#Robson Lowe
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She was a commanding presence, but not as intimidating as the lady auctioneer at Robson Lowe in the 1950s, who interrupted her sale twice to tell a revered client to stop talking before eventually hitting him very hard on the nose with her auctioneer's hammer.
James Stourton, Rogues and Scholars: Boom and Bust in the London Art Market, 1945-2000.
#quote#quotation#James Stourton#Rogues and Scholars#commanding#presence#auctioneer#Robson Lowe#sale#hammer#nose#client
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"As far as death sentences go, Parliament isn't all that bad… If the beer were just a little less small, and we could have a good strong wine in the evening, I could be happy to make a career here. Especially since the girls are so pretty and obliging."
Lana Baker is a scribe, a flirt, and a lay-about, at least until she is roped into the Low Parliament. Then she's a scribe, a flirt, and determined not to be drowned by the fairies if the votes don't get voted. High Times in the Low Parliament by Kelly Robson is a novella with a massive universe implied behind it. As novellas go this one is a riot. In a world of women and fairies, a precarious political situation, and a surprising number of hallucinogens, Lana's wit and charm is a delight to follow along with. It's time to do some euphoric yeast and take some radical lovers. For the sake of the world, I guess.
I live for the weird ones and this is right up there with the best. I loved it all way through. Bugbite is absolutely my favourite. Human-scorning and all.
#fullibooked#high times in the low parliament#kelly robson#books#novella#fairies#fairy#fantasy#queer books#queer fantasy#brian froud fairy book#bookblr#booklr#books i read in 2022#back catalogue
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Our favorite kind of book to review: short, weird, messy and funny. It defies easy interpretation in some ways but we can be sure that it loves both psychoactive drugs and older women. Based!
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I want to know the weirdest book you've read this year. The one that had a strange concept or made something normal strange. The one you picked up because it seemed so absurd.
#natalie posts#books#i will go first#high times in low parliment by kelly robson#choose the bear by lauren smith#not my weirdest reading year
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You underestimate me

I understand, truly, I do. However, landlady has a point.

