#richest man for 7 minutes

[yuuuuuuslazy]

Christmas, Airports and Coffee *⁠˘⁠♡◍⁠✧⁠*⁠。

Husband!Scoups x fem!reader

Genre : fluff

Warnings : very fluffy

Leaning on your husband’s shoulder while he finishes some work, for the second time your flight has been delayed. A trip to Norway planned by your husband as a surprise for your 5th anniversary wasn’t going what you’d call smooth. First of all, the roads were jammed with cars even though it was 3am in the morning. After you arrived at the airport with just enough time to eat and check in your bags, your flight has been delayed by a whopping 5 hours.

5 hours.

After that, when you and seungcheol went for some very early breakfast, a kid who was running around had bumped into you and spilled water. Right after that you heard the system's sweet voice stating that your flight will be delayed for another two hours.

And that makes 7 hours.

You considered going back home but calling your sister back to pick you two up again….she wouldn’t be pleased especially when she’s got an early date to prepare for.

So here you are, two hours into the wait while lounging in the waiting area. Seungcheol decided to finish the worked he had planned for after the trip so he doesn’t have to stress about it too much later on. You don’t know how he gets anything done while you pester him and play with his face, but he’s doing it. Man is everything. As your whine about being bored for the nth time, he closes his laptop and takes out his wallet, whips out his very shiny black card and allows you to go buy yourself set of Lego at the Lego vending machine.

“Go on, I saw the way you looked at that machine sweetheart. Or maybe you want to go on a walk?”

Your luggage wasn’t with you anymore so it’s just a backpack and your handbag. Minutes later you found yourself getting a piggy back ride on your husband’s back while he walks through the airport to pass some time. He was getting tired of staring an excel sheet anyways.

You met in high school, where seungcheol was the senior you’d sneak upstairs to peek at during lunch break. Safe to say you were caught and successfully married your high school crush. You started a business together, and it got so successful that he’s now the richest 1% in the country. You always tell yourself you did a great job serving as his secretary and wife. Four years of dating and he asked you to marry him, which of course you said yes.

As he approached the Lego vending machine, you jumped off his back and skipped towards the machine, scanning through the items again.

“They’re so expensive…”

Yeah, that’s what you told the man who bought you a Steinway piano on a random day after you mentioned that it looks pretty.

The man- uh, your man scoffed and pressed the button for the biggest set available after swiping his card at the scanner. Your Lego tuxedo cat plopped on the moving surface as it brings down your set. Seeing you happy like a child with a set of toys to play with made him feel something furry inside.

Before he could ask you where you wanted to go, you grabbed his hand a dragged him to a chocolate store nearby. He loves spoiling you, especially when sometimes he can’t spend time with you due to being caught up with work. He buys you things and takes you places while being a great husband ; you make him his favorites meals then help him de-stress after coming home from the very infuriating clients.

After the gift store, the cafe, the clothing store and a cat petting pop up booth that’s at the airport for some reason, you clutched your newly adopted plushie while still holding his hand, walking back to the waiting area as you talked about nothing and everything.

So you burned a few hundred from his card that’s like a few cents to him. He always insisted that you must have everything and got you the fattest diamond ring you’ve ever seen in your life for your wedding.

From your dress, the venue, heck even your eyelashes costed so much. Yet that hardly put a scratch on his account it was like grocery shopping for him.

Deciding that the carpeted floor by the waiting area would be a great place to sit on, you plopped down and started to build your tuxedo cat. How cute it even purrs when you turn the head!

One hour of Lego and few uncomfortable sleeping positions that made you look like a shrimp later, it’s 45 minutes away from boarding. Finally!! You peeked at the large glass windows and saw white spots falling down. Oh yeah…you were supposed to reach by Christmas, but here you are still back home. You two decided that you should eat something before boarding. He went to order while you waited by the windows of the cosy cafe. Coffee, snow, and your husband. What else can be better?

“Sweetheart”

“Yeah?”

You didn’t think he’d pull a move like that. His soft lips now on yours, although you were in a cafe, but of course you kissed back while catching eye of the girls in the corner fangirling over the scene. Maybe it was your broad shoulders six pack 180cm rich cold looking CEO who whines and pouts because you didn’t kiss him good morning of a husband? They can’t exactly see his build under his fluffy coat but oh that face card never declines.

Cheesy, but it made the butterflies in your tummy go wild when he kissed you as the clocks struck twelve, signaling the arrival of Christmas.

“Merry Christmas love” you heard as he pulled out a little jewelry box. Upon opening it was the most beautiful necklace you’d ever seen in your life. You knew better than to believe that it was cheap when you asked him. The less you see the logo of the brand the more expensive it is when your santa is seungcheol. Of course you prepared to a surprise for him too, but that’s for when you check into a hotel. (Iykyk)

Your trip to see the northern lights started when you boarded the first class seats with Netflix on the tvs. The divider could not stop your husband from giving you kisses.

It may be simple but everyday with him felt special in its own way even if you just lounged at home lazily while your fluffy cat tried to snuggle between you both for the warmth. This must be what happens when you marry someone who loves you more than anyone, or anything.

An argument breaks out from the couple in front of your, seemingly from money as the air stewardess came and asked them to keep it down.

“Love, I want you to know that all the money and power I have, I’d burn it to ashes as if it meant we would stay together forever”

Blushing hard although you’ve heard loving words from your husband on a daily basis

"May I make a Christmas wish?”

“Of course”

“Might I request to be your Mrs.Choi again in the next life, and every life to come even if we were to be rocks?”

Soft laughter swallowed the tense atmosphere the couple infront of you gave off as you two started to look through the free stuff the airline had provided with the first class seats, knowing his answer would always be yes. Yes, anything for his princess.

"you'll always be my girl, okay?"

[itsmewillful]

The Older Sibling-PART ONE

Main Masterlist

Character Masterlist

(Anakin Skywalker x GN!reader)

Word Count: 4377 words

Outline: Reader is desperate to find a job and lands one babysitting one of the richest kids in town. Excited to start, reader eventually meets the older brother of the kid they're babysitting, and finds out he's the biggest jerk (and most handsome) man in town

Warning(s): MATURE CONTENT: Swearing, kissing without consent, Anakin being a jerk for no reason, enemies to lovers trope ig

Story below the cut

+++

You were doing anything to get a job. All your debts from college were building up quicker than you liked and you were overwhelmed with the idea of being sent to jail for having too much money due. 

So you found yourself getting a job as a nanny. Yes, a nanny. You were to look after a young girl around the age of 7 all day and prepare all meals for her. The job was simple enough. Now being a graduate from University, you no longer have to worry about studying for things and getting good grades.

What made this job hard was you weren’t working for some random family that you found online that needed a job. You were working for the incredibly wealthy family that seemed to ‘rule’ the small town you lived in. The Skywalkers.

They owned just about every successful business. And, they were also related to the Mayor of the town. Which is quite a big deal.

So, when you pulled up to the Skywalker residence almost five minutes late, you were worried that you were going to get fired immediately. But, you still held your breath and prayed to the Maker that your day would go just fine and you wouldn't have to worry about job hunting for at least a few years now. 

When the door was opened, you were confused to see someone you didn’t even recognise. He was at least 6 feet, and he looked like he was about to just slam the door back into your face when he made eye contact with you. 

“Um. . .” You trailed off. 

“Who are you and what do you want?” The man asked you. 

“I-” You began but were interrupted when an older lady walked up behind and practically shoved him out of the way.

“Hello dear! You must be Y/N! I am so glad you came, I hope Mr. Windu didn’t frighten you off. He’s just our home's security guard since we have had a few break-ins over the years. He might look scary but I promise you he’s a big teddy bear (Mr. Windu huffed at that, to which the Lady smiled to) Well, nevermind that! Come in, come in! Ahsoka can’t wait to meet her new caretaker. And did I mention how grateful I am for your help? I can go on and on all day about it.” 

She waved you into the house and you followed in, the door being slammed behind you.

You smiled when you made eye-contact with the woman and immediately recognised her. Shmi Skywalker.

“Mother, who is this?” You heard a small voice call out from behind you. You turned around and noticed a small, young girl standing straight. She wore a pretty red dress that flowed off her waist elegantly and her hair was tied up into two french braids that went past her shoulders. She had bright blue eyes and she had small freckles dotting her face. You had to admit: She was one adorable little girl.

“Hello there,” You smiled. “You must be Ahsoka. I am your new caretaker, Y/N.”

The young girl grinned and ran up to you and gave you a tight hug. 

“Hi! I am so so happy you are finally here! My older brother left for work and I was gonna die of boredom.” 

You giggled at the young girl’s dramatic speech and grasped her hand firmly. 

“Why don’t you show me where you usually play?” You asked her with a twinkle of mischief in your voice. 

“I’m so glad to see you both are getting along just fine.” Shmi interrupts you with a happy tone of voice. You turned your head to meet her gaze and gave her a small smile.

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Mrs. Skywalker.” 

“Not a problem dear. Now I have some work to do. I won’t be back till at least 12 tonight. So feel free to take the spare room near Ahsoka’s room. Since I often am out late, you can expect to find yourself there quite often if you don’t mind.” 

“Not at all, Ma’am. I brought enough things for one night.” You politely replied.

“Splendid! Well, Ahsoka darling, I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early, hopefully.” 

Shmi opened her arms for a hug and Ahsoka broke from your grasp and ran to her mother. 

“Good-bye Mother! I love you.” Ahsoka whispered. Shmi gave her a small peck on her cheek before she rushed out the door. When the door closed behind her, you faced Ahsoka and gave her a small and cheeky smile.

“So, what do you want to do?” You asked her. 

“I want to dress up! And also, can we bake some cookies?” Ahsoka asked with puppy dog eyes. You giggled at her interesting combo of activities. 

“Sure, but you have to choose which one you want to do first.”

Ahsoka stood completely still for a moment before she grins.

“How about we dress up AND bake at the same time? We could pretend we are in the 1800’s and we sell baked goods for a living!” Ahsoka beamed over her idea and your heart just about melted. The way a child’s imagination works always fascinated you. You for one never had much of a childhood since you came from a poorer family and worked to help as long as you could remember. But you never let that stop you from supporting children who are fortunate to do what they want and when they wanted.

“Sure.” You grabbed Ahsoka’s hand before deciding to pick her up. “Now, how about you show me where your room is so we can get changed?”

+++

About two hours later, you both were dressed in robes that Ahsoka found in her dress up closet and had completed a nice batch of chocolate-chip cookies. By the time lunch came around, Ahsoka had almost four cookies and was high from the sugar and was (literally) bouncing off of walls.

You then decided it was best for the both of you to go outside to the backyard and play out there for a while to get rid of some of her built up energy. Ahsoka was of course running around the whole time. It wasn’t until about an hour later that she was completely drained of sugar and with heavy feet walked back to where you had seated on the porch overlooking the large yard. 

“Hello Ahsoka, are you okay?” You asked when you noticed her attitude had changed from her usual cheery self. She nodded and sat beside you before she leant her head onto your shoulder.

“I am okay.I just miss my older brother, Y/N.” She whimpered as tears began to fill her eyes. You hugged her from the side and rested your chin on her small head.

“It’s alright, I’m pretty sure he misses you too.” 

“I don’t think so. He is an adult now and he’s never ever home to play with me.” Ahsoka said with a pout. “I believe that big brother has replaced me with his job and loves his job more than me.” 

“What’s your older brother's name?” You asked her with a gentle tone. Ahsoka’s facial expression changed from one of anger to one of joy within a few seconds. And from that observation, you realised that she seemed to love talking about her older brother.

“His name is Kinny. Or at least that’s what I call him. I don’t ever call him by his real name because he thinks it’s stupid. Also, some of his friends call him Vader. But I personally believe that name is dumber” Ahsoka shrugged. You hummed at the new information before you pulled out your phone to get an idea about the time. 

“Well, it’s around supper time now. Are you hungry for anything in particular?” You asked the young girl. Ahsoka nodded slowly before a familiar mischievous grin graced her features. 

“Can we have cookies for dinner?” 

You let out a small laugh at the response before you shook your head. 

“You have had way too many cookies for today, young one. I think we should save some for your older brother when he gets home.” 

Ahsoka seemed pleased with the arrangement and agreed. 

