#i was NOT ready for this at 5.30am

[riversofmars]

The second day of Liv's assignment is shaping up to be no less difficult than the first as she accompanies Helen on the campaign trail. (Chapter rating: General)

Chapter 2

Liv thanked her lucky stars that the Starbucks in St. Pancras was 24h. She wasn’t sure where else she would have gotten a coffee from before 5am. She downed the dregs of it as she walked the final stretch up to Dr. Sinclair’s home.

“Morning, Ma’am,” the night duty officer greeted her as she walked up to the front gate, beyond which the terrace townhouse rose tall and imposing.

“Anything unusual?” Liv asked, looking up at the building. It was three stories and there was light on on the first floor behind a set of heavy curtains. The bedroom, she ventured.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, quiet night,” he reported pleasantly.

“Good…” She nodded, checking the time on her wristwatch. It was 5.28am. “Is she up?” She knew he couldn’t really answer that, but hoped for some indication one way or another.

“Light’s been on a while,” he answered, and that would have to be enough. They had agreed this time, the protection officer didn’t want to be accused of tardiness. As much as she knew she didn’t have anything to prove, the previous day she had taken their exchange about the time as a challenge from the politician. They were still negotiating boundaries, and this was not something with which she would be able to catch her out.

“I’ll try my luck,” she decided, and the uniformed officer tipped his hat at her, returning to his impassive position of guarding the entrance of the property as she walked past and up to the door. Checking the time again, she rang the doorbell at 5.30am sharp.

There was no reaction, not for a long time. Liv chewed the inside of her cheek, mulling over her options. Since the light was on, the MP was clearly awake. Perhaps she hadn’t heard the bell because she was upstairs - an unlikely scenario since she imagined the doorbell would be audible anywhere in the house; perhaps she simply wasn’t ready yet? Or maybe she was ignoring her, making her wait on purpose? She scolded herself for assuming the worst. She hardly knew the woman she was charged with protecting, but their first day together hadn’t exactly been plain sailing. Her finger hovered over the doorbell, but before she could make up her mind and press it again, the door was pulled open.

“You do realise the time, don’t you?” Dr. Sinclair snapped, and Liv’s heart sank. This didn’t bode well for day two, and yet, she tried for a smile of greeting.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” she gave back politely, but the politician didn’t stick around to listen. She turned on her heel and walked back into the dark corridor, leaving the door open in an obvious invitation to follow. “We agreed 5.30am?” the protection officer called after her, and stepped inside. Fighting a wave of annoyance, she closed the door behind herself and flicked the light on so she could see where she was going.

“Yes but I didn’t expect you to-” The MP’s voice sounded from inside the house and Liv followed, scanning her surroundings as she did so. There wasn’t much to the hallway, it was plain and practical with a long row of coats hung up by the door, and a cupboard of shoes further along - much like any normal home, she remarked as she walked down the hall. It opened into a wide, open-plan living space with a dining and seating area to the right and a kitchen to the left. She found Dr. Sinclair at the kitchen island, holding on to steady herself as she struggled into a pair of high heels. Her tailored dress was only done up to her shoulder-blades and several strands of her hair hung loose around her neck. Sometimes the easiest answer was the right one: she was not ready.

“Would you rather I waited outside?” the protection officer asked respectfully, fixing her eyes to the floor as she didn’t want her to feel self-conscious.

“Oh well, you’re here now,” she huffed, and with much difficulty zipped up her dress. It was clearly an awkward angle but Liv didn’t think it a good idea to offer assistance. That was certainly not in her remit.

“Shall I call the car for 6.15am?” she offered, trying to be accommodating. It would give her extra time without having to ask for it.

“Sure…” the MP answered, and her movements around the kitchen slowed noticeably. Instead of continuing to fumble with her hair, she made for the coffee machine. “That’ll give me a chance to get a couple of hours of work in before we set off to Warwick,” she mused as she pushed a coffee pod into the machine. Liv figured she was the sort of person that liked every moment of their day planned out, making to do lists as she went and utilising every minute.

“And then Milton Keynes - Leicester - Coventry?” The protection officer couldn’t imagine the schedule had changed between last night and this morning but she had to be sure. She watched her actions carefully, but didn’t venture any further into the kitchen aware of the fact she still had her shoes on. It was hardly the time to take them off and get comfortable, so she clasped her hands behind her back and waited.

“Yes,” the politician answered, and brushed a strand of hair from her face as she waited for the coffee to pour. “God, I hope they haven’t messed up that speech…” she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. She looked tense.

“What? You don’t write your own speeches?” The quip had crossed Liv’s lips before she could think better of it. She’d been trying to think of something to say to put her at ease - protecting someone who was tense and jumpy was much harder than someone who was relaxed - but the moment Dr. Sinclair’s head whipped around, she knew it had been the wrong thing to say. “Sorry, that was meant to be a joke. Didn’t land.” She cast her eyes down apologetically under her angry glare.

“I would like to write my own speeches, and I do when I have the time but I can’t write every single one of them - do you have any concept of how many of them I’ll have to give in the next month?” she snapped, and all the brunette could do to rectify the situation was apologise again.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

To her great surprise, the MP softened considerably.

“No, I’m sorry… it’s early and I haven’t slept much…” she muttered, running her hands through her hair. Upon closer observation, she looked rather tired.

“We could have started later,” Liv offered. “We still can. I can call the car for seven-” The other woman interrupted her with a sigh.

“No… it’s fine, I’m up now… just need to do my hair…” she mumbled, then looked over to her. “Only have myself to blame… I was being facetious when I said that last night…” she admitted and pulled her mug out of the coffee maker. “I’m sorry,” she apologised to the protection officer’s even greater surprise. “Can we start again?”

“It’s fine,” she nodded quickly. “And yes, I’d like that.” It really hadn’t been the best start, and she was glad the politician had realised as much as well. Hopefully their working relationship could improve from there. It would make things easier in the long run.

“Help yourself to coffee,” Dr. Sinclair gestured at the machine as she crossed the kitchen. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Thank you,” Liv gave back, watching her climb the stairs. Even after she had disappeared, she needed a moment to shake herself out of her stunned state. That had been a much better start to the morning than she had anticipated. While she wasn’t as bold as to follow her invitation, she did pull her phone from her pocket to request their car.

