#Colleen Butters

[daisys-little-cookbook]

Berry Breadcrumb Cake

This is a slight modification of this recipe that I found written by Colleen Sowa. It has such a lovely texture to it 💕

Ingredients:

4 lg eggs/approximately 1 cup of egg substitute (I'm not entirely sure because I used eggs for this)

1/2 tsp LorAnn cheesecake flavor

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 tsp salt

1/4 cup unflavored oat milk

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

1 1/2 cup of your berries of choice (I used blackberries and blueberries)

Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350° F and grease your baking dish with some butter.

Beat the eggs, extracts, milk, spices, and sugar until fully incorporated. Stir in the bread crumbs and berries until just combined.

Cover the bowl with a lid or some cling film and sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Pour the chilled batter into your baking dish and bake for about 40 minutes (I went an extra 15 due to the size of my dish, but preferably stick to 40 minutes).

Remove from the oven and let rest for about 20 minutes or until warm but not hot.

Enjoy 🫶

I had some for breakfast with a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream. You could also enjoy as is or with your favorite sweet glaze. Some fun variations you could do are adding white chocolate chips or chunks, dried lavender or rosemary, mixing in some tea to the batter (earl grey would be good for this), or using different fruit.

[kidge-planet]

pidge headcanon!

It was Pidge's birthday and I didn't do nothing... SO I GUESS I CAN WRITE A FEW PIDGE HC!

The Paladins often witnessed arguments among the Holts, especially between Pidge and Matt or Pidge and Colleen. For example, during lunch together, Matt joined them. He teased Pidge by calling her "his little baby tiny sister" and treated her like a baby in front of her friends. Needless to say, he got punched right in the guts. And as she punched him, her parents passed by and screamed in harmony, "KATIE!" In response, she simply raised her shoulder and said, "What? I was simply giving CPR to that old man..."

The Paladins have a group chat, and Pidge frequently sends random pictures and messages because she finds it amusing. It could be a picture of her forehead or something silly like her and Bae Bae covered in mud. Sometimes, she also sends pictures of Matt sleeping, or once, she sent a picture of Matt and her with glittery face masks on (she forced him to do it).

She loves peanut butter so much that as a kid, she used to take the peanut butter pot in her room and to hide it to eat it ENTIRELY at night.

Her biggest fear is her mother... (ironically)

One time, she wanted to make fly a small plane that she had built... She went on the roof to do it. The plane did fly and so did she. (She fell down the roof and lended in a huge bush full of flowers that she was allergic to not a huge allergie, just irritated her skin... Ho! And she broke her arm.) Colleen laughed ( when they were at the hospital and the doctors told her that she was fine!)

Also once, shut down the whole city's wifi... Lance remembers that day very well! (Even tho he didn't know Pidge by the time) he was watching the last episode of his show and suddenly, NO WIFI. If he today learned that it was her fault, he would probably act very dramatically in front of her like: "HOW COULD YOU?!!?" *Falls on the ground dramatically*.

Pidge was always doing risky stuffs and she was always taking Matt with her... They were always getting grounded.

SHE ONCE HAD A BUZZ CUT. BECAUSE SHE PUT GLUE IN HER HAIR. IMPOSSIBLE TO TAKE IT OUT... (She was 4)

Pidge got Baebae for her birthday... They were ALWAYS together... Sleeping together, eating together, BREATHING TOGETHER... Baebae is her best friend.

Well, pet best friend... Before Voltron, Pidge didn't have a lot of friends... I would say she had friends but probably 2 or something... I headcanon that she knew a girl and some times, they would sit and gossip a bit... This is the actual only female friend she had before Allura and they we're doing many stuffs together but then she moved to another country, somewhere.... And then there was a guy... A tall guy and he is probably the gayest man alive🤔 they know each other since kindergarten and their parents are good friends... These are some OCs I have, im maybe going to draw them.

Pidge used to have a crush on a guy guy from the high school's football team... She never told him but it was a quick crush... (She was 11... he was 17.)

She also used to have a crush on Shiro when she was 13... Shiro knew but never told her... (Matt told Shiro lmao).

Pidge loves animals and animals love her. (Her friends call her a Disney princess.........)

Pidge used to enjoy having long nails, that was before war! She now always cut them.

Pidge doesn't have a voluminous breast, but she binds (she started when she had to prentend to be a guy and felt more confortable with her binder and then stopped after the war.)

same as the nails, Pidge loved her long hair! you can see it in episode 5 season 1: when she hcut heer hair, she hesitate and doesn't seem to actually want it... later, she liked her short haircut, but she would always prefer and miss her short hair...

At home, Colleen speaks Italian ( in the Atlas too, which was confusing to the paladins)

tell me if you'd like more of these!!!

[softmick]

two weeks of weekly tag game wednesday but it’s actually thursday (i filled out last week’s on time but never posted the draft 🤷)

🔤Name: meagan

🗺️Where in the world are you? right now i’m on a train from nikko to tokyo, japan! 🇯🇵

🛀do you have a favorite towel? nope, just one that’s big enough to cover everything.

🪨can you skip rocks? not really!

🤔tell me about a weird slang term from your area: i am totally blanking.

🍞favorite toast topping? salted butter.

🍮thoughts on bread pudding? i love it so much. not a fan of when people add stuff tho like white chocolate sauce or raisins or something.

🌆City or country living? i want both, which is a struggle. being outside and surrounded by nature does great things for my head and heart but i hate not having options for food, concerts, things to do, etc. where i lived in atlanta was a great mix. where i live now in fl is beautiful but too rural.

😸How do you cheer yourself up after a bad day? cozy clothes, blankets, ordering in, chocolate, tea, snuggles.

🌗Are you a pessimist or an optimist? i am generally a “we’ll figure it out” kind of person. but a pessimist when it comes to personal achievement stuff.

🏷️can i tag you in random stuff? yup.

————

🔤 Name: sometimes meg. my parents call me boo.

🎶 Last song you listened to: kyoto by phoebe bridgers because i’m in kyoto!

🎵 Artist on Spotify giving you the feels right now: not an artist but this playlist my sibling made. i can’t listen to it super often or it makes me sad but every once in a while i’ll revisit it and it makes me miss her but also makes me happy.

👯‍♂️ fave blorbo moment: when ian says “i wanna be where you are, mickey” and for mickey the “sorry i’m late” scene

🍟 Your guilty pleasure snack: i don’t feel guilty about food but maybe taco bell?

🌮 What food are you craving today: pizza.

📖 Last fanfic tab you opened: running into you by @juliakayyy gonna read it when i get home.

🖌️ Favorite fic project you've created: umm, it hasn’t been written yet.

👩🏼‍🎤 Next tattoo you want (or would consider if you're not a tattoo person): there are a lot i want. hopefully the next one i get will be a full back piece by savannah colleen. i would also like to get my head tattooed but i’m not sure if i’m ready to cut all my hair off again just yet.

🧐🆓 What's living in your head rent free this week: my partner has been starving for what feels like our whole trip and i can’t stop thinking about mickey saying “don’t worry we’ll get a dick in ya as soon as we can”. i want to respond to every “i’m hungry” with it. also cam as spike.

thank you 😊 to Kat @mybrainismelted Ling @lingy910y Julissa @heymrspatel Jess @jrooc Dyno @dynamic-power Ajax @transmickey River @milkovichrules Sky @skylerwinchester and Julia @juliakayyy for tagging me! 🫶

[mynameismckenziemae]

The way certain (tone deaf) actors are promoting ‘It Ends with Us’ makes me sick to my stomach.

I don’t care for Colleen Hoover’s writing so I had no idea what the book/movie was about. I started seeing interviews/promos on TikTok and thought it looked like a cutesy romcom type movie.

Then I saw the scene where she’s in the hospital with teeth marks and realized it’s about domestic abuse. There was a comment stating, “are those bite marks? 🤔” like it’s unheard of.

A Little Bit Stronger is “dedicated” to my sister, and I think it’s time to tell her story (with her permission).

TW: physical/sexual/domestic abuse below.

In March of 2012, my sister left her husband seemingly out of the blue. Sure, they squabbled and fought, but most married couples do. She didn’t give much of a reason, other than she didn’t love him anymore.

Things got ugly fast. He accused her of cheating, he would tell their kids all kinds of terrible things about her when he had them, etc.

