Podcasts about Sir

Send us a textIn EPISODE TWO HUNDRED SEVEN (207) of the "LOOK OUT, SIR! 40K" Podcast we discuss the 2025-26 Seasonal Updates for both Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar via the Chapter Approved Mission Deck and General's Handbook. Listen along to Dan and Phil as they discuss what they think about these two exciting updates to Games Workshop's flagship gaming franchises. Huge thank you to STIG1603 for the 5 STAR REVIEW via APPLE PODCASTS GB, we massively appreciate your support. Cheers! Please consider supporting LOOK OUT, SIR! on PATREON, which occasionally features fancy EXCLUSIVE CONTENT: https://www.patreon.com/lookoutsir40k We also have MERCHANDISE available to purchase from Rev-Level: https://www.rev-level.com/lookoutsir40k  SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lookoutsir/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lookoutsir40k/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/lookoutsir40k  Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and by extension support our podcast. We hugely appreciate it and hope that you enjoy the show.

This week on Look Forward, the guys return to discuss the nationwide "No Kings" Day of protests juxtaposed to the pathetic limp dick Donald Trump wanna be authoritarian forced military birthday parade, the political assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker and her spouse and the shooting attack on another and his spouse by a MAGA faithful acolyte, Trump opens asks how to prevent farmers and hotel owners from suffering under the draconian immigration policies he has created, 2024 presidential election results under scrutiny in newest lawsuit, Israel does pre-emptive strike on Iran and is shocked to be retaliated against (let's talk nuance here, because its in serious need of some), Trump shows just how poor he is at negotiating when it comes to his trade deal with China, Trump Mobile begins and yeah its silly and dumber than you'd assume, and more.Big TopicMillions turn out for No Kings day of protest across the countryHad to give dear leader a little ego boostMeanwhile Trump got the Temu version of a strongman paradeNews You NeedMinnesota lawmakers targeted in their homes by right-wing extremistSuspect arrested (as well as his wife)Sir, another TACO has hit the towers (CLIP)2024 Election Results Under Scrutiny as Lawsuit AdvancesA Wretched Hive of Scum and VillainyIsrael does a pre-emptive strike on Iran, Iran retaliates…shocked Pikachu face!Only the best dealmaker could negotiate himself into an objectively worse position than where he startedWhat's Dumber, A Brick or A Republican?The latest grift begins in earnest, and you'll never guess where the product isn't being manufactured!

¡Es hora de hablar de noticias de cine y TV! Os contamos lo que se sabe de Spaceballs 2 —o la secuela de La loca historia de las galaxias—, hablamos de Wicked: For Good, de la adaptación de la novela de Stephen King, The Institute, de la próxima película de Matthew McConaughey (¿McConaughew?), The Lost Bus, del biopic de Cervantes, El cautivo, de los próximos proyectos de James Cameron y Robert Eggers, de la tercera temporada de Fundación: el Mulo (¿o es la Mula?), etc. Javier Muñoz y Francisco Javier Santiago, codo a codo, recomiendan en la sección Cal y arena estrenos recientes como Ballerina, Lilo y Stitch y Sirāt, entre otros. ¿Has ido al cine a ver alguna de estas? Además, sorteamos el libro Yo soy más de series, de Fernando Ángel Moreno y Víctor Miguel Gallardo Barragán; si queréis participar es muy fácil: seguid las instrucciones que indicamos en el episodio —dejadnos un comentario en iVoox y un me gusta, además de suscribiros a nuestro pódcast en iVoox— y entraréis en el sorteo que realizaremos (solo para residentes en España). Tenéis desde el día 17 al 30 de junio de 2025 para participar. ¡Suerte! Grupo de Telegram: https://t.me/CineActual Nuestro Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cineactual Canciones inicial «Amanecer» y final «Ocaso» y melodía de «Cal y arena» compuestas e interpretadas por Laia Salvat, Francisco Javier Santiago y Albert Vilella, bajo licencia CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Trooping the Colour 2025 was a blend of pageantry, poignancy, and power plays. King Charles III marked his official birthday with a moving tribute to victims of the Air India crash, wearing a black armband and requesting a minute's silence. Catherine, Princess of Wales, made her highly anticipated return to royal duties after cancer treatment, drawing cheers as she joined her family for the parade and balcony appearance. Meanwhile, Prince Harry remained conspicuously absent.  In the King's Birthday Honours, cultural icons David Beckham, Gary Oldman, and Roger Daltrey were knighted, earning their “Sir” titles.At the King's Foundation Awards, Charles rubbed elbows with Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, and Stanley Tucci.Get ready for our new series Crown and Controversy coming July 13th. Follow now.  The full Season 1 is available now for premium subscribers. To become a premium subscriber (no ads and no feed drops) visit caloroga.com/plus.   For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app which seays UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. You also get 25+ other shows on the network ad-free!    Subscribe to Deep Crown's free newslett

John 5:7-8 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” We have recorded here the sick man's reply to Jesus' question, “Do you wish to get well?” His answer? He wanted to be healed, but someone else always beat him to the pool because of his disability. This shows us that the man didn't think there was any other way to be healed than to be the first one into the pool when it was stirred by the angel of the Lord. That was about to change. I notice that there was no indication that the man believed in Jesus, and as we will see in the following verses, there's no indication that he ever did. In fact, even after being warned by Jesus not to sin, he sided with the Pharisees and ratted on Jesus. So what was the purpose of God in this healing? First, we see God's mercy, even toward His enemies. Matthew 5:43-48 reveals the love of the Father for His enemies. This is a passage in the Sermon on the Mount. You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. God was merciful to this man who was in desperate need of healing. His suffering had been long-term, and agonizing. This encourages us that we too may show mercy to those who are undeserving as an expression of God's love and as a testimony of His glorious grace. A second purpose for healing the sick man was to fuel the fire of the Pharisees' hatred of Jesus. In John's gospel, he shows the development of this hatred, which increased with every miracle Jesus did, especially when performed on the Sabbath, like this one. This was God's plan according to Acts 4:27-28. “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” This miracle was necessary in the grand scheme of redemption. A third purpose then behind this miracle is a judgment against the sick man and the Pharisees. You would think the sick man would respond with great gratefulness and allegiance to Christ. In fact, you would think anyone seeing the healing would rejoice and marvel at it. Shouldn't it cause the healed man and the Pharisees to believe in Jesus? No, it does not, which reveals the hardness of heart and animosity toward God. They are judged by the miracle. What can we learn from these verses? If God puts an enemy in our paths or someone who has endured long-term suffering, let's be in tune with how Jesus wants us to love them. We are not to base the expression of love and mercy upon how we think they might respond. God is glorified in the act of mercy, whether there is a positive or grateful response or not. Also, when people do not respond to the love of Christ through us, pray for them. They have been judged by God, and their need for forgiveness and mercy has become obvious. God intends for us to understand their need better, so we might intercede for them more.

Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 6 Andrew Rook continues to grow his family. Based on a post by CorruptingPower, in 25 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.   Chapter 17 The morning after any good party is generally a challenge to get up and out of bed, but thankfully, they hadn't gone too late into the evening, and so, everyone had gotten to bed at a reasonable hour. And the wonderful smell of a good, late brunch was the clincher to get everyone out of the bed. Jenny had prepared an excellent morning feast for them, but timed it so that it was just before noon when she had it ready, drawing everyone downstairs, although most of the girls were in pajamas still, and Andy stuck to sweats himself. Over a combination of huevos rancheros and breakfast burritos, Niko and Andy explained to the rest of the girls about Andy's upcoming day at poker. Their reactions were much like Andy's initial impressions. Shock at first, followed by concern for the women who were supposed to be showing up on Andy's doorstep tomorrow. "I mean," Andy said, in between bites of his burrito, "it's never come up before, but I technically do have the right to refuse any woman who shows up on my doorstep. Like, for example, if had been too much of a hassle for Lauren, I could've just sent Taylor away." "Which reminds me," Lauren said, bringing a mimosa to her lips, "you need to imprint her today, especially if you're going to be coming home tomorrow night with a whole stable of new women." "I think you girls have a lot more faith in my poker skills than I do," Andy sighed. "And I think you're just being modest to set expectations," Niko said. "I watched you confidently take apart those poor boys last night." "I've known those guys for over a decade, Niko. They've got tells and I've had time to learn them, but you're talking about cold reading a room worth of men, most of whom I've never met." "If Rachel's to be believed, most of them are crap, Andy, so the only person you've really got to worry about is Covington himself." "You mean, I've only got to worry about the one guy I have to beat. Sure, no problem." "Do your best, baby," Niko said to him, squeezing his hand. "That's all I'm asking." That hung in the air for a couple of minutes before Lauren started giggling, and Andy turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "What's all that about?" "I was just thinking about you saying you had the right to refuse a woman delivered to you, and was trying to imagine you refusing Niko when she showed up." "You know, I still don't remember showing up at all?" Niko said. "I'm serious. The first thing I remember is waking up in the morning sucking your cock. I mean, I remember picking your picture out, and I sort of remember the start of the drive over to the old condo, but showing up on your doorstep? Me fucking myself on top of him in the goddamn dining room? I know you told me I did all that, but I don't remember any of it." "You were pretty out of it," Aisling said. "But it was kinda hot, watching you just pin him down and fucking use him. He wanted to take you upstairs first, but you were too wound up to let him do that, so he had to carry you naked upstairs after he'd filled you up with your first load." "I feel a little robbed that I don't get to remember that first super intense orgasm, though." "If you really want to get something equivalent," Lauren said, "you just need to fast from his cum for a couple of weeks. Right around the point you're starting to break, you'll get that high again, but the pain of waiting that long isn't worth if you ask me." "I agree," Aisling said, "but it's probably worth trying at least once, just so you can know." Niko shook her head. "I remember you telling me about how it felt waiting that long, Lauren, and I don't think I have any need to inflict that much need on myself." "You wait any longer to imprint Taylor," Aisling said, "and she's going to be there herself. She's already having trouble keeping her head clear enough to follow the rules." Niko nodded over at Lauren. "I get that you want to punish her, but she needs to get imprinted, otherwise she's not even going to remember the punishment." Lauren giggled a little. "I know, I know. Let's sic Andy on her after we finish brunch." "I like how much my opinion is being consulted on this," Andy grumbled. "Oh you know you're itching to have a go at her," Lauren smirked, waggling a fork in his direction. "Just remember, one of the three holes is off limits until she's passed the month, and frankly, I don't want you firing that sex bomb of yours down her throat for her first time either." "You've made it pretty clear what you want out of this, Lauren," Andy said. "I won't forget." After they finished brunch, the foursome headed upstairs. Taylor had been given brunch in a bowl while they'd been eating, and she had finished all of it. When they entered the room, she looked up, but didn't move over, as she was trying to take all of her cues from them and not initiate anything on her own. "Alright Taylor," Lauren said, "it's time. Andy's going to imprint you now, so I hope you've internalized all the lessons you've witnessed over the last several days." "Yes Mistress," Taylor said. "May I go and make a few small preparations? Not for myself, but for the Master." Lauren seemed to consider this for a moment, then nodded. "Five minutes in the bathroom. We'll be out here waiting." Taylor moved to head into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "Wonder what she's doing in there," Aisling said, as she moved to sit in one of the big plush chairs scattered around the room. Niko grinned impishly, as she moved to recline on the couch against the wall. "Oh, she told me she's been trying to plan as best as she can to make both Andy and Lauren happy." "I'm not sure I even want to know what that means," Andy said, moving to sit down on the edge of the massive bed. "I'm not sure I'd let her tell you, even if she wanted to," Lauren said. "Oh, you want to try and tell me what to do, Lauren," Niko said, a playful smile on her lips, "and we can see which one of us paid more attention in hand to hand combat classes." "That sounds like fighting words," Lauren giggled, miming rolling up her sleeves. Andy narrowed his eyes at them. "Don't make me bend you both over my knee and paddle your asses red." "Promises promises," Lauren said, blowing him a kiss. Just then, Taylor opened the door and walked in from the bathroom before moving to get down on her knees in front of Andy. She had put on dark, heavy mascara and pulled her platinum blonde hair back into a solid ponytail, held with a scrunchy that looked like it could handle a bit of force. She'd also put on thigh high white stockings that looked like extra long sport socks with red rings around her thighs. It made her look sportier, and also a little bit younger. "Your slut is ready for you to use her, Master, if you are ready." Andy slid from the bed and crouched down, brushing a hand along her face. "This is your last chance to back out, Taylor." Taylor leaned in and whispered into his ear. "I want this, Andy. I want to be part of your family. But my safeword is 'yeti,' if you're really worried." She'd said it quietly enough that he was certain none of the other girls had heard any of it. "I like the mascara," Lauren said, reaching to brush a fingertip along Taylor's cheek. "It's going to run nicely when he's skullfucking your face." "Yes Mistress. I thought you might enjoy seeing that, proof that he's making me cry." "Tears of joy, I hope." Taylor nodded. "Joy, yes. But also from being unable to breathe. I want Master to really use his slut, to make her gag and choke and gasp for air." "Good," Lauren said. "I want you to get him so wound up that he can't think straight, Taylor. I want to see him actively fucking use you, until you're a quivering, brainless heap of well used flesh, lying there in a goddamn puddle on the floor. You think you can handle that?" "For you, Mistress? I can handle anything." Her chin was lifted proudly, displaying that leather collar she'd been forced to wear since her arrival. "Please, Master, may your worthless slut finally taste your cock?" Lauren put her hand on Andy's shoulder, leaning in to whisper into her mouth. "Remember, I don't want you cumming in her mouth. Just in her ass, okay?" There was a tiny amount of trepidation to her voice, as if she wanted to be sure she wasn't overstepping her boundaries, so Andy simply nodded. He felt hands on his waist, and it was clear Taylor had taken the nod to be to her and not to Lauren, but Andy didn't feel the need to correct her. Taylor pulled his sweatpants and boxers down to his ankles, lifting one of his feet for him and then the other, to help him step out of them, before she finally looked at his thick cock before her bright blue eyes. "Your little whore has been thinking about this nonstop since she got here, Master. About how she watches your girls when their eyes roll back in their heads, when their legs twitch and spasm when you fill them up. And even though she knows it's unbecoming of her," she said, looking down as one of her hands stroked his thick cock, "she's been getting more and more jealous of them, of those intense feelings you evoke in them. She knows she needs to be patient and wait her turn, but sometimes, even thinking about it gets her cunt all wet, Master. May she at long last have a taste and begin her process of officially becoming yours? Please, Master? This worthless slut aspires to be better, to be more, to be, yours." They'd been particularly careful not to let her taste any precum of his because even so much as a droplet would prime the imprinting process. It wouldn't fully start until she got her first full load of his jism, but the amount in precum was enough to get the process ready to burst. Taylor had gotten particularly close to the girls when they were playing with Andy, usually at Lauren's insistence, but in her eagerness to rub Taylor's face in it, she'd come dangerously near starting the process early. Andy was about to say that she could when Lauren reached her hand along the back of Taylor's head, grabbing the ponytail, shoving Taylor's face down onto his cock until he could feel the head of it pressing against the back of her throat, forcing its way in, even as her eyes looked up at him with adoration in them, her body literally vibrating at it, as the precum oozed from his mushroom tip into her mouth. Her eyes were fluttering, almost like they were threatening to roll back into her skull, and while she was doing her best to maintain control of herself, he could feel a bit of drool dripping down onto his balls. After what felt like an eternity of keeping his cock buried inside of her mouth, Lauren finally pulled Taylor back, and she gasped hungrily for air, slobbering even as her eyes were starting to water, her chest rising and falling quickly. "Are you  " Before Andy could even continue the sentence, Taylor grabbed onto his hips with both hands and pulled her face back onto his cock until her nose was buried in the thatch of brown hairs at the base of his cock. "Don't just leave her on, Andy," Lauren hissed at him. "Give the little whore what she wants. Fuck that little cheating face of hers until she's a sloppy mess." Andy's hands grabbed onto the side of Taylor's head and pulled her face back, but just when the head of his cock was at the ring of her lips and she was inhaling another lungful of air, he shoved his cock back into her face, pushing it back against her throat once more, evoking a gurgling cough from her, as those eyes started to water hard, a single black tear running down her right cheek. He pulled her back back and off his cock, letting her drink in another swallow of air, a wide smile on her messy lips, precum and spit dangling from them, as her tongue lashed out to try and lap it up before Andy shoved her face down once more. Taylor was doing her best to lean into Andy, but Lauren was mostly controlling the depth she could reach, using her ponytail as a leash, although Lauren seemed to be letting Andy do most of the driving for the moment, partially because Andy had been told not to cum in Taylor's mouth, and it was starting to take some effort to keep himself cooled off. She had a talented tongue, and there was something primal and carnal about seeing his precum smeared all over the blonde's chin, drooling on herself when she had half a moment without Andy's cock in her throat. "Whose whore are you?" Lauren said, reaching forward to slap Taylor across the face, making that mascara run even more. "Yours, Mistress." "Wrong answer!" Lauren shouted, slapping Taylor's other cheek, hard enough to make Andy a little nervous. "Try again. Whose whore are you?" Taylor swallowed a breath of air, looking up with those heavily watered icy blue eyes of hers, realizing her mistake immediately. "His whore, Mistress. The Master's whore." "That's right, you cuntrag," Lauren sneered. "I'm your Mistress, but this man fucking owns you, if you want to live under this roof. You will deny him nothing. You will do whatever he asks of you, and you will do it gladly." "Yes Mistress. Sorry Mistress." "Don't apologize to me, you dumb bimbo! Apologize to him." "Your worthless slut is sorry, Master. She belongs to you, and only you, and will never forget that again." "You know what I think?" Lauren said, her face a wicked angry snarl. "I think you ought to spit into that bitch's mouth, so she knows who fucking owns her." Taylor visibly flinched, but leaned her head back, opening her mouth wide. "That's it, Andy," Lauren goaded. "Get a big mouthful of spit and give it to that vapid cunt." Spitting had never much turned Andy on, and if he was honest, he found it excessive and unneeded, but all of this was about giving Lauren some closure, so he pursed his lips together and started to summon a big mouthful of spit. Just as he was about to spit into Taylor's mouth, she turned her head suddenly and said, "Yeti! God, I'm sorry, yeti!" Andy turned his head and spit onto the floor, as his mind raced, trying to figure out a way to disarm the situation he knew he was about to be in. The imprinting process was already primed, so it was too late to pass Taylor off to someone else, or to send her away, but he suspected the explosion of temper that was about to erupt from Lauren was going to make all their lives living hell for a time. He turned to look at her as he started to speak, "Now look Lauren, there's limits, to,” The look on Lauren's face wasn't one of anger. It was one of, amusement? He frowned and she started to giggle, and pretty soon, all the girls in the room were giggling, including Taylor at his feet. "Sorry, Andy," Lauren finally said, through fits of laughter. "I told you he'd stop if she said to," Aisling said. "No matter how wronged you felt, Lauren, he wasn't gonna lose control." "Damn," Lauren said, "and here I figured I could get him worked up enough to push past it. Guess I owe you twenty." "Excuse me, were, were you gambling over whether or not I'd take a woman against her will?" Now Andy felt like he was the one starting to get angry. "It was just a game, love," Lauren said. Andy stepped away from Taylor and over to Lauren and picked her up, no easy feat considering her height compared to his, moving over to the bed, putting her down and bending her over it before yanking down her pajama bottoms. "What are you going to do, spank me?" Andy welled up his rage into his right hand and brought it down onto Lauren's ass with the hardest spank he could muster. "Ow! Jesus, Andy, that rightly stung!" Wham! His hand clapped down again, just as hard, and he heard her groan, a weird blend of pain and excitement, her whole body shaking. "Strewth, that hurts!" Wham! His hand spanked down once more, the cheek of her ass starting to redden quickly under the power of his slaps. "Fuck Andy!" Wham! "I'm sorry!" Wham! "Bugger, Master, I'm fucking sorry, awlright?" At that, Andy held his hand in the air, not slapping again, but brought his hand down softly to slowly press his fingernails against the edge of the reddened flesh, and then dragged them firmly across that handprint he'd left there, making Lauren quiver, lost somewhere between lust and fear. "You're right you're right, okay, it was a shitty thing to do, and I'm sorry, I'm very fucking sorry. I shouldn't have made her do it." Andy looked back at Taylor. "And you. I ought to just leave you like this." Taylor's face reddened as much as Lauren's ass. "I'm sorry, Master. She told me to do it, and I didn't want to upset her. I do have an actual safeword, but it isn't yeti. I told Lauren what it was, though, and how I didn't think she would need to use it." "And if you're punishing Lauren, Daddy, you probably need to punish all of us," Aisling sighed. "I mean, I took her bet." "Speak for yourself, Red," Niko said. "I told you I thought it was a bad idea." "Well, now we know, I guess," Aisling said. "You okay, Lauren?" Lauren lifted her head up, and there was a strange look on her face. After a moment, it registered to Andy that she was more turned on that he'd ever seen her before in his life, and that included the moment when she'd been in a complete fuck daze after her sex fasting. "That was the hottest thing that's ever happened to me," she moaned, struggling to not drool on herself. "I've been trying to get you to lay into me for months, Andy, and I don't think it's much of a punishment." She grinned, all crazy eyed and wild. "I'm a bad girl." "Well then, you know how I'm going to punish you, Lauren?" Andy sighed. "I'm gonna put you away wet. You can go without a dose until the end of the week now that you're all wound up." "Oh god, that's cruel, you delicious bastard," she purred. "I fucking love it. But that's okay, I've earned this. And now that you're all wound up, it's time you take it out on Taylor." Andy looked from Lauren over to Taylor, who nodded enthusiastically. "This is what I want, Andy. I want my first time to be hard, rough, fucking brutal. I don't want to be treated like 'one of the girls,' because I haven't earned that, not yet." She started crawling over on all fours towards him, doing her best to keep her head raised, so she could see her face while she talked. "After the month, we can do the soft stuff. We can cuddle and lay together gently in bed and I can fall asleep in your arms, or in Lauren's. But I need to pay for my misdeeds." Niko and Aisling both sat up a little bit, although Andy could see that Niko had her hand down the front of her pajama bottoms, clearly rubbing her own cunt. "This time, I'm not one of your girls, not a partner or a girlfriend or a wife or whatever you're calling them, because I'm not there yet." Lauren was looking over her shoulder at Taylor, not moving from her spot bend over the edge of the bed. "You're already doing me a favor by imprinting me, when you don't know if you should yet. But I love Lauren. I love her so much it hurts to know how badly I fucked everything up. So until I can make that right, I'm a worthless fuckhole, a filthy bitch you should batter and plow and fuck within an inch of her life. I want you to drill me so hard that I can't sit down for a week." Taylor turned around and waggled her ass in his direction, leaning her shoulders down to make sure it was upturned, so he could get a good look at her asshole, as well as her cunt that was drenched with fuck cream. "It's yours, Master. I'm yours. Your fuckdoll, your bitch, your worthless whore to pump full of spunk and leave, sore and drenched. I know you aren't going to have my cunt until after my month's punishment, but just look at that tight little asshole I have just for you." "Just for you now," Lauren corrected. "That's true, Master. You won't be my first, but you will absolutely be my last. I will be a good slut for you, loyal in every possible way. You own all of me, from my toes to my head, and you may do whatever you want with any of it." "She talks a big game, doesn't she?" Niko said with a smile. "Whatever you want, Master, I will do. If you'd wanted to parade me naked in front of all your guests last night, I would've gladly done it. I'm not ashamed of how I screwed up before; I'm proud you're letting me make it right. You've had every chance this last week to treat me horribly, and you've never done it. So now I'm asking you, no, I'm begging you. Punish me. Fuck me. Claim me. Mark your territory. Make me your property. Own me. Use me, harder than you have any of your girls, because I need to learn to be better, to be worth better. But you have to accept me first." Taylor placed her face and shoulders down on the floor, and reached behind her to grab the well toned cheeks of her ass, pulling them apart. "I'm all yours, sir, but you need to imprint me. Fucking take me already." "You'll do anything I say, Taylor? Anything?" "Speak and it will be done, Master." Andy finally felt like he was actually in control for the first time today. "Stand up." "Sir?" "Don't make me say it twice," he growled, mostly for effect, but he could've sworn he heard Aisling moan wantonly in response to it. "Yes sir," she said, placing her hands on the ground, moving onto all fours before standing up. "Sorry sir." She kept her hands folded together in front of her, her eyes lowered to the floor. "Here's what's going to happen." Andy saw Lauren was starting to try and shift, so he slapped her ass once more, and her hips shoved forward into the bed once more, groaning, making it clear she now understood she wasn't to move without his say so. "Words are great and all, and I'm glad to hear you've learned how I'm turned on by dirty talk, but I'm going to give you a harder challenge. You need to convince me that you belong to me with a kiss, just one kiss." Taylor started to move towards him, but he raised his hand and she immediately stopped in her place. "Is there more, sir?" "There is. After you convince me with a kiss, you're going to convince Lauren as well, in the same way. But you're going to put all of that sadness, all of that embarrassment, all of that shame, all of that is going to go into your kiss with her, to convince her that you understand how badly you hurt her, and how much you want to make it up to her." "Now Andy  " Lauren started to say, but as soon as he turned to look at her, the expression on his face cowed her into silence. "After that, I'm going to fulfill my promise to Lauren, and I am going to fuck your ass so hard, it'll be sore for a week. I am going to sodomize you so hard, you'll think you've gone to prison, and you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that as soon as I cum in your ass, you are going to feel your mind being blown into a billion fragments, and every single fucking one of them will have my name stamped onto it." Taylor was shivering now, but Andy was almost certain it was with pure excitement. "You are going to wake up tomorrow and feel like a completely new woman. Ash?" "Every single sense you have is going to be on overload tomorrow," Aisling said to Taylor. "It'll be like the volume on your life is turned up to 11. Smells, sights, sounds, tastes, and touches, they'll all be in full overdrive, which means your ass is going to hurt like you didn't even believe is possible. I'm talking the kind of pain that feels like it goes down to your very soul." "And you won't be able to take any drugs for it to mute the pain," Niko said. "No aspirin, no ibuprofen, not even a stiff drink. That pain'll linger for a full day, and there's not a goddamn thing anyone can do to make it go away before it's ready." "By Tuesday, it'll be sore, but it won't feel like it's threatening to overwhelm your body. But for all of tomorrow, you are going to fucking hurt in a way that you can't even begin to imagine. And this is your last chance to walk away from it." Andy knew he was actually lying at this point. Sure, he had to imprint Taylor, but he didn't have to listen to Lauren and go at her as roughly as she wanted. If he didn't, though, there would always be a rift between the two women, and that was something he didn't want either of them to suffer through, so he was doing his best to navigate down this narrow street the two women had built for him together. "So what's your decision?" he said to her. Taylor looked up, a steely resolve to her face, one he'd seen mirrored in Lauren's face more than once before. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down so that she could press her lips against his, and in the kiss that followed, he could feel all of those conflicting emotions battling inside of her. It was the first time they'd kissed, but it was almost like it was a new first kiss for him, like he was a young man again in his parents' basement, kissing some girl in the dark while a scary movie played on the tv. She held the kiss for a long moment, the heat of the kiss turning up in the middle before backing down a little, so at the end he felt like she was trying to convey her shame at having cheated on Lauren. "Was, Is that good enough, sir?" Andy smiled a little. "And now the other half." Taylor mouthed the words "thank you" to him, out of sight of all the others, before she turned to the bed. Lauren was starting to try and turn around again, but Andy took the palm of his hand and pushed it hard on the small of her back, keeping her pinned there, and Taylor immediately understood what he was doing. She crawled up onto the bed, her pose mimicking Lauren's, bent over the edge of the bed, although to get in line with Lauren, she had to be much further up the bed. She looked painfully nervous, but reached and turned Lauren's face to look at her. Lauren's eyes were still pinched in anger at Taylor, up until their lips met, and Taylor kissed Lauren with everything she'd wanted to say to her for months now, holding onto her, even as Lauren tried to remain impassive and stonefaced at first, but melted shortly to the intensity of desperation that Taylor was giving to her. As the kiss continued, Andy started to position the players the way he wanted to, pushing Taylor as he pulled on Lauren, making Lauren roll onto her back on the bed, and bringing Taylor to straddle her, the two a tangled mess of lips and tongues, Lauren's hand against the back of Taylor's head now, keeping her face mashed against her own. Aisling could see he was maneuvering them, and hopped up, grabbing a couple of pillows, sliding them beneath Lauren's head, propping her up a bit, so that when Andy pulled Taylor down some to get her in position, she could still continue making out with her. Once he had her in place, Andy sawed his cock back and forth across Taylor's feverishly dripping snatch, feeling her ooze cream onto his thick shaft, even as she was trying to shift her hips, making it clear she still wanted to follow Lauren's rules, even now, her mind a dizzying chaos of fucknoise and lust. She reached one of her hands behind her to pull on her asscheek, forcing that pink pucker to expose itself even further. Andy lined the head of his cock up against her asshole, but then paused for a moment. That pause made Taylor break from the kiss long enough to plead with him once more. "Please, oh god please do it, Master. I've always been yours, your wanton fucking whore, I just didn't know it. Show me. Teach me. Fuck my ass and claim what's always been yours. Fucking take your bitch. Claim her. Own me!" That was good enough for him. He pushed his hips forward, feeling her asshole give a little more easily than his other girls had on their first time with him, and he suspected it wasn't Taylor's first time taking a man's cock in her ass. He felt no particular need to be exploring virgin territory, so it didn't bother him. As soon as he was most of the way inside of her ass, he could feel Taylor tense up, both of her hands clutching to Lauren's face, moaning into the other woman's mouth in a loud, muffled shriek, as her body clenched up, and suddenly Andy could feel liquid splashing back off Lauren's thighs up against his balls, as Taylor began to squirt all over the Aussie. He was tempted to ease off a bit, but Lauren had made it quite clear that the one thing he absolutely positively wasn't to do was to go easy on her, so he pushed forward until he was as deep as he could get, then pulled back only to punch forward again with a rough slam. Lauren broke from the kiss this time so that Andy could get an earful of Taylor's whorish moans, her body covered in goosebumps. "I think I'm fucking blind!" Taylor whimpered. "I've never cum so fucking hard in my fucking life oh my fucking god what the fuuuuuuck!" The Australain slapped Taylor across the face again, certainly less hard than before. "What do you say, you useless fuckhole?" "Oh god," Taylor said, as Andy drew back. "Thank you, Master! Fuck me! Fuck your needy bitch in her tight young ass until it's fucking carved in the shape of your cock! You're so fucking thick, it hurts, but your bitch loves how it hurts, so fucking rail her! Plow this bitch, your bitch, until she's cumming her brains out her fucking ears!" Lauren kissed her again, as Andy started to really rail her, shoving his cock hilt deep each and every time, making his balls slap against Lauren's sloppy twat that was still dripping girljizz onto his nuts. But Andy decided if they wanted him to get rough, he would oblige them. His hand grabbed onto Taylor's ponytail and yanked her head back hard, making her spine curve back, a strangled howl of pleasure shredding the air. He couldn't see it, but he was certain each time he drilled into Taylor, her tits were making Lauren's jiggle with them. "What are you?" he shouted at Taylor. "Ohgod," she whimpered, "I'm yours, Master. Your bitch, your whore, your slut, your worthless fuckhole to dump cum into and leave a sodden mess on the fucking floor if you want. I'm whatever you fucking tell me I am, because that's what I fucking what to be, sir." Her words were mostly squealed in between brutally hard shoves of his cock into her asshole, which continued to spasm and clench around his shaft. "Please, Daddy, let me be worthy of your cum. Your bad little bitch needs it, more than she's needed anything in her wasted life. Let her ass receive you. Oh god, your bitch wants your cum so bad it's fucking eating her away from inside! Please, Master, please, give your bitch your cum. Claim what's yours. You own this ass, this cunt, this mouth, these tits,” "I require more," Andy said, as he picked up the pace. He wasn't sure how many times Taylor had cum, but he was fairly certain it had been at least three or four. "Name it, Master, and it's yours." "I want to own that mind and that heart. Prove they belong to me. Confess." "Fuck," Taylor whined, her mascara having smeared all across her face, turning her a hideous mess, before she kissed Lauren once more, hard and fierce, before pulling her face back, looking down into the Aussie's eyes. "I love you, Lauren." Lauren's eyes instantly welled up and she kissed Taylor again before pushing her back, a look of satisfaction on her face, as she kept Taylor looking at her, saying only a single word. "And?" "And,” Taylor said, trying to trail off, a wild spike of nervousness running through her veins, before she muscled up the courage to speak again. "And I love you, Andy. Mind, body and soul, you own it all. I fucking love you, you bastard. Now please, let me, for the love of fucking god, have my fucking cum!" On that last word, one which Taylor was nearly shouting, Andy slotted his cock in nice and deep and finally let loose, a monster of an orgasm blasting a hot sticky load of spunk into her ass, and it was as though Taylor had just touched the face of God, a rapturous moan erupting from her until she forcibly locked lips with Lauren, the sound not stopping, only muffling some, as Taylor's sweat stained body quivered like it was having its own personal earthquake before slumping, almost deathly still, atop Lauren's form, the Aussie wrapping her arms around Taylor, stroking her hair, as the pint sized creature began to burble the word "imprinting" over and over again. Andy's cock had softened and slipped from her ass, as he pulled away from them, pushing them up onto the bed, grabbing a sheet, slowly pulling it up and over the two of them. "I don't have to stay here, Andy," Lauren started to say, before he waggled a finger at her. "You're exactly where you need to be right now, Lauren. Keep our newest family member safe, while the process runs its course." Lauren smiled at him, as if she was seeing him in a new light for the first time. "Yes Master." Chapter 18 The next morning, Andy woke up before anyone else. Taylor had been allowed to remain on the bed, in Lauren's arms, all night, and the two were still intertwined when Andy awoke. He suspected Niko would be up shortly, Lauren not long after that, although she might sleep a bit longer what with Taylor pressed up against her. Aisling wouldn't be up for hours. Andy had gotten decent at extracting himself from the bed, but this morning, it didn't take almost any effort at all. He grabbed some sweatpants and a t shirt, pulled them on and then moved out of the bedroom and onto the balcony, looking out onto his driveway, just as the morning sprinklers turned on, down below him. He sighed, leaning against the railing, shaking his head. "You're still worried," Niko said as she moved out onto the balcony with him. "Worrying's not going to change anything." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Anything I can do to lighten the load?" "Nah," Andy said. "By this time tomorrow, it'll all be done one way or another. So I'm trying not to think about it." They stood together quietly for a moment, before she laughed. "Not working, is it?" "Nah," he said, joining in the laugh with her. "But I'll make it work." Niko decided to take a couple of personal days, and called in to the base, telling them she needed a few days to deal with some private matters. She didn't know when the dropoff was going to be arriving, but she figured that Andy might need some help, and wanted to be around to help him through any chaos. A few hours later, Taylor awoke and was truly in agony, her ass hurting like she'd ripped it open, so Lauren also decided to take the day off and tend to her. She wasn't actually wounded in any serious way, but as predicted, the high sensitivity of her nerves post imprinting process had all the sensations cranked up to a hundred. Andy could even see a little hint of regret in Lauren's expression before she steeled herself back up, to not let Taylor see even a moment of weakness. Aisling offered to help Lauren, but Lauren insisted that Aisling just go about her normal day, so the redhead had gone down into one of the living rooms to work for the day, although she told Andy that she'd come help once the women arrived. All the girls seemed to think Andy was walking on pins and needles, but at this point, Andy was less worried about the women arriving and more worried about the upcoming card game. He spent most of the morning watching poker videos with the hole cards covered, practicing trying to read people's expressions. He hoped it would keep his mind off things, and it mostly worked. It was just after two o'clock in the afternoon when the military truck rolled up his driveway. "Here they come," he said, watching from the balcony as they started to help the two women from the back of the truck. "Oh fuck. Shit. Shit shit shit shitshitshit!" "What's the problem?" Niko asked him. She'd come to join him on the balcony when the truck had been buzzed in at the gate. The first woman to get out of the back was the blonde Nico had described to him earlier, Sheridan, a lithe woman dressed in yoga pants and a sports bra. She stretched as she got out, folding one of her arms behind her blonde mane of hair, bending like he'd never seen before. She looked to be in her mid thirties, and certainly she was a very attractive woman. But she wasn't the problem. No, it was the woman who got out right after her that had sent him into a tizzy. "Shit, I thought you said the other one's name was Teri." "It is," Niko said. "At least that's what she told everyone. Why?" "Back when I dated her, she was going by Erin," he sighed. Sure enough, the second woman looked much like she had when Andy had dated her nearly a decade ago, with a handful of notable changes. She looked older, certainly, but she'd also dyed her hair a dark chestnut brown, hiding those golden locks of hers. She also had a large tattoo on her right shoulder, which he could see through the sleeveless dress she was wearing. It was a stylized bird of paradise, and it appeared that the wings curved back under the dress along her skin. She was a little curvy, but a bit less curvy than she'd been when they'd been together. "You dated her?" Niko blanched visibly. "I'm sorry, Andy, if I'd have known,” "No, I know you didn't know, Niko. But let's just say I won't feel bad at all about passing her on to one of the other men." They walked into the bedroom and headed out into the hallway, starting to head downstairs. "I hadn't been out here long when Erin and I started dating, and we were together for a little over two years, while I was just getting started out here, working in corporate communications for eBay while I was writing the first few Druid Gunslinger novels. She hated them so much, constantly told me I was wasting my time, and that I should just focus on climbing the corporate ladder at eBay." "You're fucking kidding." "I wish," Andy said, as they walked down the stairwell. "After that she started telling me she didn't like the way my friends treated her, which is to say they wouldn't do everything she said without question. I finally got to the point where I was so sick of her bitching at me about how I wasn't living up to her expectations that I broke up with her a week before Valentine's Day. Packed up all her shit for her and threw her out of the apartment." "That's uncharacteristically cold of you, Andy." "Oh yeah?" he said, stopping walking. "She had it coming. The place was entirely in my name, and I'd spent the better part of half a year trying to convince her to put her name down as a co renter on the lease, and she wouldn't do it. I moved out of that apartment at the end of next month and didn't leave a forwarding address, just so the bitch couldn't find me, because she kept harassing me. I didn't just move apartments,  I moved cities. Hell, I moved whole regions of the goddamn Bay. Back when I was dating her, I was living up in El Cerrito, so I moved fifty miles south and hoped I was fucking done with her." "What do you mean by harassing?" The doorbell rang, and it made Andy wince. "She showed up drunk at least a dozen times. Broke into my car a few times. Broke into the old apartment once. Tried threatening my friends to find out from them where I moved to. After that failed, she tried tailing me home from work for a while, until after about a year or so, she finally left me alone." "What a hot mess." "That's an understatement," he said as they headed down the stairs. "Yeah, let me tell you, Erin Teresa Donegal and I are over and done with, and there is no way in hell I am letting that deranged terror into this family." "Ah Andy, love! There you are!" Erin said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "I see you've moved up in the world since the last time we talked. I'm so excited to be joining this little family you've been given." "Don't unpack, Erin," Andy said. "You aren't staying." "The hell I'm not!" she said, her voice level raising to an uncomfortable volume. "I was given the option of what man I wanted as a partner, and I chose you, so it's a done deal. No more running away from your problems anymore." "I don't have to accept anyone sent to me, Erin, and I'm certainly not going to bring someone into my family who hates my friends and trashed my car." "Oh my god, are you still upset about that? It happened in the past. When are you going to let it go?" "Considering you never paid me back for the car window or the car stereo you destroyed, I wouldn't hold your breath any time soon." "Uh, are you sending me back too?" Sheridan asked, a confused look on her face, as if she realized she was caught in the midst of a deep historical squabble. "We haven't even met." At this point, Andy remembered what he'd been told to do in the instructions from Covington, and went into the rehearsed speech. "Look, there's a meeting in a few hours, and I can go and see what's going on. Maybe there was some kind of mixup about who was sent to who, so you can stay here for the night, but please don't unpack, at least until tomorrow when we get all this figured out. I should be back before midnight with some kind of clarity over all of this." While he was talking to the two women, Aisling had been using his cellphone to photograph the two for the sake of the poker game. Covington had made it clear that all the players needed to know what the "prizes" were, and so each woman was to be photographed in advance. "There's no mistake, Andrew," Erin said. "I'm exactly where I want to be." "Erin, I'm not the same guy you dated a decade ago," he said, as Aisling handed him his phone back. "You would not be happy here, and I certainly don't think the rest of my family would take to you very kindly." "No kidding," Aisling said as she scowled at the woman, shaking her head. "How could you not like his writing?" Erin sniffed in contempt at the Irish redhead. "They're juvenile, childlike stories, and nobody's ever going to want to read them." "Funny how I've sold half a million books across the series, Erin." "Children have disposable income, Andrew, and while I'm sure your little stories are fleeting distractions for them, nobody remembers them after they're done with them. They don't affect anyone. They're not literature. They don't mean anything." "Jesus," Niko growled, "I'm glad he's not letting you in, otherwise I'd probably have to beat your ass until you were begging me to stop." "I would like to see you try, young lady," Erin sneered back. She was about a decade older than Niko, but Andy would've bet on his partner over his ex."I've been taking self defense classes since I was a child." Aisling smirked and shrugged. "Niko's in the Air Force. My money's on her." Erin shook her head. "I have so much work to do here, Andrew, in teaching these girls respect and  " "Shut up! For fuck's sake, will you shut up and listen for one minute in your goddamn life, you vacuous socialite? This is my house! These are my partners, and they belong here, which is more than I can say for you!" "Andrew! How dare you  " "Stop talking! Oh my god, do you ever shut up, or are you so enthralled with the sound of your own voice that the words have lost all fucking meaning? You never wanted me, you wanted what you thought you could make me into, but whatever docile, kowtowing toady that is, that's not me, and it's never going to be me! I'm done getting pushed around by you. So don't get fucking comfortable!" At that, Andy stormed off, leaving Aisling and Niko to apologize to Sheridan and/or deal with Erin. Andy headed downstairs and into his office, closing the door behind him, moving to settle down at his desk, as his two cats, both of whom had been in his office, moved to claim his lap, demonstrating their affection, trying to soothe the temper of their angered master. As it usually did, the cats cleared his head and cooled him off. He wanted to not think about it, so for the next few hours, he just focused on his writing, getting a few chapters into the next Druid Gunslinger novel, that he was currently calling "The Dryad Always Sings Twice," although he wasn't in love with the title. Some time later, there was a knock at his door, and he sighed. "It's unlocked," he said, hoping it wouldn't be Erin. Niko moved to enter the room, closing the door behind her as she moved in. "You weren't kidding about that girl being a piece of work," she said. "How'd you two even hook up in the first place?" "I mean, she's attractive, and she took an interest in me at a time when I didn't have a whole lot of self confidence. And she wasn't entirely like this back then. The longer we were together, the more her intense desire to have complete and total control in our relationship came out." "Yeah, but pretty girls make graves," Niko said to him, moving to wrap her arms around him from behind. "None of you three have killed me yet. Maybe I've just gotten lucky." "Or maybe you've gotten more refined in your taste since your mishap." She kissed him tenderly. "Anyway, I thought I'd let you stew a bit, but it's getting time for you to head over to Covington's for the poker game. Are you ready?" He chuckled a little. "Not really, but there's no time like the present." He saved his file and shut down his computer. "Is she still being a pain in the ass?" "Nah, Ash basically quarantined them in the pool house out back after Erin demanded to see where the master bedroom was, so she could get unpacked." "Like you said, quite a piece of work." He helped the cats off of his lap and moved to stand up before giving Niko another kiss. "Thanks for keeping her away from me. You can imagine the hard memories seeing her brought up." "No kidding. I mean, the fucking gumption on that bitch." She pet Muninn for a second before Andy opened the door, and she moved to walk with him. "Anyway, I'm coming with you." "Are your sure you want to? There's a chance I won't come back with your friend." She nodded, as they headed down the hall, heading towards the garage. "If you don't, I want to be with you so you know that I'm not mad at you." Niko pushed one of the buttons and the garage door in front of the Tesla roadster. "Hop in, I'll drive." The drive over to Covington's mansion was only about ten minutes, and at least a couple of those minutes were spent waiting at the gate for Covington's security team to let them in. There was a full checkpoint, with a couple of women in military fatigues, each of whom had a M16 at the ready. Covington's mansion was far more decadent than Andy's, and as they drove up the driveway, Andy suspected that Covington might even be the founder of the enclave that preceded New Eden, when it was just a bunch of rich fat cats living in a gated community of their own devising. The house itself was some weird hybrid of European colonial tradition and hyper post modern industrialism, with a statue of Covington himself in the center of the circular driveway in front of the home. The statue portrayed him as a pioneer, with a child on one shoulder, and a dozen women laying around him, each reaching up to him like he was their savior. "Oh. My. God." Niko muttered. "This is extra extra." "Even if I have to cheat," Andy mumbled, "I am going to run this asshole into the ground." Niko immediately turned and shook her head at him. "Don't cheat. Don't. He's caught cheaters before, and they get thrown out and lose everything." "Relax," Andy said, "I don't even know how I could cheat here, even if I wanted to, which I don't. We'll play a nice, fair game of poker. Any tips from your friend?" "The only thing she could tell me is that he has a hard time getting untilted if things start going against him." Andy nodded. "That's good to know. Let's go meet the competition." The two exited the car and headed up the stairs, where a blonde in a French maid's outfit opened the door for them. It was similar to the outfit Nicolette chose to wear, except here the blonde's tits were completely exposed, and the skirt was significantly shorter. Andy was certain the girl wasn't allowed to wear panties either. "You are here for the game?" the woman asked him, her voice accented in heavy French tones. "I am. Andrew Rook." The woman nodded. "Staff and colleagues need to remain away from the card room, so I will escort your woman to join the rest of the chauffeurs." She snapped her finger and another woman, this one in a butler's outfit, except that she wore no shirt beneath the black overcoat, which left most of her tits exposed. "Amber will take you to meet up with the other players." Andy could feel Niko tense up next to him, and took her hand in his. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?" Niko sighed, exhaling the breath, then nodded. "I'm just sad I won't get a chance to see your face when you see all the other stakes in play tonight," a sly smile on her face. "That's a shame, but let me tell ya, I think you're gonna play your absolute best when you see what's up for grabs." She winked as she started to stroll away with the butler. "This way, sir?" the butler said to him and led him down a series of stairs. It felt a little like walking into a lair. The hallways were lined with expensive art, but there was no rhyme or reason to it, no sense of what was important or what had personal meaning. It all felt, well, dumped. Like someone was showing off what they'd acquired, but didn't really care for. In fact, the whole home felt like that. Like the owner didn't enjoy any of what he'd acquired if he wasn't rubbing it in everybody's faces. It made Andy hate him even more. Eventually, the butler brought him to a lounge room with a massive LCD wall filling one entire side of the lounge. But Andy didn't look at it for more than a second, because it was time to size up the competition. "Ah, Andrew!" Covington said. "There you are. I was starting to wonder when you were going to show up. I was afraid that you had chickened out." Andy scrunched his eyes. "You don't know me very well, Mr. Covington  " "Please, Andrew, call me Artie!" he laughed. "Arthur then," Andy started. "You don't know me very well, Arthur, but one thing you should learn early on about me is that I don't spook easily, and I certainly don't back away from a challenge if there's a reason to try and win." "Well, there's definitely prizes worth winning in tonight's pool. Here, Airdrop me the pictures of your stakes and we'll look over all the possible winnings together." Andy paused for a moment, then pulled up his phone, sending the images over to Covington's phone. A few seconds later, the images of Sheridan and Erin joined the others on the wall, like trophies on a wall. The very presentation of it all made him sick, but he needed to look at the faces, to establish some sort of foundation to the stakes in play. He immediately saw why Niko had been teasing him. The wall of faces was full of beautiful women, twelve in total, and both Doctor Charlotte Varma and her daughter Asha Varma were up there, although they didn't look at all how he'd imagined them. Charlotte looked European, and Asha's features were an interesting blend of European and Indian. Asha thankfully looked a little older than the 18 Andy knew she was. Both women were stunning. But they weren't the ones who caught his attention at the onset. There were two faces on the board that he recognized immediately. One of them was Emily Stevens, a British actress who'd co starred in a series of films as a teenager before becoming an L A celebrity in a bunch of well received indie

Esta semana arrancamos con el fenómeno de las salas españolas recién llegado de Cannes: 'Sirat', la nueva cinta de Oliver Laxe que muchos apuntan como la mejor película española del año. De ahí nos vamos a la cinta que representó a Argentina en los pasados Oscar, con mucha controversia y sentimientos encontrados 'El Jockey' ha cabalgado hasta nuestras pantallas. Pero antes de meternos en casa, a los cines también ha llegado 'Ballerina', el spin off de la saga John Wick con Ana de Armas de protagonista que pretende saciar nuestra sed de venganza y adrenalina. Turno para quedarnos en casa y empezamos en Disney+ donde Rocío ha decidido ver "dibujitos" en la nueva entrega de la saga Predator con el estreno de 'Predator: Asesino de asesinos'. Y desde Filmin rescatamos un estreno que en su día se nos escapó: 'Las chicas del balcón', una comedia negra con tintes de terror con dos de las artífices del éxito francés ‘Retrato de una mujer en llamas'. Pero antes de cerrar, regresamos a las salas para ir hasta ‘La casa al final de la curva', un intenso thriller donde salvar vidas se convertirá en la peligrosa obsesión de un hombre tras presenciar un accidente. Y todo ello, ya sabéis, siempre sin spoilers. Minutado 07:30 – Ballerina (Cines) 15:50 – Sirât (Cines) 37:36 – El Jockey (Cines) 52:37 – Predator: Asesino de asesinos (Disney+) 1:02:02 - Las chicas del balcón (Filmin) 1:12:51 - La casa al final de la curva (Cines)

Formé de cinq membres dont Anna Mouglalis et Lucie Antunes, le groupe punk Draga sort un premier album qui met à l'honneur la pensée féministe de la romancière et militante Monique Wittig. Le groupe Draga est formé d'Anna Mouglalis, Lucie Antunes, Théodora Delilez, P.R2B, et Narumi Herisson. Leur premier album, enregistré en 4 jours, s'appelle ô Guérillères, en référence directe au texte de Monique Wittig publié en 1969, qu'elles chantent. Un long récit choral dans lequel elle raconte le poids de la langue conçue, formaté par les hommes.  Draga vient du texte de Monique Wittig, il y a une ponctuation avec des listes de prénoms féminins. C'est le nom de toutes ces femmes qui entrent en guerre.  Guérillères c'est la contraction de "Guérilla" et de "guerrières" Monique Wittig revendique la nécessité d'inventer des mots, un nouveau langage.  Anna Mouglalis Monique Wittig (1935-2003) est une romancière, philosophe et militante franco-américaine féministe. Elle s'installe à Paris dans les années 50 pour étudier les lettres à la Sorbonne. Elle se fait connaître en 1964 avec la sortie de L'Opoponax, publié aux éditions de Minuit qui obtient le Prix Médicis, et qui fut honoré par Marguerite Duras. Dans ce roman qui raconte l'histoire d'une petite fille depuis la maternelle jusqu'à la fin de sa scolarité, elle emploie le pronom «on» à la place de «elle» ou de «je» pour déconstruire les normes de langages patriarcales. Ça nous semblait urgent de mettre les mots en avant. Ça a résonné immédiatement en nous. Nous sommes habitées par ce texte.  Lucie Antunes    En 1968, elle s'engage dans le mouvement de révolte étudiant, puis en 1970, puis elle co-fonde le MFL, Mouvement de Libération des Femmes, puis elle participe à la fondation du groupe féministe radical des Féministes Révolutionnaires qui deviendra Les Gouines Rouges. Elle finit par quitter la France pour s'installer aux États-Unis. Dans La pensée straight, elle critique, dans un recueil d'articles, le système hétérosexuel comme une norme qui structure la société. Elle y défend l'idée que le genre est une construction politique. Par ses écrits et recherches, elle a grandement influencé les études queer.  Invitées : Anna Mouglalis, actrice, chanteuse, membre du groupe Draga et Lucie Antunes, musicienne, percussionniste et multi-instrumentiste française et membre du groupe Draga.  Programmation musicale :​​​​​​ - Féminaire - She says - Guérillères - Sirène Tous ces titres sont sur l'album ô guérillères de Draga.  À voir à la Philharmonie le 4 juillet 2025. 

