#meredith layouts

[pdalicedraws]

Pulling your shirt on while hurrying downstairs? Really, Bal, do you want another concussion?

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[b33t-r00t]

This is just the best place to go when you need your fancy business suits taken out a couple inches.

Page one and two of four

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[mushroomybee]

likes, reblogs, follows appreciated ! 🩺

[tallsoren]

Backgrounds from Meredith Gran's Perfect Tides: Station to Station

-Pixel art, Photoshop

2022-2024

[maddiesflame]

dina denoire x the summer of broken rules layouts

like/reblog if saved © maddiesflame

[faelayouts]

⠀ ★ . . . grey’s anatomy christmas layouts!

⠀⠀⠀ like or reblog if you save! . . . ★

[psychcpomps]

🐍🐈‍⬛ 🏥 malia's schedule !! 🐍🐈‍⬛ 🏥

malia has always been a creature of habit, though when she was in school to be a nurse and caretaking for her mother it was quite hectic. while she misses those days more than anything there is also a part of her that is happy for a schedule that she knows how to deal with. most of her days are divided on her commuting to zuzu city at the hospital and then the days where she is working at the clinic. she works between 8 and 12 hour shifts in zuzu city hospital as a nurse. ( if you ever wondered what kind of nurse she is, she used to work in the emergency room before that burnt her out and now she is an action nurse, she still frequents the emergency room, but now that she's been a nurse for almost eight years she has a bit of seniority. )

4:00 a.m. — malia wakes up with often her cat bitty on her chest, her cat will meow and want food. she will tell her cat that, 'yes okay, let's go to the kitchen' because of course her cat also eats in the kitchen with her. malia will start the coffee pot, put the well rounded scoop of food in her cats bowl and then open up her snake's tank and wrap it around her neck while she figures out what to bring for lunch. ( normally something that joshua has nicely made for her, if we're being honest. )

4:30 a.m. — she will finish her breakfast ( pancakes, if she's feeling up to it but honestly mostly it's just finishing her coffee and a granola bar. ), put her snake back in it's tank and petting her cat on the head before heading to the bus where she will probably smoke a cigarette while she waits.

5:00 a.m. — granted that the bus isn't running late she will make it to the hospital and clock in and divulge with the night shift on what happened during the night and then get started on her morning rounds with her patients. ( she doesn't have very many work friends, but she does have a lot of elderly women who want to feed her and kiss her cheeks. )

6:30 a.m. — malia will have her second cup of coffee and wish that she could bring her snake to work because she thinks that some of the peds patients that she sees would like them. and then she'll get embarrassed at thinking of how fond she is of children even though she doesn't want any for herself.

10:00 a.m. — 10:30 a.m. — is one of her favourite times because that means it's lunch time! malia will eat whatever it is that joshua has made for her, or whatever old lady in her nursing station that insists that malia eats that she's made ( that's always somehow made vegetarian. it's very obvious to anyone that made it with the intent for her to eat it ) and smoke a cigarette outside on her break. it normally doesn't take long for her to eat, it's eight years into this career, she eats quick and uses the rest of the time to nap.

1:30 p.m. — if it's her eight hour shift she will get off at one-thirty and head to the bus and also will be dropped off immediately at the clinic to start her shift there until six.

6:45 p.m. — on her eight hour shift days she will likely restock everything they used at the clinic, make orders to zuzu city on what they need to be delivered, call back patients that have left voicemails, and then make her way to stardrop saloon.

7:00 p.m. — 10:00 p.m. — is probably the most chaotic time for malia depending on how the day went. somedays she will be stoic and drink her beer and smoke a cigarette and stare into nothing, or she will be playing darts and thinking about her dad and wishing he taught her how to play, or listening to someone that notices malia and saying how much they miss her mom and malia saying, 'i miss her too, thank you for telling me that,' or talking to someone who asks malia a medical question and her begging them to visit her at the clinic tomorrow.

