#the literary grand tour of the world

[lierrelearns]

写真提供: 小田原市立図書館発行[一枚の古い写真]より

明治憲法と民法を起草、初代の内閣総理大臣 伊藤博文 (1841-1909) 1] 伊藤博文公胸像 (本町四丁目) 伊藤博文の別邸[滄浪閣]跡で[民法発祥の地]として知られます。 *民有地ですので立入りはご遠慮ください。 写真提供: 国立国会図書館

幕末の志士で、宮内大臣等を歴任した政治家 田中光顕 (1843-1939) 2] 小田原文学館、3] 白秋童謡館 (南町二丁目) 田中光顕が構えた2棟の別邸を、小田原文学館と白秋童謡館として有料公開しています。 *建物は国登録有形文化財 写真提供:多摩市教育委員会

三井物産等を設立した明治財界の指導者、大茶人 益田孝 (鈍翁) (1848-1938) 鈍翁in西海子(南町二丁目) 茶器など鈍翁ゆかりの品々を展示しています。 写真提供: 国立国会図書館

秋山真之と親父があり、海運業で財閥を築いた実業家 山下亀三郎 (1867-1944) 5] 対潮閣跡 (南町一丁目) 山下亀三郎の別邸[対潮閣]跡で、秋山真之の終焉の地です。後に、田中光顕の歌を彫った[釣鐘石]が置かれました。 *民有地ですので立入りはご遠慮ください。 写真提供:山下真一郎氏

福岡黒田家13代目、貴族院副議長を30年務める 黒田長成 (1867-1939) [6]清閑亭 (南町一丁目) 黒田長成が明治末期に構えた数奇屋風の別邸。周辺の庭園めぐりの案内をしています。 *建物は国登録有形文化財 写真提供: 国立国会図書館

日露戦争における仁川沖海戦等で活躍した司令官瓜生外吉 (1857-1937) 7] 瓜生海軍大将之像 (南町一丁目) 山角天神社の境内に瓜生大将の胸像があります。 8] 瓜生坂 (南町一丁目) 高台にあった瓜生外吉の別邸に通じていた坂道です。 写真提供:瓜生家

多数の詩や童謡を創作した国民的詩人 北原白秋 (1885-1942) 9] 木兎の家跡(伝肇寺境内)(城山四丁目) 北原白秋が大正7年から8年余りを過ごした[木兎の家]が伝肇寺境内にありました。 写真提供: 小田原市立図書館

皇族出身の陸軍軍人で、昭和激動期の参謀総長 閑院宮載仁親王 (1865-1945) 10] 三の丸外郭新掘土塁(南町一丁目〜城山四丁目) 閑院宮載仁親王の別邸跡。広大な敷地の一部は史跡小田原城跡の土塁に重ねっていました。 写真提供: 小田原市立図書館 H25.12 小田原市観光課

Vocab 提供 （ていきょう） providing, donating 発行（はっこう）publication 憲法（けんぽう） constitution 民法（みんぽう） civil code, civil law 起草（きそう） (drafting (a bill, etc.), drawing up 内閣総理大臣 （ないかくそうりだいじん）prime minister (of a cabinet government) 伊藤博文 （いとう・ひろぶみ）Itou Hirobumi 公 （おおやけ）official, governmental, formal 胸像 （きょうぞう）half-length portrait 別邸 （べってい）secondary residence, vacation home 滄浪閣 （そうろうかく）Sorokaku 発祥の地（はっしょうのち） origin, birthplace 民有地 （みんゆうち）private land ご遠慮ください（ごえんりょください）please refrain (from) 国立国会図書館（こくりつこっかいとしょかん）National Diet Library 幕末（ばくまつ）Bakumatsu period 志士 （しし）imperial loyalist samurai of the Bakumatsu-era 宮内大臣（くないだいじん）Minister of the Imperial Household 歴任 （れきにん）successive/consecutive jobs 政治家（せいじかん）politician, statesman 田中光顕（たんか・むつあき）Tanaka Mitsuaki 文学館（ぶんがくかん）literary museum 白秋（はくしゅう）Hakushu (see below) 童謡（どうよう）nursery rhyme 構える（かまえる）to build, set up 棟（とう）counter for buildings 有料（ゆうりょう）fee-charging 公開（こうかい）open to the public 有形文化財（ゆうけいぶんかざい）tangible cultural properties 多摩市（たまし）Tama City 三井物産（みついぶっさん）Mitsuri & Co. 設立（せつりん）establishment, foundation 財界（ざいかい）financial world, business circles 茶人（ちゃじん）master of the tea ceremony 益田孝（ますだ・たかし）Masuda Takashi 鈍翁（どんのう）Donnou, an alias he took on as a tea master 西海子（さいかいし）Saikaishi 茶器（ちゃき）tea utensils ゆかりconnection (to a person, place, or thing) 品々（しなじな）various articles 展示（てんじ）exhibition, display 秋山真之（あきやま・さねゆき）Akiyama Saneyuki 海運業（かいうんぎょう）shipping industry, marine transport 財閥（ざいばつ）zaibatsu, financial conglomerate 築く（きずぐ）to build up, establish 実業家（じつぎょうか）business, entrepreneur 山下亀三郎（やました・かめさぶろう）Yamashita Kamesaburo 対潮閣（たいちょうかく）Taichokaku 終焉（しゅうえん）end (of life), death; (peacefully) spending one’s final years 彫る （ほる）to carve, engrave 釣鐘石 （つりがねいし）Tsurigane-ishi (Hanging Bell-shaped Rock) 代目（だいめ）nth generation 貴族院（きぞくいん）House of Peers (Meiji constitution) 副議長（ふくぎちょう）vice-chairman 黒田長成（くろだ・ながしげ）Kuroda Nagashige 数奇屋（すきや）tea-ceremony arbor めぐり tour 教育委員会（きょういくいいんかい）board of education 日露戦争（にちろせんそう）Russo-Japanese War における in, at, on, regarding 仁川沖海戦（じんせんおきかいせん）Battle of Chemulpo Bay (Feb. 9, 1904) 仁川（インチョン）Incheon 活躍（かつやく）activity, great efforts, active participation 司令官（しれいかん）commanding officer, general 瓜生外吉（うりう・そときち）Uryu Sotokichi 海軍大将（かいぐんたいしょう）admiral 之（の）of 山角天神社（やむかくてんじんじゃ）Yamakakuten Shrine 境内（けいだい）grounds (esp. of temples and shrines) 坂（さか）milestone; slope, hill 高台（たかだい）high ground, hill 坂道（さかみち）hill road 創作（そうさく）creative work 国民的（こくみんてき）popular on a national level 北原白秋（きたはら・はくしゅう）Kitahara Hakushuu 木兎（つく）horned owl (rarely used kanji form) 伝肇寺（でんじょうじ）Denjo-ji Temple 皇族（こうぞく）imperial family 陸軍（りくぐん）army 軍人（ぐんじん）soldier 激動（げきどう）turmoil, upheaval 参謀総長（さんぽうそうちょう）chief of general staff 閑院宮載仁親王（かんいんのみやことひとしんのう）Prince Kan’in Kotohito 外郭（がいかく）outer fence, outer enclosure 土塁（どるい）earthen walls 広大（こうだい）immense, huge, grand 敷地（しきち）site, plot, grounds 史跡（しせき）historic site

[swan-of-sunrise]

Loki and the Cosmic Sorceress’ Spellbinding World Tour (A Spellbinding-Verse Interlude)

Summary: Loki and (Y/N) embark on a month-long trip to visit a dozen of the most beautiful and unique libraries in the world, each stop jam-packed with plenty of adventure, excitement and romance for the God of Mischief and the Cosmic Sorceress.

Pairing: Loki X Reader

Word Count: 11.7k

Warnings/Disclaimers: Disclaimer for a depiction and discussion of PTSD and its symptoms.

A/N: As promised, here's a not-so-little one-shot chronicling Loki and (Y/N)'s nerdy but well-earned vacation! If you haven't already, I recommend checking out the Spellbinding Playlist; I added a song from each country they visit and they're all great, so go ahead and give it a listen! Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you enjoy! (And a special shout-out to @mostclevermiss​ for giving me such wonderful inspiration and for being an overall awesome person, I hope I did El Ateneo Grand Splendid justice!)

~ Loki and the Cosmic Sorceress’ Spellbinding World Tour (A Spellbinding One-Shot) ~

1. Biblioteca Vasconcelos Mexico City, Mexico June 25th, 2016

Although the first of the twelve unique libraries they’d be visiting during their globe-trotting, month-long vacation, the Biblioteca Vasconcelos was far from the most glamorous or inviting of the dozen. The exterior of the building did little to stand out as a center for knowledge, with concrete walls and steel fences holding in the surrounding vegetation, but the inside was truly an impressive sight; a crisscrossing array of expandable metal shelves filled the cavernous interior and open-air balconies of each of the seven levels overlooked the entire library, and sunlight filtered in through the large skylights and slatted side windows. Musicians were playing their instruments in the garden and teenagers practiced a dance routine near the glass facades on the ground level while inside, patrons were reading, studying and conversing with one another as they enjoyed the warm summer day. Loki and (Y/N), however, were taking a small break from admiring the unusual architecture and vast literary collection to help a certain friendly neighborhood Spider-Man with his schoolwork.

“I thought that Parker started his summer vacation yesterday,” Loki remarked, thumbing through a book of Mexican history as he leaned against a nearby bookshelf. “Didn’t he tell us all that he passed his final exams with high marks and that he qualified for the next grade’s advanced placement Spanish course?”

(Y/N), who stood at the railing of the fourth floor’s balcony and carefully filmed the floors below them, glanced away from her smartphone’s screen and smiled. “Peter’s an overachiever; he knows that his new Spanish teacher always assigns her eleventh graders a cultural report on Mexico, so…”

“He’s planning his report out ahead of time, hence why he asked that we film as much of our stop in Mexico as we possibly can.” Loki concluded and when his fiancée nodded, he let out an appreciative hum. “Impressive. I’ll never understand how that child manages to find the time to patrol the city as its friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, achieve high marks on nearly all his schoolwork, work on various experiments with Stark and Doctor Banner in the laboratory, maintain multiple friendships…”

“And do it all while somehow keeping his aunt out of the loop,” (Y/N) added as she panned her smartphone to capture the level they were standing on. “I speak from personal experience that sooner rather than later, aunts will always find out the truth. When I was sixteen, I thought that it would be a good idea to let one of my friends secretly pierce my bellybutton; naturally, it became infected and I was finally forced to tell Aunt Evelyn about it. She didn’t ground me or judge my obviously poor decision, but she did take me to the doctors and help cheer me up by telling me about the time she decided to over-tweeze her eyebrows right before taking her senior portrait.”

With a chuckle, Loki set the book back onto the shelf and crossed his arms over his chest. “It would seem that you and I were both quite the rebels in our youth. I was only beginning to learn how to wield magic when I decided that I wanted to grow a beard to rival Thor’s, but I miscalculated the strength of the spell and covered my entire body in hair; my mother was forced to reverse the spell I’d used and afterwards, she promised to never speak a word of my little misstep to anyone, but especially not to Thor.”

“Well, sweetheart, I think you’re handsome just the way you are.” Smiling, (Y/N) held her phone in one hand and rested the other against his smooth cheek before giving him a sweet kiss; Loki hummed in approval and while he kissed her back, his arm slipped around her waist and his long fingers teasingly traced patterns along the material covering her bellybutton, smirking in triumph when she pulled away to shoot him a reprimanding look. “You know as well as I do that there isn’t a piercing there, Loki.”

Loki shrugged, his grin widening when his fingertips slipped beneath the hem of her shirt and she stifled a small gasp. “I know, darling, but it’s awfully tempting to imagine if there was, isn’t it?”

(Y/N)’s lips were ghosting over his when the familiar voice of Peter Parker timidly called out, “Um…I-I think you might’ve called me by accident, Miss (Y/L/N)…” Their eyes widened in alarm and their attention quickly shifted to the phone clutched in (Y/N)’s hand. “I’m just…I-I’m gonna hang up now but thank you guys so much for filming the library and have fun on the rest of your vacation! Bye!”

The flustered teenager abruptly hung up and as they exchanged matching looks of guilt, Loki thought of the children that they hoped to have someday and sent them each a silent apology for all the embarrassment that their lovesick parents would force them to endure.

2. Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil Rio de Janerio, Brazil

“‘In 1755, a massive earthquake nearly destroyed the city of Lisbon, killing somewhere between ten and one hundred thousand people, turning hundreds of buildings into rubble and becoming one of the deadliest natural disasters in history. One casualty of the momentous event was the seventy thousand volume Royal Library in the demolished Royal Ribeira Palace; soon after the earthquake, King Joseph I of Portugal organized construction of a new Royal Library.’” (Y/N) read aloud from the well-worn travel brochure in her hands, briefly looking up from the paragraph she was reading to glance down at the grand reading room below. “‘Fear that another earthquake would devastate the new collection of volumes and the Napoleonic Wars reaching the borders of Portugal finally pushed the royal family into fleeing to the Portuguese colony of Brazil with their book collection in tow.’”

“Thus, creating the largest library in Latin America.” Loki leaned his forearms against the balcony’s railing and met (Y/N)’s gaze with an amazed smile. “It’s truly incredible how they were able to amass such a collection in less than three centuries.”

“I actually learned how they did it in one of my college courses! Back in 1907, it was decided that each publisher would send one copy of each new publication to the library, to grow Brazil’s bibliography in order to preserve national language and culture. It’s not the only library that’s implemented such a practice, of course, but is that a genius idea or what?”

Loki’s grin widened as he nodded in agreement. “It certainly is. Is that one of the policies you’ll be enacting once you complete your work on Alfheim’s public library, your royal highness?”

She playfully bumped her hip against his and leaned on the railing beside him. “It certainly is.”

After Amirah agreed to become the next Queen of Alfheim and informed (Y/N) that she’d be declaring her Defender of the Realm and Alfheim’s representative to the Nine Realms, (Y/N) began to brainstorm various ways to strengthen the realm’s cultural appreciation while simultaneously educating the Light Elves on nearly a thousand years of history they missed while trapped within Freyr’s barrier of Alf Seidr. She recalled the conversation she’d shared with Myriani and Hagen about her mother on the night she arrived at the rebel’s base camp, where Myriani revealed that Layeia’s dream was to establish a library for all Alfheimians regardless of social class; she planned to fill it with books from each of the Nine Realms in the cosmos, but she sadly died before her dream could come to fruition. Now that Amirah sat on the throne and Alfheim was beginning to heal, (Y/N) knew that there was no better time to finish what her mother started.

