#let stewart run wild

[javertsponytail]

i know we’ve been discussing an elf phantom or elf raoul but as someone who has worked on multiple productions of spongebob the musical since it went to broadway, i’d like to propose: elf squidward.

i know how that sounds but here me out:

stewart hasn’t played a goofy villain in AGES. i don’t think the squip honestly counts as that much of a goofy villain, but nevertheless. he’s played nazis. he’s played a cop. let this man get up on stage with two extra legs and skrelt “i’m not a loser.”

you’re telling me he would not absolutely eat the tap number? the clarinet solo?

alternatively, he would play an incredible plankton. get this man in a green sequin suit and let him run wild.

i know that both of these roles are tenor parts but a man can dream. a man can dream.

[on-leatheredwings]

Secret Admirer

Yandere! Dick Grayson / Yandere! Green Lantern! Gender Neutral Reader

> romantic > tw/cw: yandere behaviors. Kissing. Heavy petting. > rated M > summary: You should stop playing with fire. Because when you do, you make him want to be crazy. Crazier. And Dick’s worked really, really hard to wrap those habits up. > a/n: wow nothing truly despicable in this one i’m so vanilla now <3 the reader is male to me but feel free to imagine what you want. I rlly like writing pre-yandere + pre-relationship stuff, it’s so fun . may write more for actual smut possibilities > word count: 1472

Newly-acquired powers or not, you are really poking the bear here. 

Dick has known you've been following him since yesterday. He allowed it because who was he if not a performer? He thrived on attention, and especially yours. But today, you had gotten too close to a fight. Sure, you had stayed an appropriate distance away, but the fact it had happened at all was worrying. It made him distracted. Distracted enough that he wasn’t pulling his punches on criminals like usual. 

“Now that it’s getting quite late–” he begins, to which you audibly gasp. An adorable sound. “–how about you finally come out and let me help you?”

He turns around to a swath of darkness that paints the rooftop’s entry door in black shadow.

Behind the corner, you curse. Damn it, he caught you. … Well, you could’ve told yourself this would happen. Dick, the fine friend he was, surely said it would. No one really ‘sneaks up’ on one of the Bats. And definitely not Nightwing, the most tenured of them all aside Batman himself.

You got caught, and lord knows what Nightwing will do to you. You bite your lips, mind running wild. Who knows what Nightwing will do to you, indeed? You feel a pang of arousal at the thought. 

You step out of the shadows, trying to act natural. Nightwing’s eyes lock onto your humble form, and you find yourself warming over every inch of your body. You want him bad.

His body stiffens, for reasons you can’t discern. It doesn’t seem like hostility… you think?

You adjust your domino mask, cursing silently that the adhesive is finally starting to give after a long night of following him around. Stealth isn’t really a natural gift for a Green Lantern, either. Turning down your glow while using your powers to maintain soundless stalking was hard. Harder than expected. 

“What are you doing here?”

You smile, hoping your giddy expression is hidden by the hoodie you’ve chosen to wear on your escapade. 

It certainly is not, which makes Dick pleased.

Now that you've made contact with him, his first thought is that he ought to tell Batman about this. And the rest of the team, while he’s at it. Dick Grayson knows that Nightwing is your 'celebrity' crush, and that you're enamored with the rest of the Bat Family. What if you confronted them someday as well?

On the Batcomputer is a file on John Stewart, complete a footnote that is you. Said footnote has graduated to its own page, now that you have your own hero exploits to document. They'd be less welcoming and more wary of a hero on their turf. He has to protect you.

“I… I…” you croak, tongue heavy with anxiety. You can’t help but be nervous. 

“Sometime tonight?” he teases. 

“You’re beautiful,” you blurt.

He is taken aback, before he recollects his wits. 

“I really like you,” you say again, stepping forward. He lifts his hand in warning. Stay back. You get chills, but don’t stop treading forward. You can tell his eyes are narrowed beneath his mask.

When he’s finally in arms’ reach, you are pushed against the wall. And not roughly at all, you notice. You smile with delight, your hands immediately landing on his shoulders. Nightwing’s glare doesn’t feel hostile at all. Suspicious, maybe. But not hostile.

“... What do you mean by, you “really” like me?” You suspected that he probably wouldn’t believe you.

“Well,” you fluster, “I mean that I really like you.” Dick’s heart jolts. “And I want you.” It nearly flatlines.

Oh, don’t say that, don’t say that, Dick thinks, despite the elation that begins to tighten his throat. You? Want him? If he had known all he needed to do to grab your attention was put on the suit, he would’ve done that ages ago. He felt nearly invisible to you during the day, all his flirtation falling on deaf ears and blind eyes.

At Nightwing’s silence, you lick your lips. An action that makes his eyes dilate behind his mask. 

“I-I’m serious!”

Nightwing leans in closer, as if inspecting the truth in your expression, raking over every atom. 

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he breathes.

“It’s not a game at all to me,” you say, feeling lightheaded from the small distance between you two. This doesn't feel real.

To love and be loved is all you’ve ever wanted. You’d think that would give you the violet ring of Love. Instead, the ring that had appeared in your hand one fateful night was acid green, sparkling and mesmerizing. Apparently, instead of embodying love, you simply were driven enough to seek it at any costs. Driven enough to never be alone ever again.

You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps, it said. You had taken it without hesitation.

“Kiss me,” you say, hands rising to cup his jaw. As if he’s not already leaning in.

Your lips meet in an unabashed frenzy. You’re nearly blown away by the pure amount of feeling in his kiss – that's quite a lot of emotion for a stranger. Not that you aren’t equally impassioned. You feel so raw and naked, kissing him. You hope he can't feel all your insanity, your obsession, your infatuation.

However, Dick certainly does, so much that he moans openly, the sound making both your lips buzz.

You make him want to be crazy. Crazier. And he’s worked really, really hard to wrap those habits up. 

You shudder, feeling the pressure of his cup press in between your thighs. God, you wished you could feel the real thing. Your hand slips in between you two, tracing the lines of his abs. Dick shivers. He peels off your domino mask, but you don’t even flinch. You don’t care if he knows who you are. You want him to know everything. Inside and out.

Your eyes flutter open as you gyrate against his hips, sinful and frustrating. You peer up at him, cheeks blazing. You want him.

He looks into your eyes, and it's as if he can read your mind. He wants to swallow you whole. He wants to map every inch of your body. His cock is painfully straining against his suit. You are not a want, but a need.

But Dick is trying to be good, he really is. The night’s not over. He’s still on patrol, technically. You may want Nightwing, but do you want Dick Grayson? If he fucked you on this rooftop, throwing restraint into the wind, would that be taking advantage of you? Do you just hero worship him? All the questions fly through his mind at rapid speed, and he wants them to quiet, before the Angry Orphan inside him decides to just stop caring completely. 

But he… he’s strong. We don't have to be, his mind interjects, screaming at him. But he quiets it. He whimpers at the tightness against his groin, a sound that makes you look at him curiously. You are completely blissfully ignorant to his inner strife. Completely innocent.

Dick narrows his eyes, channeling his best Batman impression.

“You should go home.”

You balk almost comically. “W-wait.” Nightwing retreats, but not before you can grab his wrist. “At least– at least, can we go on a date? Or even hang out? Or–” His thumb traces the curve of your lips, silencing you with a shiver.  

“Go home.” Firmly said, yet gentle.

You frown, though it’s more like a pout. Man, you’re cute, he thinks. “When can I see you again?”

Dick certainly isn’t strong enough to be responsible and say “You can’t.” 

So Nightwing just stares at you, looking… hesitant. The pieces click in your mind. Ah, so he liked it. Your lips curl, like a cat with cream. You take that as a victory.

“... I-I’ll come back tomorrow night,” you state boldly, stealing a chaste kiss before he could argue. Dick has to basically pull himself away, despite his desire to keep your bodies flush and perfectly fitted against one another.

You slip your ring onto your finger, and your entire body glows, rampant with Lantern light. You begin to float.

“Tomorrow!” you blurt, already wanting him again. You zip away, flying home. All the while, you slap at your warm cheeks, trying to see if this is a dream, laughing with glee, mind going haywire with heated fantasies. You kissed Nightwing. You basically groped him. And he didn’t stop you. Oh god, wait until you tell Dick. 

The confrontation went better than expected. At worst, you figured Nightwing would shoo you away, reject you. Despite the abrupt ending, he at least seemed… interested? You try not to dwell on it too much. It doesn’t matter.

You’re a Green Lantern. You’re powerful. Willful. He will be yours, someday.

[sleepynovalunosis]

Come on, Sugar, Let Me Know.

contains: public heavy petting, marking, posessive!steve, afab!reader

a/n: y’all can thank rod stewart for this.

you and steve rarely got date nights. running around hawkins, protecting the kids 24/7; you felt like a married couple without the government stamp of approval. tonight was different, though. tonight was the night that you both finally remembered..you're in your youth. why should you be running around all the time? why shouldn't you take some time for yourselves?

so that's how you end up here-back pressed against steve as his arms envelop you, snaking around the front of your torso. one of his arms travels upwards, angled across your chest as his palm holds your shoulder. his other arm travels downwards, tugging you into him by the dip of your waist. your head is lulled back against his shoulder, the music travelling through the bar suddenly muffled. all you can focus on is the way steve breathes into the crook of your neck, brushing against the shell of your ear. you reach your arm up, fingers draping the back of his neck as you pull him in closer.

"hmph--" he murmurs into your flesh, and you can swear it's just shy of a moan. everyone else on the dance floor is to preoccupied with themselves to even notice or care how close you and steve are getting. so when he starts pressing kisses against your shoulder, who are you to stop him? you can't help how good it feels, especially with no one else around. you feel free-like you're both actually acting your age, and not saving hawkins from impending doom for once. besides, a night out certainly wouldn't be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

his pecks grow more sloppy, open-mouthed kisses replacing them. the warmth of his mouth melts you, feeling weak in the knees. you can feel your body relax, feeling like putty in his grasp. he feels it too, tugging you closer to him, tighter. "steve-" you moan, gasping softly as he sucks into the flesh of your neck, feeling that familiar warmth nestle in the pit of your stomach. you feel it flip as he groans into you, nipping and biting your neck, soothing it with kisses after. his hand slides down your hip, fingers slipping under the front of your skirt. you gasp, tensing, “steve-what if someone sees us?” you hiss, feeling his hand travel to your clothed pussy. “who’s gonna see?” he asks, feigning concern. “hm?” he presses, his thumb lazily circling your clit, effortlessly causing you to buckle your knees.

“ah-!” you gasp, and he presses a kiss to your head. he’s right-no one is paying attention. “steve-“ you breathe, gasping for air. you finally writhe from his grasp, spinning around to face him. you study his face as you try to catch your breath, his eyes wild. after a moment, you both break out into laugher of mutual disbelief. how long have you both had this in you? how long have you wanted steve to shamelessly show you off like this? how long has he?

your rosied cheeks are flushed with warmth, his lips cherried and swollen from kissing you so much. his hands meet your cheeks, cupping your face with adoration. “bathroom?” he asks, and you immediately agree, nodding your head rapidly-both of you taking off into a fit of giggles, nearly tripping over your own feet to get there.

[deandoesthingstome]

Exactly What His Heart Meant

Pairing: Pornstar!August Walker x Pornstar!Reader

Summary: August Walker has wanted you forever. You want him, too. It's perfect.

Word Count: 7.4K

Warnings: This is Pornstar!AU, okay? 18+ ONLY Drug and alcohol use, mentions of a three-way, generic anal, bad business practices, oral sex (F & M receiving), vaginal fingering, anal fingering, P in V missionary and doggy style, sex toys, pegging (gasp - yes I'm going there), aftercare. Love.

A/N: I am nervous, okay? This is not your average everyday August Walker, but I love him and I hope you do too. I have been wanting to do this since forever. I've posted a few blurbs in WIP tag games here and here. I gushed about the song that kicked the whole thing into high gear and the fic title is taken from "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" - Rod Stewart. Both songs can be found on the playlist.

Bonus points if you can find the nods to other HC characters. There is definitely one, maybe two or three if you squint hard. (These points don't get you anything, sorry.)

Playlist: Listen to the music of the night on Spotify here.

Header and dividers by me.

August owned his entrance like no other. The studio made sure to send a PA ahead to prep the DJ and once he heard the first strains of “Night Fever” spill out of the club, he stepped out of the shadows and headed to the entrance, ready to start his decent down into the lights and glitter and debauchery as soon as Here I am sounded through the speakers and a spotlight made its way to him.

The already celebratory crowd went wild as he struck the iconic pose and thrust his hips in time to the rhythm. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face if he tried, no matter how he had protested his employer’s choice for him. He would have sworn on any stack of bibles he didn’t like disco and abhorred polyester, yet here he was gyrating away. First time for everything. Starting with enjoying this awards night and after-party.

Each one prior had a story already attached to it from the beginning of the night, starting with his inaugural ceremony and guaranteed newcomer award, and trailing through the end of every relationship he thought would be the one. He finally stopped assuming because they said yes to the event after a few months or more of dating, that meant they were saying yes to him forever. The next few years were brutal and lonely, not that he couldn’t find some starfucker to take home at the end of the night, but that wasn’t what he craved.

