Latest Posts by louisaland - Page 2

SVU Stabler kids’ schools

For fic purposes, I was trying to find out where some of the Stabler kids go to school.

In Season 1, we can assume Maureen goes to school that doesn’t have a uniform, and that is probably not single sex as she goes to the Homecoming dance in Wanderlust with a boy and see her dad drop her off towards the end of Sophomore Jinx and nobody seems to be wearing anything remotely similar to Maureen’s black top and white jeans.

In Season 6, Elliot goes to talk to Kathleen outside her high school, which is named as Glen Oaks High School. The exterior looks completely different to where Elliot dropped Maureen off in Season 1, and I think there are only girls around, so it could be single sex. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of uniform though, as all Kathleen’s friends are wearing wildly different outfits. 

In Season 3, Kathleen is shown to be struggling with several subjects so maybe Elliot and Kathy deemed a smaller school with fewer distractions might be better ( if there aren’t any boys that will minimise the boy drama) but Elliot mentions Kathleen’s former boyfriend, so I really don’t know, it could be the same school as Maureen’s.

In Season 11, Turmoil, we find out that Dickie goes to Cardinal Catholic Prep School, which has a pretty strict/smart uniform ( shirt, tie and blazer), and seems to be single sex as when the SVU squad come to interview Dickie’s classmates, we only see boys there. 

We know that Dickie got into a fight in Season 8, which would be middle school age. So maybe Elliot and Kathy thought he’d be happier/do better in a smaller school with more support and he’d have some more male friends/guy time as he seems to take Kathy and Elliot’s split very hard and seemingly only lives with his mum, sisters and grandma during their separation and doesn’t see his dad as much as he would like to. 

My head canon is that Lizzie goes to a performing arts school and they put on regular shows ( in Season 10 or 11, Elliot ends up going to one of them and mentions she was in Anne Frank before that). 

And Eli, when they are in Rome, goes to an International School where he has classes in English with other native English speakers and history, geography, science, maths etc are all in Italian, though the American section do focus on US history, geography and literature too, of course. 

When Eli returns to New York, he is several years ahead of his peers so is in all AP classes or joins the older students for their lessons and graduates early, at 16/17, to help with the wonky timeline as he is supposed to be at most 14 when Kathy dies ( and it’s probably closer to 13, really), if my maths is correct. Each Season is 6 months to a year long, with maybe a few “X months later” jumps, He left in Season 12, aged (nearly?)  3, came back in Season 22, so that’s 10 years give or take, plus let’s say 2 time jumps of 6 months each makes him 14. And by Season 3 he is already in college, which would make him 17-ish! 

Is there a specific episode/moment that made you fall in love with Carisi?

I loved how good with the kids he was with the ultra-Christian vlogging family, how he didn’t judge his sister for considering an abortion when her partner was in and out of her life, how respectful he was of everyone when he joined the team ( always using their rank, taking on board their constructive criticism/feedback and letting them take the lead, while also managing to get himself opportunities to try to do things without help, volunteering for the boring/tedious jobs, making sure everyone on the team was included in social events and inviting people who were having a hard/sad/bad time to join him or others for socialising/food). How he cares for Amanda throughout her pregnancy with Jesse and once she has given birth… So lots of little things from the start ( he arrives with zeppole, which was a nice touch for a guy who shows his affection for those he loves by providing foid for them) that all added up over time. Also Liv asking him to be Noah’s guideparent after only knowing him a year or so says a lot about his character. If Liv or Fin think the person is a good one/innocent, they are usually right, so that also helped consolidate my feelings for him. He’s just a kind, funny, hard-working family man who talks about his feelings and dreams.

Evidently, losing the god awful moustache helped a lot too!

What's one unpopular opinion or niche headcanon you have for your OTP?

At the moment my OTP is Rollisi from SVU. I think Sonny is quite messy, especially when cooking, and Amanda likes things neat and tidy. Amanda’s desk at work is immaculate and she can always rely on everything being exactly where she left it/where she says it is if she instructs people to get her something. Sonny can also find things, but only he can, as his desk is organised chaos. Amanda once tidied it for him as a surprise, it took him days for him to get it back to how he likes it.

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SVU Season 24 thoughts and OC musings

Not so interested in the actual cases this Season, and find a lot of the new characters indistinguishable/hard to keep track of. Velasco seems to look different every episode, then there is Duarte too…

Churlish has a stupid name, it means petty, moody, rebellious. They could have gone for Furnish or Cornish!

I quite like Muncy. I think she comes from money and was expected to be perfect growing up so is now applying that to the job, and it’s not working!

Fin’s mentoring skills are excellent, I think he really does a great job.

I like that Stabler and Rollins have a close friendship, but would love to see Stabler bond with Carisi, as Carisi is what Stabler could have been with a non-abusive childhood. Those two at a bar having a beer talking about their kids would be fab. 

I only really watch for the Rollins-Carisi relationship, and they had some lovely moments this season. Loved how Carisi told Liv about the pregnancy, he was clearly bursting to tell someone. 

I have been thinking about OC, and how Eli wasn’t in New York for the award ceremony. I think he’s at soccer camp in Italy of staying with a friend, so never got to see his mum in hospital or say goodbye to her properly. That’s got to have screwed him up emotionally, especially as we don’t know how or when he was told, as would Elliot have told him over the phone ( about the accident) or waited until Eli arrived in New York to tell him, as the window of time between the accident and her passing is fairly small, a day or two, I think? However Elliot tells him is going to make him sad and angry. I would have liked to have seen more of the 5 stages of grief from all the Stablers, maybe with Bernie’s Alzheimer’s making her confuse Kathleen or Maureen  with Kathy and Dickie or Eli for Elliot. 

Lots of fanfic ideas of the sad variety are now percolating in my brain!

Marchwhumpness fic challenge

Written for @marchwhumpness ‘s fic challenge: Appendicitis.

Probably more comfort/fluff than whump, but kid in pain causing dad emotional distress counts, right? This is a few missing scenes from a Season 6 Law and Order SVU  episode, where Stabler is off the case as his son has appendicitis. 

“ He’s got a fever of 101, he hardly ate any dinner last night, and you know how Dickie feels about my mom’s mac and cheese! Then he vomited everything up again. I’ve made an emergency appointment with Dr Archer, for tomorrow morning. The patient wants to talk to you, El, I’ll pass you over now.”

Elliot sighed, waiting for his wife to pass the phone to his son. It really sounded like Dickie was sick, as his kid had no energy, was off his food and was complaining of a stomach ache.

“Hi Dad. I don’t feel good at all. Please can you come and see me if I have to stay home from school?” Dickie implored, using his most pitiful tone.

He sounded so young and so sad, and Elliot just wanted to scoop him up in a hug. He swallowed thickly before replying.

 “Yeah, of course I’ll come see you, kiddo. It must be bad if you’re turning down Grandma Ruth’s mac and cheese, it’s the best. Mom’ll give me a call when you’ve seen the doctor. Until then, Dr Dad says rest and make sure you drink lots of water, OK?” 

Elliot hoped his attempt at humour would help his son feel a little brighter. 

Dickie let out a giggle at the idea of his father being a medical professional.

