#jennie kew

[triviareads]

Hello, how is it going? Just came across your page looking for novel recs. I just finished The Professional and The Player by Kresley Cole (The Master didn’t really caught my attention and I became obsessed with the other two because it felt a little Vampire Academy coded???)

The Professional was one of the best I’ve read so ever, made me hot from the first to the last page. Do you have any more recommendations on the same vibe? Thank you so much for your attention, take care

Hi! I loooove Kresley's Game Maker series because not only are the high heat, but the hero and heroine are equally WILD; truly some of the best examples of matching each other's freak. They're also highkey funny in a way not a lot of mafia romances are. So with that in mind—

I can't start this list by not reccing Mila Finelli's Kings of Italy series; very similar energy in that they're super hot, super romantic in a feral kinda way, and more unintentionally funny than anything. Mafia Mistress and Mafia Darling have that energy especially, Mafia Madman is a little darker but still uber hot, Mafia Target is actually quite a sweepingly romantic story, and Mafia Virgin is a little more toned down as far as humor, but again, very hot.

Pink Slip by Katrina Jackson: Katrina does have a mafia series as well but The Spies Who Loved Me is a top-notch espionage-based erotic romance series. It doesn't take itself too seriously and it gives you that Mr. and Mrs. Smith (plus Moneypenny because it's a poly romance) feel, it's racially diverse, queer, body-positive and really sexy.

If you want bratty heroine recs (because that is 100% Natalie) but not necessarily mafia, I liked Size Doesn't Matter by Jennie Kew. The heroine is a plus-sized model and she's actually older than the hero who happens to be her ex's brother, not that she knows it when they hook up. Excellent brat/brat tamer vibes.

From what I remember, Possession by Adriana Anders delivers on the brat heroine and I remember it felt quite lighthearted at times even though it's about a marriage of convenience where she's convinced he's not attracted to her except his sex tape leaks and he's fucking a woman who looks like her?? She flees to kink camp and the grand finale is, in fact, a well executed kidnapping scene.

[probablyasocialecologist]

An innovation that propelled Britain to become the world’s leading iron exporter during the Industrial Revolution was appropriated from an 18th-century Jamaican foundry, historical records suggest. The Cort process, which allowed wrought iron to be mass-produced from scrap iron for the first time, has long been attributed to the British financier turned ironmaster Henry Cort. It helped launch Britain as an economic superpower and transformed the face of the country with “iron palaces”, including Crystal Palace, Kew Gardens’ Temperate House and the arches at St Pancras train station. Now, an analysis of correspondence, shipping records and contemporary newspaper reports reveals the innovation was first developed by 76 black Jamaican metallurgists at an ironworks near Morant Bay, Jamaica. Many of these metalworkers were enslaved people trafficked from west and central Africa, which had thriving iron-working industries at the time. Dr Jenny Bulstrode, a lecturer in history of science and technology at University College London (UCL) and author of the paper, said: “This innovation kicks off Britain as a major iron producer and … was one of the most important innovations in the making of the modern world.” The technique was patented by Cort in the 1780s and he is widely credited as the inventor, with the Times lauding him as “father of the iron trade” after his death. The latest research presents a different narrative, suggesting Cort shipped his machinery – and the fully fledged innovation – to Portsmouth from a Jamaican foundry that was forcibly shut down.

[...]

The paper, published in the journal History and Technology, traces how Cort learned of the Jamaican ironworks from a visiting cousin, a West Indies ship’s master who regularly transported “prizes” – vessels, cargo and equipment seized through military action – from Jamaica to England. Just months later, the British government placed Jamaica under military law and ordered the ironworks to be destroyed, claiming it could be used by rebels to convert scrap metal into weapons to overthrow colonial rule. “The story here is Britain closing down, through military force, competition,” said Bulstrode. The machinery was acquired by Cort and shipped to Portsmouth, where he patented the innovation. Five years later, Cort was discovered to have embezzled vast sums from navy wages and the patents were confiscated and made public, allowing widespread adoption in British ironworks. Bulstrode hopes to challenge existing narratives of innovation. “If you ask people about the model of an innovator, they think of Elon Musk or some old white guy in a lab coat,” she said. “They don’t think of black people, enslaved, in Jamaica in the 18th century.”

[andiatas]

Last Thursday I had an exclusive interview with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel. We stood and talked in the great greenhouse in Kew Gardens. Victoria had a laugh that I wore both a fluffy vest and a winter coat. I am a person who is always cold. The Crown Princess is a person who is always warm. [...] Victoria and Daniel joke and laugh a lot. The Prince first ended up behind a large palm leaf that insisted on laying itself over his face. There was a lot of laughter. But when the interview starts, it gets grave and is taken with seriousness. Not least because my questions dealt with major topics such as the war in Ukraine and the climate crisis. It turned out to be an exciting conversation.

Translated excerpts from Jenny Alexandersson's Instagram post, published Dec. 3, 2023.

[duchessofostergotlands]

Hi Jessica! Do you know anything about timings for the upcoming days? I desperately want to go meet the CP either at Imperial or Kew honestly but can't find times and I wonder if it's their default MO or if there is a swedish source that has them? Thank you :)

Sorry, I don’t know specific times! As they’re having a pub lunch and then it’s about 90 minutes to drive back I’d guess Imperial wont start before 2pm and they probably wont want to be in rush hour traffic so maybe between 2pm and 5pm, as a guess. Kew is harder but it says afternoon. They have a summit afterwards which ends at 5:30pm so they’ll have to be at the summit before then. I’d say a similar time slot, 1pm-4pm maybe? My recommendation would be to DM some journalists and ask. Often they can’t confirm timings publicly but in the past I know myself and others have contacted them on Twitter (when I was on it!) and said “I’m in the area, I just want to know a rough time so I’m not waiting for four hours” and then they might give you an hour window or something. I don’t know who will be covering it from the U.K. press but you could try Jenny Alexandersson, she’s a Swedish royal journalist. She’s active on Instagram and super lovely.

Also if you do meet Victoria and get a video of her saying “hi Jessica” I would kiss you on the mouth (or not, that might be a punishment! Whatever would be a good thing hahaha)

[suicpeak]

O seus olhos brilham mais que todas

As luzes da cidade

[formulatrash]

I was on Jennie Gow’s Fast Talkers preview for the Formula E season, with Jack Nicholls and Matt Kew out of Autosport - it was loads of fun, we might owe each other money by about 10pm on Friday, who knows!

[isheanass]

The 14th Annual PASSIONATE PLUME CONTEST for Published Works of Erotic Romance Congratulations to these 2019 Finalists!

Note: Only BDSM had enough novella entries to have their own category. Novellas for other categories were judged with the longer works with authors’ permission.

BDSM (six finalists from tie scores)

Catering to His Demands by Rose C. Carole

Finders Keepers by Jessica Collins

The Gypsy and the Rogue by Claire Thompson

Highland Dom by Marie Tuhart

River of Harmony by Lena Moore

Third Time Lucky by Jennie Kew

BDSM Novella Finalists

All Thorns Eve by Diana Rose Wilson

Bastard’s New Baby by Raisa Greywood

Looking After Lindy by Pepper North

Contemporary (six finalists from tie scores)

Rough and Ready by Cathleen Ross

Spice Island by Saharra K. Sandhu

Still Waters by Jayne Rylon

Tempting Secrets by Michelle Windsor

Top and Tails by Clare London

Unlawful Seduction by Sassy Sinclair

Paranormal

Chastely Bitten by Lexi C. Foss

Loving Phoenix by Trinity Blacio

The Mistwalker by Regine Abel

Resonance by Jennifer Greenhall

Science Fiction, Historical or Time Travel

Better to Marry Than to Burn by Michal Scott

Legion by Regine Abel

Operation Phoenix by Susan Hayes

Winners will be announced on July 1st, 2019. 

[mr-mellow-dj]

I Never Kew

Cross Posted from FF dot net

As Beckett said she “believes in the everyday magic of life in … the way that I feel when I hear Coltrane”, this is from his album “Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane”. These vignettes come to mind when I hear the songs as played by John Coltrane.

This song is “I Never Knew.” You can hear the song as played by Coltrane, Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb on YouTube.

watch?v=Nd03dS9oMD0

This song is by Ted Fio Rito and Gus Kahn. A version of it being sung by Frank Sinatra is also on YouTube.  

watch?v=3UfMojz2j0c

 Disclaimer: The characters are the property of Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC television. The lyrics are the property of their respective owners. No infringement is intended.

