#so I just chose for them to make a donation to make a wish foundation

[i-cant-sing]

Daniel and YN part 9 🌗🌗

“Sensei, I think we have a lead on Daniel and YN.” “Tell me more, Tomura.” Shigaraki’s spine tingles when his master speaks.

His father figure, his sensei. Desperate to please, he pulled up the file his rat in the police station grabbed. “Last week there was an incident at the cafe in the pink district. There were several vases destroyed from an unknown explosion. The windows were cracked from trembling so hard. Almost all the footage tapes were melted, melted in the camera holder. When examined, the broken materials were giving off radiation. Radiation so bad it left a cop in the hospital.” “Interesting… you said almost all the footage?” “Yes. My rat got me the only tape that survived. When I watched it, I think I saw them.” AFO tilted his head. It was progressing faster than planned, but of course he was prepared for that possibility. Daniel seemed to be more subject to his emotions than his sister. Over the years AFO did not see an improvement on his mental development. It seemed that he would need to intervene sooner than expected if he did not want to lose his child to a hero. “Sensei. There’s also news that All Might and his protege are investigating the incident.” Now that was a complication. All Might and his other child should not be allowed total influence over the two. It was time to enact a different plan. One that involved seeing his past wife. “Thank you Tomura. I want you to keep an eye out for them. They are not to be harmed. I have to make arrangements. When you find them make sure you keep a nullifier on hand. In case Daniel needs to be calmed down.” With that, AFO hung up and opened a portal to the Midoryia household. He hasn’t gone by Midoryia for a long time, but even so he did not expect a warm welcome from his past wife. And when she opened the door to him, the look of worry on her face confirmed his suspicions. “They’re not here. Izuku is out trying to find YN. You can’t lash out at him or All Might. They’re-” “I plan to find them first. Izuku is not capable of handling Daniel’s quirk if they upset him. And you underestimate YN. She is very adept at hiding and defense.” “How would you know?” “Because I keep a watchful eye on all my children.” “All your..?” “Four years before we conceived Izuku, I donated my DNA for a little… experiment. The mother had a minor quirk involving radiation. From that pregnancy cane Daniel. Four years later, months after we conceived Izuku, I had my DNA donated again. YN was born from that.” “They 're just experiments to you?” “At first, yes. I did not plan to get attached. But I did. And I have been attached since. I was there when Daniel first displayed reminances of a quirk. I was there when YN learned to balance herself on a high wire. I found them when they were lost. I arranged for her mother’s job to move her to this district and apartment building. I’m the reason you gained custody of them if you recall the deal we made.” “I…” “My point is I may not have been there for Izuku’s life but I have been there for my other two. And I don’t plan to relinquish my children to All Might or those heroes. Is that understood, All Might?” Inko turned around to see her son and his mentor standing in the doorway. Both were glaring at the villain. Ready to ounce at him if need be. But without him she would lose the children. “Mom get away from him.” “Is that any way to speak to your father Izuku?” “YOU LEFT!” Before the fighting could get any worse Inko stood between them. “My baby, my love.” She turned to All Might and Izuku. “We may not like it but he is their father. And he probably would be useful to returning YN and Daniel safely. We have to sit down and figure this out. For them.” So with great tension, Two rivals sat across a dinner table along with a green haired boy and a troubled mother. All discussing the custody of two individuals that didn’t belong to them. 🌗🌗

Daniel and YN part 10 🌗🌗

Sometimes YN wished she had made more of an effort to make friends. Yes Daniel was her best and closest friend, but it would be nice to have a girl or boy her own age to talk to. Someone that she could talk about stupid crap with. She tried being friends with Izuku when she and her brother officially moved in with the Midoryia’s, but they never saw her or Daniel as their own people. Izuku never really cared that YN was great at math. The best in her class. That she had a tiny interest in math because the answers were always exact and never had to be debated. He didn’t bother to care that YN liked reading romance and horror stories, that she really liked cheesy murder mystery movies with a twist villain hidden in plain sight. Izuku knew those things about her, but he just wrote it down in his notebook and filed it away like she wasn’t a person. They were no better to Daniel either. He was treated like an incompetant child. Like he was stupid and a baby. Sure he was disabled but he wasn’t incapable of everything. If they bothered talking and treating him like a person they’d see how complex he was. They’d see that he was so talented when he painted, that he could find a focus on the small important details. That Daniel, while he couldn’t understand complex emotions, could create beautiful things. Daniel had a delayed mind, but he loved figuring out puzzles. Daniel loved pinwheels and painted windmills, loved when they spun to beautiful colours. But did they care, no they saw only a child that needed to be coddled and kept away from how beautiful the world could be. YN couldn’t help but tear up as she held her knees to her chest. Why? Why couldn’t Izuku have been the friend she needed when her parents died? Why didn’t she try harder to make friends when she was at public school? Why did she act so introverted and angry at everyone? Just as she was about to cry, YN felt two long arms wrap around her. “Why you sad?” “It’s nothing really. I just… I really miss momma and pop. I really wish they were here.” “....Me too.” So the two hugged tightly. For tonight and every night that will come, they’ll have each other. In another place, a skinny blue haired villain placed a severed hand on his face. Determined to please his master, his father figure, Shigaraki set out to find the two troubled teens. They couldn’t be hidden forever. Besides, AFO should be allowed to see his children. He was their father, by blood. Shigaraki wasn’t an idiot though. He knew that the incident caused a commotion for those hungry for power. Ready to use quirk off the Boy. Shigaraki made sure to send some of his underlings out to gather intel and report whether or not other crimelords had their sights and claws on the teens. He had to be careful not to cause a scene and bring the heroes upon them. As the cold night blew his hair slightly, Shigaraki pondered the situation. Sensei had a wife, and three children? But not all share the same mother. He didn’t raise his three children, but he looked after them. But out of all of them Sensei chose to raise Shigaraki. He felt special. Sensei wanted to be near him. Nonetheless, these two were family. His sorta siblings. And he would bring them home. 🌗🌗

Daniel and YN part 11 🌗🌗

Young Izuku had the foundations to be a great hero. He was kind, string in heart, brave, and a little stupid. Toshinori knew that he would make a fine owner of OFA. And when he trained the boy he saw the makings of a new symbol of peace. Inko was a beautiful woman, even if she was too anxious to notice. He felt this urge to love and protect her. And over the months with her and Izuku, they formed a genuine love. Toshinori was a little concerned at first when he met YN and Daniel though. He did not really understand why they were kept so sheltered and why they were so babied. YN seemed like a capable young woman. But like with Izuku and Inko, the more time he spent near them, the more he felt protective, loving, obsessive. “Ah, good morning young YN. How was your night?” “What do you think. You stole my switchblade.” Inko seemed to bristle a bit at YN’s angry tone. “Sweetie.. We just thought that you could get hurt. It’s for the best. You know that w-” “That you only want the best for me. Yea I heard the same argument over and over again. And each time it’s still bull.” Before either could reprimand her, she stomped to her room slamming the door. Mornings usually weren’t so great. Especially when the night before they had to make big decisions regr=arding her safety. On All Might’s days off he would spend time with the Midoryia’s, sometimes it would go smoothly and sometimes the mood couldn’t surpass a funeral. All Might felt that he should’ve noticed the signs that YN was going to run away sooner. Perhaps then he could have intervened and then the whole family could air out why things were the way they were.

The first signs had to be when YN kept interfering with the way Inko felt was right to take care of poor Daniel. “Come on Daniel, It’s time to go to the learning center.” “Oh sweetie, I forgot to tell you that we pulled Daniel out of the center classes.” “What?” When YN’s face turned, All Might could see that a screaming match would begin, well not really a match considering young YN would be doing all the screaming. He was just here to pick up young Midoryia but he couldn’t help but stop in. “Well it’s just that Daniel learns so much better at a home, and the center is full of so many people that would be mean to him. Besides, he doesn’t really need to be at the center when I can take care of him.” “Yes he does! How is he gonna learn to cook and clean and manage any type of money if you refuse to let him learn!?!” “Daniel’s mind can’t handle all the new information. He might start to panic and his quirk might-” “YOU don’t know a GODDAMN thing about him! About what is best for him! You wanna do what’s best for my brother?! Than STOP treating him like he’s completely incompetent!” Before she could yell another word All Might stepped in with his trademark ‘I AM HERE’ . “Now young YN that’s no way to speak to your foster mother. She just believes that someone more personal should be teaching Daniel these things. That's not so bad is it?” “But-” “IS IT?” “Fine.I’ll get my school work done early so that I can teach Daniel in the afternoon.”

With that the argument was resolved. If only that was the last time she lashed out at them. If only he prevented the biggest fight that broke out between Izuku and YN. “Will you stop pestering him about his quirk?! It obviously makes him uncomfortable!” YN had walked into the room seeing Izuku asking Daniel all sorts of questions about his quirk and how he used it. It would’ve been fine had he stopped at the first two questions, but he kept going on and on. Wouldn’t stop asking about the destructive qualities, or about how his mind sometimes couldn’t comprehend his own quirk. Izuku didn’t notice how uncomfortable Daniel was getting. “I was just asking him some questions!” “You were being a jerk!” Before Izuku could yell at her again, the table and the mirrors broke. Both turned to see Daniel staring furious and scared, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Don’t scream at my sister!” He spoke angrily. He was so brave, so ready to defend his baby sister. Daniel could’ve brought the whole room down, had All Might in his ultimate form not stepped and stopped him. All Might should’ve known not to grab him and held him down. He should’ve known that the constriction made Daniel panic. Made him destroy more things to make it stop. The screaming continued, until YN grabbed her brother and calmed him. They barricaded themselves in her room that night. And in the morning, the three tried to act like it didn’t happen. All Might took the kids out for the day. Celebrating Izuku’s placement in the hero program. The signs were there that day. The signs that they were going to run. That they were going to leave. If only All Might had seen the signs. If only Toshinori hadn’t gotten attached to them. 🌗🌗

Daniel and YN part 12 🌗🌗

Toshinori was a good man. He wasn’t perfect but he was a good man. He had a moral code and knew right from wrong. Though selfish desires sometimes took his attention more than the moral desires. He knew it was wrong to smother and coddle Daniel and YN, but he couldn’t help wanting to protect them. Even if they didn’t want it. He felt like Izuku, YN, and Daniel were like his children. He felt just as protective over Izuku as he was over YN and Daniel. But he couldn’t coddle him like the other two. He had a duty to Nana to pass on OFA, Izuku had to live up to that power now. And he was so dedicated to being a hero. Toshinori wanted to do right by all the kids. He felt that it was his duty to find his missing kids, and bring them home. Let YN know that he didn’t feel angry that she left. Let Daniel know that he was sorry. So before he could work with his arch enemy, he decided to learn more about the two. So that when they were found again, he could show them that he was ready to be a real mentor figure, a guardian. When he entered YN’s room, it was not what he expected. He thought the sullen looking problem child would have grunge posters, a dirty room, torn up clothes and what not. Imagine his surprise when he saw colourful mini lantern lights strung over the walls. A math book along with several romance and horror storybooks. Her bedspread was a mix of several pillows and a giant comforter. Something that he’s sure would look inviting after a long day. There was a fluffy rug that cushioned his feet. The curtains were dark and cut out all light. On her bookshelf there was a collection of old murder mystery and comedy movies. When he popped one into the small tv player, he felt a stronger connection than before with her. Laughing at the cheesy twists and overacting. She was more than just a quirkless victim. She felt like a daughter to him. Toshinori never understood why he never went into Daniel’s room before. Of course Inko was there. Holding Daniel’s favorite pillow. This room, like the other, was a window into someone that Toshinori never actually knew. For some reason he thought Daniel would have soft light wall colors and some doodles on the wall. But the walls were an earthy dark blue. His blankets were patterned with prints of old paintings. There were canvases of unfinished pieces of art littered around the desk and bed. Notes and papers of unconnected thoughts all tucked away in a drawer. He spotted a framed photo of what he assumed were Daniel’s parents. Hidden under his pillows. When he saw the ceiling, it was a mix of a starry night sky but had handprints all over. In various colors. Touching his own hand to the print, Toshinori felt a connection to the boy. It was like a click happened. He wasn’t just a boy struggling with his developmental disability. Daniel saw the world in colors and was just frustrated that no one could understand those colors. Daniel wasn’t an emotionally compromised person with a violent quirk, he was a boy who wanted to be happy and understood. That day, Toshinori finally felt the wall that was preventing him from really understanding these two was finally lifted. And had he been listening to his moral side he would’ve known to not pursue them. But his selfish side won that fight. With his new understanding came an ugly obsession. A protective instinct to hold and protect them even more. Whilst quirkless YN might be strong and smart, she was too emotional and easy to provoke. Daniel might not be safe out there either. He loses control when people don’t understand. But Toshinori understood now. He would keep his children safe. Izuku, Daniel, and YN. Even if he had to work with the devil. “I’ll bring you home. Everything will be okay. Because I am here.” 🌗🌗

Amazing work as always moon anon! The story has become quite interesting! Its inspiring me to write for platonic AFO, something that I've not talked about for quite a while. Him and well, Erasermic

[nicknellie]

Honestly when Tumblr crashed I just thought it was my Internet being wonky but that stinks that it got rid of everything you said, I completely agree it’s really fun to bounce ideas off of each other.

Agreed, although the show kind of says that Luke wrote the songs that Julie mentioned I feel like the band probably did help out with those songs but those exact ones may have been a bit personal to Luke hence the extreme reaction ‘My Name is LUKe’. However an idea that I have is that Alex write songs as well (also just because I want his version of unsaid Emily in my life) (and the show mentions that Reggie wrings county music) also it would make more sense for the band to bounce ideas off of each other (as we see Luke do with Julie) then just Luke writing every single part of those songs by himself.  also the show never really confirms when he wrote the songs so easily could be that he wrote them while he was still grieving because he was thinking that was the best way to honour them and then later down the road he realized that wasn’t the best. And the show doesn’t mention if he gave money to charities in their name or what he did just that he didn’t give them credit.

I agree I feel like part of it may have been that he didn’t want their deaths following him because reporters would definitely be like oh how are you recovering and etc. also as you said he was going through a lot of trauma from losing his family and although that may not have been a lot of people’s gut reaction it is understandable. I just think that’s how the boys saw it just because unexpectedly they hear that someone stole their songs and then all the sudden it’s not someone who’s not close to them but someone who it feels like they stabbed them in the back kind of.

Honestly the fact that he meditates is kind of what made me think of the idea just because he would be able to calm himself and think rationally which I don’t feel like Luke and Reggie could do if they thought someone who they cared about was hurt. Maybe back then it was Bobby and Alex who shared the single brain cell that was Sunset Curve (but only Bobby when Alex was upset any other time he was just as chaotic as Luke and Reggie)

Crossword: that is totally what Reggie would do and he would totally just blurred out the words before Alex even had a chance to think about them just because he loves Alex so much and he was so excited. (Also I feel like Reggie would be the sentimental one who would make a scrapbook and just give Alex a photo album to show that no matter what they will always be here for them)

Reggie owns so many flannels, yes!! (also double yes, because I definitely feel like those piece meant something to them especially if that’s what they had before they died, also it would just be so adorable if the band members just gave each other items to show support and unconditional love)

Awe, now I’m thinking about Bobby sobbing after they passed just because he loved them so much and that for the longest time he couldn’t get back into knitting or  jewelry making because it reminded him of the boys (similar to how Julie couldn’t play music after her mom passed)

Necklace: But he definitely would, he probably put so much research into it as well and chose colours that held meaning and stuff, also the necklace helped Reggie so much when his parents were arguing because just like with Alex’s bracelet they were made with love and it remindes him that he always has a place to go.

Yes, when Luke ran away they were all sobbing however that’s exactly what they did. You described it perfectly, also because I feel like it’s canon that Alex gives the best hugs so he was giving Luke huge hugs while Reggie was trying to distract Luke and Bobby was trying to figure out arrangements. (also I feel like Alex would help Bobby would as soon as he can, I feel like Reggie would try to get movie night as a way to distract Luke).

With the jigsaw I could definitely see Luke trying to pretend like he isn’t interested well just focusing on Bobby putting the jigsaw away. (The point with Reggie is perfect and reminds me of that meme with the guy who is looking at a butterfly and it’s just Reggie being like is this a reason to get distracted and then dropping the jigsaw)

Yeah I totally agree that the mentioned ones were more personal. I reckon all of their songs came from some sort of struggle and to have that kind of erased when they weren’t mentioned must have been another thing that really hurt them when they found out what had happened. So yeah, I think they would all bounce ideas off each other (when they would all talk again after one of their quiet jigsaw/knitting/crossword/Rubik’s Cube sessions) and Luke would sort of put the pieces together to make the song. When Julie says ‘none of his latest stuff is as good’ I think that maybe Bobby had been trying to emulate their old song-writing sessions, trying to recreate the way they had given each other ideas and stuck them all together, but it just wasn’t quite working with just him because he couldn’t make it alone. Which maybe is when he realised even further that it had been the wrong thing to do, not credit them for their music. He would definitely write out of grief and pain and then later realise that he hadn’t really done them justice or kept their memories alive in the way he had tried to because he had unwittingly done everything he could to erase them. I’ve thought in the past that Mitch Patterson would have set up some sort of charity or foundation in Luke’s name that set to bring help and music to kids in need and now that you’ve mentioned charities I have decided that Trevor/Bobby makes hefty donations to that whenever he can.

An Unsaid Emily-style Alex song would kill me. His would be more focused on how his parents view of him changed. I headcanon that Alex’s parents were very kind and loving and they doted on Alex. They loved him with all their hearts and none of them ever thought that would change, so he was confident when he came out to them. But obviously they weren’t cool with it and we get very little detail about what happened next. I think Alex would have written about his memories and how lonely it felt and how shattered he was that he hadn’t been accepted. There’d be undertones about him missing them and missing the old days and part of him wishing he’d never told them (although he is really glad that he did).

Yeah, you’re totally right about the fact that he didn’t want their deaths following him. For a teenager to be thrown into stardom is one thing, to be constantly bombarded about his trauma would have been another. It wasn’t that he wanted to escape the boys or forget them, he wanted his memories of them to remain untainted by flashing cameras and cruel interviews. And YES, that brings us back to the fact that they’ve grown at different rates and the last two and a half decades were nothing for the boys but likely hell on Earth for Bobby. The guy they used to know is suddenly someone seeming cold and distant and because they didn’t experience losing each other they can’t understand how it must have been for him to lose them. They never really give themselves a chance to see it from Bobby’s perspective - even when they begin to move on in episode 6 Luke says Bobby ‘has to live with that guilt’, he immediately discards it as a bad thing and none of them begin to rationalise his actions. They don’t make any effort to see the situation from Bobby’s point of view (although admittedly I can’t imagine that would be an easy thing to do).

Totally - Bobby and Alex shared the brain cell but Bobby was the only be who could really use it to it’s full potential. He was so ready to be there for all of them when they needed it. Luke and Reggie would want to fight the problem head on while Bobby knew it was best to take their time and figure it out like one of Alex’s beloved jigsaw puzzles.

Kind of off-topic but I think he’s very spiritual too (I kind of get it from the meditating in a way I can’t quite explain) and if he wasn’t so certain that he was finally losing it after all those years of guilt then he would have believed and been happy that the boys were back as ghosts when they haunted him. Like he thinks rationally until it comes to supernatural stuff and then he’s all over the idea of ghosts and monsters.

Omg ok the scrapbooking!!!!! I am so here for this!!!!! Reggie had tons of scrapbooks and photo albums - he writes silly little captions underneath the photos, gets Bobby to make things that can be stuck in as decorations, and will take a camera with him wherever he goes. I think cameras were very different in the nineties and I wasn’t born then so idk how it all works but didn’t you have to go somewhere to get them developed?? Well, Reggie loved doing that and he’d always get one of the boys to come with him so when he saw the photos for the first time he would have someone to look through them with. He made special scrapbooks for special occasions: Alex’s coming out, Christmases, birthdays, holidays they all went on together. He would collect things and add in little envelopes to the scrapbook if it wasn’t flat enough to be stuck in. He kept everything from tickets to candy wrappers because he wanted to remember everything they all did together.

I definitely think the boys’ signature clothing is important to them. Reggie loved his flannels and his favourite was from the boys; Alex loved his hoodie which the boys got him (and his fanny pack may have been a gift from them too so he wouldn’t have to carry whatever’s in there all the time); our theory that Bobby was the one who knitted Luke’s beanies. It makes me wonder if Bobby had anything from them he still wears. He probably would have grown out of clothes, but maybe his sunglasses were a gift? Or they made his necklaces? Or he has a jacket that used to be one of theirs and still fits him?

Oh my god no that hurts 😭 Bobby trying to make himself a necklace or bracelet out of colours that reminded him of them (pink for Alex, blue for Luke, red for Reggie) but his hands shaking so much that he can’t thread the beads and had to stop. Him trying over and over again but not being able to do it because he gets bombarded with memories about Luke knocking over all his beads that one time, or Reggie accidentally breaking the clasp on his necklace so Bobby had to replace it, or the tears in Alex’s eyes when he was given that rainbow bracelet. Oh my GOD.

Alex definitely gives the best hugs. I would kill for an Alex hug. For a while, Luke just needed to be held so Alex did that, Reggie started talking about something completely unrelated, and Bobby started making phone calls and looking things up to find out what the best way forward was. Alex of course helped, like you said, as soon as Luke was fine to be left with just Reggie. I feel like it was kind of similar within the band - Bobby was the one who booked gigs and made deals, he did all the managerial stuff while the others focused more on the performances and the music. He missed rehearsals because of meetings with record execs or whatever sometimes but he could pick things up very quickly so it didn’t really matter.

And because I couldn’t not do this:

(Also is it cool with you if I make a mini masterlist of all these things we’ve said? I’m definitely going to want to find these again but at some point they’ll be buried deep within my blog so I want easy access lol)

[four-loose-screws]

FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation - Chapter 9 Part 5 (The grand finale!)

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Chapter 9: And So, the Door of Fate Opens...

Part 5

Sigurd gathered his entire army in front of the castle and announced that the war was over.

He then went on to thank everyone for all their hard work, and stated that those who were not from Grannvale and wished to return home, should do so now.

That night, a huge celebration banquet was held at Velthomer Castle.

-

The next day, those who wished to return home did so. The Silessian soldiers and Orgahill Pirates traveled to the north, the Augustrian soldiers to the west, and the Isaachian soldiers to the east.

Before they left, Sigurd generously divided the army’s remaining funds between all of them.

There were less than two hundred soldiers remaining.

The next morning, they started their final march together.

They spent the night at a town along the way, and arrived in Belhalla Field the next afternoon.

There, the Roten Ritter was lined up and waiting for them.

When Lewyn saw them, he said to Sigurd, “There’s way too many people here, don’t you think?”

Sigurd nodded, stopped Farron, and turned towards his army. “If we move towards the palace in a large unit, then we will invite another misunderstanding. I’ve decided the army will stay here, and only a limited number of people will accompany me during my audience with the emperor.”

He then chose who would go with him - Lewyn,  Claud, Lex, Azel, Brigid, Ayra, Jamke, Alec, Noish, Arden, Midir, Beowulf, and Chulainn. He left out Erinys and Lachesis.

Only less than twenty people joined him, walking slowly down the long path formed between the two lines of the Roten Ritter on either side of them.

Finally, they could see the Belhalla Castle gate.

Arvis stood before it.

When Sigurd’s group stopped in front of him, he dismounted his horse, and said, “Lord Sigurd, it is with joy that I officially recognize your return home. Congratulations.”

"Duke Arvis, we apologize for making you come all this way just to greet us. If I may ask, is His Majesty in the palace?"

"His Majesty is so gravely ill, that he cannot even leave his bed anymore. That is why I am handling all government affairs myself now."

"So that's what's going on. It pains my heart to hear it. His Majesty was very worried about me, so I will visit the palace after this to apologize to him."

"You will not be able to do that."

"Huh?"

"You will die here as a traitor. I cannot allow you to see the king."

"Wh-What are you… Duke Arvis, what do you mean?"

"Muah ha ha, you mean you haven't realized it yet? You're so soft! You plotted with Duke Byron to usurp the throne! There is no changing that fact. As the husband of the late Prince Kurth's daughter, I must punish you! Don't take it personally."

'He's such a good person, that it makes him a fool.' Arvis thought as he looked at Sigurd's face, dumbfounded in disbelief.

'Byron, Reptor, Lombard, Ring, Chagall, Dakkar… they were all such foolish men, and fools stand in the way of the utopia I am constructing. The nicer those like Sigurd are, the more of an obstacle they are. So there is no other option but for them all to die.'

-

The ideal Arvis had imagined was the construction of the Grannvalian Empire. The foundation of that empire would be equality. Everyone would be equal no matter which country they came from, the commoners would be protected from the self-centered orders of the nobles by law, and all people would be guaranteed freedom of religion. Of course, the followers of the Loptr Church would not be persecuted either, and would be able to freely worship Loptous.

The truth was, that on the night of his coming-of-age ceremony, Archbishop Manfroy of the Loptr Church had told him that Loptrian blood flowed through his veins. His mother, Cigyun, had been a descendant of Maira.

After he'd heard those words, Arvis was very troubled by them. He'd once witnessed a mother and child be burned at the stake just for being followers of Loptous, and realized there was a chance that something similar could happen to him. He worried and worried, and in the end, his conclusion was that all discrimination must be erased from the world.

 'And this is something that only I can do. Only I, who has inherited both the blood of both a Crusader and Loptous, can truly understand the meaning of discrimination.'

To turn his ideals into reality, he would have to demolish the entire current structure of the world.

And to do so, he'd decided to use Manfroy.

Manfroy and the other members of the church stirred up the greed within the nobles across every region of Jugdral, while also planting suspicion in their hearts, causing every country to get involved in the war that soon spanned the entire continent. Whether the Loptr Church’s actions were good or evil did not matter. It was all about upheaving the old structure of society.

‘Anyone would probably think to use the Loptr Church. Yes, I used them. But I did not work with them. I said that very clearly to Manfroy. “I will acknowledge your existence, but I have absolutely no intention of reviving the Loptrian Empire.” When this war is over, I will subjugate all of the surrounding countries, and establish the Grannvalian Empire. My work will be the dawn of a utopia state, and my name will be forever etched into Jugdralian history. Arvis, the first Emperor of Grannvale, will be the most famous name in all of Jugdral.’

Arvis was in very high spirits, and wanted to show his new bride the world he was creating.

‘When she sees that I rule over everything, it should add to her good memories.’

She’d appeared in front of his villa looking confused and lost, yet he’d fallen in love with her at first sight. He hadn't realized it at that time, but it was because she looked just like his mother, Cigyun. She even had the same lavender hair as his mother.

However, while she could speak, she'd lost all memory of her past. At first, Arvis had been very curious about where she was from and what kind of life she'd led until they'd met. Once they'd married and vowed to love each other, though, it didn't matter to him much anymore. Still, whenever he saw her lost in thought, he couldn't help but remember that she had a past he knew nothing about.

At one of those moments, he'd gently rubbed her shoulders and said, "There's no need for you to push yourself to remember. The future is much more precious than the past. If we make lots of good memories from now on, everything will be fine even if you don’t know your past, won’t it?”

He’d said those words for himself as much as he’d said them for her.

-

Arvis stepped back to reach for his wife's hand, who he'd told to stay safe behind the soldiers, and gestured for her to stand next to him.

"Look, this is the man who killed your father! Sigurd, son of Duke Byron! His punishment will be execution!"

The moment Arvis finished speaking, Sigurd screamed, "Deirdre!!"

And she gasped when she heard his voice.

She felt like she'd heard it somewhere before. She furrowed her brows, stared straight at him, and tried her hardest to remember.

"So it was you! Wasn't it, Deirdre!? It was him!"

"Do you… know me…?"

"You are… my…"

Sigurd started to answer, but Arvis cut off their conversation by ushering her back behind the soldiers so roughly that he almost pushed her. "Escort my wife into the palace immediately."

Two soldiers each grabbed one of her hands.

"Wait, Lord Arvis… Just give me a moment with him…"

"Deirdre!!"

"I order the entire army to kill Sigurd, the traitor, and his accomplices! There is no need to bring any of them back alive. Execute them on the spot!"

"Damn you, Arvis!" Sigurd unsheathed Tyrfing and tried to attack, but Arvis' soldiers pushed him back.

He cut down all the soldiers, only for Arvis to attack him with a Valflame spell a moment later.

 His body felt hotter and hotter with each passing second, yet he still took one step forward, then another, and another. 'Arvis!'

Valflame's fire hit Sigurd once again.

He could no longer continue forward, nor could he move at all…. 'Deirdre!!'

When the fire burned out, his charred remains were still standing proud and tall.

And in his right hand, Tyrfing was unchanged, emanating the same glittering light as always.

-

 'Erinys, run!' Lewyn shouted in his heart, while casting a Forseti spell and walking north. 'I won't die. There's so much that I must do.'

-

When Erinys realized that things had taken a turn for the worse at Belhalla Castle, she yelled, "Run, everyone! Hurry, before the enemy reaches us!"

Then, she spoke directly to Lachesis. "Get on my pegasus!"

Lachesis climbed on behind her, and the two flew north.

'Lord Lewyn told me he won't die.' She repeated to herself over and over the entire way home to Silesse. 'Lord Lewyn told me he won't die.'

-

Beowulf jumped on his horse and started galloping in the direction he knew Lachesis was in, but standing in his way was a large group of enemy soldiers.

"Outta my way!" He yelled, and forced his way into their formation.

He thought nothing of defense, only swinging his sword over and over and over again.

However, their numbers were too great, and he couldn't make any progress.

'Run, Lachesis!'

A lance stabbed into his side.

As he fell from his horse, his last thought was, 'A noble knight like you needs to make it out of this alive…’

-

Chulainn stood still, not even unsheathing his sword.

The enemy approaching him thought that he wasn't going to resist, and rushed closer.

Suddenly, like a flash of light, he attacked the enemy. Then, he stepped to the side, and cut down another enemy. He jumped, and killed yet another enemy the moment he hit the ground.

But as he killed a fourth enemy, he was struck by a meteor.

'I don't have any regrets, Sigurd.’

-

Alec said to Noish, "Seems like this is the end."

"Yeah…"

"Shall we both charge at once?"

"Sure…"

"Alright, good luck."

"You too…"

They both shouted a battle cry, then charged their horses straight into the enemies surrounding them.

Arden followed along after them. "Hey, don't leave me behind!"

-

At the sight of Arvis' cruel strategy, Azel was finally able to overcome his inferiority complex.

'Attacking us like this makes you the loser, Brother.'

He countered a ball of fire that an enemy had cast with one of his own.

'I was happier than you'll ever be, Arvis.'

There were enemies coming at him from three different directions.

He cast two consecutive fireballs, killing two of them.

However, he couldn't take out the third one in time.

'Tailtiu, take care of the children…'

-

Midair and Brigid fought side-by-side.

They shot arrows one after the other, keeping their enemies from getting close to them.

But no arrow could stop a burning meteor that was headed straight for them.

It hit Brigid's right arm, and fell directly on top of Midir.

Brigid knew immediately that her arm was now limp and useless. Midir died instantly.

'We were so happy together.'

She endured the intense pain coursing through her body, held Yewfelle under her left arm, and waited for the enemies to approach her.

"I am Princess Brigid of Jungby! Go ahead, kill me!"

-

Ayra and Lex fought back-to-back.

They no longer had any idea how many enemies they'd killed.

Suddenly, Ayra heard Lex scream in pain.

She stepped back, and realized that he'd collapsed.

'Lex, we're in the middle of battle, so I can't hold you. But I will die with you.'

After that, she continued to fight, but didn't budge an inch.

Finally, lance that she could have dodged if she had moved pierced her side.

She fell atop her husband.

'We will never part ever again, Lex.'

-

Jamke focused on attacking the enemy general.

He jumped out from behind Sigurd's charred body and aimed an arrow right at the space between Arvis' eyes.

The arrow missed its mark, instead hitting Arvis' left shoulder, but still caused him to stagger.

Then, a fireball slammed into Jamke from behind.

'Aideen, take care of Lester…'

-

Claud witnessed the events that the Valkyrie Staff had not shown him in utter disbelief.

'This is so terrible. ...Gods, are you really allowing this to happen?’

He prayed to the staff, but it didn't respond.

'This must be wrong.'

The moment he had that thought, he realized what his duty was.

He tightened his grip around the staff, and prayed again.

'Gods, I accept what is happening. But no matter how I look at it, I know it must be wrong. Please do what you must to right this wrong, for the sake of our future. I exchange my life, so that justice and love may win…'

A light shot out of the gem in response.

'Ah… thank you for accepting my prayer. With this, I have fulfilled my duty. Please accept my offering of my life.'

Not even a second later, a meteor fell on top of him.

-

Lewyn suddenly felt a strange power course through his body.

'I will not die. There's so much that I must do.' 

At first, he'd just been trying to convince himself, but now, he really believed he would survive.

He walked forward and cast Forseti spells in rapid succession, without pausing even once.

Each spell caused an explosion front of him, blowing his enemies up into bits and sending their dismembered body parts flying.

'I will not die.'

Lewyn kept walking.

He cast spell after spell, and continued forward...

-End of Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War: Sigurd’s Story Book Two-

[wisdomrays]

HOW DO WE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE DESİRE TO EMULATE AND ENVY? : Part 1

Desire to emulate (gibta) is a desire to have the same blessings another person has without wishing for him or her to be deprived of them; it is looking up to others’ admirable qualities and achievements. Envy (hasad), however, is the inability to bear with others’ successes or to acknowledge the favors and virtues they are blessed with; it is to wish for the absence of those favors and good conditions for others and to desire to possess them all for oneself. Envy, therefore, involves resentment, indignation, and jealousy, whereas the desire to emulate is admiration. In a saying reported as a hadith of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, it is said that “Believers admire, hypocrites envy.” By this, a bottom line is determined for believers so that they do not go further than admiration, and we are told that jealousy makes hypocrites squirm in a constant state of pain.

To emulate: harmless envy

It is also reported that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, “There are only two to envy: a person whom God has given wealth and he spends it in the right way, and a person whom God has given wisdom (religious knowledge) and he gives his decisions accordingly and teaches it to others.” It is harmless to admire those who, after they have learned the religion well and made it their way of life, illuminate others with their knowledge, which they have made a source of wisdom. They act as a genuine interpreter of the Qur’anic truths by both communicating and representing them. So, one can say, “I wish I were like him; I wish I knew my religion so well, so that I could have illuminated my own life while communicating it to others!” It may even be a self-rewarding act to do so, for it is in a sense self-interrogation; realizing our inadequacy we may be motivated to work harder and even to pray, and thus be filled with lofty feelings. It is not wrong also to admire prosperous people who have been made superior with wealth as well as with generosity, who give away their God-given property in great quantities in charity, and who never feel content with their giving, as if addicted to benevolence. As in the previous situation, one can say, “I wish I had the same resources, so that I could donate as much as he did. I wish I could have built a school and provided grants for hundreds of students as he did.”

Nevertheless, in the hadith given above, the Prophet, peace be upon him, uses “envy” instead of “desire to emulate,” emphasizing the fact that admiring others is also a state that is close to jealousy. No matter how harmless and even favorable it may be, desire to emulate shares the same border with envy, rendering its territory somewhat unsafe to walk through. Inability to define the limits of admiration may result in jealousy and envy. For instance, looking up to a friend who is well-versed in the religion, in an admirable condition, and who acts with good conduct, is fine, as long as it does not cross the border into comparison and covert competition, saying, “Why does he know so much that I do not know? How can he communicate our faith better than I can?”

Therefore, believers must keep a distance between themselves and admiration, which is adjacent to envy and separated from it only by a thin veil. They must be content with what has been appreciated for them; they should never complain of their fate, even with the slightest emotional disappointment; they should see no one as their rival, and they should strive to attain their highest potential in virtue.

Food supplies delivered at night

 “Do not provoke [your brothers’ and sisters’] envy by making a display of [your] attributes,” defining the responsibility that falls on the shoulders of those people who are admired. Boasting incessantly, always bringing the subject to one’s own achievements, claiming success for oneself, and appearing at the forefront all the time are also acts of trespassing in the forbidden zone. Such a person may not envy another person, but with this attitude he drives other people to jealousy of him by provoking their envy.

For this very reason, boasting of one’s personal virtues and abilities is considered inappropriate in Islamic culture, so a tradition of engaging in good work privately has developed. Alms used to be left at certain places out of sight and reach of others, so that only the poor could come and get what they needed. Alms columns, for instance, which were around six feet tall with a cavity on top, were erected at certain points in towns; it was not easy to discern who was leaving alms there and who was taking them, so that the poor were not made to feel obliged, their feelings were not hurt, and their envy was not provoked. Foundations were instruments for transferring donations from benefactors to the poor without causing embarrassment or taunting of the latter, while the former were saved from ostentation and arrogance.

In Islam, intending to hide one’s voluntary prayers and alms is very important. The Prophet declared that God does not accept anything from the one who gives in charity to be known by others, someone crazy for show, nor from a philanthropist who taunts the beneficiary of his favors. Performing charity secretly and giving alms without revealing it to others are good ways of being saved from the desire to be praised by others. There are many people who help others secretly and disappear mysteriously without introducing themselves even to the poor person to whom they provided some relief. Many of our noble ancestors made extreme efforts to avoid ostentation, praise, and making others feel indebted; some of them, without being seen, simply left their alms in the path of a poor person or anywhere he or she was likely to sit. Others would place coins into the pocket of a pauper who was sleeping, while some others secretly carried bags of food supplies on their backs and left them on the doorsteps of those in need.

Imam Ali Zaynul Abidin, one of the grandsons of the Prophet, was one of those heroic souls. During the time of this blessed person who devoted his life to true servanthood to God Almighty, society was afflicted by unbearable poverty. Many of the poor would find food and clothes they desperately needed mysteriously left at their doors with a note allowing them to use it at no cost. They did not know who was leaving the bags until one morning, after many years, they found nothing at their doors. Nothing had been left that night for anyone. People were wondering what the reason for that was, and then they heard somebody announcing “Imam Ali has died!” The caretaker who washed the body of this blessed man before his funeral saw a huge callus formed on the imam’s back. The imam had carried bags of food and clothes to the poor for twenty-seven years, and no one had known about it. It did not matter, for it is only God’s pleasure that counts as the goal, and God knew what Zaynul Abidin was occupied with.

People like Zaynul Abidin fixed their eyes on God’s good pleasure and they chose to race without competition along the track of servanthood. Just as they did not envy others, they were also careful not to provoke others by contaminating their donations with ostentation, praise, and indebtedness. This was their way of investing in the afterlife and earning God’s pleasure, and the Qur’an describes it as tanafus.

[merlotetmos]

Help Send Love In 2019

I’ve heard that tumblr is a great community for charity, so I’m reaching out despite failures on facebook and twitter this far. For 2019, I chose my word as Send Love. Each month i will be choosing a different charity and finding ways to serve that charity other than just throwing money at them.  I am dubbing my project for 2019 Send Love, 2019 or Send Love, 19. Each month I will be picking a different charity or ministry and finding a way to serve that ministry beyond just donating money.

As with any service project or ministry, this cannot be done alone. I'm asking anyone who feels led to help donate and I have two specific ways of donating, either through facebook via fundraiser (which is linked) or this amazon wish list at http://a.co/2FYJvF2.My first charity is for January and I will making animal toys from tennis balls and socks for the Animal Care Foundation. 

This charity does many great things for animals from dogs to cats. They donate animal houses and food to those who need it, among other projects. I'd like to make around 50 animal toys for them to give away with the shelters and food as well.I'm also planning ahead and fundraising for February.

 In February I will be gathering school supplies for Midway Elementary school and my dear friend April Leonard who is a teacher there. I would like to create valentines baskets to give to the kids full of school supplies, essentials (toothpaste, deoderant etc, a few fun games and such).

 I attended Midway Elementary as a kid and it really touched me earlier this year when April talked about how many of the students and teachers were already out of supplies and struggling through the school year.

 I thought that Valentines would be the perfect time to remind the students that they aren't alone. (later in the year I will do a service for teachers, specifically). April is getting me numbers on students, but I would like to start by setting the goal at 50 baskets. Again, there are supplies listed at http://a.co/3yFUYWj that you can send directly to me or you can donate to the funraiser. I will probably do one or two of these funraisers through out the year as needed for service supplies, this is primarily to get the year kicked off!

[forever5hines]

Kami how do you feel about the Shinee foundation arts festival and the fact that neither Taemin or Key is performing? I’ve seen a few complaints about it and tbh it makes me feel weird too. No one from Shinee or SM has acknowledged it, they don’t follow the foundation on any platforms and none of his band mates are performing and idk how to feel about that. Thoughts?

I am sorry this is so long but I wanted to talk about a few possibilities to fully 

share my thoughts on it. I put the whole explanation under a read moreTW: mention of Jonghyun’s mental health 

For a lot of people it’s very black and white and they think they /should/ perform, but there are so many things going into that decision that i think it’s a very grey area, which why personally I don’t feel weird about it but I get why others do. 

I mean I think as far as we know, it appears that Jonghyun’s mom and the SHINee members do get along well and can communicate about what they want. So if she wanted them to perform she surely has asked or would ask 

perhaps she didn’t want to make it all about Jonghyun or SHINee and she wanted to focus on helping others first, maybe seeing them perform hurts her (I know she said they needed to continue and i think she still stands by that but seeing them perform might still be hard on her) 

perhaps their schedules just simply didn’t match up, maybe it hurts them because they wish something like that should have been there before, for Jonghyun. They’ve been open about Jonghyun and performing for him, so I think the reminder of Jonghyun in that setting itself is not the issue. although I think that being bitter about not having that help available before is not something I think that’s happening. From what we’ve heard they’ve approached the grief as healthily as they could in that situation and i think they understand they can only move forward, and understand more than anyone how the industry works and why the foundation is needed. 

I don’t know why they haven’t publicly talked about shiny foundation, but I think they are involved in some way or have donated. Key has been known to donate to an orphanage anonymously and they have all donated to good causes as far as I know but they’re very lowkey about it and don’t do it for approval or image, but because they can and they want to

what a lot of people don’t realise is that the SHINee members deliberately chose to register (I think it was for the story of light?) Jonghyun officially as an artist on the album (I have to check which one it was). Why? Because they know Shiny foundation is getting their funding by royalties from Jonghyun’s work. Every time SHINee sings a song with Jonghyun still in it, they are getting paid royalties. Adding a new album even though he isn’t in it, shows they are aware of that and want to put it forward to the Foundation. It’s not like they’ve done nothing, they just haven’t pulled the spotlight to them unnecessarily, which is so typical for them

SMent I think is a reason that lies a bit deeper I think. I mean they know where the royalties are going I assume so they must be aware of Shiny Foundation. But I think being openly affiliated with Shiny Foundation is kind of admitting there is an issue with the music industry there and in part are to blame for Jonghyun’s depression and mental health. I mean raising the foundation and making it specifically for artists; it’s a big stab at them for not taking care of Jonghyun essentially, and that might have not arrived well at SM. If so it might also be why the members have been kept from being openly affiliated with the foundation. But tbh SM is just horrible at managing stuff so it might just be there is no real reason why they’re not affiliated, they just haven’t taken that step. We’ll have to see in the future what any of them decide

If anything I am sure of, is that the SHINee members not performing has nothing to do with how they feel about Jonghyun personally, I think they’ve shown quite well how much they love him, have been open about how they’re coping and so I think they’re deliberately not drawing the attention to themselves but are supporting the foundation, or they are not affiliated with the foundation for a totally different reason 

[thebestandworstdayofjune]

A Real Firecracker

Requested: By my broken heart after sitting through Infinity War

Pairings: Steve Rogers/Captain America x Reader

Summary: Chaperoning your daughter’s field trip to the Captain America Exhibit results in more than you ever would have expected.

Warnings: A very determined six year old, single mom!reader, sickeningly sweet fluff

Word Count:  3338 (oops)

A/N: This idea poppped into my brain a while ago, and I couldn’t shake it loose. A very big thank you to  @secretschuylersister and @fragmentofmymind for looking through this for me. Please feel free to leave any requests in my ask box!

“Please?” Harper was giving you the puppy dog eyes. At the tender age of six years old, your daughter had learned that you couldn’t say no to the puppy dog eyes, and she had the pile of teddy bears to prove it.  

“Of course I will chaperone your museum field trip” you said, sitting your cup of coffee down opposite to her on the breakfast bar.

“Good” she announced, pushing her empty bowl to you before hopping down from her stool. “Because I already signed your name on the permission slip and told them you said yes.”

You spent a few moments staring into your coffee before her words sunk in. “You forged my signature on a school document?” You called, making your way into her bedroom. “And they bought it?” Harper simply nodded, continuing to pull her cardigan on. “Babe, we talked about this.”

She just shrugged, carefully placing a few books into her book bag and then slipping it on over her shoulders. “I knew you would say yes.”

“That’s not the point.” You followed her to the front door, knowing she couldn’t miss the bus again this month, but also knowing that she probably shouldn’t be mastering her forging skills before her tenth birthday. “We’ll talk about this later.” you said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head and opening the door.

You were somehow on your way to the museum and you had not talked about it. At this point it was the least of your worries. You always thought that Harper was exaggerating when she said that her class was full of ruffians (her words, not yours) but looking around, she wasn’t wrong. Harper may have been stubborn and a lot wiser than you would have liked her to be sometimes, but at least she wasn’t at the stage of getting peanut butter stuck in her eye. Needless to say, Jeremy was not having the best Tuesday.

Harper on the other hand, looked like she had won the lottery. She’d proudly emerged from her bedroom that morning with her Captain America shirt on, a matching headband holding back her hair. “He’s your favorite Avenger too” she argued from the backseat of the car, a few steps away from being furious with your choice of a more subdued ensemble.

You had already left the house, and she knew that you wouldn’t be turning around, but when Harper got an idea in her head, it was hard to shake it. “I think you’re projecting” you said, raising an eyebrow at her in the rearview mirror.

“I know that I’m not, because you always sit down to watch when he is on the news and your eyes get all big because you think he’s dreamy” she said, leaning forward and sticking her tongue out at you.

You chose to say nothing, instead choosing to turn up the music and pretend you hadn’t just lost an argument with your daughter about whether you were in love with Captain America. It was a ridiculous notion. If anything, you were in love with the idea of Captain America. It’s not as if the men that you actually knew were living up to any expectations.

You were hoping that Harper would drop it once you got to the museum, but she dug her feet in and really got to work. She took you in between every exhibit with even a mention of Steve Rogers. Unfortunately, it did not seem like she was going to run out of ammunition anytime soon.

Her class was learning about World War II, and that meant a trip to his Smithsonian exhibit was all but required. You had been thinking about taking Harper for a few weeks, because you knew she would enjoy it, but when the time came to actually get up off of the couch, it didn’t seem as important anymore.

Thankfully, the museum wasn’t too busy, so the screaming class of first graders wasn’t ruining too many people’s afternoons. You had expected there to be more people there, in all honesty. The exhibit was one of the most popular things for people from out of town to see, and everyone you had talked to about it said that it was always packed, and for good reason.

The donations on behalf of Captain Rogers and the Stark Foundation were incredible, and as time went on, you found yourself being less of a chaperone and more of a lovesick teenager. You spent way too long looking at the Captain’s old uniforms and not enough time paying attention to your daughter, because when you looked down to where Harper had been standing a few minutes ago, she was nowhere to be seen.

Harper was getting frustrated that you were not admitting your undying love for her favorite hero, and decided that she needed to find something that would convince you. Her eyes landed on the small screening room, and she barely stopped herself from running and planting herself on the floor directly in front of the screen.

Even if she was running away from you in order to scheme, she knew that you would want her to sit in a chair. There was only one other person in the viewing room, and he looked lonely. Harper had declared herself a “Warrior Against Loneliness” when she came home to tell you about the boy who had to sit alone at the lunch table last week, and she knew she couldn’t let him watch the movie by himself.

“Hello, sir” she said, pulling herself onto the chair directly beside him.

“Hello there,” he said, turning so that she could see his face fully for the first time. It was a good thing that she was fully situated on her chair, because the sight of Steve Rogers beaming directly at you is enough to knock anyone over.  

“A baseball hat is an awful disguise, Mr. Captain America”.

Steve blinked at her a few times, processing the words before letting out a body shaking laugh. It was the last thing that he had expected out of the girl, who looked very confident in her introduction.

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” he said bashfully, pulling the cap off of his head and running his hand over his hat hair a few times.

“I’m Harper,” she said proudly, sitting up a little straighter and offering him her hand to shake.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Harper.” Steve shook her hand, trying his best to suppress his grin.

“Why are you here all alone?” Harper was never one to beat around the bush, apparently even when superheroes were involved.

Steve’s eyes managed to grow three sizes, stunned by how blunt she was. Steve’s non-answer was not enough for her, and she was about to tell him when you burst through the door.

“Harper Elizabeth what in the world were you thinking?” You marched over to your daughter, crouching down in front of her chair while completely ignoring the man sitting beside her.

“I was thinking that you would like this movie” she said, shrugging and gesturing towards the screen.

“You might have thought to tell me instead of wandering off into a dark theater with a strange man-” Your words died in your throat as you locked eyes with the man sitting beside your daughter. You tried to find the right words as Captain America- THE Captain America extended his hand for you to shake.

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” he nearly blinded you with his smile as he gripped your hand in his own. “You have a real firecracker here.” Steve said, winking at Harper who was sitting in her chair, arms crossed proudly over her chest.

“I am so sorry if she disturbed you. We are here with her class on a school trip and she wandered off,” You hadn’t meant to start talking but now you couldn’t make yourself stop. “I thought I raised her better than wandering off on a class trip and certainly better than forgery, but-”

“Forgery?” Steve’s voice sounded concerned but his face was a mix of surprised and impressed, something that should not have looked as good as it did on him.

Unfortunately, Harper saw this as her time to shine. “I knew that my mom would love to come because she is obsessed with-”

“History,” you cut in, your voice slightly too panicked to sell the lie you were telling.

She glanced at you briefly, before turning her attention back to the Captain. “Yeah, especially-”

“World War II” You tried to shoot Harper a look that said ‘Hush right now or no dessert for a week’. It was clear that she got the message, but apparently your daughter had a death wish. “I’m sure that Captain Rogers-”

“Please, call me Steve.” He said, with a smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle. It was a wonder that you were still able to form a sentence.

“I’m sure that Steve has much better things to do than listen to a long list of things that I am interested in.” Steve looked as if he was about to say something to the contrary, but you were determined to make it out of the dark viewing room before your daughter managed to ruin your entire life.

He glanced at his watch, eyebrows raising when he noticed the time. “I actually do have a meeting upstairs in a few minutes. But I was hoping that the two of you might be free for dinner?”

You could only blink a few times, too stunned by the offer to give a proper reply.

“We are having chicken nuggets for dinner,” Harper informed him proudly. “They’re dinosaur shaped.”

You had never thought that your daughter’s love of dino nuggets would save you from dinner with Captain America, but she could have as many as she wanted for the rest of her life.

“Have you ever had a dinosaur chicken nugget, Mr. Rogers?” her little voice filling the silence that had briefly fallen over the room as the credits for the short film rolled across the screen.

“I can’t say that I have.” Steve laughed.

“I’m sure that we have extra,” Harper said, sparing you a glance before continuing. “And there are four chairs at our table.”

Harper was never going to see another dinosaur chicken nugget for as long as she lived.

“Do you think that your meeting will be done by dinner time?” She asked, blinking at him with wide eyes.

“I would think that I will be done by then, that is, if your mother wouldn’t mind having me?” He glanced up at you through his lashes, his own version of the puppy dog eyes working wonders.

There was no way you would be able to say no to that. “I’m sure that we would love to have you.” Your voice wavered as you answered him, unsure of how you ended up in this situation.

His smile could have lit up an entire city block, and it was focused entirely on you.

Thankfully, your tour was cut short after Jeffrey tried to crawl into one of the exhibits, which gave you just enough time to rush home and attempt to hide any Avengers memorabilia away. Funnily enough, as soon as you stashed something in a drawer or the back of a closet, it mysteriously found its way out and into a more obvious spot that before. Harper claimed that you were losing your mind, but you knew better than that. She was on a mission and would not be swayed.

Eventually, you gave up, knowing that Harper thought that this was her chance for a superhero best friend and that she would not allow you to stand in her way. You were in the process of deciding if one entire bag of nuggets was enough, when the bell rang and your breath caught in your throat

If you had thought that meeting Steve at the museum was beyond comprehension, your brain nearly shut down when you opened your door to see Steve Rogers in a blue button down shirt with two bouquets of daisies in his hands.

“Hello again,” he said bashfully, holding out the larger bundle of flowers to you.

“Hello Mr. Captain Rogers!” Harper cheered, pushing her way in front of you.

“Hello again,” Steve smiled, taking a knee so that he was at eye level. “I hope that you had a wonderful rest of your trip.”

“I did. Mom thought that you looked very handsome in your uniform.” Her voice sounded like the epitome of innocence, but you would have to be stupid to think that she didn’t know exactly what she was doing.

You didn’t miss the faint blush that appeared on his cheeks as he handed Harper the slightly smaller bouquet he had brought with him. Thankfully, Harper didn’t allow you to dwell on it very long, taking Steve’s hand in her own and leading him to the living room. “Do you like to color?” She didn’t wait for a response before handing him one of her coloring books and a crayon.

“Harper, I don’t know if we have time for coloring right now.” You said over your shoulder as you made your way back into the kitchen, pulling the tray of nuggets from the oven. “Can you come and set the table please?”

“I have actually just entered the most important part of my artistic process,” she said, eyes never leaving the construction paper.

You held in a sigh, hoping to avoid a fight in front of Harper’s super-guest. “I really don’t think-”

“If you could show me where the plates are, I would be more than happy to help.” You turned around to see a shy Steve Rogers standing in your kitchen, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. It was enough to make your heart skip a beat.

You pointed to the plates and silverware you had set out for Harper, trying not to sound too flustered before grabbing the food and heading into the dining room.

“Thank you for making dinner mom,” Harper said, hitting you with doe eyes before climbing into her chair across the table from you. You were instantly suspicious. She only ever pulled out the doe eyes when she was planning something that you were not going to like. “Thank you for setting the table, Mr. Captain Rogers,” she said, in her sweetest voice.

“Really, just Steve is fine.” He insisted, taking the seat in between the two of you.

She nodded, ultimately ignoring his request. “I drew this for you.” She handed Steve a drawing, looking you dead in the eye.

Immediately, your eyes shot down to the construction paper that Steve was smiling at. She had drawn what you would politely call the most obscene thing you had ever laid eyes on. It looked to be a picture of the three of you at a wedding, and if the veil and bouquet were an indication, you were marrying Captain America.

Before you could snatch the paper out of his hands, Steve had politely thanked your daughter, congratulated you on raising such a wonderful artist, and tucked it safely in his pocket.

Dinner went surprisingly well. Steve and Harper chatted away about what the best dino shape was while you tried to get yourself to stop beaming. Steve seemed to fit so perfectly into the picture in front of you, it was a wonder the two of you were ever without him.

“I have to show you our poster collection” Harper announced, pulling Steve from the table and showing him to your office and the spare room, where Harper had placed most of the Captain America memorabilia.

You knew that it was impossible to fight it, instead choosing to gather up all of the plates left on the table and hope that you could wash away the embarrassment along with the dirty dishes. You managed to zone out a bit, until a presence behind you drew your attention away from the task at hand.

“If you would have told me you were washing up, I would have been more than happy to help.” Steve moved to stand beside you at the sink, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “My mother taught me better than that.” He grinned at you, grabbing one of the plates and started to rinse the dishes left in the sink as if he hadn’t just gotten a tour of your embarrassing amount of Captain America merchandise from your overly enthusiastic daughter.

The two of you worked in silence for a bit, until a screech rang through the apartment, making the both of you turn to find Harper dragging a dining chair in between to two of you. She plucked the plate from Steve’s hand, drying it before placing it on the counter and gesturing for another.

Your jaw dropped. Harper hated the dishes more than any other chore in the house. “You’ll have to come to dinner more often,” you laughed, meeting Steve’s eyes over her head. “Especially if it means that this one is going to help clean up after.”

“I was hoping that I might take the two of you out, the next time.” Steve shrugged, handing Harper another plate to dry.

In all your years, you never would have guessed that Captain America was so smooth. You were speechless for a moment, the combination of Steve’s nonchalant offer and the sight of Harper wiggling her eyebrows at you catching you off guard.

“I think that we would love that,” Harper announced, nudging you with her elbow in a manner that was decidedly less discreet than she had thought it would be.

“I think that we would as well.” You admitted softly, refusing to meet either of their eyes.

It was one of the easiest nights you’d had in a long time, even if Harper had demanded three bedtime stories from Steve. He read each of them to her without protest, complete with a different voice for each character and dramatic hand gestures worthy of both stage and screen. Each request was obliged without question, while you leaned against the doorway, trying to figure out why it felt like he had been doing this since day one.

Thankfully, Harper was starting to have a hard time keeping her eyes open. Steve took it as a sign to pull the blanket up to her chin and tell her “sleep tight”, before making his way out of the room as quietly as possible.

“Thank you,” the words broke the silence of the room as Steve pulled on his jacket.

“No thanks needed.” He smiled bashfully, taking a few steps in your direction. “I should be thanking you. She’s wonderful.”

“I know. I got so lucky. I couldn’t ask for a better girl.” You smiled, glancing back in the direction of her room.

“I don’t know if I would say you got lucky.” A small smile appeared on his face as he met your eyes. “I would say that she had a pretty great mom.” You could feel the warmth on your cheeks as you refused to meet his eyes. It was silent for a few beats, before Steve said “I meant what I said before, about hoping to take you out.”

You smiled to yourself, the sincerity in his voice was nearly tangible. Before you could find the right words, Steve’s hand timidly found its way to your waist, pulling you flush against his chest. “Is it alright if I kiss you now?”

You simply nodded, a little lost in his eyes and a little unsure that this was really happening. He leaned down, pressing his lips to yours.

You were surprised that the fireworks you had dreamed of didn’t come. Instead, as you felt Steve rest his forehead against yours and wrap you up in his arms, you felt perfectly whole, like the last piece of your puzzle was finally in place.

It felt like you were home.

[uraberika]

Kissing Booth

Title: Kissing Booth Characters: Urabe Rika, Aphrodi, Mutou Satoshi Pairing: SatoTeru Rated: T  Genres: Humor, Romance Words: 4300 words Summary: Rika drags Aphrodi into organising a kissing booth at the upcoming school fair and things don't go as smoothly as Aphrodi had excpected them to.  On other platforms: ff.net / ao3  Author’s note: This started as a silly headcanon of mine but after months and months that it haunted me, I finally had written it. I screamed about this to @zafiro-satoshi who drew an amazingly adorable art of if too which you can check out here.

Afuro Terumi was screwed. Yet again. He huffed in annoyance as he ran a hand through his blond locks for what felt like the billionth time.  He couldn’t believe that he let himself be fooled like that! He really should have seen it coming, after all the years he had spent being Rika’s friend (and, well, occasional lab rat for her crazy ideas).  Urabe Rika was a girl who he could only describe as batshit crazy. However, she was one of Aphrodi’s closest friends and the boy wasn’t sure if he should be glad or terrified by the fact. Rika was loud, annoyingly girly, and had the most absurd ideas in the world. Like this one, for instance, when she convinced Aphrodi to organise a kissing booth for the school fair. A kissing booth for a school fair, like in some idiotic American high school romcom! The girl had guts, that’s for sure. And, apparently, had the brains too, since she managed to get the school board to actually give their blessing to it. So that’s how Aphrodi ended up with a really enthusiastic Rika behind a stall with a sign “kissing booth” and a price for a kiss which was way too low for Aphrodi’s liking. But that wasn’t the thing that bothered the blond boy the most. What really got on his nerves was Rika’s “sense of time” as the girl liked to call it. When Rika reeled Aphrodi into this whole mess, they had agreed to man the booth in equal amounts, just to be fair. The first round would be Rika’s, then after an hour Aphrodi would take over, then Rika again after another hour, then Aphrodi again and so on, until the event would arrive to its end. It was such a simple plan; even an ape would have understood it. But of course plans are meant to be ruined even though everything started off smoothly at first. Rika started her first hour, smiling charmingly at people passing by and shouting after them something on the lines of “This is a chance not to miss/’cause you get to kiss/this beautiful miss!” which immediately caused Aphrodi to mentally cringe at the awkward poem. She was jumping up and down in excitement while making weird gestures with her hands. No wonder she was a cheerleader, Aphrodi thought. With that voice of hers, she could rouse the dead from their eternal slumber and make them win a game even against the national team. So the first hour passed in loud shouting while Rika distributed kisses to every poor soul who dared to approach the stall within two meters. They had a moderate amount of success; their shoe box of coins was still only full about to a quarter. Aphrodi snickered as he remembered that this definitely wasn’t what the principal was expecting. Even though Rika managed to get his approval, it was on the condition of donating the raised money to the school’s rather empty foundation.  The gym needed new equipment, the library needed faster computers, and the canteen was waiting for a big renewal as well. But with this amount of money, the school would be able to buy a few second-hand textbooks the most. However, it was none of Aphrodi’s concern; he just hoped that the principal wouldn’t make a big scandal about it. So when the time arrived, he took over the booth with little worry. In retrospect, he should have been worried.

He wasn’t even manning the booth for what felt like fifteen minutes when Aphrodi had to realize that people were clearly more interested in him than they were in Rika. At another time, he sure would have appreciated the attention, but in this particular case, he just wanted to get over with it. He checked his watch for the fiftieth time, took a sharp breath and let his eyes wander over the small crowd gathering in front of the DIY cardboard structure decorated with plenty of glitter and paper hearts (courtesy of Rika). Oh boy, this was going to be a long hour!

And in fact, it was one hell of an hour. Aphrodi kissed more people than he could care to count and now all he wished for was a break. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait any longer for it. He turned his head to the side and looked down at Rika. The blue haired girl was crouched next to Aphrodi, her back leaning against the wall with phone in one hand. She seemed greatly immersed in her phone and was typing so furiously, Aphrodi thought the screen would crack any minute. Rika suddenly realized Aphrodi was staring at her, and she looked up at him.

“Hey, guess what! My Darling had a match yesterday, and a video of it got uploaded, so of course, I had to check it to see my man play again but then I scrolled down and you wouldn’t believe what I saw!” she ignored the sarcastic-faked horrified gasp coming from Aphrodi and put one hand to her heart in a dramatic pose. “Someone was writing trash about PA!” PA was short for Pegasus Academy, the top-notch prissy American private school Rika’s boyfriend went to. They were exclusive and super strict when it came to rules. The school of course, not Rika and her boyfriend. To be honest, Aphrodi knew very little of Rika’s One True Love, he had only met him twice while he was staying at Rika’s for a short time. The guy seemed nice enough if not a bit anxious at times. Or maybe it was just due to Rika, to whose random outbursts the poor boy usually ducked his head in an automatic defence measure.

“Rika!” Aphrodi pinched the bridge of his nose. “People talk trash all the time on the internet. They are called trolls for a reason. Don’t waste your time with them. Come and man the booth instead, it’s your turn.”

“I can’t right now. A bitch is waiting to be roasted,” the cheerleader said and her attention was immediately focused back onto the screen. “Plus, with you, the business is booming!” Aphrodi sighed in exasperation but decided against arguing with her. Starting a fight with Rika was almost pointless since she wouldn’t even care to listen. Whenever her Darling was involved in something, her hearing and vision became quite selective.  So he chose the next best option instead.

“Ten minutes max,” he said in a threatening voice and turned back to the slowly dissipating crowd in front of the booth. He could manage ten more minutes, Aphrodi assured himself. The only problem was that Rika’s dictionary didn’t actually contain the expression “ten minutes”. Because suddenly, ten minutes turned into fifteen, then into twenty and then into twenty-five minutes, and Rika still hadn’t looked up from her phone. After an hour had passed, Aphrodi was seriously on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

“What the hell takes you so damn long?” the blond boy hissed through gritted teeth. And at last, Rika finally lifted her gaze off the screen.

“Hey, look!” she said cheerfully, as if nothing had happened. “Touko has been transferred back here, she sent a pic from the base!” and indeed, in the picture was a girl with a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon with messy shoulder-length red hair, dressed in a khaki uniform and hat. Zaizen Touko was a former upperclassman of Rika’s and her best friend before Aphrodi transferred here. When she graduated, she joined the army and now worked as a general at a small military unit, but in the picture, she was smiling as if she had never gone through the worst of hell at the army. She was way too young to serve in the military in Aphrodi’s opinion, but the girl was a tough one, he could tell, even if just from Rika’s anecdotes. “We can finally meet again!” Rika turned back excitedly to her phone and Aphrodi could literally feel the veins starting to pulse in his head. So, he changed tactics.

“Girl, I’m really happy for you. Really, I am. But we agreed on switching, and I swear to the Gods, if you don’t stand up and take my place in the next three seconds, I’ll go and dump this shoebox of cash into the dumpsters, and I don’t care if we get expelled for it.” This new plan turned out to be more effective, since Rika quickly rose to her feet, her face wrinkled up in a pout as she begrudgingly changed places with Aphrodi while murmuring something along the lines of “no need the unleash that divine wrath of yours”, but Aphrodi just rolled his eyes.  The divine or god jokes were really nothing new to him. People always made teasing remarks about him or his appearance or his love for Ancient Greek culture and mythology, so he was used to people making jokes about him being a god and all that. Actually, that was the reason why he got the nickname “Aphrodi”. Almost everyone in school called him that because he was clearly and openly a mythology nerd and, well, his appearance did seem to resemble in some way that of the Goddess of Love with his long, blond hair and delicate frame.

So, Aphrodi could finally sit back and relax. He leaned against the wall with a contended sigh and closed his eyes, letting the relaxing feel of his muscles unclenching surge through his body. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and looked around. It was clear that the school fair was slowly but surely coming to an end. Even though there was still almost an hour left of the event, a lot of stalls had closed shop already due to selling out or simply because of the exhausted students.  Aphrodi himself wished to pack up and just leave, but that would be admitting defeat. Rika finally took her turn, and she would work for all that money that Aphrodi had raised. Because by the looks of it, Rika wasn’t getting many customers. It was not her fault though, the corridor was almost empty, and most of the students have already sneaked out of the building. It was an extra-curricular event, so no one really bothered to check whether everyone was staying until the last hour.  Occasionally, one or two students walked by, but none of them spared even a glance at the stall.

As he heard the sound of footsteps growing louder and louder in the acoustic corridor, Aphrodi cracked one eye open, and it immediately went wide. He quickly opened his other eye, because he had to double check to make it sure, but indeed, his eyes weren’t deceiving him. The one crossing the corridor was none other than Mutou Satoshi. The boy had long, purple hair, reaching way down past his shoulder blades and the warmest hazel eyes Aphrodi has ever seen. He had a white towel around his neck and was taking quick breaths as he dabbed his damp hair with the end of the towel. He must have come from practice, the sane part of Aphrodi observed. Mutou played as a striker in the school’s football team, and no, the fact didn’t make him any less attractive. Aphrodi has been crushing on him for almost a year now. He met the boy through Rika, at one of the parties that were thrown after a big victory (or an unfair lose) at some player’s house. Rika dragged Aphrodi along because her Darling wasn’t free that night, and Rika needed supervision when it came to partying. That was when Rika introduced him to the whole football team (and, well, to the cheerleader team as well, but that didn’t really grasp Aphrodi’s interest), and that was when Aphrodi first saw Mutou. After a brief handshake, neither of them really spoke to each other (due to the fact that Aphrodi was so stunned by the boy’s handsomeness that he suddenly forgot all the communication skills he used to have, and, because, as he came to know later on, Mutou wasn’t really the one for small talk. Or for talk, in general. As from what information Aphrodi gathered within several months, Mutou was a calm and collected boy with a solid moral compass but with few social abilities, and his comportment had a certain distinctness to it. His moves were delicate but calculated. His speech was always polite but at the same time somewhat reserved. So, Mutou was everything the hot headed blond wasn’t; but that didn’t stop Aphrodi from falling head over heels for the poor boy who must have had no idea about the whole situation.  Despite their first awkward meeting, Aphrodi and Mutou remained good acquaintances. They would wave at each other while passing in the hallway and, sometimes, they would eventually make small talk after practice, while both of them were waiting for their friends to change and finally be able to be off. So it was no surprise that the purple-haired striker waved and headed towards them when he spotted the duo behind the stall. Nevertheless, Aphrodi’s heart skipped a beat while he tried to get his knees to cooperate in standing up and moving his body next to Rika.

As soon as the cheerleader spotted Mutou, her face lit up. While Aphrodi was still contemplating on which form of greeting to choose (“good day” sounded so formal, while a casual “hello” made Aphrodi think that he would seem careless), Rika had no such qualms about it.

“Hey, Mutou-kun!” she shouted enthusiastically, letting everyone know even on the third floor that, indeed, Urabe Rika has spotted a friend. She waved towards him in an over exaggerated manner while a small smile spread across the boy’s lips.

“Hello, Rika-san!” he said and turned his head towards Aphrodi and nodded slightly, his gaze never meeting the blonde’s. “Aphrodi-san.”

Suddenly, Aphrodi was too aware of how the temperature in the corridor seemed to rise. This was absolutely abnormal. It was May, for the Gods, who would ever think of turning the heating on in here?! No wonder the school needed money, if they heat away all of their funds!

“How are you doing, Mutou-kun?” the blue haired girl asked. “How was practice?”

“It was fine,” the boy said, and even though he wasn’t actually smiling anymore, Aphrodi could hear the delight in his voice. “We still got a lot to work on, but I’m actually quite optimistic this time,” the boy said, and that was when Aphrodi knew that that football team must be really something. Mutou was the most realistic guy he had ever met; he had a real down-to-earth mentality and he didn’t throw around praises in the air just for nothing. Aphrodi couldn’t help but let a goofy smile loom its way to his expression. He really liked when Mutou was optimistic.  “And you, guys?” came the question, and Aphrodi was shaken out of his daydreaming in an instant. Somehow he actually realised that they were indeed doing a kissing booth, and oh boy, if this wasn’t his luckiest day in years!

“Actually,” the blond boy cleared his throat. “I was about to take over the booth, since Rika-chan’s shift was just about to end.” He tried to smile as innocently as he could while he also prayed that Rika would get the hint being a self-proclaimed love expert and all.

“You what now?” Rika asked incredulously. “C’mon man, you’ve been whining for a whole hour wanting me switch you out, and now that I’ve taken over, you actually want to switch back?” she asked in pure confusion. Looks like Aphrodi overestimated Rika’s expertise in the domain of love and subtle hints. Oh well, there’s nothing that a good shove in the ribs wouldn’t solve.  

While Rika was trying to grasp her side and catch her breath not too obviously, Aphrodi put on his most charming smile and turned to the boy at the other end of the booth who watched the events with a mildly confused expression and a raised brow. A couple of seconds passed while Rika regained her composure. She stared at the duo warily, her gaze darting from one to another with incredible speed. And finally, after what felt like an eternity to Aphrodi, the penny dropped. Her face lit up as the realisation hit her, and she sent a rather smug smirk towards Aphrodi spiced with a weird suggestive lift of her blue eyebrows (an expression which was sure to haunt Aphrodi in his future nightmares).

“Of course!” she slapped a hand across her forehead. “I was just about to head for the…” her voice seemed the waver for a minute. “Toilets,” she finished with absolute conviction. Well, Rika wasn’t the best at improvisation, but Aphrodi had to give her kudos for the dramatic vehemence. “I’ll trust you can take care of things while I’m away?” she said as she was clearly fighting to be able to keep the amusement and mockery out of her voice. “Good luck, make sure he pays just as much as any customer would!” she shouted over her shoulder, then all Aphrodi could make out was a blue blur, and suddenly the ever-enthusiastic cheerleader was gone.

As soon as Rika disappeared out of sight, a slightly awkward silence settled between the two boys. Aphrodi still couldn’t believe his luck that he actually managed to get into this situation with Mutou of all people! Just like in some idiotic American high school romcom, he smiled to himself. He must have done something really noble for the Gods to provide him such a lucky situation, he amused as he stared at the purple-haired striker with a rather starstruck expression. On the other hand, Mutou’s expression wasn’t as trusting. He eyed the blond boy warily as one would scrutinize a wildcat in its cage: fascinated but ready to bolt at any minute in case something bad happened. So, Aphrodi decided to step up his game. After all, he wasn’t nicknamed after the goddess of love for nothing!

He flashed his brightest smile and looked the boy right into the eyes, determined to say something flirty.

“So, you come here often?” Aphrodi wanted to mentally slap his own face for the slip-up. Way to go, Casanova, just barge down that damn door, wouldn’t you?!

Mutou looked around the area with furrowed brows and asked: “You mean… the corridor?” Well, there’s no turning back now, so Aphrodi just slightly nodded. Mutou’s expression didn’t soften, but he shrugged. “I guess,” he replied. “Though I have classes more frequently on the third floor.”

Aphrodi quickly swallowed back the laughter threatening to burst through his mouth. The boy took his question literally!

“I see,” Aphrodi replied to gain some time to think. “So, care to help us out in raising funds for the school?” he asked next. This time Aphrodi mentally patted himself on the back. That was so subtle that even he wasn’t sure where he wanted this conversation to go.

“Sure. The gym could use a few new soccer balls. What you guys doing?” the striker asked, his distrust slowly dissolving. Aphrodi pointed upwards, to the huge sign with “kissing booth” written all over in pink and filled with so many drawn red hearts that Aphrodi was pretty sure that it was unhealthy. Mutou followed the motion with his gaze, finally settling onto the ominous carton board. What happened next was absolutely unexpected: the ever-collected boy, who was always polite and whose expression rarely betrayed his thoughts, turned to a curious shade of beet.

“Ah I see…” he murmured to himself as he was clearly trying to recompose himself. Aphrodi knew that a lot of people were against their idea and some of them (like Nagumo) even cared to voice their displeasure. Maybe Mutou was one of those people who found a kissing booth on a school fair scandalous. Aphrodi decided it was time to backtrack before Mutou gave a piece of his mind too on the matter, just like Nagumo did.

“Of course, if you’re against the idea, I absolutely understand, the thought is what counts,” the blond boy said quickly.

“No-no, of course not,” Mutou quickly reassured him. “It’s a really… hmm…” he coughed. “Creative way of raising funds. And everything for a better equipped school, right?” he asked and fished out a few coins of the pocket of his shorts. He laughed, but the sound was strained as if he was trying to convince himself to put the money into the box. Finally, he dropped the coins into the makeshift bank. He then stared at Aphrodi expectantly with the colour not fading a bit on his face. Aphrodi was glad that even though he had a pale complexion, he wasn’t the one to easily blush. And on the few occasions when he felt insecure or embarrassed or overjoyed, only his earns turned red. Thus the long hair, and he thanked the Gods that this time his ears were safely tucked behind his blond locks because he could feel that they were almost flaming.

Aphrodi looked back at Mutou as he listened to the pounding of his heart in his ears. Should he make the first move? Should he be the one to lean in? Or should he just wait until Mutou feels comfortable enough to come closer? As he looked at the boy, he could clearly see the hesitation on his face. Does he not like him? Funny enough, this thought had never crossed Aphrodi’s mind before. Everyone is always so swept away by his appearance and manners and his whole charm that the thought has never actually occurred to him. But what if Mutou only liked him as a friend?

However, before Aphrodi could fall into an endless cycle of overthinking, the purple-haired boy suddenly moved towards him and put his lips to Aphrodi’s. Immediately, all coherent thoughts stopped coursing through Aphrodi’s brain while he felt the strength escaping his legs.  He quickly braced himself on the top of the counter as he tried not to get lost in the kiss too much. It was really the sweetest and most innocent kiss Aphrodi had today, hell, even his whole life, and he didn’t want this moment to ever end. But this time, the Gods decided that this was enough luck for today and the next thing Aphrodi knew was that Mutou had drawn back and was face to face again with him. His whole face was burning and Aphrodi could also feel that the heat had finally spread across his own cheeks as well. They stared at each other for a few seconds; both not quite comprehending what they had just done. Finally, after an eternity, Mutou coughed in embarrassment and turned away.

“Well, good luck to the rest of the fair,” he croaked and repositioned a strand of hair behind his ear. He was clearly going, and Aphrodi started to panic. No, this can’t end like this! After a whole year of pining that’s it? Maybe Mutuo didn’t get the message that he likes him? Nah, that can’t be it, Aphrodi literally kissed him on the lips! Well, as part of a kissing booth project where they were raising funds by kissing people, and Aphrodi had kissed a lot of people, and oh for the love of the Gods, Mutou had no idea! Aphrodi had to think of something quickly before Mutou’s retreating back disappeared completely out of sight. So, he decided to act upon instinct.

“Wait!” he didn’t really even think through what he was going to say, but Mutou immediately turned around and raised a questioning eyebrow at his direction. “Are you free on Sunday?” There goes nothing!

“Uhm… I guess?” the purple-haired boy scratched his neck; feeling embarrassed at the sudden attention Aphrodi gave him as his cheeks turned yet again a faint shade of red. “I’ll have practice in the morning but after that I’m mostly free. Why?” he asked suspiciously as if he was waiting for Aphrodi to take back what he said at any moment.

“You see…”Aphrodi started. “Rika’s boyfriend is having a match, a super elite one, that is. And of course, Rika, being her girlfriend, got a couple of extra tickets. Of course she would get, why wouldn’t she, right?” oh for the Gods’ sake, now he was rambling! He should have been named after the goddess of nonsense, not the goddess of love! “And you see, I actually got a plus one, and since you are a striker and everything I thought you’d be interested, and maybe we could go there together so I could show you the place, it’s an amazingly huge stadium really, one of the best, and you see…” Aphrodi was tripping on his words and he saw Mutuo’s lips curving into small smile at his struggling.

“Thank you for thinking of me,” the boy replied, his voice more measured than ever and for a moment Aphrodi’s heart skipped a beat as he became sure that Mutou was going to decline his sort-of-clumsy-date-proposal. “I would love to watch Ichinose-san’s match with you,” he said.

“Oh, great,” Aphrodi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “So how about we meet half an hour before the match at the park next to the school? Around six? “

“Sounds great,” Mutou smiled amicably, blush fading on his face. And the next moment, the purple-haired boy was gone just like an illusion, but Aphrodi knew that it was anything but an illusion. He placed his head in the palm of his hands as he grinned at the empty corridor like some idiot. Oh boy, Rika was going to freak out so much!

[fayewonglibrary]

Commentary: There is a kind of life called Faye Wong (2010)

by Guo Zhikai

I often ask myself, how long can I like someone? Her youthful invincibility, her voice and smile, everything about her! I don't think I will ever find the answer. Of course, the girl I'm referring to is not just any girl, but my favorite - Faye Wong.

Some time ago, Du Lei had always wanted to open a bar. After conspiring with me, the "Faye Extraordinary" bar became a shining beacon. It became a favorite spot for all kinds of big names in the art circle of China. It was especially favored by Faye Wong fans. This is also the first Faye Wong themed bar in Beijing! Forgive me for saying so, but this is my favorite place!

In 2004, I once wrote: "Faye Wong is expected to surpass Teresa Teng". For a while, this line was questioned by many people in the industry. They all felt that what I said was a bit impossible. How could she be compared with Teresa Teng? But after re-reading the article carefully, I realized how thorough and reasonable my analysis was, and how logical it was for this Beijing girl to become a heavenly queen. The intriguing journey behind her is also very worthy of discussion.  

Faye Wong’s latest concert is so popular, it almost surpassed her rock-star-like concert that I planned and promoted at Beijing Workers' Stadium years ago. This time, I chose not to go to the venue and come in close contact with her. My reason is justifiable. I have participated in both the Faye Extraordinary concert in 2004 and the promotion of the Smile Angel Foundation in 2006. In addition to having close contact with her face to face already, the high ticket price is the real reason I shut myself out, because I was not ready to spend 5000 yuan on this precious event.

I have already been to her concert. Those sounds of nature often accompany me in my dreams. This is only possible when I like someone. Faye Wong is both a legend and an ordinary person in my eyes. Her life is closely related to us. I can relate to many of her hobbies and I can also frequent the same shopping malls and bars she does. Of course, you may pass her on the street on a certain afternoon without knowing it. You can also picture her standing alone, in the street, singing the very beautiful song "I Don't Want To Be Like This Either", and feel the poignant sentiment.

In fact, I like many singers, such as Jay Chou, Luo Dayou, Jolin Tsai, Stefanie Sun, Jacky Cheung and so on. But none of them have received love like Faye Wong. I always feel that these singers are a little far away from me and they are not my people. On the contrary, it is more appropriate to say that Faye Wong is part of the "home team". It seems that when we are eating fried noodles, we can see Faye Wong basking in the sun and drinking afternoon tea leisurely. Maybe this is also why this Beijing girl can capture everyone's heart. Many people related to Faye Wong have become my friends now - Gao Gao, Jiang Xin, Dou Wei, Zheng Jun, Luan Shu, Wang Bing, Yang Yue, Jinggangshan, etc. When mentioning Faye Wong, we feel that she is affectionate and upright, basically like the female hero of the school. What lofty praise this is!

Faye Wong’s life becomes the public’s gossip. This is also the difference between us and celebrities. The pros and cons of this difference are half-and-half. Because we are all pawns among all living beings, unable to fight against destiny, but we all believe that love is everywhere. We will all bless Faye Wong and Yapeng to respect each other and grow old together. This may be our biggest wish as Fei fans.

This is the culmination of Faye Wong’s music career. I always look forward to her being able to make great achievements again. However, in the unpredictable music industry, how to find music suitable for her to sing, such as Li Jian’s "Legend", that is indeed worth considering. The success of the concert can only be used as a means to promote oneself, not a substitute for the continuation of one's own musical success. In fact, I have always felt that Faye Wong should have made some gains in the world music scene after throwing an atomic bomb on the Chinese music industry. This is the eternal pain in the hearts of all Chinese musicians. But looking at the Chinese music industry, how many people can break into the world music scene and become a well-deserved international artist? If Faye Wong fell short, may I ask who can do it?

The concert will continue in Shanghai. A group of fans who love Faye Wong will generously donate to see the face of the queen. Faye Wong will also put the money earned into her charity Smile Angel Foundation. I think of her song “Mortal World”:  Heaven on earth, if it was really something worth praising. It’s because of you, that it will be lively. The sky and land is so vast, this world is more hazy than you think. I can’t bear to deceive anymore, I hope you understand, I hope you know what to do... 

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SOURCE: SOHU MUSIC  // TRANSLATED BY: FAYE WONG FUZAO

[quailridgeacton]

Powerball Ticket 엔트리파워볼 Information Post

Powerball Ticket 엔트리파워볼 Information

About Powerball Lottery Tickets

Foremost when you play the Powerball 엔트리파워볼 분석 lottery people are fully aware of the fact that there are lots of winning the jackpot are tiny so the question remains if you don’t expect to win can you actually feel that you’re the money you’re spending is being a benefit to someone’s life. If the cost of losing is so high and the chance of winning a life-changing prize is so low, at least I can comfort you to know that some benefits every daughter you spend there being kicked back in your local community. However, although the Powerball Lottery has existed for over 30 years, as yet we cannot be certain our contributions are doing any good locally.

엔트리파워볼 정보 Prayer to win the Powerball lottery

Millions of people play the Powerball lottery every week, looking to hit the jackpot and solve all their problems. However, I feel it’s important to point out that some huge lottery winners have had horrific experiences. They will not be at the runout of the day they won the lottery. Some wish they’d never bought a ticket to begin with

선별된 엔트리파워볼 사이트 리스트를 확인해주세요.

Too many of us, this would seem far-fetched how good winning millions and millions of dollars be a bad thing, but there is a phenomenon that’s been called the lottery curse:

Whether you chose to believe it or not, here are seven of the most famous people to fall of the lottery curse people use luck deserted on the day, they won the jackpot

These stories aren’t designed to stop you from playing the Powerball lottery. What we’re trying to explain is that even if you’re lucky enough to win, you need to remain smart with your winnings. Most winners go and get sound financial advice and make their winnings grow to the stage where they never have to worry about money ever again, however others such as.

“I am surrounded by greedy people” – Jack Whitaker

The first story I want to tell you is about Jack Whittaker, a man who was already independently wealthy when you picked up the Powerball lottery ticket in Christmas 2002 and ended up winning 300 million dollars what she banked on 120 million as cash payout. He was already a successful business executive on his property development company produced revenues of over 15 million dollars every year

However, Jack is the odds his life transformed the day you brought home his lottery winnings. As much as you trying to do good with the money he won including donating to local churches and charities even setting up a charity Foundation as far as giving the woman his soul to his winning Powerball lottery tickets a bite of cash in your car in the house he was hit by the lottery first.

Unfortunately, Jack Whittaker wasn’t lucky enough to have a conference date where he could remain anonymous. His huge meanings were widely publicized, and this just invited all the wrong people to come to look for favors and money.

His shocking habit of leaving a vast amount of cash in his car one night he was in a strip club someone broke in and sold 500,000 another time $100,000 are stolen from his car

his company became the target of many frivolous lawsuits as people tried to cash in on his deeper pockets this cost him comedians of legal fees.

As the stress and strain took their toll on Whitaker he started drinking far more than ever before getting into violent fights becoming touchy-feely with women offering new many of them cash to sleep with him are stripped for him but this is only the tip of the iceberg.

His favorite granddaughter her name is brandy he spoiled her offering her car’s houses and a huge allowance, unfortunately, I heard you found wealth attracted the wrong crowd when her boyfriend died of an overdose in a house with regarding being building for brandy she was implicated in his death band from going to his funeral I know a year later was found dead herself in very suspicious circumstances to date her death has never been resolved

His granddaughter’s death devastated the whole family his daughter brandy’s mother was found 7 years later and his wife eventually left him Whitaker got the best that despite his independent wealth his lottery winnings had ripped his life apart costing him the people he loved most in his life and now all he feels like is that he’s surrounded by greedy people

роwеrbаll – Hоw Tо Play Scratches

The day Curtis 엔트리파워볼 구간 Sharp won $5 million

5 million dollars may not seem like a huge Powerball jackpot when they when Curtis sharp Jr pocketed this jackpot back in 1982 it was a huge deal because the lottery was suffering at that point due to image issues Curtis was quickly convinced to help spread the word god of the lottery according to change a person’s life.

Known as the “Five million dollar man” Curtis said previously worked as a dishwasher but he had a hard treatment life personality. I love to wear a boater hat. He wasn’t afraid to flash his newfound wealth and quickly became a huge walking advert for the Powerball lottery. Between flashy cars, new penthouses, women and lavish parties they became one of the most famous Powerball lottery winners of all time however because of a lack of financial planning and advice his life said it was completely unsustainable and the lottery person.

Within 12 months of winning the lottery he left his wife and married a new lover within 5 years they were divorced he is falling praying of a hard-drinking routine to stage where he’s found passed out near his girlfriend’s home his money quickly run out and he was forced to go back to his first wife to borrow cash after an extremely close call during a drink driving incident cartilage sharp Jr stock partying quit drinking found God and is now a successful minister. However, he still buys the occasional lottery ticket.

[awed-frog]

I saw your notes on the outrageous post about the 1% and I couldn't help but be curious about they things your friend experienced...

Hi there! So, yeah, it’s kind of a freakish story, because Iwent to high school with this girl - we were in the same class, andshe was so sweet - the bookwormish and Did you know there’sa wasp called Aha ha and ‘save the whales’ kind ofstudent, you know? And after graduating, she studied maths, and thenwe sort of lost touch - I heard she was working in London when I wasliving in the UK, so I reached out and got a very weird email back.We finally met on a train, just randomly, about five years afterthat, and that’s when she told me what had happened to her.

[Disclaimer: I’m not saying all banks and consulting companiesare cults, but if how much money you make depends on how many peopleyou screw over, then maybe it’s normal you attract a crowd ofpsychopaths and pathological narcissists, and things generally godownhill from there.]

So, the thing is - with a maths degree, you can do a lot of stuff,but my friend had a bit of an adulting crisis at the end of herstudies, because, she told me, every choice seemed so very permanentand she wasn’t ready to commit to a 3-years research program orteacher training or whatever, and this is when she was headhunted bythe banking industry and basically they made her believe they’d bethe right fit for her.

(And let me just say - because of my Oxford degree, I’ve beentargeted as well, and that one evening I spent with them remains oneof the scariest beyond the looking glass shit I’veever experienced in my life.)

Of course, their offer is dreamy - a flexible whatever, she leaveswhen she wants, she gets a free course in what they need her to do, asalary with a shitton of zeroes and the job is based infucking London - and at this point, my friend isstill a normal a kid and she’s thinking, I’m notenthusiastic about what banks get up to and it’s not the mostinteresting thing I could do with my degree, but hey, maybe I canlive in the UK for a couple of years and make some money and thenfind something better. And so off she went, and as she told meabout how she found her first flat, well, that’s the same thing Iwas going through in that same period some sixty miles away, becauseshe still had a normal budget (what she’d saved till then? summerjobs and grandparents’ gifts and some paid grading) and it’s hardto find a reasonably priced room in London, so she had to picksomething that was more than one hour away from the City and thatsounded like a very boring and long commute, but hey, London! And atthis point, you know, she looked out of the window, and her storystarted to become a bit more disconnected, jumping back and forth, soI’ll try to piece it together chronologically, but man, it wasreally chilling to hear it out of order, and I wish you’d beenthere with me because I don’t know how well I can put it intowords.

Anyway, so the first thing that’s a problem are her clothes: shecan see that as soon as she steps into the place, the way people lookat her, and she doesn’t get it, because she’s wearing this smartpantsuit she’s already uncomfortable in, and what the fuck? Andluckily she doesn’t have to wonder long, because that’s, like,the first thing her boss (a man) says to her: that she can’t dresslike that, because she’s going to meet clients from time to timeand that’s just not appropriate and my friend - a shy 23-year-oldwho grew up in the mountains, in a village of 46 people - stilldoesn’t know what she’s doing wrong, exactly, and it’sso embarrassing, because this is a man twenty years hersenior and her boss and she’s talking to her like she’s naked orsome shit, and finally - finally - he explains that she can’t buyoff the rack - tailor-made only, please. And she’s so stunned shejust babbles that she can’t afford that and this guy - this guytakes his wallet and places, like, 10 000 pounds on the deskand Please go get changed. 

(“It was like Pretty Woman,” my friendsaid, “except creepier, because I didn’t know the rules. Ididn’t know, well - I was shocked. Like, was that a test? Should Itake the money or not? And if I take it, does that come out of mypaycheck? Is it a gift? Do I have a choice over the clothes I wear ornot? Should I stand up for myself or give up? How do I make a goodimpression here?”)

And the thing is, you want to be polite, right? You want to fitin. You assume other people know better. 

(Especially as a young woman.)

And so my friend took the money and said thank you and spent herfirst morning shopping in a weird luxury place that only had one ofeach and came with complimentary champagne and truffle-flavoured hamand there were no curtains and no changing rooms and she had to stripdown to her underwear right in front of the saleswoman, but it alsodidn’t matter because she was the only customer and the shop lookedlike someone’s living room and again, what are the rules? 

And the thing is - the way she described it, every day was likethat in several small, insidious ways, every day there were athousand moments when she didn’t know what people expected fromher, and slowly the desire to be a good colleague turned into a thisis completely normal and how everyone lives thing and shedidn’t even notice it was happening.

Like, at first she’d been shocked by the price of meals. Peoplewould routinely order up food, or go out for dinner and spendthousands of pounds on one lunch. 

(Thousands. Of. Pounds.) 

And she’d been shocked by the rent of her new apartment (with a60-minute commute, she had maybe two hours of sleep a night, so shehad to move closer to the City), because £5000 a month? Back in uni,that had been her budget for a whole semester. And she’dbeen shocked by how many clothes and shoes and designer handbags sheseemed to be needing. And at how she’d stopped doing anything forherself, or having any control over her body - she never had the timeto cook, or even shop (her luxury kitchen was pristine, her fridgeempty), and someone would come into work and do her hair and nailsand whatever else it is that women need and barely ask her aboutstyle and colour because they could see she was out of her depth.

(“You remember how I was before, right? When I first arrived inLondon, I didn’t know how foundation worked. I never painted mynails, either. For job interviews and stuff I’d wear some of thateasy-to-apply eyeliner and mascara and feel like Greta Garbo, but inmy office, it was considered - people just frowned at you, you know?Or disregarded your wishes, or whatever. One day - it must have beena week after I started - a beautician just showed up, started talkingto me as if we’d arranged an appointment, asked me to chose betweenfour shades of pink that looked the same to me. Turns out, acolleague had told her to come to me next, already paid for it, sowhat do you do? I had to sit there in front of everybody and let thiswoman do my nails - I felt like an animal in a zoo, but nobody waslooking at me, nobody found it weird.”) 

And, look, I can’t really explain it the way she did, but whathappened next was that she didn’t have time to come home for avisit for, like, eight months, and when she finally showed upeveryone was half proud, half terrified, because yeah, she lookedgood and rich and successful, but she was also -completely different? When she’d left, she’d beenthis normal kid, vaguely left-wing, who’d liked hiking and onlyowned sport bras, and now she was - she was weird. Shehad no sense of reality. No compassion for anything or anyone. Shewas cold, annoyed by everything, incredulous at the fact herfavourite brands were not available in local shops, insisting thather parents and siblings should buy this and that to make their livesbetter. She ended up fighting with mostly everyone and going back toLondon after three days, and in the year after that, she only tookholidays with colleagues - three days of snorkeling in Kenya, aprivate plane party, a weekend of golfing in Scotland - and now shewas the one ordering the most expensive bottle on the menu androlling her eyes at badly-dressed interns, because - she’d made it.She was the 1%. 

(Or would get there, anyway.)  

Luckily, there’s a happy ending, and it’s surprisinglyanticlimatic. 

One night, my friend looked up from a party of high-endprostitutes and drunken antics and she suddenly saw how crazy andunhealthy it all was. It just happened. She looked at the woman onher left, snorting cocaine and laughing, and then at the man on herright, who had a stripper on his lap, and she just - stood up andleft. The very next day, she quit the firm, donated half her earningsto charity, travelled through South America for three months beforegoing back to university. Now she’s a researcher (she doessomething complicated to do with game theory, and I don’tunderstand any of it), and also - she’s back to her old lovelyself. She sees her friends, she gets on well with her family. She’skind. She’s normal. As I said - happy ending.

[lilyreidgraphics-blog]

EVALUATION

My first 2 artists Antonio Rodrigues Jr and Khuong Pham helped influence my final outcomes. From Khuong Pham i applied a sense of minimalism which he illustrated through the simplistic design of a photograph, text, negative space and solid coloured background which i then adapted in my final piece. While Antonio Rodrigues Jr illustrations of flowers reminded me that from my starting point of flowers i didn't have to limit myself to photographs of flowers and that i could illustrate them, which i applied to my final outcome while making the outlines more realistic by using the photographs of the flowers as a basis, informed by Antonio Rodrigues Jr realistic illustrations which enabled me to learn how to illustrate outlines of flowers when doing my experiments. These artists helped me be able to create a bright happy image by using a bright coloured background and flowers to appeal to a wide audience.The other artists i chose didn't inform my final piece and therefore were probably not effectively chosen, however at the time i didn't know what idea to follow so by creating designs i wasn't happy with it lead me to come back to the simplistic style i thought was effective which was enforced in my final work. Through creating designs influenced by Jenya Vyguzov  I was able to develop an understanding of how flowers could represent something and not just be decorative e.g. scent, which I applied to my final outcome to put across a more meaningful message.

I am happy with the final outcomes I produced, however now in reflection I feel the design is too simple and I'm not happy with the composition. I liked the outlines of the flowers and thought they came across as were detailed however I wish I included leaves on some of them to add realism and so that the stems on every flower didn't look the same. I was happy with how I illustrated the slogan an thought the letters were affective and matched the look of the flowers but I wished I had made it bigger in comparison to the page to make it stand out more. I also should have made the flowers smaller to match the font more effectively and create more of a border of negative space around the image. I think I was adventurous in the fact that I tried many different outcomes in my development of my idea and how I decided to animate a gif instead of a still image. However, I wish I would have experimented with using traditional art mediums such as paint. Throughout my project I think my work changed in its standard as I think my photographs of my model were weak which lead to weaker experiments with them, but I think my Photoshop work has been of a consistent standard as well as all the components of my final outcome.

My client: The LGBT Foundation is clearly represented as their logo is displayed in the corner, and I chose one with a white background to standout against the coloured design. My idea matches the theme and style of the client as I used rainbow colours which are displayed on their branding and symbolise the LGBT community to which their whole objective is to support. The reaction to the design should be to be inspired and realise that there is support for the LGBT community via the LGBT foundation and therefore contact them or visit their website and hopefully donate to the cause. To help create this response I included the foundations phone number and email address at the top of the design, while clearly displaying their name and logo. I also decided to include a quote from them to explain what they do and what they believe in to gain recognition for the charity and to make the viewer feel represented and safe. My further research helped this as it allowed me to understand the charity and their message while finding out their number, email  and the quote.

The graphics outcomes are aimed at LGBT members, specifically younger ones as they are most likely to not be 'out the closet', who are afraid to express how they feel,who haven't come to terms with their sexuality or people in general who are afraid to express themselves. I have done this by including the slogan "don't be afraid to show your true colours" and including a quote from the LGBT Foundation to show that people are here to support them. I made the design youthful by including bright colours in the form of rainbow metals and the coloured background, while the illustrated flowers and font also create a childlike effect. However I feel like the dull teal background and more minimalist design could also be seen as more sophisticated and appeal to adults. The ... font of used in the quote also adds balance to the illustrated font and adds a more serious tone to the design to appeal to a wider audience.

If I had more time on this project I would try to transfer the main features of my design and message into Guerrilla advertising to take it to the next level of careful thought to maximise the exposure of the charity to gain many donations while inspiring young LGBT people. I would also try to illustrate more different designs of flowers and represent a statistic through them to add more dimension and levels of meaning to the design while also lengthening the time of the gif to make it a advert and therefore transferable to many types of media to reach more viewers.

[cringe-attacks]

ah i really love the fact that they did that make a wish foundation thing, that's really considerate of them

dan and phil are such considerate human beings. that picture of them spending time with that girl at the zoo was so organic. i also haven’t stopped thinking about when they released the internet is here as a charity single for stand up to cancer or when they uploaded a best fiends video to donate $10,000 to charity. they could’ve easily released those things for their own personal gain and for more promotion, but they chose to use the revenue to support good causes. it just makes me really happy that they use their money for things that could really make a positive impact on other people’s lives

[kuciradio]

SXSW - Madame Gandhi Interview

Interview and photos by Shay Mehr

SM: So recently I feel like you’ve been pretty busy. Could you just tell us a little a bit about what you’ve been doing? Maybe just gives us highlights or something like that?

MG: Totally, I always say that my mission is to elevate and celebrate the female voice so therefore anything I can do that can achieve that I’ll do it. And so, that can mean giving a talk, it can mean meeting with young girls, it can mean giving a show. And I think right now under the Trump administration the female voice has been quieted more so than it has in a very long time. And so, that given just enormous meaning to my work therefore keeping me very busy so recently I've spoken with some girls at Girl Up, which is a foundation, a UN foundation. I did that in LA. I mean every day there’s something. Last week I did a did a big fundraiser in Los Angeles called Bleeding where I had DJs perform all night and then I gave anyone came to the dance party the option to pay 10 dollars or to donate menstrual products at the door and we took all that money and those products and then donated them to homeless women on skid row in Los Angeles who live down the street. Those are the kinds of examples of some of the events that I'm doing.

SM: Yeah I just noticed so much different stuff I saw, all those on your Facebook feed as well. So, I was thinking you must be running around everywhere.

MG: I think I feel lucky because I'm really just living- every moment I'm living my life's passion. You know, I really that feel that way so then it ends serving as the fuel for my work I think it's you have to run around and do stuff that you don't want to be doing you'll eventually stop because you'll run out of fuel. But I think what I tell others is that my job isn’t to get you to play the drums or to you know be a leader in feminist activism, my job is just to get you to find whatever it is that you do to use that to mobilize to make the world a better place.

SM: So, speaking of the feminism stuff basically you're pretty well known as the free bleeding London marathon runner and I saw you speak at the UC radio network and you talked how people don't always place…you should be careful about when you speak when you speak to people about their identity right because they don't always place gender as the top thing. For you I don’t know...I want to know first of all if you do place gender as your first identifying thing.

MG: I do absolutely, absolutely.

SM: And then what kind of sparked you to be begin being such like a fierce feminist?

MG: It's just been in my bones since I was a kid, you know? It usually I was I think pop culture was really what was. For me I noticed that as a kid I was most influenced in and my gender roles were most shaped by Disney films, by Spice Girls, by the Power Rangers truly. And so, when I started a kid not really vibing with the options in pop culture that were available to girls that’s when I sort of intuitively knew something was wrong. I thought it was really unfair that, for example, that Aladdin gets to be on the magic carpet and flying around saving everybody, but then Jasmine, even though she's a princess, is the one who needs saving. She rarely had her own agency. Or even in the Power Rangers it's the same thing how the boys tended to be the leaders of the girls. You know the plot line for the girls was often about their breaks up and how sad they were. So, it's like as a kid I didn't relate to that. I thought where are those strong female characters that I see my mom I see now I knew so many bad ass woman just as young kid that are not reflected in pop culture. And so even though I wasn't able to quite explain it like that as a kid I knew something was up. I remember even being on a tennis court as like a 6-year-old with a bunch of boys and kind of getting pushed around or they would call girly as an insult. Wow being a girl is like a good thing and I used to say the word feminism and I remember like being on a tennis court once just screaming feminism like I sort of knew what it meant. I knew it was gender equality so that's how.

SM: That's incredibly intuitive and conscious for a young person I would say.

MG: My parents are very woke.

SM: I imagine so because that's pretty conscious for anyone... I don't know... under ten for sure. Whatever generation you are, maybe ten years old now are more woke but I think –uh- for us that's pretty conscious. Anyways so what got you interested in drums then? How did you pick up drums?

MG: I had already been doing other things like singing and playing piano but I was like around 8-9 years old I went to a summer camp for sports, it was in Maine, but every option the counselors knew forced the campers to do a lake activity and I really didn't like swimming, I didn’t like being in the water, I didn’t like kayaking all that stuff at the time. I remember sneaking away to the theater cabin and when I got into the theater cabin I was just trying to hide for the rest of the afternoon, I saw a drum set there and it really inspired me so I sat at it and I started kind playing around and then was a maintenance man in the uh theater cabin and I thought he was going turn me in for sure and force me to go swimming but it turned out that he was a drummer and so he started teaching me how to play drums it was so cool. So, every day that summer I just got to hang out with him and learning how to play and I got better at it really fast. I think the things that attracted me to it were the fact that it's just rare to see anyone playing the drums let along a girl. I definitely liked the fact that it felt rebellious, that it felt like very girl power. I also loved the fact that it was more self-expressive than a melodic instrument, at least the way I was taught melodic instruments. Usually as a kid you're like taught how to play a song and if you haven't learned the song perfectly, you hit one note it’s wrong. Whereas with the drums you hit the left cymbal versus the right cymbal, you play the fill on these two toms versus those two toms no one’s going say anything you know. You can use self-expression how you want to play a lot of times and I really love those elements of it. My parents were really encouraging I stayed with it.

SM: Yeah I had to learn piano like most children and I always hated that I had to play someone else's stuff.

MG: Exactly we're not taught how to express ourselves.

SM: Yeah and it's just less fun for whatever reason, not always but a lot of the time.

MG: Well right now I'm learning again the piano. I wish, I would have loved it if I was taught the basics then go ahead and form my own self-expression as opposed to just regurgitating everybody else.

SM: Which is totally not the case everyone learns classic pieces and note by note as you said. As a female musician, have you faced any obstacles that are blatant to you that you notice and do you think those things are things that can be remedied as well are they exclusive to the music industry?

MG: I think there’s definitely misogyny. One interesting thing that I notice is that if I dress particularly more fem people tend to immediately take you less seriously. It's just so problematic. Like I remember doing a DJ set in Germany and they really wanted me to … they gave me a couple of clothing options and there was this one cool dress that came with a jacket and I rarely wear dresses but I wore the dress and so interesting I could just feel the vibe immediately people don’t take me seriously or they have really low expectations they just kind of think it's not really going to go that well. Whereas when I present more androgynously or the clothing that I wear is more comfortable, or more playful, or more artful and not necessarily fem in the very traditional context I tend to get taken a lot more seriously or at least I start from a higher platform and I think that's so unfair. I think if I've already picked up on that which is why… and luckily I tend to pick more interesting clothing which tends to not be very cookie cutter but I think it's unfair for those women who do what to express themselves in a very fem traditionally fem way that they're going to have a much more uphill battle than the rest of us because the norm is set by men.

So, I think one way is making sure that we dress comfortably for the stage and if that means wearing a dress then we go in anticipating the fact that maybe others can't take us as seriously and we have to be ready for that.

I think the other thing that we all could do is check our own inherent biases when we watch other people play whether they're men or women giving them a fair equal shot. I think there's been subtler sexism throughout my life someone not thinking that I know how to operate my own drums or people thinking that it's okay to make suggestions when I'm about to sound check as to like you know which cymbal I should use or which pedal I should use and it's like you wouldn't be going kind of guy musician regardless whether it’s a famous person like John Mayer or a random musician and telling them what to select for their own show. You know you wouldn't think that's it even okay to make that suggestion unless asked. Whereas I think with women people do think that’s welcome. So, I think those are some examples of subtle sexism that's frustrating and tend to distract you from just playing a great show.

SM: That's interesting that you said the DJ set provided you clothing. Did they do that for the men?

MG: Oh, actually I think they do. It was a just a cool thing because it was for Adidas.

SM: Oh, okay okay. I was like that's so weird.

MG: No, it was a wonderful thing and I was very grateful for my wonderful clothing, I chose that outfit there was tons of more sport clothing and I chose that outfit. That wasn’t bad at all, it was more of a social experiment. It wasn’t it my best set... uhm, neither but I could definitely feel the difference of me like jumping around performing in a dress. I could just feel the eyes on me are perceived differently than when I dress more masculine.

SM: Stephan and I notice that all the time with anyone we go out and see. A lot of the guys can look pretty just shabby and it's not a problem… and anyway …and it doesn't affect women’s perceptions of them as far as glorifying them iconically or their musical ability, neither thing. Okay so I'm really curious as to specifically what you hope to achieve with your music. And kind of wanted to talk to you a bit about the process that you go through. Because I know you keep things pretty simple and I kind of want to know the reasoning behind all that and how you get to those tracks you have out.

MG: My goal for my music is to write the sound track for a modern feminist movement. And my process is simple for the very reasons that the music that you hear are the skill sets that I have, the ability to sing, play the drums, and make electronic sounds and that's it. You know? I think I like the idea of the drums and vocals leading because those are how I have always articulated myself. And then I like that idea of working with people like my sound designer Alexia to create really unique sounds that can't be copied or mimicked because they're designed in the studio and that inspires me. I think some of the best artists just have this unique sound imprint where you could listen to any random song and you know it's just them because it has personality. So, in making strong choices that are simply based on your own capabilities that's how you guarantee that your music has original personality.

SM: So, that makes sense because I was wondering why-because I know other artists like Beyoncé will sample like big feminist speeches so I was curious as to why you hadn't gone that route, but that totally makes sense where it's pretty much self-expression having your own blue print doing things with the skills you have yourself. Right?

MG: I'm the one giving the speeches you know? In my shows, sometimes we'll sample other people for sure. But the actual music itself I think it would cheating to do that. I keep giving everybody advice to own their voice so I have to take my own advice and own my own voice, share my own perspective, contribute to the conversation.

SM: What does the future is female mean to you and what fulfills you?

MG: I'll answer the last question first, what fulfills me is when I have basic challenge for myself and I'm able to meet it. So, with my running if it’s setting a certain mileage. With my work stream, you know literally being like, “can you get through these ten emails?” If it's with teaching myself a new skill set musically, being able to achieve that skill set, like DJing. So, I think for me what motivates me and makes me feel fulfilled is when I set a challenge and achieve it. I think it's also about self-love, you know when we honor our own promises to ourselves, we build self-confidence we build self-trust we build self-love, which I think is a lot of work.

And then the future is female means that no longer will female qualities be subordinated to male qualities. The future is female means that we learn from the female archetype for our very survival. Develop alternative sources of leadership we right now learn so much from the men in our life but we have gone so far up the masculine hyper machismo spectrum when we look at Trump leadership, which is about brute force, not listening, ramming something through. Proving power with might and force as opposed to proving power by listening, by coming up with emotionally intelligent solutions by negotiating with respect. By trying to unlock value for both parties as opposed to just for one. And so, to me the future is female means that we look to the women in our life and their qualities and say how can we actually use those to build a brighter future.

[fydk-translations]

170112 Articles on Kyungsoo’s birthday

170112-1: Fans of EXO’s D.O. and Do Kyungsoo began a warm-hearted procession of donations for his 25th birthday.

After D.O. confessed that just the gift of his fans’ hearts would be enough to make him happy on his 25th birthday*, members of his fan union chose to make donations to share their happiness instead of overwhelm him with gifts.

The union also declared their congratulations through commemorative advertisements, together with their donations.

D.O.’s fan union sponsored the advertisements to respond with love to D.O., who constantly prioritized his fans’ happiness, with the message “all the world’s happiness to you.” The union’s representative stated, “We chose to make meaningful donations after fully understanding what Do Kyungsoo meant by being happy with just the gift of fans’ hearts. We hope to share warmth with many others for his birthday.”

170112-2: You come to resemble what you love. For idol group EXO member D.O., his fansite ‘For D.O.’ made a donation of 2.5 million won to the NGO Habitat for Humanity Korea.

For D.O.’s party stated, “D.O. often wishes happiness for everyone. We prepared this donation to help realize his wish, even if only a little. This donation is not just for D.O. or his fans. We hope it has greater meaning and brings greater happiness to our neighbors.”

Last December, D.O. had posted to EXO’s official homepage that he would have to respectfully decline future presents from fans. “I’d been accepting all your dear and treasured gifts up until now, but it would always be that I can never make full use of them, for which I am deeply apologetic,” he wrote. “I would be really happy to just be given the gift of your heart instead.” 

Habitat for Humanity Korea’s representative stated, “We hope that the news of donations being made to celebrate D.O., who has been working earnestly as both singer and actor, brings energy to his life. We will put the amount sent us to good use in improving residential areas in the country, so that more families can dream of comfortable homes.”

Major donations made under Kyungsoo’s name (list is not exhaustive):

@_forDO (1, 2) also donated a piano to a kindergarten and 1.12 million won to Snail of Love for the hearing impaired (provides hearing aids, procedures, etc.)

@dks20170112: 1.12 million won to Korea Assistance Dog Association for the visually impaired

@112sweettime: a second well in Cambodia through Worldshare Korea (first one made in 2016)

@Mr__mini: 1,120,416 won to 416 Act (activism surrounding the Sewol ferry and its victims)

@DOH_WG (1, 2): 250,000 won to Unicef Korea and an undisclosed amount to Korea’s Child Leukemia Foundation

@Nacho_0112: 1.8 million won to Korea’s Blind Union

@sagak_sagak_: 1,120 sets of charcoal briquettes to vulnerable groups through the Babsang Association

@BoogieDyo: 2,112,000 won to Seoul’s center for the visually impaired

@baiduksbar (1, 2): 1.92 million won (11200 yuan) of books and sports equipment + establishment of a library for an elementary school in China; 93 bottles each of shampoo, body wash and 112 each of towels, toothbrushes and toothpaste to the visually impaired (522 total items)

etc.

*fanboard message here

sources as linked | translation: fydk

[fortheheavenssake]

Love and Humour (LH) Anon

*** all submitted by Love and Humour (LH) Anon to @skippyv20. (much ❤️ ❤️ & 😆 😆, enjoy)

April 10, 2020

Dear Skippy, made with Love and Humour, not a grain of truth (or insight) in sight.

Meghan Markle has a ‘spring in her step’ after leaving the UK (Credit: Daily Mail)

ROYALTEE COMMUNICATIONS

Friday 28th March 2020

The Duchess of Sussex Podiatry Update

The Duchess of Sussex would like to thank the global public for the warm wishes received from 9 people. Follow up bunion surgery was a success and High Royaltee Heels (HRH) are once again allowed to be worn.

In addition, High Royaltee Heels (HRH) will be featured in strictly unlimited Splash News paparazzi images as The Duchess adjusts to life queuing for essentials such as scented soya candles, AA batteries for Darren Doll and chia seed salad dressing. Please be assured that the Duchess of Sussex has a new spring in her step as she steps springingly into spring.

Royal snub: Real reason Meghan Markle and Harry silent in wake of Queen’s historic speech (Credit: Express UK)

Our favourite two tone, tone deaf, mood trampler has been hard at work for at least 3 hours in the last month supporting the work of HMTQ, as promised via her exit from the BRF.

The dust mites had barely settled on her calligraphy pen before Scooby arrived home with an ink refill for her to get going. Unfortunately for Scooby the stationary shop had run out of royal blue glitter ink and his mistress was not happy with the shade of ‘peasant noir’ he chose instead. She chucked a cup of tea in his general direction and used half the ink to decorate his top lip with a Poirot-esque facial appendage. Thus whipped into quiet submission to seek permanent ink removal techniques she was in a position to impart some wisdom to HMTQ.

It was a frantic, boots to the ground, empowering, enlightening and de-gassing few hours for MM. The ink flowed across the paper as it was traced from a calligraphy A-Z underneath, the wine glass circles made pretty patterns on the pages, the phone rang once but it was only that chap from the council rejecting the petition for a Princess of Sussex. At the conclusion of this time, MM grinned with purple stained teeth satisfaction at the soggy 30 page tome. This was to be just another notch in her legacy - the Queens speech, at a time of crisis, calligraphically curated by Meghan Markle, HRH, Duchess of Sussex, Princess of Sussex. The speech was sent off toot-sweet to HMTQ.

A royal source has leaked that it is very hard to know the level of adulation to come. LG has indicated in his proof of receipt letter that a special recording of the speech will be sent to MM after its broadcast on the 14th May. She will look forward to commenting on her role in curating the speech at that time. Until then, MM wishes her privacy to be respected and has no comment to make.

Royal reading inspiration: Kate, Meghan and Camilla’s favourite books to entertain you during lockdown (Credit: Hello Magazine)

<excerpt from article for brevity>

Meghan:

Trinny and Suzanna - How to dress for your body shape (brick on sticks edition)

“My best dearest friend and confidant, the Countess of Wessex, was engaged by HMTQ to advise me on dress protocol and general demeanour in the BRF, I haven’t looked at it yet because I don’t need advice”

Jamie Oliver - Pukka Tukka

“This title grabbed my attention from the outset. I haven’t opened it yet but think it will have overly invaluable advice on how to tuck your moon bump into your knickers. I don’t wear knickers and, after one incident that I totally got away with, my moon bumps now have reinforced crotch straps so I will not need to read this book.”

John Campbell -The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer’s Daughter to Prime Minister

“I love this book because the title is nice and the photo on the cover is in black and white. My US team are reading it for me and writing a similar story ‘The Tungsten Tank, from Lighting Directors Daughter to … well something, they haven’t worked out the narrative yet.”

Lindsay Jill Roth - What Pretty Girls Are Made Of

“This is actually the best book in the world. I haven’t read it but the launch party was cray-zee. When you buy it via any outlet, be sure to include the promotional code ‘HRHMM’ so that you get a special marked up price with proceeds going to my charitable foundation xx”

Thank you so much. We need laughter especially in these times. Prayers, love, support and laughter…is what will carry us through….love this! 🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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April 15

Dear Skippy, a riddle interpretation made with love and humour in celebration of MM Anon returning. So wonderful MM Anon, thank you. Skippy, Thank You for being your usual wonderful self, and keeping that door open. This interpretation contains no truth and only fun. LH Anon

doctor gone batty………

Actual Dr Jane Goodall interview

“My colleagues at the Royal Society for the Protection of Bats were delighted with the arrival of a rare male bat pup. Like all pups born at the Royal Society HQ, he was named after a member of the BRF, this one was dubbed Prince Harry.”

“Since his release into the wild, Prince Harry is finding life outside of the Royal Society challenging. He is sighted almost daily near the Royal Society HQ and doesn’t seem to have yet ‘flown the nest’ so to speak.”

“Night tracking indicates that there is a recently acquired spouse on the scene who has restricted his hunting abilities. We are concerned that he has lost weight.”

“The spouse displays desperate flirtation and attraction techniques but all indications to date show that Prince Harry does not want his offspring to grow up like that, in the wild.”

“We have to bring him back into the fold of the Royal Society for this rare breeding line to continue.”

LA for dummies ………

INTERNAL MEMO - Sunshine Sachs LA Office

Action with urgency

Contact Splash News, advise client has received parcel previously delayed in UK under non-essential freight notice. Call time on location 1100 hours.

Contact Meghans Mirror, advise client will be dressed in Dorias hand me down yoga-wear (details to come). Pitch as ‘recycling clothes’ and tell them to get A into G with sourcing designer samples, it has been months now.

Contact upmarket baby shop, advise client will return goods, including feature baby pacifier for full refund after images published.

Contact Archewell Foundation, advise client appearance fee from shop is to be publicised as donation following boom in sales

All invoices and timesheet hours are to include the job code reference ‘MM042 - Dummy for her dummy’

Doctors Within Borders ……… social insistence …………

Following the epic success of her voiceover in ‘Elephants Without Borders’, PH has been caught out again pitching his wife’s talent in the hopes of furthering her A List career. In a phone call to the BBC investigative branch he was insistent that her expertise and contacts could be used in the planned documentary ‘Doctors With no Borders’. The documentary, conceptualised by writers who hang out on certain Tumblr blogs, focuses on medical professionals who have been paid off to endorse medical fiction. In regards to the segment about surrogacy cover ups PH was to have said “Oh yeah, she’s invested. I mean interested.”

hugs not bugs………

“I was just cruising around, enjoying the musty odour of the building. I’m attracted to sparkly things so went to check out this headpiece, worst luck, it was cubic zirconia not real diamonds. Then it happened, I flew a little lower towards the face. I still have bad dreams about that close up view. I was trying to get away and she kept waving her hand around, it was like she was trying to catch and cuddle me against my wishes.”

Fly remembers the wedding of MM and PH

absolutely isolated

The new TV series, funded by O, features MM, a heavy-drinking, drug-abusing PR pawn who spends her time failing to lose weight and chasing bizarre fads in a desperate attempt to stay young and “hip”.

MM is joined by magazine fashion director JM, whose drug abuse, alcohol consumption and desperate promiscuity far eclipse MM’s.

MM is reliant upon the support of her half sister SM, an aspiring writer whose constant care of her immature sister has left her a bitter cynic.

The series also stars DR in a supporting role as MM’s dotty, sarcastic and often thieving mother who appears, usually in the background, in nearly all of the episodes.

Scooby as MM’s utterly brainless personal assistant also features in many of the episodes.

Only review

“I give this one star because it is real reality TV. I can’t give it anything more than that as the storyline is blatantly ripped off from Ab Fab. The title is a highly offensive play-on-words amid a global pandemic, but I guess it shows the same sensitivity as writing motivational messages on bananas for ladies of the night”

Kate. ……… “ not a whisper ma’am ……… St George’s chapel of course!!……………

Jeopardy MM Edition!?!

Answer: Kate

Question: Whose husband does MM most want?

Answer: Shout

Question: What initiative did MM try to hijack during her time in the BRF?

Answer: St George’s Chapel

Question: Where was MM when she realised that her game was up?

Oh thank you! Such fun! You are brilliant! We need the laughs for sure!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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May 10

Dear Skippy, a riddle interpretation made with Love and Humour. No truth, no seriousness, not a speck of speculation, just some ramblings to maybe lighten the mood for some today. Thank you MM Anon for the fodder! LH Anon :)

MM ANON ……… Rachel 43………… archificial 15 months ……… The high value real estate world is buzzing with speculation today after information was publicly sought to identify a tenant who has abandoned several properties, leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent arrears. Multiple properties have been affected in locations such as Vancouver Island, LA and Malibu. The only clue, common to all properties, is a wall size chart, mounted by the door in the kitchen. There are two markings on these charts, both at 1.68m tall these are labeled ‘Rachel, 43’ and ‘Archificial, 15 months’.

hospitality will become inhospitable ………… the R factor ………… MM has announced her new super smart communications team, herself and a cabbage.

In unrelated news, a new book will be hitting the shelves this summer.

‘Finding a Freeloader’ is an R18 biopic, written by royal reporter Omid Scobie. “With unique access and written without the participation of of MM who lived under Scobies couch for 18 months, Finding a Freeloader is an honest, up-close, and disarming portrait of a cash-strapped, internet obsessed, and fat headed ex royal who is unafraid to break with tradition, determined to create a new path in the largest spotlight possible, and dedicated to building a legacy that will make a profound stain on the world.” reads an excerpts from the summary of the book.

“Henry, don’t do that”. …… Whispers from royal aides have let us know that HMTQ gave PH a ticking off inside the Windsor Castle bolthole they are residing. Apparently he was tinkering with a 3M home printer, wrapping it up to send over to MM. HMTQ is said to have right royally disagreed with sending her presents.

return to school??? …………… no guidelines …………… If you are at home and bored you can train online as a counsellor. Today I feel ________.

If you are at home and bored you can plaster a wall to make it look like your hubbys house. Today I feel ____smart_____

If you are at home and bored you can play with zoom video filters. Today I feel ___airbrushed_____.

If you are at home and bored you can read a book to your child. Today I feel ____damp____.

If you are at home and bored you can take the neighbours dog for a walk with an actor. Today I feel ____thrivin_____.

be alert,the country needs lerts………… MM and JM are hard at it again, drumming up business opportunities to stimulate their personal economies during these trying times. The newest initiative is bumper stickers. Chuck one on your car, slogan up your stroller, pimp your private jet, heck if you want to really get on board, slap a bumper on your moon bump and wiggle wobble that tum up to your audience!

A slight hiccup has delayed production of the stickers, the 3M home printer seems to have a malfunction which drops a letter from some words. Until this issue is remedied, the motivational bumper stickers will be available for a discount price of $143 + p&p

“Money can’t buy rust”

“The sign of a beautiful person is that they always see beauty in oters”

“The key to success is to tart”

risk assessment!!! ………… an issue of safety ………… it’s the economy,stupid!! ………… Very exciting news came for MM via a low rent TV shopping channel!! She has been asked to front one whole segment, approximately 19 minutes long for their buy 3 get 11 free homeware extravaganza! She is so excited, knowing that this is just one step from Oprahs couch, a short leap away from becoming the next Shakespeare, a stones throw from presidency! A minion provided all the information needed over the phone, he unfortunately had a small speech impediment but this didn’t stop MM from listening intently to the bits of the conversation that interested her.

It was a busy preparation day. MM mused what to film. The minion had mentioned that a whisk assessment would be a good idea in the current covid climate but what whisks had to do with a virus she wasn’t sure. She settled on making a homemade wedding cake. JM emailed the recipe for the one she made the day before MMs wedding, Archie took the car and collected 3 whisks, Doria converted her basement to a kitchen studio, TM dropped off some lights, Scoobie cried and did her makeup, MA took the dogs for a walk and SS called about her outstanding bills.

And all was ready.

Whisk One 0/10 - basic egg whisk

MM could not get it out of the hard plastic packaging and was unable to test it.

Whisk Two 0/10 - fancy dough whisk

MM forgot to buy ingredients and was unable to test it. By the time Archie returned from shopping she had left the premises to pap walk.

Whisk Three 0/10 - electric whisk

MMs wig was caught in the blades of the whisk.

The segment was cancelled.

test, Trace and isolate. ………… a silver lining 🌈🌈 Sugars are calling MM a silver lining in this pandemic as she continues to translate official advice into a format that they understand. With new guidelines announced overnight, MM has been burning the midnight oil to get a new video out for them. Offical transcript below, video will be emailed via offical spokesperson once heavy doctoring is complete.

MM: Government guidelines show that we need to follow these simple 3 steps - Test, Trace, Isolate - to help in the fight against covid-19. I love to shorten things, I make things so much more relatable. Did you know that I call my husband ‘H’? No? Well I do and he is my husband and me and him are together and have a kid OK. Anyway, back to this virus, Test, Trace, Isolate! To make it easier for people to remember I have shortened the steps, T - T - I or as I like to call them ’TTI’s’. My titties are now trademarked and copyrighted so spread the word and lets get the use of them bankrolling some money in for me! Stay safe and follow my titties everyone, they are magical!

MA: Bravo!

Oh thank you so much! Much needed laughs today! Such a joy! You always brighten Mr. Skippy’s and my day! We love these. Thank you!😊❤️❤️❤️❤️😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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July 9

Dear Skippy, here is an MM Anon interpretation made up with Love and Humour and plenty of un-reality. All entertainment with no truth here. Thank you so much Skippy and MM Anon for the fun :) Much happiness to everyone here, LH Anon

girl up the creek………hostage man. ………… half free meal………… drug exposure …………… … Meghan Markle and Michelle Obama Are Joining Forces - Both women are set to speak at a gender equality summit later this month.

MM, currently the Duchess of Sussex and former HRH, will feature in a video possibly made by her and unrelated to any content provided by MO in a groundbreaking word salad covered in a virtual salad dressing of topics

How to carve your own canoe paddle from dead wood

Creating the ultimate free loaded captive environment for spouses in a long distance situation

Debunking the myth: There is no such thing as a free lunch, you can have your coke and eat it too

Scrub the internet 101: The chemical way

staff redundancy at HMTQ …………… HMTQ has announced plans for several staff redundancies, to be actioned between now and the end of this year. These include, but are not limited to, LG, PH and the entire ’Sussex’ household support. When questioned about the redundancies, the royal spokesperson refused to be drawn as to reasons or whether the staff would be re-deployed to other roles. In an unguarded moment the spokesperson was heard to mutter ‘tick tock, boom’ leading to speculation that the scheduled maintenance of royal clocks and cannons was a preoccupation.

boarding rules …………… most popular royal ……………… They grow up so fast! Archie Darren Doll off to boarding school. MM has had this important decision underway for a long time. Shunning the ‘toxic environments’ that exist in royal educational circles, she is delighted and certain that this will be the most popular decision she has made yet. The boarding space has been booked since before Darrens conception at $30 per month (reduced to $0 a month for patrons) at the ‘prestigious Mayhew’ outfit.

mines a cider……… In breaking news, PW enjoys cider and chips in Norfolk pub beer garden. In unrelated news, MM has added another topic to her gender equality seminar

Brewing alcohol in lockdown; the perfect gift for the family member you want to have

( where’s pg 💜💜) …………… Scoobie has not seen MM in person for many days now, she refuses point blank to emerge from under his couch in daylight. Shrieking sounds have been heard in the dead of the night, marks on the walls indicate someone with a greasy wig is repeatedly banging their head, the recycling bin is mysteriously filling up with wine bottles and some weirdo called Marcus keeps leaving voicemail messages on the landline phone about paying a debt. It must have been a week ago when Scoobs found a post-it note on the kitchen table when he woke one morning. It was very cryptic,

‘Get onto the panda, find PG, source W Cream, doc bill unpaid”

He is having difficulty working it out but is keeping himself, boots on the ground, busy trying, he went to the zoo but it was closed because of covid-19

In unrelated community news,

Toys R Us have issued a trespass notice to a member of the public for refusing to pay for a soft animal toy after it was soiled by a customer repeatedly sitting on top of it and taking selfies.

Numerous police have been approached in recent days by a male of indeterminable age who has requested a ride on top of their vehicle. None agreed. A referral is pending for his psychiatric assessment

The local supermarket has placed a ‘2 per customer limit’ on teabags after an unidentified customer purchased their entire stock of the popular brand PG Tips

The Department of Conservation has issued a public statement that threats to sue have been made against them, which will be rigorously defended. It is said that a concerned member of the public has accused them of having an unpaid invoice for ‘humanitarian work’ carried out in a secret place at an undetermined time.

”it’s Balmoral Philip, but not as we know it) …… out of his Depp-th… Due to a confidential threat to the family, HMTQ has beefed up surveillance and security at most royal properties of late. PP and HMTQ enjoy tapping into the new systems and are taking great pleasure in observing the nightly actions of one individual via underwater CCTV footage. He slinks out to the edge of the lake in darkness, wearing jandals, jeans and an open necked shirt. Each night he tries to scuba dive his way into the estate. Encountering steel mesh each night, it is only a matter of time until he tries to breach the area where PP commissioned his sign ‘Bog Off MA, we have your f***ing picture’.

“ more 🎼Braziiiiil🎼…………… Spanish flu?? ……… 🎼we’re all going on a summer holiday 🎼 HMTQs favourite ‘for fun Phillip’ insect infiltration agent has been dispatched to LA. Layovers for wing rest were authorised in Spain and Brazil. Fly is reported to have arrived safely with only a minor cold due to flying at altitude. Mission: ultimate MM annoyance for summer months.

Oh oh….my sides! Oh you are too funny! Omg! My pups are looking at me like they must call woof-woof-woof…..Mr. Skippy begging me to stop reading….half rolling on the ground…..daughter and SonIL asking if we need an ambulance……such great fun….oh…and cat screaming he called for one! Thank you so much! You made my night! Love to you!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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