#10 years with this guy. goodness gracious

[jerseybuck]

sketching my husband who hates me

[cosmerelists]

Should You Invite These Cosmere Characters to Boardgame Night?

As requested by anon. :)

I've done two boardgame-related posts before this (I love boardgames): Favorite Boardgames of Each Knights Radiant Order and Should You Invite the Shards to Boardgame Knight?

In this list, allow me to provide some advice about whether or not you should invite these Cosmere characters to your next boardgame night!

1. Adolin: Yes

Adolin is a delight at every social gathering. He brings wine that somebody at the store told him was good. He has fun with every game whether he wins or loses. By the end of the night, he is somehow the best friend of each individual guest.

2. Shallan: Yes

Is she cheating? Maybe. But she makes a lot of puns and you know that if she tries to cheat TOO much, Radiant will stop her.

3. Kaladin: No

He wins everything. It's annoying. He joined Settlers of Katan twenty minutes late and STILL won. How does he do it???

4. Kelsier: Yes

At first you were admittedly intimidated, as Kelsier kept smiling to himself and saying things like "Just wait until I reveal my Master Plan!" But actually, he kinda loses games...a lot. Keeps smiling, though, so you assume he's having a good time! What a good sport!

5. Vin: Only if you like losing

Like Kaladin, Vin wins all. the. time. But unlike Kaladin, she doesn't come late & then win in a blaze of sudden glory, no. She simply...destroys you. Continuously and brutally for the entire night.

6. Harmony: No

No offense to Harmony, who's a good dude 'n' all, but man, he takes FOREVER to make his next move. It's like--we're playing Sorry. You either move forward 10 or back 1. It's just two choices! How is he thinking for like 10 billion years??

7. Lopen: Maybe

Lopen likes to play around and tease people. He MAY mock you a little too much when your attempt to "Draw 2" him backfires and you find yourself drawing 8 cards in Uno... but other than that, he's a good time.

8. Blushweaver: Maybe

You didn't realize checkers even COULD be played as "Strip Checkers."

9. Tien: Yes

Tien is mostly concerned with making sure that everyone else is having a good time. Even after he gets killed during a round of "Werewolves," he continues to grin and encourage the rest of you to have a good time. W-Wait, why do you suddenly feel like crying?

10. Skar: Yes

Like Tien, Skar also seems chiefly concerned with making sure everyone else has a good time. Bonus: he's GREAT at explaining the rules!

11. Lightsong: Depends on how competitive you are

Ask yourself this: if there's a guy there who wins every game despite clearly and loudly not understanding the rules, would that be fun? If yes, then go for it. If no, then don't invite Lightsong--he doesn't understand how to play Hearts and he doesn't care to, yet he has shot the moon TWICE.

12. Nale: No

No one likes a rules lawyer.

13. Shai: Yes

Shai knows all of these obscure, complicated games that actually turn out to be really fun!

14. Hoid: No

Hoid knows all of these obscure, complicated games and while he does explain the rules, you can't shake the feeling that he's actually playing by an entirely different set of rules that he's not being totally honest about...

15. Elend: Yes

Elend was born to participate in board game nights weekly.

16. Telsin: No

She cheats 100% of the time. You didn't even know it was POSSIBLE to cheat in Connect 4, but she somehow found a way...

17. Raboniel: Well...

Raboniel is ENORMOUSLY competitive and cares very deeply about winning...but she also respects the game. She is surprisingly gracious about losing despite her eyes blazing with the heat of ten million suns as she slapped down that 7-letter word in Scrabble. Yet when you responded with your own, better 7-letter word, clinching the victory, you could tell that she respected you for it.

...But on the other hand, you've been clammy with fear sweats for 45 minutes now.

[fernandomagicalonsomanydances]

In preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix I feel I must give my ranking of my top 10 on the Grid as some way to soothe the frustration that I have no way to watch the race.

Carlos Sainz Vazquez de Castro Cenamor Rincón Rebollo Birto Moreno de Aranda de Anteriuga Tiapera Deltun absolute king of my heart and the reason I got into this sport. The prince charming of Spain who's so classy and gracious and just such a good teammate no matter where he is at. With his powerful tractor beam big brown eyes. Long live the smooth operator! Vamos Carlos!

Esteban Ocon. Am I aware that this is like loving the problematic lead in a film or book just cause he has babygirl energy? Yes. Is that gonna stop me? Hell naw! I like his backstory, disarmed by his squishy little face, and I vowed to defend him from all harm like the minute after I watched him analyze Cars as being an accurate depiction of various racing aspects. Plus he's from the same region of France as where my family originates. So while Carlos is my F1 husband Estie is like my F1 baby bro. I will call him "teapot" it's a long story feel free to send me an ask about it. I will also call him Esteban "Can Do No Wrong" Ocon. Yes I'm fully self aware of how delulu I am about this man having no flaws (he does I've just elected to ignore them in favor of being charmed by the innocent face)

Daniel Ricciardo - I'm from Texas, I'm an extrovert, I'm legally obligated to stan this man to the moon and back. The Honey Badger is my spirit animal. Not the actual creature, just chaos gremlin Daniel. His energy is infectious and he brings the party and he loves my state. How could I do anything but support him?

George Russell - he was probably the second crush I got in F1 and I kinda love how in spite of his posh model energy he actually isn't from some moneyed or legacy background and he's so delightfully clueless at times "goat, sorry?" And the videos of him with kiddos he's so sweet and attentive to them

Checo - the Mexican minister of Defense. The down to earth friendly dad energy. He's just so solid and sweet and I love what he does to help mellow Max just by ya know being the chill dad Max never had. Also he an authentic Mexican, endorsed Tex-Mex so obvs I'm gonna love this man and wanna get tacos and drinks. He has that approachable energy and given the US's one driver might not even have a seat next year I gotta support our neighbor Mexico's driver cause I sure ain't supporting the Canadian nepo baby

Fernando Alonso - this mainly has to do with sex appeal let's be real. He's got that edgy bad boy kinda external vibe in some ways but then he's backstage arranging flowers and it's like "I could fix him and make him settle down" he's got charm style and is basically an immortal and foxy as hell. Let me try to domesticate this man please!

Charles Leclerc - sweet, I would vote him most likely to be true even while he's traveling abroad being swooned over and having fans handing him marriage licenses. He's just a little too type A for me to love him like I do my golden retriever energy chaos creatures and chill guys of the previous 6. But he's great and it's because of him and Carlos in the C² videos that I got roped into this sport so he's gotta make it. Plus after all the loss he's experienced he's a real inspiration in staying kind in spite of the pain of life

Max Verstappen - speaking of inspirations my traumatized ass can't help but support one of my own. He's an icon of breaking cycles. Yes he's definitely had his issues but he's matured in some ways and while I don't care if he wins or not on the track I'm very invested in him winning at life which him being a doting stepdad to Penelope is the kind of healing that helps me heal too. Children of hard ass dads who didn't realize their childhood was fucked up, unite! Plus he's an absolute goofball and that's endearing

Logan Sargent - I'm american, independence day is literally my favorite holiday, I have to have this man in my top 10 and I genuinely do think he's a classy guy (especially considering he's from Florida) and I can't help but love how the one American driver is just so painfully American looking. He looks like Captain America fucked an apple pie. He looks like scientists designed an American in a lab. He looks like the Beach Boys had a grandson with the descendants of Betsy Ross. He looks like a team scoured frat parties for a year to find the most American looking guy in the country. He is Logan Sargent and he is Kenough.

Valterri Bottas - his absolute self confidence and zero fucks given. He does not take himself too seriously and he is wholesome AF. He also has practical guy energy. Like if I hand to rank drivers on Most Likely to Pull Over and Help You Change a Tire he's definitely in the top 3. He seems like getting his hands dirty is something he's not too good to do and he seems like a good dude. Plus he's hilarious. He's as chaotic as Daniel in some ways he's just a little less boisterous about it. Calm chaos vs 5 year old given 16 energy drinks in an hour Ricciardo energy

[independent-fics]

Inde watches “The Tower Job”

Leverage Redemption 1x04

The description warns about recent events affecting the viewers and if I remember correctly when redemption first aired it was right around the Miami(?) apartment collapse. Dang. 

Listen let Harry take initiative on this one okay.

“So she thinks she has taste” I love you Breanna

I love Parker dropping in more

And Breanna just being like I can just have the plans? She wants to steal so bad

Ahhhhh I love Eliot and Parker standing so close. And the klingon I can’t those nerds and the smile Parker has hehehe now Eliot’s grumpy again and she loves it

10 million hurts my brain too Breanna

Eliot’s head shake at her French hahaha I love them

Why is the wife and driver giving affair

“Because my American accent is better than yours” honestly I wanna explore Parker’s language mannerisms (? Idk if that’s the word I’m looking for)

Harry I love your enthusiasm. There isn’t rules just guidelines haha

Also Sophie’s fit is so nice

Parker I too am uncomfortable in business clothes

Idk which pair is having more fun Harry and Sophie being annoying or Eliot and Breanna destroying things

Off brand European tranquilizers goodness gracious

Nooooo Harry not you being in on the first lawsuit

“Your screwups make me look good” once again Breanna I love you

“The man’s trying to make amends I respect that” ugh Eliot my heart

Parker once again on the ceiling I love you. Reminded of Hardison always finding her places with rafters

Oooo Eliot love you suggesting the play of the con

Love Breanna and Harry being newbies supporting each other

The way I screamed with Breanna’s character

I love them all supporting Breanna’s art and then just Eliot’s “WHERE.” I LOVE THEM

Mrs Crawlys “I did a year at college of art” is like my “I did a study abroad” 😭 I’m sorry but I get her

Love Harry and contract law hehehe

“We never say no to parties” I love her and how foreboding that sounded and now I’m thinking about every other party the original leverage team invaded hehehe

Oh goodness not Parker knocking Breanna out hahaha but love Eliot helping her up. I’m only four episodes in but I’m desperate for new team old team bonding

Harry and Parker begging for the safe I love them

Eliot absolutely hating the kissing up he just had to do hahah I love him

THERE IS AN AFFAIR

Not Eliot’s lack of tipping annoyance reminded hahaha

Okay I am loving learning more about Harry and the changes he’s making. I get the doing your job and doing it well because who doesn’t want to do that but then realizing it’s not something that you want to be doing.

