BlueWindBoy

“She asked the chemist about possible side effects and told him not to bother with the pills.” -- And if she was drinking as well, this was probably good thinking on her part. Time of day may also be part of the equation. Pam may have better self-control in the morning when she's well-rested. Then, at the end of the day, especially if there's been stress, her self-control may slip. "Ozzie and I have to work for a living.” -- It's not that they HAVE to work for a living. They GET to work for a living. Can't Spencer just smack Chris upside the head with a four-by-two? I HATE those kinds of family meetings, but they're necessary from time to time. Everyone grieves in their own time and in their own way, yet CJ's right, 3 1/2 years is a long time for so much to be unresolved. I'm glad she'll see a therapist, and living really can be better through chemistry. “You’re a Liston by injection!” -- YES!!! “It’s not a purse, you bloody Yank! It’s a sporran." -- Which is just Scottish Gaelic for . . . wait for it . . . "PURSE!" And how is it that CJ doesn't know this having spent hours grilling Mr MacDughlas in DC? “I think I like wearing a skirt. The air around my junk feels great.” -- They'll love it in Foggy Bottom, especially the 7th floor. "In the long run, I’m sure we’ll forget most of the unpleasant crap and remember the good times.” -- Uh, no, probably not. If Pam gets better, it will be remembered as the turning point. If she gets worse, then there will be regret. The details will fade and be remembered and retold differently, but the drama will be remembered. ===== I haven't figured out when or where, but I want to have the guys wear them again. -- When CJ goes on an official state visit to the newly independent Scotland, nach!

Typo alert: "Ozzie and I want her to feel at home with her Aussie family.” -- It should probably be "her Ozzie family." I'll show myself out. "We refuse to live in fear." -- AHA!! The REAL reason they're not wearing masks! CJ is a closet trump-bot! "Or we could just sneak off tomorrow morning and do it. He wouldn’t need to know.” -- Oh, yeah, that's really going to work, Pam. More than you need counseling and drugs, you deserve a slap for even suggesting this. And I can't believe that you've roped this priest into your stupidity. No pastor worth his salt would ever baptize an infant without knowing the parents would bring the child up in the practice of the faith. This is a non-starter in so MANY ways, it really shows how out of touch with reality you are, Pam. Before the counseling and drugs, Pam needs a complete physical, including neurological work up, to rule out physical contributions to her complicated grief. @Defiance19 has been waiting for that first bottle of Liston wine sold at the corner bodega. -- Liston wine will NEVER be sold at the corner bodega, unless Owen and CJ sell out to a Mondavi/Gallo consortium.

"Something with pink flowers would be cute for a little girl.” -- Only a real man can wear pink. Kilts? "He’s now attached to the US embassy in Mexico City.” -- Sounds like a good first assignment for a new FS Consular Officer. Who knows, maybe his Cuban language skills will help? CJ assumed Pam had the receiver in her room so he turned it off. -- Somebody's not going to be happy when this is discovered.

"I’m anxious to hear the results but not really nervous.” -- Anxious but not nervous? What are nerves but anxiety? He's just not making sense. And anxiety and nerves will do that to you. Once the winner was announced, he would share the appropriate one with a congratulatory message. If he won, the picture would be of him and Adam. -- Taking a cue from CJ: always write two speeches. The End -- I get the feeling that's some kind of unresolved story line? Did you run out of words for the episode?

Needless mention of the orange loser! Go directly to jail! Do NOT pass GO! Do NOT collect $200! “I’m not used to dancing in boots." -- I wonder if that's harder than dancing in heels. Wearing a Madonna microphone headpiece -- That just sounds weird, but it's a real thing! Like she invented it or something. Sure, it was his last dance on The Voice, but was it his last tango in LA?

But it's the dog and the truck who might leave?

Are you ashamed of the hours spent together? Face turned away from the bright rising sun? Will you forever live deep in the shadow of bleak expectation till everything's done? -- If he starts singing country, will it be about the dog or the truck? I note the lyrics are (c) Parker Owens, so did Michael give them to Chipper? And if so, can it really be an "Original Song"?