Formé de cinq membres dont Anna Mouglalis et Lucie Antunes, le groupe punk Draga sort un premier album qui met à l'honneur la pensée féministe de la romancière et militante Monique Wittig. Le groupe Draga est formé d'Anna Mouglalis, Lucie Antunes, Théodora Delilez, P.R2B, et Narumi Herisson. Leur premier album, enregistré en 4 jours, s'appelle ô Guérillères, en référence directe au texte de Monique Wittig publié en 1969, qu'elles chantent. Un long récit choral dans lequel elle raconte le poids de la langue conçue, formaté par les hommes.  Draga vient du texte de Monique Wittig, il y a une ponctuation avec des listes de prénoms féminins. C'est le nom de toutes ces femmes qui entrent en guerre.  Guérillères c'est la contraction de "Guérilla" et de "guerrières" Monique Wittig revendique la nécessité d'inventer des mots, un nouveau langage.  Anna Mouglalis Monique Wittig (1935-2003) est une romancière, philosophe et militante franco-américaine féministe. Elle s'installe à Paris dans les années 50 pour étudier les lettres à la Sorbonne. Elle se fait connaître en 1964 avec la sortie de L'Opoponax, publié aux éditions de Minuit qui obtient le Prix Médicis, et qui fut honoré par Marguerite Duras. Dans ce roman qui raconte l'histoire d'une petite fille depuis la maternelle jusqu'à la fin de sa scolarité, elle emploie le pronom «on» à la place de «elle» ou de «je» pour déconstruire les normes de langages patriarcales. Ça nous semblait urgent de mettre les mots en avant. Ça a résonné immédiatement en nous. Nous sommes habitées par ce texte.  Lucie Antunes    En 1968, elle s'engage dans le mouvement de révolte étudiant, puis en 1970, puis elle co-fonde le MFL, Mouvement de Libération des Femmes, puis elle participe à la fondation du groupe féministe radical des Féministes Révolutionnaires qui deviendra Les Gouines Rouges. Elle finit par quitter la France pour s'installer aux États-Unis. Dans La pensée straight, elle critique, dans un recueil d'articles, le système hétérosexuel comme une norme qui structure la société. Elle y défend l'idée que le genre est une construction politique. Par ses écrits et recherches, elle a grandement influencé les études queer.  Invitées : Anna Mouglalis, actrice, chanteuse, membre du groupe Draga et Lucie Antunes, musicienne, percussionniste et multi-instrumentiste française et membre du groupe Draga.  Programmation musicale :​​​​​​ - Féminaire - She says - Guérillères - Sirène Tous ces titres sont sur l'album ô guérillères de Draga.  À voir à la Philharmonie le 4 juillet 2025. 

Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 5 More Chaos. Based on a post by CorruptingPower, in 25 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Chapter 14 It was a short drive into the community's center, a sort of tiny mini township surrounded by elaborate estates. Niko had insisted on driving, and it let Andy text both Phil and Eric that he was going to see the place, if they wanted to join him. Eric shot back that he'd be there within the hour, and Phil answered that his and his family were already there, having lunch at the diner. C'mon and join us said the text, just as Niko was pulling the Tesla into a parking spot in front of the 1950s themed diner. "I can't say I'm thrilled with the theme," Niko grumbled as she turned the car off. "But I guess I'll manage." "If they try and make you use a different drinking fountain, Niko, we'll raise hell," Andy said. "Damn straight," added Aisling. "Now let's go say hi to Phil and see how many women he has in tow." "More than he can handle, I'm sure," Andy chuckled. "He was barely okay with just Audrey." As soon as they got into the diner, it was relatively easy to spot Phil. Unlike diners of yore, where booths had typically held four at best, the interior of this particular 50s styled diner was lined with booths designed to fit as many as ten people each, with a few booths looking as though they could hold in upwards of 20. The booth Phil was in wasn't full, but he certainly had more people with him than the last time Andy had seen him. Sure, Audrey was there, snuggled right up against his side, but there were also two other women that Andy didn't recognize, a fit blonde woman with tightly cropped hair in camo and a curvy young black woman with her hair tightly braided. "Hey Phil," Andy said to him as he approached. "Audrey. You already know both Lauren and Aisling, but this is Niko. I know Niko's met Phil before, but I don't believe we've met your other two companions." "I've met one of them," Niko said, as she slid into the booth, offering half a salute to the blonde. "Captain." The blonde nodded in return. "Lieutenant. Hi Andy, I'm Linda, and this is Tamika," she said. "2nd Lieutenant Red Wolf and I are stationed together, although I suppose we're both stationed here now." Tamika seemed mostly interested in her cellphone, not even looking up to say hello. "Yeah, if you don't mind me asking, Captain, what are we going to do?" Niko said, scooting until she was right next to the captain. "They're moving all our work within the walls, so I guess we'll have a tiny base on site before month's end." "Roger that." "How you holding up, Phil?" Andy said, sliding in next to Niko, Aisling sliding in after him, Lauren moving in last. "I know you weren't originally planning on having multiple partners." "Well, the world's not up to what I want any more, Andy," he sighed. "But I'm making it work, even if I am a bit more tired than I used to be." "We had to set up a shift schedule of who gets intimacy time with Phil," Audrey said, giggling a little bit about it while poking Phil. "I'm surprised you haven't had to set something up like that." "Andy's learned that we keep his best interests in mind," Aisling laughed. "And we know about what his limits are, and rarely try and push him past them." "How's the new place?" Phil asked Andy, as Linda and Niko started having a quiet conversation with one another. "Bet it blew your mind when they drove you up there." "I still don't think I really need a mansion, Phil." "You say that now, but believe me, in about two week's time, you'll be thankful for all the room. There's going to be an influx of new partners quickly, as we're struggling to get as many people vaccinated as we can as quickly as we can, which means there isn't as much time as we'd like to let everyone get acclimated." "Mmm," Lauren sniffed. "The newest member of our family showed up just before we got here." "You sound unhappy, Lauren," Audrey said. "Well, she's my ex girlfriend who cheated on me, but we'll work it out, I guess." "Ouch. That sort of thing's not supposed to happen, but I suppose sometimes it slips through the cracks," Phil grumbled. "Everything's gotten so much harder to manage now that we're moving at warp speed. The death rate spiked on the east coast, and everybody freaked, so people who were hoping to get a later version of the vaccine without the, ah, side effects, are now practically storming the facilities, demanding to get injected with it, no matter what it does to them, as long as it protects them from the virus." "Yeah, I saw reports saying that a European company thinks they're close, but nobody's ready yet," Aisling said. "Are we shipping this vaccine anywhere else?" "Hell, Ash," Phil sighed, "we've barely got enough for the west coast right now. They're struggling to get more manufactured for the rest of the US, but we aren't in any state to be able to provide it to other countries right now." "I only ask for my brother back in Dublin. He desperately wants to leave the house, but I keep telling him, stay inside and stay safe." "That's all most people can do right now," Phil nodded. He glanced to the door and smiled. "Hey, look who's here! Slide into the bench, Eric." Eric had been standing in the doorway, with the familiar faces of both Lily and Jenny next to him, as well as a short, mousy Midwestern looking woman dressed in a giant t shirt, with denim shorts poking out from underneath them. "Hey everybody!" The new woman's name was Sarah, and she was Eric's new partner, only having arrived yesterday, so her head was still a little cloudy. When the waitress arrived to take their orders, the three households had been sure to divvy up the checks upfront. For the next couple of hours, everyone was trying to settle into their new normal. Andy, Phil and Eric got to talk in person, while all the women slowly started to figure out who out of each household they liked and wanted to avoid. It was a float of conversations, so many different discussions going at one point, that when Phil said he was going to step outside for a few minutes to vape up, Andy and Eric happily agreed to go with him, just so they could here each other clearly. "You holding up okay, Eric?" Andy asked. "You look a little overwhelmed." "Let's just say I'm a bit in social overload. That and trying to get settled in the new place is doing my head in." Eric leaned his back against the outside of the diner, stretching his arms over his head. "And I'm sore from all the fucking. And I miss the cats." "Why don't you guys come over next Saturday then, and we'll all hang out. Have ourselves a party like we used to. Any of the other members of the old gang getting moved into the complex?" Phil nodded. "Ari and his five women will be moved on site before the end of the week. He had plenty of space before, but when they offered him a free trade up, he didn't say no. Oh, and I don't know if you knew Jenna or not, but she's part of a family now, and they're being moved here next week, so a couple more people and the whole board game group will be back together again. We can play Ascension again, or poker, or both!" Eric nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that." "Cool. We'll consider it a party, then. Oh, hell. We can even make it a costume party for Halloween. I don't imagine we'll get much in the way of trick or treaters here." Phil waggled a finger at him. "You'll get trick or treaters, I'd bet on it. There's nearly a hundred children here in the village, so they'll make a point of hitting every house they possibly can." "All the better then." "So are you really doing okay with Lauren's ex being added to your household?" Phil asked. "I figured you might not have been able to speak your mind in front of her, so I thought I'd ask now that she can't hear." "It came as a bit of a shock, but we're making it work, I guess, or, rather, Lauren is," Andy said with a shrug. "I told Lauren that whatever she came up with, I'd go along with, whether that be sending her back to the Air Force or inviting her into the family. She, that is, Taylor, Lauren's ex, is being punished for what she did to Lauren before, but she'll eventually be allowed into the family, as per Lauren's decision." "Do I even want to ask how Lauren's punishing her?" Eric said with a laugh. Andy joined in the laugh. "You do not." He stopped, scrunched up his face, then smirked. "Well, you might, but let's just say don't fuck with the ladies of the Rook household. Payback is a,” "Hey!" Niko said, having just stuck her head out the door. "Get your asses back in here. They're bringing us desserts!" After a truly decadent sundae, everyone said their goodbyes, many of them excited about the prospect of a Halloween party, although a few of the girls complained that two days wasn't enough time to put together a proper costume. Everyone agreed they'd make it work, though. Phil and his family were heading home, while Eric and his family needed to go grocery shopping. Andy and the girls decided to walk around a little bit before heading home. In addition to the diner, there was a Safeway, a Target, a few restaurants (a Greek restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, and an Ike's Sandwiches), and, to Andy's personal delight, a bookstore, which they had to immediately stop in. It wasn't some chain book store, but clearly a local mom'n'pop establishment, and bore the mark of a highest quality bookstore, there was a cat living in the store. They decided to browse the bookstore for a little bit, and just before they were about to leave, the store clerk snuck up on him and asked for an autograph, which Andy gladly granted. The owner also asked if Andy would be kind enough to do a signing when the newest Druid Gunslinger book finally came out, and Andy was happy to acquiesce. They headed back to the house after that, with plans to come back tomorrow to get groceries. Andy felt exhilarated, being able to walk anywhere without a mask, being able to shake hands and hug friends. Barring the sea of gorgeous women around them, it had been nice to have a touch of normalcy. "Are you fully recovered from your time with the staff this morning, Andy?" Lauren asked him as they all walked from the garage into the house proper. "Yeah, I think I'm good to go. Why? You jonesing for a fix?" he said with a laugh. "We all are. And I want to show to Taylor what she's missing." She leaned down to kiss his cheek. "That okay?" "Sure, let me go check on Katie and Jenny and then I'll meet you ladies in the bedroom, okay?" "Don't take too long," Niko grinned. "We're, voracious today." "I won't, I won't," he laughed, waving his hand, hearing Lauren calling to Taylor like one would a pet as she walked towards the stairs. Andy moved to the pool house and poked his head in, finding Katie and Jenny still entwined together, asleep beneath the blanket he'd left them under several hours ago. He knew the imprinting process took several hours, but he'd never been sure exactly how long it took. He suspected the two might wake up in the middle of the night and head back to their room, but they'd be fine in the pool house if they slept there overnight, which was all Andy wanted to be sure of. He headed back into the house and walked upstairs. The door to the bedroom was closed, but a post it note on the door said "Cum in." He appreciated the pun, and opened the door. Inside, Taylor was on her knees at the foot of the bed, with Lauren's hand on the top of Taylor's head, Aisling and Niko sitting on either side of her. "Now, bitch, you're going to watch what a real man is like. Andy, come over here, would you?" All of the women had already stripped naked, so as Andy walked over, he kicked off his shoes, tugged off his socks and pulled his shirt up and over his head. When Andy neared the edge of the bed, Lauren raised a hand. "Stay there." She slid off the bed and moved to kneel in front of him, reaching her hands up to smooth them along his stomach before she reached over and pulled Taylor's hair to drag her close. "Here, I want you to get a front row seat to all of this, whore, but don't you dare stick out your tongue to sneak a taste, otherwise I'm doubling your time like this, you understand?" Taylor quietly nodded, as Lauren tugged Andy's jeans and boxers down, letting his cock slap her in the face with a girlish giggle. "That never gets old," Lauren said as Taylor let out a quiet little whimper. Lauren wrapped her mouth around the head of Andy's cock and then pushed her face all the way down until he could feel the tip of his cock sliding into her throat, Lauren trying hard to stifle the gag reaction before drawing back, taking a deep gasp of air. "You can smell my man's cock, can't you whore?" Taylor meekly nodded once more. "Don't even think about touching yourself. You're going to sit there and watch this. I want you to fucking drool, you want it so bad." Lauren started to push her face back down onto Andy's cock, and he was expecting a long, slow blowjob, but Lauren clearly had other ideas. She forced her face down until his balls were resting against her chin, then drew back suddenly before pushing her face down once again. It was fast and determined, and Andy almost jumped when he felt a hand cradling his nuts before realizing that Aisling had moved to one side of him, her fingertips holding onto his ballsack. "She was so apprehensive the first time, but look at her now," Ash whispered into his ear. Another hand reached to smooth along his hip, as Niko moved up along the other side of him, nibbling on his earlobe, her tongue lashing against his earlobe. "You're so going to be dead by the time we're done with you tonight, baby," Niko purred, curling her fingers to rake her fingernails against his hip. "You don't have to hold back, babes," Aisling giggled into his ear. "It's not gonna make us go any easier on you." Lauren's deep blue eyes peered up at him, and he glanced over at Taylor, whose eyes were fixated on Lauren's mouth thrusting up and down on his cock. It was an intoxicating sight, and Lauren's lips were clenched so tightly on his cock that he wasn't going to last long. Her cheeks caved in as she sucked hard on him, and before he knew it, his body was tensing up as he spewed a hot load of cum into Lauren's mouth. He was leaning back into the bodies of Aisling and Niko, who were keeping him from falling back, as Lauren finally drew her head back, her mouth full of his spunk, as she turned to show it to Taylor, who whined and whimpered, before Lauren closed her mouth and swallowed it all, licking her lips to make sure none of that treasure remained. He was a little surprised, because typically the girls liked to share a load, to ease all of their needs at least a little, but it seemed like the girls had other plans for today. "C'mon, you need to lay down now, Andy," Aisling said. "We're driving today." Andy let Aisling and Niko guide him over to the bed before he laid down on his back in the middle of the massive bed. Lauren had climbed off her knees, moving to help Taylor get up onto the bed, but immediately making sure she was on her knees off to the side of him, a good two or three feet of distance between them. Lauren then reached and grabbed one of the pillows, pulling it over, sliding it under Andy's head, as Aisling crawled on her hands and knees until she was looming over him. She moved to straddle his waist with a smirk, as she rubbed that fire furred snatch against his cock, sliding back and forth across it. "You're a good man, Andy Rook," Aisling said to him, "tolerating all the shit we're going to put this bitch through to make sure she's learned not to fuck with us." Niko slid along the far side of Andy and moved up along her knees until she was near enough to Aisling to grab the redhead's mane of hair, pulling her lips to press against her own, giving the other girl a ferocious kiss, tongues tangling with one another for a long moment, before breaking, giggling once more. "I can't tell who's more turned on by that, Andy, you or Lauren's fuckpet." Andy was about to answer, but Aisling had lined up his cock and thrust her hips down with a quick snap, stuffing his cock deep inside of her cunt, a sultry groan escaping his throat. "That's my fucking cock," Aisling moaned. "That's what I fucking wanted." Niko grinned, sliding one hand down to rub her thumb against Aisling's clit while the redhead bucked on his cock. "That's it. Show the fuckpet what a good slut looks like." She moved to kiss Aisling again, and this time the kiss was even more sloppy and sticky, tongues exposed as Ash bounced on his cock, thrusting down hard before drawing back up. Niko and Aisling continued making out while Andy, Lauren and Taylor all watched, but after a minute or so, Aisling reached down and grabbed Niko's hips, pulling her over until she was straddling Andy's face, and he knew what was being suggested, so he let his tongue stick out and began to lap at Niko's cunt, her hips grinding down onto his face, almost suffocating him, she was shoving against him so eagerly. "Fuck, Andy, lick my cunt while your first slut's bouncing on your cock, trying to milk your load out of you," Niko whimpered before kissing Aisling again. Aisling's pace was itchy, impatient. Other than the small amount of his spunk that she'd licked out of Nicolette's cunt yesterday, it had been almost five days since she'd gotten her fix. She'd decided to let off on her promise to milk a load from him every day when it turned out she was going to need to share with so many women, but now, Aisling knew it was her turn at bat, and as much as she was enjoying herself, she also wanted her fix, moaning whorishly into Niko's mouth. Lauren smirked a little bit, leaning in a bit closer. "I wouldn't keep your slut of a girlfriend waiting, Andy, otherwise she's likely to break this fucking bed. Look at her go, Taylor. She's already cum once, but I think she's about to do it again. Go on, daddy, give your good little whore her dose of spunk and blow her fucking mind when you blow in her fucking cunt. Do it, Andy! Cum in her!" He couldn't resist as he latched his lips on Niko's clit and buzzed them hard, his hands holding onto her hips as his back arched, pushing his cock towards Aisling's twat as much as he could, that orgasm blasting from him, firing shotgun sprays of hot cum into Aisling's cunt, setting off a third orgasm inside of the freckled Irish girl. When he finally started to come down from his orgasm, he slid his head down a little to see that Niko and Aisling were basically holding each other up in an upside V above him, a dry little chuckle rolling from his lips as Niko slowly moved to lower Aisling to one side, her body still going through aftershocks, trembling a bit in the afterglow of her orgasms. Andy's cock started to soften a little bit, even as Niko moved off of his face. "Oh no," Niko said to him. "You're not done yet." Andy sighed softly, letting out a heavy breath. "The mind is willing, Niko, but I don't know if the flesh is up to it." "Oh it will be," Niko said, a sly grin spreading on her lips. "Because today's the day." She crawled on her knees downward on the bed, reaching to stroke his cock. "This needs to get nice and hard for your little enlisted slut, Daddy. She has a need for it." "I'm telling you, Niko," Andy said. "I just don't know that I've got it in me to pump out a fourth load in a single day." "Sure you do," Niko purred. "Because today's the day I'm gonna take you in the ass." Andy's cock twitched, which made Niko smirk more broadly at him. "You haven't pressured, and I've been thinking about it every time Lauren or Ash does it. I kept wondering what kind of special day would be perfect to let you slide that thick cock of yours up my virginal asshole. Should it be an anniversary, or your birthday? But no, I wanna show off in front of the house pet. I wanna see her face when I take your fat cock up my untouched Asian asshole, wanna see that look of envy on her fucking face when I'm struggling to stretch and take you. Do I have to beg, Andy? Can you get hard so I can shove your cock in my perfect little asshole? So I can give you the last of my holes, so that you own every fucking inch of my body?" Andy's cock had already stiffened back to a full hard on, and Niko was slowly stroking it, a wild smile on her face. "Let me ride it, Daddy, so I can make sure I don't overwhelm myself, okay?" Andy nodded to her, as he saw Niko straddle his waist, but she was in reverse cowgirl, as she reached between her legs to grab his cock. "Fuck, I hope I'm fucking ready for this." "I came so hard my eyes rolled back into my head when I did it," Lauren said, moving to smooth a hand along one of Niko's thighs. "And you, Ash?" Niko said, lining the tip of his cock up against the pucker of her ass. "Oh, I squirted," Aisling giggled. "I'd never done that before, but it was so fucking intense. You're probably gonna cum just sliding it in." Niko's face frowned in amusement at Ash. "I somehow douo wow wow Oh Fuck!" she said, turning into a shout as the head of his cock popped inside of her tan asshole, Niko's whole body starting to spasm as Lauren and Aisling moved quickly to brace her and keep her steady so that she didn't overwhelm herself by dropping down onto his cock suddenly. He could feel Niko's entire body shivering atop of him for a good ten seconds or so before her voice pierced the air again. "Fuck., fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Niko finally panted out. "I think I just touched fucking God," she whimpered, her breathing shallow and ragged. "I don't, I don't, I don't know if,” Aisling smirked. "Silly slut. Never leave a job half done. Lauren?" she said, looking around Niko's body, as the tall blonde nodded, and both women started to push down on Niko's hips, forcing her to slowly take inch after inch of Andy's ruthlessly thick cock into her ass. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, that's such a fucking big cock in my ass, in my tight little virgin ass, oh fuck, oh fuck fuck fuck, I can't stop fucking cumming. Daddy, your little slut can't fucking stop fucking cumming from your big fucking cock up her tight young fucking ass oh fuck!" Just when she finally pushed down far enough for her asscheeks to rest against his hips, her body seized up and a clear jet of liquid squirted from her cunt into the air, splashing all over Taylor, who audibly moaned in excitement. "Please, daddy, please cum in my tight fucking ass., cum in your good little girl's virgin fucking ass, cream me up, baby, fill my virgin ass, I want your fucking cum, cum in my ass. Cum! In! My! Fucking! Ass! Please! Cum!" Andy's body finally yielded, and as soon as he started to cum in Niko's ass, he felt her muscles clamp down hard on him, the rest of her body shaking and vibrating before finally slumping back, Aisling and Lauren making sure to keep her from slamming the back of her head into Andy's face, helping to lay her down on the bed. "Fuck, we need a shower," Niko whimpered. "We all need a fucking shower right fucking now so fucking bad." "In five minutes," Andy grumbled, feeling Niko slide under one of her arms, Aisling under the other as Lauren moved to push a wide eyed Taylor off the bed and back to the floor, although Andy could see that her snatch was glistening something fierce. "But I'm not fucking anybody at all tomorrow. Got it?" Everybody laughed at that. Chapter 15 In the morning, Andy was woken up by the feeling of Niko getting out of bed. She tried to be as subtle and quiet as she could, but Andy still felt her slipping away. She smiled when she saw him with open eyes looking at her naked form as she pulled on her underwear. She brought a fingertip up to her lips, motioning for him to remain quiet, as she moved back over and kissed him on the lips, soft and tender, before she waved. "Go back to sleep," she mouthed at him as she pulled a set of fatigues from the closet. Today was going to be her first day on the base within the enclave, so she wasn't going to be late. Andy knew that and was glad to see she'd found a way to ensure she woke up in time, doubly glad that she'd done it without waking the whole household. Andy practically drifted back to sleep as soon as she started walking into the bathroom. A few hours later, he started to wake again as he felt Lauren starting to slide out of bed. Taylor was curled up on the floor at the foot of the bed, but Lauren had draped a blanket over her at some point in the night, so she wasn't cold. Andy found himself wondering if Lauren was already softening a little in terms of her anger towards her former partner, but certainly wasn't going to bring it up first. Aisling was stirring next to him, and he could hear Lauren turning on the shower in the bathroom. "Where is everybody?" Ash asked him, snuggling her face into his shoulder. "Lauren's in the shower, Niko headed off to the base early this morning and Taylor's asleep on the floor, so we have the bed to ourselves," he laughed. "Although we should probably get up anyway." "What about,” "You touch my cock, Ash, and it may very well fall the fuck off." She giggled a little bit mischievously. "I mean, I guess you did satisfy five women yesterday, so I suppose I can let you off the hook for today." "I mean, I'm not even sure if it's working any more. Here I am and no morning wood." "I feel like I'm letting you down, babes," she sighed. "I did tell you that you weren't going to go a day without giving me a load, and here I am, agreeing to let you have an entire day without it." Andy laughed, waving a hand in the air. "No no, I'm good, I promise. No sex today, so my cock can continue to function later." He started to stretch a little bit, seeing Lauren coming out of the bathroom, one towel around her torso, another tying up her hair. "The bathroom's steamed up, but I didn't leave it as a total mess for you two," Lauren said, as she smiled at them. "I gotta get toweled off and head to the training camp the '49ers set up in town, so I'll see you guys for dinner, okay?" Lauren looked over at Taylor, who hadn't woken up yet. "Don't let her off easy. This is a month of punishment, so I want her to feel it. My wrath isn't to be taken lightly, and if you got light on this daffy bitch, she's only going to make us regret it. No clothes, no plates, no utensils, no exceptions, got it?" "Yes ma'am," Andy said, waving in her direction, as she headed into the large walk in closet. "We should go and get showered, Ash." Aisling groaned before she made an over exaggerated noise and then pulled back, sliding to the edge of the bed, reaching over to tug on Andy's ankle, as he moved to follow her. Their time in the shower was relaxing and Andy saw Taylor wake up when Aisling turned on the hairdryer. As Andy tugged on the boxers, he decided he should probably talk a little bit to Taylor, especially since she wasn't going to start any conversations under orders from Lauren. "You must've really pissed Lauren off something fierce, Taylor," he said, as he grabbed a pair of jeans. "She is the most gentle kind soul I've ever met, but you brought out an anger from her I didn't even know she was capable of, and we've been living together for almost two months now. I know you cheated on her, and that's horrible enough to start with, but there's more going on here. So what happened?" Taylor frowned, shifting a little bit beneath the blanket. "I fucked up. Sir." Andy cocked his head to one side before pulling the t shirt down over his head. "That's not an answer. Not good enough. What. Happened." Taylor's bright blue eyes watered up a little, as if she was going to break out into tears. "Lauren and I had been fighting. We'd both been so busy that we hadn't really had time for each other in weeks. My ex boyfriend was in town. We went out drinking, I drank too much and I, I just needed cock." A single tear dropped from one of her eyes before she took a deep sniff in, trying to steel herself up. "It's not an excuse. It was a mistake, a horrible one. I should've talked to Lauren about my needs, told her that I found myself needing a man's touch, but, like I said, I fucked up." "You understand that if you join this family, the only cock you're going to be getting is mine, right?" "I do, sir." "And you're okay with that?" "I am, sir." "What's changed?" She frowned a little, looking at her hands before looking up at him as the blow dryer went off in the bathroom. "I've grown up a bit. It's been half a year, and I've had a lot of time to think about it. That whole time I've missed Lauren crazy mad. And I just really like both men and women, so with your family, sir, I'll get both. Lauren was the best thing that ever happened to me, and if you make her happy, and it sure seems like you do, I know you'll make me happy as well." "Did you like what you saw last night?" "Yes, sir. Very much sir." "And are you horny right now?" Aisling asked as she walked into the room, completely in the buff. "Yes ma'am. Very much so, ma'am." "You're not going to get it today," the redhead said as she tugged on a thong. "You know that, don't you?" "Yes ma'am." "Good girl." Aisling smirked wryly, looking over at Andy. "What do you think of her, love?" "It sounds like she's learning, so that's something." It was a little odd to be talking about Taylor as if she wasn't in the room, but Lauren had made it clear that they were supposed to keep Taylor from being comfortable the whole time, and Andy couldn't think of anything that made people more uncomfortable than being talked about in front of them. "Quite the cracking body on her too, I'd say. Pint sized in height, but Jaysis, I'd kill for tits like hers." She pulled on a sports bra, shifting as she got it adjusted. "The advantage of youth, I'd guess. I'm surprised you're even old enough to go drinking, Taylor. How old are you, slut?" "I'm twenty five, ma'am." Aisling laughed and grabbed her towel, throwing it at Taylor. "Oh fuuuuuuuuuck you!" Aisling was giggling, shaking her head. "I'm only two years older than you." "I'm, sorry, ma'am?" "Oh, hush," Aisling said, shaking her head with a sly smile. Andy walked over and tugged the sheet off Taylor, who didn't blanch at all, staying on her knees, folding her hands behind her back to proudly jut those firm, natural double D tits at him. The pink nipples that capped them were stiff like pencil erasers. Taylor kept her eyes lowered, even as Andy reached a hand down at cupped one of Taylor's tits in his hand, hearing her breath catch when he did. "Lauren didn't say I couldn't touch her, did she Ash?" Aisling shook her head. "She said nothing goes in her cunt for the month, and that she wasn't going to get fucked for about a week, but I think that was the extent of her rules for you in regards to touching her." "I'm not usually the kind of man drawn to overly big tits," Andy said, "but I have to admit, it just sort works on Taylor." "Thank you, sir," Taylor whispered, each word almost strained. Andy couldn't help himself, and pinched one of Taylor's nipples, hearing a high pitched squeak emanate from her before she held very still and then forced a breath out, shivering quite visibly as she did, her skin covered in goosebumps. "Holy shit," Aisling said. "Did you just cum from that?" "Yes ma'am," Taylor whimpered. "Sorry ma'am." "You couldn't control it, so I suppose just good on you." Andy's hand left her nipple and then he scrunched his face up before he crouched down. He pushed Taylor's thighs a bit wider apart and then slid his hand between them, his fingertips just below her cunt, and then waited. A second or so later, he felt her drip onto his hand. "Dripping wet." "Yes sir. Sorry sir." Andy smirked as he brought his hand up to his lips, licking the taste of her snatch from his skin. "I think the only thing you really have to be sorry about is that you're going to be making a mess on the floor for a while now." "May I ask a question, sir?" "You just did, but go ahead." He thought he saw a slight smile from Taylor at that, as if the point was made. "May your worthless bitch clean herself up with toilet paper?" "Go on then," he said, as Aisling tugged on some yoga pants and one of Andy's t shirts. She had plenty of her own clothing, but had to wearing his t shirts as often as she could. "We'll meet you downstairs for breakfast. Yours will be in a bowl." "Yes, ma'am." Taylor headed into the bathroom as Andy and Aisling headed downstairs. After a quick breakfast (even though it was closer to lunch than morning), the two hopped into the Tesla and headed into town to get groceries. Andy was a little surprised it was a Safeway, but suspected that whoever had built this community had decided to go for convenience over rustic. Andy found the whole experience surreal. The people he saw coming and going were a weird mix of high fashion and modern style, and there were a lot more women than men, although he wasn't all that surprised by that. With the number of women that each man was expected to be paired with, he knew their little village was going to have a sizable imbalance, and he saw that reflected in the people walking through the lanes. As expected, there were many hot young women, but he was also pleased to see several older good looking women in their fifties and sixties. A community comprised solely of young fit gorgeous women would've made it all even more awkward than it already was. They were mostly done getting their groceries when Aisling tapped Andy. "Hey, I know her! Lisa! It's Ash!" Walking towards them was an older man in a ridiculously expensive looking suit, and a woman in a tight tube top and hot pants quite younger than the man she was accompanying. The woman, a stunning brunette, offered a slight wave, but didn't say anything in response. The man, however, immediately addressed Andy. "Hello good sir! Arthur Robert Covington the Fourth. You must be new to our little colony." He offered a hand out to Andy, who almost didn't want to shake it, but did so reluctantly. Some things were almost just reflexive. "Andy Rook, and this is my first partner, Aisling." "Nice to meet you," Aisling said, reaching out to shake the man's hand, but he'd lowered his hand to his side, so her hand hung awkwardly in the air for a moment before she finally took the hint and lowered her own. "I didn't know you were here, Lisa. I haven't seen you in, what, five or six years? Andy, Lisa was in a bunch of classes with me in college." "Oh, Lisa doesn't talk out in public any more," the pompous git said to them. "It's for both of our benefit. I find it's much better if women are just seen and not heard, don't you agree, Andy?" Andy immediately wanted to beat the shit out the pompous prick. "Can't say that I do." Everything about the man screamed old money, and it was taking all of Andy's willpower not to just walk away from them right now. Clearly Ash had some familiarity with the woman, and he wanted to support Aisling any way he could. "I find it's best to treat everyone you meet like an actual person, rather than some sort of fashion accessory." "That is so modern of you, young man," Convington said. "And so en vogue. You don't have to pretend here, though, young man. In this community, though, we don't answer to anyone but each other. You certainly are quite a bit younger than the majority of people who have been brought here, and perhaps you are expecting that you need to blend in to the modern times." The older gentleman smiled at Andy with a condescension that made him want to punch the guy until he was lying on the floor. "But you are among friends now, and we the elite men of the world have always been best supported by our women with their support and their stoic silence." "I couldn't disagree more, old chap," Andy said, trying to make it clear by his tone that he was mocking the man's arrogant tones. "While I understand that it's not very traditional, at least in the western world, for a man to have multiple wives, but I'm never going to ask them to be silent in public. I value their opinions all the time, and I see them as equals, not lesser people." "Well," Covington sniffed. "I imagine you'll come around eventually, but even if you don't, we're all entitled to our own lifestyles. Good luck to you both." Then the man, who had to be at least sixty, walked off with his twenty something woman, who offered a tiny wave to Aisling before walking away. Once they were around the corner, Aisling punched him in the shoulder. "If you think I'm better seen and not heard, you are in for a world of trouble, fella." "You heard me say that I didn't agree with him, Ash. Sexist pig." "Still. Don't want you getting ideas." Andy sighed. "I sort of suspected we were going to find some people like that here, but I can't say I'm thrilled about it. And we can't try and rescue her, because they're already bonded." "Do you believe Phil when he said the bonds are permanent?" "Phil's usually right about these kinds of things, so I don't think he'd lie to us about it." "Then I suppose I'm just happy that I'm not bonded to a total git." Andy and Aisling decided to spend a little bit more time getting additional groceries after the experience, mostly to cool off. They'd gotten a list of things from Jenny, which covered most of what they would be having for meals. Jenny had even told them that she would be happy to do all the grocery shopping, but Andy had insisted they wanted to see the town a bit more anyway before they left, so Jenny had made it clear that this was going to be an exception, and prepared them a list that she was strict they pick up all of. Most of what they picked up at the end were some comfort foods to go along with everything off Jenny's list. Candy, soda, chips, the kinds of things he suspected Jenny wouldn't approve of too much, but he wasn't ready to let go of his sugar addiction quite yet. As they picked up food that clearly wasn't good for them, Andy kept his eyes on the other people he saw coming and the mismatch of young and old he'd seen with Aisling's friend and the stuffed shirt seemed to be the norm. The men could occasionally be found chatting with each other, but for the most part, the women remained silent, although he did spot a couple of women following the same man talking between themselves. Andy was a little used to feeling like an outsider. When he'd gone and done his first sci fi convention, some of the older writers had thrown a lot of shade his way about his books. Many of them felt like urban fantasy was something of a slum compared to either high fantasy or pure sci fi. In fact, more than a couple of people he used to called idols had called his particular strain of fiction "juvenile," even going so far to describe the Druid Gunslinger books as "starter fantasy, for unsophisticated minds." It had almost made him want to not do any more conventions, but after a little bit of searching, he'd found a group of similarly minded writers, people like him who looked at genre boundaries as a roadmap of what rules to break and how. What he loved most of all, though, was that the fans didn't give a shit. Sure, there were detractors to his writing in the crowds, but they'd get booed down by the rest of the people who were there to learn more about where his books were going and what kinds of secrets he'd been leaving off the page. Most of the fans believed he lived in San Francisco proper, but Andy certainly hadn't made enough money off the books to justify that kind of lifestyle. There were other things about his books that had drawn people to his audience,  he wasn't afraid of writing sex scenes in his books, some of the supporting characters were gay or bisexual,  but the main reason they kept coming back was that the books were unpredictable. He'd killed off main characters mid book, he'd changed the city the protagonist's base of operations was in multiple times and one of the villains he'd introduced in one of the first few books had gone through a surprising redemption arc in the most recent book, something that the early readers had raved about how much they hadn't seen it coming. All that had instilled him a sense that he never had to go along with something just because it was what was expected of you, and he certainly didn't plan to change the way he treated people now because a bunch of blue blood uppity vampires thought he should join their little club. "It's so weird," Ash whispered to him. "Seeing all these beautiful women, being forced to walk a few steps behind their men. All of this pretentious bullshit, these assholes thinking their money makes them invincible. It used to be the stranglehold they had over women was figurative, financial. Now it's literal. They're literally dependent on these assholes for their survival. If they don't get their fix, they're going to go out of their minds. I mean, what are we going to do if you leave us? Or if you get taken away from us? Or get sick and die?" "I'm sure they're working on something to stabilize it, Ash, but until then, you're alive, I'm alive, and that's all that matters." Andy sighed. "But I'm still alive, unlike ten million other American men. And the death rates are starting to climb around the world too. So anything that keeps me alive, I'm going to take that as a win. Speaking of which, how is your brother doing?" "He's sheltering in place with the rest of my clan, luv. You don't really know my mother yet, but when you meet her, you'll learn how much of an iron fist she's got on the whole family. They'll do whatever it takes to survive. Your brother?" "He and his wife are doing the same. She ventures out from time to time, but other than that, they don't dare leave the house." Andy waved his phone over the credit card machine, and heard the telltale ding that meant the bill was paid. "Martial law got declared in Kansas City, though, and I know the tanks rolling down the streets have them more than a little spooked." "Whatever it takes to get through it, luv, we're gonna do it." "Well, not if it takes me turning into that asshole." Aisling giggled. "Oh, Andy, you're not built to be a snob." "Suppose you're right." When they got to the car, Andy couldn't help but start laughing a bit as he replayed the earlier conversation in his head. Aisling asked him what he found so funny. "I mean, he's the Fourth in a long line of pompous assholes, Ash. Why don't we understand how important that is?" That set her off laughing too. Andrew Rook continues to protect his family. Chapter 16 The day of the party felt like it came much faster than it should've. While everyone had a few days to prepare, they all felt like they were struggling to get their costumes together. Most hysterically, all the girls had made some sort of tacit agreement not to tell Andy what they were dressing up as for the Halloween party. They were all a little surprised he wasn't dressing up as the Druid Gunslinger himself, but they seemed okay with it. He told them he'd done the gear next year, but he'd literally worn the costume last year, and despite all the changes they'd been through over the past several months, he didn't want to do it two years in a row. While none of the girls may have seen him in it, he knew that both Eric and Phil would've given him an endless amount of shit for it. He loved vintage sci fi costumes, so for this year, he'd decided to be Logan from Logan's Run, the 1976 film he'd adored growing up. It was a relatively simple costume, a black turtleneck with white trim and a large white stripe over the chest, as well as a blinking red palm flower crystal. When he'd done the costume as a teenager, he'd had to use a bike light, which took over so much of his hand, but now he could achieve the same effect with a simple L E D light attached to a battery. It was much more convenient. A few hours before the party was to start, Andy was banned from entering his own bedroom as the girls had set up a sort of base camp there, working on all their costumes away from his prying eyes. The staff had decided to dress up as Clue characters, so Nicolette was back in her Yvette costume, Jenny R. was dressed as the cook (from the movie, not the board game) and Katie was dressed as Mrs. White. They had been a little surprised that they were invited to the party once the food was laid out, but Andy had been adamant that he wanted them to feel like members of the family as much as staff. He was glad to see they accepted that without too much of a fuss, although Jenny was insistent that she and Nicolette would be tending to the food all night, even while they were mingling. Surprising no one, none of the girls who weren't staff were ready by the time the first guests showed up. Andy wasn't shocked that it was Eric who arrived first, along with his whole group. Eric was dressed as Han Solo, with Lily as Princess Leia, Jenny C. as Luke Skywalker, Sarah as Chewbacca, and two other girls who'd recently joined his family “ Lara, a tall, statuesque blonde, and Nikki, a tiny little plump brunette “ were dressed as C3 P0 and R2 D2 accordingly. Phil and his family arrived next. They were all dressed up as characters from the video game Street Fighter, with Phil as Ryu, Audrey as Chun Li, Linda as Cammy, Tamika as Poison and a new girl named Yuko, who was dressed as Sakura. Andy, much like both Phil and Eric, had never been big on large social gatherings, but this felt entirely different. Perhaps they'd been so starved for company, or perhaps they'd been trying to make sense of the new normal for so long, it was nice to have a touch of the old normal, even if it was only a shadow of how it used to be. Dressed all in costume, the boys sat down to play poker. After Phil showed up, Andy's girls descended down the staircase and made a grand entry for themselves. Aisling had dressed up as Amy Adams' portrayal of Lois Lane from the Superman movies, in a white open shirt with a black vest, her hair done up in a smart ponytail, a black lanyard hanging around her neck that said "Daily Planet." Lauren had dressed up as the Black Canary, from the Green Arrow comic books, a leather jacket she'd stolen from his closet, a black leotard and ripped black fishnets that Andy couldn't deny made her pop even more. The biggest surprise, however, was Niko. It took him a few seconds to realize what she was dressed as, and as soon as he did, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. She was dressed in a white lab coat, with her hair up in a bun, held in place with chopsticks. Beneath it, she wore a deep purple shirt. It all looked vaguely familiar, but then she turned her head and it all clicked as soon as he saw that coloration done to her hair. While most of her hair was still jet black, on the right side, there was a blue stripe, followed by a violet stripe, and his heart stopped a beat. She was dressed as Doctor Erika Shirow, the coroner who often worked with the Druid Gunslinger in his novels. Around her neck hung a pendant of a celtic cross, exactly as he'd described it in the most recent novel. Shirow had been a regular recurring character, but she was easily what fans would've called "a deep cut." When he'd first introduced her in the second book, he suspected she was a character he would come back to, but hadn't planned her to have much impact on the overarching storyline he had in mind. Now, some nine books into the series, she'd actually appeared in more of them than any other character other than Dale Sexton, the titular Druid Gunslinger. Most of the time, she usually only appeared in a chapter or two, but now, seeing Niko dressed as her, he wondered if he'd been subconsciously building a relationship between Dale and Erika over the course of the novels. He made a mental note to ask Niko about it later. The girls wandered into the room and took their time showing off their costumes for everyone, but as soon as they did, Niko moved over to slide down into Andy's lap, sliding an arm around him. "You like?" she asked him, a mischievous smile on her lips. "No, I absolutely hate it," he laughed, sticking his tongue out at her. "You look stunning. You all look stunning." "Lauren worried she was too tall to pull off the Black Canary, but I told her that in those fishnets, you wouldn't give a fuck." "You would absolutely be right." Niko gestured for him to tip up his hole cards so she could look at them, which he did, and then tipped them back down. "Looks like you're doing well." "Ah, we're mostly playing for fun," Eric said. Niko winked over in his direction. "Sure. That's why your chip stack is so utterly small." "Absolutely," Lily said, moving to stand behind Eric. "And it certainly isn't because my man has no poker face whatsoever." Audrey moved to stand behind Phil. "Phil's usually pretty good at poker, though," she said, kissing his cheek. "Although I heard Andy's always been better." Andy shrugged. "I'm not bad. I mean, I wouldn't drop ten K of my own money to enter the World Series of Poker, but I usually come out at least a little bit ahead at poker nights." "Go easy on them then, I guess, Andy. How high are the stakes?" Niko asked, clearly wiggling her ass in his lap, trying to distract him off his game. "Are we rich yet?" Andy cocked his head to one side, mocking a frown upon his face. "Have you missed the mansion we now live in?" "Sure, but that's not money money," she teased. "What're you playing for?" Eric laughed. "Big, big money." He looked left, looked right, then leaned forward, putting his hand over one side of his mouth, stage whispering to her. "Twenty dollars is the buy in." He widened his eyes and nodded in her direction, like it was his life savings they were talking about. Niko rolled her eyes. "Forget what I said about going easy on them. Take them for everything they're worth." "Oh, and the loser has to buy dinner for the next game night," Phil said. "Or, at least, they used to have to, but that was before we all got our own private staff." "I can't remember the last time Andy bought dinner," Eric grumbled. "I don't know that he ever has," Phil sighed. "I think it's all the rest of us just passing the buck around." The doorbell rang, and Niko slid off his lap. "Who else are we expecting?" Phil rolled his eyes upward in thought. "Ari and his family are coming. Jenna's hooked up with some guy named Gary, so they said they'd stop by. Mel told me he couldn't make it this time, but would try and catch us for the next get together." "I'll go see who it is." Niko headed to the door and Andy could hear from outside the door as soon as she opened it a chorus of children shouting "Trick Or Treat!" They'd just resolved the hand, so all the guys got up and headed to the door to see five children, all dressed up in Minecraft costumes, holding out buckets, into which Niko graciously dropped a couple of candies each. There was a woman standing behind the children, back at the foot of the walkway up to the house, waving at them. It wasn't anyone that any of them recognized, but Andy was glad to see the children weren't out by themselves. For the next hour or so, every ring of the doorbell would bring either another gaggle of children, or another of the group's mutual friends, until the house felt like a booming party. The parade of trick or treating children eventually slowed, and it was almost ten pm when the doorbell rang again. Andy went to answer the door, holding the pot of candies, and as soon as he opened the door, he tensed up a little, even as he heard the shout of "Trick Or Treat!" There were only two children standing there, a girl dressed as Hermione from Harry Potter, and a slightly older boy, dressed as Draco Malfoy. But the children weren't the problem. Behind them stood Arthur Robert Covington the Fourth, dressed as Napoleon. Andy had to mentally tell himself not to curl his hand into a fist. "Ah, Andrew!" Covington said. "So this is where you live. I did wonder which of the open houses they'd assigned you to." Andy dropped candies into the outstretched bags of the two children. They shouldn't be punished for what an ass their father was. "Yes. Well. Here we are." He couldn't wait to get this

Steve is joined by Sir Bryan M. Bowden, Leading Cryptozoologist, UFO Researcher & Investigator, Paranormal Remote Viewer. Find Sir Bryan here: https://linktr.ee/bryanmbowdenBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-persons-mysteries--5624803/support.

John 4:49-50 The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. The faith expressed by the official satisfied Jesus that His Father was working, and word of Christ satisfied the official. He needed no proof, in direct contrast to those Jesus rebuked for needing signs to believe. This man believed with no sign. He only needed the word of Christ. Let's notice that the faith the man had to return home with no sign or proof of his son's healing was generated by the word of Christ. At this point, there's no indication that the man believed Jesus was Lord or the Christ. He believed his son lived. However, we will discover in the next few verses that the official was on his way to a life-changing faith. Hebrews 12:3 describes Jesus as the author and perfecter of faith. This man fixed his eyes, his hope on Jesus, and when Jesus said the son lives, he took Jesus at His word. That's exactly what Paul said about faith in Romans 10:17. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” As in this case, God often uses storms in life and crises to initiate movement toward His Son. Knowing this encourages us to be alert to those God puts in our paths who are hurting, hungry, thirsty, and in desperate need. To love them well, we point them to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith. We want to lead them into an encounter with Him that will be life-changing. The best way to lead someone to a life-changing encounter with Jesus is to share with them the word of Christ—the promises of God given to us through His Son. John 14:6 comes to mind. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that He alone is the way to the Father. John 11:25-26 is another good one. Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” In times of trouble, Hebrews 4:14-16 is one of my favorite. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Do you have some favorite verses in your mind ready to share when God puts someone like this official in your path who is desperately in need of help? I hope you'll collect a few and be prepared to love them with Jesus by sharing His word. You never know how God is working until you give the word of Christ to someone. Paul said the gospel is the power of God for salvation in Romans 1:16. May the Spirit of God prepare us and work through us today as we live to love with Jesus. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.

Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 4 A pandemic survivor's harem continues to thrive amidst chaos.. Based on a post by CorruptingPower, in 25 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Chapter 11 For the next hour or so, Andy explored the house on his own while the girls moved things from the car into the house, as well as letting the cats loose into their new environment. He wasn't sure who was more overwhelmed, himself or the cats. The building was immense, feeling both warm and alien all at the same time. Mostly, though, the space felt incomplete. It was a home that had been decorated by a real estate agent, not by someone looking to live in it. Everything was arranged for show not for actual use. He wandered into the gym first and found it stocked with free weights, resistance machines and a small aerobics area, all the machines in pristine condition, never used. Looking at himself in the mirror, he wasn't even sure he recognized himself in this new home. Andy strolled out of the gym and found himself in one of the three living rooms, with a wet bar off to one side. There were several couches arranged around the middle, as well as a handful of lounge chairs. Without warning, Muninn, his Russian blue cat, hopped up from behind one of the couches onto the back of it, which startled the hell out of Andy. As soon as the cat saw him, however, he sauntered over Andy's direction. Andy moved closer and pet the cat, who gave a healthy purr in response. "Yeah, I know, Mun, it's weird for me too. But we live here now, so explore away." "Are ya freaked out?" Aisling said to him as she moved into the room. "It's just a home." "That's just it, Ash," he sighed. "It's a home, but it's not my home, not our home. Not yet. I'm sure I'll get there at some point, but for right now, it's just reinforcing how weird all of this is. I mean, yesterday, there were seven of us crammed into that little tiny condo, and now Eric lives down the street, and we live, here. In the kind of place I never even dreamed about." Aisling moved over, a soft sympathetic smile on her face, as she wrapped her arms around him and held him in an inviting hug for a long moment. "The world's changing, and we have to change with it, Andy. That means we're all going to be a bit out of our comfort zones now and then, but think of it this way,  you can make one of these bedrooms into a full on study, and line the walls with bookshelves, like you said you'd always wanted to do. We'll put your desk in there, and you can turn it into a writer's cozy, a space where you can go and work on your next book and nobody'll bother you. What's wrong with that?" "There's nothing wrong with that, Ash. There's nothing wrong with any of this, except for the fact that I didn't really earn any of it." "Luv," she said to him, "most of the people who get lucky in life, it was right place right time, and all they did was have the good sense not to muck it up. That's what you're doing here. You were in the right place at the right time, and you had the good sense to let me into your bed. And I've been good to you, haven't I?" "Oh god, Ash, you and Lauren and Niko have all been amazing, far better than I deserve,” "There'll be none of that, mister," she scolded, slapping his shoulder. "You've been grand to all of us, and you've helped Eric and Lily get their shit sorted out. I know Jenny doesn't have her head sorted out yet, but when she does, I'm sure she'll thank you. You could've been a right shite about alla this, but instead you've been a stand-up guy. So take a deep breath." Andy stopped and took a deep breath. "It didn't help much." "It helped a little." "Okay, it helped a little." "Are you more bothered by the house, the staff or the fact that there's going to be a lot more women moving into our lives?" "It's a lot of women, Ash." "It will be a lot of women, Andy. Yes, that's absolutely true, but we'll manage it. Besides, the house is nice isn't it?" "Understating things a bit, aren't you Ash?" "Fine," she said with a wry grin, rolling her eyes in his direction. "It's a bloody magnificent place. Just in the tour alone, I wanted to strip down to my knickers and socks and play 'Risky Business' so if you hear 'Old Time Rock'n'Roll' blaring from the hi fi, look both ways when walking through the hallways." "You're changing the subject." "It'll be fine, Andy. Just stop worrying and enjoy this." She moved to sit down in the couch, and picked up a remote control from the coffee table in front of it. She looked around the room for a moment before she finally just pressed the power button on it, to see what happened. From a small overhang across the room, a giant television dropped down and turned on, as concealed speakers all around the room hummed to life. "That is hell of a television." Andy moved to slump down onto the couch next to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "And just think, this isn't even the theater room. Let's just relax for a little bit and watch some TV." Apparently whoever had set up their house had given them a deluxe cable package, with every optional channel Andy could think of, and loads he'd never even heard of. They settled on SpikeTV, which was in the middle of a James Bond marathon. They were showing "Goldeneye" and they'd had the luck to turn on right at the beginning. "I've always loved Brosnan as Bond," Aisling said to him a few hours later, as the movie was over. "I don't know that he's the best Bond, but he's my Bond. You?" "He was great, but I've always been a Connery man myself." "You Americans, you all have your own Bond, much like those of us across the pond have our own Doctor. You a fan of Doctor Who, luv?" Andy smirked wryly. "Tom Baker, but if I'm honest, I could watch David Tennant in anything. I watched "Good Omens" last year at least three times. I'm guessing you're a Capaldi girl." "Chris Eccleston's my Doctor," Aisling said. "But I'm glad you didn't say I should be a Matt Smith girl, just because he had a ginger companion." Andy shook his head. "So did Tennant, but neither of them were Irish. Catherine Tate's British and Karen Gillan's Scottish. I'm not an idiot, love." "Bless, Andy," she whispered, as she kissed his cheek. "It's so strange. I feel like I'm missing time, what with all the holidays we've basically skipped over. I was getting my first injections on July 4th, but I didn't even hear any crackers in the sky. Were there any?" "None that I could see, Ash. Halloween's just around the corner. Maybe now that we're in a gated community we'll get trick or treaters." "You think there's children in the estates?" "No idea. I'm not really sure what to expect here. We've barely seen the house, much less the small town that's formed up around it." "That's going to be just as strange, people we can sit and talk with, restaurants we can go and have dinner in, a movie theater filled with people, guaranteed not sick people. It all sounds so wonderful." "I'll talk to Eric, maybe we can get a Halloween costume party together." Aisling cooed at him. "That sounds wonderful." She glanced over his shoulder. "Looks like your maid in here." Andy looked back over his shoulder and saw Yvette standing there, nervously shifting back and forth, before he chuckled and curled a finger in her direction. "C'mon, Yvette. You look like you've got something you want to say." "Simply a request Master. I and the rest of your staff, well, we are having trouble keeping our heads clear. We do not wish to pressure you, naturally, but the longer you wait before imprinting us, the more difficulty we will have executing our responsibilities around the home. It is getting hard to focus." He removed his arm from around Aisling and rose to his feet, a wry smile on his face. "I'll say. I can't help but think about something Groucho Marx once said to his brother Chico." "I'm sorry, I don't know who those people are, Master." "Comedians. Groucho is the one with the bushy eyebrows and greasepaint mustache. Chico used to pretend to be Italian. Groucho would occasionally say to him, 'Chico, I think your accent is slipping.'" Andy grinned as he approached her. "Is your name really Yvette?" The maid visibly blanched. "Am I trouble?" "Answer the question," Aisling said, getting off the couch, heading to join them. "No, ma'am. It's Nicolette." "Are you actually French?" Andy asked. "Second generation, but I was putting on a show. Mr. Marcos seemed to think you might enjoy it." Andy shook his head and laughed. "Fucking Phil." "So you're not angry, sir?" "You don't have to lie to me, Nicolette." He gestured to the maid's outfit. "Do you really enjoy this kind of thing?" She smiled, almost coquettishly, and nodded. "I do, Master. I'm naturally submissive, and this is what I wanted to do in the new world." "Are you bisexual, Nicolette?" Aisling said. "I am, madam, if that's alright." Aisling leaned over and grabbed the girl by her mane of hair and pulled her into a firm, intense kiss that made Andy's breath catch a little. Nicolette seemed caught off guard only for a moment, before she leaned into the kiss, and pressed her busty body against the Irish girl. After they made out for a minute or so, Aisling pulled back and grinned at Andy. "Well, we should make sure the girl gets what she needs, but mama has needs too." Aisling pulled Nicolette with her over towards one of couches. She reached up beneath her skirt and pulled down her panties before stepping out of them. Then she laid back onto the couch and spread her legs, exposing that ginger cunt to Nicolette. "Tell you what. You lick my cunt, and I'll make sure he fucks you good." "Yes madam," Nicolette said as she moved down onto her knees, before Aisling pulled over a footstool. "Thank you madam." The maid moved up to kneel down on the footstool, her hands pressed on the couch, as she moved her lips down to press against Aisling's exposed snatch. Andy walked over towards them as he watched Aisling's fingertips move to get lost in the girl's thick blonde curls, rocking her hips up against the maid's mouth. "Shit, Andy, she's fucking good at this." "Umm, it certainly looks that way, but what if I wanted to see if those titanic tits of hers were real, hmm?" He unbuttoned his jeans, slowly unzipping them. "Oh, I can fix that," Aisling said with a laugh. She pushed Nicolette's face back. "Lay down and turn over. Are those enhanced or natural?" Nicolette rolled over, laying on her back on the footstool before she pulled the top off one shoulder then the other, tugging it down to her waist so her massive tits spilled free, thick and curvy. "All natural, madam. Any excess weight I put on seems to go straight to my tits or my ass and nowhere else." She curved her fingertips around her left tit and pulled it upward, bringing it up so she could lick her large pink nipple while Andy watched. Then she reached down and dragged her skirt upwards, as she moved to push her head onto the couch while Aisling moved up onto her knees, straddling the girl's face. "Come on, Andy, don't keep the poor slut waiting." Andy tugged his jeans and boxers down enough for him to fish his cock out, moving to step out, rubbing the tip of his cock across the maid's twat, finding it was still soaked. "Remember when I told you I never showed my cock to anyone I hadn't kissed, Ash?" "She doesn't want you to show her a good time, love. She's only got one thing on her mind, don't you whore?" "Yes madam," the maid said between licks at Aisling's cunt. "And what is that?" Aisling's question caught the maid off guard. "Ma'am?" "What is the one thing you've got on your mind?" "Being imprinted, ma'am." Aisling reached down and pinched one of Nicolette's nipples hard enough to make the maid yip audibly. "The master likes a dirty mouth on his girls, Nicolette. Maybe Phil didn't tell you that, but as Andy's first girl, it's my job to make sure everyone in the house knows exactly what he likes. So let me ask you again,  what's the one thing you've got on your mind?" "Getting the Master to fuck me, ma'am." "Why?" "So I can be imprinted, to be owned, to belong to him, and be part of his house." "Then tell him." "Yes ma'am." Nicolette pulled her head back for a moment to look up at Andy, and the look on her face was one he was starting to get quite familiar with, a heady mix of need and lust. "Sir, let me offer you my body, my drenched holes for your use. I need to be fucked to belong to you, to feel your jizz blasting inside of my cunt or asshole, marking me as yours, imprinting me, claiming me. Take me, sir. Own me. Fuck my tight young snatch and brand me as your slut, your maid, your little French fucktoy. It hurts, sir, aches. I can't think straight. I'm a rutting bitch in heat, needy for a cock to clear her head. Can I serve you, Master? Will you grant me that privilege? Fuck me, sir. Do it." "Put your mouth back to work, Nicolette, and I will," Andy said, as he pushed his cock along her cunt, feeling her shiver, her body instinctively trying to line it up so his wood would penetrate her. "Yes, Master. Of course, Master." Nicolette slid her head back between Aisling's thighs, pressing her face up against the redhead's cunt, her tongue pushing into the girl. Aisling leaned forward a little bit, reaching a hand forward to grab Andy's face, pulling him closer, kissing him as Andy pushed his cock inside of Nicolette's cunt. Beneath her, Aisling could feel the girl already lost in the throes of her first orgasm, muffling the scream by pressing her hips down against the maid's face. "How is she?" "I think I might have killed the poor girl." One of Nicolette's hands lifted and offered a thumb up gesture to them, which made Andy and Aisling both laugh until Aisling kissed Andy hard again. She reached down and grabbed Andy's hip to pull him hard into Nicolette, slamming his cock hilt deep into the French maid with enough force to make those heavy tits of hers jiggle and bounce. "That's it, Andy. Just rail the girl." "You're trying to make me cum inside of her, aren't you?" "It's working, isn't it?" Aisling giggled a little bit. "I'm giving up my load for the day to her. I want you to fill her cunt so full of cum that there's enough for me to lick a little bit out of her gash when you're done. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Andy groaned a little bit. "You're wicked, Ash." " Umm, just like you want me to be. I have to admit, I'm a little addicted to it, seeing a new slut fuckdrunk on your spunk for the first time, her eyes rolled back in her head, the orgasm so intense that she's trembling like she's been struck by lightning. It make you seem so powerful." "I don't think I can last long," he mumbled. "She's fucking tight." "Then why wait? She wants your jizz. I want you to jizz inside of her. You want to jizz inside of her." She kissed his cheek and then moved nibble on his earlobe. "Go on. Give your newest slut her nut. Fill her up with that hot spunk and claim her. Your girlfriend is telling you to do it. Cream her up. In your house. Make her your slut, your maid, your personal fuckhole. Give to us. Please Master, she fucking needs it. I need it. Cum for us. Flood the little bitch with your cum. Show her who the lord of the house is." Aisling licked her tongue along the shell of his ear, then breathed hot onto his flesh, before whispering, "Own her. Cum!" Nicolette's heels pressed into the small of his back as he pushed his cock hilt deep inside of her cunt and began to erupt inside of her. As soon as the first blast of his jism hit the back of her cunt, Nicolette began to thrash, her heels lifting off his skin as her legs pointed straight up into the air and began to practically vibrate, quaking like she had her own personal earthquake. Eventually Andy's release ebbed back, and Aisling leaned to kiss him once more, her hand reaching up to brush sweat from his face. "Another one bites the dust," she giggled against his mouth before he pulled his hips back, letting his cock slide out from Nicolette's snatch as the girl's legs moved to slump down on the footstool, her whole body lying ragdoll limp, her lips very quietly mumbling that familiar word over and over again. Aisling lifted her hips up and moved back to her feet, shifting Nicolette to move the maid's entire body up onto the couch, cradling the girl's head against the pillow on the armrest. Andy was starting to adjust to tuck his cock away before he felt Aisling's hand stop him. "Just wait there, mister." The Irish girl grabbed a blanket and moved to lay it over Nicolette's unconscious form, covering her up, making sure the maid looked cozy. After Nicolette was properly tucked in, she turned around and kneeled down to lick his cock clean. It had still been glistening with a bit of his cum, as well as juices from Nicolette's cunt, but Aisling gave it a spit shine. Andy could feel himself struggling to get hard again, but as soon as Aisling had his cock clean, she tucked it away. "Tomorrow you can take care of the gardener and the cook." "Fucking this many people is exhausting, Ash." "Awww. Poor baby. Do you know how much sympathy I have for you, half a dozen women craving your cum so much they'll fling themselves at you?" "Very little?" "Not even that much." Andy chuckled, helping Aisling to her feet. "Yeah, I guess that's fair." Chapter 12 Andy awoke the next morning much earlier than he normally did. It was the fact that the bed beneath him was new to him. New bed, new house, but the house itself didn't change as much of his perspective as the bed did. Sure, the four of them had fit in his old bed back at the condo, but the new bed had plenty of room for them to sprawl out if they wanted, and yet, he still awoke with all the girls basically pressing up against him, Aisling and Niko on either side of him, and Lauren mostly draped over Aisling. The cats were nowhere to be seen, although he wouldn't be surprised if they wandered across the bed several times during the night. He did his best to extricate one arm free so he could look at his watch, only to find it was actually nearly nine a.m., far later than he'd expected. The girls remained zonked, and he had to admit, they'd all been up a bit late into the wee hours of the morning just wandering around and exploring the house. He still felt like he didn't have a great handle on the layout of the place, but he figured that would come in time. Determined not to wake anyone, he wriggled his way downward, disentangling the gilded cage of arms and legs he found himself wrapped in. Once free, he was pleased to see that he hadn't woken any of the trio, so he headed into the closet to grab a change of clothes. Immediately, he feared he might have made a terrible mistake, as the walk in closet was larger than the old condo's living room, but thankfully, most of his t shirts were hanging on clothes hangers directly in front of him, and a dresser there seemed to have his pants, boxers and socks. In fact, as he glanced at the walk in closet, he was a little amused to see how little of what he saw was actually his own clothes. Sure, all of his clothes were there, but they took up a fraction of the amount of space the walk in closet had on offer. Each of the girls had carved up their own section of the closet space, although if the Major was to be believed, this wouldn't be enough room eventually. The Major had even suggested each partner consider taking one of the bedrooms of the manor as their own, simply to have their own space, and their own place to keep their clothes. "Personal space is going to be important," she had told them yesterday. Andy had immediately decided it was advice worth heeding. He grabbed a change of clothes and headed towards the bathroom. After stepping foot inside of the bathroom, he closed the door behind him, doing his best to keep the noise volume down, so as to not wake anyone. He imagined the girls would be up any minute now, but saw no reason to get anyone up before they awoke naturally. Some nights they all wore pajamas, but last night, they'd all just piled in one naked mess into the new bed, so the only thing Andy had to take off before he got into the shower was his watch and glasses, setting both on the counter next to his clothes. The shower space was just about the same size as the bathroom in the old condo, but it was a thing Andy had decided he was just going to have to come to terms with. Everything in the new home was going to be bigger, because it had more people to accommodate. It did, however, give him plenty of room to maneuver as he attempted to get the water's temperature to a level he was comfortable with. He hadn't even thought to ask how the utilities of the new home were going to be paid for. He made a mental note to ask someone about it as he stepped under the soothing warm water. Ten minutes later, he'd finished the shower, dried himself off and gotten dressed. As he passed through the bedroom, he could see that while none of the girls were awake yet, they had shifted to make up for his absence, now lined up like three little spoons, with Niko's ass pressed against Aisling's hips, and Aisling's ass against Lauren's hips. The cats had also joined them on the bed, sitting at either corner of it, almost like they were on guard duty. Andy reached down to pet Huginn, and the black cat leaned his head up to lean into Andy's touch. He smirked as the cat slowly pulled away from Andy's hand, but it was only to roll onto his back, exposing his belly, hoping Andy would give it a rub. He patted the plump cat's tummy briefly, but not long enough so that Huginn would think it was a game of Attack The Hand. He didn't want to remain long enough to wake the girls, so he grabbed his phone from the charger on the nightstand, moved to the door of the bedroom and slipped out, closing it shut behind him as he moved into the hallway. The layout of the house was still fuzzy in his head, but he knew for certain that if he wanted to grab some breakfast, he needed to head downstairs. As he wandered downstairs, the cook, Jennifer, he thought her name was, awaited him. She still had on the same apron from the day before, but the clothes she had on beneath it had changed to warmer colors. The t shirt was a light green and the slacks a cream color. "Good morning, sir. Would you like some breakfast?" she asked, a smile beaming at him. She was fidgeting, he noticed, and he was certain that the effects of the vaccine were starting to claw at her. He would have to make sure to take care of both her and the gardener today. "Sure, Jennifer, that'd be nice. Is it Jennifer, or do you prefer Jen or Jenny?" he asked her, as she started to lead him towards the dining room. "Whatever you'd like, sir," she said, demurely. "No," he chuckled, "I'm asking you what you prefer to be called. I don't mind being in charge of the house and all that, but I'm not about to go around deciding what people are called. What do you prefer to be called?" "Jenny, sir," she giggled. "Sorry, sir. What would you like for breakfast today?" "Just, like, a croissant or a bagel with egg, cheese and ham on it? I don't need anything special." "Give me five minutes and I'll whip something up for you." Andy moved to sit down at the dining room table. The chairs were aimed at a much more formal environment, something he was going to have to make sure got corrected. He felt a little bit like Michael Keaton as Batman, sitting at a massively empty table all by himself. He opened his friend group's Discord chat channel and typed in a message to Eric “ you okay in your new place, man? “ but he saw that Eric was off line and didn't respond, so he figured he'd hear back from him later in the day. Phil was up, though, and the two chatted for a little bit while Andy waited for breakfast to arrive. Jenny poked her head in. "Did you want juice or milk, or should I make coffee?" "God, the girls made drink coffee, but I can't fucking stand it. So it wouldn't hurt to put a pot on, but none for me, thanks. I'll just have some orange juice or pineapple juice or whatever." "Got it," she said, dipping back into the kitchen, the swinging door closed behind her. Phil was in good spirits, and let Andy know that he would be behind the wall in the gated community before the end of the week, which meant they could all hang out again. Phil insisted that on Saturday, they should all get together and play poker while the new families intermingled, something Andy agreed to immediately, and suspected Eric wouldn't have any problem with. "Sir, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jenny said, as she brought out a tray with a bagel filled exactly as he'd asked and a glass of orange juice on it. "I don't mean to be rude or impatient, but,” "No no, Jenny, I know. You're having trouble thinking clearly, and would like to get imprinted as soon as possible. Let me eat my breakfast, and then we can go take care of it if you like." "I would like, sir, but that's not it." The girl looked at her hands as she wrung them together nervously before she looked up at him. "May I speak freely, sir?" "Jenny, you're now and forever under orders to always speak freely in the house, okay? What is it?" "It's my partner, sir, Katie." "What about her?" "Well, she, ah, she lied on her forms. Sir." "About, what exactly, Jenny?" Andy wanted to know what was going on, but he was also famished, so he took a bite from his breakfast sandwich, as if encouraging the girl to continue speaking. "It's, well, it's a bit embarrassing, sir, but, you know that Katie and I are partners, right?" Andy swallowed his mouthful and took a sip from his orange juice before he spoke again. "You did mention it yesterday when you introduced yourselves." He gestured to a chair across the table from him. "Sit, sit. Now tell me what's up?" Jenny looked at the chair like it might bite her, but then nervously moved to sit down, her hands still folded together on top of the table. "So, uh, while I'm bisexual, Katie isn't. Sir. She's strictly a lesbian." Andy tried to keep his face blank. "Alright." "So while she's going to need to intake your jism regularly, she's, uh,” "She's going to be a pain in the ass about it," Katie said, moving into the room, clearly sounding cross. "Is that what you were going to say, Jen?" Katie was dressed in work clothes, having been outside working in the gardens, and had dirt on her knees, although she'd been careful not to drag any loose dirt into the house. "We're so fucked." "Baby, no! I just wanted to explain,” "You just wanted to explain that I wasn't going to do my job to our new boss. That's just great, Jenny! Now we're going to get hauled out of here and thrown in jail!" "Katie, please!" "We're fucked. We're so fucked, just because you had to grow a fucking conscience! I could've faked it! I could've pretended and just gotten through it, but no, you had to,” "Ah Hem!" Andy said, loudly clearing his throat to get both of them to settle down. "Can I interject into this, or do you two want to go on arguing about what I'm going to do without actually knowing anything?" Katie moved to nervously sit down in a chair next to Jenny, looking a little taken aback. "Sorry, sir." "Sorry, sir," Jenny echoed. "Thank you." Andy took another bite from his sandwich, which was delicious, while he let the two women sit in silence a moment, as if almost daring them to start arguing again. They made it past him finishing the sandwich without speaking again, but he was on his last sip of orange juice when Katie, the Hispanic girl, couldn't help herself and spoke again. "I love my wife, sir, and I want to remain faithful to her. And you seem like a nice enough man, but I'm just not attracted to you in any way. Sorry, sir." Andy smiled and shook his head a little bit. "Good lord, they barely told me anything, and somehow I still know more about all of this than you two do. Jenny, are you bisexual, or are you also lesbian?" "Bisexual, sir, but I'm married. To Katie." He nodded. "Look, I get that. So here's your options. If you want, I can tell the army you've changed your mind, and you can go back there, but if you've already been given the vaccination, you're unfortunately going to have to get paired up with some man." "That part's actually true?" Andy nodded. "I'm sure you're already feeling it, that unfamiliar blaze in your body. It'll get worse, a lot worse, until it's harder and harder to think, and you're just a raw, rutting creature, yearning for male sperm of some kind." "How horrible," Jenny whispered. "Better than the disease, Jenny," Katie said, patting her arm. "So what are our other options?" "The obvious one is, naturally, that you both continue to be here, do your jobs, and I simply provide sperm for you to consume. I mean, I could just bring you in towards the end of a session with me and one of my partners, or with Nicolette,” "Who?" Katie asked. "He knows," Nicolette said, standing in the door, leaning against the doorframe. She was wearing another maid's outfit, but it was subtly different than the one she'd worn yesterday. "And he wasn't mad. He even thought the whole Yvette thing was funny." "Or I could just agree to always use the two of you together, but the only person I touch would be Jenny, and Katie could touch Jenny. It's not strictly what you had in mind, but,” "But it would satisfy Katie's insistence that she remain faithful," Jenny said. "Would you be okay with that, baby?" "Okay?" Katie said, rolling her eyes. "Well, I might be able to get to okay eventually, if that's okay with you. Sir." "Come on," Andy said, rising to his feet. "Take me to your room and we'll get you both imprinted." "I'd, I'd rather you not come into our room, sir," Katie said. "If that's okay, sir. I'd like that to be just our special place, mine and Jenny's." "That's fine, but we'll need to have some place to lay you both down once you're done." "I did just fine on one of the couches, Master," Nicolette giggled. "Maybe we should use one of the living room spaces again." "Alright, but let's use one more off to the side." "There's always the lounge out in the pool house," Katie suggested. "I have a pool house? Y'know what, forget I asked. Of course I have a pool house. Fine, let's go out to the pool house. Nicolette, if the girls wake up, let them know I'll be back in a little bit, okay?" "Of course Master," she said with a curtsey, as Katie put her arm around Jenny's waist, and the two started to lead him to the back yard. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, sir," Katie said, as they walked past the pool. Sure enough, on the other side, there was a small house, which Andy could see had showers, a sauna, bathrooms, a small bedroom, and a little lounge. Hell, by itself, it was bigger than the old condo, and clearly this was a little guest house. "But I don't think your sperm is going to do anything for me." "Mentally, sure, probably not, Katie. But on a biological level, you'll find this whole thing is a little surreal. When you meet Niko, you'll get to know what sort of state she was in when she came into my life. She'll tell you the story herself, I'm sure, but from my point of view, she practically assaulted me before I even got her name." Jenny grinned impishly, as she closed the door behind Andy. The lounge had three couches in a U shape pointing towards a massive television, with a picture window on the side wall facing the pool. "I have to admit, that sounds kinda hot." "It was," Andy said, as the two girls pushed him to sit down in the middle of the couch. "A little terrifying, but kinda hot. So how do you want to do this?" Katie leaned up and pressed her lips against Jenny's, as Jenny's hand smoothed down her wife's hip. The kiss intensified and Andy could see the tongues dancing together, as Katie's hand moved to cup one of Jenny's plump tits through the apron before reaching behind her to untie it, pulling it up and over her head, tossing it aside. "I'm thinking Jenny here'll blow you, and I'll just share it at the end, so you have to tell us when you're close. If that's okay. Sir." "That's fine, Katie. If you always want to do it this way, that's fine, or if you want to switch it up now and again, we can do that too." Katie nodded, and reached down to pull Jenny's t shirt up and over her head, exposing the brunette's overabundance of titflesh that had actually been quite concealed by the apron. "We, uh,” She blushed a little bit before continuing, pushing Jenny down to her knees. "We've had threesomes before. I don't mind if Jenny gets a little cock now and then, as long as I'm always there, but it's hard to get men to understand I don't want any. They usually try to pressure me to join in." "Well I won't ever do that, Katie," Andy said. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, although,” Jenny had unbuttoned his jeans, and unzipped them, as the other two continued to talk. Katie smirked, rolling her eyes a little. "As long as you don't care if I say no, you can always ask, sir." "I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind taking your top off as well, so we're all at least a little exposed here." "No, I can do that," she said, unzipping the top of the worksuit. "My tits aren't anywhere near as nice as Jenny's, though." She peeled the top down to her waist, exposing a perky caramel colored pair of tits, capped with darker tan nipples. "You've got excellent tits, Katie," Andy said to her, as she tied the arms of the top around her waist to tie it in place. "And don't you ever take shit from anyone who says otherwise." "Aw, you're sweet, Andy," she said before looking down at her wife. "How's it look, hon? Something you can work with?" Jenny nodded, having fished out Andy's cock, her fingertips stroking up and down it slowly. "It's a good size. I may want to have a ride on it now and again, if that's okay, baby." "Let's take it all one step at a time, okay?" Katie said. She moved to sit down on the couch next to Andy, laughing softly. "She's always been over eager. But I'll probably let you fuck her now and again. And I know she's a very good cocksucker. Her old boyfriend used to brag about it all the time." "Pig," Jenny said, before she wrapped her lips around the head of his cock, letting her tongue brush over it slowly, evoking a shiver from Andy. "Oh! Not you, sir, him." "I figured that one out, Jenny." Andy glanced over at Katie. "So are you both really submissive? Did you really want to do this, be a gardener and a cook?" "Jenny's mostly submissive, and I'm a switch," the Hispanic woman said. "And these were the jobs we had in the before times, just at different places. I was the gardener for some tech millionaire, and Jenny worked in the kitchen at the S F O airport Marriott, so we'll do our jobs well, and the other thing reasonably well." "I just want to make sure I'm not forcing anyone to do anything they don't want to." "We will be sure to tell if you're pushing it. Sir." She laughed slightly at herself, as if chiding herself not to forget to call him that. "Remember, you're going to have to tell us when you're close, sir," Katie said. "I'm a man of my word, Katie." "I hope so." Jenny pushed her head down onto his cock, sliding her lips down a few inches before pulling her head back up. "Oh, if you're going to do it, just fucking do it, Jen." Katie took her hand and pushed on the back of Jenny's head, forcing her face down hard into Andy's lap, until he could feel the girl's lips around the base of his cock, her throat twitching as she was struggling not to gag. Katie leaned in to whisper into Andy's ear. "She fucking loves shit like this." After a few seconds, Katie pulled Jenny's head back, and the girl coughed, laughing throatily, spit dripping from her mouth onto his cock, tears running down her eyes, a crazy smile on her face. "Oh god, I think I fucking came when you did that, Kat." "Well, not to take credit for it, but that was my precum. You're starting the imprinting process now." "I call bullshit," Katie said. "Prove it." Andy decided the best way to do this was to mostly remain out of it, so he took Jenny's arm by the wrist, rubbing her palm over the tip of his cock, which oozed out a little bit of precum, then lifted it up towards Katie, palm facing her face. "Lick. Prove me wrong." Katie cocked an eyebrow at him, then leaned forward to run her tongue along Jenny's palm. As soon as her tongue slurped in that precum, she leaned back suddenly against the back of the couch, pulling up her knees to her chest, her face scrunched tightly as she spasmed violently. Andy was fairly certain that Katie's panties were drenched, but didn't want to embarrass the girl by looking. After a few seconds, Katie's eyes opened again, and she groaned, a sultry wanton sound. "Oh you utter bastard," she moaned. "I know that's all physiological, but fuck was that good,” "You're going to get that same sensation each time you get any of my cum. Both of you. Ash's been with me the longest, about two months now, and she says it's never gotten any less intense, and from time to time, it's even way more intense than that." Katie pushed Jenny's head back down into Andy's lap, forcing her mouth back onto his shaft, as she wriggled in her seat. "How often do we have to have it?" "We've experimented around a little bit with trying to wean a girl off of it, but after about a week or so, it starts impairing logic. Not a lot, at first, but a little bit. It's harder to think clearly, you find sex popping into your head unwarranted more than usual. And by ten days, it's like a painful gnawing hunger. Lauren wanted to try and go two full weeks without, but on day eleven, ah,” Katie laughed softly. "Go on. You said we have no secrets here." Andy nodded with a slight shrug. "She, uh, when I went to take my shower in the morning, she followed me in and forced me to fuck her by trapping me between the wall and the sink. She bent over the sink and braced her hands against it and pinned me. I mostly just stood there, my ass pressed against the wallpaper while she thrust back against me hard and fast. She's, ah, she's a lot stronger than I am." Both girls laughed, although Jenny's laugh was a bit muffled, as she still had most of his cock in her mouth. "I think once a week or so is something we can make work," Katie said, brushing her hand along the back of Jenny's neck. "See? I told you she was good." "Fuck, her tongue keeps teasing against the bottom of my balls. I'm not going to last long like this. You may want to,” "Sure," Katie said, sliding off the couch and onto her knees, off to the side of Andy's right leg. "I know how we can do this." She pulled Jenny's head up and free of his cock before pushing her over to the other side of Andy's legs, his legs pressed together. "C'mere, babe." Katie pulled Jenny close, and then the two women kissed with the length of his cock between them, blocking their lips from reaching each other until they both slid up and kissed with the head of his cock between them. Jenny reached down to fondle his balls, and he felt a second hand join, a little surprised that it was Katie's, as the two tongues danced against each other, and over the head of his cock, and he couldn't resist any longer, his body tensing up as he had a hand resting on either of their shoulders. When that release hit him, he could see Katie's other hand on the back of Jenny's neck, as if holding her in place, as he saw Jenny suddenly reach up and do the same, helping each other to stay locked in place around the tip of his cock, as he blasted a hot load of spunk into their mouths. He felt like he gave at least a few pumps of jizz into each of their mouths, and certainly they were both affected, as each of them began to tremble, the clasp of hands and necks keeping them all in place, as both of them swallowed mouthfuls until finally they could resist no longer and both girls slumped their heads back and to the side, the full weight of their unconscious bodies pressed into the couch. Each of them trembled and vibrated a little, the aftershocks of the process clearly still coursing through their veins. Both girls were quietly murmuring that familiar word, imprinting, over and over again. It took Andy a few seconds to regain his composure, but once he finally did, he tucked his cock away beneath his boxers and jeans, zipping them up and rebuttoning them before he stood up and extracted himself from between them. He moved to lift Katie up onto the couch first, laying the girl out on it, before picking up Jenny, pushing her onto the couch with Katie, draping one arm over the Hispanic girl. Then he picked up an afghan laying in the room and covered them both up, for warmth as much as modesty. It wasn't freezing cold, but Halloween was next week, and California in October could get cold. He assumed the guest house had heating, but didn't even have the slightest idea how to turn it on. He was about to leave, then decided to scout the pool house out a little more. Sure enough, he found a thermostat, and noticed it was set to off, so he set the temperature to 70F and turned it from Off to Auto, hearing a heater kick on along the far side of the building. His work done, he decided to head back inside. He stopped to look at the pool, marveling the fact that he had his very own swimming pool, something southern Californians might have in spades, but certainly came at a premium in the northern California area, where real estate was a scarcity. He'd had dreams of his works being optioned, turned into movies or some such, and hoped that they would make him oodles of money, but the books hadn't developed a big enough audience where Andy would've felt comfortable enough letting someone adapt his works while remaining faithful to what he'd written. A producer had once offered him ten grand for the rights in perpetuity for everything, offering Andy no creative influence, no backend profits and no altering of the deal if things performed well. Andy had, in response, made a Berry Gordy joke that he was sure went over the producer's head, then politely declined. He'd jokingly referred to it to his friends as the "you'll take our money, shut your mouth and like it" deal. But he didn't, he wouldn't and so he didn't have to. In the end, he'd still ended up with a pool. He continued heading towards the house, seeing Niko, wearing just one of his over sized t shirts, although he suspected she probably had panties on underneath. Her arms were crossed over her chest, so he couldn't be sure, but he thought that it was one of his Catherine Wheel t shirts. It looked like the orange corners of the "Ferment" album cover peeking around her arms. "Morning, sleepyhead," he said, as he walked up towards her. "Everyone else up?" "Ash was toweling off when I came downstairs and Lauren was just heading into the shower, so she should be down in a little bit," Niko said to him. If Aisling had fallen into the role of his girlfriend, Niko had worked herself into becoming his right hand woman. Aisling took care of him emotionally, and Niko seemed to enjoy making sure everything was humming along. She'd been the one to structure their packing, and made sure Andy didn't forget anything he would regret leaving behind. Sure, all of that stuff was being brought over, but Niko had made certain that Andy hadn't left anything truly important to other people. "Also, your newest girl is here. She's waiting in the living room. Well, the front living room. One of the front living rooms. The one closest to the door. I signed for her, figured you wouldn't mind. That's her car parked out front, and the Uhaul attached to it has the rest of the stuff from the condo." "Nice." Andy was surprised another girl had arrived so soon, but the Major had made it clear that they would be coming at a steady rate until he was at capacity, which meant at least another nine or so, maybe even as many as thirteen more, although Andy had stressed to the Major that stopping early was absolutely fine. The Major had seemed to think that was funny. They'd walked inside of the house and headed towards the front living room. "What's her name?" "Her name is,” "Taylor!" Lauren's voice shouted as Andy and Niko walked into the room. Sitting on the couch was a young blonde, barely five feet tall, in a white muscle t shirt that didn't cover all of her toned stomach, and a pair of jeans that looked like they were practically painted on. A denim jacket was draped over the back of the couch. The girl's hair was platinum blonde, bordering on white, clearly dyed or bleached, but had dark eyebrows, and Andy could see dark hair down at the roots. She had a gold belly ring and heavy Doc Martin shoes. Small diamond earrings adorned her ears, and around her right wrist was a gold bangle bracelet. Her lipstick was a bright pink. In fact, it was clear that the girl, who looked like she was in her early twenties, had spent a decent amount of time on both her outfit and her makeup, like she wanted to make a good first impression. It was also worth noting that she was more than a little buxom for her small height, the top strained over her large tits enough that Andy could make out a white bra on underneath it. If not for the dark roots, she almost reminded him a little of a smaller version of Lauren. Both girls had a bit of that 'I'm showing off for Instagram' vibe to them, although Andy would never have said it that way to Lauren. "Andy, no fucking way! I do not want that bitch in this house!" The girl on the couch looked like she was about ready to break down crying, as Lauren loomed over her. His Aussie partner had put on a bit more than Niko, in that she was wearing yoga pants and a sports bra. "I'm sorry, Lauren," the girl, Taylor, said. "I'm so, so sorry, baby." "Don't fucking 'baby' me, you whore!" Lauren shouted, turning to walk towards Andy. "This is intolerable! Figure it out!" Lauren kept walking right past him and headed towards the stairs, each step heavy, almost like she was trying to stomp her anger out. "Figure It Out!" she shouted from upstairs, just before he heard the bedroom door slam loud enough to rattle the house. "I take it you know her?" Niko said to Taylor. "Yeah," Taylor mumbled. "I'm her ex girlfriend." Chapter 13 Andy looked at Niko, then at Taylor, then back to Niko, unsure of what to say to anyone. "Look, Niko, can you figure out her side of the story?" he said, gesturing to Taylor. "I'm going to go talk to Lauren and find out what the hell is going on." "Good luck, babe," Niko said, kissing his cheek. "Tell her," Taylor said before stopping, biting her bottom lip in a pout, then starting again. "Tell her if she'll let me, I'll spend the rest of my life apologizing to her." Andy didn't know what to say to that, so he walked out of the room and started heading to the stairs, trying to follow the sound he'd heard a minute or so ago of Lauren stomping off. Clearly there was bad blood here, but talking to Taylor first would only hurt Lauren's feelings, so he needed to check on his partner. Once he got to the top of the stairs, he saw Aisling leaning against the outside of the master bedroom door, which was closed. "What's all this then?" she said, jerking her finger to the door. "Lauren stormed in here crying a minute ago and told me to go away." "We just had a new girl show up, and apparently she used to be Lauren's girlfriend. I'm going to go talk to Lauren about it right now." Ash raised her hand. "Are you sure about this, Andy?" He shook his head with a sigh. "No, but I'm not going to sit around and do nothing, so I'm going in there." "You want me to go in with you?" Andy shook his head again. "No, better let me go in on my own." "Don't have to tell me twice. Who's keeping an eye on the ex?" "Niko's down talking to her. You're welcome to join her." "I'll do that," she said, moving to kiss his cheek, much as Niko had done. "You're a good man, Andy Rook. I'm sure you'll figure it out." "I think my spaceship knows which way to go. Tell,” "She knows," Aisling giggled, as she strolled past him and headed to the stairs. Andy moved to the bedroom door and considered knocking, but decided that it would only encourage Lauren to tell him to go away, so he simply opened the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. He saw his Aussie partner sitting on the bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms folded atop of them, her face buried against her arms. "Okay, Laur, tell me the whole story," he said, moving over to sit down on the bed. "Taylor and I dated for about a year. She was even living with me for a few months, until one day I came home from work early and found her banging some guy in our,” She paused, wiping her eyes. "She was fucking some fella in my bed. I threw her out that night, and told her to pick her shit up the next day. I packed it up and left it in the hallway for her so I didn't even have to look at her. I haven't even seen her since." "Okay. What do you want me to do here?" "Do?" She curled her fingers together into fists before forcing herself to relax them. "What I want you to do is throw the bitch out on her ass and leave her to rot in the sun." "I somehow think the Air Force will come pick her up and take her back, if that's what you want." "She deserves a lot worse." "Well, she's already been injected with the vaccine, so the urge for male cum is probably eating away at her pretty badly right now, and you know what that's like." Lauren's face scrunched up. "It's a need, but it's not punishment." "And if I send her away, I'm pretty sure the Air Force is just going to give her to someone else in New Eden, so it's not like I can make her just disappear," he said, sighing softly. "But you're the one with the history here. So you tell me what you want. Should I throw her out? Is that what you want?" "What I want? What I want is for her to be punished and learn some fucking loyalty." "Do you want to be the one to do that?" Lauren rubbed her eyes again, then reached to take one of Andy's hands that had been resting atop of her knee. "What do you mean?" "Phil told me that if a woman partakes of the cum of a man other than the one she's imprinted to, it can have, consequences. Dire consequences. Which means she's going to have to be loyal to our family, if you want her to be a part of it." "She can't just come in without some retribution, Andy," Lauren said, shaking her head. "I won't let her just walk all over me like that." "Lauren. Love. At this point, you have the upper hand. You hold all the power right now. Your ex is here, and more than anything she wants to stay here, it looks like. Right before I came up here, she said she'd do everything she could to spend the rest of her life apologizing to you, to try and make it up to you. Have you talked to her at all since you threw her out?" "I didn't even talk to her when I threw her out, Andy!" Lauren said, tossing her

