#And everyone has said a million times over that the fact L sees him contributes to the weird sort of closeness they have

[multifandomlandfill]

Watching the death note musical and man, I just want to give Light some tea and terrible unlicenced therapy.

[jaepies]

𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣 - haikyuu!!

oikawa x fem!reader

mafia au

chapter 1 : probably shouldn’t have seen that

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

it was a monday morning. Possibly one of the worst days of the week in your humble opinion. it was not the fact that it was the first day of a very long school week that was bringing your mood down. not to say that it did not help contribute to your agitated state.

you were angry that it had already been a few weeks and you were no closer to getting your revenge on the brown-haired man who you had recently learnt that his name was oikawa.

no thanks to the swarm of fan-girls that constantly followed his every step, worshipping the ground he walked on and fainting at the mere sight of him.

frankly, it annoyed you. you did not understand what made him so attractive or likeable. after all, all he did was make you feel terrible and then walk all over you like some filth-ridden pavement. 

unbeknown to you, the anger that you were feeling had etched itself onto your face. this was made evident by the obvious stares of your classmate, it was only the second week back at school and you felt like you have had enough attention to last the rest of your high school experience.

it's all because of that poop head.

the quicker you could get your revenge, the quicker he could leave your thoughts and as a consequence, your head would hurt less.

you have been doing too much thinking these past few days,

exhaling a deep sigh, you lay your head in the palm of your hands and the attention of the classmates returning to the teacher. you finally felt at peace until there was a sensation of something hitting your back.

turning around, there were no obvious signs as to who could have thrown this at you however, your curiosity was soon cured as you immediately got your answer.

"don't even try and be first in the dining hall. we both know that we'll get lunch first no matter what, that's just how the school works boo.

you should also get rid of that frown on your face, it's not a good look. apparently, they make you age faster and i don't think you want to look like a grandma more than you already do.

- the man who still waiting for an apology for injuring him, oikawa ;)"

did i forget to mention that pooikawa was in your class?

you had to suffer every single lesson and period with his infuriating presence clouding your vision for hours.

grabbing the nearest pen out of your pencil case, you quickly scribbled a reply on a fresh piece of paper out of your notebook. it was not neat but hey this was a reply fuelled by anger and hatred, who said it had to be pristine?

when the teacher was not looking, you took action. as you took into account all the possible variables that would occur when thrown, you aimed the scrunched up ball slightly to the right. you stuck your tongue out as you tried to figure out the projectile. the exact angle and height to the throw of the ball had to be perfect before launching the grenade.

satisfyingly, you watched it hit the temple of the great man himself before facing the front not wanting to get caught but you cheered silently on the inside.

"mission success, the target was successfully destroyed!"

seems like a dramatic way to think but it was just your nature.

whilst beaming as you reflected on your recent achievements, a wooden stick thumped your head.  as a reflex, you pulled up your hands, gingerly, to rub your head and to help soothe the pain you were feeling. the teacher stood there, looking at you; seething with rage. he seemed to hold a familiar scrunched ball in his clenched fist. you wanted to die right there as it dawned on you that it was your note to oikawa.

"(y/n) (l/n), you know passing notes is unacceptable in class especially with language as vulgar as this."

you internally cringed as you remembered using some not so colourful language in the heat of the moment when writing your response.

"sir, I am so sorry. it will not happen again. i sincerely apologise."

"i hope you stay true to that as this better not happen again."

there was a pause and you thought this was the end of the scolding with no punishment in sight. 

"meet me in the teachers' office after school."

groaning as you realised you allowed yourself to celebrate too early, you caught oikawa smirking his always stupid smirk. however, this time it seemed very much direct at you and as you were already annoyed; you tried sending him your worse glare even though you did not have the energy to do so.

lunchtime eventually rolled around and you were still dismal from class. hikari and your other friends noticed your difference in mood but were not sure as to whether they should mention anything because they did not want to aggravate you even further.

until hikari did the unthinkable and actually talked to you.

"y/n why are you so pissy today and stop picking at your food. either eat it or dump it because i'm not letting you ruin my appetite."

everyone else looked at hikari with worry evident in their eyes; you were unpredictable when feeling miserable.

"hikari~,"

you were blubbering like a child and holding onto hikari's arm like it would save your life.

"i have to meet the teacher after school because i passed a note in class."

at this point, there were most definitely tears brimming and threatening to spill.

"oh y/n, that's not so bad. everyone has sent a note in class before, you are not the first and you are not the last."

"you don't get it. i swore in that note and now i am going to get detention when i go to the teachers' office and then my school record will be ruined and then that's all universities will see when they look at my application and then no one will want me and then i'll rot in a hole because i wasn't able to go to university and get employed and make money,"

you paused for a breath,

"AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE DICKHEAD, OIKAWA."

your rant seemed to have come to an end and your friends looked at you like you were an alien who had grown two million heads. nonetheless, you could not blame them because you definitely sounded crazy.

hikari patted you awkwardly, trying to comfort you. She knew that what you needed was time to calm down and rationalise the fact that your life was not over just because you may potentially get detention. you had been a straight-A student for your whole life with a clean record and she knew as much as you would have liked to keep it that way, a single detention was not going to ruin your chances of going to a prestigious university.

dabbing your eyes which prevented any tears to fall, you sat upright and pieced your dignity and pride back together like humpty dumpty.

"you are right hikari, my life isn't over but there is something I need to do."

"no, wait. y/n don't go do anything stupid."

knowing that you were probably going to see oikawa, she let you be. Whatever floated your boat. exhausted, she turned back to her lunch and resumed eating.

meanwhile, you were storming down the corridors. everyone was moving out of your way out of fear of being trampled on.

you knew exactly where the he-devil would be. it was the same place every lunchtime, every day at the same hour.

the school gym.

surprisingly, there were not any students loitering around the area. you noticed that even the birds were not tweeting as they did around the rest of the school. you thought just shrugged it off though by concluding that the students were probably too scared to disturb the volleyball team's practice.

casting a glance at the metal doors and not thinking twice, you pushed the heavy bar handle to open it. with every ounce of your strength, the door flung open. allowing you to see the whole gym.

then there was a loud silence.

looks of horror fell upon the whole volleyball team's faces as they froze in their positions from the sight of you. no one had ever dared to burst in as you had done so they never locked the door but that didn't mean that they wanted others to see what they did in the gym.

your jaw was slack from the sight before you.

there was the volleyball team, the high school volleyball team, holding real-life guns and dangerous-looking knives were laid out on display on the cold, hard ground. punching bags were dotted around the gym which was being utilised by the various members before your sudden entrance. instead of wearing the school's distinct tracksuits, the volleyball team were sporting leather jackets and ripped jeans like they were in some gang.

unable to gather your thoughts, you continued to gape into the room until your eyes landed on the familiar face of oikawa. his face was dark from being caught off guard like this.

stuttering and shaking, you pointed at him.

"t-this is not what a volleyball team looks like. what kind of volleyball team is this?"

that was all you could barely get out as a high pitched squeal. you were flabbergasted and confused. they were holding actual guns, that was illegal, right?

not wanting to see anymore, you decided to pelt off at full speed. not realising that someone else was following you, wondering what your next move was.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

[danyka-fendyr]

Absence of Good - 7

Chapter Seven: Naked

For once in my damn life I actually got inspired and this is what became of it. Basically I was thinking about Taylor Swift and rewatched the Miss Americana trailer (I’m waiting to rewatch the movie so I can do it with my aunt) and I just like...ended up in my feels? So I actually kind of really like this chapter and I hope you guys do too. Also shout-out to that one anon who binged the last six chapters and sent me an ask about it! I live for moments like that, truly.

Taglist: @dreamwritesimagines @rhabakoli

AoG Taglist: @pancakefancake @prettyboyspenerrr @youreasnack @alioop3818

Wordcount: 3290

Warnings: Dark themes throughout. Death. Murder. Some body horror. PTSD. Flashbacks. Trauma. Discussion of torture and kidnapping. Brief mentions of sexual assault.  

“I often don’t say things out loud, even when I should. I contain and compartmentalize to a disturbing degree: In my belly-basement are hundreds of bottles of rage, despair, fear, but you’d never guess from looking at me.”

-Gillian Flynn

It was official. You were cleared for active duty again. You had passed every test they had thrown at you, and by every empirical measure you were fine. It was like nothing had ever happened. And so that’s how you decided this was going to play out. You were just going to act like nothing had ever happened.

You were going to bluff like your life depended on it.

Your first day back at work had to be perfection. You envisioned it in your head the night before, you built it, like building up a shield or a wall. Pristine, beautiful, strong. You got up extra early just to execute it, just to put on the pencil skirt, the red heels, the crisp blazer and the flawless makeup. All of it planned out, right down to the skinny vanilla latte with oatmilk. Just like a costume.

You were prepared for the barrage when you stepped back into the BAU. Penelope Garcia never let anyone come back from a long absence without at least an absurd amount of enthusiasm. Usually there was a surprise party involved. You prayed there was not a surprise party involved in your return today.

In fact, you were hoping there wouldn’t even be a case. That, just this once, the bad guys would see fit to give you a break. That maybe they wouldn’t kick a woman while she was down.

Your hopes were too high though.

Penelope’s squeals of delight and everyone’s sickeningly pitiful looks were cut short by Hotch.

“It’s good to have you back, Y/L/N.” Even stone-cold professional Aaron Hotchner looked softer, if that was at all possible. “That being said, I’m afraid we have a case.”

He didn’t patronize you by asking if you were up to it. He knew that you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t. In a way, you were glad for the work. It would be distracting.

You were glad for it until the second you walked into the briefing room and saw the photos Penelope pulled up on the board. Then you were holding back vomit and taking careful, even breaths because nobody could know you were panicking. Three different women, all of whom had been tortured, then dumped. Sure, they hadn’t been tortured the same way you had been, or even by the same guy. That didn’t stop every last one of their faces from turning into your own.

You were under a magnifying glass here though, and you couldn’t break composure even for a second. They couldn’t know. So you practiced your breathing techniques, took careful, measured blinks, and listened the best you could. You swallowed perhaps a little too rapidly, relying on your latte to hide that you were just stopping yourself from crying. In a room full of profilers, the stakes had never been higher.

“Alright team. All of these women were found in the last month in North Dakota. As you can see, there are clear signs of torture, and there is also evidence of sexual assault. It appears the assault was ante-mortem, but there are no signs of remorse in the way the bodies were dumped. All of these women were in different, clean clothes, and their bodies themselves had been cleaned up. You can see that injuries were stitched back together, and the only blood on the body appears as stains from where it sat on the skin too long and couldn’t be properly removed.”

“So we’re dealing with a doctor?” Morgan asked.

“I don’t know about that. These don’t look surgical. They seem pretty messy to me,” Rossi said.

“The coroner’s report from the first victim would indicate that this isn’t professional work.” Hotch folded his hands in front of him.

“It’s entirely possible this guy’s a germaphobe though.” You made an easy contribution, something to satisfy everyone without drawing suspicion.

“You know, it’s not unlikely.” Spencer leaned forward, pressing his fingertips together thoughtfully. “Approximately 9.1% of American citizens do have phobias. It wouldn’t be too radical to suggest that maybe our unsub does as well.”

“Okay, so we’re dealing with a germaphobe who can’t sew. Doesn’t narrow it down much. I’d say we need to get out there and see what’s going on ourselves,” Prentiss said.

“Wheels up in 20.”

 The plane ride was long enough that you were able to sleep through most of it after tossing around ideas. You found your own quiet little corner of the plane and promptly pretended to sleep so that no one would bother you. In reality you hadn’t slept well in weeks and couldn’t risk sleeping now in case you woke up out of a nightmare, but as far as the team was concerned, you were to be left alone. 10 minutes before landing you “woke up” to listen to Hotch giving out assignments.

“Morgan and JJ, I want you checking out the dumpsites. Prentiss and Y/L/N, go talk to the M.E.”

“Hotch, I really think I should go with Y/N.” Your entire body tensed at Spencer’s words. “We tend to work really well together and especially with a case like this I think my medical knowledge could come in handy. I might be able to figure something out from looking at the bodies and examining the stitches.”

Hotch paused for a moment. “Alright then. Reid, you’re with Y/L/N, and Prentiss you can stick with Rossi and I.”

“That works for me.” Prentiss shrugged. “I have an old buddy who used to work for the Bismarck police department. I’d like to see if he still does, see what I can find out from him.”

“Good. Then it’s decided.”

 Hotch could not have picked a more awkward person for you to be trapped in a car with. Of course, you supposed Hotch hadn’t picked him, he had volunteered. You wondered if he could tell something was up with you, or if it was just instinct. If sharks could smell blood in the water, Spencer had a nose for you being in any kind of emotional distress. Right now you wished that he didn’t.

5 minutes into the drive he spoke up.

“You’re awfully quiet.”

“Yeah. Just tired.” You lean your head back further into the nook between the seat and the window frame.

“You sleeping okay?” Spencer’s brow furrowed as he glanced over at you.

“Yeah, fine.” Lies, lies, lies. “I was uh…out late last night.”

“Oh.”

You stared out the window, watching the scenery. This time of year there wasn’t much to see in North Dakota. Just frigid, icy wasteland. You dreaded getting out of the drowsy comfort of the nice warm car.

“On a date?” Spencer’s voice sounded off somehow.

“What? No.”

Maybe too quick an answer, but it was a ridiculous suggestion. You? On a date? In your dreams.

“Some friends of mine from college were in town. We went out and got a few drinks before they had to head back.” Always make sure the witnesses are conveniently unavailable.

“That must have been nice.” Spencer smiled.

“Yeah. It was good.”

“So other than that, how have you been?”

“Good. Great, really. Itching to get back to work though.”

“Really? Wasn’t the break nice?”

“Nice, but boring.” You pulled your sleeves over your hands.

“I guess.”

Spencer pulled into the parking lot, safely sliding into one of the available spaces before coming around to open your door. You frowned slightly. He had never done that before. If he was babying you now just because of what had happened you were going to kill him.

Mad. Mad was new. Mad was good. You decided to pursue that.

“Why open the door? I can do it myself, you know.” Your voice carried more hostility than was warranted.

“I know,” Spencer said, blushing. Blushing? “I just thought it might be nice. Plus with all of this ice you could get hurt. Did you know that 1 million Americans are injured slipping on ice annually?”

Ah. So he was babying you.

“I’m fine. I can handle a little cold, Spencer. Now come on, we have bodies to look at.”

You stormed ahead, determined to leave him standing there alone in the cold. What happened instead was far less triumphant and dignified. You slipped. On ice. And Spencer caught you. And then subsequently did not slip.

“See?” A smile played on his mouth as you looked up at him through your snow-coated lashes. “Dangerous weather conditions. But you’re right, we should get inside.”

He righted you, unfortunately causing you to leave his warm embrace, and looped his arm through yours as you two headed into the coroners.

 Seeing the bodies in person was worse than you thought it would be. The smell of the formaldehyde felt like it was seeping into your pores, like it would never leave you. The gleam of the metal tables seemed to whisper, “This could have been you.” The icy cold Bismarck air turned your skin to something lifeless, something that belonged underneath one of the sheets hanging over the victims. After all, what was one more dead girl?

It took everything you had to keep it together. Even then you let Spence do most of the talking.

“So these stitches, they’re not surgical,” he established.

“Well see, that’s what’s interesting about this. The first ones certainly don’t seem surgical. They’re far too messy. The technique is good, but the execution is falling apart. But the second body is far more orderly, and the third is nearly perfect.”

“So our unsub has been practicing.” The horror in your voice shone through.

“It would seem so. But here’s what else is interesting. The chemicals used to clean these girls up? They make the same progression. At first, household cleaners, hence all the staining. But then they move to medical grade stuff.”

“Wait…could we be dealing with a medical student here?” You asked.

“It’s entirely likely. However, I would bet that whoever did this is looking less to be a surgeon and more to be a coroner themselves. Look at the cut patterns.”

You froze. You didn’t want to look. You couldn’t look. You could feel your scars burning in your sides, white hot, the metal slicing through you, tearing you to ribbons.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

“As the victims progress, the pattern becomes more and more organized, until it almost looks like…”

“An autopsy,” Spencer finished.

The coroner nodded. “So I certainly wouldn’t rule out medical students, but if I had to take a guess…”

“We’re not looking for a candy striper,” You supplied.

“We have to get this to Hotch. Thank you so much for your help.” Spencer took the folders offered before following you back out to the parking lot and into the car.

 As it turned out, your suspicions were correct. The unsub had been studying to work as an M.E., until they discovered that cadavers just weren’t enough. Sublimation can only take you so far.

They began seeking out more lively victims, their psychopathy making them seem no different than a cadaver. To this unsub, people were just meat to be used and then hacked up. He would never be seeing his medical license though.

