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five-wow · 5 years

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10.19!!! watched it, had thoughts about it, wrote them down. the usual under the cut.

there is a random man in steve’s kitchen (is it the helicopter guy? i... don’t know him well enough to be sure but i am genuinely unsure who else it would be) wearing a “seals do it better” apron while he’s cooking and talking to junior about how this recipe helped him “seal the deal” with the love of his life. okay, random man. you’re not acknowledging it, but you just made a seal pun, so you have my attention.

btw, for a good long moment i genuinely thought this guy might be danny in some kind of weird dream sequence future. i mean, old danny in steve’s kitchen wearing a seal-themed apron and making waffles? i wouldn’t hate it.

junior about how it’s going with tani: “it’s amazing.” okay a) YAY and THAT IS VERY CUTE and b) even so, it’s hilarious to me when random guy says “sounds like you’ve got it bad” just based on junior saying that it’s amazing while he kind of smiles vaguely. cute as it was, it wasn’t a passionate love declaration.

junior lies in bed awake at night dreaming of his thing with tani working out (and not sleeping because he’s scared it might not) and i just !! he’s a smitten mess over her and i adore it, even though his level of anxiety sounds like it’s a little detrimental for his sleep, omg.

fjdkfd we get a scene of adam and quinn who went surfing together and OF COURSE they’re standing under the beach showers as they talk because i feel like adam is literally contractually obligated to have a certain number of shower scenes each season.

tani!! gave quinn!! some surfing pointers!! let’s review: we know that tani is really great at surfing and definitely better than junior, because we had a scene once of them getting back from a surfing trip and junior was slightly pouty over it and tani was absolutely unwilling to downplay her own skill and it was Very Good, and now, in these last few episodes, tani was first present during noelani’s surfing lessons and now she’s apparently been giving quinn advice, and the idea of the h50 women hanging out? the idea of tani being supportive and sharing her knowledge? it’s all so good, ahhh. (ALSO. my mighty need for tani and kono to meet grows with each and every mention of tani’s surfing skill.)

oh my gOD i wrote that bit in brackets and hit play on the episode and IMMEDIATELY adam says that he’s used to being second best in the ocean because “my ex wife was a pro surfer, and very competitive.” YES. GOOD. LOVE THE KONO REFERENCE.

quinn gets a dramatic call from an olivia! i read an episode description, so i know that’s her ex-step daughter. i’m a little hesitant about this “btw quinn has an ex-husband” subplot, but also curious to see where they’re going with it, and quinn jumping to help out a teen girl that she still has a strong bond with is an angle of approach that could potentially be very very relevant to my interests.

cows! “moooo” say the cows, quietly, under the music. they’re not important or plot-relevant, i just like cows.

fjdkfd olivia has a Bad Dad and yes, i do want quinn to adopt her now. it could be good! she could swap tips with steve about how to let your adopted teen know they’re loved and safe and worth so much more than what their parents gave them.

tani to junior: “what, you think i didn’t have a life before i met you?” junior’s eyes: [shoot up to steve, standing right behind tani, who is junior’s mentor AND boss, making it slightly awkward to have a relationship talk right in front of him during work hours] POOR BOY (but also, yes, tani, tell him).

junior is now obsessed with the mystery of why tani is so familiar with a random rancher bar an hour away from her house, and to be honest, so am i.

tani wON A LINE DANCING COMPETITION FOUR WEEKS IN A ROW. that is the BEST solution to the mystery, my gosh.

tani: [brags about her line dancing skills and calls herself the queen] junior: “who are you?” fdjkfdjkfd junior, i don’t even know why you’re suprised that a) tani slays at something she did or b) she is utterly unapologetic about that fact.

olivia says that maybe quinn could come watch her play volleybal some time and quinn says that she’d love to but it’s complicated and don’t do that, quinn! my heart hurts now!

OKAY so olivia isn’t doing cheer this year even though she was captain the previous year and she makes up an excuse about it being because of the other girls but it’s actually about HER DAD taking the money that quinn gave her for a UNIFORM which means she probably couldn’t even try out and I HATE THIS. find your ex and kick his ass, quinn.

lou, after talking about macadamia farming: “but here’s where the story gets a littllllle... nutty.” tani, fistpumping: “nice one.” punner solidarity!! good stuff, good stuff. (though i do wonder what happened to danny’s punning streak in later seasons. anyone remember 1.14, when he joked about the head in a box? he’s lost his appreciation for this fine art and it’s a tragedy, honestly.)

quinn has enlisted adam’s help in tracking her ex (jake) down and she’s telling adam a little about how she never thought she’d fall for a guy like him but he was charming, and then she says “and olivia” and THAT’S when she really smiles, and look, PLEASE don’t let this episode end with olivia still living with her dad because will have to write fix-it fic.

quinn: “i haven’t told anybody i was married, not even steve.” that’s cool, but like, do we believe that means steve doesn’t know? if his background checks haven’t gone completely downhill in the last few years, i would assume he’s figured this out, right? (i love quinn’s “in case you haven’t noticed, i’m not really a sharer” that she adds, because it fits with her personality and it’s just nice to have a female character that’s allowed to be a little secretive about her past in a way that doesn’t feel, idk, sensationalized.)

i have seen a lot of gifs of this episode by now and they’re all of steve and danny and the horses so i’ve seen most of their very polite discussion that ensues when danny calls steve out on not asking him if he wants to ride along, but it’s still utterly glorious. grace gets mentioned, too! and the way danny ends it with “why don’t you try to keep up?” as he passes in front of steve, with steve watching him go? that is flirting. blatant flirting in front of all of their poor teammates. (at least now junior can feel a little less awkward about bringing his relationship with him on the job!)

fjdkfdjk lou’s “all this and they still go time to argue, isn’t that nice?” is A+

steve and danny, as they’re super leisurely chasing some criminals through the woods on horseback: yes, this would be a good time to make up an argument about absolutely nothing at all.

oh gosh, okay, danny says “you know i can uh, i can hear you at night” and steve’s response is “why don’t you get some earplugs?” and um. uh. it’s followed by context, i know, but come on, jfc.

“when i moved in a couple months ago” he’s just GOING for it now, omg. not “came to stay with you”, no attempt at hiding that he’s been staying with steve for literal months at this point - just. when i moved in. a couple months ago.

(i am obviously also very aware of what danny is saying about steve not sleeping and how that’s a new thing because it wasn’t like that a few months ago and steve’s evasiness about it and i am VERY WORRIED ABOUT THAT but i’m also electing to somewhat ignore it because. my god. screw that. we don’t want any of where that seems to be headed in this house.)

“i appreciate it. thank you.” this is growth and it’s good and it’s steve realizing that maybe just his quippy putdown isn’t enough of a response to danny’s genuine offer of support! (and again, we’re not thinking about reasons why he might want to think twice about how he treats danny so danny will know he’s appreciated, because there is no reason for steve to be worried about that, because nothing is going to happen.)

steve: “cuff him, danno.” DANNO. danno has returned from war!!

fjdkfd and then steve says it again in like, the next sentence he says. really cramming in those danno’s suddenly.

oh noooooo. quinn tells adam that jake could be a very good dad (which is valid! addiction is a disease and it’s good to know he wasn’t always like this to olivia, even if i don’t think it excuses what’s happening now), but then she says that jake was all the things she always wished her own dad could be and that maybe that’s why she was so drawn to him, and. okay. did not need that. h50 has a tendency to make women compare their love interests to their dads that makes me very uncomfortable. (the other big one that springs to mind is when abby and chin are courting and chin opens a car door for abby and she says something about how she always admired chivalry in her dad and she thought that died out with his generation and it’s this weird thing where she seems to be flirting by going “wink wonk you make me think of my dad” and oh my god. let’s just say it’s very much not my thing.)

steve and danny end up holed up in a cabin while seven people shoot at them and ahhh, just like old times. also just like last episode, to be honest, with the whole cabin filled with poison thing, but at least there’s no poison this time! that’s a plus!

steve’s improv involves LASSO’ING a guy i’m screaming

dude gets the drop on steve, they have an epic fight, steve HITS HIS HEAD and the dude picks up a GIANT LOG to hulksmash on steve’s head, presumably, and then danny swoops in to the rescue and!!! that’s also very much like old times!!! especially with this forest green color scheme and steve lying on the floor a little dazed it really reminds me of that episode with the girlscout troop in season 3.

(so. in this possible universe we’re not talking about where steve might be sick again and could be pacing at night because he knows or fears he’s going to die (you know the one) do you think that maybe part of why his first words to danny are “why’d you leave the cabin? that wasn’t the plan” is that he was kind of... hoping the other guy would get to finish him off? do you ever think about how steve mcgarrett, man of action, would almost definitely rather go out in a blaze of glory after taking out six guys all on his own with danny having his back, than after watching his own body slowly betray him and give out on him after losing a painful and drawn-out fight with itself?)

confused, frowny steve who almost definitely has a concussion and is also still very bloody is oddly cute, gosh. also, nincompoop! definitely one of danny’s most wonderful insults yet.

quinn gets her ex arrested and yells at him and tells him that if he doesn’t clean up his act, he’ll lose custody of his daughter, and then she drives away and she’s sobbing and trying not to and just !!!!! this was definitely the good kind of “quinn has an ex-husband” storyline, but also very painful.

the sunset scene! seen this in gifset too, but hoooo boy, it hits very differently with actual sound. (i may also have described the scene to my sister and mentioned the “probably ‘cause i figured i’d see a million more” and her immediate response was “oooh, he’s dead” and yES, that’s what i was TELLING YOU i’m worried about and also what i’m not thinking about so let’s just pretend i’m not typing these words right now.)

fdjkfdjkfd i’m sure that steve turning to danny just as he says “those are the things that you’re gonna miss the most in the end, you know” after mentioning things you see every day is just. a total coincidence. yeah. he’s totally just turning away from this sunset he was so entranced by a moment ago to look at danny’s face because he wants to stretch his neck. uh huh.

there’s banter about squirrels and it’s good and then steve says “admit it danny, you’re gonna miss this when it’s done” and that sounds very meta, omg, but it gets better when danny says “yeah, maybe, but i would never say it out loud” because that is literally a way to say it, out loud.

a very good episode!! i loved meeting olivia and learning about quinn’s background and there was some prime tani content and to top it off a lot of mcdanno in the second half, and if we just completely ignore that this episode also made my anxiety about the series finale skyrocket (which i knew it would, based on what i’d gathered of other people’s response to it, but that still didn’t accurately prepare me) it was wonderful and i liked it a lot!

#10.19 #h50 spoilers #h50 #I. DO NOT WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BE AHEAD

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rogueshipagogo · 5 years

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ppl have been asking me my opinions on space channel 5 vr... and i guess since i bought a vr headset off craigslist just so i could play it and speedrun it before work the day it came out... i should talk abt it now... i dont rly think i’ll be able to separate it into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ things i think i’m just going to do a rambly stream of consciousness bc i have a headache... but i DO have good things to say abt this game... so st.... sta stay t tune d

right off the bat, the thing i appreciate most abt this game- i like that space channel 5 vr doesnt have cash grab vibes. i Do genuinely believe that they Wanted to make this game For the people who are still obsessed with it, and that they ultimately did what they set out to do when they intended to scale certain aspects of the series up conceptually to match the way the fandom perceives it nowadays. but like i’ve said before... i’m not going to Disagree with the very common conclusion that it Needed to be longer, or at Least more intricate plot-wise. one of my fun and fresh excuses for sc5vr being as short as it is is because you arent really supposed to be playing vr games for too long anyways, its really disorienting and kinda painful, but even that doesn’t account for why so much of the game that we got is a rehash of old settings, concepts, songs, and characters. [i dont even have a problem with reusing old songs, i just think the ones they chose ended up being misleading]

for example i think it makes sense that the first report is a remake of the first games first report on the surface, it’s meant to take you back to the way the first game felt and give you an idea of what it means that the games classic scenery can be rendered in actual high quality detail now [same with the recurrence of events like encountering the space pirates in the asteroid belt/the last battle against a villain being singing to it about what it’s done wrong], but i really thought, like, report 1 was going to end up being a simulated scenario for the benefit of lou and kee’s training... which i dont think ended up being the case??? i think they really did write ‘ok here you are in the first game’s setting again, fighting the old enemies again, because... :^) ok have fun playing report 2!’

and then whats report 2... you fight another old boss from the first game... but theres Still no clear villain or motivation for anything thats happening... and there wont be until like... basically the end of the game...

like, glitter is a really cute character, but its kind of underwhelming that shes just a random citizen who was kidnapped by an entity that we NEVER LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT... like part 1 was extremely notable for being about corporate greed and corruption, part 2 honestly wasnt that political in comparison but at least made you do a think wrt purge’s motivation and his methods, and this game just has a plot device that feels like it’ll do smth but then ends up not doing anything beyond what we already learned about it from the information on its character bio before the game was out. if it turns out that cell x is actually relevant again in a future entry in the franchise and they do have a more developed concept for what cell x Is in mind, i’ll do an entire backflip, but for now its just chalked up to being the result of More Space Hijinks that dont need to be explained

ESPECIALLY WITH ALL OF THE ALLUSIONS TO CELL X BEING AN ENTITY THAT FEEDS OFF OF DANCE ENERGY... it had me thinking that there would have to be some New Method of fighting it off that didn’t just lend it more power in the process, but nah apparently just tacking on the disclaimer ‘*this dance energy is not for glitter’ is enough to turn it from smth it can consume for power into big attacks you can use to kill it... like honestly it sounds like im asking for a lot from a game that has Never made too much sense, but considering that in part 2 they could add details like ‘oh didnt you know purge can open pocket dimensions? ulala is capable of manifesting tangible dance energy and the only other person who can do that is purge???’, its not like they havent come up with weird new shit for dance energy to do within the plot before. they just didnt do it in this game fsr

like did anyone else think that cell x/glitter was going to be the result of tossing purge out into deep space and him encountering the sc5 universe’s equivalent of an eldritch alien creature, smth more bestial than morolians?? even if purge wasnt part of it, when you say ‘uh oh, this guy Eats this society’s only source of energy!!!’ i expect the stakes to get HIGH, and i want the ramifications of it to be kinda STARTLING, because blank wanted money and purge wanted to ritualistically end the world but something this near to an ecological disaster that would force an entire paradigm shift hasn’t occurred yet in the series?? its totally new!!! there’s a lot they could do with this but OH DONT WORRY ABOUT IT EVERYONE ulala knows how to make dance energy kill cell x instead of feed it she’s got this we’re good no need to investigate more into all that

i can’t explain why the game is like this. and i dont expect grounding to address it in any meaningful way either. i’m sure they’re Aware of these complaints by now- the game reviewing community has Not been kind to sc5vr specifically due to all of these shortcomings [i didnt even touch on the issues with motion sensing and how many of the games mechanics were removed in favor of smth presumably easier to program yet much less satisfying, like Secret Moves just being mini quicktime events and Turning Your Ratings Into Stars just being replaced with the standard Three Strikes You’re Out method of scoring], but the pr team still seems very enthusiastic abt the game and is still promising dlc and potentially even more games in the series after this one- heres hoping that they’ll at least take these grievances to heart and consider making the experience not only more accessible [aka it will... go back to being a rhythm game with controller input.... and not... an exclusive vr experience...], but also as immersive and detailed as the old games, with less reused plot beats. i can let some of it off the hook in this game simply because i’m aware that it began its life as a tech demo that was only supposed to be that initial first report from the first game But Happening All Around You!, but i Really dont think they could get away with doing this little to expand upon the groundwork set by the first two games again. not with the way people remember part 2 being such a vast upgrade from part 1... the bar had been set so high that this just felt like a huge backslide into something even sillier and harder to take seriously than part 1 before we had any idea what kind of staying power the franchise would have as a hallmark of sega’s quirky antics. like... this game is what i think space channel 5 looks like to people who don’t understand the appeal of the first two games. and that scares me

but i guess for the most part, aside from wishing they had done more to revitalize the setting and the lore of the sc5 universe itself, im kind of glad it didnt do a lot to change the existing storylines the characters have kinda forged for themselves- here i was stressing out that they would pull out some plot development that would utterly and drastically change the way we talked abt the series for the rest of time, but so little happened and so little was added to the bank of sc5 lore that we can kind of all just carry on as usual and keep having the same headcanons we always had.

BUT!!! there ARE a lot of cute little details here and there that make the experience feel wholesome and like i said not an utter cashgrab- like so many of the character profiles referencing previous games [all of the references to npcs in this game being relatives of the npcs of the last games made me lose it] and how often ulala changes her expressions up and looks right at you and talks to you. the new music they wrote for the game also all slaps and everyones redesigns [if they got a redesign... rip pudding] are stunning

one of the most important things they did in this game was give a nice sort of Update to every character.... for example explaining that ulala isn’t a rookie reporter any more like she was in the first 2 games, that she’s moved up to being in charge of training new channel 5 reporters, and that while pudding is still somewhat stuck on her rivalry with ulala her career isn’t stagnant either, she was just cast in a romcom series as the lead... which is really nice considering how in the past she was portrayed as somewhat of a loser with almost no remaining fans left from her idol years

and you knew i was going to bring up jaguar at some point HES ALL OVER THIS GAME AND IT LITERALLY MADE ME FEEL LIKE MY LIFE WAS WORTH POWERING THROUGH THESE LAST FEW YEARS AND ALSO LIKE IM A GENIUS FOR SPENDING SO LONG POSTING EVERY SINGLE DAY ‘NO REALLY, HE’S THE SECONDARY PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY, ITS ABOUT CHANNEL 5 AS A COMPANY AND THEIR IMPACT ON EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER ENCOUNTERED THEM AND THAT INCLUDES JAGUAR AS WELL AS ULALA HES INTEGRAL TO THE PLOT BC SHE WOULDNT BE ALIVE IF IT WEREN’T FOR HIM’ i feel like it’s really incredible how in this game he has genuinely nice energy and doesnt withhold praise from ulala just to be helpful in a mysterious way later and he like HAS FRIENDS now. like consider how he went from disgraced former ch5 employee who got mad every time he saw them, to kidnapped robot henchman kinda humbled by the fact that now the turns tabled and ulala had to rescue Him, and now 3 years later his bio is all about how he has a new tv show thats super popular and he has a new entourage of ladies who he considers his '’’’’’comrades’’’’’’’ within the station he founded??? AND AFTER 20 YEARS THEY WERE FINALLY ABLE TO GIVE HIS MODEL JUICY ASS CHEEKS??????????????? NO MORE PANCAKE BOOTY???? THE BOY HAD A GLOWUP AND NO I WONT STOP TALKING ABOUT IT

WHEN I SAY MEOW MATCH THE POSE MOTHERFUCKERS THIS BLONDE BASTARD GETS TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE HUNDRED STAGE BATTLE NOW TOO THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE SPACE PIRATES BAYBEE

#its almost 4 am. idk i will probably have more to say tomorrow. my head still hurts #the galaxy depends on my funky moves

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jq37 · 5 years

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May we have a recap, please? :)

**spoilers for panic at the art show and home for the holidays**

OK people. I actually don’t have a ton of commentary on these two so I’m gonna try and keep it (relatively) short and sweet [Edit from Future Me: Failed Step 1].

Also, iirc, this is the week Dropout starts streaming new Fantasy High eps on Wednesdays which is very dope and I am very excited for. I probably won’t do full on recaps like I do for normal eps because, lbr, I don’t strictly have the time to be recapping these eps at all and it’s pure stubbornness that keeps me from making wiser time management decisions. But, rest assured, if I have an Opinion, you will hear it whether you want to or not.

Anyway, on with the show.

Last recap, I mentioned that this ep was giving me Aelwen house party vibes and now it reminds me of that ep in another way: Everyone rolled like TRASH almost the entire ep. It was so frustrating! They barely got any hits in until like halfway through the ep.

(Aw man, I just realized I’m gonna have to remember which spelling of Aelwen is correct again now that FH is coming back.)

I love how Murph is immediately like, “I need to make sure my wife doesn’t die during this fight avenging her fictional husband.”

Isabella also has Aelwen’s trick of poofing around the battlefield which is annoying as hell (ha) for the group.

Siobhan hilariously casts fear on Priya just to be spiteful. I thought she was doing it to help the evac process but no. It was a purely spiteful action. Bless.

When Kug turns into an ape he, of course, turns into *the* NY ape, King Kong.

“I roll a nat 20 on an epic shit.”

When Brennan was describing Kingston’s spectral New Yorker Guardians I was already thinking about that one part of Spiderman 2 (the OG Toby Mac version) and then he straight up said, “You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us,” and I lost it.

“Deny the stairs the pleasure of my feet.” Emily is a poet.

