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menuandprice · 1 year

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Outback Steakhouse Drinks Menu

Outback Steakhouse Drinks Menu

➽ Outback Steakhouse has a distinctive range of beverages on its menu. It also offers hot tea, hot coffee, lemonade and many more drinks. ➽ Pick the perfect date to go to Outback Steakhouse and indulge in your Outback favourites with your loved ones! ➽ The drink menu at Outback Steakhouse has non-alcoholic beverages such as tea, coffee, coke, lemonade, Hi-C and more.

➽ As well as cocktails such as blueberry kiwi strawberry, lemonade with lavender, and others. Various beers are available such as Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, etc. ➽ Also, you can have white wine or red wine such as Prosecco, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and many more. You can get all of these beverages for less than $40. ➽ There are many other drinks available, along with the price. ➽ Look at the table below for a more detailed menu of drinks.

Outback Steakhouse Drinks Menu With Prices

Drinks Menu Prices Outback Steakhouse Cocktails Sauza Gold Coast ‘Rita $ 7 Blackberry Martini $ 7 Strawberry Kiwi ‘Rita $ 7 Blueberry Lavender Lemonade $ 7 Aussie Rum Punch $ 7 Boozy Cherry Limeade $ 7 The Wallaby Darned $ 7 Outback Steakhouse Top Notch ‘Tails Top Shelf ‘Rita $ 10.79 Blackberry Sangria $ 7.29 Naturally Skinny ‘Rita $ 7.49 Fully Loaded Bloody Marry $ 7.29 Strawberry Peach Sangria $ 7.29 Castaway Cocktail $ 7.49 Blood Orange ‘Rita $ 9.79 Down Under Mule $ 8.29 Outback Old Fashioned $ 10.29 Huckleberry Hooch Moonshine $ 8.29 Sydney’s Cosmo $ 7.49 Strawberry Mojito $ 7.79 Boomarita $ 7.99 Outback Steakhouse Coldies On Tap Drinks Middy Big Bloke Bloomin’ Blonde Ale $ 4.00 $ 5.00 Bud Light $ 5.00 $ 6.00 Stella Artois $ 7.00 $ 8.00 Foster’s Lager $ 5.00 $ 6.00 Samuel Adams Boston Lager $ 6.00 $ 7.00 Samuel Adams Seasonal $ 6.00 $ 7.00 Outback Steakhouse Bottles & Tinnies Craft Middy Big Bloke Blue Moon Belgian $ 4 $ 5 Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Hard Cider $ 4 $ 5 American Middy Big Bloke Budweiser $ 4 $ 5 Bud Light $ 4 $ 5 Coors Light $ 4 $ 5 Michelob Ultra $ 4 $ 5 Miller Lite $ 4 $ 5 Aussie Middy Big Bloke Foster’s 25.4 oz Oil Can $ 4 $ 5 Imported Middy Big Bloke Corona Extra $ 4 $ 5 Modelo Especial $ 4 $ 5 Dos Equis XX Lager $ 4 $ 5 Heineken $ 4 $ 5 Newcastle Brown Ale $ 4 $ 5 Non-Alcoholic Middy Big Bloke O’Doul’s $ 4 $ 5 Outback Steakhouse White Wines White 6 oz Bottle Prosecco(Sparkling Wine),La Marca, Italy $ 7.29 $ 30.00 White Zinfandel, Sutter Home, California $ 5.99 – Rosé, Chloe, California $ 7.49 $ 29.00 Moscato, Jacob’s Creek, Australia $ 6.29 $ 24.00 Riesling, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington $ 6.49 $ 25.00 Pinot Grigio, Ecco Domani, Italy $ 6.79 $ 26.00 Sauvignon Blanc,Francis Coppola Yellow Label, CA $ 7.49 $ 29.00 Chardonnay, World’s Edge, Australia $ 5.99 $ 23.00 Chardonnay, Cupcake, California $ 7.49 $ 29.00 Chardonnay, Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve, CA $ 9.29 $ 36.00 Outback Steakhouse Red Wines Red 6 oz Bottle Pinot Noir, Mirassou, California7.79 $ 7.29 $ 28.00 Pinot Noir, La Crema, California $ 8.79 $ 34.00 Merlot, Red Diamond, Washington $ 6.49 $ 25.00 Red Blend, Apothic, California $ 7.49 $ 29.00 Shiraz, Jacob’s Creek Reserve, Australia $ 7.79 $ 30.00 Cabernet Sauvignon, World’s Edge, Australia $ 5.59 $ 23.00 Cabernet Sauvignon, 14 Hands, Washington $ 6.79 $ 26.00 Cabernet Sauvignon, Francis Coppola Ivory Label, CA $ 9.29 $ 36.00 Cabernet Sauvignon, The federalist, California $ 8.99 $ 35.00 Outback Steakhouse Non-Alcoholic Drinks Strawberry Lemonade $ 3.79 Kiwi Strawberry Lemonade $ 3.79 Aussie Palmer $ 3.79 Lemonade $ 3.79 Coke $ 3.79 Diet Coke $ 3.79 Sprite $ 3.79 Hi-C $ 3.79 Acqua Panna $ 3.79 San Pellegrino $ 3.79 Dr. Pepper $ 3.79 Coffee $ 3.79 Tea $ 3.79 Coke (Zero sugar) $ 3.79 ➽ If you’d like to enjoy bespoke dishes from Outback Steakhouse, try cocktails such as Saua Gold Coast ‘Rita, strawberry kiwi, blackberry martini “Rita,” Aussie Rum Punch, etc. ➽ The darned wallaby cocktail is a wintry mix of La Marca Prosecco, peaches and SVEDKA. If you want to try OZ-style, you can include an additional splash with La Marca Prosecco. ➽ Boozy Cherry Lemonade contains black cherries mixed with Bacardi lime-infused rum and Sprite. ➽ The filled Bloody Marry has Tito’s handmade Absolute vodka mixed with a full-on Bloody Marry mix. ➽ This Castaway cocktail is a fantastic mix of Cruzan Passion Fruit Rum, Absolute mandarin vodka, Malibu coconut Rum, pineapple juice Blood orange sour. Also, make a strawberry mojito, Boomarita, Sydney’s cosmo. ➽ You can try a middy or a large beer bloke from Outback Steakhouse. The most popular choices include Bloomin Blonde Ale, Bud Light, Foster’s Lager and more. ➽ There is a variety of craft, American, Aussie, imported, and non-alcoholic beer. Blue Moon Belgian soft cider and angry orchard craft beer can be enjoyed while dining at the Outback Steakhouse. ➽ The wine menu at Outback Steakhouse is segregated into red wine and white wine. This restaurant’s most well-known white wines include Prosecco, White Zinfandel, Moscato and Pinot Grigio and numerous others. ➽ You could consist of Mirassou, MerlotRed Diamond and Cabernet Sauvignon for red wines. Many non-alcoholic beverages include kiwi strawberry lemonade, Aussie palmer and tea. Outback Steakhouse Drinks Nutritional ➽ Read the nutritional information of this drink from the link shown in the table below. Nutritional Information outback.com/nutrition/

FAQs – Outback Steakhouse Drinks

Does Outback have chocolate martinis? ➽ There are 100 calories in an Espresso Infused Vodka and White Chocolate Martini from Outback. Does Outback serve whiskey? ➽ A classic favorite, Jameson® Irish Whiskey is topped with ginger ale and served on the rocks. Does Outback have Coke? ➽ Try one of our ice-cold Coca-Cola products, Gold Peak Tea, or a refreshing Country Style lemonade! How much is lemonade in Outback? ➽ Strawberry Lemonade $3.19 What kind of drinks do they have at Outback? - Favorite Outback boozy beverages to go! - Long Island Iced Tea for Two. $12.50. - Castaway Cocktail for Two. $12.50. - NEW! Sauza Gold Coast ‘Rita for Two. - Strawberry Peach Sangria for Two. $12.50. - Blackberry Sangria for Two. $12.50. - Aussie Rum Punch for Two. $12.50. - Huckleberry Hooch Moonshine for Two. - Bloomin’ Blonde Growler. Does Outback Steakhouse have margaritas? ➽ Sauza® Gold Coast ‘Rita® Our proprietary house margarita made with Sauza® Gold Tequila. What kind of soda does Outback have? ➽ You can also have hot coffee, tea, lemonade, and other drinks. - Non-Alcoholic Drinks. - Strawberry Lemonade $ 3.79 - Aussie Palmer $ 3.79 - Lemonade $ 3.79 - Coke $ 3.79 - Diet Coke $ 3.79 Does Outback Steakhouse have strawberry daiquiris? ➽ It’s our Cocktail of the Month! All February, you can enjoy a Strawberry Daiquiri for only $10. Available to customers 18+ only, outback Steakhouse practices the responsible service of alcohol. Find here: Outback menu with prices The post Outback Steakhouse Drinks Menu appeared first on ❤️ UPDATED 2023. Read the full article

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tuscanwalker · 2 years

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Sept 22, 2022: Viterbo

Laundry and Sightseeing

No great dinner story last night as my stomach was uncooperative. I decided to forgo a meal and draw on the generous reserves I keep around my waist for a prolonged famine or the zombie apocalypse. Kim went out and grabbed a panini and we crashed at the hotel and watched some Netflix (which also crashed - bad wifi).

Up early this morning, no better, but at least no worse on the cold front. Off to breakfast at 7 and then laundry, not because we needed to, but because there was one a block away. Like old men and bathrooms, you never pass one up when it is available because you never know when the next one will be.

After our third cappuccino of the morning, time to have a look around. We wandered up into the medieval quarter know as the Quartiere San Pellegrino named after the Irish hermit of the Apennines who is the patron Saint of pilgrims. He is simply know as Saint Pilgrim because no one knows his actual name (always a hazard if you are a holy hermit).

In one large square is the impressive but somewhat plain Cathedrale of San Lorenzo. He is traditionally said to have given away the weath of the church to the poor and been Martyred by roasting on a gridiron over hot coals. After a long period of obvious pain and suffering he is reported to have declared “It is well done. Turn me over.” This may account for his ironic choice as Patron Saint of cooks and firefighters (and some sources say comedians). Historians agree he was more likely beheaded, but I like this version. The church was undergoing repair/restoration, so it’s already plain interior was shrouded in plastic and had many of its treasures in storage.

Next to the church (and attached to it) is the 13th century Papal Palace. It was built in 1257, when Alexander VI moved the Papal Curia here to escape the squalor and lawlessness that was medieval Rome. It intermittently housed 8 different Popes and at least three of these were elected by conclaves that took place in the Palace. These conclaves became famous for violence, political intimidation and the kidnapping of several cardinals. In 1281, immediately after his election, Martin IV abandoned Viterbo and returned the Curia to Rome. The most striking part of the palace is the beautiful loggia that overlooks the city and has been used in films by a Fellini and Orsen Welles.

After a nondescript lunch, we decided to go to the Etruscan museum. To those who do not know us well, this might seem an odd choice. However, thanks largely to Nancy Cuelenaere, we relieve the monotony on walking days by listening to university survey courses, mostly history (I know that sounds like boredom layered upon boredom). The first course we listened to this trip was 24 lectures on the history of the Etruscans, so the museum was an obvious choice. It was actually quite good, with lots of English descriptions and, because it was limited to just the Etruscans and their conquest by the Romans, the boredom was at least not so confusing.

Anyway, glass of wine, back to the hotel to write this blog and then off to our dinner reservation at La Chimera recommended by Bob from Vancouver. Bob is an old friend (not a long time friend, just one who is really old😊) who walked here in the spring.

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power-chords · 3 years

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Post-trip round-up, integration, thoughts (cut for length & some Heavy Shit)

WOW I needed that and I am so glad I realized I needed that. It has been well over ten years since I last took LSD, and my reluctance to indulge in psychedelics again was rooted in a long and complicated history that I don't really need to hash out here, but doing a mild dose of mushrooms last weekend gave me the confidence and conviction that I was ready.

Would it have been wiser to take a less bonkers dose for the first time in a decade plus? Probably! Do I regret a single moment of it? Not a whit! It's tough to overstate just how powerful, therapeutic, and restorative a good acid trip is, even an occasionally intense, uncomfortable one. I do not recommend eating multiple tabs of extremely good blotter on your first rodeo, but Adam's even more of a veteran psychonaut than I am, so I was 1000% well cared for, totally safe, and in a comfortable, familiar environment. In that setting, and in a positive frame of mind, acid is not going to throw anything at you that you are not equipped to handle. I would love to make this an annual or biannual thing.

