#if i can bring myself to stop having an active battle with all my digital art

[ash-tree-eyes]

This poor man is going through the Horrors y’all

[flipping-the-coin]

[Inquisitorial Report: Subject - Megatron of Kaon]

[Authorization Level: Alpha (Elite Guard Selective)]

[Listed Authorizations: Head Elite Guardsman Smokescreen, Chaplain Paradox]

[Assigned Inquisitor: Hush]

[15 Vorns after Cybertron's Restoration - Three Stellar-cycles into assignment]

═════════════════

I hate this place so much. Not only has Megatron continually remained docile without so much as a hint of illegal activity aside from the odd air traffic ticket, but his hab is the worst. I do not mean to say that it is unclean, no, it is far from it. But whatever organizational skills Megatron of Kaon and Head Archivist Orion Pax possessed have quite likely died in this place. Their methods of keeping their residence are confusing at best and convoluted at worst. I despise it with a passion. Brother Chaplain, you would have never stood for this mess.

I don't know how in Primus's name Orion can leave his scrap in so many places and not care. Megatron certainly doesn't give a flying frag about it. Orion will leave things around and he won't touch it, even if its riGhT uNdEr PEde. Fragging glitch. I watched Orion leave the holoscreen remote under the left couch cushion and not a spark fetched the thing for a whole deca-cycle. It ended up being Megatron who lifted the cushion and fetched the remote after Orion quite firmly refused to get it himself by simply avoiding doing so. Orion told Megatron where the remote was and then sat down while the former leader of the Decepticons dug under to cushion for a while until he found it.

Absolute ridiculousness. I hate this fragging hab. Orion left his work bag under the energon purifier and left it there throughout the entirety of his break. There is so much dust under that stupid device, I wouldn't be surprised if the next time he does that, he will grab the bag and pull up a dust ball while he is at it. Did you know there is enough dust on the top of the door frame to coat my digits with? Because there most certainly is and I hate it. I ended up cleaning all the dust on top of the doorframe myself after I had it in the corner of my vision for a whole deca-cycle tormenting me. Then I cleaned under the purifier and the other devices in the energon preparation station. I may have also ended up getting the broom Megatron keeps in storage to clean under the couch and holoscreen in order to fetch a spare accessory that was discarded under there almost a half stellar cycle ago. I left it on the dining room table.

While I had the broom I also may or may not have swept the outside deck. That thing was covered in enough dust in the corners to make any sensible guardsman cringe. Then I also got rid of the pile of shavings Orion and Megatron's neighbor keeps leaving out back. The mech is an engraver by trade, but his scraps keep getting onto Orion and Megatron's property and it is outrageous. Can't the engraver have some grace and dispose of his waste properly? I half the mind to call an inspector over to check his workspace standards if this is a continual issue. His cyber-feline is also a pain in the aft. The stupid mech-animal keeps howling like the world is on fire in the middle of Orion's recharge cycles and has already caused him to wake up screaming more than once.

It turned out the thing was just hungry since that aft of an engraver doesn't tend to the poor thing, so I went out and bought some energon rations for the cyber-feline. It seems to be of Kaoni origin based on its marking and structure, a pure breed too. Its quite obviously meant for assisting in battle when properly trained. But anyway, I fed it and now it comes out every recharge cycle to demand more fuel. This is cutting into my funds a bit, but the feline has stopped being noisy and waking up Orion, so I think its a good investment. Besides, the feline has already proven useful. It has been bringing me the things Orion keeps leaving out in the yard, like his crystal tending tools that he left in the shed and never retrieved.

I named the cyber-feline Carnage since it is so destructive with its voice. To ensure the investment is worth it, I have begun training Carnage to follow simple commands. Aside from collecting things for me, it has also taken to following me into my hiding spots despite my attempts to keep it out. Thankfully it has remained quiet and has found ways to escape the hab without making a sound. It is highly intelligent. If possible, I would like to keep it and recommend Inquisitors take similar felines into their care. Carnage I think will prove more useful with time.

Anyway, aside from the feline and the dust which I dealt with, Orion also brought home a box of random accessories and paints a few cycles ago and proceeded to organize exactly none of it. He had a grand old time painting Megatron with pretty glyphs and putting magnetic accessories on him, but he just shoved everything onto a shelf and left it there. I tried to ignore it, I really did, but there was a bottle barely on the shelf and it teetered every time someone walked past, so I ended up fixing things. It wasn't much, I simply moved everything into a more acceptable positions and arranged the paints by color profile and number as well as the accessories by design and artisan of origin. I may have also bought a special box to put it all in, but that is beside the point. I played it off fairly well in my opinion and made it look like a gift from a friend by leaving a small tag simply titled.

𝔄 𝔤𝔦𝔣𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔲𝔭 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔬𝔣 𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔷𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔞𝔩 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔰.

-ℌ𝔲𝔰𝔥

I tried to use glyphs to cover for my intervention. Thankfully Orion didn't seem to notice anything and Megatron merely looked at the note before tearing it off and walking away. I apologize for acting, but I couldn't stand it. And I apologize for also getting into Megatron's energon storage to organize there too.

His method of storing energon is primitive by any standard. He just stakes his crates of energon on top of one another haphazardly in some strange order I could never decipher. He has an easy time getting to everything because he is fragging huge, but he doesn't take into account anyone else. Thus I have spent the last several cycles dutifully arranging things in there. Its been difficult to not make a noise while moving around crates almost as bit as I am, but I have been careful. I moved the base energon cubes around toward the entrance of the storage room since that is generally what Megatron and Orion have in the morning. Then I put the additives right next to the crates in organized containers I made while waiting in my post. After that I shuffled around the various energon snacks and goodies that Orion has been storing up on and put them into stacks based on type.

The only time I have ever felt more satisfied was when I was named an Inquisitor. It was a weight off my spark to have that room organized last recharge cycle. Of course I have suffered for it a bit and I needed to take a quick defrag in order to keep going, but it was worth it in my opinion. That said, I haven't done too much and merely listened to Megatron continue to wax poetics and Orion whine about the council and their orders. In my personal opinion the council can go frag themselves, their will is not the will of the Lord Steward or our Prime, and thus they are irrelevant. Nonetheless, I do believe I have heard quite enough about the council from Megatron and Orion.

I hate this hab with a passion, but I have learned here. I thank Primus for giving me this chance to express my patience and I pray his Angel will continue to watch over me. I am unsure how much longer I can maintain my sanity if I have nothing to work with aside from small petty inconveniences.

══════��══════════

[Report Received: Visibility Status - Seen]

[Note from Chaplain Paradox:

Hush, at this point you have quite likely been discovered. Normally this would give us reason to have you be called back, however I have had my suspicions that Megatron has known of your presence since you arrived. Thus you must continue your work as quietly as you can, but as it is, if you are spotted, it is not mission ending. Do not allow yourself to be seen if it is possible, but if you are, go quiet for a deca-cycle or so and then continue with your work.

Remember, you are not a housekeeper nor are you a nanny. Please try and stay on task, but if you can gather more information by working to gain the trust of Megatron, then so be it. All I ask is that you remember who you serve.

The Prime watches over us all. We are his chosen, his guardians as he walks among us in mortal frame. Do not forget your purpose Hush.]

[kayr0ss]

Hands that Remember Chapter 2 [AO3]

[Horizon Zero Dawn, Elisabet Sobeck Lives, Found Family, Mother-Daughter Feelings, GAIA is recovering, Ereloy]

Summary: Aloy saw the recordings, felt their grief over the death of their culture - the loss of their identity. Ted Faro had blown away the light meant to guide humanity through darkness - but she was willing to risk it all to take it back. To bring APOLLO back.  It wasn't the first time that the world asked her for a miracle, but it bargained with a miracle of its own: This time - she didn't have to do it alone.

[Wherein Elisabet Sobeck returns, GAIA is recovering, Erend is done waiting around, and Aloy discovers a family she's never had before to help lift the weight of the world off her shoulders.]

Chapter 2: Re-Calibration

CHAPTER 2

--

It was such an odd thing to feel dirt again.

When was the last time she felt sediment and rock between her fingertips? A thousand years ago—quite literally. She’d forgotten the feel of it squeezing underneath the overhang of her nails, the discomfort of a pebble pressing on her heel within her shoe.

Little things. Living things.

GAIA Prime and all the other bunkers she had to oversee were exactly that: bunkers. Giant boxes of metal sealed from the world and its mounds of dust, dirt, and rock. But this disconnection wasn’t new: it’s been around since before she was locked away and working on Zero Dawn. It was there even back in Miriam, in FAS—even as far back as Stanford. So much time spent rushing towards the next breakthrough that she never had the time to stop and smell the flowers before they all burned away.

It was hard to wrap her head around the idea that flowers were back—blooming again somewhere out there. But for now she’d settle for the desert sand, riddled with weeds and other small signs of life.

She wondered what Erend might be thinking, seeing her run her fingers along the ground like a toddler. Eager to feel—to learn, no, relearn about a world she was only getting her bearings on. She caught a small blade of grass between her fingers. It’s alive, it’s all… alive again, she stared in wonder at the small miracle of live in her hand. Her return to consciousness was a violent experience. This was a nice change of pace.

The rest of the vanguard gave her and Erend privacy to talk, running errands in the nearby encampment and leaving them in the shade of an open tent. God knows she needed the space. She had questions—so many questions and while Erend tried his best to get her up to speed it seemed like there was always more. His rushed explanation was a disaster. Machines, cultists—whatever the fuck else was out there—and Aloy.

He said he’d try again and break it down slowly this time, sticking to what he knew and leaving the rest ‘to Aloy.’

‘Aloy’ sounded like a big shot. Someone important. Erend spoke about her with both familiarity and fondness—like how the other Alphas sounded when talking about one another. Whatever tangent he flew into—about what they had to fight off and how he believed it was related to herself and the other ‘Old Ones’—it always came back to Aloy. There was an unwavering faith he had in her that she could recognize: the feeling that they’ve fought together, bled together.

Endured something terrible together.

She remembered how he looked a little hurt earlier. “You’re Aloy’s mother, aren’t you?” He said it almost reverently, but unfortunately the answer was a very strong “no.” It must have been a misunderstanding—why would he think that?

“Got some boar roasting in camp.” Erend’s voice carried above the sound of his heavy footsteps. He walked closer, seating himself on a rock across her. “You feelin’ better?”

“I think so,” she admitted. “Alive. Which is better than the alternative when it comes to emerging from cryosleep if you ask me.”

“Good, good.” He crossed his arms. “Not hungry?”

Elisabet shook her head. “I don’t think I can taste anything yet.” She really hoped this side-effect was temporary.

“Well, let’s get you some soup. That’ll help.”

How she was feeling was a can of worms she didn’t want to open quite yet. Her body was on edge, the hairs along her arms standing in attention while she could feel the pace of her heart jog above average. It almost made her wince, the self-awareness of expecting a panic attack at any moment, but if her system had decided to be useful before shutting off completely later on, she was going to make the goddamn most of it.

Deep breaths.

She needed to take deep, long breaths. This was nothing but a jacked-up sympathetic nervous system stress response—there was no real danger. Just hypothetical fear. She needed to relax. She needed to think.

Orientation would be a good start—what, when, and where. And then she needed a plan. Something. Anything to do other than wander aimlessly like a fucking relic out of time. “You okay?”

It almost made her snap. He was asking if she was okay? She looked up, a smart quip loaded at the tip of her tongue but then—he looked so earnest, so concerned. An expression like that didn’t belong on a soldier.

“Not really, no.” She admitted.

“Huh.” Erend sat hunched over with his chin on one hand, looking comically close to that old statue of a thinking man if not for the wider breadth of his knees. He cleared his throat. “So…”

Despite the situation, she chuckled. “I’m glad to see that the most awkward of conversation starters evolved itself back into common use.”

The reference likely flew over his head, but he smiled while rubbing at the back of his neck almost shyly. He seemed… kinder than a hundred pounds of armor and a warhammer would seem like.

“I mean what am I even supposed to say?” He shrugged. “I uh, hit things with my hammer. You—and this predicament—are not things I’m gonna hit with my hammer.”

“That’s reassuring,” Elisabet deadpanned.

“You sure you aren’t Aloy’s mother?” Erend cracked her a lopsided grin.

Elisabet rubbed at her temple. “I think I’d know if I was. Is it wishful thinking to hope you guys have any ibuprofen?”

She had been pointedly ignoring his assertions that she was anyone’s mother. There were more pressing concerns to address, foremost of which was the distinct lack of technology. She’s only been up and about for a few hours but it was enough to notice the rudimentary tools and structures, along with the fact that Erend seemed to be the only other person with access to technology similar to hers.

“I’d check if we do, if I had any idea of what that is.”

“Where are we?”

“The furthest west I’ve ever been, honestly.” Erend shrugged. “I’m not familiar with these lands. We generally call it The Forbidden West—but there isn’t much else we know. Just more… sand, and dust. I’ve heard stories of trees that grew on sand, at the border of an endless lake. Never been there to see it myself.” He paused thoughtfully. “I uh, made a short trek back east from where I found you. About an hour or a little more.”

Elisabet stayed quiet, willing herself not to ask the question prickling at the tip of her tongue.

“Was that your home?” Erend asked quietly. “Where I found you. With the tall, pointed trees and the old stone structure.”

“Pines,” she supplied. “The trees, I meant. I thought you would know this by now.”

He grunted. “I’m a captain. Pretty good darned captain too, but no tree expert.”

“No, no.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I meant you as in people, in general. The kinds of trees and animals, our history and technology—we tried to pass that on.”

Something wasn’t right—a feeling that’s been weighing on her since her awakening.

Erend and the vanguard were outfitted with plate armor and looked to have no means of transportation other than by foot. They had waterskins instead of thermal containers and their basic camping supplies were made of fibers and tanned leather. Nevermind real-time mapping and wireless communication. ‘Battle-ready’ wasn’t exactly what came to mind, and she’d have paid to hear Herres’ take on 31st century military technology. She might have even chuckled, had the implication not been so dire. Something had definitely gone wrong.

“Is the nearby encampment allied with you?”

“It was established by the Carja military as a way station, under the Sundom’s jurisdiction.” Erend beckoned her nearer, shuffling towards the side to leave space on the large, slated rock he was sitting on. “Ever since the Battle at the Spire, the Sun King’s been allowing expeditions towards the west—Aloy’s got a hunch that something is going on over there and you could guess that most of everyone listens to her these days. Whether she likes it or not.”

Carja. Sundom. Factions and nations, most likely?

“Just a minute.” He fumbled a little with his focus, looking up and awkwardly moving his hands in thin air. His frustration was noticeable in the deep set of his brows. “Aloy’s done this before—a map, on scrolls of light. She could share it with me while it, uh, did its floaty thing.”

“Do you have the map open?” Elisabet tapped her focus, hearing the small digital beam alert her of its activity. Technology was a familiar comfort—something to ground her. She whistled lowly while running a system check on the piece of hardware, trying not to wince at the fact that the date read January 14, 3041. The 31st fucking century. Safe to say it’s still working way past warranty declarations. “I think I got it.”

“How did you—its telling me that an external device accessed my display?”

“Hacking it,” she smiled. “This is more or less my area of expertise.”

“Right,” Erend nodded. “So we’re right over here.” He pointed towards a small glowing indicator.

“Outskirts of Carson City.” She had said it so softly it surprised her. She never pegged herself as particularly sentimental but being so close to home… after everything.

“And this,” he moved to the east. “Is the Sundom, and to its eastern border is the Nora’s Sacred Lands.”

Elisabet let herself have a moment of evaluation, eyes moving around the map to absorb as much information as she could. The satellite image let her know that the area’s topography reverted to pre-Faro Plague days: desert and canyons. Forested mountains covered the range to the east, but the northern range where she recalled Yellowstone was seemed erratically cold and glacial.

Information was a valuable resource she was lacking in.

“I need to get to the most developed settlement,” she muttered to herself. “Acclimate to customs and culture before finding a means to find and access ZD bunkers.”

“Bunkers?” Erend blinked.

“I assume that camps similar to this one are interspersed between the border of the Sundom and our location? At distances accessible by foot?”

“Yes, but—”

“I have to account for hostility along the road.” She crossed her arms. “And resources for supplies. What currency do you trade with?”

“Look,” Erend’s tone was firm. “We are going to take care of hostility and resources, because we’re going with you.”

“I—”

“You need to slow down,” Erend rose to his feet. “We don’t even know for sure if you’re okay after getting thawed out a thousand years later.”

“I need to figure out what happened to Zero Dawn. Find GAIA, and then—”

“Elisabet,” his voice was softer again, big and heavy hands settling on her shoulders. “We have time.”

Time? Of course they didn’t! There were a million things left to do and only two weeks until—

“The world isn’t ending anymore.”

--

He’d finally convinced her to sit down and get something to eat and it wasn’t damn easy. Elisabet was back to the makeshift planning table even before swallowing down her last bite and by the forge it was driving Erend just a little bit crazy.

“This is where we’re headed.”

Erend marked his own map, one that was tangible and inked on parchment instead of light. More reliable, if you asked him. Didn’t flicker in and out of sight—and didn’t make him look like a total jackass in front of his vanguard, waving his fingers around something they couldn’t see.

It was nearing sundown. The vanguard packed up ahead of time; they were leaving at the break of dawn. Erend split the party in two—one was to continue the expedition towards the Western Threshold, and the other, with Erend, was to hurry back to Meridian discreetly. It was a plan forged into metal: Erend needed to talk to Avad, while Elisabet seemed particularly interested in the Spire once he mentioned it.

“Utah and Colorado,” Elisabet whispered in wonder, tapping her focus on likely projecting a light-based rendering of them map on top of his own. “The staging areas for Zero Dawn.”

Erend looked at her with curiosity. “S’that what they used to be called? Before… before the whole thing—”

“Ended?” She punctuated, sensing his discomfort. But then she gave him a slight smile—it was different from Aloy’s. Wiser and wearier. “Though that’d be wrong. We’re still here, somehow.”

He smirked. “Don’t look so surprised. Didn’t you have somethin’ to do with that?”

“I’m just one of many,” she looked back towards the map. Didn’t look ready to talk about that, it seemed. “So what have we got?”

“We’re not in a hurry. We can take the traders’ path on the way back.” He pointed along a red, snaking line etched on the surface of the parchment. It was well-lit, well-guarded, and easy to traverse with enough camps in-between to restock and rest. He tapped twice on a marker at the end of route: it was a black, soaring tower. The good ‘ol Spire.

“That’d take us too long.” Elisabet shook her head. “We could go through these passes through the ridges. Cut straight through and save both time and resources.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“And time—”

“—is something you have now.” Erend stood his ground, arms crossed. “As I keep reiterating to you.”

“I’ve noticed.” Elisabet set her jaw. Then she sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to—” she waved a hand over the map “—this.”

“You mean not being the one in charge?” Erend grinned.

“I didn’t really ask for that,” she smiled back kindly. “But old habits die hard.”

“The long way to Meridian it is, then.”

--

Sobeck Journal, 1-14-41

We did it.

Even this barren desert looks beautiful. Can’t shake the feeling that I don’t deserve to see it all though.

Not without the rest of ZD. Without the rest of you.

I’m going to forego writing about how I feel because I don’t even know where to begin digging up that can of shit. Exhaustion was always an effective sleeping pill back in the day: now that I’ve got time to think when I lay down everything is so loud. Given the state of things I doubt they’d invented melatonin pills yet either, but who am I to complain? Alive is still better than dead.

Off to sleep now. Something’s wrong with APOLLO. More things to figure out tomorrow.

After all these years, I still don’t get to rest.

--

[“—someone— … —back to see—“]

“Great timing as usual.” Aloy hissed under her breath. The strider she was on was nearly worn down. She was an hour’s ride away from the forest’s edge—right where the sands of the Barrens began. That’s what she was going to call them anyway: “the Barrens.” Those prissy cartographers up in the mesa have no idea just how large the West was. It wasn’t all sand and tumbleweed: there were forests so different from the Jewel and the Sacred Lands that she didn’t know how to begin describing them! And the lake… the biggest she’s ever seen. A body of water so large it must have cloaked the world’s entirety. She’s seen it on the spherical maps stored in her focus—a depth of blue so imposing she couldn’t even wrap her head around it. The air was different along the lake’s edge—salty and crisp. Both beautiful and foreign and so very unforgiving.

She gently stroked the side of the strider’s neck. She didn’t want to wear him down completely—best to leave enough so that he could carry on and survive another day. Herds of broadheads often wandered around the Barrens anyway, although not found as often as in Meridian and to the East.

She’s been getting scrambled messages from Erend for the better part of a day now. He sounded panicked. He hated using his focus but there was apparently something important enough for him to try. It seemed desperately urgent and the only thing she could make of his messages was that she needed to go back.

Chasing after GAIA and whatever was left of APOLLO was going to have to wait.

Her strider whinnied—Aloy hummed a small apology she hoped it could understand. If she found a charger it’d be better—she could ride through evening on a mount strong enough to discourage smaller machines from engaging them. By next evening she could rest by the ranch.

Aloy bit her lip, a soft feeling of longing at her gut. That’s what Elisabet called it in her journals anyway—Sobeck Ranch. A small speck of life, trees, and flowers on the eastern edge of the Barrens. A small place to rest before another two days’ ride to Meridian.

She remembers how freeing it felt to tell Rost about her misadventures so far. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to take a few minutes for Elisabet and do the same.

She urged the strider to run a little faster, wind whipping at her hair and the tassels of her armor. “Just a bit more, big guy. Just a little more.”

-

A/N: Thank you once again to Tototops for beta-reading this chapter!

It's been a hot minute but here we go with chapter 2!

