#mrs mccarthy imagine

[brighter-by-the-daly]

Ruesha Littlejohn x Reader

You Ruined Love for Me

Part of the Beth McCarthy mini song series

If You Loved Me Right

If you didn't lie to me

Tell me you'd die for me

Break every promise

If you were honest

I wouldn't be crazy

If you didn't call me names

If you didn't try to change

Every part of me

Every part of me you hate, I

Know that if you loved me right

I wouldn't be crazy

On the plane to Australia you were catching up with the latest Ruetube, they always make you laugh and couldn’t wait to see if you had made this week’s cut. Midway through, you could tell your bestie wasn’t her usual happy and crazy self; she seemed distant and the sparkle in her eyes had faded. Always the light of the party and the clown of the locker room Ruesha had the power to make anyone belly laugh their way into next week. You could be having the worst day of your life but could guarantee Rue would change that with a single sentence. You never had to tell her you were having a bad day, she could always just sense it and would do everything she could to try and cheer you up. She was everyone’s pick-me-up and none of you had noticed how sad she truly was lately. She’d been painting on a brave face every day of training but the camera doesn’t lie - the despair in her eyes was undeniable. That’s why watching her online made you feel so guilty, you knew she was going through a tough time with the break up and being released from Villa but missed the sadness behind the mask she paints on every single day.

Looking behind to spot Rue a few rows back as she made her way through the aisle pretending to be an air hostess, singing Busted as she went, most would be fooled to think she was truly happy. You knew how much she had been worrying that she wouldn’t make the squad. You knew her break up with Katie was messy and that she didn’t get a choice about leaving Villa. Everything she’d known for years had gone. Disappeared. Her life had been turned upside down and you just hadn’t noticed how much it had taken a toll on her until you watched it back on the laptop. She may be laughing and joking behind you but it’s all pretend.

“Oh hello madam, may I offer you a refreshing beverage?” Rue tapped on your shoulder sounding exactly like Mrs Doubtfire. Entertaining her efforts as she served your drink but ignored Katie who was in the row opposite - you can hardly blame her! Everything had come at such a shit time for her and when she finally slumped back down in her seat, it didn’t take her long to put on her headphones and pull the hoodie over her eyes. Unable to watch her combust any longer you made yourself known by dropping hard into the empty seat next to her. She’d purposely stationed herself in the empty back row, moving from the seat in front of Katie before take off. Nudging her hood back to spy who had invaded her space to see it was you and immediately forced a smile back on to her face. “Wanna watch a movie?” your voice perky, “I’m not really in the mood (y/n/n)” your friend grumbled behind the jumper covering her mouth. “Okay..” thinking of another approach, “I have cards? Entertain an old lady would ya?” nudging her gently as she laughed a little at your statement. “I’m older than you ya cheeky hen, whats that make me?!” snatching the cards out of your hand to shuffle them.

A few games in, Rue finally took the bait and started talking. Just as you expected, life had just got a bit too much for her lately and putting on a front had become tiring. Determined to not let her be sad the entire tournament and knowing you were underdogs with this being Ireland’s first time at a World Cup, she should be enjoying it. So you decided to make it your mission to drag her through the shit and into the light so she could fully appreciate her first time in Australia and at a major tournament, knowing it would most likely be her last chance too. “I’m so glad you made it mate, I couldn’t imagine doing this without you” trying your best to make sure she knows how much the team love her. “Very nearly didn’t come, didn’t know if I could face that for weeks” gesturing towards Katie with her eyes. “But Shebhan convinced me, said I would never forgive myself if I stayed home” her eyes never faltered from the cards in her hand. “Well I’m glad I’ve got my best friend here” nudging her shoulder as you slapped down the winning card. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Sometimes the person who makes sure everyone’s okay needs someone to ensure she’s okay?” Rue nodded as she as shared out the cards again. Playing non stop for a few hours she shared her worries of not knowing how she’s going to cope being stuck with Katie for so long, at home she can escape but here she’s got to see her ex every single day. She was also hoping to be picked up before coming away but nobody had enquired about her and made the prospect of retiring suddenly more real. She didn’t know what she would do next but you told her you would pay a hell of a lot of money to hear her commentating and you’re sure others would too!

Once you’d arrived at the hotel you made sure Rue was your roommate so you could stabilise her mood and bring back a spark of joy we’re so used to seeing. You thought it was working but when the day of your first game came you could tell she was on the war path - snapping at everyone and losing it over the littlest things. You hadn’t put two and two together until you were in the tunnel stood across from Australia, noticing Caitlin Foord directly opposite Ruesha, suddenly everything made sense. As your eyes burned into the back of Rue’s head who was burning holes into her rival’s - on the pitch and off, you could tell by her stance she was angry. Echoes of Rue’s voice shouting for Ireland bounced around in the metal tunnel, bangs on the side rippling through the line up. By this point it was too late to address her as you walked out with your team, grabbing her after group photos to ask if she was okay. “Yeah why wouldn’t I be?” she replied in loud arrogance. You knew this was going to be a looong 90 minutes.

———-

Shoving Rue back into the locker room Katie was in her face and not letting up as she screamed at her that she was psycho. Laying into her ex for ignoring her new girlfriend in the line up and lashing out after the game. There’s a lot Rue did wrong but she played a superb game regardless, she hadn’t played 90 minutes in ages and it didn’t show for a second. Noticing Rue was about to blow you put yourself between the two exes just like you did on the pitch with Caitlin. You knew Rue was gonna boil over and being the nearest to her, you had to pull her away.. And here we are - a screaming match after our first ever World Cup game.. it certainly leaves a lot to be desired for the rest of the tournament! Being only one person in the middle of two very passionate people right now, it didn’t take them long to simply walk around you. Every time you moved between them they just swerved your body to face each other again. Two Irish women screaming at each other made your ears ring. “If you were a decent human being I wouldn’t be fucking crazy would I!” Rue shouted literally through you towards Katie. “You tried to change everything about me and that still wasn’t enough for you!” this time standing on the bench to shout over the top of you. “It’s always the same argument from you isn’t it! Can you blame me for not being honest if this is how you react? I don’t love you anymore Ruesha, I haven’t loved you for years!” That statement from Katie made your eyes bulge in shock, that was a spiteful thing to say. “You always liked to keep your options open didn’t you!” still standing on the bench and kicking Katie’s belongings onto the floor. “You’re so over emotional and unpredictable Rue, what the fuck even was that out there? Are you trying to embarrass all of us? You don’t deserve to be here!” Katie picked up a boot to throw at her. “WOAH, THAT IS ENOUGH!” you screamed to get their attention, grabbing the boot out of Katie’s hand and throwing it across the room. “RUE! OUT! NOW!” pointing at the door. Ruesha’s arms folded as she refused to move so you did the only thing you could. Grabbing her legs and throwing her over your shoulder you carried her out as the screaming continued behind, kicking the door to open it as you marched the midfielder out of the changing room. Placing her feet back on the ground, as soon as the door closed she burst into tears, lowering her down gently as she collapsed onto the floor. Cradling your best friend who wailed into your lap as the rest of the team walked past, you waved them on determined to not make it a big scene. Once they’d passed, you scooped her up to carry her into an empty room and attempted to her calm her uneven breathing, fetching cold towels for her forehead before she gave herself a migraine.

Exhausted from all the crying she soon fell asleep on the coach, your back was against the window with your legs draped over her - feeling like you were protecting her against the world and the childish snickers from the back of the bus. Arriving back at the hotel you carried her limp body into your room and tucked her into bed, holding her into the next day, ready to take on the world again - in more ways than one.

[anneofkeys]

I know Lady Felicia knows Mrs McCarthy leaves but I like to imagine that when she walks into the kitchen in episode 2 of season 10 she looks at Brenda and Mrs Devine and is like "Who are you? Where is Bunty?! WHERE IS MRS MCCARTHY?!?!"

[lovebunnie]

#then you wont survive bro hawk really thought tim might be murdered

Ahhhhhhhh!!!! Hawk having to play it cool when Tim told him about Roy Cohn following him into the bathroom and hearing that Cohn said the slur and Tim's a terrible liar. After Tim left his office, Hawk probably had to take a few breaths to center himself. Every one of his instincts, every single cell in his body, was telling him to storm Cohn's office and hold him by his collar and snarl at him, "You stay the fuck away from him." But he couldn't. What would that look like? I hate that I had to even write that and it's so fucked up that he can't protect Tim or even defend his honor. He probably couldn't even be like, "Hey, Mr. Cohn, he's just an aide. Leave him alone."

Imagine if Hawk found out that McCarthy pressed his thumb against Tim's throat. Or if he had seen it.

that is the crux of the dynamic between tim and hawk, atleast to me: hawk had no interest in changing the world and simply accepted it for what it was, and tim sought out a better life and worked to change things he saw as unjust.

i honestly dont think hawk would have stood up for tim at all if cohn or mccarthy used their intimidation tactics in front of him because hawk had been deceiving everyone for so long, it seems like he thought tim was just slow in realizing how the real world worked. its what makes tims response about hawk sounding like cohn hit: hawk did not care about tims feelings enough to want things to change. tim was being harassed into complacency and instead of hawk being on his side and condemning them, he stayed quiet and let the world as he knew it play out. tim was always the brave one and he basically tells hawk, again, that he is a coward like cohn.

[thatasnow]

The Call of the Stars - Prologue

Summary: Isabella, or Izzy, has her life turned upside down when, within days, an unexpected visitor summons her to return to her true home, Prythian. As long-buried secrets emerge and reality distorts around her, Izzy finds herself forced to confront a forgotten past and a destiny she never imagined. With the weight of a shocking revelation and a new journey unfolding, she must discover what it truly means to “go home” and what is at stake for her and the world she has been forced to leave behind.