---

The drive to the Palace of Westminster passed in silence. Liv noted that the politician had made the effort of letting her open the house and car doors for her without interfering and took it as a good sign. Dr. Sinclair bit back a yawn as she scrolled through her phone, and the protection officer watched the sun come up over the river as they drove up through South Bank to the seat of government. It was surprisingly peaceful.

Things continued in a similar manner as they arrived at the MPs office - they were the first ones there. Whilst there had been a few people walking the halls of Westminster, the early morning was clearly not everyone’s preferred time for starting work.

“I like it like this,” Dr. Sinclair stated, and Liv got the impression that she had noticed the curiosity with which she had looked around. She would have to work on her poker face, the politician was more observant than she’d anticipated.

“Rather more peaceful than yesterday,” she commented as she took the lead past the desks the staffers usually occupied.

“Won’t be like this for long, a lot of early risers in our line of work, particularly now,” the blonde continued, and didn’t interfere with the protection officer flicking on the light and conducting a quick sweep of her office. Dropping her briefcase on the desk, she observed her doing so and added: “Now, you really don’t have to stand looking over my shoulder now. There is no-one here.”

“Do you not think this paperwork can wait when you have a full day of campaigning ahead of you?” Liv asked and scolded herself for the insolent way in which she had posed the question, but it was something she was wondering about. There hardly seemed to be much point when they would have to be on the road to Warwick by 8am at the latest.

“I didn’t get done with these yesterday.” Fortunately, the politician didn’t seem to take offence as she discarded her blazer and hung it on the back of the chair. “I don’t like leaving constituents' letters if I can help it.” She gestured at a considerable pile of yet unopened mail. Liv wondered just how many of those were genuine concerns being raised, and how many simply contained complaints and abuse. She put nothing past the British population.

“I see,” she nodded, as she couldn’t fault her ambition.

“We shouldn’t leave here any later than 7.45am though,” Dr. Sinclair hummed, checking the time on her wrist watch. “And head to party headquarters so we can set off to Warwick in good time.”

A frown drew to the protection officer’s brow as she slowly took up her familiar position by the window.

“Excuse me for saying so, Ma’am, but that sounds rather pointless,” she pointed out. “Why not set off from here so you can maximise your time?” She deemed it a fair question and the MP actually chuckled as she sliced open her first letter.

“Can’t very well have the ‘battle bus’ park up outside Westminster, hardly a good look,” she commented, grimacing at the term describing the monstrosity that had become a fixture in British elections of late.

“Oh no, you’re not going in one of those,” Liv huffed, shaking her head, and the blonde promptly whipped around.

“Excuse me?” she challenged, the good-natured chuckle a thing of the past. The blonde squared her jaw, and Liv sensed that she had spoken too soon where their improved rapport was concerned, and did her best to sound reasonable and firm as she explained.

“That’s like putting a bull’s eye on your back,” she stated. “Assuming that there is someone out there who is planning to make an attempt on your life, you couldn’t be more forthcoming in announcing your whereabouts. I can’t allow that.” She held her piercing gaze steadily.

“This whole thing might appear like a circus to you, but it is the best way of engaging with the journalists and getting favourable coverage so-” Dr. Sinclair began to argue but the protection officer brought a swift end to it.

“My priority is keeping you safe,” she announced firmly. “I’m afraid I have to put my foot down about this… Ma’am.” She added the honorific as an afterthought, but hoped it would go some way towards appeasing her.

“Is that so,” the MP ground out, a flush of anger drawing to her pale cheeks, and Liv did her best to remain calm and reasonable.

“Please don’t make my job harder than it already is.”

“Is it hard?” the politician shot back pointedly, and the protection officer knew there was no right answer to this so she remained silent, fixing her eyes forward. She didn’t want to undo the tender progress they had made first thing in the morning but yes: this job was shaping up to be extremely difficult. “How would you rather we travel?” Dr. Sinclair questioned once it became clear she wasn’t getting an answer.

“Blacked out, armoured cars, as you get around the city,” the brunette answered dutifully but without looking at her. Standing to attention while being shouted at by a superior had been drilled into her in the RAF. The MP's anger was much more subtle than that but no less effective. “Preferably several identical ones to throw off an attacker.” There was a moment of silence that turned on a knife's edge: a tense stand-off.

“Guess I’ll let my PA know plans have changed,” the MP huffed at last and pulled her phone from her briefcase.

“Thank you, Ma’am..” Liv minded her manners and she made up for her shoulders relaxing in relief by standing up a little straighter. She tried her best to fight the sinking feeling that despite her best efforts, the day would turn out to be just like the previous one.

---

They got in the car by 8.00am. The staff had been less than enthusiastic, but Dr. Sinclair had brokered no argument on the matter which Liv was grateful for. It was something. The PA joined them in the car, sitting unobtrusively next to her employer, pouring over some paperwork or other. Several staffers followed in another car, and as they would be on the road for roughly two hours, it gave the MP time to work on the speech that she was set to give. This would likely equate to a long, boring journey for the protection officer, so she settled in for the drive, sitting across from the MP again. She undid her jacket and was greeted by a pointed: “Do you have to wear that?”

Surprised, she looked up to find Dr. Sinclair shooting an apprehensive glance at her gun, much as she had the night before.

“I do, yes,” Liv answered slowly. “For your and everyone else’s safety.” The PA glanced over, but quickly buried herself in her papers when the protection officer shot her a chastising glare to keep out of it.

“Right,” the politician huffed but seemed far from satisfied with the answer.

“I am a licensed firearms officer,” the brunette continued calmly, suddenly feeling a need to justify herself. “I did all the training, all the background checks… some of which you insist upon, if I remember correctly…” Pointing out as much was unnecessary, Dr. Sinclair was surely more than aware of the policies she herself had introduced and passed, but she couldn’t help it.

“Yes, well, they’re necessary!” the MP shot back. She’d gotten her back up all right, and for no good reason either. Liv happened to be on the side of tighter gun control. “You can’t just have everyone who decides to-”

“I’m not arguing with you, makes perfect sense,” she answered appeasingly, taking the wind out of her sails. Dr. Sinclair blinked, it was clearly not the response she had expected.

“Fine then,” she muttered and returned to her work. Liv refrained from a small smirk of triumph, though she felt like it. It wouldn’t be conducive to the situation, but she felt like she had scored a point.

