#ten kate market

[lostintransist]

Liaison - Chapter 2 - Da’ Fuck is a Roadman

The worst part about your job had to be the commute. The trip to the office each day took nearly an hour. Between the two trains, one bus, and a half-mile walk any energy you might have had been used up. You did not mention to anyone on the team where you lived and that you refused to buy a car. Mostly you were sure that your years of driving on the right side of the road and turning on red lights would lead to you killing someone in a vehicular collision and would rather avoid that.

The old building you shared with three other tenets creaked every time the wind blew and your small studio in the basement required two dehumidifiers to keep mold from overtaking the space. The jaw-cracking yawn overtook you as you stepped off the bus. You make it as far as the front door before the exhaustion becomes too much. You manage to brush your teeth, rip off your bra, and toss on an overlarge shirt you stole from an ex before sleep steals you away.

The weekend slips by too quickly for your liking. You can see the emails piling up in the inbox of your work email, anything truly urgent would CC Kate who worked nonstop. You stop into a cafe on your way home from the weekend market, happy to start to recognize the barista behind the counter. Sunday afternoons you did your shopping for the week and rewarded yourself with a scone and a warm latte. The day is capped off with a video call with a friend in Maryland and by eight you are asleep.

You wake early, 4 AM the alarm goes off to make it to the office for your 6:15 call. You dress simply in jeans, rain boots, and a long-sleeved green shirt. Starting on the walk for the bus you clock the young man posted up at the edge of an alley. You keep an eye on him but don’t change course as you continue closer to where he stands.

When you get within ten feet of him he jumps out and mumbles some words at you.

Tilting your head at him you try and process the sounds you heard.

“Wanna run that by me again kid?”

He mumbles the same words, louder and makes a vaguely threatening gesture.

“Yeah, I got nothing. Good luck with whatever you need,” you step into the road to continue past him.

Mumbler jumps in front of you, shouting now.

“I’m trying to rob ya you stupid American!”

“Why didn’t you say that back there?” Hooking a thumb over your shoulder to point to where this interaction started. “Also you don’t have a gun, do you even have a knife?”

As he starts to sputter the youth in his face is evident.

“Okay, so how does this shtick work?” gesturing to all of him, you continued. “Do you just walk up to people and demand their wallets or what?”

“Yeah, give me all your money!”

Mentioning wallets seemed to re-energize him.

“No thank you,” you start walking again. If you don’t make up the lost time you will delay yourself at least fifteen minutes and might need to call a cab to make it to work for your phone call.

❈❈❈

The hardest part of your job, second only to dealing with people who didn’t understand your role, would be the lack of consistency of who might be in the office from day to day. Harold hadn’t been at his desk when you finally rolled in, already accepting the call you had scheduled for this morning in the lobby. You waved to the one person at a computer as you dumped your things and asked for a moment of patience from everyone on the call as your headphones connected.

The call dragged on for nearly an hour as you stayed on mute replying to emails. When a question could not be answered by anyone else you jumped into the conversation, explaining you had three options for a team that would fit their needs. At this point, you would need a timeline and payment. Confirming the email address took another five minutes, back and forth. When the call wrapped up the clock ticked closer to 9 AM.

Letting your head slam against the desk you took a series of deep breaths. A message tone dinged from your computer. Looking up you found a message from someone named Roach.

>Calls that bad?

Turning you catch sight of the person who had been in the office when you arrived.

“You Roach?”

>That’s me.

Masked and covered from head to toe, the man looked as innocent as a bloodied tiger. You saw a lot of men like that lately. Something about this job had them covering up more than a nun in a convent.

“Okay, I’m still meeting everyone. And no? The call wasn’t that bad but I ended up being late because some fucker I think tried to rob me?” After explaining the whole situation this morning to Roach he sends you a message through the chatting platform.

>You met a roadman.

“Da’ fuck is a roadman?” Incredulity had become a familiar state since moving to England.

Staring at Roach you wait for his typed response. He looks at you, makes a face beneath his mask, bobs his head from shoulder to shoulder, sighs, and puts his fingers on the keys.

>A roadman is what you might call a mugger in the US.

“No, a mugger has a gun or a knife and can back up his threats. That child told me to give him all my money and couldn’t even find a decent threat to make me comply. All the bastard did was make me late.”

Roach’s only reply to this is a hearty shrug.

A voice from behind has both you and Roach spinning in place.

“Liaison I need a contract confirmed,” someone barked at you.

The demand hits wrong after the roadman incident and the achingly long call. You turn to see a large man, again in a mask, staring at you from near the door. This mask looked hard, the upper face half of a skull. This must be Ghost; Kate had warned you about him.

“I must have missed the question in that statement, care to try again?”

Roach’s brows nearly touch his hairline as he quickly averts his gaze.

The tall, broad Lieutenant moved faster than his shape would indicate he could. He looms over you, hard skull and eye black leaving no color beyond the whites of his eyes.

“Did I stutter Liaison?”

“No, but you might need to if you try to tell me what to do without asking again.” You flick a nail against his mask. “Now if you’ll excuse me I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Slipping from beneath Ghost’s shoulders you make it two steps before his hand wraps around your bicep. Snapping back to look at him you contemplate the wisdom of punching him.

“Ghost! Let her go,” Price’s command splits the air.

He lets you go with exaggerated care. You flip him the bird, hiding the move from Price using your body. You stalk up to Price who is staring Ghost down over your shoulder.

“Did he hurt you?” Price asks as you draw near. He wasn’t Ghost’s captain but had recently been promoted to work directly below the elusive Sheppard. You tried to keep up on who worked under who but with so many moving parts you had to check your spreadsheets every time you had a question.

“No, I’m fine. But next time the meathead needs something from me tell him to send an email and to use all his manners.” You sweep past Price and head for the kitchen. Might as well start some bread so you can beat something up.

That second interaction with Ghost solidified the tone of your relationship. The same day he threatened you with his size and laid hands on you he found you in the kitchen. You pulled the tray of rolls out of the oven when he spoke.

“I’ll take one of those.”

Without pausing to consider you shut the oven softly and tip the hot pan over, spilling the steaming buns onto the floor. You don’t even try to make it look like an accident.

“Whoops. Guess you forgot to ask for something you wanted.”

You ignored the fuming soldier behind you as you set the hot pan on the stove to cool and cover the dough and place it in the fridge for later. You gave it an hour before checking back to find the kitchen clear and cleaned up the rolls from the floor.

Three weeks later you are pulled from an important email by a fist in your hair. Ghost growls in your face.

“What the hell did you agree to with Sarcosis?”

A wince you can’t stop slips. “Hair pulling is a kinky thing for me Ghost, you ready to follow up on this offer?”

Disgusted, he lets you go. Then Soap is there, pushing between you two. Rubbing the back of your head you decide to answer. He did ask a question after all.

“Sarcosis needs to borrow one man, someone who can play spotter for one of their snipers. Job is less than three days. I wrangled a favor to borrowing one of their men if we ever need ‘em.”

“Why take the job?” Soap peers over his shoulder, hand still firmly placed on Ghost.

“All Keith is asking for is an impartial set of eyes to confirm a kill. They aren’t on the no-fly list. Do they need to be?”

“No-fly list?” This question comes from Ghost.

“Yeah, the no-fly list.” You pop open a sticky note from your screen, enlarging both the note and the words you let the men read the list you got from Kate. “Taking jobs with these guys won’t fly, hence the no-fly list.”

Ghost takes a deep breath, tucking the demon’s demeanor back behind his vest. Soap lets his hand drop back to his sides.

“Now if all this excitement is over I am going back to my emails,” turning your back to the men you return your screen to normal and type away at your ongoing email.

Roach sends you a message that you see but don’t reply to.

>Sarcosis nearly got Ghost killed on their last job, might want to flag them for your no-fly list.

Ghost and Soap stand behind you for an uncomfortably long time. When they eventually move you pull your headphones on and settle into the chaos of never-ending emails.

❈❈❈

It took you six months to figure out the rules for jobs. You had asked Kate, repeatedly. Each time she gave an answer about whether to accept or reject, you would question her. Why accept this job and not this one? Over and over you asked and the answer always amounted to a feeling. Vibes. You took notes on every call and Kate’s decision since she couldn’t articulate why to accept one job over another. She had worked with the 141 for so long that she had a sense for these things.

Those six months were grueling, but you found a pattern. The price of a job could be relied upon to weed out anything the team wouldn’t take. The numbers broke down to roughly £20,000 per man per job. The more complicated the explanation the more guys you figured would be needed. That rule of thumb would be right more often than not.

The guys would take rescue missions but were better equipped to handle situations where there would be no witnesses. They worked well with teams from most companies and governments but there were a few that several men refused to work with again. It was a small list but the fact you recognized each name on sight often gave you a queasy sensation in your stomach.

Enough of the team would submit requests to take one job or another you had to start a running list of preferences and skills. Pinning down hard skills turned into a bit of an issue so you had a self-reported list and a list of skills reported by others. The sheer number of interconnected spreadsheets and the random formulas learned to create boggled your mind. Once one of the members of the accounting team, Doreen, saw your massive spreadsheet she collected the general information known about the office to add to your knowledge pool. She also helped you break out the information about each member into a separate file that fed into your master sheet. Doreen, for as old as she was, had a vast understanding of spreadsheets. The search function would become a new god in your role.

Chapter 1 |

Masterlist

@nicroyal02 Chapter 26 is up on A03

[echoingbirdsofprey]

Lightning On My Lips (Every Time You Kiss Me)

14 - Aftermath

Pairing: Tyler Owens x OFC Georgia Tennley

Rating: Explicit (MDNI!)

Warnings: canon typical tornado violence and mentions of blood

A/N: This is where the movie and anything canon ends and the real story begins so I hope y'all enjoy the continuation of this journey.

Playlist

Fire.

That was all Georgia saw as the refinery beside them exploded into flames, the twister carrying the inferno. Fuel. It became fuel for the twister and as Tyler gunned it toward El Reno, the tornado grew times ten. Kate, from the back seat, could only mutter, “holy shit,” under her breath. 

Tyler’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he tried to steady the truck in the heavy winds from the building, monster of a twister. Though the barrels were short, and his truck had enough weight on the chassis, the roll cage frame still acted a little like a sail in strong wind. And Georgia knew as well as Tyler how much a trailer’s gravity affected the truck itself. Ole Red was a beast but she wasn’t indestructible. Tyler knew that. Georgia knew that. Kate suspended her belief that it wasn’t.

