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flowerfan2 · 3 years

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Ok friends, I’m cracking up sitting here right now, because I just took a quick trip to get bagels, came inside with the bag of bagels in my hand, and then sat down to post today’s chapter before allowing myself the reward of eating breakfast... and this is how the first line of today’s chapter begin:

David comes into the house with a bag of bagels in one hand and a tray of hot beverages in the other...

I got iced coffee instead of hot, but still, I guess it was meant to be! Hope you enjoy Chapter 15. @perryavenue is going to recognize where I got my inspiration for this one...

David x Patrick, A03, 3k this chapter, 48k so far.

Chapter 15

David comes into the house with a bag of bagels in one hand and a tray of hot beverages in the other, listening to see if Patrick is awake yet. He was hoping to surprise him with breakfast in bed. Unfortunately, sunny Saturday mornings mean long lines at the bagel place, and it all took a lot longer than he had hoped.

David deposits the bagels on the counter, spotting Patrick sitting outside on the lanai. Drinks in hand, he joins him at the table and leans over to give him a quick kiss.

“Successful trip?” Patrick asks, taking the lid off his tea and inhaling appreciatively.

“Mmm, yes. I checked several of the bagels on the way home. The French toast flavor is overrated, but they do an excellent marble rye.”

“Leave any for me?”

“Even I can’t eat a dozen bagels in half an hour. Three, maybe, although that would still be a mistake. There are plenty left for you to choose from.”

Patrick grins at him and leans back, putting his bare feet up on David’s lap. David frowns.

“What, are foot rubs before coffee incorrect?”

David mock-glares at Patrick, even though he loves these silly call-backs to their history together. “Bare feet outdoors is incorrect.”

“But there’s a swimming pool.”

“The pool is over there,” David waves his hand. “You are here, sitting at a table, eating breakfast. Not swimming.”

“Technically I was reading the news on my phone. Not eating breakfast.”

“Keep antagonizing me and there won’t be any breakfast in your future, either.”

Patrick grins at him, then removes his feet from David’s lap and goes inside to retrieve the bagels, along with plates, cream cheese and lox. Ordinarily David would insist on toasting his bagel, but these are so fresh and warm that they demand to be eaten immediately. They busy themselves with their food for a few minutes, David moaning in appreciation, mostly just to watch Patrick react.

“So, I had an idea for what we could do today.”

“Is eating a pile of bagels and then taking a nap not good enough for you?”

Patrick chuckles. “I was actually thinking of going kayaking.”

David nearly chokes on his food, and Patrick pats his back good-naturedly. “Kayaking?” He doesn’t screech, but it is a near thing. “What about me, exactly, suggests that I would want to go kayaking?”

“Come on, David. We’ve been sitting around here for weeks. I did just get the all clear from the doctor. It’ll be fun.”

David does not think for a minute that it will be fun, as kayaking will undoubtedly involve bugs, unstable vehicles, and the threat of drowning. But Patrick has been beached, so to speak, ever since his injury, and David knows it has been weighing on him.

“I don’t suppose we could go on a nice, safe hike instead?”

Patrick laughs. “We can do that another day. I called a place about a half hour from here, they have two boats available this afternoon. Just give it a try. If you hate it, we won’t stay out long.”

Much to his surprise, David does not hate it.

They show up at the launching area in their swim trunks and shirts, David with his long-sleeved swim shirt on, and Patrick with some kind of sports related jersey. Their guide makes them wear ugly life preservers, which ruin David’s look but do give him a bit of relief when it comes to his drowning concern. After a short lesson, during which Patrick asks lots of excited questions and David tries valiantly to follow along, they each get into a kayak and are pushed out into the water.

The sun is shining rather enthusiastically, and David is glad that he has sunglasses on – he even made them stop along the way to buy a cheap pair, in case they wind up in the water. Patrick bought a ridiculous strap that holds his on his head, and he’s got a ball cap on as well, so there’s not much to see of him except his lovely pale arms which David very much enjoyed slathering in sunscreen.

David pulls his attention away from Patrick and focuses on stroking his paddle through the water, trying to put the guide’s instructions into action. Patrick stays near him, offering quiet corrections, and soon they both fall into a comfortable rhythm.

David knows that he’s in better shape now than he’s been in for most of his life. Although running doesn’t do much for his upper body, at least he’s got stamina. He tries to relax and enjoy it. If he paddles just right, the kayak cuts through the water without very much effort on his part. It’s kind of neat. Soothing, even, almost like the way it feels when he gets into a groove on a run.

They aren’t out on the Gulf, as ocean kayaking is far beyond their skill level. Instead, they are making their way down an inlet of some kind, a broad waterway with docks and houses on both sides. Soon they are out in the bay, and Patrick directs them past a piling with an egret’s nest on top, over to a bristly bunch of trees at the water’s edge.

“These are mangroves,” Patrick says, indicating the dense tangle of scrubby looking trees with visible roots. “They’ve adapted to living in salt water, extracting the fresh water they need. Some of them push the salt out onto their leaves. The leaves even taste salty.”

David doesn’t ask how Patrick knows this. He’d just wind up watching him lick a leaf.

They paddle closer, and David can see into the clusters of plants, the roots and branches weaving together.

“Want to go through?”

David has no idea what Patrick is talking about, but he follows him as he kayaks around the edge of a cluster. There’s an overhang, and what looks like a tunnel into the middle of the clump of mangroves.

“Are you serious?” David asks under his breath, but Patrick is already nearing the entrance.

“Go slow,” Patrick says over his shoulder. “Try not to point into them, and if you do get stuck, just grab on carefully and lever yourself off. Remember not to overbalance.”

It’s a recipe for disaster, but David gently eases himself into the tunnel. It’s cooler and dim inside, with branches and green leaves all around him. It smells like low tide, musty and brackish. The nose of his kayak gets hung up briefly as he turns too hard in one direction and for a brief moment it lists dangerously sideways, but he takes a breath and then uses his paddle to back up a bit and set himself on a straighter path.

He catches Patrick looking back at him, having executed some kind of fancy twisting maneuver so that he can see David. “Nice paddling, David.”

They rest for a minute there, Patrick showing David how to move his paddle to make his kayak go sideways (“it’s like a figure eight”) with limited success. Then Patrick spends some time pointing out to David the difference between the red, white, and black mangroves, which doesn’t make any sense because they are all clearly green.

David doesn’t argue with him. It’s far too nice here, hidden among the curving branches with Patrick who is so clearly, uncomplicatedly happy. David will wear an ugly life jacket and take his chances with the alligators anytime if it makes Patrick smile.

After they extract themselves from the mangroves, Patrick makes them paddle into the wind in order to reach a spot where they can pull up on to the beach. It’s less pleasant than drifting in the trees, but it’s worth it when their kayaks land on a sandy shore. Patrick jumps out of his boat first, pulling the bright orange monstrosity up out of the water, and then returns to help David get out of his without tumbling over, which David very much appreciates.

They sit down and stretch their legs, Patrick continuing to chatter about the birds they saw on the way over, how he’s never seen so many of the pink ones (roseate spoonbills, they’re called, but Patrick likes to correct David, so he pretends he doesn’t remember), how they’re fortunate to see so many birds of some kind or another this time of year.

After a while David just pulls Patrick against him, and Patrick shuts up, kissing David with the taste of salt on his tongue. They make out for a while, alone on the shore, their kayaks shifting slightly as the water laps against their sterns. Patrick lies back on the sand and David hovers close, his elbow braced against the ground as his other hand slides Patrick’s sunglasses off so that he has more skin to kiss.

They can’t go too far, for obvious reasons, but it feels wonderful to kiss and cuddle in the sun.

Finally they sit up, a little shy, and Patrick takes David’s hand in his and squeezes it.

“Thanks for doing this today,” Patrick says, and David’s heart swells. It’s not such a big deal, participating in an activity just because your partner asked you to. And it really wasn’t a hardship.

“It’s fun,” he concedes.

“I didn’t think you’d agree to come.” Patrick looks away, out across the water.

David puts a hand on Patrick’s chin and turns his face towards him, until his brown eyes are locked onto his own. “You asked.” There’s very little he wouldn’t do for Patrick. He can’t quite say that out loud, but he doesn’t have to. He thinks Patrick hears it anyway.

That night David’s putting away the remains of their take-out (Thai food, purchased on the way back from their kayaking adventure) when Patrick dances over to him and presents him with a package.

“What’s this? Aside from an already opened and poorly resealed cardboard box?”

“Open it and find out.”

Inside under the blue tissue paper is a menorah, a pretty silver-plated one with a leaf and branch design. It can’t have been cheap.

“Patrick, you didn’t have to-”

“I always imagined getting you a nice menorah, when we finally had a place together. I had seen this one online, and when I realized it was Hanukkah, well. Here it is.”

David just stares at it for a moment, tongue-tied.

“Do you like it?”

He wraps his arms around Patrick and kisses him soundly. “I love it.”

It’s actually the end of Hanukkah already, so they load up the menorah with the appropriate number of candles and David mumbles what he remembers of the blessings. It’s a rather lovely moment on top of a particularly lovely day, and David has to take a minute to keep it from overwhelming him.

Patrick notices, of course, and wraps his arms around him from behind, his chin on David’s shoulder, and they breathe together for a while. When David relaxes Patrick nuzzles his ear. “Want to go to bed?”

David turns in Patrick’s arms, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth at the eager look on Patrick’s face. “Someone’s having a good day.”

Patrick captures David’s lips in a kiss, hot and insistent, and when he pulls back David is breathing hard. “Tell me you’re not.”

He shakes his head, happiness bubbling out of him. “Can’t do it.”

They make it back to the bedroom just before clothes start to come off, and soon they are naked and wrapped around each other, hands skimming over heated skin. Patrick seems to have a plan, he’s wound up and raring to go, and David loves it.

“What did you have in mind?” he asks as Patrick straddles him, holding his head in his hands and nipping along David’s jaw.

“I want you to fuck me,” Patrick says into the shell of David’s ear. “Open me up like this, and then fuck me.”