10:30 p.m. — she will be back home, grabbing her snake from her tank and putting him around her neck and letting bitty trail her in her mother's garden while she listens to the sounds of nature. the porch light will be on and she can admire her mother's garden in the dark and wish that she took better care of it ( even if she doesn't know how ), and smile for a moment at how nice it feels to be surrounded by something that her mother loved and was most proud of. ( malia is included in this even if she doesn't add herself, of course. )

11:30 p.m. — malia will attempt to go to sleep. she knows that she should go to sleep early for her morning shifts, but she's also a creature of habit.

on the days that she works 12 hour shifts her schedule only change slightly.

6:00 p.m. — she will still go to the clinic even if it's closed and listen to voicemails and do inventory, and also do home visits to patients but only if needed.

8:00 p.m. — 10:00 p.m. — stardrop saloon, more often alone, eating dinner there and going home.

10:30 p.m. — 11:00 p.m. — malia, her snake, her cat keep normal routine. but, malia will also go to bed early and start the day over again.

[bedabodee]

She's morphine. Queen of my vaccine

love, my love, love, love

[elvenbeard]

New Job: Don't Let Me Get Me

Part 2 of the aforementioned little VP project of "What kind of NPC would Vince be in CP2077?"

In this scenario he's still working for Araska, even if during the first meeting with him right after completing "Monster Hunt" it isn't as obvious (unless the player notices his Kenshin tech-pistol, *the* staple handgun of any decent Arasaka agent XD).

I had a hard time figuring out where this encounter might take place, but then decided for Jotaro's club - it's a huge location, and the player would get in Vince's way of retrieving some client data from one of Jotaro's personal computers (that they can discover via a questmarker or maybe after Johnny points them to it, something like that).

Vince will not disclose what he needs the data for, but a Streetkid!Player will recognize he's not your typical gang member, more purposefully trying to look like one while also remaining outwardly unremarkable. If the player decides to give him the data anyway he will never be seen again and the quest is complete xD

Otherwise, if the player decides to fight him or otherwise doesn't wanna hand over the data, Vince will deescalate the situation and disappear - but promise that this will have consequences. After a few ingame days have passed, the player will receive a message from a normal contact - a fixer, or one of their friends, about meeting them at/travelling to a Northside location for an important clue or a profitable opportunity (might be dependant on dialogues chosen during the first encounter with Vince!).

When the player gets there though, they're instantly incapacitated as their cyberware gets hacked (imagine a milder version of system shutdown - they're still conscious but not really able to move or do much).

Enter, Vince in his true colors XD He still wants the data the player stole from Jotaro, or at least know what they did with it so he can somehow track the information down that he needs. Again, the player can be cooperative or not, but Vince can be quite threatening and may confront the player about the Biochip in their head and how much money his employer would pay him for returning it. At some point during the convo though it becomes apparent that Vince is acting completely on his own - he's here with a random motorcycle, there's no backup, etc.

Vince will confess that he's planning his exit from Arasaka in the near future and wants to gather as much incriminating intel on his superiors and colleagues as possible to ruin their lives even worse than they ruined his. It's up to the player whether or not they believe him that xD Either or, in some way or another, Vince will have the information he wants by the end of the convo and the player is free to go.

If they've been cooperative or otherwise understanding, a male player can try to flirt with him, because why the hell not xD I think Vince would be down for a one-night-stand in the way it's possible with Meredith and Rogue (maybe right there on that bike, who knows 👀)

Either or, he will eventually leave, the quest will complete, and if the player helped or was otherwise cooperative, they may receive an update from an unknown number some time down the line thanking them for the help in starting over once more.

This was seriously so much fun to think about, can highly recommend putting your blorbos into even more situations as an NPC like this :D I might make this conversation layout as a little "for general use" template somewhere down the line, cause I'd love to see some of your characters and how they would be like as NPCs!

