I felt myself chocking to death. I was so sure I was going to die. But they cut me down. I was a crumpled mess on the ground, sputtering and coughing, when the officer yanked the bag off. He got right up in my face like this," William leans so close that his breath's in Nelson's ear.

He whispers what the officer told him that night, directly into his ear. Nelson feels sick to his stomach. He wants this to stop now. But willful ignorance won't change what's been done to Will.

Will leans back. "I walked home in a trance, with the noose around my neck and the bag in my hands. Couldn't tell you what I was thinking, even if I wanted to. Guess you could call it being on autopilot. As I got close to home, I heard a lady screaming in an alleyway. A couple was being robbed. I didn't think. I ripped eye holes in the bag and put it back on. Then I beat the robbers to a bloody pulp. They weren't the ones who wronged me, but it felt so good to act. To have power. To bring justice, even if it was justice for something as small as a mugging.

"The next day, I saw it in the newspaper. They called me a hero. And well, you know the rest."

William looks off at the screen, where the townsfolk cheer for Bass Reeves.

"William..." Nelson says weakly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Without looking, he says, "Would it have made a difference back then?"

He wants to say yes. Yes, of course it would have. If Will had told Nelson about being lynched, for God's sake, then Nelson would've cared. Even when he was at his most racist, he still would've believed the man he loved. Wouldn't he?

But then...he'd had doubts about Tulsa. He hadn't believed Will then. William tried to tell him many things over the years, tried to open his eyes, yet Nelson remained willfully blind until it was too late. Until Will's absence finally caused him to reevaluate those beliefs. So if William had told him about being lynched in 1939, would it have been enough to finally make Nelson change? Or would it have been another Tulsa?

"I don't know," he croaks, mouth dry.

"Yeah, well, this way we never have to know the answer," Will mutters.

The words resonate with Nelson. If they knew the answer, then well, maybe they wouldn't be having this conversation right now. There were some things that William could never forgive. Perhaps they both needed the deniability.

Hesitantly, Nelson puts his hand on William's knee. William lets him. "I'm so sorry, Will. I'm sorry it happened, and I'm sorry that you couldn't tell me. I should have been there for you. I should've...God, I wish I could change so much. And I want to kill those officers."

William finally looks at him.

"Don't worry," he grunts, "I killed most of them, the night of the warehouse fire. When I called you about Cyclops mind control."

"Oh," Nelson mumbles. Regret hits him all over again. Why hadn't he listened to William back then? To think how different there lives might have been if he had. "I should've listened to you. I should've helped you get the bastards. I'm--I'm sorry I was such a racist little prick."

"I always know you're serious when you start cussing," Will says wryly.

Nelson snorts. It comes out more like a sniffle.

"Don't tell me you're crying again," Will says, but he can't help it. The nicer William is to him, the worse he feels. We wishes Will would scream at him or strike him, anything that would make them even. The house doesn't feel like enough. The money isn't enough.

"I'm sorry," he says, again, rubbing at his tear-stained cheeks. "I didn't--I'm not--"

"You're not making any sense," he says. "Nelson, calm down."

"I just want you know," he says shakily, "that it wasn't the mask."

"What?"

"It wasn't the mask I fell in love with. That's not true. Maybe I didn't show it the right way, maybe I was too selfish and blind to treat you the way you deserved, but it was never the mask. I really did love you, Will. Please believe me."

"Nelly," Will says softly.There's no anger in his beautiful brown eyes, no hatred. They're softer than usual, showing something that Nelson won't dare read.

Will's hand cups the back of his head, fingers gripping his hair in a way that's a little rough and a little tender, just like he remembers. For a moment, they stay like that, faces bent towards each other, eyes locked on one another.

He's not sure who initiates it, but when their lips meet it's surprisingly gentle. Their first time was all raw passion; their last, bittersweet. This is something new entirely. William pulls him closer, deepening the kiss, as the movie plays in the background.

Nelson can't bring himself to care about anything else.

[batter-sempai-triestoart]

I don’t actually drink coffee. ^^; 

This is a redraw/redesign of an OC I made about five years ago. Her name is Holly Hong. She’s tired of her job as a waitress on a space station and would love to go on an adventure, and that’s exactly what she gets one day.

((I do art commissions, and also have a Kofi and Patreon. Please check out this blog description for more info. ^^ ))

[fiinalgiirls-aa]

GENERAL INFORMATION.

full name - jospehine harper ryan nicknames - joey, ryan gender / pronouns - she/her date of birth - july 12, 1996 place of birth - prescott, arizona / boot hill, arizona depending on verse citizenship / ethnicity - american / irish, english, scottish, icelandic. religion - atheist socioeconomic status / political affiliation - lower middle class; liberal. marital status - single, though may depend on verse. sexual & romantic orientation - bisexual. education / occupation - waitress. languages - english, some high school french and spanish

FAMILY INFORMATION.

parents - darby ( deceased ) & felicity ryan. siblings - heather, eldest sister ( deceased ); katherine, younger sister; edmund, younger brother. offspring - none pets / other - none. notable extended family - isabelle, niece and gabriel, nephew.

PHYSICAL INFORMATION.

faceclaim - maika monroe hair color / eye color - blonde / brown height / build - 5′6″ / slender tattoos / piercings - earlobes x 2. a few cartliage piercings. tattoo of ‘the moon’ tarot card on her left forearm. ‘x’ on her right middle finger. distinguishable features - big brown eyes, wild blonde hair

MEDICAL INFORMATION.

medical history - anxiety. known allergies - none. visual impairment / hearing impairment - none. nicotine use / drug use / alcohol use - very rarely will she smoke a cigarette or use drugs. drinks socially.

PERSONALITY.

traits - ( + ) amiable, stalwart, imaginative ; ( - ) melancholy, reserved, petulant tropes - small town boredom, desperately looking for a place in life, mommy issues, relative button, perky goth, cool aunt temperament - phlegmatic alignment - lawful good celtic tree zodiac - holly, the ruler mbti - infp hogwarts house - hufflepuff vice / virtue - envy / diligence likes / dislikes - fairy lights over a dark tapestry, old victorian houses, cats, a new pair of tights with no snags in them, a soft knit sweater, lavender lemonade, almond cookies, the sound of fallen leaves crunching underfoot /  people who dislike children, drunk drivers, the after-church sunday rush at her restaurant, ants, boys who are music elitists. quote - “she tastes like nectar and salt. nectar and salt and apples. pollen and stars and hinges. she tastes like fairy tales. swan maiden at midnight. cream on the tip of a fox’s tongue. she tastes like hope.”

FAVORITES.

food - bacon cheeseburger, and sweet potato fries. no mayo. drink - strawberry milkshake pizza topping - jalapenos, chicken, and pineapple color - black and pink music - dark synth, black or thrash metal books - we have always lived in the castle, by shirley jackson movies - suspiria, night of the living dead, uncle buck curse word - bullshit scents - peony, pumpkin, rain

BIOGRAPHY.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: disappearance of a family member, depression, death, car accident. DISCLAIMER: this biography was written for the group rp southouboundhq, but is mostly applicable to all verses.

josphine ryan is born the second of four to darby and felicity ryan on the hottest day in july. like her elder sister, she doesn’t have hardly more than a pale, peach fuzz or a gentle platinum swoop atop her head until the age of three. unlike her sister, joey hardly cries–even as a newborn–and never without reason. when heather learned to speak, she tried out every word, every syllable on her tongue–an intrepid speaker. joey takes her time and uses words deliberately, going from nothing to full sentences. the two girls are five years apart, but heather has been practicing this with her baby dolls for years. far apart in age, there are no closer sisters in villas adobes. as she grows older, joey thinks that, surely, there are no closer sisters in the world. it doesn’t change when the twins, katherine and edmund are born another four years later.

three girls and a boy, the ryan household is a bustling one. the kids all look after one another, getting along as well as parents can hope. heather and joey; katie and edmund. it’s just like that. it’s always like that. darby is a prestigious lawyer and they kids grow up hearing the tales of his life as a district attorney in seattle. one night, when the twins are asleep, heather asks him why he left seattle–why he left the job he loved so much. darby ryan racks his brain. he can’t remember. no matter how many times he’s asked the question, he can never remember.

one day, near the end of september, darby ryan walked out into the desert. he walked out into the desert and it was the most normal thing of all. he walked straight down silver mine road and felicity says that even one of the dominellis, or someone else over there near the funeral home, saw him walking down there and tried to wave and say hello, but he wouldn’t give them the time of day–didn’t even look them in their eyes. the cicadas sang their symphony to the desert night while darby ryan walked straight down that road , normal as can be, and he never came back.

the impact of grief affects her mother profoundly–how can you put a wandering spirit to rest?–but between the five of them, they make do. heather and joey, as the eldest girls, make sure the younger ones are looked after while felicity works two jobs. even after heather is on her own and starting her own family, she makes sure her siblings are taken care of. she fixes the lunches for the younger ones and trades out babysitting shifts with joey when she needs some solitude for homework or a trip to drive-in with margie and the girls.

joey is nearly seventeen when heather and her boyfriend die in the wreck that leaves joey with a broken arm and a small laceration to her forehead. hit by a drunk driver, joey’s niece and nephew are orphaned in one tragic accident. if her mother had been distant following her father’s disappearance, she is beside herself over the loss of her eldest daughter. within a year, felicity has lost both her job as a dental hygienist at old main street and as a waitress at the turquoise star diner. she rarely leaves her bed, let alone the house except to scrounge up enough cash for a trip to the liquor store. everything falls on the narrow shoulders of the eldest remaining daughter. still a girl herself, joey is hardly eligible for custody of her siblings and heather’s kids. on top of raising four kids, she makes efforts to maintain her mother’s image–only absent in public out of dedication to being a stay-at-home mother. the social security payments aren’t enough and joey starts working through high school. still a girl herself, she watches her sister and her dreams die in that same year.

she would’ve been a writer. some clever girl who’d spin words onto paper like she wraps blonde curls around her finger. outside this wretched place–a true boot hill, her family plot–she would have found adventures and peculiarities worth writing about. in boot hill, joey ryan finds only tedium and loss; boredom and death. history loves repeating itself like a chorus, or the nightly siren song of the cicadas, and the high school grad takes a waiting job at the same diner her mother was let go from. it paralyzes joey from making new connections; she tears up every phone number written on the back of some credit card receipt left on the table of the diner’s booths. she’s already raising four kids and her mom, most days, as well. she can’t afford a dream or a family of her own.

with the twins now in their senior year of high school, joey knows that they will move on–searching for their own lives, moving out to rent an apartment with a best friend, a lover. there are heather’s kids, seven and nine, and her mother that need looking after, and yet she feels more freedom now than she has had in the last six years. maybe someday she can get out of this place–even if it means leaving her loved ones behind. maybe someday she’ll walk out onto silver mine road, normal as can be, while the cicadas sing. she’ll walk right down that road like it’s the most normal thing in the world. she’ll pass right by a dominelli or maybe a close friend without a word or even a polite nod. maybe she’ll finally hear the cries of the amen shrieker. maybe she’ll hear nothing at all.