You should have felt good. Should have felt on top of the world about solving a case, especially being able to do it so quickly. Instead, you just felt a cold sense of dread about having to go home to your nightmares. On the plane, you once again feigned sleep, with the goal of slipping away from the others when you touched down. No such luck.

“Good, you’re all back! I have a surprise for our favorite returned agent. That’s right, it’s tequila time! We’re all going out for drinks, totally non-optional. And when I say all of us, I mean all of us.” She glared pointedly at Reid. “Even the good doctor.”

“Penelope, I’m not sure this is such a good idea.” Spence looked over to you.

For the first time that day, you allowed yourself a moment of weakness. You had gone through a lot, you had sat through that briefing, you had looked at those bodies. You could have a little bit of emotional vulnerability. As a treat.

You looked at Spencer hopelessly, practically begging him to save you from your surprise party fate and somehow get Garcia to call the whole thing off. You couldn’t do this. All you wanted was to go home and take a nice hot shower and curl up alone.

“Okay,” Spencer said. “I’ll go.”

Penelope cheered, overwhelmingly excited about the development.

Morgan chuckled. “Baby girl, we better go before he changes his mind.”

“Oh! Right!” And with that she was off.

 The very last thing you could have possibly needed right now was a bar. It was loud and noisy and crowded and all together far too much for you to handle. You supposed you should be thankful it wasn’t a club, but you couldn’t find it in yourself. You didn’t want this right now.

You didn’t want glowing neon lights or the wine cooler you were pretending to drink to make Garcia happy. You didn’t want music that was slightly too loud or a football game playing in the background. Most of all, you didn’t want all of these people touching you. Every graze was like someone was running nails down a chalkboard. You would have rather had a cheese grater on your skin, would have rather peeled it off and torn it to pieces.  You had to get out of there.

Your salvation came from the source of your doom.

“Well guys, I think I’m going to head out,” Spencer said. “It’s getting kind of late and I have a documentary I was hoping to catch.”

“Alright, well, we’ll see you soon okay boy wonder?” Morgan raised his glass in salute.

“Actually, perfect timing Spencer. I was wondering, do you think you could drive me home?” You had originally carpooled with JJ, having taken public transportation to work that day. Oddly enough, you knew Spencer had brought his car. “I’m totally wiped out after last night.”

“Oh, right, you had your thing with friends!” He remembered. “Um, sure, yeah. I guess your place is on the way to mine. The more the merrier!”

Garcia tried to convince you to stay, but Spencer maintained the role of a beautiful, beautiful excuse. With your combined efforts you were able to navigate your way out of the clutches of Penelope Garcia and into the cool, quiet car, where mercifully no one was touching you.

Your apartment wasn’t far from the bar, but you were irritated to find that Spencer insisted on seeing you up. You were tired of this patronizing behavior. You didn’t need to be coddled, you needed to be respected. You thought he of all people would be the one to always respect you, but apparently not.

You stopped outside of your door, keys in hand as you looked up at him. “Why are you doing this?”

“What?”

“Why are you treating me like I can’t be left alone for 5 seconds? You’re babying me. Stop it.”

“I’m not babying you,” Spencer said. “I’m concerned about you. You just came back from a traumatic experience, and I just…don’t think you should be left alone right now.”

“So what, you don’t think I can handle myself?” You turned to face him, livid under the glow of the overhead light. “Because I have plenty of scars now to prove I can. I’m a survivor, Reid. I think I can walk myself up a few stupid stairs and unlock my apartment door without supervision. Did Hotch put you up to this? Wanted to make sure I was ready to be back in the field?”

“What? No! Of course Hotch didn’t put me up to this. He would never do that. He respects you and believes you’re more than capable of doing this job.”

“Then what? Who’s telling you to do this?” You took a step closer, getting in his face.

“No one! I’m doing this because I care about you, Y/N, and when you were taken it was one of the worst moments in my life. I’d never been that afraid of anything before, not even when I was kidnapped. And I just kept thinking how scared you must have been, how alone you must have felt, and I…I don’t want you to feel that way now. I don’t want you to feel alone. No one is making me do this. No one is watching you, waiting for you to breakdown. It’s just me, Y/N. It’s just us.”

You wanted to melt into the way he said us. Wanted to tell him everything, wanted to let him count your scars and tell him you were afraid, you were alone. You wished that you could.

“Well thank you for your concern, but I don’t need it. Everything is fine. I’m fine. We’re…we’re fine.”

It was the last words that gave you away. The tremble in we, the unsureness.

“Why won’t you let me in? Why can’t you let your guard down. Take all of this composure and just…lose it a little?” Sweet brown eyes snuck their way in, securing themselves around your heart.

All day, you had been trying so hard to keep it together. To put on a mask and pretend that everything was fine, because that was what you needed everyone to think. You needed all of them to see you as competent and capable and someone they could look up to and respect and love, but it was just…it was just so much pressure, all the time, and normally you could handle it but now? Now it was too much, all of it all too much.

“Do you know why I can’t just lose it? I can’t fall apart because people are watching and it doesn’t matter to them what happened to me. Nobody cares about anything but right now and right now what I know is that they take your pain and they turn it into a joke. Because that’s what people do Spencer. That’s what people do when they don’t like you. When you get hurt, that’s funny. When something terrible happens to you, it doesn’t matter how bad it is, you deserved it. Gosh, can’t you understand that? Don’t you get it? It’s not just that I don’t want people seeing me hurt, it’s that I can’t let them. Because you know what hunters do when they see a wounded animal? They kill it. And I’m…I’m…” You choked.

You choked on all of it. Not just the words, but the fear, the horror, the overwhelming gut-wrenching spiraling episode you were falling into. You didn’t understand what was happening to you anymore. You just knew it hurt. It hurt so bad.

“Look at me.” Spencer spoke softly, not daring to touch you. “It’s okay. It’s okay to be hurt. It’s okay to feel it. You don’t have to stop.”

“I can’t…I can’t…”

You couldn’t stop the tears from coming down your face, the tight ache in your chest, all of these feelings catching up to you like you never could have imagined before this.

“He hurt you. He hurt you very badly. Nobody expects you to just bounce back from that. Nobody needs you to be okay right now. It is not your job to be okay.”

You fell into him. Collapsed into his body that caught you like he had been waiting, like he knew this would happen, like he knew you better than you knew yourself. Knew your body, knew your pain, knew your heart, and was holding it all together, even raw and bleeding and naked as it was.

And you let go.

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”

-Lois Lowry

[fortheheavenssake]

PG MM Anon Interpretation Collection - 20

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻PG INTERPRETATION OF MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜

129: Nov 30

MM ANON ……… “Darling’ please pass the Wrinkle cream” ………”she’s on this blog I read”💜……… “ we’ve been invited to the Boxing Day shoot” …… WoW ‘ that’s a beautiful photo Kate …… “he’s to young ‘ good grief William!!”…… ‘This cobra has no fangs ……… “The service, maybe bring C&G.” ……… “ The spring diary ma’am’ was thinking they could do The America’s and Canada” ……… “ the Children too”…… “what say you Philip?” …… “indubitable , old thing” …… “ Settled!!”……” Sidney’ more refreshments”

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON, SERIOUSLY THANK YOU😁🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜

November 30/2019 Riddle #128

1325 hrs CST

“Darling’ please pass the Wrinkle cream” “she’s on this blog I read”💜

I AM SQUEALING WITH EXCITEMENT OMG!! Catherine is doing her skin care, which every woman of beauty, style and substance MUST DO REPEATEDLY, “” Don’t cha know!” (sorry MM ANON l had to pilfer those last three words from a riddle few days back because they are so unbelievably exciting and significant!). She asks William to hand her the wrinkle cream. William looks dumbfounded because there are about 35 jars on the counter, wondering which one she wants and asks, Catherine why do you have all these? She replies, the woman recommending the creams is on the blog she reads! PURPLE HEART!!💜💜💜💜💜 KIDS I HAVE MADE IT, I AM A CLUE IN AN MM ANON RIDDLE WHICH MEANS CATHERINE AND THE GANG READ THIS BLOG AND READ OUR CONTRIBUTIONS! From the 💜 lady on the blog you read, Catherine, whatever you’re doing, it’s working, but if you ever do want to talk skin wrinkle cream, you know where to find me💜💜💜💜😁😁😁😁

“ we’ve been invited to the Boxing Day shoot”

Lots of us have surmised for quite sometime now that Harry has a lovely partner, and a few of us are dead certain on who it is. He completed his tour of duty at the culmination of the SA trip and RS services. She is now fully out of his life, the public just doesn’t know yet. I am certain an annulment will occur. Anyhow it sounds like they have been invited for Boxing Day. She will be perfect and everyone has always wanted Harry happy, after all he and the family has been through, 2020, at least for him will bring a brand new start!

WoW ‘ that’s a beautiful photo Kate”

I can hardly wait for the Christmas photos, Catherine is such a phenomenal photographer, and as l said the other day, she snaps her children through the loving eyes of a mother. Someone is complementing her one of her photographs. It’s not William because he calls her Catherine. I think those in the field have really taken note of yet another skill she has. Sounding like a public exhibition of her photographic works is in the works!

“he’s to young ‘ good grief William!!”

Back to the shooting day on Boxing Day, Catherine is aghast that William even entertains the idea of him coming along. He’s a big boy, but not that big, yet! The way time flies, time will be here soon enough. Might this be the time for me to once again place ,y request for #4.☺️☺️💜

‘This cobra has no fangs

Madam, wherever on this planet she is, has been defanged. Whatever she held is being held no more. She is in a world/whirled of trouble, just the IRS back taxes alone! Plus any other alleged charges, l won’t go into because we are all singing from the same hymn sheet you know the words!🤣🤣😂😂

“The service, maybe bring C&G.”

YES PLEASE! I would LOVE to see them do the morning walk to and from church with all the other family members! THAT would most certainly be a Christmas gift for me!!!

“ The spring diary ma’am’ was thinking they could do The America’s and Canada” “ the Children too””what say you Philip?” “indubitable , old thing” “ Settled!!””Sidney’ more refreshments”

Saturday afternoon, morning of riding and now just having tea ☕️, refreshments and a good talk. The next few days will bring some major events, The NATO greeting and the banquet on December 3/2019, that has all been fully organized, arranged, menu, seating plan etc etc. LG speaking regarding the official Diary for 2020. Oh MM ANON , this riddle just keeps on giving and giving, it’s like Christmas morning! Sounds like an official Royal tour of America, and Canada with the entire Cambridge family!! If l were a 🐕 dog, my tail would be wagging so fast right now!!! This is very very exciting!!! HMTQ asks PP his opinion, and he very much concurs, then that’s that , it’s settled!! Cord pulled, and as usual he is there almost simultaneously,Sidney, a Boddingtons for himself and a Gin and DuBonnet for HMTQ!! Are you guys getting tired of my scenes of HMTQ, PP, the cord pulling and drinks??Or is it enjoyed? Because l LOVE it, they’re human!!

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦. 1410 hrs CST

After the horror of yesterday, thank you MM ANON for a fun riddle. I enjoy them all, but this might just be my favourite, for OBVIOUS REASONS☺️😁😁

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻PG🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜

Thank you dear PG! What a delight….such fun! And look at you! Known for your wrinkle cream! This was great! We love your stories….😊💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Ask Skippy

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130: Dec 2

MM ANON ……… the king in waiting ……… “Mmmmm , not many diversions left”……… in need of some TLC. ……… financial scrutiny ……… financial mutiny !!! ………… “ Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining!!!!!!”………… “Catherine ‘ it’s HM” ……… “ Catherine, I want your discretion”………… “ it would be my privilege ma’am”……… “ That’s a tough one, old thing” ……… “she can do it!! “…… “makes you proud old thing, he looks the part” ……… “backseat ,a Philip?” ………… “ dot The Is…………”

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜

December 2/2019 0045 hrs CST RIDDLE #128

the king in waiting

This phrase has been used in regards to the Prince of Wales, for decades now. Since PP stepped down from official duties, HMTQ has been steadily handing over various patronages , to PC, The Duchess of Cornwall, William and Catherine, Harry, gosh even madam got the British Theatre patronage! Lots were delighted about that, NOT! Yet that one was part of the prolonged game of charades the Royal family has been forced to play, even though it’s a game they live, certainly not this variation of the game! PC has been successfully voted in as Head of the Commonwealth, that role does not automatically be bestowed on him. PC will continue to take on more and more responsibilities. In that, we shall observe some of that during the NATO visit, as well as decision making regarding several impending crises situations, which in all likelihood are made and done, we just have not been officially informed of as yet!

“Mmmmm , not many diversions left”

Madam has hardly been a peep heard from, her PR used to have 10-15 articles a day in the DM alone, it’s almost like she is contained somewhere? She used the rare old uncle cards a week or so back. She does not have a whole lot more to pull out of that giant rabbits hat/fedora she often wore! The will she won’t she et al about going to America thanksgiving game is over. The IRS is waiting!

in need of some TLC.

TLC, is a tv channel here with oddest shows, pimple popping doctors, married fiancés overseas, guy with five wives etc. We don’t need ,THAT, TLC. TLC is what nurses excel at, good ones anyhow, Tender Loving Care. Whose in need of that? PP is recovering from flu/cold? However he doesn’t strike me as a man that would like to be fussed and clucked around! HMTQ is strong as they come. I wonder if this is our Harry. Adjusting to life without madam, l wonder when and how this will all be made official? I know the surrogate baby is not Harry’s and l have no doubt the child is being lovingly anonymously looked after. Harry, whom,l think l was correct about him being on the bridge the other day, would have had his first active duty incident. He may need not described as TLC but rather debriefing as would the entire team. This is always done after a major incident, first to review protocol, was it carried out, do any changes need done. Then it’s the emotional debriefing, THATS THE ESSENTIAL part of keep a critical response team functional, make sure to debrief the emotions! I imagine , the debriefings, the formal ones are done, 72hours is the golden time window. I have led and been involved with quite a few debriefings, the mental health end of it. Often team members are assigned a mentor especially if they are new to the unit! Great work Harry! I have never ever given up on you, nor will l ever!! Notice they all wore balaclavas, for security! It’s what we wear here in winter to not have our face freeze off, if cross country skiing, snowmobiling etc etc.

financial scrutiny ……… financial mutiny !!!

This is what is keeping madam in the UK! I cannot even fathom how much money she owes her government since she last filed taxes, has she been honest in all her previous tax filings? Seriously? You think she has? The amount of money made in a zillion ways over her lifetime, and what has all transpired since she entered the orbit of the BRF , we are talking millions and millions! I am quite certain, given the fact Americans are still due to pay taxes even if a non resident and given her status and the wealth she married into, l have no doubt the IRS is auditing her, hence the word scrutiny. Mutiny , that a seafarers word for disobeying the captain and the crew takes over, is also a criminal conspiracy among a group of people to openly oppose, change, or overthrow a lawful authority to which they are subject. Now does this sound like a group of individuals we might know? Madam, MA, JM, etc, the families,in America, Mexico, all allegedly working in tandem.

“ Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining!!!!!!”

I love this phrase, my uncle used to say this, the horse rancher, whose son now runs it. In other words, Pissing on, means doing something bad to someone. Don’t piss on my boots and tell me its raining is a response to someone dressing up a bad situation — usually for their own benefit — by telling them to knock it off and stop lying. In other words madam has been doing this her entire life and using the raining excuse to explain her way out of everything! Well LG is having none of that, no more using that as an excuse or exit strategy. The game is over, in fact it never was a game to those she was pi**ing all over!

“Catherine ‘ it’s HM” “ Catherine, I want your discretion”“ it would be my privilege ma’am”

HMTQ rings Catherine, rather than a visit. I would assume, like , in movies, especially High Society with Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby, huge mansions/palaces, their phones have no dials, just labelled whose line it is, how old am I?🤣🤣🤣😂😂. But l am quite certain HMTQ would use a landline phone, because l do😁😁😁. After squidgygate, and other similar ghastly phone calls that were recorded, and then made public, plus intelligence and needs for security in today’s world, l have no doubt that everything is encrypted, and they likely have blocking technology so none of those fancy devices you can, it’s like a clear plastic umbrella, it gathers sound from a distance and you can listen in, you need a jamming device to block the signal, muddying it, if you like. I am sure technology is way way way advanced of that already.

William is away, is she asking her to sit with Harry at the NATO banquet and used discretion when others ask where madam is? I hardly think that would require a big private ask. I wonder if she is needed to witness and sign some legal papers referencing divorce or annulment. Giving her statement or witness to some madam has said or done.

Does this have something to do with the Marchioness of Cholmondeley????????

“ That’s a tough one, old thing” ……… “she can do it!! “…… “makes you proud old thing, he looks the part” ……… “backseat ,a Philip?”