I never knew

That roses grew,

Or that skies were blue or grey.

I never knew,

When breezes blew,

What a Summer breeze could say.

A/N: A summer sometime in the future

“Mom!”

Kate looked up from her book to see the younger of the twins running toward her from the beach.

“Mom!” Reese said huffing after running. “Mom, we saw some. It was so cool.”

She looked over her 7 year old son’s shoulder to see her husband of 14 years jogging up with the other twin close behind. She looked back at her red faced son smiling.

“You saw some what?” She asked her son.

He responded in earnest, “Dolphins, just beyond where we swim to. There was a whole school of them.”

“Pod.” Kate corrected her son. “And how far out do you swim?”

“What?” Reese asked.

“Pod.” Kate answered.

“Pod what?”

“A group of dolphins is called a ‘pod’.” Kate answered.

By that time Castle and Jake had made it to her lounge chair. Castle leaned down, kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “You’re so hot when you use correct animal groupings.”

Smiling, she gently slapped his chest and said, “Little pitchers.”

Reese, looking between his parents, said, “What are ‘little pitchers’.”

Castle mischievously smiling at his wife turned to his son and said, “I’ll explain when you’re older.”

“Aww, I’m never gonna be older,” Reese whined as he turned and stomped off toward the house.

“Reese, come back please.” Her son still stomping away. “Now!”

He stops knowing that another step will get him into very hot water.

“How far out do you swim?” Kate asks as her mother hen sense goes on high.

Her son, grumbling comes back to his mother but doesn’t answer. He stands beside her chair head down and sighs.

She puts her hand under her son’s chin to look her in the eye.

“How far?”

“Only as far as dad lets us,” Reese smiled turning to his father.

Beckett turns to her husband, “And how far is that, Castle?”

Smiling back at his wife he says, “Not so far as I can’t get to them. And not ankle deep either. I let them explore their abilities without letting them get in too deep.”

“So that’s what dads do. Let their children explore their abilities, huh? Is that another way of saying dads or maybe a specific dad doesn’t pay attention when his kids are out in the ocean? Hmm, Castle?”

“No, it’s a way of saying that mothers smother their children keeping them from discovering the world,” Castle responds ending with a sweeping arm gesture.

“Channeling Martha I see,” Beckett teases.

“What?” Castle innocently asks.

“I don’t think so, Castle,” Kate continues. “No, another way of saying it is: mothers would kill fathers if anything ever happens to a hair on the head of their cubs. Capeesh?”

“Yep,” Castle responds.

“Okay,” Kate turns to her youngest children. “Reese. Jake. Go with your father to wash up. It’s getting close to lunch time. Mama’s hungry so you know what that means.”

“Ahhgg!” Reese yells running toward the house swinging his arms like a windmill. “Feed me Seymour!”

Jake follows close behind as their parents chuckle at the twins antics.

“You’re much cuter than Twoee.” Castle says leaning down and kissing his wife’s head.

“And I figure if anyone gets eaten, it would be me,” He continues waggling his eyebrows.

“Castle,” Kate says playfully slapping his legs. “That’s awful. Good thing little pitchers weren’t here to hear that.”

“What?” Castle said trying to keep an innocent face. “Just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts.”

Beckett rolled her eyes at him.

Castle continued, “I said nothing about whether I enjoyed it or not.” Whispering in her ear, “And believe me, I do.”

Standing up Castle held his hand out. “M’ lady.”

Beckett grasped his hand and pulled herself up. “Thank you, kind sir,” She said as she kissed his cheek and the pair followed their sons inside.

I never knew

That dreams came true

And took your cares away

I never knew

What love could do,

Until I met you today.

A/N: Another summer sometime further in the future

Castle sat down in the Adirondack chair on the back lawn at the Hamptons house and gazed over the ocean. The weekend had been a great success for him and his extended family.

The key members of the crew from the 12th had come by. Lanie and her husband and their 3 kids. Javi and his wife and theirs. Ryan and Jennie with Sarah Grace and her husband and Nick and his fiancée. Even retired Chief Gates and her husband had come.

Alexis had a flight to catch out of JFK back to Chicago so she left first. Lily, Reese and Jake were the last to leave. But all had left by mid-afternoon to try to beat some of the Sunday evening traffic back into the city. Beckett and Castle had ferried some of them to the nearby Long Island Railroad station. The rest were driving back.

Castle sat in the chair with the afterglow of a fun time with all his friends and family. Friends that liked him for being himself, Rick Rodgers, not the best-selling author, Richard Castle.

His brothers-in-arms still called him ‘Castle’ but his best-selling author fame or fortune weren’t why they were his friend, unless the Ferrari was involved. With age came the realization that they weren’t kids anymore that they didn’t need access to the mid-life crisis car, and that was emphasized the last time they tried to extract themselves from the seemingly lower than they remembered driver’s seat.  

He’d kept the Ferrari for ‘old time’s sake’ but hadn’t driven it in a couple of years. Kate drove it when they were out in the Hamptons but it mostly lay dormant in the garage.

Castle rides around the island with her occasionally remembering that sinfully short and tight midnight blue dress she wore while driving it during a case. If Beckett pushed him, he would give up that that was the only reason he kept the car.

He chuckled remembering all the fun times he had at the 12th.

“What’s so funny, Castle?” Asked Beckett.

“I never thanked him, you know,” Castle said to his wife of almost 30 years.

“Thanked who?” Beckett asked as she sat down in her husband’s lap. She wrapped her arms around his head and kissed him.

Still lost in thought, Castle answered. “I never thanked him.”

Kate pushed herself away so that she could see his face. She looked at Rick dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”

“I never thanked him for his murders.”

“You never thanked him for killing people?” Kate asked. “Have you been in the sun too long?”

“Nope, never better,” Castle responded. “I’m feeling great right now. Great for being … uh, how old am I … 74 years old.”

“Ohhh kay,” Beckett said drawing out the ‘O’ and the ‘K’. “Who did you never thank? Jerry Tyson? Surely not William Bracken.”

“No. No. No.” Castle adamantly responded. “No. And never them. They’re ones that shouldn’t have seen the light of day. No. I’m talking about Harrison Tisdale. He’s the one I should be thanking.”

“So you never thanked Harrison Tisdale for what was it? Killing his sister and two other people? Castle, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Yes it does,” Castle says. “It makes perfect sense.”

Beckett looked at him sideways as if to say “what crazy thought is he having now.”

Castle continues, “While it wasn’t perfect for his victims, it made my life perfect.”

Still looking at her husband, “Okay, I’ll bite. Why did it make your life perfect?”

Castle lovingly looks into Beckett’s eyes and says, “It actually made my dreams come true. Because if Harrison Tisdale hadn’t murdered his sister and two other people, making murder scenes look like those from my books, you would never had recognized them and come to my ‘Derrick Storm’ book launch party and arrested me. So probably we would never had met. That’s why I should thank him.”

“What about you always talking about ‘The Universe’? Saying that we were destined to be together. That we being together brought harmony to ‘The Universe’. What about that, hmm?”

Castle pondered for a moment. “You may have a point there, Beckett.”

Castle tapped his chin, thinking about what his wife said. “You know, though, sometimes ‘The Universe’ needs a little nudge to help it along. Tisdale did that.”

“A nudge, huh?”

“Yeah. Nudge. Prod. Push. Bump. Jolt. Yeah, nudge.”

Chuckling she continues, “Well thank you, Mr. Thesaurus.”

“I am a writer.”

With false surprise Beckett says, “You’re a writer? Who knew?”

“Mock all you like, Beckett. I feel like Rodney Dangerfield.”

Castle moves his left hand up to his neck as if to adjust an invisible necktie, “I never get any respect.”

“No respect, huh? Is that what you’re going with now?”

“Yes?” Castle answers sheepishly.

Standing up, Beckett says, “Well, now that the kids and friends are gone. I can think of something or maybe someone else that needs to be nudged. Prodded. Pushed.”

Castle stands up and wraps his arms around her waist, responding, “You do? Hmm, who could that be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we should go upstairs and see what we can discover.”

“Discovery is nice,” Castle says. “Especially when it is the two of us discovering. Maybe some uncovering is involved?”

“I think that could be arranged,” Beckett responds, kissing her husband.

“Oh, goody,” Castle says rubbing his hands together.

“But not if you say ‘Oh, goody’ again.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Holding out her hand to him she says, “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

Grasping her hand in his he responds, “Beckett, I’d follow you anywhere.”