[politicalsci]

Jeremy Corbyn helped my dad when nobody else would

By Sophia Leonie 9th December 2019

One day, my dad asked me to drop him to the airport. I couldn’t – it was last minute and I had other plans. When I asked what the urgency was, he said that he needed to put up a headstone for his recently deceased mother and attend her memorial. He had been going back and forth to Zimbabwe for years. I wished him a safe trip and hoped the memorial went well. We expected to meet and have lunch the following Sunday.

But he never came home.

My father, Francis Mtandwa, was one of Jeremy Corbyn’s constituents. Jeremy did everything in his power to bring him back. As the mainstream media continues to slander Jeremy and lifelong Labour supporters across the UK consider voting Tory, painfully against their own interests, because they fear he’s a racist, I can only despair.

I am happy and proud to call myself British. I’m mixed race. My mum watched my grandmother, fresh from Germany, deal with the hostility of a patriotic postwar Britain. My dad, who came to London in the 1970s from Zimbabwe, wanted a good education and had high hopes for a successful career. But upon entering the UK, he soon became a victim of unimaginable racism. Not just from a hostile public, media and fascist political parties like The National Front – but from the police too. Dad told me stories of frequent stop and searches, then named SUS laws. Once my parents married and with mixed race children in tow, racist abuse intensified. It was the 80s – Zimbabwe had just gained independence from British rule and Nelson Mandela was still in prison. Things were changing and a lot of people were unhappy about it...

Upon attempting to return from his trip to Zimbabwe, my dad was denied re-entry to the UK. The government wanted 30 years of proof that he had lived and worked here. No problem, we thought, the records all exist. But there was a catch: the Home Office said they would not seek out anything pre-digital, so it was up to us to find them. Friends and family all helped where they could, trying to contact people and organisations from years ago. Then our case suffered a massive setback. My father was in a house fire in Zimbabwe. He received 75% burns and suffered a stroke. Now severely disabled and with his speech affected, we were unable to continue our efforts without his guidance.

Desperate and distraught, my mum and I met with Jeremy Corbyn at one of his local constituency surgeries. The first time we tried, we attempted the walk-in clinic. The line reached far down the street and eventually we headed home and decided to take another approach. We emailed Jeremy, explained the situation and were invited down for an appointment a few days later. He came into the old church where the meetings were held, wheeling his bike. Taking his helmet off he looked at us, smiled, and apologised for being late. We followed him into a side room and I began to explain what had happened to my father. He listened carefully, making notes and asking questions. He said he was sorry and that he would write to the government, asking them to search their archives for records.

His request was eventually granted and working with Jeremy, we were confident we would have dad home in the next few months. But before this could happen, my father suffered another stroke in Zimbabwe. He passed away.

My dad was one of the earliest victims of the Tories’ “Windrush scandal” (which extended beyond the Caribbean, to other Commonwealth countries). Before it had a name, media coverage and national outrage, Jeremy cared. After my father passed, we immediately received a heartfelt letter from him sending his condolences and showing his support for our family at this tragic time.

I’m not saying vote Labour because Jeremy was nice to me and tried to help my family when nobody else would. I’m not saying vote Labour because my story is just one of many. I’m saying vote Labour because Jeremy is one of the only people in a position of possible real power, that truly, honestly cares about the vulnerable, the exiled, the poor and the disfranchised ahead of his own interests.

Which other politician has spent a year volunteering in Jamaica? Which other politician would happily be arrested fighting anti-racist regimes like apartheid? And again in 1987 when the Tory government called the ANC terrorists? At the Battle of Wood Green on 23 April1977, the National Front planned a march through Turnpike Lane, North London, to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. Jeremy, then a Labour councillor for Haringey, helped to organise a powerful counter-protest, involving approximately 3-4,000 people, who successfully stopped the Nazis from marching through the busy multicultural high street that Saturday afternoon.

Labour’s leader has also forged other long-standing relationships with constituents, which he goes out of his way to maintain. My aunty Katrin, who also lives in Islington, told me of how he would often pop round and visit her and her husband. “The last time he came we chatted in the hallway for ages and before he left he said: ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’ – I looked at the four bikes in my cramped hallway and said  ‘A bike shed would be nice!’ A few months later, guess what? A bike shed appeared by the flats.”

Another Islington resident, Tina, told me of how, in the mid-2000s, she and other local residents went down to Islington Town Hall in an attempt to save their local community centre from closure and Jeremy was there. He sat next to her and as they chatted, he mentioned that he had just returned from East Timor (an island nation near Indonesia) earlier that day and had to be at the BBC at 7am, but wouldn’t have missed this. That is the real Jeremy Corbyn.

The relentless, constant media slander of Jeremy really tries to make people forget this – but we must not. With people like Rachel Riley literally trying to erase his history of anti-racist activism, the history of Jeremy’s passion for human rights, his kindness and absolute love for people of all races and backgrounds will always be firmly cemented in the minds of us in Islington North.

The mainstream media are throwing everything they have at Jeremy right now, shamelessly weaponising what little they have in bad faith because, if in power, Jeremy will challenge the right wing press, and they know it. So if you’re a Labour supporter with a zero-tolerance for racism and have been confused recently about whether Jeremy’s politics align with your own – don’t be. Look at his record. Jeremy has spent his entire life fighting against racism.

For the rest of us trying to navigate post-Brexit racist Britain, with debt, insecure living arrangements, trying to get on the housing ladder, juggling zero-hour contracts, the Labour party offers an alternative to capitalist struggle. If you look beyond the smear campaign, the media bias, and the non-polished suit, you’ll see a man who is disliked because he is simply unwilling to look and behave like other politicians. A man who cares about substance rather than surface. A man who, just as he helped me, can help you too.

[x]

[silkylious]

Hi dear. I’m the anon who requested an istp reader earlier and i’m so sorry I completely missed the requests closed sign. Congrats on 400 followers!! Your event is so cute and I’m here to request a matchup! I’m a straight 5’7 girl whose personality type is istp. I have long brown hair and brown eyes. I’m a figure skater who loves to read, write and watch anime. I also like to bake whenever I have time. I’m rather analytical, with my strengths lying in math and science and history as my weakest. My writing style is more poetic, consisting of long sentences, metaphors and personophication. I’m blunt and my humor is dry and witty. However, even though I usually can keep a cool head, I get flustered easily (it’s one of the things I hate most lmao). I generally don’t take BS and my style is minimalist. I prefer to stay in by myself rather than go out with large groups of people. If I had an SO, I would much rather stay in and enjoy each other’s presence than go out on elaborate dates. I have a really low social battery too. My music taste is all over the place, but I love Chase Atlantic and Arctic Monkeys. I’m more of a cat person, though I do love dogs, and I like nature and spending time outside. Hopefully that’s enough information! Thank you so much! - 🧩 anon

Thank you so much for sending this in!! <3 I hope you like your matchup! :3

I ship you with...

general relationship dynamic: 

A match made in heaven or hell depending on who you ask

Similar enough to maintain stability, but different enough to keep things unpredictable and fun

Katsuki appreciates your rational nature, as he himself is extremely pragmatic. That common denominator relives the stress of having to deal with problems caused by emotional misunderstandings 

I can definitely see this dynamic as a slowly building friendship at first

Your tendency to not let anyone walk all over you and keep a calm aura about you immediately attracted him, but simultaneously frustrated him to no visible end

The blatant contrast between your personalities instantaneously made him want to break that collected demeanor of yours. 

All in the name of competition. At least it started out that way.

Battle after battle, bruise after bruise and trail after trail, the more hardships you faced together, the more teasing your remarks became.

What started out as him hurling every curse word known to man in hopes of shattering that nonchalant exterior of yours (and you ultimately ignoring him), slowly but surely turned into both of you exchanging well-crafted remarks.

Your sardonic humor was such a good match for him. Both knocked him off his high horse and left him in complete awe (and affection. Though he’d never admit it) of your quick, sarcastic wit all packaged in a light-hearted tone that didn’t wound his ego (too much).

More often than not, you’d fluster the hell out of him. Not that it was hard to get a reaction out of Bakugo Katsuki to begin with.

Your sharp responses just made him want to see you lose your cool even more. He never wallowed in his embarrassment too long, always too eager to grasp the next opportunity to turn the tables on you.

You bet your ass the first time he saw your composure slip, the bastard basked in it. Laughing to his heart’s content while you indignantly screeched at him to shut up.

He’d never forget that moment; and he made damn sure you wouldn’t either, not hesitating to bring it up whenever he wanted to put you in your place or just to get a rise out of you for the hell of it.

And from there it just doesn’t stop. He’s a quick learner and oddly observant, and he uses both those traits to his full advantage when picking on you. His relentless teasing never ceasing to give him the satisfaction of seeing your disheveled composure.

He also loved the gentle crease in your brows and that adorable pout on your lips whenever he verbally pushes you into a corner but that’s beside the point-

Not that it mattered anyway, you had plenty blackmail material of his less than dignified moments to spare.

Your friendship was easy going, trustworthy, reliable. But neither of you could admit your feelings to each other to save your lives. Much to the dismay of your friends, who had to watch the absolute clownery of you tip-toeing around your feelings in muted agony.

Cue perpetual pining.

Once you finally confess your feelings for each other, I honestly don’t see the relationship shifting much.

You act like really, really close friends who just happen to be affectionate and completely enamored by one another

I see Katsuki as a high energy person. Regardless of where he chooses to focus that energy, he needs external stimulus. More often than not, he directs his abundant energy into training and sparring. But generally, a lot of his excess energy is expelled through social interaction. Whether or not this social interaction is mirthful doesn’t really matter so long as he’s depleting his excessive energy.

Your low social battery might pose a small issue, dealing with Katsuki alone is like dealing with a dozen other less intense individuals. But you can easily work around it through your common interests and hobbies that can stimulate you both without depriving you into mental exhaustion

trivia:

Katsuki loves going on outdoor dates with you. A picnic in a secluded park, hiking, stargazing, camping- you name it

These dates are perfect for you two, combining your love for nature and privacy all the while giving him an activity to expel his stamina

Though he can’t say no a good at home date with you.

I absolutely adore the one headcanon about him being an amazing cook but a horrible baker

With a bit of coaxing on your part, you somehow manage to get him into baking. His skills are fucking abysmal.

He’s also distracting

Every time you try to bake together it almost always ends with both of you covered in flour with like three batches of burnt cookie dough, and childlike grins on your faces

Katsuki doesn’t really mind what the two of you do on dates, so long as he’s spending alone time with you, and you wouldn’t have it any other way

He’s a lost cause you figure. But he'll secretly practice at home, to his mother's dismay. But he doesn't care, it's all worth it in the end as he catches sight of pride and admiration in your eyes the one time he baked you a simple treat for your birthday

He made sure to learn your favorite baked goods, if only as a back up plan when he fucked up and needed to worm his way back into your arms

His curiosity was peaked when you’d told him that you’re a figure skater. So much so that one day he asks (read: demands) that you take him to an ice rink

As you show him one of your choreographies, he’s in a state of silent admiration

Katsuki is extremely kinesthetic, so he could easily pick up on the countless hours of hardwork you’d spent mastering your form, perfecting your footing, building up astounding flexibility to be able to preform and make it seem so effortless

The way your muscles pulled taut and relaxed again from stance to stance, the way small bruises lay proud on your skin as an indictive of all the effort you’d put into this sport all but made him fall in love with you again

When you strike a final pose, looking at him expectantly, noiselessly, he doesn’t say anything. But the star-eyed gaze and gentle smile he gave you spoke louder than any of his crude words ever could.

The cherry red in his eyes every so often melted so softly, it set your heart ablaze each and every time

He ended up reluctantly swallowing his pride and asking you to teach him a couple moves that day

You have study dates. All. The time.

He’s a jack of all trades so history is a no brainer for him. When you ask him to help you with it he begrudgingly complies.

Now whether or not his teaching actually helped is up to your imagination lmfao

I think one of Katsuki’s main love languages is quality time; you don’t even have to be actively helping each other while studying, just your presence around him sedates his mind exceptionally

Seconds tick by on his digital clock, each thirtieth tick he discreetly glances at you to make sure you’re still there, if he’s in the mood he’ll have to touch you in some way or another. Doesn’t even have to be affectionate, just your skin on his is enough to spur a content sigh out of him

when you’re simply reading a book or watching an anime together, he’ll lay his head on your lap without a word, or he’ll sit behind you with his arms wrapped tightly around your waist. Give it some time and his roughed-up hands will snake their way into your long hair, making a mess out of it, braiding and unbraiding it as he pleases. Tease him and he’ll instantly move

He loves reading your writing! To him, it’s like you’re inviting him into a corner of your mind. A corner very few get to explore, and he takes pride in that privilege

Can be a bit hesitant to give his full interpretations of your works at first, often just replying with one word “encouragements” but he quickly recognizes your discontent and tries to be a bit more open with his thoughts.

Slowly but surely he lets you into a corner of his mind as well, and you couldn’t be happier in those moments

[bus ride home]

The sun lovingly cast its last embers upon his face, framing and sculpting it with sharp shadows and soft reds into a breathtaking portrait as his matching crimson irises look far away, far beyond the sunset. He’s unfairly handsome. You huffed, forcing yourself to look away from what you could only describe as perfection, lest the last remnants of breath elude your lungs.

With your stare finally detached from him, all your senses started bleeding back into reality. The hum of soft rock buzzing through your plugged earbud caught your attention. Ah, this was one of your favorites. Your mind started painting his visage behind your closed lids, the music only added to the vividness of the dozen or so shades of oranges and yellows. You hummed along; the crescendo was steadily approaching.

“… But I crumble completely when you cry…”

The gentle tenor in your voice lulled Katsuki away from his muddled thoughts, instead focusing on your serenity. You’d always being good at keeping your cool, but this was different. With a tiny tug at your lips as they moved with each delicate syllable, you looked truly in your element. Angelic in a sense as the warm rays of dusk embraced you. He couldn’t look away from what he could only describe as perfection. His flushed ears barely picked up on the porcelain notes leaking from the unplugged earbud before his tongue started imitating your own.

“… In my imagination you’re waiting, lying on your side, with your hands between your thighs and a smile.”

One brown eye blinked open, surprised at the gruff bass joining your little jamming session. Katsuki snatched the unused earpiece and put in his own.

“Weren’t you the one that said my music taste is trash?” You raised an eyebrow.

“It is trash.” The glimmer in his gaze told you otherwise. You scoffed and looked away, attempting to hide the smile pulling on your lips.

The next song started playing.

<3

[ask-de-writer]

CARNELIAN CARVINGS (1 part) A fantasy of Dirkhan in the Desert.

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Dirkhan in the Desert

CARNELIAN CARVINGS

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

1340 words

copyright 2017

written 1991

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images.

All sorts of Fan Activity, Including but not limited to, Fan Fiction, Fan Art, Cosplay, Music or any sort of fan activity at all, is ACTIVELY ENCOURAGED!

///////////////////////

The sun had soared nearly to the zenith. No sane creature would venture out into the blaze of it. Even the lizards and scorpions sought the shade. Derkhan-in-the-Desert slept in the midst of the desert of Skrald Iden, scorching in the sun. A caravan crept toward her across baking stones and sand from the western desert.

The slow pacing of the dromedaries brought the caravan at last to the Gate of the Setting Sun. The guards left off their lazing in the shade of the square brick gate towers. They stepped forth in steel caps and padded cotton armor; being careful to stay in the shade themselves, they barred the way with their pikes. Stopping men and beasts in the sun, they haughtily demanded to know what the caravan’s business was.

The Master, tall, with piercing brown eyes and a swarthy complexion more suited to the climes of the jungles about the Central Seas, out of place in his desert burnoose, answered for all, as was the custom. He had a coffer brought and from it paid their Gate toll, plus a moderate bribe. Even honest guards must buy drink. 

The file of men in burnooses and camels with red and gold fringed lead ropes passed within the Gate of the Setting Sun and thence, up Imperial Way. They passed houses that showed only whitewashed brick walls and doors with ventilation gaps at top and bottom. At the center of town, they came to the market place. It was empty of course. It was midday.

For all that there were seven camels and nine men, they set up but one booth. This had an awning of purple and gold stripes, each as wide as a hand, and a scalloped fringe of silver. The poles were curiously carven ebony inlaid with ivory. A well worn counting board, polished smooth by much use, was set up at the front of the booth and the heavy chests of goods were at the back, watched by a vigilant caravaner.

One of the caravaners returned from the errand set him by the Master. He bore meat, bread, dried fruits, nuts and cheese for their repast. On his back he bore a large leather skin of water.

“Master, the food was high, as expected, but the water was more than dear,” he reported.

“Their water is more dear than they know,” the Mast,jjher retorted. “My brother could not meet their price and they would sell him none. Seven years ago, this day, he perished of thirst in the Skrald Iden for want of it.”

As the sun westered and the heat began to fade, hawk-like merchants and their prey of shoppers began to emerge. Everyone stared in wonder at the opulent booth. None dared approach until Harin, the greatest merchant prince of the city, arrogantly swaggered up and sat by the counting board on the rich rug. He arranged his pantaloons carefully on a cushion supplied by one of his servants and straightened his gold brocaded vest.

“Fine display oft hides shoddy goods,” he quoted the desert proverb. “Let me see the best that you have.”

“For you, oh fount of wisdom, we shall show our poor best,” rejoined the caravan Master with a small smile. He made a curious circular gesture and one of his henchmen brought forth an array of brocade-wrapped objects, each about the size of a fist.

With much ceremony, these were unveiled. There on the counting board stood revealed a number of small stone figures. The statues represented small ape-like beings of several sorts, such as are found in the jungles of the lands about the Central Seas. There were also men and maidens of surpassing beauty. So real was the workmanship that one might have expected them to begin moving at any moment.

They were shaped from carnelian agate with the glowing reds and rich golden browns of a desert sunset and superbly detailed. Each one was a separate work of genius. Unique.

Impressed, despite his expression, Harin declared, “I ask to see your merchandise and you bring out your gods. Are then, your gods for sale?”

“Indeed not, yet these carvings are. They are the work of my people. As you can see, we excel at the working of stone. For seven years, myself and my people have labored over these to bring you that which you deserve,” said the Master unctuously.

Following the custom of the bargain, the Master spread a Damask cloth, richly figured with the patterns of sigils in pale blue on darkest blue, on the counting board and placed his hands beneath the cloth.

Harin, also, put his hands under the cloth. His fingers felt the offer of the Master and promptly made a counter offer. Flying fingers did battle below the figured fabric. Golden djals and djabalas of silver were the hostages offered, refused, and finally taken in the combat of the bargain.

Harin gestured arrogantly and a sycophant produced stylus and wax tablet-book. A few lines were hastily scrawled in the wax and the tablet sealed. A swift runner was sent to Harin’s counting house. A short time later, he returned with a pouch of coins. These were laid out on the counting board. Weights were checked to be sure that the coins were unclipped, and finally they were accepted.

Harin̓s toadies gathered up the carnelian carvings and left to deliver them to his counting house. Harin was well pleased. He had struck a fine bargain. Tonight he would dream of profits to come.

He was not alone. One by one, the city’s other merchant princes came by. After them came merchants and then traders. All left the booth with satisfaction. All carried off what they could only regard as booty, considering the prices that they had paid. Every one of the fine carnelian carvings, whether of beasts or men, had been snapped up.

Before the first stars of evening graced the sky, the booth was gone. The djals and djabalas were packed away in coffers. The booth awning, carpets and poles had been rolled together and loaded onto the haughty camels. The empty chests were stowed on the beasts and the caravan passed out of Derkhan, back down Imperial Way. The Gate of the Setting Sun closed behind them. For all that the guards could see from the gate towers, the stones and sand might as well have swallowed them.

As the evening deepened, lights began to blossom all over Derkhan. They showed in those rare windows that faced the street. They showed also in the ventilation gaps at the tops and bottoms of all of Derkhan’s doors. The market bloomed flowers of light from candles, lanterns and torches as business went on in the cooler shades of evening and early night.

As the night wore on, the lights died away. Soon, Derkhan slept. Sleeping, Derkhan dreamed but for all of her dreams, she never dreamt of the reality that overtook her that night…

The morning cries of the priests from their tower-temples awakened Derkhan from her dreams. For the merchant princes, merchants and traders awakening was worse than a nightmare. All over the city, those who battened on trade bewailed their losses.

Counting room doors were still locked when they arrived. Boxes lay opened, coffers looted of precious treasures gaped wide. Their money, all of their golden djals and silver djabalas, even the lowly copper flukets, was gone. Gone also were any jewels or gems that were in the strong-rooms. Even the recently acquired carnelian statues were gone.

In fact, the only clue was on the dusty floors. There, tiny footprints were to be seen, of people and beasts such as are found in the jungles about the Central Seas. They started under the shelves or by the boxes where the valuables had been kept. They passed beneath the ventilation spaces under the doors and down Imperial Way, and under the Gate of the Setting Sun. Thence, they passed into the desert where the wind obliterated them….

-THE END-

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Dirkhan in the Desert

This completes Carnelian Carvings. If you enjoyed what you just read, please go to the Master Story Index for links to all of the stories that I have posted on Tumblr.

[fortheheavenssake]

💟💟 PG MM Anon(II) 💟💟 Interpretation Collection -11

69. July 23

MM ANON ……… love life exposed …………… gift of jewellery ……………… it’s all a mask ………………… sister protection ……………… yippee ,Balmoral …………… 15 Bank accounts??……………… return to school??? ……………… “ it’s the theatre Jim, but not as they show it”………… Sending in Federal Troops ……………………Bojo crabs ……………… a strong union 🤣🤣🤣……………… 4 million. …………” are you coming Sydney”………… “indubitably sir”…………… “ stock the cellar!! “ ……… “ your request is my command sir” ………… “ and don’t tell anyone I’m driving the LR.”