HMTQ and PP, spending time near the great hearth, so warm , cozy, absolutely nothing like the feel of, sight of, smell if and sound of a crackling wood fire. Weather has a definite chill, time for wooden sweaters, and warm family time. Himself , a Boddingtons, 🍺,HMTQ gin and DuBonnet 🍸 . Discussing the next few days and what has happened in the last few. Pondering the decision HMTQ to call Catherine, tough decision, tough thing to ask. PP is reassuring HMTQ that Catherine is very capable, can be trusted and relied upon in any and all circumstances.

More changes in the offing so they can spend more time together. Makes them proud, PC has done, and with increased responsibility he very much looks the part of a King in waiting. If HMTQ does decide to make PC Regent, this conversation would be very much the same, trust and he looks every bit the Regent! Last abbreviated line, HMTQ says is rhetorical, meaning not expecting an answer but rather stating her intent, she is going to be taking a backseat for Charles to be Regent!

“ dot The Is…………”

Is it annulment as l hope? Or divorce? When one says, ESPECIALLY in legal matters, dot the letter i and cross the t, it means make sure everything is done 109% correctly, no way anyone can back out, Sue or twist it. So we shall very soon be hearing a press release of either an annulment or a divorce final between Harry and madam!!

0205 hrs CST. GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦 🥂 🍾

Thank you dear PG! Fascinating read….much seems to be going on…..much appreciated!😊💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Ask Skippy

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131: Dec 2

MM ANON … “when we are born, we cry , that we are come”…… “your RH. that’s why you didn’t go” ……… “Four” ……… ahhhhhrrr , I hate mornings!! ……… “give a dog a bone …” ………… “ yes , we’re all watching it! It’s very addictive “ ……… “ How the f***did they know that!!!”………… “ I told them Philip!!” ……… “bloody snoops” …… At the last count sir , all was Ticketyboo.

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜

December 2/2019 Riddle #129

1700 hrs CST

“when we are born, we cry , that we are come”.

“

Dear MM ANON returneth us to the bard, William Shakespeare’s King Lear.

Babies do not automatically cry at birth, some do, but some need a slap on the bum, holding upside down rubbing on chest to loosen any fluids that may have been aspirated(inhaled) during the traumatic birth process. It’s a physical trauma for mum to be sure but also babe. Going from, dark, warm, safe environment of dark, echoey sounds, to bright theatre lights, many staff, beeping of machines, it’s parents noise of joy, and than itself own crying noises.

The entire play, uses one similar stance as (Macbeth, Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing. )

Lear is full of cons and duplicity.

This whole life and the world madam moved in , nonstop using people to climb up the ladder, obtaining information and using that and on and on. This will be very shortly end and l truly believe Christmas will be enjoyed! BY ALL!!! Those who serve their dark master do not truly celebrate Christmas anyways!

“your RH. that’s why you didn’t go”

I think this is Catherine explaining to someone why she didn’t attend the TUSK Awards, for “childcare reasons “, was what we were told. l think, in light of the above news, it was childcare, just feeling unwell, and taking cate of her baby bump. Now l hope MM ANON you haven’t teased us or l over reading into the clues! If in fact, Catherine is expecting, this , if all her children would be her ‘easiest first trimester’ because previously her hyperemesis gravidarum, has required hospitalization and then that care at home for subsequent pregnancies. This would be marvellous news anytime but ESPECIALLY NOW!!! I can just the smile across the persons she is speaking with face, as they realize oh THATS why you didn’t attend!!

“Four” ahhhhhrrr , I hate mornings!!

William is awoken by a sound, one he knows all too well. He looks at the clock and makes the comments groaning. He gets up to go tend to Catherine in the bathroom. They look at one another, smiling! BABY NUMBER FOUR IS ON HER WAY!! Thank you ever so much for granting my repeated requests and congratulations!💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻PG🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜

OR OR OR OR OR OR IR BOTH😁😁😁😁😁

Harry continues his training, and duty, early morning, VERY early mornings are part and parcel of that.

“give a dog a bone …”

When you give a dog a bone, you not only give him a treat but something to tease him with, and dogs love that so much! The media has been giving us bits of flesh but no major bone, YET! It’s coming! I wonder what tomorrow’s headlines will read after the Panorama tonight. I wonder the next day after the NATO reception/dinner. There is so much neat, on the bone that is ‘madam%’, her lost years, her connections, behaviours you could cater 100 Royal receptions and still have plenty!!

“ yes , we’re all watching it! It’s very addictive “ ……… “ How the f***did they know that!!!”………… “ I told them Philip!!” ……… “bloody snoops” Royal family discussion night and blog reading time. They get on the topic of the Netflix show, The Crown. It sounds like they are enjoying it and find it addictive even, that’s high praise, l hope Netflix producers read Skippy blog!! PP is wondering how they knew something and HMTQ states unequivocally that she told them! Is she the unwritten/uncredited official Consultant? PP chimes in again, calling the press and it’s investigators bloody snoops.This is a good fun, conversation, not the invasive, boundaries crossed angry time.

At the last count sir , all was Ticketyboo.

LG receiving reports for tomorrow’s NATO events, dinner/reception. Ticket boo, means everything is perfect, just as it was planned to be, no anticipated issue! The capitalization of Ticketyboo, means Ticket, an actual invitation , likely numb and signed with allow entrance to the event. There will be zero gate crashes, if for some reason madam or anyone might try!

1750 hrs CST GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦

Thank you dear PG….sounds like so much news coming! Can’t wait….I hardly doubt NetFlix is reading here though….I love your stories! Much appreciated….😊💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Ask Skippy

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132: Dec 3

MM ANON … email shemail ……this hole is getting deeper …… Christmas service treat🦄🦎…… “keep hold!! he’s a runner”…… a welcoming absence …… “ you can leave your scarf at home darling”…… “ Chaz & Don”…… Megan come Beggin…… “hope she stays for New Years”……Emmanuel & Don🎭]……… NATO,HATE-O…… “Philip, You’ll miss the banquet!!” ……… “bloody good!!”………” it’s your night old thing”………” Mmm , Catherine’s Tiara?” ………” Emeralds, would do the trick”……… “Sydney’ strong refreshments!!”…… “the Crown old thing?”

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜

December 3/2019 Riddle #130

1110 hrs CST

email shemail

Email has been made public between from PA toGM, with the topic being VRG, asking questions. It kind of confuses him saying he never met her nor knew her, however he may have heard her name. If l am correct the email was sent January 3/2015. 0550 hrs so that’s early, sense of urgency? Or just a disciplined military man who rises early?

this hole is getting deeper

There is a focused multifaceted attack on the BRF! The more information, rather PR/media and interviews come out, instead of letting the legal system address any issues is further poisoning the water! Again, NOT DEFENDING ANYONE, but of all the high placed men WHY IS PA BEING BURNED AT THE STAKE? With high powered wealthy men, why is she so unafraid for her family?? Photos put buying beer and cigs? Who or whom are/is paying from this continued assault on the Monrachy!!??

Christmas service treat🦄🦎”keep hold!! he’s a runner”

Christmas pageant at Battersea, if Nanny Anon, is to be believed it’s tonight, l thought NATO reception was tonight, for weeks l thought it was the 4 th, l honestly cannot keep track. However, they each hVe a role of that l am certain, however Nanny says Charlotte is an angel, with a line to speak and George is rehearsing the role of his future, one of the three kings, NOT of Orient are🤣🤣🤣😂. Louis must a going concern, as we say here, constantly on the move. They best keep him firm in hand or he will do a runner through the audience and steal the show🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂. There would be one shriekingly ticked off Princess if that happened!

a welcoming absence “ you can leave your scarf at home darling”

Madam will not join the family at Sandringham, the first Christmas in two years without her. Catherine joking with William he need not bring his scarf🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂. His passive aggressive, sorry William but it was 🤣🤣😂😂, fiddling with his scarf whilst leaving the chapel on madams first unmarried Christmas , she was trying to engage him but he fiddled with his scarf . This went nuclear all over the internet and social media! I believe there is an actual official listing of the word scarfing!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂 Oh man, and l had bought him the loveliest purple scarf, what shall l do with it ?🥺🥺😩😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

“ Chaz & Don”

PC and DT , abbreviated as Chaz for a Charles and Don for Donald, will spend time together today at this evenings reception. I firmly am thinking l was right all along and the banquet is tomorrow. I am sure PC role is expanding they will have plenty to talk about. PC is the consummate host.

Megan come Beggin

Madam begged pleaded shrieked, until she finally got her wish to not be forced anywhere near the person she hates , the President of HER country. MM ANON , l hate to ask, is this a typo, Megan, not Meghan? If it’s not a typo, who is Megan???

“hope she stays for New Years”

This is the general consensus, that madam can stay wherever she is until AFTER New Years.

However, if this is the special friend, this may be leaning in a

positive vibe of hoping she will STAY until the New Years Eve.

Emmanuel & Don🎭]……… NATO,HATE-O

Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump have had an extremely dramatic almost theatrical relationship. When they first met, Macron was so huggy , touchy feely, the word bromance was used. They have had some cracks with the U.S. pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord. President Trump has issues regarding NATO, paying funds etc, there is much changing on the worlds stage politically, the U.S./NATO/BREXIT/EU etc etc etc. Not the least of which has been the double barrel attacking of the British Monarchy!

“Philip, You’ll miss the banquet!!” “bloody good!!”” it’s your night old thing”” Mmm , Catherine’s Tiara?” ” Emeralds, would do the trick”

HMTQ and PP conversing, less pressure on the agenda, with the words done by LG and his team, yet he is not up to attending the banquet, plus he has retired from the world stage. Which sounds TRUT H be told, he has had his fill during the many decades attending them!🤣🤣🤣😂😂. Just reassuring her it’s most important that she, HMTQ, is there, she is so amazing as a hostess, she is involved with every little single detail! Well, well, well madams hair will be on fire!! Catherine will be wear the Vladimir Kokoshnik, l think that’s the one, it’s most certainly the one with huge Emeralds,tiara😁😁😁😁. I can hardly wait to see those photos!

“Sydney’ strong refreshments!!”…… “the Crown old thing?”

To end of conversation, the pulled cord, and again, as always, Sydney arrives, smiling, anticipating their request, Boddingtons for Himself and gin and DuBonnet for HMTQ.CHEERS YOUR MAJESTY, SIR!!

1150 hrs CST

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦

Thank you PG…interesting stuff today…I can’t wait to see which tiara Kate will wear…could it be that one! Oh my! Much appreciated dear PG!😊💜💜💜💜💜

Ask Skippy submission

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133: DEC 5

MM ANON ……… lovers not-on or emerald??…… Alexander McQueen green machine??……… Clean sweep!!!……………Trump wants his ball back…… Banquetiquette ……… “ One has to watch the hot mike Donald!!”……… Meanwhile’ crying in a corner……” a clash of Wills”……… “come on old thing,tell me all the gossip”………” Sydney ‘ gin and Du……” “ Ones a tad exhausted “…… “ you looked stunning Catherine “……… “yes ‘ I saw your killer 👀side eye “…… 👑👑💕💕And so to bed Zebedee!!……… “ Lottie ‘turn your pad off!!”…George’ sleep!!

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜

December. 5/2019 0020 hrs CST

RIDDLE #130

SORRY I AM SO LATE WITH IT, I HAVE NOT FELT WELL SO I WILL GIVE IT A TRY!

lovers not-on or emerald??

I was sooooo certain l had read months ago that December4/2019 there was to be a formal NATO Banquet. Maybe l was wrong , unlikely it was changed. Nonetheless there is a Diplomats Banquet next week, l could be wrong too😏😒😂. Catherine, for a number of such occasions has worn the Lovers Knot Tiara and done so brilliantly, l might add! There has been rampant rumblings of her wearing the Vlad Emerald Tiara!! It’s gorgeous, all those emeralds, imagine with her gorgeous eyes?? 👀 👀 👸🏻 Allegdly(ha ha) a certain someone demanded this for a gathering of very VERY unhappy people! HMTQ ABSOLUTELY PUT HER FOOT DOWN NO!NO! The banshee was heard screaming all the way up in Balmedie!!!🤣🤣🤣😂😂. So l will firmly say, whether it the Diplomats banquet or not, whatever the next black tie/formal event, Catherine will be wearing the Vlad Emerald Tiara!!! No ifs ands or buts!!!

Alexander McQueen green machine??

Did she not look stunning at the reception? Green or any colour she wears so beautifully! Even a red puffer and skinny jeans!! She slays! As the kids say now! The papers should get their designers right, they had it wrong on RS as well, that was a McQueen military inspired gorgeous piece she wore, one paper saint Caroline Walker. No offence but that was not her style. Last night dress was said to be Emilia Wickstead. So is it now McQueen? Either way that was the colour of envy for sure, did she purposely wear it? OF COURSE SHE DID!! I cannot WAIT for the Diplomats banquet or next formal/black tie event. The gown she will wear , and Of COURSE SARAH BURTON, from the House of McQueen, who designed her wedding gown, will have designed it, bespoke to go with the Emerald Tiara! Put your ear plugs in kids, madam will be flying her 🧹 broomstick over London screaming 🙀 at the heavens!!! Jealous much!OH YES JEALOUSY THE GREEN EYED MONSTER HAS BERN OBVIOUS SINCE SHE CAME ONTO THE SCENE!

Clean sweep!!!

This immediately makes thing if curling! Hurry hard! Hurry! Sweep Sweep! If you’re Canadian or Scottish you will be laughing now🤣🤣😂😂. A clean sweep in a game is winning the game with the opposing side having a score of zero, or Ina finals winning the games needed to take the Stanley Cup, example, to win the series. A clean sweep can also, and here l believe is MM ANON meaning, to sweep out the dust, filth, unwanted or unsavoury things when cleaning house. So the cleaning house, clean sweep metaphor may be related to a clash of wills in when to release the hounds on madam and what on earth to do about the VRG issues!!!

Trump wants his ball back. Banquetiquette. “ One has to watch the hot mike Donald!!”

This is a childish reference to PT leaving before the final press conference after our PM, BOJO, Macron and Princess Anne were on ‘ hot mic’ which is the news means you’re microphone isn’t live , that’s how the ABC reporter Amy Robach got caught out saying ABC quashed her interview with VRG years ago. So l guess DT , l have to be very care here to not upset my American friends whilst defending my PM. I will just lay facts no subjective opinion ok? They must be VERY VERY VERY careful what they say, when they say it, because sorry JT but even without the hot mic, with my poor hearing l am used to lip reading and using closed captioning on the tv, l could read your lips! DT was upset, called him two faced. You can all opine about them now.

It was a reception, not a banquet, however etiquette is etiquette and the rules still apply. Good manners, carry oneself well and be above reproach. I am afraid some , have your own opinions ok, but there was some etiquette not taken. See above clue please.

A short time later, DT himself was caught on hot mic, congratulating himself for calling our PM what he called him and for leaving without the last presser, press conferences are called pressers in America. Saying that was funny that he said that name. It happens to everyone, hot mic, in politics or celebrities, they have to be careful unless they just don’t care.

Meanwhile’ crying in a corner

Madam, just go back to your corner, you have misbehaved so much, get used to the corner! Oh she must be spitting bullets of jealousy, if she saw Catherine, just wait till she sees the Christmas photos!😄😄😄😄🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂

“a clash of Wills”

William in back, he has proven himself a force of nature in becoming too. Dealing with family issues, is there disagreement regarding PA. There have been calls for him to lose his HRH status , is that on the docket? And great clashing of that? Wills was Diana’s name for William, wills is also ones determination to do or not do something

“come on old thing,tell me all the gossip”………” Sydney ‘ gin and Du……” “ Ones a tad exhausted “

HMTQ and PP again, indulge me, l know he’s at Wood Farm and she’s in London but indulge me, l love this, so do you, and so do some others. HMTQ finally out of her dress clothes, wearing comfortable nightdress, gorgeous purple velvet slippers and completely bespoke housecoat of the finest PUR velvet with silver seaming and luxurious embroidered collar with ER on the breast plate. PP in his nightclothes, grey slippers and matching bespoke grey robe with dark stitching along the seams barely there but if you look closely the beauty of each stitch is breathtaking. THANK YOU MM ANON FOR ADDING THE DRINKS I HAVE BEEN HAND TYPING FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW!! PP already has his Boddingtons , cord was pulled just as she sat down, Sidney arrives, and PP orders her favourite cocktail, gin and a DuBonnet. She , you know it’s HMTQ when she speaks in third person, l do that a lot too😄😄😄😄😁😁, says she is a tad bit exhausted which means she is more tired than any of us have ever been! She is a force of nature! Majestic, strong, beautiful and tender when the needs be. They proceed to discuss all the goings on, at the reception and there was plenty!

“ you looked stunning Catherine “……… “yes ‘ I saw your killer 👀side eye “…… 👑👑💕💕And so to bed Zebedee!!……… “ Lottie ‘turn your pad off!!”…George’ sleep!!