[sevi007]

I really tried to keep myself away from all discussions about this upcoming Artemis Fowl movie ever since I read, like, two posts on here about it, but just one thing:

 I don’t even really care much about the casting, or how the actors are going to look like – I’ve learned long ago that movie adaptions of books just never are going to look like anything like it was “supposed” to be. So I will leave all the talk about that out here.

 One thing, though -

If it’s true what I heard about how Artemis’ personality is going to be portrayed, as a “boy who loves life” and so on, the creators of this movie almost have to make it an AU. It’s not going to work if they try to keep it close to the books. Because the entire first few books only work because Artemis was a cold-hearted bastard of a child back then.

 The entirety of the Fowl-family is, before and during the first books, a family of criminals. Artemis not only fits in very well, he’s a genius in that regard, likely even more ruthless than his own parents. Being ten years old at the time.

Not to mention that Artemis also was absolutely ready to kidnap Holly, steal / ransom tons of elf-gold, battle the mafia, battle another crime boss before stealing the guy’s money and getting him into prison (after driving him to insanity)…

 Gosh, I remember reading the third book – in which Artemis had already mellowed down a lot – and one of the very first things he did? Verbally ripping a waitress apart because she had dared to ask if he wanted the children’s menu until the poor girl basically ran back into the kitchen crying. (He was, what, twelve? Mistake is absolutely understandable) And I wanted to slap that guy!

 And that’s only the first three books. A rough description of it, too. By the end of the third book, Artemis has come to somewhat do things that are not fully self-centered (such as protecting people really close to him) but even now, he’s still stealing money and driving people up the walls, playing with minds, and being a lil’ asshole.

 Artemis’ learning curve from “coldhearted child-genius who is a danger to the world above and underground” to “boy who cares about the peope he loves and even saves both worlds” – it took books until we got to that point. Adventures, near-deaths, deaths, memory loss, memory recovery, time travels, and a lot, lot more.

 Now, if they would want to adapt the books as close as possible – tell me, would a “boy who loves life” and is, generally, in anyway good, or an ordinary child, do any of the above? It wouldn’t work. It would be a story, alright, it would be a fantastic fantasy story – but it wouldn’t be Artemis Fowl.

 So I really hope they see that, because if they don’t – they are only going to use the names, not the real characters in their movie.

 And that’s probably all I can say to that.

[the--blackdahlia]

The Day the Music Died Chapter 5

Title: The Day the Music Died Chapter 5

Summary: In 1959, a plane crash tragically took the lives of three musicians and their pilot. But the mysterious circumstances send the Winchester brothers on an adventure. Now they have a mystery to solve…before one of them joins the other three.

Warnings: Mainly just spoilers if you haven’t seen season 8

Dean burst into the motel without a care in the world. He had a small piece of hope that Sam was in the motel. That maybe he just got zapped back there. But all that laid in front of him was a motel room minus his brother. Dean had checked everywhere, just in case Sam was hiding, even under the bed, but there was nothing.

“Son of a bitch.” Dean hissed behind clenched teeth. He wanted to hit something. Sam said this was going to be a nice hunt to get their mind off of things. But all Dean had to show for it was a ghost of a dead musician who couldn’t move on and no brother. Dean tossed his bag onto his bed and headed for Sam’s laptop that set on the yellowed table in the corner. He opened the screen to turn it on.

But nothing happened.

“Oh come on.” Dean growled. He made sure it was plugged in and the battery was okay before trying it again. He heard it warming up, the fan running.

Then it died again.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Dean took deep, calming breaths. Why was this happening now? He just wanted to research more about Ritchie and the others. Maybe he could find out something that he could use to break the poor kid’s curse, and maybe that would bring Sam back from wherever he was. But with the Winchester luck, when it rained, it poured.

Dean tried for a little while, trying to fix the computer to the best of his ability. Had Sam been complaining about it recently? With all this trial crap going on, Dean had been focusing more on Sam’s health and not what Sam was saying. He had been focusing more on Kevin and trying to get those tablets translated before Crowley got his meat hooks in him.

He probably would’ve ended up throwing that damn laptop across the room if his stomach hadn’t told him to fuel up before doing anything rash. Dean sighed, knowing that it had been awhile since he had eaten and he knew what starvation could do to your brain.

Thankfully, on his way over to the little diner a couple streets over, he saw a library, unfortunately, they didn’t open for another hour or so.

That time was spent waiting for the waitress who was flirting with another girl sitting at counter. Once she realized Dean was there, she reluctantly took his order. It seemed to take forever for her to realize that his food was sitting on the rack to be delivered. And he forced himself to not just inhale the food. But once he was done, he headed to the library. He had never been so glad to see an open sign before.

The sweet librarian at the desk, playing solitaire on the computer, smiled at Dean when he came in. And she showed him to the archived newspapers when he asked, calling him sonny and hun the whole time. Dean set down with the newspapers and started looking through them. He had remembered seeing the headline before, a long time ago on some video on Youtube or something like that. Four killed in the plane crash. The three musicians and the pilot. He just wanted to see if there was something hidden in the story that he missed.

But when he found the newspaper he wanted, something didn’t seem right.

Five killed in plane crash.

“I don’t have time for this Mandela Effect crap.” Dean groaned. He started to read through the headline story, but something made him freeze and go back up. The five pictures.

Buddy Holly; musician.

Ritchie Valens; musician.

JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson; musician.

Roger Peterson; pilot.

Sam Winchester; road crew.

A picture of Sam, standing with another man, was there in clear black and white for Dean to see. The caption said Winchester (left) and Waylon Jennings (right), right before the plane crash.

What the hell was going on?

But it wasn’t just the New York Times that said those five names. All of the ones that were right there had the same names listed among the dead. Dean couldn’t feel anything. All he could do was just stare at the newspaper.

Sam was going to die in that plane crash and he didn’t know how to save him.

“I know where he is then.” Dean said, standing up. The nice librarian let him use a computer. He had access to everything that he needed. The shock of finding out that, not only had Sam been sent to the past, but he was dead, was fueling Dean’s researching. He had to find out everything. That was the only way he was going to be able to save Sam.

He read through articles, looked at pictures. According to his research, Sam had joined Buddy Holly’s band in November of 1958. Right before the Winter Dance Party Tour. Eyewitness accounts said that they didn’t see Sam get on the plane with the three other musicians. Waylon Jennings was supposed to be on the plane, but he gave it up to the Big Bopper since he had the flu and needed to rest. Ritchie Valens had won a coin toss to get on the flight.

According to the limited biography about Sam that he found, Waylon took custody of his body after his death and buried him in the Jennings family plot. Well, according to some accounts. Others say that the musician had him cremated, claiming that was what Sam wanted. So Dean wasn’t sure what to believe. But one thing he did know was he had a time machine with wings within calling distance.

“Cas.” Dean said into his phone as he left the library with copies of everything he could fine, as well as some instructions on how to possibly fix Sam’s laptop. “Cas, come on, I need your help. Call me or get your feathery ass over here. Now.”

****

“Dean’s calling for me.” Cas said as he set in the chair across from Naomi. “I need to go help him.”

“Ignore it Castiel.” Naomi warned. “We have more important matters to worry about right now.

“But…” Cas started to argue, but Naomi glared him down.

“Ignore. Him.” She hissed. Cas nodded and closed his eyes, blocking out the worried voice in his head. “Good.” She smiled and reached for something in her desk. “Just relax Castiel. We have a lot of things to discuss.” She grabbed out her drill and made her way to the angel.

Forever Tags: @imboredsueme @aiaranradnay @theas-bedtime-stories @af112992 @dekahg @cutie1365 @marvel-af @bandobsession98 @nanie5 @sammat97 @dslocum89 @wilford-motherluvin-warfstache @newtospnfandom @xxwarhawk @luciathewinchestergirl @tina8009

Supernatural Tags: @essie1876 @mrsdeanfuckingwinchester @smoothdogsgirl @sabigmart @jadepc @winchestergeekfreak @winchesterslibrary @atc74 @anathewierdo

The Day the Music Died Tags: @leximus98

[dustedmagazine]

Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band— Pedal Steal + Four Corners (Paradise of Bachelors)

Pedal Steal + Four Corners by Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band

The set opens with the bent note of an acoustic guitar being tuned, a car blazes down the highway, crickets chirp, a roadhouse screen door snaps shut, and boots crack hard on concrete. It’s the unmistakable ambiance of a Terry Allen record, even if you’ve never heard one quite like this before. Pedal Steal  + Four Corners collects one long-form narrative piece (“Pedal Steal,” originally composed for a dance performance) and four radio plays (“Torso Hell,” “Bleeder,” “Reunion (a return to Juarez),” and “Dugout,” which were originally broadcast on NPR during the mid-1980s and early 1990s), and is augmented by an extensive booklet with essays and supplementary photographs and images of Allen’s visual work. It's a fascinating, satisfying distillation of this subtly sage artist’s remarkable career as well as an excellent introduction to it for the uninitiated.

