Bernie's Not The Only One With Magical Powers..... Well, I Guess He's Just A Detective Through And Through.

My drawing of Alex Miller going on her first date in the PSOLC universe, created by the incredible @themetaphorgirl . The blush is too dark, but I think I nailed the hair, the rest of the m1keup and the outfit as a whole. I haven’t done any drawing for ages, but I was inspired

A cold but sunny day

A delicious second breakfast of hot breakfast croissant from Starbucks

A restful afternoon

Cool YouTube videos and fanfiction on tumblr to watch/read

Finishing a really enjoyable TV series ( Unforgettable)

Pass the happy! When you get this, reply with 5 things that make you happy and send this to the last 10 people in your notifications! I'm passing it on to you <3

wow umm five things that have made me happy today are:

-the new shadow and bone stills

-i got to see my friends at school

-waking up in a good mood

-rainy weather aka my favorite weather

-getting to read more of song of achilles

Fic hunting

Hi,

Does anyone have any links to fics about Law and Order Organized Crime, which follow the feelings/thoughts/relationship between Eli and Elliot after the end of the latest episode?

Or just fics that explore their relationship throughout the series. I’d love to know what Eli’s motivations were for joining the police force, as, since S1, he has been annoyed/upset by his dad always having to leave for work or answer the phone during family events, not seeing him for weeks on end when he is undercover and really not seeming to understand just how much danger his dad is in when he is on the job.

I actually think S1 Eli ( aged about 15-ish) was more patient/understanding about his dad’s job than he was at the end of S4! Also seeing Elliot’s thought process/feelings about the whole thing would be interesting, as he loves his son and wants to support him but does,’t want him to get injured ( or worse) and I think he was pretty hurt that Eli didn’t confide in him about dropping out of college, expecting a baby and signing up to the police force.

There must be some fics out there, I just haven’t found them yet!

Emily Prentiss PSOLC, pre-party for themetaphorgirl

SVU Season 6 episode thoughts

Since Netflix will be removing Law and Order SVU in a couple of week, I decided to have a rewatch. The only Seasons available are 6,7,9,10 and 11, so I started with S6 and it is still one of my favourites to date!

In one of the episodes, there are a couple of junkies, who I think are married. The husband’s mum lived with them, she is called Jenny, and is seemingly being abused by her son and his wife. 

Stabler is the only one who seems to pick up on this and gets really protective of her, more so than he would normally, at least to my eyes.

We know Joe St was physically and verbally abusive to his kids ( multiple examples in OC and in S7 Ripped) and, in OC, it is revealed that he physically and verbally abused Bernie every single day they were married. This comes as a surprise to Elliot, but I think that this episode shows that he subconsciously knew his mother was being abused by his father, although maybe not the full extent of it .

I think this is one of the main reasons he wants to be a cop: so he can help/save people ( especially women and kids) from abusers like his dad.

Season 6 is so hard-hitting for Elliot, as the brilliant @ocstabler worked out, a lot of the really bad cases this Season have a lot of overlap: the one with Abraham the cult leader, who is marrying pre-teens and getting them pregnant, Contagious with Holly who has been sexually abused by someone in the community, then I think there is a missing child case too. This is when Kathy leaves Elliot too, so I think he is thinking about his family a lot, even more than usual. 

Kathleen is definitely not Daddy’s girl from Seasons 6-10, as she gets into lots of trouble and arguments with her dad, because of her undiagnosed bi-polar.

I think we see enough of Elliot as a pretty good dad in the early Seasons. In Season 1, we see him take Dickie to the park and make him fly across the monkey bars ( the episode with the falsely-accused paedophile) he reads Twas The Night before Christmas to the twins in Nocturne (and they climb all over him, giving him hugs and kisses), in Wanderlust, he does Lizzie’s hair ( so probably did Kathleen’s and Maureen’s too), then he kisses them all goodbye and tells them he loves them when he is called into work, he plays soccer with Kathleen, he apologises to Maureen when he comes down too hard on her in Sophomore Jinx and Chat Room… He and Maureen butt heads a little in later Seasons, but they have quite a sweet, teasing relationship based on what we see in the Season 2 premiere. His relationship with Dickie is very warm and affectionate until Turmoil in Season 11. Dickie plays a game with him in S5 Home, accuses his dad of cheating and he playfully growls at him, chases him and catches him which shows how playful their relationship is, Dickie spends a few days with him in S6 Game, and in S 10, Lunacy, their closeness is very nicely portrayed too. In S 6, Contagious, they all come to the precinct to celebrate their dad’s birthday, he gives them all hugs and kisses. There’s an episode in S6 where Dickie has appendicitis and Elliot stays with him the whole time ( he knows his son ate lots of ice cream and watched Jackass on repeat, so must have been there to witness it) which also shows his dedication and love for his son. I wish we’d seen and heard more of Lizzie, there was certainly potential there. Maybe an episode with her theatre teacher being accused of having a relationship with another student, her dad investigates and thinks the guy is guilty, but Lizzie thinks he is innocent, so they disagree over that. Or she fake dates a gay guy on the cast as his parents are homophobic and he can’t come out to them but has to her, Elliot can tell there is something not quite right about the relationship and fears the guy is pressuring her/abusing her in some way…

I like how Elliot has very different relationships with all his children, but I always felt the show did a good job showing that he loved them and they loved him.

Did Elliot work when he was in Italy with Kathy and Eli? He expresses that he’d love to be a stay at home dad in at least one episode, so I thought Kathy would work in Rome and he would do the childcare/house chores/school pick-up/take Eli to playdates, the park and his activities… We know he did the day shift with Maureen when she was a baby/toddler , and studied/worked at night, while Kathy had a day job and then did the night shift. So Elliot did grocery runs, park trips, playgroups, stories, meals etc with Maureen, so had lots of time with her, which probably made them extremely close. I definitely had her down as a Daddy’s girl when she was younger, as in S1, she’s pushing him away/off his pedestal a bit. There are entire Seasons with no mentions or appearances from the kids ( notably 4 and 7), which I always thought was a shame. Maybe the kids thought it would have be3n better/easier if their dad died, but I can’t imagine any of them actually saying that to his face. I think they are more worried about losing him after Kathy dies, to be honest, especially Eli.

it’s almost a pity that the shows favour kathleen (daddy’s girl) and eli (got the good childhood) when it comes to elliot’s kids cause in any other universe oc s1 would have had a scene where one of the other three tell elliot point blank that they wish he’d died in place of kathy. and they’d be right.

Final thoughts on SVU Season 23

Yay, the first “I love you” exchange between Rollins and Carisi. I adore that she said it first, that’s a big step for her. Carisi, on the other hand, has been wanting to tell her probably since she was in the hospital when pregnant with Jesse. It was sweet how he told Velasco that that is when he realised she was the one. I like how close they are, Carisi really does get on with everyone. He is a regular Mr Congeniality! 

Both of them have spoken to friends and family about the other/their new relationship, as Amanda told her mom about Carisi and Carisi has told his middle school buddies who are now priests. Them asking Carisi if he was at the church to book it for his wedding to Amanda was funny but sweet, as it shows how well they know him, that getting married has always been a major goal of his. 

Olivia’s therapist is great, but Amanda got straight to the point, telling her to take Stabler to a hotel and get it out of their systems. That would definitely be an option! 

I wish Olivia could reconcile with Barba, but I understand why she can’t, as I don’t think I would be able to either. 

Burton Lowe could go to prison forever and it wouldn’t be long enough, frankly. He did so much damage to Olivia and that has impacted her future relationships/expectations a lot. I wonder what would have happened to her if she had married him, and whether she’d h1ve had a different career. Maybe an English teacher or a counsellor at high school?

1) Nothing, in a bit of a slump!

2) The Friends We Keep by Jane Green.

3) Some of the newer fantasy books ( Leigh Bardugo, VE Schwab...)

4) I have a book by Hank Green ( brother of John) that looks right up my street

5) I don’t think so.

6) Anne of Green Gables series,  Little Women and sequels are both regular re-reads. Babysitters Club and Nancy Drew, plus the Sweet Valley Twins series. I have by no means read all of them, so would happily do so if I were given them/found them available cheaply.

7) I love the Percy Jackson/Trials of Apollo/Roman god companion series, they appeal to my deep deep love of mythology. I think the Cormoran Strike detective novels are great too, hope there’s another one soon!

8) Fantasy! But I have not read much sci-fi...

9) Nothing for the moment ( damn my slump!).

10) Oh yes, especially when a version comes out just before the film and it has the lead actor on it! It hinders my ability to picture the character properly! I have definitely been turned on/off by a pretty or ugly cover too-I’m evidently a very visual person!

11) Yes, a JK Rowling one, her first or second adult/non Harry Potter book. Not her Cormoran Strike ones, written under a pseudonym.

12) Yes! John Barrowman, Michael Caine, Lauren Graham... Biography: Marilyn Monroe, if that counts.

13) Don’t mind, but prefer biographies as they are more objective.

14) Fiction!

15) Chick-lit, YA, crime... Impossible to choose!

16) biographies, travel journals ( love Bill Bryson), origins of words/expressions/language evolution and usage...

17) not usually a big fan, it has to be social history ( women’s rights, fashion, food) rather than political and have engaging characters to follow. Tracy Chevalier does this well, I liked Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist too, and possibly a Philippa Gregory too.

18) Read the book first, unless I am unaware that a book version exists ( First Wives Club). This means I have the right to complain when characters or settings on screen do not match the picture I had in my head, and I get annoyed at all the side plots/minor characters that were glossed over/written out...

19) Paperback

20) Yes, most of my collection is on my e-reader!

21) one very small one, due to having a Kindle!

22) By order of purchase on my reader!

23) Buying on my e-reader, as they are often cheaper than the paper versions, and take up far less space! Otherwise I try to get them second hand/previously owned.

24) Fairly happy to, although I have lost some for good, unfortunately!  25) I try to look after them as best as I can, but I often eat or drink while reading, so they sometimes get a bit dirty, oops!

26) To Kill A Mockingbird has a special place in my heart. It was assigned summer reading but we ended up studying a different text. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin I read the summer I finished my GCSEs and I still love it, even though I ended up studying it for A-Levels!

27) Love stories that end tragically, parents losing a child, abuse, friendships unravelling...

28) A happy ending, strong (female) friendships coming through, an unexpected love interest....

29) Gone With The Wind. I think the copy I had was 600-800 pages.  30) I’m most like Meg and Beth from Little Women , would love to be friends with Anne Shirley, adore Atticus Finch, and think Peeta from The Hunger Games is my kind of guy too.

Book Ask

What book are you currently reading?

What book did you recently finish?

What’s a book that’s been on your to-read list for a long time?

What’s the next book you’re hoping to read?

Is there a book you own, but aren’t planning on reading?

What was your favourite series as a kid? Would you still read it now?

What’s your favourite series now?

Fantasy or sci-fi?

What’s a book you want to buy?

Have you ever judged a book by its cover?

Have you ever bought a book because of who the author was?

Have you ever read a celebrity memoir? If so, whose was it?

Are you a fan of autobiographies?

Fiction or non-fiction?

Favourite fiction genre?

Favourite non-fiction genre?

Historical fiction: yea or nay?

Do you read the book or watch the movie first?

Paperback or hardcover?

Do you read e-books?

How many bookshelves do you have?

How do you organize your books?

Do you prefer borrowing books from friends, borrowing books from a library, or buying them?

How willing are you to lend your books to other people?

In what condition do you keep your books?

What’s your favourite book?

What books can always make you cry?

What books can always make you smile?

What’s the biggest book you’ve ever read, and how many pages did it have?

What character do you connect with the most?

Criminal Minds Season 15

For a final Season of only 10 eps, there was a lot packed in to it.

It was cool to see all the flashbacks to earlier seasons, when the cast were so much younger and all their family moments through the years, though they missed out the cooking session at Rossi’s from Season 9, I think it is.

The dénouement involving The Chameleon was pretty epic, it was really interesting to see it all play out. The Reaper still has the most intense/thrilling arc though, and Season 4 is probably one of my favourite Seasons not only of the show, but of TV in general. Seeing Penelope and Diana bond was very sweet, and Reid is definitely right to call them the smartest people he knows, and Penelope’s brain, heart and guts analogy was spot-on ( she is the emotional intelligence or heart, she goes by her gut instinct a lot and Diana is knowledge/learning represented by the brain).

Everyone’s speeches to/about Penelope made me tear up, and I sobbed at the end. She is honestly one of my favourite fictional characters ever, and having her have the last scene just made it so much more special to me! 

I love these scenes, I adore how Stabler is physically affectionate towards his children, especially when they are crying/upset. 

Knowing what we know about his upbringing/childhood, I think it’s apparent that he is actively trying to parent differently from the way he was raised.

His mother was erratic, unreliable and unpredictable ( in Season 10, Swing, he mentions her trying to take him to Paris in the middle of the night, as she had decided she wanted to become a painter, as well as how she tried to shoot him and his dad during a manic episode, as well as driving too fast in ice and snow, which crashed the car and broke Elliot’s arm) and his father was physically and verbally abusive ( Season 7, episode 4, Ripped).

Stabler also mentions in another episode that his parents, like most Irish parents at the time, didn’t say I love you to him or give him praise.

So I think it is very telling that Stabler often apologises to his children when he overreacts, handles a situation badly which causes them pain. 

Once Maureen has apologised in Sophomore Jinx in Season 1, he says he is sorry too, he also apologises to her later in Season 1 when he reads her e-mails in Chat Room, then he also says sorry to Dickie in Season 11, when his interactions with Shane’s mum mean that Dickie can’t attend his best friend’s funeral, and I am sure there are more instances. 

Stabler is also very quick to hug his children when they show signs of emotional distress, even when they are older. Kathleen, who is late teens or early 20’s in the Season 12 episode Gray, gets upset thinking her dad would be angry with her for leaving her friend for 10 minutes at a party, who she was supposed to be a sober buddy for, and he notices her voice crack, and pulls her in for a hug, reassuring her that she didn’t screw up. 

Maureen gets upset in Sophomore Jinx when he tells her he doesn't want to pick up her body parts in Jersey, she lets out a shocked « Daddy! » and he opens his arms to provide her with physical affection, and he repeatedly hugs Kathleen after her various mishaps too.

I appreciate how freely he says « I love you » to his children. In Season 1, when Wanderlust, it seems like it is a tradition for him to kiss his kids goodbye and exchange I love yous before he leaves for work, as Kathy talks about knowing the drill, which makes sense, seeing as he could be injured or die on the job. 

 I was listening to a podcast about the show, which had Allison Siko ( who plays Kathleen from Season 3 onwards) on as a guest star, and she said Chris Meloni is an excellent hugger and she always looks forward to their scenes where they do so.

She also told the listeners an anecdote about being at a writers’ strike/protest recently, and she spotted Chris Meloni from some way away, and instead of calling out his name, she said « Hi Dad! », to which he responded and came over to talk to her. I just thought that was very sweet and shows the great rapport between the cast. 

I got five kids. If it were me, I’d let the world burn to protect any one of ‘em.