“We’re not heroes. We’re just necessary”

“ Sophie Parker Hardison and Nathan ford showed me there was another way” ugh Eliot my beloved but HA PARKER IN THE BOX

Wait I love Parker’s fit

Lil Bucky hehehe

“Wow Harry was a good bad guy” yeah Breanna he was I might be taking notes because I gotta retire one day

“I’ll go find some chopsticks” girl

I am also taking notes from Breanna dang

HARRY KEEP IT TOGETHER

“And you’re not graded on a curve Mrs Casey” dang

Oh gosh nvm as someone who also sometimes experiences vertigo get that remote away from me

I love Sophie narrating this whole thing as a show

Breanna putting on the headphones with that evil smile I love haha

BREANNA YES I TOO AM A CHEERLEADER WHEN ELIOT FIGHTS I love her enthusiasm so much and narrating. Eliot don’t deny it you’re flipping the sticks to show off

As much as I love leverage they do have a couple of iffy episodes where they really cause some trauma like wow I’m rooting for Harry rn

That chute thing would terrify me but I love that Parker is loving it

Love them buying the tower

Gosh the change in Harry from being in the first lawsuit to protecting the victims in the next

“It’s not every day someone gets a little piece of their soul back” ugh this was good

[twothpaste]

earthbound old man tier list

S Tier: Doctor Andonuts. idc what anyone says, he is a fascinating bewilderful tragic morally dubious rubiks cube of a character, and if i think about him for longer than 10 seconds i get so emo i wanna dye my hair black and run away into the woods. he is also very funny. i would squash him like putty.

A Tier: Wess. mother 3 wouldn't be mother 3 without Wess and i'm not kidding. i love how he is written as both a terrifying abusive father and also a genuinely wise antifa ally, the duality of humanity or whatever. a bunch of his lines still give me chills to this day. especially [ this one ]

Leder as well. absolute fucking real one. imagine taking a vow of silence for the rest of your life to protect your beloved community, none of whom even can remember the sacrifices you've made for them, singlehandedly bearing a lifetime of unfathomable trauma to spare them theirs. he is atlas with the planet earth on his shoulders. yet another character who turns my brains into spaghetti-os.

B Tier: George is one of the most intriguing characters in the series. Boy, I wish Itoi took the time to actually Write him!!! so many questions, so little canon material, but my imagination does drive me a bit to madness with this guy I fear.

C Tier: the fuck do you mean Geldegarde Monotoli was super wicked evil under Giygas' influence, kidnapped Paula, took over Cartoon New York with sheer capitalist ruthlessness - then as soon as you break the Mani Mani statue he's like -tiny bichon frise sneeze- "ouuugghhh goodness gracious i'm so sorry, i don't know what came over me, i am so harmless and frail and made of pudding also" -little pekingese cough- and Paula is like "don't worry ness 👧 he was just a sweet old man all along lol!!!" nvm it's pretty funny actually

Grandpa Alec goes in C Tier too. imo he's well written in chapter 1. his reaction to grief feels really off-kilter in a strangely human & believable way, like?? he is snapping at Lucas and immediately feeling remorse, cracking jokes to try and assure Flint (and himself) everything is ok when it clearly isn't, kooky silly and also unsettling at the same time. i think people forget that he's also a messy clumsy maladjusted grieving dad, just like Flint. but after chapter 1 he kinda falls off, doesn't have much interesting to say or add to the story. i find myself kinda wishing Lucas had a closer relationship to his grandpa implied post-timeskip… oh well.

is Jonel old? his sprite doesn't look ancient but considering his attitude & his adult kids I imagine him to be in his 60's probably. i like that he's a bit of an asshole, and his moment at the prayer sanctuary implies a religious aspect to the village that's super intriguing… iirc he has a line all the way in New Pork where he trash talks Flint for still holding out hope & tryin to find Claus, and it's like?? damn, Jonel, a cunt to the bitter end!! gotta love that.

likewise Mayor Pusher is one of those Tazmily villagers who really highlights how fake & callous some of these people can be. i love the part toward the end of chapter 7 where he blabbers about how much he hates this hick town and he's so eager to leave already, and when he catches Lucas eavesdropping iirc he's rude as ever to him. what a douchebag! no wonder his son is so depressed ❤️

Nippolyte is a benign real one and I like him, even though there's not much to him.

wish Scamp did or said literally anything of note before dying. oh well

D Tier: yeah fuck Mr. Carpainter though. i don't believe for a second he was solely driven to become a cult leader by alien brainwashing alone, dude's gonna be on some MLM shit within a year mark my words

??? Tier: i don't consider Mother 3 Porky an old man, i consider him Very a forever thirteen year old trapped in a sickly grotesque disproportionaltely aging body. but if you do consider him an old man, he's in the stratosphere tier blowing up the moon

[amour393]

ok. dragons rising part 2 thoughts

these will be in no particular order but I'll try to stay somewhat organized XD

spoilers ahead!

(this ah. got long)

Characters

Lloyd: As sad as I get when I think about Lloyd growing up, I love what they're doing with him. Seeing the parallels between him and Wu is so poetic and I LOVE the dynamic with Lloyd and Arin. Lloyd is kind and strong and wise and he has been treated so well in dragons rising

Arin: Speaking of, Arin is absolutely amazing. He is precious and adorable and I love him. Sweet polite boy I love you so much you have never done anything wrong ever and I love you

Sora: Sora is fine, I like her but I'm not like obsessed with her character like I am with Arin. I love Sora but I'm never super jazzed about her. Her arc in part 2 was alright but I wish it had more buildup. I think with a few more moments here and there of her trying to use her powers without Riyu would have made the payoff much better. And I know they were trying to go for a "resistance never quits" moment with her speech at the end but. Idk it just didn't hit the same

Zane: Zane I love you. I feel you I also am BROKEN over Pixal being gone. Literally everything about Zane in part 2 was perfect. I love him so much and he loves pixal so much it makes me unwell. Also. Zane Day is now an international holiday

Nya: I love Nya's dynamic with Sora and how she gets to be like. The first positive female influence in Sora's life. Especially because Nya didn't have that as a kid or uh ever so I love that. HOWEVER!!! Oh my goodness gracious give Nya feelings. She has emotions. She has trauma. What are we doing guys. I'll go episode by episode later but I am incredibly salty at how Nya was treated in episode 14. and also. OH MY WORD. WHAT ABOUT JAY. You have said his name TWICE and Cole looked more distraught than you!!! You care about this boy more than almost anyone else in the world!!!!!!!! Why aren't you acting like it???????????? I see you with a lightning dragon but that's like the most we get.

Kai: oh Kai I absolutely love how they are treating you and i also hate it. It's like with Jay gone they were like haha let's make Kai stupid so he'll be the new comic relief! However I love teacher Kai. He is my favorite, the growth, the development, the parallels! Yes! Kai is an accomplished ninja!! He's been a ninja for over 10 years at this point!! He has learned so much and grown so so much since then and I love him so much.

Wyldfyre: I'm about to make a lot of people really mad but I absolutely despise Wyldfyre. I love the concept of Kai having a kid to train (and all of them each having a next-gen kid to train) but Wyldfyre was not the right fit and I just disliked her more every time she was on screen, which was really upsetting because every time it switched back to her and Kai I was already annoyed and I don't want to be upset when Kai's onscreen but she is just so intolerable it made it hard to enjoy Kai, which is so so sad because I absolutely love Kai! Wyldfyre is selfish, arrogant, irritatingly reckless, petty, and INCREDIBLY rude and disrespectful to Kai. I don't care if she was raised in the wilderness. Kai spent all of part 2 trying to help her be better and the most of a character arc we got from her was her. Not acting like a jerk. Which we should not have to be proud of!! Not being a jerk is expected!! That's not a character arc that's just being a decent human being!! I think Wyldfyre's character could have worked in theory if she had literally any likable characteristics but she just doesn't. I don't think I have ever disliked a ninjago character this much which is such a bummer. It fills me with rage every time they compare her to Kai. Sure, in the early seasons Kai was kind of reckless and a bit self-absorbed. But not nearly to this extent, and Kai was still likable. The things about Wyldfyre they try to play off as humor aren't funny, they're just annoying or gross. I'm not opposed to the concept of Kai adopting a feral child, but if the feral child is like this then I don't want it. Replacing Wyldfyre with Skylor or a new character that is actually likable would have made Dragons Rising SO much better.

Cole: on a MUCH more positive note, I literally don't think they could have done Cole any more perfect. I am SO GLAD HE'S BACK I MISSED HIM SO MUCH. Cole being thrown into the Land of Lost Things is absolutely heartbreaking and says so much about his character. Cole, who had an entire character arc over fear of being forgotten ending up in the Land of Lost Things? I AM BROKEN. Dad Cole is back and better than ever. He found a bunch of children and immediately adopted them? Perfection. Could not be better. He actively chooses to remain in the Land of Lost Things to protect them?????? Amazing so in character it hurts and I love him so much. A lot of this season made me remember how much I love Cole. I spent this entire season freaking out over Jay that I forget how much I love Cole and this season did not fail to remind me. His first line being "NO ONE TOUCHES THESE CHILDREN!!!!!" is amazing and perfect and so in character. I cannot applaud what they did with Cole enough. Well done. I am very curious to see where Wu is leading him, can't wait to see him in season 2. I will die mad he didn't get to see Zane or Kai or Lloyd but ITS FINE IM FINE

Geo: I would throw him in with the other characters but oh my gosh. Geo's existence is absolutely perfect. The symbolism?? The metaphors?? Absolutely perfect. Him being a hybrid of two peoples who have a reputation for hating each other being the Master of Fusion, of bringing two things that don't belong together? I am destroyed. It occurs to me that when they first met Geo was probably like "yeah, I'm half geckle half munce and I was exiled from my people since they hate each other and they will never reconcile their differences" and Cole was like "Well that sucks but I have some good news for you" but then Geo couldn't even leave to try to find Shintaro. I am depressed. I love love love Geo based on his symbolism alone, not to mention the fact that his powers are genuinely super cool.

Other Characters: when i tell you I lost my BLOODY MIND when gulch showed up it is a vast understatement. I freaked out I screamed it was amazing. It was so fun seeing Gulch again. This is the dragons rising I love, new characters doing important things and running into old characters we know and love. Frohicky is fun I love him. Lobbo has never done anything wrong and I'm so proud of him for winning the Zane lookalike contest. Slay king. Jordana is uh there I guess, she's boring so far. I will give thoughts on Arrokore when I talk about episode 14

Villains: Beatrix is incredibly boring and I am SO glad she's not gonna be the actual villain. Lord Ras is much more interesting and compelling (is Chima the Wyldness????? Because he is definitely from Chima and the writers are COWARDS for saying anything different). This is the first time we've had a Ninjago plot genuinely stretch across more than one season and I am sooooo relieved that Beatrix isn't actually the big bad. I'm really excited to meet Ras' master. I'm not going to lie I literally forgot about Rapton and had to come back and talk about him. I cannot emphasize how neutral I am about him. He is a Guy and that is the extent of my feelings. Same with LaRow I keep forgetting about her

Speaking of villains! That brings us to the Administration. I absolutely love it. The concept of the Administration is so interesting and I cannot WAIT to learn more about them and see more of them. There's something so interesting and also poetic about an organization of micromanagers being part of the same realm as the Realm of Madness that just. hnng. The Administration is totally sick and i can't wait to see more of them. Which leads us to...