Angel Studios https://Angel.com/ToddBecome a Premium Angel Studios Guild member to watch The King of Kings, stream all fan-curated shows and movies, and get 2 free tickets to every Angel Studios theatrical release. Alan's Soaps https://www.AlansArtisanSoaps.comUse coupon code TODD to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bioptimizers https://Bioptimizers.com/toddEnter promo code TODD to get 10% off your order of Berberine Breakthrough today.Bizable https://GoBizable.comUntie your business exposure from your personal exposure with BiZABLE.  Schedule your FREE consultation at GoBizAble.com today.  Bonefrog https://BonefrogCoffee.com/toddThe new GOLDEN AGE is here!  Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.Bulwark Capital https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.comBe confident in your portfolio with Bulwark! Schedule your free Know Your Risk Portfolio review. go to KnowYourRiskPodcast.com today.Renue Healthcare https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddLISTEN and SUBSCRIBE at:The Todd Herman Show - Podcast - Apple PodcastsThe Todd Herman Show | Podcast on SpotifyWATCH and SUBSCRIBE at: Todd Herman - The Todd Herman Show - YouTubeChoose Your Ending, America: Hard Truths or Feel-Good Lies. // Souls of Silicon to Police The People. // Dear Baptist “Thought Leader”: You Go First, Sir.Episode Links:"Like a pendulum": How America's racial reckoning unraveledJake Tapper's podcast moment exposes the Democratic Party's struggle to connect with voters, exemplified by the assumption his son's policeman aspiration is racist.Black dude on the street interviewing white man - potentially race-fueled explosion defusedBiracial woman is hurt over not being able to use the "N" word, never been accepted by the cultureSen. Chris Murphy shreds Education Secretary Linda McMahon for cutting funding to mental health counselors for students. Murphy: "You decided to shut down that program... it's a really cruel thing to do." The cruelty is the point.Secretary of Education Linda McMahon tells Harris Faulkner that the DOE and the DOJ will be teaming up to stop biological boys from competing in girls sports.Imma speak from the heart about the pointlessly destructive attacks on Harvard and other universities. I may be a bit los t for how to find the right words, but I do hope you'll get a sense of what I'm trying to say.Things we like: Pastor John L'hommedieu of Church Eleven32 issues a public apology for teaching a false message about prayer and healing to thousands of youth.Francis Chan tells Lecrae that he'd have a bigger church than Jesus, then throws his old church under the bus.So this is interesting. @HwsEleutheroi says that @PastorNinja will kick you in the face and knock you out if you express views on race that Jeff disagrees with. Sounds like very normal behavior for an elder. If there are any updates in the future, I'll let you know. I watch the Dividing Line so that you don't have to. What Does God's Word Say?James 4:1-2 ESV  What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

The Gate | June 8, 2025Pastor Wes Morris John 10:1-10 (NIV) Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.✓ OFTENTIMES WE CONFUSE GOD'S PROTECTION WITH RESTRICTION.  ✓ WE LIKE THE IDEA OF CONTROL MORE THAN THE POWER OF SURRENDER. ✓ WE ALLOW GATES FROM OUR PAST TO REMAIN OPEN. I Peter 5:8 (NLT) Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. THE GATE I. KNOW HIS VOICE.John 10:3-4 (MSG) The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice.Isaiah 43:1 (NLT) Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.John 20:14-16 (NIV) She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”Jesus said to her, “Mary.”She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” II. TRUST HIS PROTECTION.Psalm 91:1-2 (NLT) Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.Psalm 23:4 (GNT) Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me. III. WALK IN HIS FREEDOM.John 10:9 (NIV) I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. Proverbs 18:10 (NIV) The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

This blogcast explores “Prepare Yourself for Temptation" written by Fr. Yaroslav Drahan, SAC and read by Tom Carani.In this blog post, Fr. Yaroslav offers advice for us to prepare to encounter temptation in our lives. If we are prepared, we can better overcome temptation. The first purpose of trials we will find further in the Book of Sirach. The author of this book writes: “Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient; For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation” (Sir 2:4-5). These are awfully hard words, but they state two simple truths: for God, we are like gold, and we are dirty. In other words, we are very valuable to God, but we need to be cleaned. Consequently, the trial is like the fire that cleans us. St. Peter has a similar idea: “In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” He is speaking about the faith that is tested by fire. Therefore, we can come to the conclusion that our faith, hope, love, and intentions must be tested in order to make us better. We need to be cleansed from our weaknesses and sins, and after that, we will shine as gold. The second purpose of trials is to bring us closer to God. We can understand this better when we read the Bible attentively. The Holy Bible has thousands of examples where someone had gotten in trouble and he or she looked for help from God. Among multiple examples, I would like to share just one which is important for me. It is from Psalm 57: “Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me. In you I seek refuge. In the shadow of your wings I seek refuge till harm pass by” (Ps 57:1). The author of this psalm knows that God can help him, so in the time of trial he is not hopeless, even though it seems terrible: “I lie in the midst of lions that greedily devour the sons of men; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords” (Ps 57:4). Times of trial become for him a time when he wants to be nearer to God. Moreover, he is certain that he will receive help: “He will send [help] from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample upon me. God will send forth his steadfast love and faithfulness!” (Ps 57:4). These words are really helpful for me because they give me hope that God is not far away from me. In conclusion, I know that we can find explanations for why temptations and trials are in our lives. The most important lesson is not to give up and to keep being near to God in that time. Author:Fr. Yaroslav Drahan, SAC is a Pallottine Priest from Ukraine. Follow us:The Catholic Apostolate CenterThe Center's podcast websiteInstagramFacebookApple PodcastsSpotify Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. also appears on the podcast, On Mission, which is produced by the Catholic Apostolate Center and you can also listen to his weekly Sunday Gospel reflections. Follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube to remain up-to-date on the latest Center resources.

The Break Room (MONDAY 6/9/25) 8am Hour 1) It might be the end of an era for this type of restaurants 2) Welcome to the No-Fly list, buddy! 3) Sir your Costco ID is no good here

Back To Basics // Week 6 // StewardshipPastors JF and Ashley WilkersonStewardship: the responsible management of something entrusted to one's careLuke 19:12-13 NIV12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,' he said, ‘until I come back.'“1. Culture says it's all for you.Scripture says it's all God's, but available to you.Psalm 24:1 NIV1 The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in itDeuteronomy 8:17-18 NIV17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.Luke 19:12-13 NIV12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,' he said, ‘until I come back.'“1. Culture says it's all for you.Scripture says it's all God's, but available to you.2. Culture says to focus on your RIGHTS.Scripture says focus on your RESPONSIBILITIES.Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.1. Culture says it's all for you.Scripture says it's all God's, but available to you.2. Culture says to focus on your RIGHTS.Scripture says focus on your RESPONSIBILITIES.3. Culture says look out for number one.Scripture says use what you are given to reach the one.Luke 19:15b-19 NIV15b Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17 “‘Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' 18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.' 19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.'Luke 19:20 NIV20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.Luke 19:23-26 NIV23 “Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' 24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' 25 “‘Sir,' they said, ‘he already has ten!' 26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.1. Culture says it's all for you.Scripture says it's God's but available to you.2. Culture says to focus on your RIGHTS.Scripture says focus on your RESPONSIBILITIES.3. Culture says look out for number one.Scripture says use what you are given to reach the one.