I married my husband in June of 2012 and when my sister got home that night from the reception, her ex was waiting for her. She had been keeping “evidence” (printed texts, emails, receipts, etc.) in her vehicle because she knew he still had keys to the house. He ripped the keys from her, took her records and got into his car. She leaned in through the open car window and he took off with her hanging out of it.

He hit her several times before biting her arm to get her to let go, leaving a baseball-sized, dark purple bruise. She had to tell her kids she got hit by a golf club (she worked at a country club at the time).

I found out about this incident a week later when I got back from my honeymoon. I also found out that he had been beating her for several months and that’s why she originally left him, but was too embarrassed to tell anyone.

She went to court to get a restraining order but the judge did not grant one, saying each party was in the wrong.

Things continued to escalate (not physically but the police were called several times) and she was finally granted a no contact/restraining order.

6 weeks after my wedding, I got a call from my mom at 7 in the morning that my sister was in the hospital.

Her ex (who was drunk) had broken into her house through the basement window (where her bedroom was) and proceeded to beat the living shit out of her, choked her and ripped off her sleep shorts and sexually assaulted her.

My nephew (7 years old at the time) heard the commotion and came downstairs. Her ex yelled at him to get a knife. Being 7, he brought down a butter knife, not knowing what the reason was.

Her ex followed my nephew upstairs to get a different knife and my sister was able to make it outside to the neighbors house. She pounded on the door, naked except her tee shirt.

Her neighbor let her in and called the police. She was inconsolable as her kids were still inside.

The police arrived shortly after and there was blood and shattered glass everywhere-he had smashed a mirror over his head in a rage.

After a 4-hour long standoff with the police, he finally surrendered. One of the officers told my sister if the children hadn’t been upstairs with him, they would’ve shot and killed him.

He was found guilty of: strangulation, battery, and false imprisonment.

He was found NOT guilty of: second degree sexual assault (because none of his DNA was found in/on her genitalia or her ripped shorts), criminal damage to property (a specialized cleaning coming had to come in and clean due to it being biohazardous with the amount of blood. Her homeowners insurance covered it but it cost over $5,000).

He wasn’t even charged with attempted murder when he had every intention of killing her.

He served only 9 years in prison.

She’ll sleep with one eye open for the rest of her life.

So hearing the leading actress say, “grab your girlfriends, wear your florals” to watch a movie about domestic violence is beyond insensitive.

I don’t know where I was going with this but yeah.

[xplrvibes]

In less dramatic tea news, did you see Sam's post for Colby's birthday? It's so sweet, their friendship is truly inspirational. I dream for a friendship like theirs at this point honestly. (I also quite like the pictures he chose for the post as well, of course he included Samantha and Colleen rofl)

You know, I try like hell to be as far removed from the snc side of tiktok as possible, because it annoys me - but somehow that clip of Colby talking about buttering the pan pops up on my fyp randomly a few times a month, and sometimes its being used for something not even remotely related to snc.

That's basically a meme at this point. Samantha and Colleen are somehow an internet meme. Of all the things, lol.

Anyway, I thought the post was cute - not as wordy as I expected him to produce, somehow, since he's become quite the wordsmith this year - but also, I think that's oddly fitting for them. They are together 24/7 anyway, so these posts are really more for the fans to be able to experience how they feel about one another than anything else. I do like the part where he said "we've become closer than ever" because I didn't think there WAS a closer than what they have been for the past several years, but apparently I was wrong lol.

Anyway, it was sweet!

[typingtess]

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch:   “A Farewell to Arms”

The basics:  A tech guy creating chips for the Navy is badly injured in a hotel attack.

Written by:  Chad Mazero co-wrote "Internal Affairs", "Revenge Deferred" and "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", "The Noble Maidens" and "Pandora’s Box".  Wrote "Tidings We Bring", "Can I Get a Witness", "All Is Bright", "Diamond in the Rough", "High Society", "Murder of Crows", "Overdue", "Sorry for Your Loss" and "Flesh & Blood".

Directed by:   John P. Kousakis directed "Imposters", "Sacrifice", "San Voir" part one, "The Fifth Man", "Parley", "Inelegant Heart", "Chernoff, K.", "Active Measures", "The Long Goodbye", "Talion", "Glasnost", "Unleashed", "Party Crashers", "This Is What We Do" (episode 200), "Goodbye Vietnam", "Ninguna Salida", "The Guardian", "High Society", "A Tale of Two Igors", "Under the Influence", "Genesis", "Come Together", all of the Afghanistan scenes from "Iron Curtain Rising" to "Zero Days" in season five and all of Kensi’s injury/recovery storyline scenes from "The Queen’s Gambit" to "Sirens" in season eight. 

Guest stars of note:  Lesley Boone was back from “Best Seller” as Nina Barnes.  Marilu Henner as Elizabeth Kilbride, Valerie Azlynn as Colleen/Paulina Kaminska, Michael Bow as Sean Baker, Nick Hargrove as Clyde Greene and JT Neal as Bartender.

Our heroes:  Track down chips on their way to foreign enemies.

What important things did we learn about: Callen:  Plans to leave his Leatherman to Sam. Sam:    Has a guy who can make the Leatherman leaving an item in Callen’s will. Kensi:  Wants a 9PM curfew for Rosa. Deeks:  Thinks about therapy after a creepy doll encounter. Fatima:   Notices something different about the Admiral. Rountree:   See Fatima. Kilbride:  Hanging with the ex.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen:  Not impressed with the bartender’s screenplay plans. Sam:    Does the big chase on foot. Kensi:  Third Eye Blind fan. Deeks:  Missed curfew by two-days. Fatima:   In the mood to go clubbing. Rountree:  Worried about massive rains in Los Angeles. Kilbride:   Plays Wordle.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange?  No idea.

Who's down with OTP:   Kensi and Deeks are in full parent mode.  Kilbride and the ex have a warmer relationship than one might think.

Who's down with BrOTP:  Sam has yet another guy for Callen. 

Fashion review:   Callen wore a dark blue, button down shirt.  Long sleeve black tee for Sam.  Kensi wore a white sweater with buttons.  A pale red sweatshirt for Deeks (not quite pink but not quite red either).  Fatima’s leather jacket looks soft like butter and it is over a concrete grey turtleneck.  A dark pink jacket over a red sweater for Rountree.  The Admiral is three piece suiting with a pale blue dress shirt and blue tie.

Music:   “These Boots Were Made for Walking” by Nancy Sinatra opens the episode.  There is a song at the end that I could not track down and the credits didn’t show up in the closed caption (which rarely happens).

Any notable cut scene:  Not today.

Quote:  Elizabeth:  “We were still in the hospital, and I was still in pain.  I couldn't sleep.   So you told me that you wouldn't either.  Even though you had just gotten back from... wherever they had sent you.” Kilbride:  “Cambodia.  We were in and out in 36 hours.” Elizabeth:  “Yeah, you were exhausted.  So there you were, holding Alex, and...fighting like hell to stay awake for me.  Then you fell asleep.  Now, I may have been young and..but I was smart enough to know that there are very few certain things in this world.  And seeing the two of you like that...I said, "Damn it, one thing is sure.  That man will always be there for his boy."  You let me down, Hollace.  But more importantly, you let Alex down too.”

The Nina Barnes rugelach conversation was a delight.

Anything else:  A woman walks into a hotel’s rooftop bar dragging a small, carry-on suitcase behind her.  With a bit of a southern accent, she asks the bartender for something quick and fancy, like a gin and tonic, hold the tonic.  She and the bartender share a laugh.  As he goes to make the drink, the woman speaks to another patron sitting at the bar.  She remembers seeing the bartender on one of the CBS soap operas.  Her fellow patron isn’t a soap fan.  He’s busy with his phone.  She introduces herself as Colleen from Virginia.  He’s Sean.  She’d love to stay with him but she’s flying home to Virginia in two-hours.  Sean is worried that she’ll miss her flight, traffic it LAX is a disaster.  She’s flying out of Long Beach.  That’s not much better.  If she leaves right away, she might make it, according to Sean.  Colleen quickly makes her way to the door.

As she walks through the hotel’s mezzanine level, Sean catches up with Colleen.  She took his suitcase by mistake. She apologizes and Sean seems good with it.  Except she’s not apologizing for taking the bag.  She swings the suitcase at his head.  The two fight – Sean has no problem hitting her and Colleen has no issue kicking Sean off the mezzanine and to the floor of the hotel lobby.

