#also they filmed the abby date scene when they were doing no place like home filming....... We were supposed to be free weeks ago.

[eddiegettingshot]

literally haunted by the alternate timeline where beenado/plane crash happens. "has anyone ever told you you're a vision in a cone" is the honeymoon phase... eddie's weston plot in no place like home... then they jump straight to eddiehotpriest and bucktommy bones in the episode after that... masks where buck has boils from breakup stress and eddie is taking care of him and rolling his eyes about the curse while also feeling joyful and such... this was the world we were supposed to live in.

[buddiebeginz]

So I finally got to watch 4x08 and I have a lot of thoughts so be prepared for a long rant.

For starters I literally groaned out loud when I saw they brought back Taylor Kelly. I know that some would make the argument well the only reason you don’t like her is because you want Buck with Eddie. If Eddie didn’t even exist I still wouldn’t like her and I definitely wouldn’t want her anywhere near Buck. She’s incredibly self centered doesn’t care who she hurts at times and can be really manipulative too. Like how she went out of her way to hurt Buck in front of Albert and Veronica for no reason. I get it if she didn’t totally understand why Buck asked her there but she could have said that to him privately. She could have left without turning it into a whole big spectacle to make Buck look like a dick.

Then the stuff she said to him in the hallway was just totally messed up. Buck called her because he got roped into the stupid double date thing and didn’t want to look like a loser in front of Albert and Veronica but also it’s clear he’s been feeling lonely for a while and didn’t want to be the third wheel. He should have communicated more to Taylor what was going on with the dinner but nothing about what he was doing was malicious or manipulative to me, Buck can just be kind of clueless at times.

When they were in the hallway Taylor made it seem like Buck used her. That he basically wanted people to see him with “famous” Taylor Kelly the reporter. The thing is when Taylor got to the apartment she thought that her and Buck were going to have dinner and hook up. She was clearly planning on using Buck for sex like she has before, yet she accuses him of using her.

She called him needy and said that he can’t stand the idea of someone not liking him. To which he ends up apologizing. Watching this I’m like WTAF are you apologizing for Buck? This woman is trashing the shit out of you and you’re standing there apologizing?! I mean this is what I’m talking about when I say she’s manipulative. Like I said before Buck should have communicated better what was going on that night but it’s also not his fault that Taylor assumed he was calling her over for a hook up. I also don’t think Buck called her because she’s sort of famous and he wanted to look good or to use her, I think he didn’t want to look like he’s all alone when everyone around him has someone. He had seen her recently and talked to her about things he’d been dealing with so I think she was the first person he could think of to help him and likely the only one really.

Even after Buck tried to explain some of this to her and tried to be vulnerable about how he was feeling what does she do? She laughs at him then basically calls him a liar and tells him that he treats his friends shitty and his issues with Albert are his fault. Never mind the fact that Buck had opened up to her about feeling uncomfortable about his roommate dating a woman he dated and bringing her home to their house. Never mind the fact that Taylor knows nothing about Buck and his relationships.

I mean she says something earlier in the episode  “your life is nothing but meaningful relationships” (talking about the 118) but that’s pretty obvious to anyone who meets them so I don’t give her much credit for that. Not to mention a while back she spent time in the firehouse filming so that was easy enough to see then. But the fact that she could spend time with Buck and he could open up to her the way he has multiple times through out the show and she could still make the kind of snap judgments she does about him or use him the way she does is just awful.

By the end of the episode the shows tries to make Taylor look like this poor sad woman who is dealing with so much and I think they were even trying to make the connection that she was also feeling alone like Buck feels alone. They also try to make it seem like she just wants to help people, again I think trying to connect her to Buck and his innate desire to help everyone around him but I don’t think she’s anything like Buck and I still can’t stand her.

I really hope people haven’t forgotten that this was the same fame hungry woman that was ready to air footage of Bobby (calling out to his dead daughter) and almost jumping off the roof when he had eaten laced brownies. She made it clear when we met her when kind of a person she is. That she was the kind of person who would probably sell her own mother if it meant furthering her career. The thing is I definitely believe characters who make mistakes or who start out as villainous or problematic should be allowed to grow and change (I mean some of my favorite characters are ones that have started out awful) but this doesn’t feel like a character that has changed. At all. The way she went out of her way to try and humiliate Buck in front of Albert and Veronica and the things she said in the hallway prove that. I’ll be utterly disgusted if they try to pair her up with Buck.

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I’m just really tired of how the show seems to treat Buck. I have no problem with characters going through hard times, dealing with others being awful to them, or even abuse. These are all things that happen in real life and can make for great storylines. But if you’re going to show a character repeatedly going through something it should serve a purpose, it should be leading towards something and I’m not sure if the 911 writers get that. I love the show but sometimes I feel like they’re just putting Buck through stuff for the hell of it.

Like we’ve repeatably seen women treating Buck awful which in an of itself isn’t a problem if it’s going somewhere. Like the show could use that as way to say Buck is always picking the wrong people and has problems with speaking up for his needs (likely because of his family). There’s a lot the show could explore with Buck’s relationships especially with him seeing a therapist. Unfortunately though we haven’t been seeing him talking to the therapist and especially after this recent episode where it feels like the same old same old (i.e. a woman treats Buck like crap and Buck apologizes) it just doesn’t feel like there’s a good enough reason they keep writing Buck’s storylines like this.

First there was Abby who I feel like used Buck in some ways to jump start her life back up and then ghosted him when she didn’t need him anymore. Then she didn’t even take responsibility for that when she saw him again nor did the show really let Buck call her out on how she made him feel really. Then there was Ali who knew how dangerous Buck’s job was when she got involved with him and did anyway then chose to drop him when he was going through one of the toughest times of his life. The show didn’t even do Buck the dignity of really talking about what happened with that relationship she just was gone by the next season.

There was Taylor who just used Buck for sex and for her career and who the show tried to paint as being like the female version of Buck which I thought was kind of bullshit. Buck has made plenty of mistakes in his life and he certainly was all about sex when we first met him in season 1 but in the first place Buck would have never sunk to the kind of lows Taylor has just for his career. Being a firefighter is everything to Buck but the 118 are like his family and he wants to be a firefighter to help people not just for fame or glory. There was the lawsuit but Buck didn’t even realize how much that asshole lawyer was going to go after the 118 and I’m pretty sure if he did he wouldn’t have done it. You can tell when Buck talks about it to Eddie how much he still regrets it. As for all the sex Buck was having it’s clear he was looking for a more meaningful connection and just hadn’t learned yet that wasn’t where he was going to get it. Not to mention it seemed like a lot of the women he was sleeping with were just using him to an extent like the therapist who slept with him. Buck is very different from Taylor who in my eyes is not a very empathetic or emotional person and seems much more about herself than anyone else. So the shows need to compare them really gets on my nerves.

Then there was his date with Veronica which was just ridiculous. My problem wasn’t that they had her be some strawman SJW feminist who got offended by everything it was the way they had Buck respond. As usual he wasn’t allowed to stand up for himself and just had to sit there and take the mistreatment.

It hasn’t just been in romantic relationships either we saw what Buck went through with his family and the show just kind of closed that off with Buck forgiving them for a lifetime of abuse.

I don’t get why the show constantly lets Buck get treated like crap by so many people around him and without standing up for himself no less. Like I was so angry about that scene in the hallway with him and Taylor. It would have been one thing if Taylor had lashed out at him (maybe taking her own issues out on him something she could have explained later) but the show still should have had Buck push back against some of the bs she was spewing. I’m tired of Buck having to hear how much of a failure he is. I’m tired of seeing Buck hurt by people he tries to let in. Buck would literally die for the people he loves. He almost has numerous times. So to hear someone like Taylor trashing him and telling him he wasn’t a good friend was so infuriating.

-------

I mean it’s not that everything with Buck is handled bad. I love the relationships he has with the 118 and especially with Bobby and Athena. Her and Bobby are almost like parents to Buck especially when it feels like Buck never really had the family he deserved and I love them for that. There’s also Maddie who has always been there for Buck and their relationship is so important. But the best relationship Buck has is obviously with Eddie. He’s the one who gets Buck the most and who Buck is the most himself with. Buck doesn’t have to hide or hold back with Eddie and neither one of them are afraid to call each other out when necessary.

I love the relationship Buck has with Eddie and I really want them to just get together already, though I know there’s no guarantee that will happen. But if the plan isn’t for Buddie to happen I wish that the show would stop dangling that relationship around every episode as a way to pull viewers in because it’s clear they know how popular they are. I especially wish that the show would be clearer about what they plan to do with Buck’s sexuality. I feel like there’s been so many hints since the beginning that Buck could be bi and I don’t know where the show is going with it.

I’ve seen people saying that Buddie isn’t going to happen and it doesn’t need to happen because there’s already other lgbtq characters on 911 and there’s a main lgbtq ship on Lone Star but I disagree. Buddie could still happen but even if it doesn’t the show could definitely still explore Buck’s sexuality. It would be so important to have a main male character who has been straight presenting on a popular prime time show come out as bi. There’s this misconception that representation in media for lgbtq isn’t that big of a deal anymore because there are so many lgbtq characters now but it is still a big deal and many shows still don’t feature lgbtq characters and storylines prominently nor do their stories justice. They definitely don’t when it comes to bi characters especially bi men.

To have a character like Buck have a storyline that would explore his sexuality would be huge. It would be even more huge if it was about him coming out as bisexual. Biphobia is a big problem not just from straight people but within the lgbtq community maybe even more so in some ways. Popular media rarely shows accurate good depictions of bi storylines. Even when there are bi characters on shows or movies we usually don’t get to see their journey like we have in media through the years with other lgbtq characters. We rarely get to see what it’s like to figure out you’re bi and to live as a bi person. As someone who is bi myself I really want this to change. 

The show has made many hints to Buck’s sexuality and it’s something that they could easily explore. If they aren’t planning on going that route though I don’t get why they keep hinting at it. I don’t get why they’ve had multiple instances where people have commented on Buck’s sexuality or being with Eddie and he never corrects them. I mean once would be enough but what is the point of the show doing it over and over? I mean the Lone Star moment was just crazy to me if they don’t plan on doing anything. It didn’t just feel like a throw away joke moment especially since Buck didn’t deny it and Eddie came around the corner it felt like the show was saying something.