The cool, funny, wacky delightful stuff:

Put it under my tongue at 10 AM-ish. Went to go listen to some music and doodle until it kicked in. I forgot that the come-up is like, do not make any fucking plans involving hand-eye coordination LMAO. I was trying to doodle Bowery Ballroom in an old sketchbook, and that devolved quickly. The markers were old so some of the caps were really stuck on there, and I wound up devolving into fits of laughter from the absurdity of pulling the caps off with my teeth.

Ink stains on my hands started writhing and trailing and were very cool. That was the first thing I noticed. I got very sad that I stopped drawing and making art, which was something I did all my life and almost went to school for but stopped doing as an adult. And then I realized I could start drawing again any time if I wanted to, and I didn't have to be GOOD at it or a proper artist for it to be worthwhile and fun. Felt immediately happy again.

Adam decided to watch Lethal Weapon???? I was like, Don't Like That. Even though he had headphones on and I couldn't hear anything. I am ambivalent about screens at best when I'm tripping, and at worst I don't even want to be in the same room with them. Guns and violence seemed comically, brutally stupid. Turned my back to the TV and continued drawing and writing until I could no longer hold a pen. Eventually Adam got on my wavelength and was like yeah, this is too much! (He took like, twice the dose that I did. I have no idea how he was even able to talk to me, but he managed!)

Felt the need to message Liana while peaking, picked up my phone, and saw that she had already sent me this:

I thought that was HILARIOUS (tbh it actually was, and it was not just the acid talking)

For the first few hours of teeth-grinding, reality-shearing intensity, Adam and I mostly lounged in bed with the shades pulled all the way up and the window open, cuddling and petting Ernie. Fantastic bonding experience for the whole fam.

Looking at every surface in the apartment became like looking at a stained glass ceiling, or an infinite mandala, or the muddied rainbows in oil-slicked puddles. It looked like Ernie's fur was breathing and someone had colored all over the white parts of him with a highlighter. Adam agreed with this assessment. Formica on the kitchen counters was bananas. So were the trees outside, rippling like celluloid and brighter green than I had ever seen them.

The two of us spent a good 15 minutes doubled over with laughter because Adam suggested a contraption for funneling Fancy Feast directly into Ernie's mouth, kind of like shotgunning a beer

Adam: "I can't believe I used to to this and get on the subway and try to do things with people." Me: "What? How did you even figure out how to get from Point A to Point B?" Adam: "I mean, we didn't, really. We usually got lost. It was fine, though." Truly, it's about the friends you make along the way!

The second half of the trip, when things are starting to mellow out a bit, is when you become a real rock star. I went outside for a walk around the neighborhood, and to sit in the park with my headphones on while watching kids play on the playground, and it was ECSTATIC. I was just overjoyed. My face still hurts from smiling.

Forgot that I needed money to realize my goal of obtaining a popsicle, so I had to detour back into the apartment and explain all of this to my husband before resuming the popsicle quest. He thought it was very funny, but sympathized.

Fresh air, popsicles and San Pellegrino on acid. On another level! 100/10.

Bathrooms still universally suck, LOL. -10/10. Not a fan of that bathroom while tripping face! Every time I had to pee it was like WELL here we go again into the Pink Squirming Hell Chamber (I am making this sound like more of a big deal than it actually was)

15 HOURS. 15 HOURS Jesus Christ lmao I did not stop seeing weird shit on screens and surfaces until like 1 AM. And even then, if I stared long enough, funky colors and patterns would re-emerge. It's a commitment. I feel happy and refreshed, but also totally exhausted. Definitely have to budget a full weekend of No Plans for any future trips.

The Heavy Shit:

There is some Cronenberg-level body horror right before the visuals get super rainbow-stained and stereotypically psychedelic, which sounds bad, but I promise it isn't. It's watching the veins pulse under your skin and change into very saturated colors, pores and hair and scars become very defined and wiggly, and as someone who has so much bodily anxiety related to my alopecia/IBS, it was weirdly... freeing? You get to experience all this stuff in an entirely new frame of mind, shedding judgment and old thought ruts. I remember thinking, "I do not need to feel shame about my body," and letting go of so much baggage.

At some point mid-afternoon I decided to retrieve my phone from the drawer again, and saw that I had a missed call and a voicemail from my dad. I decided to play it back, and he was just phoning to tell me that he was listening to a live version of "Sally Simpson" and Keith was doing this thing where he wasn't even touching the cymbals, and had I listened to that specific performance before and noticed the same thing, and wasn't he truly the greatest drummer that ever lived? "Anyway, no need to call me back, just wanted to let you know. I love my bubbie!" (His term of endearment for me.) And I went to go sit in bed and weep for a straight 15 minutes, the most cleansing, purging cry you could possibly imagine, while Adam hugged me and rubbed my back. I was overwhelmed, overcome by this feeling of cosmic Love and Connection with my family and my husband and all of my friends.

I had been sitting on and burying so much fear and distress from the past 18 months, the chronic, low-grade trauma that was worrying if COVID was going to kill my father, my best friend and closest confidante and the one person on earth who I feel truly Gets Me on a spiritual level, and all of that came out. Fully processed and released every ounce of grief. What replaced it was the absolute, unshakable faith that no matter what happens — including my greatest fear, which is inevitable, no matter how far off it may be — he will always be with me, and a part of me, in the music we both love, and I will never, ever lose that.

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spine-buster · 4 years

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The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 1

A/N: To celebrate William “Thirst Trap” Nylander’s birthday last Friday, I’m going to do a double post this week! (Also maybe because he’s technically not in this chapter). Make sure you set your clocks for Thursday at 7:30pm cause that’s when I’ll post Chapter 2. Chapter 3 will then proceed next Monday on our regular once-a-week schedule.

September 3rd, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was still looking for a job.

She was still sending out her resume to companies. She was still making follow-up phone calls. She was still creating alert notifications for jobs she’d be interested in. She was still going for interviews. She was still shaking hands and thanking people for their time. She was still writing follow-up thank you emails. She was still getting rejection calls. She was still submitting work to writing contests and magazines. She was still getting “It’s not what we’re looking for right now” emails.

She sighed.

So maybe getting the dream gig was harder than she thought.

It wasn’t like the bank had let her go. She was still earning something to keep her afloat, but it was the bank. It wasn’t writing, it wasn’t anything else. It was the same stuff every single day and Aberdeen was starting to resent it. She didn’t move downtown to stay a bank teller. She moved downtown to start her career, and this was not starting her career.

But then a phone call came on Sunday – peculiar, she thought, since it was a long weekend and had expected everybody and their mothers to be at a cottage – asking if she wanted to come in for an interview. To MLSE. For the personal assistant job. Aberdeen didn’t even remember applying to MLSE. But she was desperate, so she said yes, and now she found herself looking in the mirror with her best “interview outfit” on ready to ace it.

She took a deep breath. She could do this. She packed her bag, made sure she had her wallet at keys, and left the condo, deciding to walk the short way to 50 Bay Street so she could pick up breakfast on the way. Even while eating the ham and swiss sandwich, she could feel the butterflies in her stomach – it didn’t calm her nerves at all. For some reason, she felt like this was her last chance to build something towards her career. If she didn’t, she’d be stuck bank-telling forever. When she stood outside the doors of 50 Bay Street, she took a deep breath before walking in.

“When you arrive, tell the receptionist you are looking for Frances Munro” the woman on the other line had told her when she called for the interview. As she approached the receptionist, she tried to look as confident as possible. “Hi, my name is Aberdeen Bloom. I’m here for an interview with, um, Frances Munro?”

“Aberdeen Bloom?” another voice called out.

Aberdeen looked up to see another woman lurking in the back, a clipboard in hand, dressed impeccably well. “Yes. Hi.”

The woman looked at her. Aberdeen could see her give a quick up-down. “Great. Human resources certainly has an odd sense of humour,” she quipped, chuckling for nobody but herself. “Follow me.”

Aberdeen did as she was told, giving a polite nod to the receptionist who was already ignoring her. She circled around the desk and followed Frances, who walked through the door but didn’t hold it open. “Okay, so I was Brendan’s personal assistant but I recently got promoted so now I’m looking for someone else,” Frances explained.

“Oh, so you’re replacing yourself.”

“Well, I’m trying to. We tried to be proactive and hire early but the last two Brendan sacked after only a few weeks. We need to find someone who can survive here – who can survive Brendan’s schedule and survive the pressure of the Leafs. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” Aberdeen looked around awkwardly. “Who is Brendan?”

“What?” Frances stopped dead in her tracks to look back at Aberdeen. “Oh my God, I will pretend did not just ask me that – Brendan Shanahan, he’s the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs,” she practically hissed at her, continuing her walk. “Not to mention a hockey legend. If you work a year for him you can get a job in any adjacent field you want – sports, media, journalism, writing, whatever. A million people would kill for this job.”

Writing. Writing. WRITING!!!!! Alarm bells were going off in Aberdeen’s ears. “It sounds like a great opportunity. I’d love to be considered.”

Frances giggled, pushing her clipboard up to cover the smile on her face. They had stopped in front of a series of doors and Aberdeen felt like she was going to have to pick the one without the tiger in it. “Aberdeen…the Toronto Maple Leafs are a hockey club. An interest in hockey…even just a little bit, is crucial,” she explained condescendingly. Aberdeen wondered how someone like this could even get promoted. “Do you play hockey?

“No.”

“Do you watch hockey?”

“No.”

Frances looked shocked. “Do you know who the Toronto Maple Leafs are?”

“Of course I know who the Toronto Maple Leafs are,” Aberdeen huffed. “I just don’t…I mean, I don’t…”

“If I put a picture of Mats Sundin in front of you right now could you pick him apart from Wendel Clark or Doug Gilmour?”

There was an awkward pause. “Are those Mr. Shanahan’s right-hand men?”

“Oh my God,” Frances muttered under her breath. “Have you ever been to a game?”

“Yes.”

“Are you lying?”

“No – no, I’m not lying,” Aberdeen said quickly. “One of my friends – her dad gets tickets through clients or whatever. I’ll go to maybe one a year with her family. But it’s not – I’m not like…the experience is fun.”

Before Frances could respond with something that was ruder than the last thing she said, her phone let out a really loud notification. She balanced the clipboard on one hand as she took out her phone. But as she looked at the message on the screen, her face dropped. “Oh my God, oh my God, no!”

Aberdeen’s face dropped too. “What’s wrong?”

Frances dropped her clipboard onto the desk and ran around it, grabbing the phone receiver and dialling a number. Almost automatically, she began talking. “He’s on his way. Tell everyone the story needs to be retracted now,” she barked before hanging up. A man walked through another door and suddenly, it was complete mayhem. People were running through everywhere.

“He wasn’t supposed to arrive until 9:30. What happened?” the man asked Frances.

“Those idiots at the Sun had the audacity to actually post the story about his daughter online. God, these people!” Frances huffed.

Aberdeen stood awkwardly as everyone seemed to go into mayhem mode. Frances was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, that one guy had mysteriously disappeared, and men in suits were in and out of everywhere with panicked looks on their faces. She watched as Frances whipped into the office and began putting stuff out on the desk – a glass of San Pellegrino water, a venti Starbucks, and the sports sections of all the local newspapers. When she was done, Frances grabbed the clipboard from her desk, a pen, and ran back down the corridor they just came from, leaving Aberdeen there, standing alone. Awkwardly.

Eventually, she could hear Frances’s voice again – much more polite this time – and footsteps of very expensive shoes clacking down the hallway. “Yes Mr. Shanahan, of course.”

“And tell David at The Sun that I’m this close to revoking media access to the locker room if he publishes another article to do with my children ever again,” a voice Aberdeen could only assume was Brendan Shanahan’s was echoing down the hallway.

“I’ll get right on it.”

“Then tell Ben up in the legal department to draw up the paperwork necessary for that to scare them,” she heard, and finally, they rounded the corner. Frances and Mr. Brendan Shanahan, President of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was angry. Aberdeen could tell, even if she didn’t hear any of his last sentences – his body language showed it all. She stepped back a few steps so he could get into his office unimpeded, where he would very obviously yell at the top of his lungs once he shut the door.

