#it’s also the anniversary of being getting hospitalised for the first time and all the horrible shit starting up

[gregmarriage]

me as a kid being like ‘i wanna stay home all day and do whatever i want!’ and adult me being chronically ill, disabled and bed ridden ✌🏻

[variousqueerthings]

omg dude (gn) you got into due south? I've followed you for a long time bc mash, I love it when people I know from other fandoms get into my most beloved stuff <3 check out @ds30below btw if you're interested, it's an anniversary fest I run with a lof of fun stuff etc etc! and have funnnnn it's such a great show!

helloooooooo

yes, a bunch of mutuals have been going wild over it for a hot sec and it was Time!

I'm on episode 3 (not counting the pilot) and I have a lot of initial Thoughts to bring over from the discord onto this illustrious site, so i will use this ask as An Excuse:

Frasier is really introduced as an Archetype of masculinity, which is almost immediately subverted by his being completely without machismo -- his machismo is so in the negative that he goes around and becomes this Ideal of masculinity instead

the fact that his ethos is kindness, but it's not necessarily guileless. it is selfless in that he's not necessarily expecting to get returns on it all the time, but it's also -- to him -- often truly the most effective means to an end: if you're kind to others, people will often become kinder. this can be useful in the shortterm (if you give this kid a nice sandwich and don't threaten him with jail time and help him out a bit, he'll try to help with a case...) and in the longterm (this kid will stay in school and have a better future ahead of him, hopefully)

(i will get to ray btw, need to just get all the frasier thoughts out first)

frasier really embodies autistic swag. he takes things incredibly literally, he follows scripts (in this case, The Mountie Script, and also within that some kinda Code Of Gallantry), he's an incredible people-reader of the "autistic savant" type arguably (except there's more to him so the savant trope doesn't quite hold, which is good), his relationship with his dog Diefenbaker, the fact that although he is nigh-effortlessly kind of charming (because he's clark kent vibes!!! he's charming in a way as if he stepped out of a novel set 100 years ago in which kissing women's hands was the norm) he doesn't really make close friendships easily, because there's an Otherness to him that keeps him at a distance to others (except ray. WE WILL GET TO RAY STAY TUNED)

speaking of Distance, a lot of the aroaceness i've read into him so far (and we're literally only three episodes in!!!) really does feel like his autism is triggered by come-ons in the "this is not in my script!" kind of way. his charm is tripped up by the obvious step of "charming man is charming, I will shoot my shot," it's happened several times and every time he tries to extricate himself in the most awkward way possible. can't go on a date, you see. i have.. a dog. and no phone. um. ok. bye.

lot of thoughts on his hero-worship of his absent father and how much of his script comes from wanting to make his father proud

frasier also tastes things a lot of the time and ray thinks it's gross and i think that's something too. the doctor (doctor who) autism coded

OKAY TIME FOR RAY

he reminds me. of gonzo. he has the same transmasc swag. as gonzo. his shirts. his ties. that fuckn. OVERSIZED SO OVERSIZED MASSIVE STUPID JACKET. he's transmasc swag/fail coded in the same way as gonzo. he is gonzo

ray spends so much time in the beginning admonishing frasier for his consistent kindness to others, and the thing is. The Thing Is. he met frasier and (barring the immediate impression) decided to nearly immediately invite him to a massive family dinner. then he saved him from a bomb and got himself hospitalised. then he followed him to canada to help him. and that's only in the pilot! ray is so kind to frasier constantly. he's such an abrasive man to pretty much everyone except to frasier from day one

when frasier asked him to get a special pass for his wolf and at the end of the episode he did, and frasier was like: "i only asked you once and you got it 🥺" "of course i did, you asked me for it 😍"

just. nigh. constantly. kind. to. him. currently frasier's in hospital because he got stabbed and we had ray running to see him, forcing his way into his room, comforting him, sir you make fun of the way all the girls fall at his feet (and how frasier never notices) I think you are one of the girls!

MY MAN GOT HIM FLOWERS WHILE HE WAS IN HOSPITAL JUST BECAUSE??????? SIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (he also makes him take aspirin, he's giving real caretaker in this episode)

so far we know less about ray than about frasier, but im glad the show has him be mouthy, sarcastic, pessimistic, but he's not cruel or callous -- arguably he wants frasier in his life in order to challenge him on his cynical worldview, he's nourished and inspired by frasier's approach towards the world as much as everyone else

misc: I really like that the world being presented isn't necessarily kind, but the main characters (ray learning to be softer via frasier) are kind as a response. it's got some Coolness Factor Shorthand stuff going on ofc, but it is fundamentally a story about facing a relatively realistic world with kindness in order to make it better

I'm sad eric schweig was only in the pilot but the main thrust of the show does take place in chicago i guuuuuuuesss. his role in that pilot was great though, a lot of interesting stuff about taking away frasier's rose-coloured lens of the world, and especially canada, but he also gets what's his at the end, so he's not just there to "offer advice" (although there is a bit of that trope for sure, especially as he doesn't seem to have a name). great character, if I write fic where they go to canada he's definitely gonna be in there!

me and @gjdraws were talking about how ray clearly likes spoiling frasier -- he's the one with the money, he gets him the wolf licence, brings him flowers in hospital, carries aspirin for him.... I'm just saying we were robbed of a "ray takes frasier shopping and there's a montage" bit, considering how frasier only has two fuckn outfits in the first few episodes. who took him shopping??? there's no way he went on his own steam. that was ray all the way! private runway show

[yesthatssadirichardslove]

After health scare, Madonna launches tour celebrating 40 years as 'Queen of Pop'

LONDON

Three-and-a-half months after she was hospitalised with a bacterial infection that forced the cancellation of her 40th anniversary "Celebration" tour, Madonna returns on Saturday with the start of a 78-date tour.

At 65, the singer looks set to put her health woes behind her with a six-month-long tour of Europe and North America starting at London's 02 Arena.

The tour will also take in the Accor Arena in Paris on November 12, 13, 19 and 20 and the Bell Center in Montreal on January 18 and 20, before winding up at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico on April 24.

The show promises to be a "documentary through her vast career" drawing on archive footage and studio recordings from the four decades since her breakthrough single "Holiday" in 1983, according to her musical director Stuart Price.

"A greatest hit doesn't have to be a song. It can be a wardrobe, it can be a video, or a statement," Price told the BBC in an interview.

Madonna spent several days in intensive care in New York after being found unconscious in her New York apartment in June.

But the singer was back and fighting fit after her health scare, Price said.

"The person that is going to take the stage looks incredible, sounds incredible, performs incredible," he said.

The star's hospital stay meant that the North American leg of the tour -- originally due to begin on July 15 in Vancouver -- had to be rescheduled with the European leg opening as planned on Saturday.

"My first thought when I woke up in the hospital was my children," Madonna said in July in a social media post. "My second thought was that I did not want to disappoint anyone who bought tickets for my tour.

"My focus now is my health and getting stronger and I assure you, I'll be back with you as soon as I can!" she added.

The Grammy-winning icon behind classics including "Like A Virgin" and "Material Girl" has asserted incalculable influence as one of music's top stars.

Her decades-long career, which has also taken in acting, film directing and business ventures, has made her one of the wealthiest artists on the planet.

In 2020 she underwent hip replacement surgery following an injury sustained on her "Madame X" tour.

Madonna, whose full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone, was born in August 1958 in Michigan, to parents of Italian and French-Canadian origins.

After starting out as a dancer in the late 1970s in New York with $35 in her pocket, she went on to win seven Grammy Awards and sell more than 300 million records worldwide.

The show's setlist has been kept a closely guarded secret with scores of hits to choose from.

The show is expected to feature around 45 songs, 25 in their entirety and extracts of around 20 more.

"That was the big challenge," said Price. "In two hours, can you get all of it in? That's hard. But every great moment she's had, we took a bit of it."

The singer known for her sometimes provocative outfits such as the pink conical bra outfit by Jean Paul Gaultier, will be dressed by the Georgian Guram Gvasalia, director of the young label Vetements.

For the first time since her early days, Madonna will not be performing alongside an on-stage band, added Price.

"There are live musicians that perform at different parts of the show," Price said. "But what we realised is that the original recordings are our stars. Those things can't be replicated and can't be recreated, so we decided just to embrace that."

[gloriousprofessorhan]

Searching for Universe

you were in an arranged marriage with Baekhyun for four years. and today, he wants to divorce you.

(re-upload from my deactivate AFF account. and i will re-upload all my stories here. “search for universe” on AFF 2018)

...where’s my universe?

   there’s only cloud on my head, shielding the starts above.

You just got back from the funeral of your father in-law when your husband, Baekhyun, released his hand that holds you all the time. He looks beyond sad, but not devastated. After three years of illness, two months being hospitalised, and five days in coma, he knew he’s gonna lose the only parent he had left.

“You want some warm tea?” you asked, the big victorian house you have with him is empty from maids because they will stay at the other part of the house.

He shook his head and left to the study room.

This marriage has been so cold, well, it never warm.

Four years being together, there were only cold in daily basis, and hot whenever you and Baekhyun decided to touch each other. Most of the time is when he went home drunk from office party.

But, there’s one night when both of you sober, but you prefer to blame it on the exoticism of a Coron island in Philipines when you and him had the anniversary gift from your parents.

Baekhyun stepped out his study room and found you sitting at the empty dining table.

“Now that my father has gone…” he said, “let’s separate.”

You didn’t say anything, just staring at his long slim finger which still had the wedding ban.

“He was the one wanting this marriage, the marriage of me with the daughter of his colleague.” He murmurs, “we never wanted this.”

“What about my parents?” you asked.

“You told me they let you decide whatever you want in life. It was my father who pushed us to do this!”

“I know, but it will break their heart too!”

“But until when are we gonna hang on this kind of marriage??” Baekhyun raised his voice and you were startled.

You never told him you had growing some feelings towards him, that’s because you knew, perfectly knew, that you’ll end up find your heart shattered by this workaholic.

“W-what about me?” you carefully asked. Hoping he’ll understand.

Baekhyun stopped, “you…?”

You dared yourself looking at him.

“Ah, right, you’re not working.” Baekhyun pressed his lips into a thin line, “don’t worry about that, I own this company now. I’ll make sure you will have shares, and you can have as many properties as you want… take this house, take the apartment in Gangnam… and the resting villa in Jeju.”

You don’t want any of those, but you nod.

-

The lawyer came several days later, Baekhyun told mr. Kim, the lawyer, that you and him wants to keep this down until everything settles. Nobody is allowed to know.

“But no separation is allowed without any hearing and trials.” Mr. Kim said.

Baekhyun tilt his head, his face shows confusion.

“If you want to split, you can do it right away, sleeping in separate bedroom, living in different houses. But to divorce we have to follow the procedures. And the procedures are; filing the divorce, do the dissolution of marriage such as counselling, and hearing reasons of divorce, then you moved to the first judgement, and then the ancillary matter such as asset separations…”

“That’s… complicated.” Baekhyun mumbled, and again, you’re hoping he’s just gonna live with it, live with you. But he turned to you and said, “it’s fine, isn’t it, we’re gonna file the divorce now and we’ll do as asked, wouldn’t we?”

and again, you nodded.

-

In four years of being together, you wouldn’t fall for him if you found nothing in him. He’s a workaholic, that’s the first impression you got from him, but also, he’s a friendly person—to his friends. You knew them, you knew all his close friends.

Baekhyun loves party, not the wild party but dinner party at home where he’d asked maids to prepare good food and the finest wine before the invited his friends. You’ll be there, sitting beside him, talking to the guest as Baekhyun had you around his arms.

You started to know his character, he’s chatty when he’s in a good mood, his humor match yours and you feel like dying from laughter whenever he’s saying something funny. And those what makes you love party too, because you gotta see the different Baekhyun. He’ll be a warmer man, and a caring husband.

When the last guest left, he’s not immediately giving you the cold shoulder, but he’s back to treat you as a roommate, someone he’s living with.

Now you’re preparing dinner for him while he’s taking shower. And when he’s done, still with damp hair, he sat across you in the dining table.

“Whoa, ribs.” He smiles, he loves spicy ribs while you can’t eat something spicy, but you can always cook yours differently and he was never noticed.

“So,” you said, “I did my paperworks.”

“What paperworks?”

“The divorce documents, and all…” you murmured.

“Oh,” he lift his eyes to your level, “I haven’t, but I’ll do it soon.”

You wish you saw different kind of surprise like disappointment because you seems eager to finish the paperworks faster, but you didn’t find it.

You cut the flesh slowly, while taking a soft breathe, “Baekhyun, do you still remember the first day we met?”

He stop chewing for a second before continuing, “was it in London?”

“Manchester.” You corrected him, “you came to see me…”

“Right, you were studying there.”

“Yup,” you took spoon full of shredded ribs, “I was confused, I mean, that’s the first time I met you and just an hour before, my mom told me that you’re gonna be my fiance.”

Baekhyun laughs, “I know right… my father just found out his illness and he came to see me, he said he wouldn’t be around for long and he told me his last will is to see me settled down for someone.” He sips his water, “never thought I’d be in an arranged marriage.”

“Can I asked you something?”

Baekhyun nodded.

“What was your first impression of me?” you asked.

“Only if you’re gonna answer the same question about me.” He replied.

You nodded.

“I met you in a coffee shop near my hotel, you came in a rush, I still remember… and I thought you looked pretty, prettier than in the picture.”

You knew you’re blushing.

“We talked for a while and you suggested us to have dinner in a restaurant you liked.” He said, “I thought you were a smart and passionate person because the way you explained about your study is fascinating, seems like you enjoyed to be there…”

“I did…” you smiles, “you still think I’m smart and passionate or that impressions disappeared?” you cheekily asked.

Baekhyun laughs, “all I know now you’re good at cooking.” He shove rice into his mouth, “now tell me your first impression about me.”

You’re chuckling before continuing, “you were stand out in your red coat.”

“Oh that damn coat, yeah, ugly, I know… and you knew the story.”

His coat was stolen by someone when he’s just arrived and took it off in a waiting chair to add more layer of sweater, it was winter in Manchester, and the thieve left the chilli red coat beside him.

“You sure it was stolen? Maybe he just took the wrong coat?”

“Mine was black, okay?” Baekhyun playfully rolled his eyes, “and it was Prada.”

Now you laughing with him and it feels good.

-

The next two days, he was busy at the office, all you heard from him was he already sent the document to the lawyer and you feel a pinch in your heart. That little conversation few days a go didn’t mean anything to him.

So you went into the room you shared with him, and start packing some of your clothes. And then you called him.

“Hello?�� he appear to be in hurry.

“Not the right time?” you asked.

“Should be in a meeting in ten minutes.”

“Well, uhm, I’ll stay in our apartment in Gangnam…”

“Huh, why?” you know he’s stop doing what he’s doing right now.

“You want me to stay in our house?” you asked, “but we’ll splitting, I mean…”

“Oh,” he cuts you, “I see… okay.”

You feel stupid for wanting him to hold you from moving, but he was never in love with you, and as much as you don’t want to admit that you’re in love with him, you know you do.

-

You met Jongin, he’s Baekhyun’s friend who ended up closer to you than to Baekhyun for the last four years, you’re like a sister to him, and there’s no way you kept secret from him.

“He’s filing a divorce?” Jongin dramatically sighs as he placed his cup of café latte on the table. “what are you gonna do about it?”

You shrugged your shoulders.

“He doesn’t know that you actually like him?”

“Nope…”

“Yeah because you never told him,” Jongin frustratedly glaring at you.

“No point, that would make him uncomfortable and he’ll look for ways to simplified the process and get rid of me as soon as possible.”

Jongin shift his gaze somewhere else, his mouth pouting, “I don’t think he hates you that much.”

“He doesn’t hate me, who says he hates me? He just never loves me. That’s why he’s not gonna hang on this relationship.” You swirl your aglio olio.

-

First mediation is you and him meeting a conselor, and she gave you both a task, to write down the detail ambience on your wedding day.

You wrote about the color that mostly white, the flowers that mostly Lillies and Roses, his birth flower, and your birth flower, you also wrote that many people came and the song, yes, the wedding song was sung by a famous singer who also Baekhyun’s close friend, Chen. He sang ‘come away with me’ by Norah Jones.

Baekhyun wrote about how his shoes killing him and how you walked too slow on the aisle, but you looked so pretty in the wedding dress and he forgave you to make his shoes cut his ankle.

The conselor smiles, she didn’t explained anything but only asked if you and Baekhyun were bestfriend before you two got married. And the answer was no.

-

You already moved to the apartment for a week, and this morning were in the middle of cooking breakfast when your phone ringing. It was Baekhyun calling you.

“Hello?”

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked you.

“Uhm, cooking.”

“Smells good.”

You chuckled to his attempt jokes, “what’s up?”

