#sadly the last one i bought on September still lost

[retracexcviii]

Sunday Moon

Hi there dear followers and Luna lovers. The day has come.

Don't edit this drawing and don't post it anywhere.

One of the two commissions I bought some weeks ago arrived. I had this artists saved in a file for when I finished a book saga I was reading and when I finally did it, I saw their art, fell in love and started thinking about different things I could ask them to do.

Finally decided to ask for the blue moon family bounding in two parts: Luna + Misha and Luna + Vanitas (spoiler: next week's post).

The profile is @/pekgna here in Tumblr, in Twitter or Instagram. And I think you can even find them with that user in hell 🤣 nah, this person is truly pana.

[lupiningwolves]

Not without him | Regulus Black x fem!reader

summary: Y/N Potter and Regulus Black...

warnings: character death, mentions of death, mentions of food, angst

—

Seven years ago, a little eleven year old girl walked through the Great Hall. The students from the four houses watched every move the first years made. But two boys were more curious about what was about to happen. Two best friends watched as their younger siblings walked behind Professor McGonagall.

„Are you nervous?“, asked the black haired boy that walked next to Y/N. She nodded nervous. He took her hand and smiled warmly at her. „It‘s gonna be alright.“

„Thank you“, she said. When McGonagall stopped before the teachers table, she announced what will happen. But Y/N already knew. Just one year ago, her brother wrote excitedly a letter to her, saying that he was put in Gryffindor and already made friends.

„Regulus Black“, McGonagall shouted. All eyes turned to the boy that slowly let go of the girls hand, smiled weakly at her and walked to the Sorting Hat.

He sat down and McGonagall was about to put it on his head. It just touched his black hair as it shouted: „Slytherin!“ The girl felt her heart sink for a moment. The Slytherin table cheered loudly while all the other tables stayed silent.

It felt like an eternity until her name was called. „Y/N Potter.“ She walked to the Professor and waited until the hat was on her head.

„Mhm, ah, alright ...“ She had never been more nervous in her life. „Let’s make it - Gryffindor!“ She smile bright and went to the Gryffindors that we’re more than happy to have the other Potter in their house.

„Y/N.“ Her brother smiled at her and hugged her.

„Jamesie“, she responded.

„I‘m so proud of you“, he muttered. He let her go again and faced his best friends. „Y/N, that’s Remus, Peter and Sirius.“

„Hi“, Peter said smiling and Remus waved at her. But Sirius said nothing.

The boys looked at him worried and talked to him about his brother being a Slytherin. The girl didn’t take part in the conversation, but sure listened to what they said.

And when she laid in her bed at her first night at Hogwarts, she decided to became friends with him. A friendship between a Gryffindor and Slytherin, especially a Potter and a Black, was difficult. But not impossible.

-

During her first year, Y/N slowly but steady became friends with Regulus. And by the start of second year, the two were inseparable.

„Regulus“, she beamed as she saw him at the Hogwarts Express. She wanted to go to him, but her brother held her back.

„Not now, Y/N. He‘ll come along. Just like Sirius will.“ She nodded sadly.

Sat alone in a compartment, she waited for him to come, just like he promised before holiday. But when the train started moving, she lost all hope.

With her head against the window, she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come over her. But nothing happened.

„Is here still a seat for me?“ Y/N smiled as she heard the voice and looked to the door.

„Reggie.“ She got up and hugged him like there was no tomorrow. „I missed you.“

„I missed you too, Y/N.“

-

In her third year, Y/N found out about all the stuff that was going on at the Black house.

She just wanted to use the toilet when she saw her best friend crying in Moaning Myrtles bathroom.

„Reggie“, she breathed out. He raised his head from inbetween his knees that were pulled up to his chest.

„Y/N, I - You shouldn’t have seen me like this.“ He wiped his tears away, but a sob escaped his lips.

Y/N slowly made her way to him to give him time to decide, if he wants her here. But when he didn’t say anything, she kneeled down next to him and wrapped her arms tight around him.

„It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. I’m here now. You have me and always will. Shh“, she whispered in his ear. „Do you want to talk about it?“

Regulus didn’t want to. But he knew her better than anybody else and was sure that she would want him to talk anyway. So he told her everything.

In the end, both of them were crying and in each other’s arms.

„Come on. I got a good friend that has more chocolate than books. And let me tell you, that means he has a lot of chocolate.“ She got up and pulled him to his feet. Then, she dragged him to the Gryffindor tower and sneaked into the dorm of her brother where she stole a few chocolate bars.

-

In fifth year, Y/N started listening more to what the people around her said. And what they said was that she and Regulus were in a relationship.

Before summer, she didn’t think that she could actually be in love with him. But the more time she thought about it, she was sure that the butterflies in her stomach when she thought about him and the jealousy when she saw another girl talking to him, were love.

And who better ask for help than the most lucky person in love herself.

„James, I kinda need you help in something“, she had said.

„What’s on?“

„I - I think I‘m in love.“ The older boy‘s eyes had widened at his sister’s confession.

„Who is it - No, I already know it“, he had corrected himself. „Well, my dear sister, just talk to him I guess. I could ask Sirius if he knows anything.“

The girl had smiled. „You‘d do that?“

„Anything for my little sister.“

So she thought the whole summer about how to confess her feeling towards her crush.

When the teachers talked about their upcoming O.W.L.s, Y/N found herself watching Regulus as he twirled his quill between his fingers.

One time in the library, Y/N studied for the last O.W.L when Regulus sat down in front of her, a big smile across his face.

„Guess what?“, he asked happy.

„What?“ She was happy too, because she had never this such a big smile on his lips.

„I got a date.“ Her heart sunk and her face fell. But she reminded herself that she was his best friend, so she forced herself to a smile.

„Really? Must be a lucky girl then.“

„Yeah, she is amazing“, he said deep in thought. „She isn’t a Slytherin, Mother and Father are going to kill me. But she is worth it. She is beautiful. The most beautiful girl I have ever seen. When I saw her the first time in first year, I knew she was going to be the one I marry.“ His smile grew and grew by his words. And Y/N thought she was going to cry. „She was nervous, you know. I saw it on her face when she walked down the Great Hall. So I took her hand.“

She realised what he was about to say. „Wait - W-What?“

„You, Y/N. Sometimes I wonder how you’re one of the best in all classes. I thought it was obvious.“ She shook your head still in shock. „Well, Darling, you and me are going to Hogsmeade together.“

„We always do, Dumbass“, she retorted.

„We are going out. As in I like you and you like me back more than friends.“

„I‘d be more than happy about that, Mr Black.“

-

Their relationship wasn’t easy, not at all. They were happy when they had one day without a comment from anyone. When Regulus was back home during summer, he told his parents. And the owl that reached Y/N made her look herself in her room for days.

She was more than happy to see him in September. She thought about breaking up with him. The comments from all around them made her insecure about herself and their relationship. And, more important, his health and relationship with his parents worried her the most.

So she decided to talk to him after a few weeks back at Hogwarts.

„Reggie, can we talk for a second?“, she asked him when she was sure that he was done with eating dinner.

„What - Yeah, of course.“ He wasn’t sure why his girlfriend was so nervous. When they walked out of the Great Hall he wanted to take her hand, but she pulled it away.

„We need to break up“, she said when they were in the safe space of her dorm room.

His face fell. „What? Why?“

Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the sad look on his face. „Reggie, please. You need to understand that-“ He cut her off.

„There is nothing to understand, Y/N. I thought we were doing fine“, he said not so calmly anymore. „What is it? Is there somebody else?“

„What?! No, you know I would never love someone else. There will always be just you.“

„Then why?! Is it the others? The comments?“ She didn’t say anything, but Regulus knew by the look on her face that it was exactly what had got her upset. „Y/N, don’t listen to them. They’re all idiots. I love you, okay?“ Both of them froze at what he said. „I didn’t want you to know this way, but yes, I love you. More than anything in the world. So please, give us another chance. I‘ll do everything to make this work.“

She stepped forward to hug him. „I love you too“, she said against his chest. „I’m sorry.“

„Don’t be, pretty girl. I know it gets hard sometimes.“

-

Regulus and Y/N. After Sirius and Remus the most beautiful couple. Even Lily and James looked bad against them. They went through hell, but still got each other.

When James graduated, Regulus took James part in keeping everything bad away from her. And she kept away the demons that followed him. But there was one thing she couldn’t stop.

He was a death eater.

He told her immediately when he got the mark. She was angry and sad. But not at him, at his stupid family that made him do what he did.

After they graduated, Regulus bought them a small flat near the one Remus and Sirius got. All of them became friends because of Y/N and James. But Sirius still hadn’t got over the fact that his brother was one of them.

But Regulus and Y/N were happy. More than that, they were engaged. No one from the black family knew, except Sirius of course. They wanted to wait until after the war to get married.

All happy and giggling, Y/N came back from her parents to Sirius and Remus‘ flat where everyone was supposed to meet. Regulus said he‘d be there too.

She opened the door and took her shoes off. „I‘m here!“, she beamed and went to the living room. Remus had Sirius in his arms while he was silently crying. James sat on a chair with his face buried in his hands. She heard the girls talking in the kitchen. „What’s going on?“

They looked up at her confused. „Y/N“, James whispered. „You haven’t -“

„I haven’t what?“, she asked worried. She had never seen Sirius crying before. „Where is Reggie? I thought he was coming too?“ Sirius broke down again and a tear escaped her eye.

James got up and hugged her. „I‘m so sorry, Y/N.“

She got out from his grip and looked at him. „What is going on? Where is he?“

„He’s dead, Y/N“, her brother whispered as the girls came in the kitchen and abruptly stopped when they saw the younger girl.

But she didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t believe it. „When this is one of your pranks, James, I swear to my life ...“ But her brother was serious.

„We‘re so sorry, Y/N“, Lily said. She went to hug her, but she backed away.

„That’s not true“, she muttered. „You’re lying. I talked to him this morning. He said he’d meet me here. He said he couldn’t wait until the wedding. He - H-He-“ A sob escaped her lips and tears flooded over her cheeks. „Please“, she looked around the room and saw everyone’s sad gaze. „No“, she mumbled.

Her knees gave in and before she could fall to the ground, her brother caught her and pulled her in his embrace. „I’m right here. Shh.“

„He can’t leave me“, she sobbed into his chest. „He- He said he’d never leave me. Never. Why? Why did he lie?“ More tears ran down her face. She could barely breath. „I loved him.“

„I know. He loved you too. So much“, her brother said and stroked her hair. „It’s gonna be alright.“

„Nothing is gonna be alright! He’s gone! He is gone.“ She whispered the last part as her voice broke. „I can’t live without him.“

„You can, Y/N. It’s gonna be a rough time. But we’re all here for you. We can get through this together.“

But she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to live without him. Not without the love of her life.

[smileyjaeminies]

A chance meeting

Synopsis: When your huge crush and famous hitter Lee Jeno walks inside your uncle’s store, will it become the chance you needed to get closer?

Word Count: 2,1 k

Genre: Hogwarts au!, fluff

Warnings: none

Member: Jeno

A/N: Ayeeee it’s October! I’m not too good with horror stuff, so I thought I’d just write something a little magical and fun! I hope you enjoy!

 You released a long sigh, stretching your hands over your head like a cat to relieve some of the tension on your shoulders. You pushed your glasses further up your nose, grabbing your quill on your hand and getting back to work. Your hand flew across the paper and you barely had the mind to spell the words correctly. You knew you were just writing down information at this point, but you didn’t have it in you to care. History of Magic was dull, the professor was literally ancient and this assignment was stupid.

  It was summer break and since July was usually a quiet month, your uncle had trusted you with his store. His trip could wait no longer, July being the perfect month to hunt down the Greek Chimera that was plaguing his dreams. So off he went and though you were anxious, you weren’t afraid. He would come back to you.

  In the heart of Diagon Alley, Olivanter’s wandmakers store had stayed within your family for centuries. Business flowed as usual, and when asked, you were instructed to say that your uncle was on vacation in Greece (which was halfway true anyways). However, you couldn’t pretend the job was a hustle to you. Wands, cores, wandmaking, they were all in your blood. The chance to get to know a world that was still away from you, intrigued you and you handled yourself well. The customers were happy and you were too, and so the summer passed.

  Between your upcoming EDEMs and the work you did at the store, your summer was packed. And as September 1st inched closer and closer, your anticipation to get back to Hogwarts only grew. But at the same time, the pile of assignments remained on top of your desk at home, demanding your attention.

  And so, you formed a plan. You would start with the more difficult, which sadly meant some of the most dull, assignments and once you had them out your way, you would continue with the more fun and interesting ones.

  Which brought you here, writing down possibly the worst assignment you had ever written and trying to finish it as quick as humanly possible. At that moment, the store’s bell rung, signifying you had a customer. The sound startled you, making you jump out of your seat.

  "Coming!" You called to the customer.

  You hurried to the end of your sentence, pressing the period a little too harshly on the parchment. You wiped your hands at your apron, hoping the ink hadn't stained your hands.

  As you moved to the front, you felt the tone of the room change. So the "work hard" potion you had made the other day had worked. That would prove useful in the year to come.

  In the front of the store, you saw a mop of black hair, much like the ink that had after all found its way to your fingertips. He had his back turned to you, so you weren't able to recognize him. His hands were crossed in front of him, his gaze looking ahead. You realized then he hadn't noticed you come at the front.

  "How can I help you?" You spoke up, offering a smile.

  When he turned around, you first instinct was to gasp. But, you contained yourself, biting down at your lip and forcing yourself to calm down. In front of you stood the Lee Jeno, one half of Slytherin's hitter extraordinaire duo, next to Na Jaemin. Both came from old wizarding families, both were strikingly handsome and yet only one of them was standing in front of you.

  You couldn't help but wonder where Jaemin was, the boys barely leaving the other's sides while at school. If you were being honest, you would hardly say you ever saw one without the other. And while Jaemin was loud, boisterous and fun, Jeno was reserved, quiet and studious. Among your friends your small crush on the hitter was no secret, but you had barely exchanged five whole words with the boy and you were pretty sure he didn’t really know of your existence.

  So what was he doing here??

  Jeno looked at you like a lost puppy, his mouth forming a thin line. You shot him a questioning look, which seemed to bring him back to reality.

  "Oh I, um, I'd like a new wand, please" he asked.

  "Of course. We need to do some inventory first if that's alright." You told him.

  Jeno only nodded in place of an answer, his gaze fixed on his shoes. You brought out the big book from under the counter, its weight making you groan. If you had been careful, you would have seen a small smile crack on Jeno’s face. You turned the pages, finding the last one and grabbing a quill and a new bottle of ink. You started writing his name neatly under your uncle's handwriting when Jeno said,

  "I'm Lee Jeno"

  You couldn't help the blush creeping up to your cheeks when you said,

  "I know who you are"

  If Jeno was shocked, you couldn’t tell. He simply raised his eyebrows at you, but you just shrugged him off and continued writing down the date.

  "So. What happened to your old wand?" you asked.

  Jeno's eyes widened, the question a surprise to him as his gaze fell to his feet once more. He mumbled something under his breath and you cocked your head to the side in confusion.

  "Sorry, I didn't catch that" you said.

  Jeno seemed to be looking anywhere but you. He was now looking at a clock that was sitting on a wall next to you, his back almost completely turned to you.

  "My... cat she... She thought it was one of her toys and she... broke... it" Jeno said with a sigh.

  A smile was finding its way on your face as you were writing down the information. You tried to act professional, but the mere thought of Jeno fighting with his cat for his precious wand was too hilarious.

  He started laughing first, which helped the first giggle to erupt from your chest.

  "Look, I know it’s ridiculous, but she can be so mean sometimes... I don’t know how she does it!" Jeno said, running a hand through his hair.

  You chuckled, nodding knowingly.

  "My owl bites my ear just for the fun taste of blood, so I think I get what you mean" you tried to joke.

  Jeno's smile was an easy one, but there was something about the way he was looking at you that made you uneasy.

  "I'd like to know the details of your last wand please" you said.

  "Uhm I think it was 8 inches, elm with a unicorn hair core. Pretty flexible." he answered.

  "Nice, and when did you buy it?" You asked again.

  "First year in Hogwarts. So, a couple of years ago" he said.

  You wrote down the year quickly, ready to ask the next question.

  “You bought it from here?” you asked, turning your quill around to show the store.

  Jeno nodded, and you ticked the next box, before proceeding to the next question.

  "Was it hard for you to find a wand the first time around?" You asked.

  "No. It took a couple of tries but I wouldn't say it was hard" he said.

  You nodded at his words, rubbing your hands together in preparation. Your mind was running with possibilities, wands, cores, lengths and everything in between.

  "Okay so, I'm not an expert, I'm just filling in for my uncle but I'm going to go around and find some choices so we can see what sticks, is that alright?" You asked.

  Jeno gave a nod, sitting himself in one of the chairs next to the window. You wondered the rows upon rows of wands, trying to find a couple propositions for Jeno. You grabbed a few, going back front to show them to him.

  "Let's start with this one. These are all a bit longer since you've gotten older, I hope you don’t mind" you said.

  Jeno shook his head, taking the wand in his hands.

  "Its unicorn hair again, but holly this time" you told him.

  Jeno moved the wand around a little, then turned to you with a small shake of his head. You offered him another wand, which he took in his hands.

  "Dragon heartstring. 10 inches, flexible. Ash. How does it feel?" You asked.

  "I don’t think this is the one" he said simply.

  You went through a couple more wands, Jeno swirling them around but with no result. As you were handing him a Phoenix core elm wand, an idea popped in your mind. You put the wand back on the counter, raising one finger in Jeno’s direction to signal him to wait.

  "Wait. I have an idea" you said.

