#like i did get the heads up that she would be selecting the tenant based on vibes and i also got the heads up based on that itself being a

[themanwhowouldbefruit]

going to jerk off while fantasizing about apartments calling me back

[blankdblank]

Hobbit Soulmate Pt 40

“Time to celebrate with food,” your dad said easing the book in front of him shut glad he at least had the figures for a rough estimate on how much wood in each type you’d be wanting. “I’ll take these back down and get the meat ready for the burgers.”

“Oh I’ll have to get some stuff,”

“No hurry,” he said lifting them all as you eased back on your heeled wedges and collected your bag on the way out joining him on the trip down the stairs to share what you’d told him you’d like for flooring, the islands and shelves to settle those plans for the installation right away.

Once in the cool air again you turned for the market and at the ring from your phone you pulled it from your pocket seeing Liv’s name on the screen.

“Hey, thought you were still on your honeymoon.”

“Barbados was lovely. I’m so sorry you had to work.”

“That’s ok I’m glad you loved your destination wedding.”

“Well we just got back in yesterday morning, how have you been? You’re still in Canada right?”

“Well I’m in New  York this week dad got nominated for an MTV award so I’m going with him.”

“Oh that’s amazing! We’re going too! We can have a get together after, at least a dinner.”

“Ya, sounds great hear a good chunk of the guys and Peter will be there too for their noms.”

“So what have you been up to in the city? Wandering again?”

“Dad actually set up a tour of a brownstone for me, put down some money on it and got the keys.”

“That’s so incredible, I want to know everything!”

“Well it’s five stories with the basement level, eight bedrooms seven bath,”

“That is huge compared to mine, did you get a good deal? Mine was nearly a tear down had to gut the whole thing.”

“Well the old tenant trashed the place and the landlord had been doing some repairs replacing a bunch after my dad sort of reserved it for me by putting some of his money down. Took out some walls to make more living room, space for the kitchen and an actual dining room. And it needs new floors and cabinets but the plumbing and wiring and heat, ac and fireplaces have been fixed, water heater and I think he said they redid the roof too when they had to fix a beam up there. So it’s rough but it’s so pretty in my head. And it has the cutest guest bath on the main floor under the stairs and all these arches and beams through the house.”

“Aww, I love my guest bath too and the beams always add great character to help if you go the classic look. You have to show us all after the show. Give us the full tour.”

“Ok, should be fun Dad’s talking to the Landlord now to set the floor appointments. Is it weird that I want carpet, everywhere I go they always talk nonstop about their wood floors but I really want some carpet.”

“Not at all I love the carpet in my bedroom and on the second floor. Oh this is so much fun, we can swap stories when you get done with this show and I can help take you shopping if you like to decorate. So much fun.”

“Yes, might take a while though, Rich is glad I’m interested in making my own home here that we can share but I don’t want to make it too much mine, you know?”

“He’ll love anything you do with it as long as he’s got his space he can explode in as he likes.”

“Well there’s this kind of cute open study on the top floor by our bedroom I was gonna give him to have all his for his pacing or rehearsing or whatnot. And I can take the little strip of a room on the main floor behind the stairs for a sort of library reading nook.”

“I love it already and I haven’t even seen it. You got a good price on it?”

“1.5 mil, everything else on the block is three plus. It was more till it got trashed.”

“No judgment there I thought mine was a horror show. Especially the basement, right out of a horror flick. But the bones were so beautiful. I know it’s terrifying having your first grown up home I was your age roughly when I got mine, and trust me it is worth it.”

“Well it will be fun to show off and I can stash your wedding present there for when we get there.”

“Oh you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Yes I did, couldn’t just leave the poor thing on the shelf when I saw it.”

“I can’t wait.” She heard the mingling of voices while you approached the door to the store and asked, “Are you in the subway?”

“No, heading to pick up some things for dinner. Dad said he wants burgers. Have the meat just need some sides.”

Her doorbell rang and you could hear her move to climb onto her couch to peer out the front window at the door to say as her hubby got the food from the delivery boy, “Perfect timing here’s our dinner too. I’ll let you hunt for food and see you tomorrow, Love you hun.”

“Love you too,” you said, with her hang up signaling you to close the phone to pocket it again.

A circle of a display of canned sauces drew your focus to the hatted man with camera hanging against his belly that moved from tailing you at the sight of towards Nicholas Cage on his way to scout for something down the grocery aisles. Looking away you continued on to pick out some barbecue sauce knowing you were out along with ketchup and some pickles you added to the basket you’d tucked in the crook of your arm. Buns were added as well and you were off to the noodles. A pasta salad would be simple to go with some potatoes and veggies you were off to get next over macaroni you didn’t want to make from scratch right now as the boxes were all gone. French fries were still locked in your freezer with the frozen meat patties so you were good there.

Aloofly again your eyes scanned over the display of corn looking less than top of the line to pick from and with bag in hand you lifted your first choice turning it over only to hear, “What are you doing here?”

The tone of harsh superiority scolding of an assumed inferior let you know just which idiot the familiar voice belonged to, Adrien Brody stood on your left in a focused stare down at you and adding the corn to the bag. You said, “I feel like this is a trick question.”

“You really have to come here to shop in Lower Manhattan?”

“Ya.” You said turning your head to the corn selecting another to twist on the bag you added to your basket to move onto the potatoes baffling the actor even more.

“Honestly there’s nowhere else you can shop? This is where I shop.”

While you grabbed a bag of potatoes you replied, “I should warn you there’s a strong policy against people urinating in public places this place enforces should you be trying to mark it like a tree.” Towards a teen worker being shouted at you walked with eyes narrowing at the man who felt he had the right to shout over nothing.

Adrien scoffed following after you at a distance. Then watched as the man turn clearly recognizing you, “When are you going to get some decent help here?! I’ve been trying to tell this little illegal here that I’m looking for the chocolate chili powdered mixed nuts in the blue Planters tin with cashews and walnuts, and clearly this concept is just beyond his grasp!”

Splotchy in what food based Filipino you knew around the brand name you translated for the teen what the guy wanted and the teen scoffed saying in English, “Why didn’t he just say that?” Turning to head to the wall where the display had been moved, not twenty feet from the now red faced man. “Shout about illegal, I’m from Boise.” He grabbed the top tray with a flat expression returned allowing the man to promptly grab his four tins and turn to the registers to flee while you shared an elbow bump with your former coworker that turned to put the tray back.

Continuing on you went to grab some cheese and sour cream with Adrien again at your side, “Do you now him?”

“I trained him,” You said glancing up at him, “Worked here for years, if anything you’ll have a hard time having me barred from your tree, Cupcake.”

“Not a cupcake.” He looked to his basket, “Maybe then you’d know where they’d be hiding the lemon juice.”

“Juice aisle,”

“Looked there,”

“Top shelf by the sparkling cider and the glass apple juice jars. Try tilting your head back, I know, foreign concept for you possibly from your altitude.”

In a disbelieving tone he said, “Fine, I’ll humor you, but if it isn’t there I win.”

“What do I get if I win?” You teased and he huffed turning to check your guess for the location. While the cheese was found and passing the aisle you caught his glare at the juice right where you said it’d be and smirked on your way up to the registers.

Glancing down the register aisles for who was working you picked the one you knew would have the least trouble with your produce and waited. Four people were in front of you while in Adrien’s approach to the line on your right with two people he smirked your way assuming he’d picked the faster path home until his face dropped at a voice asking from behind you, “Miss Pear?”

A smile eased across your lips in a turn that once you saw who was behind you, Nicholas Cage stood with smile spreading recognizing your eyes right away, “I thought it was you by the cheese. My old lady must have seen your movie nine times in theaters while I was off filming, pinned me down when I got back to watch it on tape, it is fantastic.”

“Thank you,” You said with grin creeping wider awkwardly.

“Almost didn’t realize you with your hair different, and she didn’t believe me when I said you used to work here. You have any other roles for the hair change?”

“Ya, filming in Canada, finishing it up next couple months after this week off. Tv show set a couple years out, have a mini series on BBC set to be out next year, then I’m going blonde for King Kong.”

“Really, I hadn’t heard that. I bet it’s going to be fantastic. After the Beast I can’t imagine you couldn’t wow in anything. I’ll keep my eyes open for your name, now if you’ll excuse me I have to hunt down someone to grab me a balloon.”

“Ooh, um, the red headed guy in the soup loves the balloons, least pops out of the guys here.”

“Soup aisle, thank you. See you round.” He said hurrying off to go hunt down the balloon guy to add those to his bouquet of flowers he had clearly planning something big.

Smiling to yourself you turned to see Adrien with his brow raised at you, “Oh you know that was cool. Your just pretending to hate me. I’d be happy for you if you were in my spot.”

He shook his head and stepped forward with his cart to what he assumed to be his sign he’d leave first only to watch the people in front of you get rung up quickly once the receipt roll was swapped out. A glance past him showed the woman on the next register clearly scouring her purse for more funds she didn’t have and sigh realizing she’d have to choose what to pull off the receipt to fit her cash in hand. Soundly her sleeping baby in the carrier inside the cart showed why the young woman was struggling. And once you accepted your large paper bag your cashier watched you fold the bills you palmed to make them wrinkled and passing him Adrien watched with lips parted still being rung up at your faked dip between her cart and the register to lift extending the bills. “You dropped this, Miss.”

A wave of relief washed over her face in her smiling turn to the cashier, who smirked to herself having recognized you and this trick you’d played more than once before even when it was the last of the funds you had to the name back when you worked together. “Thank you, so much. Must have slipped right out, darn broken zipper.” Out you went not lingering in the moment as the actor had assumed any person might, to make a show of themselves saving the day to gift funds to someone in need. Simply alone now save for his circling thoughts he waited to be rung up so he could head out to his flashy car and drive back to his penthouse apartment in an area with far more expensive shops that drive him here for a bargain.

You had beaten your Dad back and getting the fries started you began to cut the rinsed and peeled corn from the cob to heat up along with the noodles you put on to boil next. In a spicy chili of sorts your own take on pasta salad came to life and widely grinning while you set that aside to cool your dad came in breaking out the patties he thawed in a move to the fridge earlier to use your ridged skillet to cook them up.

Breaking the content silence you voiced a thought you didn’t know when to say, “I’m going to need a list of all the light bulbs and filters. And candles for when power goes out, with matches.”

Lowly he chuckled, “I will have that readied for you by the time you get back. Along with a list of some small things you might also need to get started out.”

Moving each cooked patty to a plate off to the side sharing how the job was settled for the following week to tear up the wood floors and by the time that was done the tiles and carpet would be delivered to be installed the following day. Until then the team in charge of the shelves would be out the day after you’d flown back with the wood you wanted he would ensure was right up to par with the designs you had drafted up.

This was his baby girl’s home and he couldn’t be prouder at how you’d earned the funds for it and had taken charge after a timid blink of a moment to get what you wanted set to come to life. He couldn’t wait for Richard to get back out here to help you furnish and paint this monster of a home and get to settling knowing just how he’d love to have a beginning here too. You shared similar tastes and even without his input he knew as long as you were here Richard would feel at home.

The apartment had been good to get used to one another better. But if he was to have grand babies there would need to be some space to allow them to be made and to grow. And if you were to be climbing five flights of stairs he wanted it to be inside your own home with ample places to curl up in between if you were too tired to get up to the top floor. Most of all he wanted this to be perfect to help bolster your courage that you could succeed, you were new and knowing how famous actors knew your name and liked your jobs you’d chosen he wanted that to be common and not an out of place thing. Beast of Bards had done that, you had splashed onto scene and now the world just had to catch up to how indescribable you are.

After the meal was eaten and cleared it was time to bed so you’d be rested for the awards the following afternoon.

.

‘Hello Neighbor’ was the tagline for the story playing on the news blasting the news of your tour of the brownstone beside Keanu’s apartment with a picture of your meeting. Emphasized estimates of the block average price were given you might be dropping after the huge success Bard had grown to with an added note that the film had flown off the shelves with several stores on a backlist to get more copies in at the demand.

The anchor stated plainly that you must have made a killing with your previous films and were set to make even more with Kong when it did come out with a brief mention of a ‘project’ you were working on out in Canada currently. Concluding that you were a star to be reckoned with and weren’t going anywhere close to having Beast be a one time fluke for your success on film.

Over your breakfast plate your fork hovered as you said, “All that coming from the show that passed me over to interview a monkey handler.” The statement earned a chortle from your dad already having been smiling at their raving review on you.

“What else is on your mind? I can tell you’re deflecting.”

In a glance over at him you asked, “What do you think about a pirate ship chandelier for a nursery?” That had his grin easing out, “Mom made Peter Pan sketches you hung for mine, we haven’t talked babies seriously, but we have room, and I think the room by the back left corner on the third floor would be a good one.”

“I think that’s a great idea. Do you want me to talk to Rich about babies?”

“It’s not something that we plan on soon or right away, so maybe get the chandelier and just, sort of leave it open for when we need it. We don’t need to go buying a crib he just proposed I don’t want to-,”

“You are not going to scare him away. There is nowhere far enough he could hide from me if he tried. He wants a family told me so, it’s not an easy talk, your mom and I never had a talk, just sort of woke to her passing out on her way to get some grapefruit. You were a remarkable surprise and it was instant nursery planning and no complaints when I came back with armfuls of soft plushy Peter Pan decorations, nice and neutral. I think maybe you could do a mural or two across the wall and he might take the hint, sort of a future possibility room, some cubbies and built ins the mural and chandelier, maybe a rocking chair or loveseat.”

“Thank you.”

“You are so very welcome, babies always come to mind when houses come up.”

“I do want them to know the ranch too.”

“They will, and England, give them a nice round view of the world. Have about five years to think on which country they’ll go to school in, that’ll be a big one. But take your time, maybe it’ll be a job deciding it all.”

“Should we get barn door gates for the stairs like at the ranch?”

“We can, be prepared, even if to just keep guests out. I’ll be glad to handle that for you.”

“I would say glass ones but I can only think of things going badly with that.”

“Oh yes, not safe, and metal ones would only encourage hands to go through only welcoming injuries or attempted break outs.” He said with locked smile glad to have a plan started for the future grandbabies and their intended floor.

“I also have to figure out where the furniture from Canada is going, mine is kinda clear not much to move.” Glancing between him and your plate you asked, “How long do you think it’d take to fix it up?”

His smile came out again, “It is mostly cosmetic once we get the floors handled, island installed, counters replaced and shelving and cabinets in again. We could move in as soon as we pick the appliances if you like. L said you could still keep the apartment as long as you wanted till you felt ready same as Lee, who I know would be glad to have a home out here especially after his surgery scare.”

“I can always ask, his Agent’s trying to get him to the West Coast though for roles.”

“Boy can fly,” making you smirk, “Lord knows you do enough. Least this way he’ll have a room to come back to when he isn’t drug off home to Oklahoma. He’s not vanishing either under my watch he’ll come back if he does try to head off.”

You nodded and said, “Well either way won’t be long till I guess I’ll be back and trying to figure out how to share the place with him. I don’t know how it seems like sometimes I’m so ahead of the game.”

He smiled reaching over to pat your free hand resting on the table, “You take after me, Pumpkin. He grew up traveling while you grew up working the land and grinding hard to the ground for what you want. You have confidence in your ethic he’ll master over time. I felt the same over my younger brothers when they reached 18 and weren’t ready to jump to dad mode like I had, people vary but the influence of those around us help to build us up. We’ll get him there, he’s still young and learning. Plus you can’t forget with grandparents like yours you had a huge head start on working with producers, instructors and near to unreachable expectations. I am so proud of you for that, and I am glad I could have managed to grant you a childhood too before your battle of wills kicked in.”

“I wish you could have had one.”

Deepening his grin, “I did with you. Working with you is, profound. Honestly, I was a bit confused why you wanted to perform, I never doubted you or thought yourself out of bounds talent wise, but just the drive, but working with you I saw it. We taught you to read and opened doors to so many worlds and now you share stories with people bringing them to life, it’s infectious. There’s a bit of a time machine effect where you get to go back in time almost. And somehow I managed to get an award for being big and menacing, never thought I’d get that.”

“You have to tell me though, how jealous are the uncles?” That had him laugh out loud.

“Impossibly. The kids love the award shows and will brag forever that we’re gonna be there for them and their friends to watch.”

“Well shouldn’t be long now for them, takes a bit to get there.”

“Nope, and I can break out my suit to match your fancy dress.”

.

Again in your bathroom with the mirror you eyed the pale blue silk gown with golden panels on your hips feeding from decorative seams to accent your figure on the chunky strapped design smoothing your hands down the sides smoothing a wrinkle out of it. Without the fur wrap the last touch was your shoes, the tall black shoes Jen had helped you to buy with several straps from ankle to the start of your toes, one at a time in your lean against the counter they were put on adding a good help of inches lessening the pool of silk around your feet. Out you went to find your dad waiting with tie fixed into place smiling in his look over the skirt of your dress gauging how likely you might be to trip as he always did. At the call from your arrived driver downstairs a black clutch was grabbed and down you went.

All through the drive you held onto his arm resting over your legs in his try to calm him down by chatting. The carpet however managed that a tad better as your friends from Hugh Jackman to both Jens, Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell, but most especially your friends from the trilogy who all took their turns hugging the both of you and adding you both to more group shots like those you took with your other friends on the way inside. Briefly to his shock Adrien spotted you and your massive shadow casting father through the entrance pictures. Once you went in you found yourselves far from him, tucked on the end of the aisle in the square of seats for the trilogy stars. All chatting until the auditorium was full and the show began.

Breakthrough Female came first with Hugh Jackman and Famke Janssen coming out to present it. For Daredevil Jennifer Garner won and you clapped along with the crowd.

Queen Latifah and Adrien Brody came out next and to the sight of the same guy who had been bothering you, softly you sighed through the raucous greeting that died down as the names for Best Kiss nominations were given. Spider-Man’s Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst at their naming came up to collect their golden popcorn bucket statue while your friends in Daredevil Ben and Jen G’s relaxed at not having to go up to stay with their partners they’d rather cuddle up to and steal quick pecks on cheeks from. Avoiding having to fumble who makes the speech or what to say about their on stage kiss on the spot.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence were next out for presenting Best Comedic Performance, that Mike Myers accepted for Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett called Kirsten Dunst up again for another win for Spider-Man for the Breakthrough Female Award.

Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell were up next to name the winner of Best Fight. And with the crowd you cheered for your not present friend, Christopher Lee who won with Yoda from his role in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. A representative came out from the Star Wars film who gave a quick thanks and went back to his seat for a quick shift to the next award.

Beyoncé and Johnny Knoxville next named Breakthrough Male, accepted by Eminem for 8 Mile.

Mark Wahlberg and Mýa came out next to introduce Pink for her performance of Feel Good Time. While she performed your dad leaned over to chat quietly with you at his nerves amping up again after hearing from Jen in her trip backstage that the award was up after this performance.

Ashton Kutcher and P. Diddy after the darkened pause of the stage approached the mic stand to name those nominated for Best Villain. Again Mike Myers was up with Colin Farrell, Daniel Day-Lewis, Willem Dafoe and your dad in a good mix from comedic to sinister Villains.

“And the winner is,” the pair together spoke while P. Diddy opened the envelope to say while Ashton’s fingers shifted around the popcorn statue. “Joe Pear!” Smiling widely you giggled and hugged your dad’s arm pulling him from his moment of shock and you saw the camera men step back in the aisle angling the camera to get his rising body to stay in the frame. His seat on the aisle kept you from having to tuck your legs out of his way and clapping and giggling to Viggo’s comment leaning in from your right you watched him stroll up onto the stage where both the men straightened up and peered up at the stunningly tall man over a head taller than the both of them.

In accepting the award your dad moved closer to the mic hunching over the podium to be closer to the mic stand. “Um, thank you for this award. I never really saw myself acting, in the audience yes, but starting over in films after a long time apart I get to work with my little girl, and it’s the most phenomenal job I could have asked for, so it means a lot to have had so many people who enjoy a film we worked so hard on. This is going up on the wall back home next to her awards while growing up.”

To the applause when he straightened up he glanced at the pair of men who hinted he had to go through the back of the stage causing him to glance your way. A silent signal that had you giggle and gather your skirt to sneak to your feet and slip into the aisle to stroll to the stage. That had the duo around your smiling dad smirk watching your smiling path to his side with eyes shining in the lights along with the giggling smile matching his widening one that even in your lightened hair you still his mini twin. His hand extended and at his side you moved folding yours in it to show him through the process of the mysterious back as well as you could guess at not being back there yourself either.

For those not among the cheering crowd grew quieter to the signal of the switch of award presenters only to be joined by the rest seeing who it was, the main focus was the vast difference of height accentuated by your 5 ft 2 in self over a foot and seven inches shorter than him even with six inch heels.