Silence settled in the car, occasionally interrupted by the increasingly aggressive scraping of biro on paper and annoyed muttering as the MP made changes to the speech. The protection officer remarked on how tense she looked. It seemed as though she really would rather have written that speech herself…

---

By the time it got to delivering said speech, Liv wasn’t sure how much of the original work remained, but it certainly seemed to hit the spot. The protection officer stood to the side of the stage in the large auditorium, just out of sight of the students, and watched Dr. Sinclair give an empowering, and surprisingly touching speech.

The brunette forced her eyes away from the MP to observe the crowd, scan the room for any sort of unusual behaviour or suspicious activities, but found nothing like it. Instead, she looked into the inspired faces of the young. Helen Sinclair certainly had a way with words and the delivery of them. Liv tried her best to push the unbidden thoughts from her mind and focus on her job instead.

The speech concluded to a standing ovation, and the staffers congratulated each other on a brilliant start to proceedings. The protection officer, however, felt her heart drop as the politician didn’t return to their ranks as agreed. Instead she made her way to the front of the stage and descended the steps to ground-level where the audience was keen to greet her and shake hands.

“Fuck’s sake-” Liv muttered under her breath and quickly crossed the stage herself, following quickly. The bright spot-lights beat down on her, adding to the discomfort and worry that shot through her body. It was only the second day of her assignment, if something happened now-

“Ma’am, what are you doing?” the brunette hissed as she pushed close to Dr. Sinclair, keeping her voice low enough that hopefully, none of the adoring audience members would hear.

“Shaking hands, engaging with the voters, what does it look like?” the MP muttered in return, keeping a gracious smile fixed to her face as she did so.

“This is not what we agreed,” the protection officer insisted, keeping her expression as neutral as she could manage. She knew how important it was that they were not seen to be having an argument.

“This is what’s happening!” Dr. Sinclair gave back just as quietly, her demeanour never faulting in between words of thanks.

“Ma’am-” Liv brought her hand to her back, resting against her shoulder blades as she scanned the crowd, hyper-aware of every movement, every word.

“Your job is to protect me, then do that,” the MP pressed through a smile. “I will not allow my every move to be dictated by you!” And that was clearly the last word on the matter as she commented on the apprehensive looks some of the students were shooting at the protection officer. “Don’t worry, she doesn’t bite.” She grasped another hand. “Thank you so much for coming. Thank you.”

Liv did her best to remain calm, putting her faith in her instincts and training, and sent a silent prayer to unnamed forces that this wouldn’t end badly for either one of them as she shielded her body to the best of her abilities.

—

“That was a roaring success,” the chief speech writer exclaimed as they headed back to the car in the staff car park of the university.

“That was irresponsible,” Liv interjected, following close behind Dr. Sinclair as she had been for the past half hour. Hopefully now she could voice her misgivings over how things had gone. It needed addressing. The politician, however, was paying her no mind, as her PA carried on enthusiastically while tapping on her tablet.

“You poll really well with the younger population, if they turn out on election day, they could really carry the vote for you.”

“We should make more of an effort with voter turnout, the young, women, minorities, that’s where we poll strongest,” another staffer added. They were all flying high on the success of the event while Liv was on edge and tense, loathing the feeling of being ignored. She knew she was not part of the MPs team as such, but she hadn’t expected to be completely shut out.

“Yes, let’s do that,” Dr. Sinclair smiled, looking a lot less tense than she had done on the way to the event.

“Pride event maybe?” the speech writer suggested as they reached the car, and Liv decided that that was where she would put an end to things.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but can you at least acknowledge I said something?” she interrupted, a flash of anger colouring her words. “You put yourself in grave danger!”

The group fell silent, staffers exchanging awkward glances and the candidate herself focused on her bodyguard.

“By shaking hands with university students? Please,” she huffed, shaking her head as though she thought the whole thing ridiculous. It only made Liv more angry.

“I’m being serious!” she snapped, and the politician fixed her with a stony gaze.

“I’m sorry, Sergeant, but not everything can be planned out and controlled to the last detail,” she told her coldly, and it seemed her staff realised that that was the moment to quickly make for the cars. Even the PA feigned ignorance as she pulled her phone out and turned to pretend to deal with something very important.

“You certainly can’t,” Liv bit back, giving into her annoyance. It used to get her in trouble in the military. She had a temper. Most days she was more than able to control it, she had learned to ever since she’d had to deal with politicians regularly that were infuriating as a rule, but the woman in front of her took the biscuit.

“That’s right,” Dr. Sinclair responded venomously. “You’d do well to remember that!”

“You’re still angry about the bus…” the protection officer realised with a disbelieving huff and the MP caught her PA looking up curiously.

“Can you give us a minute?!” she snapped.

“We really must be on our way to Milton Keynes,” the young woman stuttered, checking the time. “Otherwise-”

“Then go in another car!” the politician growled, and she jumped to action, joining the colleagues in the less crowded of the other two cars.

Liv ground her teeth together angrily but opened the door for the blonde regardless, sending one last appraising glance across their surroundings, making sure that they weren’t being watched. Once satisfied she got into the car as well.

“As I have said before, Ma’am, I’m not here to make your life difficult-” She restarted the conversation as she did up her seat belt, and Dr. Sinclair nearly jumped down her throat.

“Well, that’s what you’re doing!” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled at her.

“I’m sorry, but you must realise that everything I do is for your benefit,” the protection officer insisted hotly. “Do you not realise the danger you’re in?”

“Quite frankly, I think it’s ridiculous,” the politician ground out, and that was crossing the line. How could she be so callous where her own life was concerned? Not to mention the hypocrisy of it all.

“Do you have any idea of the effort and resources that are being attributed to this? What all of this costs?” Liv spat. “That’s taxpayer money that pays for me to shadow your every move, that pays for the intelligence officers that are working tirelessly to find out who means you harm. As someone who pretends to be big on not wasting the British public’s money, you could at least do them the courtesy of taking this seriously!”

Stunned silence fell, even the driver appeared to be holding his breath. The protection officer could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears, she hadn’t meant to get as worked up as that, but she could only hope she had made her point clear. She was trained to interpret body language, note even the slightest changes, so it didn’t take much to spot the look of genuine hurt that crossed the other woman’s face. Her shoulders slumped noticeably as she hugged her arms around herself a little tighter.

“Well, that’s me told, isn’t it…” she mumbled, and cast her eyes out of the window where houses shot past as they made for the motorway.

Liv lowered her head and eyes as well as she grasped the edge of her seat. That could have gone better. Her attack had been personal, based on the other woman’s politics and opinions, and therefore utterly unprofessional. That was taking things too far.