William has returned from another successful solo Royal tour to the Middle East. I though the photos of him with the fisherman fixing their nets and then him giving it a go was amazing. He really , like his wife, has come into his own. Telling Catherine how stunning she looked last night and teasing her about her side eye, which she does very well! Remember the stolen pencil incident a few weeks ago? Louis long ago asleep, George and Charlotte keen to see daddy, imagine what did you bring me? A million times over and at a maximum volume!😂😂😂🤣🤣Zebedee, Zebedii, that was often what l heard or said for bedtime. A jovial memory of television and a cute sweet way to colour the word bedtime by making it fun because the word kids HATE is bedtime. Then when you reach adulthood and parenthood one prays for bedtime.🤣🤣🤣😂😂 l have never been a parent but l know many, enough to prove that statement!

Charlotte ever the controller of wifi and devices😂😂😂🤣🤣,we have read this in other riddles! Time for bed a George!!

0125 hrs CST

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦

Thank you so much, especially doing this when feeling unwell. You are greatly appreciated. The Diplomatic dinner is December 11th. This is sounding good…😊💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Ask Skippy

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134: Dec 5

MM ANON …… “ no, not the service”……… Strip and rip…… IRSt in peace……” I think you’ll find it best ma’am”…… “ exactly ‘ peace and quiet”…… Distant thunder ……… “On Her Majesty’s secret service”…… No!! Not the whole enchilada………… The dossier, almost complete!!…… “Yes!! It certainly is personal”……… “she lived by the sor-did…… “gather thee rosebuds …………”…… “ not a word,old boy”. ……… “ Mmmm, unfortunate name for a club”……… “a sticky wicket,what!

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜

December 5/2019 1040 hrs CST

RIDDLE #131

“no, not the service”

Prince Andrew has had virtually everything but his HRH ripped away. Papers saying now this morning that not only Prince Charles dressed him down, but Prince Philip did as well. He may be 98 and retired but a massive alpha male who can throw down with the best of them. Sounding like PA will NOT be permitted to attend church Christmas 🎄 morning as per usual. The Royal family walks and greets the public coming and leaving, HMTQ is driven.

Strip and rip

This sounds like a bikini wax or a back waxing . More like a search for drugs, substances, paraphernalia or weapons at a prison or psychiatric hospital, believe me, l have done many such searches, for those needing hospitalization. This clue could be twofold, firstly, reportedly three blackened windows Discoveries were seen high speed driving near Banbury, a day or so ago, evening l think actually, madam is rumoured to be near at SoHo or perhaps in Banbury, the hometown of a certain sycophantic royal reporter. Me oh my oh!! Has she been taken into custody by the Americans??? Did she fly back with the President?

Secondly this may refer to Prince Andrew, strip and rip him of everything including his HRH. Is that what is being ripped? The public and many are demanding it including his fellow military members! Might l again say, he has NOT BEEN INTERVIEWED NOR CHARGED! Just a fact, l hate sexual abuse and human trafficking it’s loathsome. But there seems to be a direct torpedo, pardon the wordage, directly at him.Why no one else? Whose agenda is this??

IRSt in peace

Madam is in a world/whirled of hurt with the IRS, America’s tax division. I have no idea her last filing, or how accurate she has ever been. Since joining the Royal family, although never really did, she has had a myriad of income sources and likely many we don’t know. Might it be not the literal death of her but in terms of finances, she will be if not already in process,be audited and may be garnisheed for the rest of her life to,pay what is owed?

“I think you’ll find it best ma’am”“ exactly ‘ peace and quiet”

I think LG is suggesting HMTQ head for Sandringham early, to be out of London when the walls come tumbling down so to speak. Peace and quiet, readying for family Christmas, although that too brings its own pains!

Distant thunder

Softly rolling distant, quiet, getting closer, more loud, and BABOOM CRASH!! The storm that has been brewing and slowly simmering in the background is coming, coming closer, when it arrives,it will be ELECTRIC!! The information and scandal will rock the globe. I am not just talking about when all about madam is revealed but her backers and their sordid dealings! BOOM CRASH FLASH! Winds howling! It’s going to be earth shattering.

“On Her Majesty’s secret service”

We have had several Bond references. This was the only Bond film that a George Lazenby ever starred in, did you know that? Connery or Moore?? The other actors don’t count! CONNERY LASS AM I , AYE TIS SO💜💜💜💜. I do believe our William has been on the intelligence gathering and l do wonder about our Harry. You kids remember me repeatedly talking about his wedding ring months and months ago and saying it’s no regular ring?Sure you do, one of you went hunting and posted a picture of a ring with GPS chip! It’s very unusual in the U.K. especially royalty, in my experience , for men to wear wedding bands yet Harry insisted, ask yourself why? Why? Why? By the way, great film, and great documentary l have pvr’ed , The Secrets of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It was on PBS last week, an anon posted about it, so l pvr’ed it!

No!! Not the whole enchilada

So again, the whole enchilada is a metaphor for the entire sum of something, usually valuable. What and whom is this referencing? Again, is it PA, losing more? I doubt that, the phrase the whole enchilada , that is not a British expression it’s American. This must be regarding madam. Meaning, she has to give up everything, her HRH, every merching etc etc. She’s upset about it. What, to stay out of prison? Testify against someone? Tell the whole truth and nothing but? This woman cannot even spell truth. There are so many lies over so many decades allegedly, there is no way she knows who she was with when doing what.

The dossier, almost complete!!

Information is almost done, evidence, witnesses, intelligence, video, audio, photos, texts, emails, carrier pigeons and any other sort of stealth data to solidify alleged treason charges along with a boatload of other financial and Heaven only knows what from the past has raised its filth from the depth of those lost years! All the i dotted t crossed, airtight.

“Yes!! It certainly is personal”

Very personal, this attack was planned, guided, paid for, well planned, multipronged, family paid off, witnesses paid off or worse etc etc allegedly. So yeah it’s personal to HMTQ,PP, PC and PW.An attack on the thing HMTQ has spent her life serving! The very monarchy! Sordid plot to crumble the Monarchy! So hell yes ITS PERSONAL!!! To our a Royal family and TO ALL OF US!!

“she lived by the sor-did

Old saying live by the sword ⚔️, you die by the sword, you all know that one. Madam has allegedly lived a very sordid, deviant lifestyle for money and luxuries. This will be her downfall, any previous association with JE, l can only imagine what her role was and then became. This whole sick, satanic, house of cards is crumbling, the cockroaches are running for cover. Does she think the backers are going to pay for her attorneys or testify on her behalf? 😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣 She is crazier than l thought! ALLEGEDLY!

“gather thee rosebuds…

While ye may, love this .This beautiful piece of magic written by Robert Herrick hundreds of years ago but relevant now as then. Speaking how quickly time flies, make the most of each second, do not waste time on frivolous things or unsavoury things. Sadly, many lost souls here, and damaged ones, so evil. However we have HMTQ, PC , William and Catherine, the Monarchy, with them at the helm, is resilient, will cut the extras and forge a new Monarchy.

“ not a word,old boy”.

Someone is keeping schtum about something. I imagine there are many, likely most of the details will remain classified. The five eyes met at the NATO conference. I truly do wonder, although l love my little life, what intelligence was shared! PP likely speaking with Netty, and keeping things classified, most probably about when they plan to break and let loose! We all know who Netty is right? I have explained it in a few riddles!

“ Mmmm, unfortunate name for a club”

Tramp nightclub, the source of many stories VRG and PA. PA also was there many times with Fergie and that’s where he met Koo Stark way back when for those of us at a certain age! Horrible just horrible name for a club!

“a sticky wicket,what!

This is a croquet term, hitting the balls through the wickets. It’s also a cricket term! Jiminy 🦗 Crickets, that’s my new favourite saying😁. A sticky wicket in life refers to awkward, difficult, unexpectedly challenging time. Well doesn’t that just describe the last two years!! OR MORE! What detail is sticky still? Something needing sorting. I just cannot fathom what it is! But it’s important because it’s in the riddle!

1155 hrs CST GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦

Oh my! Not sounding good for MM! We are getting there it seems! Fantastic job dear PG! Thank you so much!🙏🏻💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Ask Skippy

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135: Dec 6

MM ANON …… megbots in crisis …… megs spotted on ISS…… megs searchers internet for archificial upgrade …… megs still breastfeeding …… frogcott staff witness meg and Harry in screaming row 😱……… meg accused of bugging KP……… meg and archbishop in risqué photo shoot …… Archbishop denies clergy gossip …… meg ,VF interview ‘ I hate my chicken legs ‘…… Harry in GQ interview, I want a divorce ‘…… GQ, shock ‘horror, Harry’s OK’…… meg pens, ‘confessions of my yachting years’. … $20 million advance.

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜

December 6/2019 1150 hrs CST

Thanks to the wonderful 💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻fortheheavenssake 🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜who is documenting all my riddle interpretations, l apparently have used two numbers twice🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂 so this is RIDDLE #135

💜💜MM ANON LISTEN, AS YOU ONCE SAID, NO APOLOGIES EVER!!!💜💜LEVITY IS NEEDED🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

megbots in crisis

Madam has had zillions of ‘bots’ online to bolster or artificially , not archficially🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂, boost her numbers and popularity on social media and PR. The well is running dry,no new storyline , last uncle pulled out of the woodwork weeks ago, bots, they cost $$$$$#£££££££€€€€€, she is in serious overload and underfunded. The bots are sputtering, spinning, electrical charges sparking, powering down, all the things 🤖 robots do when system failure, permanent fatal error blue screen, does not cooommmmmppppuuuutttteee………….

megs spotted on ISS

Oh now she’s an astronaut??? Really on the International Space Station??🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂. Yes, like l said last week Sasquatch and Elvis hang out in my back yard! Has she gone there to get another moonbump direct from the source??🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂

megs searchers internet for archificial upgrade

Oh my Jiminy Crickets!!🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂, l just typed that! Well not the internet part. Yes at some point she’s going to have to show a child, growing bigger, however Archficial was already a big boy, they used to call them huggy l think. She is madly trying to find the cheapest price for the new model of archficial. Maybe retailmenot or some other sites like Rakuten has coupon codes!!

megs still breastfeeding

Is she now? Is she a card carrying member of the La Leche League? Breastfeeding until the child is 18 or wed! Yes, it’s a great excuse for privacy, because despite what her PR says, she definitely wants privacy, no pictures, no one talking about or to her, yet yammers because no one asks if she is ok! Pathetic instagram post, photoshopped photos, one year anniversary of Hubb kitchen visit. Talk about grasping at straws for attention, and using year old photoshopped photos😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣😩😩

frogcott staff witness meg and Harry in screaming row 😱

I do believe this was/is a story in one of the American gossip rags, could be wrong but everyone reads here so look for that headline next week if you’re into tabloids😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣.Interesting, there are no staff at FC, because NO ONE LIVES THERE! Perhaps an old spirit, but they take care of themselves! They have never lived there, every celebrity or article about who has visited there and held/fed/played with archficial are all liars, allegedly.

meg accused of bugging KP

Not surprised at that, taking a page right out of MA’s playbook at SoHo. Secretly record, gather intel, blackmail=$$$$$$$$€€€€€€€£££££. I wonder what secrets she gathered! Add that to the charges, LG and Netty, Sirs! Please! Allegedly! 🙄🙄

meg and archbishop in risqué photo shoot

There has been something odd about everything madam does/has done. One of the most bizarre is Justin Welby, the A of C, he allegedly privately baptized her. He allegedly christened archficial, with one wee issue, he was hours from London at that time at a Church conference. Now he has come out defending her. So there is no confusion these are his exact words.

💜💜Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, defended the Duchess of Sussex against what he called the “totally undeserved” criticism she has received.

“She’s a person of profound humanity and deep concern for people, seeking to carry out her role with every ounce of her being, and I think she’s a remarkable person💜💜.

What’s gone on here? Are you suggesting she has something on him so he has done these things under blackmail allegedly. Not a thing in this mess would surprise me one wit!

Archbishop denies clergy gossip

Parishioners talk, clergy members talk, they’re human, when things don’t add up, it makes for lots of speculation and questioning. Is the A of C denying that other bishops or members of the clergy have been speculating and questioning some of the issue l typed above? This is all too weird. If we had a whole wall with every single odd event, altered facts, stories comments etc etc, it would be like string art we used to do way back when. Better still twist like Christmas lights, and trying to figure out which bulb is causing the whole string to not light up. I know most of you remember that, the good old days before prelit trees in weird colours that make noises and flash so rapidly you get a migraine. Jiminy Crickets, l sound like one of those two grumpy men in the balcony on the Muppets Show😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣.

meg ,VF interview ‘ I hate my chicken legs

Harry in GQ interview, I want a divorce ‘GQ, shock ‘horror, Harry’s OK’

Madam did the VF, wild about Harry, was all PR lies! I think in terms of madams legs millions would agree! Now now, is this how this is going to roll? Tit for tat, pun intended🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂, is Harry doing a GQ cover giving her the same treatment by shockingly wanting a divorce?? Oh please 🙄 JIMINY CRICKETS 🦗 l want ten copies!!!💜💜💜Please sir, l want some more! The first person who comments where that line is from gets a smile from me😁. 💜💜💜Imagine the worlds shock?! Oh MM ANON DON’T TEASE ME!🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂 LG your brilliance is only surpassed by your loyalty and dedication to HMTQ Tip hat 🎩 Sir!

meg pens, ‘confessions of my yachting years $20 million advance.

During the weekend when madam went to help her Bestie SW completely lose the U.S.Open, they didn’t want her there, she went anyhow, didn’t she do a great job? Flirting grossly with SW husband, ignored by SW’s mum and graciously using the ‘Markle effect’ and SW lost soundly! She was summoned there, post haste allegedly to meet with backers and take a meeting with publishers. There have been rumblings and rumours of a book. Good luck fact checking that one, the poor ghost writer and editor🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂. I think she will have to forget a lot because the IRS apparently doesn’t like it if you do not declare income or not be truthful, allegedly. And also, law enforcement may have issues with some behaviours, in relation to those missing years. And a wee tiny issue of archficial fauxmegnancy, not of the body. Trying to pass off a surrogate baby, not Harry’s child, all allegedly of course! As a blood royal baby!! Just a minor treason charge. Then there is the SoHo issue…….bugging, recordings, blackmail, all from the plot of a juicy film! As far as a $20,000,000 advance, if that happens, l will eat my hat! I don’t have one, got toques, might have to eat one then!! Who in their right mind would give her that cash advance? Unless it was not the right but the left, the leftists globalists backers….yep that l can see!!! Help us oh Lord🙏🏻🙏🏻 please, the light needs to be shone on the horrors that have been happening. Our beloved HMTQ, it just is breaking my heart, she is so beloved.

1250 hrs CST

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON, I HAD A FABULOUS FUN TIME DOING THIS!!🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦

What fun! Loved this. Thank you MM Anon for the humorous riddle and PG your great interpretation! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Ask Skippy submission

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136: Dec 6

MM ANON …… Muffin the mule…… looby loo & Andy pandy …… 95 , time!!…… “no’ not chaz”’……… “ I’m Meghan Markle and I indorse this massage” ……” An American Christmas card”…… betrayal in B&W……… “ it’s HMTQ your talking about!!!”…… “ tell her to PO ‘ it’s the Boxing Day shoot”……… 🎼I’m dreaming of a right Christmas 🎼…… a shortie but goody

💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU YET AGAIN MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜

December 6/2019 1530 hrs CST RIDDLE #136

Muffin the mule

Muffin has a naughty meaning as well as the breakfast bit. Mule is a very stubborn animals or someone carrying something illegal across borders as in a drug mule. First thing l thought of was a Moscow mule, classic lovely drink. There was an article in the DM about madams Christmas decor ideas and menu, the Moscow mule in copper was her idea!🤣🤣🤣😂 Well, l can’t drink anymore, but to me l would have one anytime but they and the copper was all the rage about five years ago, so she seems to be a wee bit behind the trend! However in fairness, it was taken from the 2015 Tig.

looby loo & Andy pandy

I read in the DM and saw photos years ago, Prince Andrew dancing up a storm, with a Heidi Klum, didn’t look like her but she was in a wig, costume. Also another female. Apparently he liked to be massaged by two women simultaneously, not underage, or rude, fun. The loony loo is known here as the hokey pokey, a hand , leg, body action dance. Is this having a go at PA ‘skills’ on the dance floor?? The hokey pokey also has a naughty meaning too.

95 , time!! “no’ not chaz”

HMTQ will be 95 in 18 months. Double exclamation mark, someone or several are firm in her making PC Regent at that time! It sounds like a firm opinion that PC is not the choice for Regent. Might William be tapped to step up and put a whole new modern face on the Monarchy? My goodness, to quote London Scoop, up is down, down is up, the world is spinning too fast!! The winds of change are gusting stronger and stronger!

