#burger lady full of wisdom

[kiss-this]

Better late than never, @tutyayilmazz this is for you ;)

Interview at Rtl 102.5

So, Vic who was voiceless in the previous days now can speak almost normally again. They briefly mention her sister's birthday party and then ask if all the success Måneskin are experiencing brings them anxiety. Vic says it's more stress than anything else. Damiano says it doesn't bring them anxiety but the timing is actually stressful.

The interviewer asks if it is important for them to always remain themselves and Damiano jokes that "no one wants to become an asshole". Afterwards, speaking of what they miss from their former life, Thomas tells it's the time, in a general sense, to do things, like play music in his room, relax, etc.

They then move on to talk about how Zitti e Buoni was born. Ethan's first memory of the song is in the garage they had furnished as a small studio where they used to play at the beginning. Vic adds that almost all Teatro d'Ira was born in that garage, but Damiano also remembers that at the very beginning they always played on the terrace of Vic's dad's house and that for him ZeB was born there as the first draft.

Speaking of the tour in the stadiums, the interviewer try to ask about the lineup, but the band says it is way too early to talk about that, so the lady who is also from Rome, asks if it is better to play at Circo Massimo or at the Olimpico Stadium. Damiano replies that Circo Massimo is not where Roma (the football team) play.

Next question is if there will be songs in Italian, and if they will abandon Italian; Damiano jokingly says that everybody has this hyperfixation about this Italian thing and that they are giving them anxiety.

The band got asked where they feel at home, since they travel a lot. They all answer Rome, but Ethan adds that home is not a place but a feeling. Damiano, who was next to him, teases him abandoning him and going to Tom and Vic. Vic first says that Dami is envious of Ethan's pearls of wisdom and then that Ethan says so only because his rent has expired and he is now homeless. Damiano returns to his place next to Ethan.

Speaking of the roles within the band, Damiano says he's the asshole of the group, Vic says that if she were really the band's mom she would be the worst mom in the world. Then she tells how she met Thomas in junior high: he walked into her class to ask if anyone wanted to buy a bunny. Tom adds that it was just a market survey because he didn't really had a bunny to sell.

As people could send questions via sms someone asks if Måneskin plan to sing in Spanish. Damiano says it's difficult and that at most there could be some collaboration with Spanish-speaking artists. Speaking of the hypothetical collaborations Vic says Artic Monkeys would be her choice, Thomas chooses Salsh, Ethan says Patty Smith and Dami Rosalia. Then, speaking of the collab with Iggy Pop, Ethan recalls that they also recorded a burp of him. About the Elvis cover, they ask the band what their favorite Elvis song is. Vic says Burning Love and Damiano Suspicious Mind. The interviewer also asks for their all time favorite song. Tom says Baby I'm Gonna Leave You, Damiano Aerosmith's Full Circle and Ethan says Baba O'Riley by The Who.

On a new subject, Vic says their personal luggage is just gym suits and comfy clothes.

Since many people ask Damiano how he cures his voice he explains that he has a congenital malformation of the vocal cords and that his voice comes from the fact that his cords are distant and never touch each other, so people should stop telling him that he cannot sing (jokes).

The interviewer then ask what happened to Marlena, so Tom says it was their nightmare_question for a lot of time and Vic that it had been years since they got asked about her.

Now they talk about diets and Vic and Thomas say they eat burgers every day and lasagna at 3am. Ethan says that before the concerts he eats light and Damiano that he doesn't eat at all or he'd thow up on stage.

Finally, they talk about The Loneliest's video, the fact that they shot it in Italy, and how the newspapers exaggerated Damiano's incident.

[badbookreviewclub]

Empress Theresa, Chapter 2

If you haven’t read the chapter 1 review, I highly recommend you do so. You can find it here: Empress Theresa, Chapter 1  Should you choose not to, this could get confusing, though the book is already confusing enough as is, so who knows, it may make sense.  This should be the last time that I copy over my tweets directly, so reviews on here should be far more competent.  It took a full week, but I was finally able to get through chapter 2. It was significantly shorter than chapter 1, which in its own way, made it better than the first chapter. However, that doesn't mean that it was good. In general chapter 2 is going over Theresa's high school and middle school life. This means that Norman has to cover things that a high school and middle school student should experience. However, Norman really only covers two things. 1. The Boy's Baseball Team 2. Cyberbullying Theresa gets recruited to the boy's high school baseball team when she's in middle school. She's about 12 years old when she gets recruited and the best I can make out is that this is her last year of middle school too (9th grade). Call me a liar if you want, but I haven't... ...ever met a 12-year-old in 9th grade. For fuck's sake, I was 14 in 9th grade and I have a late birthday in the (United States) school year. Norman claims that Theresa is so young because she skipped a year in school, but I think there's more to it than just skipping a year. Anyways, Theresa joins the high school boy's baseball team. The reason that Norman gives for this is a bit confusing because he jumps back and forth between her being a 'great pitcher' and 'living in a small town, so they didn't have enough boys to recruit for the baseball team.' Because she's on the baseball team, she starts getting cyberbullied and this is where you see just how out of touch with reality Norman is. For some reason, despite that it's a high school baseball team, Theresa is on television all the time. All. The Time. And because... ...of this, Theresa gets cyberbullied. "Anonymous strangers" make entire websites dedicated to cyberbullying Theresa. Yes, they make entire websites. Not only do they use an online forum, or bully her on "the social medias," as Norman likes to put it, but they make entire... ...websites just to show the world how much they truly hate Theresa for being on the boys baseball team. They claim that she must have slept with the coach or was making out with everyone on the boys baseball team but here's the thing; Theresa is still a minor. She's not any older than 13-16 here. This are absolutely absurd accusations to be making to a 13-16-year-old. Even more so that the coach would sleep with her so she could get on the team. That's an accusation of pedophilia. If a rumor like that was floating around, I... ...highly doubt that nothing would come of it. But, Norman doesn't cover this at all. In fact, all of the people on Theresa's team, including the coach, are faceless cardboard figures in the background. The only person in this story that matters is Theresa, and yet, Theresa... ...is just as much of a cardboard figure as the rest of them. It's maddening. But nonetheless, the criticism and 'cyber-bullying' is really starting to get to Theresa so the principle of the school has a teacher sit down with her to try and cheer her up. What we get is a long as fuck and very repetitive monologue from the teacher who then goes over an amazon ad for a doggy door that is explained in so much detail that it's confusing and puts meaning where there is none. Kind of ironic that it does that when I seem to be... ...doing the exact same thing with this book. If you're curious, I did find the ad so you could watch it yourself if you wanted to: video Aside from Theresa's omniscient Trolls who know what all her moral values are and that she has straight A's, we basically just have Theresa's ego stroked more as Norman desperately tries to prove to the reader just how amazing Theresa is. She really isn't and it comes off... ...as narcissistic and unbecoming, especially because Theresa is supposed to be writing this as her autobiography. The other thing that you get from this whole meaningless section of the book is that Theresa blames the cyberbullies parents for not raising them right. What can be summed up as Theresa's parents are good role models in her opinion is then dragged out in a much wordier manner. "My parents gave a good example of the kind of people to be. I'd have to write a book about them to explain." You're writing a book right now. Explain. Or better yet, space it throughout the book. Lessons that your parents taught you when they apply rather than just in one big go. However, Norman was far too lazy to actually do that or have any sense of planning and continuation of subplot throughout the book, so that's not... ...going to happen. Aside from that we also get this banger of a sentence. "It's enough to say I wanted to be a woman like mom and I wanted a husband like dad." Now I know Norman didn't mean it this way, but it sounds an awful lot like Theresa wants to bang her dad, in... ...context or out of context. Blah blah blah we get more boring stuff until it skips to her senior year of high school where she's still 16. She's supposed to be turning 17 in high school so I assume she has an early birthday? That is if Norman still remembers that. Theresa meets Jan Struthers, who I can't remember if I covered or not before because there are so many fucking people in this book who are completely pointless and disappear whenever Norman just forgets about them or doesn't want to keep them in the book anymore. Going back and looking through my tweets, I did indeed cover who Jan Struthers was. For anyone who forgot like me, she's the lady from the government who is in charge of watching Theresa and has been since Theresa was 10, despite being absolutely horrible with children. Anyways, Jan meets Theresa in a Burger King so they can talk about HAL. Despite being in such a public place, Norman gives the reasoning that it's a good place because "the noise gave privacy as good as the Sahara Desert..." I don't know about you but it's really easy... ...to eavesdrop on people in public. Especially in Burger King. Not saying I've done it before, but I've definitely done it before. We find out more about how they found out about HAL and Theresa and the operation that was created to watch Theresa and search for HAL. If you're curious, the operation is literally called the Office of Orbital Phenomena Surveillance, or OOPS. Yes, fucking OOPS. This book was a fucking OOPS. Apparently, the reason for creating the office was, and I'll put it in Norman's words here so it makes sense; "It was supposed to keep track of all the space junk we put into orbit. Its real purpose was to watch for anything going on anywhere in the world that would later be something HAL was doing." The group is called fucking OOPS. Office of Orbital Phenomena Surveillance.  I don't know about you all, but space trash is not a phenomenon. This is just kind of piss poor logic on Norman's part and a weak excuse for him wanting a good acronym for the group. Surprise Norman, we kind of already have a group like that. The CIA. They already...  ...investigate shit like this. But you do you, Norman. You do you. Blah, blah, blah, we get introduced to like 3 more presidents in the span of two paragraphs which is confusing as shit, but alright. "I hadn't heard a peep out of HAL in the six years since he merged with me." So Theresa assumes that HAL is sentient despite the fact that HAL has given literally no indication of sentience. This is a theme that at the very least continues on from chapter one, even if... ...it makes absolutely no god damned sense. Norman brings back in the idea about how HAL makes Theresa put out an absurd amount of heat despite the fact that nobody around her seems to notice that she puts out an absurd amount of heat, which is more absurd logic. Apparently there's a column of disturbed air above Theresa that goes into space an this is how they tried to see if there were any other HAL's on the planet (there aren't). We also get another one of my most hated lines in this book when Theresa asks how much... ...the satellite cost that they sent up to look for more columns of disturbed air. "a hundred million" This is terrible grammar for one, and when someone says it out loud, it sounds wrong too. "One hundred million." is better in every way shape and form and nobody... ...can convince me otherwise. Anyways, Theresa says that they can give her 'a hundred million' and she'll give them HAL. She can't even fucking do that at this point. She doesn't even know if she can do that so why is she offering it? Besides, Jan never even responds to it... ...in the slightest. It's a fucking pointless line in this stupid fucking pointless book that I'm covering because I guess I just love to torture myself with terrible literature before I have to go and read a good book for my history classes. Moving on though, Jan goes into how Theresa needs to get a broad education just in case she ever needs to be the alien ambassador. She really doesn't. She just needs to double major or have a major and a minor in two things probably, Linguistics and Foreign Affairs. But no, instead Jan says that "You might need the knowledge of Thomas Jefferson, and the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln." Apparently, these are our brightest minds in history. Like not to bash on the two of them, they did a lot in the foundation and the forming of the USA... ...but what about the brilliant philosophers of the past? What about the leading and brightest minds of today? What about the scientists of the past who revolutionized how we think and act today? There's more to what formed history than just the people in America. In fact, the... ...presidents of the United States pulled from the philosophy and the knowledge of histories most prominent figures of the Enlightenment. They just helped to spread the word. But how could I expect Norman to know that? It's not like it's taught in every single school... ...in the United States or that all it takes is the fastest Google search to ever happen to find out about that. But I heavily digress. We move on from the meeting and Theresa gets a note in her mailbox that only has her name on it, meaning that someone slipped it... ...into her mailbox while she was away at school. The letter asks where Jan Struthers is and if Theresa can meet him [Jeremy Benton] at the Framingham Library. Theresa tries to email Jan to let her know about it at "janswatchers at snoop.gov" That is exactly... ...how it was worded in the book, not as "janswatchers@snoop.gov". Anyways, the email doesn't go through because I suppose it just doesn't exist anymore. We find out that Jan is missing and the blame is put onto the NEW president who gets brought in with 0 context. They assume that President Martin got rid of Jan because she 'knew too much' or she said something that he just didn't like. We find out that Jeremy Benton is the P.A. to Prime Minister Peter Blair in England. And oh yeah, Theresa brings Father Doughnut back into the fray. Blah, blah, blah, we get this brilliant line; "Seeing you close like this took my breath away. Do you realize the effect you have on people?" from Jeremy to Theresa (who is still 16/17 at this point). We get another of my most hated lines in the book, "I'm beginning to." More bad an inconsistent writing. Apparently, HAL showed up when Theresa was 3 and not six months before she was born. Jan sent all the information about Theresa before she went missing to the Canadian Prime Minister and the Canadian Prime Minister sent that information... ...to the British Prime Minister. Blah, blah, blah more pointless repeating shit. Jeremy offers Theresa and her family a home in England along with new identities (which is 0-100 real quick) all because they think that President Martin made Jan disappear. Father Dick Doughnut jumps in and says that the Holy Father is interested in Theresa's case and wants to offer her a place and protection in Rome. Speaking of Father Dick Doughnut, the meeting with the cardinal that he promise to Theresa never actually happened. Jeremy suggests they bring Theresa's situation to the public, and Theresa agrees though she doesn't exactly completely agree because she thinks that it will ruin her life. Despite wanting to bring it to the press though and agreeing that it would be a decent enough idea... ...she still doesn't want to tell her parents because "one mistake on their part and my future was ruined before I had it." I just... I can't at this point. I'm only two chapters in and I just can't. Besides that, we get the most confusing diatribe ever and I'm going to subject you all too it because I had to suffer through it and still don't know what it's trying to say. "I'd learned that somebody with eloquence may not have seen his powers of understanding receive... ...any aid from education. Ignorance and deficiency of mental improvement could still remain. There's some quirk in their personality that keeps them from becoming wise. The President gave great orations but he was a babe in the woods when it came to dealing with me." If you understood any of that please let me know because even after typing that out I'm still not entirely sure what Theresa is trying to say. I think she's threatening death on him for making Jan disappear, but I'm not sure. and at the very end of the chapter, she says; "If HAL wanted me to do something good I was ready, if it was something bad, I wouldn't do it. President Martin should have left things alone." However, when I first read this I read it as her saying that she wouldn't do the... ...bad thing alone. Which made her sound like she really was going to gather a group a murder President Martin. However like I said not even two tweets ago. It really does sound like Theresa wishes harm on President Martin, with or without HAL's influence.

[dpjustified]

Bingo #2

(disclaimer: fanfic only, not a headcanon)

(#2 themes: Mer AU with a twist [I made sure twists were okay first], Swagger Bishie platonic version don’t hate me, It’s not gay if it’s dead mention)

Danny sighed.

He and Tuck were just as surprised that their first year of high school would end with Dash, their number one bully, becoming Danny’s good friend. Somehow Jazz let his secret slip, and it was all downhill from there. Dash started actually being nice, and not shoving them into lockers. Then Dash actually asked to hang out with him after school sometimes, him, the school loser! Once Danny and Tucker got to know another side of Dash, it wasn’t so bad hanging as a group sometimes. Dash even said hi to them at school. He still insulted them with nicknames though, but they insulted him back, and it was all good.

Of course, sometimes Tucker and Dash just couldn’t get along, so Danny was forced to mediate.

Today, his dad decided to drag all three of them on a fishing trip to lecture them about puberty and dating. At least he wasn’t alone with his dad, but then again, now his friends would hear the embarrassing things his dad liked to say. Either way, he was at a loss.

Nah, I have to stay positive. It could be fun this time!

Nope, he knew he was fooling himself.

“Now, boys,” his dad started, in the tone he used when trying to sound like he was imparting some great wisdom. “When you start dating, and I don’t care who it is, you have to treat them well.”

“No duh,” Dash said, only to get a glare from his dad. “I mean, yes, I agree.”

“In this day and age, if the other person wants to pay for some of the dates, or all of them, just let them. This does not make you any less of a man! In fact, when I was dating your mother, Danny, she had a side job at the lab while I, sadly, could only afford peanuts.”

“You mean you mooched off mom, Dad?” Danny said, not surprised. His mom must have really been in love to date and marry the man-child that was his dad. He still loved him though.

“Wow, goals man.” Dash said. He would be impressed by that. Danny would not have been surprised if Dash mooched off of all his friends, including Paulina. He was already mooching off Danny and Tucker for soda at the Nasty Burger, not that it was that pricey. And he was rich so he really had no excuse.

“I’d totally be down if a girl wanted to treat me,” said Tucker, who had pulled out his PDA to take notes.

“Don’t take my dad seriously guys,” Danny whispered.

“No, no, this is good stuff,” said Dash.

“And if you do get a date,” his dad continued, probably pleased at the undivided attention he was getting, “please encourage them to join the Ghost-keteers. You can get date night and fight night in one night!”

All three groaned.

Danny put his hand on his dad’s shoulder. “Dad, are you still trying to sell that? No one’s going to join.”

“Really?” His dad looked like a sad five year old.

“I’m sorry I have to break it to you.”

He looked like he was going to cry.

“Dude, you can’t be so mean to your dad, man,” Dash lectured. “I’m sure you can do some advertising, and maybe make it into a Phantom fan club. I’m sure lots of people will join then!”

You mean, you’ll join, Dash.

“But it’s an exclusive club, only for the most dedicated ghost fighting heroes!” his dad said passionately, raising his fist. “Not just anyone can join.”

Tucker chimed in. “So, that’s very simple. On the first day, we’ll have them take a survey. They have to agree to one week of intensive Fenton training. And put uniform sizes of course and preferred ghost fighting gadget. Once they pass, they become official members! With official uniforms. Of course, anyone that fails can try again next year.”

“That’s...” His dad took a moment to think. “That’s brilliant! Great idea, Tucker.”

“Anytime.”

He did not want a bunch of fangirls - and fanboys - at his house, even if they didn’t know he was Phantom. Oh, he got an idea. “Dad, Jazz would make a great club president.” If Jazz was in charge, he could rely on her to reign in the fans and keep him and his secret relatively safe. As it was, people kept flirting with his ghost half with the mantra, “It’s not gay if it’s dead,” when he kept telling them he wasn’t dead!

Heck, even the Box Ghost says he’s not dead, and Plasmius has fans but doesn’t get any of the harassment I get! I told them I’m into girls but they don’t care...

He had to quickly abandon the idea of a ghost phone when all his voice messages were of the inappropriate sort. Good thing Jazz screened his phone for him; she was scarred for days even after burning the phone and canceling the subscription.

“Great idea! Jazz is the responsible type. The ghost-keteers will be in safe hands!”

Danny sighed. “What about fishing?”

“Oh, sorry son. I’ve kept you all waiting.” He opened the case that contained the fishing rods and passed them out, then instructed them on how to put on the bait, let out the reel, and reel in once something bit.

An hour later:

“How’s it going, kids?” Jack asked next to a bucket full of junk. “I’ve got all sorts of treasures so far. An old boot, a rare gold watch, and some kind of message in a bottle.”

“So you’re a treasure hunter now, Dad?” Danny replied sarcastically.

“You are, Mr. Fenton?” Dash replied, excited. “Cool!”

“I am, aren’t I?” His dad rubbed his nose with pride.

Danny felt a few drops fall on his nose. He looked up. The weather was starting to get bad. But if it was just sprinkling, there was no real reason to stop early, was it.

“So far,” Tucker said, peering into their buckets. “It’s Dash 1 guppy, Danny 0, me 3 catfish. So far, I’m on top!”

Dash attached another bait onto his hook then threw it back in. “Just you wait, nerds, I’m not about to throw the towel on this race.”

Danny sighed again. “Now why’d you have to rile him up, Tuck?”

“Because competitions are fun? And besides, you’re dead last. Ch-ch-chicken?”

“I am not a chicken.” He shoved a worm onto his hook and accidentally pricked himself. At least it didn’t go in. His dad sucked at first aid, and Tucker wasn’t any better. He quickly put a waterproof band-aid on his bleeding finger then threw the hook in the water. As long as the wound wasn’t infected it would heal quickly enough.

After a few minutes, the line grew taut.

“I think I caught something,” he said, growing excited. At this point, he would even be happy if he caught a boot.

“Well, reel it in,” Dash said. “I’ll even help you pull if you need it.”

“I’m fine,” Danny said. Even though Dash knew his secret, he still insisted on treating him like he was weak. Well, he was actually pretty weak if he wasn’t using his ghost energy as a boost.

He was unprepared when the line pulled suddenly, and because he held on so tightly to the rod, he was yanked off the boat. He let go of the rod. The rain grew fiercer and the waves started to move, pushing him to and fro.

“Danny!” his Dad yelled. “It’s okay, I’ll come save you.”

“No, need, I’ll do it!” yelled Dash.

Tucker held them both back. “You guys will just make it worse. Danny can handle it, right...Danny?!”

Something grabbed his head tightly, covering his eyes, and pulled him under the water rapidly. The cries of his friends and dad faded, and it was too dark to see. Something gripped his neck and he let out a gasp, unfortunately inhaling water. He kicked out madly and panicked, struggling to calm himself.

I can handle this. A water ghost? If it’s too dark to see...

He activated his ghost powers and elbowed out, hitting a soft form. The grip loosened and he turned around with glowing eyes.

In front of him was a girl with black hair coiling around her like seaweed, and glowing purple eyes. Seaweed was wrapped around her form, and the hook from his rod was clearly stuck in the side of her neck.

At least he knew why she was trying to kill him now.

He didn’t have time to think. He had to get away and get some air.

He shot out an ecto blast at her, but a black scaled tail shot out from behind her and knocked it away.

...Tail?

Just great, and just when he had enough with ghosts. The question was, was she a mermaid or a ghost mermaid?

While he was in thought, she gripped his neck again, and he felt like his powers were getting sucked away. In moments, he lost his ghost form. He could barely maintain his glowing eyes, and he could feel his consciousness fading.

If I fall asleep here, I’m a goner!

He couldn’t panic. What was the best way of startling a girl? He grabbed her face and kissed her, then received a punch in his gut.

I should have seen that coming...

Well, at least he died trying.

...

He woke up in a cavern who knows where with a purple eyed girl staring down at him.

He quickly backed up and looked back from a safe distance. He ascertained that he had his energy back, so if needed he could fight against the mer-lady...

For some reason, she had legs. That, and the only thing censoring her was her hair.

“Um,” he started. “Thanks for not killing me?”

She blinked, then crawled over to him.

“What do you want?” Then again, if she had the ability to absorb his powers, he didn’t know if he had a chance. “Are you a ghost or a mermaid? Or both? What are you?”

“First...” Her voice was so striking that he couldn’t help but stare. “Can you get this thing out of my neck? It hurts.”

“R-right.” He reached over and made the hook intangible, pulling it out easily. The line had long snapped, but he had no time to worry about the fate of his dad’s rod right now. He then reached in his pocket for a band-aid. He was glad this vest had waterproof pockets.

She reeled back at the band-aid.

“Relax, it just seals the wound. It might not last too long underwater, but for now, right? I won’t hurt you.”

She narrowed her eyes,  but tilted her neck to allow him access.

He stuck it on then sat in front of her, staring. “Why were you trying to kill me earlier?”

“You were clearly trying to kill me earlier, were you not?”

“I was just...fishing? Not for you, of course. Whatever you are.”

“Mermaid.” She looked down at her knees. “Not sure what a ghost is.”

“Eh. Someone with my powers”- He harnessed energy in his hands, then let it disperse-” and bleeds green, can float, disappear, and fly, all the time. Me, I’m just half ghost. Kinda like you, half fish.”

“Half fish? Never heard that before, but I see what you mean.”

