#LUKE THOMPSON YOU LEGEND

[mrsbridgerton]

the bridgertons (mainly benedict) being confused with colin’s appearance (“glow up”)

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

Bridgerton cast the roles they auditioned for Vs the role they actually got in the end! Y’all see NICOLA oh!

Nicola Coughlan Pen got Pen

Claudia Jessie Pen got Eloise

Jonathan Bailey Simon got Anthony

Luke Newton Simon got Colin

Phoebe Dyvenor 2 roles Pen and ? got Daphne

Calam Lynch Colin got Theo

Hannah Dodd Daphne got Francesca

Luke Thompson Duke got Benedict

and people cry about why she’s the favourite and why she’s the main character face of the whole show like I’m need y’all to be fr no one is on her level no ever reaching her range and versatility all of them combined couldn’t even reach miss face of the 😂 sit down now

I just know on my mothers life Shonda was sob crying thanking her gods on her car on her way home when she got Nicola in that room and said that’s my main character face of my franchise and she was so right! It’s fcgo Shonda always I don’t like her but she really ATE but not really since its really Nicola that devoured that audition effortlessly too she didn’t even try hard because she knew it’s shondaland and there was like 500 other people auditioning for pen so she just said I’m do my best and not force it and Shonda really said you shall be my whole everything an she was right still fcvk Shonda always tho genuinely hate that eh woman

Ofc Nicola fav song on Beyoncé new album is bow down 😂 it’s literally what everyone should be doing every time they see her or go near her! bow down bitc*hes when you are in the presence of your betters!

not Nicola literally talking about having a day or two to prep for pen (in her new video that dropped now 😂 they saw me talking about and said let’s give you the proof for the antis before they jump you best girl) and being the face of one of Netflix biggest show oh she’s so silly love of my life what a legend what a queen! TV

[tremendouskoalachild]

Wookiee Jedi: A History

Wookiees. Jedi. Wookiee Jedi. How could you not love them? I’ve decided to compile a hopefully exhaustive little list of all Wookiee Jedi in Star Wars, canon or not. They are ordered chronologically by their introduction and sorted by decade.

The 90s or: Lowbacca, a category of his own

The first Wookiee Jedi in Star Wars was Lowbacca, nicknamed Lowie, introduced in 1995. He was Chewbacca’s nephew and one of the principal characters in the Young Jedi Knights book series, where he trained as one of the students at Luke’s Jedi academy alongside Han and Leia’s kids. He remained a quite frequent side character in later books, especially the New Jedi Order series.

Lowbacca was literally and figuratively exiled in the Dark Nest trilogy (2005) after Lucas banned Wookiee Jedi (we’ll get to that). He did appear in books since then until the cancellation of the now-Legends timeline, although less frequently than before. His appearances in late-stage Legends content are usually related to Wookiees and Kashyyyk specifically, rather than as just another Jedi knight, and mostly reserved for Troy Denning’s novels. Important fact to know about Lowie: I love him.

The 2000s and The Ban

The early 2000s saw the introduction of several Wookiee Jedi, although always as very minor characters. The first one we need to discuss for completeness’ sake is, no joke, Unidentified Wookiee Jedi. We know next to nothing about them: they appear briefly in the background of a 2000 book as a student of the new Jedi Order. This is contemporary with Lowbacca’s time but due to other storylines we can rule out that this Jedi is him. I suppose you can decide for yourself whether this is a simple continuity error, or a random background character used to characterize the setting of Luke’s Order as a harmonious multispecies organization (while utilizing a well-known Star Wars alien species).

For more senior – and named – Jedi we have Master Tyvokka, member of the Council, introduced in 2001. He appears in the flashbacks of a single issue of the Republic comic line by John Ostrander, though he is mentioned in several following issues. He is technically canon despite only appearing in the old continuity due to a mention in reference to Plo Koon, who was his student in both continuities. I think he’s cool for the simple fact that he used a yellow lightsaber. We know Lucas was familiar with the Republic comics (he famously incorporated Aayla into the prequels) but it isn’t entirely clear how much of them he read.

Next we have RPG Wookiees. Master Kirlocca was a prequel-era Jedi in the campaign Living Force, which started in 2001 and concluded in 2007. He has appeared in many installments and supplementary materials of the campaign but never outside it. Living Force also “introduced” Wookiee Jedi Knight Vorlocca as a corpse players find in one of its adventures. Whatever, he counts. (the RPG also introduced Force-sensitive non-Jedi Wookiees named Kuce and Furellas, who is notable for being a lady.)

At some point in the early 2000s Lucas banned the introduction of more Force-sensitive Wookiees. Apart from Lowie this affected Hanharr, a member of your party and playable character in KOTOR II. The devs were supposedly not allowed to include the option of making him a Dark Jedi for this reason. When working on ROTS, concept artist Derek Thompson "wanted to try at least one Wookiee Jedi on the off chance that George would go for it. He didn't go for it."

The 2010s or: maybe we can get Wookiee Jedi again?

Quite possibly the most widely known on this list is Gungi, the first Wookiee Jedi we’ve seen on screen. He made his first appearance in a 2012 episode of The Clone Wars’ fifth season as one of the Jedi younglings gathering crystals for their lightsabers, in an arc that was at one point considered for its own spinoff. He has since also appeared in The Bad Batch season 2. His nature as a Wookiee Jedi is specifically referred to as rare by Huyang and since Lucas was still involved in making the show at that time we can assume he either went back on his distaste for furry Jedi by then, or wanted Gungi to be all the more unique.

Also in 2012 – suggesting Gungi’s introduction might have loosened the ban – we have another comic Jedi, Ruhr. More accurately, he was a Je’daii, a predecessor organization to the Order we know. He was part of the Dawn of the Jedi series, also by Ostrander for Dark Horse. That series ended 15 issues in because the comic rights were transferred to Marvel after the Disney sale, so no more Ruhr.

We also absolutely have to mention Kitmum. She (!) is not canon and never was – unlike the other books and comics discussed here her 2013 book was explicitly non-canonical even before the impending canon reboot of 2014. We love her for her outfit, teaching children how to exercise, and being the only girl Jedi on this list.

The 2020s and the High Republic, golden age for Wookiee Jedi fans

Star Wars publishing over the last several years was largely focused on the High Republic initiative, which is so far a great time for Jedi Wookiees (or, more accurately, for their fans – the Jedi are not doing so good), with more to come soon in The Acolyte, set in the same era.

The first and most prominent is Burryaga Agaburry, one of the principal characters in the adult novel trilogy in Phase I, introduced in Light of the Jedi (2021). He is both a POV character in his own right and the best friend of the main teenage Jedi in the adult novels, Bell Zettifar. Apart from the novels he appears in the audio drama Tempest Runner and is often mentioned or shown in the background of many other High Republic projects. He is also one of the characters most often depicted in children’s media of the era, probably due to his adorable cuddly appearance. His fate in the wake of Phase I’s ending was a major cliffhanger leading into Phase III, leaving the readers hanging for over a year and a half. You love Burry.

The other major Wookiee Jedi in the High Republic multimedia project is Arkoff, technically first introduced in the same book as Burry due to a single mention of his name in a list of notable Jedi. He is the teacher of Lily, herself the protagonist of the Edge of Balance manga, and appears more notably in the manga’s prequel volume set 150 years earlier during Phase II. Ah, the advantages of Wookiee life expectancy.

2023 saw the introduction of Krrsish, an initiate in the flashback sections of the Yoda comic. He has a hard time.

The first Wookiee Jedi in live action is set to be Kelnacca in The Acolyte. He is played by Joonas Suotamo, the actor who took over the role of Chewie for Solo and TROS. He’s also getting a comic one-shot by Cavan Scott later this year!

I can't wait to meet him.

[eleanor-bradstreet]

The stars of the show return: - The glasses - The thumb ring - The orange fucking shirt 🧡 For further analysis of this critical topic, please refer to my earlier work These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You).

LUKE IN GLASSES 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[thecrackshipdiaries]

Historical September

For each day of September I will be creating crackships from various medieval / historical / fantasy tv series and films. If you have any suggestions please message me and I will add it to this list.

You can pick anyone for this as long as they belong to one of the main themes. Updated: 22 / 09 / 2024

Matt Smith [Daemon Targaryen - House of Dragon] x Adelaide Kane [Mary, Queen of Scots - Reign]

Tom Hiddleston [Loki Laufeyson - MCU] x Olga Kurylenko [Etain - Centurion]

Luke Newton [Colin Bridgerton - Bridgerton] x Hailee Steinfeld [Emily Dickinson - Dickinson]

Ewan Mitchell [Aemond Targarygen - House of Dragon] x Caitlin Stasey [Kenna de Poitiers - Reign]

Sam Reid [Lestat de Lioncourt - Interview with the Vampire] and Paul Wesley [Ripper!Stefan Salvatore - The Vampire Dairies]

Daniel Gillies [Elijah Mikaelson - Viking/Medieval!TVD/TO] x Millie Brady [Aethelflaed - The Last Kingdom]

Regé-Jean Page [Simon Basset - Bridgerton] x Natalie Dormer [Anne Boleyn - Tudors]

Olivia Cooke [Alicent Hightower - House of Dragon] x Jodie Comer [Princess Elizabeth - The White Princess]

Anya Chalotra [Yennefer - The Witcher] x Katheryn Winnick [Lagertha - Vikings]

Freya Allan [Ciri - the Witcher] x Skander Keynes ]Edmund Pevensie - Narnia]

Elle Fanning [Aurora - Maleficent] x Julian Morris [Phillip - OUAT]

Adelaide Kane [Mary, Queen of Scots - Reign] x Nicola Coughlan [Penelope Bridgerton - Bridgerton]

Ruby Stokes [Francesca Bridgerton - Bridgerton) x Jessica Parker Kennedy [Max - Black Sails]

Caitlin Stasey [Kenna de Poitiers - Reign] x Alex Høgh Anderse [Ivar the Boneless - Vikings]

India Amarteifio [Queen Charlotte - Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story] x Aidan Turner [Ross Poldark - Poldark]

Jacob Anderson [Louis de pointe du lac - interview with the vampire] x kat graham [1920s!bonnie bennett - the vampire diaries]

Kristen Stewart [Snow White - Snow White and The Huntsman] x Mads Mikkelsen [Tristan - King Arthur]

Jonathan Rhys Meyers [King Henry VIII - Tudors] x Eleanor Tomlinson [Demelza Poldark - Poldark]

Luke Pasqualino [D'Artagnan - The Musketeers] x Emma D’Arcy [Rhaenyra Targaryen - House of the Dragon]

Cillian Murphy (as Tommy Shelby) and Nina Dobrev (in The Vampire Diaries as Katherine or Elena)

Claudia Jessie (Bridgerton) x Patrick Gibson (Shadow and Bone)

Johnny Flynn [mr. Knightley - Emma 2020] x Ruby Barker [Marina Thompson - Bridgerton]

Anya chalotra [ the witcher] and bridget regan [legend of the seeker]

Anna Popplewell [Reign] x Sujaya Dasgupta [Shadow and Bone]

Morfydd Clark [Galadriel in The Rings of Power] and Sean Teale [in Reign or Rosaline]

Patrick Gibson [as Nikolai Lantsov] and Kate Beckinsale

Georgie Henley in The Spanish Princess and Ben Barnes in Shadow and Bone

.

.

.

[bridgertonbabe]

In Conversation with Bridgerton

1. Jim Carter is a legend and he was a consummate host for the evening, would watch him host any interviews tbh

2. They screened the season 1 trailer as a refresher and then the cast came in; they walked down the end of the aisle and I had an aisle seat so imagine my shock and awe when wee Nicola Coughlan skipped by in her little white dress and then one by one the rest of the cast passed me; I was shook.

3. Right off the bat Jim asked Ruth to try and remember all 8 of her children’s names in alphabetical order; she got ABC alright but struggled to remember Daphne lmao and you had Luke and Adjoa both hissing the answer to her, she also stumbled with Francesca (though who can blame her, Franny’s barely in the show lol), and afterwards she blamed her dyslexia for her hesitation; and that was the moment I fell in love with Ruth Gemmell. 

4. Golda and Adjoa were definitely the most verbal and enthusiastic at the beginning as they led the answers and then the rest got more comfortable as the event carried on. 

5. On Adjoa’s first day shooting as Lady D she stamped her walking stick down so hard it broke (she went through a load of sticks and referred to it as Lady D’s Stick of Death).

6. They were asked who Newton got on best with and they said Simone, Adjoa revealed Lady D does not care for the dog, Luke said the dog was indifferent to him (Ruth or Golda pointed out it was probably because he didn’t have any treats on him), and Nicola said she had one scene with him and he didn’t care to be there, classic diva behaviour. 

7. Luke was asked about Benedict’s sexuality and he said he played the part with an openness since you don’t want to give the audience everything about the character in the first season. He said he leaves the character direction up to the writers and referred to them as “the gods” so he goes with what they write but wanted to leave the portrayal up for interpretation. 

8. The crew made Golda a neck brace because they could sense she was struggling with the weight of the wigs for so long. 

9. Martins confirmed that Will Mondrich is named after famous Regency boxer Bill Richmond and revealed that the name choice was a near anagram.

10. He actually used an American accent at the table read for Will since they were basing the character off of Bill and he was originally from America, but after conversations relating to having to bring up why the character had moved to England and such they decided on an English accent. 

11. When asked what drew them to the script, Luke revealed they were all sought out for an audition and given a single scene to work from. He got the scene between Benedict and Eloise smoking in the garden (which he referred to as the “swing scene” and some of the other cast made suggestive jokes about what that might entail) and liked how the scene showed off the sibling bond and how it could be set in modern day. 

12. There were mix ups between the two Lukes on set, a particular favourite mix up of Nicola’s was that Luke Newton was given a personal trainer in the first season since he’d be doing an intimate scene and as they’re not given all the scripts all at once, they wondered what is might entail. It turned out Luke Thompson was doing the intimate scene (with Gen) and that they gave Luke N a trainer for nothing!

13. Another Luke Newton anecdote; Nicole revealed in the second season that Penelope is hiding her money underneath floorboards to keep her secret from her family. She mentioned to Luke N that she had been hiding money under floorboards and he replied “what, like in your flat?” 

[gatheringbones]

what are you favorite books on your bookshelf? fiction or nonfiction

I’ve got a $300 copy of assotto saint’s poems and plays I found for six bucks at a homophobic used bookstore, a hundred and twenty year old Ernest thompson seton from my grandmother, a signed copy of the legend of Luke by Brian Jacques, all my robin hobbs and diane duanes that survived into adulthood, and the copy of the gulag archipelago my mom bought me after I saw v for vendetta and said I couldn’t stop thinking about the lesbians writing toilet paper novels in prison and she thought this indicated an interest in Soviet history.

[andillwriteyouatragedy]

i can be your long-lost pal — a din and luke playlist

you can call me al - paul simon // high on you - survivor // lay your hands on me - thompson twins // brass in pocket - pretenders // kyrie - mr. mister // magnet and steel - walter egan // golden - harry styles // legends never die - orville peck with shania twain // human touch - bruce springsteen // wicked game - chris isaak // you make loving fun - fleetwood mac // jackie and wilson - hozier // wouldn’t it be nice - the beach boys // i melt with you - modern english // cut to the feeling - carly rae jepsen // princes of the universe - queen // faith - george michael // take on me - weezer // handle with care - traveling wilburys // dream a little dream of me - the mamas and the papas

available on spotify

now also available on 8tracks

[king-gob]

What’s a good comic that doesn’t involve superheroes?

oh buddy. pal. friendo. I’ll limit myself to books currently running to keep this only a single mile long. Note that depending on how loose your definition of “superhero” is will affect this. I’ve seen people call John McClane a superhero so yeah.

Something is Killing the Children

by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera (Boom! Studios)

Kids have been going missing in a sleepy woodland town. A strange woman named Erica arrives, determined to do something about it. She partners with a young boy who claims to have seen the thing stalking the town, and things quickly spiral further out of control. Well-written characters and fantastic art. Easily my favorite book running right now.

The Department of Truth

by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds (Image)

Cole Turner is an FBI agent who specializes in conspiracy theories and the deleterious effect it has on the minds of people obsessed with them. Unfortunately for him, he is about to discover that there is more going on under the surface than he realized and belief is far more powerful than he could ever imagine. Tynion is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers, and Simmonds’s art is even better here than it was in Dying Is Easy (which I also recommend). This series has one of the best first issues I’ve ever read, and I was hooked instantly. A definite recommend if you are as interested in conspiracy theories as I am.