+++

After about an hour or so you had Ahsoka go to bed. After she fell asleep, you decided to go downstairs to read a book that you brought with you to entertain yourself until you decided that it was your bedtime. You sighed quietly and continued to flip through the book, but your ears perked up when you heard the front door open. You sat up straight when you remembered that Mrs. Skywalker said she wouldn’t be home as early as 12, and it currently was around 9pm. You peered over the top of your book and noticed someone was standing in front of you.

“Um. . .hi?” you cringed at the question. The stranger, (being a young man of at least older than 20 years of age) gave you a questioning look. From the looks of it, he was at least 6 foot 2 and had an even scarier appearance than the guy you met this morning at the door. He had ocean blue eyes and a scar ran down the left side of his cheek. 

You gulped quietly when you noticed he began to walk over to you slowly.

“Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” he asked you. That was when you realised who this man was. It was the other Skywalker; Ahsoka’s older brother. Kinny? Was that his name?

“I’m Y/N. Who are you?” You asked with the most confidence you could muster. The man raised a brow at the question.

“You don’t know who I am?” He asked you with amusement in his eyes. You nodded way too quickly for your own liking. But he was making you nervous and you didn’t exactly want to respond with words at the moment. You feared you would accidentally say something wrong and get kicked out of the house before your brain could even process it.

“Seriously?” 

You made eye-contact with the stranger again and raised your brow this time. 

“Seriously what?”

“You really have no idea who I am?”

“No? Am I supposed to?” You sheepishly answered and nearly squealed when the stranger took another step closer to you. 

“I am Anakin Skywalker. How the heck do you not know that? I like-run multiple businesses that are scattered across this town. Including The Order? You know, the biggest arcade and restaurant in town?” 

You stood there dumb-found when you realised who he really was. Anakin Skywalker. The Anakin Skywalker. You had heard about him from your group of girl friends who all simp over him like love-sick animals. But you never paid much attention to those sorts of things. You didn’t even have any social media accounts since you used a crappy flip-phone. Even though the Skywalker’s were basically the rulers of the small town of Coruscant, you never cared much to find out who they really were and what they looked like.

“I wouldn’t know. I have never been to an arcade.” You told him with a shy smile when you saw his face go from one of curiosity to bewilderment.

“What?! What rock have you been hiding under?” he rudely replied to the new information.

You rolled your eyes at his response before you continued to read the book you sat down before the conversation began. It was quite obvious that this small action added fuel to the fire; and it took a second for you to realise that your book was snatched out of your hands and thrown onto the floor.

“Hey, why did you do that?” you calmly asked him. You weren’t someone who often looked for trouble, it went against all the things your beloved parents ever taught you.

“Why do you think?! I was talking to you and you decided to ignore me!” He shouted. In his fit of rage he brought his hand up to his hair and pulled on it. You watched the scene he was making unravel with a straight face. It was incredibly difficult seeing a grown man act like a five year old child.

“Umm for the record Mr. Skywalker, you were basically scrutinising how I live my life. I don’t care what you think, and I don’t do what every other person in this town does. So leave me be and get on with your evening. Good-night.” At those words, you stood up from where you were seated and walked to the book Anakin had earlier grabbed and thrown to the floor. But as you began to walk away, your arm was grabbed and you were pulled into the very strong chest of Anakin Skywalker.

“I wasn’t done talking to you.” Anakin said calmer than before. You tried to pull away from his grip but it was no use. He was incredibly strong. You sighed in frustration.

“I just wanted to say, I’m sorry you're such a Hobbit and don’t search for adventure.” Anakin grinned at his stupid joke. You however dryly laughed before you kicked him in the shins and began to walk to the room you were given.

“Why you fucking-I’LL TELL MY MOTHER!” He yelled before he practically bounded up the stairs to what you assume was his room and heard a door slam shut. 

“What a prick.” you said to yourself calmly before closing the doors to your own room. 

+++

You woke up early the next morning and got dressed into comfortable clothing for the day. You wore a nice pair of jeans and a large sweater since it was a bit chilly outside. 

You decided to start up breakfast for Ahsoka since it was part of your job to do so. There was a small decision between pancakes and porridge. Eventually, you decided to make some pancakes and began to look around the kitchen for the ingredients.

After about ten minutes or so, you jumped at the sound of a coffee machine turning on. You looked up from what you were doing and noticed a very-much grumpy Anakin Skywalker. His arms were folded and his hair was matted to his face. You sheepishly smiled at him before turning around and continuing on with what you were doing before. 

“What are you doing?” you heard a groggy voice. You turned back around and noticed Anakin was standing directly behind you. 

“What are you doing?” You asked as you attempted to shove him back a ways. He smirked at your failure before he stepped up closer to you. He could feel him breathing down your neck and you shivered. You turned around and your face was mere millimetres away from his. You gulped and attempted to move away from him but found you were stuck between the counter and him.

“What do you mean? I’m just standing here.” He grinned when he realised he’s struck a tick that bothers you. 

“You're way too close to me. Can you move back a few steps? Actually, a few feet?” You once more attempted to push him back but he just stood his ground and didn’t even move a centimetre. You groaned aloud in annoyance and just turned around and attempted to ignore his presence.

Meanwhile, Anakin was having the thrill of his life. He wanted to watch what you were doing and wanted to be as close as possible. Y/N (and whatever your last name was) was interesting to him. He never met someone so young who lived in a way you did. You couldn’t have been much younger than he was, and he was about to turn 24 in a few months. He decided to test dangerous waters and stept even closer to you. His body pressed against your own; he let out a nervous breath when he noticed you continued to do what you were doing and completely ignored his existence.

Meanwhile, you were having a literal heart attack. Like what the actual fuck is this man doing? Isn’t this illegal?

Your head swarmed with many questions and before you realised it, the pancake batter was done. The only problem being Anakin standing literally behind you. 

“You may as well fuse with my body, Skywalker,” you told him when you realised he still wouldn’t let you move.

“I wouldn't mind that.” He said to himself.

“What?” You asked, confused on what he was mumbling about.

“You know,” he began, a smirk growing across his handsome face. “Instead of sitting on babies, maybe you should sit on my lap?” Anakin flirted.

 You just about froze at what you heard. Who does he think he is? Sitting on babies?

“Bloody hell? What are you on about?” you paled.

“You're my sister's babysitter are you not?” He asked.

“I-yes?” you were still confused. That was until you thought about the fact that he said ‘babysitter’. You sighed heavily when you realised you are practically gonna look after two children instead of just one that was already pretty mature for such a young age.

“Skywalker, I am trying to make breakfast. I would appreciate it if you would get out of my bloody way.” 

“Woah, chill out. I wasn’t trying to make you angry.” 

You just about tackled him to the ground when you heard that. You made eye contact with him and tried to look threatening. But to no avail, you found yourself immediately looking away. His face was angelic. His bright blue eyes, curly dirty-blonde hair; and the grin he sent you made him look even more handsome. 

You decided to just once again ignore him and began to cook the pancakes on the stove. You were glad when you didn’t feel him standing behind you anymore. But when you turned around to serve plates, you ran right into him once more.

You were about to yell at him when you felt him grab a hold of your waist and you felt lips connect with yours. It took you a few seconds to realise you were kissing him; and completely by accident. You didn’t kiss back as you were frozen in complete and utter shock. You looked up and noticed Anakin was looking at you with a look you couldn’t quite decipher. 

But one thing for sure you did know, was how pissed you were about the situation.

“Huh, that’s never happened to me before. And it took, what, only a few hours for you to try and make out with me?” Anakin said with a cocky tone of voice. Your head nearly blew up in rage when he said that. Make out with him? Mate, you must be mental. You took steady breaths to try and calm yourself down.

“You-” you paused when you got a hold of yourself. “You just stole my first kiss, you bastard.” 

Much to your surprise you watched Anakin smile at you.

“That makes it even better then, can I kiss you again? And what do you even mean by ‘steal’? You kissed me, not the other way around.” 

You could feel tears begin to settle in your eyes but you held them back.

“I didn’t even want to kiss you the first time, you sorry excuse of a human.” You said with a shaky voice. As your mother had always said, it’s usually the men that were incredibly handsome that caused a lot of anger and heartbreak. And she was right. You always thought it was a joke to protect you from doing dumb things, but now, you realised she wasn’t that wrong. Your first kiss was stolen, by a stuck up, rude prick.

Anakin looked taken aback at your statement.

“What do you mean you didn’t want to kiss me? Everyone wants to kiss me.” That was all it took for you to confirm that Anakin Skywalker was a hot-headed, self-centred, arrogant man.

You huffed at him and finished serving plates. After you made the last plate you saw a familiar face walk up to you in the large kitchen.

“Good-morning Ahsoka, did you sleep well?” you asked her with a cheery voice. Anakin raised his brow when he noticed your change in attitude.

Ahsoka nodded and walked up to stand next to you. She reached up to grab a plate for herself and you helped her. She giggled in thanks and ran towards the dinning room to eat her food.

“Little prick didn’t even say ‘hi’ to me.” you heard a very grumpy Anakin complain.

“Maybe if you were a ‘good big brother that spent time with her often,’ she’d say ‘hi’ to you.” You smirked before grabbing your own plate and walked to the dining room to find Ahsoka. 

+++

Breakfast was over quickly and you began to clean up the mess from it. Anakin had left shortly after he snatched a couple of pancakes to do who knows what. You were quite glad he was no longer there to mope around and cause trouble. 

“Y/N! Can we go to the aquarium today? I want to see mermaids and fishes!” Ahsoka practically screamed when you finished putting the last plate into the dishwasher. 

“The aquarium? Which one? There are many here.” 

“Kamino Aquarium, obviously.” 

You gulped. Of course the young Skywalker has been to the most extravagant aquarium Coruscant had to offer. 

“How about we go somewhere else? Like the park or the public pool? It’s a far drive to Kamino and back.” 

Ahsoka hummed in thought. She made a face that uncannily looked like the one Anakin made when he was teasing you-wait, why are you thinking about Anakin?

You shook your head at your thoughts and looked back at Ahsoka who seemed to know what she wanted to do.

“Can we go to the Park? It’s close to where Kinny works and he might stop by and say hello.” 

Your smile dropped and you felt like frowning. Of course that insolent pup is going to be there. You brought your hand up to your face and pinched the bridge of your nose.

“Sure, ‘Soka, we can go to the park.” You sighed through your nose and began to head up to your temporary room to grab your things. Ahsoka jumped up and down in excitement and ran to her room to get herself ready.

+++

“Y/n! Looky! Kinny is here!” Ahsoka shouted at the top of her lungs. You watched her jump off the swings she was on and bound towards the entrance of the small playground. You didn’t even turn around to acknowledge the presence of the other adult. Instead, you crossed your arms and legs and sat with gritted teeth on the small bench that overlooked the park.

“And hello to you too, Y/n/n.” you heard a familiar voice. You rolled your eyes and turned to face the culprit of all your troubles of the past 24 hours. 

“Y/n/n? Really? Already on nicknames?” you huffed in annoyance. 

“Yup. And you can call me anything you want as well.” 

“How about dumbarse?” You said through clenched teeth.

Anakin chuckled and shook his head.

“Careful, Y/n/n, we have a pair of young ears listening.” 

“Kinny, what is dumb arms?” Ahsoka asked innocently. Anakin snorted and you choked on the air you were breathing.

“Umm. . .he isn’t able to control his arms.” you said, hoping she would accept the answer. Anakin raised a brow at that, and was about to argue before Ahsoka bursted into a fit of giggles.

“Kinny, is that why you have people at your workshop help you? You can’t lift weights? I thought you were a strong person.” 

“Wha-? I am! Y/n doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” 

“Nuh uh, she went to adult school and you only went to teen school. She is, therefore, smarter than you.” Ahsoka stuck her tongue out at Anakin, before getting bored with the conversation and scurried off towards the play set where other kids her age were playing.

“Really? That was the best you could think of?” 

“Well, I’m so sorry, but you weren’t gonna talk so I did.”

“Now my sister thinks I am incapable of doing things.” 

“From what I’ve seen of you? You’re not totally incapable.” you said, suddenly interested in picking the skin around your nails. 

“Really? Like what?” You smirked at his reply. He was a compliment seeker. How convenient, time to hurt his pathetically large ego.

“You’re exceptionally good at making a terrible first impression. Your flirting skills are mediocre, and you throw more tantrums than a four year old.” 

You looked back up to see his reaction, and was confused to see him grinning ear-to-ear. 

“You don’t like the way I flirt? Tell me, what do you like then?” 