A thrum of arousal pulses through David at Patrick’s words. They’ve had a lot of sex over the past week, but Patrick hasn’t asked for this yet.

Their initial attempts at penetrative sex hadn’t gone particularly smoothly, back when they first got together. After a few mishaps they had ignored it for a while, content to turn each other on and get each other off in a variety of easier ways. David was happy to introduce Patrick to the pleasures of a really excellent blow job, and Patrick was, as always, a quick study, finding that he loved to bring David to the edge and then tease him until he was reduced to a writhing, begging mess.

And David was always quick to reassure Patrick that penetrative sex wasn’t the only way to have sex, that no matter what he thought in the past, they could make each other happy in any way they were comfortable with.

But Patrick was nothing if not determined, and so eventually they made their way back to it, first Patrick tentatively pushing into David, and later, when Patrick was in just the right mood, Patrick asking for David to do the same for him.

“You don’t have to like it,” David remembers saying to Patrick, one night when Patrick was feeling some combination of bad and nervous and embarrassed about the whole issue. “It’s okay if you don’t want to do it. It really is.”

At some point, though, something happened that changed Patrick’s mind. David’s pretty sure it had to do more with Patrick’s headspace than anything else, his gradual letting go of heteronormativity and becoming more comfortable with his view of himself as queer, but his prostrate probably factored into it as well. Afterwards Patrick clung to David like an octopus, both of them sweaty and blissed out.

“How do people not do this all the time?” Patrick asked, pressing his face into David’s neck. “How can it feel so good? Why didn’t you tell me?”

David had laughed and hugged Patrick tight, too caught up in his fiancé’s astonished joy to wonder how he was going to keep the attention of such an amazing man. It had been a very good night.

Tonight was shaping up to be even better.

Patrick holds himself over David while David finds the lube, and lets out a low moan when David reaches down and starts to press at his hole. David takes his time, circling gently, then increasing the pressure, all while Patrick moans and sways above him.

Patrick leans down to kiss him, his mouth open and trailing wetly down David’s jaw, catching on the stubble. He’s got a hand on David’s chest, and then Patrick shifts so his mouth can continue its journey, finding one of David’s nipples and sucking hard.

“God, Patrick,” David whines, just holding on to Patrick’s hips while Patrick bites at one nipple and then the other, sending sparks of electricity through his body. “Come here, let me-” David gets his fingers back where he wants them, and then he’s pressing inside, Patrick fucking his fingers.

“Ah – David – oh god, yes, there, oh-” Patrick pushes back against David’s fingers, rocking back and forth, hands grasping at David’s arm and his chest and then valiantly pulling at David’s cock, although his attention is understandably elsewhere. “Ohhhh, David, now, please, fuck me now.”

“Like this, or…?”

Patrick slides off David’s fingers and stretches out on the bed, pulling David on top of him. “Like this. Please. Now. Come on.”

David’s helpless to resist, Patrick’s big eyes pleading with him, his hands running up and down David’s arms, grabbing at his ass, squirming underneath him like he can’t wait a moment more.

“Okay, baby, okay. I’ve got you.” And he does, lubing himself up with a few quick strokes, and then positioning himself carefully between Patrick’s quivering thighs, one hand bracing himself on the bed as he slides into Patrick’s tight heat.

“David,” Patrick moans, “oh, fuck, yes.” He’s reaching for David, trying to pull him into a kiss, and it’s messy and breaks David’s rhythm and he doesn’t care, it’s so good, Patrick wanting him like this. David’s heart is slamming against his chest in time with his thrusts, and Patrick is writhing underneath him. The slick slide of their bodies feels so good, David doesn’t know how he can hold it all inside.

“Patrick, baby, I love you, I love you,” David pants out, heat pooling inside him, a familiar tightness building.

“Come on, David, oh god, come on,” Patrick pleads roughly.

David’s hips are moving frantically now, his muscles burning. He’s shaking, dripping sweat everywhere, and he’s close, he just needs to keep going a little longer, for Patrick, he can do it.

“David, I’m so close, oh god, you can, David-” Patrick gets a hand on his own cock and pulls, and David feels him, feels him quaking and shivering.

David comes with a rush of sensation, light exploding behind his eyes. Patrick is almost there too, and David gets a hand on him, both of their hands on Patrick’s cock, twisting together, over and over. Suddenly Patrick’s back arches and his whole body convulses as he comes, head thrown back in ecstasy, a long whine falling from his open mouth.

David collapses next to Patrick on the bed, turning his head to press his face against Patrick’s shoulder. Patrick drapes himself over David’s side, arm sliding over his back, nose digging into his collarbone. They lie there until the aftershocks subside, and then some, not wanting to move.

“Gonna have to change the sheets,” David finally says.

“That’s the first thing you think about, at a time like this?” Patrick teases, a shaky hand brushing David’s hair out of his face and onto his forehead.

“No, it’s not,” David says. “But it’s the first thing I can say without blushing, and I don’t have the energy for that.”

“David,” Patrick says, pressing a kiss to David’s lips, then pulling back before David has a chance to enjoy it. “Are you feeling things tonight?”

David snorts. “I’m feeling quite a lot. Seemed like you were, too.”

Patrick starts to hum <i>“Feeling Groovy”</i> and David can tell it’s coming, he can tell before Patrick even gets a whole phrase out, and he slaps a hand over Patrick’s mouth.

“For once could we finish up our lovemaking without a concert?”

Patrick is laughing against David’s hand, and he bites gently at the ball of his thumb. “Do you really want me to stop?” he asks, his breath warm against David’s skin.

“No,” David confesses, too open to argue even about this, about Patrick’s awful love songs whispered in his ears at highly inappropriate times. “I don’t want you to stop. Don’t stop any of it.”

“Deal,” Patrick says, easing David’s hand away from his mouth and wrapping him in his arms. David settles in, not caring anymore about sticky sheets and sweaty skin. All of that can wait for tomorrow. For now, he’s just going to focus on how wonderful it feels to drift off to sleep with the love of his life holding him close.

#schitt's creek #schitt's creek fic #David Rose #Patrick Brewer #kayaking #David x Patrick #sexytimes

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ladylillianrose · 4 years

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Seasons of Love a Max Richman/Zoey Clarke Fanfiction

A/N: Alright guys we are headed into the home stretch! Just 2 more chapters left! Thank you all for the lovely comments and for reading this! I really appreciate you taking the time to read my work and letting me know how much you enjoy it! It means so much to me!

Thanks to aubreyrichman for reading it over and fixing my errors!

As always I’m just borrowing the characters for fun, they belong to the genius that is Austin Winsberg!

Summary: Thanksgiving with the Clarke family

This month's song is “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart (Listen to it here https://youtu.be/Hphwfq1wLJs )

November 26 Thanksgiving

October 31 Halloween

September 23 Max’s Birthday

August 12 Perseids Meteor Shower

July 4 Independence Day

June 21 Father’s Day

May 10 Mother’s Day

April 12 Easter

March 17 St. Patrick’s Day

February 14 Valentine’s Day

December 31-January 1 New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day

Thanksgiving was the only time Maggie allowed Zoey to "help" in the kitchen. There was so much to prepare and do that she needed all hands on deck.

David and Emily were off the hook for helping since they had their hands full with Peter. He had started teething recently and was having trouble being soothed. Which, of course, meant that David and Emily were both exhausted.

Zoey finished getting the table set, while Maggie basted the turkey and Max worked on mashing the potatoes.

"Anything else I can help with Mom?" She asked, looking to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

Maggie glanced up, "No, I think we're good. Why don't you just sit and keep us company?"

"Sure, I can do that," she reached for a chair at the island when she heard Peter begin to cry.

"Why don't I go offer them a break," Zoey left the kitchen, and headed upstairs. She knocked on the door to David's old room. He opened the door looking exhausted and holding a crying Peter.

"Gimme," Zoey said, holding out her hands.

David breathed a sigh of relief as he handed him over. "Here's his teether. He can have some Motrin in about an hour if he's still a mess "

Peter had stopped crying as soon as he was in his Aunt's arms. He was watching her hair as it bounced up and down when she nodded at David.

"Come on, Peter, let's go see what Grandma and Uncle Max are up to," she said cheerfully.

Even in his exhausted state David looked at her oddly, "Something you haven't told us?"

"Huh?" Zoey wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"Uncle Max? I don't see a ring there?" David nodded at her bare left hand.

Zoey turned bright red, "Just a slip of the tongue."

David chuckled, "Relax, Sis. He's practically family, anyway, I'm just teasing you. Actually, I wanted to run something by you. It’s just Emily and I were talking about it, and we were wondering if you and Max would be Peter's godparents."

"Godparents? As in?"

"More like you get to be his extra special Aunt and Uncle."

"Are you saying that you don't think I'm special enough?" Zoey teased.

"Yeah yeah, you know what I mean. It also means that Emily and I would name you guys Peter's legal guardians in case something ever happens to us."

"Oh, David," Zoey reached out to grasp his hand. "Of course I will. Though, you should be the one to tell Max. I think it would mean a lot coming from you."

"Of course. Thanks Zo, it's important to us that he's in good hands."

Zoey leaned in and hugged him as tight as she could while holding Peter.

"Now go on, some of us need to try and nap," David said, waving her off.

"Look who I escaped with!" Zoey laughed as she entered the kitchen, bouncing Peter up and down excitedly.

Maggie grinned, stopping long enough to drop a kiss on her grandson's head.

"Are your toothies bothering you again?” She glanced at his red and tear stained cheeks. "Poor guy. Here, Grandma knows what to do." Maggie reached into the freezer and pulled out a frozen washcloth.

Zoey took it and held it up to Peter. Peter grabbed it, shoving a corner of it into his mouth and began sucking away.

"Is that better? Grandma’s pretty smart like that," Zoey said, smiling at him.

She walked over to where Max was getting the stuffing ready for the oven.

She smiled as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Hey, buddy," he said to Peter. "Hanging out with Auntie Zo? Can't say I blame you, she's pretty cool."

Zoey laughed, "I thought we had already established how not cool we are."

