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hedgehog-moss · 6 months ago

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Pls give recommendations for Odd books 🙏

Here we go, a list of literary oddity :) This post contains majestic spheres, alien taxonomies, cruel subway polytheism, a fourth-dimensional cat, disturbing earthworms, infinite space football, existential mussel terror, a Parisian absurdist time loop, and a picture of a telegraph-pole-man-cheetah. I'm not exactly recommending these books, in the sense that I won't take any complaints if you find them more odd than good, and some of them transcend the concepts of good and bad anyway.

• The Other City, Michal Ajvaz. It's all like this:

• Contes du demi-sommeil, Marcel Béalu ('Half-asleep tales') —is the book that prompted my post about stories that have no ambition or justification beyond being odd. I'm sad that it hasn't been translated :( One of the tales is about a strange opaline sphere that rolls on the road. It doesn't accelerate when the road becomes a steep slope but continues rolling majestically. At one point it floats away towards the sky. Someone wonders if it was the moon. Someone else says authoritatively "It was an angel's egg." Everyone is reassured by this explanation. The whole thing feels exactly like remembering a dream you had. There is also a man who reads too much and whose body atrophies so only his head is left and his wife puts it in an egg cup for better stability.

• Leonora Carrington— The Skeleton's Holiday, or maybe the Hearing Trumpet. I've read them so long ago but I think the latter is the one with the old ladies and nuns? There's also a guy who was murdered in his bath by a still-life painter because he said there was a carrot in one of his paintings, but it might not have been a carrot? It's hard to remember details from this book without feeling like I might be making them up. Bonus Leonora Carrington painting which kind of feels like a short story:

• The Codex Seraphinianus, of course. I wish there were more bizarre encyclopaedias out there.

Also I love this review:

• Sleep Has His House, Anna Kavan —I really liked the way this book used language; making life feel like a fever dream even more than in Samanta Schweblin's Fever Dream (which I really liked too.)

The eye is checking a record of silence, space; a nightmare, every horror of this world in its frigid and blank neutrality. The actual scope of its orbit depends on the individual concept of desolation, but approximate symbols are suggested in long roving perspectives of ocean, black swelled, in slow undulation, each whaleback swell plated in armour-hard brilliance with the moonlight clanking along it . . .

• The second half of Michael Ende's Neverending Story, where things get stranger! I remember the hand-shaped castle with eyes and the city of amnesiac former emperors and the miserable ugly worms who cry all the time out of shame then create beautiful architecture with their tears...

• The Gray House, Mariam Petrosyan. This is the one I had in mind when I talked about a 'museum of the strange, but one you wouldn't want to be trapped in after closing time'. Another book that made me feel uncomfortable in a similar (good) way was Edward Carey's Observatory Mansions, the protagonist of which is a man who curates an odd private museum and can't stand the sight of his own hands.

• Oh, speaking of uncomfortable, and hands—He Digs A Hole, by Danger Slater. To me this book was in the more-odd-than-good category but I liked its refusal to have a coherent philosophical meaning. It's about a man who can't sleep so he goes to his garden shed and saws off his hands and replaces them with gardening tools. Then he starts digging a hole. And then it gets weird. (Read at your own discretion if you have a worm phobia; there's some body horror featuring sexually aggressive earthworms. And then it gets disturbing.)

• 17776 — Someone sent me an ask a few years back to recommend this online multimedia narrative to me and I really enjoyed it! Here's the summary, borrowed from the wiki page: Set in the distant future in which all humans have become immortal and infertile, the series follows three sapient space probes that watch humanity play an evolved form of American football in which games can be played for millennia over distances of thousands of miles. The work explores themes of consciousness, hope, despair, and why humans play sports.

• Saint-Glinglin, Raymond Queneau —the author admitted that this book presents some "internal discontinuities." I didn't like it much but I respect the talent it takes to write a novel where everything feels like a random digression, including the key suspenseful scene that matters to the plot. The one digression I loved had to do with the way the narrator is existentially horrified by various sea creatures. It's like he dreads them so much he can't help but think about them when he should be telling a story.

The oyster... This gob of phlegm, this brutal way of refusing the outside world, this absolute isolation, and this disease: the pearl... If I conceptualise them even a little, my terror starts anew. The mussel is even more significant than the oyster and even more immediately admissible in the domain of terror. Let us indeed consider that this little sticky mass whose collective stupidity haunts our piers, consider that it is alive in the same way as a cow. Because there are no degrees in life. There is no more or less. The whole of life is present in every animal. To think that the mussel, that the mussel has, not a conscience, but a certain way of transcending itself: here I am once again plunged into abysses of anxiety and insecurity.

Near the beginning he philosophises about what would happen if a man and a lobster were the only two survivors of the apocalypse. The lobster would break the man's toe and the man would say, "We are the only beings that remain on this devastated Earth, lobster! The only living beings in the universe, struggling alone against the universal disaster, don't you want to be allies?" But the lobster would disdainfully walk away towards the ocean, and "the sight of the inflexible and imperturbable lobster pierces the sky of humanity with its unintelligible claws." (I can't overstate how little this has to do with the rest of the book.)

• Autumn in Beijing, Boris Vian —needless to say the story does not take place in autumn nor in Beijing.* To the extent that it can be said to be "about" something, it's about people trying to build a train station in a desert with tracks that lead nowhere. (I just went on goodreads to check the title, and it's actually called Autumn in Peking in English. I also discovered that it was featured in a list of Books I Regret Reading. I liked this book, but I understand.)