[msommers]

SFW 2, 11, 13 and NSFW 9, 13 for jorina/aleksi and meredith/alistair!!

we're pretending this was posted on time, yeah xoxoxox // shipping headcanons

2) Who’s the messiest? The cleanest?

JORINA/ALEKSI — Aleksi strikes me as the “this chaos has a method, trust me” type of messy (if incorrect, scratch the following 💚), which drives Jorina (the local scout who would used a label maker if they existed) so far up the walls she may as well be climbing into the breach. her spaces are always neat, her packs have specific layouts, and she craves the control of organization. if any of Aleksi's things look out of order she's shaking, screaming inside, dying to get a hold of it and fix it herself before the needless anxiety of it gets to her. it's truly not that serious but there she goes.

MEREDITH/ALISTAIR — it would have to default to Alistair just because Meredith’s every bit the prim and proper lady, she’s finding ways to stay clean and organized even through a whole year of blight where it’s the least important focus. that being said! i don't know, i can’t see him being that messy as to be noteworthy?? his first decade was spent in an arl’s home, and then he followed it with another ten~ years with the Chantry. in my head—aka i don’t remember if it’s ever mentioned in canon, but it makes sense to me—i see templar training as being a meticulous and painstaking thing, which included tedious standards about cleanliness/organization. if that’s wrong we can ignore it but i’m living that truth for now. 

11) Baths or showers? Together or separate? Any bubbles or bubble fights?

JORINA/ALEKSI — they have the unique case of having frequent opportunities to get close to a shower as they're constantly traveling and nearby the many waterfalls of the regions they're sent to, and bathing in the various bodies of water is kinda close to baths sometimes, so like,,, both and neither lmao. i think Jorina has fun sharing those out in the field but prefers baths on her own when they're staying at Skyhold, they help to settle her thoughts and recharge her social battery without boyfriend interference. she just needs her space sometimes y’know 

MEREDITH/ALISTAIR — they're stuck with the #ThedasLife baths fate, not that they're complaining tho. shared baths would be more of a rare occurrence but that means the romance~~ of them is almost assuredly hammed up every time. candlelight, rose petals, scented oils, expensive ass soaps, you name it and they have it at the ready. the unspoken rule is that this activity is reserved for affection and relaxation, not work or other responsibilities, a guaranteed bit of tenderness amidst the never-ending cycle of bullshit beyond the room lmao 

13) Who stays up late? Who sleeps the most? Does the other have to force them to sleep/wake up?

JORINA/ALEKSI — i can see them both having a decent schedule tbh. Jorina because she finds comfort in the routine and Aleksi simply because he strikes me as more of a morning person than a night owl (correct me if wrong). Jorina would likely be the one to occasionally stay up late for work if it's urgent. he sleeps more because she's probably insane and has adjusted to 6 hours each night. i don't think forcing to sleep or wake up is required but i imagine Aleksi has to coax her into relaxing and enjoying the early hours of the morning rather than burying herself in work straight away, whether that be with cuddling or sitting down for a proper breakfast and chat or some other way he's come up with. 

MEREDITH/ALISTAIR — they both had horrendous sleep overall during the blight, but had opposite problems with Meredith staying up far too long and Alistair being practically dead come morning. with their powers combined they were a fucking nightmare to wake for the others at camp 🥰 i like to think they were able to find a better, more restful routine after settling into Denerim. sturdy walls, a cozy bedroom, and [mostly] trusted allies can work wonders for the rest routine. Alistair occasionally has to wake her from nightmares, they're rare but always intense enough to have her moving and making sounds in her sleep. 

9) Quickest turn ons? Immediate turn offs?

