#all in all: don't grief other people's rooms without their permission

[axolkitkat]

((rant about something that just happened, long post))

dude the most insane interaction ive ever had in a roleplay just happened-

okay, so i join this roleplay, right? it's a family roleplay. pretty standard stuff, doesn't seem to have started yet.

so I pick a role, then find my room, right? pretty basic, cute pink princess bed with some cute pink heart wall lights and a balcony with a table and chairs- pink, of course. i'm mentioning this because it's important later.

so i hop into the bed for a second to go afk. when i come back, this lady- she's a friend of the roleplay host, so she has 'build', she can change the building and the colors and the furniture and etc. but anyways, this lady just randomly deletes my princess bed and replaces it with a grey one? so i ask her, "hey, why are you changing up my room?" and she's like "idk" which is... a pretty common response in these types of games. so she continues taking all of the stuff down- including just deleting the balcony altogether?? wth??

so i keep pressing her, and she reveals that she's taking all of this stuff down because she thought that I thought it was "too girly."

she didn't even ask for my opinion before she started. she just came in and *decided* that it was too girly for me.

so we argue a bit, her friend comes, she explains to her friend that "i was just tryna help him" (this oc that i was playing used he/they) "and he got mad". w-what? huh?! you didn't even ask for my opinion. you have to ask for these kinds of things, and you didn't. plus, this is my room, not yours, so...?

so- man, i dont even remember the full sequence of what happened next, but ill try to explain:

so they head downstairs, i think to get the host involved or something? i come down there too, i dont want them to warp the story and i know they will, and if i'm there they may listen to me. maybe.

so- i dont remember what exactly led up to this, but i think not long after that the lady lies to her friend and says that I was, like, trying to convince her to let me be her boyfriend? how was this even related to what was going on?? why would you lie about that?? I explain, "uh, no, first of all, this oc is gay, second of all, I did not say that." And she's like [to her friend] "nono he said this out of roleplay!!!!11!!11"

"...uh, no, again, I didn't say that, please don't twist the story. Also i'm aroace so LOL" and her friend's like "hell does aroace mean?" and I have to explain it to her but roblox censors get in the way so i have to reword it :/

so I say, "so... yeah, they [the lady, didn't know her pronouns at the time] lied, aaaand i didn't say any of that boyfriend stuff and I don't know why they would say that?"

so, of course, they respond with: "they?? :skull: [the lady]'s a she"

"oh, okay, thank you for correcting me, noted."

"i have no faith in this generation :skull:"

What. What is this supposed to mean?? I'd wager there's a fair chance you're part of said generation??

and then the host leaves, causing the roleplay to instantly close. :p

sorry for the giant story dump, i just need to get this off of my chest before I forget. I'm quite upset, but mostly I'm just baffled, to be honest. also, sorry if it's a bit confusing and the wording is kinda weird, it's hard to retell events (for me, anyways,) when they just happened and you're scrambling to remember all that just happened.

[theghostbunnie]

Since you already talked about your Harrison and Nerris hcs (which I love wholeheartedly <3), I wanted to ask if you have any specific Preston hcs?

AAAA SO SORRY I'VE LET MY ASKS IN MY INBOX COLLECT SO MUCH DUST/GEN

Also tysm I'm so happy you enjoyed them 💓

CW: death mentions, mentions of loss.

I was having a conversation with @redheadedratt when I absorbed some of their's and thought of some of these !!

They told me they HC both of Preston's parents are dead, his father before he was old enough to remember him well and his mother years after fell ill but they were deeply in love and she spoke very fondly of him.

I can't explain it but him being raised by his mother and grandma in his formative years makes alot of sense to me he has those vibes.

I was being withheld information/jjj thought this was funny asked 2 share, anyways

When his mother passes death is still an odd thing he's too young to fully grasp so he became infatuated with depictions of not only loss, but romance, reuniting ect based around his grief and love for hisown parents being gone and their love story. It was his way of coping with it all while being too young to understand. Like he had a big love for theater before this but this had an effect on his art.

He has an infatuation with death in what I perceive as almost a strictly artistic way all throughout the show, obviously with his play "Romeo and Juliet 2: Love resurrected" but also in the commercial he makes in the fundraiser episode his immediate go-to for grabbing viewer's attention is to talk about the potential death of children. Yes I know the whole point to begin with was they were trying to guilt trip an audience but he wrote and directed this project himself surrounding death as his personal go-to.

• Not much of a HC as it is an observation but I love how fluid his exspression is, he's had the most drastic and plentiful outfit changes throughout the series from the football gear, to the leather jacket and backwards cap, to the historical looking full makeup and gown.

Which kinda slips me into this next HC • I think he loves history but has no care for historical accuracy like whatsoever as that "stunts his creative flow" but simultaneously would absolutely pick and choose when to call out historical inaccuracies in other people's work. (proofreads Neil's fanfictions without permission probs lol)

I think Max, Neil, Nerris and Preston all have varying control issues but in very different ways and Preston's is more he'll accidentally overstep a boundary without realizing and try advising people, but mostly keeps his perfectism and temper around things not going as he planned to hisown plans. Like, he only has controlling issues with things agreed he had the biggest say in. It ties into his want to be a director and writer and often stuck with peers who are terrible with following said direction and being a child himself he's not gonna handle it with maturity, he's gonna throw a fit.

Again this is really only strictly tied to things he think he should be in charge of and doesn't just extend to his everyday interactions with people too much.

• Can't tell if this is more observation or HC but he'd pick being a screenwriter or director over being an actor and if he ever got an acting role in someone else's play he'd be trying left and right to make suggestions to it and his character and really overstep without realizing it.

• I don't think he can read a room or have a filter on for the life of him not only would he openly talk about any dark or uncomfortable topics it'd be in the form of out of pocket as hell comments in a really dramatic voice too

[aprillikesthings]

OKAY last one tonight

and it's a doozy

s5 ep5 Save the Cat

I always wonder if people get the joke in the episode title? There's a famous book about writing scripts called Save the Cat. I kind of assume at least one person in the writer's room for She-Ra has actually read it.

Also Daci got me Strawberry Oatly (vegan ice cream) hell yes

LET'S DO THIS

eek

she tells them she's alone??? hm

oh the others were clinging to the outside of the ship in space suits lol

roll intro

okay Entrapta and Bow are gonna fuck with the computers and Glimmer is gonna find Catra

god it must be weird for Glimmer to be on the ship again???

WHOOPS

okay so Adora tells Horde Prime: hey you're gonna let me leave with Catra okay?

"The Heart of Etheria. And if you don't do what I say, then I'll use it...and destroy you and your empire for good."

"You would never risk the safety of your Catra."

(Ever noticed he always says this? Your Adora. Your Catra.)

Adora: "You don't know me. And you don't know what I'm capable of." Horde Prime: "Oh...but I do." Horde Prime: "I am old, far older than you can imagine. My brothers lend me their life force, and when one vessel fails me, I simply elect another."

(Like a Time Lord but WAY creepier)

"There is something so...familiar about you, Adora."

"Not since I faced your ancestors, and crushed their once-mighty empire beneath my heel. You call them the First Ones. And you are one of them, are you not, Adora?"

AUGH

Meanwhile Entrapta thinks she's spotted her boyfriend

She's got the little chip she gave him ;_;

(maybe?)

not good!!!

ARROWED

BAHAHAH oh right that's how this guy starts. Anyway this poor clone is panicking because the jolt removed him from the hive mind

he starts SOBBING. "how will Horde Prime see my thoughts?? how will he know I am faithful???"

but then:

Entrapta: "Can you open this door?" He does Entrapta makes a happy little squeaky noise

Entrapta: "But we broke him! We're responsible for him now. Pluuuus, he can open doors!"

He says he'll take them to the server room, and Bow gives him his nickname of "Wrong Hordak" lolol

Glimmer went back to her old cell, and Catra's not there

And that's when Glimmer realizes their little earbud comms aren't working

Horde Prime: "I thought the First Ones were all gone, but clearly...some faction remains. That race of tyrants...abandoned you on a forgotten planet in a shadow dimension. They made you their weapon, their...She-Ra."