“I was skimming through your travel brochure just before our dinner reservation yesterday, and the Teresa Cristina Maria photograph collection that this library curates caught my attention; perhaps you could start a similar collection on Alfheim and fill it with photographs taken of various planets and people across the galaxy?”

Shrugging the small backpack off her shoulders, (Y/N) tucked the guidebook away and pulled out a spiral notebook, jotting down Loki’s suggestion before giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek. “That’s a brilliant idea, sweetheart!” She let out a low whistle as her eyes flicked across the page, noticing how nearly every line filled with messy scribbles and half-formed ideas for the ambitious undertaking. “You know, I really have no idea how I’m supposed to get all of this done without cloning myself or somehow messing with the space-time continuum.”

Loki’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, and he gave her upper arm a comforting squeeze. “Establishing a library this grand will undoubtedly take time, darling. If you go about things the way I know you want to, then the library will never truly be finished; it’ll continue to flourish and grow with each new generation, much like the very library we’re standing in, and it’ll be just as magnificent. And if you still feel overwhelmed, you can always create a committee to help you oversee the library’s development.”

“…I suppose it doesn’t sound so stressful and hopeless when you put it that way.”

Her fiancé’s tender smile widened in triumph. “Good. You’ve more than earned a lengthy and relaxing vacation, and it’s my solemn duty to ensure that you enjoy it to its fullest; that includes making sure that beautiful mind of yours remains free of any worry.”

“Oh, my savior!” She pretended to swoon, bursting into a fit of giggles when Loki easily caught her and began pressing kisses across her face. “Okay, okay, I surrender!” He captured her lips in one final kiss and when he pulled away, she rested a hand against his cheek and smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

“For what, my love?”

“For being you.” Loki’s cheeks flushed pink at her sentimentality and her smile widened. “C’mon, let’s finish exploring here so we can return to the hotel and get ready for a night of drinking and dancing!”

3. El Ateneo Grand Splendid Buenos Aires, Argentina

After taking a long sip of his capuchino, Loki sat back in his chair and let out a satisfied sigh. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that I died while heroically defending a library and that this bookshop is my personal Valhalla.”

“Mm-hmm,” (Y/N) hummed in agreement after taking a large bite of her jamón y queso. “I know that it sounds like an exaggeration, but this is hands-down the best ham and cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten. I have to learn how to make this when we go back home…well, I should probably hone my cooking skills first before attempting something this tasty.”

“I’ll happily teach you how to cook just as soon as you teach me how to bake that delicious chocolate cheesecake of yours. You know, the one that you baked for Doctor Banner’s birthday party?”

“Deal.” Finishing her sandwich and taking care to wipe her hands off with her napkin, (Y/N) began sifting through one of the many stacks of books they’d piled beside their café table while Loki continued to enjoy his coffee. El Ateneo Grand Splendid, the world-famous bookshop occupying the inside of a former opera house, certainly lived up to its name; the opulent décor of the opera house, from its frescoed ceilings and detailed trimmings to its elegant balconies and lush red stage curtains, blended with the traditional features of a standard bookshop to create one of the most stunning book-buying experiences in the world. The empty boxes had been converted into private reading rooms with comfortable armchairs, the upper floor housed various exhibitions and displays, and the stage had been taken over by a small café, thus creating Loki’s absolute favorite bookshop in all the Nine Realms. “Which one do you think Sam would like more, the book about the history of shrimping in Louisiana or the joke book?”

Loki considered her question for a moment as a smirk played on his lips. “Wilson would enjoy learning more about the history of his hometown’s way of life, but I think that he’d find even more entertainment in the joke book.” His fiancée nodded and set the joke book aside, continuing to sift through the rest of the books she’d gathered over the several hours they’d perused the bookshop. “Darling, your enthusiasm is always a joy to behold but isn’t your Midgardian holiday season still six months away?”

“It is, but it’s never too early to begin holiday shopping!” (Y/N) beamed and Loki’s heart warmed at her excitement. “Besides, I love any excuse to find new books; el tiempo que se disfruta es el verdadero tiempo vivido.”

“‘The time that is enjoyed is the time that it truly lived,’” Loki translated with a grin. “I concur; we’ve certainly been enjoying ourselves on this vacation, and we’ve only visited three out of the twelve libraries we’re scheduled to see.” Loki noticed his fiancée flexing her ankles beneath the café table and gave her a sympathetic look. “Although, we might’ve been overly ambitious yesterday, touring the entire Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno and taking that tango class all in the same day. If you’d like, I can begin packing our things tonight while you take a relaxing bath and afterwards, we can even call room service and order some flan mixto.”

The corner of (Y/N)’s lips curved upwards in an almost reluctant smile. “Well, I do love flan mixto and a bath does sound positively heavenly…the only problem is your lack of patience when it comes to packing.”

“It wouldn’t frustrate me so much if I could just use my magic, but we vowed that we would try to keep this a superpower-free vacation and I won’t be the first one to break down and use mine.” A flicker of amusement crossed his fiancée’s face and he let out an indignant huff. “You don’t think I can go an entire month without using magic?”

She shrugged noncommittally. “You’ve relied on magic for centuries, whereas I’ve only been using Alf Seidr for a little over a year. It stands to reason that you’d be the one to break down first.”

“But you forget, darling, over the course of those centuries I’ve developed impeccable control over nearly every aspect of my existence; all I need to do is sit back and wait out your more impulsive Midgardian half.” Sitting up in his seat, Loki set his cup of coffee down onto the table and gave her a wicked smile. “Perhaps we should make it a contest? If you win, I’ll have to watch whichever film or television shows you choose for an entire year and if I win, you’ll let me plan our honeymoon. Deal?”

“All right, deal.” They shook hands and Loki watched as (Y/N) turned her attention back to their stacks of books. “We should probably start whittling these down; I don’t think that Tony will appreciate if we have an entire pallet of books shipped to the tower…”

4. Bibliotheca Alexandrina Alexandria, Egypt

“Now that’s quite the view, innit?”

(Y/N)’s head snapped up from her cell phone but the scathing retort she’d prepared to level at the presumed catcaller died on her lips when she looked over at the man standing nearby; he was around her age, with a light olive-toned complexion framed by a wild head of dark curls and a muscular build almost hidden beneath the tee-shirt and oversized thin jacket he wore, and his deep brown eyes were examining the intricate carvings etched into the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s gray Aswan granite exterior. The awestruck expression on the man’s face as he stood and took in the impressive architecture before him made (Y/N) smile and prompted her to approach him. “Makes you wish that the original Library of Alexandria was still around, doesn’t it? There’s no telling how massive it would be today if the Romans hadn’t burned it down.”

The man emphatically nodded. “One of the world’s biggest tragedies, that was; obviously not the worst of the lot, of course, but just thinkin’ about all that knowledge and history and how it was just erased from the world in the blink of an eye by Julius bloody Caesar…well, I can’t help but think that all those senators might’ve been onto somethin’ when they did the poor bugger in.” She burst into laughter at his unexpected words and even he started to grin. “Yeah, I can’t say that I’m fond of those Romans. The Egyptians, though, they were bloody geniuses; they invented the world’s first organized irrigation system, pioneered the use of canals and irrigation channels to water farm fields far away from the Nile River, built the pyramids by developing and using complex mathema-” He stopped talking and a sheepish smile spread across his face. “Sorry, I’ve just been prattling on here and I never properly introduced myself. My name’s Steven, Steven Grant.”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N).” She shook Steven’s outstretched hand. “So, what brings you to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina?”

“The antiquities museum, actually. I’m a museum tour guide back home in London and this museum’s been on my bucket list for quite a while.” Steven glanced down at her engagement ring before looking back up at her. “Vacationing with your husband? Alexandria’s a great travel destination, innit?”

“My fiancé, actually, we’re taking a month-long trip to visit a dozen of the largest and most beautiful libraries in the world. I’m a former trainee librarian, you see, and we first met at the library where I worked…”

Steven beamed. “That’s so sweet, it’s like one of those Hugh Grant romantic comedies! Which other libraries have you two decided to visit?”

Before (Y/N) could answer, Loki walked up to them with two tickets in his hands and a curious gleam in his emerald-green eyes. “The next planetarium show starts in about a half an hour, darling, so that leaves us plenty of time to explore.” He turned to Steven with a polite smile. “And I see you’ve made a new friend. I’m Loki, (Y/N)’s fiancé.”

“Steven Grant.” They shook hands but the British man’s dark brown eyes narrowed in concentration. “Sorry, bruv, but have we met somewhere before? You look awfully familiar-”

“Loki of Asgard…” A disembodied voice called out, its deep timbre reverberating in the air around the three of them and causing a chill to go down (Y/N)’s spine. “It’s been many years since we last spoke.”

A yelp of surprise escaped (Y/N) when a towering skeletal figure appeared behind Steven, its human body wrapped in mummification linens and its decayed bird head staring pointedly down at them as it clutched a staff in its hand. She instinctively summoned her new Cosmic Sorceress uniform, her glasses switching into their invisibility mode as the shimmer of magic engulfing her body faded away, and two swirling balls of vivid purple Alf Seidr appeared in her hands, and she took a defensive stance while Steven gasped in shock. “Oh, my days…you’re the Cosmic Sorceress! I-I’m a bit of a fan, actually, you’re my absolute favorite Avenger.” The British man glanced over at Loki with an apologetic smile. “No offense, bruv.”

“None taken, Mr. Grant.” Loki returned his attention to the creature standing before them. “Ah, Khonshu. Still taking on avatars to protect the travelers of the night and dispense your cold justice against the evildoers, I see.”

“Unlike my fellow gods, I will not abandon humanity and leave them to evil’s mercy; I was once fully prepared to dispense my justice against you, God of Mischief, but it would seem that you changed your villainous ways on your own.” Khonshu turned to (Y/N) and cocked his skeletal head. “I have not seen a Light Elf in many centuries, nor have I seen one who wields the ancient Alf Seidr so easily.”

“The Cosmic Sorceress’s actually only part-Alfheimian; her dad was an American bloke and her mum was an Alfheimian princess, and they fell in love when she traveled down to Earth for the first time.” Sensing everyone staring at him, Steven’s ears turned pink and he stammered out, “I might’ve read that piece that Time Magazine did on you last month once or twice…”

Loki rested a calming hand on the small of her back. “Khonshu, this is (Y/N) (Y/L/N), the Crown Princess of Alfheim and one of Midgard’s Avengers. (Y/N), this is Khonshu, the God of the Moon; the old bird hasn’t been too fond of my more mischievous schemes here on Midgard, so I’ve faced the wrath of a handful of his Moon Knights. Who knew that using magic to create illusions of unidentified flying objects in the sky is equivalent to threatening the travelers of the night?”

Unable to fully process everything she was seeing and hearing, (Y/N) didn’t lower her hands or relax her defensive stance, the Alf Seidr swirling around her hands continuing to glow brightly as she slowly spoke. “Khonshu…like the Egyptian God of the Moon?”

The god inclined his head. “Indeed. I can sense the blood of Lady Astrid flowing through your veins; she was an honorable goddess, one of the very few whose company I took pleasure in.” (Y/N)’s eyes widened in disbelief as she glanced over at Loki, who gave her an ‘I’ll explain it later’ look but before either of them could reply, the wall of the library split open to reveal a stone tunnel etched with glowing Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. “I apologize for the sudden departure, but we’re needed for a meeting of the Ennead. Farewell, Loki Odinson and (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

The God of the Moon vanished in a puff of smoke and Steven flashed them a grin. “Well, it was really nice meeting you two, so cheers!” The British man cheerily waved and hurried into the tunnel, but not before (Y/N) caught him mumbling under his breath. “No, I was not fanboying over her, Marc, don’t be a knob…”

Steven Grant disappeared from view and the wall closed behind him, returning everything to its normal state; finally lowering her raised arms and willing away her magic, (Y/N) summoned her street clothes and glasses before turning to face her amused fiancé. “So, Egyptian gods and goddesses are real, and you shamelessly antagonized one by creating illusions of UFO’s?!”

“Yes, and yes,” Loki answered with a chuckle, his arm wrapping around her waist as a teasing smile played on his lips. “I expect you have many more questions for me, my love, but first…” He leaned closer to her and murmured in her ear, “It seems as though you’ve lost the little wager regarding our magic.”

“…Oh, dammit.”

5. Mafra National Palace Library Mafra, Portugal

With each stop on their rather unique vacation, Loki found himself learning more about the different ways Midgardians valued and maintained their collections of literature. The opposing techniques used by each country or culture truly fascinated him, but even a bibliophile like him was taken by surprise by certain practices; the Mafra National Palace Library was one of the finest in all of Europe, with nearly forty thousand volumes in its collection that dated back to the 14th century and impressive Rococo-style architecture, but its valuable books were defended from bookworms and moths by-

“Bats?” Loki’s jaw dropped in surprise and he looked up from the brochure he was skimming through at (Y/N). “They allow bats into the library at night to control the pests that might damage the books. Aren’t there more technologically advanced ways of protecting antique book collections?”

“Well, most libraries use mixtures of ethylene oxide or methyl bromide, and in some instances, they even use low levels of gamma radiation for pest control. From what I can assume, they’ve been using bats for centuries and since they work so well, they’ve just continued to utilize their…um, unique talents.” His fiancée shivered and cast a wary glance at a nearby wooden bookshelf. “Bats have always creeped me out. They’re useful to an ecosystem and they’re not really scary when you look at them, but when I was little, Aunt Evelyn and I watched this cheesy horror movie called The Abominable Dr. Phibes and there’s this scene with a bunch of giant bats…urgh, I had nightmares for days after that.”

Loki gave the hand he was holding a comforting squeeze. “I suppose we’ll have to add that film to the list of media our children can’t consume until they’re at least twelve.”

They continued exploring the grand library hand-in-hand and in comfortable silence, and it wasn’t until they were nearly done that (Y/N) finally spoke. “How many children do you imagine us having someday?”

Loki brought their joined hands up to press a kiss onto her knuckles. “That all depends on how many you imagine us having someday, darling.”

“C’mon, sweetheart, you can tell me! How many?” (Y/N) smiled as his ears began to turn red in embarrassment. “Oh no, it’s not a crazy number like eight, is it?”

“Norns, no! That’s far too much mischief for even you and I to handle…” He chuckled, hesitantly glancing over at his fiancée before continuing. “I suppose that I’ve always imagined us having four children.”

(Y/N)’s eyes widened in surprise. “Four? I guess it’s not exactly a crazy number, but I was thinking more along the lines of two; theoretically, our children will inherit our magic and I’m not too sure I want to be outnumbered by underage magic-wielders who’ll almost certainly take after their father and his mischievous ways.”