No need to show off

How rude

I don't think you were involved in the actual process

Flattery won't get you anywhere

Because it's boring


Well, that got real violent real quick
So I'd give it a solid 3.5/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️
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High Times in the Low Parliament by Kelly Robson
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#advance readers copy#advanced copy#arc#audiobook#book#book review#fantasy#high times in low parliament#kelly robson#novella#review#romance#stand-alone
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Everyone, here is another fundraiser which @yousefmoner has asked me to share with you.
Karam is Yousef and @mohamedmoner1994 's brother. He is also trying to raise funds for himself, his wife Maram, and their baby Anas, who is only 6 months old and was born during the war. On their gofundme it says that they are in Rafah and are trying to reunite with the rest of the family in Al Mawassi.
Please consider donating to Karam's gofundme today! They have only just started their fundraiser so it's still extremely low on funds: only £237 of £25,000 goal as of this post.
Please help give it traction by donating even if you can only spare a little. Help me reblog this post so that we can find more people willing to donate 🙏
#palestine#free palestine#from the river to the sea palestine will be free#mutual aid#karam_maner#Instagram
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What's My Name
This is a new Tommy Kinard imagine, I hope you will all like it. Please let me know what you think.
Taglist: @justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @luula @missdreamofendless @bradleybeachbabe @woderfulkawaii @amberpanda99 @daggersquadphantom @marvel-and-chicago-fan @angryknightstatesmantrash @minjix @lyjen @kmc1989 @itsmytimetoodream @noonenuts @hiireadstuff @ashie-babie @classyunknownlover @jayyeahthatsme @sp1ritssz @dumb-fawkin-bitch @oliverstarksbae @gimatida @heart-35 @supernaturalstilinski @stefansalvatoresgf @kyky9103 @wutheringhearts2275 @gay4hotmilfs @itshamleth @chaoticnosleepinfluencer @gs29 @wh0reforsmutstuff @mel-vaz @natashamea18 @chrisevansdaughter @alexandra8484 @deena-beena-weena @targaryenluvs @shelbygeek @kpoplover-19 @marvelmenarebeautiful @gillybear17
@zoeybennett @mrspeacem1nusone @zephyrmonkey @estella-novella @shauna-carsley @dottirose @cfdhouse51 @darkfemme1
Tommy Kinard Masterlist
Summary: While they're both on shift, (Y/n) starts to become disorientated and unwell. And Tommy and her dad don't know what to do when she starts having memory problems.
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A quiet grumble vibrated at the back of Tommy's throat and his eyes furrowed and winced in his sleeping state. The end of his nose crinkled and he frowned, confusion flooding his brain as he began to wake up.
Why was he waking up? Why did it feel like he had only just gone to sleep five seconds ago? Surely the alarm wasn't going off already?
When he blinked and tried to gain awareness of his surroundings, he groaned again. The bedroom was pitch black. It was still late into the night, or possibly early in the morning. It wasn't the alarm that had woken him. After another second, Tommy realised it was his phone quietly vibrating on the dressing table which he could hear.
Tommy's nose crinkled again when he took a deep breath and started to realise how he was laid.
His right arm had gone completely numb and he soon realised that was because his arm was beneath the pillow (Y/n) was laid on. Her neck was directly on his arm and her right hand was clutching his wrist like she thought he was suddenly going to disappear in the middle of the night.
Tommy was laid on his right side with his lips and nose pressed down against the top of (Y/n)'s head. With his height, he usually tried to stay as close to the headboard as he could or else his feet would dangle over the end of the bed.
And his left arm was secured around (Y/n)'s waist beneath the cover, his fingers subconsciously digging into her waist and hip.
With a quiet groan of discontent, Tommy lifted his head from the pillow and pulled his left arm free from the covers. His bare chest pressed into (Y/n)'s back and he took the opportunity to kiss the top of her head while he stretched across and grabbed his phone from her side table where he dumped it when he got in.
He didn't bother to check the caller ID before he answered and pressed the phone to his ear, letting his head flop back into the pillow.
"Hello?" His gruff voice was thick with sleep and two octaves deeper than usual but he didn't care. He could feel sleep ebbing away at his mind until a crisp, low voice crackled through the other end of the line and sharpened his mind awake.
"Kinard, it's Robson."
Oh God, why was his Captain calling him?
When he pulled the phone away from his ear and squinted at the bright screen, Tommy all but huffed in distaste. It was four in the morning. The Captain was calling him at four in the morning. Why? What did he want?
Didn't he know that Tommy had gotten home at half eleven tonight- last night? Just over four hours ago? He had been in bed for all of four hours before being disturbed.
"Kinard?"
"Yeah… yeah, what's up?"
"I've had two people from the A shift call in sick, a chopper should have been sent downtown half an hour ago and I've got a broken train on the subway. I need a pilot and you're on call. Can you come back?"
That wasn't fair. Tommy let his annoyance be heard in the way he growled animalistically and huffed through his nose. He hadn't had nearly enough sleep to be going back on shift, especially if he was going to be there for a while. But did he actually have a choice in this? He was on call. Whether he went in right now or turned up in a few hours after some more sleep, Tommy was still going to have to go on shift.
The sooner he went in, the sooner he could come back home and come back to bed.
"You know I'm supposed to have eleven hours between full shifts, right?" The cocky tone to his voice gave away that he wasn't about to pull the law book out here.
He could, if he really wanted to. Tommy could be petty and state that in his contract, if he had just done a full twelve, or even a twenty four hour shift, he had to have eleven hours before his next shift. It could be classed as breaking the law if he didn't get enough rest between shifts and went back in how after only four hours of sleep and of being at home.
But this was the job. This was what they had to do when they were struggling for staff and it was an extra shift. Tommy could ask to have his next shift off as a swap for coming in today. Then he could recover and spend some time at home with his wife before going back to work.
"Are you gonna pull the book on me, or are you able to come in? I'll pay you double and you can head home early, I swear."
"Double, and I work today instead of my next shift."
"Deal."
When he hung up the phone, Tommy tossed it back on the side table and brought his hand up to rub at his eyes. He'd done a good negotiation there. Usually it was rather hard to make a deal with Captain Robson. He wasn't cruel or harsh by any means, but he wasn't always as easily understanding like Bobby.
He took a moment to run his hand up and down his face and try to wake himself up.
His body was crying out for sleep. He needed rest. But he had a feeling this shift might go quick. The morning shifts usually did pass by swiftly especially if they were busy. And Tommy would clearly be up in the air flying this morning and hopefully he could spend a bit of time back on the ground. Too much time up in the air with a foggy brain crying out for sleep wasn't an ideal situation.
If need be, Tommy would swap with someone on the team and take over on the truck so he could leave the chopper.
After a few seconds, he looped his arm back around (Y/n)'s waist and began to feather his fingers up and down her chest and abdomen. He pressed his chest into her back and tilted his head down until his nose and mouth were pressed into the crook of her neck.
It took him by surprise just how warm (Y/n)'s skin felt against his touch. He could feel a layer of sweat coating her skin and she was radiating heat like a house in winter.
He pressed a soft kiss against the base of her neck before slowly working his way up, leaving open-mouthed kisses in his wake up until his lips reached the tip of her jaw. He peppered his way down her jaw and leaned over so he could peck her cheek. The touch made (Y/n) shiver, but she stayed mostly burrowed down with her face burrowed into the pillow and her hand still gripping his right wrist.
"Honey," His voice was still laced with sleep, but it was much smoother now. He let his teeth graze against her jaw while his palm pressed down against her stomach to try and wake her. "I gotta go back into work now."
Moving his hand up, Tommy let go of her waist and gently curled his hand around (Y/n)'s wrist that was clinging to his hand. He uncurled her fingers from his wrist and pulled her arm up so he could kiss the back of her hand. His touch seemed to stirr her this time. He felt her shuffle back into him and her head tilted in his direction, lifting from the pillow. But she didn't bother to open her eyes.
"Home… going home,"