Sam drives in with Callen.  The two are talking about a text Callen sent Sam.  If anything ever happens to Callen, he wants Sam to have his Leatherman tool.  Sam wants Callen to talk to an estate lawyer – Sam knows a guy.  Callen tells same he doesn’t need an estate lawyer, he doesn’t really own anything.  Sam disagrees.  If Callen is getting married, he needs to have his affairs in order.  The Leatherman is going to Deeks now.

Deeks is telling Kensi a story about cows and missing curfew by two-days.  Kensi didn’t really have a curfew because she was homeless but before her father died, she stayed out late to see Third-Eye Blind.  While she made it home in time, she stole backstage passes.  Realizing that teenagers do things they shouldn’t, Rosa is looking at a 9PM curfew.

In the office, Rountree is worried about catastrophic rains, an ARKStorm, that are headed to Los Angeles.  Fatima, not so much when she hears it is between five months and 50-years.  She hopes they can solve their case before the rains come. 

In Ops, Sean Baker, the fellow from the bar, is on the big screen.  Currently in critical condition, Baker has been living in the York Park Hotel.  Callen asks why is NCIS interested.  Baker is the co-founder of Almaya Technautics, an LA-based company working with the Navy.  If they are LA based, why would Baker be living in a hotel Rountree asks.  Fatima isn’t sure but the address on his driver’s license is no longer current. 

According to the Navy, Almaya Technautics was creating autonomous rescue agents for the battlefield.  Basically robots.  If the robots were trained to find members of the US military on the ground, they could also be programmed to hunt and kill the military members by a bad actor. 

Cameras were off in the mezzanine and lobby areas – no way to know how Baker wound up on the lobby floor but witnesses saw him with a blonde woman.  Security cameras on the hotel rooftop has a clear photo of Colleen.  Facial recognition has not matched her with anyone in the system.  Kilbride wants to find Colleen and see if she’s made off with any of Baker’s technology.  Callen and Sam are on their way to hotel.  Kensi and Deeks are interviewing an exec from Baker’s company to see if there were any threats prior to the morning’s attack.

When Callen and Sam leave, Rountree asks about Kilbride, who isn’t in the office.  Fatima says all the information she got about the case was from him via an encrypted message.  Rountree worries if he is in trouble.

In his house, Kilbride is straightening his tie when he hears a door open.  A woman – Elizabeth - wearing what looks to be his bathrobe is walking into the kitchen with some daisies.  Kilbride is surprised she’s still there.  He also remembers that she hates daisies.  Elizabeth is touched he remembered she hated daisies.  Maybe if he remembered their wedding anniversary, they wouldn’t have divorced 30-years ago.  She’s kidding, they got divorced because of his temper.

Kilbride has had enough of memory lane – he’s going to the office.  Elizabeth was about to make them breakfast but he had nothing but expired Vienna sausage in the fridge.  Kilbride recommends a diner down the street.  Whispering, Elizabeth said they had fun the night before.  “Last night was something,” Kilbride replies. 

The Admiral really wants to know why Elizabeth is there.  She said she told him last night – she was in town for conference, thought they could get drinks and catch up.  “Well, I didn’t expect us to catch up so much.”  Saying he was able to read her face since she was 25-years old, Kilbride wants to know what Elizabeth really wants.  She wants to take a shower.  He tells her where the towels are and asks her to lock the door when she leaves.

Callen and Sam check around the hotel – which is a pricy place.  Employees told Sam that Colleen left through a back stairwell.  LAPD said she had Baker’s suitcase.  Cameras saw her in the alley but lost her once she hit the streets.  Fatima is checking for nearby security cams.  Sam sees the blood on the mezzanine floor.  Callen uses the blood stains to recreate the fight.  With the distance between the blood spots, Callen and Sam realize they are dealing with a professional.

In the boat shed, Kensi and Deeks are meeting with Clyde Green, Baker’s partner.  He immediately asks about Baker, who is out of surgery and things are looking better.  Greene thinks Baker’s mother is going to blame him for the fall.  “She blames me for everything bad that happens to him.”  They’ve known each other since they were kids and they got into the trouble that kids get into.  Deeks brings up his conversation with Kensi – cows and Third Eye Blind.  Greene is unfamiliar with Third Eye Blind, offending Kensi.

Back to Baker, he and Greene had the idea for the company in their dorm room in college but they built up their resumes with other jobs so they could get the company off the ground.  About a year ago, everything changed with the explosion of interest in AI.  Asked why Baker was staying in a hotel, Greene tells them Baker stays in hotels all the time.  Moves every few weeks, likes to shake things up.  Does the same thing with his hobbies – finds consistency smothering.  Deeks agrees, again offending Kensi.  Back to Baker, Kensi asks if Greene knew anyone interested in hurting Baker.  He does not.  Greene wants to go back to the office – things are chaotic after what happened that morning.  When Greene leaves, Kensi says she and Deeks aren’t the only ones who are best friends and working together.  Deeks agrees but the only thing he started in his dorm room was a fire with a hot plate.  Kensi asks what’s a hot plate.

In Ops, Fatima asks an arriving Kilbride if he is okay.  “Well, considering that I have been forced to live out my so-called golden years in this overly triggered insecurity blanket of a town, the answer is no, Agent Namazi.”  Fatima is almost laughing but knows that’s the wrong move.  She mentions she was worried when he wasn’t in that morning.  He wants a sitrep.  Fatima looks at the Admiral and asks if there is something different about him that day.  The Admiral doesn’t think he should have to beg for a sitrep.

Fatima has been in touch with the Office of Naval Research.  All work done by Baker and his company is being reviewed and any systems installed are being prepared for possible cyberattacks.  Rountree walks in talking about access to Baker’s bank accounts without knowing the Admiral was there.  Looking at Kilbride, Rountree asks if there is something different about him that morning.  “I got highlights,” Kilbride snarks before asking Rountree to proceed.

Baker has been paying a downtown art gallery for a studio over the last three months.  Without a home and without a longstanding hobby, why would he be paying an art gallery over the last few  months?  Saying they need a warrant, the Admiral wants Kensi and Deeks to check out the gallery.  As he leaves Ops, Fatima and Rountree are looking at him.  When he turns around to face them, they quickly turn away.

At the rooftop bar, LAPD is all over the place.  Callen talks to the bartender, who wonders if they got any hits on the fingerprints yet.  He used the word “hit”.  Callen thinks he is the one who should be asking questions, not the bartender.  The bartender starts on the perps who left without paying.  Callen asks him not to use the term “perps”.  The bartender is also working on a screenplay.  He’s been researching crime for his story.  Callen claims he isn’t a big reader.

Sam arrives with Baker’s briefcase.  The laptop is still inside.  Recapping the events of the day, the bartender confirms the woman from the security footage sat down with “our John Doe.”  Sam makes it clear, it is not “our” John Doe.  Or even a John Doe.  Callen shows the bartender a photo of Sean Baker, who not only confirms he was the guy at the bar, he also tells Callen and Sam that Baker was upset when he noticed his bag was gone.  Callen and Sam discuss that Colleen likely target Baker.  “And we all know how that worked out,” the bartender says shaking his head.  After a glare from Callen and Sam, the bartender is back behind the bar.

Callen wonders what was in the suitcase that was so important to Baker.  On Baker’s briefcase, Sam finds an Apple tracker.  There is likely a similar tracker in Baker’s suitcase.

Walking into the art gallery, Kensi and Deeks are in a studio Baker was using.  Looking around the studio, Kensi finds a box of dolls.  Cutting open one of the dolls, she finds a microchip – AT4756.  AT, like Almaya Technautics.  Kensi starts checking other dolls – they all have microchips.  Baker may have been selling them. 

With all the dolls cut open, Kensi feels really bad.  Fatima, on comms, thinks they are living a reboot of “Child’s Play”.  Unlike most computer chips, the microchips can be repurposed for all kinds of technology – they could work in drones, missiles or dishwashers.  US manufacturers of chips are not allowed to sell them internationally – why give a possible enemy such high end technology.  Baker could have been providing these to foreign militaries for big money.  Fatima is going to call Clyde Greene to see if any other chips are missing.

Callen and Sam call Rountree.  Rountree got a warrant to go into the iCloud and track Baker’s suitcase.  In the meantime, Baker’s personal devices are clean.  That makes sense to Callen – a career in tech means Baker knows what not to put on a personal device.  The suitcase is currently in a parking lot downtown.  Callen and Sam are on their way. 