“ I’m Meghan Markle and I indorse this massage”

Ha ha. Is she doing adverts now for special yacht massages.🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂 Oh dear imagine the oils and other items she would smear around!!! 😫😫😫😩😩😩🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢Just imagine the worst grossest thing you can muster!! Is she going into politics or has she massaged major politicians???? The end of every tv ad during election, l am so and so and l endorse this message. Yikes, crazy world!

“ An American Christmas card”betrayal in B&W

Of course the Christmas card will be in black and white, what else do we expect from madam? Likely have her back turned as well. Will Archficial be backwards too? Ultimate betrayal of wedding vows, to the public. A child not Harry’s, and not of her body! Will this be released and dealt with before Christmas? I pray so🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

“ it’s HMTQ your talking about!!!”…… “ tell her to PO ‘ it’s the Boxing Day shoot”

PP is angry and someone has been disrespectfully talking about HMTQ, PP is soundly bringing them about. PP is laying it down, madam has no input in the shooting day, she’s to be told to PO! PP talking to Harry, l am confused about why Harry would be still bring requests or demands from madam. I am wondering if it’s LG, because l am pretty certain Harry is far away from her and no interaction. It’s about Christmas, Sandringham and the annual family Boxing Day shooting party. Madam has been aggressively against it, allegedly previous years. So is madam still in a position to make demands? Well it sounds like she will be told what’s what!

🎼I’m dreaming of a right Christmas 🎼

I watched the film White Christmas last night, gorgeous songs by a Irving a Berlin, fabulous, again movies when they were movies! I am thinking the wish is that Jeremy Corbyn loses and BoJo, the conservatives, oft referred to as the right. Corbyn is leaning left strongly and much upset about alleged anti-Semitic beliefs. I think all this crap with madam has to wait till after the election, December 12/2019.

a shortie but goody

Is this little Louis? He is toddling around, l recall the summer videos at the park garden Catherine designed, him running in the bridge arms wide to balance. I can hardly wait for the Christmas photos! I can only imagine running round now, he will be into anything and everything!Bless him🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻 l am exhausted, haven’t slept since Thursday morning. Two riddles, other posts sheesh JIMINY CRICKETS 🦗 I AM DONE💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜

1605 hrs CST

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦

Thank you PG…two in a day! MM Anon must know you love a great challenge….thank you for doing this…😊💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Ask Skippy submission

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[troublewithcomics]

ADD Reviews Avengers: Infinity War

[Note: Contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War.] "We live inside a dream," Special Agent Dale Cooper once said on Twin Peaks. And so it has been for millions of people during the decade of Marvel Studios films that launched in 2008 with Jon Favreau's Iron Man.

I felt we had dodged a bullet back then, in the casting of talented but troubled actor Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, after talk of Tom Cruise taking the role, and Marvel even publishing comic books with Stark drawn to resemble Cruise (a tactic which would actually work with Samuel L. Jackson, to the delight of just about everyone). Cruise was not right for the role. At that point I had been living with Tony Stark in my life for over thirty years, and I knew Downey would embody that part like no one else could. Thankfully Favreau knew it as well and convinced the studio to bet on Downey along with him.

But despite the unlimited potential in the characters owned by Marvel Comics, mostly borne out of the imagination and visual power of the late Jack Kirby, I wasn't expecting much from Iron Man and I doubt anyone in the movie industry was, either. Marvel's characters had been licensed time and time again to film and TV and even radio shows, and the one that gained the most traction was the TV series The Incredible Hulk, which took a few elements from Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's creation and then used them to retell The Fugitive. Similarly the less-well-regarded Spider-Man TV series used almost none of the essential aspects of that comic book's mythology, instead using the character's name and costume as a small part of a generic, episodic crime drama, not even bothering to steal the plot of a successful show, like The Incredible Hulk did.

The relative success of those shows hinged on a number of factors, among them the lack of alternatives -- you had three commercial TV networks plus PBS back then. (Which reminds me that Spider-Man also regularly appeared on The Electric Company, a show aimed at 8-10 year olds and which managed to present a more faithful wall-crawler than a primetime network series could, even allowing for the fact that on The Electric Company, Spider-Man never spoke a word.)

The 1980s and 1990s brought even more mediocre-to-terrible attempts to cash in on Marvel's characters. Dolph Lundgren as The Punisher. Reb Brown as Captain America. And a truly awful Fantastic Four movie made quickly and cheaply by cult film director Roger Corman in order to allow the rights holders to maintain their license. It resulted in a film so bad that it was never widely released and was only seen by most people through the wonders of bootleg VHS tapes sold at sketchy comicons. It should be noted that this Fantastic Four film is only marginally worse than the three later released by major studios, but with four films to their names, The Fantastic Four at this moment has more movies to its name than even The Avengers franchise, even if not a single one of them is worth watching.

Speaking of The Avengers, I went to see Avengers: Infinity War yesterday in the company of my wife Lora. I think we have seen most of the Marvel Studios films at the theater, although I have my doubts about the second Thor film. It's hard to keep track now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (as it's called) is closing in on two-dozen full-length feature films, almost all of which are at least entertaining, and some of which have proven magical in both their mass appeal and their ability to generate revenue. Narratively, financially, and especially from the perspective of pre-2008, the continuing success of the Marvel movies is a dream that millions have been living within. It has changed the lives of many, from turning around the literal and metaphorical fortunes of actors like Downey, who no one thought would even live to see 2018 never mind be one of the most popular movie stars on the planet, and Chris Evans, whose depiction of Steve Rogers/Captain America has left far behind any memories of his participation in two of those lousy Fantastic Four movies. More interestingly this dream movie franchise has inspired and brought happiness to untold numbers of people, like that time Downey gave an Iron Man-like bionic arm to a seven-year-old boy. Or the millions of African-Americans and others who found in the recent Black Panther film an inspirational culture in which they could see themselves and their own history. These films haven't solved all the world's problems, but it's undeniable that they have brought joy and comfort and more in far greater proportion than one might have thought possible before this all began.

Which isn't to say they are perfect. I am not writing a love letter to Marvel Comics, Marvel Studios, or anyone else, really. Maybe Jack Kirby, because without him there would be none of this, but also Stan Lee, who wrote the words of so many of the comics these movies are based on. And Steve Ditko, whose imagination spawned the characters and worlds of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange. And so many other comics creators I never thought would get their due, and yet who are credited in the long crawls at the end of these films and who, I hope, are being fairly compensated for the translation of their work into motion picture form.

Like Jim Starlin, a writer/artist whose work blew me away in 1977. That summer I was 11 years old, and Starlin wrote and illustrated a two-part crossover featuring The Avengers, Spider-Man and The Thing (from the Fantastic Four) in a galaxy-spanning battle royale against Starlin's most noted creation, the supervillain Thanos. The sprawling epic was made possible by the earlier work of Lee, Kirby, Ditko and others, but it felt like something entirely new. Recently going back and reading that story, I realized how direct an adaptation of that story Avengers: Infinity War is, and that realization made me even more eager to see how the film would play out.

It turns out that Infinity War is every bit as mind-blowing as those 1977 funnybooks that inspired it were to my 11-year-old self, and for much the same reason. It's not just the epic scale of the story, or the stunning visuals, or the huge cast of very different characters being remixed in new and interesting ways. Both the comics and the movie share all those elements. No, it's the combination of all those things, plus the charm, skill, talent and determination of the actors, writers and directors, the grand vision for these films from the producers, and other factors too numerous and mysterious to be easily tallied.

So yes, I loved it. My wife loved it. It wasn't perfect in the way Citizen Kane or Synecdoche, New York are perfect, timeless films, but that's not what the MCU movies are for. They are a commercially-produced dream, made for profit inside an increasingly dysfunctional capitalist system, and perhaps another essay could be written on the dangers of allowing such dreams to make one forget the injustices and dangers of the real world, but that's not the essay I am writing today. Today I want to just reflect on the wonder of seeing this film finally come to fruition, the bringing together of franchises-within-the-franchise, and I want to state with wonder and delight that it works.

Not just for me, lover of Spider-Man and the others since 1972. It works for my wife, who didn't know who most of these characters were before she met me, and who now loves Groot unconditionally and with profound delight. It works for millions of other people, some of whom have only the faintest idea who Jack Kirby is, although almost everyone knows who Stan Lee is. Not to diminish Lee's contribution to this mythology -- without him it almost certainly would not have existed nor endured this long -- but it cannot be said enough that Kirby gets the majority of the credit. Others took the baton and ran with it once Kirby left Marvel, but Captain America, Black Panther, Thor and many other of the most endearing and exciting characters in these movies are as popular and effective as they are precisely because of the elements Kirby baked into them: Black Panther's dignity, Thor's arrogance and innate decency, and perhaps most importantly, Captain America's dedication to people over politics, to good over greed. Let there be no doubt, these are exactly the heroes we need at this moment in history, and it is perhaps not a coincidence that many of the actors who inhabit these characters have used their popularity to give voice to those less fortunate than themselves, and to use their voices to critique the current wave of fascism and authoritarianism that threaten to destroy our culture. These movies are entertainment, yes, and they have made fortunes for many of the people involved, but some of those people see the responsibility their new prominence and success has given them, and they seem to take it seriously. I'm grateful for that.

And I'm grateful for the joy in so many of these films, which reaches an almost unreal level at various moments in Infinity War. Not just seeing Tony Stark bicker with Stephen Strange, or Groot heroically assist Thor in a way only he could at exactly the right moment. Not just seeing Mark Ruffalo's sublime Bruce Banner argue with The Hulk, and therefore himself, to hilarious effect at exactly the wrong moment, only to later see him delight in having all of the power but none of the horror such power usually brings him. It's all of these things and at least a thousand more.

Like I said, it's not perfect. How could it be? In a story this wide-ranging, I was never going to get enough of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow to make me happy. But there'll be a movie for that soon enough. I was never going to get everything I came to this for, but then no one is, when you get really granular and start picking it apart. But that's missing the big picture, and in the larger sense, it's important to note I wasn't bored or unhappy for one nanosecond of this film, as I was for every never-ending moment of the grotesque, doomed-to-fail Justice League movie. I was uneasy and scared at the beginning of Infinity War, as intended. I was amused and laughing when Peter Parker asked for a distraction on a schoolbus to hilarious effect. I was chilled when Banner announced "Thanos is coming." As I said on Facebook, "So many moments."

I have seen some concern about plot holes, but I see none. The most specific concern centers on why Dr. Strange makes the choice he does near the end, with seemingly catastrophic results for the entire universe. Did the people voicing these criticisms forget that there's another movie coming? Did they not hear Strange tell his fellow heroes that he had seen millions of possible outcomes in which they all lose, but one, and one alone, in which they succeed in defeating Thanos? To be fair, that moment is couched in dread, no doubt to conceal the fact that it is foreshadowing the ultimate outcome of the as-yet unnamed sequel, said to be the end of the book all the MCU movies to date represent in the minds of those overseeing the franchise, before the start of the next book. But I have no doubt that Dr. Strange's decision, as agonizing as it was to see the consequences of, was the one that will somehow allow all those we lost to be returned to us in some form. Well, maybe not all.

I doubt it's a coincidence that Tony Stark was the one to see the ultimate defeat of their efforts to stop Thanos, and to watch in helpless horror as Peter Parker and others died before his eyes. Since the first Avengers movie, Tony Stark's bravado has masked his increasing trauma as one cosmic threat after another homicidal robot of his own design has taken chunks out of his soul. My guess is that by the end of 2019's Avengers movie, we'll have many if not most of the toys back in the toybox and ready to be played with another day. I watched the Falcon die, but I'm sure he'll be back. And Spider-Man, and The Vision, and Nick Fury, and everyone we watch blow away in the breeze, to our horror and despair. I'm guessing the price of their return will be Tony Stark's sacrifice in the next film, likely Downey's exit from the franchise. And that would be suitable. Downey was perfect for the role of Tony Stark because in so many ways he really already was Tony Stark. Arrogant, talented, addicted. He was, and is, our gateway into this world, the reason we have been able to feel the emotions these films create in us so viscerally and so immediately. Reversing the damage Thanos does at the end of Infinity War will require a huge payment to balance the books. I will be surprised if that isn't represented by the final end of Tony Stark's journey in these movies.

After all, the great throughline of these movies has been revelation and change, as the universe these characters live in has, in a decade, come to be as expansive and intriguing as it was after many decades of hard work and imagination from Stan and Jack and all the other writers and artists who are responsible for the comic books that launched this dream we are all now living inside. Who has had more revealed to him, and who has changed more than Tony Stark? How fitting would it be for the next film to end with him making the sacrifice, finally, that he narrowly escaped making at the end of the first Avengers film?

I could be wrong, though. And I don't care if I am. I’m just theorizing. How can you not? It's fun to speculate where this gigantic story will go next. And who could have guessed, before this all began in 2008, that so many millions of filmgoers would be so thrilled by one movie after another, a series of increasingly entertaining and even diverse films that give us worlds of wonder and delight, with shocks, horrors, laughs and even love?

No, no one could have seen this coming in 2008. No one except Jack Kirby, who, if he were still with us today, might be heard to say, "I knew it all along." -- Alan David Doane

[justlightlysedated]

@pizza-is-my-buziness asked for skimmons+take me to church, and well because i’m me, i concentrated more on the ‘they disapprove, but idgaf’ aspect of the song, instead of the sexy, worshipping part, oops??? maybe next time

Jemma was maybe, twenty seconds away from punching somebody in the face.

The only reason she’d refrained (so far) was because Coulson had instructed all of them to be on their best behavior (glaring at Daisy, Jemma, and Fitz in particular, as though Trip, Mack, Elena, and Bobbi were the epitome of well behaved agents), and Jemma was trying.

That didn’t mean that she just had to sit there and listen to people bad talk her team mates.

Especially when the team mate in question was Daisy.

Jemma doesn’t know exactly how she ended up sitting down at the same table as these idiots, but she was going to have some words with Coulson about how just because Jemma and Daisy couldn’t keep their hands off each other in the communal rec and dining room, didn’t mean that they should be seated on opposite sides of the room during SHIELD get togethers.

Especially if he was going to sit her with a group of people almost twice her age, who seemed to believe that you had to be over thirty to contribute anything important to anything, let alone something like SHIELD. Who apparently not only bought the rumors that Daisy was just a ditzy, klutz who slept with Coulson to get a place on the team, but also thought that her powers and Inhuman status were just a scam put in place to make her a SHIELD agent.

“But I’ve heard that it’s not only Coulson,” an agent who looked as though he’d never been on the field. let alone in life threatening danger, sneered as everyone stared over to where Daisy was laughing at something Trip said, hand wrapped around his bicep.

The laugh, which Jemma could hear clearly over the low din of voices conversing quietly to each other during the meal, made something warm and fond curl in the pit of her stomach.

“I’ve also heard that it’s not only men,” he continued, his greasy, smarmy voice bringing Jemma’s attention back to the table.

Most of the faces around the table looked disgusted, others bored, and there were two that were now leering at Daisy with disturbing looks on their faces.

Jemma felt exasperated and disgusted at the blatant homophobia, biphobia, and sexism that was still alive and well among most of the senior agents.

Jemma set her glass down on the table so hard that it very nearly breaks, spider web fractures spread out from the bottom of the glass towards the top, but she doesn’t really care.

After an uncomfortable beat of silence, where Jemma met every eye of the six other members sitting at her table, the same man cleared his throat uncomfortably, but that didn’t stop him from opening his mouth to speak again.

“You work with her don’t you?” He asked, looking somewhere between elated and cautious, but not cautious enough.

“I do,” Jemma answered primly, with a challenge in her tone.

He blanched a little, but recovered fast.

“So is it true?”

Jemma gave him a blank look, “You’ll have to be more specific, I wasn’t paying attention.”

He sputtered, turning very red in the face, and it was very amusing to watch.

But before he could recover, the woman sitting to his right intervened in a snotty, I-Know-Better-Than-You, voice, that probably helped to keep other junior agents in line, but was really not working for Jemma.

“The rumors, dear,” she said dear as though it was something more insulting, which didn’t help at all. She smiled indulgently as though Jemma was particularly dumb, and Jemma’s eye twitched.

She wondered if anyone at SHIELD HQ even bothered to check who it was exactly who co-created all of their recent weapon and gadget upgrades.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” she repeated, smiling lightly. “I don’t entertain idle gossip.”

The woman flinched back, simpering smile falling off her face, as though Jemma had slapped her, which was oddly fitting, because it was exactly what Jemma wanted to do.

“But it’s not just idle gossip,” another person said, and stopped to gulp when Jemma turned to look at them, but continued speaking, albeit more hesitant than before. “People have even seen her kissing multiple members of her team.”

“People?” Jemma asked disbelief dripping from her tone. “Are you one of these ‘people?’” She lifted her hands to do quotation marks around the word.