“Yeah, thanks, Dad. Hope you solve the case.” Dickie replied.

“Thanks, buddy. Hope you feel better soon. I love you” 

“Love you too, Dad. Do you want to talk to Mom again?”

Elliot responded in the negative and hung up, before returning to his mountain of case files. 

The next morning, after Kathy’s call to the precinct.

Elliot grabbed his jacket, his wallet, phone and keys before dashing to his car. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, considering taking a police car to St Luke’s hospital, sirens blaring and thus having to avoid all the traffic lights. He was sure Cragen would understand, but the IAB would probably have something to say about it, so it wasn’t worth the headache.

The journey seemed interminable, and why were all the traffic lights red today? Elliot honked impatiently at any driver who paused for a fraction of a second before moving away from the light. 

He finally pulled into the hospital car park, threw some coins into the parking meter, ensuring it was enough to cover a whole day of parking, though the price made him wince.

He ran inside the building, and only stopped when a nurse called out to him with a warning that he couldn’t just barge in without his identity being verified.

“I need to see my son, Dickie Stabler. He has suspected appendicitis!” he barked at the nurse.

She frowned, checking the in-patient list.

“I’m sorry, sir, we don’t have a Dickie Stabler here”

Elliot’s heart pounded as if it were going to burst out of his chest. His palms felt moist, his head was spinning, he couldn’t breathe… Where the hell was his kid?

“We have a Richard Matthew Stabler though” she continued, unaware that the man in front of her had nearly become the latest casualty on the ward.

“Yes, that’s him!” Elliot gabbled, having extricated his ID from his jacket pocket.

The nurse carefully and quickly checked it before handing it back to him, then giving him the room number. Elliot thanked her quickly. 

As Elliot made his way down the corridor as fast as his legs could carry him,  untying his tie as he did so , while also listening intently for the sounds of Kathy or his son’s voice. 

A familiar chatter reached his ears as he rounded the corner.

“ Yeah, he’s the coolest! He’s super brave, really smart ‘cause he always solves the case. Olivia, his partner is super cool too, she helps him too. When I was little, he came to my school and showed everyone his badge. He said if kids didn’t have a safe adult to talk to, they should talk to me and I could tell him about it and he’d fix it… He’ll be here soon, you’ll see” Dickie chattered away to the nurse who was taking his temperature.

Kathy was sitting in a chair on the other side of his bed, her hand patting his leg affectionately. 

The nurse finished her ministrations and moved away from the bed, revealing Elliot standing in the doorway.

Kathy offered him a small smile and a hello, followed by thanking him for coming so quickly.

His son’s face lit up, his grin almost splitting his face in half. 

“Dad!” he exclaimed, wriggling so vigorously that he almost dislodged his IV.

“Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling?” he asked, pulling up a chair opposite his wife, before cupping his son’s face with his hands, then pressing a kiss to his still too warm forehead and smoothing his hair off his pale face, soothing and stilling  him. 

“My stomach still hurts, Dad. Like, a lot. I have to have an operation! And I’m starving!” Dickie complained, grabbing hold of his father’s hand, seeking comfort and reassurance. Elliot squeezed it gently. 

“ You’ll feel better once you’ve had your operation, buddy. And once you’re allowed to eat again, you can get whatever you want, I promise.” 

Dickie nodded and tightened his grasp on his dad’s hand. 

Whatever medication Dickie had been given started to take effect, as his boy’s eyelids fluttered closed, his grip slackening as he drifted off.

Once he was asleep, Kathy quickly explained that their son did indeed have appendicitis and would be operated on later that afternoon.

Eventually, the doctor came to explain the procedure to them and Dickie, and gave them a surgery time. 

Then the nurse came in to give Dickie an injection of pain meds. 

“Hey, look at me, Dickie. You can squeeze my hand as hard as you want, if it hurts. Do you remember that summer we went to the beach? You and Lizzie decided to dig to China, we had swimming races and we found the best ice cream stand…” Elliot said, trying to distract his son from what the nurse was doing, knowing how much his son hated having injections. 

“Yeah, and Grandma B and Kitkat made that massive sandcastle! They covered it in seashells and seaweed.”

“Ah yes, the sand palace. We’ll have to look for a picture of it in the photo albums when we get home.” Elliot continued, as the nurse caught his eye, letting him know the procedure she had been performing on Dickie had been completed. 

Kathy then came back with  coffee and some lunch for herself and Elliot, as Dickie had been  most insistent that his father not leave his side even for an instant. 

Elliot promised him he’d be there when he woke up from his operation.

After the operation

“Hey buddy, it’s OK, everything went fine” Elliot told Dickie, whose eyelids were fluttering open as the effects of the anaesthetic wore off. 

Dickie eventually got the all clear to go home, where he would have to stay for a few days to fully recuperate before returning to school.

At Dickie’s insistence, Elliot was going to be staying with him for that period.

“I’ll swing by my place and pick up what I need while you get settled with your movie and ice-cream, OK, buddy?” Elliot told his son, who was clinging to him like a limpet to a rock.

Dickie nodded, still reluctant to be apart from his father. 

Elliot pressed a kiss to the top of his son’s head, gave him a final gentle hug as Dickie squeezed him hard before letting go and heading off with Kathy to her car.

Elliot quickly returned to the family home and packed a suitcase for himself with everything he would need for his stay at his mother-in-law’s house. Sleeping on the couch was going to suck, but his little boy needed him, so that’s what he had to do.

He swung by the supermarket to stock up on cookie dough ice cream for his recovering child, as that is what he wanted to eat. 

He hated having to ring the doorbell to see his kids, but his mother-in-law opened the door for him and took the bag full of tubs of ice cream from him. He abandoned his suitcase by the coat rack and made his way into the lounge, after removing his jacket and hanging it up.

Dickie was sitting on the couch, a blanket draped over himself, and his hands full with a gigantic tub of ice cream and a spoon. He was so focused on the movie playing on the TV screen that he didn’t notice Elliot settling down next to him.

Elliot slid his arm around his son, tugging him closer and smoothing his hair.

Dickie leaned his head against his shoulder, tucking himself into his father’s side.

“What are we watching, kiddo?” he questioned.

“It’s called Jackass, Dad. It’s the best!” Dickie replied.

For the next few days, if Dickie wasn’t sleeping, he was eating cookie dough ice cream and watching the seriously overrated so-called comedy. Even Lizzie had begun complaining about it. 

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?

More SVU Season 23 thoughts

The disclosure episode for Rollins and Carisi was amazing. Both their fears/viewpoints were valid, and they are both invested in the relationship and clearly love each other a lot. It was cool to have them have the conversations in the same place, and I love that Amanda puts her hand on his chest before kissing him, mirroring their first kiss. Yay! Squee! I love them together, Your Honour! 

Her calling him Counsellor is already becoming a thing, it’s sooooo cute!

Jesse was adorable, asking him if he’s Billie’s daddy. Maybe she was asking  a little bit for herself too, as we know that Declan has had no contact with her since before she was born, so Carisi is her main male father figure, as he is for Billie. 

When they go undercover as a married couple, I wanted so much more of that, they were so cute!

