My media this week (17-23 Jul 2022)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 Murder In The Mews (Hercule Poirot #16) (Agatha Christie, author; Nigel Hawthorne & Hugh Fraser, narrator) - short story collection

😊 Death On The Nile (Hercule Poirot #18) (Agatha Christie, author; David Suchet, narrator)

🙂 The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot #21) (Agatha Christie, author; multiple narrators) - short story collection

🙂 Appointment with Death (Hercule Poirot #19) (Agatha Christie, author; Hugh Fraser, narrator)

🥰 The House on Winter Lane (Duchess_On_Fire [author]; ClandestineMira (LoquaciousJargon) [artist]) - 58K, silver fox steve - good silver fox/sugar daddy fic

💖💖 +245K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Have I Told You About Minnie? (Hinn_Raven) - Batfam: Gen, 4.5K - - Bruce, as Matches Malone, brags about his kids

Peril & Proximity (triedunture) - WWDITS movie: Anton/Viago, 11K - absolutely delightful fic with a ship I had literally never considered before, but am totally down for now!

we don't stop but the time do (lovers in another life let me remind you) (inevitablemeow) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 11K - cap!steve and older daddy bucky - absolutely stellar

Resource Sharing (rsadelle) - Bond universe: Bond/Q/Alec, 3.4K - reread of this great quick & dirty fic where Q finds that James & Alec literally share everything

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

The Brokenwood Mysteries - s8,e4

Only Murders In The Building - s2, e5

What We Do In The Shadows - s4, e3

Leverage - s4, e18 "The Last Dam Job" - probably my 2nd fave ep ever of this show

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

You're Dead To Me - Istanbul in the Ottoman Golden Age

Hit Parade - Turn Around, Bright Eyes

99% Invisible #500 - 99% Vernacular: Volume 1

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Lake Lanier

Switched on Pop - We Won’t Go Back: Pop Music and the Fight For Reproductive Rights (w MILCK and Ann Powers)

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Cranes of the DMZ

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - MicroHertz #3: Twenty Thousand Tunes

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Roger Williams Root

The Jump with Shirley Manson - Peaches "Fuck the Pain Away"

This is Good for You - Ep 35: Overdressing Is Good For You

Welcome to Provincetown - 1. The Hustle

You're Dead To Me - Julie d'Aubigny

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Voice at Embankment Station

The Jump with Shirley Manson - Liz Phair - 6’1”

Overinvested - Ep. 263: Road House

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Mika

"Pumped Up Kicks" [Foster The People] radio

My Supermix

Bollywood EDM

Energy Mix 1

Presenting Def Leppard

Chill Mix 1

I Love Me

Yacht Rock Classics

Happy in The Alt-Rock '90s

Presenting Barenaked Ladies

Presenting The Cranberries

Peaches

How to easily distinguish the Stone triplets from one another:

Eliot:

Jacob:

Alex:

( Inspired by this post.)

Okay, given that she apparently based her entire life philosophy on this song, HOW is there not a Sophie Deveraux fanvid set to The Gambler by Kenny Rogers? Or is there one and I just haven't found it?

(I have too many projects and my computer is shit I cannot also learn how to vid on top of everything else someone please realize this vision for me)

So far Act III has been a lot of breaking and entering Break into some rich fucker's house to steal his shit after he was rude to refugees? Check. Break into the basement of a church to help solve a murder? Check. Break into a mausoleum for some friendly grave-robbing (and to look for Orin's people)? Check. Break into an underwater prison to release the prisoners? Check. Break into the newspaper offices to switch out the plates for the next day's top story? Check.

every time i see one of those rare “why are people talking about this one extremely niche leverage thing when it’s boring/dumb/ridiculous” posts/asks im like. guys i would strongly encourage you to pick your own extremely niche and ridiculous leverage thing that you DO find interesting and just,,,flood ur dash with it. it’s extremely fun. find ur corner within the leverage corner and build an unhinged blanket fort there :3

Sometimes you just gotta have extroverted Tumblr mutuals because otherwise no one would be friends

(token of friendship, have a picture of my cat)

fucking incredible thank you for this little angel, elliot. what's the kitty's name??

Leverage: Redemption

S2 E1-3

Photo Credit: @TVLine

Sophie is trying to figure out the leadership dynamics with these people who are her family, friends, team members and home. Ultimately, wuth all these different layers in their relationship, she doesn't want to mess this up.

Hardison constantly belittles Breanna's achievements and meanwhile she keeps seeing from different perspectives and taking notice of some things that Hardison doesn't with his tons of experience. He needed to trust in her abilities. It's the delicate balance between the fear of losing one's relevance and influence which isn't a bad thing. But to also remember, that even the mentees would become mentors at some point and that doesn't mean one's influence has reduced, rather it has expanded. Think of it as birthing another leader.

"Look, Bree, I'm used to showing you the way, not you showing me. So I'm sorry, really"

Are we capable of change?

"And how does that help Dee Dee now? This team can't solve the world's bigger problems. We're just... we're not built for it. What we can do is help one person and then the next, and then the next, and then we look back, and you see how much you've changed. It's baby steps, Breanna"

Sometimes, it just feels like no matter what you do and even when one reaches a peak so to speak, there is still that gnawing feeling that you're not doing enough.

"Because you can't dwell on the past. You have to keep moving forward. But sometimes when you look back, you see how much you've changed. Baby steps, Sophie, baby steps."

I think the past is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can try convince us we haven't changed in the form of old friends and acquaintances tugging on our guilt strings or like Breanna said we can reflect and evaluate how much we've changed.

AU crossover fic idea: the Leverage team is running a con on a mark who also happens to be guilty of a murder being investigated by none other than Lieutenant Columbo. We’d have to go the alternate universe route because there’s no way for the timelines to match up otherwise..I’m thinking modern!Columbo just because it would be easier to write than past!Leverage (although I would love to see 70s-tech-wizard Hardison).

Columbo figures out exactly what the team is doing, confronts them about it, but assures them it’s none of his business anyway.

Parker delivers the final key piece of evidence to his office.

[  ASLEEP  ]:     sender, having climbed into bed to cuddle the receiver (who they believe to be asleep), tells them that they love them. (Hardison)

meme: i love you prompts status: accepting (from mutuals) [ ASLEEP ]: sender, having climbed into bed to cuddle the receiver (who they believe to be asleep), tells them that they love them

The bed dipped at the side. Alec barely stirred. There was only one person it could be, after all. And Alec had long gotten used to Parker's comings and goings.

He murmured something, his eyes still closed, and lifted his arm for her to tuck herself close if she wished. Sleep still beckoned, and this was routine. This was Parker.

She shuffled closer, made herself comfortable. Alec smiled to himself, content with her close. Always so happy when she chose to stay close.

He was on the edge of falling back to sleep when he heard her whisper his name. Heard her ask if he was asleep. Some instinct kept him keeping still, and he was so glad he did when she whispered something he was pretty sure she would never have said if she knew he was awake.

I love you.

Yeah, he was pretty damn content here with Parker. In fact, he was downright ecstatic.

Found a set of books I want but the cheapest copy of one is 60$ and the cheapest for the second is 280$ 🙃

VERSE TAGS.

Picked my Leverage re-watch back up and I never noticed the implication that Tara is an ex-FBI agent before. That's fun!

the fascinating narrative or case study or what have you i’ve got going on (it’s neither lol, it’s that i’m litchreally just out here, [Life, Existing] style) like me nowadays around an adult liable to have angry outbursts abt anything at any time, wherein i already have Experience from birth to almost twenty-two w/a parent who’d do that....like ah once again you have to at best mitigate situations involving this grown person’s emotions, but this time with handy differences of like, sure when i was born they were already older than i was now but i’m also a grown person, this person doesn’t tend to focus their outbursts directly at any potentially involved people ever (however, it is often just about concepts / experiences not involving any specific people anyways) & as such nobody is Demanded to directly interact w/their whole situation in turn, & that also of course i don’t have a personal relationship with this person, they are not my parent.......the like Data Points for my specific situation like. doesn’t really feel that different re: “well, if i’m interacting w/the situation at all, it may as well be this force of nature that you can’t expect to change b/c it’s another person’s unchanging response to their internal experiences which is smthing you obviously can’t control” but wherein it’s like well at least when you’re older & dealing w/some shit you have more tools at your disposal for it than when you’re like, 5, or any younger age than you are now. and it is obviously still a distressing experience to be Around the random regular outbursts, but not Having to directly interact w/any or all of them is like, well, when i wake up to that in a vulnerable marinade of anxiety, it’s been Practice for in that state reminding myself like okay you’re shit at processing things rn b/c you Just woke up, but process that you’ll be better at it when you’re more awake / this will be somewhat less hellish / these are your Vulnerable [aaaaa] Feeling times so it’s amplified but this won’t be the default always.....[aaaaa] when fully awake / firing on all cylinders is still shitty & generally distressing, but Less So, and Knowing this & like patting myself on the back while i’m in the shittier, more distressing [half awake & suffering through this] zone doesn’t improve things all the way to that superior state, but it sure doesn’t hurt.......getting in practice sometimes diving into greater Proximity with the shitstorm to extricate cats from the situation for example, and/or if it’s really escalating & seems to be born of some practical issue i can go in as like The Adult lmfao just as matter of factly as possible be like okay so what’s the issue, see if i can help (& handily often Initiating An Exchange / getting responses seems to make this person dial it back, re: whatever’s going on where they don’t tend to yell directly At people (the direct approach for people is usually also a shit ton of Passive aggression, not helpful, but not yelling)) like i’m not gonna be the actual parent here lol nor try to manage any & all these explosions or walk them through the Emotional matter, b/c that’d be a therapist thing & i’m not that, & in turn this isn’t even jokingly like oh free exposure therapy for me lol it’s basically Never what that is, it’s fundamentally different to be a spontaneous uncontrolled situation w/no therapist involved....but i Am wringing what i can from it lol like well, these are experiences, i’m getting in practice.............and also the emphasis on the Matter Of Factness like. trying to keep it practical & as emotionally detached as possible on my end for my own sake, even in terms of like warmth lmfao like that may Appease but again for my own sake i may as well also practice my “i need to be ‘meaner’” approach lmao when it comes to like, less people pleasing, less masking (which is also people pleasing / appeasing, but just more specific lol like accommodating nt people in anticipation & attempted avoidance of their hostility towards your being nd, vs accommodating anyone & their hostility towards your anything).......may wrangle a matter of Practical Help to mitigate the situation but that’s about it, in fact like of course knowing from all the prior experience that at best your actual emotions are irrelevant & your assumed / made up emotions are fuel for the fire or what have you & thus trying to manage some detachment is a strategy, but only confirmation here like “oh well technically i haven’t Tried communicating How I Feel, Btw” lmfao but. confirmed anyways eventually when i was Not trying to communicate anything or make an emotional appeal, simply Visibly Upset (stress crying time) while engaging in a [practical mitigation efforts] manner was met with Sympathy in the moment, only for Everything Overall to stay the same and, in the aftermath for a bit, more relevant elements of things to actually markedly worsen specifically Because of the Awareness that i was upset by xyz, despite the theoretical sympathy.........so yeah the like intermediate difficulty survival horror game continual exposure sucks obviously lmfao but while i’m here. observations & notes

Crab Day

okay, so here's a new info post from the top.

the problem: tumblr is extremely extremely in debt. the current model is not profitable. this is why they are trying to turn the site into a shit clone of every other social media site, so they can attract new users and their money.

solution: not a ton of people can afford a long-term subscriptions like ad-free. however, many of us CAN afford $3 to inflict crabs on another unsuspecting user. (and those that can't, can still enjoy crabs everywhere)

the idea: in the grand traditions of mishapocalypses and goncharovs and tumblr users' obsession with [random inconsequential thing] Days, we create a fund drive/holiday on July 29th, dubbed Crab Day. buy your friends crabs. buy your enemies crabs. blaze posts. post memes. change ur icon. whatever. actually put your money where your mouth is and show @staff that there actually IS profit motive to listen to the current users about what we want this site to look like. (and yes, that means accessibility features too. we currently have zero leverage to demand these features. let's change that.)

i don't know if this will actually go anywhere. worst case scenario, a few of us have fun, tumblr gets a small amount of money, and nothing changes. best case though, we actually provide incentive to keep our stupid hellsite unique.

mmmm thinkin abt mike struggling to be quiet when you’re fucking. SMUT 17+

you were watching abby that night, and as soon as mike got back from work he was on you. peppering kisses along your neck when you were around the corner just out of abby's line of sight, rubbing little circles in your thighs at the dinner table, sweetly asking you to stay longer even whenever the lights were off and abby was tucked in bed.

you knew his plea would result in the two of you in his bedroom, you slowly sinking yourself down onto him. you'd encouraged it, telling mike you'd give him wanted on one condition.

"anything," he'd said, eyes big and earnest.

"you gotta promise to be quiet." your pinkie hovered between you both, waiting for mike to interlink his. he did with a smile, as if it were something easy.

but mike couldn’t stop moaning. his sounds were cute, little gasps and whines. they were arousing. but they were entirely too loud for the low level of privacy you had within the four thin walls.

“mike, please. you gotta be quiet.” you plea through your own barely concealed moan.

he sighs, face scrunching. “i know. i’m sorry, baby. i’m trying.”

but apparently not hard enough as you’re forced to lodge your panties between his teeth, a muffler for his moans. he lets you do so, opening his mouth and even going so far as to make a show of sticking his tongue out for the blue cotton fabric. yet, his sounds still leak through, and you voice an idea as you’re bouncing on his cock, nails lightly scratching down his chest.

“still so loud, mikey. we might have to get a muzzle for nights like these. what’d you think?”

mike's groan practically echoes. he seems oblivious to his own noises, instead thinking with his dick that starts to piston up into you, mike's nails digging into your ass to provide him with leverage.

your hand slaps over his mouth, colliding with soft cotton and warm skin, and mike finally wrenches his eyes open. there's vibration against your hand, short and resembling the pattern of syllables, and you slowly peel your hand away, taking the panties with you, to hear him speak.

just a simple word, curt and quiet and whimpered.

"please."