As they got closer to El Reno, Oklahoma, they could hear the tornado sirens sounding, and they could see people running and heading for shelter. They all headed to help people get to safety. Dexter and Dani got kids and parents to a safe spot off the baseball field that they’d stopped at. Ben, Lily, Boone, Kasey, and Cory helped anyone on the outskirts, ushering people toward buildings and trying to find out where there were basements available. Tyler, Georgia, and Kate went to the main street where there was a farmers market and they helped people get into building there. There was a movie theater that could hold a ton of people so once everywhere else was full, they started telling people to head that way. Tyler, Georgia, Kate were the last ones in, dodging debris as they headed for the theater. 

Kate got to the door first and looked back, Georgia not too far behind but Tyler was nowhere in sight. Georgia’s gaze met Kate’s and she realized in the chaos of everything, when Tyler said “keep going” she hadn’t looked back for him. She assumed he was right behind her, so when she turned her head and didn’t see him at all, she panicked.

“Tyler?!” She yelled and Kate tried to grab for her hand, but she just missed, so she followed Georgia back onto the main drag, which was littered with debris. The wind was only getting stronger and they shielded their eyes as they waded through vendor’s blown over tents and tables, trying to find Tyler.

“Gee! Help!” She zeroed in on his voice, coming from the right of her. She stumbled over piles of splintered wood and twisted metal, and Kate caught her, aiding her in getting to Tyler as quickly as possible. They both tried their best to lift what he was stuck under but they weren’t strong enough, even together. Kate placed a hand on Georgia’s shoulder, before glancing around for something, anything to try to get leverage to lift it. Georgia continued trying to lift the wood roofing that he was stuck under, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. She flinched when she heard the loud crunch of metal hitting metal and they both looked up as they saw an oil drill that had been ripped from the ground hit the El Reno Water Tower. The supports of the tower were breaking under the extreme winds and they didn’t have much time.

“Gee! Go!” Tyler yelled over the deafening winds.

“I'm not leaving you, Tyler! I can’t...I can’t!” Georgia’s voice broke as she grabbed one of his hands and just then she saw a wide wood post come into view and lodge under where Tyler was stuck. She felt Kate’s presence at her side and saw Javi at the end of the post.

“Lift!” Javi yelled and they all put all their effort in to heave the wood off of Tyler. Once he was free he stumbled and yelped and Georgia saw that his jeans were ripped and the skin on his upper thigh was dripping crimson, staining the edges of the rips. They all ran toward the theater and once they got inside, they helped move people toward the back. There was no basement and nowhere else for everyone to go and that was when Kate made the decision to take Ole Red. Kate ran to the back door and opened it, horrified at the size of the monster tornado that was bearing down on the town. Georgia was right behind her and as Kate was about to leave, Georgia tried to stop her.

“Let me do this, Georgia! Let me try...let me make everything right!” She yelled to her, as she pulled out of Georgia’s arms. Tyler, Javi, and Boone appeared behind Georgia and Tyler grabbed for her. Georgia lunged after Kate, screaming her name as she watched her drive away in Tyler’s truck. Tears stung his eyes as he held Georgia back. He almost wanted to go himself, but he knew now that he couldn’t. It had to be Kate. 

They closed the doors and left Kate to her fate. They tried their best to get everyone as close to the back of the theater as they could, huddling under seats and in corners as close as possible. As the front wall of the theater began to crumble and the bricks were ripped away, everyone grabbed for whatever they could to try to stay alive. Tyler had his body over Georgia’s and was covering her face with his chest. As the winds picked up, he knew what was coming. If the silver iodide rockets didn’t work, and if the barrels didn’t get sucked into the tornado, they would all be dead. Gone. Wiped from the face of the earth in an instant. Tyler noticed Lily’s hand slipping and he grabbed for her hands as her body was lifted into the air. He held onto her as tight as he could, one of his legs wrapped around the legs of the theater seats and the other holding Georgia down as best as he could. He closed his eyes and used all the strength in his body to anchor the three of them. He prayed this would all end. He prayed that Kate was okay and that everything worked the way it was supposed to. He prayed that it would all be over soon.

And then suddenly Lily’s body was set down. The wind died down. The clouds dissipated. The dust and smoke in the air cleared and everything was quiet as the grave. 

“Thank you.” Lily said, her voice shaky, as people began to stand and dust themselves off. Tyler helped Georgia up and they could see in the field, in the distance, his truck had been rolled. They all headed out to see if Kate was still alive.

Georgia was the first there, as she sprinted when she saw a hand moving from the blown out window. She slid on her knees to get to Kate and with Javi and Tyler’s help, they pulled her from under the truck. 

“Is it okay? Is everyone okay? Did it work?” Kate asked, looking confused and Georgia hugged her, carefully just in case anything was broken.

“You did it, Kate.” Javi said, his voice bathed with relief. 

She did it. Kate’s barrels flew. Quite literally. It was up to her and Javi to figure out what to do next. Tyler offered his crew to help as well. In the aftermath, they helped people reunite with each other if they needed to, aiding in some of the clean up, and Dani and Dexter even brought a few people to the emergency room that had minor injuries like cuts or concussions. 

Kate didn’t want to go to a hospital, and she only had a few cuts and bruises anyway. Ole Red took the brunt of the tornado. She got checked and patched up in the back of an ambulance that came. Georgia stayed with her and while they had a few minutes, she asked Kate her thoughts.

“I feel better. I'm going to go back to New York and try to get more funding for more research. Javi said he's going to drop Riggs so...I guess I have a new partner.” She said and Georgia smiled. “What about you and Tyler?”

“Oh...uh...” Georgia stuttered and glanced around for him. She caught his eyes, as he was helping Boone and Javi lift some heavy pieces of debris out of the street. He smiled at her and tipped his head in her direction. His wound had been looked at and luckily it was just a scrape. He would be more sore than anything else. “Tyler wants to go home to Arkansas and then come back this way. We're trying to figure some things out..”

‘I meant to ask...the other night...what happened? We saw you two leave the party and then something seemed different between you too that next morning. I know Boone said you guys finally...did it...but you know Boone, he’s a little crazy.” Kate asked and Georgia stared at her, almost blankly, because her mind shot off in a million directions thinking of all the things that her and Tyler had done. 

“Yeah, uh...somethin’ like that...Kate...can I tell you somethin’ but don’t tell anyone yet? It’s not a definite but...its...well...I think it will be.” Georgia said and Kate straightened up, taking a hold of both of her hands.

“Of course you can, what is it?” She asked and Georgia smiled warmly at Kate.

“I think...I might...be pregnant. Maybe.” Georgia said in a hushed tone and Kate's eyes widened significantly.

“Oh...Oh!...Oh?” She raised a brow and smirked, nudging at Georgia. She motioned behind Georgia, who turned to catch sight of Tyler coming toward them. Kate kept her voice low as he approached. “I have so many questions that we need to discuss when I get back from New York...but if that's the case...congratulations and I can't wait.” Kate said, vibrating with excitement as she pulled Georgia into a hug. Georgia smiled and as Kate let go, Tyler appeared. He made sure Kate was okay and then held out his hand for Georgia to take. She did so and they left Kate in Javi’s capable hands while they walked out to his truck, which a friend of his had come to help with.

They'd gotten her righted and checked the suspension. It wasn't exactly driveable at the moment, but because of Tyler's handiwork, the welded roll cage had saved the frame and most of the truck. They would need to reattach the augers and some other parts but it was mostly very fixable. Tyler's friend introduced himself.

“Hey I'm Dakota. Nice to meetchu. You must be Georgia. I've heard a lot aboutcha.” He said as he held out his hand to shake. Georgia did so and smiled at him.

“All good things, I hope.” She mused and he smiled. Tyler's hand at her waist tightened.

“Yeah, T can't ever keep his mouth shut up aboutcha. It's cute.” He punched Tyler's shoulder lightly and then pointed to the truck. “So where am I hauling her? If you want a ride and want'er fixed I'm the next couple days, Bobby always has a spot in Taylor Ferry for you.”

“Well, that makes the most sense then, cause we can hop on fifty-one after and slide right into Arkansas. I gotta bring Boone to Little Rock.” Tyler explained and he glanced down at Georgia as if he was asking permission. Her brows furrowed and she nodded. Dakota reached out to shake Tyler's hand.

“I'll get'er on the trailer and you let me know when you're ready to go. Got plenty of room in the truck for everyone.” Dakota said and he walked away to get everything prepared for them to leave. 

There would be more storms here and there over the next few weeks, but Tyler knew his crew needed a break after that one. They had almost lost Kate, and Lily. But, they'd gained Javi, and now Kate was going to head to New York and present a proposal, asking for grant money to the National Weather Service board. Over the quiet season, Boone and Tyler would build another truck like Tyler's so that they could accommodate for more chasing and more live streams. Tyler's grand plan was unfolding slowly and he couldn't wait to see the results.

🌪⛈️🌪

Everyone parted ways, only for a little while. Javi took Kate to the airport so that she could go back to New York and try to get grant money for research. Dani, Dexter, and Lily were heading to their respective residences near Little Rock, Arkansas. Kasey and Cory caught a ride with some other storm chasers back to Oklahoma City but not before wishing Georgia and Tyler the best of luck. Georgia and Tyler, along with Boone hitched the ride to Taylor Ferry, Oklahoma to Bobby's Diesel Repair Garage. 

Tyler had worked with Bobby a ton on this truck. He was an older gentleman, and he worked primarily on diesel trucks of all sizes, occasionally a car here or there. Bobby was the one who offered Tyler to use the truck lift, so that Tyler could get under his truck and run the electrical for the switches in the middle console, as well as the welder for the roll cage. He had a camper and some extra rooms in his house, so there was a place for Tyler, Georgia, and Boone to stay while his truck got fixed. 

Bobby had a nice little property, just by a beach. They were just off Fort Gibson Lake, and he had a boat dock with a small fishing boat, as well as a cute cottage that was only one floor. It was an odd house as Bobby just kept building additions onto it, so it was a maze of different rooms here and there, that all had windows and a door to the outside. More like a secret base than a house, really. He had a big yard, where the camper was parked and the garage was just down a little dirt road, every kind of truck from a 1500 to a semi-truck parked along the sides and around the building. 

Bobby had a wife and kids that were now grown. His wife, Delia,  bred cattle dogs and had a litter of puppies that were just about ready to go home with people. Delia had brought out refreshments for them all as they worked. It took all three of them, plus Dakota and Bobby to get the truck finished, but it only took them half the day. Tyler thanked them up and down, paid them, and also ordered pizza. There was a small fire pit with Adirondack chairs around it. They all sat, covered in oil, sweat, and dirt, and enjoyed a round of beers. Delia brought out a reddish brown speckled puppy, and placed him in Georgia’s arms.