Entertainment purposes

July 23/20

💜💜💜💜💜💜🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈😊😊😊😊😊😊THANK YOU DEAR MM ANON, I AM SO SO PLEASED ABOUT YOUR TEST RESULTS 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻PG🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

July 24/2029 0250 hrs CST Riddle from July 23/2020. Riddle #69

love life exposed ……………

Well the court has ruled in the case regarding it is GM that the court can do that the records can be unsealed. This is in the case involving VRG! The floodgates will open as explosive documents detailing Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex life can be UNSEALED in Virginia Giuffre’s defamation case within a week!Judge Loretta Preska, in Manhattan ruled on Thursday to unseal more than 80 documents that GM had wanted to keep under wraps.The judge said the documents - which will run to hundreds of pages - should be made public within a week.They include flight logs from Epstein’s jets, a deposition in 2016 in which Maxwell’s lawyers said she was asked ‘intrusive’ questions about her sex life.The documents also include police reports from Palm Beach, Florida, where JE had a home. It will include communications between GM and JEfrom January 2015 when VRG made allegations about them in court papers. In the papers VRG claimed she was forced to have sex with Pa three times when she was just 17, at JE orders. The documents were part of a defamation lawsuit brought by VRG against GM, which was confidentially settled in 2017. The case is separate from the criminal proceedings against GM, who is accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for JE to abuse. I honestly feel sick 🤢🤢🤢and pray 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻for anybody who has to read all of this horrific information!

gift of jewellery ………………

I can just not find anything that I think is relevant. The only thing I can see is the Fringe Tiara, that her Majesty loaned to princess Beatrice on her wedding. I am looked up and down sideways for any possible wedding gifts you received. I just find nothing. So maybe it’s some thing obvious that I missing but I’ve tried my best and I just I just can’t seem to find anything that makes any sense.

it’s all a mask …………………

Well I think the word of the year besides COVID-19 is mask. Everybody and their dog is making masks fashion designers and etc. I ordered some from the Lug company and that this is the cutest patterns and they’re water repellent, just like the Lug bags very very cute. I was just a metaphor for how things really are? It’s a small some big grand conspiracy to help the New World order? Everybody online is got some crazy conspiracy theory. I am doing my best to keep away from it all. But I do think going forward wearing mask will be a new normal.

sister protection ………………

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻.

Thirteen nuns from a Michigan, U.S.A., convent have died from COVID-19 in a deadly wave that claimed 12 in just one month and left more than a dozen seriously ill.The nuns, who lived together at the Felician Sisters’ convent in Livonia, Michigan, were all aged between 79 and 99 years of age.Twelve of them died in the one month between April 10 and May 10. At the time, 18 other nuns had contracted COVID-19 and were being treated for the virus. On June 27, one of the 18 nuns battling the virus also died.The nuns lived and worked together - mostly as teachers - at the Livonia convent, which was home to 65 sisters prior to the pandemic. Most definitely are under God’s care now.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

yippee ,Balmoral ……………

Yep kids, they are off to Balmoral!! I wish them a marvellous time!🥂🥂🥂The Queen and Prince Philip are to move to Balmoral early for a socially-distanced summer holiday with her family. Her Majesty, Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are going to go to Scotland early next week. All visitors and family will have to stay in other buildings on grounds. 15,000 acres, loads of room.😁😁 ⛺️ fishing 🎣 🌳 🌲 💐 🦌 🦊. You get the idea, their love of the outdoors is well known.

15 Bank accounts??………………

GM is alleged to have 15 back accounts are the globe. I have a strong belief there are more and as l said last week she became a naturalized U.S. citizen back in 2002. I believe she may several passports despite this. Her connections are broad, spread globally and the wealthiest of the wealthy. This is a major double sword because she knows a lot of very awful truths and secrets about the elite allegedly. She is quivering in her paper boots. Now they are unsealing VRG records from that case in Florida…….big shoes are about to drop!!

return to school??? ………………

There has been a reuptick in the cases of COVID-19 in various places around the world where the case that had kind of stabilized. We are seeing that in Canada as well in several provinces. In our country, it’s due to people gathering in large gatherings and then having what they call a super spreader. Then they return home and it spreads throughout their community. So as far as returning to school I think in many parts of the world that’s still up in the air. I’m thinking especially regarding our Cambridge children, they probably still do not know what they’re going to do. It is likely going to probably come down to digital education and a continuation of more of the same as had been done earlier in the year. As we, in the northern hemisphere are heading to autumn and the flu season when begins, this is very concerning. The southern hemisphere is on fire, en Fargo, 🔥 with COVID-19 cases it’s just unbelievable. stay safe Ladykinrannoch 💜💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜💜

“ it’s the theatre Jim, but not as they show it”…………

Back to MM Anon’s favourite Star Trek reference.💜💜💜💜💜😊😊😊😊😊😊💜💜💜💜💜Theatre in the west end of London is historic and a huge tourism money maker. It brings a lot of tourists in and many locals who enjoy the theatre both dramatic and musical. As we know in the UK Panto (pantomime) season is a huge fundraiser for the theatre district itself plus it’s a tradition and everybody just loves it. This is going to be I don’t know how many millions they say that will be has been lost already. Theatres and music venues in England will be able to host physically distanced outdoor performances from Saturday 11 July under new government guidance, but industry figures are calling for more clarity on when full-capacity indoor performances can return. U.K.The culture secretary, Olive Dowden, announced the relaxing of restrictions where performances can now take place as long as they are “outside and with a limited and socially distanced audience”. “As I’ve seen for myself at the Royal Academy this morning, the National Gallery and as we’ll see shortly from the National Museums Liverpool, our cultural institutions are beginning to welcome back visitors,” he said. “I’m really urging people to get out there and to play their part, buy the tickets for outdoor plays and music recitals, get to your local gallery and support your local businesses.” The government said that now “gives the green light” for outdoor opera at Glyndebourne, and outdoor theatre at venues such as the Minack Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe, but industry figures were disappointed that the announcement did not go further. Earlier in the week, Dowden unveiled @£1.57 billion, WITH A B, BILLION!!!, rescue plan for the 🎭.Jon Morgan, director of Theatres Trust, welcomed the relaxation but called for more clarity on when theatres can move to stage five of the government’s plan when performances are allowed indoors with audiences. “Oh, what a performance… Britain’s theatres are dying on their feet. Now Andrew Lloyd Webber’s fighting to prove the show CAN go on — yet as SARAH VINE found at his Covid-safe staging, if the rules aren’t relaxed, the curtain may fall for good” DAILY MAIL

Sending in Federal Troops ……………………

In American cities are specifically Portland, Oregon, Chicago, Illinois there’s a few others where they are or mayors and governors who are I have specifically. ordered the police not to do their job. The numbers of shootings and murders in Chicago has skyrocketed just unbelievably and there’s been little children involved. There was a open broad daylight shooting at a funeral home where I believe 15 people were shot and it was a gang members funeral and I was I guess other gang members that did the shooting. Apparently there are 117,000 gang members in that part of Chicago where the entire population of the community is 500,000 so you’re looking at more than 20% does astounding!! These mayors/governors are of the opposing party of the current U.S. government and are actively, as in the case of Minneapolis, have instituted laws ready to defund the police. I want to specifically talk about Portland, Oregon. Tonight I believe it was the 54th night of riots and destruction and the local law-enforcement are held back they’re not allowed to do anything. They have specifically received instructions from their mayor and governor. Imagine being those fine dedicated to serve and protect officers being handcuffed, so to speak, from doing their job. IMAGINE LIVING THERE?!🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺Homeland security together with the ATF, the FBI and Various other federal law enforcement have been there to try and stop the destruction. They are there because their specific mandate is to stop damage and protect federal buildings to federal property from destruction or damage. President Trump has said he is in sending in more federal aid despite what the the mayors and the governors are saying. Specifically in Portland it was really interesting on Tuesday evening the mayor, whose name escapes me, he went down into the riot and he had a microphone and a mask and he was speaking they knew it was him he was on a big screen I think and he was speaking in support of all these rioters, these antifa people. The crowd then they turned on him they were yelling at him to resign they were throwing stuff at him and it got really really really dangerous.I would not be at all surprised if it’s some point as a thing in Seattle that CHAZ or CHOP as it became called , there ended up being several murders I think four or five rapes and endless lawless behaviour where they just went in and cleaned it up. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if martial law ended up being declared in some of these places. The local mayors and governors do not seem to understand that the federal law-enforcement agencies like the ATF, the FBI, homeland security etc. have a mandate a legal mandate to protect federal property.

Bojo crabs ………………

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson toured a crab fishery on the Orkney archipelago on Thursday, July 23/2020, amid increasing support for Scotland’s independence from the rest of the United Kingdom. Speaking earlier in the day, he was keen to press the case for the whole of the U.K., to work together to tackle the coronavirus and subsequent economic fallout.

Following his visit to the fishery, Johnson also toured a local cheese-making dairy and was then due to meet members of the military, whom he will thank for their help in responding to the coronavirus outbreak, which included setting up testing sites and transferring patients.The visit marked the first anniversary of his premiership, with Johnson reaffirming his promise to increase opportunity and prosperity for all parts of Britain.I read it it’s quite funny in one of the articles I read they said when he was holding the crap he look like Edward Scissorhands from the movie. Interestingly that movie stars Johnny Depp.

a strong union 🤣🤣🤣………………

For years now Scotland has wanted independence from England. Actually make centuries! Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, used her daily COVID-19 presser as a. ‘party political broadcasts’ and a lack of proper scrutiny of her decisions has allowed her to cultivate a 'Saint Nicola’ persona in Scotland through the crisis, a leading MSP told MailOnline today.Michelle Ballantyne, Conservative MSP for South Scotland, spoke out as PM Boris Johnson visited Orkney and said the pandemic would have been 'disaster’ for Scotland if it had been independent from the UK.She stated that a largely pro-Independence press have failed to hold the First Minister to account during the pandemic while the Government in London fielded questions every night for months at the Downing Street news conferences.The collapse of press scrutiny in Scotland has allowed Ms Sturgeon to sell the idea of holding a second Independence referendum to the public, as two polls find that 54 per cent of people would back secession if there was a second vote. It has also caused even people in England to imagine that the SNP leader has handled the crisis better than the PM, as a YouGov poll last month showed. DM.

4 million. …………”

US coronavirus cases surpass !!4 MILLION!! and another one million are expected in just two weeks - as Texas sets single-day high for fatalities and California sees record 12,000 infections in 24 hours. Cases are doubling each week, if you look at the graph and stats! THIS IS ALARMING, especially since a U.S. election for president is the November. The Republican national conversation, initially scheduled in North Carolina but the POTUS cancelled it there because of discord l believe. It was moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Due to Covid-19, these massive gatherings are impossible. POTUS said he would do a digital speech. I wonder how on earth they will have an election🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻.The number of cases is now on track to record an addition one million infections in just two weeks.In the past week, the average number of daily cases has reached 66,000 and, based on that trajectory, cases will increase by one million by the first week of August.More than 143,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19 after daily deaths surpassed 1,000 on Wednesday for the second time this week.There has been an uptick in deaths, on average, across the US since the beginning of July after hotspot states including Florida, Texas and Arizona saw explosions in cases and hospitalizations.In Texas on Wednesday, they set one-day records for increases in COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in the state.Meanwhile, California surpassed New York on Wednesday to have the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country . Some from DM.

“ are you coming Sydney”………… “indubitably sir”…………… “ stock the cellar!! “ ……… “ your request is my command sir” ………… “ and don’t tell anyone I’m driving the LR.”

Well they are off to Balmoral! Himself is asking Sydney if he was coming along to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. As is if there was any doubts, 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂if he was going to come along and he answered in dubitably of course indubitably! If, am he must! stock the cellar, Himself has got to have that Boddington’s!! 🍺 🍻 🍻!Sydney, the ever faithful Butler, said your request is my command sir! 😁😁😁😁😁Himself is not supposed to be driving , yet tell him to keep schtüm on the fact that he is going to be at Balmoral driving the Lone Ranger! Have a wonderful time!!

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

——————-

70. July 24

MM ANON ……” since 1948 ,no changes ………… wags wobble………… phone a drone ………… Kim-vorce ……………… masked burger………… flowers for team Johnny ………… bailed out by old Bailey…………… Ban her from the palace ………………… tell all will destroy her……………… K&W&LCG will sunny fly to island???……………” I’ll drive Sydney!! “ ……… “ I’ll walk sir” …………… “ bloody get in”😱😱😱

Entertainment purposes

💜💜💜💜💜🌈🌈🌈🌈🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻THANK YOU MM ANON🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🌈🌈🌈🌈💜💜💜💜💜

July 24/2020. Riddle #70!

” since 1948 ,no changes …………

The Daily Mail has this amazing story today. I know people who don’t move stuff about. I used to always move my furniture around and decorate each season. Now the furniture moving….not so much🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂 due to my back. But l love moving my special things AND decorating each season! There is a house stuck in time. An ex-Royal Navy sailor, 89, has left decor untouched since 1948 saying it’s saved him thousands. Doug Bethel, 89, from Liverpool, Merseyside, still lives in the house that his family first purchased in 1948. Following military service he was a gas engineer, now retired obviously, although men do still have a lot of “ gas” 🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂especially around that age. Pardon my humour😂😂🤣😂☺️🤣🤣☺️. He has left his house untouched, when he returned to live with parents after leaving Royal Navy.Mr Bethel has kept his childhood bedroom untouched and still has the original kitchen and cooker in house. Since it was built, house has survived two explosions- one during the Second World War and another in 1986. This goes to show you how things are quality that were built back then last and stand the test of time. Now if you buy an appliance they’re made to be disposable they don’t last that long and it’s cheaper to buy a new one then to fix it. I would love to walk through this house and have him explain everything. That used to be my type of favourite patient to work with, the special patient who was seasoned as I should say , elderly , but I prefer the word seasoned and had lots of life stories and life lessons to tell. The pictures are amazing! The outside of the house looks a little rough but the inside is glorious! The floral wallpaper on the walls, my goodness it’s beautiful. He’s done an excellent job of taking care of everything it at all looks just spic and span.. Well that’s a phrase I haven’t used in a long time, spic and span. That’s what my mum used to always say when we cleaned the house and it was all done and she said yes things look spic and span. Does anyone else remember that phrase? I don’t know why that came out of my mouth today but it’s interesting how things stay in our brain and then they come out. I’m noticing that as I use this audio software and I’m just talking instead of typing, it’s a whole different type of experience. I love that mirror he has on the wall that’s Dewar’s, oh man I’d love to have that , beautiful!

wags wobble…………

WAGS was an American tv show, tacky like the Real Housewives shows. It stood for Wives and Girlfriends of Sportsmen, of professional Americans athletes. THAT was a slutty show wowza! I am ashamed to admit l watched some of it.😞😞😞☹️☹️☹️😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣I doubt that this is what MM Anon is talking about!

However I do believe she’s referring to the ongoing battle between football/soccer wives Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy. This is been going on for months if not eat over a year or longer I’ve been reading about it. Are used to really like best friends. And Khalid a Rooney is married to Wayne Rooney for those of you who don’t know he’s he’s like a premier player in the football league in the UK. She had a feeling that someone in her close circle shit close to Facebook friend I think like 25 soccer football wives I think there’s 25 of them in there and she had a feeling somebody was on sharing details outside of that group. So she decided to put it up on her self to do a little test of each woman. And she came to the conclusion that Rebekah Vardy was the one that was releasing confidential information. that’s of the backstory that I know so this is what the daily mail is saying today.

Rebekah Vardy no w has accused Coleen Rooney of leaking stories to the press HERSELF, says she’s been made a scapegoat and was left ‘suicidal’ by fall-out from Wagatha Christie row, in bombshell court documents from £1m libel claim.Wagatha Christie🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣.

Rebekah Vardy revealed her ‘extreme anguish’ about being exposed 'to public ridicule’ in legal documents.She also claimed in the papers that the stress of the scandal had left her fearful of losing her unborn baby.In an astonishing claim, Rebekah detailed how she believed she had been 'made a scapegoat’ by Coleen. The saga started in October when the wife of Wayne Rooney accused Rebekah of leaking stories about her.

phone a drone …………

Well Madam has pulled one of her favourite tricks pardon the pun Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣. This Audio talking type thing is so funny because it’s hard to when I laugh so when he says ha ha Ha ha ha I’m actually laughed and then when I see the half I laugh even harder oh it’s funny anyways she’s pulled another stunt. Oh help me help me l’m a poor innocent female I’m a poor innocent female! There are drones flying all around the mansion I am living in trying to capture photos of Archficial! This goes back to one of her first earliest dance when she phone hairy and said all the paparazzi are stocking me outside my house in Toronto oh I’m so scared that it it off and then he released that statement which locked him into her with her for good. Now apparently they her and hairy they have filed a lawsuit and all these John Does with drones are going to be sued. She is a feminist why are there no Jane Does? How does she know that they’re just men? Why are there no John and Jane Does? Miss feminist!Oh first of all there’s no drones actually , well first of all she is not at Tyler Perry’s house mansion whatever. She’s lawsuit happy otherwise known as litigious! Oh well used characteristic by the rich and celebrities alike. So she’s now filed a lawsuit against people that don’t exist for something that’s not happening at a place where she’s not living with a child that doesn’t exist in her care! Does that make sense did I say that right or you say it slower she’s now follows a lawsuit against people that don’t exist, for something that’s not happening, at a place where she’s not living, with a child that doesn’t exist in her care!!! Wow that is a lot to unpack in that one sentence wow! What a joke! She is such a joke such a bloody joke it’s just hilarious it is I mean if it weren’t so Flippin sad that our beautiful royal family was dragged into this it is just so hilarious I said this is her life this is how she’s living her life can you kids imagine what a waste of a life that God gives you wow wow wow wow!

Kim-vorce ………………

I find it so incredibly sad. I spoke about it yesterday, to watch a man publicly mentally implode. Bipolar disorder, a full-blown manic phase, millions of dollars at his fingertips right in front of the public, it just breaks my heart it absolutely it’s just breaks my heart. I have not affinity for the Kardashians or Kanye West don’t get me wrong, I’m not , I’m no fan but I am a human being with compassion. I worked in mental health and it’s just it’s just breaks my heart to watch this happen. Then when he went on to talk about how him and Kim wanted to or she wanted to abort their first baby, North.can you imagine now that’s out in the public and when they were little girl gets older she’s going to read that oh my so so damaging. Other than celebrities always naming their babies weird names you can see his illness evident in the names of their children as well. Kim has remained silent but she released a statement two days ago saying how heartbreaking it is that the family can do nothing to help him do it to the mental health laws there. Also the two of them have been considering divorce for quite some time. Yeah I having a chronic mental illness that has the phases that is dramatic and drastic as he is that doesn’t fit into the reality show a life of a perfect family does it? Let’s get rid of him .In my province, the family can go to the magistrate and get someone formed, it is a form that it’s a short word for the form that’s that’s filled out by the magistrate to compel the person to see a GP or ER , by police or RCMP escort if need be, and often is! They can compel them to see a doctor. Then if the doctor feels they need mental health assistance they can fill out a different form, transferred to Psychiatry and then they will be held against their will for 72 hours for assessment and after such a time as if it’s determined that the person is really in need of hospitalization then there is another form that the psychiatrists, two of them have to fill out and then they start treatment. The 72 hours is for assessment, therefore minimal meds given to allow a clear assessment. However in most cases the person by the time they reach the involuntarily assessment phase they are so ill that they cannot go 72 hours without treatment. They are either violence or acutely suicidal or both and there are various treatment modalities that are used.There’s also a review board process in this within 21 days they can apply to the review were to have the review board if you review the case to determine if it’s appropriately involuntarily hospitalized. The review were consists of psychiatrists nurses legal people and members of the community.

masked burger…………

Who would’ve thought the the new cottage industry for 2020 would be making facemasks? Designers of all types are making them fashion a fashion statement to coordinate with your clothing. I think that’s a good thing because of this is going to be the new normal we’re going to have to be wearing them and you might as well have something not only be utilitarian but look nice as well right? In the U.K. fast food chains including McDonald’s, Burger King and Domino’s have confirmed they will enforce the new face mask rules.From July 24, you must wear face masks in all shops, public places, restaurants etc.and you could be fined £100 if you fail to do so. The government has also issues guidance guidelines for restaurants and fast food places, which l guess are not considered restaurants 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂. Dine-in and takeaway customers must follow different rules when inside a food establishment.If you’re buying food and drink to takeaway, you are required to wear a face covering.The government says this is the same as entering and browsing a normal shop, where it’s also compulsory to wear face masks.But if you plan on eating in, you won’t need to wear a face covering.Ministers have previously said “it’s not practical” to wear face masks in places where you’ll be eating. This actually makes zippo sense. Close the eat in then!!

flowers for team Johnny ………… 💐💐💐💐💐

A female fan gave a bouquet of flowers to JD outside the courthouse. They flouted social distancing rules as he leaned in for a cuddle with the female fan outside of the London court.He was seen smiling after receiving the stunning bouquet of white flowers as the pair talked outside, seemingly ignoring COVID-19 restrictions. There are no rules for celebrities and politicians! This was a few days ago like ten, l can find no other reference.

bailed out by old Bailey…………… ⚖️ ????denied

For those of you who are not aware of what oh Bailey is here’s a little education. Old Bailey is the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales (commonly called the Old Bailey). The Crown Court sitting at the Central Criminal Court deals with major criminal cases from within Greater London and in exceptional cases, from other parts of England and Wales. This is the applicant case though and it’s JUSTICE DENIED, grins and arrogance hand signs! 'You robbed a hero of his life’: PC Andrew Harper’s widow tells of shock after 'barbaric’ travellers who dragged him to death were cleared of murder and says: 'I have a life sentence to bear… more painful than a meagre number of years in prison’. PC Andrew Harper’s widow Lissie today said she was 'immensely disappointed’ that the three teenagers who killed her husband were cleared of murder and convicted of manslaughter, describing the crime as 'barbaric’. Henry Long, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who are all travellers, hugged each other as they were cleared of murdering the police officer by dragging him to his death behind their car - but were convicted of manslaughter. Speaking outside the Old Bailey in London today, Ms Harper said: 'I’m immensely disappointed with the verdict given today. I now have my own life sentence to bear, and believe me when I say it will be a much more painful, soul-destroying and treacherous journey than anyone facing a meagre number of years in prison will experience.’ PC Harper, 28, had tried to stop the thieves stealing a quad bike and his ankles were lassoed by the trailing loading strap as the teenagers tried to escape in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.

