#Caroline's home with the nanny

[fallstaticexit]

Double date night with Celeste's old hunting buddy, Juno and her wife, Vivienne.

[kittynotakitty-blog]

A reminder of the allegations against Neil Gaiman, as shared by Hire Survivors Hollywood, a non-profit group who support survivors of sexual assault. These survivors aren’t just “the victims”: they have names and stories, and their voices deserve to be heard.

Scarlett, who worked as a nanny for Gaiman’s children, revealed that he sexually assaulted her in 2022 when she was 22 and he was 61, initiating an ongoing non-consensual sexual relationship.

K, who met Gaiman at a book signing in 2003 when she was 18 and he was in his mid-40s, describes a similar pattern of rape and sexual assault after they began a sexual relationship two years later.

Caroline Wallner, who worked on Gaiman’s property, revealed that he coerced her into sex by threatening her job and housing, and that he used explicit images and sexual demands to exert control over her.

Julia Hobsbawm was forced to fight off an assault by him in her London home in 1986.

Claire, who came forward anonymously in a podcast series, shared that Gaiman assaulted her during a book tour in the US in 2013. Gaiman took her to a room on his tour bus, got on top of her, kissed her, and groped her under her dress. In a 2022 phone call recording, Gaiman can be heard apologizing for his behavior, and offering $60,000 as a “tax-free gift” to cover the cost of a decade of therapy.

[brucewaynehater101]

Just a warning, this au strays a bit close to NSFW territory in that it does talk about Sex Workers, but it does not mention or describe anything specific, mostly just discussing how they operate and some dangers they may face working in Gothem.

So, we all know that Tim would do a lot for the mission right? More than most people would. I mean, just look at Brucequest or the fact he came back after his 16th birthday or his first few months as Robin when he was basically Bruce's nanny. He also has many false life's he can slip into at the drop of a hat such as Alvin Draper or Caroline Hill. So why not add one more to those personas? A woman named Jane Doe, a sex worker who works just outside Crime Alley who everyone knows and knows everyone, but no one truly knows her nor have they ever seen her face, if she even is a woman as she uses all pronouns to get just a little more mystery added to them. Their outfit is constantly changing but also very specific, a short and highly attractive dress that doesn't look cheap and a full face mask in the style of Venetian Carnival Masks, Volto design specifically so that it covers his full face but shows striking blue eyes. Those he has colored contacts that he switches around constantly.

The reason that Tim does this is simple. Information. While Jason may be able to ask the sex workers under his protection questions, they wouldn't be as open with him as they would another sex worker. Tim can get information from them, the clients, the shop owners of the area, the homeless, anyone and everyone who is often on the street or connected to it that none of the other Bats would ever be able to get. And through his... services he gets a lot of information about up coming things thanks to a special discount everyone knows about. If you tell Jane a secret they don't already know, you get 10% off his services. Tell him 2 and you get 20%. So on and so forth, but it has to be things that Tim didn't already know and he's more than happy to hear about which rouges are hiring at the moment and when they stop hiring, after all, what easier way to predict when they are gunna do stuff than by when they get new henchmen?

A lot is known about Jane Doe, yet also nothing is known. Jane doesn't keep any of the money he makes, giving it to the other girls and often extra as well. No one knows where she keeps getting 100s of dollars to just *give* them but she does. Jane has three brothers, a sister, and a father but no mother. They don't know their names, simply knowing them as N, H, C, R, and B. Whoever they are, they're a well off family but they aren't good to Jane, bad enough that Jane feels safer on the corners of Gothem than the comfort of her home. They know from "funny" stories he tells about his family or via them asking about scars he forgets misses when he covers himself in makeup (there are so many, what have they done to you child?) And him always telling something close to the truth.

They know that N is his oldest brother and the only one who cared about him for a long time, who helped him and was the first person who ever made him feel truly happy. They also know that N took something very precious from Jane Doe without Jane's permission and shattered their trust in N. Tim never told them what was taken or that it was Robin, but in a profession like the one he shares with them, they all come to the same conclusion about what was taken and why Jane might seek comfort in this line of work.

They know that H is also his older brother and has hurt Jane often. They know that the slight scar on his neck he covers with a choker or makeup was made by H, as was the bullet scar in his leg. He laughed about that one, telling his friends how H had set down one of his guns after cleaning it, R picked it up and accidentally fired it, and it bounced twice before going clean through Tim's leg. He laughs about how mad H was at both of them and how he yelled at them to not tell B or else, using a mocking tone and laughter that only causes the others to glance at eachother in worry over their friend. Tim makes sure to reassure them that he got to the blood before it dried so it wasn't to hard to clean up. Tim may have read it as anger in Jason's voice when he said to not tell, but actually it was panic and worry about Tim's wound and how Bruce would react.

They don't know much about C, only that she managed to escape the hell hole known as Gothem and lives in another country. Sometimes she comes back for visits and Jane is always very excited when she does.

The other Sex Workers don't like R. They know that R has either threatened Jane with sharp objects or actually harmed her with them many times but has never gotten in trouble for it. Any time Tim has some left over injuries from patrol, he plays it off as either R or H getting agressive with him again and tries to calm them by saying, "oh come on. Both of them have only tried to *actually* kill me twice! It's fine guys, they won't seriously injure me." While having 5 stitches in his arm.

Jane doesn't talk about their Dad much, always getting quiet and looking away when he's brought up. They ask if B has ever hit him and Jane says, "he doesn't hit me anymore." And all of them want to kill him. They want to kill all of them (except maybe C) and bury their bodies where they'll never be found.

Of course, none of the Bats know about Tim's other nightly activities and where he gets his info from, simply shrugging and moving along. Tim is terrified of any of them accidentally finding out. But unfortunately that day could be coming soon as one of the workers goes to The Red Hood and grabs him by the jacket saying, "you're supposed to protect us right? That's what you promised us, isn't it? Saftey? Well one of the others, Jane, is in deep trouble. Their family is gunna *kill* them. Do whatever you need to do to keep Jane safe from those monsters, we'll tell you what we know, but stop them before she's just another dead body in Gothem Harbor. Do we need to pay you? We'll pay you however much it takes for you to make them pay."

This does remind me of a few fics that go over Tim's "Caroline" identity combined with the idea that Bruce was worse to Tim during his Robin years. Some fics do go into Tim having to go so far as actually having sex with people while some don't.

There are also a few fics of Tim going undercover in Crime Alley as a stripper, cocktail server, sex worker, or other when Red Hood finds out and loses his shit.

The idea of Tim using a fake identity to vent about his family issues is a really cool concept! It would allow him to see how the actions done against him were shit and not okay. He may have the mindset that his trauma is fine because it happened to him, but the separation of identities may help start that realization process. I'm also all here for the identity shenanigans of someone trying to save Jane from her family and accidentally going to one of the people who's hurt them. Lovely amounts of mixed emotions there.

This fic/AU would need to be careful to address both the trauma of Tim selling himself at such a young age as well as still treat sex workers with respect, individuality, and care. It would also be cool to see how the inner workings of the sex industry may be affected by Gotham (such as rogues, toxins, corruption, wealth disparity/poverty, etc).

But yeah! Lots to explore in this AU. I wonder if Tim, in this one, cares about pronouns or gender identity. Does he enjoy crossdressing, does he experiment with his gender identity, and does he make distinctions? I think it would be cool to indicate he's closer agender but is fine with whatever. I like to imagine, in this AU, that he simply doesn't care what gender identity he's perceived as unless that identity needs a specific gender.