(* French writers love doing this—like when Alphonse Allais said about his 1893 book The Squadron's Umbrella "I chose this title because there aren't any umbrellas of any sort in this volume, and the important notion of the squadron, as a unit of the armed forces, is never brought up at all; in these conditions, hesitating would have been pure madness.")

• The Library at Mount Char, Scott Hawkins—I fear this one makes a little too much sense for this list, but you can't say it isn't weird; and I loved it and recommend it any chance I get.

• The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer, Carol Hill —this book was so wacky and made me laugh. I've not yet managed to successfully recommend it to someone; its brand of odd didn't resonate with the people I know who've read it but that's okay. You could say it's about a woman astronaut whose weird cat disappears into the fourth dimension (or the quantum realm?) and she goes to space to save him—but that makes the book sound more straightforward and less messy than it is. Her cat leaves her a note before he disappears:

• The Bald Soprano, Ionesco —fun fact, there's a tiny theatre in the Latin Quarter in Paris where this absurdist play has been staged every night for nearly 70 years, with the exact same set design and costumes and everything, like the actors are stuck in a time loop. They celebrated the 20,000th performance this year! There's an actress who has been playing her character for 40 years and said joining this theatre was like joining a religion. I've been going to see this play as a New Year tradition with my best friend since we were 14, so I love it madly, though I wouldn't say it's good, necessarily—the author said it was about "absolutely nothing, but a superior nothing."

• Statuary Gardens; or Les Mers perdues (apparently not translated) by Jacques Abeille. This man is obsessed with weird statues. Unfortunately I find his writing style rather dull—I feel like he takes strange ideas and makes them feel mundane in a bad way...! But his books still have a nice, quiet, oneiric atmosphere, and images that stayed with me, like a solitary gardener trying to grow stone statues in the depleted soil of a walled garden. Here are some illustrations from the second one:

I'll look into some of the books recommended on my previous post! (and I agree with the people who brought up Cortázar, Borges, and Junji Ito. <3) Some potentially-odd books I have on my to-read list: Clive Barker's Abarat, Goran Petrović's An Atlas Traced by the Sky, Salvador Plascencia's The People of Paper, Jean Ray's Malpertuis; Jan Weiss's The House of a Thousand Floors; Brice Tarvel's Pierre-Fendre.

#ask #book recs #i know i've made some of these sound barely readable but it would be risky to oversell them #it's funny how indignant i felt when i first thought that saint-glinglin didn't exist in english translation even though objectively it #wouldn't have been a huge loss and i don't think english speakers are clamouring for more crustacean existentialism after sartre's lobsters #but they should get to choose not to read this book!

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justmystyles · 1 year ago

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Baby-Baby-Baby

read my other work here!

pairing: Harry Styles x plus size reader

*i say it's a plus size reader, but it is not something that i focus on explicitly in my fics, because your size should not define you. it will only come up if it comes into the story organically.*

word count: 2,993

summary: Harry meets his niece for the first time, the joy and excitement are quickly replaced with a whole new set of feelings when his best friend, Y/N joins him at the hospital.

a/n: throwing my hat in the unclerry ring with this big ball of fluff. i actually just thought of a new series idea that this would have fit so perfectly with, but i'm nowhere near ready to start releasing that, so here's a little bestierry fluff instead!

tags: @abby8694 @allthelovehes @ameerakane20 @ash-craze @bethanysnow @blue-ballad @blueraspberryreader @brightlightsinlife @creativelyeva @cute-as-ducks420 @deannaard @fanficismydrug @gem1712 @golden-hoax @gothmingguk @groovychaosavenue @hillzrry @iceebabies @indierockgirrl @jerseygirlinca @jng4kook @jooniesbabie @kaverichauhan @laurxn-robinson @lexiecamposv @likeapplejuicenpeach @lilfreakjez @mrs-anna-styles211994 @n0vaj3an @potterheadandsherlocked @rach2699 @ravenclawdirectioner @stylesfeverr @superchrystaldrug @tenaciousperfectionunknown @tiaamberxx @thechaoticjoy @theekyliepage @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @youknowwhaaat

The sound of her phone ringing breaks Y/N from her deep, peaceful slumber. With an annoyed grumble, she blindly slaps her hand around until she finds it and answers it with a grunt.

“It’s happening Y/N, it’s happening!”

As she slowly starts to come to, she rubs the sleep from her eyes and sits up. “Harry? Wh-what’s happening?” She responds groggily.

“Gem! She’s having the baby! She’s at the hospital right now!” He shouts, causing her to furrow her brow and pull the phone away from her ear slightly.

“Okay, Harry, deep breaths, calm down.” She says trying to talk him down. “Are you going to the hospital?”

“Not yet, mum’s there with her and Michal now. They’re going to let me know when she’s here and then I’m going to go.”

She could hear the anxiety in his voice, she could see it clearly in her mind, Harry pacing back and forth in his living room, likely with a glass of wine in his hand. “And what are you doing until you get that call?” She says knowingly.

Harry notices her tone and knows exactly why she’s asking. “You know, just taking it easy.”

“Liar.”

Harry sighs and rolls his eyes. “Well what do you want me to do? My big sister is having a baby! I’m going to be an uncle!”

“I’m coming over.” She replies as she slides out of bed and starts grabbing some clothes to change into.

“You don’t have to…”

“Yes I do,” she interrupts. “If I don’t, I’m just going to get a bunch of stream of consciousness texts and phone calls from you while you sit alone freaking out. I may as well just get them in person.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.” Harry says. She can hear his pout from the other end of the phone.