“You got plans tonight?” -- I'm not sure if Chipper's da man, or just a dog here. black dress slacks, a white guayabera, and a panama hat -- Latin vibe or South American narcotraficante? Chipper CAN'T go Hollywood or even California because Cesar and Brett have liquidated all their holdings. Where would CJ, Owen, and Liebe stay, not to mention the rest of the Squad?

typo alert: You've written -- The Armani reps -- and I think you want -- "The Armani reps -- else the quotation marks are unbalanced in the paragraph. "I’ve had fun with you, Chipper. But I don’t think we have a future together.” -- What? She doesn't want a bi-boyfriend? Or is the hunk she walked away with at the party unwilling to share? There's still Ajax and Marina, Bryce and Zion, Bears Ears, Miles, and Blaine and Michael, that I know of. Meanwhile, see the Chipper, see the taco, see Chipper biting into the taco, see Chipper smile.

the new Emporio Armani underwear model -- WOW! Except I looked at a bunch of Emporio Armani's male underwear models (a uniformly bland set of guys), and NONE of them are sprouting any kind of noticeable body hair. Not sure how Chipper's gonna react to that. "that friend in DC I mentioned before" -- uuuuhh, who could that be? Carson, maybe? Thiago? Harley? As for social media, as Sir Humphrey reminds Prime Minister Hacker, "In government, there's ALWAYS something to be discrete about."

Six years after leaving New York, Chipper was a confident man. -- If he has to say it, does he really believe it? “Shit, yeah it messed me up. After I called you Wednesday, I was a basket case. I fucked up rehearsals big time." "I’m not sure how I kept my shit together during lunch.” "But to be honest, I’m not sure I want to win.” ---- A crisis of confidence, a piercing of adolescent invulnerability, a bit of reality therapy and waking up to the fact that the world is not always nice and life is hard. Suddenly, Chipper has to want something bad enough that he'll have to work for it, maybe even at the expense of other things and relationships. These are hard learnings. Still doesn't explain why Sean ISN'T in LA.

"How about we put the hair up in a bun?” -- I likes me a well-done man-bun. “Shut up, Shelton." -- Because you can't say "ASSHOLE" on national TV. His grin grew when he saw Ethan, Zion, and Bryce raise their thumbs in salute. -- Wait, where's Sean? BTW, you could have added more to the story. You have 7 words left over from your 1k limit.

What about Louis' Italian-American Restaurant in the Bronx? I hear they've got an old-fashioned toilet. You know, the box and the chain thing. ----- Tan, well built with sparkling salt-and-pepper hair, the man looked like what central casting would send out to play a lawyer. -- Sam Waterston in his best days! "I’d rather think of it as incentivizing you to join our company.” -- In a Vito Corleone kind of way. “You’re dead, Chipper. You’ll never work in the music business.” Greg’s murderous look made Chipper swallow. “And as for you”—Nalbo gave Crisanto the same stare—“my attorneys will destroy you. I’ve done nothing wrong.” -- Oooooh, threatening a cooperating witness AND an agent at the same time while still being recorded! THIS is an A+ move everytime! "I’ll be out of jail before the day’s over.” -- Maybe. And maybe he'll be on his way to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. Jeff Epstein did some time there not so long ago, but maybe you've heard of that, this being 2019 and all. As for Chipper's stress, some short-term anti-anxiety and blood-pressure meds should see him through the week.

I consciously wrote about them taking selfies while at Coachella, but never brought up a camera while they were going at it. -- OK, I thought I remembered a camera at Coachella. As for Bryce and Zion, the antipathy shown them by several readers surprised me. -- Chipper likes Bryce and Zion, so I want to like them as well. But they're the new guys and the guys in the pic with Chipper, so I'm also suspicious. OTOH, they were clear in their warnings about Nalbo, so that's to their credit, but maybe they WANT us to think they're the good guys to throw us off the scent. The question is not, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" but "What were we distracted from seeing while we watched the chicken cross the road?" So, if Bryce and Zion didn't take the pics, who did? Who else was in the room while B&Z were using Nalbo's powder? And, what about the Bears Ears? Inquiring minds want to know these things. And I pity the fool when Chipper and Ethan figure out who set Chipper up. The wrath of the Squad AND the Elite will be upon them. And they can't even flee to Brazil because Thiago has friends/family there.