Ban her from the palace …………………

Well the only thing a person I can think of that being banned from the Palace would be Madam. that would be each and every royal residence even probably within 100 metres. But why would this be coming up now? Interesting! MM Anon, you always leave me wondering with some of your clues and my brain just goes Squirrley. I would’ve thought these orders would’ve been given a long time ago.

tell all will destroy her………………

It’s being marked down and I don’t know anybody that’s going to buy this book “finding freedom” by Scooby Doo and Durand. She again has bitten off way more than she can chew and is now stepping away from having any part of that book and is denying participating with it. Anybody associated with her gets Markled. Some people may be lucky enough just to lose their reputation and employment. Others are not so lucky they may end up in a world of legal trouble both civil and criminal. Those I’m thinking of ourJM, GM, MA, DR,TM et al meaning the rest of the M family that we have seen and heard from. It is all coming together now like a perfect storm. Her lawsuit against the mail on Sunday, this book with the ridiculous title, all of the I don’t want to use the word friends, but famous people who have said they have met and held Archie. People like, Ellen degenerate, yes I said degenerate. One I cannot figure out for love nor money, is the monkey lady whose name escapes me right now Jane Goodall that’s her name Jane Goodall. What is her what’s what’s her part in this game here? A respected woman of her age. Who has spent decades of her life doing groundbreaking research and is so well respected , what is she got to hide that she’s got to be part of this nonsense. I don’t know but as London scoop says I so often harken to, that up is down down is up inside as outside outside and inside. I just find it very very sad! Only in her case only in her case! I want you to know that wasn’t a spelling error on my part that’s what I call her Ellen degenerate because she is a degenerate and how she treats people and lies!

K&W&LCG will sunny fly to island???……………”

As I predicted/ well educated guessed, 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣, several riddles ago, oh I’m a psychic with a 🔮 oooooooo and it’s purple too Wowza!! The Cambridge family, aka K, Catherine, W, William, L, Louis, C, Charlotte, G, George, will take an island holiday. Oh what a clever detective I am eh 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂?I am guessing it will be to the place in the Caribbean that Pippa’s in-laws own. With Vogue Williams, the wife of Pippa’s husband due to deliver their baby girl soon, like any day or minute now, they won’t be going. They usually all go together. The Cambridges, her parents, Pippa and James Matthew, his parent, and James Middleton and his finacé , whose name escapes me! I know she is from France!

“I’ll drive Sydney!! “ ……… “ I’ll walk sir” …………… “ bloody get in”😱😱😱

HMTQ and Himself are off to Balmoral for their summer vacay!. As we all know after that MVA, motor vehicle accident that Prince Philip had last year, he was told that he could no longer drive by the HMTQ. That would be the only person he would he would listen to. Sounds like the rules are changing up in Scotland though oh he’s insisting on driving. And despite Sydney’s best efforts that’s a no no questions asked he’s driving. And Sydney is insisting not but himself is firm and that he was driving. And Sydney cheeky adorable Sydney says he’ll walk sir it and then you have himself chickie reply get in the vehicle! Oh my love just absolutely love these scenes!! I can picture them so vividly in my head! Then having this I would imagine rather loud conversation outside a Range Rover, aka Lone Ranger! The three horrified faces are probably people watching, watching and listening to what’s being said!

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

—————-

71. July 25

MM ANON … … “ SHOWGIRL”…………… “that girl” ………… “ I don’t trust her “……………… quarantine …… “we never consulted the authors”😂😂😂……………”it’s a gym Jim, but not as they row it”………… “coming for a swim”…………… knock em for SIX……………Four!!!…………… “jump Frankie”…………” it’s only to the Glen Sydney “ …………… “ it’s three miles sir” ……… “ get the bloody hamper” ……… “I’ll drive back sir” ………… “ not a bloody chance Sydney” ……… “ then I refuse sir” ……… “get your bloody arse in the LR” … “reluctantly sir “😱😱

Entertainment purposes

💜💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😊😊😊😊Thank you MM Anon😊😊😊😊💜💜💜💜🌈🌈🌈🌈

July 25/2020 FIVE MONTHS UNTIL CHRISTMAS 🎄. Riddle #71

Some help from the DM today again.

“ SHOWGIRL”…………… “

ALLEGEDLY, When Madam began “dating” Prince Harry she was snubbed by her future sister-in-law and contemptuously referred to as “Harry’s showgirl” by a senior royal, according to bombshell revelations in a new book.In “the book” “journalists “Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie paint a sympathetic picture of Madam who was shunned by palace staff and Harry’s older brother William, who once advised Harry to take his time “to get to know this girl.” I used the word book and journalists in quotes because they are not real journalists and it is an insult to all great books to call this trash a book!“In those last two words, ‘this girl,’ Harry heard the tone of snobbishness that was diametrically opposite to his approach to the world, MY WORDS😁😁😁. “During his 10-year career in the military, outside the royal bubble, he had learnt not to make snap judgments about people based on their accent, education, ethnicity, class or profession.”

“that girl” …………

This was a tv show when l was a kid with Marlo Thomas. Anyone recall that? ‘P****d off’ Prince Harry branded William a snob after his brother accused him of being ‘blinded by lust’ over 'this girl’ Madam sensational Finding Freedom biography claims. This or that, feels like something right outside of Sesame Street! This and that are demonstratives grammatically speaking! Now I shall do my best Elmo voice how is that or this , this and that are demonstrative in English language grammatically speaking. Do you English grammatical language? Don’t I sound just like Elmo? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂. Since their whole “relationship was a booty call“ William is exactly right.ALLEGEDLY Prince Harry thought William was a ‘snob’ after he was warned to take things slow with ‘this girl’aka SEAHAG🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂. ALLEGEDLY the Duke of Cambridge told Harry not to ‘rush this’ and ‘take as much time as you need to get to know’ this SEAHAG! Madam was described by palace insiders as 'Harry’s showgirl’ who came 'with a lot of baggage’! Well that’s putting it mildly she has more baggage than the whole Louis Vuitton company put together!😆😆😆😆🤣🤣😂

“ I don’t trust her “………………

I’m going to stick with Madam here. After their first teatime or meeting with William and Catherine, allegedly William found Madam taking pictures of the children and private parts of their home and he was furious. She was allegedly planning to sell them for a quarter of $1 million but I bet you she could have gotten more. If she had sold photos of the children they would have been worth millions! They would have been embargoed in the UK but they would still be selling today around the world.No actually they would not be selling today because they would have sued her and probably brought charges. That is nothing to mess about with, he is the son to heir to the throne and those children are also in line of succession and to violate that, in the sanctuary of their home, is no small crime in the UK. So based on, first of all they knew everything about her before that, so I mean they did not trust her anyways. The way she trapped in at Harry there is just nothing about this woman to trust. I do not need to explain it you, you all know it. I do not trust her, she messes in dark evils!

If this is about AH or GM, same rules apply, no trust!

quarantine

Don’t you just love rules and rules that you don’t know exist and then you have to obey them as if you knew that they existed the whole time? It’s so special so very special I am being very facetious😁😁😁😁! Fury of the Brits caught out abroad! First holidaymakers return home from Spain and straight into quarantine, after ‘ridiculous’ snap ruling not even the airlines knew about came into force, leaving thousands unable to go to work. Vacationers returning will have to quarantine after landing back for two weeks. This raises problems for those who owns their own businesses or can’t be off work.Others worry their employers won’t allow them to isolate for two weeks. With so many people looking for work this could be absolutely disastrous. People returning from a well deserved holiday to find that they don’t have a job just devastating.

…… “we never consulted the authors”😂😂😂……………”

A spokesperson for Harry and Madam told Us Weekly on Saturday that the couple “were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.” If you believe for one fleeting second, you can insert another F word if you like I put that in there for you MM Anon, and I thought you might get a laugh out of that 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂, that Madam had no input into this book I have a bridge in the middle of the Sahara desert that I want to sell you! To call themselves a journalist to call themselves a book come out and say this is only on their own recollection is a laughable! There is no way on this planet that Scooby Doo has been in her inner circle, closest to her for all this time and she put gave no input to what he was writing about her? If it is laughable, it’s laughable and it’s just, there’s no way that it’s true! I just simply don’t believe it! It is another one of her lies compounded on lies compounded on more lies compounded on a book full of lies compounded on a relationship full of lies, a child that was lied about, a pregnancy that was a lie, the engagement that was a lie, her whole life has been a lie. She doesn’t know the truth she has no idea what truth and authenticity is!

“it’s a gym Jim, but not as they row it”………… “

MM Anon, once again using the tried and true Star Trek metaphor, as shall heretofor be referred to as. 😁😁😁😁How is that for legal mumbo jumbo LEGAL ANON😁😁😁?? Gyms and swimming pools in England reopened today!!But this does not mean that all gyms have opened. No more dash in and out on your lunch break or a quickie after work, no, no, no. This must be planned like a keen covert ops!!!😁😁😁😁. Most gyms will request earlier arrival times and pre-booking. “We ask that new members arrive 15 minutes before the class start time, and regular customers arrive a couple of minutes before. They ideally want to allow class participants to fully exit the studio before the next class begins. Likely so they can sterilize the life out of the place after all that sweat! You’ll need to arrive in your gym clothes! As is the case with many clothing shops, some gyms are keeping their changing facilities closed to reduce the amount of time people spend in the facility. Lockers are likely to also be out of bounds to allow for distancing. El stinks for sure! DEFINITELY NO LUNCHTIME WORKOUTS PHEW🤢🤢🤢🥴🥴🥴! Kids I’m not making light of this at all I’m just trying to use a little humour into this ongoing situation that we’re all in.SAY WHAT😲😲😮😮😮😮😮🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭 No more showering. Some gyms will also close their showers, while others will reduce the number that are open to allow for social distancing. Where possible, customers will instead be encouraged to wash at home after a workout session. PHEW!!Prepare to have your temperature checked. Many gyms may require clients to have their temperature taken at the door. You will also be asked to declare that they are feeling well before being allowed to enter the facility. Gyms are trialling a discreet thermo-scanner, which reads your temperature the minute you walk in the door. Gym equipment will be spread out. Once gyms reopen the number of machines that are available to use is likely to be reduced. They will be implementing one metre distancing between mats and planning the flow of the centres to ensure social distancing can be kept all at distance. Equipment will be spread out and user numbers will be monitored and limited to ensure safe distances are maintained.

GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE WORKING OUT AT HOME RATHER THAN GO THROUGH THIS HASSLE IR SIMPKY NOT WORK OUT AT ALL!! PLUS YOU GET THE DELIGHT OF PAYING FIR THIS WONDERFGYM SERVICE.😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

“coming for a swim”……………

See above, in the U.K. public pools reopened today. All social distancing applies. They have come up with the miraculous way to stop osmosis from happening!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂If you don’t know what I don’t know if that means I don’t know how I could begin to explain that joke and if you do want to know what osmosis means you’re probably belly laughing right now. Basically what it means as you know things travel through water if you’re in the water and you got some dead skin or a scam or something loose on your skin is kind of just float away along with every germ you’re carrying it’s going to flood the way to the next person. Mind you if they’re using chlorinated pools that’ll kill anything! The big thing now are these UV you VO what is that UV whatever other lady letter that I used to kill The germs in pools instead of using chemicals.

knock em for SIX……………

This is a Cricket term, also has become slang usage. It means to be completely devastated. It is the highest scoring action in the where the ball exits the circle without leaving the ground in Cricket. Slang usage ie I was knocked for six after l lost my job.

Cricket has resumed in the U.K. Now fans are allowed!! They, 1000!! are returning to the Oval for the Surrey vs Merseyside two day friendly! Wonderful for both the teams and the fans some sense of normalcy!

Four!!!…………… “

Fore is the golf term that means somebody shot a ball and watch your head basically. Four with three!!!‘s we had this before when you were teasing us of the baby Cambridge number four! I don’t know if I’m gonna fall for it this time as much as I want to! Three !!!, three children, four is number four on the way..? I so badly want to believe that!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Reality bites and intervenes though. Premier Daniel Andrews issues desperate coronavirus plea to young people in Melbourne, revealing Victoria is ALREADY in stage four lockdown!! Premier Daniel Andrews says Melbourne is 'effectively’ in stage four lockdown.Victoria recorded another 459 cases on Sunday, along with 10 more deaths.Masks became mandatory across the city and Mitchell Shire on Thursday.The Premier issued harrowing plea to young Melburnians to take pandemic seriously. PLEASE HARKEN YOUNG ONES, YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE AND CAN SPREAD THE VIRUS🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻!

“jump Frankie”…………”

As per usual and MM Anon, you leave me one clue that makes me go Squirrley and I’m just going Squirrley Squirrley Squirrley! All I can find is something about a kid from a show called, The Middle, which I’ve never heard of and he’s jumping in and I don’t know what it doesn’t make sense. I highly doubt that you’re referring to some obscure American television show. I can’t find any high jumping athletes I cannae find nae the UK diver. I’m lost here. I am again thinking and searching and it’s probably obvious to those of you in the UK but I have no idea what this is.

Frankie is a male dog character who first appeared in JumpStart 1st Grade in 1995. He originally appeared mainly in products for first graders. Nowadays, he is the mascot of JumpStart and stars in games for a wide variety of ages.In JumpStart Around the World ,Frankie began wearing an outfit consisting of a blue collar red sweater with yellow trim, a V-neck, and the yellow letters “JS” on it. He continued to wear a similar outfit in other games released prior to and during the JumpStart Advanced series debut, though oftentimes the 'JS’ on his sweater was dropped. In the JumpStart Advanced series JumpStart All Starsfeature and title screens, Frankie wears a red shirt with blue stripes and yellow stars on it. Is this it? Are the Cambridge children using this to learn?? I have no doubt that I’m wrong but at least I found two interesting to interesting things to talk about anyways.

OK I was going to give it another 15 minutes before I gave up because I don’t get up and VoilaI found something about a chat named Frankie Detorri. He Is a horse jockey and has a signature move that he makes when he wins he jumps off the horse. We are you heard me right he jumped off the horse!Frankie’s flying on super Saturday! Dettori retains title as Royal Ascot’s top jockey with stunning 150-1 treble, including two Group Ones.

Dettori won the Queen Mary Stakes and then the Coronation Stakes. Ha persistence pays off oh I’m so happy! The treble was completed with Palace Pier in the St James’s Palace Stakes.The jockey moved onto 73 Royal Ascot winners - the same mark as Pat Eddery.

“it’s only to the Glen Sydney “ …………… “ it’s three miles sir” ……… “ get the bloody hamper” ……… “I’ll drive back sir” ………… “ not a bloody chance Sydney” ……… “ then I refuse sir” ……… “get your bloody arse in the LR” … “reluctantly sir “😱😱

I hear you have the humourous continuation of yesterday the disagreement between prince Philip and his dear man Sydney. Himself is trying to say it’s only a short drive but Sydney is saying it’s 3 miles Sir! Sounds like they’re going fishing or on a picnic and he’s telling him to get the hamper and Sydney wants as well I’ll drive back. And quite Himself saying no way and then he is Sydney is saying no way and himself is saying get your butt in the range rover or the lone ranger as he calling it end of dutiful Sydney says reluctantly with horror on his face I could just see and hear hear this ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha conversation!

GSTQAOBC

—————-

72. July 27

MM ANON ………… BARC-ALONE-A……… no Transport home………on ya bike …………… obesities ………… floating for Vlad…………… Kim-jong-corona ………… Hurriicant ………… Moderna………Daisy down……… dog collar reunion …………………”more than kin and less than kind” ………… “ a three-pounder Sydney,the Gillie can smoke it” ………” Sydney, Sydney ……… SYDNEY???”

July 26/2020. Riddle #72.

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈😊😊😊😊😊😊Thank you so much MM Anon, l am praying no clues will drive me Squirrley today!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈 I must add, I thank you so much for all, the other month I said I want more Royal news in the riddle blah blah blah, but I truly am grateful that you’re including all this world news because I have, for my own mental health I have stopped basically stopped watching the news because it was really affecting me in a bad way. And a lot of the things here I didn’t know so I didn’t know about the hurricane I didn’t know about Russia I didn’t know but all these things so thank you so much for including them because even though I know these things take so much time to research and get the right information and put it in there the right way it’s just it’s just great thank you just my opinion !PG💜💜💜💜😁😁😁😁😁😁💜💜💜💜

BARC-ALONE-A………

All uppercase has a reason and it’s obvious spell obviously Barcelona who is alone in Barcelona?Going to leave that one for now. This makes me think of Manuel from FawltyTowers, or Flawty Woerts or Lawfty Swoert, if you watch the show, you get the joke ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha . I think this is referring to the coronavirus and the fact that millions potentially of UK citizens will be trapped alone in Spain and in Barcelona which is in Spain. More than 600,000 British holidaymakers in Spain are already grappling.The government suddenly pulled its air bridge with Spain with almost immediate effect this week following a spike of coronavirus cases in the country.The move, which came into effect from midnight yesterday, means anyone returning to Britain from Spain faces an automatic fortnight-long quarantine at home.The rules apply to all regions of Spain, including the Canary and Balearic islands - though politicians in the latter say they are attempting to thrash out a regional air bridge.

‘Fortunately I’m feeling OK’: Barcelona football legend Xavi announces he has tested positive for coronavirus with Spaniard set to miss Al Sadd’s game TODAY while he is self-isolating. Long-serving Barcelona icon Xavi revealed he tested positive for coronavirus.

Barcelona goes into ‘voluntary lockdown’: City’s 1.6m residents are urged to stay home and avoid groups of more than ten after spike in coronavirus cases.Regional government stopped short of imposing a mandatory lockdown.Authorities said requested measures were to avoid a mandatory lockdown.Barcelona residents told to shop online and only leave home when it’s essential. Please let us remember Ladykinrannoch’s son and his partner live in Barcelona and they have a business there let’s remember to pray for them.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

no Transport home………

Well it sounds like Ryan air is having lots of trouble and layoffs so that could impact many people.Europe It’s starting to cut off Spain in terms of travel because of the coronavirus has risen again and they are terrified of a second wave. Francis actively discourage not Francis Francis Francis the country France thank you, is actively discouraging its citizens not to travel to Catalonia or to Spain which is I guess I think due to this and Norway is also oh my gosh Norway is reimposing quarantine! Oh my stars! And British tourists are warned they’re Being given a warning that airbridges could be close without notice! So I have a feeling that people are going to be trapped where they are, some people ,not all people and it’ll be like the other ruling there yesterday that Dominic Rasb made that people have to go in quarantine as soon as they return to the UK and nobody knew that because it happened like a snap. We are far from done with this coronavirus kids and the sooner we accept that the better let’s all go out and buy some fancy masks. I bought myself a ordered online a number of them and I don’t wanna plug any company but I don’t know if you gals gals,how old am I, only getting us ladies haveThe lug purses they’re terribly popular with young mums I know my niece has about 15 of them are more anyways they’re they’re highly utilitarian but cute and they are water repellent and fluid repellent and they have now started making masks and they have an endless selection to choose from and they come in sets of three so I ordered my set the three for $30 and the I ordered the set I ordered because that was the only one that had a purple purple coloured mask with that I think a dragon fly……I AM MOTHER OF DRAGONS😁😁😁 RIGHT SANDIEDOG??😁😁😁on there anyways They haven’t come yet but they’re on their way to me but if you go to lug life dot ca life I’ll have to hand type that in anyways if you don’t know lug it it’s OK l don’t know if it’s allowed on Tumblr to do a website like that so will find out I guess if it gets posted but anyways just a thought I thought about how I need to have a water repellant mask because if it’s water repellant that maybe it’s fluid repellent so if someone spits at you like accidentally like with her but when they’re talking to you anyways I just thought they would be more protective plus they are awfully cute so I have ordered myself a collection of very pretty masks my sister’s got me a purple one and I ordered one from our local shopping centre or what am I talking about, the shopping channel, oh my stars my brain is wonky and you guys all get to come along with me ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha I love how this thing when I’m laughing listening type ha ha Ha ha ha I don’t I love you even more and I can’t stop myself oh no I don’t love you even more I love you more I said I love you even more I said l laugh LAUGH even more oh my goodness you guys are going to have a ball reading this.!.

on ya bike …………… obesities …………

I’m going to combine these two there’s a huge backlash and there’s been a couple articles that I read that mayor city con of London , Mayor Sadiq Khan of London, oh that won’t type so let’s I’ll have to do that my hand all the software is racist oh it’s racist it won’t type the name ha ha ha ha . The taxi drivers are especially ticked off about this. He is taking one lane of the already busy lanes of traffic in London and oh I don’t know how many miles I think 10 or 15 miles have already been done and I think there’s another equal amount being planned and they’ve been designated as bicycle lanes because he has this grand idea that people will cycle to work or cycle to downtown London and that way they can avoid using public transportation and less than their risk of coronavirus and basically that will drive the taxi drivers out of business and lessen the ability for disabled people to take the taxi because there are less places where they can pick up and drop off people because they cannot drive in those designated lanes. It’s really upset a lot of people. And in that with the obesity is that the stats are saying people with obesity and have a higher risk of dying from coal coronavirus. And the the p.m. forests and not evening Boris the Prime Minister Boris Johnson although he is in the evening as well I mean let’s face it that he lives both in the day and the night time as opposed to me, who seem to be sleeping during the day and a vampire oh. Anyhow he when he first started dating this Carrie Symonds, I think that’s howhow you spell her last name, she literally made him start eating well and exercise and he dropped a bunch of weight. And he said he’s dropped another was it 15 pounds or something since recovering from corona. So there’s been a lot of lots of talk about that as being a high risk factor in how the outcome is if you get coronavirus. And that simply because people who some people with obesity and have coexisting medical condition such as the hypertension and diabetes and that sort of thing, not everybody though some people are perfectly medically healthy and obese. Going to be really interesting I don’t know why I said that twiceGoing to be really interesting to see what happens with the gyms. With all the l mentioned at length last night or last night oh my goodness in the last riddle all the restrictions placed on the gym yet you have to come there ready to go early actually if you want, you can go back and read read yesterday’s riddle for all the details or Google it or whatever it’s all it’s gonna be really interesting because people have gotten used now either to a stopping working out which is a bad thing or working out at home and there’s so many great options now that you can use plus you don’t have to pay your gym fee so anyways it’s gonna be interesting to see what happens to yet another business as a result of coronavirus another change in our world. I realize that may be the longest run-on sentence in the in the world ever but it’s a longer sentence in those three travellers got for murdering that Police constable👮‍♀️ and I’m not joking! I know that’s not part of the clue but I’m just absolutely absolutely disgusted absolutely disgusted about that ruling by that judge I hope they appeal I hope the whoever has the power to appeal that decision because that is just disgusting what happened there!

floating for Vlad……………

Vladimir Putin has signed an order officially changing Russia’s constitution to allow him to stay in power until 2036!! Well isn’t that special that he’s able to do that wow in that supposedly a free country where they hold elections all the time isn’t that amazing can you hear the sarcasm?He signed the executive order Friday officially altering Russia’s constitution. His, oops l mean the new rules allow him to run for two more six-year terms, staying in power until 2036.I love that , you left in there that there’s two more elections , wow so he can run in an election two more times. Oh that’s great that he allowed the people the freedom of choice two more times! Vote for me or like the doctors who first started talking about coronavirus, you’ll accidentally fall from a window! Do you kids remember that? When the corona versus coronavirus not corona verse although it has become a universe of corona, that when the coronavirus first started appearing in Russia and doctors were sounding the alarm, I believe it was three doctors high ranking doctors that “fell” out of a high window and died. The changes are now in effect. This comes after Putin claimed victory in the vote which was widely thought to be rigged. I want to know many people died during that “ free election“. Yeah you’re not you’re not voting for him, you’re floating for him, if you speak your peace you sleep with the fishes like in the Godfather! Remember those two that were poisoned in what part of England was that. Can’t remember and then the 2people who found the perfume bottle that held the poison, oh I can’t even think about it it’s so terrible. How many Russians have sought asylum in the UK and ended up dying under mysterious circumstances. if you Google Russians found dead after the most recent election probably after every election there’s just all rules and oodles of articles and not just Russians in Russia Russians and New York Russians around the world anyways if you’re interested there’s lots of information there if you want to read it.