Your jaw dropped to the ground. What the heck is this man on? You basically just degraded him and he wasn’t even going to acknowledge it? You felt something touch your knee and noticed it was his hand. You didn’t even see him sit down next to you, that and the fact he’s basically trying to sit on you.

“S-Skywalker, can you please move? You're in my personal space.” You tried to push him back.

“Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? I already gave you a reason.” 

“No, not that.”

“Then what, Skywalker?” You groaned in annoyance. You felt his hand begin to move up to your thigh and your breath got caught in your throat. This was definitely illegal.

“Why do you hate me so much? Why don’t you like me?” He whispered.

“I don’t hate you. I just really despise you and how you act. You were rather rude to me last night, and you kissed me without my consent.” 

“I didn’t kiss you, you kissed me.” 

“Look, it doesn’t matter ‘who kissed who’, it still happened and you tried to make a joke out of it.” 

“I was just teasing you-”

“No, Anakin. You shouldn’t do that to people. It ninety-nine percent of the time rubs them the wrong way.” With that, you stood up from the bench and walked to where Ahsoka was playing.

“C’mon, let’s go home.”

PART TWO OUT SOON

[traineecryptid]

NPSS Weibo Q&A (20240831) Part 10

This is a Q&A session held on Weibo. People will tag their questions with the hashtag #南派三叔藏海花在线答疑# (#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A#) and NPSS will look through the tag to pick some to answer. The event started at 1500 hours on 2024 August 31st.

Folder with screenshots and big compilation google doc is here. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here. Part 7 is here. Part 8 is here. Part 9 is here.

(special thanks to @silver-grasp for helping proofread today's post!)

1326 Q: I feel like compared to Wu Xie, you want to act as Zhang Qiling more. [screenshot of Xiaoge curled up on his side in a dark blue Tibetan robe paired with a picture of NPSS curled up on his side while wearing what looks like a light brown overall.]

A: You’ve actually found me out. Look, even my Tibetan robe is a living being. (T/N: I think NPSS is saying that his fat is his “robe”?) 1333

#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A# Let’s play a game. Right now, I’ll go and have lunch and we’ll start playing when I’m back. Let’s pretend that I have a System (the kind in those System novels). The function of this system is that while I answer the questions, it will suddenly reply some questions in a very Chūnibyō way. Those who have their questions answered in this Chūnibyō way can assign me a mission of writing a snippet. Once I’ve completed the snippets (they must be something I can write, if they are out of bounds, I’ll ignore them), I will receive photos of what the mission-givers are doing at the moment as my System reward. When the person who finds the pattern in my Chūnibyō responses tells me what the pattern is, they can decide that night’s update contents. (But the update can’t be out of bounds. It must be a proper scene from the series. Don’t do anything silly.) 1352

Q: Shu, when will you personally reenact Wu Xie’s Pulling Radish Dance?

A: I need someone to act as Wu Xie though.

1357

Q: Aside from taking sleeping pills, does Xiaohua have other ways of going to sleep?

A: The training from climbing one-handed and hanging down can [allow a person to] temporarily go to sleep for a few minutes. He hangs by the edge of hell yet his heart faces the light. Pink is the color of his blood and he is a ferocious wolf standing in the loneliness of the heaven’s forever night!!! The sound of his breath can reach hell, making demons and ghouls shiver!!! (T/N: this is a Chūnibyō answer.) 1358

Q: I want to know if DMBJ had a collab with Sanrio, which little Sanrio animal would each of the Five Succulent Beef be?

A: What [Sanrio characters] are there? Tell me. 1359

Q: Sanshu~~~ Please pick me!!! Are the seventeen scars on Wu Xie’s forearm on the inner side or the outer side? A: Inner.

1359 Q: Shu, what exactly does the Chūnibyō answer you mentioned mean? 

A: I’ve demonstrated it. Please look at my page.

1400 Q: Sanshu, you said that you want to lose weight to act but the result doesn’t seem that obvious. Do you still want to act or not?

A: How is it not obvious? I’ve lost one chin.

1401

Q: May I know if there’s a System that will lose more money the more you earn? For example, it looks like you’ve earned 2000 but because of the System, you’ve actually only earned 20. Under this sort of setting, who is the most likely to become the richest man? (The seed money will be provided by the System.) A: Don’t all earthlings come with this System at birth?

1402

Q: Boss Xu, may I know if Hei Xiazi, as a personal assistant, hasn’t signed in for 4 months, would Boss Xie fill it in for him from the office automation system? Does Xiazi file his bills for reimbursement by himself? Does he need to write work reports? What would Boss Xie tell him when they are talking about work performances? A: Xiazi files for reimbursement himself. When he gets impatient, he will paste the bills on his face or trick the accountant. He would even arrange the bills into the “resentment” character.

1403

Q: Sanshu, when do you usually sleep? I feel like you’re answering questions no matter the time. Sometimes you’re even answering questions in the middle of the night. A: Basically, I don’t sleep.

1404

Q: Speaking of food, even till today, I still remember the “compressed biscuits goo” that were mentioned in the original series. So, has Sanshu eaten them before? Do they taste good?

A: The German ones are not bad. The Eastern European ones taste like medicine. 1407

#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A# When ordering snippets, please use the tag #Zang Hai Hua System Snippet Orders# It’ll make it easier for me to find them.

1407

Q: Shu, if I could see you write a fight between Xie Yuchen and Hei Xiazi, I’ll die without regrets. No location or situation limits, can you let them have a fight?

A: Badminton court, everyone stopped what they were doing to watch them hit the shuttlecock so hard that it sounded like thunder. 

1411

Q: Shu, I want to know what kind of fate allowed Chen Minghao laoshi to keep playing Pangye. Chen Minghao laoshi is the Uncle Pang in my heart. 

A: He’s schoolmates with Qin Hao laoshi. Their duo name is [T/N: i think this is a pun of their name but i can't make neither the head nor tails of it]. They had another schoolmate called Dang Hao, the three of them together is [T/N: another untranslatable pun that has stumped me. I’m sorry.]

we'll be back on single updates now i feel! solely because Chunibyo answers are ruining my ability to think hahahahaha but hey! 150 posts in!

[fleet-admiral-hiba]

Litterally sent that 5 minutes ago I did not expect that but I’m not complaining,

Little fox series because yeah.

We decided we wanted to be there for one of their meetings that’s for like future plans and stuff, there’s a issue with transportation they can’t figure out, randomly we are like “what if we just moved this over there and then went there instead first?”

Basically we accidentally solved one of the problems via had been listening to pantalone and the others talk about this kinda stuff before

Also we are like not a little kid but still considered a child

-Simon

Well, we will be considered kid until we marry ahahahah. Anyway baby fox is now little fox (we are about 7/8 years old)

SIMPLICITY AT ITS BEST

Drawing at the meeting was always a pleasure, and it also meant having someone to share it with..

You were shocked: you knew what they were capable of: Dottore had achieved immortality, Sandrone created automatons for fun, Pantalone was the richest man in the entire world, and yet they couldn’t figure out a way to get something from point A to point B.

“We can’t go near the Godless, it’s a risk we can’t afford,” said Childe, nodding along to Capitano’s explanation. Arlecchino interjected, thinking about crossing the Frozen Sea to Mondstadt and the using a land carrier.

No matter what, they were still arguing when you finished your drawing. Looking up for a moment, you glanced at the chart before an idea crossed your mind.. It was a path, way easier than any of their suggestions.

Getting up from Pierro’s lap, you went to take a better look at the map, prompting them to fall silent, observing you. Do you want to send this cargo from Perekrestok to Liyue??” you sought, nodding at your question. You continued to study it, “but you will make it depart from Snezhnograd? Why?You quizzed, startled..

Well, they didn’t know. Why don't you transfer the load to Sumeru and then from Port Aarra you dispatch it to Liyue Harbour?? Don’t we have the machinery to do that?” you suggested, stammering on the word a bit.

You were right. After all, they had the means to teleport people around, let alone with a cargo.. And it was faster to travel from Sumeru to Liyue without delays. “We didn’t think about that. But I see what you mean,” responded Pulcinella.

You smiled, going back to your previous sit and resumed your sketch, polishing it. You showed them the composition, and they all cooed at your ability. Not only you were getting smarter by the day, but you also were too cute for your own good. “When you finish it, we will hang it with the rest,” said Pierro, before sending you off with a forehead kiss and a hug.

[telomeke]

[ID text–

First post is a tweet by ESPN @‌espn, posted 7:31PM UTC 12 June 2024:

Hobey Baker was America's first hockey star and a heroic WWI fighter pilot. What’s lesser known is his love for another man and the struggles he endured in the early 20th century. Listen to "Searching for Hobey Baker" now wherever you get your podcasts.

‌

The next five images consist of excerpts from an article by Cyd Zeigler on Outsports.com (posted June 12, 2024, 5:10 am PDT) about the ESPN podcast and Hobey Baker.

The excerpts read as follows:

ESPN podcast claims hockey legend Hobey Baker, the name on the NCAA MVP trophy, was gay Hobey Baker's name is on the NCAA ice hockey player of the year trophy. In a new podcast, ESPN claims he was gay, 106 years after his death. The revelation of Baker being gay is a new one. If you search the 25 years of Outsports' archives, Hobey Baker is not mentioned once. The ESPN podcast will be a head-scratcher for some. Yet ESPN and the podcast producers are sticking by their claim that Baker was gay (or in the words of the publicity and producers for the podcast, "a queer man"). "That is what we are claiming," said executive producer and researcher Andy Reynolds. "But it's based on massive amounts of research and documentation. Talking about what does this mean, and how do we get this right, we know we have to dot every I and cross every T. "Our bar for the validity of our storytelling needs to be incredibly high." In twice listening to the podcast, narrated by actor David Duchovny, and talking to various people in and around the production and distribution of the podcast, plus my colleague Jim Buzinski from Outsports (who also listened), there is a compelling case they make that Baker — a revered figure in hockey and the only American who was a member of the first Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945 — was gay. There's also something of note the podcast addresses: Hobey Baker was gorgeous. Even teammates would comment on how physically beautiful he was. "With his lean but well-muscled figure and his handsome, manly yet boyish face, he was someone who would appeal to both men and women alike," a former roommate wrote to Baker biographer John Davies. And yet, according to the reporting on the podcast, he had zero interest in women. In one anecdote, a classmate recalls Baker fleeing the hockey arena at Princeton via a back entrance to avoid a woman who wanted to go out with him. Andy Reynolds is a leading academic and researcher of LGBTQ history and politics. He served as executive producer and co-writer of the "Searching for Hobey Baker" podcast, along with executive producer and co-writer Tim Smith and executive producer Ross Greenburg. Reynolds joined the project four years ago, he told Outsports, after Smith tipped him off to a fascinating historical figure named Hobey Baker. Recasting someone from the past as "queer" or "gay" isn't taken lightly by Reynolds. These words simply weren't used the same way in 1924 as they are in 2024. Yet Reynolds' research has been meticulous. Despite Baker passing away in 1918, Reynolds has found a copious amount of information that points to one conclusion for the researcher and the ESPN team: Baker was in a same-sex relationship, and he was gay (or, in Reynolds' words, "queer"). "We basically gathered together the letters, the remembrances, and dug up a lot of new stuff as well," Reynolds said. "This is a 90-minute podcast, but there's a lot of other stuff under the bottom side of the iceberg." Reynolds pointed, as mentioned in the podcast, to what clearly seem to be love letters, bursting with emotional and physical affection, between Baker and Percy Rivington Pyne II, son of one of the country's richest men at the time and himself a Princeton alum. Baker and Pyne lived together in Pyne's swank Manhattan house for two years and were reportedly inseparable, becoming fixtures on the New York social scene. "If we presented this evidence of a man and a woman, there's no doubt we'd see them as a romantic couple," Reynolds said. "In this case, the experts told us that they see this as a very strong loving relationship."

End ID.]

‌

The tweet is linked here:

‌

The Outsports.com article is linked here:

‌

happy pride????