Terry Allen is from Lubbock, Texas, home to Buddy Holly, but also the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and the three Flatlanders — Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock — among others. It’s a mid-size farming and ranching city in the Texas high planes and is the sort of town that someone with an artistic bent or a need to see the world could be forgiven for trying to escape, at least for a little while, but, if the music of Allen is any indication, will never quite shake. Allen did leave Lubbock in the 1960s, though, to study art in Los Angeles. He received a BFA in 1966 and would go on to teach, lecture, receive Guggenheim fellowships, have his work displayed around the world and generally amass the accolades of the respected fine artist. All the while, Allen was also a practicing musician, spinning plaintive, clever, bawdy but always moving piano- and guitar-driven tales of the troublesome and the troubled unleashed upon and lost within the stark expanse of the American southwest. 

Beginning with his 1975 debut, Juarez, Allen’s music combined a simple yet assured sense of American roots songwriting with a colorful and acerbic propensity for storytelling. A pseudo-concept record about the exploits of Sailor, Jabo, Chic Blundie and Spanish Alice, Juarez is a gorgeous, profane, disorienting tale of love and violence. Its follow-up, the 1978 double-LP Lubbock (On Everything), is a sprawling set of songs touching on everything from the hypocrisies of the art world to fallen Lone Star football idols, alluring diner waitresses and the divine call of the open Texas highway.

 Pedal Steal + Four Corners, a single-LP/three-CD set, contains all the hallmarks of Allen’s work as both a musician and a gifted creative. Characters include a quadriplegic Vietnam vet, a tortured bandit/guitar prodigy, a woman road house pianist and a shady political operative who suffers from hemophilia, and Allen brings them to life in vivid at times brutal detail. But as with all complicated art, these stories, though fully formed as creative statements, are never truly complete, and least not in a traditional sense. Allen’s stories, often narrated here by his wife, actress Jo Harvey Allen, play with the fluid, unreliable nature of memory, narrative and the historical record. For all their detail, the pieces are delivered more as vivid bursts of recollection than traditional beginning-middle-end stories. The tales are all set to Allen’s music, and though some of his straightforward songs come to fore, the compositions are generally used to soundtrack the proceedings and are enhanced with various sound effects and prerecorded dialogue, including thunder and lightning, Navajo chants and a McDonald’s commercial. With its dramatic multifaceted approach, Pedal Steal + Four Corners could be viewed as template for the more adventurous practitioners of the modern podcast — collage-style storytelling for a post S-Town landscape.

Taken all at once, Pedal Steal + Four Corners can feel a bit unwieldy, but it needn’t be experienced that way. These are individual pieces with their own purpose and impact. The radio play is a nearly forgotten medium even amidst the abundance of the podcast, yet Terry Allen appears to have been perfectly suited for it. These pieces allow him to fully indulge his polymathic talents, specifically songwriting and narrative storytelling. Yet while his visual art stands separate here to a degree, Pedal Steal + Four generates rich, detailed and at times abstract visual sensations even if it doesn't accomplish it through traditional visual mediums. The effect can be deeply moving in its multisensory impact.

With this release, Paradise of Bachelors has now made available three essential works by one of American music’s most brilliant but still overlooked cultural purveyors. One would think a chronicler of derelicts, outcasts and eccentrics traversing a fractured and confused America would be of prime interest to many at this tenuous moment in our history. Well, it’s never too late. And now with Juarez, Lubbock (On Everything), and, now, Pedal Steal + Four Corners back in print, there’s no excuse.

Nate Knaebel

[themesxtest]

rachels

[FEMALE/ SHE/HER]. Hey, is that [SAVANNAH SMITH], no that is just [HAILEY GRAY] around Lakeview. I heard they are [24] years old, and their birthday is [DECEMBER 1ST]. They rest their heads in the [NORTHSIDE] but they can mainly be found working as [UNEMPLOYED]. Some say they are [CONFIDENT, SOCIAL, FUN-LOVING] and can be [JUDGEMENTAL, GREEDY, UNCARING]. If they had a theme song it would be, [WHO INVITED YOU - THE DONNAS]. I hear they are [MICHIGANDER], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[FEMALE/ SHE/HER]. Hey, is that [KAYA SCODELARIO], no that is just [TORI EMERSON] around Lakeview. I heard they are [27] years old, and their birthday is [DECEMBER 25TH]. They rest their heads in the [WESTSIDE] but they can mainly be found working as [BARTENDER]. Some say they are [LOYAL, FUNNY, ADVENTUROUS] and can be [BORED, LONELY, MOODY]. If they had a theme song it would be, [NOBODY'S HOME - AVRIL LAVIGNE]. I hear they are [LOCAL], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[MALE/ HE/HIM]. Hey, is that [PAUL WESLEY], no that is just [ANDREW THOMPSON] around Lakeview. I heard they are [34] years old, and their birthday is [APRIL 9TH]. They rest their heads in the [NORTHSIDE] but they can mainly be found working as [ATHLETIC TRAINER]. Some say they are [LOYAL, FUNNY, GENEROUS] and can be [MOODY, IMPULSIVE, EVASIVE]. If they had a theme song it would be, [STOP AND STARE - ONE REPUBLIC]. I hear they are [MICHIGANDER], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[FEMALE/ SHE/HER]. Hey, is that [RACHEL WEISZ], no that is just [LAURA BARNETT] around Lakeview. I heard they are [46] years old, and their birthday is [MAY 7TH]. They rest their heads in the [LAKESIDE] but they can mainly be found working as [POLICE OFFICER]. Some say they are [FRIENDLY, CREATIVE, DEDICATED] and can be [ADDICTIVE, RECKLESS, INFLEXIBLE]. If they had a theme song it would be, [THE BULLET - CARRIE UNDERWOOD]. I hear they are [MICHIGANDER], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[FEMALE/ SHE/HER]. Hey, is that [OLIVIA HOLT], no that is just [LOUISA JENKINS] around Lakeview. I heard they are [24] years old, and their birthday is [DECEMBER 5TH]. They rest their heads in the [NORTHSIDE] but they can mainly be found working as [UNEMPLOYED]. Some say they are [CONFIDENT, CHARISMATIC, CLEVER] and can be [UNSTABLE, INSECURE, SUSPICIOUS]. If they had a theme song it would be, [DADDY’S LITTLE DEFECT - SUGARCULT]. I hear they are [NEWCOMER], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[FEMALE/ SHE/HER]. Hey, is that [HOLLAND RODEN], no that is just [HAYDEN FAULKNER] around Lakeview. I heard they are [31] years old, and their birthday is [JANUARY 2ND]. They rest their heads in the [MIDTOWN] but they can mainly be found working as [NURSE]. Some say they are [HARD-WORKING, PROTECTIVE, SELFLESS] and can be [SUBMISSIVE, QUIET, INSECURE]. If they had a theme song it would be, [SHE DIDN’T HAVE TIME - TERRI CLARK]. I hear they are [NEWCOMER], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[FEMALE/ SHE/HER]. Hey, is that [CAITLIN STASEY], no that is just [KELLY BLAKE] around Lakeview. I heard they are [29] years old, and their birthday is [JULY 10TH]. They rest their heads in the [WESTSIDE] but they can mainly be found working as [WAITRESS]. Some say they are [SOCIABLE, FUN, PASSIONATE] and can be [IMPULSIVE, RECKLESS, IMPATIENT]. If they had a theme song it would be, [CROOKED HALO - ANNIE BOSKO]. I hear they are [MICHIGANDER], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[FEMALE/ SHE/HER]. Hey, is that [PHOEBE TONKIN], no that is just [HOLLY HAYES] around Lakeview. I heard they are [30] years old, and their birthday is [OCTOBER 1ST]. They rest their heads in the [DOWNTOWN] but they can mainly be found working as [AUTHOR]. Some say they are [CREATIVE, FUNNY, LOYAL] and can be [LAZY, OBSESSIVE, INDECISIVE]. If they had a theme song it would be, [THE MAN - TAYLOR SWIFT]. I hear they are [LOCAL], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[MALE/ HE/HIM]. Hey, is that [TYLER POSEY], no that is just [TOMMY SANCHEZ] around Lakeview. I heard they are [29] years old, and their birthday is [SEPTEMBER 5TH]. They rest their heads in the [WESTSIDE] but they can mainly be found working as [MECHANIC]. Some say they are [LOYAL, FRIENDLY, PROTECTIVE] and can be [RESENTFUL, GREEDY, ESCAPIST]. If they had a theme song it would be, [STEPDAD - EMINEM]. I hear they are [MICHIGANDER], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[FEMALE/ SHE/HER]. Hey, is that [SHAY MITCHELL], no that is just [ELENA REYES] around Lakeview. I heard they are [34] years old, and their birthday is [OCTOBER 20TH]. They rest their heads in the [MIDTOWN] but they can mainly be found working as [HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER]. Some say they are [CONSIDERATE, DEDICATED, GENUINE] and can be [CYNICAL, DECEITFUL, CARELESS]. If they had a theme song it would be, [GETAWAY CAR - TAYLOR SWIFT]. I hear they are [NEWCOMER], either way Lakeview is home and welcomes you! (rachel/she/her/31/gmt)

[differenzeartistiche]

Gavin Creel is 46 today, time to bring back an updated performance ranking!

I’m adding American Horror Stories since I last posted this last year.

Gavin Creel, 15 performances, ranked!

15. Nick Piazza in Fame

This show has some merits, although it’s definitely not one of my favorites. It’s Gavin’s professional debut and I can forgive him some naiveté in an otherwise competent, beautifully sung performance. His rendition of “I wanna make magic” is lovely.

14. Charles Darnay in A Tale of Two Cities

Ok, so this was a concert performance, so it’s not really fair to compare it to the others, but I’ll just throw it in here. Mainly because it’s such an unusual show for Gavin. It’s something that tries very hard to be on the level of Les Miserables, without much success, and Gavin is not a huge fan of that kind of show. That said, it’s a nicely sung performance of a classic romantic hero role. Nice, nothing more.