Max grinned, "Ah but Peter doesn't have a concept of cool yet, so anything you do is cool enough for him."

Zoey shook her head. "Peter, your Uncle Max is being ridiculous."

Max whipped his head up and looked at her. She didn't seem to realize what she had just said.

Zoey started humming as she swayed back and forth with Peter. She glanced at Max who was looking at her with something akin to awe on his face.

“Max, honey? Are you okay?”

Max grinned and nodded at her. “I’m fine, babe. Just thinking about something.”

Zoey nodded and turned back to Peter who was starting to fall asleep in her arms.

Maggie came over and held out her arms for him, “I’ll take him back to David. Max, can you just keep an eye on things?”

“Of course. I won’t let Zoey anywhere near the stove,” he said, tossing a wink her way. Maggie chuckled and left with Peter.

Zoey made a face at him, swatting his hands away when he attempted to placate her with a hug.

“Nope, you’re being mean!” she chastised, turning her back to him.

Max wrapped his arms around her waist, “I’m just teasing you, sweetheart. I love that you’re a terrible cook. It gives me the chance to cook for you.”

Zoey leaned back against him. “Well, I do love it when you cook for me,” she admitted, begrudgingly.

Max chuckled, he turned her in his arms and gave her a soft kiss.

Max pulled away to check on the food.

Zoey took a seat, enjoying the view of him bending over to open the oven. She let out a small whistle.

Max glanced back at her and shook his head with a grin.

“What can I say? I enjoy the view,” Zoey cheekily said.

“Mmm I see, you only want me for my body,” he teased.

Zoey watched, entranced as Max began to shake his hips to a nonexistent beat.

He turned around, and catching the direction of her gaze, he tossed a wink at her as he began to sing

If you want my body and you think I'm sexy

Come on, sugar, tell me so

Zoey couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her as Max pulled her against him, continuing the song.

If you really need me, just reach out and touch me

Come on, honey, tell me so

Max pulled back and looked at her face flushed with laughter. "Sorry, I can't remember how the rest of the song goes," Max said, shrugging.

Zoey started laughing again as she pulled him down to kiss him.

"What's so funny?" Max asked between kisses.

"Nothing, you're just cute," Zoey grinned.

Maggie came back into the kitchen, smiling as she saw the happy couple laughing. She felt a pang in her chest as she wished that Mitch was there to see how happy Zoey was.

They pulled apart, blushing as they realized Maggie had been watching them.

Maggie waved them off. "Looks like everything is about ready. So, let's get it on the table and we can all eat."

The family, minus Peter who was still sleeping, gathered around the table.There was a slight air of sadness to the meal. It was the first of the big holidays that they would be facing without Mitch. David carved the turkey and they toasted in memory of Mitch.

While they ate, they shared stories and memories of Thanksgivings past.

Max chuckled as Maggie described the year that Zoey was insistent that they eat only what Snoopy had served in the Peanuts Thanksgiving special.

"She was 5 and so very stubborn," Maggie laughed. "And she stood there telling Mitch that he was wrong, that we didn't need a Turkey for thanksgiving, but instead needed jelly beans, toast, popcorn, pretzels and ice cream sundaes. And you know how Mitch was, so of course he goes out and braves the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving to get everything on Zoey's list."

Zoey flushed, taking a drink of her wine to cover her embarrassment.

"Luckily, Mom managed to convince Zoey that we could have regular Thanksgiving for dinner, and Snoopy's Thanksgiving for breakfast instead." David chimed in. "Plus, it kept her out of everyone's hair when the inevitable sugar crash happened. She was a menace in the kitchen from an early age."

Zoey wadded up her napkin and threw it at David, hitting him in the face.

"Hey, ow! Mom!!"

Maggie, Max and Emily all locked eyes and just shook their heads

They heard a cry come from the baby monitor on the counter.

David went to stand, but Max gestured for him to sit. "I'll get him, you guys are still eating."

David nodded and sat back down.

Max squeezed Zoey's shoulder as he passed her chair.

When he got upstairs, Peter was looking up at him from the crib, a confused expression on his face.

"Hey big guy, was that a good nap?" Max asked, smiling as he picked him up.

"You almost missed all of dinner, sleepy head!" He teased, tickling Peter's toes to make him smile.

Peter made a "whoooo," noise kicking his feet.

"Who? Well kiddo, that's the question. I'm the man who loves your Auntie Zoey. And though, I don't know that she realized it, but earlier, she called me your Uncle Max."

Peter grinned at Max, "ahhhhhh," he responded.

"My thoughts exactly," Max agreed. "So, maybe someday soon I can be your actual uncle." He grinned, mentally planning a trip in the future to get his Grandmother's ring resized.

"But that will be our little secret for now, okay buddy?"

"Aaaa," Peter responded.

"Good, I knew you could keep a secret."

Max and Peter made their way into the kitchen. David, Emily and Maggie were all grinning at him.

Zoey had tears in her eyes as she smiled at him. He cocked his head at her and she shook her head. He handed Peter to Emily, who thanked him. "Did you tell your Uncle Max ‘thank you’, Peter?"

Max looked at her startled. She pointed to the blinking baby monitor. Max turned red, groaning in embarrassment. "Ohhh, ummm…"

David interrupted him. "That is if you want to be. We were actually hoping that you would agree to be Peter's godfather."

Max looked over at Zoey who smiled at him and nodded.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded at David and Emily, "I'd be honored."

Zoey beamed at him as he sat down. He looked around at the table at the family that had become more dear to him than he could imagine.

Zoey squeezed his hand affectionately, and he turned to look at her. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and sighed contentedly.

Oh yes, he decided. He needed to get the ring resized very soon.

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cooldoyouhaveaflag · 6 years

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Turnadette + pasts/talking about their pasts?

Thank you, @nunonabun!!! This is so fitting, I just did their future, now I can do the past! :D

1. Patrick fooled around with various women before he was married, but he didn’t actually lose his virginity until Marianne. It wasn’t a conscious choice, it just never happened. He was always married to his work and during/after the war, he was too shaken to think of anything even remotely related to happiness. While other men sought to lose themselves and their memories in lust, he lost his in cigarettes and insomnia-induced workaholic-ness. He was terrified with Marianne and their wedding night was horribly awkward, but their marriage was wonderful. All of that came flooding back more than he would have liked with Shelagh. He didn’t want to disappoint her or scare her, but he’d only ever been with one other woman and he had no idea how to talk to Shelagh about any of that. They finally talked about it while Timothy was in the hospital. In mutual grief and worry, they nearly lost control and after a long night of tossing and turning over what almost happened, they talked everything out.

2. It takes Shelagh forever and a day to talk about her childhood. She insists that it just wasn’t very interesting, but Patrick insists back that he’s interested in every detail, even down to what socks she used to wear. She’s an expert at deflecting his questions and it frustrates him so thoroughly that it leads to their first minor spat because he’s worried she doesn’t trust him. She slowly offers up bits and pieces after that. He starts getting real answers when she starts leaving little letters for him about things she isn’t ready to talk about, but wants him to know. He keeps them all.

3. Shelagh was always Timothy’s link to Patrick in a way, even when Marianne was alive. Marianne loved her boys, but her relationship with Timothy was so separate from Patrick’s never-ending work schedule that he kind of got left to the side a bit sometimes. Whenever Timothy would visit the clinic or Nonnatus, Shelagh (Sister Bernadette) was always glad to see him and would answer all of his questions about what his dad was doing. She would tell him stories of people his dad saved (minus the bloody details, of course) and she taught him the different things in the average medical bag. Marianne was shocked when Timothy knew what a stethoscope was and Patrick was so blindsided by his son taking an interest in his work that it drove him to spend more time with Tim and Marianne when he could.

4. Shelagh didn’t always want to be a nurse the way Patrick always wanted to be a doctor. She never really gave nursing a second thought until the war and midwifery never crossed her mind until she was asked to help in the maternity ward and she saw a mother die in childbirth just like her own mother had. She vowed then that she would do whatever it took to never let that happen to another woman. It was a young and naive hope, but it fueled her like nothing ever had before.

5. Over the years, Patrick becomes much better at talking about both the good and bad of his past, but every year on the anniversary of Marianne’s death, he doesn’t speak at all. It frightened Shelagh at first, but now it’s routine. He explained weeks after the first time it happened that he couldn’t bear to form words on that day. Not because it hurt too much, but because anything he said felt meaningless. He couldn’t understand how he could bother asking for toast on a day like that. So, they have ritual. He gets up and makes his own breakfast (she taught him how), and then leaves for the day. When he gets back, she makes him dinner and keeps the children away from him until bedtime. Bedtime is the cleansing period that allows him to leave the past in his memories and hug his living children and his loving wife. After Patrick passes, Shelagh spends his anniversary in silence as well.

#turnadette #call the midwife #patrick turner #shelagh turner #headcannons #TURNERS

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tayjoefanfic · 6 years

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The Extra Stocking

Taylor sat in the living room cuddled up under a blanket glancing out the window admiring the beautiful snow. She was so happy to be back relaxing in London for a while. While she loved getting to perform again, and she was so excited about her new album and so happy that the fans seemed to love it, part of her had begun to miss the simplicity of her life with Joe at their London house. The past year of escaping from the public eye had allowed her to gain perspective and realize that she was much happier when she created a balance in her life. She could still interact with fans and do what she loves in her career, while also knowing when it was time to take a few weeks off and just relax with her family and friends, and most importantly her perfect angel boyfriend.

Joe interrupted her thoughts as he entered the room.

“Mum just texted me and said we should come over around 6ish for dinner. She has already been asking me all about your favorite foods and deserts, because she wants your birthday dinner to be perfect” he explained as he lifted up Taylor’s blanket and sat down next to her before pulling her onto his lap.

“Oh my god that’s so sweet of her. I’m sure I will love anything she makes” Taylor responded while cuddling up to Joe.

She thought it was so thoughtful that his family wanted to celebrate her birthday with a special dinner. She had only been 28 for about a day, but she could already feel that it was going to be a great year.