“Who’s that?” he asked.

Frances stood in front of Aberdeen, shielding her from Brendan’s view as he looked back at Aberdeen from inside his office. “Nobody – well – human resources sent her about the personal assistant job and I was going to interview her…but, but she’s hopeless,” she chuckled out, “and totally wrong for the job—”

“Well clearly I’m going to have to do that myself, since the last two you sent me were completely inadequate,” he deadpanned. Frances’s back stiffened at the words. “So send her in,” he finished as he sat down at his desk.

Frances walked out of Mr. Shanahan’s office. “Mr. Shanahan would like to see you,” she said politely, loud enough for him to hear. It was when she leaned in closer that she began to whisper so he couldn’t. “Brendan Shanahan is the absolute nicest person you will ever meet,” she began, “but he is also the busiest, most intense, most dedicated hockey professional in the entire National Hockey League. Do you understand?”

Aberdeen gulped. “Yes.”

“And I hope you know that this is a very difficult job for which you re totally wrong, and if you mess up my head is on the chopping block.”

‘That might not be so bad’, Aberdeen thought. She would have appreciated some words of encouragement, like what Kasha had given her this morning, rather than the shpeal she was getting now. But Aberdeen digressed, and nodded her head. She took out a copy of her resume from her purse before walking in.

When she did, she couldn’t help but notice all the fine detailing of his office. A lot of oak, bookcases, a lot of framed pictures of his family, and a giant Toronto Maple Leaf logo plastered – literally plastered – onto the wall. He even had a giant oak desk – so regal – in the middle of the room.

“Who are you?” Brendan asked in a tone much softer, but still angry.

Aberdeen took a deep breath. This was her time to shine. “Hi Mr. Shanahan. My name is Aberdeen Bloom,” she said, stepping forward awkwardly to place her resume on his desk. “I recently graduated from the University of Toronto—”

“And what are you doing here?” he asked.

Aberdeen blanked. What was she doing here? “Um, well, I think I could do a good job as your assistant, and um…” she started, noticing that Brendan was putting on his glasses. Her gave her a look as those words left her mouth. He grabbed the newspapers off his desk and placed them in front of him, over her resume.

‘Alright Aberdeen. Cut the bullshit’ she told herself. “Yeah, so, I graduated U of T and want to become a writer. I sent my resume out everywhere, and my work to try to get published, and finally I got a call from the MLSE human resources department, and…well, basically it’s this or bank-telling.”

Brendan didn’t look up from his newspaper. “So you’re not a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs.”

Aberdeen’s body stiffened. “Uh…no?”

“And before today you had never heard of me.”

“…No.”

There was an awkward pause. Brendan didn’t seem like he had any more questions in him – if he even cared. It was so clear that he didn’t and that she was bombing this interview. But Aberdeen felt more words coming. “I was recently published in Acta Victoriana, the oldest continuous university magazine in Canada – twice, actually – and was also published in the Hart House Review—”

“I think we’re done here,” Brendan said, not looking up from the newspaper. That was it. Cut throat. Didn’t care.

Aberdeen swallowed her pride. So this interview was a dumpster fire from the get-go. But it was him that came in angry and him that came into this without an open mind. She couldn’t help but scoff at how he dismissed her; he didn’t even have the courtesy to look up. She turned to walk out.

‘Don’t let it end like this’ her mind told her. ‘You have so much within you that he doesn’t want to see’.

So she turned around. “You know what? You’re right. I know nothing about hockey,” she began, her voice as strong and powerful as she could make it. “The woman who brought me in asked if I knew the difference between Matt…Gilmour and something…something Sundin, and I didn’t. I don’t fit in here,” she continued, noticing that he finally looked up. “I’m a girl who grew up in an old bungalow in Etobicoke with immigrant parents. I’m an English major with a double minor in classics and film. But I’m smart. I’m really f…really smart, and I learn fast, and I will work hard if you give me the chance to do so here—”

“Good news – they’ve agreed to take down the story,” somebody burst into the room interrupting her speech. Brendan looked at her until the person laid their iPad down in front of him. “The tweet linking the article is gone and it’s completely gone off their website. Adrienne Batra wants to call you to personally apologize.”

“There’s no way I’m speaking to that woman,” Brendan mumbled. “Tell her I want it in writing. And one to my daughter as well.”

“Thank you for your…time,” Aberdeen said, as if he gave her any. She walked out of his office and out of his life forever.

Aberdeen decided to take the stairs, slowly walking down the flights of stairs, hearing her shoes clack against the bare concrete. There, she could at least wallow in her self-pity after that train wreck of an interview. She could deliberate about her next choices and steps. Keep bank-telling? Go back and get her Master’s? Take a new course? Tell her parents how she was failing? Move back home? Never do anything with her life? Live in her parents’ basement for the rest of her life? Maybe she should just stay in this stairwell. Maybe she should start living here, since there was nothing else for her out there in the big wide world. Maybe she’d become a hermit.

As she finally reached the ground floor, she thanked the receptionist again, who ignored her again. Typical. As she was about to walk out of 50 Bay Street, she heard her name being called. “Aberdeen!”

She turned around. Frances was waving her back, rolling her eyes at the same time. Aberdeen furrowed her brows. Did she forget something? What was going on? She scurried over to Frances. “What’s wrong?”

“Brendan wants to speak to you.”

Aberdeen gulped. She was going to get yelled at by the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was going to completely obliterate her entire life and not-yet-burgeoning career for that little stunt she pulled inside his office with that speech, and she’d never be able to find a job anywhere in Toronto again. She may as well just move into her parents’ basement now.

As they both rode the elevator back up, Aberdeen’s heart kept beating faster and faster. “Do you know what he wants to speak about?” Aberdeen asked.

“I have no clue,” Frances said absent-mindedly, typing something into her phone.

When they arrived back upstairs, Frances led her straight back into Brendan’s office. He was working on his laptop now, instead of reading his newspaper over Aberdeen’s resume. “Brendan, I have Aberdeen back for you,” Frances announced.

“Excellent,” he said, his voice much more upbeat than what is was five or ten minutes ago. “Franny, I’d like you to take Aberdeen to get her picture taken for her new MLSE identification badge,” he said.

Frances’s eyes bulged out of her head. So did Aberdeen’s. “W-What?” Frances stuttered out.

“And after that, I’d like you to take the town car and take Aberdeen to the Eaton’s Centre to get her an iPad Pro with a keyboard so we can start the process of downloading all the necessary apps and internal mail server she’ll need to do the job.”

Aberdeen’s stomach dropped. “I…I got the job?” she asked, completely flabbergasted. Was he nuts? Completely, certifiably insane?

“You start next Monday. Is that fine with you?”

Aberdeen found herself nodding.

***

“I’m so glad Steven could get that done for you today,” Brendan said as he rounded the corner of his desk so he could sit in his fancy big chair. Aberdeen nodded, looking at the screen of her new iPad Pro. Steven, one of the guys from tech support, had helped her download everything she needed to have on it.

“Yeah. It was all really fast.”

“After you finish up here today you may need to go back to the Eaton’s Centre,” Brendan informed her. “You’re going to need to purchase a work wardrobe. Keep every receipt because MLSE will reimburse you. I prefer black, but really…get whatever you think is appropriate for an office.”

“Okay.”

“No heels necessary. When we travel, I obviously don’t mind something more laid back – especially trips to the west coast. Do you have a valid and working passport?”

“Yes sir.”

“Make sure you have it when traveling. Our charter plane will still need to see it. We’ll make copies.”

“Yes sir.”

“You’ll need to be available every game day. We usually have Sundays off, but it’s a very untraditional schedule. You’re okay with that?”

“Yes sir.”

“And I have your contract for you,” he said, grabbing some paperwork on the desk. “We’ll have someone from the legal department come and explain it shortly,” he handed it to her, “but you’ll see the salary at the bottom of the first page.” Aberdeen looked down. Her eyes bulged at the number. “If everything is to your liking, then we can sign.”

“Okay,” she nodded her head. She gulped.

Brendan looked at Aberdeen and could tell she was nervous – it was obvious in her short “Yes sir” responses anyway, but she looked like she wanted to curl into her shell. “Before Ben from legal gets here, I would like to apologize about this morning,” he said. “A local newspaper ran an article about one of my daughters, and my children…well, my children are completely off-limits. Everybody knows that. But sometimes some journalists like to see how far they can take things, even though they know family is off limits.”

Aberdeen understood where he was coming from. If anyone ever said anything bad about Siena or Camden, she’d have their head on a spike. She couldn’t even imagine what it was like for a father, or any parent for that matter, to have an article published about their child without their permission. “I understand, Mr. Shanahan.”

“We are like a family here, you know – MLSE, but the Leafs especially. You will feel part of that family soon enough.”

Aberdeen nodded nervously. “I’m sure I will, Mr. Shanahan.”

“Well…” he shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in his chair and smiling at her. “Congratulations, Miss Bloom. You are now an employee of MLSE.”

***

“With the Leafs?!” Kasha was shocked when Aberdeen told her. She’d started pouring glasses of wine when Aberdeen told her she got a job, but once she revealed the specifics, Kasha was shocked. “Gosh Aberdeen, remember when my dad would bring me, you, and Siena to games with the company season tickets?”

“I know.”

“And now you’re working for them?!”

“For the President. I’m his personal assistant.”

“Oh my God!” Kasha exclaimed. “Seriously though, I bet a million jocks would kill for that job,” she commented as she finished pouring the wine.

“Yeah. Great,” Aberdeen shrugged her shoulders. “Thing is, I’m not one of them.”

“Well, you gotta start somewhere, right?” Kasha offered. She picked up both wine glasses, handing one to Aberdeen. Kasha held her glass up. “To jobs that pay the rent.”

Aberdeen giggled. “To jobs that pay the rent.”

#william nylander #william nylander imagine #william nylander fic #william nylander fan fic #toronto maple leafs #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs fic #toronto maple leafs fan fic #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fan fic #hockey #hockey imagine #hockey fic #hockey fan fic #the president wears prada series

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staruplatinum · 5 years

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Random Vento Aureo headcannons nobody asked for; some of these are angst-y so beware. ♡ 😩

Mista wears a hat because his hair is insanely curly and frizzy and he can never maintain it or style it nice

Melone and Scolippi are brothers (melone represents birth and Scolippi represents death)

Risotto has two full tattoo sleeves underneath his cloak

Bruno is good at painting and in his free time he started to work on a portrait of his late father; unfortunately after the events of VA, he never got to finish it.

Abbacchio keeps his police uniform hanging up in his closet; some nights when he’s feeling extra shitty (and after he’s gotten beyond blackout drunk) he’ll stare at it and just dwell even more on the past, and begin crying.

Though La Squadra resides in Napoli (Naples) most members are from a different part of Italy. Risotto is from Catania (Scicily), Ghiaccio is from Milan, Prosciutto is Calabrese, Illuso is from Rome, Sorbet and Gelato are also calabrese, Melone is from Florence, Pesci is from Naples and Formaggio is from Rome.

Fugo likes doing calculus/logic problems for fun

Melone takes forever in the shower; and even after that he spends forever styling his hair and moisturizing himself.

Risotto was shamed by his parents for having red eyes when he was born, and since they were Catholic they thought he was “demonic” for it - and didn’t want him.

Formaggio loves Pizza more than any other food, specifically, he loves the pizza his Nonno used to make.

Bruno’s apartment is minimalistic, and has many shades of monochrome black +white. He likes to accessorize with gold, blue and brown.

Mista always wears a golden cross necklace that his Mother gave to him when he was born - he’s never taken it off.

Prosciutto only smokes “MS” cigarettes- which are an authentic Italian brand.

Trish misses living in Calabria with her mom.

Illuso loves Michael Jackson.

Risotto was raised with his cousin by his nonna. She was an older woman who taught him how to cook and she took him in when his parents abandoned him.

Narancia’s favourite drink is blood-orange San Pellegrino!

Giorno loves gelato (ice cream)

Bruno loves the movie “Life is Beautiful” , he used to watch it with his Dad all the time as a child.