13. Jean-Michel in La Cage Aux Folles

Great show, poor but still competent production. The role’s literally the most boring in the whole play, but he gets to sing the cute “With Anne on my arm” and he nails it.

12. Troy in American Horror Stories

Oh this was a fun one, Gavin playing outside of his comfort zone, far removed from his preferred genre and into an over-the-top, sexy role that is rather unique in his career. I wish the material he had to work with was better, but his scenes with Aaron Tveit were superfun.

11. Hollis Bessemer in Bounce

Sadly a lesser show by Sondheim, I still love some aspects of it, and Gavin’s wide-eyed artistically-inclined dreamer is one of them. His big solo “Talent” is the best song of the show and touches me on a very personal level.

10. Matthews in Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

Gavin voicing a Disney villain! A Disney villain with a secret! A Disney villain with a French accent! Talk about playing against type. There’s something of Kodaly here, and of Lumiere and of Pepé Le Pew. You can tell he had a blast recording this role, and the design is exquisite.

9. Bill in Eloise at the Plaza / Eloise at Christmastime

Effortlessly hilarious on screen as he is on stage, he goes full-on old-time Hollywood star in the Christmas-themed sequel and I love it. A mix of Dick Powell and Fred Astaire.

8. Dr. Pomatter in Waitress

Sara Bareilles’ little gem of a musical often finds its strength in the absolute realness of its characters, flawed human beings looking for a little sparkle of happiness. Drew Gehling’s Dr. Pomatter was awkward and fun and sad-eyed, but I think Gavin wins infusing the character with tenderness and truly lived-in melancholy. A few weeks in a well-worn musical could be seen as a footnote in a great career, but it’s such a lovely performance, enhanced by the incredible chemistry he has with Bareilles.

7. Bert in Mary Poppins

My introduction to Gavin and since then I’ve come to appreciate him as heir to impossibly gangly male leads like Dick Van Dyke, so this feels like such a natural fit. I find the show a little bloated, but watch him defying gravity in that one “walking on air” scene: it’s irresistible.

6. Ugly in Honk!

Having him play the ugly duckling ALSO feels like a natural fit. Gavin’s at his best when he plays lost and confused dreamers, and the fairytale touch with the surreal setting makes for a wonderful variation on that theme.

5. Steven Kodaly in She Loves Me

Easily the odd man out of the list. The evil, scheming, suave and self-centered Kodaly is a delightful departure from all the romantic leads and clueless buffoons of Gavin’s career. The showstopper “Ilona” brings out all the manipulative nature of the character, a snake that always finds a way out and always gets what he wants. A remarkable performance that makes me want to see him branch out into even more strange territories.

4. Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie

Again with the old-time charm and humor. Millie is a show dominated by women, and Gavin’s male romantic lead manages not to be swallowed whole by them by being so wonderfully easy-going, hilariously aloof and occasionally sassy. It does also help that in “What do I need with love” he has one of the catchiest numbers of the show.

3. Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!

PUDDING. That alone deserved the Tony. It’s an overwhelmingly funny turn that makes the best of the original, almost vaudevillian nature of the show. So full of tricks and ticks and winks to the audience, deliciously aware of its own absurdity, it’s the kind of scene-stealing performance that not every actor can pull off. And oh my god, has anyone ever sung Jerry Herman’s beautiful tunes so gorgeously? You almost wish he could have sung “Put on your Sunday clothes” in its entirety.

2. Elder Price in The Book of Mormon

Somewhere between the rubber-faced humor of Jim Carrey, the earnest straight man hilarity of Jack Lemmon and the physicality of Dick Van Dyke. A perfect combination that captures the sarcastic, yet disarmingly sweet nature of the show, with its hints of meanness and self-devouring doubt.

1. Claude Hooper Bukowski in Hair

Unquestionably the masterpiece of Gavin’s career. A towering performance that starts with the iconicity of the role and the visuals associated with it and finds the core of Claude’s humanity: a scared, earnest, sometimes self-centered, mostly clueless young man that has to face something so much bigger than himself, something that is so far from the made-up world of fake accents and films in space that he has created for himself and that will eventually consume him. Moments like “Where do I go” and “The Flesh Failures” are moving and brutally honest.

[ronyxfic]

Educating the Victim - Act VI, Chapter VIII

Pairing: -

Rating: Mature

Warnings/Tags: There are warnings, but due to potential spoilers they’re hidden. Click here!

Read it on AO3! - Support us on Patreon!

Educating the Victim Masterpost

(Previous chapter) (Next chapter)

CHAPTER 8: Captive

 Azure,

A short update on our trip. I regret to tell you that even though we’ve been here for nearly two weeks, our searches have failed to yield anything.

The contacts you mentioned are nowhere to be found. We’ve asked around, and nobody here seems to know anything. None of the names seem to ring any bells. The address we had for the vineyard turned out to be incorrect, but the townspeople could help with that at least, and gave us directions. The vineyard seems to be a matter of pride amongst the people here, but none of them seem to be aware of any takeovers in terms of who owns or runs it.

After some searching we found the vineyard, and it looks like it’s in good condition, but none of the workers gave useful answers to my subtle questioning either.

I’m sorry I can’t give you any more right now. We will keep digging until we find something, though, I promise.

The countryside is beautiful. Ashleigh and Hunter have been enjoying a bit of a hiking holiday in our downtime. The food is excellent, and so is the wine. Staying here for a while seems to be the only upside to not finding any information.

Hope all is well with you,

Marina

  Marina's fingers swiped over the keypad as she moved the cursor to close the browser after her mailbox indicated that her encrypted message was sent.

She sighed, feeling alone once more. Only a few more days and they'd call it a lost cause, and her bodyguards had long since abandoned any semblance of a work ethic. 

Now, they were off to an evening meal somewhere Marina didn't care about.

Marina huffed as she looked at her phone and considered phoning them. The signal kept going on and off, and had halted at no bars for the past half hour. No music, no makeup tutorials. Life was hell sometimes.

There was a small bar in the lounge. Marina barely bothered to wear clothes and slipped on a light gown as the arid night didn't demand much cover. Mentioning the wine in her letter had given her cravings. Perhaps she'd be less bored.

 The bar staff knew her by now. One of them came over. “Good evening,” she said in French, “what can I get for you today?”

 "I'll have a look at the drinks menu, feeling picky tonight."

Marina sat in a secluded area, with crimson velvet cushions on seats, dotted by potted plants. The dinner service had somewhat slowed down at this hour. It was pleasant, peaceful.

 “I will be right back,” the waitress said, vanishing from Marina’s sightline.

A moment later, she returned with the drinks menu. She opened it to display a letter.

“Here’s the menu, and this was given to us by someone earlier,” she said. “A friend of yours, perhaps? We haven’t opened it, don’t worry.”

  Marina raised her eyebrow as she was handed the envelope. Huh.

Hunter often left IOUs on sticky notes but never letters. Weird.

 She gave a nod of thanks and slowly opened it, her eyes widening.

 We’ve noticed you asking a lot of questions about the Diment estate. If you want to know more, come to the vineyard after midnight. You’ll have to come alone, don’t bring your bodyguards. Don’t ask any more questions.

 Marina swallowed. The vineyard was huge.

However, she turned the letter to reveal a series of numbers: coordinates.

She sighed, praying for her phone to work again. She really didn't need games tonight.

Though, she'd been parched for a lead on this case. And perhaps, with a glass of Chardonnay, she could even make it an adventure.

Her phone vibrated as she received a text from Hunter. She was back online.

 Hi Marina! Just heading back. Found anything else?

It was definitely supposed to be a mocking tone, since they hadn’t found anything for nearly two weeks.

 Um. actually,,

Ya girl just got a mystery note with instructions. No biggie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 Wait, really? You’re kidding, right?

 nope! Hurry your asses home, we've got a couple of hours to prepare. I'll give you details when you get back.

 There was no response from Hunter this time, but a few minutes later, the Topazes were back in the hotel room, ready to be briefed by Marina about this exciting new development.

 "So, don't bother trying to convince me to let you guys follow me or whatever. This feels way too specific to be a prank," Marina finished, and slammed the minifridge shut and swigged a bottle of sparkling water. "I'm gonna need you guys to only tail me if I don’t respond or return to the rendezvous. Questions?"

 “I have a question,” Ashleigh said, raising her hand. “Why is this letter anonymous, and who says you’ll actually get anything out of this? And should we let Azure know before you go? And what if you don’t have the martial arts skills needed to escape if something goes wrong? Sorry, that was several questions.”

 "And each more of a dullard than the last." Marina rolled her eyes. "Alright, one, it's the only shot we've had and we're due to leave very soon. I refuse to return empty handed. Two, I was about to send her a letter... unfortunately, the internet went out again." Marina pulled her phone out. "Yep. You're gonna have to update her. And I'm taking... the pen. It'll be fine."

 “Oh, the pen,” Hunter said, “no need to worry then, is there?”

“We’ll leave it in your capable hands,” Ashleigh said. “When are you leaving?”

 "It isn't far, so I have about an hour before I want to think about setting off."

 “Alright. One last question,” Ashleigh said.

“What do we do until then?”

 "I'm going to go and retouch my makeup. You two can do whatever lesbians do when they're left alone."

 “Well, we certainly will,” Hunter said, grinning.

 --

 The coordinates that Marina had been sent led directly to a grave. The white marble was worn, but the grave looked well maintained. A few candles illuminated it faintly.

Claire Diment.

Beside the grave, there was a tall young woman, quite obviously waiting.

  Marina took a few cautious steps towards the figure in the dark. She turned off her phone's torch and called out."Hello?"

 The woman raised a hand. “Hi there,” she said, “good of you to make it. You came alone?”

 "Yes," Marina replied, coming closer. "It did strike me as a little odd, though."

 “Oh, trust me, you have nothing to worry about from me,” the woman said. “You can call me Skinny. I’m here alone too, if it helps.”

 "You speak good English," Marina commented, raising a brow. "You're aware of the situation with this place?"

 “I know as much as I need to know,” Skinny said. “And my employer asked me to tell you this: If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave this place and not investigate further. It’s none of your concern.”

 Marina paused, but wasn't entirely taken aback. "And who's your employer?"

 “Nobody you need to worry about. That is, if you drop it.”

 "I think I'll pass. Is that all the information you have to offer me?"

 “Yes,” Skinny said. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave now and crawl back to your country and tell your boss you didn’t find anything.”

 "'Kay. See you later." Marina turned and put her hand in her pocket to reach her phone.

 “Do I have your word that you’re going to drop it?”

 "Sure." Marina had already started to walk away.

It wasn't as if they'd hold her to her promise.

 But just then, two large forms materialised out of the trees next to the path.

“Not so fast,” one of them said. “You sound a bit insincere there.”

 Marina felt her blood run cold.

"I said I'd drop it. I'll be off, I don't want trouble."

 “If you didn’t want trouble, you wouldn’t have come snooping in what’s none of your business,” said Skinny. “You’ve done far too much investigating for that. We’re on to you, and we will send a clear message to your boss.”

The two larger women began to converge on Marina.

 "No! Get off!" Marina felt herself panic as she was tackled. Her scream echoed in the vast expanse of the vineyard, but there was no one there to hear her.

 “Too late for that, sweetie.”

Someone grabbed her around the waist, and then there was a damp cloth over her mouth and nose. “Just keep breathing for me,” said a kind voice. “This won’t take long.”

 Marina coughed as a chemical smell attacked her nostrils, and tried to hold her breath, trying to wrestle out of the hold despite her tiny size.

It was to no avail, though, as her world suddenly began to spin.

 “Don’t fight,” the same voice said. “We’re stronger than you. Just let it happen, there’s nothing you can do now.”

 Everything suddenly felt all too slow, her lungs all too heavy.

Marina felt her knees buckle and her body nearly drop onto the earth.

 “That should do it,” the voice said. “Get the bag and the ropes, we’re taking her back.”

 It was the last thing Marina remembered before the world went black.

 --

 The darkness was eventually penetrated by voices.

“She actually came? What, is she stupid? That was such obvious bait, I can’t believe she took it,” said one.

“No, she actually did, and she was on her own as well,” said another, which belonged to Skinny. “She’s far too keen for her own good.”

“I can’t believe this is who Azure would send to investigate,” said a soft voice, far gentler than the words it spoke. “She’s getting old.”

 Marina could barely process the words for a few seconds. It felt like her mind had hit a lag with reality.

She tried to raise her head but found that it did not combat the darkness, she'd been blindfolded. And at the tightness by her jaw, gagged, too.

This was bad.

  “Hush, she’s waking up,” said a different voice.

“So shut your trap, Holly.”

A moment of silence fell.

“Are you awake?” said the softer voice.

 Marina nodded her head, her heart suddenly racing. Where was she? Who had apprehended her?

Was she going to make it out of this alive?

She tried to move, and found her hands fastened to one another behind her back. She appeared to be seated.

 “Good. Don’t try to move, you’ll make things worse for yourself. I’m going to loosen your gag, and I will ask you some questions, and you will answer truthfully to the best of your ability. There’s a gun pointed at you right now, so don’t try to play games.”

 Marina tensed at the mention of the weapon, and slowly nodded her head.

 A hand came close, cupping her chin and removing the gag, a lot more gentle than expected.

“Why are you investigating the Diment estate?”

 "Journalism piece. Locals don't know who bought it out, I was trying to get the scoop," Marina lied, her throat hoarse.

 “Is that so. Which newspaper?”

 "Online. Vice."

 “Huh. Haven’t seen any camera teams around you. No interviews. Just questions. Are you sure you’re telling the truth?”

 "We only tend to film when appropriate. You wouldn't like it if I stuck a camera in your face."

 “Don’t get sassy. There’s still a gun pointed at you. Who’s your boss?”

 "Depends on what you mean. We like to keep it a bit of a democracy at vice, but I guess there's my director... unless you want the CEO?"

 “Please.”

 "I'm sure you could just Google that. It's common knowledge."

Marina attempted to try and pick her captor's accent. It felt all too familiar.

Definetly English, near London. Marina frowned.

 “Surely you know, if you work there? Why don’t you tell us, hm? Quickly now.”

 "Tom... Higgleston. And he's not going to be happy about this, let me tell you."

 “She’s lying,” another voice said. “I just googled it.”

“Huh,” said the first voice. “Let me assure you that we have plenty of time. Nobody knows where you are. We can figure out that you’re lying no matter how many times you try to. Each lie will be one more bullet in your body, starting now. So why don’t you tell us the truth for a change?”

Something clicked. It sounded dangerously like a gun being loaded.

“Why are you here?”

 Marina gave a small, frightened scream and clenched her fists. "I was sent here to investigate... that part isn't a lie!"

 “Well, that’s a start,” the voice said. “Moving on. You said you were sent here by someone. Who?”

 Marina felt herself crack. They'd mentioned Azure, so they knew that much already.

It wouldn't change much to tell the truth. "Azure."

 “Azure who?”

 "Almas..." Her throat felt dry, she coughed a few times.

 “Thank you for finally telling the truth. What has Azure told you about this situation? How much do you know?”

 "Not much." Marina gave a bitter laugh. "Why else do you think I stupidly showed up? Didn't have any other leads."

 “That’s good. This particular lead will end here. No loose ends. Do you have anything on you, a recording device, maybe? Because we will have to destroy that.”

 "None. I'm not stupid or a spy." Marina gritted her teeth.

 “Huh. Holly, why don’t you search her. Don’t worry about being gentle, and be as thorough as you like.”

“With pleasure,” Holly said, stepping closer.

 Marina sighed. "If you must. I think I've got five euros if you want that? You might be able to afford an ice cream."

 She didn’t get a response. Instead, a hand turned her chin, fingers slipping underneath her collar. The fingers on her chin were harsh; it would be nearly impossible to wriggle out of that grip. Meanwhile, the fingers on her neck were brutally efficient, tearing at the buttons of her blouse. Upon finding nothing, they slipped further down. A hand reached into her pocket.

“Got something,” Holly said, pulling out a pen.

 Marina gasped at the touches, flushing and trying to gasp for extra air."Oh, please don't. I'm really bad at losing them and it's my last one."

 “Give it here,” said the other voice.

“It’s just a pen, right?” Skinny’s voice said.

“I’ll be the judge of that. Holly, feel free to continue searching her.”

Fingers slid underneath her blouse. Ropes were obstructing them, but Holly didn’t seem to care. Fingernails scraped over Marina’s flesh as Holly checked her bra. Nothing there.

“Huh. It looks like an ordinary pen. Shall we destroy it just in case?”

 Marina's breath hitched.

"Stop, I don't like... women."

It was not the right time for an attack of internalised homophobia.

 “I don’t care,” Holly said. “Just hold still. I’m not fondling you.” She ran her hands over Marina’s belly, then checked the rest of her pockets. “Some change, a pair of earphones,” she reported.

“Hand me the earphones,” the other voice said. “And you can have your pen back, if it means so much to you.”

“The earphones look suspicious,” Skinny commented. “Look, that inbuilt microphone looks pretty big.”

 Marina nearly blew her cover with a sigh of relief when the pen was inserted back into her pocket. "They're a bit old. You can have them if you want, been meaning to get new ones."

 “You know, I think I’ll take you up on that,” the voice said. “You’re not very good at bluffing, you know. How’s the search coming, Holly?”

Holly had slid her hands into Marina’s trouser pockets.

“A key card for a hotel room,” she said.

“Give it here, she won’t need it,” the other voice said.

“Car keys. A rental, it looks like.”

“Huh. Could be useful to have a rental car available. Let’s hold on to those.”

 Marina cried out. "H-hey! What do you mean I won't need it?"

 "Spoiler alert," said the voice gently. "You'll see. Anything else, Holly?"

Holly ran her hands down Marina's thighs, calves, and took off her shoes. "Nothing," she reported.

"Okay. Take Skinny and the others and start packing up, we're heading off soon, but I want a private word with our dear friend here."

 Marina's breath hitched as she was touched again, feeling a heat rise to her face. Her heart thundered.

 There were scuffles as Holly and Skinny left. A door slammed shut.

“Well, it looks like it’s just you and me now,” said the voice softly. Coming closer. “I have another bone to pick with you before we finish this.”

 Marina shuddered. "What did I ever do to you? I've got a mom, she's gonna miss me. She's gonna miss me so much..." She couldn't formulate thoughts properly, everything felt scrambled, violated. "D-don't you have someone like that? I won't... I won't tell anyone what happened."

 The voice laughed. She sounded oddly kind. “Appealing to my humanity will get you absolutely nowhere,” she said sweetly, her tone violently contrasted by the words she said. “And it’s not about you. None of this is. I couldn’t care less about you. But I need to know what Azure told you about this.”

 Marina paused. " Azure... Do you know her, personally?" Her voice trembled. "She's my boss. She's hired me to do odd jobs here and there. This wine farm was acquired by some asshole completely illegally, so I'm just.... I'm just here to see who it is so that we can protect it."

 “I see. Is that all she told you?” the voice said, not answering Marina’s question. “I can’t believe she’d send such a hapless idiot down here. There must be more she told you.”

 "Yes, the case was considered highly sensitive and barely had any names or details attached... I really can't tell you anything more."

 “Give me all the names and details.”

 "Oh, Jesus Christ. They were all European, apart from a Roxy but she's probably dead.  You'd have to get my documents to see them."

 “Roxy who?” The voice suddenly changed, grew colder, more merciless.

 "Dayman." Marina gasped, feeling herself tense so hard she nearly lost control of her bladder. "Please... I don't want to die."

 “That’s none of my concern,” the voice said sharply. “And if you don’t quit your whining, I might have to do something worse to you.” The voice was behind her now, unbearably close, nearly breathing down Marina’s neck. “What’s... Roxy’s connection to this, then?”

