#beth stephens

[havesexwithghosts]

Installation shots of “The Venusians” at Come Again in Berlin, pt. 2

The Venusians 9 Sept—22 Oct 2022

Artists: Jesse Bransford, Elijah Burgher, Oliver Coran, Keturah Cummings, Frank Haines, Sholem Krishtalka, Anwar Mahdi, David Anaya Maya, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens, Ryan M. Pfeiffer + Rebecca Walz, Timothy Wyllie

Organized by Berlin-based artists Elijah Burgher and carrick bell, The Venusians is presented by New Discretions, New York + Sean Horton (Presents), New York + Wester Exhibitions, Chicago.

Venus is thought by astrologers to influence those zones of human experience over which the planet’s namesake Goddess is sovereign: love, intimacy, attraction, beauty, pleasure, luxury and the good life. Alchemically, Venus corresponds to copper, which was used for mirrors in the ancient world for its high reflectiveness when polished. Indeed, the goddess is frequently depicted at her toilette, gazing at her reflection while tending her appearance. A mixture of self-care and vanity are amongst her attributes, as well then. The roman goddess and her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite, are not the only goddesses of antiquity identified with the planet: Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte and other Queens of Heaven preceded them. The Sumerian goddess Inanna’s journey into the underworld was a mythic translation of a visible, celestial fact: periodically Venus goes retrograde and appears to be moving backwards in the sky. (Interestingly, Venus spins in an opposite direction to the other planets in our solar system, so it could be said she rotates in a retrograde manner.) Inanna’s descent is not only instructive in terms of the planet’s rich history of religious symbolism, but also implicates the negative valence of these goddesses’ principal attribute. Love is not only a matter of joy, romance and sex but also jealousy, infidelity, grief and even murderous rage.

In bringing together this sundry group of artists and dubbing them “Venusians,” we highlight certain threads that connect them and to which the goddess holds the reigns: sexuality, beauty and magick. Venusians, as we define them, draw out the electrical potentials of the sexual body. Elements of sex magick and other rituals, both self-invented and received, find the body unfurling as a tether between cosmic and terrestrial spheres, fellow humans, and non-human and natural participants. Some works represent these practices. Others actively function as elements of ongoing ritual, or are remnants of previously performed ritual acts. Beauty is paramount whether it is a matter of esoteric order, aesthetic expertise or reconceived through challenge or negation. In any case, those electrical potentials must be circulated through an object that conducts those energies to viewers, recasting them as candidates for seduction or religious conversion or taunting them as suspiciously disinterested anthropologists. Those are the stakes. Venusians seek connection that goes beyond mere discourse.

#venusians #venus #aphrodite #venus cazimi #come again #elijah burgher #ghost vomit #sholem krishtalka #genesis breyer p-orridge #annie sprinkle #beth stephens #rebecca walz #ryan m. pfeiffer #rebecca walz + ryan m. pfeiffer #carrick bell #keturah cummings #frank haines #anwar mahdi #david anaya maya #oliver coran #timothy wyllie #jesse bransford

[lempickathemusical]

We do not control the world  We control one flat rectangle of canvas at a time LEMPICKA (2024)

#lempicka #lempicka musical #lempicka the musical #lempicka broadway #broadway #broadwayedit #wlwedit #theatreedit #eden espinosa #amber iman #andrew samonsky #natalie joy johnson #beth leavel #george abud #ximone rose #lauren blackman #holli’ conway #khori michelle petinaud #jimin moon #kyle brown #alex aquilino #abby matsusaka #nicholas ward #stephen brower #gif

[youcouldmakealife]

SOTM: Various, online chatter; that’s enough internet for today

For the prompt: How hot is Jared? Twitter's best explainers

Forgive me any formatting sins -- I aimed for clarity over authenticity, but who knows if tumblr will oblige on that front.

“How’s the internet doing?” Dave asks.

“Well,” Andreas says. “It’s — technically good news, but in a way you probably don’t want to hear the details of?”

“That sounds ominous,” Dave says.

“Do you know what shipping means?” Andreas asks. “Not the—“

“You know, you’re right,” Dave says, literally backing into his office. “I don’t want to know.”

“I didn’t think so,” Andreas says, saluting Dave with his coffee, then goes to check out what’s happening on twitter. He thinks he’s had more than enough of AO3 for the foreseeable future.

