#well actually her son is the boss but she does the administrative stuff and all and works as a bartender too
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FIRST SHIFT AT THE BAR NEXT FRIDAY SHE'S REPORTING ME TO THE ACCOUNTANCY FIRM TOMORROW
#it's the night after the h.e.a.t concert so that could be a bit stressful but i already had to push it a week further away#she originally would have liked me to start this friday because she would be alone or with only one other bartender i don't remember exactly#BUT I PRETTY MUCH GOT THE JOB IN THE BAG HELL YEAH NEXT WEEKEND I'M OFFICIALLY POURING DRINKS AT FUCKING PAUNCHY CATS#AND GETTING INTO CONCERTS FOR FREE IF I DON'T WORK THE SHIFT ON THOSE NIGHTS ANYWAY AND GETTING DRINKS ON THE HOUSE#MEETING ALL THOSE COOL BANDS AND PARTYING WITH THEM AND HAVING A FUN JOB#now my mom is a annoyed/mad at me because i'll have to use her car or need someone to pick me up but idk i think it's doable after a while#and in case i can't get home afterwards because of the weather or nobody can pick me up again after driving me there or i'm sick#the boss offered me to sleep at her place next door or at her son's second house he's partially offering to the bands to sleep#which i hope i won't need but how sweet is that đ„șđ„șđ„ș#well actually her son is the boss but she does the administrative stuff and all and works as a bartender too#when i came in she said i look fancy and before i left she hugged me and repeated over and over that she'd be happy to have me in the team#mel talks
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Okay guys Iâm SUPER bored at work so Iâm going to post about a next-gen oc again!!!
This time, itâs Mia Greer, daughter of Milo Greer and Sweetheart :3
(Iâll post about Asherâs daughter after I just need to think about her more first)
- So, her name is Mia Greer, and yes I did kind of gender swap the names of the dads when I decided names for Ashlyn and Mia,, anywho
- Sheâs confident and feisty, like her dad, and persistent and stubborn like her other parent, Sweetheart
- Sheâs part-stealth and part-shifter, so she can both shift and cloak, though if she does both at once itâs not incredibly effective, but just shifting is fine, and with training she can cloak incredibly well
- Once sheâs 16 she starts a youth internship at DUMP (usual unpaid internship type job), much to the chagrin of her father and the worry of Sweetheart
- She applies to become a detective when she turns 19, and starts work doing small-time investigations
- Sheâs close with Dante (Davidâs son) and Ashlyn (Asherâs daughter), as well as Samuel Jr. (Samâs son), and becomes the packâs next DUMP insider / info person once theyâre all adults
- She actually doesnât like DUMP, thinking of it in a similar way as her dad, but still overworks herself in her job, just like Sweetheart, determined to help those who need it
- She gets into many disagreements with the administration and her bosses, but manages to keep her job each time, due to the quality of her work
- At a certain point, she gets extremely fed up with everyone calling her just Greer, attributing her current role to having been inspired by her grandfather, which it absolutely was not. So, she legally changes her last name to have Sweetheartâs last name hyphenated with Greer, as a bit of a âscrew youâ to the brass
- She eventually comes across a man who, despite hearing about her previous disagreements with her bosses, decides to take her on as his subordinate, choosing to help her rise in the ranks.
- She eventually gets assigned two people to work under her on investigations, a telepath and a healer. They end up becoming friends, and work very well together. The telepath is a bit of a scaredy-cat, and the healer is very practical and logic-based, meaning Mia helps balance things out, being feisty and hard to scare, as well as being a bit more impulsive.
- She rises in rank and manages to make minor changes to some of DUMPâs policies, benefitting many, albeit in a small way, but she also befriends those higher in rank than her and gets them to make some of the necessary changes !!
Thatâs probably mostly it for now cuz my mind is blanking atm but maybe Iâll reblog this with more cuz there is other stuff I think
Iâm just eepy
Taglist: @vegafan69 @darlin-collins @kxemii @professionallyyappin @sereh624
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Alicent's stans say she never shown any ambition for the throne or power herself, only to keep her children from being executed. But what's wrong if a woman want to lead, rule, or administrating solely because she's ambitious ? Why EVERYTHING is about motherhood ?
I feel you anon. We wanted a ruthless antagonist that we can obsess with and we got Ninicent instead. And the funny part is, she's still the antagonist, just an extremely unlikeable one đ
The Turkish TV show Magnificent Century actually has a storyline where the protagonist is genuinely afraid for the life of her kids and does evil stuff because of that, and it tells the story in a way that it's believable and does not reduce the heroine's agency and accountability. So if I remember correctly, there was a fratricide law in Ottoman empire, like if a man became Sultan he had to kill all his brothers, something like that. So that was an actual certainty. Hurrem's sons had an elder brother from another mother, Mustapha, and he was supposed to succeed his father, not Hurrem's sons, and he was a genuine good dude and he loved his brothers. Hurrem knew however that if he became Sultan, his mother and advisors would convince him to kill her children in order to secure his claim. So she influenced the Sultan to execute Mustapha, his own kid, because she was afraid for her kids. She was very sad afterwards because she genuinely didn't want him to die and she knew he was a good man. But oh well, politics.
So Hurrem acts because she's afraid for her kids, and genuinely cares for the very person she conspired against and was sad after his execution. She did what she had to do for her kids. Also, her kids were younger than Mustapha because she came second, she climbed up the hierarchy, she outranked Mustapha's mother who was there before her and should have become Queen consort, and then she conspired against the heir, which lead to his execution. And then she put her child on the throne.
The show is kind of a soap-opera take of the real story, so it has it's flaws, but overall the real story of Hurrem Sultan is the same in it's basic elements. It is contested if she actually played a role in Mustapha's execution but let's face it, she probably did, given the insane influence she had on the Sultan and the fact that she had a clear motive.
There are naturally a lot of similarities with show!Alicent's arc. She too had clear ambition since the beginning, she too wanted to outrank the heir and usurp her and put her child on the Throne. She too was afraid of her children because her children had a rival that could kill them. She too got caught up in the game and did things that she would have probably preferred to avoid. So, why do I support Hurrem in all of this, and not Alicent? Had they dealt with it correctly in the show, Alicent could have been a very compelling, intriguing antagonist. What makes her different than Hurrem?
Well Hurrem won, and Alicent lost. Hurrem won and it makes sense because of her wit, her political intelligence, her absolute and honest devotion to her family and her absolute loyalty to the Sultan. She also has a very special personality, she was very cheerful, brave, she loved art and poetry, she had a charismatic nature that outshined every single other person in the story and her relationship with the Sultan was so special in real life because of that and it makes sense why she won. We want her to win. She is meant to win. She is the hero of the story, both in real life and in fiction. She had what we call, the momentum. She is the driving force of the story. So I support her, not because she onLY FeAReD for hEr KidS and did nothing wrong evah, but because she's the boss, she's charismatic and exceptional.
What does Alicent have? Honestly? What does she give? Ok cool in the book she was cunning and ambitious and conservative and a religious freak and good looking, slut shaming Rhaenyra left and right. Ok? In the show, where she is supposedly better, what heroine qualities does she have that could make me support her? Honestly. Apart from the fact that she serves as a self interest for lesbians and Targ antis, she has nothing exceptional apart from her good looking appearance. The fact that she is a good mother? The hero of the story is also a good mother. We already have a hero in that story and the hero is Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra, the first woman named heir, Rhaenyra who tried to claim freedom and independence, who actively tried to make her own way and was punished because of it in the most horrible way. Alicent is (should be, anyway) Rhaenyra's foil. Rhaenyra's the protagonist, like Hurrem was the protagonist, and Rhaenyra was killed but her line survived, just like Hurrem's line survived.
So I got carried away from your initial question anon. Basically, we have multiple alternatives
1) show!Alicent, no ambition, only fear and lack of agency. I have explained multiple times why Alicent's powerless doll arc is boring as fuck and non-sensical given the immense power that she had as Queen. Alicent's stans using her non-agency as an argument to stan her is ridiculous. She ONly FeAReD for hEr KidS, just shut up. First of all, she feared for her kids because she was committing high treason using her kids, so she brought this upon herself. I literally see no reason to support a doormat that fucks everyone over just because she's "afraid" as a direct consequence of the shit she did. I doesn't make any sense.
2) book!Alicent could have been adapted in a TV show as a Hurrem type of character, they could have included the fear for her children (as a motivating factor in her scheming) and kept her ambition intact, as was the case with Hurrem. Hurrem was ambitious and also feared for her children and did things she didn't like, for them. It could work as a storyline for Alicent. But Alicent could have never been a Hurrem because she is simply not the heroine of the story, she is a foil, she is an antagonist, and she has the fate of an antagonist, period. They could have incorporated some elements of Hurrem's arc though, it would have been much better.
TL;DR a mother being afraid for her children is a valid tragic storyline and no, it doesn't necessarily erase her agency. But 1) it doesn't excuse everything she does especially when she is the one who started it all and 2) it's not enough to make me support her as a tragic héroïne.
#I had found this one amongst my 58 drafts#I had completely forgotten about it sorry anon#hotd#house of the dragon#anonymous#insane rambling sorry#rhaenyra targaryen#anti alicent Hightower#hurrem sultan#magnificent century
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https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/10/trump-organization-tax-fraud?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=vanity-fair&utm_social-type=earned
Which Trump Kid Will Take the Fall for Years of Tax Fraud? Your thoughts đ
https://t.co/KUPKWGuv0J via @VanityFair
THE FALL FOR YEARS OF TAX FRAUD?
Junior and Eric, itâs time to prove your loyalty.
BYÂ BESS LEVIN |Published October 16,
2019 | Vanity Fair | Posted October 16, 2019 7:40 PM ET |
Last February, not long before he reported to prison, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testified that his boss had regularly inflated his personal assets when it served his purposes to do so, like to obtain loans, and deflated them when reporting lower numbers was to his benefitâlike, for instance, in order to reduce his tax liability. Shortly thereafter, the House Oversight and Reform Committee subpoenaed Donald Trumpâs longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, for eight years of his financial records, a move the president did not respond well to, suing committee chairman Elijah Cummings and fighting tooth and nail to keep such information under lock and key. Last week a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the subpoena, which Trump is likely to appeal again, possibly to the Supreme Court. And based on a new report by ProPublica, which highlights apparent tax fraud by the Trump Organization, you can understand why!