Anyways, I am curious about how Red Hood reacts to his characterization by Jane. I wonder if she seems to be wary or distant from him before he finds out that's Tim. Hopefully, Jason tries not to take Jane's hesitance personally. Just because Red Hood is established as a protector doesn't mean that Jane would trust him. They may have their own reasons/experiences not to that has nothing to do with the anti-hero.

[bobby-r2d2-floyd]

The Nanny (Hangman x Reader)

authors note: so, hangman won by a long shot in the poll, but for the few that voted for the rest, they're still coming! i have to deal with the bs with my basement and i am a college student, so i have to deal with my coursework as well.

inspired by @roosterforme

this will be a mutli part series, im not sure how many parts though

pairing: jake "hangman" seresin x benjamin niece!reader; established mav x penny

warnings: some swear words and an inaccurate depiction of how social workers handle dropping a baby off to its living, absent father. also cyclone is a dad bc jon hamm if a dilf.

not proof or beta read, we die like men.

summary: Hangman wakes up one day to a social worker and an infant on his doorstep. the infant? his 3 month old daughter.

word count: 1.9k

-----------

It was the one day that the Dagger squad had a later morning (11am, per Maverick’s request), so when the pounding on Jake’s door woke him up at 8:45, he was a little pissed.

He stumbled out of bed and the arms of some red head whose name he definitely doesn’t remember, throwing on a shirt along the way to his front door where the pounding is originating from and reverberating through his skull. “I heard you the first fucking time,” he curses out, throwing the door open and preparing to unleash verbal hell on the person standing at his doorstep.

All the words die out though when he sees an older woman standing there with a sleeping baby in a car seat at her feet. “Jacob Seresin?” she asks and his eyes bounce between the infant and the woman.

“Yes?” he asks, voice cracking a bit as he looks back to the woman.

“Do you mind if I come in?” he nods and moves aside as she picks up the car seat and steps inside. “My name is Caroline Husband, I’m a social worker for the state of California.” she tells him as she sets the seat down on his coffee table, “and this is Avery. Your daughter.” 

Jake feels his heart stop as he looks down at the little girl, “what, what do you mean?” he sinks down to the floor on his knees, heart racing and Caroline gives him a small smile.

“Her mother-” she looks down at the paperwork she was holding, “Samantha Barnes, passed away from complications shortly after birth, you were listed as father on the birth certificate.” 

Samantha Barnes… Jake remembered her with a small smile. They were briefly exclusive before she had disappeared one night, leaving behind the memories and a note saying she needed to go back home to help with her ailing father, her last living relative that she still spoke to.

“H-how uh, how old is she?” he asks, taking her small, but definitely bigger than a newborn, hand in between his finger and thumb.

“She spent some time with a foster while the state was waiting for you to return stateside. She just turned 3 months old.” Caroline forms him, which makes sense as he was just in the middle of the ocean for the last five months. “I have some supplies in my car that her foster mom put together for you, should you choose to keep her.” 

“Choose to?” he asks, as if there was any other option for him. The second he found out Avery was his, there was never any other option.

“You can alway sign your parental rights away, there’s plenty of families looking to adopt babies.” she says and he shakes his head.

“No, she stays with me,” Jake says as he stands and Caroline smiles up at him.

“Well then, there’s all the information that you need. Her old foster mom made a list of information for you, her pediatrician, what formula she was feeding, how to prepare bottles...” she goes on to tell him more necessary information about Avery but tunes her out as he watches the little girl start to wake up and look around, well, as much as a 3 month old can, he supposed. “Here’s my card, it has my personal cell phone number on the back should you not be able to reach me at my office in the event of an emergency.” 

He takes it with a smile and a thank you before walking Caroline to the door to help her bring the items in from her car and as quickly as she was here, she was gone. Leaving Jake to sit on his couch as he stares into the eyes of his daughter. 

He kicks out his guest after 15 minutes of sitting there before he’s googling how to put a car seat base securely into the back seat of a F-150. After fighting for what felt like an hour (only 10 minutes) he has his daughter secured in his car before driving way under the speed limit to The Hard Deck, only 45 minutes late to meeting up with the rest of the Daggers but as soon as they see him walk into the bar with a car seat, all the teasing for being late blows out of there mind. 

“Do we need to call the police?” Bradley teases and Jake lets out a nervous laugh.

“No.. no police needed.” Jake says as he sets his daughter’s car seat and diaper bag in the middle of the pool table the team was surrounding.

“Well, then who is this?” 

Jake takes a deep breath before answering, “this is my daughter, Avery Seresin.”

Immediately the team has plenty of questions for the team’s resident playboy. He explains the situation as best he can with the information he got from Caroline.

“I never even knew Sam was pregnant. She never said anything and then she was gone.” Jake says softly as he looks down as his daughter in his arms, sleepily drinking from the bottle he made and Penny gives him a smile.

“You seem like a natural already.” she says, snapping a photo of the daddy-daughter moment and he smiles.

“Yeah, I was still around when my sisters started having their own kids, all girls too, ironically.” he responds with a small laugh and the movement of his chest startled Avery awake and she starts drinking more steadily again.

The squad takes the rest of the day before the bar opens with turns holding the newest member of the team. Aside from Jake, Bob and Natasha were the only other two who seemed comfortable enough to hold her without needing any instruction on support for her head. 

“Does Cyclone know you have a kid yet?” Mav asks as he takes his turn holding Avery, seasoned from when Bradley was a baby and he used to watch him while Carole and Goose needed alone time. 

“Fuck, no not yet.” Jake groans as he rubs his hands over his face. “I need to go see him.”

“Go see him now, between Penny being a mom and me dealing with Bradley as a baby there’s plenty of experience here to watch Avery for a bit while you try to get some time to adjust to dad-life.” Mav says and Jake looks over at him.

“You’re serious?” 

“Yeah, besides, Avery is already better at 3 months than Rooster ever was.” Mav teases and Bradley makes a couple of offended noises before being slapped in the chest by Natasha. 

Jake nods, “okay well here’s her-”

“Hangman, get out of here. I did all this with Amelia.” Penny says as she pushes him towards the door and Jake pulls her into a hug.

“Thank you so much, Pen.” he says, meaning it too since Penny is the closest thing to a mom that he has since he hasn’t talked to his real mom in years. 

The drive into base wasn’t a long one, but felt like it was with how often he was checking his backseat and not seeing his daughter before remembering she was safe with Penny and Maverick at the bar. 

Walking into Admiral Simpson’s office, Jake broke out into a nervous sweat. “Um, excuse me, sir.” he says as he knocks on the open door.

Both Admiral Simpson and Admiral Bates looked up at him from where they were sitting at the desk discussing some news that they received from higher ups. 

“Can I help you, Lieutenant?” Cyclone asks and Jake nods, taking that as an ‘okay’ to walk into the office.

“Yes actually, I uh.. I was wondering if I would be able to get leave, sir. I had a surprise visit from a social worker this morning and-and my infant daughter.” he says as he straightens out his back and rolls his shoulders back.

“You have a child?” Cyclone asks, closing the folder that he had open to focus more on Jake. “Since when?” 

“Well, as of 9am this morning, sir. Her mother passed away after she was born and no other living relatives so… She’s currently with me. Well, not with me Captain Mitchell and Penny Benjamin are currently watching her.. sir.” 