JORINA/ALEKSI — i can’t remember if it’s ever been discussed but i know in my core that Aleksi would be into talking dirty, and that’s an excellent candidate for the fastest way to get Jorina squirming, especially if he’s getting handsy at the same time. she’s bright red and mortified about how much it affects her but we know she gets off on that anyway so it’s fine, homeboy can have her knees shaking in 30 seconds flat if he’s got the right teasing lined up lmao. i’d say her immediate turn off would be the abrupt realization that they’re actually in risk of being caught while having sex in a public space. it’s usually exhilarating and arousing because she’s engaging in a big display of trust that she’s allowing him to lead her through such risky acts, there’s a pleasure she finds in showing that vulnerability and embracing the thrill of such a reckless decision—but all of that immediately shatters if she believes they’re 2 seconds away from being discovered. i imagine there could likely be a security-focused moment leading up to many of these public acts where he’s assured her that they’re not truly at risk where they are and she feels certain enough to indulge in the play-fantasy of it, but girl. she’d be dried up and looking for the nearest black hole to jump into so quickly if she thought they were about to be found fr

on Aleksi’s end i don’t know about turn ons but i can say that i personally wouldn’t blame him if he got turned off quick on the nights he’s putting in work to set a mood and ease her away from work and that insane stubbornness of hers kicks in and she’s too in her own head to notice/appreciate/engage it. 

MEREDITH/ALISTAIR — Meredith is a lady of refined taste who also has a massive brain, so obviously her quickest turn on is watching Alistair doff his armor or dress down for bed. can she truly be bullied about being so basic if these things give her such a lovely view of his muscles? his soft tummy?? his thighs??? the hairy chest and happy trail that we all know is there???? exactly. thank you. ANYWAY. her quickest turn-off is him saying one too many jokes when they're getting into the mood for anything sexual. it's more slow-rolling because she can take a few and may even find them funny, but then it'll hit that limit and she's abruptly finished. clocked out for the evening, try again tomorrow.

first of all, i refuse to believe this guy doesn't have a blatant praise kink. second, Meredith 100% starts to use that to her advantage to have him immediately snapping to attention with targeted compliments and approval. turn off would have to be the occasions where he sees that she's clearly not present and her mind has drifted off after they've already started to get hot and heavy. nothing kills the vibe quite like “you're thinking about the food shortage in amaranthine again, aren’t you?” while he's nearly through unlacing her underclothes, bc they both know she can’t deny it lmfao

13) Who’s loud? Who’s quiet? Does one try to make the other louder/quieter? How?

JORINA/ALEKSI — Jorina is louder than she's entirely comfortable with but it can be managed. dunno about Aleksi's volume level, but in general i see him as being on the chatty side rather than quiet. almost certainly they both enjoy the act of him whittling away at her composure until she can't control the sounds coming out of her own damn mouth, even if she tries to scold him for it after (neither of them buy it, she's a terrible actor).

MEREDITH/ALISTAIR — in my heart Alistair is a little noisy and i can't be convinced otherwise. you trying to tell me that boy isn't prime for whining and moaning and babbling?? yeah, ok 🙄 Meredith's a bit quieter but can get pretty mouthy in drawn out sessions. i don't think they purposefully try to make each other louder, but it's a good deal of fun when it happens naturally from somebody's efforts.

[fallloverfic]

Dr. Meredith Blitzmeyer and the "Nimona" movie

Spoilers for the "Nimona" movie beneath the cut

So José Manuel Fernández Oli put out some concept work for the movie on Facebook and this piece is for: "Before painting a representative moment of the movie, several layout sketches are done, offering different points of view, acting, etc. This is one of the different layout sketches of the " Runaway " moment with Meredith Blitzmeyer."

Another piece from him:

"If you're familiar with the original comic book, you'll know who the doctor and magician Meredith Blitzmeyer is. This is a concept painting from previous script versions, where Ballister Boldheart asks his scientist friend for help."

I know we've seen posts about the Silver Society (that Blitzmeyer was maybe a part of) and Blitzmeyer footage (that was scrapped and kind of reused for Queen Valerin) but they were planned to be friends!!! THEY WERE GOING TO BE FRIENDS!!!