[thewindexpedition]

Seven years ago we had no idea what lay in store for us today. We had Jenny, Sean and my sister living with us. We were working full time jobs and running around nonstop. We were surrounded by love and created lasting relationships that sustain us today. We love and thank of all of you that made us feel loved and part of something bigger. We are proud of our past and continue to lean on it for foundation. #reflection #past #throwback #love #hardwork #foundation #family #nontraditionalfamily #home #lookingback #shareyourstory (at Kew Gardens, Queens, N.Y.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2NWDah2_k/?igshid=1oxpt382n2dj5

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

Family

Day 14 of 31 Days of Ficmas!  @doctorroseprompts

10xRose, The Doctor’s Daughter Fixit.  Features Bad Wolf!Rose :)

@timepetalsprompts Bingo - Piper - badassery, Mum!Billie; Characters - TARDIS saving the day (technically), brave Martha Jones, tenacious Jenny

Clean/G-rated

Ficmas Masterlist 2017, Day 14

AO3

Waking up to find herself on the wrong side of the collapsed wall from the Doctor and Donna, Martha couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the situation.  Even though she knew logically it wasn’t the Doctor’s fault, she couldn’t help but blame him just a little.

Spotting the injured alien lying beside her, Martha forgot about the Doctor and became Doctor Jones. “I’ve got you,” she soothed her patient, carefully inspecting his shoulder.

Twenty minutes later, she’d made friends with the Hath and been taken to headquarters.  When the overlay appeared on the map and the rest of the army marched off, she and her new friend started heading for the surface to try to stop all hell from breaking lose even further.

Only when she turned the final corner to the staircase, there was a blonde woman already halfway up the steps.

“Hey!”  Martha called, and the woman spun around.

“Hello,” she said cautiously; both women held up their hands in peace.

Martha slowly made her way up the steps to greet her.  “Hang on – are you Jenny?”  She hadn’t had much of a chance to look at the girl from the machine before the explosion, and though the clothing wasn’t right she did looked very similar. Though, hadn’t the Doctor said the girl was with him?

“No.  Who’s Jenny?”  The woman stared back, equally curious.  “And who’re you, anyway?”

“Jenny came out of the machine.  She was born, sort of, from a friend of mine.  Or at least, a tissue sample,” Martha explained.

“Oh.  No, I’m human,” the other woman reassured her before frowning. “What do you mean born from a tissue sample and a machine?”

“The humans here, they have this machine where they stick your hand in, take a tissue sample, and create a person from it in seconds.”

“Ah.”  The woman shifted uncomfortably, before holding up her hand.  Still an angry red, it was the same mark the Doctor had.  “Like this?”

“Yes!”  Martha exclaimed.  “Did they make a new soldier from you as well?”

“Don’t think so,” she replied practically.  “They stuck my hand in the thing and took the sample, I suppose, but then the machine let me go without doing anything.  I took the chance to run.”

“So you’re not with them?”

The woman shook her head.

“Right.  When was this?”

She tilted her head in thought.  “Thirty, forty-five minutes ago?”

Martha stared, calculating in her head.  “Well, that confirms it.  I think your tissue sample got mixed with my friend’s; the girl looks a hell of a lot like you and nothing like him.”

“Oh, my mother’ll love that,” the woman sighed, rolling her eyes.  “Though a grandchild’s a grandchild, I suppose.  Not like she hasn’t already accepted any she’d get from me would be alien.”

Martha grinned.  “I’m actually on my way to meet up with them – would you care to join me?”

The Hath behind her gurgled, and Martha rolled her eyes at its sudden bravery.  “Correction, would you like to join us?”

“Sure, beats being on my own.  I’m – Marion.”

“Martha.”

The woman grinned. “Fantastic.”

-

Stumbling down the steps together they moved slowly, still shocked by the Hath’s sacrifice.  Marion had fallen into a crater, almost drowning; the alien had jumped in and pushed her up far enough that Martha could pull her out, but they were unable to save him before he went under.

As they came around the corner, Martha almost collapsed in relief.  “Doctor!”

“Martha!”  He crowed, and they threw themselves into each others arms, hugging tightly.  He spun her slightly before setting her down to introduce her.  “Martha, my daughter Jenny.  Jenny, Martha.”

Martha stepped forward to hug Donna and Jenny, before spinning around.  “Oh!  I picked up a companion as well,” she explained, seeing Marion waiting in the darkness; she was staring at the Doctor, mouth open.

“Oh really? Who?”  The Doctor asked, brow furrowing.

“Technically, Jenny’s mum. They tried to process her just before we arrived, only there was a fault in the machine and it let her go.”

“That’s no guarantee-” he started, but Martha talked over him.

“Trust me, Jenny’s her spitting image.  They’re definitely related.”

“Ah.”  

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck while Donna smirked.  “Oh, I’d love to see that custody battle.”

Martha gestured for Marion to step forward into the light.  The woman did, speaking softly.

“I think we’ll be able to work something out.”

Martha was looking at the Doctor when Marion spoke; she saw him freeze, mouth falling open.  He blinked slowly several times; his mouth moved, but no sound came out.  Marion stepped forward further, fully into the light.

“Bloody hell,” Donna breathed, looking between the two blondes as she took in the resemblance.

Martha, Donna, and Jenny all stared at the Doctor and the woman, waiting for one of them to speak, feeling somehow as though they were intruding on a private moment.

Finally, Marion was the one to break the silence.  “Doctor?”

His eyes closed, and his lower lip trembled.  “If this isn’t real…” he warned, the Oncoming Storm warring with a terrible grief.

“Doctor,” she repeated softly, moving to stand in front of him.

When his eyes opened his companions gasped, seeing the unusual display of emotion.  Martha and Donna exchanged looks, both understanding who this woman was.

“Rose,” The Doctor breathed, looking down at Marion – Rose – in awe.

“Hi honey, I’m home,” she giggled, throwing her arms around him as he swept her up, holding her much tighter than he had Martha just moments before.

“You’re late.  I was expecting you ages ago,” he joked weakly, swaying with her in his arms, her toes barely brushing the ground.

“Sorry, traffic was awful,” she laughed, tears falling.

“I don’t understand,” Jenny muttered, and Donna and Martha looked at each other, not wanting to explain.

Before her parents could explain the sound of the human army breaking through echoed up to them.

“That’s the general, we haven’t got much time,” the Doctor winced, placing Rose on the ground and taking her hand.

“But we don’t even know what we’re looking for,” Donna reminded him, and Martha sniffed the air.

“Is it me, or do you smell flowers?”

“Yes!  Bougainvillea,” he breathed, understanding lighting his face. “Allons-y!”  He took off, pulling Rose behind him.  Laughing, it only took her a few steps to fall into sync as though no time had passed.

The couple raced off together, Martha, Donna, and Jenny trailing behind.  They burst into a luscious garden, and the Doctor followed his nose straight to a glowing sphere in the middle of the room.  He looked around in awe, his hand still clutching tightly to Rose as though afraid she’d disappear if he let go.

“What is it?”  Rose asked, staring at the swirling colors inside the glass.

“Terraforming.  It’s…” he inspected it quickly.  “A third generation terraforming device.”

“So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?”  Donna wanted to know, and he shrugged.

“That’s what it does – like earlier, with Luke and the Sontarans.  Makes the planet habitable for the designated species.  In this case, human and Hath.  It’s in a transit state-” he started to explain, still taking it all in, but was cut off by both armies arriving in the clearing at the same time.

“Stop!”  He cried, letting go of Rose’s hand to step forward, throwing out his hands.  “Hold your fire!”

Guns cocked on both sides, humans and Hath taking careful aim at each other.

“What is this, some kind of trap?”  Cobb accused, gun trained steadily on the Doctor.

“You said you wanted this war over,” the Doctor reminded him.

“I said I wanted this war one!”  He cried.

“You can't win. No one can. You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers. Getting more distorted the more it's passed on,” the Doctor explained desperately, trying to keep the peace.  He pointed to the sphere.  “This is the Source.  This is what you're fighting over.  A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem.  It's nothing mystical.  It's from a laboratory, not some creator.  It's a bubble of gases, a cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution.  Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable.  Look around you!  It's not for killing, it's bringing life.  If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight!  No more fighting.  No more killing.”

Lifting the sphere with both hands, he shouted, “I’m the Doctor, and I declare this war over!”  He threw it to the ground where the glass shattered and the gasses escaped, swirling up and around before heading off to do their job as both sides looked on with amazement, laying down their weapons.

