#the way the trust is conferred because kevin said so.

[victoreli]

"I won't be like them, I won't let you let me be" and "You are not them, kevin would not have sent me here if you were." i cannot do this anymore

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

enablers standing by

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 8, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

Andrew Restuccia, Richard Rubin, and Stephanie Armour of the Wall Street Journal today published a preview of President Joe Biden’s budget, due to be released tomorrow. Their article’s beginning sent an important message. Biden’s budget plan, they wrote, will “save hundreds of billions of dollars by seeking to lower drug prices, raising some business taxes, cracking down on fraud and cutting spending he sees as wasteful, according to White House officials.” Those officials said that, over the next ten years, the plan would cut deficits by close to $3 trillion. Reflecting the needs of Ukraine to fight off the 2022 Russian invasion, as well as tensions with China, Biden will call for a larger defense budget. As he outlined yesterday, part of the budget plan will fund the Medicare trust fund for at least another 25 years, in part by increasing tax rates on people earning more than $400,000 a year. “That is not going to happen. Obviously he knows that,” Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) told the Wall Street Journal reporters. “Republicans are not going to sign up for raising taxes.” Without a budget plan of their own to offer, House Republicans appear to be trying to steal the president’s thunder. They told Tony Romm of the Washington Post that they are getting ready for the House Ways and Means Committee to begin consideration tomorrow of a bill to prioritize the national debt in preparation for a national default. House Republicans continue to insist they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling to pay for expenses already incurred—many of them under Trump—thus forcing the U.S. into default for the first time in our history. They are suggesting they could rank the debts in order of importance, but as Brian Riedl, an economist at the Manhattan Institute, told Romm, the computer systems were written with the assumption the country would, in fact, pay its debts, and they do not have programs that would let them prioritize payments to one group or another. In any case, the White House has refused to negotiate over paying the nation’s bills. It remains eager to discuss the budget with Republicans and to negotiate over it—which is how the process is supposed to proceed—but insists the Republicans cannot hold the nation hostage by threatening a default that would spark an international financial crisis and destroy the American economy. Indeed, the willingness of the Republican Party to default on the country’s debt shows how thoroughly radicalized it has become. Even the Republican leaders who do not embrace the racism, sexism, religiosity, nihilism, and authoritarianism of the hard-core MAGA Republicans appear to believe they cannot win an election without the votes of those people. And so the extremists now own the party. They continue to support former president Trump, who at the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend promised “those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.” The party is now one of grievance and revenge, feeding on their false conviction that Trump won the 2020 election. The Fox News Channel was key in feeding that Big Lie, of course, and filings from the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against the Fox News Network have revealed that Fox executives and hosts alike knew it was a lie. They continued to spread it because they didn’t want to lose their base. On Monday, Fox News Channel personality Tucker Carlson, who has found himself badly exposed by the Dominion filings, threw himself back into the Trump camp. He showed a false version of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, suggesting it was a mostly peaceful tourist visit rather than the deadly riot it actually was. Carlson’s false narrative was possible because House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave Carlson exclusive access to more than 40,000 hours of video taken in the Capitol on that fateful January 6, illustrating that there is no daylight between the lies of the Fox News Channel and the House Republican leadership. Outrage over that transaction has sparked a backlash. Former officer of the Metropolitan Police Michael Fanone, who was badly injured defending the Capitol on January 6, published an op-ed at CNN saying he knew for certain that Carlson’s version of that day was a lie. “I was there. I saw it. I lived it,” Fanone wrote. “I fought alongside my brother and sister officers to defend the Capitol. We have the scars and injuries to prove it.” Former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) tweeted that if the House Republicans want new January 6th hearings, “bring it on. Let’s replay every witness & all the evidence from last year. But this time, those members who sought pardons and/or hid from subpoenas should sit on the dais so they can be confronted on live TV with the unassailable evidence.” Senate Republicans also spoke out against Carlson’s lies. Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) aligned himself with Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger, who called Carlson’s piece “offensive.” McConnell said: “It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.” Democrats, along with the White House, also condemned Carlson’s video. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the White House supported the Capitol Police and lawmakers from both parties who condemned “this false depiction of the unprecedented, violent attack on our Constitution and the rule of law—which cost police officers their lives.” Bates went on: “We also agree with what Fox News’s own attorneys and executives have now repeatedly stressed in multiple courts of law: That Tucker Carlson is not credible.” But McCarthy says he does not regret giving Carlson access to the tapes, and Carlson indicated that anyone who objected to the false narrative he put forward on Monday had revealed themselves as being allied against the Republican base. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY) are organizing a visit for members of Congress to visit the jail where defendants charged with crimes relating to the January 6th riot are behind held. In the past, Greene called those defendants “political prisoners of war.” Today the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the 2023 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. It warned that transnational “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists” (RMVEs) continue to pose a threat more lethal to U.S. persons and interests than do Islamist terrorists. RMVEs are “largely a decentralized movement of adherents to an ideology that espouses the use of violence to advance white supremacy, neo-Nazism, and other exclusionary cultural-nationalist beliefs. These actors increasingly seek to sow social divisions, support fascist-style governments, and attack government institutions,” the report said. They “capitalize on societal and political hyperpolarization to…mainstream their narratives and conspiracy theories into the public discourse.” They are recruiting “military members” to “help them organize cells for attacks against minorities or institutions that oppose their ideology.” Finally, John Bresnahan of Punchbowl News reported that 81-year-old Senator Mitch McConnell fell at an event at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., tonight and has been hospitalized.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[defensefilms]

Saturday Night Must Be A Turning Point For Joel Embiid

“Embiid vs Jokic On Saturday Night is a watershed moment for 2023 MVP race”

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets by 137-134 and although the game lacked the presence of Kevin Durant, the Sixers still looked good, but with several creases that need to be ironed out before we can consider this team playoff ready, and more importantly, conference championship ready.

Tyrese Maxey’s continued development is nothing short of spectacular. He is every bit the 3rd/4th scorer we need on this team, his 27 points, 5 assista and 3 rebounds were as big a contribution as anyobe made in that win, and it’s nice to see him getting some love from the national media for his contributions.

The same cannot be said for the buddy, James Harden. I’ll keep it funky with you in saying that “I’m never happy to watch this guy play”, but his role in our offense can be a useful one, in as far getting to the freethrow line and slowing the pace of the game down, because when you’re at the freethrow line you’re not allowing opponents to score in transition.

James is finding that going to the rim is his best friend right now, 23 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds is decent return, and while he managed 5-10 from 3-point distance, there are issues, bro.

In the 4th quarter though, we almost let go of this game, we were not trying to get Joel in post-up position in the 4th quarter and you know what, it nearly backfired hard. 

Putting Joel in the post would help negate some of these dumb turnovers, where James is trying to pass to Joel, even when bro is surrounded by like 4 defenders.

And speaking of Joel, that 4th quarter put on display a lot of the things Hakeem Olajuwon was beefing about.

Joel putting himself in the low post also simplifies things for his teammates.

I don’t know if it’s because bro plays with Harden, or it’s the instructions from Doc Rivers but Joel Embiid’s aversion to going in to the low post needs to be dealt with once and for all..

I can’t understad why he thinks standing in the middle of a zone defense is the best way to break down defenses. 

It’s actually annoying to watch “floor general” James Harden commit these crazy turnovers with the goal of getting him to shoot stepback 3′s. We are literally one of the worst 4th quarter teams in the league, and it’s a shot selection issue.

It is what it is.

On Saturday night, when the 76ers play the Denver Nuggets, it’ll give Joel a chance to rectify some of these percieved slights.

For all intents and purposes, Nikola Jokic has been encroaching on this here “best center in the league” territory for a while now and to be honest, Joel needs to send a message here.

Outperforming Jokic in a game that will have the attention of the national media, and a game that will be the only NBA’s only airing in that time slot, will do wonders to remind the league just whose claim to best big in the league is most credible.

It needs to happen, because you know what hurts Embiid’s case? Not being a starter in this year’s all star game, for the 2nd year in a row!! 

Joel Embiid, who leads the league in scoring at 33.4 points per game, is not going to be a starter in the all-star game, for the 2nd year in a row.

That’s the extent that the Joel Embiid disrespect has gotten to. 

 Balling out against Jokic won’t be easy, and I doubt the Nuggets will opt to have Jokic guard Embiid 1-on-1 because that will not be advantageous. 

The Sixers guarding Nikola Jokic, will be a whole other affair completely, and while I trust Embiid’s athleticism to help negate Jokic, I do have my doubts that our team defense will be able to stop Jokic from diming passes and manipulating the entire floor. 

The Nuggets are currently 1st place in a very competetive Western conference, so this will no be an easy feat, while the Sixers can try to carry the confidence of a 6-game winning streak in to this upcoming game.

For Joel, the mandate is clear, play your best game of the season. Period

[honestsportsopinion]

New York Rangers and the situations they are in

Disclaimer: This essay or article, call it as you wish, is my own information analysis. I am in no way sports journalist or try to be one. All the sources will be linked bellow.  

           Idea to write this thing came from my close friend and I thought: “Why the hell not?” Once I started the research, I realised it will not be easy to put this together because so much information has come up in last few weeks and more has happened in last few days. So, this may seem messy. I will talk about points about New York Rangers that I took closer look to.

           Possibly, New York Ranger fans can better pinpoint the moment when things started to go south in their team. When rookie development was thrown out of window and the youngsters got left to fend for themselves without help. When did racist players got given one chance after another? It must have been painful to see such good team and organisation to dissolve in what it is now. Yes, it is kind of hard to call them team right now.

           First, want to start with this interview quote from ex-New York Rangers player Kevin Hayes, conducted in 2019, that prompted me to look a bit further in this whole situation:

"They chose to get rid of me and Vese, but that's their decision," Hayes said. "I'm sure it'll come back to them; we'll find out."

Not only New York Rangers got rid of Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vessey, but next season Brady Skjei followed his friends off to a different team. Few seasons ago this trio was in grace of the organisation but now they are out of it. No one still understands how that happened. If we highlight this quote from Mr. Hayes, we can see that there was some bitterness over whole situation, that even the best media training could not mask. Also, we could say that words in it is quite prophetic. It will come back to them he said and oh, how it did come back to this team. Starting one whirlwind after another.

           Secondly, I want to talk about development and treatment of younger players that come to New York Rangers organisation. We all well know how K’Andre Miller got welcomed in this team with livestream chat absolutely being flooded with racist comments. It is all still fresh in our minds and we will come back to K’Andre Miller a bit later.

           Lias Andersson was young player with bright future, being drafted as 7th overall in 2017 entry draft. His story also is not best: for three seasons being thrown between AHL and NHL, allowed to play few games for New York Rangers. In no way the team tried to build up his confidence. Of course, it is not easy to be treated as moving piece. When you are as young as 18, you need to feel backed up by the team you got drafted. After these years of up and down in USA, Mr. Andersson choose to go back home to Sweden.

           Now we have Finish player Kaapo Kakko in similar situation.  Absolutely not feeling backing of team or coach who in recent press conference said this:

 “He’s got seven points in his last seven NHL games and what can happen in this game is we get so caught up in where they were drafted and the hype about people.  I don’t give two craps about that.  We want to win hockey games and he was the best option.  How’d it work out?”

While in the same interview he praised the No. 1 draft pick Alexis Lafrenière. I am in no way pitting those two against one another, but coach should be one person that stays unbiased no matter what and helps players find their rooting in team. From this interview it feels like he already has view on Mr. Kakko and does not want to change his opinion on him.

           Right here in me could start talking hurt European but I am not going to step as low as David Quinn because I have general understanding about different nationalities that react to things differently. All I can say is I wish Kaapo to find team that will give him the rooting he needs, but also knowing Finns he will try to fight for his place.

           Lastly, we must mention the name of player that has worst possible reputation in NHL, so bad that none of 30 teams want to take him of the waivers. You guessed it folks: Tony DeAngelo. Yes, finally New York Rangers are getting rid of this player, but should he have been called up at all. By the words of New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton:

“We did a lot of research, talked to a lot of people about Tony prior to acquiring him,” Gorton said. “We did our homework, we were comfortable[..].”

Looking from outside of it all, it seems they did none of the research and DeAngelo could do whatever he wanted to do. Team even promoted his podcast, that does not put out best message to anyone. We can also talk about his twitter and Instagram tantrums that have hurt more people than not. Organisation says they talked with DeAngelo, but nothing seemed to work, even the tiny suspensions that he was getting. DeAngelo felt like he had his teams backing, that no players we talked before in this essay have felt. Craziest thing is that he just recently resigned with the team, they still believed in him.

           So DeAngelo took it as a sign to stretch their trust even thinner. There is alleged news that he stole K’Andre Millers first goal puck. New York Rangers are trying to cover it up, but fans are more attentive. There was not picture of K’Andre holding his puck while the New York Rangers posted Lafrenière with his puck. The team can come out with statements about this whole thing, but they cannot stop the windmill of news sharing.

          Whole thing culminated in altercation between DeAngelo and Georgiev. This finally got organisation into gear, booting DeAngelo off the team fully. Scariest thought is that New York Rangers would have kept this under wraps, too, not to spoil their team’s name. It got out and this time easiest choice was to fire DeAngelo. As easily they trusted him, as easily they let him go. Maybe it is fresh breath of air that this team needs, maybe this situation will raise up more dirty laundry but what is done is done. There is no way back and only way forward.