~

On Twitter:

I’ve decided to block everyone who says something shitty about Bryce Marcus or Jared Matheson in the next while and I think my hockey twitter experience is going to greatly improve as a result

This is absolute genius I’m doing it

WAIT JARED MATHESON IS CANUCKS DILF’S SON?

HOLY SHIT JARED MATHESON IS CANUCKS DILF’S SON

OH MY GOD THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Damn now we know he’s going to stay beautiful.

So does Bryce clearly. Lock that upppp.

HOW COME THERE ISN’T A WHOLE JARED MATHESON FANDOM.

Nevermind fam just found out there is in fact a fandom and they are losing their dang MINDS right now.

~

A selection of tweets liked by Bryce Marcus’ lurking account:

Look if I landed Jared Matheson I too would tattoo his signature on my chest.

I would tattoo his PICTURE.

How is it that Bryce Marcus is a multi-millionaire who routinely is in the top twenty in scoring and clearly takes care of his appearance and dresses better than 95% of hockey players, and yet I’m still like ‘nice work landing that husband, bro’.

You know that if Marcus and Matheson could reproduce they would have the most beautiful children 

Sweet mitts too

Every single picture or video I’ve managed to find of Bryce Marcus and Jared Matheson in the same place Jared is like 😐 and Bryce is like 😍  how did we just figure this out now

I THOUGHT HE WAS JUST REALLY HAPPY TO BE IN VANCOUVER 😭

~

“Babe,” Jared says. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Bryce says. “I’m not doing anything. Go back to sleep.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” Jared groans, slinging an arm over Bryce’s hip as he buries his face in Bryce’s good shoulder. Bryce’s hand comes up to absently pet his hair, and Jared falls back asleep that way, Bryce’s fingers carding through his hair as he scrolls through god knows what with his other hand.

~

On AO3:

Tags: Bryce Marcus Matheson/Jared Marcus Matheson/Julius Halla, I was really tempted to put Julius Halla Matheson but I think that’s enough chaos for right now, this is how I’m coping as a Hallason shipper, with OT3s, and threesomes, au just in that erin matheson doesn’t exist, sry erin it’s not personal

Tags: Bryce Marcus/Jared Matheson, no plot just vibes, soft shit, I literally just got here but, Bryce Marcus is a bottom you cowards,

Archive Warnings: Underage

Tags: Bryce Marcus/Jared Matheson, Rafael Sanchez, Just like the regular level of underage jared was when he met bryce nothing sketchy, or sketchier than reality lol, meet cute, my hc of how they met,

~

“If this is about Jared I’m hanging up on you,” Stephen says as he picks up his phone.

“You knew, didn’t you!” Beth says.

Stephen hangs up the phone, and puts it back on the table, face down.

It, of course, immediately vibrates. Gabe looks at it, then at Stephen.

“Don’t give me that look,” Stephen says.

Gabe continues to blink mildly as it goes to voicemail, then starts to vibrate again.

“You talk to her then,” Stephen says.

“Hi Beth,” Gabe says. “How are you? Yes, I did know who my linemate was married to. No, I didn’t think to tell you. Well, because I’m not sure how it’s relevant to you, Elisabeth.”

Stephen smirks at Gabe as his face grows continually wearier. His fault for not just hanging up — it may be mercenary, but it means Stephen doesn’t have to listen to whatever Beth’s telling Gabe.

“Let me give you Stephen,” Gabe says.

Sometimes Stephen forgets that Gabe has spent a little too much time around him for his own good.

‘Fuck you’, Stephen mouths, but Gabe just smiles and continues to hold his phone out.

~

On tumblr:

The Bryce Marcus/Jared Matheson tag has doubled in the last 36 hours. You guys okay?

Can’t sleep gotta write fic.

I think I speak for all of us when I say, from the bottom of my heart: no.

But like in a good way!

Where my Julius/Jared shippers at? How y’all doing?

Well we found out Jared Matheson is actually gay and married to a man literally from the lips of Julius Halla…in the context of telling us he’s married to a completely different dude and also now I’m legitimately worried about their friendship since he just outed his bestie so idk you tell me.

This.

Do we change it to ‘Jared Marcus Matheson/Bryce Marcus Matheson’ or Jared Matheson/Bryce Marcus’ or is it chaos or —

The AO3 tag wranglers have been by and they’ll all redirect to ‘Jared Matheson’ and ‘Bryce Marcus’ so don’t worry.

But why isn’t it redirecting to ‘Marcus Matheson’?