Fire Power

by Robert Kirkman and Chris Samnee (Image)

Owen Johnson is a regular dad in the suburbs. He has a great wife, two kids and a job working at his father-in-law’s antique shop. What sets him apart is that he had spent years of his early life in a Shaolin temple, mastering martial arts, including the legendary Fire Power, the ability to generate fire from his body. He has long since turned his back on his order and the responsibilities they demand, but his former life is not ready to let him go. Written by Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead and with art by the great Chris Samnee, Fire Power is a great martial arts comic, recommended for fans of Street Fighter or anyone who likes seeing monks and ninjas beat each other up. I definitely recommend starting from the “Volume 0″ prequel trade. It’s not ESSENTIAL but I believe the story flows much better with it that way.

Fear Case

by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins (Dark Horse)

Two Secret Service agents are investigating the Fear Case, the Service’s oldest open case. All agents are put on the case, but are only given a single year to investigate, as the case has the tendency to ruin the lives of those who get too close. Winters and Mitchum are in the last three weeks before they have to turn the case over, but they are closer than anyone has gotten in the history of the Service to getting their hands on the legendary box. But the closer they get, the more bodies they seem to find, and the duo’s mental and emotional limits are stretched to their breaking point. Everything Matt Kindt writes is worth reading, and this series is no different. Recommended for fans of the X-Files and other supernatural mysteries.

I Breathed a Body

by Zac Thompson and Andy MacDonald (Aftershock)

Telling too much about this comic would honestly be spoiling it. In the not-too-distant future, the biggest social media influencer in the world posts something horrific and the macabre lengths his PR team go to to handle it. The art is extremely good at showing the body horror involved and while I do recommend the comic, be warned, it is *extremely* fucked up. Excellent horror comic.

Once and Future

by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora (Boom! Studios)

Terrorists resurrect King Arthur in a bid for power, but it turns out that the english legend is not what they thought or bargained for. Now, a retired monster hunter and her archeologist grandson must turn back the tide of returning myths before the world is irreversibly plunged into darkness. But their family history has plenty of shadows of their own. Really great book from two of my favorite creators, and really love the way they play with the metatextual nature of the myths and legends involved. Very fun.

Seven Secrets

by Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo (Boom! Studios)

A clandestine order protects seven briefcases which hold seven secrets. However, a betrayal from within threatens to reveal those secrets, and Caspar, the son of two former protectors of the Seven Secrets, must discover the truth before all is lost. Tom Taylor is a fantastic writer that makes everything he writes infectiously fun, and with Di Nicuolo’s great eye for action scenes, this is an adventure book worth checking out.

Stillwater

by Chip Zdarsky and Ramón K. Pérez (Image)

A promise of a substantial inheritance brings Daniel West and his friend to the quiet town of Stillwater. However, they quickly realize the town’s sinister secret: in Stillwater, nobody dies. And as the marketing for the book says, that’s not just a promise, it’s a threat. Good writing and an intriguing mystery. Highly recommended.

That Texas Blood

by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips (Image)

The murder of his brother brings an aspiring writer back to the Texas town of his youth, and puts him on a violent road to his own undoing. Fantastic writing. If you’re like me and love dark neo-western and crime stories, then I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. Look elsewhere if you want happy endings.

We Only Find Them When They’re Dead

by Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo (Boom! Studios)

Captain Malik and his crew pilot an autopsy ship, so named because they harvest meat, metal and other materials from the fresh corpses of dead gods that appear on the edge of space. Malik wants to see a living god, and is willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. But the ghosts of his past haunt him, and until he confronts them, making history won’t be easy. Fantastic cosmic sci-fi story with gorgeous art by Di Meo. Recommended for people who love stories set in space, and also for people who love long panels.

American Ronin

by Peter Milligan and ACO (AWA Upshot)

In a future where supercorporations rule everyone’s lives (I know that may be hard to visualize but try to imagine it), war is fought not by nations, but by enhanced operatives carrying out all manner of assassinations and espionage. But when one unnamed operative breaks his programming and goes on the hunt, the entire sick system is about to be violently brought down. Really interesting protagonist who has a great ability. Hunt down his targets by ingesting their DNA to learn how they think, and then using that empathic ability to get inside their heads. The cat and mouse games are really fun, and I highly recommend for anyone who likes superspy stories or seeing complex plans pay off.

Casual Fling

by Jason Starr and Dalibor Talajić (AWA Upshot)

Jennifer Ryan is a successful lawyer with a loving family and a great career, but a bad decision (that is, cheating on her stay-at-home husband) made on a whim has disastrous consequences. Saying much more would be spoiling, but there is definitely something sinister going on beneath the surface. Made in the style of erotic thrillers like Fatal Attraction and Eyes Wide Shut, this book features very well-written, realistic characters and importantly (to me anyway) refuses to condemn the protagonist while not shying away from the destructive results of her mistakes. I picked this book up because I liked Jason Starr’s previous book, Red Border, and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Recommended.

Bitter Root

by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown and Sanford Greene (Image)

In 1920s Harlem, a long-standing family of monster hunters is splintering. Tragedy and conflicting worldviews are tearing them apart, and they’re going to need to stand together if they want to save New York City from the darkness that’s coming. Hate is a powerful thing, but also a cancer, and it’s about to metastasize. Really great worldbuilding and immediately likeable characters. Despite having a lot of themes about hate and prejudice (and utilizing them particularly well, in my opinion), the book is an exceptional action story. David F. Walker is a favorite writer of mine (See: Shaft, Nighthawk, Luke Cage) and Chuck Brown wrote the incredibly fun On the Stump (also highly recommended). The issues also feature essays from black scholars who expand on some of the historical events and themes that are present in the book, if you’re into that sort of thing (which I am). I’m not sure if those are in the trades, though.

Honorable Mentions/Books that I am too tired to give the full treatment to right now: Babyteeth (Aftershock) Chained to the Grave (IDW) Dead Dog’s Bite (Dark Horse) Decorum (Image) Deep Beyond (Image) Dryad (Oni Press) Family Tree (Image) The Goon (Albatross Funnybooks) Killadelphia (Image) Nocterra (Image) Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology (Dark Horse) Orcs (Boom! Studios) Orphan and the Five Beasts (Dark Horse) Outcast (Image) Proctor Valley Road (Boom! Studios) Redneck (Image) Sea of Sorrows (IDW) Second Coming (AHOY Comics) Silver Coin (Image) Tartarus (Image) Two Moons (Image) Undiscovered Country (Image) Undone by Blood (Aftershock) Vampire: The Masquerade (Vault Comics) Wynd (Boom! Studios) Year Zero (AWA Upshot) Honorable Mentions/Books that have ended but you should check out: A Walk Through Hell (Aftershock) American Born Chinese (First Second) American Vampire (DC Comics) Animosity (Aftershock) Archangel 8 (AWA Upshot) Bad Reception (Aftershock) Basketful of Heads (DC Comics) Black Science (Image) Blacksad (Dark Horse) Chew (Image) Dark Ark (Aftershock) Dark Red (Aftershock) Daytripper (DC Comics) Dead Day (Aftershock) Devil’s Highway (AWA Upshot) The Dollhouse Family (DC Comics) East of West (Image) Folklords (Boom! Studios) Gideon Falls (Image) God Country (Image) Grendel, KY (AWA Upshot) Hotell (AWA Upshot) Infidel (Image) Knights Temporal (Aftershock) Locke and Key (IDW) The Low, Low Woods (DC Comics) The Man Who Fucked Up Time (Aftershock) Midnight Nation (Image) Nailbiter (Image) Orc Stain (Image) Pestilence (Aftershock) Plunge (DC Comics) Preacher (DC Comics) Pride of Baghdad (DC Comics) Red Border (AWA Upshot) The Red Mother (Boom! Studios) The Replacer (Aftershock) Scalped (DC Comics) Scott Pilgrim (Oni Press) Strange Skies Over East Berlin (Boom! Studios) Tokyo Ghost (Image) Transmetropolitan (DC Comics) Unholy Grail (Aftershock) The Wicked + The Divine (Image) Y: The Last Man (DC Comics)

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

M: The Characters, Pt 1

Ma Rainey Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom | Mabel Wisbech Year of the Rabbit | Macy Vaughn Charmed Reboot | Maddie Bishop Siren | Madeleine Dumas Death in Paradise | Madge Shelton Anne Boelyn | Madi Black Sails | Mae Morton The Photograph | Mae Turner Jurassic World: Camp Cretacious | Maggie Baptiste Stitchers | Maggie Pierce Grey’s Anatomy | 

Mahandra McGinty Wonderfalls | Makkari The Eternals | Malika Williams Good Trouble | Mama Morton Chicago | Mania Kiss Me First | Margaret of Anjou The Hollow Crown | Margot Rivers Get Even | Maria Trick ‘R Treat | Maria Elkman Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest | Mariah Dillard Luke Cage | Mariana The Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf

Marie Laveau AHS Coven | Marie Owens Twenties | Marienne Bellamy You | Marina Thompson Bridgerton | Marisa Golding Rainbow High | Marlene The Last of Us | Martha Jones Dr. Who | Marti Jason’s Lyric | Mary Pop’N Music | Mary Cratchit A Christmas Carol | Master Raven Tekken | Matar Kubileya Leader The Expanse | Matty Mereaux Eve’s Bayou |

Maude Happily | Maura Lee Karupt The Doom Patrol | Maureen Parker The Proud Family | Max Black Sails | Maxine Gibson Batman Beyond | Maxine Robinson Daytime Divas | Maxine Shaw Living Single | May Day A View to Kill | Maya Craig of the Creek | Maya Master of None | 

Maya Abeola Maya and the Rising Dark Series | Maya Lewis (Mama Pope) Scandal | Maya Wilkes Girlfriends | Mazikeen Lucifer | Meeka (Princess Meeka) Coming 2 America | Meg Motherland BBC | Meg Murry A Wrinkle in Time | Megan Evers The Haunted Mansion | Megan Gandlym Star VS The Forces of Evil | Mel Nowhere | Mel Medarda Arcane League of Legends | 

Melanie The Girl with All the Gifts | Melody Valentine Riverdale | Melusi Rainbow Six Seize | Mercedes Jones Glee | Mercedes Woodbine P Valley | Merida Brave |

M Pt 2

[echocsofu]

Updated Gif Pack List as of 7/22/21

Finished & Posted

Claudia Doumit in the Boys

Imogen Waterhouse in Season 1 of The Outpost // Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3

Jake Stormoen in Love, Lost & Found

Jake Stormoen in Season 1 of The Outpost // Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3

Jessica Green in Season 1 of The Outpost // Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5

Katherine McNamara in Green Arrow & The Canaries

Katherine McNamara in Arrow

Katherine McNamara in The Stand

Katherine McNamara in Trust

Katherine Mcnamara in Finding You

Luke Macfarlane in A Valentine’s Match

Rachel Skarsten - Marry Me at Christmas

Theo James in War on Everyone

Theo James in Lying and Stealing

Ongoing & In Progress

Alisha Wainwright in Season 3B of Shadowhunters

Dominic Sherwood in Season 3B of Shadowhunters

Katherine McNamara in Season 3B of Shadowhunters

Luke Macfarlane in Season 1 of Killjoys

To Do:

Aaron Ashmore in Killjoys

Aaron Fontaine in The Outpost Seasons 2 -4

Alisha Wainwright in Shadowhunters

Ashleigh LaThrop in The 100 Seasons 6-7

Camrus Johnson in Batwoman Season 1 & 2

Chuku Modu in The 100 Seasons 6-7

Dakota Johnson in Wounds

Dominic Sherwood in Shadowhunters 

Dominic Sherwood in Penny Dreadful

Eliza Taylor in the 100 Season 7

Hannah John-Kamen in Killjoys

Imogen Waterhouse in In the Pink

Imogen Waterhouse in Rain Stops Play

Imogen Waterhouse in The Outpost Season 2-3

Izuka Hoyle in The Outpost Seasons 3-4

Jake Stormoen in all Mythica movies

Jake Stormoen in The Outpost Seasons 2-3

Jared Joseph in the 100 Seasons 5-7

Jovan Adepo in Sorry for Your Loss Seasons 1 & 2

Jovan Adepo in The Violent Heart

Jovan Adepo in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan

Jovan Adepo in Watchmen

Jessica Green in Cino

Jessica Green in Roman Empire

Jessica Green in The Outpost Seasons 2-4

Katherine McNamara in El Tonto (when it’s released)

Katherine McNamara in Shadowhunters

Katherine McNamara in Untitled Horror Movie 

Lindsey Morgan in The 100 Season 7

Luisa d'Oliveira in The 100 Seasons 5-7

Luke Macfarlane in A Shoe Addict’s Christmas

Luke Macfarlane in Chateau Christmas

Luke Macfarlane in Killjoys

Luke Macfarlane in Sense, Sensibility, and Snowmen

Luke Macfarlane in Taking a Shot at Love

Maisie Richardson-Sellers in Legends of Tomorrow - All seasons

Marie Avgeropoulos - The 100 Seasons 6-7

Nicole Kang - Batwoman Season 1 & 2

Poppy Drayton - Charmed Season 2 & 3

Poppy Drayton - Home by Spring

Rachel Skarsten - Acquainted 

Rachel Skarsten - Batwoman Season 1 & 2

Rachel Skarsten - For Love (when it’s released)

Rachel Skarsten - Molly’s Game

Rachel Skarsten - Nurses

Rachel Skarsten - Wynonna Earp

Reece Ritchie in The Outpost Seasons 2-4

Richard Harmon in the 100 Seasons 5-7

Sachin Sahel - The 100 Seasons 5-7

Sara Thompson - The 100 Seasons 6-7

Shannon Kook - The 100 Seasons 6-7

Shelby Flannery - The 100 Season 7

Sophie Moore - Batwoman Season 1 & 2

Taysa Teles - The 100 Seasons 5-7

Suggestions:

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Not currently taking suggestions or requests. 

[tabloidtoc]

Life & Style, February 8 -- part 2 of 2

You can now buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Page 21: Trevor Noah has given Minka Kelly a key to his new $27.5 million Bel Air mansion so could a ring be next? Less than a year after they were first linked the two have decided to move in together sparking speculation that the couple may soon take another big step: marriage -- friends have been whispering that Minka and Trevor are engaged but like most celebrity couples they need to iron out their financial assets first and Trevor's even joked that they're in the not-so romantic prenup stage which is why they haven't announced anything yet

Page 22: Cover Story -- Ben Affleck's sad spiral -- after Ana de Armas ends their yearlong romance Ben is struggling to pick up the pieces with loved ones fearing for his sobriety -- Ben appeared thin and unhappy when he stepped outside his home to pick up a delivery and everyone is worried about him -- Jennifer Garner divorced Ben years ago yet she still finds herself having to fret over and look after him -- Ben's closest confidant Matt Damon is more than 8000 miles away filming Thor: Love and Thunder -- Ana gets a breakover: she debuted a new look in a YouTube tribute to a friend with much shorter hair and bangs but the haircut could be for her role in the upcoming film The Gray Man opposite her Knives Out co-star Chris Evans who she's been speaking and texting with and the chemistry between them is insane and those working with them wouldn't be surprised if they're dating and the thought of Ana dating another man makes Ben want to vomit -- when Ana would rave about Chris in the past and how she couldn't wait to work with him again Ben already felt twinges of jealousy

Page 26: Is Kim Kardashian dating Van Jones? Sparks fly between Kim and the CNN commentator but Kanye West isn't as eager to move on

Page 28: Armie Hammer's ex Elizabeth Chambers issues an ultimatum: go to rehab or lose the kids -- after more details of Armie's shocking double life emerge Elizabeth makes moves to shield their two children

Page 30: Here Come the Celeb Brides -- all the latest I Do details of the stars -- Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez

Page 31: Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell, is Gigi Hadid engaged to Zayn Malik

Page 32: Gift Guide -- Give a Little Love -- this Valentine's Day gift all your favorite people (or yourself) with something from the heart -- Chrissy Teigen and John Legend

Page 34: Ryan Reynolds and Blake Shelton

Page 36: Who Lives Here? Sylvester Stallone

Page 40: Diva or Down-to-Earth? Angelina Jolie shops off the rack at an Ethiopian boutique in L.A. -- down-to-earth, Machine Gun Kelly whisked his daughter Casie off to NYC on a private jet -- diva, Justin Theroux cleans up after his rescue pup Kuma in NYC -- down-to-earth

Page 42: Social Stars Posts of the Week -- Chandler Powell gives pregnant Bindi Irwin's belly a kiss, Bridgerton's Martins Imhangbe and Rege-Jean Page and Luke Thompson and Luke Newton cooled off in between scenes, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and her daughter Giovanna, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom brush their teeth together

Page 44: Horoscope -- Aquarius Shakira turned 44 on February 2

* They're Not Together, But They Should Be -- Capricorn Lewis Hamilton and Sagittarius Zoe Kravitz

Page 48: What I'm Into -- Catherine Lowe

[heressomestuffyoumightlike]

Disney Investor Day 2020 Info Dump

DIsney just put out the most insane collection of entertainment news I’ve ever seen in a 4-hour presentation. Here’s the big stuff:

LUCASFILM

Ashoka (Series) Set during the time of The Mandalorian.