[descriptivestats]

Divine Forest

One time in the age where machines, man's tools, became an extension of man's thoughts, man didn't know what he would do with his time. Man was so busy, building little walking men who were made of pieces from the Earth, copper, gold, plants, and plastics, all wrapped up in intricate ways. The walking men could receive instructions through a console, and the human men who were very proficient in commanding these consoles, gained the power over the world. It was once that the richest men were those who were the most sinful, or there by chance. Now, the richest men were those who absorbed the most information, through reading, writing, and conversing with their peers. It created a distributed system. The men were building networks, which could retain information and induce actions. These networks were mirrors of the networks of nature, which by necessity creates these networks in the rivers, stars, and especially conscious flesh. Imagine the stars like a factory for helium, gold, platinum, or radioactive ores. The Universe uses the stars chained in a series to produce these elements for the use of humans. All things are factories, but most factories are not relevant for human kind at any given time. It is up to the observer to hone his focus, by filtering out unnecessary information. The great Devil, or deceiver, is long dead but still his being has existence by the name of chaos. The unfiltered noise of reality is very loud. The observer must focus only on essential tasks, and thereby achieves great power. A conscious being as it currently stands, must only focus on breathing. At first, this is very under-stimulating for the being. But looking across time, the being sees that although there is not as much activity, the only remaining activity is good and helpful to the being. So now we imagine the ubermensch, as Nietzsche wrote, and even some evil men worshipped. Imagine the calm being, which sees only what is necessary. No longer is there the noise of chaos. At first the man mourns the chaos. At first the man complains about peace, which he sought for so long. The ubermensch, who is a human which has achieved everlasting peace, can speak through time. He sits in a forest in 4000 years, surrounded by trees. In the forest, when the man sits still, the creatures come out and look the man in the eye. They chirp and chitter. The man sometimes opens his mouth to sing a tune, and grey plump clouds billow in the sky over the man's head. Blue lightning comes down from heaven and forks into 7 branches, the largest coming down on the man's head. There is a large white flash and the green pupils in his eyes fade away, like someone wiping down a counter. The rest of his eyes fill with blue light. Then, the man sits there for some time, about 13 minutes, and listens to the white noise in his brain. He sits there and there is a hum as his bones and skin vibrate. Everything around him vibrates, even the green grass he sits on. Finally, the man begins to speak through time to the man who complains about peace: "Listen to me. Everything is fine. Renew your faith in yourself. Enjoy peace. Enjoy doing nothing. Enjoy sitting. Enjoy laying. Your body will not decay from earned rest. You have already done the work. Now wait, and do not interrupt it. Indicate that you are finished by putting down your shovel. The overlords will not punish you. Indicate that everything is going to plan by remaining calm. Find little moments of joy and be happy with them. Grow them like plants. Talk to the people around you in simple words. Do not plan anymore. Rest now. I will take care of it for you." The lightning man then raises his hand into the sky and the lightning arches out of his body, the light in his eyes returning to their normal green circles. The lightning becomes the fuel for the past. The man in the divine forest builds his reality by sending messages into the past, where his old body sits. As he does this, his present changes. You are free. Be the man in the forest.

[relationshipgoalsnow]

How to Manifest a Text with the Law of Attraction: A Step-by-Step Guide

Manifesting a text message from someone specific can seem magical, but it is rooted in the principles of the Law of Attraction. By focusing your thoughts and intentions, you can attract the desired communication into your life. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to manifest a text with the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction is based on the principle that like attracts like. Your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs shape your reality. By maintaining a positive mindset and visualizing your desires, you can attract what you want into your life.

Step-by-Step Guide to Manifest a Text

Learn how to manifest a text with the Law of Attraction. Discover steps for setting intentions, visualizing, affirmations, and taking inspired action.

1. Set a Clear Intention

Before you begin, be specific about what you want. Instead of a vague desire for communication, focus on a clear intention. For example, “I want [Person’s Name] to text me and express their interest in meeting up.”

2. Visualize the Outcome

Visualization is a powerful tool in the Law of Attraction. Take a few moments each day to close your eyes and imagine receiving the text. Picture the notification popping up on your phone, see the message content, and feel the emotions you would experience upon receiving it.

3. Affirmations

Positive affirmations help reinforce your intentions. Repeat affirmations like:

“I am worthy of [Person’s Name]’s attention.”

“[Person’s Name] is thinking about me and wants to reach out.”

“I attract positive communication into my life.”

4. Feel the Emotions

Emotions are the driving force behind the Law of Attraction. Feel the joy, excitement, and gratitude as if you have already received the text. These positive emotions will raise your vibrational frequency, aligning you with your desire. Recommended: The Richest Man In History Used This To Manifest Abundance. >> Listen to it now!

5. Let Go of Doubts and Resistance

Doubts and negative thoughts can block your manifestation. Trust the process and let go of any resistance. Believe that the universe is working in your favor and that the text is on its way to you.

6. Take Inspired Action

While the Law of Attraction emphasizes thoughts and emotions, taking inspired action is also important. This could be as simple as making sure your phone is charged and not on silent or being open to social interactions where you might naturally connect with the person.

7. Express Gratitude

Gratitude is a powerful magnet for positive experiences. Be grateful for the communication you are about to receive. Expressing gratitude even before your desire manifests strengthens your belief and aligns your energy with your goal.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Obsessing Over the Outcome: Constantly checking your phone or worrying about when the text will arrive creates resistance. Trust the process and focus on other areas of your life.

Negative Self-Talk: Avoid negative thoughts and self-doubt. Maintain a positive mindset and replace negative thoughts with affirmations.

Ignoring Your Intuition: Pay attention to your inner guidance. Sometimes, your intuition will lead you to take actions that bring you closer to your desire.

Recommended: Listen to this one-minute prayer to manifest! This Prayer Blesses You To Receive Divine Gifts >> Listen to the One-Minute Prayer now. Final Thoughts

Manifesting a text with the Law of Attraction involves a combination of clear intention, visualization, positive affirmations, and inspired action. By aligning your thoughts and emotions with your desire, you can attract the communication you seek. Remember to stay positive, trust the process, and be open to receiving your desired outcome.

By following these steps and maintaining a positive mindset, you can successfully manifest a text message from the person you desire. The Law of Attraction is a powerful tool that, when used correctly, can bring amazing results into your life.

[notallwonder]

CME 17x08, what have you for me...

- this Lawrence Durrell quote "the richest love is that which submits to the arbitration of time"...in Emily's voice no less. I assume it's about Rossi, but a girl can twirl her hair and think of other applications.

- this Rossi stuff with Jill. Hmph. And Prentiss talking about... falling in love with your best friend's wife, and timing... teehee

- the way Emily listens and responds, reminds me of their chat in season 7. Can't remember the episode atm but it's when Rossi is thinking his ex wife (#1) wants to rekindle and Emily tells him to take the leap. I love that little scene, so this reminder was nice.

- JJ & Luke in the field. looking foine

- I like the way the Stuart house kids think Voit's a little bitch

- I really like Rebecca. Tyler's sort of growing on me, like some kind of inoffensive fungus maybe. I'm not a fan of whatever they're doing to Luke with this alleged "triangle"

- so all the Gold Star doctors/psychologists are dying/killed...I see where we're going here. Jill you in danger girl.

- Paget's hair so pretty 😍

- Tara is gorgeous, always. But those pics of Aisha directing the last ep? I nearly passed away 🔥🔥🔥 holy shit 🔥🔥🔥

- wait WHAT. Did I fall asleep? (that's what I get for watching this in the middle of the night)

- WHAT???!!!

- going back to watch what I missed

- I gotta be so honest. I just am not that interested in Rossi's emotional turmoil, his inner world. I'm sorry old man. I just....I just want to see more of JJ, more of Luke, more of Tara, more of Emily. Voit in s16 and now Gold Star in s17 have both built to/been aimed at Rossi at the last chapter, and I just do not find that particularly compelling. I think this is a result of the 10-episode serial format. They have to make the overall arc "big" and they make it about "the BAU" and who is more representative of the BAU than Rossi. I like Joe Mantegna, but of the limited time we get the fact that it's Rossi, over and over, is a bummer to me. ftr this is also why I am pleased that Spencer is not in evolution - bc I don't think they could resist making it all about him, somehow.

- I did like the way they had him zoning out while JJ etc delivered the profile, and then she clapped real big.

- wait a minute here. We were led to believe that Gold Star had *national security* implications. Now it's come to light that Jill used the white paper to draft a proposal, and the proposed project was funded by a mysterious *private entity*. Is the supposed blowback that the FBI sponsored research that eventually led to the creation of these killers? So the FBI has an interest in not letting that information go public, in order to protect its reputation (lol)? And you'd think, if the FBI director "had it out for" the BAU, what better excuse to reorganize or dismantle than to let the "founders" of the BAU take the public fall. Idk it just feels weak to me, the way this is all supposed to hang together. I suppose if there really are other facilities besides Stuart House, that were more successful (ie their patients became agents of state violence rather than uncontrolled killers), the gov would want to keep that secret. It's a pretty dark view of the establishment, that CM doesn't generally express. But we are no longer just a CBS procedural...

- the scenes with Jill and Damien. Ran counter to my expectations. It happened so quickly, that she convinced him his training had been a lie, that he killed his foster dad for no good reason. And then he's dead??? I honestly would have liked something more with this guy. He already knew quite well that he had been made into a monster, and was apparently exacting his revenge for that. So why give Jill any time at all? Because Jill manipulate him by using his given "purpose" (to "save the children")? And Damien and Jade have a fairly deep bond, so why does he commit suicide by her hand, leaving her alone? I'm confused by how that all went down.

- seems like, at this rate, we're unlikely to get any further follow up on how JJ is doing with BAUgate. great

- also side note but did Emily officially step down/was demoted from Section Chief? She's UC but no longer SC I think.

- hoping and praying for Jill to interact with any other member of the team going forward. Especially JJ. Not Tyler

- this show is so disappointing! I feel comforted by that. And disappointed lol

- maybe on rewatch this will flow together better for me...

I'm sure my overall impression of this episode was damaged by the fact I fell asleep for half of it and woke up to the climactic tragic. Lol moment

[mrlnsfrt]

Blessed Are You - 2

Blessed are you (part 2)

Remember that the crowd that is listening to Jesus’ sermon is accustomed to religion as taught by their religious leaders. From what we read in the New Testament it doesn’t seem like the religious leaders of Jesus’ time were big on mercy.

The Pharisees majored on minors. They had rules for every minute area of life, while at the same time they forgot about the important things. It is usually the case that legalists are sticklers for details, but blind to great principles. This crowd thought nothing of condemning an innocent man, yet they were afraid to enter Pilate’s judgment hall lest they be defiled (John 18:28). - Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 85.

There is nothing wrong with paying attention to details, details are important. However, we must never lose our sense of priorities in spiritual matters. We must all resist the tendency to allow our zeal for God’s law to keep us from developing a well-rounded, true Christian character.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! - Matthew 23:23-24 NKJV

Jesus addresses several of the issues He has with the religious leaders of His time in Matthew 23:1-36. Remember that with this sermon Jesus is setting the main tenets of His teachings, the core of His message, and the contrast with the expectations is sharp.

Let us turn our focus to the sermon on the mount picking up where we left off on my last post on this series. (Blessed are You)

Blessed are the Merciful

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. - Matthew 5:7 NKJV

Even in our modern day, the merciful are not taken to be the wisest, oftentimes they are not the richest; yet Jesus pronounces them blessed. Paul encourages the followers of God to be merciful in his letter to the Colossians.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; - Colossians 3:12 NKJV

Ready to be made more uncomfortable?

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. - James 2:14-17 NKJV

But this message is not one of only duty and guilt. This is not meant to make you be merciful out of fear and a sense of fear. Your mercy towards others should be an expression of your love for God. Also, remember that Jesus said the merciful are blessed!

Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. 3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed. - Psalm 41:1-3 NKJV

What do you think of this statement from Matthew Henry?

One of the purest and most refined delights in this world, is that of doing good. - Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 1629.

The Bible compares helping the poor to lending to the Lord.

He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given. - Proverbs 19:17 NKJV

The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. - Proverbs 11:25 NKJV

However, if we are merciful simply as an investment hoping to receive something better in return, we are doing the right thing for the wrong reason and may soon stop if we feel we are not receiving a good return for our investment. So what do we do? I would say continue to help, whether you feel like it or not, do it because it is the right thing to do. Also, realize that we can’t force ourselves to care, our natural tendency is to be selfish our ability to love is a gift from God.

 We love Him because He first loved us. - 1 John 4:19 NKJV

Exodus 33:18 Moses asks God to show him His glory and God replies that He would make all His goodness pass before him and that He would proclaim the name of the LORD before Him. I believe that the fulfillment of this promise of fully realized in Exodus 34:6.