“Well, no,” he started to say stuttering.

“Well then,” Jemma interrupted. “Maybe instead of blindly believing something someone said, you should do your own research.”

“Well,” the first man said. “What about the so-called superpowers. We’ve never seen her actually use them. Just what we’ve heard. And the one time most of us were in the same room with her, she did the little hand gesture, but nothing happened.”

Jemma’s fingers curled into fists on top of the table, and she stood up once the man wiggled his fingers mockingly, in a mimicry of Daisy’s move.

“Listen here, Mr. I’m-Too-Important-to-SHIELD-to-Leave-My-Desk,” Jemma starts heatedly, feeling intense satisfaction at the fact that everyone blanches and leans back into their chairs. “I was there when Agent Daisy Johnson risked her life to stop an uninformed girl from using the artifact that ended up giving her powers and seriously injured another member of my team. Maybe next time, actually do some real research instead of getting all of your information from the lowlifes that do nothing but stand around the Donut table in the dining hall and spread false rumors about agents who are a million times better than they’ll ever hope to be. And while you’re at it, maybe go see a doctor to help to get rid of that giant stick that you’ve got stuck up your ar…”

“Excuse us,” Daisy interjects loudly, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing Jemma from behind, wrapping her arms around Jemma’s waist and tugging her away from the table.

“I wasn’t finished,” Jemma huffs indignantly as Daisy tugs her through the tables full of people watching her with wide eyes.

“Yeah,” Daisy says laughter coloring her voice. “I noticed, but I had to step in before you landed yourself with a court martial.”

Jemma pulls away from Daisy and turns stopping their procession at the edge of the dance floor that only a few couples have taken advantage of now that the dinner had been served and mostly eaten.

She gives Daisy a look, “SHIELD is not a military based agency.”

Daisy raises an eyebrow back, “Yeah, okay. Wanna dance?”

Jemma stops short at that a little surprised, “Why?”

Daisy shrugs.

“How much of the conversation at the table did you hear?” Jemma asks brows furrowing.

“Enough to know that no one will be too shocked if I drag you out on the dance floor.”

Jemma inclines her head slightly. “You want to make a statement.”

“The biggest statement possible,” Daisy says smiling and stepping in closer so that Jemma has to tilt her head back a little to keep eye contact. “But it’s not really about them. I don’t care what anyone else thinks, as long as the people that I care about know the truth. And I just really want to dance with you.”

Jemma ducks her head blushing slightly, but she nods. “Okay.”

Daisy grins widely, and grabs her hand, tugging her out onto the dance floor.

Predictably, the song changes from something fast paced, to a slow song.

Daisy tugs on Jemma’s hand, bringing her in close, and wrapping one arm around her waist, and extending their joined hands into a waltz position. Jemma hooks her arm around Daisy’s neck and lets her take the lead.

Jemma can follow Daisy’s lead in anything, and dancing isn’t any different, not when it’s a common thing for anyone to walk into the rec room and find the furniture pushed up against the walls, and them spinning together in the middle, oblivious to everyone else.

Which is basically how they would be right now, if it wasn’t for the tiny voice in Jemma’s brain that was getting progressively louder with every turn they took that let Jemma see how people were whispering behind their hands and looking in their general direction.

“I care,” Jemma whispers suddenly, and Daisy’s hand presses harder against her back, in a wordless gesture that she’s listening.

Jemma turns her head away from the stares and into Daisy’s shoulder. She stares sightlessly at the pearl necklace that Trip had given Daisy as a birthday present last year, and closes her eyes.

“It’s not that what they’re saying changes anything about what I think about you. Even if I didn’t know you, and know for a fact that all the rumors are just blatant lies, I still wouldn’t believe anything anyone says about you. But the fact is that I do know you Daisy, and you’re amazing. Incredible. Awe inspiring. Worship worthy.”

Jemma lets go of Daisy’s hand and slides her hand down her arm before wrapping her other arm around Daisy’s waist tugging their bodies closer together. Daisy slides her free hand across the back of Jemma’s neck, and her fingers dig in harder against Jemma’s back.

“So it’s frustrating,” Jemma continues. “To hear them talking about you as though you didn’t work your butt off to become an agent. As though you didn’t suffer for your abilities. As though you’re nothing, when you’re everything, and more than they could ever be. So I know that you don’t care, but I do, and whenever I can set the story straight, I will. Because I l-”

Jemma stops talking abruptly, and Daisy lets her pull away, but not too far, still spinning them around in slow circles.

Daisy looks fond, and happy. “You don’t have to say it, if you’re still not ready to.”

Jemma can’t help the smile, and the overwhelming amount of feeling that seems to spill out of her pours, because Daisy is amazing and understanding, and Jemma adores her.

Daisy leans down and presses their foreheads together.

Jemma exhales slowly.

“I love you,” she whispers, barely moving her lips.

Daisy’s smile widens, and she tugs Jemma in closer, tilting her head, to press their lips together.

Before she can, someone taps Jemma on the back, finger pressing down pointedly at the naked skin of her shoulder.

Jemma frowns pulling away, and turns around to spot the same greasy, smarmy man that was spouting bullshit at her table.

“Excuse me,” he says sounding for all the world like he’s doing her a favor. “But if you must do sick and depraved things, please take it somewhere else. No one here wants to see that. It’s sick and you’re going to go to hell…”

“Oh shit,” Jemma hears Daisy say under her breath. Daisy moves, but she’s not fast enough to stop Jemma.

So much for being on her best behavior.

 *

 Polaroids Taken by Bobbi That Were Hung on the Wall of the Rec Room

 --Jemma leaning over a table, fists clenched on top of it, looking for all the world like she was going to murder someone with the power of her glare alone. The words, You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry, written along the bottom.

--Trip laughing while Daisy drags Jemma away from the table in the background of the picture.

--Daisy and Jemma with their foreheads pressed together while they dance, looking as though they’re in their own world.

--An unidentified asshole, falling backwards, blood spurting out from his nose, and a split lip. Daisy once again dragging Jemma backwards, but this time Jemma is actively attempting to break her hold and continue punching some asshole in the face.

--Trip and Fitz dancing the tango.

--Mack stealing Trip from Fitz, with Fitz pouting at the camera, while Elena wraps her arm around his shoulder.

--Elena and Bobbi with their cheeks pressed together, smiling widely at the camera. The asshole is on the floor with an ice bag across his face in the background.

--Jemma and Daisy stumbling back into the reception area. Daisy’s hair is a messy disarray, and one strap of her dress is not put on properly. Jemma’s hair is falling off the fashionable bun she’d had it in, and she’s not wearing stockings anymore. They’re wearing each other’s shoes.

--Coulson with his head in his hands. May patting his shoulder while smiling at the camera.

--Everyone sitting/standing at a bench waiting for the car from the valet.

--Jemma and Daisy sleeping against each other in the back of the van. Fitz taking up the remainder space, his head on Jemma’s shoulder.

[pete-rparker]

Assistant

Word Count: 1881

Part 1 

Part 2/?

A/N: All the tags are at the end! Thank you again for all your support for this series! It really makes my heart warm.

It’s Wednesday, meaning you have to clean and do laundry. It’s always best to start early since it’s a large tower. You tend to spend the most time in the most occupied rooms. The family room, kitchen, hallway with everyone’s room on, and people’s room you have permission to clean. Steve’s, Bucky’s and Clint’s are the only ones you can clean. Including yours. You do everyone’s laundry as well since you have a trick to get blood stains out. There is a staff of about 10 other cleaners who do other floors. Meeting rooms, main entrance and storage is for them to clean. Rooms where anyone can enter without anything being discovered is fine for the staff to clean. If there are confidential things, however, you have to be the one to clean it. You hear footsteps following you.

“W-wait! (Y/N)! I mean… Mrs. (Y/L/N). I didn’t mean to offend you!” Peter says, catching your arm and making you turn to face him.

You smile politely at him, “I’m not offended, Mr. Parker.”

“Peter. I just hope that you didn’t take what I said wrong. I just mean, I’m spider-man and I have difficulties keeping everything straight. It’s really admirable that you can keep everything straight when you have a million things to do. I only have one.” He rants, scratching the back of his head.

You melt slightly, your stiff lip and ‘I’m just your assistant’ attitude faltering slightly. “Mr. Parker, you have so much that you do. More than me. I don’t take any offense to what you said. I just wanted you to know the facts. I love what I do here and what I contribute. It can be a lot, but I’m not drowning in the work load.”

“Please call me Peter.” He tells you, taking a step closer as he looks down at you. “I just… don’t want you to feel like you have to be my assistant? Like, I don’t want you to put your needs to the side to attend mine- or any of ours.”

Your exterior melts entirely. Peter’s puppy dog face is just too much to resist. You sigh softly and smile at him. “Peter, all my needs are met. Tony treats all of his employees well. I make sure that all my duties are attended to, but I also make sure that I’m not killing myself in the process. Why are you so worried about me anyways?” You ask, looking up at him. Damn, why is this kid so tall?

He shrugs, smiling, overjoyed with how his name sounds coming out of your mouth, “I just figured that since you’re the only one within 5 years of my age, we should stick together. Maybe I can help you with your next chore?”

You giggle, covering your mouth to muffle the sound. “I have to clean, I’m sure you don’t what to do that.” Watching his face change at the sound of cleaning, you start to laugh. You clear your throat while you try to make a straight face.

He pouts slightly. “I totally want to clean with you.”

You shrug, “Too bad you don’t have the clearance.” You smirk before turning around and walking to your room, leaving him in shock. You hear a soft sigh before footsteps leading away from you.

You enter your room and lean against the door. You cannot let yourself get involved with anyone on the Avenger’s team. You’re their employee, nothing more, nothing less. With that resolve in your mind, you get to cleaning up your room.

You finish with your room quickly, since there’s not much in it anyways. You move onto Bucky’s room. His room is the most bare, with very few possessions. You put the few things in their place before dusting and vacuuming. You change his sheets and toss the dirty one in the giant basket you have for dirty laundry. You grab his own dirty laundry basket and put it next to the giant one. You move onto Clint’s. Even though he has his own house to live in, he has the dirtiest room. How can one man have so many possessions?? You get to organizing his stuff, putting magazines in the rack you bought him, making sure his desk looks nice, hanging up clean clothes, tossing dirty ones into a basket, picking up trash, clearing his bin, and changing his sheets. After you’re finally done with his room, you grab his personal laundry basket and put it next to the other two. You dust and vacuum to finish off before going to Steve’s. Steve’s room is always clean, which is why he lets you clean it. All you do is dust and vacuum. He does his own laundry as well, said it’s because a man should do his own laundry. You check everyone else’s room to see if they have any laundry. Only Tony and Bruce have laundry that needs to be done. Natasha doesn’t have any. You don’t dare check Wanda’s or Vision’s rooms. They told you that they’re off limits, which you respect.

You move all the baskets inside your room so that you can mop the hallway floor. You love to make the hardwood shine, it’s just relaxing for you to clean. You are so engrossed in your mopping that when the door to your left opens, you nearly slip.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!” Peter says, his hands out, ready to catch you if you fall.

You laugh, wiping sweat off your forehead. “It’s okay, Mr. Parker. I just didn’t realize someone was in their room. You glance behind him at the mess that is his room. “I clean some of the Avenger’s rooms, do you want me to start to clean yours?” You ask innocently.

Red floods his cheeks as he glances back at the mess himself. “What? N-no. No, it’s fine. I’ll clean my own room.”

You nod, “It’s not necessary to have a clean room, Mr. Parker. Some like it that way. I can do any laundry you have.”

Parker shakes his head once again. “No, I can do my own laundry. I don’t have much here anyways.” He points back to the few items of clothing scattered on his floor. He may not have a lot of things, but they are just scattered like they don’t mean anything.

You smirk at him, “You know, they say you can learn a lot about someone through the way they treat their stuff, Mr. Parker.” You turn back around to continue your mopping.

“Please don’t step on the wet floor if you choose to leave your room, Mr. Parker. Though that won’t be a problem, I assume.” You shout over your shoulder as you mop down the hallway.

You hear a laugh from behind you before a door closes. You assume he shook his head with that smirk of his.

You finally finish mopping the floors. Thankfully, your room is at the end of the hallway, so you can get to your room without mussing up the amazing job you just did on the floor. You grab the giant basket containing the 3 boy’s dirty bed sheets and your own. You carry it down to the laundry room.

The hallway where all the rooms are, is connected to the family room. It’s a very open floor plan, so you can see the kitchen and the dining area on the left. A door on the right, near the hallway is what leads to the washer and dryer. Thankfully, there was an open storage area that you made into a cleaning supplies closet along with the washer and dryer. Otherwise, you’d have had to walked to the 1st floor where the employee lounge and necessary appliances are.  You toss the bed sheets in and start the washer. You walk back to your room to grab the other 5 laundry baskets. Yours, Clint’s, Bucky’s, Tony’s, and Bruce’s. That’s 5 loads to get done. Which won’t be time consuming for you, since all you have to do is let it run and switch it out once it’s done. It gets time consuming when you have to fold, but you put on a good show and just mindlessly fold as you watch.

Once the laundry is in, you get to cleaning the family room. This usually takes longer than necessary since there’s people milling about. You don’t want to be rude, so you have to dust stragically so that no one’s view of the tv is obstructed and that you don’t get dust on anyone. You quickly finish vacuuming, making sure to go under legs and not to be too loud for too long.

You put the vacuum and duster away in the cleaning closet and pick up the rest of the garbage in the family room. You organize the random items, books, magazines, and the likes, where they belong. Next is the kitchen, dining room and the rest of the staff will finish the rest of the tower. Taking a glance at your watch, you notice that it’s been 4 hours since you’ve started cleaning. A good time.

As you change the laundry out, you notice a certain spider climbing on the walls so that he doesn’t muss up your mopping job in the hallway. You snort slightly, covering it up as a cough.

Peter glances at you, smirking before jumping off the walls onto the carpeted living room floor. “Like you said, no problem.” He shrugs before going to sit in front of the tv. You shake your head, a light smile on your face as you grab the necessary supplies to clean the kitchen and dining room.

You first go through the fridge, making sure that all the food is not expired and the many left overs are good. Then you go through the pantry, making sure the canned goods and dry foods are good as well. After 30 minutes of cleaning, dishes and all things necessary to have a clean kitchen, you’re finally done. You take a deep breath, glancing at the sparkling countertops and shiny silver appliances. A job well done.

Clint comes into the kitchen and lets out a low whistle. “Dang, (Y/N). It looks amazing in here. I am always stunned by your cleaning abilities.” He rubs the top of your head, messing up your hair. “You always know what to do to make life a little easier around here.”

You chuckle, swatting away his hand. “Thanks, Mr. Barton. I try my best.”

He shakes his head, grabbing fruit from the fridge. “Clint.” He says before walking away.

You’ve always called the group by their last name. Tony and Bruce like it. They’ve never corrected you. Clint, Steve and now Peter have never given up trying to get you to call them by their first names. While you do in your head, you wouldn’t dare to out loud.

You move onto the dining room. It’s not hard to clean since it’s just a large table and chairs. All you do is dust and mop. It takes you about 20 minutes.

You’re finally finished with cleaning. It only took around 5 hours, which is usually how long it takes you. You glance at your watch, 11:00. Time to start online schooling.

Tags:

@tienna-lauferson16 @gerardwayisapotato @unevenpages @ninja281 @zsupernaturalz @ravenclaw-geek24 @sexysamsungl @official-maddibrown @sweet-nightingale-171 @fantasyy-is-my-reality @cynthiarose07 @mmycchemicalrromance @aria-has-gone-awry

[upshotre]

Buhari’s ministerial list is for all-inclusive government – Oshiomhole

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday, said that the 43 ministerial list submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate for screening is to boost formation of an all-inclusive government. He was reacting to the criticism that the list is based on political patronage and not credibility. Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari in the State House, he wondered how credible the people criticising the ministerial nominees are. According to him, some of them started criticising the list before seeing it. He also noted that President Buhari was magnanimous to have nominated up to two ministers from state that contributed less than 5% of the President’s votes in the 2019 Presidential election. On his reaction to criticism trailing the President’s ministerial list being political patronage and not credibility, he said “Whose credibility? How credible are some of those who are talking? “The point is that I don’t know if there is a Nigerian who knows every Nigerian. Even as I can say that I have worked for Nigerian people at all levels, as a worker in a factory, as President of the NLC, as governor of a state and now as a national chairman of a party, there are too many Nigerians I will never be able to know.  “The screening process is meant to enable those watching, it is not for nothing that it is televised, it is to enable Nigerians see who these people are. “But you will find that people started dismissing the list even before they saw it, just like some other things that Nigerians dismiss without knowing the meaning. “So, what you and I should insist on is that in the President’s second term, in this next level, our party, our government at the center, state and local government level must deliver. That is the entry point for every Nigerian. “And when you talk of patronage, should we appoint…have you heard of Americans appointing Russians because they are experts to go and preside over their MDAs? “Even in your newspapers do you invite me as APC chairman to come and write your editorial? He queried Oshiomhole went on “Patronage can be positive or negative but if there is one man who has shown the capacity to patronize all including where he did not win election, it is President Muhammadu Buhari. “Otherwise, where we got less than five percent, I saw two ministers coming from that state, inspite of the fact that he got less than five percent there. That speaks volumes about a large heart, to accommodate, appreciate and to have an all inclusive government. “I am very optimistic that these ministers coming all of us working together, the party, the executive which the ministers belong and the National Assembly where we have overwhelming majority, we have what it takes to take Nigeria to the next level and the next level we are going there.” he said He also claimed that he has provided good leadership for the party under his tenure. According to him, Nigerians are appreciating APC better under his leadership. Oshiomhole had taken over APC chairmanship from Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who hails from the same state, Edo. Oshiomhole noted that APC now has more members in the National Assembly and also controlling the leadership of the two chambers. Asked what he is doing about the turmoils going on in the party, he said “You talk about rumors, what about what you see. I am very proud to say that under my Chairmanship, our party has made tremendous progress. I am not at the mercy of fake or even disgruntled analysts. I write my own testimonials by my self in terms of what l do, how I do it and what the unbiased people say. “Irrespective of all the speculations, for example, it was said that 17 governors were going to remove Oshiomhole, what happened? At the end , we provided leadership and had more votes. In the 2015 election, the difference between our candidate and President Jonathan then, was slightly less than three million, but this time around, we had slightly less than four million. “I am a National Chairman, not a zonal or state chairman. So, my responsibilities include to get the APC at the national level going, including relating with the President, the ways we expect the State chapter chairmen to relate with their Governors and the local council chapter chairmen with their Local government Council chairmen. “That is the way it works and I believe that Nigerians under my leadership appreciated APC better under my Chairmanship, as evidenced by the fact that we had more Senators, House of Representatives members this year, than before. “For the first time since 1999, the letter of APC under my signature was read on the floors of both Chambers of the National Assembly, announcing the Principal Officers of the Party, as determined through consensus by the leadership of the party, which is why unlike 2015 where APC as a party had no say whatsoever as to who emerged as the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Principal Officers of both Chambers. “This time around, we got six out of six. Can I do better than that, can I score more than 100%. You talk about turmoil, if this is how to be in turmoil, I want to live there.” he said He also maintained that APC, under him, was able to uproot the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his cronies, politically. Oshiomhole said “Remember I was saying that Saraki must be removed, people would say how would I do it? I said okay if he resists removal then we would uproot. “We went to Kwara, we did Otoge, we uprooted Saraki and you cannot commend me for this? You know who Saraki is? If you are talking of the most smartest political player, seasoned smart guy, he is. But for every smartness he has, I have a superior smartness. At the end of the day who won? “As a senate president, we uprooted him as senator, we uprooted his nominee for governor and senators, we put our own. Today, he doesn’t have one senator in Kwara, he doesn’t have one House of Representatives in Kwara. Everything in Kwara is APC and you can’t commend me for that? “If you don’t, then I will be like lizard, I will praise myself if you state house correspondents don’t praise me.” he added For the former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, to have contested Senate Presidency against Senator Ahmad Lawan, who won the seat, he said that Ndume has shown that he didn’t have the capacity to defeat the will of the party. He said “We were all here in Abuja, don’t forget we went round the country, talked to everyone that we want senator Ahmed Lawan as our candidate. We didn’t want to have two candidates vying for the same position from our party, but you saw on that day how senator Ali Ndume insisted that he must contest against party’s position. “He didn’t hide but he said he has a right, we didn’t denied him that right.” According to him, the President adhered to the letter and spirit of the constitution by allowing Senator Ndume to go to the National Assembly to contest for the election. “As you can see at the end of the day, Senator Ndume had his way to contest, but we humbled him by the poor numbers he got but he exercised his rights. “At the end he said, I wanted to prove a point. Well he proved a point which is he is not capable of defeating the collective will of the APC family, and who held that family? Today, I am privileged to be the chairman. So these are a landmarks you should acknowledge.” Oshiomhole went on “For once we didn’t fight on National Assembly. Who is now fighting? Look at PDP, and you refused to ask this question – PDP insisted on secret ballot while APC wanted opened ballot. PDP doesn’t want their people to stand up and be counted they wanted their people to vote secretly because they thought that our people would betray us the way they did in 2015. “But we had worked hard on our people psyche and changed the mindset to recognize that to belong to a party is to be loyal to that party, and that loyalty goes beyond Election Day. And I believe our people bought into those arguments we gave them support beside platform, we gave them other organizational supports. “Now who was trying to find out? For the first time in the history of democracy anywhere in the world other than Banana republic, it is now PDP that set up a panel investigate how people voted in a secret ballot. “Why won’t you ask them why are you investigating secret ballot? One day they are going to… (God forbid) they won’t come back again. God forbid that if you go and do secret ballot and they lost election, they will go to your village and say they want to investigate. They are the ones in turmoil, they are the ones in confusion. We are waxing strong and strong.” he said On the crisis rocking the proclamation of the Edo State House of Assembly, he said that his position on the way it was conducted in Edo State and Bauchi state, was not about him. According to him, it was not possible to form a quorum on something that didn’t exist. He said “Here, l spoke to you that what happened in Edo and in Bauchi are unacceptable. It is not about me. But as a Nigerian who believes in democracy, for 9 person in Edo to purport to inaugurate a House of 31 members is wrong. Go and read relevant sections of the constitution, it states clearly that a House cannot be less than 24 and not more than 40 members. 11 people in Bauchi where you have 31 members. “It is not about me, not about you. I ask, can you form a quorum of something that does not exist. All my life, l have run associations, I could say, for instance, when I was leader of the NLC, we had a quorum of National Executive Council of the NLC, now when that quorum had not been formed, I could not say we had formed a quorum. So, you cannot form a quorum of the House of Assembly, when it has not been inaugurated. It is about the system. “If I condemned Bauchi and I do so in the strongest terms, I cannot condemn less, what happened in Edo State. It just shows that truth has no political affiliation. “In the security meeting we have had with some of the Senators, Governors and law makers, it was agreed that when it comes to proclamations, you do not only write a Proclamation letter, but you ensure that it is communicated to all those concerned and you give them ample time so that wherever they are, they can come in.” he said On why he met with President Buhari, he said “I am the chairman of the party and the President’s not only the President of Nigeria but also the leader of the APC. So, I have a duty to brief him on what the party is doing and also share with him on what the government is doing.”

Read the full article

[featluke5sos]

Can you please do a imagine with Luke where he overworks himself and gets really stressed and ends up in the hospital where you take care of him. F l u f f y please. Thank you so much, I really appreciate your work. 💗

Thank you so much for the lovely request! So, I kind of wrote this leading up to why he was taken to the hospital… if anyone wants it, I can write a part two about after they come home with Ashton, Michael, and (Y/N) being like the three mothers Luke never wanted :) but I hope you like this! xx

“Luuuuuke,” you whine as you lean your head on his broad shoulder. “You’ve been at this for hours. Why don’t you take a break and come upstairs with me?”

Your boyfriend has been downstairs with his guitar all day trying to write music for his band’s upcoming album. Normally, he and his band mates would work in pairs to get the songs done, but the other boys are all taking a well-deserved break from music. They’ve just finished a year long world tour and so they’ve been spending a lot of time with their families and friends.

Luke, on the other hand, has thrown himself into writing new music. You love his passion for what he does, but it’s been a long time since the two of you have had the opportunity to spend any quality time together. It seems like he’s hardly even looked at you since he got home and you’re honestly starting to worry about him.

He’s not sleeping or eating properly, and the only time he even moves from the couch is when he has to use the bathroom. You don’t really know what’s going on with him, but you know that he’s spiraling. Fast.

“Let me just finish this song, babe,” Luke mumbles as he places his hands on the guitar strings.

He strums a few chords, but then stops and leans down to scratch something out on a piece of paper.

You sigh. “Luke you said that five hours ago. I’m worried about you. You’re overworking yourself.”

He just shakes his head and continues playing the same chords over and over again at different tempos. Tomorrow you think you’ll have to call the boys and ask for their help if Luke doesn’t snap out of it. This behavior has been going on for over a week now, and it can’t be healthy for him.

You don’t move from your spot on the couch. The bags under Luke’s eyes and the fact that some of his bones have become worryingly prominent makes you feel like he might disintegrate if you leave his side. You yawn a few times, but he doesn’t seem to notice. His mind is on the song in front of him which clearly is not coming together the way he wants it to.

You’re on the verge of falling asleep on his shoulder when he suddenly sets his guitar down. You sit up and take your head off of him because you assume he must have to pee. When he doesn’t move, though, you gently place your hand on his thigh.

“Luke?” You ask softly. “Are you okay?”

When he turns to look at you, his eyes are wide with panic. His chest is heaving rapidly and he suddenly falls onto your lap. His arms wrap around your small body and he clings to you like his life depends on it.

“I- I can’t- breathe,” he whispers.

You start to panic at the sight of Luke panicking. You pull him a few inches away from you so that you can look at his face. You can see beads of sweat beginning to fall down his forehead and you quickly wipe them away with your hand.

“Babe, I need you to take some deep breaths for me,” you say, trying to keep your voice calm. 

You count out some breaths with him, but it hardly seems to help. You reach over to the coffee table and grab a water bottle that you’d left for him earlier in the day. You unscrew the lid and hand it to him, urging him to take a sip.

His hands are shaking so much that he can hardly hold onto the bottle, and he ends up dropping it on the couch, and it spills all over the floor. You reach for your phone to call an ambulance at that point. You’ve witnessed panic attacks before, but nothing quite like this.

You dial the emergency number and wait for the operator to pick up, but before they do, Luke suddenly slouches over and falls onto the floor. You panic and begin screaming his name as you kneel down beside him. He’s unconscious and no amount of screaming on your part is going to wake him up.

When you remember the operator that is now waiting on the phone, you begin quickly explaining the situation to her and she immediately sends an ambulance to your house. She stays on the phone with you and tells you a few things to do to try and help Luke, but none of it works. He’s lying in a heap on the floor and you’re desperately sobbing as you attempt to hold his large body in your arms.

The ambulance arrives a few minutes later and the paramedics waste no time in loading him into the back. They allow you to ride with them and you keep your hand firmly clasped around Luke’s limp one as they perform all kinds of tests on him and hook him up to a million different needles.

Your mind all but stops functioning, and everything starts to blur together. You’ve never been this worried in your entire life, and your brain starts working through a hundred scenarios in which Luke doesn’t make it through this.

You hardly even notice when the ambulance comes to a stop and they unload Luke on a stretcher. They push him through some double doors, and you try to follow him, but a paramedic restrains you. He takes you to the waiting room and tells you that you’ll have to wait there while they figure out exactly what’s wrong with Luke. The paramedic seems hopeful that Luke will be fine, which gives you a tiny bit of relief. You won’t be able to really breathe, though, until you see him again with your own eyes.

An hour passes, and you’ve texted everyone close to Luke to let them know what’s going on. His parents have been on vacation in Scotland, and you had to do some hard convincing to get them to stay there. When you told his mom that he was in the hospital, she tried to hop on the next flight to Australia, but you told her that he would be fine. Even if you don’t fully believe that yourself, you don’t want her to worry too much. Luke will call her if he wants her to come home.

You also texted the boys to let them know what’s going on. Ashton and Michael got back to you right away and promised that they’d come stay with you and Luke in the morning. They’re both on the other side of the country doing god-knows-what, but they insisted upon dropping everything to take care of their friend. You haven’t heard back from Cal yet, but he’s in America spending time with some friends, so he’s on a completely different time schedule than the rest of you.

You try to keep yourself occupied with talking to Ashton and Michael so that you can’t worry too much, but it hardly works. Thankfully, a nurse comes to get you a few minutes later and leads you back to Luke’s hospital room. She explains the situation in as much detail as she can before you see him.

He’s been overworking himself and the mental and physical exhaustion finally caught up to him. He hasn’t been sleeping most nights or eating like he should, and that contributed to his massive panic attack and are also the reason he passed out. She says that they’re going to keep him here overnight and give him some fluids, but he should be good to go home tomorrow.

You still have tears rolling down your cheeks when you’re finally able to go into his room. He’s awake and as soon as you walk in, he smiles weakly at you. He’s got a bunch of needles still stuck in his arms, and he looks so pale and weak. You can’t believe you let him get to his point. Right now, you feel nothing but heartache and guilt.

“Baby,” Luke whispers when he sees the tears on your face. “Come here.”

He opens his arms and you quickly walk over to him and crawl into his bed. You curl yourself up against his chest and he wraps his arms around you as best he can without pulling any of the IV’s out.

“I’m so sorry, Luke,” you say, your voice slightly muffled by the fabric of his hospital gown. “So, so sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” He asks, clearly confused. “For what? I did this to myself.”

“I should’ve noticed the signs earlier,” you tell him. “I never should have allowed you to get to this point.”

He shakes his head and places a gentle kiss on your forehead.

“You tried,” he reminds you. “I just felt so much pressure to get this third album out, and to make sure that it’s perfect, and I let it consume me. I know that I should’ve gone on break with the rest of the boys, but I thought that if I did, then the fans and the media would be mad. I never want to disappoint anyone.”

“You’re not disappointing anyone, babe,” you say. “Everyone understands how exhausting that tour was for all of you, and nobody is going to blame you for taking some time to yourself. You can’t put so much pressure on yourself, okay?”

He smiles again, and some life returns to his beautiful, blue eyes.

“I’m so lucky to have you,” he whispers. “So damn lucky.”

You let your lips curl into a smile as your phone beeps to let you know that you have another text.

“Oh,” you say, remembering Ashton and Michael. “I texted the boys to let them know what’s going on, and Mike and Ash insisted upon coming to stay with us tomorrow.”

Luke groans. “Great. They’re going to treat me like a child, you know.”

“I know,” you giggle. “But maybe a little love from Mama Ashton and Mama Michael is just what you need right now.”

You can’t help but laugh at the annoyed look on his face. Tomorrow should definitely be interesting, but for right now, you just focus on Luke. You have your arms wrapped tightly around him, and you don’t plan on letting him go any time soon. He thinks he’s the lucky one in this relationship, but you definitely know that it’s you.

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Does Everyone Over 60 Need To Take The Same Coronavirus Precautions?

She knew it wasn’t a good idea and her daughter would disapprove. Nonetheless, Barbara Figge Fox, 79, recently went to four stores in Princeton, New Jersey, to shop for canned goods, paper towels, fresh fruit, yogurt, and other items.

Navigating Aging

Navigating Aging focuses on medical issues and advice associated with aging and end-of-life care, helping America’s 45 million seniors and their families navigate the health care system.

To contact Judith Graham with a question or comment, click here.

Join the Navigating Aging Facebook Group.

See All Columns

“I was in panic mode,” said Fox, who admitted she’s been feeling both agonizing fear and irrational impulsivity because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Susannah Fox, Barbara’s daughter, had been warning her exceptionally healthy mother for weeks of the need to stay inside as much as possible and limit contact with other people. Everyone age 60 and older is at high risk of complications from COVID-19 and should adopt these measures, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.

“At one point, when I was pushing her to limit her activities, my mother said defiantly, ‘Well, I’m going to die of something,’” said Susannah, an adviser to health care and technology companies. “And I said, ‘Well, that’s true, but let’s not rush it.’”

Are precautions of the sort the CDC has endorsed really necessary, even in areas where the new coronavirus doesn’t yet appear to be circulating widely? What about disease-free adults in their 60s and 70s? Do they need to worry about going to a restaurant or a friend’s house for dinner? Are all outside activities ill-advised?

I asked several geriatricians for their advice. All cautioned that what they told me could be upended by unforeseen developments. Indeed, over the past week, the governors of about a dozen states — including California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Washington — have told residents, and not just older adults, to stay inside, in an aggressive effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Here’s what geriatricians think is reasonable, and why, at the moment:

Know the odds. Current warnings were originally based on data from China, which has reported that 80% of deaths from COVID-19 occurred among people age 60 and older.

The latest data from the U.S. was published by the CDC last week. Of 4,226 known COVID-19 cases at the time, people 65 and older were responsible for 80% of deaths, 53% of intensive care unit admissions and 45% of hospital admissions. Those 85 and older suffered the worst outcomes.

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Data from China, the U.S. and other countries also indicates that people with illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and lung disease, and those with compromised immune systems, are more likely to become critically ill and die if they become infected. The CDC recommends that these patients stay inside and practice strict precautions.

