Louisaland - LouisaLand

Bernie worries about Eli being a cop.

1. Penelope or Hotch!

2. Will and JJ. They both had really demanding/difficult/dangerous jobs but managed to resolve their differences in a believable, sensible way whilst raising children. 

3. Rossi. I feel like he acknowledged his flaws/failings more than Gideon and tried to keep up with tech/modern stuff. He also got on better with most of the team than Gideon!  4. Foyet, it was such a long arc with so many twists and turns, I got chills at certain points. Runners up would be The Fisher King and Zugzwang for the puzzles they set the team and how they all had to work together to solve them.

5. Love Alex Blake and Spencer Reid, she was so maternal and nurturing in just the way he needed. Penelope and Hotch had a lovely friendship too, but the6 seem to be my answers for almost everything!

6. Penelope. It felt so good as a curvy lady to see a fully-fledged character who wasn’t just the fat best friend on TV! Like her, I wear lots of bright colours, have a ton of hair accessories and am an empath!  7. The Pilot, all of S 4, Reflections of Desire, S 9 or 10 Halloween ep…

8. The one with the maggots/bugs, it was gross! Oh, and the one where the unsub stole eyes from his victims! 

OK im making a criminal minds tag game cos I'm curious :))

1. Favourite character?

2. Favourite ship?

3. Gideon or Rossi?

4. Favourite unsub?

5. Favourite friendship?

6. Who do you relate to most?

7. What episode you would tell someone to watch to get them into cm?

8. What episode you would get rid of forever?

Tagging some moots cos I'm curious!!

@deadravenclaw @starry-eyed-spence @hotchley @baureid @raegan-reid @hqtchner @sadspencer @elliottspond @anastasiahotchner @moreidsdaughter @tenelope @spencersendgame @lesbiantodds @reidology

The engagement ring that Hotch uses to propose to Penelope in my AU Into The Gotchaverse. It’s supposed to be rose gold, with an opal in the centre, surrounded by alternating diamonds and pearls. I figured Hotch wouldn’t go for a stone of any particular colour, as Penelope wears all of them ( Jack comes to help and says he thinks Penelope’s favourite colour is rainbow!) and a coloured gem could clash with whatever outfit she was wearing. Pearls and diamonds are also neutral/go with anything, and Penelope also wears gold and silver jewellery, so rose gold seemed like the best choice. Traditionally opals and pearls are not used in engagement rings, as opals are supposed to come loose very easily and pearls represent tears/sadness, so not very auspicious. I feel like Hotch would know that and mentions it once Penelope has accepted. She, of course, loves it! Now I have to write the proposal, in my head it is very romantic, thoughtful and sweet, so I hope that translates to the page!

Even more Season 17 SVU thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How could Gotcha be anything else? They get eachother and I can picture Penelope saying it when she gives Hotch a surprise hug or kiss or if she’s played a sweet prank on him, it’s what she’d say! Thank you Sumayyah for your sweet words, you’re an angel!

As a new mutual, could I ask for 🪴, please?

Of course you can!

🪴and i’ll write you a little love letter

[IMAGE ID: Louisa, It feels very fitting that your name begins with an L. Because lovely- which is what you are- and lucky- which is what I am to know you, you're so sweet and kind, which is just so nice because it gives me hope that you don't need to get crueler as you get older. Your comments and thoughts that you leave on my posts make me smile so, so much. Please don't ever change and thank you for a) Gotcha as a ship name and b) proving there is indeed a bravery in being soft - Sumayyah]

i'm hosting a first anniversary sleepover!

Last song: the Barbie soundtrack, when I saw the film at the cinema

Favourite colour: I love most colours except hot/bright pinks. So I’ll go for rainbow 🌈 

Currently watching: Magpie Murders, based on the Anthony Horowitz novel, lots of nerdy quiz shows, and I have the latest season (12?) of Call the Midwife and Season 16 of Criminal Minds:Evolution to start when I get home. May have a Criminal Minds rewatch before starting that though.

