#CUB Student Management System

[digital-techtune2024]

[dorokora]

Chapter 15 Episode 6 Part 2

We start with Amaterasu saying she’s taking a break. She turns off the lights and just sit there in the empty room in the dark. Oz eventually shows up and they talk about student council jobs that Amaterasu left him in charge of. Amaterasu tells Oz not to get involved in the fights and remain a lion cub that can’t get hurt. Back to Uzume, she’s has a flashback to a previous loop where her, Amaterasu, and MC all hanged out together. Back to the present, Uzume goes a bit silent for a brief second and goes back to there happy self. The deity mobs tried to make her leave but she uses her ability to force them to dance. She then tells them to leave so that she can talk to MC in private. After that, she tells MC that the only reason she’s here is to tell them to get along with Amaterasu.

We cut to Kokopelli vs Michael. Michael knows about Kokopelli luck manipulation ability. An accidental product of fools who researched omniscience and omnipotence. A relic left behind by the former Laboratory, the management of the previous Game, which no longer exists? Michael remembers his time in Eden. The wings he has were once inherited from his older brother. Shaytan, who was most loved by God and rebelled against System Eden. Shaytan looks at everyone equally and with the same gaze. Michael respected his older brother more than anyone else. Everyone agreed that they were close siblings. The younger brother tried to be the person his older brother could rely on the most. However, at the time of the rebellion, the older brother did not call out to his younger brother to fight alongside him. Therefore, they split into different opposing sides and began to fight each other. Michael knows. Of course, even if someone called out to Shaytan, he would not respond. Then the younger brother kills the older brother and rips off his wings. He inherited these twelve wings, a symbol of heroism. Michael says he won’t be like his brother, he’ll be perfect and the best (brother issues at its finest). He believes he’s loved by God therefore can’t lose and can’t be wrong.

Back to Uzume, who tells MC to get along with their siblings. It’s what’s best for everyone. Listen to what big sister says even if it’s a lie. Back with Amaterasu, she has a flashback. She remembers when her brother’s behavior got out of control and her subjects demand punishment. Amaterasu was exhausted and locked herself in a cave. She overhears a party going on outside and hears someone saying a new God is born. Amaterasu thought it was Susanoo following in her footsteps. She wondered if he finally calm down and wanted to listen to what she had to say. She open the door and was dragged out. She found out soon that it was all a lie. Because of that, her short-sighted actions as a politician were corrected, and the world was once again filled with endless light. She is grateful for her friend's lies. She think that action was completely correct. (Sweetie No you were being gaslighted). Cut to the present where Amaterasu received news that Uzume is with MC now. She decided to head there now. Back to Uzume, who tells them no one likes lies. There are things you can't do anything about. Wouldn't it be great if just one person could tell a lie and everything would fall into place? Meanwhile outside, The alliance are separated and Yuma was about to be captured until he was saved by a familiar guild.

Back to Uzume, she wants MC’s answer. But she doesn’t really care what it is since she can just force MC to be her friend with her ability. And then enters Oscar. Uzume ask how he got in. Oscar says he received an invitation from the Yurakucho Nyarl. Back outside we see the two Nyarl and The Entertainers fighting off drone mobs. Back to MC, Oscar use his cane to free MC from their restraints. The Entertainers have joined the alliance.

[justletmeplayminecraft]

Hermitcraft Great British Bake Off AU

(Or the Great British Baking Show outside the UK)

With the start of a new series, I thought I'd compile this AU I came up with a while ago. Big shout out to @skywillsometimeswrite who helped me brainstorm nearly all of this (and accidentally got into the series sorry. Time to get emotional over bakers again.) 

It's Great British Bake Off, where the hermits take the place of the contestants, judges and some of the crew (with the recap boys as the hosts!) It follows the structure of the show, but to add maximum fluffiness, nobody leaves and the show works on a point system instead. The loser of each week does the washing up. (Not that the winner matters, this is all about the shenanigans.) Further explanations and what role each hermit fills with a short bio is under the cut!

The recording structure follows the usual routine. It takes place over several weeks, with the recording happening at the weekend. They stay at a hotel over the weekend. On the Saturday they record the Signature Challenge and the Technical. On the Sunday they film the Showstopper. Each week is themed, with the challenges fitting into that theme. The themes are often based around a certain kind of baking (pastry, bread, chocolate) but sometimes around time periods, places, or diets. I recommend googling or watching an episode of the show but a brief explanation of the challenges:

The Signature Challenge: They're given a certain thing (cake, pastry, biscuit, etc) to create. They've been able to practice at home. This is the opportunity to show personality and a home-cooked, rustic style with tried and tested bakes.

The Technical: The Judges take turns each week to set a recipe for an often uncommon bake. The recipe is bare-bones and the bakers have to use their intuition and knowledge about baking to create what's intended. This round is unpractised, and judged blind, with the judges outside the tent for the duration. The aim is to perfectly replicate the recipe given and that's how they're judged.

The Showstopper: A chance to bring out the big guns! They're often given a theme and a type of bake and then the contestants can go wild. The aim is to create something of professional quality, that makes the judges go 'wow' and still tastes good. Also practiced over the week, though sometimes less due to the size of the bakes.

Now onto the hermits:

The Judges are TFC and Biffa. TFC is the friendlier of the two. He does his best to find positives in bakes, although he enjoys making jokes about things that go wrong. Most of the contestants come to think of him as a grandad. Biffa gives more thorough criticism, but it helps the contestants improve a lot and is tailored towards the advice they need. They enjoy talking to the contestants about their bakes and lives outside the tent, both on and off camera. They've both had long careers in the industry.

The Hosts are our recap boys, Pixelriffs and Zloy. They're a dynamic duo in front of the camera, riffing off each other and the contestants naturally. They have a good balance of improvisation and planned skits. Zloy will doodle scenes from the tent during their downtime.

In alphabetical order, the Contestants:

1. Beef: Works as a butcher. It's often joked about, and not helped by him spilling red food colouring on his apron early in the series. He's incredibly good at piping and often creates artworks on top of his bakes for decoration. Absolutely smashes any biscuit decoration.

2. Cleo: Works as a teacher. Ironically, has to be censored at least once an episode and continuously hopes none of her students watch. It's hard to tell what she's doing until the last minute when she pulls it all together. She enjoys making little figures from fondant or rice crispy marshmallow mix.

3. Cub: Runs a sports equipment company. He likes coming up with creative solutions to the challenges and surprises the others by how focused he can become once in the zone. He has a deadpan sense of humour and a willingness to commit to bits. Often banters with Scar.

4. Etho: His job seems to change every time he mentions it. It never fails to catch the others off guard. He rarely explains his bakes, and his ability to mix flavours that shouldn't work but somehow do is infuriating. Sometimes, as he waits for things to bake, he uses the free time to play music on the baking equipment.

5. False: Works as a bodyguard. She says the details of her job are classified and never brings it up again. Nobody is sure if she's joking, but she's built. She's a very precise builder, with perfectionist tendencies that can sometimes come back to bite her if she focuses on them too much. She jumps between different themes with ease when decorating.

6. Grian: Works as an architect. He's fond of going big with his bakes, trying to push the limits of what's possible. However, he often gives himself too much to do, and ends up having to rush, disguise unfinished parts or the other contestants help him finish. He's bubbly in front of the camera and enjoys the occasional prank.

7. Impulse: Works as an electrical engineer. Also anxiety central. He's a very technical baker who's brilliant at following recipes. However, he will restart a bake if very minor things go wrong, which often leaves him pressed for time. Despite this, he's one of the most likely people to jump in and help someone who's struggling.

8. Keralis: Owns a bookstore. He loves decorating and his bakes are always some of the prettiest in the tent. Although he has a sleek, modern style, he can branch out when needed. He makes up his own pronunciation for ingredients, bakes and the other people in the tent. Gradually, everyone else starts using them too.

9. Scar: Works as a landscaper. Skilled at detailing and has out of the box thinking for his designs. Likes creating vehicles. However, sometimes he finds himself hiding bad baking with his decoration. His name proves accurate when half of his arm ends up bandaged in the first episode. Becomes good friends with Bdubs because of this.

10. Stress: Works as a personal trainer. Her bakes are always bright and colourful. It isn't a Stress bake if it doesn't make you smile. She's fairly equal on her decorating and her baking and enjoys a cartoonish style. A delight to have in the tent, loves helping other contestants and cheers them up if something doesn't go to plan.

11. xB: Medical researcher. His bakes are always creative, with fun stories behind them, if a bit dark. He's soft-spoken and doesn't raise his voice. He never quite swears but always comes close. The others can tell something's gone wrong when they hear a quiet 'dangit' or 'son of a-' and somebody jumps to find out what's happened.

12. Xisuma: Works as bee-keeper. He loves big shapes and patterns in his bakes. Often keeps things healthy(ish). He's primarily a technical baker and researches and practices his bakes extensively. However, he has a tendency to panic and makes silly mistakes (salt instead of sugar, forget to turn on the oven, etc.) 

The Crew Members:

Camera Crew:

Mumbo: Sometimes mistaken for being on a work placement/internship. He enjoys his work and takes a lot of the detail shots of the bakes. Although he can keep to himself, Iskall often brings him out of his shell and encourages him to chat with the contestants.

Ren: He's an incredibly chill presence to be around. He'll do his best to chat with contestants in-between filming and try to calm them down or hype them up. Usually he films stressful sequences with a reassuring smile and kind words. He enjoys singing in their downtime.

Zed: Very bouncy. He enjoys rushing around the tent to get over the shoulder shots or focus on the detail. He's good friends with Tango, and maybe he occasionally worries he’s ‘broken’ something to get the chance to talk to him on set. 

Sound:

Wels: He's calm and organised. He tests everybody's microphones are working and manages audio levels. He's good at handling distractions, but if they manage to catch him off-set they find he has a fun sense of humour and can give genuinely good advice. Enjoys singing to test the microphones when he thinks nobody's listening.

Wardrobe:

Iskall: Most of his work is done off-set, and he becomes good friends with the contestants, discussing their plans for bakes and chatting. He'll dart onto set to touch up make up when the cameras are off, offering words of encouragement as he does. Though it’s a bit concerning when he calls people’s bakes ‘of doom’.

On-site Medic:

Bdubs: Bdubs is a familiar sight with the accident prone contestants. He's always there with calm words and enthusiasm, talking the contestant down from their worry about their injury, helping them to relax. Despite his silliness, it's obvious he takes his job seriously. The contestants are glad to have him.

Set Manager:

Jevin: A bit chaotic, but he helps make sure things are set for filming. He enjoys getting the ingredients ready for the day and working out what they'll need. He also enjoys bullying Hypno. They've worked together a few times now. He enjoys a good joke when he gets the chance.

Hypno: Fairly relaxed, but he can appreciate a good joke and he appreciates Jevin. He helps organise ingredients and makes sure that things run smoothly on set. Very precise with his work, he doesn't cut corners and makes sure everyone has what they need, when they need it. A good person for the contestants to talk to.

Researcher:

Joe: He takes great pride in searching recipes, trying new things and adding them to his repertoire. Sure he might use a few too many words, but he's good at his job. He's not often on set, working mostly with Jevin and Hypno behind the scenes. But he might step in as tech if he's needed. A bit of a cryptid to the contestants.

Technicians:

Tango: A good friend of Zed. Even though he has some... Less than professional terms, he does his job well, and enjoys the opportunities he gets to socialise with the bakers. Very smiley and friendly, however if he’s in the tent, it’s likely something has gone very wrong. He's terrible at baking himself, much to the amusement of those who find out.

Doc: More serious than Tango, he's there to do a job, not make friends. Then he ends up making friends anyway. They're infectious. Grian enjoys 'breaking' things to annoy him (and have a chance to pull him on set to talk to him.) He does, secretly, enjoy the shenanigans the contestants get up to. But he'd never admit it.

Keeping in mind, I care less about the accuracy of this and more about The Shenanigans:

The first time Xisuma gets everything correct in a bake, he is convinced he’s still got something wrong. He spends the entire time until judging expecting there will be something wrong with it that they only discover during judging. A lot of memes are made out of his worrying.

At the end of filming during the heatwave, they have a lake party. Someone challenges Cub to jump in the lake and he cannonballs straight in. The others are surprised. Scar, who knows him well enough by then, is not. Doc is dragged in. Xisuma sits neatly on the edge and looks so relaxed they’d feel too guilty pulling him in. Keralis sits next to him and splashes him a little instead.

Cleo will make frequent asides to her students to try and impart good messages. Sometimes she swears during them. Then swears again upon realising. She uses her teacher voice on the other contestants a few times by accident (and on purpose.)

Someone doubts False’s strength. It’s probably Grian. She makes a beeline straight for him and hauls him onto her shoulder. And possibly into the lake. She makes it her mission to pick up most of the guys, whether they’re ready or not (with prior consent, of course.)

Stress and False work out together in the mornings. Sometimes some of the other contestants will join them and she’ll lead an impromptu work out session. She also does yoga in the evenings to calm down after filming. A fair few join her for that. 

Some of Etho’s jobs include: ‘I’m a gardener so I want this cake to include edible flowers’, ‘I’m a beekeeper so I wanted to use honey.’, ‘I’m a piano tuner so music is a big part of my life’, ‘I used to hack as a part-time job’. His job subtitle changes each episode. He gets a lot of concerned looks from other contestants.

Grian and Scar become frenemies because they’re bench buddies. Grian loves bullying Mumbo off-camera. He argues with Iskall over wearing anything but a red sweater. He loves complimenting everyone’s bakes. He makes a lot of friends. 

Tango and Zed often try to take jobs on the same productions. Zed likes to bother Tango with stupid ways to make broken tech work. Impulse will sit there and try to fix it in earnest. They have to remind Impulse he’s supposed to having a break before filming resumes. The three quickly become friends and can be found hanging out together.

During one of the heatwaves, Impulse near passes out from heat exhaustion. There’s eleven concerned people crowding around him, and it’s one of the only times Bdubs has to seriously raise his voice to gain control of the situation. The others are all sat outside in the shade and given water. Impulse goes back to the hotel and is ambushed by a lot of very concerned friends later that day. They take good care of him and threaten to beat him up if he doesn’t take better care of himself.

During Saturday evenings is when they’ll all lounge around the hotel and hype each other up for the show stopper. They like discussing what their plans are and sharing their ideas. A lot of dumb things happen to help work off the nervous excitement. 

There’s also a lot of calming each other down when they’re stressed out and caring about each other. It’s the Found Family VibesTM.

Even though washing up is supposed to be a punishment, a group of them usually end up doing it together and singing loudly and terribly to the radio.

One of the contestants catches Wels singing as he tests his microphone and drags him outside to come and jam with the contestants. Ren joins in. Etho provides backing. It delays things a little but they agree it’s worth it.

Keralis and Beef at some point have some made up war between them that is completely stupid, entirely overdramatic, and gives all the contestants a lot to laugh about.

There is, absolutely, a prank war part way through the season. It also extends off-set. Nobody is safe.

I haven’t seen anyone doing this AU before, and I apologise if they have! I hope there’s enough unique ideas to set it apart. But yeah, this is the AU I use when I just want some Fluffy content. Thanks for reading!

[hardknifeplays]

Happy Friday The 13th!

Jason Voorhees x Gender-Neutral S/O          

Words : 2,3k+

Genre : Fluff, Angst

Warning : None

           Your activities are getting busier every day, especially after it is announced when the midterm exam will take place. You have to carefully think about how to manage your time well, to study, rest, and make time for your lover, Jason Voorhees.

           This week has been tough for you, so you decided to spend your weekend with Jason. You pack your books and stationery, change of clothes, toiletries, blankets, and some snacks. You put the items in your backpack, then walks out of the house and start getting into the car and drive to Camp Crystal Lake.

         The sky this afternoon is looking a little cloudy, it turns you into a bad mood. Moreover, also because you are stuck in traffic. Crystal Lake is located quite a distance from where you live, it takes about 3 hours to go there by car.