Documents obtained by reporter Heather Vogell show major discrepancies in how the presidentâs companies reported expenses, profits, and occupancy rates for two buildings, making the properties appear more profitable to lenders and less profitable to tax authorities, just as Cohen testified. At 40 Wall Street, for example, the Trump Organization told Ladder Capital that the building was leased at 58.9% on December 31, 2012, and then shot up to 95% a few years later, knowing that lenders wanted to see rising occupancy levels, or âleasing momentum,â which was critical to obtaining a new $160 million loan with a lower interest rate. (Based on the figures the Trump Organization gave to them, Ladderâs underwriters predicted 40 Wall Streetâs profits would more than double after 2015.) Yet, per ProPublica, as of 2018, the most recent year for which data is available, the building had never met profit expectations, lagging by more than 8%, which experts say is extremely unusual given the amount of due diligence underwriters are meant to do.
According to Kevin Riordan, a financing expert and real estate professor at Montclair State University, the rise in occupancy that the Trump Organization claimed was unusual, and what do you know? Documents submitted to tax officials showed no such surge. Instead the company told tax officials that the building was already 81% leased in 2012, the same figure it reported as of January 5, 2013. âThere was a story crafted here,â Riordan said. âItâs contradicted by what we see in the tax filings.â
Also at 40 Wall Street, insurance costs for 2017âwhen Don Jr. and Eric had taken over the day-to-day businessâwere listed at $457,414 in loan records and $744,521 in tax documents, while Trump claimed to tax authorities in 2015 that he paid the actual owners of the building $1.65 million for the right to lease it out, despite telling the loan servicer the figure was $1.24 million. âIt really feels like thereâs two sets of booksâit feels like a set of books for the tax guy and a set for the lender,â said Riordan. âItâs hard to argue numbers. Thatâs black and white.â
These discrepancies are âversions of fraud,â according to Berkeley professor of finance and real estate Nancy Wallace. âThis kind of stuff is not okay.â And by not okay, she means potentially criminal. Per Vogell, New York Cityâs property tax forms clearly state that whoever signs them âaffirms the truth of the statements madeâ and that âfalse filings are subject to all applicable civil and criminal penalties.â
Meanwhile, documents for the Trump International Hotel & Tower contain similar inconsistencies that, coincidentally, all worked out in Trumpâs favor. The Trump Organization told tax officials it made roughly $822,000 renting space to commercial tenants at the building in 2017, but claimed to loan officials that the amount was $1.67 million. Examining eight years of data for the property, ProPublica found that the Trump Organization âreported gross income to tax authorities that was typically only about 81% of what it reported to the lender.â The business also seemed to leave out income it received for leasing the roof for TV antennas on its tax documents, leaving the line for that type of income blank on nine years of filings. And if you guessed such figures did appear on loan documents, as âmajor sources of income,â congratulations, youâve cracked Trumpâs (alleged!) scam.
While experts who spoke to ProPublica said there can sometimes be legal reasons for numbers to differ on tax and loan documents, they also said some of the discrepancies appeared to have no reasonable justification. âMy gut reaction is it seems like thereâs something amiss there,â said David Wilkes, a New York City tax lawyer who is chair of the National Association of Property Tax Attorneys.
The Trump Organization refused to respond on the record to the questions provided by ProPublica. A lawyer whose firm handles Trumpâs property tax appeal filings for New York City said he was not authorized to discuss the documents. Ladder Capital declined to comment. A spokesperson for Mazars USA said it does not comment on its clients.
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IVANKAâS $360 MILLION VANCOUVER DEAL IS REPORTEDLY BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE F.B.I.
The First Daughter has her own set of problems.
BY ABIGAIL TRACY | Published MARCH 2, 2018 | Vanity Fair | Posted October 16, 2019 7:40 PM ET |
Even Ivanka Trump, the âprincess royalâ of the West Wing, is being sucked into the vortex of scandal that has encompassed her fatherâs administration. In the past week, her husband, Jared Kushner, lost his security clearance, lost his P.R. guard dog, was revealed as a top intelligence target for foreign spies, and was reported to have met with banking executives in the White House shortly before his familyâs company received nearly half a billion dollars in loans. Donald Trump is said to be is âfrustrated with Mr. Kushner, whom he now views as a liabilityâ and âanother problem to deal with,â and has suggested that both he and Ivanka move back to New York.
Ivanka, too, has her own set of problems. While the First Couple braced for an Intercept story that Kushnerâs father had failed to secure a loan from the Qatari government just weeks before Kushner backed a blockade of Qatar, CNN dropped another  bombshell: United States counterintelligence officials are probing a Trump Organization real-estate deal in Canada in which Ivanka played a leading role.
The financing and negotiations surrounding the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver have come under F.B.I. scrutiny, according to current and former U.S. officials who spoke with CNN. Itâs unclear why the F.B.I. is interested in the deal, which dates back to 2013, and in which Ivanka played a key role. But CNN reports that foreign buyers involved, as well as the timing of the $360 million projectâs opening in February 2017, may have caught the agencyâs attention. Like many Trump Organization deals, the New York-based company does not own the building but rather is paid licensing and marketing fees by the developer, the Holborn Group. Joo Kim Tiah, a member of one of Malaysiaâs wealthiest families, runs the Canada-based development firm, and said in October 2015 that the First Daughter was closely involved: âIvanka and myself approved everything, everything in this project,â he said during an interview.
Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Ivankaâs ethics counsel, dismissed the idea that there was anything untoward about the deal. âCNN is wrong that any hurdle, obstacle, concern, red flag, or problem has been raised with respect to Ms. Trump or her clearance application,â he said in a statement. He also denied that the investigation would impact Ivankaâs security clearance in any way: âNothing in the new White House policy has changed Ms. Trump's ability to do the same work she has been doing since she joined the Administration.â Alan Garten, executive vice president and chief legal officer for the Trump Organization, similarly played down the report, saying that âthe companyâs role was and is limited to licensing its brand and managing the hotel. Accordingly, the company would have had no involvement in the financing of the project or the sale of units.â
Though itâs unclear whether special counsel Robert Mueller is interested in Ivankaâs involvement in the Vancouver deal, her husbandâs contacts with foreign entities has certainly garnered his attention. Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that at least four foreign governments have discussed how they can use the Kushner Cos.âs financial woes and entanglements as leverage over the presidentâs son-in-law, The New York Times reported that Kushner Cos. received roughly $500 million in financing from two U.S. firms after Jared met with executives from the companies at the White House. (Christine Taylor, a spokeswoman for Kushner Cos., said in a statement that the Times story represented an âattempt to make insinuating connections that do not exist to disparage the financial institutions and companies involved.â)
The cascade of negative headlines has complicated matters for the duo in the White House. Amid an internal struggle with Kelly, who was responsible for altering the White House security-clearance policyâa move some saw as a targeted attack on Kushnerâsome aides have reportedly âexpressed frustration that Mr. Kushner and his wife . . . have remained at the White House, despite Mr. Trump at times saying they never should have come to the White House and should leave.â The president, meanwhile, is reportedly mulling options to sideline them. Per the Times, while he has outwardly encouraged Jared and Ivanka to remain in their West Wing posts, he has also âprivately asked Mr. Kelly for his help in moving them out.â
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REPORT: WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS âALARMEDâ BY TRUMPâS UKRAINE DEALINGS EVEN BEFORE ZELENSKY CALL
At least four national security officials registered their concerns with a White House lawyer both before and immediately after the July 25 phone call.
BYÂ ALISON DURKEE | Published October 11, 2019 | Vanity Fair | Posted October 16, 2019 7:40 PM ET |
For however âperfectâ as he believed it to be, President Donald Trump's now-infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly raised concerns among administration officials as soon as Trump hung up the phone. As the Washington Post reported Thursday, however, that wasn't the first time aides had raised objections about how the president was dealing with Ukraine. According to the Post, at least four national security officials were so âalarmedâ by Trump's apparent attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals that they âraised concernsâ with National Security Council legal adviser John Eisenberg both before and immediately after Trump's July 25 phone call. The officials âwere not a swamp, not a deep state,â a former senior official told the Postâbut were simply White House officials âwho got concerned about this because this is not the way they want to see the government run.â
Concerns over Trump's Ukrainian dealings both before and after the call were widespread even among Trump's top advisers, the Post reports, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton and then-acting deputy national security adviser Charles Kupperman. The alarm bells reportedly started going off after the abrupt ouster of former Ambassador to Ukraine Masha Yovanovitch, and the Post notes NSC officials âwere alternately baffled and alarmedâ by the behavior of Rudy Giuliani, who pressed for Yovanovitch's removal and very publicly declared his plan to press Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden. (In addition to the Biden conspiracy, Trump also âbecame increasingly focusedâ on baseless right-wing conspiracy theories regarding Ukraine's supposed role in the 2016 election.) Worry among NSC officials escalated even further after U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondlandâwho got his job after donating $1 million to Trump's inaugurationâdeclared that Trump had put him in charge of relations with Kiev. During a meeting with Bolton, then-U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker, and Zelensky aides about corruption in Ukraine's energy sector, Sondland âblurted out that there were also âinvestigations that were dropped that need to be started up again,ââ the Post reports. âBolton went ballisticâ after the meeting, one official told the Post, and senior NSC officials âhuddledâ about their Ukraine concerns in the ensuing days. The senior officials also looped in acting U.S. Ambassador Bill Taylor, whose ensuing explosive text messages with Sondland and Volker have since been publicly released.
For as concerned as officials already were about Trump's Ukraine behavior, their concerns âsoaredâ once Trump spoke to Zelensky. In line with previous reports, including the whistle-blower report, the Post notes that Bolton and other senior officials were being contacted âwithin minutesâ of the call's end by their subordinates expressing concern, and a rough transcript of the conversation was moved to a highly secure computer network meant for classified material âwithin hours.â âWhen people were listening to this in real time there were significant concerns about what was going onâalarm bells were kind of ringing,â one source told the Post. âPeople were trying to figure out what to do, how to get a grasp on the situation.â White House officials were reportedly seeking ways to officially report the conversation, the Post notes, which was made challenging by âthe lack of a White House equivalent to the inspector general positions found at other agencies.â So they went to Eisenberg, who reportedly vowed to âfollow-up.â It's not clear that Eisenberg actually took any action, thoughâand his lack of any clear response, the Post speculates, could have contributed to White House officials' decisions to share their concerns with the whistle-blower, a CIA employee who was first contacted by a White House official hours after Trump and Zelensky's phone call. (It is unclear whether any of the officials who spoke with Eisenberg are the same ones who spoke with the whistle-blower.)