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

There’s a brief silence on the other end of the phone. He definitely wanted her to come over, he didn’t want to wait alone, he just felt bad dragging her out of bed and demanding her time. “Thanks, Y/N.”

She smiles softly at his appreciative tone. “Of course.” She hangs up the phone and gets dressed.

Thirty minutes later, Y/N was standing at Harry’s front door knocking gently. When he answers, he’s noticeably frazzled.

“Hey, Uncle Harry.” She says cheerily.

In that moment, Harry’s nerves and anxiety drift away and the corners of his mouth turn up into a wide, dimpled grin. He takes her hand and leads her into the house. “Wine?”

“Half a glass.” She says as he leads her to the kitchen. She takes a seat at the kitchen island as he pours her some wine, and a little more for himself. She arches a brow at him.

“It’s only my second, and I’m only having it so you aren’t drinking alone.” He says defensively.

“Fine, we have one now to pre-celebrate, and another when you get back from the hospital.” She holds up her glass. “To Gemma and Michal.”

“Mhm,” Harry hums in agreement, clinking his glass to hers and taking a sip. “Wait, what do you mean when I get back from the hospital?”

She looks at him like he’s crazy. “Isn’t that what this is all about? You’re waiting to get the call so you can go meet your niece.”

“Yeah, no I get that, but you said when I get back, not when we get back.” He arches a brow.

“Because we’re not going. You are. I’ll just wait for you here, or go home and sleep…”

“What do you mean go home? You’re coming!”

“Harry, this is a family thing, your sister will have just gone through labor. This isn’t some party I can just tag along to.”

“Don’t be an idiot!” Harry laughs and shoves her playfully. “You’re practically family, you know Gemma loves you.”

Y/N rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she takes a sip of her wine. “So, should we narrow down what baby gift you’re bringing to the hospital? I know you have a room full of toys and outfits for her.” She expertly changes the subject.

“Probably just one of the stuffies, she’ll only be in the hospital for a few days, I can bring everything else to the house when she gets home.”

She chuckles at his answer. “God, you’re already spoiling the hell out of this kid.”

“You’d better believe it!”

The two of them continue to chit chat and laugh, passing the time and successfully keeping Harry distracted, and then his phone rang. Harry looks at the screen, his gaze flitting up to Y/N. “It’s mum…”

“Well answer it!” She insists.

“Mum?” Harry answers the phone, Y/N watches Harry’s expression, his eyes quickly light up, a bright smile growing on his face as he gives her a thumbs up, indicating that everything went well.

“That’s great! Yeah, okay.” He continues to respond to his mother on the other end of the phone. “Yeah, on my way.” He looks up at Y/N. “Oh, Y/N is here, do you think Gem would mind if she came too?” His proud brother smile is quickly replaced with a shit eating grin. “Great, we’ll see you soon. Love you too.”

“She said it would be wonderful if you came. Now they’re expecting you, so you have no choice.” He says smugly, causing her to roll her eyes.

***

They enter the maternity ward of the hospital, and walk down the hallway to Gemma’s room. When they arrive in front of the door, Harry pauses, his hand resting on the door handle.

“You ready to be an uncle?” Y/N says softly, placing her hand on his back.

His smile widens and he nods his head, turning the handle and pushing the door open. The friends enter the room together, Harry going straight to his sister, while Y/N goes to greet his mother, Anne.

“Congratulations, mum.” Harry says to his sister with a chuckle.

Gemma laughs and hugs him tightly. “Thank you.” When they pull apart, Gemma nods to the bassinet beside her. “Say hello to your niece, I know she’s the reason you’re really here.”

Harry looks down at the sweet little bundle before him, reaching down and running a finger over her small cheek. “She’s perfect,” he coos as his eyes travel over every feature, wanting to memorize everything about this moment.

“You can pick her up, you know.” Gemma teases.

Harry rolls his eyes and reaches down gently, lifting his niece into his arms for the first time. He takes a seat in a nearby chair and cradles her closely in his arms, whispering softly to her, promises of protection and love, and being spoiled rotten.

As Y/N and Anne catch up, Y/N watches Harry out of the corner of her eye, for as long as they’ve been friends, any time she saw Harry with children, it would give her a warm fuzzy feeling. He was such a natural with them, but to see him with his niece was on an entirely different level.

Y/N was so focused on Harry that she didn’t notice the knowing glances shared by Gemma and Anne. The two of them had always noticed the chemistry between Harry and Y/N, they’d drop hints now and then, but ultimately wanted to leave it to the two of them to figure out for themselves.

Eventually, Y/N pulls out her phone, knowing Harry is going to want a picture of this moment. She snaps a few candid shots, a warm smile spread across her face.

“You should hold her too,” Gemma says, pulling Y/N from her impromptu photo shoot.

She looks up and smiles at Gemma, walking up to her and giving her a hug. “Congrats, Gem. I’m sorry for tagging along, I’m sure you’re exhausted, the last thing you need is extra people tagging along.”

“You’re not an extra person,” Gemma scoffs. “You’re practically family.”

“Told you so.” Harry says smugly from his seat, the baby still in his arms.

“Oh shut up and hand her over.” She teases.

Harry laughs quietly, not wanting to startle his niece. He stands from the chair and waits for Y/N to be seated before carefully placing the baby in her arms.

Once she’s holding the baby, she looks down and smiles. “She’s so beautiful, Gemma.”

“Yeah, we’re pretty fond of her.” She chuckles in response.

Y/N’s eyes stay locked on the soft features, her light eyelashes fluttering across her delicate cheeks. Her petite mouth opens in a wide yawn, and Y/N swears her heart is going to explode.

“You are just the most precious little thing in the whole world, aren’t you?” She coos at the newborn. “Don’t worry, when your Uncle Harry gets too annoying, you can just come find me…”

“Heyyy!” Harry whines. Y/N looks up and sticks her tongue out at him, while Gemma and Anne laugh at the exchange.

“You look like a natural holding her, Y/N.” Anne redirects the conversation.

Y/N smiles up at her. “Thanks, I love kids. I’d love to have a couple of my own someday…”

Those words, combined with the sight of Y/N holding a baby cause a switch to flip inside of Harry. It’s as if his world of black and white suddenly turned to color right in front of him. In that moment, he thinks about what it would be like if she were sitting there with their baby in her arms.

His mind starts racing with thoughts, sure during their years of friendship, there have been a couple of lingering glances and drunken kisses here and there, but they were friends. He’d never even considered going beyond that, not even with the not so subtle hints that his mother and sister would drop anytime Y/N’s name would come up in conversation. But now, it was all he could think about.

After spending a bit more time at the hospital, it was clear that Gemma and the baby needed their rest, so Harry promised to come by again in a few hours, and the pair made their way back to Harry’s house.

The car ride was surprisingly silent, Y/N was sure that Harry would be talking nonstop about meeting his niece, and how cute she was, rehashing every gurgle and squeak that came out of her tiny little mouth, but he kept his eyes on the road, looking as though he was deep in thought. She didn’t say anything, she figured he just needed some time to process everything that had happened, and she was happy to give him that.

When they arrived back at his house, they go inside and hang up their coats. “Wine?” Y/N asks, hoping it will open the lines of communication between the two of them.

Harry looks up, hint of surprise on his face, as if he forgot that she was there. “Hmm? Oh, yeah, wine would be good.”

When they get to the kitchen, Y/N pours them each a glass, they clink them together and take a sip.

“Oh, I got some really cute pictures of you holding her, by the way.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and shows Harry the photos. “I’ll text them to you.”

“Thanks.” He says, a dreamy smile plastered on his face. Has Y/N always been this thoughtful? Of course she had, that’s one of the things he’d always loved about her.

“Hey,” Y/N says softly, pulling him from his thoughts. “You okay? You’ve been quiet since we left the hospital.”

Harry smiles nervously, waging an internal battle on whether or not to disclose what’s been going on in his mind. “Yeah… yeah, I’m good. It’s just been a big day.”

“I get it. I swear, if this is how you get just from becoming an uncle, you may go catatonic when you have your own kids.” She chuckles and continues to sip her glass of wine.

Harry feels his heart rate pickup, and he decides that he needs to get it out, he needs to tell her. “You know, you looked pretty at home holding that baby…” He says, opening the door for this conversation, that could either end really well, or really poorly.

“Yeah, I think I felt my ovaries stir a little while I was there.” She chuckles, completely unaware of the conversation to come.

Harry lets out a soft laugh as he takes a sip of his wine, trying to play it cool, even though he felt anything but. “You know, I had this crazy thought when I saw you holding the baby…”

“Oh yeah? What kind of crazy thought?”

Harry smiles softly and looks down at his feet, swirling the wine in his glass. “Well, the way you were holding her, the look on your face, you just bounding her in your arms so gently, her smiling up at you, her tiny hand grabbing your finger, it just got me thinking…” He looks up, locking eyes with her, searching for some kind of reaction.

“Thinking what, Har?” She asked tentatively.

Harry shrugs shyly. “I dunno… it got me thinking, what if that was our kid you were holding?”

Y/N’s eyes go wide in surprise. “Ours? Like yours and mine?”

Harry nods sheepishly, but there is an intensity in his gaze. “I know we’ve never talked about that before, but, I don’t know, I saw you holding her, and it seemed so natural… and that look on your face… it changed something in my heart, and I just realized that I want that.”

“With me? You want that with me… your best friend?”

“Yeah,” he nods, his expression never wavering. “With you, but not as my best friend, as my wife.”

“Harry…” She gasps softly. “This is all kind of out of the blue…”

Harry takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I know, I know, but can you honestly tell me that you’ve never thought about what it would be like if we were together?”

Y/N is silent for a moment as she considers his question. “I mean yeah, of course I’ve thought about it, you’re sweet, funny, good looking. I’d be crazy not to think about it every now and then. But I just always assumed I’d been friend zoned since day one.”

“That’s fair… and honestly, I think you kind of were. I don’t know, something changed today. I realized that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He pauses for a moment, but continues when he sees that she’s still trying to process.

“Think about it, we know each other better than anyone else. We’ve been there for each other through so many breakups, we know exactly what the other wants and expects in relationships. I know for a fact I’d be way better than most of those idiots you waste your time with.”

She lets out a soft chuckle, he was definitely right about that. Y/N thought about it for a minute, and she was right, there had never been a more constant, supportive presence in her life. She considered all the things she wanted in a partner, and realized that Harry was all of those things.

“You realize if we do this, there’s no going back. It’s all or nothing…”

“I don’t want to go back, only forward. Only with you.” Harry says confidently.

Y/N takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay, yeah… let’s do it…”

Harry’s eyes light up, his expression mixed with relief and joy. “Yeah? Are you sure?” Y/N smiles shyly, biting the corner of her lip and nodding.

He places his wine glass down on the counter and takes a step towards Y/N, taking her glass and putting that down as well. “So, I guess we should probably kiss now?” He asks softly, reaching up and brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

“Seems like the next logical step…” She replies quietly.