“Well, personal question really...Do mermaids, can they transform like that? I mean, your tail to legs on land. That’s really nifty.”

She looked away. “Only after they’re married. It’s a survival thing.”

“Married?” He didn’t know why but he kept thinking she was pretty. It wasn’t a surprise; even though she looked his age, mermaid culture was probably different, and it would only be natural that she was taken-

Why am I thinking about hitting on a mermaid I just met! Weirdo, stop being weird!

“It’s your fault I can’t go back now,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Wait...what?” He was confused. “Was it the hook thing? I’m-I’m really sorry...” Yep, he would ruin someone’s life without trying. Even though the Cujo thing wasn’t entirely his fault, he still cost Valerie’s dad his job and ruined her life. Was he just a loser?

“Not that, the kiss! You mean you don’t know?” She hobbled over to him and slapped him. “You have to take care of me. I can’t even use these things.” She pointed to her legs. “The blend-in-with-humans class isn’t even taught till 17! I’m not ready for this.”

He wasn’t ready for this.

“Uh...” He took off his jacket and handed it to her. “For now, tie this around your waist. And we can see about getting out of here. You know. Like so.”

He indicated where and she tied it. Then he picked her up and flew her back to the boat. It was empty.

He later found his dad, Dash and Tucker enjoying snacks at the hotel they were staying the night at. It took him forever to explain the girl as someone he saved from drowning, and even then no one believed him except good old Dad. After giving her some clothes to wear that he had purchased from the souvenir shop, he had to spill the beans to his friends once his dad was asleep.

“You’re a mermaid?” Dash said, then shook the girl’s hand. “It’s like a storybook! What’s your name.”

“Hey, I wanted to hit on her first,” Tucker whined.

“Sam,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And you all?” She was clearly not excited to be there. Apologizing clearly wouldn’t help at this point.

As usual, Tucker spoke for them all. “I’m Tucker, the cool kid.” He wiggled his glasses. “Dash here is our star athlete, and Danny is the superhero with ghost powers. I...assume he’s already told you that.”

“Right. Danny.” She glanced quickly at Danny then focused on Tucker again. “And what are you eating?”

“A meat pizza.”

“Meat...how cruel.” She looked at him with pity.

“Hey, I’m a carnivore. Guess you’re not one of those man-eating mermaids?”

“That’s what you humans think of us? Disgusting.”

Dash waved a hand. “Hey, don’t worry, you only see those mermaids in horror movies. You know movies right?”

She gave a blank stare.

Dash and Tucker gave each other a knowing glance. “We have a lot to teach you.”

Danny pulled her back to him. “Hey you two, don’t corrupt the innocent!”

Tucker silently opened a laptop and loaded the “Undersea Monster” movie.

It’s only on these things that these two agree.

What was he going to do with this mermaid girl?

[lady-olive-oil]

Brown Sugah Baby: Ch. 8

Note: Hey ya’ll its ya girl Livvy here, with another installment of Brown Sugah Baby! This is just a filler chapter, not really that important but it kinda is because it leads to the mess of chapter 9. You don’t have to read it but it’s greatly appreciated!!! If ya wanna be tagged let me know!

Warnings: none, expect hinting of dirty acts

Word count: 1.5K

Taglist: @maddiestundentwritergaines || @doublesidedscoobysnacks || @destinio1 || @designerwriterchic

The morning after only meant one thing for Nefe and M’Baku. They had to head back to campus but they didn’t want to get up. He was so warm to her and she was just like he imagined. Her skin was smooth like chocolate; her curves were dangerous, her smile was to die for and her whole personality was alluring.

M’Baku was everything and more that Nefe needed. He was ambitious; his voice could stop a crowd in their tracks, his demeanor was commanding, his body was magnificent and his whole being was just comforting. These two were meant for each other and no one could tear them apart.

“My queen. We have to get up.” He whispered in her ear, causing her body to hum in need. Nefe couldn’t fathom how he would do so little, to make her body feel warm. Cranking one eye open, she glanced up at him softly with a sleepy smile.

“Mmm. My king.” She hummed in bliss, turning over in heavy duvet that hid part of of ample breasts as she sat up to kiss him lightly.

“Do we have to leave New Orleans? We could just stay here and not go back to Shreveport. No school...no classes...no Melanie...no Sean..” the way she spoke, upon placing kisses all on his face, caused him to smile happily.

“Yes we do. Our friends are waiting for us to be back. Besides we have the rest of the week to, consummate the relationship.” The kiss he gave her was breathtaking, it shook her very core. Awakening her inner lioness to pounce on him.

“We’ll arrive late if you keep this up, my love. We’ll miss the pep rally.”

“Ugh fine.” Getting up from her spot, she sashayed to the bathroom to get ready.

“I love you!”

“I know!”

-Back at the school-

The drive back seemed to drag on but the vibe stayed the same, as it did when they arrived.

Upon unloading the car, Nefe was notified by the girls about a sleepover in her dorm. A major redo of the previous weekend.

“Looks like the girls want to catch up with me.” Nefe replies with a swiftness, M’Baku smirked.

“Funny. The boys want me to meet them at the quad, for guys night.” Once he showed the text, she knew what both groups had planned.

“They want us to talk about our trip. Creative bastards. Well love, I’ll see you in the morning.” Placing a kiss on his sweet lips, he held her close and it caused her to giggle.

“You’re so tempting, it’s intoxicating. But we have to meet them or they’ll chew us both out.” He proclaimed and she groaned in frustration.

“Alright, alright. Well, I’ll see you in the morning.”

-moments later: Nefe’s POV-

“You mean to tell me, you went all the way with M’Baku and you managed to get up?” Nakia couldn’t believe it. My whole girl gang, couldn’t fathom that I actually got to spend time with M’Baku, without Melanie messing it up.

“Girl it was everything. The rhythm; the vibes, the jazz, the food, his body on mine. Mine on his. Just pure poetry in motion.” I couldn’t describe it any other way. He really was an amazing man and I enjoyed the weekend we spent together.

“He put it down huh? Damn I knew you needed it and deserved every minute of it.” With the clink of our glasses, Okoye gave me a short wink.

“So when’s the wedding?” Nattie Joked a bit, causing a light chuckle to escape from my full lips. I chucked a pillow at her before going to my vanity.

It was getting late and I was needing to get ready for bed. My phone had been vibrating for a good minuet till I answered it.

‘College weekend and prank week is coming soon. Guess who's coming to visit?!’ Love the siblings!’ I received a text from the group chat we formed before I had left for school. Keeping in touch with them was what we had made sure to do first and foremost.

“Holy shit, It is college visit weekend. Plus prank week, oh I can use my siblings for this.” A sinister grin grew on my face at an evil plot forming in my head.

“Uh oh. She’s got that vindictive gleam in her eye. Something's up.” Nattie chimes in with a curious smile.

“Something is afoot, ladies. My siblings are doing a college visit this week, along with the prank of the semester before spring break. Wanna help?” I grabbed my five star notebook and my best mechanical pencil.

“Prank week you say? Oh this outta be good. I know just the targets.” This time Okoye has a sinister look on her face. This was going to be good.

-M’Baku’s POV-

“My dude. How was the trip? We know it was good because the curves on Nefe-” Erik was about to go on a tangent, full of Hennessy in his system, till I gave him that look for him to stop while he was ahead.

“I’ll tell you, if you keep your mouth shut”

“Deal.” Erik day next to T’Challa who’s just got done texting Nattie.

“I heard y’all had more fun than you originally planned” T’Challa chimed in, taking a taking out of his burger.

Settling down with the boys, I had to think back to the nights Nefe and I didn’t even wanna leave the room. It felt like it was our honeymoon. If only we can get to that part, because I can’t see myself being with anyone else but Nefe.

“Man, it was great. Just, everything I expected to come out of the trip. We talked all night, did what grown folks do and it just made my year to finally get some time with her.” Many men wouldn’t express their feelings like this, but Nefertiti makes me feel different and free. Great Hanuman I am in love with this woman.

“I’d say you’re in love bro, welcome to the club.” With an encouraging shoulder tap from Erik, I gave him a gentle smile and nodded in triumph.

“The great gorilla has found his Queen after all. Or has she been there this whole time?” T’Challa asked.

“She’s always been there. I was just too blind to see it.” T’Challa had his moments where he had wise word aid wisdom, along with tacky misunderstandings but that made him human.

I was truly blinded by the fact that I never saw Nefe more than a friend. The moment Sean, and Melanie, came into our live was when we both realized that we needed each other.

As my phone went off, to break the silence, I noticed the picture and became excited once more.

“Little brother. What brings you to calling me?” I answered the phone and the boys got excited themselves.

Zaire had a good standing friendship with T’Challa and Erik back in Wakanda. He was well mannered and structured but didn’t want to the throne, so he’s my financial adviser did when I take the throne.

“Well big brother, Aliyah and I are coming down to Louisiana for college visit. She mentioned something about prank week as well. We’ll be there sometime this week.” The tone in his voice was chipper and full of excitement. Spending time with my siblings was what I’ve been missing lately and I couldn’t wait for it.

“Sounds good to me. Oh and for prank week, I know just what I have in mind for you both.” The smirk that etched my face, made Erik and T’Challa do the same.

-Melanie’s POV-

Just as I was about to go welcome M’Baku back home, I noticed the smell of Chanel No.5 in the air and it was Nefe being back too. I was hoping he’d left her in the swamps.

Out of disgust, I continued my path towards M’Baku’s room, knocking gently.

“Hey- oh hell nah. M’Baku, you got company.” Erik rolled his eyes and stood in the doorway, watching like a hawk. Why couldn’t he just mind his own business?

“Can we talk? In private?” I eyed Erik down with a snarl, he shrugged.

“Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of them.” M’Baku arched a brow and it made me even more annoyed.

“Whatever. Anyway I just wanted to welcome you back, and take you out tomorrow night. As a welcome home gift.” Tracing my finger down his chest, he grabbed it and shoved me off. Well that’s a new one, no one's ever denied me before.

“I can’t. I already have plans with my girlfriend. I’m sure you’ve met her? Have a nice night Melanie. Boys I’ll see you later as well.” Waving us all off, he went back inside his room, leaving me there. I watched as his two best friends walked away, further down the hall.

“She has nothing on me. I am the queen and two can play that game.” Stomping off back towards my dorm hall, I had a plan forming in motion. Prank week is gonna be one hell of a ride.

[veronicassadboi]

Jughead realizing Veronica could play dirty to get what she wanted and wasn't just a Rich Daddy's Girl?

I had fun with this! Thank you!

Jughead realizing Veronica could play dirty to get what she wanted and wasn't just a Rich Daddy's Girl?

Notes: mention of drugs. Jughead’s poor life choices.

—-

“You lied to me,” Jughead grumbled at his best friend.

Archie grimaces, being called a liar, Jughead knows, would be killing Archie from the inside out. “Technically I didn’t, Betty did.”

“Well,” Jughead sighs, sipping a rum and cola loudly through a cocktail straw. “Betty didn’t drag me here under the guise of free burgers…”

Jughead’s sipping became irritating to Archie. This he knew for sure by the way his best friend was glaring at him as if he had food on his face. Jughead wasn’t unhappy to be here. La Bonne Nuit did have the cheapest drinks in town, he knows, he helped set the prices. Hiram Lodges daughter wasn’t one to skimp on things so it was maple infused no less. Though the speakeasy was swaying by now with the amount of young bodies and tequila shots being thrown around, Jughead didn’t enjoy the hype like those around him. Too many nights in the Whyte Wyrm often had him despising the constant chatter and people dancing.

“You just need to talk to Ronnie.”

Jughead shakes his head. “Tell me why I’m here again?”

Veronica Lodge herself stands at the other end of the bar, pouring a drink for Cheryl Blossom, something red, something sweet, a shit load sour. Just like her. Jughead keeps himself from rolling his eyes at the most ridiculous display of self absorption he’s ever seen. “Ronnie just needs Southside behind her, I promised Betty I’d convince you, she said she’d kick me out if I didn’t try…”

Archie rambles on and Jughead zones out. He meets Veronica’s eyes and he tries to look away, but they’re met at the awkward moment where she’s caught him looking away. So he looks back up just to see her standing with an eyebrow raised and both hands on her hips. Leather, no less. Jughead scoffs in the face of irony. It’s almost as if she’s trying to prove her place with the Serpents… as if she could walk straight in.

Archie’s non-stop carry-on chatter is laced with a few extra beers. Archie is a happy when tipsy and his arm lies lazy over Jughead’s shoulders, kissing his best friend on the cheek. “I’m just glad we get to hang out, Jug.”

“Me too,” Jughead replies, pulling Archie in closer. “But I’m not doing any favours for Lady Lodge.”

It’s not that Jughead doesn’t like her. She’s a lot more tolerable at 21 than she was at 15. On the contrary, Jughead likes her a lot. But her entitlement, demands and expectations were higher than he ever was even after smoking the best joint Sweetpea had ever given him. But he couldn’t blame it all on her, He’d known Veronica a long time now, and there wasn’t much that daddy’s money couldn’t pay for. If he got into business with Veronica, that may lead onto working with Hiram. And he was a whole other side of Riverdale that he didn’t want anything to do with.

“Jug,” Archie says, snapping his fingers in front of Jughead to get his attention. “I can hear your mind running too fast. Stop over analysing things. You just need to talk to V and that’ll keep Betty happy.”

Jughead gives Archie an incredulous look, unsure just how Archie thinks things like this work. “Her dad is a mafia boss -“

“Who tried to kill me several times, I think I of all people know how much Hiram Lodge sucks.”

“Which is exactly why you of all people know why I don’t want to get into bed with the Lodges!”

Archie smirks and shrugs. “Well…”

“Ugh, grow up dude. You know what I mean,” Jughead groans. “But daddy’s money won’t pay for our protection. I don’t want the Serpents anywhere near Hiram or his precious baby.

“But she’s not just Hiram’s precious baby, Jug,” Archie says with an air of wisdom that tells Jughead he’s about to make him feel guilty. “She’s our friend too…”

Jughead rolls his head before looking at Archie lopsided. “Fine. You’ve made me question myself. I’ll talk to her.”

Archie hugged him, just happy that Betty wouldn’t be kicking him out tonight.

—-

Archie stayed right until everyone had left, pretending he stayed because of the music. Jughead knew full well it was to make sure Jughead didn’t escape before speaking to Veronica.

She eyes his dirty docs on her velvet chairs, she pulls said chair out from under him and his foot thuds against the floor. “I see you’ve allowed the time to talk to me?” she says with a sway of her hips. She sits down in front of him on the same chair his foot was resting on, now, it was her Louboutins resting on a chair next to him. “I must say, it’s a little hard to get the King of Southside to La Bonne Nuit. Lucky I know his crutch, huh? Archie Andrews sure does tug on the old heart strings…”

Jughead reads the cocky tone in her voice, “obviously doesn’t tug on yours…” he snaps a little too sharply.

“And when did Betty stop tugging on yours?” she challenges.

Jughead feels his face creep up hot.

La Bonne Nuit was quiet and still when it was empty but it still held the smell of expensive liquor and cheaper perfumes. “Please just get to it, V. So that you can try and bribe me with daddy’s money and I can respectfully decline. On behalf of myself and my beloved Serpents,” he replies slowly, faking a bow.

Veronica’s face doesn’t budge. In fact, her back stiffens and her smile broadens. “You’ve done it before, do it again -“

“For old times sake?” He teases.

“Sure.”

Jughead fiat out refuses, shaking his head. “Veronica, I’m not going to have my guys work here to be used as putty against your dad. I’m sure he’s a nice guy deep down -“

“He’s not -“

“I know,” he replies with a roll of his eyes. “I was making a badly placed joke. But working for you is more trouble than it’s worth and not even your father’s money is going to convince me otherwise.”

Veronica’s smugness was oozing and unsettling to Jughead. When he thought she would have backed down, she seemed to ease into a sense of comfort that made him blink slowly, unsure of what to think. “I’m only going to say this once, Jughead, so listen carefully.”

He tucks his fingers behind his ears and pretends to push them out. “I’m all ears, Princess.”

The way she twitches her nose tells him that she’s irritated by the nickname. Fingers dance on the edge of her leather skirt that he notices all too acutely. She tugs on the hem to bring it down over caramel skin that makes him lick his lips. She was beautiful, it was stupid of him not to notice but she’s obviously irritated by him and domineering all the same, Jughead notices it a little more. And right now, a little too much. “I know that you seem to not take me seriously. I get it. My dad has money and has helped me out more than I care to acknowledge. But the Serpents have a way with things that I need in La Bonne Nuit. I’ll pay your boys well and for me, I’ll see that La Bonne Nuit is looked after.”

“But -“

She cuts him off with. “I wouldn’t be asking for help if I didn’t need it.”

Jughead frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. “And why do you need it?”

Veronica leans back and puts her hands behind her head. “This sort of joint doesn’t come without its problems and neither does being Hiram Lodge’s daughter.”

Jughead was impressed to say the least. All these years Veronica had been battling against her father just to go running back when things got tough. Not to mention the blatant replacing of the Serpents when she recruited the Poisons. Once bitten, twice shy he thinks. He couldn’t put his ego through that again. Faking an unconcerned air, he leans back in his chair too. “The crux of it, Princess, is no.”

Veronica stands from her seat, legs smooth that Jughead’s eyes once over, heels clicking on the floor, the smell of cinnamon shifts with her as she stands before him. “I really didn’t want to do this, you know, for old times sake,” she says, stealing his words.

“What?”

Veronica sighs, pretending to be disappointed, shoulders slumping. “I hear you’ve taken a leaf out of your mom’s books, sad really, the same thing you hated about your mom is what you seem to be cooking up yourself.”

Jughead’s eyes turn beady and his voice catches in his throat. “Playing dirty, are we?” he replies, trying to keep calm.

Sweat beading at his temples.

Veronica’s eyes darken, leaning into him, she places a hand on each chair arm, whispering into his ear; “I’ll play dirty, Jughead, if it means I get what I want.” She stands straight again. “So, La Bonne Nuit under the care of the Southside Serpents?”

Jughead grimaces, adjusting the hat on his head out of nervousness. “And what the hell can Hiram Lodge do with that information that would help you, V?”

Veronica’s smile is haunting. “Daddy won’t help me out with this one, Jug. It’s what I can do with that information and your father.”

Jughead shivers, fearful of Veronica Lodge for the first time. “What do you say, Princess? Let’s start again.”

Her smile carries malice, he feels like it will haunt him in his dreams. But he wonders just how far she’ll go now that he’s on her team.

——-

Send me a Jeronica centric ft Barchie prompt and I’ll write a >1000 word Drabble!

[angrylizardjacket]

o trespass sweetly urged {Ash/Honey}

Summary: Ash & Honey play Romeo & Juliet in a university production of  Romeo & Juliet. That’s it. That’s the fic.

A/N: 8018 words. Honey is the loml. @toplesstaylor i owe u my life; honey is hers, as is this concept, she just let me write it. there’s a lot of smoking in this one, but no real warnings. i mean there’s gratuitous shakespeare and misunderstandings, but that’s what u get with this sort of thing.

Ash had fully intended on not telling any of her friends that she was doing this; she had her audition on the night she knew Honey had work and Queen had a gig, and she made sure she was never learning her audition monologue in earshot of anyone that would blab about her little experiment. The idea of auditioning for her university theatre society’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet was too fanciful for her to entertain the idea that she’d be cast, but she was a romantic at heart, had spent too long looking at paintings and pictures of the star crossed lovers in textbooks and art galleries. She couldn’t help herself.

“Ash, call for you!” When one of her dormmates calls her to the phone, she’s confused. It’s been a week since the audition and she hadn’t been expecting to hear back.

“Freddie?” He’s the only one that calls her, the only one that has her number, though even he prefers to just show up unannounced.

“Hi, is this Ash Clarke?” The voice on the other end asks. They’re asking her to play Juliet, and she feels like she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop, for them to tell her it’s a joke.

“What? Me? What do you mean?”

“You’ve got-” it’s the director on the other end, and she covers the receiver, muffling where she was presumably talking to the rest of the executives team, “we think you’ll play very well against our Romeo - who’s a woman, by the way, is that alright? It’s artistic -” Ash is quick to assure them that it’s fine, flushing though they can’t see it, and is immediately worried that they might read into her quick acceptance and realise she’s probably far more into the concept of kissing a female Romeo than they realise, but they just move on, grateful. “You had this real sweetness in your audition, and we think we can help you bring out a fierceness that will be really compelling on stage, hopefully,” she laughs. Ash laughs too, but her heart’s not in it, and her mind’s a thousand miles away, panicking; she never expected to get a role at all.

God, Fred would never let her hear the end of it.

The first read through was nerve wracking; she’d spent more than enough time in the university’s little black box theatre as the costume designer for previous shows, but never as an actor. She’s got a brand new notebook in her white-knuckled grip, smiling awkwardly at the distracted executive team, and she takes a seat in the audience, waiting patiently. As one of the first to arrive, part of her dreads every time she hears the doors open, worrying that it might be someone she knows, even in passing.

So imagine her dread when the doors are flung open, and Honey walks in with the confidence of someone who had already made the stage her home. Which, Ash considers, she sort of already had. Honey greets the director and the rest of the executives with a cool smile, her gaze scanning over the rest of the auditorium, until it settles on Ash, and her lips quirk; Ash, however, is mortified.

“Afternoon, Space Cadet, you designing for this thing?” Honey plops herself into the seat directly beside Ash, feet up on the empty chair in front of her, her tote bag full of highlighters and paper finding a home on the floor beneath the chair. 

“You don’t go to this university-” Ash frowns, suddenly incredibly self conscious- how could she ever help to be on stage in the same play as Honey Woodrow? The woman had more stage presence in her left foot than Ash was sure she had in her whole body.

“Nah,” Honey agreed, “but Lane lives with Emily and was talking about how they needed more people to audition-” it only takes Honey a moment to realise that the names were going straight over Ash’s head, and she gave a thin smile; “the production manager is a friend of Lane, you know, who I work with,” she explained, and prompted Ash, who made a noise of recognition. Looking out at the shabby, blank stage, Honey’s smile is a little bit self satisfied, “I landed Romeo.”

Ash actually blanched.

“God, of course you did,” she all but wheezed, panic building in her, bubbling away in her stomach, along with strands of feelings she couldn’t quite place or name right at that moment. After a beat, she took a deep breath, which was enough for Honey to look over with a frown of confusion at her reservation, but before the brunette can ask, Ash is already speaking, “no, I’m not designing; I’m actually playing Juliet.”

There’s a very long silence. 

When Ash finally looks at Honey, the younger woman is smiling with slight disbelief, and Ash isn’t sure what to read into it, if anything.

“Oh?” Honey asks, quirking an eyebrow, more amused at Ash’s hesitation than anything else.

“Good ‘oh’?” Ash asks tentatively, and the amusement on Honey’s face breaks as she rolls her eyes with exasperation.

“No, it’s a disappointed ‘oh’, angry ‘oh’, mortified ‘oh’; what a fuckin’ chore to have to spend time with you,” Honey leans back. If sarcasm didn’t actually drip from her words, it wasn’t from lack of trying. Ash’s nervousness is melting, little by little, a blush rising on her cheeks as she drops her gaze, chuckling a little. “It’ll be interesting,” Honey muses, which is even more cryptic than the ‘oh’, but Ash doesn’t ask, just nods.

“That’s one word for it.” 

“My star crossed lover,” Honey’s grin is evident in her words as she gives Ash’s thigh a pinch, the teasing banter doing great things for the ginger’s nerves, “you sure you’re up for it?”

“Fuck no,” Ash laughs, but Honey punches her shoulder lightly, assuring her that it’ll be great, and before too long, the director is calling them all over. Despite her nerves, Ash sticks close to Honey, mostly since she’s the only familiar face, though the director seems rather relieved that the women not only know each other, but also seem to get on.

Honey reads Shakespeare like she’s been speaking it her whole life, her words flowing at such a natural pace despite the unnatural turns of phrase. There’s an easy playfulness to the way she speaks her lines, and though the director already looks a little wary.

“I have lost myself; I am not here;” she gasps melodramatically, hand raised to her forehead as if she’s faint, though the sharpness of her grin, despite her overdramatic tone, “this is not Romeo, he's some other where.” It’s already proving to be a very interesting experience. 

Ash, on the other hand, is tentative when speaks, stumbling over the flowery language, trying not to get too flustered as she half stutters through her lines. 

They make it to Act 2, to the masquerade and to where Romeo first spots Juliet, and Honey is almost smirking as she delivers her lines, leaning back on her hands with a casual confidence, gaze flicking from her script to Ash, who was reading her own script like she could divine some infinite wisdom from it.

“What lady is that, which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?” She asks, and though the man playing the servant speaks, Honey’s still watching Ash. When she delivers her monologue, waxes poetic about Juliet, it’s fond and a little admiring, a surprising take on the lines that somehow works, and makes the director think Honey’s actually put some thought into her character already, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.” Ash pauses in her highlighting, and Honey’s grin turns sharp at the faint blush she can spot tinting the ginger’s ears and cheeks pink.

“You gotta chill out,” they leave the rehearsal together, Ash asking if Honey wants to grab a bite to eat, and the moment they step into the cool night air, Honey shoves her hands into her pockets and says what’s been on her mind since she’d arrived. Ash, to her surprise, seems confused by her words, “come on, Space Cadet, you looked like you were about to blow a gasket every time something halfway saucy happened,” Honey hip checked Ash, and who laughed a little, though the set of her shoulders is still tense. “It’s just a play.”

“Yeah, no, I know, it’s just- I’m not used to being on stage.”

“Well you’re gonna need to get used to it, dude,” it may have come off a little sharper than Honey had intended it and she made a point of shifting her tone to something more fond, “you’re the leading lady, aren’t you?”

They get burgers a few blocks from Ash’s dorm and they talk about the show, which manages to help the tense set of Ash’s shoulders, though when she asks Honey if she had any theatre experience, the brunette was still cagey. 

“Performing’s performing, I’m just gifted,” she’s almost insufferably smug, but Ash has known her for long enough now that it doesn’t bother her. It’s not a real answer, but then again, Honey’s never been very forthcoming with any sort of information about her past, even something as seemingly insignificant as whether or not she’s acted before.

Honey has a natural charisma, a confidence when she’s onstage that draws all focus to her, and at first, of course it’s intimidating to be playing opposite her, but surprisingly enough it’s easy for Ash to find her groove on stage. Honey is fast and sharp, but Ash knows her innate timing far better than she had initially given herself credit, and it’s easy, in warm ups, in scenes, to play against her. Despite the younger woman’s somewhat aloof nature, Ash trusts her wholeheartedly. 

They’ve got Ash standing on a table as a proxy for the balcony they’re apparently building for her, and as they’re figuring out their blocking, Honey has taken to sprawling out on the floor just in front of the table, gazing up at Ash with admiration as she delivers her lines.

“I take thee at thy word, call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo.” She calls up, raising a hand almost lazily and gesturing up to Ash. The ginger looks to the script in her hands before looking sharply at Honey.

“What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, so stumblest on my counsel?” She asks back, crouching down and peering over the edge of the table; Honey’s giving a starry-eyed expression, and Ash is struggling not to laugh or blush. How Honey manages to keep a straight face while performing will forever be a mystery to Ash.

But the scene goes on, and the urge to laugh dies quickly as Ash finds herself sucked into the narrative, trading banter and lovestruck looks with the woman she considered to be a good friend. Honey, for all she isn’t a fan of casual intimacy, seems at home on stage carding her fingers through Ash’s hair.

“O wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?” She grumbled, though Ash can see a traitorous smirk at the edge of her lips. Ash, now laying on the table script in one hand, reaches out, lifts Honey’s chin with a single finger.

“What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?” She asks, raising an amused eyebrow at Honey’s almost pout that hides her own amusement. The line hangs in the air for a long moment before Honey starts wiggling her eyebrows, unable to hold back her grin, and Ash bursts out laughing. The director calls for a five minute break.

That’s sort of how it goes; bit by bit, scene by scene they work through the script until it’s all blocked. Honey brings an intensity that Ash comes to mirror, until they get to a line or a moment that will end up amusing them, and causing one or both of the girls to break character. Ash is slower to pick up lines, but she finds it easy to learn them if she records herself on cassette saying them, and listening back to it when she’s working on other projects, or up late at night tailoring various garments for her friends.

Freddie’s the first and only one of the band members she tells, and she’s sworn him to secrecy.

“I think I’d do rather well in Shakespeare,” Freddie muses where he’s sprawled out over Ash’s bed of an afternoon while she’s hemming a pair of his leather pants. Ash hums in acknowledgement, but doesn’t comment one way or the other. He’s always been a good performer, but never much of an actor, not in a professional capacity, but Ash has never been much of anything on stage before now so she’s doesn’t think she’s really entitled to comment.

“How are rehearsals coming along?” He’s very pointed in the way he says it, and Ash pointedly refuses to hear the smirk so clear in his words. 

“Good,” Ash muses, “we’re - what did she call it? - polishing, I think the director called it polishing. We’re polishing scenes now.”

“Oh, already?” He asked, and Ash pursed her lips. 

“We’re working on the suicide scene on Wednesday.”

A long silence hangs in the air, broken only by the sound of bedsheets rustling as Freddie moves to lie on his stomach, propping his chin in his hand.

“So what’s it like kissing Honey?” He asks, watching Ash turn pink.

“Wouldn’t know,” she avoided his gaze, hunching over the pants she was working on. Freddie’s smile grows wider. There’s a blush about her ears that is refusing to go away, especially not as he hums thoughtfully, but changes the subject.

The next rehearsal is a mess, at least for Ash, who’s in her own head about everything Freddie had said. She’d been practicing her lines rather diligently in the leadup, but they all seemed to have left her, and she feels like she’s letting everyone down on multiple levels. Even Honey, who usually seems unflappable and strangely patient, seems annoyed. 

“Is it weird?” Ash asks in a break; everyone in the room can feel that the energy’s off. 

“You’ll have to be much more specific,” Honey tells her, deadpan, before taking a long drink of water, “you’re being weird.” She adds after a beat. Ash’s expression sours. She deliberates for a long time, eats an entire apple with a pensive look on her face, and Honey actually leaves her to her brooding to go chat with the director. 

“Is it weird that we haven’t kissed in rehearsals yet?” Ash asks just as the director calls everyone back inside. Honey does actually take pause at that, and it’s the director’s turn to scowl.

“You can if you want,” the director buts in before Honey gets a chance, “but proper stage kisses don’t usually need to come into play until dress runs, you know?”

“Is that why you’ve been weird?” Honey’s half smiling, a little exasperated, but the tension in her shoulders is loosening and that frustrated aura around her is quickly dissipating. 

“I’ve never stage-kissed anyone,” Ash exclaims, and that’s the moment the tension breaks; Honey snorts, rolls her eyes and makes her way back to the middle of the rehearsal space.

“If it makes you feel better we can do it this run,” Honey offers, and Ash nods, gives a grateful smile, though her heart’s beating hard against her ribs. Ash has kissed plenty of people in her lifetime, has kissed plenty of women, but none of them are Honey. It’s not that Ash is unobservant; Honey’s hot, obviously, and she’s got this innate magnetism that draws people to her, and this secretive little smile that she wears sometimes that Ash doesn’t like to think too hard about because it makes her heart beat painfully fast. Of course she thinks Honey’s pretty, has even considered kissing her, among other things, but just in passing… this feels… hollow. 

“Eyes, look your last!” As Honey goes through her final monologue, she gently caresses the side of Ash’s face where the ginger was laying on a table in the middle of their stage, “Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss, a dateless bargain to engrossing death!” 

Ash cracks her eye open, just a little, sees Honey looking out to where the audience is, before looking down at Ash, her character breaking for a moment when she sees Ash looking up at her.

“I’m gonna kiss you now,” she warns, and Ash has to bite back a smile.

“You don’t need to warn me, it’s in the script.”

"I feel like I do need to warn you since you were being weird about it."

"Telling me you're going to kiss me at the start of the run was fine, now you're making weird."

“If you’re gonna kiss her just do it,” the director sounds endlessly beleaguered, and Honey smiles gently for the barest moment before she presses her lips to Ash’s. It’s quick, chaste, but something inside Ash sparks, and when Honey pulls away she leaves the faintest residue of cherry chapstick on Ash’s lips.

“Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!” Honey’s off again with the rest of her monologue, still holding Ash close, and Ash has to fight to keep from smiling. It’s not how their first kiss should have gone, though Ash has never really considered how it should go, but it doesn’t feel as hollow as she thought it would.

When they get to the costume parade, it’s strange. The clothes don’t sit quite right; they’re sourced rather than made, though it’s what the budget allowed so Ash wouldn’t begrudge them, but it feels strange to be wearing things that she had no say in. It’s been years since someone else dressed her, and she can feel every which way the garment doesn’t fit right. They’ve got her in a high-waisted, forest green skirt, and a short-sleeved floral blouse, and she brings her own pair of shiny, black platforms from home. The skirt has to be safety-pinned into place, and the director thinks the outfit looks better with the top button of her shirt undone, but honestly she doesn’t look half bad. Ash takes a few minutes to look at herself in the mirror of the bathroom where she’d gotten changed, a little nervous to face everyone else in costume, not sure what to expect. 

Honey is the first thing she sees when she steps into the theatre, standing patiently with her hands in her pockets as the costume designer flits around her with a can of hairspray, and the makeup artist is smudging dark eyeshadow in lieu of dirt onto her face haphazardly. It’s not her usual style, but the clothes look like they were made for her. They’ve got her in a garish, blue and pink patterned shirt, untucked, unbuttoned enough that Ash wonders why they’d bothered with buttons at all, over a pair of reasonably tight white jeans, artfully dishevelled with little rips, and dirt along her knees and shins. She looks like she’s just gotten out of a fight, a perfect counterpoint to Ash’s tight, immaculate ensemble, and when she catches Ash staring, Honey just smirks.

“You look cute,” Honey practically drawls, and Ash is suddenly acutely aware of how short her skirt is and how tight her shirt is and how she can’t bring herself to look directly at Honey herself. 

“You too,” Ash says, smiling but still avoiding Honey’s gaze as she walks past to dump her street clothes onto her bag in the audience. The director calls her over and Ash obliges, standing awkwardly next to Honey as they play with her hair, arguing about what to do with it. “Ah, not cute,” Ash amends quietly, and Honey turns to her, raises a single eyebrow, “you look quite, uh, handsome.” Honey just snorts out a laugh and looks straight ahead.

“What if we gave her a flower crown,” the costume designer tried, though the idea was quickly vetoed by the director. Put out, the costume designer dejectedly rifles through the racks of costumes and hands over what she’s calling the ‘masquerade outfits’, saying she’d get to Ash’s hair another time. 

“A costume party is a modern masquerade,” the director says blithely when Honey and Ash exchange skeptical looks, their respective costumes in hand. Ash’s has wings. Honey’s has horns. The director isn’t exactly subtle with her symbolism.

They’ve dressed Ash like an angel, and her heart is in her throat at the thought of what Honey would be wearing. Why is today of all days the moment Ash’s latent crush on her friend decides to manifest itself. Couldn’t it have waited until after the production? Ash walks into the theatre from the bathroom and she thinks she feels her heart skip a beat. 

Honey’s leaning against the proscenium arch, as if waiting for her, illuminated by the golden stage lights. She’s wearing a surprisingly well fitting red, velvet suit, a women’s cut that didn’t actually seem like it needed to be tailored all that much judging by the way it hugged her. The jacket was undone at the front, and instead of a shirt, all she was wearing beneath was a black bralet. There’s a pair of plastic horns sitting on her forehead, and an intricate red mask over her eyes. Ash is frozen in the doorframe, following Honey’s hands with her eyes as the woman lit a cigarette and slid the lighter back into her pocket. 

“Hey Space Cadet,” Honey’s grin is all teeth, sharp, like she knows exactly what Ash is thinking, or not thinking as the case may be, all thoughts having left Ash’s head the moment Honey had smiled at her, looking as good as she did.

“You guys look fantastic,” the director enthused. Ash blinked quickly beneath her own mask, looking away from Honey as she moved to hang up her other costume, before standing patiently as the director and the costume team looked between the two girls, deliberating, making notes.

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand,” Honey begins quietly, making her way to Ash with that snake-charmer smile of hers, reciting lines from the masquerade off the top of her head, “This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” Before Ash can comprehend what’s happening, Honey’s got a hand on her cheek, thumb brushing her cheekbone. She’s so close, Ash can smell her perfume and the smoke from the cigarette in her other hand, can see the little gold flecks in Honey’s eyes where she’s looking at Ash like-

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tease me,” Ash rolled her eyes, tone quietly derisive, taking Honey’s hand and lowering it from her face gently, stepping away where the taller woman was getting too close for Ash’s comfort.

“I’m running lines,” Honey countered, but stepped back, giving the ginger her space, the easy playfulness disappearing quickly, her smile tight as she took another drag from her cigarette. “You were struggling last time we ran this one, weren’t you?” She asks, piqueing an eyebrow, but it was far more clinical than Ash was used to her being.

“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this;” Ash rattles off slowly, frowning slightly as she recalled the lines. When Honey recites her lines, they’re flat, and she stops dead mid-sentence when the director calls them to attention, turning away from Ash with an almost comically sharp turn. It’s as if the temperature of the room has dropped ten degrees, and the silk slip dress they’ve got Ash in for her masquerade does little to hide the goose bumps that lift along her arms. 

They’re the last two in for the fitting, since the director had wanted to spend the most time with them, and she suggests to everyone that they go get drinks after. Ash hesitates for a moment, looks to Honey who, like Ash herself, was back in plain clothes, but Honey doesn’t look at her, she’s fishing around her tote bag for her wallet, not even looking up at the offer. Ash agrees, and to her surprise, so does Honey.

Honey makes conversation with everyone but Ash at the bar, and Ash has it in her to be a little offended. Of course she’s also concerned, uncertain of what had made Honey’s mood turn so quickly, but when Honey physically leaves to get out of a conversation Ash had joined, it feels very pointed; it feels like an insult.

“What’s your problem?” It comes out very sharp, and Ash isn’t drunk enough to say that she didn’t mean it that way. She has to corner Honey by the bathroom. Honey looks her over for a moment, drunker than Ash is but doing a good job of acting like she’s not. She’s still got a little eyeshadow on her cheekbone and Ash has to fight against her impulse to reach out and rub it away.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Honey says, voice flat, looking over her shoulder at where the others were seated, talking and enjoying the night amongst themselves. “I think I’m gonna take off.” She doesn’t leave room for arguments or confusion as she slips away from Ash as the ginger is still trying to process what she’d said.

Rehearsals are… strange after that. Honey’s reserved in her performance, not in a way that anyone’s able to accurately pinpoint, but she holds back from touching Ash, from getting to close, from giving her starry-eyed looks as she’d once done. They do full run-throughs and Honey kisses her quick when scripted, but the initial playfulness, the flirty edge to her lines, it had vanished. Ash, for her part, has her lines down, but her heart’s not in it. 

Speaking of her heart; despite how cold Honey had been, that traitorous crush of hers refused to disappear, in fact, it just grew stronger. Honey barely looked at her, barely touched her, and her heart grew heavier with each passing rehearsal.

“It feels like you’re just going through the motions,” the director scrubs her hand over her face during the cue-to-cue; it was the middle of tech week and everyone was already tired. Ash was sweating beneath the lights, sitting up on her balcony, legs dangling over the edge. Honey was leaning against the set piece just below her. 

“We are; this about the tech, not us,” Honey rolled her eyes, sliding down the structure to sit, arms crossed over her chest; she’d been smart, had worn shorts despite how cold it is outside, as if anticipating how warm the stage could get under lights.

“Honey, could I talk to you for a moment?” There’s a softness about the director’s words as she looks between her two leads; Ash has her head resting against the banister, expression teetering on the forlorn side of neutral, Honey had her left foot tucked beneath her right thigh, and was refusing to look at anywhere but a single scuff mark on the stage, “come on everyone, quick water in, water out, be back here in ten minutes to pick up from the start of act two, scene two - Honey?” She offered her hand, and the brunette took it, hauling herself to her feet and following the director from the theatre. 

While the rest of the cast and crew scattered like cockroaches when the lights get turned on, Ash stays where she is, idly swinging her legs. She doesn’t feel dehydrated, just a little disheartened, her fingers curling around the bars of the banister, while she sulked. The man playing Mercutio offered to get her waterbottle, but she gave him a small smile, waving him off. 

The moment Honey bursts back into the room, she’s radiating frustration like Ash has never seen before, making a beeline for her bag and coat in the audience.

“Ash, Honey’s going to grab some lunch and we’re going to have the stage manager fill in; could you go with her?” The director asked, voice painfully innocent, and suddenly Honey’s mood made sense.

“Yeah, I mean I guess,” Ash sighs, finally standing and making her way down from the balcony. She’s glad to be out from under the lights, but the way Honey’s making a face like she’d just bitten a lemon fills her with apprehension. After pulling on her coat, Ash carefully collects up her things, looking around for Honey herself before being told that she’d already left.

They sit, unmoving, in Honey’s car for almost a full two minutes. Silent.

“She wants us to talk about whatever’s bothering us, doesn’t she?” Ash asks carefully. Honey turns the keys in the ignition instead of answering, peeling out of the carpark and heading down the road.

“Nothing’s bothering me,” Honey’s voice was eerily level, though her expression said otherwise, “I’m just trying not to overstep my bounds, you know? Fuck, I’m trying to be respectful, what’s her problem?” There’s nothing Ash can say to break the silence; she can’t look away from Honey’s white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. As time passes, as they get closer to whatever destination Honey has in mind, the tension in her shoulders eases, her grip on the wheel loosens a little, and she reaches over, turns on the radio.

“You weren’t the reason I was uncomfortable,” Ash finally hears herself say, and it’s not exactly the truth, it is in the way that Honey takes it. She can’t outright say that she’d developed feelings for Honey, and that having her so close, she might clue into Ash having those feelings. “I like working with you Honey, I just have my own shit going on sometimes that’s got nothing to do with you.” Another lie.

Honey’s jaw tightens for a moment before she sighs, and pulls over into a parking spot.

“We’re here.”

They get take out together, and eat in Honey’s car, and the mood has shifted to something more familiar, more comfortable. Ash feels like she can breathe again.

“We’ve been doing this shit for months,” Ash half grins as they’re pulling back into the carpark behind the theatre, and Honey gives her a confused look, “if you’d made me uncomfortable, I would have definitely told you by now.”

By the time they get back, the cue-to-cue is up to Scene Four, and the discovery of Juliet’s body, and the woman playing Lady Capulet is wailing as Ash and Honey sneak in the back. Even at a glance the director can tell that whatever had been off between them had been fixed. 

The next day was a dress run, followed by a tech run, and Ash could feel her heart in her throat. From side of stage she watches Honey laugh and make merry with her fellow Montagues, leaning herself against Mercutio to wax poetic about Rosaline, that melodramatic playfulness having come back in full force, lifting the whole performance. 

And then there she is, making her way on stage dressed as an angel, with Lord Capulet, and Honey’s wearing that red devil ensemble that makes Ash’s mouth go dry, and the music starts. She tries to keep her mind on the steps of the dance while people spoke their lines around her, and it manages to catch her by surprise when she looks to Honey, and sees the woman gazing back at her with adoration in her eyes.

“She doth teach the candles to burn bright,” Honey sighs, and Ash feels herself turning pink, and she has to turn away, dancing along with the rest of the ensemble.

The music at the end of the dance ends and the ensemble begins to filter out, leaving Ash and Honey alone on stage. Ash laughing gently, waving goodbye to her dance partner as Tybalt and Lord Capulet finish their lines and leave the stage. Ash, walking backwards, runs into Honey, as is scripted, and when Honey catches her, she holds Ash gently by the shoulders.

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand,” she pauses for a moment, her hand sliding down Ash’s arms to hold her wrists gently, she looks to Ash’s eyes for silent permission, a confirmation that it’s okay, that she’s not uncomfortable as she’d been the last time they’d been this close, saying these lines. Ash, in turn, looks at Honey with awe, with wonder, eyes large and shining with intrigue. She nods almost imperceptibly. “This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” Taking Ash’s hand in one of her own, she steps close, her thumb brushing Ash’s palm, gentle, flirty smile adorning her lips as her other hand comes up to cup Ash’s cheek.

“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,” she tells Honey in earnest, taking the hand from her face with her own free hand, leaning into her touch for a moment before removing the hand from her face, “which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,” Ash holds out their linked hands towards the audience, carefully and deliberately linking their fingers together, “and palm to palm,” voice gentle, but still projecting, she looks back to Honey, “is holy palmers' kiss.” 

“Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?“ Honey asks, stepping back and pulling a cigarette from her pocket, as they added into the blocking the week before. Ash watches for a moment as the cigarette is lit, musing.

“Ay, pilgrim,” Ash agrees with a small smile, “lips that they must use in prayer.” She said pointedly as Honey gives her a sharp grin around the cigarette. But she doesn’t move back, and Honey steps up to her, her cigarette balanced between her fingers as her other hand cards through Ash’s hair.

“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;” and she’s stepping Ash backwards, which hadn’t been scripted, though the director doesn’t call for the scene to halt, “they pray, grant thou,” Ash’s back hits the proscenium arch, and her expression is so open, so confused and a little thrilled at this turn of events, “lest faith turn to despair.”

“Saints do not move,” Ash’s words tumble from her lips very pointedly, though she’s a little breathless, looking up at Honey, who’s smiling in a way that she knows isn’t an act, “though grant for prayers' sake.”

“Then move not,” Honey smirks, “while my prayer's effect I take.” And while Honey leans in, Ash bounces up on her toes to meet her, curling her arms around Honey’s neck and kissing her hard. There it is again, that spark, that something, and Ash’s heart is singing with triumph, even if it is meant to be just for the stage. When she pulls back, Ash’s mouth is stained with Honey’s red lipstick, and the woman in red is smirking. 

“Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.” Honey’s wearing a triumphant smile, and she leans away just a little to take a draft of her cigarette. 

“Then have my lips the sin that they have took.“ Ash is smiling, bright and adoring and playful when she takes Honey’s face in her hands, pulling the taller woman back to her.

“Sin from thy lips?” Honey asks with an amused chuckle, smoke tumbling out with her words, hanging golden in the air between them, “O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.” She seems more than happy to let herself be pulls back in to meet Ash for another kiss. 

When they’re on the same wavelength, something magical happens. There’s chemistry between them, the way they seem to anticipate the other without even seeming to realise it. They play off of each other so well, so comfortable with each other, and the director could chalk it up to the two of them knowing each other before the play, being close friends before the project, but that’s not how friends look at each other, on stage or off. 

Tech week leads into show week, and every show in the lead up to opening night is brimming with that same electric chemistry, and none of the crew in the audience can seem to look away. The director thanks them for working out whatever had been plaguing them both, the wording of which has both Ash and Honey rolling their eyes, though the director looks incredibly pleased with herself. 

“You wanna grab a drink?” Honey asks after the preview, for which they’d received glowing praise from the few people and one journalism student who was reviewing that they’d invited along. By now, the panic and nerves were starting to set in for Ash, and she’d agreed without hesitation.

Ash is on her third cider when Honey tells her that she’d invited Queen to opening night. Ash gives such a start, having been taking a sip of her drink, that ciders comes out her nose. Honey passes her napkins, but she’s also laughing; Ash seems much less pleased.

“Roger and Freds are never going to let me live this down,” she grumbled, and Honey’s smile widened.

“It’s not them you’ve gotta worry about, I’m the one with access to the production photos,” Honey reminds her, and Ash’s expression drops. “I’m probably gonna get them framed, maybe get one of you in that angel outfit printed out wallet sized for Freddie, you know he’d love that.” The worst part is that she’s right, he’d show it off at any opportunity, equal parts proud and wanting to embarrass Ash.

“How in the fuck am I attracted to you when you actively try to ruin my life?” Ash sighed forlornly, taking another big gulp of her drink. Her own words take a moment to register, but Honey is already talking.

“Have you seen my face and my ass? There’s your answer.” It’s so blithe, her tone incredibly matter-of-fact, and she finishes it off by taking a sip of her own beer. After a beat, Ash takes a deep breath, looking straight ahead.

“So did they say yes to the invite?” Ash asks, and Honey laughs, low and amused.

“‘course they did.”

And another silence fills the space between them, Ash’s heart hammering hard against her ribs as she considers her next words very carefully. Turning on her stool, she faces Honey, expression uncharacteristically serious.

“Is it- is it normal to develop, like, feelings for your costar in these sorts of things?” She asks tentatively, and Honey’s lips twist into a smile, and she turns carefully, regarding a sort-of drunk Ash with affection.

“I haven’t actually been in too many of these before,” she admits, “you know my forte’s singing-”

“Honey, I love you.”

For just a moment, Honey’s usually cool facade breaks with a moment of panic; she sits up straight, eyebrows raised, mouth pressed into a thin line. Ash’s stomach drops, and after a beat, she’s apologising, but Honey takes her hand.

“Love’s a very strong word, Ash, and you’re drunk.” She says it gently, and Ash, for the moment, is terrified that she’d completely misread the situation. She wants to protest that she’s not that drunk, but Honey’s thumb is brushing against the back of her hand comfortingly, still speaking, “we can have this conversation tomorrow.” It’s far more diplomatic than Ash had expected her to be, but she can’t help but frown.

“If you’re trying to let me down, I’d rather have this conversation now, so I can repress it in time for opening night.” 

That’s enough to get Honey to laugh, and she gives Ash’s hand a squeeze.

“Listen, babe, that’s absolutely not the conversation we’re having, as long as you still mean what you said tomorrow.” And she pauses for a moment before sliding from her bar stool and in between Ash’s legs, taking the ginger’s face in her hands and pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Ash’s mouth. 

They get into two separate taxis outside of the bar, and Ash, who still isn’t that drunk, spends an hour on her bed staring at the ceiling, marvelling over the past few months and everything that had happened. The next day she’s a bundle of nerves, and jumps when there’s a knock at her door.

“Your RA let me in.”

It’s Honey, who’d arrived early enough to take Ash to get dinner before the show. Ash scrambles from where she’d been trying to read on her bed, getting to her feet and making her way to Honey, who’s leaning in her doorframe when she opens the door.

“I mean it. I still mean it, absolutely,” Ash greets her with. Honey’s smile is all teeth.

“Hello to you too,” she murmurs, leaning down to actually kiss Ash. Ash, surprised by this turn of events, is quick to kiss back, her hands finding Honey’s hips, pulling the taller woman closer and smiling against her lips.

“I don’t think I’m quite at love,” Honey begins, pulling back for a moment, and Ash’s eyebrows rise, the barest hint of amusement on her lips.

“Babe, I was drunk last night, and you’re right, love is a very strong word,” Ash is quick to assure her, and she sees the barest moment of relief pass over Honey, before she’s smiling again, her arms around Ash’s neck.

“But I-” she paused, actually hesitated a little, “but there’s definitely feelings, probably,” she’s gone a bit quiet, like part of her doesn’t want to be admitting even this much, and Ash’s smile grows wider, grows far more endeared.

“Probably?” 

“Probably.” Honey actually flushes, but she lets herself smile, lets herself get pulled in to another kiss. 

Ash is the one who steps back this time, grabbing her coat, keys, and wallet, taking Honey’s hand as she closed the door to her room. Honey’s the one that links their fingers together as they head down the stairs to the car. They get trash food together, eating greasy burgers in Honey’s car as they waiting in the carpark behind the theatre for their call time, having arrived far too early. 

Honey’s smoking, her hand on Ash’s thigh as the ginger reads their first review in the university newspaper that Honey had picked up earlier that day. They get four out of five stars and Ash is wide-eyed, closing the paper loudly and bewilderedly musing that she never expected this.

“Which part?” Honey asks with a half-smile, cigarette balanced between her lips where she tips her head to her shoulder to look at Ash. 

“Any of it,” Ash answers honestly, taking the cigarette from Honey’s lips and having a drag herself. Honey smiles, can’t help herself.

“Who knew you were a half decent actor,” she snickered, and Ash flushed, folding up the paper, musing on the statement as smoke sat in her lungs.

“Nah,” she finally breathed out, gaze a little glassy as she looked through the windshield, the cigarette loose in her fingers, “those four stars are all yours; singing’s your forte, yeah sure, but anything you do on stage is stellar.” As soon as the words leave her lips, Honey’s gentle hand is on her cheek, guiding Ash to face her, to kiss her, and Ash laughs gently before their lips meet. It’s sweet, tastes of smoke and something else that’s just naturally Honey; Honey’s kissed her like it’s meant something plenty of times on stage over the past week, but never like this, never so intimate, so gentle. This isn’t a performance. 

Ash is the one who moves, but she doesn’t break the kiss, instead she carefully maneuvers herself, climbs over the stick shift and into Honey’s lap. Honey hums appreciatively, takes back the cigarette and inhales as Ash peppers kisses down her neck and across her collar. When Ash leans back, just a little, she takes Honey’s face in her hands and her smile is blinding. She looks so fond, so proud, and though Honey’s answer smile is much fainter, Ash knows the woman well enough to recognise the affection in her eyes. She kisses her again.

The show is the best they’d done so far, their flirting banter coming as naturally as breathing, and when Honey kisses Ash against the proscenium arch, they hear someone in the audience whistle - Honey thinks it was Roger, but then concedes when Ash says that it was probably Freddie, which they later find out it was.

“I read the review this morning,” Brian tells Ash after the show; she’s out before Honey, who has to wipe the fake dirt from her face, and Queen are waiting for them by the stage door. Each of them wraps her up in a hug in turn, Freddie going so far as to tuck her under his arm once the others had had their turn; he was almost painfully proud. “You guys deserved the full five stars.”

“Well this show was better than the one we did for the preview,” Ash laughs a little, cheeks turning a little pink at the praise. She patted down her pockets, looking for her cigarettes.

“Shame that,” John mused, regarding her fondly, offering her a lighter when she found them, “you did a really stand out job, you know?”

“Who knew you had it in you,” Roger’s beaming, and he leans forward, pinching her cheek, and Ash swats at him, playing at being irritated. That’s about the time Honey emerges, and there’s yet another round of hugs and of praise, but once they’ve all stepped back, Honey slings a casual arm around Ash’s shoulders.

“We’re heading to celebratory drinks, you guys wanna come?” She asks the band, before turning to Ash, wondering aloud if the director or the rest of the cast would mind. Ash shrugged, told her ‘probably not’, before they have a quiet moment of celebration between themselves.

“One show down,” Honey mused, voice dropping low, speaking almost into Ash’s ear.

“We did it!” Ash agreed, passing her the cigarette, smiling as Honey pecked her lips before taking it.

“If either of you-” a voice interupts them, and there, sticking herself between Brian and John, is the director, pointing at Ash and Honey, “show up with a hickey tomorrow, you’re out of the play.” She warned, before heading towards the carpark.

“I know how to cover a hickey!” Honey calls to her, as Ash is apologising quickly, and the rest of the band is struggling to decide whether it’s funny or bewildering. “She’s kidding,” Honey rolls her eyes, “we don’t have understudies.”

“How did she even know we were- ?” Before Ash can get the full question out, she catches Freddie’s very pointed look where Honey’s arm was around her shoulder, and she realised just how close they were.

“Everyone who just watched the show can tell you two are together,” Brian tells her, and Ash flushes, pressing her face against Honey’s shoulder, who’s chuckling. Her grip on Ash tightens; she pulls her closer. After a moment, she’s asking if the guys want to come to drinks, and they’re all agreeing eagerly, always ready to take any chance to get drunk. 

Honey drives her car back to her apartment and leaves it there, since the walk from her place to the pub they were all meeting at was only fifteen minutes. She and Ash talk the whole way there, arm in arm, and a cheer rises when they step through the doors, most everyone else having arrived before them. 

Crammed into a booth with her cast and her friends, with Honey’s arm around her, her hand on Honey’s knee, it feels right. Performing is a strange and wonderful experience, and though she’s pretty sure she’s happier behind the scenes, she can’t deny the rush that is the stage. Or perhaps she just gets that rush from the way Honey smiles at her.

[arogyalaxmi]

Ayurvedic Guideline Covid-19 Future Plans suggested!

Ayurvedic guidelines – COVID 19

Ayurveda is the ancestral wisdom of our country and has deep rooted,time tested, experience based,popular system with vast availability in  every household kitchen medicine in India. Ayurveda has the strong concepts of prevention of endemics-epidemics- pandemics by boosting personal immunity-ojus, improving agni & rejuvenating Dhatus. Correcting Societal collapse (Janpadodhvansa) – for correction and treat the air , water , place and seasonal calamities by spraying medicines in form of fumigation, powder sprinklinging yagya, havan, dhoopan etc. Apart from prevention it has sound basis for treatment of unsaid newer diseases and eradication with rehabilitative methodology.

In China where this disease is said to be successfully controlled by integrative use of herbal formulations

More than half of N corona19 viral cases in Hubei were treated with traditional Chinese medicine: Official

The Chinese government has also approved field trials for experimental US antiviral drug, Remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients. The death toll in China’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has climbed to 1,523 with 143 new fatalities reported mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province while the confirmed cases jumped to over 66,000.

PTI| Last Updated: Feb 15, 2020, 03.49 PM IST

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/more-than-half-of-coronavirus-cases-in-hubei-treated-with-traditional-chinese-medicine-official/articleshow/74148776.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Author links open overlay panelLiseAlschulerabAndrewWeilbcRandyHorwitzabPaulStametsdAnnMarieChiassonabRobertCrockerabVictoriaMaizesabhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2020.03.007

Suggestions for the Integrative management of COVID 19 DISEASE

1.

Awareness of population about do’s and don’t’s to keep themselves safe

A.

Generating an AYUSH APP and TOLL FREE NO to provide authentic  information and receiving the data

B.

Create special online training and protective module for AYUSH PERSONNELS

C.

Release of Ayurvedic health preservation guide lines should be released on all short of media

D.

Supplying immunity boosting medicated foods, drinks

2.

A separate task force should be constituted to deal and monitor with situation at level of various sectors of ayurveda

i) Colleges and Hospitals for data collections

ii) States and Central govt AYUSH officers

iii) Rural physicians through district authorities

iv) All PG /PhD scholars and Interns of every college should be involved as active skilled medicos.

v) Nasya, Dhoopan, Kwath and Pathya and immunity boosting foods supply chain

vi) For drug manufacturing and procurement centers

vii) Expert team for strategic policies according the situations

viii) Private sector clinicians and hospitals

ix)  Data centers

3.

Differential diagnosis of Covid 19 and common diseases of Pranvaha srotas ( kasa, shwasa, praishyaya, peenas)

4.

Prevention of spread of COVID19 virus

Stage 1 – precautions to be followed by community here doctors participation not needed

i) Sanitization & Social distancing : Measures suggested by WHO (conventional medicines) such as social distancing (keeping a distance of one meter), washing of hands, covering mouth and nose, should be followed.

In addition following measures according to Ayurveda for washing hands with a decoction of Panchavalkala kwath, triphala, turmeric, neem with bearable temperature at least twice in a day can be replaced/add on.

ii) Kavalagraha – (Gargling) Gandusha and Kawal Dharan: should be followed by simple sesame oil, or medicated Jatyadi tailam and with warm watergargles with turmeric and salt.

iii) Nasal instillation (nasya) of preferably “Anu taila ” or pure sesame oil /  desi cow ghee 4-6  drops twice a day.

iv) Dhoompan: followed by dhumapan (Ayurvedic herbal smoking) like vidang/ haridra/ malkanguni/ ghee or by steam inhalation of above said kwath.

v) Dhupana: like in the form of Agnihotra with Ayurvedic herbs like   Vacha, guggulu, camphor should done at least at the time of Sunrise and Sunset in homes, clinics, hospitals.

vi) Panam: Drink the treated and boiled water only preferably warm with     shunthi, jeeraka, dalchini, nagarmotha, rakta chandan

vii) Ashanam :Eat warm fresh  simple, homemade, natural / organic food considering individuals digestive power. Moong dal, brown rice, seasonal vegetables with ghee and avoid market ready food ,including paneer and snacks

viii) Vyayama: Regular exercise for 20-40 minutes

ix) Yoga – Regular practice of Yoga Protocol including Paranayama

x) Nidra:adequate sleep for 7-8 hours at night. Avoid day time sleep

xi) Brahmcharya: good daily regimen according to season, avoid excessive sex , visual or audible exciting materials.

Stage 2.

Protective Regimens Where participation of Ayurveda physicians is required

i. Train the Ayurveda physicians, paramedical staff to protect themselves and their patients with low immunity, and the persons who have been in contact or may be in contact with CORONA VIRUS affected patients. These all are prone to this infection and need protective measures.

Provide update knowledge to these workers regarding primary signs & symptoms, Mode of transmission, natural history of the disease, its complications (Udarka).

Follow all above measures very strictly for this category, who are prone to this disease. Additional measures for improving the immunity may be as follows:

ii. Drink; The treated and boiled water only to be taken, preferably warm and cooked with shunthi, jeeraka, dalchini, nagarmotha, rakta chandan, khas, sugandhabala.

Drink water boiled with gold, lukewarm in sips. Use copper vessels as much as possible.

Drink desi cow milk boiled with equal quantity of water along with gold, reduced to quantity ofmilk, with a pinch of turmeric.

iii. Primary medications : Sudarshanghan vati, sanjeevani vati , Guduchi Ghana Vati (samshamani) 2 tablets twice/ thrice a day with cow milk or hot water to be given.

laxmivilas nardeeya,Laxminarayana rasa, Rasayana churna ( Aswagandha, Giloya, Gokshur equal part) half teaspoonful twice a day with ghee and honey is to be given.

iv. minimum Do’s (Pathya) and Don’ts (apathy) be added as

Apathya – To be Avoided

i)  Kapha vardhak and drying the kapha dravyas like

ii) Eggs, Meat

iii) Avoid kanda and salads

iv) Udad dal, Chana dal

v) Paneer, Curd, Cheej, Ice creams,

vi) Gobhi, aloo,  mashrooms, ladies fingure

vii) Banana, apple, chikoo

viii) Junk foods like Pizza, burger, hotdog,Biscuits, maggy, Maida products, Snacks, and Soya freezed items,

Pathya –Very cautiously use kaphanashak (but not with drying kapha and pitta vardhaka never use vata vardhaka)

i) Drink medicated water as specified earlier

ii) Ghrit bharjit niburasa bhavit ginger with marich and ajwain

Or Ghrit bharjit haridra,

iii)  Madhuyashti, tulsi, kantakari, gojihwa, Banaphsa, Shleshmantak kwath thrice a day

iv) Yava saktuk with ghee and madhu

v) Moong dal with ghee

vi) Pomgranate,Grapes, Amalaki

vii) Anjeer munakka kharjur with kalimirch ajwain kala namak

viii) Use fresh warm half boiled steamed and ghrit bharjit seasonal vegetables

ix) Regular use of giloya, kalmegha, dugdhika, haridra, phant

x) Panchkola srit yavagu

xi) Mahasudarshan Ghan Vati, Shanshamani Vati

xii) Drakshavaleha, Brahmrasayana, Chyavanprash, Madifal Rasayana

xiii) Yoga is to be regularly followed for combating stress and depression. Proper sleep is necessary.

5.

Management of COVId 19 with the active participation of eminent, experienced AYUSH practitioners

CORONA affected cases may be categorised and managed as follows :

A. General population management for prevention (already covered in Stage 1 &2

B. Quarantined Peoples Not tested positive,

1. High Risk – These patients should be treated by medicines already described in Part 1 & 2 with proper pathyapathya.

High risk groups patients suffering from co-morbidities should be treated for these problems

Rasayana drugs for challenged organs

2. Low Risk Group – (PREVENTIVE CARE) – use of Sudarshan Ghana Vati, ShanshamaniVati, NaradiyaLaxmi Vilas Rasa<tribhuvanKirti Rasa. Shilajeet , abhrak bhasma, vishana bhasma, 64 prahari pippal, pipplyasava, amrit bhallaka can be used if required

C. Tested positive,

1. Asymptomatic –

2. Mildly Symptomatic – (CLINICAL CARE),

3. Tested Positive: Full blown but no serious complications – (SUPPORTIVE CARE) can be managed in modern hospitals as an add on therapy

4. Full blown disease with complications –these patients should be treated under the supervision of ICU staff only. Proper rejuvenation of the active patients of CVD 19 as their vital organs have been challenged and become susceptible to various diseases in future.

D. Recovery Phase:

1. Tested Negative – After recovery as per modern diagnostic tools which means the swab culture test negative with recovering of major respiratory symptoms the patients may be categorised by Doctors as cured should be followed for at least 45 days and provided Rasayana therapy and organ specific Rasayana so that the organs specially lungs recover fully and patient does not relapses as is happening in China.

2. Residual disabilities and dysfunctions

3.  Prevention of recurrence in recovered cases with emphasis on lifestyle, food habits, exercise and yoga for building up immunity. Rasayan therapy for revitalization of organs(REHABILITATIVE CARE).

Emphasis on general immunity to fight any communicable or even non-communicable disease in any way is necessary as a long term measure. These have to be followed strictly to avoid recurrence in disease-free cases

Clinical classification based on presentation of symptoms is more important because some patients present with gastrointestinal symptoms, some with upper respiratory symptoms and some with lower respiratory symptoms, some also have skin eruptions, myalgia and arthralgia

6.

To train the ayurveda fraternity for fighting the “Janpadodhvasa” by classical measures to prevent the Jala, Vayu, Desha and Kala Dushti

Lot of  knowledge and understanding regarding the process of Janapadodhwnsa is available for which Ayurvedic graduates should be trained vigorously. Most of these regimens are common for all endemics, epidemic and pandemics hence students for these measures should be trained. They should be trained to follow :

a. Nidanaparivarjan – Preventive measure – personal, social global

b. Apakarshan – General and disease specific

c. Prakriti Vighata – Use of Rasayana to make the target organ more resistant to onslaught of disease

7.

Conducting research projects under proper protocols with ethical and legal clearance

Common cough (Kasa)

Common cough with fever

Common cough with nasal discharge

Cough with cold and low grade fever with allergic rhinitis

N Corona 19

Sashlema kasa

With angamarda

Productive cough

With low grade fever and kasa Productive cough

With low grade fever  Nasal discharge and cough

cough and severe running nose    itching with low grade fever

Anosmia, tonsillitis, sore throat

Fever

Cough

shortness of breath.

sputum production

Headache

Myalgia/ Arthralgia

Diarrhoea

abdominal pain

disease may progress to pneumonia, multi-organ failure, and death.

Integrative considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Diagnosing COVID19 affected patients in Ayurvedic perspective is an expert’s job. Ayurveda emphasizes on holistic approach with equal or even more consideration of the host, i.e. the patient. The Agni (digestive power), the bodily strength, the mental strength play an important role in the recovery of patients.

Janapadodhwansa(Pollution particularly of atmosphere causing single disease to all), Sankramaka diseases(spreading from person to person), Agantuja jwara, Vatakaphaja jwara, Sannipatika jwara are few conditions described in the texts match to certain extent in these cases.

Though Ayurvedic treatment is personalised, some protocols can be decided with probable Ayurvedic diagnosis based on above mentioned conditions.

In addition, Diet regimen has to be followed as per Ayurvedic principles.

Even while following conventional treatment, Ayurvedic diet regimen should be followed, along with Yoga practices for combating stress and depression.

In short, Ayurvedic practitioners should actively participate in the treatment of COVID 19 infected patients.

Artical by:

Vaidya Shrikrishna Sharma Khandel               Vaidya Madhaw Singh Baghel

[ladyhistorypod]

Ep 44: Return Flight: The Pilot Pilot Remastered

Sources:

ABC News 10: Last known letter sent before Amelia Earhart’s disappearance found

The rest of our sources can be found on our original post.

Click below for a transcript of this episode!

Haley: You’re trying to force my wisdom out of me that’s not gonna work well.

Lexi: She’s trying to force us to become Chicago improv-ers

(Alana laughing)

Haley: Yeah

Lexi (laughing): This is her dream. Alana’s dream is not to do improv but to be a podcaster like a Chicago improv-er

Alana (laughing, quietly): Actually, yeah

Haley: It’s so funny cuz she was just like I wrote the script and I was like… script?

Lexi: There’s a script? We have a script?

Haley: I act now? (Alana laughing) I barely read. (Lexi laughing) Like after that doing the trailer this is gonna be bananas for when I’m – when I’m reading my notes

Lexi: Archaeologists don’t read. Archaeologists can’t read.

Alana: Archaeologists don’t read.

Lexi: We can’t read.

Haley: I also realized Lexi just picks like the best sounding… whatever

Lexi: The best sounding banter and then I put in the intro music

[INTRO MUSIC]

Alana: Hello and welcome to Lady History: the good, the bad, and the ugly ladies you missed in history class. I’m here with Lexi. Lexi, what are you reading?

Lexi: The instructions on how to turn off this Zoom call because I need to get outta here.

(Alana and Haley laughing)

Alana: I’m also in the same virtual space as Haley. Haley, what are you eating?

Haley: I had some chips and yogurt earlier.

Lexi: Together?

Alana: Chips and yogurt?

Haley: Yeah. That’s like a REAL Persian thing. We can get into that… Oh, the stunned faces, I shouldn’t have– I should’ve lied.

(Lexi and Alana laughing)

Haley: I should’ve lied okay, I’m eating burgers and fries. I’m eating mac n cheese. Insert whatever.

Alana: and I’m Alana and I use 150% of the garlic a recipe calls for.

Haley: (making airplane sounds)

Lexi:  What sound does an airplane make?

Alana (quietly): I don’t even remember

Haley: (repeats airplane sound)

(Lexi laughing)

Alana: You guys it’s been so long since I’ve been on an airplane I don’t even remember what noise airplanes make.

Lexi: I was detained at the airport in Israel. Kind of.

Alana: Jesus, Lexi what did you do?!.

Lexi: So I was with a group, I was coming back from a dig… In case you don't know we're all archaeologists I feel like I've made that joke already. I was leaving the excavation… And with people from a different school but the most of the people on the dig were from my school but only I was leaving with the people from the other school and so when I got to the airport the nice Israeli woman asked if I was with those people and I said no I'm not with them because I went to a different school but then when they got through they said they were with me and they caught us in our lie and so they detained us for three hours.

Haley: That's why you got detained?! 

Lexi: Yes.

Haley: I got detained for looking like me and having my name.

Lexi: We all have our different qualities. 

Alana: I have never been detained at an airport.

Lexi: Airports are nerve-wracking. They’re very anxiety-inducing.

Alana: So much anxiety… anyway.

Lexi:  And the food's always bad.

Haley: I'll jump right in. So obviously, someone had to cover Amelia Earhart and I'm like a dumbass like I'm just gonna put it out there. I am– I still need some working on in the brain area and when I was little like my brain works in strange ways and you’ll learn about this as we go on with this podcast and even I think you two don't even understand how my brain works exactly but I'll remember things just in the pockets of my brain folds from like when I was a small child. When I was like learning about Amelia Earhart in like the elementary school days for like women's history month I spelled her name as air A-I-R. and heart H-E-A-R-T. And that's–

Alana (quietly): Love that for you

Haley: Absolutely not how you spell her name. It’s E-A-R-H-R-T.

Alana: A-R-T.

Haley: A-R-T.

Lexi: Still can’t spell it.

Haley: Still can’t spell it...

(Alana laughing)

Haley: While looking at the words on my screen. And I typed it in like my child version way into my Word doc and it wasn't coming out and I was just looking at it like why isn't this working for me. Googled it, got like air heart sign like all this astrology stuff like not Amelia so I just typed in airheart because I was on a roll with myself. Regardless, her nickname is Lady Lindy so I’m gonna call her Lady Lindy for this, because it’s Lady History I can’t not. So I wanna preface this that I– because with work and finishing up a summer course I had like about a day and a half to write these notes. And all my sources are decent like they're not– I didn't have time to like read a whole book of hers like she has many biographies and such and like different documentaries. But I used like children's museums, NASA, the New Yorker, History Channel, National Geographic so nothing out of the ordinary of good research. But there are so many conflicting dates and information that I almost thought I was being punked somehow. So there might be loopholes where you’re like “Haley, you have to be a decent researcher and fill this in” and I'm just leaving it out because I don't want to say anything completely wrong so I'm using like the facts that came up on like at least three of the sites. Nothing from Wikipedia is going to be on here I'll leave that one be. I’ll mention Wikipedia at one point but like it wasn't a hardcore source. Well, for Lady Lindy born in Kansas on July 24th 1894 planes were not yet invented for her flying needs yet and I'm gonna make a preface because I was looking at– I love looking at like the blogs people write because for Amelia Earhart there are just so many enthusiasts, so many people still blogging about her.

Lexi: Conspiracy theorists.

Haley: Don't worry I got you covered we're gonna go into three different like theories about her death and everything. It's truly everywhere I don't know– I can't remember what it's from, but I kind of have to do like a step back and just think if this person knew what type of plane she was flying and not like a mega Delta or like Alaska plane like this was like an old plane that could only go like a few hundred feet off the ground. So I just wanna like bring that up here from the beginning like these aren't gonna be the planes that we were just talking about that we hop on to go visit each other. Because like there are some bloggers where I’m like you know some of the conspiracy stuff but the actual facts? This is– this is not good. No bueno. She first saw a plane at a state fair when she was about ten years old, but didn't start flying for like another ten-ish years around like 1920-1921.

Alana: I don't think they let ten year olds fly.

(Lexi laughing)

Haley: Yeah absolutely not, but she was very fascinated from like that point that was like she was the plane girl. You know how we have horse girls? She was plane girl.

(Lexi laughing)

Haley: When she was able to start flying in like 1920/1921 she was the sixteenth woman to receive a pilot's license… so like wow well done. So she's not known for being like the first pilot which I saw often. People are like this is the first female pilot. No. Like because once you have your pilot’s license you're a pilot in like my book. And I guess like you could be just a female and just be like this is my plane now I'm gonna press the button and go zoom.

Lexi: Do you need a license to be a pilot? Like if I’m in a plane and I’m flying it, aren’t I a pilot?

Alana (quietly): Oh my god.

Haley: So, she's training a lot and she's really into it and her popularity keeps growing because she just keeps trying to get into different organizations especially for female flyers. And on June 17th 1928, she departed from Newfoundland. (And let me just do a preface to the universe if I do not pronounce something right, kindly call me out on it) Which is a large island off of, like, off the North Americas near Canada so up north from us with pilots Bill and Slim. Those are their nicknames, but it's Wilmer Schultz and Louis Gordon. So she was with Bill and Slim. There she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic and she later, like right after, soon after became the first woman and second person to fly across the Atlantic alone.

Lexi: Alone.

Haley: Alone. So I couldn't find any definitive research but for her– the flight that she's known for like going around the globe which, I will absolutely talk about, I don't know what alone means for these planes because when she went around the world she was with another guy. Like she was a pilot but then there'd be a navigator so theoretically there are two people.

Lexi: I think it’s without a co pilot so you don't get a break.

Haley: Yeah.

Lexi: I think when– based on my lady who we’ll get into I think anything that says solo it doesn't mean no one else was in the plane– it might mean that but it means no one else piloted while you were piloting. Like you didn’t go take a nap.

Haley: Yeah so like when we say alone, at least for Lexi and my human, there is usually a navigator so it's not her just chilling out in the plane.

Lexi: Cuz they didn't have the fancy machines.

Haley: Exactly. And her navigators are predominantly male. Or at least the two that they talked to.

Lexi: Juicy.

Haley: Yeah so it's not like a full on lady ship flying through the air.

Lexi: Lady ship flying through the air!

Haley: After this flight especially where she flies across on her own, she's just mega popular. This is where her name really becomes a household name, she probably gets the nicknames Lady Lindy, she calls herself A. E. as her own nickname. And I'm gonna just go on my own little tangent of some of the cool things and like… just tidbits about her that I found out from honestly the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis which I was like… alright here we go. The first thing is when I found out that there was the navigator I didn't realize what the navigator was. I thought like what Lexi said like it's the copilot but no. So she had to stay awake for all these trips. And I was like wait how did you do that because like I can't do that I really thought the navigator was a co pilot and you just get kind of like the… for academic papers you have the co authors but there's like the first author and the second author and you usually remember the first guy's name. But no she's flying the whole time. She didn't like coffee or tea like any like those caffeinated drinks. So she would use smelling salts to stay awake. They still have like one of the like little tiny glass bottles of smelling salts in their collection and I'm like… okay. That like creeps me out I feel like that's a little sketchy but like and probably not healthy but I'm not a medical professional so I'm not gonna give you advice.

Alana: Cocaine!

(Lexi laughing)

Haley: That's the thing I tried seeing like they were– in the collection and just like with what I was saying smelling salts, it didn't say what the smelling salts were… and I wanna know what it is.

Lexi: Yeah, you know like when a lady faints when a lady... a lady faints you give her the smelling salts.

Haley: Like 1930s smelling salts has to be mixed with something weird because we were still in the place like Coke still had cocaine.

Alana: Laced with cocaine!!

Haley: Okay yeah and then– 

Alana: I mean, we're not a hundred percent sure that it's cocaine.

Lexi: That was just– yeah.

Alana: That's just us being funny I don't wanna get sued. We don't know that it's cocaine! 

Haley: I love that now we have to preface that we're just crazy people. So the other thing that I found that this was kind of like “Oh, I should have known this” or like “this makes sense” is that you know how she has like the iconic goggles and leather cap? She hated those things. At least the goggles, she hated wearing them that's why most of the pictures she's not wearing them and it's like our drawings, depictions, us reproducing something of Amelia Earhart has the goggles. But she would put them on right before the runway and then take them off immediately at landing because like you had to wear them with the dinky planes that they had. But she still was like I'm not about it. But however what she did like was just fashion in general. She did even have like she went on to create like her own clothing line that was actually advertised in Vogue, and I'm trying to find like a copy of it. I’ll keep you all updated but yes she was part of the international organization of women's pilots. I think she even like helped create it, but it's called the Ninety Nine and it's a non profit that provided networking, mentoring, and flight scholarships or opportunities for other women and out of this they kind of have like their own like clothing line for pilots because obviously it was a male profession, for the most part. She was like the sixteenth person to get a flying license. So they kind of like created their own uniform and had their own uniform to sell. Vogue picked it up and I thought that was also really cool because she's predominantly known for flying solo across the Atlantic and attempting going around the globe which she dies in. Like she– all the things like if you just see like or at least what I did for my Google search just typing in her name all the first things will say like her death something about her death which I'm actually gonna go into right now. So her flight was in a Lockheed Electra 10 E., and her navigator was Fred Noonan. No idea, I had no idea this was a thing. She had a navigator so she wasn't alone in this. And this was their second time attempting, or at least Amelia’s second time attempting. The first time she tried taking off from California but crashed into Honolulu. This was gonna be like even longer. I think there's like one guy who did this before… I have his name even. Wiley Post had flown around the world in seven days and he was like the first aviator to accomplish this. So she was going to be like the second person but the first woman to do this and hers was gonna be even longer because she was predominantly gonna take the equator and just like go around the equator… belly of the Earth. But she didn't make it. They lost contact around like July 2nd. I think she had like seven thousand miles left. Like she was like almost there like they had like she was on this journey for a while and then there was a day of just them not having contact and this is where we also get this whole story on like what the line of events whatever that saying is… the happenings of her life get a little hairy. Like this is where like Nat Geo had one thing to say, Time magazine had another, a quick YouTube from like a documentary had like the third thing to say. But basically on July 2nd she lost contact. We really don't know what happened after that. It's not like the last contact is “we're headed for the Pacific Ocean.” So that has opened up to years and ongoing research like still happening research on what happened to her. She was declared dead after two years of her disappearance. So people like have said she's died and it's in like so it would be 1939 I believe it was like January first or January second just how the law works. And her husband, George Putnam, who’s an author, publisher, and explorer– or was he died. And she wrote to him “Please know I am quite aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail their failure must be a challenge to others.” Which… is true. So many people wanted to be Amelia and like she’s still an icon in lady history like we're doing it right now.

Haley: Haley here, with somewhat of an update or an addition to Amelia’s story from this News 10 ABC article that’s linked in the show notes… where a man in San Diego found four letters that were hand written to Captain Fred Noonan, Amelia’s navigator, giving details about their journey around like the globe. This was their big one. There was dates between 1935 and 1937, one specifically postmarked to June 23, 1937, from The Grand Hotel in Indonesia. And there are a bunch of different articles about finding these letters, and I’m just using the one to hammer out the main points, which means that we now know the last correspondence of Amelia and Noonan before disappearing. And one of the letters actually was seventeen pages long, detailing specific dates, locations, and weather challenges. So, where are these letters? The family of the letters have not decided where they should go, but the article alluded to the possibility of the letters being on display in a museum, or at some point in the eye of the public, that we could learn from and kind of get some closure on Amelia Earhart’s story and her trip around the globe.

AD BREAK

Alana: I'll go next because talking about the Night Witches, Night Witches. Just kidding, we don't, that's I. P. don't sue us. The Night Witches were an all female air regiment in World War Two in the… in Russia in the Soviet Union which I learned in my research that Russians call it The Great Patriotic War so that’s something fun

Lexi: Okay. Alright. Okay. That’s juicy.

Alana: That’s juicy. So this all female air regiment was started by a woman named Marina Raskova or the Soviet Amelia Earhart. That's like her fun little nickname. I did learn about this story from Drunk History. So obviously since we're gonna be talking about the Soviet Union during World War Two I just want to say: Stalin is a bad dude. The only good thing that Stalin ever did was fight Nazis. And that's like that one Onion it's like the Onion or some other like comedy news article and the headline just said “oh no the worst person you know just made a good point.”

Lexi: Mm. Yes.

Alana: That's how I feel about Stalin. There’s a Guardian article that I'll get to a little bit later and it interviews some of these Night Witches and they call Nazis fascists and I'm like oh honey I got some bad news for you. I got some bad news for you.

Haley: Wait hold up so you're saying like...

Alana: I’m saying that Stalin is a fascist.

Haley: No no I know but like he didn't like he said a no no to the Nazis, so like the people who are like “Nazis are chill” you're worse than Stalin is that really where you want to like, the hill you want to die on? Is being worse than Stalin? 

Lexi: That's what she said? I don’t think that’s what she said.

Alana: I don’t think that’s what I said.

Lexi: I think she just said the Night Witches don't like fascists, but the guy they loved was a fascist.

Alana: Was also a fascist.

Haley: I thought you were going– my brain just went straight to… from Stalin not liking Nazis to these girls potentially not liking Nazis and I had to be like hold up. Are you saying they’re like worse than–

Lexi: I don't think, I don't think Stalin liked Nazis and I don't think these women liked Nazis.

Haley: People shouldn’t like Nazis.

Alana: We’re gonna go on the record, we're gonna say people shouldn't like Nazis. So, I did learn about the story from Drunk History season six episode fourteen. I'm gonna reference that a couple times, the storyteller is Jess McKenna and it's very funny but that's it because they're not sponsoring us. So the Night Witches were started by Marina Raskova. She was a navigator in the Red Army so like we were saying there's someone in the plane who like tells you where to go and what to do but who isn't flying for realsies and that was what Marina did and we are on a first name basis because we're tight, we're best friends and she definitely one hundred percent has not been dead since 1943. That's just we're just tight, we’re close, me and her ghost. Not– just kidding. So women were barred from combat in the Red Army and for a lot of modern history.

Haley: Go over what the Red Army is.

Alana: The Red Army is what the army was called in the USSR that's like what they call their army was the Red Army because communism. And so the women were really only allowed slowly into the army because Russia was taking devastating, crushing, horrible losses. And Marina was getting letters from civilian women who wanted to help and they were like “Marina you're so cool you're amazing because you're fighting and we wish that we could fight” because they are losing their husbands their fathers their brothers their sons. So she goes to Stalin and says “Hey, Joseph can I… I’m like, here can I please start some all female air regiments… maybe.” And Stalin says yes. One of the articles I read implied that he maybe only said yes because he was attracted to her and, yeah, that article was written by a man. But she gets this dispensation and she gets all of these women to come in and be pilots. But now that they're in the army they're facing some sexism as is kind of to be expected tragically, tragically to be expected. They're facing sexual harassment which I mean it's still a problem in the year 2020, like nothing changes. It should but it doesn't. But more systematically they have the worst they just have bad equipment. They're getting hand me down uniforms from male soldiers that are way too big so they're like stuffing boots with socks and like everything is super baggy. But let's talk about their planes because that's what we're here for the planes, we’re here for pilots. They're flying training planes. Polikarpov PO-2 biplanes. They’re twenty years old. They’re crop dusters. They have no cockpit protection and they can't go high enough, which you wouldn't want them to because they don't have any cockpit protection. They have to fly at night because they can't go high enough to be out of view. And also, news flash, this is something fun that people might not know, this is just a fun fact. Fun fact: Russia is cold.

Lexi: I had no idea.

Alana: Yeah so these women are getting frostbite. And if you touch the plane it's like so cold that it'll burn your hand. You know what I mean?

Haley: So like, opposite of Amelia's problem.

Alana: Yeah, opposite of Amelia’s problem, exactly. So they’re just like the worst planes ever and they don’t go that high. Like normal equipment radar, radio, fucking parachutes are too heavy for these horrible planes, so they don't have parachutes until 1943. And they can only carry two bombs, each plane can only carry two bombs at a time and they have one under each wing. And so they're going back and forth from their little safety where they store the bombs they're going back to safety and then across enemy lines. And they're dropping bombs and they’re coming back and get more bombs they're going back and just like back and forth back and forth eighteen times a night. But these women are so dope and so good at everything that this is how they get the name Night Witches. It comes from the German Nacht Hexen which means night witches and the planes are too small and too quiet to show up on radar or sonar. But the sound of them coming sounds like a sweeping.

(Lexi and Haley make general noises of understanding)

Alana: So it’s like… their planes are brooms, women are riding them... they’re witches.

Haley: Right.

Alana: But these slow planes end up being kind of a blessing or like a silver lining, sort of, because the fast planes can't go slow enough to shoot them down. Because aerodynamics. Period. Like, that's why big planes need big long runways because they gotta build up enough speed so they don't fall out of the sky. But these slow planes can’t go fast, obviously, duh. News flash, fun fact: slow planes can't go fast. Fast planes can't go slow. and so it's super difficult for them to like– for the Nazi planes to attack the Night Witches’ planes because they can't like keep pace with them, even though they're slower. This 588th air regiment, which is the Night Witches, they're so badass and they're so prolific and they're killing so many Nazis that anyone who shoots down a Night Witch gets the Iron Cross which is the highest honor in the Nazi army. All you gotta do is shoot one down and you get the Iron Cross so– 

Haley: That’s like zero to sixty right there.

Alana: It's zero to sixty. So we're gonna talk about real fast just like the women themselves besides how dope and cool they are. They have twelve commandments, and the first one is “be proud that you are a woman.” I cannot find the other eleven. I have no idea what the other eleven are.

Lexi: Do the other ones matter if the first one’s that good.

Alana: I guess not. This is the gender divide in my sources as well, as the ones that men wrote were like “look they're doing all this all these like womanly things” like they would embroider and wear eyeliner and that kind of fun stuff. But women like Marina, who would look at them and who wrote that and would say be proud that you're a woman because you're doing this crazy stuff you're killing all these Nazis and you're also doing it as a woman so you’re double the badass. One of the… I'm gonna talk about Raisa Surnachevskaya who flew while she was four months pregnant. She was up in a plane, shooting down Nazis, four months pregnant. So that’s pretty dope.

Haley: Alrighty then.

Alana: And there was this camaraderie between these women especially Raisa Surnachevskaya (as I said) and Tamara Pamyatnykh and in this Guardian article from 2001 which is very, it’s so from 2001. Tamara is reminiscing about it and how she took out two bombers before being shot down and she's worried that she hadn't done enough that night and is so wo– like she is remembering looking down from the ground thinking that she left Raisa, her “wingman”– her words– her wingman all alone in the sky to fight Nazis and that was very moving to me. I would be worried if I left either of you up in the sky to fight Nazis I’d feel bad too.

(Lexi and Haley laughing)

Alana: I would. The author of that made a point to say, like he's praising these women and then he's like “today's tw–” because they were young, like young women going to fight and he’s like “today's twenty one year olds wear nightclub clothes to work” and I was like did you really have to do that.

Lexi: K. bro.

Alana: Okay, brah. I was like did- did a woman write this. No, a woman did not write it and I was like hmm.

Lexi: [sarcasm audible] And there definitely aren't women in the military in any country in.

Alana: In any country in the world.

Lexi: There definitely aren't. Anywhere.

Alana: All men.

Lexi: Yeah, they’re all men now since there is no big war.

Alana: [laughs] Since there’s no big war.

Lexi: Since big war over women go home back house.

Alana: [laughing] Um...

Lexi: Wear night club clothes work.

Alana: Oh - Yeah, wear nightclub clothes work. So just some statistics there are four hundred women in the 588th night bomber regiment. They flew thirty thousand missions and dropped twenty three thousand tons of bombs and they were the most decorated unit in the Red Army and here's where- do you guys wanna like real fast guess how this story ends.

Lexi: They were decommissioned when the war ended.

Alana: They were disbanded six months after World War Two ended.

Haley: There we go.

Alana: And they were not allowed in the victory parades because-

Haley: Yup.

Alana: - their planes were too slow.

Haley: That tracks.

Lexi: Yup, that makes sense.

Alana: So that's fun.

Lexi: Big war over, go back house.

Alana: [laughs] War over, go back house. And they didn't and then the USSR like collapsed and one of the women who is living in like Latvia I think is not allowed to wear her, her like military medals because of how–

Lexi: Oh because she’s a veteran of the USSR but then they left the USSR.

Alana: Because she's not a citizen of Latvia and she’s not a citizen of the USSR. Like she's a citizen of the USSR.

Lexi: Right.

Alana It is really tragic to read about. And this guy was like twenty one year olds today wear nightclub clothes to work. I'm like well some of them work at nightclubs so shut up. Um and that made me real, real mad. To read that article. But it’s important.

Lexi: But you learned about the cool women. Even if it was-

Alana: I did learn about the cool women and I learned about how much they liked each other. Uh it made me feel really good. That they were like, yeah.

Lexi: Sisterhood.

Alana: Women supporting women.

Lexi: The sisterhood of the flying -

Haley: pants.

Lexi: brooms. The flying pants.

Alana: The flying pants. The sisterhood of the shitty airplane.

Lexi: [laughs] Yes! The sisterhood of the shitty airplane.

Haley: The little airplane that could.

Alana: Little airplane that could, exactly.

Lexi: That would make a great anime.

Lexi: So the reason that I knew that the story of your, your group of women ended with them being decommissioned is because I have the American equivalent story to your story.

Alana: Gasp

Haley: We just went full circle.

Lexi: Let me tell ya.

Alana: Full circle we did it. We did segues you guys.

Lexi: We did it. So did you guys know that before there was ever a man on the moon there was a woman who wanted to go to space.

Alana: That makes sense.

Haley: That tracks.

Alana: I did not know that but that makes sense.

Lexi: I'm gonna tell you her story.

Jacquelyn Cochran was born with the name Bessie Lee Pittman in 1906 in Pensacola, Florida which is one of my favorite city names to say so I'm very happy that's where she was born I find Pensacola to be a very funny word and she was the youngest of five children. Her father worked as a millwright so they traveled around Florida he built mills to mill things and later in life Jackie would claim that she was adopted and raised in poverty but in reality this was her biological family and while they weren't rich they lived a pretty average life and there was always food on the table and they always had like what they needed to survive a very average life for people in the early nineteen hundreds and in 1920 when she was just fourteen she married Robert Cochran who was how she got the Cochran name and the couple had one child who was named Jack and he died really young so when Jackie decided to leave Robert she adopted the name Jacqueline Cochran so she kept her married name and she used the name Jacqueline to honor her son who passed away really on. And she left Robert because she was like not about being a young wife and she moved to New York City where she was able to land a job working at Saks Fifth Avenue which at the time was like the thing to do department stores were brand new.

Haley: Oh yeah.

Lexi:. . . like it was awesome to be there and she became a hairdresser and stylist and she was doing cosmetic work at Saks Fifth Avenue which at the time was like the glamorous job and. . .

Haley: This is giving me some Marvelous Mrs Maisel vibes.

Lexi: Yeah exactly.

Alana: I was just gonna say that.

Lexi: Like if you were a young hot woman this was the job for you so um, while she was working in New York, Jackie met the man who would become her second husband Floyd Bostwick Odlum and Floyd was a CEO. He was at the time one of the richest man in the world -like- some sources say he was in the top ten richest man and he offered to help her start a beauty business under her own name and she was like that's a great idea I love beauty stuff but at the time he was still married to another woman so they had to put a hold on that project until he can get a divorce. Also while working in New York Jackie became enamored with aviation and she saw a plane and her friend was like do you want to go in the plane I'll put you on the plane and so she started taking flying lessons in the 1930s at Roosevelt airfield which is located on Long Island so super close to where she was working in New York. She started to fly and she earned her commercial pilot's license with just two years of flight experience and you do have to log a lot of hours to get your commercial pilot's license so she must've flown a lot in those two years. And in 1936 Floyd finally left his poo poo first wife and married Jackie and they founded a cosmetics line and because of her new found obsession with flight they called the cosmetics line Wings to Beauty.

Haley: I love that.

Lexi: Hoping to capitalize on Jackie's unique position as a female aviator Jackie went on a promotional tour and she flew across the country to promote her new beauty products and since it was a -like- airplane themed thing they thought you know that'll be that'll be cool.

Alana: Winged eyeliner.

Lexi: Yeah and because her husband-

Alana: We’ve come full circle.

Lexi: I know, I know. And as her husband was so influential and stuff he was even able to get celebrities like Marilyn Monroe to like wear her lipstick to like promote it. So you would think this is just some cute girl who has a plane, a cute rich girl with planes and cosmetics but the truth is Jackie was a badass.

Haley: Of course.

Alana: I already thought she was a badass. She truly contains multitudes.

Lexi: She does. So while she was like an icon of the beauty industry what truly makes her story so interesting is this dichotomy that not only was she like a beauty icon and an aviator but she was like one of the best pilots of all time. In 1937 Jackie set the world's women speed record in flight so she flew the fastest a woman had ever flown in a plane in 1937 that same year Jackie was the only woman to compete in the Bendix race, Bendix race I might be saying that wrong but it was a famous race for planes, plane racing the competitors flew from Burbank to Cleveland nonstop and the fastest time was the winner. She was not the first woman ever to fly the Bendix Ameila Earhart actually flew it two years earlier but the difference is Amelia got fifth place when she flew in 1935, the second year Jackie flew which is 1938 she won. She was the fastest person, she beat the man in the race and that that race was really not accepting to women it was very hard for women to get in it, so was a big deal that a woman had beaten up on the man in the race and then she set a transcontinental speed record and broke barriers by setting new altitude records, so she flew higher than men had flown in a lot of places. So prior to the United States joining the war effort in World War two, Jackie didn't want to just sit on her butt. She was really upset about what was happening in Europe and she knew she wanted to do something. So American companies were building aircrafts to supply the British military with planes and so Jackie joined an organization with a bunch of other aviators that was called Wings for Britain not to be confused with Wings to Beauty and it was an organization for a elite American pilots who flew newly constructed military aircrafts to Britain to support the war effort and by participating in this organization Jackie actually became the first woman to fly a bomber plane across the Atlantic Ocean, because she had to get it to Britain. And um that was just the beginning of Jackie's participation the war effort she got really devoted to it and she became really passionate about it, so while she was in Britain she helped the Royal Air Force recruit qualified female pilots from the United States to participate in their Air Transport Auxiliary which it was a group, an organization, that ferried items. 

So they didn't drop bombs, they were non combat, but they carried supplies so they would carry supplies to the army or the airforce or like carry things from one place- point A to point B. And she basically helped them recruit American women because America was not yet involved in the war and she was actually given the rank of Flight Captain in the British Air Transport Auxiliary, a rank that's actually called into the position of Major in the U. S. Air Force because she was so active in recruiting and training women while she was there. And in 1939 Jackie wrote a letter to the White House back in the US and she addressed it to the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt because she knew that a fellow woman would listen to her she didn't think if she sent it to Mr Roosevelt it would get read. She knew Eleanor would read it, because she probably heard of her beauty products and she probably knew that she was this famous aviatrix and so she sent it to Eleanor and...

Alana: Aviatrix is one of my favorite words. 

Lexi: I know it’s a good word.

Alana: You like Pensacola, I’m like aviatrix.

Lexi: An aviatrix born in Pensacola.

Um so she proposed starting an American version of this auxiliary, an American Army Air Force auxiliary of women who were non combat pilots and Jackie argued that women can complete all of the non combat aviation jobs, thus freeing up more male pilots for direct combat as America became more involved in the war. So you know what we're about to get a war where a lot of guys are going to die, a lot of bomber planes are going to go down, and you might need women who are already trained pilots to come in and help you because it takes a long time to learn how to fly a plane. And there are all these women who are flying planes already. So this organization would be the American equivalent of that auxiliary in Britain and at the time the army like not the Air Force army which at the time the army and Air Force America were one thing but the Air Force was like under the army branch so the army itself had started the WAC, which is the women's army auxiliary corps program and it gave non combat jobs to women so they could work in the army army not the air force part of the army and Jackie felt it was possible to expand that to the people in the air so from the land to the air they could include the auxiliary for women so despite the shortage of qualified men who are pilots there was hesitation to Jackie's proposal from leaders in the U. S. military they were like we can’t have women flying planes. And so Lt. General Henry H. Arnold whose nickname was haps which is the lamest nickname I've ever heard. 

Alana: It’s like, it’s like um, in your yearbook have a great summer hags.

Lexi: HAGS. Um so he asked Jackie to find out how many female pilots there were and to recruit and take American women to Britain and observe the auxiliary that was there and then use that information that her in those women could gain to possibly found their own American group. It was like I don't want to test this here but if you keep bringing women over to America er it's over to Britain which she was already doing if that goes well, maybe I'll let you approve doing that in America. So then in 1943 which was 4 years after she came up with this idea the WASPS were born and I would just like to say that the WASPS is the coolest name and the fact that we don't have that name in our military anymore especially for pilots because wasps fly. It's really sad so WASPS stands for women's airforce service pilots and this was a group where Jackie was the director and another female pilot named Lovelace was like the co director she's also really famous really popular so if you're interested in female pilots, check her out, but basically in this role Jackie supervised the training of hundreds of female pilots and they became part of World War 2 effort. They transported items, they never saw combat, they were not as dope as the Night Witches. And first service during World War 2 Jackie earned a Distinguished Service Medal, which at the time many women did not earn these types of honors it was a really big deal that she earned that award and the WASPS were disbanded after the war ended. And Jackie was hired as a magazine reporter. She just moved on with her life what somewhere else and the WASPs were never to be seen again, and to be fair now women can become pilots in the modern Air Force but it is a little sad that we don't have anything called the WASPS anymore. 

Haley: Are there any other like acro-names? Names for-

Lexi: Yes. It’s in WACS, the WASPS, and the WAVEs. The WACS in the army, the WAVES in the Navy and the WASPS are the airforce, during uh World War II.

Haley: Uh, WAVEs like the ocean.

Lexi: YES. If you don't know a lot about women's participation in World War 2, I have recently become a nerd about it - mainly because the names are good and the recruitment posters are even better. I would have probably signed up, just from the propaganda. 

Alana: Just from the propaganda no Lexi!

Lexi: So yes, so she became a magazine reporter. She traveled the world and the purpose of her going around was to document like post war life like how were different parts of the world adjusting to post war life. She was even at like the Nuremburg trials and stuff. Like she was really involved in post war were to break down. And she actually became the first non-Japanese woman to set foot on Japanese soil after the end of World War 2. Which is like pretty crazy. She just flew in there, landed, got off the plane. Um in 1948 Jackie joined the Air Force Reserve. She was one of the first women to actually technically become a member of the Air Force by serving in the reserves because technically the WASPs were an auxiliary. And she remained a member until 1970, so majority of her life she was in the reserves in case there would ever be another war effort she would need to participate in, she wanted to be ready to go, ready for battle. And during this part of her flying career she actually attained the rank of Colonel which is like a really high rank in military systems, so she was very well renowned and regarded. And Jackie was the first woman to break the sound barrier on May 18, 1953 she flew 652 miles per hour to break the sound barrier. They called her the supersonic lady in the news articles which is pretty cool.

Alana: That’s the nickname. 

Lexi: In the 1960s Jackie wanted to go further than the sky. She wanted to go to space. And she became a financial sponsor of the women's Mercury program. There'd been a man's mercury program which had basically been a program to test people to see if they would make good astronauts and so the doctor that did that was like women would be really good in space why don't I test them. So the Mercury program was intended to train women to become astronauts and the belief was that women would make great astronauts because they were on average smaller so they were less weight and less height and they usually consumes less water, food and oxygen than men apparently. I didn't know that I thought I, I think I eat a lot but you know what now I think about it, maybe my brother eats more than me so I guess it’s good. 

Alana: That's the same logic that they're using like they're talking about the first manned like manned mission to Mars is possibly going to be all women because they take up less space and don't consume as much.

Haley: Because we’re tiny.

Lexi: They’re a littler people, but not really.

Alana: It’s true.

Lexi: I mean on average we are shorter so that's why. So Jackie was really frustrated because the the male doctor who is doing the testing for Mercury. Of course, it was a male doctor. He had really strict age requirements. He wanted the women to be like in their twenties - very young, very fit and he would not allow married women or single mothers to participate so if you were married or had children you could not participate in this program. And Jackie was married and 50 and so she was a little teed off because the whole reason that her and her husband were drowning money into this is because she was going to become the first woman in space. Yes- she was in her fifties, she was married, she technically did not qualify, but she convinced the doctor to let her participate in the test along with the 19 other women. So they selected 20 people total including Jackie and the tests were really intense. They had icy water shot at their face to induce vertigo.

Haley: Ugh.

Lexi: They were put in deprivation tanks to disturb their sensory functions and see what would happen when they were like deprived of all their senses.

Haley: Are those like the salts pods, cause I've done the salts pods where its like they-

Lexi: I don’t know..They put you on a thing and close the lid and you can't-

Haley: Yeah yeah so I’ve kinda done that where it's like I’ve done one where it's as salty as the dead sea, so you float, and you're in like the pod and it's completely dark and you just like float there. The only light is like the one green light so you know like where the button is if you're like in sos mode but it's supposed to release like toxins like because your body is kind of just letting itself go in a sense. I felt like high or like lighter. It felt really weird afterwards. It was not like it's not an experience I want to do again.

Lexi: Yeah I mean these women did not like it and Jackie did not pass the test. 13 pilots did pass. So they had 20 female pilots to start, 13 passed, 7 were not selected, Jackie being one. 

Haley: How pissed was she?

Lexi: There are there are like- There is evidence to suggest that she like screamed and flipped out. There like first hand accounts from other female pilots who were there that like she was like cursing out the doctor but he told her she had underlying heart conditions that she didn't know she had and that she should probably stop flying all together which is like you don't tell someone that when that's their life you know. So they called these pilots that Mercury 13 and they were going to be- stop being pilots and become astronauts. So most of these women, they quit their jobs they told their families I'm heading out. They were going to move to Florida where the training base for astronauts was at the time and this at this point NASA not yet- it was like not yet completely in charge. The Air Force is actually doing most of the astronaut training and then later it would go under NASA does not make sense so the Air Force was highly involved in this so these women were going to go to where the Air Force's training astronauts. A week before they were supposed to leave, the program was canceled and the women were told not to report for training. And the 13 women never made it to space. There are cute little pictures of them as old ladies from like 20 years ago where they're like we almost when into space.Uwu. And it's so sad because these women were supposed to be the first woman in space. So Jackie spent the rest of her life advocating her belief that women were fit for space and that women made sense as astronauts. Unfortunately, Jackie passed away in August 1980, which is a little less than 3 years before Sally Ride was sent into space, so she never saw a woman go to space. Even though that was like her life, life dream.

Alana: She just seems really cool. I like her. That was a good story. 

Lexi: You can find this podcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Patreon at LadyHistoryPod. Our show notes and a transcript of this episode will be on ladyhistorypod dot tumblr dot com. If you like the show, leave us a review, or tell your friends, and if you don't like the show, keep it to yourself.

Alana: Our logo is by Alexia Ibarra you can find her on Twitter and Instagram at LexiBDraws. Our theme music is by me, GarageBand, and Amelia Earhart. Lexi is doing the editing. You will not see us, and we will not see you, but you will hear us, next time, on Lady History.

[OUTRO MUSIC]

Haley: Next week on Lady History, we're having our own version of Shark Week, with ladies who've done some things in marine biology.

[too-many-kpop-hubands]

30 Day Fandom Challenge

Welcome to day 6 Ladies and Gentlemen. As always I am gonna tag the amazingly talented @domsberto and then head back over into the world of the spooky and supernatural for this next one.

Day 6- True Blood

1) Favorite Character: Lafayette Reynolds

Reason: Lafayette was freaking hilarious and a badass boss bitch. He had the funniest lines in the show and was savage at times. He was a very flamboyant character and I adore those types of characters. He trusted only a few people but was loyal as hell to the select few he let in his circle. When he actually had lover he was faithful and devoted to them, even in death in the case of Jesus. He had his demons but he handled them with grace and a sense of humor, not to mention lots of alcohol and weed. He was a medium which was pretty cool but it also lead to some disastrous situations (like stealing babies and killing the love of his life). I adore his relationship with his cousin, Tara, that borders more on that of siblings than cousins. He has no tolerance for ignorance or bullying, as seen when he put a table full of rednecks in their place for their gay slurs, and he backs up what he says. He is fully capable of handling himself in a fight and is just an all around amazing person.

Rest in Peace Nelsan Ellis! You are missed still to this day! ❤❤❤

2) Most Relatable Character: Hoyt Fortenberry

Reason: Hoyt reminds me alot of Matt from Vampire Diaries, honestly. He is sweet and kind-hearted and according to Sookie, who can read minds, his thoughts are consistently kind and open compared to everyone else around her. He is also remarkably progressive toward vampires and other social outcasts. This is in stark contrast to his mother, Maxine, who was extremely prejudiced and judgmental of most people, humans and vampires alike. His lack of experience with, and high respect for, women makes him extremely shy around them. Unlike his best friend Jason Stackhouse, he has no desire for frivolous hook-ups, and remains a virgin until he meets and falls in love with the vampire Jessica Hamby. Whem we first meet Hoyt in the first season, he is bossed around by his mother, but begins to assert his independence as the show progressed. Throughout the series, his character development shifts from happy-go-lucky to a much more serious and emotional young man. I can relate to Hoyt because I tend to he shy around men and women I am attracted to because despite having been married for the past 13 years, I didn't really have much experience before I met my husband and I was really self conscious. I also get what it's like to have an overbearing mother and having to eventually put my foot down with her. Hoyt is also one of the most genuine and "normal" of all the characters in the show. This is why he is the most relatable.

3) Most Underrated Character: Godric

Reason: Godric was only alive for one season and the fans grew to love him so much that after his suicide on the show, they wrote him into the show in later seasons as hallucinations and dreams that Eric, Sookie and sometimes Nora had. He is one of my favorite characters, quite possibly tied with Lafayette honestly. During his time on the show, Godric (who happens to be the maker of Eric Northman) was the Sheriff of the Dallas vampires and one of the oldest living vampires to date. He was a badass, as seen when he saves Sookie when she was almost raped and when he comes in to put an end to the fighting between vampires and the Fellowship of the sun. He was ruthless and a very capable leader, putting people in their place when need be (as seen when he banished Lorena from Dallas for causing trouble). He once lived by a moral code of "There is no right or wrong, only survival or death.", seeing humans as disposable and caring very little for human life. Humans were a means to an end until he grew older and began to relate more to humans. He came to realize that the human race's fear and hatred of vampires was well founded, and that he had contributed to it. He evolved over time and his wisdom and compassion grew. He is perhaps the best-natured vampire seen on the show.

He cared deeply for his progenies, Eric and Nora, and he was one of the few people who could turn Eric into an emotional mess (as seen when Godric decided to end his life). Godric was compassionate and kind but if you crossed him, he could snap your neck without even blinking or thinking twice. He was such an underrated character but I adored him so much.

4 & 5) Most Overrated Character & Least Favorite Character: Sookie Stackhouse

Reason: So Sookie is the main character and honestly she annoys the hell out of me. She acts like your stereotypical trailer trash, you know the type. The kind of girl that gives us Southern girls a bad name? Yes that type. She had every guy in the show that wasn't gay or family chomping at the bit to try to get in her pants. She constantly found herself knee deep in trouble at every turn, "Must be a Thursday." to quote her. She toys with the boys who fall in love with her unintentionally and honestly she isn't the most attractive on the show to warrant so many male suitors. For a fairy with special powers, she has no idea what she is doing half the time and like Elena in Vampire Diaries, she often makes things worse and ends up having to be saved by someone who knows what they are doing. She is overrated and my least favorite character in the series, despite being the main character. While she has a few good qualities and some decent scenes sometimes, I really can't stand her.

Pam made a comment once that stands out “I am so over Sookie and her precious fairy vagina and her unbelievably stupid name! F*ck Sookie!”

6) Favorite Canon Pairing: Hoyt Fortenberry & Jessica Hamby [Close 2nd Honorable Mention- Lafayette Reynolds & Jesus Velasquez]

Reason: Jessica and Hoyt were perfect for each other plain and simple. They both lost their virginity to each other (granted since Jessica was a virgin when she turned she never truly loses her virginity because her hymen keeps growing back) and had a sweet and loving relationship. When they ended things and she slept with his best friend, Jason, Hoyt was so distraught that he asked Jessica to glamor him into forgetting they had ever met and fallen in love before leaving town. They found their way back to each other in the final season and fell in love all over again as if they had never fallen apart to begin with and eventually got married before Jessica's maker, Bill, died. They had a beautiful and pure love that surpassed even memory wipes and I love them so much together.

7) Favorite Non-Canon Pairing: Eric Northman & Pamela "Pam" Swynford de Beaufont

Reason: While Pam tended to lean more toward women most of the time it was implied time and time again that she and Eric had a romantic or sexual history together prior to him turning her into a vampire. The chemistry between Eric and Pam is amazing and goes well beyond that of the typical sire/progeny bond. They loved each other on a deep level, one could possibly consider the love that Eric and Pam had for each other agape which is the highest form of love that surpasses traditional romantic and sexual feelings toward a person. They had an unbreakable bond and even when Eric released her as his progeny, Pam still stayed at Eric's side no matter what the cost. I wish that they could have been a romantic couple in the canon universe but sadly that never happened. Their love for one another still lives on in the hearts of us fans to this day.

8) Least Favorite Pairing: Sookie Stackhouse & Bill Compton

Reason: Besides the fact that I really can't stand Sookie, I loathed Sookie and Bill as a couple on the show. They were back and forth so much with their relationship that it made my head spin half the time and when they actually stayed together, the relationship itself was pretty boring compared to some of the other relationships on the show. Sookie could never make up her mind on exactly who it was she wanted to be with and that left her juggling Bill, Eric, Sam and Alcide before ending up with a faceless and nameless man by the end of the show. They had their good moments, don't get me wrong, that made me actually like them but then one of them would do or say something stupid and I would go back to loathing the ship as a whole. Though I will admit it was both heartbreaking and poetic when Sookie ended Bill's suffering in the end. I still feel like there are better couples on the show.

I will admit though that outside of the show I think Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer have a beautiful marriage and beautiful children so my opinion doesn't reflect on the actors personally but rather their characters on the show.

9) Favorote Part/Moment: The Aids Burger Incident AKA Lafayette Vs The Ignorant Rednecks

Reason: This scene is my favorite scene because first of all Lafayette was a savage and proved that he will not tolerate ignorance from anyone. He put the rednecks in their place when one of them sent back their food because they refused to eat it because "The burger might have Aids.", directly referencing Lafayette who was cooking that night who is openly gay. In that scene he took the burger back out to the customers and confronted them for their gay slur in one of the most epic manners possibly before shoving the "Aids Burger" in the man's face. He proved that he could handle himself in a fight when he kicked his friends' asses before delivering a final quip of "Tip Your Waitress" before walking away like the boss ass bitch he was, fist bumping and impressed Jason Stackhouse on his way back to the kitchen to finish his job. Lafayette was amazing in this scene and I have to give the late Nelsan Ellis credit for such an epic performance. I post a video of this once a year during Pride Month to show one of the most epic scenes of an openly gay man standing up for himself and fellow gay men against ignorant bigots. It was amazing. I will post the video directly following this post.

10) Least Favorite Part/Moment: The Entire F***ed up Billith Situation [Honorable Mentions: Godric's suicide- it was sad as hell but hauntingly beautiful, The Witches induce Amnesia on Eric, Marnie Possesses Lafayette and makes him kill the love of his life Jesus, Tommy Dies to Save Sam]

Reason: My least favorite part was when Bill merged with the mother of all vampires, Lilith, to become this super powerful and equally psychotic vampire deemed "Billith". The entire situation was just stupid and you could tell that during that season the writers ran out of ideas for what to add into the show. It was far-fetched and pretty OP and that's why I consider this one of the worst parts of True Blood.

Back at you soon with today's post since I'm behind by a day.

[kevinscottgardens]

1 through 15 September 2019

I packed a lot in my two weeks visiting family and friends in the US. I’ve enjoyed seeing everyone I could in such a short time; unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to see everyone. I made it to Palm Springs for a fantastic 24 hours visiting Rod, Charlie and Chuck. I flew to Milwaukee with my aunt and uncle to visit extended family there for 48 hours. I’ve enjoyed the hot summer heat where it’s frequently been above 40ºC. Here are some photos from the last two weeks:

In-n-Out in Arcadia, California

Pasadena Sandwich Company

the impossible burger at Tony’s Burgers in Cathedral City, California

somewhere in Palm Springs...

a waffle croque madame at Si Bon in Rancho Mirage

family photo at Mt Lowe Brewing Company, Arcadia, California

view from the house where I grew up, San Gabriel, California

Mr Brews Taphouse, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin

Calatrava Milwaukee Art Museum

Pistol Pete’s, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin

Tante Janet’s wheelbarrow

somewhere over Arizona

future home of the LA Chargers

Sleeper’s honey

Griffith Park Observatory, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood Hills

Plant of the week 8 September

Leguminosae Bauhinia blakeana Dunn

common name(s) - Hong Kong orchid tree; Bengali, kanchan flower; Chinese 香港蘭, 洋紫荊 synonym(s) - Bauhinia × blakeana Dunn; Bauhinia 'Blakeana' conservation rating - none native to - Hong Kong location - San Gabriel Valley, California leaves - resemble a butterfly in their shape; are somewhat cordate in shape except for the large cleft that forms at the tips to 100mm long and 130mm wide flowers - large scented pink-purple blossoms, to 150mm, blanket the tree when they appear during summer, autumn and winter habit - evergreen tropical tree; sterile; to 6m wide and 6m tall habitat - tropical pests - borers, caterpillars, mites disease - scorch, leaf spot hardiness - to -5ºC (H3) soil - dry, acidic sun - full sun propagation - cuttings, air layering, grafting pruning - should regularly be pruned in the winter when it is young to help create a stronger structure; branches can be brittle and may break off on their own nomenclature - Leguminosae - ; Bauhinia - 16th century herbalists Jan and Caspar Bauhin; blakeana - after its discoverer, Sir Henry Blake or possibly named after his wife, Lady Edith Blake. NB - is the floral emblem of Hong Kong on the coins, flag, and coat of arms; the trees crossed were the butterfly tree (Bauhinia purpurea) and mountain ebony (Bauhinia variegata); originated in Hong Kong in 1880 and apparently all of the cultivated trees derive from one cultivated at the Hong Kong Botanical Gardens; in Hong Kong the leaf is known as the clever leaf (聰明葉), and is regarded as a symbol of wisdom; some people use the leaves to make bookmarks in the hope that they will bring them good luck in their studies.

References, bibliography:

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [15 Sep 19]

Plant List, The [online] http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/ild-21612 [15 Sep 19]

Spruce, The [online] https://www.thespruce.com/hong-kong-orchid-tree-growing-profile-3269334 [15 Sep 19]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhinia_%C3%97_blakeana [15 Sep 19]

Plant of the week 15 September

Lauraceae Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J.Presl

common name(s) - camphor, camphortree synonym(s) - Camphora camphora (L.) H.Karst.; C. hahnemannii Lukman.; C. hippocratei Lukman.; C. officinarum Nees; C. officinarum var. glaucescens A.Braun; C. vera Raf.; Camphorina camphora (L.) Farw.; Cinnamomum camphora var. cyclophyllum Nakai; C. camphora var. glaucescens (A.Br.) Meisn.; C. camphora var. hosyo (Hatus.) J.C.Liao; C. camphora var. linaloolifera Y.Fujita; C. camphora f. linaloolifera (Y.Fujita) Sugim.; C. camphora f. parvifolia Miq.; C. camphora var. rotundifolia Makino; C. camphoriferum St.-Lag.; C. camphoroides Hayata; C. nominale (Hats. & Hayata) Hayata; C. officinarum Nees ex Steud.; Laurus camphora L.; L. camphorifera Salisb.; L. gracilis G.Don; L. sumatrensis J.F.Gmel.; Persea camfora (L.) Spreng.; P. camphora (L.) Spreng. conservation rating - none native to - Japan, Korea, Taiwan location - medicinal China and Japan, accession 2019-0047 leaves - alternate, ovate to ovate-elliptic, 50mm to 110mm. long, 20mm to 60mm wide, acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base with glands in the axils of the primary nerves flowers - small, yellow or white in panicles; fruit small, black, fleshy habit - much-branched evergreen tree 6m to12m tall habitat - banks of streams, to elevations of 750m pests - scale insects under glass disease - none found hardiness - to 1ºC (H2) soil - fertile sandy moisture-retentive well-drained soil, can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils sun - full sun to part shade propagation - seed has a short viability and is best sown as soon in containers as it is ripe; cuttings of semi-ripe side shoots, 7cm with a heel, in a frame with bottom heat pruning - damaged, dead, diseased nomenclature - Lauraceae - laurus, the Latin name for laurel or bay (Celtic, laur, green); Cinnamomum - the Greek name κιννάμωμον used by Theophrastus from Hebrew קִנָמוֹן qinnamon, cinnamon; camphora - camphor-like scented, from Arabic كافور kafur, Sanskrit, Karpura NB - poisonous in large quantities; large doses can cause respiratory failure in children; wood and leaves are analgesic, antispasmodic, odontalgic, rubefacient, stimulant; an infusion is used as an inhalant in the treatment of colds and diseases of the lungs; essential oil camphor is obtained from the leaves and twigs, it is extracted commercially by passing a current of steam through the wood chips, 30kgs of wood yielding 1kg of camphor; it is used medicinally, in perfumes, as an insecticide and also to make celluloid and as a wood preservative

References, bibliography:

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [8 Dec 19]

Plant List, The [online] http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2721183 [8 Dec 19]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:463336-1 [8 Dec 19]

Plants for the Future [online] https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cinnamomum+camphora [8 Dec 19]

Useful Tropical Plants [online] http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cinnamomum+camphora [8 Dec 19]

[left-leggus]

Orange and purple!

orange: what makes you feel warm inside? Cute couples dude true love warms my old lady heart

what’s your favorite halloween tradition? MONSTER MASH!!! Also cheesy halloween movies

what’s the last thing you learned? I learned a few minutes ago charcoal can be used to whiten teeth isnt that smth

when’s the last time you felt obsessed? Dude im obessed 24/7/365

what’s your favorite article of clothing?Any one of my many many black graphic tees xx

purple: what’s your astrological sign? Scorpio

what’s the best piece of advice you ever received? Anything from my best friend, shes full of practical wisdom lol

when’s the last time you followed your instincts? Everything I damn do is on impulse what u talkin bout

what’s your favorite food? Love a good burger!!!!!

what’s your secret dream?I want to be muscular………. n I wanna be able to live life on my own terms

[jameypants1-blog]

Reading Makes A Country Great MY PET GOAT Emergency 911 The Terror War begins Ignorance is Bliss stand Proud and United rally around the Flag cross your heart swear to Sacrifice thank the least among you for their military home invasion mass murder Service keeping Authority placated rock the Vote respect the Law and State's Finest army of police who serve and protect them, Respect the Honor and Authority of the blind justice arbitrated by ritual black robed Judges and the prejudiced juries of peers any skilled Liar can persuade to Verdict The educated are educated to Accept The Free are not Brave enough to Resist Swear to tell the Truth so help you God is an Obscenity and offensive to a populace bursting with the enlightenment of Science, the premise that Flesh is the Origin of Species and Intelligence a side effect of gas Love thy Leader Hate thy neighbor Kill and chain thy neighbor Earn your Keep Pay your Taxes Death is certain It is not the size of the horn but how it's used that betrays best gets praised for elite public service Performance How fortunate it is for leaders that men do not think, Hitler intimated, forthcoming as any candidate for Office who smiles kissing maggot babies and shaking fools hands telling each in line thanks for their support couldn't do this without them Hell hides behind details and simpering political correctness, kind words expressing best intentions the enemies of which are branded crazy and evil and dealt with. How fortunate men do not think. Lest leaders and the Hell they maintain be naked by Light of the Truth. You can handle the Truth. You can be brave and free. It's these so called elite who can't. Never ask what they can do for you or you for them. Don't give up your food stamps just yet they trade for drugs just don't Serve them, Loyalty to them is so universal I am ignored and insulted. In Contempt. That's the price of Love. Let's change that. Perception is reality is their constant refrain. It is not. Reality is this fraction of a single percent of the population is a basket of deplorables in perpetual conspiracy to violate and ruin every human being on Earth. It's shocking and horrific but people can handle the Truth. Here is Wisdom: Had a customer tonight guy in his sixties cropped back hair going gray one of those Freddy Mercury mustaches adopted by law enforcement to remind everyone they're tops cocksuckers not pigs bc pigs don't have mustaches. he was wearing a black tshirt and jeans, never seen him before, recognize most of the customers, we have the same regulars rotating through for the most part. He came in right after I did, like my second grill order after clocking in. Gave me the stinkeye, and instead of going to sit in the dining room until his order was called he stayed in the lobby, got behind the Pepsi ketchup fridge by register, from the nose up visible over the fridgetop. I was on second flip before I noticed him again, glaring at me still. Eye contact, rage in his eyes. Made his burgers to perfection, ignoring him but for sidelong peeks to see if he still there; he was still there looking pissed off. I strongly suspect him to have been involved with lie enforcement, that or ive got one of those faces brings out the hate in frustrated Dom bondage specialists. kept my face expressionless, sent the burgers out and he left not long after. Felt the loathing in the air leave with him. He hates me for my freedom, like to put me in cuffs and bugger me into some Respect for his Authority lavished from God unto Moses unto the Chosen People, the Elite, who gifted us all with the world's two biggest religions Islam and Christianity to refer to in the establishent of State, Islamic States still widely fundamentalist in extrapolations and ammendments to the fundamentals Law, even today stones striking pleading girls in the face until the glistening bone pulp shows, eyeball popped out shattered socket debt paid for her adultry of being raped by a man she wasn't married to, lacivious temptress women not tolerated, kept virtuous by Ordained killers sanctimonious witless butchers in judicious black robes black masks, love and peace delegates, spread the beautiful religion into Eastern Europe and jerusalm, effective Evangelical technique of the option to submit you are the slave of Allah, either submit or get your head looped off. Beautiful religion. The castles of Europe erected to fortify against the sacred Islamic state conquering all of Elite Europe, price of doing Business, business of giving people the business, keep them stoneage and in check until final act, today thousands of Muslim migrants fleeing Syria region where isis, the royal president, Russia and the United States are mass murdering the population in alternating sweeps all claiming success against the terrorists who are any one of the four mass destroyers depending on which regions fake news one watches, the cities in ruins, the people still left sparse and debilitated, the dregs, hundreds of thousands more turning sections of Germany France great Britain etc into ghettos, young girls being raped in public parks, a seven yo girl in France gang raped in Germany lone German teens stalked in the streets by packs of Muslim youth and beaten half to death teens boasting they will take multiple wives across region have dozens of children each and breed out the natives, conquer Europe with their cocks now that the dear leaders of the region had welcomed them in. Beautiful religion. on their knees five times a day to take a facefull of dirt groveling praises toward the black cube in Mecca which Abraham built and shat inside marking the turf, holy kabba, over ten feet tall and ten feet wide the wonder of the Islamic world which one day all of Islamic Europe shall pilgrimage to link arms and dance ring around the cubicle singing and shouting trampling each other then setting off across hard desert terrain, many every haj die along the route hail Allah that the prophet Mahomet, may he rest in stink took wandering the sand ocean from sand dune to sand valley to sand mount where pilgrims collapse into the sand and commune with Allah catching spiderwebs of shade from the spray of spindly limbed trees rising several feet high here and there, terrain as beautiful as Islam itself and straight to Judgement for those sun dried brain fried dead before completing the last leg of the blessed trudge to the sacrificial slaughter barns where depending on what slaves of Allah can afford to slice the throat of a variety of animals await blood ritual, goats camels sheep sand chickens and coming soon pigs once the half breed desert princes of Frankfurt introuce fat juicy pork weenies into the Islamic diet, blonde haired blue eyed pink bellied pigs recognized to be far too majestic to be interbred with Jews, fine swine imported from outside the East where the scruffy big snout kosher breed forages in feral packs, hear them oinking Hebrew and Yiddish gibberish rooting in alley trash like dogs, dirtiest animals in all of creation, howling and squealing together during crawl in place borg prayers tuned in to Abraham's outhouse ever amid ring around the square dancing, stumbling, trampled underfoot weaklings hoe down haj stop in the stadium built around the squat edifice that thousands may sit and cheer rendering inaudible the tinny prayers from around the globe every couple hours, dogs howling offended every prayer, kick the snarling curs at risk of losing toes and sandles get tangled up in black man dress and fall down surrounded by curly tailed rabbi and black dogs foaming at the mouth eyes rolling from echoes of lalalalalalalala eeeeeek eeeeeeek eeeeeeek barnyardesque broadcasts from loud speakers leading the haj hails between free time to marry and divorce multiple times a day and trade goats for girls to marry and divorce trade back for chickens or a dozen eggs if she's missing ears tip of her nose or digits from administering divine law rehabilitation mutilations, sometimes new divorcees only fetch a bucket of fertile shit, hobbled hunchback prolapsed asshole tounge sliced into fork for her hissing disobedience to swallow the donkey load of bountiful seed diligently fed her everyday in lieu of lunch meanwhile back at the last stop of holy haj long walk baby animals and ton tall spitting camels shriek and wail, hawk lunger loads of camel snot pink with slashed throat blood spew onto the walls, slick spots on the straw, bled out into tubs and running down beards drank in hot clotted toasts to Allah who the sacrificed animals were stacked like cordwood into earthen pits and burned to appease blessings to all and to all a good time at the hotel after parties where newly married couples meet, consumate, get divorced and the just single ladies reintroduced to next end of haj celebratent to be smitten and fallen in love until the boredom of domestic life after orgasm left him dissatisfied with this woman who used to be useful but went back to the singles mixer sore and cooperative awaiting true love perhaps next bus in full of blood spattered fresh inducties into the walkabout God's country for days purification event everyone owed it themselves to do at least once a lifetime to truly get the most out of Islam the impending new religion of the well served everywhere from Africa to Piccadilly square, to be renamed Mahomet Kaba King Boulevard erected in the center of the square a scale replica of the Kaba with Mahomet himself weilding scrimtar of faith from head to toe dressed in black mounted upon his goat horse chimera Pegasus thingy reared up like a reindeer representing the flight taken to heaven to lead the prayer circle in heaven where all had deferred to him to lead the prayer circle of Prophets in Allah's den, Jesus fresh as the Daisy he'd been since the day he'd cleverly avoided crucifixion by Jerry curling his big black bushy beard and sneaking out of town on his gf's ass while another fellow, whose beard was styled similarly to his and who had assembled a small crowd outside town to demonstrate a new stain removal product for even the toughest stains like days caked Hersey splats from loincloths see comes right out and with the herbal infused formula eliminates some of the stench of urine baked in since pissing it in a wine induced stupor earlier that afternoon as jews were known to do between assuming their posts begging for pennies outside the bank, that guy had looked and sounded like the upstart they were looking for and after his miracle product failed to impress the honorable pontus Pilate with any supernatural stain removal properties except when applied to soiled underpants, a demonstration he didn't need to see twice since his underpants indeed came out clean the first attempt, hardly a miracle but in a good mood since his ass felt and smelled so fresh after the man who kept persisting I am not the Jew you were looking for I'm just an alchemist with a revolutionary new product for removing stains the secret formula is just leavening soda and grapeseed pumice mixed with water and lavender leaves ofc it's not a miracle I am not the king of the universe I've never even met the guy no one does but he doesn't travel alone with a bucket of my new secret formula removing shit stains from underwear, he's a stand up magician or something, heard there's strippers too, Im just a humble asshole freshener your honor and feeling magnanimous floral fragrance of his anus clinging to the finger he scratched along his craft to sniff while contemplating opens the honorable Pilate said let's let these Jews outside demanding their picked pockets wallets and jewelery back stolen by the whores and at least a dozen confidence men known to be traveling with this wanted man who said fuck the centurions fuck the flag fuck hannaka fuck Elysian fields fuck the Senate fuck caesaer fuck Rome fuck caiphus fuck the Torah fuck yo mama and fuck all of you cringing sex slave submissives bending over and getting fucked everyday to earn wheat penny Caesars that aren't worth a tin shit except for your belief in Caesar says, Caesar says hail Caesar I say fuck Caesar render unto casear these piles of Caesars ugly cunt lips embossed nickles and dimes and shove em up Caesars ass let him go pawn these pieces of shit off on some other idiots bc we're Jews brothers and sisters and Jews don't need no stinking sick economy sicker fools who'd diminish themselves by going along with this madness, Caesar is a paper god you drunks this money charade is just a game and your the losers for playing so fuck him fuck Rome and fuck all these fake ass God's and curly tailed shit eating elites got us all playing along counting stacks of worthless legal tender whoopty Doo what caesar says and fuck his court of whimsy and don't bend over only ever acquire what he gives you and dont obey every stupid lie he tells you is the law, tell him to take this Nation of lies and the shiney lie sanctioned house chips he rode in on and shove it up his ass bc if you don't you'll all be spending your lives sucking Satan's cock doing as Satan says and get paid in Satan tokens worth your life loyalty and labors and in return a flag to admire and fight for a song of the murder glory of this shithole to cross your hearts and sing that all who hear it know how unified and proud you are and you'll be paid to with every Betrayal his crown can afford to give you now that you've given him lives to spend. Have a free flag coffin shroud a medal of Honor for service unto Casear human sacrife pin and a bedpan full of shiney Benjamin's to spend at super Caesars super savers everywhere Rome is maurading, hail Caesar full of grace give you nothing give him everything and that sumbitch drugged the watered down wine him and his whores and degenerates robbed us and fuck yes that's him I recognize the beard kill him set Barbarossa free and so despite insisting he was not their King nor a crook the wrong man was crucified that day and Jesus told this straight to Mahomet so you know it's true bc Mahomet word is gold then Jesus said I am the slave of Allah and Mo he's instructed me to let his biggest ho Mo lead the ass in the air prayers from now on bc I'm always broke have never tipped a red Satan cent to tithe and insist that Allah sound a dry heave so does every single thing you said Mo so you're deffo the man to lead prayer to that bullshitters bullshit, guess it keep you busy long enough not to butcher or mutilate anyone for five minutes at least. Raise your Voice be offended by this beastial religion we're diminished under by these sneering aristocrats who practice it, they're the crew can't handle the Truth. Lies are all they got. Be eloquent. Knowing and not choosing a side is just a mess. I bring you. Pallid incompotence hanging from a mic stand. Prime example of why there's no having it both ways. Fuck it 🌊 https://g.co/kgs/ACnHqS

[wherespenni]

Be like Melvin

My travel from Israel to India was never going to be that simple. For starters a direct flight would have cost me about £1300. So instead my journey consisted of 3 flights: Tel Aviv 🛫 Istanbul 🛫 Dubai 🛫 Mumbai. Although I didn't think to look into this before I booked my first flight to Israel because I'm such a keen bean. So I set off from Tel Aviv just fine. Get my next flight in Istanbul, still all good. Then I get to Dubai. It's about 3am and I haven't slept. I go up to the desk at the airport to get my boarding pass for my last flight. The lady gives me my passport back with a boarding pass inside and she tells me to make my way to terminal 1. So I did. All seems good still. I'm pretty tired by this point so I try to take a nap, but airport chairs aren't famous for their comfort so I abort the nap and go for an iced coffee instead. My flight isn't until 11.30 so I'm just chilling, reading a book (lol yeah I read now), people watching, eating burgers, just generally taking it easy and doing some sight seeing around Dubai (airport). About an hour before the flight's set to leave I make my way to the departure gate so I'm ready for action when my flight starts boarding. 30 mins later we start to board. I get to the front of the queue, show the man my passport and boarding pass. BUT, turns out that boarding pass that I was given was in fact NOT my boarding pass, it was a piece of paper that looked very much like a boarding pass but was in fact just a slip that I was supposed to take to another desk to pick up my ACTUAL boarding pass. So I'm like sh*t, okay well let me just go back to the desk and pick up the proper boarding pass and imma be right back to hop on this plane. The guy's like "oh nahhhhh... It's closed now". So I'm stood there like wtf do I do?? He says "Miss, I'm not letting you on this flight, go sit over there 👉" . So I sit on my own in the middle of the departure lounge just watching everyone get on the plane. I got back to the guy and try to explain that I was given misleading information from a stupid lady at a desk and ask if there's anything that can be done... nope. I go to sit back down. I've had no sleep, 2 flights already, gotten lost in every airport and now I'm stranded in Dubai being told I'm not going to India today. So logically, as a strong independent solo traveller, I start having an emotional break down. Ballin my eyes out. I was so exhausted and drained and frustrated and panicky and I could not stop crying. Absolute mess. Full on white girl "I can't even". Then a nice airport man called Melvin took pity on me and saves the day. He books me on the next flight (9 hours later) to Mumbai, prints off multiple copies of my India visa, gets me a pack of tissues for my wet face and snotty nose, guides me to some reclining chairs to have a nap in, and gives me a motivational speech and some helpful wisdom. So it's been stressful, but I WILL make it to India eventually... as long as I remember to go pick up my boarding pass, I should go do that now! Dedicated to my hero, Melvin! You the real MVP

[stellacarrierscriptstories]

Stella Carrier Script Stories Law of Attraction Edition Script Two Monday June 26, 2017

Stella Carrier Script Stories Law of Attraction Edition Script Two Monday June 26, 2017

 Stella Carrier Script Stories Law of Attraction Edition Script Two Monday June 26, 2017

             Due to Spiritual and Karmic Reasons I am going to follow both my intuition and logic and keep all entries from the Stella Carrier Script Stories Law of Attraction Edition away from my facebook, twitter, and linkedin accounts. However, what I do feel comfortable saying is that these entries are going to be on my googleplus, tumblr, and wordpress. Affirmations

I Call Upon What I Imagine To Be The Influence of Benevolent Spirits From the Heavenly Realms, my higher self, and my celestial spirit ally team for creativity in both my writings and all other areas of my life both present and future

 https://www.orindaben.com/pages/rooms/affirmations_room/#null

I honor my connection to my guide with my words and actions.

I remember my dreams. They show me answers and solutions.

Divine Will flows through me. I know when to take action and when to surrender.

I believe in myself and my path.

I believe I can grow instantly, and I do.

My psychic abilities and intuition expand each day.

I am creating heaven on earth

I’m aware of when to create opportunities for myself and that when one door closes many more doors open.

I contribute to the best of my ability regardless of the reception I receive for doing so.

Start time 157 pm

End time 235pm

           I Stella Carrier look through my Directing My Destiny book by Jennifer Grace. The time period is now December 2018 and I am finally at my weight loss goal of weighing 120 pounds. Fortunately, I have accomplished much of what I wrote on page 152 regarding my six intentions. Two of the intentions that I set out to do (returning to 120 pounds or less by May 1, 2018 or sooner and saving up at least 1800 dollars or more by December 12, 2017 happened in the timeframe that I set out to do them). I was actually able to achieve the weight loss goal of 120 pounds or less by February 1, 2018 and my 1800 dollars savings goals by December 1, 2017. Fortunately, I succeeded in some business opportunities that helped me to attract over 500 dollars in taxes in within a ten day span after I had a dream the July 4th weekend 2017 that gave me a money idea to act on which helped to generate great prosperity for my husband and I.

           This fortunately came about shortly after I concentrated on an image of the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington D.C. that I had seen online. For whatever reason, focusing on certain images help in my own creativity and prosperity. Within 3 months of this success, my husband Rusty and I finally got the chance to vacation in different parts of Virginia. By October 2018, I am driving around in a paid for car inside of what looks to be a good part of College Park Maryland and seeing other places while driving around in my paid for mazda 3 car with my husband Rusty such as the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk Virginia. Also in November 2018, for my birthday during this time I have the privilege of being able to look at homes in both Virginia Beach Virginia. I ultimately decide on a nice place in Norfolk Virginia because it is close enough to the Norfolk Naval base in Norfolk Virginia and a close enough drive to Old Dominion University and MacArthur Center Mall. I am amazed by the number of friends that I have made in the short time that I have been here. I am blessed to have a vast number of over 18 friends who either work in the military (U.S. Navy, Airforce), for the federal government, the private sector, and some from even the colleges in the area (Tidewater, Old Dominion etc.).  Some of my friends have even relocated from the Washington D.C. area as I have and came from different parts.

           I get settled into my new paid for home in the Norfolk Virginia area and look into my closet of size 2 clothes. As I look at my bank account and see over 15,000 dollars after taxes in both my Bank of America and Sun Trust accounts I am so elated to be flush with an abundance of money. I easily call my federal student loan providers and Sallie Mae shame free as I now fortunately have both year round employment and the money to at least make the minimum student loan payments to them. Even the online classes I am now taking are helping my creativity and abundance consciousness. For instance just 3 weeks ago (November 2018), I successfully made the connection between an online event course I was enrolled in during the summer of 2018 and an online public relations course that I was enrolled in by January 2018. I was somehow able to connect these two classes with a udemy course that I blogged about online by July 2017 and turn these ideas into a published story that I published by December 2017. By December 23, 2017 I received good news that this story netted me over 8800 dollars after taxes. Yesterday, I received an additional 3800 dollars after taxes because of this book that I wrote gaining in popularity both online and offline (I was approached last week about turning the book into a published book and an idea for a television series). With the exception of my amazing husband Rusty, very few people know about how popular this Amazon kindlebook has become as I wrote under a pen name that is completely different from the name of Stella Carrier. However, it feels great to know that by December 2018, I accomplish returning to a body weight of 120 pounds, I now have over 25,000 dollars saved in my checking account in addition to the 1500 dollars a month after taxes that I bring in for my writing and other business ideas and the 3000 dollars a month after taxes that I bring in from my job. This is important as this increased abundance allows me to visit my husband Rusty at least weekly in the Washington D.C. area (fortunately, the majority of my coworkers on the job and shift I work are married to being able to have the same two days off each week back to back and being able to have the rest of the Friday to myself after 230 pm is a gift that I am able to fully appreciate guiltfree.  I easily have the money to fly from the Norfolk Virginia airport to the Regan National Airport in Washington D.C. each week. It also feels great to have my own paid for mazda 3 car, a completely paid for home in Norfolk Virginia that my husband and I can call our home, and a healthy and fit 120 pound body that makes shopping at the Macarthur Center mall in Norfolk Virginia and online pretty fun.  I also feel blessed to say that my money investments are helping me to yield at least 18,000 dollars or more every 6 months after taxes and I am able to buy ingredients from various grocery stores of my choice to get items such as parmesan zucchini chips and wedge salad burgers easily with plenty of money left afterwards. Most of all, I feel blessed to now have over 38,000 dollars saved in both my Bank of America and Sun trust accounts.

Songs for me to keep in mind today; Meet Virginia by Train, Ghost by Ella Henderson, Glow by Ella Henderson, Domino by Jessie J, Dangerous feat. Joywave by Big Data (the advertising and gruesome themed music video to this song definitely gives the song a completely different meaning but it is good to watch if you like good indie rock music andor are interested in public relations/advertising/marketing trends), Fancy by Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX,The Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga, Crazy In Love by Beyonce feat. JayZ, Evacuate the Dancefloor by Cascada, Timber by Pitbull and Kesha,

I Stella Carrier follow my intuition regardless of any judgement I risk to follow my bliss and intuition to include some of my goals and dreams in my law of attraction scripts

 Setting the Washington D.C. area and Norfolk Virginia area

 My intuition is unlimited and expanding each day.

My creativity is expanding each day

I allow myself to try new ways of doing regardless of what others think

I transform uncertainty into greater fuel and plans for my fitness goals, my online education goals, and my goals for both the present and future regardless  of how I may be judged for doing so.

My ability to connect to the celestial forces of the heavenly realms are increasing daily. I use the blessing of this connection for greater creativity and wisdom in all areas of my life both present and future

Vogue by Madonna

A Sky Full of Stars Coldplay

I allow myself to pursue creative and artistic endeavors in all areas of my life today for both present and future. This helps me to channel all challenges of my life into art.

It is possible to both manifest more money and live life on my own terms.

What I am going through is developing my mental strength and teaching me that I do deserve greater financial and other forms of prosperity in all areas of my life both present and future.

I give spiritual thanks for the blessing of my superb physical health.

I discover that the power of my imagination increases/develops  when I act out what seems like a fantasy dream sequence that proves to actually be realistic. My power grows upon realizing that the power of my beliefs and self-confidence as well as intuition help my creations.

I move up the chain of command in all areas of my life today with little concern as to whether my actions reveal my intentions in my pursuit of advancement both present and future.

I proceed wisely flying underneath the radar with little concern as to whether others are underestimating my skill at taking advantage of a situation.

I perform my job duties as professionally as possible regardless of how long it takes for my golden opportunities to increase/manifest.

I maximize what is the secret of success by being ready to take a calculated risk at the right time in all areas of my life both present and future. I allow myself to feel courageous and proud when it comes to wisely and intuitively knowing what to publicly admit in all areas of my life both present and future.

I am a warrior and mystically blessed with the ability to manifest my dreams.

I share what is on my mind but do it in the most diplomatic way possible especially when it comes to my gift of intuitively emphasizing with others. I keep in mind that diplomacy as well as engaging both my intuition and logic transforms an iron door into multiple doors to a more golden and blessed reality both for myself and others who surround me in all areas of my life-personally, professionally, spiritually etc.

I trust that my celestial muses and the blessing of my best andor unique ideas are going to come to me through my imagination as well as other benevolent channels. I take into account my passions, channel them into greater creativity and imagination development when it come to pursuing various plans and goals in all areas of my life with balanced concern as to whether they are realistic or fantasy.

I wisely put a moderation on the number of commitments I pursue in order to ensure a greater chance of success (keeping in mind my fitness and udemy course andor other online class commitments year round, planning volunteer activities a max of 3 days out of the week, going to church, and my job search goals  applying for college admission for a 2nd bachelors degree program in public relations market andor advertising by october 1, 2017 or sooner)). Smart focused work (what others consider hard work) and consistent effort make a wide difference especially when it comes to my walking fitness goals.

I am wisely and intuitively learning what pieces of information to filter out via discernment and which pieces of information to keep in mind in all areas of my life both present and future.

I pay attention to what I feel beneath the surface. I understand that I have much at stake but I wisely channel these feelings into artistic endeavors and my walking fitness goals. My instincts serve me very well in all areas of my life both present and future.

I creatively experiment with different methods in various areas of my life having faith and increased belief that this is helping me to forge a deeper connection to my higher self as well as grow my imagination and increase my intuition even when other people may question if I stick to what I know best andor if I am reaching beyond my capacity.

 Songs for me to keep in mind; Shook Me all night long by AcDC

Take it off billboard remix by Kesha

Lightning by the wanted

You and Me by Lifehouse

My House by Flo Rida

Magic by Robin Thicke

Swalla by Jason Derulo and Nicki Minaj

 Some other songs for me to keep in mind; Simply Irresistible by Robert Palmer, Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled feat. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller, Sunny Days by Armin Van Buuren feat. Josh Cumbee, Raindrops (Encore Une Fois) by Sash! Feat. Stunt

             I fortunately now have a digital online subscription with the Los Angeles Times so naturally there are an abundance of articles to choose and look from. Yes, Yahoo is ok and Msn even better. However, I am the type of person who wants more open-minded options to choose from as well. Even with my intent for having my eyes set on living long term in an East Coast area for my husband and I,this article from Los Angeles Times happens to catch my attention because it pertains to affordable housing, an important issue even in the Washington D.C. area. Obviously from my point of view, affordable housing is important even on the East Coast of the U.S. where I reside. Even with the shocking title, I understand that it is important to be happy for other people who are wealthy as they got their through their own efforts and abundance consciousness so that is not a point that I am going to elaborate on. Rather the point I am making is the public dialogue around affordable housing needs to be more frequent and grow for at least the probability of discussing how affordable housing areas can increase and be more readily available across all parts of the United States as time goes by.

What housing crisis? Last-minute bill would let wealthy Marin County limit home building

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-marin-county-housing-cut-20170621-story.html

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Feist, Fleet Foxes, a talking wolf named Nick Offerman,

http://www.dinnerpartydownload.org/lookup/

             My husband Rusty and I use to live in Norfolk Virginia from part of 2008 until part of 2009 (as I was stationed on the USS Eisenhower) so naturally this article on Naval Station Norfolk’s First 100 Years by Courtney Mabeus is going to catch my attention. I remember being on the Eisenhower and working alongside multiple civilian workers who had various jobs dealing with the Eisenhower (even during moments of various people hauling food stores onto the ship). During my time living in Norfolk Virginia, I remember the base being huge and the city itself expanding to accommodate a growing population. I am sure that this is still the case today ( of the city itself expanding and probably the Norfolk Naval Base as well). Yes, I also have a digital online subscription with the Virginian Pilot. I originally started to subscribe to them around March 2016 and renewed my online digital subscription with the Virginian Pilot less than 8 weeks ago.

Naval Station Norfolk's first 100 years: World's largest navy base anchored to community

·        By Courtney Mabeus  The Virginian-Pilot

·        Jun 24, 2017

 https://pilotonline.com/news/military/local/naval-station-norfolk-s-first-years-world-s-largest-navy/article_f0fbc138-f60f-5ec8-b138-a00928b18f0b.html

An Insider’s Guide to Far Southwest Virginia

https://blog.virginia.org/2017/06/insiders-guide-southwest-virginia/?utm_campaign=FB0617&utm_content=swvaguide

Six Sensational Destination Restaurants for the Whole Family

by Patrick Evans-Hylton | Posted: Jul 2, 2015 | Updated: Jun 22, 2017

 https://blog.virginia.org/2015/07/family-dining/?utm_campaign=FB0617&utm_content=famdiningpt1

DOVE + RYAN JUST EXPOSED WHAT THEIR NEW SONG REALLY MEANS!

 http://popmania.com/dove-cameron-and-ryan-mccartan-songs/

Public Relations Student Society of America

http://prssa.prsa.org/scholarships-and-awards/

The George Washington University Washington D.C.

Professional Certificate in Event Management - Online Courses

 http://www.cvent.com/events/professional-certificate-in-event-management-online-courses/event-summary-6c447a7b1ea440fa82e7e5a4056d1b98.aspx?upid=10271261&ebid=13821283&ebslid=891505&eblid=157

http://www.odu.edu/academics/programs#program_type=.bachelors

Old Dominion University Norfolk Virginia online bachelor’s degree programs

Ragan's Business Writing Webinar

 https://store.ragan.com/ProductDetails.asp?product=Y17TR03&listshow=Webinars&catid=FB9AE2D34AB9403EAEFAFD67FBA5530B&promo=130380153776&grfr=Yes

I was born a month early and actually had to be forced out of my biological mother’s body with forceps when I too was born with jaundice (as from what my late adoptive mother told me). I understand that it is laughable what I am about to say, but I truthfully did not stop to realize until I came across the TMZ story that this condition can affect babies from wealthier parents as well until I came across this story of Beyonce and JayZ’s twins.

BEYONCE, JAY-Z TWINS ARE HOME In Lavish Malibu Rental

http://www.tmz.com/2017/06/26/beyonce-jay-z-bring-twins-home-malibu-house/

EXCLUSIVE: Beyoncé's baby love nest: Set on a bluff overlooking the Pacific this is the lavish 10-bedroom, $400,000 a month Malibu hideaway where the megastar new mom of TWINS, hubby Jay Z and five-year-old Blue Ivy are bonding

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4630658/Beyonce-s-400-000-month-baby-love-nest-Malibu.html

How to Get the Most Out of Your Interior Designer

 http://goop.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-interior-designer/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=All+Dynamic+Links&utm_content=All+Dynamic+Links&utm_campaign=2017_06_26+-+tune-up+-+READERS&_bta_tid=04586622645476420826798031425473628627535472525692770195721299449829009620845898983723427879514998750985

Wedge Salad Burgers

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/wedge-salad-burgers-3362755

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/zucchini-parmesan-crisps-recipe-1939866

9 Hotels with Incredible Views of July 4th Fireworks

From sea to shining sea, these luxury hotels offer front-row views of the nation’s best pyrotechnics.

By Amanda Millin

The Hay-Adams, Washington, D.C.

http://robbreport.com/travel/hotels/slideshow/9-hotels-july-4th-fireworks/the-hay-adams-washington-d-c-/

from the book Directing Your Destiny by Jennifer Grace

page 81

I have opened the floodgates of abundance and prosperity

I am a magnet for opportunity and success

The universe is always conspiring with me and often suprises me with blessings

I am surrounded by people who need what I have to offer.

My intuition leads me to create opportunity

Money flows to me effortlessly

I exude power, purpose, and prosperity everywhere I go

https://www.aldi.us/en/grocery-home/healthy-living/

Aldi’s Grocery Store link

For Wednesday November 1, 2017 Script 2

To Manifest by November 1 2017  to December 18 2017 andor sooner

  I Stella Carrier feel blessed to have a loving, passionate, and close marriage with my sweet and handsome husband Rusty Ridler. Additionally, my sweet husband Rusty Ridler and I Stella Carrier are enjoying the essence of love and happiness in all areas of our lives together for both present and future. My Sweet husband Rusty Ridler is enjoying success beyond his wildest dreams at his University of Maryland College Park job for both present and future as many of his customers and coworkers love him. I Stella Carrier am fortunately also enjoying success, professional growth, and professional and spiritual evolution beyond my wildest dreams at my University of Maryland College Park food services job. Additionally, I Stella Carrier am fortunate/lucky and enjoy the blessing of contributing to my highest and greatest good for both myself and others who surround me in all areas of my life both present and future. I Stella Carrier joyfully exceed the professional expectations that my managers Rob Fahey, George Gomez, Cindy Bolden, and Kevin Williams expect of me both present and future. I Stella Carrier am happy to also report that my success and focused commitment to superb job performance and innovate customer service have more than satisfied both many of my customers, coworkers, and all managers who comes into contact with me for both present and future. I Stella Carrier become a woman of unlimited intuition power, unlimited imagination power, and unlimited genius powers in all areas of my life both present and future. I Stella Carrier also enjoy the blessing of creating heaven on earth and in my afterlife in all areas of my life both present and future. I Stella Carrier also enjoy the blessing of reaping happy results from 12 of the programs that I have selected for joyfully changing all areas of my life both present and future. I Stella Carrier succeed in saving over 1200 dollars after taxes for both my bank of America and Sun Trust checking accounts. I Stella Carrier also enjoy the blessing of connection to my heaven higher self and my heaven higher spirit ally team of the heaven worlds of divine love and divine happiness for both present and future. I Stella Carrier also enjoy the blessing of being gifted by the heaven worlds of divine love and divine happiness in collaboration with my heaven higher self and my heaven spirit ally team to become an even wiser writer/author daily who writes creative, magical, unique, and powerful inspired by the celestial/heaven energy of the heaven worlds of the most radiant/happiest spiritual/benevolent light.

How to be valuable at work

How to Make Yourself (More) Valuable to Your Boss by Art Petty

 https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-make-yourself-more-valuable-to-your-boss-4027557

 35 Habits That Make Employees Extremely Valuable

By Kevin Daum

From the website

10. They cross-train themselves and others.

A company with specified individualists is in constant danger of losing expertise or capability. Employees create value when they increase redundancy of process and talent.

 https://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/35-habits-that-make-employees-extremely-valuable.html

The Secret to a Fulfilling Career Is Meaningful Work. Here's How to Find It by Michael Schneider

From the website

Don't let others' accomplishments determine your definition of a successful career.

Shell describes meaningful work as finding the intersection of three very important factors:

1. The work that others will reward you for doing

This could include promotions and a sense of status, increased compensation to live a carefree lifestyle, or the ability to hone your skills and build upon your experiences through additional opportunities. 

1.               Personal growth and development -- Work that challenges you to step outside your comfort zone and learn new skills necessary for progress. 

2.     Entrepreneurial independence -- Opportunities to work autonomously and control your own future. 

Expressing yourself through ideas, invention, or the arts -- Opportunities to create and build something new while exercising your freedom of expression. 

1.               Talent-based striving for excellence -- The ability to aspire to the highest level of distinction in a particular area of study. (To become a subject-matter expert.) 

 https://www.inc.com/michael-schneider/what-one-wharton-professor-says-about-secret-to-meaningful-work-and-how-to-find-it.html?cid=mustread3

These Are the 8 Best Pieces of Leadership Advice You'll Read This Week by Kevin J Ryan

https://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/ss/fast-company-innovation-festival-leadership-advice.html?cid=mustread1

11 Signs That You're an Incredibly Valuable Employee

By Aine Cain

https://www.inc.com/business-insider/11-unexpected-signs-youre-valuable-employee-work.html

How to Become the MVE (Most Valuable Employee) for Your Organization

By CM Smith

Get up and get moving

One of the plagues of early morning work hours is the dreaded “dead hour”. This is the phenomena of the first hour of the work day is spent waking up, drinking a bunch of coffee, and lazily doing something. Some people love the early mornings because it is a great time to get stuff done, but it’s tough to do when you are slathering around with your eyes barely open.

To fix this, try to get up about 30 minutes earlier everyday and go for a short walk outside, do some jumping jacks, squats, or stretches to get your blood flowing. Any exercising will do. This will ensure that the first hour at the office will be a productive one.

Have a backlog of ideas

If you are a knowledge worker, then your company is paying you for your ideas. Rather than rely on one or two played out ideas that got you into the company, you need to ensure that you have a backlog of them to keep yourself relevant as the company and the company’s goals may change.

One of the best resources for helping you identify and develop ideas is Mark Levy’s (the man behind Accidental Genius) List-Making as a Tool of Thought Leadership ebook. Mark goes through the process and the reasoning on why we need to create ideas and have them at our disposal. This will not only make you more valuable, but will make your company more valuable in the process.

 http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/how-to-become-the-mve-most-valuable-employee-for-your-organization.html

Share my story and trust that I can get even better

Metro Cooking DC link

http://www.metrocookingdc.com/

https://www.navy.com/

from local Washington DC area; Something Like This by Chainsmokers and Coldplay, Happy by Pharrell Williams Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, Heaven by Brian Adams, Cake by the Ocean by DNCE, So Emotional by Whitney Houston, Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield, Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga

 sources I prefer to keep secret; Believer by Imagine Dragons, Cinema by Benny Benassi feat. Gary Go (Skrillex Remix), What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 feat. SZA, Magic by the Cars, Heaven by DJ Sammy feat. Do, Heaven by Jes,Ectasy by ATB, Roc Me Out by Rihanna, Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran

 Pandora; Hall of Fame by the Script feat. William of the Black Eyed Peas, Timber by Pitbull feat. Kesha, Shake it off by Taylor Swift, In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel

[thegoldandsugar-blog]

AROUND 365



This is the “shameless”  me heading home,in a matatu booming loud crunk and some silly Fetty Wap crysongs( yeaaaah bae…),from a place that took me dosens of courage bundles and self discipline to atleast gather guts to leave ; of course there’s always a bunch of sinners trying to drive your faith into badlands where there are no parents you have to report to, in full detail, as to why you are having bad dreams about coming home late, since God is gracing them with a whole pack of awesomeness, so somehow you get home eleven deep night and your old man goes like “do you want us to lie outside watching the stars, reciting poetry into the thin air?” Ring! Ring! Wake up! Run away from them as first as you can’t since all you do is drink senator cage in a local bar so you got a belly looking like you Swallowed a giant drumstick without chewing but all is good though, Ladies still f-audio censor,  tiiiiiingg!- with you. 

Text Reference  ( Punctuality  - never mistake its power in your peace at home especially when lecturers are on strike and home is one place people  will have to bear with your loud disturbing singing of a weird genre of music for a very long time, like long!) 

Okay. I was about to narrate stories from where I’m from. A friend’s place, as always. Been there for some couple of days if you are using the high timeline (sometimes you wish you could wake up and spend a day just human, your lungs full of fresh air and the liver on vacation in Ibiza but there’s always that call from one your so called ninjas - “i swear this sh*t is lit, last night i was smoked and felt so astronaut."  Then they sum the deal with that notoriously famous phrase "there also a few girls too”. God forbid the things that construction of grammar does to our brains,  all the way to a lame excuse like "my friend’s cousin passed away, im going to console with them tonight". Remember to ask how many times that good friend has  had to kill you to show up at your ‘predicted-to-be-lit’  party with no girl or a bottle of cheap whisky, in contrary with demands and instructions highlighted in the invitation on WhatsApp.A very serious violation of the turn up ratio principles and high accords.  

Now, Now,Now. It was a good night from where i come from, I mean it was considerable damage to the body having spent the whole week sleeping, eating, doing nothing! That "Jack with no play is a dull boy"  philosophy is something i hold so dear to my heart people. So some green leaf combustion to release healthy carbon killing  cancer cells, initiating  some brain rebooting and application updates was going on after a day full of similar  happenings in a location from which i telepoted to this place where i leave fellow sinners going on with the quests for higher clouds. One thing is we didn’t know how we found ourselves here but damn! We’re a bunch of lost warthogs, we don’t remember sh*t and that, is one reason we’re so happy  ( Lord help them see their lives) 

As the routine prescribes it to be, i mean some random confessions about how elevated one feels ; in the skies flying with stokes, delivering babies to fellow men who apparently… ( ladies and gentlemen, the next statement has been written out of utmost respect for all men and if not, my apologies)… Shoot blanks!  Then you feel so amazing and amidst all these good things are stupid moments like "this stash is fine bruh, whom did you buy it from? Especially when you were the same single person in that clique that knows all the sellers in your area and individually went to purchase the magic wands, YOURSELF!   If you were in a serious session then you don’t miss an Einstein moment during which numerous brainstorms are battering your skull, exploding with billions of ideas about the cosmos and the relationship between FIFA 17 and Heaven (sometimes you might fail to grip the difference but brethren! Brethren! ) . Of course it doesn’t go without mentioning the various “facts”  and concrete reasons as to why your extremely silly arguments came to existence, deserving a chunk of minutes set aside for their discussion and clarification. The beat of that EDM track is overwhelming your emotions and you hate your life. Why do you stay in such a cursed continent with black people and elephants which attract more love than the people themselves? You want to live in America, go to some dope college in Dallas, get paid a few dollars per hour( you’re a humble child from Africa,  with an ashy face since most of the vaseline is spent on other vital body checks and balances,  so “a few” will be okay), eat some McDonald’s burgers or Subway cookies  and mess with white boujee babes. This is one of those moments you wonder what your great grandfathers were doing when others were taken up for slavery now their generations living lavish in Beverly Hills. They must have been some lazy bunch i swear. Right now you could be some youth in Atlanta looking like a vintage ghost of Shakes Makena in the super strikers classics, with some gold tooth and a zombie rap style earning a thousand bucks with a name like "Kodak Black" ( may the gods have mercy) . Out of nowhere!  Upto where we are now you can sense the humour in your Hollywood aspirations so you laugh out loud, seconds before your mates join in, till that final time a rush of wisdom strikes one of you and asks what y'all laughing about, then you realize  there was actually no joke but then again, who cares?  The cycle continues.

This is what I’m thinking at that moment, my Einstein moment! What if our world was a just a setting of a game section played by a people of an elite dimension, the real world now. Let’s say like GTA stuff. So each one of us is a Trevor of some sought, your gamer is bad at racing, shooting and even finding locations because unfortunately he got no clue of the map and its purpose. Basically, his “gaming”  skills are on the garbage side of mediocre, lets say it’s a dumb ass potential school dropout trying to spend time away so evening can come and sleep, moral lesson - you’re a game over or busted(dead!) . In short, this type of game is that which was played 10 years ago by the urban kids with PS(long before the numbers) now they took all their old  junk to the countryside so relatives are trying to chase the trend. That’s how bad these imaginations are. I’m proud of myself, honestly. Of all these red-eyed fallen humans staring at me sharing this fiction, anticipating the next part of this  plot like the release of the next shooter episode in those pirate sites, over buffering connection,i think i have the best story! 

Come on now, you and i know that one guy that got  to tell false stories about his uncle and the many ladies who certainly find him a supermodel and can’t resist proclaiming their love all over social media. He’s always recording chest bare videos for his 316 Instagram followers or “with the boys”  captioned pictures, with the many Picsart filters, to his Facebook .Sometimes you’re there in your zone thinking why you tolerate such characters in your outcast living till it hits you that you were not blessed with the sweet slippery tongue to lure in all the pretty girls to your parties that he professionally possesses. He’s always there to save your thirst,as long as he doesn’t pay for any other activity. ( sniper tings, put some hashtags on that). 

Drifting down this plot, this is the best deal of this turnt up business! The ladies. The sweet ladies that accepted to be part of a life saving campaign as far as your boring day is concerned , God bless their tolerance, even I wouldn’t dare to give my number to myself, let alone answering to a "Form call". You can’t believe what we tell you the next day but that part about you pulling some Grrrrrh ! Grrrrh!  to a “rrrrraah”,   lecturing a dab session for the song "panda"  to a girl smiling sheepishly, balancing on wobbly worn out feet asking silly sad questions at the corner is a true story. One in which your vampire qualities are activated so you are frequently seen in dark corners and poorly lit corridors serving as blindspots for the prosperity of your uncouth behaviours inspired by a great deal of moral decay.You somehow want to walk to that girl sitting on the couch and whisper “that’s some fine piece of beef you carry  back there”  but then you realise she’s still on the other side of town and the joke may not have a required reciprocate , enough slaps today, more drugs for her. Now you’ve changed your mind about her, “noo, she’s too rachet bruh, too rachet! Don’t play yourself! ” ( the boys up there are in serious analysis and checks - you can even establish family backgrounds of all your friends by sight alone. Of course these are the same boys that  save the day from the rant of your father) Before processing the next thought, the stomach is up. Dear Munchies, even the ice cubes seem edible : bottomline, this hunger is pure evil with lots of malice! Hunger games catching fire! The moment you come out of the house, dusk has come, an end of a new day, the same day you had promised to show up at home before noon. Change of course now. A few  minutes later, you’re in this mat’ writing this silly story that probably no one  will like even after laughing to it because you are not any lady posting a "#lipgame"  pic with an inspirational quote like, "throw me to the wolves and I’ll come back leading the pack" (why is social media so heartless? It’s like, liking your fellow ninja’s post is gay!) . It’s still the same you caring not to make any close eye contact with other passengers at this point because unfortunately, your eyes can tell it all. You know there are thousands of grammatical mistakes all over this composition but what are edits for? Furthermore this is a good piece, fruits of "the stash" and next time you’re called up yonder, you won’t hesitate. See your life!