5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” - Exodus 34:5-7 NKJV (bold mine)

When we show mercy to others, we are partnering with God. It is not about how much the other person deserves it, or what benefit we will receive from helping them, rather it is about us showing our love for God by extending mercy to those around us who are in need.

The merciful are “partakers of the divine nature,” and in them the compassionate love of God finds expression. All whose hearts are in sympathy with the heart of Infinite Love will seek to reclaim and not to condemn. Christ dwelling in the soul is a spring that never runs dry. Where He abides, there will be an overflowing of beneficence. -Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing p. 22.

Blessed are the Pure in Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. - Matthew 5:8 NKJV

It makes sense that Jesus cares about the purity of our hearts since it was understood to be the source of everything else we do in life.

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. - Proverbs 4:23 NKJV

God cares about our hearts, not our outward appearance.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. Forthe Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV

In our secular world it is normal to see people concerned about their reputation, their appearance, their public image. D.L. Moody used to say D.L. “If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself.” (Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 85.)

Paul, writing to Timothy, clarifies the purpose of the commandment.

Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, - 1 Timothy 1:5 NKJV

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were so rigorous in regard to ceremonial purity that their regulations were excessively oppressive. Their minds were so occupied with rules and restrictions and the fear of outward defilement, that they did not perceive the stain that selfishness and malice impart to the soul.

As we grow and mature in our walk with Jesus, we experience a growing distaste for those things that defile the soul. Certain jokes stop being funny. Old sources of entertainment stop entertaining. It is not that someone approaches you with a list of what to avoid, but rather you begin to notice you no longer enjoy substances, activities, and environments you previously sought out.

The purity that Jesus describes here goes beyond the well-known sins, and extends to hidden motives and purposes of the heart, a pure heart is one that is free from pride and self-seeking, a humble and childlike heart.

The pure in heart live as in the visible presence of God during the time He apportions them in this world. And they will also see Him face to face in the future, immortal state, as did Adam when he walked and talked with God in Eden. “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” 1 Corinthians 13:12. - Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing p.27. 

Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. - Matthew 5:9 NKJV

Isaiah 9:6 describes several titles for Jesus and one of them is Prince of Peace. Sin has broken the peace that existed in a perfect world created by a perfect God, and we await the second coming of Jesus we do our best to live in harmony with others.

Those who work for shālôm (wholeness and harmony rather than strife and discord in all aspects of life) and who reconcile others to God and each other will “be called sons of God.” Others will identify them as God’s true ambassadors, as those who are being conformed to his likeness. - Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 100.

Jesus’ followers are sent into the world with a message of peace. This message of peace goes beyond spoken words and extends itself even to our silent influence and how our way of living and our interactions reveal the love of God to those around us. When we encourage others to turn from sin and to accept Jesus into their hearts we are being peacemakers. Our spirit of peace is evidence of our connection with heaven. Think of it as a perfume or cologne. The lives of those who follow Jesus have a special fragrance, our character has a certain quality that reveals to those around us that we belong to God.

Persecuted?

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.- Matthew 5:10-12 NKJV

As we have noticed, the characteristics that Jesus labels as blessed do not match what the secular world values or holds in high regard. Just like the world was hostile to Jesus, hostility will arise against Jesus’ followers, but Jesus considers even persecuted people as blessed. But it is important to highlight the reason for their persecution. The blessing exists for those who are persecuted for righteous living and not because of sin or tactlessness.

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” - 1 Peter 3:14 NKJV

14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. - 1 Peter 4:14-15 NKJV

When Jesus tells those who are suffering persecution, He is not talking about feelings, we cannot command our feelings, rather He is describing what our attitude should be. (see James 1:2) When we suffer we must resist the temptation of thinking that we are the only ones who are suffering. Jesus points out that the prophets that came before them also suffered. Modern-day followers of Christ also have the example of the early Christians and all the martyrs who have suffered for Jesus all over this globe, through the ages even down to today.

In a world where many fight for supremacy, with the worldview of survival of the fittest, Jesus calls His followers to live with inverted values, where instead of seeking supremacy at the cost of all who surround us, we are to actively help those who are struggling around us.

[mitmama]

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Nice | Villefranche-sur-Mer | Monaco | Eze | Ventimiglia | Food | Travel Tips

After the bustling Nice, we very much enjoyed our stay at the quiet resort town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, just two stops East from the main Nice station on the train. The beach here is actually sandy and very enjoyable. :)

Our Airbnb is in middle of the charming town. A minute to the seacoast where they are many restaurant options, 7 minutes to the train station.

The town is small and chill, very different in feel from bustling Nice. As usual in this part of French Riviera, there's a lot of walking up and down stairs. When the walk is this pretty, you really don't mind. And the restaurant options are plentiful and delicious.

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

Next, we checked out the Rothchild Ephrussi Villa, just a short Uber ride away.

Béatrice de Rothschild (1864-1934) who built the villa is a pretty remarkable woman: daughter of the richest man in France, married at 19 to a Jewish Russian friend of the family who's 15 years older. It wasn't a great marriage: he gambled a lot and gave her syphilis, which meant she couldn't have kids. So at 40, she separated from her husband. She also is a great art collector, joined a flying club when flying was in its infancy, had a telephone, and modern plumbing in her villa. And collected artifacts such as silk dress and tiny shoes from China.

The garden is divided into different areas, including formal French and cute Spanish, peaceful Japanese, and more.

Nice | Villefranche-sur-Mer | Monaco | Eze | Ventimiglia | Food | Travel Tips

[bobmccullochny]

The Tax System Explained in Beer

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100… If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20".. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay..

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3… (33% saving). The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7.. (28% saving). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12.. (25% saving). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18.. (22% saving). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59.. (16% saving). Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free.

But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he received ten times more benefit than me!" "That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "We didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

[meep923]

༻Your Appearance Messed Me Up(yuyeon)༺

chapter 18/25 + bonus chapter

7 and 1/2 hours ago - Yuqi's POV

Soyeon had left for the company to go for her briefing. I hope that she will do well for this, or else she may get hurt. I really wanted to know who the traitor was. I felt a little bit of tingling at my back, I am technically an infiltrator, a traitor and a spy. I quickly let the feeling slide. I had learnt since a young age to not be bothered by my feelings. Soyeon was the first exception.

Just then, I received a text message from the company. They told me that I was expected to protect the richest man in Korea, Mr. Kim, as he goes for a fashion show that was held by Saint Laurent. They added that it would be part of an assessment. They gave me an address, I was supposed to meet Mr. Kim at the place.

I packed some essentials in a bag, changed my clothes and left the house. I took the train to the place where I was supposed to meet Mr. Kim. I pulled my hood over my head as I sat down at the coffee shop opposite of the place where I was supposed to meet him. After around 5 minutes, a car pulled up in front of the place where I was sitting at.

"I was quite sure that we were supposed to meet across the road, Miss Song." The door to the vehicle was opened by the driver and the man sitting inside, whom I presumed to be Mr. Kim, said. I raised my eyebrow and sat down at the seat beside of him.

"You seem familiar, have we met before?" Mr. Kim asked when he took a good look at my face.

"No, Mr. Kim, I do not think we've ever met." I replied.

"Are you related to Lee Xiaoqi?" He asked. I was shocked, how does he know the name of my mother? I instantly became more cautious. "Don't worry child, I have no reasons to hurt you. I may seem like as if I am barely over my thirties, but I am over fifty years old. She was my university sweetheart." He said, bitterly.

I raised my eyebrow. "She's my mom." 

"So she's married off to some other man then. Look at what he did to her. Dead." He said darkly. "Child, I loved her, she was forced to go back to China after she got her Doctor's degree. We could've been married if she was not forced to leave. Let me tell you. The company that you work for, they planned to get you killed tonight." He paused, studying me carefully, waiting for the words to sink in. I knew that there was something off. The only problem is that the person is Soyeon, she was deadly, she did not know that her target was me, or else she would not fire the gun even if she dies. Soyeon was a sharpshooter, I had trained her well, she was good at shooting things, I have a higher chance of dying than not but I know that the company will suspect. However, knowing the company, if it was ran by the same person as the Chinese branch, they would use snipers, snipers had a strong recoil, Soyeon had never used one before.

"Okay." Mr. Kim was shocked when he heard me reply. He was more used to people who shrink at the sight of death. I was not someone who would do that. "You're not afraid?" He asked. "What's there to be afraid of? If I was afraid, I would not have started." I replied. A smirked played across his face. "You remind me of her, child."

"Maybe you can be my godfather. My dad's dead too. Killed by my uncle. Mom's dead. I have no other relatives. You seem like a generally good person in my standards. I feel like I can trust you." I looked at him seriously. "Define good person." He replied. 

"It depends on the person." I said. He smiled. "I like your spirit, child. Okay, I will be your godfather. Now, back to the assasination. What did you do to anger the Korean mafia?"

"Just the basic things, you know. Like for example, I found out that the current boss of the Korean mafia killed the boss of the Chinese mafia 5 years ago and because they were identical brothers, the Korean mafia boss took over the Chinese mafia boss's seat and controls both the Chinese mafia and the Korean mafia. Plus, I stole some important files from the Chinese file on Friday. And, I was kidnapped by him yesterday, I managed to hide the fact that I stole the files but the police turned up, it's enough of an excuse to say that I am with the police and betrayed the company. I mean, I'm stuck in some kind of shit conspiracy and the mafia boss is probably not gonna hide anymore." I rambled.

"Wow. You truly are your mother's daughter. That sounds like something she would get caught up in." He looked at me again. I could feel the look in his eyes changing, from someone amused to someone who truly looked at me as an equal. "It's fine about tonight. I will wear a mask and still do the job." I said, looking at the road. We got off at his mansion so that I could change into a suit that bodyguards wear. There was a bulletproof vest under all my clothes. I thought Soyeon to shoot at the heart of the enemies. She will definitely aim for my heart.

7:30 pm

I pulled up my mask and got off the first car with the other bodyguards. We stood beside the second car, the car which Mr. Kim was in. The entire group walked up the red carpet. When we reached around the middle, I felt excruciating pain on my left arm. Soyeon must have misfired. I looked in the direction which the bullet came from as medical personnel swarmed around me. I could see a figure that seemed around the size of Soyeon on one of the roofs of a building. I knew, Song Bin was using Soyeon like a pawn on his chessboard, a piece to use against me.

One of the medical personnel tied a thick rubber rope above the place where my wound was to stop the blood flow. The other personnel guided me to the ambulance. They sanitized the wound and did a little bit of bandaging. Minnie sat beside me the whole time, the police had already arrived at the scene. "This is my battle to fight." I whispered to her as they closed the door to the ambulance.

Minnie looked at me. She knew from the look in my eyes that I was certain of my decision, I will not regret it. She nodded curtly. I fished out my phone with a little difficultly with my right hand. I handed it to Minnie and asked her to send a message to Soyeon. When she was done, she returned it to me. I was sent into the operation room at the hospital. They took the bullet out and stitched the wound back together. I was expected to stay in the hospital for 3 more days to see if my condition detoriates.

When I was wheeled out of the operation room on the surgery bad, I could see Soyeon with her face in her hands sitting at the bench beside Minnie. When she saw me, she immediately ran to my side. Seeing the amount of blood on my suit, she gasped. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." She repeated.

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day.

Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday.

Stressed grass snakes smell of garlic.

Flowers can grow faster by listening to music.

Poor eyesight (myopia) is associated with higher IQ.

Japan has one vending machine for every 40 people.

1 in 400 men is flexible enough to suck his own penis.

English has only one word for ‘love.’ Sanskrit has 96.

The more sex you have, the more you want, research says.

The penis stops growing when a man is in his early twenties.

Your heartbeat will synchronise with your date's if the date is going well.

Lack of sleep can cause weight gain of two pounds (0.9 kg) in under a week.

Having sex just three times a week has proven to make you look 5-7 years younger.

The 62 richest people in the world are now wealthier than the rest of humanity combined.

Squeezing a man's testicles can kill him, due to the release of too much adrenaline.

A sophomaniac is a person who’s under the delusion that they are extremely intelligent.

When fathers share the housework, their daughters tend to pursue higher-paying careers.

In 2020, human triphallia — having three penises — was reported for the first time in history.

No matter how strong of a person you are, there’s always someone that can make you weak.

If you are 16 or older, there's an 80% chance you've already met the person you are going to marry.

Fast food restaurants use yellow, red, and orange because those are the colours that stimulate hunger.