I want to know what makes a pigeon spicy more than anything.

The fact that Brennan killed Ox AGAIN and then immediately looked into the camera and let the audience know the dog was fine because he clearly Oracle stared into the future between eps and saw the entire internet sharpening their pitchforks was so funny.

About midway through the ep, Pete tries and fails to send Isabella back to hell and Isabella starts monologing about her plans and connection with Robert Moses (she stole the list from Santa and is/was gonna marry Moses apparently). I wonder if Brennan was like, “These players are for sure gonna murder her without getting any useful info out of her unless she goes full Bond Villain right now.”

And, proving my point, Emily immediately does 56 points of damage, royally f-ing Isabella up.

This is a really civilian heavy fight which feels weird in a way the FH fights never did. Like, these aren’t even civilians who live in an adventuring town in a fantasy world. These are just normal ass civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Pete fails a wild magic roll after failing to teleport into the building and then gets a choice of getting really strong (which prob would have let him bust down the door) or to teleport in (which is what he does and exactly what he wanted). Very clutch when the dice rolls play into the story like that.

Kingston lightning bolts Isabella’s hair off which is just malicious but also totally called for.

On her next turn, Sophie gets hurt on purpose to get low enough to activate her ring, lets her hair burn for long enough to shorten it to a cute bob, insults Isabella, then knocks her tf out.

I love that Emily took one of her teeth (a seemingly crazy move) and when called out by Lou was like, “It’s a link to Robert Moses” (a completely reasonable answer). That’s the Axford one-two punch.

I didn’t mention it before but, Willie the golem is here, first immobile but then brought back by Misty. Post fight, he says he was somehow brought here by one of the evil factions of the city and says they’ll talk about it later. Also, Misty makes out with him (DON’T KINKSHAME HER).

With a high insight roll, Kingston is able to deduce that the group was ambushed (though not by Priya) and that their victory was a really important one for the fate of the city.

(Sidenote: The amount that Pete is Over Priya in this ep is so funny.)

Back at Wally’s (which is where Kug is now staying) Wally has gotten Kug a dog bed to sleep in and fancy charcuterie cheese because he and Ricky are the only pure-hearted people in NYC.

At the same time, Pete and Kingston have a very sweet heart to heart and then settle down at Kingston’s place to chill and listen to jazz. Idk how else we expected this to resolve, considering this is a Brennan Lee Mulligan DM’d show where the sacred pillars are Teamwork, Friendship, Communication, and Making up an NPC on the Fly Because One of Your PC’s Decided to do an Insane Thing.

Next up is the Christmas ep and Brennan, Emily, and Zac are in sweaters for the occasion.

Well,actually it’s the 21st and Emily immediately clocks that that’s the solstice.

Are cookies the good carb?/Absolutely not. But have fun with your life. (I love Ricky’s soft jock energy.)

“I run deliveries,” Pete says to Kingston’s parents, not technically lying but also not being completely truthful. Misty would be proud.

Going over to Misty, it seems pretty clear at this point (and it’s confirmed in the promo for next ep) that Misty’s fairy business is some kind of de-aging/reincarnation for herself. I wonder how many of these she’s done so far. She said she’s been around for, what? 200, 300 years? Assuming she’s been doing then reincarnations at about 65-70 years old and she reincarnates to around 25? Maybe 6 times? Idk. Just spitballing.

Saucer of milk to keep the faeries from stealing her (non-existing) children. Faerie lore is wild y'all.

Did you take another level of warlock?/Yeah bitch.

The fact that since Sophie has joined a monastery, she’s only taken Warlock levels and no Monk levels is very funny from a story perspective. It’s like, she finally comes to this sacred place to be trained to her full potential and she’s just spending what should be her sparring time playing with her cat in exchange for spells. Wild.

Emily’s cat-like, self-satisfied grin when Brennan is like, “So you just jerry-rigged yourself clairvoyance powers, huh?” is so good.

And she did it on the fly because Emily Axford is winning D&D. There are no points but she’s winning.

So, uh, Emily does, two things, very in character right after the other:

Thing number one: She send her unseen servant to spy on her family. Her dad seems hardline, “F, Dale. Whatever. Family first. She needs to get over it.” On the other side of the spectrum is her mom who is very upset about the whole affair with her siblings falling in the middle.

The second thing she does, very casually I might add, is have her unseen servant BURN DOWN HER HOUSE SO SHE CAN COMMIT INSURANCE FRAUD.

EMILY

Everyone loses their minds and rightfully so. What a wild-ass swing that no one could have seen coming. I love it.

“I look in my backpack which is now my home[…]"

I almost forgot that Ricky was a fire fighter who would not abide that nonsense until Brennan decided to cut to him.

Ricky just dolphin swims across the Hudson in 2.5 mins to go put out the fire that Sophie set. Amazing.

Ally mocking Emily/Sophie: Truthfully, I don’t know what happened.

"I love John McClane, because he loves his wife.” WALLY

Wally: Oh we’re gonna tell a lie on Christmas.

“This is what winning looks like.”

I would really like to know what trace stuff what on the drugs Pete got from 7 but Ally rolled too low to figure it out.

“I disassociate fully."

Well it took him a long ass time but glad to have Pete on the selling drugs to kids is bad train. Choo-choo, dude.

7 saying you can hack in real life in reference to his AK-47 has the same energy as Hardison using the word hack in literally any semi-weird episode of Leverage.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS VOLUNTARY PANOPTICON

So Kug goes with Wally to David’s house disguised as a dog and, despite that, blurts out that he’s his dad immediately. Well, he tries to. The Umbral Arcana stops him, unfortunately.

"I lick my son’s face.” KUUUUG.

Sophie showing up with a raw goose and hellish rebuking it is so metal and it’s a shame no one got to appreciate it.

Me when Sophie’s Mom changes into black top in solidarity for Sophie’s mourning: F EVERY OTHER NON-SOPHIE BICICLETA. I RESPECT YOU.

Kingston is hustling very hard to get his man Pete a job which is a very Kingston move. That’s how guys like that show affection.

Didn’t mention it before but Kingston’s parents and Mom specifically adopting Pete is very cute.

Sidenote: Idk what 7 was talking about Pete trying to stay low profile. He wears a cowboy hat (now a ZEBRA STRIPED one, courtesy of Kingston). I think the subtlety train has sailed my guy.

Esther shows up at the firehouse, carrying presents for her mom and grandma and looking for Ricky. The says that she’s kinda dealing with something and it feels good to be around him (beat) magically speaking. Sure. I’m gonna keep my Hercules soundtrack on hand just in case anyway.

I think Ricky is the only person who, with no pretense, could give his crush a sexy calendar featuring him.

Anyway, turns out Esther’s mom and grandma are the furies of Tompkins Square and she’s fated to join them or something.

Esther causally: I defy you, I defy the prophecy.

The fury thing would explain why Esther’s mom would have cursed Kug. They are famously magical punishers.

Ricky is a magically certified Good Boy but we been knew.

Zac’s restraint to respect Esther’s personal boundaries in lieu of getting a lore drop to stay true to Ricky’s character is amazing. Mad props.

So we slide over to Misty’s Christmas party which Stephen Sondhein is attending and him having a character card kinda killed me.

There’s a post on tumblr somewhere about playing faerie incapability for impoliteness against a vampires need to be invited in and that’s what I thought about when Moses and his vamp friends showed up at Misty’s house.

Robert tries to talk Misty into striking a deal with him for protection from Titania. She’s very much not having it.

“You know Robert, I love a comedy and I love a farce. I’d like to remind you of who it is that started this and it’s not me and it’s not my friends but I can assure you Robert Moses that we will be the ones to end it if you do not. Do you understand me?” Damn. That’s a mic drop from Misty.

[As I’m editing this, I’m realizing I somehow lost a BIG chunk of text. I’m not gonna write it all up again but the Cliffnotes are as follows:

Between the Solstice and Christmas, the gang goes Grand Central Station to see the clockwork gnomes that live there because trouble is apparently afoot. Some size changing nonsense happens and Pete shoots a dog (with mini bullets, the dog is fine). Lou is enchanted even though Kingston is not (a common theme with him). Ally and Emily are on the same nonsense wavelength (as usual).

There are dope magical dragon trains under Grand Central Station that go to the shadow realm which is a place I’d like to know about. Kingston has never seen these trains before even though you’d really think he would have.

Murph says Gnome Rights which is wild if you know what Naddpod is like.

Anyway, the high priestess of the gnomes passed out the other day and they figure out it was due to pixie magic which is suspicious. They also know they pixies have access to a “time stone” which leads me to believe that it’s Brennan and not Aguefort who thinks that Chronomancy is the most powerful magic of all.

Sophie and Jackson go to Dale’s grave on Christmas. Jackson explains that the Order of the Concrete Fist is basically a literal school of hard knocks. A counterbalance to all the reach for the stars dreaminess that comes with NYC.

Dale was their chosen one who was supposed to stop the monastery from falling when some unspecified badness crossed over to this side, but when he went to the place where he was supposed to get guidance, there was no one there (clearly tying in to what Dale said to Sophie last time they talked. I wonder what she needs to get to the top of? Empire State maybe?).

Watching Murph watching Emily, his real life spouse, play at grief for her fictional husband and do some truly insane things is so funny because you can clearly see him thinking, “I am married to this woman,” which, in fairness, is probably the main thing he’s thinking when he’s playing D&D with Emily.

I’m probably missing something but that’s all I remember. Back to post-Christmas!]

So it’s opening night at Misty’s show and, somehow, Ricky’s first show ever.

I love that Don Confetti is there because of Siobhan’s offhanded comment for a handful of eps ago about him being a supporter of the arts.

Anyway, everything is going great until the second act when Titania busts in through the mirror which is *not* is storage as Misty requested but on stage. It’s a theater fight, y'all! And not the West Side Story kind although if that doesn’t come up I will be very surprised.

“Let’s kill Titania!” –Misty in the promo

Just going straight to 11, huh Misty?

See y'all then!

#dimension 20 #the unsleeping city #d20 #asks #kickmuncher3

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jflashandclash · 5 years

Text

Tales From Mount Othrys

Why Little Siblings Need Fidget Spinners I

“Can you believe that he expects me to stay?” Pax whined as Mercedes untied the dangling bells from each of his joints. This was a practice exercise for both of them. He’d done awesome this morning—she even told him so. He had to break into the captain’s quarters, dodging or flirting through the guards until he, without ringing a single bell tied around each of his joints, climbed through the side window, took pictures of a particular file, and climbed back out undetected.

Once Mercedes discovered Pax’s illiteracy, after several months of Pax claiming he couldn’t remember documents that she kept sending him to practice on, they had settled on this method. He would bring the information back and she would sort through it.

Then came part II: Mercedes untying the bells from his wrists, elbows, knees, ankles, waist, and neck. She also wasn’t allowed to make the bells ring. She had instructed him to think of them like sleeping fairies that will eat your flesh if you wake them up.

She said he would be ready for a mission to New Rome soon.

Pax tried to focus on that and his anger at Axel for leaving, instead of how seamlessly she removed the ribbons from his ankles.

Each segment of bells was attached to the one above—the ankles to the knees and the knees to the waist, so none would slip down. The wrist ones were attached to the elbow and then to the one around his neck. Because no one else could see them during their exercises, they had taken to tying them under Pax’s clothing.

To put them on or take them off, Pax had to stand in his underwear, alone (other than Mercedes) in the room that she had been allotted to train her spies.

He swallowed, trying not to notice how pretty her Mediterranean skin tone looked against her olive hijab.

“As you should,” she said, delicately setting his ankle bells into a small wooden box without the slightest ring.

Pax blinked, his mind scrambling to remember what he’d just said to her. Right. Axel wanted Pax to stay while Axel went off on some secret mission of awesome—as if Pax couldn’t figure out where his brother was going.

“How am I supposed to train a proper spy if he can’t work under the duress of a quick response?” she said. Her dark, humorous eyes flicked up to him as she collected the bells from his knees and hips.

Pax wanted to pout at her. Instead, he glanced up at the ceiling, struggling not to think of her eyes and hoping the only thing rising in him was a blush. He tried to think of things that would keep his head cool—like seeing Morpheus disco. That could kill any engine. Someone needed to remind the gods that disco died decades ago.

“He acts like I should want to stay,” Pax mumbled.

“As you should,” Mercedes said, setting the next four bells into the box without a sound. “You’re the inner softness to his hard shell. If something were to happen to you, he’d be coarse and hollow.”

This was a topic that Pax tried to ignore. It was something both Mercedes and Chris had mentioned, around the same time they began to avoid being alone with Axel.

The Pax brothers had both been terrified Axel would be called back for another cage match. The cruise ship still buzzed about his battle against Praetor Julian.

He had been.

Pax hadn’t been allowed to go to the next one. Axel forbade it. Pax had been locked in Alabaster’s laboratory while the Witch Boy watched him kick, scream, and sob at the door. Axel could have died without Pax getting a chance to say goodbye or getting a chance to save him. No matter how many times Lou Ellen tried to distract him with magical vials or Alabaster pointed out he’d be more of distraction if he were there, Pax had shrieked.

Since then, everyone referred to Axel as a natural born killer. As if it was a good thing. As if he had no remorse about whatever demigod he’d had to murder on stage. They didn’t know Axel’s nightmares had gotten worse. They didn’t see how he carefully shined Julian’s medals and polished the new charm bracelet, muttering prayers in Mayan that their souls should safely make it to their afterlife.

“I’m surprised Luke thinks he can sneak Jack out too,” Mercedes said absently as she untied the bells from Pax’s wrist.

Pax wanted to be happy for the change of subject. Instead, he jumped, making his neck bell jingle. “What?!”

Mercedes gave him a smirk.

Pax whined. Once he proved he could move around soundlessly with the bells, they had a running bet. Whichever of them jingled in their training owed the other a favor. Pax owed Mercedes a lot of favors.

She set to undoing his elbow bells. “Didn’t you notice that Luke was suddenly concerned about having backup mediators for Jack’s monster meditation classes and other nonsense, ‘in case he got sick,’ even though Jack can’t physically become ill with his power? And how Jack complained that some of his clothing has gone missing—specifically stuff he might use for travel? And how Flynn is shockingly overbooked this week?”

Pax stared at Mercedes as she removed his shoulder bells. “You’re good,” he said.

“I strive to have my spy worthiness validated by a munchin,” she said.

Pax sighed dreamily. “I hope I can talk like you and Alabaster when I grow up. Maybe I’ll absorb it off of you, assuming neither of you starting chasing me out of your wings, although I’m pretty sure Alabaster already wants nothing to do with me.”

Pax liked to think he had two wings of the ship to enjoy and two wings to carry him: one, Alabaster’s laboratory; the other, Mercedes’ spy barracks. As far as he could see, Alabaster tolerated him on his good days. On his bad days, he chased him out of the lab.

“Maybe Alabaster and I share something in common. His mistress is his lab. Mine is the spymaster unit. It just takes a little parasite to shake our focus.” Mercedes stood up. The last bell was around his neck. She folded her arms, tilted her head, then reached out a hand and flicked his bell.

The metal rang.

Pax swallowed. If it were anyone other than Mercedes, he would have thought she was flirting with him.

“Now, the favor owing is negated for today,” she said, her face businesslike. “I do this in exchange for you not being stupid and running after Pax One.”

“That sounds like you’re calling in another favor,” Pax complained, trying to spot how she pinned her head covering. She tucked the pins so well.

Pax was in the process of making Mercedes a fancy, brown headscarf with pink and yellow embroidery along the edges. As Pax had never embroidered before, and had to sneak a hijab from their spymaster so he could get the proper size, the process had been slow going, much slower than when he’d made Flynn hair sticks with little pandas attached to them. (He didn’t find out until later that she hated pandas. Who would have thought a girl from China could hate pandas? She still wore them sometimes, so he was skeptical when Jack slipped up about that information.)[1]

Pax hoped Mercedes would wear the headscarf. She always wore simple, plain clothing, no makeup, and no jewelry. What if she didn’t like something ornate?

Mercedes’ dark eyes felt like they were burning into his soul. “Fine. Use it as a favor, Pax Two. I don’t mind being down two out of a hundred.”

“It’s not at one hundred!” Pax cried, hoping she wouldn’t notice how he dodged the agreement. There was no way he was about to let Axel rush off on some secret, dangerous mission that only involved Luke and Jack. What if he got in trouble? Or met a hot chick and Pax didn’t get to see the blossoming of their romance? He’d miss months of potential teasing!

Her gaze narrowed. “I mean it Pax Two. They’re going somewhere you shouldn’t follow.”

Pax tried to give her a charming smile. Mercedes should know better. Those were the epic words used to warn someone away from an awesome quest. Pax was okay with doing an awesome quest, especially if it meant helping out his brother. Or annoying him. That would also work. He just needed some company questers.

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! This is Part I of a Ten Parter about Pax not... thinking things through... So, just a short story of the essence of Pax XD (All shorter chapters and fairly light hearted) Anyway, this entire story hasn’t been betaread, so I hope there aren’t too many mistakes! (I didn’t want to bother my friends with it >.<) I hope you guys are having an awesome weekend!

[1] As you may have noticed: tiny Pax? Struggles with stereotypes. Older Pax? Struggles with nudity—okay wait. That doesn’t change. Well, at least he unlearns one bad habit.

#Percy Jackson and the Olympians #Heroes of Olympus #Tales from Mount Othrys #PJO #HOO #TFMO #fanfiction #Pax #Mercedes #Pax being an asshole <3 #I want to call up fictional jack and request a house call to author jack.#No more getting sick!#Shit-but that might trigger a -there-can-only-be-one problem #And we have a lot of instruments and guitar strings in the house #O.o

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teamhawkeye · 6 years

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So I’ve had a while now to reflect after finishing up the Far Cry New Dawn story

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

It...was a mixed bag overall. There were some things i liked - but there was a whole lot i didn’t like

The Good

The landscape. Hope County has always been gorgeous and it was nice to see it post-Collapse blooming and thriving for the most part

The music. Love it or hate it, it fit the Mad Max-esque theme the Highwaymen had going for them, both score and licensed soundtrack

Improvements in gameplay. Specifically with the GFH. I used Boomer almost exclusively in FC5 and two of my biggest complaints were 1.) he was not able to ride in vehicles with me and i felt bad making him run behind me everywhere and 2.) even with a ton of perks, he was very easily incapacitated by enemies. With Timber, they gave him the ability to ride in vehicles so you no longer have to feel bad about making him walk and they buffed him greatly in comparison to Boomer - he was often like a little walking tank and I greatly appreciated that they took those things into consideration and made tweaks there.

New Photo Mode. oh my god, YES. it still wasn’t perfect by any means, but my god, it was soooooo nice to be able to give your Captain life and emotion!

The Outpost system. Escalating difficulty so you could go back and still have a challenge even as you advanced your perks and weapons was a nice touch, so things never got too easy or stale in that area

Expeditions. It was fun being able to leave Hope County for a bit and see new locations and spend some time doing stuff other than milking the Outposts for ethanol

The Not-So Good

Abandoning characters from FC5. They may be dead and gone, but how are John and Faith and Jacob so glossed over? John maybe had the best fortune in nods to him and the last game, having both his ranch and bunker serve as important locations in New Dawn...but what about Faith and Jacob? Why was there no mention whatsoever to Eli, Whitehorse, Pratt, Hudson, or Dutch? And beyond the dead from FC5′s canon story, what about missing Resistance members? Jess Black, Wheaty, Tammy, Tweak...what happened to them? why were we given no closure on their stories at all? There was so little time spent reflecting on the events of the previous game or its characters - it very much felt like “they’re dead, not questions now, move on”...but the characters of the last game were a big part of what made it so great and it felt like a great disservice to the fans to have them swept under the rug like that.