Jay: Hm. Ah. Where do I begin. When I tell you I screamed, I lost my freaking mind it is not an understatement. I think I've watched those same 20 seconds like 30 times at least and I need those five lines tattooed on my brain. I have so many emotions. It breaks my heart. I'm elated. This is everything I've wanted. I'm so mad that's all there was. It makes perfect sense. Why would they do this. There's something that destroys me so much about Jay- sweet, kind, fun, creative, quirky, genuine Jay- in an organization of micromanagers. He is passive-aggressive and sassy and degrading and mean and I LOVE HIM. It is so inherently not who Jay is (except for being sassy I'm so glad he's a little brat) and I think that's great. It makes me SO excited to see what they do with him in season 2. If they don't do him justice I will RIOT. This has the potential to be one of my favorite plot points in all of ninjago history if they do it right, but if they do it wrong I will be broken. He looks so good in this animation, I absolutely LOVE IT. He is beautiful and sassy and it BREAKS ME that they don't know he's there. They were so close and they missed him. No one knows Jay is there. I am destroyed. He's a manager!! He's working his way up in the world!! I am so proud of him. He would buy himself a worlds best boss mug. Everyone loves him and they hate him. I might make a whole other post just on how I need that reunion to go but. I miss him so much. So much. I don't know how long I can wait without them knowing he's there. Go find your brother. You know where everyone else is now GO FIND YOUR BROTHER!!!!

Episodes

11. Temple of the Dragon Cores - Solid episode? It makes me curious about the lore. Surely either the Wyldness or the Garden are Chima there's no way Chima is separate. There are literally snail people and giant trees. If that's not Chima core idk what is. Rapton is there I guess. The guardian thing was cool. Lloyd dropping random earth-shattering facts is such a Wu thing to do I am LIVING for it.

12. Gangs of the Sea - When I say I spent this whole episode wishing for Bentho I'm not joking. I freaking miss him why didn't they mention him it would have been so easy!! Arin you are so cute and I love you.

13. Wyldly Inappropriate - This episode filled me with so much rage solely because of Wyldfyre. I'm sorry Wyldfyre truthers I am happy for you but oh my word it's just painful. She is so arrogant and just straight up unkind I hate her so much. This episode would have been so much better with Skylor instead. Or literally anyone but Wyldfyre.

14. The Last Djinn - Ok as a skybound truther I have So Many Emotions about this episode. How did Nya know this was a place of the djinn and she was just? Fine? Ok. Arrokore is fine as a character but i absolutely hate what it did to the Djinn. Having a character who has lost their whole society is fascinating! I would have preferred if they made him more of a Ronin-type recluse, where he's extremely paranoid and distrusting instead of just straight-up depressed. All of the experience we have with Djinn is that they are extremely powerful and evil and crazy and dangerous. Switching from Nadakhan to Arrokore was such a hard shift that as a fan it was so hard to be able to enjoy Arrokore as a character. That's not the main thing I'm upset about, overall he's likable and he's fine, I just think he could have been a lot cooler. My main issue with this episode is Nya. Is she just perfectly fine? GIVE HER EMOTIONS OH MY GOSH. SHE HAS TRAUMA YOU COWARDS SHOW IT!!!!!! Literally one of THE most traumatizing times in her life was directly tied to a Djinn and she runs into one and she's just. Fine? There was pretty much NOTHING that alluded to Nya having any sort of history with the Djinn except maybe a little bit of salt when she's talking about their showmanship. A Djinn kidnapped and tortured the love of her life. A Djinn almost destroyed her entire home. A Djinn captured her and caused her own possession. A Djinn killed her (more or less). You want to look me in the eyes and tell me she's going to run into a Djinn and just be perfectly fine? Absolutely not. They could have done this SO much better. Show the trauma. Show the distrust. Show me Nya jumping in front of Sora, show me the fear running through her. Give me Sora asking how Nya knows so much about the Djinn and Nya just can't bring herself to answer. Or she does! And we get a moment of "the only other person who remembers is Jay, and he..." [ACTUALLY SAD MOMENT THAT GENUINELY SHOWS THAT NYA HAS EMOTIONS AND ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT HER LITERAL FIANCÉ WHO SHE LITERALLY GAVE UP HER LIFE FOR] and maybe Sora comforts her! A "we'll find him, Nya" moment. Just a moment. Nya left and Jay fell apart and I hate how Nya is shown to be perfectly fine when Jay has been gone for years. We could have had a little arc of Nya overcoming trauma and distrust and learning that not all Djinn are the same! Okay, fine, we didn't get that. But how dare they let Nya start wishing. Wishes got her killed. Wishes caused the most traumatic weeks of her life. Wishes almost killed the love of her life. You want to tell me that she's just totally fine firing off a few wishes? SHE DIED. GIRLY DIED AND SHE'S JUST MAKING WISHES LIKE IT'S NOTHING? We could have had a moment of Arrokore saying they have to wish for it and Nya being like "NO Sora you can't trust him, they're all the same" and then Arrokore proves himself! Even so, Nya should not have let Sora make a wish without protesting, and she CERTAINLY would not have made one herself. As a skybound stan this episode made me so sad. It was genuinely a good episode but I am so so broken up over what could and should have been. Zane did put a picture of Pixal on a broom though so this episode gets points for that

15. They Call It Doom - YOU'RE TELLING ME THE ADMINISTRATION JUST CASUALLY ALSO SHOOTS BLUE LIGHTNING. FINE OKAY THAT'S GREAT. I already shared my Nya and Arrokore and whatnot thoughts but still. I'm still salty. Anyway this episode's ending was glorious. Teacher Kai you will always be famous I'm so sorry this is the trainee you got stuck with. NO ONE TOUCHES THESE CHILDREN lives in my head rent free and his powerup is so so cool. Baby Serpentine. yes.

16. Land of Lost Things - so you're telling me that Cole has adopted stray children who have run away from home because they felt unwanted and unloved. no I'm totally fine I'm SO normal about cole and his character and the respect he got and the sacrifice of him staying there to protect these kids. I am so broken but its fine I'm fine everything is fine

17. The Administration - See aforementioned thoughts on Jay. The Administration is so cool I love them and I am stoked to see more of them. It's giving men in black tbh. They are so cool. When they follow the directions and find Zane and they're like oh hi Zane! we didn't even know you were here! A) peak comedy and B) when he said "who did you think was going to be here?" THAT WAS DIRECTLY TO US THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT JAY AND IM SO MAD AT THEM FOR IT NOT ACTUALLY THOUGH. Also I don't remember which episode Zane Day and Gulch was in but every moment of that was both perfection and also the peak of comedy. The music when Jay walks on screen destroyed me it was so so good. He is a tired office worker the headcanons were RIGHT. Cannot get over that. I love the look of the Administration, the style, it all looks so good. The concept of a whole organization with an entire division assigned to realm reassignment is fascinating. I want to see Kai's teaching in this episode is great and the parallels between him and Wu were amazing. At the end of the day Jay was here and that gave me enough serotonin to last me a good long while.

18. Absolute Power - I'm not gonna lie this was hard to enjoy because I just wanted to see more of Jay but it was a solid episode. I wanna know what Beatrix' sister's elemental power was. Ras is very cool I am so glad he's going to have a bigger role. Nya and Cole's relationship in this episode is everything to me. They are So Siblings and also Best Friends I love them so so much.

19. We Are All Dragons - good for the Imperium kids starting the revolution, but Rapton being the traitor made no sense. It's like they tried to pull a Kallus in Rebels but there was not nearly enough buildup for this to make sense. I really couldn't care less about Rapton so I'm not mad about this it just didn't make that much thematic sense lolll. I did really like Sora's moment with her parents and rejecting them in favor of the found family, but her speech didn't make sense. It would have hit so much more if she actually explained what ~being a dragon~ means but she really just went WE ARE ALL DRAGONS!! and everyone went YEAH!!!!!!!!!! like girlie uh what does that mean. I liked the parallels but Lloyd's moment was better.

20. The Power Within - I still don't understand why Beatrix wanted to uh. destroy the universe but pop off. I'm not gonna lie I literally cheered when Wyldfyre got sucked into a mergequake. Kai's reaction was in theory great but i am still salty it was over Wyldfyre, this child has been absolutely horrible to you Kai what are you doing. I don't understand how everyone is perfectly fine when everyone comes back from the merge quakes when Beatrix literally went through one of them. I loved Sora's showdown with her parents and I can't wait to see what's up with Ras. I will DIE MAD THERE'S NO MURAL ON THE WALL but WHATEVER.

Returning Characters

I want Pixal back so bad. I'm very optimistic she'll be here in season 2 and I cannot wait for her to be back. I'm hoping that she'll come save Zane from, idk, sensing his signal or something.

SKYLOR. OH MY GOODNESS BRING BACK SKYLOR. I need her back so bad it's unreal

I want Vania back. I want fugidove back. WHERE IS GARMADON. WHERE IS HE. WE HAVENT EVEN MENTIONED HIM WHERE IS HE.

I miss Ed and Edna and Lou and Cyrus Borg and Scott and the elemental masters (WHERES KARLOFF I MISS HIM SO MUCH) and BENTHO and yeah. i miss them

SO, I have a lot of thoughts as you can see and this probably isn't all of them. I want all of everyone's thoughts please send me asks send me messages I just want to scream

AND BRING BACK JAY

[harper-sherman]

In honor of Robert Fuller's 90th (!!!) birthday today (July 29, 2023), I'm posting about meeting him last month at the MidSouth Nostalgia Festival. @sportstudfan put me up to this, lol. Hope y'all enjoy it!

The MidSouth Nostalgia Festival was held on June 8-10 in Olive Branch, Mississippi. That's just south of Memphis, Tennessee for anyone like me who had never heard of the place. The festival brought together a bunch of classic actors (and one or two contemporary), who mainly appeared in Westerns but from some other genres as well.

The first morning we were there, we got right in line to schedule a time to see Robert, or Bob as his fans call him. Most guests had tables that you could walk right up to, but such is his popularity that his fan club orchestrates time slots to make sure everyone who attends has time to speak with him and get autographs and photos. It was a pretty good system, I believe we waited less than 2 hours. We were able to get into his first group of the day. When Bob showed up, he walked right by the line and greeted everyone very enthusiastically and gave out hugs to some of the more eager fans. I could only smile as he went by because I was honestly starstruck by this point.

Once our turn came up, we probably got a good five minutes talking to him. I got the impression he would've allowed us to stay even longer, but we tried to be sensitive to the others waiting to see him. We discussed some of his stunts, such as jumping onto Hoot (his horse) in Duel at Alta Mesa. He confirmed that yes, that was actually him and not a stunt actor. He also told us about breaking his leg on Wagon Train. There was a stunt involving a breakaway chair and he wanted to re-shoot it, but he neglected to check the chair beforehand. It had been replaced with an actual chair! We also talked about his quick draw abilities, and he informed us he had been clocked at 28/100ths of a second. Talk about fast! Before we left his table, we got his autograph on a photo from his Emergency! days. If I ever get to meet Randy Mantooth, I plan to point out that Bob's signature went over his forehead, so he can give him Hell about it.