Abbacchio loves tea. It’s the only “healthy” alternative he uses to calm himself.

Despite being named after fish, Pesci really doesn’t like eating seafood because he feels bad for the animals - Prosciutto of course tells him to relax and that he needs to eat

These are just my own ideas!! Feel free to reblog and add your own ♡

#veno aureo #headcanons #angst #jjba #jjba imagines #risotto nero #jojos bizarre adventure #bruno buccellati #leone abbacchio #narancia #fugo #giorno giovanna #trish una #la squadra #prosciutto #guido mista

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formeryelpers · 3 years

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ROCA Pizza, 769 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210

Roca Pizza is a pizza pop-up at the Americana. I was expecting to see them outside somewhere but they have a physical location, inside the old Tsujita space. They specialize in Roman-style pizza, claiming that their dough is traditional while the toppings and flavors are inspired by California’s food culture. The pizza dough is made with organic wheat and fermented for 72 hours, then baked in steel pans. The pizzas are finished in the oven once you order your slices. The pizzas are rectangular. One pizza has 8 rectangular slices. The sausage is made in house and they use Mary’s organic chicken.

There were ten pizzas to choose from, including vegetarian and vegan options. The toppings sounded interesting – several pizzas had mushrooms. Some had tomato sauce but many did not.

Mixed mushroom ($5): Cremini & porcini mushrooms, provolone, mozzarella, parsley: Pretty fancy – I don’t usually see cremini and porcini mushrooms on pizza. The crust was crispy and firm yet light and not heavy or doughy. It was jam packed with toppings – more toppings than usual. I found it had too many toppings (way more than I’m used to) but the crust held up and the toppings were very nicely sliced and tasty too. There was no tomato sauce, so the mushroom flavors were prominent.

Asparagus & goat cheese ($5): Asparagus puree, asparagus spears, mozzarella, Laura Chenel goat cheese, red onion, mint, EVOO. This was my favorite because of all the asparagus (and no tomato sauce) – the puree and the al dente asparagus pieces on top. Really liked the hint of fresh mint too. Crazy amount of toppings but delicious.

They also have salads, kombucha, San Pellegrino, and tiramisu. Indoor and outdoor seating are available. Takeout and delivery are available.

Interestingly, ROCA is the latest creation of California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) Co-founder Rick Rosenfield and his wife Esther.

4.5 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.

#ROCA Pizza #Roman style pizza #pizza by the slice #pizza #The Americana at Brand #pizza pop up

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lifeofroos · 3 years

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Chapter 70: Nico’s journey is coming to an end.

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In this chapter, Will and Dionysus come pick him up to go back home.

AO3 - FanFiction.net - KoFi This Might Be Crazy: Chapter 70: San Pellegrino

‘What do you think?’

Lucia, Sofia and Elena looked at their great-grandmother. I was standing in the middle of the room, with my new clothes on.

Gloriana slowly nodded. ‘It’s acceptable.’

There were sighs of relief around me. I snickered. Going clothesshopping made the trip feel more like a vacation except of a heavy trip down memory lane. ‘What more are we going to do?’ I asked.

Elena grabbed my hands. ‘Everything.’

And so we did. We went out to lunch, visited churches and relaxed in parks, but we also went to to the family grave and searched the attic for heirlooms. It was a mix of both that felt just right.

I could have stayed longer, but I wasn’t sad that I didn’t. For a first trip, it was enough. I missed camp, I missed Will, and I even missed Dionysus.

We were sitting in front of the house, waiting for Will to come pick me up. Gabriella sipped her drink. ‘I liked having you around, Nico. I always wondered what it would be like to have a boy.’

Elena gave her mother a look. ‘We aren’t so bad, mom.’

‘Hm. Still.’

Her daughters collectively rolled their eyes. I snickered. ‘I liked it here, too. I am glad I was welcomed by my family after such a long time.’

Sofia sipped her drink. ‘You’re welcome to come celebrate Easter with us. You can bring your friend as well.’

‘I’ll come. I never really had an Easter celebration. In America, they don’t do a lot more than hunt for candy.’

‘In Italy, it is way more important,’ Lucia explained, with stars in her eyes.

Their father snickered. ‘It was quite a culture shock when I moved to Italy and it actually meant something to them.’

His wife and in-laws nodded their heads.

‘I think Nico should come,’ their grandmother, next in line to become the family matriarch, answered. ‘So he can see what it is like.’

I slowly nodded. ‘I already got Italian clothes to wear, that’s something…’

A white taxi rolled around the corner and parked nearby. I veered up from my chair, almost spilling my San Pellegrino.

The taxi door flew open. Will almost bumped his head against the overhead. ‘Nico!’

‘Will!’ He walked towards me, slower than he would want. I hugged him as soon as you was close enough. He squeezed my ribs in return.

‘I missed you.’

‘Mizzed you to,’ I muttered, with my face pressed against his shirt.

He let go and held me at a distance. ‘You’ve got new clothes!’

‘See?’ I heard Gloriana say behind me. ‘I told you all it would be noticeable. He needed some proper clothes.’

I spread my arms, so Will could properly see all of the new things I had gotten. ‘Was this your plan?’ He asked the sisters.

Elena pointed at her grandmother. ‘Her plan, but we showed him what he should wear.’

‘It makes my… friend look very good. Perhaps he should keep wearing them in America,’ he said, while staring a hole into my soul.

I opened my mouth to say something back, but then I saw Dionysus coming out of the taxi. He was in mortal disguise (which meant he looked slightly older, had shorter hair and sunglasses to hide the purple eyes). ‘Wait...’

‘He wouldn’t let me go alone,’ Will whispered. ‘And, eh, neither could I. I needed to teleport and stuff.’

I turned around. ‘That’s my… uncle. Dio,’ I explained.

My eyes trailed off, to Gloriana, who was staring at Dionysus. I had a hunch she already sensed who he was. Yet, she didn’t say anything, not even when Gabriella invited them to have a drink before we left. We could manage before we had to catch our plane, right?

It was more then in time for us to ‘catch our plane’ (Considering there would be no plane). ‘Did he behave?’ Dionysus asked. I figured he really wanted to ask: ‘Did he not get himself almost killed?’

‘Very much,’ Collin answered with a grin, while handing Will a can of San Pellegrino. ‘Do you want an aperitif? It is already four P.M.’

It physically hurt Dionysus to say no, but he managed to do it. Gabriella snickered, sushing that she understood, but of course she didn’t. She couldn’t understand the scope of the thing.

‘He behaved very well,’ Gloriana confirmed. ‘He has to come celebrate Easter with us. My great-granddaughters already invited him.

I looked at Will and Dionysus. They seemed to understand that if the matriarch said I had to come, I better come.

‘Did you not miss him too much?’ Lucia asked Will. He turned a little red.

‘A little,’ he answered, in a tone that meant ‘every day, I was worried he had accidently walked straight to his death.’

‘A little?’ Elena egged him on.

‘... A little more?’

‘More than a little?’ Sofia asked with a grin.

I tutted. ‘Will, these are Lucia, Elena and Sofia. They are usually very kind.’

‘Yes, girls,’ Sofia grinned, ‘Don’t egg him on!’ As if she didn’t do the exact same thing.

‘Thanks,’ Will muttered.

‘He’s just as shy as Nico when he first saw us.’

‘Was Nico shy?’ Will said, jumping off from that.

‘Only a little,’ Sofia told him. ‘After we gave him some orange juice, he was fine.’

I nodded. ‘I was fine, Will, really.’

‘Were you worried?’ Lucia sing-songed.

‘Lucia!’

‘Yes,’ Will answered truthfully, ‘Yes, I was worried. Really worried.’ He looked at me. ‘Yet, I am also very glad that he did this. Because it feels like a step forward. He couldn’t have done this a year ago.’

‘Thanks, Will.’

We talked for another hour or so, realistically way too long if we were supposed to catch a plane, before Dionysus gestured we should get back to the car. The sisters hugged me and told me to call (I gave them Wills’ phone number. That way, they wouldn’t be blowing up poor Pollux’ phone any longer). It was decided I would come back for Easter. I feared Gloriana might haunt me otherwise.

‘Success in America, Nico.’ Gloriana told me. ‘And I don’t know why he came to pick you up’ - she nodded at Dionysus - ‘But it probably had a reason.’

Dionysus looked at her with a little smile, before he got into the taxi.

They waved us goodbye while we drove off. When they were out of sight, Dionysus' eyes lit up. ‘Please, just go help some others,’ he told the taxi driver, before slipping a sum of way more money than the trip could have cost into his pocket (That being said, we did keep him occupied for an hour. Perhaps this was just what they agreed on). Within a second, we disappeared, and I was back in Camp Half-blood.

That night I lit the candle in my rememberance cabinet. I took a deep breath. ‘I went to Italy, mom. I saw what it was like to live there. Your sister was still alive. I liked her a lot, and her decendants are nice, too.’ A tear made it’s way down my cheek, but it wasn’t a sad tear. ‘Of course, I wished you could have seen me in Italy, but this is the closest I could get. I hope you somehow know about it, and that you’re proud of me.’

I hadn’t talked to the shrine before, but right now it felt right to do it. When I looked up at the sky, I felt calm inside, as if something that should have happened ages ago finally happened. As if something in the universe changed, making it right again.

Will looked around the corner of my cabin. ‘Are you coming in?’

‘I am happy, Will.’

I could hear him smile as he sat down in the grass next to it. ‘I can feel it.’ He gave me a kiss on my forehead.

‘I know for sure now that I’ll be better, some day.’

‘You are already the very best to me.’

A/N: I apologize profoundly if they don’t actually drink San Pellegrino in Italy.

One more chapter after this - unless I can't stop myself

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orokin-made · 4 years

Note

I am on mobile and missed that you were talking about your OCs, so if you don't mind, would you answer the Interests section for any OC who you still want to share? I'd love to hear about them.

Hey there! Thanks! I’m going to use this as an excuse to talk about Darien, he’s new and could use some development anyways.

Dari USED to be a big bad apex-predator type cosmic horror beast, buuuuuut something else almost ate him so he's been stuck on Earth in an awful, awful human body for the past 26 years, trying to lay low and figure out how to get strong enough to leave again. He’s from The Passenger, which I cannot recommend highly enough, especially if any part of that previous sentence sounded remotely interesting.

19. Hobbies

He plays a lot of video games. It’s something he can do by himself and lets him flex those quick hunter reflexes a bit.

(Also, I know it didn’t come out until the year after the game takes place, but the image of Darien and Roach playing Half Life together and pausing to point at the screen and say “Look, it’s you.” every single time a vordegon comes into view is just too powerful. It’s been 10 hours and they’re both still 100% committed to the bit. They have not made a lot of progress actually progressing through the story of Half Life.)

He also keeps up with what’s going on in the astronomy/cosmology world, both in case they pick up any kind of evidence of another being like him, and because humans trying to understand things about the universe is peak comedy as far as he’s concerned.

20. Clothing/Aesthetic

If he wasn’t explicitly trying to keep a low profile / actually bothered to make an effort I could see him rocking the 90′s grunge-punk look. As it is his wardrobe consists entirely of T-shirts, jeans, and hoodies. It’s embarrassing really. By far the most boring fashion sense of any of my characters.

General aesthetics I associate him with: Suburban gothic, vaporwave but only the kind that has a vague aura of menace about it, eyes in places where there really shouldn’t be eyes, whatever wild old-forest alien body horror shit Darkwood is on.

21. Fave food(s) and drink(s)

BREAD GOOD.

As for drinks, anything carbonated. Darien’s the weirdo drinking unflavored San Pellegrino’s straight from the bottle. (He does prefer the lime flavored ones, though)

22. Fave Color

Is somewhere in the gamma-wave section of electromagnetic radiation and therefore incomprehensible to human minds. Navy and dark green are pretty nice as far as visible light goes.

23. Fave Genre

He’s not super into fiction but sci-fi/fantasy can be good if it’s weird enough. Probably got his hands on a copy of House of Leaves at one point, but I’ll need to actually read it myself to tell if he liked it or not.

24. Fave Season

Winter is when the family bakery makes all the best stuff. Cookie season.

25. City or Country?

Country, definitely. He’s already anxious 24/7 and cities are loud and crowded and fast and full of places for the Hunter to attack from.

