#valentines tunnel tuesday

[simpforboys]

sweethearts nite

drew starkey x fem!youtuber!reader

summary: drew takes his girlfriend to Disneyland’s ‘Sweethearts Nite’

warnings: swearing, a bunchhhhh of fluff!!

first fic of 2024!! many more to come this wonderful year <3

happy valentine’s day to all of my valentines!!

“hello beautiful friends! welcome back, or welcome, to my channel. my name is y/n and today i’m bringing you along to mine and my boyfriend’s date night!”

as you finished your introduction, you cut the camera off as you relished in the feeling of Drew’s hand placed on your upper thigh. his left hand gripped firmly on the wheel, you were playing music off of your phone.

Drew had gotten used to your filming, knowing that you upload videos every other day. considering he also made a living from filming, he understood the schedule perfectly.

it was one of the reasons your relationship was perfect. the understanding of each other’s schedules and patience when something doesn’t go as planned.

you recently just hit around four million subscribers, and due to so many people witnessing your life weekly, you and drew both valued your privacy deeply.

but since you’ve been doing youtube for three years, you’ve gotten comfortable about the thin line between privacy and reality.

“for some of you new friends, this is my boyfriend, drew.” you stated, turning the camera back on as you panned it over to drew driving.

“hey guys.” he smiled, briefly turning to wave before continuing to focus his attention on the road.

within twenty more minutes drew pulled into the mickey and friends parking lot. you were buzzing with excitement as you stepped out of the car, making sure to grab your purse and accessories.

as you went around the car you saw drew pulling up his black dickies, the waistband of his tommy hilfiger briefs exposed.

you playfully hooked your finger in his waistband, letting the material slap gently against his v line as he smirked down at you.

“really, baby?”

“are these the ones i got you?”

“i think so.”

you slipped your bag on over your shoulder as drew took your hand in his, beginning to walk towards the escalators.

you grabbed the camera, recording your shoes standing next to each other. you panned it up to drew, surprised to see him making a goofy face (which made you snort into the camera).

➽───────────────────❥

“we’re here!” you announced to your camera as the two of you approached the front gate. the february sun was minutes from setting as stars peeked out from the clouds.

you filmed drew scanning your tickets, thanking the lady before walking past the turnstile. a wide smile was on your face as the train station in front of you was covered in pink lights.

“i think we need to grab these lanyards and wristbands.” drew said, placing his large hand firmly on your waist as he guided you over to where workers were passing things out.

luckily, it was a tuesday night so it wasn’t as crowded as it could have been. the time on your watch read 6:18 in the evening.

you thanked the workers as you slipped on your lanyard, turning the camera towards you. drew was used to you vlogging in crowded places, and with the use of his height, he continued to guide you through the tunnel.

your back as firmly placed against his chest, his hands on your waist as you happily talked to the camera. it was a routine every time you vlogged, one that gave you butterflies every time he did it.

because as you’ve never asked him to help keep you protected, he just took it upon himself to hold and guide you so you can do your thing. it was one of the things you loved most about him.

as the crowd started to fizzle out as people ventured further into the park, drew moved to the left side of you as you filmed the courtyard in the middle of the entrance.

“the hearts are so pretty.” you awed, the pink, red, and purple lights brightening the buildings of mainstreet right behind.

you hadn’t realized drew stopped walking with you until you were a few feet ahead and set down the camera. when you turned around, a shy smile twisted its way onto your lips when you saw your boyfriend taking photos of you.

“why are you taking pics of me?” you asked shyly, leaning up to press a kiss to his jaw. he wrapped his arms around you, beginning to walk with your body trapped to his.

“because you’re my girl and i love having photos of my girl.”

you grinned at his words, your pupils dilated as you stared up lovingly at him. anyone who was watching the two of you would’ve noticed the look in your eyes.

drew pulled his phone out again, turning the two of you around so your back was to his chest. he held the camera up as he snapped selfies of the two of you, wanting to save the memory.

“do you want me to take photos of you?” a woman asked, noticing drew’s selfies.

“yes please,” you grinned. you handed the woman your own phone, tucking your camera away as you cuddled next to your man.

happy smiles were plastered on both your faces as you posted, a genuine grin on your face when Drew placed a loving kiss on your temple.

“thank you.” Drew smiled to the lady, taking your phone back and as you and him scrolled through the photos.

“you’re so cute.” you grinned up at him, kissing the bottom of his cheek as he smirked slightly.

➽───────────────────❥

as the night went on, you and Drew went on rides, ate some speciality food, and shopped.

“i’m sooooo full…. holy shit is that the valentine’s day bakery?” you gasped, breaking into a soft jog with Drew playfully rolling his eyes behind you.

his bank account was definitely taking a hit for the night, but he knew he would make the money back, but he couldn’t make memories like this with you after tonight.

so, he sucked down the guilt as he paid for a festive churro for you. you kissed him softly as a thank you, walking over to a table to set up your small tripod.

when the camera was rolling, you gave Drew one half of the churro. “okay, taste test time.”

Drew was staring down at you with an adoring look on his face, ready to take a bite. you both put the cinnamon-y sweet in your mouth, your eyes rolling back slightly from how delicious it was.

“this is the best churro i’ve ever had.” you tell the camera, showing off the decorated churro.

(unbeknownst to you at the time, you hadn’t realized how much love Drew was staring at you with until you saw the comments moments after the video published)

“what do you think, baby?” you ask Drew, turning to him as he nods his head.

“it’s good. little too sweet for me, but it’s good.” he tells you, copying your actions and showing off his half of the churro.

“holy fucking shit- are you Drew Starkey and Y/n L/n?” a teenage girl ran over, her phone out and ready for pictures.

you and Drew smiled at her, the camera still rolling. “hi, yeah we are. it’s so nice to meet you.”

you hugged the girl, feeling her squeeze you tightly as she then turned to Drew and hugged him.

“can i get a photo? you two are like my bi panic couple.” the girl overshares, clearly very excited.

you laugh softly at her words as Drew looks confused, but doesn’t let it effect him too much as he bends down for the photo.

the camera snaps and the girl thanks you both one more time before leaving.

“what the hell is bi panic?” Drew asks, making you giggle at his question.

➽───────────────────❥

as you two walked over to Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, a couple of people stopped and asked you and drew, you or drew, to take photos with them.

it made both of you happy to see your supporters and especially how nice everyone was.

a yawn escaped your mouth as you stood inside the line for Pirates, the smell of the water filling your nostrils.

“we need to get a candle of this scent.” you tell your boyfriend, leaning against the railing to rest your feet.

Drew can’t help but smile and shake his head at your comment. “you want a candle of everything.”

“hey, i love candles! what’s wrong with that?” you tease, feeling as he wraps his strong arm around your waist to pull you into his chest.

he placed a soft kiss on your temple, your cold skin against his warm one.

“you’re so pretty.” he murmurs softly in your hair, continuing to press kisses on your head.

“says you.” you murmur back, kissing his lips in return.

[fox-guardian]

it's not natural tim stoker Tuesday just so conveniently falls on Valentine's Day. I don't have proof that you've done something to cause this but I do have suspicion /lh

okay so it's very late for valentine's day BUT this did inspire me to make this valentim. also it landed on valentine's day because he's just that powerful

[ID: A digital drawing of Tim Stoker sitting on his knees with his hands held up by his chest. His body is facing to the side and his head is turned towards the viewer. His eyes are shut and he is smiling softly. He is a mid-sized pre-op Latino trans man with light brown skin, a short lilac mullet with the sides shaved, a cut in his brow, a small goatee, and a lot of body hair. He is wearing pink, heart-shaped glasses and matching tunnel gauges, sparkling pink eye-shadow, and a pastel pink sheer widow robe with furry hems and a furry waist tie and nothing underneath. The background is a blend of deep and medium pinks and there's pastel pink text next to him that reads "I need classified information from you, Valentine" in cursive, signed "Tim Stoker". All the "i"s are dotted with hearts. end ID]

~~~~

pre-op timbothy pinup be upon ye!!

(also have a bonus tim sketch in an alternate pose)

[ID: A colored digital sketch of Tim in almost the same outfit as the first image, only now his gauges are plain pink, and he's also wearing a purple ribbon around his neck that drapes down his chest, and a purple thong. Also his nails are painted pink. He is kneeling, facing the viewer with one hand resting lightly on his chest, and the other reaching out towards the viewer as he smiles directly at them. His robe is loosely tied, exposing most of his chest. His nipples are hidden only by the furry hems. The background is the same blend of pinks as the first image. end ID]

~~~~

i didnt wanna just Not post this other pose so i cleaned it up a smidge and colored it as a bonus WAHEY

[thebahwrites]

Hangster with an accidental (impulsive) proposal

Hangster + Accidental/impulsive proposal To read listening: No Children - The Mountain Goats (feeling cheeky today, HAHA anyway HAPPY VALENTINES! 💖💖💖)

I hope that our few remaining friends

Give up on trying to save us

I hope we come up with a fail-safe plot

To piss off the dumb few that forgave us

"You—!" For it being a single, simple, one syllable word, it's thrown around almost like an insult, slipping past Bradley's lips as his eyes see red as he stomps towards his boyfriend. The same way Jake looks red in the face and the two of them stand at this weird Mexican standoff around the pool table while their friends watch a bit astonished in place.

Hangman looks like a kid caught with the proverbial hand in the cookie jar, even though both of his hands are wrapped around the pool cue and he seemingly needs a moment to regroup and slip back into his usual coolness, blinking ever so slowly and then letting that southern drawl drip into his tongue as one eyebrow lifted in curiosity. "Yes darlin' ?"

Past the last year things had shifted between them well enough that their friends didn't seem too worried about Rooster vaulting over the table to punch Hangman's lights in but those present still seemed startled enough. To Bradley none of that mattered now, vision tunneled on the blond man ahead. "What did you tell Ice!"

He accuses, in lieu of a very angry question and watches the realization lightbulb go off behind Jake's eyes a second before the man is dropping the pool cue and making a run for the Hard Deck's door without saying a word. It's a good thing that it's a Tuesday afternoon and there isn't really much going on the bar around them because at least they had minimal witnesses to the stupid scene. "Oh no you won't!"

Rooster hisses, scrambling right after the other pilot. The chase lasts entirely just a few seconds as he manages to close in on Jake as he reaches the door, practically tackling the man by the waist and sending the two of them rolling into the Hard Deck's porch, down the front steps and into the sand. He has Hangman's body pressed down, arms wrapped around his waist, for a second his own head is spinning. Of course, at least half of the heat he'd felt so far dissipates as soon as Bradley hears Jake laughing against his shoulder, practically giggling.

"You're so fucking impossible." Bradley groans against the man's ear, holding him tight in place, maybe squeezing his hands a little too tightly against his waist – not even bothered with the fact he knew all of the Hard Deck was probably piled to watch them. Rooster usually wasn't one to cause a scene but for once, it'd been warranted.

"I'm sorry!" Jake laughs more, broadly, head thrown back and down into the sand, hand coming up to cover his eyes. Bradley could see pink crawling up his neck and ears, flushed with the effort of laughing and with the effect of being caught on doing something stupid. "It was too good for me not to share! Come on!"

The humiliation of being exposed over doing something stupid he'd blamed on Maverick – the stupid thing in question being the bite he'd taken out of a fake wax apple about ten years ago and placing it back on the fruit bowl, to which Iceman had wondered for years who'd done it – suddenly passing as he watched Jake laugh away in the sand, under the clear blue California skies. With a defeated sigh, all Rooster could do was rest his forehead in the middle of the other man's chest, groaning; and despite the vague shame still burning in the back of his mind, his chest blooms with so much warmth and love for the idiot laughing under him. "You're so lucky I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

The words come out unnoticed, as easy as breathing, so easy in fact, Bradley doesn't notice them. But Jake does. And stops laughing, hand moving away to stare down at him – and only then Bradley realizes what he's said. "...do you?"

Rooster shifts, chin resting up so they can look back at each other. This wasn't how he'd pictured it going, alright, but there's no other moment he thinks would've been more perfect than this one. No other moment that his heart felt more full and more sure than this one.

"Yeah... yeah I do... so... marry me?"

I am drowning

There is no sign of land

You are coming down with me

Hand in unlovable hand

(I'm still taking writing prompts for my warmups!)

[shinigami-striker]

2024 Valentine Cards (Pac-Man) | Tuesday, 02.13.24

From the official Pac-Man social media channels (i.e. Instagram and/or X (Twitter)):

"Only ONE ghost can be your valentine. Who are you sending a card to?"

Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs will release later this year.

Feel free to use these Valentine's Day cards for your special someone. Just give proper credit, though.

[unionstationnorthampton]

Crab Cake & Callie, a classic combo 🥂 Valentine's Day weekend menu available today, tomorrow and Tuesday only 💘 . . . #crabcake #rosé #northampton #newengland (at Tunnel Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cok8t8uP6ii/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[nexttrickanvils]

Stream’s Done

We met with a very spooky assassin and his good boy, met up with some more old friends from the Berry Big Circus, and then discovered a Shawshank tunnel.

At the moment, I don’t know if I’ll stream on Tuesday since it’s Valentine’s Day but I’ll let you guys know what gets decided. :)

[smsverse]

Jacob - Week of 10/21

This has been a very busy week for me and everyone else in the group. On Monday Connor was out sick so I decided that Valentine, Jeremy, and I should get some major coding out of the way. I worked on creating the item pick up code and inventory system. The item pick up system works with an enum so that way we can add more items that we end up needing. You can add more items into the enum and then in the inspector just change the item to the one you need. This can also work for our mementos type items as well. I then got inventory system to work with the projector puzzle. Once I got the projector to work I was then able to get it to change a solid wall to a tunnel. This projector puzzle needed the inventory system implemented because the projector has to check the inventory for certain pieces and then the projection has to check your inventory for charcoal to create the tunnel. I did all of this in a separate scene and then implemented these scripts into the main scene and set everything up so it works.

This is my test scene.

This is the inventory script.

This is the script that goes on the the items. It uses an enum so more items can be further added later on.

This is the script that goes on the projector. The projector works if the player has the film reel item and the film crank item. This script works with the inventory and if the player has those 2 items it turns on the projection.

This is the projection script. The projection checks if the player has charcoal and if the player has the charcoal then it turns on the walls with the gate open and turns off the solid wall in the hellscape and dreamscape.

On Tuesday I implemented the projector script, Jeremy adjusted my scripts to have it work with the button press we have been using and added the button prompt. I then started to add some colliders to the buildings since the colliders I added to the buildings did not stay when I imported them to the main file for some reason. When I was unable to access the main file I worked on getting some of the particle effects together. I focused on getting particle effects for the dreamscape together first since the floating buildings need clouds on the bottom of them as well as the dreamscape car so that's why it was important to get the cloud particle effects made. Im not entirely happy with them and will probably try and change them at a later date. I also was able to find a red rain particle effect and got that implemented and set up in the main project to work in the noir universe. I also set up the wall to work with the projector puzzle. I had to find assets that made sense to work with the environment, add colliders to them and duplicate the wall but take out a middle piece for the projector puzzle. I am not sure If I am happy with the wall and I may try and find better assets later that make more sense with the scene. I also started to add catwalks to the building for the building swapping puzzle and add invisible walls to their roofs.

This is the projector puzzle working. This is the win condition of this zone that allows the player to move on to the next zone.

This is how the projector is set up in the inspector, it works with the items and having game objects assigned in the inspector.

This is how the projection is set up in the inspector. It works with the charcoal item and needs the 4 different walls as game objects. The dreamscape and hellscape have a solid version of the wall and then a wall with a part missing where the projection is.

On Wednesday I continued to add catwalks and mess with the building colliders. I also Implemented some more assets we needed. I had to find a film reel asset as well as a hand crank and then implement those into the main project. These assets were difficult to get into the main project because the sketchfab plugin is not working and is broken so it took me a lot longer then it should have to implement these assets. I also added a fire particle effect I had as well as the dynamic fire hydrant into the main project so the other group members could take over the main project.

Thursday was. a very hectic day, I finished the catwalks and got all of them to be able to line up correctly when the buildings switch. It was very tedious to get them to all line up but that was very important to finish since that was the last piece of the rooftop puzzle we needed for it to work. I fixed the static buildings for that puzzle and added colliders and made sure they were all the same height. I helped Valentine find assets and set up part of that puzzle to complete that puzzle. I also implemented some skybox assets I had into the main project. I added the material to the sidewalks and street and added the telephone pole to the scene so we could get rid of the grey boxed cylinders. We all stayed in the lab working on this project until we got kicked out of the lab around 2. Valentine and I stayed up with Connor till around 4 helping him out fix code for the last puzzle.

[internalsealpanic]

Bloody Valentine

Summary: There is nothing more romantic than being stuck in an elevator and arguing about terrible life decisions. 

a/n: Blame @littleredwing89 for the existence of this.  This is, as of the time I’m posting this, the 4th part (chronologically) to my Dick Grayson/Merc!Reader series. It might be better for you to read part 1 or part 2 before reading this as the angst might hit harder if you do. 

Warnings:  Mentions of blood and injury. Dick and Reader are both hypocrites with no self preservation. It also gets a little heated(?) in the end but nothing really bad.

Main Masterlist

Dick Grayson Masterlist

Direct Sequel to this: Sweetness 

This was not how you pictured your Valentine’s Day. 

Sure, you weren’t exactly picturing a candle-lit dinner under the stars or slow dancing in the pale moonlight like a Hallmark movie. But you’re not exactly thrilled to be standing outside an emergency room waiting area, clutching an unopened pack of cigarettes and a spare superman shirt, as per the police chief’s suggestion. You tap your foot impatiently as an officer persuades the hospital staff to let you in as you stupidly forgot to bring any of your IDs. The pack of cigarettes crinkles loudly earning you a withering look from a tired-looking mother. 

You take a breath. 

You settle yourself in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs they point you to. There’s a scream in your throat. And you’re so close to crying. From frustration, anxiety, fatigue? You couldn’t distinguish. 

You flick your eyes to them. Finally, the staff relents and you brush past them brusquely.   

Your thoughts spiral. The bile lingers at the back of your throat. Burning. Acidic. Dick had lost a lot of blood but not fatal, they told you. The sob that left your mouth was inhumane. You’d almost dropped the phone. Static and white noise vibrated through your eardrums. In a trance-like state, you walk towards the room they kept him in, tunnel vision guiding you to his door. That’s what shock does to you. 

All you can think of is him.

You hold the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip, glaring at Dick through the rearview mirror, more specifically the white hospital issued sling cradling his arm. You watch Dick as he pretends to not notice the look you’re needling him with.  “I spy with my little eye something… green,” he says absentmindedly as he stares out into the flow of traffic. 

You keep your narrowed eyes straight ahead, not even thinking about dignifying his little distraction. Right now, all you were seeing was red. 

To your right, Dick sighs dramatically, running his hand through his black hair. “So you’re just going to ignore me, huh?”

You’re not but you sure are trying. 

Dick as far as you knew was used to silence but he thrived in noise. He lived off of interactions, good or bad. You’re usually an endless supply of banter and playful quips but right now you needed the silence. You needed him to stew in it along with you. This isn’t to say you were particularly ill-tempered or impatient with people, being friends with someone like Dick necessitated a certain level of patience in your opinion.  And sure, you had a sharp tongue but you didn’t lose your temper often. But as you sit there next to him with your teeth grinding, fingers tapping, and muscles clenched, you could feel anger coiling under your skin. 

He lets out another sigh, this time sounding genuinely exasperated. Good. “(y/n), I don’t know why you’re upset by this- I’m a cop. We both know the risks.” 

The coil under your skin burns and you break hard, pointedly ignoring the loud cursing from the driver behind you. Dick chokes and hisses as the seatbelt digs into his chest. You offer him no sympathy or apology as you shoot him such a glare that whatever smartass remark he has for you dies on the tip of his tongue. Considering all the villains and heroes he’s had glaring at him over the years, you consider this an accomplishment. Dick flinches at the intensity of the anger wicking off of you. 

You click your teeth and turn back to the road, seeing the light turn green again. “You were issued a gun for a reason,” you say flatly, opting for this instead of the litany of other ways to say ‘you’re a moron’. You’re polite like that. 

It’s Dick’s turn to level you a look but unlike him, you don’t flinch, too caught up in your own anger. “Well, I assessed the situation-”

“You were wrong.”

“- and thought I could deescalate,” he says scowling at you through the mirror. Hurt flashes behind his eyes.  He looks… like a mix between petulant and offended but you can’t bring yourself to care to do more than give him a withering look, especially not when you still have his bloodied uniform burned into your mind. You admired his determination to keep the peace the way you admired how uncompromising his stance was on second chances. You really did but… It was the second time he nearly died that week and it was just Tuesday. 

You stop again. You close your eyes. Loving someone who could someday not come home to you was not a possibility you had prepared for.  You just- You just weren’t ready to care for someone so… destructible.  You weren’t sure how to process all the anxiety that came with that, so you turned to anger. It just seemed so much more productive and tangible than the shapeless fear anxiety brought you. “And you nearly got shot in the heart,” you deadpan, heart twinging. You taper your emotions down into something more manageable, something easier to compartmentalize. You can tell Dick was going through the same process. Which one of you was having a harder time, you couldn’t tell. 

“He barely grazed me.”

“Correction, you have a hole in your shoulder.” Asshole.  You bite back the insult, trying not to escalate the argument. You click your teeth but try not to clench your jaw or grind your teeth. The first person to lose their temper loses the argument. 

Dick huffs, resting his chin against his uninjured hand. His eyes flicker to you then the window. “I’ve had worse,” he mutters and your stomach tumbles to the ground getting crushed by the tire. Your mind careens. Your lungs fill up with the smell of ash and gun smoke. For a moment, your eyes do not work. For a moment, you’re in a crumbling building. Your eyes watching the billowing smoke curl against the sky. A blast of heat so hot it makes the liquid in your eyes boil breezes past you. 

You feel the flick of Yasiri’s tail on your skin and suddenly your foot is on a gas pedal instead of a broken cement floor. You blink, a tar-like emotion is swimming under your skin. You breathe. You glare at the traffic in front of you if only to focus your vision. “You’re impossible,” you snarl. 

In the corner of your eye, Dick peels away from the window, anger flashing in his easy-going features. He’s brandishing a sneer. You brace yourself. Dick… Dick Grayson was a mean son of a bitch when he wanted to be and he knew too much of your hurts. You swallow, gripping the steering wheel. Yasiri swims on your skin, surfacing just enough to get ready to strike but also just enough to be hidden. 

Dick opens his mouth but no sound comes out. Dick closes his mouth then opens it again and instead of something truly scathing, Dic opts for something more teasing probably realizing that pissing off your driver is a really bad idea. “You say that like you’re any easier to talk to.”

“At least, I know how to listen,” you bite out, voice drawing dangerously low. Dick’s eyes flicker to you, his shoulders bunching up a fraction. You click your teeth and take a calming breath. 

Dick snorts, the knot in his shoulders disappearing. “Yeah, right.”

You bristle. Your fingers drum against the steering wheel contemplating on whether to deck him. You should deck him. You should definitely deck him. Would that open up his stitches? It probably would. You mutter a curse. It feels nice rolling off your tongue and it seems Dick feels the same when he curses in Romani. You catalog the word for later use. Dick turns away from you, glaring out the window. You can see the way his eyes narrow through the reflection in the window. The look in his eyes is a complicated mix of irritation and hurt and regret.  

You silently agree to table the discussion, at least, until you got off the road. 

You brush past the elevator door, tossing your bag to the corner and leaning against the cool wall of the elevator. Dick enters and leans on the opposite wall, gingerly rubbing his shoulder. Neither of you look at each other. You watch the buttons light up as the elevator climbs up. Your skin is still buzzing from emotions. You thought the quiet drive would right them but… it didn’t.

To your side, you hear the restless tapping of feet. You glance over to Dick whose body is vibrating and itching from movement. Seems you weren’t the only one jittery. You smother a snort in your hand. It was cruel but you find the fact that he’ll be so bored while recovering is slightly funny. 

The elevator shakes. You’re thrown off balance. There’s a metallic clunking above you. You both lookup. Dick strains his ears to listen. You quiet your breathing so as not to distract him. He sighs and curses, the side of his fist pounding against the wall. “It’s just broken.” You look at him, eyes wide and dumbfounded. 

“Are you fucking with me?”

He shakes his head. “I wish,” he scoffs. You scrunch your nose and Dick sneers. “We’re just gonna have to wait, I guess.”  And you press yourself against your wall. “Wonderful.” 

You both stew in silence. “I can’t believe I’m stuck...” you mutter under your breath as you try to pry the elevator doors open. Dick rolls his eyes at you. “You can’t open those doors, (y/n),” he ruffles his hair in frustration, “we just need to wait for the fire department, dumbass.”He says, his head lulling back against the wall. 

 You hiss, your fingers sore and red. “Has anyone ever told you that you were an ass?” You snarl making Dick scowl at you. 

“You’ve said so like 5 times in the emergency room and 2 times in- Do you really wanna start this again?!”

You punch the door, creating a deep divet. “You’re goddamn right I wanna start this again because, Richard, for once in your goddamned life I wish you would stop being such a self-centered dickweed!” You seethe. Your knuckles hurt. They feel cool. They’re probably bleeding. 

Dick shoots up from the corner. “How am I self-centered?”

“Risking your life like a fucking moron like that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was trying to save those people.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” you throw your arms up in exasperation, “do you know just how bad you are at keeping yourself alive because of that fucking hero complex, huh? You dumb. piece. of. Shit.”  You take a deep breath and continue your tirade. “You think you’re invincible just cus you run around in tights all night?”

Dick smirks at you. “You never had a problem with my tights when-”

“Check your ego, Grayson. I’ve dealt with a lot of spandex-clad pretty boys before, you’re nothing special.” You want the words to sting. 

“Oh please, you dealt with them by putting them in body bags!”

“Yeah! Fuck you! You’ll end up in one the rate you’re going.” Dick is speechless for a moment. Something in Dick’s eyes flares. You flinch and open your mouth to say something but Dick roars, the sound loud in the confined space. “What? Are you gonna tell me to stop being a hero? Are you gonna tell me that I’m not good enough to be Nightwing like how Bruce told me I couldn’t be Robin? Hah?”

Your heart drops and your chest burns. Your hackles draw up as high as they can. You bare your teeth. “No, you fucking moron That’s not the point!”

“What is it then, (y/n)? What do you want from me?!”

“You always go on this damn crusade to save everyone and everything and you don’t bother to take care of yourself or how it would affect others!”

“Wha-”

“No! You don’t- You don’t ever think!”You shove him against the wall, jabbing your finger into his chest. 

Dick glares down at you, grabbing your wrist in an almost painful grip. His finger jabs against your collar bone as he gets in your face, his hot breath fanning against your skin. “Fuck you! You’re just as bad as I am! You always throw yourself in front of others at the first sound of gunfire.”

“Dipshit, I have accelerated healing!” you say, ripping your hand out of his grip. 

“THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE INVINCIBLE.”

“Neither are you!” You sob, it comes out wet and raw. You close your eyes. You can still see the blood on his uniform. You sink to the floor, clutching at his shirt. Your tears sting even as they fall to the floor. “Neither are you.”

“(y/n)...” Dick’s shoulders droop as he watches you proud form crumple, entire body shaking.  He lowers himself to the ground slowly, careful not to agitate you. 

You press forward and bury your face into his shoulder, fist lightly punching his chest. You don’t want him to see you cry.  “Dick… I’m not saying you should quit… that- that’s just who you are.” You hiccup, tears flowing.“I just- I don’t want to bury you. I don’t- I can’t lose you, you fucking moron… You can’t just worm your way into someone’s heart and- and- ”

“(Y/n)...” Dick pulls you into his lap and lays his chin on your head. He hadn’t really thought… He should have known. He should have guessed. 

You pull away and look him in the eye, eyes bloodshot from crying. “You can’t just expect me to be ok with the possibility you won’t come back to me,” you say lowly, punching his chest.   The next few words come out in a shy whisper, low enough that Dick has to strain his ears to hear you. “Dick… I love you. I want to grow old with you, you waste of oxygen.” You cry into Dick’s shoulder not able to face him.  Dick shakes his head. He puts his hand on the back of your neck and presses a kiss to your hair. Dick doesn’t know how many times he has to tell you he doesn’t think less of you for crying on his shoulder but he’ll tell you no matter how many times you need to hear it.  

You sit in silence with only your muffled sobs and Dick’s comforting words filling the dead air. 

 “Timmy is gonna kill you for making me cry,” you sniffle, facing him with a wet tear-stained smile. 

Dick gives you a crooked smile in return.“ I still have no idea how you managed to turn my siblings against me,” Dick says, planting another kiss on your face but this time on your eyelid just below your brow. 

“You say that like it’s hard.” 

Dick pouts at you and you cackle loud and high, somehow still managing to sound musical. “I am a lovable big brother-”

“-And I’m a fucking nun-” Dick pinches your ass through your skirt. “We'll  have nun of that,”

You grab Dick’s wrist in a tight grip, managing to narrow your eyes at him. “I am not dropping this conversation just  to get fucked in an elevator.”

His eyes shine cheekily at the idea.“Wasn't my plan... but that works.”

“Dick…”

Dick leans down, his nose grazing your pulse, brushing like petals against your skin. “Let me make it up to you,” Dick says, licking a stripe up the column of your neck. Ignoring the swell of his pants against your inner thigh, you pinch his cheek, tugging him away from your neck. Your stomach roils at the loss of his lips on your skin but you suppress a whine to glare at him.

Dick looks up at you, mischief lighting his eyes. He pulls away from your hand. His lips find their way back to your neck then back up your jaw. His lips press kisses along your jawline. “It’ll-”kiss”-be-” kiss “-sooo worth it.”

Your breath hitches.“Dick...” you whine, feeling your skin heat. Your mind is buzzing. He smiles against you. His fingers toy with the strap of your bra, tugging it down slowly, carefully, making sure you feel every bit of his movement. “I hear my name-” he kisses your shoulder “-but you’re not stopping me.”

You roll your hips, panting for him. Dick’s tongue is hot against your skin. “C’mon, sweetheart, you know I can make you scream my name with just one hand,” Dick whispers against the shell of your ear. His hand slides down your arm down to your hip, his hand guiding your ass towards his growing bulge. “C’mon, Sweetheart, think about it-” Lick ”-the words I could make you sing.”

“Dick...” you pant, arching your back, pressing your body against his, giving him more access to your neck. Dick nips at your flesh happily. “Honey, I’m going to-”   

You yelp, your skin flying off your bones when you hear the elevator doors open. Dick, unphased, continues kissing you and licking up your skin. 

“Heeey guys, it’s Grayson,” the fireman calls out to the other men behind him. He turns back to the two of you with a cheeky grin.“Dickie, if I’d known it was you..” He glances towards you, eyes catching on the red hickeys blooming on your shoulder. You want to evaporate. “You guys need a minute?” Dick grins against your skin, looking up at you through thick lashes. “Thanks, Jerry, but we might need more than that.”

You glare down at Dick who simply smiles at you as he nips at your flesh.  “What? Feeling shy?” Dick breathes against your neck and all of a sudden, all of the anger and irritation comes creeping back. You shove Dick lightly, standing up and fixing your shirt. “I think he has a concussion. I suggest you check him out,” you snarl, brushing past Jerry leaving Dick on the floor, horny and stunned. 

“I’m totally fine!” Dick says, scrambling to his feet and grabbing your bag. 

You glare over your shoulder. “Our argument isn’t over.”

“What? But- I thought- We were about to-” Your scowl deepens as you see Dick flounder.  Jerry cackles as he gives Dick’s back an unsympathetic pat. 

“Sorry about that, Grayson. I guess you were destined to get blue balled,” Jerry laughs shaking his head. Dick sighs deeply, his shoulders drooping. “Are you really sorry?” Dick asks, side-eyeing Jerry. Jerry grins. “Nah, but it’s the thought that counts,” Jerry says, looking all too pleased with himself. 

Dick bumps past Jerry gently with a slightly petulant look on his face which earns him a chuckle from Jerry and a glare from you. “Watch the shoulder,” you crow from the hall. 

Jerry shakes his head. “No, hero’s welcome, huh?” Dick rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, she’s not exactly happy about the hole in my shoulder,” Dick admits, sheepishly. Jerry shoves Dick forward lightly and the other firemen do the same. “Go get ‘er, Tiger!”

Dick falls into step behind you, his lips brushing the back of your neck. His arm wraps around you as he pulls you close. He places a kiss behind your ear. You gasp and you hear hoots behind you. “Dick… Don’t… You can’t solve this with an orgasm,” you sigh, feeling your resolve crumble as his soft lips brushed the weak point of your neck. “Honey… please.” Dick holds you against his chest. The beating of his heart thaws you. “Honey, I’m sorry...” His breath runs down the side of your neck and it feels like feathers caressing your skin. You take a breath. He just knew how to make you melt. 

“... I love you too.”

Tag list: @batarella, @anothertimdrakestan, @lucy-roo, @multifandomgirl-us, @idkmanicantenglish,@birdy-bat-writes,  @boosyboo9206, @americasmarauders , @l-inkage, @arestorationofbalance , @cloudie-skay, @wunderstell   @hyp-oh-critical @glorified-red

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Pope Francis says the world is ‘seriously ill’ from the consequences of the pandemic (Washington Post) Pope Francis on Monday offered a grim assessment of humanity’s response to the pandemic in a lengthy speech that highlighted aspects big and small from a year of isolation and “despair.” He talked about domestic violence in homes under pandemic lockdown. He emphasized the job losses predominantly among off-the-books workers, with no safety net on which to rely. He described a generation of children, alone and in front of their computers, enduring the “educational catastrophe” of school shutdowns or distance learning. The world, Francis said, “is seriously ill.” “Not only as a result of the virus,” the pope continued, “but also in its natural environment, its economic and political processes, and even more in its human relationships.” “The pandemic shed light on the risks and consequences inherent in a way of life dominated by selfishness and a culture of waste, and it set before us a choice: either to continue on the road we have followed until now, or to set out on a new path,” Francis said.

Nothing to sneeze at: Global warming triggers earlier pollen (AP) When Dr. Stanley Fineman started as an allergist in Atlanta, he told patients they should start taking their medications and prepare for the drippy, sneezy onslaught of pollen season around St. Patrick’s Day. That was about 40 years ago. Now he tells them to start around St. Valentine’s Day. Across the United States and Canada, pollen season is starting 20 days earlier and pollen loads are 21% higher since 1990 and a huge chunk of that is because of global warming, a new study found in Monday’s journal the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. While other studies have shown North America’s allergy season getting longer and worse, this is the most comprehensive data with 60 reporting stations.

Divided Senate votes to proceed with impeachment trial of Trump (Washington Post) A divided Senate voted 56 to 44 on Tuesday to proceed with the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump, rejecting his lawyers’ argument that it is unconstitutional. Most Republicans stood with Trump and his legal team, which contended the Senate cannot convict a person no longer in office. The House impeachment managers, in pressing for the trial to proceed, said Trump had a role in inciting the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and should be held accountable. Opening arguments in the trial are set to begin Wednesday.

Sheriff: Hacker tried to taint Florida city’s water with lye (AP) A hacker gained unauthorized entry to the system controlling the water treatment plant of a Florida city of 15,000 and tried to taint the water supply with a caustic chemical, exposing a danger cybersecurity experts say has grown as systems become both more computerized and accessible via the internet. The hacker who breached the system at the city of Oldsmar’s water treatment plant on Friday using a remote access program shared by plant workers briefly increased the amount of sodium hydroxide by a factor of one hundred (from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million), Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a news conference Monday. Sodium hydroxide, also called lye, is used to treat water acidity but the compound is also found in cleaning supplies such as soaps and drain cleaners. It can cause irritation, burns and other complications in larger quantities. Fortunately, a supervisor saw the chemical being tampered with—as a mouse controlled by the intruder moved across the screen changing settings—and was able to intervene and immediately reverse it, Gualtieri said. Oldsmar officials have since disabled the remote-access system, and say other safeguards were in place to prevent the increased chemical from getting into the water.

Mexican Census: Evangelicals at New High, Catholics at New Low (Christianity Today) The Catholic majority in Mexico is slipping, as Protestants surpassed 10 percent of the population in the country for the first time ever. According to recently released data from Mexico’s 2020 census, the Protestant/evangelical movement increased from 7.5 percent in 2010 to 11.2 percent last year. The Catholic Church has historically dominated the religious landscape across Latin America, but especially in Mexico, which ranks among the most heavily Catholic countries in the region. Today, though an overwhelming majority of Mexicans still identify as Catholic, declines are accelerating. It took 50 years—from 1950 to 2000—for the proportion of Catholics in Mexico to drop from 98 percent to 88 percent. Now, only two decades later, that percentage has slipped another 10 points to 77.7 percent.

Venezuela’s exodus (Foreign Policy) Colombia is to grant temporary legal status to the more than 1.7 million Venezuelans who have taken refuge in the country. Under the terms announced by Colombian President Iván Duque on Monday, Venezuelans who entered Colombia without permission before Jan. 31 will be eligible for legal protections, making it easier for them to live and work in the country. Roughly 5.4 million people have left Venezuela in recent years, according to U.N. estimates.

EU countries expel Russian diplomats in Navalny dispute (AP) Germany, Poland and Sweden on Monday each declared a Russian diplomat in their country “persona non grata,” retaliating in kind to last week’s decision by Moscow to expel diplomats from the three European Union countries over the case of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Russia had accused diplomats from Sweden, Poland and Germany of attending a demonstration in support of Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most high-profile political foe. In a statement, EU lawmakers also appealed to “all EU Member States to show maximum solidarity with Germany, Poland and Sweden and take all appropriate steps to show the cohesiveness and strength of our Union.”

Rescuers look for survivors of Indian glacier flood disaster (AP) Hundreds of rescue workers were scouring muck-filled ravines and valleys in northern India on Tuesday looking for survivors after part of a Himalayan glacier broke off, unleashing a devastating flood that has left at least 31 people dead and 165 missing. One of the rescue efforts is focused on a tunnel at a hydroelectric power plant where more than three dozen workers have been out of contact since the flood occurred Sunday. Rescuers used machine excavators and shovels to clear sludge from the tunnel overnight in an attempt to reach the workers as hopes for their survival faded. The disaster was set off when part of a glacier on Nanda Devi mountain snapped off Sunday morning. The floodwater, mud and boulders roared down the mountain along the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers, breaking dams, sweeping away bridges and forcing the evacuation of many villages while turning the countryside into what looked like an ash-colored moonscape.

Cooped up in the pandemic, Chinese couples were not in the mood for love (Washington Post) When Chinese families were ordered to stay at home last year amid the coronavirus outbreak, authorities hoped for a much-needed baby boom. It turns out that few couples were in the mood. New data this week showed that birthrates in the country continued to plummet, with 10.04 million births registered in 2020, a 15 percent drop from the year before, according to the Ministry of Public Security. Although not the official birthrate, the latest figure was a third lower than the number of births recorded in 2019—already the country’s lowest since the early 1960s, when China was in the middle of a famine. China has been working to reverse falling birthrates caused in part by decades of population controls. After the country relaxed its infamous one-child policy in 2016, allowing couples to have two children, initiatives have ranged from the supportive to the punitive. Policymakers face a demographic crisis that could cause the country’s population to start to shrink as early as 2027, according to a worst-case estimate from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Official 2020 population data is expected to be released later this month, but in January some local governments published birth data showing declines as steep as 30 percent.

Myanmar police fire into air to disperse protest, four hurt by rubber bullets (Reuters) Police fired gunshots into the air and used water cannon and rubber bullets on Tuesday as protesters across Myanmar defied bans on big gatherings to oppose a military coup that halted a tentative transition to democracy. Four people were hurt by rubber bullets in the capital Naypyitaw, and one of them, a woman, was in critical condition with a head wound, a doctor said. The Feb. 1 coup and detention of elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has brought the largest demonstrations in more than a decade and a growing civil disobedience movement affecting hospitals, schools and government offices.

Fish Farm (Hakai Magazine) A new fish farm in Singapore will produce up to 3,000 tonnes of grouper, trout and shrimp annually. This fish farm is notable primarily because of its location, which is an eight-story indoor aquaculture facility being constructed in the city-state. Singapore imports 90 percent of its food, and would prefer to scale that back a bit, with the national goal of producing 30 percent of its nutritional needs locally by 2030. If all goes according to plan, the new facility’s efficiency will be six times higher than that of other fish farms in Singapore.

Anger grows at Israel’s ultra-Orthodox virus scofflaws, threatening rupture with secular Jews (Washington Post) The Shinfelds, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family in this most religious of cities, are used to being a bit at odds with the rest of Israel. Their community’s tradition of large families—the couple has 10 children and 30 grandchildren—strict observance and exemption from military service have long created friction with the more secular majority. But they say they have never felt hostility like they do now, as a pandemic-exhausted nation has turned its rage at ultra-Orthodox scofflaws. As Israel endures its third national lockdown, social media has been inflamed by images of black-clad men brazenly crowding schools, weddings and other events, including 20,000 at a recent Jerusalem funeral of a leading rabbi. Secular critics have cast the ultra-Orthodox, fairly or not, as superspreaders supreme. “Now it’s not only tense—it feels like hatred,” said Vivian Shinfeld, 60, of the anger she feels even from some less-religious members of her own family. The backlash could have cultural and political impacts well after the pandemic ends. “There has been a schism growing for a while, and the pandemic is making it wider,” said Tamar El-Or, an anthropology professor at Hebrew University and longtime scholar of ultra-Orthodox culture. “When this virus is gone, nothing is going to be same.”

Ethnic clashes in Darfur could reignite Sudan’s old conflict (AP) Sayid Ismael Baraka, a Sudanese-American visiting from Atlanta, was playing with his three children, and his wife was making tea, when the gunmen stormed into his family village in Sudan’s Darfur region. The gunmen went through the village of Jabal, shooting people. The 36-year-old Baraka was shot to death as he rushed to help a wounded neighbor, his wife and brother said. The attack on Jan. 16 left more than two dozen dead in and around the village. They were among 470 people killed in a days-long explosion of violence between Arab and non-Arab tribes last month in Darfur. The bloodletting stoked fears that Darfur, scene of a vicious war in the 2000s, could slide back into conflict and raised questions over the government’s efforts to implement a peace deal and protect civilians.

Try a ‘Shultz hour’ (NYT) When George Shultz—who died Saturday at 100—was secretary of state under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, he developed a weekly ritual. He closed the door to his office and sat down with a pen and a pad of paper. For the next hour, Shultz tried to clear his mind and think about big ideas, rather than the minutiae of government work. Only two people could interrupt him, he told his secretary: “My wife or the president.” That’s even more useful advice today than it was four decades ago. These days, we are constantly interrupted by minutiae, via alerts and text messages. They can make it impossible to carve out time to think through difficult problems in new ways or come up with creative ideas. Letting your mind wander, Sandi Mann, a British psychologist, has said, “makes us more creative, better at problem-solving, better at coming up with creative ideas.” The Dutch have a word for this concept: niksen, or the art of doing nothing. As Amos Tversky, a path-breaking psychologist, said, “You waste years by not being able to waste hours.”

[toes-in-the-sand-vicariously]

Zion National Park

We have been at Zion for a week now and will be moving on tomorrow. Destination, Las Vegas.  We have been taking the days “as we please” spending the mornings getting organized in our new home, TITS.  That has been an adventure too! We moved from 4030 square feet to about 300 square feet. Needless to say, we didn’t bring everything. Organizing what we couldn’t live without has been interesting. The good new is, we do still have some empty spaces.

In the afternoons we have been taking some of the hikes and taking hundreds of photos of this amazing national treasure.  Sunday, we hiked, maybe more strolling than hiking, the Riverwalk leading to the Narrows. As much as we would like to hike the Narrows, the water is way too cold (40 degrees), too high, and a dry suit is needed. We debated renting one, but after talking to a gentleman that had just come back who stated most of it was waist deep or chest deep, we decided that we will just have to come back when the water is warmer and shallower. Monday’s hike was to the Emerald Pools. It is about 3 miles round trip, along the Kayenta trail.  Only two pools are accessible right now as there is construction to the lower pool.  This was a fairly easy hike with about 500 feet of elevation gain.  The views were spectacular.

Posing for the camera along the Riverwalk

Riverwalk

Looking up the river on the walk to the Narrows

Top Emerald Pool

Chilaxin” in the shade

Tuesday, we decided to take a break, so we took a drive and drove thru the tunnel that was completed in 1930.  It took three years to complete, blasting through rock for 1.1 miles. Vehicles weren’t as big back then as they are now, so height and width restrictions or strictly enforced. Just past the tunnel is a viewpoint.  We decided it would be fun to hike up and see the spectacular views. There were places on the trail that Lori was not a fan. The trail became narrow with rock hanging over and down was very close to the edge.  Kent would say, “You’re fine, if you fall you won’t go far.”  Just to the bottom, no biggie! But we made it without incident.

In case you didn’t know, Lori is a klutz!  Therefore, we take things slow and even when being extremely careful, well let’s just say, things happen.  So, having the fear of falling is a natural fear for her.

On top of Canyon Overlook

Wednesday was our “educational” day.  We didn’t plan it to be, we planned a hike up the Watchmen Trail. Having been at Zion for several days and basically dry camping, it was time to take TITS and fill the water tank and dump the holding tanks.  That was easy enough and we even met a delightful couple from Germany/Ireland. They were Irish living in Germany. Anyway, we returned to our campsite and began the process of leveling TITS. This is usually quite simple; we set the pads under the jacks and push the button and it levels. I did say usually quite simple.  This time one of the jacks stroked out, but not really. It thought it did. We get this message to retract. We did. It didn’t work. After a few attempts of hooking back up to the truck and completely starting over, it was time to call the “guy”.  The “guy” (manufacturer tech service) was able to walk Kent through the steps to reset the computer and get the jacks to respond.  Moral of the story make sure you learn these things when you have cell service.  We were very fortunate that we didn’t have to track down a repairman and were able to do it over the phone. This educational moment took about 4 hours, so our hike didn’t happen.

We did get our Watchman Trail hike in on Thursday. What a great hike!  It was about 4.5 miles, from our campsite, round trip.  When we got to the top we could see our campsite.  We just can’t provide the words that explain how beautiful everything is here.  The rock formations are extraordinary! You must come see it for yourself.  After our hike we took a bike ride to the canyon scenic road, just to get out on our bikes.  

High atop Watchman Trail

Friday brought Valentine’s Day!  Our tradition for this day is to make homemade pasta together and make an Italian dinner.  We have been doing this for about 10 years. Since we are traveling this year we had to think of something else to do. We ended up taking a drive to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. Another amazing site of southern Utah! During a short hike across some of the dunes, we left our mark – “Toes in the Sand.” Then we went to Mt. Carmel Junction and “Ho-made” pie.  We had a lot of fun with that.  The restaurant was started in 1961 and is still run by the grandchildren of its founder.

Toes In The Sand on Valentine’s Day at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes

Holding the Ho-made Pie

Saturday brought more nesting into TITS.  We are still working on the organizational factor of living tiny. Things are really starting to find their new place. A walk through town will end our Zion experience.

[ebaeschnbliah]

WESTIE’S  ENGAGEMENT  PARTY  &  JOE’S  CONFESSIONS

“I started dealing drugs. I mean, the bike thing’s a great cover, right? I dunno – I dunno how it started; I just got out of my depth. I owed people thousands – serious people. Then at Westie’s engagement do, he starts talking about his job. I mean, usually he’s so careful; but that night after a few pints he really opened up. He told me about these missile plans – beyond top secret. He showed me the memory stick; he waved it in front of me. You hear about these things getting lost, ending up on rubbish tips and what-not. And there it was, and I thought ... well, I thought it could be worth a fortune.”  (Joe Harrison)

This and a little bit more under the cut ….

About engagement parties

They are held to celebrate a couple's recent engagement and to help future wedding guests to get to know one another. Traditionally, the bride's parents host the engagement party, but many modern couples host their own celebration. It is a party like any other, except that usually toasts or speeches are made to announce the upcoming wedding. While it varies, an engagement party takes place at the beginning of the process of planning a wedding. It is often thrown at the couple's home or at the home of a close friend or relative of the couple.  (Wikipedia)

Why do I have the feeling that Westie’s ‘engagement do’ was a party for two? 

The camera focuses only on the two men. There isn’t even one picture of Lucy Harrison, the lovely bride to be. And the other people in the bar/pub don’t look much like family, friends or even aquaintances either. It’s a bit similar to the stag night Sherlock organized for John, isn’t it? Even the colours are alike … though much more intense.

“It was pretty easy to get the thing off him, he was so plastered.”  (Joe Harrison)

Joe takes the memory stick with the very secret Bruce-Partington Plans out of Westie’s breast pocket ….. 

Is this still the bar/pub? Somehow it looks differenthere …. for just a few shots  ….

Secrets of the government .... or secrets of the heart?

“The M.O.D. is working on a new missile defence system – the Bruce-Partington Programme, it’s called. The plans for it were on a memory stick. We can’t possibly risk it falling into the wrong hands.”  (Mycroft)

“Next time I saw him, I could tell by the look on his face that he knew.“  (Joe Harrison)

“What’s Lucy gonna say? Jesus. It was an accident.  I swear it was. I was gonna call an ambulance, but it was too late.”  (Joe Harrison)

“Then a neat little idea popped into your head. Carrying Andrew West way away from here. His body would have gone on for ages if the train hadn’t met a stretch of track that curved.”  (Sherlock)

“Andrew West, known as Westie to his friends. A civil servant, found dead on the tracks at Battersea Station this morning with his head smashed in.”  (Mycroft)

The Battersea Power Station …. that’s where the track curved … where it passed a point and the transport changed direction …. and a dead body fell from a train …..

Battersea ... the very same disused power station where Irene meets John ... at New Year ... and Sherlock follows them and overhears their conversation. Until that moment everyone thought that Irene had died because there had been a body in the morgue … at Christmas … the face bashed up … and then, she comes back from the dead …  at Battersea …. where the Transport changed direction ….

This happens in ASIB. That’s the episode directly after TGG and the case of the Bruce-Partington Plans. The stolen memory stick with the secret government plans lead Sherlock to the pool where once little Carl Powers died, to John wearing an explosive vest and to Jim Moriarty, Mr. Sex, the criminal mastermind behind that great game. And immediately after the confrontation at the pool, a hiker turns up, just returned from East of GB, with a bashed in head …. because his own boomerang had backfired at him …. sort of a literal boomerang-effect …..

The original characters from ACDs Story

Arthur Cardogan West - goverment employee, twenty-seven years of age, unmarried, and a clerk at Woolwich Arsenal

'West left Woolwich suddenly on Monday night. Was last seen by his fiancée, Miss Violet Westbury, whom he left abruptly in the fog about 7.30 that evening. There was no quarrel between them and she can give no motive for his action. The next thing heard of him was when his dead body was discovered by a plate-layer named Mason, just outside Aldgate Station on the Underground system in London.'  

'The body was found at six on the Tuesday morning. It was lying wide of the metals upon the left hand of the track as one goes eastward, at a point close to the station, where the line emerges from the tunnel in which it runs. The head was badly crushed - an injury which might well have been caused by a fall from the train.’    (ACD, The Adventures of the Bruce-Partington Plans)

Miss Violet Westbury - Arthur Cardogan West’s fiancée

Colonel Valentine Walter -  the man had to pay a  stock exchange dept, needed the money and so he stole the plans of the Bruce Partington submarine and sold them to Hugo Oberstein, a German spy. 

Sir James Walter - Valentines older brother, famous government expert and official guardian of the Bruce Partington plans. He died due to a ‘broken heart’ because of the horrible scandal and because he rightfully suspected his brother to be involved in the heft. 

Hugo Oberstein - the german spy who killed Arthur Cardogan West with a blow to the head. It was him who had the idea to put the body onto the roof of a train.

Examining the window in Hugo Oberstein’s/Joe Harrison’s flat.  Illustration by Arthur Twidle (X) compared to a screenshot from Sherlock BBC The Great Game 

Interesting modifications in Sherlock BBC

It is no secret that names are always important in this story, just as the chosen modifications and the resulting differences between canon and adaptation. And a lot of name-changing took place with the story of the Bruce Partington plans.  (Source for the meaning behind the names (x)

Arthur Cardogan West stays the innocent victim but his first name changes to Andrew and the second name is entirely omitted

ANDREW  (from Greek: man, manly, masculine)  Using the nickname ‘Westie’ draws the attention strongly to the unchainged surname. Considering that East and West seem to be of some significance, this modification is maybe not a coincidence. Is ‘Westie’ meant to be the opposite of ‘Eurus’ (EASTwind)?  Be it as it may, Westie feels very much like a Sherlock mirror.

Miss Violet Westbury - she stays West’s loyal fiancée but her full name changes ... to Lucy Harrison 

LUCY  (from Latin: feminin form of Lucius, lux, light)  Of course, it is John who comes first to mind, whom Sherlock calls ‘conductor of light’ in THOB. Lucy’s words ‘He (Westie) was my good man’ seem to point in the same direction, that Lucy is a mirror for John.

Colonel Valentine Walter and Hugo Oberstein - thief and murderer - are melting into one character …. Joe Harrison, brother of Lucy Harrison. Colonel Valentine’s older brother Sir James Walter is completely removed from the story. If he weren’t, I would call him a wonderful Mycroft mirror.

JOE  (from Hebrew: Joseph meaning ‘he will add’)  Not a Colonel anymore but a cycle courier and drug dealer, which is very interesting. Only one main character uses a bike, and this one is John. Furthermore,  biblical JOSEPH is the husband of VIRGIN MARY. This fits for John as well. It looks very much like the siblings Lucy and Joe are serving as a double mirror for John.

The canon surnames Westbury, Walter and Obrstein are omitted from this adaptation and replaced with HARRISON. Lucy and Joe Harrison … assuming that both siblings are mirrors for John, certain ideas come to mind by the surname Harrison …. especially regarding John’s sibling Harry, who is still a character without a face.

The place where West’s body fell from the train and was later discovered by a plate-layer/tube guard, changed as well ..... from Aldgate to Battersea. As mentioned above, the disused Battersea Power Station plays an important role in the following episode A Scandal in Belgravia.

The last evening together

'We were to go to the theatre. The fog was so thick that a cab was useless. We walked, and our way took us close to the office. Suddenly he darted away into the fog.'  (Violet Westbury, The Bruce Partington Plans)

‘We were having a night in, just watching a DVD. He normally falls asleep, you know, but he sat through this one. He was quiet. Out of the blue, he said he just had to go and see someone.’  (Lucy Harrison, The Great Game)

Lucy and Westie were watching a DVD. It doesn’t say movie or film …. no, it’s  DVD. Not really suspicious, in general. Unless though, one remembers what special role DVDs are playing in this story. (Miss me?)

Westie/Sherlock sits through a DVD, then out of the blue announces that he needs to see someone and runs off ….  Sounds rather familiar to me. 

And while one half of John/Lucy is engaged to Sherlock/Westie, the other half of John/Joe deals with drugs/chemistry of love and finally ‘kills’ Westie/Sherlock. Head bashed in/brain switched off?   Hmmmm …..

The places where they live

The first pictiure shows Westie’s and Lucy’s home. Both times, when John arrives and when he leaves, the front of the house is presented beautifully mirrored in the roof of a car. 

The pic below is Joe’s flat … it has the number 21A. Also an interesting choice.

An interesting engagement party, interesting canon changes, a surprising turn-up at its end, a very interesting case altogether .... this case from The Great Game, that opens and closes the episode .... the case with the ‘missing’ Greenwich pip. 

And it is a ‘dog’ case too

This is probably the most amazing discovery I made when I started to focus on the Bruce-Partington case. There are three scenes in the episode which are visually dealing with that case.

A short review (in Mycroft’s office) of the DVD night, while Mycroft gives John more details about the case

John’s investigations at Westie’s and Lucy’s place

Sherlock and John at Joe’s flat, when they confront the man with his deed and he confesses

In each one of those scenes the barking of a dog can be heard in the distant. That’s not a coincidence, because sounds don’t appear without purpose in films. They are made and added and have a meaning. 

A dog barks at the end of PILOT, when Sherlock walks away from the ambulance and over to John.  (X)

A dog barks at the beginning of ASIP, right after John wakes from his nightmare.  (X)

A dog barks in each of the Bruce-Partington scenes.

Dogs are there from the first episodes onward and in the fourth series a dog - RedBeard - turns out to be a key element of the story. Dogs are important in this very long game. :)

The Connecting Element - an outtake for the barking dogs in the Bruce-Partington case

Shoes for the Hound - a hound theory playing with the idea that Sherlock BBC could be a special adaptation of the Baskerville Hound with the episode THOB embedded in the story and serving as ‘the old tale of the hound’ … the history.

A Case of Identity - old familiy pictures solve the case of the hound

The Big Question - a Reichenbach/Hound Theory

.

I leave you to your own deducktions. Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts.

November, 2018

@gosherlocked @sherlockshadow @possiblyimbiassed @raggedyblue @sarahthecoat @loveismyrevolution @sagestreet @idontneednormal

[regenderate-fic]

And Still I Will Live Here: Chapter 4

Fandom: Doctor Who Rating: Teen Ship: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler Characters: Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Tony Tyler Series: And We’re Not Out of the Tunnel Word Count (Chapter): 2,378 Other Tags: Pete’s World, Pete’s World Torchwood, Angst, Chronic Illness, Disability, Disabled Character Read on AO3 / Read in order

Summary: Rose has been tired for a couple years now. She thinks it’s from working so hard on the dimension cannon without a break, but then she gets a break and she doesn’t quite recover. Finally, she starts going to doctors, but they’re no help. At least John (the metacrisis Doctor) is with her every step of the way.

(Fic is COMPLETE with chapters posting Tuesdays and Fridays!)

NOTES: valentine's day is asleep post angst fic

uh cw for pregnancy in this one (in the sense that jackie has her baby. it's not detailed, just mentions). relatedly, i need to disclose that the baby is named after my dear friend gabe riptheh (who's lucky i can't remember his url to tag him), who was requesting to be put in people's creative works as himself but two inches taller and instead wound up an infant. this fic was not going to have a baby until he said that but honestly i think it adds a lot. if you want further lore please note that we have taken to calling this baby "the gaby." hopefully this does not prevent you from taking the fic seriously.

this is also sort of where some of rose's experiences/symptoms become more severe than my own (although. i suppose that's debatable) and specifically this is where she starts using a wheelchair, which i do not at this point. so. full disclosure if i've messed anything up horrifically, that's why. i'm still very much writing from experience for most of it, though.

ALSO you'll note that i've added a series tag to this. i've repurposed one of my previous wips into a sequel and i am SO EXCITED for it! it's thirteen/rose/yaz and it takes place on earth in march 2020 so i'm sure absolutely no one will read it but like. just believe me it's going to be so good

When Rose wakes up, she’s in bed, still fully dressed. John’s curled around her, holding her tight around the waist, and as she emerges a little further from sleep, she realizes his body is shaking. He’s crying, she realizes, his face buried in her shoulder, and she shifts to give him a moment to realize she’s awake before she rolls over. He doesn’t stop: he clings to her, and she to him, her head buried in his chest, her leg wrapped around his waist. The love and sadness she feels are too vast to process. She closes her eyes and lets them wash over her, tucked in John’s arms as he cries. Eventually, his breaths even out into sleep, but Rose doesn’t let go.

She wakes up again, sun streaming in, and she’s still clinging to John, his pajama shirt balled up in her hand. He’s snoring softly. She doesn’t dare move: not until he wakes up half an hour later, rubbing his eyes and saying nothing of his midnight tears.

The next few days pass in a sort of fugue state. They go to work, and Rose struggles to push through her grief on top of her exhaustion. Her coworkers gush over her engagement ring, and she tries to pass off her tears as happiness. John runs more tests on her, although they don’t really give them any new information. His most interesting finding is that Rose hasn’t technically aged— her body is frozen at twenty years old. All that time Rose spent wondering whether her body falling apart like this was a normal part of aging, and she hasn’t even gotten any older.

While John runs test after test, Rose fiddles with her old dimension cannon, trying to see past the haze in her mind to find a way to make it work again. It’s hard— the last time, it only worked because the walls between universes were growing thin. She doesn’t have that advantage, this time. Which is a good thing, in the grand, universal scheme of things, and a good thing for the part of her that’s desperate to stay with John, but a bad thing for the part of her that wants to stay alive.

And then the weekend comes, and they have to tell Jackie.

She already knows something is wrong— they’ve asked her, at eight months pregnant, to come over to their place for dinner. She shows up grumbling about the traffic and the weather, but Rose can feel the undercurrent of worry. And there’s not much Rose can do to sway that worry, because, well, it’s entirely warranted, under the circumstances. Rose is barely holding herself together as she ushers Jackie out of the entryway and into their little dining nook. They almost don’t have enough space for three people at their little table, but they manage, John’s chair jutting out at the side.

Jackie notices Rose’s ring right away, when Rose passes her the salad dressing.

“You’re engaged!” she exclaims, loud enough that their neighbors will be complaining.

Rose manages a smile, glancing at John. He’s looking at her with that incredible, unwavering, love in his eyes.

“That’s the first thing we wanted to tell you,” she says to Jackie.

“When did this happen?” Jackie shakes her head. “No, don’t tell me, you’ll just make me feel forgotten. Have you planned anything yet? You have to let me recommend a caterer, I know all the best—”

“Just happened a few days ago, promise.” If Rose didn’t interrupt, Jackie would be going on for hours. “No plans yet.”

“Well, how did he propose?” Jackie asks, her face aglow. Rose looks down at her plate. This is the part she doesn’t want to tell.

“We figured out why I’m sick,” she says, trying to meet her mother’s eyes.

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re not dying, are you?” Jackie glances at John, then back to Rose. “What’s going on? Tell me.”

Rose sighs. “D’you remember how we pulled the TARDIS open that one time?”

“Of course I do,” Jackie says. “How could I forget?”

“Suppose you couldn’t.” Rose forges ahead, forcing herself to say the next bit. “When I looked into the TARDIS, it sort of… changed me. We think it was to protect me. But it made me feed on… time energy, sort of. And now I’m in this universe, it’s different energy. It’s all wrong. That’s why I’ve been sick.”

She watches as what she’s said registers with Jackie, her face going from mildly curious to horrified.

“What are you saying?”

Rose swallows. “If I want to get better,” she says, “I have to leave.” For once, the queasiness in her stomach has nothing to do with her sickness.

Jackie looks from Rose to John. “Both of you?”

John shakes his head. “I can’t,” he says, his voice quiet. “Just her.”

“After all you two have been through,” Jackie says. Her voice is quieter than Rose has ever heard it. “After all we’ve been through.”

“I’d rather stay here,” Rose says. “If I had the option. But this universe is killing me, Mum. It has been ever since we got here.”

Jackie takes it surprisingly well, although given that Rose and John meet the news with near-constant tears, their bar for “surprisingly well” is pretty much on the floor. But Jackie doesn’t break down. She doesn’t start crying at the table. She just says, “Oh, sweetheart. You were never going to stay with me, were you?”

Rose is trying so, so hard not to cry. “I really want to,” she says. “But if I stay, it’ll kill me. We lose each other no matter what.”

“How much time do you have?” Jackie asks.

“We don’t know,” John says.

“We have to get the dimension cannon back online,” Rose adds. ��It’s going to take a while, if it’s even possible.”

“We’ll find a way,” John says, a quiet determination in his voice. Under the table, Rose covers his hand with hers.

After dinner, they wind up in the living room, watching telly, Jackie in an armchair, Rose with her head on John’s shoulder on the sofa: Jackie has joined John and Rose in their new hobby of resolutely distracting themselves from what comes next. They limit their conversation to the bad movies they’re watching and the mundanities of their days, as if small talk will make Rose well again.

Rose doesn’t know when she falls asleep— somewhere between the end of the first bad movie and the start of the third— but when she becomes conscious again, it’s with her head in John’s lap, his fingers moving through her hair. Her mum’s voice washes over her.

“It’s not fair,” she’s saying. “How am I supposed to say goodbye again?”

Rose is exhausted, emotionally and physically. It’s not that she doesn’t want to engage in the conversation: it’s just that she can’t, on really any level. So she stays still, her eyes closed.

“I’m sorry,” John says softly. “None of us wanted this.”

“How did you not know?” Jackie asks. “If your ship changed her—”

Rose can hear the pain in John’s voice. “You have to understand,” he says. “If I’d known— if I’d even thought of it— or if the Doctor— we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“And my daughter would be safe,” Jackie murmurs.

Rose is acutely aware of John’s hands in her hair, his body curved around her. She feels safe here, even if her head hurts and her limbs feel too heavy to lift.

“Jackie,” John says, “I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to keep her alive. I’ll do anything. But she can’t stay here. We have to send her away.”

“Either way, I lose my daughter.” The sadness in Jackie’s voice makes Rose’s heart ache.

“And I lose someone I love more than anything,” John says quietly. His touch on Rose’s scalp is so light and tender. She doesn’t know what she’ll do without him.

“And you can’t go through with her?” Jackie asks.

“We’ll be lucky if we can even send one person through. Two is too risky.”

There’s a long moment of silence. Finally, Jackie says, “Well, you’ll always be welcome at mine.”

“You’re a good mum,” John replies. Rose can hear him struggling against his tears.

She drifts off again. When she wakes up, she’s in bed, and it’s light outside. John is next to her, sitting up on his laptop.

“Did my mum leave?” Rose asks, sitting up.

John nods, closing the laptop to focus on her. “After you went to sleep last night.”

“Thanks for bringing me to bed.” Rose smiles, teasing. “I’m lucky to have such a strong fiance.”

John wraps an arm around her, pulling her close against his side. She rests her aching head on his shoulder.

“I’m lucky to have you,” John says, raw emotion seeping through. He kisses the top of her head, and she closes her eyes.

The next day, a Monday, they finally explain their situation to the higher-ups at Torchwood. Rose had Torchwood’s help in building her dimension cannon before, and so it stands to reason that they might get that help again— they do, and the higher-ups direct a lot of sympathy towards them. They tell Rose that if she needs anything to help accommodate or manage her illness at work, they’ll do their best, and she thanks them. She’s been getting weaker, she can feel it, her arms getting heavy, her legs shaking when she stands: she’ll need the help.

And so Rose and John and the good people of Torchwood start trying to build a new and improved dimension cannon. Rose isn’t all that much help, for all the cannon is for her— she tries her hardest to focus, keep track of what’s going on, but realistically speaking she just doesn’t have the mental energy for the high-level calculations and technical assembly that the cannon requires. She feels the loss acutely in her chest: there was a time when she lived for this sort of thing.

Whenever she’s not at work, her mum is pressuring her about wedding plans. Rose doesn’t much care how the wedding goes, as long as she can get herself down the aisle, but she’s Jackie’s only daughter, and the wedding might as well be a goodbye party. She finally lets John convince her to start using a wheelchair, a rickety, secondhand thing, only a week before they’re scheduled to go dress shopping, and the clerk doesn’t seem to know what to do with it. Jackie suggests decorating the chair with tulle, and Rose chooses a dress that’s easy to get into and out of, that doesn’t have fabric that’ll get caught in her chair’s wheels, and tries to feel beautiful. (Jackie insists on getting her a new chair, after that— one that’s made to her measurements and for her needs.)

She’s started to fear death in a way she never has before. She’s only too acutely aware that if she doesn’t get to her old universe, this universe will kill her: she never realized how much she really, really doesn’t want to die. She used to take all sorts of risks, back with the Doctor, but she never thought they’d actually kill her, even when they were stuck on a planet orbiting a black hole with no TARDIS. She was safe with the Doctor. And she feels safe with John, but no safety can keep death away forever. Rose finds herself staying up well past when she should, afraid that if she lets her eyes slip closed, they won’t open again. And the worst part is, there’s nothing anyone can say to make her feel better, because she’s right to be afraid.

Jackie has the baby. It’s a boy, and she names him Gabriel. Rose and John visit her in the hospital, Jackie exhausted but glowing, Gabriel so, so small. Rose holds him in her lap, John close by in case her arms fail her, staring down at his tiny little face. He flails, crying out. There’s something about him that’s so very full of life. There’s so much ahead of him. Rose can’t help but love him immediately— he becomes yet another person she’ll miss when she leaves.

“He’s beautiful,” she tells Jackie, and means it. He’s still wailing, so Rose offers him to John, who hands him back to Jackie, his hand gently supporting Gabe’s head as he makes the transfer.

Rose and John spend two weeks living with the Tylers after Gabe is born. It’s at Jackie’s request— she wants to spend time with all three of her children together while she still can. Rose takes the time off work, and while John goes in every day, still working on the dimension cannon, Rose helps out where she can, distracting Tony, rocking Gabe to sleep, making bottles. Now she’s reliant on her wheelchair, she and John have to stay on the first floor, in a bed Pete’s set up for them in what’s normally the game room. She can still stand and walk around when she has to, but the energy it takes is no longer worth it, especially when the chair allows her to get from place to place without the effort.

She spends every second she can with her mum. Gabe is almost always there, and Pete comes in and out, helping as much as he can— he’s taken the time off work too. And Tony, too, is running around the place, asking Rose questions about her wheelchair, trying to get anyone to play with him, asking to hold the baby. Jackie takes a picture of Rose, Tony, and Gabe all together, Rose leaning back against the headboard of Jackie’s bed, Gabe in her arms, and Tony standing on the mattress, hovering over them both. She prints two copies and gives one to Rose, who tucks it away in her pocket, saving it for the day she has to leave.

The two weeks Rose is with her mum are dreamlike, each moment so laden with significance that Rose can’t quite process it. She knows she’s leaving soon, knows she will never get to see baby Gabe grow up— she’ll never know what becomes of him, or of Tony. She always thought she’d get to see Tony go from a chubby, energetic toddler to a full adult, with his own dreams and goals and sense of self. And now she knows she won’t, and she’s got another little brother who she won’t even see become a chubby, energetic toddler. But she’s with them both now, and her mum and dad, and John, and they all bring her such immense, if bittersweet, joy.

And then the two weeks are up. Rose goes back to Torchwood, where everyone’s in a flurry trying to build the dimension cannon. It hits her that they’re all doing this for her, because they want to see her survive, and she almost starts crying right there in the workshop, surrounded by her coworkers. She helps where she can, sorting pieces, recording readings. Some days are easier than others. John asks, at one point, whether she wants to stop working entirely, but she can’t stand the thought of sitting at home alone all day, thinking about her condition, while other people’s work determines her fate. Even if she can’t help much, even if she’s just sitting in the corner fending off the brain fog, she’d rather be at Torchwood. It’s a distraction, and she desperately needs to be distracted.

As her life returns to normal, though, she remembers that her “normal” is so very different from that of her coworkers. They come to work. They seem to be able to hold focus all day. And they keep talking about doing things in the evenings and on the weekends— all while standing up and walking around and exerting themselves in ways from which Rose would need days to recover.

She’s jealous, she thinks. But there’s nothing she can do about it. Not yet.

[shklancebigbang]

The time has come!!

That’s right my guys! Posting will start TUESDAY!!! 

There will not be a schedule, school has once again kicked my ass and I ran out of time to draft it up. That being said, you all will have from 27th till March 6th! Yes, that includes the weekend of the Season 5 drop, but we have extended this as far out as we could, all the Valentines events are done and we are pretty much good to go. 

Tonight and Tomorrow, I would like for everyone to submit READ ONLY versions of their work. 

Writers; submit at a Google Doc as READ ONLY with your original fic identifier (GN #01 and so on). This is to check that the word requirement has been met. 

Artists; submit a JPEG or PNG for your work with your original fic identifier (GN #01 and so on).

I ask this of everyone because all of this will be dumped into two folders that will be open for all participants, but I don’t want them to be tampered with. 

Writers

Artists

These folders are open for everyone, but it simply meant for everyone to submit their work.

Posting

On Tuesday, all of you are allowed to post your work as you see fit. Multichapters may be continued to be posted outside of the posting window. 

Please tag us when you post on tumblr and add your fic to the AO3 collection when posting on AO3. 

Thank you so much for working with us for so many months. We appreciate all the hard work and effort you put into this bang in order to provide content for the people who love Shklance. We may be nearing the end but out journey isn’t over yet! One last push and we’ll reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

[unionstationnorthampton]

Lamb lollipops: served with cauliflower purée, rosemary & lavender, and olive salad Available in Tunnel Bar until Tuesday, and in the Tunnel Bar Loft this Valentine's Day! . . . #Valentines #northampton #newengland #Massachusetts (at Tunnel Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoiYqXTvh-D/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[isaalacrymosaa]

Hey Arnold Chronology seasons order fixed by isaalacrymosaa

1997 3th Grade year

•"24 Hours to Live" (September 2-3)

o Two Days o Prior to Gerald Field o Phil is 80 years old o In School

•"Field Trip" (September 4)

o One Day

•"Roughin' It" (September 5-7)

o Three Days o Not in school

•"Crush on Teacher" (September 8-18) o Two Weeks o Prior to Gerald Field

•"Stoop Kid" (September 8-14) o Seven Days o Prior to Gerald Field o Legend of Stoop Kid - 6 year old story

•"Spelling Bee" (September 19-20) o Two Days o Ms. Slovak is teacher o Spelling Bee on a Saturday (second day)

•"Cool Jerk" (September 22-25) o Four Days o In School

•"Helga's Boyfriend" (September 28 - October 1) o Four Days o Second Day - School Day o Third Day - School Day

•"The Baseball" (October 3-4) o Two Days o Prior to Gerald Field o Not in school

•"The Little Pink Book" (October 8-9) o Two Days o Arnold - Crush on Ruth o First time Helga's been in Arnold's room o In School

•"The List" (October 10-11) o Two Days o First Day (Friday) o Fall leaves blowing around o Piano on the roof o In School

•"Arnold's Hat" (October 12-13) o Two Days o Warmer Weather (ice cream) o Not in School

•"Mugged" (October 14-22) o (One Week of Training) + One Day o In School

•"Downtown as Fruits" (October 24) o One Day

•"The Sewer King" (October 25) o One Day o Arnold is 9

•"Das Subway" (October 26) o One Day

•"Operation Ruthless" (November 8) o One Day o Arnold - Crush on Ruth o Cheese Festival is annual

•"What's Opera Arnold?" (November 14) o One Day o Arnold - Crush on Ruth

•"Arnold as Cupid" (November 17-21) o Five Days o Ruth portrait in Arnold's room o In School

•"Pigeon Man" (November 21-22) o Two Days (Second Day a Weekend)

•"Runaway Float" (November 24-29) o Six Days o Ms. Slovak is teacher o City Day Parade

•"Snow" (December 8) o One Day o Arnold - Crush on Ruth

•"Arnold's Christmas" (December 23-25) o Three Days

________________________________________

1998

•"Magic Show" (February 1) o One Day (Weekend 2:00pm) o Big Bob's birthday o Arnold - Crush on Ruth

•"Arnold's Valentine" (February 13) o One Day o Ms. Slovak is teacher o Arnold's crush on Ruth ends

•"Arnold Saves Sid" (February 16 - March 2) o Two Weeks + Two Days o Ms. Slovak is teacher

•"Tutoring Torvald" (February 27 - March 13) o Two Weeks

•"Benchwarmer" (March 14-22) o At least one week

•"Partners" (March 14-18) o Five Days o Talent Show on final day o Ms. Slovak is teacher o In School

•"Olga Comes Home" (March 23-28) o Six Days o Ms. Slovak is teacher. o Spring Break o Olga attends Wellington College

•"False Alarm" (April 2-3) o Two Days o Helga has tickets to WrestleMania (which is an event held in the Spring) o Eugene banned last fall from Wankyland (Thanksgiving) o Curly framed Eugene because of an incident 3 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days previous o In School

•"Teacher's Strike" (April 7-15) o One Week + One Day o Ms. Slovak is teacher o Second Day - Wednesday o 65 Days Until Summer Vacation

•"Gerald Comes Over" (April 30 - May 1) o Two Days o "First day of the month" o First time Gerald is aware of Mr. Smith (before "Door #16") o Mr. Hyunh's calendar is on May o Oskar has not worked for three years at this point (according to Suzie) o Not in school

•"Casa Paradiso" (May 8-12) o Five Days o Raining on first day o Move out by Tuesday (Fifth Day)

•"Biosquare" (May 31 - June 1) o Two Days o First Day - Sunday o Ms. Slovak is teacher o In School

•"The High Life" (June 1-16) o Two Weeks o Jolly Olly Man working o Not in school

•"Longest Monday" (June 7) o Trash Can Day has been a tradition for 3 years at this point o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"Eugene's Bike" (June 8-11) o Four Days o In School (at the start of the episode)

•"Stinky Goes Hollywood" (June 8-15) o One Day + One Week

•"Ransom" (June 17-19) o Three Days o First appearance of Chocolate Boy o Big Gino first mentioned

•"Steely Phil" (June 21-26) o One Week o Chinese Checkers Tournament - Saturday

•"Coach Wittenberg" (June 23-27) o Four Days o After "Benchwarmer" o Bowling Tournament – Saturday

•"Door #16" (June 29) o One Day o Mr. Smith has lived in the boarding house for 3 years by this point o Not in school

•"The Old Building" (June 30 - July 1) o Two Days o Not in school

•"Gerald Moves Out" (July 11-14) o Four Days o Gerald is 9 years old

•"Abner Come Home" (July 15-17) o Three Days

•"Heat" (July 20) o One Day o City-wide Sanitation Strike occurred o Not in school

•"World Records" (July 21-30) o At least a week and a half o Not in school

•"Roller Coaster" (July 31) o One Day o Not in School

•"Four-Eyed Jack" (July 31) o One Day o Thunderstorm o Arnold (and the other boarders) find out there is a downstairs bathroom which Phil uses

•"Wheezin' Ed" (August 1) o One Day (Saturday)

•"Big Caesar" (August 5-8) o At least a couple of days. o Fishing contest on a Saturday celebrating the clean-up of the City Lake o First time Arnold is aware of the Boarding House's "Fishing Room" o Phil tried to catch Big Caesar in the past, on an October morning o Phil is 80 years old

•"Harold's Bar Mitzvah" (August 11-12) o Two Days o Prior to Gerald Field o Harold's Bar Mitzvah is on a Saturday o Jolly Olly Man working (warmer weather)

•"The Haunted Train" (August 12) o One Day o Ice Cream (Summer) o Not in School

•"Sally's Comet" (August 13-18) o Six Days o Sally's Comet appears once every 70 years

4th Grade year

•"Grandpa's Birthday" (September 1-4) o Four Days o Phil hasn't seen a doctor for 25 years at this point o Friday night - raining

•"Eugene Goes Bad" (September 5-7) o Three Days o Third Day - School Day

•"Helga's Makeover" (September 11-12) o Two Days o Second Day (Saturday) o Prior to Gerald Field o 9 year-olds (girls) o In School

•"Big Gino" (September 10 - October 5) o One Day + Two Weeks + Five Days o Chocolate Boy

•"Part-Time Friends" (September 13-20) o One Day + One Week o Arnold and Gerald briefly work at the Flower Shop o Prior to Gerald Field o In school

•"Hookey" (September 21-22) o Two Days o Arnold is wearing a jacket (possibly in the fall) o Baseball season

•"6th Grade Girls" (September 23-26) o Jump from one day to Saturday o Late Summer/Early Fall (Swimming Pool) o In School o Arnold and Gerald are 4th graders o Dance - Saturday night

•"The Vacant Lot" (September 26-28) o Three Days o Introduction of Gerald Field

•"New Teacher" (September 28-30) o Three Days o Mr. Simmons replaces Ms. Slovak as Room 206's teacher

•"Tour de Pond" (October 1-3) o Three Days o Tour de Pond - Saturday o Phil lost the Tour de Pond 70 years ago o Possibly fall

•"Ms. Perfect" (October 1-5) o Five-Six Days o Introduction of Lila Sawyer and "Big" Patty Smith o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"It Girl" (October 7-22) o Unknown amount of time (perhaps throughout October) o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Date given:  Friday, October 9, 1998 o Helga has been sneaking into Dinoland since she was 7 o First time Arnold says he's seen Helga being nice

•"Rich Kid" (October 8-9) o Two Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Introduction of Lorenzo o Lorenzo is 9 o Not playing at Gerald Field o Jolly Olly Man working (warmer weather)

•"Save the Tree" (October 9-16) o One Week o Demolition on Friday the 16th o Mighty Pete is a 700 year old tree. o Kids wearing fall jackets

•"Harold's Kitty" (October 9-17) o One Week + One Day o Vote Sign in the background

•"Grandpa's Sister" (October 17-20) o Four Days o "Indian Summer" o Mitzi lives in Hillwood o Mitzi and Gertie are girlhood friends

•"Best Friends" (October 20-23) o Three Days (First day - Tuesday) o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Nadine has worn her hair the same way since she was 4 o Nadine and Rhonda have been best friends as long as Arnold and Gerald have been

•"Arnold and Lila" (October 22-27) o Six Days o Third Day - Weekend o In School o Arnold infatuation with Lila begins o Helga is 9 years old

•"Headless Cabbie" (October 26) o One Day o "Autumn Night"

•"Arnold's Halloween" (October 30-31) o Two Days

•"Freeze Frame" (November 3-4) o Two Days o Takes place during the fall o Marty Green's Birthday (second day) o A Butcher's Convention is in 3 weeks

•"Love and Cheese" (November 5-7) o Three Days o Cheese Festival on Saturday o Arnold - Crush on Lila o Harold and Rhonda go into the tunnel of love (again) o In School

•"Veterans Day" (November 11) o Three Days

•"Friday the 13th" (November 13) o On a Friday the 13th, Phil paid a medical student $50 to remove his spleen.

•"Mud Bowl" (November 15-21) o One Week at most o Takes place in the fall o Football game with 5th graders on a Saturday o Rains on Saturday o In School

•"Phoebe Cheats" (November 16-19) o Four Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Citizens of the Month (In Class 206):  Gerald, Nadine, and Harold o Open House Night on Thursday (Fourth Day) o Jolly Olly Man working (warmer weather)

•"Cool Party" (November 23) o One Day o Gerald became class president, beating Rhonda o Rhonda spent her summer vacation in Europe o Piano on Boarding House Roof o In School

•"Best Man" (November 25-27) o Three Days o Gerald Field o Remarriage is on Saturday (3 PM) o Coach Wittenberg doesn’t really have any friends o After episode "Coach Wittenberg"

•"Arnold's Thanksgiving" (November 26) o One Day o Bob has a 3-day sale on the weekend

•"Arnold Betrays Iggy" (November 30 - December 10) o Four Days + One Week o Iggy is 9 years old o Stinky tells his friends every morning why he likes lemon pudding o Lorenzo is present o In School

•"Egg Story" (November 30 - December 2) o Four Days (First Day - Friday) o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"Back to School" (December 7-14) o Seven Days (Excluding the weekend) o Phil is already 81

•"Helga and the Nanny" (December 7-18) o One and a half weeks o Gerald Field o Bob never starts a clearance sale without his lucky belt

•"Crabby Author" (December 14-21) o One Day + One Week + Sometime Later (Maybe a few weeks) o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Report due a week from Monday o Agatha Caulfield hasn't written a book in 10 years o Overcast skies o Agatha Caulfield first started writing in 1946.  She wrote some of the most popular children's books of the past 50 years. o Winter Months - snow at one point o Last portion - Spring or simply warm weather

________________________________________

1999

Winter (January – February)

•"Phoebe Take the Fall" o Two Days + One Week o Second Day (Final Round within PS 118) o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Not even Olga won the Academic Bowl

•"Helga Blabs It All" o One Day o Arnold has been on Helga's mind for over 6 years at this point o Helga is 9 years old o Clock says either 4:05 or 1:20 o First time Mr. Hyunh has seen Helga o Jolly Olly Man working

•"Arnold's Room" o Four Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"The Aptitude Test" o Four Days o Helga is 9 years old

•"Helga vs. Big Patty" o Two Days

•"Oskar Gets a Job" o Six Days o Oskar is 38 years old and has an 8th grade education (14 out of a class of 14) o Oskar has never had a real job before

•"Olga Gets Engaged" o One Week o Olga has only known Doug for 3 weeks and 2 days at (from the first day)

•"Pre-Teen Scream" o Four Days o Helga's been to concerts before o Phoebe has followed Ronnie Matthews for years

•"Sid's Revenge" o Two Days o Thunderstorm (First Day) o In School

•"Ghost Bride" o One Day o Wearing Jackets - Fall or Early Spring o Not in school

•"Eugene's Pet" o Five Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Eugene has had his pet fish Henry for 6 months o Raining on second day o In school

•"Rhonda's Glasses" o Five Days o Geek seat rule no longer valid after this episode

•"Eating Contest" o Four Days (Fourth Day - Saturday) o Food Festival on a Saturday o Jolly Olly Man working

•"Helga's Love Potion" o Two Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher o There was a creative writing assignment the previous week

•"Road Trip" o Four Days o Raining later on the first day o Mechanical Bull Riding Contest on a Saturday Night (Third Day) o In School

•"Parents Day" o Three Days o First Day - Friday o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"The Big Scoop" o Five Days o In school o Apparently, the weather is in the 70s o P.S. 118 is getting additions to it

•"Dangerous Lumber" o Three-Four Days o Gerald Field o Plays Wolfgang's team on a Friday night (7:00 pm) o Third Day (School Day) o Fourth Day (Friday)

•"Mr. Hyunh Goes Country" o Two Days + Two Weeks + One Day o Final Day - Sunday o Not in school

•"Gerald's Secret" o Three Days o Bikeathon on Saturday o Gerald's living room was painted two weeks ago (from first day) o 4th graders o Third time Bikeathon has taken place

•"Steely Phil" o One Week o Chinese Checkers Tournament - Saturday

•"Grand Prix" o One Week o Not in school

•"The Pig War" o Two Days o Reenactment on Saturday

•"Gerald's Tonsils" o Two Weeks o First day (school day) o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Spring Concert on a Friday o Helga is Hall Monitor at one point o 4th grade

March – Spring

•"Eugene's Birthday" o Four Days o Birthday on Saturday o Second Day (Saturday) o After the episodes "Eugene's Bike" and "Roller Coaster". o Thunderstorm on fourth day o Chocolate Boy

•"Girl Trouble" o Two Days

•"School Dance" o Two Days o Annual School Dance on a Friday o After Easter (Easter Float)

•"Hall Monitor" o One Week o Helga has served as hall monitor for the previous month

•"School Play" o Two Days + Two Weeks ("Fortnight") o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Annual school play o Mr. Simmons taught 3rd grade the previous school year

•"Hey Harold!" o Four Days o Third Day - Sunday o "Bar Mitzvah suit" - after "Harold's Bar Mitzvah" o Lila is present o Harold and Patty's friendship begins o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"Monkey Business" o Two Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Helga admits to Arnold that he is "OK"

•"Curly Snaps" o Two Days o Second Day (Monday) o Ball Monitor duty lasts for a week o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Raining on Second Day

•"Baby Oskar" o Two Days

•"Weird Cousin" o Six Days o Four Week stay o Arnold - Crush on Lila o Arnie flew from his home to see Arnold o In School

•"Fighting Families" o Three Days o First two days (school days) o "Fighting Families" is on Saturday o In school

•"Helga Sleepwalks" o Three Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher o In School

•"Monkeyman!" o One Week o First Day - Evening o First Authentic Monkeyman "sighting" for the year o Banana boats unload at the docks on Tuesday o In School

•"Buses, Bikes, and Subways" o One Day o Mr. Simmons is teacher o WrestleMania (which happens in the Spring)

•"Synchronized Swimming" o One Week o In School

•"Mr. Green Runs" o Three Weeks o Arnold helped Gerald get elected as 4th Grade Class President o Debate on a Monday Night

•"Helga's Masquerade" o One Week o Arnold - Crush on Lila o Arnold says that he "likes"Helga o In School

•"Helga on the Couch" o Two Days o In School

•"The Flood" o One Day o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Testing week previously o Just before Spring Break o 4th Grade

•"Stinky's Pumpkin" o Four Days + Two Weeks o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Beginning of Spring o In School

•"Dinner for Four" o Two Days o Arnold - Crush on Lila o Dinner on Saturday night o Lila has taken ballet lessons for two years o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"Phoebe Skips" o Three-Four Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Lila is present o Phoebe won the 4th Grade Penmanship Award

Full Moon" o Apparently the entire month of April (or at least a week) o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"Quantity Time" o One Day + Weekend + One Week off from school (Spring Break) o Not playing at Gerald Field

•"Summer Love" o One Week o Starts off in early March, then jumps to July o Final Day - July 22, 1999

•"Oskar Can't Read" o Nine Days o First Day (Evening) o Eighth Day (School Day) o After "Oskar Gets A Job" o Chocolate Boy o In School

•"Chocolate Turtles" o One Day

•"Helga's Parrot" o Three Days o Thunderstorm on third day o Arnold - Crush on Lila

•"Student Teacher"          o Four days o In Spring

•"The Beeper Queen" o Eight Days o Second Day (School Day) o Helga is 9

•"Jamie O in Love" o Four Days o Jolly Olly Man working

•"Harold the Butcher" o One Day + One Week o Mr. Green has a big annual meat sale (on the weekend) o "Spring Day" o Harold becomes Mr. Green's apprentice, working on Mondays

•"Weighing Harold" o One Day + Five weeks + Three Weeks o Jolly Olly Man working o Not in school

•"Deconstructing Arnold" o Two Days

•"Grudge Match" o Four Days o Golf match on Sunday o Not in school

•"Polishing Rhonda" o One Day + One Month + One Day o In School

•"Career Day" o One Day o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Helga knows Jujitsu o Jolly Olly Man working o Jolly Olly Man fired from 57 jobs

•"Sid the Vampire Slayer" o Four Days o In School o Raining (Fourth Day)

•"Big Sis" o Five Days (Two Weeks)

•"Gerald's Game" o Nine Days o Ninth Day - Saturday o In School

•"Principal Simmons" o Two Days + Two Weeks o Jolly Olly Man working o Mr. Simmons is teacher of the year

•"New Bully on the Block" o Four Days o In School o Gerald Field taken from 4th Graders

•"Phoebe Breaks a Leg" o Eight Days o Thunderstorm on first day o In School

•"Stuck in a Tree" o One Day o Chocolate Boy o Thunderstorm

•"Rhonda Goes Broke" o Five Days o In School

•"Helga's Locket" o Two Days o First Day:  Phil and Gertie's wedding anniversary o Thunderstorm on First Day o Arnold - Crush on Lila o Not in school

•"Sid and Germs" o Five Days o 5th Annual Frog-Catching Contest o Arnold, Gerald, Stinky, and Sid have won the contest the past two years in a row o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Gerald Field o In School

•"Beaned" o Two Days o First Day - Raining in the morning o Second Day - Raining in the morning o In school

•"Old Iron Man" o One Week o Ironman Competition - Sunday o Not in school

•"Gerald vs. Jamie O" o Four Days o Not in school

•"Suspended" o Three Days o Monday - Second Day

•"Ernie in Love" o Five-Six Days o Ernie has had a crush on Lola for a few weeks

•"Rich Guy" o Four Days o Days 3-4 - Weekend o Baseball Season o In School

•"Arnold Visits Arnie" o Two Days o Gerald Field o Not in School

•"Harold vs. Patty" o About one Week o Arm Wrestling Tournament on Saturday o Tenth Annual City Wide Arm Wrestling Tournament

•"The Racing Mule" o Mule Race in three weeks (on a Sunday) o Arnold rode a horse at Rhonda's birthday party when he was 5 o Not in school

•"Curly's Girl" o One Week + Three Days (Excluding the weekend) o In School o Curly dumped on Friday

•"On the Lam" o One Day o Mr. Simmons is teacher o In School

•"Family Man" o Five Days o First Day - Evening o Not in school

•"Grandpa's Packard" o Two Days o Not in School o Jolly Olly Man working

•"Phoebe's Little Problem" o Four Days o Phoebe is 9 o In School

•"A Day in the Life of a Classroom" o Three Days o Watching the documentary (probably a few days later) o Mr. Simmons is teacher

•"Helga's Show" o Three Days o Mr. Simmons is teacher o Opening of the Cocoa Hut (after-school student lounge) o Lorenzo is present

•"Big Bob's Crisis" o Four Days o Olga is home o Not in school

•"Bag of Money" o Five Days o Sid's father's birthday (first day) o Arnold's birthday was 6 months ago

•"Chocolate Boy" o Two Weeks + Three Days o Jolly Olly Man working o In School

•"Dino Checks Out" o Two Days + One Week + Five Days o Fall Weather o Dino is 67 o Dino's 5th marriage ended 6 months previously o In school

•"Married" o Two Days o Arnold - Crush on Lila o In School

•"Timberly Loves Arnold" o Three Days o Arnold's crush with Lila ends. o In School

•"Eugene, Eugene!" o Two Days + Two Weeks + One Day o In School

• Hey Arnold!: The Movie (Late March) o Two Days (30 Days Total ) o Main Story - Two-Day Frame o Warm Weather (In late March segment) o After "Mr. Green Runs" (talks about being in the city council) o Chocolate Boy

•"April Fool's Day" (April 1) o First April Fool's Dance

5th grade year

•"The Journal" (October 5) o One Day o Dates in Miles' Journal:  March 15 - Met Stella  April - Marriage o Not in school