#james scott institute

[envirotechaccelerator]

Economics incentives are the catalyst of progress

The capability of capitalism to address important worldwide problems, suggesting that by making sustainability financially beneficial, we can utilize the private sector's energy to fast-track the shift to an economy with low carbon emissions.

READ HERE: Conflict Green Energy Minerals: Strategic Implications of the Path to Zero-Carbon Economy

[blade-liger-4ever]

X-Men: Evolution OC for @guardiandua91!

Meet Faris Wolf, an Indonesian-Cherokee member of the X-Men!

Faris' family originally hailed from Georgia, where he spent much time out in the woods learning to hunt and survive in the wild. Unlike his numerous younger siblings and older sister, he was born with amber eyes, which were sensitive to the light and thus necessitated special sunglasses for Faris to wear outdoors. Inside tended to be fine for him, but he kept them close to hand for when it either got unbearable or he had to make a quick run outdoors.

Eventually, his father landed a better job in construction in New York, practically right in Bayville. Packing up their things, they left, and Faris comforted his kid brothers and sisters about the new life they were going to have up north. Although he would miss Georgia, Faris was rather eager to move, as he'd been feeling a bit constrained in their old home recently.

Once they'd reached Bayville and began moving in, Faris took to "prowling about town", as the family lovingly called it. He couldn't help it: it was new, there was lots to see, and it kept him close to his natural huntsman roots. In short order, Faris learned the ins and outs of the town, memorized the streets, and even hung around Bayville High and became acquainted with the students.

The first he met was Jean Grey, who boarded at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

They bonded pretty fast, and her sportsmanship meshed nicely with his outdoorsman nature. Soon, Faris enrolled at the school, and quickly ended up on the football team - though, to his confusion, quarterback Duncan Matthews was aggressive. An aggression that slowly started to become reciprocated when he saw the man's attitude toward Jean...

But Faris is nothing if not restrained and relaxed, and knowing that Jean could take care of herself, he let it slide.

But he couldn't get over the other man's behavior. And then, things started happening to Faris.

He began dreaming of hunting at night, seemingly on all fours. He'd start awake in the early morning, in a cold sweat and feeling his mouth dry. His muscles seemed to feel stretched and strained, as if he'd run a marathon when he was only practicing for the football matches or otherwise playing around outside. His body and limbs felt too big and too small at the same time, and his nails itched while his skin tickled from some unseen fur brushing against it.

And his eyes began to react to everything. One moment, he couldn't stand the brightness of a stray beam of light, and then the next, he didn't flinch at being out in the sun without his shades.

Faris needed to clear his head, and the only way he knew how to do that was to do what always calmed him down:

A late night hunt.

After getting permission and receiving his new state permit, Faris grabbed his gear, loaded his rifle, and set out in the woods a few miles out from Bayville. With a full moon shining above him and cool winds pushing against him, it was a ripe time for a kill.

And deep within him, something stirred.

Faris moved like the wind, tracking an eight point deer and preparing to fire. But then, something in him made him lower the rifle silently. He crept forward on hands and knees, the prosthetic limb snapping off as his clothes ripped, causing the deer to bolt. With a bellowing roar, Faris burst after the deer, fur replacing skin, hands and feet traded out for paws, a tail snapping out behind him, and claws extending to deliver the finishing blow before sharp canines sank into its neck, cutting off the deer's bleat as instinct took over.

Jean awoke at that moment, hearing thoughts reminiscent of Faris' before amber, feline eyes - so much like Faris', yet so animalistic - flashed through her mind.

She went to consult the Professor, only to find Wolverine there, already clothed and looking antsy. When she asked what was going on, she learned that Logan had just returned from some late night business when he'd heard a tiger's roar. There were no zoos in Bayville, nor were exotic pets allowed. Which could only mean one thing:

Bayville had a new mutant in town - one who didn't know how to control his or her powers.

Faris, though born with his right arm missing up to the elbow, is a natural athlete. He can keep pace with any member of the track field or football team, his speed and other physical attributes enhanced after his mutation kicks in. Although his old prosthetic was lost upon the first night of his mutantation, Faris was able to get a new one thanks to Forge's ingenuity coupled with teenage Tony Stark's aid and resources, himself a friend of Jean who put a call in for his help. Now, Faris has a new limb that can detach, and that is made of unstable molecules in order to change with him when he shifts form, just like his specialized X-Men suit.

Faris' mutant power is twofold: he can turn into an orange tiger, and can either increase his size (his density, strength, and speed also becoming enhanced) to that of a Yukon XL, or shrink it all down to a houscat "package" for infiltration purposes. All of his physical attributes are enhanced to the point that he can hear and smell a few miles away, see in the dark, and see vast distances in his tiger form, retaining half of those abilities as a normal human. All of this makes him one of the most powerful mutants of the team, and a later, secondary effect of his mutatation grants him the ability to "freeze" the transformation midway, allowing him access to his full animal strengths as a seven or nine foot tall half-human, half-tiger being.

As a result of his mutation, Faris no longer has the need for his sunglasses, as it "healed" his eyes' weakness toward sunlight. However, he maintains using them for some time in order to keep his new powers secret. However, it cannot heal a missing limb, which he has no issue with. Faris often jokes that it is God's way of keeping him humble, something that gets a laugh out of Jean as she retorts that he'd need more bravado as opposed to more humility.

"But then I wouldn't be the 'humble hero' everybody likes," he teases back, and Jean can't help but agree with him - and find that his humility is far more endearing than Duncan's bravado.

Ultimately though, as one "cat" to another, Kitty is the one who gives Faris his codename:

Bengal.

He's a new mutant, and one who can give the Brotherhood a run for their money alone or with a team when the situation calls for it.

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994, Mike Newell)

12/03/2025

[thejaymo]

The Origins of Modern Bureaucracy | 2414

Where did modern bureaucracy come from? Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, the Father of the Military Academy, or the ‘man who made West Point

[icmioneline]

A Critical Tool in Climate Change Mitigation: Understanding Carbon Footprinting

by International Carbon Markets Institute

Carbon footprinting, the process of quantifying the total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by a product, person, organization, or nation, is a critical component in the science and policy of climate change mitigation. Discerning its dimensions, applications, and potential pitfalls can pave the way for more informed decisions and strategies in combating climate change.

Carbon footprinting as a concept is rooted in the principles of life cycle assessment (LCA), an approach that examines the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal. By applying this approach to the domain of greenhouse gases, carbon footprinting offers a comprehensive view of the emissions associated with any activity or entity.

The granularity and scope of a carbon footprint can vary depending on the goal of the assessment. It can encompass the emissions from a single activity or process, such as manufacturing a product or running an office building. Alternatively, it can span the entire supply chain of a product, capturing both direct and indirect emissions. On a larger scale, it can cover the emissions of a whole organization, city, or nation.

While carbon dioxide is often the main focus due to its prevalence and longevity in the atmosphere, a thorough carbon footprint includes all relevant greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide. These gases are converted to carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) based on their global warming potential, enabling their aggregation into a single metric.

Once established, a carbon footprint provides an empirical foundation for climate action. It enables benchmarking and target setting, informs emissions reduction strategies, and facilitates tracking and reporting progress. It can also guide policy development, investment decisions, and consumer choices, among other applications.

However, the process of developing a carbon footprint is not without challenges. Data collection can be resource-intensive and fraught with uncertainties, especially when it comes to indirect emissions and upstream or downstream stages of the supply chain. Methodological choices, such as system boundaries, allocation rules, and emission factors, can also significantly influence the outcome.

Interpreting and comparing carbon footprints can be equally challenging. A lower carbon footprint does not always equate to a lower overall environmental impact, given the potential trade-offs with other impacts such as water use, land use, toxicity, and biodiversity loss. The context and purpose of the footprint, such as the type of product, the sector, and the geographical location, also need to be taken into account.

Moreover, the effectiveness of carbon footprinting as a tool for climate change mitigation hinges on the transparency, credibility, and relevance of the process. This calls for adherence to recognized standards and protocols, rigorous verification, and meaningful stakeholder engagement. It also calls for continual updates to reflect technological advancements, scientific insights, and evolving societal values.

In tandem with the quantification of carbon footprints, the actual reduction of emissions necessitates concerted efforts at multiple levels. Technological innovations, operational efficiencies, and renewable energy transitions are among the avenues for reduction. Additionally, shifts in consumption patterns, product design, and business models can contribute to a lower carbon intensity.

Lastly, carbon footprinting should be integrated with broader frameworks of sustainability and climate resilience. It should not only serve as an instrument for measuring emissions but also as a catalyst for transformative change towards a low-carbon and sustainable future. As the world grapples with the escalating threat of climate change, understanding and effectively utilizing carbon footprinting is more critical than ever.

Read more at International Carbon Markets Institute.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

100 songs to get to know me

I posted this image over on the bluesky, and it got like 100 likes, so now here we are. I was going to write them all up here, but Tumblr imposes a 10 video limit on embeds per post which I find infuriating.

So! You can read the first ten entries here, but you can read the entire list here: https://tbskyen.bearblog.dev/100-songs-to-get-to-know-me/

1. ABBA - Lay All Your Love On Me

I genuinely don't quite know if my enjoyment of ABBA is something I came by honestly, or something which is simply genetically engineered into my Scandinavian soul. I remember hearing my mom blasting their songs on the home stereo in my childhood, and the association has put permanent nostalgia blinders on me for all of ABBA's greatest hits. Still, I think the beat is undeniable and the mournful tone of the chorus adds some real melancholy to the dramatic plea at the core of the song.

2. Afenginn - Oestrogenmanipuleret Basilisk

Afenginn describe themselves as "bastard etno-punk" which is probably as good a description as you're going to get. There's a lot of klezmer and eastern European folk influences here, but what is more important about Afenginn's best songs is that they go hard as f*ck and it's an absolute blast to dance to them at a show. They played this the first time I saw them live, and the rhythm comes back every time I hear it again. Good times!

3. Afenginn - Ralli in D Minor

With 100 slots to fill, I am giving myself permission to allocate two slots to Afenginn, and for the same reason. Ralli in D Minor is less of a dance tune to me, and more of a headbanger, but with a sufficiently loud subwoofer and a game crowd, you could f*ing mosh to this.

4. Anamanaguchi - Prom Night

I discovered Anamanaguchi as the composers of the title track to the Nerdist podcast back in the day, and being unfamiliar with the concept of chiptunes, I was drawn in initially by the sheer novelty of hearing the squeaks and bloops of my gaming childhood employed towards rock tunes and combined with "real" instruments.