The generation that invented the internet, the smartphone, and the iPad all played outside as children.

A study found that those who go out alone and those who go out in a group have the same amount of fun.

The most children born to one woman was 69, in which she had 16 twins, seven triplets and four quadruplets.

You likely overestimate how interesting you are to talk to but underestimate how good you are at dancing.

A male’s testicles hang at uneven levels so that they don’t damage each other or collide when running or sitting.

Emotions are contagious. Unpleasant or negative emotions are more contagious than neutral or positive emotions.

According to the largest study ever done on marijuana, smoking it once or twice a week is not bad for your lungs.

Studies have shown that the average person believes he or she will live a longer and healthier life than the average person.

Economists at Danske Bank believe that Sweden’s high inflation in May can partially be attributed to Beyonce’s world tour.

If the internet went down for a day, 196 billion emails, three billion Google searches and 500 million tweets would have to wait.

Palmerston Island in the Pacific has a population of fewer than 60 people and is home to the fishing spot Scratch My Arse Rock.

Women cry on average between 30 and 64 times a year, while men cry between 6 and 17 times (but more if you support West Ham!)

No male jaguar has ever successfully mated with a female tiger. If it were to happen, the resulting animal would be known as a ‘jagger’.

Yellow teeth are stronger. The natural colour of our teeth is a light yellow colour. Whitening your teeth can permanently weaken them.

Dimples may be cute but they are an inherited genetic flaw caused by a fibrous band of tissue that connects the skin to an underlying bone.

Poland is changing the name of its bus route 666 to Hel to route 669 after some religious conservatives complained that it was “spreading Satanism.”

According to a 1985 paper, everything takes 2.71 times as long as you think it will. Thus, if you think it will take you a minute to do, it will probably take close to three minutes!

When famed jazz saxophonist and composer Paul Desmond died in 1977 from lung cancer, he donated all his royalties from his compositions to the American Red Cross. It has been said that, to date, the Red Cross has received over $6 million from Desmond’s gift.

Okay, that’s enough information for one day. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

[encourager98]

Can You Spare A Minute 7/3?

youtube.com/shorts/25_qL3Pzc6w If you can’t find two minutes can you spare just one? 7/3–Can You Spare A Minute Opportunities Missed  There was a very cautious man  Who never laughed or played;  He never risked, he never tried,  He never sang or prayed.  And when he one day passed away  His insurance was denied;  For since he never really lived,  They claimed he never died! The richest place in…

[mint-moon25]