26. Guilty Pleasure

Naps? Being unaware of his surroundings is a vulnerability, and not exactly ideal, but he’s a lazy bastard and sleeping is still kind of a novelty. Bored? Nap. Headache? Nap. Overwhelmed with longing for the power and freedom you used to have before you almost died and wound up stuck on this bewildering little planet? Nap time, baby.

#risualto #Darien #If any of my characters could be described as 'feral' I think it would be Darien #TP #Spooky cryptid weird-ass motherfucker

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musingsoflulu · 5 years

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I’ll be honest, it’s been a hard time around these parts lately. It’s been difficult navigating this season, right on the edge of big changes. I oscillate between feelings of over the moon excitement for what’s to come and feelings of immense grief when I think of who I have to leave behind when we move. Every time I think of leaving Tay, I either start crying or have to fight with all I have to hold back tears.

I’m prepping for the Oregon pharmacy law exam, which has felt extremely stressful and overwhelming. I have a student who is expected to be more challenging this month. And we are gearing up for all the things that come with a big move across country. So I’m going to slow down for a second, think about the multitude of things I have to be grateful for and then I’m going to get my cute butt back to studying.

✨I told Logan I was craving a San Pellegrino today and he drove 15 min to and from the grocery store just pick me up one. I’ve had such low energy lately and have felt completely drained with the stress of moving and leaving family, studying, working, and training and he has been such an angel through it all, doing all the little and big things that make life easier.

✨He also built us a really cool Subaru sleeper set up for our cross country road trip and it will allow us to do a lot of mountain car camping trips out west!

✨Tay and her sweet baby angel self is already looking into flights around Christmas so she can see me. I won’t have PTO since I’ll just be starting my job and so the holidays will feel very different this year and knowing I may see her at some point makes me happy. Nothing is set in stone and it may not work out, but I know our relationship is really special and even if I can’t see her all the time, we will still stay really really close.

✨We are visiting Logan’s family this weekend and we are celebrating his mother’s birthday. She insisted on throwing us a going away party at the same time, so several of our friends in the area will be coming to bid us farewell

✨We are leaving officially for Oregon at the end of October and due to time of year, will likely take the southern route there, which is a bit longer but allows us to visit some friends along the way. We will be stopping by to see our newly engaged friends in Houston, possibly a friend in Arizona, and my best friend in Northern California

✨Maggie will officially be 2.5 hours away from us when we move which seems like a dream because omg I can’t even imagine being able to have sleepovers and weekend adventures with her so easily

✨I have been blessed by the retail gods lately somehow. I sent in a pair of 10 year old Chaco sandals I have loved dearly and hard to see if they could resole under warranty (with expectations that no, Laura, probably not). These angels are resoling these babies free of charge. On top of that, I sent in my Warby Parker glasses to get updated with a new lens prescription. Because they lost my order and it got delayed, they sent me a new pair with updated lenses free of charge. And lastly a few weeks ago, I sent an email to tracksmith regarding the hare falling off of my fairly new green twilight shorts (seriously not a big deal I know and I’m still using them regularly), and they sent me another pair free. Good companies, y’all. 🙌🏼

#oregon #the big road trip #my dad got me this shirt and its so awful its good

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sweet-peachy · 5 years

Photo

Bellini’s New reference sheet! I'm really happy how his body turned out.

(Full Bio under the cut)

Full Name: Bellini San Pellegrino

Age: 24 (May 14 - Tarius)

Gender: Cis Male (He\Him\His pronouns)

Species: Fluted Champagne glass head

Voice Claim: Matt Belsante

Place of Birth: San Pellegrino estate

Sexuality: Bisexual

Personality: Bellini is enthusiastic, calm and humble, he likes to treat other’s with respect and look at things in a more positive light. Bellini can also be a flirt and rather sassy. He enjoys meeting new people and being friendly towards others no matter how they may act towards him (a “kill them with kindness” mentality)

Current residence: Inkwell Isle III, has a small apartment in the Ambrosia Building.

Appearance:

Eye color: Black/Pink

Height: 6 ft 8in

Filling: Bellini’s head is filled with Peach Bellini (Hense his name) which is a mix of peach puree and champagne, so he always smells really sweet like peaches. His mixture bubbles when he is happy/shy and he froths up when he is angry/ Irritated. He is flat when he is sad/ill, but can also bubble if he is nervous so your better just reading his expression than his bubbles.

Clothing: Bellini for his performances wears a black tuxedo, with a white shirt and peach colored bow tie, but sometimes he mixes it up for certain occasions and holidays. In his casual time he usually still tries to keep himself looking neat wearing sweaters and dress shirts.

Injuries: The injuries that Bellini has come from someone mugging him when he was younger they cracked him and even breaking off his arm. Luckily it was able to be fused back on in time but the scars still are there even if they are fixed, he can be a bit self-conscious of these scars.

Background: Bellini grow up with the wealthy San Pellegrini family, he is the youngest of two children of Lumbrusco and Mimosa San Pellegrino. His early childhood went rather well until his early teens when Bellini decided that he wanted to be a singer, this did not go well with his parents as the San Pellegrino's have always contributed to the family business as his older brother was on the path to doing, so they expected Bellini to become his own entrepreneur and or contribute to the business but this was far from what Bellini wanted for himself. His father was displeased with his son’s interests and dreams and began to ignore him as partly did his mother, the only one in the home Bellini could turn to was the family’s faithful and humble butler, Macchiato. When Bellini became of age to leave, he lied to his parents and told them he would be off to start his own business, having left home and the only one in the home knowing the truth was Macchiato. Bellini set off to build his music career starting off with a few small gigs but soon working his way up to performing at various Casino’s and clubs, his main highlight being the Devil’s casino, but ever since he has left home Bellini has yet to speak to his family and dreads the day he will have to, though he still does meet and talk with Macchiato.

#peachyart #Bellini san pellegrino #cuphead oc #cuphead #cuphead in don't deal with the devil #Cuphead in The Delicious Last Course #toon oc #character ref sheet

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neighbours-kid · 5 years

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CCXP 2019

Or: How Zachary Levi Continues to Be a Blessing

Had anyone told be at the beginning of this year, that I would be going to a comic con, and that I would be meeting Zac again, I’m not sure I would have believed them. But as it so happened, I found out on the last day of early bird sales that Zac would be coming to Cologne to the first ever CCXP on the European continent and I…..I bought tickets immediately.

The last time I saw the man was two years ago in San Diego, where he was hosting SYFY’s Live From ComicCon, which was one of the most amazing weeks of my life. Back then, I finally met so many of my wonderful nerd friends that I had talked to over twitter, and even though NerdHQ was not happening that year, we had a great time around the convention, supporting Zac, dancing our asses off at his parties, going to the auction, and all the other cool stuff we did.

Then last year, I was in New York for six months, during which Zac was filming for Marvellous Mrs Maisel in the city, but since I was busy, and New York is ginormous, I never ran into the man.

I was so excited for Shazam to come out, and just following Zac’s experience with that over twitter and instagram, getting glimpses of the press tour and the conventions he went to over the year, and I was just so happy for everyone who got to see him, for my friends who got to see him again, and it honestly never occurred to me that there is a possibility I could be among the people to see him this year too. I never even considered it.

And then the news came, and I don’t think I really ever hesitated in booking that trip, buying those tickets. I went over my finances real quick, but that was that. And to my luck, or well, thanks to Someone upstairs, I even got to work during my Spring holidays, earn some money, and now that the con is over and I have all my numbers, it honestly pretty much exactly evens out. I spent no more, no less, than the money I earned in that week. Which is incredible all in itself.

When the time finally came to pack my things and hop on a train to Cologne, I was very excited, but also somewhat nervous. It had been quite a moment since I last travelled alone (the last time being my stay abroad in New York, where I had been for six months), and even longer since I had met Zac the last time. But the five hours on the train to Cologne went by unproblematic and I felt great when I arrived at my airbnb. My host was lovely and very forthcoming, and I immediately felt very welcome in the city. I didn’t spend much time at the room, however, and quickly made my way up to the Koelnmesse, where the CCXP was located.

It was Thursday, the first day of con, and it was actually rather empty when I arrived. But that did not particularly bother me, since I am not too fond of big crowds anyway. It gave me a nice opportunity to walk around the grounds in peace, look at the booths, the artists, the exhibitors. I bought some Tony Stark art, sunglasses, some Marvel shirts and a Gryffindor sweater. I took my sweet time just breathing the space in, letting myself relax and fall into the comfortable pace of being at con. In the evening, I went to see a screening of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, followed by a Q&A with Michael Uslan, the producer. I’d never seen the movie before, and am honestly not that interested in Batman, but it was really great, and Michael was utterly interesting to listen to.

During my walk home after the panel (which happened because I took a wrong tram and stranded myself somewhere I didn’t intend to be), I somehow found some public wifi and happened upon Zac’s instagram stories. It suddenly dawned on me that we were in the same city again, and that, theoretically, I could bump into him any time. Which, to be honest, I didn’t really know how to wrap my mind around.

I slept good that night, even though I did wake up the next day earlier than expected. But I was exhausted, in a good way. The way experiencing wonderful things makes you tired at the end of the day.

Friday brought with it some more specific plans. I had a photo-op with Ben Barnes first thing, and then wanted to watch some panels (Mark Pellegrino, Fast and Furious, Ben Barnes) spread all over the day. When I got to the con, I went straight to the photo booths to stand in line for my picture. Ben Barnes is a very lovely human being. He was so happy and excited to be there and to meet everyone, and just had a great energy. I had bought a Punisher shirt the day before, and had decided to wear it that day. When I walked into the booth, the first thing Ben did was make shooting motions at me. We talked for a moment about the city and the con, which was really lovely. I think that word really describes Ben very well. Lovely. He is lovely.

After the picture I walked over to where I could collect the print-out, took it over to somewhere I could sit, and just revelled a moment in the feeling of having a great time. Then I looked up to where the signing booth was, and I saw him. Zac was sitting there, signing things for the people in line, a big smile on his face. He was engaging and his joy was contagious. He was his usual passionate self, and I sat there watching him for a moment, and I just had this one thought: “Shit.”

I had not planned on having Zac sign anything. While the con in general was pretty reasonably priced in my opinion, the prices for some of the photo- and signing-ops were rather expensive. I had already booked a picture with Zac for the next day, and I thought that would be enough, I didn’t need him to scribble on anything. But as I was watching him, I couldn’t help myself, and I got up immediately, walked over to where they sold the tickets, and without a second thought bought a ticket for him to sign something. For some reason that morning I had packed my Shazam action figure, and now I knew why. I continued watching him interact with people until it was time for me to get in line too, because watching him was just so…..captivating, in a way. I had already pretty much seen everything of the con, so I didn’t even feel like I was missing out on anything.

I got in line, Shazito in hand, and just continued to take it all in. Benedict Wong was sitting next to him, also signing, also blasting music from his speaker, also being so very lovely. I can’t quite recall if Ben was also there, but he might have been. Or maybe it was Mark Pellegrino. I can’t remember.

As the line started to move, I started to get giddy. Would the man even remember me? I mean, it had been two years. Sure, we had interacted a bit over twitter, but that was that. And honestly, I didn’t expect him to. He meets so many people all the time, why would/should he remember me?

The line moved further, a staffer came to take our names for Zac, so he would write them properly. The person in front of me moved up, and I think that was when I started smiling like a big idiot. Zac turned to talk to Wong while the person in front of me was taking her stuff and moving away, so I stepped up to the table while Zac wasn’t looking. The staffer put the post-it with my name on the table, which got Zac’s attention, and he turned to look at me. If a facial expression can be described as “lighting up like a candle” then that is what his face did. Recognition. Big smile. Oh hey you! Gets up, walks around the table to where he could step closer to me, and squeeze-hugs me for a solid half minute at least.

Why should he remember me? Well, I don’t fucking know, but he did. For some reason. And honestly, it’s just so very him, so absolutely typical. Anyway, he sat down again, asked me how I was doing, how I was enjoying the con. We were having a lovely conversation, he signed my Shazam figure (which I presented to him with the words, “I have a butt for you to sign”), and when he felt he couldn’t possibly stretch the time any longer by carefully signing his name on the plastic butt, playfully jabbing at Wong about the music, asking me about Switzerland and where I was from exactly, he got up again, walked around the table, and gave me another hug. Once he let me go, I told him again, just how very happy it made me to still see that golden chain around his neck, and he smiled, telling me that there would come a day he would give it away, just like I did. But I knew that already, and it doesn’t change anything about how it makes me feel. As I was walking away, he asked me if I was around the other days, with genuine interest, and I told him I’d see him again for a picture the next day, which got me another one of those smiles.