They both start leaning closer until their lips touch. The kiss is gentle at first, but Harry quickly runs his tongue along the seam of her lips, she parts them, granting him access. He places his hands on her hips, pulling her flush to him as they explore each other’s mouths. Unlike the drunken kisses they had shared in the past, this wasn’t sloppy or rushed. It was slow and deliberate, taking their time to truly explore this new side to their relationship.

When they finally separate to catch their breath, they keep their foreheads pressed together, and look into each other’s eyes.

“So what, we’re like engaged now, or something?” Y/N asks in a slightly teasing tone.

“No way,” Harry says promptly. “If we were engaged, you’d know it. You’re gonna get the big, fancy elaborate proposal, and a big ol’ rock to go along with it.” He says confidently. “But it’ll be coming. Probably soon…”

“Soon?” She asks, slightly surprised.

“Sure, the whole point of dating is to get to know someone. We’ve seen each other at our best and our worst. You know all my little quirks, and I know all those annoying little things about you, and I still want this…”

“Heyyy,” Y/N protests, causing Harry to laugh.

“I know all the cute, sweet, endearing things about you too.” He adds, kissing the tip of her nose.

She narrows her eyes playfully, her wide grin giving her away. “You know we do have one little problem…”

Harry’s brow rounds in concern. “What?”

“Gemma’s gonna take credit for this.”

Harry throws his head back in laughter. “You’re not wrong, but it’s a small price to pay if it means I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.” He leans in and kisses her again.

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daisyblog · 1 year ago

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Uncle Harry

Our Story Masterlist Summary: Harry and YN meet Gemma’s baby.

Based on this request.

Gemma and YN were absolutely thrilled to be pregnant the same time. They would always talk about how close their babies would be, different baby things they had bought and all the memories they would make together.

As it got closer to Gemma’s due date, Harry and YN would be hoping for the good news that their niece or nephew had been born whenever their phone rang.

The couple had just come back from a walk around the fields with Teddy, YN who was heavily pregnant herself had collapsed onto the large sofa the minute they walked through the door. She was about to ask Harry for help with her shoes when his phone rang.

“Hi Mum!”. Harry and YN shared a knowing look, hoping it was the news they were excited about. “Gem’s had the baby! Are they both okay?”. He couldn’t show any excitement until he knew his sister and her baby were both okay. “Thats amazing!” YN listened to one side of the conversation. “Give them a cuddle from us and we’ll be there shortly”.

Once Harry had ended the conversation with his Mum. Harry couldn’t help but shout out loud. “WE HAVE A NIECE! WE HAVE ANOTHER NEICE!”.

“FOOK OFF! Are you serious?”. YN felt a warm feeling inside at the idea that their little ones are both girls.

“Yes! I can’t wait for our baby now…it’s going to be so special!”. Harry let his hand wonder over YN’s tummy where their little girl was growing perfectly.

“C’mon Uncle Harry…let’s go and meet our niece!”.

---

Harry and YN had arrived at the hospital, gifts in their hands for both Gemma and the newest addition to the family. They walked through the quiet but sterile corridor until they found Gemma’s room number. As they walked into the private side room, they could see Gemma, Michal and Anne, who was cuddling her first grandchild in her arms.

Harry went over to his sister, who was resting in the hospital bed, and wrapped his arms around her and told her how proud of her he was. “Congratulations both! She’s beautiful!”. Harry gave his future brother in law a brotherly hug.

“Come here Harry”. Anne called her son over to where she was currently sat. YN used this as a chance to give Gemma and Michal a cuddle and congratulate them on their baby girl. “Meet your niece!”. Anne gently placed the newborn into Harry’s arms.

YN instantly melted inside at the sight of her soon to be husband holding the newborn. “‘Ello…aren’t you a little cutie”. Harry spoke to the little baby in his arms. “And soon you’re going to have a best friend to hang out with…but Auntie YN over there is still growing her nicely!”. The sound of Harry chatting naturally to his niece was too much for YN’s hormones. “But until then you’ll have to enjoy all the attention we’re going to give you.”.

“I’m one lucky Mum and Grandma!” Anne smiled as she looked at the precious moment. “And I can’t wait until our other little girl arrives!”. She pulled YN into her side as she squeezed her gently in her arms.

YN couldn’t help but let the next words flow out of her mouth. “We’re the lucky ones Anne…you’re the best Mum and now our girls get to have you as their Grandma and I know you’ll give our precious girl enough love for my Mum too!”.

“I’ll be loving you both for the two of us.”.

Tag List:

@pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @harrys-flower @platinumbarbie143 @frickin-bats@harrysbbyh0ney @chronicallybubbly @goldensunflowe-r @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite@kaverichauhan @peterholland04 @panicattheuc @or-was-it-just-a-dream @hittiesontour@bunnyharold @fanfictioncafe @lilfreakjez @iamahallucinationnn @theekyliepage @indierockgirrl@buckybarnessimpp @ashleighsss @jerseygirlinca @fake-coolbeans @itsmytimetoodream@treehouse-mouse @mrs-anna-styles211994

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kaleidodreams · 6 months ago

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Updated 100 Memorable Skating Programs

Back in 2018, I created the original version of this list. (You can find the master post here.) Since 2024 marks my 30th year as an official fan of figure skating and there have been some more great programs created since the last time, I thought it was about time to update the list in honor of World Ice Skating Day. Same rules apply as last time:

Only senior competitive programs starting from the 1993-1994 season are eligible, since that's the first season I really started watching figure skating.

Each skater may only be listed once, unless a partner/discipline switch is involved.