Anyway I wrote a fic after I saw the movie on June 24th about how Blitzmeyer is movie!Ballister's friend and helps him out and it's not really like what I'm seeing in concept art but anyway I am feeling things seeing all this stuff about how important Blitzmeyer was going to be before being cut.

[ciggrtte]

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2 / ?

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[cheriecherriecherry]

about me!

bella ❄ she/her ❄ autistic ❄ queer ❄ agender ❄ usa ❄ aquarius ❄ fangirl ❄ reader ❄ isfp ❄ uquiz lover ❄ nature enthusiast ❄ music lover ❄ nerd ❄

people i love ♥ gracie abrams ♥ taylor swift ♥ matthew gray gubler ♥ harry styles ♥ role model ♥ lizzy mcalpine ♥ emma foley ♥ maisie peters ♥ phoebe bridgers ♥ ethel cain ♥ noah kahan ♥ brie larson ♥ xochitl gomez ♥ daveed diggs ♥ jamie campbell bower ♥ sabrina carpenter ♥ hailee steinfeld ♥ reneé rapp ♥ rhea ripley ♥ andy samberg ♥ boygenius ♥ billie eilish ♥ stevie nicks ♥ fiona apple ♥ brandi carlile ♥ hozier ♥ lorde ♥ ashe ♥ bon iver ♥ adrienne lenker ♥ searows ♥ aubrey plaza ♥

characters i love ♥ spencer reid ♥ matt murdock ♥ carol danvers ♥ wanda maximoff ♥ jennifer walters ♥ kate bishop ♥ yelena belova ♥ natasha romanoff ♥ valkyrie ♥ peter parker ♥ thor ♥ loki ♥ wong ♥ bucky barnes ♥ tony stark ♥ stephen strange ♥ maria hill ♥ darcy lewis ♥ jo march ♥ amy march ♥ jennifer jareau ♥ emily prentiss ♥ derek morgan ♥ penelope garcia ♥ lorelai gilmore ♥ paris geller ♥ lane kim ♥ chris alonso ♥ jake peralta ♥ amy santiago ♥ rosa diaz ♥ anakin skywalker ♥ padme amidala ♥ daenarys targaryen ♥ rikki chadwick ♥ hermione granger ♥ elizabeth mccord ♥ stevie mccord ♥ henry mccord ♥ elena alvarez ♥ lydia riera ♥ penelope alvarez ♥ leslie berkowitz ♥ monica geller ♥ meredith grey ♥ percy jackson ♥ annabeth chase ♥ nico di angelo ♥ leo valdez ♥ piper mclean ♥ reyna avila ramírez-arellano ♥ rachel elizabeth dare ♥ meg mccaffrey ♥ sadie kane ♥ zia rashid ♥ samirah al abbas ♥ alex fierro ♥ hearthstone ♥ casey gardner ♥ izzie taylor ♥

media i love ♥ criminal minds ♥ marvel cinematic universe ♥ madam secretary ♥ one day at a time ♥ atypical ♥ gilmore girls ♥ percy jackson and the olympians ♥ heroes of olympus ♥ trials of apollo ♥ the kane chronicles ♥ magnus chase ♥ brooklyn nine-nine ♥ little women (all) ♥ madam secretary ♥ abbott elementary ♥ S.W.A.T. ♥

thank you for reading!!!

credits: @thefootnotes for the layout inspo, @enchanthings for the borders! xx

[darkhorse-javert]

Not exactly flufftober- Day 15 'Emergency/Confession/Adventure'

A scenario I've had in my head for a while, but it doesn't fit in any sort of my AU or true canon. This is a good excuse to write it, although it is rather more angsty than fluffy

Slightly inspired by the fact that a police station in Hastings (but not the main one) was affected, although not demolioshed by a blast in 1943.