Rangers of the New Republic (Series) also set during the time of The Mandalorian.

Andor (Series) follows Cassian Andor before the events of Rogue One. 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Series) will have Hayden Christensen returning as Darth Vader.

The Bad Batch (Series) seems to be an animated continuation of The Clone Wars with The Bad Batch characters introduced in season 7, set after the fall of the Jedi.

The Acolyte (Series) is set many years before the Skywalker saga, following the rise of the dark side.

Lando (Series)

Star Wars Visions (Series) An anime series of Star Wars shorts

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (Movie) directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman). Christmas 2023

Taika Waititi is writing and directing a new Star Wars movie

Willow (Movie) is getting a sequel with Warwick Davis. 2022

Indiana Jones 5 will be the final film in the series. Harrison Ford returning, and directed by James Mangold (Logan). Summer 2022

Children of Blood and Bone (Movie?) based on the YA series

DISNEY LIVE-ACTION

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (Movie?) with Emilio Estevez returning

Turner & Hooch (Movie?)

Beauty and the Beast Prequel Series (Series) with Luke Evans and Josh Gad returning. No Date

Swiss Family Robinson (Series?). No Date

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Series). No Date

The Mysterious Benedict Society (Movie) looks like Umbrella Academy for kids, but no superpowers... Funny trailer.

Hocus Pocus 2, Three Men and a Baby remake, a bunch of sports movies, Flora & Ulysses, Cheaper by the Dozen, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Ice Age: The Adventures of Buck Wild, an animated Night at the Museum sequel, all revealed without much fanfare

Jungle Cruise (Movie) coming next July

The Lion King Live-Action Sequel

The Little Mermaid (Movie) will be going to theaters

Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers (Movie) is a live action/CG hybrid with the voices of Andy Samberg and John Mulaney

Pinnochio (Movie) starring Tom Hanks, going to Disney+

Peter Pan and Wendy (Movie) with Jude Law as Captain Hook going to Disney+

Disenchanted (Movie) is the Enchanted Sequel with Amy Adams returning to Disney+

Sister Act 3 (Movie) with Whoopie Goldberg returning to Disney+

Cruella (Movie) starring Emma Stone in the 70′s set prequel

DISNEY ANIMATION

Raya and the Last Dragon will release in theatres and Disney+ Premier Access in March 2021

Baymax! (Series) focuses on Baymax’s desire to be a nurse robot. Early 2022

Zootopia+ (Shorts) Shorts set in the world of Zootopia. Spring 2022

Tiana (Series) “Long-form musical comedy series” sequel to Princess and the Frog. 2023

Moana (Series) A sequel series to the movie. 2023

Iwaju (Series) This fururistic animated series is a collaboration between Disney and Pan-African comic book entertainment company Kugali,set in Nigeria and “steeped in science fiction”. 2022

Encanto (Movie) Their next animated film from the creators of Zootopia, set in Colombia. Songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Fall 2021

PIXAR

Dug Days (Series) A continuation series of Up with Dug and Carl. Fall 2021

Cars Series (Series). It’s Cars.

Win or Lose (Series) It’s about a kids softball team or something. Fall 2023

Luca (Movie) Set in Italy. What if pasta had a soul? June 2021

Turning Red (Movie) A 13-year old girl who "poofs” into a giant red panda when she gets too excited. From the director of the “Bao” short. Spring 2022

Lightyear (Movie) Buzz Lightyear origin story with Chris Evans as Buzz. Actual Buzz Lightyear, not a toy. Summer 2022

MARVEL

Wandavision (January 15), Falcon and Winter Soldier (March 2021) and Loki (May 2021) series coming very soon

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness confirms Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Elizabeth Olson returning, as well as newcomer Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez. Connects to Wandavision and Spider-Man 3. March 25, 2022

Black Widow is I guess still coming to Theatres on May 7, 2021

What If...? (series) Animated alternate tales from the MCU (What if T’challa was kidnapped by Yondu instead of Peter? What if Peggy Carter became Captain America? Etc.) 2021

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Movie) releasing July 9, 2021

Ms. Marvel (Series) filming now, coming in 2021.

Captain Marvel 2 (Movie) will feature Ms. Marvel as well. No date.

Hawkeye (Series) has Jeremy Renner, and Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. Late 2021

She Hulk (Series) starring Tatiana Maslany and featuring Mark Ruffalo and Tim Roth (Abomination from The Incredible Hulk). Described as “very funny”, and I guess because it’s a legal show, “anyone” could show up. 2022?

Moon Knight (Series) Basically Batman, but with Egyptian gods in his head. Rumours are Oscar Issac is playing him, but no confirmation here

Secret Invasion (Series) will follow the Skrull invasion of Earth, where they imperinate various world politicians and heroes. Starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelson

Ironheart (Series) young black supergenius Riri Williams picks up the mantle of Iron Man.

Armor Wars (Series) has Don Cheadle returning as Rhodey, and asks the question “what happens when Tony Stark’s technology falls into the wrong hands”

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special written and directed by James Gunn. Christmas 2022

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (Movie) in 2023

I Am Groot (Shorts). No Date

Thor: Love and Thunder (Movie) from Taika Waititi with Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Christian Bale as Gorr the God-Butcher. May 6 2022

Blade (Movie) starring Mahershala Ali. No date.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Movie) Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer returning, with Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang and Jonathan Majors as the villain, Kang the Conquerer. No date

Black Panther 2 will not recast T’challa but will move forward to further explore the world of Wakanda. July 8, 2022

Fantastic 4 is in some stage of production, with Jon Watts (Director of the recent Spider-Man trilogy) directing.

Zero talk of Spider-Man 3, but recent rumours are nuts. Coming December 2021

Hopefully there is something here to excite you

[redrikki]

July is Disability Awareness Month. Here is a master list of my stories featuring and focusing on characters with disabilities.

Agent Carter

Cheer Up, Get Out of Bed - Jack had opened up to Peggy Carter and all he got was this lousy concussion. Tag to 1.06. (Jack Thompson, Daniel Sousa) [features amputee character] warning: ableist language

Take Good Care of Yourself - Post Season 2 finale, three people who visited Jack Thompson in the hospital and one who never made it. (Jack Thompson, Daniel Sousa, Peggy Carter, Rose Roberts, Dottie Underwood) [features amputee character]

A Modest Proposal - The mess with Vernon Masters has left Daniel's office short staffed, but he has some replacements in mind. (Daniel Sousa, Edwin Jarvis) [focus on amputee character]

Avatar: The Last Airbender & Legend of Korra

Gather Up Every Wayward Lock - The girls do their hair. (Katara, Azula, Toph) [focus on blind character]

Chips and Blocks - Lin called Toph 'Chif' for years before some well-meaning busybody taught her to say 'Mom' instead. Toph isn't sure what kind of mom she is, but she knows which kind she doesn't want to be. (Toph, Lin, Poppy) [focus on blind character]

Leaves on the Wind - Korra's spirit gives some advice to the next Avatar. (Korra, OC) [focus on characters with chronic illness]

Downton Abbey

The Hedgehog’s Dilemma - Thomas Barrow’s daemon is a hedgehog and you best mind his spikes. Five warnings, four relationships and one revelation. (Thomas Barrow, Sarah O’Brien, Duke of Crowburrough, Edward Courtney, Jimmy Kent) [features blind character]

The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)

The Language of Bees - Bees talk by dancing too. (Ezran, Amaya) [features deaf character]

Star Wars 

Prequels Era

Bridal Carry - On Naboo, it's tradition for the groom to carry the bride to their marriage bed. With Anakin's new prosthetic, it's more difficult than it sounds. (Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker) [features amputee character]

Nothing to Write Home About - WIP. A month after losing his wife, Cliegg Lars decides to write to her son. Anakin Skywalker gets the pen pal he never knew he needed. (Cliegg Lars, Anakin Skywalker) [focus on amputee characters]

Lightning Rod - Anakin gets electrocuted...again. It probably says something bad about his life that he's getting used to it. (Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi) [focus on amputee character]

Ahsoka the Vampire Slayer - BTvS fusion. Ahsoka is the Chosen One, the Slayer. The one girl in all the world with the power to fight the forces of darkness, or at least she was until she died. She got better, but now there's a new Slayer in town and things with her Watcher are strained at best. Add in a bunch of zombie mind control bugs and Ahsoka's week could be going better. (Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker, Luminara Undulli, Barriss Offee) [featuring amputee character]

Rebels Era

Chicken Soup for the Jedi Soul - Four meals Kanan made for his crew and one he made for himself. (Kanan Jarrus, Ghost Crew) [focus on blind character]

A Distraction - Kanan's been blinded. There's nothing Hera can do to fix it so Chopper gives her something she can. (Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, Chopper) [featuring blind character]

Graffiti on the Walls of the Heartland - Three works of art Sabine made for crew members and one she made for herself. (Sabine Wren, Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Chopper) [featuring blind character]

Then My Hair’s Too Short - Apparently, Ezra had a new hair cut. That’s fine, it’s his head after all. Kanan just wished he had mentioned it. (Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger) [focus on blind character]

The Blind Beggar - When Ezra objects to Kanan taking point on a mission, Kanan decides its time they had a talk. (Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Ghost Crew) [focus on blind character]

Rebel Moments - Short stories from the Rebels era. (Ghost Crew0 [focus on blind character]

Original Trilogy

After the Funeral - Han offers Luke some unexpected support after the funeral of the guy who tortured him. (Luke Skywalker, Han Solo) [focus on amputee character]

[okimargarvez]

MISSING ALIBI

Original title: Alibi mancante.

Prompt: Penelope is suspected of a murder.

Warning: mention of sex.

Genre: crime, mistery, family, romantic, drama.

Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, Matt Simmons, Phil Brooks, BAU team, Lisa Douglas, O.C.

Pairing: Garvez, Penelope x O.C.

Note: Oneshot 52 in Garvez collection.

Legend: 💏😘😈🔦❗👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🎈.

Song mentioned: Killer, Baby K feat Tiziano Ferro.

GARVEZ STORIES

MISSING ALIBI

 She doesn’t know why among all the people she knows, she ended up contacting him.

The fingers moved independently, without waiting for the approval of the brain.

The phone rang for a long time and in the end, when she was about to give up, he decided to answer. -Garcia?- she mumbled some disconnected sentences and then she heard him say: -Wait me, I’m coming.-

She doesn't even know how she ended up letting consoled by his huge arms, as she allowed him to caress her.

How she found herself with her back pressed against the mattress, the man's body pressed against hers and his lips pressed to her mouth.

 ** Tuesday, September 25th, 2018 **

He didn't want to do it. He didn’t want to let his team, or his friends, know about that event that should have been exclusively a cause for joy. For this reason alone, more than one question he should have done many questions.

But Matt forced him. Certainly, acting in good faith, but still putting him in difficulty. - Courage, brother, you don't have to say that you have cancer.- the joke reassured everyone. A lot of shoulders have been stretched out, a few punches have melted. The friend gave him a pat on the back and, in place of a burp, Luke managed to say that simple and unintelligent sentence.

-Lisa and I get married.- someone shouted out of surprise and happiness, maybe Tara. Rossi congratulated him. Everyone smiled. But he didn't have the courage to cross her gaze directly. She was the only one who kept herself apart, a strange behavior, for an expansive person like her, especially if we considered the fact that she and Lisa liked each other, they had become friends, so much so that she would have liked to have her with the other bridesmaids, on her side of the church. This had happened months and months before, during a series of double appointments, with their three and Phil.

Someone asked him if they have already chosen the date, he replied that Lisa decides all, for him is fine in any case. Emily then made a joke about how women are now clearly wearing pants at home and Spencer started to show off a series of statistical data referring to a questionnaire carried out by the psychology faculty of...

Just when Luke thought it couldn't get any worse, the latter presented itself with a capital W. Two men entered the bullpen and stopped in front of Prentiss. No one had ever seen them before. -Are you the head of the BAU?- asked the lowest one.

-Yeah. What happens?- they were used to sudden announcements of all kinds. Without saying it, everyone feared for their loved ones.

-We need to talk to one of your subordinates.- the other continued, glancing at the team but lingering over the shapely blonde. -The IT Penelope Garcia.- why not go directly to her? Something strange was happening. The named trembled slightly, but before she could open her mouth, she was anticipated by her boss.

-What is it about?- Emily even managed to glare at her, telling her not to say anything until she thought it was appropriate. The tones of the two men were too abrupt to be here to bring bad news, like the death of one of her brothers; moreover, she noticed a hump that sprouted from their hips. They were certainly not civilians.

-We need to question her about a murder happened a few weeks ago.- many had their eyes wide open now. JJ just couldn't hold back.

-Murder?- she repeated. The two merely nodded in alternation, like two puppets with a broken head spring. Prentiss took over the situation again in her hands.

-In what capacity would you like to question her?- having grown up among diplomats will have a vantage. The low one smiled and pulled out the badge. Great. Internal Affairs. Like a tapeworm, having the enemy at home, Inside me. Lots of absurd and unrelated quotes have passed through the mind of the BAU IT. She took a step forward.

-As a person informed of the facts.- specified what was called Brown, the tallest and oldest, but not apparently of grade. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, well, not everyone. Not Emily, because she was too suspicious. Not Penelope, because she still had to face them. And not Luke, because he felt he should do something.

-For now.- Thompson added with a grin, in a low voice. Garcia sighed and then took another step towards them, identifying herself. Her colleagues stayed there, watching her walk in the direction of the elevators, then she vanish inside one of them with those two men as a company.

They took her to an aseptic room, with just a table, three chairs and certainly more than one camera. The interrogation room. She was seated on the side where the suspects usually sit, but it was not the first time she experienced such a situation, so she tried to relax.

-Let's start.- said Thompson. She noticed that the other had a notebook in front of him and probably would have taken notes on what she would say. -You are a young lady... Miss, right?- he wanted to make her nervous, to shake her. He knew perfectly well that she wasn't married. But he waited until she nodded. -... Miss Penelope Grace Garcia? You have been working on the Behavioral Analysis Unit for about fifteen years, is that right?- why was he asking these useless questions?

-Yes.- she tried to stay calm.

-Do you recognize this man?- he placed a large-sized photograph of an attractive man about his age in front of her. She nodded without hesitation.

-Of course, it's Jared. We met...- she stopped for a moment to think. -... seven years ago at the theater therapy course.- but she would have to wait for the next move. Another photo, but this time Jared wasn’t alone. He was busy on kissing a woman, her; and not on the cheek.

-Apparently he was a little more than a simple classmate for you.- Brown made fun of her. -You should not only not even try to lie to us, but not even to omit details, because you are not the only federal technician available to the Bureau, you know.- she nodded, taking two big breaths before explaining.

-That photo dates back five years. We had a brief report, but it didn't work. I have not seen or heard from him since the group finally broke up four years ago.- she anticipated their next question and this didn’t seem to please either one of them.

-Can I ask you to tell us why it's over?- she felt nervousness rising.

-It never started, for that matter.- she said, at the cost of sounding like an easy woman, which she absolutely wasn't. -We've been together a little, but never in a real normal and stable relationship. We both had bad traumas to overcome, otherwise why would we have enrolled in that course?- she asked sarcastically. -But the same reason that united us, also divided us.- the sense of guilt, but this she would never have said it out loud to two of the Internal Affairs.

Brown gave a snort, scribbling off in his notebook. They still hadn't told her why she was here and what Jared had to do with it.

-Miss Garcia, do you remember what you were doing on Thursday, September 13th be-tween one and three in the morning?-

 Flashback

Plan b, it is the typical scenario, you chase me and with you is not stalking...

** Thursday, September 13th, 2018 **

She can't remember having sent a message to him, for this reason when she heard knocking on the door she jumped and asked herself who could be at that time. She moved slowly, wearing slippers in reverse, right foot in the left one and vice versa. She didn't even try to hide the signs of tears: red eyes, opaque glasses, hoarse voice. She looked out of the peephole and recognized him instantly. She sighed and leaned on the wood, feeling its coldness. On the other hand, the man sensed her presence.