As Rountree ends the call, the Admiral passes by on the office’s second floor.  He’s explaining to Elizabeth that he’s busy at work with a national security matter.  She’s making them dinner and dessert.  She’s brought in groceries including leafy green vegetables.  She’s worried about his heart.  “There’s a first time for everything,” Kilbride notes.  Elizabeth tells him she misses their fights.  They bring up best fight in the Tropicana in Atlantic City where she stabbed him with a crab knife.  They made up twice in the elevator.

Ending his call with Elizabeth, the Admiral is approached by Fatima.  “Walk and talk, Agent Namazi.”  The two go down the main part of the office.  Nobody on any flight leaving Los Angeles – any LA airport – matches Collen’s description.  The Navy also confirmed that the chips in the dolls were manufactured by Almaya Technautics.  Clyde Greene isn’t at the office so they can’t confirm if any other chips are missing.  The Admiral wants a sitrep when she has something new to tell him, not a rehash of what she doesn’t know.  Fatima sighs as the Admiral walks away.  Offering some comfort, Rountree tells her the ARKStorm could wash them all away and the Admiral wouldn’t remember their conversation.  It doesn’t help Fatima.

Rountree thinks if Baker was selling the chips, he would have to have buyers.  There’s one person in the selling weapons to bad guys business they could talk to.  And she has pastries.

Callen asks Sam about what he’s getting if Sam “heads out to that big math competition in the sky.”  Sam’s turn to be offended.  He’s not dying first – Sam tells Callen that Callen thinks the sixth food group is “fast”.  Callen is worried that Sam keeps things bottled up – that will catch up to him.  Callen and Sam see Clyde Greene pulling a suitcase from a car’s trunk.   Sam yells “federal agents” and Greene talks off with Sam behind him.  It isn’t much of a chase.

While Fatima looks at the parking lot’s security cameras, Sam tells Callen the suitcase is empty.  Greene explains this is all a misunderstanding.  Callen and Sam were not the federal agents he spoke to that morning.  Callen asks if Greene thought there were only two federal agents in the entire city of Los Angeles.  “Budget cuts are no joke.” 

Callen and Sam have a theory – Greene found out that Baker had a side business.  Afraid of being cut out, Greene hired a killer to take out Baker.  Greene could cash in on all of Baker’s side deals and on the success of Almaya Technautics.  Greene said he didn’t hire anyone to kill anyone.  Their deal with the Navy barred Almaya Technautics from selling their chips to anyone.  With the worldwide shortage of the chips, they did a few side deals on the dark web.  Baker got greedy – he was going to sell 200.  That’s what was in the suitcase – the buyer was going to be in the bar.  Callen explains that Baker was set up.  They knew he’d be in the bar with the suitcase.  Enemies of the US could now have the chips – Greene could be charged with treason.

Nina Barnes is selling a customer on her new cupcakes – horseradish in the mix – when Kensi and Deeks arrive.  She thinks Kensi and Deeks are there to thank her for the rugelach she sent for Hanukkah.  They’re not but they were grateful for the rugelach.  Kensi shows Nina a photo of Colleen – does Nina know her.  Nina does not.  Deeks explains that Colleen may be involved with stolen microchips.  Nina doesn’t deal in microchips but they are changing the world of arms dealing.  While she’s not in the microchips business, Nina knows someone who is.

Back in the office, Callen and Sam are approached by Fatima.  She has parking lot footage including Colleen leaving her vehicle for an SUV.  She’s going to an airport in Van Nuys.  Callen wants Fatima to stop any air traffic in or out of the airport.

Rosetta Stone grad Nina Barnes is speaking in Italian to a contact on the phone, impressing both Kensi and Deeks.  Kensi is also enjoying a cupcake.  Phil Collins comes up in the phone call.  Seems the Italian gunrunner confused a German gunrunner for Phil Collins.  Anyway, Nina has a name – Paulina Kaminska, who was going by Colleen.  Kaminska and a partner broker deals across Europe.  She left the game a few years ago but she’s obviously back.  Maybe the money being offered for microchips pulled her back in.  Nina says Kaminska is really good at her job – she’s never been caught, that’s why she not in any database.

In Ops, Fatima and Rountree have a background for Kaminska.  She’s a Polish national who has contacts all over the world.  If she’s out of the US, she’s in the wind.  And the microchips are up for sale to the highest bidder.  Van Nuys airport is closed to incoming and outgoing traffic.  Kaminska’s vehicle was dumped off by the airport at an abandoned night club. 

Callen and Sam are at the airport, Kensi and Deeks are 10-minutes out.  Callen and Sam see Kaminska move the chips but a vehicle pulls up to where she’s making the deal.  Two more men come to the sale.  Callen takes photos of the men and send them to Ops.  Kilbride orders Rountree to join Callen and Sam in the Van Nuys airport.  Fatima searches for the men.  Callen realizes Kaminska wasn’t going to the airport, she was going to the abandoned night club.

Kensi and Deeks arrive as Kaminska and her buyers enter the night clubs.  Anton Kusev is one of the men in the photos.  He’s a former Russian intelligence officer who has become a Russian arms broker – one of the most wanted men in the world.  Kilbride makes it clear, the sale can’t go through.  Sam has a plan.

Kaminska is showing the chips to her Russian buyers when Deeks knocks on the back door.  When one of Kusev’s men answer the door, Deeks knocks him out and enters the building.  Deeks gets into a little hand to hand combat with another one of Kusev’s men, this guy grabs a knife from the club’s kitchen.  Deeks knocks away the knife and Kusev’s man falls to the ground, making a loud noise.  Kaminska, Kusev and one of his guards run.  Sam and Rountree tackle Kusev and his men.  Callen stops Kaminska before she can drive away.

The team are meeting around the briefcase with the chips and talking about food.  Deeks says he’s feeling good about going out as long as he’s home by 9PM for Rosa’s curfew.  If she has a curfew, so does he.  Sam laughs at curfew.  Deeks says they just stopped a Russian arms dealer – if he can’t maintain a curfew, what’s going on.  And what’s going on is Deeks noticing that the microchips are different than the ones he and Kensi found in the studio.  The microchips are all blank – no AT branding for Baker’s company.  Callen looks over to an in-custody Kaminska.  They are fakes.  Callen tells Deeks and Rountree to go home.  They are going to handle Kaminska.

Hoping she’d get a nap in before Callen and Sam figured it out, Kaminska tells Callen and Sam she destroyed the chips.  She gives them an address to find the destroyed chips.  She explains that her home is near the border.  Now there are thousands of refugees crossing into Poland.  Knowing what she did for years, she saw what arms dealing did to real people.  “Karma’s a bitch.” 

Knowing that the Russians were going to get Baker’s microchips, she stole them.  They were going to Russia, China or Iran – things were not going to end well.  “What’s one last job?” she asked.  Callen and Sam asked why she would sell the fake chips.  Well, a girl has to eat. 

Rountree returns to the office.  The REACT team found all 200 of the real microchips, according to Fatima.  Fatima has club plans – a new retro place downtown.  If they big storms are going to take them away, might as well have some fun.

Entering his home, Kilbride finds Elizabeth, jazz playing in the background and dinner was wrapped up in aluminum foil.  She didn’t want to get the food cold.  Sharing some wine, Elizabeth asks about the happiest day of the marriage.  Kilbride jokes it was the day her mother moved away.  “That woman loved you,” Elizabeth tells him.  Elizabeth says it was the night after their son Alexander was born.  He was just back from Cambodia and while he was exhausted, he held their son until he couldn’t fight sleep anymore.  Seeing her then husband with their son, she was sure he’d always be there for “his boy.”

Feeling he let both her and Alex down, Elizabeth wanted to be sure if Kilbride changed.  He claims that their son made choices, and made them as an adult.  Kilbride tried to help “many times” but Alex wanted no part of his father.  Elizabeth explains Alex is clean now but she’s worried it might change.  She’s tired of worrying alone. 

Sticking with his treatment program, Alex is going regularly.  Elizabeth goes regularly as well to family therapy.  She wants Kilbride there too.  “Promise me you’ll thinks about it.”  That earns a “fine” from Kilbride.  She starts to reheat the food – crab legs.  He’s switching from wine to scotch.  “I think I’ll make it a double.”

