Chapter 10: After the Lockdown

Summary: Shots are fired at the White House and the First Lady isn't happy about that.

A post-ep for "Evidence of Things Not Seen" (Part One). Contains banter and some angst.

“Everyone's fine,” said Debbie. “At least they were until I robbed them blind of their hard-earned money.” Abbey sighed. “Someone shoots at him, and what does he do? He plays a game of poker with the staff.” Yes, that was the exact stupid thing Jed would do. For a genius with 180 IQ, he could be such an idiot. “And not very well, ma’am,” Debbie added casually. Abbey was silent. Her long fingers tapped against the polished surface of the desk. Debbie looked at her but said nothing. “Did he bother you with trivia?” Abbey finally asked. “I learned a lot about national parks,” said Debbie, the diplomat. Her face was blank. No wonder she’d taken all their money. Amateurs. ****** “You run the country on four hours of sleep, you eat roast beef even though your cholesterol levels are high, and you have MS, to say nothing of the fact that someone shot at you, for the second time in four years.” “Abbey, a very disturbed man fired three shots at the press room, while I was in the Oval. It’s bulletproof glass in the windows and there’s an agent whose job is to stand in front of a bullet. You wanna be worried about someone, you should be worried about him.” “Jed…” “And I’m going to tell you what I told Charlie, you wanna kill me, you're going to have to do it from inside the building.” “I can assure you that I’m considering that option,” Abbey said coldly.

It comes with a (NSFW) sequel: Substance of Things Hoped for

Summary: Shots are fired at the White House and the First Lady isn't happy about that. But there might be a way to turn the night around. A post-ep for "Evidence of Things Not Seen" (part two). The same story, Jed's POV. Contains barbecuing.

What kind of day has it been? Jed thought. Hardly a regular Friday at the office. An international crisis averted, but someone had shot at them. Someone had shot at his people again, but luckily this time no one had been hit. Yeah, he knew the risks that came with the job, but getting shot at two times in four years was damn bad luck. At least, he'd fared better than Lincoln or Kennedy. The phone call had dragged on, a diplomatic game of cat and mouse in two languages, but in the end, he didn't have to trade Florida for pieces of a spy plane. With the deal made, the night could finally end. Maybe there was a chance to play another game of poker and retrieve some of the money Debbie had taken from him. **** God, how much he loved her! He pulled her into another hug and held her there, against his chest. She was still warm and soft, his anchor to sanity. Even after all these years, his wife still thought he was the smartest man in the world—it went without saying that he was also the most handsome man in the world—so maybe it wasn’t such a bad night after all.

Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

“Mother Squirrel is always out there waiting, and Mother Squirrel is always hungry.”

The Tony Hillerman book we never got.

Little Boy Squirrel eyes the Cat

writing historical fiction will make you google things like “when we’re towels invented?” “how much did a towel cost in American in 1885?” “historical average number of towels owned per household”

REBLOG if you have amazing talented artist friends!

“…require healthcare staff to give pregnant women information about adoption on an equal basis with all other courses of action.”

My latest cartoon for New Scientist

Must admit that one thing that changed the way I see fandom discourse is realizing that a lot of fandom is just… playing with dolls. We're playing with dolls. Shipping? Playing with dolls. AUs? Dolls. Darkfic? Dolls.

Lotta people very agitated about the other kids playing with dolls wrong.

“Commander Vimes didn't like the phrase 'The innocent have nothing to fear', believing the innocent had everything to fear, mostly from the guilty but in the longer term even more from those who say things like 'The innocent have nothing to fear'.” -- Discworld (Snuff)

nah cause the fact that jane austen wrote a character like emma woodhouse is still insane to me. she threw all the standards out the window and was like hey, here’s this incredibly complex and nuanced character, she’s selfish, privileged, manipulative and arrogant, but she’s also really fucking kind, she would do anything for those she loves (including sacrificing a lot of her liberties), she is able to admit that she’s made a mistake and grow from it, because those things are not mutually exclusive. and i think the reason why everyone is trying to girlbossify their heroines to make them like lizzie bennet (which is an insult to her character but that’s another story) is because they’re scared to write characters like emma. which is understandable, because she’s unlikeable-ish, and they don’t want to take that risk.

honestly the way jane wrote emma is IMPECCABLE and not everyone can pull it off, but i wish female characters with actual flaws were more popular.

There’s no such thing as work-life balance for neurodivergent & chronically ill people.

This is because everything in my life requires work:

maintaining friendships

keeping up with my hygiene

managing bills

making money

remembering my basic needs

sleeping regularly

outputting creatively

All requires some aspect of work for me.

And when everything in your life requires work, your balance goes out the window.

If you're neurodivergent and overwhelmed — I see you.

If you're chronically ill and overwhelmed — I see you.

You're not dysfunctional.

You're not incapable.

You're doing your best.

Happy Terry Pratchett Day! 🐢🐘🐘🐘🐘🫓🌎🌌🌌🌌

The Prague astronomical clock, or Prague orloj, is a medieval astronomical clock located in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

The devastating difference between how much time it takes to write something vs how fast people read it lol