Her words made Tommy frown. He couldn't be sure what she muttered afterwards, but those words were enough to make him smile and wonder what kind of dream she was having. He pecked her cheek and entwined their fingers, holding her hand against his bare shoulder while (Y/n) nudged her head back until she pushed her temple against his shoulder.
"No, no baby we're home now. You with me?" He waited a few seconds until (Y/n) finally seemed to wake up and listen to what he was saying.
When she didn't answer, Tommy leaned over with his chest pressed back down against her shoulders and he stole a kiss. The touch shocked her awake a little more and he felt the surprise in the way she gasped before her lips began to move against his own and her tongue darted across his lips.
"Babe…" Her voice was nothing more than a quiet pant against his lips and it made Tommy hate himself for agreeing to this.
He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay right here with her, where he belonged. But if he went now, he would be gaining a full day off with her the day after tomorrow- which was technically today since it was now morning. He knew (Y/n) would be on shift today and then tomorrow she would be off and now they could spend the day together.
"I gotta go back to work honey, you gonna be okay if I go?" The thought of leaving didn't exactly sit well in Tommy's gut when he looked down at his wife.
(Y/n) had been off work three days ago with a cold and although she promised Tommy on the phone this afternoon that she had felt better today, he wasn't inclined to agree. And now he could feel her starting to sweat, despite the cold air circulating through their bedroom, he wondered if she was starting to feel unwell again.
If she didn't want him to go he would ring Robson back and try to bargain to go in later this morning if he could. He would go in the same time as (Y/n) went for her shift, if she was well enough. So he could make sure she was alright and actually going to make it through her shift.
"Hm." She nodded and pulled her hand free from his so she could run her fingers across his cheek and steal another tired, sloppy kiss from him.
He knew if she didn't feel well enough she would call in sick. When they first started dating, (Y/n) had a hard time admitting when she was unwell and tried to keep going on shift even if she felt rough or could barely keep her eyes open. Now though, she was more easy-going on herself and understood it was okay to take a break when needed.
And she would be on shift with her dad. Tommy knew his father in law would keep an eye on (Y/n). Bobby would make sure she was okay and send her home if he thought she was too unwell to carry on with her shift.
"Alright then, I'll call you when I'm coming off shift."
(Y/n) grumbled quietly when Tommy's warmth suddenly disappeared from behind her. She no longer felt like she had a full length hot water bottle pressed up against her. There wasn't a secure arm around her waist or a face tucked lovingly into the crook of her neck.
She felt cold and alone and suddenly unsafe without Tommy wrapped around her, engulfing her in his large frame.
She could hear him shuffling around the room, getting dressed in the dark so he didn't have to put the light on and disturb (Y/n). Once he was dressed, (Y/n) suddenly felt his fingers beneath her chin and he tilted her head back into the pillow so her face was aimed up towards his.
"See you soon honey. Love you." His lips glued to (Y/n)'s and stole the little air left in her lungs while his thumb caressed her chin like he was drawing patterns on her skin. When he pulled back, (Y/n) lifted her head, trying to follow his lips and move with him until he pecked her temple and nudged her back into the bed. She needed to get some more sleep.
"Love you." She murmured softly, feeling a dull ache in her chest when his chuckle subsided and his footsteps started to become distant as he left the room.
***
Tilting her head from left to right, (Y/n) tried to get her eyes into focus and take note of her surroundings.
Everything was blurred. She was seeing double.
Nothing seemed to make sense in her mind and everything was spinning.
Her body slumped back until her shoulders and the back of her head bashed into something cold. She let her weight drop back and allowed her body to slide down until she was crouched down on the floor.
She was leaning against a fire truck. Why was there a fire truck here? Where was she? What kind of emergency situation was she caught up in to be near a fire truck? Was she hurt?
(Y/n) moved her hands and held them out in front of her. Both hands were shaking and she could see the veins popping up on her hands beneath her skin. She was burning up. Sweat was glistening on every part of her exposed skin and she could feel it making her shirt stick to her frame. Her body was overheating. Her hair was sticking to her temple and beads of sweat rolled down the side of her neck.
Her lungs burned as she tried to take deep breaths and work out what she was doing and where she was, but nothing was making sense.
You're supposed to help people.
A small, nagging voice in the back of her head tried to make sense of this, but it wasn't working. How was she supposed to help people? What was she supposed to do?
Her trembling hands moved up to cup her ears, drowning out the noises she could hear while her eyes fell closed. Ignoring the flashing lights making her temple throb and the bright midday sun that was beaming down on her like a spotlight.
She wanted to go home. Where was home? Was home near here? Home was with her dad. Where was he? Where was Bobby?
Her hands left her ears and a shudder jolted through her entire body when something on the truck slammed shut. Whether it was a hatch or a door or just someone retrieving something, (Y/n) wasn't sure. But the shockwave that rattled through the metal truck made her head pound and had her body coiling forwards.
She moved to press her hands down on the floor and slowly push herself to her feet, whimpering at how uneasy she felt when she was on her feet and how unbalanced she was. Whichever way her head wanted to lean, the rest of her body slowly started to follow until she was swaying left and right as she tried to walk forwards.
But she didn't know where she was going.
"Hey Bobby, where'd you want me?"
The tiredest smile Bobby had ever seen flooded his son-in-law's face and he watched Tommy hold his arms out at his sides while he took a look around the scene. He walked away from the truck he had just been driving and headed over towards Bobby who was sending his team this way and that to try and make sure every car on this bridge was evacuated.
At least six cars had piled up in a crash and they needed to evacuate them all and assess who needed urgent medical attention, who could walk away from this and who needed transport to hospital.
For a moment, Bobby looked at the younger man in front of him and looked around. They hadn't asked dispatch for air support. They had asked for another team and at least three ambulances, but no one was in dire need of being air-lifted to hospital.
But it clicked when he finally realised that Tommy was in the matching uniform. Dark blue shirt, thick black overalls and a black and florescent yellow jacket. He was here on ground support today. He was here as a firefighter, not a pilot.
And since this was Bobby's callout since his team got here first, Tommy's team would be taking their lead from him.
"Hey… weren't you on shift last night?" Bobby reached over to clap one hand on Tommy's shoulder before he looked around the scene again.
"I'm on call this week."
"Ah. Well, in that case, there's three cars over there who haven't been evacuated yet. Find (Y/n) and take her with you, I need everyone off this bridge."
"Copy that."
Tommy could feel the tiredness washing over him like waves lapping at the sand. But his mind started to vibrate and liven up at the thought of finding his wife. He hadn't seen her at all yesterday from being on shift and they only exchanged small talk last night when he came home and climbed into bed.
He wanted to see her and talk to her and ask if she was feeling any better. And maybe steal a kiss or two if he could.
His eyes darted around the scene as he looked for that familiar style of hair or the matching jacket that had his last name stitched across the back.
It didn't take long for his eyes to land on that all too familiar frame he had memorised down to every last mark, scar and mole on her skin. But as his eyes drank in the sight of his wife, Tommy couldn't help but furrow his brows and tilt his head to one side.
She wasn't walking properly.
For a moment, he thought she might have sprained her ankle or done something to her knee with the way she was walking. But after a few steps, he realised she wasn't actually walking like she was in pain. She was walking like she couldn't seem to hold herself upright.
Her body was leaning forwards while she had one arm locked around her waist and her other hand deadlocked at the back of her neck, scratching into her skin.
He watched the way her eyes danced across him before she went back to scouring the scene like she was looking for something in particular.
Tommy took a deep breath and picked up the pace to meet (Y/n) halfway. He stopped in front of her and reached his hands out to gently hold onto her upper arms and stop her in her tracks. His thumbs brushed up and down her arms over her jacket and he leaned his chest back and tilted his head down until his pointed chin was pressing down into his chest so he could look down at her.