Conclusion.

           New York Rangers as organisation do not seem to understand how to develop young players and make them in star players anymore while their history shows that they can do that. As organisation they have let down many of their players and fans who believed in them, allowing racists and bigots play in the team freely without huge consequences. Yes, people will go and say they fired DeAngelo. I will answer them: “Good but where were they before when they could have chosen not to call him up. Signs were there already.”

           We can see that they choose easiest way, forgetting that team is supposed to be family where each player is ready to stand and fall for one another. Generally, I wish New York Rangers to find the light in the end of a tunnel. Find their way back to developing young players to proper stars and not to make any dumb mistakes.

Sources:

Abate, B. (14.01.2021.). Rangers Must Learn from Mistakes Made with Andersson. Retrieved from https://thehockeywriters.com/rangers-lias-andersson-development-mistakes-learning-opportunity/

Cuthbert, J. (31.01.2021.). Rangers waive controversial Tony DeAngelo after reported altercation with teammate. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/i4jox6v9

NBC. (21.09.2019.). Interview with Kevin Hayes. Retrieved from https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/flyers/kevin-hayes-honest-about-his-time-rangers-ecstatic-be-flyers

New York Rangers. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Rangers#Jeff_Gorton_era_(2015%E2%80%93present)

Paulus, S. (31.01.2021.). David Quinn must dislike Kaapo Kakko a lot. Retrieved from https://bluelinestation.com/2021/01/29/new-york-rangers-coach-david-quinn-must-dislike-kaapo-kakko-a-lot/

Valji, S., N. (31.01.2021). Future of Tony DeAngelo (Twitter thread). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/salimvalji/status/1355968550393901056

Walker, M. (16.01.2021.). Rangers bench star Tony DeAngelo for game against Islanders. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2021/01/16/tony-deangelo-not-in-rangers-lineup-for-game-vs-islanders/

Walker, M. (01.02.2021.). Rangers refute ‘sad’ K’Andre Miller rumor after banishing Tony DeAngelo. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2021/02/01/rangers-refute-kandre-miller-rumor-amid-tony-deangelo-saga/

[nerdygaymormon]

Interviewed by 2 Seventies

Background

This weekend my stake is getting a new stake presidency. It’s been interesting to view the process from behind the scenes.

A few weeks ago a list of everyone to be interviewed was sent to the stake president--bishops, members of the high council, current counselors in the stake presidency, the stake clerk and the stake executive secretary. They asked if there’s anyone else the stake president would recommend adding to the list. 

Then each of those individuals was sent a brief set of questions asking about their current & previous callings, their occupation, and their family. As the stake executive secretary, I was asked to arrange the interview schedule, giving 6 minutes for each interviewee. The idea is that the Lord knows who is to be the next stake president and just needs to make it known. I commented that this seems like speed dating.

We had 2 Seventy assigned to this stake conference. One is Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, he’s a General Authority Seventy, the other is Elder Douglas B. Carter, he’s an Area Authority Seventy, meaning he lives somewhere nearby, works his regular job during the week and has Church assignments on the weekend. 

We learned only a few days ago that the General Authority Seventy in Salt Lake are not traveling. They continue to meet in council with the Apostles & First Presidency, so to limit the chance of them being exposed to COVID and bringing it to the councils, they are not traveling. 

So our setup for the interview was Elder Hamilton on a laptop by Zoom and Elder Carter sitting behind the desk. 

————————————————————

The Interview

"Brother Doyle, this says you don't have a wife and you've never been married, is this correct?" 

My reply was, "I'll save you from having to ask 20 questions. I'm gay and being in the Church means certain avenues are closed to me."

“When did you come out?” 

“I consider I officially came out a decade ago, but I was just telling individuals, not making a big announcement, but in 2017 I had a blog post go viral that outed me to everyone.”

They proceeded to ask some hard, probing questions. I doubt they asked similar types questions of the others. Wanting to know if I ever was inactive (there were times I wanted to but I had a Mormon boss or landlord or other reason that made not going to church tricky), did I grow up in the Church (yes), have you always abided by the Law of Chastity (I’m not exactly sure how to answer this, what exactly is it you want to know, while in this calling I have dated some people but I know where the line is about chastity that would require me to be released and I’m careful about that, and also, I haven’t dated for a while).

They asked me if I have a temple recommend (yes), are you worthy (I answered “yes,” but shouldn’t my answer about the recommend have satisfied this question). Do I go to the temple often? (this last question is the only one that Elder Carter asked, all the rest were asked by Elder Hamilton)

When I responded that although I keep a current recommend, I don't usually go to the temple except to support others. There's things at the temple that are hard for me. They asked what about the temple would be hard? "Well, it talks about it's not good for man to be alone, it talks about having joy in our creation." "Oh, I can understand that."

At that point their body language softened and relaxed, they started smiling, and began asking me questions about how I feel about my calling (I felt God asked me to do a work among LGBT members, and when I agreed, He put me in this calling, which is interesting that doing this calling's work opened the way for me to do the other work), how do I help other LGBT members, what have I learned from my stake president? 

They thanked me for sharing that I struggle and do my best and carry on.

As they were wrapping up, the General Authority Seventy said he's confident God will work everything out for me. My response was I hope so, but those are easy words to say and harder to keep faith in.” He acknowledged that he doesn't know the future, but he has faith God will bless me.

Elder Hamilton can tell I’m impacting people, thanked me for being visible,  and said if he was here in person that he'd give me a hug.

————————————————————

Their Comment to the Stake President

After they'd met with everyone, the two Seventy spent some time in conversation with each other, then asked the soon-to-be-released stake president to meet with them, I believe to get his perspectives on certain individuals and if there's background information they should be aware of.

After he exited the office and the 2 Seventy resumed conferring with each other, he told me that when he walked in and closed the door, the first thing they said was, "Well, the most interesting interview was with your executive secretary."

He replied, "I bet it was. I've instructed him to be candid with me and I trust he was candid with you."

"Oh yes, he was candid. As we talked with him, we grew to like him."

————————————————————

Commentary

Even now after all these years, it takes bravery to be LGBT in this Church and deal with these kinds of things. And sometimes it is very wearying, too. 

Today felt like 2 different interviews back-to-back. They were tough on me in the first half. Maybe they were just curious and wanting to learn, but it feels very vulnerable to be asked those sorts of questions in rapid fire that could be interpreted as accusatory. 

I think because these types of interviews to find the next stake president are done under very tight time limits, that's why they just asked question after question, but it was rough to be on the receiving end of those questions in that first half of the interview.

Our stories have power, if they’re willing to listen. Being in proximity is important to spurring change. I know it's unusual for them to come to a stake and run into someone like me, and I've helped them understand better. 

I’m very proud of my stake president for immediately sticking up for me when he said, “I’ve instructed him to be candid with me and I trust he was with you.” 

[bobbystompy]

91 Quotes I Enjoyed From 2020

Below are my favorite quotes from 2020. Though most occurred throughout the year, some took place before but were encountered during.

1) “You don’t have to be new to make new.” - Rick Rubin

2) “He put the beat on and go to sleep then wake up with a verse.” - The Lox

3) “Every opinion is bad.” - Blink-155

4)

(via Twitter)

5) “At the start of every disaster movie, there’s a scientist being ignored.”

6) “Be brave enough to suck at something new.”

7) “Comedy is the only job you can have where you can use everything you know” - Robin Williams via Dave Chappelle

8) “What’s the worst swear word where you live?” - Josiah Hughes

9) “Cookies are a really great way to get everybody to like you for a short period of time” - YSAC

10) “The worst dancer at a wedding is the one who’s not dancing.” - John Mulaney

11) “I never saw the end of the tunnel. I only saw myself running out of one." - Kobe Bryant

12) "A good movie begins as you're walking out of the theater" - Ethan Hawke

13) “When I was young and starting in cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart which is, 'The most personal is the most creative.’ That quote was from our great Martin Scorsese.” - Bong Joon-ho

14) “Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow” - River Phoenix via Joaquin Phoenix

15) “Thank you -- I will drink until next morning.” - Bong Joon-ho

16) “Men will bury their emotions for decades and then take it all out on children tubing while they drive the boat.” - @krauter_

17) “They help you with the dumb face stuff, but they don’t tell you how to fix it” - Adam (Nate’s friend), on having older sisters

18) “We all had our connections, but it’s not the details themselves that matter, it’s the feeling behind them. There are a million coming-of-age tales. Lady Bird’s secret sauce is how deeply its creator gave a shit. The older I get, the less I care about anything but the sense of a filmmaker’s personal connection to the material. It doesn’t matter what it’s about, what genre it is, or whether it’s genre at all. I only really care that it feels like something the filmmaker had to tell me, and that it was that filmmaker in particular who had to tell it. It has to answer the ‘why are you telling me this’ question, and not just why are you telling me, but why are you telling me.

Lady Bird is a movie that feels like only Greta Gerwig could’ve made. And it’s only because it’s so specific to her that it can be so meaningful to so many people.” - Vince Mancini

19) "I have cast some lonely votes, fought some lonely fights, mounted some lonely campaigns. But I do not feel lonely now.” - Bernie Sanders

20) “Ever hear a Beatles song you haven’t heard before?”

21) “Drinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of the standardism of everyday life, out of everything being the same. It yanks you out of your body and your mind and throws you against the wall. I have the feeling that drinking is a form of suicide where you're allowed to return to life and begin all over the next day. It's like killing yourself, and then you're reborn. I guess I've lived about ten or fifteen thousand lives now.” - Charles Bukowski

22) “You shouldn’t have to hear a band to know if they’re good or not” - Josiah Hughes

23) “I was raised by OGs.  Some of you were raised by IG.  I understand.” - Ice-T

* * *

[Here is where I note the line of demarcation that was the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the US, pushed forward by Tom Hanks’ announcement, the NBA and NCAA shutting down, and, then, the nation itself.]

* * *

24) “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” - Vladimir Lenin

25) "Taken together, this is a massive failure in leadership that stems from a massive defect in character. Trump is such a habitual liar that he is incapable of being honest, even when being honest would serve his interests. He is so impulsive, shortsighted, and undisciplined that he is unable to plan or even think beyond the moment. He is such a divisive and polarizing figure that he long ago lost the ability to unite the nation under any circumstances and for any cause. And he is so narcissistic and unreflective that he is completely incapable of learning from his mistakes. The president’s disordered personality makes him as ill-equipped to deal with a crisis as any president has ever been. With few exceptions, what Trump has said is not just useless; it is downright injurious." - Peter Wehner

26) "Epidemics have a way of revealing underlying truths about the societies they impact." - Anne Applebaum

27) “A funny thing about quarantining is hearing your partner in full work mode for the first time. Like, I’m married to a ‘let’s circle back’ guy — who knew?” - Laura Norkin

28) 

(Jojo Rabbit)

29) “The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. - Deadwood: The Movie

30) “All bleeding stops eventually.” - Deadwood: The Movie

31) “Our Father, which art in heaven… / Let him fucking stay there” - Deadwood: The Movie

32) “It’s like a power outage, but we still have power” - Ryen Russillo, on the pandemic

33) “Whenever Sox baseball returns, it’ll be weird to not have Farmer on the call any more. The relationship between a fan and longtime announcer is always built in the little moments. One afternoon, he’s the soundtrack as you clean the garage. On another night, he’s your bookmark for the game as you stand in line for churros or walk down the ramps at Sox Park to try for better seats in the 100 level. A voice like Farmer’s becomes so familiar that you only really notice when it’s no longer there.” - Kevin Kaduk, on the passing of Ed Farmer

34) 

(via Twitter)

35) “In my songs, I try to look through someone else’s eyes, and I want to give the audience a feeling more than a message” - John Prine

36) “Observe everything. Admire nothing.” - Generation Kill

37) “Trump, by that definition, has always been a wartime president -- always willing to sacrifice people he doesn’t know to things he only sort of cares about” - David Roth

38) "Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen." - Michael Jordan

39) "Fiction is a bridge to the truth that journalism can't reach." - Hunter S. Thompson

40) “Airlines sending me “we’re in this together” emails. When my suitcase was 52 pounds I was on my own.” - Mike Dentale

41) “Sometimes you can be the worst source of your own story” - Ryen Russillo

42) “Family is not necessarily blood, but instead who you would bleed for.”

43)

(via Twitter)

44) "This is the deal that Jordan made, knowingly or unknowingly — that he would trade everything he had for everything he wanted. And then, when he won all those things, he found that he had nothing but that.” - David Roth

45) “I’m brand loyal, but the brand doesn’t matter” - Caitie Miller, on why she doesn’t like generic peanut butter

46) “NOBODY shitposts Gene Hackman!!” - Mark Dehlinger

47) “When a man concludes that any stick is good enough to beat his foe with—that is when he picks up a boomerang.” - G.K. Chesterton

48) “You can be appalled forever, but shocked only once.” - Jeff Weiss, on early Eminem

49) “Whether I’m pessimistic or optimistic, the fight’s the same” - David Simon

50) “Freedom can never be completely won, but it can be lost.” - Bernard Simon

51) “Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands.” -Kareem Abdul Jabbar

52) “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist -- we must be anti-racist.” - Angela Davis

53) “Start as close to the end as possible” - Kurt Vonnegut, on creative writing

54) “You can’t stay woke all the time — that’s insomnia.” - Dr. Cornel West

55) “No, I get it. I’ve dated a lot of Geminis.”