What head canon can be formed from here:    It will come up again later in the season but the exploration of Kilbride’s personal life should have started a season earlier.  I know the prior season was about getting Callen engaged and making Kensi and Deeks parents but a man who put everything into his career at the expense of his family, a man struggling that his choices hurt his family, especially played by Gerald McRaney really would have worked on a longer runway than the final few episodes of the season.

Marilu Henner was a great choice as Kilbride’s ex.  Terrific actress who can do comedy and drama, age appropriate too.  One thing – Elizabeth divorced Kilbride for his temper but she stabbed him with a crab knife?

The case of the week was rather generic outside of the Ukrainian connection for Paulina.  I don’t think Paulina spends a day in jail after her arraignment.  Her connections are far too valuable, especially since she’s retired.

I was half expecting Sam to tell Callen it was his Leatherman tool that Callen borrowed years ago.  That was a silly missed opportunity.

Kensi disappeared when they got to the bar in Van Nuys.  We were told Kensi and Deeks were 10-minute behind Callen and Sam, Kensi said they were on their way and outside of speaking once to Deeks as he went into the bar on the earwigs, Kensi was MIA for the last 10-minutes of the episode.

Episode number:   This is episode 13 of season 14, the 315th episode overall.

[koolades-world]

more about me!

➻❥ i'm mixed; half indian, half puerto rican. i only recently settled on the label demigirl and still haven't found one for my sexuality yet, so for now i've been using queer

➻❥ currently waiting to be tested, but i'm 95% sure i'm allergic to walnuts, pecans, and avocados. apparently it's common for those allergic to avocados to be allergic to latex and birch pollen. i don't think i'm allergic to latex (because i feel like i would know that after being in culinary in high school) and there aren't any birch trees around where i live, which makes it even stranger!

➻❥ my favorite color is pink in case that was hard to tell haha. i love my cats, spicy food, rainbows, tea, plushies, fuzzy blankets, bows, hearts, sparkles, and anything dark chocolate peanut butter. my favorite school subject was science, although i enjoyed everything except math

➻❥ for fun I love to bake, read, write, and play video games. I also really enjoy crafting and being creative in general

╰—❥ pumpkin maple brown butter cookies are my signature, but i also make a mean chai cookie and snickerdoodle. cookies are my favorite thing to make, but i also enjoy cupcake and cake making. i love decorating cakes for special occasions. someday i hope to perfect my croissants

╰—❥ right now i've been hate reading colleen hoover's books lol. been annotating them with unhinged comments. i get all my copies used off thrift books because i don't want to give her my money <3 but i do have a stack of book i do want to read seriously

╰—❥ as well as writing for the fandoms i love, i also hope to write a book someday even if i never publish it. i've been writing for about eight or nine years now, and i've loved every moment!!

╰—❥ i play genshin impact, honkai star rail, zenless zone zero, obey me nightbringer, and project sekai on a regular basis. i also play stardew valley when i have time. my favs are yae miko, robin + aventurine, billy kid, satan, akito shinonome + shizuku hinomori, and haley respectively

➻❥ i'm a college student! biology major who has thought about swapping to english more times than i could count, but happy. if you ever need a random but cool science fact i can hook you up :) i did actually consider culinary school, for baking of course, but my state scholarship wouldn't cover it

➻❥ i love love love vocaloid! i adore gakupo, but rin and fukase are close seconds

➻❥ fashion is my passion! i love getting dressed up and accessorizing for no reason. i haven't recently, but i'm into jewelry making in order to create the perfect accessories

➻❥ i mostly type in all lowercase. no particular reason. when i'm writing, i use proper capitalization but just not in any other case

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #226

Has anyone ever made fun of your taste in music? Uh, maybe? Not that I remember.

What’s your favorite season of the year? Autumn.

Is anyone’s birthday coming up? My mom's is the beginning of next month.

Does someone owe you over twenty dollars? I've spoken about how my sister stole $100 of gifted money from me behind my back and I only know because of my mom. I don't like bringing it up because I'm still bitter as hell she never said to my face "hey Brittany, I need help with bills, can I pay you back?" or anything like this. I don't think she even knows I know.

Do you like sour candy? I love sour candy.

Ignoring nutrition, could you live off veggies for the rest of your life? Absolutely not.

Has someone of the opposite sex ever told you that you were sexy? Somehow.

Do you prefer to take your showers at night or in the morning? Of the two, mornings. But I tend to do later in the afternoon.

Do you have any ‘naughty’ photos on your phone? No.

Do you tend to fall for players? No.

Have you spoken to your mother today? Father? Mom, every day. I haven't spoken to my dad in a while.

Have you ever gotten a flu vaccination? No, but I got my Covid vaccine. I SHOULD get flu vaccines, I just... can't be bothered. That and I don't like LONG needles going into my skin. Covid was too serious a threat to not get vaccinated.

What’s the last restaurant you ate at? It was some Mexican place Nicole took Mom and me to. It was pretty nice, I just can't remember its name.

Double dates: a do or don’t? I think they're fun, but I'd certainly advise one-on-one dates, too.

Do you know any guitarists? Yes.

Do you have any relatives that have shunned you, or vice versa? My immediate family doesn't associate with one of my mother's brothers because he's pure fucking garbage that disgraced his dead mother's wishes as to what would be done with her money. He lied, evaded, and greatly risked being sued if we actually wanted to. He's rich filth.

Which would you rather have, a new puppy or kitten? Neither, realistically. If I move in with Girt like I want to one day, we're gonna have two cats since I have one and he has one, and I don't want to start out in a house with three cats to deal with; I might never want three cats. Pet dogs aren't my thing, but I'm sure we'll have one when I live with Girt again, because he is a GINORMOUS dog person, so if he wants a dog, he can have a dog.

Does/did your high school have pop machines? It did.

Do you know anyone who’s won the lottery? Nope.

If you could work at any retail store, which one would it be? I will never fucking ever work in retail ever again.

Have you ever stringed green beans before? I feel like I did this at Colleen's in-laws' once...?

Have you ever had any painful dental work done? If so, what? Yes, that's what happens when you spent too long neglecting your teeth. Deep cleaning HURTS, especially because in my case they had to do an injection into the very roof of my mouth, which was my most painful experience ever with a needle. I had two wisdom teeth taken out but we couldn't afford to put me to sleep, but that was just more scary than painful, because obviously I was numbed to hell, just the jarring sound of your teeth breaking (my bad one had deep cavities and this made it break into quite a few pieces) is extremely fucking unpleasant and because you obviously expect pain, it's a very strange and shocking experience.

Do you shop at any independent music stores? No.

Which flower is your favorite? I have a lot, honestly... Orchids, hydrangeas, roses, specifically pink tulips, hibiscuses, etc.

Have you ever picked wild flowers? I know I have as a kid to give to my mom.

Have you ever walked through a forest? No, not a true forest. Just woods around my old house.

What was the last wild animal you saw? Some bird.

Have you ever seen a mountain in person? Yes.

Do you prefer jam or butter on your biscuits? Jam.

Have you ever explored somewhere abandoned? Yes.

Where is the last place you went to as a tourist? Charlotte.

What country do you most want to travel to? South Africa.

Do you prefer to read in bed or in a chair? A chair on the back porch, but if it's too hot or humid, I read in bed.

Have you ever kept a physical, hand-written journal? Yes. I regularly did this the many instances I was hospitalized.

Which season do you think is the prettiest? Autumn.

What style house do you want to own? I don't even know house styles, man...

Would you rather swim in a lake, a river, or the ocean? Ocean.

Would you rather play in the snow or the rain? Snow.

Have you ever pressed flowers or leaves into a book? No.

Have you ever found a four-leaf clover? I've found multiple. At one of our old homes, we had a patch that had a mutation apparently and it continued to reproduce so we had quite a bit.

What did you do the last time you hung out with your best friend? I watched him play some of the Elden Ring DLC and we cuddled in bed for quite a while.

Have you ever taken an art class? All available semesters in high school (there were either three or four), plus lots of photography through HS, college, and even beyond, and a painting course in college.

What is your ethnic background? Basic white bitch. Just German, Irish, Polish influence that I know of. We don't really know my dad's heritage.

Do you like coffee? I've hated every coffee I've ever tried from anywhere.

What was the last thing you wrote by hand? An appointment in my planner.

Who did you last worry about and why? Myself, honestly. My last psychiatrist appointment was extremely eye-opening and scary, but in a way that was needed.

