#(un)professional services | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ukrfeminism · 1 year

Text

2 minute read

JK Rowling is founding and personally funding a new service for women survivors of sexual violence. Launched days before Nicola Sturgeon’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill is expected to pass through the Scottish parliament, the Edinburgh-based centre, Beira’s Place, will be female-only.

The author, who has written about the sexual and domestic abuse she suffered in her twenties, believes there is an “unmet need” for Scottish women who want “women-centred and women-delivered care at such a vulnerable time”. She hopes Beira’s Place, which will employ professional staff to provide free one-to-one and group counselling, “will enable more women to process and recover from their trauma”.

Rowling’s board of directors are all vocal opponents of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which will permit anyone to change the legal sex on their birth certificate by making a simple statutory declaration, a process known as self-identification. Feminists, including Reem Alsalem, UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, have raised grave concerns it will open up women’s services and private spaces to abuse by male predators.

Beira’s board comprises Rhona Hotchkiss, a former prison governor, who has opposed the Scottish government’s policy of moving trans-identified male sex offenders to women’s jails; Johann Lamont, a former leader of the Scottish Labour Party and a lawyer; Dr Margaret McCartney, an academic, broadcaster and Glasgow GP; and Susan Smith, director of For Women Scotland, a grassroots feminist group founded to fight the gender reform bill. Beira’s chief executive is Isabelle Kerr, a former manager of Glasgow Rape Crisis who received an MBE in 2020 for her work supporting British citizens who had been raped overseas.

The provision of single-sex services has been a key battleground of the gender reform bill. Already in Scotland, most domestic violence refuges and rape support services are “trans inclusive” and accept referrals from both sexes. In recent years councils have removed grants from women-only refuges in favour of generic organisations. Monklands Women’s Aid in North Lanarkshire, which was set up more than 40 years ago, had its council funding withdrawn in favour of a social justice charity which also helps men.

Most controversial is Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre whose chief executive, Mridul Wadhwa, a trans woman, told the Guilty Feminist podcast that women sexual assault victims who request female-only care will be “challenged on your prejudices” and told to “reframe your trauma”.

Yet in her recent book Defending Women’s Spaces, veteran campaigner Karen Ingala Smith, the chief executive of Nia, a domestic abuse charity in London, describes how women traumatised by male violence fare better and feel safer in female therapeutic spaces.

Beira’s Place is legally permitted to exclude males under the exemptions of the 2010 Equality Act, which allows single-sex services if they are “a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate end”.

It is named after Beira, the Scottish goddess of winter. JK Rowling said: “Beira rules over the dark part of the year, handing over to her sister, Bride, when summer comes again. Beira represents female wisdom, power, and regeneration. Hers is a strength that endures during the difficult times, but her myth contains the promise that they will not last for ever.”

The service is not a charity, but privately funded by Rowling, a noted philanthropist. The amount she will donate to set up and run Beira’s Place has not been disclosed.

1K notes · View notes

sky-kiss · 5 months

Note

If you’re still taking requests, I wouldn’t say no to another Drabble from the Professor!Raphael series, fluffy or smutty, I’m not picky 😏 I always love anything you write xx

A/N: Awww, thank you! You’re so sweet! Have something silly. Hopefully cute.

____________

College/Coffeehouse Au: Raphael/Tav Office Hours

_____________

A traditional and respectable greeting to a coworker might be “Good morning!” or “Nice to see you!” Haarlep presumably weighs these rote colloquialisms and blazes right past them, settling instead on a flat:

“I’d remind you, professor: your office isn’t soundproof.”

Raphael stops, eyes narrowing. It doesn’t cow Haarlep; he’s unsure anything could. They meet his stare, one corner of their mouth ticking up in lazy pleasure. His assistant links their hands behind their head, brow arched.

“Is there something you’d like to discuss, Haarlep?” Raphael recognizes his tone is a touch too sharp, too arch, and it will only encourage the little shit. Haarlep shrugs.

“Not at all. Consider it a word between friends! A public service announcement.” They stand, stretching, tail flicking out behind them. “I never intended to dissuade you from your tawdry lunchtime rendezvous with your barista. But if you intend to play around others, let her be loud for us at least?”

“Insufferable…”

Haarlep laughs, patting him on the cheek before vacating his office.

_____

The warning lingers. It’s a litany, chanted whenever Tav drops by with her winning smile and a cup of coffee. She’ll lean over his desk to kiss him and…

Thrice-damned Haarlep. He clutches her, mumbling an apology against her lips.

“It wouldn’t be professional.”

Tav snickers, nosing the underside of his jaw. Her right-hand curls under his chin, tipping his head up to make way for the questing press of her lips. There’s a scrape of teeth across his throat, a gentle warning to stop protesting or she’ll change her mind. Raphael knows he doesn’t want that. If she stops touching him, he might go mad. She’s a comfortable weight, spread across his lap, hands tangled in his hair.

Unprofessional, unprofessional, un…

“I already locked the door,” she mumbles, tongue flicking to taste him. Raphael shivers, hands clutching at her hips, grinding her down on him.

“I was informed my office isn’t soundproof…”

Tav snorts. He can’t see her face from this angle, but he’s under the impression she rolls her eyes. “Could be a fun game, hmm? How quiet can you be, professor…” She catches the shell of his ear between her teeth, voice low, an airy whisper just for him. “My loud, loud, loud love”

Raphael chuckles, pleased by the way she shivers. The sound chases down her spine, pools low in her belly, and makes her cling to him. It makes her eager, gives him power…so many delicious little eccentricities.

Her hand slips between them, teasing his fly down. Tav whispers such pretty filth against his lips, guiding him into her. She swallows his loud grunt. Raphael feels her shake with laughter. She presses her right hand over his mouth.

In a fit of pique, he licks between her fingers. He has the pleasure of feeling her clench around him, her eyes darkening in challenge.

Haarlep’s warning still flits through his head, restructured as a challenge and game.

The little shit will be delighted.

#bg3 raphael #raphael x tav #raphael bg3 #coffeehouse au #did you want cavities?#because this is how you get cavities #fluff

115 notes · View notes

digenerate-trash · 3 months

Text

False safety:

✦•····················································•✦•···················································•✦

Jordan -

Jordan has a desire to save you. When he first lays eyes on you you're so close to being lost in the darkness of this town and it's up to them to save you.

Jordan knows that it's wrong to play favorites but you're new to the temple. And who better to show you around but his best and purest initiate? He sends you to Sydney right away.

You're oh so sweet when you tend to the church. Organizing books and helping other initiates clean the rooms. Though Jordan likes seeing you tend to the garden the most. The care you put into it. The sweat on your brow as you work. Your face flushes red as you admire your work. He's happy to see you doing everything you can to help.

When someone offers you a cup of wine he quickly intervenes. Nothing can happen to you on his watch. Nothing can ever happen to you...

Jordan finds himself offering you lodging. Make sure to prepare your meals.

Even steering away your caretaker when he comes around looking for you.

Jordan keeps you safe. He likes it better that way. Even when the day has been rough he talks to you. Long hours neglecting his duty to care for you and your needs.

Jordan wants to keep you pure and safe. It becomes an obsession.

He removes you from school. He hides you away deep in the temple. The other initiates barely see you.

Jordan even gives you a new name. He calls you "lamb" and the other temple members quickly adopt it for you as well.

You barely see Sydney anymore... only during service or special occasions.

Jordan of course keeps you entertained and happy. Even if you aren't allowed to leave anymore he grabs you whatever you need.

Jordan Even gets you little gifts woven items gold jewelry trinkets and rare things. He presents them to you carefully. He loves how you examine each piece.

Jordan shares his prayers with you. He whispers them in your ear and holds you close as he wishes for the future. His life. The temple. All good things- he could never pray for harm...

But he also confesses things to you. Things you wish you could un-hear Jordan's worries and fears. His faith and how it shakes when he sees you. How much his love has changed him. How he fears he's wasted years worshiping the wrong God.

Jordan only knows the temple and the love he feels for his God.

But now that God is you.

Charlie -

Charlie likes you pure! He does. He prefers it when you're not all over him. Because he's a closet weirdo.

Charlie likes it when you show up on time. Neat and clean and happy.

In class always professional. Keeps up his reputation. He helps you with your posture and keeps his distance nothing too intimate. He doesn't play favorites or make anything awkward. You trust him.

He gets you well-paying jobs. He treats you nicely. He even replaces your dancing shoes when he finds out your old ones are improper.

He's your coach. And your friend.

But at night he's entirely different. He pays Bailey for shots of you. He heads to the brothel on his off days and wears a mask as he watches you. Of course, you would waste your talents here...

He even pays for a room with you just to blindfold and fuck you ruthlessly.

He thought that would be it. But stalking you in his off time becomes a bit of a habit.

Charlie won't outright say he has an obsession with you. He won't even admit it's a crush. But he does end up staying longer nights at the brothel when he knows you working. ✦•····················································•✦•···················································•✦

Darryl -

Darryl wants you safe. They always wanted you safe ever since they met you.

Darryl becomes protective and frightened for you as soon as they meet you. They cling to you like nothing else and keep your working hours long but not particularly hard.

Darryl keeps creeps away from you. Even banning them from the strip club if they go too far

The dancers consider you Darrl's little sibling. They're always beside you while you tend the bar and work together

Darryl even slips you their tips as well. They don't want you to head to Bailey empty-handed.

Darryl never wants anything to happen to you. So they keep you so close it's a bit suffocating.

Darryl wants you to work somewhere where you won't be accosted and harassed... but then how would they keep an eye on you? ✦•····················································•✦•···················································•✦

Sam -

Sam knows.

Sam knows it's your "cream" that keeps the bakery running but is in deep denial.

Sam licks the bowl and knows the taste. He's no stranger to this freakish town. He's bought from Remy before he knows the taste...

But you? You're so innocent. You would never...

So Sam stays in denial. But he still eats the cream buns. He still licks the bowl he still looks over you as you try to act innocent. Face blushing your heart beating out of your chest. He'll look over the kitchen before leaving you to do your work again.

Sam loves that you're so dedicated. You work so hard that you make sure to clean up after yourself. And you always come to work happy.

Sam loves that for you but once you decide to let the secret out. He can't deny it anymore. He can't pretend you're just some talented baker... he has to face what you are.

At first, it seems like he takes it well. "The secrets out" he laughs before steadily moving on. But it bothers him.

He still keeps you around... he lets you work how you like. He doesn't want to hurt his business after all.

Eventually, Sam get more hands-on with your baking. He wants the best product after all. He helps you get off he pushes you far beyond your limits just to get everything out of you.

He starts calling you a cash cow as a nickname.

It's a little mean-spirited but he says you owe him this.

Sam thinks you owe him a lot... ✦•····················································•✦•···················································•✦

Niki -

Niki is so happy to have a new muse! And they aren't shy about it either.

After about two months of mediocre models and no excitement, it's fun to have you around.

You're full of life and you're beautiful. Your body is a marvel and Niki is going to capture every angle of it.

Niki loves your posters every time they make a new one they are so eager to show it off. They just want the world to know about their little muse.

they’ve seen creep shots of you. Images where you're passed out. Videos of you being molested or raped.

they feel for you... but they are also horrified by the lack of artistry put into them

Niki will spend hours with you recreating those horrific photographs and videos to make them more suited to you. Niki is spending hours making sure to get every angle and detail correct

Of course, sometimes Niki will go too far. If you're not scared enough he'll instruct other models to hurt you. Hold you down more. Or to go rougher than agreed. It's all about getting your emotions on film after all. And everyone knows authenticity shows up much better.

They never take your complaints seriously. You just don't understand how important this is. When you see the final product you'll be grateful they pushed you.

At the end of the day though Niki will wrap you up in silk sheets and pet you so sweetly they'll say you were such a good model you did everything right.

And when Niki shows off their collection of you in their folders you'll see that Niki favors the ones where you're frightened or in pain.

Niki will show off the album with stars in their eyes. Running their fingers along every photograph outlining your perfect features.

Niki doesn't think they'll ever get bored of you

#jordan the pious #Charlie the dance coach #darryl the club owner #sam the cafe owner #niki the photographer #yan dol #yandere #tw yandere #tw stalking #tw rape #tw molestation #tw body fulids #no i will not do morgan. hes been a terrible boy.

64 notes · View notes

seat-safety-switch · 5 months

Text

I don't know if this is still a thing, but when I was a kid there was a stereotype that all dentists drive Porsches. Like all "all" statements, this one can be trivially disproven by finding a counterexample. Allow me to submit into evidence the example of my own dentist, who drives a 2021 Toyota Camry XLE in Resale Value White Metallic.

Sure, this Camry makes more horsepower than virtually all Porsche 911s throughout history ever made, and costs more than a large majority of them prior to the 80s, but it's not about numbers. What people really resent is the idea that someone else, a trained and educated professional, is making money off their fucked-up, never-flossed teeth. Porsche owners have bank, and consider themselves to be a world apart from the people they're forced to cut bad-smelling holes in the bones of every day. That's the origin of the stereotype.

You can see similar complaints about the labour rate of the humble neighbourhood mechanic, but the stereotype doesn't follow. The only difference is: no decent mechanic would ever be so dumb as to drive a Porsche to work. Not when they could instead operate some dangerous combination of half-completed engine swap, un-repaired crash damage, and loose wiring lying on the floor that they have to bonk together if they want turn signals. It was a good deal, you see. Instead, mechanics are painted as being straight out scammers. He told me I needed four new tires, but I was fine just replacing the worst one for a month or two before my car inexplicably slid off the road. Fucking liar.

Is there a kind of high-labour-cost service job out there that doesn't receive complaints and stereotypes? Outside of "horse boarder," I can't really think of one. Perhaps the universal constant amongst all of humanity is to look at several thousand hours of education, and then go "hey, I could do that." You can start right now by building your own 911. All it takes is one of those old rusty Beetles on the end of the junkyard, and a 302 out of one of those Lincoln Town Cars. Then you can really show your dentist what's up, as long as you don't bonk out your luxury bones on the steering wheel the first time you spin it into a ditch. Race car drivers are so overpaid.

136 notes · View notes

rockingrobin69 · 6 months

Text

Fic claim: Of magical beings being - magic

Summary: Out of the blue, Potter's letter says: I need you. And Draco, ever a fool, goes. Cue magical houses, fluffy Beings with a sweet tooth, mutual pining level: infinity, and a truly outrageous amount of tea.

Of Magical Beings Being - Magic - 30,000 words, rated E, for @unleashed-fest

Friends, my first ever anon fest fic has just been revealed, and I am beyond myself with happiness that this tiny little story that is purely a chunk of my heart is just, out here for you all to see! I know I often claim 'this is the softest thing I've ever written' but this, this, truly is. It's sad and so filled with longing: it's joyful, and bright, and full of magic.

It's got a comfortable, confident trans man Harry in the loveliest magical house you can imagine, it's got a Draco so in love with him he's absolutely raging, it's got fluffy animals and adorable children and so, so much tea, and if that's not enough, hot chocolate. Pals, it's the cottage-coriest thing ever and everyone's heart gets broken at least once. It's, as always, about healing, and about love.

I had so much fun writing it, and cannot thank my lovely friends enough: @basicallyahedgehog, @samyistrying, @toxik-angel - for lending me your ear and your heart and giving your time and your thoughts. @stavromulabetaaa, @getawayfox - this fest was so brilliant, and honestly, truthfully, without it, this story wouldn't exist - I would never have found this little bit of myself. Thank you, most profoundly.

Snippet:

From the open window, the smell was strong of lavender, of orange blossom, of thyme and of basil and wild garlic. The house had an enormous garden, with gnarly trees, with weeds and wildflowers in blues and pinks and whites and. Draco, with some difficulty, looked away. For the house was now clear, was close, and in the door, ajar, stood—him.

His hair was longer. A streak of white in the black of his curls, tucked artlessly behind an ear. He’d grown wider, but only just, strong shoulders and thick thighs. A beard, trimmed neatly, framed his jaw in a truly unfair display. His skin was dark under his white shirt: he was, all at once, too much to bear. Draco closed his eyes and begged himself to cease. This foolishness had no place between them, ever since the—well. Ever since.

“Draco,” with a smile in his voice, the absolute fucker. Potter was coming closer, was lovely, here in this place that so suited him, in the joy etched in every line of his face. Draco’s belly reacted to it, squirming, cross.

“Potter,” with what he hoped was a professional tone. What was probably a pathetic whimper. “What—” stumbled coming out of the car, which parked itself under the overgrown apple tree, was caught at the elbow by a very warm hand. Un-clutched himself from the clutches. Tried glaring. Failed.

“What a surprise,” he managed in the end, half-choked. “Who would have guessed it was you requiring my services.”

Read Of Magical Beings Being - Magic on AO3!

(Oh my god, I never even mentioned the AMAZING banner El made for this fic. Please, if you read the story, please have another look at it and TELL ME your heart isn't filled to the brim. El, you're magic, is what you are.)

#drarry fic #bonus: leave a comment - make my day!!!!#cottagecore #soft soft soft fic #mutual pining through the literal roof #magical house #Being Specialist Draco Malfoy #the wordcount and the round chapter number fill me with so much joy #rockingrobin69

75 notes · View notes

heartstringsduet · 3 months

Text

Sharing some more fic love on Valentine's. Here's my last Tarlos fic rec list with even more wonderful fic 🥰

If you want to show some love too, please comment on fics you read even if they're 'older'. I promise they make authors' days.💌 And my heart bleeds seeing how some fics get so little love. So here's my new love letter to counter that.

I Swear I Love You (Te Juro Que Te Amo) by @never-blooms S: Noche Buena takes a turn when two exes are forced to reunite. The writing is so lyrical I feel like I'm put on waves at times, gently rocking me. Characters that jump off the screen and TK and Carlos as exes having to pretend to be together still is a trope I never ever grow tired of.

balancing act by @reyesstrand S: A study of TK and Carlos sharing meals and falling in love. My love for food is only paralleled by my love for words and this fic made me so emotional over both. Seriously can't put into words how beautiful and intricate this story is.

The Gift of You by @sprigsofviolets

S: TK Strand and Carlos Reyes have been happily married for five years. They are their own content, happy family. They weren’t looking to have kids, but when TK delivers a baby on a hard call, their family grows when they least expect it. I can't put into short words how very kind and thoughtful and in-character and heart-warming this fic is.

the square root of sixty nine by @liminalmemories21 S: Five times TK asked for consent, and one time Carlos did. So much depth in these intimate moments and also she proves consent is absolutely hot.

The Space in Between by @decafdino S: TK and Carlos are kidnapped, but they're together. A relationship study of Tarlos. It's embarrassing how much comfort I find in the constant re-read of this pretty angsty fic. But it delivers what it promises. It's a great study of their unwavering love intermixed with snippets of their pasts. The Sting by @goodways

S: Carlos is asked to help the FBI in a sting operation where he has to flirt with another man. His husband has something to say about it. Just one of her absolutely hilarious and sexy stories. Can never get over how much her dialogues sing.

Man to Man by @carlos-in-glasses S: In the aftermath of the house fire, Carlos recalls the night he came out to his parents. What can I say but that I'm obsessed with anything cig writes so I gotta praise the first fic I read of hers? Her entire expansive canon universe is outstanding.

A Helping Hand to Hold You Down by @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut S: Things are not as they seem in the loft, and TK's evening will not unfold as he had planned... It's smutty and it's filled with love and it's a great great great portrayal of dom/sub exploration without it running smoothly.

Sustenance by @cinnaluminum S: TK has a rough shift and comes home to Carlos in the kitchen. Absolute mastery of tension and a lingering fight and trying to work it out. I can't stress how much I admire her writing.

come what may, I'll still stay by @strandnreyes

S: Nearly one year into their marriage and TK finds that life looks a little different these days with Carlos working as a detective. A really beautiful study of circumstances changing and growing and love persisting despite pain and grief.

(Un)professional Services by @rmd-writes and @welcometololaland S: The Tarlos Professional Services AU. Two absolutely great writers bringing us work-place fun and sexiness? Uhm, yes please! I love the dialogue, I love how the humor.

#tarlos #911 lone star #tarlos fic rec #tarlos fic #911 lone star fic #michelle stans fics #this list is in no way encompassing ALL the great fics I read #just leaving space for my next list ❤️#I try to leave love in the comments though <333 #on my agenda to make people comment more because I want EVERYONE to get some love for their words

43 notes · View notes

five-thousand-loaves-of-bread · 9 months

Text

learn how read stats together (non judgmental):

autistic children “160 times the chance of dying from drowning compared to [non autistic] children.”

what not mean: if throw autistic child & non-autistic child in water, autistic child magically drown more faster quicker. or autism cause physiological problem lead to more drowning. autism cause bad lung. etc

so why more? some reasons

hard time aware of surrounding (so hard time know there water)

hard time aware of body / interoception (pain, can’t breathe, not comfortable, etc)

hard time aware/understand danger

elopement / wandering: some autistic people leave caregiver or safe area. sometimes because overwhelm, or sensory seeking, or not know shouldnt, or not know danger, or have somewhere want go can’t communicate, etc

hard time generalize: struggle transfer skill learn one area to another. for example swim skill learn in pool they know to pond/lake/river etc esp if new place

parents & caregivers & professionals lack awareness this issue & no much service for help

and others like not able communicate help or not know should.

also other reasons w trouble swim in general, like hard learn esp comorbid ID, hard control motor, hypotonia common associate with autism, water/wet bad sensory so avoid/cant learn, etc.

#actually autistic #actuallyautistic #autism #drowning #loaf screm

130 notes · View notes

lemonlyman-dotcom · 8 months

Text

LOOK I MADE A BANNER 🍋

July June

Sweat on the saddle by thenorthface

M | 6.5k

Prequel to one of my all-time favorite Tarlos stories (Blood on the tracks, fire in the hills). Highly, highly recommend reading both. This is breakup era. The author (who I don’t think is on tumblr) is particularly gifted at writing really believable crime mysteries. Like, you will be unable to stop reading once you start. It’s so good!

Al Fine by @decafdino

M | 16k

This is the fourth and final installment of a post 4x04 AU wherein Carlos suffers a lingering traumatic brain injury from being whacked (!) with a shovel that results in a seizure disorder. This is a really interesting look at what Tarlos’s season four story could’ve been if tv show characters suffered irl consequences for their actions. This installment also takes a look at the Keyes trial and examines how people with mental illness are treated by the system, specifically when they are the victims of crime. And also how the public may have reacted to Carlos’s actions in this case, and the theme of police officers taking the law into their own hands and bending the rules with no consequences.

126 Final Girls (aka Summer Slasher Fic) by @ladytessa74

M | 15k

A cute little mystery thriller, fun and sweet and campy. Tessa writes Tarlos so sweetly, the whole crew is so great here, bickering and playful and FIGHTING CRIME!

Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting by @chicgeekgirl89

T | 4.5k

This one is so funny, I had to stop halfway through to dm @chicgeekgirl89 and then proceeded to live tweet to her all the parts I was laughing at. Just. Pure comedy gold. The Reyes family really at its finest, and also a very sweet portrayal of how dearly Andrea and Gabriel have come to love TK.

to build a home by @freneticfloetry

E | 64k

Listen, I left a four-part unhinged comment on the third and final chapter of this one and I still wasn’t able to fully articulate everything I loved about this story. It is Carlos begins, it is the story of the Reyes family, it is the Tarlos love story we deserve. It has led to my unceremonious murder MULTIPLE times. It is beautiful and breathtaking and laugh out loud funny. Just, go read it.

made up of a thousand scars by @theghostofashton

T | 22k

First of all, Buttercup my beloved 🩷 This is an AU where TK comes to Austin directly after leaving rehab. A lovely story of healing and TK learning to be kinder to himself, but also just how to be a person.

Coming and going by @goodways

M | 3.5k

This is such a funny and sweet little story, set post ice storm TK has a, um, complication in the bedroom and Carlos goes from scared to proud to scared again.

-WIPS BELOW-

see a friend (see a ghost) by @ambiguouspenny

M | 3k (wip)

Very sweet Carlos, Nancy & Paul friendship. Only one chapter so far, but it’s lovely and then 👀 WHAT IS HAPPENING???

Come Sail Away by @chicgeekgirl89

T | 7.5k (wip)

The yachting AU inspired by a trashy reality show I’ve never heard of 😂 The 126 fam is the crew aboard a private for-rent yacht called the Firebug (stop it). Carlos is the newest crew member and TK is immediately in trouble. Will there be a BOATMANCE? Time will tell.

(Un)professional Services by @welcometololaland & @rmd-writes

E | 30k (wip)

THE ROMCOM THIS FANDOM DESERVES! Chaotic TK, super awkward Carlos, MILF Gwyn (I said it), UNHINGED Owen (we live for it), impeccably dressed Nancy.

summer slipped us underneath her tongue by @alrightbuckaroo

T | 26k (wip)

Disclaimer: I beta’d this one. Sweet little Parisian romcom AU. TK is an art student and Carlos is in chef school. They meet and they’re totally casual, ya know? I’ve never been to Paris but I find myself wanting to wear one of those little hats while I munch on a baguette as I twirl in circles around the Eiffel Tower on my bicycle like Audrey Hepburn. (Fine, I just want to be Audrey Hepburn. I’ve been told I already have her eyebrows).

As always, this is not in any way a comprehensive list of all the good stuff that came out in August. This is the stuff that I was able to read and vibed with. This is a way for me to hype the stories that got me excited this month, and I encourage everybody to be intentional in reblogging fics and screaming about the stuff you’re reading and enjoying all month long. Let’s work to build this fandom into a more inclusive and encouraging place to create! Also, caveat that the Gabriel grief stuff is tough for me, so I’ve been avoiding and/or very slowly making my way through those ones.

🍋🍋🍋💕

#August fic recs #tarlos fic #911 lone star #tk strand x carlos reyes #lemon’s monthly fic recs #FIC REC

71 notes · View notes

welcometololaland · 9 months

Text

The first chapter will be posted Sunday, 13 August 2023.

Borne of our actual hatred of business development and networking events, @rmd-writes and I have created (Un)professional Services: 6 chapters and 60,000 words of corporate-Tarlos chaos, to be posted over 6 weeks.

This project was the result of many many hours of no one telling us "no", including each other, and the answer to everything being "yes, and then what if...":

There are hot people at networking events?

We make Owen the most chaotic he’s ever been?

Gwyn lives and roasts TK at every opportunity?

Carlos spirals like a zoodle?

TK has to endure seeing Carlos in a suit all the time?

A law firm makes corporate branded condoms?

Fire safety training is an ongoing and slightly unexplained theme?

Stay tuned to find out the answer to some of these and more.

A thousand forehead kisses and fruit baskets for @celeritas2997 for letting us derail the gc over this so many times and for beta reading!

Summary below just because we like to tease:

TK Strand has been an attorney long enough to know that networking events with accounting firms offer little more than terrible wine that he doesn’t drink, uninspiring small talk and a stack of identical-looking business cards. Until he takes Nancy up on a bet and winds up having all of his preconceived ideas about business development being challenged by an accountant who is very far from boring. The Tarlos Professional Services AU.

#prepare to get Very Unprofessional #I hope you read that in the TK voice #we are excited!#rampant enthusiasm takes over #much screaming and yelling #many capital letters #please join in if you feel the need #screeching seagulls unite #(un)professional services #(un)profesh #911 lone star #tarlos #tk strand #carlos reyes #911 lone star fic #tarlos fic #lola writes #rmd writes #raelola write

90 notes · View notes

rmd-writes · 9 months

Text

wip wednesday

is there something in the water? so many angsty snippets today! thanks for the tags @three-drink-amy @strandnreyes @alrightbuckaroo @heartstringsduet @catanisspicy @bonheur-cafe @hippolotamus @goodways 💖

I haven’t written much this week but have a tiny, decidedly not angsty snippet anyway:

Throughout it all, as he shakes hands and nods and smiles and forces half-hearted laughs at unfunny jokes, there’s Carlos, drawing his attention like a moth to a flame.

Carlos on the other side of the pool, his perfect profile lit by golden string lights. Carlos smiling awkwardly while some women who clearly can’t read a room throw themselves at him, clutching at his arm and smiling widely in a way that makes TK bristle inside despite knowing that Carlos has no interest in them. Carlos catching his eye across the pool and giving him a secret smile. Carlos raising his glass to his lips, making his bicep bulge underneath his jacket. Carlos talking to Nancy and—

Carlos is talking to Nancy? Oh shit.

do you want to share @liminalmemories21 @iboatedhere @welcometololaland @freneticfloetry @never-blooms @carlos-in-glasses @stereopticons @jesuisici33 @rosedavid @orchidscript @cha-melodius @lemonlyman-dotcom

#wip wednesday #rmd writes: ls wip #(un)professional services

54 notes · View notes

beardedmrbean · 2 months

Text

The chief medical officer for Customs and Border Protection pressured his staff to order fentanyl lollipops for him to take to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York in September, according to a whistleblower report sent to Congress on Friday.

The whistleblowers said Dr. Alexander Eastman’s staff raised questions about why he would need to order fentanyl lollipops to take with him, and he answered that it was part of his duties to make sure that any injured CBP operators were cared for, making the argument that the lollipops would be necessary for pain management should an emergency occur.

“Eastman spent copious hours of his and Office of the Chief Medical Officer staff time directing the OCMO staff to urgently help him procure fentanyl lollipops, a Schedule II narcotic, so that he could bring them on the CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter on which he would be a passenger in New York City,” the whistleblowers said in the report. “Dr. Eastman claims that his possession of fentanyl lollipops was necessary in case a CBP operator might be injured, or in case the CBP Air and Marine Operations team encountered a patient in need.”

Customs and Border Protection is the chief agency responsible for detecting and stopping the illegal flow of fentanyl into the U.S. across international borders.

Eastman’s staff initially responded to his request by explaining that Narcan, which can save the lives of those who overdose on fentanyl, has been requested for CBP operations in the past, but not fentanyl itself. The whistleblowers say staff members raised questions about how he would store the lollipops and what he would do with unused fentanyl at the end of the operation, according to the report.

Eastman responded by writing his own policy regarding procurement of Schedule II narcotics, which omitted any mention of how narcotics were to be stored and disposed of, the whistleblowers allege.

Eastman was ultimately unsuccessful in procuring fentanyl lollipops, because a vendor could not be found in time for the U.N. General Assembly.

It was unusual for the medical officer of CBP to attend the General Assembly, a meeting of diplomats and heads of state to discuss international issues, but Eastman made the argument to his staff that his presence was needed because CBP’s Air and Marine Operations division was helping the Secret Service with security.

The whistleblowers, represented by the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, also allege Eastman was under investigation by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility at the time regarding improper ordering and securing of narcotics for a friend who is a pilot for Air and Marine Operations. The friend worked as a helicopter pilot for Air and Marine Operations in New York during the General Assembly, the report says.

Eastman was installed as acting chief medical officer in June, when the agency made an abrupt change in medical leadership following the death of an 8-year-old girl in CBP custody after medical personnel on site allegedly ignored warning signs and pleas from her mother.

A spokesperson for CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to his LinkedIn page, Eastman is still in the job as chief medical officer for CBP.

#nunyas news

17 notes · View notes

a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives · 11 months

Text

Luke Arnold: "There's a lot of me in Fetch, more than I'd probably like to admit".

Luke Arnold is an Australian actor, director and writer who rose to fame in 2014 for playing John Long Silver in the television series Black Sails. Throughout his career he has participated in various theatre and television productions that have allowed him to grow as a person and professional. In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, he published his first novel, The Last Smile in Sunder City, which arrived in Spain a year later through Gamon Fantasy, the fantasy imprint of Trini Vergara Ediciones.

The work, winner of the BookNest Award for best first novel, places us in a world in which magic has disappeared and the magical creatures that inhabit it are gradually withering away due to the lack of magic. With hints of mystery, fresh, witty humour and light-hearted action, The Last Smile in Sunder City introduces us to Fetch Phillips, a private investigator with a drinking problem but a lot of charisma, who seeks to help any creature who requires his services, whether it be to find a missing person, solve a murder or ensure the safety of a client during an exchange.

Shortly after the publication of The Last Smile in Sunder City, Dead Man in a Ditch, the author's second book, arrived on our shelves as part of The Fetch Phillips Files that began with his previous work. Most recently, April 2023 saw the publication of With One Foot in the Abyss (One Foot in the Fade), which continues Fetch's adventures.

On the occasion of the release of this latest book, Luke Arnold has made a stop in the city of Barcelona, during his literary tour, to tell us a little more about his urban fantasy novels that are conquering readers from different countries. In Cuánta Cultura we have had the opportunity to interview him to bring you a little closer to this author who has arrived on the scene.

Photograph of Luke Aronld with two of his books (La última sonrisa en Sunder City and Con un pie en el abismo) in the Gigamesh bookshop (c) Pol S. Roca

Cuantra Cultura (CC) : In The Last Smile in Sunder City you dedicate the book to your father, who opened the doors to fantasy for you. I'd like you to tell us what fantasy means to you, how important it is.

Luke Arnold : I've always been drawn to fantasy since I was a child and it was this genre that shaped my imagination as a reader. I find that, as a writer and creator, I find the complexity of the real world too overwhelming. That's why I like the freedom that the fantasy genre gives me, a freedom that allows me to explore, also, very complex aspects of a completely invented world, whether social, cultural or political, without having the need to be tied to reality.

C.C : As an actor, if you had to play Fetch Phillips, how would you play him?

L.A : Actually I already do a bit of Fetch Phillips when I record the audiobooks in English and I think this is the only time I'm going to play him.

For anyone playing this character it's important to keep in mind that he has a lot on his mind: about the kind of man he thinks he needs to be, the kind of masculinity he should embody, what it means to do good and whether he's the one to do it… It's true that Fetch tries to project that vision he has (that he wants to have or thinks he should have of himself), but underneath it all he's just a nervous, anxious, repressed, fearful, sad, hopeless, guilty little boy.

However, there is a part of him that does like being the tough guy who gets drunk. It is very important for anyone who has to play this character to keep all this in mind.

C.C : We would like to know what made you take the leap into the world of literature. What was the spark that made you pick up your pen and create such a charismatic character as Fetch?

L.A : When I was a child, it was clear to me that I wanted to write. The first time I played something were stories that I had created. I would put ideas in my head, shape them and then act them out. That's when I started performing things in front of other people.

What tends to happen with these things is that, when you perform something, you tend to get called back for more stuff. They say "hey, we're going to do a play, we're going to do a short film, come and present this act" and as a teenager it's a lot more fun to perform than it is to be in your room alone, writing.

In that sense, life took me down that path, even though I was very clear that I was still a writer. It's been a process of finding myself as a writer again.

I remember, when I was young, I wrote a short story that was a prototype of both Fetch and Sunder City, but it was a very superficial vision. It was more of a typical tough-guy detective going around, investigating. There were some elements that still exist today, like the disappearance of magic, but the character of Fetch was more of a stereotype of what a young kid imagines that idea of the adult to be.

It wasn't until I got to a point in my life where I realised I had enough perspective to look at the vision of masculinity, maturity and growing up that I really started to get excited about writing this. I found myself able to set aside some of my time to dive in and sink my teeth into this world and this story.

"John Long Silver and Fetch Phillips have very different ways of dealing with their personal tragedies and their conception of the world as a dangerous place." - Luke Arnold

C.C : You talk about things you wrote a long time ago like the story that was the germ of Fetch and Sunder City, can you tell us, if you remember, what were the first stories you created?

L.A : I don't remember exactly what I wrote first, but I do know that a lot of the short stories I wrote as a kid were very much inspired by the comics I read. I would write my own comics or create stories based on probably whatever I was reading at the time, things with a lot of action. At that time I was already leaning very much towards fantasy and magical realism, in fact I have some of the comics from primary schools and they're all blatant plagiarisms of the Nightmares books or the X-Patrol comics.

Photo of Luke Arnold after the meeting that took place in the Gigamesh bookshop (c) Pol S. Roca

C.C : Writers tend to pour a part of ourselves into the story and the characters, both consciously and unconsciously. Is there anything of yours (way of thinking, any experience, lived feelings…) in the Fetch books that you have captured?

L.A : There's a lot of me in Fetch, more than I'd probably like to admit. In the end, I think books serve to explore a lot of things, they allow us to introspect and find out about ourselves. In this case, Fetch grapples with the idea of how to be a good person in a society that is broken.

When we conform and follow the herd, we become complicit in certain events that are happening in our society. At the same time, if we go against the tide, if we decide to rebel, the act itself has a cost, a price. And I think that in our world, whatever position we are in, we are all facing these same questions, the personal responsibility we all have for the society and the world we live in.

Many of us right now are in a dichotomy of whether to try to do good things for ourselves and our immediate environment (for our neighbours, family and friends), or whether to try to change the social fabric around us. This obviously leads you to wonder what the people you are rebelling against would do or how what you do will change society. The Sunder City books are a safe way to be able to explore, through Fetch, all these questions before you go out and start kicking things around.

C.C : For Black Sails you played the well-known fictional pirate John Long Silver, a character with a brutal evolution and a great charisma throughout the series. Those of us who have seen the series can't help but imagine Fetch a bit like Silver, although it's true that Fetch is a character with a great sense of guilt and a bit broken, but I'd like to ask you, first, if there's anything you took away from your performance as Silver and, of course, if there's anything of Silver in Fetch.

L.A : In my opinion, I think they are two very different characters, both in their view of the world and their place in it and how that manifests itself in their personalities. In the end, John Long Silver and Fetch Phillips have very different ways of dealing with their personal tragedies and their conception of the world as a dangerous place.

Silver is a very capable character, who knows how to take care of himself because it is clear to him that no one is going to do it for him. That's why he adapts so well and so well. It's also why his story starts out as a fish out of water in Nassau and eventually manages to cope. Not only does he get what he wants, but he also goes all the way to the top.

Fetch, on the other hand, has done terrible things trying to fit in. He did what the people around him told him what to do, what to say, what to think. In that sense I think they are very different from each other.

Photograph of Luke Arnold during the interview he gave me at the Gigamesh bookshop (c) Pol S. Roca

C.C : Who or what is your greatest inspiration when creating (films, theatre, actors, directors, etc.)? Tell me about your greatest idols.

L.A : I find it really hard to choose when I'm asked about top ten, favourites, etc., so I'm going to talk about more recent things. The first books that really caught my attention in that sense were Joe Abercrombie's books.

Lately I've been reading The Ultimate Revenge and The Heroes and I find it extraordinary how he, dealing with such big themes and ideas, is able to keep it all very much rooted in the characters and in the humour. Joe Abercrombie, in fact, I think I've only got a couple of books left to read. And then there's Terry Pratchett also for the same thing, for how he deals with these very complex ideas with humour and how he manages to stick with the characters. These two authors are very much reflected in Sunder City.

Another thing that Abercrombie has in common with Pratchett is that they both don't take themselves too seriously and that's very important when you're trying to deal with very big issues from a social-political point of view.

C.C : In an interview you said that one of your favourite fantasy books is Peter Pan. Everyone knows it from the Disney film, but there are many who have not read J.M. Barrie's work. What do you like most about this story? What would you say about it to encourage people to read it?

L.A : It's going to be difficult to answer this question because the first film I made as an actor was an adaptation of Peter Pan and I haven't read the book since. This was in 2002 and from then on I spent a lot of time working in the specialist department of fencing choreographers. Now what I have in my head, above all, is the film that I made and probably also the Disney adaptation. I think it's a good reminder that I need to pick up the book again and read it.

C.C : Would you be up for writing a pirate novel?

L.A : It would be super fun. The truth is that I don't see myself writing a realistic pirate novel, something from the Golden Age of piracy, a very historical work. It would have to be set in a fantasy world that takes the elements of pirates that we all love so much. What I'm still not clear on is how I would do it, what exactly that would look like.

In the Sunder City books, Fetch hasn't even been near the water yet, so that's a tough one, but my agent occasionally brings up the idea of pirates. I think my publishers would love it, it would certainly be a lot of fun, I just have to find a way to approach it.

Photograph of the three books by Luke Arnold (The Last Smile in Sunder City, Dead Man in a Ditch and One Foot in the Fade) published by Gamon Fantasy (c) Cristina García Trufero

The Fetch Phillips archives are not only urban fantasy noir novels to enjoy and pass the time with, but they also contain a reflection on what it means to grow up, to lose that innocence and see yourself involved in an adult world where the magic that existed in your youth is completely lost. It talks about the responsibilities one has towards oneself, but it also criticises today's society through a narrative with fantastic elements that lead us to ask ourselves certain questions about the world, its evolution and our role in it.

During his visit to Barcelona, in the meeting that took place in the Gigamesh bookshop, Luke Arnold announced that he was working on a fourth book of The Fetch Phillips Archives, so we will be able to enjoy a new adventure of this peculiar private investigator in the future. This is undoubtedly great news for all fans of his work.

From Cuánta Cultura, we will follow this author who has made us enjoy so much with Fetch very closely. We are sure that he will continue to surprise us not only as an actor, but also through his fantasy stories.

Photo credits to Libreria Gigamesh's Facebook official page and Cuanta Cultura

Translated with DeepL Translator

Source: Cuanta Cultura

#black sails #luke arnold #john silver #book signing #book event #the fetch phillips series #cuanta cultura #interview #libreria gigamesh #gamon fantasy

66 notes · View notes