If the show isn’t planning on having Buck come out or putting Eddie and him together why does it feel like Buck and Eddie behave almost like a married couple? I mean they connect and know each other almost more than some of the actual married couples on the show. It feels like Buck is Chris’ other dad. I mean we saw Eddie going out with Ana but at the same time it almost felt like it did with Shannon like Eddie just trying to do right by Christopher and make sure he has mom. After the date the one Eddie comes home to is Buck. When Chris is upset the one he runs to is Buck.

If Eddie and Buck and Chris aren’t meant to be a family was does the show keep making it seem like they are each other’s safe space? It’s clear that the connection Buck and Eddie have goes beyond just being friends. It’s just unclear why the show has developed them this way and what they plan on doing with them now.

One last thing in this giant ramble. This episode was called “Breaking Point” but I feel like we didn’t see Buck’s breaking point. I’m hoping that all these bread crumbs are leading somewhere in exploring Buck’s sexuality maybe this episode title was a clue that Buck’s breaking point is coming. We’ve had lots of hints about his sexuality throughout the course of the show and this season in particular there’s been a lot of talk about how lonely he feels and how disconnected he seems to feel from everyone. So maybe we’ll get to see him talking to his therapist and exploring some of these feelings. Maybe if Eddie continues to see Ana Buck will end up feeling jealous and this will bring up feelings he hasn’t wanted to confront yet, about himself and about Eddie. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

A New Gamble: Rupert Penry-Jones on Getting to Know You

“I feel my whole life has been one big gamble from the moment I chose to become an actor. I feel the buzz of getting a job is the same as winning the jackpot.”

Getting to Know You, available on demand November 24, is a poignant, touching romantic drama that hinges on a “faking dating” plot. Two strangers, Luke (Rupert Penry-Jones) and Abby (Natasha Little), meet cute in a small town hotel lobby and find themselves spending much of a weekend together. He has just left a high school reunion where he tried, unsuccessfully, to reconnect with his ex, Kayla (Rachel Blanchard). She has just arrived to attend her estranged brother’s funeral. Luke and Abby are each lonely, restless, and anxious for some company. Things get complicated, however, when a drunk Kayla turns up in Luke’s hotel room, hoping to seduce him. He refuses to get involved with her because she is married with two kids. He asks Abby to pose as his wife to extricate him from this uncomfortable situation, which she does.

Of course, the situation spirals out of control, and Abby finds herself posing as Luke’s wife as the weekend unfolds. In thanks for her support – and because he wants to spend more time with her – Luke escorts Abby to her brother’s funeral and helps her pack up some things from her brother’s house. The two strangers are undeniably attracted to each other, only they can’t act on it. Abby, like Kayla, is married with two kids. Luke insists he is a gentleman.

Penry-Jones gives a fantastic performance as a man unable to succumb to his desires. He gracefully handles the awkward situations Luke faces, and displays some real comic timing during some of the film’s sillier moments. But it is the way Luke looks at Abby – wistfully, longingly – that makes his performance standout. When Penry-Jones, finally lets down his guard and is aching at letting Abby get away, he is especially moving. Likewise, when Luke coaxes Abby to tell him how she feels, his reaction is quietly powerful.

Getting to Know You is a change of pace for the actor, who frequently works on British TV series (MI-5, Black Sails, The Strain) and period costume drams (Vita & Virginia, A Little Chaos, The Four Feathers). Penry-Jones spoke with Film International about his new film.

Gary M. Kramer: Getting to Know You opens with Luke making the best of an awkward situation he finds himself in. Over the course of the film, he finds himself in a series of awkward situations. He displays patience and kindness. But Luke also has a moral code – he won’t be a homewrecker. What observations do you have about his character?

Rupert Penry-Jones: He has this high school sweetheart [Kayla] he’s come back to see, and she gets too drunk and he can’t follow through with it. And he’s met this lovely lady [Abby]. A lot of men would go for whatever is available with two beautiful women who are potentially available. But he realizes Abby is a very special woman, and he wants to go down whatever road she needs him to. I think that is quite honorable. I think he’s very lost and lonely. He’s been away from home, and when he was at home, it wasn’t much of a home for him. Abby is in a loveless marriage and going through a difficult time. He has woken up, middle aged, and realized he has nobody. They are desperately finding a way to belong and find someone to love.

GMK: I like that Getting to Know You is not about getting the one that got away, it’s about finding someone to love. It is also about taking risks and making a sometimes public declaration of love. What are your thoughts about putting yourself out there? You do this as an actor

RPJ: Personally, I’m not very good at taking that many risks. I play it quite safe. I like to have backups. Whenever friends talk about gambling or I get invited to go to the horse races, I have absolutely no desire to gamble. I feel my whole life has been one big gamble from the moment I chose to become an actor. I feel the buzz of getting a job is the same as winning the jackpot. It’s a similar adrenaline rush. I’m too English for big declarations for love I’m afraid [laughs]. In a movie, I love it. I love extreme emotions in a movie – throwing myself at the feet of the woman I love or killing someone who has crossed me. I love that opportunity to push emotions as far as you can. But in real life, I’m pretty English and pretty controlled.

GMK: Luke admits to making stupid decisions in his life. How do you cope with bad decisions?

RPJ: I try to let them go, but they do sit with me. Everyone actor has that one job they nearly got but didn’t that could transform their careers – turned us into movie stars, or earned us an extraordinary amount of money, but didn’t. Generally, with regret, you have to look at the life you have – it’s easier for some than others. You have to be grateful for what you have and see all the wonderful things you do have instead of focusing the things you don’t. And think of the wonderful things that have happened to you instead of the things that haven’t. Everything happens for a reason – I do believe that. When I don’t get a job I want, in that gap, when that job would be happened, something else happens that wouldn’t have happened. When something good gets offered to you, I think – what’s the catch? I always think there’s a catch.

GMK: I am curious about your penchant for physical humor. There is a scene in the film where Luke trips going up a flight of stairs that I love – it’s unexpected, but completely in character. The physicality Luke has with Kayla is also fantastic. Can you talk about that aspect of the film?

RPJ: I threw in falling up the stairs without telling them. They thought I hurt myself. I wish I had done it coming down. It would have been funny to do it coming down as well. I don’t get the opportunity to do much comedy, or physical comedy. I would love to do more. I really enjoy it. But it has to come in the moment. I was going up the stairs in rehearsals so many times I thought I should slip something in.

“In a long term relationship there is always someone who lays down the law.”

GMK: It is heartbreaking that Luke falls for Abby but cannot act on his desire. In what ways are you a “romantic,” or a “gentleman”? He wasn’t looking for love and that’s why he finds it.

RPJ: He was surprised by it. He’s so wrapped up in own world and the disastrous evening he had. They fall into each other’s lines of life. What’s romantic about him is that none of it is premeditated. He doesn’t set up a scenario where he woos her. He’s honest with her and genuine and they find themselves in these situations which come organically, rather than are forced. That’s the kind of romance I like. The idea of on Valentine’s Day booking a restaurant and having a bunch of flowers – that sort of romance is not something I’ve never been able to do. I’m not very good at it. Could be because I am an actor, and I’m always having my props prepared. My marriage [his wife is actress Dervla Kirwan] was a very small affair. The idea of dressing up and people taking pictures of us and applauding us as we walk into the room – for me, that would be like a day at work. I can’t think of anything worse than having someone dress me up. My wife’s the same; having someone doing her makeup and hair…Literally, that’s what we do every day at work. We did the opposite. I find I do the opposite of what a romantic thing would be. I’ve never been very good at the planned romantic gesture. It has to come in the moment.

GMK: I liked Abby’s speech about marriage. What observations do you have about relationships?

RPJ: My parents were both actors, so one would be away working when the other was at home, and vice versa. That constant shifting roles of being the main career helps level out the relationship if you have children. In my relationship, there’s not one of us who is at home all the time and not one of us who is at work all the time. We’re both bringing the money, so it’s all very even on that level. The more it can be even, the better, but it never is, I suppose. In terms of control of emotion, I don’t know, but in a long term relationship there is someone who lays down the law. It’s always changing with my wife because one of us is away and one is at home, but we are rarely at home together. With COVID, what was positive was being able to have break from the ambition and desire and competitiveness of being an actor waiting for the phone to ring. It was us together living in a house and being together.

GMK: I think the strength of your performance is in the way Luke hides his quiet despair. Can you talk about playing/portraying that?

RPJ: He knows what he wants is not really possible, so he is trying to do right thing and be the good man. There is wonderful woman in front of him, and he just wants to spend every minute he can with her without crossing the line. She has that lovely speech where she says she wants to sleep with him but is there anywhere they can where we’re not going to sleep together? It’s very funny that the woman lays her cards on table in very bare way. I think everyone finds themselves in situations where they have to check themselves and walk the right side of the line. That’s what he is trying to do no matter what his desires are.

GMK: It’s like Brief Encounter. What can you can about developing the relationship with your co-star? There is a palpable chemistry between you because we want them to be together.

RPJ: They are both into each other, and yet they are both denying themselves, and yet they are both loving each other’s company and prepared to do what the other needs so they can be together. We got on well as two actors, so it was easy to slip in and out of those roles. It was a strange experience because the film takes place in the downbeat hotel where the film was set. We were living in hotel where we were shooting. I’ve never done that before – shot in the place that I lived in.

GMK: Let’s talk a bit about your career. I first took notice of you in Virtual Sexuality, a zany teen film. I’ve since seen you in Cambridge Spies and other projects such as Vita and Virginia. You frequently play in TV series and costume drama. What are your thoughts about your career? Luke is not a role I’ve seen you play before.