Last movie: Barbie, which I loved, bar the last few minutes, where it ruined the message completely. Loved the visuals for Barbie Land, the narration, the songs… 

Currently reading: The Inheritance Games and re-reading Magpie Murders

Sweet/spicy/savoury: usually sweet, but sometimes get salty cravings. I am a big spice wimp

Relationship status: chronically single

Current obsession: swimming and nerdy quiz shows

Last thing I googled: the new ( to me, at least) Pret à Manger cold chocolate drink

Currently working on: planning out a missing episode from Season 4 of Criminal Minds where Hotch’s eardrum bursts and he has to stay behind with Penelope. Bonding ensues and it is a much better experience than Gideon’s time with her. 

9 people you'd like to get to know better ♡

i can always count on @olivinesea to fulfil my desire to talk too much about myself in tumblr asks like this. thanks pal!!

last song: Lies from the Chasing Lights album by The Saturdays, in a moment of nostalgia for British girl bands that i liked in university (which as it turns out was only The Saturdays lol)

favourite colour: i tell kids my favourite colour is rainbow because i generally like all of them. it’s easier to tell you that i’m not fond of most shades of orange.

currently watching: Six Feet Under by myself, The Wire and VEEP with my husband, Recess over Sunday morning coffee & bagels, The X-Files with a friend. very soon starting a rewatch of Gilmore Girls, for the fall vibes. i watch too much tv, perhaps.

last movie: Barbie in theatres (i love how much Barbie cries). Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. at home (like meeting a pen pal in person for the first time)

currently reading: Cosmoknights vol 2, a large variety of picture books for work, and Judy Blume (so many i haven’t read before!)

sweet/spicy/savoury: savoury, for that salty umami goodness

relationship status: not to be gross on your dash, but i’ve been with my best friend and favourite person for ten years and it is friggin great.

current obsession: overwhelmingly human (English) names for pets. one of my kid friends from work (my job is great) told me their turtle is named Vanessa.

last thing i googled: a Black Russian, to confirm that it is indeed a drink.

currently working on: oh, i always get inspired by songs, so i have loads of drafts that are just song lyrics with the phrase “this is about [these people], figure it out!!!” but one of those drafts is shaping itself into a pretty angsty hotchniss mess, as per usual. maybe no satisfying happy ending, either.

ahhh, to tag or not to tag, the anxiety-inducing question. please feel no pressure to do these, but i tag @sequinsmile-x @danadeservesadrink @louisaland @scorpsik @beebeelank @bevfank @storiesofsvu and anyone who sees this and wants to answer them (tag me so i can read them if you do!)

Just a little ( well, quite big, really!) piece I wrote as I wanted more to this episode.

Missing Scenes from Sophomore Jinx

Just after Maureen sneaks down to help with dinner prep

« Lizzie, honey, can you go get Maureen for dinner, please? » Elliot asked his youngest child, as Kathy began dishing up the steak and fries they were having.

« I can do it, Dad! », Kathleen volunteered, as Lizzie scampered upstairs.

« Sweetheart, if I wanted to call Maureen down by standing at the bottom of the stairs, I’d do it myself. » Elliot replied, musing that Lizzie was the only member of the family that Maureen was currently speaking to and therefore the one with the highest chance of getting her to come down for dinner.

« Come on, Maureen, it’s steak and fries! If you don’t hurry Daddy will steal your fries! » Lizzie pleaded, knowing full well that Maureen always complained when their dad did that.

« OK, fine, I’m coming » Maureen grumbled.

« How about you sit next to Daddy for meals now? » Maureen suggested as they made their way downstairs to the kitchen, knowing that her place at the table was sought after, nay, coveted, by all her siblings, and when she agreed to swap with them, it was a big deal. 

« Yeah, Mo! Thank you! But does that mean you don’t love Daddy anymore? «  Lizzie questioned, eyes wide with surprise at her good fortune, but her tone was worried, as the tension between her big sister and their father was palpable.

«  He’s just being a total douch… uh, dope! » she corrected herself, not wanting to get in even more trouble for using «  bad language » in front of her younger siblings. And was it really bad language is it was the truth, she mused.

When she and Lizzie reached the table, Maureen grabbed her plate and  her sister’s, swapping them around before either of her parents could scold her. She banged her plate down loudly and proceeded to keep her eyes on it as much as possible throughout the meal. 

« Lizzie, please ask the man sitting next to you for the salt » she asked, stabbing her fork into her steak as if she were trying to kill the cow it came from. 

« Maureen… » Elliot began, before falling back into silence as Kathy reached over and put her hand on his arm, shooting him a look.