Best Trans-Atlantic Performance was next with David and Victoria Beckham pitting Orlando and Colin against one another while your dad handed over the award being told that his engraved statue would be delivered to the ranch address he gave them. A few questions were asked backstage lasting long enough for Colin, who won, to join you both there.

Soon to be joined by Viggo and Orlando who accepted the award on Peter’s behalf for the Best Action Sequence presented by Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson for the Battle of Helms Deep scene in The Two Towers.

Sharon Osbourne next introduced 50 Cent performing "In Da Club" / "Wanksta". Both of which providing cover for your slip back out to your seats.

Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan presented Best On-Screen Team. Won by Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and Andy Serkis. That pulled them from their seats for their own interviews backstage while you nestled against your dad’s arm at his pleased mood from his and your friends’ wins. Waiting for the day his award would be mailed off, beyond eager to hear that it had arrived at the ranch.

Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson presented Best Virtual Performance that beating out Scooby Doo, Kangaroo Jack, Dobby and Yoda Andy came back to the stage at Gollum’s win.

Amanda Bynes and Hilary Duff introduced t.A.T.u. who performed "All the Things She Said" / "Not Gonna Get Us"

Demi Moore presented Best Male Performance, that in beating out Viggo, Eminem was back out again on stage for 8 Mile.

With a grin your new neighbor Keanu was out to present Best Movie with the Two Towers, Barbershop, 8 Mile, Beast of Bards and Spider-Man up for it. Two Towers was named and Viggo helped you back up to your feet for your group to head up together so that you could all sneak out at once.

Back in the middle of actors on your way through the crowded back halls to a side door where the limo were waiting Ian claimed hold of your hand luring a curious smile across your lips catching his eye. Low and close to you he asked in a murmur, “I might have been mistaken, however, was it true, I heard that you had come out as queer?”

“I, how did you hear that?”

Smirking at you he replied shifting to avoid another celeb passing by him, “As you always say my dear, everyone has ears.”

Softly you exhaled and avoided a statuesque model passing between you and the wall mid gulp of her martini from one of the mini parties in the back room she was exiting then came back to his side saying, “Well. I always knew I was something, but one of the Queens who does my hair helped me realize I’m ace.”

Parting his lips, “Truly one of a kind you are in every angle of you.”

That had you giggle and say, “Well I always used to just call myself Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh.” That had his brow tick up till you said, “Cuz I’m the only one.”

Lowly he chuckled and replied, “You are not. And I must say welcome. There are very few even rumored ace performers in the world. You are in fine company even I have heard through a friend that I’m Marilyn Monroe’s journals there is evidence she was possibly ace herself. So very fine company indeed. You are not the only one.”

You smirked again, “Then we all must be blindfolded in this forest because we are exceptionally hard to find and silent as ever in our own confusion.”

That had him chuckle through your soft giggle causing Viggo in front of you to steal a grinning glance back at you two ensuring you hadn’t been lost. “True it is a difficult thing to voice I can imagine. Does your father and Richard know?”

“Oh ya. I mean they knew before I had the name. Dad used to take it as I was a June Cleaver with only eyes for my hubby I was head over heels for. Nothing to be cross about. Rich’s brother Chris is a bit jealous he loved the nickname ace when they were kids. Always wanted to be his name when they played cowboys or race car drivers,” widening the grin across Ian’s face. “I tried explaining it to Lee before but like most teenagers I tried to express the meaning behind how I saw people, I guess, intimately, it all sort of got muddled. So he’s happy for me, still doesn’t get it really but I suppose it’d be hard for him to. Always saw it like the Titanic, no one really got how that marvelous beauty could drown. But everyone on the Titanic is saying you didn’t see that fucking iceberg come out of nowhere.”

“Well put.” He chuckled out and let you go first through the door Viggo was holding for you leading outside. “Very well put.”

Pt 41

[aurora-the-kunoichi]

The Forgotten - Part Three

Here is part three of The Forgotten

Here it is in its entirety 

The Aquarium 

Raphael had always been….overwhelming, the one to leave her breathless, boneless and tied up in knots after a rough session of love making.  He knew what buttons to press, the right pressure to touch at just the right places. Raphael was a master of breaking down walls and getting exactly what he wanted by making Aurora realize she wanted the very same thing. This Raphael was no different.

Aurora could feel her heart in her chest as his sinful lips found the pulse point bringing the skin into his mouth and sucked until the blood vessels burst. As he continued to molest the skin in his mouth Raphael’s left hand moved to her backside gripping the apple of ass and squeezed. Aurora tried; she really did, but found it impossible to stop the moan escaping between her parted lips. Memories flooded back as he pressed her into the side of building with his immense frame while licking at the now red mark that spread across her skin.

Raphael did this regularly when they were hers and hers alone. He’d mark her mostly in the mornings when they’d get a few moments alone and he take the first fuck of the day and the subtle mark on her neck would remind Fearless that he had, had their kunoichi first. It was a game the alphas played on the regular always trying to one up each other which Aurora didn’t mind being the object of their attentions. Being on the receiving end of their insatiable sex drive was something she would never complain about. Mike and Don were nearly as bad but they tended to be a little more submissive to her.

“Raphael.”

“That’s so fuckin’ pretty, say it again.” Raphael husked pressing his knee between her thighs to widen her stance. “Why the fuck do I want ya so bad? Like I’ve been starving for years and you’re the only thing to satisfy my hunger?”

Aurora fought with her body as it responded favorably to his impatient treatment. Her hands shook reaching for the rim of his shell and willed herself not to pull him closer but to keep him at bay. She had to get her libido under control, this was not her Raphael. She took a deep breath and pushed; the mouth that was sampling the column of her throat was detached and growled its warning of displeasure.  

It was now she could hear his labored breathing as the disconnect from his body allowed some of her senses to return. Even in the low light Aurora could see his pupils dilated, Raphael’s ravenous sex drive was in full gear and his sights were locked in on the kunoichi. She needed to be quick and utilize all of her tricks because despite the throb between her legs Aurora wasn’t going to give him what he wanted and she could tell he really wanted it.

“Come girly, I can smell ya, I know you want this too. And if we’ve fucked before I know ya can take me.” The eager mutant moved forward again his hands searching to reclaim the roundness of her backside.

Aurora jumped gripping the lip of the roof’s overhang and lifted up and out of range of those gifted three fingered hands. Her legs spread clearing his towering height and using her stomach muscles reared back and launched herself over the mutant landing just behind him.

Raphael fist slammed into the wood siding and whirled around with a manic smile widening over his scarred lips. “Playin hard to get huh? That’s ok cause I love the thrill of the chase. When I catch ya I’m gonna make you scream my name and mark you inside and out. That way Fearless will know who had ya first.” Just then the brute stopped his forward motion and blinked eyeing Aurora carefully. “I’m havin déjà vu right now, like I’ve said those words before. But Leo and I have never…….”

He looked confused running his hand over his scalp before clamping both hands over his skull grunting in pain. “God my skull, it hurts all of a sudden.”

Aurora took the moment of his distraction and kicked the solid turtle in the chest sending him back on his shell. With the quickness of her training she moved over the enormous turtle and pressed under his left arm pit and above his plastron to the right of his clavicle, right where she needed to immobilize the deadly terrapin. The mutant hissed in discomfort as his body succumbed to the pressure points and every muscle in his cumbersome frame let go of its tension leaving him helpless to the tempting woman.

Despite his arms and legs useless his lips still worked just fine, “Ain’t you full of fuckin’ surprises. Pressure points, I’ve only seen Leo use those. Looks like I seriously underestimated your abilities. I promise that won’t happen again. That is unless you plan on killin me beautiful.”

Aurora straddled his hips and leaned down settling her elbows on his chest and her head in her hands. “It’s Aurora, and don’t worry handsome those pressure points will wear off in about 15 minutes. I don’t want you dead I just wanna have a few words. You are having déjà vu because you and Leonardo have both had me, but so has Mikey and Donnie.” Saying his name out loud still hurt but the furrowing brows and a grunt of pain that came from Raphael indicated his brain was trying to access the suppressed memories. “You and Fearless would play a game practically every day. It was called ‘Who fucked the kunoichi first.’ It was a game I enjoyed being included in. You see, I know a lot about you. I know you’re just a little bigger then Leo with a slight curve to the left. You have a long scar that runs from the top of your thigh down to your knee. I know that you love your adonis line stroked.” Her right hand disappeared between them dipping under his waistband to find the well defined line of muscle just under his plastron connecting to his groin.

The immobilized turtle tried tilting his hips up into her fingers as they ran the length of the line coming to a stop just before his cock. “Fuck!” his head dropped back to the tar roof and rumbled as her fingers moved down bypassing the rock hard rod of flesh and the hanging green globes. “Ah come on!”

Aurora leaned down ghosting her lips over his, the tip of her tongue darted out running along his lower lip and he leaned up to catch the appendage sucking it into his mouth. She allowed it briefly having her first taste of Raphael in years. She opened her mouth and swept her tongue into his mouth giving him a deep kiss and broke free. “I also know your little kink.” The pad of her finger ran just under the green sacks tracing the line of flesh just under them. “I know when you get head you love to get your prostate massaged.” Just then her finger ran over the puckered entrance and the brute gasped as the soft pad of her finger pressed against the flesh just enough to make him groan.

“Fucking impossible…ugghh…..fuck……”

“I know every inch of your body Raph.” Her hand moved up again and the palm of her hand finally gave him the attention the mutant had been craving and gripped the pulsing cock firmly. Aurora closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, this was getting way out of hand but she needed his attention, his full attention and she had it now for sure. “As much as I want to ride you until we’re both sweaty and satisfied…”

“Please, dear gods, please do blondie.”  

“Your boss isn’t who you think he is Raphael. Bishop took you from me, from the resistance and put something in your bodies to make you obedient.” Her fingers slid down to the base of his shaft and twisted just the way he liked it. “And you Raphael are anything but obedient.

“Fu—hck….What the fuck are you talkin about? Fuckin shell, just-t like that!”

“It’s small and metal or some kind of alloy, we’re not sure. It moves around your body somehow keeping you and your brothers under his control. Keeping millions under his control.” Her hand released his cock and Aurora leaned up much to Raphael’s displeasure.

“I ain’t got nothing in my body controlling me. I ain’t no one’s puppet!”

“Oh I know.  You’re not one to take orders, at least without questioning their validity first. It was the main theme of yours and Leo’s fights. But why do you think it hurts when you try to remember? Why you and your brothers are drawn to me? Why the name Donnie pulls at something deep inside you? You had another brother but he disappeared and we had no idea what happened to him. It still haunts us to this day. Can you remember anything prior to five years ago? Your childhood?” Suddenly out of the corner of her eye Aurora could see his finger twitch, it was time to leave.

Her fingers rested on his chest and ran over the hard lines letting out a shaky breath and stood.

“Hey, wait! Where ya going? You can’t leave me like this? Fuckin tease!”

Aurora moved off of him and took a few steps back edging the shadows of the roof. “The feeling is coming back in your body and I can’t be here when it does. I’ll be seein you red…” And with that she disappeared from his view and began her escape listening to the roar of her name fade with the distance.

She didn’t stop; Aurora ran and ran bypassing home base just in case he would take chase. She wouldn’t take any more chances; she did enough of that tonight. Keeping to the darkness Aurora slipped below the streets and made the trek to her own personal hideout.

The lair had been abandoned shortly after Bishop earned his edge in the war. The turtles and Aurora moved to the resistance’s hideout to stay close to the news and the help. So the lair was still only known to a select few. Since the five original tenants were either gone or unable to remember its location only Aurora, Casey and April knew of its existence.

Aurora made a trip to the lair at least once a month to make sure everything was running and that it was still stocked just in case of emergencies. Just in cases the resistance fell and they needed a new place to lay low.

The vacant rooms still hurt to look at, Donnie’s lab sat with abandoned machines and projects never to be finished again. The room with the rice paper doors had been missing its owner for the longest. Running her fingers along the teak wood frame Aurora pushed it open and kneeled at the opening. In the middle of the room was a beautiful ornate Japanese table and sat upon it was a green urn filled with the remains of Master Splinter.

“Good evening Sensei, I know it’s been a while since I’ve visited but I figured you’d like an update on your sons. I had a run in with Raph this evening; he didn’t try to kill me this time so that was a bonus. I had to use a few of my tricks to get him to listen but I think I might have moved a few brain cells around a bit. I..may have kissed him but it was unavoidable. “Her eyes lifted to the vessel and let out a heavy sigh. “Ok maybe it wasn’t but….it’s been so long and I was weak. He did have something interesting to say. Supposedly I have been a regular topic of conversation with those three. That’s something I guess.” Getting back to her feet Aurora bowed. “Sensei.”

She moved about the lair until she entered their room looking at the giant makeshift bed. She remembered the day Mikey had suggested the consolidation of their sleeping arrangements. He had been so proud of himself he was simply beaming from ear to ear.

“What the fuck did ya do shell for brains?” Raphael was circling the massive arrangement of mattresses, blankets and pillows. Even though he was a bit annoyed Aurora could see the wheels spinning in his head.

Mikey took a few steps back and rushed his creation grabbing Aurora as he went. Aurora screamed in shock as the youngest hurtled her and him onto the mass with a very comfortable collision of bedding. “No more fighting over who gets to sleep with Rora. Now it’s just gonna be a giant turtle pile with her in the middle.”

Leo stood in the doorway with his massive arms crossed over his chest; his face was unreadable as he watched Mikey molest Aurora with his signature enthusiasm.

“I don’t usually say this but…..” Donnie was right next to Leo but his expression was much more readable. The big toothy grin widened and the genius followed the two into the bed helping Mikey strip the kunoichi of her clothes. “This is probably the best idea you’ve ever had Mike.”

“Leo! Raph!” Aurora squealed mock fighting off two of her lovers. “Are you gonna just sit there and let them take advantage of me like this?”

The two alphas finally found each other’s gaze and stepped from their positions. Raphael rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck while Leo slipped a kunai from his thigh holster.

“It looks like you two are taking way too long to rid her of her clothes. I think you need to let a master take over.”

Raphael moved with Leo and lunged, “Not if I get to her first Fearless.”

The introduction to the new bed was christened with their first fivesome leaving Aurora walking a little funny the next few days. She still found it unbelievable she was once in a relationship with four mutant turtles. Aurora remembered how good it was and how amazing each of them were to her. Something that good wasn’t meant to last. Life could be so cruel sometimes, a taste of heaven before it was ripped from her grasp.  

Aurora crawled into the bed and pulled the covers over herself. The interaction with Raph had left her shaken and emotionally drained, something she was not expecting for the nights events. She had nearly given in to his advances and that worried her. But then again the closer he got and the longer he was in close proximity he seemed to lose more and more control. As she mentioned things from his past Raph’s head began to hurt as if the memories were trying to resurface. Maybe she should have given in?

Their scent had left the room long ago but the indents from their shells remained. Her fingers trailed along the massive divots imagining their slumbering bodies just next to her. She imagined Raphael turning to her and his honey eyes opening to find her staring at him.

“Can’t sleep?”

“I’m just imagining you guys here with me.” Her hand reached out and ran her palm across his cheek smiling as he leaned into the touch. “I miss you.”

Raphael moved closer running his fingers through Aurora’s hair gripping the back of her skull gently, “We may not realize it but we miss you too. But I’m hopin’ you guys can figure those fuckin little things out. I wanna come home; we wanna come home to you.”

“We’re working on it I promise. It’s just gonna take a little longer without Don here to head the charge. We’ll get you home; we’ll get all of you home or die trying.”

“Nah Rora don’t do that. I can’t fuck you into next year when I’m free of this bullshit if you’re dead. You need to stay alive and strong cause this isn’t gonna get easier, it’s only gonna get harder.” Raphael leaned in giving her his signature smirk. “Speaking of harder….”

Aurora closed her eyes and waited, but like all of her other day dreams those lips never came. No arms came to claim her. By the time she opened her eyes Raphael was gone and his indent cold as death. Tears began to form in her eyes as she stared at where bulky terrapin had just been laying.  She was tired, so fucking tired.

The next thing Aurora knew, she was being jolted awake to the com flush in her ear blowing up with a familiar worried voice.

“Base to White Skull, base to White Skull. Where the fuck are you!?” April’s angry voice boomed in her ear. Just under the irritation Aurora could hear the fear in the back of her throat clawing at her subconscious praying her friend wasn’t captured or worse….. dead.

She must have fallen asleep, poor April had enough to worry about. Pressing the com in her ear Aurora yawned and replied quickly, “This is White Skull to base. My apologies I had an unannounced visit from Red Bear. I was unsure if I was being followed so I took refuge in the aquarium just in case. I didn’t want to compromise the base just in case he had gotten the best of me.”

“Are you alright?” April’s voice instantly softened understanding the code words and knowing she was safe.

Aurora let out a heavy sigh and nodded to mostly herself, “Yeah I’m ok, I must have fell asleep. I’ll return at dawn.”

“Be careful White Skull, I…..we’ll see you in a few hours. Over and out.”

As the com went cold Aurora sat up pushing the blankets from her body. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she made her way to the kitchen for something to drink.

The genius’s sewage powered generator was still working like a dream. As long as the human race still occupied New York City there would always be an endless amount of human waste. Donnie had figured out a way to harness that power and turn it into unlimited power for the Lair. The lights remained functional, along with all the kitchen appliances as well as the bathrooms. God she missed him.

The fridge was the least supplied appliance. It held perishables and in a secret lair uninhabited most of the time it was unwise to keep it stocked with items that would go bad quickly. The freezer held most of the food and the fridge held water, pop and butter.

Pulling out a bottle of water she cracked the top and downed the whole contents in one gulp.

“Fuck!” Aurora growled throwing the now empty bottle in the trash. “My thermos! Now I gotta go get it.”

Just then a burst of light from Donnie’s lab distracted Aurora from her lost item. In a flash her hands went the hilts of her katana and unsheathed them with a low sing. Her feet made no sound as the kunoichi made her way to the partly closed door currently displaying a spectacular show of multi colors.

She could hear electricity snap and crackle and a low hum of some kind as the light show pulsed faster and faster. As she reached the partially open door to Donatello’s lab Aurora peered through the crack and felt her heart stop and burst all at the same time.

Her katanas slipped from her grip clattering to the ground at her feet. In a hurried burst of energy her fingers found the edge of the metal doors and pushed with all her might.

“DONNIE!?”

@imthegreenfairy88​ @alonia143​ @ravn-87​ @waterstar2016​ @tmnt-bucklover​

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

7 Horror Reads to Chill Your Soul This Summer

It’s summertime, and word on the street is that the livin’ is easy. If you’re anything like me, summer’s arrival means that you’re hiding in the air conditioning and comfort of your home (mosquitos find me quite the tasty treat and I’m not trying to contract West Nile). Othersout there who aren’t as delicious to the carnivorous ectoparasites of the world as I am are hitting the road. They’re going to the beach, they’re camping, and they’re laying in the sun to absorb the delectable, radioactive rays of the sun. It’s the time of cold drinks, loud music, and if you’re a fiend like the rest of here at NOFS, spooky stories.

While the rest of the world tries to limit the creepy and macabre to the month of October, we live a life of perpetual petrification. When you’re at the beach or hanging out by the pool, let the other people get in and splash around like shark bait. We know that there’s nothing sweeter than a horror novel to help keep you cool and take your breath away. So, for this article, I’m going to highlight some of my favorite horror novels that are great summer reads.

So what makes a horror novel a “Great Summer Read”? Well, brevity is a plus. We don’t really want to be lugging around Stephen King’s IT or Robert McCammon’s Swan Song on our way to the beach or up a hiking trail. I struggle to carry those beasts from my bookshelf to the couch, to be honest. So, while it’s not an automatic disqualification, I tried to stay away from the 1,000 page behemoths of the horror world. I also tried to take a look at subject matter and pick titles that involve summer, summer breaks, vacations, or basically anything that can whisk you away to land of pure imagination. Basically what I’m saying to all of you is that this is a completely subjective list. I loved reading these titles either this summer or in summers past, and I think you will, too.

So, without further ado, here is my list of Great Summer Horror Reads:

  1. The Troop by Nick Cutter

    This was the first novel I read from Nick Cutter, and it hooked me for life. It follows a troop of 5 14-year-old boys as they embark on their yearly summer scout adventure on Falstaff Island, an uninhabited area not far from their home on Prince Edward Island. Their excursion is cut short when a bone-thin, obviously diseased man who tries to eat everything in sight lands on the island. Scoutmaster Tim does his best to help the man, but he is soon overtaken and the boys face a nightmare that worms its way into the group and destroys what they thought they knew about themselves.

This book is gory. It is disgusting. It is a vivid walking nightmare that is best read out in the open air, surrounded by other people. Nick Cutter has proven himself to be one of the most visual authors in the horror genre, and never is that more evident than in The Troop. He uses the remote setting and the fear of foreign beings inside your body with an insatiable appetite to create a suffocating sense of paranoia and claustrophobia. You are trapped on this small island with these boys as they fight the disease that brought the skeletal man to their shores, and you must find the survivor inside of you to make it off.

Perfect For: A long hike and camp in the wilderness. Read it by the light of your Coleman lantern. Don’t worry about the noises you hear in the darkness, they only approach when they’re hungry…

  2. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

    I didn’t think that a book would ever crawl inside my bones quite like Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts did. I was wrong. His new novel, The Cabin at the End of the World is his most tense, terrifying book to date, which is saying a lot.

Seven-year-old Wen and her dads are vacationing at their cabin deep in the forests of New Hampshire when she is approached by a giant stranger. He seems pretty weird, and he tells her that her dads are not going to want to let him in the house, but that they have to. Then three more just like him show up. Wen runs into the cabin and her parents barricade the door. The strangers approach, and they knock. They are disciples of a god that visits them in visions, and Wen and her parents are the only people capable of ending the coming apocalypse.

This is much more than a home-invasion story. It’s s tale of survival, sacrifice, apocalypse and doom that has you guessing until the very last chapter. Not only is the fate of this loving family at risk, but the future of the entire human race may just rest on their shoulders. (Side note: The Cabin at the End of the World is the first horror novel that I have read that has a queer family at its center. I know there must be others, but this is a first for me. Well done, Paul Tremblay.)

Perfect For: Staying at that creepy lodge you booked online. You and your family should be just fine! Maybe just don’t answer the door when you hear a knock, ok?

  3. Providence by Caroline Kepne

    You may know the name Caroline Kepnes from her amazing novel You, which has been turned into a series for Lifetime that will air this fall. Her depiction of narcissist/psycopath Joe Goldberg was refreshing, funny, dark, and utterly terrifying. Providence, her third novel, follows a different path than her earlier works, but it is just as gripping and horrifying.

One morning, middle-schooler Jon Bronson is abducted from his small New Hampshire town (what is the deal with New Hampshire, you guys? I mean, is it really that spooky?). He awakens at his home four years later with no memory of his kidnapping or his captivity. Beside him is a copy of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror and a letter from his abductor that tells him that he is fine, but he has an un-specified special ability. The joy that his best friend Chloe feels after his return is smashed to pieces once they find out that his “special ability” begins to threaten the lives of those he loves.

Kepnes is one of the finest authors in the world and she is a master at creating pace and tension. All three of her novels force your eyes across the page like they are tied to the front of a freight train. Providence is an exploration of not only what makes us human, but what keeps us that way.

Perfect For: Sitting on the back porch with a sweet tea and plenty of sunshine. Be sure to pack sunscreen for the rays and extra Kleenex for the nosebleeds that will splatter the page.

  4. Some Will Not Sleep by Adam Nevill

    A bestial face appears at windows in the night. In the big white house on the hill, angels are said to appear. A forgotten tenant in an isolated building becomes addicted to milk. A strange goddess is worshipped by a home-invading disciple. The least remembered gods still haunt the oldest forests. Cannibalism occurs in high society at the end of the world. The sainted undead follow their prophet to the Great Dead Sea. A confused and vengeful presence occupies the home of a first-time buyer . . .

If you have read any of my articles, then you know how much I love Adam Nevill and his terrifying tales. I was able to interview him last year (check it out HERE), and that piece remains the highlight of my journalistic career. Most of you may know him as the author of The Ritual and Last Days, but I fell like his work that is most like a “Great Summer Read” is his collection of short stories, Some Will Not Sleep.

While the book itself has some girth, it is conveniently sectioned into several perfectly crafted short tales of the horrifying and disturbing. These stories, according to Nevill on his website, were written and published between 1995 and 2011, and they reflect fears that are often the author’s own. About the title of the book, I can’t explain it better than the Master himself:

Some within it do not sleep, some who read it may not sleep, and he who wrote it often doesn’t sleep.

Perfect For: Reading in the car on the way to your destination. That way, the nightmares hopefully won’t be able to find you as you travel down the road.

  5. Rabbit in Red: The Complete Series by Joe Chianakas

    (Disclaimer: Joe is a local author that I have had the pleasure of working with in the past through my job. The inclusion of his series was neither asked for nor was it paid for… Joe… come on, man. GIVE ME SOME MONEY, BRO!)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory was designed, created and run by Rob Zombie? Well, wonder no more! This series of books (the first of which was selected to be included in a 2016 Horror Block and sent out to tens-of-thousands of subscribers), compiled together in one volume, follows a group of teens as they spend their summer vacation competing for an internship under the reclusive owner of a horror film company.

They compete in VR challenges that mirror some of the most iconic scenes in horror film history and intense trivia that will leave even the most knowledgable horror hounds scratching their heads. This series of books is a quick read that will keep you up at night as the kids win their internships and enter the dark web of their beneficiary. It is a love letter to the horror genre and, as it did with me, it will make you fall in love with the genre all over again.

Perfect For: Handing out to your teenage niece or nephew when they visit for the week. They have annoyed you enough with the youth-words that they use, so it will feel really good to keep them up at night.

  6. Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten

    You didn’t think I would put out a list like this and not include a shark book? You know nothing about me! Instead of going with the classic Jaws by Peter Benchley (which, to be honest, I really do not care for), I decided to opt for the book that started the series that the next great shark movie, The Meg, is based on.

Jonas Taylor is a deep sea diver working with the United States Navy. He spots a Megalodon while on a top-secret mission in the Mariana Trench. No body believes him, of course, because the Megalodon is supposed to have been extinct for millions of years. To prove them wrong, Jonas becomes a paleontologist (as one does) and attempts to find the beast again. His wish is granted when he returns to the Trench, only this time, one of the beasts follows him back up to the surface.

Chaos ensues. People are gobbled up like Tic Tacs and there’s only one man in the world that can stop it. JASON MOTHERF**KING STATH… oh, sorry… JONAS TAYLOR!

It’s ridiculous in all the right ways. It is a 50’s monster movie come to life with thrills, chills, blood and awesome one-liners.

Perfect For: Enjoying the bay while laying on one of those giant inflatable pool floats that look like a swan. You know the ones! Take a deep breath, relax, and hope that there’s nothing watching you from beneath the waves.

  7. Malevolents: ‘Click Click’ by Thom Burgess and Joe Becci

    I must say that I am a novice in the realm of horror comics. I know that there are a lot of them out there, but I’ve just never gotten into that style of horror literature. I can gladly say that Malevolents: ‘Click Click’ has opened my eyes to a whole new world of terror.

This incredible comic book from award winning writer Thom Burgess follows four school friends who dare one another to spend the night in one of Britain’s most haunted houses. They bring along with them an Ouija Board (what could go wrong), and tell each other the story of the ghost that lives in the walls and wants to take your tongue from your mouth.

I include it in this list because it is short (only 32 pages or so), it’s horrifying, and it transports you to a different place and time. If you’re stuck at home due to work or insufficient funds, Malevolents will take you on a trip that you will never forget.

Perfect For: Reading by flashlight after a summer storm has knocked out your power. If you don’t look at the shadows crawling out of the walls, they won’t come after you… I promise. ‘Click’

So, there you have it! Whether you’re out and about this summer or hanging out in the house like me, here are 7 horror reads that will chill your bones and keep you cool as the temperature rises. Do yourself a favor and pick these titles up today! While you’re at it, join our Facebook group, Horror Fiends of Nightmare on Film Street, and let us know what you think.

  The post 7 Horror Reads to Chill Your Soul This Summer appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street - Horror Movie Podcast, News and Reviews.

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[lizabethstucker]

Some of the Best from Tor.com 2019 Edition

This was a free collection on Amazon at the time that I stumbled across it while browsing science fiction selections.  While I’ve always liked both Tor and Baen publications, I was amazed by how very much I enjoyed almost every short story and novella in this collection. Such high quality, and some authors that have been added to my TBR list.  4.5 out of 5.

CURRENTLY FREE ON AMAZON AS OF THE DATE OF THIS POSTING!

“Deriving Life” by Elizabeth Bear

Marq Tames is contemplating suicide or becoming a Host, unable to cope with being alone again after their spouse dies.  Tenants bring many benefits, including being pain-free, living a bit longer, making better decisions for themselves.  Unfortunately the Tenants ultimately consume their Hosts.  Unlike most potential Hosts, Marq is healthy.  Wow.  A really detailed look at grief, cancer, loneliness, and the choices we might make for happiness.  Intense.  Could be triggering for some who are themselves dealing with grief.  4.5 out of 5.

“For He Can Creep” by Siobhan Carroll

The Great Jeoffry the Cat helps keep the demons away from the humans in the madhouse.  His favorite is the Poet who is trying to finish the most important Poem for God.  If only his creditors would leave him alone, stop pushing for the satiric content he once wrote.  Then Satan himself comes to speak with Jeoffry.  Satan deems the Poem to be out of favor style-wise, and not very good.  He wishes to have the Poet write him a poem, one that will drive religion out of the minds of the masses.  To do that, he needs to speak with the Poet without Jeoffry’s interference.  It is, as they say, a devil’s bargain.  Jeoffry may, for the first time since kittenhood, lose.  He must consider and consult.  The fact that this is based on a real poem written by Christopher Smart, who was incarcerated in St. Luke’s Hospital for Lunatics, circa 1763, adds an extra layer of interest and curiosity to the story.  Needless to say, I spent the evening researching the poet online.  3.5 out of 5.

“Beyond the El” by John Chu

Connor struggles to recreate his late mother's dumplings, never quite reaching that bit of perfection. He really doesn't need the stress of his cold abusive sister back in his life.  Although maybe he does.  Very low key.  The relationship between Nick and Connor was more interesting to me.  As to the use of magic to prepare foods, was it really necessary?  3 out of 5.

“Zeitgeber” by Greg Egan

Sam is searching for why his daughter Emma's sleep patterns are suddenly and radically off phase.  It isn't long until this issue with sleep cycles begin spreading throughout the world.  At first it was just puzzling and annoying.  Now there are more and more accidents and deaths.  Life moves on, people adjusting as best it can, with cures both fake and possible appearing.  

Truly fantastic tale.  Scary as well, especially considering how we are waiting for a cure for COVID-19 with trepidation and distrust of the very organizations, such as the CDC and FDA, that are supposed to protect us.  Add on top the discussion of just how much conformity society demands of us.  4 out of 5.

“One/Zero” by Kathleen Ann Gorrnan

The war made its way to Vida Zilan's home in Kurdistan, ending with her parents, aunt, and grandmother dead.  Now Vida is on the run with her three year old brother, traveling with other terrified and displaced children.  Mai Davidson has retired in Washington D.C. after years of helping with various issues through the agency she had given her life to, until her husband died and she began to look for something different.  Her life is becoming increasingly regulated as the AIs begin taking control of medicine and senior care and transportation, among other things.  Or are the SIs, the rumored super intelligent computers now moving out into the world?  Be careful what you wish for has always been what is said in regards to those who can grant wishes.  Perhaps with the right teachers, the right guides, the SIs can help fix the world for the children, with the assistance of the children.  If only, if only.  Magnificent look at how Hal might not be the villain of the piece.  After all, he just wanted to save both himself and his astronaut charges.  4.5 out of 5. 

“Skinner Box” by Carole Johnstone

A trip to Jupiter and back, scientists caught up in their personal cycle of pain and hatred, an engineer who brings some comfort and support.  And a Skinner box filled with nanites.  There are layers upon layers upon layers in this intense story of experimentation and conditioning, the cost of freedom and, ultimately, love.  In essence, there are three reveals.  The first was expected almost from the start.  The second was almost suspected after we met Boris.  But it was the third that, for me, saved the story from the coldness.  3.5 out of 5.

“The Song” by Erinn L. Kemper

The world is moving from beef to whale meat, expensive as it is, taking abandoned oil rigs and converting them to whale meat processing centers.  As the ecowarriors grow increasingly violent, killing those involved in killing the whales, the people on SeaRanch 18 are stranded without relief personnel.  One of the last new scientists to arrive is Suzanne who is staying the changes in communication patterns among the whales.  She tells Dan, a deep sea diver and welder, of attacks by the whales, how humpbacks and blues were congregating for the first time ever seen and apparently communicating.  Whales and dolphins are so very intelligent, yet humans think they can do whatever they want to them.  I don’t understand.  Needless to say, I was primed for this story.  I thought I was prepared, even hopeful.  But the ending was beyond tragic.  4 out of 5.

“Articulated Restraint” by Mary Robinette Kowal

(Lady Astronaut 1.5)  After an accident leads to a lunar rocket slammed into a space station and the airlock jammed, the moon’s astronauts must figure out how to rescue them before their air runs out.  First, they’ll need a plan of action and see if the plan can work on their mockup rocket.  They need a way to get them more oxygen and a way to get a life raft to the vehicle.  Complicating procedures is Ruby’s nasty ankle sprain, especially after she needs the foot restraint which requires her to twist her feet to get into position.  Something snaps, but she perseveres, unwilling to let her injury prevent the rescue of her friends.  In some ways this reminds me of old time science fiction, a neat adventure with threads of backstories I want to know more about, such as the Meteor and what’s going on back on Earth.  Luckily I discovered that this is part of a series, so there is a possibility of learning more.  Although I have a few other of Kowal’s works in my TBR pile (freebies back in the day), I hadn’t as yet read any of her works.  Definitely want to read more based on what I found here.  4.5 out of 5. 

“Painless” by Rich Larson

Mars is a child when he is first found by the men who have been searching for someone like him, a genetic mutation who cannot feel pain.  There’s an organism put inside his body, that can make him stronger and able to repair himself, even grow body parts back.  He is trained to be a soldier, a mercenary, a killer.  He yearns for freedom and someone to be his friend and family.  The story jumps a bit from present to past and back again. It took me a while to get into the author’s rhythm, but once I did it was well worth it.  I can see so many countries and organizations who would kill to have someone like Mars under their control.  Good read.  3.5 out of 5.

“Seonag and the Seawolves” by M. Evan MacGriogair

Seonag was considered strange almost from the moment she was born, but she still loved her homeland.  So much so that she hides when her parents make plans to sail to Canada, unable to afford the croft rent.  Once they leave her behind, Seonag goes to the town bard for help and advice.  She is told about the wolves that were driven out of Ireland.  He tells her to swim west until she can hear the wolves.  The advice is cruel, certain suicide.  Knowing all that, Seonag still decides to do so.  An old style story, a myth, a fable, a fairy tale.  A story about those who only want to belong, yet are different enough to be pushed to the sidelines.  Mystical and magical.  4 out of 5.

“Any Way the Wind Blows” by Seanan McGuire

The Cartography Corps explore and map the parallel universes in order to determine if any ever go missing at a future date.  In this Manhattan, they find an intact Flatiron building, but no killer pigeons in this universe, so win-win.  Then a group of locals ask to meet the Captain.  This should be a television series!  I’d watch each and every episode and cackle at the crew’s adventures.  The only thing I was disappointed by was the length.  It was too short.  4.5 out of 5.

“Blue Morphos in the Garden” by Lis Mitchell

Vivian does love Dash and Lily, their daughter, but she continues to refuse to marry him, unable to deal with what his family goes through upon death.  If she officially marries into the family, she will become a Karner in all ways.  When it appears that Viv may be dying, she will need to make a decision sooner than she had hoped.  Stay, but remain a terminal.  Marry and, once she dies, become something else.  Leave, with or without Dash and Lily.  There's a beauty to having one's death transform into something useful or beautiful or both.  Frankly, I don't understand Vivian's concerns about that.  4 out of 5.

“His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light” by Mimi Mondal

Love comes in many forms, some never spoken out loud.  Binu had found a home and a job with the Majestic Oriental Circus.  He became a trapeze master, soon heading his own team.  He also continued playing Alladin in Shehzad Marid’s illusionist act.  He was happy and content.  Until he helped the wrong person.  There is so much hinted at and more left unsaid.  But it will always be known that Binu was a good man and a loyal friend.  Bittersweet, yet in that time and place, perhaps the happiest ending(?) one could hope for.  4 out of 5.

“Old Media” by Annalee Newitz

John was as free as he had ever been under his latest Master, a lady scientist who provided him franchise papers that granted him full rights within the city before she went into hiding.  Med, a fan of John's journal on Memeland, becomes his friend and roommate.  She is also a robot and professor, as well as the lady scientist's research partner in the project that caused the woman to flee.  John and Med try to navigate the idiosyncrasies of living among humans, both clueless and bigoted.  3.5 out of 5.

“More Real Than Him” by Silvia Park

Morgan Ito is working on her own robot, one that resembles her favorite actor who is currently doing his two years of military service.  This is the first story in the collection that I struggled with.  Frankly, it read like bad fanfiction, and I'm a fanfiction reader and writer.  I didn't like any characters except Stephen, but he was barely in the story.  I finally gave up, not caring what would happen to pretty much anyone.  DNF

“The Hundredth House Had No Walls” by Laurie Penny

The King of the country of Myth and Shadow is incredibly bored after five hundred years on the throne.  He does what any ruler does in his situation, he decides to travel incognito to the imaginary land of New York City.  There he runs into the Princess of Everywhere and Nowhere.  

I had a hard time at first dealing with random phrases, words, and letters made bold.  This was a strange story.  Once I got past the random bolds, I quite liked it.  Feminist overtones with a message about freedom and allowing each individual to write their own story.  3.5 out of 5.

“The Touches” by Brenda Peynado

Life is separated into clean and dirty.  Clean was living virtually, locked into a tiny cubicle from birth, cared for by an assigned robot, and hooked up to an all-encompassing system for hours at a time.  Dirty is the real world, filled with plagues and viruses and what the narrator calls filth.  Things get more complicated as robots glitch, an accident puts the narrator into quarantine, and a phone number leads to something scary.  There's a layer of disconnection due to a lack of physical contact that cannot be fulfilled by robot hugs and virtual touches.  Add to that the narrator's extreme fear of the dirty world.  She actually has counted the number of real physical touches in her life.  Very intense, more so during our current Pandemic and the separation of friends and family.  Also extremely weird.  I don't know what to say about this one, but I suspect it will linger in my memory for quite a while.  3.5 out of 5.

“Knowledgeable Creatures” by Christopher Rowe

Investigative dog Connolly Marsh is hired by human Professor Thomasina Swallow after she kills a coworker who was threatening blackmail.  Things become increasingly screwy.  The body is missing, the learned mouse who is also Sparrow's adopted father believes historical research into the history of knowledgeable creatures and humans shouldn't be forbidden, and Marsh can't make himself leave the case alone.  Huh.  Another strange story with a lot of dangling threads left behind and even more questions.  Yet this isn't a set-up for a longer story or even a series.  It is complete within itself, with a somewhat sad ending for one character.  Intriguing, almost a noir type of story.  Fantasy with just a touch of science fiction.  3 out of 5. 

“Blood is Another Word for Hunger” by Rivers Solomon

Anger boiled in the heart of fifteen year old slave, Sully.  When she heard that her master had been killed during a battle, she drugged all five of his family members, slicing their throats.  Her actions cause a rift in the etherworld, drawing Ziza to her.  Sully is a product of her life, the cruelty of her upbringing.  She may also hark back to a creature from the country of her ancestors.  Sully shouldn’t be a sympathetic character, but she is.  I wanted her to find, if not happiness, at least a form of peach.  And maybe she will with her revenants, especially Ziza.  Be aware that this isn’t an easy read by any means, but I found it surprisingly satisfying.  4.5 out of 5.

“The Last Voyage of Shidbladnir” by Karin Tidbeck

Saga learns the ship she serves on is a living creature who is outgrowing her shell of a high-rise building.  Saga and Novik, the engineer, are determined to save Skidbladnir from being sold for meat.  She needs a new shell, so they'll find her a new shell.  This gripped me the moment I realized Skidbladnir was alive.  I'm a sucker for stories like this.  So enchanting.  I wish it had been longer or had a sequel, but that is just me being greedy and not wanting to leave Saga, Novik, and Skidbladnir behind.  Lovely from start to finish.  4.5 out of 5. 