Something that really amused me watching Bob interact with his fans is how much attention he gives everyone. He was more than happy to hand out hugs and kissed many of the women in attendance. He even autographed a woman's chest (upper sternum, lol) so she could get it tattooed. Keep in mind most of the fans were middle-aged or elderly women, who had fallen in love with him during their youth. The guy's still got it!

We also attended a few panels. The photo below is from one of them; from left to right we have Tony Cameron (son of Rod Cameron, one of my favorite Laramie guest actors), Patrick Wayne (2nd son of John Wayne), the panel interviewer, and Bob. All of the guys were really enjoyable to listen to. Tony is dedicated to keeping his dad's legacy alive and is just a lovely person in his own right. Patrick was very funny and used his some of his time on the panel to advocate for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.

There was also a panel with Bob and his wife Jennifer Savidge that I unfortunately did not take pictures of. Those two are great together, they had everyone laughing and you could really tell how much they love one another. Jennifer is also incredibly gracious about the attention Bob gets from his fans. She's a wonderful actress in her own right, having been on her own medical series St. Elsewhere, JAG, and much more.

The MSNF also had vendor tables where you could purchase comic books, memorabilia, or even original art. One woman rented a vendor table so she could share her miniature Sherman Ranch! She removed the roofs so we could see inside the ranch house and barn. She also told us she has swappable backgrounds for different times of year. We were really impressed with the detail and talent that went into her creation.

On the last day of the festival, we had a photo taken with Bob and Jennifer. We dressed up as Slim and Jess. The first thing Bob said to us was "Wow!", so I think he liked the outfits. ;) On the way out, a few other fans in line stopped us to tell us how much they liked our costumes, which felt really great.

And that was pretty much it! It was honestly one of the more laid-back conventions I've been to. I wasn't used to having a bunch of downtime between the things I wanted to do. It was also a little weird being one of the younger fans there, but everyone was pretty nice and we were all there for the same reason: to meet Bob!

Bonus pic: while in Memphis we visited the largest Bass Pro Shop I've ever seen, known as The Pyramid. The inside looks like outdoors (as is normal with every Bass Pro), but it was lit like nighttime with string lights and stuff. Along with the usual fish tanks, there was a pond with ducks. I unfortunately did not pay to ride the elevator to the observation deck.

[noodyl-blasstal]

Blupjeans Week: Bet (day 2)

It's @blupjeansweek day 2. This follows on from yesterday's prompt. You can also read on Ao3

-

"It's going to be fine."

"Easy for you to say, you just casually revolutionised thermodynamics, you're gonna walk your viva." Barry could hear Lup rolling her eyes at that one, though he stayed resolutely focused on the raggedy copy of his thesis which was, at this point, 70% sticky notes. Could he read what any of them said because of how much they overlapped? Shut up.

"Natch, evocation is never going to be the same thanks to cha'girl's research, but that doesn't meant you're going to fail, Barold."

"No, they're just going to MPhil me out."

Lup sighed heavily. "Oh no, you worked hard and gained mastery in a subject, how terrible, what an embarrassment."

Barry did look up then, didn't she get it? He’d thought she’d get it. It was an embarrassment! She’d watched him put so much into this, the stupid well thumbed, badly bound paper stack represented four years of late nights, early mornings, cancelled plans, 3am anxiety… he thought she understood. She’d lived it with him, they were working for the key to the next level, if they gave him the wrong one what was even the point? "You think…?"

"I'm being flippant because that's not going to happen. Once again, I've read your work my guy, it's good, in fact, it’s great. In fact, right now, you’re arguing with established fact.” Barry grimaced as Lup spoke, but she ploughed on. “... you've already published three chapters of this thing in peer reviewed journals. 6/6 esteemed peer reviewers agree!"

"But they publish bad science all the tim…"

Lup cut him off. "Barry stop. You know you’ve done good science because a) I would have told you if you hadn’t, and b) peer reviewers might be lazy but you’re not. You know your submissions were solid, just look at the citations.”

“But…” She was right. But Barry still struggled, sure she hadn’t said anything incorrect, he knew he’d done solid work, but he also just knew that he’d fucked this up.

“...But what? But maybe they're idiots who can't recognise genius? They're gonna recognise it, Barry. It's impossible not to recognise how brilliant you are. That thesis is just you yelling “I’m Barry Bluejeans and I know what the fuck I’m talking about, pay me money about it.” Plus, publish a few more chapters and you can do PhD by publication without those losers to worry about anyway."

Barry didn’t even register the second part because Lup thought he was brilliant! Lup thought he was brilliant and she was telling him and he kept shutting her down instead of just being grateful about it. Maybe if he tried to accept the compliment. "Than…"

Lup started speaking at the same time. "In fact…" She paused to let him speak, but he shook his head and gestured to her, he could try being gracious another day. "... Okay, if you're sure." He nodded. "I think, Baraldo, that we should make a bet, you and I. I may as well profit from all this self doubt, so I bet you're gonna pass with no corrections."

Barry laughed bitterly. Whatever she was betting she'd be losing. "Lup, I'm going to fail."

Lup shoved his shoulder gently. "You're not and you know it. Be serious."

"Oh, like yours was serious?"

Lup's ears flicked back defensively. "Serious? Barry, c'mon. Obviously we all know cha’girl’s out here shaping the future of evocation, but you're doing magic within magic on all your spooktacular stuff. The chapter on spell wheels? I'd never considered it, and even if I had, I definitely would have taken at least 10 minutes longer than you to come up with something so elegant. You know what you're doing, I know what I'm doing, it's why we're such a great team."

They did make a great team. They’d met the first day of undergrad at orientation. Barry the lone mature student in a sea of babies, then Lup and Taako had appeared, and sure there was The Nerd Incident, but they cleared that pretty fast. They coincided in most classes, worked together in labs, and powered their way through a ridiculous amount of higher education together. There hadn’t been any question about it when the option of choosing housing came up, they lived together off campus and were joined by a rotating cast which had pretty much always featured Taako (well, until this year), but LupAndBarry, BarryAndLup? They were a constant, they worked. “We do work well together.” 

“You can say that again.” Lup glared at him as he opened his mouth to repeat it. “...And you know exactly how smart I am, right?” Lup asked. Barry could taste the trap-ness of this question, she was an angler fish and the question was a beautiful little light, he was going to answer it honestly and wholly and she was going to chomp him down with her big clever teeth.

“You’re incredible Lup, your research is amazing and you’re passionate and eloquent and so smart…” 

Lup’s teeth closed. “Then you know I know my shit well enough to know your shit’s good, so, what’s your bet?”

“I pass with major corrections?”

Lup raised an eyebrow. “Question, or an answer?”

“I pass with majors.”

“Fine. If you want to lose whatever you’re betting then be my guest, Bluejeans.”

“I don’t think I have anything you want.” Barry said, and he wasn’t sure, it was a ridiculous thought, but he could have sworn that Lup’s ears reddened at the tips. She coughed loudly, then almost shouted “Jeans.”

“What?”

Lup coughed again and spoke in a softer tone. “I get rights to your wardrobe. I know your jeans are comfier than mine.”

Barry hesitated. He’d already lost a good chunk of his shirts and sweaters to Lup. Not that he minded most of the time, he usually managed to steal his favourites back briefly on laundry day, but his jeans? He only had three pairs and they all served specific purposes in his life, he couldn't afford to sacrifice them, no matter how cute Lup would look in them. But, <;i>but</i>, there was no way he was actually going to pass without corrections, everyone at least got minors and Barry's supervisor definitely didn't think he'd even manage that. According to the available evidence, this seemed like a safe bet. "Deal!"

Lup grinned big and wide and dangerous . "GuyWhoJustLostHisJeansSaysWhat."

"What?" Barry asked.

Lup snickered. "Just asking what you wanted from me if your externals are somehow struck incapable of recognising brilliance?"

Oh... yeah, Barry had forgotten this part. Lup's brash overconfidence in his abilities had essentially signed her up to do whatever he wanted. He could stick her with dish duty for the next hundred years; make her actually use the dregs of her body wash before she moved onto the next one so the edge of the shower wasn't a terrifying pile of upside down barely balanced bottles; he could ask her to tell him whether there was an expiration date on their whole thing, whether the end of study meant different directions and fond memories, phone calls which dwindled as she remembered less and less… "You have to come home with me." He blurted out the thought before he could properly consider what he was asking. Was that too much? Oh it was probably too much. A trip home meant a road trip, motels, meeting his Mum. There was no way Marlena wouldn't pick up on exactly how he felt about Lup, not that she hadn’t already, but it was easier to lie on the phone. Plus, there was no way his Mum wouldn't love Lup too. How could anyone not? Then he’d only disappoint her when Lup moved on with her life and left him behind. Maybe he could back track, do the dishes thing instead…

"You have yourself a deal, Mr Bluejeans, may as well use that title one last time. Now, I have some outfits to plan, go eat the sandwich I made you, then I'll help with the last minute prep." Lup disappeared in the direction of Barry's room. 

Barry resigned himself to losing another few shirts while Lup investigated his wardrobe and obediently shuffled his way to the kitchen. It was definitely time to eat, he wasn't entirely sure when he last did… probably the last time Lup shoved food at him. He definitely had to thank her when this was over. 

-

"...And why did you decide on Necrostics?" Lup looked expectantly at Barry. 

"It was the most logical methodological approach as it incorporates acknowledgement of the agency held by constructs and the undead while also acknowledging the influence of social and summoning factors. I modified the approach to ensure it was appropriately controlling for the new spells I developed."

Lup clapped her hands delightedly. 

"It was that good an answer?" Barry asked.

"It's that good a wardrobe. I cannot wait to get my hands on it, Barold, you're gonna be living in your pants… although…" Lup narrowed her eyes. 

"Absolutely not, no!"

Lup shrugged. "You can't watch your stuff all the time, Barry. Cha'girl needs some new sleep shorts."

Barry felt his face flame at the thought of Lup sleeping in his clothes, Lup wanting to. "I'd better go now!" He said, too fast and too loud. "Gotta go get it over with."

Lup jumped up. "Cool, I'll grab my book and and few other bits and come with. There's some comfy chairs in the corridor with my name on them."

Oh. Lup was going to come with him. Lup was going to wait for him. "You don't have t…"

"I want to."

–

"Good luck Barold, you've got this." Lup hugged him firmly, he squeezed back. If he didn't let go he didn't have to go into the scary room. Can't defend your thesis if you’re in the middle of a hug, that’s just science. Lup pulled back slightly, then dipped her head to kiss him on the cheek.

Barry didn't have time to react before Lup pulled away and planted herself across the corridor chairs, head buried in her book.

"Are you ready, Mr Bluejeans?" A voice asked from the door behind him. All Barry could do was touch a hand to his cheek, turn, and nod. 

– 

"Congratulations again, Dr Bluejeans, this may be the most enjoyable viva I have ever taken part in." Said Dr Combish, opening the door for him. 