« Here, honey » he continued, handing the salt cellar to the daughter sitting next to him.

« Thank you, Daddy », she replied, before handing it to her eldest sibling.

Dickie and Kathleen glanced at each other, both equally  as uncomfortable with the unusual quietness that had descended upon mealtimes a few days ago.

As soon as Maureen had finished her bowl of chocolate mousse, she got up from the table with her glass, bowl and spoon, pulled open the dishwasher violently, slammed everything in so it clattered loudly against all the other utensils and plates that were in there. She then pushed the door shut with a crash, and stomped all the way upstairs.

There were a few seconds of respite, before her bedroom door banged shut loudly. 

Elliot sighed and met his wife’s gaze again. He knew he’d come down too hard on his daughter, but backing down now would just give her free rein to do whatever she wanted and get into who-knows-what kind of trouble. If only he’d taken 5 minutes to talk to her when he’d caught her sneaking out… 

Later that evening

« I’ll take the other three to school tomorrow, El. Maybe if you’re in an enclosed space together you’ll be able to talk to Maureen » Kathy said, rubbing cream into her hands.

« OK, I’ll try anything at this point, baby. Am I really so much of an ogre that she can’t talk to me? » Elliot sighed, slumping down on their bed.

« Elliot, honey, you’re a cop and she’s a teenager who is growing up and pushing you off the pedestal she’s had you on. You’re not an ogre, but she’s extremely stubborn… Can’t think who she gets that from » Kathy responded, trying to reassure her worried husband.

« Hmm, yeah, me neither, only 3 out of 4 of our kids are… » Elliot mused.

The next morning.

« Maureen! Breakfast! Now! » Kathleen yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

About 30 seconds later, Maureen stomped down the stairs, flung her school bag into the hallway next to the coat and shoe closet and entered the kitchen.

She grabbed her glass from the table, made her way to the fridge to pour herself a glass of juice, which she downed, before putting her glass in the sink. She also took out a yoghurt, which she placed on the table before sitting in what used to be Lizzie’s seat. She grabbed a banana and glowered at the other 5 people who were also eating their breakfast.

« OK, Kathleen, Dickie and Lizzie, we’re going in 10 minutes. That means teeth and hair brushed, coats and shoes on and bags and lunches properly packed, ready to go, alright? » Kathy declared.

A chorus of agreement from the children she had addressed echoed around the table.

« Wait a minute, Mom! What about me? » Maureen exclaimed, mouth and eyes opening widely.

« I have an errand to run after dropping your siblings off at school, so your dad’s taking you » Kathy explained.

Maureen’s eyes narrowed, her free hand formed a fist and she banged it on the table.

« Mom! No! You can take me too, or I can get the subway. I’d rather walk! » she said, frowning deeply and a look that could kill in her eyes.

« Maureen, the high school is in completely the opposite direction to school and the bank, but it’s on the way to the precinct. Your dad’s taking you and that’s the end of this discussion » Kathy replied, trying her best to keep her tone calm and even.

« Fine! » Maureen humphed, shooting daggers with her glare at her mother.Several minutes later, Maureen tidied up after herself, then made her way upstairs to clean her teeth and check her hair and makeup.

When she came back down, she called out « I’m ready! », grabbed the car keys off the hook in the hallway that was marked with a D, picked up her bag and went to sit in the passenger seat of her dad’s car. She would normally have tossed the keys to her dad, and they would have made their way outside together. 

Once she’d got her seatbelt on, her father emerged from the house, holding his briefcase, sunglasses on his nose and house keys in his other hand.

He deftly locked the front door and got into the driver’s seat. As he put on his seatbelt, he glanced at his daughter.

She swiftly turned her head, finding the view out of her window suddenly fascinating.

This would normally be a special father-daughter moment, with Maureen choosing the music and them either both singing along (well, more Maureen teaching him the lyrics, occasionally letting out a « Daddy! Those aren’t the right words! » if it was a song currently in the charts. Or they would just chat, usually teasing each other affectionately. 

The radio remained untouched, and the silence between them was deafening. 

The journey to Maureen’s school seemed to take an eternity, though all the lights were green, which put paid to his plan to try to initiate conversation when the car was not in motion.

When they pulled up to school and she got out of the car without even saying goodbye or even looking at him, Elliot decided he had to take action.