Send us a textIn this episode, Pastor Dom teaches on the the impact of Jesus' tomb and how it relates to communion. Luke 23:48-5148 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. 50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.Luke 23:53 Then he took it down,…Luke 23:54-5554 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. 55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.Matthew 27:5757 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. Matthew 27:6060 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock;…Matthew 27:60…and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.Matthew 27:6262 The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate.Luke 11:99 “…seek, and you will find;…John 19:38-4138 …Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus;… 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden,…John 19:38…and Pilate gave him permission….Isaiah 52:1414 Just as there were many who were appalled at him his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness,John 3:1-1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.' Matthew 23:2727 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.Matthew 27:63-6663 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.' 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.Mark 16:1-31 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother o

This Day in Legal History: “Have You No Sense of Decency, Sir?”On June 9, 1954, one of the most pivotal moments in American legal and political history unfolded during the Army–McCarthy hearings. The hearings were part of a broader investigation into allegations that Senator Joseph McCarthy and his staff had pressured the U.S. Army for preferential treatment of a former aide. By this time, McCarthy had become infamous for his aggressive campaign against alleged communists in government, using Senate hearings as a stage for accusations often lacking in evidence. His tactics had created a culture of fear and censorship across multiple sectors of American life.The dramatic turning point came when Army chief counsel Joseph Welch confronted McCarthy after the senator attempted to smear a young attorney from Welch's law firm. With millions watching the nationally televised hearing, Welch famously asked, “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” The moment drew applause and signaled a critical shift in public sentiment. It crystallized growing discomfort with McCarthy's bullying methods and marked the beginning of his political downfall.The legal significance of this day lies not in a court decision but in the public rejection of demagoguery and the defense of due process and professional ethics. Welch's rebuke helped reassert norms of fairness in legislative proceedings and served as a precedent for reining in congressional overreach. Within months, McCarthy was censured by the Senate, and his influence waned. June 9, 1954, thus stands as a symbolic restoration of institutional decency amid the legal theater of Cold War America.Getty Images has launched a major copyright lawsuit against Stability AI in the UK, accusing the company of using millions of its images without permission to train its AI system, Stable Diffusion. The case, now underway in London's High Court, challenges whether such data use falls within fair use or infringes intellectual property rights. Getty insists the lawsuit is not an attack on AI itself, but a defense of copyright protections, arguing that AI can thrive alongside creators if proper licensing is respected. Stability AI denies any wrongdoing, framing the dispute as a broader debate about innovation and freedom of expression.The legal battle is unfolding amid a global wave of lawsuits over AI training data, as creative industries express concern about the unauthorized use of their work. Getty is also pursuing a parallel case in the United States. Lawyers for Stability AI argue the suit could endanger the entire generative AI industry, but Getty counters that respecting copyright is key to AI's future. The outcome of this case could reshape how copyright law is applied to AI in the UK and potentially influence government policy.One legal element of note is UK copyright's application to machine learning, particularly regarding the "scraping" of protected content. This is significant because the UK lacks a settled precedent on whether using copyrighted data to train AI systems constitutes infringement, especially in the absence of express licensing. This case could establish that precedent.Getty argues its landmark UK copyright case does not threaten AI | ReutersDamian Williams, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has left Paul Weiss just months after joining the firm to move to Jenner & Block. His departure comes as Paul Weiss faces scrutiny for striking a controversial deal with the Trump administration in March, agreeing to provide $40 million in pro bono legal services in exchange for rescinding an executive order targeting the firm. Jenner & Block, in contrast, opposed the same Trump-era executive order in court and recently secured a permanent ruling against it.Williams will now co-chair Jenner's litigation and investigations practice. During his time as U.S. Attorney, he led major prosecutions including those of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Senator Bob Menendez. In a statement, Williams praised Jenner's fearless advocacy and strategic counsel. Jenner did not mention its legal fight against Trump or Paul Weiss's agreement in its announcement.Paul Weiss has seen several other high-profile departures in recent months, including five partners who left to start a new firm and the head of its pro bono practice, who left to work on housing advocacy. The Trump-related agreement has sparked debate within the legal community, with some praising it as pragmatic and others criticizing it as compromising firm independence.Former Manhattan US attorney leaves Paul Weiss for law firm fighting Trump | ReutersA federal judge has given final approval to a groundbreaking $2.8 billion antitrust settlement between the NCAA, its Power Five conferences, and student-athletes, allowing for direct payments to college athletes for the first time. Judge Claudia Wilken ruled that the deal, which also resolves ongoing litigation over name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights, was fair and served pro-competitive purposes despite concerns raised over team roster limits and compensation caps. As part of the agreement, schools can begin sharing up to 22% of their athletic revenue—around $20 million annually per Power Five school—with athletes as soon as this summer.The deal includes $2.75 billion in back payments over 10 years to Division I athletes who played from 2016 onward. Some athletes had objected, citing unfair pay practices, gender inequities, and a lack of input from future players. Wilken responded by approving revisions that exempt some athletes from roster limits and clarified that future athletes can object to the settlement before being bound by it. Less than 0.1% of nearly 390,000 class members formally objected.While this decision marks a shift toward a new financial model in college sports, litigation will continue. Former athletes not covered by this deal are still pursuing claims, and broader legal fights remain over whether athletes should be considered employees. NCAA President Charlie Baker emphasized the deal as a stabilizing step amid ongoing legal and political challenges, including state-level competition over NIL rules.NCAA Wins Final Approval of $2.8 Billion Player-Pay Deal (2) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Tras su nominación al Oscar por interpretar a Marilyn Monroe en 'Blonde' y su participación en sagas como James Bond y 'Puñales por la espalda', Ana de Armas aterriza a lo grande en el cine de acción con 'Ballerina', película derivada del universo John Wick donde es una asesina en busca de venganza. Es uno de los estrenos de la semana con permiso de 'Sirât', la arrolladora película de Oliver Laxe entre raves y viajes por el desierto, y otras propuestas del cine español. En 30 minutos os ponemos al día del cine y las series.

John 4:43-44 After the two days, He went forth from there into Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. These verses are meant to show us the contrast between how Jesus was received in Samaria and how He was received in Galilee. He was received in Sychar, a city of Gentiles, as a prophet. Remember what the woman said after Jesus revealed that He knew she had five husbands and was living with a guy? “Sir, I perceive that You are a Prophet.” Jesus performed no miracles in Sychar that we know of, and the people wanted Him to stay. He was honored, and in an honor/shame culture, that's a big deal. They believed Him to be the Savior of the world because of His words. Jesus experienced for a brief time, only two days, the joys of sowing and reaping with His Father. What a blessed and rewarding two days! In contrast, Jesus not only was not honored in Galilee, His own country, but was shamed and cast out. He had lived a perfect life in Galilee for more than 20 years of His life. The manner in which He lived His life, His attitudes, His conduct, His words must have stood out to those who knew Him, but they couldn't see His glory. When He healed a man with a withered hand, preached the good news in the synagogue, and prophesied, they cast Him out of the city and attempted to kill Him by throwing Him off a cliff. In the next verse we will see how He was received, but for today, let's learn a couple of important lessons in walking with Jesus. First, there are good times and difficult times in ministry. We must not determine to whom and where we minister on the basis of hoped for results. We are to be faithful wherever He leads us and receive what He gives us with contentment and gratitude. If God gives us a season of sowing and reaping, we are to receive it with great joy, but be ready to move on in obedience to the leading of the Spirit of God. Second, we must not pre-judge people or assume we know how we are going to be received. We learn from this account, that the ones we think might be most receptive to our love will not be, and the ones we think might be the most resistant may not be. Familiarity may breed contempt, or at least blind people from recognizing that they have one sent from God in their midst. It is not always the case, but it still may happen. One may find a much warmer reception in a foreign field than he finds at home in his own family or church. That's how it was with Jesus, so we should not be surprised. We are to trust the reception of our love and ministry to God and His will. Our responsibility is to be faithful and to trust God for the results. So let this verse encourage us to live to love with Jesus in both good and bad times, content with whatever results or fruit the Lord wills. Let's simply be faithful, enjoy the blessings of loving with Him, and be thankful for the privilege and honor it is to work in God's field with Him. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.

 Karen Saves The Universe: Part 1Desperate aliens kidnap a Karen to save their world!Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought, in 3 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.On the starship Onan, the Priamites dubiously watched the screen display the creature. Dr. Fehr's algorithm had brought them trekking across the galaxy to a smallish, blue planet around an unimpressive star. While there was no denying the power emitted by the angry, festering organic matter before them, the thought of containing it and bringing it back to Priam was daunting. Still, the fate of their world hung upon the success of their mission."Do we have; uh; audio yet, Lieutenant Cavill?" Captain Hemsworth said, pausing briefly to joylessly ejaculate into his cumsuit, which quickly reclaimed the essence he emitted and channeled it into one of the suit's containment pouches to be resorbed as nourishment.Ever since the people of Eros had unleashed their horrific weapon on them, the Priamites orgasmed almost constantly. The Eros Curse, which seemed like a gift at first, became a tool of enslavement and oppression as the great Priam civilization devolved into listless people who passed the time sitting and staring at nothing in particular. Even special holidays were simply spent gathered in each other's' houses, grunting intermittently. The children of Priam, spared by the curse of Eros by living in growth pods, were never exposed to the disease or its effects until the seemingly arbitrary age of 18, so at least there was no trouble with the censors. The demands of orgasming so frequently took its toll on the Priamite's bodies. Dehydration, muscle spasms, and fatigue were common. The effects on the mind were worse. It wasn't until the invention of the cumsuit, which not only reclaimed the fluid loss and prevented dehydration, but also reduced arousing sensations until the wearer was nearly numb, that it was possible for them to journey out into the stars in search of a cure.Guided by the ancient journals of the revered Dr. Fehr, the Priamites had come to a small planet where it was foretold that there was a force of great and terrible power. It was hoped that this force could be used to break free of the cruel Eros Curse, but time was running out. Even wearing the cumsuits, the crew of the Onan, who were the most stoic, intellectual and sexless men of Priam, felt themselves progressively weakening to the Curse. It was only a matter of time until they lost all sense of duty and simply went adrift through the universe."No audio yet, Captain. The resonant frequency is so shrill that if we don't modulate the pitch; uh;” Lieutenant Cavill replied, closing his eyes and shaking as he orgasmed, then collapsed and stared blankly at the control panels as he recovered.Another crewman took over at the panel, "Captain, I can give you audio, but only for a short time. Even on their planet, they; they; oh; oh fuck;” the replacement said, stiffening as he spurted inside his suit, then shook his head to clear it and looked to their leader for orders. Captain Hemsworth braced himself in his chair and nodded for him to activate audio.A horrendous braying screech filled the bridge, “ No Idea Why You People Can't Even Take An Order Right! I Ordered The Cobb Salad With Extra Avocado! I Don't Care If It's Not On There Or Not! Fix The Damn Menu! I Have Been Coming Here For Over 15 Years And I Know For A Fact That You People Had Cobb Salad On There Two Years Ago When You Were Called Baker's Pie;"Another voice interjected, soft and conciliatory, "Oh, yes, ma'am; I see the confusion. The Baker's Pie that was here went out of business. This restaurant is Snooker's, now, so we don't have the same menu, but our club salad is very similar to;""Are You Actually Interrupting Me? Get. Me. A. Cobb. Salad. Extra Avocado! Do You Understand? Extra Avocado! Mucho Amortado! Comprendo Estupido?"Even in that short interlude, most of the Onan's bridge crew had begun bleeding from their ears and collapsing onto the deck. Captain Hemsworth, a man of rare tolerance and stamina, struggled past their unconscious bodies to the control panel and lowered the volume until it was barely audible. "Computer, disburse caffeline into bridge life support systems, 15 parts per million," he mumbled, leaning on the control panel for support as the strong stimulant hissed into the room. He didn't like to use the drug, because the heightened energy it gave often led to periods of prolonged involuntary masturbation, but he couldn't afford to waste time for the crewmen to awaken naturally. Not when conditions were so dire on Priam.Lieutenant Cavill groaned and rose weakly, climbing back into his console chair and checking the readings. "What happened, Captain? Our scans showed a primitive civilization on the planet without any meaningful defenses. What was that? Some kind of weapon?" he asked.Captain Hemsworth did a double-take at the crewman in wonder, but he said nothing. All around him, he watched the rest of the crew slowly getting to their feet and going back to their positions. All the men were alert, aware, and focused on their duties. Several of them were talking to each other; in full uninterrupted sentences. No one drooled, no one's eyes rolled back; not one of them stared off into space, as if dully re-living the curse that had infected their brains. He, himself, had not even felt the urge to sexually relieve himself once, even with the high levels of caffeline in the air. Indeed, he had not felt anything below the waist; not since he heard that voice. He doubted whether he would have the urge to orgasm ever again. They had finally done it."That was no weapon, Cavill; it is what we came here to find. It's the cure that Dr. Fehr told us was here all along. Contact High Command and tell them; tell them we found it. Tell them we have found; The Karen.The man-eating woman.After straightening out the incompetent waiter on her order, Karen Carmichael excused herself from her prayer group's table and walked to the restrooms, incensed. What kind of man actually cries when taking an order for a salad? Probably gay; or whatever kids were calling themselves these days. Was there such a thing as "gay" anymore, when people "identified" themselves as whatever the hell occurred to them? What was the point of picking a sexuality when people didn't even have a species anymore?Of course, Travis the Waiter had to play the victim about it, too, making the entire restaurant gawk over at their table like they were monsters. He probably knew they were a nice church group and went out of his way to make trouble. Sure, they all scream for "tolerance," but their types couldn't wait to attack nice people of faith like her who showed the world what it was to be decent and pure of heart. Well, he could just kiss his tip money goodbye! Tipping had gotten ridiculous anyway; a generation of whiny babies feeling entitled to extra money just for doing their jobs. ‘If ‘; they did their jobs. She couldn't even get a salad; and, by God, if the Manager didn't make things right, her Yelp review on this place would burn a hole through people's screens!Karen pushed on the door to the restroom tightly clutching her can of pepper spray, because sexual predators were always trying to rape women like her in public restrooms, and she nearly screamed when the door opened. Wet paper towels were everywhere. The garbage bin was overflowing, and some slob had splashed water all over the sink area! Now, she'd have to make the Manager take care of this, too! More drama, when she just wanted to have a nice lunch with her friends. And, of course, the Manager would just try to ‘handle ‘; her; as if she was some unreasonable bitch just for wanting to use a facility that wasn't absolutely disgusting! Then looking near her, but not at her, the Manager would apologize in that fake-nice voice and offer to comp her meal; offering her even more of what was bad in the first place. Managers and their fake apologies. They weren't sorry. The soulless jerks never meant it. They just wanted her to go away; acting like she was a scamming thief instead of someone who just wanted to be treated decently.She settled on the toilet and tried to calm herself. Lately, half the time she wanted to cry, or scream, or tear out her hair; but it wouldn't matter. Nothing would change. Everything changed around her, though. Menus; her children; hairstyles; prices; everything changed. It felt like everything had just left her behind. She looked everywhere for the things she used to love, but she couldn't find them anymore; and if she did find them, they weren't the same as they once were. Nothing made her feel her joy like she used to. That was it. Maybe she was done; that her turn at having any real joy was over. Now, the only time anyone tried to make her happy, or even looked at her, was when she screamed at them.Karen opened her eyes to a rattling sound at the door of her long, handicapped-bathroom stall. "Occupied!" she called out. To her dismay, the dial holding the sliding bolt turned all by itself and the door unlocked. "Hey! Get out!" she yelled, grabbing her pepper spray and holding it in front of her while she tried to stand and pull up her yoga pants."Nice human; good human;” a vaguely disembodied male voice said as a dark, hooded figure in a bizarre form-fitting spacesuit stepped into her stall holding what looked like a staff with a flexible loop affixed to the end of it. It slowly stepped toward her, as cautiously as one might approach a spooked animal. "Human want a nice piece of kale? Yes you do! Yes you do! Who's a good human?" it asked, holding out a curly dark green leaf to her and shaking it temptingly."What the hell?" she yelled, fumbling with the pepper spray can and trying to figure out how to make it work, just as the loop at the end of the staff went down over her head and around her neck, cinching tight.Karen choked, clutching at the loop with one hand, trying to loosen it so she could breathe, and with the other she emptied the can of pepper spray into the hooded face of her attacker. She struggled wildly, but the staff with the loop effectively controlled her and prevented her from landing any punches or kicks on her attacker. As darkness started creeping in on her vision, the last thing she saw was the figure deeply inhale the cloud of pepper spray and hold its breath, then say in a choked voice, "Ready for transport, sir; and man, they've got some good shit down here;”The forgotten leaf of kale fell down next to where Karen's cheek was pressed against the filthy bathroom floor, and with what she feared was her dying breath she choked out, "I want; to see; the; Manager;”Karen's ne victim."I used kale, Sir. Worked like a charm. It's one of the most nutritionally dense materials on the planet, so naturally, it was irresistible," a larger Priamite said to Captain Hemsworth, as he stripped out of his protective suit in a small enclave, bathed in an undulating light.Captain Hemsworth nodded. "Good work, Commander Momoa. Decontaminate for a full four cycles and I want protective measures in place for all personnel. God knows what this thing is capable of when it wakes."Karen heard garbled voices nearby, but kept her eyes closed and tried to steady her breathing. What had happened? The air smelled odd; almost crackling with ozone and energy, like a storm coming. The ambient sounds of the room told her she was not in Snookers anymore. Probably human traffickers. She saw a whole show about it. The bastards kidnapped her and were going to sell her into sexual slavery; except that she wasn't a teenager. She was 51 years old. Nobody would pay for sex with her, much less risk a felony conviction for it. Any ransom demands sent to her husband were going to have disappointing results, as well. So, what was going on? Why was she here? The kids were in college and wouldn't even notice she was gone until Christmas came. Her friends; her passive-aggressive competitors, if she was being honest; they'd just assume she left in a huff and stiffed them on the lunch check. The cold, hard truth was: nobody cared about her anymore and she knew it. That meant, if she was going to get out of this, she would have to do it herself. Her cheek hurt where it had hit that disgusting bathroom floor and she reached her hand up to touch it. The voices yelped in alarm and Karen opened her eyes to see two figures backing away from the enclosure she was imprisoned in."Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my purse?" she yelled, pushing herself to her feet. She walked toward them, crossing her arms and glaring. "I want whoever is in charge over here right now! I mean it!" she yelled, pointing as she walked toward them. One of the figures screamed, clutched at his ears and doubled over, staggering around the room dramatically. The other, larger one she recognized from the restaurant bathroom was in some tanning-booth-looking-thing, half naked and gorgeous in a likely-sexual-predator kind of way. Rather than flailing around the room, he seemed to have gone into a catatonic trance. God, people were useless. "You! Himbo!" she shouted, pointing at him. "Where is my purse? Did you even think to get it when you kidnapped me, or am I going to miss my Ozempic shot? I hope to God you assholes have good lawyers!"The beefy kidnapper in the tanning booth wobbled, then vomited loudly. Karen snorted as he slid down to the floor, unconscious. Pathetic. The smaller figure dove toward a panel on the wall next to her enclosure and pressed a few buttons and she heard the ambient noise of her room change, like it was encased, somehow."I've muted it. It's become even stronger than before;” Captain Hemsworth gasped, helping Commander Momoa to his feet again."How are we going to get it back to Priam? We could choke it out again every time it awakens; give the privilege out as a reward to the crew?" Commander Momoa suggested eagerly."No," Captain Hemsworth said, coming closer to the force field separating him from the angry Karen still yelling and pointing from inside the enclosure. "The cumulative effects of throttling it constantly might affect its functioning. We need The Karen at full power if we are to rescue Priam. We need to keep it conscious. We must feed it, provide it breathing gasses, and keep it clean; it appears to be constantly decaying. That reminds me ; cleaning duty goes to Ensign Holland. He's still on my shit list after the incident with the Zendayans.""Aye, sir."Captain Hemsworth cleared his throat and pressed another button on the side panel. "Hail Karen, bringer of blessed flaccidity, destroyer of abhorrent lust, and banisher of all erotic thought. We are men of the planet Priam. We mean you no harm. We come to you seeking aid, and we come in peace. Actually, until we found you, we would come almost constantly. It was disgusting. Everything was sticky. You see, our enemies from Eros sent us the most perfect pornographic images disguised in an innocent-looking email attachment. Once they were seen, they could not be unseen. They were burned into our brains, cursing us with perpetual arousal. The first wave of Priamites were taken by surprise once they activated the link. The next wave fell victim when the first wave posted the link on their social media because it was just so unbelievably; anyway, after the rest of our population fell out of curiosity or boredom, our civilization was nearly destroyed. We have been searching the stars for a cure, but to no avail. Then, just as all hope seemed lost, we found you; we heard your voice; and our loins finally withered. You are now a guest on my ship, The Onan, en route to my homeworld Priam. There, we will deliver your noxious, strident sounds to everyone, freeing them from their intransigent arousal. Then, after we are assured that all have been cured, we shall return you to your home."At this, Karen made an unpleasant face and began breathing on the clear wall of her enclosure, fogging it. Then, she quickly wrote a short message. "What does it mean?" Commander Momoa said, squinting at the squiggling lines she had made.At this, the computer made a chirp and began speaking, "The message, from the American dialect of the language English translates to: Why didn't you just make a recording?"Captain Hemsworth's shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes with a sigh. Commander Momoa's eyes went wide and he clapped his hand over his face in exasperation. "Fuck;” Momoa said in realization. "A recording;”"Dammit. We didn't have to take her at all, did we?" Captain Hemsworth groaned.Karen glared at them and wrote another word on the wall. As certain as Captain Hemsworth was that he did not need or want the translation, the computer was already on the job. "'Dumbasses,'" the computer cheerfully intoned, "a colloquial phrase, plural of the insult 'dumbass,' meaning 'a foolish or stupid person.'""End translation. Yes, Karen, if we had thought to record your voice instead of kidnapping you, this might have been a much shorter story, and considerably less inconvenient, but as it is, we are closer to Priam than Earth at this point, and our course is set. We will bring you to Priam and then return you home. Perhaps kidnapping you was not the most well-considered solution, but I defy you to think clearly after constantly watching porn for eons and let me know if you do any better."Karen's new calling.Great; as if getting old wasn't insult enough, I've actually become an intergalactic sexual repellent, Karen thought to herself as she paced around her cell. A lifetime of trying to do things right, and this is what it gets me. She wasn't so surprised that there were aliens in the universe, or that they had somehow weaponized porn, but that with all their advancements they were still so stupid!Sighing, she closed her eyes and listened to the ambient sounds of her cell. Life had been so noisy, the last 30 years. Everyone needing her, pulling on her for one thing or another. No peace. Lately though, with the kids gone and Cal; otherwise occupied; life had gone silent. The silence that she had wished for held no peace when it finally came. It just reverberated with the memory of things that had left her behind, making her anxious to fill the emptiness with noise. Nothing came to lure her mind away from the silence, no pleasurable temptations; her duties were done and it felt wrong to do, or even think about, anything else. My god, she had been kidnapped, was flying through the galaxy, and was surrounded by beefcake aliens and she was still thinking about that stupid loose tile in the master bathroom; she needed to get it fixed before the house was sold.A slight sound outside her cell drew her attention. "Who's there?" Karen asked, softly, opening her eyes.A wide-eyed figure peered around the edge of her cell, moving with cautious curiosity. It seemed younger than the other ones. It moved with a sense of barely-restrained eagerness, adorable and earnest. It also held a curved sort of wand in its hand."Honey, if you're here to anally probe me, I'll pass. I already had a colonoscopy this year, I'll have them send you the records;” she murmured, not expecting an answer.After a pause as the figure listened to the translation, its large eyes got even wider. "Is that how you poop?" he asked."What?" she asked, looking more closely at the young alien."I'm supposed to clean your cell when you poop; but you haven't pooped yet; wait, do colonoscopies make you poop?" it asked, scandalized.Karen closed her eyes and shook her head, "No. Colonoscopies put a small camera up your ass so that we can pay a doctor to do what we were afraid aliens like you would do to us if we got drunk in cornfields too much. They don't make us poop. In fact; well, never mind;” she trailed off, embarrassed.She still had vivid memories of her first colonoscopy earlier in the year, drinking gallons of preparatory laxatives, and the resulting quality time with her phone on the toilet. It was an odd experience; not awful, but not one that she could talk to anyone about. Her friends only talked about their kids and their successes, or whose husband cheated on them with some young thing, viciously salivating over their friends' misery with barely concealed glee. Forget about talking through her fears about it with Cal; that wasn't something he was interested in. Not anymore.After the procedure, she had been scared and disoriented from the sedation. For whatever reason, Cal hadn't shown up to give her a ride home. The stupid clinic wouldn't let her leave until someone could drive her home and take care of her. She just sat there getting more and more anxious. Eventually, she called an Uber and begged Xabiib the driver to pretend to be her neighbor; or just someone who cared about her. She spent the ride home trying to say his name correctly while he chuckled and repeated it for her. It was so horrifyingly embarrassing. It's one thing to have no one care about you, but another thing to have the whole world know about it when you were helpless and confused.Tears had rolled down her cheeks and she absently wiped them off with her hand. The young alien sat up and craned his head to look at the liquid on her hand. Karen snorted, "At ease, Holland. It's not poop. You're not getting anything out of me unless you have some heavy-duty magnesium supplements or yogurt."Holland's eyes went wide, "Are humans telepathic???" he gasped. "How did you know my name? Wow, that's so cool! Do it again! What am I thinking about now?"Karen suppressed a smile. Closing her eyes, she pressed her fingers to her temples and swayed from side to side, mysteriously. "I see something; something in the mist; something about; could it be; no, it makes no sense. Is it; a Zen; Zendayan? Does that make any sense to you?" she asked.Holland dropped his curved instrument in shock. "Yes! Yes! We just met them! We negotiated with them for supplies! I was there to carry stuff and; and;” he paused, shrinking in on himself a bit. "They are so beautiful. The Zendayans? So beautiful; and super nice; and just; like wow; I was supposed to just stand there until they were done with the talking and bowing and stuff, but they were just like so beautiful.""Well, what happened?" Karen asked."Captain introduced me and I bowed to them. I was feeling dizzy because, you know, their beautifulness just keeps radiating off them. Then; then; the most beautiful of them; she smiled." Holland stared at nothing, immersed in the memory, then wobbled, tipped over, and lay on the floor staring at the ceiling.Karen bit her lips in amusement. "I see. What did you do then?""I; I; I started talking and then I just couldn't stop because I was just trying to say how beautiful she was and how it just made my mind explode when she smiled and then I might have peed on the floor.""Oh dear," Karen said, cringing in sympathy. "We don't always put forward the face we want to when we are in our feelings, do we?" she said, quietly."Yeah; I've been cleaning poop ever since;” Holland sighed. After a while he sat back up, picked up the curved instrument and began twirling it in his hands. "So, like; what about you? Have you always made horrible noises?" he asked.Karen huffed, but then she saw the oblivious earnestness in Holland's face and sighed. "No; I wasn't always; like this. In fact, until about 30 years ago, I made beautiful noises. I was a pianist," she said."But, wait, they said you were a female;” Holland said, confused."Pee, an, ist," Karen repeated slowly. "I played the piano. It's an instrument; I was a musician. I was a student at Juilliard. It's a school on Earth; it was like a dream to even get in. I was on a scholarship, living in this shoddy apartment with my roommate Dana;” she trailed off, thinking about those days when everything seemed possible."Wait! Are you remembering?" Holland asked, breaking her reverie. "Can I remember it, too? Nobody wants to remember with me ever since the Zendayans, so I'm just left with my own memories and it gets so boring.""What are you talking about?""Well, it's kinda like; um; let me just show you. Computer, scan The Karen and project her memories," Holland ordered. A humming noise filled the room and a beam of light shot out of the wall and passed over her several times. Suddenly, her cell transformed into her shoddy apartment in Newark, New Jersey."Oh my gosh; it's just like it," Karen gasped looking around."Humans dream of getting into this?" Holland said, scrutinizing a cockroach scurrying along the floor."No, silly. This was our apartment across the river. We lived here when we weren't at school. Dana and I moved off campus in our second year. We took jobs on the side through an agency. That was when;” she sat down and a phone in the apartment's bedroom began ringing.A long, pale arm reached out of a pile of blankets on the bed and grabbed the phone. "Hullo?" Dana mumbled. A voice on the phone sounded irate. "Yeah, I'm almost there," she said and hung up.