The reports of how acute the alarm was over Trump's behavior within the White House ranks isn't great for the president as he continues to downplay the allegations and insist he was in the rightâand come as damning reports concerning his and Giuliani's Ukraine scheming only continue to escalate. In addition to the fallout over Trump's phone call, new reports this week have raised concerns about how the administration handled the freezing and reinstatement of aid to Ukraineâwhich could suggest the existence of a âquid pro quoââwith the Washington Post reporting Thursday that political appointees intervened to freeze the aid over the objections of career staffers, who feared the move would be âimproper.â The Associated Press, meanwhile, reported Thursday that Yovanovitch was fired after pushing back against Giuliani's rogue Ukraine operation, marking yet another bad story for the lawyer after his clients were arrested earlier Thursday.
While tensions are already running high in Trumpworld, the president and his allies also may soon face even more detrimental details coming to light, should Yovanovitch and Fiona Hill, Trumpâs former top aide on Russia and Europe, testify as planned in the coming days. NBC News reports that Hill is expected to testify that Giuliani and Sondland circumvented the National Security Council to pursue their âshadow policyâ on Ukraine, and her impending testimony has reportedly âstoked fearâ in the White House given that she's not a Trump loyalist. If Hill, now a private citizen, is able to testify without the White House attempting to exert executive privilege over her testimony, it could also give Democrats the green light to seek testimony from other former White House officials, including Boltonâwho's already been very clear that he's totally willing to trash talk his former employer.
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TRUMP CRONY MICK MULVANEY EARNS HIS TURN IN THE BARREL
The perpetually âactingâ White House chief of staff finds himself embroiled in the white-hot center of the Ukraine scandal.
BYÂ ERIC LUTZ | Published October 16, 2019 | Vanity Fair | Posted October 16, 2019 7:40 PM ET |
onald Trumpâs increasingly brazen attempts to pressure Volodymyr Zelensky into opening an investigation into Joe Biden have put a number of his cronies under the microscope. Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, may have the most to lose, as prosecutors in New York scrutinize his work in Ukraine. Energy Secretary Rick Perry also appears in an unflattering light, as do diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland, all of whom were apparently involved in the Trump-Giuliani scheme. More recently, the spotlight has turned to âActingâ Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who is described in a new report as a lynchpin of Trumpâs campaign to squeeze Zelensky.
According to the Washington Post, it was Mulvaney who coordinated Perry, Volker, and Sondlandâs efforts to abscond with the Ukraine portfolio, moving the administrationâs dealings with Kiev out of traditional foreign policy channels and onto more corrupt footing. Giuliani told the Post that he could not recall âany substantive conversation with Mick,â nor could he remember Mulvaney âapproving, disapproving, getting involved, [or] having an interestâ in the Ukraine imbroglio. But current and former United States officials have placed the acting chief of staff at the center of the scandal in Capitol Hill testimonies in recent days.
Fiona Hill, who had been Trumpâs top Russia adviser, dropped Mulvaneyâs name in her bombshell testimony on Monday. Speaking to House lawmakers, who are conducting an impeachment inquiry into the president, Hill reportedly testified that then-national security adviser John Bolton had raised alarms about the pressure campaign on Ukraine, describing Giuliani as a âhand grenadeâ and instructing her to tell White House lawyers that he was ânot part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up.â Hill also told congressional investigators that Sondland had described an âagreementâ with Mulvaney to broker a White House meeting for Zelensky, who took office in May, if he authorized probes into the Bidens and the origins of the Russia inquiry.
George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for Ukraine, went even further in his testimony Tuesday, telling lawmakers that Mulvaney had told him to âlay lowâ and focus on other countries in his portfolioâgiving control of the administrationâs Ukraine policy to the so-called âthree amigosâ in what the top State department official took as a troubling sign that the White House was pursuing its own political agenda. Mulvaney told Kent to defer to Perry, Volker, and Sondland on matters related to Ukraine, Kent said in his testimony, and felt he was being sidelined âbecause what he was saying was not welcomeâ in the administration.
Perry, Sondland, and Volker have all come under intense scrutiny in the Ukraine scandal; explosive text messages released earlier this month show Volker, then-ambassador to Kiev, and Sondland, envoy to the European Union, suggesting that a White House visit for Zelensky and security aid for Ukraine was contingent on the probes Trump and Giuliani were seeking. Bill Taylor, Charge d'Affaires at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, raised concerns about the apparent quid pro quo in exchanges with the other officials: âI think itâs crazy to withhold security for help with a political campaign,â he wrote to Sondland at one point. Volker abruptly resigned his post earlier this month, and Perryâs involvement in the scandal has threatened his job security as Energy secretary.
Could Mulvaneyâs position as acting chief of staff become similarly tenuous? Already, the former congressman is facing questions about his misadventures with the âamigosââSondland, Volker, and Perry. He is also expected to be called before Congress to testify about the hold he placed on some $400 million in military aid for Ukraine, on Trumpâs orders, days before the presidentâs July 25 phone call with Zelensky.
The White House has already begun an internal review of the matter, reportedly encouraged by Mulvaney, that some insiders fear could be an effort to find a fall guy. But itâs also possible that Mulvaney, in his effort to please the president, could become a scapegoat himself.
#trump scandals#trump administration#president donald trump#donald trump jr#president trump#trump news#trump#trump impeachment#trumpism#trumptrain#ivanka trump#jared and ivanka#ivankatrump#melania trump#trump meltdown#first lady melania#trump taxes#trump tax returns#trump corruption#trump crime family#trump crime syndicate#state department#mick mulvaney#white house#whitehouse#republican politics#politics and government#us politics#politics#u.s. news
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im thinking of how domestic inko/sasaki is and itâs quite possibly one of my favourite things to come out of bhaf for one reason or another. like hell yeah my son gets two moms. here are a few domestic things thatâll be canon in story if i ever get to cram it in at some point.Â
izuku absolutely calls sasaki âmom-senseiâ after she starts dating his mom. it started as a way to tease her but after seeing how much it flustered her and how happy it made her to hear it, he kept up with it. it also helps to differentiate when heâs talking about either of his moms.
sasaki p much walks around the apartment blind and dead to the world for the first 30 minutes of waking up bc she doesnât bother w her glasses. she shuffles around like a zombie following the scent of food where sheâll go over to the coffee machine and chug two cups of scalding hot coffee before she remembers that she hates coffee. if she bumps into either inko or izuku during her zombie time theyâll gently lead her around. theyâll stop her before she gets to the coffee machine and set her down on the sofa and passing her a cup of tea. sheâs incredibly cuddly during this time frame too so
âmom-sensei stop hugging me i need to get your tea!â *zombie noises as she pulls izuku closer to her* âhey!!â
âhinata dear, do you want breakfast before you go to work?â *approving zombie noises* âokay then dear, iâll make your favouriteâ *kisses her cheek*
izuku and his friends come over and theyâre having a good time, then sasaki and inko come home from their date or w/e and izuku goes to introduce themÂ
âoh yeah guys these are my moms. og mom and mom-senseiâ
the three of them often have times where theyâll all just sit peacefully doing their work at the table. sasakiâll be filling out some paperwork for her patients, izukuâll be doing homework and inkoâll be sitting with her latest sewing project. they all drink tea and enjoy the company. they take turns to get each other new cups of tea when everyone runs out.
they donât really talk during these moments but sometimes theyâll put on one of those relaxing radio stations really quietly. sometimes theyâll hum along to a song or two if they recognise it
one time sasaki and izuku try to spoil inko for her birthday and forbid her from doing any cooking and cleaning. they mean well but theyâre not the best at either of those tasks. at first sasaki is the one on cooking duty because sheâs the one thatâs lived alone since she was eighteen whilst izuku is on cleaning duty. but they have to switch halfway through when sasaki realises that she spent 10 years living off store bought meals and izuku has never cleaned properly before because inko always did it for him (she likes it). they turn out decent after that because izuku had a few cooking lessons from inko whilst he was growing up and sasaki is a fully trained doctor who knows how to properly disinfect stuff. it takes till 11pm for both of them to finish their tasks but inko is thankful for the thought at the very least.Â
(they spend two hours all cuddled up watching inkoâs favourite movie in a blanket nest afterwards where all three of them fall asleep)
inko is 160cm / 5âČ 3âł and sasaki is 193cm / 6âČ 4âł. they have a heIGHt diFfeRenCE. sasaki has to bend down so that inko can kiss her and itâs the cutest thing. sometimes inkoâll just pull sasaki down by tugging the collar of her shirt to kiss her and that always ends up making sasaki weak at the knees. and also sasaki loves cuddling w inko on the couch bc she can wrap her arms around inko and rest her chin on inkoâs head.
at some point inko gets fed up with her horrible boss at whatever job she works at [bc im too uncertain which one to choose from] and decides she wants to quit. sasaki decides to go to her boss and ask if thereâs any administration positions open, and inko starts working at the hospital at the front desk. sheâs v good at it. plus when they have their lunch breaks itâs basically mini dates every day.Â
when they eventually get married like years after izuku graduates ua, inko buys sasaki a really pretty necklace chain that she can put her rings on whilst sheâs at work since being a doctor ainât all that ring-friendly. even when theyâre married inko can make sasaki incredibly flustered, and only after years of them dating does sasaki actually manage to fluster inko so completely. theyâre incredibly in love.
#bleeding hearts are fatal#domestic family stuff......is my weakness#im love them#one day im gonna finish writing that side story where inko asks sasaki on a date#spoiler alert it's inko who makes the first move#and most of the moves after that lol#i love them smm#also unrelated but also related im adding in some sasaki inko friendship to chapter four that i used to be real hesitant about adding in#but i am now bc sasaki/inko is a ship that is happening people#im thinking abt izuku and his moms too much lately but idc bc i love them
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donât make me over
Kurt thinks today will just be an average day; he'll go to work, he'll pine for his friend-with-benefits Blaine (who he desperately wants to become more), and he'll remind his boss for the millionth time that he doesn't want to be set up with her son. It goes pretty much as he expects... well, sort of.