           You close your eyes while grunting in annoyance. You put your head on the steering wheel of the car, then gently tap the it with your fingers. You look up, and your eyes are fixed on the long line of cars in front of you. Shit, when will all of this end? You've been stressed enough lately, why is there still this traffic jam anyway?

         You looked at the clock on your cellphone. It's two-thirty in the afternoon. It should be a naptime for you, no wonder why you’re a little sleepy.

         The traffic slowly starts to move. You immediately rush to drive your car quickly. Shortly after, you started to enter the suburbs. There aren't many people around here. The trees are shady, and there is only one road that is not paved but not rocky either. This road will be very slippery when it rains because it can make your vehicle slip.

         You let out a sigh of relief and smile a little when you finally passed a wooden board that read 'Welcome to Crystal Lake'.

           Upon your arrival there, you park your car right next to the entrance. You get out of the car, put your two feet on the slightly dry soil of Crystal Lake. You look at the trees, and you just remember that it is autumn. Autumn is your and Jason's favorite season because the air is cool, not too hot, but not too cold either. Apart from that, the leaves and trees are all reddish-orange. Beautiful.

         You walk into the camp area. You miss the place since the last time you visited here, which was about three weeks ago. You did not go here for two weeks. You were pretty busy, so you were not sure if you could meet Jason. You're feeling a little scared. What if Jason gets mad at you? You promised him to come once a week, every weekend.

           There is the sound of dry leaves and broken branches when you step your feet, and you are completely stunned to see the view of the lake. The lake looks very peaceful, and you find some small animals running around in search of food supplies before hibernating in winter.

         You continue your footsteps to get to the cabin where Jason lives. He has made a path for you to walk that is clear from the bear traps. You're walking and holding the straps of your backpack, you're so excited and can't wait to meet Jason. You sing a little while chuckling and every time you see flying birds.

           “Jason!” You shout while waving your hands enthusiastically when you see the figure of a tall and large man sitting on a fallen tree trunk on the edge of the lake.

         Jason doesn't turn at you in the slightest.

         You lower your hand slowly, then feel uncomfortable and a bit strange. You look down, walks slowly and carefully approached him.

         “Jason? I—” Your words are interrupted when Jason points towards his cabin which is located not far from where you are standing now. He doesn't even look at you when he gives you a gesture to go to the cabin.

         Seeing his unfamiliar and cold reaction like that feels painful to you. You walk towards his cabin, open the door, put your backpack, and sit on the old sofa that was in the middle of the room. You're sure this must have something to do with your absence for two weeks.

           “Dammit,” you whispered to yourself. You feel very guilty for not telling Jason about your exam schedule. You left for two weeks without a word, you must have made him worried a lot. You have prepared yourself if after this Jason will be mad at you and not want to see you again.

           You look up and find that Jason is not sitting on the fallen tree trunk anymore. You shake your head several times before closing your eyes tightly. You have no energy even just to step on your feet, out and search for him. You leaned your back against the sofa.

           “I would go if he really tells me to go,” you muttered softly, looking at the emptiness in front of you. You lay down, find a comfortable position, then decide to sleep on the sofa.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

           You open your eyes slowly, your deep sleep is disturbed because you heard a noise. Everything looks blurry, and oh, it's raining. Trying to keep your eyes open, you stroked your arms slowly. It's cold.

           Clack.

            Jason put a glass of warm herbal tea on the table. He stands in front of you and watching you in silence. You immediately get up from your sleep, then sit on the sofa. You look back at Jason tensely. You don't want to say anything other than thanking him for making you tea.

Jason may not be the smartest student in his school, but this boyfriend of yours is really good at learning things. Everything he can do—build and fix the cabin and its furniture, understand the cabling system, make herbal teas, grow crops—is self-taught. And let's be honest, you're very proud of him.

           Jason walks toward you, then rests himself beside you. He lets out a deep breath, not taking his eyes off you at all. You're sipping the tea, and the taste is not bad? It's enough to warm your body. You're tapping the glass with your finger, getting nervous.

           “Jason, I'm sorry,” you said, looking at Jason. Jason doesn't give you any response, indicating that he allows you to continue. “I, I have midterm exams for two weeks, so I didn't come to visit you. The last time I came here, I forgot to tell you this. So I thought I've made you worried," you explain to him. 

           He nods. Yes, you have made him upset and worried.

           Jason then stretches out his arms and pulls your body closer to him. You let him do that, and now you're in his embrace. You bury your face in his chest, feel the rising and falling of his breath. “I'm sorry,” you say. Jason hugs you tight and strokes your back lightly. “This week has been quite chaotic for me, and I didn't even think about coming here and spending time with you.”

           Jason loosens his hug and lifts your chin softly. He looks into your eyes, and you look exhausted. Then he tilts his head slightly. “Well, my exam went… smooth enough. I know I didn't get an A but I think that next week there will still be a lot of assignments and exams to go through, and I don't know if I could visit you or not,” you say, staring at Jason while resting your head against his chest.

           You notice Jason's eyes sparkle and he holds you even tighter. Jason doesn't care about your grades on exams. What he worries about is if you become stressed because of your exam. But after hearing your story and you said that your exam was going well, he gives you a few gentle pats on your head as a reward.

           “Oh, the head pats are the reward for me?” you ask, smiling widely. Jason gives you a brief nod and goes back to pat your head a few times. You let out a chuckle that is so refreshing to Jason's ears. During your absence, all Jason heard was the sound of small animals and silence. Jason misses you, and he realizes that you are very important to him. “Thank you, handsome,” you reply, giving a little kiss on Jason's forehead.

           The rain outside is getting heavier, and you just cuddle in silence with Jason. He pulled out a blanket and covered both of you. You smirk at him, you have a plan. You sneak your hands into the blanket and try to tickle Jason, and oh my God, you can hear Jason chuckle! Your boy is so ticklish, you couldn't help but keep tickling him.

           “Ah, who gave you the right to be this cute?” you say, stop tickling Jason and give him a boop in his nose. Jason immediately looking down to hide his face, and you can be sure that his cheeks are now flushing red. He is very embarrassed every time you praise him, and he puts his hands together to cover his face. Seeing his reaction, you laugh instantly. You take both of his hands and put them away from his face, and lift his hockey mask a little to give him a soft kiss on the lips.

           “You always bite my lip whenever we kiss. What a biter. I'm afraid if someday you'll steal my lips away,” you say as you let go of your kiss and grin softly. Jason rubs the nape of his neck, please forgive him as he's not used to kissing!

           You two are cuddling and squeezing each other. From a distance, both of you look like a kangaroo and its cub. Jason covers your entire body with a blanket because he's so worried that you will get cold, and it makes you look like a kangaroo cub in its mother's pouch.

           Jason glances at you in his arms, oh my. You look very attractive to him. No matter how tall you are, your figure will always be smaller than him, and it makes him want to always protect you. But if you happens to be taller than him, Jason would try to hug and protect you too. He doesn't care about your height, the only thing he cares about is the fact that you make him comfortable. You are willing to take care of him, even become his partner, what can he ask for more? You are truly a blessing for this man.

           He touches your shoulder with his index finger twice to get your attention back. You turn to him with a smile and raised an eyebrow.

           “Ma-ma?” said Jason, his voice almost a whisper that was barely audible in the rain. You look at him for a moment and blink twice. “You want to meet your mother?” you ask, and he nods. “Okay, let's visit Pamela. I miss her too!” you said, removing the blanket that wrapped your body and clutching Jason's index finger. You two walk towards the room where Jason keeps his mother's head.

           “Hi, Pamela. It’s Friday, and I miss you,” you said, before finally sitting next to Jason and facing Pamela's severed head. The two of you sit in quietness for a few moments.

           Jason rises from his seat first, then you follow him. You step out of the cabin to see if it's still raining or not. And as it turns out, the rain has stopped, leaving behind the smell of earth and grass, and also the cool air that you like. You took a deep breath as if you wanted to take in all the scent of nature. Your mood feels a lot better.

           It is half-past seven in the evening. Time flies so fast, but it doesn't matter because you spend it curled up comfortably in the blankets with Jason.

           You sit on the stairs of Jason's cabin porch and enjoy the sound of insects and frogs shouting to each other. It sounds like they’re having a mini-war. This place gives peace to your mind which has been a mess lately.            You hear a footstep approaching, and look back. Jason standing at the door and leaning himself against it. You greet him with a smile and reach out your hand to him, which he gladly takes and Jason places himself one ladder below you. His head rests on one of your knees, and he takes your hand and puts it on his chest.

           “I want to sing for you,” you say spontaneously, in a whisper. Jason turns to look at you, his thumb gently rubbing your palm. You smile and kiss his forehead. "But my voice is disgusting," you continue and laugh. Jason shakes his head quickly, and he gives you a thumbs up, encouraging you to sing for him. Jason always thinks that your voice sounds so lovely compared to his voice, which is barely there.

           “Okay, okay. I hope you like this song,” you said, clearing your throat before you start to sing.

 Fly me to the moon

Let me play among the stars

Let me see what spring is like

On a Jupiter and Mars

In other words, hold my hand

In other words, baby, kiss me

             Your voice sounds so calming to his ears, accompanied by the singing of insects. You paused to kiss his head slightly, then continue your singing.

Fill my heart with song

And let me sing for ever more

You are all I long for

All I worship and adore

In other words, please be true

In other words,

I love you

           Jason gives you a round of applause, you can see his eyes beams lightly from the big smile behind his mask. Jason rise from his seat then lifts you up in bridal style. You can only laugh out loud seeing him do that to you, and he looks very happy!

           You look at Jason and cupping his cheeks. Everything feels better with the two of you being there for each other. You kiss his mask one more time.

           “Happy Friday The 13th, my love.”

[jacksgreysays]

Hisoka!AU of DOS, Rokudaime(whoever you pick to end up with that job in this verse), A Steady Hand (NOTE: For Hisoka!AU, see Recursive forum pg 489 #14,655 - Snapshots From The Past Of Hisoka by donahermurphy pg 489 #14,665 - A Meeting While Fleeing The Garden & Desert by Tirfarthuan pg 491 #14,716 - A Name & A Gift Passed On by Tirfarthuan)

A/N: Thanks for the biblio [1+2, 3], dona--I did not know who Hisoka was before this, so those helped a lot! I did, also, have to reread the Lone Wolf 'verse since from what I understand Hisoka is an AU of that 'verse specifically? If not, please let me know.

Anyway, on rereading Lone Wolf 'verse, here are the facts that I gleaned:

Danzo is Hokage

Hiruzen died of "natural causes" several years before canon

Kakashi "betrayed the village" somehow and is being called Comrade-Killer more prevalently than canon

Asuma is probably dead

Yuuhi Shinku isn't an entire dick (since Uchiha Uzume can think about him without an automatic insult attached)

Shin is still alive (but very slowly dying)

and Kurenai is helping the Uchiha at the very least cover up a meeting with Kakashi outside of the village.

The facts of the Hisoka!AU are:

Shikako was taken to be ROOT

in order to protect those she cared about she mentally/spiritually maimed herself to the point where she no longer counted as "a Shikako" to Gelel

her partner for the final exam was Sai

she escaped/convinced Sai that the point of the final exam was to fake her death and became a fishmonger on the coast of Wind

when Shikako!Prime leaves via Gelel she "wakes up" from said previous mental/spiritual maiming

Kakashi finds her and they're a lovely wolf and cub pair who aim to kill Danzo (and get rid of their loneliness and maybe heal)

... okay, now that I typed all that out, did you mean Hisoka!AU of canon DoS instead of the Hisoka!AU of the Lone Wolf 'verse? Because those are different things, I think. But I kinda figured Hisoka!AU was intrinsically tied to the Lone Wolf 'verse, so, uh, here's a couple of ideas I had in mind:

1) Akimichi Chouza as Rokudaime.

Because after the absolute worst sort of "warmongering, self-cannibalizing, Konoha first" bullshit that Danzo spewed, the village needs someone who recognizes that being the village leader means making and protecting a home worth living in, not just a harsh taskmaster sending his soldiers out to die.

I considered Shikaku!Rokudaime for a similar sort of reason, but it's not as thematic and, also on a personal level, he can't. In a Hisoka!AU, he has to reconcile the fact that he gave one of his children--willingly or not, even if Danzo wiped his memory later--to a man who he already knew would exploit her horrendously. Maybe he didn't know the full extent of ROOT's training (surely not the final exam) but the fact that he was apprehensive and still went through with it is not a good look.

Even if Hisoka and Kakashi do not return to the village proper (and part of me is like, hey! They shouldn't! And I will go into that more in a little bit) he has to make amends to at least her, if not both of them, and he can't be Hokage and bound to prioritize the village over her if he ever wants to succeed.

Chouza, on the other hand, is the only one of the three who never made that decision (I'm still a little side-eyeing the Yamanaka clan, because surely a clan whose whole deal is KNOWING WHEN MENTAL SHENANIGANS IS GOING ON should have seen that with Fu, especially since he was allowed to keep his name and also, probably, had to have clan training to learn the clan jutsu, but maybe it wasn't Inoichi who made that deal? Maybe it was his predecessor. Either way, still mega sketch. I'm a little hand-wavy with Shibi and the Aburame because I headcanon that the Kyuubi largely wiped out what power they had the most out of any of the clans and they were like. Desperate to survive. And didn't have allied clans to bolster them.) And yes, probably that's because as far as fighting styles are concerned, they rely on their clan jutsu which is very recognizable and thus not great for ANBU (in the same way that I imagine the Inuzuka aren't often recruited into ANBU) but it's still a notable fact. The Akimichi are trustworthy pillars of the village and have been since the beginning.

And it helps that of the Nidaime's team, Akimichi Torifu was one of two of the full six who didn't turn into an old corruptible asshole. Sure, we don't necessarily know what happened to him, but he wasn't specifically seen as an old corruptible asshole so I think he's winning. It reflects well on his clan as a whole. Also, given my headcanon of the Akimichi actively cultivating their ties with civilians and also possibly the Daimyo's family they have, alongside military might, financial and political clout.

Anyway, while a possible Tsunade as Rokudaime would have similar vibes (and does, you know, match canon and have those canon reasons for working) in terms of "healing the village" etc. etc. This is a Tsunade whose most bitter cynicism was proven right? And there's no inspirational Naruto to convince her otherwise. And also, Tsunade shouldn't HAVE to clean up Danzo's mess. Like, the minuscule obligation she had to clean up Hiruzen's mess does not apply to Danzo. (It's a little like... Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were raised to be the ultimate team to take over for Hiruzen except they didn't know it and were dysfunctional. The fact that Hiruzen's death was by Orochimaru's hand and between her and Jiraiya she is the better choice is the only reason why she has that slight obligation to go back to Konoha. Whereas, with Danzo? FUCK THAT NOISE. That's a mess the village needs to resolve on their own. THEY'RE the ones who let it get so bad. THEY'RE the ones who need to deal with it)

And also, another reason why I don't really want Tsunade as Rokudaime is because I kind of like the idea of Kakashi and Hisoka sort of orbiting/paralleling her and Shizune. Like, there's a not-so-secret society of Konoha expatriates who aren't actually missing-nin and both love and hate the village and Tsunade is exasperatedly fond of those two disasters whereas she is sickened by the village. Maybe one day it will have fixed itself enough that she'll go back and visit and whip their Medic Corps into shape, but that is not any time soon!

Also, also, also, and I don't know if you remember this, dona, but in your In Which Someone Attempts to Kidnap Shikamaru, Instead, Inoichi brings up something called the Regency Protocol with Ino in regards to Danzo kidnapping Shikako and brainwashing Shikaku to forget and originally I thought it was some kind of Ino-Shika-Cho contingency plan where the three clans take over the village BECAUSE DANZO IS KIDNAPPING AND MURDERING CHILDREN AND THE SANDAIME WAS LETTING IT HAPPEN ON HIS WATCH? And of the three clans, the Akimichi really do have the traditional fighting prowess to wear the hat, so that's part of this too.

I just think an Akimichi Hokage would be pretty chill about it. Like. They wear power well and are good at managing people without crushing them in the fist of tyranny.

---

2) Maito Gai as Rokudaime.