  Shuffling in the shelves on top of shelves of wands, you looked for a specific one you had in mind. Your uncle had just made it a few weeks before his departure, placing it near the back as you often did for the newer wands.

  "Aha!" You called, carrying the wand back to Jeno.

  "I just remembered about this one. I wanted you to try it." You said, offering the wand.

  Jeno took the wand in his hands and immediately, golden sparks flew from the tip.

  "I knew it!" You said, smiling wide.

  "So what's this one?" Jeno asked.

  "Its unicorn hair again. 10 inches but ash and a little inflexible. But it works! So yay!" You said.

  "It does work. It feels... heavy in my hands though" he said, moving the wand around in his hand.

  "It’s going to take a little getting used to. It's a new wand after all and you have to meet each other first!" You reassured him.

  "You're right, I guess.... I just realized I never asked your name?" He asked.

  "It's Y/N" you said, your smile faltering a little. So he didn’t remember you.

  "Why do I feel like I've seen you before?" He asked, more himself than you.

  "I... I'm a Gryffindor? We had potions together last year" you tried to spark his memory.

  And Herbology the year before that. And Charms the year before that. You thought. You were disappointed, there was no hiding that…

  "Oh?" Jeno said, letting out a startled sound. "I... I'm sorry about that, it's hard for me to remember faces... It's hard to speak to people too, although people keep coming up to me. I guess I'm too antisocial to be famous"

  A nervous laugh came from Jeno and you nodded at his words. It did bother you that he didn’t remember you at all, but then again, the entire castle was fighting to be his friend.

  At that moment, you decided you liked this Jeno best. Quiet but open, timid but kind.

  "That's alright. You know who I am now" you said, giving him a small smile.

  Jeno smiled back, his eyes getting smaller and you felt your heart fluttering at the gesture. You told him the fee for his new wand and he placed the coins nearly on top of the counter that was separating you.

  "I guess I'll see you around, Y/N" he said, taking a step towards the door.

  There was something about the way he said it. Could it be the way he was looking directly at your eyes? Could it be the way he turned around so suddenly? Could it be the way you caught his fists tightening at his sides? Or was it the way he was biting on the inside of his cheek?

  It didn’t matter. Your heart was flying and you knew, oh you knew it well. You were screwed.

  "I guess you will" you replied.

  "I... Are you doing something tomorrow afternoon?" He asked, his eyes avoiding yours.

  "Nothing at all." You replied a little too hastily, making your teeth sink in your bottom lip in embarrassment.

  Jeno caught the action, but didn’t comment. He only asked,

  "Would it be okay for me to buy you an ice cream at Fortescue’s?"

  "That sounds lovely" you agreed.

  Jeno smiled, his face changing along with the action.

  "All right then. I'll meet you here around 5?" He asked.

  "I'll be waiting." You said, returning the smile.

  Jeno turned to leave, but you stopped him by calling his name. He turned to you, his eyes finding yours easily.

  "I... Just don’t let your cat break your wand again, okay?" You joked.

  Jeno chuckled, shaking his head a little at your words.

  "Maybe if it means coming here, I’ll let her have her way with it." He said.

  You had to fight back a gasp. You desperately tried to look for a witty answer, but it was in vain. He was already out of the door and you were once again alone.

  But you would see him again.

  "Until tomorrow, Lee Jeno." You said to yourself, going back in the small back room and to your almost forgotten History of Magic assignment.

[punkpoemprose]

December 6th- Fuck 2020

Universe: Modern AU Rating: M (Mature, a little explicit, this is porn without plot for the most part) Length: 4383 Words A/N: The title says it all. This fic is about Kristoff and Anna having sex on New Years Eve. TW: Mentions of COVID-19, quarantine, and generally the shittyness of this year. This is the last of my decades AUs. Hopefully someday someone will write something more flattering for the 2020′s.

Anna closed her laptop and collapsed back onto the couch. She was exhausted mentally and emotionally, but her body wasn’t tired enough to let her sleep. It had been what she’d been suffering with all year, or at least since March when the world had gone from its usual level of chaos to being utter and total bedlam. She still remembered the day she’d learned that her kids wouldn’t be coming back to the classroom, and the only slightly more terrifying day where she learned that they would, in fact be coming back.

Her head was still awash with words she’d never thought she’d need to say to a room full of five-year-olds. We have to keep our masks on. Remember, six feet apart guys, that’s like two big dogs in a line. No, I’m sorry, I can’t give you a hug. She’d had to separate desks, and clean and not wipe away little tears like she normally would when a child was having a bad day.

The kids, she thought, had held up better than she had. They’d listened as well as they could, they’d followed the rules as much as they were able, and they were kind about the policies in a way that even grown adults were not. But even with all the work they’d done, even with all the kids doing their best, the second wave had hit, and now they wouldn’t be returning to school until after the middle of January, and then when it finally came about, it would be online. There was talk of vaccines in the news, and while it gave her some small spark of hope, all the changes have meant turning her holiday break into lots of online classroom prep.

It still wasn’t the worst though, she’d rather be tired than sick, and she couldn’t help but relax a bit and listen to the shower running in the next room over.

Kristoff had been given the afternoon shift for New Year’s Eve, and as per their new normal, he’d stripped down at the door after returning to their apartment, tossed all his things into the wash, and was currently showering. In the beginning, before they’d known just how bad things were, before PPE was supplied to every EMT in the county, he’d caught it.

Anna had remembered the pain of having to see him so ill, watching him suffer through what was determined to be a “mild” case of the virus while he was sequestered to their bedroom and she spent the week sleeping on the couch and barely seeing him at all except to occasionally bring him something to eat when he’d felt particularly weak. There was something particularly terrifying in watching the strongest person Anna knew, her rock, her one and only, barely able to take care of himself. He’d insisted the whole time, vehemently, that she leave to stay with her sister on the other side of town, be she’d been unable to bring herself to do it. She couldn’t and wouldn’t leave him alone when he was so sick she wasn’t sure if he’d make it through.

But, of course, he had. His voice had been strange and unlike him for weeks after he was cleared, and Anna had spent many nights in a cold sweat thinking about just how close he’d been to being in much worse shape. They’d started their procedure then, come in the door, take off your clothes, wash anything that went into work with you, and then shower. She’d done it too, but to less of an extreme because while she’d been around kids who had potentially been sick, he spent every day with Sven facing the positively ill together and trying their best to keep them well enough to get to the hospital.

The mental strain it was putting on them, Anna having to worry everyday about him getting sick again, or one of her students or even herself catching it was a lot. But Kristoff, kind and wonderful man that he was, kept checking in at the hospital to learn whether the transports he and Sven had brought in had made it. She saw the darkness in his eye, behind his attempts at levity, on the days where they lost someone.

The water shut off, and Anna let herself imagine him behind the door, stepping out of the shower, putting his towel on, walking over to the mirror to shave and comb his wet hair. He’d started keeping it shorter than usual as a precaution, and while he always looked handsome, Anna missed the days where she’d been able to put short braids into his hair and then comb them out with her fingers. She missed the days where he’d come home, flop onto the couch and that would be the end of things until one of them made dinner.

“Hey,” he said, as she heard the bathroom door open and shut, “Are you asleep or?”

She opened her eyes and tipped her head, looking at him from across the room. He was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, nothing fancy because of course, despite it being New Year’s Eve, they weren’t going out anywhere. She was dressed similarly, but overtop her plain shirt, she’d thrown on her nicest cardigan, creating the illusion for the videos she’d pre-recorded, that she wasn’t on her couch in her pajamas, but instead was dressed in full teacher gear and was to be listen to closely.

“I don’t think I can do an early bedtime tonight,” she said, “Or even a nap. I have to be awake to see this year end.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t so much the sort of laugh he did when he thought she was being funny. It was much more of a chuckle, as if he were going to follow it with an expression of agreement. They both were rather done with the year, just like everyone else they knew. No one wanted to be living through a pandemic.

“Just imagine,” he said, “Maybe next year we’ll actually be able to go on a date or something.”

“Or,” Anna replied sadly, “Actually be able to reschedule our wedding.”

They’d planned a June wedding the year before. It was going to be a small affair. Just his family, Elsa, and some friends from work. They were going to have it at a ski-lodge in the mountains that also doubled as a summertime spa and nature retreat so that it would be like a vacation for everyone who attended. She could still imagine the way that they’d wanted to decorate the place, all sunflowers and mason jars and white ribbons. She had bought a dress and everything, and it was still stored in her sister’s bedroom closet.

They’d pushed it to August, but had given up on it past that, knowing as soon as September hit and she returned to school with in person students, that nothing would be changing anytime soon. Even her hope for the next year was a tentative thing, like a butterfly with a broken wing trying its damnedest to fly.

“Fuck 2020,” she said quietly, noticing the way he frowned at the mention of their cancelled wedding. He’d been looking forward to it as well, and she knew that this year had been just as upsetting for him as it had been for her. She tried not to swear very often, particularly because she was worried about being able to censor herself around the kids, but ultimately, the year deserved a middle finger and some very strong language.

He crossed the space and took her laptop from where it rested on her stomach, placing it carefully on the coffee table before he scooped her too, up and off the couch. He never had much trouble lifting her, but each time he did so unexpectedly, she was half afraid of falling. She flailed for a half a second in his arms, gasping at the change in height as it occurred.

“I’d like that,” he said with a grin, “The wedding. I know it’s just a formality, and that we’ve agreed not to do it at a courthouse or anything, but I’m so ready to call you Mrs. Bjorgman.”

“And have my students confused?” she teased, “Maybe you should be Mr. Arendelle.”

He laughed at that, but the shrugged and started walking in the direction of their bedroom, holding her bridal style as if it were already all over and done with.

“Why are we heading to bed?” she asked, only allowing herself a little hopefulness beyond her confusion. She knew why she’d like to be heading to bed, but maybe, she reasoned, he was just tired and wanted some company for a nap.

“You said, ‘fuck 2020’.”

She could see the cheeky smile on his face as he glanced down at her, still heading toward the bedroom, like a man on a mission.

“It sounded like a good idea to me.”

***

“So,” Anna said from her place below him on their bed, “In this analogy am I 2020 or?”

Kristoff laughed, and she was treated with a kiss on her knuckles as she obediently raised her arms up for him to remove her shirt. His laugh was one of the things that got her through the day, knowing that he could find humor in any situation, that she could make him laugh, was a blessing. It made things feel normal, and it was a joy for them both that they sorely needed.

“No. It’s more like we fuck each other, and we get a little extra enjoyment out of the year ending. Honestly, I didn’t think it through very much, I just wanted you and it seemed like a good excuse.”

That made her laugh, and she nodded appreciatively at the sentiment. She didn’t think that they needed to really contemplate it much as she was just happy with the opportunity to enjoy her fiancé for a little while.

“It’s a good way to pass the time until midnight,” she offered once she was free of her shirt, “I’m sure we’ll manage to keep each other awake.”

Her hands went up his shirt in return, letting her fingers travel over his the soft but muscled planes of his torso until he too removed his shirt, giving her better access to touch him as she leaned up to allow him to undo her bra’s clasps.

“It’s what? Seven?” He asked, tossing her bra in a rapidly growing pile of their clothes, “I can’t promise five hours straight, but I’ll do my best.”

His hands went up her sides, his thumbs rubbing appreciatively at the dips of her waist and across her ribs until they came up to he breasts. He cupped them gently first, and her hands moved to tracing up and down in spine in return as they found a comfortable position where she was somewhat seated in his lap, facing him. He pinched a nipple and she treated him to an appreciative moan and dragged her nails, lightly down his back.

They hadn’t had much time for intimacy as of late. Between what they both experienced at work and the stress of the holidays, even from a socially distanced standpoint, they’d mostly been using their bed for sleeping. It felt good for it to be put to better use.

“Of course, we’ll need to take a break for dinner. Maybe you’ll need a second shower with some company. I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

The appreciative almost growl he made as he ducked his head down to her neck went straight through her spine and made her want to peel the rest of their clothes off and get down to business immediately. Shared shower or not, she already knew that she’d need to change her panties. If, of course, he was planning on letting her put any on before the next morning.

He squeezed and kneaded her breasts while his lips kissed down her neck and she allowed herself to surrender to his touch. Everything around her was Kristoff, his hands and mouth on her, the smell of his shampoo all she could smell as she tilted her neck to give him better access and shifted a hand up to his still wet hair. Despite him being fresh from the shower and in the cooler air of their bedroom, he was hot to the touch, exactly what she wanted as her hair stood on end from the temperature and his touch.

He moved lower then, his head ducking down to lave attention on her nipples as one arm wrapped around her back to support her leaning away and the other moved down, down, across her lower stomach and to the place where her waistband still sat.

“Off?” she asked, the word all she could form as she gave herself over to the sensation of his mouth sucking and nipping at her.

“Not yet,” he replied, barely moving his mouth from her as he answered and switched sides, leaving her wet nipple to pebble against the cold.

His fingers slid a bit lower still, under the waistband of her pants, but not into her underwear as he dipped her even lower.

His arm was strong at her back, keeping her aloft and exactly where he wanted her, even as she squirmed and bucked her hips against the hand that was moving closer and closer to her clit. She knew exactly what he was doing, but it didn’t keep her from jumping when his fingers grazed her through the fabric. He knew that she was sensitive, that he needed to work her up to his direct touch, let alone anything more. They’d had their fair share of quickies of course, but when he wanted things to last, when he wanted to see her come again and again, he worked her up first.

Anna moaned, and arched in his arms, not so much from the sensation, but from the promise it offered. He really was going to try to make this last all night long.

“What did I do to deserve you?”

“I ask myself the same question.”

She gasped as he slowly stroked his fingers up and down her, no doubt feeling how wet she was through her panties but not commenting on it. Instead, using his mouth to once again kiss down her body, moving from the valley between her breasts lower and lower, tipping her back onto the bed as he went.

Not to be outdone, Anna reached up to him as she was leaned back, letting her hands travel down and over his back, reaching for his rear and giving it a squeeze. He laughed against her skin, and she felt rather satisfied by the sound as he picked up the pace on her clit and kissed her navel. Her hands slipped forward then, moving across the waistline of his sweatpants, and dipping her fingers below them as he had.

It was a bit of an awkward angle, but she did her best to wrap her hand around him. It was a challenge, but it was worthwhile to hear his breathing quicken when she managed to slide her hand up and down over his already hard cock through the fabric of his boxers. She recalled the first time they had done this, what felt like many years before, but was just a little over a year and a half ago. She remembered touching him for the first time and being scared that she wouldn’t be able to take him. The thought would have made her laugh now, if it weren’t for the fact that his attention on her clit was making her gasp instead.

When his lips had kissed as low as possible in their current position, he sat up a bit and slipped his hand from her pants. He offered her a questioning look, as he always did, and Anna stroked him again in response, sliding her hand up and down his length and rotating her wrist a bit as she did so, knowing that it was what he liked.

“Off?”

“Off,” she replied, finalizing the unspoken agreement in words before adding, “You too.”

He nodded and she rubbed her thumb against his head before she too extracted her hand, giving him a small taste of what was to come. She fully intended to take him into her mouth if he would let her. It had been too long since she’d seen him fall apart like that, staring down at her with dark eyes and strong muscles trembling under the weight of his climax.

Maybe, she thought, she might even do it while he was laying down, so she could feel him under her and enjoy the building of tension in his body that always came before the release that left him panting and melting beneath her. She loved that he let her give him pleasure. There was so much he did everyday for her, all the care to not get her ill, the many nights he cooked dinner after a long shift, how he always listened to her stresses before offering up his own, and she liked to return his kindnesses in the bedroom.

He pushed himself up and off of her, pulling his pants down with one hand, using the other in a delightful display of his strength to hold himself aloft. He kicked them off a bit creatively, one leg at a time as if he were doing some kind of strange yoga, but never removing his eyes from her as he watched her buck her hips up and slide her own bottoms off.

He tossed them both somewhere to join their pile, and they were left, staring into each other’s eyes wearing nothing but their underwear.

She shivered a bit, both from the intensity if his gaze and the cool air around her. He noticed, his gaze softening as he lowered himself to her a bit and pressed a kiss to her lips. She responded by tipping her head up a bit, deepening the kiss as her arms raised up to wrap around his back and pull him down onto her.

“I’ll have to see if I can warm you up,” he said, their temperature differences more evident as his chest pressed into hers.

He was making a valiant effort, despite her pulling him down, to not crush her under his weight. There had been occasions where he’d allowed his whole weight to press down onto her, and while she didn’t exactly consider him light by any instance of the word, he wasn’t ever going to crush her quite so much as he made an excellent weighted blanket when he wanted to be.

His tone was lascivious though. There was no doubt in Anna’s mind as his hips rocked gently into hers that his plan for warming her up included more of the touching he’d just been doing moments before. When he kissed her again and let his lips trail, once more down her body, lower and lower, she knew that there would be nothing so simple as a blanket in his plans to warm her.

When he reached the waistband of her panties he didn’t stop, instead mouthing at her through the fabric, causing her to call his name and tangle her fingers into his hair. She felt his breath on her, hot, the inhalations and exhalations adding to the sensation as his lips nipped carefully at her clit. He slid down after a few moments, pressing kisses to her labia and center through the fabric, nudging her bud with his nose.

He could be devious with his mouth, a fact that she took immense pleasure in. He could kiss her mouth and pussy with equal skill, and she knew it came from a combination of natural talent, and plenty of practice with her and only her. His mouth could bring her to heights she’d never been able to reach alone, and the anticipation of him doing so had her trembling.

“Do you want me to?” he asked, glancing up at her from between her legs, seeking permission as he always did.

“Yes. Always.”

It was all he needed, flashing her a smile as he hooked his thumb under her waistband and pulled.