“Oh my god. They’re so cute. How many more puppies do you have?” She asked and Delia was followed by the mom and her other seven puppies. Georgia’s face lit up and she handed the red one to Tyler. Boone picked up one of them, a dark blue speckled one, and Delia handed Georgia another, one with more speckling mixed in the blue. The rest of the puppies dispersed, going under the chairs and one headed right for Bobby. Delia sat down and the momma sat next to her. Dakota picked up two red puppies and the rest settled around their mom.

“There’s these guys and I’ve got a kennel run in the back of the house. This litter is all named after breakfast food. You’ve got Pancake, the red is Grits, and Boone’s got Waffles. The others are Sausage, Eggs, Muffin, McMuffin, and Bacon. Mom is Rosie and Dad is Diesel. I’ve got another female named Daisy and she’s gonna pop soon. We’re thinking those little guys will be all food themed names too.” Delia explained and Georgia giggled as the puppy in her arms, Pancake, tried to crawl up around her neck and lick her ear. Grits, the red one that Tyler had, was curled in his lap, mostly asleep and Waffles, who Boone had, was playing with Boone’s belt loops. Delia smiled and said, “Maybe you guys want one?”

“Actually...we’ll take these three.” Tyler said, pointing to Grits, Waffles, and Pancake. Georgia’s eyes widened and her grin was unmatched. Boone smirked.

“Tyler!” Georgia exclaimed and she leaned over her chair to kiss him. 

Later that evening as they were getting ready to leave, after everything had been settled, and they made sure Tyler’s truck was set to go, Tyler had asked Georgia to take a quick walk down to the boat dock with him. When they reached the end, he turned to face her, taking a hold of both of her hands. He glanced out over the water, which was calm and reflected the fading sunlight across it.

“Gee...I love you...like I really fuckin’ love you...and I can’t wait to have a big ass family with you...and I know we’re doin’ this shit all sorts of ass backwards...and I ain’t got a ring, but maybe the puppies are a half a promise at least...” Tyler began as he got down on one knee. Georgia’s mouth dropped open and then she smiled as he continued, “So...will you marry me, Georgia Tennley?”

“Course I will, Tyler Owens, now stand up and kiss me, you silly man.” She said and he smiled as he stood and her hands met his cheeks. They kissed and as they parted, Georgia spoke softly to him, their eyes locking. “I don’t need a ring, Tyler, I just need you.”

[newtonsheffield]

Molly,

The real question is, Kate sees the tattoo and loves the lewk and dresses as a pinup, and purposefully walks into the shop. Anthony loses it…👀 Maybe too spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ for us 👅

Lololol

And Benedict told him it was a bad idea. Benedict sat there, watching Anthony tattoo it on his forearm like-

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yes," Anthony scoffed, dipping the machine in more ink. "I think this is a great idea."

"Let's recap." Ben tutted, "Your girlfriend found out she was pregnant two weeks ago, she's been feeling really nauseated and not herself and you think... Hey why don't I tattoo her as a pinup, that'll help!"

"I'm showing her that no matter what," Anthony flicked his brother's ear, "I'm committed to this relationship, and I'm always going to see her as the hottest woman ever."

"This seems like a flawed plan."

"What are you even doing here, Edwina?!"

"Telling you this is a bad fucking idea."

So he was nervous, honestly, to go home. He was nervous to go next door to see Kate at the end of the day with his forearm wrapped in plastic film and his jacket already on.

"You feeling okay?"

Kate nodded though she sighed tiredly, her arms snaking around his waist. "Yeah, I'm just... tired."

"Let's go home then, I'll make you dinner, whatever you feel like."

"I just really want a cheeseburger."

"I'll get you ten cheeseburgers then."

"You're my dream guy." Kate reached around, and before he could stop her she squeezed his arm in a soft gesture, the way she always did.

"Ow!"

He couldn't stop himself and he saw Kate's eyes go wide. "Are you okay?"

Anthony stared back at her for a long moment, her eyes searching his and then he sighed, She was going to see it soon enough anyway, he might as well get it over with. "So, I had a reason for getting you to drop me here before you went to the flower market this morning. I gave myself a new tattoo."

Kate's brow furrowed, confused by the seriousness of his tone. "O...kay?"

He shrugged off his jacket, twisting his arm so she couldn't quite see the tattoo yet. "I know that you're... not feeling yourself right now but I am... so fucking excited to be doing this with you and I just wanted to show you that I love you. And nothing's ever going to change that."

She took his arm, turning it gently and tugging at the plastic wrap. Her lips parted in surprise when she saw herself inked on his skin, her long legs stretched down his forearm, a bucket of tulips at her feet, her own face winking back at her.

"I've now been assured this is a terrible idea so I can cover it up but-"

Kate cut him off by dragging him forward, her hands twisted in the front of his shirt and their lips crashed together.

"Don't you fucking dare."

Anthony breathed a sigh of relief as she pressed her forehead against his, her fingers playing gently with the ends of his hair, "Okay."

And the next day he can hardly believe it when he hears the bell ding at the front counter and he tossed out a

"Won't be a sec!" as he unpacked his new ick from the box, displaying it neatly on the shelf behind his station.

"I just have a delivery for you."

His head snapped up at the sound of Kate's breathless voice and his stomach dropped as soon as he saw her, leaning against the doorframe, in the same blue and white striped dress as the first time he'd seen her, the same one immortalised on his arm. She was winking at him, standing on one leg, the other popped backwards with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

"Oh, please, don't tell me you liked that tattoo!"

"Ben, get the fuck out of here." Kate sighed, "Edwina's waiting to commiserate next door. She also has a plan to get Hyacinth's teacher to like you?"

"Bye!"

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

The Angel Marker: Part Three

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.3k

Summary: You still feel guilty for what happened to you and Hotch even though you shouldn't. If you had seen that bomb before getting blasted back, then maybe you wouldn't have so many problems with your "abilities".

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

x

You and Rossi are going to talk to a woman named Shara, but the entire car ride is silent. Rossi is driving but you can feel his eyes on you the entire ride there.

"Did you lose something over here, Rossi?" you ask without looking up.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

You get out of the car and put on your sunglasses to counteract the brightness of the sun.

"How are you doing?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? My head hurts, I had stitches, but they're out now. It'll get better."

"That's not why they're asking. What happened to you wasn't your fault."

"It kind of is. I connect with energies and see things that aren't there. I went with Kate and Hotch because I felt like I needed to protect them. My abilities told me to go with them, but Kate still died and Hotch and I still got hurt. Now, I wasn't able to see that our unsub is a woman. Normally, I would have seconds after arriving."

"Knowing our unsub is a woman earlier might not have changed anything. We're still in the dark about who she is, and we have no leads. You're doing everything you can."

It's like you're not listening to what he's saying. You shake your head and walk towards Shara's work building. Rossi called her before you two left, and she is expecting you two.

"Shara Carlino visited Ryan over seventy times. She waits an average of three hours for a ten-minute visit and a mandatory strip search," you move on.

"Would you endure that for a guy?"

"For Spencer, always," you say truthfully. "Shara was a marketing VP in Cincinnati until '99, then she moved here and took an outside sales job. It was a serious pay cut from what she was making before."

"I'm guessing she came for the view."

You and Rossi walk into the building and head to her office on the third floor. She greets you with firm handshakes, and you two take a seat at her desk. You remove the logs from the prison that show how much she was visiting Cortland when he was in prison.

"According to these logs, you were the Angel Maker's number-one fan."

"His name is Cortland, and I wasn't a fan."

"How would you characterize your relationship?"

"We were lovers."

"Last time I checked, they didn't allow conjugal visits on death row," Rossi comments.

"It wasn't about physical interaction. When you take away the flesh, there's only the soul. Everything was understood. There were no secrets. Cortland made me feel alive, in a way no free man ever could."

"Where were you on the 16th of this month?" you ask.

"Why?

"We believe this copycat killing was committed by a female fan, someone who knew Cortland very well."

"I was out of town with the company. Ask anyone here," she shrugs.

"Do you know of another woman who--"

"There were no others," she cuts you off.

She's very adamant that she and Cortland were exclusive, but you know that's not true.

"Ma'am, I can show you prison logs, copies of fan letters, and items that women have sent Cortland dozens of times."

"They didn't mean anything to him."

"Whatever connection you had with Cortland was severed when he died, not the copycats. Every time she kills, it reinforces their love. That is unless you help us stop her."

The gears turn in Shara's head, but she ultimately gives in.

"He sent me a letter a few months before he was--" She can't say the words, so she quickly moves on. "I knew it wasn't meant for me, because it was addressed to 'My Dove'. He never called me that."

"Do you still have it?"

"No, I burned it."

"Did the text reveal anything about the woman?" you sigh in frustration.

"The text was a joke. Usually, his prose was seamless and beautiful, but this was pedestrian and crude."

"You never asked him who this dove was? I thought there were no secrets between you," you shrug.

"You've never been in love, have you?"

"I have and currently am, but thank you for your time."

You're not going to get anything useful out of this woman, and Rossi knows it. You two leave her office with more women to talk to. They were all a bust, and the rest of your team didn't have much luck either. Whoever this unsub is, she's not on your list.

By the time you got done talking to every woman on your list, it was nightfall. You picked things back up in the morning, but as soon as you walked into the police station, there was news of another woman dead.

Her name is Maxine Chandler, and you find it weird that this is the only female victim from this copycat. You, the sheriff, Hotch, Emily, and Derek head over to her house where Maxine is still inside her home. The crime scene is fresh, so it must have been discovered not that long ago.

"What can you tell me about Maxine?" you ask one of the officers who is already there.

"Her neighbors say she's lived here her whole life, all twenty-eight years of it, anyway."

"How many kids does she have?" Hotch asks.

Inside her house is filled with children's toys, so one can only assume.

"None of her own. She runs a daycare. The guy that called 911 came here to drop off his toddler and found Maxine in her bedroom. Coroner's in there with her now."

"Did you check all entry points?" you ask, shoving your sunglasses further up your nose.

"Yeah. There was no damage and no tool marks, so the same as the first."

"Now that we have two victims, we have data we can compare. We should see what victimology can tell us."

"I'll get JJ to bring us the files on the first victim," Derek says and takes out his phone.

The coroner comes out of the bedroom and heads over to your team when he spots Hotch.

"What did you find?"

"Well, I put the time of death around two in the morning. The victim was struck multiple times with a blunt object, and there are signs of penetration with fluids."

"Does she have the same post-mortem mutilation?"

"Yes, it's the same but different."