Pairing: Azriel x OC (Eventually)

Warning: This prologue may contain elements of mystery, drama, and a healthy dose of emotion. Prepare for a journey with unexpected twists and turns and perhaps a little star magic. For those sensitive to themes of trauma and psychological issues, please read with caution. Enjoy reading and keep your senses sharp!

The rights to the ACOTAR universe and characters go to the author, Sarah J. Maas.

Prologue

I vaguely remember that when I was a child I was terrified of waking up alone at home, blame my parents for deciding to choose “Home Alone” in one of our movie sessions. As the years went by I calmed down and my fear disappeared as if I had never felt it, I felt completely sure that I would never be abandoned, but reality made itself present in my adolescence and I can't say that it was kind to me.

My first abandonment was when I was around thirteen years old and the second (the worst in my opinion…) was after my long-awaited 15th birthday party. Since that year I have changed abruptly, which is something to be expected after something like that, right? Well, I don't think everyone thinks the same way as me.

Can you understand what I mean? - I just nod halfheartedly, which makes the woman in front of me sigh nervously - You need to get more involved with the other students, Miss Wilson, you were so much more talkative when you arrived, I'm sure you miss more human interactions..- the frustration in her shrill voice was noticeable.

I'll talk to Tom now - I counter with a shrug, which annoys her even more with my carefree air and not at all open to the older woman's advice.

One friend is not enough, you have to be more sociable, what are you going to do when you go out into the adult world like this? - I huff indignantly at Mrs. McCarthy's same old talk.

This doesn't affect me in any way, I'm here talking to you, aren't I? I don't need to make friends with everyone I talk to - I retort, crossing my arms under my chest, while I raise one of my eyebrows in question.

Go back to your dorm, you have a visitor - I frown, confused - you are free from your obligations for today - it was noticeable that she remained bitter from our super "productive" conversation.

It's not my fault that she doesn't understand my reasons, I won't change just because of a warning from someone who doesn't even really know me. Only Tom could do that, he's the only one who really knows me, the only one who tried to get to know me for real and in his own way, he managed to do it. Without saying anything else, I stand up and without looking back I leave, with the news still being processed by my brain.

Finally! - My friend exclaims loudly next to me, which takes me out of my train of thought - I thought I would have to go in and intervene before we missed the first class! - He continues as he starts walking down the wide gray hallway.

You know you don't have to wait for me - I complain, starting to walk beside him - besides, I'm not going to go to classes today, Tom.. - with that he stops walking which makes me do the same.

Don't tell me you're feeling sick - he says, his eyes shining with concern.

No.. I'll be receiving a visitor.. - I smile slightly at his concern, but it soon disappears, my mind bubbling with possibilities, none of which seem good to me.

I don't have any really close relatives, or friends outside of this boarding school. It's been years since it's been just me and Tom, my only friend and family. Not that I disregard my parents or anything, but I haven't had them in my life for several years and, apart from my moments with them as a child, I had nothing else in my life that reminded me of them other than the titles acquired when I was born.

Do you know who you are?… - he begins the question carefully, gently taking me out of my thoughts. My eyes, in their unusual shades of violet, turn to his brown ones, finding his face frowning in confusion, just as I had a few minutes ago when I learned of this “visit”. But somehow, that confused but equally worried expression on his soft features, for the first time, resonated differently, making my heart flutter in my chest. I always appreciated my friend’s care and concern for this, but my body had never reacted so intensely before.

I have no idea who it is..- I answer honestly, crossing my arms restlessly, hopping from one foot to the other. - And to be honest… it terrifies me… what if they found out what happened that night, Tom? - I murmur the question softly, leaning forward slightly so that he wouldn’t have trouble hearing me. The anguish in my voice was palpable and my worried gaze scanning the empty hallway around us was visible.

There's no way they can find out anything… especially since nothing happened… - He assures me softly, placing his thin but strong hands on my forearms, drawing circles on my skin to calm me down. Which works at first, after I take a deep breath, focusing my eyes on his again that attract me with how captivating they are.

You know I'm not so sure about that, Tom… - I argue weakly, trying to truly believe my friend's words, but they seem so far from reality in the morning light, no longer like a messy fever dream. I knew it had happened, even in the face of a hideous and simply senseless unreality, I feel it deep down.

I lift my head and take a deep breath, trying to compose myself, which I fragilely manage, I'm just not so sure how much I'll be able to hold it in this way.

Well… - I begin calmly, forging a facade of neutrality that belies my inner conflict. But despite feigning my composure, there would always be a vulnerability in me when it comes to Tom, it's undeniable and instinctive. - I have to go back to my dorm to meet this mysterious person… wish me luck! - I add with an incredibly convincing forced smile, but I know I'm not convincing him anymore.

Remember to take a deep breath… everything will be okay… don’t worry, Izzy… - he answers gently, leaning in to kiss my forehead tenderly, making my facade falter for a second as I close my eyes, enjoying the comfort he brings me.

With one last gentle look in my direction, Tom is gone, walking quickly down the huge, empty hallway with white walls and gray marble floors in order to avoid being even later for class, it makes me feel slightly guilty for being the cause again. My gaze moves to the opposite side of the hallway from where Tom went, my shoulders squaring up as if I were going into battle, which emotionally I might be.

It was a purposely slow walk, I knew something wasn’t right, I could feel it in my bones and I may be paranoid and cowardly, I know that, but I couldn’t help it. When I reached the door to my dorm, my breathing hitched as I slowly opened the door, only for it to go out in a single breath when I saw who was waiting for me. My eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing.

She hadn't changed at all, her face soft but strong and chiseled in the jaw and cheeks, her gaze sharpened by time but equally warm and impossibly violet, just like mine. My mother.

She looked like the same woman as before, the same one who read to my little me every night while my father worked until the next morning. But that should be impossible, really impossible… My mother had been in prison for over 10 years, so how could she not change? Not a single wrinkle had appeared in that time, nothing… not even a new scar to tell the story of her time in prison.

How long, my beautiful little star…- my mother's melodic voice wakes me from my stupor, and with small tears on my face I run to her and hug her fiercely, burying my face in the crook of her neck, as if I was afraid she would disappear. I feel myself trembling in her arms, as she calms me with soft caresses on my scalp, her other arm wrapping around my back protectively. My tremors only calm down when she starts humming one of my favorite songs, one she loved to sing to me when she was younger, and even though I couldn't listen to it at boarding school because I could never find it on the internet, it seemed vivid in my memory.

But something makes me stiffen and open my eyes abruptly… the melody… my mother's voice was in my head… just like I had done last night…

Not in the same way and not with the same intensity… she was being much softer than I had been with Rick. I pull away from her, pacing the room in a panic, trying to calm myself and telling myself that this was just my mind playing tricks on me with the irrational fear in my head. It didn't make any sense!

But to my complete horror, my mother's voice returns to my mind, soft and comforting - We have to go back to our home, my little star… we have to go back to Prythian… - this does not calm me at all, it only makes me more confused and horrified. How was this possible? Where is this Pryhian? Or better yet, what is Prythian?

Next

[owl-by-night]

Kembleford timeloop - more faerie fic

Having a bit of a week so posting more fic for the ‘only faeries can explain the Kembleford timeloop’ AU. This time it features Sid as a young evacuee. All you need to know from the previous fic is that the Kembleford timeloop is caused by Monty and Felicia who are not entirely human and can control time. Look, it makes about as much sense as the timeline does in canon…

“I think I met the queen of the fairies today,” Sid says at dinner. Then he regrets it because he’s much too old to admit to believing in fairies. Nor is he a soppy girl like the ones who whisper and giggle at him in the village school. He only said it because he has no other explanation for what he saw. 

“What nonsense,” says Mrs McCarthy, who is too busy worrying about ration books and feeding a growing boy who seems to be nothing but skin and bones and dirt. She scrubs him clean when she can but it never takes. 

“That sounds very interesting, Sidney,” says Father Brown. “Where did you meet her?”

“In uh…” Sid freezes suddenly, and when Father Brown reaches for the salt he flinches, expecting a cuff round the ear because he was trespassing somewhere even the local boys told him not to go. 

The Father notices and smiles reassuringly. He has a great understanding of the sins of small boys. He does not hit them either, which Sid is only just beginning to trust. “In the Montague orchards, was it? I thought I saw you walking that way this afternoon.”

“Uh… yeah.” Sid looks sideways at Mrs McCarthy, who tuts. 

“And what did she look like?” Father Brown smiles at him, all kindly curiosity. 

“Well… she was… she had bare feet and flowers in her hair and she was y’know… pretty.” Sidney blushes. He means beautiful but can’t bring himself to say the word. “And um… she climbed a tree and gave me an apple.”

“Climbing trees and flowers in her hair indeed.” Mrs McCarthy looks heavenward. “I hardly think so. And as for going barefoot in this weather! You’ve been dreaming, Sidney. You’re lucky the gardener didn’t catch you, trespassing like that.”

Sid closes his mouth sullenly. He refuses to say any more except to ask politely for seconds because Mrs McCarthy is strict about manners and more than happy to withhold a second piece of pie from a boy who doesn’t say please and thank you. 

Later, at bedtime, he finds a flower caught in his hair. He pulls it out and, without being quite sure why, puts it in his little tin of treasures hidden beneath the floorboard. 

On Sunday, scrubbed, scolded and half choked by his new best clothes, he sees the queen of fairies again. He gasps, and stifles it quickly because Mrs McCarthy has a sharp eye on his behaviour. The woman is perfectly ordinarily dressed today, in a suit and heels like all the ladies at church and wearing a perfectly ordinary hat instead of a crown of flowers. He thinks he’d recognise her anywhere though and even dressed according to Kembleford convention, everything about her is just a little more beautiful. When she walks past him to her pew he can smell flowers. 