“I’m sorry, that was out of line…” she apologised, hoping she hadn’t just ruined everything. There was every chance she would have a call from Protection Command by the end of the day taking her off the assignment awaiting disciplinary action if the politician made enough of a fuss.

“I am taking this seriously…” Dr. Sinclair said at last, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Her sober observation was a hell of a lot better than stopping the car and throwing her out, but Liv didn’t quite dare to hope just yet.

“Are you?” she asked cautiously and looked up to her. The MP wasn’t looking at her, she kept her eyes firmly fixed to the window, but her tense posture and the way worry lines split her otherwise picture-perfect face gave Liv pause. She had clearly gotten to her.

“Of course I am,” she mumbled, clearing her throat as her voice came out thick and emotional. “I just… I try not to think about it, that’s what they tell you early on. Don’t worry about every death threat you get, it’s part of the job, it-” She took a deep breath, and struggled visibly to keep a hold of herself. The brunette started feeling regret over her words, not just on a professional level but on a personal one too. The other woman had done nothing to her and she hadn’t stopped to consider her position in all this.

“This is different,” Liv continued slowly, as she didn’t want to lose the ground she had gained but also had no desire to hurt her further.

“I know that…” Dr. Sinclair admitted softly. “I’m just trying not to let it get to me.” And for the first time the protection officer saw something akin to fear in her eyes as she looked back to her. She did understand the seriousness of the situation, even if she didn’t want to admit it. It was reassuring but also made Liv feel for her in a way she hadn’t before. She rarely stopped to consider how requiring her protection affected those she was assigned to.

“And that’s understandable but please… If you want to talk to people, fine, we can do that but… don’t spring it on me like that, okay?” she requested, hoping to strike some sort of a compromise. She was beginning to get a sense of what it meant to the other woman to be able to carry on as she had been. “Give me heads up, let me prepare… Back there, the only thing between you and a bullet was me…” She gave her a half-smile. She really didn’t fancy putting herself in the way of a bullet but that would also have been part of the job…

“I’m sorry,” Dr. Sinclair said, with a small smile of her own as she seemed to be regaining her composure.

“We did say this morning we’d try again…” Liv pointed out, and the blonde chuckled.

“Yes…” she acknowledged with a sigh. “Didn’t that go well…”

“Another do-over?” the protection officer suggested. They seemed to be taking one step forward and two back at every turn, but she wasn’t someone who gave up easily. Stubbornness was one of her better traits.

“I’m sure you could have easier jobs than this…” Dr. Sinclair observed.

“Yeah but…” Liv tried for another smile. “I’m also the best you could have, so…”

“Is that so?” the blonde scoffed and the atmosphere lightened in a flash.

“Oh yeah,” the protection officer grinned.

“Maybe we can agree that we will likely bump heads again, but we will both try?” the MP decided after a moment of contemplative silence.

“I can work with that,” Liv agreed easily and relaxed as she leaned back. Surely this had to count as progress.

“Now… have you eaten, Sergeant?” Dr. Sinclair asked, reaching down to a cool bag that stood on the ground between their feet.

“No, Ma’am,” the brunette answered and watched as she pulled two sets of sandwiches from the bag. M&S meal-deal - no expenses had been spared.

“Well, you ought to,” the MP said matter-of-factly. “Egg and cress?”

Liv chuckled and nodded, she had no real preference where sandwiches were concerned, but she remarked on how rarely she had been offered provisions in her line of work. People often forgot she was there.

“What’s funny?” the politician frowned, and the protection officer decided it was probably better to deflect than lament how isolating her work could be.

“Just remembered something one of my instructors used to say,” she said as she pulled the packet open.

“And what was that?” the other woman asked, surprising her with what seemed like genuine interest.

“Well… he compared personal protection to looking after an infant. You sleep when they sleep, you eat when they eat-” It was certainly an apt comparison.

“Do you have children, Sergeant?” the MP questioned, launching into an attempt at small-talk. Much like the act of being offered food, this was also something Liv didn’t often experience. While the sentiment behind it was to be commended, it also made her a little uncomfortable.

“No, Ma’am,” she gave back plainly.

“Never wanted them or-” she stalled for a moment, as if she’d only just realised what she’d said. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that if-”

“Oh not at all, it’s just… I’m unattached.” She forced herself into a mild smile, as if the matter was of no importance. It was no time to fall into melancholy musings about how empty and lonely her life felt, particularly when she was on a busy job like this and had no hope of a social life anyway - not to mention the opportunity of meeting someone. Dr. Sinclair seemed eager to apologise again for putting her in an awkward spot, but she didn’t have opportunity to as Liv found herself continuing: “Who knows, if my partner wanted them … but I don’t see myself doing the carrying. The job isn’t exactly well suited.” In hindsight, she wasn’t exactly sure why she had brought her sexuality into it. It was of no consequence and surely none of the other woman’s business and yet… Liv found she wouldn’t mind her knowing, better to have these things out in the open. If she was surprised she didn’t let on - if anything her reaction was enthusiastic.

“Well, that’s certainly an advantage of having those options open to you.”

---

The rest of the day’s campaign stops turned out to be rather uneventful. Dr. Sinclair appeared to have taken her request seriously. They pre-agreed how to go about every event and Liv kept close to her side for it all, even endured more hand-shaking as a courtesy. The PA was allowed back in the car in Milton Keynes, and they continued in a professional, focused manner.

By the end of the day, Liv was thoroughly exhausted, but felt better than she had the previous day. Dr. Sinclair appeared tired as well. Her make-up was slightly smudged from where she had rubbed her eyes, and she tried to suppress a yawn as they pulled into the road she lived on.

“Have you got far to go?” the politician asked, resting her head against the window.

“A little way-” Liv answered, doing her best to muster her last bit of energy for getting her into the house safe and sound.

“How are you getting there?” the blonde continued, her brow knitting into a frown, and the protection officer noted yet again that she was rather observant. She appeared to have realised her state of exhaustion.

“Probably just going to take a taxi…” she admitted with a tired half-smile as the car came to a halt. There was no way she would put herself through the exercise of the tube and bus now.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dr. Sinclair scoffed and before Liv could object, she got to her feet and leaned over the seat to the driver. “Kindly wait for Sergeant Chenka and take her home,” she requested and received a curt nod of acknowledgement.

“Yes Ma’am.”

“That’s really not necessary,” the protection officer started to argue, but to no avail.

“I disagree.” The MP shot an expectant glance towards the door, and Liv got up to open it for her, going through the practiced routine of looking up and down the road before allowing her to get out.

“I can make my own way home,” she insisted after a brief greeting towards the night duty officer.

“I know you can but I’d rather you didn’t have to. I put you through enough as it is,” Dr. Sinclair countered, and they walked up the stairs to her front door.

“Thank you, Ma’am.” Liv hoped the twilight would serve to cover the blush that came to her cheeks. As much as she knew it was a gesture of apology at best, and at worst an attempt to ingratiate herself with her, she couldn’t deny that she appreciated it. She couldn’t remember the last time someone bar her sister had shown a care for her getting home safely. She waited patiently as the politician unlocked the door to assure herself of the same for her. “Goodnight, Ma’am.”

“Good night, Sergeant,” the MP replied but hung on for a moment. “6.30am should be fine tomorrow.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

[charlesandmartine]

Thursday 25th April 2024

I think we were up before the animals this morning when an over vigilant ranger tapped on our door at 5.30am. If fact we were up before the sun too which was reflected in the outside temperature. As soon as we hit the trail in the Toyota, things began to improve and the morning sunrise was glorious. Impala were up of course. I don't expect they sleep much since they have breakfast tattooed across their forehead. Breakfast that is for most other animals out there. Their main line of defence is to move around in large groups reducing the odds of being eaten somewhat, but of course the old, frail and sleepy will have reduced odds entirely. The dominant male has even more to worry about. There's always a challenger. In fact he may only hang onto the gold sticker for one day before another male sees himself as top dog. The stakes are high but so are the prizes. He gets the pick of all those women and with childbirth occurring in November onwards with a six month gestation, about now he has a great deal to do!

The radio squawked and Bella our ranger said hold on tight, we need to shift. And so it was that this Toyota was reaching unimagined speeds 2 wheel, 4 wheel drive along the deep sandy tracks. We came eventually to a bit of a clearing to meet another Toyota and two nursing lionesses; one with three male cubs which were likely a few months old and another with a tiny cub probably just a matter of weeks old. Male cubs are not as desirable as female of course since one dominate male will perform the necessary task whilst the female will propagate the species. The air hung heavy with a recent kill.

The saddest image was of a dead elephant lying where he fell, by a well trodden path close to the river. He would have been an excluded old male. Elephants have six sets of teeth which are worn and replaced throughout their life. When the last set are gone, with no more replacements available, they die of starvation, as this one most likely did.

Also on the viewing list this morning was a brown snake eagle and a yellow billed stork.

Chobe is a national park and so our lodge is one of many. However, because it's a national park there is no fence and the animals roam as they should. Not only in Botswana, but we saw elephant moving across national borders yesterday moving from Namibia and into Botswana.

We were back at the lodge by 9 and were able to tuck into a huge carnivore breakfast before taking to the boat at eleven.

Bella drove an entirely electric boat up and down the Chobe River whilst we chatted to the 2 Americans and one Australian and animals such as Trump were discussed at length. The temperature is telephone number territory so most respectable animals were having a bit of a quiet time indoors. However, elephants and baboons can be relied upon to keep the party going. Crocodiles are party animals too, although they kept pretending to slip down into the water where they could cool off. Baboons when not nitpicking sit and sip the water; one with child needed to be extra vigilant not to drown the clinging child beneath her when dipping her head into the water. We were returned to the lodge after an hour and a half on the water in time for lunch! It's a hard life. We said no, we will just have a drink of water, but before long found ourselves tucking into a plate of cold beef and salad.

We were allowed a brief time off before high tea and then the 3.30 safari.

Bella our ranger rounded us up and shoved us into the Toyota ready for the three hour safari. I said to her, now come on Bella, be honest, when did you last seen a leopard? She was quiet for a moment and muttered, about two weeks ago. Well I said, I really want to see one, it's the only one of the big five I haven't seen. Well off we went, we looked under every bush, up every tree, do you think we could find one, NO. Bella said she thought she saw a tail. Big disappointment I can tell you. We did see the usual bunch of elephants, a bent giraffe, Kori Bustard, a large wart hog and several hundred impala. No leopard. We did however stop for a sundowner; a gin and tonic washing down a bag of biltong. Very sophisticated. Well to be honest it was only me and the American ladies that had the biltong. Then came the magnificent sunset and back to base just in time for 6.30 pm. Apparently the rangers turn back into Cinderella if you miss this deadline and they get fined by the national park.

Tomorrow we have one opportunity from sunrise to see the leopard, then Trailfinders shall scoop us up and take us to Victoria Falls.

[deeisace]

Home!

Had to call mum so she could distract me

Like I know I'm massively overthinking it in a big way

All the guy's said is "can you not make noise at 5.30am" a few times, and I've translated that as "never make noise ever", which is a bit bonkers, and I'm trying to remember that

But also I can't not use my own bathroom when I wake up? I know it's 5.30, I know I'm waking you up, I don't mean to, I'm trying not to

Ugh

Well, I'm home now, I put the kettle on for hot apple blackcurrant and now I'm gonna watch new Good Omens, is the plan

I'm a bit scared he's gonna knock on my door again, cs I had to go in the bathroom to get my work trousers this morning, left them there by accident yesterday with my work id, train pass and bank card in the pockets - but, I'm all set for work tomorrow, everything is in this room ready!

There's no need to worry, I'm not doing anything wrong, and I'm doing everything I can not to bother him.

[chaletnz]

Machu Picchu Adventure: Ollantaytambo

We drove from the middle of nowhere to Ollantaytambo which was a bustling little town that looked quite fun to explore, but unfortunately we only had time for the archaeological ruins tour. Our tourist tickets were pulled out again and clipped when we went through the entrance. Inside we could see rows of steep terraces and Darwin said our goal was to reach the top. The Brazilian ladies didn’t come up but the rest of us slowly made our way up, five terraces at a time. Each terrace is about 3m high. We looked over the Ollantaytambo town and a huge rock to the side of it, the rock had a few faces hidden in it and one had been carved with a crown on top. At the top we could see the beginnings of a temple, large stones carved and interlocked with one another and others lying around waiting to be included in the structure. Darwin then led us back down to the bathrooms and then out into the market of Ollantaytambo but rushed us through to wait for John to bring the van. He arrived a few minutes later and we all piled in. As soon as we got on board Darwin told us to prepare our things to be dropped off at the train station and then we were promptly set out on the footpath and told to walk down the street to the station. I made my way down with Leo and Giada, the Italian couple, and we stopped for a drink in a cafe since we were a little too early. I had a milkshake and they went for mango juices. We made sure to be at the train station 30 minutes prior to departure as our tickets threatened that we may not be able to board if we were late. As we stood around with the crowd of people at the door of the station a big dog fight broke out with the street dogs barking and biting each other. A heroic (American) lady called Julia leapt into action and tried to break it up without fear of rabies or other street dog diseases and despite the frantic cries of her fellow travellers “Julia, no! Julia, stop!” After that excitement we were in for a treat when the train was ready for boarding. Suddenly it all made sense why we needed to arrive so early as all the passengers were swept up in a festive surprise parade led by the PeruRail staff. There were 6 ladies in traditional colourful dress holding signs with letters that we followed down the street past all the market stalls, they danced to the music as they led us through the gate to the train platform for boarding. Leo, Giada, and I were in carriage C so we followed our lady all the way down and then prepared to board. Unfortunately I wasn’t seated with them but I ended up sitting with the Filipino ladies instead for the train ride. It was about two hours long through amazing scenery of rolling hills and rivers and a few rundown little shacks here and there. It was just after dark when we arrived in Aguas Calientes and upon leaving the train station we found ourselves in the market surrounded by loads of people holding signs with names so I was searching them all frantically to find my own. The Filipino ladies and I were all reunited again when we found ourselves with Joel and his sign with our three names. He walked us up the steep streets to our hotel and got us checked in and acquainted with the town. I headed back out shortly afterward to buy some snacks and water for tomorrow. My option was either to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 6.20am or hike up to Machu Picchu starting around 5-5.30am and meet them at the entrance at 7am. As the sunrise wasn’t until after 6am and I would be going alone I opted for the bus ride up and would then walk back down. The bus ride is $12 each way and for the price per kilometre it is the most expensive bus journey in South America. I successfully bought my ticket one way to go up in Spanish and made sure I had $12 in my cleanest, tidiest bills in my wallet in case I wanted to buy a ticket back down. With tomorrow prepared, I went out in search of dinner and chose fried trout with potatoes. I treated myself to an Inca Kola too as I wanted to try this bright yellow drink at least once! I think it will only be the once though…

[f1]

Lando Norris says Oscar Piastri is pushing him harder than Daniel Ricciardo ahead of Miami GP

Lando Norris's less than subtle jab at Daniel Ricciardo as the McLaren driver says fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri is pushing him harder ahead of Miami GP Piastri and Norris are preparing for Miami GP  Drivers have similar times on the track  Norris says Piastri is pushing him harder than Ricciardo  By Josh Alston For Daily Mail Australia Published: 18:50 EDT, 5 May 2023 | Updated: 18:50 EDT, 5 May 2023 McLaren's Lando Norris has fired a shot at former teammate Daniel Ricciardo by declaring his replacement and fellow Australian Oscar Piastri was pushing him harder. Ricciardo left McLaren in a messy divorce at the end of 2022 and is now a reserve driver for Red Bull, hoping to crack back into an F1 driving position again next year. Norris and Piastri will be looking for better results at the Miami GP starting at 5.30am Monday AEST after a sluggish start to the season. Piastri was poached by the team to replace his compatriot despite having spent a year on the sidelines as Alpine’s reserve driver, with his three junior championships making him an attractive proposition notwithstanding his lack of F1 experience.  The Melburnian has so far enjoyed a commendable first few rounds, particularly in qualifying. Norris and Piastri are among the most closely matched teammates on the grid.  McLaren's Lando Norris (left) said that new teammates Oscar Piastri was pushing him harder than Daniel Ricciardo did Norris and Ricciardo were teammates for two years at McLaren before the messy split that saw fellow Aussie Piastri take Ricciardo's place After four rounds and five qualifying sessions, the pair is split by an average of just 0.055 seconds. Only the Mercedes and Alfa Romeo drivers have been split by less.  The margin arguably flatters Piastri given he’s outqualified Norris only once this year, at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Briton crashed out of Q1 that weekend, blowing out the gap to 1.2 seconds for that round.  However Norris said the tight margins showed that the young Aussie was pushing him harder than Ricciardo did during his two-year stint at McLaren.     'He's very fast,' Norris said of Piastri.  'Probably he has been pushing me a little bit more than the past couple years. So yeah, enjoyable. 'He's a lovely guy — down to earth, normal guy, hard worker and so on. So it's good, fun. 'It's different to Daniel — I feel like a bit of a contrast of Australian — but still good fun.' Piastri is hoping to bounce back from illness and improve on his results to date at the Miami GP Piastri will take to the Miami circuit tonight (AEST) for practice before qualifying on Sunday and the race on Monday Piastri is looking to improve on his 10th place in qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and 11th place overall, impressive results considering the shocking health issues the young Melbourne product had to overcome. Piastri had to live off four pieces of toast all weekend, shed three kilograms in weight with a stomach bug, and was utterly luckless on the track over several gruelling, empty-handed days in Baku. Now, fit and healthy, he is ready to make an impact in Miami. 'It's another circuit on the calendar which has challenging features, but I've prepared well by working hard in the [simulator],' he said.  'In [Baku] it was disappointing to miss out on points by one position, but I'm determined to finish the double-header in Miami with another strong showing.' Share or comment on this article: Lando Norris says Oscar Piastri is pushing him harder than Daniel Ricciardo ahead of Miami GP via Formula One | Mail Online https://www.dailymail.co.uk?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

[mikaharuka]

Y'all, I think my body's been fighting me the last couple days - you see, I work through the day then figure "oh hey! time to write!" - nope.

Every time I sit down to write, I fall asleep. Last night was pretty bad - I fell asleep between 8pm and 9pm when I never fall asleep that early! And even worse? I woke up at 5.30am totally awake and ready to go, then when I sat down to write at 6.30am... I fell asleep again, and only woke up 20 minutes ago, just before 9am.