A couple of hours later, Taylor and Joe arrived at the Alwyn house hand in hand, and made their way into the kitchen where Joe’s mom, Elizabeth, was putting the final touches on the dinner she had prepared.

“Wow this all looks wonderful, thank you so much for doing all of this” Taylor commented, as his mom walked over to greet the couple, hugging them both.

“Of course dear, thankfully my son was able to provide me with a little guidance about what you might like for dinner” Elizabeth added.

“Well I’m sure I will love it, do you need help with anything?” Taylor asked always wanting to be polite.

“Oh no everything is just about done. If you could just go get Patrick and dad and let them know dinner is ready that would be great” she instructed looking over at Joe, who left the room to do what his mother had asked.

After a wonderful dinner and easy conversation with his family, everyone headed to the living room to decorate the Christmas tree as Joe’s parents had suggested. Taylor couldn’t help but smile at the beautifully decorated living room with a cozy Christmas feel before her eyes landed on the fire place with six stockings upon the mantle. One for Joe’s dad, one for his mom, and one for each of the tree boys, but she didn’t know who the sixth one was meant for.

Elizabeth must have noticed Taylor looking at the stockings because interrupted Taylor’s thoughts and explained,

“We decided to put up an extra stocking for you this year, Taylor. You have been such a lovely addition to this family for the past year, and we thought you have definitely earned your very own stocking at the Alwyn family Christmas.”

Taylor was incredibly touched by this gesture. She had loved feeling like a part of the family, but the fact that his parents had gone out of their way to include her was so special.

“Well thank you so much, I’m honored.” Taylor responded as she felt Joe return to her side and pull her in to a hug before teasing, “You know, this is a pretty big deal, getting a stocking is basically an official induction into the family. Looks like you’re stuck with me forever.”

Looking up at Joe, Taylor warmly replied, “Good. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Now that they had gone over the stocking situation, they made their way over to the tree to start the decorating process. Patrick was in charge of music. He connected his phone to the speaker, playing some much needed festive Christmas music. As they started hanging ornaments around the tree and singling along to the music, Taylor heard a familiar voice coming through the speakers and immediately recognized her old Christmas album. Looking over at Joe, she could tell that he was beginning to recognize her voice as well, as he looked up and asked,

“Who’s singing this? Wait is this..”

Taylor couldn’t help but laugh, admitting, “Well I’m glad you recognize the voice babe. This is my old Christmas album that I recorded when I was like 17. I haven’t heard this in awhile.”

His whole family seemed to enjoy singing along and Patrick insisted on playing her entire Christmas album, finding it funny to watch Taylor have to listen to her old voice from eleven years ago.

“Awee oh my god, is this you baby?” Taylor gushed while looking towards Joe and holding up an ornament with a picture that looked like a young version of her boyfriend.

Joe looked over groaning at the sight of his least favorite and one of the most embarrassing pictures from his childhood. In fact, he was fairly certain that his parents only kept it all of these years and insisted on putting it on the tree to torture him.

“No pretty sure that’s Patrick, yep definitely him” Joe responded, trying to dodge the question.

Patrick looked over upon hearing his name mentioned, seeing the old ornament and protesting, “What! That is not me. Just because you stole my face does not mean you can try to blame all of your embarrassing baby pictures on me.”

“I stole your face? I’m older than you, so if anything you stole my face” Joe shot back.

Taylor couldn’t help but laugh at their bickering, amused by the situation before cutting in, “I happen to think that you look absolutely adorable in this picture” as she leaned up to kiss him on the check.

“I happen to agree, wasn’t he just such a precious child. That’s why I always make sure that this goes up on the tree every year. No matter how much he complains,” Elizabeth smirked.

Joe sighed, shaking his head in defeat, “Okay you win. The ornament can stay.”

“If it makes you feel any better, there are a ton of embarrassing pictures of me from when I was little as well. It’s a fate that none of us can escape” Taylor offered.

“Oh please. I’ve seen pictures of you as a child, and you have always been unbelievably cute” he shot back.

Taylor let out a laugh before explaining, “well that’s because I haven’t let you see any pictures from my middle school years.”

“Do you have any pictures from when you were younger, I’m curious to see those,” Joe’s dad asked.

“Oh yes, we would love to see those. You know just to get an idea of what the future grandchildren might look like” Elizabeth added.

Taylor couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her and Joe’s future children, and she loved that his parents already considered her to be such a part of the family and assumed they would eventually have children together.

As she pulled out her phone to find some baby pictures, Joe noted, “Well as long as they look like her, we’ll be all good.”

“Oh stop. You were a cute child, accept it” Taylor maintained.

One of the benefits, in this case, of being a worldwide famous celebrity is having a million pictures of you easily accessible at all times. Taylor did a quick Google search typing in, “Taylor swift childhood pictures,” and her screen was flooded with a wide array of photos from her childhood. She couldn’t help but smile fondly at the good memories of her growing up before passing the phone so Joe’s parents and Patrick could see for themselves.

“Oh you were just precious, that curly blonde hair is so adorable. Oh and those bright blue eyes” His mom gushed as she scrolled through the seemingly never-ending virtual scrapbook of Taylor’s childhood.

“Much cuter than Joe was,” Patrick commented, as he enjoyed messing with his brother.

“Well you looked just like me so that goes for you as well” Joe shot back.

Richard cut in, holding up a picture of Taylor and Austin riding on the back of a horse and asking, “Is this your brother?”

“Yeah, that’s me and Austin! We grew up riding horses all of the time on our Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania.”

“Sounds like a wonderful childhood” his mother added.

“It was, definitely.”

Once they finished putting all of the ornaments and lights on the tree, they all looked back admiring their work, before his mom suggested that they all watch a Christmas movie.

After some debate, it was decided that they would watch Love Actually, which happened to be Taylor’s favorite movie and a must watch for every holiday season. Before they could start the movie, Patrick asked his mum to make him some hot chocolate, and everyone else immediately agreed craving some as well. Once Elizabeth returned with warm hot chocolate in cute Christmas mugs for everyone, they all sat around the TV and started the movie. Taylor was cuddled up next to Joe the couch with a soft blanket draped over their laps, and she couldn’t have felt more cozy and content. Being with his family was just so easy. It felt familiar and comfortable. Joe had become her second home, and not only him, but the rest of his family as well. Moments like these were why the holiday season had always been her favorite time of year. She couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be as she sipped her hot chocolate next to her amazing boyfriend and enjoyed her favorite movie.

#taylor swit #joe alwyn #taylor and joe fanfiction #T + J #The Exrta Stocking #let me know what y’all think!#I hope you like it :)

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spaceorphan18 · 3 years

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Marvel Movie Nights: Wolverine Origins

Well, that was kind of a mess...

I remember thinking that this film was a good three hours long -- apparently, it’s not - it’s only about 100-ish minutes or so. But man, it feels like it’s about three hours long. It’s funny that I’m beginning to tell the difference between various shades of film -- there are ones like The Punisher that are just bad every aspect of production, but then there are films like this that have been thrown a bunch more money at it, but that can’t save a script that just doesn’t work.

I’m much more familiar with Wolverine’s story than I had been ten years ago. And knowing what I know now maybe makes me groan just a bit harder. The first half of this film are about four or five Wolverine origin stories stapled together. Any of them would be worthy enough to be their own film, but since this film insists on being a greatest hits reel -- we only get the highlights. Unfortunately, that makes it film incredibly disjointed, and the thin plot that holds it all together just isn’t enough to provoke any kind of emotional attachment to the characters we see on screen.

Wolverine isn’t anything more than a variety of story beats strung together by poor action sequences that aren’t engaging enough (or far enough along on the technology spectrum) to keep an audience entertained. (The CGI in this film is terrible -- which is partly the time, but the more we move on, the more it just does not hold up.)

Meanwhile, there’s Wolverine. Look, I like Wolverine. I like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. But the script for this film offers him zero personality other than angry. And since the story skips around from one beat to the next without allowing the story to grow and build on itself, I don’t even buy tormented guy inside who has to decide if he’s human or animal -- which is what the film (I think) is trying to go for. It’s never grounded in one thing long enough for us to care, and kind of relies on us being familiar with the other X-Men films to do the heavy emotional lifting for us. But even with the knowledge and backing from the other films and comics, the lack of any kind of human emotion to this film starves it from giving weight to Wolverine’s character.

The other thing is that we spend so little time with other characters, we don’t ever get that attached to them. Wolverine gets a girlfriend -- who cares, she’s dead in about five minutes. Hey there are interesting mutant friends Wolverine has -- meh, they become dead or brainwashed. (My god, how is it that The Blob, by default, has the best characterization in this?) Hey you wanted to see Wolverine’s childhood, or when he was being helped by the Hudsons, or more in depth on the Project X stuff -- we’ll nod ot it but everyone will be unimportant by the time you start to care. Everything in here feels shoehorned in for the sake of nodding to the comics. And as someone who loves the comics -- I really would have preferred one solid story rather than fifteen nods to the comics shoved in a nonsensical story.

The crux of this, of course, is supposed to be between two brothers -- Victor Creed (Sabretooth) and Wolverine, and how one man -- Stryker, is manipulating them. And that’s not necessarily a bad idea or anything, but it’s so laced in fight after fight after fight, and flip-flopping on all sides, why should we care at all? We don’t get much more depth into Creed, nor do we get much development with Stryker. Everything we knew about Stryker from X2 is regurgitated here, and he’s just not menacing enough to be a convincing villain.

Some other thoughts:

Okay, so I did think action sequence through the wars was neat.

Wolverine’s relationship with Victor doesn’t make much sense at times. He’s okay with the killing and raping during the wars, but when it’s the near death of a villager, then he’s out? Okay sure.

I forgot Dominic Monahan was in this. For five seconds. Shame.

The dude that plays The Blob played Keamy (the season 4 villain) on Lost. Every time he talked about ‘the island’ it made me giggle.

Did the filmmakers not know that Wolverines aren’t Wolves? Like -- they don’t howl at the moon.

Oh god what they did to Deadpool. I’m glad Ryan Reynolds had a second chance at that.

I’m sad we didn’t get to see the actual Hudsons and Alpha Flight (though obviously that would have been too much).

Also, why kill off the nice old couple. Ug.

I have no idea who Will.I.Am. is supposed to be, but seriously, did he need to die like that?

Oh my Remy... Taylor Kitsch tried. And he’s much better than Channing Tatum (oh I’m so glad that project finally got nixed). But there are so many cool things you can do with Gambit, and he barely got anything to do. At least he didn’t get the Deadpool treatment.

Cyclops looks like he’s Marty McFly.

And that’s not supposed to be Emma Frost? Then what’s the point?

Ooof, that CGI on Patrick Stewart.

Also, let’s not get me started on how Prof X would rescue Gambit, Wolverine, and any other mutant on that site -- not to mention this fucks with the timelines of things, and none of it matters because it’s all going to be retconned in Days of Future Past anyway.

Final Thoughts: I mean... it’s still better than half the crap I’ve watched up to this point. And that’s not saying much.

Next Up: And people think Iron Man 2 is bad :P

#marvel movie nights

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junker-town · 4 years

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Patrick Mahomes could be the NFL’s first $200 million man — and soon

Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images

The only question about Mahomes’ record-setting contract is whether it’ll come in 2020 or 2021.

Over the past two seasons, Patrick Mahomes has established himself as one of the most valuable players in the NFL. He led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl win in 50 years. Despite this, he was paid less than $4.5 million in 2019 — 32nd-most among all quarterbacks and 343rd among all active players.

That’s going to change in a big way. The question is whether it happens this offseason or next. Mahomes’ absurd play and his looming free agency mean the Chiefs will have to hand him a significant contract extension in the next 20 months or risk alienating him and pushing him toward free agency.

That’s a risk neither side would like to take — and it should mean 2018’s NFL MVP and this year’s Super Bowl MVP will become the highest-paid player in league history in 2020.

Mahomes won’t be one of the NFL’s biggest bargains for long

The young quarterback will count just $5.2 million against Kansas City’s salary cap next season, the fourth year of his rookie contract. That’s a smaller payday than 26 other 2020 quarterbacks including Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jacoby Brissett, and Nick Foles.

He’s set to make less than 10 other members of his own roster, including targets Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Sammy Watkins. He’ll also be eligible for a fifth-year team option in 2021 that will clock in somewhere around $22 million — a number Kansas City would be happy to pay.

Allowing Mahomes to play out the entirety of his rookie deal would help retain cap space for a team without much spending money moving forward. The quarterback’s small paychecks have created breathing room needed to sign or extend veteran help on both sides of the ball, including players like Tyrann Mathieu, Anthony Hitchens, and Watkins. As a result, the franchise is expected to have a shade under $19 million to spend next offseason, or less than all but six other teams in 2020.

That means managing costs will be a priority this spring. Even so, Kansas City needs to strike a balance between being frugal with a stuffed salary cap and rewarding an unpaid, overdelivering talent.

Team chairman Clark Hunt says an extension is coming, but that it may not necessarily be in 2020. That’s because he understands a failure to lock Mahomes in to a market-value contract could end in disaster for the Chiefs.

Washington showed the league how to effectively alienate itself from an emerging young quarterback with its insistence to not give Kirk Cousins a big extension when his rookie deal expired in 2016. Instead, the club re-upped him for one year under its franchise player tag, then did so again in 2017, effectively severing contract talks between the two sides. Two years and nearly $44 million later, Cousins bolted to Minnesota as a free agent.

Kansas City probably won’t screw up its management as thoroughly as Washington did. There a large gap in talent between “pretty good” Cousins and a perennial MVP threat like Mahomes, who is the first Chiefs QB in 50 years to lead his team to the Super Bowl. Additionally, few teams are able to capture former Washington general manager Bruce Allen’s thorough commitment to engendering bad will from every inch of his atmosphere.

Rather than let money separate the team from its first homegrown playoff QB since Len Dawson, Kansas City will either have to pay up for his services or become the laughing stock of the NFL.

Most overachieving young quarterbacks get massive extensions before they can even sniff free agency

Why would Mahomes get paid two years before he’s scheduled to hit free agency? Because it:

a) Rewards his stellar play and builds a stronger relationship between team and player (while showing fans how much a franchise cares about its most important athlete).

b) Allows the club greater flexibility in spreading out that player’s gigantic bonuses and yearly salaries to gently massage his cap hit over the years.

We’ve seen this quite a bit recently. Jared Goff was three years into his NFL career when he earned a four-year, $134 million extension, two seasons before he was slated to hit free agency. Like Mahomes, he was a former first-round pick who had taken his team to the Super Bowl in his third season as a pro. Carson Wentz, drafted one spot after Goff, also got a nine-figure payday with a four-year, $128 million contract following his third season.

Goff’s deal pushed his biggest single-season cap hit to 2019 so the Rams could get it out of the way while they had space to burn. Wentz’s deal went the other way for a cash-strapped Eagles, actually reducing his cap hit last season but deferring larger payments into the future.

Franchise quarterbacks who weren’t taken in the first round — and thus don’t have fifth-year team options available to them in their rookie contracts — have been on similar schedules. Derek Carr got a five-year, $125 million deal from the Raiders after his third season in the league. Russell Wilson was handed an $87 million extension the summer before his rookie contract was set to expire, then given $140 million last spring when his previous big-money deal was a year away from tolling.

There are exceptions to this rule. Dak Prescott is hurtling toward free agency in 2020 after four strong years as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback. Even so, recent trends suggest Mahomes is more likely to get paid this spring/summer than he is in 2021 or 2022.

So what is Mahomes going to make when the Chiefs pony up?

Mahomes, barring an unexpected turnaround, will be the highest-paid player in NFL history.

Cousins’ three-year, $84 million deal with the Vikings made Mahomes’ upcoming deal a little more difficult to predict since it’s the only fully guaranteed megadeal the modern NFL has ever seen. Still, we can take a look back at Goff, Wentz, and Wilson to better understand what lies ahead for the big-armed passer.

The NFL’s largest overall contract belongs to Matt Ryan at five years and $150 million, but that $30 million per-year average only ranks sixth. Wilson’s four-year, $140 extension from the spring of 2019 grants him a league-high average annual windfall of $35 million. Mahomes is younger than either of those quarterbacks and is still growing as a passer. That means he’s not just going to break the record for the league’s most valuable contract — he’s likely going to shatter it.

Early reports suggest that deal will wind up somewhere in the range of five years and $40 million per season. It would be a record-setting deal, but lesser quarterbacks earn record-setting contracts almost every year. The more meaningful number will be 80 percent. That’s the amount of practical guarantees the young QB and his agent will be looking for.

As of January 2020, only two quarterbacks in the league — Goff and Wentz — have contracts valued at more than $100 million with more than 80 percent of that money tied up in practical guarantees. Both of them got to the Super Bowl, at least technically, but failed to win it. Mahomes has summited that mountain — and that should add a little extra cash to his guaranteed base.

Though he hasn’t commented publicly about his upcoming contract negotiations, it’s probably safe to say that’s a target Mahomes would like to hit. A market-value contract for his MVP-caliber services wouldn’t just include $200 million over five years, but also the Chiefs’ assurances that his contract will be spread out to make something like $160 million of that practically guaranteed.

Five years, $200 million for Mahomes. That’s an expensive price for a young quarterback. He’ll probably be worth every penny.

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beatrix-franklin · 7 years

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New Beginnings [Chapter 3]

The perk of my internet being down for 12 hours is that I actually sat and wrote without getting distracted. A bit of a lengthy one, but I hope people don’t mind. Also I know my updates aren’t regular, so if people are still following / reading this, thank you. I finally have a bit of direction with this now, so hopefully i’ll be quicker with updates in the future!

In which Trixie could probably do with investing in some waterproof mascara…

By the end of her third month of pregnancy the nausea Trixie had experienced on almost a daily basis had finally began to dissipate, much to her relief. However, despite reaching this milestone Trixie still could not bring herself to let anyone else in on the news. She’d told the staff at Nonnatus that she had been experiencing a sickness bug, as not to arouse suspicion, however given the nature of their work that was becoming increasingly difficult. Over lunch one-day Barbara had asked whether it could be something more. However Patrick, who’d stopped by that day on his lunch break as he needed to discuss paperwork, was quick to intervene.

“I’m afraid Nurse Dockerill just needs to steer away from certain foods while we try to figure out what’s causing this sickness, recent research suggests wheat could be having an impact, but the tests have shown it’s nothing more than that, I can assure you Barbara, no need to worry yourself,” he had asserted, followed by a quick apology about patient confidentiality, however the relief on Trixie’s face had told him he’d done exactly the right thing. Now at just over 3 months pregnant Trixie stood in front of the mirror examining herself from every angle. There was just a slight bulge to her stomach which was only noticeable to the trained eye, and her uniform thankfully hid it, for now. She knew that in time her tight fitted dresses would have to be pushed to the back of the wardrobe to be replaced by loose fitted ones, that were utterly unflattering. A thought Trixie couldn’t quite face. “We’re going to have to tell people soon,” Christopher’s voice pulled Trixie out of her reverie. “That uniform won’t fit you for much longer.” “Well it fits for now,” Trixie snapped back, a touch more anger in her voice than intended. “I’m simply saying that it might be time to start letting people in on the good news darling.” He tried to reach for Trixie as he spoke but she pushed past him and headed towards the door, not allowing him so much as a kiss on the cheek. “And I’m simply saying that I don’t want to tell people yet.” “Trixie, you are three months pregnant for goodness sake. This isn’t just about you, this is my child too, I should be able to tell people how excited I am. I should be able to tell my own daughter that soon she will have a new brother or sister. You’re having a baby Trixie, we’re having a baby Trixie. And I feel like you’re not acknowledging that.” Christopher’s voice rose with every word spoken, he’d agreed they’d wait until the three-month mark to start telling people, but now, at almost 14 weeks Trixie showed no signs of wanting to let others in on their news. “I am very aware that I am pregnant thank you very much. I just not ready to tell people and I don’t know why you can’t accept that.” Trixie shouted back as she slammed the front door shut leaving Christopher stood in their house alone at a complete loss as to what to do. It was hours until Trixie’s shift was due to begin yet once she’d left the house she couldn’t bring herself to turn back, she knew her anger would lead her to saying something she’d regret, and she was too emotionally wrung out to face another argument. She knew that going to Nonnatus wouldn’t be an option either; the tears would take too much explaining, something she was not yet ready for. As the temperature began to drop in the late morning fog, Trixie knew she couldn’t just wonder around aimlessly for hours. So, she walked to the only place she knew she wouldn’t have to explain herself, to the only person who would understand. Shelagh had been sat on the sofa with a cup of tea in hand and a book resting on her lap when a knock on the door disturbed her precious peace. She considered not answering it; a sick Teddy had kept her awake for most the night and though used to functioning on a mere few hours’ sleep she was rather thankful when Patrick had insisted he could manage at the surgery alone that morning so she could get a few hours’ rest now that Teddy had finally succumbed to sleep. However, the knocking became more insistent and Shelagh knew that if she didn’t answer it soon Teddy would wake and any faint hope she had of getting any sleep that morning would be gone. She was hoping it was merely a sales person that she could get rid of quickly. What she did not anticipate was finding Trixie at the door, hair and uniform soaked from the rain that had started to pour and more mascara on her cheeks than eyelashes. When Trixie stood frozen on the spot, Shelagh reached for her hand and lead her inside. The contact seemed to pull Trixie out of her trance and she practically fell into Shelagh’s arms and finally let her emotions take over as she sobbed into Shelagh’s shoulder. Eventually Trixie pulled away and looked rather sheepishly at Shelagh, slightly embarrassed at her outpouring of emotions, something which she usually reserved for when she was alone. “Sorry,” Trixie practically laughed, “I turn up here and start crying without even a hello and I appear to have interrupted your morning off, gosh I’m sorry Shelagh, my hormones are all over the place. I’ll be right off and let you get back to your book.” Trixie was stopped by Shelagh placing her hand on her arm as she attempted to walk off as if nothing had happened. One look in Trixie’s eyes told Shelagh that this was more than hormones. But she also knew Trixie, she knew she needed to time to compose herself, to figure out why she had sought her out and to simply have a few moments alone. “Trixie Dockerill, if you think I’m letting you walk home in the freezing cold and wearing wet clothing while three months pregnant then you are very much mistaken” Trixie couldn’t help but break into a smile at the way Shelagh had shifted to her Sister Bernadette tone. “I don’t know why you’re laughing, the last thing you need right now is to get ill.” “I’m sorry Shelagh, but you sounded just like Sister Bernadette then.” “Well she and I aren’t exactly separate entities, and you know better than to argue with her,” Trixie frowned a little at that, she knew when she’d been outmanoeuvred. Shelagh softened her tone as she continued. “Bathroom is on the second right, there’s some clean towels in there. Go and get yourself cleaned up and out of that wet uniform, it’ll do you no good. I’ll go and see if I can find you some clothes. I’ll leave them on the bed in my room, the room to the left of the bathroom, come down when you’re ready.” It was twenty minutes later before Trixie emerged from the bathroom and joined Shelagh in the living room. A cup of tea and slice of almond sponge were waiting for her, the simple gesture made her eyes fill with tears once more. Shelagh was quick to grab a handkerchief and wipe them away before Trixie could ruin her perfectly reapplied mascara once more. “Are you going to tell me what all these tears are about?” “I’m having a baby Shelagh, I think you know better than anyone that even I don’t know what I’m crying about,” Trixie’s voice became more strained with each syllable, she knew Shelagh was unconvinced. Instead of responding Shelagh simply took Trixie’s hand in her own and gave it a gentle squeeze, encouraging Trixie to open up. “I’m scared Shelagh,” Trixie eventually sighed, the moment the words rolled of her tongue relief swept over her, she didn’t realise how comforting it would be to finally voice her fears. “I’m scared I’ll make a terrible mother, I’m scared something will happen to this one before it’s even born,” “Trixie,” Shelagh interrupted. “So far you have had a textbook pregnancy, you are the epitome of health, you exercise and eat well, there’s nothing to suggest anything will go wrong. You need to learn to trust your body, and should anything at all go wrong, you know Dr Turner and I will be there in an instant.” Trixie seemed comforted by her words, she knew while her fears were rational, for every mother had them, by dwelling on them she’d cause herself greater problems. “But that’s not what you’re really worried about is it?” Trixie shook her head in response. “I’m only three months pregnant and already I’m seeing the changes to my body,” Trixie’s shoulders slumped as she spoke. “Your body is adapting, preparing itself to bring life into the world, you should appreciate every moment of that, not fear it.” “But, I can’t control it. My body is the one thing I’ve learnt to control. I started Keep Fit because I lost control of myself, of the amount of alcohol I was consuming, of the direction in which I was allowing myself to go. Sobriety was the best thing that happened to me because it taught me to take control again. I took control of alcohol and starting Keep Fit allowed control of my body. Now I don’t have that control, what if I slip into my old ways again? What if I harm my baby by doing so?” Trixie had become fixated with an image on the wall as she spoke, too scared to look at Shelagh in case she thought badly of her. Shelagh simply pulled her friend closer, allowing a now exhausted Trixie to lean into her side. “I have known you for many a year Trixie, and in all the years I’ve known you I’ve never been as proud of you as I am now. You’ve grown up and found your way in life and you’ve found your strength. I know you’re scared, more so now than you ever have been in your life. But I don’t believe for one second that you will turn to the bottle to solve your fears, and I don’t believe you truly think that either.” Shelagh rubbed comforting circles on Trixie’s back as she spoke, much like she did with Angela when she curled into her in this way. Eventually Trixie’s breathing evened out as her cries subsided and tiredness began to seep into every bone in her body. “Thank you,” was all Trixie could utter in response, fighting a yawn as she did so and allowed her eyes to close for just a second. Shelagh couldn’t bear to move her once she realised Trixie had fallen asleep, so instead she held her tightly and sent a prayer to the Lord asking him to help Trixie find the strength she knew she had within her, before finally succumbing to her own tiredness.

#ctm share #call the midwife #trixie franklin #shelagh turner #fan fic #ctm fanfic #fanfiction #christopher dockerill

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percontaion-points · 5 years

Text

Let’s Play “Moments: Lust Under The Moon 2″ Part 8

Seven looks at SF and understands that the “monster” did something to her. She's surprised that SF knows about the siren, and then begs SF for help, stating that the siren is after her as well. SF obviously doesn't want to help if she thinks Seven is even remotely connected to what's going on. Seven says that Old Mia was the one really in charge, but that she used people like Seven. She tells Sf that she once gave her an amulet to protect against dark magic, the same one Liam now has. SF asks for the truth about what happened to her, and maybe she'll help Seven.

She says that she and Old Mia did the spell to change history, but something stopped them from reaching further back in time, so they were forced to do something else: they plucked SF from the past, right when she was going to pick a mate, and plopped her into the future. (But it doesn't explain her lost memories?) However, Seven goes on to say that something went wrong, but she insists that it did what they intended, but there were other consequences that they hadn't anticipated. Seven says that the spell is supposed to be Silas's blood, and not just some descendant of his.

And the spell released the siren from her ancient prison.

THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T FUCK AROUND WITH THE SPACE/TIME CONTINUUM!!

Marcus is angry at Seven, and explains to SF what this means. The first siren was imprisoned in time itself for punishment for killing a bunch of people. And goes on to say that that's how horrific that her murder spree was. He turns to Seven, but she says that all of the oracles at the citadel were murdered by the siren, including Mia. Good; one less thing to worry about. Marcus isn't exactly sympathetic towards her being the sole survivor, since she brought it on herself. SF just kind of stands there and watches his anger... because he's right. He gets even more angry when she tells him that the siren has his soul, and wants to just kill her then and there. However, Seven would rather die by Marcus's hands than the siren, which should tell you something. He goes on to explain to SF that the siren will feed off of Seven's psychic energy, where she'll remain trapped for thousands of years inside the siren. Which is a fate way worse than death, so of course she'd rather just be regularly murdered.

SF asks how they can stop the siren and reverse the spell. Seven says that the spell is linked to Marcus's soul, which also anchors the siren to this plane of reality. Seven can unbind the spell around the soul, but she wants protection first. Marcus wants nothing to do with protecting her, but SF is quick to agree to Seven's request. I mean, what's a soul in comparison to not remembering anything? Marcus is like “how dare you?” But SF is quick to remind him that they need to work together if they want to see results. Marcus scoffs over a werewolf's pack mentality. He tells her to do what she wants to Seven, but within her cell. Meanwhile, he's going to go talk to his witch friend to see if they can't do this without Seven.

Once he's gone, SF asks Seven why. Control. Because why not? If you could change your past/future, wouldn't you? She also blames SF for not killing Old Mia... which wow. Sorry that I'm too nice. Maybe if you weren't such a spineless coward, Seven, we wouldn't be here, either. HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, SEVEN?! SF gets angry over Seven victim-blaming her. Seven says that you sometimes have to be the monster that you're trying to defeat. But the only thing SF gets from this is that she wasn't a monster... Old Mia was/is... as were the rest of the oracles. Seven goes on to say that they picked before SF picked a mate because the marking process would make both of them more powerful, and Mia didn't want that to happen. And SF hangs onto the prospect of having lost out on love... because priorities. Seven is... baffled by that, too. (But I can't say that wanting love over power is a BAD thing...)

SF goes on to tell Seven that Liam, Patrick, and SF have been having “could have been” visions. Seven goes over the idea that they're all “could have been” moments. SF asks if they reverse the spell, and she would go back to the moment where she would have picked a mate.

Just then, the scrying stone Liam gave her earlier starts vibrating... just like the phone replacement it's supposed to be. She leaves to go meet him. Upstairs, she finds Marcuse playing the piano... Hello blond Edward Cullen much? She sits and watches him play upon him inviting her to. And a guy using a piano song to pick up a woman? Now that's something that I haven't seen before. (And it would work on me, too, but I'm also into serious musicians, so...) He then starts trying to compel SF to kiss him, but she resists. (Thank god for VIP or else that would have been very rapey...) She brings him back to focus on his soul, although he seems more upset that she keeps rejecting him, because priorities.

She tells him about her old pack, and what they've told her about her past. This is to ask for his permission to allow Liam into the villa. He doesn't like werewolves if he's not going to be banging them, but he obviously changes his mind when she says that Liam is half vampire.

So SF leaves to go find Liam. He followed her because he was worried about her, especially when she left the city. She fills him in on what's going on, although Liam's just like “ugh” over the entire thing. He seems more upset over having to work with Marcus than the actual problem of the siren and time change spell. SF tells him that they need to work together, because both of them have resources that the other team wouldn't have on their own. Liam's looking towards the future, and seems confident that SF will pick him... because he would have picked her. (Although, maybe he could try hooking up with Amelia?) But SF quickly brings him back to the present. Mainly because of the situation at hand, but she doesn't want to make a decision until she has her memories back.

She takes him back to the villa, where she introduces Liam and Marcus. Liam says that his mom was a vamp and his dad a wolf. Marcus doesn't think that it's possible, mainly because the biology doesn't quite add up. (Probably like a cat/dog hybrid situation) Hybrids are possible, but never through natural means.

Suddenly, SF old roommate, Cynthia, from the first book shows up... and she says that she's the siren!!

#let's play #percontation points plays dating sims #Moments #Lust Under The Moon 2

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goldeagleprice · 5 years

Text

Palladium star performer in 2018

(Image courtesy internationalbanker.com)

For all the news coverage about strong U.S. stock markets for much of 2018, you probably didn’t realize that the performance of the price of gold outperformed all major U.S. stock indices last year.

Even though the price of gold fell slightly at the end of 2018 compared to a year earlier (its first annual decline since 2015 and only the fourth in the past 16 years), it still did better for the calendar year than the typical U.S. stock. Here’s the 2018 performance record for precious metals and major U.S. stock indices:

Note: the change in U.S. stock indices does not reflect dividends paid, which could improve the net results of the indices.

However, one year does not make an absolute statement about the state of the U.S. stock market. So, how did these same assets perform in the two years ended Dec. 31, 2018?

Even a two-year comparison does not tell the whole story. So how have things fared thus far this century? Here is how they have performed since Dec. 31, 1999:

As you can see by the comparisons of results over the differing time periods, the results can be dramatically different. It matters very much what you use for the beginning and ending dates of your analysis.

How will precious metals and the U.S. stock markets perform in 2019? I don’t know. But I can see some factors that will affect markets:

Stock prices will not get a further boost from the major new tax cuts that were enacted at the end of 2017.

The class action lawsuits filed as a result of 2017 and 2018 convictions and plea bargains for manipulating (and overall suppressing) precious metals prices are likely to result in less price suppression activity in 2019.

The fall in U.S. stock markets following the Federal Open Market Committee’s decisions to increase the federal funds interest rates in their September and December 2018 meetings is almost certain to put greater pressure on the Fed to curtail indicated future interest rate hikes in 2019. It is even possible that any 2019 and even 2018 hikes may be reversed before the end of 2019. Cessation of federal funds interest rate increases would almost certainly contribute to a declining value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies.

There are many other factors that will impact U.S. stock markets and precious metals prices in 2019. The important lesson to draw from these performance comparisons and important factors in 2019 is that it would be prudent to include an allocation to precious metals as part of one’s investment portfolio, an allocation that I call “wealth insurance.”

Warning flags of coin dealers you may want to avoid.

As promised last week, here are some business practices I have observed practiced by some marketers that to me indicate dealers who may be looking out for their own interests rather than the interests of their customers:

Dealers who make cold calls looking for customers.

Dealers that use “teaser” ads or “bait-and-switch” tactics. I’ve heard from multiple customers who think they are savvy enough to insist that they would only buy the “too cheap” bullion-priced product offered who tell me that the sales representative on the phone just would not allow them to make such a purchase.

Dealers promoting leveraged accounts without full disclosure how this magnifies the profits for the dealer but puts the buyer, often without adequate disclosure, at substantial financial risk of magnifying their losses.

Dealers trying to steer you with the specter of “gold confiscation” when referring to the U.S. government’s 1933 mandatory fully compensated gold recall. Invariably, these companies never mention to most practical alternative if purchasing gold is truly risky – just buy bullion-priced silver.

Dealers trying to push customers into buying numismatic coins when they want to buy bullion-priced items. This is definitely the sign of a dealer looking out for its own profitability rather than the customers’ best interests.

Dealers who try to steer customers to establish a Precious Metals IRA. It does not make sense to place a tax-deferred asset into a tax-deferred account. There are easily another 10 drawbacks why a precious metals IRA is actually one of the worst ways to own physical precious metals.

Dealers who only sell to, but will not buy from, the public. In my experience, such companies tend to have very high selling prices.

Dealers who insist on completely avoiding the use of the postal system for payments and product shipments. Are such dealers afraid of running afoul of the U.S. Postal Inspectors?

Dealers who offer to break the law in order to make a sale. Self-evident.

Dealers who are normally unable to deliver physical product within 28 days, as that makes them subject to additional federal regulations. Do such companies have the financial strength to serve customers if they cannot deliver much sooner?

Dealers who prominently hype their Better Business Bureau membership. This may seem counter-intuitive. However, if you review the histories of major dealers who have collapsed and hurt large numbers of customers, they pretty much all prominently hyped their wonderful Better Business Bureau ratings.

Dealers who heavily advertise to sell gold and silver in radio and television commercials, or put large ads in the newspapers. The market for retail buyers of precious metals and numismatic products is a small percentage of the population who might be exposed to such promotions. In order for such marketing to pay off, too many of these companies charge prices much higher than most dealers.

In years past, it happened much more often than today that dealers used their own grading practices rather than industry standards such as those promulgated by the American Numismatic Association, or the major grading services. This tended to mask that truth that the coins they called a certain grade would not merit that grade as generally accepted in the industry. Still, if you now see a dealer stating something like “grading based on xx years’ experience” you would at least want to be very careful in trading with them.

This list is not exhaustive. It is possible that some wonderful dealers may engage in one or more of these practices. If they do, you may want to ask them why they do so.

Patrick A. Heller was the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, 2017 Exemplary Service Award, 2012 Harry Forman Dealer of the Year Award, and 2008 Presidential Award winner. He was also honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild in 2017 and 2016 for the Best Dealer-Published Magazine/Newspaper and for Best Radio Report. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Mich., and writes Liberty’s Outlook, a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at http://www.libertycoinservice.com. Some of his radio commentaries titled “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So, And Important News You Need To Know” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio and text archives posted at http://www.1320wils.com).

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ionecoffman · 5 years

Text

An Elephant’s Personhood on Trial

Forty-seven years ago, the Asian elephant now known as Happy was one of seven calves captured—probably in Thailand, but details are hazy—and sent to the United States. She spent five years at a safari park in Florida, time that in the wild would have been spent by her mother’s side. Then she was moved to the Bronx Zoo in New York City. There Happy remains today, and since the death of an elephant companion in 2006, she has lived alone, her days alternating between a 1.15-acre yard and an indoor stall.

For a member of a species renowned for both intelligence and sociality, the setting is far from natural. In the wild, Happy would share a many-square-mile home range with a lifelong extended family, their bonds so close-knit that witnessing death produces symptoms akin to post-traumatic stress disorder in humans. It would seem that Happy, despite the devotions of the people who care for her, is not living her best life.

In considering Happy’s circumstances and what might be done to improve them, should something more than animal-welfare laws and zoo regulations—which the Bronx Zoo has not violated, but arguably are inadequate—be invoked? Should Happy be considered, in legal terms, a person? Which is to say, an entity capable of possessing at least some rights historically reserved for humans alone—beginning with a right to be free?

Making that case is an advocacy group called the Nonhuman Rights Project. Since 2013, the group has filed lawsuits on behalf of four captive chimpanzees in New York and, in neighboring Connecticut, three elephants used in a traveling circus. They’ve lost those cases, but they have convinced judges to take them seriously, and in October petitioned a New York state court to order Happy’s release. She wouldn’t be returned to the wild, but transferred to a sanctuary in California with more space and the company of other elephants. The hearing took place earlier this month, and while no decision was reached—the case will likely be moved to a court within the Bronx Zoo’s jurisdiction—it was still a unique moment to reflect on the status of animals and the law.

Until recently, the idea of elephant personhood would have struck legal observers as a joke. Just a few decades ago, most states still treated animal cruelty as a misdemeanor, like public intoxication or driving without insurance. But an increasing number of Americans take animal well-being seriously: A 2015 Gallup poll found that a majority “are very or somewhat concerned” about animal mistreatment. The legal system has changed in turn. Every state now considers animal cruelty a felony, and laws like California’s recently passed Proposition 12, which improves living standards for farm animals, are becoming commonplace.

Still, these laws have blind spots and inconsistencies. The federal Animal Welfare Act exempts farm animals and most lab animals; the Humane Slaughter Act omits poultry. State laws are an inconsistently enforced patchwork, and practices that many people consider cruel—such as gestation crates for pigs—remain legal in many places. Even the most-beloved animals don’t always receive much consideration. “In the vast majority of jurisdictions, if someone beats your dog to death in front of you, all you can sue them for is the cost of buying another dog,” says Chris Green, the executive director of Harvard Law School’s Animal Law and Policy Program.

Animal-welfare laws also depend on government intervention. Citizens can’t file suit on behalf of animals they don’t own. Animal-welfare laws fall short of actual rights—and centuries of legal custom have reserved rights for humans. “A thick and impenetrable legal wall has separated all human from all nonhuman animals,” writes Steve Wise, the Nonhuman Rights Project’s founder and lead attorney, in his book Rattling the Cage.

[Read: Do we need zoos?]

To help Happy breach it, Wise invokes both scientific research and legal principle. Elephants, attest scientists who filed affidavits in Happy’s case, are highly self-aware, emotional, make choices, and have a rich sense of both past and future. (Happy, in fact, was the star of a landmark 2006 Science study describing how elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors, which is considered a measure of especially human-like awareness.) “Elephants share many key traits of autonomy with humans,” write evolutionary biologists Lucy Bates and Richard Byrne in their affidavit. Wise argues that respect for autonomy underlies our own legal right to physical liberty. Extending that to elephants is simply a matter of equality.

Happy the elephant in the Bronx Zoo’s Asia display (Bebeto Matthews / AP)

In a news release issued after this month’s hearing, the Wildlife Conservation Society—the Bronx Zoo’s owner—describes the lawsuit as “an academic exercise” that, in the words of the zoo’s director, Jim Breheny, is intended to “promote their radical philosophical view of ‘personhood.’” Happy’s present conditions, they say, are perfectly suitable and meet established welfare standards, and moving her could be traumatic. (That issue won’t be adjudicated in this article; for more information, see court documents filed by Patrick Thomas, the Bronx Zoo’s associate director, and Joyce Poole, one of the biologists supporting the lawsuit.)

More to the philosophical point, the Wildlife Conservation Society cites rulings against similar Nonhuman Rights Project lawsuits filed on behalf of captive chimpanzees. According to those decisions, rights belong only to those who can also accept moral responsibility and social duties—which even the smartest animals can’t.

The rulings have been criticized, though, both by scientists who insisted that chimps do in fact have responsibilities within their own societies, and by some legal theorists who don’t necessarily support chimp rights, but fear a rationale that could threaten many human beings. The rights of an infant or an elderly grandmother with severe dementia are hardly contingent on the duties they fulfill.

[Read: Is the future of zoos no zoos at all?]

This past May, in rejecting a Nonhuman Rights Project request to appeal these decisions, the New York judge Eugene Fahey wrote that he only did so on procedural grounds. “Does an intelligent nonhuman animal who thinks and plans and appreciates life as human beings do have the right to the protection of the law against arbitrary cruelties and enforced detention?” he wrote. “This is not merely a definitional question, but a deep dilemma of ethics and policy that deserves our attention.”

Fahey’s opinion—intended, as legal opinions are, as a resource for future deliberation—seems to leave New York courthouse doors open for Happy. Whether they’re wide enough remains to be seen. There are certainly other arguments against elephant personhood. Richard Cupp, an animal-law professor at the Pepperdine School of Law, worries that extending rights to animals could ultimately erode our own. “Courts and society might, with this new paradigm, be tempted not only to look at more intelligent animals as being like humans,” he said in a debate with Wise, “but start to think of less-intelligent humans a little more like animals.”

Cupp also fears opening a “floodgate of litigation” as animal advocates work their way through the animal kingdom, moving from elephants and chimpanzees to common creatures—a worry echoed by Richard Epstein, a law professor at New York University, who spoke to Harvard Magazine about his concern that people might claim personhood for farm animals. “We kill millions of animals a day for food,” said Epstein. “If they have the right to bodily liberty, it’s basically a holocaust.” Rather than rights, Epstein suggests more animal-welfare protections.

There are rejoinders to both points: Expanding rights to women, racial minorities, and children didn’t erode the rights of property-holding white men, and implications for other species are immaterial to the question of elephant or chimpanzee rights. Other lawsuits involving other species and other rights would certainly follow—but those deserve to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, rather than forestalled en masse because it’s uncomfortable to consider what they imply for animals we eat.

[Read: Why are baby animals dying at the National Zoo?]

Regardless of how Happy’s case is decided, though, the legal landscape for animals is changing. Outside the U.S., an Argentine court granted freedom to an orangutan at the Buenos Aires Zoo; courts in the Indian state of Uttarakhand ruled that animals both wild and domestic are not property but “legal entities” on whose behalf humans must act as guardians. The European Union, New Zealand, and Quebec explicitly recognize animals as sentient, though the actual impacts of sentience laws have been limited. Legal rights for animals are no longer a fringe idea.

Inside the U.S., judges in Alaska and Illinois have started to consider the well-being of pets, rather than mere ownership claims, in divorce-custody proceedings. Though an Oregon court rejected a high-profile lawsuit that would have allowed a horse’s advocates to sue for damages caused by criminal neglect, another court in that state ruled that animals could legally be considered victims of crimes—an implicit recognition that they’re more than just property.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, which filed the aforementioned Oregon horse case, has also pushed for animals to be covered by Freedom of Information Act laws that, by the law’s letter, apply to individuals—not individual humans. Meanwhile, Friends of Animals, another advocacy organization, has collaborated with the legal philosopher Martha Nussbaum to develop what they call a “right to ethical consideration”: In their eyes, the Nonhuman Rights Project’s focus on autonomy sets too high a cognitive bar; rights might instead be based on simpler capacities, like emotions and imagination.

Ethicists have even suggested property rights for wild animals threatened by development, labor rights for working animals, and the use of citizenship theory as a framework for thinking about animal rights. Domestic animals might be treated as full-blown citizens; wild animals are likened to members of other nations. Even if such ideas seem impractical, they’re valuable prompts to moral imagination. What would fair labor law look like for a chicken?

“For the most part, there’s been an invisibility to anything but humans throughout the legal system,” says Irus Braverman, a law professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. “We have to bring the animals back in.”

Article source here:The Atlantic

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junker-town · 4 years

Text

Patrick Mahomes could be the NFL’s first $200 million man — and soon

Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images

The only question about Mahomes’ record-setting contract is whether it’ll come in 2020 or 2021.

Over the past two seasons, Patrick Mahomes has established himself as one of the most valuable players in the NFL. Despite this, he was paid less than $4.5 million in 2019 — 32nd-most among all quarterbacks and 343rd among all active players.

That’s a risk neither side would like to take — and it should mean 2018’s NFL MVP will become the highest-paid player in league history in 2020.

Mahomes won’t be one of the NFL’s biggest bargains for long

That means managing costs will be a priority this spring. Even so, Kansas City needs to strike a balance between being frugal with a stuffed salary cap and rewarding an unpaid, overdelivering talent.

A failure to lock Mahomes in to a market value contract could end in disaster for the Chiefs.

Rather than let money separate the team from its first homegrown playoff QB since Len Dawson, Kansas City will either have to pay up for his services or become the laughing stock of the NFL.

Most overachieving young quarterbacks get massive extensions before they can even sniff free agency

Why would Mahomes get paid two years before he’s scheduled to hit free agency? Because it:

a) rewards his stellar play and builds a stronger relationship between team and player (while showing fans how much a franchise cares about its most important athlete), and b) allows the club greater flexibility in spreading out that player’s gigantic bonuses and yearly salaries to gently massage his cap hit over the years.

So what is Patrick Mahomes going to make when the Chiefs pony up?

Mahomes, barring an unexpected turnaround, will be the highest-paid player in NFL history.

As of January 2020, only two quarterbacks in the league — Goff and Wentz — have contracts valued at more than $100 million with more than 80 percent of that money tied up in practical guarantees.

Five years, $200 million for Patrick Mahomes. That’s an expensive price for a young quarterback. He’ll probably be worth every penny.

0 notes

goldeagleprice · 5 years

Text

Palladium star performer in 2018

(Image courtesy internationalbanker.com)

Note: the change in U.S. stock indices does not reflect dividends paid, which could improve the net results of the indices.

However, one year does not make an absolute statement about the state of the U.S. stock market. So, how did these same assets perform in the two years ended Dec. 31, 2018?

Even a two-year comparison does not tell the whole story. So how have things fared thus far this century? Here is how they have performed since Dec. 31, 1999:

How will precious metals and the U.S. stock markets perform in 2019? I don’t know. But I can see some factors that will affect markets:

Stock prices will not get a further boost from the major new tax cuts that were enacted at the end of 2017.

Warning flags of coin dealers you may want to avoid.

Dealers who make cold calls looking for customers.

Dealers who only sell to, but will not buy from, the public. In my experience, such companies tend to have very high selling prices.

Dealers who insist on completely avoiding the use of the postal system for payments and product shipments. Are such dealers afraid of running afoul of the U.S. Postal Inspectors?

Dealers who offer to break the law in order to make a sale. Self-evident.

This list is not exhaustive. It is possible that some wonderful dealers may engage in one or more of these practices. If they do, you may want to ask them why they do so.

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News Express. >> Subscribe today

If you like what you’ve read here, we invite you to visit our online bookstore to learn more about Coins Magazine.

Learn more >>>

The post Palladium star performer in 2018 appeared first on Numismatic News.

#Precious Metals

0 notes

goldeagleprice · 5 years

Text

Palladium star performer in 2018

(Image courtesy internationalbanker.com)

Note: the change in U.S. stock indices does not reflect dividends paid, which could improve the net results of the indices.

However, one year does not make an absolute statement about the state of the U.S. stock market. So, how did these same assets perform in the two years ended Dec. 31, 2018?

Even a two-year comparison does not tell the whole story. So how have things fared thus far this century? Here is how they have performed since Dec. 31, 1999:

How will precious metals and the U.S. stock markets perform in 2019? I don’t know. But I can see some factors that will affect markets:

Stock prices will not get a further boost from the major new tax cuts that were enacted at the end of 2017.

Warning flags of coin dealers you may want to avoid.

Dealers who make cold calls looking for customers.

Dealers who only sell to, but will not buy from, the public. In my experience, such companies tend to have very high selling prices.

Dealers who insist on completely avoiding the use of the postal system for payments and product shipments. Are such dealers afraid of running afoul of the U.S. Postal Inspectors?

Dealers who offer to break the law in order to make a sale. Self-evident.

This list is not exhaustive. It is possible that some wonderful dealers may engage in one or more of these practices. If they do, you may want to ask them why they do so.

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News Express. >> Subscribe today

If you like what you’ve read here, we invite you to visit our online bookstore to learn more about Coins Magazine.

Learn more >>>

The post Palladium star performer in 2018 appeared first on Numismatic News.

#Precious Metals

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