« Maureen! Wait a minute! » he called out.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him, annoyance written across her face and the look in her eyes as cold and hard as ice.

At the precinct

« Yeah, we’re OK now, baby. I think we covered all the bases of a reconciliation as she said sorry, I told her I loved her, we hugged and had a proper goodbye, so I call that a success. Kathleen has swimming tonight, right? And Dickie’s been really keen to go to that indoor play area with the climbing wall and ball pit. I know I said I’d take him at the weekend, but could you take him and Lizzie there? I’ve missed hanging out with Maureen, I think we could do with a bit of uninterrupted bonding time… We can pick up dinner if we head out somewhere, if that helps? » Elliot said, well aware that this was a big but necessary ask.

« Yeah, sure, El. Lizzie’s got a playdate, so that’s perfect. Maybe Dickie will actually burn off some of his energy and we’ll have a quiet dinner, hmm? » his wife replied.

« Well, miracles can happen! See you at 6 at home, then? And thanks, baby! » Elliot answered, looking forward to having some quality time with his eldest child.

 They exchanged I love yous and hung up.

Outside Maureen’s high school 

The final bell of the day rang out, and, seconds later, a tsunami of chattering students spilled out of the building, flooding the steps and the area in front of the entrance. Elliot stood a little taller next to his car, seeking out his daughter’s golden hair and bright, tinkling laugh. She emerged, arm-in-arm with her two best friends, Hannah and Sophie. They were giggling about something. Hannah looked over in his direction, nudged his daughter, pointed to where he was standing and asked her something. Her face clouded with worry, wiping the smile from her face and dulling the joyous sparkle in her eyes. She exchanged a few words and quick hugs with her friends before dashing over to him.

« Daddy! Hi! Is everyone OK? » she gasped, slightly winded from her sprint.

« Yeah, everyone and everything are fine, honey. I didn’t mean to scare you, sorry. » Elliot explained, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. She squeezed him around his middle and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

He smoothed her hair and cupped her face with his hands, just like he had that morning.

« Everyone else is out until dinner time, so how about we do something together? We could even go to the mall if you want! » he told his daughter.

« But Daddy, you hate the mall! You call it a bottomless money pit! And anyway, it’s a school night and I have a ton of homework, so can we just go home, please? » Maureen replied, flashing her father a happy smile.

« As you wish », Elliot declared, opening the passenger side door for his daughter.

She grinned at the quote from one of her favourite movies and got into the vehicle.

Elliot got into the driver’s side and they headed home.

At the Stabler residence.

« Thanks Dad! » Maureen said, as Elliot handed her a plate of apple slices spread with peanut butter and a handful of crackers. She placed the dish next to her glass of chocolate milk and returned her attention to her Latin homework.

Her father finished preparing his coffee and came to sit at the table opposite his daughter and her gigantic pile of books, papers and pens. She certainly hadn’t lied when she’d told him she had a lot of homework, but then again, she was the one who had pushed to be able to take as many AP classes as she could. 

« Ugh! Why did I choose to take Latin as well as French and Spanish? All the languages are getting mixed up in my brain! » she muttered, mostly to herself. 

« Want some help, honey? » Elliot asked, frowning slightly at his daughter who put so much unnecessary pressure on herself to do everything perfectly and for whom a B+ was a disappointing grade. That was all Kathy, she had definitely been the better student between the two of them. If only she could transfer some of it to Kathleen, who was content to do the bare minimum and just scrape a C.

Maureen nodded and handed him her Latin flashcards.

« OK, the verb to love in the present tense. You’ve got this, sweetheart » he said, gently encouraging his daughter. 

Maureen took a deep breath, then looked at him blankly.

She shook her head in despair. 

« Want a clue? » Elliot offered.

« Yeah, thanks » Maureen replied.

« Who are you? » he asked.

« If I am an El, you are a… »

« Amo, right? » Maureen giggled in spite of herself.

She thought for a second, recalling the verb that she had committed to memory perfectly days before.

« Then it’s amas, amat… » she continued, making the shape of a church with her fingers for the first one and pointing at the rug in the hallway for the second.

She finished conjugating the verb perfectly then moved on to her Spanish vocabulary.

She teasingly corrected Elliot’s terrible accent, which was completely justified, in his opinion.