"Honey, you okay?" He tried to smile but (Y/n) wasn't looking at him properly. She was constantly darting her eyes from left to right, briefly looking up at Tommy before she went back to scanning their surroundings like she didn't know or understand what was happening.
He watched curiously as (Y/n) reached her arms out and held onto Tommy's arms just below his elbows and her grip was so tight he could feel her nails digging into his jacket.
She was sweating. And shaking. And she was swaying back and forth like she didn't know how to hold her own balance.
Tommy let his hands glide up her arms to her shoulders and he carefully pushed her jacket off her shoulders. He slid the thick material down her arms and let it fall into a puddle on the floor, curving around the back of (Y/n)'s boots. He could see from how badly she was sweating and her shallow breathing that she was running a temperature and in this heat, she didn't need an extra layer to make it worse.
He pressed the back of his hand against her temple which seemed to bring her back to reality while his right hand curved around the back of her arm. Keeping her stood as close to him as possible and holding her up so she didn't wobble or take a tumble.
"(Y/n), are you with me?" His hand left her temple and moved to cup her chin so he could tilt her head up to interlock their gazes.
"You… you know my name?"
"What?"
Was she trying to joke with him? Was this another way of teasing him because he rarely ever said her name anymore. Tommy had so many pet names for her that he couldn't remember the last time he'd called (Y/n) by her name.
And both their teams knew this too. It was something Evan liked to tease him about while Bobby thought it was endearing since he himself wasn't used to calling Athena anything but her name or the occasional 'honey'.
Tommy let out a small chuckle and rolled his eyes while his head dropped down at an angle. And his thumb began to glide up and down (Y/n)'s chin, moving dangerously close to her lips every now and then.
"I think I know my own wife's name by now, don't you?"
The way (Y/n) latched her hands around Tommy's arms again made him stand up straighter and tense his arms beneath her touch. She was beginning to shake worse and when he realised she had tears trickling down her face, panic surged through his heart that started to hammer away against his ribs.
Tightening his hands around her arms, he tried to force himself to smile to try and keep her calm because he could see she was starting to panic.
He nudged her back until she was taking a few steps backwards, letting him guide her towards the concrete wall separating the two sides of the dual carriageway on the bridge. He nudged (Y/n) back until she took the hint and slumped down onto the concrete wall with a thud. Her knees trembled and her body leaned forward while Tommy crouched down in front of her legs.
"You don't look well, honey what's the matter? Talk to me." His hands left her arms to begin smoothing up and down her thighs instead.
He noticed how she didn't pull away or push his touch away, but the way she was looking at him made him feel uneasy.
Whenever (Y/n) was ill, she could cling to Tommy. Whether that be to get him to wrap her up in a hug or to cling to him for comfort or just rest her head on his shoulder for some form of touch. She would always wrap herself around Tommy and it was something he loved about her.
But she wasn't clinging to him right now. She was barely responding to him at all and it was frightening.
"Talk to me," He coaxed again, his tone gentler and quieter this time, letting her know his focus was solely fixed upon her.
"I… I don't… where am I? I don't wanna b-be here…"
"You're on shift honey, see?" Tommy reached out and feathered his fingers across the LAFD logo on the left side of her shirt before he pointed at the fire truck behind him.
What was going on right now? Why was (Y/n) confused about where she was or what she was supposed to be doing? Where on Earth did she think she was? What did she think was going on to make her this frightened and reverting back into her shell?
"You're important… someone important… I-" The shaking started to increase throughout (Y/n)'s body until she was trembling back and forth on the wall as f she was about to fall down onto Tommy's lap.
Tears jumped free from her lashes and fell down the bridge of her nose, making glistening tracks in their wake as she started to sniff and gasp for each breath.
The way Tommy pushed up on his heels and brushed the tears away made (Y/n)'s heart stutter. She reached out to cup his wrist and kept hold of him, but the fear in her eyes made Tommy want to burst into tears too.
"What's my name?" Utter panic dwelled in Tommy's voice that dropped down an octave as he stared at his wife. "Honey, what's my name?"
She shook her head.
She couldn't answer him because she didn't know the answer.
But despite not knowing his name and not placing who he was, her grip stayed paramount around Tommy's wrist, refraining him from pulling away from her. She was clinging to him even though she didn't know who he was. She was staring at him with such fear and confusion in her eyes that it made Tommy want to be sick.
There was nothing he could do. What was he supposed to do? How could be rectify this and make her remember him and understand what was going on?
"Bobby, I need some help over here."
Tommy moved one hand and waved out until he finally caught the Captain's attention and waved him over. All while his other hand stayed cradling the side of (Y/n)'s face since she was clinging to him.
There was something familiar about him. Although (Y/n) couldn't think of his name or place why she knew the person knelt down in front of her, she knew there was just something about him that was recognisable.
He was important. He was special, but she didn't know why. It was like there was a dream lingering in the back of her mind, telling her that she knew him from somewhere. His face, chiselled and handsome, was memorable and familiar but all the answers were locked up in a safe, hidden away in the depths of her mind that she couldn't delve into.
The more (Y/n) tried to think, the worse she began to feel. The more she tried to think why she was here, why she was dressed so similar to the man in front of her, why she was at some sort of crash sight. Why she was so groggy and burning and on fire and feeling sick. The more her head started to ache.
A sharp pain was igniting in the base of her skull and firing down her neck like bullets travelling the expanse of her spine.
She wanted to be sick. She wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep. She wanted to go home. Where was home? Why wasn't she back in Minnesota? This wasn't her home town, she knew that for certain.
Wherever she was, this was unfamiliar.
"Dad!" As soon as her eyes found her dad rushing towards her, relief sparked so hard in her blood that (Y/n) couldn't feel her hands anymore.
Her body bolted up from the wall so fast she stumbled into the man kneeling in front of her legs.
She felt his hands grapple to hold onto her hips, preventing her from falling onto his chest and keeping her up on her own two feet. Once she was steady again, (Y/n) pushed forward and reached her trembling arms out for her dad.
It was such a relief to have Bobby pull her into his chest that her vision suddenly went white and her mind started to blank and turn to mush. Static fizzled and popped in her ears and her body swayed forward into her dad's arms until he braced his hands on her hips and held her upright.
"Sweetheart what's the matter?" Bobby moved his hand to run up and down her back while he glanced over at Tommy for some sort of explanation.
"I wanna go home."
"She's delirious and feverish… Bobby, she doesn't recognise me or where she is." Tommy's hand reached out as if to rest on (Y/n)'s shoulder but he pulled back, thinking better of touching her if she had no idea who he was. "We need to get her down to the hospital, now."
Tommy swallowed dryly and felt his throat threatening to close up as he looked from Bobby, down to his wife, and back again.
She didn't remember him. She didn't know who he was or where she was or what was going on. The only person she was sure about was her dad. They needed to get her checked out. This had to be more than a simple cold or a fever for (Y/n) to be this confused and frightened and experiencing memory problems.
(Y/n) tucked her face into Bobby's chest and bound her arms tighter around his torso until she was almost cutting off his breathing.
He kept his left arm bound around her middle, holding her weight up for her against his chest while his right hand moved to cradle her face. He tilted her head back so she was looking up at him, and he realised how flushed her skin was and how she was burning up against him.
"Sweetheart… do you know where you are?"
"Home, wanna go home." She muttered breathlessly into his shirt, smothering her face into his chest again so she didn't have to squint in the bright sunlight or focus on anything in particular.
"Okay, let's go get you to a doctor first, hm?" Bobby leaned down to kiss the top of her head while his hand continued to smooth up and down her back.
He didn't want to pester her with questions, not when he could feel her crying quietly into his shirt. Asking questions she couldn't find the answers to was only going to distress her even more and she didn't need that right now.
He leaned his cheek on top of her head, locking eyes with Tommy while he held his radio.