He watches her, mouth agape, and Mrs McCarthy has to nudge him hard to make him stand up or sit down or sing during the still unfamiliar service. When it is over, he watches the lady walk out of the church and notes the way that the crowd always parts to let her through. 

“Mrs M,” he says in a whisper, “who’s that?” 

Mrs McCarthy looks to where he is pointing. “Lady Felicia Montague.” She purses up her mouth and sounds disapproving but Sid can’t understand why because he thinks Lady Felicia is magnificent, whether she’s standing here in St Mary’s church or climbing apple trees in an orchard and sharing the most perfect apple he’s ever eaten. 

Lady Felicia turns to look at him then and, so quickly he might have imagined it, winks. 

Outside the church Sid is kept waiting beside Father Brown, fidgeting with the catapult in his pocket, itching to escape and knowing it won’t be permitted until all the parishioners have gone. The lady walks over to them, heels clicking on the path. 

“Lovely service as always, Father Brown,” she says. “And who is this?”

She looks at Sid and he thinks in that moment that she can see right through him: right through all the dirt and the guilt about the broken window and the stolen apples, right into the heart of him. His innermost orphaned self where he knows that he is unwanted and scared because he can’t seem to stay out of trouble and he has nowhere else to go and Father Brown is leaving and the Germans are trying to kill them all. He is so afraid to be left alone if Father Brown doesn’t come back that it sits like a great dark shadow in his heart. 

“A pleasure to meet you Sidney,” the lady says and she puts out a hand for him to shake. “You must come up to the house some time. I have apples that need picking.” Her voice is like sunshine coming out from behind the clouds, all warm and golden, making all his fears seem smaller and less terrifying. As if she knows that everything is going to be alright and is telling him to believe it. 

He’ll tell her one day, when he’s grown up enough to joke about it. “You know, when I first met you, I thought you were queen of the fairies.” Then she’ll laugh as if it were a very good kind of joke and he’ll laugh too about the foolish boy he’d been. 

But he’ll see the flash of something in her eyes, something green and gold and not quite human and he’ll wonder. Just as he always wonders about the flower that he found in his hair and kept. The one he still has and now knows is an apple blossom, impossibly out of season when he found it, kept safe in his tin of treasures and looking as fresh as the day it was picked. 

[mariana-oconnor]

The Boscombe Valley Mystery pt 1

We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the maid brought in a telegram.

Watson's back living with his wife at this point. I assume he means Mary and he's not got married again without mentioning it.

'Have just been wired for from the west of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy. Shall be glad if you will come with me. Air and scenery perfect.'

The word 'tragedy' does not fill me with optimism. But I suppose maybe if the tragic part is already out of the way before the story even starts, this might be less tragic than some of the others (Greek Interpreter, I'm looking at you).

But the airy tone and positivity here 'Air and scenery perfect' is such a wonderful juxtaposition with 'tragedy'. Hey Watson, want to investigate a horrible death? It's a beautiful part of the country.'

"What do you say, dear?" said my wife, looking across at me. "Will you go?" "I really don't know what to say. I have a fairly long list at present." "Oh, Anstruther would do your work for you. You have been looking a little pale lately. I think that the change would do you good, and you are always so interested in Mr Sherlock Holmes's cases." "I should be ungrateful if I were not, seeing what I gained through one of them," I answered.

Yeah, Mary wants him out of the house. But Watson doesn't seem enamored of the idea.

And Watson being cute with his wife is such a weird thing to see here. In fact this entire exchange is strange. We don't usually have Mary on the page, and the fact that they're here having a nice chat over breakfast and Watson's flirting like 'of course I'm interested in Sherlock's cases, they're how I met you.' He's being quite smooth here. Gonna give him that.

But Mary absolutely wants him to get out from under her feet for a bit. And he doesn't take a lot of persuading, but more than I anticipated.

It's kind of nice to see this little slice of domesticity between them.

We had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of papers which Holmes had brought with him.

An entire carriage to yourself? On a train in the UK? Wow. Excuse me while I try to imagine this...

"Have you heard anything of the case?" he asked. "Not a word. I have not seen a paper for some days."

How the turns table!

Watson, not reading the paper? Unthinkable!

"The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult it is to bring it home. In this case, however, they have established a very serious case against the son of the murdered man."

So we have a dead man and a son convicted of his murder. And Holmes is once again saying that boring crimes are more difficult to solve.

"The men had known each other in the colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when they came to settle down they should do so as near each other as possible."

I'm not the only one getting vibes, here, right?

"One was an old woman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was William Crowder, a game-keeper in the employ of Mr Turner."

I am instantly suspicious of this old woman. Who is she? What was she doing there? What's her name? How is she connected?

Watch her just be a random bystander who happened to be taking a walk.

"A girl of fourteen, Patience Moran, who is the daughter of the lodge-keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, was in one of the woods picking flowers."

Moran, you say?

It is not looking good for young Mr McCarthy, I have to say. But do we trust Patience Moran who heard some bad language and went running to snitch to her mother.

"There are several people in the neighbourhood, however, and among them Miss Turner, the daughter of the neighbouring landowner, who believe in his innocence, and who have retained Lestrade, whom you may recollect in connection with 'A Study in Scarlet', to work out the case in his interest."

Is that a whiff of romance I smell in the air?

And Lestrade! Hi Lestrade. Good to have you back.

"...in this season you shave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less and less complete as we get farther back on the left side, until it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated than the other. I could not imagine a man of your habits looking at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a result. I only quote this as a trivial example of observation and inference."

Watson, you look a right mess. Oh, I'm only saying this to demonstrate my observational brilliance.

Lol. This is not objective, Holmes. You use the word 'slovenly'. You know what you're doing. Although I cannot deny that after some of Watson's descriptions of perfectly nice people, he kind of deserves this a bit.

I also feel like maybe this is the sort of thing a spouse is supposed to mention. Like 'James, dear. Your beard is a good quarter inch longer on the left side than the right. Maybe you should check that?'

"On the inspector of constabulary informing him that he was a prisoner, he remarked that he was not surprised to hear it, and that it was no more than his deserts."

Omg I've been spelling deserts wrong in this context for my entire life. Wtf. I mean, it makes sense because 'what I deserve', 'my deserts'. But I've only ever heard the one s word pronounced as dezert, not dizert so I just assumed. Wow.

"He appeared to be much surprised at seeing me and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A conversation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows, for my father was a man of a very violent temper."

Methinks the man was waiting for someone else and did not want his son around to see the meeting.

"He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some allusion to a rat."

Was it a giant rat, perhaps from overseas? Say... Sumatra?

"It is really impossible for me to tell you. I can assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy which followed."

I always get so annoyed when people say this in mysteries. Like, my dude, if you don't know who killed him and you don't know why then you have no idea if it was related to your argument or not. Maybe someone overheard/saw your argument and went up to argue with him about the very same thing. You cannot know. Either you don't know why your father was killed or you do know why your father was killed, you cannot have it both ways.

"The Coroner: 'I understand that the cry of "Cooee" was a common signal between you and your father?' "Witness: 'It was.' "The Coroner: 'How was it, then, that he uttered it before he saw you, and before he even knew that you had returned from Bristol?'"

I mean... it's not exactly a top secret password? It's not like 'The fourth hawk hunts the night fox on the road to Atlantis'. It's a word. That is used in a certain context. Being used in that context. Unless coo-ee wasn't a phrase until after this?

OK, researching it has brought me dangerously close to spoilers, but I scrolled back up quickly enough that all I saw was the name of the story.

But apparently it's a Native Australian term originally, which I feel will be relevant because the two really good friends have come over from Australia. The wiki article says that it wasn't unknown in London in 1852 which is significantly before this story was written and set, but maybe it would be strange in a rural context. BUT if the guy is Australian why would he only use it with his son?

He was talking to his 'friend' from Australia.

Is this going to be a 'they're not really friends, they just know each others secrets' kind of situation?

"'Yet I have a vague impression that as I ran forward something lay upon the ground to the left of me. It seemed to me to be something grey in colour, a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps. When I rose from my father I looked round for it, but it was gone.'"

Weird to see the word 'plaid' here as I've never heard an English person use it, I don't think. But it doesn't seem to be being used to describe a pattern, but a specific item here. Which research tells me could be the full kilt with the bit over the shoulder and everything - that would be a strange thing to be lying around in the grass - or it's a type of jacket... so it's just another way of saying coat?

Now we have a mysterious missing piece of grey fabric that may or may not have been a coat. Implying that the younger Mr McCarthy missed a whole ass person while he was cradling his father's dead body. Not that I can blame him for that.

Though I suppose it could have been a dog or an animal of some sort that grabbed the item.

"Both you and the coroner have been at some pains," said he, "to single out the very strongest points in the young man's favour. Don't you see that you alternately give him credit for having too much imagination and too little?"

Like I said before, you can't have it both ways, Watson.

But I like Holmes's point: it's both too weird and too useless for him to have made it up. If you're going to make up a story, you make it believable and relevant to your innocence.

"And now here is my pocket Petrarch, and not another word shall I say of this case until we are on the scene of action."

Reading time now. Shhh, Watson!

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - Apr. 21

The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Part 1 of 3

And suddenly Mary's back in the picture, or at least the beginning of the picture, and I'm assuming it's Mary considering Watson never refers to her by anything other than "wife."

Still worthy of note, what with the last few stories starting out with Watson at Baker Street and no mention of her. It really makes you wonder why that would be. Who knows, maybe she was off visiting her dead mother again.

I like that Sherlock feels the need to include how nice the weather is as if solving a mystery with him isn't already enough to pique Watson's interest.

And I love how encouraging she is of these little jaunts with Sherlock. I just wish sometimes she could go along too, but you take what you can get.

Anstruther also interests me, mostly because it's such a cool name. I guess Watson's expanded his practice to working with another doctor, or maybe an assistant.

That's sweet of Watson, and very true. I doubt he would have ever met Mary were it not for Sherlock.

Since this is a case Watson has written up, the obvious answer is probably the least likely, so from a Doylist perspective I don't believe young Mr. McCarthy is the killer. Or would that be a Watsonian perspective if I'm looking at it as if Watson were a real person writing about these cases?

Either way I love the setup so far. It feels very classic mystery to me, with the witnesses and facts and a crime that seems to have a clear answer but doesn't really.

Lestrade! It's funny that Sherlock reminds Watson of him through their first case together, since in the order of stories we're going through there's probably a more recent case he was featured in.

But The Boscombe Valley Mystery was the fourth short story published, so of course there would be many references to the early stuff.

I imagine that Watson must be Sherlock's easiest subject of observation. He knows him very well, they've lived together, and I can see him just inspecting Watson for the first time in a while and comparing him to the last time he saw him, looking for differences, what's the same, etc.

And that's why I don't support the death penalty, summed up in this neat little exchange.

I have to admit it's a very contradictory detail that the Coroner pointed out, and I'm very eager to see how Sherlock is going to explain that later.

Sherlock makes a good point here as well. If young Mr. McCarthy can come up with such odd details as a disappearing cloth and a rat reference, he could probably think things through more.

Petrarch here apparently refers to Francesco Petrarca, a Renaissance scholar and poet. Neat that he has that.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

My Bio

Age: In my early twenties

Name: Can’t tell you

Birth Date: December 14, 2002

Favorite Adult Animation Shows: Solar Opposites, Robotomy, Rick and Morty, Adventure Time, South Park, Regular Show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Triptank, Lucy, Disenchantment, Futurama, The Simpsons, The Brak Show, Metalpacolypse, Soace Ghost Ciast to Coast, Central Park, Bob’s Burgers, American Dad, Clerks, Duncanville, Great North, Housebroken

Favorite Superhero Shows: Invincible, Villains of Valley View, Koala Man, Miraculous, Lab Rats, PPG ‘98, Hamster and Gretel, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Danny Phantom, Super Friends, Justice League ‘01, DC Super Girls ‘18, Static Shock, Horrorbots, Spider-Man ‘17, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, Kim Possible

Favorite Cartoon Network Shows: Amazing World of Gumball, Camp Lazlo, Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Cow and Chicken, Johnny Bravo, Dexter’s Laboratory, Time Squad

Favorite Nickelodeon Shows: SpongeBob SquarePants, Santo Bugito, Invader Zim, My Life as a Teenage Robot, El Tigre, Wonder Park, Modern Life, ICarly, Victorious, Kenan and Kel, All That

Favorite Disney Shows: Amphibia, Owl House, Ghost and Molly McGee, Hailey’s On It, Kiff, Star Darlings, Phineas and Ferb, Milo Murphy’s Law, Hannah Montana, Good Luck Charlie, Kickin It, Lab Rats

Favorite Discovery Family Shows: MLP ‘10, Aquabats Super Show

Favorite Streaming Shows: Centuarworld, Glitter Force Doki Doki

Favorite Food: Steak, Fries, Burgers, Chicken fingers, doughnuts, pancakes, bacon, fruit pastries, French toasts, fried chicken, turkey, duck, baked potatoes, hash browns, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, pork chops, ribs, Korean BBQ, Japanese chicken, steak fillet, Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos, CC’s Chips, banana bread, Cheez-It’s Snaps, Goldfish

Favorite Sweets: Ice Cream, Hershey’s Chocolate, Reese’s, KitKat, Toffee, Cake, Cupcakes, Ice Cream Cakes, Skittles, Starburst, Cookies, Crumble, Cookie sandwiches, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream pops, animation character ice cream pops, sundaes, Nestle’s chocolate, Oreos

Favorite Fruits and Veggies: Asparagus, Carrots, broccoli, potatoes, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, like, grapes, apples, lettuce, cherry, bananas, coconut

Favorite drinks: Mountain Dew, Water, milk, root beer, coca-cola, tab’s, Mr. Pibbs, Pepsi, Dole’s juice brand, Fanta, Crush, Dr. Pepper, soda floats, Nesquick, smoothies

Favorite Actors: Patton Oswalt, Dan Stevens, Thomas Middleditch, John Gemberling, Will Forte, Charlie Day, Mike Sinterniklaass, Roger Craig Smith, Dan Mintz, Josh Gad, Dee Bradley Baker, Rob Schrab, Nate Corddry, Rob Corddry, Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Brian O’Halloran, Justin Feilbinger, John DiMaggio, Billy West, Oded Fehr, Michael Cusack, Zach Hadel, Phil LaMarr, Robbie Daymond, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Matthew Lillard, Kevin Michael Richardson, John Mulaney, Antanio Banderas, Richard Steven Horvitz, Brandon Rogers, Sam Riegel, Jon Heder, Andy Daly, Zeno Robinson, James Marsden, Dana Snyder, Fred Tatasciore, Rob Paulsen

Favorite Actresses: Felicia Day, Mary Mack, Lacey Chabert, Brenda Song, Stephanie Sheh, Kate MiCucci, Riki Lindhome, Kari Wahlgren, Grey DeLisle, Jenny McCarthy, Melissa Fahn, Cristina Vee, Lana Condor, Sandra Oh, Odette Anaboe, Edie Mirman, Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, EG Daily, Olivia Olsen, Hynden Walch, Christina Hendricks, Libe Barer, Marieve Harrington, Sarah Nicole Robles, Kimberly Brooks, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Vannessa Hudgens, Tika Sumpter, Reba Buhr, Erica Lindbeck, Vivian Nixon

Favorite Music Genres: Rock, Classic, Pop, orchestra, country, funk, techno, dubstep, heavy metal, Christian

Favorite Band: Ice Nine Kills, Adelitas Way, Bowling For Soup, Hansen, Disturbed, Slipknot, System of a Down, Hollywood Undead, Kiss, Queen, A Day to Remember, Thousand Foot Krunch, Nightwish, Evanescence, Seether, Imagine Dragons, Skillet, Newsboys, Simple Plan, Play, Nickelback, BTS, Blackpink, aespa, Black Eyes Peas

Favorite Singer: Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, P!nk, Katy Perry, David Quetta, Jennifer Lopez, Sia, Halsey, Kelsey Belleriny, AJ Michalka, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, China Ann McClain, Ashley Tisdale, Avicci, Kelly Prickler, Aloe Blaccc, Lil Naxx, Post Malone, Eminem, Kelli Monologue, Paul Simon

Favorite Tv Genres: Animation Drama, dramedy, slapstick, comedy, animation, sci-if, romance, buddy, superhero animation, manga, anime

Favorite Movies: Hulk ‘03, Sky High, Kim Possible: So The Drama, Clerks, Incredibles, Ruby Gillman, Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Ratatouille, Alvin and the Chipmunk ‘07, Muppets in Space, Kickass, Belle, Elemental, Madagascar, Rugrats Go Wild, Wild Thorn Berrys Movie, Peanuts Franchise, Turning Red, Encanto, Emoji Movie, Ice Age Franchise (but not the Buck Wild one), G-Force, PPG Movie, Ben 10 2008 movie live action, South Park The Movie, PeeWee’s Big Adventure, Captain Underpants, Napoleon Dynamite, Jay and Silent Bob, Mallrats, Finding Nemo, Frozen, Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mitchells vs. Machines, Veggietales, Cars, 102 Dalmations, Romeo + Juliet, Small Soldiers, Godzilla vs King Kong, Godzilla: World of Monsters, Van Helsing, Hotel Transylvania, Secret Life of Pets, Sing 2

Favorite Wen Series: Annoying Orange, SMG4, Sunset Paradise, Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, Meta Runner, Amazing Digital Circus, Eddsworld, Murder Drones, Most Popular Girls in School, Summer Camp, Summer Camp Island, Villanos

My Skills: Typing

My Weakness: I can’t draw

Favorite Monsters: Aliens, Kaijus, wereanimals, Kaijus weremonsters, robots, werewolves, vampires, mutants, giant beasts

[deering24]

Sullivan/Devine challenge, pt. 2 (Long Rant--Abandon Hope All Ye Who Must Clutch At Your “True Father Brown Fans Don’t Criticize” Pearls.)

Don: "She is not the person that you think she is."

David: "She's worried you have the wrong idea about her."

Don: "Everything about her is wrong."--Ghost Story

Mrs. Treadwell:  "I'm - I'm very fond of Mr. Carpenter, of course. Everybody is."

Lydecker: "I'm not. I'll be hanged if I am." --Laura

Several A03 fan-fic writers have done a solid job (certainly way better than the FB writing crew) of explaining Mrs. Devine's insecurities, awkwardness, previous marriage, and desperation to have a better deal than life has handed her so far.  But unfortunately, their best efforts can't make up for the fact that 1) her character is now all over the map, yet still not likeable;  2) there is still something rottenly-patronizing at her heart that no amount of talent, retconning or excuses can make up for. She continues to come off like the FB writers figured female viewers were stereotypical pathetic fans with a thing for Sullivan who would jest love any old adorkable, fake-ass-quirky lurve interest.

Worse yet, she's already proved three crucial times canon-wise that she is not the truly unconventional, intelligent, selfless, woman-of-substance people want her to be. In “The Beast Of Wedlock,” she and Brenda wander around the countryside looking for a killer beast/whatever with no weapons, backup, or help. Someone has already been gruesomely murdered, so shouldn't they have been ready for a human psycho nuthead at the least? Nope--Devine and Brenda act like there's no threat whatsoever. (The TV show Endeavor did a terrific ep. about a killer animal that was scary, suspenseful, and twisty--everything this episode was not. And I would have given anything to see Devine and Brenda dropped into that. Hell, the Scooby Gang shows more sense of danger than these two--and they're supposed to be comedic. 😝) In “The Hidden Man,” all Devine needed to do was pretend to be Father Brown--but she wanted to show off so much, she couldn't even manage that modest task. Which of course led to Flambeau getting jailed, Sullivan getting beat up, and Father Brown almost losing his life to a psycho.

And The Serpent Within was definitely Devine's Blip; her stake through the heart; her silver bullet; the sword to her neck--the episode that proved how hopeless she really is. (And sorry--fan-fiction writers have done their level best to explain her actions here, but it speaks volumes that nobody can really make sense of--or excuse--her.) She should have risen to the occasion and really proved her worth. Instead she ups the rock-stupid ante because her actor's ego again puts everyone at risk--this time even worse than before. Who did she think Father Brown was up against--Girl Guides high on their Thin Mint stash? Did she ever consider that maybe someone in Kembleford might have seen her on stage?  And did she really think that gangsters who were dropping bodies like they breathed--and had killed to frame Sullivan--would listen to her pleas for mercy? (Sweet Honkin' Jesus. That trope was laughed off movie and TV screens by the 1960's, and no one needs that mess coming back from the dead now.)  Can you imagine what Lady Felicia, Mrs. McCarthy, Sid, or Bunty would have done in this situation? (But, then, they would have had enough common sense to not get caught in the first place. 😝) To put this in proper perspective, think of Sid in "The Upcott Fraternity." Was he rolling around proclaiming he was the mostest dedicated humblest devouterest trainee priest ever--"Lookit me!! Lookit me!!"--and making the case all about his undercover talents? No? Well, then--case closed. Devine is still a terrible Father Brown associate. At the best, she is Damsel Scrappy--at her worst, she is Too Dumb To Live/The Ditz.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DamselScrappy

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TooDumbToLive

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheDitz

And she still ain't a good love interest for Sullivan, who certainly deserves someone with more common sense, true caring, intelligence, and real selflessness. Come on, guys--are folks so desperate that Sullivan be in love that they'll settle for this hopelessly-retrograde, endlessly-simpering, vapid, self-centered idiot? Why? Can't FB writers (or fan-fiction ones) come up with better, more-credible alternatives? Even worse, does anyone really want to see the enticingly-tortured, officiously dashing, needing-real-love, caring-down-deep Sullivan turned into "Mr. Women's Institute/Kembleford's Own 'Honey-Do'??!?!!?"

Mark Twain perfectly nailed this kind of bad writing ages ago (in “Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses”--a great how-to piece on good fiction writing everyone should read. ASAP.) https://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl368/fenimorecooper.pdf He said everything that needs to be said, so I'm just gonna paraphrase:

"She has no  . . . order, system, or logical sequence. She is confusedly drawn, and by her acts and words she proves she is not the sort of person the author swears up and down on a sky-high stack of Bibles that she is. Her humor is pathetic;  her pathos is funny.  Her conversations are indescribable;  and her love-scenes are fuckin' _odious_."

Nice try, guys. But tl;dr: "Upstairs Space For Let" Devine still sucks. And one can only hope her "Knight-In-Shining-Armor" teams up with a suitably-irate dragon--and "Dracaryses" her insufferable self into oblivion. Fooey.

[justthegreat1]

The Dead shall Rise: “Evil Dead Rise” Review

Pictured above is the “Evil Dead Rise” poster.

Image Credit: Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema

42 years ago, Sam Raimi would create a little movie that would spark an iconic franchise and 32 years later that franchise would be rebooted by the movie called “Evil Dead” (2013) which was directed by Fede Alvarez, this movie would receive critical acclaim. Now, 10 years later…this franchise would be brought back from the dead (pun intended) with “Evil Dead Rise” (2023) which is directed by Lee Cronin. It currently holds an 84% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes which is shocking considering the content that is inside the movie, now I know the Evil Dead franchise is known for its bloody content but for me I think this might be the bloodiest one yet, this might be even bloodier than the 2013 remake. Alright, let’s bring out our chainsaws, Boomsticks, and Necronomicon’s and go straight to the spoiler-free review.

Evil Dead Rise is a 2023 supernatural horror film directed by Lee Cronin (who also wrote the movie), Produced by Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi, and Bruce Campbell (who starred in the original Evil Dead movies and “Ash vs Evil Dead”). The cast involves Lily Sullivan as Beth, Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie, Morgan Davies as Danny, Gabrielle Echols as Bridget, Nell Fisher as Kassie, Richard Crouchley as Caleb, Mirabai Pease as Teresa, Anna-Maree Thomas as Jessica, Jayden Daniels as Gabriel, Billy Reynolds-McCarthy as Jake, Tai Wano as Scott, and Mark Mitchinson as Mr. Fonda.

The Plot:

A reunion between two estranged sisters gets cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

Positives:

One positive I have about the movie is the tone, I liked how they combine the campy elements of the original movies with the darker elements of the remake (which I prefer…please don’t cancel me). I appreciated how they balanced the dark humor of the original movie while adding the dark and intense moments of the remake to make it not so silly. I loved how unsettling Alyssa Sutherland was in the role of Ellie, especially during the bathtub scene.

Pictured above is Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie

Image Credit: Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema

The second positive I have about this movie was the cast, I really enjoyed the performances of Lily Sullivan and Nell Fisher as Beth and Kassie as their portrayals make you root for them and hope they make it out alive. I also enjoyed the characters in general as they were likeable and made smart decisions.

The third positive I have about this movie is that it was not afraid to embrace its R-Rating, there was tons of blood spilt in this movie with amazing practical effects as Evil Dead is known for that. I’m not going to look at cheese graters the same way again after a certain scene in the movie.

Pictured above is Lily Sullivan as Beth

Image Credit: Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema

Negatives:

The only negative I have is that I wish the movie was just a little bit longer as the ending felt rushed in my opinion, but don’t let that one negative discourage you from checking out “Evil Dead Rise” wherever you can.

My Overall Thoughts:

After watching “Evil Dead Rise”, I can’t wait to see what’s next in the franchise. I really enjoyed the exploration of the theme of motherhood and how it tied into the movie. This movie was disturbing, violent, and as Ash Williams would say…``Groovy.”

Where to watch “Evil Dead Rise”?

“Evil Dead Rise” can be watched in Theaters and through digital retailers now, Blu-Ray and DVD on June 27th.

What did you think about “Evil Dead Rise”?

Feel free to comment on this post and please keep the comments respectful.

Thank you.

[thetempleofthemasaigoddess]

Getting married to Bunty would involve...

Bunty Windermere x reader. Meant to be a sequel to my fic Sweet Serenade (part 1 - part 2) but can be read in any case.

*****

👰 You and Bunty have been together for five years; she moved from the presbytery to share your apartment, and your relationship couldn’t be more solid and affectionate. Both of you can’t imagine your lives if not side by side, and are faithful and supportive towards each other.

👰 You start thinking about formalising your and your partner’s commitment to each other when you and Bunty are invited to the wedding of a (female) friend of yours and her (male) fiancé. A few days later, as you stroll together on the outskirts of the village enjoying the quiet of the newly-arrived summer night, you breach the subject with your partner. “Say, what about we get married?”

👰 At first -and even at second- Bunty thinks you are joking, and you can’t blame her for it. Being both women, you know well marriage, both civil and religious, is not something you could ever realistically aspire to, since both the law and the scriptures don’t contemplate and recognise same-sex unions. Factually, your situation is not so different from any married couple: you cohabit, share expenses and housework, take care of each other when one of the two is sick, eat your meals at the same table (you cook, she sets the table and cleans up) and sleep in the same bed. Your love can’t be officialized by authorities of any kind, but in the end, you both know how lucky you are to have Met each other, and are happy with what you have.

👰 You really are; still, the more you think about it, the more convinced you feel. “I’m not joking. I know we can’t go to the village hall and request a marriage certificate, and neither grab a couple of witnesses and ask Father Brown to say a few words.” you admit “And I know many people here in the village insist on calling us a couple of very dear friends or housemates; and I don’t care. It could be just… a way to express our love for each other, like couples do on their anniversaries or to renew their vows. We could ask Father Brown for a blessing, exchange rings, and share a meal with our friends to celebrate together.”

👰 Bunty reflects on it for a while, pensive as she walks unhurriedly towards the home you now share, her fingers intertwined with yours. “So it wouldn’t actually change anything; you want it to be a way to say how important we are for each other to the friends we trust the most, which means maybe ten people in total, and make a day of it?” she asks, and you nod, a bit disappointed by her apparent lack of enthusiasm. “What do you think?” you ask, ready to receive a refusal; you know Bunty loves you, and you don’t need any celebration or formal occasion to know you have chosen each other and want to remain together forever, but the idea of a wedding, no matter how informal and non-binding, had grown on you…

👰 You are walking past St Mary’s church, the street empty but for you. Bunty stops and turns to take both of your hands in hers; the sky above is full of stars, but none of them shines as bright as her eyes as she regards you, her smile full of love and joy. “I think I’ll not answer until you ask me properly, even if you don’t have a ring yet.” she declares in mock-seriousness, and you sigh, relieved and excited, as you kneel, the words of the impromptu proposal spontaneously leaving your lips. “Penelope Windermere, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?” “Yes! Yes, of course I will!”

👰 The kiss you exchange that night is the sweetest of your life, full of promises and shared hope; on the next day, the preparations for your wedding officially begin. 

👰 The first people you tell are obviously your friends at the parish; Father Brown’s reaction is one of rejoicing, and he hugs both of you as a real father would, offering his deepest congratulations. Mrs McCarthy’s response is slow to come, simply because the parish secretary is so overcome with emotion she cannot speak. At first she didn’t quite know what to think about a romantic and physical relationship between two women, no matter how much she liked and respected both you and Bunty, but after seeing how happy the two of you make each other and how close you are she has always been your biggest supporter, acting as peacemaker during your rare fights and even reprimanding your most vocal detractors. Knowing you have decided to tie the knot makes her prouder than to see her own granddaughters do the same. 

👰 The wedding date is quickly set; the only invitees will be your dearest friends, including sergeant Goodfellow and your assistant Maksym (by now an handsome young man, an hard worker who next year will leave Kembleford to study at a nearby college, having won a prestigious scholarship) and lady Felicia, who will come especially for the occasion. She’ll be the only representative of both of your families, since you have no close relatives after the loss of your parents and Bunty is unfortunately still on non-speaking terms with hers. 

👰 You obviously cannot get married with a regular Catholic rite, but Father Brown offers to administer an especially written blessing. You will then celebrate at the Sweet Serenade ice-cream parlour, your pride and joy that has been a booming success since its first opening, with a small reception; mrs McCarthy has promised to prepare her famous strawberry scones and there will of course be ice-cream for everyone. 

👰 A few days before the wedding you and Bunty visit a local solicitor and have her draft a document you both sign, formally recognizing each other as your sole heir and next of kin, which gives each of you power of attorney in case the other falls ill, is incapacitated or -in a million years- passes away. Bunty, who has always had a robust health, is relieved it won’t be her parents who make choices for her, since she wouldn’t put past them to euthanize her for a low-grade fever, and you are relieved the house of your parents, where you have grown up, and your beloved ice-cream parlour will be in safe hands should you be unable to take care of them. 

👰 You sign the document first, writing (name) (last name)-Windermere without a moment of hesitation; seeing it, Bunty has to choke back tears, and happily sign with the double surname as well. 

👰 Later that day, you take Bunty’s car to a larger town to go ring shopping; your choice falls on a pair of simple bands of gold with a small gem of a colour you choose for each other on top, as a compromise since the decision to marry as soon as possible has made engagement rings unnecessary, and that you have engraved with your names - in your partner’s case obviously Bunty and not Penelope. The shop’s owner, at first incredulous that two women are buying what are essentially wedding rings, treats you with cold courtesy and doesn’t hide his contempt for your lifestyle choices, but the sales assistant who serves you is much kinder, offering to have the rings delivered to your home free of charge. In the eyes of that woman you don’t know and will probably never meet again you see understanding, and even kindness; moments like this are what give you hope for the future.

👰 You have no other task to carry out, since you are already living together and nothing will change in your lives after the wedding, but nonetheless you feel a new chapter is beginning for the two of you, a new stage of your future, and you can’t wait to see what it will bring. 

👰 Lady Felicia has obviously been informed of the event by telephone, and arrives in Kembleford the day before the wedding; when you and Bunty meet her at the station, the woman who is by now also an aunt for you and who cares for you just like she does for her own niece hugs both tightly, whispering how proud and happy she is you decided to take the plunge. 

👰 You don’t have an hen party, but you decide to spend your last night as unmarried women separately, like all engaged couples do, so Bunty takes her things and moves to Montague Manor. You kiss passionately before she leaves, both excited at the thought that the next time you see each other will be at the altar.

👰 You force yourself to go to bed early, reassured after a last check everything has been prepared or discussed so that it will be ready for the ceremony. Slanderers -like the quite a few residents of Kembleford who still look at you and your partner with reproach as you walk hand in hand around the village and buy each other flowers for Valentine’s day- would say this is all nonsense, that the ceremony you will take part in tomorrow is nothing more than children playing knights or wizards, an elaborate farce that will have no legal meaning; you don’t care, because you have long learnt to live your life according to your own feelings and thoughts, without being influenced by people who clearly care nothing for you. Being able to call Bunty your wife officially, legally, would be amazing, a dream, but both you and your partner know that legal recognition and social acceptance are secondary… what matters the most are your feelings, your loyalty and devotion to each other, for better or worse, and that you know in your house will never be lacking.  

👰 You both decided you would wear white as is normal for brides. Your mother’s old wedding dress unfortunately doesn’t fit you, but you wear her veil; Bunty’s dress is new, bought with the money she had put aside for a gift for you - which this is, after all. 

👰 You reach St Mary’s separately, Bunty with her car and you with the one Felicia has sent to pick you up. Your friends have decorated the church with flowers and white tulle, like it is common for weddings - a thoughtful gesture that fills your heart with joy and gratitude. At the entrance Maksym gives you two small but lovely bouquets of flowers he has bought at the village, and when you find yourself face to face in front of the altar, emotion fills both you and Bunty’s heart. Your friends fill the church’s (first two) pews, happy and proud to witness such an important moment, but you and your partner only have eyes for each other, almost incredulous you are really doing it, and each humbled by the fact the other has accepted to put their happiness in your hands. “Part of me feared you had changed your mind.” you whisper shyly, and Bunty smiles. “Well, I did plan on arriving fashionably late, like many brides do, but I was too excited to see you.”

👰 Father Brown invites you to kneel in front of him, and pronounces a brief but heart-felt speech, describing the depth of the love between you and Bunty, and praising the courage with which you have now for years supported and protected each other in the face of adversities and harassers. You both bow your heads as he blesses you, then mrs McCarthy passes you the rings; you put Bunty’s on her left ring finger, and she does the same with yours as you exchange your vows: your partner’s voice is firm but full of joy, while yours trembles a bit; usually it is invitees who cry at the weddings, but in your case it is one of the brides. 

👰 “I, (name), take you, Bunty, as my wife; I promise to stand by your side, to protect you when you are in danger and to dry your tears when you are sad; in joy and pain, at our best and worst, in sickness and in health, I pledge I will never leave you alone. This is my solemn vow; I don’t know what the future may hold for us, but I know we will face it together.”

👰 “I, Bunty, take you, (name), as my wife. I promise to always share my thoughts with you, and to treat you with trust, respect, and kindness; what I have is yours, and what I am is yours as well. I will be faithful to you and to the future we want to build together. I have been fortunate enough to deserve your love in this life, and I hope I will do it again in the next.” 

👰 A loud cheering meets the end of the ceremony, and the kiss you and Bunty exchange. “Hello, wife.” you both say at the same time, and laugh, and then you leave the church hand in hand, surrounded by congratulations and a shower of rice thrown by your friends. Your heart is soaring; a month ago this was just a thought, a fantasy you weren’t even sure you would share with Bunty, and now it’s all real, you are married! You can’t stop kissing her, and your wife is radiant as you both receive the congratulations of your friends, one of her hands still firmly holding yours.

👰 Soon the whole party moves to the ice-cream parlour, where mrs McCarthy has helped you prepare a delicious wedding feast; the parish secretary hugs Bunty, telling her how proud and happy for both of you she feels, while you thank Father Brown, who really went above and beyond what you had asked him. “I hope this will not cause you any problem at the Diocese, Father; nor with...” you mention, eloquently pointing upwards with your finger, and your old friend smiles, simply explaining that while he would rather the Bishop remain oblivious what you have done today, he is confident God will not blame him for helping two of His children formalise their love and feel accepted in their community. 

👰 Bunty’s parents know about the ceremony, since her father overheard Felicia discuss the wedding cake and the honeymoon destination over the phone with mrs McCarthy. Your wife can’t help herself and asks her aunt how they reacted, or if they sent her a symbolic gift or at least their felicitations, and Felicia, sorely tempted to lie in order not to sadden her niece on such a happy day, is forced to shake her head and admit her brother and sister-in-law’s opinion on their daughter’s choices have not changed after five years. Bunty did not expect differently, but her eyes fill with tears, having hoped against hope her parents would break their self-imposed silence to congratulate her, or at least acknowledge what is after all one of the most important moments in a person’s -a daughter’s!- life. It’s not like you to be so naive, Penelope, she mentally chides herself, and then fortunately you arrive to take her hand for your first dance as married women, distracting her from any melancholic thought.

👰 The song for your first dance is Love me tender, courtesy of your old gramophone; Tell me you are mine, I’ll be yours through all the years, Elvis sings, and as you and Bunty hold each other slowly circling around the room, you think the King is perfectly expressing your feelings as well as his, and that the intensity with which Bunty is now part of you is almost scary, because no person should have such an influence on another. But this is what it means to be in love, perhaps, and while you can’t speak for the rest of the world you at least know you have nothing to worry about, because your wife is aware of how in love with and devoted to her you are, and will always cherish the feelings you have entrusted her with. 

👰 At the end of the delicious banquet, and many toasts raised to your and your bride’s health and future happiness, your guests insist on helping clean up and leave you alone. Felicia lingers a little longer than the others, and waits to be alone with the two of you to reveal she has arranged for a special gift to celebrate your big day: two train tickets to no less than Paris!! You will be staying at the apartment of an old friend of hers, a kind and trustworthy woman who will house you for a whole week free of charge. It is way better than the honeymoon you and your wife had decided on and could afford -a weekend in Bath- and you both scream in glee, hugging Felicia and thanking her repeatedly. 

👰 In the end you and your wife leave the ice-cream parlour as well, and take your time returning home, hand in hand. “Does it feel different?” Bunty asks after a while, and having reflected on the matter for a moment you admit nothing substantial has changed between the two of you, since your feelings were already as deep and intense as they could be, and the ceremony has unfortunately no legal value. “But I’m happy we have done it.” you add, squeezing her hand and glancing down to admire the matching rings you now wear “I don’t know how to explain it… it feels right. Rightful, even, to tell the world we are in for the long run, even though many people will never accept it.” “I agree.” Bunty whispers, and then smiles, stopping under the branches of a great tree to kiss you “Even though I don’t really care about people; all that matters is that we know.” 

👰 You bring your bouquet on your parents’ grave, aware that while they have passed when you were still a young girl, they would have approved of you and your wife together. Bunty has gifted hers to mrs McCarthy, who is being courted by a man of the village, in hopes it brings her luck.  

👰 You spend your wedding night as you should - making love, and putting to use the gifts you have both bought: new lingerie and a certain toy ordered in a very discreet shop in London. In the end, as you rest in each other’s arms, naked and blissfully happy, Bunty rests her cheek on your shoulder. “Do you think one day we will be able to really do it?” she asks in a whisper “That in the future, in fifty or a hundred years, women will be actually allowed to get married?” 

👰 You reflect on the matter for a while as you play with your wife’s hair, her legs intertwined with yours. “Perhaps; I mean, new things happen every day.” you point out in the end “People in other countries are fighting to allow couples of different races to marry; our situation could improve as well… even though you and I may not be there to see it.” “I know; still, I hope it will happen; I hope that one day, people will see there is not really a difference between loving a person of the same sex as you, or the opposite one; that love is love, and no one has the right to tell you who you can spend your life with… or to treat you differently because of it.”

👰 You know Bunty is thinking about her parents, her relationship with which never recovered after she told them she was dating you; she has always known she had made the right choice, but at the same time she wishes she didn’t have to choose, because she does love and miss them. Bunty has told you more than once you have nothing to blame yourself or to feel guilty for, even though her life would have been much easier, and her relationship with her family much closer, had she never fallen in love with you, and you mostly don’t; but you’ll never stop feeling a burning sense of injustice for the young, brave woman who paid such a high price for the privilege of sharing her life with you.

👰 “Well, I can only speak for myself, but I can promise you, I will never treat you differently from now.” you whisper in the end, turning to your side to hold your wife in your arms; she has never been more beautiful than now, when the moonlight filtering through the windows shines on her fair complexion and raven hair; she has never been more beautiful than now that she is yours, just like you are hers “I will always love and cherish you like I do today; I swear on my life. I love you so much, Bunty…”

👰 She smiles, because how could she not, when her wife is with her? “I love you too, (name).” she whispers before kissing you once more “And I swear I will love you forever.”

[sutrala]

Imagine making a documentary about one of the 20th century's leading opponents of the Ku Klux Klan – without ever talking about the evil of the KKK itself. If that sounds like malpractice, consider PBS's new documentary on the life of William F. Buckley Jr. "The Incomparable...

[med582-mollycrawford]

Blog Assignment 1

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 

Synopsis:

Willy Wonka faces the rise of Veganism with a brand new vegan version of his beloved chocolate bar. To promote sales he puts five golden tickets inside random chocolate bars, earning you a ticket inside his mysterious chocolate factory. 

​Five teens receive the tickets and are whisked away to a world of pure imagination. One by one the children's morals are put to the test, ultimately leaving one child, Charlie Buckets to make it out. Charlie inherits the factory and learns the importance of staying true to yourself. 

​Logline: 

Charlie Buckets, along with five other hopeful teens, go inside Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, they soon find out chocolate is not all he is in the business for. 

​Genre:

Comedy 

​Targeted Demographic:

Young Adults 

Casting:

Willy Wonka: Jeremy Allen White 

​Charlie Bucket: Jacob Tremblay

​Grandpa Bucket: Harrison Ford

​Veruca Salt: Sunny Sandler

​Mrs. Salt: Idina Menzel

​Violet Beauregarde: Quvenzhané Wallis

​Mrs. Beauregarde: Issa Ray

​Mike Teevee: Noah Scnapp

​Mr. Teevee: Patrick Dempsey 

​Augustus Gloop: Joseph Paul Kennedy 

​Mrs Gloop: Melissa McCarthy

Locations:

California: Giving a new and refreshed feel compared to the industrial city of the original film. California also offering a 20%-25% tax credit for qualified productions. 

​Romania: The Country has a number of historic villages and towns, as well of beaches off the coast of the black sea, giving diversity in filming locations. They offer a tax credit of 35% for qualified productions. 

​Australia: They offer lower productions costs than most more developed countries. They present a number of cosmopolitan cities along with historic sites. They come in with a tax rebate of 30% for qualified productions. 

​Why?

These locations offer less responsibility for taxes, and will remove a portion of the income tax owed to the state, making it more budget friendly for the low cost budget working currently. 

​

SAG Day Rate:

$781-$2,710 per week.

[princesssarcastia]

following congressional politics in the U.S. for the past couple years has been insane. it makes you feel insane. i feel like i'm losing my mind whenever I think about it for too long or too critically.

i want to take tom cotton and kevin mccarthy and jim jordan and shake them by their shoulders so I can determine whether they remember that donald trump and the republican base tried!! to kill them!! they tried to KILL them!! they constructed a gallows on the steps of the capitol and called for politicians to be hanged—and then then broke!! into!! the capitol!! and tried to find you!!! they tried to hunt you down!!!

what do you and your colleagues imagine would have happened if they succeeded in either breaking into the house chambers while members were still present, or in happening upon congresspeople as they were evacuating, or in finding members in the undisclosed locations they were evacuated to. look me in the eyes. look me in the eyes, mr. republican congressman, and tell me what you think would have happened to you if the rioters, the insurrectionists, the trump voters, had gotten ahold of you on january 6th, 2021.

i'll tell you what would have happened: they would have killed you. you would be dead, instead of standing here being shaken vigorously by a woman you've since driven insane.

maybe telling them you were a republican would have saved you—but i doubt it. maybe trying to explain that no, you were perfectly willing to overturn the election, if you very nice people would simply let us do that, would have saved you—but i doubt that, too. i think they would have just attacked you on sight, like dogs fighting over a bone. I think that guy with the military grade zip-ties on his belt would have come for you and killed you.

but they didn't succeed, there but for the grace of god. you live, still, and in doing so, have created the exact circumstances necessary for the SAME THING TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

what do you think is going to happen in january of 2025? what do you think is going to happen, after four years of telling the republican base that the 2020 election was stolen, and elections are vulnerable to fraud, and you can't trust the results of the elections—

what do you think is going to happen after, voters and fate willing, fingers crossed, donald trump loses the presidential election in november 2024? what do you think is going to happen to YOU, mr. republican congressman?

do you think donald trump is going to concede? do you think he's going to quietly fade into obscurity?

or do you know, like I do, that he's going to try it again? one attempted insurrection already under his belt, all the kinks worked out, maybe he even publishes some maps of the capitol so the next round of rioters can find you in your little hidey-holes.

how many hundred of people who were involved in january 6th do you think are still out there? how many proud boys and other white supremacist groups are still out there? how many of them do you think will be calm and reasonable enough to spare you when the time comes?

tl:dr, tonight the republican conference nominated Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to be their next Speaker-Elect. Johnson being one of the major architects behind the 2021 efforts to refuse to certify the results of the 2020 election in Congress. And when a reporter tried to ask him about his election denial-ism, he laughed, and the other republicans booed, and he refused to answer the question.

because it doesn't matter to them, not now. not while there's still power to grab.

I wonder if it will matter to them the next time the insurrectionists come knocking at the chamber doors.

Probably not.

[timomaraus]

October 3, 2023

CNN There's a brand new breakfast item coming to Taco Bell (Editor's Note: A new innovation from Taco Bell, it's rumored to be food.)

CNN A woman was found trapped under a driverless car. It's not what it looks like, the car company said (Editor's Note: Oh, sure, try to play it off so you don't ruin the relationship with your other EV at home.)

CNN A common nail salon tool may cause DNA damage and mutations in human cells, research finds (Editor's Note: "You're soaking in it." Oh Madge, you mad scientist you!)

CNN Taylor Swift, a pop culture juggernaut, propels 'Sunday Night Football' to record ratings (Editor's Note: Maybe they could forget the game and just show video of Taylor standing and cheering in a luxury suite for 3 hours and no one would have to get a concussion.)

CNN The Powerball jackpot is huge, but here are 3 better ways to increase your wealth (Editor's Note: The odds of winning Powerball are 292.2 million to one, and you've only got 3 suggestions for better ways to increase your wealth?)

Fox News Taxes on the $1 billion Powerball jackpot could put a damper on winner's celebration (Editor's Note: Yeah, I can imagine the reaction after receiving the $550 million post-tax check--"That's it honey, all we can afford is dinner at Applebees' to celebrate.")

Washington Post McDonald's has a new 'mambo' sauce. We asked D.C. mumbo experts to weigh in. (Editor's Note: Mumbo experts asked about mambo sauce? It doesn't make sense, but they can't ask the lottery winners, because they won't be able to afford McDonald's after the tax hit.)

CNN McCarthy slams 8 GOP hardliners who voted against him (Editor's Note: Unexpectedly, the former speaker broke into song during his press conference: "Regrets, I've had a few Yes Mr. Gaetz, he rates a mention I did what I had to do And now I'll go collect my pension I planned each failed new law Yes I had flaws, inside the Beltway But more, much more than this I did it my way.")

NY Times Trump Said Shoplifters Should Be Shot, Part of a String of Violent Remarks (Editor's Note: Sure, commit fraud on hundreds of millions of dollars and it's a witch-hunt, but shoplifters should be shot. Makes all the sense in the world.)

CNN Secret spots on Croatia's famous Dalmation coast (Editor's Note: I need a hint to find them. Are they black spots?)

CNN North Carolina radio station declines to broadcast 6 Met opera performances over objections to content (Editor's Note: I object to all opera performances, but I suppose this is a different story.)

Washington Post 12 things to know about wallpaper before you try it in your home (Editor's Note: #1--Don't.)

[newstfionline]

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Jimmy Carter’s Final Chapter: Peanut Butter Ice Cream and His 99th Birthday (NYT) Maybe it’s the peanut butter ice cream he still enjoys. Or the fact that his first-place Atlanta Braves are cruising toward the playoffs and he wants to see another World Series. Or as many of his loved ones and former advisers suggest, maybe he is just too stubborn to follow anyone else’s timetable. Whatever the reason, seven months after entering hospice care, Jimmy Carter is still hanging on, thank you very much, and is in fact heading toward his 99th birthday in just over a week. While nearly everyone, including his family, assumed that the end was imminent when he gave up full-scale medical care last winter, the farmer-turned-president has once again defied expectations. Mr. Carter was already the longest-living president in American history, but his staying power even in hospice has captured the imagination of many admirers around the world. It has generated an extended farewell, one that was unplanned yet remarkably affectionate for a president who was turned out of power by voters after a single term yet transformed his legacy with decades of service that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. “He’s got so much joy in seeing his presidency and post-presidency revisited,” said Paige Alexander, the chief executive of the Carter Center. “In many ways, that keeps him going—along with peanut butter ice cream.”

U.S. braces for costly government shutdown in eight days (Washington Post) In only eight days, the U.S. government is set to shut down, unleashing real and wide-ranging financial hardship on American families, workers and businesses. The lapse in funding would mark a fundamental breakdown in an ever-divided, intransigent Washington, where lawmakers this year have struggled—time and again—to fulfill their most basic fiscal responsibilities. At the heart of the stalemate are renewed Republican demands for deep federal spending cuts, more than three months after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) finalized a deal with President Biden that was supposed to prevent this very brinkmanship. Far-right lawmakers have blocked the House this week from adopting a short-term measure that would sustain federal spending at its existing levels and buy more time for the two parties to work out a longer-term arrangement. If Congress fails to resolve the impasse by Sept. 30, federal appropriations will expire, bringing many agencies to a halt and forcing the sprawling U.S. government to operate at a mere shell of itself. Anticipating the worst, the Biden administration has started to revise and publish a set of intricate blueprints for how agencies should proceed if funds run dry.

Border crisis (NYT/wire services) The U.S. is facing another border crisis. The country’s southern border saw an increase in unlawful crossings this week. According to Brandon Judd, the head of the Border Patrol agents’ union, over 8,000 arrests were made at the border on Monday, the highest since they peaked at 9,500 in May. The influx of people seeking asylum in the U.S. has seemingly overwhelmed Border Patrol holding facilities, prompting the agency to simply leave people stranded in nearby communities after processing their papers in order to free up beds. “The Border Patrol essentially is releasing people as they process them to decompress their facilities,” said one migrant shelter director. “It is leading to street releases all over the place.” In the tiny city of Eagle Pass, Texas, the situation is reaching a tipping point. The city of 28,000 declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after the number of migrants within city limits grew to over 2,500 on Wednesday.

South America, particularly Brazil, will experience a scorching end to winter (Washington Post) It’s the end of winter in South America. But in parts of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia, it will be feeling more like midsummer, with afternoon highs regularly passing 110 degrees in the hottest zones. In addition to numerous daily records for maximum and warm minimum temperatures, monthly and all-time hottest values are also at risk. This blast of heat caps off a winter that barely felt like one in several South American countries—something also seen in other parts of the hemisphere. It’s also coming amid what will probably end up being the world’s toastiest September on record.

Pope Francis visits Marseille as anti-migrant views grow in Europe with talk of fences and blockades (AP) Pope Francis is visiting the French port city of Marseille, for centuries a multiethnic and multifaith melting pot, to amplify his call for the Mediterranean to be a place of welcome for migrants. It’s an increasingly lonely voice in Europe, where some countries are turning more and more to border fences, repatriations and talk of a naval blockade to keep a new influx of would-be refugees out. Francis is presiding over the closing session of a gathering of Mediterranean Catholic bishops, but his two-day visit that begins Friday is aimed at sending a message well beyond the Catholic faithful to Europe, North Africa and beyond.

Ukraine hits headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol (Washington Post) Ukrainian forces on Friday fired a barrage of missiles at the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea—striking a target thought to be heavily protected and demonstrating Kyiv’s growing ability to attack Russian military infrastructure throughout the peninsula. Ukraine’s Air Force posted a statement saying that “around 12:00, the Ukrainian defense forces successfully struck the command headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in temporarily-occupied Sevastopol,” located on the southwest tip of Crimea, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014. No further details of the strike were given, but the commander of Ukraine’s air force issued a statement that appeared to mock Russian claims that all of the missiles had been shot down by air defenses. While the Ukrainian claims could not be independently corroborated, video posted to social media on Friday, verified by Storyful and confirmed by The Washington Post, showed smoke rising from the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet. Damage to the building would indicate a remarkable failure by Russia’s air defenses.

Kosovo so awash with fake euro coins they are accepted as payment (Reuters) At a cafe in Kosovo’s capital Pristina, staff have given up checking whether the 2-euro coins people use to pay are genuine, as such a high proportion are fake and as the high quality of some counterfeits makes it almost impossible to tell. “We don’t check anymore... we may be taking fake money or may be giving out fake money. It is all the same.” The number of fake 2-euro coins in circulation has seen a massive increase this year, according to law enforcement agencies. Kosovo and neighbouring Montenegro are not part of the Euro Zone but nevertheless use the euro as their currency. For a Pristina supermarket manager who declined to give his name, and who must deposit his daily takings at the bank, it is easier to pass the 2-euro coins on to other customers rather than risk prosecution by taking them to a bank. “I don’t deposit these coins at the bank because I know they will call the police and I may end up being arrested... I give them back to clients next morning and then take more during the day,” he said. “We always complained in Kosovo that we don’t have our own currency, well it looks we have now—fake 2-euro coins.”

Indian anger against Canada grows over perceived support of separatist Sikhs (Washington Post) Canada’s announcement that India might be behind the killing of a Sikh separatist was a bombshell to much of the world, but for many in India the death months ago of someone they saw as a wanted terrorist was about a more urgent matter—Canada’s tolerance of Indian separatists. The allegations by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday brought the tense relations between the two countries to a new low. India has in particular objected to the existence of a vocal Sikh separatist minority in Canada. The anger at Canada’s perceived support of groups seeking an independent Sikh state called Khalistan in India’s Punjab region is putting Canada on the same level, for many Indians, as arch-nemesis Pakistan—which many Indian security officials believe provides refuge, money and arms to Sikh separatists. “Canada is becoming to the West what Pakistan is to the East,” said Aseem Arora, a screenwriter who has worked on several spy thriller scripts for movies and shows. “Canada has to look in their own backyard. They have to look at what they are allowing to grow, what they are allowing to bloom.”

India suspends visas for Canadians as row escalates (BBC) India has suspended visa services for Canadian citizens amid an escalating row over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil. Visa service provider BLS posted a message from India’s mission blaming “operational reasons” for the decision. Tensions flared this week after Canada said it was investigating “credible allegations” linking India with the murder of the separatist leader. India angrily rejected the allegation calling it “absurd”. Analysts say relations between the countries, which have been strained for months, are now at an all-time low. The move comes a day after India issued an advisory urging its citizens travelling to or living in Canada to “exercise utmost caution” in view of the “growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada”.

U.S. revives Cold War submarine spy program to counter China (Reuters) The U.S. is conducting the biggest reconstruction of its anti-submarine spy program since the end of the Cold War. The revival of the multibillion-dollar effort, known as the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS), comes as China has ramped up military exercises around Taiwan, heightening concerns about a potential conflict over the democratically ruled territory, which Beijing wants brought under its control. The IUSS revamp project involves modernizing America’s existing network of underwater acoustic spy cables and retrofitting a fleet of surveillance ships with cutting-edge sensors and subsea microphones, moves aimed at boosting the military’s ability to spy on its foes. The United States has agreed to sell Australia similar technology. The Navy’s plan includes deploying a fleet of unmanned sea drones to listen for enemy craft; placing portable “underwater satellite” sensors on the seafloor to scan for submarines; using satellites to locate ships by tracking their radio frequencies; and utilizing artificial intelligence software to analyze maritime spy data in a fraction of the time human analysts would usually take.

Dubai (Skift) By the end of the year, Dubai will have more hotel rooms than Las Vegas after a 6.4 percent increase in the number of rooms. As it stands, Vegas has 151,771 hotel rooms, a global record, but by the end of this year Dubai will have 154,000 hotel rooms for travelers, beating out Sin City. They’re also being used; in July, the occupancy rate hit 82 percent, up from 74 percent the same month a year ago. It’s gotten to the point that Dubai is simply building more beachfront so that it can make more beachfront hotels. By 2027, the city is expected to have 163,700 hotel rooms.

The point is profit (Atlantic) If you have a credit card, you might be familiar with “airline points.” These points are credits that airlines spin out of thin air, which you can earn when you make purchases on an associated credit card before redeeming flights or other rewards with them from a given airline. While you might think that point systems are just a side hustle for the nation’s largest airlines, they’ve actually become much larger than the business of flying passengers around. According to analysis by the Financial Times, United’s MileagePlus program was worth $22 billion in 2020, while the airline itself was worth just $10.6 billion. Now, it seems that airlines are looking to squeeze more profits out of their rewards programs. Last week, for example, Delta Air Lines announced changes to its SkyMiles program making it harder to earn points, and American Airlines made a similar change recently. It’s not hard to see why: this year, it was revealed that a full 1% of U.S. GDP is charged to Delta’s American Express credit cards, meaning there’s a massive amount of money in the airline points business. In order to cut down on the number of free flights they have to redeem, airlines are making their points harder to earn.