Once she had finished, she read through her English essay. It was only a second  rough draft, and it wasn’t due for another couple of weeks, but she wanted to get it underway.

Once she was satisfied with her work, she neatly put all her things away in her bag, which she placed in the hallway.

Then she turned her attention to the kitchen counter and her father, who had started preparing dinner. Elliot silently handed her a red bell pepper with a smile, and she busied herself finding a chopping board and a knife before joining him in the cutting up of vegetables for the pasta sauce they were going to be eating.

They chatted aimiably, Maureen giving him some of the gossip from school, how the football team were doing, explaining why she never wanted to be a cheerleader, that she wanted to do more actual writing for the newspaper, as how was she ever going to be a journalist if she never got any writing experience? 

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. 

« Keep an eye on the pasta, please, Mo? » Elliot asked, as he made his way to the front door. 

If he were a betting man, he would put money on it being his second eldest daughter, who was seemingly trying to not only beat the Olympic record for her butterfly, but also for the number of times house keys were forgotten.

He checked the peep-hole, his suspicions confirmed and opened the door to Kathleen. Mrs Simmons, her friend Ashley’s mom, honked her horn and waved at him from her car, before driving off.

« Kathleen! You know the point of having house keys is that you take them with you, right? » he remonstrated.

She dumped her backpack and her sports bag in the middle of the hall and sighed dramatically.

« Sorry, Daddy, I’ll remember them tomorrow, I promise! » she replied, turning as if to go upstairs.

« Uh-huh, that’s what you told me twice last week and yesterday, honey? One of these days, you’re gonna come home and no-one will be in. What are you gonna do if you don’t have your keys, huh? » he reproached her. 

«  Go to the neighbours’, stay with Ashley and her mom til someone comes home, go see if Mom’s taken Dickie and Lizzie to the park… Or yeah, I could just remember my keys! » she declared, taking note on the disapproving look on her father’s face.

He ceremoniously handed her the keys hanging on the hook marked with a K, jangling the big metal K, the Jets logo and a chunk of moonstone on a chain that were attached to the keychain.

As she rose after crouching down to put the offending item in her school bag, 

Elliot cupped her face gently.

« Let’s try this again, OK? » , he announced.

« Hi, honey », he continued, before kissing her forehead.

« Hi Daddy », she replied, before launching into a recap of her swimming training where the coach had praised her improved technique in butterfly, which she had practised on Saturday morning when they had gone to the pool for their one-on-one Daddy-daughter quality time. 

Elliot grinned at her, gave her a thumbs up and a high-five, before sending her upstairs to shower ( and hopefully put her swimming stuff away, but that was almost certainly wishful thinking on his part).

He returned to the kitchen and resumed his culinary tasks.

Maureen had set the table, and everything was on the stove, where it could be kept warm until everyone was back and ready to eat.

Kathleen arrived from upstairs, hair damp and wearing her checked blue pyjamas. 

She curled up on the couch, and as she picked up the remote, Elliot asked her if her homework was done. She replied in the negative, whining that  all she had to do was reading for tomorrow.

« Well then, Kathleen, I think you can guess what your options are? »  he replied.

He could practically hear his daughter’s eye-roll from across the room. 

«  Ugh, yeah, do the reading or help with dinner. Fine, I’ll do the reading! » she declared, making a big show of getting up and retrieving the novel from her backpack. She theatrically collapsed into the couch and began her assignment. 

The sound of the front door opening was followed by a rush of fast footsteps and an exuberant shout  of « Daddy! » that could only come from his little boy.

He turned the handle of the pan that was full of bubbling pasta sauce just in time to avoid it going all over his son, who he picked up to hug.

Of course Dickie hadn’t taken his coat or shoes off before greeting him. 

His little boy was chattering about how he had « the best day ever, Daddy! » because he’d climbed right up to the top of the climbing wall, had jumped higher than a kangaroo into the ball pit and had run so so fast in the race he’d taken part in at recess. Elliot carried him back to the hallway so he could take off his outerwear and put it away correctly, like his youngest and his wife were doing. Dickie had been peppering his mostly one-sided conversation with kisses to his father’s cheeks. Elliot returned the gesture, before placing him on the floor with precise instructions on what the next steps were. 