She lifted her hips obediently and was rewarded with an appreciative squeeze on her rear as he tugged the fabric off her. When it got to her knees, he leaned back and she set her bottom back onto her bed, watching him whip the fabric off her legs and onto the floor.

She would not be looking for them, she decided ultimately, until laundry day.

He spread her legs a bit more and rearranged them both on the bed until she had two pillows under her rear, elevating her, and he was half kneeling before her.

Once the matter of fabric and positioning was settled, he set upon her like a man starved. Evidently the foreplay had been enough for him, and she already felt it was enough for her, when he kissed her clit again, and then set to running his tongue over her. He went from the bottom of her slit, tasting her and groaning in appreciation, up to her clit, his tongue teasing at her before flattening against her, moving down, and repeating the process.

Her hands, desperate to show him the same appreciation he was showering her with, reached out as far as they could to rub just her fingertips, less artfully, but no less effectively, against the bulge straining against his boxers. His groans only added to the sensation as he tasted her, the rumbling of it tangible as he licked and took her into his mouth. The sound mingled in the air with her own moans, and soon, she stopped being able to tell who was making which sounds.

His tongue darted between her folds and she rocked her hips into his mouth. He rocked just far enough back that she could no longer touch him, and as such, her hands held onto him in other ways, one hand wandering across his shoulders while the other tugged at his hair.

He added his fingers to the business after a short while, taking only a moment away from her to watch her face as he slipped his fingers along her entrance, coating them in her before he, with trained dexterity, slid them inside her and began the search for the place on her inner walls he knew set her closest to the edge.

He got a satisfied look on his face when her moans grew louder, when she pleaded with him and thanked him for the new sensation, and it was a grin that she saw last before his face descended, again, to mouth at her clit with new fervor.

It was only a matter of time before she fell back against the bed, pillows falling from under her rear as she went stiff, then limp, under the force of her orgasm.

She tasted herself on his lips when he kissed her.

***

“Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!”

Anna had been somewhat surprised that they made it to midnight, both of them thoroughly spent with the amount of time and energy they’d put into their private celebration. She wasn’t counting down with the people on the television though, she couldn’t even see them as she knelt before the couch, feeling Kristoff’s tensed legs at either side of her. She couldn’t count anyway, she had her mouth full.

She’d wanted to manage to get him to come right at midnight, thinking about how funny and gratifying it would be to ensure that her fiancé, the man she loved most in the world, started the new year out right. She supposed though, as she bobbed her head up and down, her tongue running up and down his length as she breathed through her nose, that he wouldn’t mind if it was just a minute or so late.

“Anna,” he groaned, his hand on the back of her head, not pushing but encouraging her to maintain her speed, “Baby I think I’m going to…”

She hummed, keeping up her speed, flattening her tongue against him and doing her damnedest to give him the same pleasure he’d given her earlier in the day. They’d done plenty in the hours between, but this was the first time for the day, and now for the new year that she’d pleasured him with her mouth.

She hoped that the sounds she was making were encouraging as his hips rocked almost imperceptibly, his hand that rested on her shoulder tightening as the one in her hair pressed a little more than it had been.

When he came for her, she could feel the shuddering of his muscles, particularly his thighs which she was using for support, even under the fabric of his clothes. They’d only recently finally donned clothes again for the first time since dinner, and she had decidedly not let it stop her, particularly when it was easy enough to shift the fabric down enough to suit her needs.

“Anna,” he repeated, panting as she too came up for air, swallowing him.

She could feel herself flush, and saw the blush mirrored on his cheeks. He was frazzled, and when she leaned up, using his thighs for support, to get a better look at his expression, she was surprised by his dipping down to kiss her lips.

“Happy New Year Anna,” he whispered, hands already moving on her, pulling her closer as he showed her his appreciation.

She couldn’t help but laugh, accepting her New Year’s kiss as he sat before her with his pants still askew. If it was an omen for the year, she was glad for it. She’d rather the year be an amusing one than the way the previous one had been.

“Happy 2021 Kristoff,” she replied, kissing him again and letting herself enjoy the sensation of his touch before reaching down to tug on his waistband, helping him readjust before turning to shut the television off and drag him off to bed.

They’d had a long, but very enjoyable day. The perfect way, she thought, to usher in the New Year.  

[papermoonloveslucy]

LIZ HAS THE FLIMJABS

December 30, 1950

“Liz Has the Flimjabs” (aka “A Severe Case of Flimjabs”) is episode #112 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on December 30, 1950.

This was the 14th episode of the third season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 31 new episodes, with the season ending on March 31, 1951.  

Synopsis ~  Liz wants a mink coat from George, so she pretends to be sick in order to get his sympathy - and the coat!  George is on to her tactics, and decides to give her the scare of her life - literally! 

Note: This program served as the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Fakes Illness” (ILL S1;E16) filmed on December 18, 1951 and first aired on January 28, 1952.  The role of the Doctor was taken by Hal March, who was actually playing an actor friend of Ricky’s named Hal March pretending to be a doctor.  On television, Lucy also adopts a psychological illness in addition to her physical ailments. There was no mention of Christmas or New Years on the television show. 

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his  roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) was considered the front-runner to be cast as Ethel Mertz but when “I Love Lucy” was ready to start production she was already playing a similar role on TV’s “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” so Vivian Vance was cast instead. On “I Love Lucy” she was cast as Lucy Ricardo’s spinster neighbor, Miss Lewis, in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) in early 1952. Later, she was a success in her own show, “Petticoat Junction” as Shady Rest Hotel proprietress Kate Bradley. She starred in the series until her death in 1968.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz, a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) does not appear in this episode.

GUEST CAST

Frank Nelson (Dr. Stevenson) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”.  Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs. His trademark was playing clerks and other working stiffs, suddenly turning to Benny with a drawn out “Yeeeeeeeeees?” Nelson appeared in 11 episodes of “I Love Lucy”, including three as quiz master Freddy Fillmore, and two as Ralph Ramsey, plus appearance on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” - making him the only actor to play two different recurring roles on “I Love Lucy.” Nelson returned to the role of the frazzled Train Conductor for an episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1963. This marks his final appearance on a Lucille Ball sitcom.

The doctor’s surname may be a reference to noted costume designer Edward Stevenson, who designed gowns for Lucille Ball in more than a dozen RKO films and would eventually become costume designer of “I Love Lucy” after the departure of Elois Jenssen in 1955.

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “And now, let’s look in on the Coopers. It’s evening, and Liz and George are sitting in the living room admiring their Christmas tree."

George wonders if it is time to take the Christmas tree down but Liz doesn’t want to. They agree to put away their presents instead and start to talk about the gifts they didn’t give or get.  

Liz nearly bought George a set of matching golf clubs. George says he nearly bought her a mink jacket. He says he saw it in the window at Millers, but realized he couldn’t afford it. Liz sadly reminds him that she has never had a fur coat and wonders if they could afford it if they all their Christmas gifts to the store. George says it still wouldn’t be enough, but Liz wants to wear something special to the Atterbury’s New Year’s Eve party. 

Next morning, in the kitchen, Katie the Maid asks Liz why she is so sad. Liz tells her about her mink jacket dreams. Liz solicits Katie’s opinion on how she can’t best get George to get her a mink jacket in time for the party.  Liz decides to play sick since George always gets her what she wants when she’s ill. 

After dinner, Liz and George contemplate what to do. Liz suggests going to the movies to see Harvey starring Jimmy Stewart, which is playing at the Strand. 

Harvey is a comedy about a man whose best friend is a six-foot tall imaginary rabbit. It premiered just ten days earlier before this broadcast and starred James Stewart. The film won an Oscar for Josephine Hull. The screenplay was based on the 1944 Broadway play of the same name by Mary Chase which won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. 

Before Liz can tell George the second feature, she starts to writhe in pain!  Amid moans and groans, Liz details the pain for George. She says she used to have these attacks as a child. When she says the only thing that sometimes helps is little gifts to make her happy, George gets suspicious.  He quickly leaves the room to make a phone call, which Liz thinks is to buy her a mink jacket, but he has actually called the doctor! 

End of Part One

Bob LeMond presents a live Jell-O commercial, giving a basic recipe for preparation of all delicious six flavors!

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers once again, Liz is pretending to be sick and George, who is worried about her, has called the doctor.”

The doorbell rings and George admits Dr. Stevenson (Frank Nelson). Before seeing Liz, George tips him off that Liz may have a rare disease and that the only cure is a mink coat! George asks him to give her a good scare and the Doctor agrees to play along.  

Entering the bedroom, Liz immediately tells the Doctor she feels much better.  But after a quick exam, the Doctor diagnoses Liz with a rare tropical disease from the West Indies called the ‘Flimjabs’. The only cure is to operate and remove her ‘torkle’ but warns her that she will never be able to ‘yammle’ again. The Doctor explains that ‘yammling’ is an involuntary peristalsis of the transverse clavis. 

GEORGE: “Doctor, do you have to remove the whole torkle?” DOCTOR: “Maybe we’ll be lucky and can save half of it. After all, half a torkle is better than none.” LIZ: “Well, I should say so!  I’d hate to think of never yammeling again!”

The Doctor says that they must now wait 24 hours and see if she turns green. 

DOCTOR: “If you turn green, three hours later (snaps his fingers) gone.” LIZ:  (snaps) “Gone?”  DOCTOR: (snaps) “Gone.”

For the television script, the ‘Flimjabs’ was renamed the 'Gobloots’ - a rare tropical disease that carried into America on the hind legs of the 'boo-shoo bird.’ It can necessitate a person having to undergo a 'zorchectomy’ – total or partial removal of the 'zorch’. Even if doctors are able to save half a person’s 'zorch,’ the patient will never be able to 'trummle’ again. 'Trummling’ is a mysterious involuntary internal process. Finally, if you turn green while suffering from the 'gobloots’ you will be dead in 30 minutes!  

Iris Atterbury drops by to see Liz on her way to the Bridge Club meeting. Liz tells her that she has been diagnosed with the Flimjabs. 

IRIS: “Oh, how exciting! This will make Betty Ricky’s gallstones look sick! She’ll be absolutely green.” LIZ: “She's not the only one. That’s one of the danger signs. I may turn green.”  IRIS: “With a green face and red hair, you’ll be out of this world.” LIZ: “Yes, that’s what I’m afraid of.”

Iris is overcome with emotion at the thought of losing Liz. She doesn’t want to leave, but the ice cream for the Bridge Club meeting is in the car and it’s melting! 

That night, Doctor Stevenson returns to check on Liz. Answering the door, George confesses that he’s put a green light bulb in Liz’s bedroom light. As soon as George turns on the lights, Liz shrieks seeing her green hands! Her face and hair have turned green, too!  Liz thinks the men have Flimjabs too, because they are also green, but then the truth sets in. 

LIZ: “Oh, no!  This is the end!  I’m looking at the world through green colored eyeballs!” 

Liz dramatically declares that she’s dying. George accuses her of being over-dramatic. 

LIZ: “I’m sorry, George. But I don’t die every day and it’s new to me.”

Before her imminent demise, Liz confesses to all the car accidents she’s had and hidden by having the car fixed without telling him.  

LIZ: “In fact, the only thing left of the original car you bought is the ashtray in the back seat!”

Then Liz bravely confesses to pretending to be sick to get him to buy her a mink coat. George also needs to make a confession: it was all a trick. There is no such thing as ‘Flimjabs’ and the light is from a green light bulb!  

The phone rings and it is Iris, tearfully calling from the Bridge Club meeting. The girls have just had a memorial ceremony for Liz by turning her chair to the wall and smashing her teacup in the fireplace. Before Liz can tell Iris that it was a joke, she learns that they all chipped in and bought her a goodbye present: a mink coat!  Liz hangs up in tears. George is confused.

GEORGE: “Isn’t that what you wanted?” LIZ: “Yeah, but I have to die to get it!”

END OF EPISODE

In the live Jell-O commercial, Lucille Ball and Bob LeMond play a couple of nomads lost in the desert. Lucy uses her ‘Isabella Clump’ voice as ‘Smith’. Bob is looking for his camp, near a big dune. 

LUCY / ‘SMITH’: “A dune? What’s a dune?” BOB: “What’s a dune????” LUCY / ‘SMITH’: “I dunno. What’s a-dune with you?” 

Smith sees a mirage - a big bowl of Jell-O! After describing the six delicious flavors, Bob suggests they go home. 

BOB: “Go home? We’re lost in the desert!”  LUCY / ‘SMITH’: “Why don’t we each take one of those cars.” BOB: “What cars?” LUCY / ‘SMITH’: “The ones over there. That’s a two-car mirage!” 

The same date this episode was broadcast, columnist Sid Shalit in the New York Daily News reported that a television situation comedy was being prepared starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the mold of “My Favorite Husband”.  Clearly, the radio series was winding down. This was the final episode of 1950 with only 16 episodes left. 

Meanwhile, in addition to radio and television, Ball was on the nation’s movie screens in two 1950 films: The Fuller Brush Girl and Fancy Pants. 

[jaskierswolf]

You Set My Heart Ablaze (21/25)

Previous

__________________

Jaskier sang giddily as he practically skipped towards his classroom. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, the birds were singing and he was in love. He simply couldn’t be happier. Half term had been blissful. He’d spent the end of the week tucked up in the studio with Priscilla recording a few songs for a new album. If he’d used fire based metaphors liberally then who could really blame him? He had a hot fireman boyfriend and it was so very nearly the summer holidays. Just a few weeks left. Melitele bless the summer term.

“Morning, Jaskier.” Triss greeted him with a wave.

She was wearing a pale blue summer dress with roses embroidered into the fabric. He envied her slightly. His shirt was probably the thinnest one he owned, that wasn’t see through, and luckily Tissaia allowed them to wear short sleeves. Shorts, however, were another matter. Apparently shorts were unprofessional and they had to wear trousers. He’d considered turning up in a dress, he had a lovely white chiffon dress that he’d stolen from Pris back when they were still dating and never wanted to give back. Unfortunately, he was already walking the wire with his more liberal teaching views and he was almost positive he wouldn’t last the day if he turned up wearing a dress. So he was in his long trousers, pale yellow shirt and a dark red tie. He fucking hated wearing a tie, but he was determined to be on his best behaviour until the end of term.

“Good morning, Triss!” He beamed at his friend and gave a little bow, his fringe flopping in front of his eyes.

Triss laughed, the freckles on her skin seemed to have doubled over the week off. She must have been enjoying the sun. She looked relaxed, the tension from her shoulders was gone and her soft brown eyes were practically twinkling. “You seem happy?” She asked as she ran a hand through her thick curls.

Jaskier tilted his head as he thought back on his own half term. The benefit of having Yennefer in the know was that she’d been able to cover for them and managed to trick Lambert into babysitting Ciri over one lunch time whilst Geralt snuck out to see Jaskier. It hadn’t been for very long but they’d made pancakes with bacon and maple syrup for lunch, which led to some very sticky sweet kisses. Geralt had returned to Ciri with flour over his shirt and a set of terrible excuses. Yennefer hadn’t been impressed when Geralt blamed the mess on her. Ciri had been equally unimpressed when she’d learnt that Geralt had gone for lunch with ‘Yennefer’ without inviting his daughter along.

Jaskier didn’t envy Geralt. Living alone meant that Jaskier didn’t have to make such excuses and it was his job that was causing them such a fuss. He would have to make it up to his boyfriend in the summer when the both had more time.

He grinned soppily and sighed. “Yeah.”

Triss cackled. “Oooh I know that look!” She rested her chin on her hands. “You, Mr Pankratz, are in love!”

Jaskier blanched. “What?!”

“The idiotic smiles and the simpering sighs. It’s like with Geralt all over again!” Triss raised an eyebrow at him.

Jaskier laughed nervously. “No, no. Absolutely not. Not in love. I… got a new instrument!”

Triss just looked at him, clearly not impressed.

“A trumpet!” He announced. “A very beautiful instrument, it’s silver plated. Oh and you should hear the sound it makes, so rich.”

Triss giggled. “Right, So does this silver plated trumpet have a name? Or do you just like to blow it?”

“Triss Merigold!” He gaped.

She had a point but in his defence he really had bought a new trumpet. He wasn’t sure when he was going to get round to learning how to play but it had just looked so sad and lonely in the shop. The silver varieties really did produce the most beautiful sounds, he’d always meant to give the brass section a go, but he’d gotten hooked on stringed instruments and keyboards. The flute was alright, but the trumpet was loud and bold and unafraid.

Not to mention that the way the light had bounced off the silver plated instrument had reminded him of Geralt’s hair.

Triss didn’t need to know that.

“What ever happened between you and Geralt?” Triss asked more quietly.

Jaskier sighed and hopped up to sit on her desk, ignoring her protests as the desk pen was knocked into her lap.

It was time to act.

He owed her at least some explanation after he’d sobbed all over her. He sighed again, more dramatically this time, trying to set the scene.

“Well, my dear Ms Merigold.” He tossed his hair from his eyes. “It was a slightly chilly autumn day, last September if memory serves me well.”

“Jaskier, get to the point” Triss prodded his arm. “And off my desk!”

“I fell in love, like a star falls through the sky. It was magical and beautiful, burning ever so brightly.” He brushed his hand in the air in front of him as he pictured the light of the star streaking across the sky. “But just like a falling star, it flashed before my eyes and faded back into the darkness before I could even find the words to describe the sheer perfection of its beauty, nay its resplendence.”

Triss groaned and shoved him hard so he fell off the desk, he barely managed to keep on his feet as he stumbled across the floor.

“Oi!” He spluttered. “You asked!”

“You could have just said you’ve moved on.” Triss pointed out.

Jaskier winked. “Oh well, now where’s the fun in that, my darling?”

Triss smiled sadly. “It’s a shame.”

Jaskier put a hand on his hips. “And why is that?” He asked hiding his glee, he felt a pang of guilt about deceiving his friend but it was for the best.

Triss shrugged. “I just thought you could have been good together. Esk thought so too.”

“Esk?” Jaskier teased.

Triss tried to hide her smile and glared at him. “Eskel, we’ve been hanging out.”

“Ooh, hanging out.” Jaskier gave her a cheeky smily.

Triss threw a pen at him and he had to duck out of the way. “Get out of here, Jask.” She snapped but he could see the barely concealed laughter in her eyes.

“I’m filing a grievance!” He called out as he picked up her pen and pocketed it. Pens were like gold dust in this place. He’d never managed to keep one for more than a week before it got lost, or more likely stolen.

“No!” She called after him. “Give that back!”

He spun back round with wide arms and a grin on his face. “Give what back?” He cackled.

“Jaskier!” Triss shouted.

“Farewell, my dear!” He giggled as he scarpered off towards his classroom.

__________________

His classroom had been fucking hot all day and he was starting to wonder what he liked about summer so much. The kids couldn’t concentrate and quite frankly neither could he. He was ashamed to admit that his lesson plan had flown out the window, along with his sanity, and just before lunch he’d wheeled in the TV set to put on some cartoon about words and sentences that was probably better suited to a year 3 class but it was just hot and the children enjoyed the cartoons. It had taken a while for them to work out how to get the subtitles to work on the old video cassette but the kids kept shouting out ideas until they found the right button.

He’d even let Filavandrel and his class in on his masterful plan. They had both sat at the back the classroom fanning themselves with a text book. Filavandrel was a peculiar person. Not the sort of man Jaskier would have pegged for a primary school teacher, but then Valdo Marx hadn’t been either. Filavandrel was a regal fellow, it was best description Jaskier had, slightly haughty with a definite superiority complex and a disdain for his fellow teachers. The only person that he had seen Filavandrel talking to during break times was Francesca Findabair, who taught the Daisies, one of the year four classes.

Still Jaskier wasn’t one to judge. Filavandrel was at least tolerant towards him, which is more than could be said for some of the other teachers. He’d been downright hostile towards some of the staff.

He rolled the TV set back down the corridors to the storage room. His kids were out on lunch, hopefully staying in the shade. He felt sorry for who ever was on playground duty this week. He was more than happy to stay inside in the scolding heat.

By the time he’d made it to the staffroom there weren’t any seats left so happily plopped himself on the carpet with a contented sigh and closed his eyes. The ground wasn’t exactly a fluffy cloud but he’d been on his feet most of the morning trying to keep his Buttercups focussed and he was tired.

He felt the shadow creep over him as the staffroom fell silent. He opened his eyes and looked up to find Tissaia de Vries staring down at him. Even in the hot weather she was wearing a full length skirt and long sleeved blouse. He didn’t know how she was coping.

“Mr Pankratz, my office, now.” She said sharply. There was a sadness in her eyes that he couldn’t place, and she’d called him Mr Pankratz rather than Jaskier.

Cock.

He scrambled to his feet and brushed down his trousers. He chewed his lip anxiously as she left the room. “Fucking cock balls.” He moaned and shuffled his weight, flexing his fingers and digging his nails into his palms.

“What did you do?” Triss asked quietly.

An excellent question, hopefully it was his spontaneous video lesson, but he’d checked and no one else had the TV booked out for that period! Perhaps it was another parent complaining that he’d dared to mention that anything other than heteronormative lives existed. He frowned, had Tissaia been psychic and known that he’d almost worn his dress to work?

Fuck!

The only other thing it could be.

No.

They’d been careful.

He felt sick. “I don’t know.” He stammered. “I’ll. Umm. I’ll see you later I guess.”

The walk towards Tissaia’s office was the longest walk of his life. He had to stop twice to lean up against the wall to catch his breath. He almost ran to the toilet once to throw up but managed to keep his lunch down, just about. He stood outside her office feeling about two feet tall, and five years old again. The last time he had felt so small and helpless was standing outside of his father’s office after he’d come out to them over dinner.

That had been his last dinner at his parent’s house.

“Mr Pankratz, please stop hovering and come in.” Tissaia called through the door.

“Shit.” He muttered under his breath before plastering a smile on his face, hoping he could charm his way out of this one, or maybe he could set the school on fire and Geralt could come and rescue him? No. That was a terrible idea.

His heart pounded in his chest as he walked into the office. Not only was Tissaia there, but Philippa Eilhart was perched at her shoulder looking like a fierce warrior who was about to charge into battle.

“Ah. Ms Eilhart!” He stammered. “You are looking radiant as always.”

“Sit down, Mr Pankratz.” Philippa said in lieu of a greeting.

He dropped down into the sit opposite Tissaia’s desk. “And Tissaia can I just say, I love what you’ve done with the office.”

“Jaskier.” Tissaia sighed with a shake of her head.

“Right. Ok then.” He mumbled and smiled sheepishly up at the two women, feeling a little like one of his kids. “Can I ask why I’m here then?”

“We would tell you if you just stop talking.” Philippa answered sharply.

Tissaia’s face was a mask of indifference. Jaskier couldn’t work out what the hell was going on and he certainly would not want to play gwent against the headmistress. She just gave nothing away. Philippa on the other hand was a brewing storm, a blizzard of ice.

Jaskier was fucking terrified.

“We should probably start by saying what an asset you’ve been to the school, Jaskier.” Tissaia started calmly. “Whilst your teaching methods have been… controversial at times, it’s no secret how much the children adore you, and they always leave your class as the best versions of themselves.”

Jaskier beamed at the compliment, that was better than he’d been expecting. Perhaps he’d read the whole situation wrong. “Thank you, I really do try to understand their individual needs and make sure I’m teaching a wide and diverse syllabus. I think the music helps, the government really doesn’t understand the importance of the arts in helping to develop creativity and problem solving skills, not to mention communication skills and learning that it’s alright to have hobbies for the fun of it. Music really just brings people together, and I think—”

“Mr Pankratz!” Philippa snapped before regaining her composure. “That’s quite enough about what you think. Here’s what I think.”

“Right, yeah. Well…” Jaskier mumbled.

“What I think” She said ignoring him “is that I’ve had several reports about the nature of your relationship with Mr Geralt Rivia.”

Jaskier felt as if his heart had stopped in his chest.

“Ciri’s father?” He asked quietly.

“One and the same.” Philippa raised an eyebrow at him. “The allegations, Mr Pankratz, are that you have been engaging in some vastly inappropriate conversations with another member of staff about Geralt’s looks.”

“That’s not a crime!” Jaskier protested.

“Conversations which if they’d been about a female would have reported as sexist and misogynistic, and highly inappropriate, especially regarding a parent of a child that is in your class.” Philippa stepped forward and peered at him intensely. Her eyes were jet black and he felt like he was staring into a blackhole. Around her neck was a long silver chain, a heavy owl pendant with bright yellow eyes gazed back at him.

He opened his mouth to defend himself but he had no excuses. She was right. He’d been careless at the beginning, too stunned by Geralt’s beauty to know how to keep his mouth shut.

“What’s more is that there have been allegations that because of your infatuation with Mr Rivia, you have been treating Ciri more favourably in class.” Philippa added.

“That’s not true!” Jaskier cried. “How the fuck have I been treating her any differently to any of the others?”

“Watch your language, Jaskier.” Tissaia chided sharply.

“I demand to know!” He stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. “I deserve to know.”

“You spent longer speaking with Mr Rivia at parents’ evening in October, which incidentally I saw for myself at the beginning of term. You have met with Mr Rivia on multiple occasions outside of school.” Philippa smirked.

“Who told you that?” Jaskier asked incredulously. His fingers began to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt, he so sorely wished that he had a notebook or his guitar. He needed to do something! Anything. He settled for shuffling his weight, hopping from one foot to the other.

“I’m afraid we can’t disclose that, Jaskier.” Tissaia said softly.

At least she had the decency to look guilty at the accusations. Ms Eilhart seemed to be delighting in his suffering.

“When did these alleged meetings occur?” He asked, his voice cracking slightly.

“Mostly between January and March. Although you were also seen getting a taxi with Mr Rivia at the wildfire the other day.” Philippa stared at him without blinking, a smile dancing on her lips.

Jaskier spun round and flung his arms in the air.

“Is someone stalking me?” He yelled. “What? Do you want a breakdown of every time I’ve seen Geralt outside of school and why? Is that it?”

“Jaskier, calm down!” Tissaia snapped without raising her voice.

“Ok, I’ll give you a breakdown!” He put one hand on his hip and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Jaskier.” Tissaia sighed.

“No. no. If I’m to be accused, let’s make sure the facts are quite clear.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him to shut his fucking mouth for once in his life.

He didn’t listen.

“Yes. I have seen Geralt outside of school. Yes, I find him attractive. That is not something I can control and I won’t apologise for it either, but I will admit that I have said some things that I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry for that. I started seeing Geralt outside of school after parents’ evening at the end of October, so you can correct that on your little list of all my wrong doings. We ran out of time on parents’ evening, this is not me favouring Ciri. Ciri is just more complicated than my other students. On the surface she appears to be coping very well with her trauma but she’s young and I am worried that she’s not processed it properly.”

“So you admit to spending more time on her.” Philippa’s smile made his toes curl, and not in a good way.

“Because her needs require more time. This is no different to me spending my weekends learning sign language because Dara’s needs require it!” Jaskier pointed out. “Geralt had concerns and quite frankly so did I. Ciri expressed an interest in learning to play the guitar, we both thought it would be a good way for her to work through some of the things that might have been bothering her. We talked about different instruments and I suggested a few good teachers.”

“You were seen out drinking with Geralt’s colleagues.” Philippa noted, writing something down in her notebook.

“Lambert is a fan of my band. Geralt mentioned it and I reached out to Lambert to say thank you. My band is not very well known so it was nice to meet a fan.” Jaskier put his other hand on his hips. “They are good people. We became friends, or am I not allowed to make friends outside of school now?”

“These gentlemen are people that Ciri considers to be family. So I’m afraid not.” Philippa said cooly.

Jaskier scoffed. “Istredd is dating Yennefer, not to mention half the staff are friends with Yennefer. Triss is dating Eskel, Ciri’s uncle. Why am I not allowed to be friends with my colleague’s partners just because Ciri is in my class?”

Philippa narrowed her eyes at him, but Tissaia looked away with a small smile.

Point to Jaskier!

Ha!

“That is different.” Philippa insisted.

“It is not!” He countered firmly. “And just for the record I saw the news about the wildfire. I was curious and I was not the only person there. There were dozens of people watching the firefighters. I wanted to make sure my friends, plural, were ok. Geralt came over when he saw me, the others left without him. It was cheaper to share a taxi back to town.”

“It was inappropriate.” Philippa said sharply, her voice was brimming with cool anger.

Jaskier could almost feel the sparks in the air as she pinned him down with an icy stare.

“Please don’t suspend me.” He pleaded. “Not now, I can’t leave my kids now.”

Philippa appraised him with eyes, not dissimilar to a shark hunting its prey.

“Please.” He repeated as he dropped back down into his seat. “I will stay away from Geralt. Just, please let me finish the term.”

Philippa glanced at Tissaia. “And what do you suggest, headmistress?”

Tissaia smiled at him with an almost maternal fondness. “Jaskier is one of the best primary school teachers this school has ever had. Not only is he great with the children, but he is committed to bringing diversity and equality to the school. Suspending him now would do more harm than good.”

“And what would I say to those who claim his objectification of Mr Rivia is no better than the comments made by those who have been suspended?” Philippa asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

“I would say that Jaskier was foolish but he only ever wears his heart on his sleeve. I believe, whilst ill-judged, he only said those things out of a deep fondness and respect for Mr Rivia. That being said, it would not be right for there to be no reprimand for his, or Triss’s behaviour at the start of term.” Tissaia’s words were calculated and Jaskier almost fell out of his chair in relief.

She was defending him.

Philippa nodded. “Very well. Jaskier, I will be writing to you with a formal decision regarding any action that the school board will be taking. You will have an opportunity to challenge this should you think it’s unfair. In the meantime please cease any contact you have with Geralt and Ciri’s family outside of school. Is that understood?”

Jaskier gaped.

He’d gotten away with it.

Sort of.

“Umm, actually I do have a couple of questions?” He raised his hand awkwardly.

Philippa rolled her eyes. “Go on, make it quick.”

“What if Triss, or Istredd invite me out to the pub and Eskel and the others are there?” He asked, tapping out a rhythm with his fingers on the desk in front of him.

“Then you find a way to politely decline.” Philippa answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“And what about when term ends?” Jaskier asked, desperately trying to keep his voice from wavering.

“Why would that change anything?” Philippa asked, her dark eyes piercing into his soul.

“Oh well, I wouldn’t be Ciri’s teacher? I could… be friends with them again?” He tried a smile but his stomach was twisting and he could taste bile in the back of his throat.

Philippa laughed darkly. “Tread carefully, Mr Pankratz. You’re dismissed.”

“Oh hey, no, but you haven’t answered—”

“Out. Now.” Philippa cut him off.

“But that’s not fair!” He protested.

“Jaskier.” Tissaia’s eyes were warning him to shut up but once more he didn’t listen.

“This fucking bullshit.” He snapped as he kicked his chair out from underneath him. “Bollocks to the lot of it.”

He stormed from the room in a fury.

It wasn’t fucking fair.

He considered going home sick. He was too hot, too tired and bloody fuming, but his kids. They needed him.

He pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time. He still had another ten minutes of break time left. He hit the speed dial, praying that Geralt would answer.

It rang twice before he heard Geralt’s voice hum through phone. Jaskier finally felt as if he could breathe again. He looked behind him at Tissaia’s office and then trotted off towards his classroom as he spoke.

“Dear heart?” He asked, his voice shaking more than he would like.

“Hmm?” Geralt answered ever so eloquently.

“There’s been a slight problem.” He sighed quietly.

“Ciri?”

Jaskier shook his head. “No. Not her.”

“Spit it out.” Geralt grumbled.

“Alright, moody.” Jaskier rolled his eyes.

“Sorry. Long shift.” Geralt sighed.

“Tell me about it.” Jaskier agreed. “Tissaia asked to speak to me, with Philippa Eilhart.”

“Fuck.”

“Yup.” Jaskier agreed.

“Is everything alright?” Geralt asked quietly.

Jaskier thought about it. “I don’t know, I really don’t know.”

“I’ll ask Renfri if she can look after Ciri tonight after I’ve put her to bed.” Geralt suggested. “I can come over.”

“Does she know?” Jaskier frowned.

“She guessed.”

“Oh.” Jaskier sighed. “Right.”

“Jask?” Geralt whispered.

“No. It’s alright. I’m fine, dear heart.” Jaskier lied, but he’d promised Tissaia and Philippa that he would stay away from Geralt until the end of term. He had to at least try. “I’ll see you once term is over.”

“No.” Geralt groaned.

“Love, please” Jaskier whined. “Don’t be difficult.”

“Are we ok?” Geralt asked in hushed tones.

Are you breaking up with me?

That was the real question.

“Of course we are, three things?” Jaskier asked gently.

“Chocolate chip pancakes, cornflowers, chamomile tea.” Geralt answered without missing a beat.

Jaskier let the hidden meaning behind those words wash over him, let them clear away his doubts and fears.

“I adore my Buttercups, my darling, you know that.” He answered with a sigh. “I’m just not sure whether teaching is what pleases me anymore, not if I can’t have you.”

“Jaskier” Geralt growled.

“Summer, my dear. If we can’t be free then, well… I always did want to become a musician.” His heart clenched in his chest.

“Three things.” Geralt stated firmly.

Jaskier froze.

Geralt had never asked him that before.

He couldn’t find the words.

How could he choose just three things that made him happy?

“Not sure I can beat chocolate chip pancakes.” He teased.

Geralt hummed but didn’t answer.

Jaskier took a deep breath. “The way the moonlight shines on a river and changes the world into one of magic and power and intrigue, the golden eyes of a wolf as it watches its cub play in the woods, the warmth of being known and loved by someone I adore.”

Geralt was silent on the other end of the line.

Jaskier laughed nervously. “So umm. There’s that.”

“When is the end of term?” Geralt asked.

“Not soon enough.” Jaskier replied with a dramatic sigh.

“Hmm. IOU.” Geralt mumbled. “Fuck, I need to go.”

Jaskier smirked. He really should have kept a tally of all the kisses that Geralt now owed him, and vice versa.

“Stay safe, my darling.” He replied just as Geralt hung up.

He sighed as he reached his classroom, his eyes drifting over the paper buttercups that covered his door.

What made him happy?

What pleased him…

He wasn’t lying when he told Geralt that he wasn’t sure anymore, but was he really going to give up his career for a relationship that probably wouldn’t even last?

He pushed open the door and then turned to lean on it, sliding to the floor with a long groan.

It was going to be a long three weeks before the summer holidays.

____

Next

[planningforburial]

An essay or some thoughts on the art of Leaving September 2020.



I want to say some things about the artwork for Leaving, this is mostly because I am on this kick to make sure my thoughts on many subject involving Planning For Burial are archived somewhere, anyways I didn’t really mention the art much in the little booklet that came with the anniversary box set much at all besides saying there wasn’t a whole lot of art/photos too choose from for it.


So let me start by saying I’m so extremely happy with how the box set turned out, I was very worried while doing it because of what I had mentioned above and because the main reason, which is that I have never been 100% happy with any of the artwork for any of the physical editions of Leaving. This boxset I had my hands on the entire thing, I’m not slamming anyone for the work they did either, it’s just I wasn’t happy with aspects of the other editions.

For example, the original CD version for a few reasons, I wanted it in a size envelope closer to what the (continued) CD had come in, the bigger envelope just didn’t fit well anywhere with any of my media besides my 7”s, and it seemed the contents are always fumbling around in there. Second I didn’t realize until I had seen the final product in my hands that Dan had cropped much of the “background” of the front image to give it a black border. Now this also could’ve  been fixed with better communication on both sides, but when it came down to it I was inexperienced with anyone else putting my music out and I was frankly just happy that someone cared enough to put their time, money and their own reputation on the line for it. 


The cassette edition I did on Music Ruins Lives that came in the box with a spray painted black square was fine, it helped tie it to the minimalism of the original CD envelope. I also used some art work from the inserts of the CD. As time goes on I realized I could’ve done some sort of sticker to make it appear like the current LP box set, hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Looking back on it too I think my design eye wasn’t meeting with my technical know how at the time either.


And last the first LP edition that The Flenser put out in 2015, I actually love Niels artwork for it, the only problem is that it wasn’t the original. I had thought the original image in the most high resolution version has been lost thanks to a stolen laptop, the only copy I had for it just wasn’t going to work being blown up to fit the LP.

Fast forward to 2018, I had another hard drive die on me, so I started digging out other external drives and my very first laptop to back all of them up in multiple places, and there it was still in the photos of my old laptop the original high resolution image along with other variations of the photo, you may ask why I didn’t check that to begin with back in 2014/2015 when we were setting up the first edition of the LP, and the answer is I thought I had pretty much scrubbed the whole computer clean so I could just barely keep my recording set up working, but there it was still intact.

Now as for the artwork itself. It has no meaning, but I just immediately felt it was right for the photo of the album when I had accidentally made it, because that’s the thing I base a lot of what I do off of a feeling I may have and for whatever reason it just fit the vibe. An LP mailer from my basement floor that I had written the track listing of the album at whatever time on it just to get an idea for sequencing, because I often like to write things out. Later on I must’ve used that mailer to protect my back deck as I spray painted a fuzz pedal I had been working on, white and red, I had left the mailer outside to dry and while that happened a lite rain came through and mixed some of the white paint together with falling petals from cherry blossom tree in my backyard. Upon seeing it I began spraying both paints at the same time in order to get the right texture of pink, I then stood on a chair and used a cheap Cannon point and shoot to take the pictures and eventually picked the one that is on the cover. This was sometime in May 2008.

With some of the other art mainly being the organ with the portrait/painting of the boy resting on it.  The organ is the one I own, I had bought it for $25 at a yard sale down the road from my 2nd home in New Jersey the one where I recorded “Wearing Sadness and Regret Upon Our Faces” and “Verse/Chorus/Verse”, I used it a lot on recordings around this time, and I had always kept that photo above the organ in the area I recorded. The photo of the boy a large digital print I believe, I had won it at an raffle for one of my ex-girlfriends friend who had recently gone into remission from cancer, the artist who did it was on of their friends. I got it sometime in 2006 or 2007 and sadly I don’t know who the artist is but it has always been part of PFB since that time, it currently hangs in the kitchen of my home.

Anyways, this was a long ramble, I’m not sure it means anything, and I’m not sure if I got an idea across. I just wanted to say some things about the art I guess/ 


Written sometime in late August/early September 2020. 


[abstractanalogue]

Capratone, The Asteroids & The Metronoids (for Beginners)

Tracks & Traces #13: I’ve been planning to write about the music of Capratone, The Asteroids and The Metronoids for sometime and have finally gotten around to it (somehow its been almost 3 years since the last T&T). The link between these bands is Andrew Lyster (now living in Brussels) and as I will explain, he kindly answered some of my questions for this hybrid Tracks & Traces. Since originally publishing this piece Richie Kelly of Capratone has also similarly added valuable information I would never have been able to share otherwise. Usually I just depend on my memory, the records, press cuttings and any surviving notes I took  from the times but as I got deeper into the story there were too many question marks about line-ups (pre-Capratone), the issue of a possible ‘lost’ Capratone album and don’t even get me started about The Metronoids!  At time of writing most of this music is hard if not impossible to find streaming online and I couldn’t even locate any band photos or videos either. Which is all the more reason to write a piece to mark their existence and hopefully spark a revival of interest. When I was putting the finishing touches to the article I did discover there is now at least some music from The Asteroids on YouTube. Not long after I originally shared this piece, Joss Moorkens of Capratone sent me two band photos, the first line-up (L-R: Fiachra, Joss, Andrew) and as a four piece with Richie Kelly (below).  

I first saw Andrew Lyster play (vocals/guitar) when I caught The World of Pugh in a venue I only went to once, Dillinger’s. Like many things from those days it’s long gone but it was a bar with a small stage (up some stairs?) somewhere off Dublin’s Capel St. (18/3/94). As I totally forgot who was in the rest of the band I’ll let Andrew take up the story.

“The World of Pugh was the first group where I wrote songs. I think it started around 1993. Originally it was Keith Swan on drums and a fellow called Brian McEleney on bass. Then in 1994 I brought some songs in and Brian took off to be replaced by Niall Brown (who was also the singer and guitar player for The Moustaches). Niall played bass for World of Pugh in the form where we had songs and did gigs.”

I’m sure someone like Joss Moorkens (then drumming with Tucker Suite) had told me about TWOP and the name had struck me (there was a very cool hand drawn flyer for the gig). They played bottom of the bill with Tucker Suite, Budge and Schroeder’s Cat, all part of a very exciting little scene at the time. Less than two weeks later I happened to see TWOP again on a bill with The Moustaches at a house party on Middle Abbey Street. The Moustaches, who sadly never released anything, were also part of this same scene (in my mind anyway). As I recall, this latter show was on the second or third floor of a semi derelict space in which a friend of both bands was living as a caretaker. Andrew has now told me that he and Keith Swan actually lived there and it was where TWOP rehearsed. I remember sitting on an old mattress and really enjoying the atmosphere (a cymbal was tied to a rafter). I do remember that TWOP had a real sense of humour on stage with some crowd involvement going on. They never had any releases but might well have recorded something (I’ve also heard tell of an unreleased album by The Moustaches!). This would be the last time I saw them play, perhaps it was even their last show? It would be another year before I would see Andrew onstage again.  

While researching this piece I did find an Irish band family tree which shows that Andrew, Joss, Fiachra Lennon and Brian Gough were in a band called Mudshark (1991-92), which was not actually their first band. Again, Andrew gave me some more information which I thought was worth sharing and clarifying about these early days.

“Brian Gough (later in Mexican Pets) had been in an even earlier band than Mudshark with me called The Foots. This band only played one gig in a pub in Dun Laoghaire in 1991. Our friends had to listen to the music from the street because they were too young to get in. After The Foots broke up I think Brian went on to another group called Harvey, and then Tucker Suite with Greg Barrett (later in Joan of Arse) on bass initially. Greg then did Schnorbitz with Joss, and had a cool band called Giraffe Running.”

Andrew’s next band would be Capratone (vocals/guitar) along with Joss on Drums and Fiachra on bass. Regarding song-writing Andrew told me, “For the most part I would write the songs and we would try to make them better by all writing our own parts through rehearsals. One or two were group written from stuff that happened in rehearsal.”  I first saw them in another venue off Capel St. supporting Schroeder’s Cat at Behan’s Bar (previously The Fox & Pheasant) (3/4/95) and again just ten days later at The Plough with (surprise surprise) The Moustaches and Schroeder’s Cat. I would get to see this line-up play quite often on local bills until Sept ‘97 (more on this later). I recall they also played a short tour around Ireland with US band The Make-Up (April ‘97). 

In early ‘96 they tried to record an album with producer Marc Carolan. Andrew told me it was to be called, “Le Plus Roll, because we felt our music was more Roll than Rock. I can’t pin down the exact date of the recording, but my guess is that it was in 1996. We had 2 days in a studio somewhere in Rathgar. It was a 24 track ADAT studio. I think it had a Soundcraft desk. The highlight equipment-wise was an incredible Ampeg bass stack that belonged to some professional band. Its sound was so authoritative and great that by the end of the long first day’s recording, when I had crawled into bed, I was woken up a couple of times by LOUD auditory hallucinations of Fiachra’s P Bass blasting through that thing. Marc, and the three of us all worked really hard for the two days, we did manage to record and mix all the songs we came in with, but I think the short time-frame worked against us capturing the right aesthetic. The means of production were expensive to rent and we couldn’t afford to record even in a project studio like that for more than a day or two.”

Luckily, one of the songs, ‘Homeward’, ended up on the Irish band compilation album, Zip Up Your Boots For The Showbands (1996). I always loved this intricate and explosive song and a whole album like this would have been quite something. The only place online you can hear it now is on a radio show I made for Dublin Digital Radio about bands that played in Dublin’s Attic venue. I must point out the musicianship of Capratone, it may not have been so obvious in the more noisy Tucker Suite but Joss was such an amazing and distinct drummer and both Fiachra and he so easily locked together. They created a lot of space for Andrew’s vocals and guitar for these catchy and very inventive songs to really flow. 

At some point in late 1996 Richie Kelly joined (on right in pic) on guitar and they played as a four piece. At some other point Andrew left but as the band continued things must have been going really well musically. According to my notes the last two times I saw Capratone play was at the start of September ‘97, supporting The Sewing Room and Luggage at Dublin’s Mean Fiddler and then a headline show in The Funnel venue at the end of the same month. This doesn’t mean they stopped playing of course but for whatever reasons I didn’t see them again. Things don’t stay static, I did get really into electronic dance music and clubbing the following year but continued to see guitar bands as well but gigs would clash, allegiances, circumstances and tastes change, choices have to be made. 

At some point this second line-up hooked up with Dublin label Folkrum Records (run by Dan Watson) and they recorded a mini album, The Art of Go, which was released in early 2000 (CD only) and produced by Simon Kenny aka Si Schroeder. At that stage Joss and Fiachra were still in the line-up with Richie and Eric Sexton (on guitar). I wasn’t sure if any of Andrew’s songs survived after his time with the band (on the Capratone page of the old Folkrum website he only gets thanked for the name) so I needed to ask him about it, “I didn’t write anything on the LP called The Art of Go. There was a strange overlapping series of line-ups in Capratone but when I left I think Richie Kelly (who was a recently arrived guitar player joining the original 3 piece) took on the song-writing job. As far as I know those Art Of Go tunes were all of his making. Richie went on to make a few attempts at recording subsequent line-ups of Capratone.” According to Joss’ short biog of the band on Last.fm, by the end of Capratone the line-up had changed completely from the original one. 

Since I published this piece Richie Kelly has been in touch and has kindly provided more detail about joining the band and how his role and the line-up evolved. “I saw Capratone in 1996 and was blown away. Even before the show ended, I wanted to join but that seemed unlikely. It turned out that Andrew’s song-writing was taking a new direction and he had decided to add a second guitarist. We were connected through an extended friend group and apparently word had gotten to him that I was as enamoured with The Beach Boys as he was. We bumped into each other and started talking music and I must have auditioned and joined the band shortly thereafter. At some point I brought a song to the band and we added it to our set (with my vocals). I started contributing more so when Andrew decided to stop playing, we just continued. We added Eric Sexton, a friend and former bandmate. The Art of Go was recorded by Simon Kenny with basic tracking done over a weekend at a large room in Joss’ father’s business. Simon and I continued vocals and overdubs at his flat in Donnybrook.”

Surprisingly none of this music has made it onto YouTube or anywhere else online that I could find. It can be bought on Discogs, which is how I got my hands on it about two years ago. In my opinion it works really well as an EP, with a few really engaging tracks but with some filler too. The best for me would be ‘Clozer’ which sounds like a lost classic and musically is a more full bodied version of the band heard on ‘Homeward’. ‘Free Jazz’ is pleasingly upbeat and cruises along on Beach Boy vibes. They do sound quite American (Pavement and bands of that ilk) at times (as did Capratone mark 1) but this was very much the sound and influence of the times, everything still comes down to the quality of the song-writing. The band broke up a good while later, sometime in 2003 without anymore releases. At some stage Richie Kelly moved to Brooklyn, New York and started a similar sounding band there but with more brass, Sport of Kings. He even re-recorded ‘Free Jazz’ and made a video for it. The influence of Brian Wilson is clear on this song in particular, they cleverly re-use The Beach Boy’s ‘Cool, cool water” line in the song (also present in the original version). Apart from some positive reviews of their only EP, Logic House (2011), there is little sign of the band online either but at least you can check out their excellent video for ‘Free Jazz’ (see below). I did find just one image of Capratone at this time on the Folkrum website, which I have enlarged below. Richie is the golf club carrying member. 

In my original piece I wasn’t sure what happened to Capratone next so Richie can take up the story, “The Art of Go attracted the interest of Shifty Disco, who released all of the Elephant 6 stuff in the UK. We set about making a full length for them which we were calling Aviation High. Simon Kenny was initially set to record but was so busy with other projects, I asked Andrew to do it and he agreed. Drum and bass tracking took place in a studio in Dublin. Andrew and I indulged our love of tinkering at his family home while recording my parts and mixing. The result is a pretty high fidelity Capratone record. Shifty Disco preferred the super compressed Capratone of the previous record and passed. We trudged along with some line-up changes after that. The most stable line-up though was myself, Cian Synnot on drums, Fiachra McCarthy on guitar and Michael Stevens (of Groom and many other excellent bands) on bass. As Joss said, no original members were left by the end of Capratone. I believe we kept the name simply because we couldn’t come up with a new one, apparently I have a problem naming things. When I ended up opening music studios and practice spaces in Brooklyn after moving there, I asked Joss if I could use the name of his label Scientific Laboratories because I loved it so much and couldn't think of an alternative.”

I think it’s well worth including here what happened with Richie’s next band Sport of Kings. “My love of fidelity only increased as the years continued except my focus switched from The Beach Boys to Steely Dan. I because obsessed with doing an indie rock version of their music and Sport of Kings took that direction. The initial line-up was drums, bass guitars and Fender Rhodes and then we added a horn section and a drummer from NYU’s Jazz Program who were incredible and took things to a whole different level.”

“After our Logic House EP, we made a full record (15 songs to be called Queer Theorem) with Michael Leonhart of Steely Dan as producer and occasional synth/horns/vocals contributor. This was essentially a dream come true for me. Initial tracking was done by me at a studio in Brooklyn and painstaking overdubbing, vocals and mixing was done by myself and Michael at his mixing room in the city. Ironically, we recorded yet another version of ‘Free Jazz’ with Michael. I’m not sure why I keep rerecording it but it might have something to do with Andrew and I finding out Brian Wilson used to record ‘Proud Mary’ every time he went into a new studio to check the sonics. I think I now have 4 completed versions!”

“I put an enormous amount of effort into Queer Theorem but it took so long that by the time it was ready, many band members were so in demand by big artists that they had little time to give. Keeping a 7-piece band of amazing musicians afloat proved too difficult and I disbanded the group rather than trying to recruit new musicians. I had also taken that level of fidelity to its conclusion and I returned to looser music after moving to Portland, OR.”

The next ‘band’ Andrew founded was solo project The Asteroids. I don’t think he ever presented it live but there was just one release, an exquisite three track 10″/CD, Moonlight Music For Beginners, which was released on Joss Moorkens’ Scientific Laboratories label in 2000 (the same year as The Art of Go). You can listen to what has to be my favourite song, ‘Nine Lives’ at link below (the other two songs can helpfully be found on the same channel and I’ve linked them here). According to the sleeve notes it took two years to record, with I assume Andrew playing all the instruments and doing the programming etc. I was sure to pick this up on vinyl at the time and have cherished it since. The amazing paintings on front and back were by the artist Niamh McGrath.

‘Nine Lives’ is so laid back, rich in instrumentation but for me it’s all about Andrew’s vocals (Alan Kelly of The Last Post also provides additional backing vocals). The lyrics prove to be the real earworm for me, “Who is the man, who has done this to you?” with an unexpected lyrical twist at the end. The song has somehow burrowed its way into my consciousness and over the past 20 years has been liable to play in my head at any time. ‘Return Of The Moonlightman’ is more sparse and based again around the vocal arrangement, a second deeper voice (John Parkinson) enters the fray about halfway and it goes to another level with a lovely gradual close. ‘The Great Escape’ is dominated by a really warm organ sound that pulls you along. This one in particular reminds me of Brian Wilson, one of Andrew’s touchstone influences. It’s one of those releases which has dated really well in my opinion and is pretty much unknown I think (I don’t know how many were pressed or sold). There was so much promised with this release and frankly it’s something of a shame it was not followed up at the time. If Andrew had been signed or whatever then things might have happened differently but like all of the bands I’ve written about in this series, we’re lucky to have what we have and the music will last forever. You can still find it for sale on Discogs and it can be played and purchased on iTunes and Tidal. There was one other song from this period, ‘Lunar Doo Wop’, released on a compilation CD included free with the first Foggy Notions magazine. I vaguely remember it but can no longer find my copy (the title tells us all we need to know!). 

Sometime in 2005 or later I bumped into Andrew and he gave me a CD from his latest group The Metronoids. It was a two track disc in a plastic wallet (no cover artwork or personnel details) called Petroleum. Today this doesn’t even exist on Discogs never mind anywhere else! Until I asked Andrew about it I wasn’t sure if this had simply been a promo but he told me there was artwork etc. The reason I probably never saw it for sale is that I left Dublin in 2005. For a bit more information I had to dig into the data on the CD itself and found that the track names are simply ‘Petroleum 1 & 2′ and for what it’s worth the genre on iTunes comes up as Blues (not sure how this gets assigned). It’s a pleasant listen (the more spirited second track is my favourite) but it surprised me very much to find it was all drums/percussion and obviously nothing like what he’d done before. This would be the only release under the name, which I imagine is pretty rare to come across.

I obviously had to get Andrew to explain The Metronoids to me, “This was a project I really enjoyed. Done in 2004/5 with Joss and Marc Hayes (drummer from The Moustaches, Boxes). It was always a real pleasure to be in a room with those two guys. I think we did a handful of rehearsals and one recording session. The idea was drum improv within premeditated structures. All three of us played drums. I think I got the notion to do a project that required a different kind of listening from my love of the CD called Guitar Solo by Annette Krebs.” 

I wasn’t aware of this at the time but Andrew, Joss and Fiachra briefly reunited as The Lamps in 2005 but as far as I know while there were some live gigs there were no releases. Since then Andrew has told me he is currently working on two new music projects, “One with Fiachra Lennon is called Fig/Astro, it started in 2018, we should be finished an LP this year. He wrote a bunch of instrumental tracks and sent them to me. At his request I turned the instrumentals into songs, and the productions are evolving from there with both of us working on it via WeTransfer. He is a real natural musician so the songs have  a very solid foundation. It was refreshing to write songs this way from track to song, rather than from song to track as I had always done previously. My own LP has been in the pipeline since 2009 when I wrote a load of songs and set out to record them in-the-box. Some of the songs went through over 20 productions. Working on a finite group of productions over a long period, under the microscope of Digital Audio Workstation has really allowed me to discover how to do my own thing. The work on this solo album takes a lot of focus.” 

After Capratone Joss would go on to play with Joan of Arse and The Dudley Corporation and guest on many other releases, most of these can be found on his impressive Discogs entry. When I was doing my research for this piece I was excited to find an old Souncloud page for The Asteroids I never knew existed, it has two unreleased tracks which date from about 2014 but Andrew said the music since then has been become more abstract. Fiachra meanwhile has a bulging Soundcloud page full of his own demos that is very worth exploring too. Both of them are also on Twitter, The Asteroids and Fiachra. It will have been a long time coming but I’m looking forward to the next new releases from both these artists. 

Sometimes the best things take time.

Stephen Rennicks

[doof-doofblog]

"What Do I Get?" ...  "Me!"

Friday 11th September 2020

Good evening everyone! So sorry for the late post, I was away from my laptop over the weekend and I've only had now to catch up with Friday's episode! I've decided that tomorrow I will do two posts, one following up tonight's episode and obviously the second one following Tuesday's episode! I want to make sure my blog is up date as much as possible. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

Let's look back at the episode in hand, you will remember that Thursday's episode ended with Vinny attacking Martin in the Minute Mart after he was caught fleeing from Ruby's club. The episode started exactly where the last one finished off, Martin is lying on the floor unconscious, poor Vinny is worried and panicking about what he has just done, he calls his brother Jags for help! How is Vinny going to get himself out of this?!

Back at the Vic, Ian has just poured his heart out to Sharon, revealing that he has fallen in love with her, and he's adamant that she feels the same way about him. To his devastation, she admits that she loves him as a dear friend and as someone she trusts, but not in the way he is thinking. Poor Ian so confused, I'm sure he's feeling completely taken aback, especially after the lies Dotty filled his head with. Ian states to Sharon that she gave him all sorts of looks and signs and signals that that was how she felt about him, but I think it comes to the realisation that he accidentally misread them. Sharon assures him that nothing needs to change and they can still carry on how things are, but to Ian's dismay, he feels as though everything has changed between them now - how can he carry on living with her knowing she doesn't feel the same way about him?!

At the Atkins household, we last saw Gray approach Chantelle about her wedding ring. He is unaware that she pawned it so she could get some money to get away. She's come up with the story to tell him that the stone in the ring had come lose, so she's going to have it fixed. He is constantly questioning her, asking her why she hadn't told him in the first place, he lunges at her a smacks the table in a rage. Softly, out of fear, she says she'll have the ring back in a few days and she also questions him back - Asking him whether he thinks she took it off because she's fallen out of love with him? Only his snide comment back is "Can you blame me?!" ... As they're trying to talk things through, their daughter Mia walks into the room, nearly giving away Chantelle's escape plan. Chantelle tries to swerve Gray off the suspicion and says she'll take the children out for the afternoon while he does his work at home. Gray then goes into Chantelle's bag, takes out her purse and car keys and gives her only a £10 note to spend and says "The should be more than enough!" - he walks away with her purse and car keys, leaving her with no choice but to come back home!

Back at the Minute Mart, Vinny is waiting for his brother, only for his Mother, Suki, to walk in. She sees Martin lying on the floor and begins to ask questions. She tells him that he needs to flee and act as if he wasn't there and doesn't know a thing. Jags follows behind her, she tells him they all need to get their story straight and instructs Jags to wipe the CCTV. Whatever the plan Vinny and Ruby had, Ruby doesn't want to go ahead with it anymore, she's seen phoning Vinny claiming it was a mistake! Could they both be in big trouble for what they were going to do?! Is Martin going to realise who it was he chased and ended up being attacked by? What I also want to know is, what does Suki have anything to do with the situation? Why is she getting involved? I've said it before and I'll say it again - i'm convinced there's much more to the Panesar family that we haven't seen yet. I'm really intrigued to see if we'll find out anymore about their past and why they came to Walford!

Callum is still clearly feeling disappointed in Ben for lying to him. Ben is pleading for Callum to help him and his Dad and asks him to try and get the CCTV footage of him wiped. Callum scoffs and can't believe what his boyfriend is asking of him, Callum has worked hard to get where he is in the Police, how could his partner ask him to jeopardise his career? Callum states to Ben that all he cares about is himself and his Dad, he always seems to come second best. What relationship are they going to have when it's all based on lies?! Callum leaves leaving Ben looking guilty, worried and panicked. Is this another bump in the road that Ballum will be able to overcome?

Back over at The Vic, Dotty decides to make an appearance, even though she's not welcomed with smiles. Sharon immediately tells her to leave but Dotty can't help but make fun of Ian. Acting with pride and sarcasm, asking him if he really believed that Sharon actually loved him. Ian just bows his head in embarrassment, for a split second there is silence as the locals listen in and react to what they've just heard. Max, who is sat on the other side of the room, tells Ian to just ignore her as Dotty leaves with a smug grin on her face. I think it's then that Ian realises he's been made a fool of and been lead to believe something which isn't true. Everyone is sticking up for him, Sharon and Max are all saying that Dotty is just talking rubbish - even though part of me is thinking that Max isn't going to be best buddies with Ian when he realises that Ian bought the Vic with his share of the restaurant. Later on upstairs, Ian is packing his things away, Sharon is trying to persuade him that nothing has to change and that he can stay, but Ian is having none of it - he blames her for leading him on, being too intimate and being with each other over lock-down. Sharon apologises deeply for giving her friend the wrong impression but she can't seem to realise that she's done anything wrong - which to be fair, she hasn't - I'm sure she thought Ian was there for her just out of support and for genuinely being a good friend. Ian then confesses "I bought you a pub!" - that was another reason he bought it for her, because he loved her! It's only then Sharon realises that his feelings for her really do run deep!

Meanwhile, Ruby has been trying to get hold of Martin, she noticed Vinny from across the Square and he shoots off. Ruby then looks down the Square to see an ambulance, as she gets closer, she realises it's Martin lying in the back of it. She rushes to be at his side. Suki tells her not to worry and that she was the one who called the ambulance. As Ruby looks on worryingly, Ash approaches her Mum and asks her what has happened. Suki then instructs her quietly, as she looks over Ash's shoulder in the distance to the Police, to say that Vinny was with her all day if anyone asks her any questions. Ash looks confused but then as she looks behind her to see the police, she understands she needs to do as her Mum tells her.

At home, Ben is waiting for Callum to return. As he walks in, it's clear they are both reeling from the information that they've both been made aware of. Ben is the one who breaks the ice and instantly apologises to his boyfriend for lying and for putting him in a terrible situation. He admits he's messed everything up, Callum is silent and listens carefully as Ben makes his apology. Ben begins to explain the whole situation regarding his Dad and Danny, even mentioning the moment when Danny had a gun and that was when he lost his hearing. He compliments Callum and basically thanks him for being so loving and caring towards him when he was going through the most difficult time in his life, and that because of that he couldn't bring himself to tell him what had happened and upset him. He states that he doesn't want to lose his partner because of it. Callum instantly tells him that that is not going to happen, it's then that Ben sighs and says to him "I do not deserve you!", this is such a beautiful Ballum moment, Callum smiles slightly and agrees that finally that that is something they can both agree on. Ben sighs and then goes to the draw and pulls out the box containing the house key, instantly Callum is shocked and begins to ask whether it could be something else, Ben explains that he was going to do it the day before, before anything happened but obviously he couldn't ... he opens the box - "Move in with me, Cal!" ... for a split moment, it looks as if Callum is about to smile a huge smile - but then he says "How do I know you've not just done that now? Thinking that it would fix everything!" - Ben is left devastated, his lips curl and he places the box on the kitchen table, softly saying "Stupid idea!" and walks out! Callum is left staring at the box. At his point, I do feel sorry for Ben, he's trying to do everything he can to make it up to his partner, but he just doesn't seem to be having any of it.

Outside on the Square, Chantelle is looking defeated. Her daughter Mia asks her whether or not they'll be going on their adventure. Chantelle sadly shakes her head and tells her daughter that it wont be today, she also asks her not to mention it to their Daddy either. Mia smiles and says "I'm good at keeping secrets!" - Mitch then joins Chantelle and the children in the garden and says that he's booked them a holiday for the following day, and even though he understands that Gray may not be able to get the time off work, he would love it if Chantelle and the kids would go with him. Chantelle's face lights up - could this be the opportunity she needs to finally get away? It would be the perfect excuse to get away from Gray and it will also be the best opportunity she could get to make her escape plan work! She agrees and tells her children that they'll still be going on their adventure!

Okay - just putting it out there!!! Does anyone think something is going to happen between Tina and Frankie?! I can just see it happening. Tina isn't fond of Frankie to begin with, saying to Peter that her disability isn't going to help when it comes to serving drinks to a bar full of people. Frankie then proves her point to Tina and deals with a situation with some customers. She gets them to leave the bar and smiles at Tina - "Happy?" - Tina is then seen looking closely at Frankie. Is she going to slowly start getting feelings for the girl, and with Frankie somehow going to be getting closer to the Carter family, will she perhaps take advantage of Tina's feelings and lead her on, just to get closer to Mick, Ollie and the family?! Who knows?!

Back at the Mitchell house, Ben walks in a room where Callum is on his own, just thinking to himself. He says to Ben that he hates everything that is going on. He hates not being able to trust his own boyfriend. Once again, Ben tries his best to apologise - trying to explain that he didn't think, he was trying to protect his lover but also the fact that he was worried that Callum would put his career before him. Callum again tells his boyfriend that he loves him, they both share a smile at each other and Callum begins to get back to matter at hand. He informs Ben that CID will have the CCTV footage back in a few days time and he can try and delay it. The only way that they can move Ben away from the scent and the one thing that will stop Ben from going on the run, is if they decide to set Danny up and get him to go to the police without him knowing. Callum looks in shock, but perhaps it could be the only way of getting Ben and Phil out of trouble?!

The Panesar family are reeling over recent events and what Vinny has done. Ash is angry at her family for getting her involved and making her lie to the Police. Suki is basically telling them all to agree to the same story. Kheerat is trying to keep the peace saying that everything will be fine if they all say the same thing. Ash is angry and leaves the room. Suki instructs Vinny to change his clothes, it's only when she also leaves the room that Jags approaches his brother and asks him whether he's sick of things happening and that everything they do - there's always a victim. He reveals that he and Habiba had been seeing each other, but after he took her to one of his jobs to collect rent, she dumped him. I think that Jags is slowly starting to realise that the way he's been living his life, is not normal. I think it's clear that the Panesar family have been involved in horrendous things and it looks as if Jags is wanting to change his ways. He couldn't believe he could have someone as beautiful as Habiba, and now she's dumped him, he can see that the family do is wrong. He pulls out a poker chip and says that Kheerat can now have it, it used to bring him luck but he no longer wants it and maybe Kheerat needs more of the luck if he's going to be staying with the family  He says to his brother that he is going to change his ways and he's going to do everything he can to win Habiba back.

The last scene of the episode, Chantelle is whispering on her phone. At first we're not too sure who it is she's speaking to, until she makes her way down the stairs of her front door and Kheerat approaches her. She says to him that he's not supposed to be there, but he confesses he can't help but worry about her and making sure she's okay. He claims that he and Chantelle both know that there is something between them, Chantelle doesn't deny it, but she begs him to go before Gray sees. He pulls out the poker chip Jags gave him and tells her that he wants her to have it, and that any time she wants to cash it in, to give it back to him. She looks a little confused to begin with, she asks "What do I get?" ... Kheerat then leans in and smiles, "Me!" and places it in her palm. Chantelle encloses it with fist and fingers and as he walks away, she's left with a soft smile on her face. Will Chantelle find a way to confide in him before it's too late? Will Gray find the poker chip? Will the poker chip be found at the scene when Chantelle sadly passes away?

I feel the poker chip is going to be something important, either it'll go missing, Gray will find it, Kheerat will find it and some how, some way - it will come to light about Chantelle's abuse at the hands of her husband. I do believe eventually Kheerat will find out and he'll do anything to get justice for her. What do you guys think? I apologise once again for this post being so late, but I promise there will be two blog posts tomorrow! Thanks again for reading, it truly means the world. Thank you everyone xXx

[novamahend]

2020 RECAP, 2021 PLAN

Here we go again. The new year celebration has passed one month, but it's still OK to plan the whole year, right? 1 month has passed, 11 months are coming. Better late than never.

Let's start this post with last year's accomplishment. 

Let me think first. I think I did nothing, LOL.

Just kidding! Of course, I did some things.

Here are several things I did last year:

Joined another running event. I participated in Tjolomadoe 10K in February. Sadly that was the last non-virtual running event before the covid-19 outbreak. Also, the upcoming event will not come in the next months or even years. :(

Climbed another mountain. I climbed Telomoyo Mount (1894m) in September. I climbed it twice, the first one by riding, then the second one by hiking. It was a "just for fun" hiking btw. No much effort is needed.

Managed my financial bookkeeping properly. After a long search, finally, I found an app that suits my financial needs. It is Money Lover. An app that can track all my expenses, income, and investment return. It also provides a cool visualization. The most important thing, I know where all my money fuckin goes.

Portfolio diversification. Portfolio diversification is a key for survival in 2020 stock collapse, right? "Don't put your eggs in one basket!"

I did no hair cut in 2020. "You rock, man!"

Bought less high price-overrated coffee. I changed my old-high expense habit with bought coffee beans and make a great cup of coffee on my own with my office's awesome coffee machine. It was more saving and more satisfying. Btw I also change my paradigm about going to a coffee shop. When I go to a coffee shop, I am not buying a cup of coffee instead I am buying time, knowledge, discussion, and happiness.

Been a co-leader in my software project team. Since August, I was chosen by my team leader to help him manage the team. I learned about managing the project, managing the team, managing priorities, and so on, and so on. Oh no, I became busier.

Last but not least. Being healthy. Of course, it's a great gift in the pandemic era. We should be grateful for that.

Here are things I failed last year:

My Sabana Fried Chicken outlet was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So sad. The last time it opened was before last year's Eid Mubarak. Sure, I did not expect a pandemic when I opened this business 1.5 years ago. But I think I am still blessed. Many people out there are not lucky as I am. Even they lost everything, while I just lost my side hustle.

Did not make a great decision in March and September 2020 stock collapse. Just imagine this. How if you put all/great portion of your money in stock in March 2020. Then you slept and wake up today. You will be so rich, man. Damn! "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful."

Just reading a few books. As  I remember, I just read 1-2 books last year. Oh no, I watched a lot of TV series last year. :o

Here are several things I plan to do this year:

Be more productive in reading. I set my goal to be reading 10 books this year. It may be a small number for you guys, but sure it's a big one for me. To achieve this goal, I just bought Amazon Kindle last December. So far, it's so helpful. At the time I am writing this post, I almost finish my second book.

Be more active in exercising. I set my goal on this to be 50 activities on Strava. It means at least one exercise a week. Let's see whether I can catch up with this goal or not. 

Reach half-marathon level on running. I don't want to push myself so hard, actually. But I think it's something achievable. Join the ITB Ultra Marathon event at the end of 2021 also will be interesting.

Listen to more podcasts than music. Last year I spent 1/5 of my time on Spotify listening to the podcast. This year, I want to make it 50/50 at least. Of course, listening to music is fun and makes me more productive. But I don't want to waste my time not feeding my brain with something meaningful.

Climb another mountain. One mountain in one year is enough. More frequent will be more impressive.

Learn more skills in software, investment, and communication.

Build a new daily habit. A better one. I wanna list my detailed daily routine, like waking up early, exercising, planning the day, high productivity activity, no wasting time, etc. I want my days to be more planned. Yeah "A" blood type typical.

Be a good leader in my software project team. My previous team leader is chairing a larger role in the project. Then the position of the software team leader is empty. I was chosen not because I am that good, but I am the only option, just like that. So don't amaze me! :D

Work-life balance.

You expect something else that is not being mentioned here? Haha, I want to keep some plans secretly just for my self. Sorry!

I think that's all. 

May the pandemic will over soon so we can live our lives as fun as before!

Stay healthy, stay negative!

See you next year! 

Bye!

[simon-newman]

One year update

Well. Not exactly one year if we count my ants and mantises but today exactly one year ago I bought my first tarantula... And my second one...

For that reason and because i didn’t post about my animals in a LONG WHILE I’m going to update you on all of them.

Anyway... Lets get the hard one done with first: My mantises.

Sadly those don’t live long and a few weeks ago my last praying mantis has passed away. It was to be expected as they live only for about a year and I got them all before even my first tarantula.

Out of 7 praying mantis I’ve bought 4 reached maturity. Two died of unknown causes, one fell during a molt. Yeah... They are fragile like that.

Still - I want to believe those other 4 had good lives filled with roaches and all the other things mantises like...

Ok.

Now the fun part.

ANTS.

I’m not sure if I reported this before but from my 2 Manica rubida colonies one lost it’s queen right before winter.

Normally the colony would be doomed but at the end of their hibernation I joined the two colonies and the surviving queen adopted the orphaned workers.

The surviving colony is doing quite well I’d say:

Here’s Queen Sola in all of her winged glory. The population of workers has decreased lately but I’m planning to upgrade their habitat in a few weeks.

Still - there’s soon gonna be a boom in new workers:

The pile of larvae and pupae is just enormous.

Now. The other colony - mt Formica cinerea? Umm...

This queen is taking it rather easy. She underwent hibernation with just 8 workers last year and took her time before laying new batch of eggs. The 2nd generation of workers replaced the old one as it was passing away and the numbers never exceeded 20 workers. All seem rather small for the species still.

I try to provide them with a lot of honey (they have a constant supply) and more than enough roaches (I’m exchanging them weekly so that they don’t go bad).

There are about 10 pupae and some more larvae in there... not sure how many because those ants make their test tubes really filthy somehow. And yes - test tubes. I provided another, clean one and they didn’t even bother trying to move into it...

I hope they’ll increase their population before hibernating this year.

Now. The recent find...

During my last hike I found this beauty. The young queen of the second largest ant species in my country: Camponotus herculeanus.

Known for their large size, ability to bite into wood and a soldier caste of workers those ants are one of the most desired species among antkeepers in my country.

I was hoping to find a queen of their larger cousins but I’m not gonna be picky about it.

The queen is currently stored in a dark and calm place where she can do her job and give birth to her first generation of workers (which might take a long time - those species develop slowly).

I expect to see first soldier ants in 3-4 years.

Now. The tarantulas in order of acquisition:

1. Tliltocatl vagans (ex. Brachypelma vagans)

Now this little spider underwent a lot.

A name change among other things - the genus was separated into two and... Well... I don’t want to bother you with details. My Brachypelma is now Tliltocatl.

It molted 6 times during the time I had it and I expect it to molt again within a week. It’s currently pushing 8cm in diagonal leg span (DLS) and after molting it’ll be once again my biggest spider.

Sadly it is due to that the colors are so... Brown.

After molting it’ll be velvet black (legs) with a vibrant red abdomen. I’m hoping for a black carapace after this molt as well.

This is also my only suspected female tarantula.

most keepers want females because they live several times longer than males. 15-30 years (depending on species) compared to 3-7 for males.

2. Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

We got there!

We got the blue colors - finally!

Until recently the carapace was still a mixture of dark blue and gold - now it’s finally getting the blue-green look to it.

It molted just recently and is still kinda shy - I had to lure it out with food for this picture but I managed somehow.

Suspect male but people on arachnoboards told me to wait a bit longer as they can be a bit tricky to properly identify.

It’s last molt is about 7,5 cm in DLS meaning the spider is now bigger than that.

3. Phormictopus sp. green gold carapace

Another BIG ONE.

Big boy actually. Last attempt at sexing left almost no doubts - it is a male.

On one hand I’m happy because males of Phormictopus genus get some stunning colors when they mature.

On the other hand... Well. He’ll have a short life and the species is quite hard to come by so I might not be able to find him a date.

Perhaps I’ll try to contact the breeder who sold him to me and ask if he’s still breeding them but... I have the feeling that the guy doesn’t like me much.

As for the spider himself... I complained a lot about his temperament - he was bolty and kicked hair at the slightest of disturbances... Was. Recently he got quite calm and almost... gentle... I hope he stays this way.

It also grows FAST. It was a lot smaller than my first two spiders and now can rival them in size at about 7,5 cm in DLS.

4. Psalmopoeus cambridgei

Mr shy. I can’t get a good picture of him no matter how much I try.

Always hiding or escaping the moment I take out the camera. A fussy eater and and overall pain in the butt.

Also - suspect male. His molts are always ruined so they can’t be used to determine it with all certainty but I had a good look on him two or three times and he seems male to me.

I might be wrong tho.

5. Lasiodora klugi

The SMOL one. Not so small anymore.

Still my smallest spider but it grew a lot from that tiny, tiny spiderling that I got back in September.

I hear they speed up a lot after hitting the juvenile stage which should happen soon...

Ultimately this will be my largest spider.

No clue if it’s male or female - too small to even try checking.

6 Harpactira pulchripes

The evil one, eh?

The only Old World tarantula in my collection - Old World meaning it’s from Africa and lacks the irritating hairs the New World Ts use for defense.

To make up for this the OW spiders are faster and their venom is quite nasty.

I get a threat posture from this little guy every time I try to take it’s molt out. That is... 3 times so far.

Still a beautiful spider that grows A LOT with each molt.

So. That’s it. All of my animals not counting the cat. I hope you enjoyed this update.

I’ll try to put together a feeding video. Soon. This time for sure.

[financetoday]

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling Explains Why She Quit Peaky Blinders And How She Plan To Make Her Fans' Dreams Come True on Mirror

"I know how many people are struggling today," - J.K. Rowling explains "This was something what I always wanted to do - to help people who have real needs. Author didn't leave much space for this, so I decided to leave it aside for a while. This new project will allow people to earn for living by working from home, even those who have no technical or business experience. It’s amazing."

J.K. Rowling is one of the world's highest paid author in national press club, but what separates her from other author is how she leverages her finances to extend her wealth. With her latest investment, it looks like her money-making kingdom is set to continue even after she quit the Peaky Blinders.

Appearing on the Daily Mirror, J.K. Rowling, revealed that she invested substantial amount of money in a new automated trading platform. The idea was simple: allow the average person the opportunity to cash in on the digital currency boom. Even if they have absolutely no investing or technology experience.

A user would simply make an initial deposit into the platform, usually of £250 or more, and the automated trading algorithm would go to work. Using a combination of data and machine learning, the algorithm would know the perfect time to buy and sell digital assets, maximizing the user's profit. J.K. Rowling told us that she used her regular credit card for the initial deposit!

This new trading platform was launched in United States back in September 2018 but as of few days ago it opened up it's doors to United Kingdom's citizens as well.

To demonstrate the power of the J.K. Rowling’s platform Louise Minchin had deposit £250 live on the show.

Louise Minchin describing her experience after signing up on the platform. (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

“I've heard about digital currencies and the massive amount of money you can make from it, but I've never bought any. I had no idea where to start. This was really easy, I can just use my credit card to deposit money, and it buys them for me.”- Louise Minchin.

After her initial deposit for £250 was made, the trading platform went to work buying low and selling high. Within 3 minutes, she had successfully increased her initial funds to £483.18. That's a £233.18 profit.

Louise and Cillian talking about Jonathan's first profit (Image: Daily Mirror)

Everyone on the show including the production staff were immediately impressed by how easy it was to make money. The platform handles all the trading work automatically, and because the price of digital currencies is quite volatile, there are numerous opportunities to profit.

Before Cillian even had a chance to respond to everyone's questions, Louise interrupted and said with a smile on her face: "I've gone up to £398.42 in profits after just 8 minutes".

READ MORE

"Digital currencies are so hot right now, and even if someone like me, who has no knowledge, can make money from it, I'm all in. I need to have a piece of this!” - Louise Minchin.

“If you had invested just £100 in Digital currencies back in 2010 you would now enjoy dividends of £75 Million!”

Register Here And Start Profiting!

Here's the deal: The program is gaining major popularity and the results are astonishing. Minchin explains how “timing is key with an opportunity like this and sadly the window for this is this is pretty small; many British people will miss out. There really is just a few months or even weeks left to rake in that holiday money." Economists are urging people to "Start Now!"

The Greatest News for Our Readers（Only for Today): Trading Platform Offers £250 Welcome Bonus on Your First Deposit (£300 for Top 20 New Users)! Click this link to see if you can still join!

£2136037 TOTAL PAID OUT on Trading Platform TODAY

Sound too good to be true? That's what single mum, Fiona Presley from Stevenage, initially thought too. Fiona is a 37-year-old mother of 2 boys who lost her job last October. She was lucky enough to be invited to beta test the program in January this year after stumbling across an ad on Facebook.

Fiona Presley, Mother of 2, was initially skeptical of this make-money-from-home opportunity, but it turned out to be the "best decision of her life" (Image: Daily Mirror)

Fiona admits: "At first, I thought this was a joke. Making money from home is only a dream, but I decided to try it anyway given my circumstances. I watched this video and then signed up. It was actually kinda fun learning something new. Money was flowing into my account, I didn't believe it was real. I was skeptical that I would receive a payout!”

Trading Platform now pays Fiona every Monday morning." (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

"I now earn really good money just to work from home every day...and I get paid every Monday morning... I make around £7,000 a month right now and it’s creeping up every week. I receive my digital coins straight to my wallet, and if I need quick access I can transfer cash directly to my bank account by direct deposit, but I also have the option of Paypal or Cheque too!

What exactly is Fiona paid to do? She says, "Essentially this new economy is Trading Platform . You can trade it like stocks, but because it's a completely untapped market, there's no competition. I'm scooping up cash like ice cream. It's such a good time to be doing this and although I did my best to shield my kids from my challenges, they can clearly now see how much happier mummy is, and their toy cupboard is well stocked!"

What you need: Only a computer, smartphone, or tablet with internet access. You don't need any specific skills other than knowing how to use a computer and browsing the internet. Another perk of this program is you get to choose your own hours. You can work completely on your own schedule- whether that's 5 hours a week or 50 hours a week. Absolutely no selling or telemarketing involved!

To save our reader’s time and double check the Trading Platform functionality, Fiona kindly created a guide to getting started on the system.

Here's her step-by-step walkthrough:

First thing you see is a video showing off Trading Platform in all of its glory. The advertising is big and bold and in your face but it is an American product and that's how they do things. Anyway, you simply submit your name and email address below the video to get started.

Next up, you're asked to fund your account. As I was navigating the deposit page, my mobile rang. It was an international number so I was hesitant to answer but then I realised it was obviously from Trading Platform. Sure enough, it was my own personal account manager. His service was great. He took me through the entire funding process. They accept all major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard and American Express. I went ahead and deposited the minimum amount which is around £180 or $250 cause the platform works in US Dollars.

Once funded, I navigated to the "Auto-Trader" section of software, set the trade amount to the recommended $50 and enabled it. The Trading Platform software started making trades at a rapid rate and I was concerned at first but let it do its thing. I left it active for about an hour and went and watched TV. When I came back, my account balance read $1,592.37! That's £1,127! I had just turned £180 into £1,127 in the space of an hour!

Minchin says: she’s inspired by the success so many are having with this, and hopes a renewed sense of optimism will sweep the nation as it gains momentum and more people reap the rewards for “seeing what I see here”.

£2136036 TOTAL PAID OUT on Trading Platform TODAY

TRY Trading Platform NOW

Associated Links:Trading Platform OFFICIAL SITE

[ellabaylon177]

J.K. Rowling Explains Why She Quit Peaky Blinders And How She Plan To Make Her Fans' Dreams Come True on Mirror

"I know how many people are struggling today," - J.K. Rowling explains "This was something what I always wanted to do - to help people who have real needs. Author didn't leave much space for this, so I decided to leave it aside for a while. This new project will allow people to earn for living by working from home, even those who have no technical or business experience. It's amazing."

J.K. Rowling is one of the world's highest paid author in national press club, but what separates her from other author is how she leverages her finances to extend her wealth. With her latest investment, it looks like her money-making kingdom is set to continue even after she quit the Peaky Blinders.

Appearing on the Daily Mirror, J.K. Rowling, revealed that she invested substantial amount of money in a new automated trading platform. The idea was simple: allow the average person the opportunity to cash in on the digital currency boom. Even if they have absolutely no investing or technology experience.

A user would simply make an initial deposit into the platform, usually of £250 or more, and the automated trading algorithm would go to work. Using a combination of data and machine learning, the algorithm would know the perfect time to buy and sell digital assets, maximizing the user's profit. J.K. Rowling told us that she used her regular credit card for the initial deposit!

This new trading platform was launched in United States back in September 2018 but as of few days ago it opened up it's doors to United Kingdom's citizens as well.

To demonstrate the power of the J.K. Rowling's platform Louise Minchin had deposit £250 live on the show.

Louise Minchin describing her experience after signing up on the platform. (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

"I've heard about digital currencies and the massive amount of money you can make from it, but I've never bought any. I had no idea where to start. This was really easy, I can just use my credit card to deposit money, and it buys them for me."- Louise Minchin.

After her initial deposit for £250 was made, the trading platform went to work buying low and selling high. Within 3 minutes, she had successfully increased her initial funds to £483.18. That's a £233.18 profit.

Louise and Cillian talking about Jonathan's first profit (Image: Daily Mirror)

Everyone on the show including the production staff were immediately impressed by how easy it was to make money. The platform handles all the trading work automatically, and because the price of digital currencies is quite volatile, there are numerous opportunities to profit.

Before Cillian even had a chance to respond to everyone's questions, Louise interrupted and said with a smile on her face: "I've gone up to £398.42 in profits after just 8 minutes".

READ MORE

"Digital currencies are so hot right now, and even if someone like me, who has no knowledge, can make money from it, I'm all in. I need to have a piece of this!" - Louise Minchin.

"If you had invested just £100 in Digital currencies back in 2010 you would now enjoy dividends of £75 Million!"

Register Here And Start Profiting!

Here's the deal: The program is gaining major popularity and the results are astonishing. Minchin explains how "timing is key with an opportunity like this and sadly the window for this is this is pretty small; many British people will miss out. There really is just a few months or even weeks left to rake in that holiday money." Economists are urging people to "Start Now!"

The Greatest News for Our Readers（Only for Today): The Official Platform Offers £250 Welcome Bonus on Your First Deposit (£300 for Top 20 New Users)! Click this link to see if you can still join!

£2,136,037 TOTAL PAID OUT on the platform TODAY

Sound too good to be true? That's what single mum, Fiona Presley from Stevenage, initially thought too. Fiona is a 37-year-old mother of 2 boys who lost her job last October. She was lucky enough to be invited to beta test the program in January this year after stumbling across an ad on Facebook.

Fiona Presley, Mother of 2, was initially skeptical of this make-money-from-home opportunity, but it turned out to be the “best decision of her life" (Image: Daily Mirror)

Fiona admits: "At first, I thought this was a joke. Making money from home is only a dream, but I decided to try it anyway given my circumstances. I watched this video and then signed up. It was actually kinda fun learning something new. Money was flowing into my account, I didn’t believe it was real. I was skeptical that I would receive a payout!”

The trading platform now pays Fiona every Monday morning." (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

"I now earn     really good money just to work from home every day…and I get paid every     Monday morning… I make around £7,000 a month right now and it’s creeping     up every week. I receive my points straight to my wallet, and if I need     quick access I can transfer cash directly to my bank account by direct     deposit, but I also have the option of Paypal or Cheque too!

What exactly is Fiona paid to do? She says, "Essentially this new economy is the platform . You can trade it like stocks, but because it’s a completely untapped market, there’s no competition. I’m scooping up cash like ice cream. It’s such a good time to be doing this and although I did my best to shield my kids from my challenges, they can clearly now see how much happier mummy is, and their toy cupboard is well stocked!”

What you need: Only a computer, smartphone, or tablet with internet access. You don’t need any specific skills other than knowing how to use a computer and browsing the internet. Another perk of this program is you get to choose your own hours. You can work completely on your own schedule- whether that’s 5 hours a week or 50 hours a week. Absolutely no selling or telemarketing involved!

To save our reader’s time and double check the trading platform functionality, Fiona kindly created a guide to getting started on the system.

Here’s her step-by-step walkthrough:

First thing you see is a video showing off the platform in all of its glory. The advertising is big and bold and in your face but it is an American product and that’s how they do things. Anyway, you simply submit your name and e mail address below the video to get started.

Next up, you’re asked to fund your account. As I was navigating the deposit page, my mobile rang. It was an international number so I was hesitant to answer but then I realised it was obviously from the trading platform. Sure enough, it was my own personal account manager. 

His service was great. He took me through the entire funding process. They accept all major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard and American Express. I went ahead and deposited the minimum amount which is around £180 or $250 cause the platform works in US Dollars.

Once funded, I navigated to the “Auto-Trader” section of software, set the trade amount to the recommended $50 and enabled it. The trading software started making trades at a rapid rate and I was concerned at first but let it do its thing. I left it active for about an hour and went and watched TV. When I came back, my account balance read $1,592.37! That’s £1,127! I had just turned £180 into £1,127 in the space of an hour!

Minchin says: she’s inspired by the success so many are having with this, and hopes a renewed sense of optimism will sweep the nation as it gains momentum and more people reap the rewards for “seeing what I see here”.

£2,136,036 TOTAL PAID OUT ON THE PLATFORM TODAY

[finance-today]

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling Explains Why She Quit Peaky Blinders And How She Plan To Make Her Fans' Dreams Come True on Mirror

"I know how many people are struggling today," - J.K. Rowling explains "This was something what I always wanted to do - to help people who have real needs. Author didn't leave much space for this, so I decided to leave it aside for a while. This new project will allow people to earn for living by working from home, even those who have no technical or business experience. It’s amazing."

J.K. Rowling is one of the world's highest paid author in national press club, but what separates her from other author is how she leverages her finances to extend her wealth. With her latest investment, it looks like her money-making kingdom is set to continue even after she quit the Peaky Blinders.

Appearing on the Daily Mirror, J.K. Rowling, revealed that she invested substantial amount of money in a new automated trading platform. The idea was simple: allow the average person the opportunity to cash in on the digital currency boom. Even if they have absolutely no investing or technology experience.

A user would simply make an initial deposit into the platform, usually of £250 or more, and the automated trading algorithm would go to work. Using a combination of data and machine learning, the algorithm would know the perfect time to buy and sell digital assets, maximizing the user's profit. J.K. Rowling told us that she used her regular credit card for the initial deposit!

This new trading platform was launched in United States back in September 2018 but as of few days ago it opened up it's doors to United Kingdom's citizens as well.

To demonstrate the power of the J.K. Rowling’s platform Louise Minchin had deposit £250 live on the show.

Louise Minchin describing her experience after signing up on the platform. (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

“I've heard about digital currencies and the massive amount of money you can make from it, but I've never bought any. I had no idea where to start. This was really easy, I can just use my credit card to deposit money, and it buys them for me.”- Louise Minchin.

After her initial deposit for £250 was made, the trading platform went to work buying low and selling high. Within 3 minutes, she had successfully increased her initial funds to £483.18. That's a £233.18 profit.

Louise and Cillian talking about Jonathan's first profit (Image: Daily Mirror)

Everyone on the show including the production staff were immediately impressed by how easy it was to make money. The platform handles all the trading work automatically, and because the price of digital currencies is quite volatile, there are numerous opportunities to profit.

Before Cillian even had a chance to respond to everyone's questions, Louise interrupted and said with a smile on her face: "I've gone up to £398.42 in profits after just 8 minutes".

READ MORE

"Digital currencies are so hot right now, and even if someone like me, who has no knowledge, can make money from it, I'm all in. I need to have a piece of this!” - Louise Minchin.

“If you had invested just £100 in Digital currencies back in 2010 you would now enjoy dividends of £75 Million!”

Register Here And Start Profiting!

Here's the deal: The program is gaining major popularity and the results are astonishing. Minchin explains how “timing is key with an opportunity like this and sadly the window for this is this is pretty small; many British people will miss out. There really is just a few months or even weeks left to rake in that holiday money." Economists are urging people to "Start Now!"

The Greatest News for Our Readers（Only for Today): Trading Platform Offers £250 Welcome Bonus on Your First Deposit (£300 for Top 20 New Users)! Click this link to see if you can still join!

£2136037 TOTAL PAID OUT on Trading Platform TODAY

Sound too good to be true? That's what single mum, Fiona Presley from Stevenage, initially thought too. Fiona is a 37-year-old mother of 2 boys who lost her job last October. She was lucky enough to be invited to beta test the program in January this year after stumbling across an ad on Facebook.

Fiona Presley, Mother of 2, was initially skeptical of this make-money-from-home opportunity, but it turned out to be the "best decision of her life" (Image: Daily Mirror)

Fiona admits: "At first, I thought this was a joke. Making money from home is only a dream, but I decided to try it anyway given my circumstances. I watched this video and then signed up. It was actually kinda fun learning something new. Money was flowing into my account, I didn't believe it was real. I was skeptical that I would receive a payout!”

Trading Platform now pays Fiona every Monday morning." (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

"I now earn really good money just to work from home every day...and I get paid every Monday morning... I make around £7,000 a month right now and it’s creeping up every week. I receive my digital coins straight to my wallet, and if I need quick access I can transfer cash directly to my bank account by direct deposit, but I also have the option of Paypal or Cheque too!

What exactly is Fiona paid to do? She says, "Essentially this new economy is Trading Platform . You can trade it like stocks, but because it's a completely untapped market, there's no competition. I'm scooping up cash like ice cream. It's such a good time to be doing this and although I did my best to shield my kids from my challenges, they can clearly now see how much happier mummy is, and their toy cupboard is well stocked!"

What you need: Only a computer, smartphone, or tablet with internet access. You don't need any specific skills other than knowing how to use a computer and browsing the internet. Another perk of this program is you get to choose your own hours. You can work completely on your own schedule- whether that's 5 hours a week or 50 hours a week. Absolutely no selling or telemarketing involved!

To save our reader’s time and double check the Trading Platform functionality, Fiona kindly created a guide to getting started on the system.

Here's her step-by-step walkthrough:

First thing you see is a video showing off Trading Platform in all of its glory. The advertising is big and bold and in your face but it is an American product and that's how they do things. Anyway, you simply submit your name and email address below the video to get started.

Next up, you're asked to fund your account. As I was navigating the deposit page, my mobile rang. It was an international number so I was hesitant to answer but then I realised it was obviously from Trading Platform. Sure enough, it was my own personal account manager. His service was great. He took me through the entire funding process. They accept all major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard and American Express. I went ahead and deposited the minimum amount which is around £180 or $250 cause the platform works in US Dollars.

Once funded, I navigated to the "Auto-Trader" section of software, set the trade amount to the recommended $50 and enabled it. The Trading Platform software started making trades at a rapid rate and I was concerned at first but let it do its thing. I left it active for about an hour and went and watched TV. When I came back, my account balance read $1,592.37! That's £1,127! I had just turned £180 into £1,127 in the space of an hour!

Minchin says: she’s inspired by the success so many are having with this, and hopes a renewed sense of optimism will sweep the nation as it gains momentum and more people reap the rewards for “seeing what I see here”.

£2136036 TOTAL PAID OUT on Trading Platform TODAY

TRY Trading Platform NOW

Associated Links:Trading Platform OFFICIAL SITE

[uk-breaking-news]

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling Explains Why She Quit Peaky Blinders And How She Plan To Make Her Fans' Dreams Come True on Mirror

"I know how many people are struggling today," - J.K. Rowling explains "This was something what I always wanted to do - to help people who have real needs. Author didn't leave much space for this, so I decided to leave it aside for a while. This new project will allow people to earn for living by working from home, even those who have no technical or business experience. It’s amazing."

J.K. Rowling is one of the world's highest paid author in national press club, but what separates her from other author is how she leverages her finances to extend her wealth. With her latest investment, it looks like her money-making kingdom is set to continue even after she quit the Peaky Blinders.

Appearing on the Daily Mirror, J.K. Rowling, revealed that she invested substantial amount of money in a new automated trading platform. The idea was simple: allow the average person the opportunity to cash in on the digital currency boom. Even if they have absolutely no investing or technology experience.

A user would simply make an initial deposit into the platform, usually of £250 or more, and the automated trading algorithm would go to work. Using a combination of data and machine learning, the algorithm would know the perfect time to buy and sell digital assets, maximizing the user's profit. J.K. Rowling told us that she used her regular credit card for the initial deposit!

This new trading platform was launched in United States back in September 2018 but as of few days ago it opened up it's doors to United Kingdom's citizens as well.

To demonstrate the power of the J.K. Rowling’s platform Louise Minchin had deposit £250 live on the show.

Louise Minchin describing her experience after signing up on the platform. (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

“I've heard about digital currencies and the massive amount of money you can make from it, but I've never bought any. I had no idea where to start. This was really easy, I can just use my credit card to deposit money, and it buys them for me.”- Louise Minchin.

After her initial deposit for £250 was made, the trading platform went to work buying low and selling high. Within 3 minutes, she had successfully increased her initial funds to £483.18. That's a £233.18 profit.

Louise and Cillian talking about Jonathan's first profit (Image: Daily Mirror)

Everyone on the show including the production staff were immediately impressed by how easy it was to make money. The platform handles all the trading work automatically, and because the price of digital currencies is quite volatile, there are numerous opportunities to profit.

Before Cillian even had a chance to respond to everyone's questions, Louise interrupted and said with a smile on her face: "I've gone up to £398.42 in profits after just 8 minutes".

READ MORE

"Digital currencies are so hot right now, and even if someone like me, who has no knowledge, can make money from it, I'm all in. I need to have a piece of this!” - Louise Minchin.

“If you had invested just £100 in Digital currencies back in 2010 you would now enjoy dividends of £75 Million!”

Register Here And Start Profiting!

Here's the deal: The program is gaining major popularity and the results are astonishing. Minchin explains how “timing is key with an opportunity like this and sadly the window for this is this is pretty small; many British people will miss out. There really is just a few months or even weeks left to rake in that holiday money." Economists are urging people to "Start Now!"

The Greatest News for Our Readers（Only for Today): CRYPTO ENGINE Official Platform Offers £250 Welcome Bonus on Your First Deposit (£300 for Top 20 New Users)! Click this link to see if you can still join!

£2136037 TOTAL PAID OUT on CRYPTO ENGINE TODAY

Sound too good to be true? That's what single mum, Fiona Presley from Stevenage, initially thought too. Fiona is a 37-year-old mother of 2 boys who lost her job last October. She was lucky enough to be invited to beta test the program in January this year after stumbling across an ad on Facebook.

Fiona Presley, Mother of 2, was initially skeptical of this make-money-from-home opportunity, but it turned out to be the "best decision of her life" (Image: Daily Mirror)

Fiona admits: "At first, I thought this was a joke. Making money from home is only a dream, but I decided to try it anyway given my circumstances. I watched this video and then signed up. It was actually kinda fun learning something new. Money was flowing into my account, I didn't believe it was real. I was skeptical that I would receive a payout!”

CRYPTO ENGINE now pays Fiona every Monday morning." (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

"I now earn really good money just to work from home every day...and I get paid every Monday morning... I make around £7,000 a month right now and it’s creeping up every week. I receive my Coins straight to my wallet, and if I need quick access I can transfer cash directly to my bank account by direct deposit, but I also have the option of Paypal or Cheque too!

What exactly is Fiona paid to do? She says, "Essentially this new economy is CRYPTO ENGINE . You can trade it like stocks, but because it's a completely untapped market, there's no competition. I'm scooping up cash like ice cream. It's such a good time to be doing this and although I did my best to shield my kids from my challenges, they can clearly now see how much happier mummy is, and their toy cupboard is well stocked!"

What you need: Only a computer, smartphone, or tablet with internet access. You don't need any specific skills other than knowing how to use a computer and browsing the internet. Another perk of this program is you get to choose your own hours. You can work completely on your own schedule- whether that's 5 hours a week or 50 hours a week. Absolutely no selling or telemarketing involved!

To save our reader’s time and double check the CRYPTO ENGINE functionality, Fiona kindly created a guide to getting started on the system.

Here's her step-by-step walkthrough:

First thing you see is a video showing off CRYPTO ENGINE in all of its glory. The advertising is big and bold and in your face but it is an American product and that's how they do things. Anyway, you simply submit your name and email address below the video to get started.

Next up, you're asked to fund your account. As I was navigating the deposit page, my mobile rang. It was an international number so I was hesitant to answer but then I realised it was obviously from CRYPTO ENGINE. Sure enough, it was my own personal account manager. His service was great. He took me through the entire funding process. They accept all major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard and American Express. I went ahead and deposited the minimum amount which is around £180 or $250 cause the platform works in US Dollars.

Once funded, I navigated to the "Auto-Trader" section of software, set the trade amount to the recommended $50 and enabled it. The CRYPTO ENGINE software started making trades at a rapid rate and I was concerned at first but let it do its thing. I left it active for about an hour and went and watched TV. When I came back, my account balance read $1,592.37! That's £1,127! I had just turned £180 into £1,127 in the space of an hour!

Minchin says: she’s inspired by the success so many are having with this, and hopes a renewed sense of optimism will sweep the nation as it gains momentum and more people reap the rewards for “seeing what I see here”.

£2136036 TOTAL PAID OUT on CRYPTO ENGINE TODAY

TRY CRYPTO ENGINE NOW

Associated Links:CRYPTO ENGINE OFFICIAL SITE

[ukbreakingnews]

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling Explains Why She Quit Peaky Blinders And How She Plan To Make Her Fans' Dreams Come True on Mirror

"I know how many people are struggling today," - J.K. Rowling explains "This was something what I always wanted to do - to help people who have real needs. Author didn't leave much space for this, so I decided to leave it aside for a while. This new project will allow people to earn for living by working from home, even those who have no technical or business experience. It’s amazing."

J.K. Rowling is one of the world's highest paid author in national press club, but what separates her from other author is how she leverages her finances to extend her wealth. With her latest investment, it looks like her money-making kingdom is set to continue even after she quit the Peaky Blinders.

Appearing on the Daily Mirror, J.K. Rowling, revealed that she invested substantial amount of money in a new automated trading platform. The idea was simple: allow the average person the opportunity to cash in on the digital currency boom. Even if they have absolutely no investing or technology experience.

A user would simply make an initial deposit into the platform, usually of £250 or more, and the automated trading algorithm would go to work. Using a combination of data and machine learning, the algorithm would know the perfect time to buy and sell digital assets, maximizing the user's profit. J.K. Rowling told us that she used her regular credit card for the initial deposit!

This new trading platform was launched in United States back in September 2018 but as of few days ago it opened up it's doors to United Kingdom's citizens as well.

To demonstrate the power of the J.K. Rowling’s platform Louise Minchin had deposit £250 live on the show.

Louise Minchin describing her experience after signing up on the platform. (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

“I've heard about digital currencies and the massive amount of money you can make from it, but I've never bought any. I had no idea where to start. This was really easy, I can just use my credit card to deposit money, and it buys them for me.”- Louise Minchin.

After her initial deposit for £250 was made, the trading platform went to work buying low and selling high. Within 3 minutes, she had successfully increased her initial funds to £483.18. That's a £233.18 profit.

Louise and Cillian talking about Jonathan's first profit (Image: Daily Mirror)

Everyone on the show including the production staff were immediately impressed by how easy it was to make money. The platform handles all the trading work automatically, and because the price of digital currencies is quite volatile, there are numerous opportunities to profit.

Before Cillian even had a chance to respond to everyone's questions, Louise interrupted and said with a smile on her face: "I've gone up to £398.42 in profits after just 8 minutes".

READ MORE

"Digital currencies are so hot right now, and even if someone like me, who has no knowledge, can make money from it, I'm all in. I need to have a piece of this!” - Louise Minchin.

“If you had invested just £100 in Digital currencies back in 2010 you would now enjoy dividends of £75 Million!”

Register Here And Start Profiting!

Here's the deal: The program is gaining major popularity and the results are astonishing. Minchin explains how “timing is key with an opportunity like this and sadly the window for this is this is pretty small; many British people will miss out. There really is just a few months or even weeks left to rake in that holiday money." Economists are urging people to "Start Now!"

The Greatest News for Our Readers（Only for Today): CRYPTO ENGINE Official Platform Offers £250 Welcome Bonus on Your First Deposit (£300 for Top 20 New Users)! Click this link to see if you can still join!

£2136037 TOTAL PAID OUT on CRYPTO ENGINE TODAY

Sound too good to be true? That's what single mum, Fiona Presley from Stevenage, initially thought too. Fiona is a 37-year-old mother of 2 boys who lost her job last October. She was lucky enough to be invited to beta test the program in January this year after stumbling across an ad on Facebook.

Fiona Presley, Mother of 2, was initially skeptical of this make-money-from-home opportunity, but it turned out to be the "best decision of her life" (Image: Daily Mirror)

Fiona admits: "At first, I thought this was a joke. Making money from home is only a dream, but I decided to try it anyway given my circumstances. I watched this video and then signed up. It was actually kinda fun learning something new. Money was flowing into my account, I didn't believe it was real. I was skeptical that I would receive a payout!”

CRYPTO ENGINE now pays Fiona every Monday morning." (Image: Daily Mirror)

READ MORE

"I now earn really good money just to work from home every day...and I get paid every Monday morning... I make around £7,000 a month right now and it’s creeping up every week. I receive my points straight to my wallet, and if I need quick access I can transfer cash directly to my bank account by direct deposit, but I also have the option of Paypal or Cheque too!

What exactly is Fiona paid to do? She says, "Essentially this new economy is CRYPTO ENGINE . You can trade it like stocks, but because it's a completely untapped market, there's no competition. I'm scooping up cash like ice cream. It's such a good time to be doing this and although I did my best to shield my kids from my challenges, they can clearly now see how much happier mummy is, and their toy cupboard is well stocked!"

What you need: Only a computer, smartphone, or tablet with internet access. You don't need any specific skills other than knowing how to use a computer and browsing the internet. Another perk of this program is you get to choose your own hours. You can work completely on your own schedule- whether that's 5 hours a week or 50 hours a week. Absolutely no selling or telemarketing involved!

To save our reader’s time and double check the CRYPTO ENGINE functionality, Fiona kindly created a guide to getting started on the system.

Here's her step-by-step walkthrough:

First thing you see is a video showing off CRYPTO ENGINE in all of its glory. The advertising is big and bold and in your face but it is an American product and that's how they do things. Anyway, you simply submit your name and email address below the video to get started.

Next up, you're asked to fund your account. As I was navigating the deposit page, my mobile rang. It was an international number so I was hesitant to answer but then I realised it was obviously from CRYPTO ENGINE. Sure enough, it was my own personal account manager. His service was great. He took me through the entire funding process. They accept all major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard and American Express. I went ahead and deposited the minimum amount which is around £180 or $250 cause the platform works in US Dollars.

Once funded, I navigated to the "Auto-Trader" section of software, set the trade amount to the recommended $50 and enabled it. The CRYPTO ENGINE software started making trades at a rapid rate and I was concerned at first but let it do its thing. I left it active for about an hour and went and watched TV. When I came back, my account balance read $1,592.37! That's £1,127! I had just turned £180 into £1,127 in the space of an hour!

Minchin says: she’s inspired by the success so many are having with this, and hopes a renewed sense of optimism will sweep the nation as it gains momentum and more people reap the rewards for “seeing what I see here”.

£2136036 TOTAL PAID OUT on CRYPTO ENGINE TODAY

TRY CRYPTO ENGINE NOW

Associated Links:CRYPTO ENGINE OFFICIAL SITE