RPJ: That was a reason why I wanted to do it; it’s not a role I’ve done. And to have a crack at American accent. That’s been a problem – I felt like I couldn’t act through it, that [the accent] would get in my way. So, it was great to play a role to do that. Even Brits struggle with period accents to make them sound real and not a put-on voice. I am very keen to do anything that stretches me and slightly scares me. A lot of the time as an actor, you get offered what you’ve already done before, and you can do it standing on your head. There is a certain range and most of the time you not offered parts outside of it. You fall into boxes. Getting to Know You was fun; it was comedy, an American accent, and I don’t get to do many of those. It ticked all the boxed.

These things come along at the right time and you just go for it. I’d like to do another heroic spy saving London every week kind of role. I loved doing MI-5. It was a high point in my career.

GMK: Have you ever met someone in your life who has had a transformative effect on you?

RPJ: My wife. We met doing a play. I nearly turned it down, and my agent talked me into the experience I nearly didn’t do it. And I ended up with a wife. Also, there was an English teacher who took me aside when I was 13, and said, “I hope you’re auditioning for the play.” It was The Tempest. I went because he forced me to. That was the beginning for me. He had a big impact on my life. After that, I was in everything.

Gary M. Kramer writes about film for Salon, Cineaste, Gay City News, Philadelphia Gay News, The San Francisco Bay Times, and Film International. He is the author of Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews, and the co-editor of Directory of World Cinema: Argentina, Volumes 1 & 2.

Source: FilmInt.nu

[creativitytoexplore]

Who To Call In Case Of Emergency by Marina Rubin https://ift.tt/35BZ5iG Tulip's mundane work environment is brightened by her adventurous, bubbly and promiscuous co-worker; by Marina Rubin.

You can learn a lot about other people's lives when you ask for their emergency contact number. A daunting task Tulip undertook with a mix of idealistic dedication and administrative weariness, when one of her colleagues, a senior underwriter, Didi Estefanos, fainted at work. Everyone ran around the office, scrambling to find a number for her next of kin as she lay on the floor unconscious, her feet in thick brown stockings protruding from the partition of her cubicle. As the crowd swayed above her, spewing water on her face and wailing Didi, Didi, someone found her profile on Facebook, tracked down her son and sent him an SOS message. By the time two masculine paramedics rolled in and strapped Didi onto a stretcher, someone was already on the phone with her frantic son, Nicholas, instructing him to meet his mother at Mount Sinai Hospital. "Would you look at that man?" Senna, the new girl from marketing, whispered into Tulip's ear, smiling at a tall paramedic with a sleeve tattoo. "It's true what they say - New York has the best looking men!" Senna had recently relocated from Florida so most of her sentences began with "It's true what they say" and were awe-inspired declarations about her new city. Tulip had seen the tall paramedic before. Twice. Once, when the Operations Manager collapsed with a stroke and, of course, the staff struggled to find his emergency contact number since the one on file in HR was from twenty years ago - his father who had long been gone; and the second time, when one of the salespeople had a seizure while closing a deal on the phone. "What kind of business is this?" the paramedic sneered, shoving consent papers into his EMS bag. "Everybody gets rolled out on a stretcher! What do you people do here?" "Healthcare insurance." Tulip shrugged, failing to see what he was implying. Then she watched Senna, in a surprising display of concern, chase Didi's stretcher down the hall and plunge into the elevator, like a puma, behind the handsome paramedic. Tulip returned to her desk and, as if on a mission, composed a fervent email to the entire department letting them know she was collecting emergency contact numbers, "so we can avoid another Didi situation". In the coming days, emails floated from every direction, from benefit clerks to C-level executives, offering up names and numbers of loved ones: "...My wife Susan... my husband Edward... my brother Boris... my mother Beverly..." hoping they would never be used, the urgent phone calls that would never have to be made. Tulip included her husband George, although he was impossible to reach, a criminal attorney who spent most of his day in court. Tulip's boss, McNally, a devout Catholic and a perpetually angry ex-alcoholic barked, "If I drop dead, I don't want you calling anybody. Let them throw me to the dogs!" As the spreadsheet expanded into several pages and circulated around the office like some kind of a death list, there was still no news of Didi. Some speculated she was in a hospital undergoing observation, while others joked she was already on the beach in Barbados, collecting disability. One morning Senna appeared in Tulip's cubicle and, pressing her body against the grey fabric panel, said enigmatically, "I know you are collecting emergency contact numbers, I'm going to give you my children's father's number." "Sure, that's fine," Tulip replied, not looking up from her computer. "Well, he's my ex-husband, actually," Senna clarified, hanging her face on the divider and staring at Tulip with oval eyes full of longing. "But we are not together; the children are with him though... well, they're in boarding school." An attractive woman in her late 30s with long bleached hair and large breasts, Senna told everyone she had always wanted to live in New York, it had been her life-long dream. She was renting a basement apartment in Brooklyn that she called a dungeon. "It has the allure of a dungeon," she once said at a staff meeting, with tenacity and pride. "I didn't know a dungeon could have allure!" McNally jeered behind her back. But Tulip liked Senna. There was a certain endearing quality to her, she was like one of those porcelain dolls, one minute beautiful in a box in a pastel ballerina skirt and the next ashen and warped, left outside in the rain with one eye broken and a dirty dress. "Actually let me think about it, maybe I will give you someone other than my ex-husband," Senna said broodingly and walked away, bumping into McNally. "What did she want?" McNally asked, dropping off a report on Tulip's desk. "She was giving me her emergency contact number." "Weirdo," McNally hissed and disappeared. Next day Senna told Tulip by the water cooler, "I'll give you my Daddy's number." "Great. Is your father here or in Florida?" "No, he's not my father," Senna laughed. "He's my Daddy... you know, like my master." "You have a master?" "I'm in an S&M relationship," Senna said, beaming. "It's true what they say - you can be and do anything you want in New York!" At home during dinner, Tulip told her husband George about the new girl Senna who apparently had a master. George nodded and yawned, "to each his own." That night in bed, he rolled on top of her and, nuzzling her ear, teased that he was now her master and she better obey him. On Friday, McNally announced that Didi Estefanos was not coming back to work any time soon, she was officially on long-term disability, and no, he didn't know what was wrong with her. The team filed out of the conference room with an intense sense of envy and resentment towards their sick, stay-at-home colleague. Senna came over to Tulip's desk and declared, "I'll give you a different emergency contact number. It's my neighbor..." "What happened to Daddy?" "We had a fight." "I'm sorry to hear that." "He's such an inconsiderate jerk!" Senna confessed, biting her nails. "He set up a date with this girl and forgot to tell me so I could schedule a date for myself too. Who does that?" Tulip shook her head. "I hear you. Men are the worst. My husband won't even put his plate in the dishwasher after he finishes eating." Then she leaned in closer. "So it's kind of like... an open relationship? Sorry, I don't know much about these things." "Open but very committed. We do play dates together and separate, with couples, and singles. It keeps our love fresh and exciting... It's just that he should have given me a heads-up so we could sync our calendars, you know what I mean?" "Right... right," Tulip nodded. "You think it's ok if I give you my neighbor's number?" Senna asked, still agonizing. "Senna, it's just a list! A formality. In case of emergency. If anything should happen to you in the office. Hopefully nothing will happen to you in the office and they won't have to carry you out on a stretcher. Your neighbor's number is just fine! Don't worry." "Of course. Nothing will happen." Senna smiled, holding up tightly crossed fingers. In time, Senna and Tulip became chatty confidantes. When they met in the elevator on Monday mornings, they inquired about each other's weekend. Senna was always eager to share her stories, no matter who was around to hear them - here she was making a guest star appearance at some elite orgy, or dressing up as a bumblebee in a simple threesome. Tulip's weekends lacked the same kind of luster and sensationalism, but still, she kept up conversation by recalling her two days of cooking, cleaning and driving her ten-year old daughter, Abby, to ballet classes and gymnastics. When the two women bumped into each other in the hall, they shared a giggling hi-five. When they met in the kitchen for a snack, they always took a minute to whisper what an insufferable prick their boss, McNally, was and couldn't someone just put him out of his misery. Eventually they discovered they both liked foreign films - naïve romantic comedies starring unattractive yet lovable French men with big noses. They also enjoyed the same kind of music - brooding guitar ballads by Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez. They started having lunch at a little Indian place down the street called Ms. Bombay, where they always ordered the same appetizer, aloo papri chat - chickpeas in tangy sauce - and shared chicken tikka masala, wrapping chunks of meat in Peshwari naan. "Can you believe this naan?" Senna gushed every time. "It has raisins and nuts! Only in New York!" Senna told Tulip about her life back in Sarasota, how she married her high school sweetheart and gave birth in succession to two boys, Chris and Kyle. How she came to be interested in the underground S&M scene; at first her husband joined her at parties at the swingers' club, and when it escalated to dark cellars, chains and fetishes, he opted out, said he was concerned for her safety, but by that time they had nothing in common, and he couldn't stop her. She was still a young, attractive woman and didn't want to live in a matrimonial tomb. So she moved to New York. She met Daddy on-line. "There are websites and user groups for this kind of thing," Senna explained to Tulip, who listened, wide-eyed, her cheeks pudgy from Indian bread infused with nuts. She even told her how she once had sex in suspension, "You haven't had sex until you've done it suspended in the air!" "Ok, stop, please!" Tulip yelled, covering her ears, "I don't think I want to hear any more."