In any case, he decided to gently knock on the wooden surface of the door as if it were a substitute, a fetish that represented for him the body of the woman he sensed resting right on that same wall. -Penelope?- he said his name realizing immediately the existent tone that had come out.

He heard a sob and then a hit. -Go away, Alvez, please.- the same voice, the same nuances she had used a year earlier, when she had tried to convince him that everything was okay, wearing her glasses quickly and turning away from him, and then giving up and admitting that yes, she had been to see Reid in prison and things were not going well at all.

And he repeated what he did that time, with only a little more confidence, because after Walker's death she no longer called him Newbie, because they are a family and have almost become almost friends. Almost because there is something strange, just thinking of being a friend of Garcia. -No, there is no way that I go away and I leave you so.- on the other side of the doorway, just silence. -Garcia, open this door or I'll be forced to throw it down with a kick.- and then a strange verse, similar to a hesitation. She was evaluating his threat. -You know I can do it.- the man then pushed the accelerator a little deeper.

And he was satisfied, because a short time later he heard the noise of mechanical gears and a series of electronic beeps (probably produced by her sinuous fingers that typed a security code) and the screek of the door that opened slightly. -Damned special agents.- he heard her mutter before she appeared entirely in his view. One hand came out and then the rest of the body. -Here, happy?- she said, leaning her left hand to her side, annoyed.

And the man remained for a moment dazed, dazzled by the number of things he saw and thought, the fragments had first accumulated in the retinas and then in the brain, they had spread and finally the picture had been reassembled. The slippers with little dogs that seemed to have something strange on them, but he couldn’t understand what. Her swollen and red eyes behind transparent lenses painted with salty drops. The pink dressing gown, but dark pink and not confused, barely tied to the waist, which showed what was underneath, a childish pajama that made her shapes even softer. It was the first time he had seen her in trousers and not a dress or skirt. And then, worse than anything, the blond hair, left free, was a sprawling tangle of knots. Much, but much worse than when she had appeared out of nowhere while they still believed that she was missing and in the hands of the sect with Spencer.

She has kept her gaze fixed on that of the man incredibly for the duration of the inspection. -Garcia, what happened, why are you crying?- he tried to take a step for-ward, towards her, perhaps hoping to be able to replicate an old magic trick and go through the door, or perhaps, much more realistically, that she would open it immediately. But it didn't happen that way.

Rather; she brought the door even closer to its frame, reducing the part visible to him to a chink. -It doesn't matter, you shouldn't be here.- she showed herself determined, resolute, or whatever she wasn't. -I was wrong to send the message, it was a moment of blackout. It will not happen again.- she reassured him, but that wasn’t what he expected.

He sighed, trying to calm down. To forget the excuse he had had to invent to be able to run to her. -Why do you always have to keep the barriers raised with me?- he stared her in the eyes and saw her falter. -Have you forgotten what I told you last year?- he asked, waiting for her answer.

-No, but I don't think your girlfriend would happy to know where you are now. I wouldn't in her place.- he seemed to hear a pinch of jealousy, but he probably imagined it, because that's what he wanted.

-Do you let me in or do you want to let cold air enter in your apartment?- she finally gave in, completely opening the door, but not just that. In her gaze there were so many things that for a moment he was the one who hesitated on the threshold. Then he managed to emerge and followed her to the living room, without asking permission, and sat next to her on the sofa. -So, what happened?- a worried parent's tone came out.

Penelope crossed her legs and he couldn't help but follow the sinuous movement. -Nothing, really, nothing in particular. It's just that there are days, at least once a month, when all the bad things I've seen or experienced come back to my mind all together, they crush my chest and I can't breathe, my lungs burn and my heart seems to burst and then I start to cry and go on for hours, as if I had to unload all that evil in some way.- and less badly that she said it was nothing. Luke felt the usual pang in his side, the usual impotence for not being able to live up to his words yet.

-And today was one of those days?- he asked her, trying to force her to look him in the eye, to verify her sincerity. But she didn't answer. -Penelope, I know you haven’t done the wrong number. Why did you call me?- and suddenly the solution appeared before him, so obvious and clear that he felt like an idiot for not getting earlier. -No, wait, I got it. This is not about me, but the others. You needed someone, but you would never let others see you like that. Have you always tried to get by yourself, am I right? You are the comfortable shoulder for anyone but you don't want to weigh on the others.- he wasn’t ever the type that talks a lot. Phil and Lisa always tease him about it, not understanding his discomfort. But with Penelope it has always been another story. She always manages to make him open, even, especially when, he wouldn't want.

-Alvez, shut up.- she snorted, gave him a sharp look and then quickly looked away.

And something has changed inside the man. He turned towards her. -No, not today, not this time.- he put his hand on her arm. -You are strong, but not when it concerns yourself. I understood you more than you would ever admit and the profiling has nothing to do with it.- he felt her tremble, hold her breath as if she were preparing to go underwater. -I read you from the first time I looked you in the eyes.- and in the same instant when he spread his arms to welcome her, she dived into it. She rested her head on his chest, closed her eyes and fully enjoyed his caresses on her hair. -You don't have to carry the weight of the world alone, baby.- he whispered, before he could fully realize what he had said. But she didn’t protest, she simply continued to vibrate, from fear, from emotion, who could know it. -You're so sweet and fragile.- Luke became more audacious. -Can I call you baby?- she felt the man's heart speed up.

-If you continue to hug me like this, you can do whatever you want.- she answered in full sincerity. He jumped, really surprised, but positively. A crooked smile was painted on his lips.

-Uh, really?- he asked a second time, to be absolutely sure he had the green light. She broke away from his hug and nodded vigorously.

-Yup. But only for tonight.- she added, trying to fix the robe, which in the grasp had opened even more, showing his guest much more than he would have been allowed to see.

Luke put both hands on her neck, and damn it, she was right to invent that nickname. A shiver ran through her spine. -Oh, then I should take advantage of it?- at that moment she hated him for all those useless questions, which tortured her, left her in suspense, dumped on her the responsibility for what would have happened later.

She nodded again and was surprised by the firm tone that came out of her. -Yes, you should.- the clock showed midnight and forty-five minutes.

End of flashback

 -Miss, did you hear the question I asked you?- she had heard it, unluckily.

But she couldn't really answer him with the truth. -I'm sorry, I don't remember. Has been a long time. I was probably in this building, working, or at home. They are the only places I attend. I don't have much free time.- the two agents nodded and talked to each other. She decided that she had been too patient and finally asked her question. -What happened, why am I here?- tactless Brown extracted from the inside of the notebook a smaller photo by Jared. Lying on a metal table, the skin of a strange color, swollen, and eyes closed. Definitely dead. She couldn't help but abruptly pushed it away, making them naturally think badly.

-His body was found inside a car in a nearby lake.- Thompson explained vaguely. -The autopsy confirmed that he had long since died. Exactly from September 13th.- he added with a grin.

-I haven't seen him for years, it's the truth.- but they had no intention of believing her. -Am I a suspect?- she couldn't bear all this mystery.

-We haven't read your rights, so officially not. But unofficially yes, so keep in the area.- she wanted to argue: And where else should I go? -If I was you, I would praying for that we will find another track, because otherwise your lack of an alibi could become a problem.-

 ** Wednesday, September 26th, 2018 **

-I gathered you here to talk about what happened to Garcia. A man she was dating was killed. She wasn’t entered in the list of suspects, but from how those two agents turned to her... I would not breathe a sigh of relief too soon.- Prentiss looked one by one at her subordinates in the eyes, making it clear that this was the only moment that they had available to ask their questions. Officially they could not have deal with this case, as their colleague was involved.

-But Garcia, how is she, where is she?- as usual, JJ was the first to express the concerns of the whole team. She jumped in her chair, her eyes shining and no shame for show her emotions. More than one has envied her.

-Pretty good, I sent her home, even though legally she could continue to work.- the brunette took a break. -The best thing we can do for her is handle the other cases.- she didn't notice the hand clenched into a fist of one of the men. The thought of her alone and frightened was intolerable; the idea of being forced to pretend it was nothing, quietly carry on their routine, even worse.

-Emily, you are certain that one of us should not go and see how she is doing?- fortunately he was not the only one to think so, apparently. Rossi feels like a father to every member of the BAU, due to his age and being one of the founders of the unit. More, towards his kitten, he always felt something special. At first he had failed to frame that strange, blonde girl well, with all those weird gadgets in her hair, misplaced jokes; but then, while he was still working on her profile, they had shot her and then he had seen the real Garcia and from there, it had been just love.

-It's not a bad idea, basically.- the boss agreed. - But we take it in turn. There are other people who need us.- she concluded, categorically. And so, the lucky one, chosen by lot, was Spencer. Despite having the reputation of one who never realizes the loving implications in relationships, especially among his colleagues, he noticed all at once the look of fire that one of them in particular launched at him, and it is not the first strange thing he does about Garcia... but now there is one more variable that cannot be left out: he has been engaged for a few months and is getting married. So, he shouldn't be interested in Penelope, not that way; she is a special creature, she is his best friend and after what they lived together, in the hands of the Believers... their bond came out strengthened. They protected each other and, in that hug, that they had exchanged, coming back from Kentucky, there was something more. For all these reasons, the little genius has decided that his job is to continue protecting her, now that Morgan is not here, even from the feelings of someone who could hurt her, even from someone he himself loves so much.

 He rang the woman's bell and she immediately opened it. In a dressing gown and slippers, the first bad sign, he noted in his head. -Hey, Reid, what are you doing here? The team needs your brain.- she tried to joke, but there was something out of tune in her voice. He looked her in the eye, something he rarely did with people.

-They can get by for a while without me. How... how are you?- he hesitated, because he didn't want her to understand how in reality everyone was worried about her, he didn't want to shake her even more. She shrugged her shoulders, belittling whatever she was about to say.

-I would say... pretty well.- Prentiss's own words, this detail didn’t escape him, of course. Eidetic memory marked a point. -Although I don't understand why I was sent here. I get bored and have too much time to think.- and the man knew perfectly well what tormented her mind, similar images, yet different, visited him daily. They sat on a sofa and Spencer thought he should have taken her hand, another person, in his place, would have done it. But still there was that thing of physical contact, to be overcome, that was not only the fear of germs, but much more the terror of being rejected. Not from Penelope, though.

-I'm sorry for your friend.- he said, realizing that he had never had so few words to say, and even so trivial, so unintelligent. -Did you... did you care much about him?- he didn't know what the point of it all was, and he felt very stupid in asking her such a question. He imagined how it would have happened if she had replied yes, maybe that she loved him.

-Thanks, honey.- she said, pressing her lips together until they turned white. Then she sighed softly. -A bit, in short, as I care about any person. They are all people and each has something special, but... no, if you are striving your precious brain for understand if I was in love with Jared, the answer is no. I loved him, and he loved me, but being together was the wrong thing.- she looked in the opposite direction, fixed her glasses. She wasn't crying.

-Who can decide with whom it is right to stay?- he then asked her, trying as much as possible to behave as a normal person, any compassionate human being and not as the man he had become, especially after Maeve had been killed in front in his eyes. She stared at him for a long time, and it was clear how she was thinking of someone, another man, someone she knew and Reid hoped that wasn't that particular name, but it was.

-Jared is... he was- she corrected herself -a good boy, really, but he... he had suffered traumas... was dangerous. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. How sweet he could be, he could hurt you with just one word.- he saw her shiver, but it wasn't cold in the room. He trembled too.

-Garcia, he... he hurt you?- the writing "motivation" appeared in his head, but he immediately chased it away. The seed of doubt, however, had been planted. And they would continue to dig, until the truth emerged.

-No!- she hastened to reply, shouting, her voice high and shrill. Suspicious. -Now I think it's better if you leave, I'm sure you can make yourself much more useful if you come back from the others and... tell them I can handle it, I don't need another baby-sitter.- she tried to smile, to look cheerful as she stood up and started walking towards the door, forcing him to do the same. -Don't worry about me, okay, boy wonder?-

 ** Friday, September 28th, 2018 **

The previous day had been even more grueling. Penelope almost regretted having drove away Reid and forced him to promise that no one would waste any more time because of her. So, that morning, she got up and decided to face the situation head on. She walked to the subway stop and boarded. She was no longer able to get behind the wheel of a car, not since she hit Meadows, as far as her life was concerned and beyond. She took the elevator, got off to her floor, walked between the desks, caressing each with her eyes, raised her gaze and saw them, all in the round room, arguing, all with one exception. She sighed as she faced step by step, opened the door and entered.

-Garcia, what are you doing here?- Emily immediately scolded her, but her eyes were smiling. JJ, less formal, rushed to hug her. Tara approached to not feel excluded, while the men, those present, observed the scene without comment.

-I can't stay at home, please, let me do something here, whatever.- and Prentiss had to give up, but with a glance she asked JJ to keep an eye on her. The two blondes went to the cave and between one excavation and another, Garcia found the courage to ask the question she had in mind from the beginning. -Where is Luke?- the friend sighed and gently caressed her shoulder.

-He said he would be late because of the marriage.- she didn't have the strength to look her in the eyes, she feared JJ could read the secret inside her, so she faked indifference, she hinted a smile.

-Of course, the marriage.- she commented, continuing to type. She was however saved by the door, which suddenly opened wide. Emily entered; her expression tough.

-I'm sorry, Garcia, I'm really sorry. Right now, I would like to be anything but the head of this unit.- she finally understood what Hotch had tried in a similar circumstance. -Those of Internal Affairs want your temporary suspension from work, at least for the duration of the investigation.- JJ got up with her, to support her. She accompanied Penelope home so she wasn't able to see the arrival of Luke, who, like Garcia, immediately noticed the absence of a particular colleague. And he asked discreetly what had happened. He tried calling her on the phone, but she never answered him. He meditated whether to go directly to her, but then gave up.

 ** Monday, October 1th, 2018 **

They had taken her life, because this was the BAU for her, yet, ironically, she still wasn't officially in the list of suspects. She wandered around her apartment, looking at everything as if this no longer belonged to her, almost as if she was somehow (a strange way, of course, since it was about her), saying goodbye to everything, as if she had the awareness that she would no longer saw her home again, the place where she should have felt safe.

But it hadn't been like that even before.

Then that call came. It was time to deepen her relationship with the deceased. It was evident that neither Brown nor Thompson believed her words. Even more evident was their total lack of inspiration and desire to work. They looked like characters popped out of a little fanciful thriller, those with a sheriff who was obsessed with the first suspect, letting aside all other possible tracks. Or the protagonists of a Hitchcock movie. Was not the Master of the thriller eternally obsessed with the idea of the innocent persecuted? But for Penelope would have been enough to be the protagonist of her life, without ending up on the front page.

 -No, it's not good. He stings me.- the friend looked at him as if a second head had popped up on his neck, then he shook his, resigned, sighing and telepathically asking help to the other present man, who limited himself to spreading his arms, declaring in this way his own bewilderment. The one in the center of the looks seemed not to understand what the problem was.

-Bro, if I didn’t really love you very much, I would have hit you already.- the dark-skinned man replied to his silent question, with an absurdly sweet and affectionate tone, as well as the look that accompanied his statement.

 She waited for the subway, went on board, waited for her stop to arrive, went down, walked the last stretch on foot, even crossed a busy and not really safe road... and all this without really being aware of it. Her head remained perpetually elsewhere, away from the buzz, from the busy people, from the reality that was pressing to make her collapse.

She couldn't do anything else.

She opened the first of several doors, climbed aboard the elevator, alerted the concierge and without understanding why she was there, sitting in a shabby chair, with a crooked leg, with short-lived. A dirty table as the only furniture. And two men certainly less spiritually clean in front of her.

 -It is not my fault that this fabric pinches. I'll be allergic.- naivety was what probably saved him from a collective beating. He is not really aware of the nonsense coming out of his mouth. He cannot understand that the fact that this was the fifth suit and the sixth store is certainly not an ordinary thing.

Not he, who has a wardrobe with at most ten shirts, even less sweaters and trousers. Not he, who has always limited himself to taking the first clean things reachable. Who has never paid attention to fashion, what was trendier.

And it was not simple wedding angst.

 -We pretend that we have never spoken before the case in question. Tabula rasa.- said Brown, moving his hands as if to imitate an illusionist. However, Penelope was not impressed. She merely looked at both without uttering a word. -Let's start all over again.- added the man, with a mellifluous and forcibly captivating tone. The woman laughed inside herself: did they really think she was so stupid and malleable?