Foyle hears the distant scream of a shell falling somewhere in the town, and braces, counting it down. Near but not very near, closer to the coast, the shockwave doesn't reach this far. He breaks into a jogging run in the direction it fell; too many years of instinct, of being one to help, taking over against new habits of a civilian.

It's a running member of the ARP he meets as he strides onto the high street "Where is it?"

Habit causes the man to call back "Down by the Town Hall, Mr Foyle."

Oh no - Not the station, please. He, he knows should be equally worried for the more central offices of the town, the records, the functional points, but he isn't.

His legs move faster, rounding the corners even with the longer legged man.

The station, or rather a crumpled pile of rubble where it was, rears up in front of him, throwing him to a dead stop.

Oh no. Sam, Milner, Brooke... Sam. The shelter is deep down, in the old archive cellars, they'll be fine, you know how solid the foundations are and how many stairs down to them

And already the ARP and rescue crews are swarming onto the rubble. At least with this building, they already have the blueprints, they know where the designated shelter is, they'll have everyone out quick.

Assuming everyone is in the shelter.. no don't even think that. You know better. And was there anyone in the cells,

He watches as rubble is shifted efficiently and one then two of the rescue disappear into a gap. He watches, thinks about the layout of the building, yes that would be the quickest way down. It still feels like an age, before one of the rescue uniforms reappears, then followed by a dark head, and a darker uniform, police black and silver. Brooke

He's calling something frantically, almost shouting, “in the office, far end two of them, in the office!”

They're leading him out, but Brooke is fighting against the gentle -now firming - hands trying to turn back to the building. Milner, who follows him, also makes a scramble for the rubble, managing it in spite of their efforts to head him off.

Foyle follows the scramble with his eyes, only to find Brooke stumbling towards him, face pale, aghast. 

"Mr Foyle, Miss Stewart..." He coughs hard a couple of times then the words tumble out "She'd been called into the office by Mr Meredith, one of the constables ran up and yelled for them when the siren went off I thought she'd be behind us, with Himself." He stares up at the building pile for a moment ,"I should have gone back for her, was too busy herding the new constables," Brooke's lips draw back in an angry half-snarl at himself, contrasting with the agony in his tone.

You should, a small part of Foyle's mind says, even though he knows it's uncharitable, unfair."You did your best, Sargeant - if you'd gone back, who's to say you would have made it to the shelter in time?"

Brooke did not look comforted, Foyle turns back with him to see Milner being marched back down the rubble pile, one ARP on either side of him, the sargeant's hands dusty, bleeding from brick scratches, shouting back at the rescue workers "Down the far end, the last room- let go of me."

The other policemen, once his men, have gathered around him and Brooke as they each file out from the shelter with the rescue workers, a flock of bruised and bewildered individuals 

On the ground, Milner jerks his arms freefrom restraining hands, and comes to them, oblivious to his hands. Foylr hears Brooke and one of the WVS talking to him, something about getting them seen to. He watches the careful ant-line of heavy Rescue and ARP assistants stretching on to the rubble, starting to pass bricks down one by one in a chain, others passing up supports.

“Register please -anyone of those in the building un-accounted for?"

“Two, DCS Meredith and Mrs Foyle, in the DCS office.”

He wishes it would stop, but it’s protocol. Count them off, and confirm, and confirm again Sam's been in bad scrapes like this and got out of it, her first billet was bombed, that near scare in the fuel depot and the woods, she'll be fine., But even the luckiest run out of luck.

Not Sam, please, not Sam.

The hammer of running feet jolts him from the dull bubble of waiting. Frantically running feet, at that. Training turns him towards it, to head off an outsider from interfering with the rescue work.

It's Andrew. His son hares towards the group, eyes darting over it, quickly. Looking for Khaki in the dusty-dark uniforms. "Sam?" He shouts ahead of himself; “Sam?"

At least one person shifts towards the wreckage, because Andrew almost stops, then twists to keep going. "Sam!"