Show us the papers and we’ll do it. Legal name change documentation please.

You have all been shoving these definition of Average Dude hockey players in my face all ‘look at this beautiful man’ and none of you showed me Jared Matheson, Actually Beautiful Man? What is the MATTER with you people.

You have been in the wrong corner of hockey fandom trust me. his beauty was Known

east coast bias even in hockey rpf smh

Want some fic recs?      OBVIOUSLY.

Hey remember a few years back when we all made fun of Bryce Marcus for not knowing his own initials judging by that JBM necklace? Wikipedia says Jared’s middle name is Bradley

JARED’S MIDDLE NAME IS BRADLEY!!!!!!!

I would like to submit a formal apology to Bryce Marcus who a) can spell b) is the most romantic man alive and c) has clearly been TRYING to get caught this whole time.

#fic snippet #SOTM #jared matheson #bryce marcus #Andreas Krause #dave summers #stephen petersen #gabe markson #beth petersen #julius halla

[petergerakaris]

Spotted Owl Mosaic — A Site-Specific Installation by Peter D. Gerakaris for the Berkshire Botanical Garden, translated into mosaic by Miotto Mosaic Art Studios. Curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody. 81 in. x 92 in. x 12 in, Glass Mosaic on stucco wall w/ live plants. 2021. Permanent Collection of the Berkshire Botanical Garden (BBG). Photos Courtesy: BBG, the Artist, & Mary Gerakaris Spotted Owl Mosaic translates Peter D. Gerakaris’ vibrant original painting into a site-specific garden mosaic installation, presenting these endangered owls as  Neo-Byzantine icons of our contemporary environment.  Enveloped by plants, the architectural garden folly welcomes the public through a nostalgic sense of place — like a fragment of civilization reclaimed by nature. The mosaic process itself — which literally creates new imagery from broken fragments — underscores notions of rebirth and the mending of society’s fractured relationship with the environment. More about this public artwork: Project portfolio: https://www.petergerakaris.com/spotted-owl-mosaic-berkshire-botanical-garden Short video doc: https://youtu.be/dL_jhKzl68Y Article: https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/southern_berkshires/berkshire-botanical-garden-art-first-grade-teacher-reaction/article_8cd3e084-2847-11ec-8e41-436efd31b5d4.html

#botanical garden #berkshire botanical garden #berkshires #mosaic #mosaic art #byzantine art #icon #gold #garden #public art #owl #owls #nature #beth rudin dewoody #stephen miotto #miotto mosaics #peter gerakaris #gerakaris #Peter D Gerakaris #new england #artist

[midnightcowboy1969]

Birdseye (2002), dirs. Stephen Beckner & Michael C. Huber

#fred ward #beth grant #aka birdseye 2002 #birdseye 2002 #the last gif is so short but its all there is #i just want this on my blog alright okay #stephen beckner #michael c. huber #my gifs

[brooklynislandgirl]

💚 That Strange Doctor, Stephen

Imagine You and Me || Accepting

{{and tagging @tangleweave for a third time}}

Oh, Nonny. Dunno if you're the same one, but do buckle in. This one promises to be extensive.

How do I love him? Let me count the ways. Aside from my first exposure to the Xmen, which got me into comics in the first place {one of my prized possessions is an in-plastic is Uncanny X-men #266. The first appearance of Gambit}. But being the person I have always been, it was magick that drew me in deeper and that's when I found, at the same time, both Stephen and Constantine.Yes, my two favourite wizards, by whatever name you wish to call them. Originally, I was so mad about Benny being cast, I almost boycotted the movie, but my gaming group decided to see it as a group and for a friend's birthday so I was obliged. I left the theatre in awe. He looked the part. He sounded the part. And for some hours {and years, clearly} later? I was a kid all over again, experiencing it like it was new. A wonder I haven't felt often in a long time. I also owe a dear friend of mine about a decade or so worth of apology because I didn't understand Benny's appeal...until his cheek bones cut the diamond of my wedding ring in half.

Prologue concluded, onto the show.