Kim-jong-corona …………

Well North Korea , KJU, and I guess The rumours of his death are premature, because there’s a new photo of him. And apparently they have their very first case of coronavirus and he’s declared a national emergency. I wonder how coronavirus got into North Korea might be there close relationship with China? I’m being sarcastic can you tell if my tone of voice? Someone suggested I do a podcast I think it would be hilarious if I only knew how to do that I would love to do a riddle on a podcast you could hear me doing this and you could hear my tone of voice and the sarcasm that is sometimes evidence often evidence! Not evidence evidence of a dent with a T. When the software gets mad at me it just shuts off when it won’t type the word that I’m saying it just stopped working it makes a ding and it stuck it’s like it has a temper tantrum , oh anyways you know I meant evidence and not evidence on it still think evidence with that stick with evidence let’s stick with that anyways. Do you think do you honestly believe in your heart of hearts with a close relationship that that Pyongyang has with China that this is their first case of coronavirus when the entire world has been in Fuego with this disease???? Raise your hand if you believe this isThe first case in North Korea raise your hand I’ll wait and then I’ll count your hands OK carry-on carry-on and counting and counting I don’t see any hands interesting. There’s no way that this is the first case of coronavirus in that country they are in bed with China like like let’s say Madam and any man on the planet that will have her that will pay her or rather that will pay her enough a ha ha ha ! So things must be pretty bad there for him to actually Go public about it! Not call public go public there we go! No wonder what’s going on there I want to how many people have died, have any people have been experimented on by the crazy government treatments experimental treatments etc. oh you need somebody to pray for pray for the poor people of North Korea those are brainwashed and those who are in work camps including probably some Canadians and some Americans for sure probably from other countries as well in the Commonwealth.

Hurriicant …………

This clue has two letters i’s and ends in t not e. Therefore means something more than just a hurricane. Hurry I can’t. That mean people weren’t able to evacuate in time. You know I used to say I wish we just had riddles again about the royal family. But you know MM Anon, I love that you were giving us all this world news because it’s so important and even though it takes a blank of a long time for me to research all this information, I’m well into two hours on the riddle now and I have a five clues to go, but I think it’s so important and I thank you for doing that. Hurricane Hanna roared ashore onto the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, bringing winds that lashed the shoreline with rain and storm surge, and even threatening to bring possible tornadoes to a part of the country trying to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases.The first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season made landfall at around 5 p.m. local time about 24 kilometres north of Port Mansfield, which is about 209 kilometres south of Corpus Christi and about 113 kilometres north of Brownsville. As of Saturday evening, it had maximum sustained winds of 145 km/h.

Many parts of Texas, including the area where Hanna came ashore, have been dealing with a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, but local officials said they were prepared for whatever the storm might bring.(CBC) Southern Texas area struck hardest by coronavirus hit by Hurricane Hanna.

Texas officials grappling with the coronavirus are now working a second front after Hurricane Hanna made landfall on the southeastern part of the state Saturday evening and now threatens parts of the state with flooding.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Moderna………

Medina is a huge pharmaceutical corporation.Time is of the essence to provide a vaccine against this pandemic virus.

Moderna is proud to be among the many groups working to respond to this continuing global health emergency. They have outlined key milestones in their work to advance mRNA-1273, their vaccine candidate against the novel coronavirus, Covid-19. (Reuters) - Moderna Inc said on Sunday it has received an additional $472 million from the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support development of its novel coronavirus vaccine. Let’s pray🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 an effective vaccine comes sooner rather than later!

Daisy down………

Daisy Lowe, I’ve got Daisy down and Daisy done she got done by the law.She doesn’t waste any time! Daisy Lowe moves on with love interest number THREE in four months of lockdown as she is seen smooching a mystery man in a park PDA-fest.The model, 31, was pictured passionately kissing the handsome man just a month after she was linked to musician Christian Langdon. Daisy stepped out with Christian in June despite being under government-ordered lockdown for 10 weeks.A spokesperson for Daisy told MailOnline she and Christian were just friends, despite their cosy display during lockdown.The model dated singer Jack Peñate for six months, until March, but said she 'could not see a future with him.

Daisy Lowe risks being BANNED from driving and a £1,000 fine as she is caught texting behind the wheel while driving past the British Transport Police station.The model, 31, was seen looking down at her phone as she waited at traffic lights outside the British Transport Police station. It is illegal to hold a phone while driving and the law still applies if someone is stopped at traffic lights or waiting in traffic .Daisy, who is the daughter of singer Gavin Rossdale, (OF THE 90’s SUPERBAND , BUSH, I LOVED THEM!!! ALSO WAS MARRIED TO GWEN STEFANI NOW WITH BLAKE SHELTON, JUST TO HELP YOU KIDS OUT KNOWING WHO THIS IS).let both hands go of the wheel while she was stopped and checked her phone.According to gov.uk, people can get six penalty points as well as a £200 fine if they use a hand held phone while driving .Those who commit the offense can also be taken to court where they could potentially be banned from driving or face a £1,000 fine. Yes I’m sure £1000 fine will bankrupt her indeed not!(DM and me😁)

dog collar reunion …………………”

With the exception of I think two or three clues I’ve had to research my butt off to find this information. And you always leave me with one clue that makes me Squirrley! Now I know a dog colour is a slang name Ashley’s dog tags that are a slang name for what the military people wear around their neck their identification. So I’ve been googling every sort of reunion of every dog in soldier I can’t find anything this is a dog collar so dog collar I mean a collar is a slang term for an arrest. What to the dog do you do reunite oh I’m stuck here I truly am stuck here. but I never give up and I’m pretty sure I have found what this clue is about.

Pet dog named, Appy that went missing a YEAR ago is miraculously found 150km from home and reunited with his owners this week!☺️☺️☺️😊😊The Border collie named Appy is reunited with family 12 months after going missing.Appy disappeared from Adelaide in 2019 before turning up again this week.The beloved dog was found by a council officer 150km north of his home.How the dog managed to make the 150km trip or how he survived for the past year remain a mystery. How is that for a feel-good story with amongst all the world news! Thank you for including that even if it’s the wrong answer I’m just happy I found that story I love border collies friend of mine used to have one but he probably still does and his name is Guinness and I love that dog oh I love that dog oh so nice.

“more than kin and less than kind” …………

Oh at last we return to the Bard! This is from Hamlet. “A little more than kin, and less than kind”. Prince Hamlet’s father was murdered by his brother and he married Hamlet’s mother, your usual Shakespearean tragedy. This is Hamlet’s assessment of his relationship to the new king of Denmark, his uncle Claudius. Hamlet thoughts of Claudius are he is more than “kin” (more than a “cousin” because now a stepfather), but definitely less than “kind.” With all that’s been going on in the media with this new this ‘ book’ trash that’s being portrayed yesterday’s daily mail the entire website was full of articles. I’m not sure what your meaning by this, Harry is kin but he’s not being kind? I fully believe in Harry 100% that he’s been entrapped in this and he’s been working on behalf of her Majesty to extricate them from this horrendous situation. The obvious meaning to me, because I 100% believe in Prince Harry is that even though he is married to Madam, the word kind, one of her is he kind is he kind is he kind is he kind I’m saying that in the most childish sarcastic voice you could imagine. Even though they’re married publicly anyways, I don’t know if the divorce or an annulment has come through ,we don’t know that. As far as the public since you’re in the married and she is anything but kind and never has been , this whole book and everything she’s doing the entire time is belittling him and of course he’s having to go along with it in the public because the royal family is playing the long game. They are dealing with much more than just Madam, they’re dealing with The backers. As we know this is not a small plot to take down the monarchy this is the world issue. And as London scoop said it will involve a major case overturned in the United States and it will affect or involve the entire world, but mostly the UK the United States and Australia. Well you put that together, who lives in Australia that is playing this game? I’ll give you three hints VRG! What case legal case in the United States has been overturned? I’ll give you two hints JE! What legal case involving the UK is now underway in the United States? I’ll give you two hints GM!. It is vital now that we continue to pray for our Queen the entire family and especially Prince Harry.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

“ a three-pounder Sydney,the Gillie can smoke it” ………” Sydney, Sydney ……… SYDNEY???”

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha OK kids can you picture this oh me in my head right now picture himself standing in his waders up to his chest Fly fishing with Sydney standing by holding him up also wearing waders maybe not holding him up but being there last he fall in the middle of the river ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ha ha.

If you know anything about flyfishing that is a place for flyfishing and you got to be in the middle of the river to do flyfishing and of course you don’t want to get wet so you got to wear your waders your rubber thing that you just step into they go all the way up to your chest and the straps over. hence the term so you can wade into the water. i’m not quite sure how old Sydney is but I can’t imagine he is the a young man of 25. I’m still laughing anyhow sounds like her himself vantage to bag a nice fish and Himself says the Gillies can smoke it. Well we all know the Gillies are the fisherman there , they give lessons or t help. Every year there’s a Gillies ball , which I doubt this year will happen , where the Gillies get up just up in their finest of their kilts and they have a ball at Balmoral. Some of the pictures from the past are just beautiful and they all get a dance with HMTQ. I’m not sure what’s happened to prior to poor Sydney but I have a feeling that he’s got lost in the water and being rushed down the river poor poor Sydney ha ha ha ha ha ha!

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

——————

73. July 27

MM ANON:…… arrivals !!…………… HMTQ, “ ego lava manus meas”……………” you bloody talk to them”……………Kate cry’s lies………… lying interview……… O ‘no!! …………… one man and his dog…………… a foggy moggy……… “ let’s go shooting Sydney “………… “ with guns sir” ……… “ lots of bloody guns” ……………” O dear”

Entertainment purposes

July 27/2020. Riddle #73

💜💜💜 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😊😊😊😊🌈🌈🌈🌈Thank you MM Anon🌈🌈🌈🌈💜💜💜

I am using rainbows because for a very specific reason because I think we are very near the end of our dear Prince Harry being released from the abomination this hell he’s been through!

arrivals !!

Well let’s see now this could be at the airport because of the air bridge problem with the rise in coronavirus and possible UK tourist being stranded. Two!‘s. Arrivals arrivals makes me think of a new baby. I know Vogue Williams, Pippa’s sister-in-law is very very pregnant with her girl with a girl rather and I know Sophie Turner is pregnant and I do believe they both had their little baby so I’m just gonna do a little jig over to the daily mail and a check that out for you I will be back in uno moments! Vogue Williams has been pictured with her baby girl for the first time since she gave birth last week.The model and TV personality, 34, was seen running errands with her newborn in London on Monday, five days after welcoming her second child with husband Spencer Matthews, 31, into the world. The new mother-of-two looked glamorous in a short black dress and leather lace-up boots as she loaded her daughter’s pram into the back of a taxi. Baby number one check mark ✅.Sophie Turner gives birth! Game Of Thrones star welcomes a ‘girl named Willa’ with husband Joe Jonas as proud new parents reveal they’re ‘delighted’. Just in case you’re keeping score Joe Jonas is the brother to the chat that Priyanka Chopra married. Man this is a small world that these people travelling wowza! The actress, 24, and the musician, 30, welcomed their first child in secret last week at a hospital in Los Angeles.The couple are now proud parents to a baby girl who is believed to be named Willa.News that the couple were expecting their first child together broke in February, nine months after their Vegas wedding. Arrival number to check mark ✅ two!‘s Two babies!!

HMTQ, “ ego lava manus meas”

I wash my hands of this! Her Majesty has given the go ahead and I think we can expect any day now any moment now a big headline!!! Hallelujah this is exciting!! Like in the olden days when they used to have the ,oh what’s it called ,when the guys on the horses went with those long lances on either side what the heck is that sport called ,back in the olden times oh what’s it called? I got to Google,hang on, I’ll be back. OK I’m back it’s jousting. And how they used to do it was the king and the royals would be all ,or the queen ,but it was always a king will be sitting in the royal box of course having front centre stage. They would drop a hankerchief and that’s when the two riders would start riding towards each other and trying kill each other with those big poles or whatever they call them lances. I’m not even sure what they were called. I wasn’t alive during the mediaeval times.OK kids I’m old and I’m gonna be 54 in a few days, but I was not alive during the mediaeval times, even though you might think so because I do have a lot of knowledge but I am that that’s not because I lived lived back thenHa ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Oh kids I love this thing to type ha ha Ha ha ha LOL and then I laughed even harder and I have to just stop I have to shut it off oh this is so funny oh man so too funny.Back to the serious I do believe her Majesty the Queen has officially dropped the handkerchief Lord Geidt has been given permission to release the hounds. She has done everything she can and she’s done with things. Now off on vacation and let the you know what hit the fan, which is actually really is with this book, but she will play her hand and she has washed her hands! Per the Latin clue! she’s usually good ,good handwashing skills during the coronavirus definitely end in Latin thank you for that MM Anon,they should write that in Latin too and in addition to English wash your hands social distanceHa ha ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Oh kids forgive me I’m just like I am having way too much fun doing these riddles in the audio format because I feel like I’m talking to each and everyone of you personally and I know that you’re fixated on my words and my facial expression, on the tone of my voice and as you read it you’re trying to imagine all of that. I’m doing my best trying my best to to make this the best experience for you all while solving these clues that again was a very long sentence but that’s OK that’s what I’m known for. I hope Madamgets a long sentence all in favour is your hand oh wow everybody’s hand just went up before almost before I finish my sentence good job kids!

“you bloody talk to them”……………

Well this is got to be Himself. I wonder if this is not meaning that Prince Harry should talk to the media. that he should announce separation or something like that. Seems to me that there would be a statement released if they were separated rather than him going public with the media. I’m thinking hard. The other way I’m going to go with, now this is something that some people will not like, this so this is not personal against anybody.OK I want to make that clear with what I’m about to say! I think this might be Prince Philip taking a hard talk with Prince Andrew and basically ordering him to talk to the FBI and law-enforcement regarding what he knows and what he doesn’t know. To be questioned and provide answers accordingly. I’m pretty sure that’s what this is. Again this is nothing personal please I love the Yorks I love the girls please please no one take this personally!

Kate cry’s lies…………

There was an article in the daily mail today from insiders and courtiers That actively denied that Madam made Catherine cried you’re in the way the fittings for the dresses for the wedding. If truth be told there was all that arrangement was done within two weeks the men’s suits the boys is rather the dresses for the girls they were all a rush job within two weeks.. There’s nothing that could make Catherine cry involving Madam just another one of her lies that she’s put out into the PR world. When she just love to have that much power over her wouldn’t she just love it oh man that would just fit her narcissistic ego publicly telling people she made Catherine cry how pathetic!

lying interview………

Surely this is not referring to the engagement interview that was years ago. Ever since everything Madam has said has been a lie. might this be Scooby Doo and who are you whatever that lady’s name is Durand I am stating they had corroborated at least every fact in the book with at least two sources and lying about that. Unusual this though usually when a book comes out the authors go on tour but so far I’ve not heard of anything happening like that. Just one side of the story? Royal expert says it’s clear Finding Freedom authors have spoken to people 'close’ to Harry and Madam as couple deny involvement in book that airs their grievances - and 'backs up what’s already been said’. Don’t believe that for a minute Harry had nothing to do with this book other than his reputation being dragged through the mud and his name being used in vain! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex last night stressed they did not contribute to the forthcoming biography. Oh I hate that they use that title they the duke of Sussex stressed nothing it is that sea hags PRPR did that stressing nothing to do with him nothing to do with him at all!Author Omid Scobie confirmed neither he nor co-writer Carolyn Durand have spoken to the royal pair. But he boasted of access to their inner circle to offer readers a unique insight into the Megxit saga. Maybe he can swing those inner circle access into being incarcerated, he could be cell buddies😄😁😁😁😁Royal historian Kate Williams said their closest confidantes ‘clearly’ spoke to “writers” of this “ book”! Well since Madam’s favourite people are her herself and when you say me myself and I except I’m pretending to be her. Those are her favourite people so those might be the sources. I could see that I could totally see 🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄that that being three separate sources yes and then there could be the duchess, the actress, the theatre 🎭 patron,the video star, the whatever that’s many many different people to interview. Wow that’s amazing that I can see that now, 😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 no she had nothing to do with it look at this now let me count this up. By my math that’s six sources so I can totally totally understand! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄Can you guys hear this sickening crying sarcasm in my voice as I said that I wish you could because I said that as sarcastically as I’ve ever said anything in my life!!🙄🙄🙄😝😝😝😁😁😁

O ‘no!! ……………

Oh my heart bleeds for her not!! I never ever ever liked her haughtyI know everything and I’m going to tell you how to live your life approach to it whether it was her show, tv channel or her stinking magazine! OW’s, AKA ALLEGED BACKER, monthly magazine founded 20 years ago will cease printing after its December 2020 issue, according to reports. Oh doesn’t your heart just bleed for the billionaire?? Mine sure doesn’t! Although I do feel for all the people losing their jobs that I do feel for. The staff of O: The Oprah Magazine, which was created by Winfrey and Hearst Communications, was informed of the decision on Friday.The report came the day after the president of Hearst Magazines, which publishes the magazine, resigned after being accused of sexual harassment. Why does everything have to come down to perverse sexual behaviour? Everything, it’s just it just has seeped into every nook and cranny and that’s the way evil is, it will find its way in through the smallest weakest spaces.Which is precisely why we must be ever ever on guard, always on guard lest evil enter.

one man and his dog……………

So it was in the beginning, so it has been throughout, and so it continues now, Harry has been at Nottingham Cottage with his dog whose name none of us know because he doesn’t want Madam to know! Madam has been dealt with, she is done, she did her own self in with this book,she is gone and things are official! Harry is back in the fold, with his dog, where he belongs, back where we wanted him and soon it will be public very very soon. I’m not giving a day or time but l am saying imminently! Trust me on this if you’ve ever trusted me before I’ve done probably now this is 73 probably close to 300 riddles and the way I’m reading these clues I’m pretty sure I’m right!

a foggy moggy………

Now I know a moggy is a cat. Foggy can mean foggy as in weather or foggy in a persons thinking. there’s an article in the daily mail I’m good I just put it here. But I don’t know if that’s right because the other clues are so serious and I don’t I mean cats aren’t great, they’re awesome they’re really awesome but I don’t know if this is right. 😁DM.No fat cats here! This Moggy loves to lie on his owner’s vibrating fitness plate - with hilarious results. Cyacya the cat was filmed by his owner rocking up and down on the machine. The owner Asami Niwa said the cat had learned to turn it on himself in Tokyo, Japan.Footage shows the cat rolling around on the machine for a full-body massage.DM😁 But this makes no sense with all these other clues that are so serious this makes no sense that there would be a clue in here just about a cat using an exercise machine. It’s got to be something else on my mind is just thinking thinking thinking and as I always say there’s always always a clue or two that drive me Squirrley and a couple have already been this riddle entire riddle has about four or five of them and I’ve managed to crack two of them and I am not going to stop until I get there with what I think is the proper answer. I have it now I have it now and if you kids go to the daily mail you got to see this video this is unbelievable.