All but one.

The Doctor turned to Rose and Jenny, who hurried up to him.

“What’s happening?” Their daughter asked breathlessly, and he beamed down at her.  He may have struggled to accept her as his own, but knowing that she was part Rose as well sealed her in his hearts.

“The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process,” he quietly explained, eager to teach her about the universe.

“What does that mean?” Rose asked, smiling up at him as she relished his presence.

“It means a new world,” he told his girls, certain he’d never been happier.

Jenny gave a giggle, and happened to glance over in time to see Cobb raise his pistol.

Reacting on instinct, she cried “No!” as stepped in front of her father.

The gun fired, and Jenny was yanked back as Rose stepped forward.

The bullet hit her straight in the chest and she gasped in pain, one hand immediately coming up to the wound.

“Rose!”  The Doctor cried in a panic, catching her as she collapsed.

“Ow,” she muttered, dimly aware of the soldiers forcing Cobb to his knees, focusing instead on her partner.

“Rose?  Rose!  Talk to me, love,” the Doctor begged, laying her down flat as he applied pressure to the wound.

“Long time no see,” she joked weakly, feeling herself fading fast.  She could hear Donna and Martha mutter to each other, but paid them no attention.

“Yeah, been busy.  Rose, please don’t die,” he begged, but she knew it was futile, could feel it in her bones.

“I love you,” she told him firmly, one hand coming up to rest on his.  “And I’m so glad I got to see you again.”

“This isn’t it, Rose, it’s not.”  He wasn’t ashamed of the tears falling down his eyes as he pleaded with her, with the Universe itself.

“Jenny?”

“I’m here.  Mum.”  The girl sniffled, cuddling up next to her side.

“Mum.  Like that,” Rose muttered.  “Love you.”  She tried to focus on the girl’s face, but it swam in and out of focus.  “Love you both.”

“Love you too,” Jenny whispered.

“Love, don’t leave me,” the Doctor begged, furious with himself for not being able to say the words even at this moment, his last chance.

Rose’s lip twitched up just before the light in her eye dimmed, and her heart beneath his fingers stopped.

“No.  No.  NO!” The Doctor roared, rising up and stalking over the general, grabbing the pistol from the ground and aiming between the man’s eyes.

“Dad,” Jenny called softly, but he ignored her.

“You took her from me,” his voice shook with rage, though his hand was steady.  “You took her.”

Cobb stared resolutely up at him, resigned to his fate but still unapologetic.

The Doctor cocked the gun.

“Dad,” his daughter called again, a different tone to her voice, but he paid her no mind.

A small, logical part of his mind said killing Cobb wouldn’t make up for losing Rose at Canary Wharf, but the dark voice always inside his head suggested he find out for sure.

But he could hear Rose in his head, could hear her talking him down, and he slowly lowered the gun, arm shaking with effort.

“I never would,” he told Cobb.  “Have you got that?  I never would!”

He turned to the Hath, looking between them and the humans as he commanded, “When you start this new world.  This world of Human and Hath... remember that! Make the foundation of this society a man who never would!”

Throwing the gun away in disgust he walked back to Rose’s body, sinking to the ground on the other side of her from Jenny.

If he stared hard enough he could almost pretend her chest was moving, that she was breathing.  He reached out one trembling finger to trace her features before bringing both hands to his face, sobbing for her as he had never allowed himself to before, his final hope extinguished.

“Dad!”  Jenny’s impatient hiss made him look up at her.

“What?”  He didn’t mean to snap, but she didn’t seem offended as she just smirked at him.  “What?” He repeated through gritted teeth when she didn’t answer.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry before.”

Blinking at the voice he never expected to hear again, he looked down to see Rose grinning up at him.

“What?”  He could only stare, dumbfounded, sure he’d finally gone off the deep end.  “You’re dead.”

She waved at him.  “Actually, I’m Rose.”

He shook his head. “You’re dead.  Rose, you died in my arms.”

“Yep.”  She popped the word like he always did.  “Then I got better.”

He didn’t laugh like she obviously expected.

“Rose…”

She sighed, sitting up with a wince.  A quick glance told her that the Hath and humans had let them have their privacy to grieve.

“Ugh, I’m never gonna get the blood out of this shirt,” she muttered, pulling the sticky wet material away from her.

“Rose!”

She looked over at him, taking in the tear tracks on his face and reaching up to wipe them away with her clean hand.  “Yes, I died. And when I was dead, I could hear it – I could hear her.  The TARDIS.  She told me to wake up.  So I did.”

“Just like that?”  He asked in disbelief.

She bit her lip.  “I also heard a wolf howl.  I… Doctor, I think it had something to do with Bad Wolf.”

Just when he thought nothing more could surprise him, something always did.  “Bad Wolf?  But I thought that was done?”

Rose shrugged. “Apparently not.”

“Right.”

They just stared at each other until Jenny got impatient.

“What happens now?”

“Back to the TARDIS,” the Doctor decided, rising and helping his girls to their feet.  “We’ll figure it out from there.”

Still weak, Rose leaned on him the whole way though she focused her attention on getting to know Jenny, leaving him free to ponder his family.

His family.

With a sudden jolt, he realized that for the first time since he’d left Susan behind, he had a true family made of blood.

Certainly each companion became family while they traveled with him, and stayed that way for the rest of their lives whether they saw him again or not.

But this was blood.

Blood that wanted him, as is.  With the running, and the saving, and the travelling.

He had a family again.

Despite his earlier words to Donna, he knew he’d do whatever it took to keep them safe and with him.

He wouldn’t fail them this time.

His family.

Make the TARDIS had known where she was going after all.

[christinaroseandrews]

‘Tis the Season for Holiday anthologies.  And well, I like anthologies.  They can give you a taste of several different authors as well as full and complete stories that are perfect for bedtime. 

Seasonal Shenanigans -- curated by @caitlynlynch - is the kind of holiday romance anthology that hits all the right buttons.  We’ve been a part of these before both together and separately.  Last time, Lark was writing on her own. This time Rose is. So fair disclaimer, this review is being written by Lark.

I’m going to be rating these also based on if they would work for a Hallmark Channel Movie.  Because dude!  That’s what the season’s about!

Time to go through the stories!

Let It Snow - Nikola Christain - Jovie is a driven woman with a demanding job and who isn’t really close to her family.  While at the ski resort, she shares a hot tub and an even hotter encounter with a hot ski instructor, Chris (The first of several in this anthology). This is a fun little story that ends on a happy for now. I liked this story.  It was a good start, but some people may find the main character polarizing but I liked that the author acknowledged that not everyone wants to be home for Christmas.  (Four Stars  -- Hallmark Rating... Oh yeah) Eight Secret Nights - Shoshana David - Someone’s been leaving Hanukah presents on Mara’s doorstep.  The question is who?  Mara hopes it’s the hottie Evan down the hall and not the creep from 7A.  I really liked this story.  The pacing was spot on and I adored Mara. It was nice seeing an independent woman who embraced her sexuality.  This was definitely one of my favorites.  (Five Stars -- Hallmark Rating... All the yep!) A Tradition Worth Continuing - Tricia Ramey - This is more of a slice of life than a full story.  But it’s a sweet look into a married couple spending Christmas together and the traditions they have with it.  This is sweet and leaves you smiling from beginning to end. (Five stars -- Hallmark Rating... needs more plot)  Kittens For Christmas - Caitlyn Lynch - When Regina finds a box of abandoned kittens, she enlists the help of her hot next door neighbor Ric. Lots of cuteness and sexiness ensues.  (Four Stars -- Hallmark Rating... So much cute!!!) Missing You For Christmas - Moxie Rivers - Being separated from your loved ones at Christmas is hard, there’s even songs about it.  It’s even doubly hard when your loved one is in the Military.  Which of course means that you need to do something special to make up for it.  Get your hankies out for this one, it is super good and cute.  (Five stars -- Hallmark Rating... Yes!  Yes!  Yes!) A Grease Monkey Christmas - Cailin Briste - Sci-fi and Christmas don’t always mix but in this story it does. Being alone on Christmas can be hard, and it’s always better to share it with someone.  This one was sweet and I liked Jasline.  (Four Stars -- Hallmark Rating... maybe if they take over Syfy LOL) Santa Claus is Coming - Jennie Kew - What is better than an age-gap romance with a hot firefighter?  Not much.  The characters were fun and sexy, I liked Holly and Chris... but I wasn’t fond of their names... kind of trite if you ask me.  But in all this was fun.  (Four Stars -- Hallmark Rating... Sure)  The Promise Of Love - Maya Bailey - Years ago, Edward and Elizabeth fell in love in secret love affair.  Now almost thirty years later, Edward returns to confront the woman who he can’t forget and who’s been keeping a secret for years.  So... where to begin... I didn’t like this story. At all. I like second chance romance.  I like secret child.  I didn’t like this.  Part of it was that it felt that the holiday (Christmas) was shoehorned in.  It wasn’t plot relevant and barely even came up.  If they’d had the flashback scenes take place during Christmas I would have liked it better.  Secondly, I really didn’t like Edward... which is weird.  Because in most Secret Child romances, you have to make people like the woman.  The man automatically has sympathy because of the circumstances, but Edward lost his really fast.  Third, I’m not a huge fan of the writing style.  This is personal taste. There are some problematic tropes in here, some historically accurate, but still problematic. I just really didn’t like this one and I’m ranting about it days later. (One star -- Hallmark Rating -- No.) Underneath The Mistletoe - Ava Bari - Cute kids and Christmas goes together like Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows. When her daughter goes missing, Amelia calls the cops (as you do).  Enter Nic who finds the munchkin and brings her home and then stays for the holiday.  This would be great if it were longer. As it is, it’s solid.  (Four stars -- Hallmark Rating -- Um Yes.)