Very weird to hear Mia calling Carisi Uncle Dom and not Uncle Sonny. Her “Finally!” when Amanda came for dinner at the Carisi household was lovely, and Amanda’s jubilation that Mrs Carisi likes her ( obviously she does, she makes her beloved son extremely happy and is awesome) was so sweet. 

I’d have loved to have seen Dominick Carisi Sr, but I think what we hear from Carisi’s phone call with him is that he is a pretty great guy/dad as he tells his son he loves him as Carisi says “I love you too” at the end of their chat, is patient when Carisi has to field another call, goes to fix stuff that isn’t working at his daughter’s place, and he raised Carisi to be a great guy. 

Is it just me or does the actor playing Velasco look wildly different, maybe even unrecognisable from episode to episode? Sometimes he’s clean shaven, the next he has a beard, then he has stubble. That might just be because episodes are filmed out of order.  He’s not bad, but I am not very invested in him as a character. 

It was nice to get a bonus episode, which was the crossover with OC where Eli steals his grandmother’s medication and runs away to Jersey. It was great to finally be able to watch it in English. It’s definitely an emotional one! 

The trial for Richard Wheatley was so tense! I am sure I saw Eli there at first, but he was absent by the time his dad took the stand. Eli looked very uncomfortable, covering his ears and looking down, so maybe he went home after a bit, when he realised he couldn’t cope with it emotionally. 

It was great to see Carisi in action, I thought he did a fantastic job .

I was prepared to hate the new judge/chief legal person but then realised she wasn’t all bad, and she’s really helped Carisi come into his own. 

The episodes are pretty good, I am enjoying them a lot.

The one with Burton Lowe was incredible! I could tell from the Season 1 episode ( Wanderlust)  that she’d been groomed ( and I thought her retelling of the relationship didn’t mesh with what we knew about her character so far). When Liv realises that he is a serial groomer and she was one of his victims, then left his hotel room, I cheered. I loved seeing all the flashbacks with Elliot, that was so nostalgic. It was a really powerful episode. It was also an interesting choice to have Nick Amaro come back, he was 100% correct in what he said to Olivia, it shows just how much he cares about her. 

I like that the show is moving with the times, regarding technology and the jobs involved with that. 

sorry to advice you to lower drastically your expectation for now on 'cause season 24-25 (and current 2) new showrunner sucks royally, can't write svu storylines nor he's able to write/develop new characters', quality is going down especially after ep9 :/

I know we get a Carisi-Rollins wedding, so there’s that to look forward to. Your Honour, I love them! Shame the character development/creation and plotlines decline after early Season 24. I have also been watching OC, which had a pretty dreadful third Season, so as long as it’s not as bad as that, I’ll live. Thanks for the heads up though!

SVU Season 23 thoughts

Yay, I finally have Season 23 and have started watching!

Loved seeing Rollins and Carisi making out and both being somewhat in disbelief that this is actually happening! And he asked her out to dinner, as that is what he believes she deserves and it’s what you do when you date.

Their episode 2 conversation in the courtroom ( with matching colours in their outfits, yay!) was adorable with the “I am taking this seriously” “So am I” exchange, showing that they are on the same page,  and the comment about Amanda loving Sonny’s guilty Catholic side. Squee to the max! 

Oh Kat, no! I loved Fin staying with her in the ambulance, he was really fatherly towards her and kept so calm in spite of internally freaking out. 

I can see why she would be want to quit, and loved that she’d talked to Carisi about her fears/doubts. He gives good advice and seems to be a good friend to everyone. 

Fin trying to set Stabler up with Phoebe’s relative but nothing happening surprises precisely nobody, I believe. 

Tut tut, Olivia lying to her therapist. But it’s good that she’s going, unlike some people *cough*Stabler*cough*.

Velasco I am intrigued by, but can we please have a cop without an absolutely crappy home life/childhood/parents? It was so refreshing to have Carisi with his slightly complicated but ultimately loving and supportive family. 

Currently looking into finding Season 24 and 25 for a non-ridiculous sum of money, but I am invested and need to keep watching!

Thoughts on Law and Order Organised Crime, Seasons 3 and 4

I thought Season 3 was extremely boring, as I watch for the Stabler family interactions and Elliot and Olivia moments.

The scene between Eli and Elliot at the end of the episode with the Asian father searching for his son was sweet. Elliot teasing him about his clothes being all over the floor as well as providing a good home-cooked meal felt very true to the characters and their father-son dynamic, as well as Eli not being forthcoming about his girlfriend without some prodding. How is Eli old enough to be in college? The only explanation I can come up with is that Eli was so far ahead in his studies, having studied in Italy ( European curriculum is allegedly a couple of years ahead of the equivalent grade in the US, so US uni courses are equivalent to Junior or Senior Year courses in the UK). There were several other instances where I was very confused by the timeline, like Elliot’s dad being dead by 1993 as Elliot says he went to his dad’s grave with a sandwich and two beers when he made detective, aged about 25, yet had also been able to serve in the Marines on several missions... Honestly, I’ve given up trying to understand it! Also still trying to figure out the age order and age gap between the older Stabler siblings, which is also very confusing. Joe Jr’s year of birth is 1980-something ( based on the safe code in his hotel suite that Elliot and Randall figure out), which would mean Elliot was in his late teens/early. 20’s ( so already married with at least one kid) by the time Joe Jr came along. 

 The Season 3 episode ending establishes a pattern as Eli doesn't tell his dad he’s split from Rachel, but tells Randall. It kind of mirrors the Season 4 finale, with Elliot teasing Eli about being up early at first, then asking the probing/deeper questions. I wish Eli had just told him, but seeing as how his dad reacted to him joining the police force, I can understand why he didn’t want to. I love that he and Bernie both figured it out, albeit in very different ways that felt very true to their characters. 

The family dinner episode in Season 4 was very dramatic and the revelations were pretty shocking. I knew the truth about Joe Sr but to actually hear it and see all the characters deal with the aftermath was so impactful. Again, everyone reacting, talking over each other and wanting to leave both then and when Eli tells them he’s going to be a police officer. I really get why Elliot doesn’t want him to join up, with all the dangers he has faced and faces in the Season. 

The casting continues to be excellent, as Joe Jr looks just like the actor who played Joe Sr as they have a similar build, face/nose shape and colouring. Randall looks like a stockier version of Elliot. 

I think it’s sad that the Stabler kids have cousins they have never met/hung out with as Randall has been in Florida for about 40 years, and got married and had kids at some point. 

I enjoyed the little moments with Carisi and Rollins. It seems like Rollins and  Stabler have quite a close bond/an established friendship, so I would like to see Stabler have that bond with Carisi. They could have had a beer together after one of the cases and talked about their kids/families/whatever was going on. I think Carisi’s empathy and desire to look after people would be good for Stabler. 

I was much more interested in the Season 4 episode arc, I thought they packed a lot into 13 episodes. 

More Thoughts on Law and Order Organised Crime Seasons 1 and 2

Throughout Season 1 and 2, I love that we see Bernie and Elliot going to feed the ducks independently of each other.

I think Elliot says he grew up in this area, when he goes to dig out the bullets he shot into a tree when his dad was teaching him how to use a gun, so it would be somewhere he went fairly regularly as a child with Bernie, which is confirmed by what Bernie says when she thinks the young child feeding the ducks near her is Elliot. I guess it was her way of protecting Elliot and herself from Joe’s alcoholic rages and violence. 