Written for @prompt-a-klaineficâs Klaine Prompt Reversebang! This fic is based on this amazing piece of art by @quizasvivamos based on this prompt. A big thanks to the artist, who not only made this amazing art, but also made some follow up art based on the story, AND put up with my obnoxious emails about the fic. Also, thanks to teach for looking this fic over :) Hope you all enjoy <3
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Kurtâs alarm blares at 6:45AM, as it does every weekday morning. He sits up in bed, rubbing a hand over his face.
As he gets his bearings, sleep-fog clearing, he happens to catch sight of a head of dark curls pressed into a pillow, connected to some of the nicest shoulders he's ever seen. He stares for a moment, then looks around.
Oh, fuck.
He jumps out of bed, which makes Blaine groan, arms curling around his pillow.
Kurt would love to stand in Blaineâs room, freaking out about how stupid heâd been to come here last night, but he's going to be late for work. With a final glance at Blaine, he hurries to the manâs bathroom.
Thankfully this isn't the first time he's slept over at Blaineâs. He turns the hot water on for the shower, shimmies out of his boxers (or, are they Blaineâs? They feel a little loose around the ass), and steps into the tiny shower.
He washes himself as quickly as possible, wincing as he lathers his hair with Blaineâs special shampoo and conditioner. He feels bad, since he knows how much Blaine spends on this shit, but desperate times.
He exits the shower smelling like raspberry. He wonât have the time to properly style his hair the way he usually would, but he knows Blaine has bucketloads of hair gel hidden somewhere, and just a little will help him look less like a total mess.
The gel is stashed under the sink, and Kurt rolls his eyes when he sees that it is also raspberry scented. Now, heâs always been one for complimenting scents, but raspberry body wash, and raspberry shampoo and conditioner, and raspberry hair gel seems a bit like overkill.
Whatever, itâs just for today. He squirts a bit in his hair and styles it into small spikes. Not his usual style, but itâll have to do.
Blaine is sitting up in bed when Kurt returns from the bathroom, a towel around his middle and the boxers in his hand.
âHey,â Blaine greets sleepily, rubbing at his eyes. Blaine always looks so adorable in the morning. His hair is either a rats nest of curls, or coming free of his gel if he forgot to wash it out. His cheeks are rosy, too, making him look sweet and innocent despite the giant hickey just under his jaw.
âHey,â Kurt replies. He tosses the boxers into Blaineâs laundry basket, then heads to Blaineâs dresser. âI need to borrow some boxers.â
âGo ahead,â Blaine says. âOr, you know. You could come back here. You smell good.â
âYou have some kind of raspberry fetish, or something?â Kurt asks, shaking his head as he digs through Blaineâs underwear drawer. âI have to be at work in forty-five minutes. It takes fifty to get there from your house.â
Arms wrap around his waist and a solid weight presses against his back. He can feel Blaineâs morning wood digging into his back, and lets out a happy sigh.
âCall in sick,â Blaine whispers, pressing a kiss to Kurtâs shoulder.
Kurt allows himself to revel in this moment. Itâs not often that he and Blaine do this. Act⊠well, like a couple. Itâs nice.
They arenât a couple, though, and Kurt is going to be late.
âI canât,â he says, prying Blaineâs arms off of him and picking up a pair of briefs.
âStrict boss?â Blaine asks as Kurt drops the towel and shimmies into the underwear. âDamn,â Blaine whistles, which causes Kurt to turn around and glare at him.
âStop staring at my ass and help me find my clothes.â
Blaine chuckles, but does as asked. He bends over, which allows Kurt a fantastic view of his ass. He bites down on his bottom lip.
âYouâre doing that on purpose.â
âNo, Iâm not.â
âThereâs not even anything on the ground there, Blaine.â
Blaine stands up slowly, shrugging. âOops?â
Kurt rolls his eyes, then heads over to the edge of Blaineâs bed, finding his pants lying in a crumpled heap.
âAnd no, by the way,â he says as he picks his pants up. âMy boss isnât strict. Quite the opposite, actually. Sheâs really lenient about taking sick days; if I even so much as feel a tickle in my throat she wants me to call in.â
âSo tell her you feel a tickle in your throat,â Blaine says as Kurt wriggles into his pants.
âNo,â Kurt replies, rolling his eyes. âI donât want to take advantage. She has a good reason for having that policy in place, and Iâm not going to be the asshole that ruins it for everybody.â
He turns back to face Blaine and finds him leaning against his dresser, cock hard against his stomach. Blaine raises an eyebrow, which just makes Kurt rolls his eyes again.
âKnock it off,â Kurt says. âDo you see my shirt?â
âWere you even wearing one?â
Kurt gives him the bitchiest glare he can. âObviously I was wearing a shirt, Blaine.â
Blaine shrugs. âI donât remember you wearing one.â
âHow is that possible? You were stone cold sober when I got here,â itâs one of their rules, actually. They never fuck drunk.
âWhat can I say. You distracted me with your shirtlessness.â
Kurt notices a piece of purple fabric hiding under Blaineâs bed and picks up to grab it. âOh, thank god,â he says, shaking any dust out. He pulls it on, not bothering looking for an undershirt, or the jacket he knows he was wearing.
âOkay,â Kurt says, wiping his shirt down with his hands. âGood enough.â He grabs his phone from Blaineâs nightstand and puts it in his pocket. âI left my stuff by the door, right?â
âAs always,â Blaine says, suddenly behind Kurt. He wraps his arms around him, and Kurt can feel his erection pressing against his back. He shivers, but pulls away.
âI donât want pre-come on my shirt all day,â he chides, turning to see Blaine pout. âStop that.â He taps Blaineâs chin, then walks past him and out the bedroom door.
When he gets to the living room, he chances a glance at the large clock Blaine has hanging on the wall and winces. 7:15. Heâs supposed to be seeing his first client at 7:45.
His stuff is all gathered neatly on the small shelf Blaine keeps by the door, and he stuffs his keys and his wallet into his pockets.
âI wish you didnât have to rush out,â Blaine says, and Kurt glances back to see him resting against the back of his couch. Heâs still naked as the day he was born, and hard as a rock, which is making it really difficult for Kurt to leave.
âYou should have thought of that before you called me on a Thursday night,â Kurt says. âYou know, not all of us are hoity-toity professors who only have to work three hours on Fridayâs.â
Blaine pouts again. âIt had been two weeks. I missed you.â
Kurtâs heart skips a beat. âMissed my body,â he throws back.
Blaine shakes his head and takes a step forward. âNo,â he says, voice quieter. âMissed you.â
Kurtâs breath catches in his throat, and goddammit, he really wants to see where this goes because heâs been dying to promote his friends-with-benefits arrangement with Blaine to an actual relationship for months, but he is so, so late.
He closes the gap between him and Blaine, kissing him gently. âIâll come back after work for the rest of my clothes. Youâll be home by five, right?â
âIndeed,â Blaine says, smiling softly.
âGreat. Iâll see you then.â
He dashes out the door, then, before he can talk himself into staying.
**
Getting to work is a mess. He decides to chance taking a cab, and as soon as heâs in he calls Pam, telling her heâs going to be late, but he doesnât know exactly by how much. She, of course, informs him that itâs totally fine and that sheâll just take his 7:45 appointment, since she didn't schedule any appointments for herself, planning on doing administration all day.
After the call, Kurt manages to sit in the backseat of the cab for ten minutes before he realizes that theyâve barely advanced two feet from where the cab picked him up. Grumbling to himself, he picks a twenty out of his wallet and tosses it to the driver, climbing out in the middle of the road and making a bee-line to the subway station, which he knows is only a two minute walk away.
Of course, as soon as heâs out the traffic starts moving, and then the 5 train is late, so he ends up jumping on the 2 instead, which means he has to switch to the D at 59 St Columbus Circle, and of course the D is late, too, andâŠ
Itâs just past 8:30 by the time Kurt bursts into Pamâs Place, the door slamming against the wall a little too hard as he shoves it open. A teen girl with greasy hair and dark bags under her eyes jumps at the sound, and Kurt winces.
âSorry, hun,â he says, taking the door carefully and closing it behind him gently. âDidnât mean to scare you.â
âJust surprised,â she murmurs, her thin lips managing to form into a small smile. Kurt smiles back, then waves at their receptionist/cashier, Harmony, who hasnât even glanced away from her computer at the commotion. Kurt rolls his eyes and darts through the swinging doors between the two change rooms Pam placed to keep the boutique and the salon separate.
âYouâre late, Hummel,â Santana jeers from where sheâs adjusting a gorgeous auburn wig on a girlâs head. Kurt ignores her, continuing his mad dash to the back room.
Heâs just finished placing his valuables in his locker when he hears Pam say, âThere you are! I thought youâd died.â
Kurt jumps, grasping the front of his shirt tightly as his heart lurches. âJesus Christ, Pam,â he says. âWay to scare the shit out of me.â
âThatâs it, get it all out of your system,â she says, grinning widely. âRemember, no swearing in front of the customers.â
Kurtâs heart starts to beat at a normal pace again, and he rolls his eyes. âI know, Pam. Iâve been here how long?â
She raises an eyebrow. âNot long enough to know how long it takes you to get to work from your apartment, apparently.â
âIâŠâ Kurt blushes, then turns back around to close his locker and turn the dial to 0. âI wasnât exactly at my apartment this morning.â
âKurt Hummel!â Pam shrieks, and Kurt winces. âYou dirty dog. Youâre wearing the same shirt as you were yesterday!â
He turns and shushes her. âKeep it down. I donât want Santana hearing.â
Pam rolls her eyes. âOh, Santanaâs going to know the second she lays eyes on you. Youâre wearing the same pants as yesterday, too!â She gasps and widens her eyes dramatically, pressing a hand to her chest. âOh, no. Does this mean you didnât save your virtue for my Bumble Bee?â
Kurt chuckles at Pamâs adorable nickname for her son. âAs if heâs been saving his for me.â
âIâll have you know that my boy has never even touched a man,â she says, nose going up in the air. âYou think Iâm the kind of woman who would raise a hussy like you?â
âHey, now,â Kurt says, chuckling. âThat hurts.â
âNow what am I going to tell him? Oh, hey honey, you know that boy Iâve been talking you up to? The really cute one that Iâm sure is your soulmate? He lost his virginity on a one-night-stand!â
âPam!â Kurt bursts out laughing. He shakes his head, and sees her chuckling too.