Main story. I mean...what the fuck even was that last third part of the game??? The first third of the game started off on solid footing but it went off the rails well before the end. And there seemed to be a severe lack of cohesion between what we saw and learned in FC5 to what we see and learn in New Dawn. Joseph’s story about his daughter seems far less important knowing he had some bastard son hanging around one of the bunkers the whole time - why was there never any allusion to him whatsoever? He certainly felt shoehorned in as a result. And how is it one of the Big rules of Eden’s Gate was “no fornication” but Joseph can get away with it? That doesn’t line up with the antagonist we faced off with all of FC5. And what was with the magic??? Like, there was a touch of that in FC5 with the Bliss and the scope of just what it could do...but a ton of the Bliss’s power could be argued to be auditory and visual hallucinations. There was just straight up...magic to explain some of the weird things they included in New Dawn and it made that make some of it feel weak and hollow

Disservice to its villains. Mickey and Lou were done dirty, it’s just that plain and simple. Ubisoft didn’t give them much of anything to do and wasted all their potential. One of the main draws of FC5 was just how good the villains were and one of the largest complaints i saw from FC5 was just how much more interaction we all wanted with them. New Dawn gave their villains a backseat to almost everything else going on in the game. Mickey and Lou almost felt detached from the story at times. With the FC5, one of the best things about the Seeds was how connected they felt to everything you did: they met you face to face a number of times, radioed in constantly to taunt and harass you, upped the ante when you put the heat on them...with Mickey and Lou, it never felt like they actually took you seriously. Or didn’t even care, despite saying otherwise. They address you directly maybe once all game aside from when you have cutscenes with them face-to-face. Their strongest moment was in their defeat and it showed what major potential they had as antagonists - and to be sympathetic as well - and Ubisoft really blew it there and that’s one of the biggest shames

Disservice to its new characters. The new Resistance/Survivor characters got shafted too. You could easily go all game without knowing a single thing about any of the new GFH or Specialists for Prosperity - there’s just not the time to really get to know them or even like them all that much. Rush was certainly built up...to only be kidnapped and potentially left untouched for quite some time and when you go to rescue him, he’s sidelined immediately with very little interaction with him thereafter. His death wasn’t nearly as poignant as Eli or Virgil’s from FC5 - those were two characters who were constantly talking in your ear or available to talk to and help progress the story along. Rush was put there simply to die and give the Captain motivation to keep going and it’s a damn shame since he deserved better - don;t get me wrong, I liked him and was affected by his death, but the emotional impact there is just not as strong when Ubisoft gave him so little time or opportunity to really get close to him like previous installments did with characters.

Expeditions. I know i said this was a good thing - and largely it is - but it was so small and underused, it was such a letdown. They kinda touted Expeditions as being a replacement for Arcade of FC5, which made me think there was going to be a ton of locations to explore and replay...but in reality, you got like 6 maps and that’s all. Maybe they’ll add more, but that seemed like that got hyped up for nothing

Scale. I get that this was a smaller game, reflected in the time it took to crank it out and the lower price, but god does it feel small. You can almost count how many missions there are on two hands. There were so few collectibles or side missions - idk what’s supposed to be the draw after finishing the main story when you have virtually nothing left to do. And beyond the game’s play length, the map was chopped in half and it was bullshit, quite frankly. Why the hell is the Bliss so concentrated now up in Jacob’s region - shouldn’t that have been the Henbane, since that’s where it was focused and created and still polluted the water there even after destroying Faith’s bunker? It felt cheap to carve off chunks of the map under the guise of “oooh, radiation zone! turn back!” We should have been allowed to explore the remains of Faith’s and Jacob’s bunker, of the Wolf’s Den, or finally be allowed inside the Veteran’s Center! Or go back to the chopper crash site on Joseph’s compound, the truck where Hudson, Pratt, and Whitehorse died on Dutch’s Island, or the truck Burke crashed into the river in the Henbane - all were completely gone and that felt super cheap, like they made no lasting impact when they were such huge moments in FC5. I feel like the two things most of us were excited to do when we learned we were returning to Hope County were learning about what happened to the characters of FC5 and seeing references to those who were lost and then to be able to explore and investigate every corner of the map we had in the previous game to see how the landscape how changed in every place we once knew so well.

Replay value. Honestly, aside from a second playthrough to sweep up achievements/trophies i didn’t get the first time around, i’m not all that inclined to keep the game installed on my console’s harddrive and replay it. If anything, playing this game has reminded me of everything i loved so much about FC5 and made me homesick for it - i’m already yearning to return to pre-Collapse Hope County and i haven’t even been done with New Dawn for 24 hours. It’s a shame when i so love the story that spawned this sequel, but it doesn’t possess any of the heart and soul that the original has.

There’s probably more i’m forgetting, but i’ve been typing for a while now and my brain has called it quits. I just know i went in with too high of expectations and was always going to be disappointed when New Dawn didn’t measure up to FC5...but it fell so short and that is the biggest issue i have. It could have been so much more and that’s the real tragedy

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keywestlou · 3 years

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MINIATURE PET GOAT STOLEN.....RETURNED DRUNK

A Big Pine story. A miniature pet goat named Billy Bob Thornton. Knee high. Four years old.

A homeless drunk stole Billy Bob. His owner notified the Sheriff’s Department. A Deputy found Billy Bob and the thief asleep on the grass next to a bicycle.

Billy Bob’s owner opted not to have the drunk arrested. She knew him. He knew her and Billy Joe. He had done odd jobs for her the past 10 years.

One problem. Billy Bob was drunk when he was returned home: “His eyes were so dilated…..They didn’t look normal at all.” Billy Bob was a “little tipsy.”

The drunk had fed Billy Bob beer during their time together.

Political insanity continues to prevail in Florida. Especially with friends of Governor DeSantis and drugs to treat coronavirus.

Neil Combee is a Polk County Commissioner. It appears a friend of Governor DeSantis. He sent a letter to DeSantis recommending that Ivermectin be made widely available. Ivermectin the dewormer given to horses and cows. In recent weeks, it has become widely known as a drug to fight COVID infections in humans.

Amazing! The people on the the Ivermectin kick are generally those who refuse to be vaccinated.

The Commissioner wrote, “We’re hearing from many of our citizens that larger hospital chains and some pharmacies are refusing to prescribe…..When a citizen is facing a potentially life-threatening case of COVID-19, he or she should receive the right to try potentially life saving” ivermectin.

A hocus pocus situation. Involves Governor DeSantis. I wrote yesterday about Florida fudging/manipulating death statistics to make Florida’s number of deaths appear significantly lower than they were.

This morning’s Citizens’ Voice referred to Florida’s recording of COVID deaths by the use of the new collection procedure. The procedure withholds data of death figures until death certificates are processed weeks later – the result is a downward slope re deaths reported.

An inquiry on Redditt this morning. A Florida resident wrote. He has lived in Florida 26 years, but never made it to Key West. He is planning a soon to occur Key West trip.

His question: “But I don’t want to do and see the usual stuff. I want to see the weird and macab! Spooky sightseeing and curio shops, anyone got recommendations?”

My friend, I have been a Key Wester for close to 30 years. Everything is “odd.” The island is small. Only 1.5 x 4.0 miles. Come down and let your feet discover what you seek. Every block can be a surprise!

Hurricane Larry. Already a Category 3. However still way out in the Atlantic. Doubt it will even come close to the Keys. For that matter, anywhere near the U.S. coast line. It has been turning northwest.

Hurricane season nowhere close to being over. November 30 the date. And even then, we have had a storm or two into early December.

Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh did not impress me when he was nominated by Trump, during his time before the Senate Committee, and since he has been on the bench. Not a straight shooter. Throws an oddball comment into many decisions. Not the way appellate judging is done.

I feel the same about Trump’s 2 other nominees Gorsuch and Barrett. Their problem is they are too far to the right. Their decisions not in the best interests of the needy and lower economic class.

My thoughts concern Kavanaugh today.

He brings what I would describe as the traits of a political hack to the bench. He may rule one way today. Yet keep the door open to rule the opposite down the road if it helps the impression he wants the public to have of him.

Kavanaugh was one of the 5 deciding Justices in the recent Texas abortion case. Decided last week. Decision came down just before midnight. The decision banning abortions once the fetus’ heart beat could be heard. Generally around 6 weeks. Most women do not even know they are pregnant the first 6 weeks.

Kavanaugh by his vote announced to the world he was anti abortion. Something we already knew.

Some believe Kavanaugh will in the near future be faced with the specific issue as to whether Roe v. Wade itself should be reversed. He wants to be in the position at that time to “reaffirm” Roe.

Such would place him on both sides of the fence. Re the Texas decision, anti abortion. Upholding Rose, pro abortion.

The indication suggests he wants to be in good standing with those on each side of the issue.

The way of a politician, not a judge.

I find Kavanaugh’s motivation process amusing. He is a Supreme Court Justice for life. Never has to run for the seat. He is only 56 years old. His job good for another 30-40 years.

Why is he concerned about keeping both sides happy?

I can remember when everyone smoked. Cigarettes, not pot.

Wherever you were, the smoke was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Then we became aware smoking was not healthy. Most eventually stopped.

Lets take a step back in time. World War II. Smoking still considered OK. I can recall advertisements saying 3 out of 4 doctors smoke Camels. Doctors smoked in their offices while treating you. Medical staff and patients were permitted to smoke in the hospital and their rooms.

During World War II, our fighting men smoked. The government even supplied them with free cigarettes. Pilots smoked while in battle.

Hard to believe!

I came across an interesting story the other day involving smoking and World War II.

A young man wanted to enlist. His goal to be a flyer.

He could not pass the physical. Low blood pressure. He complained to the doctor examining him. He wanted to fight for his country. Everyone wanted to back then.

The doctor told him to go outside and smoke a cigarette. Return when he was done.

He came back. The doctor took his blood pressure again. It had gone up sufficient for him to pass the physical.

The young man became an Air Force officer and a B-17 navigator flying combat missions over Germany.

Syracuse’s football season opens tonight. Syracuse playing Ohio. Both teams appear to be of similar quality. Either team is favored by 7 points.

Hope Syracuse has a winning season. The last few have been disastrous. If my recollection is correct, Syracuse won only 1 game last year.

I recall my Syracuse years in the late 1950’s. Glorious football seasons! Ernie Davis time. For many years thereafter, Syracuse was one of the top teams in the country. Then it all died! For many years now!

The game begins at 7.

Enjoy your day!

MINIATURE PET GOAT STOLEN…..RETURNED DRUNK was originally published on Key West Lou

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jesangel1503 · 4 years

Text

30 Day Challenge:

Day 2 Topic

About LIFE

Before we talk about how I view life, let me tell you a story about how I lost my beloved cousin to cancer and how it made me learn to value and cherish LIFE more.

My cousin was the most beautiful among my cousins. She was a smart and very passionate lady. I always admire her for her spirit, for her courage and her adventurous ways. She always gets things her way with her charm. We grew up together, and we have shared many things together. She was my first bestfriend. I could not count the times that we have fought and then made up afterwards. During my childhood years, she was my go- to person when I have something that bothers me and mostly about our childhood crushies and girl things like that. And she always kept my secrets and so I also kept hers. My cousin and I were quite different. She was the silent, shy type of person. While i am the goofy one, who is always so loud wherever I am, or especially around new people. I can say, I am not difficult to approach to in person. Unlike her, she was more of reserved and I am the one who can’t keep my mouth shut and I have all the energy in the world to entertain everyone. We were in the church choir together so we have shared experiences in music as well. I could remember she was so happy singing with me, and her favorite church song was Anima Cristi. She was the one who was always there in the corner, laughing and singing with me, and it was that for the most of our childhood years until we reached High School. I was a year ahead of her so I was the first one to explore the big high school world. Priorities have changed and so we don’t see each other often. We haven’t talked much during the first two years of high school until her parents decided she needed to change schoolbus with me because her schoolvan cannot do business anymore. So, the connection went back and we had shared moments together again especially while we wait for us to be picked up by the school bus. And so we had our chance to share with each other, stories of our first boyfriend and crushes and the like. That’s how close we were. It went on like that for many years, until college. I took up Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Zamboanga City and she took BS IT in Davao. It was hard to keep the connection because her university was like 14 hours drive from where I was studying by then.

I was graduating that time and she was on her 3rd year of college and I could remember that sad moment when her family told me about her condition. She was defending her thesis when she collapsed and was rushed to the nearby hospital in Davao. I went to visit her as soon as I came home from Zamboanga. Her boyfriend by then, was there with her when I visited her. My cousin that time, as I could recall, her face, so beautiful, so vibrant, so calm and full of life, all with her long beautiful hair. I admired her so much that it pains me to remember that I could no longer afford the chance to see and hug her one more time. When I found out about her condition, I was in denial. Knowing some medical stuff (Because I was a Nursing student) about Lymphoma; cancer of the lymphatic system, I was a bit skeptic that it was misdiagnosed. Until my aunt showed me the biopsy result and it was in 2nd stage. She developed tumors in her neck, mediastinum, and pelvis. The tumor in the mediastinum was so big that caused her respiratory distress. The doctors were positive that she will respond well with the cancer treatment because of her young age. I was hopeful. I could remember what I told her boyfriend, “Please don’t give up on her. You can help her be motivated, and be inspired to keep on fighting. Please. 🥺” He nodded. I was not sure that he understood it well, and that I was desperate at that time.

A year gone has gone and my cousin was responding remarkably with the cancer treatment. Because of that, she lost all her hair. But still for me she was still so beautiful and I was very glad she was able to get up in bed and eat with us when I visited her. There were times when I could see she was mostly timid, and sad about losing her hair. Our hair is a unique part of our identity. Suddenly losing it as a result of cancer treatment can be distressing for both genders especially women. So I always cheer her up and gave her lots of encouragement. After many tries of making her laugh, and saw her smile, I felt a relief. You know. I don’t really understood then, but now it was fully magnified the desperation I have that time to bring her glow back. And not many times you can see her feeling hopeful. I thought she was struggling with something else aside from losing her hair. I found the reason when I saw her boyfriend’s posts on facebook with another girl. And then I found out that my cousin broke up with him. I confronted her ex boyfriend, and he told me she was pushing him away.

She said to him that He can still find another girl who is not sick and dying like her.

I understood well enough what my cousin wanted. I felt the pain. My cousin loved him so much that she just sacrificed her heart for him to be free. Because she could not see him having a life with a dying girl like her. She would often lock her room and cry all day. It was not good for her to be so sad. I knew by then it will not help her to keep on fighting. So I was angry at the guy for giving up. And for having such balls to post in and flaunt it, like no one’s going to get hurt! And FYI, it was not long enough till he had found a new one! How dare he not respect the 3 month rule! So that’s why, I was that angry. Pardon me for being that way, so overprotective.. and that was also because I felt her pain. Would it still make a difference if he only had fought for her too? Even if she pushed him away?! Will she still then have the will to survive and fight cancer? How far would one go for love, really!? Or is it only when it’s convenient? Was he really in love with her to do that leap of faith for her? Or so I thought in my own POV.

I felt her heart so broken. That she chose to not fight anymore.

It was after the Christmas Holidays that we’ve been told by her doctors that the cancer cells have grown twice as before and much aggressive for the treatment. And I saw her eyes, there was no hope anymore. I knew she had given up. She had no energy, and she just spend her time most on her bed all day. I was busy with work so I find it very difficult to see her that often. But one day I got the chance to visit her.

I did not expect that, it was the last time I’ll ever get to see her and spend time with her. If only I knew then, I had never stopped singing for her 🥺

Her parents were surprised when she got up and had lunch with me when I was there. She had used up all her energy left to get up and spend time with me. And then I noticed her struggle so I asked her to go back to bed. She agreed so I assisted her back to her bed. My parents and her parents were busy talking to each other so i decided to stay with her in her room. I took some grapes and cut into two and fed her bit by bit, slowly so she can keep up with chewing. I could feel she was in pain. But she was trying her best not to show it. She was like that, always trying her best to hide her emotions. She had used up a lot of her energy, so I did not bother speaking to her. Just like that, looking at each other. I just wanted her to feel my presence. That I was there for her that time. I rubbed her back, and fed her with grapes. I noticed her faraway glances. Like she was looking at something or someone that was not there. All I could hear by that moment was her sighs and the sound of her as she was struggling to breathe. Then she asked me to sing for her. It was a pleasure singing for her. (I’m crying as I was writing this) And then the last song I sang for her was her favorite song, “Anima Cristi”.. It was a though she was also singing in her thoughts. I saw her eyes filled with tears. It was the most solemn moment in my life that I will never ever forget.

Hear me Jesus.. Hide me in Thy wounds that I may never leave Thy side..From all the evil that surrounds me, defend me..And when the call of death arrives..Bid me come to Thee that I may praise Thee with Thy saints...Forever..

Anima Cristi

And then I prayed for her. As I bid her goodbye, I told her to never give up. Because I still want to sing for her and that I am always gonna be here for her. I said, “Ning I love you. Please fight.” And I said, all the hurt I’ve caused you in the past, please forgive me. I also forgave you a long time ago, I thought that you might wanna know.. Then her tears fell. I cried with her.

In that moment of silence, I knew and understood life.

The next day, my aunt called us at 6 am that she had passed away in her sleep beside her dad. She did not even bothered to wake her dad up to say goodbye. She was like only sleeping. The day before she died, I had the chance of spending time with her. For me it was that moment I cherished so much. My cousin never had her chance to graduate, fulfill her dreams of working as an IT nor had the chance of love, getting married and having a family. She was only here a short while. She had so much potential and a good life ahead was waiting for her. But God’s plans for her was to touch lives by her short life. It had surely touched mine. It made me learn how to appreciate life and live life to the fullest even more. I must not waste my time with the things that makes me not want to live and be sad. She wanted to do so much with her life but we cannot question God’s ways. We can just think maybe it was because her life was already too beautiful. She was beyond blessed that now she is an angel in heaven. Wherever she is right now, her life on earth meant a lot, and she was loved, and still is loved and remembered in our hearts.

May you continue to be happy in heaven Ning. I love you and i miss you always.

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In loving Memory of Lou Jean ❤️🌷🌷

What is life really?

Life is according to science, is a biological concept regarding the characteristics, state, or mode that separates a living thing from dead matter. The word itself may refer to a living being or ongoing processes of which living things are a part of.

Various forms of life exist, such as plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria. Biology is the science concerned with the study of life. There is currently no consensus regarding the definition of life.

Philosophers and religions have their own definition of life too.

For Christians, human life is sacred and is a gift from God which is to be respected and protected. This teaching is called the sanctity of life . The Bible teaches that human beings are created in the image of God.

While Muslims believe that life and death are given by God. Life is sacred, and a gift from God; and it is only God, and not the human beings, who has the right to take it back. This willful taking of one's own life is considered a major sin in Islam.

Famous philosopher Aristotle said that a soul is “the actuality of a body that has life,” where life means the capacity for self-sustenance, growth, and reproduction. If one regards a living substance as a composite of matter and form, then the soul is the form of a natural—or, as Aristotle sometimes says, organic—body.

And it seems like a lot of different people have their own definition of life

All philosophies on the meaning of life seem to fall into one of the four groups:

life has an objective meaning;

life has a subjective meaning;

life has no meaning;

life has a supernatural/unexplainable meaning.

The philosophies of the East and West also follow a pattern: Easterners think in terms of “we”, the community, while Westerners think in terms of “I”, the individual.

So now, what is life really??

Let’s try to answer these following questions:

1. What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘life’?

For me, life is the time I have on earth, a gift which God has given me. It is my responsibility to take care of it, nourish it and live it to the fullest.

Life is also unpredictable, some have a long one, and some are given a short life. But no matter how long or short it is, the most important is, to not run out of time in your life without living it. Go and do the things you wanna do. Eat the things to wanna eat. Tell the people you love that you love them, before it’s too late! Hurry!

2. What word would you use to sum up your life?

I would say “a gift”.. A gift from God, what made it so blessed is because of the family I am borned with, and all the people I am surrounded with, whom I get to know and love. Even if I am a sinner and makes mistakes, God never left me and he continue to be there for me, faithful to me as I face all the challenges and trials that life had thrown on me. That’s why, I turned up to be a strong amidst everything because I believe in God and how powerful He is.

3. What life-changing moments have you had in your life?

Whenever I experienced a loss of a loved one. Like when my cousin, and grandparents died. It made me cherish my life even more. And not only to cherish my life, also to cherish the lives of the people who matters to me and whom I cared about. It made me realize, that I am still here in this world and I should never let any day go without telling them and showing them that they are loved and cared for. Because you may never know, life is so unpredictable. Only God knows everything. Those sad turn of events also made me realize that I should never waste my time sulking over things I cannot do and control. And to never waste any opportunity to do the things I love and so passionate about. We should never waste our time, because it will never come back.

4. Who has been your biggest influence in life?

There are many people I look up to. Their values are the ones I have learned to adapt throughout my growing years. My Lola Cheding’s generosity, my Lola Babing’s positivity, my Brother and his wit and kindness, my Mother and charms and patience, and last but not the least, my Dad and his humbleness and selflessness. As I travelled far from home and lived on my own, it’s the Almighty God and His Good News that had influenced my life the most. I am always overwhelmed by His beloved son, Jesus, who sacrificed himself for us to mend our relationship with God. His life on earth and how he managed to still be patient, faithful and full of faith in His father, as He was put to test, tempted and trialed, for the Glory of His Father. I am praying everyday that I can manifest in me, the same patience, the same strength, the same faith that Jesus had shown as He overcame death. In most of my years, I believed in Him. And that I will never ever regret, because it had kept me strong all these years.