DM😁Feline scared? Spooky moment security camera shows moggy being followed by a 'phantom cat’.Juliette Bird, 53, and Deanna Crawte, 28, saw the 'ghost’ of a cat on their CCTV. Neighbour’s cat Topsy appeared to have a spectral feline following close behind.Their neighbour then told them that her other cat Liquorice had died recently. Seriously on the video you see the cat walking and you can see like a ghostly foggy image of a cat behind right behind him on the CCTV footage it is freaky I’m gonna see if I can put the link in here if F what’s this called Tumblr will will let it go allow it anyways if not go to the daily mail because it is absolutely freaky and it is a foggy moggy.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8549355/Feline-scared-Spooky-moment-security-camera-shows-moggy-followed-phantom-cat.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

“ let’s go shooting Sydney “………… “ with guns sir” ……… “ lots of bloody guns” ……………” O dear”

Oh I’m already in stitches raining this oh Prince Philip wants to go shooting Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! Picture this they’re all kitted out in their flannel, in their leather and all that cute stuff that they were up in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Sydney, poor Sydney , poor Sydney, Poor Sydney is asking with guns Sir, like with actual guns sir? As he’s asking this, he’s thinking of 1 million places where he can hide all the guns and 1 million excuses to give that would be excepted by Himself,ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂.Himself replies,so you can read the reply,as many as possible, poor Sydney is trembling absolutely travelling is terrified I can just see this in my mind ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha .🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

——————

[megaboy335]

Mega’s 2019 Top Anime List

Another year of anime has come and gone. This year I ended up watching a lot less due to the over saturation of Isekai and light novel anime, but there was still plenty to enjoy. As usual I consider any show that ended this year as a contender to be on my list. This is simply my opinion and there will be spoilers below.

1) Pokemon Sun & Moon

Starting this list with a show I watched for 3 years, Pokemon Sun and Moon was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with the Pokemon anime. It took the best aspects of XY and added loose animation to the mix. Ash and friends have never had so much personality as each episode brought the characters to life in new ways with funny facial expressions. As an adaptation of the game, Pokemon SM did better in some areas compared to others. The trials were simplified or restructured to account for Ash’s classmates being trial captains in the game. While the Kahuna battles were spaced out very far apart in the anime. I always thought it was strange that in-between major story battles, Ash barely ever thought about the challenges.

The two major story highlights of the anime are Lusamine’s arc and the Pokemon League. Lusamine’s story was the main plot of SM and it played out almost exactly like the game. Her downfall to her Ultra Beasts obsession and then Lillie knocking some sense back into her mom is still an emotional highlight of the series. In any Pokemon anime, the Pokemon League is what brings meaning to Ash’s entire journey through the region. SM’s league is similar to the game where it’s the first league of the region. The rival pairings and matches were completely predictable, but it ended with two big surprises. First, Ash was actually allowed to win for once (matching your character becoming the first champion in the game), and secondly he had a full 6 v 6 match with Kukui. It spanned 3.5 episodes with Ash’s Litten completing its character arc by reaching its final form during the battle. It was a rare match where both parties are battling it out for fun and it ended with a flashy finale of two hype Z-moves. Pokemon SM will be remembered for its simplicity, yet ambitious approach in always showing something new week after week.

2) Mob Psycho 100 Season 2

Mob-Psycho continues where it left off in season 1. The main protagonists have come away from a battle with Claw and now daily life resumes. This season featured a love story, Reigen’s arc, deeper exploration into psychic powers, and the return of Claw. Just like in season 1, Mob continues to excel in two major areas. First is of course the animation. An average episode of Mob is literally that one stand-out episode of a one cour anime. Psychic power usage is often a reflection of emotions and they are animated in different ways depending on the characters thoughts in a particular scene. There were so many highlights this season that it would be impossible to list them all.

Mob’s second strength is the character writing. In season 1 Mob was a boy struggling to create his own identity. This season Mob actively tries to break out of his shell and become his own unique person. We see this through his efforts with the fitness club, again when he separates from Regien, and again as he shows everyone that having psychic powers is no substitute for personal growth or status. Mob is no longer a timid boy like he was at the start of the series. He can now stand on his own two feet and help others who are struggling to get up. Considering there is still a little more manga left to cover, I can only hope it gets one last season to finish out the story.

3) Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

In order to understand the appeal of Kaguya-Sama, just for a second imagine if Death Note was a romantic comedy. Both of the protagonists are locked into a battle of wits to outsmart the other in the events of daily life. The mere act of choosing a vacation spot, going somewhere, or giving an item to each other suddenly becomes a high stakes duel. Kaguya-sama follows Kaguya herself and Shirogane as they try to avoid being the first to admit their love for each other. The side characters only help to add wildcards to each battle such as Chika being able to change the tide of battle with a single phrase.

I enjoyed seeing how absurd each battle would become week after week. The presentation is simple, yet very effective in this anime. Resources were definitely allocated for use in certain places for maximum impact. The voice acting also helped a ton in selling just how important each battle was in the minds of the characters. Overall, the series knows how to play with your expectations. Some battles turn out as expected, some with a twist, and others end on some kind of middle ground. However, each battle brings them a little closer together. I can’t wait for the next season in April.

4) Run with the Wind

Almost all sports anime revolve around high school students trying to become as good as possible and win nationals before the 3rd years graduate. However, Run with the Wind takes a different approach to this formula. It focuses on a group of college students who, at the start at least, would rather do anything else than run. It takes about half of the show before our group of characters even get on the same page about running. I enjoyed how this anime put us into the heads of each character. Some have personal reasons for not wanting to run, while for others it was something trivial. However, by committing themselves to the team they each gained a new outlook on themselves and those around them. It was quite literally an uphill for the team to reach the level of success they got at the end. The final run brilliantly showed how each character learned from the experience and how the time they spent on the team was a positive life changing moment. Run with the Wind shows that it's never too late to try something new.

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind

Jojo is back on the list after an extended break between parts 4 and 5. Compared to previous stories, Part 5 is most similar to part 3. There is a quest to clear and it involves the main group traveling across the land and defeating enemy stand users each step of the way. The differences between part 5 and its previous stories becoming apparent right away. First off, the protagonist is not a traditional Joestar. He is the son of Dio born from when he had Jonathan’s body. Secondly, the group of main characters are not exactly good guys. As mafia members they display a sense of unity, but lack the high integrity of previous Jojo characters. A connection they all share is being looked down upon in society, but placing a place in the world through Bucciarati’s squad.

The aspect that makes or breaks a JoJo story for me is usually the villain. I consider Diavolo to be the weakest of any villain across the various JoJo stories. During the early arcs of the story, Diavolo comes off as an interesting character. He has a mysterious personality and will clearly stop at nothing to keep his identity hidden, including killing his own daughter. The series then adds layer of complexity when we meet his alter ego Doppio. The two personalities are clearly distinctive, but the line between which one is charge can be murky. However, his character intrigue quickly comes crashing down as the final arc fully brings Diavolo into the limelight. The story comes down to who can control the stand arrow, which is a sharp contrast to previous villains who drove the final arc on the back of their eccentric personalities. While JoJo part 5 is still a good anime, it will always come near the bottom of my favorite JoJo parts.

The Year of High Profile Weekly Shonen Jump Anime Adaptations

As the 2016-17 hits from Weekly Shonen Jump have aged up, all of their anime dropped in succession this year. I am a huge fan of the magazine, so here’s a section with some quick thoughts of their anime.

The Promise Neverland - The anime changed the escape arc from a mental battle to a horror series. While animation is definitely better suited to playing with the idea of show don’t tell, the result ended up being telling the story through a different lens. While I appreciated the idea, I feel it came up short. The loss of Posuka Demizu’s art was another major blow to the mood they were trying to create.

Kimetsu no Yaiba - When the manga first began, I never imagined it would become a 1+ Million seller. Ufotable brought their top class digital effects to a manga that at a quick glance would make anyone think it would be the last series to get such treatment. The anime brought a lot to the table and greatly helped to bring the manga to life. It was a great experience from start to finish (episode 19 is a major highlight of the year). I’m looking forward to the upcoming film.

Dr. Stone - Compared to the other Jump anime this year, Dr. Stone’s animation and presentation stuck very close to the manga (if not even inferior to Boichi’s creative spreads at times). The aspect that sold this anime best was the voice cast. They brought so much life into the characters and conveyed the passion each one has for science and learning. I enjoyed seeing Senku create his inventions in animated form.

Bokuben - This might not exactly be considered “high-profile”, but I can’t help but find myself impressed by the anime week after week. It adds a few touches here and there to better tell a cohesive story and occasionally adds a scene or two. I appreciated the heart the anime brought to the series through the seiyuu. Introducing a new seiyuu unit from the cast was also a nice bonus as well.

Best OP/EDs of the year:

1) One Piece Opening 22 - The One Piece anime has changed dramatically under Tatsuya Nagamine. This opening is fast paced and filled with future story teases. It changes the format by cutting the op run time down to 2 minutes and includes clips of the episode. The final sequence of Luffy vs. Kaido always gets me hyped each to watch the episode each week. 

2) Mob Psycho II Opening - This opening feels like a natural continuation of the first season opening. It once again showcases how the show is full of creative animation and unusual characters.

3) Mix Opening 1- Mitsuru Adachi is known for his nuanced writing of giving characters the space to convey their thoughts. This opening fully shows these traits through its sequence of character shots that feel like a natural usage of his writing style. 

4) Kaguya-Sama Chika Ending - Cute song and amazing choreography. There’s a clear reason why this swept across the internet last winter

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Opening 2 - Not only is Traitor’s Requiem a very cool name for a song for this part of the story, but the plot teases are perfectly timed in the song. The opening animation also kept on giving with the villain version and Giorno later recapturing the opening.

This brings 2019 to a close and another decade comes to an end. As my way of recapping the decade, here is a list of my top shows in each post I have made since I started posting them in 2014:

Space Brothers

Hunter x Hunter

Kill la Kill

Nisekoi

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3

Sore ga Seiyuu

Death Parade

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3 (Second Half)

Hibike Euphonium 

One Punch Man Season 1

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4

Mob Psycho 100 Season 1

Yuri on Ice

Konosuba Season 1

Sakamoto Desu Ga?

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Tsuki Ga Kirei

Re:Creators

Ero-manga Sensei

Owarimonogatari (the Monogatari series in general)

Hugtto Precure

A Place Further than the Universe

Yuru Camp

Dragonball Super

S.S.S.S. Gridman

[thinkitmeans]

“Millennial dads have pathetic DIY skills compared to baby boomers“

That’s the headline in this New York Post article.

You’d think, by reading that title, that they had pitted two groups of ‘do-it-yourself’ builders against one another. A room full of millennials with nothing but the fanciest new tools - yet no clue how to use them, and a room full of boomers fixing everything in sight with nothing but a butter knife and some know-how.

You’d be wrong.

Every day, I read articles like this one that interpret data in really ass-backwards ways - either out of sheer ignorance, a need to fit data to the story the writer wants to tell...or probably a bit both. If you’re here, you’re probably just as annoyed as I am, or you’re just here to learn to think a bit more critically about these types of headlines.

I’m not an expert  - I’m more of a policy analyst these days. I will be the first to admit that there are actual statisticians and math wizards that could wipe the floor with me in a heated battle of data wits. However, I have an M.A. in applied social research which included a bunch of methodology and statistics classes which should probably help me in this new task I’ve given myself.

I’m glad you’re along for the ride. Now, back to our butter knife wielding boomers.

Here are the article’s “findings” :

- Millennial dads fall short in most categories of “handiness” scenarios. - New technology being harder to fix is the top reason for the “decline” - Millennial dads are also more likely than their own fathers to prioritize family time over DIY. 

How did they find these things? Turns out a company called “alarm.com” commissioned OnePoll to do a survey of 2,000 dads. However, that’s where our knowledge about the dataset stops, and it brings us to our first problem.

We don’t know who was surveyed. Neither alarm.com, nor the NY Post, nor OnePoll tell us who these people are, just that they are part of OnePoll’s research panel and that they are dads. What age are they - how did they define millennial and boomer? Where are these people living? What is their income? At the very base we should be able to know what the variables were if we want to know if what we are being told has been accurately measured. This is really important because of confounding variables.

Confounding variables are constantly ignored in these types of surveys, yet they can completely change the context of survey results. Take for instance this example : say you did research and found that there is a causal relation between activity level and weight gain. That’s not too hard to believe. However, you can’t immediately say that you’ll gain weight if you don’t exercise. That also depends on your age or how much you eat. These are hidden variables that have an effect that we can’t ignore.

So let’s go back to our variables for this example. One of the questions that was asked was whether or not individuals owned certain tools. So the variables would be age/owning tools. The article tells us that fewer millennials own tools compared to boomers so they are less likely to do their own home repairs.

Without knowing who was surveyed we can’t know if the data was controlled for location - were these rural boomers and urban millenials? Did they ask home-owners or renters? That would be important as renters have landlords.

Also tool ownership doesn’t actually tell you if someone does or does not know how to use them - when I moved out I didn’t own a car, it didn’t mean I didn’t know how to drive - I just couldn’t afford one.

Many of the variables that are ignored could give us a much fuller understanding of what is happening. Though that doesn’t make for fancy headlines.

Alright, let’s put our sample aside and talk about each finding one at a time :

Millenial dads fall short on a variety of DIY topics.

My first question was - how did they find that out? To go back to where we started - were they all put in a room and their handiness was measured? No. They simply asked them if they could “handle” a variety of tasks - and for the most part, older fathers answered they could more often than the younger fathers.

That doesn’t actually tell you that younger fathers are worse at those tasks than the older fathers. It simply tells you that younger fathers THINK they are less likely to succeed at these tasks than older fathers THINK they are. It’s a self-assessment. You could just be finding that boomer fathers overestimate their abilities. That as we age, we become more confident in our abilities, or that we gather more information and expertise. A more accurate statement would be “younger fathers on average 20% less confident in their ability to perform various DIY tasks than older fathers” - not quite as sexy. 

New technology being harder to fix is the top reason for the “decline”

They share very little data about this finding however, you can be sure that they did not find a “decline”. A decline means that you have measured the same thing over a long span of time - a longitudinal study for instance would be able to track a “decline”. “Kids have been doing progressively worse on this standardized test over the past 20 years - there is a decline in their scores.” This poll? Not so much. You could maybe change the question to something like “at the age of 22, when you first became a father, were you able to accomplish these tasks?” but even then you’re assuming that they remember what they knew at that age.

This is an issue with another of their findings “Millennial dads are also more likely than their own fathers to prioritize family time over DIY.” They didn’t ask if they were more likely to prioritize family time when they were young fathers. How many boomer fathers do you know are spending more time with their kids than young fathers?

This brings me to my last point : the source of the research is important to keep in mind.

Who is alarm.com? A company pushing high tech security for your home. Seems convenient that the research came to the conclusion that new tech was difficult to install - best left to experts.

Also, who conducted the survey? A firm that specializes in “PR Surveys”, they say on their website : “originally a tool to secure column inches in national media, today OnePoll’s research and insight is used to add depth to brand storytelling across traditional and digital media. “ Sounds like real thorough research. That being said - they were effective. Their haphazard research has been picked up by several media outlets, and used to feed the narrative that alarm.com sought to create : are you installing a high tech security system? Probably should leave that to the experts, even your tech savvy kids are calling us.

All of this isn’t to completely discount the survey - there may be some interesting findings that could be teased from the questions they asked - just probably not the same conclusions that were spread across newspaper headlines.

[spooky-ghostwriter]

Dressed to Kill - Chapter Fifteen

<– Previous Chapter

Next Chapter –>

Tsukiko lay in her bed, lazily watching Shiba Kariki gleam in the sunlight. As she'd hoped, Stiletto had been able to spare a hanging mount, and now the sword rested peacefully on the wall. Her trailer already felt much less empty, even with merely 28.2 inches of sword and sheath.

She couldn't stare at the sword forever. There was something bothering her.

Finally, she pushed herself off the bed. She grabbed Shiba Kariki off the wall as she passed it, making her way out of the trailer.

It only took her a few steps in the grass before Galen noticed her.

“Morning, Tsuki,” He said, walking in tandem.

“Morning,” said Tsukiko, not breaking stride.

“Are we going to try working Shiba Kariki into our act?” Galen asked, eyeing the sword.

“Wasn't planning on it. Mom and Dad freaked out enough about the knives during Stiletto's show. I don't need them worrying about me getting disemboweled during my own shows too.”

“Oh.” Galen stopped, then hastened his steps once more when he realized Tsukiko was going to continue moving.

“So then,” Galen tried again. “You're going to practice with Shiba for dryad attacks, right?”

“I'll have to get around to that at some point,” said Tsukiko. “I'd rather use the Tank Top for most dryads, but I'll make sure I can use Shiba too if I have to.”

“Okay, fine,” Galen said dully. “I'll just ask – where are you going that you need a sword for?”

“Right here.”

Magician Trailer One stood before them. Galen recalled their first visit some time ago, and how Tsukiko had found a seventh Religalia in it. He also recalled that Tsukiko hadn't had any need for a weapon last time they'd entered.

“I'm still lost,” said Galen.

“Remember how I picked the lock last time?” Tsukiko asked, putting her fingers on the door. “Well, I came back later, and there was this.”

A chain sat wrapped around the door handle, keeping the door from moving. A lock hung, grasping several of the links. It was not a key lock, but a combination lock with a five-digit code.

“I guess they noticed you went in before,” said Galen. “In fact, they might know it was you specifically. You can pick a key lock, but I'm guessing you can't get through this.”

“I can't pick it, no,” Tsukiko admitted, tossing the sheath of Shiba Kariki. Galen caught it automatically.

“Whoa, wait – ” Galen stammered. “Don't!”

“Oh?” Tsukiko asked, readying her stance. “Why not?”

“Well, I'll ignore the fact that we're clearly not supposed to be in there, since I'm guessing you don't care about that yourself.”

“Good. I don't.”

“But you're planning on swinging your family's most treasured possession into a metal chain?” Galen asked. “It's not a thick chain, sure, but do you really think Shiba will be all right?”

“Well – ”

“And I have to ask anyway, why chop your way into the trailer in the first place?” Galen asked in exasperation. “You already looked around. What good does it do to look again?”

“My mom almost died the other day,” Tsukiko said, tightening her grip on the sword's handle. “You heard about that, right?”

“You mentioned it.”

“I figured I would have. Now, that got me thinking. I couldn't use the Bow Tie on that dryad because the arrows went through the vines, and it's the only Religalia I had on hand at the time. It's the only one I can wear all day, even during shows and stuff.”

“The High Heals?” Galen suggested.

“Clearly you've never tried walking in heels all day.”

“Can't say I have.”

“Anyway,” Tsukiko said, “The point is, I want these dryads dealt with. I want them dead and buried and gone so I can go back to thinking about clothes for comfort and style instead of which ones I need to make sure no one around me dies because I chose the wrong outfit.”

Galen didn't have a good reply to this.

“And this trailer has in it one more Religalia,” said Tsukiko. “Ol' Vercy has a habit of not telling me everything I need to know, and the first Religalia he did tell me about was a tank. An actual tank. That makes me think that maybe this one that he didn't bother telling me about is the most powerful Religalia yet.”

“Or maybe it's the worst one and there was no point telling you about it,” said Galen. “It could just be a really sucky magic costume.”

“We'll see,” said Tsukiko, brandishing her weapon. “I'll just cut a hole in the door instead of the lock, and then we'll figure out how it works and what it does.”

“Can't we just ask Vercy?”

“Not if we want an answer.”

“Tsuki – ”

Tsukiko brought the sword upwards. She prepared to swing, but a pressure stopped her arm. She saw a strong hand gripping her forearm. Her vision followed the hand, and she saw that it was Vercingetorix who had stopped her, not Galen.

“I really wish you had've just asked,” Vercingetorix said, in the tone of voice Tsukiko recalled from teachers annoyed with her for sleeping in class.

He sighed.

“But perhaps I should have been more upfront with you,” He admitted. “If you promise not to take your sword to any circus property, I'll explain the Religalia in this trailer.”

Vercingetorix let go of Tsukiko's hand. She sheathed the sword.

“Deal.”

“Come in too, Galen,” Vercingetorix gestured for the boy. “You're also able to use Religalia, so this is as relevant to you as it is to Tsukiko.”

Galen moved closer as Vercingetorix held the lock in his hand. He couldn't help but see the combination; 6-2-0-1-4.

2014, He recognized. Three years ago, perhaps? June of 2014?

Still lost in thought, he followed Vercingetorix and Tsukiko inside.

The air felt more breathable to Tsukiko than the last time she'd entered the trailer, but she heard Galen expel a dry cough. Tsukiko's own throat felt a little itchy, but she managed to suppress her own coughs. Vercingetorix didn't seem the least bit affected by the air

“I assume you've heard of our previous stage magician,” Vercingetorix said. He clicked the light switch, but the bulb only flickered for a moment before returning to darkness.

“Freya the Magnificent!” Tsukiko said, a hint of excitement in her voice. “I saw some of her old videos. She's amazing at quick-change stuff. I'd like to meet her some day.”

Vercingetorix paused.

“I see you haven't heard everything.”

He sighed once more.

“Freya is dead. She died... about two or three years ago.”

Galen looked at his feet.

'About' two or three years ago? No, Galen thought. I'm sure you know exactly what day in June it was when she died.

He looked over at Tsukiko. She was equally silent, perhaps embarrassed by her excitement over Freya's performances. Vercingetorix didn't seem to mind, or was already so focused on his memories that Tsukiko's words hadn't affected him.

Instead, Vercingetorix stepped over to one of the framed pictures on the wall, rubbing a finger through the years of dust.

“We first opened the Alesia Circus twenty years ago,” He said. “At the time, there were only five performers – Ravindra, Stiletto, Henry, Pierre and Freya. I worked to manage the acts, and also played the assistant role as needed, and we hired whoever was available as short-time crew members. It was a modest organization, but that actually worked in our favour. We toured not only across North America, but even across Europe and Asia. It was only when Pierre's collection of animals grew that we began focusing our efforts on the one continent.”