Blizzard - Suzi Frewin - This is the second sci-fi offering.  When Fallon and Simon are forced to go into hiding together amidst a snow storm, sparks fly.  I wanted to like this story more than I did. I wasn’t a fan of the ending, and I felt there needed to be better adherence to the theme. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. (Three stars -- Hallmark Rating -- not even on Syfy) All I Want for Christmas … is You - Annika Steele - Tori and Devon have been fuck-buddies for a long time.  But when a string of jewel heists throws Tori under suspicion, Devon has to wrestle between duty and the woman he’s grown to love.  This story needed to be longer and have a better editor.  Technically, it was good.  But plot-wise, it needed help.  I couldn’t suspend my disbelief when it came to the police aspects of this. No woman would take being accused of a crime she didn’t commit by the dud she’s in love with as sanguinely as Tori did.  She didn’t get mad, upset, hurt or anything. The problem is that there was too much going on and not enough time for character development.  The sex was great which is the only thing saving this from a lower rating. (Two stars -- Hallmark rating -- If the plot got fixed) Christmas is Coming - Liv Honeywell  - So heads up... this is hardcore BDSM. This is not your 50 shades BDSM, it is serious and real BDSM.  That being said, if you like that kind of thing. you’ll like this story.  Featuring a Sub being a brat and a Dom being forced to administer punishment it’s very well written and sexy.  Ultimately this isn’t my thing... I have some issues with BDSM because of my past.  But it is good.  (4 stars -- Hallmark Rating... No... Playboy Channel Maybe.) New Beginnings - Dana Kenzi -- This is the other non-Christmas offering and as a Pagan I was glad to see Yule in the mix. This is a cute neighbors to lovers story. It could use a bit more expansion and character development.  The sex is good and it’s nice to see an average sized woman in these stories.  (Four Stars - Hallmark rating -- if it had more plot) I Fell Through Starlight For You - Keira Fox - When his sleigh breaks down, Kris (Third Chris/Kris) encounters Luci and forms an instant connection. This is absolutely the perfect end story for the anthology.  I loved that we had Santa Clause’s son falling for a mortal.  The lone supernatural story is also a great one.  (Five stars - Hallmark Rating -- Why isn’t there a movie of this already!!!) For 99 cents, this is definitely worth the price of admission. 

Get it on AMAZON while you can!

*** I received an ARC from one of the authors (Gee I wonder which ones).

[triviareads]

I'm posting this one a little sooner than the end of the month because I'm off to the west coast for the holidays and most of these books are Christmas or New Year's-themed!

Mafia Virgin by Mila Finelli

The final installation of Mila's Kings of Italy series came out last week, and here is my review (and here are my excess notes). SPEAKING of Mila Finelli—

Fausto and Frankie Bonus Scene by Mila Finelli

If you would like some warm, mafia Christmas goodness with a side of chasing, Mila Finelli wrote a (free!) bonus scene set after Mafia Darling that I've linked above. It features gems such as Frankie fucking around with calling Fausto an old man repeatedly and finding out (which, to be clear, was her end goal), Fausto pondering on whether to tell the number of men he's killed with an axe when Frankie questions his ability to chop down a Christmas tree, and a visit from (then-failson mafioso, but forever a fave) Giulio.

Duke the Halls by Felicity Niven

The thing about Felicity Niven's historical romances is that they all start off relatively light, humorous even, but you inevitably find yourself swiping away tears as you read through the last few chapters. Duke the Halls is about a grumpy neurodivergent duke who finds himself enamored with a ladies companion he meets in a stagecoach. I adore Franny; she's earnest and upbeat and the very embodiment of holiday spirit without being naive (she's also a bit of a neologist). Kit, the duke, is more of an acquired taste but it's hilarious to read how gone he is for this woman right off the bat— to the point where he wishes he were a worse kisser so she could "practice" with him more, he admits he actually kinda does suck at sex, and nearly crashes a carriage when she agrees to sleep with him. God bless him. Felicity Niven doesn't shy away from going off the beaten path with her sex scenes; expressions of pleasure are never sanitized and they always feel real and honest.

My Present This Year by Sierra Simone

Sierra Simone unironically wrote a (step!) sibling romance some years ago (linked above— it's free!), inspired by that 2009 Folger's coffee commercial called "Coming Home". You know the one. Upon reread, Nick is is kind of giving "early version Tristan Thomas from Sierra's Lyonesse Trilogy" vibes. It also has all the hallmarks of a Sierra Simone romance: tragic pining-induced celibacy, there's a nickname with "little" in the beginning, someone is a biter, the lines "I want to be a good stepbrother" are uttered...

Her Virgin Duke by Nicola Davidson

If you're in the mood for a Christmas-themed romance ft. virgin dukes who learn to fuck shockingly fast (wow sex lessons seems to be the theme of these holiday romances), then this is the novella for you! The Duke of Tunbury aka Humdrum Tun is a virgin who doesn't even masturbate until he he meets brothel madam Delilah on a bet, and within days the man's basically an animal in the sack. His learning curve is only matched by that of Beck's from The Major's Welcome Home by Tessa Bailey and Nick Gentry's from Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas.

Size Doesn't Matter by Jennie Kew

Sophie is a famous plus-sized model who unwittingly hooks up with her ex(ish)'s younger brother Jack on New Year's Eve, and when she finds out, she's Not Happy. Jennie Kew is a solid erotic romance writer who writes a lot of books with kink, and I've loved nearly even book she's written in her Bennett's Bastards series. This is probably one of the softer books in her series, both tone and sex-wise, but I love how she wrote Sophie being both bigger and taller, and she's in her thirties, but she's still very much a brat sexually— I feel like a lot of authors equate this with dainty little girls— and Jack clocks this right off the bat and is very much here for it. This book also features one of my much-loved tropes often found in Harlequins.... :D

[ofstormsandwolves]

Generation 5000 (5/5)

Catch up here

Written for @doctorroseprompts for this week’s ‘reunions’ prompt.

10/Rose, Donna Noble, Jenny, Martha Jones, original character(s).

The Doctor’s Daughter rewrite- Canon Divergence.

A changed Rose lands on a strange planet while trying to find her way back to the Doctor, and finds herself being ‘processed’ by a group of soldiers who want help winning a war. Is it just a distraction, or will it help lead her back to the Doctor?

Read on AO3 (account needed)| Whofic

Less than a minute later, the Doctor, Rose, Martha, Donna, Jenny and Peter were surrounded by plants. Plants of all shapes and sizes, everywhere they looked was lush greenery and soft petals and spiky stems.

“Oh, yes,” the Doctor grinned as he took it all in. “Yes. Isn’t this brilliant?”

In the centre of the plants was a pedestal with a glowing globe resting on it. A control panel and screen were nearby, while wires ran from the globe and across the floor.

“That’s a bit more than a snow globe, isn’t it?” Rose asked with a grin.

“I’d say,” Martha agreed. “Unless it’s a snow globe from Harrods.”

The group approached it slowly, Peter and Jenny blinking in awe at what surrounded them.

“Is that the Source?” Donna asked, nodding at the globe before looking to the Doctor, who still had his eyes on it.