4. Would you like to live your same life all over again?

Yes, it would still be a blessing for me. I will never trade my life for anyone else. My life has been a rollercoaster ride, but I am enjoying it. It’s much better now that I am fully aware that I have to live it well!

5. What will life be like fifty years from now?

If I will be given the gift by God to live a long life, then it shall be a fruitful life, with God in it. So in 50 years, I shall have grandchildren, and all of them should know God and fear HIM. Then I can eat with all them every weekend, and share stories with them. By then, I shall live in a home where there is a window, to see the view of the ocean outside, where there is also a big garden to plant vegetables and flowers with, and a small animal farm to raise chickens and goats, and a pond with fishes too! It doesn’t need to be a big home or an expensive life. My life in 50 years must be in a place where life flourish and love continue to exist.

So what about you?! Any thoughts about life and what will it be after 50 years? Thanks for reading! ❤️🙏🏻

#cousin #cancer #life #death #love #time #notimetowaste #value #cherish

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Mr. Mercedes Director Jack Bender On The Show’s Peacock Move and Future

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Mr. Friendly’s Frosteez has a new driver scooping ice cream for the kids and smiley-faced tennis balls for the older crowd. A certain 2003 Mercedes-Benz S 600 sports a new color. And Mr. Mercedes has a new home. The Stephen King detective series will be getting a second life at Peacock. While Mr. Mercedes season 3 ended with a vague tease the serial killer at the heart of the series may be starting anew as the Supreme Electronix co-worker who took him out, Peacock is keeping the series exactly as it originally ran before Audience Network was shut down.

Based on King’s New York Times best-selling Bill Hodges Trilogy, the title character owes a debt to classic detectives. Brendan Gleeson brings a grizzled annoyance to his obsession over a case which will never go cold. Harry Treadaway’s serial killer Brady Hartsfield, aka Mr. Mercedes, the title character of the series, made an unexpected departure, but left Lou Linklatter (Breeda Wool) the keys to his wheels and some of his fondest memories.

Mr. Mercedes sticks fairly close to the Bill Hodges Trilogy source material, which explores the evils of the human mind, rather than supernatural suspense. A good portion of the books takes place in Brady’s head but the TV series’ opening scene, the crime which tortures the now retired detective, was based on a real event. In 2011, a woman drove into a crowd of people at a McDonald’s hiring event in Cleveland, Ohio.

Director Jack Bender is used to the twisted worlds of television. He started as an actor appearing on such shows as All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Mod Squad before moving behind the camera. Best known for his work on the groundbreaking fantasy series Lost, he also brought the groundbreaking comedy Ally McBeal to screens, and directed episodes of Game of Thrones. Bender spoke with Den of Geek about his work with Stephen King, the world of detectives and killers, and where the Mercedes is parked now.

Den of Geek: Does the move to Peacock come with changes?

Jack Bender: Mr. Mercedes was done originally for three years on direct TV for the Audience Network. Peacock has picked it up in their infinite wisdom to show the first two seasons. And then, sometime in the near future, hopefully, once the show has a terrific audience, they’re going to play season three. We did three seasons. And nobody has asked me at Peacock to make any cuts or changes, so I trust they’re showing the show in all its wonderful weirdness and twisted humanity.

Will there be any further production on it if it does well?

Well, we talked about that and that is, potentially, in the offing but at this point there’s no commitment. David Kelley and I have had conversations regarding what season four would look like and some of our younger cast who would come back and what the story could be, because there is some story left there.

Stephen wrote three books, but we definitely have something in mind for a season four if the stars were to come together and we would do it.

Is that why the Mercedes got the yellow paint job?

David Kelley invented that. It was Holly’s way of getting over the trauma. It empowered her. First of all, she wanted the Mercedes and she didn’t want it to be ruined by the nightmare that it was used for by Brady Hartsfield. Although that was always Hodges’ argument, “How can you have that fucking thing around? It killed all these people.” Her argument was, “No, the Mercedes didn’t kill people. It was a weapon. Brady killed people. My memory of the Mercedes is my aunt had pride in it and used to take me for drives. So, it’s my way of healing.”

It’s interesting because Stephen King supposedly, and we’ve gotten very close and I never asked him this, but I think after the van hit him when he was out jogging that day and, as you know, it was very serious, practically every bone in his body was broken. Eventually, he bought that car and beat the shit out of it with a sledgehammer. So, I think it’s a very similar act of, “Fuck you, I’m alive. And goddammit, you’re not going to ruin this for me.”

Every horror fan in the world held their breath when he was hit.

Oh, yeah. It was just horrible. Did you ever read his extraordinary book? There’s a great book he wrote called On Writing, which is autobiographical. It’s the greatest book on how to be a writer and how to write and very specifically what he does, what his oeuvre is, what his process is. You hear the story of some amazing books and how they came to him and how he stuck with them, et cetera, et cetera.

I’m very fortunate to have crossed paths with Stephen, and I’ve got another couple of projects in development with him. It’s just a real gift to not only have him as a friend, but somebody who trusts me with his material.

I love the references that you throw in, like having Treadaway’s character be a Ramones fan. How does the legacy of King play into the creative process?

Well, when David and I were developing the show, it was my thought that: I love the use of music, but I don’t really like it when shows just plug the song in over the montage. Look, everything is manipulative in art. It’s just obviously manipulative. It’s like, “You want me to feel emotion now,” or, “You want to make some comment.” So, I said, “What if Hodges is such a train wreck when we start the show there are only two things: He’s got a lousy relationship with his daughter, with his ex-wife. He’s a man on his own. Now, thanks to David, who invented Ida, he’s got a friend who he gets closer with, Ida Silver brilliantly played by Holland Taylor. But I said, “What if the only two things he takes care of are his vinyl collection and his tortoise that he bought for his daughter when she was little?”

Now, that was autobiographical. Nothing else in the show is. I actually bought, for our daughter, when she was about six-years-old, an African spur-thighed tortoise who was only six-weeks-old that we named Federico Fellini until we found out it was a girl and we changed it to Federica. Then, we found out no, in fact, it’s a boy. So, it has become Fred. So, I said to David, “What if Hodges has that tortoise?” David loved that idea. He became a part of the show, as did Brendan’s record collection.

I wanted to do little drops in there like we used to do on Lost, little Easter eggs. Obviously, Harry Treadaway seeing Pet Sematary, because I had this image of Brady driving in his car. And when he goes out on those computer calls, he has to be Mr. Straight and be a little buttoned-down good worker, but when he gets in his car, he fucking lets it loose.

It was great working with Harry on that because when we were first doing it, and it was early on in the shooting, Harry was kind of singing the song well. He’s got a nice voice. I’m going, “This is weird.” I said, “Harry, you’ve got to fucking stick your finger out the window and screw everybody and sing loudly. Just be Brady.” And then he let loose and he was brilliant. So, that’s where “Pet Sematary” came from.

Weaving songs, both Brady’s character choices in the songs that came from Brady’s world along with Hodges’ world was definitely part of the language of the show season one, and then it continued through season two. People really dug that. Very eclectic choices of songs. It was part of the language and it said something about their characters. I always wanted them motivated in what they would listen to.

What was your involvement on HBO’s The Outsider?

No, I didn’t do The Outsider. What happened was Stephen gave me the book and I was developing it with Richard Price and the company. It was one of those Hollywood stories where somehow things got derailed. So, from afar, I was an executive producer, but creatively, chose to have nothing to do with it.

Do you approach a Stephen King detective story differently than a regular detective story?

Well, that’s interesting. I think everything I do I approach differently. See, I first got to know Stephen on Lost because he was such a fan. And then I joined and exec produced and directed many of the episodes for the first two years of Under the Dome. We were talking about finding something to do together, and one day in the mail came these two massive Manila envelopes, which were the galleys from Mr. Mercedes. I went, “Oh, my God.” And he didn’t tell me it was coming.

So, I read it and I loved it and said, “Yeah, I want to do it.” That was the beginning of this. But what I thought was so interesting was not only was Stephen King writing in the detective genre, and definitely he was using the detective metaphor all the way back to Chinatown and period detective stuff, is that it’s kind of a hat rack that Stephen hung the story on, which is the retired detective and the one case that got away. That’s kind of a standard detective trope, but in Stephen King’s hands, it becomes something very different. What I always saw the show as being was Stephen King writing about the monster inside the characters, as opposed to the monster outside the characters, which I loved. I said, “If I get lucky with the right cast,” and boy did I, “and I convince David Kelley to write it.”

I had worked with David all the way back to Ally McBeal and a bunch of things. I said, “David, nobody writes twisted better than you.” Big Little Lies hadn’t come out yet. I don’t even know if they’d shot it. I said to David, “When you write dark and twisted, nobody does it better.” I said, “You’re going to dive into these characters and it’ll still have heart and humanity, but they are really people who have been twisted by the world and their genes and everything else.” David wrote it.

In fact, when we first started and I said, “Stephen, I want to do this, but there’s this one actor who’s born to play Hodges. I don’t know if you know him. He’s this Irish actor named Brendan Gleeson.” He said, “Do I know him? I love him.” We mentioned all his movies and that became our dream. His agents and managers said, “Brendan’s not going to do a series, blah blah blah.” There were some people in Hollywood who said, “No, he’s not well known enough. What about this person, that person?” Well, as fate would have it, we got Brendan and let him be Irish. He’s just brilliant.

Also true of Harry Treadaway. I was convinced by our casting director to look at his film and he just was brilliant. Our whole cast was. We ended up, I mean, just with some extraordinary luck with Jharrel Jerome, who went on to win an Emmy. Justine Lupe, Holland Taylor, Kelly Lynch, Breeda Wool. I mean, it’s just a great great cast. I always felt that the success of this show lay in the performances. I very much wanted to frame it, stylistically, directorial, to take time for those performances, which we did.

What does Hodges owe to the classic detectives like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe?

Well, I think Brendan would say there has been, all the way back to Chinatown and Jack Gittes and Nicholson. I think Brendan, like all great detectives in film history and in novels, they’re all wounded people. He found the wounds in Hodges, the flaws in Hodges, played them all the way from him. Not being able to take a leak first thing in the morning, episode one, and looking like shit from the night before falling asleep in his Lay-Z-Boy.

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I think that the Stephen King character of Bill Hodges will stand the test of time as one of the great detectives because he’s got real depth, real flaws, and real humanity, like all these people, and a lot of scars. And Brendan shows those very bravely and with heart and humor.Mr. Mercedes will stream exclusively on Peacock beginning Oct. 15.

The post Mr. Mercedes Director Jack Bender On The Show’s Peacock Move and Future appeared first on Den of Geek.

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jordm · 7 years

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Heartland 11x03 - Decision Time review

For the first time in awhile, I didn’t watch live. Thankfully, I have a good reason. HAPPY [belated] TURKEY DAY! Or, as most people know it, Canadian Thanksgiving.

To preface, this episode, many characters have… well, decisions to make as the title suggests; some more serious than others. They’re at a fork in the road and need to choose which way to go.

GEORGIE

Dear Val; of course she has other priorities. She’s in school. And you know, kind of wants to graduate? But I don’t think that’s the other “priority” Val was concerned about; I think Val was talking about Extreme Team. To Val’s credit (and later Amy’s), I do see where she was coming from. Both equine sports take up a lot of time and dedication (no half measures- breaking bad reference anyone?) so doing both, combined with school; like Amy pointed out, eventually, something would eventually slip through the cracks. She could wear herself out and get hurt, her school work could neglect, she could find herself way too over worked. To Val’s detriment, the way she presented/explained this and essentially forced Georgie to choose, even if it was for the best of all parties, wasn’t quite so smooth and I don’t think it was until Amy finally told her the same thing in a nicer, more nurturing way that Georgie finally understood it.

While I do understand why she sided with Val, or I guess Flame; and I do think that with Show Jumping you have the potential to go further/on a more international stage, I am a little sad that she is quitting Extreme Team. Extreme Team was always so exciting to watch since there are so many new tricks and they always look death defying. Plus, all last season Georgie worked so hard at it to get the headliner spot and to perfect her tricks; it really is a shame it’s all going to go to waste, so to say. Or maybe i’m just sad that she might have to give away Checkers or Trouble, because even though we know nothing really about Checkers especially, it is still kind of sad to give away any horse, as she might do next episode.

Either way, I look forward to seeing what drama Val brings in the future and how Georgie does. In some way, her picking Show Jumping allows the show to let Georgie “grow” more story-wise. We saw her grow as a trick rider all season. Now we get to see Georgie struggle to compete in jumping as she gets back into it competitively (because she hasn’t been doing in awhile) and face new adversaries (like Val, new opponents, struggles etc.) which may not have been brought out if she chose Extreme Team since we already saw it play out last season. So I guess this is a really long winded way to say, I’m okay with this decision.

OLIVIA & ADAM

How awkward was Olivia calling Adam her boyfriend in front of Georgie? Also is it just me, or does Olivia and Adam just not mesh as a couple? They seem to have opposite personalities; and if Adam can’t be himself with Olivia/is different around Olivia then with others, then that isn’t good right? Oh well. This leads to Adam and Georgie agreeing to not be awkward around each other anymore; even though i’m not sure it’s something you can agree on. Isn’t that something that has to happen naturally? You can’t instantly not be awkward around each other… it takes time.

Lastly, Olivia’s reaction at hearing that Georgie is quitting made me think that she secretly wanted the solo headliner spot.. but then why would she even give Georgie the option to do a double stunt? Why even offer it? I don’t think she hurt Georgie on purpose- she’s not that malicious but I do think she thought her quitting as a result of (a) her getting hurt and (b) Val issuing an ultimatum was just a nice bonus. To Adam’s credit, Adam didn’t seem to agree with Olivia’s reaction, even if he didn’t say anything.

I still say they’re an awkward couple. A little mismatched. But, I guess we again, don’t know much about their dynamics as a couple. So, meh.

JADE

Here’s a prediction: Avery and Jade will be friends by the end of the season. Or at the very least, competitors who respect and have no animosity towards each other. After all, they are the only girls we’ve seen so far in this rodeo school, who show any promise.

My first thoughts on Avery was that she didn’t ask for it. She didn’t ask to be called out by her brother to show off her skills. She was perfectly content watching, as she was doing. She even seemed nice, trying to befriend Jade and trying to provide feedback from her experiences as a girl bulldogger, saying she can’t just bulldog the way the guys do- which is true.

Jade isn’t receptive at first and even shrugs her off, due to her thinking Avery was just there to show off. Now, I don’t blame Jade for thinking this, as this was my first thought about Avery from the first look- look at this girl who wants to show off and even looks a little smug. A girl who just happens to be watching and happens to be good? Seems pretty coincidental. We are quickly proven this wrong as we see the kind of person she is (mentioned above), someone who genuinely loves the rodeo and likes to compete, while helping others. Jade seems to see the error of her ways after Avery tells her she only came because of Jade and tells Avery she wants her to stay, with her even asking Avery to be partners in team roping, and accepting that Avery being there made her better. I look forward to seeing where this relationship between the two of them goes.

CALEB & TIM

So it turns out that the students seem to respect him and trust his methods more than Tim since y’know that’s how he learned and he did amazing at the circuit last year (did we know this?). I think they seem to forget that Tim, way back when, also was a big thing. But recency bias is a real thing.

Predictably, Tim doesn’t like it. When he gives one-on-one lessons to Jade, when she says she isn’t ready for a real steer, Tim pushes her to use a real steer anyways, since I do think deep down he didn’t want to admit that Caleb may have been partly right in his methods. He even ends up hurting himself when he ends up trying to one up Caleb by demonstrating bulldogging instead of him, which turns out well for Caleb since he defends Tim and makes Tim question firing Caleb. Caleb is even working on recruiting more students!

I’m glad Tim is coming around to working with Caleb because they both bring two different experiences, past and present to teaching and one can only gain by hearing both sides. Plus, even though Tim doesn’t really like Caleb’s methods all the time, and Caleb can’t really draw (and should probably stick to writing or verbalizing out his ideas), I do think they can make a good team. For example, if Caleb takes the newer students to work with the dummy to practise and then Tim takes the more experiences on the real steer.

AMY & TY / CASS & CALEB

They finally leave the house with Lyndy! And boy is she adorable. Every time they do a closeup on her face, stretching her legs or doing anything, I’m jelly. I love babies, especially when they’re happy and playful.

Cass and Caleb apparently had the same idea as me and when they see Amy and Ty at Maggie’s with Lyndy, they fawn over Lyndy and basically ignore Amy and Ty. They even make Amy and Ty move over so they can be closer to Lyndy. What good god parents!

“But be honest, it’s really her you want to see” - Amy

It was so cute to see Amy reading to Lyndy to put her to bed and then Ty and her’s moment in the kitchen where they tell each other they love each other and how everything is going so well. So. Basically things are going to go downhill, because that’s basically jinxing yourself, no?

True to form, poor Lyndy get’s sick that night. In a panic, Ty consults the world wide web- and finds out Lyndy only has 7 minutes to live. Joking. But he does find out that she could die… which I guess could be true of any illness- to be fair. On top of that they get no sleep because they spend the night in the ER and Lyndy is teething! Mental note to anyone: do not self diagnose via google.

After Cass and Caleb come over with take out to see their super cute god daughter, only for Cass to be thrown up on, Cass and Caleb decide that they are going to wait to start a family, which is all good; they do have a dog now! I am also a firm believer that it is better to wait and be 100% sure you want a kid than have a baby just because its the “next step”. I only wish we got to see this said discussion between Cass and Caleb about the choice to start a family/not start a family, instead of hearing about it. But again, I wasn’t really expecting to see it.

Lastly, how cute was Lyndy near the end when the three of them were in the loft as a family and she had her first laugh?! I love these Tamy family moments. Plus I love the Tamy/Cassaleb… Casleb? Calandra? friendship.

Okay. So i’m still working on the Cass/Caleb ship name. They both start with Ca… soo ideas anyone?

MITCH

Mitch, like everyone else and half of tumblr, is not convinced his new job is indeed great, as it seems. Jack doesn’t seem convinced, Tim isn’t buying it… Mitch isn’t buying it. Maybe his new employers are buying it?

Jack asks him to dinner at the ranch because well, he hasn’t been there in awhile. Sure. Jack clearly has something up his sleeve, but what is it? (Well from the promos we know he’s going to bring back Mitch in some capacity, so I guess the suspense is more what is Jack gonna offer?) Either way, i’m all for it. more Mitch. With a beard please.

Anyways, Mitch only agrees to come to dinner when he hears Lou is still in NYC. Yep. Still. Although I digress, that it’s probably only been a week in Heartland time. Again, not the point, but also kind of the point. It makes me wonder what Lou will think when she comes back and sees Mitch has re-integrated himself into the family since she’s been gone.

After dinner, Jack can tell Mitch isn’t so fond of city life and asks Mitch to work with him (because working for him would be a step back)/be his partner in the cattle business, and might I add without Tim’s input. Then again, Tim is so busy with his rodeo school, Jack has often been left on his own so I don’t blame him.

Welcome back Mitch! Please don’t just get back with Lou when she gets back just because. I’d also like to hear more about Mitch’s new job and exactly what is so wrong with it (if it is indeed not just because it’s the city. There has to be other factors).

STRAY ENDS/RIDICULOUSLY CUTE MOMENTS

- Amy can still trick ride! It’s so nice to see that Amy still has her ability to magically be good at any equine sport.

- Lyndy’s smile when Val arrived at the ranch… or anytime there was a close up of Lyndy laughing, smiling, holding her legs. Ugh. I just want to eat her up.

- Jack holding the tiny calf in the saddle while riding the horse

- A really nice final scene with everybody at the table eating together, for once, as a nice nod to Thanksgiving since it is actual Thanksgiving in real life. Lyndy really was born into a loving family, even if they don’t all show it.

GENERAL THOUGHTS OF THE SEASON

Despite the total lack of Lou, honestly, this season has already been so much better than last season. We have no indication of Ty leaving (at least to Mongolia), Amy and Ty are parenting together, heck; Amy and Ty are together. Georgie is dealing with non-boy problems, a nice change of pace, especially since she dealt with her past plus I’m expecting (and hoping) more Lisa than last season.

I love that we already have character development from all characters in some way and that we are learning new things about recurring characters, ilke Lisa. The new characters don’t even seem that bad. Avery, as a “foe” to Jade competitively, Charles who gave depth to Georgie’s past and heightened her relationship with Peter and Lyndy (who seems like the exception since she was kind of in all last season already) is adorable as heck. So let’s hope they keep this up- with more Lisa, Lou, Peter, Cass, Caleb and Scott please.