Tonight was Club Retro themed. Award ceremony glamor as usual, but a costume change was required somewhere on the way from the venue to the after-party if you wanted to really up your game. Arrive in club gear of whichever era you wanted, but arrive dressed to impress nonetheless. He wasn’t the only actor a studio had convinced to go for the Travolta look, but he was probably the most surprised to find himself exhilarated by it and the attention it received. He kept all three pieces of the white suit, but he ditched the dark blue shirt altogether. Maybe he didn’t have a full head of hair, but the ‘stache and chest hair on display held 70’s swagger and he was running with it. 

He grabbed a glass of champagne from one tray and a pill from another and set off into the crowd in search of the rest of his crew. He caught glimpses of the fresh-faced sweetheart who’d just inked a new deal grinding on the studio’s number two out on the dance floor and knew his plan to link them up had worked. The fans would eat them up, he knew it. 

Knew it better than the owner, who wanted August to break her in. Ethan had begun making some really bad casting and scripting decisions and August was glad his contract was coming to an end. He was starting to feel like he wanted to just blow the whole studio up, let loose with all the bullshit he knew about his boss and how he ran his business. The industry could be awful, plenty of horror stories, but August had initially thought he’d found a place to call home. 

What he’d begun to uncover about Ethan Hunt could fill a manifesto that would take the place down. And as crazy as it sounded, though he was tired of breaking in new talent, he wasn’t ready to be the reason all his friends lost their jobs. Not everyone was in a position to land on their feet. Regardless, at least now, with the sweetheart and the roughneck on a solid trajectory he wouldn’t be in the middle of something if tonight panned out the way he hoped.

Though, to be honest, it wasn’t looking good. He’d found his crew and then scanned the room for her with no luck. 

“She hasn’t shown up yet,” his agent purred in his ear. Kelis was always down to party whenever he had an itch no one else would scratch, and he appreciated how decidedly non-attached she always was. No clingy phone calls or pouting over non-existing anniversaries. It aggravated him, though, that she was looking to seduce him here, tonight of all nights. Especially because she knew where his mind would likely be, but it didn’t stop her from begging for his cock every now and then. He could tell she’d gotten the hint his look gave by the way she toned it way down to answer his next question.

“A few from her studio have shown up but she wasn’t with them and they wouldn’t tell me where she was. It was all very secretive. So at least let me have my way with you on the dance floor if you won’t take me home tonight. Please?”

He relented and found himself having the time of his life. Song after song flew by as he grabbed water then whisky, a line, then water, another line, then whisky, water, whiskey, whisky, water. Dancing with Kelis gave him a chance to forget about his frustration with his studio and everyone, here or not, for the moment. He let himself be free and felt a weightlessness he hadn’t in a long time. No call sheets waiting at home. No scenes to prep. No “scripts” to read. Tonight and the next two weeks were his and his alone. Time for some decisions.

He noticed the crowd had begun to thin, and realized he wanted some fresh air, so he peeled himself away from Kelis with a promise-to-return kiss and tap on the ass. He took the elevator to the rooftop bar and found himself a little amazed at the streaks of light just beginning to emerge in the distance. Time had really flown while he was having fun.

He was about to head towards the drinks when he spotted her leaning against the railing in the opposite direction. The white-golden hair flowing behind her was an obvious wig. He’d seen her step to the stage to accept multiple awards tonight (or is it last night now?) and she had looked just as gorgeous with her natural color as she did all done up in her Farrah waves now. An unexpected jolt of excitement coursed through his veins as he realized she’d also opted for a 70’s look, complete with a scandalously (though by whose standards?) short metallic silver skirt with slits on either side and what he assumed was a matching top, though with her back to him as she peered out over the awakening city, all he really saw where the two thin silver chains that criss-crossed across her back. They looked like they would hold nothing up.

But she was alone and he knew it was now or never, so he strolled around the roof-top pool to step up beside her.

"I’m glad I finally found you. I wanted to congratulate you. It's not often a producer gets awards for both behind and front of camera work," he opened.

She turned her head and beamed a dazzling smile in return before thanking him and offering her own congratulations along with her hand and then a surprisingly friendly hello hug.

“I saw you nailed Best Male Performer and Best Anal again. Your Missionary: Impossible series was a true stroke of genius. I wish I had thought of it first.”

“So she’s not immune,” August thought as he peeled himself away from her warm body. “She remembers my name.” At least she recognized his star status. Maybe she hadn’t forgotten him. He pressed his lips to the back of her hand and trained his eyes on her through his lashes.

“You know I’d love to have you join the cast,” he spoke as he finished the hello hand kiss and lifted his head to gaze directly at her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes that scream ‘spy’ quite as much as yours do.”

“And I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a producer acting for another studio. You’ve got balls to ask, that’s for sure,” she laughed, tossing back the rest of her whisky before grabbing another off the tray passing by.

“Where’ve you been all night? I tried to find you right after the ceremony, but you disappeared and I had to run for a wardrobe change.” August tossed a casual grin and motioned at the cheesiness of his costume, though inside he was kicking himself. 

The point of engaging wasn’t to offer her a part. How ridiculous! He’d been doing that for months now and she wasn’t biting. No. Tonight he was going to get answers. Why had she consistently denied him another shot with her? It had to be more than just the technicalities of trying to untangle ownership and percentages filming another studio’s producer would bring. She broke into his train of thought with an explanation of her quick and sudden departure from the award banquet and why she hadn’t arrived at the after party locale for what had to be at least a few hours.

“Already prepping material for next year. We had a newcomer attend with the studio tonight. He’s an absolute stud. Looking to get his name out there so we filmed his first scene backstage.”

August’s hopeful heart sank a little. He couldn’t expect her not to keep putting out material just because his advances might finally be successful, but it would take all his cool charm and guile to woo her if she was already cock-drunk tonight. He put out another feeler.

“You look well put back together already,” he commented, eyes tracing her figure with obvious intent.

“Oh not me. No, I was directing. Looking to nab that ‘behind the scene newcomer’ award next year,” she beamed, her smile still welcoming. “No, Mikey did a little gonzo three-way for his first official movie with Darkk Angel. We’re releasing it next week after a quick trip to post and then have him lined up for three more scenes next month. I’m wondering if we can talk AVN into a “most prolific” award.” Her laughter was infectious and he found himself with a wide grin, verging on goofy in spite of his aim.

“You’ve never directed? How have I missed that?” August sought to focus attention away from whoever this Mikey kid was and back on her completely, then mentally kicked himself again for admitting something that could only make him look desperate and maybe a little creepy. From his statement, and along with all the official asks from his agent, she had to think he was a stalker, completely obsessed with her. 

Not that he wasn’t. Not since that very first time. Her “first’ anal scene. He understood she had to be a little overwhelmed at that shoot with so many people on set. She had clearly already fucked the director (for a scene) and was now just taking on a few actors who were already on a rise. It was his last commitment to the old studio and then he was off to a new contract with Hunt. God, he wished he could have taken her with him. As it was, the only thing he kept was her scent that lingered not long enough.

"You know, I've asked my agent about another scene with you more times than any other actor. He never has a good enough reason to tell me no. What gives?" August inquired.

She debated telling him the truth. That she was completely enamored of him despite, only having met once, and afraid to ruin her own fantasy. Yes, she thought about him often. She’d be lying if she said otherwise.

But what if he refused her counter-offers? What if he didn't play the way she had come to discover she wanted sometimes, needed even?

She could accept if his big dick in her pussy or ass was all he'd agree to again for one scene. But she wanted more. More than a scene. More than a spectacle.

"Industry's hottest stars finally fucking again!" she imagined the trade headlines would scream, not bothering to temper her own ego about her status.

And which studio got the rights? His or hers? Of course she would never give up the rights to those shots, those stills, that video. It had been years since any studio other than the one she owned had any rights to any images of her. Why August Walker didn't make the same professional move she had was beyond her, but at least she could play the upper hand if it came down to it. It was power to own the rights to your own material and that power trumped his studio contracts. Or at least she'd make that case. Plus Ethan Hunt was a little bitch and she’d be damned if she contributed to his profits in any way.

Still, she couldn’t get past the concern that having his big dick in her ass again would ruin her for anyone else ever again. It wasn't the size. Hell, she'd had two almost equal to him in there just the other day.

No. It was the fantasy. Not only what she already knew of his prowess, though if she’d improved over time, and she knew she had, he had to have gotten better too. But also what she imagined she knew based on the stories she'd heard. Stories about his true personality as well as the image she made up in her head based on tidbits of their past and innuendos of his present.

On set, she'd heard he’d become a bit of a prick. Even worse when the storyline called for Daddy. Not that it didn't make her wet to watch. And daydream about. Calling him Daddy, mmmm.

Except that wasn't her. Not her kink. Not her need. Not really.

And off set? Well, lips are usually loose in the industry, but somehow very few factual stories about dating August Walker were out there. Most of what she'd heard was easily dispelled rumor.

No, he wasn't into animal play. Either kind. Good.

No, he didn't force his partners to sleep in separate rooms after finishing. Why would someone even start that rumor? To what end? 

Her private private detective had tracked down the source and verified quickly. It was a little bit of column a, a little bit of column b. The studio was looking to cash in on the mystery and intrigue of their dashing playboy, and a jilted date wanted more. Who wouldn't want more of him? But that choice was self-sabotaging to say the least.

She was well aware that some women, and men for that matter, liked to imagine their favorite actor to be the world's largest asshole. No, not that way. 

That was the way she liked to imagine him. And the basis for her declination. He'd never say yes. She was sure of it.

And yet here he was. Blushing at the mere mention. Maybe she should have countered with that when he first started seeking her out. But she hadn't been ready to give up the rush she felt every time a message from Hunt Club studios appeared in her inbox.

August felt the heat rise in his cheeks and knew someone out there would say he was blushing, but August Walker does not blush.

As she leaned in, he swiped another surreptitious peek at her gorgeous and barely covered tits, though he was so smooth no one could have seen this time. Not that it mattered. He was right about the thin silver chains holding onto barely anything up front. Where she found tissue paper thin metallic material, he had no idea but her nipples showed through what little fabric there was making up the plunging neckline of the deep-vee tank, as if they weren’t also practically peeking out of the top as it was. She had them on display for a reason. But he was trying to make a move here. Trying to differentiate himself from the rest of the industry players and hangers-on hoping for a hook-up after the awards.

Champagne and liquor had flowed all night, powder cut, pills popped. He was tipsy but it was really the sunrise inching its way into the sky behind her, here on this rooftop bar next to the pool full of drunken, naked bodies, and the angelic halo circling the crown of her head that had him staring back into her eyes in no time, enraptured. Well, that and her reply.

“I have certain … desires that I’m not convinced you’d be amenable to and I didn’t want to alienate you.”

He went on to ask, no - insist, she explained her terms, right here right now. And she obliged, clarifying that she didn’t intend to be filmed at all. That her interest in climbing into bed with him was related only to the burning desire she’d felt to track him down, beg him for more, practically every day since that shoot. And the thing that convinced her not to bother was the never ending stream of talent she’d seen draped around him months, years later. 

But she wouldn’t, couldn’t deny that she wanted him. Wanted to relive that moment and then build on it. Take the scene farther than was written. Fuck him right off the page and into her life forever. It was indescribable the way he felt listening to her narrate her desire to own him. She was only mentioning the bedroom, but he got the feeling she meant the heart as well.

Still, she was being mysterious with the details, so August began to mention specifics. What he wouldn’t do.

"I won't lick your boots," he'd said with a grin after a shorter than expected list, still wavering on if he actually meant to convey the opposite.

"Maybe not," she replied before leaning in and whispering in his ear as he tilted down to meet her. It was clear from her next sentence that she’d finally figured out he’d say yes. He was practically begging for it right here in front of these few end-of-the evening stragglers. "But you will take every inch of me."

Negotiations had already begun and this was just ink on the dotted line. Along with a string of consent questions with compatible answers and now she knew his safeword and he knew hers. It wasn’t what it used to be. Because things can change. But not his desire for her.

He brushed past her non-binding handshake and drew her in for a confirmation kiss, hands gently pulling her waist towards him. “You still smell the same. It drives me crazy,” he admitted before pressing his lips to hers with a smile. Then he broke the kiss, which had begun to turn lascivious even for the nature of the event, afraid they’d never make it off the roof-top if he didn’t.

He gave a deceptively shy smile and knowing nod to Kelis as he passed her on his way out with the true object of his desire draped along his arm.

She sent her limo off with whatever crew was left at the party before climbing into the back of his. They had no sooner pulled away from the curb and begun to make their way to his hi-rise apartment building than the driver’s shield went up and she went down, unzipping his trousers and slipping her hand in to coax him out. 

She had gotten incredibly better at sucking dick in these interim years. But it was like she was finally home. Like her mouth opened magically around him to hold him close and taste his skin. It took everything in his power not to blow his load down her throat in the car. He wanted to be in her pussy when he came and there wasn’t much he wanted more at this moment.

He managed to pull her off and get her back on the seat, legs spread and ready to take his shoulders as he slipped his tongue deep inside her core. Moving the floss she’d bothered to pull on out of his way wasn’t hard in the least. He had her screaming by the time the limo pulled up outside his building.

August draped his suit jacket over her shoulders before he helped her out of the car and into the lobby. When the elevator doors closed around them, she turned and pressed him back into the wall, staring up at him with hunger and power equally.