Tsukiko and Galen began to wonder what this had to do with anything, but they let Vercingetorix reminisce.

“When we first opened the circus, Freya had a single Religalia – the Tank Top. During our travels, she acquired a few more. She never mentioned where she got them, and I never dared to ask. They were the greatest secrets of her stage magician ways, and as I always do and always will, I respected her secrets. Each Religalia took her performances to new heights, and that was enough for me.”

Vercingetorix walked slowly to the other side of the trailer, towards the black cloak on the mannequin.

“At the time, we never considered using our arts to fight. It was unthinkable. But when the first dryads came, we had no choice.

“The first attack came as a complete surprise – naturally, I suppose no one could have expected it. Whatever the case, we were unprepared. There were many deaths, most of which were audience members. If it hadn't been for Freya, it would have been a massacre, but she and that Tank Top saved all the lives she could.”

He looked up at the robe's hood, as if it contained a face listening to his story.

“We modified our performances so that they could be used for battle. It was not too difficult of a task, considering Freya's artillery, Ravindra's flames and Stiletto's weaponry. The dryads continued to come, and we were able to fight them on even terms. We managed to get through the next several years without any casualties, staff or guest. It had become a normal part of our routine.

“Freya missed the days of peace and harmony. We all did, of course, but Freya was such a kind soul. I believe the lives she failed to save on that first day still haunted her. So, after studying the Religalia, she came to a conclusion – she would construct her own.”

Vercingetorix held the robe by the hem and looked at the torn hole in its fabric.

“This Religalia is Freya's creation. I couldn't bring myself to ask about the process, and I regret not having done so. I have no idea how she was able to create a Religalia. The most horrible part is that this robe contains none of the joy or kindness that I associated so dearly with Freya.

“Tank Top. High Heals. Bow Tie. Jumper. Cargo Pants. Boxer Shorts. Each one of them has such a childish name. Freya found it hard to talk about any of them without a faint smile on her face – all of them except the one she created herself.

“This Religalia was fuelled by Freya's desire to annihilate all the dryads,” said Vercingetorix. “There is no joy or humour in this outfit. It is simply called the Death Robe.”

Tsukiko felt a chill run down her spine.

“Each Religalia has a unique method of activation,” Vercingetorix continued. “Swiping the hat of the Tank Top, for example. Freya believed that the Death Robe's method was more...” He paused, thinking of the right word. “Esoteric.”

“What is it?” Tsukiko asked.

“We don't know for sure,” said Vercingetorix. “But Freya believed that, if she were to die wearing the robe, she would gain some power necessary to destroy all the dryads in one fell swoop.

“Of course, we never tested it. How could we? I forbade her from using the Death Robe, even wearing it. Then, years later, we were caught off-guard in a dryad attack. Freya had been safely using the Tank Top, but I was caught by a Venus flytrap monster. Horrible creature.”

He turned, still not facing Tsukiko and Galen, but no longer facing the robe either.

“Freya changed from the Tank Top to the Bow Tie. She killed the fly trap in an instant and saved my life. But the other dryads took the opportunity. They caught her while she was worrying about me.”

Tsukiko and Galen could hear the wavering in his voice as he continued.

“It was a horrible wound. I tried to get her to a hospital, or at least to get the High Heals, but she stopped me. She told me that she was ready to test her creation. And then she showed me that she'd been wearing the Death Robe all along, folded beneath the Tank Top.

“And so, she died.” Vercingetorix concluded.

“What happened?” Galen asked.

“Nothing,” Vercingetorix practically spat the word. “The Religalia did nothing.” He slammed his fist into the wall of the trailer.

“We at the circus used to be able to wear Religalia, you know,” Vercingetorix muttered. “It was rare, but Stiletto healed Freya's minor wounds on occasion, and I used the Cargo Pants and Boxer Shorts myself. But that day, all of our beliefs in the impossible were shattered.

“And the worst part is, I can't even blame the dryads for her death,” He said. “It was me. All me. It's supposed to be a manager's job to keep everyone safe. But in that moment, I had a choice between forcing someone to heal her with the High Heals or allowing her to test the Death Robe. I believed that she'd come back, without a scratch on her, with some godlike power that would make the rest of the battle a farce. I believed that with all of the conviction in my heart, no matter how impossible it sounds! And still...”

He trailed off.

“I'm sorry. I got a little off track,” Vercingetorix said, clearly trying to force some calmness into his voice. “The point is... I never told you about the Death Robe because I never wanted you to make the same mistake Freya did.”

“Why not get rid of it altogether, then?” Tsukiko asked.

“Get rid of it?!” Vercingetorix demanded, suddenly almost yelling. “This was something Freya believed in enough to die for! You want me to throw it in the trash with the half-eaten candied apples?!”

Tsukiko had paled; the man's face was only inches away from hers, and filled with fury.

Vercingetorix composed himself.

“Forgive me,” He muttered. “Perhaps I'm still clinging too tightly onto the past. But I can't – I simply can't – dispose of a Religalia.”

“I understand,” Tsukiko said softly. “Thank you for telling me about all this.”

Vercingetorix nodded halfheartedly.

Tsukiko could tell this was a painful subject, and she regretted ever having brought it up. Still, she would have regretted it even further if she brought it up without getting something from it, making the whole endeavor pointless, and so she forced herself to ask another question.

“Vercingetorix,” said Tsukiko, “When Freya was talking about the Death Robe, or... just in general, did she ever mention the phrase 'cold blood, cold steel'?

She braced herself for this question to inspire another fit of anger in Vercingetorix, or some other strong emotion.

Instead, Vercingetorix simply looked confused.

“Cold blood, cold steel?” He repeated.

Vercingetorix shook his head.

“I've never heard that phrase before,” Vercingetorix said. “What makes you think it has something to do with the Death Robe?”

Galen continued to stay distinctly silent, deciding to let Tsukiko reply however she thought was best.

“I kind of... uh... tried it on,” Tsukiko admitted hesitantly. “Sorry about that.”

“Ah,” Vercingetorix said. “That day that Galen was standing outside...”

Galen awkwardly cleared his throat.

“But even simply trying it on wouldn't explain where that phrase came from,” said Vercingetorix. “You didn't manage to activate it, did you?”

“No. I don't think so, anyway.” Tsukiko said. She prepared to explain everything about the voice, but it only took her a few words to say it properly. “I heard a weird voice whispering 'cold blood, cold steel' while I was wearing it.”

“I'll look into it and let you know if I find anything,” Vercingetorix offered. “But I have no idea what that could mean.”

Vercingetorix, Tsukiko and Galen all gave the Death Robe a glance; one of both curiosity and concern.

[imagineclaireandjamie]

Fast Forward: Part 14:

Do we know when the next Fast Forward chapter will be out? So looking forward to it. I’ve read to Chapter 6 so far. — lisacoffeyme

Claire sat still as Jamie peeled off her still-sodden clothes. She watched, her eyes glued to his hands as he skillfully slipped the shirt from her shoulders leaving her bare before him. Safely ensconced in Jamie’s bedroom, Claire had become almost instantly submissive and shy. He’d seen her naked before, of course, but there had been no lust between them then, only care and attentiveness as he’d helped Jenny to dress Claire’s wounds. Now, though, he was undressing her a different momentum and Claire barely had time take stock.

“Do ye ken how, Claire?” Jamie asked, still mostly clothed with his hands resting securely on Claire’s waist. He wanted to be gentle and slow. He wanted to lie her down, place his full bodyweight over her and kiss her until her lungs couldn’t take it anymore but there was a part of him, a small part, that still worried she was rushing into something she didn’t truly understand.

Jamie knew from experience that the only notions she had of intimacy were those of forced couplings and he didn’t want to end up lumped with the other men in her life who’d threatened and harmed her. But Claire wasn’t naive enough to allow herself to be misused. She knew her own mind well enough.

“No,” she whispered in returned, “I don’t. You’ll have to show me…” she added suggestively with a elegant arch of one brow. She could already feel the steady build of need tingling precariously along the length of her inner thighs as she lay back against the cotton sheets and let her right arm lounge delicately above her head but she was certain that she could only guess her way through half of the act before Jamie would figure out her innocence on the matter. “Will it hurt?” She inquired, arching her chest upwards as she made herself more comfortable.

Leaning forwards, Jamie rested the palm of his hand flat against the underside of Claire’s breast and dragged it slowly down. Further over her belly until it came neatly to rest just above the apex of her legs. The base of his hand nudged the fine hair that lay there, his fingers gently tilting against the small swell of her tummy. He could see the twinge of fear in her eyes as she took in his clothed body. She was completely stripped, disrobed and defenseless and suddenly her inexperience seemed like a vast ocean, parting her and Jamie until she could no longer feel him close to her.

Using her brief moment of disquiet, Jamie quickly and deftly pulled off his t-shirt and undid his trousers. He wanted to join her in her nudity, but convention - his gentlemanly notions - caused him to stutter and he kept his pants on. Placing his hand back in the same position, Jamie held himself up with his other arms and nudged his nose against Claire’s. Licking his lips he forged forward, kissing her softly at first and then inching his tongue along the soft line of her mouth as he leaned his head to the left.

“We dinna have to do this, Claire,” he whispered lowly against her, “ye only have to say and we’ll stop.”

“No,” Claire sighed, her eyes sparkling as she bucked her hips and looked up at Jamie.

She seemed so young in that moment and Jamie nearly bottled it. Her cheeks were the ripest shade of pink, the flush running along the edge of her jaw as she tried to hold herself still. Her body knew definitively what it needed but her head was still clouded with distant memories that prickled anxiously beneath her wanton flesh.

“N-no,” she repeated, as much for herself as for Jamie, “I want you - I do. W-will you take these off?” She asked, tugging at the elastic on his underwear as his fingers slipped lower until they almost rested completely between her thighs. “I want to see you….properly.”

“Aye,” Jamie replied, allowing Claire to remove the last barrier of clothing between them.

Bending his knees, Jamie bounced a little until the thin fabric hit the floor. Hitching his feet upwards one by one, he flicked the offending article, paying no mind as to where it landed as he curled the palm of his hand around Claire.

Letting her legs drift to the side, Claire bit her bottom lip hard enough to hurt as she glanced downwards. Her breath hitched as she saw - as well as felt - the position of Jamie’s hand. But it wasn’t that she was interested in at the moment. She could feel the arch of him as he moved forward a little, his hard flesh sliding gracefully against her inner thigh as he stroked her gently.

“Can I touch you?” She moaned softly, a small pant escaping at the end of her question. “Please?”

Teasing her for just a moment longer, Jamie slid one, agile digit inside of her, letting the moisture coat his finger as he coaxed one more airy groan from her lips. “Yes,” he sighed in return, removing his finger and taking her hand as he placed it gingerly over the length of him, “dinna grip too tight though, aye?” He half joked as he pressed another delicate kiss over her lips.

Exploring, Claire carefully wrapped her hand around him, using her fingers to feel each and every ridge of him as she rose from base to tip and back again. The curled hairs along his groin brushed against her skin as she touched him, bringing him steadily closer to ecstasy.

“How?” She asked, her wide eyes capturing his now as she walked her fingers through the more dense hair that grew between his legs. “C-can it all...fit?” She asked innocently. “Without it hurting me?”

“I think so.” Jamie gasped, using his own hand to slide gently over her nipples - over and over again until her chest was rising and falling at an alarming rate. “If I take my time wi’ ye and dinna force myself down too hard. Can ye feel how damp you are, Claire? Between yer legs?”

Claire nodded, her cheeks flaming red with embarrassment as she closed her eyes briefly.   

“It means that ye can take me inside you, aye? That yer body is ready to accept mine. It’s lubrication, ken? And if I’m slow and steady - even though it might sting at first - ye should relax soon enough for it no’ to hurt anymore.”

“O-oh,” she exclaimed, her breath coming in short, sharp bursts as Jamie ran his fingers back over her, gathering the moisture between his nible digits and sending shockwaves of pleasure through every active nerve ending she had. It felt good, right even and she couldn’t help but massage him in time using her own hand, similar to how he was using his.  

“I love you, Claire.” Jamie said calmly, his voice steady enough for the moment as he tried to steady his erratic heartbeat. “I want to show ye how I can love you in all the ways it’s possible for a man to love a woman and I never want to hurt ye. But if it does, if I canna stop it from causing ye ill - ye must tell me, aye? And I’ll stop.”

Nodding her head, unable to speak to answer him, Claire removed her hand slowly from between his legs and wrapped her calves around his thighs. Ready, she walked her fingers along the deep ridges of Jamie’s spine as she thrust her chest upwards, letting the soft swell of her breasts brush along the fine hairs that grew on Jamie’s pectoral muscles.

Placing his hands either side of Claire’s head, Jamie nipped and kissed her as he eased his hips forwards. As gently as he was able, his knees and elbows shaking with the added pressure of holding him steady for such a long while, he forged forwards, pushing the head of his cock between her legs until he felt the heat of her guide him onwards. As promised he was slow; soft and tame as he cautiously rolled his hips forwards and back in a leisurely rocking motion.

“O-oh...Jamie…” Claire gasped, her hands balling into fists as they rested against his lower back. She felt every inch of him as he pushed his hips flush with hers. Pain hit her in waves, the prick of irritation causing her knees to lock as he eased himself against her. But with every tinge of agony came the salve of pleasure soon after - a glorious balm that made her belly tighten and her nipples throb, her body ardently calling to his as he moved inside her.

“I love you too,” she whispered, “only you.”

Crying out softly, Jamie twitched and spasmed, his arse almost coming to a complete stop as he came undone at Claire’s words. Unknowing, Claire swiveled her hips, desire battling for dominance over her confused body.

Shaking a little, the sheen of sweat that covered her made the gooseflesh rise on her chest, arms and legs as she cradled a now still Jamie against her.

“I want to show ye the same pleasure as you showed me.” Jamie sighed a few moments later as she shifted onto his side, bringing Claire along with him. Cuddling her to his chest, he pulled the comforter around them both - making sure her shoulders we covered before kissing her gently on the forehead. “I want to show ye the stars, make yer insides turn to liquid as I take ye, aye?” He murmured, his lips fluttering over her exposed throat as the air cooled around them.

“C-can that happen for a women?�� Claire asked quietly, her pulse still loudly echoing in her ears. “I didn’t think--”

“Aye, it can.” Jamie said convincingly. “It does. Ye just have to know where to touch her, how to hold her against ye so that the right parts touch, ken?”

Taking her hand, Jamie led her downwards until she had her digits lingering over the spot in question. Placing her pointer finger against her still flushed flesh, he made her press down softly and rub. “There,” he whispered conspiratively, “ye just have to…” he continued, holding his breath for a moment as her eyes fluttered closed at the sensation,  “...keep the pressure here on a lassie.”

It felt supremely good, the high of the combined experience rushing through her blood and setting her insides aflame as Jamie helped her to understand her own body. It felt too good to stop - despite the notion that it might be lewd and wrong to be touching herself in such an openly amourous way. But her need was too great in that moment and Jamie’s hand felt *right* as it sent her souring, the tingling intensifying until she could no longer hold the weight of herself.

Lost but by no means alone, Claire let her head fall back as she squeezed her eyes closed and gave in to the tugging sensation that was rippling through her. Gasping incoherently, she held only Jamie’s hand, his fingers working hard to hold her in this infinite space as she tried to pull in as much air as possible.

Flopping soundlessly forwards, Claire wrapped herself around Jamie’s warm form, peppering tiny kisses on his heated skin as she pushed herself flush against him.

“Did I hurt ye?” Jamie asked after a little while, his voice tinged with worry as he watched Claire battle to keep herself lucid.

“Only a little - at first,” she sighed happily, “but then,” she said nudging the centre of his chest with her nose, “it was...really good.”

“Really good?” He asked, content now that he’d given her something significant - a small semblance of peace and love, at least for a short while, away from the demons that sometimes haunted her.

“Yes,” she hummed sleepily, “astonishingly good.”

[shantalangel]

Stories written on the wall of one of the rooms in the game Armikrog.

It’s about everything happened before the game, P’s parents life, how they met and how she appeared.

Reading sequence:

The Blank Miner. Part 1

The Blank Miner. Part 2

Tools, Weapons, Food, Plants, Medicine, Magic and Pets

A Meeting in the Woods

Punishment and Crime. Part 1

Punishment and Crime. Part 2

Punishment and Crime. Part 3

Desperation

Tools, Weapons, Food, Plants, Medicine, Magic and Pets

I found myself on a military base. The surface design was stark and open, leaving me few places to hide. The suns were just starting to rise, and with the forest over a mile away in any direction, I had no choice but to find a quiet building in which to hide and perhaps, get some sleep.

There were over fifty buildings, some teeming with activity, and others unused. I cracked the door of the closest building that seemed unoccupied, and went inside. The interior was dark. The room had row upon row of shelving; the only light came in through the opaque windows that let in a faint orange haze from the rising suns. Nobody could see through those windows.

I smelled food! This was not the mere gruel we were served in the blank mines; these were special items that were probably reserved for top-ranking military personnel.

I found the makings for a Chip-butty on the shelf. There were slices of bread, scrap gleaned from a fryer and deep-fried roots, ready to be combined. There were slices of dried, degreased cheese backed on flattened dough. It was stored on top of a big bowl of Kompot smothered in Camonadiac Curry. There was a bowl of guacamole made of Manocado and the usual boxes of Wexarodujo, and someone’s dried pet Benjamin Bango.

A tin can sported a green beard. I put this can in my pocket. When steeped properly, dried Spykle’s Beard mold makes an excellent tea. There was a slight glow cast across the shelf by Frotz-o-matic Elixir of Self-Illumination. I did not want to glow in the dark, so I left that on the shelf. I also chose to leave the gavno untouched. It is always good not to touch gavno, especially when it is cold.

A medicine cabinet held Groboh Juice, and while I could use some short term invisibility just about now, it was against my code of conduct to use a product created by the Groboh regime. I picked up a bottle of Minocent’s Majesty but it was empty. Just my luck. I placed a NummyNum towel on my forehead to quickly bring a little peace and comfort to my nerves. When I leaned my head against the shelf, I knocked over a potion of Palinka. Not really my thing, so I left the bottle where it fell. I took some Kayla medicine that helped my aching feet.

Further into the building, I heard the scuttle of animals in cages. Each animal had wires protruding from their body. At the time I didn't know why, but I'm sure now the wires were probably used to harvest the diverse animal energy. There was a Denrus, a Feure Katze (an orange, cat, useful for distraction in battle), a mated pair of Gelletsaur, and a Jivtone. A Novimus (also known as Novi) looked cuddly enough but didn’t trust me enough to let me pet it. One cage held a tiny, three eared rabbit and it was labeled Johnny Horse. A rusty cage held a Hungry Grumplin, and an elusive white-tufted bed devil. A wiry, dog-sized Soph-Soph ran in circles in his cage while a Flat Faced Tentacle Mane Cephala Kraken blinked his lazy eye. A spring-powered servant, called Judith Butler fed the inhabitants of the cages.

One animal was labeled Artimenius, and there were burn marks along the door of its enclosure. Next to it was a caged feral moon cat, who kept howling, "I am Oscarina!" There was a neglected cage of animals called Shtutnik, Waga Shnaga and Ramy. They looked malnourished, so I threw handfuls of food in with them.

I realized how bright the room had grown with the rising of the suns. If anyone came into this building, it would be hard to hide. I needed to find a place to hide, and sleep until nightfall. I pulled down a painting of a black hole, and set it on a Magnificently Monotone Mandolin. When I lifted the painting the triple M was gone. But there was enough space cleared on the shelf for me to lay down. I squeezed onto the shelf. A tool belt hung down hiding me. It had a Cheesefork, a Koolspott, an Eye of Asterion, an old Hobbyhox, two MacGuffins, an Oily Flogskin Croak and a Panic Button.

My eyes drooped closed, and I dreamed of a digital Renzim Set. In my dreams, I could see a floating Spatlas. Space never looked more broad and full of adventure than in that deep sleep-state. It was as if I was l looking at the altered light of an R.G. Ba’bomb. I found a pile of dirt and started digging with a Tectonic Universal Extractor (T.U.E.). Though I was speaking, my words were not being heard by anyone. It was like I was speaking into a Talebox, or perhaps I had been hit with a Procrastinator Ray. My hands were as cold as the Seventh Ring of Eureka, so I used a Tinderkrog to warm them. A Zugguz took me back in time thirty seconds, but I was just back to digging in the dirt . Something came down on my head with a loud SNAP! I reached out my dream hand and stopped a stick from hitting me again. I read the carving in the stick’s bark, "Derpal the Oddly Shaped Stick of 823 3/7 Whacks." This was weird because it only hit me once, and it did not appear to be very oddly shaped. This was turning into a less than stellar dream. I used an Ellerd to smack myself in the face and wake up.

When I awoke from my blissful slumber, the suns were going down. The room was taking on a cooler hue. I crawled out from the shelf. I reached into my pocket and felt the sock with The Abominate’s finger. I considered taking more weapons from the building. There were Karschtongs, a Marader (my axe fighting is terrible), a Novus Shield, an Obsrigillaton, a Sandwich Bazooka (I will regret not picking this up if I ever need to kill a sandwich), The Repulsive Shield and a Yarborough. None of these weapons could do what The Abominate’s severed finger could do in an instant.

Under cover of darkness, I left the warehouse, running from building to building toward the woods. Soldiers came in by hovercraft, then left again. The air was abuzz with frustration and panic. What they were looking for was missing. I knew this because what they were looking for was in my helmet.

Alone on the Outside

At the outskirts of the base, there were guards at one hundred foot intervals. Some had needle weapons strapped to their hands; others had rifles. There was no way I could make it around them without a confrontation. I gripped the sock housing The Abominate’s finger, and walked casually up to the closest guard. When he saw me, he leveled his rifle at me.