Constable Willis reaches out to try and stop Andrew's rush towards the rubble, and gets shoved away for his pains, stumbling, nearly falling.

"Andrew!" Foyle tries to call to him, but there's a tight focus on his son's face, he won't hear or see anything beyond what he wants to right now. But Willis has done some good, for another figure in RAF blue catches up with Andrew and bodily grabs him, halting the rush.

"Whatthe- let me go! My wife's in there" Andrew thrashes in the grip of his fellow serviceman, nearly getting free. The sergeant hooks a leg around Andrews and the pair of them tumble to the ground, the sargeant ending up uppermost, pinning Andrew down. Foyle goes to them

"Let Me Up!" Andrew is shouting, struggling to get up. "I'm an officer, your senior officer, you can't behave like this."

"I can, Sir." The sergeant says, containing Andrew's movements "WingCo's standing orders, any young officer behaving without due sense of his own safety may and should be restrained, by means necessary."

Andrew makes another effort, then stops fighting. Slowly after a few moments, the sargeant rises, keeping a wary hand on Andrew's upper arm. Foyle reaches down, putting a hand on his son's shoulder as Andrew picks himself up, barely focused on what he is actually doing, eyes only for the rubble of the station, the workers on it.

When Andrew looks over to him, his son's eyes are wide, dark and broken.

"You promised you'd take care of her." It's a plea, more than a condemnation, a vent of feelings rather than a sensible attack.

He can only nod, keeping his hand on Andrew's arm, ready to stop him if he made another mad rush for the rubble. But whatever desperation gave Andrew the impetus to try a few moments ago seems to drain out of him. So they stand there, bleak, waiting.

Waiting.

The top ants in the chain have disappeared down into the rubble now. Someone still on the outside holds up a hand, and what little noise there is drops away. The hand drops, the nurses checking everyone over and the WVS with their teas begin to murmur again.

The hand goes up again, another segment of silence then there's noise from somewhere in the pile, a muffled shouting- there is a frantic flurry of activity, one man coming down, a stretcher being passed up the chain.

Found someone, or two maybe. But the stretcher - that could go either way.

"What is it? How many have you got?" It's Brooke who calls the words to the Rescue man, but the man ignores him, going to the nurses actually ignores him.

He locks his eyes on the top of the pile, feeling Andrew rigid beside him.

A dark helmeted head pops up, just visible. Then next to it, higher, a head without a helmet, appearing taller, being handed over and helped by the next man in the chain. Khaki, not a suit , distinctive hair made a strange colour by the dust.

Andrew makes an odd yelping noise next to him, as if he's tried to shout, but failed, and Foyle finds he can't muster the breath to call out. It's all stuck.

She's in one piece, somehow, she's in one piece.

Not ‘Alright’, that would be going too far until she’s been checked over, and no doubt she’s shaken up, who wouldn’t be in that circumstance. 

She’s having difficulty picking her normally nimble feet through the ruins, needing a lot of help from the chain of men, but she’s up.

“SAM!” Andrew finds his voice, and bolts. This time Chrtistopher doesn’t stop him, merely lets him go, then follows at a swift clip. Andrew stops at the bottom of the pile, just as Sam is helped down onto the ground. His son reaches for her, but there’s already a nurse stepping in, practised hands guiding a pale - very pale - Sam along, touching; beginning the check for injury. Andrew yanks off his great coat, offering it out to a reaching hand in lieu of a blanket  Then the two of them can only walk at the nurse’s heels, over to the ambulance, where Sam is seated on the back ledge

The nurse turns sharp eyes on them, clearly about to shoo them off. 

“They’re family,” Sam says behind the white apron, and the nurse relaxes a fraction “Sir,” Sam continues, addressing him around the nurse, her tone formal “DCS Meredith is dead… I tried to get him to leave when the siren went, but he wouldn’t,” Her eyes are grieved 

“That doesn’t matter now, Sam… you’re alright.” And I’m not your senior officer anymore, but I’ll let that matter slide

“I did try,” she insists, leaning towards him, tear streaks on his face in the dust “I really did.”