-You have been a computer technician at the Behavioral Analyst Unit for fifteen years, right?- Penelope sighed, resigning herself to endure this new kind of torture.

 -Okay, how about this? You look really good.- on the man's face a spontaneous smile was painted, perhaps the first of the day. But his hopes didn't last long. -Don't tell me that this also bothers you.- there was a veiled threat in his tone.

-No.- the friend replied, certainly not because he was scared. -But...- and the other two exchanged a look that was worth much more than a thousand empty speeches. They waited for him to change, putting on his casual clothe again, thanked the poor salespeople who had lost half a day of work caring for him for nothing, and only once they found themselves in the open air did they make the common decision to put an end to that little drama.

-Luke, listen to me. I... actually, we- he looked to Phil, who nodded promptly -we believe that the problem it’s not the clothes or the shoes that you tried. The problem, here, it’s you.- Agent Alvez was shocked for this charge and did nothing to hide it. However, he didn’t have time to reply. -You should start to consider the possibility that you aren’t yet ready for marriage.- he was almost on the point to not say it, but, at the end, he did it. And he felt now much free.

But his reaction terrified him. Luke remained motionless, he seemed almost not even breathing. Matt didn't want trying to shake him. It seemed much fairer that his best friend tried, because he had known him for much longer. -Hey, brother, you don't have to take it badly. Simmons and I want your good, you know. But it seemed that you were preparing for a funeral, rather than a wedding ceremony.- Phil also tried to make him laugh, without success.

Luke merely nodded, before heading home.

 ** Wednesday, October 3th, 2018 **

The term torment can take different forms. For some is not close an eye or travel from one nightmare to another, between jail and orange uniforms. For others it is the girlfriend who is bothering to find the perfect wedding favor.

This is how it happened that, although for different reasons, both Agent Alvez and IT technician Garcia were absent justified by work. Neither of them was able to know the lack of the other and ask questions that perhaps would have helped to close the situation earlier.

 When Penelope saw appearing that number on the display of her cell phone, a number that too easy had penetrated in her brain and was impressed on her retinas, she understood that, without doubts, this time would been different. Then, she just did one call, to her boss.

-Emily? Hey. No, I have not time to talk. Can you make someone to pick up Sergio?- she could count the times that she saw Prentiss cry. That time, she was sure. What she had heard was a barely hidden hiccup. But pointing this out, would have tangled everything. So, she just pretended that she didn’t notice. But the mask started to weight too much.

-All right, Garcia, but... are you okay?- why did she have to ask her such a question, since she already knew the answer?

-Not exactly. But I'll be fine.- was in effect a promise. -Don't worry about me.- there was another thing she wanted to ask her, but she couldn't. If it was been JJ, maybe... but there was no more time.

The extreme consequences of her choice were awaiting her.

 -Luke, hey, love, what do you think about this shaped like a swan? Don’t you think it’s romantic?- but he wasn’t listen to her. His ears were pick up a confusing sound, but without translate it in words and rational sentences. His eyes were on her, on her pretty hands that passed from one fragile object to another, but were not willing to record clear images. -And this? Maybe this is better. But the fact, simply and sadly, was that for him they were all the same. -Luke? Luke, are you here? Hello…?- he couldn't understand why he reacted in so abruptly way, so bad. He will spend many night to wondering, in vain.

-Enough, enough, I have no time for this bullshit!- he stood up so suddenly to make wobble the table and all the things were on it. Delicate statues with different shaped fell on the floor, crashing to the floor into tiny pieces of porcelain. Lisa looked at him as if he had turned into a monster, certainly not the man who was about to become her husband. He was forced to notice the tears standing at the corners of both her eyes. But his girlfriend was a strong woman, who has always stood up for herself and hadn't cried on this occasion either. Instead, she bent over and started picking up the pieces, not care the possibility of cutting herself. -Here, I'll do it.- he tried, behaving as if nothing had happened. But it wouldn't have been so simple. -Lisa, darling...- she got stuck at that nickname, doing nothing to accommodate him. He took her wrist, making her open her hand and what was in it fell to the ground again. -I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. It's stress. Too much work.- she nodded and smiled at him.

But her expression was similar to that one that he himself did the day before, when his friends had pointed out the possibility that it wasn’t arrived the moment yet.

 -You recognize the calligraphy, Miss Garcia?- how much irony could be in an epithet and a last name. Thompson grinned before slamming a plastic bag, containing a piece of paper. She took little time to identify the object as a handwritten letter. Her handwriting. How could she forget, how could she completely remove it from her memory?

J, I'm sorry for how it ended. I need you. Please don't let this be the last memory we'll have of us. I know I hurt you, I'm sorry, SORRY, really, I'm sincere. I'm better when I'm with you, I'm happy, and so are you, you know. You can't deny the bond between us. We are two lost souls.

Let me find you, don't run away.

I can find serial killers but I can't catch you.

P.

It was much more difficult to re-emerge from that distant past, so much as to seem alien to it. And yet, as the words flowed, so everything came back to life. Brown's slap brought her back to the surface. -You understand our position, don't you?- but of course she understood. How could she convince them that it was another part of herself, that part that she had only recently managed to defeat (even if every now and then, more and more rarely, it reappeared), the one that succumbed to too much pain and at the eternal sense of guilt?

Better that they believed her guilty.

-Penelope Garcia, you are officially in custody and investigated for the murder of Jared Atkinson.- and the only thing she managed to think about while there were explaining her rights, was the last time the another part of herself had showed up.

 Flashback

Plan c, the ritual is consummated and, without wedding ring, your life proceeds

** Thursday, September 13th, 2018 **

-You should do it.- and Penelope had closed her eyes. The man had set his eyelids down and that had been the point of no return. He had moved his hands from neck to face, caressed her cheeks, wiping away the last tears. He had took an eternity to bend down and then closed his eyes in turn. Everything had taken place in slow motion, so maddening. But the instant their lips touched, it was as if someone had pressed the fast forward button. Her hands, before abandoned along the body, now were alive again and her fingers were intertwined in his hair. Without speaking, he asked her the permission to go inside her mouth, and she allowed him almost immediately, with a whine. The kisses were becoming gradually more and more deep, intense, ravenous; it seemed as they should counterbalance the time they wasted until that instant. After almost five minutes, Luke hands started to work on the bent of her robe; it wasn’t easy loosen the knot with the mouth always busy; at the end, though, the mission was accomplished and the garment was the first one to reach the floor. No longer sheltered by the fabric, the woman shivered, while he noted, with immense joy, that Penelope didn’t wear the bra. For a moment he meditated if it would be better to rip her light undershirt off, but the decided to be gentler, because he imagined her face and reproaches, since it could be a garment that she was particularly attached. Reluctantly he moved away from her lips and made her raise her arms, like he was about to arrest her. For the first time he could admired her naked breasts and could passed his tongue on her nipples, already hard, maybe for the cold, maybe also for other reasons. Another moan escaped from her lips. Luke started to kiss her again, enjoying to soak up her protests, weighting her breast with his hand. She started to unbutton his shirt, considering not fair that disparity, and the man stopped to let her doing it. Then Penelope passed her finger along the line of his race-bibs, while a satisfied smile appeared on her face. Just for a while, though, because soon he started again to kiss her, pushing with his hands on her bare back, so that their skin was in strict touch.

After a time that seemed limitless, he decided that it was the moment of her trousers to reach the floor, so he moved his hands on both of her hips, and she put out a sigh that taste like total yield. Penelope raised her bottom, facilitating him, but he didn’t go straight to the main goal, he preferred teasing her, caressing her legs as a kind of massage, pushing more and more closer. Until she blocked his hand and forced him to look at her in the eyes. It was clear that she couldn’t wait more. But Luke had two years of teasing and badly treatments that she had to pay for, so he took it very calm. For him, time was stopped and the square footage of Penelope apartment was the whole world. He lifted her, heading on her bedroom. He posed her on the center of the bed and made her open both arms and legs. Then he spent a while admiring her. There were a lot of things he would have want to tell her, but he was aware, like her, that if they would talk, that kind of charm in which they were fallen, it would be broken and they would have remembered their real situation and this would have obliged them to stop.

He was sitting astride on her, without make her feel his weight; he dedicated a bit of his attention again to her breast. She sensed, even if he was still wearing jeans, his erection growing up, and she tried to move to rub her body on it, but he was too strong for her. She moaned for nervous, and, at the end, she started working on his zipper. Luke approved with a nod of the head and pulled out his trousers quickly, making them fly beyond their bodies. Penelope opened wide her eyes, observing the bulge of his boxers, and vibrated, wondering how that stuff could have entered inside her.

Luke bent down to catch her lips, holding her head with both of his hands, driving her movements, fighting and finally taming her tongue. When he moved though on her panties, Penelope tried to press abruptly the light switch, but he had imagined it, so he stopped her. He shook his head, gave her a caress on the cheek and a kiss on the mouth. Then he leaned and finished the job. He gently caressed her, posed his lips just above it, admiring her goose bumps. He gave her admiring glances, to make her understand what he felt and that there was no reason to be ashamed or afraid.

Finally, torture was enough even for him. He gotten out of the last garment that separated their bodies and waited just a few seconds, giving her way to look at him. No woman before had looked at him in that way. She trembled, literally, and not just for desire. He bent over her and took her in his arms, lulling her like she was a child. When she was calmed, he started again to kiss her, deeper and longer kisses, less greedy. He felt her body melting, relaxing in his hands. Without ceasing to press his lips on hers, he set her in the right position, he caressed her legs, making her open them and barely squinting, he started to slide inside her.

Penelope immediately opened her eyes, fought for air, and dug her nails in his arms. She let escape a long moaning as the man made his way inside her body. It had seemed to last an eternity. She had felt pain, initially only pain, but she wouldn't have been able to stop him even if she really wanted to do it. And then, slowly, an extreme pleasure took over, which completely enveloped her. She was dizzy, she couldn't reason, she thought it was just a dream, she had also hoped, in part, because at least an eighth of her brain couldn't erase reality. He remained motionless, completely inside her, giving her time to get used. She given him a small nod and only then he started pushing, increasing the intensity, following the rhythm of her badly restrained yells. He wanted to hear her scream his name, to hear her say that she was just his, that no man had ever made her experience those sensations. And he wanted to do exactly the same thing, but again, he was terrified to the idea that talking would break everything.

Thus, both had preferred to concentrate every particle of their body on the act of lovemaking and to communicate through groans and kisses. When at last it was clear how close he was, Penelope hugged him so tightly that she almost hurt him and didn’t relaxed her grip until five minutes later. Ironically, it was she who thought that he would be leaving at this point. She put on her pajamas again, while he wore just his shirt. And without saying a word, still keeping silence, he returned to lie down beside her, dragged her under the blankets, warm and soaked with their perfumes and held her against his chest.

It was all too easy to lose consciousness and fall asleep.

End of flashback

The fact is that this was not even the "worst" part, the one that really made her feel bad. Her sense of guilt was not given only by the simple sleeping with a man about to get married, but to have loved that moment and not only, to have been almost on the point of telling him.

 Flashback

If I run, you chase me, if I come back, you sit down again. I am the monster, you have created me, the crime of the heart is the greatest sin

** Thursday, September 13th, 2018 **

She woken up and immediately realized that there was something different. To be precise, someone. As soon as she sat up, she realized that he was awake too. -Luke.- she was trembling no less than the day before, but would have been better able to hide it. -You stayed.- the man didn’t noticed the nuances of reproach in her voice, he simply focused on the meaning of her sentence.

He quickly joined her, as if his body could not stay too far from the female one. -Of course, baby, I would never have left you alone.- he then said, with a gentle tone and a languid look. A stern and distant look appeared on Penelope's face.

-Alvez, a new day has arisen.- she pointed out to him without too many frills. -End of the special permission.- and he, how could he not notice the pain in her eyes, how could he not have heard her heart scream as it was torn out from her chest?

Instead, Luke was confused and uncertain, unsure like a teenager after his first experience. -But, Penelope... what there was between us last night was...- the woman didn’t allow him to finish the sentence. The thing that made her feel more uncomfortable was the fact that she still wore her pajamas. It would have been almost better if she had been naked, then at least she could have put on normal clothes, which he had already seen. Because the pajamas, well, were too... intimate. And she couldn't take it off again. She was therefore stuck in a limbo, waiting for Luke to understand and leave.

-It was just my fault.- she said, overwhelming him. -I took advantage of you, you were so kind and nice, I should have been satisfied with the hug and then... I should have send you back to your house.- but as the saying went, it was useless crying over spilled milk. She wasn't even been able to make fun of herself: once she had let him into her apartment, at that time and reduced in that way, the rest, for her part, would no longer be avoidable. -But it was impossible to restrain myself, I had thought of it too many times, what it would be like to be in your arms, that...- and despite everything, she was able to lose herself in one of her usual, tender raving.

Luke stretched a hand in the direction of her cheek, without having the courage to finish the gesture and caress her, but at the same time not having the strength to move way. -Penelope...- she deliberately ignored him.

-You have to go back to Lisa.- that name, the name of the other woman, was the only way to break the spell. -It wasn't a betrayal, it's just my fault, if you want you can tell her that I kissed you and I... I will request a transfer, I love the team and my job, but maybe I need some time off, a temporary leave...- he waited patiently for her to end, unlike her, although he was in profound disagreement with everything she had said. Why she insisted on wanting to take all the blame? Wasn't he the one who kissed her first? The one who had looking for her tongue, who had undressing her? The one who had insist on entering, even knowing the risks he ran, inside himself?

-NO!- he shouted aloud, even frightening her, so much that she moved as far away from him as possible. -I don't want you to go away, no way.- it seemed what it actually was: an order. -I like Lisa, but I like you more, I always liked you, but I was convinced that you would never let me in.- what his radars noticed was instead the double meaning contained in the last sentence, which made her shiver, but certainly not for pleasure. -Just give me time to talk to her and then...- with a quick motion she was very close to him, silencing him with a sharp wave of her hand.

-Then nothing, Luke.- without raising her voice she managed to sound authoritative. -Stop being so sweet and understanding.- she warned him. -And pitiful.- she added. -She's perfect for you, it's the female version of you.- she went on, with heavy heart. -She makes you happy, she makes you feel good, I see. What could I give you instead?- she shook her head, as if she couldn't even conceive their two as a couple. -I'm too complicated and messed up. Forget it.- Luke understood that there would be no way to convince her, not at least today, and he satisfied her, telling her what she wanted to hear. But putting one's own condition.

-Ok, but only if you promise me you won't leave the BAU.- it was not clear if she bough it or not. The fact is that she nodded, with a determined look.

-I swear.- she almost shook his hand to reinforce her statement. -I just need some time alone.-

 ** Friday, October 5th, 2018 **

The man got closer and closer, until he touched her shoulder with his hand. -Courage, Penelope, confesses. You will feel much better, afterwards.- the conciliating tone, almost sweet. But the woman had already made her decision. She will let them believe that she is responsible for the murder, or rather, she will not put Luke in the middle and also what they did while someone, someone else, killed Jared.

-Enough. Garcia, don’t say another word.- then Emily entered, decisive as always, as an unexpected fury. She opened sharply the door, but she wasn’t alone. With her there was another woman, brunette, which Penelope already met. Fiona.

-Miss Garcia, don’t worry. Now I’m here.- she nodded, cracked a smile, ignoring the grimace of the two agents who had believed that they were about to win. But inside her, she was only worried that Consoler Duncan would have done everything to make emerge the truth, like she did with Reid; even what she didn’t want that come out.

 They threw her in a jail, awaiting the trial. Probably Fiona would have been able to keep her outside, but she told her to focus instead on the real process. And so, she found herself repeating for the umpteenth time a lie. What was she doing on Thursday, September 13th? She didn't remember. She had been at her house. And so far, it was the truth. Was there anyone who could confirm this? No, nobody, except Sergio.

And as she didn’t think she could do it, as she never imagined to get that visit. What the hell was he doing here? Why he wasn’t with his future wife? She didn’t welcome him, when they opened her cell to let him pass. Neither him; he just greeted her with the hand. He was too embarrassed. She was about to reproach him, but he anticipated her, showing her a little thing. A keychain square shaped, with a pic of Roxy. Penelope wide opened her mouth in a surprise expression, confusing him for a while. Luke signed to shut her up, approaching closer to whisper in her ear. -Do you remember Rossi box with the tickets for the match?- she nodded, careful not to brush him.

-Why did you come?- she asked then, tired of that awkward silence.