Timmerie is talking about a trend that’s turning heads and raising eyebrows: Gen Z gals (we’re talking late teens to late 20s) dating men decades older. It’s Not Just About the Money (But Also… Kinda) Timmerie sits down with Jim O’Day, Executive Director of Integrity Restored, to unpack this cultural phenomenon. It’s complicated. Here’s what they think might be at play: -Some Gen Z women don’t want to hustle. Burnout is real. Years of soccer practices, AP classes, and pressure to achieve has left them ready to say: “Sir, take me to a restaurant and pay for the charcuterie.” -The financial comfort older men bring isn’t the only thing, but it’s definitely part of the attraction. Free dinners? Vacations? Yeah, that helps. Emotional Stability One of Jim’s friends is dating a woman 25+ years younger, and when asked why, she said: “He’s emotionally stable. He does what he says he’s going to do. He makes plans.” Older men, in many cases, are less glued to their phones, actually know how to have a conversation, and don’t ghost when life gets slightly inconvenient. Some Gen Z guys, meanwhile, are struggling with timidity, fear of real-life interaction, and a failure to launch. Daddy Issues or Dating Wisdom? Let’s be honest... there’s some truth to the idea that some of these girls are looking for a father figure. Not in a weird way, but in a “I never saw a man treat women with respect so I’m craving that” kind of way. But Timmerie and Jim caution us: it’s not all sweet. With big age gaps come: -Power imbalances -Life-stage mismatches (think: he’s planning retirement and she’s picking out throw pillows from the store) -Cultural confusion (she doesn’t know his music, his political history, or what dial-up internet was) The Spiritual Dimension Let’s not forget... spiritual mentorship is key here. These young women are often searching for good men, virtue, and leadership. And those are beautiful desires! But they don’t always need to be fulfilled through dating. Timmerie suggests: -Healing and discernment in friendship and faith -Mentorship from mature men and women (not romantic!) -And yes, a reminder that Jesus is the true Bridegroom

Mike Evans and Brandon Stokley without Mark Schlereth enter the third hour talking about the F1 movie coming out and it gets Stoke thinking about the manners of using “Sir” and “Mister”. Mike and Stoke debate how strong the Broncos’ RB room is without JK Dobbins. They get up to #3 of the Daily Top 5: Favorite Comedies. Stoke takes an opportunity to laugh at the latest BS on the Mike Evans Big Board of BS before they hear what Sean Payton had to say about the Broncos’ forgotten first round pick.

Es uno de los eventos del año en el cine español. El estreno de 'Sirât', la cuarta película de Oliver Laxe con la que ganó el premio del jurado en Cannes. Un impactante y salvaje viaje por el desierto con música techno y con muchas reflexiones sobre el mundo de hoy. En este episodio la analizamos a fondo y charlamos con el director gallego y el actor Sergi López. Además, comentamos 'Ballerina', la película del universo John Wick con Ana de Armas, y estrenos españoles como 'La buena suerte'. En televisión, recibimos a Javier Rey e Itsaso Arana, protagonistas de la serie 'La frontera'.

De película se pierde entre las páginas de los libros para descubrir grandes vidas, y nombres destacados de la actualidad cinematográfica. Entre esos personajes está Óliver Laxe, con él hablamos de su último trabajo, Sirât', premio del público en el Festival de Cannes, toda una odisea a través del desierto. La Buena suerte nos la trae Rosa Montero y Gracia Querejeta, un thriller con tintes de drama social protagonizado por Hugo Silva y Megan Montaner. Una cinta dónde hay vidas que quieren desaparecer y un pasado que no deja olvidar. Con Rodrigo Cortés viajamos al medievo y lo hacemos con el libro que ha escrito junto a Tomás hijo. La piedra blanda, un libro artesanal que nos descubre a un personaje muy peculiar, Pedro de Poco. Con Ballerina viajamos al universo de John Wick, es Elio Castro quien nos acerca este spin-off marcado por la mirada femenina de Ana de Armas. Nos detenemos en cuatro paredes, de Ibon Cormenzana, La historia de una familia, que ven cómo por un trágico suceso les cambiará la vida, de ella hablamos con IBon Cormenzana y Manuela Vellés. Cerramos con el libro de Iñaki C. Martínez, su título Si Te digo mi nombre tendré que matarte, es su autor quien nos cuenta todo lo que se puede, sin hacer spoiler. Todo esto además del resto de la cartelera y la series con Pedro Calvo.Escuchar audio

Nació en París, se crio en Galicia, fundó una escuela de cine en Tánger y vive en una aldea remota de Lugo. Óliver Laxe no pertenece a un solo lugar, pero en todos deja huella. Su cine, como su vida, transita entre fronteras: entre la vida y la muerte, entre lo visible y lo invisible, entre lo íntimo y lo universal. Después de 'O que arde', regresa con “Sirât”, una película radical y contemplativa. Ganadora del Premio del Jurado en Cannes, nos sumerge en una rave en el desierto. Un padre y un hijo en busca de una hija desaparecida. Pero en realidad, buscan algo más profundo. Le entrevistamos para hablar de este estreno, de su trayectoria como cineasta, de la libertad, la vida, el cine para mirarnos dentro. Y hablamos de la película “Cuatro Paredes”, con su director, Ibon Cormenzana y una de sus protagonistas, Manuela Vellés. Un proyecto de la productora Mundo Cero en colaboración con Save the Children Más información aquí: https://bit.ly/OLIVERLAXECC1524 Haz posible Carne Cruda: http://bit.ly/ProduceCC

A Friss Hús fesztiválos gonzó podcastsorozat utolsó előtti adásában Beton.Hofit látogatom meg távol a Puskin zajától, hogy olyan fontos témákról faggassam, mint a szemöldöke és az újdonsült tetoválása, de szóba jön a korai statisztaszerepe Törőcsik Franciska oldalán, illetve a főszerep, amit egy marosvásárhelyi Sirály-előadásban játszott pár éve. Kitérünk persze a remek kisfilmekre is, amiket a Friss Hús nemzetközi versenyébe válogatott, valamint elárulja, hogyan született meg az a sor a Pokol című legújabb számában, hogy aszondja "magyar rendőr, hogyha támad a nép, álljatok át".Beszélgetek továbbá Szántó Fannival, aki a fesztivál talán legviccesebb filmjét csinálta meg Két felnőtt címmel. Az egész egy vécében játszódik (ott is forgatták) és két szuper színész, Gellért Dorottya és Lengyel Benjámin remekel benne. Végül közkívánatra visszatér a fesztivál mókamester igazgatója, Deák Dani, aki megint levonja a konzekvenciákat.Készítette: Varga FerencZene: Hegyi OlivérJó szórakozást az adáshoz, és ha tetszik, kérlek⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠támogasd a Filmklub podcastot a Patreonon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, egy dollár is nagy segítség! Ha a Patreon túl macerás, támogathatod a podcastot a PayPalon (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ferencv1976⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) vagy a Revoluton (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ferenc7drh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) keresztül is. Nagyon köszönöm!

El director gallego, tras conquista el Premio del Jurado en Cannes, presenta 'Sirât', su inmersión en las rave y en el desierto en un viaje salvaje y arrollador que protagoniza Sergi López. Con ellos charlamos de salirse del sistema, de espiritualidad, de cicatrices, ego y heridas, y del cine como ceremonia de revelación. 

El director Oliver Laxe y el actor Sergi López presentan Sirát, una película galardonada en Cannes y considerada por muchos expertos como el próximo éxito

Oliver Laxe presenta Sirát, su nueva película, junto a uno de los actores protagonistas de la obra Sergi López.Una página web promocionada por influencers ha estafado miles de euros en billetes de avión ficticios. Nos cuenta Jordi Fábrega.Joan Solés relata como se han localizado a varios descendiente de Leonardo da Vinci con vida.

•⁠ ⁠Intro: பள்ளிகள் இன்று திறப்பு! •⁠ ⁠குற்றவாளி ஞானசேகரனுக்கு ஆயுள் தண்டனை!•⁠ ⁠SIR-ஐ காப்பாற்றியது யார்? - இபிஎஸ்•⁠ ⁠‘யார் அந்த சார்' சர்ச்சை - அரசுத் தரப்பு விளக்கம்•⁠ ⁠ஞானசேகரனுக்குத் தூக்குத் தண்டனை வழங்கியிருக்க வேண்டும் - தமிழிசை சௌந்தரராஜன்.•⁠ ⁠"எந்த கோமாளிக் கூட்டத்தாலும் வெல்ல முடியாது” - முதல்வர் மு.க.ஸ்டாலின்•⁠ ⁠திமுக பொதுக்குழுவில் நிறைவேற்றப்பட்ட 27 தீர்மானங்கள்.•⁠ ⁠அதிமுக மாநிலங்களவை வேட்பாளர்கள் அறிவிப்பு? •⁠ ⁠ஜூன் 4 அதிமுக எம்.எல்.ஏ-கள் கூட்டம்? •⁠ ⁠தேமுதிக ரியாக்‌ஷன் என்ன?•⁠ ⁠பாமக-வில் விரைவில் குழப்பங்கள் தீரும் ராமதாஸ்! •⁠ ⁠"தமிழக ஆளுநர் நேர்மையானவர்; அவருக்கு மாநில அரசு ஒத்துழைக்க வேண்டும்" - சி.பி ராதாகிருஷ்ணன்•⁠ ⁠போர் என்றால் இழப்புகள் இருக்கத்தான் செய்யும் - ஆளுநர் ஆர்.என்.ரவி•⁠ ⁠போர் விமானங்களை இந்தியா இழந்ததாக ஒப்புக்கொண்ட முப்படைத் தளபதி! - விளக்கம் கேட்கும் காங்கிரஸ் •⁠ ⁠விஜய் இளைய காமராஜரா? - சீமான் காட்டம்.•⁠ ⁠"தரம் தாழ்ந்த விமர்சனங்களை நான் வைத்தது கிடையாது" - வைரலான வீடியோ குறித்து வருத்தம் தெரிவித்தார் ஆதவ் அர்ஜூனா!•⁠ ⁠”கர்நாடகாவில் கமல் படத்தைத் திரையிட்டால் தியேட்டரை கொளுத்துவோம்” - கன்னட அமைப்புகள்•⁠ ⁠'ரித்தீஷ் ரூ.300 கோடிக்கும், ஆகாஷ் ரூ.500 கோடிக்கும் வீடு கட்டுகிறார்கள்' - நயினார் நாகேந்திரன்•⁠ ⁠தொடர்ந்து 2வது மாதமாக ஜிஎஸ்டி வசூல் ரூ. 2 லட்சம் கோடியைக் கடந்தது! •⁠ ⁠டெல்லியில் தமிழர்கள் வசிக்கும் மதராஸி கேம்ப்-ல் வீடுகள் இடிப்பு; கதறும் மக்கள் - என்ன நடந்தது?•⁠ ⁠ரஷ்யா ஒரே நாளில் 40 போர் விமானங்களை இழந்ததா? •⁠ ⁠Vikram Sugumaran: `மதயானைக்கூட்டம்' பட இயக்குநர் விக்ரம் சுகுமாரன் காலமானார்.•⁠ ⁠கருக்கலைப்பு மாத்திரையைக் கண்டுபிடித்த டாக்டர் எட்டியென்-எமிலி பவுலியூ காலமானார்.

HORROR WITH SIR. STURDY EP 553  NIGHT OF THE ANIMATED DEAD (2021) REVIEW – A REMAKE RESURRECTED   What's good, Horror Fam!? Tonight on Horror With Sir. Sturdy, we're digging up the 2021 animated remake of a horror classic—Night of the Animated Dead. This film reimagines George A. Romero's 1968 zombie masterpiece in cartoon form… but does it hit, or should it have stayed buried?   Joining me for this graveyard shift are the usual suspects:

We're back in the French Riviera for a very special episode, as Girls On Film returns to the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. This year, host Anna Smith welcomed guests to the second Girls On Film Cannes Do at The Members Club. This glamorous networking event on the beach brought together filmmakers, critics, and creatives celebrating the power of women in cinema. In this episode, you'll hear reflections from our community on what Girls On Film means to them. Later on in the episode Anna reunites with film journalist Wendy Ide who reflects on this year's films, which she says have been of a consistently high standard. Wendy shares her standout picks from the festival, from the fiercely divisive Die, My Love, a visceral exploration of the raw edges of motherhood and mental unravelling, to Sound of Falling, a haunting meditation on how trauma echoes through time and place. She also dives into Sirât, an allegorical road movie, in which gender and disability are refreshingly incidental, not defining. Plus other titles that are already generating serious awards buzz. And finally, we're joined by Liza van der Smissen and Nicole Lieberman, founders of the Female Film Club. This trailblazing global network uplifts women in the industry through practical workshops, seminars and a thriving, supportive community. They share the story behind their mission and how they're helping to reshape the future of film, one powerful connection at a time. They also unveil an exciting new opportunity: a £10,000 investment in a short film, designed to give back to their talented global community. To enter from 16th June onwards, filmmakers must join their networking space. If you're looking to join a space that champions and supports women in film, don't miss out – click this link to join the Female Film Club: [link: https://female-film-club.mn.co/users/onboarding/choose_plan?plan_id=1818474&bundle_token=aca8b4a8f139016aca1a9fdc680a97a8&utm_source=manual] We would also like to thank our incredible sponsors for all their support: Col Needham and Karen Needham at IMDb: [link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18211920/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_girls%2520on%2520film] Clare Bateman-King at Lilac Grove Entertainment: [https://lilacgrove.com/] JoJo Dye at JJD Consultancy: [link: https://jjdconsultancy.com/] Jane Owen at Jane Owen PR: [https://janeowenpr.com/] The House of Oria: [https://www.thehouseoforia.com/] Sunny Pal at Astella: [https://www.instagram.com/astellajewellery/?hl=en] HLA Agency: [https://hlaagency.co.uk/] Films mentioned in this episode: Die, My Love, Lynne Ramsay Eleanor the Great, Scarlett Johansson The History of Sound, Oliver Hermanus Mastermind, Kelly Reichardt My Father's Shadow, Akinola Davies Pillion, Harry Lighton Romería, Carla Simón Sirât, Oliver Laxe Sorry Baby, Eva Victor Sound of Falling, Mascha Schilinski The Secret Agent, Kleber Mendonça Filho Sign up to the Girls On Film newsletter below: http://eepurl.com/iEKaM-/ or email girlsonfilmsocial@gmail.com to be signed up. Become a patron of Girls On Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast Follow us on socials: www.instagram.com/girlsonfilm_podcast/ www.facebook.com/girlsonfilmpodcast www.twitter.com/GirlsOnFilm_Pod www.twitter.com/annasmithjourno Watch Girls On Film on the BFI's YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX…L89QKZsN5Tgr3vn7z Girls On Film is an HLA production. Host: Anna Smith Executive Producer: Hedda Lornie Archbold, who also produced this episode Audio Editor: Benjamin Cook Intern: Hattie Morris Principal Partners: Vanessa Smith and Peter Brewer © HLA Agency

The CBB boys (Bill Z, Steve and Caleb) say farewell to Spring with the end of the Merry Month of May and look forward to Summer with this new audio episode! After an opening tangent salvo about Diamond's bankruptcy and all that brings, toys and tariffs and ... um ... the 2008 Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy, our fellas finally get focused on the funnybooks. Absolute Green Lantern (DC), Resurrection Man: Quantum Karma (DC), The Incredible Hulk (Marvel), Lost Fantasy (Image), I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer (Image) and Sectaurs (Nacelle/Oni) are discussed. It is worth noting that our discussion of the Hulk makes many references to the late, great Peter David (who was also a past guest of ours.) This episode was recorded on 5/21/2025, three days before his unfortunate passing. Rest well, Sir.    

HORROR WITH SIR. STURDY EP 552 SEOUL STATION (2016) REVIEW & THE OUTBREAK BEFORE THE TRAIN   What's good, Horror Fam?! Tonight on Horror With Sir. Sturdy, we're takin' it back to where the infection began with a deep dive into Seoul Station (2016)—the animated prequel to Train to Busan.   This film packs all the tension, heartbreak, and horror you'd expect from the franchise, but through the unique lens of animation. It's gritty, socially charged, and completely underrated.   Joining me for this one:

104. epizóda Vertiga bude plná kino a televíznych noviniek. V kinosálach na vás vyskočí nový Karate Kid, dôležitý slovenský dokumentárny film Hlas lesa, ale aj výber filmov z prehliadky francúzskej kinematografie Crème de la crème. A v dnešnej epizóde sa vrátime aj na 78. ročník festivalu v Cannes a predstavíme si víťazov hlavných kategórií. Zo streamov sme vybrali nepodarenú hru na Indiana Jonesa s názvom Prameň mladosti, ale predstavíme si aj skvelý britský seriál Malé katastrofy, či aktuálny hit slovenského netflixu – Sirény. A máme pre vás ešte jednu príjemnú správu. V súťaži Podcast roka 2025 sme opäť získali nomináciu v umeleckej kategórii Ateliér. Budeme veľmi radi, ak nám dáte svoj hlas na stránke podcastroka.sk. Ak nás počúvate v sobotu, máte na to už len pár hodín. Vážime si vašu podporu. Zoznam filmov a seriálov z epizódy: Karate Kid: Legendy / Karate Kid: Legends Hlas Lesa Bolero (prehliadka Crème de la crème) Animale (prehliadka Crème de la crème) Bratia Lumièrovci - Dobrodružstvo pokračuje / Lumière, l'aventure continue (prehliadka Crème de la crème) 78. IFF Cannes ocenenia Prameň mladosti / Fountain of Youth (AppleTv+) Malé katastrofy / Little Disasters (Paramount+) Sirény / Sirens (Netflix) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bread of Life | May 25, 2025Pastor Wes Morris John 6:24-35 (NLT) So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you…They replied, “We want to perform God's works, too. What should we do?” Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn't give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  √  IT'S POSSIBLE TO BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND HAVE THE WRONG HEART.John 6:26 (NLT) Jesus replied, “The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me.Isaiah 29:13 (NIV) These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.I Samuel 16:7 (NIV) Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. You're at peace even if no one notices.You obey God even when it's inconvenient or uncomfortable.You serve without needing applause or affirmation.You can celebrate others without comparison or jealousy. √ WE FIND OUR DEEPEST SATISFACTION NOT IN WHAT GOD GIVES, BUT IN TRUSTING WHO HE IS.John 6:29 (NLT) Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”Exodus 33:12-15 (NLT) Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me...14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”√ THE GREATEST GIFT GOD GIVES US IS HIMSELF.John 6:35 (NLT) I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. THE BREAD OF LIFEI. I CHOOSE GOD‘S WORD OVER THE WORLD'S WAYS.Matthew 4:3-4 (NLT) During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”II. I CHOOSE SURRENDER OVER STRIVING.Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG) Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.III. I CHOOSE LASTING PEACE IN HIS PRESENCE.Isaiah 26:3

John 5:1-9   After Jesus healed the son of the official in Capernaum, there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids-- blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me." Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath.

We speak with the team behind the new men’s title ‘Sir!’, plus 40 years of ‘Country Living’, a design podcast turned magazine – ‘The Grand Tourist’ – and fashion catalogues are back.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

HORROR WITH SIR. STURDY EPISODE 550 JIN-ROH

HORROR WITH SIR. STURDY EP 551~ `PERFECT BLUE (1997) & THE INTENSITY OF ANIMATED HORROR   What's good, Horror Fam!? Tonight on Horror With Sir. Sturdy, we're diving deep into the animated psychological horror cult classic—Perfect Blue (1997).   This film is pure intensity—disturbing visuals, identity breakdowns, blurred reality, and the kind of suspense that crawls under your skin.   This ain't your typical anime. It's twisted, brilliant, and leaves your mind spinning.   Joining me tonight are some real ones:

Pastor Jeff shares today that sometimes, God answers prayers in surprising ways, ways we might not understand at first, but they are even better. John 4:11 and 13-14 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Send us a text"The best quote that I still say (and I say it to my son all the time) is as Ernie says, 'Not every day can be the best day of your life.' And it's so true. So, if you're having a bad day, Ernie Ring said ... it's okay." —Maureen P. Kohi, MD, FSIR, recipient of the WIR Champion AwardIn this episode, host Natosha N. Monfore, DO, speaks with 2025 Women in IR (WIR) Champion Award winner Maureen P. Kohi, MD, FSIR, about her inspirations, the importance of groups like the Women in IR Section, advice she gives trainees and more. Related resources:Episode 50: Panel discussion with the Women in Interventional Radiology Champion Award winners ListenVisit the SIR Women in Interventional Radiology (WIR) Section pageSIR thanks BD for its generous support of the Kinked Wire.Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology.Support the show

Where crops grow, weeds are inevitable and impossible to eliminate entirely. Likewise, spiritual weeds—all the burdens and ambiguities that cause harm or drain our time and energy—are part of the reality of kingdom work. Just as we manage physical weeds by observing what bears fruit, we can limit spiritual resistance and toxicity in our lives by discerning the relationships and influences that shape us.The path of faith includes difficulties, hurts, and uncertainties, but the good news is that it ultimately doesn't matter how many weeds there are or how much we manage to uproot. God invites us to grow not in success, but in faithfulness—and to do so as a community that tackles the weeds together. --- Scripture: Matt 13: 24-30 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28 “‘An enemy did this,' he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29 “‘No,' he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'”

Bonus Episode #44 of BGMania: A Video Game Music Podcast. Today on the show, Bryan from RPGera presents another Musical Review, focusing on a game recently released for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S from Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive... Clair Obscur: Expedition 33! Email the show at bgmaniapodcast@gmail.com with requests for upcoming episodes, questions, feedback, comments, concerns, or whatever you want! Special thanks to our Executive Producers: Jexak, Xancu, & Jeff. EPISODE PLAYLIST AND CREDITS Alicia from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier, 2025] Gustave from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard, 2025] Lumière from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier, 2025] Spring Meadows -Battling Breeze- from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard, 2025] Lune from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier, 2025] World Map -Until You're Gone- from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard, 2025] Flying Waters -Goblu- from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier, 2025] Une vie à t'aimer from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier & Victor Borba, 2025] Forgotten Battlefield -Dualliste- from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier, 2025] Sirène -Robe de Jour- from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier, 2025] Paintress from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier, 2025] We Lost from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier & Victor Borba, 2025] Une vie à peindre from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier & Victor Borba, 2025] Maelle from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 [Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier, 2025] SUPPORT US Patreon: https://patreon.com/rpgera Thanks to our Patrons: Jexak, Xancu, Prof-Jeff, and Adam CONTACT US Website: https://rpgera.com Discord: https://discord.gg/cC73Heu Twitch: https://twitch.tv/therpgera Twitter: https://twitter.com/OriginalLDG Instagram: https://instagram.com/bryan.ldg/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/leveldowngaming RPGERA PODCAST NETWORK Very Good Music: A VGM Podcast Listening Religiously

Cannes 2025 has arrived—and you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year's festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. For our third episode from the sunny shores of southern France, Film Comment contributors Mark Asch and Beatrice Loayza join Editor Devika Girish to unpack two of the most go-for-broke selections to screen so far—Oliver Laxe's Sirât (2:25) and Ari Aster's Eddington (21:20)—before turning to the more modest charms of Hafsia Herzi's The Little Sister (41:20). Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter for a steady stream of Cannes coverage, providing everything you need to know about the 2025 edition.

Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet here: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/The cream-topped, dome-lidded Frappuccino is the caffeinated crown jewel of the Starbucks empire. It helped the company break out from regional coffee chain to global lifestyle brand, made cold drinks into 75% of Starbucks' beverage sales, and created a whole new language of filibuster-length orders (“Can I get a grande vanilla bean frappe, in a venti cup, extra whip on top and a mocha drizzle?”). But the original Frappuccino was actually created at a boutique Boston coffee shop in the early '90s to survive the summer sales slump. Then a stand-up comic in Santa Monica took a blender and a big idea to make a version for Starbucks…only for CEO Howard Schultz to dismiss it as a low-brow slushie (Sir, this is a Starbucks, not a 7-Eleven). Find out how a frozen coffee shake went from indie experiment to global juggernaut, why innovation doesn't always mean inventing something new, and how the Frappuccino became the best idea yet.Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet for the untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with — and the bold risk takers who made them go viral.Episodes drop every Tuesday, listen here: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.