“That’s the last time you call the shots tonight. I’m taking my shoes off as soon as we walk in your door, so you can’t accuse me of asking you to lick my boots. But you will be on your knees and you will put your mouth back on my pussy and do that one more time before anything else happens tonight. Understood?”

He stared down at her with amusement that morphed into understanding that ended in solemnity before the ding at his floor broke the silence.

“Yes ma’am,” he finally replied, resigned to her whim. He opened the lock with practiced ease, nothing shaking out of fear but only vibrating with anticipation. How had he missed her meaning all those years ago? 

“I wish I could show you how this feels,” she’d whispered in his ear as he held her chest tight against his. “But it’s nothing compared to how it feels from behind.”

At the time he thought she had meant for him to turn her around, still on top of him but back to chest. So he did. And she liked it. She came like a banshee and that squeeze is something they can’t fake. That’s what wins the awards anyway. The audience knows it’s acting, but when they can tell it’s something the actor actually wants, when the chemistry is kinetic, the high is so much higher. 

Clearly she’d had so much more in mind. When she came back down, he made sure to check the front door lock before he turned back to scoop her quivering body into his arms and carry her down the hall to his bedroom.

“Don’t think I’m anywhere near done with you just because I’m a wreck right now,” she called to him as he set her onto his bed. “Where are you going?”

“I would never think you’d consider that enough for an evening. I want to freshen up, if you don’t mind. May I?” August quirked an eyebrow awaiting her response and it was clear he’d come right back to the bed if she forbade it. No questions asked. But she allowed it and that only made him ache for her more. He’d be quick.

“Damn right you will!” she called out after him before ridding herself of her own garments. 

Her hand must have found its way to the soaking mess between her legs and this is how August found her when he stepped out of the bathroom a very short while later, rubbing a towel over his head after peeling it off his body. He watched her luxuriate in the slippery slide feel of her fingers dipping in and out, rubbing, pinching, pumping, pumping, pumping.

He dipped carefully onto the bed. He had no desire to startle her out of her joy, he only wanted to witness it up close. He crawled alongside her and watched as her chest heaves softened and listened as her sighs became longer. When she finally opened her eyes on a deep inhale, he smiled at her.

“May I join you?” So respectful.

“Kiss me,” she commanded, and while he heeded she lifted his arm and guided his hand between her legs. “And touch me,” she whispered into his mouth. 

He obeyed. His fingers drifted through her folds and made use of the slick that remained to press up into her. One, two, one, two. And now three. And now she’s grinding up against his hand and breaking the kiss to demand more and he’s giving it to her but it’s not enough, is it?

“More,” she cried out. “Fuck me, August.”

He was grateful at that moment for two revelations from the rooftop. He already knew his own status, testing often despite Hunt’s lackadaisical studio regulations. But she had shared that her studio adopted the standard of routine and regular testing early on and therefore she knew exactly what her status was, too. And, coupled with the fact that she had the implant, she had no qualms going bare. All these things led to the next thing he was grateful for and that was the feel of her pussy wrapped all the way around him as he slipped his prodigious cock deep inside her. 

He mused he could do this all night. Or rather all day and into the night, when the moon began to rise again. Because it wasn’t night at all. It was broad daylight now and it was streaming in through the mirrored windows. Nobody could see it, even if they did find themselves on level with the height of his apartment. But no curtains meant he could see the way the sunlight brightened her face and it made him want to see all of her.

“Will you take it off, too?” he asked, staring down at her while he pistoned his hips into hers and felt her open and warm around him. “Please?”

He wasn’t used to begging. As much as he wasn’t a blusher, he definitely wasn’t a beggar but he found himself wanting to do anything for her and she wanted him to beg. Or at least ask nicely. And he wanted to obey. For the first time, maybe ever, August Walker wasn’t in charge.

She obliged and pulled the wig off easily. It wasn’t even pinned on, there was so much bang to cover the cap. All that meant was she was able to free her natural hair with ease and he was thankful. Now she lay bare before him and he got to take a good long, up close and personal look before she took it all away.

Faster than he would have preferred she slipped back and eased him out, but turned just as quickly to take him in her mouth. August let his eyes fall closed while he relished the feeling of her mouth around his cock again, but just when it started feeling really good, it also started feeling too good. If she continued he was going to come and he really meant it when he decided he wanted to be inside her for that. And not her mouth.

“Please,” it was practically a whisper. She almost hadn’t heard. But she let go with a pop and asked.

“What was that?”

“Please,” he begged again, raspy but with sound this time, voice hitching as she took him back in her mouth for just the briefest of sucks.

“What are you asking for?”

When he pleaded again with a cracked voice, she smiled as she let go.

“What is it, August? Huh? What do you want? Or not want?”

“Please…please don’t.” he stuttered as she continued to toy with him. Dick in and then out of his mouth with no concern for his predicament.

“Say it, August. Ask nicely.”

“Don’t make me come,” he begged, even as she sank to wrap her lips around him once more. “Please.”

“If that’s what you want. You only have to ask. Nicely.” She was so proud of him and he could feel that. Could tell she’d do anything for him. And let him do anything for her.

“Let me fuck you,” he asked. “Please. Just ….”

“Don’t bother saying it, you and I both know 5 minutes turns into 20 in no time,’ she laughed with him as she lay back with her legs spread wide for him. He stayed kneeling between her legs and watched her face explode with pleasure as he rocked deep and strong inside of her. He wasn’t trying to overcome her, wasn’t looking to establish any kind of dominance. Not on purpose at least. Because the fact of the matter was, that no matter how much he wanted to let her be in charge, it just came so naturally to him. It was hard to drop that mantle. Especially while fucking into her and watching her fall apart around him.

Then she shook her head and through sheer will, dragged herself back from the precipice to snake an arm up his chest, fingers drifting to his neck and drawing him down against her. 

“Kiss me again, August,” she commanded and he obliged with no hesitation. It wasn’t that he couldn’t resist and instead put her right back in the trance his cock had caused, but he didn’t want to. They’d agreed on this night. Agreed what it would mean. He was finally getting what he’d craved all these years. And so was she.

Their tongues tangled while his fingertips traveled over velvety skin, her legs wrapped around hips, his thick member pistoned in and out of her wet and slippery cunt that she controlled so well. She hadn’t been wrong. August imagined he could stay like this forever if she’d let him, drowning in her glory, ego stroked with every gasp and whimper and cry of hers. It was music to his ears. He’d heard enough fake moans and pants over the years to know what the real thing sounded like and he never wanted to give it up.

When he felt her squeeze tight around him for the second time, he began to slow, sure that more than twenty minutes had passed but completely uninterested in confirming his suspicion. No, he wanted her on her knees again.

“Can I have you from behind?” he murmured in her ear after kissing his way along her cheek and neck. “Just for 5 minutes.”

She could feel his grin, but before she could compose an appropriate response, he’d shifted, changed tempo and hit a different spot that had her howling and fighting the urge to beg him for more. Even then brief respite she’d have while they switched positions should allow her to gather her wits and tamp down her desire to just let him rail her into the next day. Because tonight was for something more. So she pushed him back away from her, flipped and pulled herself to all fours while crawling towards the center of the bed.

With a seductive glance over her shoulder, she called to him, “Come and get it, stud.”

Five minutes in heaven. That’s all she was going to allow him. She pressed her chest down into the bed and let him drag her hips into the air, flesh captured under his strong fingers. She screamed into the sheets as August directed her pleasure with practiced skill and just when she felt she couldn’t hold on any longer, he slipped a saliva-coated thumb into her ass and sent her reeling. He’d timed it perfectly. 

“You’re done,” she fought through her haze to flip to her back and clarify. “We still have a deal, right?”

She watched him stroking himself lazy and slow to stay hard while his eyes blinked shut with relief almost involuntarily. 

“Yes,” he replied, his exhale full of yearning. “Will you show me?”

“Show you what, August? Hmm?” she asked with a tilt of her head, pleased he was finally ready to give in to what he’d already agreed to back on that rooftop.

“Show me how it feels.” It wasn’t a question, yet still not a command. He’d never dare to command her. Not until she was ready for him to. And that wasn’t tonight.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that since we met.”

All those years. All that time. August closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and told himself it’s fine. It’ll be fine. He pulled back a bit from the ledge that he wanted to step over for missing her meaning all along. As if she could read his mind, she spoke from somewhere that felt like a dream.

“I’m glad you waited though. I wasn’t ready either. I was trying to get over my nerves and thought a little brazen tease directed at the top talent on set would help. But I’ve discovered I really do like sharing that experience, knowing I can make a man feel the way he makes me feel. Make him understand how much better it is when it's from someone who cares."

When he opened his eyes, she was pulling herself up to her knees to meet him. He felt her hands trace along his chest as she pressed her lips to his. It was almost sweet, but definitely a relief. She really did want this as much as he did.

For a mini-eternity, they let their tongues tangle and hands roam. August shivered as her nails traced down his back with the perfect dig and smiled into her lips as he thought about the red lines he’d be left with the next day. He cradled the nape of her neck as even on knees he towered over her and let a hand drift down the soft skin of her side and around her waist to cup her ass.

When her hands finally landed in the same spot on him, he felt another layer of tension release as she caressed and squeezed each cheek with passion. She broke the kiss and nuzzled down his chest, landing on her elbows before him. With eagerness, she took hold of his still invigorated member, gave a few soft strokes, and then put him back in her warm, wet, inviting mouth. 

But this blowjob had an ulterior motive that August felt as soon as it turned sloppy and her saliva began to drip and pool around him. With a now slick hand, she slipped her fingers off the base of his cock and in between his legs, tracing past the waxed-bare skin off his balls and teasing his entrance.

She circled and smoothed and kneaded until he finally felt a finger ease past the first ring of muscle and he had to put a hand on her head to slow the bob that was already threatening to pull his orgasm too soon. Surely she didn’t want that, did she?

August dropped his head back with a groan of pleasure as she let her spit drop onto her fingers again before pressing a second digit inside, just beginning to open him up to all her possibilities. It already felt so, so good. If this was all she did for him, it was worth it, but not really what he wanted. He’d had a few other lovers tease him like this, but he always stopped them short, still too nervous to let them go all the way to where he needed.

He’d kept this part of himself secret, shared it with no one, tested it only when alone. He knew it was stupid to hide this craving, especially given how exposed he allowed himself to be on film. But this was something different. Something personal. Private. That’s what he told himself. And he let his stature in the industry dictate the type of man he was in a bedroom, with a woman but without the cameras, for far too long.

His head was spinning as her tongue licked his length and her fingers teased and touched. She was pressing and pushing deeper and when she finally found his spot it took every ounce of willpower to maintain composure. He still wanted more of her, still didn’t want to come yet.

It dawned on him then that she hadn’t brought an overnight bag with change of clothes for the morning or toys for the evening. Just her ridiculously sexy wisp of an outfit and a tiny clutch that couldn’t have hidden even a bottle of lube, let alone the tool she needed to fulfill their bargain. She’d promised him he’d take every inch of her. Could she really have meant only this? Was she expecting him to come as she beckoned inside him?

“I can hear your thoughts, August” she purred up at him with a smile, mouth off his dick, but fingers still toying with him. “I don’t want to stop here either. I’m sure you can help me out, can’t you?”

She felt him tense and knew he was weighing the pros and cons of admitting what she had guessed when he agreed to take her home immediately without offering to make a stop along the way. August had his own equipment. No doubt about it.

“It’s okay,” she soothed, removing her fingers completely and returning to her knees to kiss him hard and deep before speaking to him on his level. “You don’t have to hide anymore. Show me what you need.” 

She watched the seas of his eyes storm with fear before settling into calm as she held his gaze with no judgment, no mockery. She kissed him again, licked into the space between his lips and felt the passion as he held her tight, almost holding on for his life while he kissed her back.

When he finally broke free, he stepped back off the bed and opened the nightstand to remove a bottle of lube before he moved across the room to a mirrored armoire. He opened the doors and removed a sleek, black box which he brought back to place slowly on the nightstand, clearly deep in thought. And then he hesitated, hands resting on the lid of the box, head down.

“I don’t…” he started, and she felt a small ache in her heart. She had never seen him so vulnerable. Not that she spent much time alone with him at all, but this was truly a side she hadn’t quite expected after everything she knew about him.

“We can take our time, August,” she spoke with a careful tone and no desire to spook him. He remained still and she felt reassured he wasn’t running, not in his mind or his body. When he spoke, she had to stifle a small laugh for fear she would send him running from misplaced shame.

“I only mean, I don’t have a harness for you.” He turned, fingertips of only one hand still on the closed box, eyes scanning hers for understanding. And she understood completely.

She moved closer to the edge of the bed and grinned at him. “Oh, August. Oh baby, this is what has you worried? You think I can’t make it good for you if I’m not wearing it?” She watched this new layer of tension begin to melt away as he registered her words. “August Walker, I meant what I said and I can’t wait to fuck you however I can. And believe me, I know how to make it good.”

She waited for him to relax, to speak, to return to his usual manner and let her back in. Then she took a calculated breath, dropped the timbre of her voice, and called to him.

“And you’re going to let me, aren’t you August?”

Her eyes dropped just in time to see the twitch in his still hard-cock and she knew he was back and ready to let her have him. He flipped the lid to the lacquer box with one finger and revealed a small treasure trove of devices, any of which she’d be thrilled to treat him with. With no idea how prepared he really was, she let him choose. 

“Will you start with this?” August handed her not the smallest, but not the largest either and she accepted willingly. “It’s been a minute.”

With complete understanding she led him back into bed on his knees before grabbing the lube from the nightstand and setting about her business. Kisses first. Deep and hungry. She wanted his tongue down her throat and he obliged while she held the dildo and lube in one hand and stroked his rock hard cock with the other. 

Before too long, she’d dropped the toy to the bed and flipped the lid to the tube, using proprioception to drop several dollops onto her open hand before reaching between his spread legs while still commanding his kiss. Her fingers smoothed the viscous fluid over his entrance and dipped a little in with a finger before she reached for the prosthetic and smeared the rest around the tip and down the base.

Her lips left his reluctantly as she ordered him to hands and knees while she maneuvered behind him. With practiced skill, she massaged and manipulated her fingers inside him once more, listening for the moans and groans that told her he was ready for her to place the tip alongside a finger and ease the toy inside. She watched him carefully, moving slowly and waiting for him to relax fully before she slipped the whole thing in and he took it with the sweetest grunt.

“You’re doing so good for me, August. Just like I knew you would. Does it feel good?” she questioned, while gently pulling and pushing, twisting and pressing, smiling when he answered in the affirmative. With each motion she listened for the sounds that would tell her where and how it felt best and she was quick to learn his needs.

“Fuck…just like that,” he begged and hitched back into her, already wanting more.

“Impatient,” she teased lightly as she shifted to the side so she could both lean over to capture his lips again and still work the toy in and out of his slowly writhing body. She kept him wanting, shifting the speed and direction, for as long as he could last before he finally begged for the real thing.

She left him face down and ass up while she switched gear, careful to add more lube to both him and the larger phallus. But when she was ready to finally give him what he wanted, she paused for just a moment to consider orientation. She was certain positioning him to face the mirror would be too much for this first time together, but there would be others, she was sure now.

Other times to see the exquisite pain she knew would soon drip down his face as she wielded the apparatus and gave him every inch he asked for. She ran a hand up his back and grabbed onto his shoulder for more leverage as she worked him into a frenzy. He was bucking back into her and the moans that drifted from his lips were music to her ears. All the practice and care she’d taken, learning how to please a lover this way were paying off.

She knew how it felt, knew how he was riding each high and low. Watched him relax into his pleasure, at times letting her control him completely before he shifted his hips and dug into the bed with hands and knees to find purchase that would allow him to grind hard onto the sizable dildo she brandished with expertise. She’d go all night like this if he wanted.

As his circuits finally broke, she could see the waves of pleasure begin to ripple along his spine. He was coming furiously hard, perhaps harder than he had in a long time, no matter how many uses this toy of his had gotten on his own. She was that good at sensing and feeling and pushing and pulling exactly how and when and where he needed.

And August definitely needed. That much was abundantly clear as he collapsed fully to the bed, panting and gasping for air as he rode the waves of his lingering orgasm. She could see him twitching and knew the feeling because it was exactly how she felt after everyone of the orgasms he’d given her tonight. Like an explosion of sensation she never wanted to come down from and she’d given that to him finally.

She left him to catch his breath and stepped to the bathroom to run warm water over a soft washcloth and grab a fresh towel on the way back. When he was cleaned and dry, she tucked into the covers with him and pulled him to her, guiding his head to her chest.

“You feel okay? Need anything else right now?” she asked him quietly as her hand drifted up and down his back.

“I wanted to come inside you,” August admitted with an exhausted sigh.

“We’re gonna have a lifetime of that.”

Everything HC Taglist: If this isn't your thing, no hard feelings? (as always, let me know if you want on or off; if you've asked and your aren't here, try me again but know that Tumblr sometimes doesn't let me tag everyone.)

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[thatsrightice]

THE GREAT ‘GATOR COUP

aka that one time the navigators of the 100th BG “got rid” of Crosby’s intended replacement as Group Navigator because they thought he was actually insane, as told by Harry Crosby in his memoir, A Wing and a Prayer

“As I saw it after my study at Oxford, Bennett and Jeffrey had changed the 100th from its original hot fly-boy individuals to 20th-century work-together warfare. From Romanticism to neo-Classicist. History in the making.

I was tired of being part of history. I wanted to go home. Let the new guy take over.

The replacement on tap for me was a captain named Leafy Hill. That is really not his name because I have resolved never to reveal the true names of officers and enlisted men whom I did not admire. War does bad things even to good people. Many of the misfits, the incompetent, the exploitive, and the cowardly whom I met at Thorpe Abbotts have gone on to put together good lives, have had good jobs and good families. I choose not to reopen old wounds.

Leafy thought he was the Group Navigator from the day he walked onto the base. He immediately scheduled himself as the command navigator on the next mission. I hit the sky and stormed into Jeff's office.

"Even command pilots fly high squadron lead on their first missions. I want to know what Leafy Hill can do before I put him up in front."

This was my first encounter with Jeff. He smiled, and talked with me the same way Charlie Via did, Virginia talk.

"Okay, don't pull the hoose down. The 100th is flying low in the wing. In the nose with a good lead crew navigator, he can't foul up too much."

When the planes came back, the crew with whom Leafy had flown were wild.

"The guy is off his rocker. He yelled over intercom all during the mission. From takeoff to landing." The crew navigator was shaken.

"That screwball actually wanted us to abort when we were on the bomb run. I think he wanted to make the run alone so he could get some kind of medal. I won't fly with him again."

I checked Leafy's log. His ETA's and routes were a tangle of misinformation. He claimed to have seen fighters and flak not reported by any other navigators.

I read the lead crew pilot's official report: "A five-hour trip. Major Rosenthal was command pilot and Captain Hill went along as second navigator. The mission was good as far as the leading went, but Captain Hill screwed up our bomb run. Our navigator gave me a 68-degree heading from the Initial Point to the target which would have been swell, but Leafy said the target was at one o'clock and the bombardier swung over as he ordered. Then he saw the target back at ten o'clock. By the time he got his course correction killed his rate was over and we messed up the run. So that's what one man can do to mess up the works."

In no time every navigator at Thorpe Abbotts was sure that Captain Leafy Hill was nuts.

But I could go home if he became the Group Navigator.

I did not have to solve the problem myself.

I was long overdue for a pass, and I decided that a London trip to see Landra Wingate might clear my head.

When I returned to the base, I heard quite a story.

One of the really great command navigators, Stewart Gillison, decided after he finished his tour that he wanted to stay in England. I welcomed him into Group Headquarters as my chief assistant. I could trust him with briefings.

Stew was not your normal guy. Under the circumstances of war, none of us were exactly level on course, but Stew was really something. At night, when he went to bed, instead of turning out the light, he shot it out with his 45 revolver. The ceiling of his room looked like a sieve, and the batman had to put in a new bulb every day.

When I got back from London, Leafy Hill was gone.

Stew had assigned Leafy Hill to fly as fill-in navigator with a crew Stew himself had flown with before he became lead. The crew flew out on the mission and came back.

Except that Leafy Hill was not with them.

When I asked Stew Gillison what happened to Leafy Hill, he said with deference unusual for him, "Major Crosby, I suggest that you don't ask."

I did ask. The pilot wouldn't tell me. The bombardier wouldn't tell me. But the copilot did.

Stew, their former navigator, instructed the crew what to do.

After the target when the group was at the R.P, a gunner called out, "We've been hit!"

That part of it was true, but that was standard. To some degree, we were almost always hit by flak over the target. Sometimes it hit the crew, and we died or we got Purple Hearts, but usually the flak only jarred the plane.

"We really weren't hit at all. The pilot only waggled the wings." The copilot continued the story.

This is what he said happened.

"Okay, pilot to crew, prepare to bail out. See you in Stalag."

"Roger, pilot." This was a chorus from the entire crew.

The pilot rang the alarm bell.

Whoosh! Out went, not all ten of the crew, but just Leafy Hill. He wasn't in on the joke.

When I heard the story I thought it was funny.

Leafy spent the rest of the Air War in Europe in a prison camp, wondering what happened to the rest of the crew.

And I spent the rest of the Air War in Europe as Group Navigator of the Bloody 100th.”

[timeagainreviews]

Dust and Darkness Prevail

Panspermia is the theory that human life was seeded by comets, asteroids, meteoroids, and space dust falling to Earth. Directed panspermia is the idea that an unknown third party purposely seeded life onto this planet through similar means. These are perhaps the most ancient of aliens. For whatever reason, be it propagation, a future food source, or simply contamination from an explorer’s boot, somehow, we were created.  It’s easy to see why mankind looked to the stars for parentage- we are made of star stuff, after all. As our understanding of the stars grew, so did our desire to understand them in relation to ourselves. Staring down the concept of being a mere dust mote floating within sunbeams, some of us began to wonder if the Gods we abandoned weren’t actually a different form of sky daddy. In the words of Giorgio A. Tsoukalos- “Aliens.”

Science fiction has a rich history of depicting ancient Gods as alien lifeforms. Doctor Who is no different. Sometimes these extra-terrestrial visitors are used to explain odd phenomena, and other times, they’ve been used to outright undermine the achievements of ancient civilisations. One of the most popular ancient alien theories is that aliens helped build the pyramids. Some Egyptian-themed polyhedron-obsessed aliens influenced ancient Egyptian culture. You can see it in movies like Stargate, or in television stories like the 1975 Doctor Who serial “Pyramids of Mars.” Recent books like Erich Von Daniken’s scientifically dubious “Chariots of the Gods,” or numerous documentaries narrated by Rod Serling had garnered interest in ancient astronauts. A year after “Pyramids of Mars,” aired, NASA released photos from their Viking 1 orbiter that would only feed these theories. The black and white photos of the Cydonia region appeared to depict a carved facelike structure and gigantic pyramids on the planet’s surface. Needless to say, some people let their imaginations run wild.

While many of the concepts explored in the History Channel’s “Ancient Aliens,” have been labelled pseudo-science or even racist, some of these concepts still crop up in popular media. A more benign example would be Marvel’s own Thor and Loki. Sure, they call them Gods, but they are very clearly from advanced alien civilisations. It feels appropriate then that Doctor Who returning with Disney money might also explore one of its own ancient aliens in Sutekh the Destroyer. Considering the build-up with the Toymaker and the Maestro, it all seems fairly obvious in hindsight. But what does this have to do with Ruby Sunday? In seeking out her own parentage, might she also benefit from looking to the stars?

One aspect to this season of Doctor Who that I feel has actually fallen a bit flat is the question of Ruby Sunday’s parents. Considering that the fandom has been interacting more with the question of the identity of Susan Twist’s character, it’s safe to say I’m not alone in this. It’s just not a very interesting question, and I think it’s partly because we already know the answer. Doctor Who’s official Twitter recently asked fans who they think Ruby’s mother really is, and only a few people actually got the answer right. It’s Carla Sunday, obviously. I find this whole question to be as flawed as the conversation around it. Ruby uses words like “abandoned,” to describe herself. And while I can understand the desire to know your roots, I know my adopted siblings were never abandoned. They were found. They have a family who love them. My mother who was also adopted had a mother in my grandma. My greatest hope with this storyline is that this is what Russell T Davies has been leading up to all along. Ruby’s real mother is the one who changed her diapers and cleaned up scraped knees.

Speaking of family, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” begins like a bit of a family reunion. Yasmin Finney is back as “Rose.” As are Gemma Redgrave as “Kate Lethbridge-Stewart,” Bonnie Langford as “Mel,” and Alexander Devrient as “Colonel Christofer Ibrahim.” Also returning is the Vlinx, with a shiny new chassis. Strangely absent is Ruth Madeley as UNIT’s scientific advisor “Shirley Anne Bingham." In her place is Lenny Rush as “Morris Gibbons,” a boy genius with a taste for excitement. We’re also introduced to Harriet, UNIT’s newest lead archivist. More on her later. The light tone of this family reunion is much needed as the majority of this episode is Doctor Who at its most bleak.

Something I have completely failed to mention this season has been the TARDIS’ weird groaning. It’s not as though I hadn’t noticed, there have just been so many things to talk about lately. I had meant to bring it up last week when the Doctor told Rogue the TARDIS doesn’t like bounty hunters. I figured then that it was the Doctor ignoring a bigger problem. Speaking of which, it does strike me as a bit odd that the Doctor hadn’t addressed the issue for such a long time. The TARDIS has been groaning and sliding into landings like a football tackle. I understand that the Doctor has a lot on his mind, but it would have been nice if they could have shown the Doctor showing any kind of concern for the TARDIS. He’s been flying her for thousands of years, he would notice any slight change. This isn’t a huge issue for me, though it does feel a bit out of character. But who am I to complain? Even I forgot to bring it up.

The Doctor does have a lot on his mind, which is what brings him to UNIT HQ. It was nice to see the Doctor lay all of his cards on the table for a change. You don’t often see the Doctor outright asking for help. Luckily, UNIT was already on the case. The woman the Doctor keeps seeing also exists in modern-day London as Susan Triad. I found it a bit odd that the Doctor would know a politician from an aborted timeline like Roger ap Gwilliam, but not a tech industry giant with her name on a skyscraper. Even Colonel Ibrahim recognised it as an anagram of TARDIS, so what gives, Doctor? 

Part of their gathering intelligence on Susan Triad has been using Mel to infiltrate her organisation. When I had heard they were bringing back Mel, I was excited. Mel has never been a fan favourite, and even I took a lot of time to warm up to her in classic Doctor Who. But bringing her back feels like a no-brainer. She’s a tech whiz and Bonnie Langford is a great actress. There is only room to grow with her character, and grow she does. Not only have they given her a bit more backstory with losing her family, but we also get to see her acting as a double agent and puttering about on her scooter. Seeing Mel in this capacity is a delight. I am really enjoying how they have built up UNIT to be more like the ‘70s (or was it the ‘80s?) with recurring characters. Instead of Yates and Benton, we’ll now have Ibrahim and Sullivan. I really hope they continue this trend, though I would appreciate it if they stopped haemorrhaging scientific advisors.

Despite around-the-clock surveillance, the most UNIT has managed to gather on Susan Triad is that she’s a seemingly nice human woman with no underlying alien traits. Her company’s upcoming event will announce that she is making the Triad OS free to the world, which seems like a weird flex. Ubuntu and Fedora are both free operating systems, so this is nothing new. What’s even more perplexing is that UNIT would integrate Triad into their own systems. Call me crazy, but if I were a government organisation spying on a tech giant because their name is an anagram of an alien time machine, I might opt to use Windows or Mac. The whole storyline was giving shades of “The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky,” or even “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” wherein miracle technologies are secretly deadly. We still don’t know the ramifications of the Triad system’s worldwide rollout, but I imagine we’ll find out next week.

Something a friend pointed out to me that feels important happens during the Mrs Flood scene. According to Kate, the Triad press conference was scheduled for fifteen hundred hours, or 3 pm. What’s odd is that when Ruby and Rose show up to Ruby’s home, Cherry’s digital clock reads 15:08. At first, I had misremembered this scene and figured it must take place during the events at UNIT HQ, but the inclusion of Ruby and Rose implies that it’s not. I can think of three possible explanations for this. One explanation is that it was a continuity error. The production crew simply goofed. It happens. Another explanation is that Cherry’s radio is like my coffee machine in that the digital time display is incorrect. That’s possibly the most human answer. But television doesn’t often allow for such realistic discrepancies as they can confuse audiences. Seriously, how often do you see fictional stories where two characters share the name John? One of my closest friends is also named Natalie, but that wouldn’t usually work in fiction. This leaves us with a third explanation which is that it was done on purpose. Either something wibbly wobbly is happening, or they goofed.

As expected, Mrs Flood appears to be someone. With the reveal of Susan Triad being Sutekh, my hopes of the Rani have been dashed against the rocks of reality. Or have they? In explaining regeneration to Ruby, the Doctor describes it as a way to hide away with a new face. When Ruby fetches Mrs Flood to mind Cherry while Carla joins them back at UNIT, Mrs Flood mentions hiding herself away. While Mrs Flood was a bit rude to Ruby and downright hostile toward Cherry, these could be the actions of a bitter Susan Foreman, aka the Doctor’s granddaughter. However, I am reticent to call her Susan for a couple or reasons. For starters, Carole Ann Ford was present at the premiere for the 60th anniversary specials. Sure this could have simply been due to her history with the show, but it could also imply she’s been filming things for the RTD2 era. You could speculate that the only thing she actually filmed was a flashback regeneration scene into Mrs Flood, but that feels like a waste of a much-needed reunion. My money is on the Rani, but mostly because I want her to be and because Carole Ann Ford deserves her moment. If they bring Susan back, there’s only one person I want to see play her.

Ruby and Rose fetch the surveillance tape from the night Ruby was left on that church stoop. I loved that Carla joined them the moment she learned that Donna was involved with UNIT. It’s nice to see that at least one character hasn’t forgotten who Ruby’s real mother is. This also gave rise to one of my favourite Doctor moments of the episode when he says "Yeah but it’s Carla. Come on," in response to the claim that not even the prime minister has access to UNIT HQ. I loved the exchange between the Doctor and Kate about their possession of a time window. They claim they don’t have one, the Doctor knows they do. Classic. It’s the Doctor knowing of the existence of the Black Archive all over again. Even further, I loved the Doctor laughing at the way UNIT has “lashed together,” the time window. I doubt he really feels that way, but the Doctor needs to remind UNIT not to get too comfortable. Undercutting their achievement is a reminder that these items aren’t toys. It’s a subtle way to establish himself as an authority while also reminding UNIT of their limitations. The Doctor’s aim isn’t to belittle UNIT, but to instill a healthy fear of these technologies. As it turns out, the Doctor’s fears were well-founded.

The time window is a large room capable of viewing moments in time. The Doctor refers to time as a memory which is a bigger Whoiverse change than people are giving it credit. I always thought of the TARDIS as a supercomputer that stores moments throughout time in its memory like files. It makes sense that time and memory mingle like this. The effect of the VHS degradation on memory is one of the coolest visual effects in Doctor Who. It’s nice to see that Disney money coming into play. I also have to tip my hat to Lenny Rush for his performance as Morris here. Lots of UNIT characters were given little moments to shine in this episode like Harriet and Colonel Chidozie. The latter of whom we’re given a bit of background information about so that when he meets his demise, we care a little bit more. He’s just a Manchester lad with a cheery disposition. It would be a shame if something were to happen to him.

In an almost cruel twist of fate, the visual of Ruby’s mother is obscured. Not just obscured, but seemingly darkened as if on purpose. The moment she walks close to the Doctor and Ruby, she glitches past them. It’s sad for Ruby, but I feel it’s important that Carla is there to witness this moment. She needs to see that the mystery of Ruby’s life isn’t just one of being an orphan, but that something is deeply and darkly wrong. I feel as though Carla’s involvement in this storyline is due a rather big payoff next week, and I am looking forward to that. The Doctor notices that the TARDIS appears more corporeal than a simple image from a video. He asks the tanatalising question “If time is memory and memory is time, then what is the memory of a time machine?” It’s a question I have been mulling in my head ever since, and I still don’t have a great answer.

Colonel Chidozie disappears around the same time a swarm of dark energy begins to incircle the memory TARDIS (omg I think I just figured it out). The MEMORY TARDIS! Ok. I see what you’re putting down, Russell. Carla refers to the dark energy as “the Beast,” as in, the devil. But who among us didn’t automatically think of the Beast from “The Satan Pit”? Hell, it’s not as though it would break the show if Sutekh and the Beast were one in the same. They’re both voiced by Gabriel Woolf. Furthermore, we know Sutekh takes on multiple forms like the doggo or Susan Triad. There are plenty of examples of gods taking on multiple forms. Christianity has the Holy Trinity of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Hindu gods often have multiple forms such as Vishnu manifesting as Krishna, Rama, or even Buddha. It’s fully within the realm of possibility that the Beast is yet one more aspect to Sutekh. After all, the Fourth Doctor did refer to him as Satan at one point. Why not?

Possibly the most interesting aspect of the scene is when Chidozie’s speaks out from the darkness. It’s not so much the fact that he’s in Hell or that his consciousness feels like it’s been hijacked like Angel Bob’s was, but rather the fact that he only seems to respond to Ruby. The Doctor tries to commune with the entity and gets nothing. Kate commands Chidozie to report and comes up equally empty-handed. It’s not until Ruby attempts to communicate with the entity that it responds. If Christianity has the Trinity and Hinduism has the Trimurti, perhaps Sutekh has the Triad. Perhaps there’s Sutekh, his doggo form, and Ruby Sunday. This might explain why Ruby’s birth mother has been obscured- she never existed. Whoever left Ruby at the church that day could have been a servant of Sutekh, or even Susan Triad herself.

The tone of the episode by this point is very gloomy. I think the last time Doctor Who gave me the creeps to this degree was “The Impossible Astronaut.” As a fan of dark and disturbing movies, I consider myself rather resilient to horror and dread in media. But there is something about turning the TARDIS into a malevolent force that chills me to my core. Bad Wolf Girl once said “You know the sound the TARDIS makes? That wheezing, groaning. That sound brings hope wherever it goes.” But here, the TARDIS offers no comfort. It goes beyond seeing our beloved symbol of hope twisted and perverted. We have seen what the TARDIS is capable of doing. We know how powerful it can be. We can also imagine what that power can do in the wrong hands. My dear late friend Quinn and I used to say that the cloister bell was the scariest sound the TARDIS could make. But this howling groan and sinister energy turning into a hound of Hell is like the cloister bell on steroids.

The Doctor and Mel head off to S Triad Technologies in the vain hope that Susan might be the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan. It’s a last-ditch effort to gain insight into what is happening. Earlier in the episode, we see Kate telling the Doctor that he brings joy, but after Chidozie’s death, you get the impression that her view has sobered up a bit. The Doctor sees the fear in Kates eyes. He sees the fear in Carla’s eyes. He even let down his best friend Ruby. But it’s Mel who picks him back up. Mel who has seen him at his worst and knows who the Doctor is underneath it all. Only she can give him the tough love he needs in this moment and I loved that they gave this opportunity to Bonnie Langford.

The Doctor makes contact with Susan Triad but there is no Time Lord recognition on either end. However, we’ve been here before. Maybe she has a fob watch she doesn’t like to look at. Maybe she’s hiding away. With her press conference due to begin, Susan is whisked away. But as she leaves the Doctor calls out asking if she’s ever dreamed of a girl named Lindy. Has she ever dreamed about a place called Pacifico Del Rio? Has she ever dreamed about being an ambulance? Out of context, he sounds insane. I mean, sure, I dream of being a sail barge, but that’s my special time. It’s enough to set things into motion.

At this point, we still don’t know the true identity of Susan Triad. She very well could still be the Doctor’s granddaughter. But the moment she walked onstage doing that awkward Theresa May arm thing, I knew she had to be evil. Historically speaking, if you want someone to appear evil in Doctor Who, compare them to a Tory. It worked in “The Happiness Patrol,” and it still works now. Could you imagine being the person who milkshakes Sutekh? I feel like throwing a sweet banana dairy concoction into the face of a terrible god would only resort in eternal suffering. While Susan Triad is having her public meltdown for all to see, UNIT’s own Harriet Arbinger is doing one as well. Once again we get another Harbinger. I’ll be honest, the H. Arbinger joke isn’t nearly as strong as RTD seems to think it is. But then again, Batman is the “world’s greatest detective,” and it took him a while to learn that E. Nigma was the Riddler.

I had begun to fully suspect Sutekh by this point, but part of me was starting to wonder if Harriet wasn’t going to turn out to be Sutekh instead. It would have been a very effective misdirect. I was really liking Harriet up to this point too, so I was a bit sad she just turned out to be a servant of the God of Death. Her “I was born for this,” line had me a little hot under the collar. But it looks like she’s gonna get a lot to do in the next episode, so that softens the blow a little bit. As she names off the various gods of the Pantheon, I was very happy to see them reference the Mara as I am a big fan of both “Kinda,” and “Snakedance.” Some have also speculated that the threefold deity of malice, mischief and misery could be a reference to the Gods of Ragnarok. I really hope this is true because I’ve always thought they were cool.

I’ve seen some people complain that they seem to have somewhat retconned Sutekh. People have said it makes no sense to make him the god of gods. He’s an Osiran, not the most powerful god of them all, right? Well, if you think about it, in many ways, death is the ultimate power. If a god like the Toymaker can die, then of course he would run from Sutekh. Also, he’s a god, of course he’s going to claim to be the best. That’s kind of their whole deal. They’re quite full of themselves, gods. Sutekh’s whole deal is that he believes himself the only being worthy of life. Thus all living creatures are an affront to him. Where he treads, he leaves only dust and darkness. Sutekh demonstrates this by reducing Susan Triad’s poor assistant to dust much like he did to Chidozie. With the TARDIS commandeered by evil Anubis and the Doctor being next in line to receive Sutekh’s gift, things have never looked darker for our Time Lord and saviour.

So who was Susan Triad? Was she always Sutekh? Harriet referred to Sutekh as “the mother, father, and other of them all.” I suppose I should start using they/them pronouns for Sutekh. But who were they? Did every incarnation of Sutekh know they were Sutekh? You could wager that they had a hand in a lot of what was happening, and a lot of what was happening could lead to death. The Space Babies were forced into existence and left to die. Roger ap Gwilliam and the Maestro were set on nuclear annihilation. Lindy and her lot were racists which often leads to death. And let's not forget the cold algorithm of the capitalistic war machines from Villengard. What’s even more interesting then is that if these are all aspects of Sutekh and death, then we know Sutekh is stoppable. In “73 Yards,” we’re shown that whatever Ruby’s follower said to Sutekh was enough to send them scurrying. Sadly, Ruby has no memory of this aborted timeline.

With a new episode of “Tales from the TARDIS,” in the pipeline, I expect we’ll see the return of the memory TARDIS in a big way. According to news sources, the new episode will feature the Doctor and Ruby discussing the events of “Pyramids of Mars,” so make sure to watch that if you need a refresher or have never seen the original. One aspect you might find interesting is that Sutekh initially manifests at a priory on the site of the original UNIT HQ. I have no idea if that will come into play, but it’s interesting that both stories are focused around UNIT, if nothing else. Even more interesting is the fact that in both stories, Sutekh is intent on possessing the TARDIS. I wonder if the Doctor will be forced to use the memory TARDIS to stop Sutekh since the regular TARDIS is compromised. We see Ruby’s memory begin to manifest once more when she and Sullivan enter the time window again. It’s entirely plausible.

I’ll be watching the finale like many others in the UK this weekend, at the movie theatre. The last time I got to see a Doctor Who episode in the theatre was in Kansas City when they simulcast “The Day of the Doctor,” at a local indie-theatre. I’ll never forget the feeling of a theatre packed with nerds cheering over Peter Capaldi’s attack eyebrows. I’m also going to see it in the theatre because, evidently, this is a big enough episode to merit a cinematic experience. I bought nine tickets, so it’s going to be a bit of an event for me. I’ll try not and let that colour my experience too much. All in all, I loved this episode, but we’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I loved “Fugitive of the Judoon,” but the lacklustre finale left me retroactively disappointed. But for the time being, RTD has my full attention. I can’t remember the last time Doctor Who left me this excited for what’s to come.

[iwanthermidnightz]

This was a very good article! I loved hearing Kristen’s (and Jodie Fosters) perspective as a queer trailblazer. Inserting some snippets below 🤍

To get to this point, Stewart’s weathered more than a decade of unrelenting media scrutiny, first about her straight relationships, then about her gay ones, as she figured out her own identity. She leveraged her global stardom from the “Twilight” franchise not to become a superhero or a lifestyle guru, but to fuel an astonishing run of acclaimed independent films, including “Clouds of Sils Maria,” “Still Alice,” “Certain Women,” “Personal Shopper” and the Princess Diana drama “Spencer,” for which she earned an Oscar nomination.

“Whenever I hear that she’s doing something new, I’m so curious to see what it is, because it’s going to be a movie that hasn’t been made before,” says Clea DuVall, who directed Stewart in one of her only Hollywood films during this period, Hulu’s 2020 release “Happiest Season,” the first lesbian Christmas rom-com backed by a major studio. “She really is so herself. And I think that’s why so many people respond to her the way they do — because she is so authentic.”

By the time Stewart stepped on the stage of “Saturday Night Live” in February 2017, she’d spent the previous two years trying to convince the press that it was OK to write about her relationships with women, rather than resort to the vexing practice of referring to her girlfriend as her “gal pal.”

“It wasn’t even like I was hiding,” she says. “I was so openly out with my girlfriend for years at that point. I’m like, ‘I’m a pretty knowable person.’”

But even with that posture, the media’s “gal pal” dog whistle triggered a deeper, more painful history of intrusive curiosity about Stewart’s sexual identity. “For so long, I was like, ‘Why are you trying to skewer me? Why are you trying to ruin my life? I’m a kid, and I don’t really know myself well enough yet,’” she says. “The idea of people going, ‘I knew that you were a little queer kid forever.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah? Well, you should honestly have seen me fuck my first boyfriend.’”

It’s worth dwelling on this point: For almost the entire history of Hollywood, queer actors dreaded the public discovering who they really were, and that fear kept the closet door firmly closed. “Because I was gay, I really retreated,” says DuVall, who came out publicly in 2016. “Even doing a teeny tiny movie like [the ’90s lesbian cult favorite] ‘But I’m a Cheerleader,’ people immediately were like, ‘She’s gay, how can we out her?’ I wanted to stay small.”

Stewart, though, went big, with a monologue on “SNL” about how President Donald Trump, in 2012, obsessively tweeted about her relationship with Pattinson. “Donald, if you didn’t like me then, you’re really probably not going to like me now, because I’m hosting ‘SNL’ — and I’m, like, so gay, dude,” she said to wild cheers from the audience.

“It was cool to frame it in a funny context because it could say everything without having to sit down and do an interview,” Stewart says before running through the kind of questions queer actors have had to consider before coming out publicly: “‘So what platform is that going to be on? And who’s going to make money on that? And who’s going to be the person that broke it?’ I broke it, alone.”

A few days later, I mention Stewart’s “SNL” monologue to Foster over the phone, and she lets out a big laugh. “I never knew that,” she says. “What a wonderful, funny, wry, modern way to be honest to the world. That’s just awesome.”

As Stewart talks about her “SNL” experience, I think about how no stars of her age and stature ever came out when I was growing up as a gay kid in the 1980s and ’90s. So to have her professional trajectory not skip a beat feels like real progress.

When I tell her as much, she takes the conversation in an unexpected direction. “Because I’m an actor, I want people to like me, and I want certain parts,” she says. “I have lots of different experiences that shape who I am that are very, very far from binary. But I did get good at the heteronormative quality. I play that role well. It comes from a somewhat real place — it’s not fake. But it’s fucked up that if I was gayer, it wouldn’t be the case.”

I try to clarify what she means: “So your career maybe would have suffered after coming out had you not affected a performative femininity …”

“… that I know works to my advantage,” she admits, nodding. “That’s why I’m fucking stoked about ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’”

Stewart didn’t let that scandal, as intense as it was in the moment, stifle her. Instead, she grew to fully embrace her queerness in her public life — like bringing her girlfriend, screenwriter Dylan Meyer, to the Oscars in 2022. “It’s not that I wasn’t scared,” Stewart says. “It was just that there was no other way to live.”

She’s even started to recognize that the most ostensibly heterosexual thing she’s done, “Twilight,” has its own queer sparkle. “I can only see it now,” she says. “I don’t think it necessarily started off that way, but I also think that the fact that I was there at all, it was percolating. It’s such a gay movie. I mean, Jesus Christ, Taylor [Lautner] and Rob and me, and it’s so hidden and not OK. I mean, a Mormon woman wrote this book. It’s all about oppression, about wanting what’s going to destroy you. That’s a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love.”

I ask Stewart if she understands how much her decision to come out has also made her a role model for LGBTQ people. She cackles. “Oh, you have no idea,” she says. “Every single woman that I’ve ever met in my whole life who ever kissed a girl in college is like, ‘Yeah, I mean, me too.’ I’m constantly joking with my girlfriend. I’ll be sitting there and be like” — she whispers — “‘She’s gay too. Everyone’s gay.’”

It can be easy to forget just how rare this still is, a giant movie star living such an openly queer life. “It feels like a generational thing, where I’m watching somebody make the leaps that I didn’t think I could ever do,” Foster says.

After fiercely guarding her privacy for decades, Foster came out publicly at the 2013 Golden Globes, and has just now played her first explicitly gay character in the 2023 biopic “Nyad.” Talking about Stewart has put Foster in a reflective mood. As our call is coming to an end, she offers this unprompted insight: “I get a lot of questions about who I was and what I represented in the industry, and was I — I don’t know …” She exhales. “Was I helpful in terms of representation? I’m sure there’s a 12- or 13- or 14-year-old when I was making movies as a young person who said that I had something to offer to them in their life as a queer person. I had to do it my way. I had pioneers to help the way, who I’m grateful for. And now people can be grateful for Kristen for being the pioneer. I’m just — I’m grateful to her.”

This sense of communion with the wider LGBTQ tribe is why Stewart has dedicated herself to embracing the fullness of who she is as a bro-y, butch-y queer woman in her work as an actor and, come hell or high water, a director.

“I was like, ‘I would like to be on that team because we need each other,’” Stewart says. “I didn’t want to be left out anymore. It was this whole world that I didn’t realize I could explore.”

[keeper-of-all-the-random-things]

Charlie has Crap Friends

Part 1 | Next

WOW Day 6 | nonhuman whumpee

My first ever vampire for @whumperofworlds lovely birthday event. Starting in the middle because I am incapable of doing things in order.

CW: nonhuman whumpee (vampire), restrained, chains, manhandling, multiple whumpees, power imbalance

“Be still, little one,” Herman laughs.  He stands over the new born as it thrashes in its chains of silver.  “Be still.  I will get you what you need, but you must be calm first.

The creature pants but stops its wild movements.  It looks up at Herman, eyes blown wide with fear and need.  

“That’s right,” Herman says.  “Now come with me.”  

He takes the end of the chain that binds the creature’s wrists and leads it away. The cemetery is still dark at this time of the morning, but Herman helps steer the creature around the headstones and through the trees to a large cabin.

Inside, Herman’s friends are rowdy as ever after a sleepless night of revelry.

“Gentlemen!”  Herman calls, pausing their raucous actions.  “I bring to you a fitting end to this week-end’s festivities.”

“He doesn’t look that exciting,” Montpelier says from the couch.

“You’ve just brought another man to a party of men,”  Stewart observes. 

From a corner tucked behind the others, Levitt says. “I think it’ll be nice to have another -”

“Shut up, Levitt,” Montpelier interrupts.  “No one cares what you think.”

“This is no man,” Herman says above the others.  They quiet immediately.  “This is a creature of darkness.  It hungers.”  Herman tugs the chain, and the creature stumbles forward. 

“It craves blood,” Herman goes on, lowering his voice conspiratorially.  “Who will volunteer to sate its desires?”

The house is silent as each man weighs the consequences of engaging.  Then Stewart proclaims, “Levitt will do it.”

“Excuse me?”  Levitt squeaks.  “Levitt most certainly will not do it.”

“Don’t be a wuss,” Montpelier says.  “You’ve been begging to be included all night -” 

“I wasn’t beg-”

“And now you have a chance and you’re just going to waste it?  You’re not giving us good reason to invite you back.”

Levitt glances between at Montpelier and then at the creature who is visibly shaking.

“Quickly, gentlemen,” Herman says.  “I promised the creature my help.  I wouldn’t want to go back on my word because it lost control.”

“Fine,” Levitt says.  He shakes his head and repeats to himself, “fine.”

The men cheer.

The creature and Levitt look to Herman for instruction.

Herman guides the creature into one of the wood chairs in the kitchen and rearranges the chains so it cannot run away.

“What do I do?”  Levitt asks.

Stewart rolls his eyes, and Levitt snaps at him, “It’s not like I’ve done this before.  I don’t regularly offer my blood to everyone I meet.”

Herman chuckles.  “You have to let it at your neck.”

“Does it have to be my neck?  Couldn’t I give it my wrist or something?”

“Look at you, suddenly with all the answers,” Stewart mocks.

“You could,” Herman answers good-naturedly, ignoring Stewart.  “But the neck is better.”  He smiles knowingly.

Montpelier and Stewart stand behind Herman off to the side to watch the show.

Levitt faces the creature and tries to forget the others are there.  “Hello,” he says.  “Hi.  I’m Levitt.  Actually Charles.  Charlie, if you want.  I don’t really know what’s happening, so if you can unders-”

“Just get on with it already,” Montpelier says.

Charlie Levitt meets the creature’s eyes, and his mind goes blank.  He finds himself kneeling in front of it, the others well and truly forgotten. 

The creature blinks slowly, and Charlie bares his neck.  He braces his arms on the chair on either side of the creature’s legs.  He is wholly unprepared when the creature sinks its teeth in.  He groans and is lost in the warm numbness that spreads over his body.

Outside their little bubble, the others watch with growing boredom.

“I thought this would be more exciting, the way you made it out to be,”  Montpelier says to Herman.

“Hmmm,” is all the response Herman gives.

“I’m going to bed,” Stewart says.  Montpelier leaves soon after.

Herman separates Levitt from the creature with a firm shove that sends Levitt sprawling on his back, dazed as he comes back to himself.

“That’s enough for now,” Herman says.  He takes the creature away, extra careful to keep the chains secure now that it has fed.  He leaves Levitt to clean himself up and leads the creature to the basement.

“You did well little one,” Herman says as he secures the creature to a support beam, close enough to the window that it may fear the rising sun but far enough away that no lasting damage would occur.

The creature whines when Herman leaves it.

Herman doesn’t look back.

[the-lady-hestia]

Alright spoilers for the final Dr Who special

HERES MY THOUGHTS ON THE GIGGLE AND FINAL RANKINGS FOR ALL THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS!!

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Bi-generation

Oh boy

I spent a while trying to write this, but every time I came to a complaint, I realized that the story kind of set it up in a way. All that to say, this review was originally going to be a lot harsher, but I found some justifications for the things I had complaints about.

In general, I like the episode. It’s a goofy romp where Neil Patrick Harris is a cosmic-scale nut job while David Tennant looks on in horror. It’s fun. It is not, however, a good ending to a series of specials let alone ANNIVERSARY specials. It doesn’t feel like an ending. The ending doesn’t feel emotionally resolved (that’s the thesis statement right there)

Throughout the episode, the doctor is constantly reminded that he has always had to move on. He always has to leave his friends. Between meeting the classic companion Mel, to the Toymaker giving him basically a slideshow of all the people who have died because of him and his actions.

And so the story compliments this with an ending where the doctor doesn’t have to leave. The pattern breaks. The doctor stays.

Aaaaaand he also doesn’t. At the same time.

I feel like the same effect could have been reached without splitting the doctor in half. Now there’s two doctors. How the hell are you gonna manage that? The Timeless Child shit is definitely cannon so now there’s two cosmic super beings AND two Tardis’s (Tardices? Whatever the plural of Tardis is) in existence.

I was emotionally prepared to say goodbye to David Tennant as the doctor but now the story feels unresolved. Instead of the heartwarming ending they were going for, it feels like this was just concentrated fan-service intended to lead into a spinoff series and encourage fanfiction writers to fill in the gaps (I will say, the Doctor calling Rose his niece was very sweet. He does finally get a family and that is undeniably nice)

SO! Corrections:

I think the same emotional effect (if not more of an emotional effect) could have been achieved if 14 didn’t actually die in that confrontation. Maybe the resolution of his story is that The Doctor decided that, for a while, he does stick around. Maybe we get a montage of domestic Doctor. He still gets his family and he still gets to resolve all his emotional baggage, just without the Bi-generation nonsense. When Ncuti takes over we get a Doctor that is ready to start traveling again (remember, 15 isn’t going to have this emotional catharsis. He left without confronting his baggage. He’s still fucked up, but I don’t feel like the writers are gonna acknowledge that) And then, after some time has passed, maybe the David Tennant body “wears a bit thin” and he regenerates the normal way (that’s how Hartnell regenerated, I feel like it would be fitting with this whole “new era of Doctor Who” shit they’ve got going on plus the Toymaker is a villain from Hartnells run, the themes are themeing)

Other than that, pretty fun episode. Kate Stewart slays. Shirley continues to be a bad bitch keeping the doctor on his toes. The tease for the Master at the end was fun, always a blast to see that lunatic. Overall, I give The Giggle a 6.5/10. Passable episode with a truly nonsense ending (and not the fun kind of nonsense)

Final ratings for all the specials:

The Star Beast: 8/10

Wild Blue Yonder: 9.5/10 (this might be one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who ever)

The Giggle: 6.5/10

I do still love RTD. The man wrote some of my favorite stories in all of fiction. I’m very optimistic about this coming season of the show. I think Ncuti Gatwa has charisma coming out his ears so he’ll be fantastic. My pie in the sky dream is that it’s so good that it makes me forget about all this weird shit and hanging plot threads. Here’s hoping!

[lazorcrab]

My favorite songs that I listened to in 2023 (in no particular order)

Mark Knight & Armand Van Helden - The Music Began To Play

Daft Punk - Revolution 909 (Roger Sanchez & Junior Sanchez Remix)

Oliver Tree & Robin Schulz - Miss You (Showtek Remix)

Armin van Buuren & Mr. Probz - Another You

Party Favor - Too Much

Sans Soucis - All Over This Party (Salute Remix)

Lil Wayne - A Milli (Sidepiece Remix)

Elvis Presley & Britney Spears - Toxic Las Vegas (Jamieson Shaw Remix)

Tiesto, Jonas Blue, & Rita Ora - Ritual

Gorillaz - Silent Running (feat. Adeleye Omotayo)

Mau P - Gimme That Bounce

Tiesto - Lay Low

Armin van Buuren & Stuart Crichton - Dayglow

Jay-Z & Linkin Park - Numb/Encore

Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers - Bustin' Loose

Tiesto - 10:35 (feat. Tate McRae) [Joel Corry Remix]

Meduza and Eli & Fur - Pegasus

Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay

Gorillaz - Skinny Ape

Red Vox - Forgetter

Olive T - We'll Maintain

Tchami - Shades (feat. Donnie Sloan & Ricky Ducati)

Climax Blues Band - Couldn't Get It Right

Mack Wilds - Own It

Calvin Harris - Miracle (feat. Ellie Goulding)

Genesi - Everything You Have Done (Meduza Edit)

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, & Diddy - Creepin' (feat. 21 Savage)

Gorillaz - Tranz

Foster The People - Sit Next to Me

Tyga - I'm Gone (feat. Big Sean)

Avicii - Heaven

Calvin Harris - Miracle (feat. Ellie Goulding) [Hardwell Remix]

Sunday Scaries & Pickuplines - Chill Like That (Odd Mob Remix)

Gorgon City - Voodoo

The Weeknd - Popular (feat. Playboi Carti & Madonna)

Todd Edwards - The Chant (James Organ Remix)

Luke Combs - Fast Car

Armin van Buuren & Sam Martin - Wild Wild Son

Armin van Buuren & Sam Martin - Wild Wild Son (Richard Durand Remix)

Kaskade - Angel On My Shoulder

Deadmau5 & Kaskade - I Remember (John Summit Remix)

JC Stewart - Love Like That

Will K - Sun Is Dark

The Band - The Weight

Aqua - Barbie Girl (Tiesto Remix)

Notre Dame - Yumi (Tiesto Remix)

Meduza - Phone (feat. Sam Tompkins & Em Beihold)

Major Lazer - Particula (feat. DJ Maphorisa, Nasty C, Ice Prince, Patoranking, & Jidenna)

Major Lazer - Que Calor (feat. J Balvin & El Alfa)

The Specials - Ghost Town

The Chemical Brothers - Live Again (feat. Halo Maud)

The Chemical Brothers - No Reason

Swedish House Mafia - Ray Of Solar (Mau P Remix)

Swedish House Mafia - Ray Of Solar (Tiesto Remix)

Alesso - Caught A Body (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

Armin van Buuren - Lose This Feeling (Dimension Remix)

Sia - Gimme Love (Armin van Buuren Remix)

The Beatles - Now And Then

100 gecs - Doritos & Fritos

Roy Davis Jr. & Peven Everett - Gabriel (Live Garage Mix)

Casso, Raye, & D-Block Europe - Prada

Tiesto, Tears For Fears, Niiko x Swae, & Gudfella - Rule The World (Everybody)

Doja Cat - Paint The Town Red

Fred again… & Baby Keem - leavemealone

Nicki Minaj - Let Me Calm Down (feat. J. Cole)

Nicki Minaj - Needle (feat. Drake)

Overmono - Good Lies

Tame Impala - Breathe Deeper (Lil Yachty Remix)

Drake - First Person Shooter (feat. J. Cole)

Drake - Virgina Beach

Meduza, Ferreck Dawn, & Clementine Douglas - I Got Nothing

Todd Edwards - Perfect Love (Biscits Remix)

Todd Edwards - When Your Alone (A-Trak Remix)

Fred again…, Skrillex, & Four Tet - Baby again… (feat. Lil Baby)

Lil Yachty - The Secret Recipe (feat. J.Cole)

Lil Uzi Vert - Just Wanna Rock (Malivai & Afrojack Remix)

070 Shake - Cocoon (Martin Garrix & Space Ducks Remix)

Ice Spice - In Ha Mood (O'Flynn Remix)

Gunna - fukumean (Diplo, Maesic, & Chad Harrison Remix)

John Summit - Where You Are (feat. Hayla)

Parisi, Steve Angello, & Sebastian Ingrosso - U Ok?

David Guetta & Hypaton - Be My Lover (2023 Mix) (feat. La Bouche)

Killer Mike - RUN (Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley Version)

Elton John - Daniel

Disclosure - Higher Than Ever Before

Alesso & John Newman - Call Your Name

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)

Nick Jonas - This Is Heaven

Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours

Davido - UNAVAILABLE (feat. Musa Keys) [Major Lazer Remix)

James Hype & Major Lazer - Number 1

Willie Hutch - Tell Me Why Our Love's Turned Cold

John Summit - Veridis Quo vs. Human (Daft Punk vs. John Summit)

Kendrick Lamar - Money Trees (Duke & Jones Remix)

Missy Elliott - 4 My People (feat. Eve) (Basement Jaxx Vocal Mix)

Flowdan, Lil Baby, Skrillex - Pepper

Steve Angello - Rejoice (feat. T.D. Jakes)

Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Strangers (feat. A$AP Rocky & Run The Jewels)

Metro Boomin & Future - Too Many Nights (feat. Don Toliver)

Skrillex, Missy Elliott, & Mr. Oizo - RATATA

Chase & Status and Bou - Baddadan (feat. Irah, Flowdan, Trigga, & Takura)

Lil Yachty - Strike (Holster)

[ginger-grimm]

🐧 + Teddy!!

Thank you @luucypevensie! Also going to tag @daughter-of-melpomene and @noratilney cause I think they may be interested as well x)

Their favorite Disney/Pixar movie: Cool Runnings and Up

Their go-to style of clothing: Teddy is a great defender of wearing shirts with goofy motifs, but he can also wear button-ups when it's required, he's usually seen in jeans and sneakers as well.

Their favorite vacation memory: When Teddy was younger, his mom took him and his sister Phoebe to go skiing in the mountains and stay in a lodge for a week. It was to make them forget about their dad passing for a little while and it actually worked somehow. Yeah, Teddy broke his wrist skiing towards the end but it was worth it.

Their favorite fairy tale: Cinderella

One hidden talent of theirs: Is a good actor, actually. If Kevin wasn't a biased casting director he would've been a shoe-in for Tommy during the Carrie musical.

One thing they've kept since childhood days: The keys to his dad's motorcycle. He's never going to be able to ride it, of course, but he keeps them around as a reminder of him.

Their favorite holiday memory: He always fondly remembers Christmas a year before Dot and Octavia moved back to Riverdale. They came to visit (which was really because Octavia's marriage was on the rocks and she was preparing her move back home) and the kids absolutely wrecked the kitchen whilst baking cookies. They went sledding, watched movies the whole evening, and watched the lights all around the neighborhood with snow falling around them. It wasn't the most special that one could probably imagine, but Teddy had really missed Dot and his sister Phoebe too so he always cherished this one.

Their first crush: Martha Stewart

Something they would never admit to anybody: Besides his first crush being Martha Stewart, he usually keeps whenever he feels sad to himself and won't let anyone know until he's perked up again.

Their favorite wild animal: Koalas

[evil-ontheinside]

Free Day byler fic recs!

(which I use to rec some fics I forgot or wasn't sure how to categorize)

No one should ever have to look at themselves. by Stanningeverything

Mike discovers his asexuality, catastrophizes, thinks his relationship is doomed by learning the fact and despite everything his family still weighs on his mind. He deals with all of this (badly)

Just the ordeal of figuring yourself out, dealing with your family issues, all while thinking you are the worst person on earth. Hopefully he has a great support system with his friends and boyfriend.

i turned around and nothing was here by ethqreal

Mike didn’t care. Maybe because he always managed, he made his own choices regardless of what his parents chose to preach and if he really was cursed with ice running through his veins, it didn’t matter because he would always love the boy across town until his very last breath and he had frozen from the inside-out.

or a cursed boy, his boyfriend, an idle town and them against the world.

The End of the World by eagle_ace

Post season 4, vaguely pre-season 5. Things fall apart, to say the least. After everything, the party's not really a party anymore. Mike wants to fix it, but he doesn't know how.

Mike's POV, lots of emotions, I tried writing in the present tense which I don't normally do. There's byler, there's an el-initiated milkvan breakup, there's the party (sans max unfortunately) being friends. Hypothetically this could take place between seasons, but I'm certain there'll be something in season 5 that makes that impossible.

Left to Rot by Cate_Olivyn

“Oh.” Mike snapped his fingers, huffing out a laugh. “Oh, this is like that- that black and white movie my mom likes to put on at Christmas. The Jimmy Stewart one.” He stood a little taller, a wild look in his eyes. “Alright! I’ve learned my lesson! I can go home now, and appreciate my life, yada yada.”

Nothing happened. Mike snapped his fingers again, more urgently, before raising his voice in a yell.

“Lesson learned! I wanna go home!”

The world stayed as it was, broken and decayed, and Mike screamed into the cold, stale air.

Or: After a bad fight with his friends, Mike wakes up in an alternate reality that seems to be plunged into an apocalyptic nightmare.

an ode to hope (and other funny things) by @pyschologicalrocketgirl

“Everything's going to be fine, please don't freak out.” Nancy starts to say, which causes Will’s eyes to widen.

“That’s…not really reassuring, you know that right?”

Nancy huffs a laugh, “Yeah, it isn’t, sorry.” He hears shifting through the receiver, and he thinks maybe that's all she's planned to say.

“Mike’s in the hospital.”

Will sucks in an involuntary breath, letting the air back out, shaky. He nods repetitively, a little numb as he tries to process, before realizing Nancy can’t see him.

“Okay.” He aims for level but his voice cracks mid-way. He’s almost whispering, “Is- he okay?”

Mike's in the hospital, which kickstarts a drive to Boston and a worried Will as he thinks about Mike, the past, and love, all while conveniently held up by New York traffic.

the loneliest blackout by @drop-of-infinity

Will knew the stages of Mike’s breakdowns. First came the silence, then the welling tears. They would stay there, perched on the edge of his eyelids until he began to talk, and then they would make their enviable path down Mike’s face. The tears would increase as his words trickled off, and eventually he would break into gasping sobs, unable to speak, unable to do anything but cry.

Or, Will tries to rip the bandaid off. Mike breaks down. They figure it out in the end.

@bylerficrecweek thank you guys so much for organizing this! the whole week was so much fun and I really enjoyed going through my bookmarks and discovering new fics loved by others <3

[helmetkeeper]

hi :)

may i request a playlist for marty mcfly from back to the future, mainly with songs from the 80s?

tysm for the chance :)

hello!!! this is mainly 80s music* with a total of 80 songs! happy new year, and sorry for the wait!!

*(or at least i think it is. could be very wrong, ha. hopefully not!)

songs go like "song" + "artist"

"Billie Jean" + "Michael Jackson"

"Tainted Love" + "Soft Cell"

"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" + "Dead Or Alive"

"Love Shack" + "The B-52's"

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" (Remastered) + "The Clash"

"London Calling" (Remastered) + "The Clash"

"Rock the Casbah" (Remastered) + "The Clash"

"Hungry Like the Wolf" (Remastered 2009) + "Duran Duran"

"We Didn't Start the Fire" + "Billy Joel"

"Material Girl" + "Madonna"

"Edge of Seventeen" (Remastered 2016) + "Stevie Nicks"

"Shout" + "Tears For Fears"

"Eyes Without A Face" (Remastered 1999) + "Billy Idol"

"White Wedding" (Pts. 1 & 2) (Shotgun Mix / Remastered 2001) + "Billy Idol"

"Maneater" + "Daryl Hall & John Oates"

"You Make My Dreams (Come True)" + "Daryl Hall & John Oates"

"Out of Touch" + "Daryl Hall & John Oates"

"Enjoy the Silence" + "Depeche Mode" and "Daniel Miller" and "Phil Legg"

"Kids In America" + "Kim Wilde"

"Somebody's Watching Me" (Single Version) + "Rockwell"

"Abracadabra" + "Steve Miller Band"

"Walk This Way" + "Aerosmith"

"Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" + "Aerosmith"

"Jessie's Girl" + "Rick Springfield"

"Kickstart My Heart" + "Mötley Crüe"

"Raspberry Beret" + "Prince"

"I Wanna Rock" + "Twisted Sister"

"Ghostbusters" + "Ray Parker Jr."

"Paradise City" + "Guns N' Roses"

"Sweet Child O' Mine" + "Guns N' Roses"

"Centerfold" + "The J. Geils Band"

"Poison" + "Alice Cooper"

"Cheri Cheri Lady" + "Modern Talking"

"The Power Of Love" + "Huey Lewis & The News"

"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" + "The Proclaimers"

"Pour Some Sugar On Me" + "Def Leppard"

"Gold" (Remastered 2003) + "Spandau Ballet"

"Jump" (Remastered 2015) + "Van Halen"

"Everywhere" (Remastered 2017) + "Fleetwood Mac"

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" + "Cyndi Lauper"

"Let's Dance" (Remastered 2002) + "David Bowie"

"You Shook Me All Night Long" + "AC/DC"

"(I Just) Died In Your Arms" + "Cutting Crew"

"Karma Chameleon" + "Culture Club"

"Cruel Summer" + "Bananarama"

"Puppet Boy" + "DEVO"

"This Charming Man" (Remastered 2011) + "The Smiths"

"Human Fly" + "The Cramps"

"Generals And Majors" (Remastered 2001) + "XTC"

"Puttin' on the Ritz" + "Taco"

"Don't You Want Me" + "The Human League"

"Don't Let's Start" + "They Might Be Giants"

"Monitor" + "Siouxsie and the Banshees"

"Blister In The Sun" + "Violent Femmes"

"It Only Makes Me Laugh" + "Danny Elfman"

"I Ran (So Far Away)" (Single Edit) + "A Flock Of Seagulls"

"Running On A Treadmill" + "Oingo Boingo"

"Demolition Man" + "The Police"

"Every Breath You Take" + "The Police"

"What I Like About You" + "The Romantics"

"Yankee Rose" + "David Lee Roth"

"Rock Me Amadeus" + "Falco"

"Viet Nam" + "Minutemen"

"No Sleep Till Brooklyn" + "Beastie Boys"

"Let's Groove" + "Earth, Wind & Fire"

"Don't Worry Be Happy" + "Bobby McFerrin"

"Take on Me" + "a-ha"

"Celebration" + "Kool & The Gang"

"99 Luftballons" + "Nena"

"Hooked On A Feeling" + "Blue Swede" and "Björn Skifs"

"Kung Fu Fighting" + "Carl Douglas"

"Call Me" + "Blondie"

"One Way Or Another" (Remastered 2001) + "Blondie"

"Super Trouper" + "ABBA"

"Dancing Queen" + "ABBA"

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Remastered) + "Eurythmics" and "Annie Lennox" and "Dave Stewart"

"Don't Stop Believin'" + "Journey"

"Any Way You Want It" + "Journey"

"Crocodile Rock" + "Elton John"

dividers from @/animatedglittergraphics-n-more

[anvilsims]

We return to the Rosenbergs on a very special day!

Jodi's birthday! And of course our future baker makes her own cake.

Destiny gives Jodi a couple cross stitches she made to help decorate her future home with.

While Stewart gives a loving family kiss to his sweet girl.

🎉

Okay I don't know what in particular it is but I just find Jodi so pretty. I just love how she looks and I think she's one of the prettiest sims I've had in this game.

I waited till the next day before having Jodi move out for precisely this reason of letting Stewart finally reach the top of his career as a gardener.

So with Stewart accomplishing as much as he can, Jodi gathers her things, dials up the phone, and makes her way to a new town, Copperdale!

Stewart Rosenberg: Generation 1

The Farmer

Animal Enthusiast Aspiration Completed [✔]

Gardener (Botanist Branch) Career Completed [✔]

Have “Simple Living” and “Wild Foxes” as the lot challenges for your home. [✔]

Have at minimum 1 llama, 1 cow, and 1 chicken coop. [✔]

Get the “Green Thumb” reward trait. [✔]

Complete the plants collection. [❌]

Win at least 3 times at the Finchwick fair in Henford. [✔]

Befriend wild birds and bunnies. [✔] (Well admitedly he only befriended the bunnies but I'm counting it. :P)

All children must complete the Mental aspiration. [✔]

Optional Goals:

Get nosy! Matchmake or break up 2 sims in Henford. [❌]

Run at least 1 errand everyday for the townies in Henford. [❌] (Tried, some of them were just too much of a pain or I just couldn't get out of the house for whatever reason)

Acquire the “Outdoorsy” lifestyle for both your sim and their spouse. [✔]

Master these skills: Cross-stitching, Gardening [✔]

[denimbex1986]

'Following Wild Blue Yonder's terrifying foray to the edge of the universe, it looks like the third and final Doctor Who 60th anniversary special will treat us to a puppet show.

Neil Patrick Harris's much-teased Toymaker is set to make his grand entrance this weekend. Returning showrunner Russell T Davies hasn't been as secretive about this one – we know who the villain is, for one - but details have been scarce nonetheless.

The BBC has released new images of the episode, however, hinting at what's to come for David Tennant's Time Lord and Catherine Tate's Donna Noble.

The images also give us a glimpse at the episode's cast, including a puppet who could give the Wild Blue Yonder's doubles a run for their money.

Coronation Street's Charlie De Melo will star as Charles Banerjee. Not much else is known about the character other than his name, but he doesn't look too thrilled to be in the Toymaker's presence above.

John Mackay (Judy) has also joined The Giggle's cast as inventor John Logie Baird. Interestingly, it's not the first time Mackay has played the real-life figure - he was also Baird in Davies's ITVX drama Nolly, starring Helena Bonham Carter.

The BBC has also released an image of Jemma Redgrave, who is back as Kate Lethbridge Stewart – and who might even be getting her own spin-off.

Kate is one of the founders of UNIT, the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, and a familiar face to Doctor Who fans.

Not only will she star in The Giggle, but the character is also expected to return during the Fifteenth Doctor's first season.

UNIT scientist Shirley (Ruth Madeley) will also be back, joined by Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim.

The teaser trailer released over the weekend did give us a glimpse of the Doctor's encounter with Harris's Toymaker (a character first played by Michael Gough in 1966).

"We meet again – the Time Lord and the Toymaker... one final game!" he says.

It also teased Tennant's regeneration, with Gatwa taking his place in the TARDIS control room.

Let's hope he gets there in one piece.'

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1: LONE STAR REACTION

This reaction is for season 4, twelfth episode "Swipe Left '' which originally aired April 11, 2023. The episode was written by Carly Soteras and directed by Steve Danton. Spoiler's ahead!

Hello, friend! Let's chat about the latest episode of Lone Star! Is it just me or is this season firing on all cylinders? Since the season four premiere on up to the latest episode, I have truly been enjoying the wild ride. We kicked things off with TK and Carlos' wedding planning but then things took a turn when it was revealed Carlos is married to Iris Blake. Then Carlos got kidnapped by a serial killer and held captive. Owen stopped a plot to blow up the capitol. Tommy wooed her minister and warred with his daughter. Marjan left the 126 and came back. We also got some much needed backstory on Marjan and Mateo. Oh, and Paul is dating now! Judd and Grace are going to be grandparents courtesy of Wyatt and his girlfriend. Like I said - it's been a wild ride!

In this episode, we get to major storylines involving TK, Carlos, and Marjan. Let's start with the Marjan storyline. We see Marjan at one of her physical therapy sessions. Her physical therapist is played by Natacha Karam's real life partner, John Clarence Stewart. John plays Joe and the chemistry Joe has with Marjan is palpable. However, Marjan needs to be with someone who is also Muslim.

We get a montage of Marjan going on various dates with Muslim men with her teammates accompanying as chaperones. Each guy has some sort of fatal flaw that makes him undesirable in Marjan's eyes however there is one guy that both Marjan and Owen fall in love with. His name is Fauza (Keon Alexander) and he is an animal lover (a plus for Owen) and by all intents and purposes a pretty swell guy. Plus he's very easy on the eyes if you get what i'm saying. 

During an emergency involving a jilted wife who goes to the no tell/motel where her cheating husband is getting his rocks off, Marjan discovers that Fauza is not only married but his wife is super pregnant. Yikes! Looks like Marjan dodged a bullet. A very gorgeous, animal-loving bullet.

While shopping for ingredients she plans on cooking for Paul and his girlfriend, Asha, Marjan runs into Joe in a Middle Eastern supermarket. Paul does a great job of playing wingman and encourages her to talk to him. Marjan has reservations about getting involved with Joe since he is not Muslim but Joe points out that he is Muslim. Just not the Middle Eastern variety. This moment was so funny to me because it's almost like Marjan couldn't fathom Joe (a black man) having the same faith as her. Marjan invites Joe to the dinner and he agrees. I hope we get to see more of these two in future episodes!

Now, let's talk about everyone's favorite ship - Tarlos! TK and Carlos interview four faith leaders in hopes of picking one who will officiate their wedding. Rabbi Finkel (Harvey J. Alperin) is okay with the two of them being gay, however he thinks Carlos should convert to Judaism. Amethyst (Maureen Driscoll) likes the color of both their auras but won't be able to commit to a time and date because time is all relative to her. Reverend Tom (David Grant Wright) is a homophobe and tells TK and Carlos they will be together forever ... in hell. Yikes! Lastly, Pastor Nicole (Briana Lane) appears to be their best option but when she asks them if they want to have kids, both men are surprised by each other's answers.

TK wants to have kids but Carlos doesn't. A part of me was surprised they were this far along in their relationship and neither of them had ever asked the other if they wanted kids or not. Then again, this is also the same couple where one of them was legally married to someone else for most of the relationship. This of course sends our two boys spiraling so they each go to their parents for advice.

Kudos to Owen and Andrea Reyes (Roxana Brusso) for giving some solid advice to their sons. Andrea points out that Carlos has issues with avoidance which is spot on! She believes that Carlos never got around to asking TK if he wanted kids because he knew exactly what his answer would be. TK wonders if Carlos' hesitation to have kids is because he's an addict but Carlos dispels that by saying he believes wholly in TK's recovery. Andrea asks if Carlos is worried the child wouldn't have a mother figure and Carlos says he's worried if he's going to be a good dad. Carlos cites TK's relationship with Owen and how they've always been close but he and his dad are only just getting close. Carlos is afraid he won't measure up. Owen tells TK that any time he's prioritized someone else's needs over his own, things have always worked out for the better. Andrea tells Carlos he needs to be considerate of TK's feelings and he also needs to be honest. Because, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters, or should matter is that TK has Carlos and Carlos has TK. Periodt!

We end the episode at TK and Carlos' apartment. TK cooks dinner and Carlos comes home with a cardboard box. Carlos opens the box and it's a bearded dragon! I guess if they don't have kids, at least they can have a lizard. Carlos tells TK he knows he will be a good father but he's not ready yet and he may not ever get there. TK tells him that's okay. I love this scene. Part of being in love is compromise. 

Oh, and the bearded dragon escaped from the box.

So, this was a fun episode! I loved getting to see a different side of Marjan. We're so used to seeing her be a badass firefighter but this time we got to see the softer side of her. The dating montage was so hilarious. I love that TK, Carlos, Paul, Owen, Nancy, and Mateo served as her chaperones. I liked the different types of guys she encountered. I especially liked her scenes with Joe. One thing I like that both 9-1-1 shows involve the actors' real-life partners and family members into the show. We've seen Jennifer Love Hewitt's husband appear twice on the OG series. Rob Lowe's son John writes for the show and his brother Chad appeared last season as his half-brother. Next episode we will see Sierra McClain's sisters appear as her sisters. 

As for the TK and Carlos scenes. These two have such amazing chemistry and I think that's because Ronen and Rafael are such great friends off-camera. I love how the writers aren't afraid to show them struggle. Relationships aren't perfect. Another thing I like is how mature both parties were when dealing with the children/no children issue. TK doesn't run off and get upset. Carlos didn't shut down. They are getting so much better at communicating and I love to see it! It looks like we're getting closer and closer to the Tarlos wedding! I cannot wait! Until next time ...