Once again, the casting director/team did a great job finding a kid who realistically looked like young Elliot, both for that scene and for the home videos at the end of the Season 2 ep. The actors for young Joe and Bernie  were perfect too. 

While I think it is good that Elliot had some good memories of his father, we know that the smallest thing could send him into a violent rage as in S7, Elliot says he moved a tree on the diorama they had worked on together and Joe threw it on the floor and stomped on it until it was destroyed, then beat Elliot for crying about it ( and probably beat him again for getting an F). The scenes we see of them together in the home videos made me think of how Elliot interacted with his kids when they were little as well as when they were older, but Elliot is consistent in always doing that. 

I like to think Elliot took his kids to feed the ducks, maybe even going to the same place he went. 

Eli’s decision to join the police force I think must have been sparked by the brand new officer who helps him when he runs away and is going to jump off the bridge, as Eli grew up with Elliot no longer in SVU, just doing security and less dangerous police work. I’m sure he heard about what Elliot did from his siblings and maybe Elliot himself, and, like most little boys, I’m sure he thought it was super cool that his daddy was a detective. So maybe he was thinking about it then the interaction with the police officer really solidified that idea in his mind. 

I also really like how Eli is super protective of his family, just like Elliot is. He’s also just as stubborn as his father and 3 out of 4 of his siblings. He also internalises his feelings until they come out as anger and has trouble asking for help, just like his dad. 

Eli wanting to jump off the bridge made me think of Dickie wanting to join the Marines in Turmoil, S 11, as they both seem to think it will be easier if they go away and stop disappointing their dad.

Law and Order OC Seasons 1 and 2 thoughts

I have just watched the first two seasons of  SVU OC, as I wanted to see the episode when Eli runs away. 

Unfortunately I can only watch the episodes in French, so have to put up with the dubbing, which is not the worst but it could be a lot better.

I don’t really follow the actual crimes part, I mainly watch for the Stabler family interactions, dynamics and development.

 I like Stabler’s new team. Ayanna is great, Jet is super cool ( she seems to be on the autistic spectrum, as she sometimes takes things literally, isn’t very comfortable with touch/affection and goes into hyper focus mode when it comes to work). I love the bond she has with Stabler, he’s very fatherly and protective of her. There’s an episode when he goes to pick Eli up from school and he gives him a fistbump when he tells him he’s made the soccer team, then, either before or after, Jet helps him out with some tech issue or finds out some useful info through cyber digging, and he does the same to her. There’s also a sweet moment when he is talking to Ayanna about protecting his family as they are at risk, and she just sidles over silently and puts her arms around him. Elliot is surprised but pats/rubs her arm in response, then they talk about her fears and he reassures her. 

It reminded me a bit of the Season 1 episode, Nocturne, where he is reading to Lizzie and Dickie, who are about 7. They are climbing all over him and giving him hugs and kisses, and he’s just so patient with them, answering their questions about why it can’t be Christmas every day and being used as a human climbing frame.

He’s definitely more relaxed as a dad with Eli, though he is trying to be a mother and a father to him. He’s much more patient with teen Eli than he was with  Maureen, Dickie and Kathleen when they were teens. He listens before jumping to conclusions when he finds Eli in New Jersey, whereas with the other three, he let his fear and protective side take over, which manifested in anger. 

Like in Swing, Olivia is there to help, which is a neat parallel, and I only just realised that Stabler must be worried that Eli could be bipolar too and that’s why he’s run away because he is in a manic state. 

I really like how he shows his affection for Eli in small ways, like he’ll fix his son’s collar or give him a pat on the shoulder, when he’d really like to hug his son but doesn’t want to demand a hug. He can also be quite playful with him, as after giving him a hug, they tease each other affectionately and Elliot pushes at his face with his hand. 

I also think it’s normal that Eli wants to know more about his grandparents/his roots, as the only grandparent he knows is Bernie, and even then, he doesn’t know her extremely well. Having just lost his mum, he’s trying to figure out who he is, where he is from and where he is going, with lots of changes going on around him, having moved to a new country, a new home, a new school and school system, having to make new friends and also going from having a dad who was around a lot to one who is absent a lot. Eli is also trying to look after Elliot, which he should not be having to do, but he won’t leave to stay with one of his sisters as he doesn’t want to lose his dad as well. 

In Season 6, when Kathy leaves Elliot, she goes to stay with her mom, so we can assume her dad is not in the picture, and, presumably being Catholic too, he’s probably dead, rather than divorced from Kathy’s mum.

Elliot is still super closed off about his past and his relationship with his father, and his feelings are intensified as he investigates the story behind his father’s bravery medal.

Finding out he really did want to be an architect ( he tells Frank about it when they are on a stake-out) but his father knocked the idea out of his head ( probably literally as well as verbally) broke my heart. 

In Season 10, Swing, he outright denies Bernie’s claim that that is what he wanted to be, claiming he’s always wanted to be a cop. 

It shows that Bernie really understood him, she tried to encourage him as best she could and clearly loves him very much. 

They are so much closer in OC, which is lovely to see. They even share a laugh, when she asks him if he’s a phone salesman now as he has a few phones for all the different undercover jobs he’s doing, and he says no, he stole them. They both sarcastically “ha ha” at the other person’s quip, but it is a moment full of affection and understanding.

They also start talking properly, which is a very good thing, and Elliot’s love for his mom and family are very touching. 

The episode where Elliot gets the reels of the recordings of his childhood and watches them with Bernie at the end made me cry, and has lodged itself in my brain. While it was lovely to see Elliot have some sweet moments with his dad, it’s heartbreaking that they couldn’t always have had that, and there must always have been that fear that he’d flip and become physically abusive, like he did in the diorama incident referenced in Season 7 that Elliot tells Dr Hendricks about. Hearing about that left me in tears. Destroying your kid’s project in a fit of rage because they changed one minute detail is just awful, but then beating them for crying too is just unforgivable! 

The dinner scene when Bernie tells Eli about Joe boxing Elliot’s ears, slapping him upside the head and putting soap in his mouth for attitude/disrespect leave Eli absolutely stunned, like he’s seen, heard or read about such punishments in books or films but didn’t think actually happened in real life, as Elliot has never physically disciplined any of his kids like that, and was probably more relaxed/lenient with Eli than he was with the other four children. The only time he comes somewhat close to getting physically aggressive with one of his children is with Dickie in Turmoil ( Season 11), when Stabler asks him if he’s lost his mind and Dickie sasses back that he wouldn’t be the first Stabler to do so, referencing both Bernie and Kathleen’s manic episodes. Elliot shoves Dickie up against the wall, but he quickly lets go and holds then pats or squeezes his shoulder, as if he wants to pull his son in for a hug. 

I like seeing how hard Elliot has worked on not being like his father was, trying so hard to give his children a home life that is predictable and safe, with  boundaries, consistency, encouragement ( when Maureen wants to get into Columbia and is disappointed by a B+, he is so supportive of her and says she’s done/doing great) and he tells his kids he is proud of them and that he loves them regularly. 