This one actually for similar reasons as Chouza. Although, in terms of lineage, Gai could be Shichidaime, not that we're particularly holding to that Hokage teacher-student lineage so much.

In terms of semi-parallels where canon goes Tsunade to Kakashi, that means Gai also is a candidate. And in regards to showing the village/world a new kind of Hokage, he's as far from Danzo as one could get. He's straightforward and kind and draws out the potential from everyone and honestly real great but also wouldn't send someone into a mission he himself wouldn't do. Obviously, being a Hokage would mean delegating and sending shinobi on missions, but he would never send them out to die just because. Yes there are risky missions, but he would send those best suited to succeed with every tool available to them so they can succeed. Whereas Danzo would just throw bodies at a problem and kill the survivors for not doing it good enough.

The main difference between a Rokudaime Gai vs Rokudaime Chouza is that Gai's Konoha would rely less on the clan system. Of his three students, two were not from clans and the third is from the Hyuuga Branch (AND YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING FINALLY ADDRESSED BY A HOKAGE BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK). Yes, his sensei was Akimichi Chouza, but neither of his teammates were clan either. A Konoha under the rule of Rokudaime Gai is a Konoha that builds up those who don't have the same infrastructure as clans, who strengthens civilian-born and clan-born alike, who make sure that talented civilian-born students aren't only noticed by predatory old men who can sweep there existences under the rug.

Because truly one of the many ways that Danzo's weird self-hating megalomania harmed the village was by draining away the talented civilian-borns of Konoha. He who hated that the Shimura were a near-civilian clan, committed the worst crimes against those who could have proved that bloodline wasn't everything. He was so obsessed with the power of the Sharingan that it became a self fulfilling prophecy. Any talented non-bloodline student who could have proven a challenge were stolen and smothered before they could prove themselves.

Because imagine this: one day some random student with the ubiquitous last name of Satou or Tanaka or Honda beats Uchiha Itachi in a spar. Maybe its an accident. Maybe they got lucky. Maybe Itachi wasn't taking them seriously (after all, what could some no name civilian born do to him?). But those maybes don't matter. Satou or Tanaka or Honda gets in one good hit. Surprises the prodigy of the Uchiha clan. Knocks him out.

The teacher takes a note of it. Talks about it in the teacher's lounge. One of Danzo's spies brings news of that notable spar.

By the next week--maybe even the next day--Satou or Tanaka or Honda is gone. No one beats Uchiha Itachi in a spar anymore. And ROOT adds another nameless, faceless soldier to its ranks.

BUT NONE OF THAT HAPPENS UNDER HOKAGE MAITO GAI. Because it is civilians that make Konoha a village and not just a loose coalition of clans. Because a name and a bloodline are not necessary to make a person great.

3) And here's the angsty/semi-bleak option: Yuuhi Kurenai as Rokudaime.

And I wrote a little bit for it, but I'm a little... mreh... about it because it does revolve a lot around the various men in her life which I'm not exactly proud of, tbh, but aaaaaaaaaagh this is endemic to a lot of Naruto fic. D:<

Yuuhi Kurenai is nobody's first choice.

(She was Asuma's first choice, and he was hers, and that had nothing to do with either of their fathers. Except now Asuma is--)

Her father wanted a son. A proper heir. Someone to elevate the prestige of the Yuuhi clan.

(In another universe, Yuuhi Shinku will think the only way his daughter can benefit the clan is through marriage, not her own merits. In this universe Yuuhi Shinku is a little bit more open minded enough to make do. He's still a dick, but not as much of one as he could've been. This puts Kurenai in an interesting position.)

The Uchiha clan are pursuing another ally with a little more fire power, a little more name recognition, and all the intimidation and influence that entails.

(But look at where that got Kakashi, exiled and with his reputation in tatters. Look at Gai who so eagerly and overtly wants to follow. Look at Asuma who--)

The rest of the village would prefer someone who didn't look so much like the clan of would be traitors. Someone who didn't have black hair and piercing red eyes. Someone who didn't specialize in genjutsu, an art for liars.

(Oh, but they were fine quietly suffering under a man who lied and stole and murdered. A man who manipulated and cheated and framed others for his crimes. A man who ruined everything he touched and Asuma tried to stop him, gods, but then he--)

And the world doesn't quite know what to do with a Hokage like her. Or a Kage that is a her, for that matter.

Yuuhi Kurenai is nobody's first choice.

But that's fine. She can make do.

She can make miracles out of nothing.

So the thought process to get to a Rokudaime Kurenai went kind of like such. Obviously, the Uchiha would prefer an Uchiha Hokage. However that largely depends on whether they succeed in their coup or not. There's the distinct possibility that Kakashi plus Shikako!Prime or Kakashi plus Hisoka will just kill Danzo and then leave, forcing the rest of the village deal with the consequences... AS THEY SHOULD... and thus also sort of cutting the coup off at the knees.

If the coup doesn't succeed (whether out of failure or because Kakashi and a Shikako kills Danzo first before they're prepared to do the rest of the coup) then if the political climate actually matches the one they perceive themselves being in (although, I don't think the Uchiha are as hated as they think they are, but its hard for them to see that isolated as they've been forced to be) then they're unlikely to get an Uchiha Hokage especially if news of them actually seeking an alliance with Comrade-Killer Hatake Kakashi comes out. Much less the aborted/failed coup. 

Anyway, no Uchiha Hokage without a successful coup... although, if there were a successful coup, the three Uchiha I would think would be even feasible would be Fugaku--boring, bland, but that's what they know. Shisui--friendly, well liked by those outside the clan, has an international reputation. Mikoto--this is largely based on fanon/headcanon, but she was ANBU Captain? That's pretty neat.

But, uh, to get back to the no Uchiha Hokage... Kakashi's reputation is still in tatters. Maito Gai could be a good option, but while his lack of clan is a good thing for future Konoha, he doesn't quite have the political backing necessary to get there. (Namikaze Minato was an undisputed war hero. Maito Gai hasn't quite proven himself that level yet)

If its brought up that the Ino-Shika-Cho were compromised (ie, Shikaku would have worked closely with Hokage Danzo as the Jounin Commander and also one of Danzo's top ROOT agents is Yamanaka Fu) then even Chouza's candidacy would be suspect.

The village wants Tsunade. But Tsunade does not want it. I have no fucking idea what Jiraiya has been up to, but if he didn't want the hat after Hiruzen died he sure as fuck won't want it after whatever Danzo's done with it.

The Hokage's Council is suspect. Yuuhi Shinku, for all that he is similarly important to the infrastructure of Konoha while also not being part of Danzo's corruption (in another universe, he very well would have been, desperate for power), isn't actually that strong and is old, besides. (The village has had enough of old men entrenched in positions of power telling them what to do).

But he does have a daughter. Genjutsu specialist, yes, but with potential and room to grow. And Sarutobi Asuma loved her (and, fuck, what a shitty campaign to run on, the would-have-been-widow of the Sandaime's son, but you know Shinku would be ruthless in pushing that. Remember, not as much of a dick in other 'verses, but still a dick) so she has that tether to the old regime, tentative as it is.

No one really has any major objections, but no one is really all that gung-ho about it either (except for maybe Anko who will punch all detractors in the face and may very well be a one woman Hokage's Guard).

Kurenai least of all. Because she doesn't want to be Hokage, but she'd rather step up and do it than watch her village tear itself apart even further. And maybe she doesn't know who she is just yet, and maybe it sucks that she's going to have to discover that while also being Hokage, but gods she's going to try her best because at least she knows what Danzo was doing was wrong and that there's no way she can do worse than him unless she just actively slaughtered children in the street.

...

Hm, yeah, kinda bleak ending. But as I said. The Rokudaime Kurenai one is the angsty-bleak option. I mean, it gets more hopeful, but it is a struggle I think for both her and the village.

I know its not a proper ficlet fill, dona, but hope you enjoyed this brain storm / meta anyway. :D 

[blankdblank]

Ridikulus Pt 36

“Among word of an incoming engagement to both Elven King and Lord on the heels of a soon to be named premier of Jaqi Black’s latest cinematic appearance comes with another new tidbit to clarify a long since pondered puzzle. Not a few months past the win of the Kenmare Kestrals, the team which won the Quidditch League Cup with Miss Black at the helm of Thief, an unmistakable pregnancy was announced by Rita Skeeter. Such conditions are protected and some fans have questioned if the Kestrals should have relinquished the trophy as their Thief has possibly broken that rule against harm of any possible child conceived at any duration of a pregnancy.

From none other than Newt Scamander we have our answer, Boa Red Panda Cubs. Known upon further research to have used Morphers as surrogates in the past while Miss Black and then fiancé David Tennant had been guarding their surrogate for their little girl on a protected island question of survival through the oncoming battles brought on a wish to leave some good behind should the worst come to pass. An old offer from Newt, known to be good friends and mentor to Miss Black since discovery of her Basilisk on Hogwarts grounds, was taken up and together have forged a new brighter future for a once marked to near endangered status with populations soon to be thriving with hoard of daughters in the fifteen cubs born, fourteen of which are female.”

Process of impregnating was next along with statistics that even before the war they were marked for extinction if they had not been regimes to your islands anyways through the destruction of their home territories in the war. With a stunning two month gestation period to calm any nay sayers on you being so heavily pregnant for such a short time out of nowhere. Some more it carried on filling in details on the rare breed and then branches into how this was a much needed good bit of news on the heels of a chunk on the yearly pox push that was marked as successful branching into news on the fostered youth in the Elven and Dwarf territories.

Letters plopped onto the end of the table and Regulus said, “Jaqi, from Newt.” Waving the letter he lifted them opened at your approving nod reading, “Apparently Newt has been hearing whispers on an inquiry into the validity of your win on terms of pregnancy. He submitted memories of conception and birth to go with his official statement on the event along with documented notes on the Panda populations. Apologizes for not warning you sooner.”

You shook your head, “Had to come out soon enough with the new season.” Continuing to finish feeding Em so you could eat before your first class.

The second page however was turned to and Lindir said, “Oh,”

You looked at him as Regulus asked, “Oh?”

Lindir said, “It’s a death notice. It reads, speculation and rumor has spread around the absence of a driving force of our allied forces these near on two decades past. Harry Potter, upon the discovery of Auror Nymphadora Tonks, wife of freshly elected Minister of Magic Remus Lupin, has been revealed to have sacrificed himself to push Auror Tonks and another to safety in the call to flee. While hope was held out in the search of the final missing duo and searches of the new lands were approved by the leaders of said lands coming up moot with the exception of the discovery of another kingdom named Rohan.

Aged just out of his teens brave young Harry is survived by numerous aunts, uncles and cousins along with his newborn son now in the custody of his godfather Sirius Black.

For now this is just a notice of death with another issue to follow enlisting all of those lost to the flight and battles prior destroying our old world. While talks of a memorial are still in discussion within the Ministry walls to be forged and no doubt unveiled in the summer breaks of our magical schools to ensure all will be available to attend.

Again the Ministry is continuing its plea to not use the flue system until all grids have been inspected. Out of a yet to be explained fluke formerly assumed deceased Leta Lestrange was discovered by her distant relation along with that of her oddly still toddler aged baby brother Corvus Lestrange. Their arrival came on the heels of the feather and spider barrage from the flue system making it all the more puzzling as no other long since deceased figures have been discovered as of yet.”

Sirius said in shifting the bottle in Fin’s mouth, “We had to say something. People kept asking on Harry and no doubt would when Leta was spotted.”

Em swallowed her last spoonful and Regulus smiled taking her on his knee as you said, “Not a bad explanation.”

Neville said, “Well Hermi and I are off to check on Lockhart today, see what he remembers.”

You asked, “Luna not going?”

Luna answered, “Oh they have me helping Draco with possible ideas for the memorials. I was thinking of involving Thestral charms somehow, or Nifflers if the former is too morbid for some.”

Neville, “Besides, we figure since we know him a bit more than others he might be more open to sharing with us.”

Ginny said in your glance her way accepting the crescent roll bin she passed your way, “I get to go with Regulus to gather notes from Star Speakers from the Elven Kingdoms to pass onto our Astrology classes. I get the impression it will take a while.”

Again Lindir turned the page taking in each odd article until he said, “Three headed puppies for sale... Is that accurate?”

He asked looking to Regulus who leaned in, “They’re not meant to sell those in papers. Strictly protected creatures requiring licenses.” Reading over the ad he said, “Cerberus do have three heads, however these are memorabilia on the mascots for a pro Quidditch team. Selling homemade goods to honor their favorite teams prepping for the future season and no doubt stashing up funds for tickets.”

Lindir looked your way asking, “Does your team have a mascot?”

Ginny answered as oh were eating, “Kenmare Kestrals have golden harps on a green background. Other than that they are known for using Leprechauns on occasion.”

Lindir looked to the paper in search of an ad for that and Regulus chuckled, “True Kestral fans buy from the source. Their own shops in Ireland. Badge of pride for them getting goods with the official seals and details around signatures from their favorites.”

Lindir nodded, “Yes, Lord Glorfindel informed us of the tradition of autographs. Quite interesting gifts from those you admire.” Again he looked to his paper and you held back your giggles at his tries to blend in on his second morning he had slept over the night prior. Figuring out himself how he fit into the incoming future of dwelling with his One. Before long however you were off to school claiming a kiss from Em on her cheek as well as one for Fin then hurried off through your door to make it to your desk in time for your students to enter. All seeing your hands smoothing around the waistband of your jeans ensuring your blouse was tucked in properly still. Questions still lingering in their eyes with a few papers spotted in between making you say, “Alright. Before the lesson, anyone have any questions about today’s paper?” All the hands shot up and with a smirk you went a desk at a time answering each to calm any confusion or concern from those stunned by some of what was in the papers.

 *

Tucked in a private suite in the bustling floor for energy maladies Lockhart laid back in his assigned bed still under watch of the doctors there ensuring nothing else had befallen the popular Wizard. Upon seeing the familiar young Ministry Members he inched up in his seat grinning at the pair collecting a silver framed compact and another small trinket now rested on his lap. “Miss Granger and young Longbottom, I was curious which of my old students would be sent my way to question me.”

Pulling a duo of stools from the wall over the teens sat and Neville asked, “Feeling better? Remus said you were rather queasy last time he saw you.”

Lockhart nodded and said, “Yes, and I am pleased to have been so prompt in checking on me. While it appears mainly my captors were only able to drain my energy I was able to ascertain much more. And while some may not believe me to be of much use sans powers my plan worked out brilliantly.”

Hermione’s brows arched up, “Your plan? You planned to be captured?”

Lockhart nodded with a spreading smile, “You see, we arrived here and there were whispers of a Wizard hiding horcrux and deeming to endanger us all. How better to draw out such a fool than with a chance to take a hostage. I make quite the damsel, and I knew you all would find me soon enough. The Elf Lords did share which lands were known and which might be more likely for said baddy to be hiding in. Starting off, I have this for you,” passing over the silver framed compact to Neville closest to him. “Mirror glass charm contains my travels and especially the castle they kept me in, which is where I found this,” into Hermione’s palm a golden ring with runes of Khuzdul around a large rectangular sapphire narrowing her eyes recognizing Durin’s marker inside the band. “There were two more I couldn’t reach. But that one I managed to get close to. I know they said that Wizard had an affinity for using rings for his misdeeds so I assumed that might be the most useful.”

Neville asked, “Where did they take you, any idea?”

“Just past Gondor within a ring of mountains, not Mordor, I know Mordor has a volcano, there was one in the distance, perhaps one of the Elves might know where I was. Upon our flight back however there was a destroyed little village we flew over similar to where the Dwarves were met heard those houses were in hills. Caught sight of Mordor and a set of islands in the distance all coated with white glowing trees.”

Journals were brought over from his night table as well copied to ensure he had full record of all this adventure the pair flipped through listening to his sharing exact details around symbols they knew to be where he would embellish later. And when they went to leave he grinned saying, “Some might find it a bit mad however this will make a perfect plot for my next best seller.”