“Deny it all you’d like, my love, but I know how you adore my mischievous ways; need I remind you of how you were woken up this morning, or of just how loudly you voiced your overwhelming approval?” Looking more than flustered by his rhetorical question, she shoved her shoulder against his and he smirked at her endearing bashfulness. “That being said, I see your point about being outnumbered. Perhaps we could meet in the middle and make it three?”

“I’m not entirely opposed to trying for three…” (Y/N) smiled up at him as she swung their joined hands back and forth. “I do hope they end up inheriting your smile, though.”

“My smile?”

She nodded. “Mm-hmm, it’s so warm and charming but with a hint of playfulness, it’s one of the first things I noticed about you when we met.”

Loki felt himself grow warm at her sweet and unexpected compliment. “Well, I was hoping that they inherit your beautiful eyes. The way that they sparkle and catch the light, it’s enchanting.” They stopped in front of a large, gilded mirror and he moved to wrap his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder and grinning as they both looked at their reflections. “Two things are for certain: our future children will be just as beautiful as their parents are…” He pressed a soft kiss onto the slope of her neck and lowered his voice while one of his hands moved to rest over her stomach. “And you’re going to look even more spectacular than you already do while carrying them.”

A nearby huff of disapproval interrupted the kiss that (Y/N) had attempted to instigate and caused them both to look up at the two older American tourists glaring at them for their public display of affection; instead of dropping his arms and stepping back, Loki pulled (Y/N) even closer and cheekily called out to the judgmental pair, “What can I say? Libraries make my fiancée here terribly insatiable!”

Both American tourists sputtered in indignation and (Y/N) muffled her giggles with the corner of her sweater while Loki pressed a triumphant kiss onto her forehead and pulled her further into the grand library.

6. Bibliotheque Nationale de France Paris, France

“I can’t say that I’m a fan of this particular library’s exterior design,” Loki quietly remarked as they moved ahead in line to see one of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France’s most remarkable exhibits. “But its interior is certainly something to behold.”

(Y/N) nodded in agreement. “One of my professors back in college used to rant and rave about this library’s original design; it was intended to be largely made of glass and be illuminated with mostly natural light, but the books were exposed to the elements and they were forced to amend the design to include wooden shutters that cut down on the sunlight and protected their collections from any more damage.”

“At least the Globes of Coronelli weren’t damaged by such controversial architecture.”

They made it to the railing surrounding the enormous celestial globe and admired the precise detailing of the star constellations that covered its surface. “Did you know that these were commissioned by Louis XIV only after he found out that the Duke of Parma owned a pair? The Sun King was so jealous of the duke that Vicenzo Coronelli was brought in to construct an even better set of globes for him. They’re even personalized just for him; the terrestrial globe over there is a manifestation of the Sun King’s worldview and this celestial globe shows the stars that appeared in the sky on the day he was born.”

A smirk formed on Loki’s face while she talked and once she finished, he replied, “This Louis XIV reminds me a little of Stark. You remember that weekend retreat to his Long Island home last summer, don’t you? Stark grew annoyed that Barnes was building a nicer sandcastle than his, so he developed a computer program overnight and had some of his Iron Legion suits construct a fifteen-foot-tall fort out of sand and shells; there was even a drawbridge, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yep, that’s our Tony,” (Y/N) chuckled and reached into her purse for her cell phone before beginning to take photographs of the globe. Her lips curved upwards into a small smile when she spotted the unicorn amongst the other 17th century constellations, both happiness and a familiar pang of sorrow filling her at the sight of her mother’s sacred symbol; the horned creature personified both love and war and after defeating Tarian and saving the Nine Realms from destruction, she officially inherited the symbol of her mother. I wonder what new symbol I would’ve picked if I decided to become the Queen of Alfheim, she thought with a hint of ruefulness.

“You would’ve made a wonderful queen in another life.”

She glanced over at Loki with a knowing smile. “That’s sweet of you to say, Loki, but you might be a little biased.”

“Perhaps, but I’m over a millennium old and in all that time, I’ve seen countless kingdoms rise and fall because of the incompetence of their rulers. Your mother’s ideas and plans to improve her realm were undoubtedly innovative, but your unique heritage would’ve helped you see her vision to fruition and your compassionate nature would’ve healed Alfheim after centuries of turmoil.” Her fiancé turned back towards the celestial globe and studied the constellations as he continued, “Your reign could’ve even outshined the Allfather’s.”

(Y/N) wrapped her arm around his and leaned the side of her head against his shoulder. “With a Prince of Asgard by my side, I’m sure that it would’ve.” Loki arched a curious brow at her. “In another life, one where my parents defeated Tarian and I was crowned the Queen of Alfheim, I think that we would’ve found one another.”

“My beautiful romantic…” He nuzzled his cheek against the top of her head before taking her hand and pressing a kiss onto her palm. “We would’ve caused quite the scandal in this other life, you know, the enchanting Queen of Alfheim and the roguish Prince of Asgard. A love affair steeped with passionate desire, intense melodrama, and political intrigue.”

“Sort of like Queen Anne and the Duke of Buckingham’s secret romance in The Three Musketeers,” (Y/N) pointed out before smiling to herself. “But hopefully with a happier ending than the one Alexandre Dumas wrote.”

“Naturally.” Pulling back slightly, Loki’s intense emerald-green gaze held hers as his expression softened and filled with such tender emotion that her heart swelled at the sight. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N), in this and every other universe you’re the only person I’ve ever truly loved, and not even the Norns themselves could keep me from loving you.”

(Y/N)’s fingertips brushed against the cool band of his engagement ring and she gave him a teasing grin. “Now who’s the romantic?”

“Well, when in Paris…” With a mischievous smirk, Loki suddenly dipped her and silenced her peals of laughter with an overly-dramatic kiss on the lips; as quickly as it started, her fiancé righted her and gave her a playful wink as he took hold of her hand. “C’mon, let’s finish up here. I want to explore a beautiful city with a beautiful woman on my arm.”

7. The British Library London, England

The British Library in the city of London was truly a sight to behold. Not only was it the national library of the United Kingdom and a beautiful architectural achievement in a city filled with dozens of stunning buildings, but it also possessed an impressive collection of rare books and literature that could be viewed by the public every day; original copies of Beowulf, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Jane Austen’s History of England, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground were among its more famous items on display, but the reason that Loki and (Y/N) selected that particular library to visit was because of one very special treasure: William Shakespeare’s First Folio. The couple first bonded over their shared love of the Bard’s plays and they were beyond excited for the opportunity to see the first collected edition of his works with their own eyes; unfortunately, their enthusiasm had begun to wane after the long and challenging night they’d spent in their hotel room.

For the first time in almost a month, Loki had been startled awake by the sounds of (Y/N)’s terrified screams and the thrashing of her limbs underneath the covers. He tried everything he could to wake her from the nightmare she was trapped in but finally succeeded when he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her; she clutched tightly to him while she sobbed into his chest and Loki soothed her as best he could, whispering words of comfort as he rocked her back and forth and held her securely against him. Once she’d calmed down a little, (Y/N) told him between shaky breaths that she’d dreamt of the horrors she’d witnessed during the Battles of Alfheim and Boston, specifically the moment of her father’s murder at Tarian’s hands; she refused to fall back asleep and when Loki suggested that they stay at their hotel, she insisted that she was well enough for their scheduled visit to the British Library.

“The nightmares are an intense expression of the body working through traumatic experiences,” Sam explained to Loki shortly after (Y/N) had regained consciousness in the hospital. “They’re a normal symptom of her PTSD and I’ll warn you now, they’re something that she’s gonna be grappling with for a while. Healing from a traumatic experience takes time, Loki, but sticking to a consistent sleep routine will at least help her rest at night.”

We’ve visited seven countries over the span of nearly three weeks, Loki thought to himself with a twinge of guilt, the inconsistency certainly hasn’t helped her out. Glancing over at (Y/N) as they walked through the library’s rare book exhibit, he took note of the bags under her tired eyes and her slumped shoulders, and the sight of her looking so exhausted caused a lump to form in his throat. As they finished walking through the special collection room, a plan quickly began to form in Loki’s mind; he led her down the aisles and between the large bookshelves, claiming that he needed to find an armchair so he could sit down to fix his slipping sock, and they soon found one in a remote corner of the library.

“As incredible as it was to see one of the only two hundred and thirty-five copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio, I think I was more awed by those original handwritten lyrics from The Beatles.” Loki pretended to adjust his sock while he continued. “You know, I attended one of their concerts once.”

(Y/N) cracked a tired smile. “Was this before or after your little D.B. Cooper escapade?”

“Before.” With a chuckle, he reached for her hand and began rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “It’s a shame that the library’s collection of lyrics didn’t include my personal favorite.”

“Which one’s your favorite?”

“Take a seat and I’ll tell you,” Loki challenged as he gave his thigh a pat and his fiancée arched a single brow. “Don’t worry, darling, I’ll cast an enchantment so the library’s other patrons won’t see or hear us.” A hint of apprehension filled (Y/N)’s eyes but she relented, seating herself on his leg and allowing him to hold her around the waist. “Close your eyes for me, please.” Her brow furrowed a little as she complied with his request. “Thank you. Now, take a deep breath for me; can you smell the scent of old paper and leather surrounding us? Feel the warmth of my body against yours and hear my heart beating in my chest?”

She nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

“Good. Keep breathing for me, my love, and focus on the different sensations you’re experiencing.” After pressing a gentle kiss onto her brow, Loki rested his cheek against her head and began to quietly sing to her. “Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right. Little darlin’, it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter…little darlin’, it feels like years since it’s been here. Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right.”

While he sang, he could feel the tension beginning to leave her body and he silently thrilled at the success of his plan.

“Little darlin’, the smile’s returning to their faces…little darlin’, it seems like years since it’s been here. Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right.”

(Y/N) nuzzled her face against his chest and with a fond smile, Loki removed her glasses for her and she murmured her thanks against the fabric of his button-down.

“Little darlin’, I feel that ice is slowly melting…little darlin’, it seems like years since it’s been clear. Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right.”

To his relief, her breaths began to even out and her body was nearly limp in his tight embrace. By sleeping inside a place that evoked comfort and safety to (Y/N), Loki prayed to the Norns that it would be enough for her to get some proper rest and vowed to stay right there until she did. “Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun…” His lips brushed against her brow once again and he smiled down at his sleeping fiancée as he finished singing the hope-filled song. “It’s all right…it’s all right…”

8. Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart Stuttgart, Germany

“Loki, you’re being absolutely ridiculous-”

“It’s Thomas, darling, and no, I’m certainly not.”

(Y/N) arched an unimpressed brow at the man who sounded like Loki but who certainly didn’t look like him; her fiancé cast an illusion over himself before leaving their hotel room, now appearing to everyone as a tall man with light-brown hair, pale blue eyes and a neatly trimmed beard who went by the name Thomas. It was a disguise that Loki often used while on more secretive missions, but she had a hunch as to why he’d decided to adopt it during that specific stop on their vacation. “It’s been four years since…well, since your admittedly dramatic display here in Stuttgart. I don’t think that anyone here will recognize you and even if there’s a chance they might, you can always wear a hat or glasses instead of-” She gestured at his changed appearance. “-all this.”

Loki bit his lip and shook his head. “Your optimism is admirable, but I’d rather put my faith in my own illusions than a simple Midgardian disguise that only serves to fool the weak-minded.”

“Then what about-?” One of the Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart’s patrons shushed their raised voices and after murmuring a brief apology in German, (Y/N) grabbed onto Loki’s unfamiliar arm and pulled him down a deserted aisle before quietly continuing. “What about our promise not to use any unnecessary magic on this vacation?”

“The last time I visited this city, I mutilated a man’s eye and held over a hundred people hostage; in this specific instance, I’d say that the magic is warranted.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “And being jump-scared by the ten-foot-tall skeletal and partially-mummified remains of the Egyptian God of the Moon isn’t? Loki, if you didn’t feel ready to visit this city again, then why on Earth didn’t you say anything sooner? We could’ve picked another library to visit in literally any other country-”

“Because I wanted to come here and make amends.” Loki’s blunt answer took her by surprise, and she watched with widened eyes as her fiancé’s shoulders sagged in defeat and he leaned against the bookshelf across from her. “I planned on coming here as myself and delivering one of the many checks that my charity wrote out to various institutions and organizations throughout the city; I wanted to do it as a way of apologizing to the people of Stuttgart for my actions that day, but once we arrived…”

He trailed off and (Y/N) nodded in sympathy, stepping forward and cautiously taking one of his hands in hers. “I wish you’d told me, but I understand why you didn’t. I also understand why you’re feeling guilty, but I think you’re putting too much of the blame on yourself; Thanos did unspeakable things to you and forced you to carry a weapon that influenced your actions, actions that can therefore only partially be blamed on you.” The illusion he wore slowly melted away as he finally looked up at her and she gave him a soft smile. “You’re a lot braver than you give yourself credit for, sweetheart. If donning an illusion makes you more comfortable, then that’s okay but if you still want to present that donation as yourself, then the Cosmic Sorceress will be right by your side when you do.”

Emerald-green eyes studied hers for a long moment and she watched as the anxiety melted away and was replaced with a look of adoration; he rested his free hand on her waist and guided her closer before pressing his lips to hers. When they finally broke their kiss, he rested his forehead against hers and brought his hand up to caress the skin of her cheek. “If I’m brave, then it’s because you give me the strength to be so, darling.” His thumb caressed her cheekbone as he leaned back and smiled. “I’d be honored to have the illustrious Cosmic Sorceress accompany me.”

“Illustrious, hmm? You sure do know how to sweet-talk a lady,” (Y/N) grinned and with a flick of her wrist, her blouse, jeans and sneakers were replaced by her improved purple and black uniform, and she felt her face begin to warm under Loki’s intense gaze. “What?”

“Just admiring my favorite Avenger and her brand-new battle uniform.” He adjusted the banded purple tiara resting above her brow and winked. “You know, I haven’t properly showed you how much I appreciate the new design of your uniform…”

(Y/N) bit back her smile at his suggestive comment. “Shameless flirt.” Giving his cheek a sweet kiss, she stepped back and watched as a golden shimmer engulfed his body, dissipating to reveal his gold, green and black Asgardian armor. “C’mon, my favorite Avenger, let’s finish up this mission so we can sightsee and have some alone time back at the hotel.”

9. Stockholms Stadsbibliotek Stockholm, Sweden

“This is hardly the worst thing that could happen during a trip to this particular library,” Loki called out over the din of battle to (Y/N), who was busy fighting off a group of Hydra agents near the library’s staircase. “Anything’s better than reading all those Norse mythology books and seeing how inaccurately Scandinavian Midgardians recount my life! Your precious Rick Riordan is no better, writing an entire trilogy of books that portray me as the villain and Odin as the benevolent ruler that the heroes all look up to…”

(Y/N) laughed, kicking one agent back and parrying away another’s strike with an electrified baton before slamming the hilt of her sword against his head. “I guess that means that the story about you playing tug-of-war with a goat isn’t true? You know, the one where you competed by tying a rope around his horns and your-?”

“Certainly not! Only a drunken idiot like Fandral could concoct such a tall tale,” He dodged an attack and slashed an agent’s weapon in half with one of his daggers. “And before you ask, Thor was the oaf who made up the one tale about the horse!”

“C’mon, sweetheart, it’s a little hard to believe that every single one of the myths that you supposedly inspired are all made up by Thor and his friends! Is at least one of them partially true?”

Loki heaved a weary sigh. “Perhaps, but you’ll have to guess which one it is because I vowed never to speak of it again!”

With a wave of (Y/N)’s hand, a trio of Hydra agents were engulfed by wisps of Alf Seidr and slammed against the wall, the force of the impact shaking the bookcases lining the balcony overhead; she quickly thrust her hand up and used her magic to stabilize the teetering structures, and Loki blasted a column of ice at an agent who was aiming his gun at her. “It’s not that story about cutting off Sif’s hair, is it?” Loki stubbornly remained silent and (Y/N)’s brow furrowed in disapproval. “Oh, Loki…”

“I know, I know, what I did was awful but, in my defense, I was young and quite foolish!” He aimed his hand at the ground, forming a sheet of ice that spread out and tripped up two more agents. “It’s taken a couple of centuries, but I think that Sif’s finally begun to forgive me for it!”

The battle was over with as quickly as it had begun, with (Y/N) and Loki defeating the last of the agents, whose unconscious bodies were strewn across the vast reading room of the library. Loki waited for (Y/N) to sheath her sword before examining the small cut running down the exposed skin of her bicep and using his magic to heal it, taking a moment to look her over and sighing in relief when he didn’t see any more injuries. “Leave it to Hydra to find a way to disrupt our vacation.”

Chuckling, (Y/N) reached up and brushed some wayward snowflakes off his Asgardian armor, unaffected as always by his imposing Jotun form. “They did sort of ruin our visit to this particular library…but it resulted in me learning more about your youthful misdeeds that you always pretend not to remember, so I guess that’s a plus.”

“Not to me, it’s not, but I’ll feel better about it if you promise not to tell our friends about that particular incident.”

“Of course I won’t,” His fiancée was smiling as she wrapped her smallest finger around his. “Pinky promise.”

Loki grinned at her adorable gesture and leaned down to give her a kiss, but a sudden shattering of glass startled them out of their playful conversation; they both raised their magic-filled hands and looked up to see a figure rappelling down into the Stockholms Stadsbibliotek from the shattered skylight, and Loki inwardly sighed once he recognized the figure clad in tactical gear.

“Oh, hey guys.” Clint gave them a jaunty wave with his bow once he detached himself from his rope. “I was just droppin’ in for a quick visit.”

(Y/N) smiled a little at the archer’s joke and walked over to give him a hug. “Let me guess, Hydra tracked us here after our public appearance in Stuttgart the other day and thought they’d try taking us out while our defenses were lowered?”

“Pretty much. Fury got word that they’d move in on you today, so he pulled me off a recon mission in Prague to have your backs; I told him you’d be able to handle yourselves but then he made it clear that I was sent more so to keep an eye on you.” Loki and (Y/N) exchanged a befuddled look and he elaborated, “He figured that you wouldn’t be very happy after having your nerdy vacation crashed by Hydra.”

Willing himself back to his Asgardian form, Loki surveyed the aftermath of their ambush and snorted in amusement. “Well, I suppose that Director Fury was correct on that front.”

The tactical team Clint was leading entered the library alongside a squadron of local law enforcement and as they began to take the unconscious Hydra agents into custody and secure the scene, the archer turned to them and grinned. “Wanna get some lunch after we finish up here? Nat told me that Fem Små Hus has some pretty tasty reindeer, I’ve always wanted to try some…”

10. Saraswathi Mahal Library Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, India

“These paintings are incredible…” (Y/N) breathed in awe as she reverently studied the intricate artwork adorning the ceiling of the Saraswathi Mahal Library, admiring the vivid colors and sweeping lines that merged together to form the image of a bull and an elephant. “Isn’t it amazing how after over five centuries – five hundred years – this beautiful building and all the rare manuscripts it houses are still here for people to enjoy and learn from?”

“It certainly is,” Loki agreed from his spot beside her. “After all that Asgard’s been through in the thousands of years of its existence, I’m still astonished that so much of its art has remained intact; the same can also be said for Alfheim, a realm that’s suffered twice as much as any other.”

Lost in thought as she stared up at the impressive display above her, it took her a moment to sense that she was being watched; she looked over to see her fiancé watching her with a tender expression on his face and she felt herself begin to warm under the weight of his loving gaze. “What is it?”

“You reminded me of a Sanskrit poem I once read.” Loki walked up to her and reached up to adjust the pink rose she’d tucked behind her ear before softly caressing her cheek. “‘The moon tries every month in vain to paint a picture of your face-’”

“‘-And, having failed to catch its grace, destroys the work, and starts again.” (Y/N) finished with a smile that only widened when Loki’s head tilted to the side in puzzlement. “It’s also a quote from one of my aunt’s favorite Bollywood films, Youva Prem; it’s what the main character says to his love interest when they meet for the first time. Aunt Evelyn kind of had a thing for Kingo Sr., but I always liked Kingo Jr. more.” A sudden flash of emotion crossed Loki’s face that (Y/N) took for slight jealousy and she pressed a kiss onto the hand that held her cheek. “Hey, Kingo Jr. might be the prince of an impressive familial Bollywood dynasty, but I happen to have an even better prince right here.”

Giving his head a small shake, Loki huffed out a quiet chuckle and took her hand, intertwining their fingers as they continued walking. “I’m not exactly a jealous man, darling, but certainly not where the infamous Kingo is concerned.”

“Wait a minute, do you know Kingo Jr.?”

“Oh yes, I’m quite familiar with Kingo Jr., and Kingo Sr., and every single version of Kingo that has ever graced the Silver Screens of Bollywood.” (Y/N) frowned in confusion but her fiancé continued on before she could ask any questions. “After our little interaction with Khonshu and his new Moon Knight, I told you about some of the other very-real gods and goddesses that Midgardians believe to simply be myths created by their ancestors; Kingo happens to be one of them, an Eternal created by the Celestials and imbued with cosmic energy thousands of years before even I was born. He and his fellow Eternals spent all that time protecting humanity and once their mission to eradicate all of Midgard’s Deviants concluded, they parted ways and traveled the world. Because he loved humanity so much and had quite the flair for the dramatics, Kingo became an actor and for over one hundred years, he’s posed as his own male descendants to continue acting in Bollywood.”

(Y/N) stopped walking as her mind struggled to process the vast influx of information. “You’d think that I’d be used to knowing that humans have never been alone in the universe by now…” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “My aunt and I had a crush on the same actor?”

“Darling, I just told you that a group of synthetic beings created by the universe’s oldest living creatures have been secretly inhabiting Midgard for thousands of years, and you’re more concerned that you and your aunt once shared a similar taste in men?”

“Yes, because right now that’s just about the only thing I can focus on that won’t give me a headache.” With a weak sort of chuckle, (Y/N) squeezed his hand and urged her slightly amused fiancé to keep walking alongside her, breathing in the scent of jasmine flower and sandalwood incense that permeated the air. “So, how did you become acquainted with Kingo? You didn’t shamelessly antagonize him like you did with Khonshu, did you?”

“No, I met him during the early part of the nineteenth century when Thor and I once snuck down to Midgard for a bit of fun; he was performing in an acting troupe at the time and he very nearly talked us into joining them, but Mother had Heimdall bring us back to Asgard before anything happened. Since then, she always makes sure to regularly check in on her sons while they’re off-world.” While (Y/N) hummed in interest at his insightful anecdote, Loki began to playfully swing their joined hands back and forth. “Truthfully, I’m a little offended that you assume I always seek to aggravate others upon meeting them for the first time.”

(Y/N) struggled to suppress her growing smile. “Well, I apologize for making such an unfair assumption, I must’ve been thinking of another God of Mischief.” He rolled his eyes but still pressed a kiss onto her cheek while she giggled and led him over to another of the library’s impressive wall murals. “So, are any of these other Eternals famous people in disguise?”

“No, just Kingo. The others tend to shy away from the spotlight…although, Thena did have a short fling with King Arthur during their visit to Camelot.”

“…I’m sorry, what?!”

11. Hakone Honbako Kanagawa, Japan

Romanoff: Has (Y/N)’s virtual consultation started yet?

Romanoff: If it hasn’t, can you give her a heads-up that Luke Jacobson can be a little…intense? She’s exactly the sort of client he loves to work with – super-powered, well-connected and stylish – but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be a little short with her.

Romanoff: Especially since she’s contacting him for a custom wedding dress and not a superhero suit :/

Marking his page, Loki set his borrowed copy of Kenji Miyazawa’s Night on the Galactic Radio aside and leaned across the bed to catch a glimpse of (Y/N); she was sitting at the table on their suite’s terrace, wearing her earbuds and listening carefully as she focused on her laptop’s screen. When Natasha heard that (Y/N) needed help finding a wedding dress, the spy used her various underground connections to garner (Y/N) a consultation with Luke Jacobson, a high-end fashion designer based out of Los Angeles who specialized in creating custom uniforms and suits for super-powered individuals. The designer’s schedule was so tightly booked that the only available appointment that (Y/N) could take was a virtual consultation at the tail-end of their vacation, the day after their day trip to Tokyo’s Minato Library; she was reluctant to book it out of guilt for intruding on their trip but Loki convinced her to in the end, promising her that he’d find ways to keep himself occupied during her consultation. With a small smile, Loki picked up his cell phone and typed out a reply to the concerned spy.

Loki: It seems to be going well so far; (Y/N)’s eyes haven’t begun glowing purple yet. This Midgardian designer would be an utter fool not to take her on as a client.

A moment later, Natasha replied with a moving picture of a frog puppet nodding in agreement and Loki snorted in amusement before setting his phone down and flopping back down onto the bed, his eyes scanning the bedroom that any bibliophile would fall in love with. Hakone Honbako was a library-themed hotel nestled in the mountainous hot-spring region near Tokyo, filled with over twelve thousand books and cozy reading aisles throughout; hand-selected books were included in each room while television sets were nowhere to be found, allowing guests to fully immerse themselves in their personal reading paradise with limited distractions. It was a peaceful lull in their jam-packed vacation, and one that Loki intended on enjoying to its fullest; on the other hand, the free time also forced Loki to finally consider a difficult conundrum of his.

“The intellect of a millennia-old god but the inability to make a damn decision,” He muttered under his breath, reaching for his phone and pulling up the tentative guest list for their wedding; their Midgardian friends and teammates made up the majority of the list, with small groups from Asgard and Alfheim making up the rest of it, but the number of guests was not what filled him with so much apprehension. Loki couldn’t decide whether or not to invite Odin to his wedding, or if a small part of him even secretly wanted the Allfather to be there to witness such a momentous occasion in his adoptive son’s life.

“It’s a decision that’s entirely up to you, brother,” Thor reassured him on the night before his and (Y/N)’s flight to Mexico. “Weddings can often times bring a family closer together, but that’s certainly not their true purpose; yours and Lady (Y/N)’s wedding day should be a grand celebration of your love and not a day of angst and strife.”

An uncharacteristically diplomatic answer from Thor but insightful nonetheless, he thought with a contemplative hum, closing his eyes and drumming his fingers against his stomach while he pondered his situation. The events of the past several years – the revelation of Loki’s true heritage, the near destruction of Jotunheim at his hands, Odin’s repeated rejections and his clear disrespect of (Y/N) – served as sound reasoning for barring the old man from the wedding. For over a thousand years before them, however, Odin Allfather had been the only father that Loki had ever known; he was often times distant and hardly hid how he favored Thor, but he was still his father and one of the few people he’d always imagined attending his future wedding.

Loki was so preoccupied in his own mind that he didn’t register that he wasn’t alone until the mattress dipped and (Y/N) snuggled up against him. “Guess who’s going to be wearing a custom Luke Jacobson wedding dress down the aisle?”

“Oh, darling, that’s wonderful!” He pulled her closer to him and pressed a congratulatory kiss onto her brow, smiling as he took note of the happy gleam in her eyes. “Natasha warned me that Jacobson might turn you down; I was afraid that the Black Widow would travel across the country to pay him a visit and personally introduce him to her Widow Bites.”

(Y/N) laughed and her fingertips began to trace absentminded shapes along his chest. “Well, he seemed a little temperamental at first, but I was able to win him over with my natural charm and no-nonsense attitude.”

“Both of which you possess in great abundance.” Taking in the warmth she radiated and the sweet scent of her lilac perfume, Loki’s eyes drifted closed and his fingers slowly intertwined with hers. “You have an exceptional gift for handling challenging individuals with nuance and composure, my love.”

He felt her smile as she nuzzled against the skin of his neck. “It’s nothing, really; I just refuse to lower my self-worth by giving into people like that.”

Loki’s eyes blinked open and while he fully absorbed his fiancée’s words, realization slowly washed over him; he valued himself far too much to bow down to custom and expectation, so why in all the Nine Realms would he do so on a day so important to him? To Hel with Odin, Loki thought as he pulled (Y/N) closer and closed his eyes once again, it’s about time that old fool realized that his actions have consequences. “Thank you, darling.”

“For what?”

“For simply being you, and everything that goes along with that.”

12. Central Library Vancouver, Canada

(Y/N) looked up from her guidebook with a bright smile. “I want to start a book club in the tower.”

Loki, who was preoccupied with admiring Vancouver Public Library Central’s exterior architecture and its striking resemblance to the Colosseum in Rome, didn’t take his eyes off the building they’d spent all afternoon in as he distractedly asked, “Did something about this particular library inspire your new endeavor?”

“Mm-hmm, the Vancouver Public Library used to sponsor a citywide book club called One Book, One Vancouver; the library staff would be presented with four titles by the organizing committee and select one title at a time for the club to read. It was a fairly popular program but according to this guidebook, the book club was discontinued in 2010.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, darling, but I’m not sure how our teammates will feel about it.” Tearing his eyes away from the building, Loki rested his ankle on his knee and gave (Y/N) a small smile. “Besides Romanoff and her newfound fondness for audio books and Lang’s habit of reading all the books that Cassie tells him she’s read in school, none of them seem to have much of an interest in reading; I honestly wouldn’t put it past them to consider a book club some sort of punishment.”

She chuckled but shook her head. “Actually, I was thinking of opening it up to the entire tower; everybody from agents and scientists to chefs and custodians could join and once a month, we could meet in the ballroom and discuss the latest book before choosing another. It’s okay if the others aren’t interested in joining themselves, but they might always agree to help out a little; Clint could bring his famous homemade lasagna to a meeting or two, and Peter could even earn some volunteering hours for his college applications…” Her brows rose in surprise when she pulled her battered spiral notebook out of her backpack and noticed that nearly all the pages were filled with scribbled-down ideas inspired by their globe-trotting vacation. “I might have to buy myself a new notebook when we get back home…” A melancholy feeling washed over her at the thought of their amazing vacation coming to an end; after everything they’d seen and done as nothing more than just two book-loving tourists, it felt strange to go back to being world-famous Avengers and she’d be lying if she said she wouldn’t miss the anonymity.

Judging by the little line that formed between his brows, her fiancé must’ve been thinking the same thing. He draped an arm around her shoulders and brushed his thumb against the skin of her arm while she finished jotting down her latest batch of ideas, waiting until she was finished to finally speak. “Darling, do you recall the first time you brought me along with you to your weekly visit to the children’s ward?”

“How could I forget?” (Y/N) smiled fondly at the memory. “You were so afraid that the children wouldn’t want to meet you and that they’d be too scared of you to listen to me reading aloud to them. But when they saw you, they were so excited to finally meet my Avenger friend I told them all about that they barely paid any attention to me.”

Loki chuckled. “They did spend quite a long time interrogating me and taking turns trying on my battle helmet, but they eventually settled down to listen to you read. You read part of The Wizard of Oz to them that day; it was a charming story, of course, but one specific line stood out to me. ‘No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful…’” A soft smile played on his lips as she allowed him to pull her closer to him. “‘There is no place like home.’”

As cheesy of a quote as it was, (Y/N) felt her saddened mood begin to brighten a little; she missed their friends and although she spent the past month reflecting on how different her life would’ve been if she’d gone on to become a librarian, she missed helping people as an Avenger. It’ll be nice to have some normalcy back in my life, she silently admitted before flashing Loki a smile of her own. “Since this is our last night in Vancouver, we should go out and do something special, something that we can only do here and nowhere else. Any thoughts?”

“Our hotel’s concierge mentioned several activities when we first checked in, so we can always ask her for recommendations.” After giving her a brief kiss, Loki stood and pulled her to her feet, his hand clutching tight to hers as they started off towards their nearby hotel. “The doorman warned me that Cambie Bar’s been closed indefinitely, something to do with a man using metal claws in a drunken brawl last night…”

13. New York Public Library New York City, New York

In just one month, Loki and (Y/N) traveled to twelve countries on five separate continents, visiting a dozen of the world’s most beautiful and unique libraries and a handful of popular destinations for bibliophiles. They enriched their knowledge of several fascinating cultures, explored each and every beautiful city they visited, got the opportunity to meet several kind and interesting people, and found plenty of inspiration for the library they were planning on establishing in Alfheim’s capital city. Loki wasn’t sure how it was even possible to fall deeper in love with (Y/N), but somehow over the course of their globe-trotting vacation he did; now that the coronation of Queen Amirah and their well-deserved break were behind them, he could scarcely wait for the day they were to be wed and he’d finally be able to call her his wife.

“It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a little over a year since we first met,” (Y/N) remarked, a fond smile on her face as she looked over at her old desk, no doubt recalling the memories of their weekly talks and all the shy, stolen glances shared between the both of them. “Strange, isn’t it, how in such a short period of time, two people can freely give their hearts over to one another and somehow just know that they’re the one that they’ll spend the rest of their life with?”

“One of life’s greatest mysteries,” Loki agreed, bringing their joined hands up to press a kiss onto her knuckles. “All I can say is that I never believed in the concept of true love until the moment I laid eyes on you.”

His brows furrowed in confusion when his fiancée suddenly dragged him down the nearest deserted aisle, making a sound of surprise as she held his face between her hands and captured his lips in a fiercely passionate kiss. Quickly overcoming his shock, he slid his arms around her waist to gather her up against him and allowed her to press him back against the bookcase, giving himself over to her fervent kisses and suppressing his groans of approval when her fingers carded through his hair. He stopped her as she started to pull back, bringing a hand up to cradle her cheek and caressing his lips against hers in one last slow kiss before allowing her to pull away; they were both struggling to catch their breaths, but he found himself working overtime to regain his voice when her warm (Y/E/C) eyes opened and met his.

“You have no idea how often I sat at my desk imagining doing that to you.” (Y/N)’s fingertips traced along his cheekbones, and she gave him a breathless smile. “I’m glad I finally got the chance.”

“Well, you’re free to do it again wherever and whenever you’d like, darling.” Grinning, Loki leaned his head back against the bookshelf and glanced around the portion of the New York Public Library they were tucked away in. “It’s a shame that we were only able to visit twelve libraries during our vacation…thirteen, if you were to count this one, but still…”

His fiancée’s smile remained intact. “Then why don’t we try to make this our own yearly tradition? You and I, visiting a dozen of the world’s most interesting and beautiful libraries together?”

“And what happens when we inevitably run out of libraries to visit?”

“We start visiting a dozen of the galaxy’s most interesting and beautiful libraries.”

Loki’s shoulders shook with laughter as he began peppering kisses across (Y/N)’s giggling face, but their cell phones suddenly chimed in their pockets before they could continue any further; when they both reached for their phones, a brief message from Steve Rogers appeared on their screens:

The Captain: Mission alert. Extraction imminent, meet at the tower in 10.

“It would seem that the God of Mischief and the Cosmic Sorceress are officially back on the clock,” Loki remarked with an exaggerated sigh before offering his fiancée his hand to take. “Ready for another adventure, darling?”

“With you, sweetheart?” (Y/N) laced her fingers around his and gave his hand a gentle squeeze that was accompanied by her breathtaking grin. “Always.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spanish Translation: El tiempo que se disfruta es el verdadero tiempo vivido-The time that is enjoyed is the time that is truly lived.

A/N: Now that we've seen their vacation, it's time that we finally see their wedding! I'm not sure when I'll be finished with writing the wedding, but it's definitely coming so stay tuned for that lol thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2wx8TZwpDN0l33tES3W3Nk?si=5fcb3ef04de544e7

A Spellbinding Wedding

"Spellbinding" Masterlist

Tagging: @nexiva​​​​​​​​​ @ravenclawbitch426​​​​​​​​​ @cminr​​​​​​​​​ @confusedfandomwriter​​​​​​​​​ @momc95​​​​​​​​​ @nickkie99​​​​​​​​​ @austynparksandpizza​​​​​​​​​ @brooke0297​​​​​​​​​ @a-laufeyson​​​​​​​​​​ @outoftheregular​​​​​​​​​​ @itscomplicatedx​​​​​​​​​​ @0-artemis​​​​​​​​​​ @vivloki​​​​​​​​​​ @crowleysqueenofhell​​​​​​​​​​ @groovy-lady​​​​​​ @mostclevermiss​​​​  

[jeannereames]

hello dr. Reams, I wanted to ask why Alexandros is associated with Achilles and not with Heracles?

Actually, that's a MODERN thing. I’ve 'complained' about it before HERE, and more extensively with better discussion HERE, both in responses to asks.

If you read the ancient sources, Herakles trumps every other deity or hero in terms of association with Alexander, and in all sources. Only in Plutarch is it more even. But in others, such as Arrian, Diodoros, and Curtius, Herakles is by far the most mentioned, followed by Dionysos and Zeus, then Athena and Ammon, and only then Achilles. (Yes, I’ve counted.)

Alexander did use Achilles as a model now and then, but it seems to have been specific and localized. So, when he landed at Troy to start his grand campaign against “Asia,” he styled himself after the great Greek mythic warrior: a new Achilles. He did sacrifice at Achilles’ “tomb” (a cenotaph), but also went to Athena’s temple, and even sacrificed to Priam, so he wouldn’t be upset. Ha. In short, it was a Grand Tour of the tourist attractions at ancient Troy.

The connection of Hephaistion to Patroklos is even looser and may have been a later Roman fabrication rather than anything they claimed in their lifetimes, although I’m inclined to think Alexander did make the allusion…but specific and localized as well, just as he did with himself to Achilles. So, at Troy, and again after Hephaistion’s death. Later authors seized on it and made more of it. My colleague and friend Sabine Müller, who has probably published as much about Hephaistion as I have, disagrees, but largely because she thinks the entire childhood friendship is a later invention, and Hephaistion didn’t join the campaign until Alexander was already in Asia or about to land there. (She agrees with my assessment that he had Athenian ancestry, but she’s proposed that he came from Athens to join Alexander as an adult. Her arguments are not without merit; I just don’t happen to agree.)

In any case, I did make use of the Achilles/Patroklos allusion in Dancing with the Lion: Becoming, but did so because it solved a “problem” for Alexandros. You’ll notice mentions of Achilles or Patroklos are rather lacking in Rise. 😉 That wasn’t accidental.

So yes, Herakles was very much ALEXANDER’S first choice as heroic model, not least because he believed himself descended from him. And while he was also supposedly descended from Achilles, that was through Mamma, and he wasn’t king of Epiros. He was king of Macedon, so he needed those Heraklean connections to be a proper Temenid.

This was also reflected in iconography in the ancient world. You’ll not infrequently see a Herakles statue that has a distinctive “Alexander-ish” cast. (see above) Is it Alexander as Herakles, or Herakles-Alexander? Also there are some Alexander as Helios (the sun god, see below), and even one of Alexander as Pan. Sometimes Alexander is “heroized” and shown naked, but that doesn’t make him Achilles. So the association of Alexander with Herakles was continued in antiquity, but we just don’t see the same for Alexander and Achilles. The references are literary, and mostly late (after ATG’s own lifetime sometimes by a few centuries).

The Alexander-Achilles connection really is modern. Some of it rests on the romanticism of the Achilles-Patroklos … Alexander-Hephaistion parallel, but not all of it. I’m not sure Alexander would necessarily have objected. As noted, he made the connection too. But I do think he’d be a bit puzzled as to why Achilles is so favored and not Herakles, who was Alexander’s own real stan.

[ambiguousthoughtsinsilence]

A love letter to The National

            My love for the National was not a ‘love at first sound’. It grew slowly, but persistently, similar to when you meet someone and find them interesting at first, but with each meeting that follows, you start wishing that they would stay a bit longer. It was 2010, High Violet had come out. I was 16 years old and foolishly thought that the Suburbs was a better album. 13 years later and the Suburbs are nowhere close to being the soundtrack to my existence in the way the National are. The lyrics of Terrible Love even adorn my arm in the form of a tattoo, physically signifying the importance of this American alt-rock band to my simple existence. ‘High Violet…]widened the scope into a grand, literary, moody, sardonic brand of arena rock for a disenchanted generation.’  I had always been drawn to rock music, but the National brought something  else to the table, a reflective and poetic beauty that spoke to me when I was 16 and still speaks to me now. They were grandiose in sound, but not in a cliché tiresome arena rock kind of way. ‘These were anthems made for, and by, people raised to be skeptical of anthems.’

I remember the pleasure of blasting  Sorrow into my ears and singing along to ‘sorrow found me when I was young’, feeling understood as I played ‘Afraid of Everyone’ again and again. Slowly I started to dig around in their discography as tends to happen, when one finds a new musical love. I became obsessed with Boxer. ‘A little more stupid, a little more scared, every minute a bit more unprepared.’ Just seemingly perfect encapsulations of how I felt inside. Creations of associative beauty, capturing these complex, messy and often isolating feelings of existing in a world that is overwhelming, filled with beauty, but is also tiring and loves to swirl you around, even when you are not ready. And you have to make sense of this all-consuming and puzzling existence, even though you didn’t ask to be here.

            2013 was the first time I had a chance to see them live. Me and my friend travelled to London to Alexandra Palace for the Trouble Will Find Me tour. I remember how dreamlike it felt, as over the three years I had fallen deeply for their music and the album became a very beloved LP of 2013. Don’t Swallow the Cap was special, because it articulated the conflicting feelings of loving people oh so much, yet being terrified of being hurt and then somewhere in the midst of it all finding comfort in music. ‘I have only two emotions / Careful fear and dead devotion.’ I do not remember much of the concert, just that the happiness of seeing them live seemed surreal and also just how passionately I felt singing along to Graceless. ‘God loves everybody / Don’t remind me’  Memories of Matt throwing wine high up in the air also cling in some hidden parts of my brain.

            In 2016 I moved to Manchester and they were an always present component of my playlists. Sleep Well Beast came out while I was pursuing my masters. It grew on me more slowly as they had taken their sound in a direction that was more electronic and seemingly darker, more contemplative. Initially didn’t hit me as hard, but as time went on, I listened to it again and again. Their music had become such a comforting presence in my life. Years pass, cities change, I move my belongings from one rented flat to another, partners change, friends left in places once called home, life becomes organised around white-collar jobs that now seem to define everyday existence. ‘You’re pink, you’re young, young middle-class / They say it doesn’t matter’

            Time’s arrow marched forward and I Am Easy to Find came out in 2019. It felt more gentle, the traditional alt-rock sound softening, Matt’s enticing baritone being balanced out by more gentle feminine vocals. The album was accompanied by a beautiful short film, the imagery of which still sits with me. An album that captured a sense of longing as time rushes ahead and you ponder the people who you loved, yet are no longer there. ‘I still fall apart at the sound of your voice.’ I cried seeing them live in 2019 as I heard ‘I’m still waiting for you every night with ticker tape’, as it made me realise how much I desired that for me, yet the inability to see how it would ever come to fruition.

I saw them three times in 2019. Manchester, Brighton and Cologne. Cologne was special as I was able to share it with my best friend Tina. Before the show we shared wine in an Air BnB and then attended the concert together. It was magnificent to share it with someone who shared an understanding of the poetic beauty of the band’s music. Sharing a love for something is often the most beautiful thing, it’s saying ‘I am not alone in this world , you get me’.

I saw them twice in 2022, the second time being a spontaneous on-the-day decision to travel to Manchester to see them,  for the first time I got close enough to the stage that it felt personal and intimate. I had decided to see them a few hours before and it was everything my heart desired. Being in the front of a National show is wonderful as that is where most of the hardcore fans are, and that adds another layer of joy to the experience. You’re all singing your hearts out as Matt shouts into the microphone, for those few hours nothing matters except the music and the release  you feel as you sing with a bunch of strangers. The outside world didn’t exist, all that existed was the world inside the Mayfield Depo.

2023 came and a new album was forthcoming. New Order T-Shirt was a beauty, an encapsulation of how we cling to memories and reminders of people who are no longer in our lives. ‘Glimpses and snapshots of you’ I replayed it again and again and again. Then the album came out. Try as I  might, I wasn’t able to fully embrace it. Was this it? How could they no longer speak to me in ways I was used to? It was like feeling a friendship slip away and not understanding why. But then Laugh Track came out and it was like an amalgamation of everything I loved about them. The guitars, the drums, the lyrics filled with phrases I found captured my most intimate states of being, the melodic build up over the three minutes of Space Invader sending me to heaven. I quickly started searching for a ticket to their second show in London, one would not be enough. Thank God for TicketSwap. Then the week of the concerts came.

            Almost 10 years of me screaming ‘God loves everybody / Don’t remind me’. Same venue. Two nights, two setlists, no repetitions. Communicating with people over Facebook messenger, whose love and dedication exceeds mine. I spent the days of the gigs pondering which shirt to wear, listening to playlists and eager for the work day to end. Blood buzzing and having no idea what the two nights would bring.

            During the Sleep Well beast tour some fans introduced me to a Facebook fan group and since 2017, it has a been a wonderful place to revel in collective joy. Before the September shows I arranged to meet some of the fans in person and attend the show together, it was lovely to talk about albums and our journeys of loving the National. I often think that my emotions towards this American alt-rock band are quite intense, however I feel understood when meeting others from this group. Being at a concert and seeing the excitement as songs from an EP, released in 2004, get played live.  I realised that seeing them this September were the 9th and 10th time of seeing them live, and it had been almost 10 years since seeing them live for the first time, at Alexandra Palace.

            And these shows felt special, kind of hard to explain. Seeing them live feels like an embrace from a friend you hold dear. It’s familiar, comforting, pulsating with life. When the brass section kicks in, there is almost a parade like feel to it all, the drums adding an edge to the performance. They seemed to be reinvigorated, joyous to share the stage as a band, a playfulness to their performance I had not observed before. Aaron and Bryce having prolonged moments of letting their guitar playing expand throughout the venue. Stunning. Especially on Space Invader. The first night ended with the ‘turn-the-audience-into-a-choir’ hit that is Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. The whole show was  accompanied by Chris Riddell’s live drawings, shown on the big screen, managing to capture the fleeting beauty of those live performances.

            Night two felt different, songs that hadn’t been featured in years. Deep dives I had forgotten existed and that blew me away. Matt’s movements making me thinking of the theatricality of it all.  On night two I succeeded in getting closer to the stage so I experienced the joy of the explosive singing along with others during Graceless and Terrible Love, reaching a body enveloping catharsis state. A different sort of happiness, but one that captured my heart in ways I do not fully understand.

I am a person with an overall positive outlook on life, yet there is an underlying sadness and melancholy to most of human existence, a melancholy embedded in living that is inescapable. Time accelerating as you grow older, moments slipping away to fade into memory, becoming vague recollections as you look back. Those moments of feeling completely unable to communicate, the jumble of emotions your body carries around that linger in the background of your mind. Seeing the people you love and feeling like there is an invisible barrier between you, blurring the ways in which you see each other. A feeling of discomfort that occurs, unprovoked and surprising. When it feels like everyone else has figured life out and can co-exist with others, but you teeter around the edges. Being there, but on the margins. That is what The National embody to me.

[to-travel-smart]

Capture the vibrant fusion of modernity and natural beauty in Manchester, where history and culture thrive amidst contemporary allure. Craft an image that juxtaposes the sleek lines of modern architecture with the organic splendor of the city's green spaces. Seek out captivating scenes that showcase the striking contrast between iconic landmarks like the Manchester Town Hall or the John Rylands Library and the lush greenery of urban parks or the serene waters of the River Irwell. Infuse the image with a sense of dynamism and harmony, inviting viewers to marvel at the harmonious coexistence of tradition and innovation in Manchester's captivating landscape. Dive Into the Heart of History and Culture of Manchester Manchester, the pulsating heart of Northern England, is a city that effortlessly blends the past and the present. With its rich industrial heritage, vibrant cultural scene, and historic landmarks, Manchester invites travelers to embark on a journey that is as enlightening as it is exhilarating. From the echoes of the Industrial Revolution to the contemporary art and music scenes, here’s why Manchester should be at the top of your travel list. # The Cradle of the Industrial Revolution Manchester is often hailed as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. This city's transformation from a modest market town to an industrial powerhouse is a tale of innovation, perseverance, and progress. Start your journey at the **Museum of Science and Industry**, where you can explore the city’s industrial heritage. Marvel at the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station and delve into the stories of the inventors and workers who propelled Manchester into the industrial age. # Architectural Wonders Strolling through Manchester, you'll encounter a stunning blend of architectural styles that reflect its dynamic history. The **Manchester Town Hall**, an exquisite example of Victorian Gothic architecture, stands as a testament to the city's rich past. Don't miss the **John Rylands Library**, a neo-Gothic masterpiece that houses some of the world’s most significant literary treasures. This library, with its grand reading room and stained glass windows, transports visitors back in time. # Cultural Hotspots - History and Culture Manchester’s cultural scene is as diverse as it is vibrant. The **Whitworth Art Gallery** and the **Manchester Art Gallery** showcase a vast array of art, from classic masterpieces to contemporary works. For music lovers, Manchester is a haven. The city has produced some of the UK's most iconic bands, including The Smiths, Oasis, and Joy Division. Catch a live gig at **The Deaf Institute** or **Band on the Wall**, venues that have become synonymous with Manchester's music scene. # Sporting Spirit Manchester's passion for sports is legendary. Home to two of the world's most famous football clubs, Manchester United and Manchester City, the city lives and breathes football. Take a tour of **Old Trafford** or the **Etihad Stadium** to get a behind-the-scenes look at these iconic grounds. Beyond football, Manchester's sporting heritage extends to cricket, with the historic **Old Trafford Cricket Ground** hosting international matches and domestic fixtures. # Green Spaces and Urban Oases Amidst the urban sprawl, Manchester offers serene green spaces that provide a respite from the city's hustle and bustle. The **Fletcher Moss Botanical Garden** and **Heaton Park** are perfect spots for a leisurely stroll or a peaceful picnic. These parks not only offer lush landscapes but also serve as venues for various cultural events and festivals throughout the year. # Culinary Delights Manchester’s food scene is a melting pot of flavors, reflecting its multicultural population. The **Curry Mile** in Rusholme boasts a plethora of South Asian eateries offering mouth-watering dishes. For a more upscale dining experience, head to **The French** at the Midland Hotel, where renowned chef Adam Reid crafts exquisite modern British cuisine.

Don’t forget to explore the **Northern Quarter**, an area brimming with quirky cafes, bars, and street food vendors. # Hidden Gems Beyond the well-trodden tourist paths, Manchester hides several lesser-known treasures. Discover the **Victoria Baths**, a beautifully restored Edwardian swimming pool complex that offers guided tours. The **Chetham's Library**, the oldest public library in the English-speaking world, provides a fascinating glimpse into Manchester's scholarly heritage. Wander through the **Ancoats** district, once an industrial hub, now a trendy neighborhood with a thriving arts scene. Conclusion Manchester is a city that captivates and inspires. Its unique blend of historical significance and cultural vibrancy offers something for every traveler. Whether you are a history buff, an art enthusiast, a sports fanatic, or a foodie, Manchester promises an unforgettable journey through its storied streets and dynamic districts. Dive into the heart of this remarkable city and discover why Manchester is truly a destination like no other. Discover Cheap Flights to Dream Destinations

[priyanka104]

Experience the Royal Essence of Rajasthan in February 2024

Rajasthan, the land of maharajas, palaces, and colorful festivals, is a traveler's paradise, especially in the pleasant month of February. With its rich history, vibrant culture, and breathtaking landscapes, Rajasthan offers an array of experiences for every type of traveler. Whether you're on a luxurious retreat or a cultural exploration, here's your guide to the best places to visit in Rajasthan in February 2024, complete with Rajasthan tour.

1. Jaipur: The Pink City 

A Regal Welcome to Rajasthan

Begin your journey in Jaipur, the vibrant capital known for its grand palaces and forts. February is an ideal time to explore the city's majestic landmarks like the Amer Fort, City Palace, and Hawa Mahal without the extreme heat of the summer months. Don't miss the Jaipur Literature Festival, a global literary phenomenon that attracts writers, thinkers, and artists from around the world.

2. Jodhpur: The Blue City 

A Glimpse into the Royal Legacy

Next on your itinerary is Jodhpur, famous for its blue-painted houses and the imposing Mehrangarh Fort. Wander through the narrow lanes of the old city, visit the Umaid Bhawan Palace, and enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the fort's ramparts. The pleasant weather in February enhances the experience of exploring this historic city.

3. Jaisalmer: The Golden 

City A Desert Odyssey

Jaisalmer, set amidst the Thar Desert, is a must-visit for its stunning golden sandstone architecture. The Jaisalmer Fort, rising like a golden mirage, houses an entire living area within its walls. Enjoy a camel safari in the Sam Sand Dunes and spend a night under the stars in a desert camp, a magical experience in the cool February nights.

4. Udaipur: The City of Lakes 

Romance in the Air

Udaipur, known as the Venice of the East, is famed for its beautiful lakes and romantic ambiance. Visit the City Palace, take a boat ride on Lake Pichola, and watch the sunset over the lake, with the picturesque Lake Palace in the background. The weather in February is perfect for enjoying Udaipur's outdoor attractions.

5. Ranthambore National Park 

A Tryst with the Wild

For wildlife enthusiasts, Ranthambore National Park is an ideal stop. February is a great month for wildlife spotting, including the majestic Bengal tiger. Enjoy thrilling jeep safaris, bird watching, and the rich flora and fauna of the park.

6. Pushkar: The Holy City 

Spiritual Sojourn

Visit the tranquil town of Pushkar, known for its sacred lake and the only Brahma Temple in the world. The town has a mystical charm, with hundreds of temples dotting its landscape. The cool and pleasant February weather makes it a perfect time for exploring this spiritual haven.

7. Chittorgarh: The Fort of Valor 

Witnessing History

Chittorgarh, home to the largest fort in India, is a testament to the courage of Rajput warriors. The fort's ruins tell tales of heroism and sacrifice, making it a must-visit for history buffs. The light winter weather in February provides an ideal climate for exploring the massive fort complex.

8. Bikaner: The Camel Country 

Exploring the Unexplored

Bikaner is famous for its intricately carved havelis, the Junagarh Fort, and the Karni Mata Temple. The Camel Festival in January end or early February is a highlight, showcasing colorful camel parades, camel races, and folk performances.

9. Mount Abu: The Hill Station 

A Respite in the Hills

Rajasthan’s only hill station, Mount Abu, offers a refreshing change of landscape with its cool climate, lush greenery, and the beautiful Nakki Lake. The Dilwara Temples here are architectural marvels and a serene retreat.

10. Bundi: The Hidden Gem 

A Brush with Art and History

End your tour in the quaint town of Bundi, known for its baoris (stepwells), forts, and palaces. The highlight is the Bundi Palace, adorned with beautiful frescoes and murals. February's comfortable weather is ideal for exploring this lesser-known gem of Rajasthan.

Conclusion: 

Rajasthan in February is a tapestry of colorful festivals, cool weather, and a plethora of experiences. This 10-day itinerary covers the best of Rajasthan, offering a blend of history, culture, adventure, and relaxation. With various Rajasthan tour packages available, you can customize your trip to suit your preferences, ensuring an unforgettable journey through the royal state of Rajasthan.

[fabulousfamilyfinds]

Are you looking for something fun to do for all the family this Halloween Bank Holiday Weekend? Then look no further! Here at Fabulous Family Finds we've done the ground work searching for events taking place over the Bank Holiday Weekend that are fun for all the family and also wont break the bank so you don't have to. The kids are on school mid-term break and need to be kept occupied so check out some of what we have found here on Fabulous Family Finds and get busy having fun!!!

Bram Stoker Festival

What is it ?- Bram Stoker festival celebrates the legacy of one of Irelands most beloved and iconic writers. Now in its tenth year, the festival draws inspiration from Stoker, his life, his work, and the Dublin of his time and celebrates the Gothic, the supernatural, the after dark and the Victorian.

When is it ?- The Bram Stoker Festival takes place from Friday 27th - Monday 30th of October 2023.

Where is it ?- The Festival takes place in various locations throughout Dublin over the four day period.

What's the price? - Well this is the best bit, some events are free but some do have a cover charge, check the event you're interested in for more details.

What's on ?- There is literally many events to choose from for all the family. Events are scheduled at various times throughout each day so find something that interests you and your family and book it! Choose to attend as few or as many events as you like there are no limits.

Some of the events include.

"A world full of miseries, and woes, and troubles": Life, Disease and Death in Collins Barracks. A free tour with Museum guides to discover the chills, ills, and kills in Collins Barracks' 300- year long History.

Dissecting Dracula with Dacre Stoker - Join Dacre Stoker, internationally acclaimed author and great grandnephew of Bram Stoker, the literary maestro behind the classic, Dracula. At this interactive workshop, you'll unlock the secrets of Dracula's creation.

CYGNUS - Every evening into the night over the course of the festival, Grand Canal Dock will be home to CYGNUS: a beautiful installation featuring 12 life-sized uncannily real swans gliding in syn with the music. These robotic birds will come to life as dusk descends in a night time experience that will enthral and amaze. Illuminated from the inside, they glide on the surface like ghosts, changing their colour and light patterns according to the music and as the dance unfolds the swans start to "sing" in abstract patterns , their voices forming a poetic soundscape that will cut the night air. A must see for the whole family.

These are just 3 of the events listed for the weekend for full event schedule and event times see, https://www.bramstokerfestival.com/schedule/

Check out the highlights from the 2022 Bram Stoker festival below and be sure to check in to Fabulous Family Finds for regular updates on events and activities that we post for all to enjoy!

Be sure to follow us on Twiter/X @fabulousfamilyfinds for more great offers.

[totally-lit-road-trips]

Chapter 23: Revolutions on a Rainy Day

Welcome back to my Totally Lit Road Trip blog, where the lit stands for literary! 

Today was our second full day in Concord, MA, and despite the steadily increasing rain, we managed to pack in a ton of literary sightseeing.

Our first stop was The Old Manse, a residence where both Ralph Waldo Emerson (who preferred to go by Waldo) and Nathanial Hawthorne lived at some point in their lives. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and since it was just me and Jess on this tour, it was like having a private guide all to ourselves again. 

The first thing our guide stressed was that historians see The Old Manse as the birthplace of two different revolutions - The American Revolution, and the Cultural Revolution of Transcendentalism. The home was built in 1769 by Rev. William Emerson (Waldo’s grandfather), who was the minister of Concord. He married the former minister’s daughter, Phebe Bliss. Known as the “Patriot Preacher,” Rev. Emerson was heavily into politics and supported the revolution, making him very popular with his congregation. 

From the window of one of the upstairs bedrooms that would later become Waldo’s bedroom/study, Phebe Emerson and her five children, one of whom would become Waldo’s father, could see the literal beginning of the American Revolution - the first shots fired at the North Bridge. Years later, Waldo would coin the term “the shot heard round the world” in his 1837 poem “Concord Hymn,” which commemorated the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Like his father and grandfather before him, Waldo’s first career path was that of a preacher, however, after the death of his first wife Ellen after only 18 months of marriage, Waldo felt he no longer had the calling of being a minister. Instead, he traveled around Europe for almost a year, meeting other leading authors of the time period, and beginning to shape his philosophies. From this point on, most of his income came from writing and speaking engagements. 

After the death of his grandfather, Waldo’s grandmother Phebe remarried, and it was years later when Waldo moved back to the house as an adult to care for his aging step-grandfather. During this time, he wrote “Nature,” the speech considered to be a founding text of the Transcendentalism movement.

Waldo was actually the person who suggested that Nathanial Hawthorne and his wife Sophia be taken on as renters of the home, and Hawthorne is the one who gave it the name “Old Manse”, manse being the British term for a minister’s home. Hawthorne and his wife, Sophia, lived there for about three years, during which he wrote the stories that would eventually come together to form his first successful book, Mosses from an Old Manse. He insisted on writing in the same room of the house which Waldo used as his study, although he had his desk face the wall because unlike Waldo, Hawthorne found nature to be distracting rather than inspiring. Sophia, and accomplished artist, spent much of her time in the house painting. Unfortunately, her last portrait, which she considered to be her best, is of whereabouts unknown.

The Hawthornes were eventually evicted because they were unable to continue paying their rent, due to a dry spell of both writing and artistic income. But they left their lasting marks on the home: Sophia engraved window panes with her diamond ring, and Nathanial left a hole in the house where he installed a stove in the kitchen. (He took the stove with them when they moved out.)

After this the Hawthornes moved to Salem, MA, where Nathanial would go on to write House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter, arguably his most famous work of fiction. They later moved back to Concord and lived at The Wayside, which is unfortunately not currently open to the public.

One of my favorite things in the house was a Steinway square grand piano, which is still in playable condition. In fact, the tour guides actually encourage guests to sit down and play a few chords to keep it in good working order! Obviously, I had to give it a go, and I can now say that I’ve played a square grand.

Another cool artifact in the house is a grandfather clock built in Limerick, Ireland, which still keeps accurate time when wound, and which stands in the original position in the house that it has occupied since Waldo’s grandfather purchased it.

The bookcases in the house are all built horizontally, and stacked on top of each other, unlike today’s bookshelves. Our tour guide told us that this is because the Emerson’s highly valued their tomes and wanted to be able to easily lift and slide the bookshelves out the windows in case of a fire.

And finally, I would be remiss if I failed to mention Longfellow, the preserved owl that resides at The Old Manse. Apparently no one know how he came to be in the house, but Nathanial Hawthorne found him in the attic when he moved in. The owl is believed to be from colonial times, meaning it existed before the house was built. Nathanial loved it and wanted it to be a centerpiece for conversation when guests came over, but Sophia was creeped out by it, leading to an unending “game” where she would hide it back up in the attic, and he would bring it down again and put it in a different room of the house.

After our wonderful tour of The Old Manse, we stopped for a quick bit to eat at Main Streets Café, where I had a mac ‘n cheese grilled cheese sandwich. That’s right folks, deep fried mac ‘n cheese wedges on a sandwich with even more delicious, cheesy gooiness. Highly recommend.

With our bellies full, we headed over to Emerson House, the home Emerson lived in with his second wife and four children.  Emerson House is massive! There are so many rooms and split-levels and doors that lead who knows where. You could get lost in there without a tour guide, but luckily we had a team of lovely women to lead us through the house both physically and historically. 

Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures inside Emerson House, but here’s me standing out front in the rain.

One of the coolest things about Emerson house is that, unlike the other authors’ homes in the areas which are all owned by trusts or preservation societies, Emerson House is still owned by direct descendants of Waldo. They take care of the upkeep and allow the Ralph Waldo Emerson Memorial Association to give tours.

Here are some interesting facts we learned about Emerson and his home, in no particular order:

In July 1872, a fire broke out in the attic of the home. Luckily, no one was injured, and they even managed to get all of the furniture (and more importantly, all of the books!) out in time. (Possible due to easily yeet-able bookshelves?) Due to smoke and water damage, the house was unlivable for a time. Emerson did have the house insured, but the whole town banded together to raise additional funds for restoring the home. Different neighbors also volunteered to keep the family’s belongings safe until the home was livable again.  While the house was being reconstructed, Emerson and his daughter traveled to Europe and Egypt, and when they returned, the town had a celebration in their honor, and even closed schools for the day!

Waldo was at least six feet tall, and as such would have to duck in some of the lower hallways of the home. He hung his gardening hat on a peg which only he was tall enough to reach.

The Emersons entertained visitors from all over, and Waldo almost never turned away guests, even unannounced ones. He was very generous if people asked for money, and never let anyone leave without a meal.

As a friend of Waldo, Henry David Thoreau lived in the house for long spans of time on multiple occasions. He typically stayed in the room that was meant to be for Waldo’s brother Charles, who tragically died before his wedding. It took Waldo 10 years to finish the room and eventually make it the master bedroom, but Thoreau stayed there frequently. He was a fan favorite of Emerson’s four children, who could often see him approaching the carriage entrance from their window in the nursery. They loved him because he made good popcorn and told good stories.

Waldo was a great friend to the Alcott family. He allowed Louisa May Alcott to use his library and often gave her book recommendations. Alcott’s first book, Flower Fables, is dedicated to Waldo’s daughter, Ellen. Waldo also lent many pieces of art to Louisa’s sister, the artist May Alcott, including one piece that was a wedding gift! She would make copies of the paintings, a common practice for aspiring artists at the time.

And finally, every single room in Emerson House has at least one bookshelf. That right there is life goals.

Right across the street from Emerson House is the Concord Museum, so that was our next stop. This museum has many interactive exhibits and mainly focuses on Concord’s Revolutionary War history, although it does also have a fair share of local author and artist history, as well. 

One of the first things you encounter in the museum’s foyer is a replica of Thoreau’s writing desk, which you can sit at and write in a little notebook there.

The original green desk is in one of the galleries as you walk through.

The museum also has many odds and ends from the different local authors. One is Emerson’s writing desk, which was originally green, but then he later painted it black. The replica that resides at The Old Manse is green. 

One of Louisa May Alcott’s tea kettles, which she brought with her when she served as a Civil War nurse, is also at the museum. 

Also on display is the entirety of Emerson’s study, displayed exactly as they were in his lifetime. Everything in the room is the original!

Finally, there is a room dedicated to Thoreau’s belongings, including his bed frame, a wooden flute, and some pencils and surveying tools.

A large portion of the Concord population were abolitionists, and although she was not a native of Concord, the museum does have a first edition of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which was originally published in two volumes.

We were lucky enough to be visiting during the Concord Free Public Library’s 150 Years of Art Celebration, so there was a special exhibit with art pieces that are usually at the library. This included busts of Hawthorne, Thoreau, and Alcott, as well as one of May Alcott’s paintings. The largest piece in the library’s collection is a portrait of Emerson, with a rainbow in the background.

After leaving the museum, we browsed for a bit at Concord Bookshop and then drove over to Walden Pond once it finally stopped raining. There, we were able to visit the replica of Thoreau’s writing cabin, which is very small! The original cabin was located on the other side of the pond, but is no longer standing. Visitors who are into hiking can hike up to the point where the cabin once stood and where many admirers leave rocks as a sign that they’ve been there. (Not me and Jessica. We’re indoor people!)

We ended our night with some sushi at Karma (highly recommend the Golden Banana Roll...banana and eel, who knew?!), and ice cream at Bedford Farms, where their “small” is my “large”. 

In two and a half days, we managed to squeeze in every literary and historical attraction that we planned for, which is pretty impressive, especially considering the rain. It was definitely made easier by the fact that everything in Concord is so close to each other.

Before we head home tomorrow, we hope to stop by the North Bridge, the site of the beginning of the American Revolution. Hopefully the rain will hold up long enough to let us walk to the bridge and see Daniel Chester French’s Minute Man statue.

Stay tuned for more literary/historical adventures!

<3 Theresa

[edgarallanpoecottage]

Edgar Allan Poe Cottage

The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage is a historical site in the Bronx, New York City, that was once the residence of the renowned American poet Edgar Allan Poe. The cottage was constructed in the late 1700s and served as Poe's final residence from 1846 until his death in 1849.

Poe was a prominent literary figure who is frequently referred to as the "Father of the American Mystery Story." His works of dark fiction and horror, such as "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Gold Bug," have earned him widespread renown. Despite his fame, Poe endured a lifetime of hardships, including poverty, alcoholism, and personal tragedy.

After his death, the cottage was moved from its original location in the 1920s to save it from being demolished. The cottage was restored and opened to the public as a museum in the 1930s. Today, the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage is a popular tourist attraction and is a testament to the legacy of one of America's most famous writers.

Here are five things to do in the Bronx at the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage:

1. Tour the Cottage: Visitors can tour the cottage and learn about the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe. The cottage has been restored to its original appearance and is furnished with period pieces and artifacts that help to bring Poe's story to life.

2. Visit the Museum:  The cottage also houses a museum with exhibits on Edgar Allan Poe's life and works, including original manuscripts, letters, and personal items. Visitors can learn about the history of Poe's works and gain a greater appreciation for the man behind the tales.

3. Take a Guided Tour: Guided tours of the cottage are available, and visitors can learn about Poe's life and works from knowledgeable guides. The tours provide a comprehensive understanding of Poe's legacy and the impact of his works on American literature.

4. Attend a Reading or Performance: The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage is a popular venue for literary events, and visitors can attend readings and performances of Poe's works. These events offer a unique opportunity to experience Poe's stories in a historic setting.

5. It is located in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx; visitors can explore the surrounding area and learn about the history of the neighborhood. The area contains numerous historic sites, including the campus of Fordham University, and provides a glimpse into the Bronx's rich cultural heritage.

The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage should be visited by anyone interested in American literature and history. The cottage provides a unique opportunity to learn about the life and works of one of America's most well-known authors and a glimpse into Poe's world. The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage is the ideal destination, whether you are a fan of his dark fiction or simply wish to learn more about the man behind the stories.

Continue on supporting our business partner.

Grand Concourse, The Bronx, NY, USA

Best place to go next.

[jaipurpinkcitytours]

Discovering the Vibrant Heritage of Jaipur: A Comprehensive Tour Package Guide

Jaipur, also known as the "Pink City," is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan and is a popular tourist destination. It is famous for its magnificent forts, palaces, and vibrant culture. Here are some of the highlights of a Jaipur tour package:

Visit the iconic Amber Fort: This grand fortress, located on a hilltop, was the former capital of the Kachwaha Rajputs. The intricate carvings and the breathtaking view of the Maota Lake make it a must-visit place.

Explore the City Palace: It is a beautiful palace complex built by the Rajput kings. The palace houses several courtyards, gardens, and buildings that showcase the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan.

Witness the beauty of Hawa Mahal: The palace of winds is a five-story structure with a unique facade designed to allow the women of the royal household to observe the street without being seen.

Shop at the Johari Bazaar: This bustling market is famous for its exquisite jewelry and precious stones. It is a perfect place to buy souvenirs and gifts for your loved ones.

Visit Jantar Mantar: This UNESCO World Heritage Site is an astronomical observatory built by Maharaja Jai Singh II. It houses a collection of astronomical instruments that were used to study celestial objects.

Take a tour of the Nahargarh Fort: Located on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, this fort offers a panoramic view of Jaipur city. It is also a popular spot for hiking and picnic.

Enjoy a Rajasthani meal: Jaipur is famous for its spicy and flavorful cuisine. Don't forget to try the local specialties such as dal baati churma, ker sangri, and gatte ki sabzi.

Attend the Jaipur Literature Festival: If you happen to visit in January, you can attend the world's largest free literary festival that takes place in Jaipur. It attracts renowned writers, intellectuals, and thinkers from across the globe.

Stay at a heritage hotel: There are several palaces and havelis in Jaipur that have been converted into luxury hotels. Staying in one of these properties will give you a royal experience and a glimpse into the regal lifestyle of the past.

Visit the Chokhi Dhani: It is a cultural village that offers a glimpse into the rural life of Rajasthan. You can enjoy traditional folk dance, music, and food here.

A Jaipur tour package is a perfect way to explore the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan. With its vibrant culture, exquisite architecture, and delicious cuisine, Jaipur will leave you mesmerized.

[petnews2day]

Zoo Nights, Rose City Book Fair, and ‘Cats’: 9 things to do this week

New Post has been published on https://petnews2day.com/cat-news/zoo-nights-rose-city-book-fair-and-cats-9-things-to-do-this-week/

Zoo Nights, Rose City Book Fair, and ‘Cats’: 9 things to do this week

Well, hello, summer! The weather hasn’t really been cooperating, but the flood of returning events continues this week along with some new items. Looking for information on Pride and Juneteenth events? Check out our coverage at Oregonlive.com/events and hereisoregon.com. Also this week we see the return of the Rose City Book & Paper Fair, a few dance performances and “Cats” back at the Keller Auditorium.

Although the statewide indoor COVID-19 mask mandate has been lifted, some venues or artists still have restrictions in place. Check website venue information for specific COVID safety requirements.

Mountain bikers tackle the trails at Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, a hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding area south of Hillsboro. Oregonian file photo. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park grand opening

Metro unveils its newest park in a day of free food, guided tours, hands-on activities, and a ribbon cutting ceremony. The park is outside of the Cornelius/Forest Grove area, and free shuttles will take visitors from the designated parking area at Centro Cultural, 1110 N. Adair St., Cornelius. There will be no public parking at the park itself. Chehalem Ridge offers 10 miles of trails and more than 1,200 acres with views of the Tualatin River Valley and the Coast Range.

Events 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, June 17, Chehalem Ridge, the park’s parking lot and equestrian lot will be closed to general parking and reserved for event participants and those with mobility concerns. Details bit.ly/3mwa7gD; free.