His difficulties with technology are very endearing, he usually has to ask Jet for a non technical translation, and his kids have been helping him since Season 1 with computer/phone issues, with Maureen in Season 1 bypassing the parental security lock on the computer and, in Season 8 he mentions that his kids had to help him put the numbers he wanted on speed dial. 

One annoying thing about the show is how the flashbacks at the start of the episode sometimes show an SVU scene, which I haven’t seen, like Kathy’s funeral, for example. It was cool to see Carisi in an episode though, and Olivia is a pretty regular recurring character too. 

Seeing Stabler’s complicated relationship with Liv is so interesting.

Because I am watching in French, there is no ambiguity about who he is saying “I love you” to during the intervention scene, as he uses the singular/informal/friendly you form, then, 20-something seconds later, he says “I love all of you”, using the plural you form this time. 

It was so interesting to see Eli try first, then Kathleen ( the kids he is closest to and the ones he talks to/confides in the most), but they both fail, so Olivia steps in. She actually stands in front of the children, as if to protect them from Elliot’s potentially angry outburst.

Her chat at the diner with Kathleen was really moving, it reminded me of when Liv talks to Bernie in Swing.

I’m looking forward to watching the next three seasons to see how everything plays out. 

SVU dream

I had an SVU related dream last night!

It was really fun, I was invited to a big party at the senior Carisi house, either for baby Nicky’s christening and/or the big wedding celebration. My parents were also there, and told me to go and put my gifts on the gift table.

After doing that, I chatted to Serafina and Dominick Sr, they were so lovely, just like one of my sisters’ Italian parents-in-law. Dominick Sr gave me a big hug and Serafina called me “bellissima” ( very beautiful). I think I must have been a childhood friend of Sonny’s in my dream, as I really wanted to see and catch up with him!

Then I ended up holding baby Nicky ( he was very cute and cuddly) and had a chat with Chris Meloni ( 100% the actor and not in the role of Elliot Stabler). He complimented my childcare skills, and I told him how I thought Elliot was such a good dad on the show and asked him if he’d already had his kids by the time he started on the show. I also asked him if he and Isabel Gillies ( who played Kathy) had had any say in who got cast as their kids as they all realistically looked like they were a product of the two actors actually procreating. I can’t remember his answers, but he said he has a very close bond with the young man who plays Dickie ( and has done so since the pilot!). I work in childcare so we talked about raising kids, education, and, at one point, he took baby Nicky from me and was very cute.

Maybe I just felt like we should have got a proper big wedding for Carisi and Rollins, with the girls being flower girls, maybe Fin as best man and lots of good food, moving speeches and a first dance. And we never saw Amanda’s pregnancy with Nicky or his christening so my brain just created it and put me there too. 

SVU Season 16-17 rewatch

Season 16 is really good as a way to get to know the characters if, like me, you stopped watching after Season 12 ended and weren’t sure if it was worth continuing with.

I am very glad I did!

Amaro is just Stabler 2.0, as far as I can tell, but with a little more self-awareness as he realises he needs anger management classes and realises he needs to get out of the force for his physical and mental well-being and that of his kids. 

Olivia was obviously very attached to him, so I felt bad for her as she just keeps losing people. Working with Amaro evidently helped her get over Elliot leaving, and it seems like her relationship with Amaro was healthier than the one she had with Elliot. 

Amaro’s been linked romantically to Amanda, I believe? They are very similar from their upbringing and the way they internalise everything, so I c1n see why they would be drawn to each other.

When the two of them are talking/working  together and Carisi comes to give them some info/an update and they simultaneously answer that he’s not interrupting was funny. 

There’s a courtroom scene where Amanda is being questioned/cross-examined and she is asked about doing the right thing/having enough emotional support/what it means to be a good person and she’s looking in Carisi’s general direction. Very subtle, but made me squee!

I love that he hangs out with her and Fin outside of work, at the video games convention. Fin is still calling him noob/newbie at this point, so perhaps Rollins invited him? Those two always know all the celebrity gossip and who the famous people they need to talk to are. It ties in nicely to their later hang outs where they watch trashy reality TV together. Carisi I can see reading all his sister’s magazines and going to the movies with them to watch rom-coms growing up, as he seems to know a lot about them/says he loves them in the ep with the former teen actress and the producer.

Do we ever get the story about how Sonny was saved by the priests at his Catholic church? He mentions it in the big vlogging/TV religious family episode. I always saw him as a good student. For example  he’d be top of the class but would always ask questions so the other shyer kids who might not have understood and didn’t dare to ask would understand. Or he would tutor them. He seems to work very hard and be very focused, so I think he would be a favourite of the teachers. 

We know he was bullied physically and probably verbally too ( by Bobby Bianchi, at the very least), maybe because he was a bit of a goody-two-shoes. I really can’t see him ever getting into trouble at school or at home. We know he wanted to be a priest, so maybe he just spent a lot of time at church events to escape the bullying/find some real friends.

I was so prepared to hate Mike Dodds but he is very humble, is a bit annoyed to be there because of his dad’s nepotism and he refuses to be a tattle-tale. He apologises when he oversteps his boundaries, listens to feedback and generally gets on with everyone on the team. If he hadn’t had a fiancée, I’m sure he would also have fallen in love with Olivia too! 

Olivia is a very good Lieutenant. I see a lot of Cragen in her, as he would often give the team one-on-one pep talks and always tried to do the right thing when it came to members not doing things by the book. 

Maybe it got lost in translation, or I just struggle to pay attention to and understand the courtroom scenes, but Barba apparently says “Booyah, Fordham Law!” as a comeback/closing argument in a Season 16 episode, but I have never seen it though this is my second time watching. 

He was funny too when Carisi gives his personal and legal opinion on something and Barba says “That’s just your opinion, but yes, it’s correct”. 

Barba also wears fun, brightly coloured socks which are visible when he puts his feet up on the desk. I thought that was a fun way to show that he’s got a soft/emotional/fun side. Maybe because I know how he behaves in later eps towards Olivia, but I definitely find him less cold/unlikeable than I did during my first viewing. 

Something I read about was that potentially the show was going to have Barba and Carisi become romantically involved. Apparently the actors and writers were on board, but the network head said no. 

This would have deprived us of Rollins and Carisi though, and that would have been a big loss. Maybe someone like Dodds could have been gay and had a fiancé, thus having an openly gay member of the team and maybe some tension with Dodds Sr there. However,  Fin’s son Ken gets a storyline in that vein, when he and his husband have a child. 

On the tu/vous ( informal and formal you form) thing, Carisi uses tu with Amanda when she is at the hospital. This may be because they are of the same rank, but it definitely shows a level of friendship/closeness. 

Olivia, on the other hand, uses vous with everyone! Even Dr Huang, who she runs into with Barba, and she’s not in the office. She uses vous with Dodds Jr, even though she outranks him! 

How do you feel about Carisi calling Liv “Lou”? Personally, I love it and think it’s so sweet! It feels (to me) like a very Carisi way of showing respect. I don’t think anyone else calls her that (?), which feels right. It’s like mustache Carisi, he’s gonna do his own thing. 😂🫶

I haven’t noticed him calling her that, but it’s sweet, even though Lou is not a logical nickname for Olivia. Ah, perhaps it’s short for Lieutenant! He’s very big on calling people by their proper rank, which is another thing I love about him. It is very Carisi, it’s sweet and I am sure it comes from a place of love.

SVU Further post Season 9 AU ideas

After having watched Season 16 to 22 of SVU after stopping at the end of Season 12, and seeing Elliot back, Kathy dying and bits of OC, I just keep thinking about what if Kathy and Elliot weren’t together shortly after Eli’s birth. I always felt they ultimately would have ended up divorcing at some point after Eli came along, as they only got back together because of Kathy’s pregnancy, and Elliot was still working all hours in Season 10/11/12 and Kathy nearly left him again! 

So my brain went to what if she died following complications from the accident, so in the Season 9 finale or early Season 10. She could have had to have an operation for some side effect/condition she developed after the accident, so she goes in for surgery in the Season 9 finale, we see her go into surgery, with one or several of the big kids/his mum/Liv waiting with him, the doctor comes out and calls for Mr Stabler and Dun Dun, cut to black. Season 10 finale, we see the doctor talking to Stabler and whoever is with him. There are tears and hugs. Then we have the funeral, Liv  and the team are there. Elliot ends up becoming a stay at home dad ( something he seemed interested in doing in at least one episode) while Olivia navigates training a new partner and moving up the ranks, eventually becoming Captain. 

There could still be all the drama with Kathleen and Dickie, plus some from Lizzie as she was criminally underutilised. 

Maybe Elliot works as a private consultant so can still help out with cases, and Olivia is over at the house more and more. They eventually get together romantically and have at least one kid together ( either biologically, or they can adopt Calvin and/or Noah, kind of following the show). 

So that leaves room for the new team members to come along as they do in canon, there can be some adoption/fostering drama… 

El and Liv would definitely be friends with Carisi and Rollins. He has very similar values to Carisi, so I can see them being buddies. And it would mean Billie and Jesse would have another strong male presence in their lives, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. 

Obviously it would impact some of the storylines, like William Lewis wouldn’t happen fully. I haven’t seen Seasons 13-15 so not sure how I could rewrite that, but I’d like to try! 

I have so many other missing scenes of family life ( Stabler and his kids, Liv and the young Stablers, Carisi and the Rollins girls…) that would be easier and more fun/less traumatic!

SVU missing scenes/parent-child conversations/home life fic ideas

Post Season 9 AU where Kathy died from complications soon after giving birth to Eli. Stabler ends up being a stay at home dad for a while, Olivia helps him out a lot and they eventually get together, by about season 12-ish.  They have/adopt Noah a little earlier than in canon. Lots of Stabler kid drama ( teen rebellion, self imposed parentifying, dating drama like Swing and Turmoil being canon). Stabler retired early and Liv gets to progress in her career, maybe becoming Captain a little earlier. 

Pre-show:

-Maureen turns 10, her sleepover and day out with her friends is cancelled, her dad takes her for a day out (mall, gets her ears pierced, Little Women movie, lunch, bookstore…)

-Elliot helps Maureen with her homework, she writes him a note on an origami heart to say thank you. Elliot creates a drawer at work for all the notes and pictures his kids write and do for him. 

-Elliot and kid(s) bump into Olivia early on in their partnership, Olivia gets invited to come for dinner

-Olivia comes for dinner at the Stablers’, meets Kathy and the kids

Season 1 

-Wanderlust, Maureen asks her dad for money as she’s going to the mall for her prom accessories 

She returns from prom and talks to her dad about it over hot cocoa

Family dinner out in Wanderlust  but Elliot has to work. The kids get him his favourite dessert to go and write him notes/draw him pictures to leave for him when he gets back. 

Season 2

-Dickie forges his dad’s signature for a test ( mentioned in a later episode) and aftermath

Season 3 or 4-Maureen’s high school graduation

Season 5

-Home Dickie waiting for Elliot to come home so they can hang out, then when he has to go into work kitchen conversation with cookies

Season 6

-Dickie had appendicitis, Elliot goes to hospital and stays at Kathy’s mom’s to look after him. 

- Contagious Maureen and Olivia’s plan for Elliot’s birthday surprise

Season 8

-Scheherazade Lizzie and Dickie talk to their dad after their 1st Communion and ask Kathy if he can join them for lunch. 

Dickie’s fight and suspension talk with Elliot

Season 10 

-Paedophile who has pic of young Lizzie. Lizzie talks to Elliot when she’s home and he’s suspended. Lizzie and Eli spend some time together too. 

Season 11

- Turmoil missing scenes  Dickie and his sisters and with his dad, then apology to Olivia. Plays with Eli and his dad. 

- Perverted ( Lizzie in The Sound of Music, surprise, she’s Maria!) and flashbacks to when she was in Anne Frank as Edith and was unrecognisable and brilliant. 

Carisi and Rollins

Their first dinner together when she tells him they’re going shopping for ingredients and he’s cooking. Supermarket scene ( outrage on his part that she doesn’t buy fresh ungrated Parmesan and of course pays for everything). 

He takes her home after the kidnapping, cooks for her, they hang out with Frannie and Jesse.

Amanda asks him to be Jesse’s and/or Billie’s guide parent. He talks with Olivia about being chosen. Is he good enough?

Looking after Jesse while Amanda is giving birth to Billie. They choose a present for Billie together and he gets her a present « from Billie » after. 

Carisi talks to his dad about his feelings for Amanda, they discuss relationships, marriage etc

Baby Sonny supermarket theft story

Baby Sonny helps his mum in the kitchen, they talk about his future plans. 

Young Sonny finds out about his mum’s pregnancy, her abortion and how he looks after her following it ( she says she’s had a miscarriage). 

Carisi plays sports with his dad. 

Let me know what you would like to read or if you have any other ideas?

Liv became the captain right after Carisi went to the DA office. It was the very end of an episode. Could that scene with Dodds saying goodbye and telling her about the promotion been cut? Also during the Sonny party, he is surrounded by extras who were in the squad room. On a podcast he aka Sonny mentioned how that was something he missed changing jobs on the show seeing the background cop actors as he wasn’t working the same days.

Ah, thank you! Maybe I missed that bit of dialogue or it was badly translated. Aww, that’s sweet that Scanavino wanted the background actors in the squad room to be a part of his goodbye party. He sounds like a stand up guy.

Season 21 SVU thoughts

Aww, the good luck/semi-goodbye party for Sonny was perfect. He definitely deserved it and was happy to be surrounded by his work family ( he seems to be universally adored, with good reason).

He’s unsurprisingly doing a great job as ADA, and he always goes above and beyond for the victims. I loved that he contacted his former law professor. He really does keep in touch with everyone and gets on with 99% of people. His righteous anger at injustice/stupid laws is really touching, he’s so morally upstanding and it makes me love him more.

He still seems to be a cop in some episodes, so maybe the episodes are yet again out of order on the site I am watching them on? 

Wish he had more time with Amanda outside of work. Those two are my favourite pairing and I am dying for them to get together. 

The new DA, Hadid, is great, and the new recruit, Kat, seems to be proving her worth/doing a good job. The new unit boss seems like a decent guy too, and it is interesting to have so many female characters in the precinct at once. Fin is officially outnumbered. 

SVU is still recycling its guest stars, with Zach Gilford playing a douchebag again, but this time as a grown man, not a teen like he was in Contagious ( Season 6, a favourite episode of mine).

Loved Amanda having Billie christened and choosing Olivia and Carisi as godparents for her. I think Carisi is guideparent to Noah too, alongside Barba and Amanda, unless I am mistaken? Olivia had a Unitarian blessing ceremony for Noah a few years ago, Carisi was definitely there.

His story to the religious judge about his mum getting pregnant and having an abortion in her 40’s was very moving, but I wish we know how old he was at the time. Did his mum tell his dad she’d miscarried? 

Arrghh to people letting Olivia in/her giving them a chance and then they leave or die! I was particularly upset when Stone left, I thought he would have been a great match for Olivia, they had a lot of chemistry and similar values. 

The episodes are interesting. It’s good to have minorities represented and not judged as they were in earlier seasons.

Also the jump in tech is incredible. Even going from Season 12 to 16, the computers/phones/devices the team uses are so much more developed than the slightly older episodes. 

SVU Season 20 thoughts

The episodes are evidently not being played in order, as I saw Amanda give birth in one episode, then a few episodes later, she’s pregnant and thinkiing about moving in with Dr Al.

Carisi telling her that flowers, chocolates, fancy dinners and expensive gifts to not equate to taking care of someone and then offering to come and cook for her ( he was trying so hard to not be mortally offended by the fact that she eats frozen pizza) and hang out with Jesse and Billie was adorable. I wish we’d got to see that scene! 

I love that he has a healthy relationship to look up to and it’s what he aspires to have too. 

I love that he was the one who seemingly looked after Jesse while Amanda was giving birth, and how when the nurse/doctor/midwife refers to him as the dad, he tries to correct her but Amanda makes no such effort. 

Peter Stone I am very attached to, he’s kind, good at his job but not married to it, good with Noah and I think he has the hots for Olivia, though it would be easier to list who doesn’t/hasn’t been in love with her! I know he leaves at the end of the Season, which makes me very sad. 

Fin I adore, he’s usually very good at knowing his limits/what he can cope with and when to apologise. There’s an early-ish episode ( Season 6 or so) with a religious cult leader who is impregnating teen girls. He ends up shooting all the kids in his flat before running away when the team come to investigate, and the team all have psych interviews to see if they can/want to carry on with the investigation. Fin goes first and says he can’t deal with it so is off home, Olivia cries and thinks she’s going to be sent home, and Stabler is all “Yeah, it’s terrible, what do you want me to do? Sit here and cry about it?” but Stabler gets sent home and Olivia ( who had the most normal reaction of all of them) stays on to investigate.

He does something similar in an episode this season and apologises to Phoebe for thinking she was a bent cop. 

I think this is my favourite iteration of the team, as they all get on most of the time, as they are all friends and do things together outside of work. There’s no tension with the ADA either. I am really attached to all of them, for different reasons. I think Carisi is the lynchpin, he is close to all of them and is always trying to spend time with them, either as a group or one-on-one. 

He must be super frustrated at not being able to be an ADA, but he’s so patient and continues to give 100% to his work. 

I only have a few episodes left, I am definitely going to be getting Seasons 21-25. 

I like how it seems much more normalised for there to be gay couples/parents on the show, trans people as, when the show started, some of the things that were said about sex workers/gay people/trans people were shocking at best and offensive at worst. 

There’s a channel here that often does marathons of SVU with some sort of theme, and today is Carisi! The tagline is something like “Here’s a nice guy who never finishes last” and I think it’s actually called the “Be careful Carisi” marathon! 😂😭🫶

That sounds like a fun watch! I am currently on Seadon 20 of SVU and think Carisi is fantastic! He’s a great brother, a good friend ( going to the Knicks game with Fin, that shows how close they are and how well they get on) and apologising to Peter Stone when he makes a comment about wishing his sisters would disappear.

His friendship with Amanda is precious, he’s good at getting her to talk about her feelings/be vulnerable , and he is so respectful of his superiors ( always calling them by their grade) and follows instructions to the letter. ‘I love how much he loved his family, wants to protect and take care of victims and gets angry with suspects/criminals, but without ever being abusive/crossing the line. Can’t wait to meet his mother, she definitely had played a big part in shaping his character.

Do we know what Carisi Sr’s job is? And it seems like they haven’t always had the closest relationship, but maybe it’s because Carisi Sr was often at work, so a bit like Stabler, who clearly loved his children but was almost always working and didn’t always understand them.

SVU more Season 19 thoughts

I just sobbed through the episode with the kidnapped baby with the debilitating condition/zero quality of life. Barba’s story made me cry too, and his goodbye to Olivia broke my heart. 

He’d pretty much been in love with her from the start, from what I understood. I wish she’d taken him up on his offer for a drink/dinner/a coffee as I think they would have been good for each other. 

I love Carisi so very much, he never ceases to impress me with his quick thinking, hard work and kindness. I’d love to meet more of his family, which looks like it might happen in the next few episodes,the one with his niece, Mia. 

Ugh to Cassidy being back. It’s the same one who was with the team in Season 1, right? If it is,  I really disliked him then, and my feelings have not changed! Somehow he’s worse than he was before. 

Last song: I have had Popular from Wivked on the brain since I saw the movie, does that count!

Favourite colour: teal, purple and red, but honestly, I like most colours so rainbow 🌈

Last Book: last one I remember was the last volume of The Seven Sisters, which was about the father who adopted the aforementioned seven sisters. It was probably the bes5 book in the series.

Last movie: A French film about Sarah Bernhardt’s life. It was really boring, my dad and I both fell asleep during it!

TV Show: Currently watching Season 19 of Law and Order SVU. I am really enjoying the new characters, especially Carisi. Rollins is great too, she reminds me a little bit of Jeffries ( Munch’s partner in S 1 and 2) and it’s great to have a female friend for Olivia, as well as having anothe4 female character to look up to. Fin continues to be brilliant and I love Olivia a lot. Barba took a while to warm up to, but I think he is pretty great. At first he was v much a serious guy who was there to just do his job and he came across as a bit cold.

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: I am a spice wimp, so, depending on my mood, either savoury or sweet, though I do always have to finish a meal with a dessert, so mainly sweet.

Relationship Status: chronically single!

Last thing I googled: Peter Scanavino’s age and what his children are called. He’s only a couple of years older than me!

Something I am looking forward to: My niece’s first birthday in May and my parents’ Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration extravaganza with the whole family in August.

tagging @themetaphorgirl @sergle @thestuffedalligator @sequinsmile-x

10 people I'd like to get to know more 🩷

tagged by @jamieroyjamieroy 😘

Last song: Same Old Song by The Lumineers

Fave Color: Orange 🧡

Last Book: I finished: das Kalendermädchen by Sebastian Fitzek; currently reading Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

Last Movie: Deadpool & Wolverine

Last TV Show: NCIS Los Angeles (still watching)

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Sweet 🍩🍨🍦🎂🍰🍫

Relationship Status: Married 💍

Last thing I Googled: how the Deadpool movie was called 🤣🤣

Looking Forward to: visiting concerts and musicals this year❤️

Current Obsession: Lou Ferrigno Jr, Bucktommy

tagging: @profwonderbearthementalista @do-androids-dream-ao3acc @beautifulhigh @de-lphic @investingingrayhairs if you want to 😊😊

SVU Season 19 thoughts

Some great episodes so far!