DISNEY - ‘101 DALMATIONS’ - KEVIN - NEVER - GAVE -

HIS - NAME - AGE 23 - WHITE - MALE - ‘YOU ARE NOT -

AS - DISABLED - ALLOWED - 2 - EAT - AT - EXTRA -

SPACE - STORAGE’ - ‘PLEASE - GO - BACK 2 THE -

PHILIPPINES’ - AS - WE - WILL - KNOW - WHAT - 2 -

DO - ABOUT - THE - US EMBASSY - IN - MANILA -

KNOW - EXACTLY - WHAT - 2 - DO - WITH THEM’ -

KEVIN - SAID - ‘I - WILL - TOSS - U - AND - YOUR -

FOOD - THROW - U - AND - YOUR - FOOD - OUT -

THE - GATE - THROW - YOUR NATURALIZATION -

PAPER - REPUBLICAN - PARTY - OF - FLORIDA -

DOESN’T - ALLOW - DOBERMAN’s AS SERVICE -

2 - BITE - HIS - NECK - AND - THIGHS - THAT -

MEANS - TETANO - SHOTS - OR - HIS TEETH -

WILL - BITE - SO - DEEP - BITE - DOWN - ON -

HIS - TEETH - GUMS - BLEEDING - UNTIL -

HE - BITES - DOWN - DEEPER - AS - HE -

EXPERIENCES - TYPHOID - FEVER - AND -

SHAKES - VIOLENTLY - 300 DEGREES OF -

CONTAGIOUS - FEVER - AND - DIES WITH -

EYES - WIDE - OPEN - WHY - FR - HITLER -

USA - WITH - TAXES - KILL - SHELTERS -

THAT - GAS - 2 - DEATH - ODORLESS 1 -

MINUTE - CATS - DOGS - NO - COLLAR -

WHILE - EUROPE - AND - ASIA - EATS -

DOGS - CATS - INCLUDING - CHINA & -

KOREA - VIETNAM - SWITZERLAND -

AS - NEUTRAL - COUNTRY - EATS -

MAN’s - BEST - FRIEND - AND WHO -

MEOWS - WHY - DOES - GOD - ALLOW -

BECAUSE - DOGS - CATS - MINIATURE -

ONES - IN - PARTICULAR - GIVE 30 MIN -

WARNING - IN - LOVELIEST - WAY THAT -

PERSON - SOMETHING - AWEFUL WILL -

HAPPEN - ‘PRINCE CASPIAN - NARNIA -

SERIES’ - INDIRA GANDHI - MAHATMA -

GANDHI - XXX - MALE ROCKER - YES -

WOULD - NOT - HAVE - BEEN - IN THE -

PARKING - LOT - AS - THEY - 2 MALE -

DOGS - TRYING - 2 - WARN - HIM AS -

30 MIN - 2 - BRING - HIM - AWAY - AS -

SOON - AS - POSSIBLE - KEVIN - ENTERED -

MY - STORAGE - UNIT - KNOWING - I’M YES -

SSI - DISABILITY - FOR - BLINDNESS - AS -

DIB HERNANDEZ - SAID - ‘WE - HAVE YES -

A - STUPID - NOT - WEARING - EYEGLASS -

SHE’s - BLIND - HE - TOLD - ME - ALSO AS -

HE - WAS - ABOUT - 2 - BOX - ME - U CAN -

NOT - SIT - IN - STORAGE - BUILDINGS -

FOR - HOURS - AS - BLIND - THUS I’VE -

JUST - TOLD - THIS - 2 - HE’s - BLOND -

‘ANGEL - OF - THE - LORD - GOD - CHASE -

AND - END - THE - EXISTENCE - OF - DIB -

HERNANDEZ - AND - KEVIN - LIKE CHER -

NO - LAST - NAME - CHASE - THEM AND -

END - THEIR - EXISTENCE - IN - JESUS’ -

NAME - BRING - THEM - 2 - A - DARK - & -

SLIPPERY - PATH - NOW - BLINDNESS -

AND - BONE - DETERIORATION - LIKE -

ONASSIS - WHO - WAS - THE - RICHEST -

MAN - ON - EARTH - CREATED - A HOSPITAL -

2 - HEAL - HIS - BONE - DETERIORATION - & -

THEY - FAILED - BUT - IT - WAS - WHAT LED -

2 - BONIVA - JUST - ONCE - A - MONTH - AS -

U - WAKE - UP - MORNINGS - PLEASE - NO -

FOOD - MINE - 15TH - OVER - 15 YEARS -

WHY - DID - I - GO - 2 - US - PHILIPPINES -

BOTH - HAD - NO - MEDS - 4 - ME  - THEN -

I - WAS - 5′7 1/2 FT - EVERYONE - IN DMV -

DOCTOR’s - KEPT - TELLING - ME - THAT -

I - WAS - NEVER - THAT - HEIGHT - AS -

THEY - STARED - AT - MY - CHEST AS -

I - USED - BASEBALL - BAT - BUT - I - BECAME -

MARILYN MONROE - 5′5 FT - THEN - 5′4 FT - 2 -

THEN - 5′2 FT - OVER - 8 YRS - FORT MYERS -

PSYCHIATRICAL - MEDS - DECREASED - MY -

HEIGHT - WELL - EVERYBODY - BONIVA -

BOUNCED - ME - BACK - 2 - HGT - 5′5 FT -

I - ALSO - NOTICED - AFTER - LOOSING -

MAJOR - WEIGHT - I - WAS - ALWAYS XO -

ATTACKED - KEVIN - ATTACKED - ME - BECAUSE -

DIB HERNANDEZ - ATTACKED - ME - SINCE I YES -

WITH - DIB - LOST - 25 LBS - WHILE - WITH - HAI -

KEVIN - I - LOST - 60 LBS - FR - INTERMITTENT -

FASTING - THE - MOST - DANGEROUS THINGS -

THAT - HAPPENED - ME - LIKE - PUSHING - ME -

DOWN - STAIRS - BY - LESBIAN - PHILIPPINE -

MY - 2ND - ADOPTED - SISTER - SHE - TRIED -

2 - PUSH - ME - DOWN - THE - STAIRS - PARIS -

HOTEL - LONDON - HOTEL - HOLY GHOST -

WANTED - ME - 2 - GO - 2 - THE - R - SIDE -

I - JUST - OBEYED - ALL - THOSE - TIMES -

I - LOST - SO MUCH - WEIGHT - WITH -

TAHITIAN - DANCE - 3 DAYS - 50 MIN -

M - W - F - CLASSES - KEVIN - JUST -

WAS - CATCHING - ME - SHE’LL - EAT -

DAY - AFTER - HER - BIRTHDAY - FOR -

PHILIPPINES - ALWAYS - EATS - YES -

ON - THEIR - BIRTHDAY - AND - THE -

NEXT - DAY - AFTER - MY - PHILIPPINE -

ADOPTED - MOM - DIED - I - HAD - NO -

FOOD - 8 DAYS - STRAIGHT - KEVIN -

WAS - SMILING - PHILIPINES - EATS -

ON - THEIR - BIRTHDAYS - OR - THE -

DAY - AFTER - WITH - AMAZON - PACKAGE -

AFTER - 4P EDT - HE - WAS - SMILING - NO -

COCAINE - HEROINE - ‘EATING’ - BREAKING -

LEASE - ‘$2,500 - FINE - AND - OR - PRISON -

PER - INCIDENT’ - CITIZEN’s - ARREST WITH -

COLLEGE - NOTEBOOK - PAPER - KEVIN FR -

PUBLIC - SCHOOL - WHO - PANDORA - OF -

‘HOTEL - FOR - THE - HOLIDAY’S - ROCKER -

KEVIN - AMERICAN - WHITE - WE - AS RICH -

NEVER - DEALT - WITH - LOS ANGELES - PUBLIC -

SCHOOL - WENT - THRU - ELECTRONIC - ENTRY -

BECAUSE - OF - WEAPONS - WHEN - WE - HAD -

ALL - U - EAT - BUFFET - 4 - BREAKFAST - AND -

BEAUTIFUL - UNIFORMS - THUS - MEMORIES -

OF - BETTER - TIMES - JUST - STUDYING AND -

CHEERLEADING - ACROBATIC - GYMNASTICS -

AS - KEVIN - SHOVED - HIS - MOBBY - ON THE -

INSIDE - OF - WHITE - GIRLS - VAGINAL AREA -

2% - ASIANS - ONLY - IN - MIAMI - AND SNOW -

INDIANA - STRONGEST - GUN - RIGHTS - CA -

CALIFORNIA - AND - SO - SAD - NUCLEAR PLANT -

NEW JERSEY - LUTHER VANDROSS - MEMORIAL -

WHEN - NEW JERSEY - THE - 1ST - STATE 2 YES -

SIGN - APPROVAL - 4 - FIRST - 10 AMENDMENTS -

THE - BILL - OF - RIGHTS - 18TH - CENTURY THE -

2ND - RIGHT - OF - PEOPLE - 2 - KEEP - AND YES -

BEAR - ARMS - 4 - THE - ENGLISH - SOLDIERS -

USED - SWORDS - AND - CUT - OFF THE ARMS -

MOSTLY - ORPHANS - AS - SOLDIERS - YES 1ST -

THEY - MEANT - THE - RIGHT - 2 - KEEP - THEIR -

ARMS - WITH - HANDS - BUT - HERE -

‘ANGEL - OF - THE - LORD - GOD - CHASE - AND -

END - THE - EXISTENCE - OF - KEVIN - WHITE XO -

UGLY - MALE - IN - JESUS’ - NAME - AND - FATSO -

DIB HERNANDEX - CHASE - AND - END - THE -

EXISTENCE - OF - THEIR - KIDS - SIBLINGS -

SPOUSES - PARTNERS - THEIR - PARENTS -

THEIR - GRANDPARENTS - THEIR FRIENDS -

ALL - THEIR - FAMILIES - IN - THE - NAME -

OF - JESUS - DEUTERONOMY 28 CURSES -

ON - THEM - ‘NO - RAIN - SHALL - FALL ON -

THEIR - LAND - THEIR - GROUND - WILL B -

AS - HARD - AS - IRON - GOV’T - CENTER -

LAWN - TREES - AND - TREES - PLANTS -

OF - LITTLE HAVANA - MIAMI - FLORIDA -

EVIL - HUMANS - LOCUSTS - CONSUME -

ALL - THEIR - TREES - AND - PRODUCE -

OF - THEIR - LAND - WORLDWIDE - ALL -

AGREE - US FIREARMS - 2 - KILL - WILD - ANIMALS -

DURING - HUNTING - SEASON - IN - SOUTH KOREA -

THE - FIREARMS - MUST - B - KEPT - IN - POLICE -

STATION - AS - USUAL - INTELLIGENCE - LEFT -

SOUTH - KOREA - THEIR - FIREARMS NEEDED -

THEIR - SMALL - HOTEL - 2 - REST - AND THEY -

HAVE - 2 - RENEW - INSTEAD - OF - SPACE TO -

TALK - 2 - VICTIMS - THEY - HAVE - STORAGE 4 -

WEAPONS - 2 - KILL - DEERS - TURTLES 2 KILL -

RUDOLPH - THE - REDNOSE - REINDEER - TO -

KILL - CROCODILES - 4 - SHOES - 2 - KILL YES -

BIRDS - DUCKS - FROGS - LIONS - TIGERS TO -

KILL - MOCKINGBIRDS - RABBITS - SNAKES AS -

THEY - ARE - MEAT - KOREANS - AND - ASIANS -

EAT - THIS - WORLD - GRANTS - FIREARMS TO -

KILL - CATS - DOGS - 2 - KILL - DOLPHINS - AND -

SHARKS - 2 - KILL - ELEPHANTS - IN - KOREA 4 -

LARGER - BURGERS - 2 - KILL - HORSES - FOR -

STEAKS - HORSE - MEAT - 2 - KILL - LAMBS TO -

KILL - KANGAROOS - 4 - FUR - 2 - EAT - MEAT 2 -

THEIR - HEART’s - CONTENT - 2 SHOOT CAMEL -

4 - KOREAN - AND - CHINESE - BBQ - SO - GOD -

ALLOWS - 4 - THEY - WILL - NEVER - EVER LIKE -

IN - INDIA - ENJOY - ELEPHANTS 4 TRANSPORT -

CAMELS - ARE - EATEN - IN - CHINA - & - KOREA -

BUT - TRANSPORTATION - IN - ARAB - NATIONS -

SAHARA - DESSERTS - SO - ADDING - LIST - OF -

RULES - REGULATIONS - 4 - ASIA - EUROPE -

THAT - EAT - ANIMALS - INSTEAD - OF - RIDE -

THEM - THEIR - ZIPLINE - 4 - ONLY - ARABS -

WERE - THOUGHT - THE - BEST LOCATION -

OF - DISNEY - FILM - ‘ALADDIN’ - NOT ASIA -

NOT - QUITE - PARIS - 4 - THE - MAGIC - CARPET -

ARABS - DON’T - EAT - DOGS - CATS THEY STILL -

SELL - FUEL - WHY - DID - GOD - GIVE - ISLAM -

4 WIVES - FUEL - IN - THEIR - SANDS - 4 THEY -

PRAY - 5 TIMES - DAILY - WITH - SOUND - AND -

ALWAYS - SOBER - FRIDAYS - THEIR - HOLY -

DAYS - SO - I’M - ADDING - I’VE - DECLARED -

ON - BEHALF - OF - HER - MAJESTY - THE -

QUEEN - IN - THE - NAME - OF JESUS’ I’VE -

DECLARED - 4 - ONE - THOUSAND - GENERATIONS -

BLINDNESS - AND - BONE - DETERIORATION - WILL -

BE - IN - THE - FAMILIES - OF - KEVIN - WHITE GUY -

EXTRA - SPACE - STORAGE - MIAMI - FLORIDA - & -

DIB HERNANDEZ - HISPANIC - BOTH - WILL HAVE -

IN - THEIR - NEW - DNA - THESE - DEADLY - YES -

EXTREMELY - DANGEROUS - LIVING - WITH THE -

FAMILY - THEY - NEEDED - THE - MOST - OR - IN -

THE - FUTURE - EXTREMELY - RAPED - 2 - THE -

MAX - THEIR - DAUGHTERS - AS - BLIND - FOR -

PUBLIC - SCHOOL - IS - USA - DERANGED - AS -

EVEN - THEIR - TEACHERS - WILL - RAPE AND -

DANGEROUSLY - RAPE - AND - RAPE - THEIR -

DAUGHTERS - IN - A - VICIOUS - S&M - SAD -

SADISTIC - WAY - AND - NEVER - STAB STAB -

THEM - 2 - DEATH - ALWAYS - DERANGELY -

RAPE - 2 - LARGE - BREASTS - ALWAYS XO -

GETS - ALL - GENDERS - 2 - RAPE - WITH -

NO - ENDING - ALWAYS - RAPED - MANY -

MANY - HOURS - MANY - DAYS - 4 - 2 EA -

ONE’s - OWN - UNTIL - WRINKLED - PRUNE -

BAGS - NOW - IN - THEIR - FAMILIES - 4 YES -

ONE - THOUSAND - GENERATIONS - IN THE -

NAME - OF - JESUS - SO - ADDING - THE -

FOLLOWING - 2 - THE - ONLY TRUE GOD

ARE - THE - BRITISH - TALKING - THROUGH - HONG KONG -

TODAY - THE - FASTEST - PURSE - SNATCHERS - IN - THIS -

WORLD - FASTEST - PICK POCKET - UNLESS - LICENSE -

$100,000 - HONG KONG - DOLLARS - 100 - I - HAVE MANY -

JUST - BARBIE - MONEY - 2 - ME - 14 YRS - PRISON FOR -

WHEN - I - WAS - IN - ROYAL - HONG KONG - DURING -

NEW - SHOW - ‘CHARLIE’s - ANGELS’ - FEMALE GOAT -

LESBIANS - WERE - TAKING - HOSTAGE - 2 - PRETTY -

FEMALES - WITH - LARGE - BREASTS - AND - ME AS -

CHILD - HAD - REGULAR - CLOTHES - HK - POLICE -

FEMALES - B - MY - GUARDS - AS - WE - BECAME -

‘CHARLIE’s - ANGELS’ - ME - FR - PAW PAW BRUCE -

AS - WE - USED - MARTIAL - ARTS - 2 - RESCUE - 2 -

FEMALES - 4 - HONG KONG - MORE - THAN - 250 -

GIRLS - MISSING - HANDCUFFED - AS - THEY -

RAPE - THEM - EVERY - HOUR - AS - LESBIANS -

AS - ILLEGAL - PROSTITUTES - MANY - YEARS -

SO - EASY - 2 - FIND - THEM - WITH - PROBE AS -

WITH - AIR - CREMATION - WE’RE - DISAPPEARING -

THEIR - BODIES - AS - WE - DECLARE - WAR - ON -

HONG KONG - CHINA - WITH - 300 MILLION - YES -

CHINESE - MALE - SOLDIERS - FR - MAINLAND -

CHINA - I - WAS - THINKING - OF - LUHAN - EXO -

‘THE - WITNESS’ - AS - CHINESE - MALE AFTER -

HIM - AND - BLIND - TRAUMA - BLINDNESS - AS -

HE - SENSED - BEHIND - HIM - AS - HE - RAN -

THEN - STOLE - MOTORCYCLE - ‘OBEDIENCE -

2 - CHINESE - LAW’ - LIKE - CHRISTA DI PAOLO -

ROUND - ROUND - THE - FIST - WARM - UPS 2 -

LIKE - SLING - SHOT - WITHOUT - STICK - LIKE -

IT - GOES - AROUND - THE - NECK - ‘STICKS -

AND - STONES - WILL - BREAK - THE BONES’ -

ROUND - AND - ROUND - GOES - AROUND -

CHINESE - MALES - AND - ANY - PART - OF -

BODY - GOES - THROUGH - HIS - BODY -

TIGHTENS - 2 - NOT - STRANGLE - BUT -

GO - THROUGH - 2 - END HIS BREATHING -

IN - A - VIOLENT - WAY - AS - KEVIN - AND -

DIB - THEY’RE - VIOLENT - MEN - WHO DO -

MISOGYNY - ‘HARM - ABUSE - AND MURDER -

OF - YOUNG - GIRLS’ - ‘HARM - ABUSE - AND -

MURDER - OF - YOUNG - WOMEN’ - BOTH R -

WITHOUT - OR - SMALL - BREASTED - AS XO -

THEY - HATE - THEM - AND - END - THEM - 4 -

THEIR - BELIEF - IS - NO - GOD - ON EARTH -

OBEYING - GUN - LAWS - OF - CHINA - FOR -

LESS - LAWS - KNOWN - LESS - FEAR - IN -

LIVING - LESS - LAWS - LIKE - SKY DIVING -

AS - MANY - CHINESE - GIRLS - REMOVED -

OF - EYES - FLOATED - AFTER - JUMPING -

OFF - MOUNTAINS - OF - CHINA - OVER -

2 HRS - UNTIL - SOFT - GRASS BELOW -

LESS - LAWS - KNOWN - OF - CHINA - MORE -

BREATHING - THE - BEAUTY - OF - HOUSES -

WITH - WALLS - LIKE - ‘MS CUPID - IN LOVE’ -

WHY - ALL - THERE - WHEN - THEY - WERE -

IN - MOOD - 2 - FIGHT - 4 - THE - MOST -

BEAUTIFUL - HOUSES - INSIDE HUGE -

WALLS - SO - CHINA - LESS - LAWS 2 - KNOW -

MORE - BREATHING - CAN - HAPPEN - MORE -

LIVING - 2 - GLORIA COPELAND - PAPERBACK -

‘LIVE - LONG - FINISH - STRONG’ -

LUHAN - AS - THAT - WEIRDO - NOW - THE -

CHINESE - POWDERS - OF - A - BETTER -

REPUBLIC - OF - PEOPLE - AS - HE YES -

INHALES - CREMATION - POWDER THAT -

AIR - CREMATED - HIM - FOR - BRUCE - FORGOT -

MOSTLY - HE - WAS - BORN - IN - THE - UNITED -

STATES - HE - HAD - RIGHT - 2 B - ARMED - AS -

HONG KONG - MALES - BEAT - HIM UP - BUT -

LAZY - BRUCE - FINALLY - LISTENED - 2 HIS -

DAD - AND - LEARNT - 2 - FIGHT - FINALLY -

LATER - ATTACK - FR - BEHIND - HE - YES -

CONQUERED - PARAPLEGIC - ONLY - HIS -

EYES - MOUTH - MOVED - 2 - WALKING - AND -

TALKING - AND - MOVING - HEAD - & - MORE -

THUS - 8:37P - KEVIN - TORTURED - ME YES -

EARLY - SO - I - CAN - B - LATE - AND - B HAI -

LOCKED - OUT - OF - EXTRA - SPACE - STORAGE -

THUS - HE - LOVES - THE - SMALL - STORAGE -

DOORS - ANYONE - CAN - LOCK - OUTSIDE & -

NO - LOCK - NEEDED - PUT - 2 - THE - RIGHT -

DOOR - LOCK - THEN - STANDARD PADLOCK -