56) “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” - John Krakauer, Into The Wild (via Tyler Keller)

57) "I couldn't show them my For You because it's pretty much just lesbian stuff and depression memes" - Maggie Loesch, on showing TikTok to her coworkers

58) "It's 1 a.m. in Slovakia and I've already had one bottle of wine and I don't know how long this press conference will go, so good luck to me." - Marian Hossa, following his NHL Hall of Fame announcement

59) “All I want in life is to go on an Anguilla group trip” - Mandy Gilkes

60) “You miss old friends when you don’t see them, but you miss them more when you do.” - Chuck Klosterman

61) “The only way to appreciate the present is to pretend it’s already the past.” - Chuck Klosterman

62) Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth Until they've faded, but trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back At photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now How much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked

(”Everybody's Free [To Wear Sunscreen]”)

Second time that essay’s been quoted on this list.

64) "I mean, it's just human nature to suck up to the people above you, crap on those beneath you, and undercut your equals” - Brian, Family Guy

65) “You never quit a job. You quit a manager.” - Brian Bedford

66) “All the pictures in my house are of people I’m not friends with” - Tracy Cunningham

67) “In order to leave something behind, you have to leave.” - Dr. Herman, Grey’s Anatomy

68) 

(via Twitter)

69) “You can obsess about death if you don’t have to obsess about dying.” - Brendan Kelly via “White Noise”

70) “If it’s right to do, it’s wrong to wait.” - Andy, doorman 

71)

72) “When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg

73) "America is mostly people who’ve never left their state saying we have the best country in the world." - Billy Wayne Davis

74) “A writer is someone who knows at least 80% of their writing sucks.” - Gabe Hudson

75) 

(via Twitter)

76) “You’re dead twice” - Brendan Kelly

77) “Perfect is the enemy of good” - Voltaire (via Zach Lowe)

78) “I don’t want to be a savior, I want to be a mirror.” - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

79) “I get bad Twitter FOMO but not real life FOMO. That just goes to show I need to get off the Internet.” - Josh Thomas

80) “Is there anything you love in life that you engage with seriously that you don't also engage with humor?" - Sam Sutherland, on his relationship with Blink-182

81) “My favorite genre of music is my friends' bands" - Josiah Hughes

82) “Let’s fall in love like both our parents aren’t divorced.”

83) “Seabiscuit may be the only earthling that was on both sides of the stamp.” - Brendan Kelly

84) “There’s no shame in coming in second, except in, like, wars.” - Family Guy

85) “I feel like I experience writer’s block 100% of the time, and when I do write, I have impostor syndrome.” - Phoebe Bridgers

86) “We teach based on what we most need to learn.” - psychologist on Grey’s Anatomy

87) “Having too many choices is the leading cause of stress” - Grey’s Anatomy

88) “I think we've all gravely underestimated the extent to which this year has changed all of us, permanently” - Kelli Maria Korducki

89) 

(via Twitter)

90) “I wonder if people understand why they don’t have polio” - Sandra E. Garcia

91) “Ending songs is terrible, so let’s keep singing” - Dave Hernandez

[toomanyfandoms02]

Tap Tap Tap // Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary ~ Three little taps becomes something much more when his best friend is in the clutches of an unsub.

Spencer Reid × Reader

Word Count ~ 2.4K

SPENCER

Y/n had discussed with me many times that she knew what she was getting into with this kind of job. She had been used as a human shield by unsubs, along as a sedutive measure for many male unsubs (and one female). But she had yet to go through something unmatchable to the rest, more traumatic.

But I guess it had to happen sometime, huh?

Y/n was an amazing profiler and agent. She always wanted the best for people. This also meant she was often getting in trouble for trying to take things into her own hands.

We had a few suspects for this particular case, but it was clear y/n wasn't convinced that any of them were the right ones. She was very smart and stubborn, and she definitely wasn't going to stand for convicting an innocent. Since this was all going on in Vorginia, she had told me that she felt responsible to keep everyone here safe, she didn't want any more people in our home state being murdered or injured because "She couldn't figure out a seemingly simple case."

Wednesday morning was pretty normal. I had come in early and was sitting at the round table, reading 'War and Peace.' For the twelfth time. The rest of the team began piling in. I looked up from my book, peering around the table. I wasn't being teased for reading War and Peace, where was y/n?

"Has anyone spoken to y/n this morning?" Hotch asked, leaning further onto the table. Everyone shook their heads. My heart dropped into my stomach, where is she? I immediately scrambled to my feet, exiting the room and calling her.

It went straight to voicemail.

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to pull myself together, calmly walking back to the room.

"I'm going to her house to check on her. Is anyone coming with me?" JJ grabbed my jacket, throwing it to me. Hotch nodded at me as we began to leave.

I was always a careful driver, speeding actually killed around 10,000 people last year. But this was important, I had to know she was okay. I could tell JJ was on edge by the way she was gripping the seat and looking out the window.

Once we arrived I knocked softly on her door. JJ was going to all the windows to see if she could see inside, any sign of struggle. Once she came back around the house, I fished the spare key that I have from my pocket, I carried it with me everywhere.

"Do you, have a key to her house?" She smiled, clearly trying to lighten the situation.

"She gave it to me a few months ago, she said I could come over any time."

"If you wanted to come over any time, you could just knock."

"She was also worried something like this would happen, and she wanted me be the one to quote on quote 'save her' if the situation had risen. She trusts me." She smiled and shrugged, pushing me into the house.

It didn't take much searching before we found a file on a man named 'Carl Desmond'.

"Here. It says that he had 3 siblings. All three have restraining orders against him, but it's not listed why. That's probably why she was so suspicious of him. He could be taking these kids and reliving a childhood life with them. Three kids at a time. I'm not seeing anything on his address." I quickly dialed Garcia. "Garcia can you look for an address on Carl Desmond and send someone there? JJ and I are going to keep looking around the house."

"Yes of course." Cue the sound of vigorous typing. "It looks like he currently resides on 162 Bradbury Lane. I'll let Morgan know."

"Thank you Garcia." As soon as I set my phone down it began to ring again. "Reid."

"It's Morgan. I really think you guys should come back, you need to see something." I grabbed the file and left the house.

I let JJ drive back this time, I was a little out of focus and I didn't want to put us both in danger.

Once we arrived I rushed into the conference room, where I saw everyone but Hotch sitting patiently.

"We sent Hotch to Carl's address." Morgan began fiddling with the projector. "This was sent to Penelopes computer a bit ago. She's really trying to figure out where it came from but it's proving to be pretty difficult." He clicked a button and a distraught, and tied up y/n was presented on the screen. There was a deep voice that came from behind the camera.

"You have five minutes. Say your goodbyes."

"He has sympathy." I said, tapping my foot.

"Hi guys. I'm alright." She was shaking, and clearly not alright. I stepped closer to the screen. "I just wanted tell you guys some things. Garcia, please never stop being a ball of sunshine, I don't know what I would do if you changed. You make everyones day better. And tell Kevin that if he breaks your heart, I'll haunt him." My I could feel the air caught in my throat, I knew she meant that as a funny morbid joke, typical of her. But I didn't even want to open my mind to the possiblity of her death. She doesn't believe she is getting out of this.

Penelope began to cry, "Of course baby."

"Morgan, I admire you so much. You have so much drive and motivation, it's inspiring. Whoever replaces me, make sure you inspire them just as much as you do me." Morgan sat down slowly, nodding.

"Hotch. I couldn't have asked for a better leader. I knew I could come to you with anything and you will help me with it. Thank you for everything." He tried to remain unphased, but I could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Emily, I'm sorry that I had to leave right as you got back. I never got to tell you how much I missed you, because I missed you so much. Can you take care of bink bink? Her and Sergio can have kittens together." Emily was now laughing through her tears.

"Rossi you have been an amazing mentor. I have learned so much from you, and I wish I could cram my brain with more cases you were willing to tell me about." Even Rossi looked emotional.

"JJ, please make sure Spence is ok when I'm gone." JJ close dher eyes, squeezing her fists shut. "Don't let him do something stupid. I can't watch him struggle again."

"And Spence. God, I don't even know what to say. You are my best friend, I never wanted this to happen. I wish that yesterday when I stopped you mid-fact telling, because I was looking over a case, I wish I would have let you tell me about the wonders of mountain goats for the rest of the 7 hour flight. You never fail to amaze me. I know, and everyone knows, that you're a genius. But it still baffles me how much you can fit in that head of yours. Never stop rambling about what makes you happy. It's your best trait." I felt a tear slip from my eye, I was now sitting. Listening closely to every word she said.

"I love you all so so much. You are the best family I could have ever asked for. Thank you for everything." I looked down at her hand, she tapped three times on the arm of the chair. That sent me into a fit of sobs.

*"Ok, so how do you feel about I love you's?"*

*"The three-word phrase is laden with all sorts of meaning; saying it signals that we're officially committed, we prioritize one relationship over the rest."*

*"Of course you would know so much about the phrase." She playfully rolled her eyes, shifting into her other foot. "Listen I say I love you, or love you, a lot. And a lot of times it is to my friends. Now, the whole team already thinks that we are dating or something." My cheeks flushed at the statement. "But I do love you Spence, and I thought we could make up a silent code thing for me to say it!" She smiled giddily. "So, if I tap you three times like this." She tapped my shoulder rhythmically, "It means. I. Love. You."*

*"I actually think that's very creative. Ancient scripts and languages have been understood using decoding and deciphering techniques, most famously the Rosetta Stone of Ancient Egypt. In fact, codes and ciphers have determined the outcome of politics and wars throughout history. There are thousands of types of hidden messages." I rambled a little, having just read about some kinds of codes last week.*

*"Well look at us, making history." She smiled, tapping my hand three times playfully*

After that, y/n would tap me three times before going into any dangerous situation. Or whenever we would hug. She even made me a little keychain that read *tap,tap,tap*.

"I'm sorry." Was the last thing she said before the video ended.

"The guy who has y/n is the unsub. She was onto him, and he took her. She probably went to find him and he took her." I was trying to pull myself out of the state I was in. I knew they wouldn't let me help.

"We sent SWAT to Carl's house and no one is there. They are investigating further now." Hotch relayed his information to us. I slid the file from y/n's house over to him.

"This is what she had on him."

"Garcia, search for relatives of Mr. Desmond. They may know any alternate locations he visits."

We had gathered many family members numbers, the last one we were calling was his aunt.

"Hello?"

"Hi is this Miss Melanie Desmond? My name is Spencer Reid, I'm with the FBI."

"What's this about?"

"I'm calling to speak to you about your nephew Carl. We believe he may be involved in a string of kidnappings. We cannot locate him at his home. Does he stay at any other place?" I had just a hint of hope in my voice.

"He sometimes tidys things up at his parents farm. My sister died 2 months ago, so he's been taking care of it. I can give you the address." That must have been the stressor.

"Yes please."

Once jotting the address down. I texted it to the team and began on my route to the farm.

It was only about 25 minutes away. 15 minutes in, Morgan and JJ were caught up with me, driving right behind me.

Once we hit the driveway, my nerves were through the roof. I didn't want to walk in on my best friend dead. I just wanted to hug her ~and kiss her~ and tell her everything was going to be ok.

I nearly stumbled out of the car, heading into the house with Morgan while JJ and Emily started off to the barn.

Morgan kicked the door down, announcing that the FBI was here. I immediately noticed blood on the white tile floor of the house. My stomach churned at the sight.

"Carl Desmond?" I called into the house. I heard light footsteps coming from a room over. Once I turned the corner I could see y/n laying sideways on the floor, still tied to her chair. Morgan motioned me in there as he continued to search the house.

"I'm going to need a medic in the house, but don't send anyone yet, I'm not sure if it's safe." I spoke into my mic. I shook her shoulder a bit.

Nothing.

I put my finger against her neck, feeling for a pulse. It was there, and stronger than I had expected. I began cutting the ropes around her wrists and ankles. I scooped my arms under her weak frame and pulled her into my lap.

"Y/n? Please be okay." I shook her shoulder a little, trying to lightly wake her and not scare her.

"Spence?" She looked up at me with squinting eyes. She sat up quickly, wincing and holding her head.

"Woah woah slow down, you probably have a concussion, don't move too fast." I held my hand behind her head. She pushed forward, throwing her arms around me.

"I knew you would find me, I just wasn't sure I would be here for it." I could feel her tears on my shirt. She tapped my back three times.

"I love you too." She pulled back, looking at me with a crooked smile. "I don't care who hears it anymore. Everyone can know I love you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You always want to her me talk about random facts, even if you have no idea what I'm talking about. When I'm sick of people asking me if I 'can actually read that fast' you tell them everything about me, proudly. I love you, so much." She leaned her forehead on mine.

"Thank god." She leaned forward a bit and connected our lips. I could taste the tears that she had shed for hours and even in the past few minutes. Some tears were even sliding down my cheeks. Even though I didn't have much to cry about now. My everything was back in my arms.

"I knew it! Pretty boy and y/n! Get it man! Hey y/n remember that dream you told me about?" Morgan winked, coming around the corner with a cuffed Carl Desmond. Trailing along with the three missing children. I almost jumped away but y/n kept a tight hold on me.

"Shut up Derek." She growled, furrowing her eyebrows at him.

"What dream?"

"Nope, we aren't talking about this right now. Can you carry me to the medics?" She flashed me a cheesy smile.

I shook my head at her with a smile. I leaned down and kissed her one more time. "You really are lucky I love you." I picked her up bridal style, taking her to the ambulance where there was a medic waiting to help her. I noticed multiple smirks from the team. I set down, wrapping a blanket around her.

"So, a dream, huh?"

[thehotspurs]

f1 drivers as what job they’d have if they worked in the FBI <3

(yes i have been watching criminal minds, can you tell?)

Lewis Hamilton : the best field agent you ever will see, ridiculously good at dissolving tension and getting people out alive. prioritises safety over everything

Valtteri Bottas : another field agent, but takes a bit more of a brute force approach. a front doors worst enemy - if its in his way its getting smashed down

Sebastian Vettel : basically everyones boss, gives out the briefs on cases and makes sure everyone knows what they’re doing. seems like a harsh boss because he’s proper concentrated and serious out in the field but is actually super protective and soft over every member of the team

Charles Leclerc : press manager, organises conferences and interviews - charismatic and deceptively smart, can stay two steps ahead of the the unsub even if he isn’t a field agent

Alex Albon : feel like he’d work on cold case files, just because he’s SO optimistic he’d refuse to leave cases unsolved

Lando Norris : anything to do with tech comes through him, ridiculously good at hacking and digging up information the agents need

Carlos Sainz : sorts out the cars for all the agents, makes sure they’re in good working order and is an expect at car chases

Esteban Ocon : trainee field agent working under Lewis, is very good at imagining himself as the unsub and placing himself in the crime scene

Daniel Ricciardo : the perfect undercover agent, can immerse himself in any culture and play any role needed. and as he said himself, he doesn’t need to try and he’s still a 9/10, people always seem to trust him immediately

Max Verstappen : works alongside Lando doing tech (he’s pretty handy when it comes to coding) but is also Daniel’s eyes when he’s out in the field - gives him all the info he needs through his earpiece. probably should be a field agent because he’s so perceptive about everything but has an unfortunate fear of blood

Pierre Gasly : part of the forensics unit that scours the crime scenes for evidence and runs prints through the database, that sort of cool stuff

Daniil Kvyat : head of international relations, first point of contact to and from police units from other countries if there is a suspect on the loose

Kevin Magnussen : firearms expert, teaches all the new agents how to use the weapons and is handy at a shoot-out if really needed

Romain Grosjean : forensic linguistic, can find patterns between notes left at the scene to determine if they’re written by the same person and that sort of stuff

Lance Stroll : awful with any kind of violence so instead works as a sketch artist, helping victims piece together the face of the unsub

Sergio Perez : field agent with a pin-point shot, expect at piercing car tyres. also a very quick driver, him and Carlos doing a car chase together is bad news for the unsub

George Russell : just an absolute encyclopedia of knowledge? like how does he know so much??? is basically there to help any unit that needs his information

Nicholas Latifi : very sweet and empathetic so is always the one who deals with victims and their families when trying to get information or witness statements

Kimi Raikkonen : the oldest and most experienced field agent, has seen practically everything before so knows exactly what to do in every situation, and in the infrequent cases where he doesn’t, he’ll figure it out super quick

Antonio Giovinazzi : works with Pierre in forensics but specialises with DNA matching as opposed to going to the scene and finding evidence

[honeypiehotchner]

Beautiful Stranger (Chris Evans x OFC) -- part ten

Hello again! I know it’s been awhile, apologies for that. I had some big writing pieces I had to focus on and get turned in before I did anything else. That being said, I’m submitting a ton of original works to contests in the next few weeks, so updates here could be a little teeny bit slow. But I am still writing! I have up to part twelve done already ;))

Anywho, enjoy xx.

Warnings: Just Chris being an absolute gentleman. Teeth-rotting fluff.

Chris and I have dinner together every night now. Or, we try to.

He’s filming again, which means sometimes our dinners have to be postponed, or one time he ordered in and had it there right when I got home, because he needed to leave a few minutes later for work. It’s become our routine.

Oh, and we exchanged numbers.

Which means the text messages like the one I’m smiling down at right now is a frequent occurrence.

Chris: Seb won’t stop trying to take my phone. If you get a creepy text, it’s him I swear

I chuckle, completely okay now with the fact that he can hear.

Noted. Tell Scarlett I say hiii

Scarlett and I are on better terms -- not that we were on bad terms to begin with, but I did think she was dating Chris. She doesn’t know the way I acted, unless Chris told her, but regardless, I see now that she’s super sweet.

Chris: Scarlett says hi back. She wants to meet you again

I smile.

We should invite her over one night. I could invite Camile over, too?

Chris has yet to meet Camile and that’s entirely my doing. She’s asked, and I’ve politely told her no. I want to be sure about him before I have him meeting my best friend. I’ve also just...enjoyed our quiet evenings together, getting to relax after the day. I don’t want anything about it to change, and for some reason, my brain thinks that if I let Camile meet him too soon, it will change.

Jack knows now, too, only because it slipped out of my mouth one night when he invited me to dinner with him and Camile. I told him I was actually having dinner with Chris, and Camile’s eyes widened because she had yet to tell him the news.

Jack didn’t scream, but he also wasn’t totally unfazed, either.

Chris: Scarlett said she’d love that (I would too for the record)

I roll my eyes. Somehow I can see his smile in my mind.

Let’s do it then. Would you be okay with Camile inviting Jack?

I anxiously await Chris’s reply.

Chris: Of course. As long as you’re okay with it

I let out a breath.

You’re the best

I hear a sweet laugh echo in my mind, and my chest swells.

Chris: Well Seb saw my messages and is now annoyed that he didn’t get an invite

Another eye roll. I’ve never met Sebastain, but from everything Chris has told me, I hear he can be a little dramatic.

Tell him I said stop pouting and he’ll be invited

A loud laugh. A pause.

Chris: Pouting has stopped and he said he will be there

My little moment is interrupted when a stack of papers is slammed onto my desk. My eyes follow the arm up to my boss, who doesn’t look pleased.

“I need these rooms booked,” he says firmly, then raises an eyebrow. “Unless your phone is more interesting than my conference.”

“No sir,” I shake my head, turning my phone over on my desk, unfortunately leaving Chris on read. I hate doing that to anyone, especially Chris. “I’ll have them booked by the end of the day.”

“Hm,” is all he says, taking his hand off the papers. He’ll never say thank you. He’s above simple manners, apparently. “Who are you texting?”

“Excuse me?” I let out a startled laugh. It isn’t new for him to be insanely nosy, but since it was my soulmate, I feel particularly defensive. “I’m sorry, but it’s not your business.”

“It is my business when my employee is on her phone instead of doing her work,” he snaps. “Don’t let it happen again.”

“It won’t,” I reply out of instinct, though I don’t mean it. I’ll just be more careful. Or I’ll have to tell Chris I can’t text at work anymore.

My boss stalks off to his office and makes eye contact with me as he shuts his door. I’ve successfully worsened his mood and it isn’t even lunchtime yet. Perfect.

+++

When I take my lunch hour at one -- I usually do noon, but Chris said he’s supposed to have lunch at one today, too -- I’m exhausted.

I’ve tried booking the rooms, but only half of the ones my boss wants are actually available. It’s been a lot of sweet talking and crunching numbers to make it work, and that’s only conference rooms. Let’s hope the hotel rooms he needs aren’t already taken, too.

I reach in my purse for my keys, deciding I need a drive today to get lunch. I get an hour and a half -- because I clocked in early -- so I can afford to drive instead of walking somewhere next door.

What I don’t expect, though, is to get to my car on the sidewalk by my work, and see a certain someone leaning up against it.

“Chris?” I narrow my eyes. “What are you doing?”

He’s got two cups of coffee in his hands, a hat on his head and sunglasses over his eyes. But that smile is still unmistakable. And the shoulders. The arms, too. Hands -- I digress.

I take one of the cups from him and try not to grin. “Nice disguise.”

“Thank you,” he replies, tipping his cup to me. “I try.”

“Well get in before someone recognizes you,” I gesture to my car that he’s leaning against. “Idiot,” I mutter under my breath.

Once we’re inside my car and the doors are locked, he says, “Did you just call me an idiot?” He takes his sunglasses off for dramatic effect.

“Because you’re not supposed to be out in the wild!”

“Out in the wild?” He laughs.

“I don’t know!” I say through my own laughter. “You know what I meant. Aren’t you afraid someone will recognize you?”

“I’m wearing a hat.”

I give him a look.

“I promise, I wouldn’t have done this if I thought I’d get mobbed. I wouldn’t put you in that kind of danger.”

I try not to frown, but I still do, and he still sees it.

“No, come on, I wanted to surprise you to make you smile, not make you sad.”

“I’m not sad.” I pull my seatbelt over my body and start the car. “I appreciate this, really.”

“I didn’t know if you would since you stopped texting me.”

I know he’s teasing, but I’m already not in the best mood, so I can’t help the word vomit that comes out of my mouth. “I’m so sorry, my boss got pissed that I was on my phone, so I’m gonna have to stop texting at work for now.”

Anyone else probably would’ve brushed it off because bosses are sometimes universally known to not be totally great, but this is Chris. This is Chris, who knows all the bullshit my boss puts me through, so it makes sense that his only emotion is concern.

“Are you okay? Did he say anything to you?”

“I’m okay,” I breathe, stopping at a red light. “And he just asked who I was texting, but I told him it wasn’t his business.”

“It’s not.”

“I mean, I shouldn’t have been on my phone--”

“Don’t make excuses for his shitty behavior, Eva.”

“I’m not,” I fire back, turning left at the light. “Sorry, I’m just driving, I didn’t even ask-- What do you want for lunch?”

“Whatever you want,” he shrugs. “This is your lunch hour, I’m just tagging along.”

“Okay,” I let out another long breath. “I’m sorry, I feel like every time I see you I’m complaining about how stressed out I am.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not, though. How’s filming? How’s set?”

“It’s good,” he replies, shrugging. “I would tell you more, but we’re not really allowed. They’re very secretive about this stuff.”

“Okay,” I chuckle, trying to ignore the small bit of agitation in my chest. It’s not because of him. I know it’s because of my boss. “When are we gonna have dinner with everyone?”

“We have this weekend off, if that works for Camile and Jack.”

I nod. “It should.” I pause, looking around at where I am. I realize that my body has gone on autopilot and driven me to The Nines. “How good is that disguise?”

“What? It’s pretty good, I stood out by your car for ten minutes.”

“Well, we’re gonna go to my favorite diner,” I hit my signal to park. “It’s really small, though, so you might not need it.”

“Okay…” Chris looks nervous.

“I promise,” I assure him as I swing into the parking space. “I wouldn’t bring you in here if I thought you’d get mobbed. Kevin might recognize you, but he’s the most relaxed person I’ve ever met.”

Still, Chris puts on his sunglasses. “I trust you.”

I smile, cutting off the engine. While I’m doing that, though, Chris is jumping out of my car and coming around to the driver’s side to open my door for me. And then when we reach the door to The Nines, he’s opening that one for me, too.

“I see chivalry is alive and well today,” I comment. “Coffee,” I hold up my cup, “and opening doors for me? I feel lucky.”

Chris shakes his head with a smile, clearly bashful and a little nervous. It’s this moment that I realize this is the first time we’ve been in public with one another. Granted, it’s The Nines, which is almost always deserted -- except at two in the morning when the college kids congregate before finals -- but still. 

I lead Chris to Camile and I’s favorite booth, sliding in across from him as he takes off his sunglasses, but leaves the hat -- for good reason. Kevin is walking over a second later, already making some comment about what he told me last time about it being offensive when I walk in here with outside coffee, but he stops when he sees Chris.

“Wait,” Kevin’s voice lowers, and I see Chris shift in his seat. “Steve Rogers?” He whispers.

“I prefer Chris,” my soulmate tries to joke, chuckling a little.

“Dope,” Kevin says. “Can you sign a napkin for me?”

“Sure.”

“Dope,” Kevin repeats, then acts like he forgets what just happened. “Anywho, what are we eating? Since I see you’ve brought outside coffee in here yet again.”

“You’ll live, Kev,” I roll my eyes. “And the usual.”

“What’s the usual?” Chris asks.

“You’ll see,” Kevin replies, then walks away.

Chris gives me a bewildered look and I grimace.

“Sorry. That’s Kevin for ya.”

“No, it’s okay, just not the interaction I normally have.”

“Yeah,” I still grimace. “Oh, and please sign something for him. He won’t bring it up again, but he’ll ask me about it every damn time I see him after this.”

“Got it,” Chris pulls one of the napkins out of the holder and produces a Sharpie from his jacket pocket.

I raise an eyebrow.

“What?” He defends. “It’s always here.”

“Whatever you say.”

“The slander,” he shakes his head, expertly signing the napkin despite how flimsy it is. I try not to look too amazed at how he does it and how flawless his signature looks.

Kevin returns with a cup of water, sitting it down in front of me. “I just wanted an excuse to come back over.”

Chris taps Kevin’s arm to get his attention. “Here you go.”

Kevin glances at the napkin and sees what it is, and clutches the flimsy paper to his chest. “Thank you, kind sir.”

Chris laughs. “It’s no problem.”

“Alright, I’ll leave you two kids alone. I’ll be back with food.”

“You better,” I joke, resting my head in my hand.

True to his word, Kevin returns with a tray holding a platter of steak fries and a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy.

“Bon appetit,” Kev sings, bowing as he backs away from the table.

Chris stares at me with raised eyebrows. “What is this?”

I give him a weird look in return as I dip one of the fries into the mashed potatoes and gravy. “It’s lunch.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m deadly serious,” I reply smoothly, picking up my glass of water to take a sip. “This is my comfort food, come on, try it.”

But I didn’t need to beg him because he’s already doing it, definitely to entertain me, but that’s fine with me. I watch his face as he eats, waiting for it, and eventually it hits.

The amazement. The agitation that it actually tastes good.

I giggle, muffling the sound with another fry. “It’s good.”

“It’s so good,” he nods, laughing with me as he dips another fry. “Not the most healthy, but.”

“Eh, comfort food isn’t supposed to be healthy,” I tease, swirling my fry in the gravy. “My mom and I used to get this and hot chocolate when we were out shopping.” I pause, wondering why the hell I’m telling him this at lunch. 

Talk about your dead parents, Eva. That’s a great lunchtime conversation.

“Yeah?” Chris says, waiting for me to go on.

So I do. “She used retail therapy a lot to get her mind off fighting with my dad.”

“Did you guys come here?”

“No,” I shake my head. “We went to a place called the Broadway Diner, but it’s closed now. I just remembered this and started having it here one day. Kev gave me the same look you did until he tried it.”

Chris chuckles, leaning on his elbow as he eats another. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it would work. I thought it’d be too much potato.”

“It does seem like it,” I agree. “But it’s strangely not.”

Chris points at me with a fry, swallowing his last bite before asking, “What do you want to have this weekend?”

“Are you cooking again?”

“If you want me to.”

I make a face. “I wouldn’t be opposed…”

He grins. “Then I’ll cook. Anything you want?”

“Surprise me,” I tease. “That went pretty well last time.”

“Alright, I’ll figure something out,” he promises. “You should come see Dodger soon. He misses you.”

“Does he now?”

Chris pulls his infamous puppy dog eyes -- Dodger’s are better, but don’t tell him that -- and nods seriously. “He does.”

“Hm, then I guess I’ll just have to come over tonight,” I shrug. “What time will you be done?”

“Soon, hopefully,” Chris breathes. “I’ll text you.” But he pauses. “Or maybe I won’t.”

“After five,” I chuckle. “But yeah, no more today, sorry. I probably shouldn’t anger the beast anymore.”

Chris frowns. “Okay.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him, hoping that’ll make his frown fade, but it doesn’t. It grows deeper. “Hey, it is.”

“I don’t like that you think it is,” he murmurs. “He shouldn’t be as demanding as he is.”

“He’s my boss.”

“He shouldn’t ask you to work late or to call his wife and cancel their dinner plans,” Chris counters.

And I frown. Because that’s only half of what my boss asks of me. I’ve only told Chris half. And judging by how he’s reacted, I don’t know if I’ll tell him the other half.

“It’s fine,” I say again, and when Chris gives me a look, I give him one back.

“Okay, fine,” he waves his hand in surrender. “I’ll stop.”

“Thank you.”

“But if he does anything that makes you uncomfortable, you tell me.”

“What are you gonna do?” I laugh, a little nervously. “Beat him up?”

Chris thinks it over. “Let’s go with that.”

“Chris!”

“I’m kidding!” His hand reaches over and touches mine gently. Gentle enough that I stop moving completely and watch him. “But please tell me.”

“Okay,” I promise, and I mean it. “I will.”

He turns my hand over and squeezes softly, his thumb rubbing circles, and he doesn’t let go.

But it’s okay. I didn’t want him to let go, anyway.

[dominusoneposts]

Oklahoma attorney general sues PPE company, seeks $1.8M/  What Is Fraud?/ What Is Theft by Deception

?

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, file photo, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter speaks during a news conference in Oklahoma City. Hunter is suing a Tulsa-based company for more than $1.8 million, claiming its owner-manager failed to deliver personal protective equipment ordered by the State Department of Health. Hunter filed the lawsuit Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021 in Oklahoma County against PPE Supplies, LLC and its owner, Casey Bradford.

“We’re all in this together.”

At least, that’s what millions of Americans have heard for months from corporate advertisers, friends on social media, and, of course, from government officials.

If the behavior of our elected leaders is any indication, however, it would seem that many of them have chosen to live by another phrase: “You’re all in this together.”

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Tulsa-based company accepted a $2.1 million deposit from the State Department of Health to purchase masks but then failed to deliver or refund the money to the state, Attorney General Mike Hunter alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

For months, Americans have been treated to story after story of politicians and bureaucrats implementing restrictive coronavirus mandates or guidelines, only to be caught violating those mandates themselves.

The Oklahoma Health Department has ordered more than $9 million in masks from a company in Tulsa that didn't exist a month ago, records show.

A partner in the new company also is the owner of a Tulsa dueling pianos bar.

You would think that after a handful of these accounts made national news, our leaders would get the hint. At the very least, maybe they’d be more wary about flaunting their own edicts, or try harder not to get caught.

Oklahoma AG Seeks Damages After Not Receiving All Promised PPE

Court documents said in March, the State Health Department ordered more than two million N95 masks from “PPE Supplies, LLC.” The company is owned by Tulsa bar owner Casey Bradford. and his friend and partner "Gino Demarco Deputy tourisam Director for oklahoma" coincidence? no, Plot Yes, deceitful very much so, defrauding absolutly.

This tool is not about playing a political game of “Gotcha!” It is about protecting and restoring confidence in our governing institutions—a confidence that has been especially shredded by many leaders’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The American people are hardy and resilient in the face of any challenge. But after months of forced lockdowns, school closures, and lost livelihoods, they shouldn’t be asked to live by a set of rules that don’t seem to apply to those in positions of authority.

It’s not too much ask that these officials display the most basic sense of integrity. And it is only appropriate that we call them out when they stubbornly refuse to do so.

These violations of the people’s trust are far more damaging than just momentary blips of disgust or outrage on the public radar. They undermine our very institutions, and the American people’s confidence in them.

Perhaps at no other time has it been more important for Americans to trust our leaders and believe that they have our best interests at heart. Our world is only growing more dangerous, and the list of challenges we face at home and abroad only grows longer, not shorter.

If we truly wish to tackle those challenges and overcome what will no doubt prove to be formidable obstacles and adversaries, our officials will have to play a vital role in leading the country. Such leadership, however, is impossible without trust.

DeMarco insisted last week that all the personal protective equipment suppliers are vetted. Does Mr DeMarco always say things that are not true? i mean he vetted a company in hours that he was a part of or had dealings with.

Records show the company was formed on March 23, the same day the state made its first purchase order with the company. and this was his statement:

"I think there are brand new companies all over the world that were formed to try to move PPE supplies around," he told The Oklahoman. "Our primary concern is that they're going to be able to deliver."which is exactly what this tulsa based african-american company Noitavonne a manufactoring tech and all ppe related products company, here in tulsa oklahoma. Where both mr Gino DeMarco and Governor Kevin stitt along with numerious other officials including the fire marshal were present and who knew of noitavonne's capacity to fullfill all ppe orders. But no response from any of the officials i guess they would rather have the american public at risk during life threating crisis.

When DeMarco was asked how suppliers are checked out, he said, "Every one is a little bit different. So im guessing that ment the color of your skin as well.  

And Making purchase decisions for the Health Department is Gino DeMarco, who calls himself the "PPE Supply Chain Leader." He served the state before the pandemic as deputy tourism director. "stating,"It could be somebody that we've done business before with as a state. It could be somebody that certain agencies have done business with. There's just a lot of ways to vet a vendor. Calling references. There's plenty of ways to vet whether or not someone's going to deliver or not," DeMarco said. Seems like Mr DaMarco Says alot of things that are not true or maybe ..

The state secretary of health, Jerome Loughridge, has authorized prepayment for personal protective equipment and other life-sustaining equipment, The Oklahoman has learned. That authorization extends to PPE Supplies LLC, the new Tulsa company, That Mr DeMarco is a part of through friendship or business. The same company that was started the same day that the funding was approved to a company that did not exist before then. intresting? well its not.

Many people dont understand what blacklisting is, but Blacklisting companies is a form of discrimination. Many people are discriminated against because of the color of their skin or their political background or views. Others are discriminated against because of their religious beliefs. and truly its not like it hasn't been done before because it has 1970 October 30 Secret Oklahoma “Blacklist”

CAN YOU SAY FRAUD?

Like embezzlement, fraud is considered a “white-collar” crime, meaning it is non-violent in nature. However, the penalties for fraud can be quite severe, depending on the circumstances of the case.

What Is Fraud?

Fraud is any act of deception or attempt to conceal or misrepresent information, usually for the purpose of personal financial gain. There are numerous acts that can be considered fraud, and it can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the specific details of the case. Some of the more common acts of fraud include:

Theft by Deception: Insurance fraud: Bank fraud: Tax fraud Investment fraud:

This government has declared war on our culture, our police, our laws, and lives of the american people.

You've witnessed the failed attempts at fraud, discrimination, abuse of power, and trust that have led to a broken-down culture, loss of personal freedom, Death , destroyed businesses,  homelessness, and violating the trust of the american people. And we should not back down from our principles. America is a land of promise, and strong american policies that can make those promises ring true for all Americans. She is worth defending.

If you want to advance your principles in 2021, you need to join us in the fight now.

[go-redgirl]

Franklin Graham: ‘Shame, Shame’ on the 10 Republicans Who Voted to Impeach Trump

Rev. Franklin Graham on Thursday blasted the ten GOP lawmakers who sided with Democrats in impeaching President Trump for the second time, noting that it “makes you wonder what the thirty pieces of silver were that Speaker Pelosi promised for this betrayal.”

“Shame, shame on the ten Republicans who joined with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in impeaching President Trump yesterday. After all that he has done for our country, you would turn your back and betray him so quickly?” Graham asked in a Thursday Facebook post, listing some of President Trump’s key accomplishments, including lowering taxes, strengthening the economy, and engaging in Middle East peace initiatives:

We have never had a president like him in my lifetime. He gave us lower taxes, a strong economy, and low unemployment. He made NATO take notice and pay their own way. He had the guts to take on North Korea and meet with their leader personally. He didn’t let China walk all over us. Just his Mideast peace initiatives in the last couple of months deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. He has defended religious liberty like no president before him, and that matters to all people of faith. He has worked to bring prison reform and secured our southern border. He defeated the ISIS caliphate in Syria, and he strengthened our military. He was also the most pro-life president we have ever had.

House Democrats, Graham continued, impeached Trump because they “hate him and want to do as much damage as they can.”

“And these ten, from his own party, joined in the feeding frenzy. It makes you wonder what the thirty pieces of silver were that Speaker Pelosi promised for this betrayal,” he continued.

Graham clarified that he does not support or agree with “some of the things the President said and did the last couple of weeks” and identified January 6 as a “low point in his presidency.” However, he reiterated that he and “millions of others” voted for Trump “because of the platform and policies he promised.”

“I still support those. The Democrats have been trying to get rid of the President since the day he took office,” he added, concluding that the impeachment vote only serves to further divide the nation: 

Franklin Graham on Thursday

Shame, shame on the ten Republicans who joined with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in impeaching President Trump yesterday. After all that he has done for our country, you would turn your back and betray him so quickly? We have never had a president like him in my lifetime. He gave us lower taxes, a strong economy, and low unemployment. He made NATO take notice and pay their own way. 

He had the guts to take on North Korea and meet with their leader personally. He didn’t let China walk all over us. Just his Mideast peace initiatives in the last couple of months deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. He has defended religious liberty like no president before him, and that matters to all people of faith. 

He has worked to bring prison reform and secured our southern border. He defeated the ISIS caliphate in Syria, and he strengthened our military. He was also the most pro-life president we have ever had. But the House Democrats impeached him because they hate him and want to do as much damage as they can.  

And these ten, from his own party, joined in the feeding frenzy. It makes you wonder what the thirty pieces of silver were that Speaker Pelosi promised for this betrayal.

President Trump isn’t a perfect person. I don’t support or agree with some of the things the President said and did the last couple of weeks. January 6 was a low point in his presidency. We knew he had flaws when he ran for office in 2016. 

But I, and millions of others, voted for him because of the platform and policies he promised. I still support those. The Democrats have been trying to get rid of the President since the day he took office. What they did yesterday only further divides our nation. I hope President-elect Biden will keep his word and work for unity as he has said. 

___________________________________________

The House voted to impeach President Trump on Wednesday, 232 to 197, accusing him of inciting the chaos that descended upon the U.S. Capitol last week as Congress gathered to certify the electoral votes. Ten Republican House members sided with the Democrats, including Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (OH), Peter Meijer (MI), Fred Upton (MI), Liz Cheney (WY), John Katko (NY), Adam Kinzinger (IL), Tom Rice (SC), Jamie Herrera Beutler (WA), Dan Newhouse (WA), and David Valadao (CA).House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who on Wednesday said Trump “bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters,” has refused to back efforts to remove Cheney, the House Republican Conference chairwoman, from her leadership role.

NOTE:  So, now we know who the inside traitors are that was against President Donald John Trump from the very beginning.  Never, ever trust a ‘traitor’. 

______________________________________

NOTE:  Joe Biden is a ‘evil’ Devil, just look at him and his track records.  If you can’t see that, then you have blinders on!

Let the truth be told!

[mittensmorgul]

Do you think that maybe the Eileen thing that happened this episode is gonna get Billie’s attention? The witch did mention that any time someone finds a loop hole Billie closes it right up! I haven’t seen the preview for the next episode but do you think this set up a good way for Billie to have a spooper secret discussion with the boys? :o

One thing I’ve actually been wondering, but haven’t said so publicly because I’ve been waiting for the show to return to the Empty to confirm my theory, is that Rowena’s spell actually attracted Billie’s attention. I mean...

Death Is An Infinite Vessel

I mean... think about what Billie was doing at the end of 14.20. “We need to talk.” Conference in a locked room with Jack and the Shadow, 100% focused on the events of Chuck’s “narrative” breaking down, and she’s the one who now (as she said in 13.05):

Billie: Since I got this... new job, I stand witness to a much larger picture. Do you know what I see? You. And your brother. You're important.Dean: Why?Billie: You have work to do. That's all you need to know. And trust me, having my eyes opened to the necessity of any humans, especially Winchesters, is not a thrill.

So... this “much larger picture” she stands witness to? Chuck’s entire construct of creation? But there are still “rules.” She can’t just tell Dean “it’s about the story.” But all the random books of fate on Dean’s shelf, so many different possible endings for him, and they change. But what makes them change? Is it Chuck rewriting the story over and over again, or is it Dean’s choices (and everyone’s choices) making that happen? And WHO IS WRITING THOSE BOOKS?!

Like Death warned Dean back in s6, all he could tell him was “it’s about the souls.” Which wasn’t particularly helpful at the time, but after 6.20... well, he understood it all just a bit too late, you know? Death is limited by those rules, but can certainly push the boundaries of what those rules are. And in 15.06, the witches told Sam that the resurrection spell would only work once because Death would close that loophole. Death is all about the rules, right? But can Death rewrite the rules like that? We’ve seen Death make so many exceptions for the Winchesters-- that’s basically been their entire experience with Billie since s11, right? She WANTS the rules shaken up. Or is it CHUCK closing those loopholes in later drafts? “Leveling up” the difficulty level of the story for his protagonists?

So, that said, Billie has become adept at navigating between Chuck’s loopholes, through his dropped plots, through his glaring plot holes. And Jack, if he was alive and whole and WILLING, because so much about all of this is free will and choice, would he have the power to “rewrite” a different, better, more stable set of rules for the universe? Like when he told everyone to stop lying, and everyone on the planet stopped lying? But... something subtler, and far less chaotic?

And now we have Rowena, with that peculiarly named spell, cast because she felt she had no other choice, seemed to be invoking Death herself, you know? Seems the sort of thing Billie would... be personally paged to deal with.

The fact we STILL haven’t seen what’s going on in the Empty feels like a gaping void in the narrative in s15 so far. Like, a lot of the individual episodes have drawn our attention to the “negative spaces” in the story, but the Empty literally *is* the big negative space, you know?

But yeah, that comment felt like yet another invocation to Billie. I don’t know that Billie would actually *want* that particular loophole closed yet. Because unlike Chuck, Billie still likes them. :’D

I’m still wondering if it wasn’t Billie who facilitated Sam finding that particular spell, at that particular moment. And Sam believing he’d only get one shot at using it (dooming so many of his other loved ones in the process-- the spell had been supposedly written to resurrect MARY ffs, they’ve already abandoned Kevin to wander the earth as a spirit-- i.e. someone Sam feels DIRECTLY responsible for killing since it was his hands who carried out that act, and Sam COULDN’T save Rowena even though it was her spell to start with... and we all know how much he’s feeling guilty and awful about THAT so).

I’m half waiting for Billie to show up and roll her eyes and say, “did you REALLY think I’d drop that spell in your lap and make it a one-time-use deal, you idiot? You really haven’t figured out this whole Destiny Is Bad, Free Will is Good thing, have you? You’re fighting against your own story and you still don’t get how the writing rules of this universe work. Why do you think you leveled up to Witch!Sam if you’re not willing to take that power? Pick up the pen, Sam! Write the rest of the spell! I gave you the biggest damn hint I could, the rest is up to you.

So... yeah, I think this is where those big themes are headed (and I’m kinda hoping this is how we get Rowena back, too... I actually have more thoughts on how this will all go down, but I’m kinda waiting until after the midseason finale to see if things shake out like I expect them to at this point...)

[knox-knocks]

a few years after neil and andrew go pro and the minyard-josten rivalry is put to rest, they decide to come out

the rivalry was fun while it lasted but really, andrew and neil just want to be able to be together without having to pretend that they hate it each other (because they don’t, quite the opposite actually)

so they hold a press conference with a trusted reporter (one neil can actually get along with. there’s only minimal banter) and they reveal to the public that they’re in a relationship, have been since college actually

and there’s a lot of backlash

a lot of bad backlash

it sparks a discussion that not only affects neil and andrew, but affects every single lgbtqia+ player in the league

should homosexuality be allowed in sports?

exy isn’t as bad as football, but it’s still not great for lgbt players. especially players who are out and planning (or are, in andrew and neil’s case) to go pro

neil is FUMING. andrew is a bit disappointed, but mostly irritated. he wanted to be left alone but now he can’t go anywhere without a microphone being shoved into his face

andrew and neil are hounded by press for weeks. when they play, slurs are hurled at them like grenades

they’re not allowed to give interviews after games anymore (reporters don’t care about the game, and put neil josten in front of a camera when he’s already on edge and pissed off and you will dearly regret it. andrew simply flips off every camera he sees, which is also not good)

neil gets benched for two games after punching a reporter in the face after they said something compeletly insensitive

there is even talk circulating about not letting andrew or neil play at all, at least for the rest of the season

it’s really, really bad

kevin told them this would happen. it’s easier to be straight while playing exy. kevin knows this, and he told andrew and neil that this would happen

but they’re his friends, his teammates, his family

and he can’t stand by and listen to the horrible things said to them or let them be kicked out of the league

andrew is the best goalie to ever exist and neil is a phenomenal striker. barring them from exy simply because they are in love just isn’t right

and it’s time for kevin to face some things about himself as well

so when kevin is asked to hold a press conference with all the big-name exy associates, he has never felt so nervous since college when he told the world the truth about his broken hand and who his father really is

kevin walks into the room, lined with reporters and people responsible for every pro team in america. cameras start flashing immediately

this is kevin day, olympic champion kevin day, son of exy kevin day

he’s easily the most influential person in that room. queen

kevin walks through the room of reporters and cameras and ignores all the questions thrown his way like a queen ignores the people below him

“kevin, kevin day, what are your thoughts on teammates minyard and josten coming out? do you support them?”

“do you think they should be allowed to continue playing?”

“answer the question, mr. day.”

and kevin signals out one, single reporter. the man perks up because he, out of all the reporters in the room, has caught the attention of this exy legend

this is live, broadcasted across the entire country, the entire world, even, and everyone is on the edge of their seats because kevin day is about to speak

“kevin day, should lgbt exy players be barred from the game?”

kevin leans in close to the microphone, his eyes never wavering from the camera trained on his face and says:

“i’m bisexual.”

[auburnfamilynews]

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Time to Barn Hard

Here we go... With under 24 hours until the kickoff of Auburn’s 2020 season, the luminaries here at College & Magnolia offer their sage opinions on what Tiger fans will see tomorrow afternoon. Most of us see a close contest destined to give us that all too familiar fall Saturday heartburn but there are a few brave souls who are prepared to barn hard no matter what.

Auburn (-7.5) vs Kentucky (O/U 49.5)

2019 Auburn fans won’t recognize 2020 Auburn. Bo Nix is going to take a huge leap forward. His receivers are healthy for game one. Our fearless leader has finally found someone he trusts enough to manage playcalling duties. The defense will reload with All-Conference (and maybe All-American) talent. A talented (and deep!) group of hard-hitting running backs. Pre-season optimism has overwhelmed pre-game jitters for me. Look for Chad Morris to show off all his weapons Saturday. He has a tendency to put up a lot of points in his first game at a new school. Brace yourselves, Wildcats. Let’s barn hard, yall.

Auburn 48

Kentucky 14

-Josh Dub

I was talking with a friend of my wife’s the other day and she asked how I thought Auburn would do. I was raised by an old school Auburn fan who taught me to sandbag and say that we were just hoping that everyone buckled their chin straps correctly and that they just had fun out there. That was met with my wife telling her, I always do this. I responded by saying that I just lower the bar so that, when they win by 40 in a game I don’t expect, I get the rush of being a kid again and genuinely happy when Auburn wins.

That said! HERE WE GO!

Auburn has got stars everywhere on the outside and in the backfield but a bunch of green horns on the starting line on offense, so IF Chad Morris (or Gus if he is still calling the plays) can use quick screens and....this route called a slant...to hide the fact that the Auburn offensive line will look a lot like the French army circa 1938, then they might buy a few chances for Anders to kick some field goals.

On defense, you don’t lose D Brown and Marlon and get better. You probably don’t maintain the production you had last year on the D-Line. You can get back there, but that takes time and experience. That said, I am a bit more bullish on the defense as a whole. There is a ton of talent to go around on the line and the secondary and the Linebackers may be the best in the conference. Once again, the defense will keep Auburn in every game for the most part. And that new line will be tested against a really well coached, running offense that Kentucky brings to the Plains.

I love what Mark Stoops has been able to build in Lexington, and sort of done what Matt Campbell has done at Iowa State, that team you just don’t want to see cause they are scrappy and will take advantage of your mistakes. On the betting lines, I am staying away from this one with spendy cashy monies but with fakey non-existant moneies, I love the Cats getting a touchdown and a hook because I see this one being in the 3-4 range with Auburn probably winning, just based on history and going with my heart, but I could totally see Kentucky pulling this off as well.

Gimme Auburn over Kentucky 27-24 and the defense had to get a late stop to seal this one away. Nothing like a late missed FG to start that stomach ulcer.

(betting pick: UK and the points, Over at 51)

-Drew Mac

Auburn *should* win this game. Auburn *should* have the talent advantage. But hey, this is 2020. Who knows what havoc Covid will have wrought on install for any given team.

That being said, I trust Bo Nix’s development as a true sophomore. I think this Auburn team, while still going through some growing pains, will finally start to hit on explosive plays with a veteran WR corps. This Kentucky defense is not the one that one 10 games two years ago.

The only way things go sideways is if the retooled defensive line can’t stop the Kentucky ground game, which is an extremely valid concern. The Wildcats have three returning backs who combined for 1,900 yards and 18 TDs while sharing the spotlight with Lynn Bowden Jr last year, and Terry Wilson is no slouch. I think the Auburn linebackers are going to have to earn their keep as best LB group in the SEC here in week 1.

Auburn takes this one with some big plays through the air and a defense that bucks up in the second half. 27-13 Auburn.

-Ryan Sterritt

I’m a huge proponent of playing a patsy in week 1. In a normal season fall camp doesn’t really give a complete picture of how an offensive line communicates in real time, how well the quarterback has his timing down with his receivers, if the tailback has fumbling problems, mike linebacker being able to switch the defensive alignment based on tendencies, etc. etc. But if you can’t play a patsy I’m a huge proponent of playing a top 10 team who will keep you engaged without distractions leading up to kickoff and will tell you so much about where you can go from here. What you don’t want is a trap game in week 1.

Folks what we have here is a trap game in week 1.

We’re 14 points better than Kentucky. I genuinely believe that. Talent wise and coaching we’re at least 2 scores better than this football team at home. And it does not matter one bit thanks to COVID.

I am so concerned over what we’re going to look like out there considering how many guys were held out at various points of our extended fall camp thanks to COVID. Which wouldn’t be as big of a deal in a normal year, even though it would still be a big deal, but OH YEAH WE HAD NO SPRING PRACTICE. So in keeping with my tradition of being absolutely God awful at Barnin’ Hard, this tiger ain’t changing his stripes for this one.

Keys to victory:

- Stop a Kentucky ground attack with a defensive line that is fully capable of plugging the gaps and have your linebackers make plays in space. This will only work if our corners, who will be in a lot of one on one situations, make plays. Jaylin Simpson is the guy that will get picked on, and this is a fine opportunity for the redshirt freshman to get thrown into the deep end to see if he’ll sink or swim in his first meaningful snaps. If he can hold his own, we’re in good shape.

- Establish an intermediate passing attack early in this game. Keep their defense off balance early on the offensive script and allow Bo Nix and an offensive line that will struggle but has a higher ceiling than that of the last 2 seasons gain some confidence early.

- Get the fastest player in all of college football 10 touches/targets for the day. This one may appear in all 10 entries of “Keys to Victory” for our schedule this year. Scheme to get Anthony Schwartz the ball in multiple ways. And then scheme off of it to get other players in positions to be in favorable coverages.

- Rotate your running backs in a way that makes sense instead of giving the “guy with the hot hand” 25 carries. This running back room is deeper and more talented than it has been since the healthy parts of 2016/2017 for Pettway and KJ. Give these guys a chance to punish Kentucky’s defense with fresh legs for 4 quarters. Make them hate playing us.

- Oh, and finally, get some sound sleep and show up alert for an 11 AM kickoff. I don’t need to explain to any of you why this is obviously something we should all worry over.

All in all I think being at home does matter, despite 20,000 people in the stands. Traveling in these uncertain times has to account for something, right?

Auburn 27 Kentucky 21

-Josh Black

If the first few weeks of football are any indication, I’m expecting some low scoring sloppy games on Saturday. And while Auburn’s rivals have essentially “warmup games” to start their season, Auburn will play another ranked opponent in Week 1. That’s JABA right?

Anyways, I’m really excited to see this group of Running Backs led by Captain Shaun Shivers this season. I’m really excited to see Shaun get the opportunity to start and it’ll be interesting to see how many carries he and the rest of the RBs get on Saturday. This is an experienced receiving corps too led by Seth Williams, “Flash” Anthony Schwartz and veteran Eli Stove.

The biggest question to me (other than the offensive line) will be the defensive line as it’s hard replacing Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson. And we can all hope for better O-Line play this season and a more mature Bo Nix as he enters Year 2 as the starting QB.

As I said earlier, I’m thinking this is a low-scoring game and I’m a bit concerned about this one, with the 11AM kick and all but I’ll take Auburn in a close one.

Auburn 17 Kentucky 14

-Will McLaughlin

I firmly believe Auburn has a significant talent advantage at the skill positions in this matchup. Yes the Cats have an athletic QB, a strong stable of backs, intriguing WRs and a surprisingly good secondary but across the board I’ll take Auburn. However, it won’t matter if the Tigers lose the line of scrimmage battle which is way more likely than any of us wanna imagine.

As you have probably read, heard, seen by now, Kentucky has one of the best offensive lines in the country. This isn’t a group made up of 3-star kids with heart. Left tackle Landon Young was a 5-star recruit. Center Drake Jackson was a 4-star ranked as a top 150 player. Future NFLer Darian Kinnard was a 4-star recruit as well. This is both an experienced AND talented front who enjoy physically beating the hell out of their opponents. Everyone in the world knew that a run play was likely coming last fall and it rarely mattered. While I trust Rodney Garner & Kevin Steele to rebuild this front 4 for the Tigers, I am concerned about them being ready to go week 1. Even with Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson last year, Oregon pushed around the Tigers for one half. This UK OL is of the same calibre and it wouldn’t shock me if they came out the gate with similar success.

Then there’s the other side of the ball where the UK return plenty of experience of a solid front 7. However, they were actually pretty porous against the run last fall allowing over 5 yards a carry against SEC competition. The problem is I am not sure if Auburn is ready to take advantage. In most years, when I see a defense susceptible to the run, I expect an AU victory that borders on dominant. I just don’t know if the Tigers though will be ready to go on Saturday.

That’s why Anders Carlson will be the x-factor. I think Auburn’s offense will look disjointed but generate enough explosive plays to get into UK territory consistently. They don’t put the ball in the end zone as much as we would like but Anders knocks through 4 big kicks. The defense rebounds from a rough first quarter to limit the UK offense to only 2 touchdowns on the day. Auburn recovers a late onside kick to escape with a hard won victory.

Auburn 26 Kentucky 20

-AU Nerd

Auburn at 11am.

Auburn in season openers.

Auburn as favorites vs hungry teams.

Yuck. I am finding it hard to Barn as hard...——record scratch—-

(The boys are back in town starts playing)

Just kidding!

The Boys are back!

Guys we are gonna kill em.

Auburn 34- Kats 24

-Son of Crow

Most of the time I have some idea of what to expect. There’s a gut feeling, an inkling, an intuition. Even days when I publicly avow a big win, and we end up losing, I realize that I knew it deep in my soul. This time, I have nothing. I guess that’s what 2020 will do to a man. I can’t pick this game with my heart or my gut, so I have to go with the limited knowledge that we’ve been able to glean from the practice fields. Somehow, Gus has kept it tighter than usual this season. He’s keeping spies, leaks, and COVID out of the fold.

It’s not a big secret that Auburn’s level of talent is superior across the board, but Kentucky might have the mix of experience to go along with its skill to make this a very scary opening contest. We’ve heard that the Wildcats’ lines are both going to be solid, and that gives us a flashback of what the Oregon offense was able to do for about a half last year in Arlington. Auburn can’t afford a slow start on Saturday, because we’ll be breaking in a new offensive line. Now, that might not be the worst thing in the world — our line last year was nothing much to write home about — but they started to get better down the stretch. That said, this year’s group might be more maulers than linemen. Sometimes you just need some dudes being guys up front to push people around. We might have that, thus the run game could come to life with a much more talented group in the backfield. Not to mention, Bo Nix’s sophomore development with a true quarterback coach could be something unparalleled.

Kentucky will give us a fight, but there’s no way I’m picking us to lose this game. It’ll probably be close, and uncomfortably so for a while I’d wager. Still, the home “crowd” and the overall talent win out in the end. I think someone else mentioned Anders Carlson being a weapon in this one, and I agree. I think he hits 3 kicks and Auburn scores 3 touchdowns. Tigers 30-21.

-Jack Condon

In our preseason predictions I pegged this as one of the three games that Auburn could lose, and had it at the top of my list as the one I’m most worried about. That may seem weird, but we really just have no clue how any team, including our own is going to look on Saturday. We’ve all seen how bad some of these other teams already playing have looked, and I guess people think that there’s no way their own team could look that bad, but I’m not so sure. That said, I believe this Auburn team has all the components necessary to be better than last season and thus easily handle a Kentucky team that is, well they’re Kentucky. The new look offense should give an older, more seasoned Bo Nix a chance to throw some higher percentage passes, we have an SEC caliber stable of running backs for the first time in a couple of seasons, and presumably a fully healthy group of receivers. The new-look offensive line doesn’t concern me at all, because, well, I’ve lived through the last two seasons. At this point Kevin Steele and co. have earned my utmost confidence that the defense will pick up right where they left off.

Tigers 37 - Cats 12

-AU Chief

Man alive I wish I wasn’t so worried about this. Kentucky is well coached. They know what they are, and they don’t try to do things outside their comfort zone. Their strengths could cause problems for us. And yet, Auburn has more talent. 2020 is going to be a weird year, but I think having better athletes is going to win out more often than not, because teams are going to have to keep things simple. I like everything I’m hearing out of fall camp. I still don’t know about that line though. I could see a backdoor cover for UK where Auburn has to recover an onside kick to clinch things. I could see a front door cover for Auburn putting the game away late. I’ll stay on the safe side.

Auburn 24

Kentucky 17

(Auburn wins, UK covers; under)

-James Jones

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/9/25/21456468/staff-picks-8-auburn-vs-23-kentucky

[jayalaw]

Brooklyn Nine Nine: The Heist Aftermath (Spoilers)

@ashleybenlove

It was normal for Jake to be late. The 99 knew that. He had gotten better about it, however, after marrying Amy. That was why what she said surprised them.

"Jake's not coming in today," Amy said, using the same voice she did when having to tell Holt that a murder suspect had lawyered up and gotten away without confessing. "He had to go to the hospital."

"What?" Boyle stood up. "Did he get injured? Is he sick? I'll donate my kidneys if he needs them."

"He's sick," Amy said. "But no, he doesn't need a kidney."

"We can donate fingers," Rosa said. "Or any limbs. I know a guy."

"Okay, that's creepy and he doesn't need fingers." Amy walked towards her desk.

"Which hospital is it?" Scully asked. "I can recommend twenty to thirty doctors at the Brooklyn University Center. They love writing papers about me."

"He's at Interfaith Medical." Amy plastered a smile on her face. "He won't be ready for visitors for a while. He's sick but doesn't have a life-threatening injury."

"Jake never ready for visitors?" Holt's office door was open. "Peralta in my experience always craves attention and people."

Amy's lips fluttered; the 99 knew that was a sign for her swallowing a swear word. That and Holt coming out of his office for something this trivial.

"With all due respect, sir, I can't disclose that," she said.

"Oh my God." Holt's voice dropped. "Santiago. In my office."

Amy followed, eyes wide. She walked in, and Holt shut the door behind him. Then, reaching his desk, he pressed a button on his computer. Loud country music played.

"Brad Paisley?" Amy asked.

"He is quite muffling." Holy sat down. "Peralta had a breakdown, didn't he?"

"Dammit!" Amy exclaimed. "Sorry, sir, how did you-?"

"Please sit." The captain gestured. "Word will get around in the office, but I need to know how to cover for him."  

Amy sat.

"Jake never misses work and he would arrive even with a broken bone," Holt said. "He doesn't need surgery because you said his injury wasn't life-threatening but he is sick enough to go to the hospital. If he had an illness like mumps then he would be stir-crazy, and I know that from my experience. So the process of elimination said it was a mental health issue."

She wanted to bury her face in her hands. Holt leaned forward, as if he wanted to comfort her.

"You need to tell me everything."

#

Amy wanted to say it started with little things. Jake started making copies of grocery lists, double-checking them, and insisting on going alone. He said he wanted to ensure they had a well-stocked fridge.

It had all seemed great. Normally Jake considered a box of muffins equivalent to groceries for the week. Amy always made triple-copies of grocery lists and had an app for coupons. Things were getting weird, however, when he started locking up case files and wore the key around his neck. Sometimes Amy caught him staring at her out of the corner of his eye, and not with his usual devotion.

Then he stopped talking to her about cases unless they were working on it together. He would ask about how she was feeling with the baby but never disclosing his thoughts on the latest game. Sometimes he'd pick up Sudoku and blackout the answers with a Sharpie. One time Amy even noticed he had bought a temporary burner phone. She was worried he had been asked to go undercover again.

"I can't confirm or deny," he'd say.

"Jake, you're not a lawyer," Amy replied. "This is really freaking me out. You're not this organized. Please tell me you're not being forced back into the mob."

"No, nothing like that. I just don't want to be vulnerable in time for the next heist," he'd say, in a joking tone. "After all, you did hire someone to be my therapist just when I was making progress with my life."

That had ended the conversation for the night. Amy had tried to justify her trick as a means to an end. But she noticed how the circles grew under Jake's eyes, heard him shuffling to the couch rather than sleeping next to her. When they had sex, he was much quieter. No talking about Die Hard or playing ping pong. He would get her pillows and tea to support her morning sickness.

Then one day, Jake took a Saturday off. Normally he went into the 99 looking for a case. Amy knew he wasn't there, though; he left her a note saying he scheduled a doctor's appointment, but writing five different hospitals on various Post-Its. All were covered by their work insurance.  

Jake had actually read their health insurance plan through and through. That's when Amy realized something was wrong. Jake pretended he never got sick or needed to go to the dentist. She did a little detective work, only to find that she couldn't find Jake's phone or computer. Later, she'd find out he put them in a safety deposit box. The key was mailed to Boyle, who guarded it with his life.

By the time she figured out which hospital it was, Jake had committed himself. He said he didn't want to see his wife, the nurses reported to a stricken Amy, and he had gotten the histories of all the psych doctors to ensure none of them were actresses. Amy had to speak with the doctor, who explained Jake had developed a dysfunctional paranoia. It was likely a sign of PTSD. He was also cross-examining the doctors as they prescribed pills and talked to him.

She spent all night in the hospital waiting room, desiring an answer. That was awful. So was having to answer questions about her husband's medical history and any potential allergies. The worst part, however, was remembering how much she had paid that actress. That money could have been spent for a better cause.

#

"I'm taking as many gifts to Jake as possible." Boyle showed off the basket. "Who doesn't love blue cheese and rock crackers?"

"Everyone," Amy said. "You need to check with the doctors to make sure he can receive all of that. Until he's not a danger to himself."

They were in the evidence room. They were working the night shift. Amy didn't want to go to her apartment alone.

"Well, a bit of paranoia never killed anyone." Boyle gave a chuckle. "Eleanor would always threaten that if I got remarried she would stalk me and ensure I would never find happiness. But I'm still here!"

"That's not reassuring." Nevertheless, Amy stroked the bow on the gift basket. "I'll be sure to drop it off for him."

"You know if you drop it off, Jake will give it to the orderlies and members in group."

"I'll tell him it's from you." Amy undid the bow. "Just need to take the chocolate because that I need."

"I don't think Jake trusts you anymore," Boyle said bluntly. "He doesn't trust anyone in the 99 except for me."

He fixed the bow in the gift basket. It crinkled under his fingertips.

"Did you have to say that?" Amy said.

"I'm his friend, Amy. I have to defend him. The therapist prank was not cool."

"Do you think I don't feel guilty about this?" Amy asked. "You think I want to see my brilliant husband locked in a room where they only give him meds that wipe out his brain and one crossword at a time? He's a Sudoku expert!"

"Jake actually is more of a Kwazy Krush guy," Boyle corrected her. "He just can't play it because they don't allow cell phones or laptops in the psych ward."

"That's not the point." Amy took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It's always been heist stuff. I know I went too far. But how can I get him to trust me again?"

"Show him that you're worth trusting," Boyle said. "And wait for him to recover. Ultimately, I know you're sorry, but does he know? Can he trust his mind when it tells you that you won't betray him again?"

Amy had no answer. Jake had stopped trusting her. He stopped trusting himself. And it was her fault.

#

Life went on at the precinct. The detectives solved cases. Perps tried to break out. Holt interviewed potential assistants and screened them for spies.

It wasn't the same, though. Holt pulled all his strings to make sure no one outside the 99 knew about Jake's breakdown. Everyone tried to visit him, but he was curt with most of them except for Boyle. Jake's tone changed as a cop interrogating a suspect, not a man among his friends. Rosa offered to smuggle him a knife and Jake told her bluntly why that would be a bad idea. Terry brought drawings from the girls. Jake took them and asked casually if Cagney and Lacey knew that Terry had faked an explosion to win the heist. Hitchcock was banned from the hospital after he sneaked into the ladies' bathroom, and Scully got distracted ball the new doctors  he could befriend.

Holt sent Kevin, stuffing him full of Nick Cage quotes. It was a peace offering. Jake talked to Kevin about Greek literature -- he even received some books from the man-- but treated Holt the way he treated tuxedos. There was formality tinged with distrust. Holt was wary as well, perhaps feeling guilt over how off-the-rails things went.

Jake was still not talking to Amy, apart to ask how she was feeling with the baby. Amy wondered if the nausea was from morning sickness or the stress. She started seeing a counselor at the hospital, to try and process her feelings.

He wasn't opening himself up to anyone. Even Boyle mentioned he was out of his depth. Being a best friend and former wedding organizer did not prepare him, but he tried his best. Jake was paranoid that every single action was for the next heist or deception. His doctors weren't allowed to talk therapy sessions or medications with Amy. There was no way she could advocate for him. Jake had given himself to the medical system. And they knew the 99 was partly to blame.

Everyone was waiting. It wasn't like when he was undercover, and they only had to worry about his life. He was a few blocks away, fighting with something they couldn't see.

Finally, their captain called a meeting. They gathered in the conference room.

"The good news is that Jake should be back to work in a week," Holt said.

A cheer went around. Amy already knew, but the precinct had largely not been talking about it. Jake had finally talked to her when as an apology gift she smuggled in John McClane's favorite choice of alcohol. He wasn't allowed to drink with the meds, but it was the first time he had laughed during her visits. He still had to see the therapists at the hospital as a regular patient, however, and they recommended the two see a marriage counselor, whom they could verify was not an actor. Jake was still filling prescriptions for Klonopin so he could sleep. Amy knew they were addictive but she didn't want them to lie awake at night together.

"He's taking desk work, at his request. Boyle and Jeffords will be supervising him to make sure all is well."

"I can't wait for the guy to store food in his desk to rot," Rosa said.

"I'm practicing for when Jake will leap into my arms," Terry said.

"Now for the bad news; we are suspending the Halloween Heist indefinitely," Holt announced.

"WHAT?!" the detectives said.

"You heard me." Holt leaned forward. "Until further notice, we will spend Halloween the way we have before, with no competition and lots of paperwork on the busiest night of the year."

"But it's tradition!" Rosa said.

"You don't even know if the heist caused Jake's illness!" Amy protested.

"Where else will we prove ourselves?" Hitchcock asked.

"Aww, I wanted to show Jake I would always be by his side!" Boyle said.

"I think you're finally showing sense, Sir."

That brought all the protests to a halt. The silence in the room was deafening. Only Terry looked relieved if a little guilty.

"Who said that?" Holt asked.

"I'm Officer Gusman," the woman in the back said. "Been a uniformed police officer for a few years."  

"Who are you?" Rosa asked with disgust.

"I've been working with Detective Lohank," Gusman said. "You normally don't see us because we're on the night shift."

"And you think to stop the heist is finally showing sense?" Rosa said, an edge in her voice. "Are you questioning the Captain's authority?"

The woman went pale. Then Detective Lohank stood up.

"Office Gusman and I completely agree," he said. "You've all gone too far with your plans and need to one-up each other."

"We've been watching this heist go on for years," Gusman said. "The rest of us stay out of it because while you are doing your Halloween shenanigans, we are busy trying to do our jobs and be decent human beings. But you can't even make it harmless. We have to dodge your drones, keep from stepping on broken glass, and witness pickpocketing in real-time. You've stolen dogs, for crying out loud!"

Amy went red. She had stolen Holt's dog, despite being deathly allergic. It hadn't been her proudest moment.

"One thing this precinct has taught me is that you are only as good as the people around you," Lohank added. "I've seen you all work as a team. But every time this happens, you all work to tear each other apart. And for what? To be called a 'detective slash genius'?"

He made air quotations.

"Uh-oh, he never does that," Rosa said. "He's serious."

"Sir, you are a great Captain, and I think you could be the greatest," Gusman said. "But your pettiness is infecting the rest of the group and drove one of our best detectives to a nervous breakdown. Yes, we know; we're not stupid."

"It's actually PTSD manifesting," Amy said in a small voice.

"Whatever it is, why do you feel the need to destroy each other on what's supposed to be a night of fun?" Lohan asked. "Someone's going to die for real during a heist and you'll be too concerned about winning to notice. That's not what a detective represents. We are made to serve and protect."

"Detective-" Holt started.

"You don't check yourself into a hospital because you have a problem. Jake checked himself in because he wanted to get better. But why did he need that in the first place?"

"Okay, that will do, Detective," Terry interjected. "You've made your point. No Halloween Heist this year."

"Dismissed," Holt said.

The 99 stood up. Rosa kept sitting. She had won the heist three times that year, and mocked Jake for his innermost secrets.

"Lohank, you surprised me today," she said. "Well done."

"I may not be the best detective, but I'm still a detective," Lohank said. "Jake's a good guy. Do us all a favor and treat him like that. Enjoy the prize."

He walked off. Rosa didn't move. Amy went over to her. Rather, she waddled because her baby fat was showing.

"Jake and I are setting boundaries," she said. "We've agreed no more pranks, and I am not interfering in his mental health plans or therapists. I am not touching any of his medicines or giving him any gifts with tasers in them. And I've color-coded notes to help with reminders and showing he can trust me. I think we may actually recover."

"Sounds great," Rosa said sarcastically. "But it won't be the same."

"It won't," Amy admitted. "But we have to try and make something out of it."

She pulled out the book of Sudoku. Jake had left it in the apartment, most of his answers blacked out. There were still a few pages he hadn't completed.

Amy would give him the book, and let him do the last pages privately. No sabotages, no need to tell him the answers, just space. And no more pranks related to the stuff inside your head or with Tasers. She could commit to that. If Jake wanted to get better, then she had to make the effort.

[porthecrawl-witness]

Bonus Content: Talbot’s Office Job - M!Talbot

Weekly content up! Thanks for voting over on the forum. Here’s the male version of Talbot’s content. 

The rattle of blinds springing closed jars you from your work. You sigh and spare a forlorn look at the single run-on sentence you have managed to type in the last fifteen minutes. How you managed to volunteer yourself to babysit a thirty-year-old man for the day is something you have yet to figure out; Staci had not explained when he dropped Talbot off at the Witness doorstep with little more than a grin and a 'play nice' wave.

Talbot groans from the inside window overlooking the office space beyond.

"This is the single most miserable experience of my life." He flings himself over one arm of the loveseat by the far wall. Whether he pauses for effect or in actual consideration is impossible to tell. "Second most miserable."

"Gee, thanks."

"For giving you first place or unseating you from it?"

"Both?" You frown in thought. "Can it be both?"

"I took an office job once – "

"They hired you?"

A tattooed hand flies over his heart. "Yes."

"And…how did it go?" You sit back from your desk. Talbot in an office? Talbot working? The man screams – shrieks, really – trust fund gone wrong.

"I was an 'administrative assistant.' They put me in charge of the copies and let me ration office supplies – "

"Ration office supplies? I don't think that's how – "

"I even had a boss named Deborah and everything. Deborah was…she was…I had fun with Deborah. Pretty thing. Tragic hair. Her blouses always matched her cardigans, which, I was reminded every day, she knitted herself. 'Oh, lovely sweater, Deb, prosaic beige, how nice.' And then, 'Why, thank you, Mr. Rathmore, I was tired of the eggshell I've worn the last thirty-two days. Do you like my cat-themed blouse?'"

He rests his head back against the couch with a scowl.

"She was a cu - "

"Talbot!"

"She was a cutie. What did you think I was going to say?"

He sits up and comes over to the desk, propping against it. He's been tame today, at least by his standards, but you can tell that he's itching to tell you whatever story is bouncing around in his mind. He scratches at the back of his head, fingers scraping against freshly buzzed blond. The top portion is longer than when you had met him, un-styled today and hanging loosely over one cheek. You've taken it as a sign that he's settling into his new existence as a townie – about time, you think. To no one's surprise, it has taken him longer than Staci or Quinn.

"You could skip right to the good part and tell me how you got fired."

"Fired?" He pushes himself away from the desk. "Fired? Me? By that pussy hoarder?"

"Talbot – "

"Ugh, literally. The climax was on a Tuesday. I hate Tuesdays – they've always been bad luck for me. But that one, just imagine. Three months, I've tolerated that office. Laminated their copies, re-organized their filing system, intervened their caffeine addictions – "

"That sounds – "

"Unappreciative little gremlins, all of them. But! I digress. Deborah comes in, all shades of off white. Her shirt has been embrodered with this big pink and yellow kitten, right in the middle, it's little paws up right over her – " He pauses, his hands rising about halfway up his chest on either side. " – uh, anyway, she called it 'professional neutral.' I called it 'the most boring thing I've ever seen.' It's 9 AM, I'm on time, so I say, 'Good morning, Deb.'

And she says, 'That's Mrs. Pinkleston to you, Mr. Rathmore. I don't have time for your theatrics today, there's a management meeting in half an hour.' Obviously, this is a big warning, because Deb has never asked me to call her Mrs. Pinkleston. Who would ask to be called Pinkleston? Voluntarily? Without a high-caliber weapon involved? So, I smile – this smile, see? Just like this – I smile and say, 'Good morning, Mrs. Deborah Pinkleston.'

Well, Deborah Pinkleston takes this as insubordination. Funny, I think to myself, she's never accused me of insubordination before. Clearly, something is wrong with her, and, empathetic creature that I am, I say, 'What's the matter, boss lady?'

'Boss lady?' She seems shocked by this. Deb's got a lot on her mind, so I figure she's probably forgotten that yes, she is my boss, and yes, she's a lady. 'Boss lady?' she says again, 'Mind your attitude, Mr. Rathmore.'

'What attitude?'

She says, 'We both know you're the one who covered my office wall in feline posters, Mr. Rathmore.'

Unappreciative gremlins, remember? So, I say, 'But you like cats, Deborah!'

Then she gets one of those looks on her face – you know the ones you make all the time – like aha, she's figured something out, and she says, 'So you admit you did it?'

'I admit nothing,' I say, 'It was Kevin.' Kevin, by the way, absolutely classic '80s suspender nerd – we'd lose nothing by sacrificing Kevin. Now, I can see she doesn't believe me – "

You break in, asking, "Wait, wait. Talbot, was it Kevin?" A part of you is hopeful that he wouldn't actually hurl an innocent under the bus like that, but from the bewildered look he gives you, you know immediately that it's in vain.

"What? No. I did it. The only thing Kevin could do with any efficiency was get stuffed in a locker. Besides, Deborah likes cats. I figured she would love the posters. Did I mention she was like Quinn?"

"Was?" You freeze. "Was like Quinn?"

"Why are you so excitable? I glued some fluffy posters to her wall, I didn't kill her. Anyway, Deb goes off, and finally, she comes out when it's time for the meeting. Mind you, I haven't heard her tear down a single poster, so she did like them, really. Then, in stream the big wigs from upstairs. Deb's smiling at them, they're trying not to ogle her kitten paws, and into the conference room they go. Well, then the uproar starts. 'What's the meaning of this, Mrs. Pinkleston? Is this a joke to you? We thought you could handle this?'"

"What had you done, Talbot?"

"I had overestimated the number of posters that would fit on Deb's wall, so I had to put the extras somewhere."

"You covered a conference room in cat posters?"

"I wouldn't say covered. I placed them very strategically to really maximize the impact."

You stare for a moment, his expression candid, unapologetic, and you remain unsure as to what to make of the story. Finally, you ask, "But why?"

"Why? Because she was awful, that's why. She was cruel - and bad at it. Kevin? She would throw stacks of paper at him until he scurried off, head down. Almost every day. Besides, I knew that she wouldn't actually believe he was responsible, not before Upstairs came down and blamed her for it. She set herself up for the fall. When they asked the office if they knew anything, do you know what they said? That the posters weren't anything new, that they had been there for weeks."

"So…you got away with it?"

"Yes." A satisfied nod follows and then a long smile, one that stretches from ear to ear. "But she didn't."