Lizzie hugged his legs and he bent to kiss her hair with a « Hi, pumpkin. Good day at the office? » which made her giggle. She nodded and made her way to the living area to do some reading, colouring or quiet playing until dinner time. Dickie followed behind, pretending to be a dinosaur.

He  finally greeted his wife with a kiss.

« Lizzie and her friend, Charlotte,  ended up coming to the soft play too » she explained.

« I’ll let you guess which one of our children did their homework quietly then sat and drew pictures or played in the pretend kitchen area and which one decided they will be retiring at the end of first grade and wanted to show everyone their pterodactyl impression » she continued, as she and her husband made their way into the family room.

Kathleen and Maureen were bickering, Dickie was running around, squawking loudly and Lizzie was carefully placing her rabbit family of Calico Critters in their tastefully decorated home. 

It was noisy, chaotic but full of love and laughter, and Elliot just loved it. He was looking forward to have Maureen back in her usual seat at the table and to hear her talking to everyone again. 

Maureen and her dad

Don't you understand? You're innocent, but the world, it's what I see day in, day out. You want to sneak out in the middle of the night, have a little fun with your friends. I end up picking up your body parts in the middle of Jersey.

SVU 1x06 Sophomore Jinx

SVU Season 20 thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SVU Season 9 overview

I am currently rewatching Season 9.

The Season premiere is fantastic, it is up there as one of my favourite episodes regarding the crime committed/the perpetrator. 

Cynthia Nixon is just incredible! All her different personalities are so distinct and she switches between them so seamlessly. 

The car crash in Paternity still makes me gasp every single time and that first hug between Elliot and Olivia just encapsulates their relationship perfectly, how they can communicate everything they need to tell each other without saying a word. I still think Oliver should have been used somewhere in Eli’s name, to honour Olivia’s role in saving both Kathy and Eli’s lives! 

The actual crime investigation in Paternity is also so sad. The non-biological father ( but Tommy’s real dad in terms of care and love provided) breaks my heart. Tommy is such a cute little boy, and it’s adorable to see Elliot with him. 

After Eli is born, Elliot seems to spend even more time at work, if that is possible! Several times it is mentioned that they’ve been working on a case for a couple of days, that it’s the early hours of the morning and they are questioning suspects, looking through footage… 

I also watch OC, so I think this needs to come up in conversation between Elliot and Eli, as Eli wants to become a cop and Elliot is not a fan. 

Eli and his girlfriend are also expecting a baby, and they are no more than 20 ( second year of college, I think). 

I had forgotten how little Elliot sees of his family. I knew he worked hard and occasionally spent a few days on a case without any/many breaks, but this is just constant, and there are probably lots of overlapping cases too. 

I am frankly surprised Kathy stayed married to Elliot, as in Season 10 she is ready to leave him again, when he yet again goes undercover and doesn’t warn her, leaving Olivia to come over and explain things to her. 

The Robin Williams episode is brilliant, another favourite and at first I thought « Oh, that sounds just like Robin Williams, they’ve found an actor who is just as good at mimicking voices… Oh, hang on, it is Robin Williams! ». I love that they left the ending unresolved so he could have come back at some point. 

I love Casey Novak, she is one of my favourite ADA’s. I find her mindset very similar to Elliot’s, and they have this big brother-little sister dynamic that I find very interesting. 

One of my favourite scenes from Organized Crime from series 2, The Christmas Episode.

When Elliot goes to get Eli and take him home, the doctor wants a word with Elliot. He is reluctant to listen at first but Liv, who has accompanied him for support, calms him and gets him to listen.

The doctor talks about Eli's upset about his possible involvement in Mia's death but says he was just as upset and maybe more frightened how his father would react.

Elliot takes a second to process this before asking if this means Eli is afraid of him. The doctor clarifies that no, Eli is not afraid of him, but for him.

As Elliot reacts to this, there's a beautiful shot of both him and Mariska, before reacting to what was said. Elliot struggling to contain his emotions and Liv unsure what to do to support him. She steps back, behind Elliot as he goes to collect Eli and as he's moved away from her, she puts her hand to her chest.

Elliot goes and embraces him son, realising just how much he is going through himself and tells him 'Let's go home'. Olivia watches from outside, still affected by it all. Elliot wipes at his eyes as they leave and Liv walks side by side with Elliot as they head home.