His next round of tests had the duo leaving trading nods and handshakes with the former Professor on their way to head to your house first to go through the memories and journals more thoroughly. Leaving the possible basilisk venom dip of the ring to you later so any memories from it might be tapped by you for more help in the search for the remaining Dwarf Rings from Sauron. A report was drafted up to share with the Ministry to be edited later for full disclosure once you had consulted the memories and Elves for information on the unknown lands and any more cursed items securing all threats to peace had been quashed.

To their evenings off the duo relaxed while Fred and George at the shop caught their first glimpses of a few Dwarves eyeing the shop known to be yours. The brothers stealing glances at one another from across the sales floor making note to share with you more clients for the gender swap potion clearly successful by Thorin’s demonstration.

Ginny’s evening however seemed to drag on while Regulus gleefully delved into learning about the stars and constellations of this world. For his hope to possibly use a name for a child of his own with Lindir the rule limiting that sank his mood a tinge at least until the next tale was shared. Copies of each record was made by Regulus who would compile them later to fit better way for sharing with the schools for one of a set of encyclopedia’s of sorts on this new world and lands to be sold and used in schools to inform the masses to study.

 *

Post feeding at lunch you did get a glimpse of Regulus’ notes brightening your mood on having to keep delving into the painful subjects covered in the paper. Though after school a wish to have some time to yourself brought you to the open pastures beyond the stables in the middle of the trees you walked eyeing the branches above. Soft hoof beats behind you and a warm breath to follow shifting your raven ended silver ponytail across your back turned you around to find Turo there, “Hello Queenie, care to run?”

Grinning up at him in a stroke of his cheek he lowered his head to receive more, “Only if you’re up for it. Just needed some time to myself before heading home finding others.”

“Sometimes silence and solitude can be cleansing to a wounded heart. Our youngest require supervised runs, come and run with us, allow the forest to speak to your pain.”

“Thank you,” you said stroking his neck in a turn for the stables to dress the Great Elk hoping this run may help to lighten your spirits.

Scattered between the hoof beats stray tears flew off your cheeks in tiny gems nestling into the grass sprouting wild flowers for the opening steps of the run until the smaller elk came into view and surrounded you. The response to your letter to the Pear clan about the papers was thankfully supportive with actual glee that Em was never in risk for being harmed. Each of them so proud to hear of your special task of aiding an endangered species supporting the affection you have for magical creatures they treasured highly since first meeting you. They had put up with so much, the whole David mystery and dissolution of whatever that was just as suddenly as it had popped up, Em out of nowhere before the nonexistent wedding, and now hearing you carried cubs for a giant cuddly creature. You just hoped Em, if she learned the truth, she wouldn’t hate you for what some could be seen as a bold faced lie.

The boys were well aware that they were adopted, had memories of their families you knew they were holding back on to spare your feelings. So much like their wish to be older than they are, even to the point of barring playtime in fear of harming their clothes. There was so much you had to unlock for them and somehow in balancing the weight of all your godchildren with help of the new Ministry this generation would be a safer and happier one. Stolen strokes of your hand down Tuo’s shoulder in slowed breaks allowing another young one to pass him up had him glancing back to you in subtle checks on if your mood was lightening. A break for water however for the young ones had his head turn again to spot your downward gaze at the grass and he asked, “Are you in pain, Queenie?”

Your eyes met his and shaking your head you replied, “Do you get orphans in your herds?”

“On occasion. We have heard of the young ones you have gotten charge of. Is one of them unwell?”

“No, I just, another woman carried my daughter. I don’t want her to hate me when she finds out. Everyone knows about it now.”

Underneath you on his hooves his body weight settled and facing you as fully as possible he replied, “No greater gift to claim a young one who requires a clan. The sons you have accepted in your heart are beyond content to have been welcomed they will always bear a fondness and love for their adopted mother. Your daughter will be proud to have such a mother to guide her.”

That had a tear drop down your cheek causing him to inhale deeply, “A lot of people are dead because of me, and there was no shortage of people who wanted me dead. So many cruel people that never hesitated when I was a child to sentence me to be beaten and imprisoned. Only thing I can think of when I remember the names of people I’m responsible for their deaths is if I killed enough. If my little girl is ever going to have to be afraid to tell people her name like my dad was.” Another tear fell and you wiped your cheek on your shoulder saying after a sniffle, “It hurts so much, how easy it could have been for me to have killed them all, anyone who tried to hurt or insult me. I could have put even Melkor to shame I bet, all the chances they gave me to turn dark. Em shouldn’t have to be afraid, least of all of me, what I had to do to get us here where she could be safe.”

His mate had come up beside you turning your head with a comforting nuzzle of her head into your belly, “All our fathers face painful seasons we may not weather to build our herds stronger. Your pain will not be lost to your daughter.”

Tuo spoke again, “There is honor in kindness little Queenie. In mercy. A strength some will never face. Hard lessons must be given to our young and we must stay the path we cannot shield them from all suffering and trials.”

“Thank you,” you said stroking her face and his neck again. “I don’t mean to sour the mood of your run.”

Another of the Elk stated, “You have soured nothing. Runs are great times for clan discussions.”

One of the other females added, “We have seen the birth and growth of many a young one, the troubles are welcomed among our herd. Your daughter is your first child, always the most worrying along with your final child.”

The bounding steps of her youngest from his full belly of water had you giggle at the circle around her he made joined by his cousins around the legs of their own parents starting the second round of the run. It was nothing new you had heard but somehow with the hoofed creatures you felt more support in hearing it from them. Back to the stables you got swinging your leg over the front of the saddle to drop down and begin undressing Tuo who pressed his head into your belly glad for the gentle hug to his head and peck to his forehead as a goodbye freeing him back to his family. “Pleasant run, Darling?”

Turned around your eyes fell on Glorfindel in his moment to wet his lips looking you over in this stolen time alone, “The baby elk are adorable.”

However you hoped to sound closing the distance he asked with hands smoothing from your shoulders downwards, “Something is troubling you.”

“Just over thinking the reaction Em might have to hearing I didn’t carry her when she’s older. The Pears are relieved, like others have been that she wasn’t in danger at all.” Inching his head closer to silently urge more from you he sighed to your stating, “I’m fine.”

The distance between you was closed and what was meant to be a brief kiss found him again pressed into that moment of that evening he had to leave you from such a warm chance at entangled matrimony to finally be all yours. Firmly his hands pressed into the small of your back melting more into the kiss that lured your hands from his middle upwards. Clearly he had hoped for a place more secluded, yet in the stroke of your fingertips along his jaw in a path towards his ear the stall he felt you step back to would have to be accepted for now. Two blind steps and he readied to lift a hand to open the gate to at least be inside for some semblance of privacy only the back of his hand met silk. In the blind fumble a decision of your own called your enchanted doorway that brought you straight inside the King’s apartment, unknowingly into the back of the King.

From the papers in hand his eyes rose turning at the body that pressed into his back. Pink lipped in a break for air Glorfindel straightened up a bit as you turned your head to catch the turning King’s gaze that warmed in seeing it was you. “Hello, Dew Drop,” you managed to squeak out with a hint of a blush that made the corner of his mouth tick upwards.

“Hello, My Darling Starlight,” his eyes scanned over your face.

Glorfindel said, “Apparently our Love is fine.”

“Hmm,” Thranduil hummed and shifted a hand to stroke though your hair behind your ear, fingers finding their own strands of curls to tangle in at the warm demanding kiss, through which Glorfindel’s hands stroked along your back and side. The moment his lips left yours however to press to your cheek below your ear Glorfindel moved with a hand raised to your neck, thumb extended to angle your head in a slow tilt granting the King a straight path to trail his lips meeting your shoulder when you turned your head again. Hungrily now claiming your neck Glorfindel moved in what would be the tipping point to a blind tugging path to get the three of you on the lounge in the bedroom now locked to prevent the children coming in.

Against the back of the lounge you rested still on a knee stretching to give Thranduil more neck to claim. His hand you found only partially certain of its owner to ease up under the end of your disheveled shirt for the snapping of the tether or restraint. Your shirt went first and down your chest to your back he moved guiding you to melt more into Glorfindel’s kiss so he might selfishly steal the first taste of your skin and claim as many strokes and caresses as possible until Glorfindel gained the courage to be more bold. Their shirts were next and again in a tangle of lips that same hand was smoothed along your thigh in a silent path to the waistband you had magically undone.

Permission was given and while your hands worked the pair into a frenzy around you his to make you come undone first while his moan parted lips savored the bare skin revealed between those obstinate loose curls failing to bar him from that tempting silky skin on his newly made wife. Easily they crumbled first and in an experienced albeit rusty endurance Thranduil made easy the task of turning you to lay you against Glorfindel’s chest to wiggle your lower layers off and see to your release next.

Slow and tender his lips found yours upon your recovery and with a chuckle blending into your soft giggle to Glorfindel’s question of, “How do I touch you?” Thranduil simply kissed you while you did the instructing, until he had the chance to lay you against his chest to hold you through the finale of your lesson, hands loose and wandering to the helpful nibble on your ear.

Just breathing in the silence you sat between the pair, like kittens nuzzling their heads affectionately to yours with stolen kisses in between, both allowing you the first word in joint adoration of this blissful union. “I take it this means we’re married now.”

Those were the magic words and with a thumb used to turn your chin in a blissful hum Thranduil replied, “We are married,” claiming the lingering kiss to seal those words into being contractual. All it took, the offer of matrimony after the physical union and with agreement and kiss the marriage is born.

Of course you didn’t get the depth of that offer for them and how long they had waited to have this one particular moment they had dreamed of come true. Glorfindel was next not missing his chance to reply, “We are married,” beginning a kiss for which reason why you couldn’t help but struggle against the moment ending smile fighting to spread across your face.

The next silent moment however came with your hand smoothing over the droplet of milk now leaking out down your belly. “I should probably take a bath and pump.”

“Of course, a bath sounds wonderful.” Glorfindel said in his pop up with smile down at your bringing out yours at the Elf with haphazardly loose pants still open and threatening to fall that matched his lopsided curls your hands had eased one side slightly out from the ribbon wrapped down the length of his ponytail. Into his offered hand yours settled and you found your feet with crownless King smoothing his fingers through his out of place hair ignoring the open pants shifting down his hips in each step.

Thranduil, “Give us a chance to give you a massage as well if you wish.”

The pair while you dipped a foot into the hot spring in the open bath tugged off their boots and pushed the last of their coverings down to step into the water to help you down into the seemingly bottomless pool of a tub. “How deep does this go?”

Thranduil, “Not far, the bottom is lined with abyss crystals however that deepen the appearance of it. There is a bench inside here.”

They both helped you to sit down and while he worked the ribbon wrap from his hair Glorfindel said, “You most certainly were not fine when I found you. Would you care to discuss it? We are your husbands and here to aid in your burdens.”

Softly you sighed watching Thranduil’s long arm bring the floating soap bowl over in case you wanted to use some of his. “I was doubting if I killed enough of the despicable people from my world so Em would never have to be afraid they would do to her what they did to me.” They shifted closer to your sides in the lift of your feet onto the bench in front of you. “I’m never going to be perfect, I have moments or days even where I get so helplessly lost in the pain of all those wrongs. Seventeen years I didn’t have a life that was mine, I didn’t matter except as a shield, and,” you inhaled looking between them with tears bubbling into your eyes mirrored by theirs at the darkening or your roots.

“75 adults on the Wizengamot sentenced me to Azkaban when I was eleven years old, ‘by any means necessary’ they were told to get me to surrender Tulip. That’s what the records said along with notes of the names of seven ‘suspect’ Wizards who could have argued against the decision they kept from knowledge on the vote. They had me for a month before I was found. People have no idea how many chances I had to go dark, how easy they made it, and people would have still supported me. I could have put Melkor to shame. I spent so long with people that made my skin crawl, with a mark from the man who tortured my mother to death and tried to kill me and Harry. I can’t say how many times I wanted to snap and just blow up entire buildings with thousands for my death count.”

A tear dropped down your cheek furrowing their brows in focus to not cry themselves sensing the pain you were expressing. “I lost it once, I thought my aunt Bellatrix had killed my dad, I had her head in my hand and, I slammed it into the ground. And I kept punching her until she stabbed me in the side to get me off her. I lost it,” you whispered out to another two tears falling and you shook your head lifting a hand to wipe your cheeks. “Remus managed to snap me out of it, and I managed to get back, to the plan. I haven’t been able to breathe for seventeen years, and it hurts to breathe a bit right now. But, I’m trying, to see who I can be now.” Your eyes shifted to Thranduil saying, “I wouldn’t trust me to be in power right now. I’ll try to help you both if you need it, but-,”

They moved closer and smoothed their hands over your arms and Glorfindel said, “Take your time. There is no rush. No one is going to force you into anything you don’t want to take charge of. We have charge here.”

Thranduil drew your gaze adding, “No one is harming our little ones. There is an army to guarantee that now, all of the Elf Lords would send armies should anyone dare to be foolish and harm a child in these lands. A promise the Dwarf councils will surely back as well.”

“I’m sorry,”

You said and he again shook his head saying, “You owe us no apology.”

“There always was a goal, a job to do, no mission.”

Glorfindel said, “You will find peace, that was very much my same pain upon my return. The restlessness. I know you will handle the pain better than I had.”

Thranduil chuckled saying, “Made it his mission to collect every uncut quartz stone in our river beds. Took him months and upset countless beavers and bears in the process. Five hundred years of watching him drenching wet being chased by some creature roaring after him. You make mistakes, you learn and heal.”

You nodded and said to the ripple of your hair to silvery blue again calming them a bit at your pain retracting its claws, “Well whoever cleans that couch will be furious, I’ll charm it when we get out.”

Glorfindel began to smooth his hand down to your leg he claimed, “Pay no mind to the couch,” massaging it while Thranduil claimed the other.

Couch charmed and wrapped in a towel you dried your hair with your wand using a jet of warm air you shifted to help the others with theirs afterwards giving both a time to smile in your fingers again traveling through their long locks. Again in fresh pants the pair found you now in shorts and a tank top, lip tucked between your teeth in thought widening their curious smiles on the path to your sides for another cheek cupped kiss for the both of them from their loving wife once you had finished pumping your milk. Both speaking to you sweetly all the while and helping in the transition between bottles when the two were filled and capped the third when you had tapped out halfway.

Behind his back however Thranduil kept the hand holding the box with gift meant for just this occasion to Glorfindel’s hand being offered that snapped you from your thoughts. “Might we discuss something with you a moment?”

You nodded and joined them back on the couch, wetting your lips in the cross of your legs to look at the pair on the foot stools in front of you. Glorfindel anxiously bumped Thranduil’s arm with his and you looked between them and then to the expanded then retracted smile on his face that preceded his throat being cleared. “Our Love, now, with this new deepening of our union comes certain tokens to bestow and so after much deliberation and sleepless nights put to use between us we wished to present this to you. Like a small metal book the box now resting in your palm waiting to be opened in the retraction of the King’s hands from leaving it there. His fingers hovering a moment then reaching out to open the lid that caused your heart to skip.

Inside on 4 overlapping bands, 2 black, 2 silver with white glowing stones lining these. In the center a yellow heart also surrounded by more of the white glowing stones with two black antlers extending above it. “Oh wow,” you whispered to yourself.

Glorfindel said, “The black metal is Galvorn, a black form of mithril, among some of my properties returned to me upon my awakening from Gondolin and the lemon quartz stone is also from my gatherings that we chose together.”

Thranduil, “The rest of the ring is silver mithril with the remaining white stones that are from my collection of Lasgalen stones from Doriath carved out of the heart of a fallen star gifted to my line from Valar Queen Varda.”

Carefully you lifted the ring from its box that felt impossibly light for how heavy it should be. “Is this the, do you have separate engagement and wedding bands or is it all in one? We haven’t discussed this before.”

Thranduil, “Upon meeting your father we have chosen to adapt to your customs of using engagement rings, now, we are bound by marriage for our kin though a ceremony of sorts could be planned according to your customs. Also we are aware these rings sit on separate fingers to ours that sit upon our index finger and this has been fitted to your chosen ring finger.”

“You measured my finger?” You asked with a hint of a grin.