It is save to say that when I walked back to a table to sit down and take that all in, I was just….blown away. Again. Just like the last two times I met him. Zac is just an inherently good person and I’ve never really met anyone who gives a shit as much as he does. I really haven’t. He has made every single time I met him a very special experience that I won’t ever forget. The man just knows how to make you feel seen and heard.

I think it took me a moment, to get up again from where I was sitting, and remembering what I wanted to do next. I was still just looking at the figure in my hand with the signature on it, and trying to remember everything that had just happened. Once I did get my mind back to the present, I went around the whole con again, looked at some more booths, bought some more things, and ultimately went to the Mark Pellegrino panel. I don’t watch Supernatural and I am not actually entirely sure I’ve ever seen Mark in anything, but I knew of him, and was interested to see what kinda person he is (—actually, I just checked. He was on two episodes of Chuck and was also in single episodes of some other shows that I watched).

Mark’s panel was fully moderated, but it was nevertheless very interesting. They did talk mostly about Supernatural, Mark’s time on set and how it was working with Jensen and Jared. The panel ended with Mark singing the first verse of Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, which was honestly very beautiful. The man can sing.

Mark’s panel was followed by a quick appearance of Idris Elba and Jason Statham, who were interviewed quickly, presented us the newest trailer for Hobbs & Shaw, and we then even got to see some exclusive footage, presented by a video message from The Rock. After that, I wandered around the con for a bit more, before I went back to the panel room to see MinaLima, the studio that did all the graphics design work on both Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. Their work is incredibly interesting, and it was wonderful listening to them talk about their experience working on those films and just their whole process. Utterly fascinating stuff. I stuck around after that to see Ben Barnes’ panel. He was, again, very lovely. He talked a bit about Punisher and working with Jon Bernthal, but also got to answer some fan questions from the audience, which I always think is a lot of fun, because it immediately makes a panel so much more personal and interesting.

Going back to my airbnb that night I was elevated. I had a wonderful day, I saw Zac again and had a lovely time with him, and just saw some great stuff all around con. I had talked to some woman who recognised me from the signing booth, bought some more Iron Man things, and also another Harry Potter sweater. But, obviously, Zac had been my absolute highlight of the day.

Saturday was a lot more unplanned than Friday. I had the picture with Zac mid-afternoon, but other than that, I didn’t really have much I wanted to do. There weren’t really any panels I was interested in, and I had already seen pretty much every thing at the con. So I decided to get myself a coffee and a croissant, and just do some people watching. I saw a cosplayer, dressed as a Stormtrooper, hanging out with a Luigi and Mario, taking pictures in front of the kid’s bouncy castle. He also had a red balloon tied to his back, from the IT 2 booth.

Once I got bored of just looking at people, I face-timed the whole con, then found out Zac would be doing an interview in the glass box and maybe come out and talk to some people, and made my way over to that area. Zac arrived, did the interview — which was lovely and you all can find here — and then quickly came down to us and gave high-fives, since he didn’t have much time because his photo session began immediately after the interview. The photo session, that I had to line up for. Once I was in line, I got that giddiness again, that I already felt the day before. I was thinking about what I wanted our picture to look like, what kinda pose I could make him do — I had some ideas, but I couldn’t decide — and watched how the people in front of me came out after the picture, big smiles on their faces. That’s Zac for you right there. Meeting him won’t leave people unchanged.

The line moved forward, and I could see into the booth, watch how the people in front of me took pictures with Zac. So many lovely pictures, big smiles, silly poses, pointing at funny shirts and great cosplay. The usual, you know. When it was my turn, the staffer managing everything told me to go in, Zac’s friend put my bags on the chair for me, and I went in. And there he was, dancing to his music, having a grand old time. And again, just like the day before, he looked at me and his face lit up like a candle, a big smile on his face, another Oh hey, Alex! with that joyful recognition that I just don’t really know how to deal with.

With a c’mere he put his arm around me and squeezed me tight, leaning into me, and we both looked at the camera. He stayed close until the screen showed the picture and he deemed it perfect. And it was. None of the poses I had thought of before in line could’ve ever come close to what I had now. He asked me again, just like the day before, if I was enjoying myself, then gave me high-fives and started dancing again, waiting for the next in line. I took my stuff, left the booth and wandered over to the photo collection booth in a daze. Once I had the picture in my hands, I sat down somewhere, just staring at that photo. I think I must’ve been staring at it for a very long time, in a sort of disbelief, remembering the other pictures I had of us, and how none of them even compare to this. It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I took a picture of it with my phone, and sent it to my friends who knew that I would be doing that today, and also changed my twitter profile picture to it. The next time I checked my phone, all my friends who knew the man started flipping their shit about how adorable this picture is. They were delighted and joined in my joy about this picture. I have treasured every moment I got to spend with Zac up until now, and I will treasure this one too. It makes me so incredibly happy, I can’t even begin to tell you.

I left the con pretty soon after that, since I had already seen pretty much everything, and didn’t really have any interest in the panels of the day. But before I left, I stopped by Elbenwald again, buying a Gryffindor scarf for myself, because I knew that if I didn’t, I would ultimately regret it. I made my way back to my airbnb in staggering heat, relaxed for a moment, and then went out again, deciding that I would do some touristing around the city. I went over to the cathedral — which is absolutely stunning, you guys, it’s just gorgeous —, explored the place around it, and took a bit of a walk by the water. I sat in the shade for a while, watching the people, watching the water, and just revelling in the good feeling of experiencing cool things and going interesting places, until I could feel the exhaustion of the heat and the walking. So I slowly made my way back, decided to cross the river over the bridge by foot (and saw all the love locks), and just took my time, breathing in the summer air and the freedom that came with it. Summer has always been my season, even though I bitch about the heat too much, and with it comes a feeling of freedom and opportunity that I always miss in the colder months.

I got home earlier that day than I did all the others, since I didn’t stay at the con, which usually closes at 9pm. And despite the heat, I slept wonderful, which, considering the day I’d had, is not a surprise at all.

My plan for Sunday looked like this: arrive at con by opening time, go to the very first panel immediately, and sit in the panel room all day until Zac’s panel at 4:30pm, sneaking my way into the front row when people leave after the panels before that. And that is exactly what I did. Lucky for me, the panel room had a bathroom and a snack bar, so I had everything I needed.

I went to the first panel which was a Game of Thrones “double feature” with first Mark Spindler, from the VFX team, having a presentation about his work, and especially creating the dragons like Drogon, and his experience working on the HBO show, and then with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who was interviewed, but also answered some fan questions. It’s save to say, that the panel room was absolutely full to the brink. He was the star of this con. Nikolaj is an interesting guy, even though I felt like the panel over all felt a bit awkward. But I’ve had that impression with all the moderated panels, so maybe it’s the language barrier between English speaking guests and native German speaking moderators. Who knows.

After the Game of Thrones panel, a lot of people vacated the room, and I was able to make my way into the front row immediately after that. I went to the bathroom, got myself some nachos, and settled in for a day full of panels. I cannot even begin to tell you how much my butt hurt after that day. But anyway, after Nikolaj, followed a panel with cosplay stars from all over the world, talking about their craft and their experiences, with some fan questions in between. After that came a Batman 80th Anniversary panel, with comic artists Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, David Finch, and Brian Azzarello. I am not particularly interested in Batman, but it was quite fascinating anyway.

I watched with a very pleased grin how the crew started clearing away chairs on the stage until only one was left, which gave me the very confirmation I had been waiting for: Zac would self-moderate his panel, which meant fan Q&A all the way, like he usually does it, like he loves it. I had been worrying all through the con, watching most other panels be moderated, that his would be too. But I was glad to be proven wrong. Vanessa came out to introduce our man, and when he came out, the energy in the room just changed to something akin to what I felt at NerdHQ. Lots of love. (He also, before even sitting down, before even fully arriving, spotted be in the front row and went Oh hi, Alex, how you doin’? straight into the microphone. I may or may not have felt some emotions about that.) Vanessa manned the microphone, and Zac went in full swing, already spreading so much joy just by being there.

His panel was absolutely lovely, as they always are. His energy is palpable, you can just feel his passion and love for this kind of stuff, and it just oozes out of him. He answered question after question, went on tangents and down rabbit holes, laughed and sang, joked and entertained both himself and us. He was talking about going to conventions at some point and came to talk about NerdHQ, during which he enquired who had been to the event before, and managed to phrase the question, “Besides [Name of Girl who asked the question which I can’t remember I’m so sorry*] and Alex, who’s been to NerdHQ?”, which again, emotions. But anyway. I had been looking out for Vanessa all through the panel, always holding my hand up to ask a question, and finally got to ask one. When I got up, he greeted me again with name and everything, and at that point I was just taking it. I asked him about his dream. He had been asked that question two years ago at DragonCon, and I asked him how it was looking, if he was still working on that, if anything came to it, or if he abandoned parts of it. I just wanted him to talk about his plans for life a bit. And he did. He gave a long, wonderfully beautiful answer, and honestly, the man’s eye contact is super intense, and it just meant the world to me that he took the time to elaborate on his ideas and plans and wishes and dreams. I just wanted to show everyone in that room who exactly I knew Zac to be, and he delivered. I have not found any footage from that panel online yet, but if I do, I will link it here as well.

(*This is me not remembering the name, and not Zac. Zac knew the name. He always knows the names.)

After the absolute high of that panel, I thought nothing could go wrong. I would make my way to the train station, where I would get my bags that I had already brought there in the morning, then I would board my train, and just relax for five hours on that journey, until I would be home around midnight. Well. As, apparently, per usual, that did not happen. Just like so many other trips I had, this one ended in absolute disaster as well. My train in Cologne got cancelled, I got sent around from one station to the other, ultimately ended up in a completely over filled train, had to change trains five times, had to sit on the floor in one of them, and finally arrived back in Bern at 1.30am. No busses or trams were running at that time anymore, getting a cab in Switzerland is one of the most expensive things you can do, and Uber or Lyft does not exist here. So I had to walk. From the train station, to my home, with my no-wheels sports bag, and all my other bags. I arrived home, completely drenched in sweat, absolutely exhausted, with shoulders so tense and overworked that I had bruises the next morning, at 2.30am. I was just so done.

But, I don’t want to dwell on such a negative note, and finish this post with some more words. I am so grateful that I get to experience such cool things. I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to go to these conventions and meet such amazing people like Zac. I feel so humbled by it, and I am eternally grateful that I got to meet Zac again and make such great memories, yet again. I’ve been following this man’s career for seven years now, and I don’t regret a single minute of it. I found him during a time where I was only just becoming the person I am today, and it is save to say that he had some formative influence in that. It’s save to say, that because of his example, I am a better, kinder, more unabashedly passionate person today than I was before. God has used Zac to inspire me, to show me things I never thought possible, and to keep reassuring me that he has plans for me. And I am so incredibly grateful for all of that.

Going to Cologne, going to CCXP has been a wonderful experience for me, and should Zac make it back there again, the chance is pretty big that you’ll find me there as well.

But for now, I am back home, and remembering all these beautiful moments with fondness, and revelling in the knowledge that somewhere, sometime in the future, I’ll likely get to do something like this again.

Until then, I’ll be here. Writing. Remembering.

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ask-peach-bellini · 5 years

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Who is proseco?