"Hen, I need the ambulance prepped and ready to go… (Y/n) needs an assessment and a trip to the hospital."
They heard a bundle of responses, Hen agreeing with them, Chimney asking if he needed to call Tommy. Evan and Eddie asking what was going on and if she had got trapped or hurt out on the call.
But Bobby didn't answer any of them. He looped his arm around (Y/n)'s waist rather than her back and started to guide her away from the wall and towards the ambulance parked just behind the truck on the hard shoulder. His other arm looped around her chest and his hand began to glide up and down her back to try and keep her calm.
He could feel Tommy close on his left side, keeping (Y/n) held between them while Tommy dared to rest a hand on her shoulder. Relieved when she didn't pull away or flinch or scream at him to let go.
But as the three of them made a slow walk towards the ambulance, Tommy suddenly stopped and jerked his arms out in front of him when (Y/n) started to fall.
Her feet bent awkwardly beneath her and her body tilted to the left, bumping into Tommy's shoulder before she flagged in Bobby's arms and her mind shut down.
Both of them grabbed hold of her, stopping her from hitting the floor with a bang as she went completely limp.
Bending his knees, Tommy curved round so he was in front of (Y/n) and let her head flop onto his shoulder. He curved an arm behind her legs and one around her waist and as quickly as he could, he shifted her round and lifted her up bridal style. Her face stayed pressed against his shoulder while Bobby held her hand and placed her arm across her chest so it didn't hang down at her side.
"We need to go." Tommy watched his father in law break off into a sprint towards Hen to get the gurney from her. His panic a silent agreement that they had to go now and they had to move quickly.
Tommy's eyes darted ahead and then back down to his wife, limp, sweating and trembling in his arms like they were in the arctic instead of under the burning LA sun.
What was happening to her? And why didn't she remember him?
***
"Hey sweetheart, how you feeling?" Bobby let his gaze linger on (Y/n)'s hand that he had been holding for the last hour or so.
He slowly moved her hand so he could kiss the back of her knuckles and run his other hand up and down her arm. He smiled softly across at her, watching the way (Y/n) dragged her free hand to shakily brush across her eyes and nose and wake herself up a little more.
She pushed herself up and took a look around.
She was in a bed. She was in a hospital room, wearing a hospital gown. There was an IV taped into the back of her left hand and monitoring stickers that she realised now felt itchy and uncomfortable over her chest. And she could feel the wires rubbing against the gown and tickling over her arm.
"Cold," (Y/n) murmured as goosebumps started to prickle on her skin when she realised she was actually cold.
She watched the way her dad hung his head down and smiled while he moved their entwined hands to rest down on the bed next to her thigh.
"You were burning up so they turned the A/C on full and put a fan on, you're almost back to normal temperature now though."
It made (Y/n) feel like one of the desserts her dad made for the parties they were always throwing. Like she was starting to melt or become overcooked and needed to go in the fridge before she turned to mush.
But she felt like she was at a normal temperature now because she could register that the room was freezing cold and she was at the point of shivering.
"Alright sweetheart, can you tell me what day it is, or the last thing that you remember?" Bobby let go of her hand to smooth his palms up and down his jeans. He could feel the worry ebbing away in his chest and eating out his heart that was hammering three times as fast against his ribs.
He wasn't sure he was prepared for what answers she might give him. They didn't know if she had been suffering memory loss or if she had just been extremely confused. And they didn't know what time zone (Y/n) thought she was in since she couldn't remember who Tommy was, and she had been with him for the last five years.
It was almost frightening for Bobby to wonder what time (Y/n) thought she was in and what she might or might not remember.
When her dad let go of her hand, (Y/n) suddenly felt even colder and lonesome. She ran her fingers up and down the creases in the thin sheet that was draped across her legs and pulled up to her waist. But when she lifted her gaze, her head tilted to one side and her lips parted.
Something soft swirled in her deep eyes and her lips quirked into a smile as she reached a hand out across the room.
"Tommy…"
She hadn't realised he was in the room with them until now. Her gaze locked on her husband, stood as close to the door as he could get like he thought he might need to make a quick exit anytime soon.
He was stood with one leg crossed over the other and his body slanted at an angle while his left shoulder was pressed against the wall. He was facing the door with his head tilted down so his cleft chin was tucked against his chest. And he had his arms folded over his chest, showing off the way his muscles in his biceps tensed and how his work shirt looked a size too small for him.
But when his name passed through her lips, Tommy's head snapped to the right.
His blue eyes went wide until his pupils almost took over the whole expanse of his eyes and his lips parted, but he couldn't find anything to say.
She recognised him. She'd said his name. She knew who he was.
He pushed his frame off the wall and bolted across the room until he could collapse down on the side of the bed next to her thigh. His hands reached out for hers but her hand was already out, cupping the side of his face before he could grab her.
His fingers glided up and down her arm, ghosting over her pulse point as if to make sure she was actually speaking to him and this wasn't just some kind of wishful dream.
"You know my name." He muttered in disbelief before he turned his head to the right and pressed his lips against her wrist, kissing over her pulse. He leaned his cheek into her touch, wanting to melt on the spot when her fingers cupped his cheek and the underside of his jaw and he felt her thumb going across his cheekbone.
"It'd be a bit embarrassing if I didn't… I married you, didn't I?" Her voice was quiet and crackling from how dry her throat felt, but her words were like the softest string quartet Tommy had ever heard.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
He could of just sat there in awe of his wife and beg her to say his name over and over and over until it was the only thing he could understand and be sure of. But Tommy wanted to make sure she didn't have any gaps in her memory and that she hadn't time-skipped but still forgotten some of her memories.
"I… I was home, getting ready for work… you'd gone really early, but I- I don't remember going to work, or coming here." She could picture herself getting dressed at home. She could see herself looking at the bed with disappointment that she had woken up alone because Tommy had been called away so early.
She had barely gotten to hug and snuggle with him before he was gone again like a vague dream she could barely recall.
The relief in Tommy's eyes told (Y/n) that what she remembered was recent and she could tell he was overjoyed.
Had she really forgotten who he was? What had she said or done to him to make him worry she wouldn't remember him when she woke up? Oh God, what had she done to him?
Tears welled up in her eyes and she could barely register her dad kissing her temple, muttering that he was going to go and get Athena and bring her up before he left the room.
As soon as the door closed, (Y/n) brushed her thumb across Tommy's cheek and bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from crying. She felt her spine clicking into place as she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against his temple. The touch almost made him jump, but the way he leaned his head back and stared up at her with those big doe eyes made (Y/n)'s stomach flutter with adrenaline.
"Baby did I, did I really forget your name… forget you?"
"Only for a moment. You knew I was someone important." The soft, intoxicating smile on his lips made (Y/n) want to smile, but all she could do was take short, puffed breaths.
"Why?"
"You got a viral infection, encephalitis. But we caught it in time, you're gonna be just fine now. And you remember us all and who you are, so no more tears, okay?"
Tommy kissed over her pulse point again before he leaned forward and moved his hands to cradle her face.
He pulled her in for a kiss, tasting the salt tears over her lips and feeling them trace onto his face when she couldn't seem to stop them. He stole the little air left in her lungs and grazed his teeth along her lip while their noses brushed together and he couldn't help but smile against her lips.
"As long as you remember me, honey, it's all good."
#911 imagine#imagine#bobby nash#tommy x reader#tommy kinard#tommy kinard imagine#tommy kinard 911#tommy kinard x reader
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The Last-Minute Sci-Fi Gift Guide
There's only one thing worse than procrastinating on getting gifts for your loved ones, and that's procrastinating on putting together a guide to help out everyone else with all those gifts. It's Dec 12, so you can decide for yourself which I'm doing.

Art book: Worlds Beyond Time, $32
If you follow this blog, you might have heard of this one. I published Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of the 1970s this year after five years of work on it, and I think it's really good! 400+ images, 100+ artists, with lots of fun art history and jokes.
Also, it's just $20 right now if you order through my publisher and use the code SKIPTHELINE! Cheapest it's ever been!

Card game: Coup, $14
In this "social deduction" card game, you play as a government official in a future dystopia who needs to backstab their way into power. Everyone starts out with just two cards in this bluffing game, so the tide can turn pretty quick when players start assassinating each other's cards. The fast pace makes it a good gift for someone who loves spies but thinks they don't like card games.
Game to play over Zoom: Bad Spaceships, $3
If a bluffing game stresses you out, try Bad Spaceships: It's a collaborative world-building game in which you roll dice to see what area of your spaceship connects to another, forcing you to spitball exactly why this is the case. As the game puts it, you might fix the hull by playing Tetris, or charge your weapons in the swimming pool. You're basically getting weird prompts to tell a story that can evolve over the course of the game.
It's such an indie game that it comes as PDFs you download from itch.io, but you can play it just as well over Zoom, if you're looking for an excuse to catch up with your old digital nomad college friend.

Movies/TV: Streaming service gift card
Gift cards are all well and good, but you can personalize them by recommending a few of your favorite shows as well. I suggest:
Hulu: Cowboy Bebop
Apple TV+: Severance
Criterion Channel: Ravenous, Paprika, Strange Days
Paramount+: Yellowjackets
Amazon Prime: The Devil's Hour
But to be honest, this entry is just an excuse to talk about the new Max show Scavenger’s Reign. Inspired by the work of French artist Moebius and with a clear debt to famed 70s animated film Fantastic Planet, this stylish sci-fi show features a bunch of humans trying to survive on a beautiful but hostile alien world. Perfect for lovers of fictional nature.

Vintage sci-fi
This Etsy shop has some good stuff, like the 1971 Frank Kelly Freas NASA poster above, a bit of history that I even mentioned on page 167 of my art book.

Penguin science fiction postcards, $28
These postcards have a ton of very cool sci-fi covers I've blogged in the past – great value if you want a lot of art for a low cost.

Meteorite pendant necklace, $34
I think we all know what kind of rock your loved ones need around their neck: A chunk of meteorite straight out of the 1576 Argentinan meteorite fall.

Book recs
For astronauts: Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel by Meredith Bagby
For comedians: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, Even Greater Mistakes: Short Stories by Charlie Jane Anders
For sleuths: Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty, Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson
For crafters: Knits of Tomorrow: Toys and Accessories for your Retro-Future Needs
For the resistance fighters: The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley, An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
For slasher movie fans: Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

Syd Mead "Biomorph Vehicle" button down shirt, $49
T-shirts aren't classy enough for the world's coolest visual futurist, Syd Mead. I haven't actually bought this incredibly odd shirt, but I really need to.

Art prints (and more) from 70s sci-fi artists
Artist shops can be surprisingly hard to track down on the internet, but here's a short list of ones I've come across. All of these artists are featured in my book (except one), so you can read up on them before you commit to a print.
Michael Whelan
John Harris
Syd Mead
Don Maitz
David B Mattingly
Peter Andrew Jones - Jones was one of just a few artists who declined to be included in my art book, but he has a distinct, colorful style that I would have loved to have featured!
Finally, here's one extra bonus, just for everyone who made it to the end of this article: The UK-based educational charity Centre for Computing History sells three big officially licensed John Harris posters featuring these three artworks, famous for their use as covers for Sinclair programming manuals.

It's a great deal that I've never seen mentioned anywhere, and Harris' work has a timeless quality that makes it great for an unassuming wall decoration. If you're outside the UK, the shipping costs will be a pain, but there's no better deal for a classic sci-fi poster.
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Looking for a low-prep game for a one-shot? Do you love the spooky and the supernatural? Give Super Unnatural a try!
You and your pals have been hired to investigate strange occurrences in a famously haunted apartment complex. Are visiting witches to blame, or cantankerous ghosts? Did rent hikes get the poltergeist in apartment 14 in a tizzy? Well, it's up to you to find out!
Grab it for $1 today:
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Top 24 Books of 2024
It's that time of year again!
I read 80 books this year, most of which didn't rearrange my brain like a Really Really Good book, however a significant number of them still left an impact and I'm going to come back to them again and again.
TOP 24
(in no particular order - especially impactful ones are bolded - rereads are marked with a *)
White Cat, Black Dog - Kelly Link
The Saint of Bright Doors - Vajra Chandrasekera
Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered - Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark*
The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule
Homesick for Another World - Ottessa Moshfegh
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored History of Punk - Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain
The Unicorn Series - Vicki Blum*
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien*
Dead Mountain: the Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident - Donnie Eichar
Silver on the Road - Laura Anne Gilman
The Call is Coming from Inside the House: Essays - Allyson McOuat
Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik*
Picnic at Hanging Rock - Joan Lindsay
A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness - Nagata Kabi
Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons - Keith Rosson
The Age of Magical Overthinking - Amanda Montell
The Mirror Visitor - Christelle Dabos*
High Times in the Low Parliament - Kelly Robson
Absolution - Jeff Vandermeer
A Dark and Drowning Tide - Allison Saft
A Handful of Time - Kit Pearson*
The Archive Undying - Emma Meiko Candon
The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Drunk on all your Strange New Words - Eddie Robson
Princess Jellyfish - Akiko Higashimara
Song of the Lioness - Tamora Pierce*
Devil House - John Darnielle
Hamnet & Judith - Maggie O'Farrell
Flyaway - Kathleen Jennings*
Chelsea Girls - Eileen Myles
Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil - Ananda Lima
#books#top 24 of 2024#book lists#booklr#i tried writing my thoughts about each book but the post got way too long lol
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Hi do you by chance have any sapphic fantasy recs? preferably adult fantasy but YA is fine too
sure! tho this could will get quite long... no links, sorry!, bc it was kicking up a fuss with those for some reason
+ = ya
pennyblade by j.l. worrad
lady hotspur by tessa gratton
sofi and the bone song by adrienne tooley (+)
she who became the sun by shelley parker chan
the scapegracers by h.a. clarke (+)
the third daughter by adrienne tooley (+)
the daughters of izdihar by hadeer elsbai
the malevolent seven by sebastien de castell
blackheart knights by laure eve
the warden by daniel m. ford
the unbroken by c.l. clark
dark earth by rebecca stott
witch king by martha wells
scorpica by g.r. macallister
the mirror empire by kameron hurley
now she is witch by kirsty logan
silverglass by j.f. rivkin
the woman who loved the moon and other stories by elizabeth a. lynn
...(this answer is how i discover there's a character limit per block so. doing this in chunks.)
fire logic by laurie j. marks
a restless truth by freya marske
when angels left the old country by sacha lamb (+)
the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickinson
an archive of brightness by kelsey socha
the bladed faith by david dalglish
the winged histories by sofia samatar
dragonoak by sam farren
the forever sea by joshua phillip johnson
into the broken lands by tanya huff
the jasmine throne by tasha suri
daughter of redwinter by ed mcdonald
the last magician by lisa maxwell (+)
the fire opal mechanism by fran wilde
...
the black coast by mike brooks
high times in the low parliament by kelly robson
foundryside by robert jackson bennett
the enterprise of death by jesse bullington
mamo by sas milledge (+)
from dust, a flame by rebecca podos (+)
uncommon charm by emily bergslien & kat weaver
wild and wicked things by francesca may
the unspoken name by a.k. larkwood
brother red by adrian selby
the final strife by saara el-arifi
way of the argosi by sebastien de castell (+)
the bone shard daughter by andrea stewart
ghost wood song by erica waters (+)
into the crooked place by alexandra christo (+)
ashes of the sun by django wexler
the midnight girls by alicia jasinska (+)
the midnight lie by marie rutkoski (+)
the never tilting world by rin chupeco (+)
water horse by melissa scott
...
a master of djinn by p. djeli clark
the good luck girls by charlotte nicole davis (+)
among thieves by m.j. kuhn
black water sister by zen cho
the velocity of revolution by marshall ryan maresca
sweet & bitter magic by adrienne tooley (+)
the dark tide by alicia jasinska (+)
the library of the unwritten by a.j. hackwith
a dark and hollow star by ashley shuttleworth (+)
the chosen and the beautiful by nghi vo
the councillor by e.j. beaton
these feathered flames by alexandra overy (+)
the factory witches of lowell by c.s. malerich
fireheart tiger by aliette de bodard
...
city of lies by sam hawke
bestiary by k-ming chang
the raven and the reindeer by t. kingfisher
the winter duke by claire eliza bartlett (+)
master of poisons by andrea hairston
the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo
night flowers shirking from the light of the sun by li xing
down comes the night by allison saft (+)
wench by maxine kaplan (+)
girls made of snow and glass by melissa bashardoust (+)
girls of paper and fire by natasha ngan (+)
the impossible contract by k.a. doore
burning roses by s.l. huang
the house of shattered wings by aliette de bodard
not for use in navigation by iona datt sharma
weak heart by ban gilmartin
girl, serpent, thorn by melissa bashardoust (+)
the devil's blade by mark alder
...
we set the dark on fire by tehlor kay mejia (+)
the true queen by zen cho
moontangled by stephanie burgis
a portable shelter by kirsty logan
sing the four quarters by tanya huff
all the bad apples by moira fowley doyle (+)
the drowning eyes by emily foster
the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon
miranda in milan by katharine duckett
the afterward by e.k. johnston (+)
thorn by anna burke
penhallow amid passing things by iona datt sharma
in the vanishers' palace by aliette de bodard
summer of salt by katrina leno (+)
the gracekeepers by kirsty logan
out of the blue by sophie cameron (+)
black wolves by kate elliott
the circle by sara b. elfgren & mats strandberg (+)
unspoken by sarah rees brennan (+)
thistlefoot by gennarose nethercott
passing strange by ellen klages
(and breathe)
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This is the potential biker lineup for the Sons of Hades:
They'll also also have other verses but...
Sullivan "Sully" Meyers / fc: Jared Padalecki / vice president
Maverick "Rick" Gregory / fc: Jeffrey Dean Morgan / president
Isaiah "Zay" Lawson / fc: Aaron Taylor Johnson / member
Jason "Jase" Rhodes / fc: Ben Robson / member
Nico Wright / fc: Paul Mescal / member
Wyatt Ingram / fc: Austin Butler / member
West Gibson / fc: Oliver Stark / member
Caleb Lowe / fc: Jeremy Allen White / prospect
I may also add some female "hang arounds" for anyone who wants to do a verse where their male muse is part of the club?
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Books, July-August 2024
The English Experience - Julie Schumacher [I thought Dear Committee Members was excellent, and The Shakespeare Requirement too realistically curmudgeonly to be funny; The English Experience is closer to the first, and what Schumacher writes especially well are the inadvertent, unrecognized profundities of students writing very badly]
Come and Get It - Kiley Reid [the last 80ish pages: damn. damn!]
Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia - Christina Thompson
Weather - Jenny Offill
War Among Ladies - Eleanor Scott ["Books about education" seems to be July's unintentional theme; this quietly vicious short novel about the bureaucratic, relentless grinding down of women's potential makes me want to reread South Riding]
Orbital - Samantha Harvey [didn't feel certain about this in the first couple of pages, but my god it's made of stars] *
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis - edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson [the chapters with good writing are overwhelmed by the many tedious essay versions of a "thank you for coming to my TED talk" pitchdeck; dnf]
High Times in the Low Parliament - Kelly Robson [I was on a plane]
Curious Tides - Pascale Lacelle [one of those all vibes/no classes dark academia settings; looming signs of YA love triangle; dnf]
The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts - Christopher de Hamel [I suddenly, desperately want to know what de Hamel - a former Sotheby's employee himself - thinks of The Stegosaurus Auction, aka the most nsfw sfw video I have seen this year]
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Dread by the Decade: Isle of the Dead
👻 You can support me on Ko-fi! ❤️

★★
Plot: When a Greek general takes his leave from the 1912 Balkan War, he finds himself trapped on an island where the black plague is spreading.
Review: Though its concept regarding the paranoia that can be incited by disease and quarantine is interesting, it suffers from sluggish dialogue and rushed action.

Source Material: Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin Year: 1945 Genre: Psychological Horror, Bio Horror Country: United States Language: English Runtime: 1 hour 12 minutes

Director: Mark Robson Writers: Ardel Wray, Val Lewton, Josef Mischel Cinematographer: Jack MacKenzie Editor: Lyle Boyer Composer: Leigh Harline Cast: Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Marc Cramer, Katherine Emery, Jason Robards, Sr., Helene Thimig, Alan Napier

-----
Story: 2/5 - There are genuine moments of unease, but the story's timeline is way too rushed for the ensuing madness to be believable.
Performances: 3/5 - Karloff portrays a man succumbing to paranoia well with what he's given and Drew is likable. Cramer, however, is boring as a leading man.
Cinematography: 3.5/5 - Striking shadows and slow zooms.

Editing: 3.5/5 - Some good dissolves and quick cuts.
Music: 3/5
Effects & Props: 2/5 - Unrealistic statues and a silly looking murder weapon.
Sets: 2/5 - Some of it feels rather low budget, with the crypt being way too sparse. The rooms in the manor are well furnished and the island itself is fine.
Costumes, Hair, & Make-Up: 2.5/5 - Little effort was put into making anyone look ill or particularly unkempt.
youtube
Trigger Warnings:
Mild violence
Suicide (off-screen)
Medical scenes
Inaccurate portrayal of Greek culture and beliefs
#Isle of the Dead (1945)#Isle of the Dead#Mark Robson#American#Dread by the Decade#review#psychological horror#bio horror#1940s#★★
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