“Circus Girl, the Hunter, and Mirror Boy” by JY Yang

Lynette first saw Mirror Boy the night she was almost killed after fighting off a rapist when she was barely 16 years old.  After she survived, Lynette found a friend to unload her pain, her disappointments, and her dreams to the boy who appeared in place of her own reflection.  Once she left the circus she had grown up in and worked for, Lynette had never seen him again.  Until now.  The boy is worried that a serial killer is after her.  A perfect story for the month of October, with a wraith, a witch, and a supernatural hunter who made assumptions that led to so many innocent deaths.  An ending that, while I guess it might be coming, was also so satisfying.  4 out of 5

“Water:  A History by K. J. Kabza

The surveyors badly judged how compatible the colony of Isla would be for the humans who left Earth on a one-way trip there.  The colonists adjusted, but being outside too long led to cancer deaths during the early years.  Marie, in her 50s, is now the last person who has direct memories of Earth.  She has been extraordinarily lucky in that her frequent trips outside hadn’t led to an early death.  A younger colonist, born on Isla, longs to go outside as well.  She wants to smell the planet’s dirt and feel the breeze on her face.  Lian finds a friend and support in Marie.  But no one can expect the good times will last forever.  Deeply emotional and tragic, yet somewhat hopeful as well.  Yet the story needed more depth, more content.  Good, but not as good as many of the others in this collection, in my opinion.  3 out of 5.

“As the Last I May Know” by S. L. Huang

Nyma was just ten years old when she was selected to be the Carrier.  In order to impress the consequences of using seres on another country, the Order choses to hide the codes in the body of a child.  To obtain access, the President must personally kill the child Carrier and rip her heart open.  AS the enemy forces draw ever deeper into the country, Nyma waits.  Oh, this one was gut-wrenching.  Seriously gut-wrenching.  And yet, the logic behind the Order's idea was extremely logical.  Force the President to basically live with the child he must kill to get access to the seres that will kill millions, make it real.  And Otto Han is disgusted by the Order, but it is what it is.  Again, the idea makes sense, but that doesn't mean that it isn't horrifying.  Not to mention torturous for the child who must live with the idea that they can be killed at almost anytime in order to kill millions of other people.  4.5 out of 5.    

“The Time Invariance of Snow” by E. Lily Yu

When the Devil's mirror splinters, it enters the hearts and minds of mankind, spreading hate and violence despair and depression.  G and K are in love, but G is wary of the violence of men.  When K makes a comment on how he would kill her, she protests his cruelty.  He leaves.  Despite knowing how the story will end, G goes on a quest to save him from the Snow Queen.  

A subversion of fairy tales and a treatise on both them and the treatment of women.  I have to admit that I was annoyed by the use of footnotes in this fictional short story.  I barely tolerate them in non-fiction books.  That said, as I struggled on, once G and K came onto the scene it became an easier read.  I think I would've enjoyed this more if it had been expanded.  My least favorite in the collection, but still worth reading.  3 out of 5.

[myrish-lace-love]

Jonsa S7 Summer Challenge Day 7: Author’s Choice

Summary: Jon and Sansa are both lawyers at the same large law firm in Chicago. They worked together on a trial, and grew closer. They live together now, but don’t see each other as often as they used to.  You can read about their trial and relationship here on AO3. Today, they’ve learned they’re going to be working as a team on a new, unusual case involving direwolves. 

Written for @jonsa-creatives Jonsa S7 Summer Challenge Day 7.

A/N: I’m hoping this will be the start of another longer entry in the Law of Attraction series on AO3. We’ll see where it goes! :)

***

Jon had a smile on his face when Sansa came into the kitchen after her shower. He was sitting at the table, his coffee mug forgotten, looking at his laptop.

“What on earth are you grinning for, Jon Snow, before you’ve even had your coffee?”

Jon just gestured to his screen. “Email’s for both of us. Take a look.”

Sansa let out a small squeal. “A new pro bono case – and we’ll be on it together!”

Jon drew her down for a long kiss. “Late nights and diet Coke it is.”

An earlier case at the law firm where they worked – Tyrell & Tyrell – had brought then closer together, and they’d fallen for each other during the long hours they spent with one another during the trial. They’d been together for nine months, and gotten their own apartment three months ago. Still, they worked in different departments at the firm. Sometimes Sansa was frustrated at how little she saw of Jon now that their trial was over.

And here it was - another case. Another chance to work alongside Jon day and night. Sansa was so pleased, so lost in Jon’s embrace, she didn’t even take the time to read what the case was about.

***

She found out later that morning. Jon had booked a conference room so they could talk through the issues.

Sansa was having a hard time accepting what Jon had just told her.

“A what?”

“Landlord-tenant dispute about a dog.”

Sansa crossed her arms. “There must be more.”

Jon’s lips twitched. “There is. A young woman suffering from blindness brought her service seeing eye dog to her apartment without telling the landlord.”

“And?”

“No pets in the apartment without prior consent.”

The marble lobby was crowded this morning, and Sansa saw Margaery, dressed in a stunning Armani suit, usher a group of bankers into the prime conference room. The room was flanked with leather chairs and offered floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a commanding view of the city skyline.

“The dog’s been checked for fleas and rabies, so the landlord can’t complain about that.” Jon was deep into the details already. She loved that about him. It was also incredibly frustrating.

“Fleas? Rabies? A tenant and a dog? And that’s a Tyrell case how? We don’t do dogs, Jon. We do multi-million dollar mergers and trade secrets battles for Microsoft.”

“Our other case was about homeless people. And that wasn’t worth it?” Jon said softly.

Read more below or continue on AO3

Sansa sat back. “Of course it was. Of course. But that-“

“Was a high profile case with a large impact. And so is this.” Jon slid a binder across to her.

Sansa let out a small gasp when she flipped open the first page. “Jon it can’t be. It can’t. There aren’t any more of them.” The direwolf in the picture was large, and menacing, almost as tall as the young woman standing next to it.

“Not here, no. There are a few in Alaska, and Canada. And guess where she’s from.”

Sansa sighed. “Alaska. Right. But why are we championing direwolves, Jon?”

“We’re not. We’re championing the right of a person with disabilities to choose his or her service animal. Free from prejudice.”

“But Jon. Direwolves are dangerous.”

Jon cocked his head. “Why do you think so?”

Sansa knew she was in for it now. Jon was in full lawyer mode. He had an argument already constructed.

“Well, there’s that TV show ‘Hounds from Hell’, and they’re used in fighting pits, and I mean, just look at it Jon!”

“Turn the page, Sansa. Read Shireen’s story.”

This was Jon’s strength, connecting judges and juries to clients’ stories. It was a special gift, because it meant removing himself from the spotlight, and bringing out the best in others.

Most trial lawyers loved to grandstand. It was effective too.

Oberyn Martell could bring a courtroom to a standstill with a gesture of his hand. The top performers usually had huge egos to match.

Jon didn’t. Which was probably why he ran the pro bono clinic. Most large firms had them, to demonstrate their commitment to “social justice”. The clinics took cases for clients who couldn’t pay. Death penalty appeals, for example, were a popular specialty. Clinics looked great on the firm’s website and could be a draw for young, idealistic law students. Some firms ran their clinics with a skeleton crew, paying lip service to the grand idea of “equal access for all.”

Tyrell & Tyrell, however, had, in Sansa’s opinion, made the smart move and built the pro bono clinic into a thriving practice. Jon headed up the rotating team of lawyers, paralegals and interns who took on high profile cases with a large impact’.

And apparently, Shireen and her direwolf were the centerpiece of the clinic’s new case.

So Sansa opened the binder and read about Shireen. She’d been legally blind since birth. She’d struggled to find a service dog to help her, because she was so shy. Ghost had slipped onto her family’s back porch in the Alaska woods one day. She’d ended up with Ghost’s head in her lap.

Jon scooted next to her and showed Sansa his laptop. “Here she is being interviewed.”

Shireen kept her head down, and it was hard for to hear her even when she was wearing a microphone. She was sitting in a news studio with Ghost at her feet.

“I hope – I hope I get to keep him, because – I don’t know, if there’s another dog who would have me.”

Ghost’s great head turned to her, and he nudged her gently. She clutched at his fur.

“And I know he loves me.”

Sansa had tears in her eyes.

She was also running the basic legal analysis in the background.

“No more interviews, Jon.”

“Already done.”

They didn’t want Shireen to make a stray remark on camera that could be used against her later in a courtroom. This was one of Sansa’s specialties as a white collar crime lawyer. Sometimes the best service she could offer was to get her clients to stop talking to the press.

Sansa dabbed at her eyes with a Kleenex. Jon had one ready for her. She smiled at the reminder of how well he knew her.

“So the story’s touching, Jon, and sweet, but what’s the long view?” Tyrell & Tyrell picked pro bono cases carefully, with an eye towards important legal issues that would make a difference to a large group of people.

The long view, in the words of the firm’s matriarch, Olenna Tyrell.

Jon clicked the video closed. “The Americans with Disabilities Act. If landlords can bar one animal based on public perception, they can bar others. The law wasn’t designed to be shaped by the whim of landlords. It’s designed to provide reasonable accommodation for those who need it.”

“Yes, reasonable, Jon, but who decides that?”

Jon smiled. “Exactly. What do you know, really know, about direwolves?”

Sansa sighed. Jon was right. “Nothing. I don’t have any first-hand knowledge of direwolves. Like most people I just think they’re large, and mean, and dangerous. I grew up watching Hounds of Hell, just like other kids. But I don’t have any proof.”

‘And you’ve never met this direwolf, Sansa. Neither had the landlord. He just saw a vicious wolf, because that’s what he’s been trained to see, and rejected Ghost out of hand. Because ‘direwolves are dangerous.’ But what if a direwolf is what she needs? The only animal that can help her?”

“We’re going to have to make the case about Ghost and Shireen, Jon. About how this particular direwolf is perfect for this girl. Because frankly, I can understand why most landlords wouldn’t want direwolves in their buildings.”

Jon nodded, and they read through the rest of the material together.

***

Later that day, Sansa ran into Satin at the “water cooler.” In reality, it was a sleek counter stocked full of metal canisters with spigots serving up Starbucks coffee. Tasteful wicker baskets held a fancy array of tea bags, and there was hot water on tap.

The firm wanted to keep its attorneys happy, and caffeinated. The firm also wanted to keep its attorneys at their desks, doing work they could bill to clients, rather than sneaking out for coffee breaks.

A perk and a leash at the same time.

Satin greeted Sansa warmly. They worked together regularly on her white-collar crime cases. Satin handled the firm’s press inquires. He was a neat, slender man who could pull off wearing bow ties to the office. Somehow, he made it look rakish rather than obnoxious. He crossed paths with Jon when the firm fielded calls about the pro bono work it did.

Satin flipped through the tea bags as if they were index cards. “How can they expect me to do what needs doing, if there’s no Zen Green Tea here?”

Sansa sipped her own Earl Grey tea. “What, the ‘zen’ in it really makes a difference?”

Satin cocked an eyebrow at her. “Says the woman who drinks four cups of that” – he wrinkled his nose – “whatever that awful concoction you have in your hand is. You’re just lucky. They keep your favorite in stock.”

Sansa smirked. “You and the two other people in this five-hundred person firm who need your ‘zen’ fix really need to start a committee.”

He let out a long-suffering sigh and selected green tea without the ‘zen’. “I assume you’re here to talk about Shireen.”

Given that Shireen had already done one press interview, Sansa suspected Satin would already be familiar with Shireen’s story. She was right.

“Can’t I just be happy to see my friend?”

“You put three sugars in that mug. I saw you. You’re nervous. And you should be. This case is going to be a tricky one.”

Sansa reached for the sugar dispenser. “Okay, you’re scaring me. This is officially a four-packet problem.”

Satin leaned against the counter. “You’re not wrong. The good news is, the direwolf drama has generated a lot of press already. That’s also the bad news. We have to jump on top of this, fast. I need you to get that through to Jon’s pretty, thick head.”

Sansa smirked. “There’s a lot of hair in my way, you know.”

“I’m serious, Sansa. He’s got no bloody idea about the press. Thinks they’re all a bunch of bottom feeders. Again, he might not be wrong, but that doesn’t make them somehow stop calling.”

Jon was obstinate when it came to handling the public side of a case. “I’ll try to talk to him. He’s got this outdated notion that the law’s–“

“Above ‘all that crap,’ right?” Satin smiled. “I’ve heard him. But you and I both know that’s not true. He has no idea what I do for him. He thinks the news articles celebrating our victories just appear out of thin air.”

“And you’re the magician.”

Satin inclined his head. “Well, yes. But I’m not the only one. You do your own share of managing headlines, don’t you?”

She did, though sometimes she despised it. Clients came to the firm when they wanted a story to disappear. When they wanted a plea bargain to be a whisper rather than make waves.

When they wanted to bury the bodies.

Sansa shifted her weight. "Sometimes. But what’s our play here? We don’t want to bury this story, do we?”

Satin shrugged. “Depends which way the case breaks. Walk me back to my office?”

The final moments of a trial verdict got the most exposure, and captured the public’s imagination. Most lawyers knew, though, that the path to a verdict was a long road. Cases often got decided two or three years after they were filed.

And in the meantime, a judge made a variety of rulings. On whether evidence was in or out, or which experts were qualified to testify. It was dull, run-of-the-mill stuff. The wheels of justice grinding slowly. It was also vitally important.

A good lawyer knew the rough odds of the case succeeding after the judge had made a few early calls. It showed which way the wind was blowing. Those first signals helped determine which way the case would break, in the win or lose column, far before the finish line.

Sansa and Satin parted ways on the forty-ninth floor.

Satin put a hand on her arm before she left. “If the direwolf drama breaks well, you and Jon are heroes. Again. Try to sell it to him that way.”

“But what if it breaks badly?”

Satin fixed her with a stare. “You’re smarter than that, Sansa.

Sansa sighed. “Then we bury it. Understood.”

[youinmyhoodnowson]

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[shady-art-blog]

Boarding House Ch.1

   The corner Brownstone stood tall and strong despite its age of over 15 years on the lot. It’s age most noticeably shown through the interior of the home. Bright red and dark brown hues gleamed as if precious stone as the rays of the sunlight flickered upon the bricks, some slipping through the bare windows that flank both sides of the building.    Greg took his free hand to cover his eyes from the blinding light to get a good look at their new home. A fresh start from the old uptown apartment he and his beloved wife Rose had shared for a few years. His other hand was entwined with the hand of Rose, who stood beside, towering a few feet above him. “It’s beautiful,” she muttered as she gently squeezed her husband’s hand. He returned the gesture. “Well it’ll look even more spectacular with a little TLC,” Greg stated as he let his free hand fall to his side; he realizing he had his sunglasses sitting upon his head and put them on to protect his eyes from the sun. “Of course, that as well. And a beautiful garden or two outlining the sides and the backyard as well.” A gust of wind blew in from behind causing Rose to grab a hold of the floppy sunhat placed upon her head with her free hand. “Sure is breezy today.” “Well, the weather did call for a slight breeze, I guess we got what we wanted. By the way, why did we purchase the old place again?”   Rose emitted a light hearted giggle, “You silly, we need it if we’re going to move forward with our little plan. Remember we agreed to do this, a small step to expanding our little family.” Greg scratched the side of his head; a slight smile upon his face, “Oh yeah, expanding.” “Oh come now Greg, it will be wonderful. We’ve both voiced how we wanted to have a big family, and hosting as a foster home is the most efficient way of doing it. Plus there are so many kids out there in need of someone to care for them, it would be a shame not to follow through with this,” Rose stated as she gave her husband’s hand a gentle squeeze and beamed a white toothy smile in his direction. How could he say no to that sweet face of hers. “You’ve been watching too many Sarah McLachlan commercials haven’t you?” he replied back with the tilt of his head. “You might say that it has had some influence on this decision. But besides that, I think we’ll be really happy with how everything turns out in the end.”    Following the purchase of the house, the Universe’s were quick to move in and get the place ready for their new arrivals about two weeks later. They were open to letting in any kids in need of a home, and were surprised to find out that the majority were young girls, roughly in their early to late teens. The house was an old boarding house which was recently renovated to accommodate a huge family. It consisted of the master bedroom, which laid on the level floor of the home along with the living room, kitchen and powder room. The second level mostly consisted of other bedrooms and two additional bathrooms for its occupants as well as a spacious attic that made up the third level and worked as an extra bedroom. The social worker, Holly Blue who overlooked the whole foster care process of the Universe’s recommended that the couple would be able to care for eight girls and were to have regular visits from Holly to monitor their progress in the Universe home. Of course Rose would have loved to care for every child under the sun, but rules were rules. The eight were instantly chosen based on their histories and the compatibility with the lovely couple and were expected to be sent to the house as soon as possible; the first was expected soon.    A chime of the doorbell indicated the arrival of a visitor at the doorstep, to which Rose answered. After peeping through the peephole and noticing it was Holly, a wide grin broke out over her features and she instantly unlatched the bolt of the door and practically flung it open to greet the guest. Holly Blue, an ex military officer who now served as a social worker and part time ROTC instructor stood in an authoritative stance with her white booted feet placed together and her arms crossed behind her back. Her main choice of clothing, always being business attire consisted of tightly fitted slacks and a crisp blouse, today’s was of her favorite color blue with a blue blazer thrown over and a white carnation secured in its pocket. Her light gray hair done up in its usual odongo cone like fashion. “Holly Blue, what a pleasure to see you this afternoon,” Rose stated as she shook the extended hand of the social worker. “Good afternoon Mrs. Universe, I assume you received my message yesterday about the arrival of your first tenant,” Holly replied in a curt manner, her face remaining in a stoic manner. “Why yes I have, and I am so excited to have her welcomed into our home. Also, you know you can just address me as Rose. We’ve been together through this process for a while now, it would be befitting if we didn’t have to address each other in such a formal manner.” “I am aware of that, but as you know I am a business woman and it is only befitting that I address my clients in such a way.”    The smile upon Rose’s features seemed to falter at this statement, but still held strong, “Right…, well anyways, were is the new arrival anyway?” the tall woman questioned, to which Holly Blue gave a quick side step to the left to reveal the other guest who hid herself behind the social worker. The young girl looked to be in her early teens, 13 perhaps what with her wide blue eyes and youthful looking cream skin. Her hair was a mix of red and blonde that fell a bit past her shoulders. She was thin, about a size 1 or 3, but not dangerously thin as she had some curves to her structure. Her current attire was a simple peach ¾ sleeved top, a pair of light washed capris and light blue ballet flats. Within her grasp, she carried a semi worn blue backpack with what Rose assumed was her few belongings or what CPS could provide her. She held a forlorn expression as she gazed at the stoop her and Holly stood on at near the doorstep as she repeatedly scraped her foot against the concrete.    “May I introduce to you Ms. Pearl Finley, your first tenant of this household.” At the mention of her name, Pearl looked up to be greeted by the warm welcoming features of her new foster mother. At the mere sight of Rose, Pearl was mesmerized, Rose appeared as if she were a goddess from Greek Mythology with her long tresses of burgundy hair that swept passed her shoulders and down to her lower back, and the light brown eyes that showed nothing but kindness. Holly cleared her throat and gave a light nudge to Pearl’s shoulder.” “Ms. Finley, please do not be rude and introduce yourself.”    Rose then extended a hand towards Pearl to which she obliged and shook gingerly before returning her hand to her side. “It’s very nice to meet you Pearl, you’re going to love it here!” “Nice to meet you as well.”   The visit from Holly Blue was short as she had other cases to attend to, and left Pearl alone with her new foster mother at her new temporary home, or what she assumed to be temporary. The tall woman ushered Pearl to come inside; the young teen was cautious as she crossed the threshold of the spacious abode as if she were to waltz into a warzone and took notice to her surroundings. Rose stood aside as Pearl went wide eyed at the contents of the Brownstone home; a spacious living room that looked big enough to hold 10 to 15 people, an even more spacious dining area that sat across from the living room, and the grand staircase that led to the other levels. “Would you like the grand tour? There’s plenty to see.” Pearl gave a silent nod and proceeded to follow Rose as she ascended the stair case to the second level.    “It’s best we head to where you’ll be staying, that way you can drop off your bag, then we’ll go from there.” The tall woman stepped onto the floor of the second level and continued to go down the lengthy hallway before reaching a closed door on the far left and stopping to fish her keys from her worn jean pockets. “Sorry, this place used to be a boarding house, so we have yet to get the locks removed on these doors, “Rose fingered through the many keys on the key ring before selecting the one for the room, “For some reason they seem to automatically lock after you close them, possibly for privacy, but is sure to cause a problem in the future. Anyways, here’s your new room!” She gently pushed on the door, then allowed to guide itself open, revealing a very spacious room remodeled to room two new occupants. There were two twin beds, one aligning one way under the spacious window while the other lay off to the left. Between the two beds, there lay a small round table that held a small vase with a very lovely and colorful arrangement of flowers and a small radio. Along with each bed there stood a nightstand which held a simple lamp and a small empty picture frame, and to the right of the room was the double sided closet.    Rose gestured for the blonde to enter, to which she took small steps all while admiring the space. Pearl appeared surprised; like a small child on Christmas morning. That was when Pearl spoke for the second time since her arrival. “Is this mine?”

XXX

FINALLY, AN UPDATE!!!!

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 42

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Forty-Two The Baroness Takes Things To Hand

Aaron looked miserable.

“What do you mean it’s not their jurisdiction? They’re Rangers!” The Baroness fumed as she paced back and forth in front of the Manor. “How difficult is it to hire good help these days?”

“Mother, the Jorvik City rangers can’t help because that’s part of Central Jorvik County and the ones out in Firgrove aren’t empowered enough, nor do they have enough people, to do anything.” Aaron wrung his hands. “Your papers are correct and they do see the problem. They’re just not able to help.”

“Since when have we taken no for an answer, Aaron. Never.” The Baroness spun on her toe and minced back and forth looking like she was floating. “If the rangers of Firgrove and Mistfall won’t help us. Then we’ll simply have to go to Goldcroft.”

“The road in North Link is still closed,” Aaron protested.

“Then we’ll go past Castle Marchenghast, stop in, and have tea with the Count,” the Baroness waved her hand. “He needs to be told.”

“There’s an avalanche in the way,” Lily spoke up.

“Honestly,” the Baroness spun on her toe again. “Was the winter really that bad that there are avalanches everywhere blocking off important sections of the county. If it’s not avalanches, it’s G.E.D.. If it’s not G.E.D., it’s gates. If it isn’t gates, it’s John and Dark Core. Problems. Problems everywhere. Well, Lily, third time pays for all.”

“Baroness?”

“I find myself in need of yet another bulldozer. I’m going to buy the company at this rate. I probably should. That would put the nasty G.E.D. right out of business. If I was in charge, there wouldn’t be any more of this monkey business.”

“We just gave them a month’s worth of cookies. I doubt bribery is going to work this time!”

The Baroness turned her glare onto Lily.

Lily raised her hands. “Going!” She mounted her horse and trotted away to Silverglade Village. She needed to get cookies. Maybe not Cardamom cookies, but cookies. Harold had several selections and she chose an assortment over one single type. Then headed up to North Link.

The foreman raised his brows at her.

Lily sighed. “The Baroness is mad. She needs your bulldozer again to clear out the area near Castle Marchenghast. I have cookies. You’d rather deal with me and cookies, than deal with her when she’s mad.”

The foreman grinned. He took the cookie box. “I’ll go inform the driver and he’ll follow you to wherever you’re going.”

“Thanks. I’m sure Linda will be by with payment soon.”

Being followed by the big yellow bulldozer like it was a huge dog was becoming uncomfortably familiar to Lily. She wished she could shout back that they should make a pact not to do this again. She carefully led him around the Manor past the Riding Arena, through the gate that she held her breath the entire time that he’d make it through, through Eastglade, up towards the Northern Gate and west onto King’s Road.

From his vantage point he saw the problem before she did.

Fortunately for all concerned, he didn’t blow his horn. He stopped.

Lily had to jump up onto the small pile of debris that started the avalanche. It had grass growing in it.

“If I didn’t know how fast grass took over,” she muttered. Her horse trotted out of the way.

Lily waved at the bulldozer driver.

And he set to work, his blade scraping against the stones of the road once he found them. It wasn’t going to be a pretty clean up, but he knew what he was doing.

Lily took photographs and texted them to Linda with updates.

Soon enough the girls appeared with rakes and shovels to start cleaning things up. Riley came from Cape West with more girls and shovels and rakes to help.

The bulldozer driver gave them a thumbs up as he drove back. Lily quickly got ahead of him and led him back to North Link.

It’s not that she didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust him.

But the way was clear to Northern Golden Hills Valley!

--

The Baroness was fuming as Godfrey drove up to Marchenghast castle’s entrance road. She lowered her window and held out the papers to Lily. “You and Linda take these to Goldcroft Ranger Station right away.”

Lily accepted them and nodded. “Yes, Baroness.”

The window closed. Godfrey drove on.

Lily passed the papers to Linda. “I wouldn’t want to be Count Marchenghast right now.”

Linda’s lips twitched upwards in a smile. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to Goldcroft.”

“I’ll follow you then,” Lily said.

Linda stored the papers in her pouch and they took the road past Castle Marchenghast. Down another pass through the mountains covered in birches, beeches and golden chain trees, and finally into the Northern Golden Hills Valley itself. They could see part of it spread out before them. The trees continued, and everywhere were the yellow flowers.

Lily wondered if they really did tear other color flowers out. This was moderately insane.

Linda nodded towards the west. “That way is Eventide fishing village. It doesn’t have a stable at all. But there is a decent sized group of people that make their living catching fish in the Dusk Sea.”

“Tell me, is this place all about puns?”

Linda grinned. “Sometimes it certainly feels like it.”

They went around the base of more mountains. Grape Vines marched in neat rows towards the sea reminding Lily of Silverglade and their stepped grape mountain.

Linda commented again. “This is actually a privately owned vineyard. Last I knew they came from Sonoma California to try their luck here. No horses again. They’re not that wealthy.” She snapped pictures with her phone as they road.

The signs read Aurora Breeze Winery and had seagulls painted on them.

Further down the road was the first town they entered. The signs read. “Village Fairhaven.”

“This is the home village of Baron Fairhaven,” Linda said. “He’s about the same power as Baroness Silverglade. He’s got three tenant farmers in the area I think, and a decent sized stable, plus, his own riding arena.”

“That explains the Castle.”

“He actually lives in his,” Linda grinned. “Silverglade Castle is more of a historical landmark than a home. The Baroness should be giving tours.”

“You can mention it to her.”

“She’d never go for it. Anastasia would.”

“Then tell Anastasia and let her broach the subject with her mother.”

The town of Goldcroft was bigger than Lily expected. She hadn’t seen anything so big outside of the bus ride to Jorvik City.

“County seat,” Linda said offhandedly.

“And it’s been cut off all winter?” Lily squeaked.

“Normally the road is kept clear from the Eastern side, you’ve got Aspendell to the far east. It’s in the middle of the Shimmering Woods, a protected quivering aspen forest. The rest are farmers mostly along the roads.”

“So, pretty rural.”

“The Beeches is over there,” Linda nodded. “It’s a huge recreational type park. They’ve got a natural golf course and the Jorvik Rangers run a camping area. They hold the County Fair here during Happy Horse Week.”

“A Fair?” Lily perked up.

“There’s races at the track too.”

Lily bit her lip. “They have an oval track.” She leaned her head back as they passed what had to be either a courthouse or a library. It was big and made of stone whatever it was with a lot of steps. It occupied one side of the town square. There was what Lily decided had to be a medieval market in the middle of it like Firfall had but of a different style. And then on the other side was another large stone building. There were five in total scattered around the square. Otherwise it was surrounded by shops. The square itself was a green and full of beech trees. It had a bandstand. Lily presumed for public entertainment.

“Yeah, that’s why the Baroness wants one so badly she’s investing a ton of money into it. She wants our part of the county to be as important as this part of the county.”

“Then is she making her library open to the public?” Lily asked in a daze.

Linda chuckled. “Probably not. Golden Hills School is the counterpart to Jarlaheim School. Jarlaheim has a public library too.

“But okay, there are three areas and only two schools.”

“The Silverglade District is really rural. They don’t need a school.”

“Bus rides must be a bitch.”

Linda snorted. “Everyone in Mistfall goes to Jorvik City for school.”

“Taxes must also be a bitch.”

Linda grinned and took more photos.

They passed a large regional post office and a fire station. The first that Lily had ever seen. The last big stone building that wasn’t shops in the square was the South New Jorvik County Ranger Station. It even had posts for them to tie up their horses.

She and Linda dismounted and headed inside.

A ranger sat behind the desk with his feet up. He took them down as they approached setting down his paper. “What can I do for you ladies?”

“We have papers from Baroness Silverglade about Dark Core illegally squatting in the Valedale Mountains. Whom are we to turn them over to?” Linda asked.

“That’d be the Master Ranger, Miss,” the ranger paused.

“Linda Chanda, Silverglade Equestrian Center Manager and Baroness Silverglade’s personal assistant. This is Lily, she’s the leader of the Silver Drakes Riding Club and de facto leader of all the Riding Clubs in the county. They’ve been helping us gather information.”

The ranger held out his hand. “Nice to meet you ladies. I’ll go see if the Master Ranger is available.”

They shook his hand and waited.

“This way,” he said coming back.

The Master Ranger was in an office with a big wooden desk. She pushed papers away. “Ladies, ladies, please have a seat. You’re on business from Baroness Silverglade, you say?”

Linda handed over the papers. “She sent us with these, Master Ranger. We’d like to get on this issue with alacrity. Before the Midsummer Beach Party would be preferable. Professor Hayden is worried about the environmental impact to the bugs of the area.”

“You can’t have a stable ecosystem without bugs,” Lily murmured and looked at the press tinned ceiling with interest.

“Do you have anything on the plants?” the Master Ranger asked.

Lily blinked. “The soil and water tests aren’t enough?”

“Oh, they’re enough,” the Master Ranger smiled at her. “We’ll have to check with the county records to see if Dark Core put in any applications to drill. But it’s a matter of being thorough.”

“Okay, do you want the animals too?” Lily took out her phone.

The Master Ranger opened and shut her mouth. “In the interest of being thorough.”

Lily pressed a button. “Hi, this is Lily. The ducks are doing great. Lakisha is working out fine. Thanks so much for asking. This is about Valedale. Would you go up to the Hollow Woods and get in contact with Melissa? We’re at the South New Jorvik County Ranger station and the Master Ranger wants a report on the health of the animals in the area. Oh, you can. Thanks ever so much. We don’t want any of the farm or wild animals getting sick from Dark Core’s nasty drilling waste. You can email your results to Linda.” Lily rattled of Linda’s email address. “We’ll be in touch. Yes, definitely check the horses. We don’t know if it’s gotten into the water table. Check the well water? Oh, well, you better tell Hayden that then.”

Lily made a face as she hung up. “Well, the Veterinarian in Silverglade knows Hayden’s reputation.” She sent out a text and watched her phone. “All right, Miss Master Ranger, Ginny says that in New Hillcrest Village there’s a scientist who studies plants, Frederik. They, er, used them to cure Terrance Rockwell.” Lily’s fingers flew. “Send Hayden to the Cauldron Swamp after he’s done with Valedale. Just be careful not to get too close to the witch. Um, Susan is volunteering to pick up Frederik and take him to Valedale. Hayden will have to learn to share.”

The Master Ranger’s lips twitched. “I see Ms. Chanda wasn’t kidding when she said you were the de facto leader.”

“Well, we’re stable girls and we go everywhere.” Lily shrugged a shoulder. “Completely harmless.”

The Master Ranger raised her brows. “Completely harmless,” she said not believing it for a moment. “All right ladies, I’ll be in touch with the Baroness as soon as I make a trip to the Court House across the way and everything is processed. Probably tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Linda said and stood.

Lily stood too.

The Master Ranger held out her hand. They both shook it. “I do like young people who are invested in their county.” She smiled at them.

They smiled back and left.

“Well, shall we finish the tour and then go to Aspendell?”

Linda blinked slowly.

“You’ve been taking pictures the whole time for Jorvikgram,” Lily nudged her.

“Well, all the completely harmless stable girls and campers need to be informed of the perks of being in the Northern Golden Hills Valley. There’s a Riding Arena and the stables attached to Marchenghast Manor that’s here in Goldcroft. The quaint shopping street that’s off the Post Office. It has a bookstore and there’s a bank on the other end. But lots of cute little shops full of kitschy things no one really needs. And fudge!”

Lily raised her brow.

“Between here and Aspendell is the County Jail.”

“Oh wouldn’t it be nice to get some people into that,” Lily murmured.

“You’d never keep Mr. Sands there. Remember, he’s not like you and I.” Linda warned her in a low voice.

“Let me dream.”

“He needs to be returned to his prison with Garnok. All of them do,” Linda said as she mounted Meteor. “I swear Anne thought she’d sent him there. But, her memories were hazy. She remember shoving him into a portal but I don’t think she remembered much else. Not that it did much good. He got out almost right away. We don’t have enough power to keep him there.”

“There has to be a way to send them back and keep them there for good.” Lily said. “Probably in a book.”

“That would be nice,” Linda licked her lips. “I’ve been reading the Pandoria Codex. There are references to other books in there,” Linda chewed her lip now. “But I can’t ask Elizabeth without admitting I took the book.”

“It’d be faster to photocopy it and take it back to Fripp.”

“Help me?”

“When we get back, we’ll do an assembly line. We don’t want you getting in trouble with this Fripp person.”

“He’s not exactly a person.”

“I’m not even going to ask. I mean, Mr. Sands is ET.”

“So is Fripp but he’s not the same type.”

“Is it true that the Jorvik Warmblood Sports were started by extraterrestrials who gave up a lot of their sentience to stay here?”

“That’s one story. No one can really know the truth unless they’d been there.” Linda shrugged.

“All right then, show me the rest of the county,” Lily gestured.

Linda laughed and led on. They’d take the West Jorvik Highway back to the Silverglade District.

--

It was pretty late by the time they returned to the Manor. The others would have teased the, but they were too excited by the pictures of the county. Agnetha had kept them busy anyways helping the Golden Hedgehogs put in plants native to the Golden Hills and putting down turf where the bulldozer had ruined the road.

“Not enough trees on those hills to keep in the dirt,” she muttered over the late dinner.

“Is it the Cauldron or are the roots of the trees not deep enough to be affected by that?”

“If anything is radiating out of that swamp upwards, it could be doing anything,” Agnetha shook her head.

“Well, we’ll send Frederik and Hayden onto Riley and the Hedgehogs once Melissa is done with them.” Lily rubbed her forehead. “These weren’t the problems I was expecting.”

Agnetha snorted.

Linda stretched her legs. “Why don’t we hop over to Jorvik City Museum tomorrow and pick up Aideen’s harp then? Let’s see if we can get that done.”

Lily nodded. “We can do that.”

“And we should have a meeting about Mid-Summer. So we don’t end up with a disaster in planning like Rainbow Week,” Pauline said.

“All right, get that scheduled for the afternoon. Getting the Harp is probably going to take all morning.” Lily told her.

“Then tomorrow morning before we go to Jorvik City I’ll take you up to the highest point over the Silversong.” Linda said.

“Of course, that’s no good without the Tears of Aideen or the Fragment of Aideen’s Light,” Lily reminded her.

“We can collect the Tears in Valedale. And we have the seal for the Sun Chamber,” Linda stirred her soup. “Assuming that it’s there.”

Pauline clapped her hands together. “Okay, now that we have a plan.”

“Get some rest,” Agnetha ordered with a smile. Though she had no idea what they were talking about, seals and sun chambers, and Harp’s of Aideen. It reeked of druid nonsense to her.

They didn’t. They helped Linda copy the Codex. It went really quickly with all of them doing it. Then they went to bed.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[csrgood]

From Homeless to Hope: Door Opens to a Better Future

  From Homeless to Hope: Door Opens to a Better Future

For Johnna Blocker, the future may have seemed bleak. Homeless with no prospects in sight, she and her children lived in a local shelter while she looked for an apartment she could afford to rent in the uber-expensive Los Angeles market. Then, one day, she won the “lottery” — an affordable housing drawing with 3,000 applicants for only 140 apartments. Eventually, she moved into Rolland Curtis Gardens, one of the state’s newer affordable housing complexes, and her life has never been the same.

“When we moved in, it was surreal,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe it. I remember when I was going through all the bad times, it was hard to see any future for us. But I kept my faith, and now I am truly grateful for where I am. I get on my knees each and every day and thank God for all of this.”

Today, the future is more promising for Blocker and other residents of Rolland Curtis Gardens — the latest in a portfolio of affordable housing communities developed by Los Angeles-based Abode Communities, with help from a long list of allies, including Wells Fargo.

Over nearly 25 years, the nonprofit has built 50 communities and 4,000 apartment units for low- and moderate-income residents. Along the way, it has received a number of awards as one of the leading U.S. developers of environmentally sustainable affordable housing.

“Our approach is really to address the affordable housing needs of the most vulnerable populations — such as those experiencing housing insecurity, homelessness, physical and economic limitations, and seniors on fixed income,” said Robin Hughes, Abode Communities’ CEO and a nationally known advocate who works with numerous groups focused on the housing affordability crisis.

“From a real estate standpoint, we are a community builder,” she added. “It’s all about creating communities that have the support services necessary to help residents thrive and grow.”

Hughes acknowledged, however, that Rolland Curtis Gardens looks quite different these days amid the COVID-19 crisis. On-site services such as the health clinic and child care center closed after the public health emergency orders. Community meetings and other gatherings have also temporarily ceased per social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Still, Abode’s staff has stepped up to continue providing services to residents, while maintaining those guidelines, she said. They make routine welfare check-in calls, offer people one-to-one support, identify each household’s needs, and connect them to resources such as local food banks, health referrals, and assistance with unemployment applications.

Hughes said the Rolland Curtis Gardens model offers valuable lessons for the eventual coronavirus recovery. “We’ll come out of this with a huge need for affordable housing designed around health needs,” she said. “For Abode Communities, that’s where we begin.”

An ally from the beginning

As one of Abode Communities’ long-term allies, Wells Fargo has played a key role in the Rolland Curtis Gardens story through grant support, land acquisition financing through the New Generation Fund, and development financing with Enterprise Community Partners and others. Since 2012, there have been more than 25 financing sources over the life of the project.

The alliance’s replacement of the old, worn-down Rolland Curtis Gardens eight years ago helped prevent the gentrification of the property, which sits only blocks from the University of Southern California. The original investor was planning to convert it to market rate student housing and displace its long-term low-income housing residents, many of whom would later be selected for a unit in the new, rebuilt Rolland Curtis Gardens.

It is that kind of community approach and commitment to preserve housing affordability that offers the best path forward, said Jacqueline Waggoner, vice president and Southern California market leader for Enterprise Community Partners.

“The need for healthy, stable affordable homes is a top priority in Los Angeles and across our state,” she said. “Everywhere I go, people are really talking about solutions. It’s not just talk, either. Everyone is engaged — the city, county, state, the governor, Wells Fargo. I am more hopeful than I’ve ever been in the past that we’re going in the right direction.”

For Wells Fargo, Rolland Curtis Gardens embodies its goal of advancing housing affordability and supporting vitally needed services for residents, said Eileen Fitzgerald, head of housing philanthropy.

In June 2019, Wells Fargo committed $1 billion to nonprofits that are working to solve the housing affordability crisis. Two months ago, it joined with Enterprise Community Partners in launching the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge involving more than $12 million in grants to the top six most creative solutions to the crisis.

“Our goal is to bring housing stability to those who are most in need,” Fitzgerald said. “Rolland Curtis Gardens and other communities like it bring all the services together to make a difference in residents’ lives and give them economic opportunity. And the foundation for all of it is housing stability. It is the fundamental piece for everything.”

Against the odds, ‘you got this’

For years, Blocker’s housing was anything but stable. She was involved in a situation she calls “a bad relationship.” It took all of her strength to leave, she said, and take her four children. With no affordable housing options, however, she felt they had no other choice but to stay in homeless shelters.

One day, as she was looking for permanent housing, she saw a huge line of people encircling a local church. Someone told her it was a line to apply for an apartment in a new affordable housing complex. 

“Well, I had nothing else planned, and my time limit at the shelter was coming up,” she said. “So I stood in that line for a long, long time. When I filled out the application and gave it to this lady, I know I must have looked so discouraged. I’ll never forget how she uplifted me, took my hand, and said ‘Good luck, honey. You got this!’”

Against the odds, Blocker did get it. Out of 3,000 applicants, her name was number 127 in the lottery for 140 apartments in Rolland Curtis Gardens. That wasn’t the end of the suspense, however. Several times during the paperwork, she feared she would not qualify for the unit because of her modest income — until she finally got confirmation she’d been approved.

“I got the call that day, and I was just crying — I was so happy,” Blocker said. “The kids came running in and we all laughed and cried. I told them it was going to be all right, we were going to move in. And they were so happy. You just know, as a parent, when your children are happy, that’s the biggest happiness you can ever feel.”

“Affordable housing developments such as Rolland Curtis Gardens are meant to support families like the Blockers who have experienced homelessness.” said Hughes “But we also provide homes for hardworking families and individuals with modest income who can’t afford the high market rents in the region.”

Touched by the transformation

Today, Rolland Curtis Gardens, with its modern design, clean lines, and earth tone colors, bears little resemblance to its predecessor. The two-building complex has more than twice as many apartments, including one-, two- and three-bedroom units. It has an on-site health care clinic, community room, child care center, playground, open common areas, and on-site staff members that provide referrals to job counseling and other support services. 

The change in Rolland Curtis Gardens has been stunning, said Christian von Merkatz, an executive with Wells Fargo Community Lending & Investment, who saw it unfold from the ground up. Wells Fargo provided millions of dollars in development loans and tax credit equity financing for the project.

“It was pretty emotional to see the transformation,” he said. “To see it go from where it was years ago to what it is today, it’s just beautiful. Then you had the tenants who had been fighting to avoid eviction. Today, you can see the tenants have a real sense of community there. They’re friendly, close, and really appreciate what they have.”

Last fall, von Merkatz heard Blocker speak at the grand opening ceremony — an experience he said he won’t forget. “It was pretty amazing to hear her talk about her story,” he said. “It was very touching to see how grateful she was, and it makes our job that much more satisfying. After all the hard work, you get the feeling it was definitely worth it.”

source: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/44883-From-Homeless-to-Hope-Door-Opens-to-a-Better-Future?tracking_source=rss

[rayramsayus]

The Early Stages of My Acting Journey

I decided to write about my Hollywood Years to explain the history that set me on my path to becoming a special event producer, starting in the early 1970s and continuing to this day.

When I was a kid I always loved movies and was fascinated by the people who produced them. I wanted to be an actor. If I couldn’t, I wanted to be one of the people who produced them. But my first love was being an actor. My love acting started when I was in High School, and due to having an accident I got a trick knee, so playing football was not going to happen. So I opted to pursue what I wanted to do and that was to be a performer. So I joined the Drama Club and was lucky enough to play the lead in almost all of the shows we produced in high school. I had been nominated to receive the superlative as the most talented student but didn’t win because the school’s head of curriculum refused to support me in achieving the honor. I have to say that was the best thing that could have happened to me, as it made me understand I needed to adopt a better understanding of how I was influencing others. That said, I have to say that I had great teachers, one of which even paid out of her pocket to send me to acting school in Miami, which gave me the confidence to continue and a deep respect and appreciation to her for helping me to attempt to realize my dream of becoming an actor. I was hoping to be able to go on to college but I scored so low on my SAT that no college would accept me as a student.

Since I couldn’t get into any college I joined the Air force (as many of my family members thought it would be a good idea for my future) and ended up in Orlando Florida as a Medic. Long story about how I ended up as a Medic. When you volunteer to join the service they allow you to specify what job classification you would like to perform while in the service. I signed up wanting to be Ariel Photographer and ended up as an X-Ray Technician (well the Air force told me that they complied with my request as I was getting to take pictures. They trained me to be a medic in North Carolina and then sent me to McCoy Air force base and gave me a job in Medical Supply. When I complained, they informed me that when I enlisted I signed an agreement that did not guarantee me a position in the requested job classification I signed on for. So they wasted a lot of time and money training me to be a Medic and an X-Ray Technician. Ultimately, it was a godsend, as my job provided me with an incredible amount of free time, basically, it was a 9 to 5 job for 5 days a week. The reason I loved the job was it gave me time to continue my goal of becoming an actor. I started auditioning for parts at the Orlando Civic Theater and was very successful in getting parts. There was also another theater in Orlando called the Orange Blossom Theater, which was owned and operated by a woman named Lisa Hawley, the heir to the Samsonite Luggage Corporation.

The theater was awesome, and cost a substantial amount of money to build. It had a massive turntable as part of the stage and also seated more than 600 guests. It also had a full shop along with state of the art sound and lighting systems and two rehearsal halls and fully equipped dressing rooms.

I was lucky to be in many productions in the theater. My most memorable role was playing Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie. I was horrible in the part as I couldn’t sing a note no matter how much I rehearsed for the part. However, I did get great reviews and the audience loved the show.

I even met my first wife in a production of the Musical “Little Abner”. Based on my performances, I was approached by a scout for the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts in California who offered me an opportunity to audition for the school, which I did, and was instantly accepted to attend the school. The Playhouse, which at the time was the second most influential (Actors Studio was the # 1) actors training school in America. My enlistment in the Air Force was coming to an end and before it did I got married. I planned to move to California and attend the Pasadena Playhouse.

Part of my enlistment in the service entitled me to receive what was then called a stiffen of $125.00 a month for continued education. It was called a GED (Government Education Dispersant. My wife was going to get a job and with the money from the government, we would have enough money to live on while I attended school. We drove from Orlando to Los Angeles and just barely made it with the money we had. We went to Pasadena and got an apartment, which at the time cost us $100.00 a month, was fully furnished, and within walking distance of the school. It was a studio apartment and the landlady lived next door. She was very nice and made us feel very welcome, and the furnishings were first class.

Pasadena was not very welcoming to students of the playhouse and she was kind enough to wave several deposits we would have to make as students and we vowed to be excellent tenants which we were. My wife got a job and we were doing well. I started attending school and was also doing very well. The playhouse was incredible. The teaching staff was first class. The President of the College at the time was a known producer in Hollywood who was producing a sit-com called “Dennis the Menace” and the Dean was also associate producer of another Sit-Com Comedy called MASH. The instructors were, to my knowledge, some of the best in the business. I learned a great deal.

Classes began every morning at 8:00 AM, and started with acting classes. The first thing that happens in acting classes is to break you down to a point where you doubt you have any talent at all. It is brutal and a lot of the students don’t make it through the first semester, and for that matter, the first year. Each day you would be given a scene to perform and your classmates and instructor would critique your performance. Hardly anyone came out of this feeling good about their creativity and performance skills, The reason they do this is to make you see the role you are presenting outside your comfort zone. It’s about the author and capturing the essence of the role and your ability to translate it into your performance and that of the author.

Another reason for this approach is to teach everyone how to deal with rejection, which would be critical for your ability to cope as your career progresses.

This criticism of your talent only goes on for the first semester as the instructors begin to encourage your approach and begin to recognize your talent and performance abilities, This becomes very clear to you as you move forward. You have to destroy your ego to start with, so you can build a new sustainable one. This is hard, and you must have a strong inner sense to come through this without understanding the process and it’s important to your future as an actor. The second has your day is role-playing. Your instructor selects scenes and partners you up with other students to perform a short play, The Pasadena Playhouse had the main theater that seated about 650 guests. It also had about 4 smaller theaters that seated about 60 guests and one larger one that seated about 75, (these capacity numbers could be incorrect as it was over 50 years ago.) In addition to acting lessons, you were also required to take ballet classes, fencing classes, phonetics, and scenic design and fabrication. In other words, we were required from time to time to work on the fabrication of sets and props for productions we would be performing in.

Classes would go on until about 5:00 PM and then you were dismissed and required to return at 7:30 PM to rehearse a play you and the cast where given to perform in one of the smaller theaters, on the weekends some students would return to work in some of the productions in the main theater. Also, the main theater was used to present celebrity speakers who would come to address the students.

I did quite well and got straight A’s in all my classes throughout the year and won the Most Talented Student at the Playhouse for my first year. And won it again for my second year.

The post The Early Stages of My Acting Journey appeared first on Ray.

from Ray https://rayramsay.com/the-early-stages-of-my-acting-journey/

[moleasia4-blog]

Creepin' It Real-A Hallowe'en Party To End Them All!

Hello my pretties! It's time for this year's annual Halloween party and this year's was a doozy and the best yet! Held at a historic Cemetery Lodge the atmosphere was pure electric- from the wild thunderstorms above to the spooky 13 items to the party guests that dressed like it was the last hurrah! And check out some of these easy last minute Halloween food ideas for the big day tomorrow!

For the last 10 years worth of Halloween parties, it has never rained for my Halloween party - ever. But this year the rain would prove to be my nemesis as well as a blessing. If you were in Sydney at the time, chances were you were drenched in the rain or at least hiding from the flash foods and lightning.

It was all happening at Cemetery Lodge where I was holed up decorating and putting out food. There was a fire that blocked up the main street, the royal visit had closed off the harbour tunnel and the thunder grumbled outside the spooky little cottage.

"What if everyone cancels?" I said to Mr NQN. My phone buzzed constantly. Friends giving me weather updates-I'm sure trying to be helpful but only adding to the stress because I had been checking the forecast every 10 minutes myself.

Bloody eyeball punch

The messages read:

"Looks like rain...And thunder"

"We are running really late and Garth just dropped all the beers on the kitchen floor so now he has to clean it up"

"Headed your way! Had a bit of costume issue"

"I can't eat anything as I'm on an elimination diet" (that was an Elliott ;) )

Tarantula Cheese Ball

Voodoo doll hand pies

I pictured myself sitting in my outfit with Mr NQN at my side, just the two of us waiting for guests for an hour. But then people started arriving - early no less!

Werewolf cupcakes (recipe here)

Serpent Sandwich

Guests marvelled at lovely little cottage attached to cemetery. It was built in 1848 and was where the cemetery worker and his family lived-the side door is even where the bodies would be wheeled in to his office!

Ouija Board Cake (recipe here)

It has now been transformed into a cosy home by the lovely tenants and it is warm and full of colours. There's a community garden to the side and chickens that lay eggs as well as the world's oldest bunny.

Frog spawn drink

It has a kooky charm to it and I was honoured to have my party there. I transformed the space to become spooky with decorations from The Party People, my favourite party shop because their Halloween selection is incredible!

Face pie (recipe here)

Scared tacos

Food-wise, because I was warned that the oven was a bit dodgy, I kept to things that could be made ahead of time and didn't need to be heated.

Skull sandwiches that can be made and frozen ahead of time

Brain chocolate peanut butter truffles

I get so excited every year to make Halloween food that I have a little draft of items that I add to throughout the year. I've already got 3 Halloween food ideas for next year!

Marzipan teeth

This was my costume this year. I decided to match with an item that I had made and came as a voodoo doll. The added bonus is that the makeup was super quick to do and required just 5 minutes with eyeliner and eyeshadow. I drew on stitches with the eyeliner and made one button eye and I was done!

The first to arrive were the Day of the Dead family with Viggo, Louise and baby Henry. He was born on Halloween last year so we dubbed him Halloween Henry!

Then came Araluen and her daughter Aura who came as Miss Havisham and Estella. Araluen loves dress up and had most of the outfit already-the skirt she found at the local Vinnies shop!

Tuulikki arrived with them (by the way they caught a bus dressed like this and she reported no odd looks). She came as an eccentric witch. She, like her son Mr NQN hates photos and liked being behind a mask!

Oh and here is Mr NQN! He was a bit worried that nobody would recognise his costume. Can you guess who he is? Here's a quote to help you, "Oh hi Mark!"

My sometime vegetarian friend Laura came as a Day of the Dead skeleton and brought me some gorgeous dark red roses. She knows the way to my heart!

And then Ivy and Ryan arrived. I thought that they might come as Donald and Melania (because terrifying!) but she came as Carrie and he came as Pennywise with an absolutely terrifying mask that freaked out a lot of people. What is it about clowns?

Then JY and Ben arrived as Crazy Rich Asians-how inspired and current pop culture!

Then we had not one but two Egyptians arrive. The first was Tania who came as a regal Nefertiti. And then I got a message from Queen Viv. Now cemetery lodge isn't the easiest to find so I gave everyone a map and everyone found it just fine but you know who is going to be the person that gets lost finding it? Yup our dear Queen Viv.

"Lorraine, where are you?" she said worriedly on her voicemail. She entered wearing her home made mummy outfit that she made using strips of painting sheet. Hers was the outfit that everyone wanted to own and when she told people that she was taking it to the Salvos afterwards there was a mini stampede for who would get it.

One of the most spectacular entrances was Amaya, Laporello and their kids Jett and Finn who came as Star Wars characters. They always make such an effort for Halloween and I was so impressed at how much effort they had gone to. Finn's RED2 even had light up buttons and sound!

Nina and Garth were not too far behind. She came as a Evil Countess and he came as the Joker-because she loves anything Batman related and I think she liked the costume more than he did!

The last to arrive were Girl Next Door and Baz who came as Instagram hashtags. There were some notable absences-Miss America has started a new job doing shift work and he was upset that he couldn't make it because he was even more prepared with this costume than ever.

Others like Julie and Lou and her family couldn't come due to health reasons but I was so excited to have my nearest and dearest and most fun friends and family with me on the night.

Time really flew-it was as though it was going at warp speed. People devoured the food and talked-there is one common element to this Halloween party and that is everyone is so much fun and easy going and friendly. People that come alone still have a great time because everyone is so welcoming.

It then came time for Halloween charades, a tradition at these parties. We split into two groups and wrote our list of terrifying things which was a mix of horror films, current affairs and scary people (eg shirtless Putin riding on horseback). It was so much fun that JY started to get an asthma attack from laughing so much but Laura had a ventolin inhaler on her so that fixed it up straight away! Phew!

The Finn piped up. Could he have a go at charades? I think we might have a little ghoul in the making here!

Then the last hardcore people all adjourned to the nearby cemetery. It was perfectly still, traces of the earlier thunderstorm gone. It was deathly and surprisingly quiet given that busy King Street was just a couple of streets away. Laura took out star shaped sparklers and Tania told us stories about the first fleet graves that lay here.

It was almost midnight when Queen Viv said "I must disappear back into my crypt!" And with that we bid her and each of the party guests goodbye only to learn later that some of my gruesome party guests had to escape the cemetery by climbing over the walls (a sight which I would have loved to have seen!). Queen Viv reported the next day: "Passersby barely interested. So Newtown!"

And without further ado here are the recipes below!

So tell me Dear Reader, are you terrified of clowns? And could you guess Mr NQN's costume? And would you be scared if you saw someone scary climbing over a cemetery wall?

Brain Truffles

All Original Recipes by Lorraine Elliott

These were one of my favourite Halloween treats. They were easy enough to make but could sit shelf stable so they didn't always need to be refrigerated. I used cranberries as the sweetener instead of jam to make them shelf stable but also because the white chocolate was sweet enough as it was.

Makes a dozen brain truffles

Preparation time: 30 minutes plus chilling time

Cooking time: 20 minutes

700g/25ozs. pink candy melts

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Red icing gel pen

Silicone brain chocolate or ice cube mold

Step 1 - Melt the candy melts in a microwave at 50% power in 30 second intervals stirring. Spoon some into a brain chocolate or ice cube mold. Coat the inside thickly with chocolate as shown above. Chill until completely set.

Step 2 - Spoon in peanut butter and cranberries. Spread some chocolate on top and smooth over the top, making sure to remove any chocolate around the outer edge that may prevent them from coming out of the mold cleanly. If it is very hot where you are, you can always put it in the freezer between each step.

Step 3 - Place in the freezer for 15 minutes or until set. Unmold and repeat with the remaining chocolate and filling.

Pop out of the silicon mold

Ta-da!

Tarantula Cheese Ball

This cheese ball is super easy and effective to make and makes for great party food especially if you have vegetarians. You can use your favourite cheeses as long as you have a cream cheese base that will bind it all together.

250g/8.8ozs cream cheese (full fat, low fat isn't stiff enough)

50g/1.7ozs. gorgonzola dolce

1 cup cheddar cheese grated

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup poppyseeds

4 pipe cleaners for legs, cut in half

2 Pimento olive eyes

Crackers to serve

Step 1 - Blend all ingredients together until you get a smooth paste. Have a piece of cling film and empty out the cheese onto this and shape it into a ball. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Step 2 - Place poppyseeds in a plate with a rim and remove the cheese ball from the film and roll around in the poppyseeds covering on all sides. Place on serving plate and add eyes and legs and surround with crackers.

Scared Tacos

These were a vegetarian and gluten free option that I also thought looked adorably cute. These are best made just before serving as the taco shells need to be heated in the oven but the rest can be made ahead of time. We served these around 8:30pm once people had snacked on the other food as I like brining out a hot option and everyone seemed to love them.

12 piece taco shell kit

Oil for frying

1 onion, peeled and diced

425g/15ozs. tin refried beans

salsa from kit

Taco seasoning from kit

Lettuce leaves

1 cup shredded Cheese

340g/12ozs. cherry bocconcini

Pimento olives, sliced in three for eyes

Step 1 - Heat oil in a frypan and then add the onion and saute until cooked. Add the refried beans, salsa and taco seasoning and stir until well mixed and cooked through.

Step 2 - Heat taco shells in the oven according to directions. Add some lettuce, refried beans and cheese to the taco. Then top with two cherry bocconcini eyes topped with sliced pimento olives.

Pâté Skull Sandwiches

Super easy and effective, not to mention delicious, these pâté skull sandwiches require minimum equipment and ingredients. These can be made a day or two ahead of time and then stored in a container and frozen. Thaw when needed.

1 loaf white bread

150g/5ozs. chicken liver pâté

A small amount of cranberry sauce or berry jam

Step 1 - Use a skull cutter to cut out the shape in the bread and divide into two even numbered piles of skulls. Use a large straw or an apple corer to cut out eyes in one half of the pile.

Step 2 - Spread the other pile of skulls with the pâté. Then spread the sauce around the eye area. Cover with the other half with the eyes cut out.

Slithering Serpent Bagel

This isn't a recipe so much as a guide as to how you might want to make this!

3 bagels, cut in half

Tuna salad or ham and cheese

Red capsicum forked tongue

Pimento olive slices and 2 slices cucumber for eyes

Step 1 - Arrange bagels in a S shape pattern alternating them but making the head at one end with 1/4 bagel. Top with tuna salad and ham/cheese and place olives for eyes and capsicum for the tongue.

Frog Spawn Drink

This drink was a real hit mainly because my friends are foodies and when I ask them if they like "slimy" things they answer yes. Basil seeds are similar to chia seeds-they swell up on cooking but the added advantage of these is that they look like eyes. This drink is similar to falooda which uses basil seeds. It's sweet, milky and delicious and I love the extra texture that the basil seeds give it.

1/4 cup basil seeds

500ml/2 cups water

500ml/2 cups milk

4 tablespoons matcha powder

Pandan extract

Sugar to taste

Buyer's tip: you can find these basil seeds at Indian and Asian grocery stores. They are called "wild starch pearl" but thankfully have a helpful pic. Pandan extract or flavouring can also be found at Asian grocery stores.

Step 1 - Firstly cook the basil seeds. Place them into a pot of boiling water and allow to expand for a couple of minutes. Drain and chill.

Uncooked basil seeds

Cooked basil seeds

Step 2 - Take 1/2 cup of water and mix with the matcha powder. Put the rest of the water and milk onto boil and then mix with the matcha mixture and some pandan extract. Dissolve sugar into this mixture (how much according to your taste). You can serve this hot or cold-I served it cold with the basil seeds on the side.

The pandan extract gives it the bright green colour

Eyeball Blood Cocktail

The real feature of this cocktail is the eyeball which is easily made with radishes. Keep the radish tail on so that it looks like the optic nerve that attaches the eyeball to the head!

500ml / 2 cups cranberry juice, chilled

100ml/3.5ozs. vodka

6 radishes

6 pimento olive slices

3 toothpicks, cut in half

Step 1 - Mix the cranberry juice and vodka together. Cut the ends off the radishes at the green end and cut out a hole to fit the pimento olives. Peel down the sides of the radishes.

Step 2 - Fit the olive into the hole and secure it with a toothpick and drop the eyeballs in the drink.

Source: http://www.notquitenigella.com/2018/10/30/halloween-food-party-ideas/

[clickwish2-blog]

Creepin' It Real-A Hallowe'en Party To End Them All!

Hello my pretties! It's time for this year's annual Halloween party and this year's was a doozy and the best yet! Held at a historic Cemetery Lodge the atmosphere was pure electric- from the wild thunderstorms above to the spooky 13 items to the party guests that dressed like it was the last hurrah! And check out some of these easy last minute Halloween food ideas for the big day tomorrow!

For the last 10 years worth of Halloween parties, it has never rained for my Halloween party - ever. But this year the rain would prove to be my nemesis as well as a blessing. If you were in Sydney at the time, chances were you were drenched in the rain or at least hiding from the flash foods and lightning.

It was all happening at Cemetery Lodge where I was holed up decorating and putting out food. There was a fire that blocked up the main street, the royal visit had closed off the harbour tunnel and the thunder grumbled outside the spooky little cottage.

"What if everyone cancels?" I said to Mr NQN. My phone buzzed constantly. Friends giving me weather updates-I'm sure trying to be helpful but only adding to the stress because I had been checking the forecast every 10 minutes myself.

Bloody eyeball punch

The messages read:

"Looks like rain...And thunder"

"We are running really late and Garth just dropped all the beers on the kitchen floor so now he has to clean it up"

"Headed your way! Had a bit of costume issue"

"I can't eat anything as I'm on an elimination diet" (that was an Elliott ;) )

Tarantula Cheese Ball

Voodoo doll hand pies

I pictured myself sitting in my outfit with Mr NQN at my side, just the two of us waiting for guests for an hour. But then people started arriving - early no less!

Werewolf cupcakes (recipe here)

Serpent Sandwich

Guests marvelled at lovely little cottage attached to cemetery. It was built in 1848 and was where the cemetery worker and his family lived-the side door is even where the bodies would be wheeled in to his office!

Ouija Board Cake (recipe here)

It has now been transformed into a cosy home by the lovely tenants and it is warm and full of colours. There's a community garden to the side and chickens that lay eggs as well as the world's oldest bunny.

Frog spawn drink

It has a kooky charm to it and I was honoured to have my party there. I transformed the space to become spooky with decorations from The Party People, my favourite party shop because their Halloween selection is incredible!

Face pie (recipe here)

Scared tacos

Food-wise, because I was warned that the oven was a bit dodgy, I kept to things that could be made ahead of time and didn't need to be heated.

Skull sandwiches that can be made and frozen ahead of time

Brain chocolate peanut butter truffles

I get so excited every year to make Halloween food that I have a little draft of items that I add to throughout the year. I've already got 3 Halloween food ideas for next year!

Marzipan teeth

This was my costume this year. I decided to match with an item that I had made and came as a voodoo doll. The added bonus is that the makeup was super quick to do and required just 5 minutes with eyeliner and eyeshadow. I drew on stitches with the eyeliner and made one button eye and I was done!

The first to arrive were the Day of the Dead family with Viggo, Louise and baby Henry. He was born on Halloween last year so we dubbed him Halloween Henry!

Then came Araluen and her daughter Aura who came as Miss Havisham and Estella. Araluen loves dress up and had most of the outfit already-the skirt she found at the local Vinnies shop!

Tuulikki arrived with them (by the way they caught a bus dressed like this and she reported no odd looks). She came as an eccentric witch. She, like her son Mr NQN hates photos and liked being behind a mask!

Oh and here is Mr NQN! He was a bit worried that nobody would recognise his costume. Can you guess who he is? Here's a quote to help you, "Oh hi Mark!"

My sometime vegetarian friend Laura came as a Day of the Dead skeleton and brought me some gorgeous dark red roses. She knows the way to my heart!

And then Ivy and Ryan arrived. I thought that they might come as Donald and Melania (because terrifying!) but she came as Carrie and he came as Pennywise with an absolutely terrifying mask that freaked out a lot of people. What is it about clowns?

Then JY and Ben arrived as Crazy Rich Asians-how inspired and current pop culture!

Then we had not one but two Egyptians arrive. The first was Tania who came as a regal Nefertiti. And then I got a message from Queen Viv. Now cemetery lodge isn't the easiest to find so I gave everyone a map and everyone found it just fine but you know who is going to be the person that gets lost finding it? Yup our dear Queen Viv.

"Lorraine, where are you?" she said worriedly on her voicemail. She entered wearing her home made mummy outfit that she made using strips of painting sheet. Hers was the outfit that everyone wanted to own and when she told people that she was taking it to the Salvos afterwards there was a mini stampede for who would get it.

One of the most spectacular entrances was Amaya, Laporello and their kids Jett and Finn who came as Star Wars characters. They always make such an effort for Halloween and I was so impressed at how much effort they had gone to. Finn's RED2 even had light up buttons and sound!

Nina and Garth were not too far behind. She came as a Evil Countess and he came as the Joker-because she loves anything Batman related and I think she liked the costume more than he did!

The last to arrive were Girl Next Door and Baz who came as Instagram hashtags. There were some notable absences-Miss America has started a new job doing shift work and he was upset that he couldn't make it because he was even more prepared with this costume than ever.

Others like Julie and Lou and her family couldn't come due to health reasons but I was so excited to have my nearest and dearest and most fun friends and family with me on the night.

Time really flew-it was as though it was going at warp speed. People devoured the food and talked-there is one common element to this Halloween party and that is everyone is so much fun and easy going and friendly. People that come alone still have a great time because everyone is so welcoming.

It then came time for Halloween charades, a tradition at these parties. We split into two groups and wrote our list of terrifying things which was a mix of horror films, current affairs and scary people (eg shirtless Putin riding on horseback). It was so much fun that JY started to get an asthma attack from laughing so much but Laura had a ventolin inhaler on her so that fixed it up straight away! Phew!

The Finn piped up. Could he have a go at charades? I think we might have a little ghoul in the making here!

Then the last hardcore people all adjourned to the nearby cemetery. It was perfectly still, traces of the earlier thunderstorm gone. It was deathly and surprisingly quiet given that busy King Street was just a couple of streets away. Laura took out star shaped sparklers and Tania told us stories about the first fleet graves that lay here.

It was almost midnight when Queen Viv said "I must disappear back into my crypt!" And with that we bid her and each of the party guests goodbye only to learn later that some of my gruesome party guests had to escape the cemetery by climbing over the walls (a sight which I would have loved to have seen!). Queen Viv reported the next day: "Passersby barely interested. So Newtown!"

And without further ado here are the recipes below!

So tell me Dear Reader, are you terrified of clowns? And could you guess Mr NQN's costume? And would you be scared if you saw someone scary climbing over a cemetery wall?

Brain Truffles

All Original Recipes by Lorraine Elliott

These were one of my favourite Halloween treats. They were easy enough to make but could sit shelf stable so they didn't always need to be refrigerated. I used cranberries as the sweetener instead of jam to make them shelf stable but also because the white chocolate was sweet enough as it was.

Makes a dozen brain truffles

Preparation time: 30 minutes plus chilling time

Cooking time: 20 minutes

700g/25ozs. pink candy melts

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Red icing gel pen

Silicone brain chocolate or ice cube mold

Step 1 - Melt the candy melts in a microwave at 50% power in 30 second intervals stirring. Spoon some into a brain chocolate or ice cube mold. Coat the inside thickly with chocolate as shown above. Chill until completely set.

Step 2 - Spoon in peanut butter and cranberries. Spread some chocolate on top and smooth over the top, making sure to remove any chocolate around the outer edge that may prevent them from coming out of the mold cleanly. If it is very hot where you are, you can always put it in the freezer between each step.

Step 3 - Place in the freezer for 15 minutes or until set. Unmold and repeat with the remaining chocolate and filling.

Pop out of the silicon mold

Ta-da!

Tarantula Cheese Ball

This cheese ball is super easy and effective to make and makes for great party food especially if you have vegetarians. You can use your favourite cheeses as long as you have a cream cheese base that will bind it all together.

250g/8.8ozs cream cheese (full fat, low fat isn't stiff enough)

50g/1.7ozs. gorgonzola dolce

1 cup cheddar cheese grated

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup poppyseeds

4 pipe cleaners for legs, cut in half

2 Pimento olive eyes

Crackers to serve

Step 1 - Blend all ingredients together until you get a smooth paste. Have a piece of cling film and empty out the cheese onto this and shape it into a ball. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Step 2 - Place poppyseeds in a plate with a rim and remove the cheese ball from the film and roll around in the poppyseeds covering on all sides. Place on serving plate and add eyes and legs and surround with crackers.

Scared Tacos

These were a vegetarian and gluten free option that I also thought looked adorably cute. These are best made just before serving as the taco shells need to be heated in the oven but the rest can be made ahead of time. We served these around 8:30pm once people had snacked on the other food as I like brining out a hot option and everyone seemed to love them.

12 piece taco shell kit

Oil for frying

1 onion, peeled and diced

425g/15ozs. tin refried beans

salsa from kit

Taco seasoning from kit

Lettuce leaves

1 cup shredded Cheese

340g/12ozs. cherry bocconcini

Pimento olives, sliced in three for eyes

Step 1 - Heat oil in a frypan and then add the onion and saute until cooked. Add the refried beans, salsa and taco seasoning and stir until well mixed and cooked through.

Step 2 - Heat taco shells in the oven according to directions. Add some lettuce, refried beans and cheese to the taco. Then top with two cherry bocconcini eyes topped with sliced pimento olives.

Pâté Skull Sandwiches

Super easy and effective, not to mention delicious, these pâté skull sandwiches require minimum equipment and ingredients. These can be made a day or two ahead of time and then stored in a container and frozen. Thaw when needed.

1 loaf white bread

150g/5ozs. chicken liver pâté

A small amount of cranberry sauce or berry jam

Step 1 - Use a skull cutter to cut out the shape in the bread and divide into two even numbered piles of skulls. Use a large straw or an apple corer to cut out eyes in one half of the pile.

Step 2 - Spread the other pile of skulls with the pâté. Then spread the sauce around the eye area. Cover with the other half with the eyes cut out.

Slithering Serpent Bagel

This isn't a recipe so much as a guide as to how you might want to make this!

3 bagels, cut in half

Tuna salad or ham and cheese

Red capsicum forked tongue

Pimento olive slices and 2 slices cucumber for eyes

Step 1 - Arrange bagels in a S shape pattern alternating them but making the head at one end with 1/4 bagel. Top with tuna salad and ham/cheese and place olives for eyes and capsicum for the tongue.

Frog Spawn Drink

This drink was a real hit mainly because my friends are foodies and when I ask them if they like "slimy" things they answer yes. Basil seeds are similar to chia seeds-they swell up on cooking but the added advantage of these is that they look like eyes. This drink is similar to falooda which uses basil seeds. It's sweet, milky and delicious and I love the extra texture that the basil seeds give it.

1/4 cup basil seeds

500ml/2 cups water

500ml/2 cups milk

4 tablespoons matcha powder

Pandan extract

Sugar to taste

Buyer's tip: you can find these basil seeds at Indian and Asian grocery stores. They are called "wild starch pearl" but thankfully have a helpful pic. Pandan extract or flavouring can also be found at Asian grocery stores.

Step 1 - Firstly cook the basil seeds. Place them into a pot of boiling water and allow to expand for a couple of minutes. Drain and chill.

Uncooked basil seeds

Cooked basil seeds

Step 2 - Take 1/2 cup of water and mix with the matcha powder. Put the rest of the water and milk onto boil and then mix with the matcha mixture and some pandan extract. Dissolve sugar into this mixture (how much according to your taste). You can serve this hot or cold-I served it cold with the basil seeds on the side.

The pandan extract gives it the bright green colour

Eyeball Blood Cocktail

The real feature of this cocktail is the eyeball which is easily made with radishes. Keep the radish tail on so that it looks like the optic nerve that attaches the eyeball to the head!

500ml / 2 cups cranberry juice, chilled

100ml/3.5ozs. vodka

6 radishes

6 pimento olive slices

3 toothpicks, cut in half

Step 1 - Mix the cranberry juice and vodka together. Cut the ends off the radishes at the green end and cut out a hole to fit the pimento olives. Peel down the sides of the radishes.

Step 2 - Fit the olive into the hole and secure it with a toothpick and drop the eyeballs in the drink.

Source: http://www.notquitenigella.com/2018/10/30/halloween-food-party-ideas/

[cathygeha]

REVIEW:

You Send Me by Jeannie Moon

Compass Cove #2 Pneumonia is not fun…it is painful and it can kill you…so Jordan Velsor is a lucky woman to have Dr. Nick Rinaldi check on her just before a big storm sets in…perhaps even more than lucky? One thing leads to another and before the two know it they are in a fake engagement that begins to feel a whole lot more real than either thought possible. Jordan wants Nick to be more open and Nick is not willing to verbalize about some of his demons so there are a few tense moments along with sadness, loss and big decisions to be made by both. I like this small town community that feels like family and know there are many more stories that can be written with the compass of Compass Cove at the center of the story. I am glad Nick finally shared with Jordan but at one point wrote “I don’t understand her leeriness” and guess that I felt she was a bit too protective and wanted more from a war veteran than perhaps she should have. Anyway, I did enjoy it and loved the couple together. I wish them happiness and much love in the future! Thank you to NetGalley and Tule Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4 Stars

Title: You Send Me

Author: Jeannie Moon

Genre: Women's Fiction

Release Date: May 29, 2018

Publisher: Tule Publishing Group

Series: Compass Cove

Format: Digital/Print

AISN: B07CGJGDPZ

 Synopsis:

 Jordan Velsor didn’t want to need anyone. After dumping her cheating fiancé, caring for her sick dad, and nearly being crushed along with her car during a violent storm, she’s pretty much at her breaking point. If anyone needs some luck, it's Jordan, but the last thing she wants is gorgeous Nick Rinaldi, her landlord’s grandson, hovering over her while she nurses a bad cold. The wounded Navy doctor seems too good to be true... which means he probably is.  Nick Rinaldi left the Navy broken and adrift, wondering if he would ever practice medicine again. When his grandparents' tenant is almost killed by a falling tree during a storm, he discovers Jordan is not only in shock, but suffering from pneumonia. Not one to miss an opportunity to play white knight, Nick arrives at her cottage to take care of her during the storm... But the lovely teacher has a fierce independent streak, and as he learns more about her, he wants to do more than merely help. 

 Can Jordan and Nick let go of their separate pasts and seize their future together?

 Available at:

 Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HzVSES

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2vpQ6ki

iBooks: https://apple.co/2IVOqof

   Other books in the Compass Cove series

 THE CAME YOU

Available at:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

  Enter to WIN a $25 Amazon Gift Card or one of 12 print books of THEN CAME YOU or one of 5 print books of YOU SEND ME!

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29525/?

You Send Me Excerpt

Copyright © 2018 Jeannie Moon

         The deep rattling cough woke her from a restless sleep. This cold was kicking her ass, but even though all she wanted to do was burrow under the covers, she was out of tissues, and the dog needed to go outside.

       Glancing out her window, the weather had worsened. She almost would have been content putting out a pad for Gertie to go inside, but her tissues and cough medicine were in the back seat of her car. She had to go out regardless.

       “Come on, Gertie, time to pee.”

       With a whimper and a moan from her spot at the other end of the couch, her little rescue buried her face in the corner. Gertie was no dummy.

       “Look, if I have to go out, so do you. Your bladder is the size of a thimble, and it’s going to get even worse later.”

       The dog sighed—sighed her annoyance at Jordan. A dog with an attitude. Didn’t it figure? Gertie practically rolled off the plush cushion and settled on her back on the blue patterned rug. Her short little legs were straight up in the air, feigning death.

       Jordan felt pretty dead herself, but they still had to go outside.

The wind howled, and all the windows in the cottage shook like it was going to lift up and fly away. Gust after gust provided a not-so-subtle reminder that the nor’easter currently blowing across Long Island was going to make all their lives miserable. This storm was brutal. It had been wreaking havoc for the last twelve hours and based on the latest weather report it had slowed down to a crawl, meaning it was going to stick around for a while.

       Grabbing the dog’s leash, Jordan gently nudged the little furry blob on the floor. Nothing. She didn’t budge. “Gertie! Come on!”

       Ninety-nine percent of the time, she loved the little mutt. This moment definitely fell into the one percent.

       After she broke her engagement, Jordan had the sudden urge to have a pet. A lot of people told her it would pass, but she knew that wasn’t the case. Jordan needed unconditional love in her home, so she kept her eyes open for the right opportunity. She couldn’t handle a puppy or a kitten, so when she wandered around a rescue fair one Sunday this past September, she found herself completely enamored with Gertie. A stubby-legged little mutt, Gertie was a tube of golden fur with a pointy snout and big, soulful brown eyes. She was about five years old, and her owner had just died, leaving the little dog all alone.

       Jordan felt a kinship with the pooch, and took her home that day.

       Lina Rinaldi, who usually frowned on her cottage tenants having pets, took to the dog right away, and Gertie loved the older woman right back.

       As Jordan stared at the lump still upside down on the floor, she was about ready to offer Mrs. Rinaldi full custody. Then a deep, rasping cough shook Jordan to the core. It racked her body violently, and pain shot around her chest. God, she felt awful.

       “Come on,” she said firmly to the pooch. “We’ll skip the leash this time. Out and in. Let’s get this over with.”

       Gertie rolled over and trotted to the front door, giving Jordan the side eye as she waited. Donning her parka and a pair of lined wellies that she pulled over her pajama pants, Jordan grabbed the remote and unlocked her car. When she opened the front door, she was hit by a blast of wind, rain, and sleet that stung her cheeks and chilled her to the bone. “Lord, it’s miserable.” Looking down at Gertie, she nodded. “Okay, let’s make this quick.”

       The two of them bolted outside, with Gertie heading for her favorite patch of grass and Jordan heading for her car. She stopped when she coughed so hard she could barely breathe. It hurt. She’d never had a chest cold that hurt so much. Finally, yanking open the door, she heard her pooch barking from the small covered porch. Jordan grabbed the bag that was filled with some basic food provisions, juice, tea, tissues, and a selection of over-the-counter cold remedies. She slammed the car door shut, and on her way back inside she noticed the whitecaps on Jennings Bay. The wind was forcing massive amounts of water into the coves and harbors around town, and she hoped the it didn’t breach the seawall surrounding the property. Jordan’s cottage was closer to Cove Road, but the Rinaldis’ big house was at risk.

       Without any further delay, Jordan made it back to the porch, feeling chilled and soaked to the bone despite all the foul weather gear she’d put on. Gertie was barking frantically, having positioned herself under the old wooden swing, and Jordan was starting to lose her patience.

       “Gertie, what the hell is the problem?”

       That’s when she heard the groan and crack. Jordan looked up just as a large section of an old oak tree, about fifty feet from the house, gave way. Throwing her body against the wall to avoid any debris, Jordan watched as the massive tree split in half and came crashing down, crushing her car in the process.

       If she had waited ten more seconds to head outside, Jordan would have been killed.

       Frozen in place for—she didn’t know how long—Jordan startled when a large, strong arm wrapped around her.

       She looked away from the wreckage in the front yard and into the gorgeous face of Nick Rinaldi.        “Damn. Are you alright?”

       Was she? She wasn’t sure. Jordan tried to answer, but she had trouble catching her breath. Sucking in air, he kept her steady when they walked into the house.

       Waiting for the dog before he closed the door, Nick sat her on the bench in the entryway. Glancing in the canvas tote from the market, his brow furrowed.

       “You’re sick? What’s wrong?”

       With a low rattling cough that had him pressing the back of his hand to her forehead, she muttered, “Chest cold.”

       Shaking his head, he helped her off with her boots and jacket. “Let’s get you settled in bed, and I’ll go get my bag. You’ve got a lot more than a chest cold.”

       “My car…”        “We can’t do anything about your car until the storm passes, so put it out of your head. It’s the last thing you need to worry about.”

       “Are you kidding? Not worry about it?” How was she supposed to get to work or see her dad? How was she supposed to do anything if she didn’t have a car? The pain in her chest wasn’t just from her cough at that moment, but at the wave of dread—helplessness—that rushed through her.

       “One thing at a time.” Nick, a former Navy doctor, was single minded. And as much as Jordan didn’t want to admit it, he was right. In this weather, there was nothing she could do.

       “Come on,” he said. “Lead the way.”

       “I’ll be fine,” she said, stopping in her tracks. Those few words taxed her already strained system. She coughed painfully into her arm while Nick guided her into her room. The coughing spell was so violent, ripping at her tender lungs, she couldn’t even object as he tucked her into bed.

       Sick as she was, Jordan wasn’t blind. Nick Rinaldi had been on her radar since he landed back in Compass Cove the previous fall. The guy was gorgeous, smart, and a gentleman to the core. But he’d settled back in with his grandparents almost six months ago, and other than a token hello, or a polite smile, he rarely spoke to her.

       Still, with his lean frame, dark hair, and kind eyes, he checked a lot of boxes.

She thought she heard him mutter something about being stubborn, but her lack of breath didn’t allow a response. If anyone was stubborn, he was. The man of mystery was a well-known do-gooder, and obviously she was his next project. There was only one problem with that. She didn’t want his help. Needing people was a slippery slope, and Jordan had no intention of heading down that way again.

  About Jeannie Moon:

 Jeannie Moon, author of fifteen novels, has always been a romantic. When she’s not spinning tales of her own, Jeannie works as a school librarian, thankful she has a job that allows her to immerse herself in books and call it work. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jeannie has three kids, three lovable dogs and a mischievous cat and lives in her hometown on Long Island, NY. If she’s more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy.

 Connect with Jeannie at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

http://www.barclaypublicity.com/

[1nebest]

It’s 4:55pm Central Time on a Tuesday at Bumble headquarters in Austin, Texas. Whitney Wolfe Herd, the 28-year-old founder and CEO of the woman-led dating app is showing me around the nearly four-year-old startup’s office before we sit down to talk.

Our first stop is the standard startup watering hole, with a few twists. The fridges are stocked with Topo Chico instead of La Croix and the built-in taps are purely for decoration. Maybe one day they’ll be filled with Kombucha or iced coffee, a team member tells me. But no mention of beer. We’re not in Silicon Valley anymore.

As Wolfe Herd pours two glasses of white wine and plops in a few ice cubes, she briefly pauses to ask if I’m okay with the drink selection. Her question quickly caused my mind to wander back to my 21st birthday when a waiter told me men aren’t supposed to drink white wine with ice cubes.

There was perhaps no better way to begin my time with Wolfe Herd than a reminder that no matter how many hundreds of millions of woman-initiated matches have been made on Bumble, the company still exists in a world so ingrained with gender stereotypes that we couldn’t get through pouring a drink before the first one reared its head.

Luckily for me and my unsophisticated palate, I’d soon learn that Whitney Wolfe Herd doesn’t particularly care what people think that she or Bumble are supposed to do, let alone what we should be drinking.

‘I’m not building a dating app’

Bumble isn’t Wolfe Herd’s first exposure to the world of digital dating and connections. She moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and became an early co-founder of Tinder, but eventually left the company amid allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination against another one of the company’s co-founders. The lawsuit was settled, and while the past is the past, the history does help set the stage for the idea that would eventually turn into Bumble.

“I was just poof, gone, ceased to exist. It was like leaving behind an abandoned life, fleeing from the storm or whatever it was,” explained Wolfe Herd when talking about leaving Los Angeles after her time at Tinder. “I was experiencing all this, and then the Twitterverse and the Instagram world and the online sphere started attacking me. And I had never really understood online bullying. I didn’t even know what that meant or what it felt like. It made me really depressed.”

As successful entrepreneurs are known to do, Wolfe Herd soon began figuring out a way to leverage these closely held personal experiences into a new product. Her solution was Merci, a female-only social network “rooted in compliments and kindness and good behavior.”

Original mockup of Bumble, then known as Merci

While she was building out the idea, Andrey Andreev, founder and CEO of Badoo, the largest dating platform in the world, contacted her. Little did Wolfe Herd know, but Andreev saw her departure from Tinder as an opportunity, inviting her to meet the Badoo team in London where it had been based for more than 10 years. After some reluctance on Wolfe Herd’s part, she decided to go for it. After all, she was looking for feedback on her Merci idea, and worst-case she’d at least leave with a better idea of what she wanted to build next.

But Andreev had other plans. During their first meeting he frankly asked Wolfe Herd to become the chief marketing officer of Badoo.

She didn’t even consider the offer. First, it would have required her to move to London and, more importantly she was adamant about never working in the dating world again. With the CMO offer in the meeting’s rearview mirror, Wolfe Herd shifted the conversation to Merci, and gave Andreev a deep dive into her idea for a woman-only social network grounded in compliments and positive feedback.

“I love it,” Andreev said. “We’re going to name the dating app Merci.”

She was aghast, even in her retelling of the story.

“The what? What are you talking about? Did you hear what I said? I’m not building a dating app. Merci is the name of my female-only social network.”  

Andreev clarified: “I love your vision for a female-first platform, but you need to do this in dating.”

He essentially offered her the funding she needed to get the app off the ground, and, perhaps more importantly, full access to Badoo’s technical team to build and ship it. Plus, full creative control and decision-making ability regarding the direction of the new company.

From L-R: Whitney Wolfe Herd, Andrey Andreev and Sarah Jones Simmer, Bumble’s COO

But Wolfe Herd had no interest in building such an app, and Andreev had no interest in getting involved with a new social network. So she headed home, all the more determined to make Merci the next big thing. But the offer from Andreev was still lingering in the back of her mind.

“My husband, boyfriend, whatever you want to call him — Michael, we’ll just call him Michael,” Wolfe Herd told me. “Michael was like, ‘Whit, this opportunity doesn’t strike twice. You’re going to try and raise money right now? You’re literally a scorned seductress, according to the VC community right now. Good luck to you. I know you don’t have the backbone right now,’ because I had been so depleted and I was so low on myself.”

With the encouragement of her then-boyfriend (now husband) Michael Herd, she decided that Andreev’s offer was too good to pass up, and headed back to London, where she essentially made a handshake deal with him to build this new woman-first dating app.

Bumble was born

The company would exist as a new entity with 20 percent ownership belonging to Wolfe Herd, 79 percent to Badoo and 1 percent divided between Christopher Gulczynski and Sarah Mick, two early consultants who went on to join full-time after the company was up and running. Briefly named Moxie, the group settled on Bumble after a trademark search turned up conflicts.

Bumble would be run independently from Austin, Texas, with the ability to tap into Andreev and Badoo’s years of experience in the dating industry when needed. It certainly wasn’t a typical arrangement, especially in the world of tech startups where, in order to build a successful company, you’re supposed to rally a group of two to three co-founders, raise a seed round, then a Series A and so on.

But now, four years and 30 million users later, Bumble’s cap table looks exactly the same as it did the day the company was founded. Wolfe Herd’s 20 percent undiluted founder’s stake is evidence that an atypical path was right for Bumble.

A startup office with no engineers

It quickly becomes apparent to me as a technology writer walking through Bumble’s Austin headquarters that this isn’t your typical startup office. It looks and feels much more like a living room than any sort of standard tech office environment.

For a small space that is now overflowing with more than 50 employees, there are only about 25 desks, and most of those remained empty during my two-day visit. Everyone seems to prefer rotating through conference rooms, counters, coffee tables, floors and the largest couch I’ve ever seen, which sits in a semicircle ready to comfortably fit upwards of 30 people, if needed.

“I believe in taking people away from their desks and making them feel collaborative and inspire one another instead of being siloed,” she explained.

While the setup may not work for some companies, it certainly does for Bumble. But that doesn’t mean everyone agrees. Wolfe Herd explained that they had to rotate through multiple designers before settling on one that aligned with her vision.

“So many people wanted to make it hyper functional and minimalistic and stark…almost cold,” she told me. “I didn’t want it to feel that way. I wanted it to feel welcoming and warm and do it differently.”

The design isn’t the only thing that stands out when walking through Bumble’s office. It also doesn’t have a single engineer.

Just like Andreev promised Wolfe Herd when they first decided to build Bumble, all engineering is still handled in Badoo’s London offices. While some technology veterans may bash Bumble for offloading their engineering to their parent company, she is unapologetic about the benefits and practicality of the arrangement.

“Had I gone out and tried to do this on my own with no tech support, Bumble would be a year-and-a-half behind. Think of all the marriages and babies and connections we’ve made [in that time],” explained Wolfe Herd.    

She continued: “It’s like building a road. If you can get the materials from someone quicker that will make people’s lives easier, why would you say, ‘No, I want to build this with my own two hands,’ just to be able to say I did?”

I asked Wolfe Herd if there are ever times when their team has wished that their developers were sitting in the next room, standing by for a product consultation or roadmapping session.

But Wolfe Herd actually attributes much of Bumble’s success to working in an environment devoid of a dev team. Specifically, she explained that it gave her team the creative freedom to allow Bumble’s message and brand to drive the product, and not vice versa. By letting branding take the front seat instead of product, Bumble leapfrogged the “connections app” phase and became a lifestyle brand.

“How do you have different touch points in a user’s life? How do you reach them on their drive home from work? How do you talk to them on social media? How do you make them feel special? How do you add your brand into their different touch points?” Wolfe Herd says. Her original vision was to build a social network rooted in positivity and affirmations, but asking (and answering) these questions has allowed her to help in building a whole world for Bumble users rooted in positivity and affirmations.

Versace, Balenciaga, Bumble

Last summer if you happened to be walking through New York’s trendy Soho neighborhood you may have noticed a new tenant sandwiched between Versace and Balenciaga on Mercer Street.

In a first for a dating app and pretty much any social app, Bumble opened a physical space as an attempt to formalize the community that was naturally forming around it. At the time she told me that the opening coincided with Bumble’s brand becoming something that people are now proud to associate with in real life.

Bumble’s New York City Hive

This message was repeatedly echoed to me by others around Wolfe Herd, and it seems to be one of the internal barometers the company uses to track its success. Samantha Fulgham, Bumble’s second employee who now leads campus marketing and outreach, explained how male college students are now applying to become ambassadors, interns and even full-time employees.

“We tried to [have male students be campus ambassadors] in the U.S. probably two years ago. They didn’t really want to do it, because they thought it was a girl thing. Now we’re trying it again in Canada and we’ve already had so many guys asking how they can work for Bumble… saying, ‘I want to be a part of this company.’”

And it’s not just college students champing at the bit to associate themselves with the brand. When Bumble launched its business networking product last fall, the startup’s NY launch party was attended by Priyanka Chopra, Kate Hudson and Karlie Kloss, while the L.A. event hosted Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner and Kim Kardashian West.

Bumble Bizz’s NYC Launch Party. From L-R: Whitney Wolfe Herd, Priyanka Chopra, Karlie Kloss, Fergie and Kate Hudson. By Neil Rasmus/BFA.com.

A digital response to a real problem

Bumble has been able to grow into the company it is today because it was founded on the basic principle of taking a stance on a contested issue: Women were never supposed to make the first move. But Bumble didn’t stop there, and under Wolfe Herd the startup has been very vocal about making sure they are using their voice to address issues that other companies are taught to avoid taking a stance on.  

In the wake of the Stoneman Douglas school shooting, Bumble did something that breaks just about every rule taught in marketing and PR 101: The dating app very publicly decided to insert itself right in the middle of our nation’s ongoing gun debate by banning images of guns on its platform.

“We just want to create a community where people feel at ease, where they do not feel threatened, and we just don’t see guns fitting into that equation,” Wolfe Herd told The New York Times after the ban.

She told me at the time that the move shouldn’t be seen as Bumble taking a hard stance against guns or gun owners, but rather taking a hard stance against normalizing violence on their platform.

While an outsider may have been surprised to see such a fast-growing company break the status quo and decide to take a stance on a political issue, those who know Wolfe Herd will say that doing things like this is exactly why Bumble has become so successful in such a short amount of time.

What’s next?

For an industry that’s been around since the beginning of time, matchmaking sure is having its moment. And even the big players want a piece of the action; Facebook has announced it’s expanding into the dating space. So how does Bumble, a barely four-year-old, non-venture-backed company take advantage of all this attention while simultaneously defending itself from the threat of big players entering the space?

Over the summer we reported that Tinder’s parent company Match was set on acquiring Bumble, first at a $450 million valuation, then a few months later at “well over” $1 billion. It would have been an ironic ending for a company that was at least partially founded because of Wolfe Herd’s negative experiences surrounding her time at Tinder and Match.

Ultimately negotiations fell through between the two companies, and from there things escalated quickly. In March, Match sued Bumble for “patent infringement and misuse of intellectual property,” and a few weeks later Bumble sued Match for fraudulently obtaining trade secrets during the acquisition process. Both lawsuits are still making their way through the courts, but it’s safe to say that a deal between the two is off the table for the foreseeable future.

So what’s next for Bumble? The company is profitable and self-sustaining, and has no need to take on capital or sell itself. But Wolfe Herd acknowledged that the right acquirer may allow them to fulfill their goal of “recalibrating gender norms and empowering people to connect globally” at a much faster pace.

Wolfe Herd explained: “If the right opportunity presents itself, we’ll absolutely explore that and we’ll absolutely always explore the best way to take what we’re trying to do and what our mission is and what our values are. If we can be acquired, that will help us scale 10 times faster and that’s something that’s interesting to us, right?”

But she was also clear that cash isn’t what they’re looking for. “We would only ever consider an acquisition of sorts that brings strategic intellectual capital to the table, strategic knowledge of new markets that we have not yet gone into, and added value in ways that supersedes just straight cash,” said Wolfe Herd.

To the casual observer it sounds a lot like Facebook and its 2+ billion active users could do a pretty good job helping Bumble quickly spread its message around the world.

And Bumble seems to agree. After Facebook’s announcement about its dating play, Bumble issued a statement saying, “We were thrilled when we saw today’s news. Our executive team has already reached out to Facebook to explore ways to collaborate. Perhaps Bumble and Facebook can join forces to make the connecting space even more safe and empowering.”

In a conversation with me following the announcement, Wolfe Herd said that Facebook’s expansion into dating “is actually super exciting for the industry, because if you look at the history of Facebook when it comes to building their own products versus acquiring, they oftentimes attempt to build their own. If those products don’t successfully come to market, there’s usually a transition into acquisition. Who knows what will happen?”

So if Facebook comes knocking, don’t be surprised if Bumble answers… and quickly. But if they don’t, then current indicators are that Bumble will be just fine.

In just four years the company has flipped the switch on app-based dating, taking something that was once taboo and making it something that users are proud to associate with. So luckily for the more than 30 million women (and men) who have used Bumble to break gender stereotypes and make over 2 billion matches on their own terms, Whitney Wolfe Herd didn’t care what she or her company were supposed to do.

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Major ten Most significant Problems you can make when Getting Ocala, Florida Authentic Estate to.

The exact amount of you know I began putting sources into land in 2003, since that devoted working day I acquired my initially duplex I have invest in and have held tens of millions progressively and have allow other to attain drastically much more than that. Amid those speculations I have dedicated a lot of faults, some of which have been littler than some others. As I am reflecting back concluded those many years, endeavoring to making certain I have a complete take care of on the lessons instructed by the college of harsh periods, and which I may well want to hand-off to different speculators the two professional and new. I have concocted my principal ten finest slip-ups I have made and how you can sustain a strategic distance from them. (I will likewise overview the greatest 10 most astute decisions I have built) These are in no distinct ask for: 1.Normally trusting the vender or land expert on value factors. Immediately after my very first speculation property I took in this serious lesson as I recognized in individuals cost quantities they did exclude vital points which have been dragging funds out of pocket. The fundamental kinds had been support and lawful price tag. Furthermore I propose constantly receiving the provider charges and regular these out for the duration of the time on top of that get the before decades. For just about every expense they point out impact them to reveal it and afterward make certain you are including legit, help, substitution stores, prospect and a several other individuals. Maintain in mind the vender is hoping to put their assets in the most effective gentle about operating quantities and 95% of land operators simply just do not realize and merely show what the service provider lets them know. two.Just like number 1, trusting the vendor on all expressed income issues can be unlucky. On my to start with duplex the proprietor expressed that inspite of the simple fact that just one of the units was vacant that they experienced a tenant arranged and even displayed a hire, however the lease was not . Perfectly my Real estate agent did not realize like most professionals and I was environmentally friendly to the level that I neglected it as well. So soon after we shut, we known as the leaseholder and she mentioned she altered her impression which definitely we battled the merchants on to remunerate us for just about a 50 percent calendar year following the finish, however by no means noticed just one dime. Moreover I propose obtaining confirmation that each and every of the inhabitants are point out-of-the-art as it is expressed on the functioning articulation. On the off opportunity that they are not get a lease credit as money at shutting. 3.Not utilizing a Realtor that spends major time in speculation assets. You will not have to benefit from a Realtor to learn outstanding arrangements, in any circumstance on the off prospect that you are new, I would propose making use of a capable Real estate agent that has useful experience in speculation assets as very well as a land speculator. To many people benefit from household or companions that are marion county realtors (moved here) to find out them speculation residence, and inquire why they are getting rid of cash each individual thirty day period following they purchase on the grounds that the operator had upcoming to zero involvement as a speculator. We see this regularly. You could by no means go to and Dentist to recuperate your well balanced, you would go to a Chiropractor. Same route with enterprise homes, as I frequently tell over and above any question you are employing someone who is very first a land economic expert and soon after that 2nd a Real estate agent. four.Connect with your close by law enforcement business or get some facts about the topic residence. This is a thing that I have manufactured a want soon after that very first duplex, I was getting a shot at the carport when a neighbor arrived over fast seeking terrified and said " I are not able to continue being long they are watching us, the leaseholders on the foundation ground are jogging a medication property and prostitution out of there, acquired the option to go" all things thought of I known as the nearby police division and talked with an investigator that was checking out the occupants at which time he educated that they experienced been to the duplex all around six-8 periods in the course of the most recent a calendar year from 911 calls, I handed-off the data that the neighbor let me know and I gave him the Alright to assault the inhabitants. Actually I gave the Okay to assault my individual individual speculation assets. They bought a few unlawful weapons and bunches of remedies. I was then ready to expel them. So fundamentally I obtained the past proprietors situation as opposed to understanding in progress and arranging better terms or shifting on to the subsequent house. five.Not turning vacant units sufficiently snappy. This is an critical lesson, nonetheless this is a lesson that I have instructed yet again and again to other land speculators, especially new ones that have fulltime professions. It took me all-around 30-60 days to have the device "make geared up". Why? Nicely I chose to do anything myself and do it on ends of the week just, properly that introduced about obtaining an empty device for 90-120 times. The remedy to that is irrespective of whether you never have plenty of time in your working day to have the device "influence geared up" in a greatest of two months then I to endorse you procure the perform out. Actually it will charge to some degree much more even so will spare you time. Time actually is dollars. 6.Not promoting your vacant models straight away. I utilized to sit restricted for the device to be wholly rentable right before promoting I would reduce thirty+ times. So start out promoting ASAP, recognize that device bought out ASAP, and if there are any updates you are doing pitch the eyesight to the occupant, demonstration like it is there as of now and is the finest factor along with Chuck Norris! 7.Not managing legal own investigations. I enable my initial couple of inhabitants in with no legal private investigations this was an oversight as a single of them was a medicine dependent and intense alcoholic. I in no way genuinely do credit checks on the grounds that the extensive vast majority that local realty service lease have some sort of financial problem in their previous. To me the most significant items and no lawbreakers and a current irrefutable exercise. 8.Not using a skilled assets administration corporation. Significantly the exact same as obtaining an equipped speculation Real estate agent, locating a house administration corporation has been an extremely precarious issue and errand. When I bought to a phase exactly where I recognized my most effective qualities and out discovering new preparations and not overseeing each day errand, I selected to us a property administration corporation. Perfectly considering the fact that that working day I have terminated 6 administration corporations, each individual a person of them experienced pushed my home into the ground. Fact about using a typical house an administration firm is that they do not consider a gander at your residence as you do they merely notice an strategy to profit on administration expenses instead of the enterprise and how to increase it. I could very likely complete a rundown of fifty idiotic missteps house administration corporations have manufactured that have taken a toll me a fantastic lots of dollars. The arrangement!? Possibly coming to the heart of the issue of owning the ability to have an in-household home chief concentrating a hundred% of their thought on your homes or employing a home administration organization that has a CPM or ARM assignment. These are given out as a result of the IREM relationship for assets supervisors. Trying to keep in head the end goal to get an assignment the individual or organization will have to get escalated courses and have a volume of experience. nine.I would include classes pick up handling short-term staff, however that rundown is method to wide then only one particular selection, I will compose an overall short article just about this issue quickly. This relatively will be about the point out of the units that you are renting. This will likewise go on my most effective option rundown moreover. On the other hand, I repudiate a good deal of other land fiscal professionals with the mentality of... Of tenants basically shred the position merely do contractual employee white on almost everything and don't refresh everything. I trust it as a key mix-up as a outcome of not figuring out who my occupant foundation is, the matter that they require and how to give it them. There is a few facts to the probability of in the function that it is not broken you should not settle it, but when you change a unit recollects the conclusion customer, who are you pulling in? Really I settled on a preference to employ refresh present-day shading plans within the home, finishing 1-three distinctive hues took immediately after by white time and refresh lighting set up, outlets and entryway handles. Extra usually than not I could go away the floor surface area, lavatories, ledges and cabinets as is or a snappy the moment completed. See owning current working day hues and equipment will get a fairly amazing inhabitant relying on the territory. It certainly plays on the point out of thoughts of the unit. I like heading into houses recognizing my arrangement and setting up that slight increment in expenditures when obtaining. Your occupants will enjoy it and you can ask for a exceptional leaseholder at top market analyzing. This is really considerably a slip-up of not figuring out my current market and playing to the base of the leaseholder pool versus the best issue of that business enterprise sectors leaseholder pool. ten.Not acquiring retains on the house. I am a colossal defender o acquiring holds on a assets and permitting those people outlets to sit unbothered... test not to touch them. Way too typically have I realized about persons running into budgetary challenges, on the grounds that after an close they going cash into yet another speculation and afterward involve a large lump of cash for repairs nonetheless are extremely dry on money. I have accomplished this also we finalize on a negotiations and afterward shift those people suppliers on to the pursuing a single. This goes for recoveries also. It would be perfect if you grasp your distant! This could depict the minute of truth your speculation. Very well there they are, and in the wake of perusing them I determine I could with out a lot of a stretch go onto a further rundown of ten, even so going into all the far more abnormal condition botches from a tasks angle and also showcasing and creating sales opportunities. Nevertheless the purpose of this rundown is to achieve from some powerful lessons instantly that you may well confront now with your current properties or are thinking about contributing and are measuring the gurus and drawbacks. To ordinarily have new land speculators get all energized in the wake of perusing a ebook and need to hop into recoveries or buying multi relatives qualities however soon explore that it can be a period and hard cash pit. I am not listed here to stress anyone land contributing it is genuinely the greatest speculation out there I only want to make certain all people is completely conscious at every development on their way to income associated overall flexibility. All over again you should not wait to make any inquiries!

Ocala Real Estate

Local Realty Service: Ocala Real Estate Agents 1910 SW 18th Ct, Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 591-3350 https://www.localrealtyservice.com