Warlock and Cyclone share a look and Jake stands there nervously, “I know that this is short notices but all I’m asking for is a week to figure things out, find a sitter, get some kind of a routine started for-”

“Okay.” Cyclone says and Jake looks at him instead of the spot that he had been looking at on the wall. “You only want just one week?”

“I can have more, sir?” Cyclone nods, having recently become a father himself and knows how important bonding is for parents. 

“Unless something urgent comes, how does three weeks sound?” he asks as he pulls something up on his computer and begins to type.

“I would greatly appreciate that.” Jake says with a small smile and Cyclone nods, ending the conversation and Jake starts to walk out of the office.

“Seresin?” Warlock calls out and Jake turns around, “congratulations.”

“Thank you, sirs.” 

Jake drives back to the bar already feeling lighter than he had in the last 6 hours, and upon walking back into the watering hole, he sees a red faced Avery and a panicked Rooster.

“Bradshaw what did you do to my daughter?” 

“What did I do? She threw up on me!” he says, holding the infant safely, and at an arm's length away. 

The rest of the team is laughing behind him and Jake just takes Avery and lays her against him so her head is on his shoulder, “well I’m sure you deserved it.” 

Bradley glares at him before wandering away to the bathroom to clean up. Jake smiles and rubs his daughters back as she babbles in his ear.

“How did talking to the boss go?” Penny asks and Jake smiles.

“Really good, actually. Said I can have three weeks as long as nothing urgent comes up that’ll need the full team's attention.” 

“Well, if you ever need a nanny so you can have a break and none of us are available, my niece just moved to the area and is looking for work.” Penny says with a small smile as Jake moves to sit next to her. “Plus she has a degree in early childhood and special education.” 

“Okay, yeah I’ll let you know.” he says with a nod.

“Well, you can meet her tonight, she’s supposed to come and help me out here for the night since Jimmy can’t make it in.” Jake just nods and Penny pats his shoulder that Avery isn’t sleeping on while she stands to start opening duties for the bar. 

Jake didn’t end up meeting Penny’s niece that night, or any time in the following week. In fact, it wasn’t until the last week of his leave that he met her. 

Jake was holding Avery as he walked into the bar before it opened, she was babbling up a storm and he took his sunglasses off to put on the top of his head when he saw someone new behind the bar, head thrown back and laughing at something that Bob had said. 

You look over at him and he swears his heart stopped, “Hi! I’m Y/N Benjamin, but you can call me Saturn.”

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

next part

-----------

taglist: if you want to join the taglist for all my future works, shoot me a message and i'll be happy to add you :)

@mandylove1000

[hughiecampbelle]

Being The Youngest Roy Would Include: Pt. 1

A/N: This I'd solely based on this fic, which I am in love with :) There is no gif of all four of them that isn't sad!!! 😭

Warning: addiction/addiction mention, abuse/neglect

Being The Youngest Roy Would Include: Pt. 2

You were an accident. Your siblings made jokes about it your entire life, but there was some truth to it. Logan didn't want anymore kids, he didn't want the kids he had, but you were born regardless of what he thought or wanted

Your mother had a short fling with Logan between Lady Caroline and Marcia. They were married, sure, but that didn't really mean anything, and they divorced shortly after you were born

Your siblings were already out the door by the time you came along, but they still adored you, especially as a baby/toddler

The few pictures you have of your childhood, you're surrounded by your brothers and sister, all of them wanting to hold you and play with you

They really do love you, in their own ways

Connor especially loved you. It's his favorite thing in the world to be a big brother fatherly figure to you and Ken and Shiv and Roman. He was so lonely when it was just him. Now he has you guys ����

You grew up watching your siblings fight and argue and bicker as a means of showing their love, though Connor tried his best to show you what real love was (aka not just swearing at one another)

He didn't want you growing up the same way he had, ignored and terribly unloved. He never wants you to feel the same way he did, does

"Bitch."

"Whore."

"Shiv, Rome, not in front of y/n."

Roman took it upon himself to steer you clear of certain friends of Logan's, friends like Mo, who weren't to be trusted around children. Whenever you asked why, he'd give you some non-answer answer and tell you to get back to your blocks

"Babies play with blocks."

"Then your crayons, I don't know- whatever."

Kendall always had something sweet for you when he has a meeting with Logan. You weren't allowed sweets, not around your father, but Ken could always sneak you something. Even as you got older, and you reminded him you weren't a little kid anymore, he never forgot your favorites

"You know I'm not five anymore, right?"

"I know, I know, just take it."

Whatever kindness they showed you, it could never equate to the love of your parents, especially your father, neither of which were affectionate people

You were an angry kid. Your father wasn't exactly the most loving. In fact, you sensed that he hated you for as long as you could remember. That made you mad and disappointed in yourself, like you'd done something wrong. Like you were born wrong. So you'd lash out. You broke things, you screamed and cried, you hurt yourself in the process, you did all you could to get his attention, and still nothing worked. Nothing.

Rather, it was Shiv who held a frozen bag of peas on your bruises, who wrapped bandaids around your broken skin, and reminded you you were only hurting yourself, the two of you watching the housekeeper sweep up glass or patch up walls, whatever mess you made. She didn't like seeing you like this, knowing it only enraged your father instead of getting the response you were looking for

"Y/n, why do you keep doing this?"

"I don't know."

"There's gotta be a reason."

There were hundreds of reasons, but you didn't have the words for it yet, so you'd shrug, feeling lighter having gotten it all out

You were grounded a lot, for days at a time, your father banishing you to your room when he was sick of dealing with you. It only made you more upset. Nannies quit constantly, so a lot of the time, it was up to him to deal with your antics. Your mother, when she was home, stayed far from either of you, feigning a headache

You didn't have the words to explain all this, so you made a mess of your room. Tore things apart, broke everything in sight. If it wasn't your body that was hurting, it was the things around you. Eventually, he got rid of everything but the dresser and your bed. Everything else was bare. You'd kick and thrash and yell, but you were too afraid to leave

He didn't have to lock the door, though. All he had to do was stand in front of your door for a few minutes, not saying a word, and that was scary enough to get you to stop, at least for the time being

None of your siblings knew about this. When you were grounded, Logan never let them near you. It wouldn't be until years later that Ken or Con even suspected anything like that when you made a passing comment

He saw your out-of-control emotions as weakness. He tried to get your mother to help, blaming her family genes, but she was out of the house long before you got yourself under control. She moved on with her life, leaving you with him to go abroad, live the life of luxury with her flavor of the month. She had no interest in being your mother, deciding you'd be better off with him

One day he called you into his study. You knew you'd done bad. You'd thrown another tantrum in front of his investors, in front of friends, and that was the last straw. Tabloids were already talking about the cuts and bruises you gave to yourself, accusing Logan of abusing you. He was completely embarrassed by your behavior, your newest Nanny dragging you out before any real damage was done. Still, you knew that crossed a line. You were sick with worry. You'd only ever been in his study a handful of times, mostly sneaking in when he wasn't home.

Logan gave you the only advice you'd ever receive from him: Quiet down. It was vague and angry and not very helpful, like most of his parenting ways

Soon after that, you had your first drink. You weren't sure what it was, or why you wanted to try it, only that Roman had left it unattended and wouldn't notice, that it made your family a little bit better so why couldn't it help you?

It was the first time in a long time everything had gone quiet. This fury that sat in the middle of your chest has shrunk. You felt like you could breathe and think without wanting to explode. Without wanting to burn the world down. It didn't taste good, at all, but it helped

You figured this is what he meant. This is what he wanted. It wasn't a lot, not enough to get you drunk, but enough to quiet every mean thought in your head

After that, you found your new way to cope. The tantrums stopped. You were rewarded with your things back. Your nanny remained skeptical, but everyone else saw this is a good thing, a phase you'd grown out of. Shiv especially found relief in this, the sight of those bruises and gashes and cuts enough to make her scared what you were going to do next

Your mother believed it was the strict parenting style of Logan that straightened you out, even happier with her decision to leave you behind

From then on out, you were sneaking anything you could. From your father, your siblings, off the silver platters at parties and dinners and meetings. No one noticed when an extra glass went missing. They barely noticed your existence

Your tolerance grew the older you got, and the anger came back. This indescribable fury caused fights between you and Logan, rarely between you and your siblings. Those moments were the worst, when you couldn't bite your tongue. The alcohol could only do so much, so you turned to other things to take that last edge off

Kendall had coke, you could get weed at school, there were a surplus of pills in the bathroom cabinet. Whatever it took to quiet down, whatever it took to take that edge off, to stop acting this way, you figured it was the right thing to do

Your teens were a blur, a mass, of bad ideas and forced photo opportunities. Going to clubs until the sun came out, calling cars to pick you up, changing just in time for a family dinner to discuss shareholders or to schmooze with old friends of Logans. Always polite, always present, even if you were a million miles away

You weren't sleeping a lot, but you didn't need to. The uppers kept you awake, the downers kept your skin from crawling, the booze leveled everything out

[leonardperreault]

quinn coming home to nora who is sitting in his bed with her bedtime story picked out

"shes in your room," caroline says as she starts to pack her things up. quinn sends his nanny a smile,

"thank you caroline. ill see you tomorrow?" he asks. the vancouver native nods,

"yep," quinn then lets her go on her way as he heads upstairs and to his room.

he opens the door smiling when he finds nora a stack of two or three books on her lap, her hair neatly brushed and braided after a bath,

"DADDY!" nora cheers as she looks away from her show,

"hi bug!" quinn replies softly as he sets his bag down at the end of the bed, then walks over and kisses the top of noras head, "ready for bedtime?" nora nods enthusiastically,

"three books daddy!" she insists, "just as many days you gone," quinn chuckles and climbs on top of his covers letting nora climb onto him and get comfortable.

[morningbloodystar]

dadifer HELP ME

ive fallen for Nanny Ashtoreth 😔 and I can't get up 😔

can you make her look at me 💕💕 just once 💕 💕 please 💕💕

Ro, darling, this is the millionth time you've claimed to be in love with an iteration of my Serpent.

Go home, drink some wine, and stare at pictures of your... Caroline Forbes, was it?

Yes, go stare at her. She's less taken (and fictional but I'll let you live your life.)

[pearcecallahan]

→ INTRODUCING PEARCE CALLAHAN

in character

Name: Pearce Callahan

Faceclaim: Ben Barnes

Gender & Pronouns: Cismale & He/Him

Age: 40

Birthday: March 3, 1984

Occupation: Psychologist

Neighborhood: Wrightsville Beach

Sexuality: Heterosexual

biography

Pearce Callahan was born March 3, 1984 to Caroline and William Callahan in London, England. Being the first of the Callahan children, he was their absolute pride and joy. It wasn’t until he was five when his parents decided to start to add to their family and eventually, he ended up with two brothers and two sisters, all of which is he more than protective of and he even stepped in as somewhat of a third parent and it wasn’t as though his parents were bad parents or neglectful but it was just that taking care of five children was a lot for a stay at home mother. He never minded helping anyways.

Growing up as the oldest of five siblings, Pearce knew that there was always going to be that expectation that whatever he did with his life, he was going to have to do something that would encourage the rest of his siblings to do the same thing. He’d been so sure he was going to be a writer, having enjoyed it quite a bit and even being pretty good at it, but after taking a psychology class as an elective course, he knew that he was destined to help people with their trauma and whatever else they wanted to work through. So, his major quickly shifted from creative writing to Psychology.

And that’s where he met he met his first wife, Veronica. She was everything to him and it was love at first sight. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and that’s why he ended up proposing before he even finished his masters degree. The two lived in a small apartment, him working as a psychologist and Veronica working as a nanny. His clientele built up slowly but surely. Apparently not fast enough for Veronica and she decided to sleep with one of the single dads she was being a nanny for. A man who had more money than he did but one he was sure didn’t love her the way that he did. Still, the money was what mattered to her at the end of the day and not the feelings that Pearce had for her.

So, despite everything that he would be leaving behind, he found that it was best to move to the states and that’s how he landed himself in Wilmington at the age of thirty. He started out practicing under someone else but eventually, after building his clients up, he opened his own office in wrightsville beach not too far from where he lives.

Pearce managed to find some friends to surround himself with the moment he found himself in town and that was the encouragement he needed to confirm that he’d fully made the right choice by leaving everything he’d ever known behind.

random facts

he can play the piano

he's huge on selfcare and has a skincare routine, and also takes regular bubble baths

still does a little bit of writing but nothing publishable

big fan of boba tea

[spacecadet-ticklesinspace]

Ticklish Understanding

Summary: After a visit at work from his girls, Barnum learns something interesting about young Philip Carlyle ❤️

(Thank you @lottie-lokisdottir for your help and suggestions ❤️ I loved getting to write this :) Enjoy! 😁)

"Goodbye girls! I'll see you at home!"

"Bye daddy!"

Barnum closed the office door. "I swear, those girls get smarter and smarter everyday."

"You have a couple geniuses on your hands Barnum." Philip shuffled some papers. "One day, they'll even outsmart you."

"And then they'll outsmart you Mr. Carlyle." Barnum winked at his young friend before stepping back to his desk. "The man who knows everything outsmarted by the two greatest girls ever."

"I don't know everything," Philip responded with a blush.

"Oho really?"

"I'm serious Barnum."

The older man leaned against his desk. "Name one thing the great Philip Carlyle doesn't know."

"Well for starters, how to deal with with your insufferable extravagance," Philip teased. "And that thing you do with your daughters."

P.T's eyebrows furrowed his eyebrows together. "What thing?"

"That thing you were doing earlier."

"Ah yes, because that it narrows it down."

Philip rolled his eyes. "That thing you were doing earlier where you would squeeze them and they would laugh and squeal."

Barnum thought back over the events of the day and tried to deduce what he was talking about. An image flickered into his mind of Caroline and Helen giggling under him as he squeezed their sides. "Tickling?"

"Is that what you call it?" Philip asked.

The older man scoffed. "You're joking."

Philip shook his head. "Nope.

A strange look came over PT's face. "You genuinely don't know what tickling is?"

The look his friend was giving him made Philip suspicious. "Am I supposed too?"

In a moment of passion, Barnum slapped the desk before standing and making his way over to the younger man's desk. "You don't know what tickling is?"

Philip jumped. "Sheesh Barnum, I already told you, didn't I?"

"I just can't believe it."

Philip set aside his papers and turned to his friend as he leaned against the side of his desk. There was no use trying to work when he wouldn't let this go.

"I thought it was the duty of every parent to pass that knowledge on to their child. My mother, bless her, gave that knowledge to me before she died and I in turn gave it to my kids. Even Charity's parents gave it to her and you know what they're like."

"Sorry tickling wasn't included in my parents training."

"Did your parents even hold you wrong?"

"No, they left that up to the Nanny." Philip used the pen in his hands to motion to the mountain of paperwork on the desk. "Are we done?"

"No."

The younger man groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Barnum tapped his shoulder and stood. "Humor me for a minute."

"But what about our work?"

"The work can wait."

Philip sighed and stood. When Barnum got an idea in his head, there was no stopping him. He had learned it was better to go along with it than try to argue.

Barnum positioned them in front of the couch. "Now, you are aware that in the body, there are nerves that allow you to feel things, correct?"

"Yes, like I can feel the clothes on my back. Are we done?"

Barnum held up a hand. "Patience. Now many of those nerves signal there is something wrong. For example, if you were to stick your hand on that stove back there, your nerves would tell you what?"

"To get my hand away."

"Correct---."

"What does this have to do with tickling?"

"You'll see." Barnum grabbed one of Philip's arms. "Now, it's not just pain that the nerves feel, it's also weight and pressure, correct?"

The younger man shrugged. "I guess."

"To give an example." Barnum wrapped his hand around Philip's wrist and gently pressed his thumb into his wrist. "You can feel the weight of my hand and the pressure of my thumb."

"Again, what does this have to do with tickling?"

"This is all leading up to the same point if you'll just let me get there."

After another sigh, Philip motioned with his free hand for him to continue.

"Thank you. The biggest point I'm trying to make is that the nerves register or feel different things and they don't always have the same response to what they're feeling. So if I were to squeeze, your nerves would detect pressure, pain, or a tickle." Barnum emphasized his last point with a squeeze to Philip's side.

The younger man squealed and pulled his side in the opposite direction. A strange shock had gone up his side. It hadn't hurt, it had just felt so odd and made him nervous. Yet it also made him desperately want to laugh and squirm. "What the. . ."

"Of course, since you can find these nerves all over your body, you can be ticklish just about anywhere."

"What? Wow!"

In one motion, Barnum was sitting down on the couch with Philip in his lap.

The younger man blushed at the position he was in. "Barnum!"

"I understand it can be a bit overwhelming your first time," PT soothed as he wrapped his arms around his young friend. "However, you can grow to love it."

"Love what?"

"Tickling."

"That feeling when you squeezed my side?"

"Yes."

"That's tickling?"

"Yes."

"And people love it?"

"Yes?"

"Why?"

Barnum shrugged as he repositioned them both into a more reclined position. "Stress relief, bonding."

"Embarrassing more like it."

"You had one squeeze Philip. How can you say it's embarrassing?"

"Why am I sitting in your lap?"

"You're never to old for a cuddle. Besides, this is how I usually do it with my daughters."

"Who I am five times the size of!"

Barnum scoffed. "Please, you're not that big. Besides, it's part of the bonding."

"I can bond with you just fine from the couch."

"I have to be able to reach you."

"You can reach me from the couch."

Barnum grinned. "I also think it's funny to watch you get so flustered."

Philip sighed. "You're insufferable."

"May I continue, please?"

"Fine."

"Thank you." Barnum ruffled Philip's hair. "Now, like I mentioned earlier, the nerves spread to different parts of the body meaning you can be ticklish anywhere."

"Really?"

"Yep." Barnum squeezed the different spots as he listed them. "Areas like your stomach. Your hips. Your ribs. Even your armpits."

The reactions Philip's gave were priceless. He quickly turned into a squealing, squirming mess in Barnum's lap. Very undignified from his usual appearance.

Barnum loved seeing the bright smile on his face and hearing the child-like laughter filling the office. The older man paused his tickles long enough to give his friend's cheek a friendly pinch. "You're actually adorable when you're not being a pompous little businessman."

Philip growled and turned his face away. "You're such a jerk!"

"A loving jerk though." PT rested his chin on Philip's shoulder. "But you know what the best thing about tickles is?"

"That Ihi'll behe getting revenge later."

"No, the best thing about tickles is that you don't have to use your hands."

"Wh-what?"

"You can use your nose." Barnum rubbed his nose against Philip's neck.

Philip squeaked and turtled.

"You can use your chin." Barnum switched to rubbing his chin against his neck.

"Ah!"

"You can use your lips." The older man peppered a few kisses into Philip's neck.

The blush on the younger man's face darkened significantly. "Barnum!"

"Or, you can use your breath." Barnum blew a raspberry into Philip's neck.

"SQUEE!" Then the younger man snorted.

"That was very undignified of you Mr. Carlyle." P.T pinched his side. "But I'll let it slide."

Philip squeaked then leaned against the older man. "That's the last tihime Ihi let you explain anything toho mehe!"

"Now I know what to do when you get to uptight." PT ruffled his hair again. "A few side squeezes and you're your smiley self again."

Philip growled again. "I'm so getting yohou bahack."

"I'll look out for it." Barnum released Philip from the tickle hug, but the younger man didn't get up right away. "I thought you were desperate to finish your paperwork Mr. Carlyle?"

"In a minute."

"Oh really?"

Philip quickly squeezed Barnum's sides. "Revenge is more important."

The older man let out a few chuckles, but his sides weren't much of a hot spot. He quickly grabbed his younger friend's hands and wrapped him in another hug. "One thing you need to learn about tickling Phil. If you want to get back at someone who attacked you first, aim for their weaker spots."

Philip rolled his eyes. "How am I supposed to know them if you won't let me find them!"

PT Barnum pinched along Philip's sides. "Where's the fun in that?"

With another squeal, the younger man squirmed to the side and and accidentally tipped himself over.

"You alright?"

"Yehes. No thanks to yohou."

"Aww, don't be such a party pooper Phil." Barnum stood. "You lost your first tickle fight, but there will be others."

The younger man bolted upright. "Others?"

"Of course. Especially since your tickle tolerance is so low." The older man tapped his chin. "Hmm, maybe it would be a good idea to have a daily tickle time until you get your stamina up to where it needs to be. Say, maybe I can get the rest of the circus to join in."

Philip flopped back on to the couch. "You don't even subject your own children to that kind of torture!"

"Not all of my kids."

Philip turned to Barnum and gave him a strange look.

The older man winked. "You're the special exception child."

Those words washed over Philip as he stared at the man in front of him. He wasn't sure when he became the Barnum's adoptive son, but he found himself okay with it. He didn't have the greatest childhood, despite what it looked on the outside, and here, he had a home of people who cared.

"Come on Sonny." PT turned back to his desk. "Back to work."

With his back turned, Philip took a small pillow from the couch and chucked it at Barnum. It landed square in the center of his back, causing the older man to stop.

PT slowly turned to look at his young friend grinning on the couch then down to the pillow laying on the floor. "So that is how you want to play. Very undignified indeed."

"You sound like my father."

"How dare you insult me with such comparisons!"

That brought a smile to Philip's face."

"Just for that horrendous comparison, you shall be sentenced to a pillow attack."

In the blink of an eye, both men had a pillow in their hands and were facing off from opposite sides of the room.

A moment later, the two charged forward leaving a trail of feathers in their wake.

[gldenhrs]

                               (—) ★ spotted !!   luciana  “ luna “  santiago  on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid ! many say that the 22 year old looks like cindy kimberly , but i don’t really see it. while the model / socialite  is known for being  passionate  my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be  irresponsible i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song crazy by aerosmith .

*   ◞  ╰   general   .

full name :   luciana kristiyana santiago .  nicknames :   goes prominently by  luna  , only her dad calls her  moon  . birthdate / zodiac sign :   april 12th / aries .  birthplace :  madrid , spain . sexual orientation :  bisexual / heteroromantic .  family :   victor “ vic “  santiago (  lead singer in Aerosmith )  &  indah prasetya  ( band’s groupie )  languages spoken :   fluent in english  &  spanish , conversational in indonesian . pets :   two cats named freddie purrcury  &   madam meow  occupation :  model / socialite . love language :  physical touch . + traits  :  passionate , adventurous , enchanting , valiant , energetic , optimistic , affectionate  &   honest . - traits  :  dramatic , stubborn , querulous , insecure , irresponsible , impulsive , impatient   &  moody .   aesthetic :  red lipstick on plump lips , freshly baked coffee , spontaneous dance parties , strawberry lemonade on hot summer nights , heart shaped sunglasses , pigmented eyelids , european music festivals , setting off firecrackers at midnight , laughter floating through a room , missed calls at 2am , ripped bralettes , bare chest in the mornings .   muse inspo :   fran fine ( the nanny ) , francesca farago ( too hot to handle ) , kelly taylor ( 90210 ) , rachel green ( friends ) , jackie buckhart ( that 70s show  ) , hanna marin  ( pretty little liars ) ,  phoebe halliwell ( charmed ) , kiara ( outer banks ) , gabrielle solis ( desperate housewives ) , caroline forbes ( the vampire diaries ) , stassi schroder ( vanderpump rules ) ,  maddie perez ( euphoria ) .

*   ◞  ╰   quick history   .

victor  “ vic “   santiago  (  aka luna’s dad  )  is a  famous lead singer in a rock band .  think steven tyler from aerosmith ! !  so basically , growing up she’s been constantly surrounded by  GOOD  80s rock music  &  being on the road which definitely shaped her personality .

luna’s mother  ,  a groupie  ,  is someone who followed the band around on the road for numerous years , but vic never took her seriously  (  only took them to bed )   &  the only reason she even got pregnant with luna is because vic wanted a child , knowing he would most likely never marry .

soooo , incomes luciana “ luna “ santiago ,  his pride  &  joy  , his  MOON .  yes , he actually calls her that bc he’s always had an obsession with the stars   &  constellations .  tbh luna’s been the love / light of vic’s life from the moment she was born , adored by not only her dad , but the band , team  &  fans too !

as for her mother * cough *  , who knows where she is now , she doesn’t stay in touch tbh , only comes in town every couple of years to  “  see her “  aka  “  ask for money “ .  

with the better part of early years where she was home schooled due to her dad’s insane tour schedule , luna was always an insanely energetic  &  menace of a child , constantly running around , causing trouble , etc !  

at some point , she realized just how much she  LOVES  traveling , nature  &  being barefoot .  yes , kind of a wanderer but who can blame her when she grew up with 80s rock legends ? ?  so , she spend almost every waking moment traveling to exotic places , going to music festivals , walking bare chested in the mornings , painting landscapes  (  SHE’S V TALENTED ) , having spontaneous dance parties at 3am , etc !

as far as doing things outside of being a socialite / a nepo baby go ,  she’s been in her dad’s music videos since she was 15  (  think liv tyler in crazy  )  ,  and in many others , which naturally resulted in a numerous calls for modeling gigs , tv shows …. she took some modeling jobs out of fun  &  recently also out of pure fun , went to a famous tv show called  “ too hot to handle “   (  think francesca farago here’s inspo hehe :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rUY_xAF0T0  )  .  in a way , the only reason she went to that show was to show the world she can be something other than vic santiago’s daughter , so here she is ! !

*   ◞  ╰   personality & dating life   .

luna’s a bit of a spoiled brat which is a given ,  &  while she does come across a textbook example of a nepo baby with no real world problems , she’s really not bc she never cared much about the fame she just likes having  FUN  .

v v enchanting  &  can charm her way out of any bad situation  &  make u swoon .  tbh 10/10  she’ll annoy the living shit out of u or u’ll find her irresistible lol .

given her spanish roots , she can be hella’ dramatic just like her fav characters in telenovelas , but beside that she’s a truly good person with a good heart ok ! !   she just has a flair for dramatics , throwing fits , pouting   &   making puppy eyed faces whenever things don’t go her way .

can be hella hella flirtatious to a point she doesn’t even realize the effect she has on other people  &  more often than not she leads people on ? ?   she regrets it later but eh .

loves to party , drink , dance , wear skimpy outfits  &  kiss on the lips but also wear mickey mouse pajamas while someone softly combs through her hair ? ?   yeah , she needs to grow up . also kind of  LIVES  for summer  &  music festivals where she can just dress in glitter  &  fall in love with a different person every night !

v fun to be around bc she hates being bored  &  is impatient af !  she can’t stand being in one place for too long soooo catch her doing v dumb , impulsive decisions while bored like jumping on her father’s private jet to pet a koala in australia , go bungee jumping or snapping u a nude bc she’s bored at home jfnerjfgjsrgf .

some cute headcanons ? ?  ok , here we go ! !   to this day loves watching telenovelas  &  she might cancel her plans with u to binge watch them (  like rebelde , rubí ,  pasion de gavilanes , la reina del sur … ) , still cries like a baby when mufada dies or miguel  &  mia break up ,  very childish  &  dumb at times but will also surprise u with some random wisdom at 2am , will react if someone offends her or her friends best believe she’ll throw a dramatic telenovela shit in public  &  call u  “ un desgraciado “ lmao .

*   ◞  ╰   connections  .

she could use a squad  ?  like PLS .  i want her to have a squad of friends she can party with and overall do dumb shit lmao . 

also her  BFFS .  the thelma to her louise , the cassie to her maddie ! !   overall just two muses who are her family  &  they’re always tagging along w her , like vic probably treats them like his children too ! 

someone she’s  dating  atm but it’s nothing too serious , maybe he’ll end up breaking up with her or she’ll break up with him we’ll see but main thing is they WON’t last bc they’re messy af   &   luna’s heart isn’t 100% in this .

a  close friend  who party  &   hookup with other people when they’re out but always end up going home together  &  having this super open friendship where they have no problem hooking up with each other 6/7 days of the week ? ?

also gimme  caleb fuck buddies  that everyone ships  &  one of them is in love with the other while the other seems them just as a good time ?  ewfjwesbf.

also also gimme  a messy ex  plot where they are constantly on / off  &  the fans love em but they’re just so fucking toxic ? ?  maybe bc they’re too alike  &  won’t admit it’s love   &  just won’t settle down  (  like imagine cheating scandals , public fights caught by tmz ... but also cute ass insta posts when they’re in a good place )  just think of nate  &  maddie from euphoria or  francesca  &  harry ! ! 

a plot where luna  uses them  to make someone jealous but they don’t know  &  actually think it’s a  legit  relationship ? ?   then obvi they find out luna was just using them  &  y’know  :  drama .  

family friends ! !  someone who could know  EVERYTHING  about her life n be there for her like pls .

someone who is her  HOME .  it doesn’t have to be potentially romantic just someone who makes her feel completely safe , warm  &  protected  ? ?    they can also just…talk, and make each other laugh  &   smile, because they feel comfortable enough in themselves  &   with each other to be vulnerable in that way ? ?  some fluff never hurt nobody .  

someone who’s using her bc of her dad ? ?   YES .  gimme fake friends .

tbh exes she cheated on , exes that cheated on her , fwb of all kinds , crushes , childhood friends , good / bad influence on her dumb ass would be good , gossip queens n kings , party friends , enemies for whatever reason , etc ! !  

[readingforsanity]

Fool Me Once | Harlan Coben | Published 2016 | *SPOILERS*

Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees an unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya's husband, Joe - who had been brutally murdered two weeks earlier. The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to? To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband - and herself.

Maya Burkett, nee Stern, is a former Army captain and helicopter pilot. After an event that occurred during one of her deployments is leaked via a man known simply as Corey the Whistle, who allows whistle blowers to come forward with pertinent infomation anonymously and he leaks it to the world, she is given an honorable discharge and heads home to begin her life as a civilian.

Married into the wealthy and prominent Burkett family, her husband Joe, and she are parents to 2-year-old Lily, and live in New York City, and she begins working as a teacher at an airport, while Lily spends her time with her nanny, a friend of the family, Isabella.

However, Joe is brutally murdered in Central Park, and Maya witnessed the event. She claims that two men, in dark clothing and ski masks, attempted to rob them. After Joe was shot twice, she took off at a run in order to get away from the assailants.

Directly after the funeral, Maya is given a nanny cam from her best friend, Eileen. Eileen knows that Maya doesn't trust anyone with her child, and thus decided it would be a good idea to give her a digital picture frame masked as a nanny cam. However, a few days after the funeral, Maya is terrified to see her husband on the video, playing with their daughter.

Wondering if Joe had somehow faked his death or if someone is messing with her, she shows the video to Isabella. She claims that she doesn't see anything on the video, and when Maya turns her back, something she shouldn't have done in hindsight, Isabella attacks her with pepper spray, before running off.

Maya is reeling from the after effects of the pepper spray when she is confronted by the detective on Joe's case. He explains to her that the same gun used in Joe's murder was the same one used in her older sister, Claire's murder, that took place a few months ago. Maya further reels from this news, and she begins to wonder what the connection is.

After Isabella attacked her, Maya begin placing Lily in a daycare center that she had toured before Joe wanted to hire Isabella, whose own mother had been in his nanny growing up, and she begins to investigate both Claire and Joe's murders on her own.

Ultimately, she comes face to face with Corey the Whistle himself, who had been tailing her. He explains that Claire had come to him, begging him not to release the remainder of the audio tape that would further implicate Maya in her actions overseas, and in exchange, she began performing investigative work for him on the Burkett family. Maya understands now that somehow her sister and husband's murders were connected in more ways than one.

When she gets wind of payments being made to a man named Tom Douglass for the last several years, Maya begins looking into that angle. When she arrives at the Douglass home, his wife explains that she knows nothing about his private investigative work that he had been performing since his release from the military, and that she couldn't be more help. But Maya is able to connect him to another Burkett death: that of Andrew Burkett when he had been 17 years old. He had been partying on a yacht with Joe and their younger sister, Caroline, along with other friends from their prominent school outside of Philadelphia, on their way to Bermuda, when he had supposedly fallen overboard. He was reported missing and his body had been found nearly 24 hours after he had fallen in. Tom Douglass had been the man in charge with the Coast Guard for that death.

At one point, Joe had explained to Maya that Andrew's death hadn't been an accident, that he had committed suicide, and Maya believes that the family began paying off Tom Douglass in order to tell everyone that it was an accident as opposed to a suicide to protect themselves and their businesses.

Maya reaches out to the school in Philadelphia, after finding out that another student the same age as Andrew had also died shortly before Andrew did, and the headmaster provided to Maya that Andrew and the other student, Theo, had been roommates and Theo had died from alcohol poisoning. When Maya meets with his widowed mother, she explains that her late husband believed that Andrew's suicide was due to guilt.

Maya later learns that this is true: She was able to get in touch with another of the students who had been on the yacht, who had been living in a recovery center for various drug and alcohol issues, and he explained that Theo had been hazed by Joe and Andrew and himself, and they had carried him into the basement of the school, and began pouring alcohol down his throat until it killed him. Joe and Andrew were able to put his body somewhere that it would be found later, which it was by a custodian of the school. After returning to school after it's required weeklong closure, Joe returned but Andrew didn't, instead choosing to remain in therapy in order to get better. Christopher Swain also explains that at some point, Joe had also beat a child so badly with a bat that it cracked his skull, and after losing to another male student for a female's attention, set the room he had been in on fire and that he had barely made it out alive.

When she leaves the recovery center, she is approached by a white van and a group of men, one armed, attempted to kidnap her. But she was able to get away with the gun that she had kept hidden. In the end, she realizes now who is responsible for her sister's death. She meets with her brother-in-law, Eddie, who had been married to Claire and who hasn't been doing well since her death, but has been involved in helping Maya, and arranges for him to pick up her daughter from daycare. Afterwards, she heads to the address where Isabella has been hiding out at since their incident.

She confronts both Isabella and her brother, Hector, and realizes that the two of them were the ones who had set up the video in which Maya thought she had saw Joe. Hector, who was similar in build, played the body double while a photoshop expert placed his face over Hector's. It makes sense to Maya, since her daughter knew Hector and would go to him openly without issue. Isabella claims it is because their mother told them that she had killed Joe.

She is then confronted by Shane, one of her best friends, who says he has been tracking her. Ultimately, she confesses that the reason she has been experiencing such awful PTSD isn't because of the fact that civilians had died but because she doesn't. Two of their men had been calling for help, and instead of waiting for word to go ahead and shoot the SUV that had been barreling down on them, she told Shane that they had given the okay and shot down the vehicle, which had been filled with all civilians and no enemies, and the two men were able to be rescued, injured but alive.

Next on her list was to confront the Burkett family. She sits down in their massive home, waiting for them to return and confronts them after confessing to Shane that she had killed Joe. Joe had been responsible for her sister's death, and she had come to that realization when she returned home. She noticed that one the guns she kept in her gunsafe had recently been used, since it hadn't been cleaned directly after it had been fired, something she was meticulous about. She switched the guns, putting the unregistered one in a secret compartment in the gun safe, placing it's twin inside of the actual safe itself.

She explains to Judith Burkett, the matriarch of the remaining family members, that Joe had been responsible for Andrew's death, and acting as if she wasn't aware of this, she begins to try to reason with Maya. But, Neil, the youngest brother, decides to take matters into his own hands: he shoots her three times in the chest. But, what neither of them know, is that with the help of Corey the Whistle's faithful employee, the entire thing had been played live.

25 years later, Shane and Eileen meet again at the hospital, where Lily has just become a mother for the first time. Her husband is military, something that Shane believes Maya would have loved. Lily had been raised by Eddie, alongside with her cousins. Eddie remarried a woman named Selina 10 years after Claire's death. Lily smiles at Shane and tells him that they had named their newborn daughter, Maya.

[darthjess-book-reviews]

REVIEW: Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

SUMMARY (provided by Goodreads)

A wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.

MY REVIEW: 4/5 stars

My friend made me read this book, and even though it's totally not the kind of book I normally read, I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed this.

Honestly, the quality of this book is probably closer to 3 stars, but my enjoyment level was 4 stars. I was at the edge of my seat for most of the book, and it was a really fun read overall! It was a good thriller, but it wasn't so scary that I couldn't read it when I was home alone. Just not home alone at night.

I do have to clarify, even though I enjoyed the plot of this book and it was very exciting, there were aspects to it that I didn't love and were kind of uncomfortable. There was a trans aspect to this book, and while I think it made the plot more interesting, I'm concerned that for the author it may have not been coming from a very good place. From a political standpoint, I feel like a book like this might even be harmful for people in the trans community. I'm definitely curious to know how trans people who have read this book feel about it.

[feltheavy]

❛  please don't go, i can't handle losing you too.  ❜ (To Caroline)

Caroline turns around at the sound of footsteps entering her otherwise silent home. The smell of Maggie coasts into the room before the voice begs for the blonde to stay. A soft sigh comes from her lips as Caroline puts the dish towel down from doing the last of the dishes in her family home, wanting to keep things tidy for when she comes back 【 it doesn't matter anyway; she'd be deep cleaning the moment she comes back anyway. 】 When Alaric offered her to go with him, it was a no-brainer. Not because she cared deeply about Alaric but because of those beautiful 72-hour-old girls to whom she had given life for him. Their tiny faces had been etched into her brain from staring at them for hours.

❝ I have to go. . . ❞ Caroline starts off by taking a few steps toward the brunette. This was the only way out of this small town. Caroline had never thought she'd leave Mystic Falls, Virginia. She has seen so many people fall victim to the pattern of small-town life. Everyone says they will go, yet less than 1% actually do. Caroline had always dreamed big, and while vampirism has taken things from her. It has also given her things, like her freedom. I can't leave those girls with Alaric. He has no nanny or anything.

Caroline had tried to distance herself from the babies that had been in her womb. But she couldn't do that as it wasn't in her nature. She had grown close to them, even going as far as reading college textbooks to them while they were in the womb. ❝ You could come with us. ❞ the offer slips from her lips without much thought being given to it.

         𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐒𝐊 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐆 & 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐒

[hughiecampbelle]

Succession Preference: Tattooed Baby Sibling

Requested: Hi! Hope you are well! Idk if you're taking requests atm, feel free to ignore this if so! But I was thinking of a preference for The Roy Siblings. In which the reader would be their baby sibling, but they have A LOT of tattoos and maybe how the family reacts to them or or how they deal with that part of their sibling? - anon

A/N: I love this!!! I only have about 30, so idk if I qualify as tattooed person just yet lol, but picturing this is fantastic! Thank you for requesting my love!!! Feedback is always appreciated 💜💜💜

Connor comes from a different generation. He's not used to seeing tattoos in the professional world. Knowing this, you keep yourself pretty covered until you can't. It's at Caroline's wedding you shed some layers, letting your skin show in the heat. He's taken aback. He knew you had a few, but you're covered now. You catch him staring, unsure of his emotions, ready to defend yourself like always: they won't stop you from getting a job, they're a freedom of expression and art, they make you feel more at home in your body, some are just funny and others far more sentimental, that it's your money and you can spend it however you want, etc. Instead though, he just gives you a small smile. "I like the one by your elbow, kiddo." He has a lot of questions, like what does it feel like to get them and why you gravitate towards them when others, like him, feel no need. He knows you get enough judgment from your mother and father. He's your biggest brother, he loves you no matter what.

Kendall doesn't really understand them. Like Connor, he has questions, though you're often reverting back to your childhood self when you answer them: totally defensive. You're busy showing them off to Kerry when you catch his attention. There are a few fresh ones, still raised and irritated. It makes his skin hurt just looking at it. You're completely covered now, working on filling in the gaps. He doesn't see the appeal. He thought, like most "phases", you'd grow out of it, but these things are permanent. Forever. It's a big commitment he could never make. What if he likes something today and hates it tomorrow? You assure him you've never felt that way, but if you ever do, it's something you liked once and that's enough. He makes some not so great remarks about professionalism and what happens when you get older, but they're all out of big brother concern. Eventually you tell him that they've never affected your ability to get a job and that they'll look cool just like they do now when you're older. End of discussion. He doesn't hate them, but he doesn't think they're great either, especially you being his baby sibling. He'll never approve.

Shiv has always wanted to get a matching tattoo with you. Something small, delicate, tasteful, probably on her ankle. You make plans for this, but it never happens. You can never agree on what you want. You urge her to hurry up since you're running out of space. She loves them, she thinks they're really cool and also a huge middle finger to your father. You're always eager to show her the newest ones. She wouldn't expect anything less from you. You've been drawing on yourself since you could hold a marker. Every time you came home from school covered in ink your father would order either one of your siblings or one of the nannies to scrub you til skin came off. He barked that this was unacceptable behavior, but it never stopped you from doing it again. Now look at you. She doesn't hold the same fears or beliefs as your brothers. She's under the belief that if it makes you happy, truly happy, and it doesn't kill Logan, then it's fine. Why should anyone try to stop you? It's a tattoo, that's all.

Roman is the least bothered by them. Why would he care? It's not his body. He calls Connor and Kendall old men for being so uptight about it. Does he make fun of you to no end about them? Of course. Oh no y/n, a Chipotle bag threw up all over you! Looks like you've still got some unused space right. . . there. Where's Waldo am I right? If I can find the end of the maze do I get a prize? He has a habit of poking fresh tattoos and feigning ignorance, too. How am I supposed to know what's new and what's not? He also loves to point out new ones to your mother and father, who both despise them. Oops, did I do that? He runs away before you can hit him. He understands, while also an aesthetic thing, it's about pain, too. There's something satisfying about the needle that you can't get anywhere else. That noise, the constant poking, the radiating ache. He gets it. You all have to do what you gotta do to get by. A need to go back, this inner wanting for the pain again. It's socially acceptable and you get permanent art to go along with it. Win-win.

[leonardperreault]

How have things been with Nora and Quinn as of late?

well quinn has been on the road so shes been missing him

BUT hes home now and shes so happy to be back with her daddy. theyre going out for dinner tonight and quinn is keeping her from school tomorrow so nora can come to practice do some skating and spend sometime at the rink

AND NORAS REALLY EXCITED to watch daddy in person saturday night! shes going with her nanny caroline, bubbe and gramps

[thrashntreasure]

Ep111 Slippy the Welsh Kangaroo w/ Caroline Sheen! (West End!)

Winds in the east, there's a mist coming in, an episode's brewin', about to begin with none other than West End legend, Caroline Sheen! (Say what?! *faints*) This week, the superlatively fantaslistic Caroline joins AW and guest co-host, Jean-Paul Yovanoff, in A Perfect Circle with their hit album 'Mer de Noms' before conjuring up a wickedly good time with The Witches of Eastwick. Plus, we chat trips to Australia, Home and Away Vs Neighbours, Superhero Nannies, Animal Studies, and heaps more in this hilariously magical episode!

See Caroline in 'Plaza Suite' - now playing at the Savoy Theatre in London's West End! Tickets:https://plazasuiteuk.com/ --SOCIALS--

Caroline on IG: https://www.instagram.com/carolinesheen/

Jean-Paul and MTR (Musical Theatre Radio): https://www.musicaltheatreradio.com https://www.twitter.com/MTR_tweets https://www.instagram.com/musicaltheatreradio

TnT/Bloop Network https://www.thetonastontales.com/listen -- https://www.patreon.com/bloomingtheatricals - https://twitter.com/thrashntreasure https://linktr.ee/thrashntreasure ***** Help support Thrash 'n Treasure and keep us on-air, PLUS go on a fantastical adventure at the same time! Grab your copy of The Tonaston Tales by AW, and use the code TNT20 when you check out for 20% off eBooks and Paperbacks! https://www.thetonastontales.com/bookstore - TNT20  *****