Andrew has dropped to his knees by his wife, reaching out to take her hands. It seems to Foyle than she leans into his touch, never flinching, still talking as the nurse dresses a cut on her forehead 

“I didn’t have time to get to the shelter by then, I heard it coming down” she shudders, “Just threw myself under Meredith’s desk. Seemed the strongest thing there was in the room. Then everything came in on us.”

It’s the shock, Foyle thinks, jarring her into talking like this. 

Andrew makes soft noises, drawing the coat more firmly around her, then gently slipping up next to her and easing an arm around her shoulders protectively. Sam leans into his son, taking the support, and she doesn’t seem pained in doing so.That’s a good sign, not injured inside apparently, “You did what you could Sam.” You’re safe. Oh there were a great many more official things which could matter, and the death of an officer would make life difficult for those at the station - but I’m a civilian now, and that’s not my business, but my family is.

[nanowrimo]

Back to School: Interview with Meredith Towne, Young Writers Program Educator

NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program helps over 85,000 kids, teens, teachers, and families set creative goals and tell stories they care about. We asked some of our amazing YWP educators to share how they take on the NaNoWriMo challenge in their classroom. Today’s advice comes from Meredith Towne, a high school English teacher in New York City!

Q: What grade/ age level do you work with? What type of NaNoWriMo group is it (whole class, club, homeschool, elective, etc.)?

A: 12th. Whole class (ELA 12, general education and ICT)

Q: How long have you been doing NaNoWriMo with your students?

A: 7 years

Q: How do you structure the entire project (for example, do you start prepping in October and write in November, do you have kids work on it all year, etc.)?

A: We do 2 weeks of prep in October, write in November, revise 10 pages in December (2500-3k words). This year we had workbooks for all our students which was a huge help.

Q: What does a normal NaNoWriMo day look like for your students?

A: In November students come in and write. Teachers do 1:1 check-ins. With holidays sometimes students only get 13 class days (60 min each) so every moment is precious.

Q: How do you set and manage word-count goals?

A: We conference and since Covid have let students choose their goals and have pushed less. Usually we challenge 10k, 20k or 30k+ goals.

Q: How do you manage grading? Do you grade?

A: We do 4 progress checks where students are to meet the word count goal for that day. This is a participation grade. The revision is then graded as a summative assessment for all of our core competencies. I also love the YWP portal. It has become easy to track student progress and coordinate with co-teachers.

Q: How do you approach revision/ publishing (if at all)?

A: 10 pages, a section of choice. Bookcreator.com is an amazing tool for creating a cover and cool layout. We do a public share as well.

Q: Any NaNoWriMo tips or tricks to share with other educators? Hard-won lessons? Ah-ha moments?

A: Get the workbooks. Don't grade down for not meeting goal. Progress not perfection. In our classes students have to write at least 1500 words to be eligible to revise. If they have not met goals they move to an alternative assessment we have designed that aligns with our competency skills.

Q: Have you ever run into resistance from your administration about doing NaNoWriMo, and if so, how did you manage it? What do you say to people who don’t see the point of having students write novels?

A: No, never an issue. It has become one of the things lower classmen are warned about in Ms. Towne's class! 😀 I love this legacy.

Q: What are the most meaningful things you or your students take away from the project? What's your best NaNoWriMo memory?

A: One of the students who did NaNo in 2017 is starting a MFA in creative writing. This is the same kid who told me his senior year he didn't want to go to college. I credit NaNo!

Meredith Towne is a high school English teacher in New York City. She has challenged her Seniors to win NaNoWriMo YWP for the last 7 years. Meredith especially loves writing along with her students so they can see her walk the walk. She does her best writing early in the morning and can be found in her classroom before the sun comes up in November to write.