Open Space Dance presents “sheen.”Photo by Jason Hill

“sheen”

Open Space Dance welcomes a world premiere by international choreographer Kellan Whitmore exploring the archetype of “The Hero,” organizers say, while including inspiration from ancient creation mythologies. Whitmore has performed with the Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Tanz Theater Munster of Germany. Regional Dance America presented him with the National Choreographic Recognition Award in 2005. The program also includes The Young Artists Co. performance of Franco Nieto’s latest creation, “terremoto waves.”

7:30 p.m. Friday, June 17, Royal Durst Theatre, 3101 Main St., Vancouver; tickets $30-$60; openspace.dance/event-details/sheen

The Oregon Zoo will be open after hours every other Friday through the summer. Oregonian file photo. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

Zoo Nights

Come take a stroll through the Oregon Zoo at night. From mid-June through mid-August the zoo offers extended hours, music on the lawn and special keeper talks and educational fun for kids and adults every other Friday. The first Zoo Nights event features the Garcia Birthday Band, a Portland group that celebrates the music of the Grateful Dead.

5:30-8 p.m. Friday, June 17, Oregon Zoo, 4001 S.W. Canyon Road; admission $19-$24; oregonzoo.org

“TOO MUCH, or maybe not enough”

Pathways Dance Company offers a mixed program of contemporary modern dance featuring works by co-artistic directors Amelia Logan and Kelly Koltiska. The evening will explore themes of connection, technology, climate change, vulnerability and whimsy.

7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, June 17-18 and 24-25, New Expressive Works, 810 S.E. Belmont St., tickets $20-$30; app.arts-people.com

Rose City Book & Paper Fair

If you enjoy browsing used, rare and antique books, this is the event for you. Organizers of the Cascade Booksellers Association’s annual Rose City Book & Paper Fair expect thousands of items, including first editions of literary classics; historical figures’ letters, journals and other papers; books with decorative bindings; vintage and antique children’s books; rare regional histories, maps, photographs and prints.

2-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, June 17-18, DoubleTree Hotel, 1000 N.E. Multnomah St.; $5; cascadebooksellers.com

Portland Revel’s spring performance Un Pajarito Canta.Photo by David Kinder

Portland Revels spring performance

Portland Revels returns to in-person performances with “Un Pajarito Canta” (A Little Bird Told Me), an original production featuring original songs, dancing and storytelling. Written by Yasmin Ruvalcaba Saludado, the story draws on traditional Mexican culture as well as Mayan mythology and modern sources. The story unfolds as a small town comes together to help a new community member find her voice and share her story.

7 p.m. Friday, June 17, Hidden Creek Community Center, 5100 N.E. Hidden Creek Drive, Hillsboro, and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 18, The Rockwood Center, 17805 S.E. Stark St. Free; portlandrevels.org

Bike Rodeo

The Police Activities League of Southwest Washington invites from kindergarteners through sixth-graders to a bike rodeo that teaches biking safety, offers an obstacle course and free safety inspections, and includes a chance to win a free bicycle. Bring your own bike and helmet.

9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, June 18, Evergreen High School, 14300 N.E. 18th St., Vancouver, free; facebook.com/PALofSWWA

Broadway in Portland welcomes the return of “Cats” to the Keller AuditoriumPhoto by Matthew Murphy

“Cats”

One of the biggest hits in Broadway history returns to Portland’s Keller Auditorium. The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber highlights this wildly popular spectacle that’s toured across North America and in more than 30 countries.

Opens 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, and continues various dates and times through June 26, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.; tickets start at $29.50; www.BroadwayInPortland.com.

The Dark Back Aristocrates are part of Cirque du Soleil’s upcoming tour U.S. 2022.Image courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil “Alegria”

Likely Cirque’s most iconic production, “Alegria” returns to the Portland Expo Center for a month of shows, performing under one of the company’s signature big tents. The show has been reimagined for a new generation as the first stage shows debuted in 1994. Dive into a mystical world sprinkled with visual poetry and astounding acrobatics.

Various times through July 17, Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Drive; tickets start at $49; cirquedusoleil.com/alegria

– If you have live or virtual events you’d like to see highlighted at OregonLive.com or in the weekly printed A&E section of The Oregonian, please email submissions to events@oregonian.com at least three weeks prior to the start of your event. Digital images or links to videos are helpful.

— Rosemarie Stein, events@oregonian.com

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[kat-from-minasmorgul]

READING CHALLENGE ANNOUNCEMENT: THE LITERARY GRAND TOUR OF THE WORLD

Hoohoo, guys!

I already did a little post do inform you about this, but this is the official, big announcement. So, what is all of this about?

You’ve probably heard about “Around the World in 100 days”, a reading challenge I hosted about 2 years ago. And I liked it and a lot of other people did as well, so it’s time for a round two. The main goal of this challenge is to “visit” as many countries and read as diverse as possible. You know how most books are either set in the US or England? Well, I want to read books set in other countries as well and I’d love for you to join me in this!

There will be points you can gain and there will be 3 winners (those with the most points). And if you read on, you can find out everything else.

When will this challenge take place?

1st October - 31st December.

Who can participate?

Everyone with a tumblr/twitter/blog/instagram/youtube.

Do I have to sign up?

Yes. I have to keep track of participants and their points.

How do I sign up?

There are several possibilities. Below this post, send me an ask, write me a mail, text me on twitter or instagram, comment on my blog posts. Just tell me your name and @ . If you participate on different platforms, please make sure that I know that this is all you.

How do I get points?

well, there are different ways. The obvious and essential is: read books.

For every book you read, you get points. I don’t care about the format you read in. You can also read comics or listen to Audio books. The important thing is, that the country is real. The genre doesn’t matter. Fantastical elements? fine! Set 4000 years in the past? fine! 2000 in the future? fine! It’s not fiction? fine! Just make sure it’s set on this planet. If a book is set in different countries, only the one where the bigger part of the story is set counts! Every country gets a certain amount of points:

1 point: USA & England 2 points: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Russia, Scotland, South Korea, Spain 3 points: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, 4 points: any European country not already listed 5 points: any non-European country not already listed

There will also be diversity points. You’ll get one point extra if the book has a non-white, LGBT+ protagonist.

There will also be points given for certain tasks and questions. At the beginning of each month I will give you a bigger task that you can do during this month (in a separate post). If you complete these, you’ll get 5 points each. There will also be smaller questions for you to answer, most likely you can answer these in one word or sentence. These will get one points. Just keep an eye out for these announcements!

If you have any questions regarding the points, please see this post here.

What are these points for?

As I said, there will be 3 winners, the 3 people with the most points. 2 winners will get a book of their choice (as long as Book Depository ships to you. And please don’t wish for a book that costs like 30€/$/etc, I’m not exactly rich). And one winner will receive a box curated by me with items that center around travelling & books. I will anounce the winners on every platform if they’re okay with that! If not, I’ll just say that I found them.

Got any more questions?

I will post long info posts on my blog, see here for the Challenge Page where I collect all posts!

You can also reach me here:

leave a comment under a post concerning the challenge on my blog Kat from Minas Morgul

email: minasmorgulbooks@web.de

twitter: minasmorgulbook

instagram: minasmorgulbooks

tumblr: kat-from-minasmorgul

I think that’s it for now! I hope many of you will join me! And even if not, I’d appreciate it a lot if you could spread the word. I will love you forever. Until then, happy Reading! ♥

[thelivebookproject]

Literary Grand Tour - December Task

Hi everyone!

This time I’m here with the December task from @kat-from-minasmorgul‘s Literary Grand Tour of the World. The prompt is as follows:

Which book(s) represent your country the best? Why? Think about politics, society, history, etc. as well as the little weird things only people in your country do or say.

This was VERY hard, so I chose a few books to have a little variety and be as precise as possible. Spain is a very complex country, and also apparently a forgotten country in literature, so it was hard to choose books with varied perspectives about different topics. 

Spain - Historical context:

Donde se alzan los tronos, by Ángeles Caso: (sorry, not translated) This was a very accurate and super interesting novelization of 18th century Spain, with all its excesses, kings and queens, and political wars of power.

La década que nos dejó sin aliento, by Juan Eslava Galán: (also not translated) A non-fiction books which, in a funny and entertaining way, explains Spain’s recent history, from Franco’s death to almost the 2010s.

The Sleeping Voice, by Dulce Chacón: a novel, inspired by true events and real conversations, of a group of women during the end of the Spanish Civil War and the beginnings of the postwar period. Very moving.

Spain - Culture and society:

Ghosts of Spain, by Giles Tremlett: I found this book very interesting, because it was written with a foreigner's perspective on a very Spanish topic. I think the author did a very good job of trying to understand Spanish mentality as much as he could to share it as accurately as possible, so it’s quite recommended.

21 relatos contra el acoso escolar, by various Spanish authors: (also not translated) It’s just what it says on the title, 21 short stories about bullying on schools and the various forms it takes (students against one another, against teachers, etc.). I cried a lot with this one, but it’s very important and I think very well written.

Si es amor, no duele, by Pamela Palenciano: (apparently nobody wants to translate Spanish authors) this was originally a monologue the author wrote down (I saw the monologue live and it was AMAZING) about the abuse she suffered through her adolescence by her boyfriend. It’s told in a very personal and honest way, and she tried to make it as relatable to teens as she could all the while teaching all the little ways we have to be aware of abuse and gender violence. It’s not only the blows that hurt,as her monologue said.

Spain - Some literature:

Gypsy Ballads, by Federico García Lorca: How could I talk about Spain and not include this?? It’s not easy in any way, but it’s truly beautiful poetry and I loved it so much when I studied it in class (you can’t graduate high school in Spain without studying this in class at least once, it’s impossible).

Any Mortadelo y Filemón comic, by Francisco Ibáñez: THIS IS NOT HIGH LITERATURE IN ANY WAY. It’s been a part of every Spanish childhood since forever, I literally can’t think of someone who hasn’t read at least one of these comics and they are still producing new ones. They are very funny, and its characters reflect a satirical but accurate view of society. Very Spanish, tbh.

Memorias de Idhún, by Laura Gallego García: (translated in lots of languages but not in English) She is like the quintessential Spanish YA fantasy writer, these books are not my favourites (Dos velas para el diablo is), but they are the most famous of all she has.

Don Quixote, I guess? It’s not my favourite by a LONG shot, but one cannot recommend Spanish books without it. Miguel de Cervantes is our Shakespeare, so here he is.

This is it! I left many books in the making, but I think these ones represent very different aspects from my country and to have a more or less general idea they are good. I’ve read and liked all of them, so they come with my Seal of Approval ;)

[redbookpanda]

The Literary Grand Tour of the World - Reading List pt. 2

Sooo I said I would visit more countries than last month but that didn’t really happen because I got sidetracked by other books lol but progress is progress and at least I read a few books that were set in countries I haven’t read about before, so that’s something

Africa

Nigeria - Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie [3 points]

South Sudan - A long way to water (Black MC) by Sue Linda Park           [5 points + 1 point]

Europe

Czech Republic - Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor [3 point]

Denmark - Sea Witch by Sarah Henning [3 points]

Iceland - Vinland Saga #1 by Makoto Yukimura [3 points]

Italy - Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough [1 point]

Sweden - Pippi Langstrumpf by Astrid Lindgren[3 points]

South America

Columbia - Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras [5 points]

Points for November: 27

@kat-from-minasmorgul

[somef0xgiven]

Literary Grand Tour - October  Task

Imagine you’re planning a real tour around the world. Which countries would you most like to visit and why? Pick at least 5 countries and outline a journey (including cities, sights, etc.).

As a person who has visited many places in books, real, and ficitional, I have only visited a handful of them in real life.

So, if I had to pick a couple destination for a tour around the world, these would be the following:

Prague, Checz Republic

Specifically the Easter Markets. I have actually been to one of these with my class a couple years ago, and it was like I have entered a different world. It was beautiful, yet old-fashioned, magical, and fascinating. My favorites were definitely the wooden huts with the vibrant spring colors, and how diverse it was. You could find pretty much everything you wished for, and the food was amazing as well. Even though we weren't allowed to buy alcohol, we smuggled some Becherovka and Staropramen back to the hotel and drank it at night. It was a fun trip, and I would love to revisit Prague if I had the chance.

Moscow, Russia

Moscow is another city I have been to. It was for my eye surgery back when I was 5, so I don't really remember much of it, but I have a lot of pictures, and the culture is so pretty. We visited the museum of Yuri Gagarin, and I remember seeing a lot of space related things. Rockets, the inside machinery of it, and a bunch more I can't remember. Maybe my love for space related things started there. We also visited a war museum, where you could see the battlefields of various battles, and as a little kid, I found them really cool. The last thing I remember is spending some time with some ladies, who were dressed in traditional Russian garments. I still find them lovely. While I hated the aspect of my surgery, having a sort of roadtrip with the rest of the kids was nice.

Vienna, Austria

The Prater Park, the National History Museum, the Belvedere Palace, the Hose of the Sea... These are just a couple of places I would love to see in Vienna. I was lucky enough to see a few of these places this summer, thanks to my best friend, who lives there, but we had a short time, and couldn't visit every place we wanted to go to. But the Prater was so... otherworldly. It's like stepping into another world. There were rides upon rides, and haunted houses, museums, souvenir shops, and a lot of people. I wish we had more time to spend together and have more fun. Next time, tho.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Now, this is the first place I have never been to, but I want to see the carnival at least once in my lifetime. I have only ever seen in on TV, or read about it, but it has to be so much fun to actually see it. All the color, the music, the athmosphere. Maybe in the future I'll have the means to go and see this fantastic event.

Tübingen, Germany

I have only recently found out that there's a Rubber Duck Race held in Tübingen, and I have a friend who I always tease for his love of rubber ducks. It would be an amazing trip to go on with him, more so if it was a secret, kind of surprise for him. So, dear friend, if I ask you to go to Germany with me, please say yes.

The Winter Games, Beijing, China

This would be the last stop on my not so long world tour. Since it's held every four years, I would time the rest of my trips around the time of the next Winter Games, which will be held in Beijing. I love winter sports, and I was anxiously watching last year's games as well. I would really love to see the speed skating event, because it gives me such an adrenaline rush. Figure skating and bobsleigh are two more events I would love to experince. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be able to attend one of the Winter Games.

Thank you, @kat-from-minasmorgul for this fun little task. :)

[omgreading]

I finished Catching Fire, which was set in a post apocalyptic USA. It featured physical disability from Peeta’s prosthetic and mental disability from everyone’s PTSD, counting towards a diversity read.

Second read for The Literary Grand Tour of the World.

@kat-from-minasmorgul

Hopefully, I can get back into things and really start making progress for this challenge.