"So you're now friends with the dominatrix?" Tulip's husband George snickered one night, brushing his teeth before bed. "I hope she doesn't recruit you into the world of bondage." "You don't need to worry about that," Tulip laughed. "It's the last thing I would want to try! She is sweet, you know, and amusing. I'm not even sure if what she says is true... But she has this touching enthusiasm for life, New York, sex, even naan! Plus, she is not a dominatrix, honey, she must be a submissive, right? She has a Daddy." George, gurgling mouthwash, muttered something along the lines of you know better, and went into the bedroom tugging at his pajama pants. "Did I tell you I had a date with the paramedic?" Senna broadcasted one day in the kitchen. There were other people around, stirring oatmeal, making coffee, slicing grapefruit. Senna did not care what anyone thought. Tulip often wondered if she did it on purpose, shocked people. "How was it?" Tulip whispered, signaling for Senna to keep it down. "We met for a drink, then went back to his place. It was very vanilla." "Vanilla," Tulip repeated, nervously looking around. That word, the flavor of ice cream she never ordered, came back to her on the train going home to Glen Rock... Vanilla... Was Tulip's life in suburban New Jersey vanilla? As in plain, dull, without flavor or spark? Her job, her marriage, her sex life? Not that she wanted to have sex in suspension, or wear leather in a room full of strangers, hell no, but the thought, as small as a sliver of an almond in a Peshwari naan, nestled between her teeth and would not budge. She was happily married, she loved her husband; when they met in college he was applying to law school and they were such a team, so committed to getting him through it that by the time he graduated and got a job at a prestigious law firm, yes the spark was gone and so was the passion, but this was their joint achievement, a real triumph, plus they already had a beautiful daughter, and Tulip was all gratitude, but that word - vanilla, that sliver of an almond... For their office summer outing the company organized a scavenger hunt. Everyone ran around the Meatpacking district, agonizing over trick questions and looking for clues in the bricks of the buildings and inside the elevators of the overpriced Chelsea Market. "Which structure used to be a church, a nightclub, a shopping mall and now a sports club?" Insurance adjusters and claim processors struggled to answer on a sweltering day in Manhattan. Senna was wearing a pair of tiny jean shorts and high heels as she leaped over cobblestones, solving demanding brainteasers, winking at construction workers and tossing excited exaltations about the history and beauty of the city. "Look at her," McNally grumbled as he trudged alone, behind all the teams, smoking a cigar and scratching his rotund stomach, "the only thing she's missing is a balloon cluster!" Senna's team won. Wearing medals around their necks that looked like chocolate wrapped in gold foil, they celebrated in a seedy bar in Union Square. Tulip had to leave early to attend Abby's ballet recital, so Senna stayed with the analysts from Logistics. Later on she was joined by a petite, dark-haired woman with a wedding ring and a briefcase. "This is my neighbor and lover Francesca," Senna introduced her to a few remaining, intoxicated co-workers. They reported that the two women were fondling each other at the bar until a glistening Mercedes came to pick them up and whisked them to an unknown destination. Next morning Senna told Tulip how sorry she was she missed Francesca, her neighbor and her lover, the one she was telling her about, the one who would be her emergency contact. "It's alright," Tulip insisted, "I don't need to meet your emergency contact." The following week, on Friday, Senna was all pins and needles, awaiting a FedEx delivery. "Have you seen the postman?" she asked every executive assistant, madly dashing towards the reception area to see if anything had arrived. She and Daddy were leaving for the long weekend at an exclusive S&M retreat in the Catskills and she had bought a lamp on Amazon to decorate their tent. "It's a beautiful white lotus lantern with twenty leaf string lights," she told Tulip, almost in tears, showing her photos on the Internet. "I was going to hang it around our tent like a garland, so it's festive and inviting, and more people will come to visit us." "Don't worry," Tulip comforted her. "It's still early, I'm sure it'll arrive." Oh, how Senna screamed when the FedEx man appeared on the floor. A week later, the building security office was conducting a fire drill and forced everyone to leave their desks and assemble in the hall by the elevators. As the fire warden droned on about what to do in case of an emergency, Tulip noticed how three women from Payroll with strangely similar hair bobs were whispering to each other and pointing in Senna's direction. "I need two volunteers to be Floor Searchers," the warden announced, looking at the gloomy faces in the crowded hallway. "One male and one female. The role of a Searcher is very important. In case of fire, you must search the restrooms, offices, conference rooms and instruct all the floor occupants to evacuate. Do I have any volunteers?" There was an ear-piercing silence and everyone looked at each other. "Alright, I'll do it," Greg, the HR Manager, like a white angel, descended onto the floor. "I guess I could be the female Searcher," Senna raised her hand. "Great! Please come up to me and give me your names. This concludes our fire drill, thank you," the warden said in a raspy voice, as everyone trailed back to the office. "Knowing her, she'll be checking the men's room first and we'll never see her again," McNally snorted under his breath, loud enough for the interns from Group Benefits to exchange glances and burst out laughing. The word about Senna was spreading around the firm, and Tulip felt bad for her friend. "You know, you don't have to tell everyone about your life," she said to Senna in one of the little nooks of the office. "No one needs to know about your lesbian affair with the neighbor, or the hot date with the paramedic, or Daddy and the orgies you attend every weekend. Really, it's no one's business. It's your private life!" "But my life is not a secret," Senna insisted. "I married young and lived like a nun for years until I realized I deserve better. I have nothing to hide. I'm proud. I'm finally living!" For her birthday, a pair of shiny thigh-high boots in black patent leather with laces up the back was delivered to the office. Senna hiked up her skirt and tried them on at her desk. "Daddy sent them!" she exclaimed excitedly. "He's taking me to the opera! We're seeing Aida at the Met!" "You're not wearing those to the opera, are you?" Tulip asked in a thin, shocked voice. "Oh no, of course not. These are for the party we are going to on Saturday." "What do you wear them with?" Tulip asked, feeling the pleather with her fingertips. "Anything you want, really, or nothing at all! You can always dress them up with a pair of long gloves, or a classic headband." "Well, have a great time at the opera!" Tulip wished her friend, just as she noticed, from the corner of her eye, McNally standing in the middle of the office, shaking his head back and forth and staring at the black sleek boots, as if they were the cadaver of an animal. A month later, completely by accident, Tulip met Daddy. On some idle Tuesday when Tulip's husband was working late and her daughter was at a sleep-away camp, Tulip and Senna were having a drink after work. A man in a grey suit and tie surprised Senna from behind by covering her eyes and commanding her to smell his fingers. Bald, stocky, in thick dark-rimmed glasses, the man whom Senna introduced as her Daddy, her master, her lover who fulfilled every one of her fantasies, literally looked like her father, a severe man with a humorless expression, someone the IRS would send to conduct an audit at an automotive company in Detroit. Senna and Daddy insisted on driving Tulip home. Tulip sat in the backseat, watching Senna weave her arms around Daddy like a willow tree, as he drove in silence with the tempo and precision of a German tankman. Tulip wondered why they were driving her to New Jersey, so completely out of their way. Did they know no one would be home, was this a ploy to get her into bed, did they want her for a threesome, was she being recruited into the world of bondage? They dropped her off in front of her house just as George was pulling down the curtains on the bay window. Tulip breathed a sigh of relief. Daddy stepped out of the car and gallantly opened the door for her. "Who was that?" George asked when Tulip walked in. "You are not going to believe it. That was Daddy!" "Daddy? You mean, your crazy co-worker's S&M master? He looked more like a Certified Public Accountant from KPMG... Do we have anything to eat?" Sometime in November, it suddenly became bone chilling and viciously windy. "It's true what they say - New York is a toothless witch of a winter," Senna announced. Having moved from Florida, she did not have any warm clothes, so she layered her summer shirts and wore the company sweatshirt advertising their new PPO plan on top. Tulip hated watching her shiver in the revolving doors of the building. Daddy should have bought the poor girl a coat, instead of those hideous knock-me-down-and-fuck-me boots, Tulip thought to herself, fuming. Instead of saying anything, she opened her closets. With care and dedication, she picked a few warm sweaters, a scarf, a hat, woolen socks, even mittens. Then she added a Burberry double-breasted cashmere coat she had snatched up on sale at Neiman Marcus. Something every lawyer's wife should own, she wore it once to a holiday party at George's law firm, now it adorned her closet like a mistletoe, something pretty but useless. She took it off the hanger and threw it in the bag. "You can have these for the winter," she handed the bag to Senna on Monday. "Oh my God, you shouldn't have. Thank you so much. That is so sweet," the Florida ex-pat jumped up and hugged her friend. Then she tried on the coat and even though she was taller and bigger in the bust than Tulip, the coat fit her perfectly. And then the morning arrived when Senna was circling Tulip's cubicle, fidgeting and fretting about something, until she finally came out with it and asked Tulip to be her emergency contact. There was something so heartrending and pitiful about the way she asked, smiling, standing by Tulip's desk, still wearing the coat, holding out banana bread she had made over the weekend in a plastic container like some kind of sacrilegious offering, that Tulip had to look away. "What happened to Daddy?" "I don't think he wants to be my Daddy anymore," Senna said, biting her chipped nails. "He found someone younger, and prettier." "I am sorry. What about your lesbian lover, that neighbor Francesca, or something?" "Her husband found out and threatened to divorce her if she didn't stop seeing me." Tulip sighed. "Look, Senna, I can't be your emergency contact, it's ridiculous. We work in the same office. It has to be someone from outside, you know, like a family member or a friend." "Why?" Senna objected. "Well, for starters..." Tulip tried to elaborate, until she realized she couldn't come up with anything reasonable, and that's when she folded, "You know what - okay, you got me!" "Really?" Senna lit up. "Great! Can you put it down in the spreadsheet?" At night, Tulip was having dinner with her husband and her daughter, a new crock-pot roast beef recipe she was trying with red-skinned potatoes, when her phone rang. It was Senna. "I'm just calling to activate my emergency contact number," she said, laughing like a gloriously happy child.