 "I don't know. I honestly thought she'd be irrelevant to the case - She's literally presumed to be dead and has no other ties to the leads par something to do with Azure." Marina could smell a sweet rosy perfume, coated with some form of musk. Her hairs stood on end. "Why do you even care?"

 “That’s none of your business. You’re here to answer questions, not ask them.” The voice came from the front again, but no less close. A warm hand settled on Marina’s thigh. “Tell me everything you know about Roxy.”

 "I, uh..." Marina gave a yet another gasp. No one had been so close to her for years. Constantly moving left little time for intimacy. 

 She hoped the blindfold covered enough of her face for her captor to not see her blush. "I don't really know much. Azure really seemed determined to have her as a suspect, which was weird, but Azure has good judgement with these things. I think they have history. I mean, if I could have my phone I could probably call her for you so that you could talk to her and... not... do this to me."

 “Thanks, but I have no interest in talking to Azure.”

Unfortunately for Marina, her captor noticed her blush.

“My, my. Are you actually /enjoying/ this? I was pretty much done, but I can draw it out a little further, just for your sake.” The hand on Marina’s thigh inched upwards just a little bit.

 "At least buy me dinner first." Marina tensed and tried to withdraw back, but her bindings left her stuck to be played with. Her stomach felt butterflies as her thigh tingled where it was touched.

Her mind felt hazy, unable to deal with the mixture of horrified heat.

 “You really are pathetic. Do you think flirting with me will make me like you more?”

A second hand, now, on Marina’s chin. Turning her head, tracing her jawline.

 Marina gritted her teeth as she felt her face looked at. Her entire being exposed and open to the scrutiny of her holder.  "What are you doing?"

 “Playing with you. Don’t worry, I’m not actually interested in you, I just like to have fun with people’s feelings. Don’t tell me you’re not enjoying it.”

All the while, her hand inched up Marina’s thigh, and a thumb ran over Marina’s bottom lip.

 Touch felt like electricity.

"If I'm going to die, can I at least see what you look like?"

 “What, so you can get all Stockholm syndrome-y on me? No thanks. Just take what you’re given like a good girl, hm?”

Where Holly’s touches had been practical, goal-oriented, this woman took her sweet time. She leasurely traced a finger over Marina’s throat, and her other hand narrowly avoided Marina’s crotch to find a sneaky way underneath her blouse.

 Marina gave a near squeal at the denial and then new touch, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

 A low chuckle. “Oh, the depravity. I can’t believe Azure hired someone like you. Are you enjoying feeling this powerless? You don’t seem like the type.”

She came closer, settling on Marina’s lap. “It’s a shame you’re all tied up right now. If things were different, I’d probably enjoy playing with you for a little longer.”

 Perhaps that was it. Marina hadn't ever been quite so powerless in her life.

She didn't have much time to think about it. "Which... Which part of London are you from?"

 Her captor reacted instantly. A hand locked around Marina’s throat. “Don’t ask questions. I haven’t given you permission.”

 Marina panicked and felt herself sieze up and choke. However, the sensation of being utterly trapped only served to increase her panic.

 She was released almost instantly.

“Alright, I’ve had my fun. Time to get this over with.”

The weight lifted from Marina’s lap, and the touches faded.

 "No, no, please no, I'll do anything! I'll... I'll let you do things to me. I don't care, I just don't want to end like this! Not like this!"

 “Stop whining, it’s unflattering,” said the voice. “You won’t change my mind. Although...”

She came closer again.

“One last thing.”

 Marina felt herself jump a little at the sudden closeness. "W-what?"

 The space between them was quickly closed. A soft pair of lips on Marina’s, only for a second.

And yet, a touch that lingered just for a moment too long.

“Farewell.”

She didn’t give Marina time to react. Within a second, a bullet was loaded.

The gunshot echoed through the building.

[sun-daisies]

I accidentally went back to my waitressing job temporarily and it's day 2 and I've already got some old drunk guy's number

sir it is my job to be nice to you there's no chemistry except for me and your wallet

[growhunter407]

Alcina Handel

French soprano Patricia Petibon sings one of the biggest handelian arias. Her voice in this recording is just amazing, and she adds a lot of dramatism. Handel’s Alcina Handel’s Alcina ● by Chris Lynch This February, Indiana University Opera will present Handel’s fantasy opera Alcina in a new production designed by Robert Perdziola, directed by Chas Rader-Shieber, and conducted by Arthur Fagen. On musical grounds, this is a more-than-competent reading of Handel's classic opera, with some fine singing throughout. Naglestad is a lovely Alcina, and other principles are strong (notable standout is Mahnke's Oberto). Conductor Hacker coaxes a good reading out of the Stuttgart forces. Handel: Alcina / Curtis, DiDonato, Rensburg, Beaumont Release Date: Label: Archiv Produktion (Dg) Catalog #: 4777374 Spars Code: n/a Composer: George Frideric Handel Performer: Kobie van Rensburg, Vito Priante, Joyce DiDonato, Sonia Prina.

Mio Bel Tesoro Handel Pdf

Quite possibly Handel's most magnificent opera, Alcina is filled with extraordinary musical riches & a lot of magnificent magic. Two exceptional women lie at the heart of the story: Alcina is a potent sorceress, which Bradamante counters with her self-confidence and determination on her quest to rescue her lover Ruggiero from Alcina's spells. If she succeeds, they will escape and no doubt live happily ever after. However, if not, Ruggiero will be transformed into the newest trophy in Alcina's enormous gallery of former lovers. Which will it be? Can he resist her magic?

Now in his fourth season as music director of Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers, Clinton Smith also maintains a position on the music staff of Santa Fe Opera, where he most recently served as cover conductor for Leonard Slatkin on a production of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa. During the 2017–2018 season, he will make three company debuts, conducting Il barbieri de Siviglia at Dayton Opera, Le nozze di Figaro at Tacoma Opera and Alcina at Fargo-Moorhead Opera. He will also return to Pacific Northwest Opera to conduct Turandot, and to Atlanta Opera to prepare The Seven Deadly Sins. Clinton’s recent conducting credits include The Mikado for Kentucky Opera, Hansel und Gretel and Norma for Pacfic Northwest Opera, Il barbieri di Sivigliafor the University of Michigan Opera Theater, and La finta giardiniera for Baldwin Wallace University.

He has served on the music staff of Santa Fe Opera, Juilliard Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atltanta Opera, Portland Opera, Kentucky Opera and Ash Lawn Opera. Other recent posts include four seasons as artistic director and principal conductor of the St. Cloud Symphony, assistant conductor and chorus master for San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, assistant conductor for Glimmerglass Opera’s productions of Tolomeo and The Tender Land, music director of Western Ontario University’s Canadian Operatic Arts Academy, and guest coach at the National University of Taiwan.

For four seasons, Minnesota Opera engaged Clinton as cover conductor and chorus master, where he led mainstage performances of La traviata and Madama Butterfly and covered the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Opera Orchestra in over 20 productions. During 2011, Clinton conducted a workshop and prepared the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ opera Silent Night, which subsequently won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music. For Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative, and as an avid fan of new music, Clinton prepared workshops of Douglas J. Cuomo’s Doubt, Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis and the North American premiere of Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, as well as Dominick Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming and Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights.

Patrick Hansen continues his unique career throughout North American as an operatic stage director, conductor, and vocal coach. His stagings have garnered praise in both Canada and the United States. Opera Canada wrote, ' Patrick Hansen captured the opera's bohemian vitality - the city of Paris itself was the characterful backdrop to the action. When he ran out of space in Act II, the crowd simply spilled down into the auditorium . . the comic business was well handled . . . The acting, indeed, was a strong point throughout.'

Mr. Hansen has been on the musical staffs of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Pittsburgh Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Memphis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Ash Lawn Opera, The Juilliard Opera Center, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera as well as being the Director of Artistic Administration for Florida Grand Opera during the opening of the Miami Arts Centre.

At ease in opera and musical theatre, his stage directing credits encompass the entire spectrum of repertoire now being presented in opera companies; Alcina, Orfeo ed Eudridice, Cosi fan tutte, Die Zauberflute, L'elisier d'amore, La traviata, Dialogue des Carmelites, Albert Herring, Hansel and Gretel, La Boheme as well as the musicals Camelot and Trouble in Tahiti.

Alcina Handel Opera

Currently the director of Opera McGill in Montreal at McGill University, Mr. Hansen is the former director of the Young American Artist Program at Glimmerglass Opera, and has presented masterclasses and coachings with the Young Artists of Virginia Opera and for many years served as the stage director at the Kennedy Center with the Washington Chorus' Essential Verdi. Mr. Hansen returns to Fargo-Moorhead after successful stagings of Fille du Regiment, Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi, and The Magic Flute in previous seasons.

Miriam Khalil is an acclaimed Lebanese-Canadian soprano specializing in opera and concert performance. She has been lauded as a 'skilled, versatile artist' with a “signature warm lyrical voice” by Musical Toronto and described as 'dark, dangerous and alluring” by Opera Going Toronto. Miriam is a graduate of the prestigious Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, the Steans Institute for Young Artists (Ravinia) and the Britten-Bears Young Artist Programme in England. While in her last year of the COC Ensemble Studio, she advanced to the semi-finals of the Metropolitan Opera Council auditions and represented the Great Lakes Region on the Met stage, during which she was featured in the documentary film The Audition.

Miriam has appeared on numerous opera stages across Canada and Europe, including a stint at the renowned Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the United Kingdom. Notable roles include Mimi in La bohème (Minnesota Opera, Opera Hamilton & Against the Grain Theatre); Musetta in La bohème (Edmonton Opera); Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Opera Tampa & Against the Grain Theatre/The Banff Centre/Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival); Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande (Against the Grain Theatre); the Governess in The Turn of the Screw (Against the Grain Theatre); Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare (Glyndebourne Festival Opera, U.K.); Almirena in Rinaldo (Glyndebourne Festival Opera, U.K.); and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (Pacific Opera Victoria, Opera Lyra Ottawa & Against the Grain Theatre).

Holly Flack is a coloratura soprano praised for “wielding an impressive range, effortlessly reaching higher than high notes” with her unique vocal extension beyond an octave above high C.

Ms. Flack has performed with the Bel Canto Opera Festival, Astoria Opera Festival, and Operafestival di Roma. She made her debut at the Trentino Music Festival in Mezzano, Italy singing the role of the Vixen in Leos Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen. She was most recently seen on the FM Opera stage last season as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.

Additional roles include Serpetta (La Finta Giardiniera), Frasquita (Carmen), Despina (Cosi fan Tutte), and Peep-Bo in The Mikado. In 2015, Holly was part of the Gate City Bank Young Artist program where she covered the role of Marie in Daughter of the Regiment with FM Opera.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Ms. Flack holds a Bachelors degree in Vocal Performance from St. Olaf College, and a Masters degree in Vocal Performance from The University of Kentucky, where she studied with soprano Cynthia Lawrence.

Lyric mezzo-soprano Holly Janz is a versatile singing actress with a voice that is evenly blended with clarity, richness and warmth. She has performed with opera companies across the country including Skylark Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, and Union Avenue Opera Theatre (St. Louis). Past credits comprise a variety of characters from the trouser roles of Cherubino, Hansel and Prince Orlofsky, to the ingénue roles of Nancy (Albert Herring) and Valencienne (The Merry Widow), to the more dramatic roles of Carmen and The Secretary (The Consul).

In addition to her operatic stage credits, Ms. Janz is a compelling concert artist in both oratorio and recital. Orchestral credits include the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Indianapolis Philharmonic Orchestra, the Greater Grand Forks Symphony, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony as well as the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Janz, a native of Marshfield, WI, is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point (BM). She has also received degrees from the University of Colorado (MM) and the University of Kansas (DMA, with honors), and is an associate professor of voice at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.

Called “winningly wily and dauntless” by Boston Classical Review, American Mezzo-soprano, Kate Jackman, is multifaceted musician and actress who excels in a variety of musical expression. As a2017 Gate City Bank Young Artist, Kate was seen as the Waitress in “Speed Dating Tonight!” as well as the Sergeant of Police in FM Opera’s recent production of “The Pirates of Penzance”. She also sang the role of Giovanna this summer in Ash Lawn Opera’s production of “Rigoletto”. Other roles that Kate has performed include the lead role in Oliver Knussen’s “Higglety Pigglety Pop” at the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, Hansel in “Hansel and Gretel”, the title role in “Carmen”, Dorabella in “Cosi fan tutte”, Bloody Mary in “South Pacific”, and Dinah in Bernstein’s “Trouble in Tahiti”.

An avid performer of new works, Kate has premiered roles in “Piecing It Apart” by Paul Matthews and “Lux et Tenebrae” by Douglas Buchanan for The Figaro Project’s Contemporary Opera Trio. She also premiered the role of Megan 2 in Robert Patterson’s “The Whole Truth” with Urban Arias, and Patricia Hutton in Joshua Bornfield’s“Camelot Requiem”, in which she “expressed emotional intensity with the weight of her soothing mezzo-soprano voice” (Maureen L. Mitchell, Opera Today)

Ms. Jackman holds a Master of Music Degree from the Peabody Institute and a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of North Texas.

Alcina Opera

Tenor Jianghai Ho has appeared most recently as tenor soloist in the DePaul Symphonic Choir’s presentation of Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Nerone in Monteverdi’s L'incoronazione di Poppea, Orfeo in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Abraham Kaplan in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, and Dr. Blind in Johann Strauss Jr’s Die Fledermaus with DePaul Opera Theater. He has also performed with the Duke Vespers Ensemble in Dietrich Buxtehude’s rarely-performed Membra Jesu Nostri at the Boston Early Music Festival, as well as the Chicago Symphony Chorus.

Born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Jianghai first discovered his passion for opera under the tutelage of Professor Susan Dunn at Duke University, where he graduated with a B.S. in music and biology. He graduated in vocal performance from DePaul University, where he studied with David Alt and Michael Sylvester.

Mark Billy is a lyric baritone and Native American (Choctaw tribe) from Finley, Oklahoma. Mark’s undergraduate studies in voice at the University of Oklahoma were under the mentorship of baritone Richard Anderson. Mark has also had additional study with the legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.

Mark made his operatic debut as IlCommendatore in 2012 with OU Opera Theatre's production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”. The following season he appeared as Thoas in Gluck's “Iphigénieen Tauride”. In 2014 Mark appeared as Simon in OU’s choreographed production of Haydn’s oratorio “Die Jahreszeiten” and in 2016 Mark was featured as Moralès in “Carmen” with Indiana University.His graduate studies at Indiana were with soprano Carol Vaness.

Handel Operas Youtube

Mark most recently concluded a traveling production at OU opera theatre of John Davies mash-up children’s opera: “The Billy Goats Gruff” where he played the role of Osmin, the bully billy goat; this brought opera to Norman, OK area schools and carried the important message against bullying. In the Spring of 2017 Mark placed first in the Oklahoma NATS competition graduate level division. This past summer Mark sang Melisso in Handel’s “Alcina” as well as covering the role of Marcello in “La bohème” for the Red River Lyric Opera Festival. As a 2018 Gate City Bank Young Artist with the Fargo Moorhead Opera Mark will be reprising the role of Melisso in Handel’s “Alcina”as well as the role of the bartender in Michael Ching’s comic one act opera “Speed Dating Tonight!”

[another-chorus-girl]

Erik House - Chapter 16

Merry Christmas ya filthy animal! And a happy New Year! :)

Cherik blinked, “Sorry Monsieur?”

"No it can’t be could it? He's certainly not like the others." Claudin shook his head.

Lom agreed, "Still it's a very similar resemblance. I think it is him."

"How exactly did you find us?"

"And what exactly is that squriming and jingling in your pocket?" The man with a single eyepiece pointed, as Polo was fidgeting.

"Never mind her, poor dear is just excited." Cherik waved off, "It was an accident really. I didn't know anyone would be down this passage, does no one know you're here?"

"Of course, he just rarely comes to see us." Claudin stated. "By our request that is."

"But why?"

"We've been forgotten," Lom stated. "No one needs to know we're here if we've been forgotten, simple as that."

"Not to sound very insensitive to your situation gentlemen," Cherik piped up, 

"But you realise we're all accustom to the feeling of isolation. Why not come up to see the others?"

"They just think they're better than us." Another man scowled behind his white mask. "Those theatre boys get all the fame, and have at least half a face!"

"Easy Hill," Claudin placed a comforting hand on his cloaked shoulder.

"Please," Cherik frowned, "They're really not like that."

The grey haired masked man studied the redhead for a moment before turning to the others.

"Would it hurt to give it a try?" He asked the other men.

Lom crossed his arms, "I suppose the situation can't get much worse."

Hill sighed harshly, "Fine, they're not all British are they?"

Cherik shook his head, "The Meriks? Not at all, they've expanded quite a bit over the last thirty years."

"Thirty years and still going..."

"Err thirty one now actually."

"Greaaaat." Hill huffed.

"Come along gentlemen..." Claudin scolded.

--

Needless to say the older mens' appearance stirred some attention. While the Meriks' were not unwelcoming or offputting to the new 'faces', it was a somewhat awkward first encounter.

"I'm sure I've seen you before," Crawford remarked to Claudin.

The greying man shook his head, "As flattering as that is monsieur, I sincerely doubt that."

While they regarded each other rather obscurely Lom and Winslow surprisingly felt they were on a relatable level.

"At least you kept your soul throughout the whole ordeal." Winslow noted.

"I may as well have lost it after what I did,"

"But you didn't sign anything in writing..."

Lom blinked with his good eye, not entirely sure what the helmet clad man meant by this.

"So let me get this straight..." Panaro asked Hill. "You prefer a knife over a lasso?"

"So? Jack the ripper sitting in the corner doesn't seem to have a problem using one."

"And you dragged a priest down to your lair to marry Christine to you?" Karimloo also probed.

"You were willing to kill her boyfriend if she said no to your 'proposal'!" He argued

"And Nadir is your brother?" Kerik asked puzzled.

"Who the hell is Nadir?"

"And you threatened Chrsitine's life as well?" Lewis asked, most of the Meriks agape at all of this information.

Hill scoffed, "Don't think I don't know about that chandelier drop."

Warlow shook his head, "And then you-?"

"Are you going to be badgering me with questions all day? We can't all wear bedazzled capes and play the romantic."

Sensing the growing tension Hill was stirring, Claudin cleared his throat. "While this visit has been...enlightening. I feel it's time we take our leave."

Kerik blinked, "Where's he going?"

Lerik was following the men down the passage.

Claudin shrugged, "He's actually quite an interesting fellow. Not one for words sadly, but we invited him down to try and start a proper introduction. If you're interested in another little chat you know the way monsieur."

Gesturing to Cherik whom nodded. Claudin readjusted his hat before turning back to join the others.

"Seems he's finally made some friends," Crawford noted regarding Lerik. 

Turning to Cherik he asked the redhead. "How did you find them?"

"Polo really, she activated a trip switch by accident."

"I don't think they liked us all that much but you seemed to do well with them."

Cherik nodded. "Yes. I can't quite explain it but I feel like I should know them."  

"Well at any rate, I'm sure that won't be the last that we hear of them."

Kerik rolled his eyes, "I feel like as each day passes this is turning into a seniors home..."

--

"A little more....no! No! My left not your left."

Kerik raised a brow, watching the Meriks struggle to straighten the giant pine now situated in the second floor's parlour.

"Please hurry!" Panaro snapped, the pine needles scraping against his palms

Jones poked his head out from the other side of the tree. "How about now?" He called.

Crawford shook his head. "Tilt it a little more."

"Like this?"

"Keep going, keep- Stop! Right there!"

"Now?"

"Yes. Looks good from here."

Jones and Panaro came around-the latter's sleeves coated with pine needles.

"Looks splendid," Jones smiled.

Kerik scoffed, "Just what your overly lit candelabra filled lair needed was a smelly fire hazard."

Crawford sighed, "I take it you don't enjoy this time of year?"

"If you mean Christmas, I do not. I don't believe in any sort of deity, much less the traditions of this pagan holiday."

The full masked man's golden eyes widened doing a double take, noticing the difference in colour and clothing the Meriks wore.

"What ARE you all wearing?!" Kerik questioned in disbelief.

"Cherik knitted them for us." Jones smiled pridefully, pulling the sleeves down on his sweater. "He even made one to keep Draco warm."

"I still can't believe Erik's ok with you keeping that pint size lizard. Might as well abolish the whole rule."

"Although Karimloo's arms needed to be refitted for his." Panaro chirped in. 

 "Also, if you hate Christmas so much, why did you invite your boy here for next week?"

"Just because I want to see Charles doesn't mean I agree with this whole holiday-although he doesn't help matters being just as festive as you lot."

--

The house had never been so filled as it was on Christmas Eve. Several of the Meriks' sopranos that attended the festivities dressed the men up in more holiday oriented masks.

Sierra held out two red and green masks, both seeming to match and reflect the other.

She smirked at Karimloo and Panaro.

"You needn't feel left out," The brunette said.

The men accepted the mask, excusing themselves to the hall to more privately remove their masks.

Karimloo took Panaro's festive mask in his hand and handed the Broadway Merik his. Removing the white porcelain, they placed the others new masks onto the others face.  

--

Gerik felt at ease but at the same time on edge sitting adjacent from several Meriks' in their parlour room, even more so that Mr. Y was also seated with him. "Would you stop looking around like that? Nothing is going to happen." Y badgered his younger friend.

"I don't understand why you're so calm down here," Gerik mumbled uneasily.

"Because I'm not causing a fuss. If I just sit here and enjoy the festivities nothing will happen. Besides, the last thing I want is Monsieur Crawford's hands around my throat again, especially as he's the one that extended this one time invitation.

Anna took a seat next to Y, whom smiled down at the former,

"Enjoying yourself my dear?" He smiled, taking her hand to place a kiss on the back of her hand.

"Very much darling," Anna nodded, a little giggle escaping her when he started toying with a curl that'd come loose from her updo.

"Is Gustauve back yet?"

"No, but that charming boy he went with said they'd be returning right about now."

Despite the party already underway, Cherik still proceeded to bustle about bedazzling even more of the parlour with tinsel and holly.

"It's quite nice you allowed them here as well," Sarah remarked to Crawford.

He shrugged and exhaled. "Well it is suppose to be a time of giving. So long as it doesn't end with me being pushed into a body of water again."

"And your friend seems to have brought some new companions with him." She indicated toward Lerik, whom was seated on the other end of the room with Claudin and Lom.

"It's good to see he has someone to talk to," The older Merik paused, "Err, that was a poor choice of words..."

The brunette soprano just smiled shaking her head. Her pale blue eyes glanced up, a mischievous look coming over her expression.

Tugging on the Merik's sleeve she nodded for him to look up. His mismatch eyes spied the green and red hung over their heads.

"Oh? Is that mistleto-mmph!" Distracted he hadn't noticed her arms snake around his neck, one playfully tugging on the hair of his wig, careful not to yank too hard. Tumbling over on the free seat of the couch, as her lips were upon his in a passion filled kiss. His arms flailed almost birdlike taken by surprise but his alarm seemed to easily melt away.

Cherik, whom was guilty of just hanging the offending mistletoe laughed, "You're welcome."

"Father! We're back," A boy's voice called as the click clack of feet coming up the stairwell met Y's ears.

"Had fun on your little adventure?" He asked his son.

Gustauve nodded, "Charles took me to see so many lights around the city! It was very beautiful."

"He may be a little hyper, I broke down and bought him gingerbread sweets passing through." Charles chuckled.

"Thank you for taking him, it's not often Gustauve gets to see the city," Anna said with gratitude to the youth.

"Not at all Mademoiselle it was nice. It felt like having a little brother actually. You haven't seen my father around have you?"

Mr. Y and Anna shook their heads, "No I haven't. Gerik, did he say he would be here?"

"I convinced him to attend," The film adapted phantom said sipping on his wine. 

"But I haven't seen him for quite awhile tonight."

--

"I didn't think this place would be open," Winslow remarked, as he sat across from Destler at their usual table in the back.

"The usual messiuers?" The young waitress asked.

"Please," They answered.

"Surprised you guys came out on Christmas Eve? You guys not overly festive?"

"Not particularly," Destler answered, pushing his glasses up on his face. Once she'd returned with their drinks, the men toasted.

"To a lack of all that holly jolly nonsense," Destler smirked, raising his glass. Once he'd downed his glass, setting it down on the table, his newly made up brows rose glancing down at the box.

"You liar. I thought we weren't doing gifts." Destler smirked, taking the offered present.

Winslow merely flashed him a sideways smile. "I suppose were both liars then?" The dark haired man chuckled, nodding his head as he revealed a well wrapped package out of his bag.

"Just this once then a merry Christmas is in order." Destler said, ordering them another round.

--

Erik growled low in his throat hearing footsteps.

"Why must you disturb me?" He grumbled at the intruder.

"Don't be such a Scrooge and come upstairs." Kerik crossed his arms. Sitting up from his seat Erik pointed a skeletal hand in the younger man's direction.

"First of all monsieur, YOU certainly do not tell ME what to do like some sort of child. Second of all I shall not be joining the festive soiree going on upstairs. And thirdly, since when do you-especially you of all people-care at all about this trivial holiday and how I spend it?"

Kerik eyes matched the golden glow of the black masked man's as they stared each other down.

"First, I don't see anyone else brave enough to. Second, I'm not about to just be told no when I came all the way down here to fetch you."

"And why is that?"

"You never let me finish," Kerik said and heaved a sigh. "Thirdly because as asinine as I find it, this is a time of year to be spent with family."

Erik blinked from behind his mask, "What did you say?"

"I'm sure your ears work fine monsieur."

"Might I remind you, you have family already."

"Cut the technicalities, you're as much my family!" Kerik fumed, "And I'm not leaving unless you're coming up with me. You're....you're the closest to a father I have"

The older man was stunned to say the least.

"But you had-"

"I ran away after I killed the stonemason's daughter, remember? Like he'd want to see me, besides he's likely dead by this point." Extending a hand, Kerik frowned. "Please?"

He considered Kerik's outstretched palm, with slow caution he clasped it with his own bony hand.

"One hour, that's all I will entertain."

--

While not every Christmas carol was a masterpiece, there were several holiday oriented arias that the Meriks found enjoyable to sing, filling the parlour with a musical air of tranquillity. Even Cherik happily joined along with them, none having an objection to this.

Lerik had begun to play the organ situated in the parlour. The breathtaking melodies that echoed as his hands pressed down on each key conjoined with the harmony brought on by the half masked tenors and baritones song.

Panaro patted the seat next to him and Soot happily jumped up by his masked master's side.

"He enjoys his new collar," The Broadway Merik regarded, startling Gerik as he almost spilled his glass.

"I beg your pardon?" He blinked.

"You made it, didn't you? It's rather charming actually."

"Is this a trick?" Gerik asked,

"Call it a holiday truce. But you are quite good with crafts. Kari was just admiring some of the ornaments you added to the tree."

The film adapted man's eyes seemed to gleam at this, "H-He did?"

"Mmhmm." Panaro said, scratching behind the labradoodle's ears.

The Broadway man reached into his breastpocket and pulled out a handkerchief. Leaning over he passed it to Crawford.

He gestured to a spot on his own face, "Just there."

Taking the offered handkerchief, he wiped away a dab of pink that'd smeared on the edge of his mask.

The parlour had gone deftly silent just as Jones finished a rendition of 'Oh Holy Night'.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the doorway.

"Sorry I'm late to the party," Kerik greeted. "My plus one was taking an eternity to find something nice to wear."

"Bon nuit messieurs," Erik nodded standing tall and prominent with his hands crossed behind his back, his golden eyes seeming to soften slightly. "Or I suppose I should say joyeux Noël?"

Maybe there was a such thing as Christmas miracles after all.

Alrighty, several little easter eggs here:

-As many phans know-but just in case some of you don’t-The Charles Dance Cherik version of Phantom is based on the play “Phantom, an American musical” by Yeston and Kopit. The miniseries movie is fairly close to the original Y&K play to my knowledge. Technically Cherik is like Claude Rains and Lom and came before ALW as the Y&K musical was being produced before the mega musical was made but due to several push backs was not finished until after Webber created his musical and the Y&K production was condensed into the miniseries movie in 1990, four years after Webber’s version.  

-My knowledge of Ken Hill is not very good so forgive me if some of these facts are backwards. To my knowledge of this musical, which came out in 1976 well before Webber-however it did inspire him to create his version ten years later. This version is very obscure both to the ALW version and the Leroux novel. This Phantom prefers using a knife-similar to Destler in the 89′ version. In the play he kills several more people than Webber’s, the Persian is also his brother in this version. At the end the Phantom has in his lair a priest and one other witness to marry him and Christine, and almost pulls a murder suicide to stab Christine and himself. But in the end the Phantom only kills himself with a knife.   

-During a concert he performed in the 90s, Michael Crawford said when Webber was interested in him for the musical that along with reading Leroux’s book he also watched the Claude Rains version of Phantom for further research (although at the time Michael was under the impression he was going to play Raoul not the Phantom).

-In Kerik’s story he was raised to believe in God, but after a series of events when he was five years old he forsakened any belief he had in God-to my knowledge this was the same case when he was in Persia as well.  

-John Owen Jones in real life has a western hognose snake named Draco-this house is certainly becoming full of domestic wildlife!

-The red and green masks some of the Meriks are wearing is a reference to West End over the years having their current Phantom wear at curtain call when their show falls on or close to the holiday season. I’m not sure if Broadway does this as well.

-The stonemason is a reference to Giovanni, a character in Susan Kay’s “Phantom” whom takes Kerik under his wing as a mentor and even a father figure of sorts for him, as Kerik never knew his own father Charles, whom died before he was born.