You frown and head inside the room where Maxine is lying on her bed for everyone to see. Her abdomen is on display, so it's easy to spot the marks made by the unsub. You put on some gloves and move her clothing out of the way so you can see the pattern clearly.

"There it is again," you mutter.

"What is it?" Hotch asks.

"This looks like the Carina Constellation. Did you find paper in the wounds?" you ask the coroner.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Our unsub needs to use a template. These marks mean something. The Angel Maker didn't need to use a template because he knew exactly where to put the markings. That's why there is paper found in the wounds."

"We need to go back and re-examine each of the patterns. Where's Reid?" Hotch asks.

"He's at the station going over the notes."

Spencer is reevaluating the notes that were addressed to "Dove". One of the letters is as follows: "Weather is good here. Out in the garden all day. Bids land on the fence. The moon is full now." It doesn't make sense because Cortland only got an hour a day in a concrete yard. There was no garden or birds. It sounds like a death row haiku and a bad one at that.

Spencer thinks Cortland did that on purpose. Cortland tries very hard to put each word and letter in the right word. It's a code. The steganographic method would allow him to write letters that don't appear enciphered. The real message would be hiding in plain sight.

Spencer can do it. He's very smart and the team doesn't realize just how amazing that is. They all tease him about his intelligence, and you kind of hate it even though you know they don't mean anything bad by it.

You gather with everyone in the living room to discuss the next steps.

"Small towns suck for victimology. There's too much overlap," Emily sighs. "I've got both women at the same church, same doctor, and same grocery store."

"She's mimicking the Angel Maker. Maybe we should look at his victims," JJ suggests.

"Yeah, but there's a disconnect. The Angel Maker chose women because they excited him sexually. The copycat's satisfaction isn't sexual. It's about perfectly re-creating the murders," Hotch says. "

"So, what she looks for in a victim is someone who's easy to kill," you explain, "which, for her, means easy access to their homes. What did Delilah do for work?"

"She made jewelry and sold it out of her home," JJ answers.

"So, they both had home-based businesses. A stranger could walk in off the street and be a prospective customer. The unsub poses as a client, uses the bathroom, and cracks the window so she can get back in later."

"Let's check their business records and see who came by on the day of the murders."

Everyone shuffled through the case file for that kind of cross-reference, but nothing pops up. You're getting really frustrated, so without another word, you get up and leave the house. The neighborhood is quiet, so the front porch seems like the perfect place to go.

Moments later, someone walks out to check up on you. You know exactly who it is based on the energy you feel.

"I'm sorry, Hotch," you sigh and sit on the porch steps.

"For what?" he asks, taking a seat next to you.

"If I had just seen the bomb earlier, then maybe Kate might still be alive and both of us wouldn't be hurt."

"I never blamed you, Y/N. You shouldn't either. What matters now is getting better. Kate would have wanted that."

"I hear you, and I'm trying, but when you have the ability to help prevent something, then it's on you to do something about it before the bad thing happens. But you don't, so you don't understand," you sigh.

"I know. I don't fully understand, but the best thing any of us can do is try, and you tried. That's all I can ever ask of you. You can't predict everything."

You look up at the night sky in thought, but you pause when you notice something about the stars in the sky.

"I knew it," you mutter and get off the step.

"What is it?"

"Both Cortland and our unsub were puncturing constellations in their victims. That's the pattern I keep seeing." Both you and Hotch head back inside the house. "The puncture wounds on the victims represent constellations."

You go through the files of every victim and prove this by using pictures from the internet of each constellation.

"Constellations? Don't tell me this guy was following the zodiac," Rossi states.

"No, these are from a family of constellations known as the Heavenly Waters. It's probably why the windows are open after each kill so their souls can be released into the sky." You take out the files from the Angel Maker's victims to show each and every constellation. "Delphinus is the dolphin and Equuleus is the little horse. There are nine constellations in the Heavenly Waters. The Angel Maker killed six. Our unsub continued where he left off. First, she did Vela and last night she did Carina. The only one left is Columba, the Dove."

"One more kill and she completes his set," Rossi says. "She knew the meaning of the stomach wounds. That's something even we didn't know."

"She must have been a lot closer to Ryan than we thought."

"They weren't just close. They were in love," Spencer says with copies of the notes in his hands.

"How did you crack it?"

"I profiled the author. Cortland Ryan was on death row with several high-ranking members of the Aryan Brotherhood. He either got the code from them or he read a lot of 16th-century literature. The Aryans liked to use a cipher based on a four-hundred-year-old code written by Sir Francis Bacon."

"So, it's a binary code?" you ask.

"Yeah. Bacon used a twenty-one-letter alphabet. This one's twenty-four. Each letter is assigned a bit string of five binary digits. This combination yields thirty-two possible encodings. Normally, you'd use a computer to run all these combinations, but it was quicker just to do it longhand until I found the right one."

Emily reaches out with a shocked expression and pokes Spencer on the cheek.

"He's so lifelike," she jokes.

Spencer rolls his eyes and moves on, but for a split second, you can feel his annoyance towards her.

"Emily," you say in a stern tone, but Spencer has moved on so she doesn't have time to respond.

"Now, we don't have a complete record of their correspondence, but I was able to make a chronology. The woman he calls 'Dove' established contact shortly after the trial."

You take the letter the unsub wrote back to him, and you read it out loud.

"My dearest Cortland, thank you for writing back to me. The day the verdict was read, we shared a silent moment. I knew then there was a force willing us together. Every time I see you, I feel warmed as if by the sun, and yet, I fear if I come too close, I'll be consumed by your fire. Already, you've entered my dreams. Each time you appear to me, I'm embraced by a feeling of trust and belief, as if I've known you all my life. As always, I am touched by your words, but I long to see you again. Days pass quietly, one into the next... If only they would let us marry... I could finally hold your hand... But I can't leave this world before seeing your face one last time. I will bring a part of you back into the world, and forever you will watch over us from the stars."

"What do you think she meant by that last line: I will bring a part of you back?" JJ asks.

"Maybe the murders? She brought him back to life."

"What if she was talking about his child?"

"Well, she did say, 'Watch over us from the stars'. She used the semen samples to plant evidence and to get pregnant. If she actually had his kid, we might be able to track her through birth records."

"Agent Hotchner?" the sheriff asks, coming into the living room. "We just got a report of a woman attacked in her house by a female assailant."

"Is she okay?" JJ asks.

"It sounds like it, but I can't say the same for the attacker, though. Neighbors heard cries for help, and pretty soon half the block was on her."

x

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[sea-owl]

Wouldn't it be funny if the Bridgerton wives were bored one day and just decided to band together and create a black market empire? Just imagine all 4 ladies at an afternoon tea party while their husbands are away and in a moment of silence Penelope (she who has done a many illegal activities in her youth) just straight up says "You know what would really be funny..." and the others will agree because 1) they're bored af and 2) they will use and create any opportunity to raise their husband's stress levels.

Then fast forward their husbands come back and have apoleptic levels of stress because WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CREATED A BLACK MARKET EMPIRE??? WE WERE GONE FOR A WEEK!

I love this. Lmao, you know what be funnier? If it was the same year Penelope and Lucy were pregnant with Georgie and Hermione too.

Penelope will pleade innocence to her husband later and that the baby gave her those thoughts (they both know she's lying), but she's so bored right now.

She's five months pregnant with her fourth child, and her husband had to go away with his brothers for an emergency at Aubrey Hall. That left her with her sister in-laws, Kate, Sophie, and Lucy.

Lucy was also pregnant with her third child, and she also looked extremely bored. Kate and Sophie also looked bored as their assigned babysitters.

Truly Penelope could not be blamed for what happened next.

"I am bored," Penelope stated.

Kate and Sophie looked over interested. Sophie always smiled when hearing of Penelope's tales of felonies just as Penelope delighted in hearing Sophie's tales of thievery. Kate was an enabler who was not afraid to pitch in, such as when they dumped all that tea in the Thames.

"I am as well," Lucy sighed. "Do you an idea?"

"Well. . ." Penelope trailed off. "The black market always did fascinate me. I used to trade secrets for goods with some of the merchants."

With a little bit of help from Penelope's friend, Ms. Kazan, the girls set up a "Lost and Found" business. Customers in need of their services would go to either Kate or Lucy and report a lost item or knowledge they wished to be found. For a fee, half paid up front and the other half paid after, Sophie or Penelope would go find the lost thing.

Were the methods always legal when they went looking? No, but hey, they wanna do a good job.

It was a very lucrative business, so much so that there were whispers about it when their husbands returned.

Colin immediately knew it was his wife's idea. Anthony, Benedict, and Gregory also knew it was Colin's wife's idea.

Storming into the Bridgerton drawing room, the husband's were greeted by their wives having tea in the exact spot they left them.

"Did you get bored while I was away?" Colin asked Penelope.

"Yes, I did," Penelope answered.

"So you created a black market shop?"

Penelope gestured to all the wives. "We created a black market shop."

"Why," all the brothers sighed.

Kate, Sophie, and Lucy shrugged. "We were bored and it seemed fun."

"And how long were we gone before you did this?"

"Ten minutes."

[ao3feed-kathony]

Walking Blind

read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/59666821 by Sequanea Anthony is the winemaker behind Aubrey Vines, the vineyard he inherited from his father when Edmund Bridgerton died ten years ago. Kate, now working for Danbury Consulting as a PR and marketing specialist, is the daughter of a renowned sommelier who passed away when she was eighteen. When a drunken night out leads to Anthony forgetting about a scheduled wine tasting and losing a potential client as a result, Violet decides that it is time to bring in someone to fix everything that Anthony is unable to handle and asks her old friend Agatha for help. OR Kate is hired by Violet to manage PR and marketing for Aubrey Vines after Anthony’s behaviour leads to the loss of a potential client. Unsurprisingly, Anthony is not exactly happy about this turn of events. Yet, to the surprise of both, the results of their cooperation end up being nothing like what they have expected. OR The enemies-to-lovers winemaker Anthony AU I couldn’t get out of my head. Words: 3464, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Bridgerton (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M Characters: Anthony Bridgerton, Kate Sheffield | Kate Sharma, Violet Bridgerton, Agatha Danbury Relationships: Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sheffield | Kate Sharma Additional Tags: Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, HEA, Eventual Smut, Smut, Wine, Vineyard, Alcohol, Intoxication, beta what beta, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/59666821

[gayeroticafiction]

Latte' Lawyer

Since living in the city, it had become a twice-weekly routine to head into the market and get my fresh produce. It had also become routine to get breakfast at the Market Cafe. For over ten years, this was my normal routine. I was part of the furniture at that cafe and had a great relationship with the owner, an amazing lady called Kate. She was getting on in years, but still remembered my usual and loved a good chat and a joke.