Are you currently looking for a new place to live? Not actively, but certainly passively. Mom and I hate it here, A LOT. Girt sometimes looks at places, and I have no idea if he plans on taking me with him immediately when he moves. I... hope, but it's not my place at all to push him about it. I feel it'd be wise for him to establish himself first, but I can't help hoping we'll just move right in together.

When was the last time you ate/drank something gross just to be polite? Probably sometime I was at Girt's for some party. I have in VERY few cases enjoyed his mother's cooking. I can't pull this off well, though, and by this point they're so familiar with me, I don't really do this; my face and general bodily reactions are SUPER SUPER FUCKING TELLING if I don't like something despite my best efforts, and they know this about me by now. They know my pickiness and intense reactions to food I dislike aren't things I have control over, so they at least say they don't mind.

Last time you heard a growl, who or what did it come from? Our dog because she heard something outside.

When did you last make up a baby’s bottle? Never.

When did you last see the sea? It's been many years.

Do you apologize a lot? Yes, I'm absolutely one of those people who gets told "stop apologizing" and stuff.

Is there a gang problem in your area? In my city, yes. Among locals, it's known for crime, like murder and a lot of shootings.

Would you date an already attached person? No, only monogamy would work for me. I KNOW I would get jealous in poly arrangements and be convinced they don't actually love me; I DO believe poly people can absolutely love all their partners, I just know I would have problems remaining confident in my OWN poly relationship.

When you marry, will you wear white? Probably not, but possibly.

Could you date someone who’s only been your friend for a long time? Ha, this is literally mine and Girt's story. Ended up being a fantastic decision, so.

Do you think it’s better to look for love or let it find you? I think it's generally better to let it find you. However, I wouldn't say it's always a BAD idea for any person imaginable to seek it out, especially depending on lifestyles, like for people who basically never go out and interact with others. They deserve love too if they want a relationship, and it'll be hard to find UNLESS they make an effort.

Have you ever learned an important lesson as a result of a breakup? Oh for sure. Anyone who reads these probably knows about it.

Do you or would you ever wear fake eyelashes? No.

When was the last time you slept in a tent? Not since I was a child.

What was the last television show that you sat and watched multiple episodes of? Uhhh... I'm not sure. I only ever really watch TV with Mom and rarely Girt, so... oh. Maybe The Floor.

Is there anything significant happening this month? This month is almost done. No.

When was the last time you had a Poptart? It's been maybe like... two+ months?

Do you like hot chocolate? Totally.

What’s your favorite Michael Jackson song? Maybe "Billie Jean." There's a cover of "They Don't Care About Us" that I adore, but I've never actually heard the OG.

When was the last time you got your hair done professionally? Like a month ago, to dye it lilac.

Have you ever gotten your legs waxed? No, that sounds excruciating.

Have you ever read anything by Edgar Allen Poe? Of course.

Do you like horses? Yeah, I think they're extremely majestic and deep animals.

Have you ever seen a snake in real life? Yeah, I literally have one in my bedroom.

Do you know anyone that has been held hostage before? No.

[colleenmurphy]

"All you'll ever be is a scared voiceless little girl that was so easy to manipulate.."

The weavings of a former life, much like a dream wound their way through her mind's eye as she followed the footprints in the mud of tonight's hunt.

'So many damn similarities between them it sickens me.'

Jack o' Green held up a hand swiftly and nodded towards the left hand side and pointed toward a thicket of what looked like wild night blooming jasmine. A strained muffled huff from somewhere inside. The hounds swarmed the bushed attempted to flush Joel out but to no avail. The vines and over growth much too thick. Snapping and growling until Colleen nodded to her knave to send the dogs off. Once again she gripped her sword, heavy rings clanking against the hilt.

Petrus studied her for a moment and offered to ride on to flush him out. Her features held the same cold satisfaction of a sealed fate much like that night she watched her former husband's kingdom crumble beneath him. Leading a rebellion from the inside out she brought the winter court down and it's callous king to his knees, before she beheaded him. Watching as she gripped the reigns of her horse Petrus knew that this mortal stood no chance even if Benson were a religions man, no God could help him now. The glint of silver in the moonlight and the thunder of hooves before a shriek.

"Fuil le haghaidh fola!"

The plunging of the the sword swift and true made a sound unlike most of the court had heard before. Sitting silent atop their horses the court of the Grey Queen looked on. The mortal they had hunted for injuring one their own so badly it required six kingdoms best healers to set her to rights crawled out much like an injured rat and stared at them.

"Jesus Christ!"

"Do not call on someone who does not know you."

The point of her blade pointed directly at him kept the monster at bay as her Knave and Knight grabbed him to his feet once more. The gash in his shoulder bled black and wet in the moonlight.

"Kneel."

A nod towards Lord Thistledown and he looked towards the Lady of the Spring. Colleen had long known Helene, since they were tiny children. This monster had taken her and broken her in the worst of ways. Locking eyes with her best friend Colleen nodded and back in place was their stone wall of decorum of the Grey Court.

Benson wouldn't budge until Sir Jack sprang up seemingly out of nowhere and slashed Benson's Achilles heel bringing him partially down on a knee screaming in pain. This was the moment that she chose to swing, another tried and true defeat of a deserving target. A hot knife through butter was the only way she knew to put to the words the act she'd just committed for a second time in her long life. The head rolled towards Lord Thistledown's feet, he stopped it quickly and it was swept away into the shadows of some sort bag with the Lady of the Spring's court emblem stitched into it taken by one of the Hounds for safekeeping.

"On this night of the thinning of the veil we shall feast, dance, drink and be merry. The bane of our Lady of the Spring has been taken care of. Tonight we drink in your honor my dear friend."

Lord Petrus dismounted from his steed holding a torch crafted from cedar and pine burned bright as two of the Hounds, mirthful and blonde and the other dark and quiet took hold of Benson's unmoving remains tossing him onto a hasty pile of kindling where Petrus touched the flame to each of the four corners.

"What's done is done and it's all been for the greater good."

Anyone ( of the human variety ) walking through that particular piece of wooded acreage would find a large arch of flowers, delicate spring pastel blooms interwoven with delicate dogwoods grown only in the height of summer's flashing heat, and blood roses keeping the other more delicate blossoms safe from curious greedy fingers. Somewhere underneath you'll find that the moss and other deep green ground coverage takes the form of a body laying in what looks like a state of repose, none of them ever notice that it's missing a head.

[linzsaw]

My Monthly Favs What’s in my cup:

Every morning I drink iced coffee made from my one & only Nespresso machine. The past few months I can’t get enough of the double espresso blend, and then I add a bit of whole milk (happy cows only) and sweet cream. I can’t find anything better from Starbucks or anywhere else. Sometimes if I’m craving a hot drink, I’ll head to Dutch Bros for a hot Carmelizer and it is totally worth the cringy 9 minute forced convo with the DB crew. I also start my day with electrolytes, currently in the watermelon flavor. It’s surprisingly really delicious but I miss the Electrolyte Synergy blend that I was drinking for a long time, which has been sold out for almost a year now. :’)

What’s on my plate:

Dinner lately has been the laziest in America. After our trip, Drew & I either have the same ole chicken, rice and veggies, a spicy “mexican bowl” or some form of pasta, usually with Raos Arriabatta sauce. This week we’ve been stuffing our faces with Trader Joe’s frozen meals. We promise to be better next month, but we are really exhausted and the last thing we feel like planning are meals. However, for the last week of December we actually have some things planned for the holiday weekend. On Friday, we’re hitting up the town as we do every year to walk around and see the lights, and find festive little bars to try out new Christmas cocktails. We plan to spend Christmas with just the two of us. For Christmas Eve we are making our annual corn beef, cabbage and carrots because apparently we are super Irish (confirmed by 23&me which btw leaked all my genes to hackers). On Christmas we are having tri-tip, garlic & butter brussel sprouts, and mashed potatoes. The Christmas cookies we’re making this year include White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, & Holly Leaves. Okay and now that I’ve told you all that, the Christmas cocktails we decided on this year are The Mistletoe Kiss (a vodka, soda water, rosemary & cranberry drank) and Bad Santa White Russians. I also heard that Moon X Pinot Noir from Trader Joes was really good and lately the Redvolution just isn’t doing it for me.  Let me know if you want any of these recipes, ladies. I will make sure to find GF, DF, and V options. 

What’s on my bookshelf:

I’ve finished two of the Colleen Hoover books, and now I’m reading another one of hers called Verity. It’s kinda depressing but that’s kinda the vibe as of late so I’m into it. 

What’s in my playlist:

We love the Sia Christmas album. It’s so fun and happy. Believe it or not, Andy introduced me to it lol. It’s so good!! Other songs I’ve been into are I remember everything by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves. It reminds me of a family member rn which is very depressing to me. Fun to cry to. Bubble - STAYC, Surround Sound - JID 21 Savage, Baby Tate, Adora Hills - Doja Cat. 

What I’m up to:

Making our house into a winter wonderland of lights. Watching hella hallmark movies. Being seriously lazy, not working out or eating healthy. Walks with Snoop around the park. Mandala scratch off nightscapes. Reading at 3am when I was jetlagged. I had a sleep study this month too, no sleep apnea for me, back to mouth taping! It really does help with quality of sleep for me. You should try it! Also magnesium spray on my feet (shout out to Aly). This has helped with my restless leg syndrome that we’ve all experienced. This weekend, we’re making all our foods and cocktails, going downtown, driving around with hot choc to look at lights, and heading up to Rocky Mountain to hike a bunch of mountains. 

Skincare Saviors:

My skin gets so dry in Colorado, its TERRIBLE. And now that I’m saving for a house, I had to break up with my amazing esthetician, who by the way I stole this template from. I’m obsessed with Dermlogica thanks to her. I use a miscellar water if I wore any make-up. If not, I just double clease with my face wash. In the AM I’ll use my Rosehip Triple C+E Firming  Oil, followed by COSRX snail mucin essence, and a magical mix of calm water gel and intensive moisture balance. 

Love you long time,

Li

[paigeypaige19]

“I feel his voice in my stomach. That's not good. Voices should stop at the ears, but sometimes- not very often at all, actually- a voice will penetrate past my ears and reverberate straight down through my body. He has one of those voices. Deep, confident, and a little bit like butter.”― Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us

[readingsuneone]

Books I’ve read

Maybe Not - Colleen Hoover

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

Twisted Love - Ana Huang

Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

Never Never - Colleen Hoover & Taryn Fisher

A Court Of Thorns And Roses - Sarah J. Maas

Fazbear Frights #1

Fazbear Frights #2 (DNF)

The Spanish Love Deception - Elena Armas

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

The Haven - Carol Lynch Williams

The Wicked King - Holly Black

Priest - Sierra Simone

A Court Of Mist And Fury - Sarah J. Maas

Queen Charlotte - Julia Quinn & Shonda Rhimes (DNF, literally just copy pasted the shows script to the book. This guy put me in a lil slump)

Unravel Me - Tahereh Mafi

A Good Girls Guide To Murder - Holly Jackson

Twisted Games - Ana Huang

The Queen Of Nothing - Holly Black

Things We Never Got Over - Lucy Score

How The King Of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories - Holly Black

This Is Where It Ends - Marieke Nijkamp

Unite Me - Tahereh Mafi

Ignite Me - Tahereh Mafi

Icebreaker - Hannah Grace

Verity - Colleen Hoover

The Fine Print - Lauren Asher

The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood

Twisted Hate - Ana Huang

A Court Of Wings And Ruin - Sarah J. Maas

For Butter Or Worse - Erin La Rosa

Crave - Tracy Wolff

The Stolen Heir - Holly Black

Terms And Conditions - Lauren Asher

The Nanny - Lana Ferguson

Archer’s Voice - Mia Sheridan

Things We Hide From The Light - Lucy Score

A Court Of Frost And Starlight - Sarah J. Maas

King Of Wrath - Ana Huang

Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Love On The Brain - Ali Hazelwood

Credence - Penelope Douglas

Haunting Adeline 1 - H.D Carlton

By A Thread - Lucy Score

Twisted Lies - Ana Huang

The Hawthorne Legacy - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Loathe To Love You - Ali Hazelwood

The Deal - Elle Kennedy

The Love Wager - Lynn Painter

Final Offer - Lauren Asher

Love, Theoretically - Ali Hazelwood

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Ready Player Two - Earnest Cline

It Ends With Us - Colleen Hoover

It Starts With Us - Colleen Hoover

Love & Other Words - Christina Lauren

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (currently reading)

[kidge-planet]

Kidge Headcanons 8 : pregnancy (pidge's first pregnancy)!

When pidge discover her pregnancy, she hysterically laughed before to fall and cry ( not obviously of sadness, but it was a lot to process...)

When She told Keith, he just stared at her for a moment, in chock. They weren't planning on having a kid at all... I mean, they talked about it quickly but never really thought about it.

After a while of just staring at her in shock, he reassuringly smiled at her because he could see that she was pretty scared about it.

"if you are ok with it, I'm ok with it. We sure never really thought together about having a kid, but I have to admit that I thought of it on my own... I mean, I can picture it! You are the only one I want to form a family with, and I knew that this would come at some point. I just... Wasn't expecting it so soon... But hey! It's ok! It's about you now, do you want to keep it or not?". He said, holding her hands and stroking it with his thumb.

She had tears in her eyes and hugged him tightly.

They talked and decided to keep the baby.

Pidge had morning sicknesses. A lot of them... So much that she didn't want to eat. So, Keith had to get her back to bed and to force her to eat a little for her own health but also for the baby.

When they told their friends, they all were happy for them... Especially space dad! (More about Shiro later...)

Hunk was preparing peanut butter cookies for Pidge every weeks so she felt happy ( also because Keith told him about the morning sicknesses and he got worried that she didn't eat enough...)

Hunk was also preparing healthy diner for her from times to times.

Lance teased Pidge and Keith a lot. "YOOOO, THAT MEANS YOU TWO HAD S-

"WE GET IT LANCE!"

Even if he was teasing a lot, he was so happy, he loves kids! Because of his nephew and niece, he knew how to handle kids... Also, kids are cute and nice ( in general...

Lance was also taking care of Pidge a lot, always making sure she is ok and confortable.

Shiro.... Haaaa.... He got hysterical, hugged Pidge, then Keith, then both, then had tears rolling down his face.... He was very proud of them ( especially of Keith)..

When Pidge's stomach became bigger, Shiro would talk to it. Pidge thought it was very cute.

Coran... Well, Coran wasn't surprised. He thought that because Keith was part galra, they would have had a kid sooner because galra usually have kids very young.

He was still very happy tho.

Colleen was waiting for that moment. She hugged both Keith and pidge tightly and directly gave them a list of names that Krolia and her had picked... (WAIT WHAT-)

On the list, York was scribbled...( Colleen probably said yes to Krolia's proposition to make her happy but she would have never accepted this name...)

Collen tells them about how annoying having a kid will be. ( As a joke)

Sam was feeling a little uncomfortable. That meant that his small daughter was not a baby anymore... Like, he couldn't bring himself to the fact that his daughter was an actual adult, with a sexual life.................... He internally knew, but for him, she is still his little girl that does her homework in the kitchen's table, or that is asking him about life...

That got him all emotional and he congratulated them, his voice cracking and tears forming in his eyes. HE IS GOING TO BECOME A GRANDPA! ( Omg, Sam would be the best grandpa......)

Matt hugged pidge very tightly.

"IM GOING TO BE THE COOLEST UNCLE IN THE UNIVERSE. If you think otherwise, FIGHT ME"

"your kid is going to be a trouble maker, tho. Look at the parents..."-Matt

Krolia=proud mother. She wants 30 more grandkids.

"mom, we didn't even had our first one... We are not thinking of having another one... And, hum... About the 30 grandkids, I don't think that'll be possible."

Krolia made a special blade for her grandchildren.

They told kolivan and well, not a big reaction... You know, it's Kolivan. Nha, he was just happy for them and proud of Keith.

After they discovered the gender of the baby ( 5 month later) Keith had doubts: will he be a good father? His father died when he was still very young...

Pidge reassures him, she knows that he'll be a perfect father for her kid.

Pidge had mood swings. She could cry for no reasons. Or get very mad too... Like when she asked Keith if he could bring her some peanut butter cookies that Hunk had made just for her but all the cookies were gone... Well, she ate them earlier and forgot that she ate them all. Hehe, she cried for an hour.

When she cries for no reasons, Keith does his best to calm her down. Cuddle, gently kissing her face, talking to her, caressing her cheeks.... It works sometimes...