Sometime around Thanksgiving, rumors, like pocket-sized mice, were scurrying across the office and making squeaking noises in the walls. Employees congregated by the water cooler, in the hallways, in the kitchen, whispering, shaking heads, weighing in on the latest news. Didi Estefanos was not coming back to work, in fact, she had slapped the company with a massive lawsuit, claiming everything from emotional abuse to sexual harassment, ageism, racism, and all kinds of atrocities that had caused her to collapse in the office and get rolled out on a stretcher. What was wrong with her exactly, what particular ailment she was inflicted with, no one knew. Since all the tests came back negative, the doctors assumed it was stress. She hired a high-powered attorney who specialized in harassment in the workplace. The company executives from around the country flew into the New York office and spent long days in glass conference rooms, behind closed doors, talking into round speakerphones that lay in the middle of the table like UFO plates. They walked out, exasperated, wheezing, loosening their ties, pooh-poohing the process, and hurried along to lunches and dinners at the lavish New York restaurants they enjoyed on their expense accounts. Greg, a highly respected HR Manager and a proud gay man since the 80s, was seen standing outside the building, wiping his face with a paper towel. McNally was in and out of meetings, giving testimony, defending himself. "Sexual harassment my ass," he was heard screaming, "that old hag was a hundred years old!" Meanwhile, a Thanksgiving sale was in full swing at Bloomingdale's down the street. All the girls from the office were shopping in the intimates department. Tulip always joked how their check was directly deposited into the iconic department store. "I need your honest opinion." Senna came up to Tulip one day with a shopping bag. "I bought this corset for a party on Friday. But I'm not sure if it fits me right. Could you please take a look and tell me the truth, please!" "Sure." Tulip nodded. "Let me just finish this report." "Great, meet me in the bathroom in ten minutes." When Tulip walked into the bathroom, the small vestibule with a full-length mirror and a few armchairs, was empty. She proceeded into the lavatory, it was empty as well, except for the one stall at the end where Senna was fiddling with zippers, swooshing fabric. Someone had left the water running in the sink, Tulip turned off the faucet and waited. Finally, the stall door opened and Senna appeared, wearing just a corset and a pair of a high heels. "Oh wow!" Tulip squealed, veering her face to the side as if someone had just punched her. "Wow," she repeated, violently, "wow." "What do you think?" Senna asked, standing in the middle of the bathroom, anxious, alert, her breasts bulging from a see-through corset, her shaved pale vagina on display. "Looks great," Tulip said, her hand raised to her temple, partially blocking the view. "Does it make me look fat?" "No, it looks fine, not fat at all," Tulip stuttered, looking away, focusing on a crack in a tile. She did not expect to see her friend wearing nothing but high heels and a corset. She reasoned there was no real necessity to take off her pants or the skirt that she was wearing, let alone her underwear, to demonstrate a corset, especially one that went only to her belly button. And why the high heels? For the full dramatic effect, the big picture? "Do you think it's tight in the back?" Senna turned around, flexing her muscular buttocks. "No... Not tight at all." "You don't think it's too small in the breasts?" "No, it's great," Tulip repeated, making an effort to hide her embarrassment. "Are you sure? You're not just saying it?" "Definitely! You'll be a huge hit at the party on Saturday," Tulip assured her, as she hurried out the door, blaming an urgent report she forgot to do. She ran out of the bathroom and walked down the hall, shell-shocked, frazzled, smoothing wisps of hair on top of her head, grinning to herself, imagining her husband's face when she told him tonight what had just happened, how he would fall off his chair, laughing. "What's so funny?" Tulip bumped into McNally, who was always stalking the hallways and had an uncanny talent for appearing at the most opportune place at the most opportune time. "What is it?" he demanded, studying Tulip's face. "You look strange... Is everything alright?" "Yes, fine," Tulip, taken off guard, giggled in a surge of nervousness. "I was in the bathroom with Senna, she asked me to look at this corset she bought at Bloomingdale's, but... she was wearing nothing but a corset, you know..." Tulip laughed uncontrollably. "Oh, and high heels too," she added, slowly gaining composure and realizing her mistake. McNally stood quietly, his arms folded on his stomach, listening. That night, when Tulip told her husband about the encounter in the office bathroom, he did not fall off his chair laughing, as she expected. He turned surprisingly serious and asked her all kinds of questions, as if she was a witness on a stand, or a victim, or maybe even a co-conspirator. "And what did you do?" "Nothing, I ran out of the bathroom..." "Why did she do that?" "I don't know, she's probably an exhibitionist..." "What is the nature of your relationship?" "You can't be serious, honey... That's it. I am going to bed." A few days later, Tulip was in the office kitchen, draping almond butter onto a Granny Smith apple, when Greg, the HR Manager, approached her and invited her in for a chat. In a corner office crammed with ceramic bowls and teacups that Greg made in the pottery class his partner Rob bought him for his birthday, the tired HR Manager offered Tulip a chair and asked if she wanted anything to drink. She looked at the large pitcher of water sitting on the side of the table, a testament to the many people who came through this office in the last few days, and immediately said, "Greg, I don't know much about Didi, or whatever her claims are... She seemed like a nice lady, very erudite, but other than that I have nothing to add." "Tulip, I didn't ask you here to talk about Didi," Greg said in a serious tone. "Okay..." she looked at him, waiting. "I want you to know this is a safe place and everything you say here is confidential." "O-kay..." "Tell me what happened with Senna," he said compassionately. "We have zero tolerance for sexual harassment and abuse in this company, and you did the right thing by reporting her." "What?" Tulip jumped up. "What do you mean what happened with Senna? What do you mean, reported her?" "McNally came into HR and filed a complaint on your behalf. He said that your colleague, Senna Andrews, has created a sexually abusive environment for you... Tulip, if Senna has sexually abused you, or harassed you in any way, you need to tell me right now." "Sexually abused me?" "Look, we received a complaint... It went all the way to the CEO. Of course, the big wigs upstairs are worried about you suing the company, but I care about your well-being." "Suing the company? Is this some kind of a joke?" "There is nothing funny about sexually unwanted advances, especially in the workplace, especially now - with the MeToo situation, we take these matters very seriously." "This is not a MeToo situation!" she burst out, enraged. "No one harassed me! Not me! This is a NotMe situation!" "Okay," Greg looked at her keenly. "Then why did you report her?" "I didn't," she covered her face with her hands. "Well, you communicated the entire bathroom incident to your manager, Eric McNally. To tell you the truth, I was surprised. I thought you and Senna were friends." "We are friends," Tulip sighed, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Then I don't understand what happened. Why did you report her?" "I did not report her... McNally snuck up on me. That's what he does - he stalks the hallways like a creeper, and he just caught me off guard..." "I don't know if you realize it, but your accusations could get Senna fired." "No!" Tulip exclaimed. "It was a mistake, a misunderstanding. I don't want her fired. It was a mistake. Nothing happened. Greg, you have to help me. Don't let her get fired!" She rushed out of the office and took the elevator down to the lobby. She ran across the street, sat down on a fire hydrant in front of her building and dialed her husband George. He didn't pick up. It was late afternoon and he was usually in court at this time. She kept dialing his number frantically and it kept going into voicemail. She looked at the gnarled trees around her and it suddenly occurred to her that if this was an emergency, if she was sprawled out in the middle of the street unconscious, or taken out on a stretcher from the office, no one would be able to reach George, and she finally understood what Senna had been agonizing over all this time. Tulip looked up at their building. Senna was somewhere on the 24th floor, and so was McNally, and HR, and the big wigs; what was happening up there, she wondered, what were they doing to Senna now? At night when Tulip finally saw her husband and told him about her surprise meeting with HR, he put down his fork and somberly expressed his disappointment - she had played it all wrong, she should have consulted him first. "You can't be serious, George." "When your HR rep said they were worried about you suing the company, he was right. They should be worried, because this was an open and shut case. And if you had teamed up with this Didi woman and joined her lawsuit this would have been a winning case. But instead you chose to defend your little girlfriend." "I can't believe you're saying this nonsense," she hissed. "I would never accuse a friend of such wrongdoing and get her into trouble like this." "What are you defending?" George scoffed. "Your lusty little encounter in the fitting room?" "It wasn't lusty!" Tulip shrieked, slamming the door. "And it wasn't a fitting room, it was a bathroom!" she corrected him, slamming the door again. There were many slammed doors that night which ignited a bit of spark in Tulip's otherwise vanilla life.

When she came to work the next day, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Every one of her colleagues was sitting at their desks, in their cubicles, in front of their computers, doing what they were paid to do. Greg was in his office with his door closed. McNally was on the phone with his back towards the exit. Tulip looked across the floor, studied the layout of the office, and for the first time noticed the precise division of the cubicles, the symmetrical way in which the partitions were mapped out, like prison cells, or a closed mouse maze. Senna did not get fired. Whether it was Greg's humanitarian efforts or McNally's endless maneuvering, she was transferred to another group, the only division that did not report to McNally. Was she ever called into HR, reprimanded, given a warning? Did she ever find out who reported her, Tulip often wondered with trepidation. But after the bathroom incident, she started avoiding Senna. When Senna asked if she was free for lunch at their favorite, Ms. Bombay, Tulip told her she brought lunch from home, or had an important client meeting, or was running to a spin class at the gym. When Senna invited her for drinks after work, Tulip lied again and blamed PTA meetings, ballet recitals, and date nights with the hubby. One day Senna came over to Tulip's desk and asked her if she would look at a necklace she bought downstairs. "You would tell me the truth if it was gaudy, right?" "Sure, let me see it." Tulip nodded with an old familiar smile. But when Senna told her to meet her in the bathroom, Tulip looked at her for a long time and finally said, "We don't really need to go to the bathroom to try on a necklace. You can just put it on right here in this cubicle." Senna went to get the necklace and never came back.

[nexhqs]

INTRODUCING HAYDEN GARCIA …

NICKNAMES : N/A

GENDER : Cis woman, she/her

OCCUPATION : High school student

DATE OF BIRTH : 01/25/02

SPECIES : Human

FACE CLAIM : Isabela Merced

❝  I sometimes wonder if things only get better for them to get worse again.  ❞

PERSONALITY

AESTHETIC — Polaroid pictures, newspaper clippings, cutting fences with wirecutters, tearstained pillow, dark skies over stormy seas, disdain for suburbia, television static, vintage movie posters, big sweaters, denim jackets, wearing headphones all the time, a frozen lake in the middle of winter, birds on a telephone wire, scribbled notes at 2am, soda in glass bottles, flannel shirts, Halloween, classic film, the crunch of dead autumn leaves, sitting on your roof and watching the sky. 

LIKES: Horror movies, conspiracy theories, writing, taking photographs, crisp fall mornings, rock music, Shakespeare, polaroids, pepperoni pizza, writing in leather bound journals, New York City, the library, the silence of nighttime, bowling.  

DISLIKES: Bubblegum flavored anything, math class, summer, being around other people, school, mushrooms, orange soda, her parents, looking for the silver lining in anything, Eden, chick-flicks, mismatched socks, football.  

BIOGRAPHY –

content warnings for suicide.

    It wasn’t the biggest house, but it was the one at the end loop of the cul-de-sac, and that mattered.  

Her life was painted over with the pretty brush of the privilege of suburbia, but the coat of color and sheen was always thin enough that it wasn’t quite as bright as other people’s. Hayden never minded — God forbid they have vacations every summer instead of over spring breaks too, and only the second most recent phone model rested in the pocket of the second most expensive jacket. Her mother’s side had resided in Eden since the founding of the town, name printed carefully in town charters. Her father was the opposite; never setting foot in South Carolina until college, New England born and bred to second generation immigrants. They were both smart, and hardworking, and they both landed good jobs and bought that house on the end of the cul-de-sac in her mother’s hometown. I used to want that house, her mother said, pointing to the blue one next door. But it wasn’t for sale, and theirs was, so there they were. Good but never good enough: that seemed to be the family motto.  

Hayden fit it well. Kacey, six years her senior and infinitely more like her parents in terms of ambition, never did. Hayden fit her parents less than she knew. Less than her father even knew: maternal lineage, found in Kasey and her mother, dating back decades upon decades. They were witches. Secret was kept from Hayden when she never showed any signs of the power being passed through her, but her sister was powerful: she started young, and her mother coached her into keeping the blood that ran through them silent and spells well known. It wasn’t unheard of for the genes to skip someone, there had been rogue sisters and cousins over the years that were not witches and died without knowing of their lack of powers. Kasey wasn’t just special, wasn’t just a witch: she was smart and she was funny — she was wild, and difficult for them to reign in, but on good days it didn’t matter.  

There weren’t very many good days near the end.  

Hayden would sit at the top of the stairs, listening to fights between their parents of Kasey being too angry, too loud, too depressed, too quiet. She retreated, she was cruel to family, she spent all her time in her room with the door locked or out without telling them where she was.  

And then Hayden found her, dead on the bathroom floor. An empty pill bottle next to her rolling around on tile, hair floating in a pool of vomit and foam at the mouth. Hayden screamed and cried for twenty minutes outside the door until her mother came home and witnessed the scene, calling 911 and launching an investigation into the death of Kasey Garcia.  

The police report: suicide, formed by a severe depression her parents ignored.  

The reality: suicide, because of a dabbling in dark magic: increased recklessness, spells mumbled that had long been forbidden. It brought a cloud over Kasey, and she killed herself in a very human way.  

After that, things changed for Hayden. She quit her middle school track team, and didn’t show up for weeks to school. Rumors spread around the halls, and they didn’t stop when she came back. In high school, maybe your sister killing herself would garner sympathy, in elementary school, no one would know aside from a teary eyed PG explanation from parents. But it painted an invisible target on Hayden’s back: are you gonna do that too? Why’d she do it? My sister told me your sister was a freak anyway, so I think …  

Once the target faded, Hayden painted it herself. She retreated from people, ignored her friends until she had none. Her grades didn’t suffer, and her curiosity was piqued more. How could she not have know about what happened with her sister? Photographs snapped of things that didn’t belong to her, sneaking into places she wasn’t allowed. In the absence of human connection, a connection to the unknown formed. Placement in mandatory therapy didn’t phase her anyway — she read her own file anyway, it was easy to pick the file cabinet. She found out things she didn’t want to know, not really: her father’s infidelity, what exactly her parents and therapist thought was wrong with her.  

So far, she hasn’t found the only secret she’s chasing: is what happened with Kasey all she’s told it is?  

CONNECTIONS –

DYLAN DAYE – Kasey’s ex-girlfriend, and up until recently, Hayden hadn’t seen her since the funeral. Wide eyed at twelve, Hayden desperately wanted to be Dylan’s friend and hang out with the much cooler girlfriend of her already pretty cool older sister. She wasn’t necessarily shut out… until Dylan fled anything having to do with the Garcia’s post funeral. Hayden has plenty of built up resentment for the both of them, and now that she’s older, she’s planning on getting to the bottom of who exactly Dylan Daye is.  

ABIGAIL SHABAT –  Hayden strongly dislikes Abbie, and Abbie, well, probably doesn’t think about her at all. The popular, friendly and ambitious cheerleader is the absolute antithesis to everything Hayden is and, well, stands for. But Abbie is also partly who Hayden wishes she was. Pretty, cool, plenty of friends. That, and the object of her crush’s affections.  

SUSANNA TURNER –  A new friend, and to be honest, one of the first Hayden has had in years. Though they’re different, and Susie is far more outgoing with her choice of extracurriculars (theatre!), Hayden likes her enough. The real reason she started hanging out with Susie was Hayden’s crush on the former’s best friend, but … that doesn’t matter now that Hayden actually enjoys her company, right?  

PENNED BY MEREDITH.

[fulltimereviewer]

50 Best Zootopia Fanfiction On The Internet

Top 50 Best Zootopia Fanfiction That You Haven't Read

Our Title and Heading say' it all today we have some of the best Zootopia fanfiction stories for you fanfiction lovers, and if you guys were searching for these Fanfiction Zootopia stories the search no further. we hope you guys love our best collection of top-rated series, anime, games and movie collection.

Zootopia was released in 2016 in America that too in 3d, it is basically a computer-animated comedy film. From this journey, there have been many Zootopia Fanfiction Lovers all around the globe. Zootopia was released by Walt Disney pictures and the exact release date of Zootopia is February 13, 2016. Let's Begin Our Collection of the Best Zootopia Fanfiction on the internet.

Straight_up_geek Why did Disney make me ship and bunny and a fox together??

Kido Zootopia is one of the few Disney movies I feel actually NEEDS a sequel. There’s so much more world and character building they could do.

zootman Ive never gone crazy with any disney princess couples, but now im shipping a bunny and a fox so hard. Omg

arman-shk If you ship Judy and Nick put a thumbs up. And if you want to let me know why you ship them.

peolk.s Ok but low key Judy and nick remind me so much of rapunzel and Eugene. Must be the similarities that make both of them my favorite movies and characters😍

super35 Why Did Disney Tell Me To Ship Them , THEN NO KISSING SCENE?!?!

love_u I'd be more than happy to see them as an official couple. And if there's a sequel on the way...lead down that road

here_i_am That's now what I say to my friends in gta when somebody attacks me. "Boys, Ice Em "

dum dudu If ever there was an Oscar for best animated performance, Nick Wilde would easily win. Jason Bateman really delivered with this role, especially the fact that he improvised a lot of the dialogue.

c@re They are cute couple specially the fox ia handsome and the bunny is so cute Zootopia was the 55th Disney feature animated movie, Byron Howard and Rich Moore were the directors of this movie. Fanfiction Zootopia lovers are also huge fans of these two individuals. The Co-director of Zootopia was Jared Bush. Zootopia Fanfiction Human Voice lovers who love the voice in the film are mentioned below.

We hope you guys liked our collection of the best Zootopia Fanfiction Updates, that we are providing you guys. Please share this as much as possible.

Zootopia Fanfiction Human version 2020

The voices that rocked the movie all around the world were Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, and others are mentioned down below in the other section of this Zootopia Fanfiction Stories article. The reason why we give the emphasis on these Zootopia fanfiction human voice personalities were the real reason for the blockbuster of Zootopia. YB Judy: it just burns me up to see such a bad attitude forwards foxes.. Also Judy: carries an anti fox spray Alyssa Love the subtle racism. She is surprised that a fox can be smart, and condescendingly praises him for being "articulate." Nick sarcastically calls her non-patronizing afterwards. 😂 Fallen Tacozz Judy: Are your costumers aware... They are getting snot and mucus with there cookies and cream. Boy elephant: Spits out ice cream on girl elephant: )X Random person Judy: are your customers aware their getting snot and mucus in their cookies and cream The couple with cookies and cream: OH FUC- Brandon Christopher The initial prejudice by the cop to assume that violence (reaching for her weapon) was the best way to handle the Fox... That's how it is and feels. Plus being judged by the owner of the ice cream shop in front of everyone is demeaning as well...for example when you're followed around the store and treated poorly wherever you go. (Black people of color equal income and credit get less money for loans for homes and businesses than white people of the exact same qualifications.) Rhonda howard Even when she thinks she's done something nice she's still treating them like they're less than with her tone as the Fox points out. lego nightwing Prejudice is going away but it's still very real. I appreciate all people white, black and all colors and backgrounds who understand this and fights against it. jackson selqiust "Now that is high praise. It's rare that I find someone so non-patronizing." blitz sapphire This is a great subtle jab Nick makes at Judy here that flew over my head the first time I heard it. The praise that Judy gives him is so condescending when you really think about it. It's that "wow, you're really well-spoken for a black person" compliment. Roeland Farah The fur textures in this movie are amazing. Blows my mind tbh Hoping that you guys liked our collection of the best Zootopia Fanfiction Human Version, that we are providing you guys. Please share this as much as possible. Fanfiction Zootopia Stories Updated in 2020 The Story of Zootopia revolves around the unlikely relationship or you can say the partnership between a very smart red fox and a rabbit police officer(who always dreamt of being an officer since Her Childhood). That's why people love Such Fanfiction Zootopia stories. These two try to find out a criminal conspiracy that connects them to the unusual disappearance of the predators.   miss anime "I'd lose my head if it weren't attached to my neck. That's the truth." So me😂😂 dylingr The writing in this scene is so well-written. It captures both the big and small instances of racism that often happens; both the hostile side and the non-hostile side. Favorite moments: "I'm such a..." "You probably can't read, fox" "I just want to say you're a great dad and a real articulate fellow" "Oh, well that is high praise. It's rare that I find someone so non-patronizing. *fake smile*" citavalo If it ended it like that, you can call it a short animation with a message behind it. animal fafic I love this movie so much. It makes me smile, brings up all sort of expressions I'm not aware of until afterwards. That's how you know it's a good movie. You're so invested in it that you don't even know what your face looks like. You're just totally in the world of the film. John martin "real articulate fella" that's the best compliment you could come up with. Did you think he couldn't speak English or something and are pleased he can. Dude you deserved to be had xxlinuxxx Fashionably late guys. Or a sloth uploaded it or something "new and hip" like that lmao. bazil I had this happen at a store when I came in to do some grocery shopping. I'm the type to wear band tees and jeans (it goes with the story I'm about to tell) and that's my usual attire. takimg a shower, dried my hair (which is always wavy and voluminous) brushed my teeth, had to go out to get food. already had some items in my basket when I was looking around in one aisle and an employee who was stocking items was watching me. I smiled at them and went back to looking at the boxes of pasta in front of me. Next thing I know, I have the manager asking me what I was doing and the guy I smiled at standing behind him. bazil I was asked for my ID and when I did, they said that it was fake. I do look younger than I am. They asked me to leave. I said I had money and wanted to pay for my items. They said I won't be paying with anything that's not mine (they thought my ID was fake and my credit cards were fake, therefore, believing I am a thief..like I was just going to walk out with my basket) I said, no everything I have is real and that I'm not a teen looking to steal. Even when I showed the manager my credit cards, he automatically said, "That doesn't mean anything to me." I got a full "up down" look from the stocking guy, like just because I'm very skinny with wild hair and had on a band tee and ripped jeans didn't mean shit. I put my basket down and left. odinia legend has it you can still her the toot toot to this day raven paruli Me: this cookies and cream ice cream is really great! News Cast says that there is bacteria in ice cream We are sure that you people loved our collection of the best Fanfiction Zootopia stories, that we are providing you guys. Please share this as much as possible. Zootopia Fanfiction Lemon Series As the Story continues the fox fond himself having a crush on the lady rabbit officer. We are sure that we have some of the dirty-minded people here visiting this webpage about Zootopia Fanfiction Lemon Stories. Zootopia was released in Belgium in 2d, Digital 3d and also in ReadD 3d, the best was Imax 3d formats in the united states. Mr Choice "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" Some establishments are still like that sadly mr abby wabby The moment I first seen this movie and I seen the elephant don't got gloves for they trunks I was like HEALTH HAZARD! 😂lmao puffered fish The ONLY thing I can think of when I see this scene is how unsanitary that ice cream place is XD xin yi zou The thing that always is in my mind is that Judy is my name as well 😂😂😂 warrior dragon564 Got a genuine laugh outta me when i read the description about he uncensored version, lol The killer Me: sees naked animals gagging Also me: sees Marina without her off the hook outfit THIS JUST GROSS AND DISGUSTANG blazelth Only real flaw I can spot: showing Bellweather as the villain in the "trailer". They went out of their way to hide the fact that she was the villain in all the advertising so it could be a big shock once the reveal happened in the movie sea slat Welcome to the Kill Count, where we tally up the victim in all our favorite horror movies! I'm James A. Janisse and today we're looking at Zootopia anonymous FINALLY I GOT WHAT THE HELL I WANTED HE KILLED HER YASS IT FINALLY MAKES SENS Battlr bin me: expects a short fan film casually looks at the duration bar at the bottom left corner me: confused screaming Make sure that you people loved our collection of the best Zootopia Fanfiction Lemon stories, that we are providing you guys. Please share this as much as possible. Zootopia fanfiction Crossover People Also Like the Zootopia Fanfiction crossover stories that why! we also have a series of the best zootopia crossover fanfiction and we can also Zootopia Fanfiction Crossover as well. joseph lay Judy:“You have to let me go” Nick:“I don’t want to let you go” That broke my heart 😭 unfc Judy: "I'm in love with a fox" The entire zootopia universe: "Say sike rn" susanana Nick: “honey tell them to buzz off” “honey who is it?” Awe he already has little names to call Judy 🥺🥰😂 skelei bones Me: sees Miles Walker Miles Walker: future mayor Me: he is evil 😏 max jordon "i call bull.." Nick: "close.. but no dice.. its a buffalo!" swear jokes no3 drive Is everyone just going to skip past the part where Nick goes “and I’m her boy toy 😏 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯” jennings Y'all see the phone, during Nick's song, that shows the sheep holding a gun? destiny ganfic " I bet you use your hand everynight" I laughed so hard when judy said that Alpha 3.o Disney wouldn't have the guts to make a sequel like this. kurt langberg Coffee? You know what that means? Yes, we’ve watched Luke Cage. We know what “coffee” means. we are sure that you guys liked our collection the 50 best Zootopia Fanfiction Stories and people can also say that fanfiction Zootopia stories. It depends on the fanfiction lovers interset. If you people have any suggestions or want any other fanfiction stories like this Zootopia Fanfiction Stories, you can comment down in the comment section below of this article on Fanfiction Zootopia Updates. We just want to make sure that you guys love these Zootopia Fanfiction stories and always keep on reading such Zootopia Fanfiction Crossover. Share these Zootopia Fanfiction Crossover Series to the other fanfiction lovers who are searching for such Fanfiction Zootopia Stories all over the internet. Thank you Best Pokemon Fanfiction Stories     Read the full article

[celebrityresearch-blog]

Aubrey Plaza - June 19, 2017

Recent Conan appearances:

March 15, 2017 - 

Her role as Lenny Busker on Legion (link)

The role of Lenny was originally meant to be played by a middle-aged man. 

At the time she met with Legion writer, Noah Hawley, she had just recently torn her ACL and was on crutches, which potentially contributed to Hawley’s perception that she could play an angry male character. 

When Legion first premiered, she had just finished a day of filming and went to a bar to watch the episode, but no one around her recognized she was in the show. 

Red Hair (link)

For her film Ingrid Goes West, she had to die her hair red, which then prompted her to learn various facts about redheads, including the fact that redheads turn into vampires after they die. 

Playing a Page (link)

Plaza played an NBC page on the show “30 Rock.”

Her role on the show was to introduce a tour group to the set of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. 

Plaza was a page in real life for SNL and NBC, so for her 30 Rock appearance she wore the same uniform.

June 27, 2016

Her Birthday (June 26) (link)

Plaza hates her birthday because it makes her feel depressed about what she has not and will never get to do. 

During her 2016 birthday, she watched one episode of Game of Thrones without watching any more from the series.

When she was on Anna Faris is Unqualified, there was a Parks and Rec reunion and she got birthday cupcakes.

Singing and Dancing (link)

She was forced to do a closing musical number for Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.

She hates singing and dancing.

During her dance training, she remembered that when she was young, she competed in Irish River Dancing.

She attributes her awkwardness to the fact that she was trained in a dance that requires a straight face and minimal arm movement. 

Mike and Dave Pranks (link)

When Mike and Dave was being shot, there were still real guests staying at the hotel at which the film was shot. 

Plaza’s co-star, Sugar Lyn Beard, thought it would be entertaining to scare guests with gruesome makeup, which led to the production team being warned that cast members cannot harass hotel guests. 

April 3, 2015

Audrey’s Mom + Airbnb (link)

Plaza’s mom booked an Airbnb, but the owner of the apartment failed to mention that he would be sleeping on the couch.

Her mom still wanted to stay there because the owner offered to take her bungee jumping. 

Religious Upbringing (link)

Plaza grew up very Catholic.

She has a memory of seeing a seven-foot tall Easter Bunny placing Easter presents in her home.

Hormonal and Spiritual Unrest (link)

Plaza had recently been finding lots of bug bites all over her body.

Attributes bug bites to a “spiritual problem” and to the fact that she’s been “really hormonal lately” 

Another way she’s noticed her hormones acting up is that she found herself repeatedly singing the words “kill” and “die.”

August 14, 2014

Summer (link)

Aubrey was the maid of honor for a wedding and was tasked with buying all the party supplies.

She purchased exclusively penis paraphernalia, including a cake that was so graphic, the show couldn’t air it.

Her mom opened up the box of penis paraphernalia and “loved it.”

For the party, two random strangers from the street were hired to be strippers. 

Abdominal Injury (link)

While she was shooting, Plaza had to carry an oven on her back, which caused her to rip her abdominal wall.

She got her injury treated in London while she was shooting Parks and Rec by an “old-timey” English doctor. 

Photobomb (link)

Photo recently emerged of Aubrey photobombing Katy Perry and Hillary Clinton.

Plaza joked that after the photobomb, Hillary confided in her that she was running for president. 

February 12, 2014

Hugging (link)

Conan addressed a paparazzi photo of Aubrey and Amy Poehler hugging with Aubrey’s legs wrapped around Amy’s.

Plaza explaiined that she has a tendency to wrap her legs around people when she hugs them, which led to her grandpa calling her “Monkey” and giving her a monkey toy every year for Christmas. 

Chris Bosh (link)

Plaza frequently tweets about her obsession with Miami Heat player Chris Bosh. 

When he had a cameo on Parks and Rec, she hid in his trailer in hopes of meeting him. 

She thought it would be funny to disguise herself as his hair dresser, but he didn’t recognize her, so she actually styled his hair.

Posted a photo of her and Bosh on her Twitter hoping he would reply.

Apocalypse Preparation (link)

Plaza recently shot a zombie movie, which prompted Conan to ask if she had plans in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

Plaza admitted she is always prepared for an apocalypse because she sleeps with a dagger on her bedside table.

Plaza conducts a weekly shanking drill in the event her home is invaded by a zombie or a murderer.

She likes to surround herself with people who have skills that would be useful in an apocalypse, so she gifted her boyfriend helicopter lessons for his birthday.

Conan offered to take flying lessons for her.

Other talk show appearances (sorted in chronological order)

Late Night with Seth Meyers (March 1, 2017)

Legion (link)

She had to wear a harness when her character died.

Inspired by her superhero show, Plaza said her superpower would be that when she ate something extremely spicy, her head would explode.

Legion is part of X-men universe.

One of her inspirations for her character, Lenny, was David Bowie.

The middle name of her character is Cornflakes, so she jokes that Lenny Cornflakes Busker sounds like the name of a stripper. 