Barry was going to pass out. The adrenaline finally drained out of him, weeks, months of panic, gone. It was over. An outright pass? It was so rare, so ridiculously unlikely. He should be raring to celebrate, but mostly he just wanted to go home and sit very still in the dark. He stepped into the corridor, remembered to thank Dr Combish, and stared numbly at the door as it closed. What did he even do now? It was over. A whole chunk of his life was just… done. He had the keys to the next stage, had the fancy title, had everything he'd worked for and… and? 

"Hey Bear?" Lup nudged his arm gently. "How'd it go?" 

"I… I passed?" Said Barry. "Yeah. They. Well. I passed!" His voice broke momentarily, to say it was so surreal. "Lup! I passed!!!" He grabbed her into a hug. "I did it! We did it! Thank you, thank you thank you thank you!"

"Knew you could." Lup said thickly, hugging him back. They didn’t say anything for a while, just held on tight. “We… we should do something.” Said Lup, eventually. “Celebrate, you know.”

“We’ll celebrate together when you pass next week.” Barry didn’t even have to think about it. Whatever he could do, Lup could do better, there was no way she’d be correcting anything.

“Fine, but we’re getting pizza, from the good place.” Lup grabbed her backpack from the chairs.

Barry stared for a second. “You… you’re wearing my garden jeans. Lup!”

“And they look great on me. Told you I believed in you. Fair’s fair.” Lup winked, wiggled her butt, and grabbed his hand. “Now, let’s get you home, Baraldo. We need to ring Marlena and tell her, she’ll be having kittens.”

Barry couldn’t do anything but nod.

[theboarsbride]

"A Court of Thorns and Roses" Reading Update I

Page 101 - 24%

So, some major notes so far:

-I refuse to believe SJM knows how to write poor people. I refuse to believe that Feyre's family has been poor for a decade. How tf can the sisters be so dainty and act so oblivious and bitchy about work for survival after NEARLY 10 YEARS OF ECONOMIC DESTITUTION???????Just their mentalities, how they react to being poor, how they treat their belongings, how they treat their food, how they handle their money, etc. doesn't really line up.

-I can't stand SJM's writing style. SO MANY MF EM DASHES HOLY FUCK AND THEYRE IN PLACES WHERE THEY'RE UNNECESSARY. And also she reuses the same sentence structure, and it bothers meeeeee. (ex.- i was going to the bathroom, which was white and clean and shining. Then, I went to school, a place that was dull and bland and boring.) Like jfc. I wholeheartedly believe the conspiracy that no one actually edits SJM's book because good LORD.

- Feyre is dumb and deserves death. Like the instance with the Pooka. She suddenly sees her crippled father on Tamlin's land in Prythian in the middle of the night??? Given the wary hostility and aggression and distrust she's been displaying towards everyone and everything so far in Prythian, why isn't she doing the same in this instance???? She's said herself she is wary of faerie tricks, and acknowledged that not even whole, able-bodied humans are able to survive in Prythian without the help of a faerie, so why would she think her DISABLED FATHER, who is helpless in the mortal realm, be any different??? And why would she CARE that her father has come for her??? Did she not hope that her family starves without her, so that they realize she's important to them and she holds them in such an embittered contempt?????

- I LOVE Lucien <3 I like this fox-boy, he is funny and actually treats Feyre like the murderer she is (because yes, she's a murderer, and takes PRIDE in having killed a faerie. Which Feyre has some nerve being hostile to faeries who have been nothing but courteous and gracious with her, and thinking THEY are in the wrong when she was the one that MURDERED their friend).

- why couldn't Tamlin remain more like his beast form, making this more of a BATB retelling? I literally imagine him looking like Legolas but JACKED. This is where my ire of 'BATB but the beast is just a hot guy that growls or has behavioral problems' first began. It's such a shallow version of the story and completely misses the point. And the fact that this is also a retelling of The Ballad of Tam-Lin, a Scottish folktale, and does really nothing that's an homage to the story aside from Tamlin's name, the fact he shape-shifts (albeit BARELY), and there's (poorly written) fae really irks me.

-for once I want SJM to actually describe paintings rather than describing what the painting is of. I don't believe for one minute that SJM did more research into art, style, etc. because for the life of me I couldn't tell you what Feyre's art style is, nor do I really care because her having painting as a hobby is so pointless and has no effect on her character whatsoever.

- SJM is lazy as fuck with her world building. ex.- Lucien saying capital 'h' Hell, as in Christian Hell, when humans are agnostic/atheist with a sparse number of fae-worshiping cults (and were once implied to have had a polytheistic religion) and fae worship the Cauldron and other faerie deities so like.....why not use a few extra braincells to create her own version of Hell rather than using lazy cultural shorthand that, by the logic of this book's world, doesn't work????; underutilizing fae lore so now they're either underdeveloped spectral entities or LOTR elves... BORINGGGG!! GIVE US ACTUAL FAE IN LITERATURE AGAIN!!!! (*applauds Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries and Krystal Sutherland's House of Hollow*)

These are my major thoughts for the first quarter of the book.... See y'all again at 50%!

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 76. brb x oc

a/n: I had an anxious day again but...im better! so i hope you guys like this chapter.

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff, hELP

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/

25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64

/65/66/67/68/69/70/71/72/73/74/75

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-

During Halloween week,Beatrice was busy…well,sort of, she had things to do but she was going to have fun doing them! Hence why she woke up so early and she’d love to leave the bed if Rooster let her, but her husband’s strong arms locked her in place, his lips pressing against her nape as he slept.

He said that he missed the sounds in their house and he slept so nicely when he was there. Bradley hummed in his sleep, nuzzling his face in the back of her neck as she smiled, almost regretting having to get off the bed because of how comfortable he was. So she allowed herself to stay put for a little longer.

She gently ran her fingers on the back of his hand feeling the lines of his tendons under the skin and the soft hairs that covered it. Rooster snores quietly behind her, his nose nestled between strands of brown that cover her neck, sometimes mumbling something under his breath that only made Beatrice’s smile widen.

God,how she loved this, how she loved him.

Him,Bradley Nicholas Bradshaw, her husband, her best friend - after Shells because the blonde would never allow competition - and the love of her life. When she was younger she dreamed of a guy like him, hell she wrote down what she wanted in her future partner and by God it was Rooster personified.

Okay it took her a few years to meet him, a few ‘yes’s’ throwing aside and a lot of ‘no’s’ being ignored. She kept brushing the back of his hand as she thought about it, it was absolutely crazy that they were still feeling like they were dating…hell she never felt like that with that one person she refused to name.

Her aunt Martha said something to her, when she was pregnant with Nicole and Rooster was away, that their souls were ‘always connected, no matter what time, no matter when, you were always meant to find one another.’ 

Weird yet endearing, just like anything her aunt said.

Beatrice sighs, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles then over the length of his finger, feeling his hold on her waist tighten and his face move behind her. He was slowly waking up but she didn’t move, she just allowed him to enjoy the morning.

Ever since he came back she tried to give Rooster more than enough time necessary to wake up, she wanted him to rest, she wanted him to feel safe while at home. His job was dangerous and hard and he needed to relax the second he got home.

A sharp inhale from him signaled he was finally waking up, this time for real, as he groaned sleepily while pressing his face against her back, “...mornin’.”

Oh she loved how deep his voice was when he woke up, “Good morning,sleepyhead.” she smiles, turning her head to look at him, “Did you sleep well?”

“Hmmmm…” he breathes in deeply, “Yes… have you…been awake long?”

“Not too long, I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Hmm…” he hummed, closing his eyes briefly, “Nikki up?”

Beatrice checked the baby monitor, only to see Nicole was still peacefully asleep with Eleanor and Jack keeping her company, “Not yet.” she says, ‘It’s still early too,Roos. She’s going to take a little while to wake up.”

Her husband just sighed, pressing his front to her back tighter, nuzzling her neck and kissing the soft skin there, “Hmm…okay.” and his breathing got even again within seconds, his hold loosened just a bit but he hadn’t let go of Beatrice yet. Beatrice just chuckles softly, still brushing his hand, a bit surprised when she hears his voice again, “That’s nice.”

“What? Me touching your hand?”

“Mhm.”

Bea smiles, drawing random shapes on his hand, “Good to know,I’ll keep doing it then.” 

His deep chuckle sounded so much more attractive than normal when he was waking up that it sent shudders up and down her body, “You know I love when you touch me.” and she was blushing, hard, when he whispers those words against her ear, kissing below the lobe and making a trail on her jawline, ‘And you know I could let you touch me anytime that you want,gorgeous.”

She giggles quietly, turning around fully when he loosens his hold on her waist, combing some of her hair back to keep her eyes on him…and she just stared, because Rooster had a stubble. Usually he shaved his face, but these past days he wanted to enjoy his leave and decided that he could do that before he got back to work…and he looked so good. He blinked groggily at her, wiping his eyes with a hand, “What?” Beatrice’s pupils enlarged, “What? What’s the matter?”

“God, you are so attractive,Roos.” it comes out as a breathless confession, something her husband wasn’t expecting but also wasn’t complaining. That boyish, proud smile appeared on his face, the one that made her knees weak and her stomach flip with butterflies, “You look good no matter what.” she runs her hands over the dark blonde bristles on his jaw, almost nearing brown in color, biting her lower lip, “You could literally have a full on mountain man beard and you’d look amazing.”

“Maybe when I retire I can do that.” he smirks, leaning into her touch like a cat, humming deeply within his chest, “That’s nice too. Your hands are so soft.” he turns his face to her palm, holding it with his own hand to kiss the middle of it, three little kisses before he looks back up at her, “What’s the plan today,gorgeous?”

“Well,” she continues her caressing, “We are going to go to Marcus first, then we are going to buy some Halloween treats and then we need to get some fresh pumpkins. Just one though,I want the others to be fake ones.”

“Hmmm…alright.” he smiles, closing his eyes, “Whatever you want,gorgeous.”

Beatrice just adored how he was still partially asleep, how his face was flushed because of the warm covers and how mussed his hair was, “How about,” she whispers, slowly leaning closer, “I make us breakfast,” one kiss on his forehead, “Then I make coffee just how you like it,” another on his nose, “And I can even add some chocolate chips on your coffee.” one final kiss to his lips.

With their mouths still connected,Rooster arched his brows, eyes partially open, “Can you add the extra creamy ones?” his wife laughed against his mouth, but nodded, “Ooohh…you are going to make me fall in love with you all over again.”

They laughed quietly, with Beatrice squeaking in surprise when he pinned her onto the bed, rubbing his stubble against her neck, smiling when she sighed softly and arched against him, “I remember you saying I look good with a stubble.” 

“You look good no matter what,Roos.”

“Careful, we might never leave the bed if you continue.”

Beatrice smiles more, wrapping her arms around his neck, meeting his lips in a sweet peck before his forehead dropped against hers, noses touching, “Tempting.” she whispers, “But we have a lot to do…I’m going to check on Nikki and then I’ll prepare our breakfast-”

“I can check on her if you want.”

“Really?”

“Hmhm.” he nuzzles her neck, kissing the curve of her shoulder, “There’s a lot going on today and you don’t have to overwork yourself.” he whispers, kissing her lips one last time before pushing himself off the bed, “Atta girl.” she pushes herself upwards, partially turning her bottom to leave the bed only to hold back a scream as the warm and stingy feeling of his hand on her ass made her stop in her tracks.

“Rooster!” she whisper-yelled, glaring at her smirking husband who just leaned down to kiss the red handprint and tap the opposite cheek gently, winking down at Beatrice. She huffed with a gentle laugh, shaking her head as her husband disappeared behind the bathroom door, humming to himself.

Well, at least he was having a good morning.

He hears Beatrice leave the room, her voice muffled as she walks into Nicole’s nursery, greeting their baby and mentioning that ‘daddy was going to pick her up really soon.’. Then he hears the known sound of Jolene’s claws clicking on the floorboards, looking up from the sink as he washes his hands, “Morning Jojo.” the pitbull wags her tail, stepping into the bathroom so the pilot can scratch her head, “How about you and the twins join us on the pumpkin search, hm?” he smiles, scratching her behind the ear, “Maybe it’ll be something new…after all Nicole is going.”

Jolene just boofed softly, watching him with big honey colored eyes as if agreeing with him even if she couldn’t,obviously,speak back to him. Rooster dried his face with a towel, turned off the light and left the bedroom towards Nicole’s room where his daughter was already awake, chewing on a rubber elephant that Beatrice gave her before leaving the room, no doubt, “Hi honey.” he coos softly, making Nicole’s light eyes turn to him, “Hi,good morning pretty thing!”

Nicole gurgled a laugh with the rubber animals still between her gums, “Did you sleep well? Yes?” he leans over the crib’s railing and picks Nicole up, kissing her cheek soundly, “You are smelling so good, did mommy change you already? Did she?” Nicole babbled, fully alert without a trace of sleep in her body, “Yes I know, you look really happy to be awake.”

When he pulled Nicole back a bit, his daughter blinked at him, wide eyes and mouth closed before she reached his face with her hand, touching his stubble. He half expected Nicole to be scared or confused, or maybe think that the prickly feeling in her palms were too much and would snatch her hand away…but, their daughter was always full of surprises.

She didn’t cry, she didn’t whimper, she just touched his face with a bit more force - for a four months old baby - even squishing his cheek a little bit, almost as if she wanted to feel more of the strange sensation, gasping quietly with amazement, “Oh, you like it too,huh? So does mommy.” he smiles, kissing her tiny hand and adjusting his hold on her, “Maybe in the future I can let it grow a bit.”

He carries Nicole downstairs, Jolene right behind him trotting down the stairs as he hears Beatrice in the kitchen, talking to someone…this early? He slowly makes his way into the kitchen area, arching his brow when he sees Beatrice rubbing her forehead, “No,mamma, listen,” he arches his brows with a soft ‘ah.’ leaving his lips, “No,no, no we are okay. We are going to- no I know,I know…I know you know.” 

Rooster bites his lip to hold back the chuckle, smiling down at Nicole as he places her in her bouncer, shaking her tiny hands a bit and kissing her small knuckles like the princess she was, ‘Mommy will come by soon,ok?” he kisses the tip of her button nose, “You are so cute, yes you are.”

“Mamma, please,I know.” she drawls off the word, sounding absolutely exhausted, “No,Brad is coming with me…yeah. We’re taking Nikki- yes I know, sunscreen and such,I know. No we won’t be long.” she looks up at him when he gets closer, tilting her head to offer him her cheek and he wastes no time in pecking it,walking around her to grab his coffee mug - that smelled absolutely divine, “Yes. Yes. No, just one becau-because it’s better,mamma. I don’t want people to destroy it, you know how some jerks can be.”

Beatrice walks closer to Rooster who was now sipping his coffee-chocolate mixture with a grin, opening his arm to give her room to rest her head against his chest, “Hmhm…yes I know. I know- no we don’t need cake. No we-yeah we got it.”

“Some cake would be nice though.” he murmured, holding back a surprised yelp when Beatrice slapped his chest, narrowing her eyes at him, “What?”

“...no, that wasn’t Bradley.” she narrows her eyes at him even more, “Mamma there’s no need to- okay, fine, what cake is it again? Hazelnuts and chocolate…yes I know that’s his favorite,mamma.” Bradley just watched the conversation with a little smile, watching his wife finally giving in to her mother’s demands, “Yes,I love you too…bye.” and she drops her phone to the side, letting her forehead touch his pectoral.

“Long talk?”

“Do not start.” 

“What? I’m just asking.”

“You are literally the worst.” she says with a little smile, “But hey, at least we got free cake…for some reason. I keep thinking my mother believes we starve because every time she asks us if we have food.” he hums, kissing the top of her head, “Anyway, sorry, we were just chatting a bit about today’s plans.”

“Yeah?” 

Beatrice walks away from Rooster to greet Nicole, immediately smiling and picking the baby girl up from her bouncer, kissing her cheek, “Yeah,” she smiles, “It’s possible that Michael and Leo and Cyn are coming to the Hard Deck for the Halloween Party.” Rooster blinked in surprise, tilting his head, “Yep,my parents are taking Bibi and Éwoyn out for Halloween.” 

“Éwoyn is old enough to,already?”

“Well,she’s one years old,Roos.”

“Already?” he pauses, staring at nothing, “Holy shit.”

“I know right? Crazy.” Beatrice thanks him when he hands her own mug of latte after she sits down on the chair, preparing herself for Nicole’s breakfast, leaving the steaming coffee on the table as she feeds their daughter, “Doesn’t seem that time went by so fast, huh?”

It really didn’t and Rooster didn’t know how to feel.

Hell if that was just their niece…imagine Nicole? How quick was she going to grow? How soon would she turn one,nine,fifteen? Hell, twenty? He…didn’t like to think about it, not because he didn’t want his daughter to grow, but…he just wanted to see her be a little girl first and foremost, “Yeah.” he chuckles almost nervously, “Not at all.”

Bea gently brushed Nicole’s soft hair back with a soft smile, “You are thinking about it.” he blinks at her, “About Nicole and about time going too fast.”

Sometimes he could swear she could read minds.

“Yeah…aren’t you?”

She shrugs, looking down at Nicole, brushing her soft cheek, “Hard not to,Roos…it’s…something parents go through. Leo and Cyn are going through everyday…Bianca turned seven, you are aware of that too.”

Holy shit Bianca turned seven.

He met her when she was five. He needed to sit down, so he did. Rooster holds his head up by pressing his chin into his palm, looking right at Beatrice, “That’s fucking crazy.” she nods, amused by his reaction, “Holy shit, in four years she’ll be in middle school. Holy hell.”

“And Éwoyn will start preschool.”

“Fuck, that’s…insane.”

Beatrice smiles, looking down at Nicole who just was having the time of her life with her morning treat, “So…yeah,I do think about Nicole and how she’ll grow and how fast that will be. But I try to not worry about her so much, we just have to do a good job in showing her that she can and should enjoy her childhood the best she can.”

Rooster still hated the idea that his daughter was going to grow even more in just a few months and in a blink of an eye he’s at her college graduation or helping her go on road trips over the country. He sighed, drinking his chocolate coffee and licking his lips once he was done, “You are right…it’s just weird. I mean,look at Nikki.” he gestures to their daughter with his mug, “Look at how big she is already.”

“Well,she is a bit…tall for a four months old.”

“Soon enough she’ll reach my shoulder.” and he sounded almost disappointed by it, “...I don’t wanna miss it. I just want her to take a long time growing up.” and he frowns, shaking his head, “Anyway, enough sad talk about it…so, I was thinking about taking the dogs with us to the pumpkin patch.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, you know how they get when we go anywhere by car.” Eleanor and Jack had to be latched onto the seats so they’d stay in the passenger seat, while Jolene just lied next to Nicole for the car ride, “And I think it’d be nice.”

“Well,that’s fine.” she says, buttoning her night shirt once Nicole was done and grabbing her burp cloth to place on her shoulder as she gently caressed Nicole’s back, “I don’t see why not.”

“And maybe take some pictures there.” he continues, “It’ll be nice when…she’s older, she can reminisce about them.”

“That is fine by me,” Bea grins, looking back at her phone when it started buzzing nonstop, “Ugh, I hope it’s not my mom again, you already got yourself some cake.”

“That I did.” he smirks, bringing the mug to his lips, “I regret nothing.”

Beatrice reaches for the phone to check who it was, furrowing her brows once she saw the sender, “Evelyn.” she says, “She’s asking if I can see her later today.”

“Busy bee, ain’tcha?”

She laughs, “I think she just wants to talk, we weren’t able to sit down and chat for…a while, you know she’s been working a lot, barely comes to the bar anymore.”

“Oh yes, Jake has been vocal about it.” he mutters, sipping his coffee, humming with delight, “Kinda annoying.”

“You literally do the same thing when it comes to me,Roos.”

“Yeah,” he shrugs, “But I’m not Jake.”

Beatrice rolls her eyes over her husband’s words, looking back down at the message with a slight frown. Evelyn sounded…intense, like she really wanted to talk, even asking if they could meet during morning time until Beatrice explained why she couldn’t go so early. With a quiet ‘hmmm’ making its way past her lips, all that Beatrice did was put the phone down and then look down at Nicole, “Well,I’m sure it’s nothing serious.” something in her said otherwise “We’ll see once I get there.”

“After everything..”

“Yeah,after everything.” Bea smiles, “Especially  after pumpkin shopping and treats shopping.” holding out her fingers as she says so, “And tomorrow! We’ll decorate the house! Finally!”

Of course she’d be happy with that, she loved Halloween. “Yep and I can finally help you with it.” he smirks down at Nicole before Beatrice sets her on her shoulder, “It’s going to be a fun week.”

[amyfreak111]

Hooking Up at Macys

I've told this story many times and it always seems to be a hit. Someone asked me once in a chat group, "what is the most random sexual encounter you've every had?" I didn't have to think too long.

First, the background. I'm a quad amputee...that means I'm missing all my limbs. I lost them when I was 18 to meningitis. To be specific, my legs are both very short -- about 10 inches long. My arms end just below my elbows so, I have elbow function which, quite frankly, is a Godsend because it gives me so much more control than I would have without them. Now, since my legs are so short, I really never use prosthetic legs and rely on a wheelchair to get around. I do use prosthetic arms and have come to rely on them very heavily. I use body powered hook prosthetics which means I don't rely on any electronics or batteries to open and close the hooks...just cables connected to a harness that I can manipulate with my shoulders. Okay, so that's the image. Not a pretty one although I am, as I've been told, very attractive. I manage to stay trim and have been blessed with good genes.

Now, I'm not into labels but I guess I'd say I'm bi-sexual. I have always been with guys and girls ever since I started exploring sex. To be fair, I've been mostly with women the last 5 or so years so, maybe I'm a lesbian? I don't know...I don't care.

Given my disability, I do maintain a high degree of independence. I drive, go shopping, and otherwise enjoy a robust social life. A few years ago I was bitching about my wardrobe and decided to head out shopping. The local mall had a Macy's and I usually find decent deals there so, I headed over. I made my way to the women's department and started looking through the various racks of tops. A very nice older store clerk saw me and offered to help but, I was okay so I thanked her and declined.

I went back to my browsing and wheeled around a rack and bumped into someone. "I'm sorry!" I said without really seeing who I bumped into. The woman turned around and saw me and immediately said "oh, no worries." She was gorgeous. She was about 40 with the body of a 20 year old. She was tall, slender with dark hair and a face that reminded me of Selma Hyak. She was wearing a simple white blouse that was very low cut and a very tight, short skirt. She looked like she was shopping on her lunch break from work.

What really struck me about her was how she looked at me. Typically, I get a lot of stares -- mostly at my hooks or my wheelchair. But, this look was directly into my eyes which gave me a real "vibe" if you know what I mean. I brushed it off and went back to my browsing. As I was browsing, I kept noticing her glancing over at me. She seemed to follow me as I went rack to rack. As I browsed, I pulled a few items off the rack and draped on my chair. I headed to the changing room to try them. As I wheeled over, I noticed my friend right behind me with a similar load of things to try on. The clerk who managed the fitting room helped me in and led me to the very last booth on the right as it was larger than all the others and would probably be easier with the chair and all. I told her I'd be a while (for obvious reasons) and she was gracious and said take all the time you need...just yell if you need anything.

I started to take off my top which can be a slow process with hooks. But, I'm well practiced now so, I manage to get through 3 of the 5 items when I heard someone from outside the booth exclaim, "Shit!" I chuckled and said..."are you okay?"

"I need an opinion", came a reply. It sounded like my hot friend. "I'm desperate. I have a party right after work and I need to look great for the new boss. I just can't decide if what I'm wearing too much. Would you mind telling me what you think?" she said.

I paused for a second as I thought it was a little odd but, she was so hot, I didn't mind. "Sure...give me a sec." I started to open the door to the stall and there she was right in the doorway. "Oh, I'll come in, it'll be easier," she said. I rolled back and she stepped all the way in. She stood right in front of me and I was looking up at her lovely figure enjoying the view.

"I know this is odd, but I'm really in need of woman's perspective and judging by the way the girl who runs the changing room is dressed, you're it."

I laughed out loud, "Sure, no problem" I said.

"Thanks, you're a savior!" she exclaimed. "Now, I have this top." She held up a red knit top that looked very thin against her chest.

"That might be a little too clingy...its hard to tell", I said.

"Oh. Ok, I'll just put it on." she said without hesitation. She went about taking off her white blouse and revealed a very ample bosom. Her breasts were perfect and I started to feel a little warm. She was quick to put on the red knit top and as I suspected, it outlined every curve of her top.

"Oh, that's lovely." I said.

"Not too much?" she asked.

"No. To be honest, its perfect!" She must have caught the lust in my voice because she paused and gave me a little inquizative look.

"Hmm. Based on your reaction, I think I'm making the right impression."

"Oh, absolutely," I said staring at her chest.

"Maybe you should help me take this off," she offered.

"Oh, I would want my hooks to ruin it. These things are great for a lot but not with fragile knit-ware," I said.

"Hmm. I can think of one or two things you could do with them that might be interesting," she said very suggestively. My eyes lit up at that point and I felt my face turning a little flush. "Oh how cute are you!" she said seeing how .

She then grabbed by right hook and guided it to her tummy. "Hmm. It's not cold like I thought it would be," she said referring to my hook. "I wonder how this would feel in my pussy." That was it. She put it right out there so, I went for it. I took my left hook and rotated my right hook so the fingers were pointing up. I then lifted her skirt with my left hook and gently pressed my right hook up against her pussy through her panties and moved it back and forth.

"Oh my! You are a horny little thing," she said. I just looked up with a little pout. Then, she reached down and pulled up her skirt and moved her panties to the side revealing her lovely vagina. I wasted no time and slowly pushed my right hook as far in as I could and began moving back and forth. She moaned in pleasure.

As I moved my hook back and forth I was grinding against cushion of my wheelchair. I was so turned on. She then leaned over and reached her hand down to my waist slipped her hand into my shorts and quickly went to work fingering me. I was out of my mind with pleasure. She used her other hand to push my hook deeper into her pussy and let out the most guttural moan.

We were both fully engaged and lost in our mutual pleasure. Kissing, fingering...it was all so good. I remember trying to keep quiet but being unable to keep my ecstasy contained. Then, as if we were both programmed, we came together. We both quivered and shook and I could feel my seat cushion getting drenched.

"Oh my god," she exclaimed as she started to gather herself.

"Oh my god is right," I replied.

"That was amazing...but...uh...I..I have to go," she said shakily.

"Wait...what's your name? Can I call you?" I asked.

"Uh...I'm sorry...I just have to go." And with that she left the changing booth and ran off. I was so confused and wanting for more of her. She was so hot and turned on ... I just couldn't understand why she bolted off like that.

Over the next few weeks, I kept going back to that store around lunch time on the chance that I might run into her, but I never did. Every night I would replay that encounter in my head and end up getting off using my hooks.

[variousqueerthings]

@autistic-puffin tomorrow we hit nine's regeneration and in honour of that my partner and I are going to watch all of the special behind-the-scenes for season one before we get fully into the tragedy of ten, because we own all the boxsets (in fact, I own a boxset from 2006 that is squared out to look even more like the tardis -- it's... very well-used shall we say, we do not use it for watching, but keep it with fondness) and therefore all the special features! up until s7 anyway. (I might get the rest, because I definitely want capaldi's last season + whittakers, and it wouldn't be complete with the ones leading up to that)

and tonight we watched an interview that eccleston did ahead of the launch and it just cannot be overstated how gracious this man seems to be/have been about playing this role and what it meant:

some highlights:

he said that he was hoping he might be the first doctor to a generation of 8-12 year olds at the time and I almost cried, because I was 10/11 at that point, and he was, he succeeded

I mention that because I know that for years he kind of felt like he didn't, and he's self-effacing (a bit comedically, but I wish he wouldn't be) in the interview too, preparing almost for a bad reaction

he did mention that a couple of early reviews hadn't been kind, and that it hurt and I just!!!! you don't understand!!!! you became part of the trajectory of my life!!!! you're one of the reasons I love stories my guy!!!!!! you were great!!!!!!

he said he quite liked the whovians (although he seemed unsure if that was or wasn't a polite term 😂) because they don't ask about your private life, they ask what it's like to be a time traveller and about the tardis

he mentioned that a big change was that it was attempting to move away from a patriarchal model of the doctor and the helpless "assistant" and that rtd was good at writing women (he's said that several times, but I like how open he was about that opinion in 2005 when you don't even really hear many actors today use words like that)

he also - and I found this charming - admitted that apart from some of the things like regeneration and the reveal of what a dalek really looked like, he wasn't so big into doctor who, because he didn't have a "camp sensibility." it just tickled me that he used that phrasing, because it's such an accurate identifier of that early low-budget (set wobbling, as he called it) aesthetic. kind of hinted he was more of a trekkie😂 which you know. I'd call that a camp sensibility too, just differently

at one point the interviewer directly asked him about whether he'd regenerate at the end and he eloquently avoided answering the question, but I do always feel that pang that he really did all the legwork of reestablishing this iconic character, only to not feel quite... welcome. for a long time. I know he's since (I believe) more embraced that his turn is iconic to so many of us, but it's sad to see it in the moment

he said he took the role because rtd is a great writer, because it was challenging sexism in the writing of female characters, and because he'd always been told he was too serious and "not funny or charming" -- me + my partner + her husband like "YOU'RE SO CHARMING!!!!!! SLANDER!!!!!"

it's very funny being someone for whom the doctor was your first eccleston role, only to later on watch his other stuff and be like... let my boy be whimsical dammit! he's so good at it!

[fancyfade]

if i took a shot whenever a Tim stan either tried to justify him hitting a 10 year old or paint it as an Actually Heroic thing i would have no liver anymore. goodness gracious, do they not see that his treatment of damian is not framed in a positive light? i just can't with the uwufication of that boy. like why him even? if the batkids were a breakfast menu, he'd be like lukewarm oatmeal and yet his stans act as if he was some layered, super complex yet fragile character. i genuinely can't...

yeah like i've seriously blocked people for saying 'no you don't get it its always wrong to hit a 10 year old in anger... EXCEPT IN THIS CASE' its like try thinking for 2 seconds before you speak guys.

i will disagree that tim's treatment of damian is not framed in a positive light, tho. while red robin was tim's mental breakdown era and we do see a lot of hints that he'd making bad decisions under yost, the guy does have alfred (usually viewed as like the 'voice of reason') congratulate tim for punching damian in the face, then you have nicieza who IMO is very un-self-aware of Tim's flaws (being in that he treats Tim as if his issue is being TOO coldly logical when it comes to Damian, when really he was angry and resentful and bitter). i think in this case the fans are following the writers here, the writers just did not think things thru.

i think that tim is an interesting character, but he also is kind of the boringest guy on any team he's on? like he's interesting, but lots of comic characters are interesting and he's often propped up by writers and fandom above the others. which is a shame b/c his character has lots of potential if he's allowed to be a regular character. but yeah fandom does way over-emphasize his fragility i know once i read like a tim sadboy fic out of curiosity and was like (Thinking) 'do you even LIKE tim???? b/c this is just an OC with Tim's name'

[sagittarianpocky]

so… i was correct yet again. my partner made a friend through work who’s 10 years older than him (31) that has no car, smokes all day, and only dates girls way younger than him (like 18-20.) i TOLD my partner that this guy was garbage and i could tell just by seeing a picture of him. this scruffy looking white dude that looks like he hasn’t showered in four days and dresses like it’s 2008. my partner kept asking me to hang out with them and i was like lol nope! because i knew the type of dude the guy was. and my partner was like “but he doesn’t act like he’s 30! he acts like a teenager!” [LOUD BUZZER] EVEN WORSE!!!!! and guess what? HE TURNED OUT TO BE A PIECE OF CRAP!! AS I SAID!!! goodness gracious with the way people do not believe me you’d think i was born yesterday

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

1/26/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

Genesis 41 - 42

Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible Chronological, I'm China. Today is the 26th day of January, welcome. It is so great to be here with you today. I hope that you are having a great week, a great day, and if not, may the peace of the Lord rest upon you today. We are continuing on in the Book of Genesis, with chapters 41 to 42, continuing on with the Common English Bible for this week.

Commentary

Wow what a story. I love reading this story. It also makes my heart sad. But I love reading this story because we see that there is the underdog and he's going to be okay. And so Joseph, or sorry, Pharaoh, has this dream and he's kind of talking about it. There must be a lot of commotion. Have you ever had a dream where you wake up and you're like, I gotta, I got to tell somebody about this is a dream was weird. Man, that dream was weird. Or if you have almost like a nightmare and you're like, I really got to process this out so that it can leave my head. It must have been really burning in Pharaoh because he's really trying to get a response and I don't know if they are just kind of like scratching their heads and saying we don't know, or if they're trying to give him interpretations. And he's like, that doesn't feel like it's true. And so then Pharaoh's cup barer is like, oh yeah, there was this guy down in the dungeon, he interpreted my dream and also this other guy's dream and they both happened. Forgot about him, was supposed to remember him, didn't won't you ask him. And so I love that Joseph, he's being told, or sorry, he's being asked to interpret the dream. And Pharaoh says, I've I've heard that you can give interpretations. And Joseph responds, actually, it's the Lord who gives the interpretation. It's the Lord, it's not me. And so Joseph says, actually what you have is just one complete dream. You just woke up in the middle of it. But it was one dream, one meeting. Here's what it is. And so Joseph starts, he gets put in this place of power, of leadership, because he has really proven to be a great man of character as we have read throughout his life over the past couple of days, but over his life. And so now he's 30 years old. 30 years old. That is crazy. He's a teenager when he is I mean, I'm assuming that he's like a young boy. So probably teenager years that he's sold into slavery. But I could be wrong on that. Maybe it was early 20s, I'm not sure. But so he is now in this place of of power because he heard correctly and he was a good steward of what the Lord gave him. And Joseph's brothers arrive in Egypt. Jacobs is like, what are you doing looking at each other? Go, go get some grain. Like, of course this is the right answer, go. And Joseph recognizes his brothers, and obviously everybody has aged. My best guess is that my best guess is it's been at least 16 years since he's seen them, maybe more. But the seven years of plentiful and now the seven years of famine well, I'm not sure what year of famine. I don't know if it's the first year or how many years, so I guess I don't know how long that you've seen them, but it's been a long time. And everybody's aged, everybody's grown up, but he remembers them. He sees them, which I'm I'm sure if you see ten men together, you're going to maybe be like, oh, I had 10 brothers. Oh, wait, you guys kind of look like those brothers. I don't know. Or maybe he just immediately recognized them, but anyways, he has a stark tone with them, and he kind of makes this deal with them. And you also have to remember that Benjamin is Joseph's full brother, and I don't know that he's seen him. And so I don't know what the significance is that he's like, I want to see Benjamin, but he's kind of holding them in captivity, and then he's being a little gracious, and then he's like, I'll hold one of you, and then the rest of you go back. And Jacob is, like, in distress. This guy is like, I can't catch a break. Like, what is happening? What is my life right now? Today's story is a good reminder for Joseph, because yesterday we talked about being alone in the dungeon and feeling forgotten, feeling, Man, I'm really counting on this to get me out of here. Don't forget me, remember me. And then it not happening for another two or three years before he's out. That's a long time. Two or three years is a long time of being in a dungeon with no progress being made. But rest assured, he's out. He's now in a completely, like, 180 degree turn of just very opposite, very different lifestyle, very different way of life. And so really forget not that God is a God of redemption. That when we are people who follow the Lord and steward what he has given us, and we wait upon Him, that all things work out for the good, for those who love Him and who serve Him. And I know we're not in Romans right now, but that is the truth. That truth follows us all the way from the beginning of Genesis one one to all the way down to when we read about it in Romans and then pass that as well. But we've seen that that is echoed and true here, even in today's story.

Prayer

So, Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you that you are a God who cares for his people and that the truth is that nobody is forgotten, nobody is abandoned by you. No one's out of your reach or out of your sight. And I thank you that you see us, you know us, you care for us, you love us and you have us in Your hand. I pray that we would be a people who grasp that even in those times where we're not hearing anything or we're not sensing anything or we're maybe feeling restless or confused, God, I thank you that Your truth would sustain us. Thank you that we can remember that you're sovereign, we can remember Your words even when we are not able to really grasp what's going on. I thank you that Your peace surpasses all understanding and that it sustains us. And thank God, I just thank you for who you are and it is in Your name we pray, amen.

Announcements

Dailyaudiobible.com is our website. That is the place of connection so we can see what's happening here in the community, how to get connected and stay connected. So be sure to check that out. If you have prayer requests and things that you have prayer for, you can call in. And people in the community listen to them, they pray over them, whether in their hearts or out loud or they will call in and pray over them. And it's just so sweet to know that people all around the world are hearing you and praying over you and for you and with you. And so yeah, if you want to partake in that and be a part of it, please do so. You can call in 800-583-2164. That is all for today. I'm China, I love you and I'll be waiting for you here, tomorrow.

Community Prayer Line

Hi, this is Chassis from Kansas. I wanted to call with a heavy heart to ask for prayers for a very close family friend of mine that I have known since I was probably two or three years old. She unexpectedly lost her husband in an accident on Wednesday, January 18. He was only 24 years old and he was in a semi tractor trailer accident that took his life. They do have two little boys sorry at home and they need their prayers right now and all this community is an amazing team of prayer warriors. She just lost her mom almost a year and a half ago so this is still pretty fresh to her. And losing her mom and now losing her husband has shaken all of us, her family very much and we're just giving prayers and I know you guys are amazing prayer warriors in this community and also to anybody who's new. I just want to encourage you to stay with it, stay with this community because this community is so uplifting and so Godly and everybody truly does care about each other. Even if someone doesn't necessarily call in and pray for your prayer request on here. Know that people in this community all over the world are praying for you. This community is what helped me get through one of the hardest years of my life last year and I'm so thankful to God for each and every one of you. I love you all and God bless all of you.

Hello DABCers, my name is Neil. I live in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia. I am currently standing in the gap and prayed for my wife's salvation, for the salvation of my kids, and for the restoration of my marriage and my family. At the tender age of 13, my wife was the victim of a forced encounter at the hands of a cousin. When she told her father, he called her a whore and basically said it was her fault. When my wife was 18, she married what turned out to be an abusive alcoholic. She's had a very hard life. Most of her life. We've been together for eleven plus years. She had an okay relationship with her father, but never as close as a father daughter should be. In April of 2020, he passed away, which seems to have flipped a switch in my wife. Within a few months, she had left the marriage, left the family, and is living on the other side of the mountain, living a very sinful life. I am standing in the Gap to pray for her. If I don't stand to pray for her, who will? If I don't stand, pray in battle and fight for my family, my kids, my marriage, who will? So I covet and ask for the prayers of others to join me as I pray for my wife's salvation of my kids, and for my marriage and my family to be restored. I thank you all.

Hi, everyone. It's Christy in Kentucky. I pray that each of you are having a beautiful day today. Father, thank you for this day. Father, we are lifting up these your children to you Father, in prayer, and we thank you in advance for hearing and answering our prayers. Lord. Father, today we pray for Preston, whose dad, J has been diagnosed with cancer in his abdomen, in his liver and in these bones. Father, you are our God of miracles. And Lord, we are praying for a miracle for Jay, be with him, Father, as he goes through these surgeries, Father, and these treatments, and bless Preston and his family with peace. Lord, we also pray for Katie in Ontario, where she told us that a 15 year old boy was hit and killed by a car that was driven by another 15 year old boy. Lord Jesus. So many children. Father. Lord, we are asking you be with these families, Father, and comfort them in the way that only you can do. Lord, we also pray as Delena has put out a prayer for the three young women who were riding in a car. Lacey, the driver, has gone home to be with Jesus and her two other sisters sustained injuries. One is still in serious condition. Her name is Lila and the other one has come home and with minor injuries. Lord, these children, father, these families, father, lord, please, please, Lord, be with them. And we know that you are just pray that your presence will be known, Father, that you comfort them, lord, their children, lord, they're just children, lord, be with them. Walk with them as they walk through this time. We love you, Jesus. We love you so much. Thank you. Thank you for hearing and answering these prayers. Come in.

Dear DAB community. This is Mark from England. I want to bring your attention and ask for prayer for a dear friend, Miriam. She's the wife of a Christian minister and had just taken early retirement, and unfortunately, she's been diagnosed with an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. So we want to lift Miriam up before the Lord and ask for prayers and ask him to intervene and provide a miracle for Miriam. We look at this time at Philippians four, verses six and seven, where it says, be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request been made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and mind through Jesus Christ. So we say, Dear Lord and Savior, we bow as humble servants of the Lord, and we ask for prayer and supplication for Miriam. We ask that you heal her body. We ask for a miracle because doctors have given her very little time. So, Lord, we know that her and her husband have been servants of the Lord through the work that they've done for over close on 35 years. So, Lord, be with them. Be with them, whatever the outcome. Lord, this is our prayer. In the holy name, we ask that you deliver them, Lord amen.

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Day 3: ACTIVITIES

Today was much better. Much better than yesterday. Hamarikyu Gardens / Tea Ceremony: This was so peaceful and tranquil. My group was the first to do the tea ceremony. We watched the person make the matcha tea, apparently she has been a tea expert for decades. We were also served Japanese sweets, or wagashi, before the tea. The matcha tea was pretty good. Afterwards, we got to head outside and explore the Hamarikyu Gardens. Again, super peaceful and relaxing. There was a 300 year old pine tree, plenty of other nature stuff, and a bench to sit on!!! Yay! Lunch: After heading to Tokyo Skytree, I was generally unsure of where to go to eat. After seeing multiple maps, I settled on Ginza Grill Cardinal. I ordered Omurice and Hamburg Steak. The omurice was really good, on par with what I've had in the USA, but can we talk about the Hamburg Steak? Oh my god. When I die, I want to be buried in Hamburg Steak. This meal gets a 10/10, and in terms of all the restaurants I've tried, it is on par with Tonkatsu Hinata. Tokyo Skytree / Sumida Aquarium: Super super super high up. 450 meters kind of high up. I could see basically everything! Ended up with multiple failed attempts to point out Mt. Fuji. Afterwards, we went to the Sumida Aquarium and it was small but awesome! I saw fish, jellyfish, eels, penguins, sharks and more! The jellyfish room was completely dark so the jellyfish had their natural glow, made for some great photos! Dinner with UF Alumni: Goodness gracious. Before I get into it, I will already tell you this was a 10/10 and the best meal I've had so far. The big deal with the group dinner was getting to meet some notable UF alumni. David Semaya serves as the Executive Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsu Trust Asset Management and previously worked at Barclays and Merrill Lynch. Sachio Semmoto is a legend in the telecommunications world, having cofounded KDDI and served as the CEO of Y!Mobile. Both of these guys were amazing and provided great advice. The meal was completely paid for and my gosh, it was the best. It was a five course meal consisting of some sort of pate, bread and oil, crab soup, F1 wagyu steak and a chocolate dessert. It was unbelievable. The wagyu just melted in my mouth like butter. It was without a doubt one of the best steaks I've had. It was unreal. I doubt anything is going to beat it. Photos coming soon. Let's hope tomorrow is just as great!