Presumptuous ass was what Chipper thought. --And what TMZ would do if they got hold of these pictures-- Time for an empire, or at least a livelihood, to go bye-bye. If Chipper doesn't end up owning the "organization," I think CJ and family will. I don't know about TMZ, but the orange blob's paparnazis at The Enquirer would be happy to torture a friend of CJ, I think. The pics in the shower are certainly the house cameras in Malibu. I don't think the three of them did lines there, so that just leaves the van at Coachella and the three of them. So was it Zion or Bryce? "Miles will know what to do about our entertainment mogul.” -- I think our mogul is about to become a mogul. This is 2019, and #MeToo is still a thing, even in Hollywood. Bryce and Zion can put on their bear's ears and recall some of the young'uns who've fallen into this canyonland. I'm learning how to milk the most drama out of unsavory characters. -- Fine, as long as he's hoist on his own petard! We already know there are no pics of when they first met -- how do we know this?

Will the Predator become Prey? Where is Parker? Where is Blaine?

Chipper could not shake the feeling any interaction might be dangerous. -- Because he knows what safe feels like, I'm glad he can understand what unsafe feels like. Good on Chipper! “Dude, what decade you living in? Haven’t you noticed longer hair, full beards, and hairy chests are in for my generation?” -- I'm good with the longer hair and otter-like chest hair, but I prefer facial scruff on my guys over a full beard. And, again, kudos to Chipper for knowing what he wants and insisting on it. He could not help smiling even when sweat dripped into his eyes and droplets clung to his chest hair. -- Oooooh, I want to dive into THAT swamp!!! I hope he's not commando.

Yes, thank you. I wasn't thinking about Tony being at the house, so much as it being THE HOUSE, and the bacchanals that Tony hosted there.

“Both Greg and his wife have a taste for young ones. Either sex.” -- Oh FFS, Harvey Weinstein meets Bryan Singer. When the man ran a hand down his back to his ass, Chipper knew it was really time to go. -- Along with not indulging in the chemical favors, which were bound to affect his judgement, this is very wise. Nalbo is CREEPY and believes himself entitled to invade people's personal space (if he even believes they HAVE personal space).

"I’m sorry, bud. That’s the second time Adam pits me against a friend. I hate this shit." -- Other than Damian, are there people who AREN'T Chipper's friends? Cuz this is going to keep happening if he stays in this line of business. "Wanna come to a hot pool party in Malibu?” -- Uh, "hot"? Just what might that mean in this context? Will he bring Bliss with him? And what party favors might be involved? At the Tony Stark house?

A great voice can get you part of the way but to be a star people have to connect with the performer. A singer who 'feels' what he thinks will move listeners. -- "Sincerity is that quality which comes across on television. Once you can fake it, you've got it made." R M Nixon "I am, I said" -- so plangent, as much as it's about being torn between NYC and LA, it's also about being lonely because nowhere is home any more. And if Chipper is really feeling that at 22, he's a REALLY old soul, and I'm sad.

“Sean’s gonna be pissed you cheated on him.” -- THIS took a double double take to decipher. Well done! "Bud, you’re gonna have a lot of people wanting a piece of you.” -- I detect some double entendre here, maybe even foreshadowing. "[Chipper] lifted himself on his arms, stabbed Bliss one final time" -- in the back, right? cuz it's just business, amirite? Thank you for providing only the barest outlines of a gratuitous straight sex scene. I don't have time or stomach for that. I am surprised that Chipper didn't invite Ajax and Marianne, though.

"The hug and kiss they exchanged were more than friendly. . . He and Bliss had become close over the preceding weeks." -- Uh, are you implying something here? Have you, perhaps, left out something gratuitous? I'm just asking the questions.

Can't have [Chipper] dropping out and becoming a beach bum/model like the two guys he met in the last chapter. -- CJ would never let that happen. Chipper would get a different kind of intervention. Besides, Justin seems to be doing OK.

Thanks for the gratuitous sex scene, Carlos! I've only had one experience with opioids and one with cocaine (both medical), and they were enough to show me how easy it would be to let myself fall into that drain. I keep trying to get my drug man to get me into a clinical trial for Psilocybin with MDMA boosters, but no go. YET! And my friends who use cannabis tell me that the strains available commercially are WAY too strong for old potheads like them. The new stuff is only for the young.