Matt's Stephen is absolutely perfect, even when he thinks he isn't. Upon us discussing plotting, I put forth the idea...which I had already sort of HC'd about 4 years give or take; that Beth *had* been at medical school to be a Neurosurgeon. That she'd gone to Columbia, and then dropped out during her residency {so technically she does have an MD, she's just not a doctor}, and I never stated why, but that this all happened around the time of Andy's 'death'. Which if we match up timelines, puts Stephen working at and lecturing for Columbia, around the time of the Chitauri invasion. Everything lined up for Beth being Stephen's student, and Matt ~gracious and generous to a fault~ agreed to let that be a case, giving them an almost instant rapport, as they would have by now known one another for years. And this is where everything becomes...complicated. Beth being who and what she is often needs time to even find someone attractive beyond whether or not they are aesthetically/artistically appealing. Check and check. She needs to bond with someone to feel the slightest bit motivated to want anything beyond friendly interaction and good heavens does that person have to be intelligent {the quickest way to a girl's heart is through her brain and/or empathy}. Again, check. She appreciates a wicked sense of humour, a compassionate or humanitarian soul, and it doesn't hurt when a person can keep up with her familial lifestyle, and her need to ditch it all for some time away from the cut-throat world of the .001% wealthy and ambitious. You can see where this is going. Stephen is, and was, literally the most perfect man on the planet. So why didn't...? Because she literally met him between the ages of 16-18, when he was already at least in his mid twenties, if not slightly older. She was also his student, and say what you like about Stephen, he isn't a predator. Yes he admired her brain. Was proud of her skill and her adaptability. Maybe even marvelled, pardon the pun, at how quickly she could pick up his wavelength, and be an extra set of hands and senses for him. The drive, the ambition, all of that maybe reminded him of himself. Stephen claimed her, when no one else would. But then she left him, without ever saying why. She sacrificed her life, her career, and any potential for the sake of not damaging his reputation, tarnishing his image, or being faced daily, hour by hour, second by second, the one person she couldn't love.

She really should have had a chat with him, is what I am saying. There is so much more I could say about this, that it could be broken into many parts of this length or longer, or go under a read more. I'm going to stop myself. In various verses, regardless of ships {respected and appreciated and loved even if the other mun doesn't know it} there really is no verse in which Beth doesn't love Stephen. As a friend, a mentor, as someone who believes in her when no one else would, with every ounce of soul she possesses. It doesn't matter the circumstance. Beautifully, tragically, I believe Stephen feels the same again, with respect and admiration, regardless of verse and romantic partner. {Some of the best ones are actually those in which say... Eddie and Beth are a couple, and Stephen is with Wanda or Sigyn and each is cheering the other on and sometimes giving unsolicited advice. Maybe especially these, like 15-Verse Stephen.} But yes. I stand by the "I love you, in every universe." {{?????/10 because I can't even}} {{I also blame Matt entirely}}

#Mahalo!Nonnymouse <333 #Tangleweave #Sphere Music|Stephen and Beth #The Flames that Burn|Dr Strange au

[guinevere01]

Hey Dracula people! If you're enjoying Dracula Daily, why not have a look at this crowdfunder for Re: Dracula (link in the reblog cause you know how tumblr is). @re-dracula is a (largely*) text accurate podcast adaption using the chronological drop system from Dracula Daily (yes, with permission from Matt Kirk, the mind behind Dracula Daily), with a full cast of voice actors known from, among many other shows: Wooden Overcoats, The Magnus Archives, Victoriocity, The Amelia Project, and The Secret of St Kilda.

Specifically, the cast includes (and this is only people I recognise): Alan Burgon, Alasdair Stuart, Ben Meredith, Jonny Sims, Karim Kronfli, and Sasha Sienna. A lot of cast teasers can be found on @re-dracula!

The team behind Re: Dracula consists of Tal Minear, Hannah Wright, Stephen Indrisano, and Ella Watts.

The perks from backing the campaign includes everything from practical stuff like ad free episodes and an audio book version of the podcast, to awesome fun stuff like a recipe zine, a friendship bracelet from Jonathan, or even a Dracula themed watercolour painting.

Stretchgoals include:

-Original music! For what is a good spooky podcast without bone chilling music?

-Bonus episodes! We've all seen that there's periods of no updates on Dracula Daily, this is the perfect time for interviews with experts and behind the scenes features, maybe even some bonus Dracula fiction?

The campaign is currently at 76% funded in a day and a half, if it reaches 80% funded by the end of today (October 2nd 2022) we'll get: a 10 minute version of the song Bite, a full cast announcement right here on tumblr (today!), and of course the show will be greenlit for production and they can start a month early! This is on top of the in character read of memes we're getting for every 10% funded!

*largely text accurate in that they'll be removing some of the racism

Once again, link in the reblog (see the notes), so please reblog that version!

#re: dracula #dracula daily #dracula #shameless promo time? shameless promo time #tal minear #hannah Wright #stephen indrisano #ella watts #alan burgon #alasdair stuart #ben Meredith #beth eyre #david ault #jonny sims #karim kronfli #sasha sienna #the magnus archives #tma #wooden Overcoats #the amelia project #Victoriocity #the secret of st kilda #tsosk

[dreaminonao3]

The third chapter of Five Times Dr. Strange Didn't Tip And One Time He Did is up now!

#doctor strange #beth the waitress #stephen x beth

[abcfamilydaily]

OVER/UNDER The Fosters 2.12

#thefostersedit #abcfamilyedit #mariana adams foster #tia stephens #tiariana #teendramaedit #forbescaroline #userzil #addys-beth #dailytvwomen #tvedit #mariana x tia #the fosters #the fosters 2x12 #* #*thefosters

[missmitchieg]

thinking about unpopular characters in cm and whenever there's a woman or poc in cm, they're written off without no or little explanation or killed off but if it's a white guy who's unpopular, they get to stay as long as they want. Explains why Tyler is now a series regular and Kevin got to stay for so many seasons while Stephen, Phil, Krystal, Maeve, Haley and Strauss are killed off

Were Stephen and Phil even particularly unpopular/disliked when they were on? All Stephen did was his job and Phil was so Just There. (But at the same time, he was a Black man that showed genuine romantic interest in Garcia and wanted to treat her right and take care of her and of course we can't have that, no no, we need a white demon to hurt her because that's mOrE iNtErEsTiNg 😒🙄)

Oh, and don't forget Carolyn Baker, Rossi's first wife. She was killed off before I even got a real chance to get really attached to her, which is SO rude. Honestly, I was SHOCKED when it was announced that Hotch and Beth broke up so she could go to Hong Kong instead of finding out she got killed by a fucking axe murderer or something equally horrifying and that is Not Good because that says A LOT about how lazy the writers room is with women like WOO.

Krystall, Erin, Haley, and Maeve's deaths were so tragic and for what? Angst and drama? Don't these writers ever get tired of it?

Y'know, I really appreciated when they didn't kill off Savannah and Lisa because I was like "DO NOT KILL DEREK'S GIRLFRIEND AND BABY. DO NO- Jesus, thank you." "Y'all JUST offed Phil, you cannot- Thank you." and that is... Deeply upsetting and concerning to me.

#criminal minds #stephen walker #phil brooks #haley hotchner #carolyn baker #krystall richards #maeve donovan #erin strauss #beth clemmons #lisa douglas #savannah hayes

[bannersbylinda]

#Stayla #Days

  02/15/23 Valentine’s Day

#Days of Our Lives #Days #dayspeacock #DOOL #Stayla #Staylaedit #Steve x Kayla #Steve Johnson #Kayla Johnson #mary beth evans #stephen nichols #bannersbylinda

[325projectspace]

Stephen Whisler Installation view, Past is Prologue 325 Project Space

Photo credit - Beth O'Brien

#325 project space #jeff feld #sculpture #art gallery #contemporary art #ridgewood #painting #charles goldman #artists on tumblr #bushwick #stephen whisler #beth o'brien

[scifi4wifi]

Netflix Trailer “Carol and the End of the World”

What would you do with your last days on Earth if you knew the end of the world was coming — and soon? Carol and the End of the World is a new limited, adult animation series coming to Netflix, premiering December 15th. It’s set against the backdrop of a mysterious, rogue planet hurtling towards Earth, due to impact and destroy it in a year.  The trailer released to YouTube on December 4th and…

View On WordPress

#Alison Brie #Beth Grant #Carol and the End of the World #Dan Guterman #Lawrence Pressman #Levar Burton #Martha Kelly #Stephen Colbert

[overb0red]

#salvation! #beth b #exene cervenka #dominique davalos #stephen mchattie #film #no wave #theatrical poster

[brooklynislandgirl]

Just as there is a rotation of duties at the hospital, there is also a rotation of obligations as host of events for the Manhattan elite. The pedigree of Stephen’s upbringing grants him the ability to recognize the purpose of hobnobbing; even the old money and deep pockets of the Strange family could not necessarily be counted on to convey him into all the circles he would need to be part of to ensure his success.

His apartment is meticulously designed to be a place where wealthy socialites can gather, be quietly wowed by a tasteful array of pricey possessions and his pristine organization, and weave the invisible, intangible net which makes the high life they live sustainable. Because many of them carry within their cores the secret fear that they will be the next to lose it all. It is an existential dread which leaves the unpurposed soul a little dimmer… clenches a fist more tightly about its cash and credit.

On paper, there could hardly be anybody at this gathering more “high society” than his pupil. The Riley legacy has even deeper pockets than Stephen’s. If Beth wanted to, she could buy the building in which he resides. But that isn’t where she’s interested in applying herself. For reasons Stephen cannot quite fathom, her passion is in helping people who find themselves at their lowest. When they must throw themselves upon the mercy of the medical profession, and place their lives in the hands of strangers whom they must trust to know what’s wrong and how it can be fixed.

She needs not network here. Her trust fund alone would carry her into the next millennium without her needing to lift so much as a finger or read so much as a sentence. But Stephen has seen those hands work themselves to the bone – and when Beth lets herself be still, she often has a book in her hands (and close to her face, at that). She’s a more studied polyglot than he.

As far as Stephen has ever been able to tell, she feels an obligation to apply herself to the healing arts, to connect with others, for nothing more than that restless, inexorable call within her soul that says she should.

The Admiral is not here. Stephen had extended the invitation even knowing he wouldn’t come; his is a face that is rarely seen in the vicinity of Beth’s, and his aspirations exist outside the realm of mingling with crusty New York dilettantes. Besides which… the Admiral seems to not particularly like Stephen. (Then again, does he truly like anybody?) But it is still a necessary gesture from a polite society.

And it allowed Beth to accept the invitation before it had even fully departed his lips.

The television shows what any cursory glance over the balcony would: the throngs of crowds populating the streets, and the countdown taking place over in Rockefeller Plaza. As the final minute approaches, Stephen politely extricates himself from the round-robin of hospital money talk and makes his way towards Beth, who is wearing a dress that speaks to the kind of money she comes from and a mask-like expression of faux interest in the older gentleman talking to at her – a venerable stage actor with increasingly extreme opinions about nothing in particular. A gentle smile to the gentleman and an upheld cell phone are followed with, “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I need my protege here, she has a call from an old friend from home.”

It is a kindly assertion of his authority, paired with the subtle code that tells her this is a rescue effort. The gentleman responds with a lifting of both hands in surrender, a pearly smile, and an utterance of concession as he moves away from her – he’d been standing a little too near, and there’s more than a subtle hint of Scotch on his breath as he passes by. Stephen pays the man no further mind as he offers first his phone to Beth to uphold the ruse… and after a sufficient display, he holds out a hand to Beth, inviting her to join him.

The starry look in her eyes and the gleam of the light against the points of her teeth in her atypically unabashed smile seem to carry a language all their own. Stephen wonders if perhaps, one day, he might learn that one, too. At the least, he might have a chance of catching up to her acumen.

He takes her past the serving table populated with champagne flutes, which are already disappearing quickly into the hands of others preparing for the moment. The final seconds are on approach. He plucks a pair of glasses from the table and offers her one.

As people begin to shout the final countdown to ring out the old year, Stephen holds up his glass, a faint smile curling one corner of his mouth as the musings of T.S. Eliot spring to mind, in the wake of his own recent considerations about linguistics. “Last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”