The man almost didn't burst out laughing. -What do you think?- he replied with yet another question, winking.

-At least you are obliged to believe me innocent.- she said, just to annoy him.

But Luke seemed confused. Could he really have forgotten it? He scratched the back of his head, insecure and without looking at her, he expressed his ignorance. -I don't know, you know... that letter...- she gritted her teeth, unable to understand if she was angrier that he had read that piece of her life that didn't concern him or simply because he was so forgetful. A profiler, let alone.

-But, Luke, you really don't remember when the murder happened?- she didn't know how, she managed to calm down enough to ask the question quietly.

-Thursday, September 13th...- he answered diligently.

-Yes, but that's the day you and I...- she couldn't say it, or repeat it. Fortunately, the man suddenly remembered everything. -I mean...- he bleached, he took a few steps backwards, moving away from her, without even realizing it. He was convinced that he had dreamed it all?

-Oh fuck.- Penelope nodded, finding his exclamation perfectly sensible. -Wait!- just as suddenly he lighted up, smiling with happiness. -But then it's all solved, you're free.- he finally understood. Penelope sighed, then shook her head.

-Why?- she asked, but it was a rhetorical question. -Come on, Luke, think.- she gave him a slight nudge, to vent part of her anger. -Who is my alibi?- the clearly ironic, sarcastic and bad tone.

The man pointed to himself. -It's me.- Penelope pushed him away even more.

-A man about to get married.- she corrected him. -I can't let you send everything to the hell.- she stated, firm and convinced, although she was not really. -Lisa would know.- she pointed out, opening her eyes in a way that seemed funny to him.

-Perhaps it is right that she finds out.- he replied, starting to walk in her direction, one step at a time, slowly, without haste, as if they had all the time in the world at their disposal. She felt shaken, exactly like that night. She tried to look away from his eyes. -After all, I betrayed the woman I'm about to marry.- it was his turn to point out an obvious fact. -It must mean something.- there were now so few inches between them that she could feel the male breath on her face.

-No, I told you, it was just my fault, I seduced you.- she said, as if she were repeating a phrase learned by heart in a script. He shook his head, annoyed.

-You have seduced me?- that grimace appeared, that half-crooked smile on his face, which had always made her mad. -Come on, Garcia.- the use of the surname was like a shock. -If there had been Will in my place, do you think you would been able to seduced him?- he asked her, without giving her time to utter a word. -No, and not because you don't have the right cards to play... But because he loves JJ madly.- Penelope tried to escape, but she clashed with the cold wall of her super modern cell. Internal Affairs certainly had no budget problems.

-I don't like the direction this conversation is going.- she whispered, starting to vibrate with fear. And he noticed it.

-And instead you'll like it...- his right hand ended up on her hip.

-Alright then!- she almost shouted, hoping to upset him. -I already did it, you weren't the first nor the only one.- she confessed to him, with tears in her eyes; tears of shame, however, and not of pain, he deduced. -I seduced one of the Believers to prevent them from torturing Spencer.- she lowered her eyes, her head, but without blushing.

-What did you do?- for a few moments Luke was unable to process the new information in his possession.

-Do I have to make you a drawing?- she exclaimed, brusquely. -I offered myself to our torturers to distract them.- she explained, leaving no room for misunderstanding. -I know I'm not the kind of woman you see in movies, I'm not Julia Roberts in Sleeping with the enemy, but I have my tricks.- she added, without even knowing why she wanted so much to defend herself in front of a man who had already had the honor of owning her.

But Luke took her by the shoulders and started to shake her, just to shut her up. --Penelope, that's enough!- he seemed really upset and out of his mind, perhaps as she had never seen him before. -They...- sensing what he was about to say, the woman managed to silence him by pressing her hand on his mouth and feeling a hot sensation, almost as if the contact with his body could burning.

-NO!- this time she really screamed. -It wasn't rape, I just told you.- she added, in a more normal tone. The stubborn expression that had attracted him so much since they met.

-No, why didn't you tell me about it before?- he asked her, but his mind meanwhile continued to work, reaching the right conclusion. -Wait a second... That's why you sent me that message!- realizing that now there was no more hope, she gave up, surrendering completely, both spiritually and physically, abandoning herself against the cold wall of the aseptic cell.

She took her head in her hands, unable to look at him for a few moments. -Yes, I confess!- she shouted, gradually fading. -I had a nightmare that night and... I thought I was still in the dream when I sent you that message.- an external force forced her to raise her face until she met his eyes, which immediately made her prisoner. -Because you...- Luke's voice overlapped hers.

-Because I was the first that you saw that day.- this time he really understood everything, every detail, finally saw the complete image formed by the various fragments. But instead of being seized by emotion or some other compassionate feeling towards the woman, the only thing he felt was anger. Not because he felt used, she clearly wasn't aware of her actions. But because he hated the fact that Penelope wouldn't let him really stand by her, to choose her.

-Now you know everything.- she said in fact, distracting him from his meditations. -Go back to your future wife.- he noted some completely new nuances of resentment. Finally, a demonstration of humanity.

He laughed harshly. -And should I let you go to jail for a crime you didn't commit?- he asked her, grabbing her by the shoulders firmly, while managing not to hurt her. At that point Penelope no longer had the strength to fight, in every sense.

-Living and seeing you married would be too difficult.- she said, perhaps so tired for having kept everything inside for too long so as not to fully realize the consequences of her own words. -It's better that way.- she added, hoping he would buy it. -I'll manage, really.- she was not, however, so lucky.

-Do you know what you're saying?- Luke continued with that brusque, almost bad attitude, which was decidedly unusual for him. -You wouldn't last more than a week in a prison.- he tried to make her reason, but he had suddenly lost his patience. -Fuck, Penelope.- he added the bad word to give more substance.

-I've been there before.- the woman replied, regaining part of her stubbornness. -In prison I mean, behind bars.- she specified, without shame. Luke wasn’t able to mask his reaction. -Don't look at me in that way, I'm a hacker.- but, even in shock, the man didn’t let her go.

-Well, this time you would be a murderer.- he pointed out cruelly. The funny was that at least half of the reason he fell in love with her was because of an uncontrollable sense of protection toward her. -And you would be treated differently.- he shuddered, while images all too vivid flowed before him, like a short film. -I can't let you do it.- Penelope opened her eyes wide, hoping she had heard wrong. However, she didn’t have the energy to reply and remind him of the simple fact that she wasn’t one of his properties. -You can't stop me from telling the truth!- she broke away from him, pushing him away, away as if he were a plague.

-Why do you insist so much?- she asked him, and it wasn't the usual game so loved by women, not only. She didn't really understand it. And luckily, Luke noticed it.

He sighed, caught his breath, before speaking. But it didn't help much. -Fuck, Penelope. That fucking night... It wasn't just sex.- finally he felt free of a burden. It was she who prevented him from saying what he felt, not as he usually did, it was not the fear of being rejected or of getting involved. -We didn't just fuck.- he said vulgar term on purpose. -You would like to believe it and you would like to convince me too. But it is not so and since you are so stubborn, you oblige me to show you what seduction means.- he re-established the right distance, he was practically crushed against her body, he gave an eloquent glance to her breast, but he didn’t stop there. Even knowing what lay beneath the orange uniform, it was as if that view were unknown and forbidden to him. And this attracted him the most.

He placed his hands on her ribs, very close to her breast. -Luke... I'm afraid.- Penelope whispered, appearing fragile and small as ever. And she was able to dissolve the darkness that had enveloped his heart.

He gently pushed her until her head pressed against his chest and hugged her tightly. - Don't be afraid of me, baby.- he said with a soft and low tone. So, he came off, but gradually, to give her time to calm down. -I'm going to break up with Lisa.- he stood up, deter-mined and convinced.

But Penelope grabbed a corner of his shirt, blocking him more with her voice than with the grip itself. -No!- she shouted, but her scream seemed the cry of a sparrow, too small to be able to return to the nest, which she called her mother, more and more desperate. -You can't do it.- she tried again.

This time, however, it was not effective. -I can, and I have to.- he turned to look into her eyes, trying to convince her that it was the right thing. But nothing. -She doesn't deserve to marry someone who betrays her.- he attempted to turn the trouble on Lisa. He knew that Penelope loved her, she found her nice (he wouldn't be able to prove the same for her hypothetical boyfriend) and so she couldn't possibly want her to suffer. Now it was all up to deciding how long the agony had to be prolonged.

-But it was just one night.- Luke immediately shook his head, not giving weight to what she said.

-No.- he categorically denied. -I would continue to betray her, with the mind if not with the body.- he came back to her, gently caressed her cheek. -I didn't make love with you because you seduced me or because I pitied you or some other shit like that.- meaningful pause. -But because I'm in love with you, shit.- he was not a vulgar type, usually. -I tried to tell you that night, but you didn’t allowed me.- this time there was no room for doubt. This time Penelope really understood.

-What?- but not because of this she believed or accepted it.

-I love you.- Luke's face was softened, his muscles relaxed, and the heart eyes. -Since… before meeting Lisa. But... I didn't have the courage to face my feelings.- but this before, before that night. -I'm a fucking coward and I don't curse, usually.- Penelope tried to find a loophole.

-If I confess that I slept with you... Your word will not be considered well by the jury.- she pointed out, in a calm and reasonable tone. -You will only look like the guy who enjoyed to play with colleague.- she hoped that by wounding his pride he would have given up. Luke was almost upset. If he hadn’t known that was only her fear.

-I just told you I love you and you...- he shook his head, not finishing the sentence. It would have been useless. -I understand that you're worried, but we'll fix everything.- he took her hands, interwined their fingers and felt more like one thing with her than the night they made love. -You're not going to jail.- he reassured her, leaning toward her lips. -Now, give me another special permit, please.- the tone wasn't matched with the attitude. -Otherwise I'll get it myself.- to show her how he wasn't joking, he slipped a hand under the top of her uniform.

-No.- the woman replied, rejecting him.

-What did you say?- it didn't seem possible. Instead he heard very well.

-No, Luke, if you want to play the dominant-submissive game, ok, but not while you are still engaged with Lisa.- after having clarifying things, she settled up and crossed her arms, in an obvious pose.

-You know that I could give a fuck about what you said and get what I want?- he whispered with an extremely sexy tone, so that she almost was about to deny her words.

-Yeah, I know.- she nodded, docilely. -But I also know that, if it’s true that you love me, you won’t do it.- and in that way he was fucked, she said the magic words. -You will behave in the right way, you will make things right and maybe, from all this mess, will born something good!- Luke was forced to admit she was right, he gave her just one last caress, before exiting with his secret equipment.

A task and a talk far worse than this were waiting for him.

 He almost hoped she wasn't at home. What would it have given to be so petty as to be able to break up with her with a message! But this could have done so maybe a few months before, not now that they lived together. How embarrassing and sad will it be to have to dismantle everything? Why hadn't he met her before Penelope?

These were the thoughts that ran through his head, confused, colliding with each other, as he headed for his (their) apartment.

When he entered, he immediately realized that Lisa was there. Roxy welcomed him hopping as usual. With the same intensity as when he first brought her home, so small and messy. The dogs' love, yes. Then she appeared. Beautiful, beautiful even in those casual dresses that one, someone who didn't know her well, would never have thought she was wearing. As so out of character was her being a billiard ace. Luke felt a burst of deep affection. Affection, however, not love. He sighed.

As soon as their eyes met, she understood. Maybe she didn't read everything in his downcast eyes and sweaty hands, but she guessed enough to stop smiling and to hugging herself.

-Luke?- she asked uncertainly, hoping so profoundly to be just the classic paranoid woman. But he didn't run to kiss her, he didn't reassure her in any way. Not that it was his habit to do it. He was so shy...

-Lisa.- there was pain in his tone. For what reason? She wondered, wondering if it was about work, praying that was about some damned case. But something was out of place, she didn't trust this version. -Lisa, oh, fuck.- he interrupted his walk to-wards her to let herself fall on the couch, as dead weight. He ran his hand through his hair. She imitated him, but sat on the opposite side.

-What happens?- she was a strong woman, who had made herself, who had always held herself up. She would have not stop being so just because she was in love with his boyfriend and future husband. She tried again to hope that those little signs, red dots, flashing lights in the dashboard of their relationship, were just stains easily washable with any detergent.

-Lisa.- Luke repeated, almost as if he was unable to say more. -I don't know how to say it, so I'll tell you how it is.- for a nanosecond the woman managed to delude herself that her fears were completely out of the way, that he was about to say something beautiful and profound to her, like "I would like to have a family with you". But it didn't last long. -I committed a terrible act, one of the worst I could do. I will never forgive myself. And I'm not asking you to do it.- more and more confused, Lisa started to feel her head spinning. Then that sentence. The one she never expected from someone like Luke. One who had not been with a woman, before her, for years. One with a womanizing face and the heart of a priest. -I betrayed you.- for the first ten seconds it was as if nothing had happened. No reaction. Like when they shoot you or break your leg but the adrenaline prevents the pain from taking hold. Then, all of a sudden, she stopped breathing, as if she had received a punch in the stomach. She still hoped it was a joke. But Luke didn't laugh or smile.

-Who?- she asked softly, as fragile as he had never seen her before.

He lowered his eyes. -Penelope.- he said, and it was all immediately clearer to her. And yet, despite this, she behaved in a very different way than he had expected, from what he would have ever imagined.

-How many times?- she asked, actually not very interested in the answer.

-Only one, but...- she interrupted him, raising her right hand.

-I can forgive you, but we need to talk about it, face the problem. I know I was a distant girlfriend, I pestered you with the story of marriage, but we can postpone it if you're not ready...- the man was forced to stop her, with more brusque ways than he would have liked. But there was no time. Every minute that passed was one more in which bad things could happen to Penelope. And, even though she told him she could handle it, he couldn't help but protect her and worry. He could not live with the idea of what had happened to her and the thought that it could still happen.

-Lisa, you don't have to forgive me. It wouldn’t be right. True, it happened only once, but... I don't want to hurt you again. Don't let me say certain things. Please.- he pleaded her more with his eyes than with words. -You deserve better. You deserve a man who can fully love you.- she stood up and reached him. He also raised himself to be on her own level. He saw her move her arm, almost in slow motion, but at the last she changed her mind.

-Maybe you're right. I deserve better. But I wanted you.- Luke closed his eyes and when he opened them again, she was gone.

 ** Sunday, October 7th, 2018 **

-I did it.- he started, without even saying “hey”. -Lisa and I are no longer together.- he added, to clarify any doubts. But he still didn't give her time to talk. -The time has come to tell the truth. We will face the consequences of what will come.- he took her hand, nothing else.

-We?- Penelope asked, her eyes widening. He nodded, convinced.

-I already talked to Fiona.- he informed her.

-What have you...- she started to protest, only to give up almost immediately. -Oh.- she felt as if a huge weight had been taken from her shoulders. -Okay.- she sighed several times. -The team will think I'm an absolute liar.- she started to list, going more and more into paranoia. -They won't love me anymore. Emily will fire me. And...- but the man could see the shadow of a smile on her lips.

-Stop saying stupid things. Your lawyer is coming. You will have to prepare; the judge will hear you soon. Super special interview.- he winked at her. -You will be accused of obstruction, but everything will be resolved.- he caressed her cheek, enjoying the way the woman's eyes closed. -Oh, I almost forgot.- suspicious, she opened her eyes wide and then half-closed them. -They took the real killer. He confessed and the details fit perfectly.- for a moment she was undecided whether to throw her arms around his neck to choke him or hug him and kiss him. In the end she opted for a beneficial slap behind the head. -Hey!- he complained, theatrically.

-Really...?- he nodded and there was sincerity in his brown eyes.

-This mean that soon, maybe this night, you could sleep between my arms.- he looked at her with malice. -Roxy can’t wait, she can’t wait to see you.- Penelope let herself go to in a sweet expression, thinking about the little dog, but then turned serious.

-Luke, I love you, but- almost he didn’t hear that “but”, but forced himself to stay concentrate -I won’t sleep in the bed where you and Lisa…- she blushed, again, after all they faced together. -No way. Forget it.- she repeated.

-Ok, we could stay all at your place. We will be more comfortable all tight.- he winked at her and, despite the location not suitable, he managed to made her laugh.

-Thanks, Luke. I mean, really.- the man nodded again, feeling suddenly tremble inside. Now the real challenge began. Real life, beyond blankets, cries, jails and lawyers. And he was ready.

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

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[bountyofbeads]

‘So much living to do’: stories of UK's latest named coronavirus victims

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/not-ready-to-go-tributes-paid-to-uk-first-named-victims-of-coronavirus?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Post_to_Tumblr

Though these deaths didn't occur in the United States, it's important to remember our brothers and sisters across the pond! They represent every walk of life, age, race and creed. Covid-19 does not recognize borders, religion, race, occupation or age.

SO MUCH LIVING TO DO’: STORIES OF UK's LATEST NAMED CORONAVIRUS VICTIMS.... Personal details have emerged of more than 50 people who have died in the Covid-19 pandemic

By Matthew Weaver, Helen Pidd and  Simon Murphy | Published:12:19 Fri April 3, 2020 | The Guardian | Posted April 05, 2020 |

The oldest is 108, the youngest only 13. These are the faces of some of the country’s coronavirus victims, among them doctors, councillors, a D-day veteran, a diplomat, a comedian and an academic.

By 4pm on Thursday 2 April, 3,605 people admitted to hospital in the UK had died after contracting Covid-19. Many were elderly and had underlying health conditions. Some did not.

In several cases, family members and medical professionals have been keen to emphasise that victims had their lives cut short. Even if they were suffering underlying health conditions, they had been expected to live for many years, they said.

Of the deaths so far in the UK and those connected to the country, details have emerged in more than 50 cases. Here are their stories.

****

Lord Gordon of Strathblane, 83

James “Jimmy” Gordon was formerly political editor of STV and founded Radio Clyde. He is understood to have died of Covid-19 at Glasgow Royal Infirmary on Tuesday 31 March.

Outside the media, Gordon was a member of the Scottish Development Agency and chaired the Scottish Tourist Board – later VisitScotland – and was made a life peer by Labour in 1997. A statement from his family honoured “his generosity, his kindness and his enthusiasm for life”, adding that being “Papa” to his four grandchildren was the role that had brought him most pleasure. The former first minister Jack McConnell said Gordon had had “an outstanding career in business and public service” and had “transformed broadcasting”. The comedian and radio host Andy Cameron, who worked at Clyde for a number of years, said: “Another good guy gone. Jimmy Gordon, Lord Gordon Of Strathblane has passed on. What an absolute gentleman. RIP Jimmy.” He leaves behind his wife Anne, three children and four grandchildren.

****

Aimee O’Rourke, 38

O’Rourke was an NHS nurse and mother of three girls, Megan, Mollie and Maddie. She died on 2 April at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent – the hospital where she worked. She studied at Canterbury Christ Church University before joining the NHS in 2017. She started showing symptoms of the coronavirus about two weeks ago before her condition deteriorated and she was taken into intensive care at the QEQM and put on a ventilator.

Her daughter, Megan Murphy, wrote on Facebook that it had always been “us 4 against the world!”, and said she and her sisters would now look after each other. “Look at all the lives you looked after and all the families you comforted when patients passed away … you are an angel and you will wear your NHS crown forever more because you earned that crown the very first day you started,” she wrote. Now a family friend has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for O’Rourke’s family.

A colleague, Lucy Page, wrote: “Aimee O’Rourke taught me to fight for what I believe in and gave me courage so many times to do it.” Another colleague, Soraya Zanders, said:“Aimee cared for many patients in her time as a nurse. She brought warmth and comfort to many.” On the evening of the day she died family and friends lit candles and clapped in her honour during the weekly Clap for Carers.

****

Areema Nasreen, 36

Nasreen was an NHS nurse who had worked for 16 years at Walsall Manor hospital in the West Midlands, where she died on 3 April after contracting the coronavirus. Nasreen, who had three children and was from Walsall, developed symptoms on 13 March, including aches, a high temperature and then a cough. Her family said she had no underlying health issues. Her sister Kazeema Nasreen, 22, a healthcare assistant at the same hospital, said Nasreen was “an amazing nurse” and urged others to take the virus seriously. In a tribute posted on Facebook, her friend Rubi Aktar said: “She was the most loveliest, genuine person you could ever meet, she went above and beyond for everyone she met. I’m so grateful that I had the honour to call her my best friend, she saw me at my best and my worst and accepted my every flaw. I am so broken that words can’t explain.”

A relative told Birmingham Live: “The immediate family are devastated. Everyone is in shock this morning. She was always so full of life. She was devoted to her job as a nurse, she absolutely loved it. She passed away doing what she loved. I’m really sad for the rest of the family, she was a fantastic person.”

****

Danny Sharma, 38

Sharma was an avid fan of Liverpool Football Club and devoted much of his time to amateur football. The 38-year-old was considered to be high-risk because of his diabetes and other health conditions, and he died on 26 March after battling with coronavirus in intensive care at Hammersmith hospital in London. On 24 March, Sharma posted a picture of himself making the thumbs-up sign, and wrote: “Day Four Update. Looks nice out from the window wish I was participating in the Vitamin D. Finding hard to breathe, still fighting.”

The 38-year-old attended St Paul’s College in Sunbury-on-Thames before studying computer applications at Kingston University. His brother Vinny said he wanted Sharma’s death to make people take the threat of the coronavirus seriously. “He was a fantastic guy with a big heart, and he is someone who we are going to miss a great deal. Hopefully he will find some peace,” he said. Luke Thompson called his friend the “most selfless individual I ever met.” Traditionally the Sharma family, who are of Indian heritage, would hold an open house for 12 days after a death to enable people to pay their respects – but both Sharma’s brother and mother, Parveen, had to self-isolate because of their close contact with the 38-year-old.

****

Danny Cairns, 68

Cairns was one of the first Scots to die after contracting the coronavirus to be named publicly. He had tried to self isolate at his home in Greenock in Renfrewshire but after a few days became so ill he was transferred to hospital, where he died on 26 March. His brother Hugh, who lives in the United States, said the experience was a “nightmare” for the family. “He wasn’t just my brother, he was my best friend,” he said. “From the time of going into hospital within three days he was dead. His last words to me were, ‘I’m on my way out mate’.”

****

Sheila French, 80

French from Broughty Ferry, a suburb of Dundee, died after six days in Ninewells hospital intensive care on 27 March. She had been admitted after becoming ill on a family holiday in Lanzarote to celebrate her 80th birthday. Her family spoke of the pain of not being able to visit her in hospital, but her son Colin said dedicated NHS staff were determined to ensure her “comfort and dignity right to the end”. Originally from Glasgow, she married Eric French in 1962. The couple were well-known figures in the local community and shared a lifelong love of tennis.

The 80-year-old sang in the Barnhill St Margaret’s parish church choir for more than four decades. Her son said she was “interested in so many things”, including music, singing and reciting poetry. “She was also always surrounded by wool for knitting and crochet,” he told the Dundee Courier. “Her main thing in recent years was crocheting blankets to raise money for charities including Chas, and she also collected for Save The Children.”

****

Dr Habib Zaidi, 76

Family GP Dr Zaidi is thought to be the first doctor in the UK to have been killed by the coronavirus. The 76-year-old, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, died on 25 March in intensive care just 24 hours after being taken ill. He and his wife, Dr Talat Zaidi, 70, were both managing partners of Eastwood group practice and had served three generations of families in the area for nearly 50 years. The couple’s four children all work in the medical profession. Daughter Dr Sarah Zaidi, also a GP, said his death was “reflective of his sacrifice. He had a vocational attitude to service.” She added: “We can’t mourn in the normal way. We can’t have a normal funeral. He left a gaping hole in our hearts, but a loss that is also felt within the community that he devoted almost his entire life to. We are praying for the safety of everyone right now.”

Dr Jose Garcia-Lobera, GP chair at NHS Southend clinical commissioning group, said Zaidi had left behind an “incredible legacy”. He said: “[He] was a “hugely respected, selfless man who dedicated his life to helping others. Dr Zaidi will always be remembered for his significant contribution to local health services through his long career as a GP.”

****

Mark Barnett, late 60s

Barnett was the headteacher at Westfield in Acomb, one of York’s biggest primary schools, for more than 17 years when he stepped down in 2008 aged 55 to work for the City of York council as a consultant headteacher. His family confirmed that he was taken into York hospital with breathing difficulties and died of Covid-19 on 1 April. Praised as a deeply committed teacher, he was a recipient of the Teacher Of The Year title at the Community Pride Awards.

Cllr Andrew Waller, a school governor at Westfield who knew Barnett well, said: “He was an inspirational headteacher and a legend in the community. Everyone knew Mark and he had a huge amount of respect.” Singer and former teacher Ian Donaghy said: “Mark was all about the children and not himself. You see a lot of career teachers out there, but Mark wasn’t one of them. The city has lost a big, big influence on children. His big thing was happy kids learn, it’s not about jumping through hoops or league tables. We could do with a few more like Mark.”

****

Eddie Large, 78

Large, best known as one half of the comedy duo Little and Large, died after contracting the coronavirus in hospital where he was being treated for heart failure, his son said.

The Glaswegian comedian, whose real name was Edward McGinnis, found fame alongside Syd Little in the 1970s and 80s, when their TV performances attracted millions of viewers.

His son, Ryan McGinnis, broke the news in a Facebook post on 2 April, explaining that his father had caught Covid-19 while in hospital. He wrote: “It is with great sadness that Mum and I need to announce that my dad passed away in the early hours of this morning. He had been suffering with heart failure and unfortunately, whilst in hospital, contracted the coronavirus, which his heart was sadly not strong enough to fight. Dad had fought bravely for so long. Due to this horrible disease we had been unable to visit him at the hospital, but all of the family and close friends spoke to him every day.

“We will miss him terribly and we are so proud of everything he achieved in his career with Syd and know that he was much loved by the millions that watched them each week.”

****

Caroline Saunby, 48

Saunby, a mother of two young boys, had no known underlying health conditions and started exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms on Thursday 26 March. By Sunday, she had died.

She collapsed at her home in New Marske, North Yorkshire, where she had begun to struggle for breath after initially having a sore throat, which she thought was tonsillitis. An air ambulance was dispatched and Saunby was put on a ventilator at home before being taken to James Cook University hospital in Middlesbrough, where she died the same day. She leaves behind her husband, Vic, and six-year-old twins, Joseph and Elliot.

Her twin sister, Sarah Jarvis, described her “unbearable heartbreak” as she pleaded with people to take the coronavirus seriously. She told the Northern Echo: “Caroline took every precaution under the sun. She was practising social distancing, she was washing her hands, took hers and everyone’s safety seriously, was healthy, yet she was taken from us in only four days. This virus does not discriminate.”

****

Paul Ramsden, 80

It was only when Ramsden’s wife, Jacky, struggled to wake him that it dawned on her something was seriously wrong. Paul was fit for his age and had no known underlying health conditions.

He fell ill soon after the couple returned from the Canary island of La Gomera. Jacky said Ramsden’s only obvious symptom was tiredness, but when she tried to rouse him from his sleep on 22 March, the penny dropped. He died five days later.

Jacky, from Lytham near Blackpool in Lancashire, told the Blackpool Gazette: “It’s very clear that while the vulnerable are susceptible to this virus, it also strikes down fit and healthy people. I wish people to take the government guidelines seriously and to abide by them so we can avoid further heartbreak. I feel lucky to have enjoyed 40 years of love and adventure with Paul, but I am saddened that our marriage has been cut short in this way.”

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Linda Tuppen, 66

A former nursery nurse and teacher, Tuppen died from suspected coronavirus after caring for her son, who is also thought to have caught the disease. She was found lifeless by her son, Rob, on 28 March, a day after she had refused to speak to NHS’s 111 service when she fell ill, deciding to sleep instead.

Tuppen – who suffered from asthma – had been looking after Rob after he developed Covid-19 symptoms following his return from Krakow, Poland, earlier last month, but then began to feel unwell herself.

Her other son, 23-year-old James, was admitted to hospital a day later with coronavirus symptoms. In an interview with MEN, Rob recalled the moment he found his mother at her home in Bolton, Greater Manchester. “I was in a panic, she was just lay there, and I shouted ‘Mum, mum,’ but she didn’t answer,” the 28-year-old software engineer said. “I was doing chest compressions until the ambulance came. I was still in the room when he came over and said she was gone. It’s devastating. We lost our father in 2008, so we’re pretty much on our own now.

“She was a kind, loving lady who adored me and James and would have done anything for us. She always used to say that we were her lives. She would do anything for anyone.”

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Thomas Harvey, 57

The NHS healthcare assistant caught coronavirus and died after treating patients with only gloves for protection, according to his family.

It is claimed Harvey fell ill after helping a patient who later tested positive for Covid-19 and eventually died on 29 March. He had been signed off work more than two weeks earlier when he developed symptoms including a cough, shortness of breath and body aches.

His family said that if he had had the correct personal protective equipment, he might still be alive. Goodmayes hospital in east London claims there were “no symptomatic patients on the ward”. But a former colleague told the BBC that Harvey contracted the virus after treating a patient who later tested positive.

Harvey’s daughter, 19-year-old Tamira, told the BBC: “It’s so sad. I feel like he was let down in so many ways. It’s an absolute tragedy and he didn’t deserve to lose his life in the way he did. If he had just had the right equipment, we wouldn’t be in this predicament and it wouldn’t have escalated in the way it did.”

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Peter Sinclair, 73

Sinclair was a professor of economics and a former tutor to David Cameron. He taught the future prime minister during his time at Oxford before joining the University of Birmingham in 1994. He later became director of the Bank of England’s Centre for Central Banking Studies. Cameron described him as “one of the cleverest people I ever met” and said he had inspired “generations of students”. He added: “It was a complete privilege to know him.” Sinclair died in intensive care on 31 March after testing positive for coronavirus.

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Alfa Saadu, 68

Saadu was a distinguished former medical director of Princess Alexandra hospital NHS trust in Harlow, Essex. He grew up in Nigeria and travelled to the UK to train as a doctor at University College London. He retired in 2016 after a 40-year career in the NHS. He was volunteering at his local hospital in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, one of the counties worst hit by coronavirus, when he became infected. He died after a two-week battle with the disease, according to his son Dani. Dani said: “My dad was a living legend, worked for the NHS for nearly 40 years, saving people’s lives here and in Africa. Up until he got sick he was still working part-time saving people.”

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George Mason, 71

Mason and his twin brother, Malcolm, had been cutting hair in the same barber shop in Gosport, Hampshire, since they trained together as teenagers. In a statement, the Mason’s Barber Shop said he “always brought laughter and happiness and it will be so hard not working alongside him any more”. Speaking to Solent News, Malcolm said: “George was good fun – we had our moments like all brothers do, but got along brilliantly. He was a real family man and cared deeply about those around him.” As he began suffering from the virus, George told his brother he “wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy”. He was placed on a ventilator last weekend and never recovered. He is survived by his wife, Bobbie, his children Joanna and Natalie and grandchildren Hannah and Ben.

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Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, 13

The rare death of someone so young from coronavirus has prompted widespread shock and concern. Ismail, who had no underlying health conditions, died on 30 March at King’s College hospital, London, after testing positive for Covid-19. Ismail, who had six siblings, lived in Brixton, south London. His family said they were “beyond devastated”. In a later statement they said: “Ismail was a loving son, brother, nephew to our family and a friend to many people who knew him. His smile was heartwarming and he was always gentle and kind.”

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Luca Di Nicola, 19

Di Nicola was a chef from Nereto, near the Adriatic coast of Italy, who was living with his mother and her partner in Enfield, north London. He died on 24 March in North Middlesex hospital. His death was announced on the same day as Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab’s. A postmortem revealed that Luca had Covid-19. His aunt Giada told La Repubblica that a GP had prescribed him paracetamol for a cough and fever. She said the doctor had told him “he was young, strong and [had] nothing to worry about”.

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Harold Pearsall, 97

Pearsall was a hero of the D-day landings who was awarded the Légion d’honneur for his part in the allied assault on Caen in 1944. He landed on Juno Beach along with the Royal Artillery. “We never fired a round. When that first shell came in, I could have crawled down a worm hole,” he said last year at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-day. His unit went on to suffer heavy losses as it was attacked with phosphorous bombs and grenades, he said of the Caen operation. He died in Birmingham’s Good Hope hospital on 27 March after testing positive for Covid-19. Pearsall had two sons and had been an active member of D-day veterans’ groups. “He was very proud and always clean, smart and tidy,” said Peter Lloyd, secretary of the 1944 Alliance Normandy-Market Garden veterans’ association.

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Andrew Jack, 76

Jack was a dialect coach and actor who appeared in three Star Wars films. He died in hospital in Surrey on 31 March. His wife, Gabrielle Rogers, also a dialect coach, tweeted: “We lost a man today. Andrew Jack was diagnosed with coronavirus two days ago. He was in no pain, and he slipped away peacefully knowing that his family were all ‘with’ him.” Jack lived on one of the oldest working houseboats on the Thames. According to his agent, Jill McCullough, he was fiercely independent but also madly in love with his wife. He appeared in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi as General Ematt, as well as Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. He had been working as dialect coach on a new Batman film. Sam Neill was among many actors to pay tribute. He said Jack was a “lovely man” and “joy to work with”.

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Maria Lawrence, 48

Lawrence ran a business selling gift bags in Derby. According to her son, Dan Clark, she was also a “community champion” in the city and founded a Secret Santa scheme which she ran for free. Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, he said: “She was like an angel and very well regarded in the community. She was selfless too. Nothing was done for herself. She ran all these things out of charity.” Lawrence was unaware she had any health problem until she was diagnosed with coronavirus. Further tests revealed she also had vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels, worsened by Covid-19. She died at Royal Derby hospital on 20 March.

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Frank Rust, 81

Rust was a Labour councillor for Rushmoor borough council for 28 years, and was due to serve a second stint as mayor next year. A passionate Spurs fan, he was a retired NHS manager and had also held senior posts in education. The former Labour cabinet minister Hazel Blears was among those sending tributes, describing him as a “lovely man”. His son Karl wrote: “Sorry dad you were added to the pandemic stats today but you were not a victim or casualty in these dark days. You lived life to the full never stopping learning new things, keeping active, helping people and the community you represented. You were a good dad. I am pleased you had enough time to enjoy being a grandad to Archie.” Rust died on 30 March at Frimley Park hospital, Camberley, Surrey.

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Pat Midgley, 82

Midgley was a Labour councillor in Sheffield for 33 years, and was described by her family as a “true woman of steel”. The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, was among many figures in the Labour party to praise her years of service. In a message to her son Neil, McDonnell said: “The flood of tributes to your mum shows just how loved she was and how respected for her dedication to her community to the end.” Julie Dore, the leader of Sheffield city council, said: “I am heartbroken. This makes coronavirus all the more real.” Midgley was admitted to Sheffield general hospital on 24 March and was confirmed positive with Covid-19 a day later. She died on 29 March. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, three children and five grandchildren.

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Frank Hammond, 83

Hammond died in Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport on 26 March. He tested positive for coronavirus despite having no cough and only a mild temperature. His daughter, Trisha Conroy, paid tribute to a “lovely, funny man who always wanted to make people laugh”. He enjoyed art and making scraperboard images and loved walking in the nearby Peak District. A photography enthusiast who worked in a Jessops camera shop for many years, Frank had suffered from chronic lung disease and had reduced mobility but was otherwise in good health before he fell ill, Trisha said: “He used a walking frame in the house and a mobility scooter when he was out after he lost a lot of the strength in his legs but was otherwise in decent shape.” He is survived by his wife, Brenda, daughters Trisha and Claire, and four grandchildren.

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Christopher Vallely, 79

Vallely died in Belfast’s Mater hospital just hours after his wife, Isobel, passed away in the same hospital room. Earlier this year, he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He was admitted to hospital and placed in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. Vallely, who was known as Arty, retired to his native Belfast in 2003 after working for decades in England. He lived near the Falls Road in west Belfast. He died on 29 March.

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Isobel Vallely, 77

Vallely died on 28 March, the day after the couple’s 53rd wedding anniversary. She had had a stroke last year, and was admitted to hospital on 26 March after testing positive for coronavirus. Her daughter Fiona said both Isobel and Christopher were “amazing parents”. She added: “They were fantastic people who did not deserve to go this way.”

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Amged El-Hawrani, 55

A respected ear, nose and throat consultant who worked at Queen’s hospital Burton in Derbyshire, El-Hawrani was the first confirmed hospital frontline worker to die in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus. His death prompted tributes from ministers and senior health leaders. In a statement, his family said: “His greatest passions were his family and his profession, and he dedicated his life to both. He was the rock of our family, incredibly strong, compassionate, caring and giving. He always put everyone else before himself.” He died on 28 March at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

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Hilda Churchill, 108

Believed to be oldest coronavirus victim in the UK, Churchill was a survivor of the 1918 Spanish flu. She died in a Salford care home on 28 March, hours after testing positive for Covid-19 and just eight days before what would have been her 109th birthday. Before she died, she had been reminiscing about the Spanish flu, according to her grandson Anthony Churchill. She and most of her family in their home in Crewe had become infected, including her father, who collapsed in the street with the flu, she recalled. They all survived apart from her 12-month-old baby sister. “Grandma said she remembered a small box being put in a carriage,” her grandson said. “She was saying how amazing it is that something you can’t see can be so devastating.” Hilda was a seamstress who moved to Salford during the depression to find work. She was known for her cooking skills, particularly her gravy. She had four children, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

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Adil El Tayar, 63

Tayar was the first working NHS surgeon known to have died from Covid-19 in the UK. He had been volunteering in A&E departments in the Midlands to help the NHS cope with the virus. “He wanted to be deployed where he would be most useful in the crisis,” said his cousin, the broadcaster Zeinab Badawi. “It had taken just 12 days for Adil to go from a seemingly fit and capable doctor working in a busy hospital to lying in a hospital morgue.” His former colleague Abbas Ghaznafar, a renal transplant surgeon at St George’s hospital in Tooting, described Tayar as a “noble human being” who was a “hardworking, dedicated surgeon”. He died on 25 March at West Middlesex University hospital, London.

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Pooja Sharma, 33

Sharma was a hospital pharmacist who died from the virus a day after it claimed the life of her father. She worked at Eastbourne District general hospital in East Sussex. Lara Stacey Young, a nurse in the area, said: “So many people will be devastated. She was such a lovely soul.” Amarjit Aujla, a friend from childhood, said: “Her laughter was contagious and her random calls made my day. From when we were in primary school until we last spoke two weeks ago, you gave me nothing but love, support and a tummy ache with all the laughter.” She died on 26 March.

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Sudhir Sharma, 61

Sharma was an immigration officer at Heathrow Terminal 3. He died on 25 March, a day before his daughter also succumbed to the virus. It is unclear whether the pair had any contact before both contracted the disease. Sharma had health problems and had not been on duty at Heathrow since early January. Nick Jariwalla, director of Border Force at Heathrow, said: “Sudhir was a very well-respected, kind and experienced officer. He will be greatly missed by everyone.”

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Adam Harkins Sullivan, 28

Harkins Sullivan, from Camden, north London, was a painter and decorator and father to a six-year-old son. He worked with his father who gave him his nickname, Spud. Speaking to the Camden New Journal, his mother, Jackie Harkins, said: “I’ve lost something very precious to me that can never be replaced. We are all just in shock because he was only a young man. He was healthy – you didn’t have to tell him to eat his greens, he was always like that.” An otherwise fit man, he had been taken to hospital with suspected pneumonia. He died on 24 March at University College hospital in London in an isolation ward for coronavirus patients.

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Doreen Hunt, 72

Hunt was born in 1947 in Canning Town, east London, into “extreme poverty”, said her son Steve Hunt, adding that she was brought up in “one of the poorest families in a poor area”. After leaving London for Dunstable in 1973, Hunt ran an insurance business for many years with her husband, John, in the Bedfordshire town. “She became as successful in business as she was as a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother,” her son said. “She travelled the world and enjoyed a rich and varied life.” Hunt had been on dialysis for kidney problems at Luton and Dunstable hospital but her condition deteriorated rapidly and she was admitted to intensive care last Friday. She died two days later, on Mother’s Day, her family said. After her death, tests results confirmed she had been infected by the coronavirus.

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Steven Dick, 37

Dick was the UK’s deputy ambassador to Hungary. He had been with the Foreign Office since 2008 and had previously served in Kabul and Riyadh. His parents, Steven and Carol Dick, said: “Steven was a much-loved son, grandson and nephew. He was kind, funny and generous. It was always his dream to work for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and he was very happy representing our country overseas.” Shaun Walker, the Guardian’s central and eastern Europe correspondent, said: “He was a jovial, intellectually curious and extremely helpful person. He spoke fluent Hungarian, having undergone a year’s training before taking up his position last autumn. Early last week he helped coordinate arrangements for me to get back into the country, and mentioned that he had tested positive for coronavirus, but at that time said he was feeling fine.”

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Allan Oldcorn, 74

Oldcorn was a retired lorry driver for Bowater-Scott, which manufactured tissues and toilet rolls. Wendy Cavin, one of his three daughters, fondly remembers him leaving sweets for her and her sisters on the family mantelpiece in Flookburgh, Lancashire, when he was doing night shifts. Speaking to the Cumberland News and Star, she said: “He was the go-to man when it came to Flookburgh charter fair day, when everybody needed toilet rolls to make their float flowers.” She added: “He was an amazing husband, dad, grandad and great-grandad – the anchor of our family.” Oldcorn, who had been “fit and healthy”, died on 21 March, a day after being admitted to hospital with shortness of breath and backache. Doctors later confirmed he had tested positive for coronavirus, Cavin said on Facebook.

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Michael Gerard, 73

Gerard was a teacher, musician, campaigner and lifelong Guardian reader. His daughter, Sushila Moles, described him as “loving, kind and always supportive”. She said he made up daily limericks and entertained her with bizarre conversations. Gerard grew up in Shortlands in Bromley, south-east London. He met his wife, Caroline, at Durham University and the couple both worked as teachers in Leicester. Later Gerard specialised in teaching visually impaired children. Moles said: “He was a hoarder, which worked well for this occupation as he always had a boot full of noisy toys and tinsel that he used to help children.” He played many musical instruments but was most accomplished at the violin and founded several orchestras and bands near his home in Clarendon Park, Leicester. He was a Woodcraft Folk leader for 30 years, a former president of the Leicester Secular Society and a frequent attender of anti-war demonstrations. In later years he had a number of health problems including Crohn’s disease. He was diagnosed with Covid-19 on 18 March and died four days later at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

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Jon Jacob, 69

Jacob was a successful property lawyer and partner at the London firm Bower Cotton Hamilton, who lived in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. He was a stalwart of quiz leagues in London and the Chilterns, known for his formidable knowledge of classical music. A friend said Jacob “wore his knowledge lightly, and was very modest and self-effacing, always genuinely surprised to be told how good he was. He was also a lovely man: kind, generous and absolutely delightful company. He will be sorely missed by all his friends in the quizzing family.” Paddy Duffy, another fellow quizzer, tweeted: “Just a lovely man, brilliant fun and incredibly erudite. I’ll remember fondly our Sunday matches and our japes on the quiz holiday in Rhodes.” Jacob died on 23 March of complications from Covid-19.

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Ruth Burke, 82

Burke was the fourth victim of coronavirus in Northern Ireland, according to her daughter Brenda Doherty. She said her mother had “unbelievable strength and suffered many challenges in her life”, adding: “Unfortunately this was one that she was not going to overcome.” In an emotional video on Facebook she said: “We couldn’t be with her when she passed. We’ll not see her coffin, we’ll not get to kiss her.” Doherty urged the public to stop panic-buying and stay indoors. “My mum would not have believed how people are behaving. She would have thought better of society. My mum was a woman who loved life. If you value life, you will stay in and do as you’ve been asked.” Burke’s death was announced by Doherty on 24 March.

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Marita Edwards, 80

She was a very gentle loving woman and a friend to everybody,” Edwards’s son Stuart Loud said. She grew up in the village of Mangotsfield near Bristol. She worked as a cleaner in a factory in the city and brought up two children with her first husband. She found a new life with her second husband on the other side of the Bristol channel in the village of Bulwark in Monmouthshire. She was a regular at the Conservative Club in Chepstow, where she enjoyed dancing. “She had a very rich social life, much better than mine,” said Loud. Edwards was a former captain of the women’s golf team at St Pierre country club in Chepstow, and continued to play golf until she was admitted to hospital for a routine operation in February. She died three weeks later of hospital-acquired Covid-19 a day after testing positive for the virus. Loud said: “She was a lovely lady and it was just a horrendous way to go. I just want to make people aware of that.”

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Peter Myles, 77

Myles’s struggles with Covid-19 were documented on social media by his daughter, the actor Sophia Myles. She said she had done it to show the “harsh reality of the coronavirus”. In 2018 she tweeted about her father’s diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. Before he retired in 2008, Myles was an Anglican vicar at St John’s church in Isleworth, west London, where he was described as a “liberal soul”. After being ordained in 1971, his first job as curate was in Tideswell in Derbyshire. He spent the rest of his career in west London, including stints as a priest at St Peter’s church in Notting Hill and as chaplain to the bishop of Kensington. In his final years he lived in a care home close to St John’s. He died on 21 March.

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Wendy Jacobs

Jacobs was the headteacher of Roose primary school in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Her leadership of the school was repeatedly praised by inspectors. “This vibrant school provides a good quality of education with outstanding features,” they said in a recent report. The school’s chair of governors, Fred Chatfield, said her death was devastating for the school and the community. “This is a huge loss,” he said. Jacobs died on 22 March.

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William Stern, 85

Born Vilmos György Stern in Budapest, Hungary, on 2 July 1935, Stern was imprisoned as a child in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the second world war. He shared his memories of Torah readings in the camp on the Shoah website. After the war he settled in London and went on to build a successful property empire. Stern Holdings collapsed in 1973 and in 1978 Stern was declared bankrupt with debts of £118m, a record that stood for 14 years. He was a member of the ultra-Orthodox Haredi community in London.

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Rina Feldman, 97

Like Stern, Feldman was a member of the ultra-orthodox Haredi community. No other details about her have been reported.

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Jean Bradford Nutter

Bradford Nutter was the aunt of the former England rugby player Will Greenwood. In an Instagram post he said she “never did anything but bring sunshine into my life”. Greenwood said his aunt lived near his boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria. He said she was the eldest of three sisters and was in her 80s “but had so much living to do”. She died on 21 March.

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Hassan Milani

Councillor Ali Milani, who was Labour’s parliamentary contender against Boris Johnson in Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the 2019 general election, revealed that his father, Hassan, had died after contracting the coronavirus on a trip to Iran. “In the early hours of this morning,” he said on Saturday, “my father tragically passed away after having contracted Covid-19. Please keep him in your prayers. This virus is taking millions all across the world.”

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Craig Ruston, 45

Ruston, a rugby fan and father of two from Kettering, Northamptonshire, had been a footwear designer, including at Dr Martens, before being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. He had been writing about his struggle with the condition before he tested positive for Covid-19. But his posts became less frequent as he began losing the strength in his upper body. In one of his last, he wrote about a dream he had of standing beside his wife and daughters at his own funeral. He wrote: “I don’t fear death, but I can tear myself to pieces if I dwell too long on what happens when I’m gone.” His family said he was “not ready to go”. He died on 16 March.

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Leonard Gibson, 78

Described by his family as a “typical jolly Irishman”, Gibson died on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March. He was born in County Tyrone and had 12 siblings. After moving to South Yorkshire aged 26, he worked at the coking plant at Orgreave. In retirement he enjoyed gardening, but problems with his lungs forced him to move into a sheltered housing flat in Oughtibridge, near Sheffield. He died in Sheffield Northern general hospital after being diagnosed with Covid-19. His daughters, Lisa, an NHS worker, and Michelle, a teaching assistant, were not allowed to visit him in hospital. Lisa said: “It is sad that we weren’t able to be with Daddy, but the nurses were there for us.���

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Nick Matthews, 59

Described as a “true legend” of the Avon and Somerset police, Matthews retired as an officer in 2010 after a heart attack. He and his wife, Mary, from Nailsea in Somerset, had a week’s holiday on the Canary island of Fuerteventura at the end of February. Matthews was taken to Bristol Royal Infirmary after complaining of breathing difficulties on 12 March. He died on 14 March after testing positive for Covid-19.

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Darrell Blakeley, 88

Blakeley was a churchgoer from Middleton in Rochdale and sang in the choir. He had a beautiful voice, according to a spokeswoman for St Michael’s church. He was also regarded as a “gracious gentleman”, she said. He had underlying health conditions and fell ill after coming into contact with someone who had travelled to Italy. Blakeley was admitted to North Manchester general hospital on 3 March with sepsis. He tested positive for Covid-19 on 10 March and died three days later.

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Kimberley Finlayson, 53

Finlayson was the first British victim of coronavirus to be named after she died on holiday on the island of Bali in Indonesia on 11 March. She was the founder of a dental communication business based in Shenley, Hertfordshire, one of the counties worst hit at the start of the outbreak in the UK. She had four children. Her colleagues paid tribute to her “passion, creativity and determination”. Finlayson had lung disease and diabetes.

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