The creator of Legion also created the FX show Fargo. 

The Little Hours and Ingrid Goes West (link)

Produced and starred in the films, which will both be featured at Sundance.

Researched for her role as a nun in The Little Hours by reading a Bible that she stole from her hotel room. 

One of the producers of Ingrid Goes West sought out a condemned house for them to shoot in. 

Late Show with Stephen Colbert (February 24, 2017) (link)

Plaza has two rescue dogs named Stevie and Frankie, and she joked that she likes Frankie more. 

Plaza attended Catholic school from Kindergarten through twelfth grade. 

Her role as a nun in The Little Hours was especially fun for her because she “loves uniforms” ever since she wore one at Catholic school.

Plaza was a member of 4-H, which is a program for kids that encourages knowledge of agricultural skills.

Despite growing up in Wilmington, Delaware, which is a city, Aubrey has had farm experiences, such as sheering a sheep. 

Plaza was about to receive Alumni Medallion award for her participation in 4-H.

Late Night with Seth Meyers (January 22, 2016) (link)

In the movie Dirty Grandpa, Plaza was initially asked to play the love interest of Zac Efron, but she was hellbent on securing the part of DeNiro’s love interest.

For her Dirty Grandpa audition, Plaza threw out the script, said a bunch of dirty things into the camera, and then flashed her butt.

Although Dirty Grandpa is the story of a romance between a 70 year old man and a 20 year old woman, Plaza sees the movie as a love story where DeNiro has “met his match.”

Before the movie started, DeNiro gave the entire cast a bottle of wine and a encouraging note. In order to repay him for this gift, Plaza gave him a book of Zen Buddhism with a raunchy picture of her inside.

When Plaza and DeNiro shot their love scene, her bra had been rigged to pop off for a scene that was scrapped last minute, so as soon as DeNiro made a move towards her breasts, her bra flung off. 

Jimmy Kimmel Live! (January 20, 2016)

ACL and Wine Tasting (link)

Plaza tore her ACL playing basketball and initially had to be in a wheelchair.

For her gay best friend’s bachelor party, she went to a wine tasting in a wheelchair, and her friend was wearing a Santa suit, so the other wine tasting guests were afraid of their party.

Robert DeNiro’s Nipples (note from author: That is the first time I’ve ever gotten to use that as the title for a bullet point. It’s a big day.) (link)

The day she filmed her sex scene with Robert DeNiro lasted nine hours. 

The director of Dirty Grandpa instructed her to suck on DeNiro’s nipples, but as soon as she tried it, DeNiro’s agent informed the director did not like his “nipple region” toyed with. 

One of her proudest moments of shooting was when DeNiro complimented her acting after she was instructed to throw up and try to kiss him. 

The Late Late Show with James Corden (March 31, 2015) (link)

Plaza studied abroad during college in Ghana at a documentary film program.

Her roommate in Ghana was a legitimate pirate named Jenny who was “straight off a boat from the Caribbean” and was always looking for treasure.

Miscellaneous interviews and clips

Gold Derby (June 14, 2017) (link)

Plaza was skeptical of the show Legion at first because she did not know where her character would end up.

Plaza was unfamiliar with the comic book Legion was based on before she started filming the show.

Plaza wanted to play the “villain that you love or that you like to hate.”

Plaza admits that sometimes playing Lenny Busker felt like playing completely different characters on totally different shows.

The Wrap (May 16, 2017) (link)

Before she was famous, Plaza performed improv at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB) in New York.

Some of the people she met at UCB included Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll, Bobby Moinyhan, Donald Glover, Ben Schwartz, Kate McKinnon, Jenny Sate, Matt Walsh, Abby Jacobson, Zach Woods, Ellie Kemper, and T.J. Miller.

Off Camera with Sam Jones (August 12, 2016) (link)

Aubrey thinks she is the “worst talk show guest ever.”

She gets very uncomfortable going from a pre-interview to pretending that she’s having the conversation for the very first time.

She “can’t tell” when she’s making people uncomfortable.

Another unsettling part of talk shows for her is the fact that she has to be herself and she cannot perform as a character or a persona. 

Her work in Dirty Grandpa was especially challenging because she had to make sure their unconventional relationship didn’t come across as “disgusting.”

Robert DeNiro was initially scared of her because of her character’s makeup, but as soon as he saw her not in character, he warmed up to her.

Teen Hag Trailer (February 10, 2008) (link)

Spoof of Teen Wolf trailer, where Plaza plays a high school girl, who transforms into a hag.

Despite her gruesome appearance, the hag earns praise and popularity from her high school peers.

John Milhiser also stars in the trailer. 

[tryingtokeepcalm]

Abby on Abbey Road

Okay, I was super tired last night when I got home so I didn’t write about Sunday. But here’s what happened!

I woke up and met Daniel at Green Park so we could see a changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was a bit frantic because, obviously, other people are seeing the changing of the guard too. So I was in the tube station, my eye catching every slightly blond guy wearing a dark jacket.

But I finally saw him through the crowd, and we walked through the park to get to the palace. It was so cool to see the park now that flowers are starting to grow and it’s not freezing! We then walked around the front of the palace to wait for the guards to come up. It was actually a similar spot to where I saw it during my first week here.

It was starting to rain, but it wasn’t too bad when the guards actually walked by. Afterwards, we walked through the grounds. Daniel got to see the pelicans and all the other birds that flock around the lake. We saw a goose that looked like it was walking on water, so we called it Jesus Goose. All hail Jesus Goose!

After that, we decided to go over to Abbey Road! I was so excited that he wanted to go, because it was on my bucket list from the beginning. As a Beatles fan, and as an “abby” myself, I just have to go.

We took the tube over to the area where Abbey Road is and Daniel got to see a more residential area of London. Everytime I take a tube to a new area, I’m also eager to see what the area looks like. Because this city is so diverse! Anyway, we just had a short walk from the tube station to the famous crosswalk. It was pretty easy to find it, since it’s crowded with people. We were a bit lucky that it was rainy, cause not as many people were there than I thought there would be.

The crosswalk is a lot shorter than it looks like on the album. But we crossed it and waited our turn to stumble around the traffic to take pictures. Almost as much fun as taking your own picture is watching all the other people taking pictures. Some are more bold and will actually stop and stand in the middle of traffic to take pictures! I mean… I stood in traffic to get my picture taken but Daniel waited on the sidewalk to take my picture. So there’s that.

After we were satisfied, we took the tube back to Bloomsbury to get some lunch. On our way over to the restaurant I wanted to try, we saw some filming taking place near my flat. We couldn’t figure out what was being filmed, but it was definitely something with old-fashioned clothes and cars and businessmen.

We went to lunch at Byron’s Burgers, which is a chain. It was pretty decent! I did realize my taste for American cheese is not the same as it used to be. I think I’m getting used to cheddar here. Daniel got tea and nearly burned his hand off. It was a great time.

After lunch, we had some time to kill before the show we were going to see started at 4pm. So we walked back down to Big Ben and got our picture together. We awkwardly asked these british girls to take our picture, but they did! I also took Daniel’s picture next to the famous phone booth that has Big Ben in the background.

We then hopped on the tube and headed over to Greenwich for our show.  We ended up taking the DLR, which I still don’t really know what that stands for or what makes it especially… different. But we got on, after changing from the tube, and realized that we hadn’t swiped our oyster cards at all before getting on the train… I’m still not sure how we did that.

When we got off at our stop, we realized that it’s more of an honor system. You don’t have to go through the gates like you do when you get on the tube. There’s just a little system off to the side of the hallway at the DLR stations, and that’s where you swipe. We probably walked right by it on our first go around!

Anyway, we got off in Greenwich and walked to the theatre. Oh yeah, the show we saw was called Lizzie, and it’s about the Lizzie Borden murders. And… I’m completely convinced this show was written for me. A rock musical, a lesbian subplot, kick-ass women with amazing vocals, and amazing costumes! It was so much fun! We were a bit worried when we first walked into the theatre. We had great seats, front row, but we found a little poncho sitting in our seats… Apparently, we were in the splash zone!

I was freaking out a little, mostly from the idea of getting splattered with red corn syrup during the show but also just from being so close to the stage, but in the end it was fine. The show was amazing and when the death scene actually happened, no one really got splashed. It was more a metaphorical thing.

But the show is, like I said, amazing! I’m definitely gonna buy the soundtrack at some point, because it blew me away. I’d tell everyone so go see it, but we saw it on closing night so… lucky us, then!

After the show, we decided to check out this thing called The Sky Garden. We took the DLR, after correctly swiping our cards, and tried to check it out. Unfortunately, you have to get tickets beforehand, even though it’s free.

So, we admitted defeat there (but I’m definitely gonna check it out on a later date) and made the long walk back to Covent Garden to get dinner. We could have tubed there but I wanted to work up a bit more of an appetite. And it was fun to spend Daniel’s last evening in London walking along the Thames. And just walking in general.

We finally made it Maxwell’s, a restaurant that I’ve been to before with great milkshakes! Freak Shakes, actually. I didn’t get one last time I went, so I got the oreo one. Aside from the use of clotted cream instead of whipped cream, it was amazing! It came with it’s own ice cream sandwich, talk about freaky! Daniel got the Mars Bar shake. And they played Don’t Stop Believing when we walked in. “Literally full circle” is what Daniel said and I couldn’t agree more.

I think we were trying to stretch out our time at the restaurant (or at least I was) because we knew that we’d have to part ways once we left. But eventually, we left and headed over to the tube station. It was very dramatic to say goodbye, because we were taking the same line just in different directions. So we literally had to go through two different doors on the opposite side of a hallway. Ugh, again, where is my movie deal?

But we did say goodbye and I took the tube back to my flat. I took a shower and relaxed for the rest of the night. Needless to say, it was an awesome weekend with Daniel! A tiring weekend, and I was not looking forward to going to class Monday morning. But this was a super fun weekend and Daniel got back to Valencia safe and sound! I’ll see him back in America (which is such a weird thing to even think about at this point)!

Steps/Miles: 26,368/10.69 miles