Beyond the gimmick, though, Anamanaguchi won me over fully with the Scott Pilgrim game soundtrack, and then 2013's Endless Fantasy, where the gimmick of chiptune nostalgia noise (at least for me) finally coalesced into something that felt entirely like its own thing. Plus I'm a sucker for exactly this kind of bright dance pop, and Bianca Raquel's vocals here are a perfect match for the tone of the music.

5. Jennifer Hudson - Memory

2019s Cats is a fascinating fucking disaster. Tom Hooper is the worst director of musicals in my living memory, the abuse of the VFX staff extended beyond brutal crunch and absurd challenge imposed by a director who had no idea what the hell he was asking them to do all the way into an astonishingly arrogant and condescending joke from Rebel Wilson and James Corden at the expense of workers who were the last people at fault for the disaster that the movie became (look in the fucking mirror, Wilson and Corden, your performances were rancid).

Still, the silver lining of Cats is we got to hear Jennifer Hudson shake the world on its foundations with her rendition of Memory. I don't give a shit what anyone says, this performance is transcendent and no amount of institutional failure can dim its quality.

6. Annette Bjergfeldt - Min Bærende Bjælke

Annette is one of my mother's oldest friends, and a prolific singer-songwriter now turned author. I've been going to her concerts since I was a little child, and while I am absolutely not the target audience for any of it, it has stuck with me as part of my musical vocabulary deep into adulthood.

She has experimented with brass band accompaniment a few times, but for my money, nothing quite comes close to the floating, optimistic vibe of Min Bærende Bjælke. It sounds like a very particular kind of lasting romance, which of course is also what the lyrics are about.

7. Hozier - Blood Upon the Snow

We'll get more than one Hozier song on this list, but Blood Upon the Snow stands out to me as a song which easily transcends the videogame soundtrack promotional tie-in nature of its conception. Bear McCreary's hurdy gurdy and lyrics about surviving through adversity by holding on to existence with your teeth and nails... yeah, it hits with me. There's something real in that.

"The trees deny themselves nothing that makes them grow, no rainfall, no sunshine, no blood upon the snow." Something about that feels real.

8. The Beatles - Something

idk if I really need to write anything about George Harrison's most famous love song that hasn't been written more extensively by a million dad-rock enthusiasts before me.

I will say, this is one of the few songs I listen to regularly that justify the expensive audiophile headphones I invest in. There's a LOT to hear on a good, lossless, original mix of this song, if you're the kind of pervert who gets off to listening to a song a hundred times to focus on different parts of the soundscape. (it's me, I am the pervert)

9. Blink-182 - Adam's Song

I discovered a lot of my music taste as a young man from extremely low-resolution AMVs that my friend used to download off sketchy file-sharing sites. Blink-182 entered my musical lexicon through the one above, specifically, piggybacking off of my teenage love of Dragon Ball.

I never really grokked what the lyrics were actually about, until relistening to the song years later, but something about the minor-key wail of the thing really sat with my angsty teenage soul and has stuck with me ever since. I cannot listen to this song without that music video playing in my head, the song will forever belong to Vegeta.

There's remastered versions of this AMV out there, apparently, but if it's not 144p with tinny audio, it's just not right. That's not what the song is supposed to sound like, not to me.

10. Blink-182 - Miss You

Blink-182 is one of those bands I discovered via anime AMVs and listened to obsessively for a period as a teenager (The Offspring will show up later on this list), and then fell entirely out of touch with for years until discovering much later in life that they did, in fact, keep releasing music. I Miss You from their self-titled 2003 album felt, when I discovered it sometime in the early 2010s, like a much more mature and interesting sound from a band which had gotten stuck associated with my adolescent superpower kung-fu fantasies which I was, at the time, feeling a bit embarrassed about.

The song had a resurgence on TikTok a little while ago as a meme template, which made me listen to the albums again, and rediscover yet again that Blink-182 is, in fact, still putting out albums.

---

The rest of the list is here: https://tbskyen.bearblog.dev/100-songs-to-get-to-know-me/

[dis-plus-fanfic-reblog-writes]

Title: Bite

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Reader is an accidental criminal, Reader committed a felony (involuntary manslaughter but no death occurred), Discussions of assault, Situations that can be interpreted as Disassociating, PTSD Nightmares, Eavesdropping Logan Howlett, Manipulative Xavier, dub-con(ish) but only because they don’t under what’s happening to them until Logan explains, Violence Kink, Denial of self

Relationships: Logan Howlett/Reader, mentions of Jean and Scott Summers, mentions of Marie and Remy LeBeau

Characters: Worst Wolverine!Alpha!James “Logan” Howlett, Wolf Shifter!Omega!AFAB!Reader, Ororo ”Storm” Monroe, Charles Xavier, Marie “Rogue” LeBeau, Remy “Gambit” LeBeau, Henry “Hank” McCoy, Jean Grey-Summers, Scott Summers, Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner, Wade “Deadpool” Wilson, Laura McKinney,

Tags: Omegaverse Adjacent, Post Deadpool 3 (Deadpool and Wolverine), Slow burn-ish, Explicit Sexual Content, Located within X-Mansion on the Xavier Institute campus, Reader is under house/property arrest, reader has mandated therapy and training, Mating, Exchange of Mating Bites, Rough Sex, Violence between Logan and Reader due to instincts versus human need to control, Logan knows what’s going on and Reader doesn’t, Violent confusing urges

A/N: Feedback is golden. Reblogs are welcome. So3 link coming soon.

Summary: You have never had true control over your mutant powers, your wolf side. You thought you finally had and pursued a relationship with another mutant who you nearly killed when you lost control on the man.

You were sent to jail for involuntary manslaughter where you spent five of your 10 year sentence with a collar that blocked your powers until you were given early parole with conditions:was

1. You were to be released into the custody of Charles Xavier and the Xavier Institute

2. You were required to live at the Institute with weekly therapy sessions

3. You were required to learn to control your powers under all emotional aspects

Release: You would be released from parole once you showed the court you had control of your powers.

You don’t understand how you’re supposed to get control of something you don’t even understand yourself. Once you pick up on a scent your wolf likes, your wolf won’t let it go.

It was evening when you arrived, met by Professor Charles Xavier and Dr. Hank McCoy along with Dr. Jean Grey-Summers and Mr. Scott Summers. You were unlocked from the hand and ankle cuffs, and everyone surrounded you as Professor Xavier spoke briefly explaining the plan for the next few days. When you walked into the Xavier mansion, it was much bigger and intimidating on the inside than you expected from the outside. There were many smells and your wolf was very cautious as if it had picked up on something that your human mind missed. You remained vigilant and waited.

The following afternoon, you met the X-Men. It didn’t go as well as you had hoped. You already knew Dr. McCoy, Mr. And Dr. Summers.

You met the LeBeaus: Marie, codename Rogue and Remy, codename Gambit. Marie seemed to smell chemically fruity, like shampoo and conditioners do, a natural musk but something else you couldn’t quite name. It wasn’t unpleasant, did not know what it was. Gambit smelled rather masculine and greasy, as if working on a car recently despite looking clean.

You met Kurt Wagner, codename Nightcrawler. He was so visually different, soft looking fur that made you wondered if it felt as soft as it looked and such a pretty blue. He smelled odd, musk, earthiness, sulfur, and metallic. It was an odd combination but pleasant.

Ororo Monroe, codename Storm. Her scent was almost intoxicating: zone, fertile earth, wild flowers, and warmth. You immediately hugged her without thinking and then apologized to which she smiled, shaking her head. “Heavens no, child. You give wonderful hugs. Please always feel free.” You blushed and nodded with a wide smile.

“Seems one of our members are running late,” mentioned Professor Xavier. “No worries. He is on his way. You’ll meet Logan shortly.” The afternoon continued with the tour followed by the Professor and Dr. McCoy discussed the general plan, as they called it, to make sure you would be able to meet the state’s requirements in less than five years since you would be on parole otherwise during the remainder of your sentence.

An hour later you were in the foyer with Professor Xavier and Dr. McCoy had completed the plan discussion for the next two weeks when the scent stopped you in your tracks forcing you to focus on its source. The smell of tobacco, leather, and whiskey with earthiness and musk invaded your nostrils and mouth. It made your mouth water and your wolf howl. You could feel your fangs lengthen when you saw him. You closed your eyes, held your stomach in your arms trying to fight the urge to shift and whimpered when you felt your wolf howled again. When you opened your eyes and looked, you knew they were your wolf’s amber.

“Logan,” warned Professor Xavier.

Logan was broad shouldered, dark hair and eyes, rugged looks with a matching beard. He was a tall drink of water and you were as parched as the desert. When you realized he was only a few feet away having walked towards you, you panicked and ran to your room, locking the door and moving every piece of furniture you had in front of the door, terrified of what you might do to him if he got close.

You could smell Logan at the door. Dr. McCoy asked him to leave, unsure what happened. All you heard was a grunt from the man and two sets of footsteps that walked away. You remained awake in your room for three days. On the fourth morning, you woke up to a hand scratching your scalp, an intoxicating scent that you rolled over and nuzzled in further. A warm male voice chuckled above you, “Good puppy” as a hand came down and rubbed your chest, patting it a few times. You panted, your tongue hanging out. “Aren’t you a sweet girl?” The male voice complimented.

Your sleep-addled brain screamed red alert to wake your human mind. You rolled over and stared at him, the man with the scent. The scent that made your mouth water, your fangs lengthen. The urge to bite into his flesh and tears him apart. Logan was so calm. He had no idea the danger he was in. The urge to lick any wound you made and roll around in his scent.

He was so calm and relaxed. “What? Did I do something wrong?” He held his palm out to you. “I’m sorry,” he easily apologized.

Your tail between your legs and you slowly walked backwards. You were in a bedroom but it wasn’t yours.

How the fuck did I even get here?

As you carefully took steps back, he slowly reached out his hand. “Careful there, puppy.” You jerked back, your back paw misstepped into emptiness and falling only to have Logan grab you by your scruff. You twisted in his grip, snarling. His other hand is holding you against him.

“Hey, hey. No need for that,” he huffed. “Hang on.”

You snapped at him barely missing skin, only to grab on to his flannel shirt and tear a piece of it from his sleeve. Logan shifted position as you whimpered and barked, snarling. He quickly set you down and backed away, palms for you to see.

Once on the floor, you gained your baring quickly and headed straight for the door, except wolves don’t have opposable thumbs.

Fuck it.

You shift into your human form focusing on the door knob, trying so hard to ignore Logan’s all encompassing scent in his room. You could feel your face heating up at the reveal of your naked backside to the man just for you to open the door and run down the hallway back to your room.

Your bedroom door was partially opened, so you squeezed in. Upon slamming your bedroom door and locking it, you slide down, uncaring of what little space there was at the moment, to the floor trying not to hyperventilate.

Oh my god! What the hell, wolf?! That’s not ok!

You didn’t expect your wolf to talk back, you usually get something. Nothing came. Tears flooded your eyes and poured down your face. You weren’t overwhelmed and so confused. None of this made sense to you. You also realized you’re like six rooms down from Logan’s room, a corner room. Suddenly nauseated, you lept to the trash can next to your bed and emptied what contents you had in your stomach. Spitting what was on your mouth, you opened your eyes and saw food you know you haven’t eaten.

“You cunt!” You screamed at no one. Sitting back on your ass deep breathing, you look around the chaos of your room. Your sight blurred as memories began to flood your mind of the evening before.

…💭🌙💭🌙💭…

You in wolf form scratching at Logan’s door. He opened it and looked down. He wore pajama pants and nothing else. You can tell your wolf smirked at Logan’s appearance. The wolf noted his form, his obvious strength and agility in how he carries himself. You sit there properly trying to give him puppy dog eyes and a quiet whimper.

He snorted a laugh at you. “Fine, come on.”

You walk right in and jump on his bed, curling into a ball at the foot of the bed, watching him.

He quirked a brow, closed the door behind him, and tilted his head as he watched you in return. “So, why are you here?”

The wolf huffs at him and carefully scratches at the bed. Logan slowly walks towards the bed; the wolf lifts her head and tail wags.

“No biting,” he warned. Your wolf laid their head back down with their ears held close to their head and tail down—a submissive response to a dominant.

Logan slowly slid back under his covers, vigilant. “So.”

Your wolf stays in that position, eyes remaining on Logan’s hazel ones. This sort of staring contest continues for a minute before he gets impatient. “Human side doesn’t like talking, huh?”

Your wolf whimpered and snuffed.

“It’s confusing at first,” Logan began with a small smile.

Your wolf lifted their head with a tilt as if indicating they were listening to him. They were.

“Being in sync with your human helps.” The wolf rolled their amber eyes and snuffed, scooting a bit closer to Logan. Logan squinted at the wolf with a tilt of his head. He spread his legs out under the blanket and patted the space in between. The wolf was tense but remained in their position since Logan’s body language didn’t exactly read permission.

He pressed his lips together before licking them. “C’mon,” he resigned with a sigh and patted the space between his legs.

The wolf quickly hopped up and laid back down against him, rolling over and showing their belly with their tongue hanging out. “Oh,” Logan was surprised by the sudden change in behavior. He ran his fingers through their fur and rubbed. He grinned and chuckled as he patted your fur covered chest.

“You’re just a big ol’ puppy, huh?” You tried to lick him, catching the tip of his nose causing him to laugh and rub it.

You spent the next few hours of Logan just talking to you about how he got here by being ‘kidnapped’ by Wade to rescue this universe and the unbelievable adventure they went on. How he came back with him and what happened to Cassandra. How he chose to move out after a few months to live with this world’s X-Men in hopes to be able to fit in somewhere.

“Things with Wade were…unexpected. It almost feels like we’re mated,” Logan admitted.

“It’s a strange feeling. We can’t communicate like mates do but I can feel him all the time.” You whined and nuzzled against his chest, noticing the subtle distressed alpha scent beginning to permeate the air.

“He’s my best friend. My family. He chose me and it took me a while to realize I chose him too. I’d do anything for him.” He ran his hand from the top of your head down your back only to start over again.

You got up and repositioned to lay next to him and watch his face. “You’re easy to talk to, kind of like him.” He returned to petting you, periodically scratching your back as things become an easy silence Off and on, he’d talk to you about whatever was on his mind, such as a student in his history class that just refuses to do his work to the point that he shows your wolf their paper and reads it to you. He even complained about his old roommate Althea and her blatant drug use that he found annoying since the apartment, with his heightened senses, always smelled like cocaine and pot. He didn’t care but he got headaches a lot easier.

Then suddenly, Logan looked at you with a wide grin. “Did you just drool on me?”

You roll over, head tilted, ears flopped to the side.

“You’re just a puppy, aren’t you?” He rubbed the top of your head quick and rough. “You're just a cute puppy aren’t you? Yes, you are.” He scratches under your chin for a few moments and pets your muzzle before moving back to the top of your head.

He massages your ears, an odd but pleasant feeling. Your tongue hangs out and you drool on him more. He chuckled at the behavior. He pet you for several minutes, feeling much like a massage as you slowly return to laying down on your side and doze on him. You wake up as your wolf to find he is laying down with reading glasses and a book and an arm thrown on you. You shift closer into Logan’s side and he continues to pet your chest, sides, and thighs. You felt very calm and relaxed with him.

…💭🌙💭🌙💭…

That doesn’t make any sense. Why is my wolf fine but I’m not? What is wrong with me? Why do I want to use my wolf as a weapon? Why him?

A few days later, the professor visited you in your room. He sensed you had calmed. By the time he stopped by, you had put your room back in order and just kept the door locked. You had your own ensuite so other than food and laundry, you didn’t need to leave your room. Thankfully, he had made sure someone always came up to deliver meals as he waited for you to calm and adjust. So, on this particular day when he visited, you were glad to see someone.

You let him into the room, seeing it rearranged. Your bed was in the corner, next to the now open closet (you removed the closet door which sat inside the closet). Your chest of drawers were also inside the closet giving you much more space in your living area. With your en-suite a bit further down than the foot of the bed, this allowed you to have a sitting area with two chairs and a coffee table you stole from downstairs.

“I was wondering where that coffee table wandered off to,” Professor Xavier said with a grin.

You returned the smile and shrugged. “It, uh, wandered up here.”

“I see that. Good to know it’s safe,” he moved in further as if sitting at the coffee table. You nodded and sat down across from him.

You fiddled with your hands in your lap and the silence to you had tension. “I’m sorry,” you apologized.

“This is a transitioning period. We all knew there would be issues we were unaware that would arise and I think we’ve handled it well.”

You looked at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. “Have we not?” He asked.

“My wolf keeps wandering off into Logan’s room and I have no control to stop them,” your speech was higher than usual, your shoulder closer to your ears as you leaned forward.

“I wasn’t aware; Logan hasn’t said anything,” Xavier offered.

“What?” You queried incredulously. “Are you kidding me?”

“How do you know your wolf does this?” He inquires.

Falling back in the chair with a heavy sigh, you explained, “When I wake up, it takes a bit but I remember everything…or I wake up in his room.”

He hummed acknowledgment. “What does your wolf do when they wander off into Logan?”

“They act like a dog with its owner, to be honest. Scratching at his bedroom door until he opens up and lets them in, lays in his bed and cuddles up as he talks to them. It’s weird but nice.”

Xavier had an unreadable look. “Have you thought that maybe your wolf is trying to show you something that you aren’t able to see?”

You snort. “Like what?”

“Maybe you should go talk to him?” Xavier casually offered.

Your heart pounded as you thought about Logan and his intoxicating scent. You could feel saliva begin to pool in your mouth at the idea. Swallowing, you stand up suddenly from the chair and back away, eyes wide, breathing quickly.

“No,” you barely whisper. “You-you-you don’t understand.”

He raises his hand towards you and evenly speaks, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” He can see your hands shaking as you fidget. “What are you feeling right now?”

You stare at the wall. “Isn’t it obvious? Fear.” You huffed at the man.

“What are you afraid of?” He moved closer to you.

“Losing control again,” you whispered. Tears begin forming in your eyes. You look at Xavier. “I can’t do that again, Charles. I can’t lose control again,” you begged. Tears slip down your cheeks. You look away, ashamed of your past and unable to forgive yourself.

He doesn’t have to reach out to feel your fear. You’re projecting it. He reaches into your mind, just skimming the surface to find your wolf of a different mind. While he cannot read it like a human or mutant mind, he can feel it. It feels restless, agitated, and sad.

“What does your wolf feel right now?” He asked.

Your eyes are wide, brows furrowed. “What does that matter?”

“Your wolf is a part of you. You are rejecting a part of you can create much dissonance in the mind,” he explained.

“I’m not rejecting her. I just want her to listen to me and do what I ask, not wander off because I’m asleep. Why is that so hard?”

“I believe you may be and not realize it. That’s ok. With what has happened to you, it’s understandable why would may resent your wolf.”

“I didn’t ask for this,” you angrily state. “I’m glad it saved me from a mugger but I didn’t ask to be a mutant. Nothing against mutants or humans. It’s cool and fascinating when you look at the genetics and how it displays but I sure as hell didn’t ask to be a fucking grey wolf. They’re pack animals. They’re social just like humans, yes, and there’s a hierarchy to their packs and communities. I don’t have that, let alone know if I even need that.”

Xavier came closer and placed his hand on your arm. “That’s why Dr. McCoy, when he saw your case, brought it to my attention. It’s why you’re here. We can help you understand and gain control over your mutant powers. Over your wolf.”

“Promise?” You sniffled and wiped your face with your free hand.

“We will do everything in our power to help you, I promise.” He squeezed your arm and kept his hand there.”

“Ok.”

“I do have one more question,” he admitted.

You hummed in question.

“What is it that you’re afraid will happen if you meet or see Logan?”

You bite your lower lip and look away. “To do what I did to Marcus and succeed,” you quietly explained, your voice breaking.

Xavier’s breath remained even and he squeezed your arm again. “Do you know why you did that to him?”

You shook your head. “The urge was so strong. I tried to stop. We were making out. He smelled good, like cigars and good bourbon. It’s what attracted me to him.”

“His scent?”

“Yeah,” you looked at Xavier. He let go of your arm and backed away to allow you to move. You returned to the chair and he remained next to you. “We had been dating for like three weeks and I….” You blushed at the admittance. “I was a virgin. I’d done stuff but not sex. I told him and he said he’d take it slow. This day when we started making out in my couch. I don’t know. I needed to be closer. I need his skin on mine. The urge to bite was so strong so I did. I didn’t break skin or anything.” Tears began to fall again. “He was into it. We were…in our underwear. It all felt good. I was nervous because guys don’t like stopping here but he wasn’t pushy or anything. He just rolled with it.”

“And your wolf?” Xavier asked. You sat there for a few minutes.

“I’m not sure. I don’t recall anything odd or different. I guess…we were in sync, maybe?” You fiddled with your shirt as you continued. “I paused and sat up. I asked…” You looked at your closed door.

“There’s no one here but you and me,” Charles reminded. He put his hand on your arm again. It felt calming and made you feel safe.

“I asked him what was the kinkiest thing he’d ever done. He said he’d done it all. He was up for whatever I wanted to do. I was happy. My wolf was happy. I remember that because it was strange that I’d notice that. So, I started nipping and sucking hickeys into his neck and chest. My fangs and claws lengthened, and I didn’t notice until that moment. I bit into his shoulder hard and raked my claws down his chest.” You paused.

Tears fell. “He screamed and tried to push me off but I didn’t move. I used my strength against him and pinned him to the couch. I tasted his blood but it didn’t…taste right. I got angry, so angry.” You paused, looking towards the coffee table as you remembered. “No, I didn’t,” you correct. “She did.” You looked up at him. “Charles, my wolf was angry. He wasn’t them. The right person like she thought.“ Your eyes returned to the coffee table and sat there in silence, shocked.

“Who’s the right person?” He asked, squeezing your arm. The name tumbled from your lips unbidden, “Logan.”

He hummed.

“What does that mean?” You demanded.

“I’m not certain,” he told you, his face pensive. He took your hand in his. “We will figure this out together.”

“Anything you need to do, Professor,” you gave blanket permission.

You looked away a moment before returning to look at him. “Professor Xavier. May I ask an unrelated question?”

He smiled and squeezed your hand. “Of course.”

“Who were the people with…Logan?” You hesitantly asked, looked down at your hands in his.

“His daughter, Laura and his old roommate, Wade,” he informed.

“Logan has a daughter?” You were curious.

“It’s a complicated occurrence.” He tilted his head observing you.

You smile. “That’s sweet…kind of him. He didn’t know, I assume.” Xavier nodded at you. “He treats her as family anyway.”

“It is,” he agreed, and then suggested. “Would you like to meet her?”

Your mouth opened into a small smile and eyes wide, eyebrows raised then your face fell. “Won’t she smell like him?”

“So did Marcus and you were fine for at least a while,” he reminded. You frowned.

“I think it would be good for you to meet her. Perhaps you’ll find you have things in common and might help you.”

“What if I hurt her?” You stated your concerns.

“What if I can arrange for you to be stopped before that could happen?” He offered.

You slowly nodded. “I’d like to meet Wade too. Logan talked about him to my wolf and he sounded interesting.”

“Let me see what I can arrange,” he pondered. He looked to the door and returned his eyes to you. “Dinner will be ready soon. Why not at least come down?”

You slowly nodded and stood up as Xavier moved back. You walked to the door and opened it for him, letting him out first. He looked to your feet. “Why don’t you put on shoes?”

“I don’t like to wear them unless I’m going outside.”

You wiggled your toes.

“How about socks so your feet don’t get cold?” You smiled and went back to your room. You returned in blue socks with little kawaii wolves as emojis.

“Just lovely,” he said as headed downstairs.

Once downstairs, Professor Xavier suggested you look in one of the smaller side rooms to see if there are any books you’d like to read. Agreeing, you head over.

After two months, Charles chose to pause the therapy and pushed you to train more. He didn’t want you to shift much, which you found surprising. He thought the shifting was a way for you to avoid what was going on instead of facing it. You trained more with Rogue and Hank, learning to fight and develop coping skills for overwhelming emotions and urges. While it did seem to help, the moment you smelled Logan those urges seemed to only get stronger than you somehow ended up memorizing his typical daily schedule and avoided it. Your wolf, however, would come out at night when you would sleep sometimes, only to go to his room wanting his attention and affection. Because this occurred while you slept, you had no control and did not always remember all the details. The professor thought there was an unconscious desire for someone like yourself that your wolf was fulfilling. You disagreed. You refused to get to know Logan fear of nearly killing him clouding your judgment and refusing to listen to Charles.

While Logan is kind and considerate of others; however, he could be insensitive to others feelings. He loves to work on cars and ride his motorcycle. There were times when you were certain you could smell his loneliness; even though he'd talk to Wade on the phone often where he’d smile. He’d spend most of his weekends with him. He’d spend time with Laura once a week, usually just the two of them. You knew his training schedule and classes so you could not be there. You did walk by his room, smelling him since it was rather close to yours. Charles refused to move you saying it could be a way to help you cope while you worked to learn control.

You didn’t understand yourself or what was going on. Your urges seemed to be contradictory. Your wolf was fine with him but you wanted to hurt him…kill him, maybe?

In the following weeks, you started having dreams of acting on these urges. You’d wake up in a sweat, look for Logan to make sure you didn’t actually hurt him. You never did; they were just dreams but oh, so realistic where you would wake up tasting his blood on your tongue.

One day, the urges finally culminated. You could smell him wherever he was in the building all day long. You stayed in your room in a long sleeve shirt, panties, and socks. You felt feverish, antsy, your body heavy, and wanting. Your skin felt tight and the urge to bite and claw Logan was so strong that you dug into your bedroom walls and bed. You were trying to rid yourself of it. You refused to come out of your room. You tore into your own things. You cried on and off. You showered several times throughout the day, refusing to shift into your wolf.

After dinner that evening, Logan came up with food, he could smell your emotions and knocked on your door. When you didn’t respond having fallen asleep, he used a claw to pop the lock and came in. Closing the door behind him, he set the food down on a chair with the seat shredded. He slowly looked around the room, amazed you hadn’t broken the window. He could smell your turmoil, your fear, your desire, so much of your anger and all your pain. He slowly walked in, past your destroyed bed and wardrobe, towards the closed closet.

You opened and stared at him with amber eyes. “Get out,” you hollered at him.

“What’s going on?” He practically begged. His face was soft, eyes full of worry.

Your eyes filled with tears. “Please stay away from me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He paused with a smile. “Your wolf seems to—“

“My wolf isn’t the problem, Logan. It’s me.” Your fangs came out and were fighting the extension of your nails by keeping them as fists. You began panting, control so hard. Your mouth ached to tear into his shoulder and nails shred his chest and back.

“You? Why? Talk to me.” Logan could smell the conflict.

You shook your head, tears flowing down your cheeks. “I—I—“ How can I admit what I want to do to such a wonderful person?

“You ain’t gonna hurt me, sweetheart. Even if you do, I heal. Talk. Now,” he commanded and moved closer.

You turned around, trying to get control of your breathing and heart rate. “Get out, Logan,” you growled at him. “Before I tear you apart.”

He smirked. “Now that I’d like to see.”

Turning back around, your eye shape changed to your wolf’s, your amber eyes seemed to almost glow. Your nails were extended and black like your wolf’s. You had just the hint of a small smirk. You lunged at him, tearing into his button up and undershirt. The smell of his blood egged you on. You rumbled approvingly as you lunged again but he was prepared. He moved out of the way and pushed you, not actually wanting to harm you.

“Yeah,” he encouraged, grinning. “That all you got?”

You kicked behind you and he caught your ankle, flipping you but you landed on your feet.

“Your training is going well,” he commented. You snarled at him, swiping and just leaned back, stepping back as he did. He ducked under your next attack into your space, grabbing both wrists, and slamming you to the ground. He sat on your pelvis while you tried to bite at him as he pinned you in your place with his strength and minding his weight.

Your eyes shifted back to your normal color, big and wide with tears forming again. Your nails and fangs returned to normal. “Please, Logan. Just kill me. I can’t do this again.”

He shifted your wrists to one of his big hands and cupped your cheek, wiping away your tears with a thumb. He leaned forward as he spoke. “You can’t hurt me, puppy.” You close your eyes, slamming your head back. “Hey, none of that.” He inhaled deeply. His body stiffened before relaxing again. His cock beginning to chub up at your scent but you didn’t notice. “Why is it you think you’re gonna kill me?”

“I—I—the urge is so strong. I don’t—“

Logan interrupted, “What urge?”

“To bite you. Di-dig my claws into you. Taste your blood,” you huffed a sarcastic laugh. “And roll around in it, coating myself.”

He sat up, mouth open. “You’re in heat because of me,” he said.

Opening your eyes, brows furrowed. “Heat?”

“I could smell you the day before I met you. You’re my mate,” he calmly explained despite his heart rate increasing as adrenaline and arousal increased, just by being near you. You gasped, eyes widened as it was beginning to make sense. “You’ve been seeking your mate, sweetheart. That’s all.”

“The—the urges?”

“Mating.”

Your lips snarled silent. “How is that mating? It’s so bloody.”

He smirked. “Sometimes, it is. Biting is how mating is done. It’s a blood exchange and sex that completes the bond.”

“Oh,” you breathed. You were suddenly very aware that your underwear was wet and clinging to you. That Logan was sitting on top of you, specifically your pelvis. Your face heated up, looked away, knowing he could smell your arousal and you were beginning to smell his.

“I’m going to let you go,” he said gently. You whined and shook your head. “It’ll be ok,” he encouraged. Your brows furrowed again as he got up, stepped back. He held his hand out and you took it. Pulling you up slowly, you became acutely aware that he had way more clothes on than you and a large erection pushing from his jeans. He chuckled as he caught you staring.

You looked away. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok. I don’t mind,” Logan admitted.

You whined, walking over to the wall as the urge strengthened. “It’s still there.”

“You’re in a mating heat. It’s going to be there until you’re mated, darlin’.” He placed his hand on your shoulder, gently pulling and you turned around trying to remain in control and resist the urges as your mind wondered if you should run away. He stepped in front of you. His hazel eyes catching yours.

“Trust me. I got you,” he whispered before taking your face into his hands, tilting his head, and pressed his lips to yours.

The lightning that spread through your body only to settle in your core was so strong, you groaned and rumbled. The violent urges finally calmed down as your wolf began to get what it wanted. Your hands held on to his biceps, pulling him closer to you as you hit the wall. One hand slid into your hair, pulling a little dragging a gasp from you while his other to the back of your neck. He licked into your mouth, tasting you and you tasting him. He groaned into your mouth and rugged against you. Your hands slid to his shoulder blades. He was too dressed, so you pushed him away.

“Too many clothes,” you panted before pulling off your shirt.

Your eyes returned to amber and your fingers itched to dig into his flesh. He tore his ruined shirts off revealing quite the chiseled chest. A whispered “oh” from you as you blatantly stared.

“Like what you see?” He grinned. You nodded, silently.

“Up here, puppy,” he said, pointing to his eyes. “Your eyes.”

You nodded. “Together, my-my wolf and me.”

“You're gorgeous,” he breathed. Your face heated up at the compliment with a slight whimper.

He could see you hesitating. “Go ahead.” He knew what was to come and wanted it.

You looked down to his neck and chest, and pounced. You dropped him to the floor so quick, knocking the wind out of him and sat on his abdomen. You slid your nails across his pecs and down, blood seeping before healing. He groaned at the pleasurable pain. His arousal intensified. You leaned down, licking his blood off him, tasting him, and groaned.

“Yes,” you breathed.

An approving rumble from him surprised you. His eyes were dark, color nearly gone from his eyes. “More,” he breathed.

You leaned down, a hand on his shoulder and the other on the floor as you dug your fangs into his pec and sucked his blood from the wound. His hips bucked at your ministrations. You pulled back to let the wound heal, your wolf frustrated at the lack of a mark, and you cleaned the area, rumbling at his taste. It was so good. You bent down and pressed your lips to his, humming in pleasure. You nipped at his lower lip before pulling back, meeting his eyes. You were so wet. You tore off your underwear and pulled your shirt off. You felt much better. You always hated clothes but needed to wear them.

“Hi,” he smirked. You grinned back. “Hi.”

“Switch?” He asked. You rolled off of him and onto the floor next to him. He boxed you in with his arms.

“You’re beautiful, Logan,” you whispered, your fingertip scratching at his facial hair loving how it feels.

“Thanks.” He leaned down, slanted his lips against yours. Your arms wrapped around him with your hands holding onto his back, focusing you on him. You felt scared, overwhelmed, and more turned on in your life than you can remember. What he said was beginning to make sense. He kissed and nipped down your jaw. The pain shooting bolts of pleasure throughout your body.

“Bite,” you whimpered. He bit into your shoulder through your flesh and tasted you. Arching your chest into him at the feel, your chest rumbled at the pleasurable pain. Your wolf began to gain control as instinct took over as one word repeated nonstop in your mind: mate mate mate mate mate.

“Please, Alpha,” you begged.

“Good girl,” he growled and ripped the remainder of his clothes off.

His hard cock rested against his thigh—it was above average length but the girth was something else. Your mouth watered at the sight of him. His hand slid down your body and stopped at your abdomen. His thumb moved through your folds, collecting slick to begin rubbing circles into your engorged clit. Your hands went straight to his free arm, holding on to him as he worked you towards an orgasm.

“Logan,” you called his name. He bent down, his cock laying on your abdomen as he tenderly pressed his lips to yours, pulling your lips to him before letting go and breathing you in.

The softness was so unexpected. You right had carded through his hair as he moved down to collect more wetness, working that button. He licked into your mouth, moving in such a way you’ve never experienced. His tongue was fucking you as if it was a preview of what was to come, sending you over the edge. You sobbed as he worked you through your release. Your walls rhythmically clenching around nothing as you soaked under you. You started to squirm and try to move away when you grew over sensitive.

He chuffed at you, a smirk on his lips. “If you don’t get in me,” you began to growl at him. Logan grabbed your thighs, pulling you closer to him before he took the base of his cock in hand, lathing your slick on. You panted, aching for him. He began to slowly push into you, making sure his girth wasn't painful for you. You began to suddenly wonder if he would fit at what pressure you felt of him.

He pulled out, making you whimper as he pushed your thighs against your chest before pushing in again. Your eyes closed and groaned deeply. While he slowly entered you, he was constant and his cock touched every part inside. You have never felt this full in your life that was near painful. You felt sweat begin to form on your scalp and sobbed your pleasure to him. “So tight,” he exhaled. “So good.”

You panted breathlessly and once he bottomed out, the pressure against your cervix made your hips thrust forward increasing the pressure further. You nearly came just from that. Your left hand shot into your hair, threading into it as your eyes opened wide up at Logan.

“You okay?” His eyes searching yours.

You nodded before grabbing his arms to reposition him. He went along, amusement across his features as he watched you move his arms to box your head in while remaining between your legs.

“Shut up,” you whined at him and squeezed your calves against his shoulders. He winked at you. “Ready for me to move?” His thumb rubbing against your hair splayed on the floor.

“If you don’t start moving, I’m taking over,” you rumbled. He pulled back a few inches at a time, building up his pace and speed. The hand in your hair pulled.

“I don’t think so,” Logan growled and pulled your hand from your hair, interlacing your fingers together. You turned, looking at the hand hold. Your mouth opened panting as if you ran a marathon. The sudden need for his lips had your right hand grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him down to yours. Your eyes flutter shut as you begin to melt under him. He came closer—his chest pushing against the back of your thighs, his arms boxing your head in but never letting go of your hand. The tip of his tongue teasing yours before licking inside, tasting you and you meeting him. The feel of that rough tongue against yours was perfect as you worked to meet him thrust for thrust.

Everything felt so good, so calm inside your mind. You knew you were safe and wanted to be here. Everything was beginning to just feel right. Logan’s lips and tongue sent shocks of pleasure throughout your body and into your core, making you grow closer to your orgasm. Your walls clenched around his cock further. He groaned your name. He buried his head against your neck, pressing kisses over your mating gland before licking and nipping at it. He sucked on it, leaving hickeys, you were certain. His cock felt so good inside you that you think you could stay like this forever.

Logan dragged you up his thighs, his cock even deeper inside you. “Logan,” you panted. “Fuck.”

“Like that, puppy?” He asked, smugness drenched in his question. He felt your walls quiver at the pet name. He moved to your ear, licking the edge before he teased. “Puppy,” he whispered, his breath warming your ear sending shivers down your spine. He slowed down slightly. You whimpered, so close to the edge.

“What’s wrong, pup?” He teased again, nibbling your ear.

You attempted to growl only to whine at him instead.

“Use your words, puppy,” he breathed across your ear. That sent you over. An inhaling gasp and sob as your slick, gummy walls squeezed and clenched his dick. He groaned, sped up his pace back to where it was as he increased force, making sure to hit all the good spots, especially your cervix. On the next thrust, you nearly screamed with each hit to your cervix a pleasurable pain.

“Do-don’t stop,” you begged. He shifted back down to your neck, burying his nose against your neck and shoulder again. As your orgasm slowed, you noticed his knot was forming, sliding in and out of you as wet as it was. Logan dug his arm under you, leaning back until you’re both sitting up, chest to chest. The shift made you feel fuller. “Shit, Logan.”

Your arms remained around his shoulders as his hands shifted to your hips. He began to pick you up and push you down on his cock.

Oh my God! He’s using me like a fucking fleshlight!

That idea turned you on bringing you that much closer to your next orgasm than you expected. He began to pick up the pace, thrusting harder inside you to force his growing knot inside your channel. Oddly, the uncomfortableness on your entrance seemed to make it that much better.

“Yes,” you whispered against his throat. “Knot me,” you groaned before sucking on his neck.

God! He tastes so good. Who knew sweat…

You lost your train of thought as his knot caught and his teeth buried in the juncture of your neck and shoulders, the pleasure-pain sending you into another orgasm. As your body trembled, you arms squeezing for dear life on to Logan. The urge to bite him in return, like so many times before with others overpowered you and your bite into the juncture of his neck and shoulder. The sweet metallic taste of his blood running along your taste buds with his natural scent wrapped in the flavor was heavenly. Your human mind suddenly realized that Logan was right. Everything in that moment clicked in place and felt right in a way it never had before.

Your mind felt strange. Panting, almost breathlessly. Your emotional and physical attraction to Logan intensified, nearly overwhelming with how strong your need is for him. Your mind experienced new sensations and emotions that you instinctively knew were Logan’s. Gasping as his pleasure intensified your own by tenfold. Tears burned behind your closed eyes, your claws dug into Logan’s flesh. You pull away, causing him to jerk, with his name caught in your throat, tears flowing down your face. Whining, the new complex mutual interconnectedness strengthened and the throbbing pleasure of you both was too much. You could feel yourself grow pliant. Fluttering your eyes open to see his face, barely able to see him as everything grew dark.

When you did wake up, you were on a bed under a sheet with a heaviness on you. As you slowly looked around, you found it wasn’t your room. Your heart rate began to pick up. The heaviness on you squeezed your abdomen. Looking down, you recognized Logan’s thick, hairy arm. You sought his hand, intertwined your fingers easily as your arm rested over his. You relaxed, let go to turn over with a dopey smile on your face, happy to see him. It was still dark outside.

“Hi,” you whispered. Your hand moving up to caress his cheek. He looked down at you and chuckled.

“Hey, bub. You ok?” He asked, holding your hand that was on his face.

You smiled and nodded. “Yeah, a bit sore,” you exhaled as a whisper. The sudden need for his lips drew a quiet whine from your throat. “Kiss?” You inquired.

Logan smirked and leaned down, pressing his lips to your forehead. Your brow furrowed and pouted your lips. “Kiss my lips, please?” The need began to grow urgent and you had no idea why. He kissed your nose. You glared at him. He chuckled and kissed your chin.

“Now, you’re being mean,” you complained, petulantly.

“Am I?” He flirted before gently pressing his lips to yours. You felt your body relax and quickly melt against him. Pulling away, your eyes closed and laid your head back down on his chest.

“Sleep, darlin’,” he rumbled before purring.

You purred in acknowledgment, nuzzling against his skin and breathing in his scent. Your purr continues as you allow sleep to overtake you, the feeling of safety a welcome feeling.

Tag: @winchesterfields67

[contemplatingoutlander]

This is a gift🎁link so anyone can read the entire NY Times article, even if they don' subscribe to the Times.

Jamelle Bouie does another excellent job of looking at current events through the perspective of American history. In this column, he compares the current Roberts Court with the infamous late 1850s/ early 1860s Taney Court--the Court that lost all credibility with its Dred Scott decision. Below are a few excerpts.

If the chief currency of the Supreme Court is its legitimacy as an institution, then you can say with confidence that its account is as close to empty as it has been for a very long time. Since the court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization nearly two years ago, its general approval with the public has taken a plunge. [...] In the latest 538 average, just over 52 percent of Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court, and around 40 percent approved. [...] At the risk of sounding a little dramatic, you can draw a useful comparison between the Supreme Court’s current political position and the one it held on the eve of the 1860 presidential election. [color emphasis added]

[See more below the cut.]

NOTE: Remember that back in the 1850s/1860s the Democrats were the party that supported slavery. The Democrats and Republicans switched positions on civil rights in the late 20th century.

It was not just the ruling itself that drove the ferocious opposition to the [Taney] Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which overturned the Missouri Compromise and wrote Black Americans out of the national community; it was the political entanglement of the Taney court with the slaveholding interests of the antebellum Democratic Party. [...] Five of the justices were appointed by slave owners. At the time of the ruling, four of the justices were slave owners. And the chief justice, Roger Taney, was a strong Democratic partisan who was in close communication with James Buchanan, the incoming Democratic president, in the weeks before he issued the court’s ruling in 1857. Buchanan, in fact, had written to some of the justices urging them to issue a broad and comprehensive ruling that would settle the legal status of all Black Americans. The Supreme Court, critics of the ruling said, was not trying to faithfully interpret the Constitution as much as it was acting on behalf of the so-called Slave Power, an alleged conspiracy of interests determined to take slavery national. The court, wrote a committee of the New York State Assembly in its report on the Dred Scott decision, was determined to “bring slavery within our borders, against our will, with all its unhallowed, demoralizing and blighted influences.” The Supreme Court did not have the political legitimacy to issue a ruling as broad and potentially far-reaching as Dred Scott, and the result was to mobilize a large segment of the public against the court. Abraham Lincoln spoke for many in his first inaugural address when he took aim at the pretense of the Taney court to decide for the nation: “The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government upon vital questions, affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made, in ordinary litigation between parties, in personal actions, the people will have ceased to be their own rulers.” [color/ emphasis added]

[formatting edited]

[envirotechaccelerator]

Sustainability is the ultimate innovation

Sustainability transforms innovation by embedding regeneration and renewal at its core, thereby reshaping our interaction with Earth towards a more harmonious and sustainable future.

[flareheart8]

Lou: The Doll Killer AU

Ok so. During my time of getting started on my Uglydoll rewrite and strolling around the internet, I stumble upon this wiki page:

This wiki page is a made-up 2008 version of Uglydolls with the same premise, but changed the characters around a bit. The reason I bring this up, because it does something interest with Lou.

Instead of him being a prototype, he was a regular pretty doll that had a kid, but that kid replace him with an Uglydoll. This causes him to get jealous and have a burning hatred towards the Uglydolls. He then changed the factory's system, and founded the Institution of Perfection. Any Uglydoll that found its way into his institution, Lou would separate them by shredding them, which causes him to have this post-traumatic stress disorder due to how brutal it was.

Lou would be the doll killer of this version of Uglydolls, and at the end he would try to kill both the Uglies and Pretties with a Chain Kinger, only to be shredded by his own machine. A very dark, but interesting way of handling Lou's character as a whole. Him being pure evil, thirsty to get revenge on the Uglydolls, all because they made him lose his kid, and can to go to the big world.

I been thinking about after I'm done with my rewrite. I might do an AU of this version, since I could turn it into a murder mystery story or something. Idk. Just something I wanted to share since I didn’t see anyone talk about this wiki page.

[random-movie-ideas]

Essential Characters to Include in an X-Men Series

These are the most important characters you'll want to include when making an X-Men series:

Charles Xavier AKA Professor X

Scott Summers AKA Cyclops

Jean Grey AKA Marvel Girl/Phoenix

James Howlett/Logan AKA Wolverine

Ororo Munroe AKA Storm

Marie AKA Rogue

Kitty Pryde AKA Shadowcat

Hank McCoy AKA The Beast

Kurt Wagner AKA Nightcrawler

Bobby Drake AKA Iceman

Remy LeBeau AKA Gambit

Pyotr Rasputin AKA Colossus

Warren Worthington III AKA Angel/Archangel

Betsy Braddock AKA Psylocke

Jubilation Lee AKA Jubilee

Alex Summers AKA Havok

Sean Cassidy AKA Banshee

Lorna Dane AKA Polaris

Rachel Summers

Lucas Bishop

Nathan Summers AKA Cable

Laura Kinney AKA X-23

David Haller AKA Legion

Moira MacTaggert

Lilandra Neramani

Senator Robert Kelly

The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters

Eric Lehnsherr AKA Magneto

Raven Darkholme AKA Mystique

En Sabah Nur AKA Apocalypse

Nathaniel Essex AKA Mr. Sinister

Madelyne Pryor AKA The Goblin Queen

Victor Creed AKA Sabertooth

Cain Marko AKA Juggernaut

Mortimer Toynbee AKA Toad

Fred Dukes AKA The Blob

Pietro Maximoff AKA Quicksilver

Wanda Maximoff AKA The Scarlet Witch

Sebastian Shaw

Emma Frost

William Stryker

Kenuichio Harada AKA The Silver Samurai

Arkady Rossovich AKA Omega Red

Bolivar Trask

Master Mold

The Sentinels

The Brotherhood of Mutants

Weapon X

The Hellfire Club

[crancisfrozier]

My Franklin Expedition journey culminated today in a visit to the National Maritime Museum, the old royal naval college, and a viewing of 3 arctic explorer portraits that the national portrait gallery has in storage! I wanted to go to Greenhithe so bad but my body just wasn’t up for it, but that’s okay! It means I have to come back and see it along with the Scott Polar Research Institute, Lady Jane and Sophia’s graves, and James Clark Ross’s grave!

[cozypunkprints]

2024 reading recap

(Yes I know we’re 3 months into 2025 leave me alone)

I think I’m going to start blogging about the books I read as a way to keep myself accountable to actually read more. I’ve unfortunately fallen victim to That Darn Phone in recent years. The middle schooler who read a stack of fantasy novels a week would be ashamed of me.

In 2024 I read 29 books, including re-reads.

I did a lot of re-reading this year. 16, or 55% of the books I read in 2024 were re-reads. Going to try to read more new-to-me books in 2025.

In 2024 I read 9 Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, or 29% of my total books, 6 of which were re-reads.

I also re-read 4 Murderbot novels by Martha Wells and read the new one twice, and re-read all three The Locked Tomb books by Tamsyn Muir.

2 of the books I read in 2024 were nonfiction (a measly 7%) and one was a graphic novel. All the rest were fiction novels. Going forward, I should really read more non-fiction.

Favorites from 2024:

Piranesi by Susanna Clark (re-read)

I check this out every summer break from my local library. One of my favorite books of all time. Equal parts haunting and comforting, I absolutely devour it every time I read it. It feels deeply reductive to describe it as dark academia, as it’s so much more than that, but I guess it’s dark academia?

Hail Mary by Andy Weir (re-read)

This and the Martian are two of my favorite sci-fi novels. I hear we’re getting puppet practical effects Rocky in the movie and I’m tentatively excited.

The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins

A fast paced and tense yet tender novel about a world post climate-disaster and post hard-won recovery. This novel sort of subverts the classic “teenagers save the world” story by painting a searing portrait of what saving the world costs, as well as its aftermath. The novel cuts back and forth between Emi Vargas, born post climate-crisis into what seems like a utopia, albeit an imperfect one, and her parents experiences and sacrifices during the great transition. When the past collides with the present, Emi’s family is in danger of being torn apart. A portrait of generational trauma, enormous prices, and a world that will never truly be fixed but is still worth fighting for. Anyone who likes solar-punk, eco-punk, or is just in need of some hope that doesn’t feel like toxic positivity should read this.

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

Classic, beautiful, sad queer novel about butch identity and resilience. What else is there to say that hasn’t been said far better by someone else? Everyone queer should read this novel, especially lesbians. Next year: more queer non-fiction and more books by non-white lesbians.

The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler

One of the non-fiction books I read this year. It’s about the literacy problem in America, and makes a case for high-content curriculum as a solution. An interesting look at education inequality and the flaws of American public schools. I found it really validating for a lot of the things I either experienced in public school or saw my sibling experience. A lot of it is sort of insider-baseball-y literacy theory (I only picked it up because my mother, a dyslexia tutor, had it lying around.) However I think that made it a good reminder of just how complicated literally everything is. Behind every system you can think of is a whole world of theory and practice and people who have put their whole lives into making this one part of society work. In a time when our public institutions are under attack, that’s a very important reminder. It’s a fairly quick and readable read and quite interesting.

Against the Grain: a deep history of the earliest states by James C Scott

The other non-fiction book I read. Against the grain is about new evidence regarding the rise of agriculture and the accompanying rise of inequality and the nation state. While dry at times, it makes a pretty good argument agains the idea of oppression and inequality as natural and inevitable states of humanity. This is the only book on this list that I read for a class.

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

This was my favorite discworld novel of the year. I had read part of it when I first got into Pratchett and was too young to really click with it. This time I got the hype. Holy shit did I get the hype. This is both a very fun and humorous adventure and a sincere manifesto against corporate greed and for public services, in the form of a fantasy world’s defunct post office. Also did anyone else catch that the greedy con-man idiot has his office in Tump Tower? Seriously can’t recommend this one enough, and you should be able to get into it without reading any other disc world.

Honorable mentions:

Nimona by ND Stevenson

The Empress of Salt and Fortune and When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo (seriously so lovely and super quick reads)

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Previously mentioned Pratchett, Wells, and Muir. I wouldn’t have re-read them if they didn’t absolutely slap.

Wasn’t sure about:

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

Definitely beautifully written at times, though not the type of highbrow literary-fiction poetry-prose I usually go in for. It’s a story about a girl who’s sent to earth by aliens to report back. On the one hand, it’s definitely doing “autistic/queer coded character is an alien/robot” very hard. On the other hand it seems very self aware and deliberate about that? As an autistic who felt like an alien, the portrait it painted of profound loneliness and isolation felt very real to me. Maybe a little too real, and it wasn’t necessarily a hopeful story. I really really wasn’t sure how to feel about the ending. Overall worth reading and quite memorable, but it could definitely be triggering for some people, so be careful. I’m sure there’s a list of trigger warnings out there somewhere, and if not, message me and I’ll do my best.

Didn’t love:

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armsfield

I see this one get so much hype, and it has every element and theme that should have made it a hit for me. And yet, it just didn’t speak to me. There were definitely elements that were memorable and it’s not a bad book by any means, but the main character and her relationship to her wife just didn’t compel me. I think if we’d spent more time with Leah pre-eldritch horror I’d have been more invested. Idk.

Anyway, apologies for the crazy long post. This probably isn’t interesting to anyone except me but tumblr is kind of the social-media-as-diary website so who cares.

Going forward I’m going to review books as I read them. If you’ve read any of these and want to chat/discuss I’m very open to that, especially ones that don’t have a big fandom on tumblr.

[petercapaldi-press]

INTERVIEW

Peter Capaldi on Britain’s Real-Life Institutional Disorder Behind Apple’s ‘Criminal Record’

The 'Doctor Who' and 'The Thick of It' star plays a veteran cop who clashes with a newbie investigator ('The Good Fight' actor Cush Jumbo) over a cold case in the new crime thriller.

January 7, 2024 11:56pm

By Scott Roxborough

When Peter Capaldi flickers into view on the Zoom call, I half expect him to tell me to “F** Off!”

For TV viewers of a certain age, the 65-year-old Scottish actor will forever be Malcolm Tucker, the supremely sweary spin doctor in Armando Iannucci’s pre-Veep Brit political satire The Thick of It.

“It’s The Thick of It and Doctor Who,” says a charming (and clean-mouthed) Capaldi, about the roles he’s most recognized for (he played the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the cult sci-fi series from 2013 to 2017). “Surprisingly, The Thick of It is still incredibly popular [the series wrapped in 2012]. People, generally very cool, smart young people, recognize me from that a lot. They generally just ask me to swear at them.”

Of course, there’s a lot more to Capaldi than Tucker and the Doctor. His scores of film and TV appearances include playing alongside Burt Lancaster in Bill Forsyth’s 1983 classic Local Hero, starring as Rory McHoan in the BAFTA-winning TV adaptation of Iain Banks’ Scots drama The Crow Road (1996), giving a delightful turn as the grumpy Mr Curry in the Paddington movies, and donning a spikey electrode skull cap to play DC comic-book villain The Thinker in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (2021). Behind the camera, Capaldi won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for his 1993 short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life, wrote and helmed the 2001 feature Strictly Sinatra starring Ian Hart, Kelly Macdonald and Brian Cox, and directed multiple episodes of the BBC 4 sitcom Getting On.

What Capaldi has never done, in his decades on screen, is play a cop. His role as Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty in Criminal Record, the new crime thriller, which drops on Apple TV+ on January 10, is his first time impersonating a police officer.

The series sees Capaldi re-team with his Torchwood co-star Cush Jumbo, best known stateside for playing Lucca Quinn in The Good Wife and spin-off The Good Fight. Hegarty is a veteran cop, one of the most decorated and respected members of the London Metropolitan police, the Met. Jumbo plays DS June Lenker, a newbie detective eager to prove herself. When an anonymous phone call raises questions about one of Hegarty’s old murder cases, the two are drawn into a confrontation, with Lenker doggedly questioning every aspect of Hegarty’s investigation, and the old vet determined to protect his legacy. While it has plenty of elements of the classic cop show, Criminal Record is no by-the-book procedural. The cold case investigation is the plot driver for a series more interested in examining issues of race, gender and institutional disorder in a politically polarized Britain.

“I’m a big fan of crime shows, but often, the leading characters at the end of the episode just revert to the way they were at the start, events have no consequences, they don’t change them in any way,” says Capaldi. “Here we wanted to show characters that are changed, where what’s happening in the course of the show has a real impact on their lives.”

Capaldi also produced Criminal Record together with his wife Elaine Collins (Vera, Shetland). Written by BAFTA-nominee Paul Rutman (The Virgin Queen), the series co-stars Charlie Creed-Miles, Dionne Brown, Shaun Dooley, Stephen Campbell-Moore and Zoë Wanamaker.

The Institutional disorder at the center of the series — in her investigation, Lenker is shown constantly battling bullying, misogyny and racism within the Met — is no invention. An independent government report released last year found London’s police force to be “institutionally sexist, misogynistic, racist and homophobic.” The report came after a police officer stalked and killed a woman in 2021 and another officer was sentenced to life in prison for a series of rapes and sexual assaults. The report said the Met must completely transform if it doesn’t want to be dismantled.

“There clearly are a number of problems, [the police] are unfortunately, recruiting people who are not suitable for that kind of work, and, clearly, there’s a funding issue as well,” says Capaldi. “[The issues] had a direct influence on how the show developed, because you can’t do a show about the police in London without engaging to some degree with those problems.”

But Criminal Record is more film noir than kitchen sink docudrama. The opening scene sets the mood. Hegarty, moonlighting as a limo driver/security detail, is chauffeuring a couple of VIPs. When the passengers ask him about his life, he begins to recount old cases of murder and mayhem in the mean streets of London.

“That actually happened to me and my wife,” says Capaldi. “We were going to some awards thing, the BAFTAs or something. You’ll get a lot of detectives doing the driving for these events because they’re trained in defensive driving and they’re security conscious. I often fall into conversation with the drivers. I asked him about himself and he revealed that he was a detective. And as we passed through these neighborhoods, he’d tell us what murder happened here, what crime went on on this corner or that. I just thought: ‘That’s a great opener for a series.'”

DCI Hegarty, a taciturn and withdrawn man of few words and many meaningful silences, is a new kind of character for Capaldi, who has become accustomed to doing more “front-foot” performances with figures like Malcolm Tucker and Doctor Who.

“I’m usually out there all over the place, trying to get people’s attention shouting and jumping up and down or whatever.,” he says, “As Doctor Who you’re giving these great long speeches about comic this and electronics that and you have to keep dancing all over the place to keep people interested. And with The Think of It, well, if Malcolm was angry, you knew about it. [Hegarty] is a very veiled character and it was very important to not let the audience really in to him. I hadn’t consciously done that before.”

Rutman’s Criminal Record script has plenty of twists and surprises but the show’s real tension comes from the cat-and-mouse game played between Capaldi and Jumbo and in the slow reveal of their characters, who are both fallible and flawed in their own ways. Their scenes together throw real sparks.

“We sort of mutually decided not to rehearse,” says Capaldi. “We didn’t improvise or anything because the scripts were really good and the words were important, they had to be delivered clearly. But whatever we did together we did for the first time on camera. That allowed us to respond in situ as opposed to practicing responses, which kept things tense. I loved doing those scenes, but they were exhausting because I wouldn’t know what Cush was going to do. And vice versa.”

The show’s cold case gets wrapped up in the 8-episodes of Criminal Record but a final scene leaves an opening for a possible second season. Capaldi refused to be drawn on whether this is the last we’ll see of DCI Hegarty.

“Who knows? We’re just excited that we’ve done it and it’s out there, it’s been a real journey getting it to the screen. Working with Apple has been great but it’s a whole new world,” he says. “When I was working with BBC or ITV, a show might get sold to Australia or Hong Kong or whatever. Now Apple just presses a button, and 130 countries all over the world get the show. Instantly. It’s a whole different ballgame for me. But I’m delighted, at my age, to still be part of it.”

[reddanceragain]

Today in Politics, Bulletin 117. 4/24/25

Today in Politics, Bulletin 117. 4/24/25

Ron Filipkowski

Apr 24

… Tommy Tuberville announced that he will be leaving the Senate next year to run for Governor of Alabama. (NOTE:  HOW? THE DUMBASS DOESN'T EVEN LIVE IN ALABAMA! HE LIVES IN FLORIDUH!_

… From Yellowhammer: “Back in state while Congress is in recess, Tuberville told a group of donors at a private event on Wed night that his mind is officially made up. Rather than seeking re-election to the Senate, he is ready to run his next race in AL, and serve the people of the state in Montgomery instead of Washington. An official campaign announcement is imminent in the coming weeks. Tuberville has been privately discussing jumping into the 2026 gubernatorial race for quite some time.”

… Trump called for Rupert Murdoch to fire the Fox pollster after their latest poll showed his approval rating slumping to a dismal 44%. Presidents typically enjoy a honeymoon period with the public during their first 100 days, but Trump’s first few months has a majority of Americans looking for a divorce.

… Trump: “Rupert Murdoch has told me for years that he is going to get rid of his FoxNews, Trump Hating, Fake Pollster, but he has never done so. This ‘pollster’ has gotten me, and MAGA, wrong for years. Also, and while he’s at it, he should start making changes at the China Loving Wall Street Journal. It sucks!!!”

… Fox host Bret Baier on air announcing the poll: “If you look at our new Fox News poll at 100 days job approval compared to other presidents, there you see the president at 44% and you see his first term at 45% at this mark.”

… Fox Poll: Do you think imposing tariffs or fees on products imported from other countries makes the products you buy more expensive, less expensive, or doesn't make much difference? More: 72%, Less: 7%.

… Fox Poll: Do you think imposing tariffs or fees on products imported from other countries helps the US economy, hurts the economy, or doesn't make much of a difference either way? Helps: 32%, Hurts: 55%.

… Pew Research: “With President Trump’s second term approaching its 100-day mark, 40% of Americans approve of how he’s handling the job – a decline of 7% from February. 59% of Americans disapprove of the admin’s tariff increases, while 39% approve. 55% disapprove of the cuts the admin is making to federal departments and agencies, while 44% approve.

… Pew: “Trump’s use of executive authority also comes in for criticism: 51% of US adults say he is setting too much policy via executive order. Far smaller shares say he is doing about the right amount (27%) or too little (5%) through executive orders.”

… The Reuters/IPSOS poll is also bad: “Just 37% of respondents approve of Trump's handling of the economy, down from 42% in the hours after his inauguration, when he promised to supercharge the economy and bring about a ‘Golden Age of America.’ The reading is well below than at any point in his first term, when it ranged from the mid-40's to mid-50's.”

… James Pethokoukis, with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, to Reuters: "You have a president who promised a golden age. But everything that's supposed to be up is down, everything that's supposed to be down is up."

… Trump was asked about the steep drop in international tourism to the US: "It's not a big deal."

… Axios reported that Elon Musk and Treasury Sec Scott Bessent hate each other and have been going at it, including an argument last week where they were in each other’s face screaming back and forth. One witness: "It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing. They were not physical in the Oval, but the president saw it, and then they carried it down the hall, and that's when they did it again.”

… A second witness: "It was quite a scene. It was loud. And I mean, loud."

… A third Trump official: "Everyone thinks DOGE is great, but Elon's antics are just a bit much.”

… Another: "Scott can't stand Musk. That goes pretty deep and pretty far back. But he's acting like a grown-up about it."

… WaPo: “The showdown was just Musk’s latest confrontation with a top Trump appointee in a 3-month govt stint that has been peppered with controversy. He has rebuked officials such as Sec of State Rubio, Trans Sec Duffy and Trade Adviser Navarro in meetings or on social media, calling them incompetent or suggesting that they have lied. He also alienated Trump aides with unscripted remarks and abrupt edicts, forcing political appointees to scramble to explain his decisions.”

… Press Sec Karoline Leavitt was asked about the story: "It's no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country. Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process, and ultimately everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump."

… Trump is now speaking about Musk as if he is already gone: "He was a tremendous help.”

… Steve Bannon, who despises Musk, is dancing on his grave: “Elon Musk should be required to submit a certified inventory of all the fraud and waste he found while in government, and there should be full disclosure of any non-governmental entities to have obtained sensitive federal data through DOGE.”

… Fox: “Another US MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down by the Houthis in Yemen on Tuesday. This is the 7th MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down by the Houthis since March 3rd. It is the 6th US MQ-9 drone shot down over Yemen since US Central Command began daily airstrikes on the Houthis on March 15th. Today marks Day 40 of US daily air strikes against the Houthis, and yet the Houthis continue to fire missiles to shoot these expensive US assets down. Each MQ-9 drone costs about $30 million a piece.”

(NOTE:  FRAUD AND ABUSE RIGHT THERE, EMO!!!)

… Whenever the subject of Pete Hegseth comes up, Trump always defends him by saying he’s doing a great job destroying the Houthis. Doesn’t sound like winning to me.

… Fox Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume: “Trump keeps pounding Zelensky and saying it's harder to deal with him than it is with Putin. Putin hasn't agreed to much of anything except yes, he'd love to annex Crimea, which is part of the proposal that's before him now. That's no concession. All that is, is taking a gain. Zelensky resists that because Crimea, up until the Russians invaded it 10 years or so ago, was part of Ukraine. So, I'm not exactly sure what the president's talking about when he says that Zelensky has been more difficult to deal with than Putin."

… Trump ally and former UK PM Boris Johnson: “Putin indiscriminately butchers more Ukrainian civilians, killing and injuring 100 in Kyiv including children. And what is his reward under the US peace proposals? 1. The right to keep sovereign Ukrainian territory he has taken by violence and in breach of international law. 2. The right to control Ukraine’s destiny by forbidding NATO membership. 3. The lifting of sanctions against Russia. 4. An economic partnership with America. 5. The chance to rebuild his armed forces for the next attack in a few short years’ time.”

… “As for Ukraine - what do they get after 3 years of heroic resistance against a brutal and unprovoked invasion? What is their reward for the appalling sacrifices they have made? Apart from the right to share their natural resources with the US, they get nothing. What is there in this deal that can realistically stop a third Russian invasion? Nothing. If we are to prevent more atrocities by Putin then we must have a long term, credible and above all properly funded security guarantee for Ukraine - a guarantee issued by the UK, the US and all western allies.”

… Since nothing else is working, Trump tried a new strategy today with this Truth Social post: “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”

… At the WH later, Trump was asked if he really thought Putin was going to stop bombing civilians in Ukraine because of his Truth Social post: “I do.”

… Trump was asked what Russia was being asked to give up in the US peace proposal: “Stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country. Pretty big concessions.”

… Sec of State Marco Rubio with Trump today: “Everyone should be thanking the president for being a peacemaker and trying to save lives.”

… The sycophants are obsessed with everyone else kissing Trump’s ass as much as they do. Pathetic.

… Pete Hegseth on Tuesday about his Chief of Staff Joe Kasper: "He's staying with us. Going to be in a slightly different role, but he's not going anywhere, certainly not fired."

… Today from Politico: “SCOOP: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's controversial chief of staff, Joe Kasper is *OUT* and will leave DOD today. Kasper is the *FIFTH* top DOD official to leave the agency in the past week, and was a central figure in a power struggle that cost three top aides their jobs.”

… AP: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer. Known as a dirty’ internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain.”

… WaPo reported that Pete Hegseth used a workaround so he could continue to use Signal in secure areas where he wasn’t permitted to use his personal cell phone, by installing the app on a computer in his Pentagon office.

… Fox: “Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) says he spoke to President Trump earlier today about Defense Secretary Hegseth and advised the President to put more ‘establishment’ military advisors around Hegseth in the wake of the purge of Hegseth advisors, most of whom were friends and family.”

… Sound like he’s talking about the Deep State.

… CBS reported that Hegseth ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for TV appearances: “The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the admin is searching for cost-cutting measures. The renovation that was initially planned was estimated to cost more than $40,000, but the ideas were scaled back.”   (NOTE :  WHERE'S YOUR CHAIN SAW NOW, ELON?????)

… DOD spokesperson responded to the story: "Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an admin."

… Full-time social media troll/part-time govt employee Hegseth posted a response to the story: “1) Totally fake story. No ‘orders’ and no ‘makeup’ - but whatever. 2) We should have installed tampon machines in every men’s bathroom at DoD instead - the leftist ‘news’ media would have loved that.”

… Commerce Sec Howard Lutnick was in the Oval Office doing what he does best, kissing Trump’s ass just like Rubio, although he seems to enjoy it more than Lil Marco: "All those factories that you're bringing in because of your trade policy - we're gonna train people in tradecraft. Bring back tradecraft to America so that people can work in these factories with great paying jobs. We're gonna remake the American dream."

… Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald: “Meanwhile in China they have already built robots to do ‘tradecraft’ - and retrained factory workers as mechanical engineers to use technology to run robotics. Old school factory jobs will not bring back the American dream - it will set us back decades. We need more engineers, not assembly line workers.”

… After Trump claimed yesterday that officials in his Admin were actively negotiating a new trade deal with China, Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said Trump is lying: “Any claims about the progress of China-US trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis. The unilateral tariff increase measures were initiated by the US. If the US really wants to solve the problem, it should face up to the rational voices of the international community and all parties at home, completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and find ways to resolve differences through equal dialogue.”

… China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun also said there has been no talks: “This tariff war was launched by the US, and the Chinese side’s position has always been clear and consistent. If we fight, we will fight to the end; if we talk, the door is wide open. Any dialogue or negotiation must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit.”

… Reporter to Trump today: China is saying that it’s fake news that trade talks are happening. Trump: “They had a meeting this morning. We’ve been meeting with China. I think you have your reporting wrong.” Reporter: Who is “they”? Trump: “It doesn’t matter who ‘they’ is.”

… In other words, just more lies from Trump. There are no talks.

… WSJ: “Well aware of the divisions inside the US, Chinese state media in recent weeks has portrayed Trump as out of touch with many American voters, with Trump’s policies stirring inflationary concerns and raising uncertainty that has hampered business investment and hiring. On Thursday, it highlighted the news that 12 states have sued the Trump admin over the tariffs.”

… WaPo: “Senior aides across Trump admin are holding high-level meetings over China curbs on rare earths critical to huge range of US economic activity. Deep concern about impact; no easy answers. Companies relying on reserves that wont last forever. It may help explain to explain Trump’s blink. Beijing does not feel like it is going to back down and that the US is in no position to dictate terms. A big, big part of that is rare earths, where they feel they have the capacity to do significant harm to American manufacturers.”

… This is what I posted back on April 4:

… Fox Business analyst Charles Gasparino: “The talk on Wall Street based on their sources inside the WH is that Team Trump is looking for a face-saving off ramp on trade even with China. It’s why you see the conflicting responses out of Bessent; they’re an attempt to negotiate through the media, acting tough but signaling the need for a deal (calling the China contretemps unsustainable because they are).”

… Gasparino: “I hear one possible way out of this is not to do done deals, but to announce some broad outline that avoids what people inside the admin know but won’t say: An economic catastrophe if the original plan with China is implemented given just how much US businesses deal with the Mainland and the rest of Asia.”

[scotianostra]

On January 7th 1451 a Papal Bull from Pope Nicolas IV enabled the foundation of Glasgow University.

Today The University is 574 years old and is the second oldest University in Scotland after St Andrews.

Now housed mainly in Glasgow's West End the origins on the institution however lie in the city's oldest street, in the Merchant City.

The university was inaugurated in 1451 at the request of William Turnbull, Bishop of Glasgow after a Papal Bull was issued by Pope Nicholas V. It was part of King James II's plan to bring Scotland up to speed with England – which already had two universities, Oxford and Cambridge.

The original Bull was among the treasures of the Metropolitan See taken to France by Archbishop Beaton at the Reformation but the modern University retains a transcript made in 1490. Beaton also took with him the University mace which had been made in 1465. Unlike other treasures, this was recovered and returned to the University 30 years later, and is still in its possession today.

Lectures were originally held in Glasgow Cathedral, before moving to nearby buildings on the city's High Street in 1457.

In 1563, Mary, Queen of Scots granted the university a 13-acre site on Glasgow's High street that had, until the Reformation, been home to a Dominican (Blackfriars) friary. The Old College ran along the busy High Street, with a main gateway in its centre that led through to two courtyards and walled gardens.

But as student numbers rocketed, the university was force to sell up their Old College campus and move somewhere cheaper. In 1863 it was bought for £100,000 to the City of Glasgow Union Railway Company, to be used as a goods yard. It was later demolished and housing was built there instead.

The decision was heavily criticised at the time as an act of "cultural vandalism." Nevertheless, the Uni heading west to Gilmorehill – away from the polluted air and the hustle and bustle of the city.

Work started on the new site in the west end in 1866, with the university taking up official residence in 1870.

Prolific architect George Gilbert Scott undertook the grand task of designing the new University buildings – which were the biggest in Britain beside the Houses of Parliament at the time.

The decision not to open up the commissioning process to other designers was met with controversy… Not to mention Scott's Gothic style went against the grain of the architectural landscape of the city, which ventured towards a Greek design.

According to Glasgow Uni's website, esteemed architect Alexander 'Greek' Thomson was not too impressed. He complained Scott wouldn't pay the project the attention it deserved because of how busy he was in his career.

He also added: "There is not a modern Gothic revival building of more than ten years standing that any one cares a straw about." Meoooow.

Nevertheless, Scott pressed on - building one of the most striking landmarks in the west end. The Bute and Randolph halls were completed after Scott's death in by his son Oldrid in 1891, which also included the Gothic bell tower, which stands at 278 feet high.

The Lion and Unicorn staircase was also famously moved, brick by brick, to Gilmorehill – now leading into the west wing of the main building beside the University Chapel.

Pearce Lodge, which sits at the bottom of University Avenue, is also formed by various parts of the Old College buildings. The stonework entrance to the original High Street building was also carefully erected at the gatehouse of the new campus.

The university expanded further over the years – including the A-listed reading room in the 1930s. It also snapped up a number of Victorian terraced houses, where the departments of Psychology, Computing Science and most of the Arts Faculty are based. Elsewhere. the leafy Garscube estate was bought in 1947 for The Veterinary Sciences school in Bearsden.

So, next time you see that regal clock tower and spire looming against the west end skyline, you can remember Glasgow Uni's journey across the city to its rightful place.

To find out more about the history of Glasgow University, visit their website.