“It’s beautiful,” Jenny added, drawing closer.

Everything suddenly seemed so peaceful, surrounded by the plants and the strange soft glow of the Source. They couldn’t even hear Cobb or the soldiers, and while none of them were naive to think that they had gone, they couldn’t help but get lost in the moment at least briefly.

“What is it?” Martha asked after several long moments of silence.

Rose nodded. “An’ what’s it for?” She looked across at the Doctor with a grin. “Go on, I know you’re dying to tell us.”

He flashed her a grin. “Terraforming,” he told them. “It’s a third generation terraforming device.”

Donna blinked. “So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?”

The Doctor grinned again. “Because that’s what it does.”

“It grows plants?” Peter asked, wrinkling his nose in much the same way as his mum did. The Doctor saw, and smiled softly at him.

“Kind of, yeah,” the Doctor replied. “It does all this,” he gestured around them, “only bigger. Much bigger. It’s in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally-”

But they didn’t get a chance to find out what it finally did, because all of a sudden they were surrounded on all sides. Humans and Hath blocked them in, guns raised, and the Doctor, Rose, Donna, Martha, Jenny and Peter were trapped in the middle.

“Stop!” the Doctor ordered. “Hold your fire!”

Cobb sneered at him. “What is this?” he demanded. “Some kind of trap?”

The Doctor clenched his jaw. “You said you wanted this war over.”

“I want this war won,” Cobb countered, glancing past the Doctor at the Hath on the other side.

“You can’t win,” the Doctor insisted, and he chanced a glance over at the Hath. At least they weren’t making any sudden movements, and he got the strange feeling they were more willing to listen than Cobb and his men. “No one can. You don’t even know why you’re here. Your whole history, it’s just Chinese whispers, getting more distorted the more it’s passed on. This is the Source.” He gestured towards the globe Martha and Rose had joked was a fancy snow globe. “This is what you’re fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet’s ecosystem. It’s nothing mystical. It’s from a laboratory, not some creator. It’s a bubble of gasses. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It’s used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you. It’s not for killing, it’s bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight. No more fighting, no more killing.” Without warning, he lifted the Source from the pedestal then, holding it above his head. “I’m the Doctor, and I declare this war is over.”

He threw the globe then, and it shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments, the gas and energy curling up into the air and rising towards the ceiling of the spaceship. Humans and Hath alike blinked, and watched, and lowered their weapons.

All except for Cobb.

“What’s happening?” Jenny asked as the gasses continued rising.

“The gasses will escape and trigger the terraforming process,” the Doctor explained as he watched the energy and gasses ascend.

Jenny looked over at him. “What does it mean?”

The Doctor blinked, looked at his daughter, before looking over at Rose and Peter, and back again. He smiled. “It means a new world.”

Jenny grinned at him, but her grin faded as she suddenly caught sight of something behind the Doctor. Her eyes went wide, and she was moving even before the Doctor could turn to see what was happening.

“No!”

Three voices rang out in unison, all shouting the same word. Jenny’s, as she shoved the Doctor aside. Rose’s, as she began to move towards the pair of them. Peter’s as he was rooted to the spot with fear. The bullet flew from Cobb’s gun.

And then time seemed to stand still.

Instead of the impact that had seemed inevitable, the bullet hung in the air just inches from Jenny’s chest, and Cobb’s eyes went wide with fear. Gaping, the Doctor tore his gaze from his daughter to where Rose, Martha, Donna and Peter all were. And then he realised what had happened.

Both Peter’s and Rose’s eyes were glowing gold.

“What exactly’s going on?” Martha asked nervously as she eyed Rose and Peter warily.

The Doctor didn’t answer her. Jenny had stumbled back from the bullet, which still hung in the air, and she stared, wide-eyed at her Dad as he gently nudged her towards Donna, who wrapped a protective arm around the younger woman’s shoulders.

“Rose,” the Doctor began cautiously as he moved across the room. “Rose, let go.”

Blinking, Rose turned to him, the gold light in her eyes dimming somewhat as tears slid down her cheeks. Suddenly, the Doctor was a thousand galaxies away, in a previous body on a space station orbiting Earth.

“Jenny’s safe,” he told her gently. “Look, she’s with Donna. She’s safe.”

Rose opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

“He tried to kill her.” The frightened, broken words were Peter’s, not Rose’s, and the Doctor turned his attention to him.

“Yes,” he admitted, his words drawing Peter’s gaze away from Cobb. “But you stopped him. You and Rose.” The Doctor took a breath. “Your sister’s safe, Peter. You saved her. You don’t have to do anything else.”

Peter looked torn, and the Doctor knew that if he were to convince Peter, he’d need Rose’s help. He turned back to her.

“I want you safe,” she finally managed, and fresh tears coursed down her cheeks. “I want all of you safe. My family.”

“And we are,” the Doctor assured her gently, taking Rose’s hand in his. “But our son’s going to do something he’ll regret if we don’t stop him. He needs you to show him that this is alright. That letting go is alright.”

Rose smiled slightly at that. “Our son,” she echoed softly. “I like the sound of that.”

The Doctor beamed. “Me too. Oh, Rose Tyler! Me too.”

The golden light had all but faded from Rose’s eyes then, and she looked a little sheepish. “Told you I’d changed,” she mumbled as her cheeks heated up with embarrassment.

“But you did the right thing,” the Doctor told her quietly, squeezing her hand.

She gave him a tight smile and nodded, then they both turned her attention to Peter.

“Remember what I told Jenny earlier?” the Doctor asked Peter quietly. “Remember what I said about killing?”

Peter nodded slowly, eyes wide and a hint of hazel showing through the gold. “‘It doesn’t mean you have to kill them’.”

“We have a choice,” the Doctor reminded him gently. “There’s always a choice. You can kill him, here and now, for threatening me and Jenny.” He glanced behind him at Cobb, who looked more than a little shaken. “Or, you can let go. I don’t mean forgive him, but killing him isn’t necessarily the answer. For all it might help in the short term, in the long run it doesn’t do much at all. It doesn’t stop the rage, or the grief, or the anger. It doesn’t stop the pain. And all you do is stoop to their level.”

Peter swallowed, and the gold receded that little bit more. “What would you do?” he asked quietly. “You and Mum? What would you do, Dad?”

Rose and the Doctor glanced at each other then. An entire lifetime passed behind their eyes, numerous Daleks destroyed in the Time War, the Dalek Emperor vanquished with a wave of Rose’s hand and a stream of golden light. Entire fleets of Dalek ships obliterated, a war that had lasted much longer than it should have, first stopped by him and then by her.

“We,” Rose began carefully, slowly pulling her gaze back to Peter, and Jenny who was not too far away, “want you two to be better than us. We’ve both done stuff that was right, for the situation. We made a call, and we stand by that decision, and even if it was tough we did the right thing. Now you two have to do the same.”

Jenny and Peter shared a look. The golden light was completely gone from Peter’s eyes, and when he turned back to their parents, he nodded slowly.

“I want to go home.”

The Doctor nodded at that, and turned back to Cobb. “We’re gonna be off. We’ve got things to do, me and my family. We’ve only just got started, and we’d rather not waste any more time here.” He took a breath. “But my son’s a braver man than you, Cobb. He gets that from his mother. He wouldn’t kill you. Have you got that? He wouldn’t kill you, even despite what you tried to do.” He looked around then, addressing everyone. Humans and Hath alike. “When you start this new world, this world of human and Hath, remember that. Make the foundation of this society a man who never would.”

~0~0~

“I... I’m sorry,” Rose said quietly as they made their way back to the TARDIS. Martha and Donna were leading the way, followed by Peter and Jenny, and then the Doctor and Rose. “About earlier, with Cobb. I just... I panicked. I’d worked so hard to get back, an’ he was gonna take that away from us.”

“I know,” the Doctor responded softly, squeezing her hand in his and glancing ahead of them at their son and daughter. “I thought I was going to lose Jenny for a moment there, until you and Peter stopped that bullet.” He let out a ragged sigh. “Why would she do that, Rose? Why sacrifice her life for me?”

“You’re her dad,” Rose replied. “Same as I saved my dad from that car, in 1987. Even if it means getting hurt, you still wanna do something.”

The Doctor didn’t look too happy at that.

“Besides,” Rose continued. “She’s like you. Always wanting to help people, protect them.”

He snorted bitterly. “That’s the truth of it. She’s too much like me. Far too much like me. We almost lost her, Rose.”

This time, Rose squeezed his hand. “But we didn’t. Like you told me, and Peter, she’s safe. Cobb didn’t kill her.”

“I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been here,” the Doctor sighed, before dropping a kiss in her hair. “And we’re very lucky that, as much as Jenny takes after me, Peter takes after you. They’ll balance each other out.”

Rose wrinkled her nose. “Again, too much, I think. He’s too much like I was, years ago. Heart’s in the right place, but his brain needs to catch up. He acted before he fully thought about everything.”

The Doctor glanced down at her. “So did you,” he pointed out gently. “He wasn’t the only one I had to talk out of killing Cobb.”

He felt Rose sigh against him. “No,” she admitted after a long while. “But I couldn’t help it. You say Peter’s your son, Doctor. Well, Jenny’s my daughter. Cobb threatened her, an’ I just... I dunno. I snapped.”

“Maternal instinct,” the Doctor murmured into her hair as they continued walking. Their pace had slowed somewhat, but they didn’t attempt to catch up with the others. “Cobb threatened Jenny and the Bad Wolf reared its head.” He grinned slightly then. “Never threaten a mother wolf’s cubs.”

Rose elbowed him in the stomach at that, but a glance down told him she was grinning anyway.

“I suppose,” she sighed. “I’m startin’ to see why Mum slapped you when you took me away for a year, now.”

The Doctor winced at the reminder, and Rose grinned at him.

“Come on,” he told her, picking up his pace and pulling her along as he did so, “let’s catch those kids of ours up.”

~0~0~

Jenny and Peter had been suitably impressed by the TARDIS, and the Doctor was rather smug about it. He was even more smug at how impressed they were by the sheer size, and was still preening as they disappeared off further into the ship to explore.

“You’re loving this,” Donna teased him.

The Doctor just grinned in response.

“So,” Martha smiled, watching the Doctor and Rose together at the console, “did you find out why the TARDIS took us to Messaline?”

The Time Lord nodded. “It was Rose. She’s the reason the TARDIS brought us here in the first place.”

Martha frowned. “How? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Rose is connected to the TARDIS through something called the Bad Wolf,” the Doctor explained cautiously. “She looked into the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex, which is what made her the Bad Wolf.”

“But you’re human?” Martha asked Rose with a frown.

Rose and the Doctor shared a look.

“The Doctor doesn’t think so anymore,” Donna broke in. “Rose said earlier, she has two hearts now.”

At that, Martha’s eyes widened. “You changed your biology?” she asked. “You made yourself into a Time Lord?”

“Time Lady,” the Doctor corrected, “and most likely it was something that happened when Rose absorbed the Time Vortex when she was nineteen.”

Martha’s head was spinning. “And you’re, what? Twenty three? Twenty four now?”

“Twenty four, yeah,” Rose nodded.

“And your biology has been changing for the past five years?” Martha questioned.

At that, Rose bit her lip. “Not exactly,” she admitted slowly. “I only started changing after I was separated from the Doctor. I’d been in Pete’s World- that’s what we called the parallel world I was trapped in- for maybe six months or so when I started getting these chest pains. Eventually, Mum and Dad made me go and see the medics at Torchwood, and when they did some scans, they realised my body was growing a second heart. My kidneys were changing too, an’ so was my skeleton, but they couldn’t work out how or why. Me an’ Mum put two and two together and figured I was turning into a Time Lady, and we could only guess that it was something I did whilst in possession of the power of the Vortex, when I could see the timelines.”

The Doctor nodded knowingly. “You saw that we’d be separated, and tried to change yourself so that that wouldn’t happen. But instead of changing the events, or even entwining our timelines, you altered your DNA instead.”

“Well,” Rose shrugged, a little embarrassed, “I didn’t quite have full control.”

“No,” the Doctor agreed slowly, Jack Harkness springing unbidden to the forefront of his mind, “you didn’t.”

“But the TARDIS sensed you?” Martha asked, bringing them back to the conversation. “When you got back to this universe?”

Rose shrugged again. “I suppose so. I don’t really know. We developed this, er, travel machine, this Dimension Cannon, so I could. Well, so I could come back.”

The Doctor grinned at that, and Rose rolled her eyes.

“Shut up,” she told him, but she was grinning too. “Anyway, we built this Cannon, but it wasn’t hugely accurate. Powerful, but not accurate. We used my TARDIS key to get a trace of the TARDIS’s energy, and used that reading to try and track you. But it didn’t really work, not at first. Half the time I couldn’t even get out of the parallel universe. But then the pains started getting worse, and it became obvious that I was still the Bad Wolf. So Dad made them tighten the machine up, narrow down the field. The idea was that I’d appear near the TARDIS. Seems I did, just I got here before you. She must have sensed I was in the right universe.”

The Doctor nodded. “You and the TARDIS have a bond. Well, the TARDIS and the Bad Wolf. The old girl must have sensed you would land there, and pulled us there to collect you. Only, by the time we got there, you’d already managed to get yourself locked up.”

“Weren’t you locked up too?” Martha pointed out from the other side of the console.

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed at that, and Rose sniggered.

“Time to go home, Martha?” he asked, already moving to set the coordinates.

“Yeah,” Martha nodded, smiling slightly. “Home. You two lovebirds are driving me barmy anyway.”

Beside her, Donna sighed. “Oh, tell me about it. I’m going to have to live with these two!”

~0~0~

Rose hung back with Jenny and Peter when Martha left, choosing to give the other woman some time alone to say goodbye to the Doctor and Donna. Rose got the impression that Martha had liked the Doctor- alright, more than liked him- and while she seemed to have moved on now, Rose could tell that her turning up out of the blue had startled Martha. She wouldn’t intrude on her time to say goodbye with the Doctor.

“Why don’t I show you the snug?” Rose suggested to Jenny and Peter as the Doctor, Martha and Donna left the TARDIS. “We can queue up a film, and your Dad and Donna can join us later.”

Both Jenny and Peter looked quite pleased with that idea, and Rose grinned, leading them further into the TARDIS.

Outside, the Doctor walked a little way behind Donna and Martha as they made their way back to Martha’s flat.

“Are you sure about this?” Donna asked quietly as she walked beside the younger woman.

“Yeah, positive,” Martha nodded, giving the redhead a smile that was completely genuine. “I can’t do this anymore, the constant travelling. You’ll be the same one day.”

“Not me,” Donna denied. “Never. How could I ever go back to normal life after seeing all this? I’m going to travel with that man forever.” She paused then, and frowned. “Well, if it’s alright with Rose.”

Martha gave her a knowing look. “That’s what I mean. There’s Rose, and Peter and Jenny to take into account. The Doctor will want to spend time with them without me hanging around.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” the Doctor piped up suddenly from behind them, and the two women realised he’d overheard the conversation. He wedged himself between Donna and Martha and the trio continued walking. “I mean, yeah, we’ll probably have some downtime now, let Rose get settled back in, and get Peter and Jenny settled. And I still want to run some tests on all three of them. But you’re always welcome, Martha. And we’re certainly not kicking you out, Donna. Rose wouldn’t let me be so rude.”

“Are you sure?” Donna asked nervously.

The Doctor beamed. “Of course. And Rose will say the same.” He looked at her. “Go on, get back to the TARDIS and make sure nothing’s broken.”

They came to a stop outside Martha’s flat then.

Donna arched an eyebrow at him. “Rose is keeping an eye on the kids, I don’t think they’re going to wreck your TARDIS.”

The Doctor mock-frowned then. “Rose is jeopardy friendly! Who knows what trouble they might get into? Go on, Donna, head on home and I’ll catch you up.”

Donna grinned at that. Home. The TARDIS was her home too. She was part of his family. She pushed past the Time Lord to hug Martha then.

“Stay in touch?” Donna asked.

“I’ll certainly try,” Martha agreed as they separated.

With a final smile, Donna turned and headed back to the TARDIS. Martha and the Doctor watched her go.

“We’re making a habit of this,” the Doctor said once Donna had disappeared into the TARDIS.

Martha smiled at him then, a little sadly. “Yeah,” she agreed. “And you’d think it’d get easier. Did you mean what you said? About me always being welcome?”

“Oh, Martha Jones, always!” the Doctor told her. “And I think you’d like Rose, too.” He paused. “I know today must have been a shock, and I’m sorry for not warning you. And... And again, I’m sorry for how I treated you, all that time ago.”