I mean, it sounds bad when you say it that way (because it is, actually)

Adora: "I don't fight for the First Ones. I fight for my home, for myself, and for my friends. Now for the last time, where is Catra?"

oh, god

augh

he's not...wrong

Horde Prime: "As she would've said, 'You are so very predictable.'"

eeughghg

AAAAAAAAAUGH

I knew this was coming, I knew it was this episode, and it still makes me want to crawl out of my own skin

SAME ADORA, SAME

NOOOOO

Horde Prime: "I have made her anew. I saw her mind...so ensnared in grief and rage and pain...and I brought her to the light."

(okay but if he saw into her mind did he see all the times Catra thought about kissing and/or having sex lol)

Adora's absolute horror here is so relatable

Adora: "Catra, you have to fight it!" Catra: "My place is with Horde Prime, Adora. I don't want to leave." Horde Prime: "Tell her what I've done for you." Catra: "Prime has given me peace. Something you could never do."

"But he has made it whole again."

"I'm happy here. You could be happy, too."

(It's genuinely hard to rewind this to get decent screenshots because hearing/seeing Catra act all weird with the chip is just SO UNCOMFORTABLE)

And there we see it--the first hint that Catra is actually being actively tortured and forced to say/do this shit like some kind of sentient puppet, having to experience her own body doing/saying these things without her permission. Her eyes even keep twitching.

Horde Prime: "I will give her to you, if...you want her... But first, you must do something for me. You...will give me She-Ra." Adora: "Never." Horde Prime: "Very well."

He snaps his fingers and everyones in-ear comms shriek with static and electricity

(okay I gotta stop just copy/pasting the script)

He squeezes poor Catra's neck and for a second her eyes go back to normal, she looks at Adora, and then they start glowing again. Adora notices!!

aaagh look at poor Catra

but yeah Adora can't bring out She-Ra on command right now (and he knew that)

UGGGH

OH SHIT THAT'S RIGHT oh god oh fuck

okay so Glimmer's in the trophy room thing and she kicks the ass of a couple of clones, that's cool

but also

"I know you're still in there. I'm not leaving without you."

Catra gets a good slice into Adora's leg

Adora: "I don't want to hurt you!"

AND I'VE HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT okay hold on

[izzyovercoffee]

Prompt number: 27. "Can you wait for me?”  Fandom: Fallout 4 Rating: PG? Warnings/Tags: mention of violence but nothing explicit or major Summary: Piper feels like she just can’t catch a break, right up until she does. Notes: Deacon’s in here. B)

##. he’s my nondisclosure agreement

Piper was having a bad day. 

Sure, it was normal to have days that are bad, out in the Commonwealth. Normal to venture forth through the gates into the world to hunt down the slightest inkling to her very, very sensitive investigative… uh, senses. Normal to come back empty handed and angry to all hell.

But Piper, she'd had enough of normal. Had her fill of it, even. Had it up to here of the kind of normal that left her at the end of the day twice as mad because anger was a great alternative to crushed, and she didn't want to entertain going through the motions of feeling crushed in open view of anyone and everyone.

The public sure would LOVE to see a crushed loudmouth reporter. LOVE to see her brokenhearted and on the verge of shutting herself away forever.

So she picked anger. Anger was a good motivator. She found it could be freeing, even, especially from the cage of her insecurities, and her loneliness, and her writer's block.

“Piper!” Nat’s voice broke through Piper’s surly mood. 

“Heyy, kiddo…” She dragged out the hey just a little too long for normal, and Nat’s eyes narrowed. Busted. 

Nat hopped off the box she used to accost and bully the people of the market to buy their newspaper and stepped a little closer to Piper.

“Your boyfriend's here,” Nat near-whispered. 

Piper sputtered. “H-what? I don't…who?”

Nat said nothing else, just stared up at her from her judgmental position. “I'm going to get ramen,” she announced, at a louder volume. “Can I have some caps, please?”

Piper blinked down at her sister, thrown by the sudden change in demeanor, and dug out the handful she'd need for a bowl, maybe two.

“Thanks,” Nat said, and then much quieter: “He's been waiting for you,” and gave the door to their home a meaningful glance.

“Did he say what he wanted?”

Nat leveled a very, very unimpressed glare in Piper’s direction, and set off.

So much for spending her bad day alone and in peace.

How was her hair? Her hat? Her trenchcoat? She quickly patted down her coat, her hat, and didn’t bother touching her hair. What she needed, what she really needed, was a bath. 

That was, at least, her excuse. Her prepared I-need-to-go-sorry phrase she’d throw down the second she stepped through the door. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. She’s not nervous for no reason at all, all of a sudden, or anything. He’s not---it’s not. Like that. Or anything.

Did she ever get around to improving her poker face?

“Hey!” He said from his position lounging on her couch, head tilted back with his sunglasses neatly over his eyes. He angled to look at her as she stood just inside of her home. She leaned forward to pull the metal sad-excuse-for-a-door closed. 

“John,” she said and, after a beat, locked the door.

“Piper,” he replied with an easy smile. “You look thrilled to see me here.”

So she couldn’t help wearing her expressions on her sleeve. It was part of her charm, her indelible mystique, her … ah hell, who was she kidding?

“No offense, John, but I’ve had a really long day,” she said as she turned around, and leaned her back against the door. “I was hoping I could spend it, you know, alone.” She didn’t move, just bent her arms and slowly tugged her gloves off, finger by finger to loosen the grip the leather had on her skin and ease off the otherwise impossible to remove protection for her hands. 

He watched her---or she assumed he did, with his chin tilted in her general direction and his sunglasses still blocking his eyes. 

“Sure, sure,” he said. “I get that, but, you know, I got this crazy gut feeling today, almost like I was shot through the head by intuition, and I thought---hell, I better check up on my friend, the crazy reporter with the worst timing.” 

She gripped both gloves in a single palm, and as she looked from the uninvited guest on her couch to the wrinkled, worn leather in her hand, she briefly considered hurling the gloves across the room and shooting them. She didn’t, because they were a very nice pair of gloves and she had no desire to replace them any time soon, but the impulse was there. Instead of following it, she gently placed her gloves atop the filing cabinet directly to her right---left of the door when looking at it, and in between the steps to the door and her couch. 

Next came her newscap, which she pulled off her head in a way that lacked elegance and was mostly all anger, and squeezed the canvas in her bare hands with an unsubtle show of her frustration. 

“Fuck you,” she said and chucked her hat across the room. It slapped the far wall with a faint, soft fwap, and fell to the ground. 

“You were really building up for that one, huh.”

“What the hell do you want, John?”

Both his arms stretched out lazily over the top edge of her couch, his head still tilted back over the back edge and against the wall, his legs extended in a sprawl that suggested he might just fall asleep there. His hands raised at his wrists. 

“Whoa, whoa,” he said, too casually and without any emphasis behind it. “I’m just here to help you today.” 

“Yeah?” Piper asked. “Where were you about two hours ago when I needed the help?”

He shifted in his seat---on her couch. Took a breath, as if buying time, or thinking on the right thing to say. 

“You know what? I’m suddenly not up to feeling like beating around the bush,” he said, softly, as if hit with an unexpected wave of exhaustion. “I covered you dragging Ms. Covena’s body from the Fens Way station. You’re welcome, by the way.”

Piper took the steps down to the ‘ground’ floor of her home, on the level as the couch, the printing press, several filing cabinets and her sleeping bag at the far end of the room. Her heart puttered angrily in her chest, the anger a farce in the face of her overwhelming grief of the moment. 

“She died before I got there,” she said. “If I hadn’t---”

“Hey, Piper, question,” he interjected. “Have you considered, maybe, oh, I don’t know, that she was trying to set you up?” 