So yeah. I'm convinced my body is actually rebelling against me, 'force shutting-down' my body, if you will, every time I try to write >.>

[freedformwriter]

May the circle be broken

The final morning at Findhorn, I wake from one of my stress dreams. They attack in the light intervals between my mother’s early exit to go walking – often as early as 5.30am - and my definition of morning. A recent one ended with me wandering a desert mall with no tool for escape except some flip phone c.2010. In another, I unrolled a yoga mat, only find it rolled over by other yogis and non-existent when the class started. The theme: under-resourced. My actual yoga mat is on the floor, the only reason I make it there some morning. Today, however, is the grand finale of the trip and I promised to get my aching, cantankerous morning self to an open-air group meditation. Grabbing a blanket, I strike out into the network of wooded paths that connect the community’s various workshops, greenhouses, and eco homes. Quickly disoriented by these meanders, I’m saved by the singing. At the unbroken start of the day, the sound is thin but easy to follow. The door is open, a Hobbit style rounded entranceway with a built-in vestibule full of prayer cushions and music books. Inside, seated on the concentric rings of an earthen amphitheatre, a dozen voices weave in four-part harmony in a prayer that rises without the impediment of a roof.

Though known as a spiritual community, Findhorn wouldn’t exist without the forty-pound cabbages. That’s what our tour guide told us when we first arrived. An American man about my mother’s age, he saw the place through the prism of decades. The land we are on was once a caravan park. Then Peter and Ilene Caddy moved in and they planted a vegetable garden. The couple were spiritualists; they consulted the plants on what they needed. The result? Prodigious cabbages. Peter, with his characteristic savvy, got the British soil association to do a test. The soil was and is sand soil and requires lots of compost. It’s nothing special. With equally characteristic showmanship, Peter broadcast the results. If the soil wasn’t special, something else was. It was a seed planted at the right moment. This was 1969; the boomer generation would soon arrive in droves, done with school and ready to question everything. My mother was among of them, fresh from her California college. She stayed for three years.

The emerging community was a bit like the roundhouse now filled with meditative song. Both started as the vision – literally – of a few individuals, only to catch the eye of outsiders. When the roundhouse ran foul of the new building oversight, the architect simply took the roof off. An old friend of my mother who invited us to the open-air meeting admits attendance varies with the weather. Yet the faithful few sit singing with their umbrellas every morning. I try to imagine starting every day like this, in cross-legged communion with others rather than performing my own private practice. We move from singing to silent meditation; I surreptitiously uncross and recross my legs as my feet alternatively fall asleep. At the end, an older man with a sonorous voice and a knit cap worn in what I can only think of as a hipster style reflects that we have done our bit to steady the world today by steadying ourselves.

The Caddys, who claimed an intentional community was never their intent, were likewise ready to open things up. To a point. Their undisputed leadership of the community and their firm legacy surprises me; it’s so far from the egalitarian instincts I expect from intentional communities. Also, Peter ran off to Australia with a young woman in the late seventies. But then there are those cabbages. Their spiritual heirs, the Findhorn Foundation, are struggling after a long reign. As my mother and I leave the singing circle and cut across the park, she returns to a running theme. Why don’t they do a garden rota, she wonders. With so many people, they’d only have to do a few shifts a year. She’s still trying to sort through the central conundrum of Findhorn today: hundreds of people live in the new experimental eco housing that rings the old community and yet the centre feels hollowed out of life. We pass the old caravans, most screened by a heavy curtain of wild garden. For me, it’s hit just the right level of decay where it feels decadent rather than depressing. But the disuse makes my mother uneasy. Peter Caddy wouldn’t have stood for this, our guide told us. He used to say he’d give fifty pence to anyone who could find a weed in his garden.

A few hours later, I’m circling a new round structure and my new soundtrack is the bagpiper who’s suddenly struck up a tune in the carpark beside the coaches full of well-managed tourists. It’s a stone cairn and its centre too reveals the lip of a long-vanished roof. It wasn’t planning permission that did it in, but extreme old age. The Clava Cairns were built by Neolithic people 4,000 years ago. Three mounds stand in the manicured park, but as many as eighty more lie in the adjacent farmers’ fields. Each narrow entranceway aligns perfectly with the winter solstice sun. My mother bristles at interpretive accounts suggesting they built solstice alignments in the superstitious hope of encouraging the sun’s return. She often drives ridiculous distances in the States to see Neolithic sites I’d never heard of like Serpent Mound and Poverty Point and returns newly amazed by prehistoric people’s acumen and ambition. They weren’t idiots, she says now. The cairns were their calendars. I have a little more sympathy for our contemporary incredulity. Why would people invest so much energy piling up so many stones? Shouldn’t they have been busy, you know, surviving? The Stone Age Highlands cannot have been the easiest place from which to eek an existence. And yet everywhere, the circles. Spaces of commemoration, ceremony, and community.

That's a final snapshot of my Scottish Highland tour, but I have gone down the rabbithole of community history, including a search for the game changing book 'The Magic of Findhorn', and now have so much more I want to write about Findhorn and their emblem the phoenix.

[floorinsite]

High-end installer, Chris Halifax, makes it personal with Schlüter 

After a few years in the making, Chris concludes that his new en-suite is “our dream come true. A lot of planning, designing and effort has gone into every detail. Next up is the main bathroom that will feature even more exciting ideas and will push my own skill levels and boundaries. Schlüter is key to my work.” 

Chris Halifax of CTH Creations, has carved himself a reputation for his incredible attention to detail and quest for perfection in all his work. He regularly shares project updates on his social media, attracting thousands of followers. In his own words, Chris creates “unique and one-off bathroom designs which turn dreams into reality with the highest of standards.”

And for all things tile protection, Chris’ go-to supplier is Schlüter-Systems – the largest and most innovative manufacturer of system solutions for the function, protection and decoration of tile and natural stone in the world. The key advantage of specifying Schlüter-Systems is the opportunity to utilise the wealth of experience gained by the UK team over the last 30 years providing integrated system solutions for the bathroom designer and installer, developer, architect and specifier. 

Having completed various stunning bathrooms over the years, Chris recently turned his attention to his own home, an 1840’s, two-bedroom cottage in Holmfirth. Chris doubled the size of the property with an extension, which included a luxury en-suite, to the side and rear. After already working with Schlüter-Systems products for around three years, Chris had no hesitation in using them in his own home, “I always install the highest quality products and have found Schlüter products extremely reliable and easy to work with; I find that the premium quality of Schlüter products is worth every penny.”