“Do you know where’s my blue houndstooth tie?”

“You can’t find it on your closet?” you asked back.

“Nope.”

“Hmm…” you took a moment to think, “oh! I packed it for your business trip this week. You’re going to Ulsan for one night, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I packed it with your oxford blue suit, I also put the shirt and dress pants.” You explained, “your pajamas, underwear, and toileteries are already there too, it’s basically ready, so today you might want to wear something else.”

You didn’t hear him answering.

“Baekhyun?” you called him out, “open the closet and you’ll find another tie, did you wear your Armani suit?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“I always paired it up with the houndstooth, that’s probably why you feel like it’s the mate… but no, it could actually good with the steel blue tie, with the dots…”

“Oh I think I know which one you’re talking about.” Baekhyun murmured.

“Anything else?” you asked after he went silent for a moment.

“Oh—uh…”

“I’m not rushing you to hang up, I’m just asking, and my boiled egg can wait.” You tried to joke.

He hang up after telling you sorry for interrupting the precious moment between you and the boiled egg. He wear the tie in a rush and walk passing the dining table. He saw the breakfast is served, his usual breakfast that you always made for him is still served with or without you at home. He took a bite and put down the rest on the plate. Yes, the breakfast he usually ate is served, but it taste different.

-

The next conseling was to talk about the favourite holiday which involved each other. “Would be much better if it was the holiday in which only the two of you.” She said.

You wrote about your trip to Istanbul. Baekhyun had a business trip there and you asked him if you could go with him since you never visited Istanbul and he said yes. The business trip was only three days but you both stayed there for another three days. . It was memorable because you got to explored the city and the culture that is very new to you.

Baekhyun wrote Coron island, and you were a bit flustered, not only because Coron is the island you went during your anniversary trip, but also, that was when you slept with Baekhyun while you both are sober. But his explanation was because he loves the beach and the island was used for King Kong movie filming set.

The mediation was short, you were about to call a cab to go home, but Baekhyun offering you a ride.

“Hey, I read somewhere that it’s nice to have a trip before splitting.” He said.

You turned your head to see him, “trip? Like holiday?”

“Yeah, I remembered because we were talked about it.” His gaze stayed on the road.

“Where did you read it?”

He stops at the traffic light and pull his cellphone, “I’ve sent you the article.”

You opened the link and it brought you to akin marriage journal or something, and you read about the point Baekhyun just told you, a couple who is about to go split should spent one last moment together so they won’t hold any grudge in the future. Also, it will be great for bonding, as a friend.

“I can take few days off, my co-workers would understand since father just passed away.” He said.

And you agreed.

-

You both agreed to fly to Japan and Baekhyun booked one Minka for you and him. Minka is the traditional house with tatami mat, sliding doors, and wooden floors. Right on your yard is small onsen facing the breath taking view of mount Fuji. Right before the room door, you saw a beautiful calligraphy, you knew Baekhyun read Japanese and understand it, so you asked him to read that for you.

“Ai wa kodashi no seyo.” He said.

“What’s that mean?”

“Love in a small amount.” He replied.

He saw you still furrowing your eyebrows.

“This quote telling people to not being in love hardly, it will only crash and burn… the secret of keeping the love longer is do not go nuts, love just a little but keep going.” He said while adjusting his robe, he was getting ready to enjoying the onsen.

You didn’t joined him for onsen, it’d be too intimate and that’s not how you rebuild your relationship with him. As friends. So you prepared dinner for you and Baekhyun. Even though you got the whole house, you can still calling a staff to get you groceries you need or simply order some food, and that’s what you did, you order some foods for you and him.

There are sashimi, unagi don, varies of tempura, and sake served when Baekhyun done. He seems happy to finally meet food, and that’s enough to make you happy too.

You feel stupid and silly. Feel your crush on your husband getting deeper meanwhile your divorce papers are being processed.

Your head was lighter from the warm sake, and you saw Bakehyun’s cheek has this pink shades from alcohol too, and you can’t stop thinking how cute he is.

“What are you gonna do after we’re separated?” he asked.

To be honest, you were surprised by his question, not because he asked that but because you really have no idea what you’re gonna do after this. You realised, you never imagine life without him, and this hits you right to your heart.

“I, uh, I haven’t think about it…” you murmured.

“Are you gonna star dating Jongin?”

You lift your gaze to his level, “Jongin?”

“I know you’re not chatty but you always choose Jongin to talk to, I mean, you have me, you can always share anything with me, but you prefer to talk to him. At this point I’m not surprise if you’re dating Jongin behind my back.”

“What the hell?” You almost stutters, “is this, is this why you’re divorcing me??”

He turn away, “not exactly.”

“We’re friends, for God sake, he’s your friend…” you’re trying to sound stable. “Even if we’re separated one day, I would never date him… Gosh, Baekhyun, he’s like my brother!” you knew at this point your face is red from anger, how can he accused you like that. You were mad so you took your sake cup and gulp it, “damn it, Baek… damn you…” now you feel like crying but you hold it because you know you’re stronger than this shit.

He moved from his seat, stood up from the mat to sit beside you and saying, “I’m sorry…” he murmurs, “really…”

You’re just staring empty at your chopsticks.

“Hey, look, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t said what I’ve said… and this trip is for us to be friends, okay? Please forgive me?”

friends.

That word sucks. That word can go fuck itself, you want to throw it away from your dictionary if you could.

Baekhyun still staring at you, you can feel it and when you looking at him, he’s smiling. That childish smile you love so much. The one melts your heart and you’re gonna scold yourself later for smiling back.

“Anyway, thank you for always being my savior in the morning…” you knew what he meant.

“No problems, you can always call me to find anything in our—your room,” you corrected youself, “I was the one organizing it everyday so I—“

“Our room.” He suddenly said.

“Huh?” you’re looking at him and you saw disappointment there and you got confuse now.

“That’s still our room… until the ancillary judgment, it’s still ours to call.”

You mentally cursed yourself for cannot think straight but looking at those thin lips which slightly pouting.

“Why…” you mumbled but he caught you on guard, he leaned in and everything feels so fast.

He kissed you.

But you pull away faster. “Baekhyun…”

You both took a moment of silence but suddenly he stood up and pull you on your waist. You gasped but when Baekhyun lift his gaze, his brown eyes looking at you deeper, swimming inside the universe you had on your eyes.

“You’re drunk…” you whispers

“I’m not, and I’m tired of being drunk only to have an excuse to touch you.”

When he leaned in and kiss you, everything is being those blur dots behind him, all you felt was only his thin lips crashing on yours. You kissed him back just because you want it. You’re desperate to feel his lips, crashing, nibling, biting your lips.

When his hands slithering the front part of your kimono, you knew you’d gave him anything, even if he asked for the world.

“Be mine tonight…” he pull away but close enough for you to feel his breath, “…for the last time.”

And that pinch you feel inside your chest re-appear. Your heart telling you no because there’s no way back, you’re just gonna fall deeper and he’s gonna break your heart again tomorrow, but your heart and body wants him. Badly. “I’m yours… tonight…” you murmured.

He took it as the cue to slid down your clothes and expose your shoulder, and his kiss trailing down from you cheek, to your neck and shoulder, “ahh…” faint moan slips out your lips when he suck your collarbone. His lips didn’t stop there, as his hands caressing your body, his lips find its way to your chest, kissing the valley of your breast and all way down without touching your erected nipples.

He such a tease…

“I am…” he chuckled, and you feel embarrassed for saying it out loud unconsciously.

He guided your hand to his kimono belt, silently asking you to take it off, and you did, you run the pad of your finger above his lean muscle when he’s lips back on yours. When your hand above his briefs, you could feel he’s ready. It was hard, and excites your heart you could hear it pounding.

“I wanna go down for you…” he said.

You don’t hate it but you’re not a fan of receiving head too, but tonight, for the last time, you’re just gonna let him do whatever he wants.

“Go down for me…” you whispers and he kissed you hard before pushing you to the floor. His kisses leaving marks on the way down, and the heat you feel just too real, to hot to handle. You knew you’re drenched down there.

A finger slips between the folds and you couldn’t stop yourself from whining, “Baek…ah…”

He replied with a soft hum before other finger joining, running up and down, caught your clit between his slender fingers.

“AH!” a sharp moan slips out when he found your core, get inside and stretch you out, “ah… fuck…” you grunts.

“Two fingers, babe, two… you can handle more…” he hasn’t finished his words when you feel tongue joining down there.

You grab his hair by instinct and you can’t even hear yourself now. His put one other finger and speed up until you feel the heat pooling on your core and you knew you’re near the peak.

“I’m gonna… gonna, ah, Baek, I’m…ah!” you can’t even resemble words.

“Cum, babe, cum…” you screamed his name and surrender, “yeah, like that…”

he creeping above you and wipe his mouth which covered with your juice with his thumb and you didn’t even think of resting, you’re ready whenever he’s ready.

“No is my turn!” you breathlessly said.

“You don’t have to, I wanna be inside you for a long time.” His voice is assertive and you swore you’re gonna obey him forever.

“Then be inside my, now.” You pleaded.

He let go of his kimono and briefs, and guided his hard shaft to your entrance, this time, no teasing, just slip it inside slowly.

“Tell me if I hurt you…” he whispers right on you ear and you got goosebumps erupted all over your skin. “damn it…” he grunts, “damn…”

He pumped you slowly until he feels you’re adjusting with his size. And you can’t leave his eyes even for a second. God you’re in love again and again for him, and this moment you can’t hold a tear rolling down the corner of your eye.

“You okay? Did I hurt you??” he stopped pumping when he saw you crying.

“N-no. no…” you can’t ruin this moment, you can cry under th shower for the next months but not now, “no I’m fine…. I feel good… that’s why…” you’re panting, “Baekhyun, please go harder.”

You saw worries in his eyes but he do as you said, his hips go in a rhythm which became faster and faster as it goes.

“Want me go faster? Huh, babe? Tell me what you want!” he groaned.

“Faster, yeah… ahh… faster…” you bite your lips and cupped your hips to make it stay while he thrust you harder. “oh God, Baekhyun, ah! Fuck…”

“How close are you…??”

“I can… cum… any second now… Baek… please…” you don’t know what you pleaded for but you feel like you have to.

“Cum with me, baby, now, now, babe, now!” one last thrust and he shot it all in you.

He fell above you, kissing you gently before planting pecks all over your sweaty face. Then you met his eyes, you could see how soft was his gaze on you, almost loving. It feels like eternity before he move his lips, “I…” he said, but then he look away, “thank you…”

-

Next day wasn’t exactly easy for you and him, you keep losing words when trying to make conversation with him, and he’s not helping, he spent whole day outside, enjoying onsen again, or reading some books left in the house. And here you are staring at the quotes hang in the wall.

Ai wa kodashi no seyo.

Love in a small amount.

“I’m gonna do it… to anyone I met after you…” you murmured, “I’ve been loving you too hard, it hurts and causing me nuts.”

-

“Why you choose Istanbul?” he suddenly asked when you and him had dinner.

You couldn’t answer right away, but you manage to say, “you remember how I was amazed by Capadoccia, the air balloon, and the view…” and you feel like you have to ask him the same question, just because. “Why you choose Coron?”

“Exactly, why didn’t you choose Coron?”

You shot your eyebrows, “why… I didn’t choose Coron? Why should I choose Coron?”

You swore to God you saw his ear getting red, “Coron was nice…”

“Which part? The one with tall rocks where the King Kong swinging? Or…?”

He snorts, “anyway…” he said, “thanks for packed the clothes for me.”

You didn’t packed for him for this journey, but you did called a maid to make sure Baekhyun brought his medicine to his allergic, “I didn’t—“

“The one you did for my business trip last time.”

“Oh, that…”

“And to be the answer of my questions every morning about where’s my tie, what’s the brand of aftershaved I usually wear, which vitamins I should take…”

You couldn’t help but mumbling, “you need me…”

“Huh?” he gets it but he want you to repeat it.

So you lift your gaze up, “you need me in your life, Baekhyun, why you trying so hard to release me?”

Baekhyun looked surprised, “w-what?”

You sighs.

“You weren’t happy.” He said.

“What?” now you raised your voice.

“You immediately do the paperworks, and during the mediation, you never talked about me. First you were talking about the flower, the color, the guest, you didn’t mention me in your narrative at all. The second one, you were talking about istanbul, the city where we were just pure tourist, no romance in that holiday.”

“Romance?” you gasped, “why would I talked about romance when you’re the one asking me for divorce?”

“Because you weren’t happy! I told you you weren’t happy and I want to make you happy by letting you go!”

“Oh my God! Baekhyun, you never loved me, that’s why you’re divorcing me!”

“I do! But how can I show you my feelings when I know you’re gonna reject me!”

“Whatt???” now you’re confused, “I was in love with you! But you neve—“

“You’re in love with me? Don’t be silly! You’re not in love with me, you avoiding me all the time.”

Now you’re gasping from his accusation, “avoiding you? When?”

“You’re not comfortable whenever I’m around.” He said.

“That’s because I’m afraid you’re gonna find out my true feelings!”

“Why you’re afraid if I found out?” he raised his voice.

“You’re gonna divorce me when you find out that I’m actually love you…”

“Why would I do that??”

“Because you don’t love me.” You tried to hold your voice down.

“Oh come on! Who are to assumed about my feelings like that??”

you stop talking, so does he, and trying to figure out what is actually happening, how dumb are you to not realised anything all this time. To be blinding only by the fact that Baekhyun married to you because he had to. And for being to denial to accept any possibilities that he might grew some feelings towards you too.

“So you love me…” he mumbled. Slowly he snickered that turns into laughter, “why are we so stupid?”

You shrugged you shoulders.

“I almost let you go because I thought that what makes you happy!” he turned to you and lift your chin up, “hey look at me.”

You lift your gaze.

“I love you.”

And the knots in your chest untied just like that, all the pain and sadness, the cloud that has been following you around is disappear. You can see the sky clearer, with all the starts in his eyes.

The universe.

Universe you’ve been searching your whole life is in front of you.

With his thin smile he pulled you closer.

“Let’s go home to Seoul…” he put you inside his embrace, “and burn down all the divorce documents… I’m gonna stay being your husband forever and love you harder…”

“No…” you said, you saw his eyes confused, “Ai wa kodashi no seyo.”

-END-

[newstfionline]

Monday, July 5, 2021

Jimmy, Rosalynn Carter mark 75 years of ‘full partnership’ (AP) The young midshipman needed a date one evening while he was home from the U.S. Naval Academy, so his younger sister paired him with a family friend who already had a crush. Nearly eight decades later, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are still together in the same tiny town where they were born, grew up and had that first outing. In between, they’ve traveled the world as Naval officer and military spouse, American president and first lady, and finally as human rights and public health ambassadors. “It’s a full partnership,” the 39th president told The Associated Press during a joint interview ahead of the couple’s 75th wedding anniversary on July 7. It will be another milestone for the longest-married presidential couple in American history. At 96, Carter also is the longest-lived of the 45 men who’ve served as chief executive. Yet even having reached that pinnacle, Carter has said often since leaving the Oval Office in 1981 that the most important decision he ever made wasn’t as head of state, commander in chief or even executive officer of a nuclear submarine in the early years of the Cold War. Rather, it was falling for Eleanor Rosalynn Smith in 1945 and marrying her the following summer. “My biggest secret is to marry the right person if you want to have a long-lasting marriage,” Carter said.

Tropical Storm Elsa nears Cuba amid fears of flooding (AP) Tropical Storm Elsa swept along Cuba’s southern coast early Monday, and forecasters said it could make landfall on the island’s central shore by midafternoon. By Sunday, Cuban officials had evacuated 180,000 people as a precaution against the possibility of heavy flooding from a storm that already battered several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people. Most of those evacuated stayed at relatives’ homes, others went to government shelters, and hundreds living in mountainous areas took refuge in caves prepared for emergencies. Elsa was forecast to cross over Cuba by Monday night and then head for Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 15 counties, including in Miami-Dade County, where a high-rise condominium building collapsed last week.

Brazil Vaccine Scandal Imperils Bolsonaro as Protests Spread (NYT) The plot twists of a coronavirus vaccine kickback scandal that has rattled Brazil’s capital have been worthy of a reality TV show. The main stage has been a congressional hearing room, where scores of witnesses have been shedding light on the government’s chaotic response to the pandemic, which has killed more than 520,000 in the country. There has been plenty of yelling as the audacity and scope of a scheme by health ministry officials to solicit bribes from vaccine dealers have come into focus. The outrage drew tens of thousands of Brazilians to protest across several cities on Saturday, the third large wave of demonstrations in recent weeks. Much about the scandal, which federal prosecutors are investigating, remains unclear and in dispute. But the widening inquiry is likely to pose a major threat to President Jair Bolsonaro’s re-election bid next year—and perhaps even to his ability to serve out the remainder of his term.

Cyber attack against U.S. IT provider forces Swedish chain to close 800 stores (Reuters) The Swedish Coop grocery store chain closed all its 800 stores on Saturday after a ransomware attack on an American IT provider left it unable to operate its cash registers. Hundreds of American businesses were hit on Friday by an unusually sophisticated attack that hijacked widely used technology management software from a Miami-based supplier called Kaseya. According to Coop, one of Sweden’s biggest grocery chains, a tool used to remotely update its checkout tills was affected by the attack, meaning payments could not be taken. State railways services and a pharmacy chain also suffered disruption.

EU deploys assistance for Cyprus as huge forest fire rages (Reuters) The European Union on Saturday deployed aerial assistance to help Cyprus contain a huge forest fire raging north of the cities of Limassol and Larnaca, a blaze one official called the worst on record. The blaze, fanned by strong winds, affected at least six communities in the foothills of the Troodos mountain range, an area of pine forest and densely vegetated shrubland. “It is the worst forest fire in the history of Cyprus,” Forestries Department Director Charalambos Alexandrou told Cyprus’s Omega TV.

Japan’s leader pushes rescue after deadly mudslide hits town (AP) More than 1,000 soldiers, firefighters and police on Sunday waded through a giant mudslide that ripped through a resort town southwest of Tokyo, killing at least two people and leaving about 20 missing as it swept away houses and cars. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters 19 people had been rescued, and 130 homes and other buildings were damaged in Atami. Two people were dead, but more were feared missing, he said speaking after an emergency Cabinet meeting. Earlier, disaster officials said 20 were unaccounted for, but warned the number may rise. Troops, firefighters and other rescue workers, backed by three coast guard ships, were working to clear the mud from the streets of Atami and reach those believed to be trapped or carried away. They were barely visible in the rainfall and thick fog except for the their hard hats. Six military drones were being flown to help in the search.

Some Chinese shun grueling careers for ‘low-desire life’ (AP) Fed up with work stress, Guo Jianlong quit a newspaper job in Beijing and moved to China’s mountain southwest to “lie flat.” Guo joined a small but visible handful of Chinese urban professionals who are rattling the ruling Communist Party by rejecting grueling careers for a “low-desire life.” That is clashing with the party’s message of success and consumerism as its celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding. “Lying flat” is a “resistance movement” to a “cycle of horror” from high-pressure Chinese schools to jobs with seemingly endless work hours, novelist Liao Zenghu wrote in Caixin, the country’s most prominent business magazine. “In today’s society, our every move is monitored and every action criticized,” Liao wrote. “Is there any more rebellious act than to simply ‘lie flat?’” It isn’t clear how many people have gone so far as to quit their jobs or move out of major cities. Judging by packed rush hour subways in Beijing and Shanghai, most young Chinese slog away at the best jobs they can get. Still, the ruling party is trying to discourage the trend.

Myanmar forces kill 25 in raid on town, resident and media say (Reuters) Myanmar security forces killed at least 25 people on Friday in a confrontation with opponents of the military junta at a town in the centre of the Southeast Asian nation, a resident and Myanmar-language media said on Sunday. Myanmar has been plunged into chaos by the Feb. 1 coup against elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with violence flaring in many parts of the country of more than 53 million people.

Philippine military plane crashes, 45 dead, 49 rescued (AP) A Philippine air force C-130 aircraft carrying combat troops crashed in a southern province while landing Sunday, killing at least 42 army soldiers on board and three civilians on the ground, while 49 were rescued from the burning wreckage, officials said. Some soldiers were seen jumping off the aircraft before it crashed and exploded around noon in the periphery of the Jolo airport in Sulu province, military officials said. Three of six villagers who were hit on the ground have died.

Former South African president Jacob Zuma delays prison deadline with last-ditch legal maneuver (CNN) Jacob Zuma and his lawyers successfully delayed the former South African president’s prison sentence for contempt of court on Saturday when the country’s top court agreed to hear his application for a review of their decision to sentence him to 15 months in prison. In the application, 79-year-old Zuma and his lawyers claimed that the sentence threatened his life and that the Constitutional Court’s decision was unfair to their client. This comes after Zuma was ordered to hand himself in to a police station in his hometown Nkandla or Johannesburg by the end of this Sunday. Failing that, the police were given three days to bring him in. The Constitutional Court hearing will take place on July 12. Some legal analysts say the application is highly unlikely to succeed, but it buys Zuma more time.

Pope doing well after intestinal surgery, Vatican says (Reuters) Pope Francis is doing well following intestinal surgery, the Vatican said on Sunday after the 84-year-old pontiff was hospitalised for the first time since his election in 2013. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement that the pontiff "responded well" to the surgery, which was done under general aesthesia and which the Vatican had said earlier had been scheduled and not prompted by an emergency. Francis underwent surgery for symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon, a condition where sac-like pouches protrude from the muscular layer of the colon, leading it to become narrow. The operation was carried out by a 10-person medical team.

[comparatist]

Sabitribai Phule: The First Dalit Woman To Be A Teacher

Savitribai Phule, was the first Dalit woman to be the pioneer of spreading education among the impoverished section of the society by working day and night, firmly sticking to resolution of making academia inclusive. She always raised her voice against unfair segregational terms of the society. During her time, education was reserved for the dominant caste, class and gender but then, she was brave enough to breakthrough the notions of dominant hegemony and was hell bent to provide for the oppressed communities.

• Personal Life:

Born in 3rd January, 1831, in Naigaon, 50 KM from Pune, Savitribai was the eldest daughter of Lakshmi and Khandoji Neveshe Patil. She got married to Jyotirao Phule at the age of 10 in 1840. The couple started living in a Dalit working locality. Jyotirao took interest in educating his wife and trained her to become a teacher. Shakharam Yashwant Paranjpe and Keshav Shivam Bhavalkar (Joshi), his two associates took the further responsibility of helping in the progress of Savitribai's education. She went through the formal teacher’s training at Ms. Farar's Institute in Ahmadnagar and Normal School of Ms Mitchell in Pune.

A Voice Of Dissent Ensuring Social Justice:

Savitribai was the first person in the country to become a teacher and headmistress as a woman. The couple started their first female school and set up a Native Library in 1863. They also built a ‘home' in their own house, which was a safe haven for tortured widows and pregnant women, meant for the prevention of infanticide. Together they established the Satyashodhak Samaj which preached of marriage devoid of dowry and extravaganza, supporting widow remarriage and protesting against child marriage alongside. Savitribai and Jyotirao had no child of their own, so they adopted the child of a brahmin widow, educated him, and arranged an inter-caste marriage for him.

Their constant resistance against the brahminical hegemony was a ray of hope for the Shudra and Atishudra women. She started a school for Mangs and Mahads but then a lightening struck their fortune when Jyotirao's father threw them out while the training was going on. Govande immediately arrived Pune and took the responsibility of Savitribai. When she returned, Bhavalkar looked after her education requirements. Throughout the training process, the couple encouraged vocational and the practical form of learning for both sexes, so that the students can flourish their own independent thought process. The believed in the attachment of an industrial educational sector along with the school so the children can learn useful trades and acquire craftsmanship to lead a comfortable life. Education should provide the agency of free choice, they preached. The school they created had special zones for children’s creative freedom. The planning and their dedication sprouted shoots of success when the parents of girls studying there, complained about the ‘overindulgence' of their daughters in studies.

• A Staunch Personality Overthrowing Obstacles : She was one of the flagbearers of gender justice during that time. Women weren’t allowed to access education then. She went forth against the normalised patriarchal set up enough, to make men wait for her in street, passing lewd comments, pelting stones or cow dung at her. She always kept 2 saris with her and change into the cleaned one after reaching the school, which would again get soiled on her way back. This happened everyday but she refused to back down. The guard who was appointed for a safety had in his memoirs written about what she would say to those men who teased her for making education available for women, “As I do the sacred task of teaching my fellow sisters, the stones or cow dung that he threw seemed like flowers to me. May God bless you!”

In July 1887, when Jyotirao suffered from massive heart attack and got paralysed from his right side, she nursed him from dawn to dusk and was always by his side. Her intense support made him recover quickly. However the financial system of the family was in tatters by that time. Mama Paramanand, a well known political sage and a well wisher tried to help them the most. In the letter to the King of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad, Paramanand mentioned the historical ground breaking work the couple was doing and said the following about Savitribai, “More than Jyotirao, his wife deserves praise. No matter how much we praise her, it would not be enough. How can one describe her stature? She cooperated with her husband completely and along with him, faced all the trials and tribulations that came their way. It is difficult to find such a sacrificing woman even among the highly educated woman from the upper castes.” The couple had literally spent their whole time working for the marginalised sections.

Students living in their hostel had praises for the couple for their contributions. Laxman Karadi Jaaya from Mumbai said, “I have not seen another woman as kind and loving as Savitribai. She gave us more love than a mother could.” Another student named Mahadu Sahadu Waghole wrote, “Savitribai was very generous and her heart was full of kindness. She would be very compassionate to the poor and needy. She would constantly give the gift of food, she would offer everyone meals. If she saw torn clothes on the body of poor women, she would give them saris from her own house. Tatya(Jyotirao) would sometimes say to her, “One should not spend so much.” To this she would smile and ask, “What do we have to take with us when we die?” Tatya would sit quietly for some time after this as he had no response to the question. They loved each other immensely.”

When Jyotirao passed away, she was present there. As municipality had refused the burial of his body with salt as he wished, the last rites were performed in the pyre. Savitribai had courageously approached for the earthen pot to be held, then, and consigned his body to the flames. It was the first time in the Indian history, that a woman performed the funeral rites. Savitribai later erected ‘Tulsi Vrindavan' with his ashes on the spot where he wanted to be buried. After his demise, she took the reins of Satyashodhak movement in her own hands and was the chairperson of the Satyashodhak Conference in 1893 at Saswad, Pune.

• Her writings:

Poems that she had pinned down, along with other forms of creative outlets, are full of anti caste hegemony sentiments and provide boost towards harbouring a thought of attaining a gender equal society. Her works continued to be an inspiration to many, not only in the present time, bearing the reflection of struggles of past, but in the near future too.

The list of her writings is presented here:-

1. Kavyaphule- Collection of Poems, 1854

2. Jyotirao’s speeches, Edited by Savitribai Phule, 25th December 1856

3. Savitribai's letters to Jyotirao

4. Speeches of Matoshree Savitribai, 1892

5. Bavankashi Subodh Ratnakar, 1892

• Death: The year was 1897. The plague had overtaken the city of Pune. People were dying in clouts. The Government assisted by the officer Rand went out for helping the needy. Savitribai with the help of Yashwant set up a hospital and would herself go to pick up people, hospitalise them and ensure treatment. She continued to serve selflessly in spite of being fully aware of the contagious nature of the disease. The son of Pandurang Babaji Gaekwad from the Mahad community was affected by the plague. As soon as the news reached her ears, she wasted no time, to rush him to the hospital, carrying the sick child on her back. This way the disease reached her too. On 10th March, 1897 she passed away at 9 PM.

• Teacher's Day:

Go, get education

Be self-reliant, be industrious

Work-gather wisdom and riches,

All gets lost without knowledge

We become animal without wisdom,

Sit idle no more, go, get education

End misery of the oppressed and forsaken

You've got a golden chance to learn

So learn and break the chains of caste

Throw away Brahman's scriptures fast.

Since 1962, 5th September is regarded to be the Teacher's Day and calls for apparently an unanimous celebration on the birth anniversary of independent India’s 1st Vice President and 2nd President, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. The popular understanding of teachers, educators and gurus has been moulded by upper caste brains and has been always represented through the upper class and patriarchal lenses in the form of Dronacharya, Manu etc. The ‘meritorious' men shaping the history with their social-political and economical dominance over the forsaked is just a version of excluding the contribution of the marginalised and emphasising on the insurance of the right to education for the privileged only.

For a counter, a section of people are already speaking up against such dire injustice and celebrating Teacher’s Day on January 3rd as Education day or National Teacher’s Day, on the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule.

Our academia, nation has disregarded her works in the context of societal upliftment, to a great extent, by erasing her contributions from history books, nationalistic discourses and our memory. Her resistive stamina against brutalities performed upon the non-dominant sections is a stain in the brahmin dominated and appropriated knowledge system in India.

[todomomohouse]

Todomomo Idols AU

Ya, When I say, Idol, I mean like Kpop idols, lol.

Momo is a solo artist, Her style is mature musical, not sexual since she dislikes showing off too much skin but she can't argue with her stylists sometimes which those times, gained her tons of fanboys.

Shoto is a from a boy group with Bakugou, Midoriya, Kaminari, Kirishima and Sero. They're from a new agency and when they debuted, they boomed, becoming the most promising boy group of the era with Shoto as the main visual and face of the group.

They knew who each other were but never met until a countdown program asked for them as MCs.

They were shipped from that and Shoto's members would tease him on and off-camera.

They met more as more demands of them pops up.

Shoto and Momo's first acting was when they were asked to audition for the main leads and they got the role for a 'soul mate-AU' series.

This was the first time faces get to see Shoto without a scar thanks to great concealer skills

Shoto began to feel things for Momo, maybe it was from all the teasing led him to thinking more of her and how they are actually the same age yet Momo has already debuted Solo.

When it was the third year that they had known each other, Nezu, UA ent; aka. Shoto's agency, had a talk with Uwabami, Momo's manager and they agreed to let the two 20 years olds be paired in the 'I got married' program.

On the first few weeks of the airing, it went wild!

Shoto had fallen so hard for her.

One time, Momo woke up and Shoto was gone for a comeback practice, she took his shirt and wore it to make breakfast (or brunch) for them.

Shoto came back and blushed. Everything was recorded ofc.

During the third month anniversary of them being faked married, Shoto took her to a theme park and he confessed to her of actually loving her for real when they were on a roller-coaster.

Momo heard it but pretends to not, she also has a small crush on him for a while now.

Shoto thought she didn't hear him so he confessed again in a haunted house.

Momo accepted, ofc.

Which brings to them leaving 'I got married' and dated for real.

Fans would commented on how funny it was that Shoto confessed at least one he shouldn't. Momo couldn't agree more and teases him about it every time she can bring it up.

Ofc, there were people who were against them, mostly Shoto's bias since they view him as 'National' s treasure' and 'face of the country', he shouldn't be dating anyone until he's forty!

By the time it was almost their first anniversary, Momo's family was exposed that the Yaoyorozus have been illegally selling and smuggling illegal drugs into the country. Momo had nothing to do with it, it was her father who was behind it but the public, already triggered with Momo dating Shoto, based her and tried to frame her.

Momo had been on hiatus due to the news and Shoto was forced to stay quiet until the news cleared. He stayed with her as much as he can but with a new comeback and soon Asia-tour, Shoto wasn't able to meet her everyday and would usual try to text her as much as possible or make video calls.

It didn't help much and Momo succumbed to depression.

Momo's fans tried to encouraged her through social medias but it didn't reached her as she would kept herself away from everything, starving in her dorm room in her agency.

Momo was then hospitalised when Shoto finally finished his tour. He went to her ASAP and stayed with her until she was released and was getting better.

Her father was arrested and her mother died of shock, it impacted Momo tons and she extended her hiatus until next year.

Shoto wrote a song for her and debuted as a solo artist this year. The song consists of his feelings for her and how great she is and how he wishes to see them grow old together.

It became their wedding song later with Momo's acoustic version and their duet version.

Shoto proposed to Momo in her dorm room, when she was still in her night wear and him, all wearing full makeup since he came straight from his solo debut showcase.

Ironically, Momo's TV was showing Shoto's debut showcase where he was singing and it made Momo blushed and cried happily.

Momo accepted and she got better.

They married publicly, using it as if it was Momo's return debut to the Entertainment industry.

Bakugou actually cried when he sees Shoto got married. Kirishima took an IG story of him crying and it went viral.

Midoriya also cried. Their manager and Shoto's brother, Natuso, smiled brightly and shouted (not loudly) that he wasn't sure if he should be happy with his little brother got married before him or happy that Shoto's first girlfriend is his wife and he's getting laid.

Do you guys want more of these AUs?

Hehe, I fell in love with these idols and models AUs a lot, maybe next time I'll focus on their fluff, Shoto's group and their future celeb families. Maybe a Shoto on 'The return of Superman' would be fun, lol.

[euroman1945-blog]

The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Saturday 14th July 2018

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. Are you all set for the weekend, shopping, visit to family and or friends, maybe packing to catch a plane or take a trip, or what about a trip to the movies, my good friends, whatever it is carry on doing it … don't let the terrible thing that happened in Nice, London, Berlin, Paris or Manchester affect what you do, if it does the terrorist has won and we will never get our lives back again, I still walk my friend and companion Bella at 4am in a town full of people from Arabic countries and I will until it's my turn to get off this little blue planet, NO, I am not trying to be a hero, I'm a realist, the chance of that happening to me are slim and none, and you Gentle Reader, no matter where you are, the UK, Europe, United States of America or any other country in the world have the same odds, what the terrorist wants is YOU and ME to think we are next, and we are not, you have much more chance of being hit by a bus than being a statistic in a terror attack, so don't sit in the house worried, enjoy life, smell the Tulip's go down the Pub/Bar have fun and enjoy your selves, on this little blue planet we call Earth as we spin through space and time together.....

INSTALLATION OF SPEED CAMERA SCHEME ON A90 THAT ‘WILL SAVE LIVES’ GETS UNDER WAY…. The installation of average speed cameras along a notorious stretch of road has begun. Thirty average speed cameras will be installed on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven this year. Yesterday, a camera, signs and apparatus to hold more average speed cameras were installed – the first of the cameras which will be placed between three and four miles apart. There will be 15 on each side of the carriageway, similar to the system already in place between Perth and Dunblane. Sandra Burke, chairwoman of Tealing Community Council, said the initiative was going to “save lives”. She said: “We really welcome the installation of the average speed cameras. “The thing about Tealing is that it bridges the A90 so we have cars, tractors and other vehicles in the community crossing the road. “The cameras can potentially save lives.” Sandra said the community council believes a reduction in the speed limit on the road — from 70mph to 50mph — would be the next step in ensuring the safety of the public. She added: “We are pushing for a reduction in the speed limit but we believe that the average speed camera installation is a step forward for us.” Luke Macauley, head of the Scottish Safety Camera Programme, is one of the key people behind the scheme. Previously, he spoke to The Daily Thistle when the introduction of the cameras was announced and insisted the move would see fatal crash statistics drop. He said: “We install these cameras to save lives and improve road safety. “Unfortunately, the A90 features as one of the trunk roads with the highest collision statistics. “One death is one too many and you’ll get no apologies from us for doing what we can to reduce that.” The A90 cameras will be the third such scheme in Scotland, following the introduction of average speed stretches on the A77 in Ayrshire in 2005 and the A9 between Dunblane and Inverness in 2014. The cameras work by detecting vehicles’ number plates and using the time they take to travel from one camera to the next to calculate an average speed. Figures from Transport Scotland show more than 13,000 speeding offences were logged on the A90 by speed cameras in 2015 — accounting for 20% of the total number recorded in Scotland.

SCOT MURDERED AT HOME IN MAURITIUS…. A Scottish woman has been murdered in a robbery at her home in Mauritius while her young son was in the house. It is thought Janice Farman, 47, may have been smothered by the thieves, who stole jewellery and money then drove away in her car. Police were called to the property at Albion on the Indian Ocean island at about 1am on Friday and found Ms Farman’s body in her bed. Officers also found her 10-year-old autistic son in the property and have passed him into the care of the child development unit. Police have launched an investigation and are hunting three suspects. The car has been found and will be examined by specialists. Ms Farman, thought to be originally from Clydebank, was the managing director of PECS Data Services in Mauritius.

BOOZED-UP PARTY-GOER BREAKS PELVIS JUMPING THROUGH WINDOW AFTER POLICE ARRIVED….  A booze-fuelled man, 20, threw a TV from a second-floor window before jumping through it himself when police arrived – breaking his pelvis. The “dangerous” act left Stefan Shelton hospitalised. He carried out the offence after drinking at a party – and said he had no memory of the incident. Shelton appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted a charge of behaving in a culpable and reckless manner by throwing the TV from the window at a flat on the city’s Justice Street, on to a footpath below. The offence took place on September 8 last year. According to the Evening Express, defence agent Les Green said: “This would appear to be a party he was invited to. “He drank far too much.” The court was told that there was mobile phone video footage recorded of the incident. Mr Green said: “He has no recollection of doing this at all. “From what I’ve heard from the footage people are chanting and urging him to throw the TV out the window. “He responded to the pressure, it was a stupid thing to do.” The defence agent also told the court: “When police arrived he jumped out the same window and broke his pelvis.” Mr Green added that Shelton was aware of the “danger” his actions had posed to those below on the street. He said: “He has not drank since. “He got a shock when I suggested this is something the court could impose a custodial sentence for. “He tells me now he has had something of a shock to his system.” Shelton, whose address was given in court papers as Whitehill Place, Peterhead, was fined £250 by Sheriff Christine McCrossan. Sentencing Shelton, Sheriff McCrossan said she wanted the 20-year-old to realise how “dangerous” his actions were, citing the case of a person who threw a traffic cone from a bridge in Edinburgh, leaving the person it struck paralysed.

FORGOTTEN SECOND WORLD WAR AIR SHELTER DISCOVERED BY WORKERS…. Workers installing one of Scotland’s largest solar panel projects have unearthed a lost piece of military history. Contractors were cutting back shrubbery during the work at a waste treatment plant in Montrose when they discovered a preserved air raid shelter from the Second World War. The shelter was part of the former RAF Montrose site, just off the Angus coast. The old base is said to be haunted by the ghost of a pilot who crashed at the site back in 1913. Mari Davies, the project manager for Scottish Water Horizons who is carrying out the solar panel work, said the discovery was “interesting”. She said: “The site was overgrown and we had to do a bit of work first to remove the dense shrubbery. “Having liaised with the local council, we knew that in the past the area could have been home to munitions and radioactive material, all remnants of the Second World War. “Thankfully nothing hazardous was uncovered which meant we were able to carry on with the work. “However once we’d cleared the land, we made the unexpected discovery of the air raid shelter. Although an interesting find, it did mean we have to alter our plans slightly to fit round it.” “The treatment works also sits on part of what was RAF Montrose which is said to be haunted by the ghost of Lieutenant Desmond Arthur, a pilot who crashed there in 1913. There have been many sightings of him over the years, but luckily none of our contractors had any paranormal experiences.

DUNDEE WOMAN SLAMS ‘LAUGHABLE’ MOMENT SHOP IN ENGLAND TURNS DOWN HER SCOTTISH BANK NOTE…. A Dundee woman has spoken of her “frustration” after being turned away after attempting to hand over Scottish notes in a shop in England. Diane Drysdale had been enjoying an anniversary break with husband Clive in the Lake District, Cumbria, at the start of the week. After travelling down on Monday, the couple prepared to head back up the road to Kirkton after an enjoyable trip. However, their break turned sour after they and nipped into the Spar shop in Appleby-in-Westmorland on Tuesday night. Diane described the episode as “laughable”. The 42-year-old explained: “We went into the shop for a couple of bits and pieces for travelling. “We went to hand over a Scottish note and the woman immediately said: ‘No, we can’t take that’.” Diane added that the shop worker pointed them in the direction of a cash machine outside. Thankfully for Diane, the store was quiet at the time and her embarrassment was kept to a minimum. She added: “Yes, we could have just used our card, but that’s not the point. It was only a couple of pounds-worth of stuff. It was also pouring of rain and we were told we’d have to go out to get cash. “We were in Turkey recently, a country outwith the EU, and they accepted our Sterling but a few miles down the road in England we can’t use it?” Diane posted her complaint on the Spar Facebook page, to which they responded that the shopkeeper should have accepted the cash, but said they’d look into it. Since then, the Dundonian hasn’t heard back from the national retailer and has described the situation as “frustrating”. A spokeswoman for Spar said: “We try very hard to make sure that our customers have a positive shopping experience with us and in this instance we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused to Ms Drysdale.” By law, Scottish bank notes are legal currency and have no reason not to be accepted – other than at the discretion of the shop. The Association of Commercial Banknote Issuers states: “The acceptability of any means of payment, including banknotes, is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved.”

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

Our look at Scotland today is of the eerie light through the trees near the Falls of Clyde, captured by John McElwee....

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Saturday 14th July 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

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

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus #Scotland #Spain #Travel #Coffee #News #Blog #Dundee

[dailykhaleej]

COVID-19 first person account: When the fever got here, I had no quarantine plan

Coronavirus: We hadn’t thought a lot about find out how to isolate one in every of us from the different Picture Credit score: Provided

Certainly, I was simply being paranoid. I’d been feeling type of sore and cruddy all day, however that wasn’t so unusual for a Sunday after an extended week of labor. It was our first weekend of significant social distancing, and it was not possible not to think about the coronavirus, regardless that it hadn’t but appeared to actually hit Baltimore, the place I stay with my spouse.

I continued feeling worse, and after she fell asleep on the sofa, I determined to take my temperature. When I took the thermometer out of my mouth and checked out the digital readout, I was overwhelmed with terror: 102.three levels.

We hadn’t thought a lot about find out how to isolate one in every of us from the different, however simply that morning, we had vaguely determined that, if one in every of us obtained sick, they’d quarantine in our additional bed room. So I had the presence of thoughts to maneuver into motion earlier than I totally freaked out or collapsed: I took the sheets off our mattress and the garments I had been carrying and threw them in the washer.

In lots of instances, complete isolation is not possible. Because of restricted area, individuals could have no possibility however to reveal these they love

–

I grabbed sheets for my quarantine mattress and the toiletries I would want. I wiped down the toilet with Clorox wipes. Then I known as my spouse on her mobile phone in the different room and woke her. I lined my head whereas she obtained just a few issues she wanted from the quarantine room.

Quarantine at dwelling

That was the final time we’d be nearer than 30 ft for 2 weeks. Since hospitals are overwhelmed, most individuals who are suffering from covid-19 can be informed to quarantine at dwelling. That self-quarantine can be far safer and extra snug for everybody if individuals work out a plan earlier than anybody their family falls in poor health.

When I known as, my docs stated I wasn’t high-risk sufficient to get examined. Due to the lack of assessments, our details about the virus is so restricted: If we knew who had it and who didn’t, it will be far simpler to handle quarantine round our households.

Coronavirus: I additionally had by no means felt nearer to my spouse than I did in that room, away from her Picture Credit score: AFP

If my spouse had it however was asymptomatic, we may have acted otherwise. However we don’t know. And they also finest they might do was to inform me I ought to act as if I had covid-19 and self-quarantine — with out giving a number of steering as to what that meant, besides that I wanted to be fever- and symptom-free for 72 hours earlier than rising.

Vaguely conscious of time

For the subsequent 11 days, I was solely vaguely conscious of time. My case was “gentle,” however I was as sick as I had ever been, and I couldn’t have moved a lot had I needed to. I spent greater than 23 hours a day in mattress, which I left solely to take a shower or go to the toilet.

As a result of we hadn’t actually ready for this, my spouse did with no lot. Her garments had been all in the room I was in. Due to her contact with me, she wasn’t going wherever, however washing and rewashing the identical set of garments many times for 2 weeks was no enjoyable.

We must always have had “go-bags” prepared — not just for a attainable journey to the hospital, but in addition with issues we’d want in our home in case one in every of us was quarantined. The stuff in the toilet, like her additional contacts, was even much less accessible as a result of that’s the place I did most of my coughing in the center of the evening.

I have gentle bronchial asthma, so I often have coughing suits, however these first few nights had been like nothing I had ever skilled. I would hack, and it will really feel as if my air passage was slim and blocked, however there was nothing but to cough up. I tried sleeping sitting up.

Sense of worry and panic

Finally, a nurse good friend steered I commonly take Mucinex to interrupt up the mucus, and it was a sport changer. I began coughing some stuff up and will breathe a bit higher. However when the suits got here on, the common sense of worry and panic made it a lot worse — and more durable to manage my respiration once more when the coughing started to subside.

A minimum of thrice, I was sure I must name an ambulance.

In these moments, I generally wept. However I realised that, remoted in my room there, I was the least alone I had ever been: The whole world felt the identical worry and terror I did. There was a sure grim consolation in that.

I additionally had by no means felt nearer to my spouse than I did in that room, away from her. Our loft made it simpler — if she stood on the touchdown of the stairs, we may see one another from about 30 ft aside. That was how we “celebrated” the 20th anniversary of our first date, smiling at one another throughout area. In any other case, she would carry meals to the door and take my dishes away later.

After every week, it appeared my fever had gone away. I was not almost so exhausted, and my cough had subsided. I was overjoyed. However I would stay in complete quarantine till I’d cleared my 72 hours. Good factor I did. The subsequent day, the signs got here again, as unhealthy as earlier than.

This appears to occur many times to individuals who have the virus, however it’s straightforward to overlook: Everybody won’t have all the signs they’ve examine without delay, and when signs appear to subside, individuals determine it will need to have been a chilly or a flu and it’s superb to return to on a regular basis life.

A very good good friend with whom I’d been evaluating signs made this assumption and sat and watched a film together with her household — simply earlier than her signs hit once more and she or he was hospitalised for pneumonia and eventually examined (it is going to nonetheless take a number of days for the outcomes).

In lots of instances, complete isolation is not possible. Because of restricted area, individuals could have no possibility however to reveal these they love. (My spouse and I are fortunate to have an additional room and an additional toilet, and we don’t have youngsters we had to look after — or defend — whereas I was sick.)

Infecting family members

Others who do have assets are selecting to threat infecting family members. The partner of a minimum of one movie star who examined constructive for covid-19 stated she was going to remain beside him, regardless that she was damaging. To me, that’s insane: I wouldn’t want the signs I suffered on most of my enemies — and absolutely I wouldn’t put the person I cherished most dearly in danger until I completely had to.

As a result of it’s so tough to soundly self-quarantine, particularly for these experiencing homelessness or dwelling in cramped areas, a number of US cities, corresponding to Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, have labored out offers with lodges to quarantine sufferers who present covid-19 signs however don’t have to be hospitalised.

Right here in Baltimore, the metropolis is popping a municipally owned Hilton right into a hospital, however there are no public plans to make use of resort rooms, that are largely empty, to assist individuals hold to themselves. If we wish to save lives, we have to consider higher methods to make use of areas like lodges to isolate these with “gentle” signs to guard their households.

The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention recommends, for example, that the affected person use a separate toilet, when accessible, however provides little steering for when that’s not an possibility apart from carrying masks, washing fingers and cleansing surfaces.

Lastly two full weeks after getting into, I exited my quarantine room. We’re nonetheless conserving our distance and being cautious, and I’m not leaving the condo. Even so, it was nearly stunning to have the ability to transfer round once more — and start to suppose not nearly the penalties of the virus in my physique, however of the virus in the world.

The primary factor I’ve realised via this isolation is that there’s no such factor as isolation. It’s an phantasm. Proper now, all of us need to be alone as a result of we’re so collectively.

That’s true of social distancing, in fact. However it’s much more true of self-quarantine, a voluntary separation from these we love the most. It’s due to that love that we have to make plans when our heads are clear — about what to do when the virus strikes us.

Baynard Woods is a author. His e-book “I Obtained a Monster: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Corrupt Police Squad” can be revealed by St. Martin’s Press in July.

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[yatorihell]

In The Darkness Chapter 15 - Diagon Alley

Words: 2,449

Summary: Hiyori bumps into someone familiar in Diagon Alley as she prepares for her second year at Hogwarts.

Previous chapter | First chapter

For the 1st anniversary of the Harry Potter AU! 

Thank you to Gio (@themusicalbookworm)​ for beta-ing me!

A/N: A while ago there was some discourse on my Tumblr over me putting Yato into Slytherin 'because he's evil'. Yato's speech about this in this chapter reflects that stereotype I'm trying to break about Slytherins. It's also an important plot point which I can't talk much about, but trust me, Yato isn't Slytherin because 'it's the evil house'. 

Read on AO3

Detached from wizarding life, Hiyori’s summer resulted in long, lazy days of completing assignments and catching up with old friends. Smartly avoiding questions of her ‘private school’, Hiyori recounted stories of what she had been up to, minus the magic and mishaps, to both her old friends and her parents.

Her letters home throughout the school year didn’t include the numerous occasions that would make her mother faint with horror, and her father pull her out of the school altogether. What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

Her father was much more relaxed and, unlike her mother, embraced her interest in a break-neck sport where enchanted balls battered players and left them hospitalised. So much so that once she greeted her parents after returning to Kings Cross Station, they had gone to Diagon Alley and gifted Hiyori a Nimbus 2000 – and a lot of protective clothing – for her birthday.

Unable to practice, Hiyori admired the broom which had been propped up in the corner of her bedroom, anticipating the moment she would be able to ride it - and hopefully not smash it into smithereens.

Although she had stayed in contact with Aimi and Yama throughout the summer, Hiyori had no contact with Yukine nor Yato as they hadn’t mentioned any addresses. She wasn’t even sure if they had owls.

It didn't matter now though as the next school year was just around the corner.

Returning to Diagon Alley in late August (through a suspicious looking pub entitled The Leaky Cauldron), Hiyori and her family collected the next load of books she would need for her second year at Hogwarts.