Piper liked to think she had some sense not to be exceptionally revealing, but her surprise had her whip her head around to look at him. “What?”

“Listen,” he shifted, again, and sat up a little straighter, brought his hands into his lap, as he looked back at her. “I don’t know what you were meeting with her for, but I do know she had racked up a pretty heavy debt to a nice big group of smiley gunners, and it was just about … oh, last I checked, around the same?” His head nodded side to side in consideration. “About? As the price they put on your head.” 

She frowned. Obviously, she knew better than to just trust what some compulsive liar tells her, but all the pieces she found around Ms. Covena’s body sure built up a stink of set up, and it didn’t help that Gunners rained down some ugly hellfire once they realized she’d sprung the trap. How she managed to drag the woman’s body out of there, and then managed to make a run for it, she didn’t know.

What she did know was that she felt grimy, and now foolish, and that grief dispersed in confusion and the void of frustration left behind. 

“So you’re here to, what?” she asked. “Rub it in?” 

“Have I ever?” he asked, seriously.

She remained quiet. No, he hadn’t. Granted, he didn’t come around often, but … no. he never did.

Another beat of silence stretched between them before he patted the couch beside himself. She hesitated, and shook her head. “Give me a second,” she said, and worked the buttons of her coat. She pulled it off, and crossed the room to hang up the coat on a hook. She still felt a little dusty, but not as bad without the majority of the dirt-catcher she wore off her shoulders. 

And then she collapsed onto the couch beside him with a whump, and leaned up against him. His arm went around her shoulders, as if to secure her in place.

He was warm, and he actually smelled good, which was more than she could say for herself. 

“Why do you always find things out before I do?” she asked.

“I didn’t.” He yawned, and hell---maybe he really was tired, instead of playing at it. “I found out after I saw you drag her out. Overheard it when I was, uh, taking potshots to spook off your tail.” He paused. “I did say you’re welcome, right?” 

“I heard you the first time,” she said, but didn’t thank him. He’d be waiting a nice long time before she got around to it. And, okay, sure, maybe it was a little petty to withhold thanks for a genuine favor, but she wouldn’t put it past him to hold it over her head later. “And I didn’t ask for the help.”

“Oh, here we go again,” he drawled in that weird… accent she couldn’t place, and removed his arm from around her shoulders. “I’m not gonna ask for your permission to help you out every time, Piper.”

She remembered some folks talked about a weird Diamond City guard that talked like he was from out west, from real, actual, caravaners that’d come from way out at the other end of this wasted strip of land---but if that was the case, that raised a whole lot more questions than answers.

“I don’t want your help.”

“Fair.”

That surprised her. She was expecting an argument, even gearing up for it---but then again she also felt the sheer threat of exhaustion waiting for her, so maybe she was just trying to stave off passing out with irritation.

“Fair?” 

“A----nyway,” he dragged out the ‘a’ of anyway as he rose up to his feet in a smooth motion that looked like it took absolutely no effort at all, and Piper once again revised the thought that he may well actually be tired. “I better get a move on. People to go, places to see.” 

Piper stared at him. That wasn’t … Was that… wait, what? 

“That’s it?” she asked. 

“What’s it?” 

As he turned to look at her, she caught the slightest glimpse of bright eyes before the sunglasses hid them again. The stark overhead lighting worked against her there, throwing his face in dark shadow when he did look down at her. 

“Why come here?” She frowned. “Why bother me?” 

“Just making sure our favorite neighborhood reporter’s still kicking,” he said, a soft smile pulling up into a smirk. 

He took a step towards the door, and paused. “Oh, hold on.” Made a show of patting down his pockets, except the getup he wore didn’t have pockets in all the places he touched. “Where did I put it…”

“You know, it’s the funniest thing,” he said, and pulled out a holodisk from one of his actual pockets. The foil on the side looked scraped, beaten, but otherwise it still looked whole and usable. “I just found this lying around, didn’t know what to make of it. I didn’t get a chance to read what’s on it, but today feels like one of those rare days, when the stars align and everything makes sense.”

He set it down on the arm of the couch beside him, unlocked the door, and stepped outside. 

Piper watched him go. 

“Shit,” she said. Stared at the holotape. “Don’t tell me…”

She grabbed the thing, hopped off the couch, slotted it into the terminal she kept by the couch, and---

Oh, shit.

Weeks worth of information spilled out across the display. Information that, on a quick read-through, confirmed all her suspicions, backed up her assumptions, supported---

It was everything she’d hoped to get with the meeting that went south quick. And, suddenly, her bad day wasn’t as bad as it could be. 

And she hadn’t thanked him.

“Fuck,” she said. “Now I feel like an asshole.” 

“It’s what you deserve,” said Nat as she came through the door, two bowls of ramen in hand. “Your boyfriend already paid for my ramen. You looked mad, so I got you some.”

Piper wanted to snap, or cry, or somewhere in between. But her little sister? Didn’t deserve that, and she had it on good general experience that John was long, long gone. So she did the next best thing.

“Thanks,” she said, and joined Nat at the table.

She needed to eat, and to sleep. And maybe catch a bath.

The story could wait.

[wisdomrays]

The Messenger of God: Muhammad: Part 11

The Prophet and His Wives: Part 1

Prophet Muhammad personifies the roles of perfect father and husband. He was so kind and tolerant with his wives that they could not envisage their lives without him, nor did they want to live away from him.

He married Sawda, his second wife, while in Makka. After a while, he wanted to divorce her for certain reasons. She was extremely upset at this news, and implored him: "O Messenger of God, I wish no worldly thing of you. I will sacrifice the time allocated to me, if you don't want to visit me. But please don't deprive me of being your wife. I want to go to the Hereafter as your wife. I care for nothing else." The Messenger did not divorce her, nor did he stop visiting her.

Once he noticed that Hafsa was uncomfortable over their financial situation. "If she wishes, I may set her free," he said, or something to that effect. This suggestion so alarmed her that she requested mediators to persuade him not to do so. He kept his faithful friend's daughter as his trusted wife.

All of his wives viewed separation from the Messenger of God as a calamity, so firmly had he established himself in their hearts. They were completely at one with him. They shared in his blessed, mild, and natural life. If he had left them, they would have died of despair. If he had divorced one of them, she would have waited at his doorstep until the Last Day.

After his death, there was much yearning and a great deal of grief. Abu Bakr and 'Umar found the Messenger's wives weeping whenever they visited them. Their weeping seemed to continue for the rest of their lives. Muhammad left a lasting impression on everyone. At one point, he had nine wives and dealt equally with all of them and without any serious problems. He was a kind and gentle husband, and never behaved harshly or rudely. In short, he was the perfect husband.

A few days before his death, he said: "A servant has been allowed to choose this world or his Lord. He chose his Lord." Abu Bakr, a man of great intelligence, began to cry, understanding that the Prophet was talking about himself. His illness worsened daily, and his severe headache caused him to writhe in pain. But even during this difficult period, he continued to treat his wives with kindness and gentleness. He asked for permission to stay in one room, as he had no strength to visit them one by one. His wives agreed, and the Messenger spent his last days in 'A'isha's room.

Each wife, because of his generosity and kindness, thought she was his most beloved. The idea that any man could show complete equality and fairness in his relationships with nine women seems impossible. For this reason, the Messenger of God asked God's pardon for any unintentional leanings. He would pray: "I may have unintentionally shown more love to one of them than the others, and this would be injustice. So, O Lord, I take refuge in Your grace for those things beyond my power."

What gentleness and sensitivity! I wonder if anyone else could show such kindness to his children or spouses. When people manage to cover up their lower inborn tendencies, it is as if they have done something very clever and shown tremendous willpower. But they sometimes expose these very defects unconsciously while bragging of their cleverness. The Messenger, despite showing no fault, sought only God's forgiveness.

His gentleness penetrated his wives' souls so deeply that his departure led to what they must have felt to be an unbridgeable separation. They did not commit suicide, as Islam forbids it, but their lives now became full of endless sorrow and ceaseless tears.

The Messenger was kind and gentle to all women, and advised all other men to follow him in this regard. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas described his kindness as follows:

'Umar said: One day I went to the Prophet and saw him smiling. "May God make you smile forever, O Messenger of God," I said, and asked why he was smiling. "I smile at those women. They were chatting in front of me before you came. When they heard your voice, they all vanished," he answered still smiling. On hearing this answer, I raised my voice and told them: "O enemies of your own selves, you are scared of me, but you are not scared of the Messenger of God, and you don't show respect to him." "You are hard-hearted and strict," they replied.

'Umar also was gentle to women. However, the most handsome man looks ugly when compared to Joseph's beauty. Likewise, 'Umar's gentleness and sensitivity seem like violence and severity when compared to those of the Prophet. The women had seen the Messenger's gentleness, sensitivity, and kindness, and so regarded 'Umar as strict and severe. Yet 'Umar shouldered the caliphate perfectly and became one of the greatest examples after the Prophet. He was a just ruler, and strove to distinguish right from wrong. His qualities enabled him to be caliph. Some of his qualities might seem rather severe; however, those very qualities enabled him to shoulder very demanding responsibilities.

The Prophet's consultation with his wives. The Messenger discussed matters with his wives as friends. Certainly he did not need their advice, since he was directed by Revelation. However, he wanted to teach his nation that Muslim men were to give women every consideration. This was quite a radical idea in his time, as it is today in many parts of the world. He began teaching his people through his own relationship with his wives.

For example, the conditions laid down in the Treaty of Hudaybiya disappointed and enraged many Muslims, for one condition stipulated that they could not make the pilgrimage that year. They wanted to reject the treaty, continue on to Makka, and face the possible consequences. But the Messenger ordered them to slaughter their sacrificial animals and take off their pilgrim attire. Some Companions hesitated, hoping that he would change his mind. He repeated his order, but they continued to hesitate. They did not oppose him; rather, they still hoped he might change his mind, for they had set out with the intention of pilgrimage and did not want to stop half way.

Noticing this reluctance, the Prophet returned to his tent and asked Umm Salama, his wife accompanying him at that time, what she thought of the situation. So she told him, fully aware that he did not need her advice. In doing this, he taught Muslim men an important social lesson: There is nothing wrong with exchanging ideas with women on important matters, or on any matters at all.

She said: "O Messenger of God, don't repeat your order. They may resist and thereby perish. Slaughter your sacrificial animal and change out of your pilgrim attire. They will obey you, willingly or not, when they see that your order is final." He immediately took a knife in his hand, went outside, and began to slaughter his sheep. The Companions began to do the same, for now it was clear that his order would not be changed.

Counsel and consultation, like every good deed, were practiced by God's Messenger first within his own family and then in the wider community. Even today, we understand so little about his relationships with his wives that it is as if we are wandering aimlessly around a plot of land, unaware of the vast treasure buried below our feet.

[cassiebunny9]

‘Take a Breath- Part 2′ Drake x MC fan fiction

Thank you to everyone that read part 1! I love reading fan fiction, I love that someone has created something with characters you love, and filled the ‘moments in between’. So this is attempt number 2 for me at fan fiction. Just FYI, I’m VERY new to this, and spend most my real life in a toddler-induced sleep deprived state, so there’s plenty of typos etc.

Parts 1 and 2 were written as I personally felt that after the scene in the Beaumont study and the interaction between Drake and MC at the coronation ball, SOMETHING must have been happening!?! There is so many things that they needed to acknowledge, both together and mentally. So this is my take on how things went down. It’s a bit angsty but how can it not be? As much as the last chapter of TRR annoyed me, at least we can hopefully have a guilt free option in Drake in book 2.  I hope you enjoy.

Rating: M

I don’t own the characters, but I wish I owned Drake

***************************************************************************

Drake

Tears cling to her lashes, and I can hear her sharp intake of breath as she processes my declaration that yes, that night where we gave into the passion, and pressed as close as we could clothed, meant everything. And nothing. As she exhales, I see the moment she registers that nothing can change, and her eyes harden with resignation. I raise my hand, and gently wipe the tears away with my thumbs and pull her close, saying a silent goodbye in my head. My chin rests on her hair, my stubble teasing it into an even more untameable mess. Her theatrics from flinging herself on the bed earlier have loosened her signature front plait, and I find myself absentmindedly combing my fingers through the ends. The light scent of her shampoo teases my senses and I know that saying goodbye to her will stay with me forever, never knowing what could, and should be. 'It's not enough, is it Drake?' she sighs. She knows there's no response either of us will like so I just pull her closer, keeping silent, savouring the feel of her delicate frame enveloped in mine. It's cruel that she fits so perfectly, our bodies moulding to accommodate the other so naturally. 'I messed up bad tonight, I can't think how to fix this'. I feel the tell tale signs of sobs beginning to quake her shoulder until she suddenly jerks away, straightens up and wipes her face carelessly on the back of her hand. The tears held back make her eyes glitter, and I feel like I can actually hear, not just feel, the snap as a piece of me breaks away and attaches itself to her, to Riley forever. She's never looked more beautiful, in grief she's utterly heart-breaking, hair astray and her minimal makeup washed clean from her face. 'I know that you think this can never happen between us, and I know why, but I need you to understand one thing.' She looks to me, waiting for my permission for her to continue. I nod, there's not a lot more I can bring myself to do at this point. 'After the meteor shower, I knew. I knew that Liam would never have the effect that you do on me.' She takes another breath, calming the tears that are threatening to leak, and I'm helpless to do anything but wait for her to regain her composure, both willing her to stop, yet needing her to finish.

Riley

'I nearly left that night, but I stayed, I had a plan!' I laugh bitterly, not finding the situation or the naivety of my past self remotely humorous. 'I've distanced myself from Liam ever since, hoping that he will choose another, and we would be free to explore what we are. I didn't see any other way you would consider us an option'. It made sense to me at the time. If I didn't actively compete, how could he possibly pick me over the others? I've maintained eye contact with Drake the entirety of my little speech, knowing this is goodbye, but needing him to know that I chose him. Needing him to know that it's all been for him, and that until my ridiculous stunt at the spa, I was never playing games, that maybe even my plan would have worked. His face has softened, his mouth agape, the usual walls in place having slipped as he processes my words, my declaration. All of a sudden, he closes the gap between us, cradling the back of my neck in one hand as he lowers his mouth to hover just in front of mine, and I place my palms on his broad, defined chest, anticipating his next move. It's intoxicating, like standing at the edge of a cliff, knowing how close you are to the next step being your last. 'Tanner, what are you doing to me?' he mutters, prolonging the moment. Impatient I make the choice, and the rest of the journey to his lips, myself. We start slow, exploring each others mouths gently, teasing, tasting, savoring each kiss like it’s the last. My hands roam his chest, his back, his arms, god his arms, their definition alone inflaming my desire further. He is much more hesitant, sticking to my hips, playing it safe, holding back, always cautious, afraid I'm more breakable than I actually am. I bite his lower lip, needing more and I feel him thrust into me in response. He groans, and my body arches into his with a cry, attuned to his wants. We're no longer thinking, just being, as if its only us in the world. He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around his back, pushing his hardness closer, aching at how ready he is for me. 'Tanner! You need to slow down.' his eyes are closed, and I cant help but push myself against him again, eliciting a throaty rumble from him. He lowers me down, and I'm vaguely aware I'm perched on the antique dressing table, not caring as trinkets hit the floor in a domino fashion. He trails kisses down my neck, and finally, finally one of his hands makes its way up to my breast, under my dress, massaging firmly until he pinches one of my nipples. Pleasure rips through me as I hiss, my hips buck, and legs widen, giving him unspoken permission to move closer, my body completely under his control. I'm delirious, I'm panting, and internally begging him to continue. We're still fully clothed, and I've never been this turned on in my life. I start to tug at his waistband, undoing his belt, wanting so much more with every touch, and I start to lower his trousers. Then he abruptly stops kissing me, and steps away. 'What the hell Drake?' I'm breathless with pure need, for him, all of him, mind body and soul. 'I can't Riley, I want to, I mean, fuck, I want to. Do you even know what this is doing to me right now? To stop, well now'. I see him adjust himself in his trousers and I let out a frustrated squeak. 'Talk about blue balls!' I mutter. 'Liam could still pick you Riley! Hell, I think he will, I mean, you spent tonight with him!'. His voice breaks, and he begins pacing, looking everywhere but me. I'm regretting smashing the only bottle of whiskey, knowing that I could definitely do with one after his speedy change of heart and the reminder that more than one set of lips have been on mine tonight. The moment our connection was broken, the uncertainties of the situation came rushing back into the room to play. 'What do I do then Drake? Do you want me to marry him? End us? Or be my dirty little secret?' his face pales, sickened with the idea of being unfaithful behind Liam's back. I have to admit, I'd only thrown it in to try and reiterate the gravity of the situation if I married his best friend. Any moral compass I thought I possessed was obliterated around Drake.

Drake

My stomach clenches at the thought of being 'the other man' and betraying Liam like that. There is literally no outcome in which we can be together without destroying Liam. Urghh, I feel utterly disgusted with myself and I resume my pacing, knowing there's only one outcome I can live with, and therefore I force myself to say what needs to be said, finally pausing to look at her directly so she believes me. 'I care for you Tanner, but this has got too messy. I don't want what you want, I don't want marriage, to settle down, I don't want you like that.' I almost choke on the lie and I see her reel in shock and disbelief. 'Listen, about what's just happened, I'm attracted to you and we have a similar background, but that's all, it's not worth breaking hearts over. That's why I stopped…that. You're in deeper than me, I don’t want to use you.'

That's not why I stopped at all, I broke our encounter before I fell for her any harder than I have, because with Riley, a taste would never be enough. My body and my actions were beginning to betray me. I held back because I would have ended up making love to her, and I'm not sure I understood the difference between that and sex until we nearly took that step. I also know if we had crossed that line, I'd never be able to let her go, ever. I need her to believe my lies, I've hardened my gaze, dug out the scowl, and put the walls back up, because her continuing as Liam's suitor is the only way we have any chance of getting out of this mess hurting the minimal amount of people. 'I don't…I don't believe you Drake' she stutters, and the resolve I'm holding on to is wavering as her gaze attempts to penetrate my armour.I look away. 'What you should believe is that Liam loves you far more than I ever could, and he want's to give you the world. Going to the coronation and carrying on as normal is the only option'. She turns her back to me, and picks out some nightwear from the dresser, studiously ignoring me for several minutes, until she begins to head to the bathroom. 'It's been a long night Drake, maybe you should just leave now.' I nod stiffly, and make my way to the door. Every step away from her is agonizing. All I want to do is hold her, touch her, mark every inch of her as mine. I want to memorize every freckle, caress every smile with my lips, I want to call her mine.  

[brajeshupadhyay]

Coronavirus Outbreak: Despite personal loss, Assam hospital cleaner stays put in quarantine; doctors, nurses spend time reading, watching shows

Editor's note: This series will focus on the difficulties faced by the medical fraternity at COVID-19 hospitals, their duty hours, access to protective gear, facilities they get during quarantine, how are their families coping with this new reality across different states in the country.

"I never realised that he was worried about me and even if he was he never expressed it to me. Probably he was quite tensed within. Maybe he got worried as I was not around and I was working in such dangerous circumstances. I would never know now if he was worried about me."

These are conflicting thoughts of a son who lost his father when he was not at home. It was sudden, unexpected and devastating for the son who is now serving a 14-day quarantine period. There are many people who are in quarantine at present due to the novel coronavirus but Mukesh Ingti is no ordinary individual. Ingti is a cleaner at the District Hospital Sonapur, a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Assam's Kamrup Metro district.

A tale of grief

The first team of medical professionals from the District Hospital Sonapur, a medical facility located just 24 kilometres away from the Assam Secretariat in Guwahati, are now in mandatory quarantine period after a week of service at the hospital.

"I was on duty at the hospital from 1 to 7 April. Now I am in quarantine at a hotel in Guwahati. Suddenly on Tuesday (14 April) I got a call from home informing me of my father's demise very early in the morning at around 2.30 am. I was shocked. I have been talking to my parents, my wife and my 12-year-old boy every day," said Ingti, who is from Amguri village, which is seven kilometres away from Sonapur town.

"My father was suffering from high pressure for a few years now and was on medication for a while. I don't know what exactly happened. I also have another son who is just a month and a week old. They said everything was fine. I also never told them about things here lest they get worried," he said.

Ingti is in quarantine at Hotel Contour in Guwahati along with others from different government hospitals who like him were in active COVID-19 duty in their respective facilities.

Click here for Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates

For Ingti, it is not an easy time. It is the hour when his family needs him the most but he sacrificed that for the greater good of the society, an invaluable lesson for those who violate the nationwide lockdown for no valid reason.

"When I informed our hospital superintendent, she told me that she could not allow me to go home without permission from the higher-ups in the department. Soon after a lady official from the health department called me and told me that they will send me home in this hour of personal grief. She explained the dos and don'ts to me and advised me not to stay there long, not to touch anyone including my father as I am in the middle of my quarantine period. She told me only to see my father's face and return to the hotel within a short time. I did the same because I know the risks involved as I was in contact with coronavirus patients for seven days. Before sending me home they took a swab from my nose and throat. I got the result today and it was negative," Ingti said on Wednesday.

The government ensured that Ingti wore full protective gear when he went home in a government-arranged vehicle to pay the final respects to his father. He returned to his quarantine facility within an hour.

"When I reached home I learned that my father had sleepless nights for the past few days. Anyone will be little tensed in this kind of situation. We are three brothers and my elder and my younger brother don't stay with us as they work in different districts. So I looked after my family including my parents," he said.

'14 days in one room is not a joke'

Lodged at Taj Group's Vivanta Guwahati, the charm of a five-star hotel is a poor competitor to a 14-day confinement in a single room. Due to COVID-19, unique work schedules have come to take over the regular ones. Through thick of things for seven days at the District Hospital Sonapur at a stretch, staff nurse Queen Baishya is suddenly out of action. The reason being the protocol of seven days of duty followed by 14 days of quarantine after handling COVID-19 patients.

"I have been active on social media these days and watching a lot of television. My daily schedule changed during quarantine. It is almost 9 am when I get up. I even go to bed late at night these days," said Baishya.

Although the state government is trying hard to keep its healthcare professionals in quarantine as comfortably as possible, these individuals are also employing different ways to kill the boredom.

For her hands deft in administering intravenous drips and giving injections to patients, another staff nurse at the District Hospital Sonapur, Karabi Borgohain, held a pen and a pencil instead in search of creative ways to spend her time in quarantine.

"I did a few sketches and wrote a poem as well," Borgohain said.

"I am reading Chandana Goswami's Patkair Ipare Mor Desh (My Country is on the Other Side of the Patkai)," she said.

Reading during quarantine is something Borgohain hasn't chosen alone.

"They supply us with the Times of India and The Assam Tribune every morning and I go through them thoroughly. I also brought a few books with me. Right now I am reading India After Gandhi by Ram Chandra Guha. I finished reading two books by Mrinal Talukdar as well -- Post-Colonial Assam and 1962. Reading is my hobby. In fact, since childhood, we have a library at home. But due to my hectic schedule now, reading has gone down drastically. So I am making most of my time now in quarantine," said Dhiraj Kumar Pathak, one of the first three doctors who attended to COVID-19 patients at District Hospital Sonapur for seven days and is now in quarantine at Vivanta Guwahati.

A trained pathologist, Gitanjanli Das, whose quarantine started from 15 April as she belongs to the second batch of doctors treating COVID-19 patients at District Hospital Sonapur, plans to relax and read.

"I brought a few books with me authored by Anuradha Sharma Pujari. I love her writing. But my primary goal is to rest," she said.

Also from the second team of doctors from the same facility, Utpal Patir has got rather serious books with him to read in quarantine.

"I am from Radiology and I have brought a few books with me on it. I would like to go through my textbooks with reference to the cases that I handle. Apart from that, newspapers will take a certain part of my time in the next 14 days of quarantine. I plan to continue with my morning exercise as well," said Patir. "I also subscribe to Amazon Prime. This is my broad plan and maybe I will add a few more things as the days go by."

Quarantine is definitely more screentime albeit on the consumers' end. Be it the mobile phone or the television, perhaps both are the best tools to be exploited to the core when in quarantine.

"I am using streaming services to keep myself occupied. I watched series like Panchayat on Amazon Prime and Special Ops on HotStar. In the past week, I watched the Ramayan religiously at 9 o'clock in the morning on Doordarshan. I missed the episode broadcasted at 9 pm a few times though," said Pathak.

Borgohain is trying to improve her culinary skills with some tips from cooking shows.

"I watch the news on TV so that I can keep myself updated on what's happening on the coronavirus front. I also love watching cooking channels," she said.

For pathologist Das, who hasn't introduced herself to the world of streaming services yet, it is a perfect time perhaps to debut.

"I have not subscribed to streaming services like Amazon or Netflix but maybe I will have to do soon," she said. Das worked at the Gauhati Medical College before and shifted to District Hospital Sonapur last November after getting a promotion.

Away from family

More than the feeling of being caged, the thought of being away from family is profound for all these medical staffs who are in quarantine.

"We could not go home during Bihu this time. It is my child's first Rongali Bihu. I really felt sad on the day of Bihu (14 April) because I had to stay away from home and I won't lie about it. I never said that to my folks back home because they will be sad," said Pathak.

Nothing can perhaps be more motivating than a video call home in these times.

"I make video calls to my home three or four times a day. I also do video calls with my friends. I am getting calls from my friends who are enlisted for COVID-19 duty and have not started yet. They have all completed their training and want to know about the practical experience from me. So I share my experience with them," he said.

The comfort of seeing each other via video calls in these trying times can be of great comfort to both these healthcare professionals and their families.

"I am from Sualkuchi and I have my parents, my brothers and my sister-in-law. I have worked for two years now at the District Hospital Sonapur. I was at the Rani Community Health Centre before. I stay in the quarter at the District Hospital Sonapur. I do video calls to my family at times. My parents were very worried when they enlisted me for COVID-19 duty. So when the patients were admitted to the facility they almost stopped eating. My father is always worried about me anyway. Now they are a bit better as I am not in the hospital and they can do video calls with me," said Baishya.

The longing for home was evident in her voice.

"We may get to go home provided we prove negative in the test they are going to do just before the quarantine ends. We are a group of 50 staff nurses at the District Hospital Sonapur and there will be some time before we join back again," she said.

Even Pathak can't wait to be home, to be with his eight-month-year old daughter.

"If everything remains fine it will end on Wednesday (22 April 2020). After that, we were told that we will be allowed to go home. It will also depend on what kind of routine they make and the number of patients admitted in the facility. In all likelihood, out of the three cases, two will be discharged later in the day. The third patient is over 60 years of age. His condition is not complicated but since he is above 60 years of age, that's why probably he is still testing positive. The other two patients are relatively younger to him," he said.

On the same day later, on Wednesday, two patients were released from District Hospital Sonapur becoming the first from the state to overcome COVID-19. "Before we came to the hotel, we gave the discharge slip for two patients out of three," said Patir. In the evening, the patients were released in the presence of Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

1/2 In midst of gloom, today we wish to cheer! Two #Covid patients Nuruddin & Jonab Ali, treated at Sonapur Civil Hospital, and were successively tested negative twice as per @ICMRDELHI protocols, are being discharged. They're being sent for a 14-day home quarantine. #AssamCares pic.twitter.com/KK0JsaPwV5

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 15, 2020

However, as this story is being published the third patient has also been released from the hospital.

One #COVID19 patient - Hazrat Ali has been discharged today from Sonapur Civil Hospital, after his two successive tests confirmed as negative. Cured patients -18. Request all to strictly follow home quarantine guidelines. pic.twitter.com/vYqXUzNWxV — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 20, 2020

For Patir, the whole world has literally turned upside down for his family because of COVID-19.

"I am originally from Bilmukh village, Lakhimpur district and stay at Narengi in Guwahati. I have my wife and two children. Now my children at my brother-in-law's place in Lakhimpur. My wife is also a doctor and she is part of the COVID-19 response team. She works at the Ulubari Urban Health Centre which is under the Gauhati Medical College. She is working as a nodal officer of the COVID-19 response team. There is no one at home so we had to keep our children at our relative's place. The younger one is five-year-old and the older one is 10-year-old. So right now my wife is staying at a different place, I am at another and the children are in a different place. None of us could meet each other during Bihu. The only option left for us is a few video calls," he said.

A mother of twins, pathologist Das can only helplessly watch her husband and an aunt of hers taking care of her children while she is away in quarantine.

"I plan to watch TV and of course video calls to my family, my twins in particular. They are four-and-half-years-old. My husband is a Public Works Department engineer and is posted in Nagaon district. Now he is home and taking care of the children. It is getting quite tough for him because the maid has also cannot come as the society has prohibited the entry of outsiders because of coronavirus. I pleaded with an aunt of mine and she agreed to stay at my place in my absence. My husband and my aunt are managing somehow. I never stayed away from children so I am feeling really sad. Looking after is already a challenging job and now with the lockdown, they are literally locked up inside the flat. In fact, I was so busy working that I hardly knew when the Bihu passed," she said.

Staff nurse Borgohain is depressed that she cannot do video calls home.

"I am from Dhemaji and my husband is from Mangaldoi. I have a two-year-old daughter. I missed home during Bihu. I don't do video calls home because if she sees me she will start crying. Her name is Nistha. I will be really sad then. It will also become hard for her father to manage her. My husband is a manager with Surya Gold Cement. He is home because of the lockdown and looking after our daughter," she said.

Although the first team of healthcare professionals from District Hospital Sonapur spent the Rongali Bihu alone for the most part of the day, the health minister had a surprise stored for them.

"This time no laru, pitha (traditional Assamese delicacies) were made back home because I wasn't there. But to the surprise of most of us here, the health minister visited us on the day of Bihu and gave us packets of Assamese delicacies. He also gave Gamocha (traditional Assamese rectangular cloth given as a mark of respect also known as Bihuwan) to each one of us. On those packets, he wrote with his own handwriting wishing us Bihu. These small gestures actually motivate us and will also inspire the new batches of doctors who will join duty. I must also add many people wished us over the phone and messaged good wishes," said Pathak.

Baishya too shared similar emotions.

"I did feel bad staying alone during Bihu but Himanta Biswa Sarma gave us a pleasant surprise. I am yet to finish the packet of pitha. That he remembered us in spite of his busy schedule is an overwhelming feeling for us. In fact, we got pithas again with breakfast the next day. That way, we got pitha twice," she said.

The food protocol

For those staying at the Vivanta Guwahati, the food protocol has been different.

"I am staying here comfortably. They place our food outside the room. The hotel staff is also a bit paranoid since we handled positive cases," said Borgohain.

Pathak pointed out that it was necessary to not scare the hotel staff.

"There is a food tray outside the room. They keep the food there at regular intervals. Usually, the breakfast is given around 8.30 am, lunch around 1 pm and dinner around 7.30-8 pm. After the food is placed on the tray outside, they call us on the intercom to inform that the food has been placed. Apart from that, I make tea in the room itself in an electric kettle. The food is good. Only thing is I am missing the Assamese food. They are providing us with north Indian cuisine," he said.

The following of protocols have been so strict that these professionals have ingrained within themselves to follow them to the tee.

"Although I can go out of the room I prefer not doing so as there is a possibility of contamination. We have been following all the SOPs and it doesn't matter if we don't go out of the room for a few days. We will have to keep in mind that the Taj authorities actually called their staff from home despite the lockdown so that they can serve us. We should not make their work difficult and follow the rules," Pathak said.

However, staff nurse Borgohain takes a small walk for a very short time. "There is a corridor outside where I sometimes take a walk for a couple of minutes," she said.

Hotel Contour, where Ingti is quarantined, has a different set of rules.

"I am sharing the room with one of my colleagues and staying on the fourth floor of the hotel. We have to go to the first floor for food. There are people complaining about the food lacking in fish or chicken but I am happy with it," said Ingti.

"We are around 20-22 people in quarantine in the hotel from various hospitals and four of us are from the District Hospital Sonapur. There are some shortcomings but overall it's fine. We are not allowed to go outside the hotel. I watch TV sometimes or take a walk on the hotel premises. The health department is also keeping a strict tab on our health condition," he said.

Fighting against odds

Today is the 10th day in quarantine for the first team of healthcare professionals from District Hospital Sonapur. They are wholeheartedly acknowledging the effort of the government, the hotel staff where they are staying in quarantine and the public in general in taking care of them and for the appreciation shown towards their work.

"Whatever it is so far, it has been good and we have been taken good care by the government, the Taj authorities and the general public. We never expected this kind of recognition," said Pathak.

What the doctor from District Hospital Sonapur did not say was that others need to be responsible as well, follow the government guidelines strictly, not hide their travel history, not flout the lockdown for fun, support healthcare professionals through cooperation and not merely praise them on social media and phone calls.

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[brajeshupadhyay]

Editor's note: This series will focus on the difficulties faced by the medical fraternity at COVID-19 hospitals, their duty hours, access to protective gear, facilities they get during quarantine, how are their families coping with this new reality across different states in the country. "I never realised that he was worried about me and even if he was he never expressed it to me. Probably he was quite tensed within. Maybe he got worried as I was not around and I was working in such dangerous circumstances. I would never know now if he was worried about me." These are conflicting thoughts of a son who lost his father when he was not at home. It was sudden, unexpected and devastating for the son who is now serving a 14-day quarantine period. There are many people who are in quarantine at present due to the novel coronavirus but Mukesh Ingti is no ordinary individual. Ingti is a cleaner at the District Hospital Sonapur, a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Assam's Kamrup Metro district. A tale of grief The first team of medical professionals from the District Hospital Sonapur, a medical facility located just 24 kilometres away from the Assam Secretariat in Guwahati, are now in mandatory quarantine period after a week of service at the hospital. "I was on duty at the hospital from 1 to 7 April. Now I am in quarantine at a hotel in Guwahati. Suddenly on Tuesday (14 April) I got a call from home informing me of my father's demise very early in the morning at around 2.30 am. I was shocked. I have been talking to my parents, my wife and my 12-year-old boy every day," said Ingti, who is from Amguri village, which is seven kilometres away from Sonapur town. "My father was suffering from high pressure for a few years now and was on medication for a while. I don't know what exactly happened. I also have another son who is just a month and a week old. They said everything was fine. I also never told them about things here lest they get worried," he said. Ingti is in quarantine at Hotel Contour in Guwahati along with others from different government hospitals who like him were in active COVID-19 duty in their respective facilities. Click here for Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates For Ingti, it is not an easy time. It is the hour when his family needs him the most but he sacrificed that for the greater good of the society, an invaluable lesson for those who violate the nationwide lockdown for no valid reason. "When I informed our hospital superintendent, she told me that she could not allow me to go home without permission from the higher-ups in the department. Soon after a lady official from the health department called me and told me that they will send me home in this hour of personal grief. She explained the dos and don'ts to me and advised me not to stay there long, not to touch anyone including my father as I am in the middle of my quarantine period. She told me only to see my father's face and return to the hotel within a short time. I did the same because I know the risks involved as I was in contact with coronavirus patients for seven days. Before sending me home they took a swab from my nose and throat. I got the result today and it was negative," Ingti said on Wednesday. The government ensured that Ingti wore full protective gear when he went home in a government-arranged vehicle to pay the final respects to his father. He returned to his quarantine facility within an hour. "When I reached home I learned that my father had sleepless nights for the past few days. Anyone will be little tensed in this kind of situation. We are three brothers and my elder and my younger brother don't stay with us as they work in different districts. So I looked after my family including my parents," he said. '14 days in one room is not a joke' Lodged at Taj Group's Vivanta Guwahati, the charm of a five-star hotel is a poor competitor to a 14-day confinement in a single room. Due to COVID-19, unique work schedules have come to take over the regular ones. Through thick of things for seven days at the District Hospital Sonapur at a stretch, staff nurse Queen Baishya is suddenly out of action. The reason being the protocol of seven days of duty followed by 14 days of quarantine after handling COVID-19 patients. "I have been active on social media these days and watching a lot of television. My daily schedule changed during quarantine. It is almost 9 am when I get up. I even go to bed late at night these days," said Baishya. Although the state government is trying hard to keep its healthcare professionals in quarantine as comfortably as possible, these individuals are also employing different ways to kill the boredom. For her hands deft in administering intravenous drips and giving injections to patients, another staff nurse at the District Hospital Sonapur, Karabi Borgohain, held a pen and a pencil instead in search of creative ways to spend her time in quarantine. "I did a few sketches and wrote a poem as well," Borgohain said. "I am reading Chandana Goswami's Patkair Ipare Mor Desh (My Country is on the Other Side of the Patkai)," she said. Reading during quarantine is something Borgohain hasn't chosen alone. "They supply us with the Times of India and The Assam Tribune every morning and I go through them thoroughly. I also brought a few books with me. Right now I am reading India After Gandhi by Ram Chandra Guha. I finished reading two books by Mrinal Talukdar as well -- Post-Colonial Assam and 1962. Reading is my hobby. In fact, since childhood, we have a library at home. But due to my hectic schedule now, reading has gone down drastically. So I am making most of my time now in quarantine," said Dhiraj Kumar Pathak, one of the first three doctors who attended to COVID-19 patients at District Hospital Sonapur for seven days and is now in quarantine at Vivanta Guwahati. A trained pathologist, Gitanjanli Das, whose quarantine started from 15 April as she belongs to the second batch of doctors treating COVID-19 patients at District Hospital Sonapur, plans to relax and read. "I brought a few books with me authored by Anuradha Sharma Pujari. I love her writing. But my primary goal is to rest," she said. Also from the second team of doctors from the same facility, Utpal Patir has got rather serious books with him to read in quarantine. "I am from Radiology and I have brought a few books with me on it. I would like to go through my textbooks with reference to the cases that I handle. Apart from that, newspapers will take a certain part of my time in the next 14 days of quarantine. I plan to continue with my morning exercise as well," said Patir. "I also subscribe to Amazon Prime. This is my broad plan and maybe I will add a few more things as the days go by." Quarantine is definitely more screentime albeit on the consumers' end. Be it the mobile phone or the television, perhaps both are the best tools to be exploited to the core when in quarantine. "I am using streaming services to keep myself occupied. I watched series like Panchayat on Amazon Prime and Special Ops on HotStar. In the past week, I watched the Ramayan religiously at 9 o'clock in the morning on Doordarshan. I missed the episode broadcasted at 9 pm a few times though," said Pathak. Borgohain is trying to improve her culinary skills with some tips from cooking shows. "I watch the news on TV so that I can keep myself updated on what's happening on the coronavirus front. I also love watching cooking channels," she said. For pathologist Das, who hasn't introduced herself to the world of streaming services yet, it is a perfect time perhaps to debut. "I have not subscribed to streaming services like Amazon or Netflix but maybe I will have to do soon," she said. Das worked at the Gauhati Medical College before and shifted to District Hospital Sonapur last November after getting a promotion. Away from family More than the feeling of being caged, the thought of being away from family is profound for all these medical staffs who are in quarantine. "We could not go home during Bihu this time. It is my child's first Rongali Bihu. I really felt sad on the day of Bihu (14 April) because I had to stay away from home and I won't lie about it. I never said that to my folks back home because they will be sad," said Pathak. Nothing can perhaps be more motivating than a video call home in these times. "I make video calls to my home three or four times a day. I also do video calls with my friends. I am getting calls from my friends who are enlisted for COVID-19 duty and have not started yet. They have all completed their training and want to know about the practical experience from me. So I share my experience with them," he said. The comfort of seeing each other via video calls in these trying times can be of great comfort to both these healthcare professionals and their families. "I am from Sualkuchi and I have my parents, my brothers and my sister-in-law. I have worked for two years now at the District Hospital Sonapur. I was at the Rani Community Health Centre before. I stay in the quarter at the District Hospital Sonapur. I do video calls to my family at times. My parents were very worried when they enlisted me for COVID-19 duty. So when the patients were admitted to the facility they almost stopped eating. My father is always worried about me anyway. Now they are a bit better as I am not in the hospital and they can do video calls with me," said Baishya. The longing for home was evident in her voice. "We may get to go home provided we prove negative in the test they are going to do just before the quarantine ends. We are a group of 50 staff nurses at the District Hospital Sonapur and there will be some time before we join back again," she said. Even Pathak can't wait to be home, to be with his eight-month-year old daughter. "If everything remains fine it will end on Wednesday (22 April 2020). After that, we were told that we will be allowed to go home. It will also depend on what kind of routine they make and the number of patients admitted in the facility. In all likelihood, out of the three cases, two will be discharged later in the day. The third patient is over 60 years of age. His condition is not complicated but since he is above 60 years of age, that's why probably he is still testing positive. The other two patients are relatively younger to him," he said. On the same day later, on Wednesday, two patients were released from District Hospital Sonapur becoming the first from the state to overcome COVID-19. "Before we came to the hotel, we gave the discharge slip for two patients out of three," said Patir. In the evening, the patients were released in the presence of Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. 1/2 In midst of gloom, today we wish to cheer! Two #Covid patients Nuruddin & Jonab Ali, treated at Sonapur Civil Hospital, and were successively tested negative twice as per @ICMRDELHI protocols, are being discharged. They're being sent for a 14-day home quarantine. #AssamCares pic.twitter.com/KK0JsaPwV5 — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 15, 2020 However, as this story is being published the third patient has also been released from the hospital. One #COVID19 patient - Hazrat Ali has been discharged today from Sonapur Civil Hospital, after his two successive tests confirmed as negative. Cured patients -18. Request all to strictly follow home quarantine guidelines. pic.twitter.com/vYqXUzNWxV — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 20, 2020 For Patir, the whole world has literally turned upside down for his family because of COVID-19. "I am originally from Bilmukh village, Lakhimpur district and stay at Narengi in Guwahati. I have my wife and two children. Now my children at my brother-in-law's place in Lakhimpur. My wife is also a doctor and she is part of the COVID-19 response team. She works at the Ulubari Urban Health Centre which is under the Gauhati Medical College. She is working as a nodal officer of the COVID-19 response team. There is no one at home so we had to keep our children at our relative's place. The younger one is five-year-old and the older one is 10-year-old. So right now my wife is staying at a different place, I am at another and the children are in a different place. None of us could meet each other during Bihu. The only option left for us is a few video calls," he said. A mother of twins, pathologist Das can only helplessly watch her husband and an aunt of hers taking care of her children while she is away in quarantine. "I plan to watch TV and of course video calls to my family, my twins in particular. They are four-and-half-years-old. My husband is a Public Works Department engineer and is posted in Nagaon district. Now he is home and taking care of the children. It is getting quite tough for him because the maid has also cannot come as the society has prohibited the entry of outsiders because of coronavirus. I pleaded with an aunt of mine and she agreed to stay at my place in my absence. My husband and my aunt are managing somehow. I never stayed away from children so I am feeling really sad. Looking after is already a challenging job and now with the lockdown, they are literally locked up inside the flat. In fact, I was so busy working that I hardly knew when the Bihu passed," she said. Staff nurse Borgohain is depressed that she cannot do video calls home. "I am from Dhemaji and my husband is from Mangaldoi. I have a two-year-old daughter. I missed home during Bihu. I don't do video calls home because if she sees me she will start crying. Her name is Nistha. I will be really sad then. It will also become hard for her father to manage her. My husband is a manager with Surya Gold Cement. He is home because of the lockdown and looking after our daughter," she said. Although the first team of healthcare professionals from District Hospital Sonapur spent the Rongali Bihu alone for the most part of the day, the health minister had a surprise stored for them. "This time no laru, pitha (traditional Assamese delicacies) were made back home because I wasn't there. But to the surprise of most of us here, the health minister visited us on the day of Bihu and gave us packets of Assamese delicacies. He also gave Gamocha (traditional Assamese rectangular cloth given as a mark of respect also known as Bihuwan) to each one of us. On those packets, he wrote with his own handwriting wishing us Bihu. These small gestures actually motivate us and will also inspire the new batches of doctors who will join duty. I must also add many people wished us over the phone and messaged good wishes," said Pathak. Baishya too shared similar emotions. "I did feel bad staying alone during Bihu but Himanta Biswa Sarma gave us a pleasant surprise. I am yet to finish the packet of pitha. That he remembered us in spite of his busy schedule is an overwhelming feeling for us. In fact, we got pithas again with breakfast the next day. That way, we got pitha twice," she said. The food protocol For those staying at the Vivanta Guwahati, the food protocol has been different. "I am staying here comfortably. They place our food outside the room. The hotel staff is also a bit paranoid since we handled positive cases," said Borgohain. Pathak pointed out that it was necessary to not scare the hotel staff. "There is a food tray outside the room. They keep the food there at regular intervals. Usually, the breakfast is given around 8.30 am, lunch around 1 pm and dinner around 7.30-8 pm. After the food is placed on the tray outside, they call us on the intercom to inform that the food has been placed. Apart from that, I make tea in the room itself in an electric kettle. The food is good. Only thing is I am missing the Assamese food. They are providing us with north Indian cuisine," he said. The following of protocols have been so strict that these professionals have ingrained within themselves to follow them to the tee. "Although I can go out of the room I prefer not doing so as there is a possibility of contamination. We have been following all the SOPs and it doesn't matter if we don't go out of the room for a few days. We will have to keep in mind that the Taj authorities actually called their staff from home despite the lockdown so that they can serve us. We should not make their work difficult and follow the rules," Pathak said. However, staff nurse Borgohain takes a small walk for a very short time. "There is a corridor outside where I sometimes take a walk for a couple of minutes," she said. Hotel Contour, where Ingti is quarantined, has a different set of rules. "I am sharing the room with one of my colleagues and staying on the fourth floor of the hotel. We have to go to the first floor for food. There are people complaining about the food lacking in fish or chicken but I am happy with it," said Ingti. "We are around 20-22 people in quarantine in the hotel from various hospitals and four of us are from the District Hospital Sonapur. There are some shortcomings but overall it's fine. We are not allowed to go outside the hotel. I watch TV sometimes or take a walk on the hotel premises. The health department is also keeping a strict tab on our health condition," he said. Fighting against odds Today is the 10th day in quarantine for the first team of healthcare professionals from District Hospital Sonapur. They are wholeheartedly acknowledging the effort of the government, the hotel staff where they are staying in quarantine and the public in general in taking care of them and for the appreciation shown towards their work. "Whatever it is so far, it has been good and we have been taken good care by the government, the Taj authorities and the general public. We never expected this kind of recognition," said Pathak. What the doctor from District Hospital Sonapur did not say was that others need to be responsible as well, follow the government guidelines strictly, not hide their travel history, not flout the lockdown for fun, support healthcare professionals through cooperation and not merely praise them on social media and phone calls.

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