I’m going to end this with some (two) really really cute pics of baby Lyndy that I thought was adorable, among others.

SONGS IN THIS EPISODE [@heartlandians]

Sweet Enola - Written by Christopher Rider, Performed by Cree Rider

Right Here, Right Now - Written by Christopher Rider, Performed by Cree Rider

Take me Home - Written by Maureen Ennis, Performed by the Ennis Sisters

#heartland #season 11 #Decision time #review #11x03

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dvbermingham · 4 years

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Chapter 14: Tako

He shrieked when he saw me. I get it. I’ve been shrieked at before. A unexpected pulpy man lying on the couch, totally understandable. The shriek was loud and dramatic and he feigned like he was going to run, almost like he was acting, like he was on camera.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“I guess Vicky didn’t call you.”

“No Vicky didn’t call me. Vicky never calls me.”

“I’m Lou.”

“Oh well Hi Lou. A friend of Vicky’s, I presume? Not just some derelict she found on the street? It wouldn’t be the first time, you know.”

“We just met, so I don’t know why. She said she liked how I danced.”

He scanned me up and down. “This happened to you dancing?”

“No, afterwards. Backroom scuffle. I’m a bodyguard. It’s not usually so hazardous. Mostly you just stand around looking big, bluffing. Sometimes people call that bluff.”

“You might want to go to the hospital.”

“That’s what I hear.”

Hadrian shrugged and went about his business, treating me like a piece of furniture or a sleeping dog, something that should be left alone unless it bothers you first. That was fine by me. My body ached, my mind ached, but the pain had worn off just enough from the pills that there was now room for that sweet, sweet shame. Sham for having lost my Matzu, shame for having failed, shame for losing the tuna and the limo, but mostly the tuna, the dread of having to call Stella and file a missing body report. Stella would have to reach out to Alfonso and maybe if I was lucky Matzu was alive and would take me back. Otherwise it was back to the temp agency, waiting for someone to ignore my references and just hire me out of desperation. I supposed there was a case to be made that we had been ambushed and overpowered by a gang so large that no bodyguard in the world could have prevailed. I mean, no one knew how many drinks I’d had, or the depths of the dance trance that consumed me just moments previous to being held up at gunpoint.

Then I got to reflecting. Always something I try to avoid in the moment. It’s what got me into so much trouble in my former careers. But lying out with nothing but a puke bucket by my side doesn’t leave a lot else to do. For me reflecting came in the form of wondering whether Takuto’s death and Matzu’s disappearance were connected. And whether there was a fight for New York sushi territory happening behind the scenes. Whether this was the beginning or the end or somewhere in the middle. And whether somebody caught in the middle could be held responsible, could be given another chance.

Maybe I could call it quits right then and there, I thought. No, I certainly couldn’t. Even though I had only known Matzu for one night, his disappearance would always be an unanswered question, a terrifying void in my life. I could never move on unless I figured out what had happened to him.

Hadrian popped his head in from the other room. “I’m ordering lunch, you want anything?”

“Just get me whatever you’re having.”

“You’re buying.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Cheaper than a hospital bed, pal.”

Twenty minutes later we were eating shawarma from the Lebanese place across the street. Fantastic stuff, greasy and spicy, just what my bludgeoned and hungover body needed. At my age, you don’t really think you’ll ever experience a new style of meat-sweats in your lifetime, so when they come, you savor them. Hadrian had an accent I couldn’t place but didn’t want to ask about. Possibly Rhode Island. He wore very tight clothes that looked coordinated, like he studied fashion magazines or had a thing for mannequin displays. He was a confessor, I could tell right away. Like he hadn’t talked to anyone in a few days and seeing as I was just laying on the couch I should do just fine as a fresh set of ears. Fine by me — it helped me feel useful. Useful, exactly! Hadrian said he knew exactly what I was talking about. Cleaning is the best way to feel useful. He said he always felt he had all this potential built up and if he didn’t use it somehow, even if it wasn’t ideal, you might never get around to using it and you’ll die wondering if you completely missed your calling. He didn’t want to clean houses and apartments for a living, he wanted to be a chef. Not a restaurant chef but a TV chef, like Emeril Lagasse, his hero. To him, Emeril was a hero, a legend. He found his calling, the most important thing in life, and on top of that, he found managed to figure out a way to broadcast it every day to the entire world. There was nothing better, he said, than showing the world over and over again how great your life is, how your biggest concern is maybe not adding enough garlic to your damn tomatoes. It’s almost a better feeling than your life actually being great.

Alas, he said, the television and culinary worlds required some schooling and he didn’t have the money to go back. He had a degree in media and broadcasting, but no clue about the kitchen world. Cleaning was the easiest job he could get that paid the best and still left him feeling energized at the end of the day. All in all, that wasn’t a bad setup. He’d leave apartments tidy and smelling fancy, go out for an early happy hour when the bars were almost empty and he’d sit at the bar and listen to the regulars and the bartender talk, and watch intently s the bartender pretend to have a task in front of her at any given time, sometimes real tasks and other times just moving things from one place to another and back again trying to appear busy but always engaged with the regulars who never had anything new to say because they spent all their free time in the bar seeking fresh ears and if none were available then old ears would do just fine. Hadrian liked to watch for the bartender’s micro-reactions, little smirks, eye-rolls, anything subconscious that showed her true feelings. Bartenders are dishonest people, he said. It’s a job and part of the job of bartender is to listen to what your customers have to say, make them feel welcome, cheer them up and keep their minds from wandering, or help their minds safely wander out of their daily rut, whatever they’re in the mood for, and always keeping a keen sense of balance and vibe, similar to the balance and vibe you create when cleaning apartments, a balance that makes people feel like someone is taking care of things around them so they won’t have to worry. But underneath the bartender’s facade are the tiny little minuscule reactions they can’t hide, or are too tired to hide, and that’s what Hadrian looks for, those bartenders who keep that balance in the bar but on the inside they’re wavering. I was done with my pita by that point, was mopping up my cracked, misshapen lips while Hadrian had barely taken a bite, was just holding his shawarma while he talked, the bread filling with sauce and grease from the lamb and starting to drip and crack apart, which is a pet-peeve of mine, two people not eating at the same pace.

He could tell I was losing interest and/or consciousness on account of his story or possibly the aforementioned meat-sweats and of course the swelling so he changed the subject and started talking about Vicky and watched me perk right up. Must have been obvious I guess. Like the television host he dreamed of becoming, he felt my energy and launched into some gossip. About Gwen the little genius who is most certainly destined to be a singer or voice actor. About her life as a model for sculptors in Gowanus. About how she lost her husband the year before, he thinks from a motorcycle related crash but wasn’t sure. They were about the same age, had been together since forever. “She didn’t tell me at first,” he said, “I thought they just got divorced. There were remnants of him all over the apartment that she didn’t take down. I started asking whether she wanted me to take down the pictures and whatnot but she said no, that she wanted to keep them up for Gwen. She seemed fine, keeping everything together. She kept bartending, kept going to school, kept herself and Gwen in a routine that would get them through the tough times. Creatures of habit, right? Why do people hate on routine so much, you know?”

Then he said, “So what do you do again? Wrestler?”

“Bodyguard.”

“Of course, right. Who do you guard?”

“I work for a chef. Maybe he can get you a TV show.”

“What’s his name?”

“Thing is…he might be dead. I’m not sure.”

“Well, where does he work? If there’s a vacancy maybe they need an apprentice.”

“It’s a sushi place on the east side. I’ll find the name for you.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to eat sushi anymore.”

“Why?”

“It’s poisonous I think. The fish have turned poisonous from over-fishing. Like, in rebellion, maybe? Does nature rebel like that? I think plagues are sort of like that. Or maybe it was that the fish was always poisonous and we didn’t realize it. We just thought it was too fancy not to eat it, and we all ignored that it was poisoning us all along. I think that was it. Or something like that. I heard it somewhere.”

“First I’ve heard of it.”

“Oh, I think I remember. There was an article, I can’t remember where. It said rogue sushi chefs were poisoning their own fish to try to make it less popular. As like a backlash against popularizing sushi. A cultural thing. Stopping foreigners from eating their sushi.”

“Foreigners? Like, Americans?”

“Yeah.”

“In New York?”

“Yeah.”

I considered the number of times I felt sick after eating at FishySmell, and wondered if it had anything to do with the rumor. A wave of blood filled with nervous little blood cells rushed to my skull all screaming at once a word I couldn’t understand.

“How Brooklyn, right? Try to keep it out of the mainstream as long as possible. Ha, get it. Mainstream. Like, the opposite of underground. No wait…underwater! HA!”

Hadrian asked if I was okay, must have sensed something was wrong, but I couldn’t get the words out, my legs and hands were cramping, my meat-sweats were transitioning to anxiety sweats. The shawarma was turning on me. It felt like all my energy was being sucked out of my body.

“Maybe you should lie down.”

“I think I need to go actually.”

He laughed. “Go where? You can barely open your eyes.”

Tears filled my eyes. I felt my chin wiggle, trying to hold back the flood. “I lost him. Two in a week! I’m a bodyguard and I lost my body, twice. Do you have any idea what that means for a guy like me? For him? A young guy, an up-and-coming chef, probably dead. And on top of it I lost a very expensive tuna loin which was meant to be distributed to the chefs of New York. Now there’s going to be a tuna shortage and its all my fault!”

“Tuna loin, eh?”

I tried to talk through my sniffles. “It was entrusted to us by the head of nationwide sushi-syndicate who might also be criminals, I don’t know. It was worth a lot of money.”

“High quality tuna loin? Like, as in, something a chef would be very happy to receive?”

“Yea, sitting in a hot car all night.”

“Was it wrapped up?”

“Yeah.”

“Great. Come on, let’s go get it.”

“Really?”

"I don’t have anything going on.”

“I don’t think you don’t want to get involved. This is a dangerous situation. Look what they did to my face!”

“How do I know you didn’t look a lot like that before you got beat up?”

I cried some more.

“Well regardless of how ugly you were, you can’t go outside with a face looking like a crushed up turtle. All lumpy and gooey and stuff.”

“Don’t say turtle, please.”

“Listen, I’m going to be honest with you because I don’t have a lot of patience and I just like to say things I believe are true even if they’re not: If your friend is dead, he’s dead, and there’s nothing you can do. So what’s the rush? I’d be more concerned about that rotting tuna in the back seat of your car. If we can get that to some chefs, maybe get on their good side, a little introduction, we could get your job back. And an apprenticeship for me…”

“You think he’s dead?” I asked.

The phone rang. It was Vicky. She said she was running late and had to go straight to work instead of stopping home first. “She says she’s sorry. But to just hang tight, she’ll be home before we know it.”

We decided we would go see if the tuna was still there, if the car was still there, swing by my apartment to get a few things, and come straight back. He made us coffee and we waited until Gwen came home. He helped her get her homework started and then told her to be a good girl while the two adults went for a little ride.

Before we stepped out the door, I stopped and said, “We can’t leave her alone. Her mom won’t be back for hours.”

“It’s fine, she knows the neighbors.”

“Are you sure?”

“I do it all the time.”

“I’d really feel more comfortable if she came with us. I mean, what if something happens to her.”

“She’s in a kid proof apartment, in a building filled with adults. It’s more dangerous bringing her with us. I mean, need I remind you of the hideousness of your face and how that all happened?” “Listen, I’m not going to be fighting anyone or saving anyone or sticking up to anyone in the next few hours. I just need some first-aid, a fresh change of clothes, and some bearings. If anyone comes for me, I’ll surrender. They won’t hurt a hipster and a little girl sitting in whatever car you own. Can’t be anything special. They’re sushi people. They’re classier than that. We take a little drive into the city, check out some tuna, head to my apartment, pack a bag, and come right back here. Sound good?”

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junker-town · 5 years

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The 11 best NBA workout videos of Summer 2019

Who put out the hardest workout mixtape of the summer in the NBA? These are our favorites.

The NBA offseason workout video has become a ubiquitous part of basketball’s summer culture. If a player dunks in a dark gym and no one is around to put it on Instagram, did it ever really happen?

Damian Lillard chided his peers with a brilliant spoof last year, but it hasn’t stopped the workout video movement from continuing. NBA players covered every angle this summer: we got big men shooting threes, players working out with their dads, players working out with their kids, stars competing against each other in five-on-five, Dwight Howard competing against nobody, and one of the best young players in the world doing drills while catching a racquetball.

At this point, nothing surprises us. These are our favorite NBA workout videos of summer 2K19.

Karl-Anthony Towns has the most obstacle-heavy mixtape

KAT's workout is tough. (via _zachleach/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/9eEPBK6A9g

— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) August 3, 2019

The next time someone throws a racquetball at Towns as he dribbles coast-to-coast for a dunk, he is going to be prepared. It’s a new era in Minnesota, people!

This is my favorite genre of the NBA summer workout mixtape: the one that combines basketball with obstacles. It is exactly what Lillard was parodying last year, though it’s also easy to see how these drills could help help a player’s hand-eye coordination, focus, and balance. Towns is already one of the most complete offensive big men in the league at 23 years old, a 7-footer who nearly put up 50/40/90 shooting splits last year. Hopefully the racquetball drills help his defense, too.

Zach LaVine has the most father-friendly mixtape

Zach LaVine's dad is making him work. #Bulls pic.twitter.com/de6cSc9aH9

— Bulls Nation (@BullsNationCP) June 4, 2019

“Get your ass in shape. Stop f*cking around.”

These are the delightful words of wisdom from LaVine’s father as he puts his son through a resistance ban workout in the sand that seems to target LaVine’s finishing ability as he gets tired late in games. Smart thinking, because LaVine was putting up massive usage rate numbers for the Bulls in crunch time last year.

There’s also a video of LaVine splashing threes and dunking from a pickup run earlier this summer if that’s more your style. We’re partial to seeing a dad still helping his son long after he’s grown up and turned himself into a bonafide NBA scorer.

Ben Simmons has the most implausible shooting performance

My La runs player spotlight @BenSimmons25 @swishcultures_ pic.twitter.com/wbvCsY7nVn

— Chris Johnson Hoops (@ChrisJHoops) July 23, 2019

Simmons has never made a three in his NBA career, a stat all Philadelphia fans are deeply aware of. Fear not, #lickface nation: Simmons can shoot now, at least according to this workout video.

That first pull-up three looked flawless, didn’t it? And that fadeaway? Smooth. Even the pull-up jumper from about 18-feet in the third clip would be an enormous addition to Simmons’ offensive arsenal. You have to love that nasty double-pump reverse dunk, too. I agree with Jackson Frank of Liberty Ballers that it’s likely unlikely Simmons ever becomes a competent shooter, but that’s part of what makes summer workout videos so much fun. Simmons has been in a few of these if you want more looks at that jumper.

James Harden created the best new move

View this post on Instagram

For game. @jharden13 #knowyourbigpicture #familyforever #theblueprint

A post shared by Darico "Rico" Hines (@ricohinesbball) on Aug 18, 2019 at 3:49pm PDT

Harden warned us he was going to come up with a new move that would make y’all mad. He has now blessed us with a sneak preview of what he was working on: a turnaround, side-step, one-footed three. It’s beautiful and perfect and I can’t wait wait to see it in a real game.

The Rockets are going to be a very different team with Russell Westbrook in place of Chris Paul this year, with a lot more emphasis on transition scoring and potentially less isolations in stalled halfcourt sets. That all sounds great, but let’s hope we still get to see Harden work his magic against set defenses with moves like this one.

Carmelo Anthony and Lou Williams were the best parents

View this post on Instagram

This is so dope!!!! @blackops.basketball @harrington1313

A post shared by Chris Brickley (@cbrickley603) on Aug 26, 2019 at 7:08pm PDT

If you can fight off feeling 100 years old while watching this, it’s so cool to see Anthony pass on his moves to his young son. Bronny James is already a household name as he enters his freshman year of high school. Maybe Kiyan Anthony will be one day, too. No one is going to have a better teacher.

Just as heartwarming: Williams, a standout for the Clippers, doing shooting drills with his daughter. Her jumper is already wetter than Simmons’. She obviously inherited her father’s ball handling ability, too.

Lou Will putting in work with his daughter. (via louwillville/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/4fAYXvC7Ok

— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) September 5, 2019

Dwight Howard looked the best in an empty gym

Dwight Howard looking good in the gym! pic.twitter.com/1CmWWl2JRd

— ShowtimeForum (@ShowtimeForum) August 28, 2019

Howard has risen from rock bottom to join the Lakers once again, which might be the single most unbelievable storyline of another bonkers NBA summer. Howard reportedly beat out Joakim Noah and others for the job. Maybe the Lakers were really into empty gym workouts like this one.

Please, spare me the fire emojis here. The only thing separating this from the infamous Yi Jianlian workout is the absence of a chair. It would be a wonderful story if Howard could turn into a dependable player in his second stint in Los Angeles, but this video isn’t inspiring much confidence just yet.

D’Angelo Russell had the best Splash Brother audition

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(via @cbrickley603, @harrington1313)

A post shared by House of Highlights (@houseofhighlights) on Aug 9, 2019 at 12:20pm PDT

The Warriors are down a Splash Brother this season because of Klay Thompson’s torn ACL. Russell would like to fill out an application for the open position. He looks damn good here.

Russell’s move to Golden State is one of the most fascinating of the summer. Playing next to Steph Curry should be an amazing opportunity. As long as his Lifetime Fitness range extends to the new Chase Center is San Francisco, the Warriors should be just fine.

Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony are the best tutors

D-Wade said he can’t stay out the gym ( @swishcultures_ @ChrisJHoops ) pic.twitter.com/4CQRZCWTyh

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) August 28, 2019

Wade is retired, but as he says in this video, he can’t stay out of the gym. Here he is giving Josh Hart instruction on how to look off the defense on a baseline push shot. It’s little things like this where Wade can be an invaluable mentor to younger players. The Pelicans appreciate the free lesson for Hart.

Anthony isn’t just instructing his son. Watch him give pointers to new Knicks forward Julius Randle, who signed a two-year deal with New York in the offseason. It’s great to see Anthony helping his former team even as he waits for an offer from an NBA team.

#NBA │ Julius Randle soaking up game from Melo (via @tylerrelph10/IG) pic.twitter.com/vsPQIeViJQ

— NOW Hoops (@NOW_Hoops) August 31, 2019

Lonzo Ball has most optimistic workout tape

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Lonzo Ball’s 1st day back on the court. (via @prosvision_, @paul_devia)

A post shared by House of Highlights (@houseofhighlights) on Aug 18, 2019 at 5:06pm PDT

Ball has the most maligned shot in the NBA this side of Ben Simmons. He looks a lot more like the UCLA Lonzo who shot 41 percent from three than the NBA Lonzo who shot 41 percent on free throws last season in this video. The video almost says it’s Ball’s first day back on the court almost six months after being sidelined with a serious ankle injury.

This video also has my favorite Instagram comment: “Man spent all of his VC on tats”. That is an NBA 2K reference for the uninitiated. Lonzo’s ink has gotten a lot of publicity this summer.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had the best shooting instructor

Giannis Antetokounmpo working on his shot with Kyle Korver (IG: BigSack42) pic.twitter.com/dNSNNjUdTt

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) July 23, 2019

If Giannis gets a jump shot is one of the most repeated phrases within the NBA discourse right now. The Bucks star is already arguably the best player in the world. Imagine if defenses had to respect his shooting range. We could be talking about GOAT territory.

Credit Antetokounmpo for putting the work in this summer. He he is with Kyle Korver working on his form. There is no better shooting coach to work with.

Anthony Davis had the most *eyes emoji* mixtape

Anthony Davis got handles like THAT (via @dribble2much) pic.twitter.com/cv1T8mSAld

— Overtime (@overtime) June 19, 2019

Davis got his wish with a trade to the Lakers and booked Space Jam 2 this summer. Then he spent the rest of the offseason reminding people he’s basically a guard in a big man’s body by doing some mesmerizing ball handling and shooting drills that were caught on video.

In case the guard training isn’t doing it for you, here’s Davis dunking with a weighted vest on. The Lakers need him at the peak of his abilities to realize their championship dreams this season. Davis looks ready.

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insurancepolicypro · 5 years

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Going Down Preventing: Dying Activist Champions ‘Medicare For All’

When Santa Barbara lawyer-turned-activist Ady Barkan settled in to look at the second spherical of the Democratic presidential major debates late final month, he had no thought his story can be a part of the heated dialogue.

Barkan, 35, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s illness, watched from his wheelchair as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren described how he and his household needed to increase cash on-line to assist pay for roughly $9,000 a month in well being care prices not coated by his non-public medical insurance.

Thanks, @ewarren. You’re proper: this well being care system is unconscionable. My household wanted #MedicareForAll yesterday. pic.twitter.com/vrXPbD6zmf

— Ady Barkan

(@AdyBarkan) July 31, 2019

“The fundamental revenue mannequin of an insurance coverage firm is taking as a lot cash as you possibly can in premiums and pay out as little as potential in well being care protection,” Warren stated. “That’s not working for People.”

However for Barkan, the second was not about him.

“Elizabeth Warren’s level wasn’t simply to say my identify, it was to name consideration to the methods our damaged well being care system is hurting individuals throughout the nation,” he stated in an e mail interview.

Proponents of “Medicare for All” argue single, publicly funded insurance coverage plan is the best and equitable option to ship well being care to all People. The idea, and whether or not it’s politically possible, is a dividing line amongst Democratic presidential candidates.

Barkan, a group organizer for the progressive advocacy group Heart for Well-liked Democracy, was identified with the neurodegenerative illness in 2016 at age 32. ALS causes muscle tissues to atrophy, and sufferers to lose management of their our bodies. Ultimately, they’re now not in a position to breathe with out help from a ventilator.

Barkan had already made a splash on the nationwide political stage just a few years earlier due to his marketing campaign to steer the Federal Reserve to deal with full employment and rising wages.

He and his spouse, Rachael Scarborough King, a College of California-Santa Barbara English affiliate professor, had welcomed their first youngster earlier that yr. As he put it, “life was excellent.” However the prognosis plunged him into melancholy as he realized he would seemingly not reside lengthy sufficient to see his son develop up. Folks with ALS reside a median of two to 5 years after prognosis.

His battle for higher entry to well being care started in 2017, when he protested the GOP tax minimize invoice on the grounds that eradicating that income from the federal authorities would make it harder to fund incapacity and Medicaid funds.

On the best way house from the protest, he ended up on the identical flight with former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican, and used the chance to have a mild however pointed dialog about how the invoice would devastate households like his. The alternate, captured on video, went viral and landed him extra alternatives to share his story. By then, he wanted a cane to stroll and will now not maintain his child.

When he was tapped to ship the opening assertion for a congressional listening to on Medicare for All in April 2019, Barkan might now not converse and delivered his testimony through pc.

Barkan’s supply on the listening to was stirring, even to some advocates who oppose his goals. Though Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, a public coverage suppose tank that opposes elevated authorities involvement in well being care, testified on the identical listening to in opposition to Medicare for All, she stated she got here away with nice respect for Barkan.

“It’s tragic that Ady is bothered with ALS,” she stated. “His ceaseless dedication to his trigger and to his household, regardless of this devastating sickness, exhibits true heroism.”

Barkan now requires round the clock house well being aides, who account for the $9,000 out-of-pocket value that Warren talked about within the debate.

He spoke with California Healthline’s Anna Almendrala in regards to the case for Medicare for All. He responded to e mail questions with a tool that makes use of lasers to trace his eye actions with the intention to sort.

The next interview has been edited for size and readability.

Q: Why do you suppose that Medicare for All, which was as soon as thought-about fringe, is now a significant a part of the talk amongst Democratic nominees?

We’re the richest nation within the historical past of the world, and but individuals are going bankrupt from their medical payments. Clearly, individuals’s frustration with the well being care system is reaching a boiling level. Tens of hundreds of thousands of individuals don’t have any medical insurance. Thousands and thousands extra need to battle with their insurance coverage firm day-after-day, when these firms attempt to deny protection for vital care.

Q: What did you concentrate on the talk, particularly the portion during which candidates had been requested about elevating taxes on the center class to pay for Medicare for All?

After I noticed the reasonable candidates argue that Medicare for All won’t ever move as a result of Republicans are going to name us socialists, or assault us for elevating taxes, that makes me unhappy. It’s an argument that doesn’t give voters sufficient credit score. Sure, Medicare for All will most likely imply a brand new tax, however that tax shall be much less, approach much less, than how a lot we’re spending on well being care payments. Let’s make that argument and deal with voters like adults.

Q: What do you concentrate on California Sen. Kamala Harris’ well being care plan, which might enable extra individuals to choose into Medicare whereas additionally giving non-public insurers the possibility to take part?

It raises plenty of questions for me, like why there’s such a protracted phase-in to cowl everyone, and why Sen. Harris appears insistent on preserving a job for the non-public insurance coverage trade. One factor I believe candidates haven’t had to take action far is make a case for why non-public insurance coverage firms are good, how they really make life higher for medical doctors or sufferers.

Q: Whereas Medicare for All is changing into a extra mainstream thought, politically it stays a protracted shot, even in a state like California. In its absence, what different choices would you help?

There are numerous incremental reforms that may nonetheless be essential enhancements over the established order. And I’m not certain that incremental reforms shall be extra politically viable than Medicare for All.

The insurance coverage trade will oppose a public possibility identical to they’ll oppose single-payer. So, I assume I don’t actually settle for the premise of the query. However, placing that apart, I help any resolution that will get extra individuals the well being care they deserve.

Q: How are Rachael and your son, Carl?

Rachael is having fun with instructing and looking out ahead to having day off when the brand new child is available in November. That’s some information to your readers — she’s pregnant with our second!

Q: How are you doing bodily, emotionally and mentally?

ALS is exhausting, infuriating and inserts itself into each second of my life. I lately misplaced the power to drive my wheelchair, so different individuals need to do it for me. However there are all the time glimmers of hope.

Very quickly I’ll have entry to eye-drive know-how, which is able to enable me to drive my wheelchair with my eyes utilizing my pc.

Q: What does it really feel wish to see your self, fighting a debilitating illness, as one of the vital outstanding faces of the Medicare for All motion?

I’m glad to have the ability to use my private tragedy to help transformative change, though I’d clearly quit all the eye and accolades in a heartbeat if I could possibly be wholesome. I’d a lot favor to make influence the best way I used to be earlier than my prognosis.

from insurancepolicypro http://insurancepolicypro.com/?p=293

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midlandofficial · 7 years

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Wide Open Country: The Truth About Midland

By Jeremy Burchard | September 29, 2017

Editor’s note: Jeremy Burchard is a Senior Music Writer for Wide Open Country and Associate Editor of Texas Music. The following op-ed is a response to articles by the blog Saving Country Music that question the legitimacy and authenticity of rising country trio Midland.

Kyle Coroneos, the author and founder of Saving Country Music, is wrong about Midland. Also known as “Trigger,” he is a talented writer with strong convictions and a passionate readership.

But he’s wrong about that band. He’s wrong when he calls them “bullshitters.” He’s wrong when he calls two-thirds of them “Hollywood elite,” and he’s very wrong when he claims they didn’t write their music, but are instead the product of Shane McAnally and Music Row machinations.

And it matters that he’s wrong. Because over the past week, Coroneos’ articles have been making their way across important spheres of influence. People within the music industry, whom I know and respect, are reading these articles and sharing them, taking them at face value. People who work in radio, other artists, venue owners, publicists and writers see this narrative. And because those articles seem compelling (if not dramatic), a lot of them believe it, which is both unfair and potentially damaging to a band that, despite their recent success, is still new to a lot of people.

The “Authenticity” Argument

I authored a spotlight article on Midland for the new issue of Texas Music magazine, spending hours researching the band and listening to both their new and old music. I interviewed them, songwriter/producer Shane McAnally and producer Dan Huff. And I watched them perform at the Springwater Supper Club & Lounge in Nashville. They served mini hamburgers and mini hot dogs. I was tempted, but refrained.

“Authenticity” is a slippery slope and a pointless argument. About 95% of George Strait’s music came from other writers. Brad Paisley doesn’t drink alcohol but one of his most popular songs ever is called “Alcohol.” Robert Johnson never sold his soul to the devil, and the Beatles intentionally fed false stories to New Musical Express. It goes on and on.

But Coroneos seems to create his own benchmarks of authenticity and then peddles accusations to meet them. He never spoke to the band or anybody associated with them. He intentionally does this, he tells me, because he believes interviews can “erode objectivity.”

“I’m not against others interviewing artists,” Coroneos explained to me over email. “But since I specialize in criticism and commentary, it generally behooves me to stay once removed from interacting with artists beyond cordial, brief exchanges that may happen in the course of business.” I get the sentiment there.

But interviews are the cornerstone of journalism. Combined with independent fact-checking and cross-referencing, they form the very basis of what we do. As uncomfortable as it may be, our job is to do what we can to get facts first-hand, even if they point towards a warranted lambasting of people we know personally.

As a writer who specializes in criticism — and Coroneos is a very gifted writer — he relies heavily on other journalists to lay the groundwork for him. In his case, he hasn’t seen Midland perform live (though he wants to when the opportunity presents itself). Which, to his point, he doesn’t need to see them live to critique their record. But it’s the least you could do if you’re going to call a band bullshitting elitists who don’t even write their own music.

“Hollywood Elite”

So let’s correct a few talking points used to de-legitimize the band. Like Mark Wystrach’s modeling and acting roles and Cameron Duddy directing music videos. Coroneos says this makes the pair “part of the power elite of the entertainment world.” Who knew underwear models held so much power?

In reality, Wystrach lived in a trailer by the beach. He tended bar way more than he modeled or acted. Those gigs are low paying, hard to come by and hardly “elite.” Directing music videos is just as volatile. And a great way to go gray in the hair before you’re thirty.

All of Duddy’s videography gigs supported his music habit, including his early band with Jess Carson Major Gray. Anybody who really believes that being the son of the second camera operator on 1999’s Mystery Men lands you a job with Bruno Mars is either a great comedian or woefully uninformed.

Duddy explained in an earlier interview, “I couldn’t get any job through my parents. I had rock, folk, Americana bands. I just started doing videos for my friends.” And eventually it grew, Duddy made friends, one gig led to another. Just like every person hustling.

Coroneos’ “Hollywood elite” jab backs artists into a corner and makes them defensive, so they talk about living hand to mouth and borrowing money from their manager to stay afloat. Both of those applied to Duddy, and it’s *embarrassing* the band feels they have to defend themselves so much that they’re revealing personal financial details instead of talking about music. Because it shouldn’t matter.

Yes, Duddy used connections to get a foot in the door. His friend, who manages pop acts and has no experience in country, liked their 2014 Sonic Ranch demos (helmed by Austin mainstay David Garza) so much that he took it upon himself to manage them and find out how to get them in front of people. They met manager Jason Owen and told him, “We’re going to do this one way or another.” Owen liked them, their music and their hustle, so called up Shane McAnally and got them in a room together.

But once you get in front of people, it’s your job as an artist to blow them away. Which they did, because they have years of performing, including in those talked-about tiny bars, where they played the much-loathed three and four-hour sets, testing out original songs and covers.

“Four Shows At Poodies”

Coroneos also references the band’s performances in Texas frequently. He makes it seem as if they only played four shows at Poodie’s before signing a deal with Big Machine.

Even just a cursory search of Midland’s Facebook page reveals an incomplete list of past dates full of Texas mainstays. Mercer Street, The Broken Spoke (the dinner happy hour two or three times before they got the main stage), Scholz, Shiner’s Saloon, The Saxon Pub, Threadgills, The White Horse, Easy Tiger, The Continental Club.

Which makes sense, because Midland had a small booking arrangement with Lisa at boutique agency Moxie Booking, who got them a lot of those weekend warrior shows. They secured that by booking their own shows and promoting themselves. Hell, they’re still listed on the Moxie website alongside acts like Tessy Lou and The Warhorses.

Poodie’s is a part of their narrative because that was their first show together in Texas. A 5:30 p.m. slot on a Tuesday afternoon to a handful of barflies. They eventually worked their way up to an opening gig with Gary P. Nunn and, yes, that residency. Between decades before Texas and a few years after, “They put their time in just like the rest of us,” McAnally says.

“Midland Was Manifested”

Coroneos claims Midland didn’t write their own music, which is a huge accusation. Despite some or all of the band being writers on every track, he uses a quote from McAnally to justify this claim. In the quote, McAnally says it felt like he and co-writer Josh Osborne “manifested” the band as a vehicle for the 1970s-era country tunes they love to write. Coroneos calls McAnally a “puppet master” insinuating that he was responsible for creating Sam Hunt, Old Dominion and now Midland.

“He’s giving me far too much credit,” McAnally laughs. “But you can’t just call it his opinion. That’s not an opinion. That’s just lying.”

When McAnally says they “manifested” their relationship, he means that he and Osborne kept wishing a band would come along that shared their vision. And on the other side, Midland wished somebody wanted to take their sound to new commercial highs. “It’s like both sides dreamed each other up,” he says. “We were inviting our paths to cross.” And he uses the Weird Science reference because Midland seemed like their version of the “perfect girl” that walked into the room, songs, talent and style in hand.

To suggest that every writer on those songs willingly have up more than 50% of their writer’s share to perpetuate a narrative is beyond far-fetched.

Why Does It Matter?

When it comes to being called second in line for the “Country Music Antichrist” (as well as the biggest producer in the world), McAnally laughs. “It hasn’t hurt my feelings,” McAnally says. “And I’m not just saying that. I’m very sensitive and I want people to like what I do. But when I read [these articles] I literally laugh and I know the way I feel about it. I can gauge myself and ask, ‘Is this hurting me?’ It’s not. But this Midland thing could hurt them. Because it’s taken off.”

He’s right. Coroneos’ false narrative is more responsible for never-ending quotes about their origin than anybody. And if you read something he writes without knowing the truth, you should question Midland. And then it becomes all anybody talks about.

Because people are looking to poke holes, especially if they’re already jaded by the industry. They don’t want to believe those three guys write the music they write and dress the way they dress because they want to, and got successful doing it.

“Midland are the same people who walked into the studio two and a half years ago when I met them,” McAnally says. “They had an aspiration to take the songs they were playing in bars and take them to the next level without compromising their music.”

And judging by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to their record, they did just that. And Coroneos, to his credit, wants the band to succeed. “Of all the negative things I’ve said about Midland, I want them to succeed because I want traditional country music in the mainstream to succeed,” he says.

The good news is the negative things he says just aren’t based in reality. So don’t do yourself a disservice and let the misinformed musings of an otherwise passionate writer convince you Midland is anything less than what they are.

#midland #jess carson #mark wystrach #cameron duddy #article

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victorianoir · 7 years

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The Detective Versus the Needle

The Detective and the Tech Guy returns for another installment. :)

If you have never heard of this stories, you can head to my Master Post that I’ve created HERE. If you’d prefer to read the story on fanfiction . net, you can do so here: DATG.

Hope you enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The drawer slid out of the cabinet with a satisfying rumble, and Sarah looked down into it with an equal amount of satisfaction. First case solved. Sure, the drawer was empty now, save for the dividers she’d labeled alphabetically.

But as she slid the thick case file in front of the divider, the paperwork, the clues in case she needed to revisit or if she was called to testify in the court case that was sure to follow her investigation and the eventual arrest of the mole in Mr. Sanderson’s law firm, she smiled to herself. “Not empty anymore,” she murmured, and then the smile died.

Because she solved the case two weeks ago, and she had yet to receive any phone calls or emails from anyone else. And that was in spite of Sanderson’s insistence that she allow him to pass her name around to his colleagues and peers. Because “Good work is best when nobody’s aware it’s even happening” he had told her before he left her office, placing a large check in her hand.

She was hoping others felt that way, but so far, her phone hadn’t exactly been ringing off the hook.

Sarah glanced at it, sitting there on her desk next to her laptop and wireless mouse. She resisted the urge to knock it onto the ground, and instead huffed and slammed the drawer shut with a resounding finality.

She wondered when she’d open it again. If she’d open it again.

Chuck’s voice swept into her mind as she walked to her office window and peered outside. As always, it was the good voice, the voice that drowned out the bad voices. A balm on the discouraging lack of success, telling her she’d get a client soon. She just had to be a little patient.

She turned to glance out of the door into the lobby where an assistant might sit if she had one. Always a pragmatist, she’d butted against Chuck’s idealistic nature when they first stood in this office space after she decided to start renting it. She knew it would take a few years before she could afford an assistant, and he was sure she’d have one in no time. He was sweet, but not very realistic. Then again, who knew if he really believed all of the optimistic things he tossed at her when she voiced her discouragement, or if he was just trying to bolster her confidence.

Either way, it helped. It truly did.

But he wasn’t here. He was probably in his own office, coding or catching up on emails, plotting and planning his next project for his dad. Whatever he did that kept him at Bartowski Electronics Corporation’s headquarters until late in the evening.

Sarah grumbled to herself softly and slid her blinds shut, turning away from the window and pushing her hands through her hair. It was an exercise now, Monday through Friday, she would wake up, put on her professional clothes, go to the office, check her email, check her phone, stand around, or sit around if she felt like it, spend a few hours researching and planning things she couldn’t afford just yet at this stage in her private investigative agency, and then she’d go home.

No cases.

No calls.

No emails.

For two weeks now.

What exactly did she think she’d be accomplishing at nine o’clock at night on a Thursday when she had no client to work for? Maybe it was just denial. If she was at home, it would just emphasize that she wasn’t working because she literally had nothing to work on.

As she sat at the edge of her desk, she looked into her office’s lobby again and caught sight of the door. Chuck had a blast helping her find the right space for her investigative enterprise, and in fact, the reason why he liked this place so much was how hardboiled the place looked. That was his word he’d used. “Hardboiled”. Like Philip Marlowe, who she honestly only knew about because of Chuck in the first place. He’d referenced that enough when she was working on his case two years ago that she’d looked him up, even watched a Humphrey Bogart movie in her scant free time. That was something she’d never told him before. Because she’d been embarrassed then.

Per Chuck’s request, they’d had a guy come in and put “Walker Investigative Enterprises” on the foggy glass window in block letters. It pissed her off to do it, but she’d decided on just Walker, without her first name. Sexism was still deeply ingrained into the mindset of male professionals…and even some female professionals. Seeing she was a woman might disqualify her right off the bat without further research into her history.

When she looked at it now, she didn’t feel the pride she wanted to feel. Yes, she had her own P.I. agency. But did it really even count without clients?

Her cell buzzed in her purse that sat on the desk behind her. She rummaged through her bag and picked it up. Two missed calls from Ellie, and three texts. “Shit,” she breathed, quickly swiping to answer and holding it to her ear. “Ellie? Ellie, are you okay? What’s going on? Is it time?”

She was met with a bubbly laugh. “Jesus, Sarah, you’re worse than Devon. Although…Yeah, on second thought, I don’t blame you. I did call a bunch and leave a lot of texts. At nine at night. Sorry.”

Sarah heard the wince in her voice. “Uh, no. No, it’s okay. I just….you know, I was worried. Sorry I missed your messages.”

“That’s alright! I’m sure you’re busy! It’s not that important…Well, I mean, it is…kind of. But not as important as me potentially going into labor three weeks before my due date.”

“Right.” Sarah climbed to her feet and straightened her skirt. “So what’s up?”

“Well…”

Sarah narrowed her eyes when Ellie took awhile to continue. “Ellie? What’s going on?”

Ellie huffed. “Nothing’s going on. I’m about to ask you to do something you definitely won’t want to do.” She paused long enough for Sarah to frown. “I need you to go shopping with me tomorrow. For new baby things.”

Sarah’s eyebrows popped. And then she felt a warmth go through her as she brought her free arm up to hug herself. She was beaming by the time she spoke. “You want me to go with you to buy things for Clara? Why wouldn’t I want to do that, Ellie? Of course I’ll—”

“Wait, wait…Before you get all cute and gushy, my mom is joining us.”

The warm feeling left and was replaced by a frigid, icy feeling. A chill went down her spine. “What?”

“Exactly.”

“Well—Oh. I mean…”

“Change your mind? I wouldn’t blame you. It was going to just be us. I was going to call you tonight to ask you to help me. And then mom came by this afternoon and was hinting so hard I almost felt bad for her, so I…asked her. Devon didn’t help,” she said, through her teeth Sarah could tell. “He kept prompting me with that look he does.” She growled in frustration.

Sarah didn’t know Devon as well as she did Chuck’s sister, but she thought she might know the look Ellie was referring to. It was the “try harder to get along with your mom” look. She’d seen him use it on his neurosurgeon wife before.

She bit her lip, not saying anything in response.

“I’m sorry. I totally get it if you don’t want to come. I was even considering just not inviting you at all, knowing it would suck for you. I mean, she is such a horrible person around you. I just…I need you there to stop me from snapping my mom’s neck, that’s all.”

Sarah couldn’t stop the laugh from coming out, as sudden as it was. “Wow. That was graphic.”

“Satisfying image, though, right?”

“Oh my God, Ellie.” Sarah giggled and shook her head. She really, really loved this woman. “It won’t be that bad, I’m sure. I mean, it’ll be a nice, fun outing. Or so I’ve heard. I’ve never shopped for…baby things.”

“It will be fine, I’m sure. I just need you to buffer for me. Please. I know it’s going to be awkward for you. I’ll owe you big time for this.” Sarah could hear Chuck’s sister’s desperation, and it pulled at her heartstrings.

“Gaaaah, alright. I’ll go.” Ellie squeaked in happiness. “But I’m doing this for you. And I’m doing it for Chuck. I want him to see the effort I’m making so that I don’t look like the bad guy.”

“My brother’s smart. He knows who the real bad guy is. But you know I’ll stand with you no matter what. I’ve got your back, Sarah.”

That made Sarah feel so much better about agreeing to shop with the Bartowski women in the morning. And she said as much before hanging up.

But the moment the phone went back into her purse, she groaned and hung her head. At least it would break up the monotony. And how.

But God, did it have to be with a woman who hated her guts?

“You can do this” she breathed to herself as she grabbed her purse, laptop, and keys, leaving her office for the night. She could do this.

“Stay strong,” she felt the need to add as she slid into the elevator.

———

Chuck ignored the strain in his jaw as he pushed open the door into the hallway and strolled the rest of the way to his destination. His arms were full, the burlap grocery bags in his arms sturdy but definitely heavy, and the coffees he’d bought at the cafe in the grocery store were firmly ensconced in a tray, the handle of said tray trapped between his teeth.

He’d thought on the way up about the guys he’d seen on TV as a kid who could hold extremely heavy things with their teeth. And here he was, with his teeth and jaw aching from two small paper cups with coffee in them.

That didn’t matter, though.

Something had struck him the right way this morning. He was sailing. He had a lot of work at the office. But he also had a meeting later with his dad and two potential sponsors for the free conference Chuck was organizing to get high-school aged boys and girls in the greater LA area interested in STEM.

Chuck and a few of his marketing people at Bartowski Electronics Corporation had been putting their heads together about this for months, and if they could get sponsors, they could start targeting which schools had the lousiest supplies—lack of technology, old computers, no tablets. Those were the schools that would receive invites to the conference.

It was still in the beginning stages, but he had to sell the sponsors now. He needed the money now.

That all aside, he was currently thumping his foot against the door of the apartment where the smartest woman he’d ever met lived. The coolest woman he’d ever met. With a heart of gold. And the bad ass skill sets required to save lives and catch bad guys.

His mood went up a few more notches.

And as the door swung open, said smartest, coolest woman with a heart of gold stood there with a wrinkle between her eyebrows, surprised to see him obviously, but glad all the same.

Was that relief, as well?

“Hnnn,” was all he was capable of.

Not just because of the tray clamped between his teeth. But also because he’d neglected to add that she was staggeringly beautiful. And helpful! …As she leaned in quickly to take the tray from his teeth with an amused, “You’re going to need a dentist after this, you know.”

He worked his jaw a few times, wincing. “Gimme a kiss, Sarah Walker, P.I. It’ll make it better and then I won’t need a dentist. That’s why I said that. That was the charming response I was going for.”

“I got it,” she said, wrinkling her nose and moving in for a kiss, her hand automatically resting on his cheek and lightly grazing down to his neck.

Oh…and she was his.

What a glorious life this is, he thought to himself as he leaned into the kiss with a soft, “Mmmm.”

And she finally pulled back with a grin. “How’re the teeth now?”

“Good as new.”

She giggled and backed into her apartment, holding the door for him with her free hand so that he could move into the living room. He kept going, all the way into the kitchen where he set down his bags on the counter as she followed.

She put the coffee tray down and pulled her hand back, looking at it and making a face. “Yeggh. Got your spit all over my hand.”

Chuck laughed. “Really, Sarah? We literally just exchanged saliva.”

“Wow. Cute.”

He lunged at her the moment she turned to peek into one of the bags, wrapping an arm around her waist and tugging her against him, craning his neck so that he could give her an open-mouthed kiss at the crook of her shoulder, next to the strap of the white sleeveless blouse she was wearing. He swiped his tongue over her skin as she squealed, shoving at him and stepping back with a laugh.

“Eeewww!!! Seriously?!” She was grinning even as she glared, wiping at her neck with the nearest dishtowel.

He laughed.

“Hey, you look all spruced up for eight-thirty in the morning. You have a meeting with a client?” He tried not to sound too hopeful. He knew she was having some struggles with getting clients after the first one failed to pass her credentials on to other people. Elias Sanderson. Frankly, the guy tended not to follow through on a lot of things. Chuck didn’t play into the whole lawyers-are-scum joke a lot of the other tycoons around town enjoyed. But that guy wasn’t trustworthy.

He’d forced himself to bite his tongue with Sarah, not wanting to influence her first experience with a client. And to Sanderson’s credit, he’d had the sense and wherewithal to know a good detective when he saw one, and he had paid her in full, with some extra credit for solving the case as quickly and painlessly as she had.

The press had been kept out of it, which was probably one of the more impressive skill sets in Sarah’s arsenal of epic skill sets.

“Uh, no…” was the only answer Sarah had to his question. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek and reached into the bags to pull the groceries out. “Hey, what’s with all of this stuff you bought? You better not be putting all of this in my fridge.”

“Nope. Some of it will go in your cupboards.” He sent her a cheeky grin and she rolled her eyes.

“Chuck, I don’t want you buying my—”

“Sarah.” He interrupted her, putting down the eggs and shredded cheese, and setting his hands on her shoulders. “I spend so much time here that I’m going to end up eating seventy five percent of the food I bought this morning. You know it’s true.”

She shrugged. “That’s probably true. Fine. You get off on a technicality, Mister.”

Chuck arched an eyebrow at her. “Oooo. I like it when you do legal speak at me and then call me Mister.” He leaned in for another kiss, and she let him, before she pulled back and booped him on the nose with her finger.

As he unloaded the bags onto the counter, he subtly watched her move around the kitchen as she finished emptying her dishwasher. She never answered his question. Well, she answered it…but not to his satisfaction, which he supposed was his own problem.

But she was gently kneading her bottom lip between her teeth, something she did when she was nervous or antsy. When she had to do something she didn’t want to do.

“Hey.”

“Hm?” She turned and looked at him. He saw her shake herself a little and paste a nonchalant smile on her face. And when she met his eye, he knew she was well aware that he’d witnessed it and was seeing right through her. She dropped the smile and sighed.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Sarah pouted a little, and he knew she was probably frustrated by how easily he could pick through her attempts to guard her emotions. She just had to get used to it, that was all. Maybe she would someday. Eventually. He didn’t begrudge her for it, nevertheless.

“I’ll tell you if you make me one of those frittata thingies.”

“You’re telling me no matter what I make you.”

“I know.”

He smiled lovingly and reached out towards her. “Hey. C’mere. Of course I’ll make you a frittata. Even though I’ve got a long day of work ahead of me and meeeeetings and…” His voice drifted off as she faux glared, letting herself be pulled against him.

“No. Please. Continue.” She smirked. “Fine, I can make us burnt toast and fried eggs.”

He laughed and hugged her close. “Frittata it is.”

And when they pulled away, he continued emptying the grocery bags, folding them up and setting them aside as he let Sarah put away things he wasn’t using for breakfast. She knew where she wanted that stuff better than he did anyway.

“So…” She sighed. He was careful not to look at her. He didn’t know why. Maybe he thought she’d feel more uneasy if he was watching her. “Ellie called last night.”

Chuck perked up. He was a sap. He knew he was a sap. But the idea of his sister and his girlfriend texting one another, talking on the phone, hanging out sometimes, made him feel like melting into a puddle and staying like that for eternity. “Oh, yeah? She say how she’s doing?”

“Mhm. Good. She’s trying to keep Devon from having a panic attack.”

He chuckled. “I know, he keeps calling me and threatening to beat my ass if I let Ellie, quote, ‘Go through this alone’, unquote, while he’s up in San Francisco for the surgery.”

Captain Awesome’s patient had scheduled a surgery with Dr. Woodcomb as his surgeon, and as it was a massively important surgery on the guy’s aorta, Awesome wasn’t about to reschedule. He was awesome like that.

In spite of Ellie not being due for a few weeks, the possibility of her going into labor early was high. Chuck and Ellie’s mom, Devon’s mom, and both sides of grandmothers had given birth early to all of their children.

At least, that was what Awesome kept texting both Chuck and Ellie. Much to Ellie’s annoyance.

Sarah smirked. “Like you’re just gonna go ‘Good luck, sis!’ and wave her off to the hospital in some strange van with the hopes she gets there okay.” She mimicked a grin and wave. He found it highly adorable.

But then her grin died and she slumped back against her counter. “She invited me to go shopping with her for a few last minute things for the baby.”

Chuck was confused. Why did that upset her? What about shopping with his sister made her upset? Or was it the baby thing? Was there some deep seated nervousness about…He couldn’t go down that road. That was a road he needed to stay the hell away from. He was moving away from that totally.

“Mom did tell her she should’ve had a baby shower,” he teased. Ellie hadn’t wanted one and it had driven her mother insane. At every turn, Ellie denied Mary Bartowski the chance to do all of the “Mom milestones” she felt she was entitled to, apparently.

Sarah gave him a flat look. “That’s exactly it.”

“What’s exactly it?”

“Your mom pressured Ellie into inviting her. And now I’m trapped.” She huffed.

Chuck frowned and cracked a few eggs into a bowl. “Wait, wait. So you said yes and then Ellie invited mom? That’s surprisingly underhanded of her.”

Sarah was quick to correct him. “No, no. She was perfectly up front with me about it. I knew before I said yes.”

Understanding slowly made its way through him. And he turned to face her as he beat the eggs. “Why’d you agree to go if you didn’t want to?” She gave him a look. “I know you don’t want to, don’t try to pretend you don’t. You and my mom aren’t exactly besties.” Her look got flatter. “Through no fault of your own, of course!” he rushed.

“I don’t want to avoid your mom, Chuck. That isn’t going to help anything. And Ellie needs a champion. She’s been tired, carrying around a human twenty-four seven, and she’s almost due, and she told me she’s achy and moody. Can you imagine your mom poking at her all day long, telling her what to do and how to do it in that way of hers?” She pulled back into herself a bit with a wince. “Sorry. She’s your mom. I shouldn’t be like that.”

“You should be whatever way you feel like,” he was quick to say. She gave him a small, grateful smile for that. “You’re right, though. I can imagine my mom driving Ellie insane, just the two of them spending a day together. Ellie might kill her.”

“She said something to me about neck snapping on the phone. Honestly, I think the best way I can make peace with your mom is if I keep her from being murdered by your sister today.” She shrugged. “I also want to do what I can to make the last days or weeks of your sister’s pregnancy as healthy and peaceful and just…easy for her as I can.”

Chuck watched her with no small amount of warmth. “You’re a complete and total package, Sarah Walker, you know that? Like, head to toe, inside and out. If my mom really and truly knew what she was going up against, she would throw in the towel. Immediately. And I don’t say that lightly; my mom is determined as all get-out.” He slid his gaze down Sarah’s body to her bare feet and back up her long denim-covered legs, torso, and finally to her face again. “She’s in trouble if she even tries.”

A slow smile grew on Sarah’s face, and then her lips broke into a grin and she chuckled, walking up to him and pecking him on the lips. “I’m really glad you showed up this morning to make me breakfast. Didn’t know I needed it ’til I opened the door to find you standing there with a coffee tray dangling from your mouth.” She patted him on the cheek and went to her fridge.

They enjoyed a quick breakfast, Chuck deciding not to talk about the day Sarah was about to endure. But he was grateful to her. She was actively taking on the role of his sister’s protector. And a part of him thought maybe Sarah wanted him to see she was making a legitimate effort with his mom.

She didn’t have to do that, though. He knew at whose feet the strife between his mom and girlfriend lay. It was up to Mary Bartowski to stop being so closed-off and stubborn about the people her children chose to be with.

Chuck knew he and Ellie could have both picked people who were way, way worse than Sarah Walker and Devon Woodcomb. In fact, he was sure neither of them could get better. Honestly, no other guy would go through what Devon did to be with Ellie. And Sarah…

He reached across the table and picked up her hand, holding onto it as he sipped his coffee. “I have to go. I’ve got a bunch of emails to write and you know I’m a wordy son of a bitch,” he teased, wrinkling his nose.

She giggled. “You are. But I loved those wordy emails when we were on different continents.”

They stood up and he moved to start cleaning, but she stopped him with a sudden, “Ah ah! No!”, grabbing his arm and steering him away from the table. “You’re incredibly sweet, making me breakfast when you actually have a job to be at this morning. I can clean everything up. I’ve got a few hours before Armageddon begins.”

Chuck snorted at that. “Okay, then. I’ll just bounce outta here and let the woman do the kitchen work.” He laughed as her hand smacked at the back of his head. Honestly, he hadn’t even seen it before it made contact. She was so impressive.

As she walked him to the door, he held fast to her hand, turning to grab the door handle and pulling her close at the same time. “Hey, listen. Don’t let my mom make you think you’re anything less than you are, okay?”

She made a face, teasing him. “And what exactly am I?”

Chuck took a moment to wonder if she picked up one of his habits after dating him all this time. He knew he sometimes reverted to jokes to hide when he was feeling vulnerable or nervous. He tried to lighten the mood. She was trying it now. And she never would’ve done that two years ago when she was head detective on his case.

It was cute. Sweet.

But he wasn’t letting her get away with it this time. “You’re everything, Sarah Walker.” Her face softened significantly and he could see clearly in her features that she loved him. He moved in to kiss her cheek, and then he swept the door open. “Will I see you tonight?”

“Please please please,” she rushed out, giggling self-deprecatingly.

“I’m here for you, bae.”

“And never call me bae again.”

“Hear you loud and clear, boo.”

“That’s only a little bit better.”

He was still laughing as he walked down the hallway, but by the time he climbed into the front seat of his car, he felt worry settle over him. Sarah could take care of herself. And Ellie wouldn’t let his mom get away with anything.

But his mother was a professional needler. She always had been. She always would be. And he was afraid his mom might put the needle in exactly the right spot.

———————

“This is atrocious, Mom. Sarah, is this not atrocious?”

Sarah held in a laugh at the incredulous look on Ellie’s face as she turned and lifted a pink and green polka dot baby moo moo for her brother’s girlfriend to see.

“It’s…not great, Mary. Sorry.”

Chuck’s mother rolled her eyes and huffed. “Feel how soft it is, though. The most important part is that she’s comfortable.”

“Okay, well…Can we find something she’ll be comfortable in that doesn’t also make her look like a terrifying nightmare clown baby? Do those two things have to be mutually exclusive? Like, comfortable and cute. I feel like there has to be something out there that’s both those things.”

Sarah watched the exchange and smartly slipped away, around one of the racks of clothes, and into another section of the store completely.

She stopped at an expensive looking dark wood crib that almost looked like an antique. She overheard Ellie tell her mom in the car ride over that she and Devon had already bought a crib. But this was beautiful. Something she could imagine wanting to buy if she ever had a child.

Sarah was with Ellie on at least that much. Chuck’s sister was attracted to very non-traditional things. She didn’t go for pastels and crisp, clean white. She liked greens, blues, dark woods, antique things. She went for safety over trends.

As Sarah turned the corner again, she came face to face with Mary Bartowski. She nearly yelped in surprise. Jesus, the woman was like a human version of a suspense thriller film sometimes. Mommie Dearest. Maybe she’d use that one sometime when Ellie was feeling down.

“I noticed you and my daughter have similar tastes,” Mary said, a little offhand, fingering the silk blankets stacked in front of her face.

“I noticed the same thing. But she and I agree on a lot. That’s why we get on so well.”

“Hm. Yes, I noticed that, too.” She stared at the younger woman for much longer than made said younger woman comfortable. “It’s very interesting you’re playing such a large role in this process. Ellie having her baby, I mean.”

“W-Why is that interesting? She’s Chuck’s sister. And my friend.”

A flash of something under Mary’s smile caught Sarah’s eye, but before she could say anything, Ellie showed up and pushed between them, grabbing one of the blankets. “I’ve bought Clara a lot of blankets already, but these are really nice. I mean, what if she spits up on one? I grab another and she spits up on that one, or we spill food on it or something? Three is a pretty good number for blankets, right? So soft.”

Sarah reached out and felt the green blanket Ellie pulled down from the pile. “That is really nice. Soft.”

“Right? Babies are so lucky. Everything is so soft and nice. Poor girl is going to grow up and start having to wear heels and fucking bras.”

“Ellie!” her mom whispered hoarsely. “You’re in a baby store.”

“What?” Ellie sassed. “It’s not like there are any actual babies in here.”

Sarah snorted, turning her face into her fist and pretending it was a cough. She’d learned that one from Chuck, and just like Mary Bartowski did with him, she turned on Sarah and said, “You’re not helping,” before skulking off.

Ellie lazily turned her head to Sarah. “Yeah, Sarah. You’re not helping,” she drawled.

“Hey. I’m trying to make some headway here. Stop getting me in trouble,” she hissed, unable to keep the amused smirk from her face.

Ellie winced. “Ooo. Yeah. My bad.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I have a feeling no matter what I do or say, I’m not going to win with her.”

“Well…” Ellie reached up and squeezed her shoulder. “It’s cute you’re trying.”

Sarah laughed and playfully nudged Ellie. “Shut up.”

And then a buzz came from Ellie’s purse, followed by a soft, generic ring tone. “That’s probably Devon,” the soon-to-be mother mumbled as she rifled through her purse. Sarah took the purse and held it for Ellie so that it was easier for her to find the phone. “I should get it, though, to make sure he isn’t having a nervous breakdown. Did I tell you?” She pulled the phone out finally and held it in her hand, looking up at Sarah. “He went to sleep in his clothes one night. Not pajamas. Jeans and a T-shirt, socks, shoes, everything. His shoes inside my bed. So we could get to the hospital ASAP. He saw it in an episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show, but he didn’t understand we were supposed to think Dick Van Dyke was ridiculous for doing that.”

Sarah laughed as Ellie brought the phone to her ear. “Hi, honey—I—No, Devon. I have not had our daughter yet.” Ellie rolled her eyes to Sarah and grabbed her purse from her, mouthing “Jesus christ” as she walked away. “We talked about this, buddy. I’m not going to have our child without letting you know it’s happening.”

Shaking her head at the conversation as Ellie moved to the other side of the store, Sarah turned to do some more browsing and nearly ran into Mary again. “Jesus—!” She sighed and put a hand over her heart, collecting herself. Seriously. Kathy Bates would be proud. She was storing that one for later, too.

“Sorry to scare you.”

She didn’t sound that sorry.

“Who is Ellie talking to?”

“Oh, um…Awes—erm—Devon called. To check up on her, I assume.”

“How are things at the…agency, Sarah?”

The private investigator blinked at the suddenness of the change of subject. “Erm…” She collected herself quickly. She had to remind herself that she’d been dealing with difficult people virtually all her life, in law school, and in her job with Pinkerton especially. She could handle this one, too. “It’s going well. Just finished a case. If you know anyone who might need a P.I., send them my way,” she chirped, grinning in as friendly a way as she could.

“Yes. I’ll let you know if any of my friends need to find out if their husbands are cheating on them.” Mary smiled sweetly and pat Sarah’s arm as she swept past her with an “excuse me”.

Sarah stood there, burning. How dare that woman get the last word!

Clenching her jaw, she pulled her cell out and saw that she’d missed a text from Chuck. Exactly who she’d wanted to talk to. “How’s it going?” he asked. She texted back a short and sweet “Fine” and rolled her eyes at herself. It took a moment for him to respond with the flat look emoji. Of course he wanted more than just a one word answer. “Could be better,” she continued. “And I honestly hoped it would be better. But your mom is…” She paused, biting her lip, and then she finished typing and hit send, “…good at needlepoint.”

She had to wait a few moments for his response. “I love it when you talk in code. So private investigator-y. So hot.”

“Please don’t sext with me while I’m baby shopping with your sister and YOUR MOM WHO HATES ME.”

“Was that sexting? I’ve got a lot worse in my arsenal. Or better, depending on your POV on sexting. Also when you say ‘baby shopping’ I picture you guys walking down a row of babies picking one out like people do with carrots at the grocery store.”

Sarah rolled her eyes and put her phone away, turning to find the rest of her party. Ellie was right there. “Fuck!” She shut her eyes and huffed, blushing and looking around. “Is sneaking up on people a family trait?”

Ellie chuckled. “Maybe. Saying ‘fuck’ in a baby stuff store might have just become a family trait, though, so welcome to the family.”

That got Chuck’s sister a flat look for the ages.

———————

By the end of what proved to be a very fruitful day for Ellie and Clara, Sarah was half-blistered by the singeing sideways glances of Mary Bartowski, along with the backhanded compliments and condescension.

Sarah knew exactly what the woman was doing. She strategically planted herself near her son’s girlfriend when Ellie was distracted or elsewhere in another section of whatever store they happened to be in, and that was when she got her jabs in.

Ellie caught her only once, and Mary Bartowski was dragged off and probably spoken to in a way only Ellie could get away with. Sarah’d felt immature for the smirk that put on her face, and the “Haa haaa!” she thought as Ellie guided her mom away from the scene of the crime.

However, even though the private investigator saw Mary’s intentions clear as day, that didn’t make the barbs feel any less terrible. As much as she tried not to let it get under her skin, it did.

It hurt.

And she was pissed off that it hurt. Falling in love with Chuck Bartowski had opened her up to a lot of things—emotions mostly. Of course she should have known love wouldn’t be the only thing.

There was also frustration, longing, anger, and yes, hurt.

Love was the most important thing. That feeling she got when she opened the door this morning to find him standing there with his arms and mouth full. It hadn’t just been relief, or the pleasure of seeing the man she loved, though there was plenty of both of those things. It was also a feeling of safety and reassurance that was much needed. A feeling of security. Of knowing he thought about her enough that he went to the grocery store down the street to buy the makings for them to enjoy a nice breakfast together before he had to go to work, that he wanted to be with her in the small window of time he had in the morning.

She had to remember that to keep Mary from winning the day. She’d dig into her arsenal of things she learned from Langston Graham back when she first started at Pinkerton, simply by watching him work. Never let them see the chinks in your armor, never let them see your weak spots, and never let them see when they get to you.

She was human. And Mary was getting to her. She just had to steal herself to keep the woman from seeing it.

And take the high road. As hard as that was. As much as she didn’t want to—and probably wouldn’t have if she wasn’t Chuck’s mother. Sarah owed it to Chuck to at least try.

But then Ellie had invited them for dinner at her and Devon’s condo in Burbank since Devon had just landed at the airport and was on his way home in an Uber. Mary was tasked with calling the B.E.C. men and getting them to dinner as well.

The day seemed like it just wouldn’t end and she needed it to end so badly.

The only respite Sarah got was sitting in the backseat of Ellie’s car where Mary couldn’t see her face. She grit her teeth and glared at the back of the older woman’s seat, subtly lifting her middle finger and subsequently waggle it in Mary’s direction.

Sarah insisted on helping Ellie cook, and was dubbed the “sous chef” for the night while Mary poured herself a cocktail and sat at the table. It gave Sarah something to do, and she was better able to pretend she didn’t see the significant looks Ellie was trying to flash at her. The one that said “Are you okay?” was the one she avoided the most.

Because the more she thought about it, the more she realized she wasn’t okay. She would be later. She’d be fine later. But right now, everything was bubbling to the surface. A mixture of anger and general upset.

Finally the door opened and the booming, jolly voice of Devon Woodcomb brought a lift to the young woman’s spirits.

“Hey, hey, hey! My favorite three ladies in one room!” He shut the door just in time, because Ellie was quick on her feet for someone who was in her third trimester of pregnancy. And her arms were around him before he even had time to put his bags down.

Sarah let herself look a little longer than was maybe proper as they embraced, if only because it made her heart a little melty—and in spite of not being as big a sap as her boyfriend was, she knew she needed some of that heart-meltyness tonight. It was a balm on her wounds, and a reminder that it was possible for she and Chuck to flourish in spite of Mary Bartowski…because Ellie and Awesome were.

Devon put his hand on Ellie’s stomach. “Three and a half!”

“Three and four-fifths more like,” Sarah chirped as she swung out of the kitchen.

“See? I like you.” Devon pointed at her with a grin of agreement, his face so bright and sincerely ecstatic to be home that she wasn’t sure what she’d been upset about all day in the first place. She walked right up to him and gave him a hug, which he not only accepted wholeheartedly, he even hugged her back so hard she felt a few pops in her torso.

Sarah was careful not to pay too much attention to the exchange between Captain Awesome and Mary Bartowski, but she heard from the kitchen the quiet politeness of the latter in the face of the former’s enthusiasm.

But she froze when she heard Ellie say ,“Let me help you put your bags in our bedroom.”

No no no no no no no! No! Please!

She couldn’t be left alone with Mary Bartowski. She couldn’t. Not even for however long it took for Ellie and Awesome to make out or whatever it was they were going to do in their bedroom.

When was Chuck going to get here? Why wasn’t he here already?

Sarah spun from where she’d gone back to stirring the spaghetti sauce and caught Ellie’s eye. There was a definite look of apology there, and Sarah was quick to shake her head and smile reassuringly to let the woman know she’d be fine. The Woodcombs deserved a snippet of time to greet each other without onlookers in the room. And Sarah was sure Ellie needed to vent a bit about her mother behind closed doors.

“Need help with anything, Sarah?”

She looked up from the sauce again and smile at Mary. “Uh, I’m not sure, exactly, what Ellie has planned. I just know I’m supposed to stir the sauce.”

“Well, Ellie learned this recipe from me, so I’m sure I can figure out what’s next.”

Sarah kept the smile on her face even as she went back to stirring the delicious-smelling sauce in the pot.

“Though you might want to add a dash of oregano in there. Ellie sometimes doesn’t put enough, I’ve noticed. And she doesn’t take constructive advice well.”

“Oh. Alright.” Grabbing the oregano, she carefully sprinkled a bit more in the sauce, stirring with the spoon in her other hand.

“A bit more…” Sarah sprinkled more. “More than that. Here.” Mary walked up and took the oregano from Sarah, who moved out of the way, and let the woman shake even more oregano into the sauce. “There. That’s perfect.”

She set the oregano down and handed the spoon back to Sarah.

“You know, I find your line of work interesting, Sarah.” Because she didn’t entirely know what was coming, the P.I. stayed quiet, stealing herself for whatever was coming next. “Did it require any schooling?”

Sarah ran her free hand down her blouse, an unconscious attempt to straighten it or…who knew what? But she was mad at herself for it. It was a show of weakness, vulnerability. She was supposed to be above that. “I went to Harvard Law.”

The way Mary’s eyes widened did a lot to bolster Sarah’s confidence. Yeah, that’s right. I’m an Ivy League Bitch with a capital B.

“And you decided to join the Pinkerton Detective Agency? You could be a high powered politician by now, you know. And I know Pinkerton doesn’t pay that kind of money.”

How did she know?

And then Sarah realized she must have done research on it. A way to check up on the woman who was dating her son. Seeing what her financial status was, to peg whether or not money was a factor in Sarah’s interest in Chuck.

It burned her up, but she refused to let it show.

“No, it definitely doesn’t. But it was incredibly rewarding work. I’m proud of what I did there.”

“I see. But you left for my son Charles?”

“Yes. Er…no. Somewhat. Not entirely. But mostly, I suppose.”

“Why?”

“Because I was tired of always being on the other side of the planet from him, only seeing him every once in awhile when we could line up our crazy busy schedules.” She took a deep breath. “And, honestly, the agency did their best to make me stop seeing him because they thought it was a conflict of interest, and I refused to let them do that. So…here I am.” She gave Chuck’s mom a wide closed mouth smile.

“Interesting. Because honestly, Sarah, the way it looks from here is that you left a relatively low-paying job to live with my son and pursue a career that will garner even less financial stability than before…”

“What are you getting at, exactly?” Sarah asked, the spatula stilled in the sauce, her blue eyes flashing as she turned them on the shorter woman.

“My son is a pretty safe safety net if things don’t work out with this agency of yours.”

So she finally said it. Sarah let out a soft huff through her nose, her lips twitching in a semblance of a bitter smile as she looked away.

“I don’t want a safety net. I just want him.”

“It just doesn’t look that way from here. If you weren’t in Los Angeles, if my son wasn’t supporting you and you were off somewhere else in the country trying to get this going, you’d fall flat on your face. The only people who start enterprises like this one are those who have a fallback. Chuck is your fallback. And that doesn’t sit well with me.”

Sarah pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and squeezed until it hurt. Then she turned on the woman, her gaze hard.

“You know, it doesn’t feel great, knowing what you think of me. But I can handle insults, backhanded compliments, the condescension, and the superior attitude you have when you address me—and that’s when you aren’t ignoring me completely. All of that I can handle. You know what really makes me mad, though?”

“What?” Mary asked slowly, her T clicking nastily.

“The complete and utter lack of respect you obviously have for your son.”

Mary reared back, her lips twisting. “How dare y—”

“Chuck is rich. He’s the richest person I’ve ever met. If I knew just how rich he actually was, I probably wouldn’t even be able to comprehend it.” Mary smirked in a self-congratulatory way that made Sarah want to say what she was going to say even more than she did before. “But he is so much more than what’s in his bank account.” She let that settle for a second before she continued. “He’s a good man. Best person I’ve ever known. He respects me, has faith in me. He makes me laugh. He makes me happy.”

“His wallet makes you happy.”

Sarah rushed on as if she hadn’t heard that. “And it makes me incredibly sad to hear that’s what you think of your own son. That he’d have nothing else to offer a woman besides what’s in his wallet. He’s your son. You should know better.”

“I know what my son has to offer.”

But it was a weak retort, one that lacked the bite of her earlier retorts, and the conversation came to a sudden stop as the door opened and Chuck stepped into the living room with Stephen in tow.

“Heyyyy!” Chuck drawled with a grin. “Smells like spaghetti!”

Stephen gave both of them smiles over the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room as he shut the door behind them. “I feel like an old man for needing to follow Charles to my own daughter’s condo. All the twists and turns to get here, I get confused. Gosh, it does smell good.”

Mary had moved away from Sarah, going directly to Chuck and grabbing his shoulders, moving in to kiss his cheek. “Hi, sweetie. How was the meeting?”

She moved to her husband and they kissed with a sincere amount of affection. It boggled Sarah’s mind.

“Good!” Chuck swept his gaze to Sarah and kept it there, she noticed, probing, seeing how she was. She kept her mask in place. Now wasn’t the time to break down. She was just so mad. So ready to tear something to shreds. She was fighting tears of anger.

“We’ve got one and a half sponsors for the conference. Just three and a half to go.”

“And a half?” Mary asked.

“Well, Gordon’s not entirely convinced yet. He gave us a maybe,” Stephen explained as Chuck slid away from his parents and walked around into the kitchen.

Sarah watched him the whole way. And when his arms curled around her body, she let go of the spatula and clung to him tightly, burying her face in his collar for a moment, soaking him in. It felt so good to be held like this. The way he squeezed just right, in a way that let her know he needed her, too.

“Oops, spatula down…” he murmured in her hair.

She pulled away from him with a gasp as she saw the spatula sink into the sauce. And like an idiot, she tried to get it out.

She ended up brushing her fingers against the sizzling hot edge of the pot and pulled back with a hiss, sticking her fingers in her mouth.

“Hey, hey. Whoa. Sarah, you oka—?

And before he could even finish his question, Sarah was out of the kitchen. “Sarah??” he called after her.

She hurried down the hallway to the bathroom, fighting tears that had nothing to do with the minor burn on her fingers.

—————

Chuck was moving to follow Sarah before he was even aware of what was happening, like there was a magnetic pull between them. She’d squeezed him particularly hard when he hugged her. Like she had the night she’d shown up at his door after leaving Pinkerton. She needed him.

The only thing he could think was that today had been awful. And now she’d charged out of the room after burning her fingers—a careless thing that was very rare with his P.I.—and he needed to talk to her.

But Ellie and Awesome came out of the hallway as Sarah squeezed past them.

“What happened?” Ellie asked, obviously concerned.

“Sarah burned her fingers, I think. I’m gonna—”

“I’ve got this,” Ellie said, putting a hand on his chest.

“But—”

“I’ve got this.”

She gave him a look and he stayed put, watching as Ellie followed after his girlfriend. He was half-crazy with concern, but Awesome’s hand on his shoulder calmed him.

“Ellie’s a neurosurgeon, bro. Remember? She’s got this.”

Chuck let out a soft huff of amusement for Awesome’s benefit and let himself be led back into the other room. His mom, on the other hand, had a certain look on her face. It was pinched in annoyance. She was far off somewhere, thinking about something, and whatever it was made her angry.

Had something happened today?

Awesome looked pretty clueless, which meant he’d probably arrived just before they had.

There were another few minutes of empty small-talk about Awesome’s surgery he’d performed the day before. Chuck stirred the sauce and eventually turned it off, draining the pasta and leaving it for Ellie to do whatever she had in mind.

And eventually his sister and girlfriend came out to join them. Chuck was at Sarah’s side immediately. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah. Put a little ointment on my knuckles and I’m good. Nothing too bad.”

He studied her features closely, looking for any sign of tears. If his mom had done something to make Sarah cry, he was dragging her out into the courtyard and blistering her with his words. He wasn’t standing for that shit. That wasn’t happening.

But there was no trace of tears, though she was upset. He could still see it. Ellie must have said something to her, though, because his sister winked at him behind Sarah’s back and mouthed “she’s okay”.

Before Chuck could say anything else, Sarah slipped her uninjured hand into his and pulled him to the table where everyone was sitting down. Awesome justified his nickname by insisting on finishing dishing everything up to keep Ellie from having to do it.

And then they feasted.

Chuck half listened to the conversation at the table. Awesome had performed an artery bypass grafting surgery on a middle aged man, saving his life from a potentially deadly situation.

But as heroic as it was, as much as Awesome deserved praise and respect for what he did for other people, Chuck was distracted by whatever had transpired between his girlfriend and his mother.

Something had transpired. Otherwise Ellie wouldn’t be switching her gaze back and forth between the other women at the table, her eyes narrowed. As though she was trying to figure out the same thing.

It would be just like his mom to wait until nobody else was around before jamming the knife in under Sarah’s ribcage. But his mom didn’t look as pleased with herself as he thought she might if that were the case. Did Sarah bite back? He was proud of her if she did.

Chuck knew inherently that Sarah would be more apt to stick up for herself if the perpetrator wasn’t his mother. She’d outright told him once that she loved him and therefore didn’t want him to be in the middle of some ridiculous rivalry straight out of a “crap romantic comedy”.

He appreciated more than he could say how hard she was trying…

But he didn’t want this.

He would deal with the fallout with his mom. He didn’t care.

“Chuck?”

He snapped to attention and looked across the table at his father. “Yeah, Dad? Sorry, I—I got distracted. Lots of things happenin’ in the ol’ noggin’ today. What were you saying?” He shoveled a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth and sipped his pinot noir.

“I was just asking what you thought about our chances for getting Gordon to sponsor the convention?”

He nibbled his lip, then dabbed at his mouth with his napkin. “Well, I don’t know. He’s the type of guy who doesn’t part well with his assets. Very frugal. We’re still in the early stages yet. Still a lot to plan. But I think once he hears everything we mean to do at the convention, the lives we might change, how massive it’ll be for the future of STEM and, you know, getting kids from low-income households into science and math and tech, he’ll see the benefit of it. Maybe we can really pound home the fact that charity looks really really good to consumers. A charitable company always gets more customers, right? People love that stuff. Makes them feel good about themselves.” Chuck shrugged. “Granted, that’s a kind of crappy way to look at it. Obviously we’re doing it to help kids, to expand STEM in our country to non-wealthy, non-white kids with fewer resources than other kids…”

“That’s right, Charles. It’s one of the things that attracts people to you. You’re so charitable. Always giving, giving, giving. Never asking for anything in return,” his mother said. He wasn’t a fool. He saw the way her eyes flickered over at Sarah for a moment before she turned back to him.

He felt Sarah tense up.

He understood what his mom was getting at.

But before he could say anything, his dad jumped up from the table. “Hey, Devon. Why don’t you tell me about that ’64 Mustang your dad is fixing up? He told me about it last time we talked. He said you’re helping him with it while you’re down here.”

As his brother-in-law regaled his dad with muscle car talk, Chuck turned an angry gaze on his mom. He reeled it back just enough and then flicked his gaze towards the kitchen. “Hey, Mom. How about you and I do the dishes, since Ellie and Sarah cooked everything?”

“Sure.” She climbed up from the chair, and set her napkin on the table. “Excuse us.”

Chuck gathered up everyone’s plates, letting Mary go first, watching as Ellie turned to Sarah and leaned in close to talk to her. He went to the sink with the plates and set them inside, turning on the water and starting to scrub as his mom stepped in beside him with the dish towel to dry.

“You need to lay off right damn now,” he said in a quiet, steady voice.

“Excuse me? I don’t know what—”

“You fooled absolutely nobody at that table and it’s embarrassing that you’re still trying to play it off, Mom. I need you to stop saying shit like that to Sarah.” He turned to pin her with his intense gaze.

“Like what? I didn’t say anything to her this whole time we’ve been eating.”

“That whole thing about me giving and never asking for anything in return. You looked right at her. Like she’s some sort of charity case of mine. Like I’m supporting her.”

“You are supporting her.”

“I’m not. She won’t let me. You need to open your eyes and really look at her, Mom.”

“I’ve seen her.”

“No. You haven’t. Not like I have.”

“Oh I’m sure,” she replied sarcastically.

Chuck handed her the clean plate to dry and spun to face her directly. “Hey. Mom. I need you to lay off. I said it before. I’ll say it again. And this better be the last time I have to say it. Because you’re gonna run into a lot of trouble if you keep going down this road. I’m so serious.”

She didn’t say anything as she set the dry plate aside. “Just wash the dishes.”

“No. Mom, I need you to tell me you’ll try harder.”

“To do what? I’m not letting my son get taken for a ride.”

“I’m not getting taken for a ride,” he hissed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one in the other room could hear them. They all looked fully engrossed in their respective conversations. He turned back. “Even if I was, that’s a ride I’d gladly take over and over again.”

She made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat and grabbed the plate from him, drying it furiously.

“Mom. I need your word.”

“I don’t want to have to say ‘I told you so’ when you get hurt. When you find out your wallet is—”

“Mom. For shit’s sake. Just stop.” He turned off the sink for a second and glared. “Stop.”

She shrugged and sighed. “Okay.”

Chuck could tell that was the best he was getting for the time being, so he turned the water back on and finished the dishes.

Stephen and Mary left first, a storm cloud over the latter’s head in spite of the smile she flashed as they walked into the courtyard and disappeared through the gate.

Ellie put a hand on Chuck’s arm as Sarah and Awesome hugged at the door. She hugged him hard and when he meant to pull away, she clung tighter, preventing him from moving.

“Make sure you take care of her tonight. Mom was a total and absolute bitch to her all day. She handled it well, but she’s pretty badly blistered from the onslaught. You have some work to do.”

She pulled back and added a quick, whispered, “Love ya.”

“Love ya, too, Ellie. And thank you.” She shrugged and he leaned in close, squeezing her shoulders. “No, seriously. Sis. Thank you.”

Her eyes sparkled as she pat his cheek, and Chuck wrapped an arm around his brother-in-law, before they said their goodbyes and left.

Chuck slung his arm over Sarah’s shoulders and pulled her in close as she rounded his torso with both her arms and buried her face in his chest with a sigh.

They climbed into his car and he just sat there for a moment, the silence tense and awkward. She had to feel that he wanted to say something. He just didn’t know what.

“Are you okay, Sarah?” he finally settled with.

She bit her lip gently and shrugged. “Uh, yeah.” She lifted her hand and flashed the fingers she’d burned at him. “Don’t think it’ll scar or anything. I was just being clumsy and dumb—”

“Sarah, no. I—”

“I know, Chuck. But I really don’t want to talk about it just yet. Please.”

“Did she—?”

“Please. Later.” She turned and stared out of her car window, not looking at him for even a moment as she buckled her seatbelt.

Chuck sighed and followed suit, turning on the car and pulling out of the parking space, onto the street, and driving them back to Sarah’s.

The drive was silent, tense.

And by the time they got to Sarah’s apartment, Chuck felt the need to corner her, make her talk. He needed her to know that he wasn’t letting his mom pull this bullshit with her. He wasn’t brushing it off just because she was his mom. Sarah deserved respect.

But Sarah Walker looked tired and upset. And he wasn’t sure he had the heart to corner her when she was like this. So he stayed in the hallway as she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

She halted when he didn’t follow, turning to face him. She must’ve figured out why he was still outside and she shyly pushed her hair back behind her ear.

“Will you stay?”

Not a single moment passed before he answered, “Of course.”

Sarah’s hand reached out and twisted in his shirt, pulling him inside with her, shutting the door behind them and clinging to him again. He didn’t say anything. He just held her.

They could talk later. When she wanted to.

For the moment, he was content to give whatever warmth and strength she needed.

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