âOh, well,â she sighs, gaining some composure. âIâll forgive this indiscretion, but only if you promise to let me-â
âIâm not going on a date with your son, Pam,â Kurt says, for what feels like (and potentially is) the thousandth time. He smiles to himself as he thinks of how Blaine had acted that morning, how his arms felt wrapped around Kurtâs middle, his chin propped on Kurtâs shoulder. âActually, if everything goes how I hope it will, Iâm hoping to have a boyfriend pretty soon.â
âA boyfriend?!â Pam puts a hand up to her forehead. âSay it ainât so! What will I tell my Bee? Heâll be so heartbroken!â
Kurt chuckles. âHe doesnât even know me, Pam.â
She opens her mouth to respond, but then the intercom crackles and Harmonyâs bored voice comes through. âKurt, are you ready to see Samantha Jennings? Sheâs been waiting for fifteen minutes.â
Kurt hurries over to the intercom and presses the speak button, saying, âYes, of course. Tell her Iâll be right out,â before making his way toward the door.
âWait, wait,â Pam says. Kurt pauses, hand on the doorknob, and turns toward her. She unwraps her scarf from around her neck and places it around Kurtâs instead. âThe great cherry popper wanted people to know where youâd been last night, huh?â
Kurt fingers the fabric and smiles at her in thanks. He opens the door and, before he can forget, says, âI didnât lose my virginity last night, Pam,â before heading out into the salon.
Santana clicks her tongue as he passes her and says, âOuch, so youâre still a virgin? At your age? Thatâs rough.â
âEyes on your work, Lopez,â Kurt says, nodding toward the girl sheâs currently giving smokey eyes. The girl looks absolutely stunning, and Kurt smiles.
He moves back through the swinging doors and asks, âSamantha?â
The same girl heâd scared earlier nods and stands up, wobbling a little as she does. The man standing next to her, most likely her father, hurries to steady her. Kurt walks over to where sheâs standing and offers her his arm. She blushes a little but smiles. Sheâs a little wobbly beside him, and Kurt remembers that she just got movement back in her legs after almost a whole year of being in a wheelchair.
He leads her to his styling chair, and turns it toward her so she can sit in it easily. Once sheâs in it, he twirls it back toward the mirror and smiles at her through it.
âAlright, Samantha. Tell me. How would you like me to help you?â
The girl blushes and looks down at her lap. âOh, um. I donât know. I thought youâd just⊠know.â
He softens his smile, wanting to put the girl at ease. âIâm not talking about specifics. I mean, in general. Here, let me rephrase the question: why do you want a Pamâs Place makeover?â
Samantha keeps her eyes down and presses her lips together. Itâs a few moments before she speaks.
âOne of the girls I met in physical therapy,â she says quietly. âShe⊠she had no confidence. She used to be a gymnast, but she busted her arm, and wonât be able to compete ever again.â Her cheeks start to darken even more than they already have. âI⊠I always thought she was gorgeous, but she didnât. And then one day she came in, totally different. She wasnât even wearing that much make-up, but her hair seemed fuller, and her face was radiant. Sheâd always been pretty but she was just⊠breathtaking.â
She takes a deep breath, then says, âI want that. The⊠confidence. I havenât been taking care of myself, since my accident, but I want to start. I just⊠donât know where. She⊠she said she started here, though, so I figured that was the best place to start, too.â
Kurt smiles, then nods. âThank you, Samantha. Now I know exactly how to help you.â
âYou do?â she asks, eyes looking up in the mirror. Theyâre shining with hope, and makes Kurtâs heart melt.
âYou bet your butt,â he says. âNow, hereâs my question for you: are you okay getting your hair a little wet?â
*
Samanthaâs appointment ends up taking over an hour, but thankfully Mercedes comes in at 9:00, and she doesnât like to take pre-day appointments, so the girl Kurt was supposed to meet at 9:15 is sent her way easy as pie.
Kurt spends most of Samanthaâs appointment working on her hair. Itâs limp, greasy, and quite thin. He washes it with a hair thickening shampoo he used to use himself, and recommends she buy a couple of bottles of it. âYou can get it from our boutique, but between you and me, Amazon has them for half the price,â he whispers as he lathers her hair, earning a giggle from the girl.
One wash doesnât revert the damage that a year of neglect has done, but at least it gets rid of most of the grease. Before he blow-dries it, he looks her over and asks, âDo you want a cut? Itâll make it far more manageable.â
She runs a hand over her hair and frowns. âYou think I can pull it off? My face is kind of⊠round.â
âHoney, you can definitely pull it off. But, if youâre uncertain, I wonât do it. This is about giving you confidence, remember? Not doing whatever Kurt wants.â
She stares at her reflection in the mirror for a few minutes, then nods. âOkay. Cut it. But just⊠no shorter than shoulder length.â
He grins. âI promise.â
After the cut, he blow-dries her hair and styles it with a light mousse that just helps keep her natural curls a little under control. He canât even believe her hair is as curly as it is â he never would have expected it, from how sheâd looked when she arrived. He tells her the mousse brand, informs her that they sell it at the boutique, âBut, againâŠâ
âRight,â she nods when he winks a second time.
Finally, he shows her some quick make-up tricks. Simple things, just to brighten her complexion a bit. He also shows her the easiest way to do her eyeliner.
By the time heâs done, she looks completely transformed. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. She hasnât stopped smiling since he snipped her hair, and it makes her entire face glow.
âThere,â he says, ruffling her hair a bit. âNow you're bound to blow that physical therapy girlâs mind just as much as she blew yours.â
She blushes and stands slowly. Sheâs still wobbly on her feet, a makeover isnât going to change that, but she stands taller. And when he holds his arm out to help her back to her dad, she pulls him in for a tight hug.
âThank you so much, Kurt,â she says. âIâm⊠Iâm so glad she told me about this place.â
He hugs her back briefly, then delivers her safe and sound to her dad, who she hugs as well. Her dad mouths a âthank youâ over her shoulder, and then leads her over to Harmonyâs desk.
Kurt waves goodbye, then tells Harmony that heâll be out in five minutes for his next appointment, which just makes her roll her eyes and grumble about how he never wears an earpiece.
Pam is already by his chair, wiping off the top, where a bit of mousse remains. âYou gotta stop telling people about Amazon, Kurt,â she chides, though Kurt can tell she doesnât mean it. âYouâre going to put me out of business.â
âSorry, Pam,â he says, smiling. She knows he only does it for the young girls, though. Especially the nice ones.
Of course, they rarely get rude clients, but every now and again a sour grape pops up. Kurt would never mention Amazon to those customers. In fact, those customers are often under the impression that much of what is sold at Pamâs Place is exclusively sold at Pamâs Place. Heâd deny it if you asked, though.
âYeah, yeah,â she waves a hand as she walks away. âGet your chair clean.â
He chuckles as she goes and gets to work cleaning his chair. It used to take him a good fifteen minutes to disinfect the whole thing, but heâs gotten pretty good at it in his year and a half at Pamâs Place. He sanitizes it quickly, then sprays some of his special made lavender concoction (itâs just water with essential lavender oil, but he isnât about to tell his co-workers that) over the chair to rid it of the alcohol smell.
Most of their clients spend most of their time in hospitals. The last thing he wants is for them to be reminded of the hospital smell while theyâre getting dolled up.
When heâs done, he heads back out to the front of the boutique and asks Harmony who his next client is. She nods her head toward a young, bald man sitting in the waiting area, and Kurt nods. âTrevor, right?â he asks, hoping that wasnât the name of the appointment Mercedes took. The man nods, and Kurt grins. âCome with me, good sir.â
*
He has five more clients before lunch time rolls around; two want to learn how to dress to fit their new, much smaller frames, one wants to draw attention away from how much weight her medication has made her gain (Mercedes helps him with this one, and by the time the girl leaves, a bunch of new clothes wrapped up in gorgeous Pamâs Place bags on her arm, and a brand new haircut to boot, he knows she wonât be worrying about gaining weight again for a while), and two want to find ways to draw attention away from their oxygen tubes.
The time flies, and not for the first time Kurt is so grateful that he gets to do what he loves for a living.
âIâm heading off to lunch,â he tells Harmony as his last client checks out with her. âI shouldnât have another client until at least 1:30.â
âWhatever,â Harmony says, swiping the clientâs credit card through the machine. Kurt shakes his head and heads back into the salon.
âYo, Hummel,â Santana says, leaning over her chair, alcohol rub in hand. âDonât think I didnât notice that youâre wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Sans fabulous jacket.â
Mercedes cat-calls from where sheâs curling a young girlâs hair, and the young girl chuckles.
âIs that why you were so late this morning?â Santana continues, waggling her eyebrows.
Kurt rolls his eyes. âIf you must know, I was with a friend last night, and decided to sleep at his house instead of going home because it was late. I just⊠forgot that he lives like, an hour away from here.â
Santana snorts. âLame.â
âWell, I donât buy it,â Mercedes says. âI know that scarf youâre wearing is Pamâs. What exactly are you hiding under it?â
This time Santana cat-calls, and honestly, Kurt just wants to fall into the ground and die. Thank god Elliott has the day off today; heâd never let Kurt live this down.
âYou two are eating into my lunch,â he says, heading to the back, leaving Mercedes and Santana cackling behind him.
Pam is clicking away on the computer when he walks in, and she glances over at him. âHey, baby,â she says. âLunch time already?â
âIâm actually late, believe it or not. On account of --â
âBeing late this morning?â she asks, and Kurt blushes.
âYeah, that.â
âGo figure,â she teases. He chuckles and heads to his locker, twisting the dial to the numbers heâs had memorized for a year in a half. âHey, by the way,â she says when he pulls the locker open, âWould you mind working a little bit late next Friday? Just until six. Elliott has a wedding, and Sebastian wonât be back from his vacation until Sunday.â
Kurt nods, grabbing his wallet and his phone, leaving his keys in the locker as he shuts it. âYeah, I can do that.â
âYouâre a doll. Thatâs why youâre my favourite.â
âNo,â he says, leaning over her chair, âIâm your favourite because when I go to the deli across the street for lunch I always bring you one of those avocado smoothies you adore.â
âOh, that, too,â she says, bopping him on the nose. âYou sure youâre getting a boyfriend soon? I would really, really like having you as a son-in-law.â
âI know you would,â he says, kissing her cheek. âTell you what. If it doesnât work out with my guy, Iâll let you set me up with your Bee.â
She jumps out of her chair so fast she almost knocks him over. âReally?!â
He nods. âCross my heart. But only,â he puts his finger up, âif it doesnât work out with my guy. Okay? Donât make any plans just yet.â
âI wonât, I swear. But oh my gosh, Kurt, this is so exciting! You have to text me when you know, okay? I wonât be able to wait till Monday.â
âYou are way too excited about the possibility of me sleeping with your son,â he teases her.
âOh, hush you,â she says, smacking his shoulder. âI told you, my Bee hasnât even touched a man as far as Iâm concerned. Iâm setting him up with you because I know you wonât corrupt him.â
Kurt snorts, thinking of his recent evening with Blaine. âYeah, right.â
âJust let me live my fantasy, darling,â she says, waving him off. âGo, go. Youâre wasting your lunch.â
He hurries out, ignoring the way Santana and Mercedes catcall him as he goes. He gives Harmony a little wave, but she, of course, ignores him.
The line at the deli across the street isnât too bad today, and it isnât long before heâs waiting to pick up his food, browsing through his emails on his phone.
His phone vibrates in his hand, and a drop-down notification informs him that he has a new text and image from Blaine Anderson.
He bites down on his bottom lip, heart fluttering in his chest. He doesnât know what it is about Blaine, but he makes him feel like a teenager all over again. Of course, he never had a relationship anywhere near as sexual as the one he has with Blaine when he was a teenager, but the point still stands.
He opens the message and his eyes widen at what greets him. Itâs a picture of Blaine, his face barely in the shot, sitting on his bed wearing Kurtâs jacket and nothing else.
The message says Thinking of wearing this to school today. What do you think? Is it my color?
Kurtâs name is called out, and Kurt hurries to put his phone away, uncomfortably aware that his cock is now semi-hard in his pants. He picks up his order and hurries back to the boutique, speed walking through it to get to the back room.
He drops his food on the small staff table in the corner of room, then himself into one of the two chairs by it. He glances up at Pam, who is still glued to her computer, then allows himself to pull his phone out again.
He canât believe that Blaine sent him a goddamn dick pic. Well, slightly more than that, but still. At 12:30 in the afternoon. A dick pic.
He bites down on his bottom lip, trying to think of a witty response. Finally, he settles on The jacket works, but donât you think your hard cock will be distracting for some of your students?
Within seconds he has another message with another image. He canât see Blaineâs face in this one, but he can definitely still see his jacket, and he can still see the bare chest and stomach beneath that jacket, both now streaked with come.
Not so hard anymore.
Kurtâs cock twitches, and he glances over to Pam again. He needs to put an end to this, much as heâs loathe to do so.
I know you did not jack off while wearing my Alexander McQueen. I know you didnât Blaine.
Blaineâs response comes soon, and Kurt curses himself for not being chastising enough.
What if I did? What are you going to do? You going to⊠punish me?
Kurt shakes his head. The man is incorrigible.
Blaine! My boss is in the room with me! Stop turning me on!
It takes a little longer for the reply to come through, so Kurt takes the opportunity to unpack his sandwich and fries.
Sorry :( Hope I didnât get you in trouble ;) Iâm still wearing your jacket to school today, though.
Kurt smiles, heart back to fluttering in his chest like a high school student with a crush.
Speaking of school, shouldnât you be getting ready for that? Donât your office hours start at 1:30?
The response is immediate.
Donât remind me :( Iâd rather stay in bed all day thinking of you :( See you at five!
Kurt chuckles and replies in tandem, then finally puts his phone down and starts digging into his food.
He really, really hopes he isnât overthinking this. He and Blaine have always been flirty, even though they made it very clear after their second night together that it was just supposed to be sex. Sex with the benefit of casual friendship. Still, it feels like lately itâs been turned up an extra notch, and now with Blaine acting all domestic in the morning, calling him on a work night, wearing Kurtâs clothes to workâŠ
Kurtâs left clothes at Blaineâs apartment several times. Heâs never worn them to work before.
God, he hopes. Heâs been pining for Blaine for months. He doesnât even know when it started. All he knows is one day he was riding Blaineâs cock, smiling down at him as he moved, and he just thought I could so easily fall in love with you. Heâs been struggling not to actually do so since.
He hasnât been very successful in his struggle.
âWhatâs got you so smiley over here?â Pam asks, picking her smoothie out from the carry-out tray. She falls into the chair opposite Kurt as he shrugs.
âOh, nothing. Just⊠I have a good feeling about tonight.â
She hums. âYour guy?â
He nods. âI know you were really hoping Iâd get with your son, but-â
âHoney, thatâs always been a pipe dream and we both know it,â she winks as she takes a sip of her smoothie. âTell me about him.â
Kurt grins. âI donât even know where to start.â
âStart at the beginning,â she says, reaching over and stealing a fry. âWhen did you meet?â
Kurtâs smile softens as he remembers the first time he saw Blaine. âIt was actually the night you hired me,â he says. âThis is basically my dream job, so obviously getting it was cause for celebration. My friends and I went dancing.â
She raises an eyebrow. âYou met at a club? Kurt Hummel, you minx!â
He blushes, and she chuckles. âHe was just⊠I donât know. I donât normally do that. Go home with guys. I like relationships. But there was something about himâŠâ He can still see him so clearly in his mind. Hands above his head, hips swinging wildly, hazel eyes dancing under the strobe lights in the club. They danced for hours, and it was only after they both admitted they were completely sober that Kurt gathered the courage to ask Blaine to take him home.
He clears his throat. âWe had such a great connection, you know? I asked for his number, and he gave it to me, which basically blew my mind. And then we texted for a while, which led to my asking him to come over one day and⊠I donât know.â He shrugs again. âI feel so reckless around him; you know? Like anything is possible.
âItâs just been sex for a long time, but Iâm ready for it to be more, and I think he is, too. Weâve been flirting a lot more lately, and this morning he was so cuddly with me in a way he rarely is. We have boundaries, you know? For both our sakes. But those are coming down and Iâm so, so excited,â he grins. âSorry for rambling, Iâm just so happy.â
âWhy would you apologize for rambling when I asked you to ramble?â she says, swatting at his arm, with a smile. âItâs obvious you really like him.â
âYeah,â Kurt says, breathless. âIâve been driving Rachel crazy for months.â
Pam laughs, swiping another fry. Kurt finally manages to take a bite of his sandwich. âSo, whatâs his name?â
âOh, itâs Bl ââ
âKnock, knock!â A male voice sounds as someone actually knocks on the backroom door. âI come bearing lunch!â
A small Filipino man walks into the room, carrying a McDonaldâs take-out bag and carry-out tray. Pam hurries to stand and goes to him, greeting him with a quick kiss on the lips.
âHey, darling,â she says. Then turning to Kurt, âJohn Mark, you remember Kurt, right?â
âYour favourite employee,â John Mark says, which makes Kurt blush. The man rarely comes to visit, as he works at a very high-level, very high-stress law firm a few blocks down. Still, whenever he can join his wife for lunch, he does.
âAnd youâre her favorite husband, right?â Kurt replies, making both of them laugh.
âOnly husband, I hope,â John Mark says. He turns to Pam, âDo you want to eat here, or do you want to go to the plaza down the way?â
âLetâs go to the plaza,â she says instantly. She turns back to Kurt and points a finger. âDonât think our conversation is over.â
âI wouldnât dream of it,â he says, chuckling. She nods, then follows her husband â who gives Kurt an awkward wave goodbye with the hand holding the take-out bag â out the door.
Kurt smiles as they go.
He can only hope to one day have a marriage as strong as theirs.
His phone vibrates on the table, and he sees itâs another text from Blaine, with yet another attached image.
In this one Blaine is fully dressed, though still wearing the jacket. Heâs paired it with a pale yellow bowtie and a white polo. His usual style, with a bit of flair thrown in. He looks delicious.
Thoughts?
Kurt quickly types out Iâm thinking Iâm real glad you arenât my teacher, because I would not be able to keep my hands off of you even if you were.
It isnât long before Blaine responds.
I canât wait for you to get here tonight.
Kurt grins and texts back with an incredibly genuine Me neither, Blaine. Me neither.
*
The rest of Kurtâs shift flies by. He helps a woman who has just received word that her chemotherapy has worked find the perfect wig, as well as the perfect eyeliner to match it. A recovering anorexic allows him to dress her in clothes that arenât four sizes too big, while still not being extremely tight, and he watches as her mom bursts into tears when the girl looks at herself in the mirror and says, âMom, I look good today.â
His last client is someone with about seven $100 gift certificates to the boutique, more than any Kurt has ever seen. Apparently they were all she asked for for Christmas, in hopes that the giant brain tumour that was literally destroying her body would soon be gone. Sheâd saved them until now, two weeks after her surgery. It feels over, to her, and sheâs ready to move on.
Kurt helps her find several wigs that suit her complexion. He also shows her how to do her make-up five different ways, and each one makes her smile even wider than the last. Then, after thatâs done, he helps her choose three entirely new outfits from their boutique, all of which she claims make her feel like a movie star.
She is very careful not to go over her budget (as large as it may be), and when sheâs done she gives Kurt a big hug, thanking him for making this the best experience she could have imagined.
âItâs like the tumor was never there at all,â she says, tears in her eyes.
Itâs four oâclock by the time she leaves, so Kurt sanitizes his chair as quickly as possible. The final Friday sanitizing is less important than most others, seeing as they always give their chairs an extra good scrub on Monday mornings, to get rid of the weekend dust.
âHeading home?â Mercedes asks, from where sheâs sanitizing her own chair.
âUnless Pam needs me to stay later. I was almost an hour late this morning, after all. It would only be fair.â
âNonsense,â Pam says, leaning against the open door to the backroom. âYou worked your butt off today. Get out of here. Go get your man.â
Kurt grins and hurries to comply.
He loves his job; oh, how he loves his job. But today, heâs definitely ready to not be there anymore.
*
Itâs a little after five by the time he reaches Blaineâs apartment. Heâd managed to catch the number 5 subway this time, which made the trip a lot easier than the one he endured this morning. His stomach flips as he rings Blaineâs buzzer, hoping against hope that tonight is going to go the way he wants it to.
And if not, hey, he always has Pamâs son to fall back on. Whoever he may be.
Blaine buzzes him in, and Kurt hurries up the two flights of stairs to the second floor, then speedwalks down the hallway.
He knocks on Blaineâs door, which opens immediately. Strong hands pull him in, and Blaine desperately says, âFinally,â before he pulls Kurt down into one of the most passionate kisses heâs ever experienced.
Kurt grins into the kiss, kissing back in an instant. âMissed me today?â he teases, nipping on Blaineâs bottom lip.
âYour jacket smelt like you,â Blaine groans. âI was half-hard all day.â
Kurt raises an eyebrow. âEven after you inappropriately touched yourself while wearing it?â
Blaine pulls back, grinning wickedly. âYou really are going to punish me for that, arenât you?â
Kurt presses his lips together. He wants to. God, he wants to. He wants to drag Blaine to his bedroom and fuck him six ways till Sunday. Heâs been aching for it since he got those stupid pictures.
âActually,â he says instead. âI have something I want to talk to you about.â
âReally? Well, color me intrigued,â Blaine says, taking Kurtâs hand. âCan it wait until after the sex Iâve been waiting all day for?â
Kurt shakes his head. âUm, no. I think it would be better if we talked first.â
They sit down on Blaineâs couch, facing each other. Blaine sucks on his bottom lip, in the way he knows drives Kurt absolutely crazy, but he does his best to ignore it.
Kurt clears his throat and says, âOkay, so, um. The thing isâŠâ he glances at Blaine, who is staring at him with those stupid wide eyes. God, heâs so close to being in love with this man. âWhat I wanted to sayâŠâ He canât find the right words. He groans and rubs a hand over his face.
âOkay,â he says. âSo, my boss has been trying to set me up with her son for like, a year.â
Blaineâs face morphs into some kind of mix between amusement and confusion. âWhat?â
âSheâs like, obsessed with the idea that weâre soulmates. I donât know why; sheâs never even shown me a picture of the guy. I donât even know his name, just this adorable nickname that she calls him.â
âOkay?â Blaine asks. âWhy was it so important for you to tell me this before sex?â
âBecause I â Iâve said no. Every time. Not because I donât like my boss, or anything, because sheâs actually the best boss in the world.â He takes a deep breath, then reaches out and takes Blaineâs hand. âI said no because I like you. I didnât realize it at first, but a few months ago something switched andâŠâ he stares down at their hands, how they fit so perfectly together. âAnd I know Iâm totally crossing like, every boundary we have, but lately I feel likeâŠâ He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. âLike maybe something has switched for you, too?â
Blaine is silent for a few moments, then quietly says, âKurt, what are you saying?â
Kurt squeezes their linked hands. âIâm saying that⊠that I like you. A lot. In a more than sexual, more than friendly way.â He opens his eyes and raises them to meet Blaineâs. âI want to be with you, Blaine. For real. I want to take you out on dates. I want to pick you up after school and go for long walks around Central Park. I want to meet your friends, and family. I want you to meet mine. I want ââ
Blaine interrupts him by grabbing his face and pulling him in for a kiss that is far sweeter than Kurt could have expected.
âYes,â Blaine whispers against his mouth.
âYes?â Kurt double checks.
Blaine nods. âYes, yes to all of it.â
âSo you want to ââ
âYes.â
âOh, my god,â Kurt pulls him in for another kiss, heart swelling with joy. âBe my boyfriend?â
âI thought I already said yes,â Blaine teases, then pulls Kurt into yet another kiss.
They make out lazily on the couch for a few minutes, and Kurt feels so happy he could burst. Blaine said yes. Blaine wants him. Blaine isnât just Friends-With-Benefits-That-All-Kurtâs-Friendâs-Tease-Him-About-Blaine. Heâs Kurtâs boyfriend.
Oh, god, he canât wait to rub this in Rachelâs face.
âThis was so much suave than what I had planned,â Blaine whispers in between kisses. âI was going to wait until you were too fucked out to deny me anything.â
Kurt bursts out laughing, and he hears Blaine laughing as well. He rubs his thumb over Blaineâs cheek. âRomantic.â
âI can be when I try,â Blaine says. âI just didnât want to risk it, you know? I needed a guaranteed yes.â
âYouâve had it since the day we met,â Kurt admits, then kisses him again.
Heâs about to suggest moving to the bedroom when the buzzer rings. Blaine groans, breaking the kiss but not pulling away.
âMaybe theyâll go away?â he whispers.
No such luck. Less than ten seconds later the buzzer rings again.
Blaine groans and gets off the couch. Heâs hard in his pants, and Kurt bites down on his bottom lip as he watches him go. Watches Blaine go. His boyfriend.
God, he really is just like a teenager.
Blaine presses the speak button on the intercom and asks, âWho is this?â
âBlaine, itâs your father. Can I come up, please?â
Blaine releases the button and lets out a loud groan. âCrap,â he mumbles. âDo you mind?â he asks, turning to Kurt.
Kurt smiles, shaking his head. âPlease. Iâd love to meet him.â
âNot moving too fast?â
âWeâve been sleeping together for over a year, Blaine. I donât think anything is too fast at this point.â
Blaine grins, and then the buzzer rings out again. Blaine rolls his eyes and presses the button to allow his father in. âHeâs unbelievable,â he says, shaking his head.
âI know someone like that,â Kurt teases, which makes Blaine chuckle.
Blaine opens his door and leans out of it. Heâs quiet for a few seconds and then, after Kurt hears the sound of the stairwell door opening, he calls out, âWhatâs up, dad?â
âYour mother and I are just on our way to dinner at Olive Garden,â comes an echo-y, somewhat familiar voice from the hallway. Kurt frowns. Has he heard that voice before? Has he met Blaineâs father? âYour place is on our way, and I figured Iâd just drop by and return this book to you.â
âWhy didnât you text me? I sort of have company over.â
The man chuckles, voice much closer now. âDonât tell your mother. Sheâs still convinced youâve never even touched a man.â
Kurtâs eyes widen.
âWell, Iâm almost thirty, so itâs really not my fault if that particular bubble gets burst,â Blaine says. âWhere is mom, anyway?â
He opens the door wider and his father walks in, a man about Blaineâs height, wearing a crisp suit, carrying a hardcover book in his hands. âSheâs waiting downstairs. She figured weâd be more likely to stay on our course for the evening if she didnât come up.â
Kurt canât believe it. He does know Blaineâs dad. Not well, not well at all, but he knows him. Not only that, but he saw him, today.
âOh, my god,â Kurt says, making both Blaine and John Mark turn toward him.
âGod, where are my manners,â Blaine says. âDad, this is ââ
âKurt!â John Mark says. He looks surprised for a moment, but it instantly turns into a far too happy smirk. âWait. Youâre our Bumble Beeâs Kurt?â
âKurtâs my boyfriend,â Blaine says, glancing between them. âDo you guys⊠know each other?â
âYour momâs my boss,â Kurt breathes out. He stares up at Blaine, eyes wide with shock.
âWhat?!â
âOh, Pamela is going to be so happy. She just knew you two would get along, she knew it!â John Mark grins, then places the book on Blaineâs dinner table and says, âI canât keep this from her. Iâm going to go get her.â
With that heâs gone, and Kurt is left still staring with wide-eyed shock, unable to believe this is happening.
âYour boss is my mom?â Blaine asks slowly. âYou work at Pamâs Place? Youâre the Kurt she always wants to set me up with?â
âI canât believe this,â Kurt says, rubbing a hand over his face. âThis isâŠâ his face falls. âBlaine,â he hisses. âI just spent most of my lunch break telling your mom about how weâve been having casual sex for over a year.â
âWhat?!â Blaine practically shouts. âWhy would you tell my mom that?!â
âHow was I supposed to know she was your mom! She only ever calls you âBeeâ or âBumble Beeâ!â
They stare at each other for several moments, until the utter ridiculousness of the situation seems to catch up with both of them and they burst out laughing at the exact same time.
ïżœïżœïżœI canât believe your mom has been trying to set us up for as long as weâve known each other,â Kurt says between breaths.
âI canât believe I kept telling my mom that I couldnât go out with her Kurt because I was too busy trying to win over my Kurt,â Blaine replies, smile so wide it might just split his face in half. âOh, my god, Kurt. This is⊠Itâs crazy!â
Kurtâs laughter dies down, but his smile doesnât go away. He stands up and goes to Blaine, wrapping his arms around him tight. âItâs fate, is what it is.â
Blaine leans up to kiss him gently, whispering, âSo it would seem,â as he does.
Kurt kisses him, then pulls back and asks, âHow did you even get the nickname Bumble Bee in the first place?â
Blaine groans and hides his face in Kurtâs shoulder, which just brings the laughter back. Kurt hugs his boyfriend tight, still absolutely giddy at being able to call him that.
The door to the stairwell slams open, and Blaine just huddles in closer. Within seconds the hurried footsteps have reached them and Pamâs voice calls out through the apartment, âI knew they would be perfect together!â
Kurt laughs some more, then pushes Blaine away a little, though just enough so he can put an arm around Blaineâs waist. His face becomes faux-serious as he turns toward his boss and says, âPam,â as steadily as he can. âIâve re-considered your offer, and have decided that maybe I wouldnât mind being set up with your son after all.â
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Star Wars: Aftermath: Empireâs End by Chuck Wendig
Ragnell: So over the past two weeks we finished up the Aftermath trilogy with Empireâs End and now we are totally up to date on the state of the Star Wars universe one-year post-RotJ as pertains to everyone but Luke Skywalker.
And Ezra Bridger, and Kanan Jarrus, and Ahsoka Tano or really any of the animated-verse Jedi or Sith and any of the EU Jedi or Sith like Mara Jade who still might exist in some way.
But for the soldiers and scoundrels and surviving Imperials we have a status quo for about 29 years. We also know what happens to the core characters from the first Aftermath book which is honestly (and impressively, considering how little patience I have for original SW characters) what we read this thing for anyway. (As usual, I pretty much spoil everything in this recap below.)
So we open with several threads going on. Gallius Rax is flashing back to his Tuesdays with Palpatine excerpts, and gathering the pathetic remnants of the Imperial Navy on Jakku. Because Palpatine had a big secret project there, of which Gallius was an integral part. So integral that Palpatine appoints Gallius Rax as The Contingency which we can immediately tell will be a great pain in the ass to the whole galaxy.