“Estel was bribed to help us with that.” Glorfindel answered, smiling as you watched as he eased the ring onto your finger that fit perfectly, “When you are ready to discuss a ceremony we could possibly discuss designs of what a wedding band might be.”

A moment you bit your lip and said, “I need some dirt.” Parting his lips at your pull back to ease over the back of the lounge you swung your legs over to head for the window revealed in the magical ease of the curtains back in its opening to let you pass through it. The pair of them stretched to see what you were doing, watching your stroll across the patch of grass looking between each of the bushes in the marked off garden plots, beside a patch of orange flowers they saw you charm two handfuls of dirt out of the ground, careful to leave the few small worms back in the garden. A bit confused a pair of guards tilted to watch your path back through the window that closed and covered itself again leaving you just in the sight of the duo.

Glorfindel, “You need dirt, for, what exactly?” He asked watching you ease back over the back of the lounge you sat cross legged on top of again.

“Not exactly fair if you both don’t have something shiny of your own.” Their brows inched up only to see your skin begin to shimmer in the multicolored hue of your eyes that grew lighter in spectrums of color to the deeper the breath you took in. Out of your lips around the dirt clump above your left palm a white flame escaped your lips while you mentally recited the Draconic spell splitting and contorting the clump in half. More and more they compressed making the shapes of rings, in the center an oval mystic quartz stone sat between two wide flat black metal edges of the ring that dipped for a platform for the stone, down the band the ring grew thinner and held white opal shapes between strips of the black metal.

A second breath drew their focus back to you on the lift of the second clump that you blew out over the clump that split into three, this time for two more black metal sat around five round green opals, the one in the middle the largest that around the top and bottom had five emeralds closing it off. The third had the same metal and shape, merely with blue opals and sapphires around the top and bottom of the center opal.

At the dim of your glow they watched your hands to shift and offer the both of them the larger of the two styles of rings then locked their eyes with yours as you said, “These should morph to fit whatever finger you slip it on and won’t break, for your engagement rings if you like them.” Timidly the pair accepted the rings, lost for words on the skill of the gift you had made for them, looking next to the pair of green rings that they stared at taking in every detail of these as you slid them over the ends of their index fingers to the last knuckle. “We’re married,” that had their eyes shoot up to yours again missing the ripple of the stones’ colors turn to yellow, “Ceremonies for my culture can wait, we can have a family dinner or something. You’re a King and a Lord, you deserve to have your status marked. If anything I can always just put in the paper I eloped.”

Thranduil, “These,” he said clearing his throat to steal a second glance down at his hand that had him exclaiming, “It’s yellow now!”

“They change colors, I can make them stop-,”

“No,” they both said and after a shared glance eased their engagement rings on above their wedding bands. Tenderly with free hands Thranduil took the wedding band from your hand he eased onto your left index finger locking his eyes on yours. “I have never seen rings of this skill before.”

“I rarely make rings, yours must have taken months-,”

Glorfindel eased his hands around your free hand, “Thank you falls utterly short. Elleths rarely forge in our culture, merely hire a master craftsman. We will be the envy of all with your unmatchable gifts.”

Thranduil said, “Yes, truly. These five opals alone would have taken weeks to shape and I do not doubt several months to find the proper shade. I am flattered as well that they change hues. Five, we did not cover significant numbers for importance in our cultures, seven is sacred to our kin, five is sacred to yours?”

“No,” you said looking between them to say, “I thought, we have, five kids, between us.”

If they thought it was impossible to breathe upon seeing the ring that was nothing to now at realizing this was not just a wedding back but a sort of birth celebration as well that Legolas especially would be honored to have been included in. Glorfindel said, “Birth celebration as well, then truly this is beyond precious to us and will be to our children when we share it with them.”

“Well, um, my mother had one from my dad for theirs. Used to spark up around the stone when I got hurt. Um, Leg’s is in the middle, since he’s, well, fully grown, bad luck to put his anywhere else, and they’ll grow as the kids do and get their little crowns of emeralds.” Quickly you looked down and then up again in time for Thranduil’s lean in to steal a loving kiss trailed by a moment of foreheads tapped together. “I’m guessing you’re behind the antlers on mine?”

Lowly he chuckled and replied inching back to allow Glorfindel to claim his own warm kiss and pause with joined foreheads to Thranduil’s reply of, “It was a joint decision, as was the choice of yellow, your favorite color.”

“Thank you,” you said in their inch back and tangling of their hands in yours on your lap again. “Never really thought about engagement rings before, I mean, Barty gave me the rose gold pink teardrop ring, and it was beautiful, I was really grateful for it, I just…I guess you just don’t think of what you might want until you meet the person who you’d be needing it for.” You inhaled at their spreading smiles and said, “I’m rambling.” The narrowing of your eyes a moment had their brows twitch up tick only to hear you say, “There’s someone in my study.”

Glorfindel, “Is, that forbidden?”

“No,” you said uncrossing your legs in their rise to stand and help you up, “There’s just, someone there.”

Thranduil released your hand hurrying to the closet, “Grant us a moment and we shall inspect this together for any danger.”

“It’s not a danger,” Glorfindel turned in the doorway of the closet accepting the shirt tossed his way he found the bottom to that parted for his arms to slide through to the sleeves, “How is this so weird to say, you don’t ever just, know, something. Like you randomly pull the toast off a bit early or it will burn or you go to check on your chicken coop even though it’s not laying day to find that there’s now a huge gnawing blackberry bush taking over the back of the enclosure that has to be moved or it’ll ruin the fence? Places to go aren’t really unreasonable to explain but sometimes I just feel I have to say something and usually it goes terribly wrong but I just have to say it because I guess no one else will.”

Glorfindel, “Such as?”

You sighed, “Such as I had to tell a girl Margerie in the year of the Triwizard Tournament, she came from Beauxbatons, the school Fleur studied at.” The pair nodded in securing their shirts and robes after having tugged on their boots to their knees, “Never met her a day in my life, never spoke a word to her, walk right up to her and have to say ‘How did you like the Trout in Their Pajamas?’ She slapped me across the face and storms off! Two days later, I have this other girl Ophelia coming up to me hugging me. Saying that there’s this whole convoluted plot that had been buried with Margerie’s family that goes all the way back to a Unicorn thief who had stolen this useless children’s book from Margerie’s ancestor and then used it to break into the conservatory where Ophelia’s family had been keeping their Unicorn herd. Nearly got the ancestor locked up from his name written inside the book cover.”

Their brows narrowed in confusion as you mimed and explosion on either side of your head, “I didn’t get it either, but apparently I pissed off Margerie and she went steaming mad and ranting back to their tower and Ophelia overheard it. Apparently they both had been compiling their own internal investigations over the years and they sent what they came up with back home and they caught the guy 87 years later.” Your hands popped up at your sides and fell again, “I don’t get it, just had to say it.”

Glorfindel, “That, must be tiring, does it happen often? Was it a voice you heard?”

“Not a voice, no, I’ve been down that road, no, that time it was the cover of the book popped up in my head. Which reminds me I have to settle a flight time for the Pegasus foals, could we fly over your forest, they don’t like flying over towns they aren’t fond of seeing people.”

Thranduil, “Our forest, and yes, absolutely, these, Pegasus, are they another Quidditch team?”

“No, they’re winged horses,” parting their lips, “They also mostly have fangs, and tend to not like people, well, most people. But they have a new bunch of foals and they have a traditional first flight that has to be a long one and usually we would take them to Sherwood forest for that but the Muggles aren’t situated enough right now for us to get the Prime Minister involved for the approval of memory charms. Still a work in progress on the tolerance of us for them at the moment.”

Glorfindel, “You have flying horses and yet you do not ride them,”

“They attack people. Viciously. Their nests are normally high in cliffs out of reach from people. We just have the tolerating herd at Hogwarts in the Forbidden Forest now quadrupled from those we saved in the move here otherwise Hagrid would have handled it, the new ones think he’s going to eat them.”

Thranduil, “Why do I imagine that day Thengel will drop by unannounced?”

“Well it has to be tomorrow you can have him for tea I guess. I can show the boys, even bribe a Unicorn to drop by possibly. Buckbeak could use a nice long flight I can take him instead of the bike this time still have to get myself a new broom. He’s been anxious waiting for his baby sibling to hatch.” The confused pair followed you out of the bedroom and through to your door linked to your house where you heard voices inside of your study.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Draco said only to be answered by Neville’s sigh.

Neville, “I know that, but he told us, he did it on purpose.”

Draco, “And they let him teach us?!”

Papers were shifted and once in the doorway you caught Neville’s eye and he smiled in relief, “Here’s Jaqi, Lockhart says he went there on purpose to play Damsel. Gave us his journal and this mirror glass charm of his travels and that place they locked him inside of. And, found this.” In his palm was the glass jar holding the ring Lockhart had found that lured the Lords in around you to see it.

Thranduil, “That is Durin the Deathless’ crest. King Thror bore that ring.”

Neville, “Said there were more rings but he only could manage that one.”

“Hmm,” you said setting the ring down the accept the journal you lifted to sniff, “This is a copy, it smells like guava.”

Draco, “Kept the original for his next book.”

“Ah, naturally.”

Neville, “Says he was kept in the mountain but wasn’t Mordor. No volcano but it was in sight of an island with glowing white trees,” that had the Lords’ heads tilt to look at him directly, “And there was a city like the Shire that was destroyed on the way back.”

Glorfindel, “That is not possible, the only island with that description was taken by the seas ages past.”

Looking back at him you asked, “Which Lord would have ruled that one?”

Glorfindel, “Lord Elros. That would be Numenor, if they are correct.”

“Hmm,” you accepted the Mirror Glass Charm saying, “I’ll tend to the screaming ring later, for now, I’ll see if the Lords can help us find out where he went.”

Draco said, “We’ll keep the twins posted if you need a sub tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” you said turning back for your room leaving the pair to share their mutual notice of the ring on that particular finger, and into your closet where you confused your husbands in the tug of your shorts off to hop into a pair of jeans and long socks you added tall boots to your knees.

Thranduil asked, “How you were dressed was acceptable.”

“Not for a Mirror Glass Charm. Last time I went in one of those took me three days to get out and it was nonstop gales and moors.” Over the top of your tank top you pulled your silver low cut sweater that hung over your thighs that once the neck was tied over top you added a black rib covering vest and the holster for your wand from the pile of clothes you had sent back earlier during your bath to the vest pocket.

Glorfindel, “Three days?”

“Surely this time we can just skip to the end and miss any weather but I had to go day by day last time to figure out where they hid one of our Aurors a few years back in a Muggle Born raid.”

Pt 37

[floraences]

F L O R E N C E   T R A S K ; 

hello world ! it’s lucy here, attempting to string together a sentence again with my lovely florence. she’s dyssebia, a personification of impiety; and muse thirty two ! this is messy as hell but below you can find her application information and a brief eDgY bio, and HERE you can find a detailed, more practical factfile. you can also find her pinterest HERE. that’s all, folks ! my dms are always open and i am a slut for plots so :~)

[ ESTER EXPOSITO / POLYTROPOS / DYSSEBIA ] / [ FLORENCE 'FLORA' TRASK ] is a [ TWENTY ONE ] year old [ CLASSICAL CIVILISATION ] major. [ SHE ] is known for being [ CAPTIVATING, EMPATHETIC, ASTUTE  ] and [ VOLATILE, SELF-INDULGENT,  MACHIAVELLIAN ].  when i think of them, i imagine [ THE THORNS BENEATH PETALS, LIPSTICK STAINS ON COLLARS, MARBLE CRACKS FILLED WITH GOLD, CHAMPAGNE IN A TEACUP, BEAUTY LACED WITH FEAR, THE SOFT PURR OF A CAT, ROOMS SWIMMING IN ROSES, BRUISED PEACHES RUNNING WITH JUICE. ]. and even though they’re a proud hatchett u student now, we all have our roots. theirs run back to them being a [ MHP (AER) ] graduate . i wasn’t entirely sure, but we could’ve seen them walking past the always open office the other day. i asked around and it turns out they [ AREN’T ] an AOP student. in their interview, they managed to woo the admissions team by [ COMPOSING A SONATA AND PROCEEDING TO PERFORM IT ]. i guess that’s all there is to know! unless…

— you’re born two minutes after your brother, and you come into the world the way you plan to leave it; silent and unwavering. you don’t cry that day in the hospital. in fact, you don’t cry when your mother and father leave you alone in a silent house, with just the portraits’ soulless eyes to watch over you, and you don’t cry when your violin string snaps as you’re playing bach, cutting a slick gash into your wrist, red splashing against the varnished willow. you just purse your little lips and get on with it. — so you grow up empty instead. your sibling is your only solace, the shining sun to your cold and impatient moon. you sleep in his bed instead of your own until you’re seven, curled up together in the warmth of love like bear cubs under the covers. your parents toss money at you both, pay the french nannies to dress you in elegant little chanel and dior, take you on trips to london, rome, vienna, but nothing they give you can buy love. — and you’ve got a big heart too, aching to love and be loved in return; but all you get are slammed doors in your face and hushed “not now”, “don’t disturb me”, and little faces pressed against the cold glass of the window, watching the black mercedes pull out of the drive yet again. so quickly, you find friends among the shelves of your father’s personal library. the greeks and romans of old become your closest confidants. you drink pink lemonade with plato, and cycle around the garden to virgil’s words, reading quiet passages of homer under the covers at dusk. it’s a nearly obsessive fascination; you sit under the crooked blackthorn tree eating sweet peaches, the nectar dripping down your chin, dreaming of your own icarian fall. — as you grow, your parents encourage force these signs of greatness. they push you into music and languages, art and poetry; you play the piano until your fingers bruise over, recite latin and greek until your tongue is stiff, run circles and circles around the house until your lungs begin to burn. it’s not enough to be average, it’s not enough to be good. you must be great. — school is a welcome relief from the solitude of your own company. you lap up knowledge like it’s sweetened honey, every interesting little fact kept squirreled away somewhere within that brilliant brain of yours. you want to succeed, to do well, and so you do — you’re not cruel enough yet to push people down so you can climb, no matter what your mother says.  — so instead you just... be. you be as you always were; rosy-cheeked and sharp-eyed, observing everything. you stay lovely, but you have your thorns, hidden away under sweet petals. you make enemies, but you make friends too, cloistered among the halls of marble hill.  —  you’re a romantic, capital r. you always have been. not rom-coms and gas station bouquets, rotting chocolates in pink felt boxes from a lover long forgotten; no, no. think more of wild moors, dancing around crackling fires in the dark, and love so strong it breaks your heart. — you used to bow to your parents will, to the expectations of society. play the role of an obedient daughter, a selfless sister, the perfect student. it was easier to grit your teeth and continue doing as you were told. but as you grew, you discovered the sting in your words, the secret pleasure in doing as you liked, in owing nothing to anyone. you’re a hedonist now, a self-indulgent creature of the twenty-first century. you do as you want.   — now, nothing is sacred but yourself. you give no reverence to any god or man. if you could have, you’d have watched rome burn, striking the strings of your violin and the ivories of the grand piano like they’re matches. things like class systems and unwritten hierarchies mean nothing to you, as do the opinions of others. there’s a reason you’re so fascinated with the old gods of aristotle and socrates, and it’s not out of any form of respect. 

[usfwspacific]

“Who you gunna call? A biologist!” Forget ghosts, AmeriCorps Member busts environmental challenges with her electro-shock backpack

Blogger’s note: Amber Left-Hand-Bull is a Bureau of Indian Affairs WaterCorps Program Member serving with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Puget Sound Olympic Peninsula Fish and Aquatic Conservation Complex. Our hardworking AmeriCorps Members have some pretty cool experiences during their time with the Service and are often inspired to write about them. This is her Story of Service and you can read more Stories of Service and Intern Adventures here.  

Stories of Service- May 15, 2019

I knew I was in the right place when our biologist, wearing his Ghost Buster looking electro-shocking backpack, gave confused onlookers a confident nod as we were on our way to sample some urban streams.  I sang to myself “When there’s something fishy, in the neighborhood.  Who are you gunna call? A biologist”!  Just another day at the “office”!

Hókahé (welcome)!  My name is Amber Left-Hand-Bull and I am a Bureau of Indian Affairs AmeriCorps serving with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Lacey, WA. I am mostly Lakota Sioux but I grew up native to the Pacific Northwest.  My life’s journey started when I was young as I always had my ear to the ground, feet in the river, or hands on a branch.  Being outside isn’t just an option for me, but a need.  Every trip I had outside camping, hiking, whatever it was, I just wanted to know more. This connection with nature lead to my involvement in many environmental programs growing up that expanded my experience in getting out in various terrestrial and aquatic settings.  That time getting out taught me that it is not just one species that matters the most but also a balanced ecosystem.

Photo:  A Nisqually River Chinook salmon! 

My passion for environmental sciences coincided with me throughout my life, but my educational stride didn’t take place until I had settled down in WA and finished my Bachelor of Science of Environmental Sciences at Evergreen State College.  I wanted to show my children the importance of restoring and preserving what we can in this world by making it a full time career.  My husband and my two boys (5 and 8 years old) all take part in giving back to our planet in any way they can from all the things I have taught them.  I started off being a steward at a young age which helped create a strong initiative to turn my everyday home life to a greener one.  Starting with recycling correctly, using eco-friendly cleaning products, and conserving energy in the house as much as possible.

Photo: Salmon spawning and carcass sampling on the Nisqually River.

Over the course of my education and internships I have performed a variety of field investigations involving ecological and biological assessments. At Evergreen State College I applied hydrology, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in ArcMaps, and ecological economics, all in watershed management. Learning these values together provided me better understanding in how economics needs to work with environmental resources as well as cultural values in management and policies. The majority of my work focused on salmon and trout species, including Endangered Species Act listed species, in the Nisqually Watershed while working with the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources. I supported studies, fish supplementation, and habitat restoration through the tribe’s Salmon Harvest Fishery Program, Salmon Enhancement Program, and Salmon Recovery Program.  I also conducted crustacean surveys in the Shellfish Management Program and water quality testing with the Nisqually River Foundation.  Solutions are found by having our biggest hands at work, but prevention from further decay can only done be by co-existing our urban life style with a greener existence.  

Photo: Off to set traps for sampling Olympic Mudminnow!

I am going on my fourth week with the USFWS and the experience has been incredible.  I have assisted with monitoring Olympic Mudminnow populations, which are a species of fish only found in Western Washington!  I have supported our Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife partners with their Western Pond Turtle monitoring efforts, including personally trapping and collecting biological information on over 200 turtles! I assisted with migratory shorebird surveys out in Grays Harbor, one of the largest migratory bird habitats in the Pacific Northwest.  I conducted habitat surveys and sampled juvenile Chinook salmon and other fresh water fish from urban creeks in the Lake Washington drainage of Seattle.  

Photo: This Western Pond Turtle is about to be measured!

This journey with USFWS not only includes field science operations, but also increases public awareness and stewardship.  At the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge I lead groups of 4th-6th grade school students on ethnobotany walks focusing on how native plants were used by the Coastal Salish Tribes for medicine, food, shelter, clothing, and tools.  I also integrated invasive species awareness and prevention content.

At a Nisqually River cleanup event, I ran demonstrations on a watershed model for Cub Scouts troops to show examples of pollution, how they impact fish and wildlife, and what we can do to be preventative.  At the “Celebrate Kokanee Day’ in Issaquah, I lead a salmon roll-playing activity where participants had to smell their way back (blind folded) to their home creek. This activity taught children about why salmon’s sense of smell is so important, how pollutants can affect it, and what they can do to help.

The atmosphere in the office and in the field fills my heart with the greater good that our developing world will strive for a greener and cleaner tomorrow.  Those who work in this field are heroes that are not only making every effort  for a healthier planet but teach the children and communities how to as well.  Knowing how to systematically analyze these different biological environments makes a strong base for both ecological and economical benefits.  An expanding human population impacts most if not all living habitats, and if we do not make stronger efforts in monitoring these conditions the kind of conservation work that needs to be done will be too late. I look forward to the rest of my term here in participating in many of the field surveys and lab practices to further my experiences and education.

[bgharison]

Which WIP?!

I have about three weeks between classes, my meds and my muse seem to be holding a tentative truce, and I really miss writing.  Wanna help me decide which rabbit hole?  I need to choose one and kind of stick with it.  My goal is to have a rough draft done by  August 19 and then edit during the semester.  (My goal is to start an original work in January 2020, so this is warm-up.)

I do find feedback and enthusiasm both validating and motivating, so if something makes you go “oooooooh” let me know?

Options below:

Option A:  Vaguely Pacific Northwest McDanno AU -- Steve returns from combat to his deceased father’s cabin, Danny is a journalist writing about missing children in the area.  Danny gets too close to the truth.  I only have three paragraphs of this written, but it’s outlined.  Inspired in part by the idea of a bearded Steve and Danny wearing jeans, boots, and scarves. 

(opening) He moved through the house, flicking on one or two lights, somewhat surprised that the electricity hadn’t been long since disconnected.  Since it wasn’t, the well pump still worked and the kitchen sink yielded fresh, cold water.  The aquifers here, in the northwest corner of the country, have the coldest, clearest water of anyplace he’s seen, on this continent or any other.  He cupped a handful of it and gulped greedily.  Even in the dim light, he could tell that the coffee maker had only a faint layer of dust.  It gave him pause, to think that someone had been keeping up the property.  His father must have arranged for a caretaker in his will.  

It didn’t occur to him to test the heat; he simply took off his boots and climbed, fully clothed, under the heavy comforter in the room that has remained unchanged since he left it almost two decades ago.

(random selection)  

“Go away, Danny,” Steve orders.  “I mean it.  Get the hell away from me.”

Danny wipes at the blood, dripping steadily now from his eyebrow, trailing down the side of his face.  His jaw clenches as he squares off against Steve.  “Why?  Because I caught you off guard, didn’t duck fast enough?  Come on, Steve, I know you didn’t mean --”

“That’s the point, Danny!” Steve explodes.  “That’s the fucking point.  Whether I mean it or not, this is what happens.  People get hurt.  The people I care about get hurt.”

“Yeah, is that so?  Well maybe the people I care about get something, too.”

“What?  What, Danny?”

Danny steps into his space and he can feel his own coiled tension reflected right back at him, in the stubborn set of Danny’s shoulders, in the heat radiating off his chest.

“This.”

Steve doesn’t have time to react before Danny’s hands are on him, wrapping around the back of his neck, his hip, pulling him in and down.  He tastes the tang of copper and iron as their lips crash together and for a moment it’s violent, and Steve falls into it.  Violence is familiar.

Option B:  Core Four AU Steve comes back from being presumed dead after the Hesse fiasco in North Korea and opens an acupuncture clinic.  Danny is building a new life on the island after losing his wife.  Steve starts to fall for Danny until he suspects that Danny is keeping a secret involving his little girl.  Kono is exasperated with all of the alphabet agencies that come into play -- CIA, FBI, ATF, and she just wants to know -- WTF?! Outlined but with two possible “reveals” I would need to choose from.  This one also give me an opportunity to play with world-building, because the setting is specific, involving an elaborate tree house, a zip line, and other things that end up getting SEALed in order to protect Grace. 

(There’s this)

“Kono, we are professional health care providers here,” he said.  “No dating clients.  And quit trying to set me up.”

“I’m asking for myself,” Kono said.  She beamed at him, a flash of white teeth and dimples.  “He’s adorable.  Like a . . . like a fluffy little lion cub.  I want to take him home and just --”

“Okay then, Kono, let’s get --” Steve glanced down at his schedule -- “Mr. Wilson into a treatment room.”

“Can I get him to put on a gown?” Kono asked.  

Steve looked at her sternly as she blinked in mock innocence.

(And this)

Then again, Danny wasn’t most people.  He noticed everything.  Too many years of training and practice to stop now -- besides, the stakes had never been higher, and his powers of observation, of reading people, of seeing through disguises and lies, might just be the edge that would keep him and his daughter alive until this mess was over.

He pulled off the road onto the narrow gravel drive leading back to the beleaguered property that was not only his cover, but his home -- his fortress.  He pulled up to the gate and keyed in one of two codes -- the one that verified that all was well, and that he was not under duress.  The gate opened smoothly, its deliberately aged and tenuous appearance belying that it was part of the newly installed state-of-the-art defense.    

The drive was long, curving around dense areas of vegetation that still hinted at previous deliberate planning and careful attention.  With a bit of work, the grounds would once again be functional and attractive.  His Camaro handled the gentle incline with ease, and soon he was pulling into the ground level garage of his home, opening the garage door with another code.  It slid closed behind him, the motion sensors glowing at each other in the dim light.  A third code was entered at the door between the garage and the house, the heavy deadbolt sliding open.  Danny locked the door behind him and reset the alarm.

“You realize that three sets of coded entry is going to be difficult to explain to visitors,” a calm voice said.  The clink of glass on porcelain in the kitchen, along with the scent of rich Kona coffee, was welcome.

(And this)

Steve took the long way home, the windows of his truck rolled down, filling the cab with fresh, fragrant air.  He knew he would never tire of this, never tire of being back home, back on Oahu.  Pulling into the driveway was something that at one point, he was sure he’d never do again -- he’d never take it for granted.  The house itself felt in turn far too empty and far too full of ghosts, but he couldn’t imagine not living here.  He was making peace with both the solitude and the presences he couldn’t quite shake.  When Mary was well enough to be discharged, he would bring her here, where he could watch over her, protect her the way a brother should, care for her like she needed.  He’d drag her out into the sunshine and fresh air.  It would help.  It had to.  

He keyed in the alarm code and slipped inside the still house.  Ignoring the boxes half-packed in his father’s office, gathering dust, he headed for the kitchen.  

Option C:  A case from Danny’s past comes back to haunt the team and threaten the island.  This one is not really outlined.  Possibly gen/case fic, possibly newly McDanno, potentially an OC interest for Steve when the original profiler, who considers this case her one failure, comes to help (because I love playing with OCs and creating better love interests for him than the show manages to do, and I loved the dynamic with Steve and Alicia Brown, and even though I didn’t see it as romantic, I think Steve could fall for someone who is a match for him intellectually and who would understand what his years in the underbelly of Naval intel did to his psyche, and I love the ‘brilliant, mentally tough but physically vulnerable person matched with the brilliant, physically tough but emotionally vulnerable person” trope, sue me).  And I love exploring Danny’s back stories and volatility and the reasons that his marriage failed because his job came first.  We would see a darker Danny in this and that intrigues me. I might also jump the timeline for the first time (for me) put this post season-4, meaning Junior and Tani instead of Chin and Kono.  

There’s this:

“We called him the Holiday Weekend Killer,” Danny said.  “First body, just like this one, the Tuesday after President’s Day weekend.  We found the next body the day after Easter.  And then another the Tuesday after Memorial Day.  And then we ran ourselves into the ground all through the heat of the summer, got nowhere, and the fourth body showed up the day after Labor Day.  We missed Thanksgiving with our families with nothing to show for it but another dead woman -- this one we had to identify with dental records, because the son of a bitch had four days to torture her.  We took off twenty-four hours, Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, might as well, since we had no fucking leads.  He had almost a month with that poor girl, college student, aged out of the foster system, so no one fucking noticed she was missing until classes started again in January.  Christmas Day, no one even fucking knew that beautiful --”

 Danny broke off with a muttered curse and walked out of the room, pushing the doors open with such force that they struck the walls behind, the sound echoing as Steve and Max stood in shocked silence.

 “Give us a few, yeah, Max?” Steve said quietly.  

He caught up with Danny in the basement locker room, the soles of his shoes sticking out of the stall where he was retching over the toilet.  Steve grabbed a length of paper toweling and wet it at the sink.

Danny staggered out of the stall and silently accepted Steve’s offering, wiping his face and mouth.  He balled up the toweling and dropped it into the wastebasket, then rinsed his mouth at the sink, hands trembling on the faucet.

Steve waited, arms crossed, leaning against the door of the locker room.

“I’m sorry, Danny,” he said, when Danny finally turned off the water, leaning over the sink, his breath coming in ragged gasps.  “We’ll all understand if you need to sit this one out.”

It happened so fast that Steve flinched in surprise, Danny’s hand lashing out and shattering the mirror in front of him.

“Sit it out?  Why bother?  This fucking animal already destroyed my marriage, almost cost me my baby girl, not to mention the pile of pretty young corpses we processed.  Processed lots of bodies, Steve, but precious little evidence.  I’ll have them FedEx it to us, shouldn’t take much to send one fucking file box full of nothing useful,” Danny exploded.  “Sit this one out?  What, just do paperwork while I watch you and Chin run yourselves into the ground, while we all try to pretend that we aren’t worried sick about the possibility of this guy getting his hands on Kono?  While Max stacks up bodies in the morgue?  Bodies that no one claims?  Because this guy, this guy, Steve, he knows how to pick his victims.”

“Danny,” Steve sighed.  He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.  “Danny, we have -- we have resources here, we can cut through red tape.  If it is the guy --”

“Cigarette burns on the soles of their feet, Steve, do you have any idea --”

Danny stopped short at the flicker of emotion that Steve couldn’t mask quickly enough.  He met Steve’s gaze and held it.

“Yeah,” Steve said.  “We’re going to get this guy, Danny.  Now listen, the first thing we need to know -- is this personal?  With him and you?  Is he here, now, on Oahu, because you’re here?”

[euroman1945-blog]

The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Wednesday 4th July 2018

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. A very Happy 4th July to all our American reader, today is Independence Day … Independence Day or not, Bella still needs a walk first thing, so we set off under a star filled sky.. the hustle and bustle that is in Estepona in the day time, vanishes in the early hours of the morning and she and I are almost alone as we walk through the town, the odd cat or stray dog can be seen, along with a few cars driving to I have no idea, the trash truck driver toots his horn and he waves as he takes another load of plastic bags to the dump, we arrive at the ocean, almost stationary, just the occasional small wave washing up on the sands, we turn for home, me thinking about the man that had a country named after him that he never even discovered or saw for that matter, Amerigo Vespucci….

HOW DO YOU KEEP A POLAR BEAR CUB COOL IN 30C HEAT?....Measures have been taken to keep a polar bear cub cool after temperatures rose to more than 30C in Scotland. Six-month-old Hamish shares an enclosure with his mother Victoria at the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, near Aviemore. While Victoria knows how to keep herself cool, park staff were concerned the cub would not. As a result, during the day they have had to stay in a shaded area which is not visible to visitors. They have also been given blocks of ice with treats, such as pieces of fruit, frozen inside. In the evening, when it is cooler, the pair have been able to enter the rest of their enclosure.The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland-run park's two adult male bears, Arktos and Walker, have been cooling off in a pond in their enclosure. They have also been given treat-filled ice blocks. During a previous spell of hot weather, park staff said polar bears can experience high summer temperatures in areas of their natural habitat in Canada. Earlier this week, temperatures in Aviemore exceeded 30C. The high temperatures have also been felt widely across the UK, and polar bears at Doncaster's Yorkshire Wildlife Park also sought out the cool of a pond in their enclosure during the hottest periods of the past few days.

DUNDEE PENGUIN SCULPTURES IN POSITION FOR CHARITY PARADE…. A penguin parade of 80 individually-designed sculptures has gone on display in Tayside and Fife as part of a 10-week charity art trail. The 5ft-tall penguins have been designed by local artists with designs ranging from golfers to footballers. The trail, in aid of cancer charity Maggie's, follows on from 2016's Oor Wullie Bucket Trail which raised nearly £900,000 for a children's charity. A map, app and sticker book can be used to help people find the penguins. The sculptures will be auctioned at the V&A in September. The penguins can be spotted across Dundee as well as in Broughty Ferry, St Andrews, Newport on Tay, Perth, Kirriemuir and Brechin. The organisers of the trail are encouraging people to upload photos while posing with the penguins. Maps can be collected from locations across the city, including Discovery Point and the VisitScotland tourist information office in Dundee City Square. Penguin artist and Maggie's Art co-ordinator Suzanne Scott worked closely with students from Abertay University to develop a unique app feature for her "Maggie and Fleur" penguin positioned outside the university's library. Ms Scott said: "The augmented reality app brings to life the theme of family and exploring Dundee's hidden gems, gardens and green spaces." Famous faces such as Judy Murray, Simple Minds and Lorraine Kelly have also been involved in designing or sponsoring a penguin. Designs have been inspired by things like the history of Dundee and climate change - others involve Star Wars, pirates and sporting heroes. Maggie's Dundee centre fundraising manager Annie Long said: "It's wonderful to have our penguins in place and ready to be enjoyed by people from across the Dundee area and hopefully far beyond. "Maggie's relies almost entirely on voluntary donations to support people to live well with cancer, and while I know our penguins will raise a tremendous amount for Maggie's Dundee, what's so lovely is that the whole project has perfectly echoed the warmth and togetherness of a Maggie's Centre. "I know people will love them - they certainly never fail to make me smile!" (See pictures at The land Called Scotland https://www.facebook.com/groups/LandCalledScotland/ )

'WORLD'S FATTEST HEDGEHOG' PLACED ON DIET AND EXERCISE REGIME…. A hedgehog which it is thought could be the world's fattest has been placed on a strict diet and exercise regime. Weighing in at 2.335kg (5lbs) - about four times the size of a normal hedgehog - it was handed in to a rescue centre in Aberdeenshire. Now named Arbuckle, the hedgehog could barely walk or form a defensive ball. Keith Marley, of The New Arc Animal Rescue Centre, near Ellon, said: "He's about the size of a World Cup football, after overfeeding." Mr Marley said it was the heaviest hedgehog they could find a record of. He told the BBC Scotland news website: "We were really surprised by his size and weight, as the average is about 600g. "The person who contacted us said he was feeding hedgehogs but this one stayed and refused to go - this may well have been due to the fact he could hardly walk. "He will be fed a restricted diet which is filling, and scatter his food around for exercise. It will be a long, gradual process."

RABBIT FOUND UNDER BONNET DURING MOT…. A mechanic carrying out an MoT found something unexpected under the bonnet - a live rabbit. The car was being worked on at Newburgh Motors in Aberdeenshire when Dave Gordon saw something white behind the front grill. He assumed the driver had hit something, but then it started moving. The rabbit was rescued from under the bonnet, taken to a vet for a health check, and is now being cared for at Mr Gordon's home. He told the BBC Scotland news website: "I had put the Vauxhall Corsa up on the ramp, and noticed a white flash. "I thought they had hit something, until I saw it moving. "I got the rabbit out - I have never seen that happen before - and then took it to the vet after work. It didn't have a chip." He added: "We contacted the car owner who said there are sometimes wild rabbits in her garden but we just don't know if it's a house rabbit or a wild one. "It's now at my house with my other half spoiling it until we find an owner. "My dog Cooper isn't sure what to think."

SEABIRDS FOLLOWING OF FISHING BOATS STUDIED IN SCOTLAND…. Scientists have studied seabirds' following of fishing boats in Scotland to develop a system for the analysis of foraging trips by animals. The researchers applied their modelling framework to GPS tracked fulmars that hunt for fish around Orkney and off Scotland's north mainland coast. They were able to identify occasions when birds switched from foraging to following a boat. Fulmars did this to find the same fish as the trawlers or pick up discards. The birds were found to spend as little as 10 minutes to more than seven hours interacting with fishing boats. In a new research article for the Journal of Animal Ecology, the scientists said the framework could be applied to other animals that might switch from foraging to heading towards human activity that may offer the chance of a meal. Scientists from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Washington State University, University of Aberdeen's Lighthouse Field Station in Cromarty and Marine Scotland worked on the study.

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is of Hamish enjoying himself….

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Wednesday 4th July 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus #Scotland #Bear #Travel #News #Blog #Love

[ilaaer]

Everything You Wanted to Know About Food Pantries

Food pantries are kind of like the soup kitchens you may be picturing, and kind of not. Some do serve hot meals, but our primary goal is to provide your family with groceries that will last you at least part of the week. We're basically here to help fill in the gaps left by inconsistent or insufficient benefits, sudden unemployment or debt, homelessness, being a poor student, and generally having to live hand to mouth. Long post incoming.

If you often find yourself wondering "I have nothing in my fridge; what's the best way to stretch fifteen dollars until I get paid next week?", look us up. Seriously. If you are struggling, and if you've been raised in a culture that looks down on poverty and accepting aid I can promise you this: we never will. A lot of us have been where you are or know people who have been. A lot of us even understand that it's possible to own a smartphone and still need food assistance, because life and emergencies happen. Life is difficult. We're here to make it a little bit less. Pass the info on to anyone in your life you think it might help:

If Things Are Hard For You

Find the food pantry that serves your area. Whether or not you're accepted to be registered generally depends on whether you live in a town or county that this particular pantry covers. If one of the local pantries is full to capacity, they will usually direct you to another.

Find out what you need to register. This is going to vary by organization. Some will ask for proof of need (tax forms, etc) while others are fine with just something to establish your identity. This stuff is all confidential; the organization uses it to figure out how many people need to be fed, and to make sure people aren't registering more than once. Your employer, your family, and the government are not gonna find out.

Have a photo ID of some sort. This is the baseline pretty much everywhere. It's our best way of making sure the system runs smoothly because we need to keep track of households. If they let you register ahead of time, do so. If you don't see any way of doing that, bring what you need and ask to speak to the person in charge when you come in: they can sometimes register you on the spot.

Find out what time the pantry opens and closes. Often, it's better to show up a half hour before the official opening so you can get registered and settled in. The earlier you show up, the more choices you will have.

You don't have to show up consistently. The idea is that we're here when needed. If your life situation improves and you don't need to come anymore, we'll be cheering for you. If you're doing well when things suddenly take a turn for the worse, you can come back.

Remember: we are happy to be there for you. But if you still feel like you want to do something, you can volunteer your time and receive help.

If You'd Like to Help (Everyone)

Look up your local food pantry and show up. Literally walk through the door and we will find you a job 9 times out of 10. You don't need an appointment and you will not be beholden to come on a regular basis. Bring your kids, bring your friends.

If you can't stick around for an hour or two as a volunteer, ask the pantry manager if they need any pickups or deliveries done. We get a lot of donations from grocery stores, local bakeries, and food warehouses; sometimes we just need people to physically bring that into the pantry at the stat of the day.

We love bilingual and polyglot volunteers in particular. :D Every pantry is going to have at least some clients who are not fluent in English (or at all). And that's to be expected: we are a nation of immigrants after all. Your skills can really help clear up someone's confusion and—often times—make them feel welcome. I've never met a person who wasn't happy to see someone make the effort to speak to them in their mother tongue.

If You'd Like to Help: Advanced User's Guide

Consider straight donating money to the organization. I know literally nobody likes to do this, but it's important. The pantry managers can get really, really good deals by buying in bulk, especially on perishable items like meat that otherwise are not going to be donated to us. We can get a lot more value out of a dollar than the average person: one dollar in cash goes further than one dollar in pasta. Around this time of year you can donate to the local pantry organization or to the food bank (our supplier of subsidized goods) at the checkout counter of a grocery store.

Find out what's needed. Some pantries publish their most needed items on their website, or public fliers.

If you're donating nonperishables out of your own kitchen, check the expiration date first. A sealed sack of flour that's two months past due will probably still be okay. A can of beans from 2008 probably isn't. Use your best judgment. Make sure that whatever you're donating isn't open; we'll end up throwing it out.

Please don't donate homemade meals (unless told otherwise). Most places can't accept them. Sorry, it's just a liability for us since we can't be totally sure of what's in it. However, you can still volunteer your services at the soup kitchen and actually cook on-site.

So. Pass it on to your loved ones, pass it on to your neighbors, pass it on to anyone who needs help. Come find us if things are hard for you. Wrangle your local cub scouts together and pester your friends into coming. Help us feed everyone, and help us feed you.

[amandabct]

STUDIO - WEEK FIVE

Why Polar Bears

When I think of Polar Bears being endangered I automatically think it’s because of ice melting quicker or the sea levels rising rapidly, I don’t tend to think that maybe it is because they are eating plastic as a meal...

I wanted to see if others in my target audience were making the same assumptions. If so, could this mean this project will be more successful because the outlining fact will resonate with the user? Would this also add a connection to the disconnect between the user's actions here and polar bears in the Arctic?

I created a small multi-choice survey that I gave to 13 creative technology individuals and like I thought, 80% of individuals thought effects to the environment were the reason for their endangerment.

What do you believe is the leading cause of polar bear extinction?

A. Environment (sea levels rising and ice melting quicker)

B. Food source (limited food available and increased predators)

C. Human error (plastic pollution becoming a food source)

The only reason they are encountering this problem is because of our careless actions. We create so much single-use plastic waste, that our waste management system cannot handle it, that instead, we are letting it reach the polar bear territory. From the following photos, it isn’t individual pieces of rubbish washing up onshore, it is the dumping of large black bags of landfill. And inside the bags are plastics with the reminisce of food attached. 

Why Coffee Cups

I ran an observational study within Studio, where I just observed students' actions over the course of three days. I noticed that 60% of students throughout the day would use a disposable coffee cup. This led me to direct the project around a coffee cup - disposable and reusable alternatives. These people are going to be the ones that see this project at Showcase so why not cater it to an everyday action they do. This will get a better response in the end. 

Conceptual Research

The initial inspiration and concept were drawn from these three videos shown to me from Ben.

Firstly, the promotional video for the PS4 game, The Last Guardian. It is an action-adventure game, in which a boy befriends a giant half-bird, half mammal creature and they go on a journey together and overcome many obstacles. In the trailer, you see the creature get shot and fall to the ground. The use of music and slow tempo to the shot really emphasizes compassion and sadness to the creature, the boy and the audience. This sort of emotion is what we want to portray in the user in our project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cDuKShhQOA&t=2s  

Secondly, A video from BBC Studios and David Attenborough. This video follows the life of the mother polar bear raising her cubs in a threatening environment due to climate change. In the video, the food source is scarce, which means the family is weak. The audience invests so much time into following this polar bear and her family and then it skips and you see the mother weak and moments from death. This plays on the heartstrings and draws on the emotions of sadness, anger, and compassion with the audience. We want the user to invest in the project and develop emotions towards our polar bear and then when it dies the user can really have an ‘epiphany’. This sort of build-up and emotion play is very successful in creating change in the audience's actions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ4Ak2w1ZDU

This video shows a starving polar bear once again, but this time it is one bear on iceless land, walking in a very weak and fragile state. The video uses emotional music, powerful text, and slow-moving footage to really emphasize the point of the animal dying. The shots used are of it frothing in the mouth, falling as it walks and lying down which create really powerful scenes. I think this will be beneficial to take note of and use in our project as this type of footage will be very successful in our own project, to get the reaction and change we want. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JhaVNJb3ag

IMAGE REFERENCES

1. Meyer. R. (2017). The Arctic Ocean is clogging with billion of plastic bits. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/04/the-arctic-ocean-is-filling-with-billions-of-plastic-bits/523713/

2. Dickie. G. (2019). Feeing at a landfill. Retrieved from https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/polar-bears-plastic-diets-a-growing-problem/

3. Lumby. T. (2019). Two young cubs play with a sheet of plastic. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/polar-bears-play-plastic-svalbard-arctic-microplastics-pollution-a8444361.html

[englischlernenblog-blog]

Hurraaa=) Heute ist endlich Freitag und das heißt, dass man sich entspannen kann =) Der beste Weg den Freitagnachmittag zu verbringen, ist diese englischen Filme  zu schauen ))

9 Modern American Classics for Learning English with Movies

1. “The Social Network” (2010)

Story: Want to know the history behind the invention of Facebook? This story tells the story of the young Mark Zuckerberg, a geeky Harvard student, who wants to revolutionize the way we communicate with other people. The story shows how Zuckerberg accidentally finds fame and becomes a multi-millionaire – but there is a price.

2. “The Hangover” (2009)

Story: Four male friends go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party a couple of days before their friend’s wedding. It follows their wild adventures and how they find themselves in a lot of trouble. They find themselves in so much trouble, it’s unsure whether they are going to make it back in time for the wedding or not.

3. “The Hunger Games” (2012)

Story: This story is set in the future and set in a futuristic nation called Panem. Every year there are two people who are chosen to represent their district in the Hunger Games fight. Those who are chosen are done so by a lottery system. This follows the story of Katniss, a 16-year-old girl, from District 12. It shows her intense training and then how she is suddenly thrown into the fight to represent her area in the 74th annual hunger games.

4. “Toy Story” (1995)

Story: This is an animated (cartoon) movie that follows a young boy called Andy. Andy loves playing in his room with his toys. He especially loves to play with his action figure called Woody. When Andy disappears, the toys come to life. Andy’s mom gives him a new toy for his birthday which is called Buzz Lightyear, which becomes Andy’s new favorite toy to play with.

Woody feels hurt and is jealous of the attention Andy gives his new toy and as a result he tries to get rid of him. However, as the two toys begin to fight they get lost. This story follows their adventure and is full of action and a lot of laughs.

5. “Cast Away” (2000)

Story: This is an American adventure drama that follows Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), a systems analyst, who has to travel around the world fixing problems at Fedex centers. Chuck is called up at Christmas time to go to Malaysia on business and is forced to leave his girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt) behind.

His plane hits a terrible storm and it crashes somewhere into the Pacific Ocean. Chuck manages to escape the crashed plane and holds on to a life raft in the cold sea. Eventually he washes up onto a deserted island the next day. The story follows Chuck and his survival on the island and focuses on a ball he calls Wilson.

6. “(500) Days of Summer” (2009)

Story: This is not your typical love story. On January 8, a young architect called Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). He almost falls in love with her right away, and over the next few months they spend a lot of time together. Then hang out a lot even though Summer tells him she doesn’t believe in love.

7. “Twilight” (2008)

Story: Bella Swan, a teenager, has always been different from other teenagers. She never cared about being a part of the cool group of girls. When her mom remarries, Bella chooses to live with her dad in a small town in Washington. It’s a boring rainy town and nothing interesting ever happens until she meets a mysterious and very good-looking guy called Edward Cullen.

8. “The Break-up” (2006)

Story: Gary (Vince Vaughn) and Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) meet at a Chicago Cubs game. They’re attracted to each other immediately and Brooke loves Gary’s humor. They begin dating and soon buy a condo together. Gary is a bus tour operator and Brooke manages an art gallery. Their backgrounds are very different, and after living together they find out that they have different interests.

9. Forrest Gump (1994)

Story: The story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow-witted but kind-hearted, good-natured and athletically prodigious man from Alabama, who witnesses, and in some cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States; more specifically, the period between Forrest's birth in 1944 and 1982.

Viel Spaß!

[creativesage]

(via Overcoming Challenges Through Continuous Learning – Innovation Excellence)

By Janet Sernack

Last week, I went to a fantastically informative event, hosted by the Churchill Club, Melbourne. It was about “Developing the Tech Talent of the Future”. New technologies and shifting customer expectations are shifting the business game. In the same way, new platforms, products and services, business models and other emerging creative surprises are, disrupting the learning game. To promote this “sold out” event, The Churchill Cub shared “keeping up with our changing world of work requires access to continuous learning and micro-credentials to attain the bite-sized chunks of knowledge we need. It’s about access to the right content, at the right quantity and quality of choice, in the right time and context and, at the right price”.

How can organisations, academic institutions and especially schools ensure that people have the skills for today, to deliver these types of digital transformation? To also develop the skills required to surmount future challenges, so what then, is the role of continuous learning?

The world has turned upside down

According to Steve Blank, the 20th century was the golden age for corporations. Today, companies face five challenges they never had to deal with previously:

Challenge One – As companies are discovering every day, the web has changed everything.

Challenge Two – Large companies are dealing with start-up’s that are funded with unimaginable capital.

Challenge Three – Today, investors willingly fund start-ups to do anything on day one. Anything. Including break the law.

Challenge Four – In a start-up, 100% of the company is focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. In a large corporation, 99% of the company is focused on the execution of the current business model by building repeatable processes and procedures.

Challenge Five – In a start-up, if you win, it’s a payout of billions of dollars. In a large company, for the individual, there is no such payout.

A mismatch between supply and demand

So how do we redesign an approach to learning to continuously uncover and cultivate the emerging skills required to confront these challenges?

Where, The Churchill Club stated that already “our largest tech firms report that they are struggling to find the right talent and have resorted to recruiting overseas, or investing in internal boot-camps and academy training for those they do hire locally”.

One of the key points raised at the Churchill Club event, with tech industries represented by realestate.com, and carsales.com, is the growing mismatch between the supply and demand of skilled talent. Especially in developing the capability to design and deliver digital transformations.

If technology is now at the core of everything we do now and will be more so in the future, how can we ensure that talent will be open to continuous learning?  How can we resource them to develop the new and emerging skillsets, innovations and start-up business models to survive and thrive in a VUCA world?

A new model for education

Interestingly, the panel was hosted by Kee Wong, Managing Director, e-Centric Innovations. Who presented a new model of education, launching soon in Victoria. Aimed at “equipping our talented workforce with the skills required by our domestic tech industry, and more broadly to support our aspirations as a global tech city”.

Based on a simple eco-system concept, it links universities (flexible academic learning), with tech companies (onsite practical application) and content-rich, online learning platforms (data and knowledge). Designed to speedily close gaps between “theory” and “practice” by cultivating commercial acumen, via onsite real-world experiences and open the “glass doors” between experience and performance, and create the space for continuous learning.

New best practices

According to McKinsey, to make a digital transformation more likely to succeed they identified five “best practice categories” which link, essentially to the “basics”- leadership, capability building, empowerment tools, and communication, yet reframed and renewed for digital world success:

Having the right, digital-savvy leaders in place.

Building capabilities for the workforce of the future.

Empowering people to work in new ways.

Giving day-to-day tools a digital upgrade.

Communicating frequently via traditional and digital methods.

Their survey results confirm that developing talent and skills throughout the organization – a fundamental action for traditional transformations – is one of the most important factors for success in digital change efforts.

“Companies that can bridge the gap between the skills they currently have and the skills they’ll need in the future increase their odds of a successful digital transformation by 170%”.

Building core capability

A question raised at the event introduced the notion of defining a set of core capabilities, necessary, for talent success in any current, or likely future job role.

As I am deeply committed to continuous learning and have many years of experience in developing adult learning-based, corporate learning programs, I decided to explore this idea further.  When designing courses, I always centred the meta-design around defining an agreed set of desired core emotional states (feel), mindsets (think) and capabilities (act). I played with integrating this knowledge and skill-set, with my experience in designing corporate transformational leadership and innovation curriculum.  I then researched options as to what this might mean in light of the panel discussion and McKinsey categories and Steve Blanks perspective.

Creativity, agility, resilience, tenacity, and curiosity

Here’s what Steve Blank suggested: “I think innovation and entrepreneurship will become the liberal arts of the 21st century. With the nature of work changing, the core skills entrepreneurs need to know to become practitioners are actually core skills that everybody will need to know to get a job: creativity, agility, resilience, tenacity, curiosity”.

The new war with start-ups for talent

In the past, organisations, acquired university research via the transfer of technology, becoming magnets for the best and brightest students. In the upside-down world that is emerging, this is not always the case.

As evidenced by the high tech panelists at the Churchill Club event, “companies are no longer competing for this tech and talent with their corporate peers, but with start-ups”.

Remember – In a start-up, 100% of the company is focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. In a large corporation, 99% of the company is focused on the execution of the current business model by building repeatable processes and procedures. In a start-up, if you win, it’s a payout of billions of dollars. In a large company, for the individual, there is no such payout.

Emerging skills are evolving faster

The future will involve constant change and unpredictable disruption, being able to sense and respond to shifts as they appear, to thrive and flourish is crucial.

Here are some of our thought starters; what if your organisation invested in…

Adopting a systematic approach to identify, measure, and develop emerging skills, by building a learning culture that attracts and engages current as well as next-generation talent?

Embracing collaboration and applying eco-system approaches, that potentially link universities (flexible academic learning), with tech companies (onsite practical application) and content-rich, online learning platforms?

Developing digital-savvy and people-savvy leaders?

Developing a deeply connected core, through effective human interactions and communications, as well as through technology and digital channels?

Teaching talent how to cultivate and sustain creativity, agility, resilience, tenacity, curiosity?

Coaching talent to apply these core skills “on the job”, continuously learning how to enact the human and commercial acumen that organizations need to succeed?

[derekwebb-uktc]

It's Little Tiger Cubs Assessment Event Tonight!!!!! Today’s classes will take place INDOORS at Cowdenbeath Jujitsu Club The Fountain, 39 Broad St, Cowdenbeath KY4 8JP https://goo.gl/maps/x1ybBunehgr4U6rS6 PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE USE OF FACE COVERINGS IN OUR VENUES HAVE BEEN TIGHTENED AND WE MUST WEAR THEM UNLESS WE ARE TRAINING. The class schedule will be 5:30 Family Taekwon-do and Little Tigers (Suitable for ALL students) 6:30 Family Taekwon-do (Suitable for Active Tigers and all other students) Please BOOK before you arrive, you cannot take part in training without it (One per student training). https://dwuktcclasses.myfitnessclass.com/ When you arrive at the venue please follow this process - Please park at the front of the building or at the back of the building adjacent to the building, do not use the bowling club carpark. - Access to our training room is round the back of the building and up the stairs - Your temperature will be taken by the building management, please comply fully with this, if you have a high temperature you will not be allowed to proceed to the training area - Any student wishing to attend an Indoor session MUST be booked in. -All students MUST use the hand gel provided at the start and end of session. -15mins break in between each session to allow for safe exit of students and for instructors to clean all equipment and training area. Please don’t arrive more than 5mins prior to your booking slot. -We have limited numbers in each class due to social distancing and government guidelines so please be patient as students may have to be moved around slightly. - If for any reason you need to cancel your booking, please inform your instructor at least 24hrs before (where able) to allow the space to be filled. - Little Tiger Cubs 1 PARENT can be present but MUST wear a mask throughout the class and keep socially distanced at all times. -Active Tigers & Taekwondo students will have a drop off and pick up system. Parents will not be allowed to stay in hall. (Masks MUST be worn when entering or dropping off in the building). (at Cowdenbeath Jujutsu) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIh3eUxAT4A/?igshid=vm017qwn747

[rickhorrow]

10 To Watch : Mayors Edition 6319

RICK HORROW’S TOP 10 SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 3 : Mayor’s Edition

with Jacob Aere

Chipotle integrates Twitter and text for free burritos during the NBA Finals. According to Mobile Marketer, Chipotle is giving away up to $1 million in free burritos as part of a mobile promotion running around the NBA Championship. The catch is that every time any announcer – including sideline reporters – says "free" on-air during the first half of official league game coverage, the restaurant chain will offer up to 500 burritos. For the second half of games, mentions of "free" will result in 1,000 burritos up for grabs. The key to success is staying on Chipotle’s Twitter channel where the company will put out unique codes to be texted for code redemption. The giveaway is capped to the first 20 on-air mentions of "free" per game, meaning that there is potential for 20,000 burrito giveaways per game! The "Freeting" campaign also waives delivery fees for orders of $10 or more placed through Chipotle's app, website, and DoorDash. Although Chipotle is not an official NBA sponsor, the guerilla campaign is drawing hundreds of thousands of hungry basketball fans through the power of social media and “second screen viewing.”

Stanley Cup Finals seeing strong viewership. According to NBC Sports, the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues Game 1 matchup was the most-watched Stanley Cup game in four years. The matchup on NBC saw the network reel in an average Total Audience Delivery of 5.380 million viewers. It was third-most watched Game 1 since NBC began broadcasting the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 and even beat out the ever-popular “The Bachelorette.” Comparatively, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals was up 2% compared to last year and a whopping 9% compared to 2017. On NBC alone, the game delivered a 2.87 HH rating and 5.264 million TV-only viewers. The title-hungry city of St. Louis led all markets with a 29.0 local rating, NBC Sports’ highest NHL rating on record in the market, while Boston scored a 25.2 rating. The series should draw consistently high numbers considering the Cinderella story Blues are taking on the behemoth Bruins, who posted 49 regular season wins and are the favorite for most bettors to take the Cup. 

USGA increases purses for both men and women at respective U.S. Opens. According to Golf Channel, last year’s men’s winner Brooks Koepka took home $2.16 million from a $12 million purse at Shinnecock Hills. This year at Pebble Beach, the winner will look to bring home roughly $2.25 million. Meanwhile, the total purse was increased to $5.5 million for the U.S. Women's Open at Country Club of Charleston. Last year, Ariya Jutanugarn took home $900,000 for her first place finish while this year’s winner Jeongeun Lee6 will take home a seven figure number for the first time. Out of this year’s $5 million purse for the revamped, season-ending LPGA CME Group Tour Championship, the first place finisher will receive $1 million, or roughly 20% of the purse, compared to the men’s winner, who cashes in a larger number but a smaller share of total prize money at 18%. The LPGA is clearly making strides to put its athletes on a closer pay scale to that of their male counterparts.

VISA invests in women’s soccer on the eve of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. According to Forbes, VISA revealed it would partner with both the Women’s and Men’s U.S. National Teams eight days before the Women’s World Cup begins in France. The terms of the deal ensured “at least 50%” of the investment would fund the U.S. Women’s National Team and women’s soccer programs and surrounding marketing efforts, meaning the deal will provide a much-needed spotlight on the stellar U.S. women's team.  The deal will see VISA become the presenting sponsor of the SheBelieves Cup, an annual four-team international invitational tournament in the U.S. Additionally, a new U.S. marketing campaign from VISA will feature World Cup squad members Adrianna Franch, Jessica Mcdonald, Rose Lavelle, Abby Dahlkemper, and Becky Sauerbrunn. USWNT co-captain Megan Rapinoe will join VISA’s roster of athletes and the financial services brand will be the first brand partner of the Player of the Match award at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. After U.S. women’s soccer players sued U.S. Soccer over gender inequality in pay this March, VISA is providing a helping hand for the three-time world champion USWNT.

The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation unveiled a multisport, synthetic turf Youth Development Park on May 28 in Chicago’s Dunning neighborhood. Read-Dunning Park is lined for youth baseball/softball and soccer play and is now complete with a digital scoreboard, backstop, dugouts, and fencing. Chicago Parks District will manage and maintain the field and work closely with the Ripken Foundation to create programs to engage at-risk young people. The programs will address a variety of youth development needs, including character development, health, physical education, culture, and history. Read-Dunning Park was made in part by a generous $5 million donation to the Ripken Foundation from Group1001 and its CEO Dan Towriss, used to build a total of 10 Youth Development Parks over five years in 10 cities across the country. It is also supported by Chicago Cubs Charities and other local donors. To date, the Ripken Foundation has completed 84 multipurpose synthetic turf facilities in 22 states and Washington D.C. Read-Dunning Park is the second Ripken Foundation Youth Development Park, joining Freedom Field at Marquette Park located near Chicago’s South Side. The facility will be featured on a future episode of our monthly “Power of Sports” program, which explores Detroit in June.

Publisher Meredith Corp. sells Sports Illustrated to Authentic Brands Group for $110 million. Authentic Brands Group is the brand-development company that manages Juicy Couture, Nautica, and elements of the Muhammad Ali and Elvis Presley estates. Meredith took on Sports Illustrated as part of its purchase of Time Inc. in January, 2018 for $1.85 billion plus debt. According to Variety, Authentic Brands now owns the rights to market, develop, and license Sports Illustrated and its kids edition, swimsuit edition, “Sportsperson of the Year,” and the magazine's sports archive. In a wide-ranging discussion, CEO of Authentic Brands Jamie Salter said that he envisioned possibilities ranging from SI medical clinics and sports-skills training classes to a gambling business and better use of the magazine’s vast photo library. The sale moves Meredith close to the end of its effort to sell various Time Inc. assets and allows SI to reinvent itself for the digital age to compete with companies like The Ringer, Bleacher Report, and Barstool Sports.

NBC and Indianapolis 500 see TV viewership gains in their first year. NBC drew a total audience delivery of 5.446 million viewers for Simon Pagenaud's win in the Indianapolis 500, the first time the net had broadcast rights to the race. According to SportsBusiness Journal, last year’s race was a record low on ABC TV which averaged 4.913 million viewers. The 2019 audience peaked at 6.7 million viewers in the final quarter hour of the race, and drew a TV-only number of 5.414 million viewers and marks the most-watched Sunday afternoon sporting event on NBC since the Eagles-Bears NFC Wild Card game on January 6. NBC is in the first year of a multiyear broadcasting contract with Indy and significantly increased advertising efforts for the Indy 500 compared to ABC’s handling of the race in recent years. These are the baby steps for NBC and Indy, which are looking to attract younger audiences in a sport that has seen heavy viewership regression in recent years.

Las Vegas Raiders tickets selling well enough to add $40 million to stadium. Las Vegas Stadium COO Don Webb said that about $40 million more will be put into the stadium as the team has sold many personal seat licenses, stadium suites, club seats, and sponsorships. The additional money will help finance more suites, exterior restrooms, increased plaza security, and press areas and an enhanced stadium communications system. One of the enhanced areas will be a 26,000-square-foot "south end zone club space that would hold around 800 fans,” according to Las Vegas Stadium COO Don Webb. SportsBusiness Journal reports that the Raiders are in the final stages of completing a comprehensive transportation plan that will boost available parking significantly as the team has been acquiring nearby real estate to turn into more parking availability for fans. The Vegas Raiders will play in a $1.8 billion dome that sports a transparent roof, black glass exterior, and retractable doors to frame an 80-foot-tall and 215-foot wide view of the casinos on the strip, making it one of the most visually stunning North American stadiums to date.

“Jeopardy!” champion and pro sports bettor starts donating his wins to charity. With 31 wins in his column so far, “Jeopardy!” champion and pro sports bettor James Holzhauer has started donating his winnings to charity. According to CNN, the 35-year-old professional gambler from Las Vegas recently became the second Jeopardy contestant ever to hit $2 million in winnings. With his total of $2,382,580 earned in 31 days, he's closing in on Ken Jennings' record haul of $2,520,700 won in 74 games. Earlier this month, Holzhauer and his wife gave $10,000 to Project 150, which is a charity that helps homeless students in Las Vegas by distributing school supplies, meals, and clothes. The Holzhauers also donated $10,000 to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, and the couple’s most recent donation is $10,000 towards an educational charity called Communities in Schools of Nevada, a state branch of a national organization that works to prevent students from dropping out of school. Through all of his “Jeopardy!” success, Holzhauer has become one of Las Vegas' most celebrated citizens, receiving a key to the Las Vegas Strip and having Clark County officials declare May 2 "James Holzhauer Day.”

The second annual AO1 Charity Softball Game raised $500,000 in Philadelphia. Carson Wentz’ charity softball game and its overwhelming fundraising may hint at a new golden age for Philadelphia sports. After the Eagles’ quarterback led his team to a Super Bowl title this past February and Bryce Harper joined the Phillies, sports in Philly are looking up. Although he did not play in the softball game, Wentz was working in his food truck, Thy Kingdom Crumb, to distribute free shrimp po’ boys and pulled pork sandwiches to ticket holders – something it does normally as the charitable food truck has delivered more than 8,000 free meals to those in need. According to Billy Penn, more than 15,000 fans came out to watch football players hit softballs, all in support of Wentz’s AO1 Foundation’s mission of “uplifting individuals and communities around the world by demonstrating God’s love for His people.” Playing at Citizens Bank Park, the quarterback also announced Camp Conquerors, an outdoor ministry program that introduces hunting and fishing to in-need children. Between Carson Wentz and the now-retired Chris Long, the Eagles have one of the most charitable presences among all American sports teams.