Loved Carisi and Amanda investigating at the out of state bar, they have such a great rapport and OMG, they nearly got together! Carisi’s face when he saw Amanda coming out of her room with a guy broke me! Poor poor woobie! 

However, Amanda is still working through some issues, like how to be vulnerable. Carisi is trying to encourage her to do that, and their friendship/partnership is so good that I am quite happy to enjoy that for the moment. 

Barba is growing on me, he actually joked ( though he did have to explain that he was joking, which kind of defeated the point). 

And he was so very kind to Olivia when Noah was missing, so calm and just listened to her, which is just what she needed. He has asked her out for a drink several times, I think it would be good for her to accept. He understands the demands of her job, is clever and kind but I think he is a little bit boring for her. She’s also got chronic normalitis, as diagnosed by Dr Elliot Stabler, but she deserves to be happy and to have a stable relationship. Barba would definitely give her that!

I snorted out loud at Carisi and Fin’s expressions when watching the missing daughter and her family being interviewed. They definitely did not believe a word she or her brother were saying! 

Also when Dodds comes by the office and Fin’s expression and words are v friendly and polite, but you can.tell he’d thinking just the opposite. 

Loved the end of the kidnapping episode with Olivia surrounded by almost all the people she loves/us close to, but her little wistful glance made me think she might be wishing Elliot were there. 

The episode with the dodgy rehab centre made me very sad, and this episode with the special needs children is really gripping too. I am always happy to see Coroner Warner ( yes, I know she’s a Mediczl Exsminer/Forendics specialist, but I like the rhyme!). 

Looking forward to the rest of the season and the rest of the series. 

SVU Season 18 thoughts

It will come as no surprise that I am more and more charmed by the lovely Sonny Carisi!

A post on here ( talking about how he definitely brought Barba Italian treats to say thank you for letting him shadow him/sit in on his legal prep) and described him as a golden retriever in human form, which is 100% accurate! 

He is gentle with victims, tough with suspects and even if he is angry, he keeps it under control ( no lockers have been harmed by his fists so far, which is good). I particularly love how he takes care of his colleagues. 

He can tell that Amanda is internalising everything she’s feeling about being a bad mother when the little boy is kidnapped by his nanny ( really did not see that one coming, and, as someone who works in childcare, it upset me as I could never do that!). He knows exactly what to say to Amanda and offers practical care in the form of food and trashy reality TV. 

In the hockey team episode, you can tell they come from very different homes and have had very different upbringings. Amanda has lived through her parents’ unstable relationship, that was probably full of physical and verbal abuse, while he was raised in a supportive, affectionate environment with two parents who loved and liked eachother and still do. It is implied they were financially stable, as he claims he just asked his mum for 400$ for university supplies a few days before he started. I get the impression Amanda did not have that, and that her parents prioritised their addictions rather than putting food on the table or providing for education.  There were probably some raised voices (80’s/90’s big Italian family is probably going to be a bit loud sometimes) and minor disagreements, but they all genuinely seem to like eachother and are fairly close.  So he thinks the mum should just leave with the kids/go to the police and she knows it’s not that simple.

Carisi and Rollins really understand eachother well, and work super well as a team, like a much calmer and healthier version of Olivia and Elliot. They truly are really good friends, which explains how she can tell that his Bobby Bianchi story was true. Poor bullied Sonny! I imagine he was tall, probably on the thin side ( in spite of eating his body weight in pasta/pizza/canneloni, I reckon). It explains why he has so much empathy for victims and tries to help everyone in any way he can. 

I think Amanda is incredible too! She’s a great cop, a good friend and an excellent mother, but she struggles with being vulnerable and asking for help. The storyline with her sister would have been a perfect opportunity to have Liv contact Kathleen Stabler to give Kim some advice/guidance, who I can see being in the mental health field in some capacity and/or a rape survivor counsellor. I miss the Stabler kids, it was always interesting to see how they coped with their dad doing the job and how it impacted his relationship and interactions with them. 

Olivia keeps losing her romantic partners, I was very sad for her when Tucker left her, but I also thought he was still married ( or separated, at best) so maybe it worked out how it should. 

I really like Olivia and Fin, they are two characters that I have really become attached to over 18 and 16 seasons respectively. The show would not be what it is without Ice-T, who was only supposed to guest star for a few episodes while Munch got a new partner. But those two are one of my favourite partnerships, with their penchant for snarky comebacks and teasing banter. On paper it sounds like a disaster, as the characters are very different but the actors and the writing really made it work. 

I’m just impressed how Olivia pulls off all the short pixie cuts/bobs that were popular at the time. Very jealous as I did not have the bone structure or facial shape ( or the confidence, to be honest) to pull those styles off. And the makeup isn’t great, but I have seen much worse ( ie thinner) brows than that in my time!

Bensler + Season 2

Reposting for anyone who needs to hear this.

Yes, Sonny has serious golden retriever energy! I love him so much!

Even more Season 17 SVU thoughts

I like Dodds a lot, as he doesn’t want to take advantage of his father’s position to get a better job, is empathetic and good at his job, a real team player. Fin’s remark about moving to the Counter-Terrorism Unit and potentially getting blown up/dying is some good foreshadowing as I know what happens at the end of the season, sob. 

I snorted at Tucker saying « Who watches this junk? » to Olivia in the trashy dating show ep and the scene cutting to Amanda and Carisi thoroughly invested in it! I love seeing their relationship developing, even as friends, and like Luv and Tucker together, though I thought he was married? Yet she clasps his hands with hers and kissed them, which felt very intimate to me! 

The arc with the Catholic Church made me cry, namely that scene at the very end of Carisi going to church and praying with his rosary. He would have made an excellent priest, but I think what stopped him is the idea of not being able to marry or have kids. He is extremely non-judgemental and very empathetic, especially when he is posing as a homeless rapist and shows real understanding towards the mostly reformed criminals. 

I love how versatile he is, as he is just as comfortable ( and as hot) whether he is in a homeless shelter and scruffy, just chilling in sweatpants and a hoodie or in a suit. He was particularly hot when wearing glasses in the strip club! Stabler also had to pose as a business man and rocked the expensive suit and glasses too, back in the day! 

Yay to Amanda hugging Carisi when he passed the bar exam, that was so sweet!

And OMG, Fin’s son was in an episode that didn’t feature homophobic hate crimes or someone in the closet! Excited to see Grandpa Fin, I am sure he’ll be great!

Munch came back, yay! He seems happy and relaxed, but is still funny and seemed to be so good with Noah. I always thought he’d make an excellent dad, but understand why he didn’t with his family history of depression/bad mental health and Alzheimer’s ( his dad killed himself and his uncle had memory impairment issues-both those eps made me cry). 

I have nearly finished Season 17, 2 more episodes to go and looking forward to Season 18 and beyond very much.