"Do not come any closer." He grunted.

"I have orders from Jockson Reckson." I said, holding up my hands.

The other guards turned to see what the commotion was about.

The guard didn't believe me, but it was as good of an excuse as I could think of on such short notice. I could see the woods just beyond. It would be the perfect place to hide. If I could make it into the woods, I would be free.

I yelled at him, "You must listen to me right now!" A bluff only works if you're completely committed to it.

The guard shined a bright light on my face, "You’re a miner? I need to see your identification."

I threw the finger sock to him and he caught it.

"What is this?"

"My identification." I replied.

He opened the sock and stuck his hand inside. I was already running toward him when he went limp and fell to the ground. The surrounding guards were confused at the moment so I scooped up the finger sock and ran for the trees.

The rest of the guards snapped into action. Bullets and darts shot past me, but their hesitation was enough for me to reach the tree line before any of them could take good aim. I reached the first tree and slid into the perfect darkness of its shadow.

"Fan out! After him!"

I pressed deeper into the woods, switching my headlamp on to light my way, then off to hide. Behind me, I could hear the soldiers coming.

I ran into a clearing, and nearly over the edge of a deep ravine. At its edge, I skidded to a stop. Behind me, there was already the sound of the soldiers approaching. I pulled the purple fuzz-ball, still beating, from my helmet and tucked it into my pocket. Then I threw the headlamp off the cliff and into the ravine. It was far enough down that the light was just visible, but the helmet itself could not be seen.

I ran to the left, along the ravine’s edge, over waist high scrub brush, and a few boulders. Most of our people were right handed. We wrote from left to right, so I hoped the soldiers would think I went to the right. Without the headlamp, I could easily have fallen into another ravine, but I was counting on luck this time. I only had a few seconds before the guards would come into the clearing, and I would have to move in silence.

Two guards broke into the clearing, and I dropped to the ground. I froze on all fours, watching them stop at the ravine’s edge and look over the side at the helmet lamp’s light below. My lungs were dying for air, but I had to breath slowly to keep from being heard. The first one said, "Did he fall? That light’s not moving."

I was crawling away from them as the second guard said, "He either fell or he’s trying to get us to think he fell."

They decided that if I fell, I would be too injured to get away. So they fanned out to search the area in case I had not fallen. The soldiers may not have been fooled by my trick but they didn’t have the confidence of their convictions on their hunt. They did not confirm that I did not fall, yet it gnawed in the back of their mind that I might yet be down there. Still, they had lamps and I did not. They split up, the first guard heading away from me to their left, the second right toward me.

On my belly, in the grass, I waited for the second guard to pass by. As he clunked through the grass he scared up insects and chipmunks who ran ahead of him. Just as he passed me, I hopped up and touched the back of his neck with the finger. He dropped silently to the ground. I stayed down low hoping to get out of the clearing and back into the cover of wood. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and it was practically bright compared to the darkness I was used to in the mines.

In the silence of those woods, every tree creak, every blade of grass that turned in a slight breeze could be heard. Yet I did not hear the hoof beats of the hulking white stag that stood before me! Jockson Reckson described this beast as a monster. It was The Eelk, a mythical creature that has evaded hunters for a generation. He had a huge rack of horns but he did not have fur like other Eelk. He had shiny, scaled skin that made him repulsive to his own kind. There is some supernatural way inside him that produces bolts of electricity when he finds another of his kind that he likes. Therfore, he cannot find love. He cannot find friendship. His family had to abandon him. He was the great symbol of broken hearts and by the looks of him, was a powerful creature not to be trifled with.

The Eelk bowed his head to me. The horns came down to my face and I could see tiny pops and ripples of electricity web between the spikes. I can’t explain how I knew this, but he was seeking revenge on Jockson Reckson. He intended to break the heart of my ex-boss. The Eelk turned and lept into the woods as if to have me follow. As soon as he disappeared into the dark I could hear the clamoring of more guards enter the clearing behind me.

There were three guards, they ran to the ravine, then fanned out. One tripped on the body of the first guard and called out to the others. I dove into a pile of leaves, burying myself in them. It would have been a terrible hiding place in the daylight, but in the darkness of night it would suffice. They all took off in the wrong direction, assuming they were on my trail.

Once the sound of their receding footsteps grew silent, I crawled out of the pile of leaves and continued to the right, after The Eelk, deeper into the woods.

It was then, in that darkness, that I was seized by a terrible loneliness. Truly, I was no more free stumbling through those woods than I had been in the mine. The image of Meva came back to me, but it was not a comfort to me. My heart was sick. Nobody loved me and I loved no one. I had seen hog-dogs that were more loved than I.

Would I ever know love?

Someone save me. Find me. Love me.

[the-empires-weapon]

Tirall

My hands are buzzing. All of my consciousness is restrained within the physical form of my body as the Force gathers within my limbs and tucks between my bones. Every scrap that flows into me, every living sense of it, is pulled into my form and locked into place. Made into storage space and then hidden within itself. I can feel the rapid fluttering of my eyelids, and the pull and stretch of my body. I think my lower lip is trembling. My fingers are twitching with the phantom pain, coils upon coils stuffed into each digit like taut springs.

My body is more alive than ever before, and I burn.

...den.

It’s something so distant I can’t pick it up. I can’t read it past the simple noise. A note, a sound, something without meaning or cause. It’s static in my ears. Saliva under my tongue.

...den, are you alright?

A tug, a quiet one, pulling at my mind. Concern.

G...you well...

Somebody’s there.

I tighten my grip on the tension within my body as my muscles stay loose. I pull my mind from its abyss and back to reality. I’m suddenly aware of the sun shining through the lids of my eyes, and the prickle of grass beneath my back. I finally hear the voice for what it is.

“Commander Eden, wake up.”

I flick my eyes open. I’m startled to see the face above mine - marred by scars, callous, twisted into a look of fear.

“Ar...cann?” I blink, still within a bit of daze. I slowly reach under me and push up, minding the dizziness in my head. “Where . . .?”

“Commander, you seem unwell. We’re just outside the base. You were . . .” Arcann stops there. I look to him; he’s kneeling next to me, lines of his body all taut as always. And when I look away from him, and around, I recognize where we are. We’re still on-base, resting in the grass several yards below the main promenade. Within my trance, I’d completely lost track of space - and of time.

I put a hand to my forehead. “How long was I- well, asleep?”

“Nobody’s seen you since this morning,” he insists. “Lana told me you’d taken the day off. For the third time this week.”

“They aren’t . . . ‘days off’. They’re preparation,” I mutter. Before he can ask, I drop my hand look back to him with a half-formed smile. “Sorry, Arcann. Was there something you needed? Or Lana?”

“I had wanted to speak with you. Lana hadn’t been sure where you were. I thought you had a Force Bond with her.”

“Oh- yeah. Um. I haven’t been feeling well, so I had to- erm. Close it,” is my excuse. Much as I wish he would, he’s clearly not buying it, and the lift of his brow says so. I have to remind myself that Arcann’s traumatized, and healing - not a fucking imbecile. I sure was the same way when I was younger (though again, I have to remind myself, we’re the same age). Again, I change the subject quickly. “So, what did you need? Sorry you found me sleeping on the job - I’m around if you need to talk.”

He looks around, as if almost paranoid. “This . . . doesn’t feel like the right place.”

“Because people might overhear?” I shrug. “Honestly, I’ve never seen anybody come down here before. That you found me, even, surprises me.”

“As I said, I’d wanted to talk.”

I nod. “Go on,” I tell him. Still, he hesitates. Another quick pass to make sure we were alone, and he finally sat, cross-legged, pooling his hands in his lap. He looks awkward like this, vulnerable - so much different from the Emperor I’d fought just a few years ago, much different from the man who’d locked me up and frozen me in carbonite. He looks human. For a long time, I hadn’t even thought he was one.

More monster than man.

But, then again, I can’t say I wasn’t the same, once upon a time. (Even now.)

“I . . . have a gift for you.”

Now that, that really makes me start. “Really?” I can tell my eyes are lighting up even if without intent. “You didn’t have to do that, Arcann. If I’d known, I would’ve gotten something for you in return.”

He shakes his head. “You’ve given me more than enough, Commander. You’ve given me an attempt at another life. You’ve given me an attempt at redemption. That’s a gift in itself.”

“Arcann, you’re the one that gave yourself the chance. You’re the one who decided you wanted to change. I’m just your enabler,” I joke. Still, I ask, “What is it, then? I hope you didn’t go through a ton of trouble just for me.”

“I’ve left it for you at your rooms, but I did bring a picture,” He explains. Arcann pulls out a small viewing device and turns it on. I’m stunned by the image - a set of gauntlets looking as if they were made from gold, with tiny parts and pieces wired together to make a flexible-looking glove that’d cover from forearm to fingertips. It’s clearly Zakuulan-shaped, modeled after their typical attire and style, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. That, and looking - from the simple holo - extremely sturdy. And if they’d be just the right size for my hands.

To say I’m a little beyond words is an understatement.

“I’ve been working on them since I joined the Alliance,” he explains quickly, as if he has to do so as fast as he can. “I didn’t use any resources, just what I had on hand, and nothing was taken from your stocks, simply- I asked your friends for measurements, and modeled them best I could, and-”

“Arcann, you can forge metal like that? For armorsmithing?”

When I look to him, I’m surprised to see he’s blushing. That, and not meeting my eyes at all. It’s harder to tell on the side of his face littered with scars, but it’s damn-near obvious on the other side. It’s stunning to even think that I’ve embarrassed him.

“I . . . learned from Knights of Zakuul.”

“Those look so beautiful,” I say, and I mean it. “I can’t wait to try them on. I . . . why didn’t you say you could do that? That’s really fantastic, Arcann. I didn’t know you were so talented with your hands.”

“It . . . wasn’t a skill I exercised very often. Truth be told, it’d been a long time since I forged a piece like that. Perhaps since Thexan’s death.”

I feel my expression soften with worry. “I’m guessing Valkorion wasn’t all-over the idea?”

“I was too busy. And I felt too vulnerable already. Here, I . . . feel freer.”

“. . . you should. That’s why I wanted you to come to Odessan. To heal,” I explain. I reach up and take his hand - it’s obviously shaking, and I want him to relax. When he looks over, I give him a kind smile. “They look so amazing, Arcann. Thank you. If it’s helped you feel better at all, you should continue forging. Maybe it can provide some clarity for you?”

He looks stunned himself at that. “You want me to . . . forge armor for the Alliance?”

“Not if you don’t want to!” I say with a rapid shake of my head. “Not for other people - for you. Make what you want to, what makes you happy. I can tell you’re really proud of the work, and having something to do that comforts you is just fantastic for healing. That’s why I was so active in the cantina dance scene, and ring fighting. Helped me get my head on my shoulders.”

This time, his face scrunches up. “You . . . danced.”

“Well, not in a tutu and ballet slippers, but yeah. For me, it put me back in my body - gave me a feeling of power and agency. I needed those things, for my own recovery. That’s part of how I’ve healed. S’why you can see me sparring every other day in the gym,” I chuckle. “Seriously though - I appreciate it. Those gauntlets look beautiful. You have true talent, Arcann.”

He looks down into his lap again. I think I hear him mumble something, but I don’t catch it the first time. I raise a brow, and he repeats it, just a little louder: “I didn’t think it was anything special.”

“Of course it is! It’s a pretty rare skill, I-” I stop, realizing what he means. I reach up with my other hand and take his hand in both of mine. When he looks back to me, I nod, serious. “Arcann, just because he didn’t put stock in it doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. His words aren’t law - you know that. I know it’s hard to get rid of that feeling, but it’s true. Just because your father didn’t see the worth in it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

His eyes widen a little bit. I recognize the expression - probably mirrors mine back when I was realizing bits and pieces of conditioning that I’d figured out how to undo. Some kind of “click”, or epiphany. Recognizing it in somebody else’s face is refreshing. And to think that I helped get him there.

But of course, he pulls his hand back. Tucks both back into his lap again. And mutters, and mumbles, and continues to blush.

The moments like these, where Arcann’s shy and weary, were few and far between. More common when we were alone, for sure - but it feels like it reflects more of who he really is, and less of who he parades as being. Not to say his obsession with “redemption” and “atoning” was fake, but moments like these reveal more to his true feelings. It’s reassuring and a little terrifying. It wasn’t too long ago that I was in the same place, or so it feels.

But then again, my reality was skewed. I’d skipped five years that others had to live. I’d only really felt “fixed” shortly before-

Arcann finally speaks up.

“I . . . feel as if I still owe you much. For listening, and for being a pillar when I cannot. And you’ve been fighting many battles I haven’t had the chance to see - and another is coming, I know it. I can only hope that with these, I can still offer you some kind of protection, even if I’m not able to be there in body,” he looks back up to me, and nods. “It’s just one of the ways that I want to thank you.”

“Arcann . . .” I start. I stare at him, for moments longer, looking at the honesty on his face - and I finally sigh, and shake my head. “Arcann, you never need to feel like you owe me a debt. Do you understand? I care about you. I want to see you succeed.”

“And this is how I do that,” he tells me, a little more insistently, “By forging my way up, and protecting those who have offered me aid.” He nods to me, and finally looks up at the sky. “It is . . . getting late.”

It’s a clear end to the conversation - as if his awkwardness can’t handle it anymore. And it is getting to twilight, truly the better part of the day absorbed. I nod with him, and finally get up and stretch. “Then I accept your gift, Arcann. And . . . thank you. For caring.” He nods, and rises with me. I smile, and hold out my hand. “Walk back to the base with me?”

This time, I think I finally see his lips turn up, on both sides. A smile.

“It would be my pleasure, Commander.”

He takes my hand, and we walk back up to Odessan’s base.

[ask-de-writer]

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 46 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 46 of 83

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

copyright 2020

written 2007

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users   of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may   reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information   remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in   my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical   compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  PART 1 is here

///////////////////////

Chapter 16: Grandalor: The Meeting

The Grandalor loitered in the Fauline’s Spring waters but the ship was not idle.  In trial after trial of the new tactics from Sula’s manual, one helmsman stood out repeatedly.

Darkistry proved that she had an innate grasp of war maneuvers and the rare ability to translate a written page into devastating action.

Barad and Tanlin were watching another exercise.  This time, Darkistry had requested that Master Selked watch as well.  The drummer was rattling ‘jib to starboard’ and sailors forward heaved lines to pull the jibs across in a maneuver usually reserved for an emergency turn. The helm went hard down and all the main and top sails slammed and boomed as they filled with wind.  The Grandalor charged straight down the wind at the space between the two target skiffs.  The tocsin beat ‘slack all sail’ followed by ‘brace for shipwreck’ and moments later, the ship blasted through the center of the target space.  

The helm was put over again and the tocsin called for the resetting of the sails.  The Grandalor broke out on a reach across the wind and began to swing upwind, tacking into position for another attack run.

They could overhear Darkistry speaking to Master Selked, “We have plenty of power in the steering tackle to handle a larger rudder, even in a storm.  If we can add more area to the rudder, we should turn quicker.  That could be important in either a storm or a battle.”

Master Selked considered for a moment.  “You are probably right.  I’ll run the calculations to be sure, then I will survey the supplies and see what can be done.  You will have to steer by sail setting alone while the change is being made.”  He wandered in the direction of his boat-shop, muttering, “I wish Kurti hadn’t died.  She was our best repair diver.”

“T’ey’ve used nearly all o’ our supplies o’ glue an’ Strong Skin, m’ ‘Eart,” Tanlin observed to Barad.  “T’ey act as t’ough we’re really are goin’ t’ — — crush another ship on purpose.  T’ey’ve reinforced bot’ bow an’ bowsprit an’ made beams t’ spread t’e shock o’ on impact t’rough t’e ship. T’e divers say t’at t’ere’s not’in’ left t’ scrape clean.  Now t’ey’re waxin’ t’e ‘ull like a racing shell for t’e Gat’ering races.”  She seemed distressed by the whole notion.

The truth of the matter was, the preparations bothered Barad, too.  “I OKed the modifications, Tanlin, my love.  I hope that we never need them.  In the meantime, they keep the crew busy and do no harm.  Did you know that the ship’s Craft Masters came to me yesterday?  They looked at Strategy and Tactics, too.  They’ve put their heads together and come up with a war catapult design.”

“W’at’d ye tell t’em?  Oi’d nae idea we cud mount such a project,” Tanlin commented in a worried tone.

Barad looked into his wife’s troubled gray eyes and said, “I told them to go ahead, if they could find the resources.  What do you think we should do?”

She looked down and shuddered.  Sadly, she replied, “Oi t’ink ye did t’e right t’ing, Luve.  But we must dismantle t’e device as soon as tis nae more o’ need.”

Barad took a relieved breath and replied, “That is just what I told them. By the time that the Fauline gets here, it should be finished.  It will be put between the fore and main masts, just aft of the cargo hatch.”

Glad to change the subject, Tanlin asked, “‘Ow come Darkistry’s so good at Battle Commanding?  Oi grant t’at she’s a fine steersman but t’is’s more like genius.”

Barad looked out at the horizon for a moment, considering how to answer. “Darkistry told me that part of her secret is pretending that her target is the Grinna.”  He shuddered.  “I would not want to be on that ship and downwind of us, with Darkistry at our helm.”  

“W’at did t’ey do t’ ‘er, Luve?” Tanlin asked.  “Oi couldnae believe w’at Oi found oot at t’e Gat’ering.  T’e ’ule Council record reads ‘trial aboard t’e Grinna’.  T’e Council’s ane copies o’ t’e Grinna’s log make a lie o’ t’at.”

Barad replied, bitterly angry, “I know.  I have official true copies  of the fleet records and the Grinna’s logs and documents dealing with the whole sorry mess.  Because of my reputation, I have never been able to get the matter reopened.

“They threw her off.  She would have drowned at Gathering’s end if I had not taken her in.  Violation of the Marriage Laws by seduction was the charge.  She nearly died and not from drowning.  It was weeks before she was off the invalid list.  Doctor Corin says it was rape and assault covered up by false accusation.  I believe him.”

Tanlin laid a calming hand on Barad’s arm.  “Oi did do ane t’ing before we left, Luve.  Donnae tell ‘er yet, but Oi got Sarfin t’ check.  ‘E said ‘e’d look into ‘t.”

Barad calmed at once and smiled admiringly at his wife.  “Tanlin, you’re a wonder.  If Sarfin said he’ll look into it, he will.  You’ve managed more in less than one Gathering than I have been able to do in all the Gatherings since I picked her up.”

Tanlin grinned at a sudden thought.  “Ye did know t’at t’e Fauline’s Ca’tain Skua’s t’e nephew o’ t’e Grinna’s old Ca’tain? ‘T could be an interestin’ meetin’.”

A day later, the boat-shop’s roof hatch was opened and the portable crane pulled a large fabricated rudder section up onto deck.  It dropped a line back into the shop and brought out a large bucket of glue for underwater repairs and strips of both Strong Skin and heavy sail canvas.

At Master Selked’s direction, the Grandalor headed into the wind and came dead in the water.  Four divers went over the side and swam to the stern.  A refuge boat was already in the water to give the divers safety in an emergency, like a Strong Skin showing up.  The crane lowered the new rudder section down and the divers attached floats so that it could not be lost.

In other boats, men were soaking Strong Skin strips in glue.  After much fiddling, the new rudder section was properly lined up with the old rudder and the gluing began.

First, the divers filled the joint between the parts with a stiff putty-like form of glue, then several strong rigid parts were bridged between the old rudder and the new portion to make sure that everything stayed lined up.  Overlapping strips of Strong Skin were glued over the joint and finally glue soaked canvass was used to smooth and fair in the modification.  It took all afternoon to get it done.

Master Selked briefed all of the helmsmen on the new rudder and how to care for it while waiting for the work to be finished.  Through the night, until the glue was set, the Grandalor maintained her courses by the difficult method of sail handling alone.  By morning, the new rudder was ready to test.

All of the helmsmen and helmswomen were on deck to see the effect of the changes to the rudder.  Macoul had the watch, so the first test fell to him.  He hauled carefully on the tackle for a starboard turn to put the ship head into the wind.

Kreul turned to Darkistry, “Did you see that!  I’ve never seen the ship so responsive.”

Darkistry grinned and said, “I have to try this for myself.  There looks to be a sweet spot that could really be something in a tight turn.”

“The ship certainly does turn faster but what do you mean by a sweet spot?”

“I’ll show you when it’s my try.  I’ll bet that we can swap ends in a two lengths or less.”

“No! You’re serious!”

As it turned out, she was.  Dropping floats at the start of her turn showed that Darkistry could reverse the Grandalor’s course in just under two lengths.  Even though the breeze was only moderate, her sail management and rudder tackle work had purling foam almost over the starboard rail as they came about.

A few days later the boat-shop hatch was removed again.  The large pieces that were lifted to the deck looked like nothing ever seen in the Naral fleet before.  The deck crew were commenting in awe and puzzlement as they worked the crane to pull the pieces to the deck.

“I’ve never seen such a windlass as that.  It pulls with that heavy block and tackle rig.  That thing must haul tons.”

“Stop pointing and help with this block line.  At least we know what that thing is.  What I’d like to know is, what’s that big open-centered ‘H’ thing with the holes in the legs of the ‘H’?”

“I don’t know.  Swing it gently, that brute’s heavy!  Spot it careful.  Good.  Ready the next lift!”

“I recognize that part.  It’s like a gimbal mount for a hunting catapult but its way too big and taller than a catapult mount should be.”

The other Masters had journeymen and apprentices bringing up loads of items ranging from heavy cable parts to a massive sling with heavy net reinforcing.

By the end of the afternoon, the first war catapult ever built in Naral fleet waters stood on the fore deck of the Grandalor.  In the light of the setting sun, it cast a sinister shadow the length of the ship.

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS   NEXT==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea