#(it was mine but Kevin runs it now pretty much)

[turbulenthandholding]

The Bear Season 4: Theme Prediction

I have a little Season 4 prediction that I’ve been playing with in my head pretty much since Season 3 came out and I wanted to write it up before the year ends.  

Since Season 2, they have been more overt with picking a theme to pull references from in The Bear.  Season 2 was sports, in the lingering presence of Coach K and Jimmy telling Carmy that the real fuckup of the 2003 Cubs playoffs run wasn’t Steve Bartman but rather an unforced error by Alex Gonzalez.   Season 3 was full of gorgeous film references which also tie closely into sleight-of-hand or magic (the legerdemain) and 4th wall breaking references we get as well.  

In an effort to try to predict where we are going in Season 4, I have been thinking about the following:

As we round what seems to be the third act of the whole arc of the show, what themes would make sense?

And, related to that, it feels like we are going to be out of the freezer and actually vibrantly collaborating in Season 4…

The whole “The Bear is NOT a comedy” discourse in wider media (about which I disagree with everyone lol)

Are there specific Chicago things that could be referenced, like the city’s political notoriety?

My prediction is that Season 4 is going to pull from a theme of comedy – specifically improv comedy.

Modern improv came out of the University of Chicago in the 1950s, pulling from older forms of comedy and theater (like commedia dell’arte, featuring improvised dialogue).

This grew to the formation of the ImprovOlympic (now iO Theater) and The Second City theaters/training facilities as well as touring groups and other theaters and the vibrant improv scene that still exists in the city today.  

This theme feels possible to me because:

Improv is done by adding and building (the improv concept of “Yes, and…”), collaborating, being open (as Luca told Marcus in season 2)

Improv and comedy have deep roots in Chicago (and leaves room for an actual Bill Murray sighting (after Mikey’s Ceres story in season 1))

There’s a through line between earlier mentions of comedic media (i.e. Carmy and Richie quoting Blues Brothers, posters, fuckin Kevin McCalliper) and the Season 3 theme of filmmaking that would be an interesting through line of continuity here

Season 3 was Carmy (and, consequently, almost everyone else) being stuck and improv is distinctively about motion and movement and creation.

Season 4 could bring a return to form of the same style of comedic moments we saw earlier in the series (i.e. the surge rates, fucko scene and pretty much all of Dogs…)

Focus (Or, formerly, Point of Concentration)

Focus is a fresh start.  The past is made to loosen its grip. - Viola Spolin

As I was doing some background reading for this, a major theme arose to me in probably the watershed text related to improvisation - Improvisation for the Theater by Viola Spolin.  Spolin was an acting teacher and coach.  Her work heavily influenced not only her son (Paul Sills, who was the original director of The Second City in Chicago) but also countless improvisers and actors through her improv games and methodologies.  

In the third edition of her book, she writes about how she renamed one of her preeminent concepts, Point of Concentration, into Focus:

“Focus”…suggests to me a moving energy, like a ball in a constant state of movement, the players all acutely conscious of everything going on around them while keeping their eye on the ball.  Similarly, whereas “relationship” is static and implies role playing, “relation” is a moving force – seeing, hearing, perceiving. (page liv)

Focus is a word that is very familiar to us in The Bear, particularly in relation to Sydney and Carmy and their relationship:

…I just need your focus like you need mine.  I…I don’t want to share it, I’m sorry…

…you deserve my full focus…

There is an interesting aspect to the way that Viola Spolin writes about what happens during improvisation; there’s almost a metaphysical or psychological or spiritual quality to how she discusses it, which feels similarly to me as the Season 3 references to Freudian psychology.  I feel like this concept could inform Season 4 in the same way.  

Anyway…I’m going to wrap this up by leaving this passage from Spolin’s book here, which speaks to me of our two chefs.  May we see their mutual focus only grow into Season 4.

This combination of individuals mutually focusing and mutually involved creates a true relation, a sharing of a fresh experience.  Here old frames of reference topple over as the new structure (growth) pushes its way upwards, allowing freedom of individual response and contribution.  Individual energy is released, trust is generated, inspiration and creativity appear as all the players play the game and solve the problem together.  “Sparks” fly between people when this happens. (3rd edition, page 24)

Things to read if you are interested:

Excellent short article on the history of Improv in Chicago

Viola Spolin's book Improvisation for the Theater - pdf of the 1st edition here in full for free

Also an extra article on Viola Spolin because turns out the roots of her improv work are really cool

[visionofvoid]

how they ask you out/how you ask them out - part two

Valtteri Bottas:

You were immediately different from the get go. Compared to the many extroverted women that Valtteri had both dated and encountered throughout his career, you were an introvert. You knew how to be civil, how to talk to strangers but you much preferred more intimate situations where conversations can be a lot more personal and meaningful. Valtteri loved the way you would immediately turn to rambing away about random things when you were nervous, something he had encountered when he asked to buy you a drink the very first night he met you. It was absolutely refreshing to encounter someone like you, someone as genuine as you. 

It was very slow at first; he followed you on Instagram, you asked for his number, he would ask how you were, you would ask how his training was. There was a lot of back and forth and it was clear the two of you were waiting for either person to make the first move. Tiffany was quite enjoying sitting on the sidelines as the two of you would privately message her with updates about the conversation or how to ask the other one out. It was honestly quite sickeningly cute really. 

You felt your phone buzz as you were getting ready to finally leave your cafe after a long and very busy day. Summer holidays in Australia were absolute mayhem, especially being located at the beach, however there was nothing like the busy period that was the Winter holidays with families hoping to get the last bit of sun at the beach before they went back to their cold hometowns. You opened your phone, half expecting it to be a text from a coworker about a shift cancellation or something but instead your heart raced when you saw a certain man's name on your screen. 

Valtteri: i’m on a break and decided to come to australia, how about i take you out for dinner?

Y/N: you know, australia is pretty big and i’m fairly certain you’re nowhere near my town

Valtteri: let me rephrase. i’m on a break and decided to come and surprise you now can i please take you out for dinner?

Mick Schumacher:

It was almost as if Nigel knew when Mick had come home from a race weekend. The growing puppy would lay in his spot near the window and as soon as he spotted the headlights of Mick’s car he bounded out of the house and through the paddocks and gardens to greet Mick on his front step. You would apologise profusely when Nigel came running back with muddy paw prints, a belly full of treats and a tired but smiling Mick walking behind him, but Mick always insisted that it was okay, which it was. It was a non-tradition tradition he now loved, though as much as he loved Nigel, he wouldn’t mind coming home to someone like you. 

He had developed a crush on you after a few months, grateful to have a neighbour like you. You would always offer dinner when Nigel led him back, and it was partially because you lived in a big house with lots of horses and Nigel and you desperately needed other forms of social interaction, but you too had also developed a crush on Mick. After your first meeting, you couldn’t help but look him up. You knew nothing about the sport when you first found out just how well known he was but you decided to watch some and soon found yourself cheering for him. 

Half an hour after Nigel disappeared to greet your neighbour he came back, this time with a single rose through his collar and a note. You looked around outside and raised an eyebrow when you saw no Mick. You called Nigel inside, the puppy sitting with his tail wagging as he eagerly waited for you to pat his paws dry. You immediately went for the note, opening it to see some messy scribbling that was only just decipherable. 

How about you come to mine for dinner? 

Kevin Magnussen: 

The sex was absolutely insane. He was just as much into his own pleasure as he was into yours and he spent ample time trying to make you cum, watching you as you squirmed in the hotel bed. Kevin was obsessed with the way you sounded when he got you to your peak, the way you moaned out profanities or softly said his name. He loved making you feel this way, making you come undone and it was all because of him. God, if your brother found out what the two of you were doing it would honestly be a civil war in the Haas Racing Team. 

It first started off as cheeky flirting with Nico trying to keep the two apart. Nico loved you immensely, he was the big protective older brother and he also loved Kevin and the way they rekindled their friendship and how he had become a true friend in such a short amount of time. Nico was supportive of you when you finally decided to go no contact with your parents and he supported Kevin when he went through his divorce with Louise so if he ever found out that the two of you were casually having sex, he would go off. 

“You know,” Kevin began as he settled you into his arms, your body absolutely tired from the past couple of hours. You rested your head on his chest, listening to his heart rate as the two of you both cooled down. “We can get food sometimes, no expectations of sex.” You raised an eyebrow, looking up at him. 

“Like, as friends or..” You trailed off. You wouldn’t say no, to engaging in something other than casual sex with him. Sure, he was a lot older than you and was your brother’s teammate but he was gorgeous and a gentleman. He was very respectful and the two of you were clearly compatible sexually. 

“We can make it as a friendly date or a date date.”

[mentholmuse]

The Last Of Us - Incorrect Quotes

Very Correct Actually | HBO Specific

Things that don't exist in TLOU Universe:

SHINee

Klance

Miranda's 'Cerulean Blue' speech

Australia (probs) (like aus is GONE the grain industry over here.... nah)

Wicked, post first show

Wicked loosing tony to Avenue Q

Ugg Boots on a red carpet

Me (2004 baby)

Star Wars Episode 3, and by extension mass bi awakenings

Star Wars OG Trilogy box set/being able to see carrie fisher in the mental bikini at home

The Hunger Games, ellie would have ate this UP for all the wrong reasons

World of Warcraft

Lord of The Rings 3rd movie

Swifties

Brexit

Europe Nation-States as a whole probably (baby thats cordycepsfalia now)

Facebook

Autism in women (pretty much)

Dissolving of the Asperger's Diagnosis

The Wii

The iPhone, but more interestingly Steve Job's insults

Fears abt the world ending in 2012 bc of the Mayan calendar

4Chan

Any imaging from the Hubble Telescope (launched DAYS before outbreak day) (that's kinda poetic honestly like you want to venture out. okay, well so do cordyceps)

the term "baby bump" according to wiki

flash mobs

The Kardashians™️

Shrek 2

Spider-Man 2

Howl's Moving Castle

Attack on Titan the manga

GTA 5

The idea of GTA 6

Lost

Michael Jacksons death (as we know it)

"Bimbo Summit"

The Notebook

Paris Hiltons Music career

Bling Ring

My Immortal (fanfic)

Ao3

Wattpad

DSM-5

My Parents Marriage

Teen Vouge

That one vanity fair cover with all the 2003 it girls

Legally Blond 2

Charlie's angel 2

Scooby Doo 2

Madonna and Britney Spears kiss

Britney Spears conservatorship (Britney would FUCK UP some infected)

Beyoncé's solo career (aside from first album) (she won FIVE grammys in 2004)

Ellie being an NCTizen (i just see it)

In Da Club -50 Cent

Smosh

Youtube as a whole (i feel like sarah would have liked tarot card readings on youtube and joel would also secretly eat them up)

the resolution that an american politician was the one to leave a hit and run, dead dear in the middle of a park (arent the Kennedys basically american royals. yalls royals are wild, mine just 'secretly' assassinate each other)

SPF 50+

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban again en mass awakenings... liking wolfstar, wolfstar roleplayers, liking kinda along hair nerdy guys, liking girls who punch ppl like draco malfoy in the face.

dare i say movie adaptation drarry stans

the marauders fanon

Ashley Simpson lip syncing scandal

NippleGate

Solo Gwen Stefani

Yeah! by Usher, lowkey i think this song would have been Joels guilty pleasure

Jojo Siwa

Desperate Housewives

Pretty Little Liars the concept as a whole

Napoleon Dynamite (#voteforpedro)

Barbie and Ken Divorce

Reddit

Criminal Minds

Spencer Reid

Dr Spencer Reid

My crush on Dr Spencer Reid

Mggs mockumentary

Mgg modeling picks we only see in his mockumentary

Hillary Duff "Do you know what you say" (TV Ellie would 10000% call things gay*)

Tom Cruise scientology controversy

cancel culture... all though i think FEDRA is their cancel culture

any publicly elected president in america ever again

kevin rudd sorry speech

julia gillards speech

gay marriage (in australia and in all american states)

hashtags

twitter

jihyo being a kpop trainee

girls generation

bang chan being australian potentially

the gabby hannah show.... and poetry, and music....

my chemical romance*

amy winehouse

honourable mention kinda :

could you imagine thinking the world was gonna collapse in 2000 bc of, y2k, 2001 bc of 9/11 or 2012 bc of the mayan calendar but it was 2003 instead. evolution just couldn't handle wonyoungs impending beauty apparently

there are probably a lotttt of coeliac people in post outbreak TLOU universe

[fictionkinfessions]

GAAHHHHHHHHH

//runs around in a circle

Hello citizens of fictionkinconfessions dot com, ‘‘‘tis I, the Dead-est of Pools, back at it again with more incomprehensible chatter. I got to see Deadpool and Wolverine yesterday and oh boy do I have some opinions

First off: mcu? Die. I hate you, you’re ugly, you treat the actors like shit, AND your company is loosing money. Suck it Kevin Feige. I’ve already seen people say that Deadpool 3 saved the mcu from a summer blowout and that is honestly so fucking funny. Fucking imagine owing your life to me, I literally am Marvel Super Jesus. Woe. I bestow the gift of millions of dollars upon Walt Disney’s royal corpse

Second: the movie was funny. Like if I ignore the fact that the Disney movie throws out all the existing lore built during the first two, it’s pretty funny. The back and forth bantering has been toned down for Disney audiences, which I resent. I didn’t even get to rag on Disney for sucking up Fox’s rights. God don’t we love our cooperate overlords. I wonder how many screenings and rewrites all the jokes had to go through

Third: WOLVIE I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUU best part of the movie hands down. Finally, a Wolverine who’s alcoholic, pissed off and jaded. That’s like my favorite flavor of Wolverine. The whole scene in the Honda where we penetrate each other with knives? And he ties me up? 🥰😍 personally I feel like his storyline got more attention than mine (in my own movie, which I’m the header for) but who caressssssss. Movies are temporary. Shirtless sweaty Huge Jacked Man with his happy trail out is forever

Fourth and final thing I promise (and this is an open question to any Marvel kinnies still around): why are there so many evil twins. Like have you guys noticed that? Chucks evil twin (who’s also bald) tried to destroy the multiverse in my movie, Madelyn Pryor exists in XMen-97, Wolvies evil twin is Vic (which I loved seeing by the way. All the cameos were great, including all the versions of me), etc. etc. is it the new norm to have an evil twin? Like you’re so bad and got so much character development that the writers had to create your antithesis. I think mine is Nicepool, I saw him in the movie and felt the need to rend him apart at the molecular level

Anywhooooooo; that’s all I got. For now. Toodles

- your not so neighborly friend Deadpool



x

[sanaxo-o]

your moots as tbz members? :DD

OH FINALLY GOT THIS AHWJWHEHDH

Now I am only tagging the moots with whom I interact on a daily basis. Even if I did not include you plz don’t mind me 😭 it must have just slipped my mind because of the exams. But I love every single moot of mine.

Nara @o-onikix : Kevin

Hear me out, she is the literal definition of Kevin, the way this girl always spams me with the most random things on insta 😭. And she like listens to more western artists then me so that’s a plus on top of that her sense of humour makes me want to punch her sometimes (lovingly). Just like Kevin she is always screaming man 😭.

Ally @winterchimez : Sangyeon

Let’s be for real, if I don’t give Als Sangyeon then idk who else would it be (maybe Jacob? Kind of. She is very caring and calm when on call 💀😭) but then whenever we both talk it’s like chaos is always with us. Like my Sabrina girlie <3 I can always count on ally tbh, like I always see myself talking with her about my exams and shit and she is always there to comfort and support me 😞.

Izzy @from-izzy : Sunwoo

I know I once said it was Kevin or Jacob but the more me and izzy talk the more o understand just how much of a danger she is to the society with her craziness…and the way she flirts with me all the damn time?? Like damn girl..(she outdid me in that and I am scared) but then again izz is also like so sweet like Sunwoo (and delulu like him but let’s keep that topic for later). We both can go from talking about something random to something serious or calm in a snap of a finger.

Clo @cloverdaisies : Changmin

This girl, do you see her?? She is batshit crazy. Like the way she says the most unhinged things out of nowhere always gets me and I always see myself laughing whenever with clo. Like not even kidding man and then when we have those deep conversations I always see myself so invested and I just feel like protecting clo and just hugging her 😞. (And me and ally coming at your place to tuck you in bed and to take care of you ‼️)

Bar @sohnric : Eric

No please, if I don’t give bar Eric it’d be like a huge ass crime let’s be for real. Like the amount of energy this girl has all the damn time??? She would be running around the house at 2 am and I won’t even be surprised because that’s normal…but then again when me and bar are together it’s absolute chaos and madness (I am still gonna drive the car)

Gill @astrae4 : Chanhee

Ahh my fellow Chanhee girlie <3. I stand by what I said, Chanhee girlies are so pretty and gill is the definition of pretty. She is also so sweet all the damn time, and I just feel like saving her from all the chaos which goes on in the gc :)

Maya @kimsohn : Haknyeon

Ohh my fellow desi girl <3 this might seem very different but yes. I don’t even remember how we both started talking tbh. We just clicked so well when together 😭. And yk how you feel when you see Hak on the screen? All smiley smiles, that’s how I feel when me and Maya talk hehe. Like I love Maya so much yall 😞‼️

Fawn @juyeonszn : Juyeon

Man do I love her?? Yes I do. Do I simp over the way I simp over Juyeon? Yes I do. Do I love both of them loads? Yes I do. Sometimes fawn is so crazy (most of the times) but then we can have such calm conversations outta nowhere…it’s scary tbh.

Dora @littleroaes : Jacob

You guys don’t get it. Dora is literally so cute 😭. Like the way whenever I interact with her I always find her so cute. And the way I adore Jacob so much as an individual but also as a TBZ member is the way I adore Dora <3 and she is also so hardworking 😞‼️. Like the amount of efforts she put into her fics 😭. She deserves everything man

Special note: me, Sana, am announcing that I would be the one to drive the car when we meet 😼

[lovingthereign25]

Reconciliation 🖤

Part 1

Arriving at the Alamodome I was nervous which was unusual, I was never nervous coming to a WWE event. Maybe it was the fact that I haven't been to one in over 8 months or maybe it was the fact that I was a surprise entrant in the women's rumble . Either way my nerves were getting to me . I sat in the locker room next to Lana who is one of my very best friends and some of the other girls that I've missed so much being away.

"How's it feel to be back?" Liv asked

"Different….good different. I smile

" I noticed you dropped the Anoa'i in your name, when did that happen?" Nia asked, referring to my marriage. "

A few months ago when they asked to be a surprise entrant" I say

After a while when it's only Lana, Becky , Liv and I, Lana asked the question the others wanted to

" Is it weird being here with Joe?" She asked

"Yes and no, I mean No in the sense that we've obviously see and speak to each other because we have children together so we are civil and communicate for them. Yes in the sense that it's weird not coming out with him and here his last name after mine." I say honestly.

After the women's rumble I sat in the back with everyone watching the rest of the show….the last match Joe's or as he is known in WWE Roman Reigns.

I sat with Lana until two of my favorite people in the business came in.

"Ayyy, there she is Miss "surprise entrant ", Miss " I can't tell family I'm coming back " Jimmy jokes pulling me into a hug.

" Key word …. Surprise" I smirk after hugging Jey .

"It's good to see you back at it, and you still got it" Jey says

"I NEVER lost it" i sass back

"You seen Big Uce yet?" Jimmy asked

" No, but I was just about to watch his match with KO, wanna join?" I ask

" Sure" they both shrug

Watching Joe entrance I couldn't help but think about how good he looked, yea I've seen him since we've broken up but seeing him shirtless, hair down, being his cocky Tribal chief character was still kind of sexy to me. The match started off slow then of course like always built up with Joe taking a few good bumps, one hit in particular Joe was going in for a spear when Kevin moved shoving Joe right into the turnbuckle.

"Shit, he hit his shoulder hard" I say without thinking

" Still in wifey mode?" Jimmy asking smiling

"No, I just don't want him hurt he is the father of my children ' I lie

" Yeah…we'll go with that" he rolled his eyes

A bit later into the match Nia comes in and tells the twins Solo was looking for them, without a word they were gone.

Moments later Joe gets the win and is joined in the ring along with The Usos , Solo and Sami . They attacked Kevin, handcuffing him and giving him as they would call it a "Bloodline bet down" .

Next thing I know Sami is hitting Joe across the back with a chair, unlocking a sore memory of when a similar situation happened with The Shield.

I couldn't even tell you what happened next all I could pay attention to was the welt that now formed on Joe's back.

Joe, Jimmy ,Solo and Paul made their way to the back heading to their locker room , I made my way there also. Jimmy and Solo parting going their own way I enter Joe's locker room.

Joe spots me in the doorway before I can even knock.

"Paul, can you excuse us for a minute" Joe says

Paul nods, giving me a hug before exiting.

"Y/n, I'm not in the mood to fight or argue if that's why you're here " he says sitting down with his back to me the welt had gotten bigger

"I'm not here to fight , I just wanted to make sure you were okay, you took some good hits out there" I say

" All part of the job," he says, rubbing his shoulder.

" Let me" I say walking over, placing my hands on his shoulders, massaging them .

"This welt is pretty nasty" I say slowly, running my fingers over it .

"Is it?" He asks

"Kinda like the one Colby gave you a few years back? " I say

" You never did forgive him for that, did you?" He laughs

" Nope, he knew how much I love your back" I laugh

" Love?" He asked

" Loved" I correct running my fingers over the welt once more .

Joe grabs my hand and brings me around the couch where he sat. Standing in front of Joe trying my best not to make eye contact I feel his eyes roam my body.

" I like the new gear" he said, playing with the zipper on my ring attire.

"Thanks, someone once told me red was a good color on me" I say

Without warning Joe pulled me into his lap attaching his lips to mine. The kiss was hot, lustful and aggressive. One of Joe's hands was on my face, the other gripping my ass. I moaned his name wanting more and more of him .

"Joe" I say pulling away placing my hands on his chest " we should stop"

"Y/n, I need you" he whispers, stroking my face pulling me back in for another kiss.

This man had such an effect on me. Joe laid me on the couch hovering over me, placing soft kisses to my face down to my neck.

"God, you look so damn good in this gear" he says

"Shut up " I laugh trying to cover myself

"I'm serious, your body is perfect, it carried our babies" he says, removing my hands.

Joe slowly unzips the bottoms of my gear just enough for him to slide his hand in. Running his fingers down my core causing me to throw my head back in pleasure.

" So wet Y/n , you still want me don't you baby" he smirks, pumping two fingers inside of me.

I bit my lip trying my hardest not to moan, I don't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing I did indeed still want him. I wanted him in every way possible but also because we were still in an arena full of our coworkers.

"Say it Y/n , tell me you still want me ?" He demands pumping faster than he was a minute ago.

"Shit….I want you" I nearly screamed.

Joe smirks, getting what he wanted from me, he undid his pants reaching in freeing his already hard length.

Just as Joe was about to slip himself inside of me there's a knock on the door

" Who is it?" He asks annoyed

"It's Jimmy uce" we hear from the other side of the door

Quickly I zip my bottoms trying to fix myself as Joe does the same .

" Come in man " Joe says

"Yo Uce Solo is going crazy looking for Jey……he starts stopping mid sentence noticing Joe isn't alone

"Oh my bad I didn't mean to interrupt…." He smirks winking at me

"You're not interrupting anything I was just checking on Joe after the match" I say

"You said something about Solo?" Joe says

"Yea he's out for Jey, saying he went off script " Jimmy explains

"Alright I'll fix it, I call Solo now " Joe reassures

Jimmy leaves Joe and I alone again.

Joe calls Solos calming him down from finding Jey. He hangs up sitting back sighing.

"I'm gonna head out" I say lightly tapping his knee

"Like hell you are" he says grabbing my hand and placing it on his rock hard member in his pants " we're finishing what we started, you're coming home with me"

"Joe,I don't think.." I start but he kisses me again

"Tonight I NEED my wife, so don't think just go grab your stuff and meet me at the hotel…Please " he says stroking my face.

"Okay" I whisper.

*An hour later*

Was I really meeting my soon to be ex-husband for a late night booty call. I thought to myself as I knocked on the door to Joe's room.

Before I reconsider it he opened the door in a damn Towel ….. seriously?

"Finally." He says pulling into me kissing me.

"I need to use your bathroom first champ" I say pulling away

"Ugh Y/n I've waited long enough" he whines

"Always so whiny" I tease before shutting the door behind me

After a few minutes and a glance in the mirror to make sure I looked ok..I head out of the bathroom Joe now sitting on the edge of the bed impatiently waiting

"Now I'm ready" I say standing in the doorway wearing his "Tribal Chief is my Daddy" shirt with black knee highs and heels .

"Fuck baby" he says biting his lip

"Do you like it?" I ask as if I didn't already know

"Come here now…let your Tribal Daddy show you just how much I like it " he says, grabbing my waist pulling me into his arms and flipping me onto the bed so he was on top.

"Where should I start with you huh?.... Should I dip my fingers inside play with you a little while before I fuck you, or should I eat you out make you beg me to cum?" He asks

God I loved this side of Joe. I always have we had the most incredible sex life.

"Please just do something" I beg

"Look at you begging for Daddy to touch you" he taunts

"Joe…shut up and fuck me" I growl

Joe removes my panties, flinging them behind him somewhere,looking up from between my legs, he smiles just before his tongue pushes past his lips and licks once across my center, as slowly and torturously as possible.

"Joe" I whine desperate for more.

He then begins his assault. He was playing with you, tasting your pussy slowly at first, but later even slipped with his tongue inside of me and twisted his tongue around a bit, causing me to moan like crazy until my orgasm hit. Wasting no time Joe flipped me onto my stomach and pushed my ass to him. He gave my cheek a squeeze and a light spank that made me jolt. Sliding his hand along my spine down to my neck, he pressed me into the mattress and eased his cock into me. I couldn't help but let out a loud moan, my mouth hanging open as my core enveloped him.

“Fuck! How are you still so tight? Squeezing me like that…” he hissed.

Joe then once again switches our position.

Joe pinning my arms behind my head with one of his own while the hand grips one of my hips tightly, guiding them against his, as he gives hard, penetrating thrusts.

"God…Joe" I nearly scream

" You like that baby…when I go nice and deep" he grunts

Joe picks his pace up, He hooks his arms under my legs, lifting them up higher so he can reach a different angle and that’s what pushes me over the edge.

"Oh God…" I moan.

I come hard, clenching around his cock as he fucks me so well, reaching his own high just moments later. His hips fall out of rhythm and he changes his fast thrusts to slow but rough pushes as he spills into me. We're both gasping for air, his forehead falls against mine as I hold onto his broad shoulders. He brushes his lips against mine, softly kissing them before he lets my legs down, his cock slipping out of me leaving me with an empty feeling.

" That was incredible" I pant

" You're welcome" he smirks

I playfully hit his chest. Before rolling under the covers.

"Actually staying after sex….. shocker" he laughs

" Come cuddle with me before I change my mind" I roll my eyes.

[bippot]

Joyride

Story Summary -> There are three things Jake loves to do at work. None of which are work. One: eating. Two: flirting with his girlfriend. Three: annoying Kevin. At first, he only thought he'd only get to do two of those three options.

Tags -> Smut, Arcades, Car Sex kinda, Semi-Public Sex, Gym Sex, Idiots in Love

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There's only so many times Jake can run those simulations without getting mind-numbingly bored. It's the same tracks over and over again. He knows them like the back of his hand; he's sure of it. Well, it's his job to be sure of it.

Taking a break would be great for him. He could get some food, maybe some of those healthy kettle chips that Catherine brought in (he wouldn't admit to anyone, especially Kevin, but he actually quite likes them), maybe he'd wander over and flirt with his girlfriend while she was helping fix the car with Chuck and Amir, maybe he'd go and annoy Kevin by telling him how he'd gotten his head stuck in the bannister of the stairs at his house earlier this week. 

Yeah. He should do that. He should take some time to himself.

First up, the chips. That was easy. He walked up and grabbed some without anyone noticing. If anyone asked, he'd claim he'd intended to reach for the BBQ ones but 'accidentally' picked these up and opened them without realising. And, shit, now they're open. He can't waste food now. What would the children in Africa think? Exactly. That's why he has to finish the bag. Not because he likes them, but because he's a good person who loves the environment and the people who inhabit it. He's a humanitarian, if you think about it.

Next up was Y/N. She had to be around here somewhere. Jake confidently walked up to the car and suavely asked, "How is it you still look beautiful with a car on top of you?"

"Boy, I am not your girlfriend," Chuck warned back. Fuck. Of course. He should've noticed that Y/N doesn't have that big of feet. Oops.

Awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, Jake cleared his throat then added, "Uh, do you know where Y/N is?"

"Having her daily girl talk with Catherine."

Great, just great. Sure, his girlfriend being buddies with his boss was helpful. Y/N often aided when he got in Catherine's bad books, which was all of the time. However, it always felt like Y/N was conferring with the enemy. Strangely, Jake thought he'd be more comfortable with his girlfriend talking to Blaney or any number of his actual competitors rather than their boss.

That totally wasn't true; he was incredibly protective on race days and made sure the other racers knew for a fact that Y/N was his girlfriend, and his only girlfriend at that. He'd make a big show of snogging the hell out of her before he got into the car and after. The message was clear to anyone around the track.

Still, he'd have to move on to step three: annoy Kevin. He just started out with small talk in the beginning, nothing too in-depth. Then he'd say, "Did I tell you where I got my head stuck this week?"

"If you say Y/N's thighs again, I'm going to replace you with Jessie."

"No. Well, yeah, always," he replied with a chuckle. Kevin looked exasperated, so Jake continued, "Have you seen the first episode of Modern Family?"

"Years ago, yeah."

"So, Luke, the little boy, got his head stuck in the bannister, and I thought, 'He's a kid, that's why. I'm an adult; I could definitely get my head back out.' You'll never guess that I-"

"Go back. You saw a fictional child do something stupid and your first thought was, 'I'm going to do it too?' "

Shrugging nonchalantly, Jake clarified, "Pretty much, yeah."

"Honestly, sometimes I have no idea how Y/N puts up with you."

"Other than my sparkly eyes and charming smile - her words, not mine, by the way - it's probably because I spend most of my time between her -"

Covering his ears childishly, Kevin ordered, "Get out before I fire you."

While Jake was busy with Kevin, Y/N had walked back to the car, only to get told that her 'dumbass of a boyfriend' was looking for her, so she walked into the gym, expecting to find him in there. Nope. Nowhere in sight. Yet he had left one of his hats on the seat of the simulator. He'd probably want that. She made her way over and picked it up, placing it on her head for safekeeping. Safekeeping and the fact Jake always got that goofy big grin whenever she would wear his clothes. That grin that made her feel all warm inside.

As she was about to walk away, the simulator made a noise that attracted her attention towards it. It wouldn't hurt to have one go, right? She'd always been curious. After a quick glance that Jessie or Kevin weren't around, she sat in the driver's seat and began playing. Being a mechanic meant that she was pretty good with cars, nowhere near as good at driving as Jake, of course, but was better than the average Joe. And it wasn't rocket science; it was just pedals and wheels, and she knew how to do that.

Jake opened the gym door to see his girlfriend in his hat in his driver's seat. That man could've exploded on the spot. He quickly shut and locked the door behind him, made his way behind her as she drove, and placed his arms around the back of the seat, watching her as she went through the course. She made a few mistakes, but she was having a blast.

'Hey, baby."

"Shhh... focus."

She did as he said and continued the simulation, trying her hardest to keep her eyes on the screen, which was hard because she could hear his deepening breaths close to her ear. The scent of his cologne surrounded her, making her want to bury her face in his neck and inhale deeply.

"Jakey, is this turning you on?"

"Uh-huh," he groaned. Jake was in his own world, lost in his fantasy of Y/N, which actually was a reality. So he had a big grin on his face and an erection.

When her race was over and the time popped up on the screen, he cheered, "That's only 5 seconds more than Jessie; you're almost a pro, babe."

She flirted, "Learnt it by watching you, hot wheels," and tilted her head so he'd peck her on the lips. But he didn't.

Instead, he brushed his thumb across her bottom lip and instructed her to, "Take your trousers off."

What did her little submissive Jake Martin just say to her? Y/N took her time before slowly standing up, unbuttoning her trousers, and shimming them to the ground as she watched as he sat down in the driver's seat. Oh, she knew what was about to happen.

She flashed back to a couple of weeks back when they had gone to an arcade for one of their dates. It had been really sweet. Jake had tried his hardest to win a large stuffed penguin for her, but because the games are rigged, they ended up with a mid-sized sloth (which she thought was even cuter but he wasn't having it). 

They’d been happily sharing some overpriced dirty fries when he noticed the racing game, yet only one of the machines was operational. Still, he wanted a go. 

"Babe, sit on my lap, and we'll both be able to play."

Did she have any reason to decline? No. Why not? If it made him happy, she'd do it.

"I'll do the pedals and gears. You steer. Good?"

"Great."

Things went great. That was until she moved slightly, shifting a little in her seat, and heard him deeply exhale. Then she felt him poke into her, and she quietly enquired, "Are you hard right now?"

"Rock."

Just that would've been enough. It was unfortunate that at that exact moment, a fan recognised the famous Jake Martin and asked for a picture with him.Jake accepted, of course. And so that her boyfriend’s indiscretion wasn’t photographed and shown to the public, Y/N took off her cardigan and handed it to him so he could hide himself behind it, and she held her hand over her mouth as she laughed at him.

"Did you lock the door?"

Nodding, he reached for her hips and pulled her to sit on his thighs, her back to his front. He pulled his joggers and underwear down, then shifted her backwards so she could feel him against her entrance as his hand slipped down the front of her underwear, flicking his index finger against her clit, making her jump.

"Got to be quiet," he warned. "You're so wet, baby.”

And she  felt even better when he removed his fingers, pushed her panties to the side, and guided her onto his cock. She let out a low, lustful moan as he entered her, and his hand immediately clasped over her mouth.

"Hold onto the wheel." 

She did as he said and gripped onto the steering wheel before them. Y/N cried out his name into his hand while he fucked her with long, hard strokes. It was a good thing that she had something to help steady herself because he began to pick up the pace, pushing her hips down onto his like a madman. The friction was incredible, every nerve ending firing her closer and closer orgasm.

Breaking her mouth free, she breathlessly asked, "What the fuck, dude?"

"Did you just dude-zone me while I'm fucking you?"

"Yeah, I gue- ...Oh fuck, Jake," she whispered, taking one of her hands off the wheel and bringing in to the back of his head to intertwine it with his hair. He pounded up into her harder as she did this, and she loved it. The feeling of his hair tickling her palm and his hands gripping her hips for dear life caused her to push his head closer to hers so she could smush her lips against his.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum, baby," he grunted into her mouth, his hand moving back down to play with her to ensure she finished on his cock before he came inside of her. The pressure was building, and he needed to release. "Cum for me.”

Loving his voice as he said that, she nodded vigorously and did, releasing his hair and arching her back as she came hard for him, her body shaking on top of him so he had to restrain her hips. Jake's orgasm was so intense he nearly blacked out. It was one of the most powerful he'd ever felt. 

Y/N smiled and patted his thigh; her breath still staggered. "Good job, stud."

A few minutes later, they were fully clothed and pretending that nothing happened. 

The door had been unlocked, and Jessie walked in. "Hey, Y/N. Y/N's boyfriend," she greeted, suspicious but not catching on to anything. "Mind if I use the simulator?"

Smugly smiling, Jake responded, "Be my guest." 

Y/N didn't even try to hide her smile as she pecked him on the lips (which got a disgusted groan from Jessie - luckily, she had no idea what just happened on the chair she was sitting on) and got back to work.

"What did Jake want?" Amir asked when she arrived back.

"He wanted to talk about going to the arcade."

Conversation topics like that were easy to claim that Jake had tried to talk to her about. Mostly because he had talked to her about it. Many times. Both at home and at work. Their colleagues didn't need to know in depth how much he actually likes the arcade.

*Click here for my masterlist*

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[bullet-prooflove]

The North Star - Part Seventeen: Karma - Terry Bruno x Reader

Welcome to mine and @the-hinky-panda The Bronx universe featuring our favs Terry Bruno & Mike Duarte.

This story takes place several years after 'Blood Out'. Terry still lives in the Bronx and works in Manhatten SVU.

Following on from @the-hinky-panda story 'The Dog' Mike has retired from the NYPD on medical grounds due to seizures causes by the attack. He has a therapy dog called Bono and lives with @the-hinky-panda character Meredith.

Tagging: @legit9thlunaticwarrior @bbyxoo @the-adzukibean @xoxabs88xox @crazy4chickennuggets @beardedbarba @wooshwastaken @justreblogginfics @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @storiesofsvu @anime-weeb-4-life @witches-unruly-heart @genius2050

The North Star Series - Part of The Bronx Universe

Part One: Moments (NSFW)

Part Two: Case of the Ex

Part Three: Her Worse Half

Part Four: Always

Part Five: Ask Me Again (NSFW) 

 Part Six: Degas

Part Seven: The Heist

Part Eight: A Part to Play

Part Nine: Home

Part Ten: Safe Space 

Part Eleven: Weak

Part Twelve: Got Your Back

Part Thirteen: Familia

 Part Fourteen: Gunplay

Part Fifteen: Friendly Fire

Part Sixteen: Alive (NSFW)

When Paul needs to blow off steam he goes to a club, he finds a pretty girl, buys her a couple of drinks and then fucks her in the bathroom.  It works, it gets rid of the excess energy that burns up inside of him, it gets him out of his head and the only thing he thinks about is chasing that feeling. The euphoria that comes with the high.

Before that he pre-games, does a couple of lines off the glass coffee table in his apartment. It’s a new batch, something his dealer cooked up, it’s supposed to be a better high.  He feels it after the first line, it spreads through his body heightening his senses. His skin feels electric, a familiar tingle that vibrates through him. He thinks of you, of the way your body felt pressed against his at the Arthur Munson’s party. Your wrists pinned above your head, his palm clasped over your mouth as he thrust his knee between your legs. He’d wanted to go further, wanted to hike that dress up your hips and remind you that you were his. Only his.

He could feel his heart palpitating in his chest. It was like this sometimes when he took a little too much. There was a second line on the table, he couldn’t seem to help himself. He snorted that one too, rubbing the back of his hand across his nose to wipe away the residue. He could hear Kevin, his wingman, clattering around in the bathroom, probably doing his own lines so he didn’t have to share his stash. He usually had a couple of pills on him, Paul would try and bum one or two off him when he came out.

They’d been partying together ever since before Kevin met Meredith…

Meredith who had turned up at the hospital, who was probably still there holding your hand. He didn’t know how bad it was no one would tell him. They’d closed ranks around you in the aftermath, he’d sensed the fury simmering underneath them all despite the fact it had been an accident, one that you’d caused. You’d gotten in his line of fire, a shadow in the dust cloud that had exploded through the wall. He’d already fired by the time he saw the vest, he’d managed to stop himself from pulling the trigger a third time but by that point the damage was already done. You were down, struggling to breathe, your lips turning blue before you passed out.

He thought he’d killed you in that moment and instead of guilt he’d felt relief. Relief that you wouldn’t go running your mouth off to your Captain, relief that this thing that burned inside of him every time he saw you, would eventually be extinguished, that it would die with you.

You hadn’t died and neither had it…

In fact, it was worse now. It was like a forest fire, eating him up inside, stealing away his functionality because as usual somehow you made everything worse. Now he was suspended pending investigation, he knew his blood test would pop positive. He’d done a bump before he was called out to the raid, something to tide him over after what had gone down at the party. He’d still been keyed up after that, the adrenaline, the frustration ratcheting through his system at the thought of being that close to having you, of being interrupted before he could take you the way he wanted. It would have changed everything he thought. In that moment he’d wanted to watch the fight drain out of you, he’d wanted to see that resolve break, wanted to see the exact moment that you realised you were his.

More than anything he wanted to see it again. He wanted to breathe in that fear, chase his pleasure, look into your eyes as he took everything from you, the same way you were trying to take everything from him.

His plans were changing, evolving. He didn’t want to go to the club anymore. Instead he wanted to find you, to finish what he’d started, if it ended in a bullet, it ended in a bullet. At least you’d both know he owned you.

He felt that heat rush through him, it seared through his synapses drowning out everything else. At first, he thought it was desire, the first flush as his cock stirred in his jeans but then he started to sweat, he could feel it soaking through his shirt as his heart began to beat manically against his rib cage. His hands started to shake, he looked at them as the fingertips trembled, holding them up too his face before his stomach heaved and he vomited on the floor.

It took him a second to realise what was happening. He’d taken too much. The euphoria was draining away and instead he was filled with an intense sense of anxiety. He tried to shout for Kevin, but words died in his throat, instead coming out like a wheeze as the pressure in his chest increased so greatly it felt like he couldn’t breathe. The world tilted and he found himself slipping sideways until he was lying on the floor his limbs quivering, before he threw up again. He didn’t even have the strength to heave, it simply trailed from his mouth as he twitched.

That was how Paul Russo died, alone and desperate in a pool of his own vomit.

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[charlie-lynchs]

Eye-Witness

POV: the daughter of Kate Beckett and Richard Castle witness a murder and gets hurt because of it.

Name: Charlotte "Charlie" Johanna Beckett

Age: 17

Warnings⚠️: death, blood, weapons

Charlie was awoken by the knock on her door like every school morning.

"Charlie come on time for school." Her mother Kate yelled and opend the door. "Seriously you're still sleeping we have to leave in 10 min." Kate said while pulling the blanket off Charlie. "Moooom, let me sleep." Charlie groaned while pressing her face in her pillow. Charlie was the strong and confident like her mom but also pretty stubborn and waking up was not her favourite thing. "No, you're going to be downstairs in 5 min or I will drag your butt myself and we both know you don't want that to happen." Kate said giving Charlie the look. "Fine" Charlie said annoyed.

5 min later Charlie walks downstairs.

"Ah, the dead has been raised" Rick said in the good mood he always is in. Charlie sits down and start eating eating. "Morning Dad" she sat still half asleep. Rick gives her a kiss on the head and sits down in front of her. "Good Morning everybody." Kate says walking in the kitchen, kissing Charlie on the head. "Morning Yeah, good no" Charlie said not looking up from her plate. Kate's phone starts ringing. "Beckett" she answers it. "Oh and Dad I was not dead but the Person they're calling about is really dead." Charlie said looking up. "Haha good one kiddo" Rick and Charlie Highfive. "Well there is a homocide so I have to go." Kate said. "But what about Charlie? I can't drive her." Rick said.

"Guys calm down, I will just walk there and back. I'm not 6 anymore." Charlie said to stop the talk. "You sure?" Kate asked looking at her. "Yes Mom. Go and serve justice to the victim." Kate smile at that comment. "Will do. Bye love you baby" Kate said while giving Charlie a big kiss on the cheek. "Bye babe" Rick and Kate kiss and she walks out.

The way to school is boring and always the same. Charlie takes, like every other student who live in her area the shortcut through an alley. It can get really creepy in the dark but Charlie wouldn't admit that she is scared.

Two streets after the alley Sara catches up with her. "Yo Charlie, what's up?" Sara says in a good mood. "Not much. I have absolutely no interest and motivation for school." Charlie says while laughing.

In the 12th precinct:

"Good job solving the murder, guys" Kate said walking up to Javier and Kevin. "Thanks Cap, wasn't to hard after all." Kevin said. "OK I have a meeting at one pp. I can't answer calls, so text me when there is another murder." Kate said. "Will do." Javier and Kevin said at the same time.

Charlie had to walk home alone because Sara was picked up by here parents. She walks the same way as usual and greets the homeless guy sitting at the corner. She walks in the alley but comes to an stop when she sees an man in his mid 50s pointing a gun at another man kneeling infront of him. Charlie gets out her phone and starts recording.

"Please Sir, I have kids and a wife." the man on the knees says. "You should have thought of that before you betrayed me." He says and shots the man in the chest. He shots him another time in the head and looks up. Charlie and the man have direct. eyecontact. Charlie starts running out of the alley. She hears another gun shot. She reaches for her phone and calls her mom but keeps running.

Kate has her phone on silent while being in a meeting. "This is Kates Phone, you know what to do." "Fuck!, Mom it's me. I think I saw something I shouldn't have seen. I'm running right now, but I don-" Charlie gets interrupted by being thrown into a white van. "Naughty little girl, you were not supposed to see that, but now we have to get rid of you to." The man said.

"I wouldn't do that. I recorded everything and sent it to a hidden laptop of mine. No one but me knows where it is." Charlie said knowing they can't kill, but torture her.

At the same time Kate gets out of the meeting. She was just about to look at her messages but gets a call from the precinct before. There's been another murder.

"Hi Cap." Javier said when Kate arrived at the seen. "Hi, so what do we got?"

"43 Year old Man. Was shot 3 times. One time in the head and two times in the chest."

"And that daylight. Brave. Any witnesses?"

"Yes a homeless guy. Sat around the corner heard a the gunshots. And it gets better." Javier said.

"He saw the murderer?"

"No but he saw someone who did. After the second shot a teenage girl ran out of the alley. She saw him." Javier said.

"Perfect, let him describe so we can find her." Kate said walking away, forgetting to check her phone...

Charlie woke up in an dark what she guessed basement.

"See who is awake, ready to talk?" The man says. Charlie is tied to a chair and answers:"Over my dead body".

"Oh you will wish that you didn't just said that." He walks to her and starts cutting her with a knife along arm.

At the precinct:

Kevin and Javier walk into the captains office. Kate smile at them, but seeing there faces she starts to frown. "What happend?" She asked wanting to know what's going on. "Kate the sketch of the girl came in." Javier said. "Good and what?" Kate asked confused. "You should have a look at her." Kevin says and lays the sketch on her desk. She looks at it and her face turns completely blank. "No, No. Charlie? She was supposed to be at school." Kate says fighting tears. "Her last period didn't happen, we checked with the school. Kate there is more." Kevin said calmly.

"There is tape of her running and calling someone and..." Kevin is not sure how to say it. "Say it Ryan come on." Kate said getting angry. "She was ripped into an white van, propaly from the killer." Kate can't hold it in anymore and starts crying. She pulls out her phone and sees the massage from Charlie. "I know who she called." She starts playing the messages and feels immediately guilty for not picking up the phone. "Ok. Ryan find that Van. Espacito call Castle and tell him everything. And hurry she doesn't have long she knows to much." Kate says picking up the phone.

In the meantime, Charlie sits beaten up in the chair and breathing heavily. She has cuts and bruises everywhere. "I have to say you are tougher then most grown ups I have here. But now our little game has to end." He points a gun at Charlie. "I don't care about the tape anymore I will just vanish to another country." He shots her in the stomach. As soon as he starts going. The door burst open and Kevin and Javier run in. "NYPD. HANDS IN THE AIR." they yell. Both of them throw themselves on the man. Charlie barley make out what happend. But suddenly to known figures make their way to her. "Oh God. Charlie baby. We need medical assistance now!" Kate says.

Charlie feel someone run their hand over hair and Kate holds her hand while the paramedic take care of her. Kate picks her on bridal style up and carries her out and lays her on the strechter. "Everything is going to be ok baby. Mom and Dad are here." After that she doesn't remember anything.

Two Days Later:

Charlie lays in an hospital bed both if her parents next to her. Kate didn't leave her side since she was there. "Kate you need to go home take a shower and eat something real. I will watch her." Rick says while rubbin her back. "No Castle. I need to be here. I need to be here when she wakes up." Kate said not taking her eyes if Charlie.

Light. That is the first thing Charlie sees when she opens her eyes. Soon the light becomes less and she can make out the hospital room. Her uncles Kevin and Javier a sitting in the chair in front of her and reading the newspaper. Next to them are her Grandma and sister. On her right side her dad texting something on his phone. She feels someone holding her hand. She turns her head to the left and sees her mom holding her hand while sleeping. Charlie presses her hand soft and Kate jolts up looking at Charlie. "Charlie, Baby you're awake. How do you feel?" Kate asked while softly stroking her finger over her cheek. Now everyone look to the bed and smiles. "Like I was shot." she says with a smile. "That isn't funny. You scared the hell out of us." Kate says. "You did it Kiddo. I'm so proud." He says with a smile. "How long was I out." Charlie asked. "Two Days. That man did a lot to you." Kevin says now standing next to the bed. "And you're going to stay for while. You will need a lot of physical therapy." Javier takes over. Charlie suddenly sits up trying to stand up. "No I have to go and get my laptop.". Kate holds her back with her arms and lays her back down with the voice of her doctor in mind that Charlie shouldn't move to much and quickly. "Baby hey everything is ok he is captured and you're save." Kate says laying down with her. "No you don't understand. The only reason that I'm alive and they didn't kill me in that Van was because I have a tape. I filmed him and his man cannot find that laptop." Charlie explained. "Charlie, God you're so clever. Look I will sent Uncle Kevin and Uncle Javier to get it then nothing happens to it. OK?" Kate asked. Charlie just nodded and gave them the location.

The night was really hard for Charlie but as always she tried to hide it. But the pain and the nightmares were to much. And she suddenly starts to cry. Kate who sits next to her notice that. "Hey what's going on?" She asked sitting on the sight if the bed. "I don't know why. I'm sorry" Kate lays down next to her and move Charlies head carefully on her chest. "There is nothing to apologise for. Let it out baby. I'm right here." Kate says calm and quiet. Charlie cried for a little bit longer but eventually fell asleep in her mothers embrace.

The next weeks were hard. Charlie had to do a lot of physical therapy and went to therapy on demand of her parents. They were there for her on every step of the way.

And then the day finally came. Charlie is allowed to go home. She was so happy that she couldn't sleep the whole night. The next morning they all walked out of her room. Rick had all the bags. Charlie still has to take everything calm and slow much to her dislike. "Ok, I only have to fill out the discharge papers and we're good to go." Kate said walking to the front desk, Rick behind her. When they walked out Charlie would have sprinted to the car if her personal police captain wouldn't tell her to slow down. "Charlie I mean it. If you start running again, I will pick up and carry you like when you were a baby." she would warn her and give the look. Charlie would just answer with "Ay Ay Captain".

When des Beckett-Castle Family walks in the appartement, Charlie was hit with a "SUPRISE" from her family. They celebrated and Charlie went to her room to sleep when she got a notification on her phone.

Murder Trail over. Patrick Swat gets the Life Sentence

with a smirk she turned her phone off and laid down. But she couldn't sleep so she sneaks into her parents bedroom and lays between them. Both Rick and Kate laid one arm around her. "I love guys." Charlie says quietly. "We love you too. We're so happy you're back."

And the family happily falls asleep.

---------------------------------------------

Yeah that's it. I hope you liked it and forgive me for any mistakes. English is not my first language

[which-hospital]

And Another One - Casualty Hiatus Thoughts - 2/?

I'm still ill but I went into uni anyway like the brave little soldier that I am! (Every night, I decide that all the work that I need to do can be done “tomorrow” but we’re rapidly running out of those until the deadlines. I have lost my train pass and student ID. All I’ve listened to all day is the demo version of Geyser by Mitski. Vague sense of doom.) I got myself some Tesco Finest cookies on the way home. I’m just complaining here. 

I'm back for more already, seems like I've opened the floodgates but this one won't be as lengthy as the other one was. Genuinely sorry I can’t shut up. I thought I was done for a while but I put an episode from series 36 on in the background thinking that I'd be able to do stuff while it played but got distracted by my opinions.

Potentially all over the place again, though this one does manage to be mostly about the series 36 mother-hell storylines. So there's a theme. Warning - I started going off about Dark Room which has a lot of transphobia in it and that’s part of what I talked about.

I really don’t know how I feel about the resolutions of Sah and Teddy’s storylines with their mums. Okay, we already know I'm about to be going on about Sah and Teddy's mother problems storylines but I'm sure there are other characters who this is/isn't applicable to - feel free to let me know about it. As a recap: it’s kind of hard for me to figure out how to describe exactly what happens at the end of Friends Like These, but if anyone has ever seen that quote that’s like “I tried to ask my parents to leave the room, but not my life”, Teddy asks Gaynor to leave the room and she leaves his life. A couple months later a patient situation causes Teddy to call his mum (and that is not brought up again when he gets trapped in a mine in the next episode) and also we are left to assume that all is fine now. Pretty simplistically, in Enough, Sah and Jools talk it out after Kevin has another stroke and then they are also just portrayed as being okay forever by the end of that episode. 

I can absolutely believe that these characters, sad and work-stressed and not always the most emotionally mature, would forgive their mothers. I don’t even disagree with it happening on a story level because I think it could make for a really good development in those stories, or even just a less-than-happy ending. What I don’t enjoy is how these endings are presented as being happily-ever-afters and that everything is supposed to be fine now because they’ve forgiven/reconciled with their mothers who haven’t really done anything to deserve it. Jools is objectively neglectful, and telling Sah they were always enough does not make up for that. I think Gaynor’s behaviour is emotionally abusive; she’s controlling his life, emotionally manipulating him, she’s trying to even limit his contact with people other than her (and she has been doing this, he “wasn’t allowed friends”). Unless I'm wrong, we don’t see or hear from Gaynor at all between Friends Like These and We Need To Talk About Ollie. I don’t doubt they love their kids but that doesn’t make them good parents, and it’s not on their kids to be doing the work to improve the relationships. If we’re getting these forgiveness endings then Jools and Gaynor need to put more effort into proving they’ve changed. Or (and I'd probably find this more interesting cause I'm mean). Forgiveness needs to be presented as something that isn’t this simple happy ending because it doesn't feel like that in these circumstances. I respect the potential misery of the undeserved forgiveness, I love misery for them, especially when they’re both in mother-hell together, I am mean. But if you want to give them a happily-ever-after, keep them away from their mothers or make their mothers do the work. 

They make Sah be the bigger person way too much, actually. In Dark Room, why does Sah have to be nice to Scott when Scott deserves to get re-beaten to a pulp? I don’t care that his mum is also terrible. Not only did he bully them when they were teenagers, he tried to ruin their whole life as a fully grown adult. Their mum is terrible as well and you don’t see them acting like that. They don’t need to be the bigger person and try to help Scott and his also terrible mother, they need a weapon of mass destruction. Also, why is Sah’s deadname used so excessively in series 36? Or at all? Ever? I’m sure there were ways around the audience ever needing to actually know what it was, even if they felt like the story required the implication of characters using it. Another potential Casualty hot take, maybe? I don't think Sah's dad is all that great of a parent either. Obviously it is entirely Jools' fault that Sah has to be his carer at such a young age, he had no control over that and Jools is definitely the worse parent, but getting back with Jools without telling Sah, cancelling plans with Sah to go on dates with Jools, excusing Jools’ pretty transphobic remarks and acting like Sah has to forgive Jools because he has really isn’t great. They were right when they said “it’s not just you she left”. IT’S! NOT! JUST! KEVIN! SHE! LEFT! It annoys me that Casualty is like ‘this action will have consequences’ about that scene because Sah is right. The only person I truly like from Sah’s pre-joining-Casualty life is Bill Phillipsen (and his dead wife) and he died. I knew you very briefly/not at all but I miss you Bill and Jean <\3

This post is absolutely the post for me to start getting into the connections between the mother-hell storylines but I won’t in full. They are kind of this pair of opposites, not just on this wider level of overinvolved mother vs uninvolved mother, there are a lot of patterns I’ve noticed in the episodes and the dialogue. I’d find them all now but it's 2am and I need to be awake at 8am at the latest so I’m putting off compiling that list for another day. Some faves that I can remember off the top of my head: opposite Jan advice scenes, Gaynor really struggling to say she’s proud of Teddy even though he really wants her to while one of the first things Jools tries to say to Sah is that she’s proud of them and they tell her not to, “you won’t see me back if I go” vs “I’m back now if it’s not too late”. I really like these connections, that's why I'm so passionate about what I don't agree with in these storylines.

I didn't mention this in my last post but I got my hands on a bootleg of The Play That Goes Wrong with Milo Clarke as Max and it's very enjoyable. I've been meaning to watch TPTGW at least since I watched both series of the show, probably longer, and I succumbed to the Casualty brainrot and and had to see his version. All I'll say: He really knows how to play aunt based nepotism and situations that could be solved with polyamory.

Based on when one of the episodes is set to air, I don’t think we’ll see Casualty back until about December 30th, unless we are gonna have another break between episodes once it comes back. I don’t really care that much and also, Christmas/New Years episode? The most recent Christmas episode was that one where they were like “what if it was last year?” back in 2021 and that’s always been a weird choice to me. I just want a silly little festive one, normal Casualty episode featuring carol singing and tinsel and the implication of a really intense staff party (we will never get the Sah/Teddy Christmas party of my dreams, not this year cause they’re in the current situation, not last year cause no Christmas episode and also the stuff with Jan was happening then, not the year before…). The only thing that bothers me about the hiatus is the inevitable time skip, so much time will have elapsed in universe by the time it comes back so I feel like we will have missed a lot of the immediate aftermath of stuff that happened at the end of Driving Force.

[umichenginabroad]

Madrid, Week 1: La Bicicriti

Hola a todxs, soy Niko otra vez!! I’ve been in Madrid now for a little longer than a week, but it has felt like I’ve been here for a month. I watched a VSauce video about this phenomenon a while ago; Basically, when your days are filled with many novel, interesting events, your brain remembers the time spent as feeling longer than reality because there are more memories filling the space. That’s definitely true. I’m writing this in a cute cafe in the neighborhood Lavapies, while some old guy named Jesus who speaks in an accent that I can barely understand starts conversation with me, just one example.

As I mentioned last week, one of my hobbies is rollerblading. I started doing it when I was around 12 years old. I loved doing aggressive/trick rollerblading in skate parks, and I even went to a sleepaway camp to skate one summer. It was super epic.

Then, highschool started, and I lost a whole lot of time; I stopped rollerblading — until I rediscovered it in college again. At Michigan, I found people that loved rollerblading as much if not more than me, and the activity turned from something nerdy that I used to do when I was little into something cool in which I could find a community at Michigan (shoutout skate club!).

So, when I was preparing to leave for Madrid, I struggled with the decision to bring my skates or not. They probably weigh 10 pounds or something absurd, not very conducive to luggage with weight limits. But a friend of mine who had studied in Europe in the past told me I’d be crazy not to bring them; they were right.

Fast forward a week after I arrive, and I’m rollerblading through the streets of Madrid, drum & bass music blasting from a massive speaker strapped to someone’s bike, a mob of bikers, longboarders, and rollerbladers alike engulfing me on all sides. No police, no group leader, no motors, just a critical mass of people partying and celebrating sustainable travel.

However, finding this “party on wheels” (as my new friend Jander described it) wouldn’t have been possible if not for a good amount of courage and trust. How did I find it? It was a multi step process:

Step 1: Look up on Google “rollerblading in madrid”. Find the instagram page “@madrid.fns”, or Friday night skate, which does a big skate through the city one Friday every month.

Step 2: Go to the first FNS event. It got rained out, so it was rescheduled to an indoor skate rink. I went there alone, feeling timid but determined to get involved in the community. When I arrived, I strapped on my skates and started going around the circle somewhat awkwardly practicing my footwork, wanting to start a conversation but not confident enough to interac with anyone.

Step 3: Have a nice middle aged rollerblading spanish guy approach you because you definitely looked super awkward. We started talking, my nerves imposing somewhat of a block on my spanish speaking abilities. However, we talked about how we started skating, about the event, and about the blading community in Madrid. He added me to a Telegram group chat that people use to organize rollerblading routes in the city throughout the week. After this, I loosened up a little and started meeting the other bladers there. Notably, I met helicopter pilot from germany named Zoe who taught me how to powerslide.

Step 4: Go to one of the skating events you saw in the telegram group. I hopped on the Subway, rollerblades in hand, prepared to do a route called “Héroes” run by a certain Jesus (not the old man). I managed to find the meeting spot, introduced myself to a few people, and then we were off. The route started off tame and ended up with some pretty insane hill bombs, skating on Gran Via (the Broadway street of Madrid), and weaving through pedestrians in the tiny walking streets in the city center. It was pretty epic.

Step 5: Meet three dudes: Jander, Dester, and Kevin, who are experienced rollerbladers. Talk with them, beatbox for Jander while he freestyles in spanish, skate a bit more through the streets while trying to keep up (their skates are way better than mine for speed, I was SWEATING trying to keep their pace). Before we parted ways, Jander told me about the Bicicritica (spanish version of Critical Mass) — the aforementioned “party on wheels” that happens once on the last Thursday of every month. 

Step 6: Meet up with Jander, Dester, Kevin, and some of their other friends for the Bicicritica and have a blast, meeting tons of other spanish bladers (and a British biker) in the process. The Bicicriti is kind of anti-establishment/communist in nature. There are no group leaders, and there's not a police escort or anything. It's kind of just a big mass of bikers and rollerbladers that take the streets and have a good time, all while promoting sustainable travel. Rollerblading in a huge group, listening to electronic music, seeing the city of Madrid, all while drinking a beer — what more could I ask for?

To be honest, I’m pretty proud of myself for how much I’ve gotten integrated into the community so quickly into my trip. Thinking back, this whole week patinando (skating) offered a huge opportunity to overcome that little voice in my head that says I shouldn’t. At multiple points throughout the multi-step process above, I felt quite uncomfortable. Whether that be due to social anxiety or insecurity (in my spanish language or rollerblading skills), I had to continually convince myself that these feelings were okay, and that if only I endured them a little bit longer, things would get better. And they did, and what was on the other side was 100x worth the discomfort I felt getting there.

Also, people are nice. It’s easy to forget that other people have as much empathy as I do, if not more. When given the chance, everyone I met was warm, and I felt very welcome in the community even as an outsider (and an American, which comes with its own stereotypes. I think I dodged these stereotypes by entering interactions with a large dose of cultural humility). The guys that I befriended welcomed me with open arms, and I’m excited to continue to get to know them. One remaining point of contention: It’s easy to make friends with people when the time spent with them surrounds a common activity. But I’m craving deeper relationships, which may not be as easy to form in this context. We’ll see where we go with that.

I’m very excited to keep blading in Madrid throughout the semester. Urban skating in a truly urban environment is an absolute blast. I’m gonna continue pushing through that discomfort throughout the rest of the semester in everything I do, hopefully bringing about new people and opportunities to experience. 

This week, I also registered for classes, got tapas with new American friends, walked around Madrid a TON, went to the Prado museum, got famous churros from la Chocolatería de San Ginés, and partied a bit. Check out the photos and descriptions below for a little bit more on those.

Hasta la próxima semana.

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

[strifesolution]

The last chapter was so good!! And since you were talking about the fic's details, I was wondering about the playlist (I am listening to the main one on a daily basis) and I imagine that every songs were carefully chosen. I can guess what some songs mean about 5r6c. Like, From Eden is probably about Eden and Callie. You also mentioned that Genghis Khan is Dan and Wilbur's song.

Would you mind explaining how did you choose these songs and how some of them are related to the fic ?

(If this is too bothersome or would spoil too much of the fic, feel free to ignore the question)

LET’S GOOOO we’re so happy you like the playlist :D you’d be correct, most of the songs are chosen pretty deliberately, though a handful are more just there for the “vibe” of the AU rather than specific lyrics.

Link for anyone who hasn’t seen it; we update pretty often! I added Flu Game last night actually. Expect... a lot of art for this AU with the new Fall Out Boy songs LOL

Since there’s… a lot of songs, and a good amount of them would be kinda spoilery, we’ve both chosen one of our favs and wrote up a little analysis.

Here’s Van’s (@irished-lads) of Neon Moon by Brooks and Dun copied straight from our DM’s

~~~

fun fact, this is one of the songs i listened to on repeat while writing the earlier chapters. this is the ideal chapter 16 song in terms of story and vibe, and while an early 90's country song may have not intended to talk abt the intricacies of gay cowboy polyamory, I Sure Can Make It Do That.

peep the beginning;

There's a rundown bar 'cross the railroad track / I got a table for two way in the back / Where I sit alone, and think of losing you

thinks about kevin and sean having their degrees of feeling alone at this point. sean's always had a little bit of a thing for dan (not to mention kevin flirting with sean nigh all the time- note that kevin's only had to pay for one drink), and while kevin may be. erm. Physically Intimate (this is a pg-13 blog) with dan,he also wants more. its that disconnect that him and dan has that feels a mile long. Now. see the chorus:

Now if you lose your one and only, / There's always room here for the lonely

well hey. look at that. some of the loneliest guys in aurora sitting next to each other in a bar sharing a bottle of whiskey. they're friends, sure, but in that moment (ch 16), they recognize that they both can be more than that. to each other, and to dan. theres always room here for the lonely.

~~~~

And here’s mine (Emma here!) of STRIKE 3 by Ferry

This song is where the lyric in the fic's description comes from; it’s one from the PMV series Parties Are For Losers. You don’t need to watch the series to get the gist of the song (it is really good though!) but within the context of the narrative, the singer is voicing their frustrations as they desperately try to help those they care about who keep putting themselves in harms way. “You spin the barrel of a fully loaded gun” is just a fancy way of saying “STOP BEING RECKLESS!!!” because, y’know, it’d be a literal death sentence to play roulette if the gun is fully loaded...

In terms of 5r6c… well, one of the fics' central themes IS protecting the people you love. Dan continuously worries about what life Daithi and Brian had before this that made them criminals, and Sean and Kevin are protective of Dan, thinking Daithi and Brian are dangerous in arc 1, and suspicious of Spiff in arc 2. Here’s a bit from the first chorus…

"If there's no winning, might as well just have some fun." I want to scream, when will you get it through your skull that I will not let you drown? "The light is gone, the thought keeps running through your mind, but fearing life is easier than fighting, right?" Oh please, just hide behind this back of mine and save your helpless spite.

Which is peak sheriff’s office argument back in chapter 7...

I also really like the first verse relating to Daithi and Brian in the gang.

Channeling love through the fear of being torn apart by crowds of your barbarian peers. The human filth around us wants to trample all that is dear under the guise of watchful reason.

We learn from…pretty much every time one of them brings up Evan that it is NOT a very happy place to be, particularly in Brian’s POV of chapter 9.

Lastly, we have the pre-chorus.

A thousand years ago, it was a tepid autumn day. A lock has sealed this door— But no more.

If you recall in chapter 16, we learn the raid on the farm where Dan’s family died was in the fall (not directly, Dan always visits the bar on the anniversary and Sean makes the connection himself…but anyway)

...this is because ding ding ding of this song!

Unfortunately I can’t really talk about the last chorus and outro without SPOILING EVERYTHING so you’ll just have to guess from there ;>

~~~

Hopefully that's some food for thought! Honestly we COULD go over every song on the playlist but then this ask would be WAY too long. Just really quick: Hell's Comin' With Me is a HUUUUGE full story song but I really can’t say who it's about without giving away everything, Ambrosia Wine is the Kiwo/Mango dynamic, and Devil's Train (not on Spotify but would be on the playlist if it was) is gonna fit really well for the next few chapters!

[sadbi-hours]

I was hoping for a blackout, but at least I got a bingo! The list of fics and their square fills are below. I hope you like these fics as much as I did!

@ficreadingchallenge

Free Space: Obviously by lovelybattle

Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin/Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Summary: Jake groaned into the kiss, gripping at Rooster’s shoulders. Rooster pushed him against the door, hand roaming up and down his sides. He reached under Rooster’s shirt, running his fingers over the muscles that flexed under his touch.

Rooster groaned and moved his lips down to Jake’s neck, making Jake moan under his breath. “Um- I should probably-” Jake fell off into a moan as Rooster sucked a spot into his pulse point.

“Hang on I-” Jake tried again, “Rooster, I need-”

Rooster just hummed, running his tongue over the mark. “Bradley, I need to tell you something.”

Rare pair: with and without by thedevilsgarden

Fandom: Yellowjackets

Pairing: Misty Quigley/Natalie Scatorccio/Jackie Taylor

Summary: It's Jackie's brilliant idea to rent out the guest room, to add another person to this fucking mess. And even though Nat hates the idea, she isn't stupid enough to pick a fight over it. She and Jackie have been arguing enough as it is.

(or, Jackie and Nat are girlfriends on the verge of a break-up, until a cute blonde nurse moves in with them)

Small Fandom (<1000 fics): Fuck My Label. Fuck My Ex-Husband. And Fuck Deacon Claybourne by orphan_account

Fandom: Nashville

Pairing: Juliette Barnes/ Rayna Jaymes

Summary: It didn't relieve any of her annoyance that Juliette was being, well, normal.

Not the peroxide drama on legs that Rayna really wanted right now to take her mind off of things. Talking about her feelings – shit, having feelings.

Feelings that ranged from 'fuck my label' to 'fuck my exhusband' to 'fuck Deacon fucking Claybourne.' Three feelings that Rayna was familiar with inside and out. Rather acutely as of late.

Under the Influence: Late Night Wanders by Ember_andRain

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Pansy Parkinson

Summary: When Harry shows up drunk in the middle of the night, Pansy takes pity on him and decides to take him back to the Gryffindor common room; turning a boring evening into a rather eventful night.

Long Fic (>25,000 words): the blood in your mouth, I wish it was mine by inlovewithnight

Fandom: Ted Lasso

Pairing: Jamie Tartt/ Roy Kent/ Keeley Jones, Rupert Mannion/Jamie Tartt

TW: Dead Dove, please read tags

Summary: Rupert had blackmail material and offered Jamie a chance to buy it back--with his body, not with money.

Jamie would do anything to protect his people. He didn't know how far anything would go.

Superpowers/ No Powers AU: Accidental Perfidy by EvilPeaches

Fandom: Split (2016) & Glass (2019)

Pairing: Casey Cooke/Kevin Wendell Crumb, Casey Cooke/Dennis

Summary: Twenty-two year old Casey doesn't expect to meet someone she connects with at her Abuse Support Group. She never thought she would let anyone in, anyone beyond the protective wall she's meticulously built around her soul. Kevin is different though, different from other men. He understands her, understands her pain. For once, Casey thinks she can live freely again. Only, Kevin doesn't tell her everything. No. He left something out. Otherwise known as your boyfriend neglecting to mention he has DID.

Lyric Title- Listen to the song too!: for you, the sun will be shining by margctbishop

Fandom: Ted Lasso

Pairing: Ted Lasso/ Rebecca Welton

Summary: Most days, Ted Lasso thinks he's a pretty good dad.

Today is not one of those days. Today, Ted Lasso somehow managed to lose his son in a public park.

aka "we've only just met but my kid is obsessed with you and I don't know why, I'm so sorry, I really don't kn– oh wait... you're kinda cute" with a dash of soulmatism

Slow Burn: jolie laide by canardroublard

Fandom: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Pairing: Illya Kuryakin/ Napoleon Solo/ Gaby Teller

Summary: It's a strange term, Napoleon thinks. Jolie laide. "Pretty-ugly". A self-contradiction, banal words elevated in American ears by the exoticism of French. He's never understood why it's applied to girls with strong jawlines and sharp features. "Vogue girls". He's always thought it much more fitting for those with frayed and damaged edges on the inside. For those with tangled snarls of history but hope for the future.

Maybe all three of them are jolie laide. In their own ways.

(Or, the fashion AU which was supposed to be short but sprouted wings and flew away from me, featuring photographer Illya, model Gaby, and Napoleon, who brings everyone together.)

Unfinished/ In-Progress: Lady Flowers by beepboop (permanganato)

Fandom: House of The Dragon (TV)

Pairing: Alicent Hightower/ Rhaenyra Targaryen

Summary: Otto Hightower brings his bastard daughter to King’s Landing in the hopes that she might become close to the new Heir to the realm.

Found Family: A Dweeb in a Leather Jacket and a Punk Band by beezyland

Fandom: Orange is The New Black

Pairing: Lorna Morello/Nicky Nichols

Summary: Despite what her band says, they don’t go to that tiny, grimy 24-hour diner after every gig because Nicky has a crush on the cute, clumsy diner girl. Nicky just likes the milkshakes. And maybe she kind of owes that cute, clumsy diner girl her life.

High School/ College AU: if you could see that i'm the one by blanchtt

Fandom: Barbie (2023)

Pairing: Margot Robbie's Barbie/Gloria

Summary: She gets her exam back from her professor and a proposition along with it – tutor a fellow student for a few extra points.

Barbara hardly has to think about it. She has free time since volleyball ended, and she’s aiming for veterinary school after graduation, which is nothing if not competitive. If there’s anything she can do to up her GPA over her classmates - as well as help a fellow student, of course - then why not.

Future AU: I'll settle for the ghosts of you by FunkyinFishnet

Fandom: Sense8

Pairing: Wolfgang Bogdanow/Kala Dandekar/Rajan Rasal

Summary: When Rajan witnesses Wolfgang and Kala embrace, Wolfgang lifting her up off her feet while smiling more broadly than Rajan has seen so fat in the few hours that he has known the man and with Kala’s happiness seeming to make her face sparkle, he thinks, “Oh, I *see*.”

Rajan thinks Kala really doesn't love him in the same way that he loves her, and there’s no way that Wolfgang can love him at all.

Gift Giving: but if we could kiss and just cut the rubbish by mirniy_miro

Fandom: The Witcher (TV)

Pairing: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg

Summary: Jaskier's love is in every word of his songs.

Yennefer and Geralt figure their own ways out.

Bodyswap: Eat Your Heart Out, Wolfgang Pauli By ishie

Fandom: The Big Bang Theory

Pairing: Sheldon Cooper/Penny

Summary: Of course, the answer is standing right in front of him. In the mirror. There's a bed and wall reflected behind him, a riot of color that clashes with tanned skin and rumpled pajamas and a cloud of blonde, blonde hair.

He's Penny.

Fanart: we are strange in our worlds [podfic] by aethel

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: Eleventh Doctor/Amy Pond/Rory Williams, Eleventh Doctor/Rory Williams

Summary: "Your boyfriend doesn't like me," the Doctor said, then winced. It sounded even more pathetic out loud.

[bllsbailey]

Could This Be the Real Reason Why Trump Nominated Matt Gaetz As Attorney General?

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been nominated to be our next attorney general. It’s triggered all the right people, as he would take a baseball bat to the Department of Justice. It’s a clear sign that the era of gangster antics from the rogue officials and agents here is over. Gaetz is indeed the king of controversy. He wallows in it so that this confirmation fight will be bloody. It just is since there are more than enough squishy Republicans who could make this fight a slog. 

There have been many theories as to why Gaetz was selected. Is it 4-D chess? Is it a ploy to get Gaetz to resign from Congress? He did so yesterday, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson. Even Politico thought the ploy of Gaetz leaving would make it easier for Trump to select who he really wants to be a stretch.  Yet, it might be one massive loyalty test (via Politico) [emphasis mine]: 

Once Gaetz’s selection was announced, the chatter among top Republicans on Capitol Hill quickly turned to four questions: 

1. Was Trump aware of the coming Ethics report on its Gaetz investigation? 

The committee was planning to vote Friday on whether to release the report, as Punchbowl first reported. But if “Gaetz is no longer a member of the House, the report likely won’t be formally released,” as Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney report.

Frankly, it seems implausible to us that this won’t come out — if not on Friday, then during Gaetz’s confirmation hearings (assuming, of course, that Trump doesn’t try to end-run around those with recess appointments to the Cabinet). The House leaks like a sieve, and the Senate Judiciary Committee is definitely going to want to see at least the underlying evidence in the report. 

2. Is this for real? 

Pretty much every Hill Republican we spoke with thinks there’s something strange going on here. One theory we heard over and over from bewildered Republicans is that perhaps by picking him, Trump is giving Gaetz an out from the Ethics report (which seems possible), and that Gaetz is returning the favor by becoming a sacrificial lamb who will ease the way for Trump’s eventual pick for AG (which seems like a stretch). 

A separate theory we heard goes like this: Maybe Gaetz is resigning only from this Congress — so as to stymie the Ethics probe for now — with an intent to be seated for the next Congress come January. We find that very hard to believe, both because it doesn’t sound like it would realistically slow the Ethics report’s release, and because House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON has already spoken to Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS about holding a special election right away — which there would be no need for if Gaetz were planning to be seated in January. 

3. Can Gaetz actually get the Senate votes to be confirmed? 

It’s certainly possible, but count us as cautiously skeptical. (So is longtime Gaetz foe KEVIN McCARTHY, per Bloomberg.) Republicans will have a three-seat majority (with VP-elect JD VANCE available for any tie-breaking needed), so if four senators bounce, it’s a wrap. And the early reactions haven’t exactly been encouraging for Gaetz: 

Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) told reporters she was shocked. “Obviously, the president has the right to nominate whomever he wishes,” she said. “But this is why the Senate’s advise and consent process is so important. I’m sure that there will be many, many questions raised at Mr. Gaetz’s hearing, if in fact the nomination goes forward.” 

Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska): “I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general. … I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card.” 

Sen. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.): “I have very few skills, vote counting is one, and I think he’s got a lot of work to get 50.” 

Sen. TODD YOUNG (R-Ind.), asked for comment, immediately started praising Secretary of State nominee MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) instead.

Sen. BILL CASSIDY (R-La.) dodged our very own Ursula Perano with an excuse we haven’t heard before: “I’m trying to go fix a toilet between getting back for a vote. Life’s a little hectic right now.” 

We’re also personally wondering what MITCH McCONNELL is thinking right now. Could delivering a thundering rejection of Trump’s preferred top cop be one of his first acts back in the GOP rank-and-file?

4. Beyond an AG, what is Trump trying to get out of this? 

One of the sharpest initial reactions we saw came from NYT columnist Ezra Klein. “Demanding Senate Republicans back Gaetz as attorney general and [PETE] HEGSETH as Defense Secretary is the 2024 version of forcing SEAN SPICER to say it was the largest inauguration crowd ever,” Klein wrote on X. “These aren’t just appointments. They’re loyalty tests.” 

In that way, it’s a test for every Republican in the Senate to see how they respond to Trump’s wishes. It’s also a test for incoming Senate Majority Leader JOHN THUNE, who won election yesterday — becoming the conference’s first new leader in a generation, as McConnell steps aside — only to have that news dwarfed by the Gaetz story. 

Think of it as Senate Republicans’ version of the Kobayashi Maru — the famous exam in “Star Trek” that presents trainees with a no-win situation. It isn’t meant to be passed; it’s intended to reveal something about the people who take it. 

What exactly it reveals about Senate Republicans, we’re about to find out.

Until this nomination is rescinded, Gaetz’s nomination will continue to rile up the establishment. It will make for some elite television-watching if it reaches the hearing stage.

[kitkatt0430]

And because I'm too impatient to wait to watch the final episode, time for Ep8 of Up Here. Let's finish this.

Well, Miguel's new apartment looks nice. And he and Yogurt will hopefully be happy there. And of course after how the last episode ended, Lindsay's been living in the Y. So she's getting into a very awkward situation with her former roommate. In the same apartment as before because former-turned-current roommate is now dating the guy whose place she was illegally squatting in.

I... honestly don't know if I want him to find out or not. Like... if he was a real person? Definitely deserved to know. But for a tv show? Will the drama benefit Lindsay's story?

Awww, Miguel's miserable without Lindsay. And she misses him too. I like their 'I hope your Christmas sucks as much as mine' song. :D

And now Lindsay's hero is letting her down. At least he's not trying to steal her book, that was a worry for me.

And the porn from the earlier episode is coming back to bite Miguel in the ass. Not surprised. And Kevin's eagerness to throw Chris under the bus clearly unsettles Miguel. Looks like being the shark whatever isn't what he hoped for.

Yay, they're talking again. Arguing. Whatever.

I am taking the dog's side in the biting incident though. Older dogs often have bad hearing which makes loud noises very upsetting. And when someone is shouting at their person?

Miguel being so inspired by Lindsay's story that he gets himself fired. And tells Lindsay that her story is wonderful, as is she. Awwww

In turn Lindsay's inspired to stand up for her book. I'm glad.

Miguel and his dad talking is lovely. I'm glad this conversation is going better than Lindsay's talk with her mom. And now we're finding out what's up with the red door.

Yogurt is a cute special dog indeed. Though all dogs are cute special dogs. I say as I type this while cuddling my own cute special dog.

Awww, Miguel illustrated her story for her. :D I love it, those pictures are so cute.

Lindsay and Miguel both heading out to try and meet each other and they're gonna miss each other, aren't they?

Them running away from their insecurities/choruses together is fun to watch. The big reprise song is pretty awesome too.

And thankfully it's real-ish in that they did end up finding each other after all. Glad we didn't end on a 'they just missed each other' cliff hanger.

Awww, "I love you" at New Year with fireworks going off as they kiss.

Hehehe, Lindsay's pregnant. And their choruses immediately? Freak out. Nice ending.

I do hope there is a season 2 because I wanna know how they navigate having a baby when they're currently not living together and Miguel just lost his job. But also I want them to work together to get Lindsay's book published with his illustrations and move in together and Miguel to find a job that doesn't suck.

But it works as a stand alone season too, so I don't think I'll be upset if there isn't a season 2.

[neriumdelusion]

omg hi uhmmmm so i noticed u say your interested in entomology...............do u have any facts to share:]

Hi yes hello omg twirls hair!!!! Yes!!i do enjoy entomology a great deal!!

I actually don’t know that many facts about insects, unfortunately most of my knowledge is on Myriapodology (which is centipedes and millipedes and suchlike which are not in the same classification technically!!)

Okay so first thing this is more of a complaint. Centipedes do not bite! Wrong terminology, they sting!! it’s a sting because instead of jaws, they use a pair of specially modified hollow front legs to pinch prey and deliver venom!! Which is very cool of them!

Okay also, Scutigera cave centipede (Scutigera also being Scutigera coleoptrata which is the common house centipede, the cave ones are a lil different) are well, cave centipedes! And they are very good predators, and have reaaaally long legs. And that’s part of how they do it! They tap their legs every couple of steps to check their surroundings!!! Hence why they’re so long! And well all centipedes have pretty poor eyesight in general and it’s just so cool of them!!!

Okay more centipede related things which isn’t even technically entomology if you dislike centipedes I’m so sorry bestie<3

umkay so!!! Seychellonema gerlachi is a quite recently discovered species of centipede! They are classified as endangered ::( and can only really be found in quite specific locations! Their appearance resembles that of Scutigera a little! In the way of unreasonably long legs, but they have like dots on their main body! Very cool of them! Also if you google them there’s like two sources on them they are not talked about much and that’s mean.

Bad stings from Scolopendra heros (giant desert centipedes) can cause tissue necrosis! Which literally kills that area of your body tissue! But usually they don’t, however stings form them are excruciatingly painful they usually don’t cause much lasting damage. But they can cause some bad stuff if you’re immune compromised, young, elderly or already ill. Meaning they’re not at all harmless and shouldn’t be taken lightly, also it’s just very painful even without lasting damage and the short term damage isn’t nice either, but man they look coo.

Centipedes are called pathologically unsociable and that’s very funny to me

Okay so actual insects now, stick insects! My beloved! Mmm themm. Okay so this species is not at all uncommon and they’re quite popular pets but mmm THEM! And that’s the jungle nymph stick insect!! Even their name is lovely! They’re very big, in fact the largest stick insect! And can be spikes sometimes so that’s cool!! They’re regarded as some of the most beautiful stick insects and I’d have to agree, but I love them all!

Thorectes hispanus is a type of beetle on the red list for endangered animals. There’s many other beetle and other invertebrate species on that list and it’s upsetting that even I don’t know them all. And many don’t care, and like you can’t care about everything but it would be nice if more people were bothered!

Moths overall are declining in population in the UK, declining by 28% since 1968. The situation is especially sad in southern Britain, where moth numbers have declined by by 40%. Many individual species have declined dramatically in recent decades!! And over 60 became extinct in the 20th century. The V-moth is down by 99% !!! (they’re still around by holy shit it’s a dramatic decrease in population) They’re very pretty by the way but that doesn’t matter, the worth of an entire species doesn’t depend on whether they’re aesthetically appealing!!!!! The main issues for them is loss of habitat and climate change. Which isn’t particularly shocking but still very upsetting!

Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata are yellow ladybirds and there are also plenty of other species that are not your typical red and black, i just think people should know that!

There’s probably more but silly brain won’t work!! I hope you enjoyed the silly invertebrate facts! I fact-checked this before I wrote it down but if anyone has heard different on anything I mentioned please do let me know!

I really appreciate the ask!! You’re such a delight and thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about invertebrates at you<3<3<3 /gen