Her parents were sidetracked the moment they left the bookshop by the allure of the other bizarre shops they had been too terrified to step foot in the first time they had collected her school supplies.

Hiyori gave up on trying to drag her mother away from gazing at the array of neon coloured bottles in Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions shop window, whereas her father was opposite reading the strange flavours of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

Hiyori stared down the barren alley. Its lopsided cobbled path trailing down and forking off in different paths. The first years had ransacked the shops the moment they received their acceptance letter, gathering all the equipment they would need to see them through the oncoming term.

Amongst the few pointy-hatted wizards towing children and gatherings of fellow students, Hiyori could see a single figure walking alone, head bowed and carrying a bag over their shoulder.

They barely brushed past Hiyori in the narrow street, not even looking up as she acknowledged them. They seemed familiar, the bag tied shut with string and the dark shock of hair which concealed their face.

Someone familiar…

“Yato?”

He stopped abruptly, stiffening under their black robe before slowly turning their head.

His hair was dishevelled, clumps of it sticking up to give him the appearance that a fan of jet black peacock had erupted from his head. Untameable bangs fell over his wide-eyed stare when he caught sight of Hiyori.

“Hiyori?”

Hiyori couldn’t help but notice the blue of his eyes being especially sharp in contrast to the dark circles that had taken hold under his eyes, almost as if he hadn’t slept in a week. Her stare didn’t go unnoticed as Yato quickly patted his hair and forced a smile.

“Are you,” Hiyori began, about to say exactly what she had been thinking, but was cut off by the voice of her mother interrupting their encounter.

“Who’s this?” The question snapped both of their attention to Hiyori’s parents who stared at Yato with the curiosity of a hawk.

“Ah.” Hiyori threw a glance between Yato and her parents. If this was the first time they were meeting a bonafide wizard, they were in for a surprise.

“This is Yato, and these are my parents,” Hiyori said, shuffling nervously. She had left his name out of the letters, mainly because he was the cause of the trouble she got into.

“Oh, a friend of yours, dear?” Mr Iki said with a good-natured smile, unlike his wife who regarded Yato’s disheveled appearance the same way a teacher would with an unruly child.

Hiyori muttered a ‘yes’. I suppose we’re friends, she thought as she cast a glance at Yato who stood unusually quiet on the spot. After a beat of silence only filled by the sounds of the street, her mother spoke.

“What a… curious boy,” Mrs Iki didn’t hide the apprehensiveness in her voice, yet her choice of words was gentler than the ones she would’ve chosen had they just passed in the street.

“Wouldn’t you say, dear…”

Mr Iki’s short attention span had been snatched in this exchange when his wife tried to involve him in the conversation, the sight of a rundown second-hand store window compelling him to distractedly agree. With an idle farewell to Yato he tugged his wife’s hand to follow him to the shop window, perhaps to bicker over buying more padding to ‘protect their daughter’, though Hiyori doubted the dented helmets would do any protecting.

Just as Hiyori repressed a smile upon hearing the first complaints begin. She turned back to Yato, who looked less uncomfortable now they were gone.

“Well I won’t keep you.” Yato bowed his head slightly, gaze travelling as if distracted so that he could go on his way, wherever he was going.

Hiyori’s brow creased again when she looked at his appearance more closely, seeing the grime on his chin and the mud splatters which were almost invisible against the black cloth.

“Yato, is everything ok?” Hiyori asked, stepping in time with him as he took his first steps away.

Yato looked at her levelly, the wide smile that he had given her a few moments ago drastically reduced to a thin line.

“Peachy.” There was a tone of cynicism in his voice as he readjusted his bag on his shoulder, giving her parents another glance before starting to walk again with no farewell.

Hiyori watched him, robes flutter around his feet as quick paces took him up the thoroughfare.

“See you in September!” she called out to him.

Yato raised his hand in acknowledgment but didn’t bother turning, instead vanishing around the corner and out of sight.

~

Just like the first time Hiyori stepped onto Platform 9 ¾, there was a havoc of students sending whirling sparks of red, blue and white which fizzled and banged above her head.

The occasional shower of tattered paper with each collision of flare and paper butterflies which flitted around. Crumpled twists of paper lay scattered on the ground, revealing themselves to be broomsticks when they shuddered back to life and reshaped, only to begin jousting each other overhead and battering what looked like a rusted Knut in the stead of a Quaffle.

The pierced whistle of the Hogwarts Expressed drowned out Hiyori’s shout when she managed to see Yukine through the cluster of students and spilling heaps of luggage that waited to be loaded, but she managed to catch his shoulder in time before he vanished into the near-crowded train. She was met by a confused scowl at the sudden grab, but Yukine’s expression dissolved into a dorky smile the moment he saw Hiyori.

It turned out that Yato was already with him, holding the door of an empty carriage open and beckoning them over the squeals and shrieks of overexcited first years and lairy students who would wreak havoc in what would be their final year at Hogwarts.

Hiyori greeted Yato, deciding not to mention their encounter in Diagon Alley when Yukine exclaimed that they hadn’t seen each other in months. He was much cleaner than he was that day, dressed in his robes already and not as dishevelled as he normally would be. Perhaps she could ask about it in private.

They crashed into the cabin and shut the door to block the new wave of magical dangers, a summer of restricted magic finally crushed by shouts of ‘periculum’ and ‘relashio’ as students sent sparks flying and lit up the train as if it were Bonfire Night.

At exactly 11 o’clock the Hogwarts Express pulled away from the platform, gathering speed as it took its passengers out of London and replaced the stagnant scenery with rolling hills and lochs that carved rivers through the valleys.

Hiyori sat beside Yukine, with Yato opposite him next to the window just like they were when they returned to London. Nostalgia flooded through Hiyori as she remembered her first time on the Hogwarts Express, new friends cramming her head with knowledge and fantasies of the school she was going to. The Sorting seemed like it had only happened a few months ago rather than a year.

“This time last year we were going to get sorted,” Hiyori turned and nudged Yukine, to which he hummed and looked out of the window.

“I don’t remember seeing you, though,” Hiyori continued thoughtfully, undiscouraged by the lack of chat. Before Yukine could reply, Yato cut in.

“He’s like 4ft tall, of course you didn’t see him,” Yato breezed with an idle grin. Yukine didn’t bother turning, instead favouring to flip his middle finger at Yato.

“I thought Hufflepuffs were nice.” Yato grinned, leaning back further in his seat so his back was pressed into the corner, arms folded. “Still, I guess not all houses are like admired like mine.”

“No wonder you’re a Slytherin,” Yukine shot back, “you think you’re the best house.”

“Yes, but I was nearly a Gryffindor,” Yato said simply.

Yukine and Hiyori stared at him. A silence followed this revelation, neither of the pair knowing whether he was serious or not when he gave them a sly grin.

“What?!” Hiyori spluttered.

The very idea that Yato would be put in Gryffindor was alien to her. He certainly didn’t strike her as someone who would fit into her house as well as others. He and Bishamon were polar opposites, and it was clear she was a Gryffindor through and through. Surely that would put him in the house of their main rival?

“I chose Slytherin. The Sorting Hat couldn’t decide if I should go to Gryffindor or Slytherin, so I asked to be in Slytherin.” Yato explained this so plainly as if he were discussing the weather.

“Why the hell did you choose Slytherin?” Yukine asked, still doubtful even though he had heard that some students were given a choice of what house to be in. The Sorting Hat did take their choice into account.  

“I want to be great.” He looked Yukine in the eye when he said this, evidently being honest at this proclamation.

Hiyori gave him a quizzical look. Great?

Yato’s eyes slid from Yukine’s to Hiyori, then back to the window. “The most powerful wizards have come from there, so it makes sense.”

“Evil,” Yukine cut in. That word was one of the most used descriptions of any wizard who is put into Slytherin, even if they weren’t necessarily bad.

“Powerful,” Yato corrected sharply. His eyes fixed on some point in the distance through the window when he lowly continued.

“No one is evil unless they’ve done something unforgiveable. I don’t think many eleven-year olds have done something bad enough to make them be put in a house supposedly tailored for those who would become dark wizards.”

The silence that spread over the cabin was infectious, Yato’s reasoning held some truth. How could the Sorting Hat see darkness in the heart of a child and decide that they would flourish in a house which favoured the Dark Arts? It would just be a breeding ground for psychopaths. ‘Evil’ was never stated as a quality that Salazar Slytherin desired, only ambition – which in turn could morph into something crazed and lustful that would make the brightest student turn their resourcefulness to darker means if it meant they could reach their goal.

The cogs in Hiyori’s mind put it all together – what it meant to be a Slytherin, and how Yato would fit into Gryffindor. The more she thought about it, the more traits matched up. Yato was an idiot – but a reckless one. Brave to the point of stupidity when it came to facing off against a mountain troll, daring enough to break into the library past curfew, and nerves to do whatever it takes to catch the Golden Snitch. Godric Gryffindor himself would be proud, but it looked like Yato’s own desire for ambition, and perhaps his cunning traits to meet his own ends, had thrown the Sorting Hat to let Yato choose his own house.

After the prolonged silence, Yato quietly spoke. “You don’t think I’m bad, do you?”

“No.”

Yato hummed quietly at the answer. Of course that was Hiyori’s immediate response, and Yukine’s too as he shook his head. Yato hadn’t done anything bad. Questionable, but not bad, and always to help them, be it facing off bullies, trolls, or helping with homework in his own way.

They were quiet for a long time before the awkwardness was broken by the arrival of the sweet trolley, allowing Yato to set a couple of chocolate frogs and jelly slugs free to make Hiyori shriek whilst Yukine blew multi-coloured bubbles of gum.

Maybe this year Hiyori would get over her fear of sweets.

~

The sun had completely sunk into the hills when the Hogwarts Express groaned to a stop at the small station of Hogsmeade. Like before, Kuraha rounded up the terrified first years and herded them towards the lake where they would make an impressive trek to the impossible castle-topped cliffs.

Unlike first years – who would take the longer scenic route to the castle –, the trio and the rest of the school made their short walk to the wrought iron entrance gate of the school grounds. Guarded by the statues of two winged boars, the same carriages that had taken them away from the castle a few months prior waited to take them back again. Yukine stuck nearly uncomfortably close to Hiyori’s side for the whole walk, only breaking away to clamber onto the nearest carriage and beckon Hiyori up beside him.

Yato looked cautiously at the space where a horse would be tethered to pull their carriage along, as if he could see something the others could not. With a sharp jolt once he had mounted the steep steps onboard, the carriage clattered on the trail towards to the castle.

Rocking and swaying over dry bracken and looking up at the darkened canopy of trees which hid the stars, Yato’s lips tugged into a small smile.

He was home.

[level3bird]

Eight years ago today, I arrived in Australia for the first time. 

I checked into the The Hatton Hotel where, the following morning, I’d finally meet Tim in person for the first time. 

Sadly, The Hatton is no longer open. We’d always planned to go back there, back to our room, but we never got the chance. It closed up shop while we were busy building a life elsewhere. It is something that I’ll always feel some regret about. Fortunately, the regret of not getting to stay there again pales in comparison to the memories we made while we were there. 

The bottom two photos are of Room 16, the same room where Tim and I spent our very first days and nights together. (Isn’t the internet wonderful?) 

I can see Tim sitting at the table at the end of the bed, wearing his fluffy white hotel robe, having coffee. I can see him standing at the mirror in the bathroom, fresh out of the shower, brushing his teeth. I remember seeing hot air balloons outside the window as they made their dawn flights over the city. I remember my head on his shoulder feeling like I was the luckiest girl to ever live. 

That initial image of Tim as he came through the door the first time, big smile on his face, both of us nervous, those tentative hello’s. Those will always be some of my most treasured memories.  

It was an absolute life-changing four days. 

The purpose of my brief trip had been to see if there was anything more to the two of us than the long distance friendship we’d built up over the previous six months on Tumblr and in emails and chats. And, lord yes, there was much more. There was all the chemistry we’d hoped for and then some. 

But there was something else too. There was this sense of having known him my whole life. A connection that felt as if it had existed for ages. If previous lives are a thing, then I have no doubt that we knew each other before we knew each other. 

There was also this strange sense of it being ok to trust him. And for someone like me, with trust issues as big as the ocean I’d just crossed, it was equally reassuring and unnerving. I did not know whether to go with my heart or to stick with the ruler by which I’d measured the other men who’d been in and out of my life. Thankfully, I chose my heart and I let Tim show me that trust and loyalty and truth and steadfastness actually exist and can flourish. 

Tim is, now 8 years on, my best friend, my true companion, my moon and my stars. It is Hallmark-y, and Nicholas Sparks-y and every other cliche with all the grittiness of real life and real issues and daily struggles thrown in the mix. 

Just like those first few days at The Hatton, we still lie down on the bed and turn toward each other and chat about our day before we get dinner on the go. I’ll lay my head on his arm and we’ll talk bollocks and laugh, oftentimes I’ll still cry about this thing or that and he still wipes my tears, or tickles me, or both. 

We still count hot air balloons in the sky and report back to each other when we see them. We send each other pictures that we take when we see hot air balloons in the morning sky, the talisman of our relationship. “I saw three balloons this morning and thought of you.” It warms my heart.

In November of 2009, during a month long in-patient stay at River Oaks Hospital in New Orleans, we did one of those dreaded art projects that no adult really likes to do. We were asked to create a visual representation of a place of safety in our lives. For most of us there on the trauma/PTSD unit, places of safety were few and far between. Even so, I knew immediately of the place I wanted to depict. The Hatton, Room 16. Hot air balloons seen from the window. A full moon still above in the dawn sky. 

It took me over a year to get back to Australia after this first visit. A time filled with many difficulties: my first full year of clean time, more traumatic events, the death of my mother, violence at home and in complicated relationships, my hospitalisation after months of being a danger to myself, finally being able to face some of the damage that my life had been made of. 

At times, I wasn’t certain that I’d ever make it back. But I held onto the hope of it, kept putting one foot in front of the other, kept waking up one more day, until the day came when I got on the plane with a one way ticket home. Home with Tim.

No one believed that we would make a permanent go of this. I’m not sure that Tim and I even believed then that we’d still be together this far on. But here we are. For today, we are solid and secure with one another. Life is good. I believe we are both happy and content with each other. 

The Hatton may no longer exist as a physical place. However, every day, I am reminded by Tim’s “16″ tattoo on his arm. It is his only tattoo and it commemorates our time together at The Hatton. It is the singular most romantic thing I could ever imagine. 

When I see that tattoo every day, I think of how we carried the experience with us into our everyday lives. What had been a particular place and a finite space in time, our week at the hotel, is now part of us each and every day. It stays with us and sustains us. We both remember what we went through to be together. The sacrifices and the hard work that brought us to where we are today. 

The talks, the tenderness, the hope.  

The chemistry, the connection, the promise. 

We embody it. We renew it. We fight for it. 

That’s what matters. 

We are the Hatton. 

We are the Hattons. 

And today is the 8th anniversary of a love story.  

Our love story. 

[brajeshupadhyay]

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: BS Yediyurappa clinically stable, held for observation after testing positive, says Bengaluru hospital

08:34 (IST)

Coronavirus in Jharkhand LATEST Updates

3 more patients die in Jharkhand; another MLA tests positive

Three persons succumbed to novel coronavirus infection in Jharkhand on Sunday taking the death toll to 118, while 371 new positive cases raised the states tally to 12,559, a government bulletin said. AJSU party MLA Lambodar Mahto tested positive to COVID-19.

The number of active cases now stood at 7,759 and a total of 4,682 patients have recovered from the disease, the bulletin said.

08:13 (IST)

Coronavirus in Karnataka LATEST Updates

BS Yediruppa's daughter test COVID-19 positive

After Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa testing COVID-19 positive, now his daughter has tested positive for COVID19. She has been admitted to the hospital, reports ANI quoting Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru.

08:01 (IST)

Coronavirus in Karnataka LATEST Updates

BS Yediruppa admitted to hospital for observation after testing positive

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa has been admitted to the hospital for observation. He is doing well, is clinically stable and will be monitored closely by our team, reports ANI quoting Manipal Hospital Karnataka. The  Chief Minister tested positive for COVID19 yesterday.

07:51 (IST)

Coronavirus in Assam LATEST Updates

Another Assam MLA tests COVID-19 positive

Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain on Sunday became the seventh legislator in Assam to contract coronavirus infection. Hussain, the MLA from Samaguri in Central Assam and a former state minister, said in a Facebook post that he tested positive for the virus along with his wife Nazreen Hussain.

07:47 (IST)

Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates

DCGI gives nod to Serum Institute for phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given nod to the Serum Institute of India (SII) for conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by the University of Oxford, in the country.

Government officials told PTI that the approval for conducting phase 2 and 3 clinical trials by the SII was granted by DCGI Dr V G Somani late Sunday night after a thorough evaluation based on the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee on COVID-19.

07:31 (IST)

Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates

Amit Shah, BS Yeddiruppa among top political leaders to test positive

As India's coronavirus case count crossed 17 lakh on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he has tested positive for the infection —  the first Indian Cabinet minister to contract the novel coronavirus.

The viral infection also reached other top political leaders from the BJP, including Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa and Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit. Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh and the states Jal Shakti minister Mahendra Singh also contracted the virus while Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister for Technical Education Kamal Rani Varun succumbed to the disease.

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has been admitted to the hospital for observation. He is doing well, is clinically stable, reports ANI quoting Manipal Hospital Bengaluru.

As India's coronavirus case count crossed 17 lakh on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he has tested positive for the infection —  the first Indian Cabinet minister to contract the novel coronavirus.

The viral infection also reached other top political leaders from the BJP, including Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa and Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit. Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh and the states Jal Shakti minister Mahendra Singh also contracted the virus while Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister for Technical Education Kamal Rani Varun succumbed to the disease.

India's 54,735 new cases were down from the previous day's record 57,118 but raised the total to 17,50,723 and toll from the virus to 37,364 with 853 fatalities reported on Sunday.

The month of July, according to AP, accounted for more than 11 lakh of those cases. Seeing the rising cases, the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council announced on Sunday that the IPL 2020 will be held in the UAE between 19 September and 10 November, while allowing unlimited replacements due to the precarious health situation. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a statement said that the Women's T20 challenge too will be held in the UAE.

BJP leaders including Shah, Yediyurappa test positive

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he has tested negative for the virus and will be admitted to a hospital on doctor's advice even though his health was fine. A close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 55-year-old Shah made the announcement on Twitter.

कोरोना के शुरूआती लक्षण दिखने पर मैंने टेस्ट करवाया और रिपोर्ट पॉजिटिव आई है। मेरी तबीयत ठीक है परन्तु डॉक्टर्स की सलाह पर अस्पताल में भर्ती हो रहा हूँ। मेरा अनुरोध है कि आप में से जो भी लोग गत कुछ दिनों में मेरे संपर्क में आयें हैं, कृपया स्वयं को आइसोलेट कर अपनी जाँच करवाएं।

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 2, 2020

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The home minister also requested those who had come in contact with him in the last few days to get tested for coronavirus and isolate themselves. It was not officially disclosed where Shah was admitted but reports said that Shah had been admitted to the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.

The last known public function which Shah attended was on Saturday at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) where he addressed a webinar on the occasion of the 100th death anniversary of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. About 50 people were physically present at the event. Government sources told new agency PTI that the home minister was also present at the last meeting of the Union Cabinet held on Wednesday.

Union minister Babul Supriyo said that he was going into self-isolation as he had met Shah.

My sincere gratitude for all the Best Wishes.. Your prayers wil help Shri @AmitShah ji recover sooner than layer🙏As for me, I am cornered in my own 'Home' by my very own 'Near & Dear Ones' 😢 Books & a Harmonium - wil use this time for my 'Software Upgrade' 😀 https://t.co/0busQm7BL5

— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) August 2, 2020

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Late at night, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said that he has also tested positive for the virus and is being hospitalised on doctor's advice although the infection is mild.

I have tested positive for coronavirus. Whilst I am fine, I am being hospitalised as a precaution on the recommendation of doctors. I request those who have come in contact with me recently to be observant and exercise self quarantine.

— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) August 2, 2020

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Earlier, Uttar Pradesh minister Mahendra Singh also tested positive for COVID-19, a state government official told PTI. "He tested positive for COVID-19 around two-three days ago," he said.

The chief of Uttar Pradesh's BJP unit, Swatantra Dev Singh, also said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has quarantined himself at his home as per doctors' advice.

डॉक्टर की सलाह पर मैं वर्तमान में अपने आवास पर होम क्वारंटाइन हूँ। मेरा सभी प्रदेश्वासियों से निवेदन है कि पूरी सावधानी बरतें और सरकार की गाइडलाइन का सख़्ती से पालन करे।

— Swatantra Dev Singh (@swatantrabjp) August 2, 2020

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On Sunday, Kamal Rani Varun, the only woman cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to COVID-19 at a hospital in Lucknow. She was 62. The Technical Education minister, who tested positive for COVID-19 on 18 July, breathed her last at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPIMS). She had comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension and hyperthyroidism, a senior doctor at the hospital told PTI.

Tamil Nadu governor tests positive

In Chennai, the Kauvery Hospital in a bulletin said that Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit (also a former BJP MP) has tested positive for COVID-19, but has been advised home isolation since his infection is mild.

The 80-year old Purohit was on self-isolation since July 29 after three people in the Raj Bhavan tested positive for the coronavirus.

Purohit "tested positive for COVID-19," hospital executive director Dr Aravindan Selvaraj said in the bulletin.

"He is asymptomatic and clinically stable," it said, adding the governor underwent further tests and assessment at the hospital located at Alwarpet area of the city.

"As the infection is mild, he has been advised home isolation and will be monitored by the medical team of Kauvery Hospital," it added.

Amitabh Bachchan discharged

Meanwhile, megastar Amitabh Bachchan said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will be quarantined at home.

The 77-year-old actor was admitted to Mumbai's Nanavati hospital along with son Abhishek after testing positive for COVID-19 on 11 July. Abhishek, however, said he is still COVID-19 positive and will remain under medical care.

I, Unfortunately due to some comorbidities remain Covid-19 positive and remain in hospital. Again, thank you all for your continued wishes and prayers for my family. Very humbled and indebted. 🙏🏽 I’ll beat this and come back healthier! Promise. 💪🏽 — Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) August 2, 2020

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India reports 54,735 new cases, 853 deaths

India's COVID-19 tally reached 17.5 lakh on Sunday, just two days after it went past 16 lakh. As many as  54,735 new cases and 853 fatalities were recorded in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Sunday.

This is the fourth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 50,000

But recoveries also rose to over 11 lakh day, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated in the morning. There are 5,67,730 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country at present.

The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has risen to 65.44 percent while the fatality rate has further dropped to 2.13 percent, said the health ministry.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 1,98,21,831 samples have been tested up to 1 August with, 4,63,172 samples being tested on Saturday.

Of the 853 fresh deaths reported on Sunday, 322 are from Maharashtra, 99 from Tamil Nadu, 98 from Karnataka, 58 from Andhra Pradesh, 48 from West Bengal, 47 from Uttar Pradesh, 26 from Delhi, 23 from Gujarat, 19 from Punjab, 16 from Rajasthan, 13 from Bihar, 11 each from Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir and 10 from Odisha.

Of the total 37,364 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 15,316 followed by 4,034 in Tamil Nadu, 3,989 in Delhi, 2,464 in Gujarat, 2,412 in Karnataka, 1,677 in Uttar Pradesh, 1,629 in West Bengal, 1,407 in Andhra Pradesh and 876 in Madhya Pradesh.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

Mizoram, Goa see record jumps in new cases

During the day, many states including Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra reported new cases and deaths

Mizoram reported its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 with 55 people being infected with the deadly virus, taking the northeastern state's caseload to 468. Goa too reported a record spike of 337 COVID-19 cases, propelling the infection count in the coastal state to 6,530, while the death of five people increased the toll to 53.

With the addition of 9,509 cases, Maharashtra's COVID-19 case count reached 4,41,228 on Sunday while the toll rose to 15,576 with 260 people succumbing to the infection during the day.

Tamil Nadu recorded 5,875 new COVID-19 cases taking the aggregate total to 2.57 lakh till date, while 98 more people succumbed to the virus on Sunday. Andhra Pradesh saw a marginal dip in its numbers. Against the 9,276 cases on Saturday after three days of 10,000 odd infections, fresh infections in the state further slid to 8,555, taking the overall count to 1.58 lakh.

The toll mounted to 1,474 with 67 new casualties in the last 24 hours while 6,272 more coronavirus patients recovered, the latest government bulletin said.

IPL 2020 to take place in UAE

As cases continued to spike, the Indian Premier League's Governing Council on Sunday decided to hold the  IPL 2020 in UAE and approved COVID-19 substitutions for the event. The tournament will be played from 19 September to 10  November at three venues in the UAE — Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi —subject to government approval, which is expected in the next couple of days.

"The 53-day tournament will witness 10 afternoon matches starting at 15:30 IST while the evening matches will start at 19:30 IST," stated a release from the BCCI.

In another major decision, the IPL GC also approved the women's IPL.

"Women's T20 Challenge will also take place in the UAE and will comprise three teams with four matches to be played during the IPL Playoff week," stated the Board's press release.

Health ministry issues fresh guidelines for international travelers flying to India

In another development, the health ministry issued revised guidelines for international travellers arriving in India. According to the new guidelines, passengers flying to India from 8 August can skip institutional quarantine if they submit COVID-19 negative test reports. The RT-PCR test should have been conducted within 96 hours prior to undertaking the journey.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare issues new guidelines for international passengers arriving into India, which will come in force from 12:01 am on August 8.

All travellers should submit self-declaration form on https://t.co/Ms9U7ZnJPf at least 72 hrs before scheduled travel. pic.twitter.com/3GyOQabugq

— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2020

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The test report should be uploaded on the portal www.newdelhiairport.in for consideration, the guidelines stated.

According to the guidelines, all passengers are required to submit an undertaking on www.newdelhiairport.in that they are willing to undergo seven days mandatory institutional quarantine at their own expense, followed by seven days home quarantine.

"If they wish to seek such exemption, they shall apply on the online portal at least 72 hours before boarding. The decision taken by the government as communicated on the portal will be final," it said.

Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise. The test report could also be produced upon arrival at the point of entry at airport in India, it said.

The guidelines also included rules to be followed while boarding and de-boarding as well as during the travel.

With inputs from PTI

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[thatsnotcanonpodcasts]

Camelot with Mathew Hannibal Butler

This week we chat with Matthew Hannibal Butler about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the Kennedy-favourite musical - Camelot!

"A 1993 review in The New York Times commented that the musical "has grown in stature over the years, primarily because of its superb score ... [which] combined a lyrical simplicity with a lush romanticism, beautifully captured in numbers like 'I Loved You Once in Silence' and 'If Ever I Would Leave You.' These ballads sung by Guenevere and Lancelot are among the most memorable in the Lerner-Loewe catalogue. King Arthur supplies the wit, with songs like 'I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight.'"

Listen to Matthew's Podcast here: thatsnotcanon.com/deliciouswordsandwichpodcast

FURTHER READING:

Camelot (musical)

Camelot (film)

Alan Jay Lerner

Frederick Loewe 

The Once and Future King.

Kennedy Administration

Julie Andrews

Richard Burton

Robert Goulet

https://open.spotify.com/album/5Fp6Y3gNufwzUeEBxuOZpo

https://music.apple.com/us/album/camelot-original-1960-broadway-cast-recording/158476378

Camelot: The Musical, A History By Matthew Hannibal Butler

By Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe

A History By Matthew Hannibal Butler

Camelotis an oft forgotten and underrated musical masterpiece by the iconic duo Lerner and Lowe, first premiering with Sir Richard Burton as King Arthur and Dame Julie Andrews as Guinevere, with Robert Goulet as the dashing Sir Lancelot. They did not have these titles when it premiered in 1960 at the Majestic Theatre, but I thought it was a nice touch considering their royal counterparts.

Camelotis inspired by the definitive Arthurian novel The Once and Future King by T.H. White, a four book saga consisting of the iconic Sword in the Stone,The Witch in the Woods, The Ill-Made Knight and finally The Candle in the Wind. The musical mainly focuses on the events of this final instalment detailing with the last weeks of Arthur’s reign, the machinations and ultimately revolts by his son Mordred, Guinevere and Lancelot’s demise, and the tragic king’s final reflections of right and wrong. For all its levity, what I adore about this musical’s story is its choice to focus on one of the greatest tragedies in western folklore: The Fall of Camelot. 

          As you can tell, I am an Arthurian lore fanatic, and T.H. White’s book, in my opinion, is the best classic interpretation of King Arthur. A tragedy of this musical is, in my opinion, that it did not inspire more interest in White’s marvellous book. 

          Lerner and Lowe, as well as Camelot’s original director Moss Hart, were all coming from the chaotic universal success of their musical My Fair Lady and their musical film Gigi. Tensions and stakes were high. ‘Twas the classic tale of ‘What’s next?’ after tremendous success. Hart and Lerner decided upon T.H. White’s quintessential fantasy published in 1958 for their next musical. For a very small background on White, he wrote the bulk of the series in Ireland as a conscientious objector of the second World War between 1938 and 1941, thus writing a distinctly anti-war, anti-violent story engrained with western identity. To adapt this at this time, just before Kennedy’s escalation of the Vietnam War is a right proper noble gambit worthy of Arthur, let me tell you.

Frederick Lowe initially had no interest in the project, but agreed to write the score on the condition that, if it went badly, it would be his last. This do or die spirit, I found, reigned throughout the whole production, in spite of everything, and made it the suitably tragic triumph that it became. There were several problems plaguing the production, not least of which was Lerner’s wife leaving him during its writing, causing him to seek medical attention. I can’t help but surmise this informs one of the most poignant moments of the play, when Arthur realises the feelings shared between Lancelot and Guinevere and he thus soliloquises about his love for his kingdom, his purpose and in truth his friends will ensure that they will together nonetheless prevail through all challenges.

During its initial previews, it overran drastically. It was supposed to be two hours and forty minutes, instead it clocked in at a casual four and a half hours with the curtain coming down at twenty to 1 in the morning. Lerner later noted, “Only Tristan and Isolde equalled it as a bladder endurance contest”. In spite of this trial, positive reviews still generally prevailed though with an insistence much work needed yet. With drastic editing to be done, Lerner was hospitalised for three weeks with a bleeding ulcer, then Hart tagged into the hospital just as Lerner tagged out with his second heart attack.

Cutting it down became a stubborn quest, for Lerner did not want to make dramatic decisions without Hart. Alas, Jose Ferrer of Cyrano de Bergerac fame was unable to step in, and so it goes as Lerner wrote: “God knows what would have happened had it not been for Richard Burton.” He accepted cuts and changes all while radiating faith and geniality to calm the fears of the cast. A King off and on the stage. Meanwhile, ever the Queen, last minute changes were so dramatic that literally at the last minute before the New York preview Julie Andrews was given the iconic number “Before I Gaze At You Again”, simply remarking “Of course, darling, but do try to get it to me the night before”.

With Hart returned, literally and figuratively, cuts and edits continued. The New York critics’ reviews of the original production were mixed. However, My Fair Lady’s fifth anniversary approached and Ed Sullivan wanted to do a tribute segment on his show. Lerner and Lowe chose to mainly perform highlights from Camelot on the show, and so it was their new show achieved an unprecedented advance sale of three and a half million dollars.

Now that’s perseverance, even when things are going haywire, you raise the stakes even higher! This served also to make Robert Goulet a household name with his signature ballad, “If Ever I would Leave You” becoming the Once and Future Belter.

Camelot had its initial run. In such time, it gained many an award, including four Tony Awards, with Richard Burton for Best Leading Actor, naturally Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design, with Franz Allers for Best Conductor and Musical Director and finally with Julie Andrews being ROBBED and fetching a nomination for Best Leading Actress.

Robert Goulet became a STAR with appearances on the Danny Thomas and Ed Sullivan Shows, and the stellar, and frankly best, original cast recording became a favourite bedtime listening for President John F. Kennedy, who was Lerner’s classmate at Harvard University. His favourite lines from the final reprise of the titular song became well-documented, and forever associated Camelot, with all its idealism and sheen, with the Kennedy Administration.

Small sidenote, to enjoy this tremendous score, the best buck starts and ends with the original cast soundtrack.

Alas, the obstacles encountered in producing Camelot were hard on the creative partnership of Lerner and Loewe, the show turning out to be one of their last collaborations. Camelot was indeed Hart’s last Broadway show, dying of a heart attack on December 20, 1961.

Since the original production, Richard Burton reprised his role as Arthur with Christine Ebersole as Guinevere and Richard Muenz as Lancelot. Then ‘twas revived in 1981 with Richard Harris as Arthur, Meg Bussert as Guinevere, Muenz once more as Sir Lancelot. This version can be found three parts on the YouTubes. Harris starred in the tragic for all the wrong reasons film, but proved he was the jewel in that particular crown for he took the show to tour nationwide with Muenz. A curious Broadway Revival also ran in 1993 with Robert Goulet now King Arthur.

There was then in 2007 Michael York as King Arthur, Rachel York, no relation, as Guinevere and the disgraced James Barbour ironically as Lancelot.

Alas, I have not been able to see Michael York as King Arthur, as that is inspired casting.

The final production I have had the honour of seeing was in 2008, since alas taken down from the YouTubes, where the New York Philharmonic presented five semi-staged concerts of Camelot with Gabriel Byrne as a more contemplative and subdued King Arthur, Marin Mazzie as Guenevere, and Nathan Gunn as Lancelot. What made this production stand out for me was it didn’t overdo anything, as this musical can oft be overwhelming, and also it featured Christopher Lloyd as Pellinore, a role I feel he was destined to do. Oh, if only they had done a spin-off adventure story starring Christopher Lloyd as Pellinore in his endless hunt for the Questing Beast.  

All in all, the history of Camelot I think reflects it perfectly for better or ill. It is not a universally appealing production. In my opinion, it was never destined to be, considering its content and style. It is very chatty, pontificating and philosophical, yet with its simply magic score, a lush fantastical world, sweeping tragic romance and swashbuckling glory, when it connects with people it connects as firmly as the sword in the stone.

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Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.com

Visit our home on the web thatsnotcanonproductions.com

Our theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith. Find out more about him at www.benedictbraxtonsmith.com

[its-lifestyle]

By Nur Izzaty Shaifullizan

Most of us probably associate dialysis and end-stage renal failure (ESRF) with older adults.

So it may come as a surprise that around 600 children below 18 years of age developed kidney failure in 2018, according to the latest data from National Renal Registry.

These children fight the same battle as their older counterparts while waiting for that elusive organ donor who can provide them with a functioning kidney.

Renal, or kidney, failure occurs when both our kidneys are unable to do their job of filtering and removing the toxins and excess fluid from our body.

While the main underlying cause of renal failure in adults is diabetes (about 65%), it is a different case with children.

Causes in children

According to Women and Children Hospital Kuala Lumpur paediatric nephrologist Dr Mirunalini Appadurai, glomerulonephritis is one of the main causes of renal failure in children.

“It is an inflammation within the filtering system in the kidney that could be due to many different causes or is part of a systemic disease, for example, lupus,” she says.

Renal failure in children is also often a result of congenital anomalies, i.e. the child is born with abnormal kidneys.

“Either their kidneys are abnormal in size, that is they are too small, too big or not formed properly, resulting in poor kidney function, or their urinary tracts are abnormal,” she explains.

This condition is medically known as Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and the Urinary Tract (CAKUT).

While such congenital anomalies can be picked up during regular antenatal visits during pregnancy, there are some children who may only develop renal problems during the first two years of life.

According to Dr Mirunalini, about 30% of children already have severe renal failure by the time they come to the hospital.

“Some diseases that cause ESRF are associated with abnormal genes. For example, a genetic disorder called polycystic kidney disease causes many fluid-filled cysts to grow in the kidney.

“Another example is Alport Syndrome, which can cause kidney failure, hearing loss and eye problems,” she says.

However, there are some cases that have unknown causes.

“There is a lot more that we do not know compared to what we know. Why these children develop such a condition, we have no clear answer.

“Poorly-controlled diabetes during pregnancy could lead to abnormalities in the baby that involve the kidney and urinary tract.

“How much of the other congenital conditions are associated with the mother’s health and lifestyle is, at this point, not known,” she says.

Dr Mirunalini says that parents often mistake a child’s failure to grow – which can indicate kidney failure, among other conditions – as just being small in size. — Photos: NORAFIFI EHSAN/The Star

Age is a factor

While some conditions inevitably result in renal failure, others can be prevented from failure if caught and treated early enough.

“Advanced treatments can be very challenging in a small newborn baby or little children.

“So, for starters, they will be given proper nutrition and their blood pressure will be controlled.

“We will try to prevent infections and a few different factors that could speed up the progression of kidney failure, and try to maintain or delay the decrease of the highest percentage of functioning kidney.

“Even if we cannot delay kidney failure, we can maintain their kidneys at a stable level until they are big enough to undergo further treatment,” explains Dr Mirunalini.

She notes that doctors will only prescribe renal replacement therapy for children who are big enough to withstand the treatment.

This treatment consists of either dialysis or organ transplant, which will replace the normal function of the kidneys.

As the waiting time for receiving a new kidney in Malaysia could take years, the majority of patients usually opt for dialysis.

Doctors usually offer patients the choice between the two different types of dialysis: haemodialysis or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Haemodialysis is a process that pumps the blood from the patient’s body through a dialyser machine to be filtered, with the cleaned blood returning to the body.

This treatment needs to be performed three times a week, with each session lasting up to four hours.

Peritoneal dialysis is a similar process, but uses a dialysate fluid and an exchange bag instead, and is performed four times a day for 30 to 45 minutes per session.

Independent with dialysis

Srirahayu (left) is happy that her daughter Nursyahirah can function independently and do her own peritoneal dialysis.

One of the patients under Dr Mirunalini’s care, Nursyahirah Reduwan, 16, has been doing her own peritoneal dialysis since she was 12.

Nursyahirah’s mother, Srirahayu Kamaruddin, 40, says the teachers in her daughter’s school understands her condition.

“The school has provided a clean room, even with a sink, for my daughter to carry out her exchange during recess,” she adds.

Srirahayu does not worry about her daughter’s wellbeing any more because she is confident that Nursyahirah can take care of herself.

“She is just like any other teenager her age. Although she may miss some of her classes, she always finishes her homework.

“My daughter is very independent and she only asks for my help when she needs to,” says Srirahayu.

Nursyahirah, who is taking Business Studies at SMK Convent Jalan Peel in Kuala Lumpur, says all her friends are very helpful to her in school.

“If I am very tired, my friends would help me to carry my bag to class,” she says with a smile.

Srirahayu remembers the exact moment Nursyahirah fell sick with her condition for the first time.

“When Nursyahirah was little, she fell down and I brought her to see a doctor.

“Her body was swelling, her face was very puffy, and I thought it was due to the fall, but that was not the case.

“I thought maybe it was because of germs from my housing area that could have infected my daughter.

“But the doctor told me the swelling could be related to her kidney.

“So, I brought her to the hospital and it was found that there was protein in my daughter’s urine (which is not suppose to happen).

“The next thing I knew, my daughter was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome.”

The symptoms of ESRF can be very non-specific like swelling, decreased growth and anaemia.

Dr Mirunalini feels that is where parents miss the mark the most.

“I suppose in our population, people sometimes might miss the signal because people think their child is just small in size.

“If a child is not gaining weight appropriately and not growing according to the height expected for their age, parents should take it more seriously and bring their child to see a doctor,” she says.

“ESRF also affects the development of their red blood cells.

“These children can be very anaemic and look pale, which may not be very obvious if you see them every day, until they become very tired,” she adds.

Nursyahirah, who wants to have her own bakery shop once she finishes her studies, is very hopeful that one day she will be given a new kidney, just like her friend, Muhammad Syahmi Mohd Shamsul Bahari, whom she has known since they were children.

Never give up

Noorul (left) holding her youngest child, with Syahmi, who can now do all the things he wants with his new kidney working well.

Syahmi, 18, has just recently celebrated his sixth anniversary of getting a new kidney from an anonymous donor.

He recalls that he was only three years old when he started getting hospitalised in the Hospital Kuala Lumpur paediatric ward.

Looking back to when he was sick, he shares that he did not feel the need to ask why was he in the hospital or why there were problems with his body, he only wanted to play football with his friends in school.

Fast forward to today and he can now do many things he could not do when he was a child.

He happily shares that since he received his new kidney, he can play as much football as he wants with his friends.

In fact, he was working part-time as a waiter in a hotel while waiting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results to be announced.

“These things would probably be prohibited if I was not healthy. Therefore, I am very grateful,” says the former student of SMK Yamtuan Radin in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan.

Syahmi’s mother, Noorul Sri Aryanie Mohd Alias, 40, shares that she initially could not accept that her son was so ill at such a young age.

However, as time went by, she managed to overcome her denial and fear, and learned to embrace their fate.

“Listen to the doctor’s advice, because they know what is the best for you,” she advises parents who are going through the same situation.

“Keep your faith strong in these challenging times and eventually you will see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she says with a smile.

Also a patient under Dr Mirunalini’s care, Syahmi hopes that other children who are still battling with this disease will never give up hope.

“Never look back and always think about the future as we must have ambition in this life.

“Focus on your goal to be healthy and never let our sickness deter us from achieving it.

Dr Mirunalini shares that Syahmi is not only a good patient, but also spares the time to help lift up other patients’ spirits.

“There is a two-year-old girl who is our youngest dialysis patient. Her mother is going through such a difficult time trying to come to terms with the fact that her baby is going through dialysis.

“Syahmi was in the ward and I brought him over to see the girl. Her mother asked if he could draw anything for her daughter.

“A few days later, he brought a drawing with a small girl standing in the field with her hands towards the sun,” she says.

Dr Mirunalini, who has been treating children with renal disease for many years, is inspired by her patients.

“These are the children whose their bodies have failed them, but they amaze me.

“They have to come to hospital three times a week, but some of these kids are happy and they still have fun.

“We learn so much from our kids. This teaches us how you get through adversity and how not let anything knock you down,” she says.

from Family – Star2.com http://bit.ly/2Guotdv

[cubaverdad]

'From now on you have no name. You are prisoner 217': life in a Cuban jail

'From now on you have no name. You are prisoner 217': life in a Cuban jail A brutal high-security prison was the last place Stephen Purvis expected to end up when he moved to Havana. Stephen Gibbs tells his story Stephen Gibbs Sunday 19 March 2017 09.00 GMT If you happened to go to a British embassy reception in Havana in the early 2000s, you would likely have met Stephen Purvis. You could not miss him. Six foot four, cropped grey hair, rum in hand, a broad smile and no shortage of good stories. Purvis loved Cuba. Escaping what he saw as the risk of a "pre-ordained suburban middle-class life" in Wimbledon, the architect and his wife seized the opportunity to move to the island 17 years ago. He had been offered a job as development director with Coral Capital, an investment and trading company. It was one of several small foreign firms – almost all led by maverick, adventurous individuals – that were setting up in Cuba as the country sought international partners following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Purvis's job was to look for joint venture opportunities with the Cuban government. The planned projects included the first golf course to be constructed there since the 1959 revolution, and the revamp of a formerly glamorous hotel, the Saratoga. Speaking to me from Myanmar (more about that later) Purvis recalls his early Havana years. "It felt like another era," he says. "No internet. No TV. No shopping." The family adapted well to their new life. Home was a handsome 1950s villa, soon full with their four children. Saturdays would be spent by the pool at the beach club. The son of a theatrical designer, Purvis also dabbled in theatre himself, producing the Cuban dance show Havana Rakatan, which performed successfully for several years in London. No one, of course, imagined that those halcyon days would end so abruptly, with Purvis imprisoned in what he describes as a "zoo" for enemies of the state. But that is how it turned out. The title of his powerful memoir, Close but No Cigar, is his own admission of just how badly life can go wrong. I last saw Purvis in Havana in 2011, a few weeks before his arrest, at a New Year's Eve party (I had been the BBC's correspondent in Cuba between 2002 and 2007). The arrival of the New Year is a big deal in Cuba, partly because it coincides with the anniversary of Fidel Castro's revolution. Two of President Raúl Castro's daughters were at the event. By then, the mood among the expats doing business on the island had notably soured. Many were whispering that this would likely be their last fin de año in Cuba. All knew someone who had been caught up in a mysterious but ever-widening series of arrests. Two prominent Canadians, Sarkis Yacoubian and Cy Tokmakjian, had been detained since the summer. A well-known Chilean entrepreneur, who used to boast he was a friend of Fidel Castro, had been convicted in absentia to 20 years in jail. And Purvis's boss, Amado Fakhre, the British-Lebanese CEO of Coral Capital, had been imprisoned in October. "The sense of an impending doom was growing day by day," recalls Purvis. He says he'd be the first to admit he was "an idiot" not to leave the country when he still could. But he was convinced he had done nothing wrong. None of the imprisoned foreigners had at that stage been formally charged with anything, but the assumption was they were caught up in Raúl Castro's pledge to root out corruption. The younger Castro had formally taken over from the ailing Fidel in 2008. In 2009, he established a comptroller's office, tasked with investigating evidence of misdeeds among communist party officials, managers and state company employees. It was turning out to be a never-ending task. Cuban state salaries are all around $20 a month. To varying degrees, everyone does something technically illegal to survive. By 2010, hundreds of Cubans, including ministers and senior executives, had been detained or dismissed. The net was widening to the foreigners, who were also breaking the law by paying their employees any bonus on the side, or even buying them lunch. Purvis, who admits paying a small pension to one ex-employee, is convinced that the mass arrests were not in fact about corruption, but instead the clumsy purge of Fidel Castro's old guard, which was being replaced with a new (mainly ex-military) clique, allied to Raúl. On 8 March 2012 they came for him. Shortly after dawn, a fleet of unmarked Ladas drew up outside his home. The Purvis children were hastily packed off to school, told by their mother that the commotion was because "Dad needs to answer some questions about work." Purvis was taken away, handcuffed, his head forced between his knees, to an anonymous art deco house close to the airport. There, he was provisionally charged with being an "enemy of the state". He was advised not to hire a lawyer and to co-operate immediately. Agreeing to that, he was then taken to the notorious Cuban state security prison known as Villa Marista, for what was described, euphemistically, as "further instruction". "The villa", as it is known by Cuban dissidents, is a former Catholic seminary on the outskirts of Havana. Since 1963 it has been an interrogation centre, using techniques perfected by the KGB. Eventually, they say, everyone "sings" at the villa. Purvis believes he and his boss (who had been transferred to a military hospital by the time his co-director arrived) are the only Englishmen ever to have been held there. For months, he became "Prisoner 217". His life was entirely controlled by a man known as "the instructor". He spent almost every hour of the day in a cell the size of a double mattress, with three other inmates (one of whom he believes was a government informant). The four shared an open latrine. The appalling conditions were only alleviated by the "psychological games" of interrogation that took place day and night. Purvis says he was questioned for hours, often about the details of the lives of other foreigners on the island. The intent was to get him to inform on anyone who might have done something illegal, however minor. Purvis says he refused to do so, probably sparing other expats (some of whom still live and work in Cuba) a similar fate to his own. He does not deny the temptation was there. "You can see why in the end people just go, 'Oh give a dog a bone. Throw them some names just to get out of there,'" he says. After months in Villa Marista, he says he felt himself "drifting away". Sleeping only fitfully, he had constant tinnitus and was losing his vision. About once a month he says he would hear a suicide attempt nearby. The strain on his family, allowed to see him for less than half an hour every week, was enormous. His wife had a breakdown and had to be hospitalised. Purvis's elderly mother came to Cuba to look after the children before finally the decision was taken that the family should leave. In his book, Purvis is scathing about the lack of help the UK foreign office offered him and his family for much of the ordeal. While one British ambassador, Dianna Melrose, comes across as exceptionally kind in the early weeks of his imprisonment, the new embassy team appears to have shown scant interest in the case. No consular escort was offered to Purvis's wife and children the day they left Cuba. You have this warm, fuzzy feeling that HM Government will look after your back. And then you find it doesn't "As a British passport holder," he tells me, "you have this sort of warm, fuzzy feeling that HM Government will look after your back. And then you find it doesn't." He suspects that someone within the FCO had made a decision not to "rock the boat" with the Cuban authorities, focusing instead on what was seen as the bigger prize of a potential rapprochement between all EU governments and Raúl Castro. Finally, after the authorities gave up trying to tease information from him, the enemy of the state charges were dropped and Purvis was moved to La Condesa, a maximum security prison for foreigners. He describes his fellow inmates there as a "mixed bunch" of the innocent, as well as murderers, rapists, drug smugglers and hit men. He overlapped with multimillionaire Canadian businessman Cy Tokmakjian, who was earning respect for his obstreperous approach towards his jailers. La Condesa may have been less psychologically traumatic than the villa, but it was brutal. The depravity Purvis vividly describes was in part aided by a network of corrupt prison guards, bullying prisoners while profiting from a prostitute ring, supplied from the local village. Purvis eventually formed his own gang, one made up of "complete losers", with the sole intent of "preventing unpleasantness". In June 2013 a trial date was arranged, a process which would ultimately lead to Purvis's freedom, while convincing him of the farcical nature of Cuban justice. As the trial was secret he was not shown any evidence ahead of it, so never had any chance to know what he was being accused of, or prepare a defence. Instead, in the hours before his closed court appearance, he was asked by the prosecutor to run through what he might say to the judge, as a form of dress rehearsal. Purvis was found guilty of illegal foreign currency transactions. He says all were entirely routine and had been authorised by the country's central bank. His sentence was a two-and-a-half-year non-custodial term. He was set free. The experience, he says, has had a "catastrophic spin-off" to every aspect of his life. All his assets in Cuba have been lost. The golf course project he worked on has been taken over by a Chinese company; construction has not begun. The Saratoga is now considered the best hotel in Cuba. Madonna celebrated her 58th birthday there last year. Coral Capital investors are still trying to recover their outlay on the property. Purvis has no desire to see it again. After he returned to London he says he became "aggressive and volatile". Prison habits were hard to shake. He would often ring the Condesa jail to speak to his friends there. "I needed to wean myself off the brutality," he says. That, and the lack of alternative options, is one reason he has chosen to work abroad once more, away from his family but visiting them in London regularly. A friend helped arrange a new job for him in Myanmar, where he is overseeing a city redevelopment project. Purvis says he is "recovered now", and the process of writing this powerful book, which has been nominated for a Gold Dagger award, has helped that process. Gone, however, is much of his cheerful optimism. He is certain the Cuban authorities realise they made a mistake by imprisoning him. But he expects no apology. And the damage is done. An extract from Close but No Cigar by Stephen Purvis I am now in a dimly lit room. The ceiling is made of tiles with a great section missing, collapsed and never replaced. There are some random fluorescent strip lights. The capacitor of one is on the blink, so it clicks on and off. The walls are covered in a dark timber-effect panelling that is coming off in places. A few derelict brown vinyl sofas are pushed against one wall and a timber bench screwed to the other. The air seems to be full of plaster or cement dust. It looks like a ransacked government building in post-invasion Baghdad. I am sitting on the bench and the guards slouch on the sofas. There is a high desk, also in dark timber. Behind it is a big dirty glass window into some kind of control room. Banks of CCTV screens flicker in the gloom. A fat old uniform with a row of decorations waddles out from the back, chewing a cigar. He looks at me briefly and waves me over. Then he sticks his one hand out in the direction of the guys that brought me here. No love lost between them, they heave themselves upright and slap the transfer documents into his hand. He signs various papers, gives them a receipt and they unlock me. They leave saying nothing. Fatty coughs, picks his nose and then asks me to empty my pockets and hand over my watch and shoelaces. I sign a chit for them but he keeps both copies so maybe it's the last I'll see of my watch. Then two very young guards in olive fatigues take me off to a side room. Another boy, earnest yet nervous, is waiting at a desk. Stumbling over the words he explains that I have to fill in a form. I can feel his fear of me. They must tell them we are dangerous monsters. Another man enters and what little confidence the boy has now evaporates. About my age, he is a handsome man who introduces himself in perfect American English. He is a major. He asks me about my family. "How do you think they are coping with the situation?" Is this a genuine question or some kind of threat? His face gives nothing away. Then he explains the rules. They are pretty simple. "From now on you have no name. You are prisoner 217." My lucky number. "When you are out of the cell you walk on the left-hand side with your head facing down and hands behind your back. You never look at anyone. At each door or staircase you face the wall until told to proceed. You will obey the officials. If you do not, you will be punished. If you are ill, then call for the nurse. You will be fed in your cell three times a day. Any questions?" "Can I call my wife?" "No, we will arrange for her to visit." "When will the embassy visit?" "These things take time." I feel a lump forming in my throat. I concentrate hard not to tear up. "Can I have something to read?" 'That depends on your instructor. Your instructor decides on your conditions and safety. This depends on your conduct." "Do I have a lawyer?" He laughs. "This also takes a long time. Take my advice, don't wait." I am then led off to a succession of dingy rooms where I am fingerprinted, photographed and have blood taken to test for hepatitis, Aids and TB. Then I am pushed into a musty laundry and told to strip while they issue me with a second-hand uniform. It's a washed-out slate-blue number in scratchy nylon. Very me. I get shorts, long trousers and two shirts with a stinky towel thrown in, plus two sheets and a pillow case. In a bit of a daze, all sounds scrambled and muffled, I am prodded along a tiny corridor that feels subterranean. This place was originally meant to have been a seminary but there is no sign of any heavenly inspiration now. God has deserted the place and it is in the hands of the dark side. This is where captured suspected CIA guys are brought, where purged officials repent and where all Cubans fear to tread. This is where American pensioner Alan Gross was interrogated for months on end to try to prove that he was a spy and not some deluded Jewish activist. This is their Lubyanka, their Gestapo headquarters. These crude, hulking green blocks are designed to extract confessions, real or fantasy, and then mentally cripple the enemies of state. It has a fearsome reputation for psychological torture. We pop out into a broad corridor. It's the cell block. No time to look as the rules now kick in, so head down I shuffle along as instructed. I am pushed into a side room and told to put all my things on top of a disgustingly filthy, shit-stained, one-inch foam mattress. A pillow mottled with bloodstains is chucked on the top. I stare at the blood in disbelief, a wave of despair building inside me. They cannot be serious. I am told to pick up the entire load and walk down through the gates. I shuffle along, now almost catatonic. The guard in front has a long chain looping around him and a huge wobbly rubber baton that bangs against the wall as he marches. All is silent except for the dripping of water, the squeaking of the guards' boots and a man sobbing in a cell. I count 32 doors. I am told to stop and face the wall while Mr Rubber Baton fumbles with his key chain. My nose is six inches from the wall. I read the guards' obscene graffiti, scrawled in childish pencil. And then the true significance of what has happened hits me. It isn't going to go away and it isn't going to get better for a long time. The gate and then the door clang open with a foul rush of stale air, revealing a tiny cave with three pale faces blinking like moles in the light. I step into my new life. My dungeon. Close but No Cigar by Stephen Purvis is out on 23 March, priced £18.99. To order a copy for £16.14, go to bookshop.theguardian.com Source: 'From now on you have no name': life in a Cuban jail | Global | The Guardian - http://ift.tt/2mgts8W via Blogger http://ift.tt/2nAAkhA

[brajeshupadhyay]

08:34 (IST) Coronavirus in Jharkhand LATEST Updates 3 more patients die in Jharkhand; another MLA tests positive Three persons succumbed to novel coronavirus infection in Jharkhand on Sunday taking the death toll to 118, while 371 new positive cases raised the states tally to 12,559, a government bulletin said. AJSU party MLA Lambodar Mahto tested positive to COVID-19. The number of active cases now stood at 7,759 and a total of 4,682 patients have recovered from the disease, the bulletin said. 08:13 (IST) Coronavirus in Karnataka LATEST Updates BS Yediruppa's daughter test COVID-19 positive After Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa testing COVID-19 positive, now his daughter has tested positive for COVID19. She has been admitted to the hospital, reports ANI quoting Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru. 08:01 (IST) Coronavirus in Karnataka LATEST Updates BS Yediruppa admitted to hospital for observation after testing positive Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa has been admitted to the hospital for observation. He is doing well, is clinically stable and will be monitored closely by our team, reports ANI quoting Manipal Hospital Karnataka. The  Chief Minister tested positive for COVID19 yesterday. 07:51 (IST) Coronavirus in Assam LATEST Updates Another Assam MLA tests COVID-19 positive Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain on Sunday became the seventh legislator in Assam to contract coronavirus infection. Hussain, the MLA from Samaguri in Central Assam and a former state minister, said in a Facebook post that he tested positive for the virus along with his wife Nazreen Hussain. 07:47 (IST) Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates DCGI gives nod to Serum Institute for phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given nod to the Serum Institute of India (SII) for conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by the University of Oxford, in the country. Government officials told PTI that the approval for conducting phase 2 and 3 clinical trials by the SII was granted by DCGI Dr V G Somani late Sunday night after a thorough evaluation based on the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee on COVID-19. 07:31 (IST) Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates Amit Shah, BS Yeddiruppa among top political leaders to test positive As India's coronavirus case count crossed 17 lakh on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he has tested positive for the infection —  the first Indian Cabinet minister to contract the novel coronavirus. The viral infection also reached other top political leaders from the BJP, including Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa and Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit. Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh and the states Jal Shakti minister Mahendra Singh also contracted the virus while Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister for Technical Education Kamal Rani Varun succumbed to the disease. Coronavirus LATEST Updates: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has been admitted to the hospital for observation. He is doing well, is clinically stable, reports ANI quoting Manipal Hospital Bengaluru. As India's coronavirus case count crossed 17 lakh on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he has tested positive for the infection —  the first Indian Cabinet minister to contract the novel coronavirus. The viral infection also reached other top political leaders from the BJP, including Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa and Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit. Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh and the states Jal Shakti minister Mahendra Singh also contracted the virus while Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister for Technical Education Kamal Rani Varun succumbed to the disease. India's 54,735 new cases were down from the previous day's record 57,118 but raised the total to 17,50,723 and toll from the virus to 37,364 with 853 fatalities reported on Sunday. The month of July, according to AP, accounted for more than 11 lakh of those cases. Seeing the rising cases, the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council announced on Sunday that the IPL 2020 will be held in the UAE between 19 September and 10 November, while allowing unlimited replacements due to the precarious health situation. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a statement said that the Women's T20 challenge too will be held in the UAE. BJP leaders including Shah, Yediyurappa test positive Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he has tested negative for the virus and will be admitted to a hospital on doctor's advice even though his health was fine. A close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 55-year-old Shah made the announcement on Twitter. कोरोना के शुरूआती लक्षण दिखने पर मैंने टेस्ट करवाया और रिपोर्ट पॉजिटिव आई है। मेरी तबीयत ठीक है परन्तु डॉक्टर्स की सलाह पर अस्पताल में भर्ती हो रहा हूँ। मेरा अनुरोध है कि आप में से जो भी लोग गत कुछ दिनों में मेरे संपर्क में आयें हैं, कृपया स्वयं को आइसोलेट कर अपनी जाँच करवाएं। — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 2, 2020 // // ]]> The home minister also requested those who had come in contact with him in the last few days to get tested for coronavirus and isolate themselves. It was not officially disclosed where Shah was admitted but reports said that Shah had been admitted to the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. The last known public function which Shah attended was on Saturday at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) where he addressed a webinar on the occasion of the 100th death anniversary of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. About 50 people were physically present at the event. Government sources told new agency PTI that the home minister was also present at the last meeting of the Union Cabinet held on Wednesday. Union minister Babul Supriyo said that he was going into self-isolation as he had met Shah. My sincere gratitude for all the Best Wishes.. Your prayers wil help Shri @AmitShah ji recover sooner than layer🙏As for me, I am cornered in my own 'Home' by my very own 'Near & Dear Ones' 😢 Books & a Harmonium - wil use this time for my 'Software Upgrade' 😀 https://t.co/0busQm7BL5 — Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) August 2, 2020 // // ]]> Late at night, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said that he has also tested positive for the virus and is being hospitalised on doctor's advice although the infection is mild. I have tested positive for coronavirus. Whilst I am fine, I am being hospitalised as a precaution on the recommendation of doctors. I request those who have come in contact with me recently to be observant and exercise self quarantine. — B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) August 2, 2020 // // ]]> Earlier, Uttar Pradesh minister Mahendra Singh also tested positive for COVID-19, a state government official told PTI. "He tested positive for COVID-19 around two-three days ago," he said. The chief of Uttar Pradesh's BJP unit, Swatantra Dev Singh, also said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has quarantined himself at his home as per doctors' advice. डॉक्टर की सलाह पर मैं वर्तमान में अपने आवास पर होम क्वारंटाइन हूँ। मेरा सभी प्रदेश्वासियों से निवेदन है कि पूरी सावधानी बरतें और सरकार की गाइडलाइन का सख़्ती से पालन करे। — Swatantra Dev Singh (@swatantrabjp) August 2, 2020 // // ]]> On Sunday, Kamal Rani Varun, the only woman cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to COVID-19 at a hospital in Lucknow. She was 62. The Technical Education minister, who tested positive for COVID-19 on 18 July, breathed her last at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPIMS). She had comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension and hyperthyroidism, a senior doctor at the hospital told PTI. Tamil Nadu governor tests positive In Chennai, the Kauvery Hospital in a bulletin said that Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit (also a former BJP MP) has tested positive for COVID-19, but has been advised home isolation since his infection is mild. The 80-year old Purohit was on self-isolation since July 29 after three people in the Raj Bhavan tested positive for the coronavirus. Purohit "tested positive for COVID-19," hospital executive director Dr Aravindan Selvaraj said in the bulletin. "He is asymptomatic and clinically stable," it said, adding the governor underwent further tests and assessment at the hospital located at Alwarpet area of the city. "As the infection is mild, he has been advised home isolation and will be monitored by the medical team of Kauvery Hospital," it added. Amitabh Bachchan discharged Meanwhile, megastar Amitabh Bachchan said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will be quarantined at home. The 77-year-old actor was admitted to Mumbai's Nanavati hospital along with son Abhishek after testing positive for COVID-19 on 11 July. Abhishek, however, said he is still COVID-19 positive and will remain under medical care. I, Unfortunately due to some comorbidities remain Covid-19 positive and remain in hospital. Again, thank you all for your continued wishes and prayers for my family. Very humbled and indebted. 🙏🏽 I’ll beat this and come back healthier! Promise. 💪🏽 — Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) August 2, 2020 // // ]]> India reports 54,735 new cases, 853 deaths India's COVID-19 tally reached 17.5 lakh on Sunday, just two days after it went past 16 lakh. As many as  54,735 new cases and 853 fatalities were recorded in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Sunday. This is the fourth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 50,000 But recoveries also rose to over 11 lakh day, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated in the morning. There are 5,67,730 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country at present. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has risen to 65.44 percent while the fatality rate has further dropped to 2.13 percent, said the health ministry. According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 1,98,21,831 samples have been tested up to 1 August with, 4,63,172 samples being tested on Saturday. Of the 853 fresh deaths reported on Sunday, 322 are from Maharashtra, 99 from Tamil Nadu, 98 from Karnataka, 58 from Andhra Pradesh, 48 from West Bengal, 47 from Uttar Pradesh, 26 from Delhi, 23 from Gujarat, 19 from Punjab, 16 from Rajasthan, 13 from Bihar, 11 each from Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir and 10 from Odisha. Of the total 37,364 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 15,316 followed by 4,034 in Tamil Nadu, 3,989 in Delhi, 2,464 in Gujarat, 2,412 in Karnataka, 1,677 in Uttar Pradesh, 1,629 in West Bengal, 1,407 in Andhra Pradesh and 876 in Madhya Pradesh. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. Mizoram, Goa see record jumps in new cases During the day, many states including Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra reported new cases and deaths Mizoram reported its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 with 55 people being infected with the deadly virus, taking the northeastern state's caseload to 468. Goa too reported a record spike of 337 COVID-19 cases, propelling the infection count in the coastal state to 6,530, while the death of five people increased the toll to 53. With the addition of 9,509 cases, Maharashtra's COVID-19 case count reached 4,41,228 on Sunday while the toll rose to 15,576 with 260 people succumbing to the infection during the day. Tamil Nadu recorded 5,875 new COVID-19 cases taking the aggregate total to 2.57 lakh till date, while 98 more people succumbed to the virus on Sunday. Andhra Pradesh saw a marginal dip in its numbers. Against the 9,276 cases on Saturday after three days of 10,000 odd infections, fresh infections in the state further slid to 8,555, taking the overall count to 1.58 lakh. The toll mounted to 1,474 with 67 new casualties in the last 24 hours while 6,272 more coronavirus patients recovered, the latest government bulletin said. IPL 2020 to take place in UAE As cases continued to spike, the Indian Premier League's Governing Council on Sunday decided to hold the  IPL 2020 in UAE and approved COVID-19 substitutions for the event. The tournament will be played from 19 September to 10  November at three venues in the UAE — Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi —subject to government approval, which is expected in the next couple of days. "The 53-day tournament will witness 10 afternoon matches starting at 15:30 IST while the evening matches will start at 19:30 IST," stated a release from the BCCI. In another major decision, the IPL GC also approved the women's IPL. "Women's T20 Challenge will also take place in the UAE and will comprise three teams with four matches to be played during the IPL Playoff week," stated the Board's press release. Health ministry issues fresh guidelines for international travelers flying to India In another development, the health ministry issued revised guidelines for international travellers arriving in India. According to the new guidelines, passengers flying to India from 8 August can skip institutional quarantine if they submit COVID-19 negative test reports. The RT-PCR test should have been conducted within 96 hours prior to undertaking the journey. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare issues new guidelines for international passengers arriving into India, which will come in force from 12:01 am on August 8. All travellers should submit self-declaration form on https://t.co/Ms9U7ZnJPf at least 72 hrs before scheduled travel. pic.twitter.com/3GyOQabugq — ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2020 // // ]]> The test report should be uploaded on the portal www.newdelhiairport.in for consideration, the guidelines stated. According to the guidelines, all passengers are required to submit an undertaking on www.newdelhiairport.in that they are willing to undergo seven days mandatory institutional quarantine at their own expense, followed by seven days home quarantine. "If they wish to seek such exemption, they shall apply on the online portal at least 72 hours before boarding. The decision taken by the government as communicated on the portal will be final," it said. Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise. The test report could also be produced upon arrival at the point of entry at airport in India, it said. The guidelines also included rules to be followed while boarding and de-boarding as well as during the travel. With inputs from PTI

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