Well, this particular Friday morning was not much different. I got to the market around 8am, and headed to the cafe, where Kate acknowledged me with a nod before heading behind the counter to get my usual ready. Only thing was, my regular booth was in use. I indicated this to Kate, jokingly, who shrugged her shoulders at me, laughing.

I didn't mind though. I took a seat at another table, where I could look directly at my usual booth. The table of my regular booth was covered in folders, papers and a laptop. Directly behind all of this was the best dressed...and sexiest...guy I had ever seen. He clearly was not a local. Firstly, he sat at my table. Secondly, I had never seen such a well-tailored outfit on a guy at the market.

I continued to discreetly watch him as I waited for my breakfast. He had the tightest tailored pants, covering some very sexy, muscular legs, which led down to some very expensive RM Williams boots. His shirt appeared to be slim-fit, covered by a perfectly fitted jacket. As I watched, he removed his jacket. To my delight, his shoulders, arms and chest bulged in his shirt. Damn, I was instantly hard!

Kate arrived with my breakfast, and I enquired about the guy in my booth.

"Some top-notch lawyer from interstate, here for a big case...and he's out of your league...married...heard him on the phone to his wife earlier" she told me, sniggering.

"You know me too well, Kate. But he is so gay! What's he drinking?" I asked.

"Almond milk latte, double shot" she replied.

"Can you get him one from me" I asked, as she turned to head back to the coffee machine.

"Good luck" she replied over her shoulder.

I continued to watch him and undress him with my eyes. I imagined him sucking my cock and bending him over the table and pounding, what I could only imagine would be, his hot, firm, extremely tight ass.

Kate delivered the coffee to his table and I was amused by the confused interactions. For a lawyer, he didn't get this one very well! Kate motioned over my way, and he looked inquisitively at me. I lifted my coffee to him, and he returned the gesture.

Once Kate had walked away, I stood up and took my coffee over to his booth and sat down.

"You must be visiting" I suggested, "and have lots of work to do by the looks of things."

"Yeah", he replied. "I'm from inter-state, over here working on a case. Just filling in time, before I am called up. The defense aren't quite ready yet!"

"Ah...a lawyer! I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't help noticing how well-dressed you are...and on such an amazing body" I offered.

"I'm not gay" he replied, almost without hesitation.

"I beg to differ", I replied, again, almost too quickly. "I don't think I have ever seen such a tight fitted outfit on any straight guy" I clarified.

"And I'm married", he snapped back, "with our first child on the way".

"Well, that doesn't mean much these days. I was married once too, and have a couple of kids. I soon realised I had made a very bad decisions and things went downhill in our marriage very quickly. But I am glad to say, I am a very happy man now...and you could be too", I told him as I looked down into his bulging crutch.

"I have lots of work to do. Thanks for the coffee, but I must get things done" he said, trying to divert the conversation.

"You can't brush me off that quickly...Kate might think you are as straight as, but you can't fool me. I don't think you'll be called for a while, and I'm sure they have your number if you're needed. How about we go and find out how straight you think you are" I said, putting the ball in his court.

He paused and just looked at me, contemplating my offer.

After what seemed like an eternity, he shut his laptop, piled up the papers and folders on top of it and stood up. Fuck he was gorgeous...and that bulge was much bigger when he stood. He was probably as hard as a rock inside those tight trousers.

Putting out his hand, he introduced himself.

"I'm Chris" he said.

"My name's Craig...and I am guessing we are heading to your hotel" I queried.

"Come with me, Craig" he said as he walked off, his very muscular arms full of paperwork.

As I walked past Kate, I gave a quick wink and she smiled back.

"Don't worry about the breakfast, eating elsewhere this morning" I said with a smirk.

It was only a short walk to Chris' hotel, but the moment we hit the lift and were alone, he made his move. Making one arm free and balancing his gear, he moved his hand to my neck and pulled me too him. Our lips collided and we began to kiss passionately. Before I knew it, his tongue was so far in my mouth and my cock was so hard and leaking in my pants.

The lift came to a stop, and we instantly stopped what we were doing. We had reached his floor, and we made our way quickly to his suite. We walked down the long corridor, and we came to his door. He opened it to one of the most opulent rooms I had ever been in, with absolutely breathtaking views.

But, the only view I wanted was the sight of his hot, naked body. Chris put his paperwork down on the table and we began to kiss again. This time with much more passion, as his two hands were free. Before we knew it, we were both standing there in our underwear.

"Fuck, you are so hot" I exclaimed. "Love to know your workout routine, because it works for you. Your wife is very lucky"

We continued kissing each other for a while before he pulled away.

"I've never done anything like this before" he said, nervously, walking over to the window.

"It's all good. We can take things slow" I assured him.

I moved up behind him, putting my arms around his smooth, muscular body. Fuck, he felt so good. I gripped the waistband of his Versace briefs and slid them down over his tight, round ass. As I slid them down, I got onto my knees so I could take them off of him altogether. Now at eye level with his ass, I began to kiss it. His skin tasted so good...and he smelt amazing. My trunks were dripping wet by now.

As my tongue slid slowly between his ass cheeks, I felt his body shudder and he moved away from me a bit.

"Sorry, I am just so fuckin' nervous" he said.

I immediately went back to what I was doing, as Chris began to relax. He leaned up against the window, resting his head on both arms. I glanced up at him as I began to smell and taste his man cunt. Damn his body was so gorgeous...and his ass I just could not resist. I put my hand down my trunks and took my cock in my hand, stroking it while reaching around his body and taking his cock in my other hand. He was huge and so hard.

Chris began to moan loudly as I pushed my face into his ass, my tongue getting deeper and his ass getting wetter. As I ran my hand up and down his huge cock, I could feel how wet he was, with pre-cum helping me to slide my hand up and down his shaft.

I felt his body shudder again and instantly knew what was happening.

"Oh fuck" he screamed as a huge wad of cum hit the window. "I am so sorry. I didn't think I would cum that quickly!" he exclaimed.

"It's ok. I did the same thing the first time I was with a guy" I replied. "You get used to it and you start to last longer" I said, looking up at him, smiling.

Chris turned around and I was looking straight at the most amazing cock I had ever seen. His foreskin dripping with cum, I moved in and started to run my tongue on the tip of his cock. He tasted amazing, as I slowly pulled his skin back and licked that amazing knob of his. He leaned back on the window, and I began to take his cock into my mouth. He moaned loudly but did not resist. Gently grabbing the back of my head, he guided me on his cock.

"Oh fuck, I'm cumming" he warned me.

I didn't stop. I just kept on sucking him until I felt this cum machine shoot down my throat.

With a mouthful of cum, I stood up and we started to kiss again, sharing his cum with him.

"I want you to fuck me" he said, looking deeply into my eyes.

Although his request took me by surprise, I could see the longing in his eyes. He really wanted this, and I was going to oblige. I took his hand and moved over to the bed, guiding him onto his back, his legs spread wide. God, he looked so sexy. How could any guy resist this?

Chris sat on the bed and I dropped my trunks, which was received with a nervous smile.

Pushing his legs back, I knelt on the bed and slid my cock, dripping with precum, slowly into his tight ass. He was so tight, but tense too.

"Relax" I instructed. "The more you tense up, the more it will hurt to start with. Slow, deep breaths" I explained.

Chris took some deep breaths, and I could feel him loosen up.

I slowly slid my cock into him. The knob first, just slowly stretching him. As he relaxed more and loosened up, I slowly slid my cock in all the way into him.

"You feel so fucking amazing" I smiled at him.

I could not believe he was letting me fuck him raw. He was pretty trusting of this strange guy who just picked him up in a cafe!

"God, it feels so good" he replied. "I never knew it would feel like this" he exclaimed, as I felt his body shudder every time my cock rubbed against his prostate.

His comment only made me fuck him harder. I continued to fuck him, pushing his legs back and resting them on my shoulders. This position helped me to get deeper into him, as he screamed out in pain and ecstasy, looking into my eyes.

"Fuck, you are so tight. I am not far off" I told him.

"Cum in me, but just keep fucking me" he instructed.

How could I refuse? I continued to fuck him, harder and faster.

"Oh fuck....I'm cumming" I screamed out, as I shot my huge load deep inside his virgin ass.

Chris' eyes rolled back as he enjoyed the sensation of my warm load injecting into his bowel. My thrusting began to intensify, as his now well-lubricated ass allowed me to easily slide back and forward and much deeper. I had never been with a guy who made so much noise, and it was such a turn-on. I also joined in.

After what seemed like an awfully long time, and about four orgasms later, I pulled out and rolled to his side. Our hot, sweaty bodies lay limp on the bed as we sighed and breathed heavily, getting our breath back.

"That was the most amazing thing I have ever felt" Chris said, as he looked over at me. "Fuck my ass hurts, but that was so fuck'n good". He rolled onto his side, running his hand over my chest and fondling my nipple. "And you were right...I am actually gay" he exclaimed.

"There's no fooling me mate. I can pick a gay guy a mile off" I said, laughing. "Does your wife know?"

"Fuck no... she'd kill me...or worse.... cut my dick off, if she knew what I did today", fear settling in his eyes. "I only ever had my cock sucked by a guy back in uni. That's the only experience I have ever had with a guy. I have always wanted more, but being gay in my family would have been frowned upon. We need to stick to the norm, if you know what I mean?" Chris began to open up. "And that is the reason why I am doing law...and fuck, I hate it!! But it does keep everyone happy... my dad...my wife".

"Everyone but you" I suggested.

As he lay there and began to open up more to me, I just wanted to kiss him some more and run my tongue over his absolutely gorgeous body. We kissed for quite a while, all the time just exploring each other's naked bodies.

"Will you fuck me?" I asked him. "I want to feel your amazing cock inside me".

With no reply, he encouraged me onto all fours. I took that as a yes. Moving around behind me, his strong hands started to fondle my ass cheeks, before his thumbs opened my crack. It had been a while since I had been with a guy and I was so keen for this.

"Eat me" I encouraged him, as his face made contact with my ass.

He knew what he was doing and got his tongue right into me. It felt so good, and I moaned uncontrollably.

"Oh fuck...that is so good...oh god!!" I exclaimed, my cock absolutely hard and dripping again. "Oh man...fuck me...fuck me hard!" I screamed, just wanting his massive cock to thrust hard and deep into me.

Chris lifted up and I looked back over my shoulder. Fuck he was huge and damn hot. He guided his wet cock towards my willing ass. I felt his wet knob push between my cheeks, spreading me.

"Oh, fuck you have a hot ass" Chris exclaimed, breathing heavily and nervously.

He slid himself all the way into me and it felt amazing. Possibly one of the biggest cocks I had ever felt. He slowly fucked me, sliding the full length of his rod in and out of me. Chris fucked like a man with years of experience...but reached orgasm very quickly.

"Fuck...I'm gonna cum" He cried out.

"Fuck me hard" I screamed, to which he started pumping my ass hard and fast, his huge balls slapping against my own as they unloaded deep inside me.

Stopping as soon as his orgasm was over, Chris held my hips and gained his breath back.

"Oh fuck that was so good" he said, as he pulled me up toward him, my back pressed firmly against his sweaty chest, my ass tightening around his huge tool.

It was like he did not want to pull out, running his hands all over my body and kissing my neck and shoulder. Reaching around my body, Chris took my cock into his hand and started stroking it firmly. It was not long until I shot my load all over his bed.

Chris pulled out of me, and we both lay back down on the bed. We lay in silence, just taking in each other's sexy bodies and contemplating what we had just done. As we lay there, Chris' phone rang.

"I was hoping it would be longer than that before they rang" he said, picking the phone up. "Fuck, it's my wife"!

He answered the phone. "Hey babe" he said sweetly, behaving as if there was nothing at all wrong, but slightly breathless. They chatted for a while and he was so calm. Typical lawyer - full of shit!

Eventually Chris hung up the phone.

"Fuck...now that makes me feel terrible" he said to me as he put the phone down.

"It's all good Chris. She doesn't know...and won't ever know" I assured him.

"But I will know," he replied.

"And we will keep it our secret...here's my number, you can call me whenever you are in town" I said, picking up his phone and entering my details.

We lay on the bed, in each others' arms for quite a while, just catching our breath again. As I looked longingly into his eye, smiling at each other and knowing exactly what the other really wanted, Chris' phone rang again. It was the courts, requesting him to be there in the next half hour. He got up from the bed and went and had a shower, while I watched. He seemed to enjoy me watching him. I stayed on the bed, naked, while he got dressed in front of me. Watching him, he grabbed my Hilfiger trunks and put them on.

"Now that turns me right on" I told him, laying there and stroking my cock in front of him.

"Feel free to hang around and use the room as much as you want. I will probably be all afternoon, so won't be back 'til later today. There is an extra key card on the side table. Come and go as you please. But I would love to have dinner tonight and maybe, if you were able to, you could stay the night?"

I smiled at him, my eyes clearly letting on that I was so keen.

"I would love that. See you later. Maybe call me when you are heading back to the room".

He bent over me, placing his hand around my waist, kissing me passionately. As we kissed, he slowly caressed my cock, stroking it back and forward. He continued until I reached orgasm. Going from my lips to my cock, his mouth took in all of my rod and the subsequent torrent of cum, swallowing every bit.

"Now that will keep me going all afternoon" he said after swallowing every drop.

He stood up and walked out. As the door shut behind him, I began to stroke my own cock, just trying to fathom the amazing morning I had just had and thinking about what might happen later that night.

I could not wait!

An original fictional, gay erotica story by @soyouthinkimstraight, @gayeroticafiction, NW,2024

All images have been taken from Tumblr and deem to be for public use. If any images belong to you and you want them removed, please message me @soyouthinkimstraight or @gayeroticafiction

[atlantic-riona]

I read a lot of books in the last ten days - a lot of them were very light, since I was on vacation - but since it's been so long since I read for fun, I thought I'd note down some things for each of them.

Completed

The Hollow Kingdom by Claire B. Dunkle: Still an absolute favorite of mine - I personally think it's one of the best books featuring a Goblin King, and Kate is such an interesting protagonist. I won't spoil anything, but I do like how the book actually doesn't follow a more traditional plot for these kinds of books.

In the Coils of the Snake by Claire B. Dunkle: Probably not my favorite, per se, of the trilogy, but I do find it fascinating. It brings back the elves, and I love the questions that get raised about the future and past of the goblins and elves. Can they ever escape their own tendencies?

Entwined by Heather Dixon: Best retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses ever, in my opinion. Really good characters and I loved the family relationships.

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt: I kept seeing this in various lists and it is very good! I enjoyed reading it a lot. Kind of Scheherazade-like, where Keturah keeps Death from claiming her by telling stories and then promising to finish the stories the next day.

The Vampire's Promise by Caroline B. Cooney: Genuinely unsettling descriptions of the vampire, but in a good way. There's something about this genre of supernatural fiction that I love (pre-2000s small town America encounters something supernatural) but it's hard to find nowadays imo, because so much of it is just romance now. I enjoyed it a lot, and there's two other books in the trilogy, but I have to put off reading those because of how unnerving the first was, lol.

Mixed Magics by Diana Wynne Jones: Very fun! I always love the Chrestomanci stories, they're funny and also just brilliant worlds to visit.

In Progress

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones: Going to be honest, I'm probably not going to finish this one. I started it after The Hollow Kingdom, because I was looking for more Goblin King-esque stories, but this one is not for me. I like some of the premise - the music aspect is interesting, and so too is the childhood friendship with the Erlkonig - but it's veering into "historically women were so repressed by society and religion and now I'm going to glory in being violent and hedonistic" and that's just not my cup of tea. I may try to push through it, but not if it's going to continue down the current path.

Fated by Benedict Jacka: This one's interesting. It's a bit like the Dresden Files, but Alex is definitely a bit more level-headed, which is interesting. I'm also interested in the world itself, but I will admit I got distracted partway through reading it and so I'm not very far in yet.

Captured by Maggie L. Wood: Didn't think I would like this one, but it reminds me a lot of the kinds of books I would devour in middle school. It's an interesting kind of portal fantasy, and I like Willow and her reactions to learning that she's not from Earth originally. The chess aspect is interesting, but I do wish they'd focus more on Willow's skills with chess, since it's so integral to the plot.

Nightwing, Vol. 1: Bludhaven by Dennis O'Neil: I have gotten maybe...five pages into this one, haha. I do like it, though! I'll have more to say later, though I do think it's funny that everybody's like "yeah, Gotham is bad, but Bludhaven is even worse." Like...you have seen Gotham, right? Maybe I just need to read more of the comic.

Stolen Songbird by Daniell E. Jensen: Another Goblin King-esque story, though here they're trolls in some kind of fantasy France? It was interesting, but I'm not going to lie, it's turning into a slog. I don't particularly find it interesting to read about characters that flip-flop their minds every five seconds, and I wasn't interested in the romance part, which is turning into the focus (I don't know what I expected, it's marketed as a romance, bahahaha). I probably will also not finish this one.

The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science by Seb Falk: Only made it through the intro and first chapter so far, but it is FASCINATING. It will probably take me a long time to finish, but that's just because I find so much of what's being explained interesting that I have to track it down further or include it in my own stories.

Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts: Didn't get through much more than the intro (it was buried in the car during the trip), but I love this period of time, and I love when historians dig into women of history without acting as if only women pursuing masculine activities are worth studying, and the intro makes it seem like this is one of those books where all kinds of women are being studied. So fingers crossed this one works out!

[therese-lokidottir]

I really miss fantasy stories that where the man and the women protagonist are equal but different, you know the men is masculine and the women is feminine

And where the women is not look down to men or 'no need men' and via verse. And the whole cliches thing about love that make you gag. I really miss that fantasy.

What happened to fantasy stories now?

There were always woman being written badly. Let's not forget about the dreaded "Not like other girls" trope the was so prevalent throughout the aughts and the new tens. There has always been a prevalence of women being written badly to being just non-entities in the story.

I'm not going to discount characters like Shuri, Kate and Kamala just because Sylvie is a terrible character. The past might seem better but that's because the good stuff is what's remember where mediocre stuff fades away.

The reason why stuff from all the Disney remakes like that feels so bad is because obviously corporate. It's not coming from a genuine place. It's just fixing perceived flaws or trying to appeal to a demographic while both not actually involving that demographic in the art process and still never saying or doing anything that would risk upsetting the larger group.

There's still books, cartoon, comics and other media made with sincerity you just have to look beyond the over marketed sludge Disney puts out. Just look for thing creative driven not studio driven and in are increasing monopolized media landscape now more then every it's imported to apricate the actual creators.

[haveamagicalday]

Top Ten Books Read in 2023

Continuing my tradition of blurbing/reviewing my top ten books read in the past year! Let's jump right in:

10. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica- In a not so distant future, all animals have been plagued with a deadly virus that makes meat obsolete. In a somewhat dramatic move, the government legalizes cannibalism which is marketed as “special meat”. Marcos works for a slaughterhouse where humans are treated as livestock. One day he is gifted his very own specimen and slowly begins to treat it like the human being she actually is. I'm glad I read this book and I probably will never read it again. I did know the plot and ending when going in and I wish I hadn't because I would have liked to know how I would have reacted to that final line. The way this book was written was probably one of the most fascinating parts. Very straightforward and presents things that are horrifying in a mundane way. I actually found myself unfazed when it came to the description of how the "meat" is processed which freaked me out more after the fact and got me really thinking. Am I crazy? Would I eat McDonald's newest McHuman if it were normalized and my only option? Hopefully I will never find out

9. House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig- This is a sequel to House of Salt and Sorrow that follows one of the younger siblings, Verity, from the first novel who is now a teenager. When Verity is offered a job painting a portrait for a Duchess's son, she jumps at the opportunity. While she grows closer to the son, it soon becomes clear that something is very wrong in the Duke's house. This was a hard one to rate for me but ultimately I gave it 4 stars. The first half was definitely 4 stars. I was eating it all up. I loved the creepiness of it all and the mystery of what was really happening with those experiments the duke was doing. The second half is where it went downhill a bit. I still flew through it. I read the second half in one sitting but some things were not to my liking. An unnecessary lust at first sight love triangle almost ruined things for me but I stuck it out and I'm glad I did.

8. Rouge by Mona Awad- A surreal take on the beauty industry with a twinge of Snow White. For as long as she can remember, Belle has been obsessed with her skin care routines. When her estranged mother dies, Belle must return home to take care of selling her apartment and dealing with her debts. Belle quickly learns that her mother has gotten herself involved with a mysterious spa that takes a keen interest in Belle herself. She finds herself entranced with the cult-like spa and the promise of beauty that they offer her. Rouge is perhaps a bit on the nose with its critique of the beauty industry but the surrealism of the story is memorizing and keeps you guessing throughout.

7. A Warning about Swans by R.M. Romero- Hilde was dreamt into the world by Odin and along with her five sisters, was gifted a cloak that allows them to transform into swans. Hilde is also given the gift to guide souls into the afterlife, a job she finds daunting and tiresome. When Hilde meets a penniless Baron, she strikes up a deal with him. She will conjure riches for him and in return, he will bring Hilde into the human world. This is beautifully written in prose and is a sweet little fairy tale about love and finding oneself

6. What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall- Naomi used to spend her days playing make believe in the woods with her two best friends. But their games come to an end when Naomi is attacked. She survives with seventeen stab wounds and she and her friends help identify the perpetrator. But the three have a secret about that day that haunts Naomi in her adult life. When her friend Olivia confesses that she is ready to tell the world their secret, Naomi must return to the woods and unravel what really happened that day. This was a great thriller! It was very reminiscent of a high profile true crime case that happened about a decade ago. It would be too much of a spoiler to say which one but I saw the similarities right away. I also guessed one big twist very early on but I don't think that affected the book overall or the ending.

5. The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw- A mermaid comes ashore, marries a king and gives him daughters. Then the daughters devour the king and destroy the town. Now on the run, the mermaid travels with a mysterious plague doctor and together they encounter a strange town where children never age and worship three saints who control them. This novella was strange and gory and enthralling and I loved it all. TW: Body horror

4. The Stolen Heir by Holly Black- A perfect return to Black's Fae world. I love how dark she lets these books get while still remaining appropriate for the YA audience. This book takes place eight years after The Queen of Nothing and follows Suren, the child queen of the Court of Teeth who was held captive by her parents. Now she has escaped into the human world where she is content to spend her time undoing other fae's curses. But things change when Prince Oak shows up and asks for Suren's help on a dangerous quest. Suren must return to the world she had hoped to leave behind once again.

3. After the Forest by Kell Woods- What happened to Hansel and Gretel after they escaped the Witch? In this book, Greta has become a baker whose gingerbread is beloved but also feared for its addictiveness by the town. But Greta harbors a secret, Greta has kept the witch's grimoire and it speaks to her. When Greta encounters a bear in the woods, it sets off a series of events while dark magic comes creeping into the village. Greta must learn to harbor the magic inside of her if she hopes to save her home. This book went in a different direction than I thought it would based on the description but I absolutely loved it! I will say that the official blurb doesn't really mention the romance and while it isn't the focus, it is a large part of the book. This story is also inspired by Snow White and Rose Red and I loved how the two stories connected.

2. The Only One Left by Riley Sager- As usual, Riley Sager has delivered. In 1929, a shocking murder took place that left the entire Hope family dead aside from one daughter. Believed, but never proven, to be the killer, Lenore Hope now lives in isolation in her family's mansion. Fifty four years later, Kit is a health aid who is assigned to take care of the now elderly Lenore. Lenore is bedridden and almost completely paralyzed save for one hand. When Kit brings Lenore a typewriter, she is shocked when Lenore types out a tempting offer- I want to tell you everything. Kit finds herself deeply entangled in learning the truth of what really happened that night long ago. I absolutely loved the creepy gothic vibes and some of the twists truly shocked me.

1. We Shall be Monsters by Alyssa Wees- So this book doesn't come out until Oct. 2024 but I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy! At its heart, We Shall Be Monsters is a book about the relationships between mothers and daughters. This dark fantasy follows Gemma, a young girl who is forbidden to venture into the woods behind their house. One night, Gemma's life is turned upside down when she witnesses her mother taken by a terrifying monster into the woods. Now Gemma must journey into the woods to save her mother and break a fifteen year old curse that could end in her mother's death. Along the way, Gemma learns things about her mother and herself that she never knew. In alternating chapters we also see Gemma's mother as a teenager falling in love with a strange boy who lives deep in the same dark woods. Beautifully written, this fantasy novel reads like an old fairytale with some twists and a twinge of horror along the way.

[sophieswundergarten]

I think that Milligan would be the type of person to get really into apple growing, in the sense that he would research different species and cross-breeding or grafting or whatever. He was a chemist (at least, in the show version of his backstory) so it's not unreasonable that he would be very good at food science.

I've seen the posts about Moocho making far too many pies, but I raise you that he's just trying to keep up with the sheer amount of apples Milligan's producing. The man just keeps buying trees. There were a lot of trees on the property to begin with, but now there's at least ten new saplings and one weird mix of species that has become Milligan's pet science project. You can't just say that he used to be a full-fledged scientist (And a chemist, no less! That's not an easy science to do professionally, especially with Curtain's standards) and then expect me to believe that he dropped it entirely because of Kate. I think that they'd both be out there, creating cross-species plant abominations or whatever else came into their heads while Moocho is just shaking his head in the background.

They do sell a good amount at local farmers markets, but most people are a little afraid to try the mystery apple of the week, especially with Kate's enthusiastic selling points. (She's just really excited, but these people aren't used to her yet and so it comes off as slightly suspicious)

[haggishlyhagging]

. . . [F]inancial incentives are increasingly being introduced in social realms, bringing our market identities—as consumers, customers, service providers and workers—to the forefront of our attention. And when market norms displace social norms, the effects can be hard to reverse, as demonstrated in an experimental study in Haifa, Israel in the 1990s. Ten children's day-nurseries all introduced a small fine for parents who were more than 10 minutes late collecting their children at the end of the day. The parental response? Rather than arriving more promptly, twice as many parents started arriving late. Introducing a monetary fine effectively wiped out any feelings of guilt and was interpreted as a market price for overtime care. Three months later when the experiment ended and the fine was removed, the number of late pick-ups rose higher still: the price had gone, but the guilt hadn't come back. The temporary marketplace had, in essence, erased the social contract.

-Kate Raworth, Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist

[sarahlancashire]

i'm watching midsomer murders & it's really fucking long

PILOT (1997): (1) the killings at badger's drift

SERIES ONE (1998):

(2) 1.01: written in blood (3) 1.02: death of a hollow man (4) 1.03: faithful unto death(5) 1.04: death in disguise

SERIES TWO (1999):

(6) 2.01: death's shadow (7) 2.02: strangler's wood (8) 2.03: dead man's eleven(9) 2.04: blood will out

SERIES THREE (1999 – 2000):

(10) 3.01: death of a stranger (11) 3.02: blue herrings (12) 3.03: judgement day(13) 3.04: beyond the grave

SERIES FOUR (2000 – 2001):

(14) 4.01: garden of death (15) 4.02: destroying angel (16) 4.03: the electric vendetta (17) 4.04: who killed cock robin? (18) 4.05: dark autumn(19) 4.06: tainted fruit

SERIES FIVE (2002):

(20) 5.01: market for murder (21) 5.02: a worm in the bud (22) 5.03: ring out your dead(23) 5.04: murder on st. malley's day

SERIES SIX (2003):

(24) 6.01: a talent for life (25) 6.02: death and dreams (26) 6.03: painted in blood (27) 6.04: a tale of two hamlets(28) 6.05: birds of prey

SERIES SEVEN (2003 – 2004):

(29) 7.01: the green man (gavin troy leaves!) (30) 7.02: bad tidings (dan scott arrives!) (31) 7.03: the fisher king (32) 7.04: sins of commission (33) 7.05: the maid in splendour (34) 7.06: the straw woman(35) 7.07: ghosts of christmas past

SERIES EIGHT (2004 – 2005):

(36) 8.01: things that go bump in the night (37) 8.02: dead in the water (38) 8.03: orchis fatalis (39) 8.04: bantling boy (40) 8.05: second sight (41) 8.06: hidden depths (42) 8.07: sauce for the goose(43) 8.08: midsomer rhapsody (dan scott leaves!)

SERIES NINE (2005 – 2006):

(44) 9.01: the house in the woods (ben jones arrives!) (45) 9.02: dead letters (46) 9.03: vixen's run (47) 9.04: down among the dead men (48) 9.05: four funerals and a wedding (49) 9.06: country matters (50) 9.07: death in chorus(51) 9.08: last year's model

SERIES TEN (2006 – 2008):

(52) 10.01: dance with the dead (53) 10.02: the animal within (54) 10.03: king's crystal (55) 10.04: the axeman cometh (simon dixon arrives!) (56) 10.05: death and dust (57) 10.06: picture of innocence (58) 10.07: they seek him here (59) 10.08: death in a chocolate box

SERIES ELEVEN (2008 – 2010):

(60) 11.01: shot at dawn (61) 11.02: blood wedding (simon dixon leaves!) (62) 11.03: left for dead (63) 11.04: midsomer life (64) 11.05: the magician's nephew (65) 11.06: days of misrule (66) 11.07: talking to the dead (aired between s12 & s13)

SERIES TWELVE (2009 – 2010):

(67) 12.01: the dogleg murders (68) 12.02: secrets and spies (69) 12.03: the black book (70) 12.04: the glitch (71) 12.05: small mercies (72) 12.06: the creeper (73) 12.07: the great and the good

SERIES THIRTEEN (2010 – 2011):

(74) 13.01: the made-to-measure murders (75) 13.02: the sword of guillaume (john barnaby arrives!) (76) 13.03: blood on the saddle (77) 13.04: the silent land (78) 13.05: master class (79) 13.06: the noble art (80) 13.07: not in my back yard (81) 13.08: fit for murder (tom barnaby leaves! also joyce & cully barnaby, gail stephens!)

SERIES FOURTEEN (2011 – 2012):

(82) 14.01: death in the slow lane (sykes the dog arrives!) (83) 14.02: dark secrets (sarah barnaby arrives!) (84) 14.03: echoes of the dead (85) 14.04: the oblong murders (george bullard leaves!) (86) 14.05: the sleeper under the hill (kate wilding arrives!) (87) 14.06: the night of the stag (88) 14.07: a sacred trust (89) 14.08: a rare bird

SERIES FIFTEEN (2012 – 2013):

(90) 15.01: the dark rider (91) 15.02: murder of innocence (92) 15.03: written in the stars (93) 15.04: death and the divas (94) 15.05: the sicilian defence (95) 15.06: schooled in murder (ben jones leaves!)

SERIES SIXTEEN (2013 – 2014):

(96) 16.01: the christmas haunting (charlie nelson arrives!) (97) 16.02: let us prey (98) 16.03: wild harvest (99) 16.04: the flying club (100) 16.05: the killings of copenhagen (betty barnaby arrives!)

SERIES SEVENTEEN (2015):

(101) 17.01: the dagger club (102) 17.02: murder by magic (103) 17.03: the ballad of midsomer county (104) 17.04: a vintage murder (kate wilding leaves!)

SERIES EIGHTEEN (2016):

(105) 18.01: habeas corpus (kam karimore arrives!) (106) 18.02: the incident at cooper hill (107) 18.03: breaking the chain (108) 18.04: a dying art (109) 18.05: saints and sinners (110) 18.06: harvest of souls (charlie nelson & sykes the dog leave!)

SERIES NINETEEN (2016 – 2018):

(111) 19.01: the village that rose from the dead (jamie winter & paddy the dog arrive!) (112) 19.02: crime and punishment (113) 19.03: last man out (114) 19.04: red in tooth & claw (115) 19.05: death by persuasion (116) 19.06: the curse of the ninth (kam karimore leaves!)

SERIES TWENTY (2019 – 2020):

(117) 20.01: the ghost of causton abbey (fleur perkins arrives!) (118) 20.02: death of the small coppers (119) 20.03: drawing dead (120) 20.04: the lions of causton (121) 20.05: till death do us part (122) 20.06: send in the clowns

SERIES TWENTY-ONE (2020 – 2021):

(123) 21.01: the point of balance (124) 21.02: the miniature murders (125) 21.03: the sting of death (126) 21.04: with baited breath

SERIES TWENTY-TWO (2021 – 2023):

(127) 22.01: the wolf hunter of little worthy (128) 22.02: the stitcher society (129) 22.03: happy families (130) 22.04: the scarecrow murders (131) 22.05: for death prepare (132) 22.06: the witches of angel’s rise

SERIES TWENTY-THREE (2024):

(133) 23.01: the blacktrees prophecy (134) 23.02: the debt of lies (135) 23.03: a grain of truth (136) 23.04: dressed to kill

SERIES TWENTY-FOUR (2024):

(137) 24.01: the devil's work (138) 24.02: book of the dead (139) 24.03: claws out (140) 24.04: climate of death

[ferdieinceladoncity]

I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO WATCHING THE GIGGLE NOW THAT MY MOTHER IS WELL, I'M ONLY ONE ENTIRE WEEK LATE BUT HERE'S MY GIGGLE THOUGHTS

-okay, for one I am not as averse to the bi-regeneration as some people have been. I saw that leak detailing it waaaay earlier, and I was honestly excited more than disappointed. As long as they don't do this every single time future doctors regenerate- which would suck-it was fine as a one-off thing, and made sense for the iteration of 14. Of course he would be brought back so that he could go home and stay there. And 15 gets to go gallivanting off and start off the new season, so alls well. I dont think it takes away from Ncuti's arrival as the doctor at all because he had most of the focus of the episode from when he split off and became real.

-I could not help but draw parallels between all the people of earth thinking they are right and denying wearing the... whatever they were called, the rings- and covid and masking stuff and whatever which I guess was the point. The toymaker referencing 'cancelling' was so cringe though lmaoo

-Kate Lethbridge Stewart you are my wife forever <3

-what the fuck was that robot there for. the vlinx. This is like, for suuuuure we are getting a UNIT spinoff soon and the inclusion of that weird robot is gonna be part of it. Literally everything is pointing to a UNIT spinoff and that was so obvious in this episode. I don't have opinions for or against the existence of a UNIT spinoff, btw.

-the callback to the Moffat companions was great. Shame he mentions Amy but not Rory?? hello? he was very much touched by a weeping angel too.

-Overall, I didnt hate the toymaker as a villain, but it was like... i don't know. a discount master. I guess he was fun, but I wouldn't be too keen on seeing him return anytime soon.

-that being said, spice up your life was very fun :3 Oh I'm going to have that in my head forever, aren't I..

-Please don't reference the year as a big speech in the episode of television you're making. Yes I understand it's because it's the anniversary but does nobody else find it super cringe when they're all like.. oMG.. 2023... maybe that's just because im super tired of that trend back in 2020 where verbalising the fact it was 2020 was used as like the marketing campaign of every single brand

-mel bush was certainly there! for, I guess, reasons! maybe I'd care more if I'd seen her back in the like... 80s, but I didn't, and so it was like. okay. were there any classic fans watching jumping out of their seats when she was on screen? I just feel like when the doctor reunites with an old companion, it always feels shallow. Like when 13 reunited with Tegan and ace in power of the doctor. It just felt like she didn't really know them anymore and we only really saw 14 exchange pleasantries with Mel as if they were friends meeting back after a couple years in a grocery store aisle. I think they more or less got it right in school reunion, seeing ten with Sarah Jane was so wonderful. But that was a whole episode centred around their reunion and when you're introducing a past companion as part of a special or big anniversary episode you kind of have to push it aside in favour of the other stuff you have to show, making it feel like, what was really the point? a companion is such an important person in the doctors life and it feels narratively unsatisfying to bring them back to satiate or entertain older fans but not really centre any part of the episode on the doctor and this companion they formed a real bond with.

-if I was donna I would have stepped right on that doll the first time I saw it and smooshed it into the floorboards like a spider

-I feel like they played catch too fairly. For one, why even bother throwing the ball back and forth between yourselves? dont tempt fate like that. take all your shots at the toymaker. surely it wouldn't have been hard to just lob it a little bit to the left and off the edge a lot sooner. He'd say you were a bad throw but I doubt he could prove it

-I liked the imagery of the rose petals shooting out of the guns I dont know I just thought that was neat

-oh, speaking of! Rose mention! the doctor said he loved rose in 2023. Well, in a stilted way (next point) but man I guess this can be considered a timepetals win???

-the dialogue just didnt crackle and to a point and with a few expeditions this has been the case for all the specials. I don't know if im looking at it all the wrong way, but there's something a little bit devoid of life when compared to earlier seasons. It's not deal-breaking for me. But I think it was especially potent this episode.

-The TARDIS having a ramp is pretty great but why not let her in it?? why show her ( cant remember her name but the UNIT officer in the wheelchair) you show her it has a ramp now and she's happy about that, but nah fuck it you can't come in and have a look.

-The TARDIS also looks so much better with the warm yellow lights and I'd have warmed to it a lot more if it ALWAYS had that warm yellow lighting instead of the sterile whiteness 14 was kicking around in.

-Seen many people mention it already but the fact that was 14 was going commando after the regeneration because 15 got the underwear is hilarious. and he had the dogs out and all. my man. only in doctor who can the climax of an episode be the protagonists and the villain saving the world by playing a game of catch and one is barefoot and the other is literally in his undies. huh

-tentoo did not win ffs. just one mention. just somebody asking how he's going where he's at. just someone considering him at all. a fucking throwaway line. DONNA KNEW HIM. im going to bite my hand off and rtd better have something planned, some good reason for acting like he doesn't exist in these specials. Like even if when they were talking about the doctor settling down and having a domestic life, even if donna had said like "like that other you did" and then we all moved on. but literally act like he doesn't exist I guess

-I'd probably sooner kill myself than live with Sylvia noble but good for 14 for his ending. it was cheesy as all hell but whatever. it deserved to be. It was sweet. It was nothing I'm going to go crazy over but whatever. sure.

-I'm excited for 15 because I do love what we saw of him here. he's fun and he seems to be a bit more free of all the baggage his prior incarnations held which is good. I'm interested to see what he's like but this ep sets him up as quite promising.

-alright, wrapping up, this episode was by far the worst of the three specials, and left me feeling unsatisfied with some things and happy with others. overall, im not taking it too seriously because the episode itself wasn't doing that, it was just a bit of fun and flashy and a bit stupid but it had to be because it's tennats proper sendoff and an anniversary special. It was fine. And I'm glad, im so glad overall that we got these three episodes. I do think that doctor who is so back and im so happy to be a fan.

[llamasofchaos]

I didn't like the TV show adaptation of the Mysterious Benedict Society.

I tried I really did, I watched all of season 1 and I watched a little bit of season 2 but I just can't like it.

The reason I can't like it is that it the small things they changed are so important to the overarching story in the books and once they changed it the show was forever not going to be an accurate adaptation.

I do want to say this is not meant to hate on the show/the cast/or anyone that enjoyed the show at all.

Honestly the biggest issue is how they handled the villains. They tried to make them sympathetic and instead made them pathetic. In the books Curtain is a genius mastermind who wants to rule the world and wants to find a cure for his narcolepsy. But because they changed his backstory he just comes off kind of pathetic and weird. Also the change in backstory completely changed Mr. Benedict and not for the better. Benedict was a coward and selfish. A big issue was having SQ be Curtains ignored adopted son because it removes the importance of their relationship.

I also want to touch on Martina, Jackson and Jillson. These three are the ones that the kids have to be careful around in the books. Martina is determined to be at the top and she is willing to be at her way to the top if she has too. Making her be Kate's friend and save her with the tetherball team was honestly dumb in my opinion. The sons are some of Curtains earliest pupils and are now his enforcers. Making them just weird creepy helpers was so weird.

And don't even get me started on removing the Ten Men.

When companies decided that book to film adaptations should be tv shows instead of movies it was so that they could be more accurate. If you are unwilling to make an accurate adaptation and just want to take inspiration from something then completely change the story then just say it was inspired by something and stop marketing it as a film adaptation of that story cause it isn't and it is just disappointing for those who wanted a real adaptation of the stories they enjoyed growing up.

[real-news-20]

UK Visa Changes in 2024: Streamlined Sponsor Licences for Easier Hiring (6 Key Points)

The UK immigration system is undergoing changes in 2024, and one of the key updates concerns sponsor licences used by businesses to hire skilled workers from outside the UK. Here are six key points to know about the changes implemented in April 2024:

1. Automatic Renewal of Sponsor Licences:

Previously, businesses had to renew their sponsor licences every four years. This process could be tedious and time-consuming. However, from April 2024, expiring sponsor licences will be automatically extended for ten years, eliminating the need for renewals. This simplifies the process for businesses and allows them to focus on recruiting talent.

2. Potential Cost Savings:

The frequent renewal process often involved associated costs for businesses. The automatic extension eliminates the need for renewal applications, potentially reducing administrative costs for companies.

3. Focus on Compliance:

While the renewal process is simplified, maintaining compliance with sponsor licence regulations remains crucial. Businesses must ensure they meet all the requirements to continue sponsoring skilled workers.

4. No Impact on Existing Licences:

The automatic extension only applies to expiring licences, not those already renewed after April 2024. Businesses with recently renewed licences will follow their existing expiry date.

5. Continued Focus on Skilled Workers:

This change aims to facilitate the hiring of skilled workers from outside the UK but does not alter the eligibility criteria for sponsoring individuals. Businesses still need to meet the specific requirements for each visa category.

6. Part of Broader Reforms:

This change is part of a larger effort by the UK government to streamline the immigration system and make it more business-friendly. Other reforms might be introduced in the future.

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