((Prosecco is Bellini’s brother:

Prosecco San Pellegrino is the older brother of Bellini by at least 4 years. He is a champagne glass full of Prosecco (an Italian white wine similar to champagne). Prosecco lives with his parents on the family estate, and works alongside his father with the family business, he is calculated and professional, but also has a knack for being pompous and arrogant, also he doesn’t exactly get along with his younger brother for reasons. There isn’t much else to Pro but that, yet))

#((ask answered #((prosecco san pellegrino #((nfvgvb I used the most flattering Icon Lmaoo))#((there is a lot more to him than meets they eye for suuuure))#Anon

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wellntruly · 6 years

Text

THE YOUNG POPE - 1x01

[*laughter*] WELL I am having a tremendous time. While on the one hand I’ve never seen anything like this before, on the other hand yes I have: this is Vatican Peaky Blinders, and no one told me. Stylized to saturation, riotous music choices, accents, people making big gloriously ridiculous monologues where you’re choking out something between laughing groaning and cheering, movie actors, slow motion, IS this just a music video?, generalized and localized high absurdity. Just all of that, plus Tommy and Lenny are both male HFICs: Hard Femmes In Charge. The one thing you can count on in this drama world is that they WILL pull the power-est of plays under a good angle. And like, tell me “It’s death to settle for things in life” isn’t the new “My suits are on the house or the house burns down.” You can’t! And now the house is God’s house.

Anyway, like, stay tuned, but is this show about jokes? The show itself is a joke, deftly telegraphed by how it’s called THE YOUNG POPE, a title so ideally hilarious that the internet fell into paroxysms of memes at the name alone. But then in the show called The Young Pope, people are just really often talking about jokes?? All the time they are talking about jokes! I need more data, but like, my eyes are open. And my mouth, in a biigg wonky grin.

Young Pope Live-Bloggin’ No. 1:

well right off the bean: Diane Keaton is also in this?? hahaha Young Pope!

it’s not Episode 1 it’s “First Episode”, I love that, holy cats

so I just invented a drink before I hit play here, I call it the San Ginencello and it’s 1.5 oz gin, 0.5+ oz limoncello, 2 oz lemon San Pellegrino. don’t break out the delicate floral Hendricks for this, go spicier (and cheaper). I used this really piney gin I’m trying to use up and actually lemon + pine makes me think “cypress”, for some reason, and that’s kinda nice and Mediterranean...for some reason, idk.

OKAY POPE TIME

delighted that HBO is apparently going to fit nudity into a show about the papacy. HBO: Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way!

oh my god is this the nudity???! are these dead babies?????!!!!! HBO YOU ARE SO MUCH MORE HBO THAN I EVER EXPECT

oh the babies are alive, and creepy CGI to boot, wait

anyway to catch up: the Young Pope has crawled out of a pyramid of babies outside the Vatican

lit choked on my San Ginencello as a basic bitch cell phone ring tone started playing over this upside down crucified Jesus statue

FLIPPY FLOPPIES

I wonder if it’s impossible for this show to not continually delight me from its mere premise

frosted pope ass. HBO…

oh, sorry, now he just Gandalf-dropped his robe to reveal unfiltered pope ass, while the camera coyly & also flagrantly pulls back and the fancy doors just close of their own volition

the staticy atonal song, the slo-mo, this is unreal arty

UNREAL ARTY!

is this just how they stand!! in real life??

I’m losing my mind.

the problem with letting someone grow up with absolutely zero religious influence save weird culture is I see black priest robes and I just think “nice” and not in a sinless way

it is really incredible the amount of naked HBO shows are, just casually, just as normal course. we’re less than five minutes in.

I can’t breathe, this stagey European art film is ALL I WANT

he just BASKS, a prima donna reverse bow, in their adoration

every shot of this looks like an Alex Prager photograph, that’s it!! god I love Alex Prager

he’s a lot better at being a speaker than I would have guessed. perhaps I thought he was coasting on his looking-like-Jude-Law-ness?

his speech is about playing! straight up playfulness! oh this young pope

hooLLLYY SHIT!!!! THIS YOUNG POPE *AIN’T* PLAYIN!!! aaahhhahahahaaha, yeeesss preach sexual liberty and access to birth control and priests getting gay married this is glorious and everyone is so shocked, cardinals are fainting, fathers are running through the marble halls, I am Living

oh, of course it was a dream. anyway still loved it.

“Who are you Lenny?” “I am a contradiction.” you are a pope named Lenny I am now Dying

beardy here is in contention for hottest priest so far. I’ll keep track don’t worry.

“I don’t eat much. Hardly anything in fact. All I have in the morning is a Cherry Coke Zero.” this is not a paraphrase, this is life & nourishment for me your humble Weird Art TV Viewer

Jude Law isn’t even American, shit son

his papal butler just offered him a regular Diet Coke in the meantime and he went “Ohhhh let’s not utter heresies, Domen. It’s death to settle for things in life.” fuck me up, these are GOOD TEACHINGS.

this speech on friendly vs formal relationships, wow! wow. really what he means is that he’s above everyone, because he is totally casual and expects everyone to remain formal. that is in fact a form of formal relationship, just a hierarchical one.

this cardinal, while on his smartphone: “Tommasino, don’t waste my time. My sins have to do with high finance and diplomacy. Even if I were to confess them, you wouldn’t understand a thing.” !! lol

lovin’ Cardinal Chat in the gardens. also apparently Voiello, previously known as Finance Bro Cardinal, is everyone’s bête noir.

is Spencer James Cromwell? does anyone else look at James Cromwell and their brain just goes “If I had woords---”

super interesting that they gave us helicopter sounds for the aerial shot of the city. I mean those were 100% added in later, so they *chose* to put the helicopter sounds in.

this moment with the man who hears confessions and “Here’s what I want you to do” with a zoom in on a statue has the feel of a HIEST and I’ve paused to enjoy it for a moment because surely I’m not watching Pope’s Eleven

I’m losing it @ this guy

this guy is hilaaaarious

what what what, did Lenny’s mom have him in secret and then become/was a nun?!

she’s Diane Keaton!!

is he wearing a hat indoors. Pope!

I am loving Sister Diane Keatons’ hokey speech with the wind blowing the white curtains this is a hoot

“Holy Father, first of all a small piece of information of a practical and picturesque nature.” shut up, omg, the dialogue in this show is off the chain.

excuse me

wow yeah whenever Lenny thinks someone is getting too uppity he just shuts them DOWN

Father Chuckles is like “guuurrrrll” at Sister Mary oh he’s a treat

the math is: one third music video, one third scathing takedowns, one third memes. that is this show.

“There’s a new pope now.” shut uuUPPP, how is this show so catty, how is it real

I’ve realized that I’ve never actually watched a Borgias, Tudors sort of court drama, all power plays and rites and riches. uNTIL NOW.

Lenny: “Was it hard, to close off the Basilica to tourists?” this nice man, mildly: “No. All we had to do was hang up a sign, saying ‘Closed’.” me: [my most helpless giggling laugh yet]

I super love this guy, Father Gutierrez, because he has an energy that this show needed. he’s a balance to a lot of what’s going on, he makes a harmony. he speaks like a gentle intelligent Aesop.

I feel like Lenny IS kind of assembling a team?? anyway this is still definitely not a Papal Caper because someone would have informed me, but that just means I’m going to need to make that myself some day

I am trying real hard to learn names here, so my silly priest who loves drama is called Federico

did Lenny just *decide* that God’s house is by the Big Dipper? the audacity of this man!

“You’re so wise, Holy Father.” “Mm. Not only that, I’m also intransigent.” NO ONE HAS EVER SAID THAT ALOUD ABOUT THEMSELVES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, who the hell ARE YOU!!

I’m so over antiheroes and yet— I am totally enjoying the antihero Pope. THE ANTIPOPE. ahhhahahaaha

#The Young Pope #Young Pope spoilers #Pope Notes

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pamphletstoinspire · 6 years

Photo

A Padre Pio Inspirational Story

Padre Pio let himself be guided solely by the intense desire to disappear in Jesus. . . He considered this complete and voluntary subjection to be the whole meaning of his earthly existence and also of his eternal life. To him, this represented the only way that he could be useful to his brothers and sisters in Christ. – Padre Pellegrino Funicelli __________

The Testimony of Umberto (Bert) Longo

Umberto (Bert) Longo was born and raised in San Giovanni Rotondo and lived just one mile from the monastery of Our Lady of Grace. When Bert’s father emigrated to the United States to find work, Bert became very close to his Uncle Gerardo Miniscalchi who became like a father-figure to him. Previously, Uncle Gerardo had joined a religious order, but when his mother (Bert’s grandmother) became ill, he left his religious community and moved back home to help his family. A devout and prayerful man all his life, Gerardo never married. Every afternoon, he taught Bert a lesson from the catechism. Uncle Gerardo went to church twice daily and eventually became the president of the Third Order of Saint Francis in San Giovanni Rotondo. Padre Pio was a great promoter of the Third Order of Saint Francis. He would say to the members, “Let us act in such a way that Saint Francis will be proud of us.”

Gerardo had a barber shop in San Giovanni Rotondo. For many years he had the honor of being Padre Pio’s barber, as well as barber for the other Capuchins. He went regularly to the monastery to cut their hair and he considered it a great privilege. As a sign of respect, he always wore a suit and tie whenever he went to the monastery to give the Capuchins a haircut.

In 1939, when Bert was eight years old, Uncle Gerardo started taking him each Sunday to the afternoon Vespers service at Padre Pio’s monastery. They walked the one mile distance, since there was no public transportation to the monastery at that time. On the way, Bert and his uncle passed an occasional farmhouse nestled among cherry trees but other than that, the surrounding area was almost completely undeveloped.

Sunday Vespers at the monastery, which included singing, prayers and Benediction, lasted almost one hour. Padre Pio and the other Capuchins always sat in the balcony of the church for the prayers. Very few lay people attended Vespers at the time, probably due to the fact that it was a long uphill walk from the town of San Giovanni Rotondo. After Vespers, Bert and Uncle Gerardo would go into the monastery garden and visit with Padre Pio. There were usually six or eight priests along with several laymen in attendance. A high wall surrounded the entire area, which afforded complete privacy. Past the garden entrance was the monastery’s well. Padre Pio would often hold Bert’s hand and walk down the garden pathways while the other men would follow along behind. Even though Bert was just a small boy at the time, while in Padre Pio’s presence, he felt no desire to play or run about like children often do. Padre Pio would frequently sit on a bench and converse with the adults while holding Bert’s hand.

On one occasion, Padre Pio spoke about Bert’s father to everyone who was gathered. “Just like my own father, Bert’s father, Matteo, has emigrated to the United States in order to make a living,” Padre Pio said. “Many people believe that the United States is so rich that the tiles on the roofs of the homes are made out of pure gold. That is why so many people want to leave Italy and move there,” Padre Pio added. Grazio Forgione, Padre Pio’s father, had traveled to South America and also to the U.S. to work and earn money for his family and for Padre Pio’s education in the seminary.

Bert recalled some of the “regulars” who visited Padre Pio during the period of recreation in the monastery garden after Sunday Vespers. There was Basilio, the town’s electrician, Michaelino, who had a newsstand where he sold tobacco and newspapers, the English Count John Telfener, who owned a villa nearby, and little Pio Abresch, the young son of the monastery’s photographer. Pio Abresch, who attended the same school as Bert, eventually became a priest and was sent to Rome to serve at the Vatican. Not to be forgotten was the monastery’s dog, a German Shepherd who was instinctively good at guarding the Capuchins’ property and keeping strangers at bay.

Although Bert was too young to fully comprehend Padre Pio’s spirituality, he always knew that there was something special about him. For one thing, he always wore brown half-gloves and Bert knew that he did so in order to cover the wounds of the stigmata on his hands. Bert served as altar boy for Padre Pio on one occasion only. The Mass was very long and the Consecration was especially long. It seemed to Bert that it lasted for several hours. Kneeling on the hard marble floor was uncomfortable and making the effort to remain still during the long periods of silence, proved to be almost impossible for young Bert. The Mass took place very early in the morning and although Bert tried to stifle his yawns while serving at the altar, he did not succeed. He never signed up to serve Padre Pio’s Mass again.

Bert also found out by experience that it could be daunting to go to confession to Padre Pio. One memorable confession occurred when Bert was ten years old. Padre Pio heard his confession in one of the cells of the monastery. Bert had not made a good preparation to receive the sacrament and had not given very much thought to what he was going to say. He confessed several venial or minor sins and when he said his final words, Padre Pio asked him, “Is that all you have to confess?” “Yes, it is,” said Bert. “I don’t think so,” said Padre Pio. “I want you to go to my cell and meditate on your sins and then come back.”

Bert did as instructed. He was very familiar with the monastery and knew that Padre Pio’s cell was just down the corridor. Once inside Padre Pio’s cell, Bert saw the kneeler close to his bed. There he knelt as he had been instructed. He remembered that it was common knowledge in San Giovanni Rotondo that Padre Pio was often tormented by the devil. He also knew that Padre Pio led a very penitential life. He looked around the room to see if there were any chains and there were none. As he was kneeling, he suddenly began to remember other sins that had completely slipped his mind. “I talked back to my mother,” Bert reflected. “I was disobedient to Uncle Gerardo,” he remembered. “I neglected my prayers.” Suddenly, Bert became afraid. “I have a feeling that Padre Pio already knows this,” Bert said to himself. “He can probably read my mind and know my sins even before I confess them.” Bert did not have the courage to go back to Padre Pio’s confessional to receive absolution that day. He left the monastery and went straight home.

It was true enough that Padre Pio was exacting and meticulous regarding one’s conduct. Bert Longo learned that lesson from Padre Pio at an early age. On one occasion, Padre Pio was speaking to one of his spiritual sons, Professor Enrico Medi, about the serious sin of telling lies. Medi had recently been elected to Parliament and a prosperous and successful career in politics lay ahead for him. However, in the political world, Medi felt that it was impossible to always tell the truth. Occasionally, one had to tell a lie. He expressed his opinion but Padre Pio saw no room for compromise and strongly disagreed with Enrico. “Well then, if it is wrong to tell even small lies, I must resign from my position as a member of Parliament,” Professor Medi said. Padre Pio was very happy about his decision.

Bert’s Uncle Gerardo used to direct the religious plays that were performed in the hall adjacent to the church of Our Lady of Grace. On one occasion, young Bert was assigned to play the part of a mendicant Franciscan. When it was time for his entrance, he forgot the instructions he had been given. He made his way to the stage, not in a dignified manner, but running full speed. He delivered his lines quickly and ran off stage even faster. Padre Pio was in attendance for Bert’s acting debut. Seeing his ill-fated performance caused Padre Pio to laugh out loud. It was determined by the director that Bert Longo had no acting ability, and he was never cast again in any of the plays.

Bert used to go to Mary Pyle’s home where everyone gathered to rehearse for the plays. There, he became acquainted with Padre Pio’s father, Grazio Maria Forgione, who lived at Mary’s house. Bert and Grazio often played “Scopa” together, a card game they both enjoyed, during the rehearsals for the plays.

Grazio Forgione, a man of deep faith, was described by those who knew him as, “very simple and very good.” His kindness in his dealings with others was always evident. He was careful not to harm any living thing, not even an insect. He and his son, Padre Pio, had always been very close. When Padre Pio was a child, Grazio would take him on day pilgrimages to nearby religious shrines. They alternately walked and rode a donkey. Every year, on the feast day of St. Donato, Grazio took young Padre Pio to the fair in Pontelandolfo to buy sheep. In later years, Padre Pio would speak about the beautiful church in Pontelandolfo that he and his father visited each year on St. Donato’s feast day. After he became a priest, Padre Pio would hear his father’s confession. Grazio said that at times Padre Pio surprised him by informing him of sins which he had forgotten to confess and to which he had told no one.

Grazio understood that his son had received special graces from God. Not only did he have the gift of reading hearts while hearing confessions, he also expressed intuitive knowledge in many other circumstances. When the Holy Family Capuchin monastery and church were being built in Pietrelcina, a big problem presented itself. Many times the area had been probed for water, but with no success. The builders went to San Giovanni Rotondo to discuss the problem with Padre Pio. The construction of the Holy Family monastery was a project that was very close to Padre Pio’s heart and he was anxious for its completion. He was shown a blueprint of the area where the monastery would one day stand. Padre Pio pointed to a certain spot on the blueprint. “Dig five meters in this area and you will find all the water you need,” Padre Pio said. The advice proved to be accurate. When the workers dug in the area indicated, a spring of water came forth which was so plentiful that it supplied more than enough water for the needs of the monastery. The overflow was used by the town of Pietrelcina.

Many people were anxious to meet Grazio Forgione, knowing that he was Padre Pio’s father. “What a beautiful son you have,” they would often say to Grazio. At the words, tears would well up in his eyes. He would say in response, “I didn’t make him. Jesus Christ did.”

Many of the people who visited San Giovanni Rotondo would share their stories about Padre Pio with Grazio. One man from Pietrelcina told Grazio of his experience in Padre Pio’s confessional. The man had left Italy for a time and had moved to America. While there, he committed a terrible crime. He moved back to Italy without anyone knowing that he was the perpetrator of the crime. While making his confession to Padre Pio, he withheld his dark secret. When Padre Pio asked him if he had any other sins to confess, his answer was no. Padre Pio told him to turn around and look behind him. The man did so and saw the whole scene of the crime in miniature, reenacted before his eyes. He was filled with terror. What terrified him even more was seeing the devil standing directly behind him, ready to seize him. The man fainted. When he was revived, he again confessed his sins to Padre Pio, this time, withholding nothing.

Padre Pio had received the stigmata in 1918, in the monastery church of Our Lady of Grace. When the news reached Grazio that his son had received the stigmata, he was profoundly moved. One late afternoon, when Grazio came in from doing the farm work on his small land holding, he saw that his wife Giuseppa’s eyes were red with tears. She told Grazio that she had been summoned that day by the parish priest of Pietrelcina. The priest showed Giuseppa a letter he had received from Padre Pio’s monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo. The letter was to inform him that Padre Pio had received the wounds of Christ on his hands, feet, and side. Padre Pio was the first priest in the history of the Church to receive the stigmata. When Grazio heard the news about his son, he too, cried with Giuseppa.

Following the custom of kissing the hand of a priest, Grazio often tried to kiss his son’s hand, but Padre Pio would not allow it. “It is I who should be kissing your hand, father,” Padre Pio would say to Grazio. One day Grazio managed to succeed in kissing Padre Pio’s hand. “Do not worry. I am not kissing your hand, son. I am kissing the wounds of Jesus Christ,” Grazio said. His respect for his son was so great that he didn’t speak to Padre Pio using the word, “tu,” the familiar second person singular that family members use when speaking to each other. He used the more formal, “voi.” When Grazio passed away, Padre Pio was so grief-stricken that he could not resume his normal priestly duties for many days.

In 1939, Padre Pio attended the dedication ceremony of one of the beautiful and early Via Croce (Stations of the Cross) that had been erected in San Giovanni Rotondo. Bert Longo and his Uncle Gerardo attended the ceremony as well. Though Bert lived in San Giovanni Rotondo for the first twenty years of his life, Padre Pio’s presence at the dedication ceremony that day was the one and only time that Bert ever saw him outside the monastery. Padre Pio was not a cloistered religious. If he had wanted to, he could have gone on outings or taken a vacation like the other Capuchins in his religious community did. But for reasons of his own, he chose not to. It was his desire and his practice to stay within the monastery walls. He spent his time either in prayer or in priestly service to those who needed his help.

Bert and his Uncle Gerardo faithfully attended the Vespers service at Our Lady of Grace every Sunday afternoon for five years. Their weekly visits were curtailed due to an event that happened in San Giovanni Rotondo in February, 1944. That was the year that German soldiers placed a cannon in the center of the town and ordered all the citizens to turn in their hunting rifles, pistols and automobiles. There were only about four automobiles at that time in San Giovanni Rotondo. The cars were taken to the Umbrian Forest and hidden among the trees but the German soldiers soon found them and destroyed them. After that, everyone became more concerned for their safety. For that reason, Uncle Gerardo stopped taking Bert to the monastery for Vespers.

Bert’s high school class in San Giovanni Rotondo consisted of fourteen students. When graduation approached, Bert began to think seriously about his vocation. He had been accepted at the University of Bari but could not decide between medicine or engineering as a career path. He asked Padre Pio for his opinion on which would be a better choice. “Why don’t you go on a retreat and pray about it?” Padre Pio said to him. Bert was a teenager at the time and going away on a retreat for the weekend did not seem feasible. However, he decided to go alone to Monte Calvo, the large mountain that was directly behind the monastery. He spent time there in seclusion as he walked and prayed, asking God to help him with the important decision regarding his future. Afterward, Bert felt that he should choose engineering over medicine. It proved to be an excellent decision. Later, when he thought about his conversations with Padre Pio, he reflected that Padre Pio never told him what to do. Instead, he always suggested that he pray and ask the Lord to guide him.

Bert’s father, Matteo Longo, had been working in the United States for many years to help support the family. In 1951, twenty-year-old Bert, along with his mother and brother, moved to the United States to be reunited with Matteo. Before they left San Giovanni Rotondo, the family wanted to see Padre Pio one last time. Uncle Gerardo arranged for them to meet Padre Pio at a side area of the church to say good-bye and to receive his blessing. It had to be done discretely and almost in secret, since there were so many people who were constantly trying to see Padre Pio.

After Bert relocated to Massachusetts, he kept in touch with Uncle Gerardo and Padre Pio through letters. When Bert needed Padre Pio’s counsel, he would write to his Uncle Gerardo and ask him to relay the message to Padre Pio. Bert became interested in an Irish girl and started dating her. He wrote to Uncle Gerardo and asked him to tell Padre Pio the news. Padre Pio gave Uncle Gerardo a message to pass on to Bert. “Does the girl come from a religious family? Does she go to Mass on Sunday?” Bert reflected on Padre Pio’s words and could not answer in the affirmative. He decided to stop dating the girl. He became interested in a second girl and started dating her. He thought about Padre Pio’s comment, “Is her family religious? Does she go to church?” Again, he could not reply in the affirmative. He stopped seeing the second girl.

Bert served as an usher every Sunday morning at St. Anna’s parish in Leominster, Massachusetts. One of the parishioners was a very nice Italian girl named Clara DiNardo. Bert used to usher Clara to her seat for the Sunday morning Mass. Soon they started dating. He wrote to Uncle Gerardo and told him to pass the news on to Padre Pio that he was dating Clara. A short time later, Uncle Gerardo wrote back. Padre Pio told Uncle Gerardo to tell Bert that it sounded like Clara came from a good Italian family and it sounded like a good match. And indeed it was!

After Bert and Clara got married, Uncle Gerardo would come to visit them and would stay for long periods of time. By that time he had retired, and his brother, Vincenzo had assumed the privileged task of cutting Padre Pio’s hair. Uncle Gerardo still attended church twice each day and gave much of his time to prayer and spiritual reading. Knowing the great esteem that Bert had for Padre Pio, Uncle Gerardo gave him several precious relics. From his days as Padre Pio’s barber, he saved some of Padre Pio’s hair and gave it to Bert. Bert also received a piece of bloodstained linen that covered Padre Pio’s side wound, sent to him from San Giovanni Rotondo by Padre Pio’s personal assistant.

Bert and Clara felt blessed by the visits of Uncle Gerardo to their home. “Why don’t you decide to live here permanently?” Bert asked his uncle on one occasion. “No, I want to die poor, like Saint Francis of Assisi,” he replied. Gerardo moved back to San Giovanni Rotondo and died in 1987 on the auspicious day of October 4. It was the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. Nobody who knew Gerardo Miniscalchi was surprised.

Not long after he moved to Massachusetts, Bert received a hand-written letter from Padre Pio. Of the various relics and mementos of Padre Pio that Bert received, this was the most precious of all. Writing was difficult for Padre Pio after he received the stigmata. It was not easy for him to hold a pen and compose a letter with painful and open wounds in his hands that pierced them clear through. Not only was writing difficult, it was also forbidden for much of his priestly ministry, by order of his superiors. Padre Pio’s deep affection for Bert Longo is very evident in the letter that he sent to him on May 4,1953. Padre Pio wrote:

Most dear brother in Jesus Christ,

I am very happy to hear that your health is good and from the depth of my heart I am happy when your Uncle Gerardo tells me the current news about you. With love, I remember you in my prayers to the good Lord so that he can bless and help you with the abundance of his grace. I am sending you my paternal blessing with all good wishes. I advise you to always act in the way of a good Christian. Always remember the good instructions you received from your parents. Stay away from the dangerous company of false friends who break both your mind and your heart. Always obey your loved ones and be sure to see to your studies. These paternal recommendations come from my heart and I desire that they enter your heart. I embrace you and I bless you. - Padre Pio

#padre pio

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