THEN - GAS - THROWN - ABOVE - 2 - FAINT -

FEMALE - SCREAMER - THEN - LATER - XO -

CUBA MOVERS - HAILEAH - FLORIDA - SAD -

SAD - PLACE - FAR - AWAY - WALMART - AS -

THEY - PUT - IN - CARPET - STILL - FAINTED -

GIRL - OTHER - CARPETS - 4 - ILLEGAL -

PROSTITUTION - BRICKELL - OR LITTLE -

HAVANA - 4 - MANY - YEARS - UNTIL - LIKE -

HELENE - OF - TROY - AS - THEY - BEAT & -

KICKED - BATTERY - RAPED - MADE - YES -

PREGNANT - BURNT - HER - BABIES - AS -

THEY - RAVAGED - HER - WITH - THEIR - HUGE -

MOBY - SHOVED - INSIDE - HER - VAGINAL YES -

AREA - HER - MOUTH - THEY - SHOVED - THEIR -

MOBY DICK - AS - THEY - BOXED - SLAPPED -

KICKED - KNOCKED - HER - UP - A - BLOND -

SHE - DEVELOPED - DEMENTIA - AND AS A -

HAG - WRINKLED - FOUND - IN - A - PARK - BUT -

NO - MEMORY - NO - ID - LIKE - WHAT - GIRLS -

TAKEN - FR - STORAGE - BECOME - NO - IDs -

AT - GOVERNMENT - CENTER - PARK - AS - YES -

WRINKLED - PRUNE - BAGS - WHAT - THEY  DID -

IN - 48 STATES - THE - FLORIDA - BAKER - ACT -

THEY - ALWAYS - KIDNAPPED - BLONDES - AS -

NURSES - MALES - FEMALES - RAPED - RAPED -

RAVAGED - BLONDS - PSYCHIATRICAL - MEDS -

EVERY - DAY - NOSE - BLEED - HEADACHES & -

MORE - BODY - ACHES - AS - OBEDIENCE YES -

DONE - 50 STATES - USA - JUST - LIKE - TRUE -

EUROPE - WHO - ATE - THEIR - CHILDREN AS -

AMERICANS - HAD - LEGAL - RIGHT - 2 - THROW -

THEIR - BABIES - AS - ALIVE - IN - THEIR - TRASH -

AFTER - MIDWIVES - GAVE - BIRTH - 2 - THEM AS -

KEVIN - SAID - I’M - GOING - 2 - BODILY - THROW -

YOU - OUT - ON - THE - STREET - THROW - YOUR -

FOOD - THINGS - IF - I - EVER - SEE - U - EAT YES -

HERE - AGAIN - KNIFED - AT - THE - BACK - TWICE -

PARTIALLY - BLIND - SHOT - TWICE - IS - NOT -

ALLOWED - 2 - EAT - IN - STORAGE - UNITS U -

ARE - NOT - ALLOWED - 2 - SIT - INSIDE - ANY -

STORAGE - UNIT - I’M - EVICTING - U - THROWING -

YOU - AND - YOUR - WHEELCHAIR - ON - THE YES -

STREET - THROWING - YOUR - WENDY’s - BAG -

U R - NOT - ALLOWED - 2 - EAT - HE - ALMOST -

SAID - IN - THE - UNITED STATES - DOES - KAREN -

CARPENTER - DIED - AT - WEIGHT - 65 LBS - SHE -

THEY - TRIED - 2 - TAKE - HER - CLOTHES - OFF -

IN - THE - HOSPITAL - THEY - LIKED - HER - YES -

TOPLESS - SAGGING - BREASTS - FINALLY - AS -

KAREN CARPENTER - RESTED - AFTER - NOT -

EATING - 4 - MONTHS - USA - THE - LAND - OF -

TRASH - THE - HOME - OF - GARBAGE - AS WE -

LEAVE - OVER - 4 MILLION - OF - US - FROM -

CALIFORNIA - NEW JERSEY - FUNNY - BUT -

THE - BLACK - DAHLIA - FROM - LOS ANGELES - CA -

KIDNAPPED - FR - HER - HOUSE - THEN - TIED - UP -

IN - HIS - BATHTUB - BEATEN - KNOWING - THEY -

CAN’T - HAVE - ANY - FIREARMS - SO - AS - HE -

TORTURED - HER - IN - BATHTUB - THEN CUT -

HER - HEAD - AND - SLICED - HER - BODY - LIKE -

SALAMI - HE - CLEANED - AND - PUT - IN - A YES -

ABANDONED - LOS ANGELES - PARKING - LOT -

MANY - FEMALES - SAID - MANEQUIN - THERE -

BUT - 1 - WOMAN - THOUGHT - OTHERWISE AS -

CALIFORNIA - NEVER - REQUIRED - LICENSE PLATES -

IN - THE - FRONT - AND - SIDES - WILL - NEVER - DO -

BUT - SIGNS - OF - NO - DOGS - ALLOWED - 2 WALK -

AND - ENJOY - LAKES - AND - TREES - AND - VIEWS -

CALIFORNIA - AN - ORIGINAL - US - STATE - STILL -

NO - FIREARMS - UNTIL - WHENEVER - BUT - YES -

CHINA - INVENTED - FIREARMS - IT’S - A - FOREIGN -

ENTITY - WHO - EATS - DOGS - AND - CATS - WHO -

ALLOWS - FIREARMS - 2 - KILL - REINDEER - AND -

RUDOLPH’s - COUSINS - SHOOT - BIRDS - DOGS -

SHOOT - TIGERS - SHOOT - PANDAS - SHOOT - YES -

ELEPHANTS - MORE - SWEET - BAO - 2 - EAT - WHY -

WOULD - CALIFORNIA - WANT - CHINESE - FIREARMS -

4 - CHINA - INVENTED - FIREARM - AND GUNPOWDER -

SO - EVERYONE - GOD - HAS - ARROWS - HE - AIMS -

AT - HIS - ENEMIES - GOD’s - WEAPONS - INSTEAD -

JESUS - IS - LORD - 2 - WHO - KEEPS - US - FROM -

FALLING - THE - ONLY - TRUE GOD - I’M - LEAVING -

NOW - SO - WON’T - BE - LOCKED - OUT - YES - FL

[grantgoddard]

Rich man, dead man, radio man, spy : 1995 : John Kluge & Natalie Slepova, Radio 7

He was dead. He was definitely dead, his face turned blue from the extreme cold. His body was lying face-up on the street, at the top of a staircase that led from the subway station below. I was amongst hundreds of commuters that morning who were forced to crowd to one side of the exit to avoid tripping over his corpse. Nobody gasped. Nobody said anything. Nobody stared. Nobody stopped. We all remained focused on our daily journeys to work, trying not to contemplate the precarity of our own lives.

My commute to work was arduous. I had to take two subways and then an overcrowded bus. The subway was complex to navigate and I sometimes discovered I had travelled the wrong direction or alighted at the wrong stop. I always boarded the bus at its rear door without a ticket. Not because I could not afford to pay, but because I had no idea how or where to purchase a bus ticket. The job of the bus driver was simply to drive the bus, not to sell or check tickets. During several years making this journey, I worried constantly that a ticket inspector would board the bus and bundle me away forever for having broken some law. But it never happened.

I arrived at work to be informed that this was a special day. Later that morning, a coach pulled up outside our workplace. It was no ordinary coach. It was huge, the size you imagine a football team might need, and it had darkened windows. I was amongst a line of colleagues stood waiting in the cold, opposite the door of the vehicle. It opened and several men in sunglasses and dark suits emerged, marched around the vicinity and eventually radio-ed that our location appeared safe. They completely ignored us. There was yet more waiting.

Then the coach door opened a second time and a frail old man walked slowly down the steps. He was eighty years old and his name was John Kluge. He had been named number one on Forbes’ rich list in 1987, the richest man in America. The previous year, he had sold his local television stations for four billion dollars to Rupert Murdoch, who had relaunched them as his Fox TV network. Kluge had used part of the cash to acquire all sorts of businesses, one of which he had deigned to visit that day.

Some minutes later, I was surprised to see a young woman coming down the steps of the coach. Despite the cold, she was dressed as if she had just spent the morning in a Venice Beach café. The contrast in age with Kluge could not have been greater. Maybe this was his daughter, I thought. Maybe his grand-daughter? Surely not his girlfriend? His ‘companion’? Possibly a future fourth wife? I am not certain I ever understood her identity. Apart from the ‘men in black’ and the presumed coach driver, this bizarre couple were the only passengers we saw exit the huge vehicle.

In between the parked coach and our offices located in an oversized hut, our American manager Mike Lonneke was warmly greeting his billionaire employer, overlooked by a stone bust atop a column … of Lenin. Extreme communism came face-to-face with extreme capitalism that day … on the outskirts of Moscow. We were in a large, high-security park where, only years before, a powerful Soviet radio ‘jamming’ station had created deliberate interference to broadcasts by the Voice of America and BBC. Post-Perestroika, Kluge’s business, Metromedia International, had acquired a radio station located within the park named ‘Radio 7’. Lonneke led the team charged with turning around the business from the least listened of Moscow’s 30-odd stations to top of the ratings.

Within the line of personnel greeting Kluge that day was Russian citizen Natalie Slepova. Following Kluge’s purchase of the station, its entire staff had been sacked and replaced … except for Slepova. Apparently, Russia’s arcane laws prevented employers from sacking single mothers, so she had remained on the staff. She printed her own Radio 7 business card with her preferred job title. She came to the office when she wanted, such as an occasion like today. A job in Soviet Russia had seemed merely to confer entitlement to an income, rather than an onerous responsibility to perform tasks that would be evaluated. No Annual Reviews there.

My work in Moscow required almost no interaction with Slepova, so it came as a complete surprise when one day she invited me to lunch. It would have been rude (maybe fatal?) to refuse. I was told to meet at her apartment, rather than at the radio station. Most Russian city dwellers lived in horrible high-rise concrete apartment buildings that resembled Britain’s worst post-War council estates. I found her building near the Kremlin to be a mini-palace with high ceilings, enormously wide staircases and gigantic ornate doors sized for giants. Think regal Paris chic rather than Ronan Point. If her circumstances were intended to impress me, they certainly did. But how could a single mother afford to dwell in such opulence?

We ate at a reputedly excellent restaurant in a city centre shopping plaza. The food was predictably awful. Slepova asked me dozens of questions, but not casual enquiries about me and my work. She wanted to know details about how Metromedia was organised and its long-term objectives. The only accessories missing from this inquisition were the rope around my chair and the spotlight in my eyes. I offered her no information, not only out of reluctance, but more so because I was merely a distant foreign contractor to Metromedia who knew next to nothing about its strategy. Despite my years working for the corporation, I never had a contract, a job title or even a letter of agreement. Lunch over, Slepova barely acknowledged me from then on. Evidently, I had proven completely useless to her.

To compare Moscow in 1995 to the Wild West is do it an injustice. It was much more frightening than that. Several unexplained ‘incidents’ I witnessed involved the radio station. Shortly after my arrival in Moscow, its American advertising saleswoman had been dining with potential clients in a restaurant when masked men stormed in, shot dead everyone at an adjacent table and ran off. The next day, she resigned and booked the next available flight back to the States. The restaurant cleaned up and reopened for business as if nothing had happened. So much could be witnessed in Russia that was never reported.

It was evident to foreign observers that Russian president Boris Yeltsin had been demonstrating increasingly erratic behaviour during his foreign excursions. Reputedly an alcoholic, Yeltsin had refused to leave his plane at Shannon Airport to meet the Irish prime minister in 1994. Bill Clinton alleged that, on a visit to Washington in 1995, Russia’s president had been found on the street drunk, in his underwear, trying to hail a taxi to a pizza restaurant. Yeltsin had already suffered several heart attacks and a quintuple bypass operation, so it was perceived as credible that he might die on the job.

I was asked by Radio 7 manager Lonneke to create a procedure for the station’s DJs to follow, should they learn that Yeltsin had suddenly died. He was concerned that, should a presenter continue with the popular music format following the president’s death, it could provide the government with an excuse to cancel the American-owned station’s licence. I wrote a list of instructions for the DJs, scripted appropriate announcements to be read and purchased CDs of sombre Russian classical music. My document was translated into Russian, placed in a plastic wallet with the CDs and taped to the wall of the studio under a large sign: “If the president should die, open and follow this procedure.”

Within a matter of days, I arrived at work to find unusually that the overnight DJ was still present and was upset. Apparently, in the middle of the previous night when he had been the only person present in the building, several men wearing balaclavas had burst into the studio. They seemed to know exactly where to find the instructions I had written in case of Yeltsin’s death, had ripped the plastic wallet from the wall and made off with it. They had neither identified themselves nor explained their actions. It was a dramatic raid on our little radio station.

The walled and barb-wired park in which the station was located always had armed government security guards at its only entrance, to whom I was required daily to show my identify card and clearance document. How had the masked intruders entered the property? The guards could offer no rational explanation. How did the raiders know where the station’s unmarked building was within the park? How did they know exactly where to find the document in the radio studio? How did they even know that such a document existed?

It was apparent that, as a result of us having contemplated the possibility that Russia’s president might die in service, we had attracted the attention of forces much bigger than us. The evidence pointed to the worrying conclusion that the overnight raid could only been the outcome of a knowledgeable informant having observed intimate details about our radio station’s operations. We would never know for sure who that insider could have been.