#carolyn speaking can i help you?

[carriosity]

y’all wanna see some outfits from the past couple weekends

#carolyn speaking can i help you?

[steveslevis]

delicate - chapter two

is it chill that you're in my head?

pairing: steve harrington x reader

chapter contents: not a lot happening in this one, just the two of them being awkward

wc: 3.6k

a/n: hope you guys enjoy!!! sorry it took so long, hopefully ch3 won't take me as long

Everything that comes after your so-called interview at Ralph’s happens in what seems like a matter of seconds. Before you know it, you’re standing on Fifth avenue with Eddie the next day, your two large suitcases, one duffle bag and backpack being the only things you needed to tow across the city. 

Eddie had been the opposite of excited for you, in all honesty. He told you damn near a thousand times over a span of 24 hours that you should just move in with him and Alexander, and that you should try to negotiate with him about still working for him until you can save for your own place. Much to his dismay, you ignored your best friend’s concerns, shaking your head with confidence every time he tried to ask if you would stay. You had a good feeling about this, the voice in the back of your head telling you to go for it, that it would be a good growth opportunity, that you would never heal by spending your time rotting on Eddie’s couch. 

So that’s how you ended up here, walking into one of the most expensive luxury housing buildings in the entire city with your weary best friend in tow. The two of you had made the mile and a half long trek across the city instead of using one of the Harrington family’s chauffeurs – you had insisted to Steve that it wasn’t necessary for the little amount of belongings that you had. 

“Holy shit,” you hear Eddie mumble behind you while you push open the heavy glass door and walk into the lobby. 

The lobby is grand, with white marble floors, sleek black walls, gold accents, and arguably the biggest crystal chandelier you’ve ever seen hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. There’s two gray leather couches sitting in front of a modern fireplace on one side, while a black granite front desk is on the other, with a young, blonde woman standing behind it. 

“Hi there!” The woman calls to you from behind the desk, bearing the fakest smile you’ve ever seen as she eyes you and Eddie up and down, likely judging how out of place the two of you look in such a luxurious area, “can I help you two?”

“Yeah, we’re looking for the Harrington residence,” you say while approaching the desk with an equally fake smile plastered on your face, “are we in the right place?”

The woman, whose name is Carolyn according to her nametag, immediately turns off the fake niceties once you say who you’re looking for. The fake smile falters for a moment and you see her furrow her brow while looking you over once again. She looks down to the desk in front of her for a moment, reaching for an envelope that’s off to the side.

“You must be the new nanny,” she says, and you almost swear you hear a hint of jealousy in her voice as she speaks.

“Yes, that’s me.” you say with a small chuckle to yourself, raising your brow at her when she nearly frowns at your response. 

Her lips fall into a thin line at that, her hand coming up from behind the counter to shove the envelope onto the granite in front of you. 

“Here’s the access card and key to the apartment,” she says to you as you grab the envelope, inside is a glimmering golden card and a silver key that’s attached to a small tag with your name on it, “you have to scan the card in the elevator to get to the top floor, then use the key to open the door. Don’t lose them, or you’ll have to pay for them.” 

She turns back to the computer in front of her without a word as you nod. You turn to Eddie once she does, exchanging a confused look before making your way towards the elevator on the other end of the lobby. You scan the key card and the elevator’s doors automatically close as the circular button with a large “P” at the top of the pad lighting up as it begins its ascent. 

“Jesus, the fucking penthouse?” Eddie scoffs under his breath in disbelief, shifting your duffle bag on his shoulder.

It only takes a minute for the elevator to reach the top floor, the door of the elevator sliding open to reveal a short hallway with only one door at the end. The two of you step out and make your way over to the large front door, you look over to Eddie once you stand in front of it. The look on your face is filled with nervousness and excitement, but mainly nervousness.

“Should I knock?” you question, staring down at your key.

“You have a key for a reason, don’t you?” he quips, raising an eyebrow at you. 

You shoot him a quick glare and sigh, flipping the key in your fingers a few times as you try to compose yourself. Eventually you reach for the door, sliding the key into the lock to open it. The door swings open and you’re met with arguably the nicest apartment – penthouse, rather – that you’ve stepped foot in while living in the city. 

It’s much more cozy and less grandiose than you had expected, a stark contrast from the marble lined, golden and glittering lobby you had just entered from. You step into the living room when you first walk in, a large olive green couch and two matching chairs face a fireplace on the far wall, a comically large TV hanging above it. Everything is clean and definitely luxurious, but also feels lived-in, much more welcoming and warm than the rest of the complex. 

The kitchen is to the left through a wide archway, but you don't have time to explore, as your thoughts are interrupted by Steve bounding into view from the kitchen. There’s a welcoming smile on his face as he steps into the living room, wiping his hands with a kitchen towel before tossing it over his shoulder to free his hands. He’s wearing a pair of slacks and a navy button down. His hair is a little more disheveled than it was last time the two of you met, but still looked perfectly put together somehow. You could tell that he had recently gotten done with work for the day, partially from the fact that he had two buttons undone on his shirt, and partially from the air of remnant stress that he was carrying. 

“Welcome! Please, come on in.” Steve says with a smile as he watches Eddie close the door behind him. “Thank you for coming on such short notice, again. I really appreciate you starting so soon.”

“It’s no problem, I’m glad to help.” you say, shifting the backpack on your shoulders.

Steve extends a hand to Eddie to introduce himself, and Eddie gives him a reserved introduction in return, still hesitant about everything as he scans the penthouse. 

Steve looks between you and Eddie once more, eyeing the four bags between the two of you before asking, “Is this everything you had to bring up, or is there still more downstairs?”

“Yeah, this is it, actually.” you laugh, knowing the amount of belongings you had was quite underwhelming, “that’s why I said we could just make the hike with the bags instead of taking one of your cars.”

“Oh, it would’ve been no problem either way.” he says while shaking his head, reaching for the suitcase that was by your side, “C’mon, I’ll show you to your room.”

Steve guides the two of you to a room off to the right on the first floor, explaining that the people who owned the penthouse before him had used it as a place for their in-laws to stay. He opened the door to the room, letting you and Eddie walk in before him. The bedroom was much nicer than you had expected in all honesty, with a queen-sized bed in the middle adorned in obviously expensive cream-colored linens, a sitting area equipped with a stocked bookshelf (perks of being employed by the CEO of a famous publishing company), and a desk for you to work on school during your time off. There was an en-suite bathroom as well, which looked larger than the entire living room of your previous shared apartment. 

“Wow, this is–this is so amazing.” you gasp, looking over to Steve gratefully. “I wasn’t expecting anything this nice, to be honest.”

“Gotta make sure you’re comfortable so you stick around,” he says with a wink, which instantly sends your stomach into a fit of butterflies. “Go ahead and get settled in, I’m gonna go check on Amelia and the food.”

Before you could thank him, Steve was through the door and back in the nearby kitchen. You could tell why he needed your help, his mind worked at a thousand miles a minute, like he always had something that he needed to be doing.

“You still sure about all this?” Eddie implores, breaking you from your thoughts.

You look over to your best friend to see a face contorted with genuine concern and hesitancy, unsure of if he should leave you here alone or if he should tote you out over his shoulder regardless of your wishes.

“I am one hundred percent sure, Eds.” you assure him with a soft smile, pulling him into a hug. 

Eddie wraps his arms around your shoulders with a sigh, finally giving up his fight on your decisions. He knew you were too stubborn to listen to him and deep down he could tell that Steve meant well, but he was just so unsure. 

“I just want you to be safe.” he says finally, resting his chin atop your head.

“And I will be,” you state confidently, pulling back to look up at him. “This place might be, like, one of the safest places to live in the city. And besides, anywhere is safer than where I was.”

“You mean on my couch?” Eddie says, feigning an insulted look as he speaks. He knew you were talking about living with Luke, but he also knew you didn’t want to talk about him. 

“I appreciate everything you do for me, Eds, but your couch is the second to last place I would like to sleep tonight.” you say with a teasing smile, watching as he rolls his eyes playfully.

“Alright, alright, but don’t come crying to me when sexy Mr. CEO Harrington turns out to be crazy like I said,” he replies, and you shoot him a glare. “What? There’s gotta be something wrong with him, he’s too hot and too perfect on paper to be normal.”

“I think you gotta stop obsessing over my ‘hot’ boss before you get me fired before my first day has even started,” you laugh, shoving his shoulder after using air quotes when saying hot – you didn’t think Steve was hot at all, right?

“Okay, fine I’ll stop tormenting you.” he chuckles, “as long as you promise not to fall in love with him or some shit like that.” 

You immediately laugh out loud at the thought, shaking your head immediately. “That’s not gonna happen, Eds. He’s my employer and I’m only here to take care of his daughter. Besides, I’ll probably barely see him since he’ll be working all the time.” 

Eddie gives you an incredulous look before pulling you in for another quick hug.

“Please, just call me if there’s anything you need and I can be here to get you, okay?” he says and you nod. 

The two of you walk out of the bedroom shortly after, saying your goodbyes at the door with one last hug (that Eddie almost doesn’t let go in) before you make your way to the kitchen, where you know Steve is. 

Unsurprisingly, the kitchen is just as nice as the rest of the penthouse that you’ve seen, but is currently in a bit of a state of disarray. Steve is standing next to the stove, and he’s serving what looks to be a pasta dish onto plates on the counter. Amelia is sitting at the long, dark dining table on the other side of the room. She’s zeroed in on two dolls in front of her, mumbling a conversation between the two of them to herself. 

“Food’s done, sweetheart.” Steve called out to his daughter, grabbing a pink plate from the pile, presumably for her. “Why don’t you put your dolls up on the counter while we eat so they don’t get dirty, okay?”

The little girl nods, grabbing her things from the table to put them up, clearly excited for the dinner her dad had prepared, “want butter on my bread, please Daddy.” she requests, a smile on her face when she spots the pink plate atop the counter.

“I’ll get you some once I sit down, love.” he replies, smoothing down his daughter’s hair when she comes to stand next to him.

There was something so sweet and so domestic about the situation unfolding in front of you, a father and daughter busy in their own little worlds, but not too busy to share a kind interaction. 

“Just in time, I was just gonna come see if you guys were hungry.” Steve says, peering over his shoulder to meet your eyes when you take another step into the room. 

“Oh, sure!” you reply, “it’s just me though. I’m sorry to disappoint, but Eddie left just a second ago.”

Steve laughs in response, shaking his head at your words. He quickly serves up some penne alla vodka, extending the plate and some silverware to you once he does. You follow him to the table as he carries his and Amelia’s plates, setting one in front of his excited daughter, who almost immediately digs in. 

“Well, I’m sad your boyfriend couldn’t stay for dinner, but it was very kind of him to help you move over on such short notice and be so understanding of the situation.” Steve says once you both settle at the table. 

You had just taken your first bite of food when Steve started to speak, and the suggestion of Eddie being your boyfriend nearly makes you choke on the pasta. A small laugh escapes your lips as you play off your near-death experience with a cough, shaking your head at the thought. 

“Are you alright?” Steve questions, setting his own fork down as he watches you carefully, making sure you’re not actually choking. 

“Yes! S–sorry, I’m fine!” you stammer quickly, shaking your head, “I just–Sorry, I thought that was funny. Eddie isn’t my boyfriend.” you reply with a nervous smile. 

“Oh?” Steve retorts, raising an eyebrow at you.

“He’s just my best friend, I–I was actually sleeping on him and his boyfriend’s couch for a few days so he just wanted to make sure where I was going to be living was safer than that.” you say, cheeks flushing red at the admission of couch surfing less than 24 hours prior to ending up in this penthouse, of all places. 

“Sleeping on his couch?” he implores, “I thought you said you lived in a small studio in Yorkville?”

“I did, with my ex. That is where I was but we–well, we had a nasty breakup a few weeks back so that’s how I ended up on Eddie’s couch. It all happened so fast that I keep forgetting I don’t live there anymore –” you blurt out, stopping yourself when you realize how much you’re sharing with this man you barely know. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be telling you all this, you’re my boss for God’s sake, I am so sorry, Steve.”

“Hey, no, no, you’re fine!” he replies quickly, shooting you a reassuring smile. “I’m, uh, I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”

You give him a small, sad smile in return, choosing to focus your gaze on the food in front of you so you don’t embarrass yourself any more than you already have. 

“I know it probably doesn’t mean a lot coming from me since I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure that you didn’t deserve to be the one left on your best friend’s couch without a place to live.” Steve was rambling now, “and I’m sorry for assuming that Eddie was your boyfriend, I just didn’t think it was possible for someone like you to be single.”

There was an awkward beat of silence after Steve finished his nervous ramble, leaving you with a million thoughts that you couldn’t process in the moment, all being ones that made your stomach flutter. You didn’t really have time to process any of it though, as your thoughts were interrupted by Amelia tugging on her dad’s sleeve.

“Where my butter bread?” she questions, giving her dad a very stern look, clearly impatient from not getting her bread with the meal. 

Steve opens his mouth to retort, but you’re up from the table and grabbing the plate with baguette slices and a pad of butter Steve had forgotten on the counter next to the pot of pasta. You give the little girl a smile, swiping some butter on one of the slices before reaching across the table to hand it to her. She grabs the bread and hastily takes a large bite, giggling to herself in satisfaction. 

“What do you say?” Steve says to her, giving her a knowing look.

“Tank you,” she says to you, mouth full of bread as she grins over at you. 

The once awkward moment quickly resolved after Amelia’s interruption, and dinner went by smoothly after that. You discussed what you would need to do to help Amelia throughout the day and night, and what days Steve would be around to help out. He let you know that you wouldn’t have to cook dinner, as he insisted on sitting down with her almost every evening for the meal and making it on his own. After dinner, you insisted on helping Steve clean up, but he insisted against it, that he would finish up. Instead, you opted to get Amelia ready for bed, getting her showered and cleaned up before reading her one of the dozens of children’s books that she had littered around her bedroom. 

It was around 9 by the time you finished getting her to bed, leaving her room with the bedroom door cracked slightly. Both her and Steve’s bedrooms were upstairs, along with Steve’s office that he used to work from home on occasion. You passed the office, noticing a small light flooding from the doorway as you did. Before you could walk down the stairs, you heard a voice from inside the office call for you. 

Steve was sitting in the dimly lit room, at the large oak desk that sat in the middle of the room. He looked up from his computer when you came in, there was a tired look on his face that changed when he locked eyes with you. Thin rimmed glasses sat on his face that you hadn’t seen before, and he was freshly showered, his hair still drying and the collar of his gray t-shirt was slightly damp. He looked exhausted, but still managed to look extremely attractive and that made you want to crawl into his lap and – no, stop it. Your mind was wandering, it had been too long of a day already. 

“She went down okay?” he questioned, breaking you from your trance. 

“Yeah, she was fine. She made me read Goodnight Moon twice before she fell asleep, she said I read it wrong the first time around.” you say with a laugh. 

“That sounds about right,” he chuckles in reply, shaking his head. There’s a beat of contemplative silence, then Steve looks back up at you, “also, before you head to bed. I just wanted to apologize for earlier, I–I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable by asking too many questions or anything, I’m sorry if I did.”

“Don’t apologize, you’re fine. I’ve been asked worse things, don’t worry about it.” you say with an assuring smile, earning one back from him in return that makes your heart skip a beat. “Goodnight, Steve.”

Steve says goodnight in reply and you turn on your heels to walk back downstairs. Exhaustion hits you all at once when you make it to the bedroom that you now call your own, throwing yourself onto the bed with a sigh. 

It’s in that moment that you’re thankful for changing and getting ready for the night before you made your way up to put Amelia to bed, because now you can just cuddle into your new bed with no worries. Well, that is until your mind starts to wander.

All day you had brushed off the thoughts you’d had about Steve, the remarks Eddie had made about Steve, and the remarks Steve had made to you at dinner about being surprised that you were single. There was no reason for you to be overthinking it all, you told yourself. There was no reason for your stomach to flutter at the thought of Steve, your new employer, winking at you jokingly. There was no reason for your mind to wander when you saw him with wet hair and glasses, but you couldn’t help yourself.

What did it all mean? You shouldn’t even be thinking about anyone right now, you just went through a disgusting breakup with an even more disgusting man, you should be thinking about nobody but yourself.

You weren’t sure what any of it meant, and were truthfully terrified to find the real answer.

But that was for another time, as sleep overtook you not long after you set an alarm, mind still running as you drifted into slumber.

taglist: @siriuslysmoking @blackholegladiator @cultish-corner @cris-wants-a-word @nervousmumbling @angelbabyivy @ohheyitsrowan @sweetdazequeen @royalestrellas @20orca00 @taeteddybear @different-spokes @paleidiot @frostandflamesfanfic @tulips2715 @rainbowfruity14 @shinytinywhispers @corrodedcoffincumslut @definitionwanderlust @starsinsidemyeyes @mikeschmidtgf @haruari @shallowparadise @micheledawn1975 @rexorangecouny @hollandweather @redbarn1995

#steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington smut #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fanfic #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #stevis writes

[discotitsposts]

there’s no place like home season 7

gonna tell u rn this is one of reid’s finest moments

spillers ahead

-

i like this ep a lot

the feeling of watching this one while it’s storming is elite

dudes a storm chaser lol

awww will and jj

rossi gonna regret not taking the time off

that’s so nice they made a donation to ALS in carolyn’s name :)

tornados fascinate me

reid looks so good help

wheels up in 30‼️‼️

I LOVE THE NATIONAK WEATHER SERVICE SOUND UGH BEEEEEP

love storms yayy

LOL the plane shaking

reid my beloved

rossi’s scared lol

LOL when reid’s talking about turbulence

LOL PULVERIZED

reid can pulverize me pls

don’t accept beer nd weed from strangers kids or they might take u and take ur body parts to put their dead brother back together in the middle of a tornado

reid stop being sexy challenge

oops he lost right away

tornados are so destructive but so beautiful when photographers get them on camera

can u imagine getting the message that a violent tornado is in your area that must be terrifying

ew body parts

so the unsub is dr frankenstein

i feel bad for jj she has to be that far away when her kid is rlly sick she can’t leave bc of the storm then :(

hotch is such a nice understanding boss

SPENCERRRRR THE WAY HE TKWJW IS EIRIWBEWHNWM

he speaks so fast i love it

my sweet little rambler

i wonder if this episode is not only based on a real case but like how common is this one like r there actually amateur dr frankensteins

lol garcia being grossed out

rossi LMAO THE SHADE

garcia: reid you scare me

rossi: join the club

REIDS FACE ADTER AHAHHAH

whoooohoo rain and thunder

bro kidnapped him and his wondering why he’s trying to leave

i’m so tired

that’s smart to hide in a drainage pipe

REID IN THE DARK RUFF RUFF BARK BARK BARK BARK

hJhwjejdjakwsmHWHEOSOWJRNE beautiful

reid figuring it out

how the hell the kid supposed to drink a beer if his mouth taped shut

he should say yeah and then bite him

ok but “the delusion will completely take over” is so funny bc my spencer delusion has

bros like no i don’t fucking remember bc i’m not ur brother

storm chasing fbi agents!!!

lol playing chicken what reid

garcia the guide

isn’t there two tornados

my god the way reid talks is just so attractive i love the way he speaks pls talk to me forever spencer

bros playlist is fire ngl

run

“it’s all good” dudes gonna chop his head off

“who r they” the hottest fbi agents

REIDDD

the way he yells ugh

they saved him!

how did they film this? with like high powered fans ?

bro walked into a tornado

i wanna be in a storm shelter with reid

doesn’t jj tell a story to henry aww

i love that her actual son played her son on the show that’s so cute

i see why she did an audio book recently her voice is rlly soothing i almost fell asleep

that was relaxing

goodnight

the end

#criminal minds #spencer reid #mgg #criminal minds rewatch #matthewgraygubler

[o-uncle-newt]

Cabin Pressure Advent Day 23: Wokingham

WOKINGHAMMMMMMMM!

I absolutely love everything about this episode. Literally everything. It's just basically perfect.

It's also, like Vaduz, an episode that would never, ever, EVER have happened in S1. I mean, S1 had a dude literally die on the plane and "it "what to do" was turned into a comedy routine... this is a much more, Idunno, humanist approach, I guess. It's hilarious, but it takes its humor from things other than the actual medical situation itself.

But even beyond that- would S1 Douglas have played along when Carolyn said that he cried when confronted by the bird strike in St Petersburg? Would he have even put a pause on the game? Would he have even shown up? Almost definitely not. The only constant, of course, is Arthur, who would have been equally willing to show up to keep Martin's mother busy in any season you can name. Lovely, lovely Arthur, and what an absolutely perfect scene by the way.

Now, there's the meta way of looking at it where people are like "I appreciated it when JF was writing a darker and more cynical show," which a) I disagree with factually (I think there were always hints of what the show would become from the beginning- I mean, as far back as Abu Dhabi, Douglas helped Martin out with the match) and b) I disagree with as a matter of taste (the heartwarming episodes are GREAT). But I have to hope that the meta people at least concede that the development FROM S1 to S4 in terms of the very different ways that people behave is extremely consistent with the character development. Douglas and Carolyn have both made some strides in the way that they relate to Martin that allow them to go run interference for him, but at the same time Martin has grown to become the kind of person who they mind less running interference for. He's mellowed, he's started to be less hung up on his rank for the most part, he's less obsessed with his self image. S1 Douglas would have never done it- but S1 Martin would have given him little reason to, and we've seen that change pretty organically.

It also helps, obviously, that Douglas and Carolyn know exactly what they're dealing with. Some of it, maybe, is seeing how Martin (and, to be honest, Caitlin!) ended up that way, with Simon to cut him down to size- and, as we've heard, his dad as well back when he was alive. (Incidentally, I meant to mention this in Uskerty but I found the fact that Martin has worn his dad's signet ring since the funeral to be both really sweet and just... gah. Emotional.) I feel like we've also all, at some point, met people who are, if not Simons themselves, have Simonistic qualities, so to speak. Carolyn and Douglas, as people who love to put on performances like this and have a bit of a proprietary feeling about Martin (in an "only we get to tease him" kind of way), presumably did it at least partly for the fun of it!

That said, this episode would not have been what it could have been without Wendy. Prunella Scales is amazing, and it's worth noting that (as JF mentioned in a podcast interview I heard once) she was in the early stages of dementia and, according to JF, was not always with it offstage but was just absolutely astonishing as soon as they started performing. She plays every note so perfectly, and adds a really interesting note of, well, momness (or I guess I should say mumness) that is really easy to identify with and also a VERY striking contrast to Carolyn, both for better and, occasionally, for worse- Carolyn would have never said anything remotely like "maybe Simon knows best" lol.

All in all, just really really good fun, hilarious, well plotted, all the usual... oh, and with another amazing audio humor joke with the doctor asking about the costume party. Just perfect.

Important question though: how on earth in this whole brag-off with Simon did Martin never slip that he's dating the freaking Princess of Liechtenstein?! How?!?! I'm not going to call it a plot hole because that's not how these things work, but I can imagine that he had to REALLY hold himself back from blurting it out.

#cabin pressure #cabin pressure advent 2023 #cabin pressure advent #john finnemore #wokingham

[marshmallowprotection]

Jumin with ….. a little sister. DOES ANYONE SEE MY VISION?!

I've seen the concept done many times before but I've never liked the execution. I think there is potential to the idea but it would take a lot... and I mean a lot to make it make sense. Chairman Han very much did consider his marriage to Carolyn, Jumin's mother, to be fruitful. She's the one who got away in his eyes even though she never cared for his romance or desires. Her goals and aspirations were materialistic.

She wants what she wants and if she doesn't get it, you won't get a damn thing from her, and Jumin never gave her what she wanted.

I don't see her as the kind of person who would have another child in life when Jumin would be enough to secure her ties to Chairman Han for the rest of her life and ascertain enough money to live in luxury as long as she wants. She literally wouldn't divorce that man until he had a settlement in hand that gave with I don't even know how much! The fact remains that if Jumin had a sister, it certainly wouldn't be a sister that shares a mother with him.

Then, that makes another issue.

Chairman Han is the kind of man who throws money at women all the time to win their love and affection.

He will move on from one relationship to the next after whoever he's dating gets what they want out of the relationship and then they leave him for greener pastures... as seen in the RAE where you speak to him on the phone and he tells you about a lounge singer he dated who he put down a on of money on to help her further her career only for her to leave him in the end in an instant when she got her goal. It isn't unexpected given what we know about him.

He loves to throw money and gifts at people to show his love. Hell, he does the same thing to Jumin! I can't stand the man for that. He truly thinks throwing money at the problem helps. He dates woman who're in his life only to get money from him, and he does just that over and over again, as if that pattern is something that will change. He is also the worst when it comes to hitting on women.

To the point where we know that Jumin asked Jaehee to cut her hair and wear glasses so his father wouldn't hit her on and try to make her his girlfriend! Chairman Han has done that to him before, and we're not going to get into how Jumin was wrong for that one, either. That thought made sense to him to "protect" Jaehee to him but it wasn't what needed to change. His father is the one that needed to change ll all along. He still does.

He is a womanizer who wants to "settle down" in theory, but he's never going to be able to do that given how fast he goes through relationships when he fails to get what he wants out of it. He thinks he wants one thing and then he sees something else, deciding that he wants that instead. He's looking for something he won't find in the ongoing pattern he continues as he shuffles through love again and again to find what he thought he had with Carolyn.

Jumin can't even begin to tell you how many failed relationships and wives his father has gone through. Let's not even get started on the relationships with women who traumatized Jumin as young as eight years old because after the divorce from Carolyn, Chairman Han put himself out there immediately.

Now, for your consideration, we have to consider how Chairman Han handles his relationships. He doesn't seem like he would be the kind of person who would have sexual encounters without protection nor would he be the type to have kids out of wedlock, but if it did happen to him, he would marry that woman immediately, and God knows the outcome that would have on Jumin's life.

So, with that in mind, I'm so doubtful that a marriage like that would last long, if at all.

Without any context as to what that relationship would be like, all I can do is surmise his sister's possible age and where that might be along the timeline. Jumin was seven years old when his parents split apart. That means the absolute earliest Jumin could've had a sister is when was nine years old, since I don't think Chairman Han would've jumped into something in the first year and some change after that divorce.

That would put a sister way younger than anyone in the RFA around the time of the game. Since a nine year age gap would put a sister at 17 when he's 26. That's an interesting dynamic. Jihyun actually has a half sister that's a lot younger than him like that, too, but I know that his half-sister lives out of the country with his dad and stepmother! I don't see friendship for those siblings in the works, though, I do think Jihyun's sister is a preteen from the one photo of her that exists...

Hm.

As far as a sibling dynamic with Jumin? I believe he would value a strong bond with his family, since full and half blood mean nothing when it comes to him. Family is family and he wants to be with his family.

I think a lot of people could pull an interesting story out of this but most of the time, when he is given a younger sister, she is usually not that much younger than him, and shipped with Zen. There's nothing wrong with that because everybody's allowed to enjoy silly scenarios like that, it's just not my bread and butter, so I don't consume content like that. 

I do think it would be sweet to see him looking out for a sister who's still in high school, trying to do her best in a world that expects a lot from someone who is related to Jumin and Chairman Han, and it would flesh him out further in a good way, pulling that soft side out of him a lot sooner with his MC on the horizon. 

Like, imagine Jumin in a situation where his sister is teasing him about MC, and Jumin is very honest and sincere about it, dampening the teasing and turning it into a sweet conversation about emotions! If I were to give Jumin a sister, she would be strongly empathetic and outgoing, able to understand the people around her, even if she's just a bit silly because of her age. A natural foil to Jumin who often has a hard time expressing himself to people since not everyone knows his personality and kindness at face value.

Basically, if Jumin had a sister, I'd focus on the family bond between them and help further flesh out how much Chairman Han sucks as a human being, while Jumin and sister focus on building a family with the RFA, you know, the people who actually give a shit about them.

#mod kait #ask #mystic messenger #anon #mysme #mysticmessenger #mm #character analysis

[tortoisesshells]

top five doomed mariners go

in order not of significance, but of encounter:

(1) William Bush - the original Doomed Mariner, my copy of Lord Hornblower is still held together with duct tape from chucking the book across the room when I realized Forester was not going to pull a "if there's no body he's not dead" - rather, "if there's no body, it's because he was too close to the ignition point." A character whose defining trait is his devotion is actually something that can be so personal.

(2) James Norrington - the man, the myth, the legend. clearly takes up too much brain space for a [checking notes for comedic effect] antagonist secondary character from a twenty-year-old theme park ride movie. Hard to say at which point it became clear he'd never survive, but there's definitely a point at which he clearly thinks he's survived too long for anyone's good, least of all his own.

(3) Mr. Starbuck

“On this level, Ahab’s hammock swings within; his head this way. A touch, and Starbuck may survive to hug his wife and child again.—Oh Mary! Mary!—boy! boy! boy!—But if I wake thee not to death, old man, who can tell to what unsounded deeps Starbuck’s body this day week may sink, with all the crew! Great God, where art Thou? Shall I? shall I?—The wind has gone down and shifted, sir; the fore and main topsails are reefed and set; she heads her course.” “Stern all! Oh Moby Dick, I clutch thy heart at last!” Such were the sounds that now came hurtling from out the old man’s tormented sleep, as if Starbuck’s voice had caused the long dumb dream to speak. The yet levelled musket shook like a drunkard’s arm against the panel; Starbuck seemed wrestling with an angel; but turning from the door, he placed the death-tube in its rack, and left the place. (123: The Musket)

(4) Eyk Larsen - doomed by Netflix more than his own foibles, though that's not for lack of trying on his foibles' part. Even the men on his crew that like him are waiting for him to snap under the strain of his bereavement, alcoholism, and the demands of the new shipping company's changes (and the sudden appearance/disappearance of a ghost ship. and inexplicable deaths. and seeing things. and and and). Doesn't make it three whole scenes before staring moodily into the deeps of the Atlantic, musing on the impossibility of knowing what lives on the floor thousands of feet below. Kind of deserved that mutiny. Didn't exactly die in 1899, but. Well. Like his relationship with Maura, it was complicated.

(5) Bill Malloy - He never learned how to swim, he put together The Big Secret about the manslaughter trial quicker than any other uninvolved character, he's been in love with and trailing a respectful step behind Liz Collins Stoddard for 20+ years to no avail (but, hey, Carolyn says he's as good as her father, which?), and he's not the most helpful ghost but he is having a little too much fun getting revenge for his murder - did we ever hear him laugh when he was alive? I suppose we have to subtract some points for him never spending any time on a boat within the scope of the narrative, but then, he IS trying to go back to his job on the boats - and no one else on this list sings "What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor?". I'm pretty sure the narrative is through with him now, alas. He'll always be famous to me.

#i feel like a heel picking five. #honorary mention to daniel gregg. who's not so much doomed as. hmm. doomed implies a downward trajectory. he's already dead. #then again. things can get worse. even for ghosts. #also. Quint. god. he can't knock anyone off this list atm but this is a Sign to go watch the Indianapolis monologue RIGHT NOW. do it. #ask meme #polkaknox talks #thank you for the ask kind friend!

[aromancy]

Working at a Walgreens Pharmacy has taught me that it can be hard sometimes to properly hear a name and how it's spelled. I often have to defer to last names, phone numbers, and dates of birth to make sure I have the right person, because I can't make out what the customer is saying their name is. As a result of this, I've given some thought as to what I want to name my kid to prevent as much confusion as possible. I've devised a few rules to this effect, which I would like to take this time to list for parents-to-be.

1: Do NOT give your kid a name that is frequently spelled in two different ways. Kristen/Christian, Brian/Bryan, and Steven/Stephen are right out.

1a: As a corollary to this, do NOT give your child a common name but spelled weirdly for "uniqueness." No "Aimee"s, no "Ryleigh"s, no "Krystal"s, none of that.

2: Avoid letters that sound like other letters if it needs to be spelled out. 'M' and 'N' can cause SO much confusion over the phone; same with 'B' and 'P'.

2a: There are certain letters which SOUND like other letters in certain contexts; 'HA' sounds an awful lot like 'AJ' when you spell them out. Confusion about which of these you mean will be few and far between, but it's generally safer to avoid these sorts of patterns when possible.

2b: A list of 'safe' letters (letters which don't sound like others in the alphabet, and which it would probably be a good idea to include several of): ILORWY

2c: While the letters above are safe, they don't have many distinctive sounds that one could use as an "anchor" to orient around when parsing a name over bad audio. Try and include at least one hard consonant sound to help the name pop.

2d: Letters with a hard consonant sound: CDGJKPQTXZ. Some are better than others; 'P' and 'Z' can be hard to parse in spelling if they don't come across in the name itself, and 'C' and 'G' only make their hard consonant sounds in certain contexts. Exercise caution.

3: Make the name something fairly common. It should be expected that the person you are speaking to is aware of at least one other person whose name you share.

3a: The Celebrity Corollary. Naming your child after famous characters and celebrities can be a handy way to give your child a unique name, since most of the people they meet can be relied upon to have at least heard the name before. 'Keanu' isn't very common stateside, but we all know our boy Keanu Reeves. Exercise caution, though, as it's entirely possible that said celebrity could get canceled for something. I don't think we have anything to worry about with Keanu, but I've been wrong before.

So, what are some good names with these guidelines? Well fortunately, it's actually a pretty good list. Here's a list of common American names which fit the criteria listed above:

Boy Names:

Alex, Arthur, Edward, Eli, Doug, Carl, Gerald/Gary, Gregory, Jack, Joe, Keith, Kyle, Lawrence/Larry, Rick, Ray, Roger, Roy, Terry, Todd, Tyler, Walt, Will, Zack

Girl Names:

Abigail/Abby, Carolyn/Carol, Gloria, Grace, Jaqueline/Jackie, Joyce, Judy, Kate, Kayla, Kelly, Laura, Liz, Vicky

So if for whatever reason, you want to name your kid according to what's most convenient for the pharmacist to record over the phone, may I suggest using one of these!

[latibvles]

SAD, BEAUTIFUL, TRAGIC.

beautiful, tragic. // a raw wound

she now looked like what she was.

masterlist | gallery | taglist

WARNINGS: none specific but uhh drinking! god bless

SUMMARY: daisy wastes little time in dedicating herself to her new position and responsibilities — but that doesn’t mean it’s the only thing on her mind.

TAGLIST: @liebgotts-lovergirl , @softguarnere , @brassknucklespeirs , @monalisastwin

Familiarity does little to comfort her, but a little is still something.

Ginny comes back on Sunday. After that, Daisy receives an itemized list of names, the third squadron of twenty-three nurses, all of which would defer to her. And she’s grateful to recognize Carolyn Foster and Laura F. Rogers among them. She immediately catches Jane’s name too — but chooses not to remark on it. Of course, on the surface level she recognizes nearly every name, the Browns and the Palmers, the Campbells and the Gilmores. She’d been working with these women for several months now, some since Normandy; how could she not? But on a more intimate level, she really didn’t know all of them that well.

And it’s one of the first things she has to amend.

She tries to look at it through a clinical lens; knowing what jobs to give who, their strengths and their weaknesses. Evelyn Butler is called Evie by the women who know her, and Daisy makes a habit of calling her that from time-to-time. She’s level-headed and pragmatic in a way that reminds her of Catherine — and strong like Catherine too. There’s Marion Laurent who as her name might suggest is well acquainted with the French language — it rolls off her tongue effortlessly. June Liebmann and Vivian Kelly, joined at the hip, she thinks they might even be able to finish each other’s sentences.

So she’ll default to Marion when her minimal French can’t get her through conversation, and if she can help it, Vivian and June will work together if it’s a two-man job that needs dealing with, like carrying stretchers, and Evie’s strong enough to carry heavier loads of supplies, which will make the work go by quicker.

And she familiarizes herself with a few more of the medics in Mourmelon, because it really can’t hurt even if she could be called away to some other regiment at any point. Not all of them look at it through the lens of logic and reason, but she’s learned that even soldiers could be opportunists. Couples being married within the week had become increasingly normal. Being hit on by some of the men was just another part of the job.

“Got a lot of nerve, taking one of my best nurses,” Catherine teases. If there was one thing they could count on the Army to do — it’d be to find a place with access to a bar after being pulled off the line. Because what better way to cope with what they’ve seen than with alcohol? And for once, Daisy could use a drink. She gives the woman a smile.

“If I had it my way, you’d be mine too. Blame Ginny.” She shoots a glance across the table, and Ginny takes a sip from her glass, shaking her head.

“Blame Peake,” Is all she supplies the two other women with, but it’s enough to garner a laugh. Apparently after the Colonel left, Ginny’s office reeked of cigars, and she had to open up all the windows to get rid of it. Now, every minor inconvenience was Peake’s fault. “Besides, those girls from Fox are good women. Not their fault Fox Company’s full of active duty yokels that left all their sense in the airfield.” Another round of laughter from her two counterparts, Daisy looks around to see if anyone is really paying attention to their conversation. It doesn’t seem like it.

“Speaking of that, what’s the word? Do you think we’ll be auxiliary support again? Or are they sending us to a hospital?” Ginny sighs, setting down her glass.

“Honestly? I’ve got no clue what they’re thinking.” Ward’s groan is a bit more melodramatic than usual, but Daisy assumes it’s because the alcohol is making her a little looser.

“C’mon, Cap, no early gifts from Old Saint Dick?” Ginny scoffs at that lightheartedly, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

“Captain Nixon thinks it’ll be a Berlin jump in three months, so as far as I know, our odds of relinking with the Airborne in Berlin are about as good as us being stationed in a hospital or being reassigned to some other Division,” she stares into her empty glass for a moment. “In any case I might move Rita’s squad to Fox. She’s got the attitude to handle them, I think.” Catherine nods, and Daisy quirks an eyebrow as the woman then reaches to tug on her ear.

“Hope we’re under American command then, for this one’s sake.” Daisy tilts her head up, sticking her nose in the air for a moment as she finishes off her own glass of brandy. She’s never been much of a drinker, so it doesn’t take long for her to feel a little warm all over. And it loosens her up enough to smile at Ward’s teasing, at the very least.

“He started it, and Ginny finished it. I was an innocent bystander.” Ward rolls her eyes at that, giving Daisy’s earlobe one last definitive tug before releasing it.

“There are many ways to describe you, Daisy. Innocent bystander sure as hell isn’t one of them.” Daisy smiles in spite of herself, gives a bit of a shrug, and is about to offer to get Ward another drink when the door opens.

“There she is! Our very own Madame President,” the voice isn’t loud enough to garner all the attention from the room, but it’s familiar. From the way Ginny rolls her eyes with a certain fondness, she recognizes it as well. Daisy cranes her head back. She recognizes Dick’s red hair immediately, and then the dark-haired man, Nixon, from Eindhoven. The curly-haired man with them is someone she’s never actually spoken to — but has seen all the same. Nixon stops at their table, and looks the three women over before his gaze settles on Daisy. “So then I take it you’re Clarke.”

“What gave me away?” He jabs a thumb at Ginny, who’s scooting over on her side of the booth to allow Nixon a free space. She watches as the curly-haired one goes to grab an empty chair, and Dick then slides in on her and Ward’s side.

“You know how many times this one says Daisy in a day?” Ginny pouts, reaching up to pat Nixon’s cheek.

“Aw, is Dick not showing you enough affection these days, Lew?” Dick scoffs and rolls his eyes, shaking his head as the curly-haired man returns. They go through their rounds of introductions, and the curly-haired one is Harry Welsh. Daisy can vaguely recall his name being mentioned every now and again by the other men, in Holland. He offers to get everyone another round and Catherine accompanies him — so Daisy watches with a bit of a smile as Nixon and Ginny begin to go back and forth.

“I thought vacations were supposed to make you more relaxed,”

“You have a special talent for spiking my blood pressure, sir.”

Daisy looks at Dick and mouths a quiet ‘Are they always like this?’ — Dick just nods with an amused sort of glint as Daisy tries to piece together what exactly they’re talking about. Bits and pieces of Ginny’s time in Paris, which she then learns, was also spent in Dick’s company. Ginny recounts Dick’s poor French with an amused glint in her eye, before admitting that she isn’t much better at the language herself. Every now and again in the midst of conversation, Nixon will eye her and she doesn’t quite understand why. But Catherine and Harry return with drinks for the table and the night moves on.

Harry talks fondly about a girl at home, Kitty, and it makes Daisy feel warm as she lets her thoughts drift, uninhibited as a result of the alcohol in her system as she downs the refilled glass. She can’t help but wonder if Ron ever talked about her in this light — like she really was the best thing since penicillin. Or maybe she was a secret, something closely guarded for only him to know; what had he done with her letters? Did he burn them after reading? Did he carry them around? She tries to keep up with the conversation, throwing in her own small quips and laughing when everyone else does, but her mind is, once again, preoccupied. She finds herself leaning against Dick’s arm for a moment, her face warm and brain muddled with thoughts of Ron that just won’t go away.

Nixon looks at her again, and she wipes her nose, pulling herself away from Dick and sitting up a little straighter.

“I think m’gonna go…” Daisy declares, but it’s more like a murmur, mixed in with a quiet “M’tired.” She feels Dick’s fingers wrap around her arm gently as he rises to his feet.

“I’ll walk you back.” Nixon rises shortly after that, waving his hand in a gesture as if to tell Dick to sit back down.

“I’ve got it. You walk too slow anyway.” The two men continue to exchange words, but Daisy isn’t really listening as her gaze falls to Ginny, who just gives her one of those softer smiles of hers and bids her a quiet goodnight. Whatever debate the two of them were having — it seems that Nixon’s won out as he offers his arm to her. And while she isn’t stumbling yet, she takes it, letting the man guide her out of the bar and back towards the camp set up on the outskirts of town.

He smells like a bar and military soap, and runs warm in comparison to the frigid December air. She shivers for a moment, and Nixon looks at her, a teasing grin making its way onto his face.

“Don’t go getting cold on me now, Daisy. He might get mad if I give you my jacket.” Her lips tug into a frown, not quite getting the joke. And since it’s just them, she doesn’t have to play along and laugh regardless.

“I don’t think Dick would care. He likes Ginny.” she states bluntly. Nixon chuckles sharply through the nose.

“He wouldn’t.”

The conversation dies there for a moment, with Daisy left discontent by Nixon’s remark. It nags at her, incessantly. Her arm wraps around his a little tighter, as she takes her lip between her teeth for a moment. Daisy takes another look at him, at his scruffy beard, hair slightly mussed from Ginny ruffling it at some point in the night.

“Captain Nixon..?” she murmurs, more to herself than to him, but he looks at her all the same, with a tilt to his head. She tries to grasp the words before they slip from her sluggish train-of-thought. “He was… looking for you one time. N’I was with… Liebgott. Think it bothered him.” she continues to mutter. Nixon smiles again, amused.

“Oh it definitely bothered him. If a look could kill, Liebgott would be dead three times over,” he starts out before trailing off with a slight shake of his head. “Still a little sharp even after drinking half your weight, huh Clarke?” Daisy narrows her eyes at him.

“Wasn’t half my weight.”

“Oh right, it was a third.”

“You’re not funny.”

“Or you’re just pouty when you drink,” Daisy shifts for a moment, wiggling her fingers until she can find the inside of his arm, and gives it a sharp pinch. He jerks away at that, looking at her with wide eyes. Daisy smiles to herself, giving him nothing more than a shrug. He shifts, so his hand is ghosting the small of her back, preventing her from pinching him there again. The thought makes her grin a little bit more, satisfied with herself. Eventually, they do reach the tent she’s staying in.

“Sorry for pinching you,” Daisy professes, and Nixon gives her a bit of a shrug, waving his hand dismissively. They bid each other quick goodbyes before she’s slinking towards her cot to lay down and shut her eyes, hoping that her body will be merciful on her in the morning.

. . .

She’s been privy to enough of James’ hangovers to know what they are and what they aren’t. She’s even watched as his friends recount whatever he’d gotten up to the night before, because he couldn’t remember it. So she knows that at the very least, she wasn’t as bad as her brother. She recalls most of the night, even if things are just a little fuzzier towards the end. She still knows what she said and to who, and at least it wasn’t too embarrassing.

It doesn’t change the fact that her head hurts and the sun is a little too bright for her liking and the people around her are a little too loud, but who is she to complain, really? She sucks it up and continues on with her day, because that’s all she really can do. She’s on duty at the infirmary all day, and it’s a little strange to now be the one giving the orders instead of receiving them, but even so she still assists her fellow nurses.

“Afternoon, dollface,” a voice drawls out — Bill Guarnere is perched upon one of the cots like he’s a kid going to see his pediatrician, and she can’t help but roll her eyes fondly as she approaches.

“The leg again, Bill?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she kneels down to take a look at his leg. He’d gone AWOL from the hospital, and considering he wasn’t fully healed, Roe had been keeping a watchful eye on him. She looks up at him through her lashes as she rolls up his pants leg.

“See this right here, this is what happens when we try to leave hospitals with shoe polish on our casts. Honestly I think you might be the worst of the worst,” she scolds, and Guarnere simply laughs, coming up with a million different reasons why he couldn’t stay in the hospital. She holds up her hand to get him to stop speaking, looking up at him fully. “Just try to stay off it. I could see about getting you an extra pillow so it’s elevated when you sleep. Not much we can do about it now. We’re running low on everything and I will not enable recreational morphine use.” He grins a little wider at her remark.

“Oh c’mon, you really think I would do that? A person of my character?” he teases. Daisy stands up again, and reaches to flick his forehead gently.

“I think a person of your character has the impulse control of a schoolboy. Who knows what you’d get up to. Is Lieutenant Dike having you guys go on another parade march?” She reaches for a piece of scrap paper, and a pen. And then she starts to scribble.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Sit it out.” She hands the note over to him. “Tell him it’s the doctor’s orders. And if he wants you marching three months from now, then he’ll let you sit this one out. And if you don’t I’ll pull you back here by your ear, that clear?”

“Crystal.” Guarnere takes it, sauntering out of the infirmary — or rather, trying to, with a slight limp to his leg that he tries his best to mask. She watches for a moment, wanting to help but knowing he (alongside every other paratrooper she knows) would decline that help.

She has a meeting later, with Brant, Ward, and, McCarney to talk about that same supplies situation, along with some of the officers from 326th Medical — so she doesn’t dally when it’s time for that. Improvising what exactly to do while they wait for things to come in is an arduous task, everyone laden with understandable frustration. That, combined with the lack of penicillin and winter creeping in leaves Daisy feeling a little uncertain. She’s heard her fair share of wet coughs and wheezing breaths around Mourmelon. Winter’s finally settling in and they haven’t even gotten the proper uniforms for it yet.

And even though there’s not much that she can do, she’s still going to mull it over as she leaves the office with a hand brought to her chin, stroking pensively. There isn’t much to do about the uniforms, but scrounging for supplies and trying to figure out how to make what they do have last.

Her gaze drifts ahead, towards a dark-haired soldier and she straightens out, ready to thank Nixon again for walking her back last night and once again apologize for pinching him so hard. Her lips pull into a polite smile, anticipating some sort of snark from the man that she’d witnessed last night. As she approaches — she feels her chest begin to tighten, a lump forming in her throat, any remnant of a hangover vanishing.

“Ronnie?” Her voice is trembling, she thinks it cracks. His head turns to her — and then the rest of his body with it.

“Daisy.” He greets, standing still. No blood, no water, no cam cream and no holes or bandages.

She launches herself at him without a second thought.

#ronald speirs x ofc #ronald speirs fic #ronald speirs #band of brothers #band of brothers fic #hbo war x oc #hbo war fic #fic // sad beautiful tragic #hbo war #ron speirs #ron speirs fic

[the-al-chemist]

The Beginning of a Symphony - Chapter 14

Summary: in this very short chapter, Ethel tries to help her new acquaintance.

OCs featured/mentioned: Selene Fraser and Carolyn Nyberg @lifeofkaze, Adelia Selwyn and Gwen Archeron @thatravenpuffwitch, Bradford Pendleton and Siobhan Llewelyn @kc-and-co, Frederick Lavigne and Lysander Mercury @slytherindisaster, Leila Hellebore @whatwouldvalerydo.

Warnings: one borderline NSFW joke.

February 1896

With the echo of the school bell still ringing in her ears, Ethel ran at full pelt all the way from the Ancient Runes classroom to the Great Hall, half-dragging Matilda behind her.

“Where are we going?” Selene called out, sprinting after them in order to catch up.

“To find someone for Matilda to talk to!”

“But she is a mute.”

“No,” Ethel replied, shaking her head. She looked across at Matilda, who looked a little flushed as she struggled to keep up with Ethel’s long legs. “She isn’t a mute, she’s French!”

Reaching the Great Hall, Ethel slowed down and took a look around the room before making a beeline for the Slytherin table, where Carolyn Nyberg and Adelia Selwyn were sitting with the other girls from their dormitory. As she, Selene, and Matilda approached them, the Slytherin girls fell quiet, regarding the newcomers with looks of suspicion.

“May we help you?” asked Adelia, casting an apprehensive glance at her well-dressed companions.

“You may indeed,” Ethel told her, and she pushed Matilda forward. “Have you met Matilda?”

Adelia gave Matilda a small smile. “You must be Siobhan and Gwendolyn’s new dorm mate.”

“She is, but there’s no point talking to her about it.”

“Not in English, anyway,” Selene added.

“She doesn’t speak English?” Carolyn Nyberg, who was sitting next to Adelia, raised her eyebrows.

“Not even one single word,” said Ethel. “That’s why I brought her here to you. I heard that the Slytherin dormitories are simply rife with cunning linguists.”

Carolyn did not return Ethel’s impish smile. Instead, she pursed her lips, looking more disapproving than ever.

“Well?” asked Selene. “Will you help us, or no?”

Carolyn sighed loudly and impatiently. “So be it. What languages does she understand?”

“Runic and French.”

Ethel had barely finished answering Carolyn’s question before Adelia smiled at Matilda once more and began to talk to her in French. Matilda’s dark eyes lit up, and she began to speak out loud and fluently in the same language, her voice and face wildly expressive.

As Carolyn joined in the conversation, her voice must have caught the attention of Bradford Pendleton and Frederick Lavigne, as the two boys appeared from further down the table, and both of them began to talk to Matilda as well. By the time the usually quiet Leila Hellebore had begun to contribute to the discussion, a small crowd had gathered to watch the scene.

“Is that Matilda?”

“I didn’t think she could speak!”

“She’s never said a word to us, and we share a room with her,” muttered Siobhan Llewelyn. “I just thought that you didn’t like us, Matilda!”

“Well, you can hardly blame her for that,” Bradford retorted, switching seamlessly from French to English. For once, Carolyn Nyberg actually appeared to be amused. “After all, you all insist on calling her Matilda all the time. Her name isn’t Matilda, it’s Héloïse.”

“Oui?”

At the mention of her name, Héloïse stopped talking to Adelia mid-sentence, and looked across at Bradford, who slipped back into French to talk to her once more.

“So, if she’s not a mute, and she’s not called Matilda… Does that mean that she isn’t a champion yodeller, either?”

“Of course she isn’t, Lysander,” Ethel snapped. “Really, just when I was beginning to think that you might not be quite as stupid as you look, you say something like that.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Effy,” Lysander hissed back, and Ethel scowled at him. “I know that it’s hard not to eavesdrop with ears as big as yours, but could you at least make the effort to try?”

Ethel took a deep breath and took a step away from the Slytherin table. Now that she had helped Héloïse to find her voice, it was time to use her own. After all, she always had several choice words to give to Lysander Mercury.

#ethel hexley #selene fraser #lysander mercury #bradford elijah pendleton iv #carolyn nyberg #adelia selwyn #the beginning of a symphony #hogwarts legacy

[parisian-nicole]

Justified Ficlet: A Quick Consultation

Summary: Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens has more things he needs to discuss with defense attorney Carolyn Wilder...

Rating: Explicit

*****

The soft knock at her office door pulled her from her musings. She immediately turned her chair back around to face her desk and tried to appear busy before she spoke out.

“Come in,” Carolyn Wilder said and her office door opened to reveal her secretary, Missy.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Wilder but U.S. Marshal Givens is back to see you ma’am,” Missy announced as she shifted a little and allowed Carolyn to gaze past her and lock eyes with Raylan Givens, who smiled kindly at her as he tipped his hat.

“You can show him in,” Carolyn said as she pushed her chair back from her desk and stood. Missy ushered Raylan into the office and he gave his thanks. Missy then focused back on her boss.

“Would you like me to bring in any drinks or snacks?”

“No, thank you, Missy. U.S. Marshal Givens won’t be staying very long,” Carolyn announced as she moved around to the front of her desk. She then folded her arms across her chest as she rested her backside against her desk. With a curt nod, Missy closed the office door and left them alone. “And to what do I owe this visit, Mr. Givens? As I already told you yesterday, Mr. Mansell is a client and I am not able to help you with your investigation of my client.”

“No, I know, and I get it,” Raylan began to speak as he took further steps into the office and he didn’t stop until he was standing right in front of her. “You’re a defense lawyer and you’ll defend any cold-blooded, piece of shit, murderer if the price is right,” He stated and she clenched her jaws and swallowed any words that wanted out because nothing she could say would defend against the truth of what he had said. “I didn’t come this time about your client, ma’am. I actually came because of you,” He proclaimed and she arched her brows in intrigue.

“Me? So, you’re investigating me now, Marshal Givens?”

“Oh, no ma’am, I am sure you’ve got a clean record.”

“You got that right,” Carolyn countered. “I love the law. I respect the law. It’s why I became a lawyer, and I’ve never broken the law in my life. So, if you think you’re going to come up in here and scare me with the threat of some trumped-up charges because I won’t help you with your investigation, you are sorely mistaken,” She practically hissed out at him and threw him a challenging smirk. Her words but mostly her demeanor caused a wide smile to spread across Raylan's face, which made her brows furrow in confusion.

“Damn, woman, you are intimidating as hell,” He stated with a chuckle. “I’m not here to threaten you. It’s just that after our meeting yesterday I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said to me.”

“What I said?” She repeated.

“It was mostly the way you said it and your mouth,” Raylan further explained as his eyes locked on to said mouth. Carolyn was completely confused and her face showed it.

“My mouth?”

“Yes, ma’am. Your mouth, and your face, and body,” He tilted his head and appreciatively raked his eyes over her frame. “It’s pretty much the whole package,” He continued as he waved his hands before her. “I mean, you really pissed me off yesterday and it was a major turn-on. I got really aroused,” He confessed and she couldn’t stop the flattered smile that spread her lips as her mouth fell open slightly in surprise at his words. “Now, usually when a woman tells me off like that, I’ll laugh, sometimes I might want to smack them, but I was raised right and I would never, ever put my hands on a lady,” He quickly interjected as he now moved right beside her and took the same stance, as he rested his backside against her desk and folded his arms across his chest.

“That’s good to know,” Carolyn replied as she looked over at him.

“But you were the very first that I ever wanted to kiss breathless when they told me off,” He said as he tossed her a charming smile. “And I just don’t know what to make of that.”

“And you came back here to tell me that because you thought I could help you with that somehow?” She questioned as her shoulders softened and she smiled sweetly at him.

“Maybe,” He answered with a crooked smile. “At least I’m hoping so because I just can’t seem to get my mind to focus on anything else except your mouth,” He said this as he leaned away a little and regarded her mouth. Carolyn stared back at him with a smile as she recalled that she had just been thinking about him before Missy had knocked on her door. And she had also had him on her mind since she had met him the day before. She had initially told herself her thoughts were purely professional as she pondered exactly what provable evidence he had on her client. But then those thoughts were quickly pushed aside with carnal thoughts about what he looked like without anything on ‘except’ that hat of his, and what it would feel like to rake her fingers through his salt and peppered hair.

“Maybe I can help you,” She said as she reached over and wrapped her left hand around his neck tie. This brought a pleased smile to Raylan’s lips and made him arch his brows. “Lord knows I don’t want to be the reason you can’t focus while you’re doing your job, Marshal Givens,” She declared and then tugged at the tie, pulled him against her, and then kissed him deeply. A low moan escaped her lips the instant she tasted him because he tasted and also smelled divine. Before she could pull back from their kiss, Raylan shot out both of his hands and cupped them on either side of her face, held her still, and continued to ravage her mouth. In that moment he thought that kissing her was even better than he had imagined it would be. When breathing became a necessity he finally released her lips and pressed his forehead to hers.

“Fuck, you taste amazing,” Raylan huffed out and Carolyn smiled kindly to his praises.

“I’m glad I could help you resolve your concentration issue, Marshal Givens,” Carolyn spoke out as she pulled back and resumed her position beside him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really need to get back to work,” She stated as he remained in his spot beside her smirking at her while he licked his lips to capture all her goodness left upon them. When she noticed he wasn’t moving, she waved her hand toward her office door and he only allowed his eyes to follow the gesture. Then he cleared his throat, pushed from the desk, and walked to the closed door. Carolyn took that moment when he had turned his back to her to close her eyes and take a deep cleansing breath in hopes to calm her pounding heart beat and the throbbing happening between her legs. When she heard the familiar clicking of the lock on her office door, she snapped her eyes open and onto Raylan just as he turned back around to face her. He threw her a smile that had her clutching the edge of her desk just to keep herself from swooning and crumbling to the carpeted floor. She sat motionless and watched as he removed his hat, placed it on the coatrack she had behind her door. He then strutted back to where she stood, grasped her around her waist, lifted her, and settled her bottom fully onto the desk. She didn’t protest or even speak as she gripped at his shoulders and spread her legs wide and allowed him to settle in between them.

Raylan kept his left hand about her waist as he used his right hand to reach behind her and push aside the items on the desk. Once cleared he pressed his chest against hers and pushed her back down until she rested on the desk top. He then leaned down and recaptured her mouth in a more frenzied half-crazed kiss, that Carolyn happily welcomed. His left hand pulled her at her waist and slid her bottom closer to the edge of the desk which made her skirt ride up and bunch at her waist. He then grasped her right leg, lifted it, and held it until he felt her wrap the leg around his leg. His right hand disappeared under the skirt she wore and she jolted a bit and gasped out against his lips when she felt his hand rub against her now damp panties, and across her swollen clit. An act that had a triggering effect on her and she suddenly moved her hands to his waist, unbuckled his belt, unzipped his jeans, and freed his long, thick, and very engorged cock. Raylan carefully fisted her panties in his hand, yanked, easily tore the flimsy garment from her body, and then stuffed them into his back pocket. She gently gripped his member and pressed it at her folds. He slid into her in one swift and smooth thrust which made them break from their kiss. She yelped and threw her head back in ecstatic abandon, while he groaned and buried his face in the nook of her neck. Her eyes briefly rolled shut at the delicious feel of him stretching her as he manically thrusted into her body. He lifted some and upon feeling his weight shift she opened her eyes and looked up at him. His eyes drifted from hers and honed onto the peaks in her blouse that were caused by her hardened nipples, and he knew then that she was not wearing a bra. So, without stalling his movements, he yanked at the bottom of the red camisole top she had tucked into her skirt, and pushed it up until he exposed her full, supple breasts. Her breasts always gave her insecurities during intimate moments due to the scar on the side of her left breast, but Raylan hadn’t given her a chance to dwell on it or protest as he dropped his lips right to the puckered skin where he kissed it and licked it, before he moved on and sucked her left nipple into his mouth. Carolyn whimpered out an ‘Oh God’ as she buried the fingers of both her hands in his hair and pulled him closer to her bosom.  

“Ah … Oh, God, I’m coming,” she half moaned, half sobbed out just as her walls began to convulse and pulsate around Raylan’s cock, and he released her nipple, screwed his eyes shut, tossed his head back, as his mouth dropped open.

“Fuck!” He growled out and Carolyn panicked a little.

“Are you about to come?” She pushed out through huffs of breaths as she continued coming down from the titillating orgasm she had just had.

“Oh, yeah,” Raylan groaned and vigorously nodded his head.

“Stop, you can’t come inside of me,” She said as she hastily shoved him and he stumbled back and to the side a little where he shot his hand out and gripped her desk before he fell over. His eyes widened in disbelief, and at that moment he looked angry that she had made him slip from her tight heat. Before he could speak his outrage, she moved from the desk, dropped to her knees before him, and sucked him into her mouth.

“Holy, shit!” Raylan exclaimed as his right hand shot out and fisted her soft coiled hair. “Fuck! Fuck!” He cried out as he climaxed and then watched her as she drank him down, released his member from her mouth, kiss the head, and then sent him a saucy smile. Next, she grasped his boxer-briefs, pulled them back up, and then did the same with his jeans. Raylan held out his hand to her, which she grasped and he helped her back to her feet. They both stood silently leaning against her desk. Raylan rezipped his pants and buckled his belt, while Carolyn looked at herself in the mirror on the wall as she fixed her afro and then tucked her blouse back inside her skirt. Before either of them could feel awkward or unsure of what to say the phone on the desk buzzed. Carolyn reached over to it and pressed a button to the speaker.

“Yes, Missy?” Carolyn called out as she watched Raylan move back to her coatrack where he grasped his hat and settled it back atop his head. For a split-second she considered asking him to fuck her again while he wore the hat, or while she did, but that thought was quelled at Missy’s voice.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, ma’am but Mr. Jenkins is here for your 1:30 appointment,” Missy’s voice spoke through the speaker.

“Thank you, Missy. Please let Mr. Jenkins know I’ll just be a moment,” She said and then ended their call.

“You good?” Raylan asked as his hand grasped her doorknob while his eyes did a quick appraisal of her body to make sure nothing was out of place that might give away what they had just done.

“Yeah, I’m great, what about you? You good?” She asked as she smiled at him and he smiled back.

“Oh, I’m fantastic,” He replied and she found that she mentally agreed with his words. She had to admit to herself that he had far exceeded and excelled beyond how good she had imagined he might be in bed. She honestly could not recall the last time she had had an orgasm that amazing or that quick. He tossed her a wink, turned the lock, and opened her office door. He paused, turned back to face her, and then tipped his hat a little. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Wilder.”

“You’re welcome, Marshal Givens. And if you need any more help with that problem we discussed, you have my number,” Carolyn said as she sent him a knowing smile and the smile that had already been on his lips grew wider.

“Yes, ma’am. I will definitely be calling you again real soon for further consultation.”

*****

The End

#justified #justified city primeval #justified fanfiction #raylan givens #carolyn wilder #raylan x carolyn #rayolyn #justified: city primeval fanfiction

[watchingroger]

“It’ll be terribly dull. Besides, everyone else will be drinking. You stay here.”

“I can handle people drinking,” Douglas protested. I handle you well enough, don’t I? he felt himself try to say, but swallowed it. “I’d quite like an evening out for a change.”

“No, no,” Helena said again, waving her hand in the air as if a fly was buzzing around her. “You’re working tomorrow, and it could be a late one.” She was halfway out the door even as she spoke. “We’ll go together next time,” she said, and disappeared.

A glimpse of Douglas's home life after the events of Douz. AO3 or below the cut

“Good afternoon, this is Douglas Richardson speaking - saviour of charter airlines and cricketers everywhere and, inexplicably, the first officer on this flight. You may have noticed that we have finally taken off from Qibili. We should arrive in the UK in around four hours. Until then I would encourage you to make conversation with your cabin crew. Nothing makes them happier than to satisfy the curiosity of our passengers.”

“You’re determined not to stay in her good books, aren’t you.”

“Don’t want to have too many brownie points in hand. She might feel she owes me something.”

“You love when people owe you things.”

“Oh that’s right, I do. Still, I think I’m well in the black with this one. I might as well enjoy it.”

-----

“Hi chaps!” Arthur popped up in the cabin like a jack out of its box.

“Oh good lord.” Douglas dropped his head into his hand with a groan.

“How are the passengers, Arthur?” Martin spoke brightly, drawing Arthur’s attention to him.

“Sleepy. They must have tired themselves out with all that cricket. Aren’t you tired Douglas? You were really good at fielding.”

“It’s somewhat easier in an aeroplane. For some reason.”

“It was really impressive how that tall one could drink beer while batting. I mean he actually would take a swig and hit the ball at the same time. Do you think he could teach me that?”

“No. Arthur, don’t you have something else you could be doing?”

“Not really. The passengers are all asleep and mum’s reading. She doesn’t like me to talk to her when she’s reading.”

“That’s very interesting. Arthur?”

“Yes.”

“Find something else to do. Outside of the flight deck.”

“Right-o!” Arthur said cheerfully as he disappeared.

“Are you alright, Douglas?”

“Of course. It’s been a long day of heroics, that’s all.”

“You’re squirming in your seat. Have you forgotten where the toilet is?”

“I have not.”

“Then what’s the matter?”

“There’s nothing the matter, Captain.” Douglas said sternly. “Now kindly stop interrogating me.”

Martin watched Douglas closely for a moment. “Douglas... did you put your back out carrying a fire truck?”

“I’m just a little stiff,” Douglas retorted, bristling.

“You did!” Martin crowed. “Poor old Douglas. Why didn’t you leave it to the others and supervise?”

“I’m quite capable of helping.”

“No one would blame you.” Martin watched Douglas shift in his seat. “Why don’t you go for a walk up the cabin? There’s nothing to do up here.”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“You don’t want our passengers to see that you hurt yourself, do you? I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”

-----

The tightness in his back only grew worse as the flight wore on. By the time they landed in Fitton a scowl had settled firmly onto his face and Martin had ceased to tease him or even speak to him at all.

Carolyn appeared the moment the seatbelt lights went off. “Right. What are we going to do with these Scotsmen?”

“‘Do with’ them?” Martin asked.

“Yes. We have to do something with them. It’s almost ten o’clock and they’ve no way to get home.”

“Sorry Carolyn, I’m just the pilot.”

“Well?” Carolyn demanded. “Douglas?”

“What do you want me to do? I got them here, and us for that matter. I’ve done my good deed for the day. Call them a taxi. Call them a dozen taxis. I don’t care, I’m going home.”

-----

Douglas sighed as he turned out of the airfield and onto the main road. He turned his thoughts to home. Helena would have something in the oven for him. She would run him a warm bath while he ate. If she was in the mood she might rub ibuprofen gel into his sore muscles, and he would do something for her. He smiled to himself. Not a bad day all round.

The house was dark when he pulled up. He kicked his shoes off and wandered through to the kitchen. He bent stiffly to open the oven and found it empty.

“Helena?” He paused at the bottom of the stairs and listened for his wife. “Darling?”

He pushed the button on the answerphone machine and thumbed through the post. His ex-wife’s voice filled the air.

“I haven’t received your half of the money for Isobel’s trip. Payment is due on Monday so I expect it tomorrow. Don’t let her down.”

He threw down the post and cut off the machine. He called for Helena again.

There was no response.

-----

Douglas looked up at the sound of the front door opening. He listened as it closed again, then heard footsteps and the kettle being filled. He dropped his gaze back to his book.

“Good evening,” he greeted his wife when she finally came into the bedroom.

“Hello,” Helena replied as she breezed into the bathroom. “You made it back. What time was it in the end?”

“Half ten-ish.”

“That’s not so bad.”

“Have you had a nice evening?”

“Oh yes, thank you.”

Douglas watched Helena step out of her dress. “Where were you?”

“Just out with Lavinia and Clare.”

“Are they well?”

Helena rolled into bed. “They’re fine.”

“You’ve been drinking.”

“I had a couple of glasses of wine.”

“I can smell it on you.”

“So turn the other way.”

-----

He woke to light glaring in his eyes. He rolled over, pulling the duvet over his head. Something tugged in his back. He swore and gingerly pulled himself upright.

The bed beside him was empty. The curtains were open along with the windows. The breeze carried in the springtime pollen, dancing in the sun’s rays. He hobbled to the windows and closed them with a bang. 

The kitchen was littered with evidence of Helena. The paper sat open on the table. Her preferred breakfast mug steamed beside the teapot. The french doors to the garden stood open. Beyond them, on the lawn, Helena saluted the sun.

“Good morning.” Helena sang as she danced her way inside.

“Morning.”

“It’s a beautiful day isn’t it.” Helena reached past Douglas for her tea. “You should have been up earlier, you missed the best part.”

“You know how I feel about sunrise.”

“Oh yes, the birds can keep it and keep quiet about it. Is that right? You’d be brighter in the mornings if you didn’t spend all night rolling around untucking the sheets.”

Douglas said nothing, focusing instead on his paper.

“You were particularly lively last night.”

“My back’s been bothering me.”

“There’s paracetamol in the drawer.”

“You know I can’t take that.”

Helena shrugged. “What are you up to today?”

“Not much. I need to make some phone calls but besides that my diary is open. You?”

“I’m meeting Clare for lunch and then we’ve got a lesson. Oh, there’s a social thing after, I might be late.”

“What sort of social thing?”

“It’s a charity thing. For the earthquake, you know. Food aid or water or something.”

“Why don’t I join you? It’ll be nice to see some of your friends.”

“Oh, no, you needn’t bother.”

“I want to.”

“It’ll be terribly dull. Besides, everyone else will be drinking. You stay here.”

“I can handle people drinking,” Douglas protested. I handle you well enough, don’t I? he felt himself try to say, but swallowed it. “I’d quite like an evening out for a change.”

“No, no,” Helena said again, waving her hand in the air as if a fly was buzzing around her. “You’re working tomorrow, and it could be a late one.” She was halfway out the door even as she spoke. “We’ll go together next time,” she said, and disappeared.

-----

It did turn out to be a late one. Douglas fell asleep alone and woke the same way. He silenced the obnoxious jingle of his alarm without opening his eyes. Already he could feel the emptiness of the bed beside him. He crept across the landing and cracked open the door to the spare room. Her dress and shoes on the carpet confirmed Helena’s presence before his eyes reached the bed. He pulled the door softly to and left before she woke up.

-----

The tightness in his back only grew worse as the flight wore on. By the time they landed in Fitton a scowl had settled firmly onto his face and Martin had ceased to tease him or even speak to him at all.

Carolyn appeared the moment the seatbelt lights went off. “Right. What are we going to do with these Scotsmen?”

“‘Do with’ them?” Martin asked.

“Yes. We have to do something with them. It’s almost ten o’clock and they’ve no way to get home.”

“Sorry Carolyn, I’m just the pilot.”

“Well?” Carolyn demanded. “Douglas?”

“What do you want me to do? I got them here, and us for that matter. I’ve done my good deed for the day. Call them a taxi. Call them a dozen taxis. I don’t care, I’m going home.”

-----

Douglas sighed as he turned out of the airfield and onto the main road. He turned his thoughts to home. Helena would have something in the oven for him. She would run him a warm bath while he ate. If she was in the mood she might rub ibuprofen gel into his sore muscles, and he would do something for her. He smiled to himself. Not a bad day all round.

The house was dark when he pulled up. He kicked his shoes off and wandered through to the kitchen. He bent stiffly to open the oven and found it empty.

“Helena?” He paused at the bottom of the stairs and listened for his wife. “Darling?”

He pushed the button on the answerphone machine and thumbed through the post. His ex-wife’s voice filled the air.

“I haven’t received your half of the money for Isobel’s trip. Payment is due on Monday so I expect it tomorrow. Don’t let her down.”

He threw down the post and cut off the machine. He called for Helena again.

There was no response.

-----

Douglas looked up at the sound of the front door opening. He listened as it closed again, then heard footsteps and the kettle being filled. He dropped his gaze back to his book.

“Good evening,” he greeted his wife when she finally came into the bedroom.

“Hello,” Helena replied as she breezed into the bathroom. “You made it back. What time was it in the end?”

“Half ten-ish.”

“That’s not so bad.”

“Have you had a nice evening?”

“Oh yes, thank you.”

Douglas watched Helena step out of her dress. “Where were you?”

“Just out with Lavinia and Clare.”

“Are they well?”

Helena rolled into bed. “They’re fine.”

“You’ve been drinking.”

“I had a couple of glasses of wine.”

“I can smell it on you.”

“So turn the other way.”

-----

He woke to light glaring in his eyes. He rolled over, pulling the duvet over his head. Something tugged in his back. He swore and gingerly pulled himself upright.

The bed beside him was empty. The curtains were open along with the windows. The breeze carried in the springtime pollen, dancing in the sun’s rays. He hobbled to the windows and closed them with a bang. 

The kitchen was littered with evidence of Helena. The paper sat open on the table. Her preferred breakfast mug steamed beside the teapot. The french doors to the garden stood open. Beyond them, on the lawn, Helena saluted the sun.

“Good morning.” Helena sang as she danced her way inside.

“Morning.”

“It’s a beautiful day isn’t it.” Helena reached past Douglas for her tea. “You should have been up earlier, you missed the best part.”

“You know how I feel about sunrise.”

“Oh yes, the birds can keep it and keep quiet about it. Is that right? You’d be brighter in the mornings if you didn’t spend all night rolling around untucking the sheets.”

Douglas said nothing, focusing instead on his paper.

“You were particularly lively last night.”

“My back’s been bothering me.”

“There’s paracetamol in the drawer.”

“You know I can’t take that.”

Helena shrugged. “What are you up to today?”

“Not much. I need to make some phone calls but besides that my diary is open. You?”

“I’m meeting Clare for lunch and then we’ve got a lesson. Oh, there’s a social thing after, I might be late.”

“What sort of social thing?”

“It’s a charity thing. For the earthquake, you know. Food aid or water or something.”

“Why don’t I join you? It’ll be nice to see some of your friends.”

“Oh, no, you needn’t bother.”

“I want to.”

“It’ll be terribly dull. Besides, everyone else will be drinking. You stay here.”

“I can handle people drinking,” Douglas protested. I handle you well enough, don’t I? he felt himself try to say, but swallowed it. “I’d quite like an evening out for a change.”

“No, no,” Helena said again, waving her hand in the air as if a fly was buzzing around her. “You’re working tomorrow, and it could be a late one.” She was halfway out the door even as she spoke. “We’ll go together next time,” she said, and disappeared.

-----

It did turn out to be a late one. Douglas fell asleep alone and woke the same way. He silenced the obnoxious jingle of his alarm without opening his eyes. Already he could feel the emptiness of the bed beside him. He crept across the landing and cracked open the door to the spare room. Her dress and shoes on the carpet confirmed Helena’s presence before his eyes reached the bed. He pulled the door softly to and left before she woke up.

#Cabin Pressure #Douglas Richardson #fanfic #failing marriage #loneliness #I had no idea how to conclude this and in the end I gave up

[carriosity]

my résumé needs to get updated before i can submit it 🩷🩷

and the application for this really well-paying job is due in two days 🩷🩷

let me tell you besties— i am having the worst time 🩷🩷

#carolyn speaking can i help you?

[staczak91]

KING CREOLE Film Review

Ok guys, this might be blasphemy for most Elvis Presley superfans, but I’ve been listening to his music since childhood and have never seen any of his full movies until tonight. I’ve seen bits and pieces on YouTube, and watched King Creole only once before after I graduated college, but might have fallen asleep during it due to exhaustion from job hunting. Oops. Sorry, Elvis...

But now seeing King Creole in its entirety (without falling asleep!!!), I have to say it’s a great film. Although Elvis is a much better singer than actor, he really shines in this, and his acting skills were definitely pretty good. Although it’s a darker movie than I was expecting, I really enjoyed most of it. And when I learned that Michael Curtiz, who directed Casablanca, one of my favorite movies, directed this, I understood why I really liked this movie.

Elvis as Danny Fisher was a lot of fun to watch. He’s a great character who you can’t help but root for. And I couldn’t wait for the musical performances the whole time, and found them incredibly entertaining and engaging. My two favorite songs are “Trouble” (will never get tired of that song and performance - and the only scene I remembered from the movie before watching it again tonight) and the title song, “King Creole.” Although it was pretty cool hearing “Hard-Headed Woman” in the movie as well, when I’ve been listening to that song on its own for years. Although Elvis’ acting could use some work, once he got to belting out the songs, he quite literally stole the show. 

And the actresses alongside him in this movie almost stole the show from right under his feet as well. Carolyn Jones as Ronnie was amazing in her role, and was a lot of fun to watch, in essence, being miserable and drinking a lot. But she did have some of the best dialogue in the movie, and I really liked her role. And Jan Shepard as Mimi, just an innocent girl who falls for Danny, was nice to watch as well. I did like both women in their roles, and didn’t have a favorite for Danny to choose. 

But speaking of the women....being the 1950′s, how this film handled the women didn’t really age too well. They were more background noise than playing a bigger role. It was a man’s world, and that’s never more apparent than watching it in the present day. 

Still, though, I can understand why this was Elvis’ favorite of his movies, even though I haven’t watched any of his other films fully through yet. From what I heard, his movies go downhill from here, so I’m not sure if it was a good idea to start with his best one, as most people I saw online called it. 

But tomorrow I’ll be watching Jailhouse Rock, and I’ll let you know what I think of it, compared to this one. Look out for a review of that movie tomorrow night!

Also, Elvis’ accent was distracting during the dialogue scenes. I couldn’t help it. I missed some of the things he said because of his thick, but charming, Southern accent. Oh well. Guess there’s always time to watch it again...

#elvis presley #Elvis #King Creole #movie review #jailhouse rock #danny fisher #old movies #music #50s music #50s movies #casablanca #review #trouble #hard headed woman #good movie #I liked it #like really liked it #can't wait to watch and review more #and can't wait to just watch more #elvis is the best

[rockislandadultreads]

November is... National Long-Term Care Awareness Month!

Eldercare 101 by Mary Jo Saavedra

An easy-to-understand guide for caregivers in a post-pandemic world who are adapting to the rapidly changing lifestyles and care needs of elders. The care and wellbeing of our seniors is paramount as we move out of the worst phase of Covid 19 and back to a more stable landscape, that is still subject to the vagaries of aging, illness, and capabilities. This updated edition of Eldercare 101 has been expanded to include pandemic lessons, climate change impact on senior housing and relocation, new medical and technological advancements, new housing trends, multigenerational living, Zoom memorials, brain health, legal needs when you have no children or family, isolation and more. Using her Six Pillars of Aging Wellbeing framework, Mary Jo Saavedra and a variety of expert contributors explore the needs, desires, realistic circumstances, opportunities for healthy and safe aging, and end of life care … something we all need to think about at some time or another.

Floating in the Deep End by Patti Davis

With the heartfelt prose of a loving daughter, Patti Davis provides a life raft for the caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. “For the decade of my father’s illness, I felt as if I was floating in the deep end, tossed by waves, carried by currents, but not drowning,” writes Patti Davis in this searingly honest and deeply moving account of the challenges involved in taking care of someone stricken with Alzheimer’s. When her father, the fortieth president of the United States, announced his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in an address to the American public in 1994, the world had not yet begun speaking about this cruel, mysterious disease. Yet overnight, Ronald Reagan and his immediate family became the face of Alzheimer’s, and Davis, once content to keep her family at arm’s length, quickly moved across the country to be present during “the journey that would take [him] into the sunset of [his] life.”

Empowered by all she learned from caring for her father―about the nature of the illness, but also about the loss of a parent―Davis founded a support group for the family members and friends of Alzheimer’s patients. Along with a medically trained cofacilitator, she met with hundreds of exhausted and devastated attendees to talk through their pain and confusion. While Davis was aware that her own circumstances were uniquely fortunate, she knew there were universal truths about dementia, and even surprising gifts to be found in a long goodbye. With Floating in the Deep End, Davis draws on a welter of experiences to provide a singular account of battling Alzheimer’s.

Mashed Potatoes in My Salad by Eunice L. Sykes

Mashed Potatoes in My Salad is foremost a love story. It is a poignant tale of a woman, who, after several unsuccessful, toxic and abusive relationships, finally finds the man of her dreams under unlikely, risky, and daring circumstances. What she had not anticipated, though, was being a caregiver time and time again as he endures serious illnesses - including a devastating Alzheimer's diagnosis.

This is her complex, multilayered story of ambition, drive, romance, endurance, resilience, loyalty, survival, love, and joy. Her lessons learned will inspire and motivate you to be all that you can be and to live your best life better.

The Caregiver's Companion by Carolyn A. Brent

People today are not only living longer, they are also living sicker—making aging and caring for elderly loved ones more complicated than ever before. In this extensive guide, caregiver advocate Carolyn Brent outlines a step-by-step process so caregivers know what to do and what to ask in every situation that may arise, including:

• Signs that your loved one needs more assistance

• What to look for in a retirement home

• Caretaking in your own home

• How to ensure wills are in order

• How to manage difficult family relationships

• Ensuring you are getting the help and care you need

Brent leaves no stone unturned, provides personal stories and scenarios for context, and includes other references and resources in this complete guide to caregiving.

#long term care #caregiverlife #nonfiction #reading recommendations #reading recs #book recommendations #book recs #library books #tbr #tbr pile #to read #booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog #readers advisory

[e-devotion]

celebrate back2school

This past weekend was one for the books.  Our back2school outreach was incredible, but we have a couple locations still serving in the weeks ahead.

I am not going to share results with you in this e-devotion, yet I do want to tell you a little of what I have seen, how it has gone, and what I believe the the largest and most important outcomes.

God has called us, each of us and our churches, to serve others.  We do that in many different ways, and what I am convinced of is that God wants us to help others see His goodness and to know their God-given value.

One of the most important places to share value is in the lives of children.  That is why back2school is incredible. 

Matthew 19:13-15  NLT  

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” 15 And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

The children are important.  Those who desire the kingdom of God have to become like a child to accept Jesus and to believe in God.  And that is when the desire of Jesus is to bless the children that come to him.

I love seeing our volunteers serve others.  Especially when washing feet and praying over students is the big piece for me.  We can and must speak in to the lives of others, especially children.

Another of the outcomes is how churches are impacted by just being a part of back2school.  Many people begin to serve or return to serving in this program.  He will give us our heart to serve and point us to where to serve.

I can go on, but what I remind you of us the incredible opportunity we have to share the love of God and to build the value of those we serve.  That is what makes this program, back2school, so very vital!

Pray for:

Pray for Frances Compton as she is now in hospice care.  Pray for Jenny Biggs, Debra Mosely and Bonnie Burnette as they will be having medical tests.  Pray for Anita Martin as she recovers from surgery and may go home today.  Pray for Leah Riddle’s sister Lori as she is in the hospital and having more tests and struggling.

On Going Prayer List:

Carolyn Holland, Earl Smith, Martha Pennington, Bonny Burnette, Deb Patterson’s mother, Tracy Hicks, Irene Byrd, David Smith, Raye Anne Thore, and Danny and Kathy Wilson.  Those battling cancer Felecia Watkins, Frances Compton, Device Rani Kancherla, WT Setliff, Leah Riddle’s sister Lori, Ron Harris, Steve Markland’s father, and Jon Morris.

#e-devotion #devotion #devo #back2school #back #school #students #church #ministry #serve #love #share #family #christian #faith #Jeus #God #Michael Harrison #The Community Fellowship

[psitrend]

Interview with Carolyn Lee, author of The Water Rabbit, the Story of a Survival

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2022/07/27/interview-with-carolyn-lee-author-of-the-water-rabbit-the-story-of-a-survival/

Interview with Carolyn Lee, author of The Water Rabbit, the Story of a Survival

Carolyn Lee’s story on how surviving a shipwreck gave her the strength to change her life.

Carolyn Lee, a British novelist, had a dysfunctional childhood with a mentally unstable mother and was looking for an escape until she met Raymond, a Hong Kong boy who promised the prospect of a new, adventurous life. Carolyn and Raymond relocated their family to Hong Kong in 1994, where Raymond began a job in investment banking while Carolyn cared for their three children. Carolyn got depressed as the two grew apart over the years. After her father died in 2000, she thought the family’s new sailing activity would help mend their relationship, but it ended up tearing them apart. Carolyn ended her marriage and started over when their yacht Purple X sank in the South China Sea in 2007. She then became a life coach.

Official Site | Publisher

What motivated you to start writing and share a very personal part of your life?

The main purpose of the book in the first instance was to tell the story of the rescue. Whenever people have asked me about it, they always said I should write it down. The rescue was only possible due to the heroism and incredible seamanship of Capt Sirpreet Kahlon of the Maersk Princess. The story of this recuse would be lost had I not written in detail about it. The other aspect of the book is to give hope to people that there is still real kindness in the world. These strangers risked their lives to save us. And no matter how hard you think something is, you can grow from such experiences and find happiness. 

How long did it take you to create this volume?

I started writing in June of 2021 and completed it in October that year. There was a process of going through a few edits which took time, so I would say 6 months in total.  

What was the hardest part to write?

Reliving some painful aspects of my marriage and the rescue were quite hard. To put down in words and express things that were painful to live through was difficult. I was also very concerned about portraying things in a balanced way. My intention was never to show people in a bad light, but it was hard to do that in terms of my mother in particular. I hope I have given a fair account of the folk mentioned in the book. 

You survived a shipwreck. What did you feel in those dramatic moments? What were you thinking? Have you ever lost hope to be rescued?

When I was almost on the verge of drowning, I did feel very sad for my children. I was profoundly distressed that I may never see them grow up and I wanted them to know I loved them and to go on and live good lives. I was very sad I would not have any final words with them. I think it was that fear that helped me push on a little longer and keep going. My deceased father to whom I was very close, seemed to speak to me at this critical time. I certainly heard his voice tell me he would not see me today as it wasn’t my time. This urged me on to keep fighting for my life. 

How did this experience change your life?

It was so clear to me that life can end at any moment. I felt surviving the rescue took everything I had. If I could summon up the energy and drive to stay alive, I could face what my life really looked like and what it meant to me. If there were aspects of it that I really felt did not serve me anymore, I could change them. It may not be easy, but surely not as bad as nearly dying. The experience gave me courage.  

How do you think Hong Kong society has evolved since you arrived?

When I arrived in Hong Kong in 1994, things were still rather British. The return of Hong Kong to China was a historical moment and I felt privileged to be living through it. Over time, yes Hong Kong has changed, but so have I. I see how Hong Kong has evolved over my 28 years living there. although I think it will always be unique due to its specific history. Hong Kong society seems to take a lot of wait-and-see approaches but also, the people seem very practical and resilient. They will make their decision on what they want and work hard to fulfill their own destiny, whether that be moving away or choosing to stay. Hong Kong is evolving and the people of Hong Kong are evolving with it. I always see it as a place of opportunity. It has certainly been a place of opportunity for me. 

What is your next project? 

I want to focus on my repatriation to the UK. I have lived in Hong Kong for half of my life, and my Hong Kong experience really shaped who I am today. In many ways, the UK seems like a foreign country so there is a process of adjustment. I am also working with schools in my work as a life coach and I have a cottage rental business here in Cornwall. I am pleased many international people stay at the cottage – that is one thing I was worried about missing – the international community I had grown to love in Hong Kong.  

#CarolynLee, #HongKong, #TheWaterRabbit

#Carolyn Lee #hong kong #The Water Rabbit