What’s not yet known: lots of details about the underlying health status of older adults in China and other countries who’ve died from COVID-19. “We just don’t have this kind of information yet,” said Dr. Carla Perissinotto, associate chief for geriatrics clinical programs at the University of California-San Francisco.

As a result, considerable uncertainty about the true nature of risk remains. What’s clear, however, is that older adults have less robust immune systems and are less able to mount a protective response against the coronavirus.

Exercise more caution. Uncertainty also surrounds the degree to which the coronavirus is circulating in communities across the country because testing has been so limited.

Some people don’t develop symptoms. Others won’t realize they’ve contracted the coronavirus until becoming symptomatic. Both groups may unwittingly transmit the virus, which can live on hard surfaces such as door handles or store shelves for up to 72 hours.

Given how little is known about the extent of the virus’s community spread, most physicians suggest erring on the side of caution.

Dr. Michael Wasserman’s 82-year-old mother, Fern, called him several times recently with questions. Could she go out to dinner with his brother? No, Wasserman said he told her, “restaurants are one of the most dangerous places right now for old people.” Could she go pick up a prescription at the pharmacy? No, he said, “the last place you want to go is a pharmacy or a doctor’s office where there are sick people next to you.” What about the grocery store? No, get deliveries, he urged.

But Wasserman, who’s 60 and a triathlete, isn’t as strict with himself. “Would I go for a walk? Yeah. The way I see it, I’m in a gray zone. I can go out, but I have to be careful.”

Consider your health. Wasserman isn’t alone in making a distinction of this kind. “What a number of physicians are saying is, you should consider whether you’re frail” in assessing your personal risk, said Dr. John Morley, a professor of geriatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

He ticked off the questions that entails. “F: Are you consistently fatigued? R, for resilience: Can you climb a flight of stairs? A, for aerobic: Can you walk a block? I, for illnesses: If you’ve got five or more, that’s bad. L, for loss of weight: That’s not good.”

If you answer yes to three or more of those questions, you should be “really careful and self-isolate,” Morley said.

Even if you score 1, “you should be taking some care,” he continued. “If you want to have a couple over for dinner, make sure they don’t have the sniffles or a fever or a new cough and they haven’t been traveling.”

“I’ve been telling people, this is about how healthy you are, not how old you are,” said Dr. William Dale, director of the Center for Cancer and Aging Research at City of Hope, a cancer center in Duarte, California.

But even healthy people are becoming sick and, “honestly, I think we’re all trying to figure out how worried to be,” Dale said.

Assess risks. Of course, older adults should follow guidance from state and local health departments, as well as the federal government. But the advice varies widely, adding to people’s uncertainty.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as ‘Don’t go out’ for all older adults. Social contact is still really important,” Perissinotto said. “If you’re healthy and over 60, with prudence, hand hygiene and being aware of your surroundings, you should still be able to go about some activities,” such as taking a walk or visiting with a neighbor while maintaining a safe distance.

Leslie Kernisan, a San Francisco geriatrician and the founder of the geriatrics advice website BetterHealthWhileAging.net, offered several concrete suggestions. If you’re going to the store, consider wearing cloth gloves, because viruses don’t survive as well on soft surfaces.

Try not to handle your smartphone when you’re out of the house. “A phone is a hard plastic surface that can easily get contaminated,” she said.

If you’re worried that older parents aren’t following rigorous enough precautions, don’t lecture them, Kernisan advises. Instead, ask how they’re feeling about the coronavirus. What do they know about it? What plans have they made?

Foster well-being. Asked what was safe for older adults, Dr. Paul Tatum, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas-Austin’s Dell Medical School, focused on factors that contribute to well-being.

“It is safe to exercise, and, in fact, it’s very important to keep exercising,” but not at the gym or in large groups, he said. “It’s safe to get plenty of sleep” — but avoid sleeping pills, if possible.

“It’s safe to prevent worry and take a break from social media and too much news,” Tatum said.

“It’s safe to take care of your spiritual needs in this time, but doing it at a distance is wise. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your church or synagogue community and say, ‘I’m not able to come in. Can I schedule a few minutes on the phone with someone?’ It’s safe to call your neighbor and say, ‘I need some help.’”

Does Everyone Over 60 Need To Take The Same Coronavirus Precautions? published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

Does Everyone Over 60 Need To Take The Same Coronavirus Precautions?

She knew it wasn’t a good idea and her daughter would disapprove. Nonetheless, Barbara Figge Fox, 79, recently went to four stores in Princeton, New Jersey, to shop for canned goods, paper towels, fresh fruit, yogurt, and other items.

Navigating Aging

Navigating Aging focuses on medical issues and advice associated with aging and end-of-life care, helping America’s 45 million seniors and their families navigate the health care system.

To contact Judith Graham with a question or comment, click here.

Join the Navigating Aging Facebook Group.

See All Columns

“I was in panic mode,” said Fox, who admitted she’s been feeling both agonizing fear and irrational impulsivity because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Susannah Fox, Barbara’s daughter, had been warning her exceptionally healthy mother for weeks of the need to stay inside as much as possible and limit contact with other people. Everyone age 60 and older is at high risk of complications from COVID-19 and should adopt these measures, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.

“At one point, when I was pushing her to limit her activities, my mother said defiantly, ‘Well, I’m going to die of something,’” said Susannah, an adviser to health care and technology companies. “And I said, ‘Well, that’s true, but let’s not rush it.’”

Are precautions of the sort the CDC has endorsed really necessary, even in areas where the new coronavirus doesn’t yet appear to be circulating widely? What about disease-free adults in their 60s and 70s? Do they need to worry about going to a restaurant or a friend’s house for dinner? Are all outside activities ill-advised?

I asked several geriatricians for their advice. All cautioned that what they told me could be upended by unforeseen developments. Indeed, over the past week, the governors of about a dozen states — including California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Washington — have told residents, and not just older adults, to stay inside, in an aggressive effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Here’s what geriatricians think is reasonable, and why, at the moment:

Know the odds. Current warnings were originally based on data from China, which has reported that 80% of deaths from COVID-19 occurred among people age 60 and older.

The latest data from the U.S. was published by the CDC last week. Of 4,226 known COVID-19 cases at the time, people 65 and older were responsible for 80% of deaths, 53% of intensive care unit admissions and 45% of hospital admissions. Those 85 and older suffered the worst outcomes.

Sign Up For Ask Emily Newsletter

Get Emily Bazar’s latest column delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

Data from China, the U.S. and other countries also indicates that people with illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and lung disease, and those with compromised immune systems, are more likely to become critically ill and die if they become infected. The CDC recommends that these patients stay inside and practice strict precautions.

What’s not yet known: lots of details about the underlying health status of older adults in China and other countries who’ve died from COVID-19. “We just don’t have this kind of information yet,” said Dr. Carla Perissinotto, associate chief for geriatrics clinical programs at the University of California-San Francisco.

As a result, considerable uncertainty about the true nature of risk remains. What’s clear, however, is that older adults have less robust immune systems and are less able to mount a protective response against the coronavirus.

Exercise more caution. Uncertainty also surrounds the degree to which the coronavirus is circulating in communities across the country because testing has been so limited.

Some people don’t develop symptoms. Others won’t realize they’ve contracted the coronavirus until becoming symptomatic. Both groups may unwittingly transmit the virus, which can live on hard surfaces such as door handles or store shelves for up to 72 hours.

Given how little is known about the extent of the virus’s community spread, most physicians suggest erring on the side of caution.

Dr. Michael Wasserman’s 82-year-old mother, Fern, called him several times recently with questions. Could she go out to dinner with his brother? No, Wasserman said he told her, “restaurants are one of the most dangerous places right now for old people.” Could she go pick up a prescription at the pharmacy? No, he said, “the last place you want to go is a pharmacy or a doctor’s office where there are sick people next to you.” What about the grocery store? No, get deliveries, he urged.

But Wasserman, who’s 60 and a triathlete, isn’t as strict with himself. “Would I go for a walk? Yeah. The way I see it, I’m in a gray zone. I can go out, but I have to be careful.”

Consider your health. Wasserman isn’t alone in making a distinction of this kind. “What a number of physicians are saying is, you should consider whether you’re frail” in assessing your personal risk, said Dr. John Morley, a professor of geriatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

He ticked off the questions that entails. “F: Are you consistently fatigued? R, for resilience: Can you climb a flight of stairs? A, for aerobic: Can you walk a block? I, for illnesses: If you’ve got five or more, that’s bad. L, for loss of weight: That’s not good.”

If you answer yes to three or more of those questions, you should be “really careful and self-isolate,” Morley said.

Even if you score 1, “you should be taking some care,” he continued. “If you want to have a couple over for dinner, make sure they don’t have the sniffles or a fever or a new cough and they haven’t been traveling.”

“I’ve been telling people, this is about how healthy you are, not how old you are,” said Dr. William Dale, director of the Center for Cancer and Aging Research at City of Hope, a cancer center in Duarte, California.

But even healthy people are becoming sick and, “honestly, I think we’re all trying to figure out how worried to be,” Dale said.

Assess risks. Of course, older adults should follow guidance from state and local health departments, as well as the federal government. But the advice varies widely, adding to people’s uncertainty.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as ‘Don’t go out’ for all older adults. Social contact is still really important,” Perissinotto said. “If you’re healthy and over 60, with prudence, hand hygiene and being aware of your surroundings, you should still be able to go about some activities,” such as taking a walk or visiting with a neighbor while maintaining a safe distance.

Leslie Kernisan, a San Francisco geriatrician and the founder of the geriatrics advice website BetterHealthWhileAging.net, offered several concrete suggestions. If you’re going to the store, consider wearing cloth gloves, because viruses don’t survive as well on soft surfaces.

Try not to handle your smartphone when you’re out of the house. “A phone is a hard plastic surface that can easily get contaminated,” she said.

If you’re worried that older parents aren’t following rigorous enough precautions, don’t lecture them, Kernisan advises. Instead, ask how they’re feeling about the coronavirus. What do they know about it? What plans have they made?

Foster well-being. Asked what was safe for older adults, Dr. Paul Tatum, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas-Austin’s Dell Medical School, focused on factors that contribute to well-being.

“It is safe to exercise, and, in fact, it’s very important to keep exercising,” but not at the gym or in large groups, he said. “It’s safe to get plenty of sleep” — but avoid sleeping pills, if possible.

“It’s safe to prevent worry and take a break from social media and too much news,” Tatum said.

“It’s safe to take care of your spiritual needs in this time, but doing it at a distance is wise. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your church or synagogue community and say, ‘I’m not able to come in. Can I schedule a few minutes on the phone with someone?’ It’s safe to call your neighbor and say, ‘I need some help.’”

Does Everyone Over 60 Need To Take The Same Coronavirus Precautions? published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

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Does Everyone Over 60 Need To Take The Same Coronavirus Precautions?

She knew it wasn’t a good idea and her daughter would disapprove. Nonetheless, Barbara Figge Fox, 79, recently went to four stores in Princeton, New Jersey, to shop for canned goods, paper towels, fresh fruit, yogurt, and other items.

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“I was in panic mode,” said Fox, who admitted she’s been feeling both agonizing fear and irrational impulsivity because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Susannah Fox, Barbara’s daughter, had been warning her exceptionally healthy mother for weeks of the need to stay inside as much as possible and limit contact with other people. Everyone age 60 and older is at high risk of complications from COVID-19 and should adopt these measures, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.

“At one point, when I was pushing her to limit her activities, my mother said defiantly, ‘Well, I’m going to die of something,’” said Susannah, an adviser to health care and technology companies. “And I said, ‘Well, that’s true, but let’s not rush it.’”

Are precautions of the sort the CDC has endorsed really necessary, even in areas where the new coronavirus doesn’t yet appear to be circulating widely? What about disease-free adults in their 60s and 70s? Do they need to worry about going to a restaurant or a friend’s house for dinner? Are all outside activities ill-advised?

I asked several geriatricians for their advice. All cautioned that what they told me could be upended by unforeseen developments. Indeed, over the past week, the governors of about a dozen states — including California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Washington — have told residents, and not just older adults, to stay inside, in an aggressive effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Here’s what geriatricians think is reasonable, and why, at the moment:

Know the odds. Current warnings were originally based on data from China, which has reported that 80% of deaths from COVID-19 occurred among people age 60 and older.

The latest data from the U.S. was published by the CDC last week. Of 4,226 known COVID-19 cases at the time, people 65 and older were responsible for 80% of deaths, 53% of intensive care unit admissions and 45% of hospital admissions. Those 85 and older suffered the worst outcomes.

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Data from China, the U.S. and other countries also indicates that people with illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and lung disease, and those with compromised immune systems, are more likely to become critically ill and die if they become infected. The CDC recommends that these patients stay inside and practice strict precautions.

What’s not yet known: lots of details about the underlying health status of older adults in China and other countries who’ve died from COVID-19. “We just don’t have this kind of information yet,” said Dr. Carla Perissinotto, associate chief for geriatrics clinical programs at the University of California-San Francisco.

As a result, considerable uncertainty about the true nature of risk remains. What’s clear, however, is that older adults have less robust immune systems and are less able to mount a protective response against the coronavirus.

Exercise more caution. Uncertainty also surrounds the degree to which the coronavirus is circulating in communities across the country because testing has been so limited.

Some people don’t develop symptoms. Others won’t realize they’ve contracted the coronavirus until becoming symptomatic. Both groups may unwittingly transmit the virus, which can live on hard surfaces such as door handles or store shelves for up to 72 hours.

Given how little is known about the extent of the virus’s community spread, most physicians suggest erring on the side of caution.

Dr. Michael Wasserman’s 82-year-old mother, Fern, called him several times recently with questions. Could she go out to dinner with his brother? No, Wasserman said he told her, “restaurants are one of the most dangerous places right now for old people.” Could she go pick up a prescription at the pharmacy? No, he said, “the last place you want to go is a pharmacy or a doctor’s office where there are sick people next to you.” What about the grocery store? No, get deliveries, he urged.

But Wasserman, who’s 60 and a triathlete, isn’t as strict with himself. “Would I go for a walk? Yeah. The way I see it, I’m in a gray zone. I can go out, but I have to be careful.”

Consider your health. Wasserman isn’t alone in making a distinction of this kind. “What a number of physicians are saying is, you should consider whether you’re frail” in assessing your personal risk, said Dr. John Morley, a professor of geriatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

He ticked off the questions that entails. “F: Are you consistently fatigued? R, for resilience: Can you climb a flight of stairs? A, for aerobic: Can you walk a block? I, for illnesses: If you’ve got five or more, that’s bad. L, for loss of weight: That’s not good.”

If you answer yes to three or more of those questions, you should be “really careful and self-isolate,” Morley said.

Even if you score 1, “you should be taking some care,” he continued. “If you want to have a couple over for dinner, make sure they don’t have the sniffles or a fever or a new cough and they haven’t been traveling.”

“I’ve been telling people, this is about how healthy you are, not how old you are,” said Dr. William Dale, director of the Center for Cancer and Aging Research at City of Hope, a cancer center in Duarte, California.

But even healthy people are becoming sick and, “honestly, I think we’re all trying to figure out how worried to be,” Dale said.

Assess risks. Of course, older adults should follow guidance from state and local health departments, as well as the federal government. But the advice varies widely, adding to people’s uncertainty.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as ‘Don’t go out’ for all older adults. Social contact is still really important,” Perissinotto said. “If you’re healthy and over 60, with prudence, hand hygiene and being aware of your surroundings, you should still be able to go about some activities,” such as taking a walk or visiting with a neighbor while maintaining a safe distance.

Leslie Kernisan, a San Francisco geriatrician and the founder of the geriatrics advice website BetterHealthWhileAging.net, offered several concrete suggestions. If you’re going to the store, consider wearing cloth gloves, because viruses don’t survive as well on soft surfaces.

Try not to handle your smartphone when you’re out of the house. “A phone is a hard plastic surface that can easily get contaminated,” she said.

If you’re worried that older parents aren’t following rigorous enough precautions, don’t lecture them, Kernisan advises. Instead, ask how they’re feeling about the coronavirus. What do they know about it? What plans have they made?

Foster well-being. Asked what was safe for older adults, Dr. Paul Tatum, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas-Austin’s Dell Medical School, focused on factors that contribute to well-being.

“It is safe to exercise, and, in fact, it’s very important to keep exercising,” but not at the gym or in large groups, he said. “It’s safe to get plenty of sleep” — but avoid sleeping pills, if possible.

“It’s safe to prevent worry and take a break from social media and too much news,” Tatum said.

“It’s safe to take care of your spiritual needs in this time, but doing it at a distance is wise. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your church or synagogue community and say, ‘I’m not able to come in. Can I schedule a few minutes on the phone with someone?’ It’s safe to call your neighbor and say, ‘I need some help.’”

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/coronavirus-precautions-adults-60-and-older-which-isolation-guidelines-to-follow/