Treating his own en-suite as a chance to showcase his fine work and expertise, Chris fitted various Schlüter products, including Schlüter-DITRA-HEAT. Installed throughout the entire floor area, including the shower, the DITRA-HEAT Peel & Stick version was used for speedy installation and the elimination of cold spots. Two areas of the walls, where the towel rails and robe hooks are placed, are heated so that the family can enjoy super warm towels! 

Although any electric underfloor heating system costs money to run, Chris recommends finding a running schedule for when the occupants are most likely to be in the space. “In reality, people are not in the bathroom all of the time. I run my system from 5.30am to 9am in the morning when we’re getting up and ready and then from 6pm to 11pm in the evening too. I have the temperature set at 19°C and it costs me around £20 a week to run. With the Schlüter thermostats, I can see the cost and energy output so there are no surprises with my energy bills.”

For added stunning touches, the modern LED-technology Schlüter-LIPROTEC was used in the form of prefabricated niches, with Chris adding an extra LED strip so that both shelves were illuminated. Chris also created a feature by running LIPROTEC around the bottom of the walls. 

Chris continues to use Schlüter as “it’s important that the products are top quality; but the people in a business are also important. I’ve always had fantastic support from the Schlüter team. They are knowledgeable, easy to get on with and can’t do enough to help me if I have any questions.”

For further information, call 01530 813396 or visit https://www.schluter.co.uk/

[mellysdiary]

Dear diary,

Today I woke up at 5.30am. I'm very bored and school starts at 8, so I had plenty of time to get ready! I dressed up and walked to Starbucks to buy some coffee. I got my drinks and went back home to study for my exams. I have an English exam in 2 days, so I had to get ready. I don't want to fail, I thought. Then, I head to school. I was first as always! Well, benefits of an early bird. I had Biology lecture and an English review. My assignment were graded as soon as the teacher arrived! I got an A! After that, I went shopping at Miniso and went back home to get some rest. Today was a great day after all!

[riverswater]

I woke up at 4am and couldn't fall asleep again, which was bad, but around 5.30am I decided that that was it and started my day, so I had breakfast in bed and read 50 pages of my book. I'm now getting ready to go to the library to study. This has been a perfect day so far (I will come back home at 12 to sleep I'm sure of it but what's the damage of that)

[slacktivist]

I used to wake up at 5.30am to get ready enough to walk the 20-minute walk to the bus stop. not because it was the only one nearby. it was just the main bus stop. I was too afraid to stand at small bus stops because I was also too afraid to wave out to the bus driver.

Got cool morning fog pictures anyway! (i can wave to the bus driver now ☺️)

[newmonk]

Ladakh.

13th + 14th June:

Both our moms Krishna supragya & Akshita.. It was raining heavily when we left Vivek express Anil kumar patwa Rajastani family going to their village for their moms barsi Uncle in front of us going to vaishno devi & we were going to ladakh. Unity in diversity

Jammutawi Ahmadabad - thepla & shrikhand Breathe in a bit of Gujarat Rajasthan desserts Haryanvi terrains Ludhiana - chole kulche & Jalandhar.. The true smell of India

15th We met Naresh Our rickshaw guy, who drove us from jammutawi stn to bus depot at 2 am We halted & stood by the river(tawi) & those 20 minutes were the most enriching. He made us see the entire city without seeing it in that time. That quality is rare. He is a story teller. 'Khud changa toh jag changa' He dropped us at the bus stop we took 2 seats in a tempo traveler & moved to Srinagar at 3.15AM. 4.10am saw the vaishno Devi mountain It looks marvelous with the lights.

15th day We ate aloo parathas in the morning with chai Reached Srinagar at around 3pm As we got off at kashmiri man named Hilal asked us if we wanted to stay in a boat house We weren't very sure as this is supposed to be an economical + budget trip Anyway, we followed him, he took us to his boat next to dal lake called Pakeeza boat house. We spoke, negotiated & finally decided to stay there for the night.

I took a bath after 2 days & we hit the Srinagar road We had to fix a taxi for Leh the very next day Met a guy named Tariq who is a boat Wala He took us to the taxi stand We met Nazeer who was going to be our driver to Leh Fixed our seats & we were supposed to leave at 5.30am the next day Sorted. We went back to Tariq, who.made is sit in his boat which his brother was going to row.

Dal lake is beautiful Its crowded with many house boats , vendor boats, full fledged markets on either side Yet its quiet We kept hearing stories abt the city, abt the movies which had been shot there..etc

Got off Went to a barber shop to get my hair cut Bad hair cut Met a kashmiri uncle who spoke eloquently in the kashmiri accent Felt like we were within a Pakistani TV show Shaunak had been warned about Kashmir and not picking up fights there as it's a dangerous area I on the other hand am usually up for standing against things easily This contradiction was persistent through out the trip, we are very different individuals who like each others company & don't want to change each other's behavior.

We went to a restaurant called shamiani to eat dinner. That instant we knew our trip wasn't going to be an economical trip as our taste was lavish.

Good food after 2 days and then a good nights sleep. Our journey to Ladakh was going to begin in a few hours. This is what we had come for... After all the months of continuous working ... We packed our bags & were ready to go.

Slept for 5 hours. Got ready. Drank chai with girda at a tea stall

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

Forgot to update after this. So posting this note incomplete, hope you make some sense of it. Ladakh was great!

[jammum]

WEEK 5 OF 2023

What a hot night was last night I turned the air con back on at 3am as I was so hot. I was up and washed ready for the day at 5.30am. Found the kitchen a mess as per usual. Tim got up at 7am which was a little annoying, Saw Sandy she needed a hug. MUM’S BIRTHDAY SHE WOULD BE 83 A cooler morning but going to be another stinking hot day. I am frustrated with being drenched in sweat. Men…

[imoldgreggory]

... ... ...

...

...

They are both so hot in this I can’t breathe. They’re feeling it.

Jimmy, what the fuck was that at 01:32, I ask you?? This will now be playing on a loop on the inside of my eyelids. What did I ever do. And then 04:20? 04:38? I died. 04:55? Christ.

Robert - no comment. I can’t. Even.

And “Suck it, suck it”? Really? (After all this time? - Always.) Also, call me delusional but starting 05:14 he just sings “Oh my Jimmeh” all the way through XD Idec that’s what I hear.

I mean it’s the encore. What’s the plan here? Turn the audience on and leave them hanging? That’s cruel.

[tiggertaylor]

so what do we think of future past!!

[sodrippy]

inchresting that dark s1 is set in 2019 despite being made in 2017...and im watching it...in 2019...