Martha smiled gently at him. “Already forgiven,” she told him. “And I think, maybe, I’d like to get to know Rose. And Jenny and Peter. But Rose seems nice. Not what I expected, but I think I’d like to get to know her.” She smirked then. “And maybe me, her, Jenny and Donna can have a girl’s night.”

“Sounds great,” the Doctor beamed.

“Yeah?” Martha asked. “Think Rose would be up for it?”

He nodded. “Definitely.”

“Great,” Martha grinned, turning to head into the front garden of her property. “I’ll phone Rose later, arrange a date.” She pulled her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door. Just before she stepped inside, she turned back to the Doctor. “You don’t mind us invading the TARDIS, right?”

The Doctor spluttered then, eyes going wide as he finally realised she wanted to have a girl’s night on his TARDIS.

“I... That wasn’t... Martha!”

Martha just grinned and waved at him before shutting the door behind her.

~0~0~

The Doctor returned to the TARDIS, sending them into the Time Vortex to rest, and headed to the galley. He knew the TARDIS would lead him to wherever Rose, Donna and the kids were, but figured he could stop off for tea first. When he got there, there were two large bowls and two bags of popcorn waiting for him on the side.

“They’re having a movie night, then?” he asked the TARDIS, and her lights dimmed in an affirmative.

He put the popcorn in the microwave and set the timer before boiling the kettle. He then set about selecting mugs and dropping in tea bags. The mug he’d chosen for himself was a favourite of his; big and grey and plain, but one that Rose had bought for him in his previous body. Donna’s was next, a purple spotty mug that she’d picked up in a local Tesco of all places, but she liked it. Then Rose’s; he had to root in the back of the cupboard for that, and he gave it a quick rinse out before dropping the tea bag into it. But it was large and white, with a photo of the two of them wearing paper crowns and grinning at the camera. Jackie had had it done for her daughter, the photo having been taken at Christmas, and the mug had been a going away present for Rose. Then, there were Jenny and Peter. He selected them both plain mugs, deciding that they could get their own mugs at a later date. He chose an orange one for Jenny and a yellow one for Peter. Both nice and bright, but plain.

The popcorn finished then, and he poured the bags into the two bowls before returning to the drinks. He poured in the milk to his, Donna’s and Rose’s mugs, adding sugar to his and Rose’s, before settling the mugs on a tray. He put the milk and sugar on there too; there was no knowing how either of the kids took their tea. Sparing a glance at the two bowls of popcorn, and knowing he’d have to come back for them, the Doctor took a breath and picked up the tray to go join his family.

[alxndrasplace]

On December 14, Tom Suárez (TS) spoke at The House of Lords, London, at the invitation of Baroness Jenny Tonge. Drawing from his recently published book State of Terror, he addressed the centennial of the Balfour Declaration and his views on the way toward ending today’s Israel-Palestine “conflict”. The following are Suárez’s remarks. The book was reviewed here by David Gerald Fincham.

“My (TS) work is based principally on declassified source documents in the National Archives in Kew. When I have had to rely on published works, I have trusted established historians who cite first-hand sources. Everything I will say here tonight is based on such source material.

Our topic is, of course, the so-called “conflict” in Israel-Palestine, a tragedy that has dragged on for so long that it feels static, indeed almost normalised. But unlike other deadly conflicts, this one is wholly in our power to stop—“our” meaning the United States and Europe. It is in our power to stop it because we are the ones empowering it.

- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2017/01/terrorism-israeli-state/#sthash.Nzl5dAyb.dpuf

[suicpeak]

Se ela é bonita?, ela uma gostosa.

[michaelfallcon]

World Class Coffee Finds A Home In The London Burbs At Kiss The Hippo

The London coffee market is crowded. This is as true now as it’s been for a decade, when an earlier generation of international coffee professionals put the city on the map as home to championship-caliber baristas and world-class coffee roasters. But here in 2020, if you’re going to stand out, you might start by stacking up the accolades. So it goes at Kiss The Hippo, an independent speciality coffee company opened in the summer of 2018 in Richmond, an affluent residential neighborhood in southwest London. Kiss The Hippo is home to both the 2018 and 2019 UK Barista Champions—Joshua Tarlo, who serves as Head of Coffee, and Paul Ross, who is the brand’s Wholesale Manager.

It took me nearly a year after their opening to visit Kiss The Hippo, not for lack of interest, but because I never quite found the time: when I say this cafe is in the suburbs, I mean deep in the suburbs. To give a sense of scale for readers outside the UK, a return trip to Richmond from central London to visit the cafe is roughly a half-day trip. It was a home brewing workshop led by Tarlo that finally lured me out, and immediately I wished I’d gone sooner. The spacious, bright, and welcoming space—spread over two floors with the coffee bar at the front, roastery at the back, and workshop room upstairs—ticks all the boxes. Over on the counter, you’ll see world-class equipment from industry leaders like La Marzocco, Victoria Arduino, and Mahlkönig. The brand identity—with its tongue in cheek name and trademark red hippo logo—is attractive and catchy, and their suburban location allowed Kiss The Hippo space to grow as a wholesale brand while also building a local customer base, without facing the fierce competition of central London coffee shops.

We don’t traffic much in raves on Sprudge, nor do we formally review or grade coffee shops. That said, the coffee I drank that day was the best filter I’ve tasted all year: a vibrant and aromatic natural Gesha from Finca Auromar in Panama, which just so happened to be Paul Ross’ 2019 barista competition-winning coffee. And that was enough to turn me into a Kiss The Hippo fan.

And so I kept going back. On several other visits to Kiss The Hippo, I tasted flat whites with their house blend George Street: big body, low acidity, and robust flavors meant to shine through milk. The beans used in this blend change each season, but currently are 50% Colombia (Los Vascos) and 50% Honduras (La Cumbre). Their other blend, The Donna, is a darker roast for those looking for something a little more traditional, but still sweet and without a roasted bitterness. A range of single-origin offerings rounds out the shop’s menu, with four sub-categories meant to make ordering simple for the general public: Mellow & Balanced, Vibrant & Bright, Unique & Interesting, and Rare & Acclaimed, which includes a number of Cup of Excellence winners.

These days it’s become a lot easier to drink Kiss The Hippo’s coffees on a visit to London, or for city-dwellers living in the urban core. In September of 2019 Kiss The Hippo opened a second coffee shop in the coffee-mad London neighborhood of Fitzrovia, taking over the former site of Curators Coffee Gallery, which has been featured previously on Sprudge. Kiss The Hippo undertook a subtle revamp of the space, focused on polished warm wood surfaces, warm spotlights, and shelves stocked up with coffee bags and accessories emblazoned with the brand’s popular logo (so popular, they were out of stock my last two visits). The cafe was packed both times I went there with people from nearby offices on a coffee break and freelancers working on their laptops in the quieter downstairs room.

Here you’ll find a smart breakfast menu (served from morning to early afternoon) from Chef Jenny Parker featuring dishes prepared with local and sustainable farmers’ produce, including a standout eggs benedict croissant. All the pastries and cakes are baked in-house—including their best selling white-chocolate-iced cinnamon roll.

Sustainability is a marketing buzzword trope in 2020, but Kiss The Hippo does more than most when it comes to backing up claims with actions. The brand supports a range of organizations working on projects to sustain coffee into the future, including World Coffee Research and Kew Gardens Coffee Research Program, home to one of the most advanced coffee research teams in the world. They are also long-term partners with Rainforest Trust UK, who works to protect threatened forests and wildlife worldwide, and Just a Drop Foundation, to help bring clean water to 228 students at Mwambui Secondary School in Kenya. At Kiss The Hippo all straws, cups, containers, and cutlery are compostable and the plastic used is recyclable. The roastery uses a Loring S15, one of the most environmentally friendly machines on the market, burning approximately 80% less fuel than traditional methods. Kiss The Hippo is also in the process of being able to roast coffees carbon neutral by January 2020, which would make them the first speciality coffee company roasting carbon neutral in the UK.

It’s really hard not to like what’s happening, and as London’s status as one of the centers of the coffee world grows into a multi-generational legacy, it feels all the more vibrant thanks to young new brands like Kiss The Hippo. No matter where you live in the world—whether it’s a tube ride from Shoreditch or an all-night flight from Seattle—if you love coffee, you should go here.

Kiss the Hippo has multiple locations in London. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Giulia Mule is a Sprudge.com contributor based in London. Read more Giulia Mule on Sprudge. 

World Class Coffee Finds A Home In The London Burbs At Kiss The Hippo published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee