#like every single important ruin he had to conquer? discover? whatever??? just so happen to be related to these people. watsonian analysis:

[citrus-soda]

The fact that all of Descole’s schemes in the first two prequels / movie have incidentally involved victims who personally know Hershel Layton (and who then ask Layton to come and help them) is incredibly funny in hindsight. He just cannot! get!! rid of him!!!

[primrose-path-of-dalliance]

Lotor’s end (?) in s6

toc 1: i shake out some salt and talk about the altean colony | 2: i question why people keep insisting lotor was "evil all along" | 3: i talk about my favorite parts of lotor’s breakdown

lotor, altea, and king alfor

when lotor chooses to lash out and start destroying everything, he says: "what about your father? he may have been a master engineer, but alfor was too weak to defend his homeworld. i'm the one who had to step up and save our entire race. who are you to question my tactics in bringing peace and prosperity to the universe?"

the knee-jerk reaction is to be furious at lotor for this statement, and what he says is unfair. it's not as if alfor simply gave up, lay down, and offered his people to the pyre. perhaps he made a mistake in sending voltron away (as his ai freely admits to allura), but although we don't get a lot of information on what happened after zarkon's resurrection, we know that he tried to defend his people. that he ultimately lost isn't a fact that's fair to reflect onto his moral character. additionally, lotor is singing his own praises even after we've discovered that he's far from hot shit, and naturally it's unappealing.

but as a character, lotor possesses an extremely unique perspective. he is the only major sympathetic character in the show to have lived through all of the 10,000 years of post-resurrection zarkon's reign. and he is among the small group of characters who have been aligned against the empire for a significant amount of time since before allura and coran reawoke; potentially, he has spent the longest actively on the galra empire's shit list.

i said that allura's viewpoint in the show is limited for a very good reason. even the person who is our primary protagonist, who is extraordinarily sympathetic and compassionate, whose heart breaks regularly for the people who suffer under the oppression of this empire and who has suffered tremendously herself while determined to devote the rest of her life to this cause, can be a bit clueless when she's a teenager and only woke up about a year ago into a universe entirely different from the one she once knew.

most of allura's life was spent in a stable and loving home on an idyllic planet as crown royalty, with all the resources and wealth that lifestyle offered to her. she was raised for both diplomacy and warfare but had little time to become familiar with them, particularly the latter, when compared to the work of centuries or millennia under the rule of an extremely powerful and oppressive empire. and the perspective from which she learned her trades was as the heir of a powerful kingdom and expansive legacy, not as a freedom fighter. most significantly, she had astounding resources even after waking up into an empire that wanted her dead—the castle of lions, an extremely mobile self-powered warship with apparently no concern to be had for things like food supplies or relative comfort; and voltron, quite literally the most powerful weapon in the universe with limits unknown and a sentient being in its own right. additionally, the return of the black lion distracted zarkon. he was obsessed with reclaiming it above all else, to the point where haggar criticized his illogical behavior right to his face. voltron's return weakened zarkon's ability to strategize intelligently. in terms of practical position against the galra empire, allura, coran, and the paladins possessed the strongest one from the very beginning. and they have only gotten stronger.

this doesn't place allura in an easy position to empathize with the other forces who have fought against the empire, and considering the usual level of empathy or thoughtfulness one can already expect from a teenager, it shouldn't be a shock that allura's perspective may not be the most understanding.

when she condemns lotor for his treatment of the altean colony, as rightfully as she may be doing so, she does so without any understanding of where lotor is coming from. she literally cannot comprehend the type of situation someone like lotor must have been in to drive him to do something so horrific, nor that someone who's not Evil could still commit such crimes. this is tied into one of the biggest reasons lotor loses his temper and says what he does.

what i'm saying isn't without precedence in this show. @howtofightwrite has talked about the usual experience of a resistance (link). (please feel encouraged to read the whole post, especially for context. they do a great job being a resource for writers about a wide variety of topics, and if you're not already acquainted, i totally recommend following them.)

since it's a very long post, i'll quote the most relevant parts:

"When you’re writing a story about a resistance, never forget that they are in a hostile environment where everything is a danger to them, and you should approach every engagement violent or not as a cost comparison. ....

When you’re working with a resistance fighter, the resistance part is more important than the fighter part. These are not people with a very large margin for error, and who need to be incredibly good at threat assessment in regard to their greater goals. The greater goal is what’s most important to them, their priority, their mission, they have limited resources and that means they have to make compromises. For the resistance fighter, violence itself draws attention. Attention is bad.

Think about this, if he does manage to fight these two and kill them then whatever kills he makes will be taken out on the civilian population. If he doesn’t kill them, and they remember his face then he’s done as a resistance fighter. Again, attention is bad. Attention brings notoriety. In a hostile state, the consequences are many and they hit the innocent population hardest.

My point is this: your character is not making decisions on what he can do or can’t do, not in what’s morally right or wrong, if he wants to survive in a resistance then he’s making decisions based on risk. ....

Resistance fighters are the ones who run when their friends get captured, the ones who stand by and do nothing if they’re not at risk of being outed. They wait. They strike later, though usually not to recover their friends. Well, the smart ones do. The stupid ones try. They either get gunned down or captured because hot blood and hot heads get murdered in the streets by the gestapo. There are always more of them than there are you in a resistance, and violence attracts attention. The wrong kind of attention in the wrong place means death or capture, prison, interrogation, torture, and then the firing squad. The consequences for failure are high, not just for the single resistance fighter but for everyone they know, everyone they love, and for the very movement they’re fighting for. ....

For every piece your character and his friends take, the enemy will take five of theirs. He is in a rigged game where his own lack of resources will crush him unless the resistance can convince the populace at large to rise up. That is how a resistance actually wins in the real world, you know. If they can’t get the citizens behind them or receive aid from an outside power or train up an army on foreign soil, they’re doomed."

when the blade of marmora are first introduced, they fill precisely this type of role in the show. they are the resistance, the small guy fighting against an empire that has conquered and controls most of the known universe, who has decided to focus on spywork as the primary goal they can accomplish. and allura dislikes them instantly—not only because they're galra, but because she considers them disappointments for having not already taken down the empire themselves. she criticizes what she sees as passivity, as fear to engage with the enemy. she fails to realize that the blade of marmora lacked the firepower of voltron or the resources to commit to a war with the empire.

as the blade of marmora emphasized in their introduction, they survived through their secrecy. if things went wrong, if they took too many risks in trying to liberate other people, their existence would be discovered. and then the empire, a force with effectively infinite resources and no small amount of cruelty, would have their guard up. all of their spies would suddenly be in great danger. any future operations would become exponentially more difficult. depending on the risk that fell through, it wouldn't be difficult at all for the empire to decimate their numbers, or worse, decimate whatever civilian populations they might have been trying to protect or train for war. the blade of marmora simply wouldn't have the ability to fight back.

allura deserves no guilt for condemning lotor, of course. he abused the very people he was supposed to be protecting. he may have found some comfort for himself by treating it as a conservation issue, but he nevertheless ruined the lives of thousands of already oppressed people. regardless of motive, that is never going to be something that sits well with the type of good our protagonists are, and rightfully so. it's the reason we love them so much.

but it's frustrating to see people reduce antagonists like lotor to "Pure Bad Evil all along" because it's completely dismissive of the work the show writers have put into him as a character with a story entirely different from either zarkon's cardboard cutout villainy or allura's honest but youthful idealism. and to what purpose? making sure we all know genocide is bad? surely we don't have to perform hatred or oversimplification of a fictional character just to make sure everyone knows our disdain for mass exploitation. and surely we're capable of understanding that exploring the reasons why someone would do such a thing doesn't mean we agree with them or are excusing their actions.

i stated that the ultimate incompatibility of allura's perspective with lotor's is tied into lotor's break. not the sole cause. that's because it, when expressed in such a raw attack on lotor's character, was only the trigger for the release of a massive amount of resentment that lotor has been harboring inside him. when lotor breaks, it isn't because he can't tolerate the idea of a woman rejecting him. it's because he's been bitter toward everything for a very, very long time, and his break is that moment when he decides to stop holding it in or rationalizing it away.

for 10,000 years, he has endured abuse from the people who ought to have loved him the most. he's been disconnected from each side of his heritage: the galra, because he's half-altean and a disgustingly moral half-breed exile; and the alteans, because he's half-galra and they, at the hands of the empire and to an extent lotor himself, have experienced genocide and abuse until they were scattered and isolated, a mere shadow of what they once were. his friends are few and far between, because trust is difficult when his father will murder everyone around him just because he hears from someone nearby that lotor's having a decent time being deviant, and when the woman at his father's right hand (who he now knows is his mother, one of the sole figures in his life he imagined to be good because he thought she was already dead) will send spies his way through any avenue possible, including benevolent ones (he's not even a little shocked to accept narti's supposed betrayal, or to find himself taken to haggar's feet at galra central command after kuron's mind-control switch is flipped). sendak, the man implied to have been more raised as a son by zarkon than zarkon's own actual son, threatens to make lotor his personal slave, and lotor barely bats an eye because this inherent violence toward his existence is something completely normal to him. his style of fighting and strategy is entirely angled as someone who's used to being the small guy—he's agile, and clever, and quick, and prefers to either manipulate his way out or outfox his enemy because he rarely has the strength to challenge or threaten people head-on; even sincline's strength is in outmaneuvering its opponent. as an infant, we see lotor in the darkness crying alone in his crib with no one to tend to him.

consistently, lotor has been characterized as a target of abuse, with all the baggage that it comes with.

the resentment here is in knowing how easily it could have been better. how happy he might have been. if he had known king alfor as a parental figure instead ("i envy you, growing up with king alfor"). if he had grown up in altea with honerva instead of in the galra empire with zarkon. if king alfor had not failed in his duty to his people, to the universe 10,000 years ago, and simply killed zarkon when he had the chance.

allura, as much as he respects her as an individual, is also a representation of what he wishes he could have had: a loving family, a happy life, proper training as an altean alchemist, security in a group of close friends she can trust and interact with comfortably. she trusts the universe in a way he can't even comprehend of doing. moreover, allura got to sleep relatively peacefully for those 10,000 years of zarkon's tyrannical rule, undisturbed and undiscovered on arus.

she never had to live those millennia under zarkon's oppressive rule. she never had the burden of a horrific legacy. she never had to figure out who she was all by herself, uninternalize every ounce of racism and abuse and discover what it meant to be a person of value by chasing after crumbling ruins. instead, he had to save the last alteans left after zarkon's genocide. he had to figure out a way to topple the empire. he had to find himself trapped in every corner with the choice to either die or sacrifice whatever morality he had to live another day, to take a single step closer to killing his own father.

and now allura has the gall to condemn him, when he didn’t have a superweapon like voltron. he didn’t have a massive castleship, a wormhole generator, or the gifts of a sacred altean. he was working with the best he had. does she think he wanted to use the alteans as a quintessence farm? does she think he wanted to be zarkon's son? all he wanted was peace. maybe if her father had just won, none of them would've had to be there. none of this would have happened. but instead she has the gall to hate him for trying to clean up her father's 10,000 year old mistake.

well, fine. he'll just do a better job restoring the alteans to power and bringing peace to the universe than any of them ever could.

in lotor's relationship with allura and king alfor, there is as much jealousy and resentment as there is love and admiration. and he understood how much of it was unfair, or else we would have seen it leak into his behavior before now no matter how good of an actor he was, if only so we the audience might characterize him properly as a dick. (hopefully i don't have to clarify that it didn't.)

but at this point, everything has been going wrong, allura is on the other side of the battlefield, and quintessence exposure is insidiously wreaking havoc on his ability to process what's happening in a healthy manner. all he can think about is how bitter and tired he is of this. and so he breaks.

of course it was wrong. he was literally attempting to kill the team by the end. none of this excuses the choices he made or the things he said, and he has to be held accountable for all of it. but more than anything, lotor is an example of how a person as human (for lack of a better word) as anyone else can be incredibly hurtful, how his end of self-destruction is brought about by the very authentic experience of wanting the happiness that has been continually taken away from him, and how this self-destruction is implicitly tied into his isolation.

the importance of a support system

this is probably one of the defining themes of vld. although it sometimes doesn't deliver on the paladins as a family unit, we get numerous arcs throughout the show about one character helping to emotionally support another through something difficult, and it's emphasized several times that every person in the team is deeply concerned with the individual wellbeing of their other team members/friends. as a show about a bunch of somewhat-strangers having to come together and form a giant robot mech in order to literally save the universe through the power of teamwork and cooperation, this isn't really surprising.

so let's look at lotor. he's incapable of having a positive connection with either side of his heritage as a whole—the galra have abused him and most of the known universe, the alteans either never recognize him as one of their own unless he tells them or end up victims of his own vampiric needs. the only person from his history he can draw strength and purpose from is honerva, his long-dead mother—and then he discovers that she survived quite well to become one of his greatest demons. his relationship with his generals is fairly good, but their dynamic is always more professional than casual—and then he kills narti and later claims he will kill any and all galra that stand against him. he and the paladins tentatively befriend each other, he and allura fall in love with each other—and then it's revealed that he hid very dirtied hands from them in the process. all of them abandon or turn against him. and by the end, he pilots sincline alone, in sharp contrast to the recently-reunited team of five in voltron.

repeatedly, we see lotor as a desperate seeker for connection who inevitably sabotages himself through his own actions, driving away every one of his friends and associates. this final collapse of his already-fragile support system is what leads directly to his self-destruction.

officially, lotor's been described as a secret azula the writers were trying to trick us into believing was a zuko. it's a fair description, but not in the sense that he was an evil villain, and that misconception ought to be cleared away. anyone who's watched avatar: the last airbender understands that azula, as dramatic and stunning a villain as she was, was far less someone to hate for her deeds than she was someone to pity���she was a tragedy who never got to grow away from the abuse of her father the way zuko did, and who brought about her own self-destruction through her toxicity and subsequent isolation.

the parallels are very obvious, and i suspect the reduction in similar reception when it comes to lotor is because 1. it's a lot easier to sympathize with a teenage girl who already had characters in-story to sympathize with her and fill in her background of abuse, and 2. fandom culture now is different and much less forgiving to its villains.

in many ways, lotor had the chances azula never got. like zuko, lotor was exiled in disgrace and spent a significant amount of time away from home; like zuko, lotor got the chance to uninternalize his abuse; like zuko, lotor demonstrated qualities from the beginning that made him more similar to the protagonists than the villains. the one thing lotor never got, however, was an uncle iroh: someone with the maturity, energy, and willingness to stay by his side through his unhealthy behavior, support him by promoting healthy behavior, and give him the unwavering love and forgiveness and faith that he was never able to receive from anyone else.

instead, lotor more or less had to figure it out on his own, which is challenging enough without adding isolation and high amounts of stress into the mix. by the end of s6, lotor was probably unconsciously seeking out a similar kind of relationship through allura, but the problem is in how demanding that type of support is. no one is really obligated to expend that amount of effort on anyone, no matter how positive of a result it might create. uncle iroh sacrificed a lot to give zuko the encouragement he needed to find a healthier state of mind, even suffering through his multiple missteps off the path that hurt iroh and everyone else around him, and zuko understood this by the time they reunited in the campgrounds of the order of the lotus.

team voltron, on the other hand, would never have been able to give lotor that kind of support for a myriad of reasons, youth and conflicting priorities and unfamiliarity with lotor among them, much less should have. many of the circumstances were also different—much more difficult with a 10,000-year-old character whose missteps include the abuse of a colony of already oppressed people, after all.

lm and jds have also drawn a similar comparison between lotor and keith (link). they share similar backgrounds—complicated family situation, absent mother, interpersonal issues borne from a history of isolation—but unlike lotor, keith found someone to guide him away from a downward spiral: shiro. ("i will never give up on you.") this difference between the two of them is explicitly acknowledged as what saved keith from self-destruction.

lotor was not an irredeemable character by far, and for some of us who were excited by the potential we saw, the end of s6 was disappointing. but within the context of the show and the progression of the plot, lotor's self-destruction was the logical path for him to go. it probably isn't the ultimate end of lotor; he didn't die, after all. but all things considered, i feel that lotor was ultimately treated with respect, and his arc added things to the story we never would've gotten otherwise.

(if we want a happy story, well, that's what we can write fanfiction for, right?)

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Moffat Era Rewatch: Heaven Sent/Hell Bent

Run, you clever boy. And be a Doctor...  

Warning: Spoilers Sweetie 

'Heaven Sent’ is the pinnacle of Doctor Who. I honestly can’t think of an episode better written, directed or acted than this. In years to come this will be the one we will often see at the top of all those best of lists. ‘Hell Bent’ will be further down those lists. Not because it’s bad (although many people think it is), it just isn’t as great as what came before it. 

“As you come into this world, something else is also born. You begin your life, and it begins a journey towards you. It moves slowly, but it never stops. Wherever you go, whatever path you take, it will follow. Never faster, never slower, always coming. You will run. It will walk. You will rest. It will not. One day, you will linger in the same place too long. You will sit too still or sleep too deep, and when, too late, you rise to go, you will notice a second shadow next to yours. Your life will then be over.” 

Peter Capaldi is the Doctor with the best voice after Tom Baker and, boy, did Moffat know it. He was always giving him these wonderful speeches, monologues and voiceovers to perform. 

“If you think because she is dead, I am weak, then you understand very little. If you were any part of killing her, and you're not afraid, then you understand nothing at all. So, for your own sake, understand this. I am the Doctor. I'm coming to find you, and I will never, ever stop.”

They took Jenna out of the credits.     

An episode like this only works if you have an actor of Peter Capaldi’s calibre at its centre, someone who can make 50 minutes of talking to himself absolutely riveting.  

I’ve always thought it would be a great idea to strand the Doctor alone on a planet with no TARDIS, no friends, and no gadget or gizmos, where he has to rely solely on that big brain of his to survive and escape. This is the closest I am ever likely to seeing that on screen. 

“Come on! Chop, chop! The Doctor will see you now! Show me what you've got! I just watched my best friend die in agony. My day can't get any worse. Let's see what we can do about yours!” 

“See, Clara...”  *weeping* 

He missed her so much he painted a portrait. 

So if the Doctor was the one who painted that portrait, where’d he get the paint and brushes or the canvas and frame? 

“When I was a very little boy, there was an old lady who died. They covered her in veils, but it was a hot, sunny day, and the flies came. It gave me nightmares for years. So, who's been stealing my nightmares?” Is that why he slept in the barn? This old woman died, possibly a relative, and her corpse stank the place out so much that the Doctor started sleeping in the barn because it was the only place that didn’t stink of death.  

“I told you I was scared of dying. And I wasn't lying either. Advantage, me!”

The TARDIS is the Doctor’s mind palace. 

“The first rule of being interrogated is that you are the only irreplaceable person in the torture chamber. The room is yours, so work it. If they're going to threaten you with death, show them who's boss. Die faster.”

“Isn't that right, Clara?”

“I can't wait to hear what I say. I'm nothing without an audience.” 

This is exactly what I’ve always imagined the Doctor’s thought process was like. 

Damn, Murray Gold’s music for this episode is just sublime. Episodes like this are why we never shut up about watching the season 9 soundtrack.

Since we know these clothes are his it must mean that his first time around he completed the cycle in just his undies.   

“It's a killer puzzle box designed to scare me to death, and I'm trapped inside it. Must be Christmas.“ 

Doctor really should’ve held on to that spade. 

“Because I'm not the first prisoner here, am I! All those skulls! Wonder where they all went wrong.” You’re about to find out. 

The truth will literally set him free. 

“But I'm scared and I'm alone. Alone, and very, very scared.”

“It's funny, the day you lose someone isn't the worst. At least you've got something to do. It's all the days they stay dead.” 

“Every room, if I leave it long enough, reverts to its condition at the moment I arrive. It tidies up after itself.” Except Room 12. Maybe he never left it long enough. 

All he wants to do is brood about Clara and finish his soup. Is that really too much to ask? 

“Bird? What's bird got to do with it? Are there birds here?” 

“If I didn't know better, I'd say I've travelled seven thousand years into the future.” 

And then, he remembered.

“That's when I remember! Always then. Always then. Always exactly then!” He remembers. He remembers all of it. And it is only seven thousand years at this point. Imagine what it was like for him when he hit year four billion. Four and a half billions years of being torture and dying over and over again.   

“Whatever I do, you still won't be there.” 

“Doctor, you are not the only person who ever lost someone. It's the story of everybody. Get over it. Beat it. Break free. Doctor, it's time. Get up, off your arse, and win!” When the Doctor find himself in times of trouble, Clara Oswald comes to him, speaking words of wisdom.    

He is really regretting not holding onto the spade now. 

“...how many seconds in eternity?” 

One of the reasons I’m going to miss this TARDIS set so much when it gets replaced next season is the lighting.

“People always get it wrong with Time Lords. We take forever to die. Even if we're too injured to regenerate, every cell in our bodies keeps trying. Dying properly can take days. That's why we like to die among our own kind. They know not to bury us early.”  

Don’t ever tell me that Peter didn’t get given great material to work with. I bet there are more than a few former Doctors who would’ve killed to get just a tenth of the material he was blessed with over the last three seasons. 

“How long can I keep doing this, Clara? Burning the old me, to make a new one?” And suddenly Twelve’s desire not to regenerate makes a lot more sense.  

And this here is the single great work of editing ever seen on television. Peter, Steven, Rachel, and Murray are all deservedly praised for this episode, but let’s have a round of applause for editor William Oswald. 

“Personally, I think that's a hell of a bird.“   

Sweet home Gallifrey, where the skies are so orange.

“The Hybrid destined to conquer Gallifrey and stand in its ruins *puts on sunglasses* is me.” YEEEEAAAAAAAAHH!!!!

‘Heaven Sent’ is overwhelming regarded as a masterpiece, opinions on ‘Hell Bent’ are a little more diverse. I’m firmly in the “It’s great, but not as great as Heaven Sent” camp. 

So where did he get that guitar? It’s not Twelve’s regular guitar. 

Strutting into the place like the rock god he is. 

“What's it called?” "I think that it's called Clara.”    

I need the guitar version of Clara’s theme. 

New Rassilon (Timothy Dalton wasn’t available),and same old Sisterhood of Karn.  

I’m assuming this lady is the same one from ‘Listen’

“You will lay down any weapons on your person...” *drops his spoon*

“I think he's finishing his soup.” He’s waited four and half billions years, you are damn right he is going to finish it.   

Where did he get the new suit? Is there a tailors out in the Gallifrey wastes? 

“Do you know what I have, out here in the Dry Lands, where there's nobody who matters? No witnesses.” Rassilon is such a fucking aristocratic. 

“Oh, you like a cliffhanger, don't you?”

Gallifrey should be known as Space Glasgow from now on. 

“The first thing you will notice about the Doctor of War is he's unarmed. For many, it's also the last.”

“Every story ever told really happened. Stories are where memories go when they're forgotten.” 

The Doctor pulled off a coup without firing even a single shot. This is, what, the fourth time he’s become Lord President of Gallifrey? And all without ever winning a single election. So much for democracy. 

“All Matrix prophecies concur that this creature will one day stand in the ruins of Gallifrey. It will unravel the Web of Time and destroy a billion billion hearts to heal its own.” And that is exactly what happened. 

And this is the point where a lot of people start hating this episode because it stops being about the Doctor being back on Gallifrey and about him and Clara, which I have no problem with because I care more about the Doctor and Clara than I do about bloody Gallifrey.

Look at him, he’s waited four and half billion years for this moment. 

Four and half billion years he’s waited to save Clara and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, not even Clara.   

Yep, he’s gone full Time Lord Victorious.  

Oh, the way she takes his hand just kills me.

“This Clara person, you must really like her.”

“We're on Gallifrey. Death is Time Lord for man flu.” Which explains why Ten was being so overdramatic in ‘The End of Time’.

Here we have one of the most important regenerations in the show’s history.

“The Time Lords have got a big computer made of ghosts, in a crypt, guarded by more ghosts.” 

“Ah, well, that was a lie put about by the Shabogans. It was the President's daughter. I didn't steal the moon, I lost it.”

“One question. And you will answer. How long was the Doctor trapped inside the confession dial?” "We think four and a half billion years.” That sound you just heard was Clara’s unbeating heart shattering.  

“I had a duty of care.” That day Clara was amazed to discover that when he was saying “I had a duty of care”, what he meant was, “I love            you.”   

“People like me and you, we should say things to one another. And I'm going to say them now...” No, don’t cut away now. What did she say? WHAT DID SHE SAY?

Took nine seasons, but we’ve finally got a recreation of a classic TARDIS. And it is simply beautiful. I bet Peter never wanted to leave. They probably had to drag him away so they could dismantle it. 

“Then I'm going to invent a flying submarine. Why? Because no one ever has and it's annoying.”

“Or don't you trust me any more?” “No, not when you're shouting.”

“Four knocks. It's always four knocks.” 

“The universe is over! It doesn't have a say any more! We're standing on the last ember, the last fragment of everything that ever was. As of this moment, I'm answerable to no-one!” Except the woman standing right in front of you.

I honestly thought it was going to be Missy on the other side of that door. 

Nice place to sit and watch the universe end. 

“She died for who she was and who she loved. She fell where she stood. It was sad, and it was beautiful.”

“Tell me, Doctor, I've always wondered. You're a Time Lord, you're a high-born Gallifreyan. Why is it you spend so much time on Earth?” That moment when you honestly thought they were going to reveal the Doctor really is half-human. 

“Missy. The Master. The lover of chaos, who wants you to love it, too. She's quite the matchmaker.” Sounds like she’s talking from experience. Has Me had a run in with Missy? 

“Clara's my friend.” "I know. And you're willing to risk all of Time and Space because you miss her.”

“I've done it before.” Yeah, and you were wrong to do it then Doctor and you are wrong to do it now. 

She revered the polarity. She truly is a Doctor now. 

“These have been the best years of my life, and they are mine. Tomorrow is promised to no one, Doctor, but I insist upon my past. I am entitled to that. It's mine.” I’m not sure if this was deliberately written as a response to Donna’s mind wipe, but it sure as hell does read like one. 

“Look how far I went, for fear of losing you.”

“I don't think I could ever forget you.” "Clara, I don't think you're ever going to have to.” 

This is karma for Donna Noble.  

“Smile for me. Go on, Clara Oswald, one last time.”

“Clara? Clara who?” 

“When something goes missing, you can always recreate it by the hole it left. I know her name was Clara. I know we travelled together. I know that there was an Ice Warrior on a submarine and a mummy on the Orient Express. I know we sat together in the Cloisters and she told me something very important, but I have no idea what she said. Or what she looked like. Or how she talked. Or laughed. There's nothing there. Just nothing.” This is killing her. She wants him to remember. She wants him to see her so badly. 

“Stupid Doctor. Amy and Rory. It was Amy and Rory.” I’m already fragile, Moffat, why did you have to reopen that old wound? 

“You said memories become stories when we forget them. Maybe some of them become songs.”

The last time she sees him....until Christmas that is, he said desperately. 

And now Clara gets the epic farewell that she deserved and Me, after waiting billions of years, finally get her wish to see all of time and space. 

“Gallifrey. Like I said, Gallifrey. The long way round.” A new story has begun, a new legend has been born. 

After four and half billions years, he’s finally home again. 

Oh, I am so going to miss this. Seeing this Doctor, with that hair, wearing that jacket, strutting around the TARDIS while that theme blast out. I don’t think any other actor who has played the role has owned the console room quite the way Peter Capaldi has done. 

And this is one of the best shots the show has ever done: the TARDIS dematerializing while Clara’s picture slowly crumbles away.        

Next Time: The Husbands of River Song

[maliciouslycreative]

Title: Life Is Not A Piece Of Cake (Unless You’re Fucking Dean Winchester)

Written for: @rosemoonweaver‘s fic-o-ween

Rating: T

Words: 4911

Ships: Castiel/Inias, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Castiel/Inias/Dean Winchester

Characters: Castiel, Inias, Dean Winchester, Claire Novak, Jody Mills,

Tags: food, baking, alcohol, accidents, enemies to friends to lovers, grumpy Castiel, enemies to friends to lovers, graphic depictions of culinary mishaps,

Prompt: Character A is in charge of bringing snacks for their child’s “fall festival” at the school/daycare/activity (such as scouts or soccer or whatever). It would be easy to just pick up soft cookies and a bag of candy at the store, but last year their archrival carved a cake to look like a real pumpkin and they’ve been insufferable about it ever since. Character A decides to make their own special fall treats for the kids and it’s definitely going to be better than their rivals. The only problem? They’re a disaster in the kitchen.

Summary: Castiel hates Dean Winchester. Not only is the man frustratingly perfect he can bake amazing cakes that look like they belong on one of those cooking shows. This year Castiel's going to show Dean up. He's going to bake the best desserts for his daughter's Girl Scout party and Dean is going to be so impressed. Only Castiel is a disaster in the kitchen. 

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12774135

Under normal circumstances Castiel supposes that he and Dean Winchester could have been friends. However these are not normal circumstances. Last year Dean walked in with that fucking perfect cake shaped like a jack-o-lantern. Castiel probably would have enjoyed the cake too if it hadn’t shamed the cookies he’d brought from the nearby bakery. Yah the kids loved the cookies but the fact remained that Castiel had not baked them with his own two hands. And despite being devastatingly handsome and frustratingly friendly Dean was also apparently gifted in the baking department.

As if those few tidbits about Dean’s life aren’t frustrating enough it seems that every new piece of information Castiel learns paints Dean as even more of Disney Prince. He’s a widower and owns his own business. He put his little brother through law school. Although many of the single mothers both of the Girl Scouts and of the kids at school are constantly asking Dean out he politely declines them. He’s just so frustratingly kind. And handsome. Way too handsome for a single father who works full time. Castiel is married and shares the responsibility of raising his daughter with an amazing husband and he still feels like he hasn’t slept a full night in over a decade. His daughter's only 7.

Earlier that fall when Castiel had run into Jody Mills he’d probably looked like a man possessed when he all but begged her to schedule him and Dean to both bring treats to the Halloween party. The Girl Scout troop leader had eyed him warily but when he’d volunteered to do extra work for every Girl Scout cookie drive she’d agreed. Who was she to refuse free help.

Now he has a plan and he’s going to show Dean up. He’s been working on it all year. His husband thinks he’s being a bit too serious about this but what does Inias know? Dean is just so aggravatingly perfect at everything and all Castiel wants to do is knock him down a peg.

It’s just after 10 on Saturday morning and Castiel has everything he needs set out on the kitchen table or chilling in the fridge. He has the recipes printed out on different coloured sheets (so he doesn’t mix them up) and he’s got some nice soothing death metal to listen to (to give him energy to conquer this day).

He’s got this.

“What is daddy doing?” Claire asks.

Her and Inias are at the front door, getting ready to have a day out. They’re going to do some shopping, have some lunch and watch a movie at the theatre. Castiel laments a little that he’s not going with them but the thought of Dean’s face when he sees the treats Castiel is making is enough to make up for it.

“He’s making treats for your Girl Scout Halloween party.” Inias says.

“But daddy is a terrible cook! Shouldn’t we help him?” Claire asks. Castiel smiles at his daughter’s concern.  

Inias chuckles softly and Castiel can just barely hear the sounds of the two of them getting the rest of their outerwear on. “Sometimes adults need to to do things they aren’t very good at.”

“But if you’re not very good at something shouldn’t you ask for help?” Castiel can hear the worry seeping into Claire’s voice even from the other room.

“He wants to try to do this on his own to prove that he can.” Inias says.

“What if he burns down the house?” Claire sounds increasingly worried about the situation.

Inias lets out a bark of laughter. “I'm sure he won’t burn down the house. He might burn all the food but the house will be fine.”

“Phew! What a relief. If he burns all the food can we help daddy make new stuff?”

“We sure will, sweetie. Now put on your mitts, we gotta get to the mall.”

There’s a hurried chorus of I love yous and good luck wishes and then Inias and Claire are out the front door and driving away.

Traitors. They’re both fucking traitors and don’t think Castiel will succeed at this baking. Well he’s going to show them. And that asshole Dean Winchester.

Castiel’s got this.

He decides to start with the Rice Krispie squares, mostly because they seem like the easiest but also because he made sure to buy the gluten free kind so that Krissy Chambers could eat them.

He takes the appropriate saucepan and sets it on the stove and turns on the element. He carefully reads over the instructions one more time while he waits for the pot to heat up. It seems simple enough, melt the butter and marshmallows, put in some red and yellow food colouring, mix with Rice Krispies, and then form into little balls.

He holds a hand over the saucepan and well it seems hot so he unwraps the butter and droops it in. Realising that he’s forgotten his music he puts down his spoon and goes to fiddle with his MP3 player and dock. The butter’s on low heat, he’s got time. He’s just gotten Amon Amarth’s Fate of Norns album playing when he smells it. He can’t have been away from the stove from more than a few minutes but holy shit it smells like burning.

He stares down at the bubbling yellow and black mass in the saucepan and wonders where he went wrong. He quickly pulls the pan off, puts it in the sink and turns the faucet on to hopefully drown it and stop it from burning further. His next step is to open all the windows. God it stinks. It’s like that time his Aunt Becky started the oven on fire when she tried to roast chestnuts. Fuck he can’t become Aunt Becky.

He looks at the dial on the stove and holy shit it’s turned to high. Castiel takes a couple deep breaths and counts to 10 to calm himself. It’s just a minor setback. it’s only some butter. He can still do this. Maybe he should check YouTube though just in case.

After watching an embarrassing amount of videos on melting butter he’s pretty sure he’s got this now. When he gets back to the kitchen the first order of business is to fix the music. Amon Amarth is fantastic but it’s apparent that Castiel is going to war. He clicks through menus on his MP3 player until he gets to Sabaton and selects their “The Art of War” album.

“Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or ruin.” The first few chords of Ghost Division begin playing and Castiel relaxes.

“Alright Castiel, let’s pay attention and make sure we don’t lead our self to ruin.”

He grabs a new saucepan and places it on the now cooled element. He puts the butter in and turns the element on to low heat. He quickly grabs the other ingredients he’ll need for the Rice Krispie squares and stands above the saucepan, dutifully watching it, spoon at the ready to stir it the second it starts to melt.  

It’s slow going but Castiel pushes down his impatience with his overwhelming desire to succeed. And succeed he does. By the time he’s got the last little orange Rice Krispie ball laid out on wax paper he’s feeling pretty proud. Sure none of them are perfect but real pumpkins aren’t perfect either. He grabs the bowl of green Mike and Ikes and goes around sticking one in the top of each pumpkin to symbolise a stem.

They’re perfect.

With one victory behind him Castiel cleans up and turns to his next task: home made candy corn. This one seems simple enough, just make the dough, separate into 3 colours then roll them together and cut into little triangles.

The heating of the sugar, corn syrup, and water goes well. He sends a silent thank you to all the YouTube videos he watched earlier. He’s now painfully aware of how closely he has to watch anything on the stove top. He adds the vanilla and dry ingredients and carefully stirs them to perfection. He even uses that candy thermometer that Inias insisted they buy (spoiler alert: it was very helpful).

The rest of the candy corn making is rather uneventful though time consuming. When he’s done Castiel has what seems like hundreds of little triangles laid out on parchment paper on his dining room table he finally allows himself to smile. He did awesome. He probably wouldn’t have noticed something was wrong if he didn’t happen to spot the tub of store bought candy corn in the living room. Just to make sure that he hasn’t made them too large he grabs the tub and brings it over to compare sizes.  The sizes are fine however with steadily mounting dread he discovers that he’s put the colours in the wrong order. The store bought ones are orange at the base, yellow in the middle and white at the tip. Castiel’s have orange in the middle.

“Son of a bitch.” He mutters as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. He googles pictures of candy corn and fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck the orange is never in the middle.

“I hate everything.”

Feeling defeated Castiel grabs his hoodie and keys and heads outside to his car. Apparently he forgot one necessary ingredient.

The drive to the liquor store is short and uneventful. The parking lot is a zoo because it’s the Saturday before Halloween. For years Castiel has never really understood the obsession most housewives have with wine. But now… he is going to get some fucking wine and enjoy himself.

When he gets into the liquor store itself it’s even busier than he anticipated. He takes a quick glance around and spots the wine section near the back. He carefully maneuvers his way through the store to stand in front of the huge wall of wine. He frowns. There’s a lot more wine than he thought there would be. Honestly he’s not a wine drinker. Most of what he drank when he was younger was whatever his friends ordered for him. Now that he really thinks about it he never even really liked wine.

He glances down the aisle to see if there’s someone that might have a suggestion. The only other people in the aisle are a frazzled looking middle aged woman who is loading boxes of wine into her shopping cart and a hipster guy with a man bun. Nope.

Slowly he backs out of the aisle and starts glancing around. Surely something else will catch his eye. After a moment he sees it: a beacon of hope, a giant display of Mike’s Hard Lemonade which encourages you to build your own 4 pack.

“Thank God” Castiel mutters as he hurries over to the display.

There are far too many choices but he quickly grabs a black cherry, strawberry, cranberry, and peach lemonade and makes his way to the front. The line ups are long and Castiel is seriously considering his life choices. If he’d just stayed home and started on the cupcakes he could have a batch in the oven already. An image of the candy corn flashes through his mind though and he grits his teeth.

Normally Castiel is immune to the products that are specifically to make you buy them on impulse. However, how could one not be enticed by individual shots named “Chocolate Buttery Nipple” Castiel grabs the shots and grimaces. He’s already commuted to this so what the hell, why not.

By the time he gets home it’s been nearly half an hour. He puts the lemonades in the fridge and cracks open one of the shots. “Here goes nothing.” He downs the shot and makes a face. God it’s sweet but not completely unpleasant.

The next order of business is to get the music playing again. This time he opts for Sabaton’s The Last Stand. Between the alcohol and the first few chords of Sparta he’s starting to relax slightly. Maybe the rest of this won’t be a total disaster.

At least he’d anticipated that he’d be feeling a little desperate at this point so he’d opted to use a mix for his cupcakes instead of doing them from scratch. His fate now is all in Betty Crocker’s hands.

He grabs the box and heads over to the oven to preheat it. Putting all the ingredients in the bowl is rather uneventful and honestly Castiel is feeling pretty good about it. Well, that’s until he looks at the mixer. Honestly the last thing Castiel wanted to use is the mixer but after doing a lot of reading about cakes he has come to the conclusion that he probably should use the mixer. Sure he’s watched Inias use it plenty of times. It seems simple enough. Put the bowl on the stand, lower the mixer arm, turn it on and set a timer. Easy, right?

He sets the bowl on the base then lowers the beaters into the dough. He holds his breath as he turns the mixer on. Nothing goes wrong. He lets out the breath and smiles. Maybe he can do this.

He manages to get the cupcakes into the oven with little incident. He may have dribbled a tiny bit of batter on the floor but he easily finds it all with his sock.

Now barefoot he stares at his final project with apprehension. This is simultaneously the easiest and hardest task. Sure the dough for the sugar cookies is already made (since it needed to chill overnight in the fridge) but now comes the hard part of rolling out and baking the cookies. Like most other baking he’s watched Inias make cookies countless times but he now realises that he never paid attention.

First things first, he grabs one of the lemonades from the fridge and takes a long swig. “Castiel James Novak, you are a grown ass man and you can do this.”

He takes part of the ball of dough and plops it on the table. He grabs the rolling pin and presses down and well that’s not right. The dough is both stuck to the table and rolling pin. He frowns.

“Listen here you fucking dough,” he futilely tries to pull the dough off the table but god damn it it’s really stuck, “I’m going to fucking make you into fucking cookies and you’re going to fucking cooperate because my daughter deserves nice fucking cookies.” He grabs a spatula from the drawer and begins trying to scrape the dough off the table and back into the bowl.

When the table is as clean as he can get it without washing it he grabs the recipe to see if it can shed any light on the situation. Flour. He needs to flour the table and the rolling pin. Why is baking so complicated? There’s already fucking flour in the dough. Why does he need to put more flour on the table?

Castiel drains the rest of his lemonade and grabs a second one from the fridge. He’s about to attempt the cookies again when the timer goes off for the cupcakes. He pulls the cupcakes out of the oven and pokes them with a toothpick. They’re done and they look surprisingly perfect. He overfilled a few so they’re lopsided but those can just be his experimental ones.

“Thank fuck something worked out.”

After letting them cool a few minutes he transfers the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool. He readjusts the oven temperature so it’ll be ready for the cookies. Actually, these cupcakes look so good that he should celebrate with another Chocolate Buttery Nipple.

By now his music album has looped so he heads over to switch it up. He selects “Heroes” from Sabaton’s library. Because dammit, he feels like a hero now.

Castiel generously flours the table and the rolling pin and gets to work rolling out the dough. It’s ridiculously easier now with the flour. He’s not really sure how thin to make them but he figures if they’re on the thin side maybe that’s good because then he can make more cookies. He however comes to regret this decision when he’s trying to put a person shaped cookie onto the pan and their little leg comes off.

“No, your leg’s off!” he gently tries to reattach the leg to the rest of the cookie but there’s an obvious seam. “Well, I guess you’re definitely going to be a zombie...” He pulls the leg back off and places it next to the body. “Wait,” He glances down at the other people shaped ones and grins. “I think a few of you are going to be zombies. Gleefully he begins removing various body parts from several of the cookies.

He makes the next round of cookies a little thicker so that he doesn’t accidentally break them. While he’s got the cookies in the oven he moves the cupcakes to the cooling rack and then starts on the icing for the cupcakes. Most of the recipes say to use icing from the can but that feels like cheating so he’d scoured countless food blogs to find a good buttercream.

Castiel’s gotten all of the ingredients for the buttercream in the bowl when the oven timer goes off. He pulls out the trays of cookies and OK they may be a little on the brown side but that’s nothing they can’t fix with a lot of icing. Good enough.

Honestly he’s feeling pretty good about using the mixer again after how well the cupcakes went. He puts the beaters in the icing ingredients and turns it on. Everything goes white. In a panic he tries to turn it off but instead turns it to max power and even more icing sugar flies out of the bowl. In an act of desperation he grabs the cord out of the wall and unplugs the mixer.

Tentatively Castiel touches his face and his finger comes away white. “Oh my god...” he reaches up with his other hand and runs it through his hair. It also comes away white. “What the fuck?” He stares at the mixer in betrayal. “I trusted you.”

Glancing around the kitchen Castiel notes the extent of the damage. There’s buttercream ingredients on the wall, the counter, the floor the microwave, Castiel himself… Taking in a deep breath he glances up at the ceiling. He’s pretty sure the ceiling’s OK.

“Fuck.” He grabs his lemonade and downs a significant portion of it. Then he makes the mistake of looking at the time and fuck Inias and Claire could be home at any time.

With renewed panic he begins vigorously cleaning the kitchen. First he dumps out the ruined ingredients and then begins scrubbing every surface. After that’s done he frowns down at his clothing. Nothing is salvageable. He bolts up the stairs, stripping as he goes, and jumps in the shower.

When he’s pretty sure he’s gotten all of the icing ingredients out of his hair he quickly gets out and towels off. He doesn’t even bother with real clothes, just goes for some pyjamas.

By the time he gets back into the kitchen he finds that he only lost maybe 15 minutes. That’s not so bad. He starts throwing the ingredients into the same bowl (he’s not washing another bowl, ok). When all the ingredients are in the bowl he glares daggers at the mixer and makes a point of grabbing a spoon from the drawer and starts mixing by hand. This is way more work but there’s no way in hell he’s ever trusting that mixer again.

With the buttercream ready to go he grabs his lemonade and finishes it off. He’s 2 shots and 2 lemonades deep in this already so he shrugs and pulls a third lemonade from the fridge. Honestly, what more can go wrong?

Thank goodness he had foresight and made Inias put the piping bag together before he left. That however doesn’t solve the problem of how to put icing into a piping bag with only 2 hands. Eventually he has one corner of the bag between his teeth and is holding it open with one hand while he scoops icing with the other.

Unlike the candy corn Castiel had the insight to print out a picture of the mummy cupcakes so he doesn’t screw them up. It’s pretty simple, draw some lines out of icing and stick on some candy eyes. Easy.

Castiel sets out the first cupcake, takes a deep breath, and puts the tip of the piping bag to the cupcake. With the first squeeze icing comes out the top of the bag onto his hand.

“I fucking hate everything.” Castiel mutters as he tries to shove the icing back into the bag. He adjusts his hold on the bag so that one is keeping the top closed while the other is guiding the tip. The icing comes out thicker than Castiel intended but oh well kids like icing, right?

He’s just finished the cupcakes when the front door opens and Claire and Inias enter the house.

“Daddy we’re home!” Claire yells.

Castiel wanders out to the foyer to greet them. Upon seeing Castiel’s pyjamas Inias’ eyes widen slightly.

“I’m so glad you didn’t burn down the house.” Claire says as she wraps her arms around Castiel’s waist.

“Me too, sweetie.” Castiel can’t help but smile. He ruffles Claire’s hair then says, “Now get your coat off so you can help me decorate cookies.”

Claire pulls away and smiles up at Castiel. “Really? I thought you wanted to do everything yourself.”

“Well, sometimes when you’re not very good at things you need to ask people for help. And I happen to know you’re an expert cookie decorator.”

“Ok! Let me get ready!” Claire hastily extracts herself from her outerwear and thunders up the stairs to her room.

Inias eyes Castiel up and down before saying, “So… by your appearance I’m going to guess that there was at least one accident.”

“That’s an accurate assessment.” Castiel huffs.

Rolling his eyes Inias leans in for a kiss but pauses right before their lips meet. He sniffs the air and leans back. “Why do you smell like Aunt Becky?”

Castiel sighs and drags a hand through his messy hair. “I’ve had 2 chocolatey buttery nipples and almost 3 hard lemonades.”

Inias stares at Castiel for a few seconds before he starts to chuckle. “Buttery nipples?”

“Don’t judge…”

“Really?”

“Hey, the difference between you and me is I’m desperate and you’re not.”

Inias holds up his hands and backs up. “Fair enough.” He gestures towards the kitchen. “Do you want to show me your masterpieces?”

Castiel sighs and leads Inias into the kitchen. He winces a little when he notes all the dirty dishes piled in the sink. He meant to get at least some of them into the dishwasher before Inias and Claire returned home.

“These are cute,” Inias points at the pumpkins and smiles. He stares at the mummies and tilts his head. “None of the lines are really straight.”

“Nothing about me is straight.” The words are out of Castiel’s mouth before he even realises what he’s said.

Inias lets out a snort of laughter. “You got me there.”

“Well yah, if I was straight I definitely wouldn’t have gotten you.”

“You’re terrible.” Inias rolls his eyes.

“Ok, I’m ready!” Claire says as she comes into the room. Claire’s eyes go wide as she surveys the treats. “Wow, these look so good!” She runs over and throws her arms around Castiel once again. “Thank you so much daddy, I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“You’re welcome, Claire-bear.” Castiel hugs his daughter back and there might just be a couple tears that fall down his face.

“Ok, so what colours of icing should we make?” Inias goes about grabbing ingredients for the icing.

“Purple!” Claire squeals.

Castiel smiles. His desserts may not be perfect but his daughter’s reaction goes a long way to him feeling confident about everything.

-x-x-

Looking at the two trays of desserts he brought Castiel will admit that maybe he went overboard. Well, that’s until he looks over and sees what Dean brought. It’s a large sheet cake made to look like a graveyard with small monsters having a party on top.

Jody takes a look a the two trays Castiel and Inias are holding. “you din’t-”

“The pumpkins and candy corn are gluten free!” Castiel cuts her off and gives her a large awkward smile.

Krissy Chambers pops up next to Castiel and with wide eyes stares at the pumpkins. “I can eat those ones? That’s so cool! Thanks Mr Novak!” Then, since she’s 7, she’s running across the room to talk to someone else.

Jody shrugs. “Alright then. Thanks I guess. Just put it over there with the cake…”

Castiel and Inias place their trays on the table then Castiel shoos Inias away to help Claire get her fairy wings fixed since they’re crooked. Since the giant cake is in the centre of the table Castiel is forced to place his trays on either side. He supposes that it does sort of balance things out aesthetically. Or something. He’s not fucking Martha Stewart.

“Oh wow, is that home made candy corn?”

An arm reaches past Castiel to his now unwrapped plate of desserts. Before Castiel can even think he slaps the hand away. Horrified, Castiel spins around and locks eyes with a surprised looking Dean Winchester. “I’m so sorry!” He blurts out, shame outweighing his distaste for Dean.

Dean’s face lights up and he laughs. “It’s fine. I probably deserved that anyway. But seriously, home made candy corn? This shit-” he glances around to make sure no kids heard him swear and lets out a happy sigh when he sees there’s nobody near them. “I love candy corn.”

A smile tugs at the corner of Castiel’s mouth. “Well, you should come by my place. The first batch I made I put the white in the middle. I felt guilty so I woke up at 5 AM and made another batch this morning.”

“Honestly the kids wouldn’t have noticed, they’ll just grab a handful and stuff their faces.” Dean says.

Groaning Castiel puts a hand over his face. “You sound like my husband.”

“Yah?” Dean’s grin broadens. “Well it’s my understanding that your husband is a pretty smart guy.”

Castiel glances over to Inias who is surrounded by little girls who need help fixing their costumes. He can’t help the soft smile that spreads across his face. “He is, one of the smartest people I know.”

“Aren’t you like a professor or something? Not saying that Inias isn’t smart just like don’t you hang out with all the Smarty Pants McGees all day?”

“Have you ever actually met an academic?” Castiel asks, voice dry. “They’re all pomp and self righteous. Most of them don’t know anything they just like to wave around their fancy titles and use big words to try to make non academics feel belittled...” He snaps his mouth shut as realisation washes over him. “I must apologise Dean, I’ve been an ass the last year.”

Dean stares at Castiel in surprise. “You don’t...” he scrubs a hand over his face. “Look you’re not the only one that’s been a di- butt. A big butt.”

Standing here and actually talking to Dean Castiel kind of feels like the floor’s gone out from under him. God he’s been just like his asshole colleagues and that’s not acceptable. Sure Dean’s frustratingly perfect. But maybe that’s a good thing. Despite how much of an ass Castiel’s been Dean is still standing here being kind to him.

“I think we should just Mulligan everything and start anew.” Castiel says, smile on his face. He extends a hand out to Dean. “Hello, I’m Castiel Novak.”

“Dean Winchester.” Dean grasps Castiel’s hand in his and flashes him a brilliant smile.

“So Dean,” Castiel leans in and intensifies his smile to something dazzling. “I hear you like candy corn. And I seem to have an excess of candy corn. I don’t suppose you would like to come over some time and enjoy some candy corn and perhaps some other activities?”

A faint blush is starting to spread on Dean’s cheeks. “Uhh, Cas… tiel Castiel I uhh...”

Castiel leans in further and whispers into Dean’s ear, “My husband and I are polyamorous. You know, just in case you were wondering.”

Dean steps back and bumps into the table. “Oh!” His cheeks are now bright red and he’s glancing between Castiel and Inias.

For a moment Castiel is worried that he’s perhaps overdone it. When he gets nervous he has a tendency to let his mouth run rampant.

“Yah, that sounds good.” He gestures towards Claire and Emma who are standing close together comparing their fairy wands. “I could bring Em and we could all enjoy some candy corn?”

Castiel smiles. “That sounds lovely. The girls can have a play date and we can have a real date. Or as close to a date as the parents of 7 year olds can get without finding a babysitter.”

Dean laughs. It’s bright and infectious and Castiel can’t wait to hear more of it.

[nerd-breached-containment]

LPS100 Presents: Sonic and Knuckles’ Mating Dance

Knuckles, in the dark, saw a newspaper with Sonic defeating Dr.Eggman again. He let go the newspaper, wondering to himself:

“*sigh* Why am I so attracted to him?”

He sat there wondering, questioning said attraction... until Dr.Eggman himself appeard.

“I saw that you seem... attracted to that blue hedgehog and thought to myself ‘Hey, I can help him!... I guess’!“

Knuckles seems surprised and confused as to why Eggman would just suddenly appear just to say something like that.

“But, you’re our enemy.”

Eggman starts fakecrying.

“P-P-PLEASE, KNUCKLES, I-I JUST WANNA *sniff* HELP SOMEONE F-FOR ONCE *sad hiccup* I SWEAR T-THIS WON’T BE A T-TRAP-P!”

Knuckles couldn’t really believe that Dr. Eggman, someone who that has tried to kill everyone numerous of times... suddenly decides to help him...

He so decides to give him a chance.

“Hum... are you... crazy sure... it won’t be a trap?”

“Y-yes *sad hiccup, sad hiccup*, I-I SWE-E-AR! I-I-I *sad hiccup* heard him saying that... h-he wanted to challenge y-you.”

Suddenly, a bell ringed in Knuckles’ head.

“Wait... HE CHALLEGED ME?!”

“Y-yes, I even heard him saying that... you aren’t g-good enough for him!”

Knuckles immediately realised that.. that this could be his only chance to prove it!

“ARGH! I’ll show him... I’LL PROVE HIM THAT I AM THE ONE THAT WILL BE HIS PARTNER AND OWN HIS GRAND, SEXY BLUE ASS! Just you wait, Sonic, YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED!”

“*whispering* jfc no need to go there that quickly”

Meanwhile, at Chris’ home...

Sonic is just simply relaxing at the balcony shade when suddenly....

“Sonic!” A curious Amy from below asks.

“Have you seen Knuckles?”

“Nah.” He answers. But, deep down, he’s also wondering where that beautiful echidna is too.

So, Amy, Tails and Chris went on their own to find Knuckles while Sonic kept sitting on the balcony shade.

Suddenly, a... whatever that thing is appears with a TV.

“Who are you and the fuck is tha-”

“It’s a message from Dr. Eggman, you fucking baka.”

So, the strange whatever that thing is turns on the TV an-

~“HEEEEEY, SOOOOOOOOONIIIIIIIC! GUESS WHAT, YOU BLUE FUCK? I’M FUCKING UP SHIT HEREEEEEEEE! AND YOU CAN’T STAHP MEEEEEE! OOOOOOOOOH!”~

"... not this shit again.” Says Sonic, annoyed.

~”SEE YA’ THEEEEEREEEEEE!!!!!! OH yeah and also, this TV will auto-destruct itself the moment I stop talking.”~

“Alright. ... Wait, wh-”

At the Location Eggman is fucking up shit....

They’ve been fucking captured.

But... little did they knew... magic is about to happen.

Knuckles sat on the top of a mountain... quietly... waiting for Him to appear. Suddenly...

The challenger has appeard. But, it seems to be calm about the entire situation.

“Hum... what a nice surprise to see you here, Knucks’...”

Knuckles, slightly coy about it, demands what he originally came and waited for.

“S-Sonic... I... I think it is time... to prove myself to you!”

But, Sonic doesn’t seem worried about it.

“Prove yourself? But, you don’t have to!”

Knuckles insists.

“No, Sonic, I have to! I can’t handle... this... feeling...”

Sonic still doesn’t worry about it.

“But, I’m telling you, you don’t have to!”

Knuckles had enough and finally bursts.

“NO, SONIC! I-I.... I CHALLENGE YOU FOR A MATING DANCE!”

Just the mention of “mating dance” left Sonic speechless for a few seconds... he seems to have got Knuckles’ point.

“Well then... I accept your challenge.” Sonic says, without any worries still.

And so, the time has come to live.

Sonic vs. Knuckles in a mating dance.

But, Knuckles knew that... if he wanted to conquer him... he has to give a good show.

Let the dance being.

Knuckles starts off by immediately attacking Sonic with his punches but, due to his incredible speed, Sonic just jumps backwards at high speeds, avoiding every single punch Knuckles did.

Not a good start for the echidna.

“Hum... just that?”

Knuckles looks up and, just sees Sonic casually on top of a mountain... on the opposite side. And, changes his expression pretty quickly.

“I was expecting more from you, Knucks.”

But, Knuckles is a strong opponent. He never gives up.

However, Knuckles’ not the only one dancing here. Sonic’s also dancing too so, he tried to roundhouse kick Knuckles but, Knuckles is also agile and nimble... and avoids it pretty easily.

They keep on hopping, punching, kicking and dancing from place to place. Until...

Sonic exposes himself. This is a sign, a very important one. It means that in order for Knuckles to fulfill the mating dance... he has to wreck him good.

But, Sonic’ll be as equally harder to get this time.

But, fear not! Because, Knuckles pulls one out of his gloves: He demonstrates his strength to Sonic.

Knuckles’ so strong... he even sends Sonic flying!

And, as strange as it sounds... it works! Sonic seems to love it.

“I am very impressed about your strength if I do say so myself!” Sonic says.

But, little did he knew... Sonic’s also pulling one of out his gloves.

He jumps as high as one of the trees nearby Knuckles, then rolls into a ball and just rolls down the tree towards Knuckles.

Knuckles then figures out his trick...

He’s testing his real strength! Knuckles is holding Sonic back while Sonic is pushing him at full force!

Both were so strong that only by falling down the cliff would stop them. It seems like both have discovered that both are equally strong and were on the same level...

... until Sonic makes a fool out of himself and starts splashing in the shallow water due to his fear of water.

“Are you done with that or... you’re gonna keep on splashin’?” Knuckles asks, quite annoyed to say the least.

Sonic immediately leaves the water, pretending that embarrassing moment didn’t happen.

Even after a long dance, both aren’t tired, to the point of both having a conversation.

“You nearly kicked my ass there. Hmph, I’m impressed.” Sonic admits. “Ya’ know, Knucks’... you do have some great moves that cannot be topped.”

“Hmph, I appreciate the compliments. However, as much as I’ve shown to be a great challenger...”

Knuckles suddenly makes a run for it.

“I’M STILL NOT DONE IN PROVING YOU!”

Knuckles keeps on chasing Sonic... much to his dismay.

“*sigh* You have show me enough, Knuckles, you don’t have to show me more!” But, Knuckles doesn’t listen.

Suddenly, Eggman’s robot is in the way of their mating dance.

And Knuckles’ not having it.

He kicks the robot and lands on the ground but, he’s not happy to see Eggman with the robot.

“HEY, WE’RE MATING DANCING HERE, YOU EGGFOOL! FUCK OFF WITH YOUR ROBOT!”

“But, I was the one that LEAD YOU TO SONIC, REMEMBER?!” And Eggman is not happy with Knuckles’ attitude.

(Off screen)

“Besides, I WAS ALREADY HERE, YOU STUPIDCHIDNA! So, YOUR ARGUEMENT IS INVA-”

“Watch your FUCKING MOUTH!” Knuckles is triggered.

“YEAH, I said it, you STUPIDCHIDNA!” Now, Eggman’s has enough. “I don’t get it: I helped you getting in a mating dance without any interruptions and now this is ho-”

“Excuse me... ‘a mating dance without any interruptions‘?! WITHOUT INTERRUPTIONS?!” Now, Knuckles fuckin’ pissed!

Knuckles prepares himself to do something, not before asking an important question.

“Sonic, you don’t mind if I do this? I gotta punch a bitch.”

“Be my guess.”. Sonic shrugs.

And so, Knuckles with his almighty strength, wrecks the robot and frees everyone in it.

Amy immediately goes towards Sonic.

“OH SONIC, I MISSED YOU!” She screams in happiness.

“Hum... Amy, please, not now, I’m... in the middle of something...” Sonic says, quite coy about it.

Knuckles climbs the robot with full strength and speed and jumps from the robot to directly at Eggman.

With only a few seconds to be in mid air, Knuckles delivers the victory quote...

“And this...”

“IS FOR RUINING OUR MATING DANCE!” ... Before sending Eggman flying.

He then goes back to the robot.

And, with his strength, he delivers a full power punch, cracking the bot into two and... creating a strong explosion that sended Knuckles flying.

This is it.

This is the end.

Knuckles is holding onto a tree branch so that he’s not sent flying by the shock wave but... he can’t hold it for much longer.

It’s the end for our echidna...

Not like this!

But, wait...

What’s this?

Sonic comes to the rescue and holds Knuckles right before he let goes the branch!

And, it was that moment... they knew... the mating dance has been fulfilled.

The eye gazing wasn’t a lie... as both were struggling against the shock wave... struggling to survive... right there, they knew that each other have decided who belongs to who... with no doubt...

Even when the shock wave has passed, they landed, still eye gazing.

“T-thanks for saving me...” Knuckles says, slightly coy about it.

“Heh, no problem.” Knuckles starts walking away but, Sonic then wonders. “So... what now, Knuckles? Has it been decided?”

Knuckles stops walking, turns around and simply responds.

“I’m expecting you here... at night... for the grand bombastic finale, Sonic.” He winks and walks away.

FIN.

[motivationsuccess]

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15th October 1931, in the small Dhanushkodi village of Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. He was born in the middle-class Tamil Muslim family. His father  Jainulabdeen was a fisherman and imam of a local mosque, while his mother Ashiamma was a housewife. Kalam was the youngest of his four brothers and one sister in his family. Kalam’s family condition was not wealthy and he lived a poor childhood. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, popularly known as the ‘Missile Man’ of India. He is a source of inspiration for tens and thousands of Indians. A league apart, his life inspiration and teachings are not only admired by the older generation, but especially reminisced by young. Kalam’s prodigious rise from Rameswaram, a small but famous pilgrimage town in Tamil Nadu, led him to become one of the world’s most great leaders. Here you find apj abdul kalam quotes,apj abdul kalam quotes on education,abdul kalam quotes for success,apj abdul kalam quotes on dreams,apj abdul kalam inspiring quotes,apj abdul kalam thoughts for students in english

"Creativity is the key to success in the future, and primary education is where teachers can bring creativity in children at that level." 

“Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.”

"Nations consist of people. And with their effort, a nation can accomplish all it could ever want."

“To become ‘unique,’ the challenge is to fight the hardest battle which anyone can imagine until you reach your destination.”

"There has to be a global mission of human progress."

 “You have to dream before your dreams can come true.”

Great teachers emanate out of knowledge, passion and compassion.

"Real education enhances the dignity of a human being and increases his or her self-respect. If only the real sense of education could be realized by each individual and carried forward in every field of human activity, the world will be so much a better place to live in."

“Without your involvement, you can’t succeed. With your involvement, you can’t fail.”

 “In this world, fear has no place. Only strength respects strength.”

“My message, especially to young people is to have the courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.”

 “My view is that at a younger age your optimism is more and you have more imagination etc. You have less bias.”

“I was a disadvantaged child from a non-educated family, yet I had the advantage of being in the company of great teachers.”

“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.”

“Success is when your Signature changes to Autograph.”

“Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life.”

"Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of an individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honour for me."

We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.

“Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place – that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have the perseverance to realize the great life.”

"My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people."

“To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.”

“It means, people who are in high and responsible positions if they go against righteousness, righteousness itself will get transformed into a destroyer.”

“Science is a beautiful gift to humanity; we should not distort it.”

“This is my belief that through difficulties and problems God gives us the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage, you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins.”

"If we are not free, no one will respect us"

"It's when children are 15, 16 or 17 that they decide whether they want to be a doctor, an engineer, a politician or go to the Mars or moon. That is the time they start having a dream, and that's the time you can work on them. You can help them shape their dreams."

“Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among students and become their role model”

“If you fail, never give up because FAIL means “First Attempt In Learning”.

“Dream, dream, dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.”

“Unless India Stands Up to the World, No one Will Respect Us. In this World, Fear has no Place. Only Strength Respects Strength.”

 “Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness.”

“It Is Very Easy To Defeat Someone, But It Is Very Hard To Win Someone.”

“We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.”

 “Small aim is a crime.”

 “When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms. When creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes.”

“The best brains of the nation may be found on the last benches of the classroom.”

“No sanction can stand against ignited minds.”

 “No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.”

“End is not the end, in fact END means “Effort Never Dies” – If you get No as an answer, remember NO means “Next Opportunity”. So let’s be positive.”

 “Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.”

 “The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation.”

 “Black Colour is Sentimental BAD, But Every Black Board Makes the Students Life Bright.”

 “DREAM is not what you see in Sleep, Dream is the thing which Doesn’t Let You Sleep.”

“All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the clouds.”

“Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity.”

“Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.”

 “Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is harmony in the house; when there is harmony in the house, there is order in the nation; when there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.”

“Life is a difficult game. You can win it only by retaining your birthright to be a person.”

 “You see, God helps only people who work hard. That principle is very clear."

“Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.”

“You can’t change your future but you can change your habits and surely your habits will change your future.”

“Be active! Take on responsibility! Work for the things you believe in. If you do not, you are surrendering your fate to others.”

 “When the problem arises — become the captain of the problem and defeat it”

“Before God trusts you with success, you have to prove yourself humble enough to handle the big prize”

“If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”

“When we tackle obstacles, we find hidden reserves of courage and resilience we did not know we had. And it is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.”

 “Don’t read success stories, you will only get a message. Read failure stories, you will get some ideas to get success.”

"If four things are followed - having a great aim, acquiring knowledge, hard work, and perseverance - then anything can be achieved."

“Love your job but don’t love your company, because you may not know when your company stops loving you.”

"The purpose of education is to make good human beings with skill and expertise. Enlightened human beings can be created by teachers."

"One of the very important characteristics of a student is to question. Let the students ask questions."

“While children are struggling to be unique, the world around them is trying all means to make them look like everybody else.”

"Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place - that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have perseverance to realise the great life."

"In a democracy, the well-being, individuality and happiness of every citizen is important for the overall prosperity, peace and happiness of the nation."

"Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity."

"Regarding marriage, it - somehow, it didn't happen. One fellow in such a big family not getting married is not an issue."

"Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness."

"My 2020 Vision for India is to transform it into a developed nation. That cannot be abstract; it is a lifeline."

"I have met 18 million youth, and each wants to be unique."

"What is politics? Political system is equal to development politics plus political politics."

"The President's post should not be politicised. Once a president is elected, he is above politics"

"For me, there is no such thing as a negative experience"

"Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation. When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world"

"For me, there are two types of people: the young and the experienced."

"We have not invaded anyone. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them."

"War is never a lasting solution for any problem."

"There is not enough funding for basic sciences in India. We have to invest in a big way, and I am pushing that idea."

"Tell me, why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognise our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?"

"Science has revealed that the human body is made up of millions and millions of atoms... For example, I am made up of 5.8x10 27 atoms"

"When grand plans for scientific and defence technologies are made, do the people in power think about the sacrifices the people in the laboratories and fields have to make?"

"The youth need to be enabled to become job generators from job seekers."

"All wars signify the failure of conflict resolution mechanisms, and they need post-war rebuilding of faith, trust and confidence"

"One of the more difficult tasks for me as president was to decide on the issue of confirming capital punishment awarded by courts... to my surprise... almost all cases which were pending had a social and economic bias."

"Over the years, I had nurtured the hope to be able to fly; to handle a machine as it rose higher and higher in the stratosphere was my dearest dream"

"God, our Creator, has stored within our minds and personalities, great potential strength and ability. Prayer helps us tap and develop these powers."

"I was willing to accept what I couldn't change"

Please comment on  apj abdul kalam quotes,apj abdul kalam quotes on education,abdul kalam quotes for success,apj abdul kalam quotes on dreams,apj abdul kalam inspiring quotes,apj abdul kalam thoughts for students in english and share if know quotes on APJ Abdul Kalam 

via SOFT SKILL AND MOTIVATION

[motivationsuccess]

"Creativity is the key to success in the future, and primary education is where teachers can bring creativity in children at that level." 

education 

“Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.”

"Nations consist of people. And with their effort, a nation can accomplish all it could ever want."

“To become ‘unique,’ the challenge is to fight the hardest battle which anyone can imagine until you reach your destination.”

"There has to be a global mission of human progress."

 “You have to dream before your dreams can come true.”

Great teachers emanate out of knowledge, passion and compassion.

"Real education enhances the dignity of a human being and increases his or her self-respect. If only the real sense of education could be realized by each individual and carried forward in every field of human activity, the world will be so much a better place to live in."

“Without your involvement, you can’t succeed. With your involvement, you can’t fail.”

 “In this world, fear has no place. Only strength respects strength.”

“My message, especially to young people is to have the courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.”

 “My view is that at a younger age your optimism is more and you have more imagination etc. You have less bias.”

“I was a disadvantaged child from a non-educated family, yet I had the advantage of being in the company of great teachers.”

“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.”

“Success is when your Signature changes to Autograph.”

“Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life.”

"Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of an individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honour for me."

We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.

“Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place – that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have the perseverance to realize the great life.”

"My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people."

“To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.”

“It means, people who are in high and responsible positions if they go against righteousness, righteousness itself will get transformed into a destroyer.”

“Science is a beautiful gift to humanity; we should not distort it.”

“This is my belief that through difficulties and problems God gives us the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage, you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins.”

"If we are not free, no one will respect us"

"It's when children are 15, 16 or 17 that they decide whether they want to be a doctor, an engineer, a politician or go to the Mars or moon. That is the time they start having a dream, and that's the time you can work on them. You can help them shape their dreams."

“Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among students and become their role model”

“If you fail, never give up because FAIL means “First Attempt In Learning”.

“Dream, dream, dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.”

“Unless India Stands Up to the World, No one Will Respect Us. In this World, Fear has no Place. Only Strength Respects Strength.”

 “Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness.”

“It Is Very Easy To Defeat Someone, But It Is Very Hard To Win Someone.”

“We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.”

 “Small aim is a crime.”

 “When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms. When creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes.”

“The best brains of the nation may be found on the last benches of the classroom.”

“No sanction can stand against ignited minds.”

 “No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.”

“End is not the end, in fact END means “Effort Never Dies” – If you get No as an answer, remember NO means “Next Opportunity”. So let’s be positive.”

 “Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.”

 “The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation.”

 “Black Colour is Sentimental BAD, But Every Black Board Makes the Students Life Bright.”

 “DREAM is not what you see in Sleep, Dream is the thing which Doesn’t Let You Sleep.”

“All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the clouds.”

“Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity.”

“Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.”

 “Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is harmony in the house; when there is harmony in the house, there is order in the nation; when there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.”

“Life is a difficult game. You can win it only by retaining your birthright to be a person.”

 “You see, God helps only people who work hard. That principle is very clear."

“Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.”

“You can’t change your future but you can change your habits and surely your habits will change your future.”

“Be active! Take on responsibility! Work for the things you believe in. If you do not, you are surrendering your fate to others.”

 “When the problem arises — become the captain of the problem and defeat it”

“Before God trusts you with success, you have to prove yourself humble enough to handle the big prize”

“If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”

“When we tackle obstacles, we find hidden reserves of courage and resilience we did not know we had. And it is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.”

 “Don’t read success stories, you will only get a message. Read failure stories, you will get some ideas to get success.”

"If four things are followed - having a great aim, acquiring knowledge, hard work, and perseverance - then anything can be achieved."

“Love your job but don’t love your company, because you may not know when your company stops loving you.”

"The purpose of education is to make good human beings with skill and expertise. Enlightened human beings can be created by teachers."

"One of the very important characteristics of a student is to question. Let the students ask questions."

“While children are struggling to be unique, the world around them is trying all means to make them look like everybody else.”

"Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place - that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have perseverance to realise the great life."

"In a democracy, the well-being, individuality and happiness of every citizen is important for the overall prosperity, peace and happiness of the nation."

"Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity."

"Regarding marriage, it - somehow, it didn't happen. One fellow in such a big family not getting married is not an issue."

"Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness."

"My 2020 Vision for India is to transform it into a developed nation. That cannot be abstract; it is a lifeline."

"I have met 18 million youth, and each wants to be unique."

"What is politics? Political system is equal to development politics plus political politics."

"The President's post should not be politicised. Once a president is elected, he is above politics"

"For me, there is no such thing as a negative experience"

"Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation. When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world"

"For me, there are two types of people: the young and the experienced."

"We have not invaded anyone. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them."

"War is never a lasting solution for any problem."

"There is not enough funding for basic sciences in India. We have to invest in a big way, and I am pushing that idea."

"Tell me, why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognise our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?"

"Science has revealed that the human body is made up of millions and millions of atoms... For example, I am made up of 5.8x10 27 atoms"

"When grand plans for scientific and defence technologies are made, do the people in power think about the sacrifices the people in the laboratories and fields have to make?"

"The youth need to be enabled to become job generators from job seekers."

"All wars signify the failure of conflict resolution mechanisms, and they need post-war rebuilding of faith, trust and confidence"

"One of the more difficult tasks for me as president was to decide on the issue of confirming capital punishment awarded by courts... to my surprise... almost all cases which were pending had a social and economic bias."

"Over the years, I had nurtured the hope to be able to fly; to handle a machine as it rose higher and higher in the stratosphere was my dearest dream"

"God, our Creator, has stored within our minds and personalities, great potential strength and ability. Prayer helps us tap and develop these powers."

"I was willing to accept what I couldn't change"

via SOFT SKILL AND MOTIVATION