Norra and Company are hunting down Mercurial Swift, so they can track down Rae Sloane. Temmin is annoyed heâs always stuck on getaway driver duty. The bounties on Jas from her old bosses are mounting. Sinjir is still having his career regrets, which are worsened by the fact that without Luke Skywalker around to point out sensible things like âI donât think thatâs good for the soulâ, Sinjir basically still has to do the same job only for Norra. And Norra has entered Terminator Revenge mode, which is basically what has her asking Sinjir to do the same job and limiting Temmin to getaway driver duty. This is generally what everyone has to work past the entire story. They find out Rae Sloane is on Jakku and follow.
Surprise surprise, the pathetic in comparison to its former glory but still a really really lot of ships remnants of the Imperial Navy are there. This leads the good guys to split up, with Norra and Jas taking an escape pod to the surface because Norraâs in revenge mode (followed by Mr. Bones because Temmin is worried about his mother) and Temmin and Sinjir to go back to Chandrila to get embroiled in the political plot.
Kalinara: I actually thought Norra in revenge mode was one of the weaker parts of the story, unfortunately. Itâs understandable that sheâd be conflicted and angry, but there were points where she just seemed cartoonishly irrational. Norra was my favorite in the previous books, but I wasnât as big a fan of her here.
R: Mon Mothma is facing a election challenge from the appropriately named Senator Wartol, a hardline warhawk who accuses her of weakness that led to the Liberation Day attack last book. Long story short, her challenger is a corrupt asshole who has criminal ties and uses them to rig a vote to actually PREVENT attacking Jakku so that he can say he voted for it but sheâs a shit Chancellor for not even being able to put this together. Sinjir teams up with the Organa-Solo family and his ex-boyfriend Conder to resolve this. He does so well that Mon Mothma offers him a job as her aide, which resolves his career path crisis, enables him to skip the Jakku attack and settle down happily with Conder.
K:: Howâs that for one of the first, explicitly gay characters in Star Wars? He and his boyfriend both get to live, AND get a happy ending to boot!
R: Temmin spends his time pestering Wedge Antilles to put him on a ship and send him to Jakku. Wedge, after last bookâs mini-rebellion, isnât even allowed to go himself and is stuck being an expeditor in the hangers. After several guilt-trips, Wedge finally relents and puts together the same group of outcasts from last book to sneak, unauthorized, into the battle and lets the 16 year old join them because Wedge Antilles has spent way too much time with Luke, Leia, and Han over the last 5 years.
Temminâs been wanting to go back to Jakku, of course, because thatâs where his mother, his droid and his.. Jas have been. Both Jas and Norra got captured by Niima the Hutt, who is horrible even as Hutts go. Norra was on some work-detail where Mr Bones the droid broke her out. Jas got to pull ever-increasing acts of badassery to avoid being taken in for her bounty, steal Swiftâs ship AND steal Swiftâs crew.
Also in Niimaâs area, Rae Sloane and Brentin Wexley, who convince her to lead them to the Imperial Secret Squirrel place where they are promptly captured and forced to witness a ridiculous speech by Gallius Rax. Sloane undergoes some of her own career angst while Brentin actually manages to get them both free. They proceed to try to fuck up Gallius Raxâs mysterious plan, and go into the Imperial Secret Squirrel place.
While in there, Norra catches up to them and they all find out that due to an overly emphatic chess metaphor Gallius Rax has activated a weapon in the core of Jakku that will destroy the whole planet and both fleets. Heâs also sent the Huxes off with a bunch of children to outside the Galaxy to meet other ships with imperials and children, and the Eclipse, so that Palpatine can continue to vex the Galaxy from beyond the grave. On the bright side he kills Tashu, who was actually such a dick I was hoping theyâd save him for the Jedi to kill in a later story.
Norra, Brentin, and Rae have a great deal of emotional interaction about trust and distrust, and a rather kickass three-against-one fight with Gallius in between trying to shut down the weapon. Brentin gets through all the defenses but stops to save Norra and gets killed. Rae actually turns down the weapon while Norra, feeling that her trust of Sloane was justified, drags her husbandâs body out for burial. Rae then boards a ship with the Huxes and a bunch of feral brainwashed proto-Stormtroopers for the Eclipse, because she is not actually finished being evil yet.
K:: I was surprised by how much I liked Brentin, in particular, in this book. He was more plot point than character last time (even if he was a helpful juxtaposition against all those âno, Kylo is BRAINWASHED!â justifications), but here, we got to see more of who he is as a man. I was rather disappointed they killed him off. I might have liked the novelty of Norra and Brentin going through an amiable divorce.
Sloane was pretty great too. And for all of my complaints about Norra previously, she and Sloane had such a great dynamic once they finally met up. And Iâm thrilled at the idea that we might see her again.
R: Wartol is arrested because he tries to kill Mon Mothma, but really only manages to destroy her office and kill the advisor who hadnât been fleshed out until this book so we could feel bad about her. Mas Amedda manages to escape Coruscant and sign a surrender treaty. Leia attends the signing, during labor (because kid, you are gonna have to wait until galactic peace gawddammit) and thus manages to freak out her husband, attain galactic peace AND have a baby. Nothing in this book manages to excuse Kylo Renâs horrible horrible crimes, and in fact knowing whatâs coming you kind of cringe at one scene. Wedge Antilles and the Wexleys all go to the new pilot academy. Jas sets up shop with the crew she stole from Swift, and grieves Jom who went to Jakku to find her and was killed in the battle. Sinjir settles down with his new career and Conder.
K: Seriously. I didnât see anything that remotely indicated any âmind control from birthâ or whatever nonsense. It isnât even clear that Snoke EXISTS at this point in time. Any passage that could even be remotely stretched to mean some kind of fetus communication actually has a clear explanation in the text itself.
R: Actually, every character that we might have speculated would BE Snoke was specifically killed off
For the rest of the Galaxy, Chewbacca finds his son. Lando Calrissian regains his rightful place as Baron Administrator of Cloud City (which I believe is a 4-point Freehold if youâre tracking SW characters with White Wolf rules). Jar Jar Binks makes a friend and lives out the rest of his days entertaining orphans and avoiding politics. Coruscant ends up run by Mas Amedda anyway, but technically part of the New Republic. The Sith-worshipping Acolyte group from the Interludes was revealed to be sponsored by Tashu and dedicates itself to causing shit across the Galaxy and will almost certainly factor into the Jedi storyline. A charismatic leader, Brin, forms the Church of the Force which we already know factors into the Jedi storyline. Itâs revealed that there are facilities known as Observatories, set up by Palpatine, that have been receiving data from outside the known galaxy all over the galaxy and not just on Jakku and thatâs probably going to come into play somewhere too. The crazy pirate who found a Super Star Destroyer Dreadnought last book has cobbled together a functioning society of pirates around the ship. The residents of Tattooine have decided to just raise their own damned Hutt, Borgo, from childhood so they can have one whoâs more compassionate than Jabba was. Luke is stated to be looking for old Jedi stuff.
That was a long recap, but one of the most tantalizing aspects of this trilogy is finding out just what the status quo in the Galaxy was after they finally wiped the bloated corpse of the Empireâs bureaucracy off of the map and got their new government underway. In general, itâs pretty satisfying. You follow your six Republic heroes, with some of the named characters from the movies as supporting cast, and your two main Imperials and their support, and get kind of a view of the rest of the universe. In a couple of places, these interludes tie into the main climax but others are just epilogues for the locations in the movies or tantalizing threads for when we find out what Luke has been up to.
K: I admit, thatâs what Iâm waiting for most. This was a fun side trek, but where is my favorite character, damnit?
R: Iâm hoping we get another trilogy explaining this after The Last Jedi premieres. Or itâs the focus of the next animated series. Ezra seems custom-made to work as a foil for Luke, and Ahsoka was written out in a way that places her in safe-keeping until after RotJ.
One thing I found myself thinking from this last book, though, is that I feel better about The Force Awakens. I know a few OT fans who were very upset about everything Luke and Leia lost in the prelude to that movie and during it. I know a couple I saw who commented that they didnât think Lukeâs actions in RotJ were even that big an effect, since the Death Star was destroyed anyway. The view of the galaxy as seen in this trilogy, PARTICULARLY Jakku as compared to what we saw in the movie, changes that. You get the impression that even though there are still darksiders active, that a remnant of the Empire has left to regroup, that thereâs still corruption and pirates and bullies and innocent people languishing in extreme poverty and hardship⊠that thereâs still been a lasting improvement directly attributable to the actions of the heroes in the movies and the heroes in these books. Jakku at Reyâs time is actually a less horrible place than seen in this book. Many of the locations from the movies show people taking action and spreading hope. The remains of the Empire are the Emperorâs last middle finger to the Galaxy, and even after thirty years of gaining strength are still not the relentless, overwhelming presence in everyoneâs life they were in Rogue One. The Galaxy was not instantly fixed, and much of the progress was wiped away, but thereâs still a lot to hold onto. They came a long way between RotJ and TFA.
Thereâs really only one disappointment about this book. Tashuâs death. I joked above, but in the first book of this trilogy his main role is torturing a captive Wedge Antilles. The fallout from this is more realistic than you usually see in action-adventure fiction, where Wedge is still recovering throughout the second book both physically and emotionally. Theyâre unclear on whether heâs still using a cane this book or not, but either way itâs a long-term lingering impairment. He gets to staredown and work a little on his rage at Sloane last book, but he is never shown confronting Tashu. Heâs never in the same room as the villain who put him through all of that. Tashu also never has a greater impact on any other main characters either from just this trilogy or the movies, meaning this villain was specific to one major hero and had a huge impact on that heroâs life and role in a story that covers at least half a year. Tashu isnât saved for a later book or confrontation, he gets offed by Gallius and thatâs a bit of a bummer.
#The Secret Origin of Snap Wexley: Resistance Pilot 3#State of the Galaxy#Missing: Luke Skywalker If Found Please Return to Grateful Fandom#A Happy Ending for the Gay Guy#All the het couples are kinda screwed#Even that one because you can see it coming#Hux was always a little douche#There is no justification for patricide#Lots of Dark Side Activity for Jedi to deal with#Politics is a bloodsport#The Evil is coming from OUTSIDE the Galaxy!#The Evil is also coming from INSIDE the Galaxy!#Palpatine was a sore loser#Star Wars#Aftermath: Empire's End#A Disney Prince(ss) in Space#Chuck Wendig#Ragnell's Pick
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