When she was getting angry, he tried his best to remain calm. He knew that it wasn't her fault and that she'll calm down quickly. It still started a few fights, which got Keith to sleep in the couch. (Hehehehe)

Alright, I'll stop here, I have an horrible headache 🥲 I'll keep going with these headcanons when I'll feel better because I still have a few ( maybe one, but I need to lay down. Right now. Or my head will explode.

(pretty glad that I wrote so many headcanons today!)

Also, if it doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm sorry, I haven't read back and I'm currently dying. Sorryyyyy!

I hope I kidged you.

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

actually, the mom (rachel) does survive but pretty soon after the crash, her mom breaks up with the dad and the two of them move to another city.

rachel does show up in the present storyline (the one that doesnt read like a bad dr seuss book) and she like, apologises to the guy? for "what she did to him" which youd hope would just be leaving him but its implied its also their baby dying which was not her fault but okay colleen.

she specifically appears to help the main guy (miles) get over his manpain and get together with tate who is meant to be the protagonist.

other highlights include:

miles thinking "it's the saddest door ive ever had to close" in regards to not fucking his stepsister and not his mom dying.

tate regularly unloading all of her relationships drama onto the bellhop for her apartment building instead of idk talking to her friends about it or a counsellor

miles also lives in the apartment building so the bellhop also knows miles, and also his relationship drama thanks to tate

the name rachel appearing 294 times in a 336 page book

tates brother being called corbin collins

miles gets tates number out of corbins phone. tates inner monologue tells us this as such: "nana nana boo boo he stole my number"

most of the conflict revolving around miles deciding he will never love again after rachel but he does want to fuck tate and makes that clear to her, and tate being like cool, lets do that while being in love with him and expecting him to come around after they fuck for a bit.

"somethings going on in my chest. a kind of flutter flutter thing. i dont like it."

the interrupting cow knock knock joke.

the thanksgiving homosexual misunderstanding where tates brother and mom are like oh hes gay but her dad being like no hes not. the misunderstanding is entirely reliant on man not have girlfriend = must be gay logic.

the prose being very the poison for cuzco/mojo jojo esque but like, bad.

tate thinking "its as if two different creators were involved when he was made" about miles.

theres a character in the book called dylan but his name is spelt dillon because colleen hoover is Like That. in it ends with us - the book that is very much about domestic abuse - the main character is a florist named lily blossom bloom.

miles' apartment is undecorated because manpain or whatever. hope youre excited for the subplot dedicated to the undecorated apartment.

tate specifically infers that women must not be in his apartment often because of it.

"brain equals liquid. heart equals butter."

the pain and trauma of his baby dying and step sister wife leaving him apparently making it so it doesnt hurt when miles has to get stitches.

miles' crotch is referred to as a secret bullseye.

the minnie mouse scrubs.

the big balls car wreck happening because they were taking their kid to be circumcised and miles tells his kid "im so sorry clayton, i know it's emasculating, but you'll thank me when you're older and getting involved with girls"

a blink and you miss it subplot relating as to whether miles' dad cheated on his mom. his dead mom. the one whose death is less sad than him not being able to fuck his stepsister.

tate asking miles to say "ox" to see if his voice would make the word sexy.

it makes the word sexy. the word "ox". tate thinks miles saying the word "ox" is sexy.

miles' full name is miles mikel archer

in the epilogue of the book, tate and miles are married with a child which they named after the bellhop. you know, the guy just doing his job that tate spent the whole book treating as an unpaid counsellor?

tates immediate reaction to learning miles hasnt done the fuck in six years being "oh, do you have stds?"

incidentally, tate is a nurse. it is almost entirely immaterial to the book.

just the fact that miles and rachel werent like together before their parents got together. im pretty sure they hadnt even properly met.

"he touches her gently like he knows shes made of lava"

also, in looking up names to make sure i spelt them right, i realised that this book also exists in the same universe as november 9th which is another colleen hoover book.

thats the one where the love interest essentially tricks the protagonist into falling in love with him after he set fire to her dads house with her inside which led to her receiving serious burns to half her body. oh and also the books end with her apologising to him for it :)

I can't I can't I can't I can't

[itsswimmingtragedycollection]

no because the same people who were making apologetic posts about not clocking the smear campaign against amber heard sooner are falling for the exact same thing with blake lively as we speak

the second that man hired depps pr agency the literal exact same scenario that befall heard started happening to lively except it makes even less sense because baldoni is nowhere near depps level of fame there's no way there's more supportive comments for him than there are people on this earth when most of us found out he existed like two days ago there's no way these copy paste statements of blind adoration came to everyone spontaneously and also every person on earth suddenly started remembering some unpleasant interaction with blake or something she sad like 20 years ago in perfectly spaced time intervals so that the outrage never dies down how many times IN A ROW are you dumb sluts planning on falling for the same shit

don't even get me started on how easily the general public will presume a cis man is the second coming of christ just because he says something vaguely supportive of women 'i think DV is bad' omg what a man what a saint we must protect him he's so sensitive and educated and cares about us so deeply he's God's apology for men lol the bar might be low but your critical thinking skills are lower especially in the context of a man who said it was his passion project to turn it ends with us into a movie when colleen has to be one of the most criticised authors specifically for her portrayal of domestic violence you fully do not have to know anything about a person who says that to know they do not, in fact, get it

I've seen videos of blake saying perfectly reasonable things like

'what advice will you give dv survivors who stop you in the street'

'shoudl i give them my phone number or share location'

because what was she supposed to say to that?? she's an actress not a therapist nor a survivor that we know of there's no advice she *should* be giving as such and i know for a fact it would be getting brat edits left and right if your white feminist liberal butter brains hadn't been wired to deep throat the boot of any man who tosses you a bone i saw interviews with him where he literally says the message of the movie is that you can end the cycle and chose better for yourself???? are we stupid?? go tell a dv survivor that. to their face. i juts wanna see something.

and that's your boy? your saviour? the 'haha how is dv even real just walk away" boy?? what if just once in your lives you took those two neurons floating about the vast space where your brain should be and smashed them together to form an autonomous *thought* what then

[ledenews]

Wheeling Wizarding Festival Slated for May 18

The mystique of wizardly magic will be overtaking Heritage Port on Saturday, May 18 with the second annual Wheeling Wizarding Festival. The event will feature a variety of vendors, entertainment, a reptile show and a costume contest. The festival is hosted by the City of Wheeling’s Parks and Recreation Department. Director Rochelle Barry said she’s looking forward to the festival that is slated to begin with vendors opening at noon. “The intrigue of wizardry has captured many. Last year’s event, which was held for the first time, was very successful, so we have been working to build on that. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back to Heritage Port to be transported into the land of wizardry if only for a short time,” she said. The main stage schedule for the Wheeling Wizarding Festival is as follows: 1-1:45 p.m., Weird Lightning; 2-2:30 p.m., Costume Contest Sponsored by Infernum in Terra Haunted Attraction; 3-3:45 p.m., Rozella and the Visions; 4-5 p.m., Roscommon Sessions; 5:20-6 p.m., Sound of Elegance Harpist Marissa Avon. Other attractions include the Iceman Reptile Show from 12:30-2 p.m. and the Golden Snitch Scavenger Hunt. For a small fee, attendees can have some fun in the joust ring and bounce house or partake in some axe throwing. Food vendors include the following: The Jakery; Ideal Provisions; Emma Jean's Baked Goods; The Turn Around Quick Bites LLC; So Nuts for Donuts; and WesBanco Area with non-alcoholic Butter Beer. Retail vendors include the following: Psyche Delicacies; Yarniverse Creations; Three Fates Art; Mimi's Gem's; Off the Hook; Connie’s Creative Collective; Crafting, Coffee, and Chaos; Design By We; Java Momma; To Crafting And Beyond; Yellow Rose Reptiles; Enchanter's Emporium; Scott Hanson Illustration; Colleen’s Crafty Creations LLC; V’s Sweet Treats; Vivid Wings; Mycro Forest; Under The Elder Tree; Genesis Youth Crisis Center; Peaceniks Creations; Amanda's Enchantments; Moonbeam Designs Co.; Twinerwinks; Crystal Knights Herbary; Mel’s Alternative Images; Bella Designs Wicked; and Spirit Kitty Creations. Informational vendors include Sexual Assault Help Center with wand making activities and Amanda White Vacations. The Smart Center will have "Better Than Magic" activities and demonstrations from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Read the full article