Choice of music may also not be repeated. (Yes, there are two James Bond programs on the list, but Yuna and Wakaba use different music for the most part, so I'm letting it slide.)

I debated long and hard about whether or not I should still include programs from skaters who have proven themselves to be not so great people. I'm someone who has little difficulty separating the art from the artist, so in the end, I decided to keep them listed (although most of them got knocked down a few pegs). This list is more about the choreography than the skater anyway, although there are certainly some problematic choreographers out there, too. (Looking at you especially, Morozov!) So, just because a skater is listed doesn't mean that I'm a fan of them or that I condone their actions! I just think certain programs are still great regardless of the skaters' terrible behavior off the ice.

Choreographers are noted if known. If you know who choreographed the programs without a choreographer named, please let me know!

I've also created a handy playlist on YouTube if you don't want to click on all these links.

Ashley Wagner - Moulin Rouge (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2016 Worlds

Jason Brown - Melancholy (Rohene Ward) 2023 Nationals

Patrick Chan - Phantom of the Opera (Lori Nichol) 2011 Canadian Nationals

Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje -Je suis malade (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Meryl Davis/Charlie White - Kajra Re/Silsila Ye Chahat Ka/Dola Re Dola (Marina Zueva, Igor Shpilband, and Anuja Rajendra) 2010 Olympics

Mao Asada - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Tatiana Tarasova) 2014 Olympics

Sui/Han - Rain, In Your Black Eyes (Lori Nichol) 2019 Worlds

Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat - Romeo & Juliet 1998 Olympics

Cain/LeDuc - W.E. (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2022 US Nationals

Daisuke Takahashi - Blues for Klook (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Kurt Browning - Casablanca (Sandra Bezic) 1994 Olympics

Michelle Kwan - Salome (Lori Nichol) 1996 Worlds

Alexei Yagudin - Winter (Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morosov) 2002 Olympics

Jamie Sale/David Pelletier - Love Story (Lori Nichol) 2002 Olympics

Jeremy Abbott - Exogenesis (Jeremy Abbott and Yuka Sato) Nationals 2012

Oksana Grishuk/Evgeni Platov - The Feeling Begins 1997 Worlds

Yuzuru Hanyu - Seimei (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Chock/Bates - Egyptian Snake Dance (Marie-France Dubreuil, Ginette Cournoyer, and Sam Chouinard) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Javier Fernandez - Guys and Dolls (David Wilson) 2016 Worlds

Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres - Sound of Silence (John Kerr and Silvia Fontana) 2017 Euros

Evgenia Medvedeva - Anna Karenina (Daniil Gleichengauz) 2018 Olympics

Nathan Chen - Philip Glass medley (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2021 Worlds

Gabriella Papadakis/Guilliame Cizeron - Elegie (Saxon Fraser and Marie-France Dubreuil) 2022 Olympics

Aljona Savchenko/Bruno Massot - La terre vue du ciel (Christopher Dean) 2018 Olympics

Kevin Aymoz - Bolero (Brice Mousset and Kevin Aymoz) 2023 Skate America

Julia Lipnitskaya - Schindler’s List (Ilia Averbukh) 2014 Olympics

Elena Berezhnaya/Anton Sikharulidze - Lady Caliph 2002 Olympics

Yu-na Kim - James Bond medley (David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Shoma Uno - Buenos Aires Hora Cero (Mihoko Higuchi) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Michal Brezina - The Way You Look Tonight (Jeffrey Buttle) 2016 Skate Canada

Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz - Riverdance 1998 Olympics

Adam Rippon - O/Fly On (Benji Schwimmer) 2016 Trophee de France

Jeffrey Buttle - Bells of Moscow (David Wilson) 2005 Worlds

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier - Vincent (Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs) 2019 Canadian Nationals

Rudy Galindo - Swan Lake (Sharlene Franke) 1996 US Nationals

Sasha Cohen - Malaguena (Tatiana Tarasova) 2004 Worlds

Aljona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy - Pina (Ingo Steur) 2011 Grand Prix Final

Samantha Cesario - Carmen (Inese Budevica) 2013 Trophee Eric Bompard

Tatsuki Machida - East of Eden (Phillip Mills) 2014 Worlds

Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao - Turandot (Lea Ann Miller, Renee Roca, and Gorsha Sur) 2003 Worlds

Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker - Liebestraume (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2018 Nationals

Olga Mikutina - My Nocturnal Serenade (Rostislav Sinicyn) 2023 Europeans

Lu Chen - The Last Emperor (Toller Cranston) 1995 Worlds

Giada Russo - Red Violin (Edoardo de Bernardis) 2016 Europeans

Junhwan Cha - Fate of the Clockmaker/Cloak and Dagger (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2022 Olympics

Han Yan - La La Land (Yuka Sato and Kurt Browning) 2019 Chinese Interclub League

Wakaba Higuchi - Skyfall (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2018 Worlds

Kazuki Tomono - Die Fledermaus (Misha Ge) 2022 Japanese Nationals

Yuma Kagiyama - Believer (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2024 Worlds

Karen Chen - On Golden Pond (Karen Chen) 2017 Nationals

Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani - Coppelia (Marina Zueva and Cheryl Yeager) 2016 Nationals

Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirov - Manfred Symphony (Peter Tchernyshev) 2014 Skate America

Philippe Candeloro - The Three Musketeers (Natacha Dabadie) 1998 Olympics

Alexander Abt - Songs from the Victorious City 1998 Nations Cup

Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir - Prince medley 2017 Worlds

Ekaterina Gordeeva/Sergei Grinkov - Moonlight Sonata (Marina Zueva) 1994 Olympics

Satoko Miyahara - Madama Butterfly (Tom Dickson) 2017 Japanese Nationals

Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha - The White Crow (Romain Haguenauer and Ginette Cournoyer) 2023 Four Continents

Anjelika Krylova/Oleg Ovsiannikov - Masquerade Waltz 1997 Worlds

Alena Kostornaia - The Departure, November (Daniil Gleikhengauz) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Nelli Zhiganshina/Alexander Gazsi - Two from the Grave (Ilia Averbukh) 2013 Worlds

Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov - The Man and The Shadow (Nikolai Morozov) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Stephanie Rosenthal - Rockit (Stewart and Christi Sturgeon) 2006 Nationals

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue - Across the Sky, Caught Out In The Rain (Marie-France Dubreuil) 2018 Nationals

Mikhail Kolyada - The Nutcracker (Ilia Averbukh) 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia

Sinead Kerr/John Kerr - The Landing/Turn Around/Gravity of Love (Evgeni Platov) 2008 Worlds

Kaetlyn Osmond - Sous le ciel de Paris, Milord (Lance Vipond) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Carolina Kostner - Ave Maria (Lori Nichol) 2014 Olympics

Karina Manta/Joe Johnson - Sweet Dreams (Christopher Dean) 2019 Nationals

Gracie Gold - Firebird (Lori Nichol) 2016 Nationals

Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri - Atonement/Song For A Little Sparrow (Barbara Fusar-Poli and Corrado Giordani) 2022 Europeans

Keegan Messing - Singing in the Rain (Lance Vipond) 2018 Worlds

Elizabeth Punsalan/Jerod Swallow - Astor Piazolla medley (Igor Shpilband) 1998 Olympics

Rika Kihira - A Beautiful Storm (Tom Dickson) 2018 NHK Trophy

Mariah Bell - Chicago (Rohene Ward) 2016 Skate America

Brian Joubert - Rise (Evgeni Platov) 2009 Europeans

Stephane Lambiel - Poeta (Antonio Najarro) 2007 Worlds

Kaori Sakamoto - The Matrix (Benoit Richaud) 2020 NHK Trophy

Akiko Suzuki - O (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 NHK Trophy

Qing Pang/Jian Tong - The Impossible Dream (Shae-Lynn Bourne and David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Takahito Kozuka - Io ci saro (Lori Nichol) 2014 Japanese National

Smart/Diaz - Mask of Zorro 2022 Europeans

Matt Savoie - Ennio Morricone medley (Tom Dickson) 2006 Nationals

Deniss Vasiljevs - Puttin’ On The Ritz (Benoit Richaud) 2016 Worlds

Caroline Green/Michael Parsons - Violin Concerto No.1 Eso Concerto, Clouds, The Mind on the Wind (Elena Novak and Alexei Kiliakov) 2022 Four Continents

Tara Lipinski - The Rainbow (Sandra Bezic) 1998 Olympics

Denis Ten - SOS d'un terrien en détresse (David Wilson) 2017 Shanghai Trophy

Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek - Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano (Massimo Scali) 2018 Europeans

Krisztina Czako - The Addams Family (Igor Bobrin) 1997 Europeans

Cheng Peng/Yang Jin - My Drag (Lori Nichol) 2016 GPF

Bradie Tennell - Mechanisms, Chronos (Benoit Richaud) 2020 4CC

Evgeny Plushenko - Tribute to Nijinsky 2004 Russian Nationals

Vanessa Gusmeroli - Rats D'Hotel 1999 Worlds

Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau - Monde Inverse (Shae-Lynn Bourne and Shae Zukiwsky) 2015 Skate America

Isabeau Levito - Dulcea Și Tandra Mea Fiară (Yulia Kuznetsova) 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva - Batwannis Beek/Sandstorm (Tatiana Prokofieva) 2015 Europeans

Kana Muramoto/Daisuke Takahashi - Soran Bushi (Marina Zoueva, Ilia Tkachenko, and Koyo Yanai) 2021 NHK Trophy

Amber Glenn - This Time (Kaitlyn Weaver and Randi Strong) 2024 Lombardia Trophy

Ivan Righini - You Raise Me Up (Ivan Righini) 2016 Europeans

Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte - Life is Beautiful (Liudmila Vlasova) 2017 NHK Trophy

#figure skating #world ice skating day #ashley wagner #jason brown #patrick chan #weaver/poje #davis white #mao asada #sui/han #anissina/peizerat #cain/leduc #daisuke takahashi #(and a bunch of others)

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dalsimoravskyblog · 5 months ago

Text

Ultimátní vánoční pohádka: FINÁLE

Pohádky (pod předělem v abecedním pořadí a s videem):

Dvanáct měsíčků (2012)

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režie: Karel Janák | hrají: Marie Majkusová, Roman Vojtek, Veronika Žilková, Ivana Korolová, Jan Komínek, Radoslav Brzobohatý

„Poklid podhorské vesnice naruší v předvečer vánoc návrat rodáka – mladého muže Karla z ciziny, kde se mu zjevně dařilo. Karel se rázem stane lákavou partií pro všechny dívky na vdávání ve vesnici, a to do té míry, že vezmou jeho chalupu útokem. Vdavkům se ale Karel chce vyhnout, naopak touží prodat statek, vzít s sebou mladšího bratra a odstěhovat se natrvalo. Proto vznikne nápad uložit adeptkám nereálné úkoly a stanovit tak jednoznačné podmínky. Úkoly se podaří splnit pouze Květě a to jen díky nevlastní sestře Marušce, kterou macecha donutí s úkoly Květě pomoci. Sama to ale nezvládne...“ (ČSFD, 57 %)

Korunní princ (2015)

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režie: Karel Janák | hrají: Patrik Děrgel, Kryštof Hádek, Eva Podzimková, Pavel Kříž, Josef Abrhám, Ladislav Mrkvička

„Kdesi v Zapovězeném lese žije zlý čaroděj Kruciatus. Ten se před sto lety pokusil zničit království, kterému dnes vládne král Alexandr, jenž má dva syny – následníka trůnu Jana a mladšího prince Karla. Karel se však nechce s rolí druhého v pořadí za žádnou cenu smířit. S pomocí svého sluhy Pakosty se na hradě vloupá do zakázané komnaty, získá kouzelné rekvizity, které tu po zlém čaroději zůstaly, a hodlá svého bratra zničit. Princ Jan tak vypije kouzelný lektvar, který mu jeho povedený bratr naservíruje, a ten mu vmžiku vymaže paměť. Jan se poté bezhlavě vydává na cestu do Zapovězeného lesa, ve kterém každý, kdo tam kdy vkročil, beze stopy zmizel.“ (ČSFD, 70 %)

Kouzla králů (2008)

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režie: Zdeněk Zelenka | hrají: Petra Tenorová, Martin Kraus, Michal Slaný, Anna Fialová, Josef Abrhám, Jitka Schneiderová

„Jak to tak bývá, byla nebyla dvě království. Jednomu vládl hodný král Dobromil, druhému zlý Vladan. Jenomže dobrý králům se nedějí samé dobré věci. Dobromilova dcera je začarována královnou ohně. Dobromilovi nezbývá nic jiného, než najít muže, kterému by se povedlo princeznu vysvobodit. Své pátrání rozšíří na Vladanovu říši. Najde se zde někdo, kdo princeznu zachrání?“ (ČSFD, 48 %)

Krakonošovo tajemství (2022)

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režie: Peter Bebjak | hrají: David Švehlík, Leona, Jan Nedbal, Ondřej Sokol, Dominika Morávková, Jakub Prachař, Martin Huba

„Na zámek v podhůří Krkonoš přijíždí nový majitel Štěpán se snoubenkou komtesou Blankou a mladším bratrem Adamem. Cestou kočár nešťastně srazí kolemjdoucí dívku Lidušku, Adam jí pomůže a ona se do něj zamiluje. V horském městečku je ještě jeden nový příchozí, národopisec Jiráček, který sbírá místní pověsti a nevychází z údivu nad tím, že zdejší lidé ještě věří v Krakonoše. Díky Adamovi Liduška získá místo zahradnice na zámku, jenže také brzy zjistí, že Adam je beznadějně zamilovaný do Blanky. Sobecký a lakomý Štěpán se dozví od Jiráčka o nevídaných pokladech skrytých v krkonošských horách a je odhodlaný je získat, zvlášť, když Adam náhodou objeví vlašskou knihu, která pomocí tajných značek popisuje, jak se k nim dostat.“ (ČSFD, 66 %)

O vánoční hvězdě (2020)

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režie: Karel Janák | hrají: Tereza Ramba, Vojtěch Kotek, Leonie Brill, Aňa Geislerová, Ondřej Sokol, Matěj Hádek, Kryštof Hádek

„Učitel Václav se chodí každý večer dívat na princeznu, jak bruslí na zamrzlém jezeře, ale ani sám sobě nepřizná, že je do ní zamilovaný. Jednoho dne se u něj doma objeví hvězda Denička, snoubenka zářivého Siria, kterou na zem srazila žárlivá Proxima. Každá hvězda na zemi vyhasíná, síly jí ale může dodat čistá, nesobecká láska. Když Denička zjistí, že Václav miluje princeznu, rozhodne se pomoci jejich lásce a tím zachránit i sebe. Jenže Proxima se rozhodně nevzdává a je odhodlaná udělat cokoli, aby zazářila vedle Siria místo Deničky.“ (ČSFD, 65 %)

Tajemství staré bambitky (2011)

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režie: Ivo Macharáček | hrají: Tomáš Klus, Kamila Janovičová, Ondřej Vetchý, Petr Štěpánek, Miroslav Vladyka, Jiří Lábus, Tereza Kostková

„V jednom malém království mají panovníka, kterého máloco udrží doma. Král Vilém s královnou Olivií jsou stále na cestách a s velkorysostí sobě vlastní přenechávají vládu nad říší královské radě, ve které mají hlavní slovo rádcové Ferenc a Lorenc. Jejich hlavním zájmem je vypisovat čím dál častěji nové daně, jejichž prostřednictvím získávají stále větší příjmy do vlastní kapsy. Práva obyčejných lidí chrání jen loupežník Karaba, který přepadá výběrčí daní a nespravedlivě vybrané peníze zase vrací původním majitelům. Když se mu narodí dcera Anička, uloží své loupežnické „nádobíčko“ včetně staré bambitky hluboko na dno velké truhly a vrátí se ke svému původnímu hrnčířskému řemeslu. Ve stejnou dobu se královským manželům narodí syn Jakub. Obě děti se později, na prahu dospělosti, setkají a ke slovu se znovu dostane loupežníkova bambitka, která napravuje zlodějinu královských rádců.“ (ČSFD, 69 %)

#ultimátní vánoční pohádka #pohádky #dvanáct měsíčků #korunní princ #kouzla králů #krakonošovo tajemství #o vánoční hvězdě #tajemství staré bambitky #český film #česká televize #český tumblr #český blog

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