~*~

Champagne Kisses || -

Originally Beth had planned on staying at home. Tucked up in bed in warm and comfortable pyjamas far and away from the city bustle and all the accidents and assaults waiting to happen on one of the City's biggest party nights. She had a fresh pack of highlighters, brand-new note books, and quite possibly the most riveting set of lectures she has ever managed to collect; Peripheral Nerve Entrapment Syndromes and Lower Surgical Approaches {Part One}, Chiari Malformations and Syringomyelia, and Neuropatholigic Studies of Epiletogenic Tissue. A dozen different invitations to get out and about, to be seen and to see, to live up the moment and all declined in favour of spending the evening with Stephen. That plan had her floating on air for the gruelling days leading up to New Years, where nothing could seem to dampen her spirit and no amount of the Admiral's general disapproval could get under her skin. At least that had been her hope until Stephen called her into his office, right before her well deserved break, and with the preamble of explaining he hadn't yet received an RSVP to the invitation she had no idea he'd sent. Fortunately for her, the good Doctor has a habit of being fairly straight-forward when he wants something, and whatever sabotage had nearly played out behind her back was uprooted before it could take root. And his reward was that dreamy little smile that bloomed before she expressed that, of course, it would be her absolute pleasure. It didn't even matter if she was to be his guest, a server, or really any other role he might imagine for her. She had arrived early. Statuesque in a one shouldered midnight blue gown with diamond floral accents at the shoulder, and diagonal across her waist. Diamond solitaires glittered at her ears, silver bangles at her wrists but otherwise unadorned. Her make up is exquisite, smokey shades and deep wine on her lips. With her hair spiralling down her back in carefully curated curls and heels high enough she is only a scant few inches shorter than he. She comes bearing gifts; a case of Cristal from her own cellars for his guests, and for the host himself, an exquisite box of salted caramel and dark chocolate truffles she'd had delivered from Swiss chocolatier DeLafée. She knew he'd likely decline consider they'd already exchanged Christmas gifts ~she'd delighted over the fountain pen and specific blend of purple ink he'd said reminded him of her notes and the brushed platinum cuff-links with an oil stain pattern that she'd had made for him~ which is why she didn't say anything until she turned up. It wasn't the excess or expense, not for her and not for Stephen. They existed in a privileged world where the material generosity was merely a formality and it was every bit the thought that mattered, the time spent, and the joy those gifts evoked. Beth is genuinely surprised as other guests begin to arrive that she doesn't seem to spot anyone of Stephen's innumerable admirers and fair weather beauties. Oh there are definitely beautiful women, powerful ones too. The kind he courts for support and for business. It makes sense. Medicine is highly lucrative for someone as skilled and sought after as he is, but it's also a tightrope act without a net and always requires more funding and more renown. Something that she disliked about her chosen occupation and from the sidelines, she doesn't envy him the exhaustion of accruing clients and good-will. Even if she directly benefits from it by having his backing. And so like duck to water, Beth ends up slipping into a role she's been groomed for her entire life, and acts as hostess. She mingles amongst the guests, heading certain ones off at the pass to buy him time, and trying to ensure that the party continues on without a hitch. If only the Admiral could see it all, and the flawlessness with which she plays her part. She's thankful that he isn't, until she gets snared in the net of her own making. She hadn't quite caught his name, but the man ~someone of the Admiral's age and clearly his intellectual and political leanings~ was on and on about something she isn't exactly clear on. She smiles blandly and nods or hms on cue. Occasionally she pats his arm demurely as he makes a witty bon mot. Once in a while her gaze flitters over his shoulders to catch the screen and the way the year is quickly running out between the fingers of time. She does her best not to try to chew her own wrist off that she might be delivered from the current drone that borders on the truly offensive. Just before she can spill his drink with an accidental muscle spasm, Stephen appears like her very own knight, with upraised phone rather than sword. He is the world, and she smiles only because she can't help herself.

"My hero," she ennobles him. She takes the proffered glass. The world falls away as he recites to her one of her favourite poets and the smile deepens beyond just joy. While not exactly reserved this one is special. Her entire heart is in it as it pulses in her throat, feeling loud enough to drown out the party, the Ball, the dying of the secular year. It is born from the twitch of his lips. An expression she could spend her entire life in, and for a moment, just these few lingering seconds, Beth pretends that this is exactly the life she wants to live, and that she is exactly the only woman Stephen wants to be with. Tomorrow she will be his student again. Right now? She'll be his everything else. "Not known, because not looked for, but heard, half heard, in the stillness, between two waves of the sea. Quick now, here, now, always-" Beth rises on the steps of the poem's closing stanza, not sparing the champagne more than a cursory sip. She rises on the balls of her toes, a scant few inches. She rises and her mouth rests against his in quietude. The crowned knot of fire isn't allowed to become a conflagration. She's content enough for the warmth of embers banked as quick as the turn of the year. She returns to earth. "Happy New Year, Doctor."

#submission #tangleweave #Kakua|Stephen Strange #Sphere Music|Stephen and Beth #The Flames That Burn|Doctor Strange au #Brooklyn Stories|New York #Fragments of the Past

[kennedy-family-library]

The RFKs with their beloved nanny, Ena Bernard.

#Ena Bernard #Stephen Smith Jr #Christopher Kennedy #David Kennedy #Kerry Kennedy #Ethel Kennedy #Joe Kennedy II #Beth Kelly #Courtney Kennedy #Rory Kennedy #Max Kennedy